I hate calling people on the phone. Correction....I hate calling people I do not know super, extra well on the phone. I am good with family and best friends. Can talk for hours on the phone with several of my best friends (and yes, I do have several, and it is possible to consider them all "best"). But if I have to call, say, Purolator to pick up a package, or a guest to see if they will be coming back to Chorus, or anything like that, I freeze up. My mind turns to oatmeal, and trying to accomplish the call is a real struggle to not look like a blithering idiot. Most times I fail miserably, stuttering or not making myself clear or forgetting important things or whatever.
Keeping that in mind, you will understand what a difficult time I had this morning. Add to my usual phone call woes the extra stress of...having to file a report with Child Protection Services. Something happened in my neighbourhood, and according to their website, if you do not report something, they can fine your butt right off your body, and put the rest of you in jail until you are moldy. So I did. It was hard, it was scary, it was humiliating to have such trouble making my report over the phone and trying to remember everything they needed to know. I think I finally managed to answer all the questions to their satisfaction, and I hope they do the best for the parties involved. And I hope I never, ever again have to make a phone call of that type. And not just because of my stress level. I'm not that shallow. I hope no child in my neighbourhood has to go through this anymore either.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
NaNoWriMo, rainbow laces, and other such stuff
Okay, it's time for me to write in my blog again, not so much because anybody is really waiting for it, but more because my brain is getting backlogged with all the little split-second "gee, I should write in my blog about that" thoughts.
So here goes. This will be somewhat disjointed as, as well you can see in the title, I have thoughts on many different topics.
First of all...if you are in the something like 48% of Canadians who did NOT vote in the election on October 14th...SHAME ON YOU! I was embarrassed to call myself a Canadian, with all of you who have the right, the PRIVILEGE, the duty of making a decision for who should be in charge of running this country of ours. I voted. I knew I would not be in the province on the day of the election, so I made SURE that I presented myself at the advance polls, hopping along on my CRUTCHES with two children in tow! I know of one friend from high school who is doing missions in Niger who made the effort to have a ballot MAILED to her, so SHE could put in her vote. To all of you who did not vote...no complaining. At all. Not a single word, grumble, gripe, or whine. You chose not to vote, you chose to deal with the results. By choosing not to make a choice, you made a choice. Deal with it. Don't like it? Next time, vote, and get all your other friends to vote...THEN if you don't like the results, you can complain.
My ankle, by the way, is getting better...at a snail's pace, but better. As long as I have the brace on, I'm good. Can walk, run if necessary (Shhh...don't get on my case, Hubby...I said if necessary), and more or less ignore the ankle. Take off the brace and we're talking a pretty stiff ache going on.
Since I don't have a cast but rather this white brace with laces you could rope a steer with, I decided to spice it up a little bit, after 5 weeks of white. So I went to the dollar store. They had 4 pairs of rainbow laces for $1. To be precise, they had 4 pairs of laces for $1. The sets were all one design (with varying colours) of rainbow stripes, or dots, or hearts, or a hot pink on white checkered pattern, or camouflage. And being the person I am, I went straight for the rainbow ones. Took two full sets of laces (and could have used 2 1/2 sets if I wanted to have the exact length) to replace the long white one. Should be fun to go out in public. :)
Now as far as NaNoWriMo goes, another friend (Brad) and my Dad indirectly reminded me that this was coming up. This is what got my Dad (Robert Scott) into writing what became the draft of his first book of the three he's got either published or coming out thus far (Advertising Murder [out April 2007], Lost Youth [out September 2008], and Murder Express [coming Christmas Eve 2008]). I have been dabbling in writing for years now, since I started university, and made a ton of notes, and even started typing stuff up....and then started having kids, and things just got busy and it sat and sat and sat. Now, in the same spirit of my friend, I do not have time to write for 2-3 hours a day, but at the same time, I'd really like to get my story out of my notebook and onto paper. It's an autobiography in fiction form (as in, an autobiography told within a fictional setting)...if I can get it done, maybe I can get it published somewhere. Who knows?
Hubby has discovered that his health is not what it used to be...I guess I just cook too well. He has a bit of a beach ball and has discovered his job of mostly sitting at computer desks or behind the wheel of his van leaves him...well...breathless...after a simple walk in the wind. So he asked me today what I thought of an idea of his. I quit doing papers back in May because of the lack of sleep and the severe hatred of being out in the cold in the dead of winter. He has decided HE would like to do papers in the mornings, both for the exercise and for the extra $200 or whatever that he would get from doing a regular route...he stays up late anyway and doesn't mind the cold (I DID, after all, find him up in the NWT), so he'll be fine in the cold and will just switch his habits around a bit to go to bed at a decent hour and get up early instead. Guess who is going to be stuck with being his sub when he is sick, but hey...I guess I can handle doing one route, once in awhile. And the money will help us pay for Christmas and birthday gifts, and slowly beat off the debts, too. And if he keeps it up, he'll burn off the beach ball, get great leg muscles, and together we'll work on getting healthier and end up looking like supermodels. Ha ha ha ha. Okay, we'll get healthier and look better. Good enough.
There's probably another zillion thoughts back in my head somewhere, but they aren't coming yet. I think this is enough for now anyway. :)
So here goes. This will be somewhat disjointed as, as well you can see in the title, I have thoughts on many different topics.
First of all...if you are in the something like 48% of Canadians who did NOT vote in the election on October 14th...SHAME ON YOU! I was embarrassed to call myself a Canadian, with all of you who have the right, the PRIVILEGE, the duty of making a decision for who should be in charge of running this country of ours. I voted. I knew I would not be in the province on the day of the election, so I made SURE that I presented myself at the advance polls, hopping along on my CRUTCHES with two children in tow! I know of one friend from high school who is doing missions in Niger who made the effort to have a ballot MAILED to her, so SHE could put in her vote. To all of you who did not vote...no complaining. At all. Not a single word, grumble, gripe, or whine. You chose not to vote, you chose to deal with the results. By choosing not to make a choice, you made a choice. Deal with it. Don't like it? Next time, vote, and get all your other friends to vote...THEN if you don't like the results, you can complain.
My ankle, by the way, is getting better...at a snail's pace, but better. As long as I have the brace on, I'm good. Can walk, run if necessary (Shhh...don't get on my case, Hubby...I said if necessary), and more or less ignore the ankle. Take off the brace and we're talking a pretty stiff ache going on.
Since I don't have a cast but rather this white brace with laces you could rope a steer with, I decided to spice it up a little bit, after 5 weeks of white. So I went to the dollar store. They had 4 pairs of rainbow laces for $1. To be precise, they had 4 pairs of laces for $1. The sets were all one design (with varying colours) of rainbow stripes, or dots, or hearts, or a hot pink on white checkered pattern, or camouflage. And being the person I am, I went straight for the rainbow ones. Took two full sets of laces (and could have used 2 1/2 sets if I wanted to have the exact length) to replace the long white one. Should be fun to go out in public. :)
Now as far as NaNoWriMo goes, another friend (Brad) and my Dad indirectly reminded me that this was coming up. This is what got my Dad (Robert Scott) into writing what became the draft of his first book of the three he's got either published or coming out thus far (Advertising Murder [out April 2007], Lost Youth [out September 2008], and Murder Express [coming Christmas Eve 2008]). I have been dabbling in writing for years now, since I started university, and made a ton of notes, and even started typing stuff up....and then started having kids, and things just got busy and it sat and sat and sat. Now, in the same spirit of my friend, I do not have time to write for 2-3 hours a day, but at the same time, I'd really like to get my story out of my notebook and onto paper. It's an autobiography in fiction form (as in, an autobiography told within a fictional setting)...if I can get it done, maybe I can get it published somewhere. Who knows?
