Saturday, May 27, 2017

Save the Soup Jimmy

Wednesday was my three month check in with the Doctor, every three months I do blood work and then go in for him to tell me how marvelous I am doing.

This is all necessary due to my forty plus years of wrestling with Type One Diabetes and all the other things caused by it, frustration is a gentle way to describe it.

A quick example is my insulin, I have been using the exact same long acting insulin for years, then all of a sudden my insurance company placed it on a different list and my insulin price more than doubled, but to save money there is another which they claim works just as good for the lower price I was already paying.

I contacted my Doctor and he prescribed the other insulin, and since I began using this one my blood sugars are out of control, for a couple of months now we have upped the dose, split the dose, changed the amount of my short acting insulin, and adjusted my meal plan to no avail, this insulin is simply not working for me.

After about an hour of discussion on how I am not so marvelous now, my Doctor suggested a new insulin, made by the same company as my original one, and as described by him "an upgraded version of your old insulin" the prescription was faxed over to the pharmacy and now looking at the order guess what?........it costs the more than doubled price, go figure.

We left the medical complex and headed to the shopping center, our son Randy is getting married next month and Momma needs a new outfit, Cindy already has one picked out and saved on her phone, so we go to Pennys who has this outfit according to the net, but not only is the web wrong they hardly have anyone at the store who is willing to help, we did find one young lady but it was only her second day......

Three stores later and I find myself standing in a large department store with Cindy slinging everything the particular color she wanted towards me, some kind of purple, I was trying to be helpful;

"Hey Babe look at this one, it's cute"

"That's ugly!!!"

"Hey Babe how about this one, it's close to the color"

"That's blue, what's wrong with you?"

"Hey Babe would you call this sky blue?"

"You can't see the sky from here!"

I noticed a man standing close by grinning at us and said to him, "looks like you are doing the same thing I am" he looked at his wife and caught the skirt she tossed at him, "it appears so" he said, I replied "it looks like we are doing a good job?" "I'm not so sure, I guess that depends on who you ask"

We agreed that we would only ask each other and spent the next hour pointing and laughing whenever we crossed paths, giving each other the thumbs up, and following our wives around as they shopped, the last time I saw him was outside the dressing rooms, I said "it looks like we are still doing good" he said "you are doing better than me, I don't see you holding a purse"

I'm still not sure how I got out of that one.

Cindy loves the Olive Garden and we haven't been there in a while so needless to say that is where we ended up, on the way in Cindy said to me "now I want you to remember the last time we were here that glass of wine you got was eight bucks"

She was right, last time we came the waiter asked if I would like a wine sample, I said that I would, and then made the mistake of commenting on how good it was, he filled my glass and went about his business, I guess I had inadvertently ordered myself a glass of wine.

This time when asked I said that I would and that Cindy would like one too, the waitress brought two samples for each of us, so here we sat with four wine glasses in front of us, I enjoyed my first sample and slid the empty glass in front of Cindy, she looked as I replaced it with one of her samples, she doesn't drink so I wasn't going to allow them to go to waste, isn't that a form of alcohol abuse?

When all four samples were gone our meals had arrived, I didn't even get my fork picked up before Cindy was cutting off a piece of my chicken, I ordered the shrimp and chicken carbonara, and Cindy ate over half of my chicken and pasta, three quarters of the appetizers and half the salad, I did enjoy my shrimp and two more wine samples that neither of us asked for.

Cindy does love eating here and at the end of the meal my plate was clean and Cindy still had a full chicken breast and over half of her pasta "I can't believe how stuffed I am, and I didn't even finish my plate" she said, I just grinned because I knew why she was stuffed, she got a to go box and ordered a bowl of minestrone soup to take home for her Dad.

On the way to the car Cindy reminds me to pay attention to the soup, getting in the car she reminds me to not spill the soup, I place the bag on the floor between my feet, to go box in the bag, bowl of soup sitting on top, sealed of course, and then I buckle in for the ride home.

