Calling all Chicago DISers #3

[Stitchfans]

Hi all. Probably not the place to be saying this, but our Thanksgiving really was horrible. DH tried to commit suicide. He took an overdose of some pills because he thought they were going to fire him from work. Even after saying this aloud it sounds so unreal and stupid. They have been firing people left and right for super silly reasons. The biggest reason is due to many of them not changing over to a different union. He is a truck driver, and union 705 has the better pension, health insurance, so on.

He has been paying into this for about 9-10 years. His employer does not want to continue paying into it so they have been firing drivers for whatever reason they can find just to get rid of them. It is super busy, and they have been running their drivers raged. DH has been so exhausted that he called in sick. He kept on saying since it was so busy and he called in they for sure would fire him. I told him that was nonsense to fire him for calling in sick. He hasn't called in for the past 5 years.

Meanwhile I had noticed he has been shaking more than normal, and he also confessed to me while in the hospital last night that he is afraid that he has Parkinson's disease. His mother had it. I looked up the symptoms, and sure enough he fits tons of them. I will discuss that with the doctor when I go in today. Meanwhile I am functioning on 3 hours sleep because I can not stop crying. I can not believe he was foolish enough to do something like this. He is in ICU right now and the health insurance stinks. We are going to owe the hospital a bundle after all of this. Sorry to burden you all like this. I just needed someone to talk to. I will never understand how anyone can feel something is so bad that they would try to do something like this.

 

[slo]

Who here went shopping this morning?
Not me I need my sleep to put up the rest of my Christmas decorations today
If you went out - what kind of great deals did you get?


How was everyone's day yesterday?
Mine was wonderful!!!!
I have a lot of leftovers which is great Today is my annual Corn Pudding and Green Bean Casserole leftover lunch. I've been doing this since - forever


jga - I wonder if the PetSmart here takes expired coupons I will have to look into that - thanks for mentioning it!!!!

HERSEY - It's to bad that this saga is continuing - I would like to have it done.
*What kind of desserts did you make?

BigV - So good to see you!!!!! Come by more often and visit!!!

ID - I understand what you mean - I felt the same way about my grandma. I will keep her in my prayers

Rosemarie and Kim -







Stitchfans - So many hugs to you!!!!
Please never feel wrong about telling us things - that's what we are here for

I am so sorry to hear about the stress and upsettness your DH has been feeling. No one can ever know what goes through someones head when they are so burdened with upsettness.

I will keep him in my prayers to have some peace in his life, and to understand that he needs some help in order to get better.
I will keep you in my prayers to help deal with all this, and for you to have some peace too.

Please remember that we are here for you - and when you need someone to talk to, we are right here

Take care and God Bless!!!!!








Well, Katie is now up, which means I need to get her apple juice for her
Then I need to get myself dressed and makeup on, so if my employee calls for something, than I can go in right away
I sure hope she doesn't need me today, because I have alot of decorations to put up

Have a good Friday everyone!!!

 

[HERSEY]

Stich I am sorry you are going through this now. The holiday bring on more stress than a lot of people can handle. Don't worry about the bills for now. Right now your husband needs you. I hope everything works out. again.

Slo I made a tirmasu cake and a pumpkin cheesecake. I was going to make a snickerdoodle pie but I thought with a pumpkin pie also it would bring way too many leftovers.

BigV Nice to see you stopped in. Don't be such a stranger

 

[Bunchkin]

Stitchfans Lots of hugs for you! I'm so sorry to hear what happened. I can understand how a possible job loss can burden someone, especially the man of the house. They take things like this much harder then they appear to. Like Hersey said, try not to worry about the hospital bills for now. Most hospitals have billing plans, and really worrying about that will just possibly make your DH feel worse. Just concentrate on helping him deal with his worries and depression. How is your younger DD handling all this? My prayers will be with all of you.

 

[Bunchkin]

Too much food yesterday!
FIL didn't end up coming over. But DH brought him over a lot of food later in the evening.

At around 6pm I went over to Michaels craft store to take advantage of their coupon for yesterday. Got a lot of American Girl craft/scrapbook items for DD. And stocking stuffers too. And something for DS as well.
I was there and back so quick the kids didn't even realize I was gone!
And the store was quite full.

