Just a little sad
One of the first blogs I ever read was dietchick.blogspot.com. I loved that she was funny & honest and a little bit insecure. Later, she moved to a new blog when she got married, and later locked it for personal reasons. Today I was clicking on links to some of the old blogs I used to frequent, and clicked on hers. Her old blog (where she no longer posts) is now locked as well. I can't explain why, but it makes me a little sad.
I hope you are having a good Memorial Day (if you are celebrating). I chose to come in to work - I'd like to have a quiet day to myself in a couple of weeks.
I am enjoying my cooking class, but being gone for half the weekend every other weekend is getting old! I am learning a lot though. For my lunch wraps this week I am using a sunflower pate that I learned in class. I tweaked the recipe a tad, but it makes for a very tasty lunch!
I'll admit to feeling a bit nervous about this whole E2L experiment. I know I'm going to feel blah for a while since I've eliminated oh .... everything! Chemicals, caffeine, sugar, flour, ... You get the idea. I'm also nervous about making 2 dinners (at least some nights). And worried that when I get tired or stressed I'll give in. But I really really really want to do this thing as close to 100% as possible for the next 6 weeks. Forget about weight - I want good health!
Did I mention that I signed up for swim lessons for June? My old swimsuit when I was swimming in my old tri days still fits, so I just need to get new goggles & a nose clip. Sweet!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Day 1 E2L
Breakfast: Green drink (frozen banana, greens, green powder), strawberries with soy yogurt (I’m trying to use it up), walnuts, ground flax seed
S: cherries, almonds
L: gazpacho soup with pintos & avocado, collard wrap with sunflower seed pate, sprouts, cucumber, and sriracha hot sauce
S: 2 prunes & pb (he says no dried fruit but I have them and I portion them out so I don’t go crazy)
D: grilled corn, grilled asparagus, and I need to add something to that – probably some seasoned beans.
Breakfast: Green drink (frozen banana, greens, green powder), strawberries with soy yogurt (I’m trying to use it up), walnuts, ground flax seed
S: cherries, almonds
L: gazpacho soup with pintos & avocado, collard wrap with sunflower seed pate, sprouts, cucumber, and sriracha hot sauce
S: 2 prunes & pb (he says no dried fruit but I have them and I portion them out so I don’t go crazy)
D: grilled corn, grilled asparagus, and I need to add something to that – probably some seasoned beans.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Traction
I was down 2.4 pounds today – yay!
I’ve been tossing several ideas around in my head. Have you ever read “Eat to Live” by Dr. Joel Fuhrman? It’s a terrific book about the eating habits he’s developed for his clients and the medical results they’ve seen as a result. The basic gist is this: we get too many macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein) and not enough micronutrients (vitamins, antioxidants, phytonutrients). His eating style encourages you to consume sufficient micronutrients by eating a diet based heavily on vegetables, fruits, nuts & seeds, - basically, natural, unprocessed foods.
Given the fact that my blood pressure has crept up to ‘pre-hypertension” levels and my weight is… well, my weight, I can’t keep pretending that eating the way I am and just exercising more is going to fix anything.
This weekend I am prepping my kitchen to get ready, Monday I begin this way of eating – no counting calories or anything like that, but eating plenty of a variety of nutrient dense foods and staying away from the refines stuff.
I'll probably be posting my food here, not sure what else.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend (if you celebrate it)!
I was down 2.4 pounds today – yay!
I’ve been tossing several ideas around in my head. Have you ever read “Eat to Live” by Dr. Joel Fuhrman? It’s a terrific book about the eating habits he’s developed for his clients and the medical results they’ve seen as a result. The basic gist is this: we get too many macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein) and not enough micronutrients (vitamins, antioxidants, phytonutrients). His eating style encourages you to consume sufficient micronutrients by eating a diet based heavily on vegetables, fruits, nuts & seeds, - basically, natural, unprocessed foods.
