What's everyone up to?

Spammers need to get a life and stop spamming. It's freakin ridiculous. And I agree Tasha, someone who is active and on at least every couple days should be a mod to help keep up with everything.

I can't wait to see HP but I'm going to wait a couple weeks before I go. I can't handle that crowd.

so how has everyone been? Whats everyone been up too?

I've been okay. My mom has informed me today of more chest pains and gas in her chest. I knew she was having some discomofrt but apparently its gotten worse. She finally broke down and told my sister who is a MA at her doctor's office so she came up with angina<sp? and got her an appointment for tomorrow morning. I can't turn my head and ignore this anymore. It's the same thing she went through before having her open heart surgery when I was 15. And here we are 2 months shy of being 10 years later. I'm keeping a composed look on the outside, but on the inside I'm starting to break. I was a mess last time and even though I'm 10 years older, I feel like if she has to have have surgery again that its going to be so much harder on me. She even made the comment about not really wanting to go through it again <--yep, I paled at that. But she said "I guess if I want to live longer, I'll have to." I just...UGH! I'm trying to be strong and not freak out until we know more but my mind is throwing every bad thing possible at me. I'm absolutely terrified of losing my Mom.

How are you Tasha? Your hubby? Your Dad?

Oh Wilda, HUGS. I'm glad she has a doctors appointment to check it out. Parents frustrate me so much, keeping these things to themselves or down playing it, even for a day can mean life or death. But, I'm glad your mother finally spoke up about it and is getting it check out. From my understanding of heart diseases, 10 years sounds about right for recurrences. But, my dads heart surgeon said just because a person may need a second surgery of their heart, it doesnt mean they are worse or going to die. But , especially considering 10 years ago they didnt have the skill or technology they do now, it's to be expected a second surgery will be needed. Like with my dad, he has cow tissue as his heart valve, and his surgeon said you cant expect that to last forever. Cause i grilled my dad's surgeon about my father and needing a second surgery down the line, and in ten years or so it's likely he will need one. BUt surgery is getting ahead of ourselves here. I looked up angina , and some types of it are simply controlled with medication... since the coronary artery is lacking in oxygen rich blood flow, it causes discomfort and pain. some types of angina you can notice when the pain will occur and take medication. But, if I've learned anything is not to work myself up in frenzy and play google doctor. So , take some breaths and wait to see what the real doctor has to say. And i understand how scared you must be. Sometimes our fear is worse than the actual situation. But, I'm here for you if you need the support! I'm sure your mother will pull through A okay. :-)

My hubby is so/so. We're having a hard time coping with his cancer. He is really sick this time around on his chemo treatments. And that advice i just gave you about not playing google doctor and working yourself up in frenzy? I've learned that this week cause that is exactly what i did. I googled my hubby's type of cancer, and it said survival rate is 18 months max. I completely freaked out, everywhere and every site and all the doctor and cancer forums said the same thing. So i shut down my laptop and took some breaths. I'm sure his doctor would of told us that... not "after treatment, i expect him to leave a normal life" and that she is hopeful his cancer goes away "for atleast 5 years" and stuff like that. She told us down the line the probability is high of a re-occurrence cause of the type and grade but she cant say if it will happen in a few years or 15 years. But, she never ever mentioned a short time line of living only a little over a year. We're going to ask her flat out again , for our own peace of mind, cause the hubby is convinced he is dying, or his cancer is getting worse. ANd thats all we can really do, be upfront and open with the doctors.So , try not to freak out.

Each person is different and recovery for each person is different. More often than not, it is the family that has the hardest cards coping with recovery, not the actual patient. It may be slow and grueling process, but just remember its recovery nonetheless.

My dad is real difficult to handle. Real difficult. No one likes being around him. THe stroke he had changed him. This weekend we reached our breaking point with him. He is stubborn, nasty and racist. We dont know how to help him. THe whole family tried reasoning wth him. Today he was a little bit mellow after the family intervention but i'm skeptical it took affect. He already almost snapped a few times. But he IS recovering from surgery and his medical conditions. They are coming to take the PICC line out tomorrow... which means i dont have to play nurse anymore!!! No more IV meds for me. I can gladly be demoted from a nurse to a nurse's assistant... lmao.

My dad has 3 doctors appointment this week, tuesday, wednesday , thursday. Then i have to take the hubby to his doc appoint friday. And of course we can never catch a break. I applied for social security disability for the hubby, and they rejected his application saying he doesn't have enough work credits. So i'm going to have to make an appointment to go down to the office and i looked it up, even did a pre-screening test, he should qualify for social security income since he isnt working or bringing in money. But of course things never go smoothly so i have to work on that ASAP.

It's only the second day of semester and I've got so much reading to do

Tasha - Hope all those doctor appointments go well and you get good news for a change.

