Sunday, February 27, 2011

Expecting snow in Santa Cruz...

Monday was a little bit cooler than Sunday but still a great day. A massage therapist changed her day so I got up early and took Robby for a cruise around the wharf and the boardwalk. I came back and of course Heather was cooking in the kitchen. She made Buffalo tacos for dinner, they were awesome.

Tuesday I have an appointment to get my haircut and have a manicure and pedicure, I decided to get maroon colored fingernail polish with diamond dust in it. After that Robby and I cruised down through the boardwalk, along the Levy and down to Ross and then back home through town. As I was waiting for the light downtown and lady started telling me about her problems, I didn’t want to be rude so I ended up missing the whole light and had to wait for the next one... sometimes I think I’m just too nice.

"A dog wags its tail with its heart." - Martin Buxbaum

Wednesday Susan came for my massage, Monday was a holiday and she wanted to spend it with her kids because they were out of school. After the massage I took a nice long hot bath and went back to bed, it was already 2 PM and by evening caregiver was going to be there at 3 PM... no need to get up just for an hour in this cold weather. My uncle and aunt, Lee and Claudia, my mom and I played cribbage and I think I lost every game but had fun. Claudia brought over some goat cheese and some crackers and I had some vegetable chips.

Thursday it was pretty cold outside but I managed to take Robby for a cruise a couple of times, that’s about all that happened that day.

Friday I wasn’t able to get out in time to go with Robby and Cassy to Santa Cruz skilled nursing for pet therapy. When Cassy came back she took me grocery shopping and then I took Robby for a cruise, stood up in my standing frame and went to bed. The weather was beautiful outside even though it was supposed to rain, I hope that Saturday was nice also because I wanted to go to the boardwalk and check out the chowder cookoff.

Saturday I almost got up but they were little pictures of snowballs on my weather report so I decided not to, good thing because it was freezing outside and it rained. I decided to just watch movies all day and relax, tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and I know Robby will be ready for puppy play date. My uncle and aunt came over to play cribbage with my mom and I. My uncle was my partner and we lost the first couple of games but came back in the last couple of games, we did get skunked but we almost broke even... we’ll get them next time.

Sunday Turned out to be a really good day but puppy play date didn’t go so well. Robby was not listening to me most of the time, Bella attacked a little kid on a bicycle and Ozzy attacked two kids on skateboards, apparently the ball bearings in the skateboards drives dogs nuts. We’re going to have to find somewhere else to take the dogs or just take them to the dog Beach, I have to watch from up above but I still love it and the dogs have fun.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The weather is getting warmer...

Monday it rained pretty much all day, it looks like it’s supposed to rain all week. Cassy, Heather and I went to have sushi at Mobos and then went to the movies to see True Grit. Both the movie and the sushi were really good. I had a calamari roll and a flying Tiger roll, both in think my favorites. We came back and heather cooked a bunch of awesome dishes to last me a couple of days. She introduced me to lamb sausage and cannelloni beans, one of my new favorites. The movie that we saw started at 130 p.m. and it was two hours, unfortunately Robby’s feeding time is at 3 PM, the movie was almost over with Robby jumped up and grab the leash and put it in my lap... I think he was trying to tell me something??

Tuesday can you believe my regular caregiver AND my backup did not come in so once again I had to cancel with Claudia for a haircut, manicure and pedicure... I really need a haircut. I think I have rescheduled her the last three or four weeks, thank goodness she is a family friend and understands. I watched a couple of movies and had a relaxing day regardless. Heather came over and made me calamari steak with capers, asparagus, Meyer lemon and butter over quinoa... needless to say it was awesome.

‎"One reason a dog can be such a comfort when you're feeling blue is that he doesn't try to find out why." ~Unknown

Wednesday was going to be a really good day but due to complications I had to go to bed early. Cassy and I were going to go have sushi and then go to see a movie, the roommate. We have both been watching a TV series called Friday night lights and one of the actresses from that series was going to be in the movie. Hopefully we will make it next Wednesday.

Thursday was just another rainy day and I didn’t feel very well so I stayed in bed again. Nothing really happened.

Friday the massage therapist came in late so I got a really nice massage, a nice long hot bath and went back to bed. Daniel was coming over to fix my chair, it seems like an ongoing thing but at least now I know it’s being taken care of.

Saturday was our Santa Cruz spinal cord injury support group. They had a couple of people there from the alliance to give us information on how to get help for things we need help with, it was very interesting. It was raining so hard so I had to ask my mom to give me a ride. I came back home and Heather was cooking an amazing dinner. Trout with lemon and capers, quinoa and asparagus and mushrooms. What a great day.

Sunday turned out to be an awesome day. We canceled puppy play date because without it was going to be cold and muddy so Cassy and I went out to eat and went to see a movie. Robby and I cruised downtown and met Cassy and Jack at aqua blue. I had a killer salad with miso wasabi dressing, Cassy had pad Thai noodles with chicken and Jack had a California roll with french fries. I have only been there twice but everything that everybody ordered looks awesome. After that we went to see a movie called the roommate. Cassy talked me into watching a series on Netflix called Friday night lights and one of the girls from that series was in the movie so we decided to go see it, it was a really creepy scary movie but I liked it.

Monday, February 14, 2011

The calm before the storm...

