My Life- Thoughts and Happenings

[Jibralta]

13 hours ago, luminousone said:

Sore arm for a few days, and fatigue for the week.

My boyfriend's stepmom actually got pretty sick. 104 fever. It actually spiked from 101.4 to 104 after she took Tylenol. But it went down right after that. They live in a retirement community with a nurse on call, so the medical staff was ready in case the fever persisted. But it didn't. His dad didn't have any side effects. 

[luminousone]

On 2/8/2021 at 4:09 AM, Jibralta said:

My boyfriend's stepmom actually got pretty sick. 104 fever. It actually spiked from 101.4 to 104 after she took Tylenol. But it went down right after that. They live in a retirement community with a nurse on call, so the medical staff was ready in case the fever persisted. But it didn't. His dad didn't have any side effects. 

Yes- my coworker did too! Her mom and dad (health professionals) think that it meant that she had had a mild case of COVID at some point, so her body reacted strongly to the first dose. More like you would expect with the second dose. She is fine now - just took a few days. 
 

I hope to either have light duty in the days after my second dose - or have it done just before the weekend.

Also, our work said staff should try to stagger the second dose so we are not all sick at once. Haha!

 

[luminousone]

We celebrated my mom’s 100th birthday this week! We had a family Zoom party for her, and she actually seemed to smile and respond! Since she is in a memory care center, she cannot yet receive visitors. But once my brother gets vaccinated, I think they will allow him to go. My mom and staff have had both doses now.

[luminousone]

I forgot to say about an email I got from a guy at our church. He is very thoughtful, and full of prayers for all. So somehow, when my mother in law passed away a few weeks ago, he thought it was my mother. So he sent me an email to express his deep condolences. I thanked him, but let him know that she was my former MIL, but that I loved her and will miss her. 
 

And then you could tell that he was embarrassed and he said “I’m so sorry! I stand corrected”. And then a few minutes later he said, “I’m so sorry about your divorce”. At that point I decided not to let him know that it has been 11 years. I simply replied “No worries! I loved her and she will be missed.” And then just let it go... I think the poor guy was so worried that he said the wrong thing...

[Jibralta]

2 minutes ago, luminousone said:

I think the poor guy was so worried that he said the wrong thing...

Aw. 

2 minutes ago, luminousone said:

At that point I decided not to let him know that it has been 11 years. I simply replied “No worries! I loved her and she will be missed.” And then just let it go...

I think that's often best when you're dealing with someone who may be a little anxious.

[luminousone]

On 2/13/2021 at 3:58 PM, Jibralta said:

Aw. 

I think that's often best when you're dealing with someone who may be a little anxious.

Yes, I believe you are right on that. 
And maybe it is terrible of me, but I was amused by the whole email exchange (not to him, of course! I would not want to hurt his feelings!) The poor guy. He really tries to be so thoughtful to everyone.

[luminousone]

Just now, luminousone said:

Yes, I believe you are right on that. 
And maybe it is terrible of me, but I was amused by the whole email exchange (not to him, of course! I would not want to hurt his feelings!) The poor guy. He really tries to be so thoughtful to everyone.

I would like to think that my MIL would have been amused by the exchange too. She had a good sense of humor.

[Jibralta]

7 hours ago, luminousone said:

And maybe it is terrible of me, but I was amused by the whole email exchange (not to him, of course! I would not want to hurt his feelings!)

Nah, it's amusing. You're not hurting anyone.

It's nice that he cares. A lot of people don't.

[luminousone]

It occurred to me that Valentines Day came and went without fanfare for me this year. No special person in my life and honestly, being sick consumed this year. 
 

I usually send a text to my sons, and wear red or pink to work. But it wasn’t a school day and really I forgot.

My younger son called that day - he usually calls on Monday nights but called a day early. But neither of us mentioned anything about Valentines.

I had gotten on to my email to take care of something and there was an email from my ex, asking for some forms for taxes. It was late and I ignored it until the next day.

And so a few days later I was talking with a friend and mentioned that he was already starting (our business) taxes, and it dawned on me that he was working on taxes on Valentines Day! Sheesh!

I went back and looked, and sure enough, the first email was sent at 7 pm and the second one at 11:30 that night.

I guess he hasn’t changed much. He never did put in much romantic effort once we were married, but I just figured he regretted getting married.

He has been with his girlfriend for about 10 years. She is actually pretty sweet. She deserves better than that. (I did too.)