Thanks Tasha. Her doctor says it isn't her heart and that she is getting too much oxygen...whatever the hell that means. Anyways, they are upping some of her meds and even giving her a low dose of Nitrogin which scares me. He is also sending her to a...ugh I forgot what kind of doctor for there are just too damn many types to keep up with But they'll get her on some meds soon and the pains and all will hopefully go away. I'm relieved but skeptical at the same time. Liek you said, it's that time. They told her before that 10 yrs is usually when they have to do another surgery and after finding out about the pains and all I'm just skeptical to believe it isn't her heart at all.
I'm sorry your hubby is having such a difficult time with the chemo. I know it must be hard on not just him but everyone around as well. Idk what is worse going through it, or watching someone you love go through it. Probably the watching. I definitely understand your freaking out about the life expectancy. But remember this, no doctor can say for sure how long anyone has. They can give you an estimate but thats all. My father in law was told he had less than a yr and that was like 10 or so years ago. There are no guarentees in life. All we can do is hope for the best.
As for your dad, I'm sorry he's being a pain. What he's been through would make any one irritable and impossible to be around. Especially if that person doesn't like having to be taken care of. Hopefully he'll calm down as he heals and all. Hopefully some more time is all he needs. Just hang in there hun.
I'll keep my fingers crossed that you get some good news this week. Hopefully once you go talk to someone they'll get your hubby on social security. I don't understand hwo they could deny him it with him being unable to work.


Blah, I am sooooo tired that I feel drunk. I should have taken a nap instead of reading : /

Wilda: I'm so sorry your mum's having trouble. I hope she's alright and that all future doctor visits bring good news *hugs*

Tasha: Hang in there. I'm glad you're nurse duties are stopping soon and I hope your dad becomes more agreeable. Fingers crossed your hubby's treatments start making him less sick.

Libby: Ugh, something I don't miss about uni.


Today's been a pretty bad day. It's really wet and cold here, so already that makes the day dull. And then I just got an email from the publishing house I applied to, they've filled the position so I didn't get the job I'm trying to think positively, I mean I was still picked for the short list of 250 people, but it's sad also. I was actually going to try and be good today, compose a few emails to other places and work on looking for new positions to apply to, but I think I'll listen to music and try and clean out my wardrobe for a bit and then go back to reading my book.

Hope everyone else has had a better day.

aww Kim, I'm so sorry you didn't get that job. That just means there is a better job out there waiting for you. Hang in there hun, I'm sure you'll find it soon! HUGS!!!

Thanks Wilda. *hugs* There's another full-time job that's just popped up that I'm going to try for this week. I don't know much about it atm, just that it's another entry level job. Tried asking one of the publishers on twitter about who to address applications too, but she didn't seem to know the answer either. So I'll try and compose a general email later today for answers and then send off the application tomorrow.

I dont have time for a full response to everyone :-( but

Kim- so sorry you didnt get that job. But like Wilda said, i believe there is a bigger and better job out there for you just waiting for you to stumble across it

Wilda- so it isnt angina? Today i went to the cardiologists office with my dad and they had a booklet on angina so i grabbed a copy , i havent read it yet but i thought of you and your mother so i brought it home to read up on it.

Anyways loves, i;ve been having terrible headaches.. think its a mixture of lack of sleep, and exerting myself and the heat. So i;ve been trying to give myself extra bed time. But even though i may be in the bed i dont actually sleep ( like right now i'm on SB lol). It's just been one of those weeks. Nothing is going right, everyday is something- a different problem. And loaded with appointments.

My uncle in law's brother passed away a couple of days ago. The funeral is tomorrow, i'm not going though. But that situation took a toll on my family especially since it wasn't peaceful or timely. I didn't know him and wasn't there, but my aunt told me it was really sad. He had cancer of the throat, and it spread throughout his body-lungs and some bones. So he couldnt talk and he tried desperately too. I swear my family is dropping like flies. It was never particularly big, but it seems there is always some sort of family crisis.

Today my brothers car stalled out on him. And then driving home they heard a big bang and my brother swerved. Luckily it was a minor swerve, no accident. My mother and brother thought the car was being shot at, from the sound of the bang. It turned out a soda can exploded in the back seat. Lol.

LOL Tasha. I'm glad it wasn't a gun shot and only a can explosion. Sorry every time you turn around another crisis is happening. Your family have been through more than enough already. As for the headaches, it could be a result of stress. I get really bad migraines when I start stressing out and with everything you are going through, its no wonder you are having headaches. Just be careful hun cause stress can cause your blood pressure to go up. Thanks for thinking about me and my mom and getting that pamplet. It means a lot As far as I know it isn't angina. He said the pain isn't coming from her heart which is why he is sending her to another specialist. So hopefully we'll find out what is causing the pain soon.

GL with applying for this new job Kim!

I am feeling a bit better today. I have been SO tired the past few days and I actually got to sleep in an extra 3 hours this morning. Now if only I could get my kids to start listening and stop fighting so much *sigh*

My neighborhood is in danger of having a block out. It was 110 degrees today. It's so yucky out. And Con Edison ( electric) decided to lower energy so the AC feels like a fan. Its so hot we have everything off, lights, computers, tvs. Im charging my laptop now so im just popping in to give ya'll an update....and im charging my electronics now in case we do have a block out. I hope they lift the energy thing soon, i cant sleep when it's hot.

