Sunday, August 26, 2012

Another weekend down ...............

Wow, where did the weekend go?  Seems like it was Friday and now it's going on Monday.  Had a super weekend with my friend Nancy and her mom.  Got her apartment all moved into our shop and her settled in the realtor's basement suite for a few days.  We are thinking positively that she will get the keys to her new place tomorrow and then we have to move everything again .........

Took them to church with us today then had lunch at a little bayside cafe, the food was fabulous and the company awesome.  Came home and while they went to do some cleaning at the apartment I made dinner for us all.

It was a busy but awesome weekend.

Thanks Skuppy and Mensa for your comments on my previous post.  You are right Skippy she shouldn't get sick from the animals but it is more the constant build up of dirt in her house I think that does it.  She is constantly breathing in dust and animal dander and that is not good for her lungs as she has asthma and is prone to breathing issues.

As for me well you would have to force feed the internal organs if you wanted me to eat them.  I'd rather go vegan than eat them so gonna eat lots of dark green vegetables and lean red meat to see if I can bring the iron level up.  It's not too much under normal so will have to wait and see.  I know you are saying if it means the difference between being healthy or not healthy you should do it.  Nope, not a hope in he__, not a chance, no way, no how.  Sorry, but that is just the way it is and who I am.  I do not eat internal organs in any way shape or form. 

Call me spoiled or not knowing what's good for me, it is okay with me.  I would choke to death if I had to try to swallow it.  We ate a lot of it as kids and well I just can't do it now.  But thanks for the suggestions.  I did have a huge spinach salad with strawberries, onions, feta cheese, almonds and raspberry vinegrette for dinner though.  Delicious!

Yes, it is a big relief to be done with the insurance company and being able to try and regain some sense of normalcy.  It's been a long hard battle, but life can now go on and maybe just maybe I can get back to concentrating on what is important  - me and my family.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Now what .......

So things have been happening around here and I don't know where to start.  So this may be somewhat out of order but that's what my life is all about ...... disorder.

Beginning of August we had a settlement meeting with hubby's insurance company over his long term dfisability and even though we didn't get what we thought they should cough up we are now free from the elephant that shadowed us every day.  In order to get an insurance company to instate long term disability monthly payments here in Canada you must have a court order.  Our lawyer assured us that we could win the order but it could be 3 - 5 years before it would get before a judge and during that time we would constantly be looking over our shoulders to see if the insurance company had someone spying on us.  And again even if we won tbe insurance company could cancel benefits within a couple of months and we would have to start all over again.  This insurance company had already robbed us of 4 years of our lives so we decided to take a small payout and tell them to stuff their disability insurance.  Some would say that is a foolish thing to do but we had already been through the looking over our shoulders scenario and we just wanted to be done with them. 

We came home and sat down and discussed how best to proceed from here.  Hubby's medication is easing the pain somewhat so he decided he would change career courses and look to see if there was something out there that he could do with would allow him some flexibility.  Now he is a certified plumber, gas fitter, sheet metal worker and HVAC mechanic as well experienced in electronics, boilers and other trades.  But because he can no longer do the field work he wanted to do something that would allow him to use the knowledge and experience that he has spent years gathering.  We happened to be looking at the local college site and out of the blue there is a posting for a someone to teach plumbing theory.  So we gathered up his tickets, built a resume and sent it in.  Still waiting to hear from them but we have out fingers crossed.

My sister has now started the 2nd half of her chemotherapy.  This is the half that could have all kinds of side effects and create all kinds of health issues.  Well into the 1st treatment she goes and sure enough she ends up in the hospital with pnuemonia.  She is home now and doing better but it was a little scary there for a bit.  I took my mom down to see her this past Wednesday and they had her in isolation so we did the gown, mask and gloves thing.  It scares me when she has to go to the hospital like that. 

