Swear I left a post a few days ago...

Baylee is back. So odd. But Bear is happy to have his baby kitty!

Dh is still a massive pain.

Apartment is coming together and I look forward to being there. I miss my pets though. Dh starts in and I leave, then he calls 30 times. I took Sandy and Nina last time. Sandy is fine. Nina is a mess. The utmost ADHD dog ever. Wanted to ride the elevator up and down all night to visit the night security guard, whom had dog teats. (think "whom" is proper there? Trying to learn English). Had a temper-tantrum when I said "no. Go to bed", and shredded a cardboard box. Then fell asleep at my feet. I try to give something to destroy before bed. No idea why she possesses so much destructive energy. She is stimulated with games, toys, and other pups. Smart though. She picks stuff up so fast. Anyway, no more nina in the apt. I am going to try to stay home (with pets) mon-thurs. Then thurs -monday in apt. dh wont clean or take care of the pets. Nina gets into everything and Zara and Sandy think it must be okay. The pack is about to get wild. Dh cant/wont close a door or gate or put stuff up. Nina will get meds.
Dh took my photos of Alex down while I was gone. Placed a necklace containing ashes "protected" by a Thoth statuette out in the shed because he "didn't like it staring at him". Mentioned donating all my clothes to good will if i left. He hid my laptop. Tries to get in my phone using Face ID when I'm asleep... Exhausting and unrelenting psychotic childish behaviour.

Dh isnt keen on me leaving. So he bought a travel trailer that he wont use, and he wont leave. I am always ready in seconds to leave. Just fyi- i am a liar and a cheat. He is unreasonable. Just a volcano of hate.

Awww @swenson19d I am so sorry he is being this way. I am sure the pups are feeling the instability and anger and reacting accordingly. As a therapist I can't imagine him being this way but I guess he just doesn't see that he, himself, is being so petty. Also FWiW I know you are no liar or cheat. Please take care of yourself and stay safe.
I am so happy baby Baylee is back! I guess she was just out exploring. Maybe she will stay around with Beary!

I also thought I had a post I don't see. I know I responded to @CMorning99 about Black cat 💔 It is so hard to lose them but can really uncomplicate your life when they have been so sick.

I had my final 12/12 chemo treatment today. Happy to get it over with. I know I will have a few rough days and then it will get progressively better. I am going to call and see about the radiology oncologist appointment. I did find that the City of Hope is also in my insurance plan and works with the doctors and cancer center I currently go to so I have options.

@CMorning99 hugs regarding black cat. My missing post also was to you. It is hard to lose them. You did good by him though. Sure he loved you with all his wee kitty heart and soul for being the one to love him. I told dh, ages ago, that the human soul was judged by animals, particularly those in our care. It really resonated with him and he does better with them.

Still setting up the apartment.
I found a fancy french dresser and a sectional on FB marketplace. Both are being delivered by the sellers. An absolute joy. I dont need all the furnishings, but it will make it that much more enjoyable, creating my safe space. I am home now. Had to see my pups. Dh is being a bit nicer.

School starts again next week.
Nice that 2 classes have opened already and I can get organised and chip at the work.

must run...

The apartment looks great @swenson19d . It sounds like Nina just needs to burn off some energy. Have you tried hiding her treats to have her search for them. Tippy loves doing that and it is good for mental stimulation. Mental health goals are good.

@shanaber Beautiful pics! Looks tranquil.

Nina would just shake a snuffle mat to get everythig out of it. I can put toys and treats in a cardboard box and hide it for her. She destroys the box. She attempted to thieve a large brisket earlier today. Instead of running off with it, she just stood there waiting for me to give her some. not sure if thats progress or not... @quilteryoyo For thanks giving dh got a ham and no one eats it. I used it for the find it game. Nina did good and has learned some hand signals. @Shanaber IDK if she'd do any agility type stuff. She shredded the tunnel. the dog park has fixed challenges so I could do that. But there had been an outbreak of a doggie virus and the advice was to keep your dog at home. Not sure if tht is past, but with the polar temps, It's prob fine.

Good morning folks!

I never realized how busy life could be. I don't know if I was sheltered or this is just the season I am in.

