SATURDAY WHAT'S HAPPENING?

  Need to get HOT coffee be right back!!!

Good Morning OFF,

I can't believe I'm awake at this hour. I was up late last night. I didn't get tired for some reason.

Vickie, I'm sorry that Chris is adding to your stress right now. It sounds like she's not coping with life too well. Being bipolar and having an addiction, PLUS everyday life with two kids and a full time job, PLUS Butch's illness, and not being in therapy or recovery, her behavior sounds typical. Having been out of control in the past, plus having worked with people with mental illness and addictions combined, I've seen it before. It's not right, or helpful to you right now especially. But, this is how she is coping, or not coping with life right now. I'm going to continue to continue taking baby steps toward getting organized here.

Love and Prayers, Trish

OK  Much better!!! LOL

Well I have been so darn busy this week I didn't feel like posting when I got home. I did read everyday though.

Vicki...OMG!!!!!!! How you can deal with that daughter of yours is beyond me!!! I would have her hung on a wall so many times!!!! WOW!!!!!!! You just CAN'T keep bailing her out each and every time!!!!!! She HAS to learn!!! I know she has a "problem" and if I remember right she refuses to take medication for it? Well its time for her to TAKE IT!!!!!!!!!! My God!!!!!!She is a grown woman AND a mother now!!!!!!!! YOU and her dad will NOT be around forever to bail her out!!!!!!!!! What then??????? Sorry...I will shut up now. My thoughts and Prayers continue...love you dearly!!!

Connie hope that you are writing down all your questions for the dr so when you finally do get there you have them all ready!! Hope you are having a great time with the kids!!! Send me a text With your new haircut!!!  LOL

Carla glad that you are home from hospital...but hope you are taking it EASY!!!  Get some rest and not be running all over ok?

Eileen glad that you got in the Y and hope you enjoy it!!! Wish I had time to do something!!! I am so worn out after working all day and running back and forth between complexes...

Trish how are you doing?

Sorry if I am missing anyone...my CRS i****ting!!!

Well I have been trying to get my RECERTS done and keeping the clubhouse in order...had BINGO yesterday and had 7 people show up. Not a bad crowd I guess for it being cold out. Plus two of the regulars no longer live here anymore. But we had a good time.

Passed out the monthly newsletter and a couple other notices yesterday and found one tenant that had a dish of cat food on her patio. Now this tenant has been told NOT to feed these feral cats. ALL tenants have been told numerous time NOT TO FEED THESE CATS!!! So I took the dish with the food and threw it in the dumpster. These cats are pooping all over the sidewalks, tenants patios, their furniture, peeing all over also. I am getting ALOT of complaints on these cats also. There is nothing I can do about them. NOTHING!!!!!! Feeding them is AGAINST THE RULES! NOT MINE...CORPORATES!!!!!!! So anyhow when I was out walking Bandit this tenant is outside talking to these cats...she sees me and said oh I was telling them I can't feed them I don't know what happened to the di****old her I threw it away. She said she wants it back. I said its in the dumpster!! I also told her YOU CAN'T FEED THESE CATS!!! YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD ALREADY AND I AM TELLING YOU ONE LAST TIME! YOU CAN NOT FEED THESE CATS!!! THEY ARE POOPING EVERYWHERE!! PATIOS, SIDEWALKS, FURNITURE...NO MORE FEEDING THEM!!!!! She says back to me...GUESS I HAVE BEEN TOLD. Then she says...I didn't know they were doing that all over...I told her you don't see the poop all over on the sidewalk going to your van??? You don't SMELL the pee on your patio?????? Come on!!!!! Walk around a little more you WILL SEE IT ALL OVER!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SICK OF IT AND SO ARE THE TENANTS!!!!!!!!! I find she is feeding them again she gets a letter from corporate!! I feel bad for these cats but this is so bad with all the poop and the pee EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!! So do NOT bash me on this. You do NOT LIVE HERE!!!!! You do NOT have to put up with it either. And NO animal control nor Humane Society will NOT help us out to get these cats!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow we are once again looking at a snow storm. Right now they are saying 3-5 inches. But still waiting for the next modules to come in. WONDERFUL. NOT!!!!!!!!!  I am so tired of this winter already!!!! Plus come Monday morning I have to go to court for an eviction. So not looking forward to trying to get there in a lot of snow!!!

Not sure if I mentioned on here or not that I changed my mind on the dress for my son's wedding. I ordered a different one. This one is a violet colored lace one and if you want to see what it looks like, go to ROMANS catalog and look at ****tail dresses and you will see it there. I just hope I like how it looks on me. I should be getting it any day now. The black one was long and had a slit up the side of the leg to the knee. Mom picked that one out. I am going to keep that one and will wear that to mom's funeral in her memory. Least I can do. right? Well I don't have any descent clothes to wear so that would be ok wouldn't it? Yes? No? I just didn't feel right wearing it to a wedding as mother of the groom.

