Was I used ?

Last week I got a phone call from a woman I know from my old support group. We have
hardly talked in years. No without trying on my end.
She is always depressed. A gigantic downer to be around. All she does is complain.

She called about 8:15 pm and I was exhausted. Our TV shows the phone number of the person calling and although I recognized it I didnt. I thought it was my close girlfrends cell. Her friend had just died and I knew she would be having a difficult time through the holidays.

I picked up the phone and the complaining began. I had to ask who it was..No she never asked how I was or did she seem to care. She said she hadnt been on MS meds for months to which I replied. Me neither. Next subject..I just wasnt complaining abut it. Instead I was excited to start a new one.


Anyway, to make a long story short she asked for money. Hmmm I saw that one coming.
She caught me completely offguard. I said yes and she said she would be there in a few minutes.
Supposedly I wil have it back in a week. Yeah right !

Mark, my hubby, was not happy.

I know what he was feeling. I felt used. I really really felt used.

 However with that said we both agreed it was the right thing to do. It was the holidays and she needed it.
I'm sure there was someone else she could have asked.

I dont and wont become the Bank of Cathy.

This woman gets EVERYTHING paid for from the state. Food, health insurance, housing.
Must be nice and yet she still cant manage her money. Disabiltiy.
I live on disability but my husband has a job. We are NOT a bank. Make an effort and I'll help you thru the rough times but newsflash this bank is CLOSED.

If you want to be my friend, then be my friend. Not a ban kfriend, a real friend.

Oh and by theway I feel like crap but you would never know because I suck it up and run a house, a business, volunteer, take care of 2 dogs and have a husband.

Your welcome for the money. Hmmm I think that was the only time I heard that and it was from myself to myself.

Have a great day everybody

Cathy
http://www.themsshoppe.com/

back to the cruise

The first 4 days of 14 days were at sea...

My cell phone was cut off by At & T. Thanks a lot. I guess I exceeded my limit with the apps on my phone that were constantly roaming. We ended up paying a huge amount of money in the first port so I could have a phone for emergencies.

The first 4 days we slept, rested, read magazines, drank those fruity drinks they serve on ships. You kow the ones with little or no alcohol. haha !  and ate.

We had the time to plan our excurisions in port so we picked one for the first port we were both so excited about. It'll be tomorrows post so come back and find out what  we did.

On the ship they had all kinds of activities to do while we were at sea.
You could make a lei, learn to huladance, learn to plan a ukele..Too funny

Have a great  day everybody !

Cathy
http://www.themsshoppe.com/


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A ski reunion

Last night we met up with my wonderful host family.


A few years ago I was awarded a scholarship to learn how to snow ski.
Now, dont all laugh at once.
They flew me  to Durango Colorado and I  learned to snow ski  and stayed with a
host family.
We have not only kept in  touch but became good friends.

They emailed me a few weeks ago that their precious dog had died and they were
looking at a breeder here in Wisconsin.
I was so excited to see them. Introduce them to my husband any way I  could with getting the perfect dog.

I even came up with a list of Wisconsin names for the dog. LOL They werent a big fan of Packer. Tom's a Giants fan and the Packers just beat the Giants.

Although we were beyond exhausted after yesterday we had to meet them.

We had a late lunch so we met them for a drink. OMG I love these people so much.
They are truly wonderful people. And now Mark, my hubby will get to also meet them.


If you have MS, please please please consider getting involved with this ski program.
It is completely free. They probably even have clothes you can borrow.

If you are interested, please let me know and I'll coach you through the  application and it would probably help if my name was on app. Just saying ! haha !

Have a great day everybody ! And now back to work for me

Cathy
http://www.themsshoppe.com/

A new day

Yesterday I started Gilenya...So very excited.

We headed out about 6:30 am for my neuro'soffice. Of course it had just begun to not rain but FREEZING rain. OMG !

