Your Personality Is |
You are both grounded and flexible. You adapt well to new situations. You are playful and free spirited - but you are also dependable and never flaky. You don't do well in conservative, stuffy situations. It's probably very hard for you to keep a normal job or stay in school. You are always up for fun and adventure. Most people are too boring for you. You take risks and bend the rules. And if things don't work out, you chock it up to life experience. In love, you tend to take things quickly - but you have a huge problem with commitment. At work, you need to make your own rules. You're best suited to be an entrepreneur. With others, you are animated and physical. You prefer doing something with friends to just hanging out. As far as your looks go, you tend to be buff and in good shape. Your spend more time on your body than your clothes. On weekends, you need to keep active. From cooking up a storm to running a 5K, you wear yourself out. |
Monday, October 03, 2005
and another
and yet another
Your Blog Should Be Yellow |
 You're a cheerful, upbeat blogger who tends to make everyone laugh. You are a great storyteller, and the first to post the latest funny link. You're also friendly and welcoming to everyone who comments on your blog. |
Wow, did this one get me all wrong or what? Me cheerful and upbeat? Sarcastic maybe... Cheerful I think not!
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Up and down, down, down (part 3)
I explain to the staffing coordinator that he must fix the situation. He says he will try and he will call me back. At around 10PM I get a call from, child protective services (CPS), telling me we needed to get back home. I calmly explained to her that we were several hours drive from home and that the first I heard of any of this was just an hour earlier. I assured her that I left Richmond with the understanding that all the shifts were covered and with the assurance that the agency would take care of things. I also explained that at that late hour we would have to drive all night on no sleep and arrive in no condition to care for Nickie. The CPS worker said she was going to call the agency coordinator and would get back to me, she also said she thought this was all wrong. I hung up the phone jumped out of bed, got dressed and packed and headed to the truck. My cell phone rang just as we loaded up the truck. It was the woman from CPS and she said if I called the local hospital and made arrangements for Nickie to be picked up by them that would suffice. I said thanks but we were on our way home as we spoke and I asked her to wish us luck getting there in one piece. She said she was sorry this had happened but to call her when we got home.
We arrived at home at 3 am, we greeted the nurse and gave Nickie kisses and dropped to the bed like a ton of bricks for a 3 hour nap. 6 am came much too quickly and as I suspected I was in no condition to be responsible for a child that requires so much care. I did the best I could and we got through the day from the sheer anger that I was using for energy. I plotted how I was going to use this injustice to enlighten the world to file formal complaints against the agency and against the nurse that left my daughter in such a bad way.
Monday morning I made all the appropriate phone calls to find out with which agencies I could file complaints. I contacted my attorney to see what suggestion he had. I contemplated contacting the local NBC affiliate to see if they might be interested in the story but in the end I know just how stuck between a rock and a hard place I already am. There are too few agencies even fewer nurses and as you can see the caliber of nurses that are out there are very low. Its hit or miss and I'm sorry to say its miss more often than not. Ultimately I felt it was best not to make it impossible to work with this agency by filing complaints. Its difficult enough to find nursing care at all much less limit myself to one less agency. While I was dealing with all the phone calls and Bob and Shaun went to work the work van broke down. When Bob called to tell me about that I was stupid enough to ask what else can go wrong? Stupid, stupid, stupid Lill.
We dropped the van off at the shop and had to explain to our customer that we would return to his job when the van was repaired. By Monday night Bob began to feel the effects of a respiratory infection... Great what is this bad luck number 3? I think. I go home to find that the kitchen sink won't work and I can't believe the shit keeps coming at us. I contact a few plumbers to find the soonest I can get anyone out is Thursday. The shop calls on Tues to say the van is working fine for them they can't find anything wrong with it. They suggest we pick it up. We do just that and guess what? The van breaks down again on the way home. We finally make it home feeling whipped.
