Great day for venting - tax day!

I went grocery shopping the oter day thinking it was the perfect day to do it. Why I think these things I don't know. Anyways, I do a big shop at No Frills in Casselman because the boys ate us out of house and home (well I think it was Jacob actually) and it is cheap there so I stock up on fruit, veg, and pantry items. I buy my meat elsewhere but I digress. I get up to the check out and she checks out a $100 worth which is a lot of groceries in a cheap place. She is almost done, 2 more limes to check out and it's over and her computer dies. She has to reboot. My items are lost. She looks at me and says "I will have to check all that in again" as I look at my packed groceries in my Earth friendly bags, the packing was done by moi. I am not packing them again and I say "Can't you use the receipt that is almost finished to reenter numbers and she says "yes!", thank god. I am not sure how long it took her but we were there a while. She kept apologizing and I kept saying "what can one do?". I knew then that I should go home and not go anywhere but what did I do? I went to Loeb, I mean Metro as it is now called. I picked up some meat and on sale items and as the "quick" cashier (16 itmes or less) ran the juice over the scanner I saw that the regular price came up. I told her it wasn't the sale price and I could not remember exactly how much it was but I knew it was on sale. She looked at me and said "Do you expect me to remember every item on sale in this place?". It was laughable. I looked at her and said "I do not work here, you do. So yes." Then she didn't offer to go get the price and I told her to leave it out. Then as she ran the next item over the scanner the price did not even come up and she grunted"I will have to go get that price. Grunt again". I told her to not waste her energy and leave that out as well. Can you believe this? ha Not the perfect day to go grocery shopping.
Jacob has his glasses!!! He got them yesterday and was excited, then he decided he wasn't wearing them, then he got excted again. Hormones......He took them to school today so that's a good sign.
Had another guy over for a AC unit quote yesterday, he will call me with it before Friday. Nice guy and local too so we'll see. I want to order one on Monday regardless. Two local guys are in the running so that's a good thing.

Girlfriends are like oxygen.....

Without friends I do not know where I would be or who I would be. I am a lucky person in that I have always had good friends in my life. There have always been supportive kind positive people around me - what a blessing. I have never been able to figure out if I attract good people or if good people are attractive to me but I feel like I can read people and tell if they are genuine or not. Genuine people turn me on, always have. If you are fake or not living a real life then we would never be close friends. I may feel sympathy or empathy for you and you would definitely know where I stand with you. But we would not be friends. In my past I have been very judgemental and I am still working on that because I know I have no right to judge others. That is something I will keep working on.
After spending a weekend with my close girlfriends I cannot stop thinking about how important they have been and are in my life. When you can laugh so hard with someone as well as cry with someone while they hugging you then you know you have a good friend. I wish that for everyone. Spending quality time with them was like breathing fresh air. I haven't laughed that hard in years. My ribs were hurting from all the laughing. The snotting and bawling were a stress reliever too but a necessity when sharing stories of the past 20 years.
I do not understand women putting other women down - be supportive and loving and reap the benefits. When you have strong women around you supporting you at every turn, good or bad, it only makes you a stronger woman.

A piece of normality

Jason was loading up his pill box the other night and as I was watching him he said "Stop it". And of course I said "Stop what?" He said "you are hovering!" and I asked him if that bothered him. Of course it did. I asked him if he was getting fed up with my hovering. He said yes. Finally! After 10 months he is sick of my constant watching, leaning, viewing, hovering, asking.....are we getting close to "normal"? Jason has been so patient these past 10 months, way more patient than I would be. I know he is a bit pissed off that this has happened but he accepts it none the less. I was majorly pissed off after I knew he was going to stick around with me but over these months I have started to accept it too. It is done. All we can do is move forward. I could not stop grinning after he told me to stop hovering. I have missed the smart ass remarks, the wit, the banter. Sometimes he'll got there with me but he doesn't stay there long. I don't want him stressed but I do want that laughter back.
Speaking of laughter, we went to NDMC for another appointment yesterday and as we were walking in Jason says behind me "Something just shi* on me". I turn around and there is bird poop on his head, on the inside of his glasses , down over his coat and we noticed later on the back of his coat. Apparently when a bird poops on you it is considered a good thing. You are lucky. Well, Jason, we all knew that already!

