Happy Holidays!

I hope, those who celebrate Christmas and Hannukah had a good time. I went to my BFF's niece for Christmas Eve. We all had Christmas Pajamas on and it was fun.

My BFF's nephew has two dogs and one of them is a bit difficult and overprotective when the nephew is around. Well he came to me with a friendly tail wagging and I bent down to pet him but he bit my hand! It was not too bad but it hurt like hell the first hour or so. My little wound is healng rather well. The whole family was horrified but I made sure to tell them it was my fault knowing that the dog had a temper. I also did not let them know how much it actually hurt and put a brave face on. Lol! They told me now I am officially inaugurated to the family since that fellow bit almost everyone in the family and one even had to get stitches.

Christmas Day wat at my BFF's and we had a very god time.

We have some plans for tomorrow and the next day. We also have a New Year Party on Tuesday. During the weekend, we will be in Killington for one night. Then I will be returning home on Tuesday. Due to the time difference, I will be arriving on the 8th of January.

My adventure is almost over. I had an excellent time with my friends and on the road. I am so thankful for every experience I had while here. I will cherish every moment of it.

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

Greetings!

I have been very busy having a good time, I did not have any time to post.

My BFF and I had been doing a lot of shopping lately. She, for the Holidays and I for the family and friends back home. Budgetwise, I must say, I am doing rather well but there is still some time before I go home and since my friend will be out of work starting this Friday till January 2nd, there is still plenty that we would like to do.

Today, we will go to the Woodbury Commons Outlet together. It is very cold out there so, I do not know for how long we can last.

My BFF and I had been binge watching Midsomer Murders, Father Brown, Poirot and Miss Marple. We both love the British Period Mysteries.

I have returned the car I had on the 14th. The weather was bad enough so, I decided not to rent another car especially, my BFF will be home starting Friday. The original plan was to drive her to work and use her car but, it was too icy, I did not want to take the chances especially with her having so many insurance problems because of her daughter's driving record.

I am still thinking of getting another car after the Christmas break till the day I leave. I had some cabin fever lately due to lack of a car and bad weather.

A week ago we went to the Train Show at Botanical Garden and here are a few pictures and videos:

Charlotte, NC

Today I have said my goodbyes to another long time friend of mine and her family. I am now in Charlotte. I wanted to see McAdenville but the lighting ceremony is unfortunately tomorrow. Nevertheless, I took some nice pictures. Some are a bit blurry but I was basically driving and could not stop.

I also went to see the Charlotte Motor Speedway Christmas Lights.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pictures!

I thought I would be posting regularly about my big vacation adventures here but, it is very difficult.

On the days that I am mostly driving, I get exhausted and do not feel like posting. During the days when I am visiting with friends, we have such a great time that I again get exhausted during the day and do not even open the cover of the laptop.

Well, after I left upstate NY, I stayed one night at Winchester VA, one night in Roanoke VA and two nights in Savannah, GA. The first two days, I basically drove and rested whenever I made it to my destination.

I had a very good time in Savannah. I got on a trolley tour and saw all the historic sites and enjoyed the beautiful day. Then I left for Florida to see a long lost friend that I had not seen in 27 years.

He and I worked together in NY and he was my mentor for a while. Before the days of cell phones and Facebook, we lost track of each other but, I never forgot him. About 7 years ago, I found his daughter on Facebook and sent her a message but, never received an answer back. Almost a year ago, she reached out to me saying that she never saw my message since, she was taking care of her new baby at the time and my message got buried under a pile of other messages. She was so sorry but, I told her that the important thing was that we found each other and I wanted to get in touch with her father.

Since then we talked to each other every week over Whatsapp. When I told him about my intended big vacation, he wanted to know if I would go down as far as Florida to see him. How could I not?

So, I am here in Florida on my fourth day. I will be leaving here on Monday and I spent a good deal of time with my friend, his wife and nephew. It was nice to catch up on several years worth of life events.

As I type this, I am doing laundry at the hotel. Lol! Finally, I was able to get my act together to post.

So, here are the pictures I mentioned in my post heading:

Roanoke, VA

A library on wheels from Virginia Museum of Transportation

The Detroit Electric Car Virginia Museum of Transportation

Dining in style on a train

Savannah, GA

Golden dome of  Savannah City Hall

Traced my footsteps

Yesterday, I have decided to visit my old neighborhoods and the places I liked to go. It has been very nice to just drive around to try to figure out what has changed, what has stayed the same. Although the weather was not great, I still had a good time.

I am upset that many stores I used to shop at are closing. I liked JC Penney and Dress Barn and was always able to find reasonable stuff in my size. So, yesterday I decided to go to Dress Barn and found out that all stores will be closing very soon. I spent a good deal of time but did not find anything that I liked except for a nice soft sweater. The quality used to be a lot better. I really wanted to buy jeans but, could not find any that I liked.

Talking about pants, can someone please tell me what is the point of jeggings and skinny pants in sizes 18 and up? Anything I grabbed turned to be either of those and I am a size 20 with long legs and a big butt. Why on earth would I need pants that will stick everything out that I want to keep to myself?

One of these days I will go to JC Penney and see what they have available.

As I do some consulting work for textile companies, I know how little their costs are. So, paying USD 29.99-49.99 for what can be called a basic T-Shirt makes me cringe. The per unit cost is usually not more than USD 5 even for things that have beads and trims. I ma trying to spend as little on clothing as possible. It is such a waste. I would rather spend my money on travel.

Last Sunday, my BFF and I went down to NYC to see the Vessel. It was not very cold that day so, we had a good time taking many pictures. I will share them in another post.

Today I am not feeling 100%.  I feel like I am coming down with a cold which is bad because I need to leave for my road trip this Saturday. So, I just took something to help with how I feel and I am thinking chcken soup. I am also taking Vitamin C.

Spoke to my family yesterday. Mom is moving to my sister's apartment which is a very large and comfortable 4 bedroom unit. She and my uncle will be better of there. Mom was tired of her own place. When I get back to Turkey, we will put her place up for sale and try to buy a new place for my sister and BIL. We are not in a rush since they are living in Izmir due to work for the time being and I do not see them going back to Ankara any time soon.

Pictures from Upstate NY

I am having a real good time doing some shopping and sightseeing these days. We may be headed to the Woodbury Commons Outlet this afternoon with my BFF and her daughter.

Today I did my laundry and folded and put them away. It is getting seriously chilly and my hosts have this pretty cool pellet burning appliance installed in place of the fireplace.

Last night we were watching TV snuggled up in throw blankets while the pellets were burning when we realized we were getting the first snow of the season! It did not stay on the ground for very long but, it was pretty coming down.

Here are some pictures I have taken:

Bear Mountain 

Last weekend we went to Bear Mountain and had lunch over there. We also walked around the lake and enjoyed the beautiful Fall day.

Bear Mountain

Bear Mountain Hike around the Lake

Love the trees turning red

On the way home

Moved Upstate

I am no longer in NYC. I have moved to upstate NY on Friday. After dinner we went out with one of her neighbors. We just had one drink each and listened to som elive music at a local pub.

We also had a nice day with my BFF on Saturday just hanging out and doing a little bit of shopping. On Sunday, her family, her sister and BIL with whom I have stayed and I all went to Bear Mountain and had lunch there. We also walked around the lake and made the best of the beautiful day. It is getting cold every single day now and the wind on Friday took away most of the remaining leaves. It still looks very pretty out here.