[Seraphim]

Happy Birthday to your mom! What a milestone! 

[Jibralta]

6 hours ago, luminousone said:

He never did put in much romantic effort once we were married, but I just figured he regretted getting married.

Oh, how dismal 👎 boo.

[luminousone]

Busy work week. Lots of meetings.

2 of my colleagues are retiring at the end of the year, so we will have some changes next year.

Ex has done my taxes - a few random questions from him this week, but I think he got it mostly done. 
 

Went to my doctor appointment yesterday and got my treatment shots. My doc told me that the shipment of chemo drugs was held up because of snow and ice, so they had to reschedule some chemo patients.

It wouldn’t have made a big deal for me to delay for a week, but I feel bad for the infusion patients that couldn’t have their scheduled treatment. But the shipment finally arrived, and people are getting back on track now.

We rely on the supply chain, and it is startling when that chain is broken or disrupted.

[luminousone]

So glad to be off work for the weekend.

Next week I get my second shot, so we’ll see how that goes! 
 

Our school is gearing up to go hybrid instruction soon. I am on one of the committees that is planning for it. There are 90 page documents of regulations and conditions we must have in place for it to happen. It is so overwhelming, and I am not sure how we are going to pull it all off. 
 

Of course, I won’t be there in person this Spring. Maybe next Fall if my doctor says...

Taxes are complete now, thanks to my ex.

I got my treatment shot last week, and you are supposed to walk or move after the shot for 20 minutes, so I vacuumed the whole house. So I didn’t have to do much of that this weekend. 
 

I donated 8 bags of clothes, coats, a few tarps, etc. on Friday. After I lost so much weight being sick, I cleaned out a lot of my clothes that don’t fit anymore. Plus, my boys had left a lot of old clothes and a few coats they didn’t need anymore.

 

So- I’ve been collecting it all through this year. And I was too weak/sick to take it anywhere. I think a lot of places were closed, anyway, because of COVID. So our church sent out volunteers for a clothing drive. And then they will get items to agencies that need them. 
 

Because- those needs don’t stop just because COVID shut places down...

Anyway, my back room is cleared out and it feels so good!

Next up - I have a year’s worth of bottles that need to be taken in for deposit return. I donate that money to our church youth group. Once my second vaccine shot takes hold, then I’ll feel better about taking those back to the bottle return center.

Today I made lentil vegetable soup. I have not cooked in such a long time! (Just freezer stuff). It was really good, and I made a big pot of it. A lot will go into the freezer.

[Jibralta]

I love a good, hearty soup. 

I used to stay at a family friend's house when I was in graduate school, and they often cooked these big batches of soup. Lentil, split pea, and some kind of kale soup that was out of this world. Everybody was sort of in awe of the deliciousness of the kale soup, and referred to it as "The Soup."

I grew up hating peas, I think because of this traumatic experience that I had in nursery school, where the mean teacher made me eat all of the mushy peas on my plate. So, peas and things like split pea soup were off the menu for me for about 30 years. But I finally tried split pea soup at my family friend's house, and oh my god it's good.

They make it with a ham hock, so there's this wonderful flavor, and these little bits of ham throughout.

It's making me hungry just thinking about it....

[luminousone]

11 hours ago, Jibralta said:

I love a good, hearty soup. 

I used to stay at a family friend's house when I was in graduate school, and they often cooked these big batches of soup. Lentil, split pea, and some kind of kale soup that was out of this world. Everybody was sort of in awe of the deliciousness of the kale soup, and referred to it as "The Soup."

I grew up hating peas, I think because of this traumatic experience that I had in nursery school, where the mean teacher made me eat all of the mushy peas on my plate. So, peas and things like split pea soup were off the menu for me for about 30 years. But I finally tried split pea soup at my family friend's house, and oh my god it's good.

They make it with a ham hock, so there's this wonderful flavor, and these little bits of ham throughout.

It's making me hungry just thinking about it....

Haven’t made split pea in years. Unless you use a crockpot, you have to stir it constantly to keep it from sticking. But - yumm! Maybe that will be my next project.

I must be feeling a lot better, because today I got all the recycling out - months worth of Amazon and delivery boxes! 
 

Have not dealt with the return bottles yet - I’ll wait until my immunities are built up after my second shot.

But - now that the clothes bags and the piles of cardboard are gone, my house feels bigger, haha!

