The Working girl

Well, i don't have any pictures to post this time. I know its been a long time since I wrote anything, guess I was just being lazy. That's over now. I got a job and started on June 20th. I am working for United Health Care, yep the insurance company you see advertised on television. I am a case manager in one of the hospitals, assisting patients with discharge needs. If they need rehab, or home health I set that up, including transportation. I get items they may need, like walkers etc. set up and delivered, just basically follow the patient and keep the hospital and doctors on track to get the patient cared for then discharged within reasonable time frames.
Can be very challenging, but I am just beginning. There are 14 computer programs to learn and I am struggling with that. That is going to be the longest learning curve I have to deal with I suppose.
The weather has been hot, as it should be this time of year in Nevada. Leroy and the dogs are fine. Kiki is really showing her age. She will be 15 in August and she mostly sleeps if Bitz will leave her alone. Marty and "slimmed" down about 4 ounces since we got the puppy. Not much new going on other than that.
Hope all are doing well in your neck of the woods. Take care all. Kaye and Leroy

Mother's Day

Had a good Mother's Day. Went to my favorite place for breakfast, then off to Mount Charleston for a hike. 2 1/1 hours and 1000 feet higher in elevation and I almost made it. Missed by about 100 yards. Leroy took the camera the rest of the way to look at the falls coming out of the snow.

I was beat! It only took about 45 minutes to walk down from the mountain, then off to Bonnie Springs for a buffalo burger. Found out that the 2 swans at the duck pond had been gobbled up by a mountain lion over the winter. At least that is what they figured happened to them. The coyotes won't mess with swans, they are too mean. Anyway, it was a good meal, then home.

I was so sore Monday I could hardly walk. Leroy bragged that he wasn't sore at all (the snot).

I still don't have a job, but the prospects are good. I got a message from a friend yesterday that there will be a posting at her place of work and the only way she would know that is if her boss told her. I have spoken with her boss and she told me she would let me know when it was being posted. Guess she is as good as her word. It should be up sometime today and I already have my application and resume ready for them.

Here is a picture of 10,000 dollars. Yes, I won that much and they paid me in cash. I was shocked to say the least. It could not have come at a better time. I guess God takes care of you, even when you are not expecting anything but bad.

The dogs are all good. Kiki is getting very slow and sleeps most of the time, but she eats good when she is awake. Her paranoia is better, now just makes perimeter checks frequently, then back to bed. Bitz has to jump on her every once in a while just to annoy her, but then things settle back to normal.

Guess I don't have much else to say, but I'll try to update everyone on the job situation as soon as I know something.

Thanks all.

no job yet

Well, it's been 2 weeks looking for work and no interviews yet, but something will happen soon I hope. Went to dinner last night, Mexican food and really good, then off to the casino as usual. I had lost all I could stand so LeRoy gave me $40 and said go play. I was holding my own and on my last machine for the night when the machine beeped at me and the message read "jumbo cash winner". That usually means the casino will give $5 to you so all you have to do is press a button to get the credit. I did and a message came up "attendant will be with you soon". I thought, great, the machine has malfunctioned. So I just waited, didn't push any buttons cause I didn't want to lose my $5. In a couple of minutes he came by, pushed some buttons, made a call on his radio, got confirmation on something and I poked his arm and said "are you going to give me lots of money". He said we'll see. He poked a couple of more buttons and said how's $10,000. I grabbed his arm, said you're kidding and he said "no, I'm not kidding". I started to cry on the spot. Yes, I won $10,000 in cash! I get to have my picture taken and added to the wall of winners and security walked us to the car while I carried 100 hundred dollar bills. OMG, I shook for about an hour. Couldn't have come at a better time. I have been wondering how long I could stand to be out of work and which bills are going to get paid. Now I can go at least a little longer without worries. Headed to the bank this morning to make a deposit and open a savings account. I think I'll even get the car washed. I wanted to call the kids right away, but it was 2 in the morning there and I didn't think they would appreciate it too much, so a few calls this morning and then off to knitting club. The weather turned cool again, but only for a couple of days, then back into the 70's. Guess that's about all for now. Hope to hear from you soon.

