Friday, June 28, 2013

Easy Come, Easy Go Update/Generoisty of Others

In a previous post I had mentioned that the lawnmower and weed eater was broken and dental bills took the money we had saved for home improvements.

 As mentioned before, Hubby works at a Do It Yourself Home Improvement store. He is able to watch for sales. You wouldn't imagine how many people will bring an appliance to be repaired and never return to get it. Or how may appliances are damaged when they come from the warehouse. Hence they are sold at a discounted price.

On Memorial weekend, there was a 10% off sale and because he is a Veteran, he received an additional 10% off plus his employee discount.

A stand up freezer was one of my wishes when we moved here.  It wasn't a priority but finally had the space to put one. I hated having to figure out how much I could buy that would fit in the puny freezer of the refrigerator. It drove Hubby crazy when I tried cramming more than the freezer held.

He saw a freezer that was on clearance. He knew it wouldn't stay long because we've paused several deals missing out.  The only thing wrong with it was a few dents here and there which wouldn't be visible as they were on the side. And the vent was crushed at the bottom. I tried talking the salesperson down more from the already ridiculously low price before the discounts.

Hey! You can't blame a girl for trying!   He said we could call the manufacturer and they would probably send another vent.

Also, we had to get a lawnmower. The grass was growing and needed to be mowed badly. I left the decision to Hubby as he knows more about lawnmowers than I do. I assumed he would think of me when he bought it because I don't mind mowing grass.  He bought a Husqvarna which is nice and I can start it with a key. However, it is one of those mowers you have to constantly keep your foot on the gas pedal all the way down for it to move. I can do it (and will( but its hard and tiring. Hubby even said it is tiring for him. But we got it a good price and it is one of the best that we could afford.

He brought the weed eater to get repaired. It took them 2 weeks to repair it as they needed to order a part.

Later in the afternoon the day our purchases were delivered  Hubby checked the freezer  more than I did. I was just so excited and scheming how I would fill it up and with what!

We noticed that there were no dents and the vent was not crushed. Hubby said the delivery guy must have grabbed the new one as on their ticket they just have the make and model. So we got a brand new freezer similar to this.







So we got two things off the list, not in the time frame we would have liked but its our life.

But then Monday, I get a telephone call from BFF from college. We had enjoyed a BBQ at their home Saturday.

She exclaimed, "Hey, I hope you don't get mad at me."

You have to know my college BFF is a wonderful person. She has been a real friend to me. We had a lapse of communication for years due to  a misunderstanding but we reconnected and it is so nice. I love her dearly.

Her and her hubby are a pair of selfless generous people I've ever know. I am not kidding you.

"Umm...I doubt if I will be mad at you. What did you do?", I responded.

She explained her and Hubby wanted to give us a  house warming gift. I thought and said certain words, okay, not necessary and not expected but I know how she is so I was rolling with it. I was thinking a clock or picture? Something nice but not as big as what it actually is.

She said she ordered it and it will be delivered Wednesday. She went on to say if I didn't like it or the color I could call and exchange it within 48 hours or get what I wanted.

I kept thinking and saying, "Y'all didn't have to do this." She said she knew that but she was blessed and they could do this. She loved us and wanted to help us out.

Like she didn't help me before?? She had already given me a sofa and recliner when I left my ex because once again I had no furniture years ago. I know if I called her she would be there in any way she could. And I would for her certainly.

She continued to explain the store would call the next day to make arrangements etc. I was overwhelmed and surprised. i was choked up with tears. So I asked her if she was going to tell me what it was. At first she said it would be a surprise but then she relented so I'll know what it was supposed to be.

Well they were delivered yesterday. They are two reclining chairs. Very nice.



How do you say thank you and much it is appreciated it in words. To really convey how much their generosity and thoughtfulness means to us?

Has anyone done anything so nice and thoughtful for you?




Monday, June 24, 2013

Dream: Hubby Disappears at Posh Wedding

I've had some weird dreams and I often try to interpret them but sometimes there is so much in my dream and the scenes are changed frequently.

Last night I had a dream that Hubby and I were at a very elegant wedding. It was seemingly a very posh venue and hotel. The bride and groom were all cool, calm and collected. The bride was walking around in her gown and veil nonchalantly picking up and reading magazines and chatting with people. The groom was just relaxed mingling.

The venue consisted of several stories with stairs with no rails.  I was in a ballroom dress (which is really a dream for hubby) and Hubby was in a nice 3 piece suit. My whole family was there. Aunts, uncles, mom, dad, sister and her family.

Hubby and I were walking up stairs to get food, Maybe the reception was before the wedding?