Hubby has discovered that his health is not what it used to be...I guess I just cook too well. He has a bit of a beach ball and has discovered his job of mostly sitting at computer desks or behind the wheel of his van leaves him...well...breathless...after a simple walk in the wind. So he asked me today what I thought of an idea of his. I quit doing papers back in May because of the lack of sleep and the severe hatred of being out in the cold in the dead of winter. He has decided HE would like to do papers in the mornings, both for the exercise and for the extra $200 or whatever that he would get from doing a regular route...he stays up late anyway and doesn't mind the cold (I DID, after all, find him up in the NWT), so he'll be fine in the cold and will just switch his habits around a bit to go to bed at a decent hour and get up early instead. Guess who is going to be stuck with being his sub when he is sick, but hey...I guess I can handle doing one route, once in awhile. And the money will help us pay for Christmas and birthday gifts, and slowly beat off the debts, too. And if he keeps it up, he'll burn off the beach ball, get great leg muscles, and together we'll work on getting healthier and end up looking like supermodels. Ha ha ha ha. Okay, we'll get healthier and look better. Good enough.
There's probably another zillion thoughts back in my head somewhere, but they aren't coming yet. I think this is enough for now anyway. :)
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Slowly but surely
I am recovering. It took a week on the couch, and about another week with crutches, but I am limping along now. My ankle will be firmly laced into my brace for another 6 weeks yet, but I'm getting there.
Now if I could just learn not to overdo things. The day I got up and didn't need my crutches (two days ago), I was off like a shot, trying to clean and shop and everything. I was back on one crutch by afternoon and on the couch by evening. Yesterday I just tried to do the flight of the bumblebee for cleaning....and was out of commission, but no crutches, by about 1PM. Today, again, roared around cleaning my kitchen and meandering the mall with Hubby while Son was in preschool...now I am in pain. A lot of pain. So I think I will take myself back to the couch for a bit, then make supper and take daughter off to Brownies, then relax. I was going to bake something, but I think I'll wait until tomorrow. I don't want to have to go back on the crutches.
Jogging on the WiiFit will have to wait. MOST things on the WiiFit will have to wait. First I guess I'll focus on going grocery shopping without coming home exhausted and in pain. That would be good.
Now if I could just learn not to overdo things. The day I got up and didn't need my crutches (two days ago), I was off like a shot, trying to clean and shop and everything. I was back on one crutch by afternoon and on the couch by evening. Yesterday I just tried to do the flight of the bumblebee for cleaning....and was out of commission, but no crutches, by about 1PM. Today, again, roared around cleaning my kitchen and meandering the mall with Hubby while Son was in preschool...now I am in pain. A lot of pain. So I think I will take myself back to the couch for a bit, then make supper and take daughter off to Brownies, then relax. I was going to bake something, but I think I'll wait until tomorrow. I don't want to have to go back on the crutches.
Jogging on the WiiFit will have to wait. MOST things on the WiiFit will have to wait. First I guess I'll focus on going grocery shopping without coming home exhausted and in pain. That would be good.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Plans Derailed
My plan to train with my Wii Fit has been put on hold. Hopefully temporarily, possibly more long-term. I was stupid. I admit it. It's all my fault. But it still hurts.
I was jogging, as you know, an hour a night. I was giving it all I had, in an attempt to break my previous night's distances, as always. I was doing it, each night, in bare feet (shhhh....no telling me off)...on a hard floor (I said don't tell me off!). I got this pain in my ankle. Not a big one, kind of like when you feel you have to crack a joint and it's not quite going. So I ignored it. It was a bit worse the next day, maybe even over a few days, I'm not sure how long I was doing this to myself....I just jogged through the pain with the thought that whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger. But then I woke up Tuesday morning. And tried to get out of bed. And discovered I was in a lot of pain. So I wrapped it in a tensor and parked myself in an armchair and took things mostly easy. By evening I was in terrible pain. Wednesday I started to get concerned. By the time I went to bed Wednesday night, I could barely walk. Thursday I broke down and went to see a doctor....possibly a stress fracture, but that won't show up on an xray for up to 4 weeks, so the real sympathetic doctor (yeah right) after manipulating my foot in ways that had me envisioning methods of recreating his face (You know, rip his toes off and shove them in his ears....), tells me to go home and wrap it in a tensor and come back in a week or more. By Thursday night, I could barely limp I was in so much pain.
So yesterday I went out and took matters into my own hands. I have a stiff ankle brace on that laces more than skates, and rented myself a set of crutches. Now I have sore muscles I never had met before. My ankle still hurts a lot, and is very glad of the crutches. By the end of the evening, having been off it, I thought it was better, and that maybe it wasn't a fracture after all...until I got stupid and tried leaving the crutches alone. Took maybe a few steps, and it all came back, with teeth. This is NOT muscular. This is a pain I've never had before, and I've had weak ankles all my life, so know what muscle injury is like.
Today I am trying not to be a hero. I want to try putting pressure on the foot. I shouldn't. I've already done it a couple of times and am already in a lot of pain. Have to suck it up and stay on the crutches. Hopefully in about a week I can go back and they will be able to see something, so I can get the right treatment and get better.
My forced leisure time has meant a lot of sit-down games, so I have played Mario Party 8, Pinball, and Super Mario World (Thanks to WiiPoints)...and hubby was nice enough to buy me Super Paper Mario, which i have yet to try, but will likely do tonight.
And it means the house has not been getting the cleaning it needs, which has been bugging me, though I have been doing what I can in the form of cooking, loading and unloading the dishwasher, doing a bit of laundry, and sorting through boxes of "stuff" from my bedroom closet. Hubby put it all into perspective...at least our house looks nowhere even remotely close to THIS:
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24396021-5013110,00.html
And no matter how horrible I have been in the past with cleaning (because I was a total slob and am now reforming), it has never, EVER looked like that!
I was jogging, as you know, an hour a night. I was giving it all I had, in an attempt to break my previous night's distances, as always. I was doing it, each night, in bare feet (shhhh....no telling me off)...on a hard floor (I said don't tell me off!). I got this pain in my ankle. Not a big one, kind of like when you feel you have to crack a joint and it's not quite going. So I ignored it. It was a bit worse the next day, maybe even over a few days, I'm not sure how long I was doing this to myself....I just jogged through the pain with the thought that whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger. But then I woke up Tuesday morning. And tried to get out of bed. And discovered I was in a lot of pain. So I wrapped it in a tensor and parked myself in an armchair and took things mostly easy. By evening I was in terrible pain. Wednesday I started to get concerned. By the time I went to bed Wednesday night, I could barely walk. Thursday I broke down and went to see a doctor....possibly a stress fracture, but that won't show up on an xray for up to 4 weeks, so the real sympathetic doctor (yeah right) after manipulating my foot in ways that had me envisioning methods of recreating his face (You know, rip his toes off and shove them in his ears....), tells me to go home and wrap it in a tensor and come back in a week or more. By Thursday night, I could barely limp I was in so much pain.
So yesterday I went out and took matters into my own hands. I have a stiff ankle brace on that laces more than skates, and rented myself a set of crutches. Now I have sore muscles I never had met before. My ankle still hurts a lot, and is very glad of the crutches. By the end of the evening, having been off it, I thought it was better, and that maybe it wasn't a fracture after all...until I got stupid and tried leaving the crutches alone. Took maybe a few steps, and it all came back, with teeth. This is NOT muscular. This is a pain I've never had before, and I've had weak ankles all my life, so know what muscle injury is like.
Today I am trying not to be a hero. I want to try putting pressure on the foot. I shouldn't. I've already done it a couple of times and am already in a lot of pain. Have to suck it up and stay on the crutches. Hopefully in about a week I can go back and they will be able to see something, so I can get the right treatment and get better.
