We have had our new guy for one week now. OMG! what a pleasure he is. It is like night and day from our previous client who just moved. I realize that in my choice of work, there is a reason all these adults need to live in foster care and over the years I have to had to deal with many different kinds of needs. Luc is an obvious high needs case all around but our previous border Martin, being very functional was a hand full nonetheless. He never appreciated anything we did for him and always wanted more using munipulation by any means. So having dealt with that for 10 yrs makes it that much more enjoyable to have a client that is the sheer opposite to that.
Ray seems really happy to be here. During his initial visit here he loved his room from the start, even was surprised when I told him it would be getting a fresh coat of paint before he moved in. Then when he finally did he was very pleased to help put his stuff away. I used that incentive to get him to purch alot of acumulated useless stuff even including a couple unmatched bedside tables he brought with him from his former residense. Frankly it bewilders me that they sent such delapitated pieces of crap. I think over time these clients with the help of the family they are living with could finance a few nice things of their own. I mean geez..
Ray has what had been discribed as his own comfortable tv chair...it's the ugliest feking chair I ever saw! I am telling you right now, it isn't going to live here a day past xmas. We did not paint and fix up a nice room to have it sharply contrastED with a 35 yr old wooden chair with brown/yellow coushins with a acordian fringe in same fabric stapled directly to the wood of the chair..my first thought was HOW AM I GOING TO REAPOSTER THIS MONSTROSITY!...I then decided a minute later that IT WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN. There are many really nice reclining chairs in fake or real leather that aren't huge but really comfortable and even have a matching foot stool for 100$ or less then 200$. He is already looking forward to going shopping with us next month to chose one he likes. He has enough in his account for one in that price range and even if he didn't I would have bought it to finance it over time for him. We also got him different organizing tools for his belts and shoes and a sturdy coat rack for his packsac and winter coat etc...
He was so happy at the trouble we took to make his room special just for him. He is always smiling and even sings a few words here and there for no apparent reason lol. He likes to be helpful like shovelling the snow or putting a new role of toilet paper on the holder. He is so proud to help. Chris and I are constantly smiling at his perpetual thankyous and sweet nature. We will both enjoy and appreciate the differences in him that we hadn't previously witnessed in clients before. We also realize that the *honeymoon stage* will be over soon but for the most part I had known Ray to be of pretty good nature anyway. He has difficulty with his diction so we are getting used to understanding what he is trying to say at times but he repeats when we need him too.
All in all we have had a great week getting to know Ray our new client/border. It just reasures me 100 fold about the good decision I took in having Martin move after caring for him 10 yrs. Granted I will get less money for Ray. Thats the way it works. He is less difficult to care for but it's not only about the money..it is also about peace of mind and quality of life. Luc is much more work but it's more of a physical nature caring for him. I think I have found a good balance now with both clients. If we are able to buy a bigger home eventually I wouldn't mind having one or two more but that will only be if I have alot of room to do a good job and have a continued quality of life. I could not do this job without the enormous help and support I get from Chris. Takes a big man to accept this kind of homelife and to then become an integral part of my whole support system. I am such a lucky woman.
Today as I write this on the day that my american friends call THANKS GIVING....even as a Canadian....I have so much to be THANKFULL FOR......
HAPPY THANKS GIVING TO ALL MY AMERICAN FRIENDS!!
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Saturday, November 19, 2005
THIS FAT CHICKS FANTASY.....LIVED!!!!
Ok people get your minds out of the gutter. Although sweet, tender, moist and delicious, I am NOT referring to sex...although that could infact discribe my wonderfull sex life hehe.....I digress..
This summer while on holiday, my dad drove us a couple hours out of Regina to a small town where my dad grew up and where I was also born. There are still family there. One uncle has a farm close by and there is an aunt who lives in town alone and yet another uncle who's wife has run one of the local salons for years. She still does and ALSO runs the town bakery! She took it over a couple yrs ago and doing a great job. My aunt Terri has spunk if ever I saw it and is one of the sweetest ladies there is.