The freeway wasn't too crowded, we were laughing and talking about the day, I had just joked that I had somehow drank six glasses of wine (samples of course) and it didn't cost us anything, when suddenly all traffic in front of us stopped.

Cindy hit the brakes hard enough that my seat belt locked holding me to my seat, Cindys arm slapped across my chest, you know like your Momma always did when you were riding on the seat beside her, she would hit the brakes and throw her arm out at the same time to protect you, Cindy does this to me.

While all of this is happening I hear Cindy suddenly yell "Save the Soup Jimmy!!" I couldn't reach the soup, between the seatbelt and Cindy's arm holding me, all I could do was helplessly watch the soup bowl slide off of the to go box.

Later that evening we were sitting with Cindy's Dad telling him how our day went, while slurping on his soup all he said was "Now that's some good minestrone"

Do you talk to fellow shoppers and people you don't know when you are out shopping?

28 comments:

  1. Love the description of your shopping trip. It's iconic for married couples, isn't it. Did Cindy get a dress you both loved?

    I go both ways on the question about talking to fellow shoppers. A quick sentence here or there is my style if I'm in the mood. I live and shop in a friendly area and people to talk to one another from time to time.

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    1. Hi Jean, we didn't find what she wanted on Wednesday, she went shopping with her Cousins wife today and from the last phone call I believe she was successful.

      I usually find someone to talk with, not that I go looking but it happens, it's nice to live in a friendly area as you described.

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  2. I have attempted to converse with others but learned early on that it is not usually well received. Now I wait to see if anyone willmake the effort to speak to me. Most don't. I do bathe and use deoderant so it's not that...I guess I just don't look like the kind of person you want to get involved with even on a superficial level. Oh well.

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    1. Hi Delores, bathing and deodorant does make a difference sometimes....Seriously though sometimes it depends on where you are, traveling I have noticed that people respond to you differently in different states, not sure why, just something I've noticed, so with that said, It's not you, it's them.

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  3. I hate shopping, but you sound like a good husband to go along and help. I know she appreciated it too.

    Yikes on the medicine. All medicine is very expensive it seems. I hope you get your sugar levels back where they belong.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. Hi Sandee, Thank you I appreciate what you said.

      I really don't mind shopping with her, it's actually fun....most times, just got the new insulin in today...cross your fingers for me.

      A great weekend to you Sandee.

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  4. I hate that insurance dictates everything now. My wife is a diabetic (along with MS and Fibromyalgia) so she has to deal with all these changes constantly. The most recent that annoys us is now my insurance has said we have to use CVS pharmacy over Walgreens. We loved Walgreens, friendlier and no mistakes. We hate CVS, they constantly screw things up but because the insurance says we have to go there, we have to go there or pay more money.

    I'm not overly talkative to others but I'm always polite. So if someone started joking around with me I would just go with it and continue to chat but for the most part, I just keep to myself.

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    1. Hey Jeff, good to see you man, yes it's a shame that the insurance companies can change the game at a moment's notice and leave us no options other than theirs.

      We are still using Walgreens for the minor prescriptions but the more costly ones go through CVS mail off, this is where we get most of our surprises.

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  5. Hope at least the new meds work. Miserable how the pharmaceuticals gouge. Oddly they probably even sleep well at night.
    Well you not only made a friend for the day but got a fun blog post out of the trip. A win for sure. I enjoy conversations with total strangers. In this tourist town, if you make eye contact, you probably will have a conversation.

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    1. Hi Patti, the new insulin arrived today so we will begin with it tomorrow morning, I have faith it will work.

      I like a friendly town like you described where you live, I'd rather have folks talk than to avoid you.

      Good to see you Patti.

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  6. I will chat with people if they speak first, but I'd rather not. Hick and Genius are outgoing, and are the ones who strike up a conversation with strangers.

