My "whine moment today." What's yours?

I took my car in for realignment. The customer service person asked me why I think I needed a realignment. I said that when the road is wet, and I'm turning, it's like struggling with the tires. The tires are not following the steering wheel. So, I need to realign the tires with the steering wheel. sigh... yes, to the male population who knows car, my 1 + 1 does not come out as 2. In my mind, it did.

She told me that that doesn't sound like a realignment problem but maybe my steering wheel needs oiling or something. The mechanic will check it. She comes back with a list of things wrong with my car. That estimate of $300 went up to $1300.00. I stood there shocked. I kept muttering, "OMG! What am I going to tell my sister?" (Sis says that mechanics like to cheat me since I'm a female and I always fall for whatever they tell me is 'wrong' with my car. I've been known to charge $1300, $1100 or $900 auto repairs to my credit card.)

This time, due to the poor economy, I have had a major pay cut and less hours when it's slow (without pay). I cannot pay $1300-some repair. So, I looked at the service customer and said, "Of all these repairs, which is a Necessity. That my car won't die out in traffic or I lose control and crash into someone else?" We narrowed down that $1300 to $800-some. But, when I went to pay it, the customer service person, took the invoice, went and adjusted it again, then came back with a $500-some repair.

So, the next time, when my car's air con broke down, my BIL made the call to the mechanic, spoke to them, and then drove my car there. I only paid $255.00 for it. Darn! I have never paid an air con repair for that low! I think the lowest I ever paid was $800-some. Moral of the story - have a male go with you when it comes to auto repairs. (My niece brought her car in, they quoted her a $1300-some repair job. She called her ex-boyfriend to tell him the cost. He said it doesn't cost that much. He went down to the shop and blasted them. They lowered the price - below $1000.00.!!!)

I'm really just disgusted at how badly I have let myself just go pfffft.....I have not necessarily been one to obsess about my looks, but I tried to look nice whenever I went anywhere...never cared for all the name brand junk, just had my own style and enjoyed looking nice...now it is almost like I could just care less...forget I have rollers in the top of my head, don't think about wearing makeup..while I honestly have not gained weight pound wise, everything has shifted around , like of like an amoeba....shape shifting...ugh....today I actually left the house on my errand and did not even comb my hair...this morning I had stuck some bobby pins in it here and there and put it in a ponytail while getting Mama ready for the day and I just left it like that and when I was headed home I looked in the rear view mirror and thought..Dear God what has happened to me.....and I actually stopped and went in a couple of places like that...I used to see people out and about who appeared to be worn out and tired and wondered what would possess them to go out in public like that...now i know...they were worn out and tired.....tonight one of my old class mates texted me and was telling me he and his wife had divorced and he was asking how we were doing...kind of semi mentioned getting together some time for coffee...felt like a foreign language to me....

I know.

I remember when mom was belligerent... haha, I do believe I now miss those times. Least she was feisty!

fk i was just talking about SAD in general , jeanette . when your caregiving mix is added in there are bound to be many other emotional complicators . most carers on here are dealing with belligerance , confusion , etc . youre in the insanity zone and i wish you every good thing that can happen . they will be few .

Every morning I wake up trying to modify...Not all of this is SAD, although my first year here I wanted to die... Somehow though I keep failing, no, I do NOT fail my mother, I fail myself. We have had sunshine for several days so that's made me feel slightly better, but it doesn't help my mother.

Doesn't matter how much I try and distract myself, how much I say she will be happier, it cuts me to the core. God Dammit.

if you google up one of those SAD articles it goes down a list of symptoms that hit home with you on each item . worthlessness , etc . and interestingly you can have depression alone as a SAD symptom or you can have depression with bipolar .
i feel simple stress , depression , and tension all
three . im gonna try to modify how i percieve my stressors . the stressors arent that big were just too cynical or overwhelmed to downplay them .

I have started to post many things but simply deleted them... sigh

Working on getting all of this back on a good track. Mom is getting frail(er) ever single day, which makes it harder. Then again, it makes me that much more determined to give her all I have. Vicious a** circle if you ask me. Ying Yang/Push Pull. phhhhbbbbbtttttttt

Stupid commercial "A body in motion stays in motion". Guess that means a body at rest turns into a slug. Meh.