Given the fact that my blood pressure has crept up to ‘pre-hypertension” levels and my weight is… well, my weight, I can’t keep pretending that eating the way I am and just exercising more is going to fix anything.
This weekend I am prepping my kitchen to get ready, Monday I begin this way of eating – no counting calories or anything like that, but eating plenty of a variety of nutrient dense foods and staying away from the refines stuff.
I'll probably be posting my food here, not sure what else.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend (if you celebrate it)!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
This weekend
MIL has an apartment! Given her history, I just hope she can manage to keep her bills paid on time. (This can be a challenge when you never balance your checkbook, you know.) But I’m trying not to worry about what may be in the future and instead focus on the fact that her days of living with my mom are numbered – to 2 or 3!!! Anniversary plans have been modified to accommodate move.
I finished watching the companion DVDs that came with “Simply Raw”. One lady made a very simple green smoothie that made me realize I’ve been trying to cram too much into mine. I simplified it to: 1 frozen banana, water, greens, and green powder. For greens I’ve been using some combination of lettuces, spinach, kale, parsley, and dandelion. You would be amazed how much energy this gives you.
As a matter of fact, I’ve been drinking one in the morning and I think I am going to add a second for when I get home from work – I think it will help keep my evening eating in better control as well as give me a boost of energy for the evening. For the second I may try frozen berries instead of banana – I’m not much of a banana person, but the organic are cheap and they do give it a nice texture. (While bananas are low pesticide foods, they spray those pesticides while the workers are in the fields, so I choose not to buy conventional bananas.)
I signed up for swim lessons for the month of June – I like swimming but a) it’s been a while and b) it’s easier for me to go regularly if I have a standing commitment.
I have 2 more raw food classes, so I don’t see myself getting much done in the way of sewing until after they are finished. This has me concerned because I have other projects I need to get done prior to Pennsic as well. I need to sit down and get these prioritized.
MIL has an apartment! Given her history, I just hope she can manage to keep her bills paid on time. (This can be a challenge when you never balance your checkbook, you know.) But I’m trying not to worry about what may be in the future and instead focus on the fact that her days of living with my mom are numbered – to 2 or 3!!! Anniversary plans have been modified to accommodate move.
I finished watching the companion DVDs that came with “Simply Raw”. One lady made a very simple green smoothie that made me realize I’ve been trying to cram too much into mine. I simplified it to: 1 frozen banana, water, greens, and green powder. For greens I’ve been using some combination of lettuces, spinach, kale, parsley, and dandelion. You would be amazed how much energy this gives you.
As a matter of fact, I’ve been drinking one in the morning and I think I am going to add a second for when I get home from work – I think it will help keep my evening eating in better control as well as give me a boost of energy for the evening. For the second I may try frozen berries instead of banana – I’m not much of a banana person, but the organic are cheap and they do give it a nice texture. (While bananas are low pesticide foods, they spray those pesticides while the workers are in the fields, so I choose not to buy conventional bananas.)
I signed up for swim lessons for the month of June – I like swimming but a) it’s been a while and b) it’s easier for me to go regularly if I have a standing commitment.
I have 2 more raw food classes, so I don’t see myself getting much done in the way of sewing until after they are finished. This has me concerned because I have other projects I need to get done prior to Pennsic as well. I need to sit down and get these prioritized.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Unexpected guests
Saturday I went to my raw foods class. Since the guys were in PA for the weekend, I was thinking I’d have a quiet weekend of puttering around, sewing, etc. once I got back home. Uh, not so much!
When I got home I had a message from Amber at the Humane Society where we volunteer. Someone had brought in 11 2-week old puppies Saturday afternoon. (Mom had been hit by a car.) The guy said the mom was a Blue Heeler, the puppies are little tri-colored cuties.