We stayed up way too late last night watching tv, and then decided to shop online for a few things in the Black Friday ads. It has ended up being such a hassle! I think the web site, Toys R Us, had some major malfunction last night and flubbed big time. I couldn't get any help last night, their phones must have been jammed with people calling. Needless to say as of this morning it looks like they will cancel the order, which is what I wanted to happen. We'll see what happens.

So after little sleep, DH got up and hit a few places. I think he's done more Black Friday shopping then I have!!
He went to Sam's Club and got Microsoft office home & student for under $60!!!! We really needed this! And so does DD for school.
We've been putting off buying it because of it's normal price.
Then we went to Office Depot to get a new Kodak camera for DD. Great deal on that and it came with a case and SD card too.
Then he went to TRU to buy the stuff that we were having a problem buying online. No terrible lines there, and it was orderly. Only a few people at a time let into certain areas, like the video game/electronic section.

DH is now at his dad's working on a leaky kitchen sink and I expect him to crash when he gets back from lack of sleep.

And DS is even sicker then he was the other day. His whole class has been sick including the teacher. She put a bottle of hand sanitizer in the middle of each grouped desks!


slo I hope you don't get called in today so you can decorate. We need to get our Christmas stuff out too today.


BigV Stop by more often! And I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving too!

Hersey We miss you and Alex too!!! Your desserts sound really yummy! Mail me a slice or two, ok?

irish dancer Hugs for you and your mom.



I should run and get the kids movin. And I need to take DS's temp again.

Have a great 'Black Friday' everyone!!

 

[Big V]

Stitchfan So sorry about your DH. I know, being a guy myself, that we don't always pour our hearts out to our DW's and keep a lot of stuff in. I hope your DH can get the help he needs. Don't worry about the hospital bills. They will get taken care of eventually, but you need to have your DH around for a long time right?
Scott

 

[piglet too]

Stitch ~ I am sorry to hear about your husband. I will keep you all in my thoughts.

 

[princess.chell]

Hi everyone. I've been lurking around, reading about everyone's goings on without time to add in mine. It's been kind of crazy in my life lately. Thanksgiving was nice. Seeing most of my family is always fun, but the number of kids shrinks each year. This year it was my 21 year old guy cousin, my 19 year old girl cousin, me (18), my 15 year old brother, my 9 year old guy cousin, my 7 year old girl cousin, and my 20 month old "cousin". The two oldest want nothing to do with the youngest three and the youngest three want everything to do with my brother and I, since we see them the most often. They are adorable though so I play with them all the day. Much fun =) Too much food as always, those extra desserts really put me over the edge. Gotta run it off tomorrow morning...

Stitchfans-
I'm really sorry to hear about your husband's attempt. Two Sunday's ago, a friend's older brother committed suicide. I don't think anyone can ever fully understand why someone tries to take their life: a momentary lapse in strength, the lack of belief that others are there for them, the feeling that life can never get better, the thinking that everyone would be better off if they weren't there, anything can cause that tipping point for someone who is on the edge. I really hope your husband can get through this; I'm willing to bet he can with you by his side. I'll keep you and your husband and your family in my thoughts.

 

[JohnsPrincess]

Hello everyone...I saw on the first page that if we'll be visiting the area to feel free to pop on!

My Dh PCS'd to Little Rock at the beginning of Aug and I've been in Kuwait (16 more days!!!!). Anyways, his family is all mostly up in St. Louis so his cousin and I are in the beginning stages of planning a girls trip to Chicago. Probably mid-late Jan (brrrrrr) for a few days.

She's been there before, but not on her own like this (she's 20) and I've never been. The only thing I know I want to do is go to the American Girl & Disney Stores. LOL

Any advice on cool places to see?? Places to stay that are Nice/Safe/Clean but not horribly expensive?? I don't know if Chicago has a subway system (?) but if not...an area near a bunch of things to do as I'd rather not take taxis all over!

