Laura, Alex’s girlfriend, came by Tuesday afternoon and picked up Alex’s waterproof boots and the clothes Mom bought him as a birthday present.

 

Wednesday, I went to the chiropractor and took Mom’s bills to the post office to mail. We went by Lowe’s and Mom bought a weed-eater and two 2 gallon gas cans. We ate lunch at Wendy’s. I had the $2.99 chicken sandwich special. I like this meal pretty well and it is about the cheapest full meal I can get. I took the books that needed renewing to the library and something very strange happened. All 20 or so art books I had were on reserve to one person. It was like she knew what I had checked out. I think I am going to get a new library card because I think mine might be compromised. We went by Wal-Mart and picked up a few things Mom needed. At Sam’s I got my Adipex prescription and Mom bought some beautiful new dishes and a few other things. Hope and I walked two miles. I finished reading Climate of Change by Piers Anthony. I enjoyed this book. It covered many eras of history and told a series of engaging stories in a novel form.

 

Thursday, we took Hope to the vet and she had the Lyme disease vaccination. I was worried about her getting infected because most days when we walk I find a tick on her later. Mom paid for the shot and I will pay her back at the beginning of June when I receive my disability payment. We went to PetsMart to buy dog food. I found the Shih Tzu mug I had been wanting and bought it. I also bought two clearance toys for Hope. My phone went out in the afternoon and I discovered it when Alex called on Mom’s line and said mine was ringing but not connecting. I tried it and could not get a dial tone. My DSL was still working. I called the phone company and went through all their troubleshooting steps, but could find nothing amiss. I set up an appointment for the repairman to come out even though AT&T said it would cost $85.00. Mom said she would pay the service call because there was just no way I could afford it. It rained overnight.

 

Friday, the technician from AT&T was supposed to come between 8:00am and 12:00pm. I dressed early so he would not find me in my pajamas. I called Uniden tech support to find out if there was a problem with my new phones and was reassured that they were functioning properly. The problem was definitely in the line. I moved a lot of bags of new stuff into Alex’s room so the technician could get to the phone jack. At almost 12:00, after I had called to see if he was lost, the technician called on my line and said he had found a lightning strike at the junction box a couple of miles up the highway. He did not come to the house so I will not be charged for a service call. He said that my DSL continuing to work was just one of the weird things they find sometimes. It was so fortunate that the lightning did not strike Mom’s line too. I put the new dishes in the cabinet and put the 40 and 60 year old ones in the boxes to give to my niece, Leigh. I also put the newest set of Corelle dishes up in the cabinet so they could be used instead of waiting in hiding. I had to do a lot of rearranging to fit everything in the cabinet. Hope and I walked one mile.

 

Saturday, Mom went out with her best friend, June. I vacuumed the floor. It was nice being able to get to most of the floor in my room. I skipped Alex’s room because it is a disaster area with all my stuff piled into it. Mom had a spell of weakness in her legs while she was out. I think it was due to going too long without eating. When she ate she felt better immediately. She brought me a pink scrub top with kittens and puppies on it from Garden Ridge, which had just opened in Douglasville. Leigh and her family visited. They brought pizza for supper. I let my great-niece, Edith, borrow Under The Dome by Stephen King. When they left around 9:30 they took the old dishes with them.

 

This morning Mom went to Sunday school with her friend, Betty. June is supposed to bring her home. I am just hanging out with the puppy dogs. I plan on doing some reading after I finish this entry.

 

I hope all of you have a pleasant day and that the upcoming week is a good one.

 

Smiles,
Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

I am here and fairing well. Last week was a bit difficult because Alex upset me a great deal, but I was able to move past it. I am going to have to get a little tougher where he and his girlfriend are concerned. It seems Alex can hurt me worse than anyone else, though Mom is a close second.

 

I finally resolved the software problems I was having. Outlook is now working better than ever and I have just resolved not to use the MSN program. A MSN technician moved my favorites from MSN to Internet Explorer so I really do not need the program anymore. I am considering cancelling my subscription because the program was causing other problems.

 

I have only read a few books since my last entry about them. That is mainly because two of them were quite long. I had begun to think one of them was going to last forever. When I got a nice haul of books I was very interested in I resolved to finish the one that was so long. Here are the titles and a brief description of the books that have kept me busy lately:

 

Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton was okay. There was really too much sexual content for me to enjoy this book much. The writing just seemed an excuse to expose sexual exploits and that was not something I liked.

The Bridge by David Remnick was an extremely interesting biography of our present president. I learned a lot about Barack Obama’s life. It cleared up a lot of questions for me.

Christianity by Diarmaid MacCulloch was a very thorough history of this religious faith. It covered the past in depth as well as the present and gave some speculation of where the future might lead. The book was long but informative and held my interest throughout.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick was a young adult novel, but I found it very enjoyable. It was a very fast read and nice because the other two more recent books were so dense with information. The story was fascinating and it did not seem like a juvenile book.

