I'm Counting Down the Minutes

Today is my last day at work until Friday, January 2 (Woo Hoo). I haven't taken off this much time in I can't remember when. I have a very long list of things I'd like to get done while I'm off and as usual, I'll be lucky if I get half of them done. Next Tuesday I'm meeting Brittany at the Scrapbook Barn in Carrollton to work on our albums, so I'm looking forward to spending the day together. I've had Photoshop Elements on my computer for months with the intention of learning how to use it, so that's at the top of my "To Do" list.

Muddy Paw Prints AGAIN

It's that fun time of the year again where our backyard is muddy and full of leaves. Since Dakota is a tomboy and loves to be outside no matter how cold and nasty, it is, I'm constantly cleaning the kitchen and dining room floor. As soon as the door is opened, leaves blow in. She loves to get her paws so muddy that she has to be put into the bathtub to get them clean and it has earned her the name "Miss Piggy."

Gaylord Texan

Inside the atrium of the Gaylord

This was their 3-month anniversary

Gaylord Ice 2008

Bears

It's 9 Degrees in Here !


Tunnel of Lights


The last exhibit

This was the second time Bret and I had been to this exhibit but Brittany and Randall had never been. We had a great time and it was much more fun with them than going by ourselves.

Thanksgiving 2008

The Bird

Leon & Wynell, Gracie

Bret

This year Thanksgiving was kind of a letdown for me since there were only 5 of us and that's a lot of work - cooking for 7 hours on Thanksgiving morning for only 5. Mom was not ready to tackle walking up our steep driveway with a walker and since Amanda had recently come up to help with Mom, she couldn't come back so soon. I thought Brittany and Randall were going to make it by later in the day, but it proved to be too much driving to try to make the rounds in one day.

Here's a very funny poem that a friend of mine gave me:

HOLIDAY TURKEY

The turkey shot out of the oven

and rocketed into the air.

It knocked every plate off the table,

and partly demolished a chair.

It ricocheted into a corner

and burst with a deafening boom,

then splattered all over the kitchen,

completely obscuring the room.

It stuck to the walls and the windows,

it totally coated the floor.

There was turkey attached to the ceiling

where there had never been turkey before.

It blanketed every appliance,

it smeared every saucer and bowl.

There wasn’t a way I could stop it,

that turkey was out of control!

I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure,

and thought with dismay as I mopped,

that I’d never again stuff a turkey

with popcorn that hadn’t been popped.

The Calvary Arrives

While we were in church, Amanda arrived. Although Mom was glad to see her, later in the day, she got really upset with me for calling her without discussing it with her first. She kept saying how she was such a burden and now she felt even more like one. I was thinking "please just shoot me" and at the same time, feeling a little guilty that I had to call for backup. By this time, I was exhausted and very worried about Mom staying by herself, even though she has friends and neighbors who check on her frequently.

Amanda stayed until Thursday, Nov. 20. I was sad because I didn't get to spend much time with her and also that I wouldn't get to see her again at Thanksgiving because this was an unplanned trip for her. I miss my sister and wish we lived close.

Today I'm Kicking Myself

Mom was feeling pretty good this morning when she got up so I went home to get cleaned up and do some shopping. She was doing some exercises and overdid it and called me almost in tears because of the pain. I hurried to finish my shopping so I could get back to check on her. I was doubting the wisdom of not insisting that she stay longer in rehab. As far as her level of pain, this was the worst I had seen since the day of her surgery.

I called Amanda and made a plea for help since I needed to return to work the following Monday and was not comfortable with leaving Mom alone just yet. Amanda made plans to come up on Sunday and we decided not to tell Mom that she was coming.

There's No Place Like Home

Mom's first full day at home went very smoothly and she kept saying over and over again how great it was to be home. I took the rest of the week off so I could stay with her. She felt good all day and I was feeling pretty good about my decision to bring her home. Little did I know that the following day I would be kicking myself for letting me talk her into it.

Breaking Mom Out of Rehab

Mom had a doctor's appointment today and told him she was ready to go home. He told her that he wasn't keeping her there and that was all she needed to hear. She couldn't get out of rehab at Parkwood soon enough, so I made arrangements for her to leave.

The following morning she packed all her things and was chomping at the bit to get out of there. I was waiting on them to get all her paperwork completed and when I arrived around 2:00, I expected everything to be taken care of. The administrator there told me that she had not expected Mom to be leaving and that all the paperwork wasn't done and that it wouldn't be completed until Wednesday. I told her she could finish it without Mom being there because I was taking her home. At this point, if I hadn't taken her home she might have called a cab!!

I woke this morning and was very saddened to learn who had won the presidential election. I felt like calling in to work and saying that I was in mourning. Then I remembered that I need to keep my focus on this - God is still in control no matter what. That will be my mantra and I need to stay focused on this and that I don't see the big picture - only a very small part of it.