So we arrive in town and stop off at my aunt and uncles place. He later took us over to give us a tour of the bakery. OMG...just imagine the decadent aroma of fresh breads and pasteries. He shows us all the ovens and churning tools and how some of the stuff is made. It was really quite fascinating seeing how it all works in the back of a bakery and also how spic and span it was kept even after a full days work. The shop was about to close so once in the front...seeing all the yummy stuff behind the glass counter I was ready to buy some stuff before we left with uncle to go eat at a nearby resturant. Uncle would have nothing of it. He said we would come back after we had supper for some desert.
Let me just interject something at this point lol. Before leaving on vacation, Chris and I already had a talk about the whole diabetese thing. He is always my helper but he totally gets that holiday means holiday aswell so it was understood that I would be less vigilant with the control of my sugar/carb intake, just as long as I took my meds religiously.
So we have a great meal at the local chinese resturant where dad told us stories of that same place being there when he was a kid but it was like a resturant/soda fountain place then. How he punched one of the guys in the kitchen for being a jerk to his older but slower brother. (who died just a few yrs later) Dad was drop dead gorgous and the second youngest of 18.....YES...18 KIDS...and has never had a mean bone in his body.
Well supper is done so we head back to the now closed bakery. Even the store front windows are curtained over so you can't see inside. Uncle unlocks the door and we walk in. He then says...choose what ever u want for desert and anything to bring home with you...please take as much as u want..we have to refill the shelves with fresh stuff ...and IT'S ON THE HOUSE...
OMG! OMG! OMG!...at that moment I realized I was living one of my fantasies of being locked in a bakery hehe. I took in all the scrumptious pasteries, studdles, butter tarts, brownies, nanimo bars and so on and so on and so on...as my body wanted to go into sugar shock just looking at it my mouth watered like a starving man at a buffet. Visions of sugar plum fairies dancing in my brain as my pupils dialated enough to get a focus of Chris' face for reasurance to see him just grinning at me from ear to ear cause he totally understood and saying with his eyes...GO FOR IT...and the other thought..unspoken was,,,,you brought your pills right?
Let me reasure you all that although I could have seriously gotten naked and roled in all that stuff with glee. I infact conducted myself with class and decorum. I ate two different things there as my uncle is piling stuff in a huge paper bag for us to take home. Some of this, that, and more those there with a side of try these. Earlier when I was trying to purchase something..it was some nanimo bars...well he gave me the whole tray to take home...OMG IT WAS CHRISTMAS I TELL YA!!!!!
I thought I had died and gone to heaven...even checked for a pulse... it was beating alright....and my pancreas was in overdrive preparing for what it just witnessed.
So in closing, we had baked goods for days after. It was all delightfull but honestly just being there at that moment was a FANTASY LIVED!
PS...During my whole vacation, didn't lose an onze of weight...but...I DIDN'T GAIN ANY EITHER HEHE
PSS...In all though to date I have lost 40lbs
This summer while on holiday, my dad drove us a couple hours out of Regina to a small town where my dad grew up and where I was also born. There are still family there. One uncle has a farm close by and there is an aunt who lives in town alone and yet another uncle who's wife has run one of the local salons for years. She still does and ALSO runs the town bakery! She took it over a couple yrs ago and doing a great job. My aunt Terri has spunk if ever I saw it and is one of the sweetest ladies there is.
So we arrive in town and stop off at my aunt and uncles place. He later took us over to give us a tour of the bakery. OMG...just imagine the decadent aroma of fresh breads and pasteries. He shows us all the ovens and churning tools and how some of the stuff is made. It was really quite fascinating seeing how it all works in the back of a bakery and also how spic and span it was kept even after a full days work. The shop was about to close so once in the front...seeing all the yummy stuff behind the glass counter I was ready to buy some stuff before we left with uncle to go eat at a nearby resturant. Uncle would have nothing of it. He said we would come back after we had supper for some desert.