Why do we do that Jessie??? I do that as well, don't need anything, don't want to go, but start getting a compelling feeling that I ought to go out...I have no idea why. I have begun to take naps now instead..when Mama's napping, it's the best chance I get to really get some good rest..at least for an hour or so...for some reason I sleep better then than I do at night

Capn, I never looked at it that way. Seems everyone always wants people to be up and doing. And if we're not, someone says maybe we need drugs or white light. You could be right. Maybe we're supposed to be more depressed in the cold months. I didn't go out today and was feeling down on myself. It was cold outside and I didn't want to go out. I didn't need anything, so why not stay inside and stay comfortable? Makes sense to me.

fascinating perspective captain..I like it :)

ive been reading about seasonally affected disorder this evening . circadian rhythems , bla bla . to take the human factor out of the equation i always look at the wild animals . they arent out chirping it up , they are burrowed in deep somewhere and sleeping a lot . its almost like nature tries to give you a dose of depression because there isnt much to eat in the forest in the wintertime . if youre depressed your going to save energy and increase the chance of your stored food holding up till spring . it really makes sense when viewed in that light . depression trashes your appetite .
nature is pretty bitchin , its just " us " who dont get it ..

hope ,
it isnt just women who get ripped off . i had a pair of bike carbs hot tanked one time and some punk kid tossed two corroded needle valves on the counter and told me that was likely what was wrong . the carbs had new needle valves and seats in them , i just wanted the carbs properly , chemically cleaned . i just gave him the agreed upon 100 bucks and let it go . i had longer range ideas than standing at a counter arguing with a freakin kid . another example of " screams of no reply " i guess .

Well, I am happy to report that after getting that $1,700 quote for brake repairs on my truck, I promptly had it picked up by the tow service and carried somewhere else and the total of repairs, including a good oil change, is now $530. Yay me! that's an extra $1,170 we can surely use elsewhere...This guy is super nice and has really gone out of his way to help me, and at the same time make a good customer to boot...you're right captain..it pays all the way around to be honest...

crooked people dont amuse me one bit . i ordered some custom cut limestone for my customer a few weeks ago and was quoted at 3 k . the sawing went better than expected and the end price was only 1100 bucks . i passed the new price right back to the customer and he reciprocated by giving me 200 bucks extra and paying my wages to haul it for him . i could have pocketed that 1900 bucks and been perfectly ethical in doing so but id prefer to be known as the sob who will not lie to you . im still working while most smash and grab contractors wiped out years ago . its a big deal to me , to be trusted ...
ill still make the 1900 bucks from the customer but he'll get more product from me later and ill be employed up to my eyeballs . its kinda like milking a job 'cept nobody gets cheated .
gonna get wicked cold for the next couple of nights . the renter left for a couple of nights with her son . seems she is out of good firewood but the thing is her two truckloads of firewood are already here on the property she just hasnt asked for them . she created a dilema instead just to get out for a couple of days . i made sure her son knew the firewood is here and she knew its here . pathological drama queen !! lying around me is likely to have blowback effects ..

I was trying to find the phone number for DHEC and by the time I found their new phone number it was 5:01pm. Now I have to wait until tomorrow to complain to them.

My mother is in a nursing home for rehab. You would think they would have better rules for how they handle diabetics when it comes to meals and snacks. She asks for toast or something hot to drink like tea or hot chocolate but they do not have those items to give her. She asks for cake or ice cream and they give her both within half hour of each other. Did I say she is a DIABETIC. At each meal there is a dessert on the tray. I asked that it stop being put on the tray or put a piece of fruit in place of the dessert. My mother is a fruit and vegetable person, something that has been missing in her diet for a couple months now since she has been in hospitals and nursing homes. Anyway, the nursing home informed me they have to put the dessert on the tray...it is a DHEC rule. Is this world crazy or is it me? You have a diabetic and DHEC says you must put a sugar dessert on the tray? I have lost my mind. Please help me to understand the logic of this insane rule. I mean, all they have to do is increase her insulin if her sugar level increases right? So why should I be upset or worried. He!! give her a whole cake, pie or gallon of ice cream! What difference does it make.

This happened some time ago, I had a friend who went car shopping and her hubby tagged along... the car salesman spoke mainly to the husband, yada, yada, yada... then looked at my friend, then back to her husband and asked "what color car would the little woman want?"..... my friend glared at him and said "well, sir, this little woman is paying for the car herself, and she's taking her business elsewhere" :)

I found one way to quickly stop a door-to-door salesman who is trying to sell new windows, roof, etc is to say "I don't own the house.... it's property managed".