My forced leisure time has meant a lot of sit-down games, so I have played Mario Party 8, Pinball, and Super Mario World (Thanks to WiiPoints)...and hubby was nice enough to buy me Super Paper Mario, which i have yet to try, but will likely do tonight.
And it means the house has not been getting the cleaning it needs, which has been bugging me, though I have been doing what I can in the form of cooking, loading and unloading the dishwasher, doing a bit of laundry, and sorting through boxes of "stuff" from my bedroom closet. Hubby put it all into perspective...at least our house looks nowhere even remotely close to THIS:
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24396021-5013110,00.html
And no matter how horrible I have been in the past with cleaning (because I was a total slob and am now reforming), it has never, EVER looked like that!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Little Mommy That Couldn't
Once upon a time, there was a little Mommy....well...not so little, if truth be told, but a Mommy nonetheless. This Mommy had many things to do, and, being a good-hearted Mommy, set out to do all these things.
This Mommy needed to get her Daughter up and off to school, eat breakfast, dress, check herself on the Wii Fit, return library items, pick something up from someone's house, buy a few grocery items, go to the bank to set up a new bank account for her Son, make lunch, can pears, cook a pumpkin, make pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie, get 3 rooms of the upstairs clean,encourage her Son to clean his room,make supper, go to a Board meeting, take the Dog to the park, do dishes, and laundry, too!
The Mommy got off to a rough start, being tired due to a family member having a whopper of a night terror, but headed into the morning with high expectations of accomplishment.
She did fairly well, accomplishing most of what she had wanted for the morning...Daughter was sent off to school, the Mommy had done all the personal stuff (ate, dressed, stood on the Wii Fit). Two of the three rooms did get tidied, the library item did get returned in time, the item to be picked up as acquired, the bank account was created, and the grocery items were purchased (plus a few extras because the Mommy did not have very good willpower).
But things started to go obviously wrong. The Mommy was tired. Her lipomas were hurting very badly, with even her shirt aggravating them. Her back muscles were seizing and aching from a very old injury. And yet the Mommy persevered. Lunch became totally non-nutritious, being onion rings and potato wedges on sale at the grocery store, and a cup of coffee (milk for the Son), but lunch was at least served. The pears were canned, but much of the work was done sitting in a chair, and even then, the back muscles were screaming, and because of the chair back, so were the lipomas. But still she kept at it and canned 6 pint jars of pears plus a quart jar of juice. A load of laundry made its way through the washer and into the dryer. The dishwasher got emptied, refilled, and started. A stew for supper was simmering in the crock pot, too, after much peeling and chopping of vegetables. Son's room was cleaned and there was much rejoicing. But the Mommy was so tired and in so much pain that she simply had to quit.
The Mommy was concerned that the Daddy would think her a lazy bum because he was going to come home and find her plushed out with pillows in an attempt to get some comfort somehow, reading a book. The pumpkin did not get slaughtered for seeds and pie, the Dog did not get a trip to the park. It was 2:45PM and she would still have her meeting later, which she would attend.
But to be quite honest, when she really thought about it and considered her options and pain level, she decided that she really didn't care what the Daddy thought anymore, all she cared about was feeling better. So she went off to have a nice hot cup of coffee and to find a comfy spot, in the hopes of feeling better tomorrow.
The End
This Mommy needed to get her Daughter up and off to school, eat breakfast, dress, check herself on the Wii Fit, return library items, pick something up from someone's house, buy a few grocery items, go to the bank to set up a new bank account for her Son, make lunch, can pears, cook a pumpkin, make pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie, get 3 rooms of the upstairs clean,encourage her Son to clean his room,make supper, go to a Board meeting, take the Dog to the park, do dishes, and laundry, too!
The Mommy got off to a rough start, being tired due to a family member having a whopper of a night terror, but headed into the morning with high expectations of accomplishment.
She did fairly well, accomplishing most of what she had wanted for the morning...Daughter was sent off to school, the Mommy had done all the personal stuff (ate, dressed, stood on the Wii Fit). Two of the three rooms did get tidied, the library item did get returned in time, the item to be picked up as acquired, the bank account was created, and the grocery items were purchased (plus a few extras because the Mommy did not have very good willpower).
But things started to go obviously wrong. The Mommy was tired. Her lipomas were hurting very badly, with even her shirt aggravating them. Her back muscles were seizing and aching from a very old injury. And yet the Mommy persevered. Lunch became totally non-nutritious, being onion rings and potato wedges on sale at the grocery store, and a cup of coffee (milk for the Son), but lunch was at least served. The pears were canned, but much of the work was done sitting in a chair, and even then, the back muscles were screaming, and because of the chair back, so were the lipomas. But still she kept at it and canned 6 pint jars of pears plus a quart jar of juice. A load of laundry made its way through the washer and into the dryer. The dishwasher got emptied, refilled, and started. A stew for supper was simmering in the crock pot, too, after much peeling and chopping of vegetables. Son's room was cleaned and there was much rejoicing. But the Mommy was so tired and in so much pain that she simply had to quit.
The Mommy was concerned that the Daddy would think her a lazy bum because he was going to come home and find her plushed out with pillows in an attempt to get some comfort somehow, reading a book. The pumpkin did not get slaughtered for seeds and pie, the Dog did not get a trip to the park. It was 2:45PM and she would still have her meeting later, which she would attend.
But to be quite honest, when she really thought about it and considered her options and pain level, she decided that she really didn't care what the Daddy thought anymore, all she cared about was feeling better. So she went off to have a nice hot cup of coffee and to find a comfy spot, in the hopes of feeling better tomorrow.
The End
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Chuggin' Along
Well, I've been hopping onto my Wii Fit faithfully for the past few days...it's been going well, too. I upped my running time to 1 hour, and have been bopping and sweating along each evening, improving slightly each time. There is no way the distance counter is correct, as last night I apparently jogged 10.504 Miles in an hour, and as Husband pointed out, that's just not going to happen. But it does make me feel good to watch the numbers click off like that. Even if I'm not anywhere close to REALLY running that far, that fast, at least I know I'm getting to be better at it, and I am getting my 1 hour of body whipping cardio each night....that's gotta count for something! I know I'm trimming down a little bit, anyway....I was wearing this one pair of shorts that was a little loose, the elastic was gone, but they still hung on via my hips. I wore them as part of my outfit each night...and two nights ago, as I jogged, they fell off! [blush] Thankfully I was behind closed curtain in the privacy of my own home. And to be honest, it was really, really, really funny....and a good feeling to know I'd trimmed down a tiny bit so that could happen. Hopefully I can stick with this through the winter so more good things can happen. :)
Sunday, September 7, 2008
A Challenge to myself
Okay. I have Wii Fit. A friend of mine thinks the Wii is a waste of time and space, that it should be avoided in trade for time outside. To a certain extent, I agree. But to another degree, while he is freezing his butt off in winter, trying to get a jog in, through the snow and ice, or traveling through same to get to an indoor track where he will have to fork out money, I will be in my nice warm living room, in PJs if I feel like it, doing my exercises and even jogging in place. I am much more motivated to do it if it means NOT going outside or to a different location....especially in the cold. Have I mentioned I hate to be cold?