This morning I drove my BFF's daughter to a job interview with one of their cars and now waiting for my BFF to come back from work to take me to the airport for me to pick up my rental car.

In this area, I cannot do much without a car.

I cooked a few things yesterday and today. I like to lift of some of the weight off my friend's shoulders while I am here.

Will soon be posting some pictures from the weekend. Hope everone is enjoying the Fall as much as I do.

The MET: Edited Version Picture Heavy

It has been quiet a while since I had been to the MET so, my BFF and I went to the MET Breuer on Sunday. The exhibition they have there was not quiet for us. So, we kept it short and went into the MET on 5th Ave. I wanted to see the Impressionists and Expressionists along with a few other areas. However, I still have exhibitions to see there. On Tuesday, I will spend some more time at the MET.

Since Cloisters was open on Monday, I visited that museum. It has been very interesting since I like the Medieval Period Art. The building itself is exciting. You feel like you just walked into one of those Medieval Castles. I loved it. Never been to a European Medieval era bulding before so, it was fun to do it in NYC. Lol!

I took the A train all the way up to 190th St. and hopped on the M4 bus to get to the entrance. The museum is situated in Fort Tryon Park and that park is absolutely beautiful with wonderful views aof the Hudson River Foliage.

The above were absolutely stunning an my pictures do not do justice to the real colors.

Would you like to have that fireplace? The artwork was quite amazing.

Feels like you are at a Medieval castle. Doesn't it?

Hudson River

Downton Abbey Movie and more NYC

Yesterday my hosts and I went to see the Downton Abbey Movie. It was cute and I got to see my favorite actress, Dame Maggie Smith.

We had wonderful lobster rolls by the water before we went in to the theater and it was a nice, relaxing day.

Today, I went to Chinatown and Little Italy. I walked and walked and walked. I had a light lunch of  soup and grilled chicken salad at Il Corallo Trattoria. It was a busy place but the service was wonderful. I liked it so much that I think I will go back once more.

After walking some more and checking out stores and the general neighborhood, my legs and feet screamed at me so I went to Ferrara where I always have cannoli. Theirs is the best cannoli ever. However, their service is always slow. This time was not different. If it weren't for the taste, I would not go there.

Then I walked over to 6th Avenue and got on the subway to come back home. As I type this, I am waiting for my BFF to have dinner together. She will stay with us at her sister's over the weekend. I think they have planned a winery visit on Long Island tomorrow. Should be fun.

I love being back in the City walking around and taking in the city.

I should be taking more pictures and sharing over here.

NYC!

After a long but comfortable flight, I made it into NY.

My day started at 6 a.m. Istanbul time. I got up, took a shower, carried my bags up to the Security Gate because in our apartment complex, the road in front of my building is only for emergencies and a vehicle cannot normally come to the front unless I ask the security guards to open the big gate.

The driver arrived right on time with a big luxury van and I thought there would be other passengers because I had booked a regular size car. But no, it was for me only. There was only some light traffic and we made it to the airport in thirty minutes.

Checking my suitcases and going through Customs took less than twenty minutes. Such Luck!

The Turkish Airlines flight made it into Frankfurt Airport in 2 hours and 45 minutes. The weather was nice and the flight was good.

Since I had about 5 hours to kill before my flight, I walked around quiet a bit and stretched my legs. I only had a small carry-on with wheels and the exercise helped me a lot.

I had lunch at the airport which turned out be pretty dried roast chicken. But, I sent that to my stomach with a small bottle of red wine and it wasn't so bad. Lol!

My flight on Lufthansa was on a Jumbo Jet and my Premium Economy seat was excellent. The leg room and the comfort of the seat were superb. Despite the fact that we left Frankfurt a good 40 minutes late, we made it to JFK 30 minutes earlier but, because of that we had to wait on tarmac so that the Gate would become available.

Going through the crowded Customs was a breeze because, they routed me to the machines where you self-check through Customs only to meet an officer for a brief moment to get the passport stamped.

I had to wait a little while to collect my luggage and 10 minutes after I got out of the airport, my friend pulled in to get me. She is the sister of my BFF and I am staying with her and her husband's nice home in Forest Hills till next Friday.

Yesterday I went downtown to stroll around and meet my BFF to sit among the live audience in the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The waiting in line part is a killer but the monologues were very funny, the band excellent and the guests were interesting. It is taped with a live audience and broadcasted later at night. The guest was Mia Farrow's son Ronan Farrow who is an investigative journalist. His book Catch and Kill came out and it is on Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer.

Then we had a quick bite and my friend returned upstate. I hopped on the subway to go back to Forest Hills. Was a great first day.

Today I am home as I type this. My hostess and I are going to see the Downton Abbey movie.

Hope everyone is having a good time.

Packed and almost ready!

Well, today I was able to fold all the laundry and put them away, packed my suitcases, cleaned up my kitchen, grocery shopped and put a lot of stuff in order.

I initially thought I should order food today but then decided to walk to the small grocery store right by my apartment complex. I bought just enough food to tie me over till I leave. It cost less than what I would spend on the order so, I am glad.

My suitcases are nowhere near the weight limit but, they are full. Some of the gifts and winter clothing take up a lot of space. If it weren't for them, I would probably be able to take only one with me.

Before I leave, I will change the sheets on my bed and the guest bed so that if anyone in the family wants to visit while I am gone, will have fresh sheets. That also means, there will be laundry waiting for me. I think, I can wash the sheets on the guest bed today and put them away before I leave. My bed sheets will have to wait. I could wash them and hang them to dry but they would collect a lot of dust. Who needs fresh but dusty sheets?

The only things that I need to pack at the last minute are my eye drops and my toiletry items.

Tomorrow, as the apartment gets cleaned, I will clean the fridge and plan my initial days in NYC.

I will go take a warm shower and have a cup of coffee and a banana now.

Hope, everyone is having a good weekend.

Ugh!

My apartment is a mess. The gifts, the clothing items, the meds and other necessities are all scattered around. I have no idea how and when this happened but, I am the culprit.

Today, I have decided to take care of the meds and pack my carry-on. I had borrowed my mom's carry-on rolling suitcase and was planning to take that. I only packed it halfway, thinking that I could put my laptop on top and be done with it. Something made me weigh it and opps! It was 7something kgs. What? A pair of pants, a blouse, a cardigan, meds and a change of underwear plus pajamas. How could that be?

Then I emptied the thing and weighed it by itself. It was 4,5 kgs! The allowance is only 8. So, it turned out to be a stupid idea to take that.

I hopped on a bus to go to Metro Gross Market and looked at the suitcases over there. Their prices were outrageous although all the bags were super light. I took a cab to Carrefour and looked at the carry-ons over there. The selection was huge with a variety of prices. I had this luggage scale and a measuring tape with me and I started looking at all the bags and compared prices. I spent more than half an hour choosing a carry-on. The lightest bag was less than 2 kgs and before I walked out with it, I sat down to grab a bite.

My inner voice told ne to check the luggage requirements one last time and of course what I selected was not good on the airline I am flying with. Some airlines tell you to add up three dimensions and anything below 115 cm. is good. But the airline I am flying with specifically requires a maximum of 55x40x23. So, I walked back and spent another good 20 minutes. By the time I checked out, there were no cabs available. I waited for a WHOLE HOUR to get a cab and could not get one. So, I stuffed my things in the rolling bag and walked outside the store to a busy intersection. Luckily, I found a cab. The driver told me at that hour it was almost impossible to find a cab.

