So, I have been having problems with my MacBook Pro running slow and stalling often. (Spinning beach ball) I have Drive Genius and thought I would give it a whirl. I get the instructions out and it says to make a different boot drive and install Drive Genius on it. Okay now I have that. Then as I get ready to run the Drive Genius they say its best to back up, so I decide to use Drive Genius to make the clone and it won't as long as I'm booted into the drive. (SuperDuper doesn't mind) so, I look for an external drive with a place to store the bootable drive and I have to check all three drives I have to find the oldest one so I can feel comfortable erasing it, and then trying to figure out if I have to have Drive Genius on the bootable drive? So I download Drive Genius again. Now I'm confused as to which drive I have to have attached.
About this same time my mom shows up unannounced with stuff in her hand that I'm assuming she wants me to look at, though she doesn't say it. So I stop what I'm doing and go on the Internet to look up her EOB's from some recent Dr visits. After finding them and doing the math to check on the validity of her bill, she gets up to leave and saying goodby to my daughter (her granddaughter) I think that's more of the reason she came.
After all that, I gather my concentration skills once again and decide on the drive I will use and start the clone using SuperDuper to save on any more thinking. I'll use what I know works.
After the clone is done and making sure it boots, I may or may not have time to actually run Drive Genius on my MacBook Pro. So 6 hours ago I had a thought and I haven't advanced one inch in that thought's commencement.
I'll have time tomorrow to work on Drive Genius. We'll see what it finds.
I also just noticed the last blogging spurt was when I was in IL visiting Gracey and with this entry I am watching a movie on Gracey's last day of her visit here.
She is here to help her Momma as I just had my lady parts extracted and can't do any of my normal activities which include taking care of Dominic. It was wonderful to see her and wonderful to have her help too. We even had time to play!
Well, I'm back at it. Home with my multiple deadlines.
First on the list is the bowlathon for Special Touch Arizona Summer Getaway. This is the organization Frank and I are coordinating the summer camp for. This is the first time participating in the national bowlathon.
We have just one week left before we bowl. So here is the link to get to my fundraising page.
Just click on the donate button and help me reach my goal. These funds help us to keep the tuition our guests pay affordable. We want them to have the week of their lives and go home with a new best friend - Jesus!!
It has been an outstanding week of respite. This WILL happen again. I am blessed to have quality and trusted care for my son.
Today, Tuesday was a down day to relax, prepare Gracey's birthday cake and help prepare dinner. Joe made an amazing spread of fettuccine Alfredo, sausage, crustini and salad. The Alfredo sauce was from scratch. So good. I made a sherbet angel food cake that was a favorite of mine growing up. Everyone enjoyed dinner and then retired to the deck to star gaze. We were even graced with a satellite siting.
It's been a great week so far. I've slept in every morning except Friday, when I needed to be up to go into Chicago. We had a wonerful day walking downtown, shopping a little, geo-caching a little and eating, um, more than a little.
Here are some of the things we saw.
Gracey, Vickie and I had a great time together.
I've walked at least a little every day except yesterday. Two good signs of rest and renewal. Yesterday was an odd day. I got to see my daughter in two roles: a wonderful mature woman of God filling the pulpit while her pastor enjoyed some much needed and deserved time off
and then as a youth leader and RN while coming to the aid of a distressed teen. We spent the entire afternoon in an ER waiting room until she could see this young girl off to the help she needed. She is compassionate and professional. I stand in awe.
At the end of this ling day, we got to enjoy some great sushi and family time at Golden Rolls Sushi Bar in Woodstock.
Today is a down day to do laundry, shop for tomorrows "dinner par-tey" and later, more visiting with friends.
I could get used to this unencumbered lifestyle.
P.S.
My brother just decided there will be no spring in Woodstock. Today there was a big fat bumble bee in the yard and a dandelion in full bloom!!