My challenge is this...one of the options is called "free run", in which I choose how long I plan to run (10-20-30 minutes), and as I go, it tells me how far it thinks I have run. I do have a certain level of reality in this head of mine....I am pretty sure that the numbers it is spitting out are probably pretty optimistic....but there is no real way to test this for sure. What I am planning on doing is working with this option daily through the fall and winter, until late spring, at which time (roughly end of May) I will sign myself up for the Regina Fun Run that I did this past spring. The distance (5km or 10Km), I will decide closer to the time. I will run said Fun Run, and see how much time it actually takes, and how good of shape I am in while doing so. This past spring, I ran the course in something like 39'22" for the 5Km. My goal is to bring this down considerably. Or at least to run it in less than 30 minutes, less than an hour for the 10Km. As the fall/winter progresses, I will keep you all updated on how the Wii Fit running is going. Today it said I ran 4.571 MILES (roughly 7.4 Km) in 30 minutes. For argument's sake, let's say I ran 4.571 Km instead. That is probably more accurate, but the Wii Fit number looks nicer. :)
My challenge is this...one of the options is called "free run", in which I choose how long I plan to run (10-20-30 minutes), and as I go, it tells me how far it thinks I have run. I do have a certain level of reality in this head of mine....I am pretty sure that the numbers it is spitting out are probably pretty optimistic....but there is no real way to test this for sure. What I am planning on doing is working with this option daily through the fall and winter, until late spring, at which time (roughly end of May) I will sign myself up for the Regina Fun Run that I did this past spring. The distance (5km or 10Km), I will decide closer to the time. I will run said Fun Run, and see how much time it actually takes, and how good of shape I am in while doing so. This past spring, I ran the course in something like 39'22" for the 5Km. My goal is to bring this down considerably. Or at least to run it in less than 30 minutes, less than an hour for the 10Km. As the fall/winter progresses, I will keep you all updated on how the Wii Fit running is going. Today it said I ran 4.571 MILES (roughly 7.4 Km) in 30 minutes. For argument's sake, let's say I ran 4.571 Km instead. That is probably more accurate, but the Wii Fit number looks nicer. :)
Friday, August 22, 2008
I love this time of year
Well....this time and on into the fall. I may not be a very good housewife, in terms of cleaning, but the one thing I can do is just that....CAN! I love this time of year because the crabapples are ready, and I can also get my mitts on some pretty cool produce.
Over the past two days, I have made 2 quarts of concentrated crabapple juice (that will make approximately 4-6 quarts when water is added to taste), 8 pints of applesauce, and 7 pints of crabapple jelly. I write in quarts and pints because that is how all my canning recipes go. If you want metric, which is how I usually run, that's 2 litres, 4-6 litres, 16 cups, and 14 cups.
That was made from approximately 28 cups of crabapples.
I managed, today, to purchase a case of peaches....54 fair sized ones for slightly less than $20. Sometime in the next few days, 42 of them will be turned into canned peaches. I am figuring on about 7 quarts (28 cups). I saved a dozen for just eating....3 each.
I have already this year made strawberry jam and saskatoon jam....we could probably live off of toast and jam at this point in time, as I also have, from last year or so, pumpkin jam....I had to dump out about 5 pints (10 cups) of pumpkin preserves because nobody was eating it, and quite honestly, I don't like it. The pumpkin JAM is yummy, though.
Once I get a new jug of vinegar, I will also be making pickled apples....now THOSE are yummy!!!! I first had those when I was a kid at either Ponderosa or Bonanza.
What I would really like is for someone to have a load of green tomatoes or even red tomatoes that they can't use, so I could make green tomato relish (with the green) or tomato butter (with the red). I looooooooove those with my meat or poultry! Yum!
Someday I will try making pickled onions again....they are amazing with homemade baked beans.
Now I'm making myself hungry! :)
Over the past two days, I have made 2 quarts of concentrated crabapple juice (that will make approximately 4-6 quarts when water is added to taste), 8 pints of applesauce, and 7 pints of crabapple jelly. I write in quarts and pints because that is how all my canning recipes go. If you want metric, which is how I usually run, that's 2 litres, 4-6 litres, 16 cups, and 14 cups.
That was made from approximately 28 cups of crabapples.
I managed, today, to purchase a case of peaches....54 fair sized ones for slightly less than $20. Sometime in the next few days, 42 of them will be turned into canned peaches. I am figuring on about 7 quarts (28 cups). I saved a dozen for just eating....3 each.
I have already this year made strawberry jam and saskatoon jam....we could probably live off of toast and jam at this point in time, as I also have, from last year or so, pumpkin jam....I had to dump out about 5 pints (10 cups) of pumpkin preserves because nobody was eating it, and quite honestly, I don't like it. The pumpkin JAM is yummy, though.
Once I get a new jug of vinegar, I will also be making pickled apples....now THOSE are yummy!!!! I first had those when I was a kid at either Ponderosa or Bonanza.
What I would really like is for someone to have a load of green tomatoes or even red tomatoes that they can't use, so I could make green tomato relish (with the green) or tomato butter (with the red). I looooooooove those with my meat or poultry! Yum!
Someday I will try making pickled onions again....they are amazing with homemade baked beans.
Now I'm making myself hungry! :)
Sunday, August 17, 2008
One of those days
I'm just saying....
It's been one of those. The moment my eyes creaked open, it was already starting. The kids were in the bathroom, yelling at a new toy, to see if they could scare it (it's a robot). The cats were meowing to be fed, the dog was waiting anxiously to be let out and then fed. Neither child had decided to concern themselves with these needs.
I crawl out of bed and dispatch them from the bathroom with orders to feed kitties and relieve dog of her distress. Cats get fed, dog is left waiting....and waiting. Until I finally realize my orders have not been carried out. I creep onto the WiiFit board to find that it still considers me a large blob of lard, more so than yesterday. Get dressed while listening to the beautiful sound of children bickering and screaming at me. Up I come, instruct them to eat breakfast and get dressed. We have 30 minutes until we need to be in the car. 10 minutes later, daughter is still in pj's and unfed, son is fed but not dressed. I yell at daughter. 60seconds later, daughter is in her room, unfed, undressed (well...in pj's), and playing with robot. I yell. "I forgot", she says. I storm out, she finally eats and gets dressed. 5 minutes to departure, son is not dressed, and is screaming in tears that he does not want to. Husband storms in, grabs clothes, undresses and redresses son in about 60 seconds flat. Out to the car we go. Everyone buckled in, I start the car, no problem. Start to back out....car stalls. Restart car, and she starts this horrible screaming noise. Will not turn off. Can take key out, and she is still doing it. Try turning the key forward more, car goes into hyperdrive, as far as engine noise goes....the noise you'd hear if you had the car in park and pressed the gas all the way to the floor.....but I don;t have my foot on the gas. Try pressing the brake, jiggling the key, everything....just this horrid noise that has half the neighbourhood starting out their curtains, cursing whoever is disturbing their peaceful Sunday morning. Finally, in desperation, I throw her in drive. She goes RRRRCLUNK and is dead as a doornail. That was pretty much the last straw for me. I fling open the car door, storm up to the front door, and scream as loud as I can "THEREYOUGOSHE'SDEADABSOLUTELYDEADNOTASOUNDNOTHING
(gasp)TOTALLYUTTERLYDEAD!!!!" My husband goes "Oh? What happened?" So I tell him, still in a near-tears fury. I think I could have uprooted a tree with my bare hands, I was so upset and furious.
So once again Bessie is dead. This time for good. No more tow trucks, no more trying to get her fixed. Gonna clear her out and make her a Kidney Car. They can deal with it. In the meantime, I am carless....but hopefully something will be at the auto auction on Saturday (nearly a week from now s-i-g-h), and we can get it super cheap.
I wanted to crawl back into bed, but hubby told me to just take the van and go to church anyway. So I did, and it was relatively okay there....got a gift card for our anniversary from secret sister, and found daughters lost jacket....then got home to discover that, despite the numerous times I have expressed that I will not accept such things in my house, the games that hubby claims are "not THAT bad" are really Dungeons and Dragons games. 9 years I have made it abundantly clear that these are not to be in my house. Neverwinter Nights, Diablo, and apparently Ultima, since he says they are all alike. I am furious. And he seems not to get it. I think he figures that if he keeps quiet, I will either forget or "get over it". He does that about a lot of things. I won't forget, I am NOT going to get over it, and for this, I am now going to be considered a horrible wench. Tough. I cook, clean, take care of the kids, and do a multitude of other things, plus extra things he calls me up to do. I have the right to have a say about the filth that enters my house. I don't allow pornography, why the heck would I allow demonic things?