Well Bandit needs to go potty walking so I need to get dressed. Talk on and I will be back later.

Thoughts and Prayers for ALL that need them!!!

HUGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Hi Judy,

I would never bash you for enforcing the rule about not feeding the feral cats.  It's a problem here too.  One of my neighbors feeds them.  They're smart, and don't come over here, since Utley is out front frequently, especially in nice weather.  I sometimes see them on my driveway when I'm coming home at night.  Colleen has a family of them living under a shed in the backyard.  There's nothing she can do about it here either.  I have heard of some agencies, which are hard to find, where they will live trap them, get them neutered, and then release them again.  It's absolutely necessary to enforce that rule, because of the problem with cat waste.  

Good luck with the tenants.

Love,

Trish

Good morning Judy and my sistas!

Oh, Judy, the things you put up with at the Funny Farm.  

Well, I have to agree with you about the dress.  I'm not usually a stickler for fashion rules, but the one thing I always believe is that the Mother of the Bride or Groom should NOT wear WHITE or BLACK.  I've seen MOB's wear such elaborate white outfits that it's like they are trying to upstage the bride.  Which is totally ridiculous, IMO.  And black?  Well, I think that sends a message, whether it's intentional or not.  So yes!  I vote for the purple dress!  (Just my say-so.)

We are muddling along here.  Butch is still sleeping.  He sleeps a LOT these days.  I think it is from all the pain meds.  He is lucid when he's awake.  Sort of.  He can't follow the plot on a TV show or movie very well, but he does know who he is and where he is, etc.  The sun is back out today and I plan to get him outside and walking a bit.  He's done nothing but sit in his recliner or lay in bed for the past 3 days.  He needs to at least move around a little bit.

His broken collar bone is hurting him quite a bit.  They gave us a brace to wear for it, and so far, he's refused to use it, but I'm thinking today I'm going to insist he try wearing it and see if it helps.  That man is so damn stubborn!

Well, Christie did manage to find a baby sitter for today and tomorrow, but not before she called Carrie up in Waco to see if she could come down and babysit the boys.  Carrie called me and we both discussed it for an hour.  I told her she could not drive 3 hours to babysit on Saturdays, and she told me I could not expend my energy on taking care of the boys right now, and I guess we just kind of shored each other up.  Y'all cannot imagine the kind of pressure that Christie can bring to the table!  I know y'all think she is awful.  I probably shouldn't talk about her here.  It's very difficult to understand the extent of her mental illness and not think she's nuts.  She functions very well in some areas.  She's intelligent, capable, innovative, and loving.  She's not all bad!  But she does have areas that are just out of sync with the rest of the "normal" world.  If you haven't lived it, you simply can't comprehend it.  

Anyway, crisis is solved for this weekend.  Thank God. (And that's not just an expression.  I mean it.)

Judy, don't laugh, but I STILL haven't taken down my Christmas tree!  Have you?  I think I will have to try and tackle that today.  LOL!  Not a minute too soon, eh?

So, hope everyone is doing well today.  Connie, enjoy your sweet family!  Can't remember who all is doing what else this weekend, but I love you all!

P.S.  Here's a funny just for my sistas this weekend:

Hello All,

Today, I am making me a pair of business casual pants and I have the shirt ready to sew up for one of the presentations that I will be doing next week.  The pants are black and the top is black with a little yellow and gold print.   The top will match perfectly with a broach that I will wear on my jacket.   If I have time, I might make me a long skirt too.   Anyway, I usually buy my clothes but make my grandkids' and daughters' things but lately I have been sewing like a fool.   I'm going to Qatar and am not flying straight through; although, my layover at Heathrow will only last three hours.   

I really thought I had messed my knee up but the doctor said it was the transplant and once he gets the inflammation down, I should be better.  I am walking and walking and walking but have not been able to run yet.   

Vic bipolar is a horrible disease and it is so hard for those who have never lived with a child that struggles with these issues to understand the dichotomy of functions: on the one hand, they can do so well in so many areas but on the other hand the fail big time in usually one area alone.   And, their emotional intelligence is hampered by the drama that they bring to the table.   When my daughter began exhibiting symptoms of bipolar she was about fifteen and I noticed her just sucking the life right out of the room and no for her meant temporarily no but she could negotiate.   Even now, she will ask me for something and I'll say that I cannot do it and she will start trying to persuade me but then she realizes what she is doing and she will apologize...but she is almost 38 years old and has finally learned that her behavior is unacceptable.  That doesn't mean she doesn't make some very poor financial choices such as spending like a fool over the holidays and needing me to pay her utility bills that, of course, were behind.    Just what I don't need is to spend 500 bucks on her household when I am about to leave the country.   

