Merry Christmas Everybody!

Just wanting to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year, and sending blessings to you all. Wishing my Jewish friends, Happy Channukah, and to those celebrating other holidays, I hope yours are also joyous and full of memory making!

This has been a busy year for me and mine. It seems like it has gone very quickly ... I guess it's true that the older you get, the quicker the years seem to pass by. I hope yours has been a good one, but my prayers are with those who lost a loved one this year, whether to death, divorce, or an ending of a relationship. The pain of loss is never an easy one to deal with, and especially at times when families come together, that pain is exacerbated.

Work-wise, I achieved President's Club with my AVON, and I am looking forward to working towards achieving it again in 2017. My WATKINS, I will soon have my own website for that too, and am hoping that will help me expand that business too.

My goals for hubby and I to downsize and make his life easier, with a lakeside retreat so that he could get off work, push his rowboat out into the middle of the lake, to unwind, have changed.

Hubby would like us to get into raising some livestock and koi, for our retirement income, so our homesite searches have changed.

We are slowly decluttering.

We were going to donate my Land Rover to Goodwill and take a tax break, but cannot find the title, so have put it up for sale as is, with lost title, for $1200 which can then go towards our new place.

I've started collecting my Thrive cans and am going to be getting 5 and 10 gallon buckets so that come Spring, I can plant in them and will be able to move them easily to our new place.

I am looking forward to our New Year and putting our plans into motion!

I hope you have lots of plans for yours, and I wish you well in getting them all to fruition. 

God bless you all 

December is here!

Well, this has been a busy week, and that's for sure!

Wednesday, we had a tornado hit our area, and missed us by maybe 1/4 mile. To say I was terrified, is an understatement. I had to hobble down the hallway and sit in the bathroom there since it had no outside walls, but the loo is normal height, not like the taller one we have in my bathroom. No way could I get in the bathtub to take shelter, but getting to sit on the toilet itself to wait out the storm ... well, suffice to say, that (in itself) was a major feat for me. And when we got the all clear 40 minutes later, I had the joy of then TRYING to get up off there. I can laugh at it now, but I was stiff as a board and my knees and hips did NOT want to work to help me get up!

Seeing the damage some people experienced, I am even more thankful that we were spared. Apparently it was an EF1, which is nothing compared to those that places like AR and OK experience, but for us, here, it's a big deal. People had roofs fly off, siding and fences down, plus we had trees and power lines down.

I am thankful that's not something that happens frequently here!

With my AVON, I am struggling this year to make President's Club and have until 7th December to accomplish it. I am short about $1000 in sales and am hoping some lovely people will want to take advantage of AVON's great offers, and will place an order through my website .

Working on my diet because of all the issues, I've managed to combine all the finer points of eating for my blood group, along with eating foods that are more alkaline (in order to neutralise the acid that is the aggressor of the hernia that raised it's head a couple of months ago) and seem to be doing something right as the hernia symptoms are lessening (hoping that means it's healing naturally) AND I'm losing inches. That's a big WOOHOO all the way around.

Hoping you all have a wonderful day

Way too cold for me, already!

I used to love Winters back when I was a kid. Cold and snow wasn't going to stop me. Scarf, hat and mittens meant I could go out and play in the white stuff as much as I wanted. Extra socks and wellie boots kept my feet from becoming icicles, and "layering" clothes meant 2 or 3 blouses and a couple of jumpers so that I looked more like a Weeble than a child. It was so much fun, we'd be out building snowmen and having snowball fights ...

Now that's all just memories, as my arthritis means my joints can predict the weather with far more accuracy than any tv weather man or gal. That low deep throb reverbates to let me know when cold, damp, rain or snow are on their way, and there's no joy in that knowledge.

Added to which, I just cannot stay warm any more. Even in bed, under 3 quilts and an extra one folded across the bottom, for my tootsies, I shiver, and my hand that is outside the covers, gets icy cold. My nose, well, let's say that if I was a dog, I'd be a really healthy one, as my nose stays cold and wet!