I brought home 4. They really didn’t want to nurse, but they’ve done okay slurping a mix of mushed wet food and formula out of a dish. They are sleeping a lot at that age, but they are just little sweeties. Fox would have liked to foster them longer but Butchie felt the need to protect them from the other dogs – which led to a lot of dog related stress around our house this weekend. (Not to mention lack of sleep stress.)
Luckily other foster home are lined up. It’s been fun, but a lot of work!!!
Saturday I went to my raw foods class. Since the guys were in PA for the weekend, I was thinking I’d have a quiet weekend of puttering around, sewing, etc. once I got back home. Uh, not so much!
When I got home I had a message from Amber at the Humane Society where we volunteer. Someone had brought in 11 2-week old puppies Saturday afternoon. (Mom had been hit by a car.) The guy said the mom was a Blue Heeler, the puppies are little tri-colored cuties.
I brought home 4. They really didn’t want to nurse, but they’ve done okay slurping a mix of mushed wet food and formula out of a dish. They are sleeping a lot at that age, but they are just little sweeties. Fox would have liked to foster them longer but Butchie felt the need to protect them from the other dogs – which led to a lot of dog related stress around our house this weekend. (Not to mention lack of sleep stress.)
Luckily other foster home are lined up. It’s been fun, but a lot of work!!!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Brain Dump
My trip last weekend was good. We did the following: eat, sleep, nap, sew, look at books. It was nice, but as I had a long drive home I tiptoed out & got on the road at 6 am Sunday. A couple of observations:
Even at that hour of the morning, DC drivers are nuts. I was on the beltway between Greenbelt and Andrews AFB. There were 5 southbound lanes, but the speed limit was 55. I was going 17 mph over the speed limit and I was passed ON THE RIGHT by a SCHOOLBUS. See? Nuts!
The down side of leaving so early is that you have to drive a long way to get to a good place to stop. I am of the opinion that unless you are in Arizona and the next gas isn’t for a thousand miles, a business should not be on the freeway sign if it involves driving more than a mile and making multiple turns (I’m looking at you Exit 163B, Potomac Mills). At that point, I’d been on the road quite a while and I was hungry and wanted caffeine, so I decided to get off & go to the Wawa, thinking I could gas up as well. First, even finding the place was like “The Hunt for Red October” and then when I found it I was sorry I did: the sandwich was greasy and the bathroom was scary. No more Wawas for a long time!
To change the subject: Things with my grandma are not good. There are several things that have my mom concerned, but let me just share this. Yesterday they moved her to a different room. While doing so, they lower the bed, move it, then raise it up. Apparently her bed was broken or stuck or something, because the 2 people are laughing & joking about it being broken while they rock & shake it to try to get it to raise with my grandmother in it. Between my grandma and the usual self-absorbed BS from my MIL, my mom is about insane. Between my grandma and work, my stress levels are about as high as hers. I feel like one of those cartoons where you see the thermometer liquid shoot up & explode.
Saturday’s class in Asheville: "Crank It Out: Juicer and food processor techniques highlighting Green Juices, Sprouting, Patés, Sandwich Stacks, Lettuce Roll-ups, Hand Rolls and Ruby Red Turnip Pickles.” Sounds interesting! My mom was going to ride with me, but given the situation with my grandmother, she doesn’t feel comfortable leaving town even for a day. One of the ladies from class is going to carpool with me so at least I don’t have to make the drive alone. The boy was horrified that I was going to ride in a car with a lady I just met in a cooking class. Hopefully she isn’t a lunatic!
From a personal perspective, I NEED it to be Friday, from a work perspective, I NEED it to be like 3 days ago. ARGH!
My trip last weekend was good. We did the following: eat, sleep, nap, sew, look at books. It was nice, but as I had a long drive home I tiptoed out & got on the road at 6 am Sunday. A couple of observations:
Even at that hour of the morning, DC drivers are nuts. I was on the beltway between Greenbelt and Andrews AFB. There were 5 southbound lanes, but the speed limit was 55. I was going 17 mph over the speed limit and I was passed ON THE RIGHT by a SCHOOLBUS. See? Nuts!