Wed morning Bob decides to try to make it in to work sick and with the hope the van makes it there. What the heck was he thinking? The van broke down again. We take it again to the shop and we head back home. Bob decides that he doesn't want to be put into a situation that he can't work waiting on his work van to be repaired so he takes his pick up truck to Truckin Thunder to have a sprayed in bed liner and ladder racks installed. This will make it so he can still work out of that truck if he needs. The cost of this work is a whopping $1,093.00 Bob and I decide to take my van, the wheelchair accessible van, to run a few errands and pay some bills.....
We make it back home in our driveway, when we notice the van is over heating. WTF? How can this be? I said to hell with this and just moved on to the car that we just got back from Shaun since he just bought a "new" car and returned mine to me. I drove it and noticed it was shimmying and decided it must need an alignment but with all the other crap going on I say it will have to wait.
Thursday the plumber comes and replaces my faucet and snakes a pipe all in 40 minutes and $293.00 later leaves. While doing dishes that afternoon I find that there is a leak under the sink that wasn't there before. I call the plumber to tell him about the leak and of course he can't come back till the next day. Friday morning on the way to take Brandon to schoolI was approached by a nice man to tell me that I needed to pull over I have a flat tire. Sure enough I look and the tire is practically sitting on the rim. One ray of sunshine was Pete a teacher at my son's school who ran up to me and offered to change the tire for me. I ran into the office to call Bob, I left my cell phone at home, and let him know I was ok and what had happened. I make it back home in one piece and pick Bob up so we can drop off the car for new tires, alignment etc. It's explained to me that 4 new tires and the alignment and oil change will come to $375.00 This is racking up to be an expensive week.
We get a call from the shop they found the problem and after we pay $200.16 they release the van. The plumber meets us at home in the afternoon and another $93.00 later I have a drip free pipes. So I'm asking myself what have I done so wrong in my life that I deserve all this shit to hit at once? I've tried to live the last several years being optimistic. Treating others the way I want to be treated and in general being a good person. Why does it seem no matter how hard I try to live that good life that I manage to attract crazy nurses, shit nurses, incompetent nurses, and why does everything break down at once. We are hard working struggling people that want nothing more than to live in peace and to provide a good, clean life for our kids. What are we doing wrong? I ask you if you know the answer please enlighten me.
We arrived at home at 3 am, we greeted the nurse and gave Nickie kisses and dropped to the bed like a ton of bricks for a 3 hour nap. 6 am came much too quickly and as I suspected I was in no condition to be responsible for a child that requires so much care. I did the best I could and we got through the day from the sheer anger that I was using for energy. I plotted how I was going to use this injustice to enlighten the world to file formal complaints against the agency and against the nurse that left my daughter in such a bad way.
Monday morning I made all the appropriate phone calls to find out with which agencies I could file complaints. I contacted my attorney to see what suggestion he had. I contemplated contacting the local NBC affiliate to see if they might be interested in the story but in the end I know just how stuck between a rock and a hard place I already am. There are too few agencies even fewer nurses and as you can see the caliber of nurses that are out there are very low. Its hit or miss and I'm sorry to say its miss more often than not. Ultimately I felt it was best not to make it impossible to work with this agency by filing complaints. Its difficult enough to find nursing care at all much less limit myself to one less agency. While I was dealing with all the phone calls and Bob and Shaun went to work the work van broke down. When Bob called to tell me about that I was stupid enough to ask what else can go wrong? Stupid, stupid, stupid Lill.
We dropped the van off at the shop and had to explain to our customer that we would return to his job when the van was repaired. By Monday night Bob began to feel the effects of a respiratory infection... Great what is this bad luck number 3? I think. I go home to find that the kitchen sink won't work and I can't believe the shit keeps coming at us. I contact a few plumbers to find the soonest I can get anyone out is Thursday. The shop calls on Tues to say the van is working fine for them they can't find anything wrong with it. They suggest we pick it up. We do just that and guess what? The van breaks down again on the way home. We finally make it home feeling whipped.
Wed morning Bob decides to try to make it in to work sick and with the hope the van makes it there. What the heck was he thinking? The van broke down again. We take it again to the shop and we head back home. Bob decides that he doesn't want to be put into a situation that he can't work waiting on his work van to be repaired so he takes his pick up truck to Truckin Thunder to have a sprayed in bed liner and ladder racks installed. This will make it so he can still work out of that truck if he needs. The cost of this work is a whopping $1,093.00 Bob and I decide to take my van, the wheelchair accessible van, to run a few errands and pay some bills.....
