Tom's Diary

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.
• Wash (5) loads of pending laundry.  DONE.  99 loads done in the washer now.

Log

06:45 AM: I’m up.

09:00 AM: Sister Mary Ann arrived.  We’re driving up to Mom’s care planning meeting in a little while.  In the meantime, Mary Ann rounded up some of Mom’s possessions that Mom wants her to take to her (Mary Ann’s) home.

09:15 AM: Leaving now for the care planning meeting.  Back later.

10:00 AM: The meeting started.

10:45 AM: The meeting finished.  Mom hasn’t improved much physically since entering this home in March.  However, her mental state is much happier and healthier. She’ll continue working out a few times per week.  However, we can afford no more formal physical therapy for her.

11:00 AM: Sister Mary Ann arranged transport for Mom to nephew Grant’s graduation party this weekend.

11:30 AM: We sat with Mom for a little while.  She did not want Texas hot dogs today.  But I rounded up all her laundry.  I’ll wash it today and take it back to her during the upcoming weekly shopping trip.

11:45 AM: I’m back home, and Mary Ann is on her way over to sister Christine’s place to pick up her girls; they’d been staying with Christine all week, swimming in her pool and enjoying that fresh Sinking Valley country air.  But they go home today, in preps for some practice sports tonight.

11:40 AM: Gathered some additional information required to fill out Mom’s VA benefits application. I found at least some of Dad’s military service records.  Hopefully, this will be enough to prove that he was in the service.

02:00 PM: Nap time. back later.

03:30 PM: I’m awake again.

04:15 PM: Watched today’s episode of    The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

06:00 PM: Cooked some grilled cheese sandwiches for supper.

08:00 PM: [Mentat] called tonight.  He’ll be visiting here for the 4th.

09:30 PM: Washed, folded, and put away five loads of laundry throughout today.  I have Mom’s basket of clean clothes to take to her over the weekend.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

12:00 AM: Watched tonight’s episode of   NBC’s Nightly News   broadcast via the DVR.

12:05 AM: Reviewed the daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs.  The monthly keyword hit count moved higher again this time, and now stands at  1658; up from 1655 yesterday.  The new record high is now 1658.  The next goal: 2000.

12:15 AM: Bed time.  More tomorrow.  Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2011-06-30

I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today’s weight: 179.0 pounds.  That’s unchanged from yesterday.  The 2011 year low weight so far: 177.5 pounds. The high weight is 185.5 pounds (established on 2011-04-13).

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal tea throughout the day. 0 calories.
• 08:30 AM: 1 extra large Sheetz decaffeinated coffee with cream.  150 calories.
• 09:30 AM: 1 cheese bagel.  400 calories.
• 01:00 PM: 1 bowl of beef grain soup.  600 calories.
• 05:30 PM: 2 grilled cheese rye sandwiches.  800 calories.
• 09:00 PM: 1 box of blackberries.  50 calories.
• 09:10 PM: 2 cups of organic skim milk.  160 calories.

Total calories: 2160.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Other Food Diary Entries
• Today’s Business: 2011-06-30

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.

Log

09:00 AM: I’m up.

11:00 AM: Returned a call from the admissions director at Mom’s nursing home.  She just wanted to let me know that she had talked with the MA benefits administrator, and that we should send all but a specified amount of the money in Mom’s checking account to the nursing home.

11:40 AM: Gathered some of the information required to fill out Mom’s VA benefits application. Still searching for Dad’s military service records.

02:00 PM: Balanced Mom’s checking account through the end of last month.

02:50 PM: Watched today’s episode of    The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

02:45 PM: Skipped today’s rerun episode of   Dr. Phil.

03:30 PM: Nap time.  Back later.

05:45 PM: I’m awake again.

09:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].  My voice is all but gone.  So we decided to talk earlier and in abbreviated fashion so I could give it lots of rest tonight.

09:45 PM:   Maybe someday I will switch over to MacOS from Windows (as suggested by one of my Facebook friends). I already run iOS 4 on my iPods. Does that count? But I have significant equipment and decades of training investment in Windows. Still though, that whole idea about Macs contracting viruses being impossible is compelling. Not sure I believe that. But I am curious about it nonetheless. Once they perfect hardware virtualization in Windows and the supporting equipment, maybe viruses will be things of the past that environment too.

10:00 PM: Added Promo Only’s 2011-06-21 and 2011-06-27 EA DFF releases to my music library (22 songs roughly).

12:05 AM: Reviewed the daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs.  The monthly keyword hit count moved higher again this time, and now stands at  1655; up from 1649 yesterday.  The new record high is now 1655 key phrases therefore.  The next goal: 2000.

