It's my birthday week!

 June 15 2026

Monday was a great day. Over the weekend, Liberty sprained her ankle and probably won't be able to come in the whole week. It seems like every time that girl tries to go do something fun, something ends up sprained or sore. Haylee came in, took care of the dogs, and then got me some nice hot amazing coffee, nectar of the gods…AM! I don't really care about anything for breakfast at this time, just please give me coffee. After a couple of cups of coffee, I know it's time to think about something for breakfast. Luckily, I have this amazing breakfast casserole that I love, along with some fruit and half an avocado. Haley got me dressed and up in my chair. It is such a beautiful day! I am looking forward to cruising up and down the street with my pups. I wish I had enough guts to take them both at once, but if something happens, it's gonna be bad, so I'll wait and practice at the park.

I took Kona for a nice, long cruise, then took Dude for a shorter cruise. It's a little challenging to remember to go so slow with Dude after going so fast with Kona. I can hear Dudes back feet drag a little bit, so I'm kind of concerned. After all, he's about to turn 10 tomorrow!! I remember bringing him home as a three-year-old pup. He had so much energy and was so playful, and he drove Robby nuts, and now three-year-old Kona is driving dude nuts. Coma is a lot meaner than dude was. She bites his ears and his nose whenever Dude gets some attention and is very jealous; she definitely wants all the attention.

I always come home from taking them for a walk almost overheated. After about half an hour in my room, I get cold, so I have to go out on the porch to warm up in the sun. Seriously, I wish my body would make up its mind.

I sat on the porch with the dogs and hung out with my family in the kitchen and on the front porch for a while. I know I say it a lot, but just hearing the kids outside my door makes me feel so happy! Nora seems to be getting more comfortable with me, and that is an amazing feeling! Now Jude comes running down the hallway, saying, "Mimi Mimi," that's what he calls me! And I never really understood it before, but now I get it. Kids are amazing, and they just make my heart happy! Unfortunately, when I was younger, I never really wanted to get married or have kids, thinking about it now, I think it had more to do with me being an alcoholic and wanting nobody to notice me more than kids. My nephew asked me one time if I was ever affectionate, hugged, or picked them up. I had to say no, and I was totally embarrassed! I didn't say that it had anything to do with alcohol, but I assume my whole family knew. I've just never been an affectionate, huggy person; being that close to someone makes me nervous! 

Cruz came in, and we did some personal care and a nice, long, hot bath. It always feels so good to go to bed clean in a clean bed. It's really nice to see Cruz a couple of times a week. She's one of those friends that we don't really keep in touch like every day or every other day, but when we do get together, it's like we've never been apart. Sometimes I feel bad if I haven't talked to her for a long time, and all of a sudden, I don't have caregivers anymore. I can text her, and she will pretty much drop everything and come. If she has her daughter's birthday, Christmas, or anything coming up where she needs extra money, she will call me, and of course, there's always something to do. You know? A real friend! After she left, I deleted my email and got caught up on my blog. If I do that before I even play a game, listen to music, or watch a movie, I don't feel so guilty. Why do I have so much guilt??

Cruz went home, and Ashlyn came in to plan meals for the rest of the week. I always have the same thing in the morning: breakfast casserole, and lunch is basically chicken salad, or celery and peanut butter, always chia pudding, roasted vegetables, spinach, and mushrooms. For dinner, I'm trying more different things because who wants to be predictable? I'm already predictable enough! So this time she made shrimp fajitas and a pork loin roast. She's trying to tweak the lemon blueberry and banana nut bread recipes to make them moister and less dense. I truly believe that if anybody can do it, Ashlyn can

Tuesday

Amy came in and gave me an awesome massage! Since I've been getting up every day, my neck is so sore. I got a harness instead of a chest strap, and I feel so much more secure and like I don't flop around in the chair. Why didn't I think of this before??

Haylee came in again because Liberty wasn't feeling any better. She took care of the dogs, took care of me, and then got me dressed and up in my chair. I took Kona out for a 5-mile cruise and then took Dude out for his 2-mile cruise. We came back and hung out outside in front until it got too warm, and then we hung out in the row so I could play on the computer, a.k.a. take a nap.

Brooklyn came in and fed the hungry hounds. Now we can just leave the door open and let them run in and out as much as they want! Every once in a while, Dude will still stand there and wait for us like he wants out, even though the door is wide open. I wonder if he forgot or if he just wants a personal invitation?