I know, I know

It's been waaaay too long, I know but here are a few updates. The weather is very pleasant. Yesterday was 90, today 88 with a light breeze, the humidity is 18% and it's expected to stay this pleasant for a few days, with a chance of wind. When they say wind, they mean wind. Storms come through the valley in the form of a wind storm. Not ever much rain because the mountains keep it from coming over, but the wind makes it. Sometimes it will gust to over 70mph or more and a windy day is 30-50mph and that usually changes the temps for a couple of days. And the dust level rises significantly during the storms. Ok, here is another update. One week ago Friday, (March 25), I lost my job. I was devastated. I have never been fired from a job in my life, and though the circumstances surrounding this firing are not my fault, I was the one that stepped up, solved the problem and paid the price. I knew for a few weeks there was a target on my back with the new administrator and she found the way to let me go to make room for staff from her old surgery center. There are others with targets too, so I'm sure I won't be the last one let go before she is done. Anyway, no problem. I am sure that I will find something in a relatively short time. As a matter of fact, at knit club last Saturday one of the gals hooked me up with her company as a case manager so I have applied for that position and am waiting for a reply on that. I know, I don't seem like the case manager type, but at my age I think it's time to do something less physically stressful and yet keep my brain active. The family is all good, our puppy is now a grown woman (she had a hysterectomy 2 weeks ago) and Kiki still hates her, though tolerates her much better. Marty still thinks he is her dad and nurtures her while she chews on his ears. Kiki has stopped digging (I hope I didn't jinx that) and naps much better with her tongue hanging out requiring much more water to moisten it when she wakes. Oh and Leroy is good too. Working everyday and getting to do lots of welding mending the iron fences at the community along with regular clubhouse maintenance. I'm doing this quickly, I do have pictures, but no time to sort them out now. Headed for the shower and knit club. Making a sweater shell for my new job. Doesn't that sound optimistis? Later all. Love you.

Still kicking

Ok, Ok. I know it has been waaayy too long since I posted anything. In fact, I believe it was before Christmas. Beth, don't be mad at me, just hang in there, you know I get to it eventually.

Ok, Lots of updates for you.

In December my aunt got the bright idea that Kiki is getting old. LOL. As if I didn't know. Anyway she found an ad in the paper from a guy in South Dakota that breeds shih-tzu puppies and once a year he brings a bunch to Las Vegas to sell and she wanted to go "looking". Yep, we looked alright. She went prepared to buy a pup and not for herself. We now own 3 dogs. Kiki and she is on the down side, more on that later, Marty, the fat boy and Lil Bitz, just as the name inplies. Yep, that's her right there on the right.

She is just about as energetic as 2 people can stand, but she surely provides lots of entertainment for us. She is now 6 months old and has plans for a hysterectomy soon. There is no reproducing in her future. Marty loves her dearly and Kiki just tolerates her as an old lady should. Although Bitz tries to play, Kiki is having none of that and just goes to bed. She house broke very easily and participates in poop producing in the back yard, which we frequently depoop.

Kiki has had some sort of cognitive episode that has sent her into some kind of thinking that she needs to dig out of the yard at every opportunity and if not digging she is barking. She now sports a bark collar and a fence collar most of the time for preventative measures. Having gotten used to those she now just stands in the back yard and looks at the fence, then comes in and patrols the house, then back outside for a permiter check then the whole thing starts again. Some nights she thinks she needs to get in the shower, for what I don't know, but she will dig out the bathroom scale and open the shower door. On those nights she ends up in the garage in a crate with a feather topper wrapped around it. That seems to comfort her and she will sleep all night without barking. And sleep soundly. She doesn't even know we are up most mornings for at least 30 minutes. I peek just to make sure she is breathing. She launched herself off the bed a few weeks ago. Jumping just doesn't cover it. Anyway, she slammed into the dresser and now when she gets up in the morning she looks like me. It takes her a few steps to work out the stiffness and get the legs working in the right order. She is down to 3 teeth, the eye still roves to the side so she is looking at you with one and scanning the room with the other. What's not to love about that!