The down side of leaving so early is that you have to drive a long way to get to a good place to stop. I am of the opinion that unless you are in Arizona and the next gas isn’t for a thousand miles, a business should not be on the freeway sign if it involves driving more than a mile and making multiple turns (I’m looking at you Exit 163B, Potomac Mills). At that point, I’d been on the road quite a while and I was hungry and wanted caffeine, so I decided to get off & go to the Wawa, thinking I could gas up as well. First, even finding the place was like “The Hunt for Red October” and then when I found it I was sorry I did: the sandwich was greasy and the bathroom was scary. No more Wawas for a long time!
To change the subject: Things with my grandma are not good. There are several things that have my mom concerned, but let me just share this. Yesterday they moved her to a different room. While doing so, they lower the bed, move it, then raise it up. Apparently her bed was broken or stuck or something, because the 2 people are laughing & joking about it being broken while they rock & shake it to try to get it to raise with my grandmother in it. Between my grandma and the usual self-absorbed BS from my MIL, my mom is about insane. Between my grandma and work, my stress levels are about as high as hers. I feel like one of those cartoons where you see the thermometer liquid shoot up & explode.
Saturday’s class in Asheville: "Crank It Out: Juicer and food processor techniques highlighting Green Juices, Sprouting, Patés, Sandwich Stacks, Lettuce Roll-ups, Hand Rolls and Ruby Red Turnip Pickles.” Sounds interesting! My mom was going to ride with me, but given the situation with my grandmother, she doesn’t feel comfortable leaving town even for a day. One of the ladies from class is going to carpool with me so at least I don’t have to make the drive alone. The boy was horrified that I was going to ride in a car with a lady I just met in a cooking class. Hopefully she isn’t a lunatic!
From a personal perspective, I NEED it to be Friday, from a work perspective, I NEED it to be like 3 days ago. ARGH!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
What I'm having for lunch today
Adapted from a recipe for sesame noodles originally found on http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/
Formerly Sesame Noodles:
1 bundle soba or udon noodles
1 bunch greens – I used rainbow chard
1 block tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp pure sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon (or more) hot chile sauce (I use Sriracha)
1 T umeboshi paste
2 tbsp hot water
3 to 4 green onions, sliced thin
Put water on to boil.
Dice tofu into chunks and put in 400 degree oven (just to firm up – I left them in until everything else was ready.)
De-stem greens, chop stems, and set aside.
Roughly chop the leaves.
Whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil, chile sauce, umeboshi and water in a bowl.
Prepare the noodles per instructions. Toss the stems in with the noodles to cook.
Drain the noodles & stems then pour over leaves to wilt. Mix the tofu in with the noodle mixture and toss with the sauce until evenly coated. Toss in the green onions and serve. Enjoy hot or cold.
Adapted from a recipe for sesame noodles originally found on http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/
Formerly Sesame Noodles:
1 bundle soba or udon noodles
1 bunch greens – I used rainbow chard
1 block tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp pure sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon (or more) hot chile sauce (I use Sriracha)
1 T umeboshi paste
2 tbsp hot water
3 to 4 green onions, sliced thin
Put water on to boil.
Dice tofu into chunks and put in 400 degree oven (just to firm up – I left them in until everything else was ready.)
De-stem greens, chop stems, and set aside.
Roughly chop the leaves.
Whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil, chile sauce, umeboshi and water in a bowl.
Prepare the noodles per instructions. Toss the stems in with the noodles to cook.
Drain the noodles & stems then pour over leaves to wilt. Mix the tofu in with the noodle mixture and toss with the sauce until evenly coated. Toss in the green onions and serve. Enjoy hot or cold.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
This and that
I made salad dressing last night - mine was from the class I took this past weekend. I also made french for hub subbing almond butter & water for some of the oil, but I used too much and it came out "too creamy and muted". Le sigh.
