Today is a day filled with mixed emotions. My Grandmother has finally passed away. I say finally not because I am happy that she is gone, but because she has lived a long life with many medical struggles, the last one being advanced alzheimers.
My sister told me on Thursday that the hospice nurses were giving her less than a week to live. I flew out on Saturday to say my last goodbye's. Grandma was mostly sedated the whole time I was there, with about 10 minutes a day of semi alertness. I was able to tell her that I loved her. I think she knew it was me.
Yesterday my dad gave Grandma a blessing of release, telling her it was ok to let go and be with Grandpa, who died on May 22. I had to leave a few hours later. My gut told me to stay one more day, but unfortunately I had to be back to work today.
My sister called me today at 2pm. She said that they said a family prayer and Grandma died seconds later, with her 3 children, my mom and my sister by her side. I am sad that I wasn't there, but I am glad that she is finally at peace. We believe that in the Resurrection our bodies will be made whole again. My grandma had polio when she was a child and has been crippled for most of her life. I imagine her running around with Grandpa,their parents, and all of the dogs and cats that she saved growing up, living the high life. The only thing that could make it better is if they have ice-cream in Heaven. I wish there was a way to find out!
August 3, 2009
July 15, 2009
Who's a naughty monkey?
I've blogged before about my sister's dog Mimi (she is being referred to as my sister's dog for 2 reasons. 1. I am mad at her. 2. She was supposed to be my sisters dog but my sister keeps deserting us for the summer, so I guess I'm mad at her too).
You can click here for a reminder on how naughty Mimi is
Mimi is definitely a CARNIVORE. One day when we first got her, a beautiful yellow butterfly flew up to her and landed on her nose. Awwww, how cute Jen and I both said in unison! Until SNAP! Mimi ate that little butterfly right off her nose! Since then she has eaten an unknown number of bugs, some dead, some alive, some in mid flight. To be honest, that's my favorite. When she's just walking around minding her own business and then she jumps up and grabs some poor unsuspecting moth. I don't mind so much when she eats the bugs...I hate bugs. In my opinion they are here on earth just to be killed and eaten.
What I don't like so much is when Mimi finds a bird in our back yard. I had the misfortune of walking up to her last week eating a little bird. I don't know if she caught it herself or if it was already dead. But I had to chase her around the yard for a while and then finally got the hose out and was able to get her to drop the bird. I then had to pick it up in my bare hands (gross!) and throw it away.
So anyway, back to the reason I am mad at Mimi. We have 2 new foster dogs (yes, that means we, or rather I, have 4 dogs in the house. That's a blog for a different day) Lexi and Nina. Lexi is 4 1/2 lbs and has no teeth. Mimi has gone after her a few times but mostly leaves her alone. I think she can tell there's no threat there. But poor Nina is a gorgeous black Italian Greyhound/min pin mix. For some reason, Mimi does not like her. She has attacked her every day since she got here. Mostly it's over food but sometimes it's just because the wind blew the wrong way. I have to be on guard at all times to make sure that Nina does not become Mimi's latest snack.
She makes me so mad sometimes! But then I come across something like this and I have to laugh.
Mimi likes to burrow in dark areas and go to sleep. She crawls behind our food storage shelf and then can't figure out how to get out. Next time she goes after Nina I am going to put her back there myself and leave her. That'll show her!
You can click here for a reminder on how naughty Mimi is
Mimi is definitely a CARNIVORE. One day when we first got her, a beautiful yellow butterfly flew up to her and landed on her nose. Awwww, how cute Jen and I both said in unison! Until SNAP! Mimi ate that little butterfly right off her nose! Since then she has eaten an unknown number of bugs, some dead, some alive, some in mid flight. To be honest, that's my favorite. When she's just walking around minding her own business and then she jumps up and grabs some poor unsuspecting moth. I don't mind so much when she eats the bugs...I hate bugs. In my opinion they are here on earth just to be killed and eaten.