Another hurdle jumped

On Thursday Jason passed his road test with his driving instructor and his examiner from the Rehab Centre - one more success in a line of successes! I was so happy for him and so proud. Jason treated the whole thing like "yes, I am happy but I have been driving since I was 17 yrs old so what's the big deal?". He still has no idea how close he was to not being here. That first night in the CCU he was hooked up to more tubes and machines than you will ever see on ER, he was swollen beyond anything I had ever seen, he was not breathing on his own, he had a fever, 5 broken ribs, infected lungs, one punctured.....I list these things but I refuse to go back there. It is only a list in my mind. But on Thursday I started to see more light come in, as I have slowly but surely over the past 10 months (almost). My heart was swollen with pride instead of pain and it felt good. Thanks to all our family and friends who have and still are supporting us and Jacob - it means the world. Tom called because he remembered his test was that day and I could have cried. Audrey cried. Kim shouted with joy. Alma, Denise and Heather hugged him. Dennis was so happy for him. We all celebrate.
Also on Thursday we got eavestroughs installed!! Who knew I could be so happy about eavestroughs? Now central air is next. I am looking at a one and half ton Rudd (R410A), 14 SEER, for $2500. This is my lowest quote but is this a good buy? Does anyone know?

We spent our Easter with the Snooks, Mullins and Staceys' which was absolutely wonderful - a piece of home. There was pork roast, potatoes, turnip, broccoli and even goose which I tried! It was good. Jason really like it. What a delicious meal. For desserts a single available woman named Wendy made lemon cheesecake and it tasted like lemon meringue pie! It was amazing. She also made "Sex In a Pan" and cookies but I stuck to the lemon cheesecake. Jason has been quieter since his heart attack but he made plenty of noise when he tasted the "Sex In A Pan". ha He really enjoyed spending time at the Snook household. Jacob played with all the kids and I got to talk and talk and talk. A good time was had by all.
Jason's foot is still hurting, not as bad as before but still hurting. That rheulatologist appt in May can't come soon enough, I hope he has a good plan for Jason. I do not like seeing him in any pain.
I have had some good days and some bad days. Bad moments really. When I start to think about everything I get overwhelmed still but I have gotten better at stopping myself from going there. Before those anxiety attacks just came and took their course but I am able to feel them coming now and handle them. They lessen when I consciously think about something else or do something else which is a good thing. It will take a lot of time I think. But it isn't as bad as it was.
My winter tires have to come off now and I should have watched Tony closer when he changed them in the fall. I want to learn all these things myself and I know that will take time as well. The taxes have to be done as well and I have alot of the owrk done thanks to my sister-in-law. Now I have to get around to entering them into the computer......
We watched Bedtime Stories over the long weekend - excellent movie for kids. We all liked it. I got my hair cut and foiled (see Facebook) which I really needed done. I looked at it when she was done and I thought - I look more familiar to myself. Weird or what? Now I have to work on getting some weight off.

