HEARING AIDS AND HAIR REPLACEMENT, AGING IS NOT EASY
Dealing with the elderly can be a trying, yet completely rewarding experience. I have been helping out my grandparents for the past several years, and it seems like there is constantly something going on with them, especially as it pertains to their health.
I took my grandmother shopping with me a few days ago, and she wanted to go looking at clothes, but then she got distracted looking at a bunch of beach bags they had on display. They were really nice and roomy and they were on sale, but every time I tried to redirect her back to clothing, she just insisted on looking at the beach bags all over again. She said that she couldn't hear me when I spoke to her in the store, but I know that she was trying to get over on me, because I just had her hearing aids checked about a week earlier, and the doctor said that she could hear just fine. She had them in her ears, so I know that she heard me, but I didn't make too big a fuss after all, she has been battling with so many issues lately. Her hair has all started to fall out and so she is embarrassed and keeps wearing hats and scarves. I don't think it is really that noticeable, but it is driving her crazy. She has been even talking about looking into hair replacement options, but I am just not sure at this point that I am really up to going through that process with her. Although, I may not have a choice because let's face it, it can be very traumatic to loose your hair, especially if you are a woman. Men can walk around bald, but women just don't look the same without hair.
Anyway, in spite of it all, I wouldn't change taking care of my grandmother for the world. Sure she can be a little trouble at times, but I love her and honestly I learn so much from her, that there is really nowhere else I would want to be in my free time, then with my grandmother.
Posted by Jen on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 @ 9:10 PM
SHOPPING FOR LIVING ROOM FURNITURE
My friend and I went out shopping the other day for stuff for our new place. She was living with a boyfriend and things weren't working out with him, and my roommate was going to transfer to another school, so we decided it was just a good time to move in together. We are not the best of friends, but we get along really well, and are both on the same page as far as the living arrangements, so it should work out really well. Sometimes when you are living with someone who you are good friends with it can really ruin your friendship, and I have learned that lesson the hard way. In any case, we each have some furniture to bring with us but we were in desperate need of some living room furniture, so we decided to go shopping together and that we would each buy a piece for the living room. This way if things didn't work out then we could each take the piece that we purchased, because in room mate situations you buy furniture together than the problem becomes who will take the piece when you finally move out. This can become a big problem if the parting of ways is not amicable.
When we got to the local stores, we saw a lot of nice entertainment centers and sofas, but nothing really suited either of us and honestly many of them were out of our price range. At first we began to get discouraged, but after looking in the yellow pages at lunch, we found several local places that were discount shops and so we decided to hit them right after we ate. Well, the very first place we went we were able to find a sofa that was a really good price. Sure it was probably not the one we would have picked if we had our choice of any, but it was nice, neutral, and scotch guarded, which is really important in a living situation with different people coming in and out and hanging at your place, sometimes things can get a little messy. Anyway, she bought the sofa, and so I shopped around and found an entertainment center that was perfect, it was one of those corner set ups, which will save us space to put a few more things in the living room, but we will have to save up a little more money before we go shopping again.
Posted by Jen on Monday, May 11, 2009 @ 9:09 PM
Taking advantage of E-learning
This summer is the perfect time to fit in any of those requirements that a student might have that they can't fit in to their schedule anywhere else. Last summer I did my own physical fitness requirements by training for a few bike races which were at the end of the summer. I had to first write a contract and then once approved I got started. I trained every single day of that summer for at least two hours a day. I would begin each day with a light flatland ride first and then move up to a full trail ride later in the day. I documented it every day with helmet cam videos and vital sign numbers. Then I would also document my diet which I changed completely to be a high protein and high carb diet so that I had muscle building potential and the daily bursts of energy that I needed. At the end of the summer I was in the best shape of my life and I did as well as I could have hoped in the race. I was riding on a bike that was only suspended in the front so I got killed by everyone on a full suspension bike. I still managed to finish in ninth though and I plan on doing much better this summer.
Anyway, my story aside this is the best time of the whole year for students to take up some kind of work that will help them develop their credentials or their skills in general. You don't have to be at school to do these types of things either. E-learning is another name for online training which can make picking up some kind of general new skills easier than ever. You could still go on that awesome summer vacation or just hang out back home with your old friends and family. All the while you can take windows server 2008 training for example which looks great on a resume. There are endless options though I mean you could pick up plenty of great technology related skills that any employer would love to put to use and might just land you that job you really want after school. Give online learning a try this summer and get ready for the rest of your life.
Posted by Jen on Monday, May 11, 2009 @ 7:25 AM
Going Green
Going green I think is more than a fad. A few years ago people were big about it but I think that everyone kind of thought that it would fade like a lot of other things did (flare pants for example ha). But years later it turns out that going green is still happening and more and more people are on board with it (including the government).
Green technology though is something new to me. Green computing and technology is a big step for us forward. We are now able to use things that are better for the environment and we know much more about them now than we did in the past. We are able to make and find technology and parts that are reusable and made better for the earth.
Going green isn't just video conferencing in your garden; it is about changing your lifestyle one step at a time. I know a lot of people who were skeptical about it at first but it really is becoming a movement. This is a huge lifestyle change, but it doesn't need to be all at once. You can start out by carpooling more and then after you've done that for a little while maybe start to incorporate more organic foods and products into your shopping cart and home. Then after a while start using recyclable bags and bringing cloth ones to the grocery store instead of getting the plastic or paper ones there. A little at a time can be a great way to get yourself headed in the right direction. You don't need to do everything at one, every single thing that you do, whether it is big or small, to help this earth matters. People think that you need to drive a hybrid or walk everywhere AND eat organic AND have a compost pile AND change all of your light bulbs AND go outside and start picking up trash. This isn't the case at all. Every time someone does something little to help out the earth, they are contributing. So you just need to do what you can when you can and try to incorporate something into your daily routine. Because you aren't just benefiting the earth and environment you are helping out yourself and your family and friends as well. By keeping the earth clean you are keeping yourselves healthy and happy.
Posted by Jen on Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 11:14 AM