Life Got in the Way

 As I do not see any comments on this blog, I won't apologize for being gone so long.

It took me a while to find my link back to this page. Now that I've found it, I hope to find my way back more often.

As the title says, life events have taken over my writing and posting. 

Since my last post, I've lost my father, mother, two brothers-in-law, a former father-in-law, a couple of aunts, and our wonderful old doggy-gal. 

We're currently dealing with chemo treatments for our german shepherd. This treatment is done once every other week but takes most of the day to travel there, get treatment, and travel back. 

We are also in the process of planning a future move. 

I still continue to walk mornings when the weather permits. Average walk is 5 - 6 miles, 3 days a week. 

There is a lot of crazy stuff going on in this country; some of which I'd like to address as they come up. Not today, though. 

That is all for now.

A slight departure

Hello Bloggers.

I'm going to take a slight detour and talk about something a bit different. 

It's about something I've seen, personally, several times between my family and my husband's family. The "it" is about wills.

I'm going to share what happened the last few years in dealing with a great aunt's will and estate.

Several years ago, this great aunt called her niece, my mother, and said that she needed her help because she believed she had made a big mistake. 

I am the one who usually drives my mother and her sister to North Carolina to visit their aunt. So, we loaded up and headed her way. When we arrived we discovered that a man who was her and her husband's broker had taken her to a lawyer to draw up a will. Now in that will, he was named as well as the lawyer who was made executor of her estate; the broker was given power of attorney. This in itself is questionable since, as a broker, he knew what their estate was worth. 

After much discussion with the aunt, we took her and her care-giver to another lawyer to have another will made. Not long after, she must have shown the broker the new will, because he, apparently, had another one made (the one we see in probate). 

Now moving ahead a few years, she was injured in a fall and had to go into nursing home. The broker commenced to clean out and gave away or sold her personal possessions as well as her house. Not once, did he inquire if any of the family wanted any of it. 

So, moving ahead until February 2018 when she passes away. I was able to locate and obtain her estate documents. The will in probate is the one he and the executor/lawyer had drawn up. Needless to say, her family cannot contest this will because, according to the law, they are not considered an injured party because they would receive the same percentage in both wills. In the end, the broker will get 20% of her estate and the nieces only 4%. 

I hope you followed that and understand the implication. 

The bottom line is this: you should pay attention to an elderly family member and whether they are being taken advantage of. Also, if you are considering a will, research, research, and research. 

A will goes into probate and gets tied up in the legal system––aunt passed in February and family still has not received the inheritance; most likely it'll be close to one year before that happens. I must say this: the reason this may be taking so long is that she bequeathed to several people and organizations. 

Currently, my former father-in-law wants to have his will voided and is looking into a living trust. My husband and I have a will, but if we move into an in-law suite with one of our children, we will void ours as well and divey up what we don't need to live on OR some other viable means that will keep it out of the court system.

In closing, I hope that you will think about this during the coming year and protect yourself, your loved ones, and all that you worked for. There are other ways than a will, especially if you have more than one or two children. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sleep Number Bed

Finally found time to get back to blogging.

Today, I want to talk about Sleep Number Beds.

I recently bought a sleep number bed because of developing arthritis and sore muscles, which have been preventing me from getting a good nights sleep. I heard positive reviews –– online and from family/friend –– and decided to give one a try.

A family member had purchased a P-5, which seems to be a popular and middle-of-the-road price wise model, so I chose the same model.

I've had it for several months and have found that there are good and bad to this bed.

First, I must commend the installers who delivered and assembled the bed. They were quick and efficient. The bed comes in multiple pieces and has to be assembled. You can purchase a platform, at extra cost, or use your existing medal bed frame, which I did. The two guys worked well together; each had a part in getting the bed together. I believe it took them less than an hour to complete the assembly.

Second, the top mattress is really thin: in that I mean, my sheet is too big for it and it won't stay tucked under. It came with a mattress pad to protect the mattress, so I'm wondering if I can get a thicker one to "plump" the top more so sheet fits better.

Plus, one side seems to hang over the bottom, which BTW is considered the box spring, slightly. Not a big deal, but it makes me wonder.

Third, the motor sits under the floor and will be noisy when you adjust your settings.