 

Mom had to have a CT scan on her stomach and abdomen because she seems to have some bloating in those areas. The scan showed some thickening of the intestinal wall so she has to have a colonoscopy for more conclusive results. I am a little worried although the doctor seems to think everything will be fine.

 

Mom was getting tired of doing word finds and wanted something to read. I gave her House Rules by Jodi Picoult because I had enjoyed it. She does not read much and hardly ever novels, but she seems to be enjoying it. Since she got her new glasses she is more able to concentrate on print for long periods. I am so glad I finally convinced her to get an eye exam.

 

Hope and I have walked most days lately. We are doing two miles a day. It is so enjoyable seeing how she loves to get outside. Hope is such a good companion for me. I never knew I could love a dog so much. She is so important to me. I have had several dogs over the years but have never bonded with one so much before.

 

I have done some variety puzzles lately, but reading seems to interest me more. The writing I do here is most of what I am getting done. I wish I were more dedicated to writing, but do not seem to have inspiration to engross me. I guess a little is better than none.

 

That mostly catches up with me. I hope all you are doing well.

 

Smiles,

Jo Ann

I am actually a day behind with this, but I figure late is better than never. This week has been a good one. I have been able to contribute quite frequently on Journal Writing and have managed to finish two books since I made my last list of recently read titles.

 

The Bread of Angels by Stephanie Saldana is a wonderful memoir. It is about a year in Syria and falling in love. The author comes to grips with her spirituality as she heals from earlier harms.
Spirited by Rebecca Rosen is an awesome book on coming alive to intuition and spiritual guidance. It has wonderful exercises to help one get in touch with higher self and meditations to open to spirit. I borrowed it from the library, but am seriously considering my own copy so I have it to refer to as time goes by.

 

Sunday, Mom and I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a couple of winter shirts at $2.00 each and I stocked up on Diet Cokes since they were $5.00 a case. We had to go pick Alex’s girlfriend, Laura, up at the airport. I did not like driving there after dark, but it turned out well. I did not get to bed until 1:30 on Monday morning.

 

Monday, I got up early, but went back to bed and slept until after noon. Guess I was really tired. Hope and I walked a mile, but we had such bad reactions to the pollen that I decided we better not walk more.

 

Tuesday, it rained some so Hope and I did not walk. I hung out on the computer quite a bit.

 

Wednesday, we went to Sam’s because I needed to pick up my prescription for an anti-inflammatory. We shopped a while and Mom bought some cargo shorts and polo shirts for Alex’s birthday. She also bought me the book, The Maeve Binchy Writers’ Club by Maeve Binchy. I asked her to get it instead of the Capri pants she picked out for me. We went to the library for me to turn in books I had finished and I picked up some awesome new books. I am looking forward to these.

 

Today, I woke at 6:55am and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the groomer. We are having all the puppy dogs cut and groomed today.

 

That is a recent rundown. I hope your day is going well.

 

Smiles,

Jo Ann

Reality List – Here’s Where I Am

 

Living with Mom
Taking care of Mom
Battling my weight
Limited income
Lots of time to read
Writing very little
Surrounded by books
Surrounded by music
Exercising regularly
Dealing with pain
Surrounded by clutter
Have Hope as companion
Lonely at times
Happy most of the time
Close relationship with Alex
In debt to Mom
 

 

Wish List – Here’s Where I Want To Be

 

My own house
Mom living with me
Some help caring for Mom
Lose more weight
Comfortable income
Writing creatively regularly
Space for books
Space for music
An exercise coach to help me with fitness goals
Pain free
Space so I have places for everything
Find the love of my life
Peace
Comfort
Financial stability
New vehicle
Successful
Get out more
Secure
Inspired
More fun
More friends
 

 

Dump List – Here’s What I Want To Get Rid Of

 

Complete responsibility for Mom
Overweight
Financial Insecurity
Reading to escape reality too much
Feeling uninspired
Physical pain
Loneliness
Debt to Mom
Clutter
Shame
Compulsive shopping
Unlucky in love
Depression
Unhealthy relationship with food
Fear of failure
Fear of losing those I love
Dissatisfaction
Poor body image
 

 

Keeper List – Here’s What I Want To Keep

 

Caring for Mom but not full responsibility
Love of reading
Collection of ink pens
Collection of books
Collection of music
Collection of bookmarks
Collection of blank books
Collection of puzzle books
Love of music
My close relationship with Alex
Having Hope as my companion
Relationship with God
Regular exercise
Happiness
Friendship with Mom
Contacts to see with
Good doctors
Artistic ability
Creativity
My computers
My email address
My phone service and DSL
My blog
My email groups
My voice
My poetry
Overall good health
My ability to encourage others
My handwriting
My cameras
My best friend, Reba
Closeness with my niece, Leigh
Time to pursue creative endeavors

Writing Gift
Well controlled Schizo-affective disorder