Drat!

Today I had the day off.  It was pouring rain ever since the wee hours of the morning.  As I'm driving down the highway in torrential rains going no faster than 55 mph because that is the speed I felt like I still had some control over, I hear that there was a tornado touch down in San Marcos!  That is where one of my daughters is so I was hoping she was okay.  I was on my way to get that stupid blood test for the wellness credit at work.  I made it down there okay and got it done.  The drive back home wasn't quite as congested so that wasn't too bad.

The plan was for me to have today off to head down to see my youngest for the weekend.  But when I got home hubby had the news on with all the flooding and rain going on in the Austin area. San Marcos had already gotten close to 9 inches by then!  Long story short I decided not to go down today.  I hope to go tomorrow morning but will have to see as we may get even more rain tonight.  Ugh!  They actually closed down the main highway in San Marcos both ways by early after noon. That is how bad it was.

Here is a picture that my youngest sent me to show some of the damage that was done. 
 Good thing I didn't bother trying to go as I would have had to turn around before I even got there.

Crap!

So last night I didn't eat anything after 8PM or so because I had an appointment today to get blood drawn for testing so that I can get a wellness credit on my medical insurance costs at work. So I fasted 15hours.  My appointment was not until 11AM so you can imagine how hungry I was getting. My stomach finally stopped growling a little after 10AM.

I had printed out the appointment confirmation and went into the office and handed her my sheet of paper.  She asked if I had the voucher.  What VOUCHER?  The one with my information on it and what tests it was for etc.  I said I didn't have anything else.  She folded it up and threw it out and said that I needed to get the voucher.  This is one time it would have been advantageous to have an iphone because I would have looked up the website that offers that wellness credit, gotten what I needed and shown it to her.  I was not a happy camper. She wasn't apologetic at all.  I guess they are used to people not having all their paperwork and are extremely unsympathetic.  I asked for my confirmation back (from her trash can) as that was the only record I HAD.  She did say they take walk ins.  So I decided to try again tomorrow morning.

To ease my temper I treated myself to a Sonic Canilla Java chiller and some cinnasnacks!  :-)
So that was nice. I contacted my employer and got an email with the Requisition number.  That is what I needed the requisition number.  You'd think the lab could have just looked it up by my name or something. So will give it a shot tomorrow.  If I still don't have what they need, screw the wellness credit.

I was interested in finding out what my current blood levels are too which is another reason I was going to do it, since I rarely go to the doctors. So tomorrow will be another adventure.

Acupuncture

Okay.  I am convinced it works!  Yes I have only had one 'treatment' today but I could see an improvement immediately. I am coughing a little now but when I got back from my appointment I could breath as if I had taken an allergy pill.  For real!!   Then when I took my walk early this evening (instead of in the dark this morning), I had very little difficulty with allergies.  Yes!!!  The whole treatment is going to be 6 weeks and then he'll test me after a month (after that).  I go twice a week, so that is easy enough!  No pills, shots, nasal sprays...

I am to save a little bit of each meal I eat a day before my next appointment so that he can make a sampling of each 'meal' to make sure I am not allergic to anything I eat on a normal basis.  That will be interesting to find out.  He did tell me to avoid citrus and avocados for now as I show an allergic reaction to those as well as a few things I already knew about like tomatoes and ragweed.  Great.  I always get oranges in the organic fruit I buy and squeeze out enough for some fresh orange juice most mornings.  But I will do what he says and see how I feel. If the treatments work I will be able to indulge in those things just not every singe day. Optimal is 2-3 times a week maximum.  Oh he did test me for animal 'dander' and I am not allergic. That was terrific news as I always wondered if I am allergic to the dogs, since when I was a kid the doctor told my mom to never get a long haired dog or one that shed, which is why we had a poodle when I was young.  So I can have as many shelties, papillons, or whatever we want.  No we're not planning to get any more any time soon.

It was not a real long session.  I would say the actual acupuncture was less than 5-10 minutes but it was effective and actually also relieved a lot of tension that I must have had in my shoulders, etc,.  I actually felt so relaxed when I got back to work that I was getting sleepy.  So it was almost like getting a nice deep massage to boot, so that was fine with me. 