It's been one of those. The moment my eyes creaked open, it was already starting. The kids were in the bathroom, yelling at a new toy, to see if they could scare it (it's a robot). The cats were meowing to be fed, the dog was waiting anxiously to be let out and then fed. Neither child had decided to concern themselves with these needs.
I crawl out of bed and dispatch them from the bathroom with orders to feed kitties and relieve dog of her distress. Cats get fed, dog is left waiting....and waiting. Until I finally realize my orders have not been carried out. I creep onto the WiiFit board to find that it still considers me a large blob of lard, more so than yesterday. Get dressed while listening to the beautiful sound of children bickering and screaming at me. Up I come, instruct them to eat breakfast and get dressed. We have 30 minutes until we need to be in the car. 10 minutes later, daughter is still in pj's and unfed, son is fed but not dressed. I yell at daughter. 60seconds later, daughter is in her room, unfed, undressed (well...in pj's), and playing with robot. I yell. "I forgot", she says. I storm out, she finally eats and gets dressed. 5 minutes to departure, son is not dressed, and is screaming in tears that he does not want to. Husband storms in, grabs clothes, undresses and redresses son in about 60 seconds flat. Out to the car we go. Everyone buckled in, I start the car, no problem. Start to back out....car stalls. Restart car, and she starts this horrible screaming noise. Will not turn off. Can take key out, and she is still doing it. Try turning the key forward more, car goes into hyperdrive, as far as engine noise goes....the noise you'd hear if you had the car in park and pressed the gas all the way to the floor.....but I don;t have my foot on the gas. Try pressing the brake, jiggling the key, everything....just this horrid noise that has half the neighbourhood starting out their curtains, cursing whoever is disturbing their peaceful Sunday morning. Finally, in desperation, I throw her in drive. She goes RRRRCLUNK and is dead as a doornail. That was pretty much the last straw for me. I fling open the car door, storm up to the front door, and scream as loud as I can "THEREYOUGOSHE'SDEADABSOLUTELYDEADNOTASOUNDNOTHING
(gasp)TOTALLYUTTERLYDEAD!!!!" My husband goes "Oh? What happened?" So I tell him, still in a near-tears fury. I think I could have uprooted a tree with my bare hands, I was so upset and furious.
So once again Bessie is dead. This time for good. No more tow trucks, no more trying to get her fixed. Gonna clear her out and make her a Kidney Car. They can deal with it. In the meantime, I am carless....but hopefully something will be at the auto auction on Saturday (nearly a week from now s-i-g-h), and we can get it super cheap.
I wanted to crawl back into bed, but hubby told me to just take the van and go to church anyway. So I did, and it was relatively okay there....got a gift card for our anniversary from secret sister, and found daughters lost jacket....then got home to discover that, despite the numerous times I have expressed that I will not accept such things in my house, the games that hubby claims are "not THAT bad" are really Dungeons and Dragons games. 9 years I have made it abundantly clear that these are not to be in my house. Neverwinter Nights, Diablo, and apparently Ultima, since he says they are all alike. I am furious. And he seems not to get it. I think he figures that if he keeps quiet, I will either forget or "get over it". He does that about a lot of things. I won't forget, I am NOT going to get over it, and for this, I am now going to be considered a horrible wench. Tough. I cook, clean, take care of the kids, and do a multitude of other things, plus extra things he calls me up to do. I have the right to have a say about the filth that enters my house. I don't allow pornography, why the heck would I allow demonic things?
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Too good to be true
Well, she lasted a day. Exactly 24 hours. Not a minute more. Husband just phoned to say Bessie does not start. Not a sound. Once again. And this time he is on the opposite end of town and I have no car to rescue him with, as his van is in getting tires replaced. She was a beautiful car, even despite the few rust spot, saggy wires, and grumbly disposition. But we just can't afford to keep fixing her. So for sale she goes, a mechanic special. Nuts. I am sorely disappointed. Hopefully we can find another nice, cheap rustbucket that will last a few more months at the auto auction. I can hope, anyway. If we look at it on a per month basis, we paid $125 a month for the use of Bessie (minus gas and oil)....good luck finding a car payment like that anywhere else!
The Death and Ressurrection of Bessie and Stuff
Okay, it has been exactly 29 days since I last posted, and once again a million and one things have happened in the meantime that I intended to post....and didn't.....and for the most part have forgotten what they were.
But...we had a gigantic storm here about a week and a half ago, while Daughter was away at camp. Roaring waves of rain, huge claps of thunder with blinding sheets of lightning, tons of forks, too, and a wind that had to be sen to be believed. I kept looking out to see if there was a funnel cloud coming because the wind was roaring so loud and had our tree bending so far that I seriously expected the trunk to snap and the tree to crush the van. When it stopped, it had snapped about 1/4 of the tree so that a ginormous branch was dangling just off the ground, the fence between our house and the next was bent over sideways, my canopy on the deck was a mess of fabric and poles, and Bessie (aka my 1984LTD) was dead. Not a sound would she make....well....after the shrieking sound the one time Hubby tried to start her. He asked around and got the part the so-called experts told him was the problem and did a do-it-yourself job....to no avail. She sat there, stone cold dead, for about a week. Then Hubby fixed the computer of a mechanic who agreed, in exchange, to take a look at her. So we called to tow truck and they hauled her away on Tuesday....and we drove her home yesterday. It was the starter that had gone. NOT the part we had been told. So now she runs again. For the time being anyway. :)
I went to my new family doctor today, having had the blood test I mentioned in the last post....everything was textbook perfect. It stunned him. He seriously was shocked that someone "my age" (great...I have reached "that age") would have perfect results, and I do mean perfect. Cholesterol and EVERYTHING. Next week I go back to prove that my blood pressure is good and to have the pap. Ew, ew, EW! Oh well.
So anyway, it looks as if, as usual, my overactive, somewhat hypochondriac brain was giving me a run for my money last post. Still have lipomas, but nothing more serious than that....and he wasn't even concerned about my weight! That, let me tell you, goes way beyond cool. He just said to keep eating healthy and exercise....more as an "I have to give her SOME sort of doctorly advice....but what?" :-D It was actually really funny to watch him stammer in shock and try to be professional when he realized I was perfectly healthy. Woo-hoo! :)
But...we had a gigantic storm here about a week and a half ago, while Daughter was away at camp. Roaring waves of rain, huge claps of thunder with blinding sheets of lightning, tons of forks, too, and a wind that had to be sen to be believed. I kept looking out to see if there was a funnel cloud coming because the wind was roaring so loud and had our tree bending so far that I seriously expected the trunk to snap and the tree to crush the van. When it stopped, it had snapped about 1/4 of the tree so that a ginormous branch was dangling just off the ground, the fence between our house and the next was bent over sideways, my canopy on the deck was a mess of fabric and poles, and Bessie (aka my 1984LTD) was dead. Not a sound would she make....well....after the shrieking sound the one time Hubby tried to start her. He asked around and got the part the so-called experts told him was the problem and did a do-it-yourself job....to no avail. She sat there, stone cold dead, for about a week. Then Hubby fixed the computer of a mechanic who agreed, in exchange, to take a look at her. So we called to tow truck and they hauled her away on Tuesday....and we drove her home yesterday. It was the starter that had gone. NOT the part we had been told. So now she runs again. For the time being anyway. :)
I went to my new family doctor today, having had the blood test I mentioned in the last post....everything was textbook perfect. It stunned him. He seriously was shocked that someone "my age" (great...I have reached "that age") would have perfect results, and I do mean perfect. Cholesterol and EVERYTHING. Next week I go back to prove that my blood pressure is good and to have the pap. Ew, ew, EW! Oh well.