I don't know how much it would be to rent a tiller, but I bought a new one on Amazon for around $100 a couple years ago. I first tried buying a gas model at local hardware, then eventually settled on electric model and happy I went that route. Neighbors and family love this tiller and borrow it. It's lightweight, easy to handle, but gets the job done nicely. I think it's 14" width, 9" depth... for such an inexpensive version, it does exactly what I need it to do.

My brother repo'ed his rototiller since he was mad at me.... its so gorgeous here I just want to be outside all day and really wish I had it!! Hmm, I think I shall look for a place that rents them. He can piss off if he thinks I will ask to use it.

I LOVE sea salt body scrubs... ohhh yeah and a glass of wine

Katie, I'm telling you...I am so leery of home improvement salespeople. Now I google it and try to fix it myself. The windows are going to be a challenge, but if I can get my brother to show me how to do it...haha! Yeah.

Hope, where do I get my "I do what I want because I can" t-shirt? Great idea. Heehee!

Oh geez, Susan! Quite a picture! Haha! I use a salt or sugar scrub on my mom once a week - it helps with the dry skin. Best one I've found is H20+ Spa Sea Salt Skin Smoother. It's not cheap, but works super well and leaves some oil on to moisture and smells fantastic! I use it, too! Work all day in the garden, gets the ground-in dirt off. You'd think salt would be a no-no for dry skin but it has almond oil in it and it makes the skin so soft and smooth. Seriously love this stuff! Plus, they have body butter, lotion, shower gel and hand lotion in the same scent. Awesome stuff!

Hope glad to hear the prodigal son returned.

Can I just whine that I hate shower days? Especially when she resists it for 3-4 days and that means I get to clean a very, very nasty backside. (At least she lets me do that now, under the guise of washing her back - and then I just have her stand and I get the "undercarriage", as we call it.) She won't let me help her wipe in the bathroom, so that's still a no-go zone, but when she showers, I jump in and do a major cleanup.

Scrubbed her feet with a back brush while she was in there, so she got a pretty good all-over cleaning this time. Now I get to trim her toenails (gag) and then slather her feet with lotion or coconut oil and put socks on to try and soften the endless scaly dry skin on her feet. Yay.

We didn’t have hardly any snow up until a few weeks ago. Now we’ve got about 18” just sitting there, all frozen and stubborn. Wish it would cooperate and melt.
Had to take my Ma to the doc yesterday morning for her knee injections – going down the ramp (backwards, so she doesn’t fall out of the chair) struggling between the snow-burdened bushes and the ramp railing, then over half-as*ed shoveled snow, and on into the street where at least there was a dry spot to load her into the van – poor Ma bouncing all over the place – me praying she wouldn’t fly out of the wheelchair. I asked her if she enjoyed the 2-wheeling. Not so much. She was pretty happy to get back home.

Got it, thanks!

It looks like it sent?

Hey Jeanette or someone....see if you can send me a private message? Thanks.

Susan, go into "edit account".

Where you edit your profile, if you scroll down it has little boxes where you can check so you can receive messages and such.

Busy morning....

Dee, What is it with window salesmen!!? I was at an aquaintance's home years ago when a salesman showed up to give her an estimate...he kept asking for her husband! He was a lot younger than she was and I couldn't believe he kept asking where the husband was! She had to loudly tell him several times that SHE was the homeowner there....I couldn't believe this guy...like women are not allowed to own a home on their own!!?? What part of the World are we in?? Needless to say she had another company replace the windows after that backwards encounter! Come to think of it I had a garage door repairman come to the first home we bought once and as I was showing him what was up with the door in the garage he started yelling at me asking where the home owner was....Like women are not allowed to own property!!

lol...yep...I have rescued a lot of wild animals in addition to the dogs and cats...the first time a squirrel bit me I thought the "r" word...the squirrel was already seriously injured and passed quickly unfortunately, but I called the wildlife center and they told me that squirrels rarely carried rabies, while raccoons were a frequent carrier..even so, I can't not help them if they need help...maybe I'm immune to everything because I've been bitten so much...just not immune to pop in visitors..lol

Freq...that was my criticism with the reunion show..the older clips are the ones I love...some of the new folks are funny but nowhere near as funny as the original cast..I don't think anyone will ever come close to them...and didn't care for the Chris Farley attempts at all...no one can emulate him..I loved him..he was not an original cast member but one of the funnier of the later year ones...but the reunion show was a lot of hype and not near as funny as I had hoped...so much so that I ended up turning and watching that ridiculous Bachelor and deciding I would catch the rest of the SNL on demand some day when I get bored...

Hope - bitten by wild animals? Yikes!