Caregiving Sucks

 My “Survive Caregiver Burnout” . . . 

?Guide?

PRAY! Thank God for HIS many Blessings. Ask for HIS guidance on this care giving journey.

Go places . . . in my head or even online . . . that I would love to visit. Day dream for a few minutes, then come back to reality.

Leave the house (if possible) for at least 15 minutes EVERY DAY. If you can, stay away longer. JUST DO IT!

Set aside time to “do nothing”. This is time just for me.

Go for a walk, even in the rain, even if it’s simply around your cul-de-sac, just to get out of the house for a few minutes. It’s always refreshing just getting out of the house.

Sit on the front porch, on the patio, on the deck, or in the back yard…ALONE. Prop up on the bed in my room with the door closed. Sit in the back storage room, Mom’s not allowed in there.

Go sit quietly at the park. Or walk around the park. It’s refreshing just to be outside.

Read Inspirational Quotes, Poetry, Stories.

Listen to some favorite good-mood music.

PRAY! Be thankful for blessings large and small. 

Drive to the nearest Sonic Drive-in. Park under the canopy and place an order. Order a slush, a coke float, a hamburger, anything. Let someone “wait on you” for a change.  Merely being out of the house is invigorating.  .  

Stay in touch with friends and family. Try not to stay isolated too long. Contact someone every couple of weeks, or at least once a month. Just say hi and chat for a short while.

Do Mindfulness exercises like yoga, meditation and journaling, they can be soothing.

Online Puzzles, Games, and applications are good for emotional health.

Visit AgingCare.com online – Interact with others. It is great for interacting with people who are very supportive.

PRAY!   

Release Negativity

 3 Simple Steps to Renew Etc.

Here are 3 Simple Steps to Take to Renew, Revitalize, and Release Negative Thoughts, Behaviors, and Patterns:

First, think about a particularly challenging situation in your life. This could be related to family issues, professional struggles, or even a habit you’d like to change. 

Second, write it down. 

Third, try this exercise to release the negative charge of this issue, struggle or habit: 

Evoke a positive thought that you’ve never had before about the person or the situation. Choose something positive and true about them. For example, let’s say your boss drives you completely crazy! See if you can find one positive quality about him or her. 

Attach a positive emotion to that quality and focus this emotion towards the person or situation. Let’s say you have a difficult relationship with someone in your family.

Think about one positive quality about this person. How does this positive quality make you feel? Send this positive feeling and energy to this family member.

Exhibit a behavior you wish to see in this person. This is your chance to be the role model to a family member, a boss, a friend or even your child.

If you can practice these 3 simple steps, your mindset about the situation or the person will change. This challenge will no longer define your life and your experience with this person or situation will begin to shift. 

What are your thoughts on this topic? Have you ever experienced a negative situation? Have you ever been in contact with a negative person or persons? How did you handle it? Let us know in the comments section. We’d love to have your feedback.

Cell Phone DOs & DON’Ts

Some Things To Do & Some NOT To Do

A few years ago my cell phone started acting up. I could barely finish sending a text and the battery would be drained over half way. The same thing happened with regular phone calls. I could only make or receive two or three calls and the phone would beep for low battery.

I had to plug the thing in, off and on about a hundred times a day just to be able to talk on it. I completely gave up trying to text after a couple of weeks. There was so much life stuff going on, I didn’t have time to take it to the shop to have it checked out.

Finally, I did take it to my service provider and explained the problem to the salesman. He gave the phone a good going over and found nothing wrong with the phone itself.

He did find my problem to be a bad battery. He said the battery is supposed to be flat and mine was puffed, probably from too much heat. I DO keep the danged thing in my pocket all day long . . . just in case loved ones try to reach me during the day.

After several questions, the young man told me the following 3 things.

1.Don’t keep your cell phone plugged in charging all night long. It only takes an hour or two to charge.

2. Do Charge it “only” when it registers way down past half way full. Once it is fully charged, unplug it.

3. Don’t keep your cell phone in your pocket all day long. Your body heat will damage your battery.

So there you have it, some things to DO and NOT-to-DO with your cell phone.

Did you know about these DOs & DON’TS already? Have you ever had a problem with your cell phone battery? What did you do?