Dakota and Nick - Doggy Wrestling

I took a video a couple of days ago and took my camera with me when I visited Mom yesterday in rehab. She got a real kick out of seeing them play - this was something we never thought we'd see Nick do.

As soon as I figure out how to reduce the file size of the video, I'll post it here.

It's Been a Rough Couple of Weeks

Last week, my 80 yr old mom had knee replacement surgery. The first day was horrible because she was in so much pain. Just shoot me before I have to endure something like that!! She was in the hospital for 4 days and on morphine. My mom and morphine do not mix well. The first time she had it about 7 years ago, she didn't even know me or my sister but remembered to ask about my dog. This time she knew me, but had a different experience with it. One time I'd see her, she would be happy and nice to everyone who came into her room and then the next time, she would be saying that they were totally ignoring her. On Day 3, she said and I quote "If I had lots of money, I would call a cab and get out of here." When I told her she couldn't leave, she said "If I had a lot of money, I could." She said they were totally ignoring her. When I asked her what was wrong, she said "I don’t have a phone book or my glasses. I don’t have anything and I thought you were going to bring some things up here." I told her that the tote bag was in her closet and she told me there was nothing in the closet and that the only thing she had was her little makeup bag (which was in the tote bag). She said she was going to call one of those investigative reporters about that hospital. It took me a couple of days to figure out that when she was happy, it was because she'd just had a dose of morphine and then as it wore off, she had a totally different opinion on everything. I told Bret that no wonder there's a nursing shortage! If I was a nurse and had to deal with that all the time, I'd be drinking on the job.

Last Saturday, October 25, she was moved to a nursing home for her rehabilitation and therapy. That was off to a rocky start when we discovered that the remote control for her TV did not work and I assumed she would have a phone in her room like she did in the hospital. We didn't know that you had to pay for a phone so she was incommunicado until the following day when I took her cell phone to her. By that time, she was good and mad - not being able to change the channel on the TV and unable to call anyone to help her break out of there.

I can't wait until she's a little farther along in her recovery and I'm going to tell her some of the nutty things she said. I doubt that she'll remember them because her memory was fading in and out the whole time she was on that wacky juice.

We have her dog, Nick, for a while and for the first time in his life (he's 8), he is playing with another dog. After the first day or so, he started doggy wrestling with Dakota. I was shocked to see her playing a submissive role since after all, she is the QUEEN. I kind of wonder if it's a male/female thing because she doesn't react to Brittany's dog, Bella, the same way.

Brittany and Randall's Wedding

Since they were having a new home built, they decided to have a small wedding at our home with only family present. Afterward, we all went out to dinner.

2008 Vacation - Red River, NM

We had originally planned to drive to Red River like we did the first time we went there, but with the high price of gasoline, we decided to fly instead. We flew into Albuquerque and rented a car. It was just as beautiful as before and this time we did a couple of different things. We went up on the ski lift and it was so quiet that all you could hear was the gentle sound of the wind. Another day we decided to be really adventurous and went on a guided 4-wheeler tour. I had never ridden a 4-wheeler so a few weeks before our vacation, Bret taught me how on his. It was pretty scary to me, though, because that was only my second time on one, and it the ride was several hours long, with the trail pretty narrow and very rough in some places. Going up was soooo much easier than coming back down. I was riding my brake almost the entire time coming down the mountain. Just when I was getting the hang of it and the ride was over, I gave it the gas instead of using the brake and the tour guide thought I was trying to be like the "Dukes of Hazzard." It really was NOT my plan to try to go airborne!!

Along the Road Outside Red River, NM

The drive along the road on the outskirts of Red River is just beautiful. These pictures were taken along that road.

Downtown Santa Fe, NM

I don't know what I was

expect-

ing, but I was a little disappointed

in Santa Fe. I know that we

didn't see everything, but we saw

most of the the downtown area.

There was some type of festival

going on and I did buy a nice pair

of earrings. There just wasn't as much to see there as I had thought there would be.

These pictures were taken while we were walking down the street.

City of Red River, NM

These were taken at the City Pond behind the Lifts Condos, where we were staying. It was almost dusk when we went to the pond for Bret to try his hand at catching a fish.

The goose here looked friendly but I wasn't taking any chances, so I didn't get close to him.

The Red River sign is at the very edge of town.

Red River, NM

These were taken when we took the ski lift up to the top of one of the mountains. On our previous trip, it wasn't running. It was so quiet, all you could hear was the sound the wind softly blowing through the trees.

Cougar Den 4-Wheelin'

I had never been 4-wheelin' before and we decided that I needed to learn before we went to Red River, NM on vacation. Bret took me to Cougar Den on his old deer lease. First, he took me for a long ride and showed me how to shift, brake, etc. Then he turned me loose and I did pretty well. I told him, though, that I hoped those we were going to rent in Red River were automatic.