Also, Vic, I agree that you should make efforts to get Butch moving so that he doesn't develop pneumonia or clots.   Maybe you could remind him to take deep breaths and do a little coughing so that his lungs don't collapse.   I know this is frightening but any lung condition can worsen if the person isn't taking some deep breaths here and there.  

Judy, the cat issue is something I know is a big issue.  Since my husband and I moved into this little apartment, we have seen the pros and cons for not feeding the feral cats.  Everyone in our apartment complex feeds the feral cats.   We also capture and take them to the clinic that either spays or neuters them for free...the hope is that they won't keep reproducing.  Of course we live near a wooded area so the cats don't potty around our apartments and I wonder if we had that problem all of us would still feed.  

Ladies, have a good day...those who are in the icy and snowy areas, proceed out your doors with caution; the rest of us, enjoy the day...my day of sewing will be accompanied by the sun streaming through the blinds.    My word for the day, productivity.  

Vickie, 

My niece is bipolar and lived above my mom with her three boys. She was on drugs too and the drama w a s dreadful. We had to lock up everything of value and all medication. It was so hard for me to say no to her. She ended up in jail for selling drugs. It was a jail/rehab combo.  Thank goodness because she got clean and the properly diagnosed her and got het on the correct medication to control the bipolar. 

Sadly, she violated my trust so badly and left me with a slew of unpaid bills from her apartment and money i loaned her. She lied to me and my mom so often that i came to believe every word out of her mouth was a lie. Anyway, she has been clean and sober of a year and a half and stable on medication and is holding down a good manufacturing job. The sad thing is, when i saw her at Thanksgiving, i was unable to believe what she said about her life until her mom confirmed it. She is my namesake and i love her dearly. I just don't know if i will ever trust her. 

You are doing the best thing for her by setting boundaries and letting your no mean no. 

In my prayers. 

Vickie, 

Seems everyone can come on here and say they know someone who is bipolar. My cousin Christine, who is the daughter of my Uncle John, was stuck living with a bipolar mother after Uncle John drowned. And her mom wouldn't let Christine see her dad's side of the family. So she lost contact with her paternal grandmother, plus all her cousins and aunts and uncles (big family). We rediscovered her years later and heard about her tough life growing up. Her mom was institutionalized several times and her grandmother raised her. Not a fun childhood. 

Hi Vickie,

It sounds like you set a good boundary for Christie.  I do not think she is awful.  She's suffering from a mental illness.  She needs help, and right now she's refusing to get it.  Now that you can't rescue her, because you need to focus on Butch, she might see her need to get help.  I grew up with my bipolar mom, and then inherited it, along with both of my brothers.  It put all of us in the psych hospitals at least once, sometimes more.  Growing up with it, life pretty much sucked.  Same for my kids, till I got stable.  Growing up, I had no clue what mental illness was.  Now, especially since I have it, and also studied it, I've come to realize that it's a lot like diabetes, or any other illness.  It's treatable, and bipolar disorder and schizophrenia require medication.  Recovery is challenging and hard work.  It means changing everything about how you think and relate.  Before I got better, I had no clue what normal felt like.  Now, I do.

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm making excuses for Chris.  Taking responsibility for one's behavior, and recovery is challenging, especially if there's also a chemical addiction.

Love you,

Trish

Hi Judy and my OFF family:

Wow, lots of stuff. Judy, I agree, no black for the MOB. 

Vickie, you know you have to set boundaries for Christie. And I agree with Jeannie on the need for Butch to ward off pneumonia with deep breaths and blood clots ... get him to do leg lifts and make sure he gets up and walks around a bit. And do foot pumps. I know this is a tough time for you. Wish I could help.

As for the feral cats ... well, Juliette was a feral who came in. But Patricia, who fed the feral colonies, trapped, neutered and released ... kept some to place if she found she could domesticate them, like Juliette. She brought down the feral population considerably. But you can't have that in an apartment complex like you have, Judy. It's not healthy.

As for me, my siblings are getting together today to go over Mom's papers. Ed will get mom to sign over her power of attorney and they have to find out other things for her as she goes into a permanent nursing home/ assisted living facility. This place she's in at least got her walking a little better. 

And poor Richard ... he's in desperate need of cash without a job and no money while he waits for disability. I loaned him some. Now ... I don't have a lot extra, but way back a couple of years, he bailed me out when I was close to having my car repo'd. The karma bounces back. It's my turn to help him out. 

Anyway, I need to get going and get ready for work. Have a good day.