Click Image #1 to view source 

101 Things To Do Instead of . . .

Being Depressed, Stressed, or Alone

Doing Drugs or Drinking

Golden Time of Day - Sunset 

Watch a beautiful sunset ~ Watch a happy video ~ Smell a flower ~ Draw a picture ~ Take a bubble bath ~ Look at old photos ~ Listen to music ~ Create something new ~ Go to the zoo ~ Learn something new ~ Read a good book ~ Collect something, rocks, seashells, stamps ~ Learn the names of the stars and planets ~ Get together/ZOOM with friends ~ Play games ~ Enjoy a hobby ~ Play a sport ~ Smile ~ Make someone else smile ~

Jace smiling @ Herman Park

~Finish what you start ~ Solve a riddle ~ Jump rope ~ Gather seashells ~ Whistle a tune ~ Feed old bread crumbs to birds ~ Read a poem ~ Fly a kite ~ Do a favor ~ Surprise someone ~ Play catch ~ Join a club ~ Sing ~ Give a hug ~ Get a hug ~ Talk to friends ~ Wish on a star ~ Run through a sprinkler ~ Go camping ~ Do a jigsaw puzzle ~ Memorize a song ~ Help a friend in need ~ Build a sand castle ~ Find a home for a stray animal ~ Do good deeds ~ Have lemonade on a hot day ~ Blow bubbles ~ Dance ~ Exercise ~ Climb a tree ~ Run through a field of wild flowers ~ Volunteer ~ Tickle a baby's tummy ~ Play with your pet ~ Cheer someone up ~ Roll in the grass ~ Snuggle a stuffed animal ~ Swing on a swing ~ Eat ice cream ~ Walk barefoot in the sand ~ ~ Wade in the ocean ~

Jace wading in Galveston Bay

~Play with a little kid ~ Do Cartwheels ~ Go bird watching ~ Give a gift ~ Play some hoops ~ Kiss a parent ~ Learn how to juggle ~ Watch the clouds ~ Start a garden ~ Learn a language ~ Play an instrument ~ Go fishing ~ Make a gift ~ Hike ~ Set your goals ~ Phone a friend ~ Have a picnic ~ Think happy thoughts ~ Ride a bike ~ Write to friends ~ Do your best ~ Count your blessings ~ Make a poster ~ Make someone laugh ~ Improve your score ~ Listen to birds ~ Learn to cook ~ Skip rocks into a lake ~ Play in the park ~ Go swimming ~ Window shop online ~ Care for plants ~ Keep a promise ~ Trade cards ~ Do magic tricks ~ Make a model ~ Go Bowling ~ Keep a journal ~ 

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

 Photograph things you love ~ Do better than the last time ~ Brighten someone's day ~

What is your favorite thing to do instead of...?  

Peach Cobbler Crumb Cake

Peach Cobbler Crumb Cake

 

This quick and easy Peach Cobbler Crumb Cake is so easy to make it will quickly become a family favorite. It is so deliciously satisfying your family will not know the difference between this and a peach cobbler that takes lots more time and effort.

Ingredients:
- 1 box Yellow Cake Mix,
- 1 – 16 oz. can of peaches with syrup,
- 1 stick of margarine

Baking Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray a 9″x13″ baking pan with cooking spray.
3. Pour peaches and syrup into the pan.
4. Sprinkle cake mix over the peaches.
5. Top with margarine slices.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Click Images to view Source

A Great Point & Shoot Camera For Beginners

Canon PowerShot SD780IS - Camera

This Canon PowerShot SD780IS Camera is an awesome point & shoot camera for beginners.

Mere words cannot begin to describe the awesomeness of this little camera. That said I will TRY to explain some of the reasons I find this Canon PowerShot SD780IS absolutely amazing. #1: It is teeny-tiny-SMALL!

It's teeny-tiny enough fo fit in the  palm of your hand. It’s tiny enough to fit in a shirt or pants pocket. It’s small enough to fit into a purse easily. It does not take up any space, no matter where you put it.

Image source

Don’t be fooled by the size of this small pocket-size camera though. It has some un-imaginable features. The BEST feature is that it is a great point-&-shoot camera for beginners like me. Simply point it at your subject, find your subject on the screen, and press the button. That’s it! It is just that easy to use.

Another awesome feature of this camera is that it is also great for shooting pictures on the move. I have captured hundreds of pictures while riding in the car, with the window rolled up. Many were blurred, at first. Then, I developed an amateur system for getting clear focused shots - -  on the move. How?