Monday eve' blog

After dealing with allergies for years, I am going to an acupuncture/acupressure specialist tomorrow to see if he can help me.  I heard about this sort of treatment helping allergies twice now and thought that may be a sign that I should give it a shot.   The first time, was this summer when visiting the youngest we were in a vintage shop and the lady behind the counter mentioned how acupuncture has helped her allergies so much she has had hardly a symptom in 3 months.  I think I was sneezing or something and apologized for my allergies acting up and that prompted her to bring it up.

Then last week I was at Walgreen's and bumped into a friend that used to own an antique shop in town and she was there to find something for her daughter, and we got to the subject of allergies and she swore by this specialist who did acupressure on her daughter. So I took the information from her and made an appointment for tomorrow. 

I am willing to give it a shot because my allergies are really bad some days.  I have a hard time getting my walk in sometimes as I'm hacking most of the way quite often.  I really hate taking medicine and would like to avoid seeing an "allergist" and get shots or nasal spray or anything like that. 

Well I'm off to watch Blindspot.

I know I say it alot but TGIF!

Well, although I've bitten my cheek at least 3 times today trying to eat, I can honestly say I am getting a teensy bit used to these braces. The worst part is how many times I have to brush my teeth every day.  I'm not about to eat and then put these thing back on, only to let bacteria destroy my teeth!  LOL

I got my new refurbished computer and got it up and running. It is very nice.  The monitor is nice and clean, and every letter on the keyboard is legible. It is great that there is no dust, hair or other who knows what inside the keyboard spaces too. There was probably a whole family of tiny bugs in my old one. Ick!

It rained a decent amount today. I tried to take a walk with just a hoodie and didn't get that far up the road before it went from a drizzle to a steady light rain to pouring rain.  I turned around and went back home. At least I got a small walk in.  Hey can't say I'm not dedicated!

Optimistic!

I got my Invisalign braces put on a few hours ago.  When I got there I had to read and sign a release which I don't know why wasn't provided before I even signed up!  It had all the 'possible problems' with them. Nothing like risk of heart attack or stroke but more things like may have crowns that get loose that may need to be re-attached or replaced, pockets in between teeth that weren't there before or may develop gingivitis. Lovely!  I went ahead and signed it. 

They had to put little nubs on some teeth that help hold the trays (that's what they call these Invisalign things) in place.  I was told when I got the phone call about it that they had to put 6 on, well I think she meant to say 6 on the top and 6 on the bottom.  The gal put something over my salivary glands to keep the liquid level in my mouth lower. Then put something in to keep my lips open and expose my teeth better.  She mentioned putting a third contraption in to keep my tongue out of the way but I think she saw the panic in my eyes and I also told her I have bad allergies, so she refrained from using that.  I was seconds away from a full blown panic attack. For real!

Anyway she got the nubbies on my teeth, and fitted my first tray of braces on.  My mouth was sore by this point. Another gal went over how to use them and showed me some areas where they have a spot for rubber bands.  Rubber bands?  Been there, done that, 40 something years ago. Yes I will probably need to use rubber bands at some point with them.  I was never told that. 

Eating lunch was a chore and I kept biting my cheeks and lips.  See even though I have the braces out to eat, because of all the nubbies I can't just chew and clench down as I used to.  My teeth don't meet like they should as some hit these nebbies.  So I kept missing my  teeth and kept biting everything but; cheek, tongue, lip.Ouch!

So through it all I am remaining optimistic for the outcome. Perfect teeth again and new crown in the front that better match my other front tooth or I will be raising some hell for going through all this crap!

Surprise!

I'm not waiting until the end of the day to blog. Isn't that a nice surprise? 
I haven't blogged in a few days but honestly by the time I remember I am shutting it down for the night so I don't bother.

Today I am done work early (light work weekend), and just got my shower which helped warm me up as it actually got down into the 50's last night and with the door open this morning it is actually chilly.  I cleaned last week so I'm not cleaning today even if it could use it. :0)

So my time right now is my own.  I may see what is on the SciFi channel or pop in a movie that I haven't seen in a while.  Just not sure yet.

Last month I sent the county appraiser's office a copy of my dad's death certificate and a form they sent to my mom as to ownership of the property.  Not only did I do that but I included a cover letter explaining that my mother still resides in the property (in fact included a copy of the will to prove ownership went to her).  That should have been the end of what they needed.  Much to my surprise, Friday night my mom produces a letter she got from the county appraiser's office which was a survey asking some questions about the new ownership and they need to re-appraise the house come January.  WTF?!   Why can't people read and follow proper procedures.  They even had her name down as one of the previous owners and also now her name as new owner.  I am calling them first thing Monday morning because their taxes are homesteaded (cannot go up) and last thing she needs is a new assessment, along with higher taxes that she would have to fight (or me for her). So I need to nip this mistake!!  We weren't going to do anything about the property with my dad dying but since the county required paperwork, I reluctantly sent it.  Now they think mom purchased her house! Unreal!!