I got up, swung my kettlebell and took a short walk. I looked at the blender and just couldn't face another smoothie, so I had some of last night's leftover salad for breakfast - I added some chickpeas and a few sunfloer seeds to give it a little more staying power. Oddly, it made a good breakfast.
It is our day to volunteer. It's supposed to rain - yuck. Normally I'm pro rain, but not when I have to walk dogs in it. Last week I was getting a puppy out of his cage and put him up to my chest to hold him. He'd pooped in his kennel and stepped in it and got it all over my shirt. I told the boy I was glad I didn't have to go buy dinner from the Whole Foods deli wearing a poopy shirt. This week I have no dinner (I forgot to cook the beans last night and I was running too late to get anything in the crockpot anyway), so I sure hope I don't leave with a poopy shirt again!!!
I made salad dressing last night - mine was from the class I took this past weekend. I also made french for hub subbing almond butter & water for some of the oil, but I used too much and it came out "too creamy and muted". Le sigh.
I got up, swung my kettlebell and took a short walk. I looked at the blender and just couldn't face another smoothie, so I had some of last night's leftover salad for breakfast - I added some chickpeas and a few sunfloer seeds to give it a little more staying power. Oddly, it made a good breakfast.
It is our day to volunteer. It's supposed to rain - yuck. Normally I'm pro rain, but not when I have to walk dogs in it. Last week I was getting a puppy out of his cage and put him up to my chest to hold him. He'd pooped in his kennel and stepped in it and got it all over my shirt. I told the boy I was glad I didn't have to go buy dinner from the Whole Foods deli wearing a poopy shirt. This week I have no dinner (I forgot to cook the beans last night and I was running too late to get anything in the crockpot anyway), so I sure hope I don't leave with a poopy shirt again!!!
The post I don’t want to write
Well, I think things with my grandma are settled. After talking to some folks, mom is of the opinion that this whole thing probably began because my grandmother has gotten harder to care for, and this was a way for the current place she’s in to force her out. (If you think that sounds like conspiracy theory, you haven’t spent much time in nursing homes lately).
They recommended she be moved to the regular unit from the Alzheimer’s unit so she could get Hospice. Once moved, they told my mom she made $76 too much to qualify for Medicaid and would have to move. They then wanted to send her to the hospital for ‘dehydration’ in the hopes they would keep her for 3 days, because then she could be transferred to a skilled nursing facility as a Medicare rather than Medicaid patient (they pay more, so we’d have more choices). But there was no way they were going to keep her, so mom nixed that idea.
After asking & calling around, mom looked at one place that several folks have said has a reputation for good care. Mom described it as looking “like a 1950s post-war Berlin nursing home” – cramped rooms, tight hallways. But they have 1 female Medicaid bed available.
Mom also called a place in Winston (35 minutes from her house) that’s supposed to be good. Right now they have no beds, and the hospital gets priority. We can put her on the waiting list, but we need a place to move her NOW, so post-war Berlin it is.
In the week or so since grandma has been moved, mom has found her about to fall out of her wheelchair (they ordered a different kind but she wasn’t put in it and another resident found her on the floor this morning). She had diahrrea for 3 days and no one gave her anything until my mom demanded they do so. Her window was left open the night it dropped down to 38 degrees. Oh, and I think they’ve managed to send maybe 3 meals that were food she could actually eat. The scary part is that she isn’t the only one that this stuff is happening to, but unless you go every day, you just don’t see it. Ugh.
Well, I think things with my grandma are settled. After talking to some folks, mom is of the opinion that this whole thing probably began because my grandmother has gotten harder to care for, and this was a way for the current place she’s in to force her out. (If you think that sounds like conspiracy theory, you haven’t spent much time in nursing homes lately).