Within the first few miles of our home on the highway there were 8 accidnets. I didnt even think our county had that many ambulances.

The worst thing about weather like that, in addition to driving in it, is that you cant stop and help anyone without creating more of a situation so all you can do is call 911.

Hope everybody is okay.

We got to the neuro about 1/2 hour late. I called to let them know. There were 3 other people starting Gilenya so we all sat around in a lobby type setting and chatted. Some brought spouses but I'll  tell you it is hard to kill 6 hours..I was so bored.

I brought tons of stuff to do but didnt want to do anything LOL

We watched TV, talked, laughed, talked some more and then it happened. We all fell asleep.
too funny. Even the spouses were out. Some snoring ! Some wheezing ! .

We got thru the boring 6 hours and I am excited about starting this med.

I'd love to hear from anybody who is on it. No horror stories please. Just positive.. I got rid of the negativity in my life and I'm not letting it back in.

Have a wonderful day everybody


Cathy
http://www.themsshoppe.com/

Wow ! what a cabin

If you have ever been on a cruise before you know the size of the cabins can be very small.

And for me who is claustrophobic it can be a more challenging experience.

When we opened the door to our cabin we were pleasantly surprised to see how large and spacious it was,

Wow ! We couldnt believe it. We had a cabin with a balcony because we were on this cruise for 2 weeks and the thought of no window was making me crazy.

We had a wonderful balcony, a spacious room, and a bathroom that was actually handicap accessible,
The cabin even fit the scooter I rented and it wasnt going to be i nthe way.

We were to the say the least impressed with Princess cruises. Our first expereince with Princess.

More to follow on our wonderful vacation.

Have a great day everybody

Cathy
http://www.themsshoppe.com/


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a difficult choice?

On the day after Thanksgiving we were going to drive to the Valley and visit some friends. Sorry everybody for changing plans.

We cancelled it for a couple of reasons. Mostly both Mark & I have been thru alot lately
and werent sure we would be great company to be around. But also because it was a long
drive and my MS bladder probably would have had a coronary explosion..haha !

But  thirdly it was depressing me to know I would be just about a mile from my parents home
and they didnt want to see me :-(
It amazes me that people can do that to their children because they have a disease like MS.
But on the other hand I certainly dont want people like that in my life if they cant be
supportive and loving.


Last year when they walked away from me when I was so sick I let them. I havent heard from them in about a year and half. Even the nasty emails have stopped..
We even removed them from our holiday card list along with every other member of the family.
They probably dont know whether I am dead or alive..

Hug your family this year for me. Remember DNA doesnt make a family. I have the "family" subsitutes
but it sure would have been nice to have the real thing


Have a great day everybody

Cathy
http://www.themsshoppe.com/


Tell a Friend !

After Christmas Sale

Please join us for our After Christmas sale.

Lots of items on sale

New products will be introduced

Virtual brownices and cookies will be served


Have a great day everybody

Cathy
http://www.themsshoppe.com/

After Thanksgiving

We really weren't sure what to do on the day after Thanksgiving.

We had originally planned to meetup with my best friend in the Valley
but there were so many personal things going on in our life I wasnt sure we would be
good company. Also the thought of a very long drive wasnt making my MS bladder very happy.

We decided to just spend a quiet day exploring the city of San Pedro.
We decided to walk with Mark pushing me in my wheelchair down to these little
shops on the water...
Well, most of them werent open. Go figure. You cant make money if your closed. Just saying!

We rolled around and window shopped. The restaurants were all open and the aroma of seafood
was everywhere. We were hungry and found this little place for lunch.

Now if you have never been to California they have the best Mexican food in the " little places"
because it always feels like someone's grandmother is cooking. This was no exception. The food
was incredible. That is the one thing I really miss about California.
I had fish tacos. A California staple...Yum  I can still remember how good they were.

