Making Life Easier For A Senior Loved One

All of us wish that our parents and loved ones could stay young forever. However, the reality is that the people we love age and get older. All of us want to make life as comfortable as possible for our senior loved ones. If you have an older relative in your life and you want to make his or her life a little easier, then follow this advice.

Making Bath Time Safer and Simpler

Many seniors begin to struggle with bathing and hygiene tasks as they get older. Getting in and out of the bathtub, for example, can not only be challenging, but pose a risk of a slip or a fall. If you want to make your senior loved one's bathing time a whole lot safer, have a handicap accessible shower installed. It allows your loved one to maintain his or her independence without posing any safety risks.

Help Them With Access To Technology

Many seniors didn't grow up with a lot of the technology that is common today and therefore have difficulty using technological devices. Similarly, eyesight issues can make screens difficult to read. Look for senior accessible devices to help make your loved one's life a little easier. For example, there are many cell phones available that are specifically designed for older people, without all the bells and whistles of most phones. There are also remote controls that feature oversize buttons for easier usage.

Be Sure They're Always Connected

Falls, slips and other emergencies can happen. Be sure that your senior loved one can always call for help no matter where they are in their home. For some, this might mean always having a cell phone on their person. For others, look into push-button emergency services alerting systems. While it might seem like a big investment, it can be a lifesaver in the event of an accident or emergency.

We all want our senior parents and loved ones to be happy, healthy and safe. If you follow these tips, you can give your loved one the most comfortable life possible.

Although some are born with musical inclination, there are some people out there who are interested in music and playing instruments but do not know where to start to get the training they need. It wasn’t too long ago when husband became interested in playing the guitar and did researched on some good places to learn. There are tons of free online video tutorials to get you started but I think going to a professional for some lessons like the ones I saw that university park fl was offering might be a great idea. They may cost more but it’s always beneficial to learn from professionals.

I thought I'd go all out and set up some nice Fall/Halloween backdrop for my little guy's photo shoot. He didn't really have a nice Halloween picture last year so I thought I'd take two photos of him this year wearing two different outfits. Here's a couple from that session. I had fun! I love taking his photos. He may not share the same feelings about his pictures taken but he did cooperate, sorta', lol!!! I got some good smiles out of him though so that's all that matters. And he was generously compensated for this session, hahaha!!!

It is that time of the year again. I'd like to shop for Christmas gifts early just like last year. December is a busy month for us. Both Jeff and Caleb will be celebrating their birthdays in December, then there's Christmas as well. I think it helps if I buy gifts a month or so in advance. I am not quite sure what to get for my almost 5 year old though. He seems to have everything. He outgrows trains, trucks and stuff. He's into dinosaurs but I think I've already bought him all the dinosaur replicas out there, lol!!! So I have no idea what to get him this year. As for Jeff though, I might get him something music or guitar related. I saw this awesome John Lennons Guitar online and it looks like a nice addition to his collection.

I have been MIA for a while, lol! But glad I’m back. I didn’t expect it but my photography hobby is really taking off. I have been very busy photographing babies and families lately. And I am really enjoying it so much that I had no choice but to let blogging take a back seat. I didn’t wanna give it up for good though for I find myself occasionally wanting to blog. So to give you some updates. I recently did our own family fall session. Not sure how the boys would take it so thought we’ll just do it in the comforts of our own backyard, lol! Saves us all the heartache in case the session won’t go well as planned. But thankfully, it went pretty good. We had some good ones and we all had laughs during the shoot. Here’s a few from that session.

 

My favorite 4 year old model of all time, lol!

 

I had so much fun photographing my exuberant little munchkin. Weeks before, I told him that I will be taking pictures of him and he said he's going to pose for me, lol! He was actually excited and I think he had fun in the first ten minutes of the session, lol! Well, kids lose interest easily so I'm not actually surprised. But I did manage to get a few good shots of him including some goofy ones.