They recommended she be moved to the regular unit from the Alzheimer’s unit so she could get Hospice. Once moved, they told my mom she made $76 too much to qualify for Medicaid and would have to move. They then wanted to send her to the hospital for ‘dehydration’ in the hopes they would keep her for 3 days, because then she could be transferred to a skilled nursing facility as a Medicare rather than Medicaid patient (they pay more, so we’d have more choices). But there was no way they were going to keep her, so mom nixed that idea.
After asking & calling around, mom looked at one place that several folks have said has a reputation for good care. Mom described it as looking “like a 1950s post-war Berlin nursing home” – cramped rooms, tight hallways. But they have 1 female Medicaid bed available.
Mom also called a place in Winston (35 minutes from her house) that’s supposed to be good. Right now they have no beds, and the hospital gets priority. We can put her on the waiting list, but we need a place to move her NOW, so post-war Berlin it is.
In the week or so since grandma has been moved, mom has found her about to fall out of her wheelchair (they ordered a different kind but she wasn’t put in it and another resident found her on the floor this morning). She had diahrrea for 3 days and no one gave her anything until my mom demanded they do so. Her window was left open the night it dropped down to 38 degrees. Oh, and I think they’ve managed to send maybe 3 meals that were food she could actually eat. The scary part is that she isn’t the only one that this stuff is happening to, but unless you go every day, you just don’t see it. Ugh.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Raw food class: a review
To start, I would say this is a class geared toward folks who are new to raw food (that would be me!).
This first class covered foods made in the blender. We made a total of 5 recipes: one green drink, 2 puddings, 1 salad dressing, and 1 carrot/almond butter spread (the carrots had been cooked in that one).
She spent a lot of time going over ingredients: why she uses the ingredients she does and what nutritive value they offer. For people that aren't familiar with umeboshi paste or chia seeds (for example), that's helpful. Plus, she lists resources where you can get the more hard to find items, or items you might want to buy in bulk.
We had a couple of breaks and I took some of the time to practice knife techniques with a professional chef who was assisting. That was cool.
A few observations: Lenore leans toward chia and hemp seeds - no recipe she made called for flax seed. I want to ask why. Also, she used a lot more seeds in her green drink than most of the recipes I've read - 3 T whole seeds per serving. She used her seeds in both pudding and salad dressing as a thickening agent. I can see that's a good way to cut back on the oil in dressing - I'll try that one in other salad dressing recipes as well.
After the first class I am definitely looking forward to the future classes. It took a big chunk out of my weekend (basically all day Saturday when you add in travel time) but I think the time investment will pay off in terms of my increased comfort with raw foods.
To start, I would say this is a class geared toward folks who are new to raw food (that would be me!).
This first class covered foods made in the blender. We made a total of 5 recipes: one green drink, 2 puddings, 1 salad dressing, and 1 carrot/almond butter spread (the carrots had been cooked in that one).
She spent a lot of time going over ingredients: why she uses the ingredients she does and what nutritive value they offer. For people that aren't familiar with umeboshi paste or chia seeds (for example), that's helpful. Plus, she lists resources where you can get the more hard to find items, or items you might want to buy in bulk.
We had a couple of breaks and I took some of the time to practice knife techniques with a professional chef who was assisting. That was cool.
A few observations: Lenore leans toward chia and hemp seeds - no recipe she made called for flax seed. I want to ask why. Also, she used a lot more seeds in her green drink than most of the recipes I've read - 3 T whole seeds per serving. She used her seeds in both pudding and salad dressing as a thickening agent. I can see that's a good way to cut back on the oil in dressing - I'll try that one in other salad dressing recipes as well.
After the first class I am definitely looking forward to the future classes. It took a big chunk out of my weekend (basically all day Saturday when you add in travel time) but I think the time investment will pay off in terms of my increased comfort with raw foods.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Serendipity
I decide to buy a new serger and a friend puts her Viking up for sale. While it took a bit of effort (mostly from another friend), it is now up & running!