I would look ahead as we rode along, find my target, and focus on it. As the car moved along, I kept my camera focused on the item I wanted to shoot. When the car reached my desired object, I just pressed the button. The pictures came out very clear, not blurred at all. You can’t beat that for “point-&-shoot” for amateur beginners!

My photo. Taken from a moving car, passenger side. 

This Canon PowerShot SD780IS has many other great features and professional quality capabilities. But this review concentrates only on its ease of use for beginners.

If you like to take pictures and you are not a professional photographer, this is the camera for you. If you want a camera you can point at something and shoot a picture, this camera is for you.

I highly recommend this Canon PowerShot SD780IS.  It's perfect for beginners.

Handbag How-To - - for Guys Also

A while back I received this email about women sitting their purses on floors in public toilets, in cars, on the ground, etc. It also presented statistics on the amount of germs and bacteria purses contain afterwards. It was disgusting! 

The email strongly warned against putting your purse on any surface when you are away from home.

That handbag story was so-o-o-o-o "eye-opening and upsetting"! I immediately grabbed my wire cutters, a white coat hanger (they're softer), and pliers and got busy. I even left my computer running while I did the following.

I will never be caught putting my purse down anywhere - EVER - again! SO!

This is how I solved the problem (below). Guys, you can do this for your lady. She’ll be happily surprised and thankful.

1. Cut a piece of wire from the coat hanger about 6 - 7 inches long with the wire cutters.

2. Bend the cut piece of wire into an "S" shape with the pliers. That’s it!

3. Ladies, keep this "s" hook in your purse. When you find yourself in a public toilet you can hang this up and hang your purse on it.

There you have it, NO MORE GERMS ON YOUR HANDBAGS.

© 2008 by Leona G. Shankle - All Rights Reserved  ~dellgirl~

Image source

Save Money Using Facebook & Twitter

I read somewhere that you can save money using Facebook and Twitter. My first thought was, “yea, right” … like that’s going to happen. Then I read the entire article. It made a lot of sense, I learned a lot from it.

The first thing I learned was that my Facebook news feed sometimes contains great sales promoted by companies that I love and that I use frequently. The article stated that I should follow the company (itself) or follow the company's Facebook page to get updates, offers, and/or coupons. 

This was news to me! I had always purposely NOT followed companies or product pages since joining Facebook. The idea had me hooked, I had to read on. I would not have thought of this on my own.

The article also advised searching the company’s Twitter feed. Sometimes they offer coupons for additional discounts on purchases. What a great tip! Before I read this, I had not been able to see any benefits from using Facebook or Twitter. Now I do, this is really cool.

I have also read other articles explaining how to use Facebook to save money.

Do you use Facebook or Twitter? Do you use them to shop? Have you ever used them to save money? How do you use FaceBook and Twitter?

Image source

Uses for Baking Soda

Baking soda can be used for a lot more than deodorizing the fridge or keeping the cat’s litter box from stinking up the place. All one has to do is Google “Uses for Baking Soda” and you’ll find so many, you’ll be busy reading for days.

Rather than making another list of things you can do with baking soda, I want to share my all time favorite uses for it. Below are three of my favorites and how I use the baking soda. I use these three a lot more than others so, I’ll start with my …

3 Favorite Uses for Baking Soda

1.Remove Burned-on Food From Pots & Pans

2.Keep Drains Fresh Smelling

3.Unclog Slow Draining Drains

Remove Burned-On Food from Pots & Pans

Here is an easy way to remove burned-on food from pots and pans. Put enough water in the pan to cover the bottom plus 1 more inch for boiling. Sprinkle in a thick layer of baking soda.

Bring this to a boil and boil it for 3 minutes.  Turn off heat. Let it sit, soaking it in the baking soda solution for 10 minutes before washing.

You can use the baking soda from the fridge for this then place a new box of soda in the fridge.

Deodorize Drains

Keep your sink and tub drains clean and fresh smelling by flushing them with baking soda every week. Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain then turn on very warm tap water to flush the soda through. Let the warm water run through the drain about 2 minutes.

Use the baking soda from the fridge for this then place a new box of soda in the fridge.