I normally never need cabs and certainly I had no idea about their rush hour and driver exchange hours.

I am so exhausted. Took a long hot shower and will kick back and relax.

What a waste!

I did not realize that the fridge door was not closed properly last night and today, I had to throw away the chicken I bought yesterday, the yogurt, the salad with mayo and the cheese. Thankfully, I did not have much stuff in there but still...

I hate wasting food and this was totally my stupidity. I changed the places of some condiment bottles and did not see that one of them was getting stuck.

Ughhh! Now I have to shop for food again.

Busy day...

I woke up late today but I had many errands to run and since I left my car at mom's, I had to walk.

First I went to the the local health care center to get a prescription for all my regular meds plus an antibiotic.  I did not think the doctor would prescribe the wide spectrum antibiotic but, as I told her I would be away for quiet a while, she agreed. I hope not to have to use it.

Then I went downstairs to the pharmacy to hand them my prescription. Didn't wait for them and said I would pick the package later in the day and walked to the bank to pick up my renewed credit card. The lady at the bank was a former employee of my BIL and she was super nice.

I then went to get my prescription sunglasses. I had them put in new lenses into the frame I already had so, that did not cost a lot.

I hopped on a bus to go to Carrefour to check out suitcases because the duffel bag I am planning to take is now off acceptable limits. Bummer! I have a twenty dollar cheap bag I bought from Chinatown years ago. May be I will use that along with my good suitcase. So, before I bought another one, I decided to pack and see first. I purchased a few grocery items to consume what I have on hand. By the time I was finished, I was exhausted and had a heavy bag to carry so, I hailed a cab.

I went back to the pharmacy, picked up 3 months worth of meds.

I also picked up the delivered packages while I was away.

Now it is time to wash everything, plan what to pack in which bag and etc. I feel so ready for this trip. I am crossing all fingers and toes so that, nothing comes my way to jeopardize my plans.

Back home and getting ready!

I just came back home and am trying to rest a bit. I am not doing anything today except for fixing dinner.

Tomorrow I need to pick up some deliveries I missed, my prescription sunglasses, my new credit card (Yay! I knew my sis would be able to help with that) and do some laundry.

I will start piling up the stuff I need to pack on the bed in my spare bedroom.

I will most likely be home on Thursday all day. On Friday, I will be meeting a friend and completing my shopping. Will pick up some Turkish Delight, pistachio nuts and dried figs. These are popular among my friends.

I have so much to pack. I am allowed two suitcases, a carry-on, and a purse. I want to be done packing on Sunday. My flight is early Tuesday. I have arranged for a pick-ıp service from my home and allowed myself ample time at the airport. I hate to be in a rush when I am traveling.

I have 5 hours to kill at Frankfurt Airport. Good opportunity to stretch my legs and chill a little bit before the longer leg of my flight.

Off I go to see the luggage weight and measurement requirements just in case something might have changed lately.

Surprise that I figured out

Since I am going to be away from home for almost three months, my sister and BIL decided to come to Ankara and say goodbye. They wanted it to be a surprise but, I read between the lines while I spoke to my sister several times last week and figured out that they would be coming.

My sister tried too hard to hide the truth I guess. Lol!

Anyway, early this morning my uncle showed up. We took both cars to the tire place for winter tires so, I did not have to make two trips. I ran a few errands for mom. Later in the afternoon my sister and BIL showed up grinning from ear to ear. We all went out for dinner and had a good time. It has been quiet a while since the five of us have been together.

Tomorrow, we are having breakfast together and then, they will be on their way back to Izmir. On Tuesday, I am leaving for Istanbul.

Life is on the fast track.

Long Day

Today I took mom home. A friend of mine accompanied us and as we chatted all the way, the 4 hour drive was a breeze.

She insisted to make us coffee and we had a nice break after the trip. We then went to do our grocery shopping and had dinner. It took several trips to the car to take everything home.

Tomorrow we will get her prescriptions re-filled and run some errands. On Saturday, I will have the tires changed on both cars and help mom purge. On Monday, I will see my eye doctor and dine with a couple of childhood friends and will get back to Istanbul on Tuesday.

My uncle is coming to Ankara on Saturday and will be staying with mom.

I am such an idiot!

Yes I am! I forgot my ATM/Credit combo card in the machine today. Thankfully, nobody took it and the machine swallowed it. I have spoken to the Call Center rep and he says a new card will be issued and sent to my address within 7-13 days. Yikes! That does not work for me. Thankfully my sister is a branch manager at the same bank and I know she can pull some strings to get me the new card faster.

To be on the safe side, I inquired if my other card will allow me to make payments in USD when I use it in the US. It looks like they do. In the past, I would make USD purchases and the bank would convert it to TL at a higher exchange rate than the prevailing market rate and I would end up losing money. So, I had stopped using this card. Tomorrow, I will take care of that.

The only inconvenience is that, I will have to deposit USD into an account at this bank. When I come back from Ankara, I will deal with that. Not a big deal.

I have so much going on at the same time and when I do, I sometimes act without my brain. Today was one of those days... Sigh...

Started tracking my travel budget already!

I have been carefully planning my big vacation for weeks now. I have set aside a notebook and a notepad. The notebook is for keeping track of the places I want to visit, notes about my day and etc. The notepad is for lists and budget tracking.

Last night I made the first important purchase and entered that on my notepad. I ordered this package  from Mint Mobile. I could use my Turkish mobile phone but the roaming charges would kill me. I have actually calculated what it would cost me to use my phone and it turned out to be USD 533! Yikes!  60 bucks works for me. I use Whatsappp to call home and the 8 GB of Internet is plenty both for that and all my other needs.

I have searched for mobile phone solutions for quiet a while and this seems to be the best fit at the best price. I am bringing my old phone which is unlocked and compatible with the T-Mobile NW. I have checked the coverage and it looks very good on my route.

Since I am going to be spending quiet a bit of time in NYC, I have checked out The New York Pass and calculated whether it would be worthwhile to get it. Made a list of places that I want to visit and checked entry fees. I have decided against it. I can do better without one.

Getting the 7-day Unlimited Pass of MTA in NYC is a fantastic deal for my visit. You can use the pass on the buses and on the subway. It is also refillable after the 7 days are up. At USD 33 for 7 days, I think it is an awesome deal. Besides, I know my way around the City and as long as the weather cooperates, I will be just fine.

The contractor came today for additional work and things seem to be fine. He must paint around the window frame from the outside and the site manager will supply the required paint. He has nothing to do inside till I decide to get my room painted which is months away. Once he finished the paint job, I will pay him. I haven't paid a dime until now and I think, the payment has been motivating.

I am only praying that the fix will work.

After lunch, mom and I are going to the mall to order me prescription sunglasses. I will use one of the frames that I already have and the glasses will not be progressive. That will save me a good chunk of money.

Contractors...

I have a problem in my bedroom by the window. Unfortunately, the contractor who changed my window frames did a lousy job and the wall next to the frame has been damaged causing some humidity issue in the wall and the paint.

This year I found a contractor through a good friend. All summer long either the contractor was busy or I was traveling. Ever since we came back to Istanbul, I had been bugging the guy to come and fix the wall. He always had a reason to postpone the repairs and finally, he came on Monday. He brought some stuff and looking at them, I knew something was not quite right. When I inquired further, he seemed to have totally forgotten what he and my friend discussed. I could not call my friend right away because she has moved to the US. So, I just texted my friend hoping that she would see it early enough to intervene. Anyway, the guy and his helper started doing what they were prepared to do but I was totally bummed.