I chatted briefly with daughter #1 yesterday and she has been waiting since April, yes April to hear about a short sale offer they put in for their first house.  She said they are to get a letter within a week indicating whether accepted/countered/or rejected.  I told her I think if it is rejected I'll hear her scream from 1600+ miles away.  I sure hope it is accepted!

My screen has gone black like 5 times as I'm writing this so I'm going to end this here. New desktop (well refurbed) has been ordered. :)

TGIT

Thank God it's Thursday. :0)

After turning my monitor off and on three times today I went ahead and ordered a refurbed Dell. It will probably take a few weeks to get here but at least I started the ball rolling.

Since tomorrow is Friday I am going to try to stay awake and watch some of Jimmy Fallon tonight.  Lately I barely get through the opening monologue. Hey, I'm tired at night.

The next couple of months will be fun as I need to use my vacation by the end of the year (or lose it). I have close to 7 days left.  So I'm putting in for a few days around the holidays and a few long weekends. So that will be nice.  Hard to believe Halloween is a few weeks away.  Where is this year going??

Thinking about computers..

Mostly because my Desktop that I use has had the screen go black more than a few times. But it wasn't the dreaded BLACK screen that means everything crashed.  It is just that my monitor goes black. I've discovered that I can turn the monitor off and on and then it is fine again for a while.  Today it was fine all day until close to dinner time.  Then we black three times in a row. I was thinking that was it, it was dead but now it has been fine again for close to 5 hours.  So who knows. I've checked the connections and everything there is tight.

I do know when it went black the very first first time I rebooted it because i thought it was 'dead'. When it came back on I was thrilled and did the disk defrag and disk clean up (there was over 8Million bits of data in the Recycle bin). Anyway, that helped, well at least I like to think it did.

I'm not sure if I should just bite the bullet and get a new desktop but I have no clue about Windows 10 and whether it is compatible with my work's system.  Thinking possibly going with refurbished. Choxi has some with Windows 7 that are only around $300. Will be something to think about possibly sooner than later.

We at least have the back up one upstairs should this one totally crash while I am working. I have used this one for I would guess about 5 years and have worked it very hard!  LOL  :)

Going to go get ready to hit the sack and watch some Jimmy.

Debating the Democratic Debate

First of all, just because Hillary is standing among a bunch of 'suits' she doesn't need to dress frumpy!  She should have worn a more vibrant color and more flattering look .  I do like the fact though that she is not appearing to read from a TelePrompter like a few of the others did in their opening comments.

Bernie Sanders already lost his train of thought in the first part of the debate. Did you notice? The man is 74 years old!  He couldn't even make it through one term alive.  Look at how being President has aged every man who has taken office!!

I haven't heard of Martin O'Malley before tonight but I think he is the best looking candidate and most charismatic up there.  Well sorry, looks do count for some of the voting public.

Governor Chafee looks vulnerable, like the Republicans could eat him for lunch.

Webb has spoken less than 5 minutes so far so I have no opinion....he is forgettable.

Wall decor

I just wanted to show off our nre bathroom walls with the antique treasures we either got or had and moved.

The glass window on the floor leaning against the wall is going above the toilet

Okay..

I am already sick of the Halloween commercials and it is only the 10th of October. Oye! 

Today we went garage sale-ing early in the morning and I got a few treasures for us and hubby got some for the store.  We got a small wash board that we're going to hang in the new bathroom.  And I got an iron square plant stand for a painting project.  It was painted an ugly brown so it definitely can use some nice new paint. I'll probably use the chalk paint on it.

I worked today and am suppose to work all weekend including Monday, but not sure if that will happen. Will have to see as the work load seems light right now.  If I don't work Monday I do have the day off for the holiday which would be fine if that happens. The house needs to be cleaned. 

This little fellow was just crawling along a table in the garage when hubby spotted it so he grabbed the camera and got a few shots. These little critters are one of the few things I don't mind being in the house. They are so cute!

Tonight is a new SNL and I'm going to try to stay up and watch some of it.  Nite all.