So nice to stay with family. I have a lovely room to myself. My sister-in-law is a quilter so I sleep under one of her creations. It gives me inspiration, but I know my quilting/ sewing days won't be happening until at least one major category of time allotment is absent from my plate, if not two. I probably already have one or two too many as it is.
Settled in at my brother Joe and sister-in-law Jane's house on Dane. Their 4 dogs thoroughly welcomed me! We went out to eat at Chop Suey Hut, a woodstock landmark establishment. I clipped this pic from google street view.
Waiting for Gracey to get off work and maybe go out for a coffee.
Well no surprise, I slept most of the flight. I usually do. There was a little bumpy stuff over the Rockies and a rougher landing than I'm used to, but a good flight. Now to see what my husband's hard earned money has afforded me in rental cars. He's so sweet to top off my vacation with my own wheels.
Well, I was packed last night and went to bed before midnight. How responsible of me - tongue in cheek.
Got to have breakfast with my husband, too.
Two hour drive to the airport in the dark desert and a Starbucks for the plane when I get to Vegas.
Looks like the weather in Woodstock will be better than here!
I get a unique opportunity to travel all by myself! Dom is going into respite care and I'm flying off to Illinois to be with Gracey for her birthday! What a treat.
This morning I am packing two piles of luggage: Dom's and mine. At least I don't have to pack the van for this trip. I'll possibly be taking a road trip in October. I haven't decided yet.
I have a few errands to run and when Frank gets off work, we go out to eat. It's date night don't ya know.
Golden Corral with their chocolate fountain!
This month, I'm still busy with the Special Touch Ministry Bowlathon for our AZ getaway.
What is a GetAway?
It’s five days, in residence, camp-style retreat for people with mental or physical disabilities to find fellowship with others in a Christian atmosphere.
Its not too late to get your gift in!
I'm in one of those do nothing slumps: when there is so much I need to get done that I do nothing. Anyone know what that is? I play too much "scrabble" and "words with friends" while I sit and look at the heap on my computer desk.
My laptop is running like a sloth and is in the floor of my office waiting to "target mode" it to do a disk check and repair.
I want to take all the photos off and have an external drive for my iphoto library.
I have yet to upgrade to Snow Leopard and now even that is a step behind.
I have a ton of household paperwork to get caught up on.
I have a ton of Dominic paperwork, too.
I have a couple house keeping chores that need doing, a tin kick plate to attach to the screen door to keep the cats in and to keep the door square, too.
Dominic's bathroom is getting a remod to give him a roll in shower and make it semi wheelchair accessible. Not totally ADA but a lot closer than it is now. I'm glad the state is doing that and not me. I have had a plan to do it for a while, but now he really needs it and the state agrees, so I get to watch it get done! One thing off my long term goal list!
I have been trying to get at least one thing done each day to keep some sense of momentum going.
Tomorrow is labs for me and time sheets so I can get paid for 150 hours/month of the 24/7 care Dominic requires. Glad for that pay, though, because I could never work a regular job around his schedule.
Saturday is Home Depot Day. Dom goes and does a project in the kids clinic. He gets to hammer a hammer while we keep our fingers clear of the strike zone.
October will be another busy month for me. Dom has two appointments and my mom has one.
Dom has another trip to Phoenix to adjust his VNS. His seizures have diminished quite a bit. Not sure if this next adjustment will bring the device up to full amperage or not. The computer controls how much it can be turned up each time.
The next week we fly out to Memphis for his long-term survivor study appointments at St Jude. We fly out on a Thursday and Friday we begin with early morning labs and run run til the last appointment at 4:30pm. Then fly home Saturday. The manager at our local Chili's restaurant wants us to come in next September and talk to the staff before their annual fundraising for St. Jude and give them our story so they have a better motivation. Taking the big story of all that St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital does and making it local and personal. I will take photos and video and make a disc for them to see what Dom does on his trips.
Then, just to keep things busy, in between these two trips we have Dominic's 28th birthday and Emily's 14th.
Guess I should head off to bed so I can get a full day's head start on October.