We had sentencing and it was a long day. I finished my statement and was happy with it, highlight mom and also pointing out how LS has shown zero remorse or accountability. DH went with me and the original detective took the day as well and sat with us. We got to see a 5 page letter LS partially wrote (I say that because there were very obvious handwriting changes from his male messiness to a really loopy female handwriting). It sorta gave his explanation for what happened. He claimed that he was very high on LSD, weed, and drunk and that he started hallucinating due to the COVID hysteria and was convinced doomsday was here and he needed to go find a quiet place to lay low while the world ended. The Detective said the statement really fed into the known evidence that they had against him, he said nothing new was added. Anyway he says he panicked when Mom caught him on the property and she fell running away from him (I guess it wasn't in any report mom was in a mobility scooter and could not run). He said she fell and hit her head and she "carried" her into the house where she regained consciousness (unlikely b/c she had a piece of of her skull in her brain) and he panicked and tried to gag her with a belt and it "slipped" around her neck. Yeah...whatever. The rest of the document was about how regretful he was of his actions and how is life was ruined and he swore to be a better person. His sweetheart lawyer tried to file a last minute continuation for add some "young offender" stuff to his probation records. The DDA was so confused since it had absolutely nothing to do with sentencing. It took 4 hours and 2 judges to finally turn that off and told him to file after. Our liaison said that it was a "high profile case" and she said the lawyer was enjoying the publicity and that is why he kept dragging it out. I read my statement, there were 5 members of his family there, allegedly including his new fiancé. I cried as I read it. The news station was there and I didn't realize they recorded it and I found myself on TV by 6pm that night. Oh well. LS also read a slightly different statement and the Judge told him it was flat and it was obvious he was "detached from reality" on the seriousness of his crime. He was sentenced to 25 years to life...but he could be in as little 16 years total with all the "good credits" CA offers.

The week after I caught COVID for the first time. I suspect DH had it the week prior but all he got was a bad case stuffy nose and never tested...it was going around his work like crazy though. I just had a low fever for a few days and then a sore throat for 2 days and was done with it.

The week after that our friend came to stay for a week and we just hung out and did local stuff, it was relaxing. She brought her 13lb 10 month old kitten terror with her...DH and I were once again happy to send him home with her LOL. It made us a bit sad, black cat has been gone a month now and it still hurts. We were really missing our quiet routine with him and his constant affection and cuddles. I don't think DH and I will be ready for another cat for awhile.

You think it ends there! LOL...heck no...I told ya, it is a season.

We also lost one of Mom's miniature horses...he was 32 and so not unexpected but it was sad. Thankfully my tenant was there and got the vet out there (she has pretty much adopted them) and I just had to organize getting a backhoe out there to bury him in the pastures with the rest of the gang. I am glad the tenant is out there....but dang she can be annoying. She likes to lecture me...ugh.

A couple days later I get a random friend request on FB and I just deleted it. They then sent me a message saying they were my half-sister. Now I do have 4 half siblings - we were all removed by either the fathers or the state and we never felt the need to find each other. I did have contact with the brother right below me since we grew up together for a hot minute until his father decided he wanted custody. A quick dig into paperwork - it was actually her. She said that a Detective had called her a week ago and said that our birth mother had died. It appears she had died from an opioid overdose. I had kept tabs on her (the birth mother) for many years but kept her at a double arms length since I knew she had significant mental health issues so I was not surprised. But now it seems I am getting dragged into another "clean up". The sister had already flown down to SoCal where our mother was living and gotten the important stuff out of the apartment. She said it looked like it had been sacked, I suspect she did not die alone and had a "dealer" of pain pills with her. She had no money, nothing of value...Sister said she grabbed lots of photos and such. She didn't have much contact with her either. But now DH and I may have to make the 6 hour journey down there to pick up some furniture she wanted but was not able to get.

I told DH that this HAS to be it! What else could happen?

Next month we are going to start transitioning stuff into storage and start looking for a new place. We decided to just get another house with a 1 year lease.

No movement on the property. We did get the driveway finished after a month - the originally asphalt guy did half the job and then went AWOL. Thankfully we use a middle man so it is his problem. We had to get another one and it is now done.

This is the first week of "normal"? I let reselling slip but even with not touching it for 10 days this month, sales are up 25% from December so more proof that Dec just sucked.

Oh good news is I got my initial rating from the VA - it was much higher than I expected. They also added some claims they felt I needed to be evaluated for. Surprisingly they added depression and anxiety...so weird. I had to have a 10 min "consult" with a psychiatrist ... no idea what will come of that.

Well, I best get to work. Have a great week!

@CMorning99 Whew! You did have a lot going on. I'm glad that LS got a pretty long sentence, though not really long enough for what he did. Hugs to you for having to go through all of that. Then the horse and your birth mom. That's a lot to deal with. I'm glad to hear that the driveway is finished. I hope you find a new place to rent that you love. I'm also glad that your reselling did well, even when you weren't paying a lot of attention to it this month. Congrats on a higher VA disability rating. That's great! Hang in there. I hope things start looking up.

I have some sad news. My cousin, Gary, that I have been helping and am his POA, was sent to the hospital on the 19th because he couldn't put any weight on his left leg. The staff at the assisted living wasn't sure if he fell or not - he couldn't really tell them. In the process of testing, they found that he has stage 4 lung cancer - is in his liver, adrenal gland, grown into his chest wall, and seems like somewhere else. We had NO clue and there was not decline that would indicate he had such advanced cancer. I've had to make all the end of life decisions for him and will probably start hospice/palliative care tomorrow. Such a shock.