Let me just interject something at this point lol. Before leaving on vacation, Chris and I already had a talk about the whole diabetese thing. He is always my helper but he totally gets that holiday means holiday aswell so it was understood that I would be less vigilant with the control of my sugar/carb intake, just as long as I took my meds religiously.
So we have a great meal at the local chinese resturant where dad told us stories of that same place being there when he was a kid but it was like a resturant/soda fountain place then. How he punched one of the guys in the kitchen for being a jerk to his older but slower brother. (who died just a few yrs later) Dad was drop dead gorgous and the second youngest of 18.....YES...18 KIDS...and has never had a mean bone in his body.
Well supper is done so we head back to the now closed bakery. Even the store front windows are curtained over so you can't see inside. Uncle unlocks the door and we walk in. He then says...choose what ever u want for desert and anything to bring home with you...please take as much as u want..we have to refill the shelves with fresh stuff ...and IT'S ON THE HOUSE...
OMG! OMG! OMG!...at that moment I realized I was living one of my fantasies of being locked in a bakery hehe. I took in all the scrumptious pasteries, studdles, butter tarts, brownies, nanimo bars and so on and so on and so on...as my body wanted to go into sugar shock just looking at it my mouth watered like a starving man at a buffet. Visions of sugar plum fairies dancing in my brain as my pupils dialated enough to get a focus of Chris' face for reasurance to see him just grinning at me from ear to ear cause he totally understood and saying with his eyes...GO FOR IT...and the other thought..unspoken was,,,,you brought your pills right?
Let me reasure you all that although I could have seriously gotten naked and roled in all that stuff with glee. I infact conducted myself with class and decorum. I ate two different things there as my uncle is piling stuff in a huge paper bag for us to take home. Some of this, that, and more those there with a side of try these. Earlier when I was trying to purchase something..it was some nanimo bars...well he gave me the whole tray to take home...OMG IT WAS CHRISTMAS I TELL YA!!!!!
I thought I had died and gone to heaven...even checked for a pulse... it was beating alright....and my pancreas was in overdrive preparing for what it just witnessed.
So in closing, we had baked goods for days after. It was all delightfull but honestly just being there at that moment was a FANTASY LIVED!
PS...During my whole vacation, didn't lose an onze of weight...but...I DIDN'T GAIN ANY EITHER HEHE
PSS...In all though to date I have lost 40lbs
Monday, November 14, 2005
WEEK OF CHANGES
This past week has been full of changes. Let me start with the good stuff. Oh wait...it's ALL good stuff.
Two months ago I finally made the decision to ask for a displacement for Martin. He is the border/client I have had for 10 years. He is high functioning unlike our blind Luc that I have previously written about but he has other traits that are difficult to deal with. As much as Luc can be physically tirering , Martin is mentally draining. He has major attitude problems, lies, manipulates anyone who can or will be munipulated etc etc....I began to realize as hard as Luc was to care for, atleast he was easier on my mental state by not talking back or trying to cause problems all the time. Also after 10 years I think Martin can gain as much as I can in making a change. Hense , asking for a displacement.....I gave them till the end of Nov. to find another place. I had the intention of using the empty room during the xmas season for Chris' children who are coming here from Paris for 3 weeks. This past week we got confirmation of a new place and he liked it when he did a visit. I was called to arrange the moving day. Martin moved last friday..I have to say as much of a relief as it was, it also pinched my heart after having him 10 yrs.
In that same convo about moving Martin, they offered me a new client to fill the soon to be empty, room.
I was surprised they had someone and explained that I had planned to reopen the room for a client in January only. They told me who the client was and that it couldn,t wait till january if I was interested. Well, I knew the client from a friend of mine having cared for him in the past. He is a great client. High functioning, very helpful, good appearance, clean and organised and happy. He can be abit difficult to understand because of a speech impediment but it will just takes time to get used to his speaking.
He came to visit our house today with his caseworker. We got on great so he is ready to move in on Thursday. YAY! We are putting a fresh coat of paint in the room tomorrow to make it all ready for our new guy.