It is such a beautiful day out today - lots of sunshine!

[luminousone]

Well, I had my second Moderna shot yesterday after work. My arm was a little sore when I went to bed.

I woke up at 3am quite chilled, so I put on a fleece jacket and hat, and piled another blanket on.

when my alarm went off this morning for work, I thought “Okay, I can do this”. And then I got up to take my meds - I was so stiff! And I had a slight fever of 100.4 F. My arm was super sore and so was my back, so I decided to call out sick. Even though I’m working from home. I just didn’t have the energy to hold my arms up to type into the computer.

No one was surprised, in fact one of the teachers had already made alternative arrangements before I texted her. Lol. She had gotten her second dose on Monday, and was out Tuesday. So she knew.

I did run into a few of my colleagues at the appointment, so that was fun! They were out today too.

So - I stayed in bed all day, dozing at times and immersing myself in social media...

While I still have a fever of 101.3, I’ll likely work tomorrow. As the day went on, I began to feel a bit better. And tomorrow is Friday!

A friend of mine got her first Pfizer today, and another friend gets her first Moderna on Saturday- her birthday!

While my school will likely go hybrid, (and even though I’ve been vaccinated) I told them I’m still working from home until the end of the year. And they are fine with that. Since I’m still on chemo pills, I want to give my body enough time to develop immunities. My pharmacist said that it may take my body longer.

Although my side effects today tell me that the shot has really triggered a strong immune response, so maybe I’m okay on that. But I already made my decision for now...

[Jibralta]

8 hours ago, luminousone said:

Although my side effects today tell me that the shot has really triggered a strong immune response, so maybe I’m okay on that. But I already made my decision for now...

Good. Definitely go easy on yourself!

8 hours ago, luminousone said:

And I had a slight fever of 100.4 F. My arm was super sore and so was my back, so I decided to call out sick......

I did run into a few of my colleagues at the appointment, so that was fun! They were out today too......

While I still have a fever of 101.3.....

Oh boy. My boyfriend is scheduled for his second dose next Thursday--right in time for us to go away for the weekend. He's already nervous about the timing. I'm not going to tell him this lol!

Don't ask me how he got his shots already. I think because he had asthma once upon a time.

[luminousone]

On 3/5/2021 at 3:58 AM, Jibralta said:

Good. Definitely go easy on yourself!

Oh boy. My boyfriend is scheduled for his second dose next Thursday--right in time for us to go away for the weekend. He's already nervous about the timing. I'm not going to tell him this lol!

Don't ask me how he got his shots already. I think because he had asthma once upon a time.

Yes, every state is slightly different in their categories. Also, my neighbor had been in a bicycling  accident 15 years ago. He was paralyzed for some months but he has worked hard to regain mobility. He still walks with a limp and a cane but he loves skiing and hits the slopes all winter.
 

Somehow our state contacted him to get the vaccine and they contacted his wife to get it too. They got it, but she was confused because they hadn’t yet opened it up for her age group. I happened to know that shots were offered to state caregivers that week, and I bet somehow they were on that list. 
 

so yes, your partner likely qualified through the asthma.

[luminousone]

By the way, Tylenol helped.

[luminousone]

My friend got her first shot today and it was her birthday.

Nothing exciting for me today - just did a Zoom for a book group then talked my birthday friend. Ordered grocery delivery and put that away, did some reading and took a nap. Lazy type day, but I’m still processing the shot so it was just what I needed.

Blood test results came in last week, and I had expected to see a blip in the results because I had had the first dose of the vaccine during that month. But, continued progress was shown so yay for that!

[luminousone]

My birthday friend and I were talking about things we might feel more comfortable doing once the vaccine immunities kick in. I can take my car in for service. And get my carpets cleaned. And get my furnace tuned up. Maybe quickly go into a store. Things like that. All with masks and social distancing still. But wow, I’m excited to be able to loosen up just a bit.

[luminousone]

20 hours ago, luminousone said:

My birthday friend and I were talking about things we might feel more comfortable doing once the vaccine immunities kick in. I can take my car in for service. And get my carpets cleaned. And get my furnace tuned up. Maybe quickly go into a store. Things like that. All with masks and social distancing still. But wow, I’m excited to be able to loosen up just a bit.