What I don't like so much is when Mimi finds a bird in our back yard. I had the misfortune of walking up to her last week eating a little bird. I don't know if she caught it herself or if it was already dead. But I had to chase her around the yard for a while and then finally got the hose out and was able to get her to drop the bird. I then had to pick it up in my bare hands (gross!) and throw it away.
So anyway, back to the reason I am mad at Mimi. We have 2 new foster dogs (yes, that means we, or rather I, have 4 dogs in the house. That's a blog for a different day) Lexi and Nina. Lexi is 4 1/2 lbs and has no teeth. Mimi has gone after her a few times but mostly leaves her alone. I think she can tell there's no threat there. But poor Nina is a gorgeous black Italian Greyhound/min pin mix. For some reason, Mimi does not like her. She has attacked her every day since she got here. Mostly it's over food but sometimes it's just because the wind blew the wrong way. I have to be on guard at all times to make sure that Nina does not become Mimi's latest snack.
She makes me so mad sometimes! But then I come across something like this and I have to laugh.
Mimi likes to burrow in dark areas and go to sleep. She crawls behind our food storage shelf and then can't figure out how to get out. Next time she goes after Nina I am going to put her back there myself and leave her. That'll show her!
June 22, 2009
This past Friday I took my neighbors' 3 kids to an outdoor movie to watch Hotel For Dogs. My friend Shana came with her 2 kids as well.
Everyone was so excited to be outside and watch the movie...until it actually started. THEN they wanted to play on the jungle jim. Now I was torn. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE dogs and I also LOVE kid movies. So I really wanted to watch the movie. But of course I couldn't leave the kids alone in the dark playing on the jungle jim, so I went along with them. Fortunately the screen showed the movie from the back as well. So what if it was backwards? I still pretty much got the idea.
I had a really good time and the kids played really well together. I'm always amazed at how quickly kids become friends. Since I can be a bit shy and awkward at meeting new people, I decided to listen to what kind of questions they were asking each other. Mostly they were the standard get to know you kid questions. What grade are you in, how old are you, etc. My favorite question however was "How many teeth have you lost"? I got a good chuckle at that one. I don't think I'll add it to my list of things to ask at parties or social gatherings, but it seemed to work for the 7 and 8 year old boy.
Everyone was so excited to be outside and watch the movie...until it actually started. THEN they wanted to play on the jungle jim. Now I was torn. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE dogs and I also LOVE kid movies. So I really wanted to watch the movie. But of course I couldn't leave the kids alone in the dark playing on the jungle jim, so I went along with them. Fortunately the screen showed the movie from the back as well. So what if it was backwards? I still pretty much got the idea.
I had a really good time and the kids played really well together. I'm always amazed at how quickly kids become friends. Since I can be a bit shy and awkward at meeting new people, I decided to listen to what kind of questions they were asking each other. Mostly they were the standard get to know you kid questions. What grade are you in, how old are you, etc. My favorite question however was "How many teeth have you lost"? I got a good chuckle at that one. I don't think I'll add it to my list of things to ask at parties or social gatherings, but it seemed to work for the 7 and 8 year old boy.
June 18, 2009
My grandpa died a few weeks ago. This was really hard for the family for the obvious reasons, but also because that left just my mom to take care of my grandma who has early end stage Alzheimers. Since Jen is off for the summer, dad asked if she would come to CA to help mom out with the day to day care of Grandma.
Often times the day is difficult and sad because my Grandma is very confused and sad about the loss of her spouse of 60 years. But sometimes there are funny stories that come out of it. Here is one that my sister told me today through instant message: (let me preface this story by telling you that Grandma thinks she has to go to the bathroom every 12 minutes or so, and then lots of times she cant' remember what to do when she sits down. For this reason, plus the fact that she can barely walk, usually either my mom or Jen has to go with her and help out).
"This morning Grandma went to the bathroom so I followed her. When I lifted up her nightgown she didn't have any UNDERWEAR ON!!! I asked mom about it and she started cracking up. Apparently Grandma went to the bathroom earlier and when she came back into the room she said to mom, "something is wrong with my ankles"...wait for it.....
She was walking with her underwear around them! "
The other day she was merrily walking around with her underwear around her thighs.