So anyway, it looks as if, as usual, my overactive, somewhat hypochondriac brain was giving me a run for my money last post. Still have lipomas, but nothing more serious than that....and he wasn't even concerned about my weight! That, let me tell you, goes way beyond cool. He just said to keep eating healthy and exercise....more as an "I have to give her SOME sort of doctorly advice....but what?" :-D It was actually really funny to watch him stammer in shock and try to be professional when he realized I was perfectly healthy. Woo-hoo! :)
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Hmmm....maybe he should have asked
I went back to the clinic today. It was the three month point, at which I was to return to have my cholesterol and iron retested. Or so I had thought. I showed up and was ushered into the little room....it's a walk-in clinic, if I haven't mentioned this before...doc bustles in and asks what he can do for me. I tell him I have simply come to get the piece of paper that say I need the tests. He reads my file and asks when I had my last physical exam. I tell him I'm not sure (it's been a really long time....probably about 3 1/2 years?). He turns slowly and asks "Don't you have a family doctor?". No. No I don't. You, sir, would be the one I have been seeing for the past 3 years. He looks at my file again, and says very steadily "You really NEED to have a family doctor, to do the full checkups, you know, the pap smears....the mammograms..." He shoves a paper into my hand of doctors that are possibly taking new patients and tells me to call one and see. He does give me the form, as well, to have the tests done. But what is on that sheet concerns me. Very much.
You see, I was just to have my cholesterol and iron tested. The paper I have to take to the blood lab tomorrow is asking for ALL the stuff they tested 3 months ago....when he told me after a 10 second glance that my lumps were lipomas and nothing more....and he's pushing me to get the family doctor, stressing the pap and mammogram....and over the last week or so my breasts and one armpit have been very sore....and no, it's not time for THAT, so the cause for the pain is unknown. So now I am wondering if he just told me it was lipoma, expecting me to tell my non-existent family doctor, who would then do a full check and maybe find that it was something more, and now because of that, the something more has had 3 months to grow?
So tomorrow morning, I go off to give many tubes of blood and a cup 'o' pee, then in the afternoon, I have made an appointment with my hopefully new family doctor, will tell him of the lipomas, sore areas, and pending test results, get him to schedule a FULL exam with all the works asap, and hopefully finally get the complete, no doubt about it full rundown of what the heck is the story with this body of mine, once and for all. Give it to me straight, doc, 'cuz I want to know!
And hopefully they won't take too long to tell me. My imagination works way too hard sometimes.
You see, I was just to have my cholesterol and iron tested. The paper I have to take to the blood lab tomorrow is asking for ALL the stuff they tested 3 months ago....when he told me after a 10 second glance that my lumps were lipomas and nothing more....and he's pushing me to get the family doctor, stressing the pap and mammogram....and over the last week or so my breasts and one armpit have been very sore....and no, it's not time for THAT, so the cause for the pain is unknown. So now I am wondering if he just told me it was lipoma, expecting me to tell my non-existent family doctor, who would then do a full check and maybe find that it was something more, and now because of that, the something more has had 3 months to grow?
So tomorrow morning, I go off to give many tubes of blood and a cup 'o' pee, then in the afternoon, I have made an appointment with my hopefully new family doctor, will tell him of the lipomas, sore areas, and pending test results, get him to schedule a FULL exam with all the works asap, and hopefully finally get the complete, no doubt about it full rundown of what the heck is the story with this body of mine, once and for all. Give it to me straight, doc, 'cuz I want to know!
And hopefully they won't take too long to tell me. My imagination works way too hard sometimes.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
A Possible Gift
I took a gigantic leap out of my comfort zone last night. Anyone who has known me for any real extent of time knows that the mere idea of needles gives me the willies. But Husband did something long ago that came back surprisingly that got me thinking, and realizing maybe I should try to be a little more in-the-moment and hopefully end up helping somebody.
In around 1996, as far as he can remember, Husband signed up with OneMatch.com, through the Canadian Blood Services...he signed up, you see, as a potential bone marrow/stem cell donor. And time went by, and he pretty much forgot. Well, he got a phone call late last week. He is a potential match. Apparently the odds of ever being even a potential match are staggeringly low. Now he has a one in twelve chance of being a match. We now go through a rigorous testing relay (well....he does), and will know within the next two months if he is in fact going to be the donor. He's pretty staggered at the possibility of saving somebody's life. You can check out his thoughts and such on his blog, which is www.geldhart.blogspot.com
He asked if I would be willing to go in the registry (ie sign up), at which point I retreated into the farthest corner of the couch in terror and declared the re was no way I was going through all those needles and the potential of having someone drill into my leg bone, etc, etc, etc....but then I started thinking about it, and realized it was the right thing to do. So I signed up. Maybe nothing will ever come of it, but then, maybe I end up being the exact person someone has been waiting and hoping for and end up saving their life just in time. Despite all the pain and such it will put me through, I'm thinking tht will all pale in comparison to the knowledge that I'm saving somebody's life by getting a little (or a lot) uncomfortable.
I will keep you all posted if new developments arise and either his or my journey takes us through the next steps.
Please consider adding yourselves, too. WWW.ONEMATCH.COM
In around 1996, as far as he can remember, Husband signed up with OneMatch.com, through the Canadian Blood Services...he signed up, you see, as a potential bone marrow/stem cell donor. And time went by, and he pretty much forgot. Well, he got a phone call late last week. He is a potential match. Apparently the odds of ever being even a potential match are staggeringly low. Now he has a one in twelve chance of being a match. We now go through a rigorous testing relay (well....he does), and will know within the next two months if he is in fact going to be the donor. He's pretty staggered at the possibility of saving somebody's life. You can check out his thoughts and such on his blog, which is www.geldhart.blogspot.com
He asked if I would be willing to go in the registry (ie sign up), at which point I retreated into the farthest corner of the couch in terror and declared the re was no way I was going through all those needles and the potential of having someone drill into my leg bone, etc, etc, etc....but then I started thinking about it, and realized it was the right thing to do. So I signed up. Maybe nothing will ever come of it, but then, maybe I end up being the exact person someone has been waiting and hoping for and end up saving their life just in time. Despite all the pain and such it will put me through, I'm thinking tht will all pale in comparison to the knowledge that I'm saving somebody's life by getting a little (or a lot) uncomfortable.
I will keep you all posted if new developments arise and either his or my journey takes us through the next steps.
Please consider adding yourselves, too. WWW.ONEMATCH.COM
Just a wee bit of a difference!
A few months back, we attended a cleft palate clinic with our son, where he was run through a gamut of tests and specialist interviews. He has a submucous cleft which, while really cool to look at, causes him to have to work really hard to form certain sounds, and in some cases, to compensate for a simple inability to make said sounds. He was seeing a speech therapist for awhile, and his speech improved drastically as he learned compensating skills. But that stopped after the clinic, as we were told that he would have surgery sometime this summer. I guess his therapist figured it was no real use seeing her until after the surgery, as he will likely have to learn to talk again with the new mouth structure.
We were thrilled that he would be having the surgery, especially in that time frame, as that would give him time to recover and learn how to talk again before he hit elementary school (he will start kindergarten in 2009).
WELL....we received to official letter saying he was put on the waiting list as of May 29th yesterday. Oh, good, we thought, his surgery should be coming up soon, then. The letter came with a number to call to find out what wait time we were to expect. So I called it. Got the automated answering service, left all pertinent info it asked for...and waited. They called back this morning to let me know his wait time is approximately 15 to 18 MONTHS. We are not amused. I am very upset, because this means his surgery will not take place until he is IN kindergarten, which is going to make it harder for him to fit in, especially when he's going to have difficulty talking for who knows how long, plus he'd probably miss some school....in his first crack at French Immersion...and I may not even be around for his surgery, as I have that International competition in October 2009 (moved from November because it would have clashed with the Country Music Awards).