It does not help that I am a cheapskate. I pop the heater on for a few minutes of a morning, so that hubby can be warm as he gets out of bed and gets dressed.  When I'm in the kitchen, feeding animals, I pop the one gas burner on to take the edge off. When I'm cooking the heat from that helps get the kitchen nice and cosy.

What irks me right now, the most, is that it's NOT EVEN WINTER yet! This is supposed to be Fall! I want an Autumn, and it slid in and out in about a week.

I'm not a "bah humbug!" type of person, but my heart just does not enjoy Winter the way that I did when I was a child.

I still love seeing the Winter scenes in pictures, and I love hearing children laughing outside as they play in it, but other than that, I'm just not into it any more.

Now, Christmas, oh I still love Christmas. The Nativity. Father Christmas. Carols and Christmas songs. The lights. Old movies. Magical memories. Picking the perfect gift for each person. I am most definitely a Christmas person. For the last few years, I've not had a tree up (an accident waiting to happen, with 4 furry felines!) and I do miss it but safety comes first. We already had a cat set fire to our kitchen a few years ago, we do not want the living room going up in flames as well.

Explaining hat to the insurance man was almost funny.
"The cat did it."
"It's ok. You're covered even if you left a pan on the stove and it burned dry ..."
"Nope, the cat switched the burner on and the dehydrator was sitting on the stove top and that's the plastic that's all melted and flared up."
He was a nice man. Yes he probably thought I was nuts, but Outlaw had reached up before and turned the gas on, and I'd had to open windows to clear the air. This time, he had somehow managed to turn it more and the starter had sparked, successfully lighting that burner.

Over $4000 in damage ... and then the darn cat committed suicide less than a week later :(  He was an indoor/outdoor cat, and we found him on the side of the road, near our gate, just looking as though he was asleep.

He's buried in our pet cemetery in the back yard.

Hence, no Christmas tree with dangling lights and shiny trinkets that it would no doubt delight the felines to pull down.

Most of my Christmas gift shopping is done. I did it though friends online, who have home based businesses, some of whom do wonderful home crafts and through my AVON. I have just a couple of things left on my list. Since I don't like crowds and traffic, it's the perfect solution for me, and I've found awesome things for some of my favourite people.

Well, stay warm, my friends. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families, this Thursday.

If you still have Christmas shopping to do, please take a look through the Holiday Gift Guide on my website www.youravon.com/rosemarydempsey  I'd love to have your support, and you can use code WELCOME to get a 20% discount off a $50 order!

Way too cold for me, already!

I used to love Winters back when I was a kid. Cold and snow wasn't going to stop me. Scarf, hat and mittens meant I could go out and play in the white stuff as much as I wanted. Extra socks and wellie boots kept my feet from becoming icicles, and "layering" clothes meant 2 or 3 blouses and a couple of jumpers so that I looked more like a Weeble than a child. It was so much fun, we'd be out building snowmen and having snowball fights ...

Now that's all just memories, as my arthritis means my joints can predict the weather with far more accuracy than any tv weather man or gal. That low deep throb reverbates to let me know when cold, damp, rain or snow are on their way, and there's no joy in that knowledge.

Added to which, I just cannot stay warm any more. Even in bed, under 3 quilts and an extra one folded across the bottom, for my tootsies, I shiver, and my hand that is outside the covers, gets icy cold. My nose, well, let's say that if I was a dog, I'd be a really healthy one, as my nose stays cold and wet!

It does not help that I am a cheapskate. I pop the heater on for a few minutes of a morning, so that hubby can be warm as he gets out of bed and gets dressed.  When I'm in the kitchen, feeding animals, I pop the one gas burner on to take the edge off. When I'm cooking the heat from that helps get the kitchen nice and cosy.

What irks me right now, the most, is that it's NOT EVEN WINTER yet! This is supposed to be Fall! I want an Autumn, and it slid in and out in about a week.

I'm not a "bah humbug!" type of person, but my heart just does not enjoy Winter the way that I did when I was a child.