There is absolutely no dignity in getting old!
Often times the day is difficult and sad because my Grandma is very confused and sad about the loss of her spouse of 60 years. But sometimes there are funny stories that come out of it. Here is one that my sister told me today through instant message: (let me preface this story by telling you that Grandma thinks she has to go to the bathroom every 12 minutes or so, and then lots of times she cant' remember what to do when she sits down. For this reason, plus the fact that she can barely walk, usually either my mom or Jen has to go with her and help out).
"This morning Grandma went to the bathroom so I followed her. When I lifted up her nightgown she didn't have any UNDERWEAR ON!!! I asked mom about it and she started cracking up. Apparently Grandma went to the bathroom earlier and when she came back into the room she said to mom, "something is wrong with my ankles"...wait for it.....
She was walking with her underwear around them! "
The other day she was merrily walking around with her underwear around her thighs.
There is absolutely no dignity in getting old!
June 10, 2009
A letter to...
Dear Bronchitis,
I wish you would go away. You've been hanging around for 4 weeks now and enough is enough. I am tired of coughing and hacking and blowing my nose. I am tired of having no voice. At first it was kind of fun to be a little hoarse, like Phoebe on Friends. And then I lost my voice completely. This made my life and my job as a phone sales person very difficult. After a week and a half my voice is coming back slowly and surely, but it is still not 100%.
Most of all, I'm tired of people asking me if I'm sick. Uh, yeah, OBVIOUSLY!!!
Fortunately for you I am getting my energy and my sense of humor back. But if you hang around much longer, I will have to report you to someone. I'm not sure who yet, but you don't want to stick around to find out!
You have been warned.
Sincerely,
Stacy and her lungs
I wish you would go away. You've been hanging around for 4 weeks now and enough is enough. I am tired of coughing and hacking and blowing my nose. I am tired of having no voice. At first it was kind of fun to be a little hoarse, like Phoebe on Friends. And then I lost my voice completely. This made my life and my job as a phone sales person very difficult. After a week and a half my voice is coming back slowly and surely, but it is still not 100%.
Most of all, I'm tired of people asking me if I'm sick. Uh, yeah, OBVIOUSLY!!!
Fortunately for you I am getting my energy and my sense of humor back. But if you hang around much longer, I will have to report you to someone. I'm not sure who yet, but you don't want to stick around to find out!
You have been warned.
Sincerely,
Stacy and her lungs
June 3, 2009
I've blogged before about the nudist colony that I grew up in, aka the Ludlow household. As you know, I am still traumatized by nakedness.
What you might not know is that there was no privacy in my house during other sacred acts as well. For example, potty time was party time in my house. Actual conversation from high school. "Hey, we need to have a family meeting. Oh, Stacy, you're in the bathroom, that's ok, we'll all just come in there". Ok, so maybe it didn't quite happen that way, but I think you understand what I'm saying.
So anyway, this is something that has haunted me throughout my adult life. After many years of people making fun of me, I have finally learned to pee in a public restroom even if I know who is next to me, though I still will try to go several stalls away. Don't get me wrong..just because I CAN pee with you sitting next to me, doesn't mean I think it should be done.
Here are some very vital rules to bathroom etiquette that I think the world is lacking.
1. If you are the office manager/receptionist/assistant/admin/busybody and you happen to sit at the front entrance to the office, don't comment on how many times someone has gone to the bathroom that day. Oh, Stacy, you're going AGAIN??? Yeah, so what?! I have a small bladder and I drink a lot of water!
2. Don't comment on how long someone has been gone. Everyone deserves their own private potty time. Who cares if it took me 7 minutes. Maybe I made a phone call on the way. Maybe I stopped to help an old lady in to the stall. Maybe I had to wait for that same old lady to finish so that I could pee in private. Or maybe it just took me a while. Big Deal!!
3. Don't talk to me in the bathroom. Talking just makes things take longer.
4. If you see my shoes under the stall just pretend you didn't see me.
5. Put the toilet seat down. Every day I walk in to the bathroom at work and the seats are up. IN THE LADIES ROOM! Now, I realize it's because the housekeeper (a dude) cleaned them that morning but come on!