12:15 AM: Bed time.  More tomorrow.  Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

• Letter from the Railroad Retirement Board, stating that my request for Mom’s new Medicare card has been received and is in process.
• Life insurance offer.  No thanks.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2011-06-29

I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today’s weight: 179.0 pounds.  That’s unchanged from yesterday.  The 2011 year low weight so far: 177.5 pounds. The high weight is 185.5 pounds (established on 2011-04-13).

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal tea throughout the day. 0 calories.
• 11:30 AM: 1 extra large decaffeinated coffee with cream.  150 calories.
• 02:00 PM: 1 bowl of Cheerios with blueberries, raisins, and skim milk.  60o calories.
• 06:00 PM: 1 bag of lite butter-flavored popcorn.  250 calories.
• 09:00 PM: 1 banana.  125 calories.

Total calories: 1125.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Other Food Diary Entries
• Today’s Business: 2011-06-29

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.

Log

10:00 AM: I’m up.    

11:00 AM: Talked with the admissions director at Mom’s nursing home, to request that she issue us a “pay down” or “private pay” bill for all services Mom incurred at the home from the time of her admission there, until early May, when we were advised to apply for MA for her. 

01:30 PM: Determined the correct form(s) to fill out to apply for VA survivors benefits for Mom.  Not that she’ll be elligible for any.  But this is a precondition to meet before we can apply for MA benefits for her. 

02:05 PM: Applied for a replacement Medicare card for Mom.  They’ll need this to process her application for MA.

02:30 PM: Nap time.  Back later.

05:45 PM: I’m awake again. 

06:25 PM:  You’ve heard of, “green with envy?”  Well, I like my Sheetz turkey subs to be GREEN with pesto!  I just love that abundant basil flavor that makes those $4 foot-longs every bit as satisfying as the $8s and $10s.  They must OOZE green; else they’re just another cheap sub sandwich. 

06:40 PM: Upgraded the laptops from Vista SP2 to Windows 7 SP1.  No problems.  In fact, noted was significant performance improvement; particularly during searches in my music library.  Queries that took a minute before now give sub-second results.  I guess at least SOME of that down-hype about Vista was true after all.  So no more Vista in this shop.  Vista it seems, earned at least in part, its bad reputation. 

09:00 PM: Watched the   Panama Deception   movie on the DVD player.

10:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of    The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

10:30 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].  Had to cut the conversation short as my throat gave out; too sore for protracted discussion. 

12:05 AM: Reviewed the daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs.  The monthly keyword hit count moved higher again this time, and now stands at  1649; up from 1628 yesterday.  The new record high is now 1649 key phrases therefore.  The next goal: 2000. 

12:15 AM: Bed time.  More tomorrow.  Good night.

Tom Hesley 

Received Mail and Shipments

• Bose companion computer speakers (1 pair). 
• Weekly coupon mailer.
• Information sheet on several wellness programs offered by Mom’s medical insurance carrier.
• A receipt for a co-payment I made on behalf of Mom last week, for some medicines she required in recent months. 
• A DVD copy of   The Panama Deception   documentary. 

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2011-06-28

I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today’s weight: 179.0 pounds.  That’s down a pound from yesterday.  The 2011 year low weight so far: 177.5 pounds. The high weight is 185.5 pounds (established on 2011-04-13).

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal tea throughout the day. 0 calories.
• 11:00 AM: 1 bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats with organic fat free milk.  700 calories.
• 01:45 PM: 2 servings of lite apple sauce.  100 calories.
• 06:00 PM: 1 turkey veggie sub from Sheetz.  600 calories.
• 09:55 PM: 1 bowl of Cheerios with blueberries, raisins, and organic skim milk.  600 calories.
• 10:40 PM: 2 servings of Mott’s flavored apple sauce.  140 calories.
• 10:45 PM: 2 cups of organic skim milk.  160 calories.

Total calories: 2300.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Other Food Diary Entries
• Today’s Business: 2011-06-28

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.

Log

06:00 AM: I’m up.

07:20 AM: Blogged and Facebooked and read the latest articles on some of the blogs that I myself follow.

07:30 AM: Heading back to bed for a bit.  I’m a bit weak from this cold.  Back later.

10:00 AM: I’m awake again.

11:30 Am: Talked with [Tad].  He’s putting this year’s newsletter together for the   WPSBC Alumni Association   and had some questions about how to burn audio CDs in the most compatible format for readers to play.

01:00 PM: Arranged to have all of Mom’s remaining savings account funds transferred into ther checking account.  This money is to be forwarded to her nursing home.

02:00 PM: Went through all the mail that came in over the past couple weeks and separated that which requires further attention from that which can be discarded.

04:30 PM: Leaving now for dinner with Pink and Kay.  Back later.

06:50 PM: I’m back home.  Enjoyed a very filling lasagna dinner with a salad, bread, and fried mushrooms.  Delicious.  I love Italian food; though this particular restaurant put a noticeable amount of sugar in their tomato sauce.  I’m not very crazy about that.  But the amount of sweetness they added did not seriously detract from the otherwise spicy and satisfying flavors in the sauce.