I have let his estranged son know, but the son has decided to not come see him, after 20 years. I had hoped he would, but it was his choice and I respect that. I know a little bit of why he has stayed away, but not the entire story, so I will not judge.

I'm still trying to get some exercise every day, but I'm also stress eating, which I know isn't good. But, it is what it is.

Have a great week everyone.

@shanaber I'm sorry to hear that news. I was wondering what the test results were. I think doing those regular things would be very helpful to keep your mind off of things and keep moving forward. You have done great so far. I don't foresee that changing. I see that you said radiation is off the table. Have you looked into proton therapy? I hear that causes so much less damage to surrounding tissue if it is available and can be used for that. Just a thought. Huge hugs to you and continued prayers.

For those that don't know, my cousin, Gary, that I have been helping out, passed away rather suddenly on 2 Feb. He had been sent to the VA the week before because he couldn't put weight on one of his legs. In the process of trying to figure out what was going on, they discovered he had Stage 4 lung cancer! He just progressively got worse and I had to make all of those end of life decisions. He was on hospice for 5 days before he passed away. I'm not even sure he realized that he had cancer. It just hit him so quickly. No one had a clue. His funeral was this past Wed.

So, I've been stress eating like crazy and gaining weight. I HAVE to stop that cycle. I am going to try to track calories as best I can this week and see how it goes. It may help that I have a colonoscopy on Thursday, routine screening. That will be at least one day of low calories and getting cleansed. Exercise is going to suffer though, as it has this entire month so far. It's a vicious cycle.

Thanks @CMorning99 . Sounds like things are headed in the right direction. I hope you are able to get the house "next door." That would make it really easy to get stuff moved...and, if you have to rent it a month early, it'll give you a month to get it all done. I hope you don't have "long covid." It would be nice if there was a test that would let you know. At any rate, I hope you feel better soon.

@shanaber I hope you get into that trial and it works for you! A friend of mine is in a similar situation and she has been "lucky" that they seem to be controlling the growth of her lesions with daily oral chemo. She just graduated nursing school and is doing really well!

@quilteryoyo We are in a similar boat with eating out with the move and all that. So hard to then break the cycle...fast food is addicting.

We have been chugging along, nothing interesting going on but we have been busy. We are in our new house! We did end up putting an application on the house down the street but then pulled it after thinking about it. The house had a "death disclosure" that an unnatural death had occurred in the house in the past 3 years. That wasn't really the issue, but when I did a bit of digging (cause you can't get the intel analyst out of the girl) I suspected it was an elderly man and the house was so outdated and threadbare looking. DH and I thought about and we just didn't feel like we could live with how run down it was. We went through another property manager and they sucked. So we switched again and they were great and we ended up renting one of their houses. It is a tiny 1960's 1100 sqft place that required us to sell our bedroom set (we were planning on it anyway). It also shows a bit of wear and tear but at least they tried to keep it up. The only downside is that it is on a busy road and so we hear cars all day/night. But last week we hired movers and moved in so we are all settled in here. The good thing also was it was a 1 year lease and then goes month to month.

We are still waiting on property stuff. Our surveyors really screwed us, not just with how unresponsive they are/were, but their maps were sent back from the county with what appeared to me stupid mistakes. The county departments are also not talking to each other, we got another checklist of stuff we have already done and probably should not be applicable under the new permit...but now we have to go through all the wickets of that again. It is frustrating because they just approved 2 new huge housing developments! My project manager is earning his weight in gold at this point. Our June target of starting the house is starting to slip away

Reselling is ok, I was doing really well the first half of the month and then I put everything on vacation mode for the move and when I came back my inventory / listing software was down. It is web based so all I can do is wait for them to sort it out. But sales this month are going to take a big hit.

DH and I for sure gained 5lbs during this move. We really took the "no added stress" route with food LOL. We don't even want to put the batteries back in the scale LOL. We went for a walk around the new neighborhood yesterday. It was ok, lots of bigger roads and crosswalks with no lights. I miss my old quiet neighborhoods. Oh well. Chicken stir fry tonight so we will work our way back to at least maintaining LOL.

Have a great week folks!

Hi there @CMorning99, @quilteryoyo and anyone else lurking here!
So glad to see an update from you @CMorning99 and that things seem to be going well for you. I am so happy you were able to get into a new place even if it is smaller. Great opportunity to downsize 😁 I agree with @quilteryoyo that you will get used to it and not hear it any longer.
Do you have any recourse with the surveyors like maybe not having to pay them so much? I hope you can get the County straightened out too!
Chicken stir fry sounds great! You'll get back to the eating/exercising routine soon especially if your DH is participating too.