Unclog Slow Draining Drains

Pour 1 cup baking soda down any kitchen or bathroom drain that seems to drain too slowly. Next, pour in 1 cup hot vinegar.

Wait 30 minutes. Then pour 1 gallon boiling water down the drain to flush the soda vinegar mixture through the pipes.

Use the baking soda from the fridge for this then place a new box of soda in the fridge.

Do you use baking soda? What is your favorite way to use it?

Image source

How to Raise Your Kids and Still Have Time for Yourself - A BookReview

How to Raise Your Kids and Still Have Time for Yourself is Old advice that still works today…

The author provides many helpful tips for finding time for yourself while raising your child/children. She has categorized the tips according to the age group your child falls into. She begins with tips for things to do to find time for yourself if your child is a newborn up to two years old.

The very first tip is as old as I am, probably older. She advises doing things while your child sleeps. This is one piece of advice my mother, grandmother, and everyone else gave me when my grown (really old now) kids were babies.

IT WORKS though. 

PROS:

-This book of tips is full of helpful tips for first time mothers. It provides tried and proven ways to find some much needed time to devote to themselves.  New mothers will find their lives less stressful by utilizing these tried and true tips and advice.

-This book is also good for first time, older grandmothers (like me) who have not had to care for babies or kids for a long, long time. That is why I requested the book, my youngest kid is OLD. And, I do mean OLD.

-The main benefit of this book is that new mothers will learn early how to find time for herself before she becomes overwhelmed with her role as a new mother. She will learn that making herself a priority and taking time for herself will drastically improve her life.

-The book is a quick easy read and, it is well written.

CONS:  There are no CONS because I know from personal experience that these tips and advice work. One has only to try them and apply them to realize their value.

Conclusion:

I used many of these tips when my kids were growing up and, they worked. This book is worth the price for new mothers, single moms and dads, and grandmothers because these tips work.

I recommend this book of tips. I requested this book as a new, first time grandmother, and it works for me today. I recommend it.

I received this e-Book FREE in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion.  

Image source

How to Lock Your Car and Why

This an email I received from a friend:

Thieves Don't Break Your Windows Anymore

I locked my car. As I walked away I heard my car door unlock. I went back and locked my car again three times. Each time, as soon as I started to walk away, I would hear it unlock again!

Naturally alarmed, I looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. They were obviously watching me intently, and there was no doubt they were somehow involved in this very weird situation.

I quickly chucked the errand I was on, jumped in my car and sped away. I went straight to the police  station, told them what had happened, and found out I was part of a new, and very successful, scheme being used to gain entry into cars. Two weeks later, my friend's son had a similar happening.

While traveling, my friend's son stopped at a roadside rest to use the bathroom. When he came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later, someone had gotten into his car and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator, briefcase......you name it.

He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into, the police told him he had been a victim of the latest robbery tactic -- there is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your key-chain locking device.

They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim.  They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom and that they now have a few minutes to steal and run.

The police officer said to manually lock your car door-by hitting the lock button inside the car -- that way if there is someone sitting in a parking lot watching for their next victim, it will not be you.

When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting, it does not send the security code, but if you walk away and use the door lock on your key chain, it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be instantly stolen.  This is very real.

Be wisely aware of what you just read and please pass this note on. Look how many times we all lock our doors with our remote just to be sure we remembered to lock them -- and bingo, someone has our code...and whatever was in our car.

Snopes Approved --Please share with everyone you know!


Image source Google Images

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Shop for Car Security Cameras - Protect your car from thieves!

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Baby Food to The Rescue

Several weeks ago Jace started rubbing his nose like it was itching from the inside. You know how kids do that. A while later he began to sniff and cough a bit. His mommie had been keeping an eye on the situation, and gave his decongestant medicine.

He didn’t want to eat at lunchtime. Mommie let that pass. When he didn’t want to eat supper, she became concerned and asked for my help. Sometimes he’ll eat for me when he won’t eat for her. He still didn’t want any regular food.

We discussed his lack of appetite and, she asked what I thought we could do. I suggested we try some of the baby food we keep on hand for just this kind of emergency. I asked Jace if he wanted Mangos in a jar, he said yes. He loves those mangos.

Since that worked so well, I decided to push the envelope a tad bit further. I then asked Jace if he wanted some chicken in a jar, and he said yes. Oh goody, I think we’re on to something.

