themartianchick

Welcome Back! It sounds as though you did all of the things that we advocate here when money is tight. I'm so glad that things are looking up for you! Pull up a chair and stay awhile!

Thanks for the birthday and anniversary wishes! We had a wonderful time... Hubby's sister threw a party for both events and most of the family was in attendance. That is no small feat since hubby has a very large family. We laughed and danced and did karaoke. We even threatened to post the videos on Youtube of Facebook. This evening, we may go out for dinner or we'll decide to wait a couple of days and go on one of his days off due to the injury.

He isn't being cooperative about his injury and just finished shoveling the end of the driveway where the snowplow plugged us in. I've got the duct tape out, just in case...

Thank you all for the well-wishes!

One of my favorite sayings is, "Silence is golden...Duct tape is silver!"

I have been threatening to do the frying pan thing to him since he came home with the cervical collar on. He just won't stay down. Since it is muscle damage, he just needs to heal a bit. The doctors aren't worried about the bone spurs since they are in a non-threatening area. They aren't actually causing him any discomfort. One week at home with TheMartianMan...(sigh)

Today is hubby's 55th birthday and he's probably only missed 2 or three days of work in 20 years with this company. It is also our wedding anniversary! Maybe I'll wait til tommorrow to break out the duct tape.

The sci-fi fanatic in me is envisioning the rise of the ZOMBIE WEEDS!!!

On Tuesday, hubby went off to work. After parking the car, he crossed the parking lot and slipped and fell on icy pavement. He sent me a text message about it and I sent one back telling him to make sure to report it. He felt that it was unnecessary, but did as I asked. He was achy from the fall but didn't think much of it. His neck was bothering him a bit, but he wasn't too concerned. Wednesday night he got dizzy before going to bed. I told him to tell his boss that he needed to go to the doctor.

Yesterday at 11:30 am, I got a text message from him saying that he had a broken neck. They sent him home in a cervical collar and made an appointment with a specialist for today. Although we know that it can happen, it just seemed so odd that he could have a broken neck and NOT know it!

We made sure that our ducks were in a row and double-checked the disability insurance policy, etc... Everything was in good shape. If this had to happen, then this was the right time for us to be able to cope.

Soo...I went with him to his appointment with the orthopedist. It turns out that he's torn some muscles in his neck and shoulder, but his neck isn't broken. Instead, there are a couple of fragments that are likely excess calcium/bone deposits that are no longer attached to his C-4 and C-5. They are at the front of the spine and not at the back where all of the "important" stuff that is necessary to walking and movement is located.

Bottom Line?

We are so fortunate that he was not badly injured and that his neck is NOT broken as he'd been told. I have no idea as to how long it would have taken to recover from that type of injury... I'm just thankful that we dodged the bullet on this one!

God is good and hubby is back to plucking my last doggone nerve because he won't sit down and rest. He's out of work for a week, but the doctor may let him return early. Martianmen are not known for being good patients!

I'd love to see a photo of a Percheron. They are my favorites!

Before the kids were in college (which is code for when we actually had money for vacations) we used to travel to Florida a lot. We always loved visiting Busch Gardens to see the Budweiser Clydesdale barn. We've spent hours there over the years!

You can send a Kindle book to someone else for a loan of a couple of weeks.

1- Log in to your Amazon account

2- Return to the Amazon.com page for the book.

3- At the top of the page there is a slim yellow banner that has the date that yohu purchased the item and that you can loan it to someone else.

4- Click the link that says Loan this Book.

It takes you to a form that allows you to send it to someone else via email. They will receive information explaining how to download it.

You could just add the powdered milk when you make it. It would just be one small step. I wouldn't use the coffee-mate type creamer, though. It's non-dairy, but what the heck izzit made from?

Your husband has the ability to change, but he needs to have the WILL to do so. People that were raised on very little money are usually either very frugal or they can spend foolishly. The experience of poverty can produce two very different lifestyles. Since our hubby doesn't want any outside help from seminars or therapists, you might have to deliver a message that he will listen to.

Try telling him that there is no money for the extravagances and show it to him on paper. Explain that there isn't enough money to keep the power on, buy groceries, get the car note paid, the mortgage paid, etc... Let him know that if you don't make changes now, then the family will end up on the street. It sounds harsh, but it is the truth. Your family is getting closer and closer to poverty and living on the street in $400 increments each month... and this is after a 10% paycut.

As for a separate bank account... Every woman should have one. Not because of bad husbands, but because anything can happen that can cause you to lose access to your funds. This is prudent emergency preparedness.

I have found that cemeteries often have nut and apple trees growing. Look for older cemeteries, not the well-manicured or modern ones.

Hi!!! Can't wait for you to jump in with the rest of us. I look forward to reading your posts!

Tonight's dinner was ridiculously unbalanced...Fried cajun shrimp, Checkers french fries and homemade cheddar biscuits. Yeah, I know...Not a real vegetable in sight, but I swear that we don't eat this way very often!

It's great that the approval has finally come through... I just hope that the cost will come down. It is so costly that most patients cannot even afford it.

Noooo!!!!!!! I was geo-caching and hid my gold stash there! How am I going to buy stuff if ?

Someone that I am related to was staying in a hotel and just happened to pull the comforter back on the bed (before getting in) and saw a used condom stuck to the underside of it. He was so skeeved out by the situation that he reported it to the hotel...got a refund...got a new room...and slept in the recliner chair in the new room after asking for new sheets to cover it with.

Though I've stayed in hotels since hearing that story, I still think we need an RV and I often frequent websites that sell them.

You are definitely missed around here! I hope you are able to find more time to come play with us...

Late to the party but had to stop by for a piece of cake to celebrate with you, Mother! I hope that you had a wonderful birthday!

Tell them to ...Go fish for dinner!

I remember my mom used to say, "Good night. Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite!" I thought it was just a rhyme too make me giggle, but I asked her about it once. She said that they were very common in the 1920's and 30's. She said a lot of the older homes had them when she was growing up. Many older homes had unfinished upstairs walls. The walls were lathe and plaster, but usually had no paint or wallpaper on them. Bedbugs would go into the walls during the day and emerge at night. That is one reason why getting rid of the bedding never solves the issue.

Today, people travel a lot more than they used to and they stay in hotels. American hotels used to be a place for the wealthy and for business travelers. With inexpensive airfare, everyone around the world can afford to travel. Not to make everyone itchy, but how many people sleep in a hotel bed over the course of a year? If it is a busy hotel, there could be 365 different patrons to any hotel. Sheets and blankets may get changed, but the mattresses aren't replaced even on an annual basis. Blankets/comforters can stay on a bed for month by law before getting changed. (Most people don't know that!)

It only takes one of those 365 guests to infest that hotel room. Hotels often have 50+ units and others have hundreds. One room can infest an entire hotel. The larger the hotel, the more rooms there are that can be infested. If Guest # 10 in a particular hotel room brings in bedbugs, then every guest after that could potentially take them home. As they spread through the hotel, the numbers affected increase exponentially.

(Sheesh! I just made myself start scratching again!)

I saw a headline about this about a month ago and opted not to read it. I didn't want to get the heebie-jeebies from looking at the story. The whole bedbug thing has made me rethink a lot of our fun activities, like traveling, going to yard sales, etc. My parents used to buy antique furniture and put it in the back of their pickup(with the cap closed) and spray it all with Raid before bringing it into the house. Mom hated spiders and some old furniture came out of attics and basements. Unfortunately, Raid doesn't work on bedbugs and they can get into clothes, furniture, and now books!

Migraines and TMJ here! The TMJ caused me to gnash my teeth at night. My almost cure for the migraines was to get off of birth control pills. I also solved some of my TNJ issues with sugar free gum. I can always tell when things are going to be rough, so I will go to bed with a piece of gum in my mouth. The gum acts as a shock absorber for the teeth gnashing and I avoid the neck and jaw pain, too.

The nerd in me is giddy over the implications of this! A replicator, indeed!

I do like the idea that Philbe posted. Around here, there are lots of homes that are about the same size and shape of the ones in the Manor House links. We could definitely do something like that! Real estate has been undervalued here for years.

I hope that you both enjoyed your afternoon! Don't overdo!

Excellent point, Granny! A lot of the stores still have turkeys, too. I'm planning to nab a smoked turkey for the freezer this weekend.

I have an article in Issue # 132. It is about Fighting your Property Tax Assessments.