    When I'm out alone, I'm busy enough fending off the weirdos who mistake my lack of engagement for an invitation to get up close and personal. It's like when a person who dislikes cats visits somebody who has one, and it crawls all over them, purring.

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    1. Hi Val, yes it seems you are quite the popular person when you try to be incognito and blend in, I like the cat description because it is so true.

      I wonder if some of Hick and Genius outgoingness has rubbed off on you and you just haven't realized it yet?

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  7. I hope the new insulin keeps you stable, if it doesn't I'd suggest going back to the original and paying the extra price.
    I'm curious why Cindy ate most of your meal and didn't touch her own?
    And I'm proud of you hanging around and helping her shop. I know only a very few men who do that.

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    1. Hi River, I just started the new insulin this morning, I hope to see results in a few days, I'm paying the higher price for this one so if I am not happy with it I will definitely have to go back to the original one....

      Cindy and I have always done this with our food since we were first dating, we order two different things and then share, just worked out this time that I didn't get any of hers ha ha

      Thank you River, it's good to have you here my friend.

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  8. Being a solid UK citizen and having the advantage of free medical treatment I am horrified that you have to pay. Hope the updated medication works for you. Heehee I enjoyed reading about your shopping trip.

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    1. Good morning Valerie, healthcare is expensive here even with a good insurance plan the deductibles are still high.

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  9. Jimmy, my hubby went through the same thing with his meds for Barrett's Esophogus. The cheaper, generic version didn't work at all! Now, every single year, our insurance makes him 'try' the generic, then relents when he calls his doc and says it didn't work. So dumb!

    I had no idea that Olive Garden gives out free samples? Although maybe not allowed in our state as I know the wineries are not allowed to do that.

    I will talk to fellow shoppers if it looks like they can't reach something. I'm tall, so I like to help the height challenged...lol!

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    1. Hi Bijoux, the Olive Garden usually offers one wine sample, the waitress we had on Wednesday must have been in a generous mood because this was a first for me ha ha

      The generic medications I have had no luck with and sad thing is they are becoming pricy also, I am sure you and your husband are tired of this merry go round, I agree it is dumb.

      I like helping others out also, with you being tall I bet you are a big help to a lot of folks, that is very nice of you.

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  10. I could just picture all of this as I read it! That said, I NEVER bring the husband with me to go shopping for clothes - the marriage might not survive it.

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    1. Hi Abby, most shopping trips end up this way, we never found what she needed, but on Saturday she went shopping with her cousins wife and had exactly what she was looking for along with shoes in half the time ha ha

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  11. I remember a time my husband was staying in North Carolina & I went to stay with him for a while. I was having a cigarette outside the grocery store & every single person, young & old, said "Hello" to me!!

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    1. Hey Fran, It's funny how people in different areas treat one another, some will talk to you like you mentioned while others will completely ignore you, I guess it's all in what you are accustomed to.

      Good to see you Fran.

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  12. It took years but I've learned to slip away from my wife when she is shopping. At home there is nothing much for me to do except go back to the car and hope I have book in the backseat to read.

    On vacation though when she talks me in to go with her to all the Orlando outlet malls there are a couple small bars that I hangout at while she tries to melt the plastic credit cards.

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  13. I never shop with my partner. We don't like the same stuff or the same kind of shops so we always do our own thing. It works for us!

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    1. Hi Joey, that's what it is all about doing what works for you two, if you don't care for the shops that the other one likes then it would be a messed up day for one of you.

      Good to see you Joey.

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  14. Hope you have good luck with the new insulin. It's frustrating, the games insurance companies play. Why does healthcare have to be a for-profit thing?

    I don't mind talking to people while shopping, but I let others make the first move. Sometimes I wonder if I look like an authority on groceries, because people constantly approach me with questions. "Why did you knock on that cantaloupe?"

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    1. The new insulin is working better so far, I am pleased with the initial results and believe this one will do the trick, the only drawback is that it is at the higher price...go figure.

      You are evidently an approachable person otherwise folks wouldn't seek your advice.

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