Where To Start?

News Flash:  Now is not the best time for me to even try to manage a blog and YouTube channel.  My family, once again, is facing insurmountable life challenges, with little to no immediate solutions.  I'll try to fill you in here.

Presently, and most urgent, fact is that we have exactly two weeks left at The Place, and again, no where to go. So I'll begin our story here, I guess.

A HOME NOT OUR OWN Story:

Actually, I'm very glad we have this image. *sniff*
Thanks, Google Maps

What's News?

...
BlogHer NaBloPoMo ~ March 2015
...

Help Me Make It Through This...

Help me MAKE it through this... please.

Today, after dropping off my son at work and my daughter at school; before dropping off my husband at work, he informed me of a call the night before.  The homeowner of the rental we are in needs us to move out of her house.  We've been given until March 29 to vacate.  Her explanation to us was that a friend of hers is getting a divorce and she has made her home available to this friend and her family.  Now, my family needs to get out.

When my family moved into The Place, it meant we would be under one roof together again.  Our homeless period lasted a few short, but miserably stressful months, after two years jobless and anticipating foreclosure - I just learned recently that Chase bank was in no rush to take possession of our home as long as we were keeping it occupied and landscaped.  Here (where we arrived after asking family members if they would take us in during our time of need) is where we would re-group, attempt restoration, and re-establish some semblance of normalcy for our downtrodden family.

Below is an excerpt from A Home Not Our Own which give a glimmer of life at The Place.  More will follow as I try to navigate the uncertainty that lies ahead in the next 4 1/2 weeks.  Stay with me.  Your support, encouragement, and best wishes are greatly appreciated.

www.ahomenotourown.blogspot.com
BlogHer NaBloPoMo Prompt
Tuesday, March 11, 2014:  Do you think you'll still be blogging 10 years from now?

Five On Friday a la February... A Vlog

Please visit my YouTube Channel

THIS IS FIFTY WITH LIL

Subscribe, Like, Comment.

Sincere Thanks, Lil

Because I'm Happy....

You know the song, right?  Kinda sticks in your head, doesn't it?  I love it... because, well, it makes me happy.  Simple.  You know what else makes me happy? Naps.  Chatty children.  Cake.  Puppy snuggles. A chance at winning an automobile contest. A second nap.  An enchanting movie experience - finally saw Theory of Everything; absolutely loved it!  Delicious meals... which I regret to inform went missing today.

Also, singing at the top of my lungs while driving makes me very happy. I plan to do a lot during the next few weeks.  I've decided to participate in abstinence during the season of lent.  I'll be making a concerted effort to keep my cool during wait times in the high school student parking lot area and refrain from cursing which results from my annoyance, frustration, and lack of patience with inconsiderate, discourteous drivers.  Day one down; 39 more to go.

Oh, and how could I forget... digital art! I love illustrating "a day in my life" strips.  I'm having so much fun!

And, let's not forget the fact that I may still win a Volvo XC60!!  My vehicle's not sounding to great at the moment, so when I saw a televised ad on CNN earlier today, my heart skipped a beat.

Enjoy today's clips...

Illustrated by Lillian Carilo, February 2015

Windows 7 Paint

Illustrated by Lillian Carilo, February 2015

Windows 7 Paint

Illustrated by Lillian Carilo, February 2015

Windows 7 Paint

Drive, drive, drive, drive... la, la, la, la, la, la, la... drive, drive, drive.

Wednesday In The Kitchen With Lil
CAKE!

Illustrated by Lillian Carilo, February 2015

Windows 7 Paint

I've Been GIF'd!

See...

Make My Day

I love today's NaBloPoMo prompt.  Reading it was just what I needed and it provided loads of motivation to draw (no matter the pain and discomfort). My mind frame was set to write about the issue of another week spent getting back in bed most mornings, sleeping past noon, and tolerating muscle pain and weakness as best I can.  At the moment,  I can barely keep my eyes open, and I just took a couple of Advil after shouting for the entire household to hear, "Why do my muscles hurt so much!" 

Being able to tuck into bed whenever I need to makes my day.  So, it is rare that the bed is properly made.  Some nights I may sleep on top of the bedspread, but for napping, I turn down the bedding and snuggle up with a couple of cotton throws... they have special meaning, and provide extra comfort and security when I'm feeling especially poorly.