Her husband can be non-supportive when he wants to and does not attempt to keep the house clean so I am sure that contributed to her getting ill.  Dad went this morning to the Brick and bought her a new leather sofa so we could replace her old, wprnout, germ infested ones.  He was pretty proud of himself as he told the salesman that it was for a young woman stricken with cancer and they gave him a $1,000.00 sofa for $349.00.  Only my dad could pull that off.

I am going to look into getting someone to go in an do housecleaning for her this coming week on a weekly basis.  We just want to make sure that she has the best advantage possible to beat this horrid disease.

My girlfriend bought a half duplex and got a smoking deal on it as it was a distress sale,  But there were some complications and she was supposed to get possession on the 21st and if has been postponed till at least Monday now.  In the meantime she had to vacate her apartment so all her stuff is in our big shop and her realtor is letting her bunk in his bedroom suite till it is settled.  The poor girl is only 25, first house purchase and this happens.  She is handling it remarkably well.

Have finally found a good family doctor for myself so I had an appointment to get my test results this week.  Everything was good except for my good cholestrol which was too low and my iron level is also too low.  Waiting on an appointment with the dietican so that we can look at maybe correcting it with diet before using medication or supplements.  Felt releived that was all that was out of wack considering my weight and family health issues.  She did assure me that I could eat all the red meat I want for the time being...........no problem here.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Sunday, August 12th

Had a great but busy day today.  Got up and went to church for the first time in ages and it felt so good to be there.  Pastor spoke on the power of prayer but that we need to do it everyday not just once a week.  How right he was, we often forget that things happen in God's time not ours and if we don't keep in touch we lose out.

After church we drove out to my brother's and had a great visit, wonderful lunch and I was allowed to raid his garden so I came home with onions, potatoes, beets, carrots and zuchini.  The beets are cooked and cooling waiting to go into freezer bags.  We had swiss steak with fresh potatoes and carrots for supper.  Nothing tastes better than vegetables from the garden.

My brother is going through a rough patch right now.  He had the shingles replaced on his mobile home 2 years ago and they were not done properly.  Now they have major water damage and may have to find a new place to live if they can't get it fixed.  There is significant mold spores and rotting wood on the outside walls.  He lives on disability and the insurance company is refusing to do anything about it as it is caused by poor workmanship and the guy who did the work is being a total jerk and says he's not responsible for the damage.  Not sure what is going to happen but the local newspaper has gotten involved so we are hoping that he will man up and do the right thing rather than have his name in the paper.

Now just relaxing a bit before bed.  Got all of my weight charts done for TOPS tomorrow evening and I think I'll have a good sleep tonight.  Being out in the fresh air today and just relaxing has been a good reminder that I need these days every now and then.

It's gonna be a busy week this week and we have our fingers crossed that hubby gets a call from the college regarding his application.  Also hoping that the insurance money comes through so we can get our roof reshingled ............. and definitely not by the same company that did my brother's ........ lol.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

It's been awhile .............

Life has a way of getting in the road of all the things I want to do and never seem to be able to accomplish.  Right now we are in a state of waiting for God to show us the way.

We had a meeting with hubby's disability insurance company and after 3 hours managed to walk out with a meagre settlement.  Now juat waiting for the money to come in so we can come up with a positive plan of action.

The doctor put him on some new medication that seems to be helping somewhat.  It's not a miracle cure by any means but has made him feel well enough to consider finding employment.  It is rather funny how God closes one door and opens another.  He can no longer work in the field but has all the qualifications necessary to teach and low and behold there was a posting for an instructor at the local college.  So he has put an application in and now is waiting to hear back from them, it closed yesterday so should hear something next week.

Haven't spoken to my sister in awhile thanks to her husband.  Every time she has to go to the hospital he goads me on facebook and then won't bother to call to let me know how she is.  He seems to enjoy playing these head games with his inconsiderateness and I'm doing it any more.  I love her and want to be there for her but he's an obstacle I can't seem to get around.

We've been having some major storms lately with lots of thunder and lightning.  They scare me when they issue tornado warnings.  I can't wait for fall to get here, it is my favorite time of year.