We make it back home in our driveway, when we notice the van is over heating. WTF? How can this be? I said to hell with this and just moved on to the car that we just got back from Shaun since he just bought a "new" car and returned mine to me. I drove it and noticed it was shimmying and decided it must need an alignment but with all the other crap going on I say it will have to wait.
Thursday the plumber comes and replaces my faucet and snakes a pipe all in 40 minutes and $293.00 later leaves. While doing dishes that afternoon I find that there is a leak under the sink that wasn't there before. I call the plumber to tell him about the leak and of course he can't come back till the next day. Friday morning on the way to take Brandon to schoolI was approached by a nice man to tell me that I needed to pull over I have a flat tire. Sure enough I look and the tire is practically sitting on the rim. One ray of sunshine was Pete a teacher at my son's school who ran up to me and offered to change the tire for me. I ran into the office to call Bob, I left my cell phone at home, and let him know I was ok and what had happened. I make it back home in one piece and pick Bob up so we can drop off the car for new tires, alignment etc. It's explained to me that 4 new tires and the alignment and oil change will come to $375.00 This is racking up to be an expensive week.
We get a call from the shop they found the problem and after we pay $200.16 they release the van. The plumber meets us at home in the afternoon and another $93.00 later I have a drip free pipes. So I'm asking myself what have I done so wrong in my life that I deserve all this shit to hit at once? I've tried to live the last several years being optimistic. Treating others the way I want to be treated and in general being a good person. Why does it seem no matter how hard I try to live that good life that I manage to attract crazy nurses, shit nurses, incompetent nurses, and why does everything break down at once. We are hard working struggling people that want nothing more than to live in peace and to provide a good, clean life for our kids. What are we doing wrong? I ask you if you know the answer please enlighten me.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Up and down, down, down (part 2)
Friday morning Bob and I woke up early and refreshed ready to meet the others for a new day. After a wait the others finally came out of their rooms and met us in the motel cafeteria for the "free" breakfast, I was surprised to find that is was more than cereal and bagels. It was no gourmet meal but it was hot and hearty. To my surprise the others were not ready to leave for our drive to Mt. Airy so they went back to their rooms and were to meet us back at the truck after retrieving their purses. Nearly an hour later they finally emerged from their rooms and drove around to meet us. It was a beautiful sunny day and the drive was scenic. We drove past Pilot Mountain with its interesting tree covered granite bump.
Ronnie decided he should pass us just as we arrived at the turn for US 52 business, so of course they missed the turn and didn't answer their cell phones when I called. I was a bit perturbed at this point. Finally they answer their phones and I tell them to meet us at the visitor center. Bob and I arrive there and park out front. We go into the visitor center and find out just what to expect on this Mayberry day, when Ronnie calls Bob's cell phone and says they decided to park at the other end of town and if we could walk in that direction and they would meet us 1/2 way. Ok so by now I'm starting to get a little hot under the collar. We walk down several blocks to find they haven't walked a single block to meet us half way. So now I'm more than hot I'm steaming. Apparently the vacation I scheduled for Bob and I has now become about everyone but us. They were late getting to Winston-Salem, they were late getting to breakfast, didn't follow us as they should have to Mt. Airy and now can't follow a simple direction to meet us at the visitor center nor attempt to meet us half way. At this point I decided that I wasn't going to waste any more of my trip waiting for them. I took Bob by the arm and directed him to the closest attraction on the map.
We walked To the Andy Griffith playhouse and were serenaded by the sounds of budding artists. Well ok serenade and artists both were stretches, but I commend them all for effort. We were headed to see the home Andy grew up in when I realized the map was not exactly to scale. What appeared to be a couple blocks past the playhouse turned out to be many more.... So we took a shortcut back and met up with the others again. We stopped in Floyd's barber shop where Bob dared to get a hair cut.