 

[slo]

I had a good and successful day yesterday.
The house looks really great but not finished.
I need to work today, so I can't finish, but I will tomorrow. The only things that's left is the light up garland and bows on the banisters, put up my Precious Moments Sugar Town, and wrap certain pictures in Christmas wrapping paper, so they look like hanging presents. After that I'm done
*For the first time since Stephanie started walking I brought out my Nativity. It's a Precious Moments Nativity Set, with all the extras, and Kevin built me a beautiful Manger building for it. I didn't realize how much I missed it, until I brought it out yesterday - it's good seeing it again after 10 years


Stitchfans - I've been thinking so much about you I know you are going to be very busy, and not home much, but when you get a chance, please check in to let us know you and your DH are okay

HERSEY - We had a pumpkin cheesecake too, but I bought it from a cheesecake bakery in town. I bet your desserts were yummy!!!

Bunchkin - I'm glad you got some good deals yesterday
**I'm sorry to hear about Hunter being sick I hope he feels better real soon

chell - I"m glad you had a very nice Thanksgiving
**You are a very wise 18yr old - I bet your parents are really proud of you!!!

JohnsPrincess -
I'm not good on advice for hotels, but I would recommed going to one of the museums, aquarium, and Navy Pier. Eat at Ed Debevics, Ginos East Pizza, or Webber Grill.
*Come by any time with questions

To everyone else -



Time to go get ready for work - Booo!!!!!
I'm really not in the mood to go today

Have a good day today!!!

 

[JohnsPrincess]

JohnsPrincess -
I'm not good on advice for hotels, but I would recommed going to one of the museums, aquarium, and Navy Pier. Eat at Ed Debevics, Ginos East Pizza, or Webber Grill.
*Come by any time with questions

Thank you! I've written down your suggestions!

 

[HERSEY]

Hello everyone...I saw on the first page that if we'll be visiting the area to feel free to pop on!

My Dh PCS'd to Little Rock at the beginning of Aug and I've been in Kuwait (16 more days!!!!). Anyways, his family is all mostly up in St. Louis so his cousin and I are in the beginning stages of planning a girls trip to Chicago. Probably mid-late Jan (brrrrrr) for a few days.

She's been there before, but not on her own like this (she's 20) and I've never been. The only thing I know I want to do is go to the American Girl & Disney Stores. LOL

Any advice on cool places to see?? Places to stay that are Nice/Safe/Clean but not horribly expensive?? I don't know if Chicago has a subway system (?) but if not...an area near a bunch of things to do as I'd rather not take taxis all over!

Here is my favorite website http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en.html

Chicago is beautiful with a lot of things to do. My brain is stuck in sleepy mode still. Let me get some coffee and I'll post ideas.

 

[geffric]

Morning..
Thanksgiving was great. I had my family and DH's brother. they all wanted to talk with Geoff and see how college was going. I am so proud of him, he has adjusted and is making his way..
Eric had a show last night, it was great and Geoff went to hear him too.. that was a first..I was on call yesterday but wasn't needed. Then they called me at 8 pm.. some one hadn't shown up but I was at Eric's concert and didn't have a car.so i was of no help.. I work tonight ..


Stitchfans.. My thoughts and prayers are with you in this difficult time..

 

[Stitchfans]

Thank you everyone. I am trying to be strong. Not good for DH to see me crying. That is why I do all my crying at home. One more day in ICU than to the 3rd floor for phyc as they call it. Haven't been able to connect with any doctors to see what is going on. They seem to be coming in after visiting hours. Don't even know who he is seeing. He appears to be doing much better. I was joking with him, and told him that if nothing else at least maybe this stay in the hospital can help him kick his habit of smoking. Need to take care of our cats, eat something then get cleaned up and go to the hospital. Thanks again everyone, you have all been so nice to me.

 

[irish dancer]

to Stitchfans, so sorry about your DH. Will keep you both in my prayers. Please keep in touch and know that you can vent here anytime.

Hi guys! Well, we're in the frozen north . We're spending the weekend at BILs cabin in WI, near Manitowoc. Going to a Christmas parade tonight in Two Rivers, WI. All I can picture is A Christmas Story.

geffric - so glad Geoff is adjusting well to college. Have a great night at work!

JohnsPrincess - Welcome!! Not too good on hotels either but I agree that any of the museums, Navy Pier and Michigan Ave are great. Public transportation in Chicago is GREAT so you shouldn't need to use taxis. Check out http://www.transitchicago.com/ and http://www.rtachicago.com/. Will you be flying in or driving?

slo - wow, you are doing great with decorating. Wish I was doing that this weekend too. Hope to be home early enough Sunday to get it all down from the attic so I can work on it during the week.