I still love seeing the Winter scenes in pictures, and I love hearing children laughing outside as they play in it, but other than that, I'm just not into it any more.

Now, Christmas, oh I still love Christmas. The Nativity. Father Christmas. Carols and Christmas songs. The lights. Old movies. Magical memories. Picking the perfect gift for each person. I am most definitely a Christmas person. For the last few years, I've not had a tree up (an accident waiting to happen, with 4 furry felines!) and I do miss it but safety comes first. We already had a cat set fire to our kitchen a few years ago, we do not want the living room going up in flames as well.

Explaining hat to the insurance man was almost funny.
"The cat did it."
"It's ok. You're covered even if you left a pan on the stove and it burned dry ..."
"Nope, the cat switched the burner on and the dehydrator was sitting on the stove top and that's the plastic that's all melted and flared up."
He was a nice man. Yes he probably thought I was nuts, but Outlaw had reached up before and turned the gas on, and I'd had to open windows to clear the air. This time, he had somehow managed to turn it more and the starter had sparked, successfully lighting that burner.

Over $4000 in damage ... and then the darn cat committed suicide less than a week later :(  He was an indoor/outdoor cat, and we found him on the side of the road, near our gate, just looking as though he was asleep.

He's buried in our pet cemetery in the back yard.

Hence, no Christmas tree with dangling lights and shiny trinkets that it would no doubt delight the felines to pull down.

Most of my Christmas gift shopping is done. I did it though friends online, who have home based businesses, some of whom do wonderful home crafts and through my AVON. I have just a couple of things left on my list. Since I don't like crowds and traffic, it's the perfect solution for me, and I've found awesome things for some of my favourite people.

Well, stay warm, my friends. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families, this Thursday.

If you still have Christmas shopping to do, please take a look through the Holiday Gift Guide on my website www.youravon.com/rosemarydempsey  I'd love to have your support, and you can use code WELCOME to get a 20% discount off a $50 order!

The Struggle is Real

One of the sadder things about getting older is losing one's independence, and dealing with pain. It happens to so many, but is never easy. Even worse though, I think, is when younger people have to go through that. 

Recently, a friend had foot surgery. She has 2nd grade twins who she home schools, and is very much an "on the go" person. She was getting so depressed at her lack of mobility while she could not use that foot. I tried to keep her spirits up, and she asked me how I am so positive, when this is my reality day after day. The thing is, this was all new to her, whereas I have had years now to heal the depressive "woe is me" and get to the "it is what it is" and "letting go of what I can't change". Don't get me wrong, am I happy to be basically bedridden 90% of the time? NO! Of course not! But I have made my peace with a body that no longer does what I want it to, and no longer trust to allow me to stand or walk safely without something sturdy to hold onto. I don't like it but this is how it is and there's no changing it.

However ... the things I can do ... I do to my fullest ability! When I cook, I trundle myself down to the kitchen with my walker, and then sit to prepare the ingredients and use the stove. While I am down in the kitchen, whether preparing hubby's pack lunch, breakfast or dinner, I'll sit and feed my animals or wash the dishes.

With my AVON, hubby will bring my boxes in and onto my bed, and I'll log them all in first, and then get my invoices printed up. Then, because I've been sat up awhile and kind of twisting getting stuff out of the boxes to check them in, I'll have to lie down on my side again to "rest" my back and relieve the pain. After resting, he'll bring me the printed invoices, and I'll bag the orders, stand the bags in the boxes, and he'll take them into my other room for me.

I don't know how I'd get along without him, he's my second rock. God being my first.

The thing is, I do as much as I can. When we do deliveries, I can still drive, but he's the one that gets out of the car and takes it to my customers. I have come to terms with my limitations.

Recently, my friend, Dimple (she who comes and cleans for me weekly), helped me with a project that's close to my heart. I have many. This time it was for a local shelter, Safe Harbor.

In my first marriage, I was an abused wife. 