Hubby said he had to go to the restroom before we went eat and left me standing there. So I waited. And waited. And waited.

I walked to the men's restroom and asked a gentleman to see if Hubby was in there. He wasn't. So I started searching for him. As I was on my search, I found a room with seemingly hundreds of tables  a of food. The food was unknown and I thought it was weird. People were at tables eating and talking. I found some of my family so I sat and ate still wondering where Hubby was.

Everyone was asking where he was.  I was getting peeved. I started searching again after I ate.

I encountered an area where  the groom announced he wanted to give his bride a gift. He looked below a balcony where the pool was. The pool was so blue and beautiful. The Groom nodded and a bunch of young men started covering the pool with a cement, something like when they cover the baseball fields when it rains.  Everyone applauded. I was so confused.

Everyone returned to mingle and my search continued for Hubby. But I looked down where the pool once was and there was a gang of boys beating up one boy. They had several on each side and kept pushing the boy back and forth between the groups. I kept telling everyone we needed to stop them. But no one did and the scene changed.

Do realize I was walking around most of the dream.

I then had to go to the restroom and my feet were tired from walking so much. When I go to the restroom, a janitor lady gave me a slip of paper to put on the door while I was using it.

Scene changed.

Obviously the wedding was over as people were walking to the exits. I had evidently went attend the wedding without Hubby. As I reached the bottom there I spot Hubby with his hands in his pockets strolling towards me. I stopped, folded my arms across my chest and glared at him.

He reached me and asked, "What?"

My temper blew. I said, "What? Where the hell were  you?"

With a confused look CALM voice he answered, "I was karaoking."

I was livid.

I yelled, "Karaoke? Are you f'ing serious? What is the matter with you? You missed the reception! you missed the wedding! You left me on the top of the stairs. You ruined our night!

He responds, " I wasn't gone that long!"

I screamed "Not gone that long? You were gone all freaking night!

I woke up.

First of all Hubby doesn't karaoke.

Second, He wouldn't just leave me like that.

Third, I wouldn't be in a ballroom gown.

It was weird and when I wake up from dreams like that I am drained. And wake up ticked off. I tell Hubby the dream and it is all better.

But Gawd! I hate those dreams!



Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Atlanta Hosts Show Unbecoming Character Towards a Saints ALS Player

Unless you live under a rock, I am sure you have heard.

Yesterday on an Atlantic Falcon flagship radio station three Atlanta radio hosts made fun of a man with ALS. This man happens to be a former New Orleans Saints player, Steve Gleason.

Thankfully, they were eventually fired.  Don't understand why it seemed it took so long for that decision???

You can hear the video here.

It was just downright cruel.

But does that surprise any of us with a disability? Hell no!  Although it is not as public for us, we all get it in some shape or form.

I think this incident goes over and beyond what some of us go through. It was a seemingly planned skit.  A lot of thought came into that skit.

I wonder how they would feel if someone did what they did if they had a family member with such a debilitating disability.

I ask myself over and over, "What were they thinking?"

In my opinion, these men showed their true characters and it is not becoming at all.

I also wonder what the management of the station was thinking. Don't they have a lapse time where they can edit what they say on radio? It should have been stopped or prevented from even getting on air.

It is outrageous. I can't say it enough.

I am so angry I can't even put it into words.

Nothing they do will ever make it right.  They will be remembered for a very long time in such a negative way. Their families will suffer because of their actions.

However I think there are some things these three unprofessional morons can do to try to show how sorry they are, if they truly are.

I think each of them should be put into a wheelchair for only a day as similar as any ALS person like Steve and attempt to do the things they made fun of. Let them feel at least a fraction of how hard it is. Let them believe they have a fatal disease for a day, something ALS has to think about. Every. Single. Day.

They need to go to clinics and hospitals to spend time with patients with debilitating disabilities.

Each of them should personally visit Steve, if he even would allow it and give a heartfelt apology and explain to him and his family what they were thinking. I don't know if I would even want to hear their apologies or see their faces. But it would be an attempt.

Each of them should face America and apologize to everyone for their behavior.

When football season arrives, the three hosts should be made to sit in the middle of the Saint's audience during the Atlanta Falcons/Saints game. Ironically, that is our first game of the season.

The good people the Saints Fans are, they wouldn't hurt them physically. They would just make them feel uncomfortable and scared, like every person who has a debilitating disease like ALS feels.

And as other media has mentioned. Each of the men should donate a large amount of money to Steve's Foundation.

I just keep shaking my head in wonderment of how LOW some people can go.



Friday, June 14, 2013

Priest Hard to Understand

I've been to many churches and listened to many sermons.