6. Replace the toilet paper roll if you use the last square. And when you replace that roll, be courteous and start the roll for the next person.
7. Don't talk on your cell phone in the bathroom. The person on the other end will recognize the echo!
8. Wash your hands...even if it was only #1. And don't get the paper towel first...that just germs up the paper towels for the rest of us people that know the proper procedure. Step 1. Turn on Water and run hands under it. Step 2. Get soap on hands, rub together and sing twinkle twinkle little star. This is how long you need to wash your hands for to get rid of the germs. Step 3. Rinse your hands. Step 4. Get paper towel and dry hands. Step 4. Use paper towel to open door (I learned this trick from Hilary West while she was a missionary) and discretely toss in garbage on the way out.
Done and Done.
What you might not know is that there was no privacy in my house during other sacred acts as well. For example, potty time was party time in my house. Actual conversation from high school. "Hey, we need to have a family meeting. Oh, Stacy, you're in the bathroom, that's ok, we'll all just come in there". Ok, so maybe it didn't quite happen that way, but I think you understand what I'm saying.
So anyway, this is something that has haunted me throughout my adult life. After many years of people making fun of me, I have finally learned to pee in a public restroom even if I know who is next to me, though I still will try to go several stalls away. Don't get me wrong..just because I CAN pee with you sitting next to me, doesn't mean I think it should be done.
Here are some very vital rules to bathroom etiquette that I think the world is lacking.
1. If you are the office manager/receptionist/assistant/admin/busybody and you happen to sit at the front entrance to the office, don't comment on how many times someone has gone to the bathroom that day. Oh, Stacy, you're going AGAIN??? Yeah, so what?! I have a small bladder and I drink a lot of water!
2. Don't comment on how long someone has been gone. Everyone deserves their own private potty time. Who cares if it took me 7 minutes. Maybe I made a phone call on the way. Maybe I stopped to help an old lady in to the stall. Maybe I had to wait for that same old lady to finish so that I could pee in private. Or maybe it just took me a while. Big Deal!!
3. Don't talk to me in the bathroom. Talking just makes things take longer.
4. If you see my shoes under the stall just pretend you didn't see me.
5. Put the toilet seat down. Every day I walk in to the bathroom at work and the seats are up. IN THE LADIES ROOM! Now, I realize it's because the housekeeper (a dude) cleaned them that morning but come on!
6. Replace the toilet paper roll if you use the last square. And when you replace that roll, be courteous and start the roll for the next person.
7. Don't talk on your cell phone in the bathroom. The person on the other end will recognize the echo!
8. Wash your hands...even if it was only #1. And don't get the paper towel first...that just germs up the paper towels for the rest of us people that know the proper procedure. Step 1. Turn on Water and run hands under it. Step 2. Get soap on hands, rub together and sing twinkle twinkle little star. This is how long you need to wash your hands for to get rid of the germs. Step 3. Rinse your hands. Step 4. Get paper towel and dry hands. Step 4. Use paper towel to open door (I learned this trick from Hilary West while she was a missionary) and discretely toss in garbage on the way out.
Done and Done.
May 11, 2009
Conversation overhead by me this weekend over the fence at my neighbor Amanda's 13th birthday party:
Makaylie: Hey Amanda, did you know that if you skip it means you are gay or lez?
Amanda: No
Makaylie: Yeah, that's why no one skips in P.E.
Amanda: That's dumb
Amanda at the top of her lungs: I'M SKIPPING! I'M SKIPPING! LOOK AT ME! I'M SKIPPING!
I love Amanda...she is so cool.
Makaylie: Hey Amanda, did you know that if you skip it means you are gay or lez?
Amanda: No
Makaylie: Yeah, that's why no one skips in P.E.
Amanda: That's dumb
Amanda at the top of her lungs: I'M SKIPPING! I'M SKIPPING! LOOK AT ME! I'M SKIPPING!
I love Amanda...she is so cool.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)