Then I thought of asking the apartment complex' site manager. I am glad I asked him to come over and look at the work. He apparently was familiar with the kind of damage and he told the contractor what type of material needs to be used. Luckily, the contractor listened to him and did the first part of the job. Then the material needed to dry before other isolation material could be applied. So, they left.

Meanwhile my friend saw my text and called me and then called the contractor to find out what he was doing. She also video called me and I showed her what was done. Later in the day, she called me again to say that what he started doing after the site manager's intervention was OK. The repairs would be finished today but alas! It has been raining non-stop. So, may be, he may come tomorrow but, I doubt it. I have to take mom to Ankara on Thursday and run errands for her before I can come back next Tuesday. That leaves me just a week to get this work finished.

At least now that he has started, I am sure he will be wanting to finish and get paid. Wish me luck!

25 Solo Roadtrip Tips and Precautions

I will soon be on my way to the US. I have planned a solo roadtrip all the way to Florida and back. This means, I will be on the road alone and be staying at various hotels.

To be safe, I take some precautions while I am traveling alone and below you will find them. Please feel free to contribute your ideas in the comments.

1. Never stop in badly lit areas with just a few people around. I always pull into busy stops whenever I have to. Sometimes, I exit the highway just to do that.
2. Always check the gas level, around the car and the tires before pulling out of a stop.
3. Never leave any belongings in the car within plain sight.
4. Be aware of the surroundings, the cars and people around.
5. Don't stay at places where room entrances are from the outside. This means, I spend more money but, that's OK. Safety first.
6. If asked whether I am on the road alone in a general conversation by anybody, always tell them no or meeting up with friends right after whatever I am doing.
7. Always keep my phones charged. (This is easy to do in the car)
8. Share my itinerary with my sister and my BFF.
9 Check the windows and the door one in the room. If I am on the ground level, I make sure to draw the curtains well and place some objects like my suitcase, or an armchair by the window. I also use door stoppers if there are no deadbolts. Some may argue that, it might be a safety problem if my health fails me and if the hotel staff needs to open my room but, that's what I do.
10. I have my sit down meal during lunch time rather than dinner time in order to be in my room before it is too late. It is also cheaper.
11. Consume nuts and cheese rather than carbs in order to stay awake and focused while driving.
12. Keep myself hydrated and I drink water mostly.
13. Keep some extra food and water in the trunk.
14. Do not wear fancy clothing or attention attracting bling.
15. Act confident, not lost even if lost.
16. Do not drive for more than two hours at a time. Always, stop, walk, get the circulation going and rest.
17. Don't be looking at your cell phone and not be paying attention to your surroundings.
18. Get the navigation started before pulling out of a rest area.
19. Make sure offline maps are downloaded as well.
20. KEEP FOCUSED WHILE DRIVING!
21. Travel light and bring only the necessary items.
22. Keep the nightgown, toothpaste, toothbrush brush and meds within easy reach to hit the sack if too tired.
23. Keep USD 20-30 in small denominations in the pockets rather than fiddle with the wallet when paying for small stuff. Keep cash and credit cards out of sight.
24. Keep Emergency Info in cell phones and in wallet. This includes allergy information, who to call, the number for Turkish Embassy and meds regularly taken.
25. If not feeling well, re-arrange plans and take care of self first.

Gotta pick my readers' brains

During my upcoming vacation, I will spend Christmas with my BFF and her huge family. They draw names and each adult buys a gift for just another adult. I am prepared for that situation. However, everybody gives gifts to the 4 kids in the family. That part is a bit tricky. I have the two girls covered but there are a couple of boys 16 and 11 (I think). I have no idea as to what to give them. I intend to gift them money. However, I do not know how much is appropriate. What do you think? These kids are my BFF's niece's kids.

Missing in Action

I was missing in real action recently. Happy to report that I am almost done with my gift shopping. Two trips to the Grand Bazaar and I am done! I walked 13-14 thousand steps each day and my legs are screaming. Lol!

Lots and lots of walking is awaiting them in NYC too. I've got less than two weeks!

My friend got tickets for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The show is not on in Turkey but, I have watched him while I was in the US and sometimes, I watch the show on YouTube.

I am going to take mom to Ankara next Wednesday or Thursday. My uncle will go to Ankara to stay with her while I am gone.

Today, I made something. A total DIY type of job. You see, I am not a handy person at all. I have this big ottoman. It is also a box where I store my throw blankets. It is awfully heavy and when we want to stretch our legs on it, it becomes a hassle to move it around in the room. So, I have decided to put wheels under it. Unfortunately the base board was so thin, I could not drill holes. I bought a scrap wood board half an inch smaller than the base and installed four wheels that move in every direction. Pat on my back! I drilled holes and screwed the wheels perfectly. I then placed the ottoman on this thing that looks like a skateboard and voila!

Mom has two of the same ottoman and she wanted wheels on them too. I bought enough hardware to take to Ankara. I am very impressed with my skill. Lol!

Roots

My roots were a mess and I had no time to go to the hair dressers. Actually, I was trying to postpone it till late October right before my trip. Since I have to go to the court tomorrow, I decided to take care of my roots. I had no idea what color I needed so I had to wing it.

The result is somewhat darker than my regular shade but, it works. I was afraid that it would be worse and that I would end up with a very sharp difference. Phew!

When I am in the US, I will need to take care of my roots myself. If worse comes to worse, I will color it all giving up what is left of my balayage.

A Former Headache Rearing Its Ugly Head... Bah!

I do not know if I have mentioned this before but, at my previous job, we had a toxic employee. My ex-boss and I were able to place him at a customer site so that he could not jeopardize daily operations. The project lasted for over a year and everybody was comfortable with the arrangement. My ex-boss sold the company, new owners took it over and the said project came to an end eventually.

Knowing this person, I alerted the new management about the upcoming problem and the new GM decided to offer him another customer site project. He did and the idiot rejected.

Right around those days, the company arranged for a dinner party and the GM decided to talk to this guy once more.

All through the night the GM and the guy talked but could not come to a conclusion. Finally, late at night as he was leaving, I have realized that he was very drunk so, I told the waiters to call a cab for him and urged him to leave his car. He refused it but I insisted and told him that he could expense the cab. He said fine and walked out. Well, being the idiot that he was, he took his car without waiting for the cab and right around the corner, he came across another car and somehow got involved in a fist fight with those people. The police station was within quarter of a mile so, they came immediately and arrested the guy since he was drunk driving. We were still at the restaurant when he called the GM. At that hour of the night both the GM and another manager went to the police station and I got a hold of the company lawyer. We went out of our way to help him but the level of alcohol in his blood made it impossible for him to keep his license. Due to a previous DUI, his license got suspended for two years!

Well, our business required everybody to drive and hence, we had issued company cars to all.

The guy came back a couple of days later. (It took him two days to sober up). The GM told him that now that he will not be able to drive, he should accept the customer site assignment since the customer provided transportation. He refused it AGAIN! The GM was way more patient with him than I would be. He talked to him for at least two hours and finally gave up. We then terminated his contract having no other choice.

He decided to sue the company which is fine. However, the first court hearing is on Monday and being a witness, I have to go. Bummer! I was really hoping that the court date would be set later and I would be abroad so that I would not have to go. Bummer again!

At least the previous company is sending a car to pick me up to go to the court on my request.

My tips for Rental Cars

We all know that shopping for prices and reserving a car well in advance of the travel dates are important to secure the best prices.

