The bad part:

I've been sick most of March and the early part of April. Basically it amounts to several things that occurred at once like severe seasonal allergies, a relentless cough, change in medication strength, and finally overall severe fatigue. I probably missed something, but those were the main ones. I'm better but not at 100% just yet. My mom has not been well and my uncle had a fall.

April has been a slow start to the business and though we have bids pending, we haven't heard back. There may be a bottle-neck somewhere but hopefully we will get approval soon and get to work. For one of my clients I ask them to remove "insurance inspections" off our contract agreement. It is not worth the trouble and time for what they pay. Let me say this... if you know anyone who is considering getting a reverse mortgage, if you care about them at all, don't let them do it. I will explain the dark side of what I have seen in another post.


The good part:

Our business did well this month and 1st quarter.

My youngest finally is receiving SSI payments. We applied for him in October.

I earned another $5 Walmart card and $5 from Receipt Hog. My savings is growing and now it is half-way to my goal.

Credit card balance is going down.

Credit score went up 25 points since January due to paying down the one card aggressively and making on time payments.

Health:
Breakfast - The usual
Lunch - Salmon with cream cheese on toast
Dinner - 2 slices of pizza
Snack(s) - banana and a pear
Fitness - nothing

I was able to add $44 extra to my savings this payday in addition to the $25 that I automatically transfer which put me over $600. I know that I can put in $25 per pay day and I have five paydays left which is $125. That would leave an additional $250 I need to find to reach $1k by December 31st.

I have an to do today inspection today (side hustle). DS1 has been doing nearly all of them so I need to get on the ball.

Tomorrow we depart for Miami (finally)for the weekend. Teacher planning day is tomorrow so I'm taking DS3 along with my parents. DH and DS1 & 2 are staying home.

The reason for the trip is to see my uncle with Alzheimers. My dad is the oldest living sibling and my uncle is the youngest son. I think they are about 8 or 9 years apart. My aunt from NYC is here to sit with my uncle (my mom's brother).

I am renting a car instead of booking the train. Last time it was 8 hours late. Though my mother would rather take the train but I can't stand it. It's boring and it feels eternal. I would have a hard time with delays. Its a 6 hour ride by car and a 9 hour ride by train.

Health:
Breakfast – Omelete and toast, coffee, Good Belly and orange juice
Lunch – Fish and fries
Dinner – macaroni and meat
Extra food - Chocolate candy

Spending :
Gas = 39.45 yesterday
Today will be spendy

This morning, I will take my uncle to his doctor (he is open on Saturdays).

Then my aunt, my mom, DS3 and I will go to lunch and shopping. I need to pick up a replacement cell phone for my uncle and I wanted to buy one for my aunt. I need to research a frugal plan for her.

DS1 and DS2 will be going to a property mid-day to dismantle and haul away an old shed. DS1 is out now doing a home inspection (scheduled for 9:00 am). Then DS1 has to be at his part-time job later at 4:00 and comes home around 10:00 pm. I know he’ll be exhausted.

DH and my co-worker are friends so they are going a couple of hours south of here to my co-worker’s mom. She is in her 90’s and had several falls lately. So they are going to pick her up, secure the home, and she will stay with him until they find a better solution for her (round the clock care).

Health:
Breakfast - Overnight oats, coffee, Good belly and orange juice.
Lunch/Dinner - Golden Corral (spent $65.00 there)
Snack - none
Fitness - nothing

I left work at 10 am to pick up my aunt and my cousin who "escorted" her through the airport and rode with her on the plane. He is a retired NYC police officer so she could not have been safer. So I took them over to my mom's, then my uncle's, then went to buy some lunch for my uncle, and then we had lunch at Golden Corral. I treated my sons, my aunt and my cousin. My parents did not want to go.

My cousin wanted to fly right back to NY since he works tomorrow which interfered with taking my son to his therapy appointment. The only solution was my cousin to come along to the therapy appointment and then we take him to the airport afterwards. He made his flight on time.

My town is enormous and all that driving made me so tired! After that I check in with my mom and my aunt to pick her up (my aunt) to take her to my uncle's house [are you guys following so far or did I lose you two paragraphs up?] I helped settle her in and I gave her my uncle's house key and then I went home, got in my bed clothes, flopped on the couch in front of the TV and zoned out for the night.

I'm so glad I'm at work today because I get more rest here than at home sometimes.

Sort of back to normal. My uncle had heart stents put in on Monday afternoon and was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. Yesterday, the home health nurse came to do his evaluation and today, the physical therapist will come.

My uncle's neighbor will be assisting him with getting up out of bed in the morning since he is unsteady on his feet and help him get to bed. She is a Godsend!

My aunt will be flying in from New York next week to stay with him while we go to our original trip to Miami to see my dad's brother who has Alzheimer's and of course, his sisters. If you recall a couple of weeks ago, a series of unfortunate events occurred that caused us to cancel our trip.

So, I'm back at work today and working to get my own life back to normal. I gained weight because I haven't been tracking my food and also I haven't exercised. My family, as understanding as they are, were feeling a bit neglected. It is amazing how one event can turn your routine upside down.

Financial: DH gets paid today and he will pay the mortgage tomorrow. As for my spending... well, lets just say I dread tallying my receipts.

Health (today):
Breakfast - overnight oats and coffee
Lunch - ham, egg, cheese burrito
Dinner - ?????
Snack - banana
Workout - personal trainer and 30-minutes cardio.
Goal - lose 2 pounds by October 7th.