Dogs are great to have as pets. They're fun, loyal and great companions. Like humans, they do feel physical pain. They get hungry, get sick and feel bored and lonely. I am actually impressed with how much people here take care of their pets. My co-worker even takes her dog for a regular haircut and grooming. I could only imagine if her dog gets sick. I'm sure he gets the tender loving care that he deserves. When pets get sick, I think it's important that we know what to give them or at least know where to find it. I know NSAIDs are very common pills for humans to take whenever they feel any pain. It's not surprising that there's actually an equivalent drug that helps with pain and inflammation in dogs. And you can actually easily get it here if you're interested. Of course, it's always best to consult the veterinarians before giving something to our furry friends.

As some of you may have known, I have developed an interest in photography since last year. Like many people, I consider myself a self-taught "photographer". I use the word photographer very loosely for I know I have still so much things to learn when it comes to this art. I can't help but be very proud of myself though of the things that I have learned and how far I have come after just a year of thorough Youtube watching and immersing in any tutorials and books I could take my  hands on. A year ago, I absolutely know nothing about shooting outside of "Auto" mode. I wasn't even interested in DSLRs back then because I thought they are very intimidating and only the professionals should have them. But something in me sparked my interest in learning about DSLR when my 3-year old boy then accidentally dropped my cheapo Canon point and shoot during our family Christmas picture taking, lol! I vowed I would do everything in my power to learn the basics of photography before even considering which DSLR to buy first. And I did! After 3 months of constant reading and watching videos, I thought I am ready to get my hands dirty. Hubby bought me a Canon T3i. Eventually we upgraded lenses and some accessories. The rest they say is history. I  mean I don't claim to be a great one but I think I did good considering the circumstances.

Now a little over a year after, I've realized that I wanted to concentrate on Portrait Photography. I have done free sessions for friends and because I am ambitious, lol! I thought I would like to slowly build my name out there as a portrait photographer in our town, lol! Seriously though, I am currently building my portfolio hoping to get more experience. I thought I'd start low and cheap as I build up my clientele at the same time hone my skills and artistry. I am really excited on this one. I have made a few bookings already and I just can't wait to photograph babies and families this year. So I have designed some flyers as part of  my marketing strategy for this year. Hopefully this would have a great turn-out!

Just about the time I started to develop an interest in photography, my wonderful hubby had taken a new hobby for himself. I have mentioned before that he's really good at woodworking. He likes to do that during the warmer months but he gets really stuck with nothing else to do besides sitting in front of the computer during our long frigid winter here in Montana. I think it's a brilliant idea that he wanted to learn how to play the guitar. We are both self-taught as far as our hobbies are concerned. I mean kudos to those people who can afford to take formal lessons in photography but I think the internet is so full of useful information that any beginners like me could use. So anyway, hubby bought himself a Fender electric guitar for beginners, a couple of CD tutorial videos and watched tons of YouTube videos. The more he learned about guitars, the more interested he gets. He added an acoustic guitar a few months after and also bought a nice amplifier along with a bunch of accessories. And I think he's wanting to get a new acoustic-electric kind of a guitar soon. I told him he should check out the new Martin Ed Sheeran X Signature edition guitar and if he likes it, he could actually preorder it for summer. Life is too short not to have fun, lol! I am glad we're both enjoying our new found hobbies in life.

I love the holidays! People seem to be more festive, cheery and wealthy, lol! I mean look at how crowded the stores and streets can get during the holidays. Apparently, holidays are a good excuse for most people to splurge, me included. As early as October, I have been shopping for my little guy. His birthday falls in December so he gets twice as much gifts as most kids, lol! Did I mention that I love to shop, lol? You can see me in the stores almost every weekend. And more often than not, I will get something for myself and family every payday, lol! I know, I’m terrible. I do manage to still save though but I will try to spend less and save more for year 2015.