That wasn't Floyd. Floyd was busy snapping polaroids of the folks that wanted their pictures on his walls. I believe someone said that Floyd had something like 20,000 pictures on his walls of visitors. Patty and Linda stopped in Opies Candy store and though I avoided that one it must have been something extra special cause they spent at least 20 minutes oogling the goods.
Bob and I had our eyes open for interesting souvenier to bring back to the gang. We did finally find something for everyone. Then it was time for lunch and it seemed that no one could decide. We ended up in a restaurant that had some good southern cooking. We then made our way through the emporium that was in the same building as the restaurant and encompassed 3 floors. It had some interesting items and the top floor had a line forming to get autographs from some of Mayberry's actors. James Best whom I recognized from The Dukes of hazard, but apparently had been in Mayberry at some point and Betty Lynn who played Thelma Lou.
Bob and I decided we'd had our fill of "Mayberry" and we let everyone know we were heading back to Winston-Salem. We drove across town and stopped at the old filling station and the courthouse. It was a hoot. Bob pretended to be Otis and locked himself in the jail sell, I have it on video but don't have a clue how to post it here.
It wasn't long before they showed up back at the motel and we decided to go out for dinner. We followed Ronnie and eventually we got to the restaurant which for some reason the name is escaping me at the moment. In the middle of dinner, now mind you this was a late dinner so near 9 pm, I received a phone call from the nursing agency that is responsible for the nursing care my daughter receives. The staffing coordinator calls to say a nurse has cancelled her shift for the next morning and they have no one to take her place. I'm furious! Bob and I don't get away for dinner or a date night because of the difficulties surrounding nursing care for Nickie. These few and far between times we are able to take mean far more than you can imagine.
Ronnie decided he should pass us just as we arrived at the turn for US 52 business, so of course they missed the turn and didn't answer their cell phones when I called. I was a bit perturbed at this point. Finally they answer their phones and I tell them to meet us at the visitor center. Bob and I arrive there and park out front. We go into the visitor center and find out just what to expect on this Mayberry day, when Ronnie calls Bob's cell phone and says they decided to park at the other end of town and if we could walk in that direction and they would meet us 1/2 way. Ok so by now I'm starting to get a little hot under the collar. We walk down several blocks to find they haven't walked a single block to meet us half way. So now I'm more than hot I'm steaming. Apparently the vacation I scheduled for Bob and I has now become about everyone but us. They were late getting to Winston-Salem, they were late getting to breakfast, didn't follow us as they should have to Mt. Airy and now can't follow a simple direction to meet us at the visitor center nor attempt to meet us half way. At this point I decided that I wasn't going to waste any more of my trip waiting for them. I took Bob by the arm and directed him to the closest attraction on the map.
We walked To the Andy Griffith playhouse and were serenaded by the sounds of budding artists. Well ok serenade and artists both were stretches, but I commend them all for effort. We were headed to see the home Andy grew up in when I realized the map was not exactly to scale. What appeared to be a couple blocks past the playhouse turned out to be many more.... So we took a shortcut back and met up with the others again. We stopped in Floyd's barber shop where Bob dared to get a hair cut.
That wasn't Floyd. Floyd was busy snapping polaroids of the folks that wanted their pictures on his walls. I believe someone said that Floyd had something like 20,000 pictures on his walls of visitors. Patty and Linda stopped in Opies Candy store and though I avoided that one it must have been something extra special cause they spent at least 20 minutes oogling the goods.
Bob and I had our eyes open for interesting souvenier to bring back to the gang. We did finally find something for everyone. Then it was time for lunch and it seemed that no one could decide. We ended up in a restaurant that had some good southern cooking. We then made our way through the emporium that was in the same building as the restaurant and encompassed 3 floors. It had some interesting items and the top floor had a line forming to get autographs from some of Mayberry's actors. James Best whom I recognized from The Dukes of hazard, but apparently had been in Mayberry at some point and Betty Lynn who played Thelma Lou.
Bob and I decided we'd had our fill of "Mayberry" and we let everyone know we were heading back to Winston-Salem. We drove across town and stopped at the old filling station and the courthouse. It was a hoot. Bob pretended to be Otis and locked himself in the jail sell, I have it on video but don't have a clue how to post it here.