Jace ate every bit of the Mangos and chicken in a jar (as he calls it).

Then, we remembered why we kept a supply of baby food in jars on hand. It had been quite a while since we had to resort to using them for this reason, we had forgotten.

Luckily, we always have a supply of baby food in case Jace loses his appetite and we need to make sure he eats and gets some nourishment.

For those of you who are thinking baby food is for babies and not three year old kids, think about this. There is no difference in a jar of baby food chicken and making a puree from fresh chicken meat. It’s all mashed up meat.  

Has your toddler ever lost his/her appetite? What did you do?  

Who Tha’ Bleep is Dan Perrin?

It is very irritating to find  this same type of letter in the mailbox every week  (sometimes several times a week) literally frightening old people out of their money. Here is how it begins ...

  The recipient's name and address have been changed to protect the innocent. 

RED markings belong to Dan Perrin.

 Does anybody know Dan Perrin?  Has anyone heard of Dan Perrin?  Have you heard of Dan Perrin’s organization, the Seniors Center @ P.O. Box 96692 – Washington, DC 20090-6692?

After much urging and begging and such, here's how the letter ends. Well, almost ends because there's a lengthy PS. 

Somebody help me! I ~dellgirl~ need all the help I can get before I do something stupid.  I have been known to ‘shoot-myself-in-the-foot’ a time or two.  I've even gone so far as to ‘cut- off-my-nose-to-spite-my-face’ because of a little pimple on my nose. I am now in the process of figuring out what to do about Dan Perrin’s constant and frequent solicitations for money from old people, starting with my mom.

So, before I get started calling this man a bunch of ugly names and besmirching his reputation, I want to know if you have heard of him.  Let me know real soon,   before I post about how I really feel about what he's doing to old people.  Soliciting donations for fake charities is shameful. And, using scare tactics about losing social security benefits three or four times a week borders real close to the edge of elder abuse, in my opinion.  

Okay, enough already! I’m just wondering, what are your thoughts on groups and organizations coercing or deceiving old people out of their hard earned money? I’m ready to put an end to this harassment!!!

How to Make a Text Box Directions

by Sojourn

at HTML Borders Backgrounds

I wanted to give you the directions for making a text box myself but, last week was another unbelievably busy week. There was a funeral on Saturday for hubby's aunt, company for the entire weekend, a Bible class project for Monday & Tuesday, Bible class today (Wednesday), and all the regular stuff I normally have to do. Wheeeew, what a week!

So, without further adieu, I'm sending you to visit the site where I found the borders. The directions are easy to understand and apply. Scroll down to Solid Borders-HTML examples, choose the one you want, then copy and paste the code into your compose new message box. Replace the words "Your Stuff Here" with whatever you want to go inside the text box.

To make your own text box go to Sojourn's HTML Borders Backgrounds.

Good luck!

Hyper Link a Picture to Another Source

The other day while working on my post “Testimonials For My Book”, I realized I wanted to share my experience of hyper-linking Cheryl Tanner's picture to her website. First, I typed and saved the post as a draft. During my preview of the draft, I asked myself, “What more can I do to make the reader’s experience on my blog memorable?”

It occurred to me that providing more information about Cheryl would be interesting to some readers. That led me to try and link her picture to her website where readers could learn more about her.

What is a hyper link? To me and in everyday language, it is linking one thing to another thing. According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: A hyperlink is a reference or navigation element in a document to another section of the same document or to another document that may be on or part of a (different) domain.

That sounds a bit like Greek to me. Greek-2-U-2? Well, I'll try to break it down.

How To Create a Hyper Link for A Picture
-First save your post with your picture included as a draft.
-Next, click on your picture (it should then be highlighted)
-Then click on the hyper link icon on your menu bar
-A dialog box will appear with the title: Hyperlink
-This dialog box contains two important fields (information you need to supply)
-First: the Hyperlink information box with http:// showing in it. There is a check mark to click if you are working with something other than a URL that uses http://.
-Leave that http:// alone; go to the next box labeled, URL
-In the URL box, type in the address of where you want the picture linked to.

In my case, I clicked on Cheryl’s picture. Then I typed (actually I copied and pasted) Cheryl’s Website address in the URL box and clicked OK. I then saved and published my post. Now, when I click on Cheryl’s picture the hyper link takes me to her website where I can read about her acting career.