Adding more to the dream list: haircuts, getting my teeth cleaned

Okay, still not quite sure about those two yet. Because it involves someone breathing very close to me - masked, yes, but not distanced. I want to see how things go with vaccines versus the variants out there.  Maybe teeth cleaning is okay, because they are all vaccinated. But I had pushed my appointment out to August - I skipped the 6 month cleaning and she was okay with that. So I’ll probably just go with that.

[luminousone]

I got out and mowed the lawn today for the first time this year. It felt great to be out, and the weather was mid-60s! 

I didn’t feel overtaxed by doing the lawn, but later I realized my arm muscles were a bit sore from maneuvering the lawn mower (never had that happen before). I have not done any exercise for a year. Time to start it up.

I also went to pick up my online grocery order. They got it done early for me, but of course my car wouldn’t start and I had to charge up the jumper battery. In the end, I just hooked the battery up to the charger and got it taken care of in that way.

Next week, for sure, I need to take my car in for service. Enough of this jumping business. (But I pretty much know how to do it now, since I’ve had lots of practice).

I have to work tomorrow to prepare some training videos. I volunteered to do them. We are all stretched so thin at work!

Younger son is working on finishing up projects and papers for the term, and then he is on spring break. My break starts after Friday. I’m ready.

My friend J went back to work for a few days, and she works all next week. Her cat was really upset that she wasn’t home all day like she has been. As people start going back to work, there are going to be some traumatized and lonely pets out there that got used to having their “subjects” home!

 

 

[luminousone]

My heart hurts.

Ugh.

My youngest son finally admitted to me that he believes the pandemic is a hoax. He spouted “information “ that I have heard from a friend who is a Trumper and conspiracy theorists, and who gets all of her “info” from Parler, and other such websites.

The way it came up in conversation, was I just asked a simple question in conversation about how his workouts were going. I guess they kicked him out of the gym because he refused to wear a mask. He was upset because they were trying to “control” him.

I just feel that he has gotten into some kind of cult.

He is a very bright individual. I just don’t understand where this is coming from! Obviously some internet site, but he wouldn’t say where. I told him I felt he had been brainwashed- and then he said the same of me.

The more we sparred about it, the deeper I realized he is in it.

He is stubborn, and always has been. He is determined and once he makes up his mind about something, he is rock solid about it.

In the end, I pulled the mom card. I told him that if he wants to be around me then I expect him to wear a mask - because even if he does not believe in the need for them, my perception is that they do work. And wearing a mask is to show you care about others. And that I brought him up to be polite and to care for others. 
 

He has been so good to call me every week. He shopped for me all those months until last spring. He has helped his grandma until she died a few months ago, and he is helping his grandpa through his grief.

I asked him to look at valid data with peer-reviewed research and large sample sizes. I also asked him to look at the epidemiological studies on COVID spread.

I’m not going to get anywhere with him. 
 

I told him that I love him, even if we disagree. 
 

I just having to keep loving him. I am really worried about what he has gotten into.

[Seraphim]

13 hours ago, luminousone said:

My heart hurts.

Ugh.

My youngest son finally admitted to me that he believes the pandemic is a hoax. He spouted “information “ that I have heard from a friend who is a Trumper and conspiracy theorists, and who gets all of her “info” from Parler, and other such websites.

The way it came up in conversation, was I just asked a simple question in conversation about how his workouts were going. I guess they kicked him out of the gym because he refused to wear a mask. He was upset because they were trying to “control” him.

I just feel that he has gotten into some kind of cult.

He is a very bright individual. I just don’t understand where this is coming from! Obviously some internet site, but he wouldn’t say where. I told him I felt he had been brainwashed- and then he said the same of me.

The more we sparred about it, the deeper I realized he is in it.

He is stubborn, and always has been. He is determined and once he makes up his mind about something, he is rock solid about it.

In the end, I pulled the mom card. I told him that if he wants to be around me then I expect him to wear a mask - because even if he does not believe in the need for them, my perception is that they do work. And wearing a mask is to show you care about others. And that I brought him up to be polite and to care for others. 
 

He has been so good to call me every week. He shopped for me all those months until last spring. He has helped his grandma until she died a few months ago, and he is helping his grandpa through his grief.

I asked him to look at valid data with peer-reviewed research and large sample sizes. I also asked him to look at the epidemiological studies on COVID spread.

I’m not going to get anywhere with him. 
 

I told him that I love him, even if we disagree. 
 

I just having to keep loving him. I am really worried about what he has gotten into.

I hear you. My son is the same along with it being a Satanic take over of the world .