Glasses and visit

On Monday Jacob and I went to the optometrist. What a difference a prescription can make! As he was being tested he missed a few letters on the wall but after the goggles were adjusted (it took a long time, very thorough) Jacob could read the smallest line of letters on the wall! Bravo. So we have the prescription, now the frames. We looked at everything and he finally found one pair that fit him well and that suited him. So we put those on hold and will go looking this weekend in Ottawa. Just to check out other places. It is hard because the kid glasses are too small and the adults are too big. I am glad we have a pair on hold. Jacob was really good about it too which made everything easier.
Jason has another bout of gout in his left toe. He just got over one episode last week and it is back. We went to NDMC yesterday and sick parade was pretty good, not a long wait at all. I wonder if the "how did we do?" survey that was new had anything to do with it or do they finally have some extra staff to help? Anyways, the doc said yes it's gout and prescribed another round of prednisone - hopefully this takes care of it. She also prescribed Lid Care for his left eye which has been red for quite a while, not pink eye like it was first diagnosed. The doc thinks it is blepharitis which may have been caused by his hospital staff, or the drugs he is on. All he has to do is wash his eye lid 2x a day and that should help. She said the military covered it but they do not.
At the pharmacy while waiting for pills the pharmacist told me that she still ahdn't gotten the misprescribed pill situation figured out about his ramipril (he is taking them 2X a day (which is normal) but on the pill bottle it says once a day and we were not told of the change. She had problems contacting his cardiologist so I marched down to his office and asked his technician about it and he got right on it. Eventually asking me about it with his heart doc and the heart doc thought it should be 2x a day too so he fixed that up. Then he asked about Jason and I told him about the gout so then he cut his spironolactone in half to see if that was the culprit causing the problem and tols us to come back for a follow up in May. I hope this works.
So back to the pharmacy I go with a new presciption and then I suggest Jason gets his INR test done, seens he is waiting so long for his drugs. He goes and gets that done (comes back 2.6 which is great). From entry to exit we were 3 hours in NDMC. Whew. But things got fixed or partially resolved anyway.
Then I went to Stella's spa and got my hair cut and eyebrows waxed (which has not been done since last May) - that was a treat. I love my new do, I really needed a treat. Then I headed over to the Snooks to visit with Nan and Pop Stacey and Heather and the kids! They came and surprised Denise and Tony! She had let me in on the secret and I was so excited to see them all. Last night we all went over and it was so good to visit with everybody. A better evening.

Friends and eyeballs

On Friday friends came by in the evening and on Saturday a bunch of us got together at Dennis and Tracy's for a wicked meal - chicken parmigiana. Tracy is an amazing cook so we all enjoyed that and I need her recipe. We laughed alot that night and I know Jason had a good time. There was one story he stopped us and said I don't remember so I started going over the story. He said no, I don't remember the people who were throwing the party. Now he only met them that one time so we explained who they were and kept going. It is so easy when you are with good friends, isn't it?
I have to take Jacob to the optometrist this morning - wish him luck! He is happy he gets to miss some school but he is disappointed it is during spelling and communication skills! ha He also wanted to go in before (his appt is at 10am) so he would not miss a French class. I love his nerdy ways.

Making a Spectacle out of Yourself

We picked up Jacob at school this morning and took him to the doc to burn 2 more plantars warts (same area as last time) so that should be the end of them little buggers, I hope. Jacob was really good while she was doing it and then he threw the leftovers over his sneakers for a big finish. I then mentioned what he told me the night before - he was having trouble seeing all the writing on the whiteboard from the back of the class. So she had his eyes tested (informally) and he will need glasses. So I booked an optometrist appt for him for the 17th (close to the house!). Jacob asked the doc when he would need to wear them (recess? outdoors?) and she said just in class. He thought that was ok. He also said he wanted cobalt coloured frames. How does an eleven year old boy come up with this? I was hoping he would never have to join the bespectacled group of four eyes but alas it will happen. Puberty is a wicked fiend.
I had her look at my spots on my forehead as well and she thinks one may be skin cancer, maybe not so she is sending me to a dermatologist for that. Now one time that would have made my stomach churn up into my mouth but that news didn't make me feel anything but mild concern and glad that she is giving me a referral. Jacob getting glasses would have at one time made me feel like I failed him somehow (with my imperfect vision genes) but now it just makes me think - accessory! Perspective can really make you mature, hmmmmm.
Jason had his fourth driving lesson today an dall went well. He will have two more and then his road test. He has improved with every lesson so I am crossing my fingers and legs for his upcoming road test.
I managed to touch up the paint chips on the truck and today I will try and clear coat them. Not a perfect job but I am stifiling my Type A personality and letting it go. Life is not about perfection.
Jason is still forgetting a few things from time to time but he is also remembering more than he has in previous months. The neurons are still reconnecting....