Oh damn Tasha. That really bites. Its hard to believe it's in the 100's up north and here its in the 90's. Doesn't make sense to me.

Hey loves. Just jumping on to leave a quick comment. I'm going book shopping to borders book store. It's closing down real soon and have wicked sales going on. I have very limited spending money so i'm hoping to score a lot for very little. If you have a borders near you, please go! I'll report back later with my outcome :-)

So my trip to the book store was a success. I got some neat scores but i still ended up spending more money then i wanted too/should have. My hubby got some music books and car books and i didnt except him to want anything so that threw my planning and budget off lol. But i bought some new books so the discount wasnt that much ( like a dollar or two off). I was mad as hell, i bought HON Dragon's Oath... i didnt even know it was out, and that thing is tiny. I was so mad to buy it, but since i have every single other HON book, i did get it. I couldnt even start reading it though, i look at that tiny book and get so mad! I rather authors make the readers wait longer and produce a full book then rush it and print a 100 and something paged book. grrr

edit: so i googled that book and its not really the next book, a novella sort of book so i guess i cant be mad lol

LOL Tasha. Dragon's Oath is the first novella in a little mini series about some of the Professors and their background stories. I know of 2 more-Neferet and I think Lenobia. I have it on my shelf, but I haven't read it yet. The 9th book-Destined comes out Oct. 25th.

Tasha: Glad your book shopping went well I always spend more than I want to on books...it's an addiction I don't think we'll ever give up.


So yesterday I was pretty much glued to my tv watching reality shows. I've become addicted to Amazing Race Australia and The Glee Project. My favourite team on amazing race got eliminated, so the final next week is going to be pretty boring...I've only seen 2 episodes of The Glee Project but I'm hooked. Have to wait until Friday for the next one.

Hope everyone is well

Me too Kim! I've only seen the last two episodes (I have the latest recorded but haven't watched it yet). I didn't think I'd like it, but like you, I'm hooked-and so is my mom and she doesn't even watch Glee lol.

My sister and mum said they didn't want to watch it with me. But both got hooked for the last 30 minutes of ep. 2...It's the music and drama thing, drags everyone in.

What's The Amazing Race? I think I might have heard of it...

I think I actually missed the Glee finale last season. I guess it just didn't record, and I haven't bothered with looking for it online. *shrug*

The Amazing Race started in the US (I think...I'm pretty sure it did, they've had like 19 seasons of it). it's where 10-12 teams of 2 people race around the world doing challenges trying to win a million dollars. Every week the last person to the check-in spot (or
"Pit Stop") gets kicked off...although sometimes there's non-elimination rounds. And there are twists and turn, challenges that only One teammate can do, U-turns where someone from one team makes another team go back and do another challenge...it's crazy. The people on the shows are HILARIOUS! They're under pressure so they're always fighting with each other, and being sneaky and giving other teams wrong clues. And usually no-one knows what country they're going to (I'm not exaggerating, one season of the American Amazing Race EVERY team read "Austria" as "Australia"...they didn't end up going to the wrong country, they corrected themselves eventually, but it was hilarious.)

Anyway, we always get the American version over here, but it's the first Australian Amazing Race. And it was equally as funny, but totally different at the same time. In the American version the teams are always really suspicious of the other contenstants and they're quick to help each other lose. We're going into the final for the Aussie one, and so far every team except one at the start has been willing to help each other out. They might not like doing it, but no-one's refused to lend a hand. It might just be because it's the first ever aussie race, but it's still cool.

Ah... lol I've never watched this show, but it sounds interesting. I might have seen commercials for it before though. Is it like a scavenger hunt? That sounds neat. I might have to check this out sometime.

That Austria/Australia thing reminded me of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6r1IcY1pv0

This is why people hate Americans. There are some pretty stupidly ignorant people here. *fail*

I don't know if you remember me telling you all about The Chasers. That video was done by them. And I LOVE you Ash for sending through that link. OMG, So many laughs. They all wanted to fight Australia when they were putting pins on the next country to invade. "Oh wow, North Korea is so much bigger than south Korea" ... That's because it's actually Main land Australia and TASMANIA! LOL!
And all the John Howard stuff. Hahaha! I don't know if you guys even know what John Howard looks like (and it might be confusing googling "John Howard Australia" because we have a famous actor over here named John Howard too) But this is ex-PM John Howard http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/12/17/johnhoward_wideweb__430x299.jpg

Ok, but seriously, I think ever country has their idoits. They probably spent days and days asking questions, and they obviously weren't including the answers that were right.

lmao Really? I didn't know it was done by them, and I detected an Aussie accent from the questioner this time. lol I really just remembered my brothers showing me that video a while back though. It's ridiculous. Like these people have never looked at a map or a globe before? They can't really be that dumb. Sadly, I think they are though. These were Texans they were questioning. *Texas sized fail*

But yeah it was definitely hilarious that they all wanted to fight Australia.

Yeah, I was watching the beginning of the clip and was like "Hey, that's a Chaser boy!" and then I looked at the bottom right hand corner and saw the "CNNNN" tag (Chaser NoN-stop News Network)...they are way too funny for their own good.