Actually, it wouldn't take much to make my day... for instance: 

• Monday:  An offer to assist with this week's meal plans and grocery shopping would have been pretty great.  Glad to have had some quiet "me time" in the evening while everyone was out of the house at a surprise birthday party.  I had my own little Chinese take-out party on my own.  Oh, and stuck in my head... the idea of receiving a call - saying I've won a brand new, much needed reliable vehicle - from Volvo. I entered my submission on Sunday night, and the notion that I have a chance to win this prize totally makes my day a bit brighter at the sheer possibilities. Struggle with muscle pain and weakness however, makes everything else not so fun.
• Tuesday:  Man, it would be nice to have a second car. Rising temperature is making driving around midday tough, especially when I add in not feeling well, and not being exactly sure what's going on with my body - it not responding well to bright sunlight and heat is a problem.  Also, this time doesn't seem like typical chronic pain or fatigue, fibromyalgia, or arthritis being the problem. Who knows?
• Wednesday:  Mom's grocery shopping done! It took 2 1/2 hours, but mom's all set for the rest of the month.  Would love to have had energy to finally go out with the purpose of spending some of my birthday money. It's been two weeks and I still haven't even had the chance to treat myself to a sushi lunch.  Must make this happen soon.
• Thursday:  Knowing there will be no school drop offs and pick ups Friday and Monday makes me SO happy!  Monkey agreeing to go with me to Target to pick up a few necessities was a huge help; glad she was in a good mood.
• Friday:  NO DEALING WITH HIGH SCHOOL PICK-UP PARKING LOT NIGHTMARE. Best day of the week... except for the still feeling crappy part.

I hope you enjoy my drawings about Making It Through The Week!

Illustrated by Lillian Carilo, February 2015
Windows 7 Paint

Illustrated by Lillian Carilo, February 2015
Windows 7 Paint

Illustrated by Lillian Carilo, February 2015
Windows 7 Paint

Illustrated by Lillian Carilo, February 2015
Windows 7 Paint

Illustrated by Lillian Carilo, February 2015
Windows 7 Paint

Wednesday In The Kitchen With Lil... The Mom Edition

Mom lives a couple of miles away from The Place where my family resides.  My sister lives within five miles of mom's apartment.  Mom is 87 and she thinks she doesn't need to listen to neither my sister's nor my suggestions as to the best ways to maintain proper self-care, healthy hygiene habits, and adequate upkeep of home.  Basically, encouraging healthy lifestyle habits.

As far as mom's concerned, she knows best.  But, her idea of best often results in problems... for all of us.  So what my sister and I have set up (leaving tons of room for tweaking) is double-teaming on all things involving mom.  Sis takes care of doctor stuff, and provides assistance with the far-too-often ER trips mom creates for herself.  I manage her medication for several chronic illnesses and conditions.  I'm also in charge of grocery shopping to make sure mom has foods that best suit type 2 diabetes needs.

Mom's Grocery Shopping Day
Illustrated by Lillian Carilo, February 2015
Windows 7 Paint

Today was grocery shopping day for mom.  When I went over to her place last Sunday, in addition to sorting her meds for the week, I also took inventory of her fridge, pantry and miscellaneous household items - laundry, dish, detergents; body soaps, lotions and shampoos, and over-the-counter stuff.

This is why: My sister and I determined that the reason for the many ER visits was that Mom was buying all the wrong foods and eating out a lot - a routine she and her previous home aide thought was perfectly okay.  So, I studied food plans to help manage diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure.  I went so far as to prep daily meals for mom so that she could get an idea of what meals and snacks should look like and at what intervals she should be consuming them.

We thought she had a handle on managing her meds, but soon found out that there was no order or routine as to how to space them out throughout the day, and more importantly, take them as prescribed by her doctors.  Continued ER visits clued us in to this problem.  So, with close supervision, meds schedule was finally designed so that they worked to produce optimal results in treating her illnesses.

