At least they are cozy.  If you need me I’m over here on the floor.

– xoxo Victoria

I always post about how much fun we are having and all the visitors we have.  The boats rides we go out on, the fish we catch…I never post about the shit days, well today was one of those.  From the second Duane woke up it was bad.

I moved his feet too fast.

His coffee was too hot.

Even though I asked to floss and brush his teeth 3 times, he ignored me and then told me that a “normal person” brushes their teeth 2 times a day and I need to just start brushing his teeth.

His shake was too thick and I tried to make him drink it too quick.

I moved too fast when I was putting on his shirt. 

I never help him, I just stare at him and don’t help.

I parked the scooter too close to the car.

I am always doing two things at once and never focus on him. 

I didn’t eat lunch with him – I was feeding him and wanted to focus on him.

I was sad when he made fun of me for not being able to put my new spinning bike together.

This takes us to 2pm…The day didn’t get better and this was no where near a bad day.  

But today sucked.  ALS sucks.  What ALS does to the body sucks.  It’s the worse disease there is.  People with ALS keep 100% of their mind their body just stops working.

– xoxo Victoria

FOUR MILES FROM HOME! FOUR MILES!!!  We blew a trailer tire.  I guess I can now say I know how to change a trailer tire…add that to the list.

– xoxo Victoria

Last week we bought a new pontoon boat, not NEW NEW but new to us.  The guy told us everything worked perfectly…suuure it does.  

On Saturday we made some sandwiches loaded the cooler with snacks and headed down to the lake.  We fought the spring break launch madness and finally it was our turn to back the boat in.  I backed in, jumped out to start it and then go park it and guess what, I couldn’t keep it running.  I used the choke, I used the lever thingy, I revved the engine – I did everything I know to do.  I climb out and go tell Duane “You’re doing it wrong”.  I climb back in the boat and try again.  NOTHING.  I go back to Duane “Let’s go”.  I pull the boat out and we head home.  Once we get home I get him out of the car and climb into the boat to show him what was happening.  (Everyone that knows Duane knows that he thought it was user error, so everyone that knows me knows how happy I was when it still wouldn’t start! )  We work on it for about a hour and are convinced that when we go out on Sunday it will start.  We end up eating our picnic in the back yard.

Sunday morning bright and early we pack up our breakfast burritos and bloody marys and head back to the lake.  Back the boat in, climb into the boat and try to start it again, and again, and again.  Once again we were unable to get it to start.  Obviously pissed off he tells me to get in the car and go home.  This time he was so mad he didn’t even want to work on it.  We once again went to the backyard and ate our picnic in dead silence because Duane was so upset that he isn’t able to work on the motor.

After a lot tears and frustrated finger pointing his BFF Rhett showed up and helped us.  he flushed the carburetors and then we took the boat back out.  Having the extra person with us made it so I could stay with Duane and make sure he was ok and Rhett could slam the boat in reverse and just go for it!  

We had a great evening on the pontoon cruising through the canal, laughing at spring breakers and ending it by running out of gas – fuel leak!

– xoxo Victoria

All is right in the world again!!  We have a pontoon.  It’s not pink or bedazzled…YET! We will be able to go out on the lake so much more now.  I can wheel Duane straight onto the boat in his wheelchair.  No more lifting, twisting or precarious walking through a rocking boat!  We are so excited – Duane to be out on the water more and me to break out the bedazzles!  Come join us in Havasu – It’s Spring Break!!

– xoxo Victoria

Two days out on the boat in a row… followed by two days sleeping all day on the couch!  When people are here or out doing something fun he HAS to be a part of it!!  

– xoxo Victoria

I try to walk about 3 miles everyday.  It’s best if I can go in the morning after breakfast during Kelli and Michael, Duane loves that show and usually not too hot yet.  Today -no such luck – we worked on the boat, cleaned up outside and ate lunch.  As I was finishing up mopping and getting ready to try for an afternoon walk I noticed Duane was sound asleep, perfect!!! I had two options;  I could either have not walked, or woken him up and then probably not have walked, so I decided to walk our street.  Up and down and then a loop through the driveway to peek in the living room and make sure he is ok.  I got 2.3 miles done before he woke up (Buddy joined me for .5 of them)!

– xoxo Victoria

This was a text I sent to my sister the other day… Everyone that knows Duane knows that this is totally something he would say.  Unfortunately for him he’s stuck with me so he will have to just suck it up and deal with mediocrity! 

– xoxo Victoria

I can’t always go to the store when we run out of something.  If we run out of paper towels we use rags, if we run out of honey we use sugar… we figure it out.  Well, just as a reminder (they do this all the time in sitcoms and it always ends the way this did) you cannot use liquid dish soap instead if dishwasher detergent.  I had a feeling it wouldn’t end well so I just used a tiny bit of dish soap…bubbles still came out of the dishwasher.  

– xoxo Victoria

If Duane manages to talk you into taking him fishing you need to know that Buddy will be sitting in your lap!  Duane’s brother Derek found out the hard way!!  Buddy just jumped in his lap and licked his face clean!  Buddy and Duane are a package deal on the boat!

– xoxo Victoria