My ex used to hit me all the time, embarrassed me by offering me to his friends (who I think were as embarrassed by his behaviour as I was), and even tried to make me miscarry my youngest daughter by pushing me down a flight of stairs, dragging me out of the house "cave-man style" by my hair and then kicking me in the stomach (supposedly - he said then - because his girlfriend was pregnant at the same time and didn't want to run the risk of us being in hospital together).

I was so young. I was demoralized. I had nowhere to go. I'd left and gone to my mum's a few times and he would come there, crying, and she'd say "he's your husband, talk to him". It was only when he got mad there one time, and she said something, and he grabbed her by the throat, that she realised exactly WHAT I had been going through. It took me 5 years to get away from him, and then I was 22 and with 3 small children.

So, I know how these women feel. 

I was going to donate some AVON to the Salvation Army as they also run a shelter that we donate to weekly, out of hubby's paycheck, and Dimple suggested Safe Harbor as an alternate, so we made up these awesome bags with a skin care product, a fragrance and a couple of other goodies like lotions, etc and she delivered them for me. She said the lady there was really happy to get them and knew the women would love them.

It might not be much, but we did a small thing, that made some other folks lives a little better. Their struggle is real. Being able to pamper themselves a little may help them as they work through self esteem issues.

Everyone has their own demons to fight.

It was my great granddaughter, Zayleigh's, birthday this past weekend and she is the big 3. My grandson is down from New York to spend time with her, and took some pics. She looks good in his fireman's hat, doesn't she?

He, on the other hand, I feel badly that he is so poor he cannot afford razors! LOL. I rag him about his fuzz all the while, he just rolls his eyes and grins.

I hate that he doesn't get to see her as often as he likes, but am glad he does get to spend some time with her. He loves and misses her so much.

I'll get to see HIM this weekend, before he goes back up to New York. It's been 22 months, and I miss HIM! LOL :)  He is still my baby boy! Way taller than me now but that doesn't change a thing!

I'm proud of the man he has become and is still becoming.

His struggle is real.

I guess my thing today is that pain, in different forms, and life in general, aren't always easy and everyone has their own struggles that they deal with. We have to try to be kinder, and make a difference when and where we can.

Have an awesome day, my friends.

The Struggle is Real

One of the sadder things about getting older is losing one's independence, and dealing with pain. It happens to so many, but is never easy. Even worse though, I think, is when younger people have to go through that. 

Recently, a friend had foot surgery. She has 2nd grade twins who she home schools, and is very much an "on the go" person. She was getting so depressed at her lack of mobility while she could not use that foot. I tried to keep her spirits up, and she asked me how I am so positive, when this is my reality day after day. The thing is, this was all new to her, whereas I have had years now to heal the depressive "woe is me" and get to the "it is what it is" and "letting go of what I can't change". Don't get me wrong, am I happy to be basically bedridden 90% of the time? NO! Of course not! But I have made my peace with a body that no longer does what I want it to, and no longer trust to allow me to stand or walk safely without something sturdy to hold onto. I don't like it but this is how it is and there's no changing it.

However ... the things I can do ... I do to my fullest ability! When I cook, I trundle myself down to the kitchen with my walker, and then sit to prepare the ingredients and use the stove. While I am down in the kitchen, whether preparing hubby's pack lunch, breakfast or dinner, I'll sit and feed my animals or wash the dishes.

With my AVON, hubby will bring my boxes in and onto my bed, and I'll log them all in first, and then get my invoices printed up. Then, because I've been sat up awhile and kind of twisting getting stuff out of the boxes to check them in, I'll have to lie down on my side again to "rest" my back and relieve the pain. After resting, he'll bring me the printed invoices, and I'll bag the orders, stand the bags in the boxes, and he'll take them into my other room for me.

I don't know how I'd get along without him, he's my second rock. God being my first.

The thing is, I do as much as I can. When we do deliveries, I can still drive, but he's the one that gets out of the car and takes it to my customers. I have come to terms with my limitations.

Recently, my friend, Dimple (she who comes and cleans for me weekly), helped me with a project that's close to my heart. I have many. This time it was for a local shelter, Safe Harbor.

In my first marriage, I was an abused wife. 

