I've Been GIF'd!

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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. 

Another Monday ~ Feb 9, 2015

self-portrait ~ Windows 7 Paint
Illustrated by Lillian Carilo February 2015

Hello, how was your day?  Me?  Well, I'm still in the "make something mode."  Problem is, I should have made some sort of plan; written stuff down as proof of my intentions.  But, I didn't, and I probably won't.  So, ideas and thoughts will be scattered in my brain for now.  One thing that I can say, is that I am thoroughly enjoying using Windows 7 Paint to cartoonify... is that a word... my life.

Here's Monday's effort:

Thoughts On Thursday...

Hmmm... let me think.

Once again, nothing profound or provocative.  I don't remember the last time I used my brain to have and intelligent conversation with anyone, or go into deep thought on my own about anything important.  Sure, I do often rattle on with my opinions; some heartfelt, many silly.  But, you have to keep in mind, I don't have many opportunities to socialize or be in the company of anyone other than the people living under the same roof as I.  So, there you have it... my age 51 reality.

Anyway, after being stuck in bed ill most of today, and when I finally felt well enough to leave the bedroom, I thought I'd open up Windows Paint program to see what I could come up with before my hand and arm gave out.  This was the best I could do...

February Project... Interrupted

Each week on THIS IS FIFTY WITH LIL YouTube channel, Wednesday is designated, In The Kitchen With Lil On Wednesday.  Not today... I'm in some pain.  So, no cooking, and computer illustrating will be put on hold until I am able to:

1.)  Have some relief from hand, wrist, arm, neck and back pain,
2.)  I can fashion a better work station,
3.)  ... and I figure out how Windows 7 Paint actually works.

There probably won't be vlogging for a while either, which I'm super bummed about.

Me, bummed that I haven't a clue
how much time it will be
before my gimpy arm
stops hurting.

February Project

BlogHer's NaBloPoMo for February MAKE theme has me trying my hand at digital illustrating... believe me, it is not easy.

Stay with me, here's today's effort...

Made some memories today. Gathered with family at a nearby restaurant to celebrate a niece's birthday. Everybody had a great time... lots of laughter, good food, and great company.

As for me, belated birthday gifts keep coming my way. My son bought me Kid President's Guide To Being AWESOME, and when we got home from dinner, my daughter was baking my favorite cake... German chocolate, yum! This totally made my day. My bouquet of yellow daisies looks fresh as they were the day my nieces brought them over and they bring a smile to my face every time I walk into the kitchen.

February is off to a really nice start.

Me, rocking good hair.

Kid President's AWESOME book.

Bright, cheery daisies.

Another recent project that I decided to try my hand at was floral arranging. I've posted January's carmel color creation DIY vlog below.  Please, watch, comment, like, and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more kooky me. - This Is Fifty With Lil.

Sources:

1. Kid President's Guide To Being AWESOME available at a bookstore or retail store book section near you.
2. BlogHer NaBloPoMo for February theme: MAKE