I wish they had let us know right up front that we were looking at that kind of wait instead of telling us this summer! I understand, to a certain extent, I mean, obviously, there are children whose cases are much more urgent than ours, cancer kids and such...I don't begrudge them that....I just wish they had said it would be a long wait to start with, as Son was very disappointed, too, having had the surgery talked up so that he was prepared for it this summer.
But hey, what can you do. Now we wait and I guess hope they are wrong and the surgery happens sometime while he is still in preschool.
We were thrilled that he would be having the surgery, especially in that time frame, as that would give him time to recover and learn how to talk again before he hit elementary school (he will start kindergarten in 2009).
WELL....we received to official letter saying he was put on the waiting list as of May 29th yesterday. Oh, good, we thought, his surgery should be coming up soon, then. The letter came with a number to call to find out what wait time we were to expect. So I called it. Got the automated answering service, left all pertinent info it asked for...and waited. They called back this morning to let me know his wait time is approximately 15 to 18 MONTHS. We are not amused. I am very upset, because this means his surgery will not take place until he is IN kindergarten, which is going to make it harder for him to fit in, especially when he's going to have difficulty talking for who knows how long, plus he'd probably miss some school....in his first crack at French Immersion...and I may not even be around for his surgery, as I have that International competition in October 2009 (moved from November because it would have clashed with the Country Music Awards).
I wish they had let us know right up front that we were looking at that kind of wait instead of telling us this summer! I understand, to a certain extent, I mean, obviously, there are children whose cases are much more urgent than ours, cancer kids and such...I don't begrudge them that....I just wish they had said it would be a long wait to start with, as Son was very disappointed, too, having had the surgery talked up so that he was prepared for it this summer.
But hey, what can you do. Now we wait and I guess hope they are wrong and the surgery happens sometime while he is still in preschool.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
YeeeeeeHAW!
I am just a little excited....along with about 32 of my counterparts...or chorus mates, if you want to be exact.
This spring at Regionals, we came in 1st place small chorus, 5th place overall (The region being all of BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, NWT, and Yukon). Our scores were fairly good, but we had to wait with bated breath....for the rest of the regions in the world to complete their contests and get their scores in. We finished 7th place small chorus in the world. The top 5 choruses get to go to Internationals on 2009. Based on this, we were pretty much stuck where we were....then the news came in...the top Regional small in the world could not compete as a small at Internationals, as they also won 1st place OVERALL in their region, so has to compete with the big choruses. That put us in 6th. No go, still.
Then...oh bliss....THEN the 2nd place Regional small in the world decided NOT to compete at Internationals! That, by default, put us in 5th place!!!!!!!!! And we are ONLY separated by 5 points from the top small chorus, so this will be a tight competition. Yes, people! Yes! Just what you have likely figured out by now....!
PRAIRIE GOLD CHORUS IS COMPETING IN THE SMALL CHORUS COMPETITION IN 2009 AT INTERNATIONALS!!!!! And where, you might ask, do we get to go?????
Nashville, baby! I have ALWAYS wanted o go to Nashville!!!!! Woo hoo! I am SO going to check out the Grand Ole Opry while there, and all the other stuff. I am SO excited!!!!!
And with us all being mere points apart, there is a good chance we COULD win!!!! We are going to be working our BUTTS off to get our package shiny and perfect and absolutely knock-your-socks-off fantastic and we are gonna GET THAT GOLD MEDAL! Woo!
On another mysterious note, I am trying something over the next couple of months that should be interesting and hopefully kind of fun....but I can't tell you about it until it's done. Hee hee. (And the one other person who knows about this had better not say a WORD!) :)
This spring at Regionals, we came in 1st place small chorus, 5th place overall (The region being all of BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, NWT, and Yukon). Our scores were fairly good, but we had to wait with bated breath....for the rest of the regions in the world to complete their contests and get their scores in. We finished 7th place small chorus in the world. The top 5 choruses get to go to Internationals on 2009. Based on this, we were pretty much stuck where we were....then the news came in...the top Regional small in the world could not compete as a small at Internationals, as they also won 1st place OVERALL in their region, so has to compete with the big choruses. That put us in 6th. No go, still.
Then...oh bliss....THEN the 2nd place Regional small in the world decided NOT to compete at Internationals! That, by default, put us in 5th place!!!!!!!!! And we are ONLY separated by 5 points from the top small chorus, so this will be a tight competition. Yes, people! Yes! Just what you have likely figured out by now....!
PRAIRIE GOLD CHORUS IS COMPETING IN THE SMALL CHORUS COMPETITION IN 2009 AT INTERNATIONALS!!!!! And where, you might ask, do we get to go?????
Nashville, baby! I have ALWAYS wanted o go to Nashville!!!!! Woo hoo! I am SO going to check out the Grand Ole Opry while there, and all the other stuff. I am SO excited!!!!!
And with us all being mere points apart, there is a good chance we COULD win!!!! We are going to be working our BUTTS off to get our package shiny and perfect and absolutely knock-your-socks-off fantastic and we are gonna GET THAT GOLD MEDAL! Woo!
On another mysterious note, I am trying something over the next couple of months that should be interesting and hopefully kind of fun....but I can't tell you about it until it's done. Hee hee. (And the one other person who knows about this had better not say a WORD!) :)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
The Dream and the Reality
It has been awhile since I last posted, mostly out of sheer busy-ness.
I returned at the start of this week from a trip to Toronto to see some friends. That was the trip I mentioned a few months ago where I got 80% off the tickets through WestJet. It was a lot of fun....one friend I saw last year, but hadn't seen her kids for 3 years....the other friend i hadn't seen for 8 years, when I was pregnant with Daughter, so it was the first time for her meeting my kids, and the first time for me meeting hers.
It was a busy week to say the least, especially when you have 2 Moms and 4 kids....make that 5 when the neighbour boy showed up for an entire day. (My Hubby stayed home and her Hubby was at work and out doing other stuff)
While there, I got to try the Wii Fit. I fell in love with it, and hunted all over the city for it when I got home. Got my hands on one of the last 3 in the entire city. What a crazy race that was, to get across the city before it was snatched up. Nobody else in the city had any or knew when more were coming. Spent more on it than my friend (hers was $80, mine was $100 [plus tax])....but I love it. Everyone in the family has their own Mii on it now and even Hubby is working on losing some weight. It will take awhile for us both. If I lose a pound a week, based on my starting point on the Wii Fit, I have 46 weeks to go....but I'm having so much fun on it that I'm thinking the weight will come off faster than that.
I ran my 5km almost 2 weeks ago, in the rain, with a time of something like 38m22s. I was very happy with that score. Have battled a nasty cold and cough ever since, but hey, I ran the whole way just like I planned, and wasn't even stiff after....just super hungry. LOL.
I had another dream about that person again....and again it was one of those dreams that seems to make sense while you are in it, but upon waking up, leaves you going WHAT THE HECK?!!?!? I was in a living room somewhere and there were two swingsets there. The person is there, and is all dressed up in a dark blue suit. He sits on one swingset, I sit on the other. Someone is with me, but I don't know if it's one of my kids or Hubby or a friend. Person starts working on a laptop while on the swingset as I swing on mine. I feel grubby, so decide to go upstairs to change. None of the clothes I find seem to work. They have grease stains and such. I don't know why. I guess somehow I finally find something, because I find myself at the ATM in the hallway, with a friend from Toronto, taking out cash. I don't know why. I remember looking at the money and noticing the difference between the red of the $50 bill and the red of the $25 bill. LOL. Friend and I go back down the hallway and find ourselves in a classroom where Person is, still dressed impeccably in the dark blue suit and walking around the room. There is a teacher there, who is mad at us for being late, and I can't figure out if Person is helping him or a student. We have a many-page math test, with invisible staples, but everyone's package is different. I can't figure out how to do mine, which I find weird and frustrating, as it seems to be simple addition that we are being tested on. Again through it all, I find myself wanting to talk to Person and find out what is going on with him, and to make a good impression.