Bathroom Pictures

Although we don't have the towel bar, mirror and other wall hangings up yet, the bathroom for all intent and purposes it is done! :)  The vanity is in and installed, water running, back splash up and we are very happy with it!!  Without further delay, here are some 'AFTER' pictures.  Will post a few more when all the wall hangings are up.

Late

It is late and going to turn in. But would like to say that hubby is excited about the new store that he's helping a friend with that is opening tomorrow.  The sign was his idea and is perfect for the business theme!  I'm sure I'll be there helping out now and then too. :)

Oh I nearly forgot. The vanity came today and it is in place upstairs in the bathroom!  Although the guys punched a hole in the wall with the corner of it, that's fine and all repairable!  Will take pictures soon. The contractor has to add faucets, and back splash.

Because it is October?

...I've been hearing a lot more sirens these days, well especially evenings around here the last week or so.  Is it because it is October?  Who knows? Just weird and hear them once again.

This morning I heard them suddenly stop too and wondered if they were somewhere on our street. Hubby said he didn't see any lights or activity anywhere but they did just stop suddenly and were fairly loud (close).

Not much new, just wanted to stop by and ponder this question about all the sirens as of late.  Luckily and hopefully they are not headed here to our house any time soon!! :))

Monday is over

I only worked a regular day today. Whoppee!!!

I just spent about an hour chalk painting some shelves that hubby made out of an antique dresser last year.  Since he is opening an Antique store with a buddy by hopefully this weekend, he said he can use them to hang on the walls (and maybe even sell them).  So I got creative in my color choices. They are not sandpapered or waxed yet but here are the colors.

  I also painted 4 little shelves hubby made to go into a metal rack he is going to use to place items on too. 

See these little wooden shelve tops will fit in where the metal shelves are.

I am so glad that I bought a bunch of discontinued sampler sizes of paint while visiting the youngest over a year ago.  They have come in so very handy!  I used two different ones for the powder room cabinet and toiletries rack already and now two different ones tonight!  I still have a few more unopened jars. 

I forgot that I meant to post these two pictures of Kaci. This was the day before she went to heaven.  She liked to lay underneath my desk, and sometimes I would accidentally kick her.  I won't kick you anymore Kaci, promise!

 

Cooler these nights..

We are finally able to sleep with the windows open as it has been getting down into the 60's or 70's and we could give the air conditioning a break too. The only thing is, I forgot all the noises you can hear from outside during the night.  Friday night it was a dog out back that barked until all hours.  Hubby got up and shut the back door.  Then last night there were some sirens from ambulance/fire trucks and one time it was close enough that Merlin started howling. He sleeps upstairs with us too. Although that was kind of funny, I had to tell him to be quiet.  :-)

I really have zero tolerance for folks who leave their dogs out all night long!  Besides the fact that it is animal cruelty, the barking is bothersome to neighbors. How thoughtless!

I worked some this weekend since I didn't work last. It was nice getting caught up.  Tomorrow should be an easy day.  Yah I always say that. Still missing Kaci but at least I didn't reach for her bowl today. Whenever a pet dies, there is always a void, doesn't matter how many other pets there are.

The bathroom remodel is done except for the vanity.  It is suppose to be delivered on Thursday.  I sure hope it arrives unbroken and they can get it upstairs okay.  I'll wait and take pictures until it is all done.

Sad day..

I didn't write yesterday because I just wasn't in the mood. I called the vet's office to see when I could do the horrible deed of bringing our sweet Kaci to her demise.  It was the right decision I know but it was tough. It always is. This is not the first or even second dog that we've had to make this decision for. At first the receptionist said that the earliest appointment was at 4:00PM.  I took it but was sad that this event would be looming over my head all day.  A few minutes later she called back and said the vet can get me in at 9:00AM (she was getting me in even though she was booked.)  I was relieved about that.

It was tough but I got through it.  It is so hard to watch dogs take their last breath.  It is like you are waiting for them to look up at you and lick their lips.  But she is in heaven with my Dad, I am pretty sure.  It was really hard getting back to work and I have to admit I was crying off and on and distracted.  I should have just taken the rest of the day off, but I got through it.

Even though we still have 4 dogs there is a void without her here. I almost filled her food bowl last night and I missed the way she spun in a circle until she got her food although she hadn't done any spinning in about a week. And last night I kept gently turning over in bed as she always slept between my legs and had to remind myself that she wasn't there.

Today was a little better.  As with all things, time will help.