It wasn't long before they showed up back at the motel and we decided to go out for dinner. We followed Ronnie and eventually we got to the restaurant which for some reason the name is escaping me at the moment. In the middle of dinner, now mind you this was a late dinner so near 9 pm, I received a phone call from the nursing agency that is responsible for the nursing care my daughter receives. The staffing coordinator calls to say a nurse has cancelled her shift for the next morning and they have no one to take her place. I'm furious! Bob and I don't get away for dinner or a date night because of the difficulties surrounding nursing care for Nickie. These few and far between times we are able to take mean far more than you can imagine.
Free Stuff from MM
Hey, y'all if you have not yet visited MM's site there is no time better than now! MM is giving away free crap! The instructions are simple. If you see something you have to have just pay it forward and tell MM what you will do for it. I think its a fantastic idea. Why don't you check it out? Happy bidding.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Up and down, down, down (part one)
Do you ever get so tired of life that you just want to sleep and never wake up? I feel like that right now. I'm so disgusted with life. I don't know how I can go from being up one week to down the next. Shit just keeps happening that I just can't understand. This should have been one of the happiest weekends for me but it just wasn't to be.
About two months ago I had made plans for Bob and I to travel to Mt. Airy, NC for the Mayberry days festival. I made reservations in Winston-Salem for a 4 day get away. I made all the necessary arrangements for 24 hour nursing care for Nickie. I asked Mom to watch Brandon and Jackie so that Bob and I could have a much needed break. If I haven't mentioned this before having a child that requires nursing care makes it difficult for us to get away for dinner much less 4 days. I made sure to ask the nurses I most trusted to be here for Nickie while we would be away. I was able to get everyone committed to the hours needed and I felt comfortable with the arrangements. To be cont'd
We invited his mom and dad and his sister and her husband to go back in time to the Andy Griffith show. I know it sounds corny but we were looking forward to the trip. I expected to spend one day in Mt. Airy seeing the sights and enjoying the quaint country town. I also wanted to spend a day in Old Salem. Learn about the Moravian culture and take tons of pictures.
We left Thursday stopping along the way for breakfast and snacks and arrived in Winston-Salem around 1 pm. I don't usually see beauty in the city but I really liked what I saw there. We got our selves all settled into our room and decided to take a walk downtown for lunch. It was a sweltering heat and the walk was all up hill yet I thoroughly enjoyed it. We found a nice cafe, Cat's Corner Cafe, and had a wonderful lunch. Bob ordered the Macho Nachos and I had a huge salad. We filled our bellies and decided to walk back to the room. I fell in love with this city.
I've never really cared much about architecture before but so many of the shapes just called to me.
This city just looked so much more beautiful than the one I see everyday.
I really considered moving there. Not such a good idea for Bob as it would mean starting all over with his business. My in-laws all arrived shortly after our walk back to the room.
We all got together at the Alive after Five concert where I was carded at the entry. I was on cloud nine that night after that. I thanked the woman for making my night. I only wish I'd thought to have my picture taken with her. I told her she was my new best friend. The music at the concert didn't really suit our tastes so we decided to walk to 4th street to see what was going on. We found a cabaret singer in a bar that we later decided must have been a gay bar. We laughed and sang along and had a few drinks. The walk back was all down hill and in the coolness of the night much easier than the walk up hill.
(Bob and my brother in-law Ronnie playing the "couple" so as not to be picked up by the others.)
It had been a long day and I was exhausted. It didn't take more than my head hitting the pillow before I was sound asleep.....to be cont'd.
About two months ago I had made plans for Bob and I to travel to Mt. Airy, NC for the Mayberry days festival. I made reservations in Winston-Salem for a 4 day get away. I made all the necessary arrangements for 24 hour nursing care for Nickie. I asked Mom to watch Brandon and Jackie so that Bob and I could have a much needed break. If I haven't mentioned this before having a child that requires nursing care makes it difficult for us to get away for dinner much less 4 days. I made sure to ask the nurses I most trusted to be here for Nickie while we would be away. I was able to get everyone committed to the hours needed and I felt comfortable with the arrangements. To be cont'd
We invited his mom and dad and his sister and her husband to go back in time to the Andy Griffith show. I know it sounds corny but we were looking forward to the trip. I expected to spend one day in Mt. Airy seeing the sights and enjoying the quaint country town. I also wanted to spend a day in Old Salem. Learn about the Moravian culture and take tons of pictures.