I rarely need to rent a car in my home country since I have a car. When I need one, I shop around using international sites and believe it or not, I get the best prices through them.

I usually need a car when I am abroad. With my upcoming trip I need a car for about 41 days. Rental companies allow you to rent for only 30 days so, as I am dropping the first rental, I will be picking up the other.

I have started searching and reserving good deals months ago and made and canceled several reservations. I wasn't expecting to find better deals as the date approaches but, I kept on looking and am very glad I did. This week I have been pleasantly surprised by a better deal on the first rental.

I use AUTOSLASH and a few other sites but, I found the best prices through AUTOSLASH this time. It is a real neat site where you can enter your reservation details so that they can track and find you even better deals if possible. You get to see the offers and then make the reservation online through Priceline. If you are a foreigner like I am, do use a VPN to be able to see the Autoslash offers on Priceline. If you don't, you may see higher prices. Autoslash has a pop-up that tells you this. You may always ask for help and they respond pretty quickly. I am not being paid for this post and this represents my experience.

My time frame for rentals include Thanksgiving and days close to Christmas. One of the busiest times when car rental prices sky rocket. It is always more expensive in the New York area anyway.

I am pretty comfortable with the current prices on my reservations. The killer is Damage Waiver and Additional Liability Insurance. American consumers who already own cars and car insurance do not have to purchase those since their policies cover rentals. As a foreigner I have to. I knew this from the start and have made my budget accordingly.

I have rented cars several times and have never needed the insurance but, I am not going to risk anything. Peace of mind is important. I hope never to need the insurance and always be able to pay for it.

This and That

Today I went to get my driver's licence renewed. It is a silly process. I went to get a health certificate first. The doctor did not even take my pulse. She signed off on what I have put down on paper. She sent me to an eye doctor upstairs and the eye doctor gave me a basic exam and confirmed my current prescription.

Then I went to the Government Office where they issue and renew IDs, passports, DLs. I had to wait for about an hour because I went in earlier than my appointment. Then they canceled my current DL, gave me a temporary one and told me that they would be mailing my new license. It is good for 10 years so, I do not have to do this again anytime soon.

Old licenses did not have expiration dates. New ones are valid only for 10 years. I used to have a US license from NY State. I think it was good for only 5 years? I am not sure.

Then I went to get my glasses adjusted. While I was at the mall, I picked up a tube of toothpaste.

I came back to have tea with mom.

Tomorrow mom and I will go grocery shopping. I think, on Friday, I will go to the Grand Bazaar for gifts.

While I was out a former colleague from many years ago called me and we decided to have coffee next week. He is a nice guy and I thought he had moved to Canada with his family. Seems like he has one foot on this continent and travels from time to time.

After that one of my employees from my last job called. He is over the moon that he is about to be offered a job by a multinational company. He had it with the new manager he reports to. He is a great guy and deserves the best. I hope, he gets the job. There may be a few stumbling blocks but, I have a positive feeling about this.

I have finalized my rental car arrangements. It is the most expensive part of this vacation and I am not even renting a car for the whole time. Just 41 days out of 78.  The killer is the DW and the ALI I must purchase. Since I am not a US citizen with a car coverage that would take care of a rental car, I must purchase the expensive insurance. However, I am now convinced that I got the rock-bottom prices on my rental car.

Phewww! Good News!

Today, I looked up results online and saw that the biopsy report was completed. However, I could not access it. So, I called the Report Department of the hospital and asked them to e-mail me the results. They did. I instantly realized that there was nothing bad but, I wanted to be sure so, I took a picture of the report and sent it to a pathologist friend of mine.

She responded immediately saying that the results were good and there was nothing to be worried about. What a relief!

I love having several doctor friends. Almost all of them are my HS mates. It was a great school and my friends are really nice and cool people. We get together every year at a beach resort run by another school mate but, this year I could not go. They have been posting pictures on our FB group and asking about my mom. I am so thankful for having them in my life.

To celebrate I baked a marble cake and made tea for both of us. She is very relieved too.

Tomorrow we will go see her doctors and I am sure they will confirm the same good results.

I had put a stop on all preparations about my long US vacation. I was going to cancel it if she needed another surgery and long term care. Now I must go back to my gift lists and start shopping.

I also need to renew my driver's license and I am going to take care of that on Wednesday.

Thank you for all of you who had sent good wishes and kept us in your prayers.

Still waiting

I think we will not find out about the result of the biopsy before Tuesday when we go to the doctors. Waiting is killing everyone in the family.

On another note, there are still errands to run to keep us busy. I did three loads of laundry the day before. Today, mom and I went to get my new glasses (they have a weird feeling, need to be adjusted), get back my uncle's now waxed coat. Then we made a stop at a farmers market to get some veggies and figs. Fresh figs are in abundance these days. They are so sweet and good.

We then when to one of my mom's favorite places for lunch and she treated me. We both napped when we got back home.

While this biopsy is hanging up in the air, I cannot think of anything to do or write.

Waiting may be the worst...

Mom had her endoscopy, colonoscopy and the other procedure yesterday. The day before, since she was trying to empty her bowels out, she could not sleep at all. During the day, she has been put to a mild sleep twice. As soon as we got home, we both slept soundly for a long while.

The pathology reports will be available within a week or ten days. Her uterus is still a suspect. She has mid reflux and gastritis. Her colon was fine. The doctor found just one polip and removed it. We will know if there is going to be another surgery in a few weeks.

Waiting is the worst I think.

Today, she is back to her old self thankfully.

Not over yet...

Mom had her control appointment today. The surgeon told us that the pathology was fine and the appendix did not seem like a big deal to cause so much pain to her. So, she suggested that mom sees an ob-gyn and get an endoscopy and a colonoscopy. Yikes!

She saw the ob-gyn today and he saw a suspicious growth in her uterus so, he decided to go in and see what it is.  She is scheduled for all the above on Thursday. The doc is a cutie so, mom.is not protesting much. Lol!

Tomorrow, after a light breakfast she is only allowed clear fluids till next morning. After the endoscopy and colonoscopy, she will rest a little bit and go in for the other thing. Hopefully, on Thursday evening, I will bring her home and everything will be fine. The doc says, he does not suspect you know what. Even if it is an abnormal growth, it will have been dignosed at a very early stage and they will clean it out immediately.

Think positive, think positive...

After we were done at the hospital, we went to get her the rollator. It is pretty and red. Lol! I liked the red one better and mom agreed to get that one.

I tried to make her relax and we spent some time outside just chilling and having tea.

Tomatoes!

There are a few more weeks while we can get the best tomatoes at the best possible prices. Today, I went to a farmers market and despite my mom's protests, I bought about 20 pounds of tomatoes. I processed them and scooped them into ziploc type bags. She likes them in the winter for cooking yet she did bot want me to do it for her.

I did not listen and I am glad. She now has lots of good quality tomato sauce nicely freezing. Now she is happy. I guess she thought I was too tired and just did not want me to bother.

I am done with errands. I would like to relax during the weekend and go back to Istanbul on Monday.

47 days to go till my big vacation! getting impatient and excited.

Errands errands...

I came to Ankara with mom on Monday. We were both very tired so went out for dinner. All Tuesday I was with some alumni of my HS and we spent half of the day at the court supporting 4 of our friends. The rest of the day we were all together talking about the surreal experience. It is a very looong story and not mine so, that is all I will tell about it. I walked quiet a bit that day.