MJ - I hear ya on too much food especially the desserts, I think I was still full Fri morning.

Bunchkin - hope Hunter is feeling better soon!
*Wow, you guys did great on the shopping. Wasn't planning on trying for anything but DD12 informed me that JCP had a coat she wanted on Black Friday deal and she has no winter coat so off we went. Ended up with a wool/cashmere pea coat, regular price $200 for $49.88!

to everyone else! Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!! Well, it's lunchtime so I'd better run. Have a great one!!

 

[paintnolish]

Hey! Tgiving was great! It was a lot of work, but it was fun and everything turned out delicious. My Gpa came down from Chicago (my aunt brought him), which was nice since he'd never been down to see our house. He seemed to have a nice time visiting. They got a hotel and came back for bfast in the morning. My sister and her dh spent Wed. and Thur. night, so it was fun hanging out with them, too.
Stitch-
ID- Don't stick your tongue to a pole, even if you are triple dog dared!
Johnsprincess- You have gotten some great suggestions. How about some theater? Also, one of my fave Chicago restaurants is The Italian Village. If you are venturing out of the city a bit, check out Brookfield Zoo. Have a great trip!
princesschell- Glad you had a nice Tgiving. We had too many desserts, too. I have a sweet tooth and ended up feeling way too full! I work tonight, though, so hopefully it will be very busy and I can work some of it off! Waitressing is a decent work out sometimes!
Bunchkin- BIL and I had planned on going shopping in the morning. I got up and got ready but didn't hear movement from their room, only snoring. So I went back to bed! He had already left and it was their dog who was snoring! Oh well! He got some games from Best Buy.
Hersey- XH used to make a tiramisu cheesecake. I think that was his only good quality!
Slo- Hope you have lots of shoppers today so the day goes by quickly!

Piglet, momto, Gef, Tig, everyone....Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

[HERSEY]

Bunchkin- BIL and I had planned on going shopping in the morning. I got up and got ready but didn't hear movement from their room, only snoring. So I went back to bed! He had already left and it was their dog who was snoring! Oh well! He got some games from Best Buy.
Hersey- XH used to make a tiramisu cheesecake. I think that was his only good quality!

Ok now I'm being compaired to an X! And here I thought you liked me.
I have 2 dogs and a cat that snore. It sounds like 3 old men when they get going.

 

[irish dancer]

Just back from the Christmas parade in Two Rivers, it was exactly as I expected. Very quaint, small town America. It lasted quite a long time too, about an hour. There were 3 bands, police, fire, buisnesses with decorated floats, family groups, scouts, Shriners, clowns, anitque cars and Santa. It was fun but a bit too long and COLD. We were dressed for the weather but at 38 degrees it still got cold. Definitely worth the experience but don't think we'll make it a tradition.

Heading home tomorrow, hopefully early, want to get the decorations out of the attic and need to get the uniforms and backpacks ready for Monday.

paint - LOL, couldn't even get me to do that for any dog dare! DH and I love that movie, think we'll have to dig out that DVD.

Well, time for the family slide show BIL has put together. Have a good night all!

 

[JohnsPrincess]

Here is my favorite website http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en.html

Chicago is beautiful with a lot of things to do. My brain is stuck in sleepy mode still. Let me get some coffee and I'll post ideas.

Awesome, thank you! I don't know why I didn't think to google the Top 10 or something! I'll be checking this link out as soon as I finish reading this thread!

 

[JohnsPrincess]

JohnsPrincess - Welcome!! Not too good on hotels either but I agree that any of the museums, Navy Pier and Michigan Ave are great. Public transportation in Chicago is GREAT so you shouldn't need to use taxis. Check out http://www.transitchicago.com/ and http://www.rtachicago.com/. Will you be flying in or driving?

Thank you!! We're not 100% sure yet. I haven't driven in the snow/ice in about 7 years so *I* don't really want to drive and I'd feel bad making my cousin drive the whole way. We're checking out flight prices. And I think she'd said there was a train so we're looking at that too!

What sort of things are on Michigan Ave??