My uncle as of last night is doing well. My mom and I stayed with him from 9:30 until 7:15 when the night shift came on. I'll be there probably around 10 or 11 today. Hopefully the social worker at the hospital will come around. I have a list of needs for him after his discharge.

I texted my boss to tell him I would be out Monday and maybe Tuesday.

I am baking a birthday cake for DS3. His birthday is on the 28th (Wednesday) and we planned to take him to the arcade and buy pizza. I'll see how I can work this in.

Thanks everyone for your concerns and advice. The extra support helps!

I took my uncle to see his doctor yesterday morning. His EKG showed abnormality so he ordered a visit to the ER. Long story short, he had a heart attack.

After doing tests including a heart cath, results show nearly 100% blockage and they are considering a CABG. My uncle who is 89 does not want surgery. He is widowed and they never had children so I'm his surrogate "daughter" and power of attorney.

I'm hoping for a home health nurse to be there for him whenever he gets discharged. Although he is here until next week (he's having a fit about staying in the hospital).

Needless to say, I'm feeling a bit distressed. I stayed with him all day and overnight. Came home at 7 am and am planning to return to the hospital at 9.

Prayers requested for recovery for him, and strength, endurance and wisdom for me and my family. Thanks!

Sorry for the long and dreary post… just rambling.

Health (today):
Breakfast: overnight oats, coffee
Lunch: Scrambled egg on a slice of toast,
Dinner: Pork roast w/mashed potatoes left overs
Snack: apple
Extra Food: green tea
Workout: I did walk around the parking lot yesterday while my son was in therapy and later at home I did 10 pushups. Tonight, Lord willing, I will go to the gym and exercise with my personal trainer. I need to make time to exercise now more than ever because I am feeling the stress building.

Finances (yesterday):
NSD for my, but DH had to buy gas and pick up some lettuce at the grocery store for his lunch salad.

My paycheck posted in my account and it is for the full amount. I found a penny and added it to my coin jar.

Received the mortgage statement and for the first time in a good while I really looked at it. My maturity date (last mortgage payment) would be June 1, 2036. Our monthly payment is 797.40. We were paying 805.44 and then escrow estimate went down and reduced the payment. We just continued paying the 805.44 which is an 8.04 difference but every little bit helps. I wish we could do a little more but that is as much as we can do right now. It amounts to about 96.00 additional per year.

My Interesting Life
My uncle fell in his bedroom last night. Seems the walker slipped from under him. My sons and I had to go over and hoist him to his bed. We are looking into getting a wheelchair for him because he feels now that he cannot support himself upright anymore. My dad is frustrated and my mom is stressed. Both are having difficulty dealing with this.

Tomorrow I’m taking annual leave to take my uncle to see his doctor and to see what he says. I will have a list of things to ask regarding home health care, wheelchair, meals on wheels, or anything else. I just can’t think straight. If anyone has suggestions on what to ask his doctor regarding services and assistive items, please comment. I want to be ready and have him set up comfortably and without worry.

I learned yesterday that I cannot apply for FMLA for my uncle’s care because it only covers parents, spouse, and children (and of course, myself). I am down to 32 hours of annual leave until my drop comes in April (my hire date anniversary). Needless to say, I’m glad I’m setting aside some cash for when I need to take LWOP – leave without pay. I see that coming in the near future.

In the meantime, on the passenger side of my car, the little latch on the car door is broken so my husband had to do a temp fix so that I can close the car until he can buy the new part and install it. I put some blue painters tape on the inside and outside handles as a reminder to not use that door. No riding shotgun for any passengers as they will have to go limo style and sit in the back seat.

Health (today):
Breakfast: overnight oats, banana, Good belly, and coffee
Lunch: Grilled cheese, plain greek yogurt with frozen blueberries
Dinner: nothing planned – probably leftover BBQ
Snack: fresh pineapple
Extra Food: I don’t know yet - hopefully nothing.
Workout: Personal trainer and probably some cardio.

Finances (over the weekend):
Expenditures
Friday: Asian buffet 41.43
Saturday: Grocery shopping – DH paid and it was nearly $200! I have no idea what I bought but most of it was non-food items that we needed which brings up the price. Haircuts for DS2 and DS3 at Great Clips (they had the weekend sale 7.99) so it was 19.98 including tips.
Sunday: Chinese food (again) 44.36, Gas 33.08, Krystal for a rootbeer float for myself 2.13* (raided the change jar).

Income
Payday from my day job is Friday (but my credit union posts it on Thursday). I hope it is a full paycheck.
Also payment from my side gig is coming in the mail this week for $250.
This afternoon I will earn another $50 from my side biz.

*I was feeling stressed over the weekend. Have you ever felt detached and just going through the motions? That was how I felt over the weekend. I didn’t even track what I ate over the weekend. The weekends have always been hard for me to track since the meal schedule isn’t the same as the weekdays.

Update on my uncle (he is 89): We are looking into a home health nurse for my uncle at his request. He is doing better but still unsteady and a little down. He said he called his doctor yesterday and left a message so that he can order/prescribe or whatever they do so that Medicare would cover the service.

Update on my parents (both are 84): They can’t wait until a home health nurse starts because it has been hard on them to do for my uncle. My mom gets tired easily and my dad has issues with his knees. Mobility is an issue for him as it is now for my uncle.

I see that there are some “getting to know you” lists out there! I will work on mine later when I have a little more time.