Her husband, TJ, came over to help Robert with the hillside in front of the house. They dug it down so we can flatten it out and put some turf there. I don't know what I would do without these two, but hopefully I will never have to find out! Another description of a perfect friend and somebody fun to hang out with! They went home to jump in the lake.

Brooklyn came back and fed the tire dogs, got me something to eat on my new front porch! And then put me to bed. I played on the computer selfishly until Stanley came in to let the dogs out one more time and pick up their water. Then I watched movies until I fell asleep!

Wednesday

Haylee came in to feed and toilet the dogs. We left the door open while I had a couple of cups of coffee, then breakfast, but I decided to stay in bed. I was gonna get up, but I just talked myself out of it, to be honest. It was nice to have a day to stay in bed. I've gotten older, I could just be like here watching a movie or reading something, and all of a sudden I start myself awake, what just happened?? I used to never be able to take a nap or understand why people had naps, but now I love them so much!

I miss hanging out with the great-nieces and great-nephews, but I could hear them having so much fun!

Cruz came in, and we did some personal care without result and no bath. I wish I could just find a secret that would give me results every time we do personal care. It was nice to hang out with Cruz; she really gets a lot done!

Thursday

Today is my birthday! Liberty still wasn't feeling good enough to come to work, so Haylee came in to pick up her shift. So what do I do on my birthday today? I have an OB/GYN appointment. I guess I wasn't really thinking when I made the appointment for that day. Haylee fed the dogs, and we left the door open so they could come in and out as they wanted. I really love that we can do that! I know that, of course, we couldn't take them both with us, and they will be upset that I'm leaving without them. Dude is my service dog, and I take him with me a lot, but I need to take him with me all the time; that's his job. Kona just needs to find a way to deal with it! I wish you didn't feel so threatened when we lock her in her kennel; otherwise, she tears up something in my room.

I have an OB/GYN appointment, but I've been a little constipated, so I'm kind of nervous. OB/GYN doctors get very close, and I just don't want any mishaps, so I clinched the whole time I was there, and I was so relieved when it was over without incident.

McKenzie's mom and dad came to visit and help. I always know when they come to visit, great things happen! I heard them discussing what they're going to do in the front yard, and it sounds amazing! They are even including my due dog jog cover that was gravel in front of the house. They moved it all to the backyard, put a railroad tie into the ground, and now it looks so awesome! They're going to do another level with dirt, gravel, turf, or all of the above.

On the way out the door, Stanley texted me to say there was a farmers' market right where we were, and we should go check it out, so we did. I ran to Josh from church, for the life of me, I could not remember his name at the time, and I wanted to introduce him to my new caregiver. He was there with his wife, kids, and a booth for Kingwood Church, with what's up games around it for people to play! We got some cherries to bring back home to the crew! On the way out, I ran into two other people from the church. I couldn't remember their name either. I recognize faces but don't remember names.

TJ and Brooklyn went back over and brought their sons, Dominique and Zaden, and their daughter, whom I hear about all the time but could never remember her name. McKenzie ordered Indian food, and it was amazing! It's only the third time that I've had it, and I love it. I always hated the smell of curry, but now it's not so bad, and I wanna try it. I had shrimp, it's something else. So you put rice on your plate, then put the dish on it, and then pick it up with the naan bread and eat it with your fingers.

After dinner, I thanked everybody and decided I'd better go to bed. I've been up a lot, and I just don't wanna overdo it and end up with a pressure sore. After she put me to bed, I was having a really hard time keeping my eyes open. I love that feeling! As soon as she left, I was out, and Stanley had to wake me up when he came in to let the dogs out, take up their water, and put on my CPAP mask. Thank goodness I went right back to sleep and slept through the night!

Friday

Haylee came in, fed the dogs, and then got me some coffee. I ate some breakfast with my 2nd cup of coffee, it was delicious! My normal breakfast is breakfast casserole, half of an avocado, some fruit, and if my blood sugar is low, half a bagel or some low-carb toast. She got me dressed and up in my chair, I took the dogs out for their morning cruise, and got back before the sun started beating down. I spent some time outside with the family, and it turned out to be a really beautiful, relaxing day. I came back here to hang out with the dogs and, of course, play games, listen to music, and watch TV. It's so nice to have a breeze coming through my room, I have a lot of windows in my room but none of them open, isn't that strange? The upside is I don't have a lot of bugs, but the downside is that when I came back to bed, I noticed a big, huge spider on my wall!! Uninvited guests, luckily, TJ is tall, so he took it down and put it outside…it was huge!! Of course, that makes me stare at the ceiling all night long because I know that there's a spider in here plotting to descend on me, what's the spec, snarling teeth and eight eyes.

Nobody was around, so I spent most of the day in my room and out on my porch hanging out with the dogs. It was really hot outside, but luckily, my door is always shaded. If I stay in my room too long, I get too cold because I have the air conditioner set at 68°, so I just go back out, sit in the sun for a while to get my vitamin D, and then, when it gets too hot, I just come back in.

Cruz came in and fed the dogs, put me to bed, and we did some personal care and a bath. I didn't really get a long hot bath this time because someone was using the dishwasher, and I forgot to tell them I needed the hot water for a bath. She put me back to bed and then went home. I always feel bad that she travels so much to come here for just four hours, but she said she doesn't mind doing it. I watched TV I did stuff on the computer until I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

Saturday

I woke up Saturday already feeling really nervous. Today is my birthday party, and I love attending parties for other people, but I just get so nervous when it's for me.

Brooklyn came in, took care of the dogs, and got me dressed and up in my chair. I had 2 cups of coffee, but I didn't eat anything because my brother invited me to a barbecue at their church! I always know the food is going to be amazing because my brother shops and cooks! They had ribs, chicken, and baked beans that my brother makes, and they are so delicious! They also had potato salad, and inside, there was a silent auction. They had so many big, beautiful quilts, I am a sucker for quilts!! They had lots of really cool stuff, but I'm supposed to be saving my money. It was so hard, but I did it! They had a bake sale as well, a lot of delicious donuts, cookies, cupcakes, rolls…everything looks so delicious! Brooklyn said she was going to some yard sales. I LOVE yard sales! Lately, I've been pretty good about going to yard sales and not spending a lot of money, but in the end, when I pay off all my credit cards, I will be in heaven!

We came back, and I hung out in my room for a while while McKenzie, Brooklyn, and her family, aunt Janet, set up for my birthday party. After a while, I forgot all about the party, and I went to go outside, and someone told me not to look, I didn't look. Vicky had the patio so beautifully set up, and everything outside looked awesome! I talked to Vicki for a while, then she had to go because she was having a party of her own. I needed to get ready for that. I love talking to Vicky!

Before I knew it, it was 3:00 PM, and I went to check out the decorations. It was all tie-dye, and it looked so cool! There weren't a lot of people invited, mostly family and caregivers, Cruz and her daughter, Becca and her boyfriend Lucian, and Brooklyn and her family. Robert and McKenzie, David and Melissa, Stanley and Janet, Nathan, and of course all seven nieces and nephews! I love watching the kids play and just having my family, immediate and caregiving family, there was all I needed! I told everybody not to bring gifts, but if they really had to get me some plants and garden stuff for my new back deck! I was babbling a lot because that's what I do when I'm nervous and surrounded by people, I just end up making myself more uncomfortable, and if I had just kept my mouth quiet.

Brooklyn put me to bed, and I was exhausted! One of my friends at the party left me a little 10 of tangerine edible, so I ate one and went right to sleep! It was so relaxing! Usually, my favorite thing to do after my birthday is over is to go online and read all my birthday wishes on Facebook. I was online playing a game and didn't see very many, then I realized I was on Robby's profile. I have a profile for each of my dogs so that whenever I run out of lives in my games, I can switch to another name and play for a while. It makes me feel so good to see all the birthday wishes!

Sunday

Brooklyn came in and brought breakfast from Black Bear Diner. This is the only day when nobody eats until after Brooklyn and me, and it was so delicious! She got me dressed and up in my chair and then left for the day. I realized everyone had gone to church, so I stayed here and hung out with the pups. Most of the day, we hung out on the porch. Jan of Ellen, we're coming over today to play some cribbage. I completely forgot it was Father's Day, and the more I thought about it, the more I wished I had picked another day, so I texted them to ask if we could get a rain check. I didn't know how many from the family would come over, and I thought it would be better if I went and hung out with my brother, but I didn't end up doing that anyway. I texted Brooklyn and told her the cribbage game was canceled, so she came over with TJ. Dominique came over, too. TJ replanted some of the plants from my tractor tire that were getting enough sun, and Dominique shuffled and moved dirt while she put me to bed. They went home, and I had a nice, relaxing evening.