My ex used to hit me all the time, embarrassed me by offering me to his friends (who I think were as embarrassed by his behaviour as I was), and even tried to make me miscarry my youngest daughter by pushing me down a flight of stairs, dragging me out of the house "cave-man style" by my hair and then kicking me in the stomach (supposedly - he said then - because his girlfriend was pregnant at the same time and didn't want to run the risk of us being in hospital together).

I was so young. I was demoralized. I had nowhere to go. I'd left and gone to my mum's a few times and he would come there, crying, and she'd say "he's your husband, talk to him". It was only when he got mad there one time, and she said something, and he grabbed her by the throat, that she realised exactly WHAT I had been going through. It took me 5 years to get away from him, and then I was 22 and with 3 small children.

So, I know how these women feel. 

I was going to donate some AVON to the Salvation Army as they also run a shelter that we donate to weekly, out of hubby's paycheck, and Dimple suggested Safe Harbor as an alternate, so we made up these awesome bags with a skin care product, a fragrance and a couple of other goodies like lotions, etc and she delivered them for me. She said the lady there was really happy to get them and knew the women would love them.

It might not be much, but we did a small thing, that made some other folks lives a little better. Their struggle is real. Being able to pamper themselves a little may help them as they work through self esteem issues.

Everyone has their own demons to fight.

It was my great granddaughter, Zayleigh's, birthday this past weekend and she is the big 3. My grandson is down from New York to spend time with her, and took some pics. She looks good in his fireman's hat, doesn't she?

He, on the other hand, I feel badly that he is so poor he cannot afford razors! LOL. I rag him about his fuzz all the while, he just rolls his eyes and grins.

I hate that he doesn't get to see her as often as he likes, but am glad he does get to spend some time with her. He loves and misses her so much.

I'll get to see HIM this weekend, before he goes back up to New York. It's been 22 months, and I miss HIM! LOL :)  He is still my baby boy! Way taller than me now but that doesn't change a thing!

I'm proud of the man he has become and is still becoming.

His struggle is real.

I guess my thing today is that pain, in different forms, and life in general, aren't always easy and everyone has their own struggles that they deal with. We have to try to be kinder, and make a difference when and where we can.

Have an awesome day, my friends.

To All My CNA and Nurse's Assistant Friends Working With The Elderly

For many years, I worked with the elderly, both in nursing homes and privately. I was good. I was conscientious and I (thought) I was gentle. Days like today bring home to me that even gentle is not enough, when the body you are assisting, is dealing with chronic pain.

I now deal with chronic pain, in my knees, hips and back, courtesy of arthritis and osteoporosis. It is a pain that, at times, is almost unbearable. The deep dull throb at its center, no matter where that center is, exudes a stomach clenching grip that brings nausea immediately to your throat, whilst making your toes curl with a mix of electric shock and coldness. The overall feeling is a helpless hurt that you'd give anything to stop, but know that it is in control, and it will run it's course. Sometimes it will come in waves and wash over you. Others, it will arrive like a microburst and be over moments later, having let you know that you can do nothing to stop it.

I feel sick to my stomach now, thinking of some of the frail ladies and gentlemen that I cared for. When they said it hurt, and I was "being gentle" I didn't realise that THIS is what so many were going through. 

When I heard the moans in the night, or dried tears, I did not KNOW how that pain can wake you from the deepest slumber. I do now. There are nights when I sob, even after applying the oils that relieve some of the pain. When I groan into my pillow. When I cannot turn over, or sit up, the pain is just so intense.

I  feel so bad. So many of the assistants didn't even attempt to be gentle or considerate, they had x residents to "do" in x hours, so it was all matter of fact and like clockwork, dehumanizing in many respects. Disrespectful in others.

Please, if you work with the elderly or those dealing with chronic pain issues, understand that - until you experience it - you do not know how bad that pain is. It is not just a little ache, it is a searing and debilitating pain. Even "gentle" is not what you think. Treat these sufferers as fragile, as delicate as a rare porcelain. Then you will really be "caring" for them.