08:15 PM: iPodded for an hour or so, not only to learn how to use the 6th generation Nano I just bought, but also to learn some of this 2011 music I recently added to my media library.

09:00 PM: I learned today that in order for Mom to be eligible for Medical Assistance, we must first apply for veteran’s benefits.  She’ll likely be turned down for these.  Still though, a condition of her getting MA is applying for VA benefits.  So I’ll go through that motion.

09:15 PM: Filled out most of the VA benefits application for Mom.  To finish this, I must round up some information about her medical insurance company and her specific coverage.  I’ll do that tomorrow. This cold is sapping my energy tonight.

10:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of    The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy],  and we watched tonight’s rerun episode of   Hawaii Five-0.

12:05 AM: Reviewed the daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs.  The monthly keyword hit count moved higher again this time, and now stands at  1628; up from 1609 yesterday.  The new record high is now 1628 key phrases therefore.  The next goal: 2000.

12:15 AM: Bed time.  More tomorrow.  Good night.

02:00 AM: I’m struggling to sleep tonight; my throat feels very raw and sore and my nose is running like a winning marathon jogger.  Grrrrr.  I so hate summer colds.

03:00 AM: iPodded and read some blogs.  My throat pains me excrutiatingly at the moment.  Taking 800 MG of ibuprofin for relief.  I’ve also developed a cough of congestion in my chest.  Here we go again.

06:00 AM: Watched the movie    A Case Of Rape   starring Elizabeth Montgomery   on YouTube.   I only hope that in the thirty-seven years since this movie first aired, that juries and lawyers are less prejudiced against women, and that rape cases are handled with the primary mission of getting at the truth rather than to discredit and blame the victim.

06:05 AM: I’m headed back to bed.  Hopefully I’ll sleep a few more hours before the pain reliever wears off.  Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None yet.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2011-06-27

I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today’s weight: 179.0 pounds.  That’s down a pound from yesterday.  The 2011 year low weight so far: 177.5 pounds. The high weight is 185.5 pounds (established on 2011-04-13).

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal tea throughout the day. 0 calories.
• 03:30 PM: 1 extra large Sheetz decaffeinated coffee with cream.  150 calories.
• 05:15 PM: 1 small salad.  200 calories.
• 05:25 PM: 1/2 order of deep fried mushrooms.  300 calories.
• 05:30 PM: Several slices of Italian bread.  600 calories.
• 05:30 PM: 1 plate of lasagna.  1500 calories.

Total calories: 2750.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

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• Today’s Business: 2011-06-27

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.

Log

09:00 AM: I’m up.   That early remnant of a summer cold seems to have lessened in severity overnight.  Hopefully this week, it will not take a turn for the worse. 

03:00 PM: Nap time.  Back later.

04:00 PM: I’m awake again. 

07:00 PM: Added Promo Only’s EA DFF Music Series, weeks 3 and 4 for this month (June) to my music library; 87 new songs. 

09:00 PM: Watched the movie   Just Cause   starring Sean Connery.  It offered a couple interesting and suspenseful plot twists, and kept me focused.  Definitely not a boring movie, though I think that   The Hunt For Red October   was a more nail-biting thriller.

10:00 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of   NBC’s Nightly News   broadcast via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].  I thought that my summer cold was subsiding, as the irritation in my throat seemed to dsappear for much of today.  But it returned a couple hours ago.  So perhaps I won’t get off so lucky this time.   

12:00 AM: Browsed around on the Internet, reading some of the Google blogs to which I subscribe. 

12:05 AM: Reviewed the daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs.  The monthly keyword hit count moved higher again this time, and now stands at  1609; up from 1608 yesterday.  The new record high is now 1609 key phrases therefore.  The next goal: 2000. 

12:15 AM: Bed time.  More tomorrow.  Good night.

Tom Hesley 

Received Mail and Shipments

No deliveries made on Sundays.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2011-06-26

I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today’s weight: 180.0 pounds.  That’s down a pound from yesterday.  The 2011 year low weight so far: 177.5 pounds. The high weight is 185.5 pounds (established on 2011-04-13).

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Herbal tea throughout the day. 0 calories.
• 11:00 AM: 1 extra large Sheetz decaffeinated coffee with cream.  150 calories.
• 01:00 PM: 1 bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats with organic skim milk.  700 calories.
• 04:20 PM: 1 bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats with organic skim milk.  700 calories.
• 08:00 PM: 1 bowl of ham and bean soup.  600 calories.
• 10:30 PM: 1 box of blackberries.  50 calories.

Total calories: 2200.

Tom Hesley

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• Today’s Business: 2011-06-26