Since Hubby and I have started going back to church, we've noticed our Pastor has been absent often and another Pastor substitutes.

This past Sunday, when a substitute Pastor was walking to the altar, I noticed he walked very slowly with maybe a limp. Wasn't sure with the robe covering up. I didn't have a second thought about it at that time. He was an older gentleman. As he began mass, I assume he was summarizing what the mass is about as it is usually done, I could not understand what he was saying. No one did. We were trying so hard.

At first I thought it was a heavy accent or he was talking Latin as Latin Masses are popping up more. I kept trying to understand him but it was no use. I couldn't even follow him by the Missalette for the most part.

Then I thought well maybe he has a really bad speech defect, which I can relate.  I gave him compassion.  And I tried harder.

For his sermon, the normally attentive elders were falling asleep and reading the bulletin. Although that is not all that unusual in itself because every week you see people nodding of. I felt sorry for him.   I was concentrating to try to understand him but it was impossible. He made the sermon a very short 5 minutes vs the usual 15 minutes.

Maybe he knew or saw that he lost most of the congregation's attention.

During the Eucharist Prayer, I was able to follow him in the Missalette and noticed the pronunciation of his words were a little off and he skipped some words.

Three thoughts came to mind: 

1) He was an older Priest. As we grow older, everything slows down. Maybe had a stroke or something that affected his speech. 

2) It did not look like he was from here so maybe he had a heavy accent. 

3) As No. 1, maybe he had a speech defect of some sort because of another cause.

When mass was ended, everyone was asking each other, if they understood the Pastor. No one did.

In my religion, except for the Readings and Sermon, everything else is repetition and easy to follow in the Missalette.

I felt so much compassion and empathy for him because I know how it feels to be misunderstood. 

It made me think. As a young girl I always wanted to be a Reader but never volunteered. The reasons were:

I) I know I have a speech defect.  You see I have the annoying "CP drawl" you may already know if you have read some of my previous posts. People who don't know me sometimes have a hard time understanding me although to me I talk reasonably well.


I would be disappointed and embarrassed if the people didn't understand me. They can read along silently but if I would go up to read I would want to be understood completely and there is a chance of that not happening.


My mom put me through years of speech therapy. I hated it with a passion but thankfully she made me go!

2) The big deal breaker is walking to the altar for the readings. There are 2-3 stairs without rails and I could just see myself tripping and tumbling down. I would be royally doomed because when I am nervous, my spasticity goes haywire causing me my coordination a lot more than normal.

Anyway I admire this Pastor for the courage to be up there to say a mass even if he had an idea he may not have been understood.

Have any of you encountered a service such as this? I would love for you to share your story.


Thursday, June 6, 2013

My Past Thunderous Thursday

First I want to apologize to those who got this in your email the other day. My darn spastic finger hit publish instead of save. I needed to edit it. SO anyway....

Thursday was crazy. I had to go the doctor for a problem that developed. I had to travel to my home town I grew up in which according to Map quest is 42.3 miles or 57 minutes from where I live.  Between my current home and my home town I have to pass through the big city I lived before I moved here. You know. The one I hated the traffic and had the outrageous neighbors?

I heard thunder and the skies were black. It was a little after lunch so I decided to get a head start. As I was gathering my purse and keys the skies opened and rain came pouring.  Of course, it can't just be a shower. It was a full blown storm with visibility almost to nothing.

When I made it to the big city I hate to drive in, it was bumper to bumper. The rain was plummeting small balls of hail. The thunder roared and the lighting was striking so close I would jump. I am not afraid of the weather. It just startled me.

Visibility wasn't all that great so cars were going at a slow pace except for a few morons. You know the kind of morons that speed regardless and go nowhere ready because of the traffic jam.. I have to laugh because most of us meet up with them at the lights. Actually some drivers stopped on the side of the road.

With my nerves on edge and my hands and neck stiff from the tension, I finally made it out of that city about 45 minutes later. It should have taken me the most 15 minutes.  

I saw I might be a little late.  I was 26 miles away and had 15 minutes before my appointment. I gave the doctor's office a courtesy call and explained I was on my way but was going to be a little late with traffic and rain. She retorted, "Well it better not be too late because he is leaving soon. He only came in for a few of you." 

Excuse me? I was a little peeved. I thought I was being courteous letting them know I was going to be a little late. How many times have I had to wait over my time for my appointment? It's not like I left at the last minute. I arrived 10 minutes late. Ten minutes after I sat I was called to the examining room. I mentioned it to the doctor which he apologized for the way his worker abrasively responded. I  obtained my diagnosis, and prescriptions and went along my merry way. 

Thankfully, the storm slowed although didn't stop. I made it back to my Hated Big City and went to the  pharmacy. I've gone to them for years. I've noticed there has been a major change in staff and the last few times they've been unprofessional and laughing loudly and farting around while customers waited which in turn, makes the waiting time longer. 

It took them 20 minutes to find a cream, a box of patches and one pill that was already prepackaged and slap the label on them.  If they had not been laughing and talking about when they wanted off it probably would have taken 5 minutes as I was the only one in there and one at drive through. I understand that they had to put it through my insurance but it still shouldn't have taken that long. I wouldn't have bothered me so much if they hadn't been playing around.

After going through that I had one more stop before heading home. I had to get supper. There is a fast food chicken restaurant we  go to because they have awesome chicken, mashed potatoes and coupons! We can get 5 pieces of chicken, two sides and two biscuits for 5 bucks!  You can't beat that..

There are two locations on the same highway, about 15 minutes away from each other.

I decided to go the one that was closest to my home which is about 15 minutes bypassing the other location. The few times we had gone to this one, we've had one problem or another. Butt I figure give them another chance. Maybe things got better.

I drive up to order. I wait about 1/2 minute. Nothing is coming out of the intercom.

So I say, "Hellllooo!"

A voice announces, "We'll be with you."

I watched my digital clock in my car, a minute passes. Still nothing.

"Helloooooo" I shout getting more impatient.

Voice responses, "We'll be right with you."

I played the Twilight zone theme in my head, you know. DodoDoDoDo...and watched the clock.

Another minute pass and another....

I then say, "Anyone there????"

The voice answers, "Yes, we'll be with you!"

Another minute goes by and another...

That was 5-1/2 minutes and that is no exaggerations.

I thought: Screw this! I drove around. I saw one car at the window. The employee looked at me and I just raised my head like "WTH?" and drove off.

They have lost my business.

I backtracked and went to the location we always go to which I should have done in the first place. It was about 5 miles.

I drove up , there were 3 cars ahead of me...It went smoothly. From the time I got in line to getting my order it was 3 minutes.

Remember there was no one in front of me at the first location except for the one at the window. I waited 5 minutes and still hadn't given my order. I go to the other one, with three other cars ahead of me it took 3 minutes.

What is wrong with that picture?

I did compliment the girl, who worked the window at the second location and told them they did a good job. I've seen her every time I have gone there and sometimes when the intercom is not working right or she can't understand me she says, "Hun, please drive up!" They are always pleasant and courteous.  I will be going the extra miles to this location.

Once hubby went and got down. It was very busy and they had ran out of chicken. Since the customers had to wait longer than usual, the manager gave them a free drink for the inconvenience. 

Needless to say I wrote complaint letters to the pharmacy and the location that I didn't even get my order and a complimentary letter to the faster location. 

Share your story about your experiences you may have had similar to mine with the doctor's office, pharmacy or restaurant.

And as always I appreciate your loyalty to reading my blog whether you comment or not.






Update on Post Regarding: Embarrassment because of CP in FAMILY AND FRIENDS

After a previous post I continued to read the thread on the Cerebral Palsy group.  It disturbed me to see how many others with CP were seen by family members.

I was feeling hurt for these parents. I felt like the embarrassment was directly pointed towards me. On the other hand, I continued to think how God blessed me with such a loving and compassionate daughter.

I needed to call her. There was a deep longing to talk to her. When I heard her voice I started crying. I don't know why.  I really can't explain it.

As I was blubbering I thanked her. All she heard was me crying. She couldn't understand me. It is hard to understand me when I am crying and upset.  Concerned, she kept asking, "Mom, what's wrong?"  I heard some panic in her voice. She thought something happened.

After I calmed down, and took some deep breaths. ( That's our instruction to each other when we are upset) I thanked her for being such a good daughter and explained to her why I was upset. She said it is okay and she loved and appreciated me the way I am.

I needed confirmation though and asked her to be completely honest and tell me if she was ever embarrassed by my CP. She said absolutely not. She didn't think much about it except for when it was hard for me to do something but never embarrassed.

She also reminded me that when she was in 4-H she did a presentation on Cerebral Palsy so maybe others would understand. She doesn't remember the day she stood up for me. But I certainly do because it was that moment that I knew she would be okay with a Mom having CP.

Anyway, regardless how that thread upset me, in the end it made my daughter and I bond even closer. If that is even possible.

Every day I thank God for my daughter. But I have added a thanks for not just the daughter he gave me but for the loving, compassionate person she is.