@quilteryoyo - congratulations on the new baby! (grand-niece?), You will have to share a picture. Are the other little girls excited to have a new baby sister?
How are you doing getting back to eating more regular food now that all the meal dates are over?

I started the new chemo last Wednesday and it knocked me for a loop. I was wiped out on Thursday and developed an allergic reaction Friday night making for a miserable weekend. My blood tests on Monday showed that my blood counts were really low (explains why I was so wiped out). They redid the tests on Tuesday and it had only come up a little. The shots they want me to have to help my body build more blood cells wasn't approved yet so I couldn't have chemo this week. It probably isn't the best news but our daughter is coming in tonight and it means I can go and do some with her and my husband. I'll be back on the chemo train next week. In the meantime I have lost more weight but I am trying to eat more. My husband got me fresh strawberries so I have been having berries with vanilla ice cream for dessert in the evenings. Yum!

@quilteryoyo - the pictures with your grand-nieces are adorable. What a beautiful family! I bet your mom is just thrilled too.

Because my blood counts were so low this last week my chemo treatment was cancelled (good news/bad news). It was good because our daughter came home and I felt good, but bad to delay treatment more. I have blood tests today and chemo on Wednesday likely followed by multiple days of shots to increase my body's production of platelets. I don't think they will change the chemo drugs but I do have medication to take if I have another reaction. They may also give me something prior to or during the infusion to prevent a reaction.

We had a great (short) visit with with our dd. She planned a day at the San Diego zoo, including a VIP behind the scenes tour in a jeep, for us. We had perfect weather, got to see so many animals up close (esp koalas, awake koalas!) and walked a bunch with some stops for me to rest. When we got home she went out and got a little cake to celebrate her dad's birthday. It was really just a perfect day all around! It was a short visit but so great to have her here for a couple of days.

Hi Folks!

Thought I would check in.

@shanaber. Bummer about the rough go with the new chemo, so glad you have attentive doctors who can read the number and make the right calls for you. Glad you got to spend time with DD! I haven't been to a Zoo in probably decades.

@quilteryoyo. What a cute kiddo! Looks like a content family

Things are about status quo here.

Reselling took a big hit last month with the tech outage. After a week of trouble shooting, we finally figured out that the WiFi extender we had bought was causing the errors on all my reselling platforms! Once we hardwired the laptop into the extender everything worked like a charm. Stupid technology. Just after I got everything working one of the platforms went rogue cowboy and completely rewrote the TOS. Previously sellers paid a set % selling fee, processing fee and service fee...it all added up to about 15%, free money transfers, and no returns unless the item was not as described. Then in the middle of the night they changed it all so everything is FREE for sellers...no fees or anything. BUT they then transferred all the fees to the BUYER! So now when you check out you have 4 lines of shipping, fees, tax...it creates quite the sticker shock. Mercari instructed all sellers to lower the prices since there are no fees. They also added a $2 fee to transfer your money, AND now offer free returns for any reason (at their expense). The sellers on the platform lost their $h1t about the returns and the $2 fee. I really don't care...$2 is less than the 15% fees if I pull my money out 1-2x a month. I offer returns on eBay so meh (everyone is convinced every scammer is going to descend on Mercari now). The only bit I don't like is the fees for the buyer! I suspect that is going to be a big turn off for buyers. I thought about lowering my prices but IDK, Buyers will not know I lowered them and they still get hit with a long bill. I decided to go the free shipping route and keep my prices close to same as...it comes out to about the same money in my pocket as the other platforms without the seller fees. Hopefully buyers will be less shocked if they see a $0 for shipping in their long check out list.

Slow movement on the property. We were able to get some paperwork done and then we were sent another list that I now have to pay $277 and next years taxes (which aren't due till Oct) for the tax assessor to sign off...they call it a Tax Bond. WTF is that? DH took tomorrow off and we are going to make the drive up to the county offices (50 miles) and we have to file paperwork with the clerk.

We are fully settled in the new house. Still trying to sell our bedroom furniture...ahhh the joys of FB marketplace. No one shows up or they don't speak English. We are watching a friends Weiner dog and cat for the week.. The canine creature barks incessantly. The cat and I get along great...but he is not my boys . I think DH secretly likes the dog LOL...except when he barks.

We still haven't put batteries in the scale yet but our eating habits have returned to mostly normal.

Have a great week!

Hi all!

@shanaber Thoughts are with you! What a rough battle to be assigned. I do hope that the liver is the last of the cancer and is easier to treat. Enjoy those treats with out guilt!
I think the euculiptis (sp) causes a "drunken" feeling in Koala. Extra yummy!

I am sitting at a friends house doing homework. he is outside whistling and hand washin my car after feeding me lunch. we are together practically 24/7. It is all surreal. We've known each other for 18 years. Of course I havent seen him or talked to him much during that time.

Back to homework. Will check in with everyone later after I get some studying done.