Monday, September 27, 2010

2nd Sleep Study

I arrived at The Sleep Source Thursday night promptly at 9pm for hopefully what was my last sleep study to be done. I was shown into my room for the night. It was just like the last one I had except turned around.

After I got ready for bed the technician gave me 3 different masks to play around with and see which one felt the most comfortable. After several tries at all three I finally settled on the one that we agreed seemed to fit my face well and was somewhat comfortable. Of course I was all wired up again. I took some pictures of myself on my cellphone but I am sparing you all when I tell you they are still ONLY on my phone! It is amazing where all the wires have to go in order for the readings to be correct.

I finally got to sleep after tossing and turning a bit. It took a little longer this time to get to sleep but once I did I was out. I woke up once and buzzed to go to the restroom. After that I didn't know anything until she woke me up at 5:08am the next morning. She went on to tell me what happened. She started the machine out on a 4 which is standard. She bumped it up to 7 for a while and at some time later on apparently I started exhibiting signs that I needed more air so she adjusted it to a 9. She told me that once she got it on 9 I slept pretty all night long.

Let me tell you something. Even though I didn't actually get enough sleep that night (since my appt. was later and it took a tad longer to get to sleep than last time) I felt the difference almost immediately. I showered before I left the facility and headed toward work. I felt fabulous! It was almost too good to believe. I thought there was a chance that I might feel a bit of a difference but I did not expect to feel this good!

I decided to treat myself to breakfast since I had over an hour before I needed to be at work. I found a nice breakfast place and enjoyed a really hardy breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, biscuit and gravy and diet Pepsi. I sat at one of those little booths where you can see the cook while he was preparing other orders. It was like he was choreographed. The relationship that he had with the waitress' was really remarkable. I sat there thinking to myself about how there are so many different way for a person to make their way in this world. I felt that this young man really was enjoying his job. I wondered if he was married and had a family or if his Mom and Dad were still alive. The joy in the way he performed his job was inspiring. At least to me. There aren't very many times that I see someone really enjoy themselves like he was doing. I will definitely be back to eat there again some early morning!

It takes about a week in order to receive the CPAP unit that I will claim as my own. The doctor will go over all of the tests and results to ensure all was done correctly and that this is the device best suited for my needs. So I don't have the unit yet but that didn't stop me from having a great weekend. I had such a burst of energy this weekend like I have not had in a loooooong time! I slept fairly well and ended up cleaning my bedroom from top to bottom. Cleaned more around the house, baked pies, cooked breakfast both mornings, made dinner Saturday and Sunday night and even prepared dinner for this evening's dinner. It only has to be put into the oven for 45 minutes and dinner is ready!

It felt so good to be productive. I can't tell you how long it has been since I have felt like doing much of anything on my days off from work. I feel that in my mind I know now that there is hope. There is help for this sleeping problem that I have but actually didn't even know I had. It explains so many things to me. I had wondered if I would ever feel like doing anything again. I had wondered if it was just my age creeping up on me. I had found myself falling into moods that were not flattering. I had taken out my frustrations on the ones I love the most. My family. I hope they were able to see that this weekend I felt so much better. I will be so glad to leave that old tired grumpy Trailboss behind. She has overstayed her welcome, that's for sure!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

We're on the hunt

For a new pup that is! Joe promised me that if we had Pattykins neutered that we would get another puppy within about 2 yrs. Just the other day when I got home from work he and Steph had visited a sweet baby just longing for a new home!

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When I saw these pictures I said "let's go!" So we did.

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She was so beautiful....and sweet....and gorgeous. And oh, the puppy breath!!!! It was almost too much to bear!

But alas.....it was not meant to be. Oh there was nothing wrong with her of course. She was pretty and cheap! Only $100...but she wasn't what we were looking for since we want a mahagony fawn with a solid black mask. Like Annie was. It was a bit hard to say goodbye to the sweetness but we did. I was quite proud of myself actually. When it comes to pups they usually just tug on my heart strings so strong that I can't say no. But we want a certain color. We NEED a certain color.

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After all.....

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Our new pup

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She's got some big ole paws to fill

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Sunday, September 12, 2010

Healthy breakfast is important

I am so proud of how Amy and Jeremy choose the most healthy foods for my sweet Ohio grandbabies. They rarely eat fried foods, if ever. Breakfast almost always includes fresh fruits and cereal. Oh here....let me show you!

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Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm grape salad

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Emmeline approves!

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These pictures were taken the morning that my babies left to go to Amy's mother's house. They split their time here between us and her mom's house which to me is a very smart way to do it. Believe me, I have had experience with coming home when I lived in Texas. My beloved mother wanted us to stay with her. My dad wanted equal time with us. Then there were the other set of grandparents (Ryan's that is) who wanted to see us. By the time we got back home to Houston we needed another vacation! I finally came up with the idea to stay every night at Mom's and just visit from there. It made things a LOT easier on everyone.

I still call out to Ohio saying "kids....kids.....ahem. Come to Kentucky. Build a house on our land. Do it............PLEASE!"

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Fun times

Here are some more pictures of my sweet grandkids. Riding the golf cart, feeding Jones and generally just have fun in the sun!

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Fall down go Boom!

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Mia and Steph walked all the way around the pond

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Jones didn't want to be left out. She came down to the pasture closest to the pond and hung out for a while.

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Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

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Miss Leah sporting a silly hat

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Sister talk

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Mia driving Papa Joe and Daddy around

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"Hi Nama" said Mia

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I would love to be able to have a do over for that day. It was so much fun! But, at least I have pictures to look at and share. I hope yall enjoy them.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

It's official

I have been so tired for the past few months. I get just about the same amount of sleep every night and should be enough to make me feel rested but lately I just haven't felt that way. When I went to the doctor last week I was sure that my blood work would show low iron levels or something else that would explain why I was so tired and had no energy at all. But the blood work was fine. In fact everything was really good. After discussing with my doctor a few things he decided I needed to have a sleep study performed. I did that last night @ The Sleep Source in town.