I found a 3 part course on raw food in Asheville which starts … this Saturday. I changed my weekend plans (road trip to Mary Jo’s for fabric) so I can attend. It puts a crimp in my road trip budget up to JM’s, but it’s the only class I’ve found that doesn’t involve thousands of dollars and hotel stays/flights. The class is 3 Saturdays over a 6 week period, so it doesn’t affect my trip up to visit JM. Sweet!
I hate that I am committing so much weekend time for the next few weeks, but this is something I really feel like will be useful and it’s something I want to do. I’m just tired of feeling like I have no time.
Then we have the anti-serendipity:
In order for my grandma to have Hospice, she had to be moved out of the Alzheimer’s unit and into the other part of the assisted living facility. Having moved her, they now think she may make too much money to qualify for Medicaid in that unit. So my mom may be forced to move her to an entirely new facility. While that might be best in the long run, I know my mom is feeling a HUGE amount of stress over this.
On the up side, MIL is #3 on the list and there are several units currently being cleaned etc. for new occupants at the senior subsidized apartment complex. It looks like she will be moving by the end of the month!!! YAY!!!!! Would it be mean to hope she’s moving on the weekend of a cooking class??????
I decide to buy a new serger and a friend puts her Viking up for sale. While it took a bit of effort (mostly from another friend), it is now up & running!
I found a 3 part course on raw food in Asheville which starts … this Saturday. I changed my weekend plans (road trip to Mary Jo’s for fabric) so I can attend. It puts a crimp in my road trip budget up to JM’s, but it’s the only class I’ve found that doesn’t involve thousands of dollars and hotel stays/flights. The class is 3 Saturdays over a 6 week period, so it doesn’t affect my trip up to visit JM. Sweet!
I hate that I am committing so much weekend time for the next few weeks, but this is something I really feel like will be useful and it’s something I want to do. I’m just tired of feeling like I have no time.
Then we have the anti-serendipity:
In order for my grandma to have Hospice, she had to be moved out of the Alzheimer’s unit and into the other part of the assisted living facility. Having moved her, they now think she may make too much money to qualify for Medicaid in that unit. So my mom may be forced to move her to an entirely new facility. While that might be best in the long run, I know my mom is feeling a HUGE amount of stress over this.
On the up side, MIL is #3 on the list and there are several units currently being cleaned etc. for new occupants at the senior subsidized apartment complex. It looks like she will be moving by the end of the month!!! YAY!!!!! Would it be mean to hope she’s moving on the weekend of a cooking class??????
Monday, May 03, 2010
Medical rants
Enter at your own risk
My MIL: My MIL is what we southerners call “bat-sh&^ crazy.” Is she mentally ill? I don’t think I’d go that far (but I’m not a professional), but she is not a fully functioning member of society. She was never firing on all cylinders according to hub, but after a robbery while she was managing a Public Storage facility 5 or 6 years ago, things really got worse. Since then, she hasn’t been able to successfully keep a job or really take care of things.
After the robbery, she was put on Seroquel – either for sleeping troubles or PTSD, depending on when you talk to her. She’s remained on it ever since. Because she’s never had health insurance, she’s bounced around from one organization serving the uninsured to the next, never staying anywhere more than a few months to a year. She’s on all these different medications, and she’s one of these people that just goes along never questioning anything. She also has a propensity to twist things to support what she wants. As an example, she once went to the doctor and her blood sugar was low (she’s diabetic), so they gave her a granola bar and a Coke. She interpreted that as “granola is an acceptable substitute for my morning oatmeal” and “I can drink sugared Coke any time I want.” Remember the time she ate an entire cake in a 24 hour period?
Anyway, a social worker (who she is now taking medical advice from) came out to evaluate her – she is getting an appointment with a local group that serves the uninsured. I hope she can get all this mess straightened out, but if we’re depending on her to have a conversation with the doctor then it won’t be happening. She has loads of health issues, is on loads of various medicines with no consistent medical review – it’s just a mess. I’m not blaming any of the doctors she’s seen – how can you treat someone effectively when you see them once or twice and they don’t provide you with accurate information?