Of course, I think after that particular dream, if Person should suddenly show up somewhere, someday, dressed in that suit, I'd probably go stark raving mad from shock, trying to figure out if I was awake or dreaming, and if I was really awake, why on earth I would have dreamed about something that actually happened in the future (minus the weird dream components, of course, like the swingsets in a living room)
I returned at the start of this week from a trip to Toronto to see some friends. That was the trip I mentioned a few months ago where I got 80% off the tickets through WestJet. It was a lot of fun....one friend I saw last year, but hadn't seen her kids for 3 years....the other friend i hadn't seen for 8 years, when I was pregnant with Daughter, so it was the first time for her meeting my kids, and the first time for me meeting hers.
It was a busy week to say the least, especially when you have 2 Moms and 4 kids....make that 5 when the neighbour boy showed up for an entire day. (My Hubby stayed home and her Hubby was at work and out doing other stuff)
While there, I got to try the Wii Fit. I fell in love with it, and hunted all over the city for it when I got home. Got my hands on one of the last 3 in the entire city. What a crazy race that was, to get across the city before it was snatched up. Nobody else in the city had any or knew when more were coming. Spent more on it than my friend (hers was $80, mine was $100 [plus tax])....but I love it. Everyone in the family has their own Mii on it now and even Hubby is working on losing some weight. It will take awhile for us both. If I lose a pound a week, based on my starting point on the Wii Fit, I have 46 weeks to go....but I'm having so much fun on it that I'm thinking the weight will come off faster than that.
I ran my 5km almost 2 weeks ago, in the rain, with a time of something like 38m22s. I was very happy with that score. Have battled a nasty cold and cough ever since, but hey, I ran the whole way just like I planned, and wasn't even stiff after....just super hungry. LOL.
I had another dream about that person again....and again it was one of those dreams that seems to make sense while you are in it, but upon waking up, leaves you going WHAT THE HECK?!!?!? I was in a living room somewhere and there were two swingsets there. The person is there, and is all dressed up in a dark blue suit. He sits on one swingset, I sit on the other. Someone is with me, but I don't know if it's one of my kids or Hubby or a friend. Person starts working on a laptop while on the swingset as I swing on mine. I feel grubby, so decide to go upstairs to change. None of the clothes I find seem to work. They have grease stains and such. I don't know why. I guess somehow I finally find something, because I find myself at the ATM in the hallway, with a friend from Toronto, taking out cash. I don't know why. I remember looking at the money and noticing the difference between the red of the $50 bill and the red of the $25 bill. LOL. Friend and I go back down the hallway and find ourselves in a classroom where Person is, still dressed impeccably in the dark blue suit and walking around the room. There is a teacher there, who is mad at us for being late, and I can't figure out if Person is helping him or a student. We have a many-page math test, with invisible staples, but everyone's package is different. I can't figure out how to do mine, which I find weird and frustrating, as it seems to be simple addition that we are being tested on. Again through it all, I find myself wanting to talk to Person and find out what is going on with him, and to make a good impression.
Of course, I think after that particular dream, if Person should suddenly show up somewhere, someday, dressed in that suit, I'd probably go stark raving mad from shock, trying to figure out if I was awake or dreaming, and if I was really awake, why on earth I would have dreamed about something that actually happened in the future (minus the weird dream components, of course, like the swingsets in a living room)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Well, at least there is a name for it
Over the past few months, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I have Lipoma. That, in itself, was not so bad, since, after all, it wasn't cancer. The little niggling problem I had was that a lot of what I read said that they weren't supposed to hurt, or that maybe one or two might hit a nerve once in awhile. The problem with this is that I have a few that are excruciatingly painful, and the others range from mild ache to kind of a burning sensation. And the severity changes. But never are they numb, so to speak. I joined a Lipoma forum, and introduced myself, describing what I was experiencing with mine. The moderator pointed me in the direction of some interesting websites, suggesting that I might have a very specific variation of Lipoma.
I have Dercum's Disease, Type III. Not a great outlook for my future, but at least I now know exactly what I have, what strain of Lipoma, I guess. In a way, it's a relief, because it explains a LOT of symptoms I have had. I wrote a very unhappy e-mail a few months ago, wishing the doctors could figure out what was wrong with me. Be careful what you wish for, I guess. LOL
It's funny because you would think that I should be depressed about this....and I'm not. It's kind of a calm acceptance, and an "okay, where do we go from here?" sort of mentality. I could have them removed surgically, but that would also cause a lot of pain, and they could still come back, making the whole procedure pointless. That, and I don't do so well with anaesthetic or needles. They say losing weight won't reduce them or make them better, and can even make them worse.....but of course, I'm still going to keep on losing the weight, because the least I can do is make myself as healthy as possible, and feel better about myself and how I look. I guess I can use pain relievers when needed. It's funny (in a not-funny way) how fast this has come on and progressed.
But it isn't cancer. It won't kill me. I can learn to live with pain. And now I know what it is and can keep reading up on it and figuring out the best way to carry on for the future. :)
I have Dercum's Disease, Type III. Not a great outlook for my future, but at least I now know exactly what I have, what strain of Lipoma, I guess. In a way, it's a relief, because it explains a LOT of symptoms I have had. I wrote a very unhappy e-mail a few months ago, wishing the doctors could figure out what was wrong with me. Be careful what you wish for, I guess. LOL
It's funny because you would think that I should be depressed about this....and I'm not. It's kind of a calm acceptance, and an "okay, where do we go from here?" sort of mentality. I could have them removed surgically, but that would also cause a lot of pain, and they could still come back, making the whole procedure pointless. That, and I don't do so well with anaesthetic or needles. They say losing weight won't reduce them or make them better, and can even make them worse.....but of course, I'm still going to keep on losing the weight, because the least I can do is make myself as healthy as possible, and feel better about myself and how I look. I guess I can use pain relievers when needed. It's funny (in a not-funny way) how fast this has come on and progressed.
But it isn't cancer. It won't kill me. I can learn to live with pain. And now I know what it is and can keep reading up on it and figuring out the best way to carry on for the future. :)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Happy Mother's Day?
It was not one of those Mother's Days that goes down in memories. Not really, unless you're the type to hold a grudge. I considered doing that, briefly, in my disappointment, but then, what really would be achieved by that?
A number of things contributed to my disappointing day...as we are on a very tight budget, it had already been expressed to me that I was not to expect gifts. While I understand that, I have to admit I had kind of hoped that he hadn't really meant that, that he would do SOMETHING. But no. He meant it. And to top it all off, the day before, I overheard him talking to Daughter....he had thought Mother's Day was on the 18th! So he was less than prepared to start with.
I guess I thought maybe he would try to plan something money-free for my Mother's Day, some special little things to be done or something. No. This is how my Mother's Day went....
I got up at the last possible moment to get ready for church, with hubby still in bed with no intention of getting up. No breakfast in bed from him, nor from the kids. Daughter brought out the plant of dirt with flower seeds in it and cards, all of which she had made at school or sparks or whatnot, and she, at least, had the foresight to make the plant from everyone. Got the kids ready and hauled them off to church where it started well, but ended with Son throwing tantrums all the way home, into the house, and into his room where he was sent, until he could calm down, once we finished our oh-so-fancy lunch of macaroni and cheese (boxed) and tinned beans with hacked up wieners. After lunch, