All About Mom (My American Idol!)

 

Mom is moving to a new Memory Care facility tomorrow, and it's just down the street.  I will easily be able to visit as much as I want. 

Right now, I'm trying to design the shadow box that will be right outside her room.  To help me get ready to do that, I'm going to tell you some things that make my mom specialShe.

1. Mom was born on the Naval Base in San Diego, California in the early 1940's.  Her family moved to Iowa soon after where her favorite activity was sledding.

2.  Her favorite animal is a cat, specifically HER two cats.

3.  She met my dad in San Antonio, and when she saw him, she told herself, "I'm going to marry that man."

4.  My mom and dad used to go square dancing.  When she decided to get a new square dance dress, she gave the old one to us girls to play dress-up (similar to the one pictured).  It was my favorite thing!

5. They also used to go to hoe-downs and would sometimes bring my sister and me.

6.  Mom was on a bowling league in the early 70's.

7.  Mom (and her mother too) used to wear wigs in the late 60's and early 70's. It was common then.  I would wear one if it didn'tget so hot.

8.  She almost died after having rotator cuff surger.  They used morphine, which she is allergic to.Mom  that had lots of pretty sequin designs and a special color sequin on each day of the year that is significant to us.

9.  One of mom's rare skills was playing the accordian. She still has it, too!

10.  Mom used to make us calendars  that had lots of pretty sequin designs and a special color sequin on each day of the year that is significant to us.

11.  She also used to use Artex Embroidery Paints, and I loved it when she would let me paint.

12.  She was a Campfire Girls troop leader when we were young.

13.  Mom got her Bachelor's Degree and teacher certification at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.  It's the largest Catholic College in Texas... and she isn't even Catholic!  Go figure!

P.S. SHE BEAT CANCER TWICE!!!!! Lung cancer 2008 and breast cancer 2010,  Amazing!

For more fun, visit Thursday Thirteen.

Fun Photos: I Have Flowers!

My Amaryllis and my orchids are blooming! I don't have a green thumb, so I don't know how they are blooming, but here is the evidence:

For more fun photos, visit Image-in-ing and Wordless Wednesday

It's a Random Tuesday and I'm Looking for Reasons to be Happy

 

It's been a rough six weeks or so around here!  Mom in the hospital, then rehab, then memory care, then moving to a different memory care this week where she can hopefully feel safe, comfortable, and loved.  Bonus:  She will be 5 minutes away from me.

Covid hit us like a Mack truck, and we are both still coughing and having upper respiratory symptoms even though it's been a few weeks and we are negative. I have some other health issues where I might need to have an outpatient surgery.  More on that later... maybe.

So, let's just get into the funnies now before I start feeling depressed!

And I will end on that note!  Check out Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts.

The Last 13 Books that I Have Read

 I'm currently reading Verity by Colleen Hoover (not a fan of it yet, and I'm 1/2 in already), but sometimes I love the books I'm reading, and other times, well, they're duds.  Here's what I've been reading lately.  Star ratings of 1 to 5 with 5 being best.

Cupcakes and Conspiracies by Katherine Hayton.  4 stars.  A cute cozy mystery.  Book 1 in the Sweet Baked Mysteries series.

Mother's Day by Dennis McDougal.  3 stars.  A true crime book about the worst person to ever call herself a mother.

City Dark by Roger A. Canaff.  2 stars. A fictional crime mystery about a missing mother.  Don't waste your time.

The Good Wife:  The Shocking Betrayal and Brutal Murder of a Godly Woman in Texas by Clint Richmond. 3 stars.  A true crime novel set in Austin, Texas.  A mix of business and religion as backdrops.

Strawberries and Suffering by Katherine Hayton.  3 stars.  Cozy mystery.  Second book in the Sweet Baked Mysteries series. Not as good as the first.

The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham.  4 stars.  Mostly I just like Grisham's writing.  The story was interesting, but definitely not believable.  A  legal thriller with a mix of crime and politics.

The Moonlight Mill Murders of Steubenville, Ohio by Susan M. Guy.  2 stars.  A true crime incident that occured on December 5, 1933 and a bunch of other garbage.

A Question of Murder:  Compelling Cases from a Famed Forensic Pathologist by Cyril Wecht. 3 stars. Five of Wecht's actual cases.  He got a little too personally involved in some of these in my opinion.  I got tired of it after the third one.  And Wecht is extremely arrogant.

Death Sentence:  The Inside Stories of the John List Murders by Joe Sharkey.  4 stars.  Grim true crime reading, but I had read a book about John List years ago, and this one was more detailed and accurate.

The Decision to Kill:  A True Crime Story of a Teenage Killer and the Mother who Loved Him by Leslie Ghiglieri.  2 stars.  The author was a friend of the family, and way too much sympathy was drummed up for the criminal rather than the victim.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban by J. K. Rowling.  5 stars.  Pure fantasy fiction and the best book of the series in my opinon.

We the Jury by Robert Rotstein. 3 stars.  A fictional book reminiscent of 12 Angry Men, but not nearly s good.  A very catty jury that demonstrates how people's minds can see the same issue in different ways, but not as good as it could have been.

The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory.  4 stars.  Part of the Platagenet and Tudor historial fiction series.  Not as good at the next few that follow which I would rank at five stars, but obviously pretty good.  She's a fantastic author and does great research!  I also like reading the author notes.

Find more lists at Thursday Thirteen.

Yes, It's Been Three Weeks

 

Well... it was bound to happen!  Has it been three years since COVID first hit the U.S.?  I knew it was inevitable that, at some point, I would get it.

I think my immune system is shot due to all the stress from situations beyond my control, because COVID hit me hard!  Punched me right in the face! (super high fever, heart palps, dizziness, regular cold symptoms, splitting headache, terrible aching all over, tender lymph nodes, low BP - which is usually high, and nausea.  I saw a telehealth doctor, and showed her my positive result, but she would not prescribe me anything.  She said to go to the ER.  She was a big waste of time and $50.

It's probably good that I went, though. I went to the free-standing ER (I know... more expensive), but I didn't want to sit in a nasty waiting room for hours then lay on a gurney in the hall for a few more hours like my mom had to do recently.  If you have an Ally Medical Emergency Room near you, I highly recommend it!  I was seen immediately, and they were very thorough and absolutely amazing people!  They gave me IV fluids and medicine, got my fever down some, monitored my BP and oxygen, and checked out my heart (I have a bicuspid aortic valve).

My stress level is through the roof because my poor mom has been in the hospital then medical rehab since February 15.  Bless her heart.  She is being released tomorrow, and we were down to the wire over the arrangements.  My sister and I made the difficult decision that she needs memory care (dementia/Alzheimer's/aphasia).  Gosh it hurts to see my mom like this!  LOOOOONG story about what has happened to her in the last month, so I'll save that for another day.

I am thinking of doing an Alzheimer's fundraiser on The Longest Day, but I'm not sure what to do.  I don't want to just ask for money.  Remember when we used to get people to pledge a certain amount per minute/object?  Like in a walkathon, people would pledge 50¢ a mile.  I'd love to do something with crafts.  Or some type of class where friends could come to learn to do something and pay a small fee for the class.  Please take my one question survey about possible fundraising ideas!

And I will give you a few funnies...

ME!!!

So true!

And last, but not least...

Have a great week!  And for more fun visit Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts.