Something New

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

When she's no longer your grandma...

WARNING: THIS IS A LITTLE DEPRESSING. STOP READING IF YOU DON'T WANT A SAD STORY - I AM SAD TODAY. SORRY.


If you've had a grandparent around for some of your life, you probably have memories with them. Things they said and did, places you remember going with them etc. For example, one of the first movies I ever saw in the theater was "Back the the Future" and my Grandma took me. It was great fun, because I was pretty little then and to be in a place where the actor (Michael J. Fox) said "s**t" was a pretty big deal (hey, give me a break, I was like 8 years old.)
Anyway, that's one place I remember going with her. That's not my only memory of course, but one that comes to mind. We spent many a Christmas Eve at her house - I knew her. The way she laughed and talked and walked.
My brother is 6 years younger than I am, and when he was a toddler, I remember how she was with him. One time, she watched us when my mom and dad were on vacation. I remember how she complained that we were bed hogs - and there was no where for her on the bed to sleep. She fixed the best toast - I guess it was the kind of bread she used - Silver Cup. But, it was the best.
This past May, my grandma suffered a pretty severe stroke. By the time she was transported to the hospital, a considerable amount of time has passed and much of her brain was non-functioning. But, we kept hope, and she came to a couple of days later.
I went to visit, of course. And, I was a little shocked by what I experienced. She was/is really no longer my grandma - or atleast the grandma I knew. She was a shell of a person. She couldn't talk. She couldn't really move because her whole right side was not usuable. She couldn't eat - so they had to put in a feeding tube. I talked to her, but stroke victims sometimes lose their ability to even understand language - not just the ability to talk. So, she would look blankly at you when you spoke - and she had zero attention span and many times if you would massage her hands, she would immediately go to sleep. She showed no signs that she knew who we were - she looked at the hospital staff the same way she looked at family memebers.
The most difficult part about the whole thing is that sometimes, she seems like she knows us - there's a little glimmer of the person she used to be. Before she was moved to the nursing home, she was swallowing applesauce and they were moving her around - trying to do rehab. Did she deteriorate to this state because there wasn't enough time spent on her? She still watches and laughs at Animal Planet, but it's hard to believe it's just not a reflex.
It worries me that she's in there somewhere - that she knows that she can't swallow (and just imagine if you couldn't swallow, EVER) she's uncomfortable because it's hard for her to move - impossible to turn over, she knows she's wearing a diaper, she's lonely on the days no one comes to visit, she misses being able to have a cheeseburger, - but she just can't tell us.

Newest Guilty Pleasure Is On Haitus!

That stupid writer's strike is, in theory a good cause. But it's keeping me from Pushing Daisies, my newest guilty pleasure (see previous posting titled "My Newest Guilty Pleasure)! Hang in there peeps. When it returns, you'll find out what you've been missing. I promise.

Today, a mouse died...

Generally speaking, I am not a huge rodent fan. Although, I am an animal lover. I would never intentionally hurt or kill something (that is unless my doggies are threatened by say, a coyote.) Anyway, this morning, I went out to the garage to do something and I noticed that one of our garbage bags had a hole chewed in it...never a good sign, by the way. I figured we must have a mouse running around...that was until I noticed the bucket of water next to the bag that I used to squeedgee out the garage - It still had a little bit of water in it from a couple days ago when I did it. Apparently whatever the little mouse ate in the bag of garbage made him very thirsty and he decided to get a drink - which ended up being a swim. But the thing is, I don't think he could swim...So, there he was, the poor little thing, floating.

Now I am depressed and guilt ridden that this poor little thing drowned because of me. I know, there are worse things I could do. I just can't think of any of them right now. (gulp.)

My Newest Guilty Pleasure

My newest guilty pleasure and something I absolutely do not miss is ABC's "Pushing Daisies." Love, love, love this show! Anyone?

If you haven't seen it, it's a must! My husband won't watch it with me because he's kinda weird about death as a subject and he says the show is way to girlie for him. That's why I love it. It's very whimsy and fairytale-ish the ways it's structured and narrated.

If you've missed it, I will catch you up (and by the way, at the beginning of each show, they do a small re-cap so it's easy to jump in if you've missed; you can also watch the episodes online at abc.com). Here goes - Ned, who affectionately is called, "The Pie Maker," is the main character. As a young child, he discovered he had the power to bring dead things back to life (I know, a little morbid, but hang with me.) He discovered this power when his beloved dog, Digby, was hit by a car but with Ned's touch, came back to life. However, there are a couple of catches to this power; 1. First touch - alive, Second touch - dead, forever. 2. If Ned brings someone back to life, someone else must die in their place.

A private detective, played by Chi McBride, gets wind of Ned's power and teams up with "The Pie Maker" to solve murders - They visit the morgue after the victim passes and try to use those clues to investigate the crime. So that's basically the premise.

There are really neat co-stars and characters. I love the cast - especially Kristin Chenoweth who plays "Olive" and was made famous for her many Broadway roles - most recently Glinda in "Wicked." Ned's love interest, Charlotte Charles, aka "Chuck," is a great little actress, Anna Friel. Swoosie Kurtz and the lady that played "Audrey" in "The Little Shop of Horrors," are fabulous additions as "Chuck's" aunts. And, there are many ever-changing cast members that have included Joel McHale, from E's "The Soup", and Paul Reubens, from Pee-Wee Herman fame.

The stories are creative and are full of little coincidences and twists and turns. I would hate to see a great show like this go away for lack of viewers - It airs (for us in the Midwest) on Wednesday nights at 7 PM - Happy watching!

Hello!

Hi all! I am certainly new to this blogging thing...but, I'm gonna give it a try. Allow myself to introduce...myself. The name of my blog - Cricky's Corner, comes from Cricket, my little doggie. She is the sweetest and most fab-u-lous dog ever. And, she makes me happy, which is what I am hoping to do to my blog readers - make them happy.

I am a small midwest town girl. I don't have really anything exciting in my life, but that's okay with me. I grew up in a small town. We had one stoplight when I moved there. My high school graduating class was less than 100 people. Things have changed a bit - thanks to the ever-growing population - things just continue to move West.

I am married (for 5 and 1/2 years) to Carson. He and I met at a Halloween party. We had mutual friends that thought we would be the perfect match and, it turned out, we were. I have done more and seen more than I ever thought I would because of him. We've been to Miami, Denver, Los Angeles, San Clemente, Vail, Maui and all kinds of other local places.

I love to cook and craft. I usually make atleast one type of Christmas gift a year. This years was stationary sets. I also made a really cool photo ornament using transparencies and clear ball ornaments. Again, things that make other people happy.

I love animals. I could never work at one of those rescue shelters because I would end up being one of those hoarder people. We have two doggies already (and a den full of coyotes in the back yard!) My cousin and I have a running joke that if there is a lost animal in a radius of 25 miles, it will find me. This is because I've picked up so many strays. I just can't wrap my brain around people not caring for their pets - especially when they live next door to a 4 lane highway. DUH!

I like to visit the gym. It keeps me sane. I do compete in triathlons - Although it's more of a goal than a competition.

So, for this small town girl, hopefully, I will continue to do and see things I never thought possible. Since I turned 30 in December, I am setting some real goals for 2008 - This (blogging) is one - but I'd like to get some books published. I have all these cool ideas running around in my head and I want to share them.

I have another one for this year, but I'm keeping it a secret. Stay tuned....