Monday a course was massaged day and it always feels so great. My massage therapist suggested that maybe I get a massage twice a week, once by her and the other by Kimberly, who used to be my caregiver but her real passion is massages. It might be a really good idea. After I got up and took Robby for a cruise down to the boardwalk and then down to the wharf. Cassidy and Teresa switched days so Teresa came to put me to bed.

Tuesday I was supposed to get my haircut, manicure and pedicure but Robby was throwing up so I didn’t think it was a good idea to take him to the nursing care facility so I rescheduled for next Tuesday. Heather came by so we decided to go have tacos and cruised through the lagoon, I haven’t spent time with her for a long time because she’s been so busy so it was really nice. Teresa came by and we went shopping at Macy’s, they had a huge 25-75% off and we got some really good deals. I was afraid that I spent a lot more than I did so I was happy. I got some really nice stuff.

Wednesday was an awesome day. The weather was beautiful so Robby and I cruised along the cliffs. I wanted to go all the way down to the end where natural Bridges Beach is because the monarch butterflies are there but I was afraid to go very far from my house because the laid-back on my chair is making a loud noise so I don’t want to be laying back and public and have my chair break. Wednesday we trained Kimberly how to do the morning routine, she is going to be doing Tuesday’s and Thursdays for awhile to get Karen a break. She brought her surging machine and sewed up the back of some of my shirts, I cut them up the back so that they’re easier to put on in the chair. I can’t wait to have her serge some of my sweaters and skirts.

Thursday Kimberly got me up and I took Robby for a cruise, the weather is starting to cool down a little bit and next week it’s going to rain. Teresa came by and put me to bed.

Friday we decided not to go to the skilled nursing facility. The morning routine was taking a long time and Cassy didn’t feel like going by herself. I decided to just stay in bed after I took a bath and I had a really nice relaxing day.

A dog owns nothing, yet is seldom dissatisfied. ~
Irish Proverb

Saturday was an awesome day. It was about 70° outside so Robby and I took a cruise down to natural Bridges State Park, I finally used my odometer app on my phone and it’s about 7 miles there and back. Unfortunately when I got back I was having bladder problems and didn’t look like I might have a UTI.

Sunday I ended up staying in bed AGAIN because if I have a UTI problem it’s better to stay in bed. I took a nice long hot bath and changed my SP tube and hoped for the best. Jess came over and took Robby for a nice long walk. My uncle and aunt came over later that night and played cribbage with my mom and I, that cheered me up considerably.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Super Bowl weekend...

Monday once again I ended up staying in bed. I wanted to finish installing my backup home automation computer but unfortunately I ran into a problem and my brother was busy when I tried to call him. It was a nice relaxing day and the rest of the week is going to be busy so I enjoyed it. Heather came over and brought me this killer Southwest wrap, it was so delicious. My uncle and aunt came over in the evening to play cribbage, I love playing cribbage... especially when we win. My uncle was my partner and we won four games but lost the last one, sure feels good to win.

Tuesday I was supposed to get a manicure, pedicure and hopefully my haircut but instead I ended up staying in bed AGAIN. We didn’t even get to finish the personal care and my morning attendant told me that she needed to leave at 10:30 AM. She said that it might be a good idea to find somebody else to do Tuesdays and Thursdays mornings until the end of March because she would have to leave at 10:30 AM. I messaged Kimberly to see if she would be interested but I don’t think she really wants to do caregiving and she is much too busy so we will see what happens, I figure it can’t hurt to ask. My mom and I watched Nanny McPhee returns, kind of a cute movie.

Wednesday a guy I met at the support group Christmas party came over to check out my house. This is actually his second spinal cord injury, the first one left him a paraplegic and a second on left him a quadriplegic. He is such a nice guy and he has such a great and caring family, they own a restaurant in Capitola. His mom brought the best guacamole I have ever had to the support group Christmas party. He is interested in the home automation system my brother set up for me, I really hope it works out for him. It sounds like his house is pretty small so he doesn’t have a lot of room for anything else but the lift system might be good for him. He put in a roll in the shower but he doesn’t have enough room to turn his shower chair around so I told him that the ceiling lift system might be good for him, I hope it works out for him.

Thursday I took Robby for really long cruise around the boardwalk and back, he just looks so happy when we go for a cruise. After that Teresa and I went out to lunch at Ristorante Italiano. We sat outside and was really a beautiful day. We had calamari and popcorn shrimp which were really large shrimp and it was awesome. I had veal Parmesan and vegetables and Teresa had an egg plant and spinach cannelloni with vegetables, we were both very happy with what we got.

Friday I wasn’t able to make it to Santa Cruz skilled nursing facility so Cassady took Robby. My morning caregiver slept in late. After Cassy came back I took Robby for a really long walk and then we did the standing frame and then I went to bed. Cassy got me addicted to a series called Friday night lights so I have been watching that a lot on Netflix.

Saturday the morning care to go long time and I needed to take a bath after that so I just stayed in bed again, I’m starting to feel guilty about staying in bed so much but it’s only because the people around me... it felt great for me to relax and just watch movies.

Sunday Dr. Owens was busy so I took Robby on a really long cruise past the lighthouse on Westcliff Drive. I thought I was going to be really hot but it was really nice and although there was a lot of people it was a great outing. I came back and Cassy put me to bed, it is Super Bowl weekend and she has a party to go to with her family... I myself will not be watching the Super Bowl.