Were window shopped some more before heading back. The only store we found open
sold African American clothes and other collectibles. They had music playing that brought a
huge smile to my face. It was Bob Marley singing Christmas Caroles. I could have sat there
all day.. Thanks for helping us get in the mood for Christmas. Although I had the song sstuck
in my head all day I was still so pleased to have heard such beautiful music. I just may have to buy that
record..


Have a great day everybody

Cathy
http://www.themsshoppe.com/


Tell a friend !

Arriving in California

We arrived at LAX early afternoon. We had made arrangements to be picked up by the Super Shuttle.
Great service however traffic in California makes for a long drive. It is also a shared service so you can have more than one stop.
The only problem was my MS bladder and 2 hrs til we reached the hotel...Bumpy roads, red lights well you get the picture..I was fine but man I needed to pee something bad..LOL

We arrived at our hotel with our tons of luggage. We were gone 17 days, 3 formal nights on the cruise, the wedding ceremony, bathing suits...

When we got to the hotel we were greeted with and I quote " they gave my handicap room to someone else"
To which I replied " kick them out"
In my hand was a confirmation for a room without a bathtub, a managers name who I double checked with
and my husbands frequent travel number. ( because he stays with that chain alot. )

I was so not in the mood for that. We waited in the lobby while they tried to resolve their screw up because they didnt have any other handicap accessible rooms.
The least they could have done was send us to the bar for a drink on them,.

We were offered a handicap room with 2 double beds or a king with a tub..OMG do I sleep with my husband or bathe?
I countered that we would take the 2 double beds ( it was only 2 nights) at their expense...

tick tick tick the clock kept ticking and yet we were still stting in the lobby of the hotel..

Suddenly they had a handicap room available. It had a broken TV so it hadnt been used for a while.
Thye swapped the TV from a different room and voila we were in a room, actually we were in a suite.

At least I could sleep with my husband and bathe. I know I am so selfish I want it all. haha !

The next day would be better. We were just glad to see the sun.

Have a great day everybody !

Cathy
http://www.themsshoppe.com/

  

Thanksgiving Day

While this seems like a such long time ago it feels so close to my heart.

Mark & I left for vacation on Thanksgiving Day.
Rumors had it it was a good day to travel..Less people and better for a person with a disability. Plus
people seemed to be in a good mood.

We left our local airport and headed for Chicago Ohare. My favorite place,,NOT.

Because the Packers were playing we decided to wear our jerseys..Pretty gutsy walking thru Chicago
airport.

From Chicago we headed to LAX in Los Angeles..They pre boarded me and I joked with the
flight attendant to " tell the pilot we wanted updates on the Packers game"

Well the pilot must have been a Packers fan ( smart guy) because he took down channel 9,
which is usually flight control whenre you can listen to all the other planes in the sky, and put
the Packers game on.
OMG how sweet is that? Thanks United Airlines and our wonderful captain.

We tried to behave as we listened to the game. Not cheering to loudly, especially when we
realized at the end of our row was a Detroit fan. Oopsie !

Anyway, we were on our way to the most romantic vacation ever...Stay tuned ! And
the Psckers Won. Yippee !!

Have a great day everybody

Cathy
http://www.themssoppe.com/


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I've been gone for a while

In case you hadnt noticed I have been gone for a while.

I dont like to share on my blog when I am not home. Juast doesnt seem safe
so Ill give you a recap.

Mark & I just returned from Hawaii and California for an  extended vacation.

The days leading up to our vacation were filled with trying to get Christmas gifts wrapped
and holiday cards addressed so I was up to my eyeballs with things to do.
Am terribly sorry I wasnt here.

I'm going to share our vacation with  you because as a person with a progressive MS I feel it is important
to let people know we can still travel.
I have become a house hermit lately and I have to constantly remind myself to get out of the house.


I missed you all. Was without my cell phone signal most of the time ( boo hoo NOT) so I was c
ompletely unaware of everything going on

Have a great Day everybody

Cathy
http://www.themsshoppe.com/