The last but most important of our changes this week came in the form of an envelope. As many know, it took Chris 3 years to get a divorse but even with that done here, it still needed to be recognised in his country of France. It took mailing a bunch of requests to different offices in france for different documents to complile what was needed to finally sent it all to another office. THEN WAIT. and WAIT and WAIT till we got a document saying they RECOGNISED HIS DIVORSE....in France. THAT is the envelope we recieved!!!!! Now we can finally set a date to get married. If all goes well, and Chris can get time off , we would like to marry on June 9th or 2006. It's not official yet but I would love that date. It was the date my grand-parents married and they adored eachother till death, it was also date my parents got married and they will hate eachother till death (have been divorsed over 20 yrs now) lol....I figure the good Karma, SKIPS a generation LOL....I am not superstitious but I do think it would be cool to have 3 generations with the same anniversary on the family tree.
Thats all for now...hugs to my friends.
Two months ago I finally made the decision to ask for a displacement for Martin. He is the border/client I have had for 10 years. He is high functioning unlike our blind Luc that I have previously written about but he has other traits that are difficult to deal with. As much as Luc can be physically tirering , Martin is mentally draining. He has major attitude problems, lies, manipulates anyone who can or will be munipulated etc etc....I began to realize as hard as Luc was to care for, atleast he was easier on my mental state by not talking back or trying to cause problems all the time. Also after 10 years I think Martin can gain as much as I can in making a change. Hense , asking for a displacement.....I gave them till the end of Nov. to find another place. I had the intention of using the empty room during the xmas season for Chris' children who are coming here from Paris for 3 weeks. This past week we got confirmation of a new place and he liked it when he did a visit. I was called to arrange the moving day. Martin moved last friday..I have to say as much of a relief as it was, it also pinched my heart after having him 10 yrs.
In that same convo about moving Martin, they offered me a new client to fill the soon to be empty, room.
I was surprised they had someone and explained that I had planned to reopen the room for a client in January only. They told me who the client was and that it couldn,t wait till january if I was interested. Well, I knew the client from a friend of mine having cared for him in the past. He is a great client. High functioning, very helpful, good appearance, clean and organised and happy. He can be abit difficult to understand because of a speech impediment but it will just takes time to get used to his speaking.
He came to visit our house today with his caseworker. We got on great so he is ready to move in on Thursday. YAY! We are putting a fresh coat of paint in the room tomorrow to make it all ready for our new guy.
The last but most important of our changes this week came in the form of an envelope. As many know, it took Chris 3 years to get a divorse but even with that done here, it still needed to be recognised in his country of France. It took mailing a bunch of requests to different offices in france for different documents to complile what was needed to finally sent it all to another office. THEN WAIT. and WAIT and WAIT till we got a document saying they RECOGNISED HIS DIVORSE....in France. THAT is the envelope we recieved!!!!! Now we can finally set a date to get married. If all goes well, and Chris can get time off , we would like to marry on June 9th or 2006. It's not official yet but I would love that date. It was the date my grand-parents married and they adored eachother till death, it was also date my parents got married and they will hate eachother till death (have been divorsed over 20 yrs now) lol....I figure the good Karma, SKIPS a generation LOL....I am not superstitious but I do think it would be cool to have 3 generations with the same anniversary on the family tree.
Thats all for now...hugs to my friends.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
To Funny
I got this from a friend. I just had to share this with all of you, some of these are just to funny!!
Alternate meanings for
common words. The winners are
1. Coffee (n.) the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.) appalled over how much weight you havegained.
3. Abdicate (v.) to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.) to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.) impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.) describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.) to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.) olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.) a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.) a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.) the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n) a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.) a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.) (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.) an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
Alternate meanings for
common words. The winners are
1. Coffee (n.) the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.) appalled over how much weight you havegained.
3. Abdicate (v.) to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.) to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.) impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.) describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.) to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.) olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.) a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.) a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.) the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n) a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.) a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.) (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.) an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
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