Marty is just as fat as ever, but he thinks he is Bitz's dad I guess. They groom each other's faces and play all the time. Best friends forever. Even though he is 8 years old, she has put new life into him. Treats are his favorite thing and he has taught her how to sit and look precious to get hers.

Bitz loves to get into things, just like any kid. This picture is of her getting into my knitting bag. I don't know how many times I have come home to find knitting and/or supplies scattered around the living room. One day she got into it, dragged it around the kitchen table 3 times and was so happy to see me, along with Kiki and Marty that all 3 of them had it wrapped around their feet along with the table. I was in a panic. It took over an hour to untangle the yarn. Now of course, I put it out of reach, but still things get scattered around, though it's not yarn.

We were in Ohio over the holidays, man was it cold. The weather here in Vegas in the winter is cool with highs in the 50's and 60's and lows in the 40's. Some days even into the 70's and now here in early February some of the trees are already starting to bloon. Spring in Nevada! I love it. Anyway, we were only home for a couple of weeks when my step mother became ill following gall bladder surgery and she passed very quickly. That means I made another trip to Ohio and it was even colder than in December. It was a short trip and funds were tight, but while I was waiting to catch my flight out of Vegas I stuck $5 into a slot machine about 30 minutes before my flight and low and behold I hit a bonus and won $1500. That made it much easier on the pocket book for the trip home. So both bad and good happened in January.

We took a trip to Mesquite, a small town about an hour North of Vegas, a couple of weeks ago. Small town as in population about 5000. We had a nice time and it was for my birthday. I came home with a little more money than I took, which is always a good thing.

LeRoy is doing great. Over the holidays, Morgan got him to participate in her little beauty pageant and he was "cutie" . Couldn't get him to wear the tierra, but he did let her put lip gloss on him. He's not going to be happy that I included this picture. Somehow he thinks it is unmanly. Anyway, it was a very fun time. Ooops! He just saw this picture, now I could be in trouble. Very funny.

As for myself, things have been fine. I feel great, my job is steady most of the time. There are times when I have to stay home because of low case volume, but I take my turn like everyone else. We have our slow days, but there are some days when our little surgery center feels like a big city hospital, though our surgeries are not nearly as involved. We do lots of urology, and plastic surgeries, and we are about to open a new endoscopy suite to do GI procedures. We used to have one, but only one physician came, our equipment was antiquated and the room environment was to conducive to smooth operation. It should be much better away from the surgery suites, and new Olympus equipment, which is what I am used to, with HD will entice more physicians. Besides, the one that used to come has left the city and he was a pain at times to work with.

I have been knitting and knitting. Socks, shoulderettes, shawls, you name it and I can probably knit it. I have become a knitting addict. Some days I can't wait to get home, just so I can knit. I go to a meet up group on Saturday mornings with my aunt just to knit, then we go to lunch and play bingo somewhere. Don't usually win, but there is always that hope.

While we were home for the holidays we got together with my family, including the brother that lives in Alaska. Can you tell which one he is. Yep, the one on the left. Looks like Grizzily Adams, doens't he. Talk about an adventure! I'm not into the cold and isolation but he and Myra seem to love it. Also the bugs. I have only seen one fly and no mosquitoes since moving to Nevada. The summers may be hot, but it's only 3 months and the perfect day is humidity 8%, light breeze and temp of 100-105, just like the perfect day in Ohio with a temp of 80 and humidity of 50%. It's all relative I guess.

Anyway, thanks for checking in with us. I'll try to keep more up to date with the blog so it won't take you so long to read. I apologize. Love you all. Kaye, LeRoy, Kiki, Marty and Lil Bitz.