Anyway, I was a little bit late in putting up my Christmas tree. But once I got done, I was pretty much satisfied with how it looked. I must admit I don’t have the gift of decorating so I pretty much just wing it, just whatever looks good enough, lol! For this year, I decorated our 7-ft tree with everything hot pink and accentuated it with something lime green and bright blue. Hubby and I love how it came out. It looked vibrant and festive. After dealing with some kinks with the Christmas lights (some are burnt out), with the help of my 4-year old, we managed to make our Christmas tree look nice and ready for the holidays. Of course, I took tons of pictures, lol! So below are some of them. I thought before I’ll take the tree down, I will share some pictures on my blog. So here you go….

This sweet little guy just turned four years old a few weeks ago. He got all his favorite construction trucks and a nice Thomas and Friend’s train set for presents. We didn’t throw a real party but we gave him a nice small construction themed birthday surprise. I thought this would be a perfect chance for me to practice photography at the same time let him enjoy his birthday. I used up a small space in his playroom and turned it into a makeshift mini birthday shoot setup, complete with construction themed backdrop and balloons. And oh, he loved his “little builder” birthday cake and 24 cupcakes with the same theme for his preschool friends that I ordered from Walmart. Below are some of the photos from two separate shoots that I did for his birthday.

Obviously, this was an overdue post but I'm still going to share it anyway, lol! We lucked out this year. None of us got sick in October. Woohoo! So we tried to do something fun for him in relation to Halloween. We took him to a church-sponsored pumpkin patch. I think he had fun. There's so much pumpkin to choose from but we ended up buying only 3...because that was all he wanted, lol! He picked all three and he put stickers all over them when we got  home, lol! Funny kid!

I was aware that he was a little overdressed for the event but I was hoping to get some decent shots of him while he's there so I put on his formal outfit. Unfortunately, there were too many people walking around to really get a good shot so I just settled with some candid poses. Below are some of my favorites.

Health is wealth. It may sound like a cliché but nothing else matters if you’re not healthy or won’t be able to afford quality health care for your family. Being government employees (hubby is a federal and I am a state employee), I would say one of the perks of having these jobs is the health insurance coverage, most especially Montana State employees. In addition to the State’s contribution towards our insurance policies, we even have nice health centers where State employees and their families can visit 100% free of charge. No co-pays thus no out of pocket expenses. My 3-year old gets sick very often and I always take him there. If they need to run more tests like lab tests, X-rays, ultrasounds and such, they will refer the patients to the bigger hospital in town. And the best part of it is that it’s absolutely free. I didn’t have to pay a dime when they did an ultrasound scan on my gallbladder when they suspected it to have stones. My little munchkin recently had a bad wheezing cough that lasted for weeks and they had to XRay him and we didn’t get charged for it because the state health center ordered the test. I mean it’s absolutely amazing health coverage that Montana provides to their employees.

On top of that, we have free health coaching, free dietitian, once a year free eye checkup, free preventive screenings such as cervical cancer screening, mammography, well-child care, routine immunizations, diabetes screening and more, all provided by the State to its hard working employees. Why does the state dump so much money investing for their employees health? (one may ask) It’s quite simple. Because an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. In the long run, the state can save a lot of money with the health care insurance expenses if they stay on top of their employees’ health issues. Definitely makes sense! And so because of that, I think we are very lucky. But that doesn’t mean if you’re not government employed, you can’t have great insurance providers as well. You’re just gonna have to do your research and find a great agent for health coverage that’s gonna help you meet your health care needs without spending a ridiculous amount of money.

I have gone through earphones like crazy. I usually buy the cheap ones in my favorite color but to be honest, they don’t really last very long with mediocre sound quality. So when my last set broke on me again for less than a year, I’ve decided to just get me a nice, expensive shure 315 earphones. They are awesome. This particular model blocks ambient noise because of its custom fit sound isolating sleeves. It’s truly high quality and the buds fit comfortably in my ear. Definitely worth the price.