Finally, MOO is that, although I like having the option of adjusting the firmness instead of buying a soft or firm mattress only to find it doesn't help (I had a soft pillow top before), I don't feel this bed is worth over $2000.

MOO, again, would be, if you know the best firmness for your body, check out the old fashion mattresses from Sleepys or Mattress Discounters or wherever. Just don't use a Beautyrest-type with innersprings that can press sensitive points if you suffer from fibromyalgia or similar ailments. Lately, I seem to be experiencing some new aches/pains, but can't say that they are due to the bed.

Bottom line, for me, is that I will keep the bed because if I wake up with a pain in the hip, I can reach for the remote and adjust the mattress until I'm more comfortable. It has not eliminated all aches but it helps.

Guess I will just have to see if there are better fitting sheets available, and some way to quiet the motor.

If anyone out there has secrets to share on making it a more pleasant experience, please do so.

WEN Hair products

I need to say two things about WEN. 

One, I ordered a trail size offer, which offered a free gift as well, for $29.95, if I remember correctly. Beware of this offer! It's like a free trial and if you are not careful in your selection, you may find you were set up for auto-delivery, at the full price.

And customer support? What a joke.

Second, this product is not for everyone. It is NOT a shampoo; it's a conditioner used as a shampoo. I did not find it worked any better than the two shampoos I use: Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, and OGX shampoo: either Brazilian Keratin or Biotin &  Collagen. Both makes my hair feel fuller and softer.

I also add Suave Volume Weightless Blow Dry Spray, to give it added hold without the stiffness. It does wonders with my thinning hair and curls. 

Returning after long absence

I am not sure if anyone views this blog; therefore, I don't update as often as I should. 

I see it has been a long time. 

Today, I want to talk about space heaters. We've bought two in the last year, and neither has lasted long.

The first one we bought, maybe a year ago, and it lasted the longest. It is a small Holmes 1500 watt unit we bought at Target. The model is HCH1823M. 

The second one we bought just recently at Walmart and it lasted, maybe, two months. It is another small unit from Pelonis; also a 1500 watt. 

They were inexpensive, good putting out the heat, and quickly warming the room, but just burn out quickly.

If you wish to buy a space heater, please research, and if willing, buy a more expensive unit if it has good ratings.

One day when I have the time, I will work on getting graphics loaded when I post a my opinion on a product.

Arnica Gel for Pain

One of the best things I've discovered is arnica gel. It is great for aches and pains and bruises. It has a slight odor at the beginning, but fades quickly.

It is available at most pharmacies and Walmarts, but I buy a double pack from the Vitamin Shoppe because we use it a lot, and so does my son and mother.

Digital Antennas

After a year of research, our household recently disconnected from DirecTV and have gone back to antenna for local channels.

We have signed up with Netflix and HuluPlus. Netflix has better selection of movies, and HuluPlus has better tv shows.

Here are the two antennas that we purchased:

Radio Shack HDTV antenna

We started with this inexpensive antenna because several reviews we read said it was one of the best. It did not work well with our Samsung Smart TV in the living room, so we moved it to the bedroom, where it worked much better.

RCA Ant1450BR Amplified Digital Antenna

We bought this one (or similar one)  for our living room Smart television since it was also one of the top rated digital antennas. It took a long while to find the right spot where we could get most of the local channels (still have trouble getting channel 7), which we found during this time that it actually does work best lying flat as suggested. We had to buy a longer cable as well to allow us the option of moving around a fairly large room.

Let me remind you that with indoor antennas there is going to be some interference from time to time. Also, it took many tries on the bedroom antenna to get it as good as I could. It started out on top of my dresser mirror (which has a flat top), but for some odd reason it stopped giving a good picture. So I moved it around until I found a better spot; but still worked on it a long time before I could get most of the channels I like to watch. I still cannot get channel 7 and 9, but I have HuluPlus, so it is not a big deal. And even though I get a number of channels now, there are times when I have to twist the dial or move the ear to tweak the picture.

Truthfully, with HuluPlus, I'm not missing the cable/satellite company at all. And if at any time I find myself missing a show that is not available on any of the above (i.e., Fox & Friends, FX), I remind myself of the yearly savings by not having a provider.