We left Thursday stopping along the way for breakfast and snacks and arrived in Winston-Salem around 1 pm. I don't usually see beauty in the city but I really liked what I saw there. We got our selves all settled into our room and decided to take a walk downtown for lunch. It was a sweltering heat and the walk was all up hill yet I thoroughly enjoyed it. We found a nice cafe, Cat's Corner Cafe, and had a wonderful lunch. Bob ordered the Macho Nachos and I had a huge salad. We filled our bellies and decided to walk back to the room. I fell in love with this city.
I've never really cared much about architecture before but so many of the shapes just called to me.
This city just looked so much more beautiful than the one I see everyday.
I really considered moving there. Not such a good idea for Bob as it would mean starting all over with his business. My in-laws all arrived shortly after our walk back to the room.
We all got together at the Alive after Five concert where I was carded at the entry. I was on cloud nine that night after that. I thanked the woman for making my night. I only wish I'd thought to have my picture taken with her. I told her she was my new best friend. The music at the concert didn't really suit our tastes so we decided to walk to 4th street to see what was going on. We found a cabaret singer in a bar that we later decided must have been a gay bar. We laughed and sang along and had a few drinks. The walk back was all down hill and in the coolness of the night much easier than the walk up hill.
(Bob and my brother in-law Ronnie playing the "couple" so as not to be picked up by the others.)It had been a long day and I was exhausted. It didn't take more than my head hitting the pillow before I was sound asleep.....to be cont'd.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
blog surfing
I wanted to make note of an interesting blog I found my way to this week. Post Secret
I don't know how many of you may have heard about it before but I think it is a fantastic idea. What a great way to be artistic and tell the world your secret anonymously.
I don't know how many of you may have heard about it before but I think it is a fantastic idea. What a great way to be artistic and tell the world your secret anonymously.
While house hunting
Today we saw yet another house that had false advertisement in the MLS listing. This one claimed to have an extra room unfinished to be used as a 4th bedroom or a den. What we found was a ranch style house with a hole in the ceiling for the attic crawl through.... that was the unfinished room, the attic. There was no way to install a stairway to get to it the best you could do was install pull down attic stairs. Now I wouldn't have bothered to drive the 50 minutes to look at this knowing it had only 3 bedrooms and no possibility of a 4th. I'm beginning to hate agents. Even though I am going through the classes now I've decided it isn't the job for me. I can't lie like these people lie and I am not interested in working 24/7 either. Anyhoo, I found this free loader on the property and wanted to share this picture.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Happy Birthday Nickie! I can't believe my baby girl is 15 today. Every birthday is a blessing and Nickie's birthdays are even more so. None of her doctors expected her to live beyond the age of 6. She has more than doubled that expectancy and I have no reason to believe she won't out live us all. That in and of itself brings concerns of who will care for her when I no longer can't. So I take each day as it comes and try not to think about what problems may come in the future. I'm so thankful that Nickie is here and that she was able yesterday to celebrate her Quinceniera. That is her 15th birthday celebration. It is like the sweet 16 that is celebrated here. So Nickie will receive that celebration as well next year. I love you Nickie!
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Challenge
OK! I want to challenge all of you out there. Its been almost 2 weeks since Katrina devastated the gulf coast. I wanted to do this sooner but I had to wait for our paycheck to come in before we could do this ourselves. I mailed out a check to the American Red cross yesterday for $200. It took a chunk of our paycheck taking from our household funds but it is something that we needed to do. We can cut back here for a couple weeks to give to those that lost everything. Now I know to some of you $200 is nothing and to others it is a fortune. Its not about the amount. Its about doing for others in desperate need. So my people, please give to help those in need. Choose the charity that you feel the most comfortable with but please give what you can. Oh, and don't forget prayers they can use everyone of them.
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