This morning I took my old car that I leave at my mom's garage to be serviced. I asked them to change the battery too because, I know that it would die very soon. While waiting, I decided to walk and boy did I walk! Tonight I am meeting two childhood friends for dinner and tomorrow I will take the car for inspection.

Mom is very bored so, tomorrow I am taking her out a little bit. Other than coming to Ankara, she did not go out after the surgery. Over the weekend, we shall meet my sister and brother in law and go back to Istanbul on Monday.

I am really tired already.

Gotta find a new cardiologist

Bummer!

My mom and I used to go to the same cardiologist in Ankara every 6 months. Today, I found a message on my cell phone that she has left the hospital and now she has her own practice. Our insurance does not accept individual practices and also, a single doctor cannot issue a certain type of report for meds we take on a regular basis. It has to be a board of doctors which you can only find at a hospital. One of mom's meds require a report every 6 months. The rest is every two years.

We liked our doctor and have been seeing her for the last 10 years or so. After I come back from my big vacation, I will look for a cardiologist in Istanbul possibly at the hospital mom had her appendectomy. I intend to ask around to my doctor friends also, before I decide on a new hospital and new doctor.

We came to Ankara today and I ran one errand to get it out of the way. Tomorrow I am meeting some alumni of my HS. I know most of them only through Facebook. It will be nice to meet face to face.

Good sales

Yesterday when I went to the bank, I parked at the grocery store's free parking lot because, they charge you for the rest of the parking spaces. When I returned, I noticed the good sales that is going on and grabbed two packs of 32 rolls of TP. I have some more at home and I think my stock will last me a long time.

I have skipped the perihables since, we are not going to be here for a week but, I bought some detergent along with the TP.  Mom disagrees with me and says with the limited space in my apartment, I should not be stockpiling. Well, the only thing I put in my closet is the TP. The rest of the stuff are put where they belong.

If I feel like purging further sometime soon, I will empty out some space for stockpiling.

By the time you read this post, we will probably be either on the road or, in Ankara.

Have a good day!

WoooHoooo! Debt is gone!

I am happy, happy, happy, even, over the moon! Since November 2016, I had been paying a debt that belonged to a family member because he did not have the means to take care of it and not paying it would cause loss of a family home and some other complications. Since, I was earning very well at the time, I had taken over this debt.

Today, I made the last payment! THE. LAST. PAYMENT.

I have only one remaining debt now, a mortgage on an apartment that I purchased from the same family member so that he could generate some cash and to keep the apartment in the family. We all use it. It is a 3 bedroom apartment close to many beaches in the city of Antalya.

There are 64 more mortgage payments but, it is a lot lower than the one that has been paid. About 1/3 of the other so, it isn't all that important.

Pheeewww!

This and That

I have fallen off the weight loss and exercise wagon in the summer but, I am back on track now. Despite that, I still lost 4 pounds but, it could have been a lot better.

I have to admit that every time I am on the treadmill, I want to give it up during the first 15 minutes. Past that mark, I motivate myself by looking at the screen and setting mini goals like "I am going to up the incline once I hit 1 mile" or "I am going to keep on at 4.2 miles till I hit 35 minutes". I am making a game of this and walking between 35 and 55 minutes every day.

Now that it is cooling down a little, I would like to walk outside too. I need to purchase gifts for my upcoming vacation so, there is some motivation there as well.

We are going to Ankara on Tuesday, coming back on Monday. I have several errands to run so, it is going to be a busy week.

Today, the cleaning lady could not come and since we shall be away for a week, I do not mind it. When we come back, I can dust and vacuum.

New Method to Follow Liquid Assets

The crazy fluctuations in the exchange rates make it difficult for me to track my Liquid Assets properly. I have my savings in TL, USD, Gold and an insignificant amount of Euros.

I normally track my Liquid Assets by converting all foreign exchange to TLs at the exchange rate of the last day of the month. This is very deceiving because of the exchange rate fluctuations. So, I have decided to track only the TL starting in January 2020, since the rest of the stuff is actually my nest egg. I am not touching that yet and hope, never to touch it. As long as I have the mortgage for the Antalya apartment, I will be tapping my TL savings by about 4.5% every year, i.e. till January 2025. The current interest rate on TL accounts is about 17% so, 4.5% is not too bad and it is only over the TL savings. After that, my passive income will cover my living expenses. If I get some consulting business, that will be the icing on the cake for travel.

My passive income was enough to cover my living expenses until recently. When I had to add health insurance to my budget and due to hiking prices of utilities, gas, food and almost everyting, I now need to supplement it. The economy is not doing well over here so, savings are even more important now.

Looking at the current numbers, it looks like I will be doing better in meeting my year end goals but, I know that, this is deceiving. Hopefully, next year's goals will be tracked in a more realistic manner.

A lot of bloggers calculate their Net Worth.  I do not. Why? Because the worth of the real estate keep fluctuating and unless you sell them, you have no idea what they are really worth.

You cannot help someone, if she/he does not want to be helped

Many years ago, my closest friend got married to another colleague of ours. My friend used to be a neat freak but, she is a bit better now. Her husband is a very good man with a kind heart and honest personality but, he was a bit of a slob. Not dirty but just a bit messy.

Soon after they married, my friend started complaining about her husband, how he never picked up after himself and things like that. Every time I suggested something, she had a counter argument. I would say: "Well, don't pick up after him. Let his pants stay on the floor and when he needs them again, he will understand" and she would respond "I cannot bear that. Everything must be in it's proper place" or "I can't do that". After a while, I started to get frustrated and realized that this exchange may end up hurting our friendship. So, I have decided to talk to her about it openly and honestly. She agreed with me and did not complain about her husband to me again. I do not know if he is any better or not by now. He has proven that he is a good husband, very caring dad and a dear friend over the years.

Nowadays, I am watching My 600 lb Life and I see that before the patient truly decides to get help, she/he cannot be helped. When they stumble and are told to seek psychological help and when they refuse, they cannot be successful. The patients who do everything right to a T, are the ones who succeed. Why? Because, there is a tried and true way of doing the weight loss program. Dr. Nowzaradan knows what he is talking about.

What prompted me to write this is another blogger who recently got into a very big trouble. I am not going to name names. Her financial status, her age and her health are not in the greatest shape. So, a bunch of fellow bloggers offered a lot of sound advice but, she does not want to hear any of it. That is absolutely fine. She wants to do this in her own way and noone can make her do otherwise.

However, she recently deleted all those comments that she did not like or agree with. I think, that is wrong. Very wrong. After all, all of us who commented, do care about her. She is almost my mom's age and I cannot bear the thought of her current hardship. I wish her the best of luck in handling the situation her way. I do want to be wrong about my assesment of her situation. However, I am not going to be following her blog and commenting on it any longer.

Gotta tell this!

I have mentioned in my earlier post that, mom had an appendectomy.

Sunday morning I woke up at 9 a.m. and until 10 p.m. the next night, I could not sleep at all. The first night at the hospital, she had too much pain and she could not find a comfortable position to sleep. In 7 hours I took 1020 steps between her bed and the recliner at the foot of her bed! At my weight, getting up and down several times during that time was terrible. My leg muscles and my back still hurts.

At 10 p.m. I finally could not bear it any longer and made sure she was comfortable, then fell into a very very deep sleep on the recliner. Mom needed to get up and she called me some time after midnight and I did not hear her! I am so embarassed! Since we could not find a single room at the hospital due to some renovation, we had to share a room with another sick lady and her niece. The niece heard my mom and instead of waking me up, she went to help her. Such a nice person! She was quiet the chatterbox and entertained us with all her interesting stories. We exchanged cards and promised to see each other. They do not live too far away from us.