I didn't really know what to expect. I was able to take my own pillows which for me, was a must. I never sleep well without my own pillows. It was a nice little room with a big comfy bed, a tv and private bath. Much like a hotel room. I got ready for bed and Crystal, the sweet and funny attendant, explained to me what all was going to happen. I didn't ever look at myself after she wired me up but I can only imagine how silly it looked. I was sure I wouldn't be able to sleep with all of those wires and things on my head, legs up my nose, etc. but I actually did sleep well. When she woke me up at 5am she came into my room and gave me the results. Yeppers....I have sleep apnea. I think she said I breath very shallow while I am asleep. I don't really remember because I was just waking up. I will go back next week where the test will be fully explained and another sleep study will be set up. They will actually adjust the mask with be fitted and depending on how it works they will adjust the amounts of air that I will need. I never even imagined I suffered from this but it explains a lot of things. I have to admit that when she told me that I do have it I felt relief. At least now we know what it is and it can be treated. I don't know how long it has been since I have had a full night's rest. I imagine when I finally have it I will be amazed. We shall see.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

This day couldn't get over with soon enough

You know the Tuesday after a holiday weekend and how it usually is a bit busier at work and how things just seem to be "off" because we have lost a work day within the week? And when you take off the Friday before in order to have a nice 4 day weekend filled with love and laughter it almost makes it not worth taking that extra day because you don't know what was done on the day you weren't at work. And then you try and figure out what was or wasn't done that day you took off because the person that did or didn't do on that Friday wasn't in today because they had a dr's appt all day. And how it took 2 hours just to be able to come to the decision that you can't figure out what was done and had to do it completely over again.

That was part of my day today. The other part was that a woman not paying attention at an intersection by pulling way out into the turn lane. Same woman sat still while her light turned red while a certain person (me) waited at the green light to see if this certain woman was going to turn or not and when she didn't move decided to go ahead and make her left turn when all the while this certain woman decided to go ahead and turn left with a red light and somehow just didn't see the blue Camry turning directly in front of her. And how this same certain woman ran smack into the blue Camry's rear drivers side door. And how when we pulled over on the side of the road she told me that she had to catch a flight out of Nashville. Imagine her surprise when the owner of the blue Camry quipped to her "you just ran into my vehicle and I am calling the police, you aren't going anywhere."

That was part of my day today. After the police officer came and took his report, certain woman and the owner of the blue Camry exchanged information we were finally able to be on our way to work. When the owner of the blue Camry arrived at work (only 8 minutes late...it pays to leave a bit early) the air conditioner was not working AT ALL. It was 85 degrees in the office. The window unit wasn't working correctly either but was not noticed until after the heating and air guy left after determining the A/C unit was frozen up and would be back in 2-3 hours. And how the owner of the blue Camry worked all day in an office that just kept getting hotter and hotter. When the temperature in the office reached 93 the owner of the blue Camry called her boss and said "it is 93 degrees in my office. If something isn't done I am leaving." And how within 5 minutes her boss and the heating and air guy was suddenly there and checking out the unit again. And how the office finally started cooling off to a bone chilling 90 degrees when the owner of the blue Camry left early for a most annoying dr's appt.

That was my day today. I am grateful that no one was hurt and that there wasn't any more damage to my vehicle then there was. So many people are hurt or killed every day in traffic accidents so I was very lucky. But I guess the thing that just gets my goat is that this woman was so careless and "frazzled" as she said to myself and the police officer that she wasn't even able to pay attention to a vehicle directly in front of hers. It was such an unnecessary thing to happen. In fact, dare I say it was a stupid and careless act of just plain not paying attention. So, because this woman was so "frazzled" I will have to get estimates for my vehicle, take time out of my already busy schedule to have my vehicle repaired, not to mention I will need a rental car to get back and forth to work while the car is in the shop. It is all just such a waste of time and energy. Stupid really. Just plain stupid. But....it happened and there isn't a thing I can do about it now. But you can bet that if I find myself in that position again I will either wait until the idiot who has no business driving to stop their reckless behavior or I will be ready to blow my horn to loud it will make the driver wet their pants.

Sometimes I wish we still rode horses and drove wagons to get around. At least horses have more sense than this woman did.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Labor Day Weekend 2010

It was a good one folks. My oldest and her family came in from Ohio bringing 3 of my precious grandkids! I took Friday off so I had a nice long 4 day weekend filled with fun and love.

Beth and her family came out Friday. The only person missing from everything was my son Ryan. He and I are estranged again. It's not how I want things, it is just how it has to be now. But this is a happy post, not one filled with sadness.

We all visited for a while and then decided to eat at Pizza Inn in town. After all, we had so much going on neither Joe nor I wanted to cook.

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I set next to my precious.

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My precious' Mama and Daddy plus sister Leah. You can tell her from the RED hair!

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Can I get a big "aaaaaaaaawwwwww"

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Miss Mia

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Mia and Auby

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After we ate we drove across the street to Noble Park. The kids love seeing the geese and ducks.

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Have I mentioned that my son-in-law is insane?

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Amy and I joked that these pictures WILL be used for blackmail....if necessary!

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Then someone got the idea to get on this thing.....

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Man..did this ever bring back memories for me. Mostly of being dizzy and throwing up. Aren't you glad I shared?

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Most of the kids were a little dizzy when they got off. I have to admit that was a bit amusing!

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As you can see from the last few pictures it was starting to get dark. Who am I kidding? It WAS dark. So we headed on home.

This was an evening that I will never forget. Filled with love and happiness and gratitude.