Must Have Tips for Caregivers and Finding them too.

My Grandma Rose was an amazing woman. She always had heart problems. She had her first bypass surgery in 1979, and didn’t have another one for sixteen years. You are only supposed to go ten. She was very independent and strong. My grandpa passed away in 1993 and she lived alone for seven years.  She always had visitors, especially me.  We were best friends. I would go to visit her almost every other weekend, even when I was older.  We always had a great time.  I would go everywhere with her, even when she was an honorary pall bearer at a funeral for a fellow Catholic Daughter. Eventually she had Alzheimer’s disease, and could no longer live without someone around.  I moved in with her for a while to make sure she took her medicine, ate, and that she didn’t wander off. My aunt lived close by too, in case she needed anything.  It was very hard for everyone involved. It was hard because you have to watch someone you love deteriorate mentally.  We had become her caregivers. Genworth has a great article about how the caregiver’s lives are rerouted and all the changes you have to make.CNN reports a growing trend of people caring for aging parents or in this case, grandparents. I know that as one of the main caregivers, I wasn’t able to work outside of the home and I had to spend less time with friends. At the beginning I even moved away from everyone to be there for her.I knew that it was the most important thing for me to do at the time.

She was in an assisted living place for a while; we had some concerns about other residents being rough with my grandma. We took her out of there. We heard on the news a woman in her unit was able to escape and froze to death in their courtyard.  This was after she moved in with us. We continued to take care of her; I would make sure she had whatever she needed while my mom was at work. It was a full time job. I didn’t mind because this was my best friend and she took care of me when I was little. We kept her with us as long as we could until her health started to deteriorate, and she needed to be in a nursing home. No one in our family had medical training, and was such a hard decision. We visited her and took her out all the time; she was only fifteen minutes away from us.  At this point it was extremely hard; we would bring her over for holidays and she wouldn’t know who we were or where she was.  In 2005, she had congestive heart failure and just was her time to go.  We all received a gift the last few days, she was able to remember everyone and tell them things only she would know to say.  I would do it all over again if I could just see her and give her a million hugs. I think about her every single day.

Being a caregiver is hard work but it is worth it.  My family took care of my grandma for years. It was definitely a group effort.  You really need a great support system.  I am thankful that everyone was there and could help in some way.  Sometimes, family care isn’t an option, it is very important to find someone qualified to take care of your loved one.  It is tough to know what to look for. There are tools and articles from companies like Genworth that can help you find out more information.  I would recommend researching the caregiver or the facility.  Make sure they are licensed. I know that you can usually find health department records and see if they have had any violations. If they aren’t online, you can call the health department and ask them as the records are public. Look for reviews of the facility. Use search engines and learn as much as you can about the caregiver or facility. If you are using an in home caregiver, have them do a criminal background check and drug tests.  Many states have online court records, if they are available, search court records.  Again it is public records.  By searching court records you get things that may not be criminal but could raise a red flag. I know I wouldn’t want someone who has been sued a lot to be responsible for my loved one.  

Thankfully Genworth has a tool that can help you find caregivers in your area, so you can avoid Craigslist to find a caregiver.

Stay away from places like Craigslist when looking.  I am leery about a total stranger taking care of a family member that answers an online advertisement. Who knows if they know what they are doing or properly trained? I would try and find an agency that has well trained, professional workers that are really passionate about taking care of people.  I hope these tips help you if you ever need a caregiver for a loved one.

This post was inspired by Genworth and Brandfluential. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love Paula Deen

As an amateur chef, I like to watch cooking shows. I admire  some of the famous chefs. I really look up to Paula Deen. I love that she is so down to earth and seems really sweet. I totally love her story and how she went though a lot. She started by making sack lunches and selling them. It may be that she is a single mom like I am. She started out with nothing but determination and turned in to one of most recognizable faces and voices in America.  She is truly an inspirational woman.

I am a sucker for southern cooking too. Growing up one of my best friends lived in North Carolina so I embraced everything southern especially the food. I used to try and talk with a southern accent horribly. I remember that  we used to visit our friends and had delicious southern feasts.  Usually their neighbors would also cook too and it would be a pitch in meal that we enjoyed after sitting in chairs on the lawn or on the deck.

When I started watching Paula Deen, I really loved her style and thought she had great tools to work with. I was extremely excited when I learned she has her own line of kitchen accessories. I immediately fell in love with her line and just had to have everything. I love that it really shows off her southern charm. I love how classic everything is. Everything is amazing quality too. It would last a long time. Every cook needs a few things that have a history and that are aged and well loved.

I believe you can never have too many measuring cups or measuring spoons. I have an extensive collection of kitchen tools that I use often. I love to bake and cook different dishes at the same time and it is easier for me to just grab another item than take the time to wash and dry it, just to use it again.  I know in theory that makes more dishes to clean up later, but I just put everything in the dishwasher.  Another reason to have extra sets on hand because you can lose them. I have many measuring cups but only a couple fourth of a cups or a bunch of teaspoons.  Noah has been known to walk off with something and it never is found again. It gets lost somewhere in a toy box or thrown in the trash. It is essential to have a full set of kitchen tools. I have also lost them in moving over the years. I lost a spatula once that was never found even after we packed everything.

I would love to go to The Lady and Sons restaurant in Savannah someday. My sister and brother in law have been there a few times and really like it.  I think the next time we visit my sister and  brother in law i will see if we can go to Savannah.  It sounds like such a cool place to visit with lots of shops and history. Maybe we can even find out where Paula Deen lives and knock on her front door.  A girl can dream can't she? I would love to meet Paula Deen. Maybe someday I will. 

What are your most used kitchen tools? Do you have multiples of the same items too?

This post is inspired by BlogDash. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Enjoying Cocktails with Friends

I have become close to a few of my neighbors.  They are my neighbors but I also consider them my friends. We have started a tradition of getting together for cocktails by the pool or the sun deck. We normally share a meal together and have a great time enjoying each other’s company. I am not a big drinker but I love to create and try new cocktails. I don't really like beer and I don't really drink wine. It's fun to occasionally get together with friends and have an adult beverage together. It is usually very spontaneous.  We like to talk about everything from our children to current events.

I am always looking for new drink recipes. Some I learn from friends but the best place is the Internet. You can have access to so many different places. My favorite liquor is coconut rum, so I love drinks with it in it. You can find out how to make Coconut rum here. I usually have some coconut rum in my home. I just read a great article on different cocktails. I think that the Bikini Brazilian cocktail recipe sounds amazingly good.  It has coconut rum and grapefruit juice in it.  I love how it also suggests alternative ideas in case you don't have or don't care for a certain thing.  Sometimes it is difficult to come up with an alternative ingredient that still tastes good. I have done some crazy experiments. They sounded good in theory.  Some concoctions I have made turned out great and others terrible. I’d like to try and make this crazy cocktail recipe which has coconut rum, pineapples, limes and raspberries. There are so many delicious recipes to try. I think it would be fun to start trying new cocktails every time we get together.

I can't wait to make it for our next get together. Living in Florida, ripe grapefruit is very easy to find too. I can definitely see my friends and me sipping these surrounded by palm trees.

What kinds of cocktails do you like to drink?