Anyway, I got up at 5 a.m. and heard the story. I am thankful they let me sleep but, I was also very embarassed.

She was discharged by noon time and as soon as we got home, we both wanted to nap and nap we did! It was dinner time, when I finally woke up and found my mom making soup. She said, she realized how tired I was and did not mind throwing together a simple tomato soup (from scratch). She is the one who had the procedure and I was the one who could not get over it.

To be honest, I started feeling better only today.

Plans and Lists? Haha! Life may have other plans

You know how I like making plans and budgets and being organized right? And how I made a list of things to be done?

Well, thankfully what happened was not something to derail all (for the moment anyway) but, Sunday morning mom woke me up and said "I am not well T'Pol. I think it is my appendix" Later on she joked about how I got up so fast, saying that she never saw me like that before.

I took her to the ER and they ran some tests and could not confirme the appendix but, they admitted us so that further tests could be run and a general surgeon could check it out.

To make a long story short, we both had a terrible night on Sunday and on Monday morning, they took her appendix out.  Mom's surgeon said the appendix was not about to burst or anything so, she decided to look at other internal organs to see what caused mom's pain. Last night we slept better but mom was not very comfortable due to the IV, urinary catheter and the compression socks. She wanted to move and be out of the place a.s.a.p. Today they discharged her.

As soon as we got home, we both fell asleep and rested quiet a bit.

Life is an adventure... I am glad mom is already doing better.

Pace of life is picking up

It was a very relaxing, almost lazy summer. As we approach the end of it, there are chores I must be taking care of before I take off on my big vacation.

I started by getting my car serviced. It did not cost very much. The guy who explained what was done told me that my brake pads did not need to be changed. He was surprised. Who needs brake pads be changed at 30,000 Km? Never heard of it. It usually takes 70-100,000 Km for me.

I also took my mom and my grandparents' Moldovan caretaker out to lunch at a nice restaurant right on the water. She is a very nice lady. She took care of my grandparents as if they were her own parents between 1999-2002. My mom and uncle treated her as a sibling and one of the family so, now they are very good friends. She has been taking care of other elderly people in Istanbul since my grandad's passing. Her latest employer just passed after 5 years due to cancer. Now she is going to her own country for a while and will come back in January. So, today's outing was timed just fine.

She is more of a companion than a caretaker and I have ideas for the future.

Anyhow, I have decided to make my list of the major chores that I am facing over here:

1. Take mom for a haircut. DONE!
2. Take mom to Ankara August 30th
3. Take the car in for service and inspection September 2nd
4. Pay the last of the debt taken over September 2nd (WOOOHOOO!)
5. Get the car Inspected September 3rd
6. Take an inventory at mom's home and do her shopping
7. Cook and freeze food for mom
8. Go to see the eye doctor, get a prescription for new glasses
9. Take current measurements and sizes of mom, sis, BIL.
10. Come back home
11. Purge, purge, purge and donate...
12. Select a new frame and order new glasses
13. Take uncle's jacket to be waxed
14. See the kidney doctor
15. Shop for gifts for the big vacation
16. Go back to Ankara for the cardiologist visit for both mom and myself.
17. Clean out the fridge
18. Pack suitcases
19. Get my home cleaned right before the big vacation
20. Leave enough cash in accounts for automated payments.
21. Get USD in cash in small denominations.
22. Get 3 months worth of regular meds plus others that I might need.

I also need to get together with a few friends. I am sure, there are tons of other things I have forgotten to list. I will keep on adding items as I remember them.

Thoughts on purging

This summer taught me an important lesson in how much clothing I actually need.

All summer long, I wore a pair of New Balance sneakers and a pair of footbed sandals I bought from Kohl's last year. I also wore two pairs of shorts and two pairs of capri pants with a rotation of 5-6 T-shirts.

Also, I found "the bra" that I love. It is a Bali front closure bra and I had bought 4 of them when I was in the US last year. I keep rotating those. The underwire broke in one of them just recently. I have many more bras that I am no longer wearing. Why keep them?

Earlier this year, I set aside several pairs of work pants that I thought I might need when I lose some more weight. Now that I am working part-time, I realize, all I need is two, may be three pairs of pants and some tops for work. I have three jackets that I do actually wear. So, I will go through work clothing  again and part with most of them.

I also have many many many pairs of socks and more than enough jeans for the Fall and Winter. I have tons of shirts, turtlenecks and T-shirts as well. I will purge quiet a bit there too.

I found two soft capri sweatpants that are now too big for me which still have the tags on. I have decided to make them pajamas utilizing two tops that are too big as well. Pajamas need to be comfy after all.

I can go on and on but, to make a long story short, I have too much to purge. I also need to buy some things such as a pair of work appropriate shoes for the summer, and casual winter boots. I intend to get them during my trip in the US.

Off to purging I go!

Fall is in the air!

It is mid-August and the Fall is in the air. It is still warm but, I can feel the weather turning which also means I am so much closer to my big vacation. Today is a cloudy day with a nice breeze.

Today I processed the tomatoes I have bought to freeze for winter. I wash them, cut them up, run them through the food processor and put three ladels full in one freezer bag. I flatten them all up and freeze them. I had bought close to 8 kgs but I think, we ate 2 to 3 kgs of it since last Saturday. I do not have much space in the freezer so, this much will have to do. I use tomato puree and paste too but like to use the real thing better. I will not be home from end of October till early January so, I am sure this will be enough. If we can free up some more space, I may freeze some more later on.

I need to look through my pantry and share some of the stuff with mom. There is more than I can consume.

When we go to Ankara, I am going to look at her home and go for a big grocery shopping. I will also cook some stuff and stock her freezer. When she is alone, she doesn't want to cook and doesn't eat much. I am sure my uncle will stay with her at least for a while, when I am away. When he is around, I know he will cook a variety of food so, that's good. He can also take her shopping for fresh produce since my 2010 Nissan is in the garage of mom's apartment for their use. Mom never drove and I know, that is something she regrets.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's 76th Birthday. I am taking her out to dinner. My sister, brother-in-law and I bought her a new cell phone as a birthday present few weeks ago. Her old one was no longer charging well and she needed a bigger screen. She seems to have gotten used to it.

Mom is an archaelogist but, she never worked as one due to getting married right after College and having me a year after. She was a stay-at-home mom till I was 11 and my sister was 4. She was very bored and her working would contribute tremendously to the family budget since I had started a private school  So, she started to work for a Government Agency. She enjoyed her career and got retired when her parents and my dad's mom started needing care. After my uncle passed, my grandma on my father's side wanted to go to a nursing home but, mom said she would not let that happen as long as she herself does not need medical care. So, she brought grandma to live with her and my sister. She took her to several doctors because grandma had ignored her health, trying to look after a 60 year old alcoholic son, my uncle.

She was and still is the authority figure in our family. She made sure we got plenty of exercise outdoors, had balanced meals, stayed away from junk food and read lots of books. She used to spend lots of time when we were little teaching us songs, fun things to contribute to our motor skills and answered all our questions with patience. She also tutored a lot of neighborhood kids when asked for free. She had a way with children. I guess my grandma wanter her to be a teacher but she chose archaelogy instead.