And then there’s the fact that she’s a total bullshi&^er, and over half of what comes out of her mouth is made up – all designed to make her look good. Given what my mom is going through right now with my grandma, I don’t know how she stays sane.
My grandma: Monie has had Alzheimer’s for over 20 years. She has no quality of life – she doesn’t speak, she’s in a wheel chair. The place she is isn’t taking care of her. She was moved to a different area of the same outfit so she could get Hospice, but so far she doesn’t seem to be getting better treatment. Hello, she’s on mechanical soft food (think toddler food) but you send out a plate of salad for her to feed herself???? If my mom didn’t go over there every day, I’m not sure the woman would ever be properly fed or clothed. It’s outrageous.
Needless to say, the stress of trying to figure out (on her own) what to do in terms of where to put my grandmother & how to make sure she gets the care she needs is wearing my mom out. Add my MIL as a roomie, and it’s no wonder my mom is feeling so stressed out. And I’m really worried about the whole thing.
One good thing is that MIL is now up to #3 on the waiting list for subsidized senior housing, so at least she can be loonie in her own place instead of my mom’s.
Enter at your own risk
My MIL: My MIL is what we southerners call “bat-sh&^ crazy.” Is she mentally ill? I don’t think I’d go that far (but I’m not a professional), but she is not a fully functioning member of society. She was never firing on all cylinders according to hub, but after a robbery while she was managing a Public Storage facility 5 or 6 years ago, things really got worse. Since then, she hasn’t been able to successfully keep a job or really take care of things.
After the robbery, she was put on Seroquel – either for sleeping troubles or PTSD, depending on when you talk to her. She’s remained on it ever since. Because she’s never had health insurance, she’s bounced around from one organization serving the uninsured to the next, never staying anywhere more than a few months to a year. She’s on all these different medications, and she’s one of these people that just goes along never questioning anything. She also has a propensity to twist things to support what she wants. As an example, she once went to the doctor and her blood sugar was low (she’s diabetic), so they gave her a granola bar and a Coke. She interpreted that as “granola is an acceptable substitute for my morning oatmeal” and “I can drink sugared Coke any time I want.” Remember the time she ate an entire cake in a 24 hour period?
Anyway, a social worker (who she is now taking medical advice from) came out to evaluate her – she is getting an appointment with a local group that serves the uninsured. I hope she can get all this mess straightened out, but if we’re depending on her to have a conversation with the doctor then it won’t be happening. She has loads of health issues, is on loads of various medicines with no consistent medical review – it’s just a mess. I’m not blaming any of the doctors she’s seen – how can you treat someone effectively when you see them once or twice and they don’t provide you with accurate information?
And then there’s the fact that she’s a total bullshi&^er, and over half of what comes out of her mouth is made up – all designed to make her look good. Given what my mom is going through right now with my grandma, I don’t know how she stays sane.
My grandma: Monie has had Alzheimer’s for over 20 years. She has no quality of life – she doesn’t speak, she’s in a wheel chair. The place she is isn’t taking care of her. She was moved to a different area of the same outfit so she could get Hospice, but so far she doesn’t seem to be getting better treatment. Hello, she’s on mechanical soft food (think toddler food) but you send out a plate of salad for her to feed herself???? If my mom didn’t go over there every day, I’m not sure the woman would ever be properly fed or clothed. It’s outrageous.
Needless to say, the stress of trying to figure out (on her own) what to do in terms of where to put my grandmother & how to make sure she gets the care she needs is wearing my mom out. Add my MIL as a roomie, and it’s no wonder my mom is feeling so stressed out. And I’m really worried about the whole thing.
One good thing is that MIL is now up to #3 on the waiting list for subsidized senior housing, so at least she can be loonie in her own place instead of my mom’s.
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