Mom's home-aide cleans the apartment, launder's mom's clothes, and takes her out for exercise and fresh air.  Mom is supposed to only have shower while aide is there with her.  Mom doesn't listen.  She sometimes decides to shower at 2:00 am - when she can't sleep.  This is an especially huge no-no.  So, instructions are that she shower when someone is there.  Even though ER visits became fewer and further apart, December and January had us scrambling to figure out what was cause of frequent UTIs and yeast infections.  We determined, with ER doctor, that maybe poor hygiene habits was the culprit, as well as, use of strong, heavily scented soaps and inadequate rinsing.

The last instructional lessons that we gave mom were on the importance of using milder personal hygiene cleansing products and lotions, and house cleaning products.  I took all non-approved items from cabinets and shower enclosure and replaced everything with milder products.  But mom's difficult and, like I said before, thinks she knows what is best for her.  One of those things is the insistence that chlorine bleach must be readily available for kitchen sanitizing and proper washing of undergarments... which are not thoroughly rinsed when hand washed.  What mom does is pour way too much bleach in the sink to just sit there, fumes filling her small, unventilated apartment; if she calls saying she's feeling dizzy, first thing we ask is if she's been using bleach or heavy duty cleaning products. 

After last ER visit, during which nothing was diagnosed for dizziness, nausea, chills and severe itching, which mom was complaining about, sis and I discovered that mom had bought antihistamine which we found in a drawer a few days after hospital trip.  She never mentioned that she had been taking the pills.  Another doozy of a find, was the large, near empty bottle of rubbing alcohol that she was dousing herself with to treat "fevers."  What in fact was happening was that OTC allergy pills were interacting with prescription meds and alcohol was causing skin irritation and dryness, not to mention effects of fumes and large amounts being absorbed into her skin which were causing mystery symptoms.

After nearly two years, it seems like we have finally figured out what to look for whenever we get a late night call from mom saying she doesn't feel well and needs to go to the hospital.  The last time she called us, we waited things out, administered doctor recommended dosage of extra-strength Tylenol and let her make the call when it was okay for us to leave because she started feeling so much better.  Her Nurse Practitioner assured us that we did the right thing; it was the height of flu season, and the last place we needed to go was the ER.

Better late that never, it was a relief to finally make it out to do her shopping today.  I haven't been feeling 100% for the past few weeks, so I had to muster the strength to shop; we needed stuff for work and school lunches too.  It still took me those 2 1/2 hours, but mom has more than enough healthy food stuffs to get her through the month.  She seemed extremely grateful and pleased with this gesture.  Our goal is simple:  Keep mom healthy and happy. 

So, This Is Fifty Huh?

Man, it was a tough weekend.

~Goodnight

Did You Get It? Did You Get It!

My last post was about dishwasher dreams.  It's been a long time since I last used some of my favorite appliances.  They're my favorite, because just imagine... What would we do without clothes washer and dryer sets and dishwashers?  (Implored the lady with dry, chapped hands.)

Just as I typed that last sentence, I realized that I still have a load or two of dishes to wash.  So, I better make this quick.

Two years have passed since relocating back to Southern California, and I'm still waiting for the reality to set in that here is where we are... for good, maybe.

Meet Mr & Ms Bosch.  I miss them.

Anyway, that's why I miss my appliances.  The dishwasher, well, it had to stay in the house we vacated.  Mr & Ms Bosch (washer & dryer) are in storage back home... I mean, Colorado.  I have been in the habit of wishing things were different, or better.

I'm the queen of wishful thinking.  This is surprising too, because, what I like to say to my kids, or anyone else, really, is to remember, "What you think about, you bring about."  My first grade teacher liked to say (still does, I'm sure), "What you believe, you can achieve."  I've always liked these expressions, or affirmations as some would say.  I've also had several instances when keeping these beliefs in mind... thinking about something, and achieving desired outcome... has actually happened.

An example: Several years ago, I saw a vehicle in televised and print ads. I went online and checked out specs and features.  I liked what I read about it and felt it could be a good fit for my family, and comfortable for short little me to drive.  So, I printed out a picture of the exact model I wanted.  I made the same image the screensaver on my computer, and every day I imagined it in my garage.  Six months later, it was.  It's parked right outside now.  Cool, right?

I'm a firm believer that the Universe will provide.  If something exists, it is available to receive or achieve... if you believe.

At the moment, I believe the dishes are still waiting for me in the sink.  I'd like to see an empty sink in the morning, so I better get my butt achieving desired results.

Good night and thoughtful wishes.

Lil