I started to read when I was little over 4 and of course no school accepted me at the age of 5 but, the headmistress of a nearby school was a family friend and she said that, if I could write and do some simple math, she would be willing to put me through an exam to accept me for 2nd grade instead of starting me at 1st grade. All summer long, my mom collected every neighborhood kid at our dining room table and had them complete their summer homeworks, while teaching me writing and math so that I could be in a classroom like environment and get used to school. So, at the age of 6, I was accepted to 2nd grade.

My father was a worrier and he would not let us do some things he considered dangerous or things that might interfere with school. Mom always supported us and assured dad, things will be fine. When my sister started playing volleyball, she made sure, she picked her up from practice every night after school. She went to all her games.

She is an excellent mom and I love her to the moon and back. We spend a lot of time together and enjoy each other's company. I cannot say we get along 100% but close. We are both strong-willed and have our own ways so, sometimes we need time apart.

As I observe her age, I think new living arrangements should be made. I also know that, that responsibility is mostly mine since my sister has her auto-immune sickness to deal with, is still working and is married. I do not know what the days ahead will bring.

She wanted me to order the rollator last week. She says she doesn't want to hold me back from doing things and she tinks the rollator will help her keep up with me better. Isn't that amazing? She may be turning 77 but, her soul is not older than 35:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! WISHING YOU A LONG, PROSPEROUS AND HEALTHY LIFE!

Scattered Thoughts - Need to pick your brains

If you have read my previous post, this is about it. Ever since my friend asked for my help, there have been things bothering me at the background of my mind. So, I have decided to put them down here and see what my friends in the blogosphere has to say.

First, let me share some historical info:

There are 5 ex-employees of mine working for this particular company. I cannot say I liked them much and in fact, I was relieved when they left my former company on their own. They were making the environment toxic and affecting the others in a negative manner.

Guy 1: The head of the professional services team - He should be able to do what needs to be done in terms of my friend's needs, except that he is lazy. He always has a reason why he cannot do a certain thing. (all those things he could not do, could be done by others).

Guy 2: I actually liked his attitude, appreciated his knowledge and work and sent him to an event in the US, a rare perk of the job. I was hoping he would mentor the new recruits afterwards but, he resigned a week after the trip just because, he was offered a 5% better salary. I was willing to counter-offer but my ex-boss refused it. All that time he was getting ready to go to the US, he knew that he would resign. In my book that is not acceptable. He should have bowed out gracefully and let another colleague go.

Guy 3: Lazy, always complains, never in a good mood.

Guy 4: Lazy, never learns from mistakes. He is supposed to produce marketing material but he never ran a spell check despite being told several times. Always produces inferior quality work that needs to be touched up by someone else.

Gal 1: Did not have much interaction with her since she left shortly after I joined the former company. For all I know, she was known to be rude to the customers. She made an effort to come back but, my former boss did not accept her.

The owner of this company tried to recruit others from our team in the past but, they did not go since they loved my ex-boss and got along well with me as second in command. So, he recruited the bad apples in a way. However, since he did not let anyone go, they must have been working OK I guess. The owner seems satisfied. My ex-boss on the other hand, never liked any of them and when they wanted to leave, he did not move a finger not to lose any of them.

You may be thinking 5 people can not be all bad and there must be something wrong with me too. I am a bit of a perfectionist and even though I know, not everybody can be great, I like to see genuine effort. Not everybody can be an excellent worker but, they should at least try.

I do not think, I want to have anything to do with the above people anymore. I would never hire them, if I were the boss.

So, all the above had been bothering me in the background. My friend needs my support, has joined this company about 5 months ago. She is an excellent salesperson. On financial issues, she can be a pain in the butt, however, overall she is a nice person.

May be I should tell my friend all about this and leave it at that. If there is a way around working as a consultant without having to deal with these people directly, I may consider it.

What do you think?

Interesting Offer

Today an old colleague of mine called. At my last job, she reported to me for a while and left a few months after I did. She is now working for a competitor.

She basically told me she needed support at her new company. There are certain things I used to do at the former company and she says she needs those things adressed at her new company. I told her that I am not willing to work full-time. She says we can work it out so that, I could help them on my own terms sort of like a consultant working mostly from home and attending a few meetings every once in a while.

To be honest, I do not see what I can contribute but, I guess we need to talk further to see what we can come up with. I also told her that I would be gone for a long time for vacation. She thinks that could be managed.

I do not know what to think, at this point. This can be financially nice but it has a potential to be stressful. I must clear my head and talk some more to my friend.

Interesting, huh?

Housework is never done!

What a vicious circle housework is! Don't you think?

I thought I was done with laundry but mom reminded me that we needed to change the sheets on our beds! More laundry...

Then, I decided to process the meat I bought yesterday. Shanks went into the pressure cooker. I sauteed  a small part of the chopped meat for our taco dinner and the rest became meat patties to be frozen. Took me about an hour to do all that with the help of mom. I also had to hand wash quiet a bit of dishes because the machine was already full and working.

I also dusted our bedrooms and mom vacuumed them. I am allergic to house dust and since we weren't at home for almost a month and a half, the cleaning lady could not come. I wrote to her today that we were back and she said can come not this coming Sunday but, next Sunday. So, more dusting and vacuuming tomorrow. The bathroom needs to be cleaned as well. Ugh!

Have I ever told anyone that I hate housework? Give me all the chores outside the home and I will gladly take care of them. Housework? No thanks!

I like to cook but, do not like to clean up the kitchen. I do it beacuse I have to.

Mom is very neat and tidy. She cannot stand clutter or seeing things out of place. So, when she is home with me, I have to be as neat. I am not messy but, I may leave things around. I like clean but can stand some disarray.

Anyway, from today on, no cooking for us. We will only make a salad and pull the stuff from the freezer to go with it. Makes it so much easier.

I will go back to my exercise routine on Friday, I promised myself. I have not been bad but, I really haven't been watching what I ate lately. Ate more fruit than I should so, I gotta stop that.

The consulting company paid for my days and reimbursed my expenses. Nice!

Next week is a religious holiday here but, I do not practice any religion. I do contribute to charity on a regular basis though. I am not doing this because I am afraid that I will go to hell after I die. I just want to be a decent human being who helps others within her means. I do believe that there is a creator and that's it. As long as people do not hurt each other, suppress others or start wars, I do not care what they believe.

Back at home... again...

I hope, I will not be traveling anytime soon. I will drive mom to Ankara late August and return early September. Then I will most likely take the train to Ankara mid October for our doctor visits before my flight to the US. That is all I want to do.

We left Izmir early yesterday in the morning and went to a small town where we had a summer home many years ago. Mom said, she missed the place so, I decided to re-route. We made it there by lunch time, had lunch at my mom's favorite place, sat by the marina, had coffee and bought ourselves matching sun dresses. Lol!

Then we stopped at another town to visit an outlet store and looked at towels as if we needed more. She bought a pair of bedroom slippers and I bought a sheet for her bed.

We bought a water melon, two melons and some onions on the road.

All this activity and road took 12 hours. Mom told me she had a very happy day and that comment made my day. She was very exhausted this morning but still happy. So, I went out alone and did our food shopping. I did not buy vegetables since, I want to get them from the farmers market on Saturday. I bought a lot of meat for upcoming meals and fish for tonight's dinner.

I am glad we have food in the freezer that I cooked a couple of weeks ago. We do not need to cook much for a while. I am planning light meals such as a salad and some kind of meat. I would like to have a soft taco night since I have been craving that kind of food. I make my salsa and guacamole from scratch.

I also did three loads of laundry today so, I am exhausted. Good to be back at home.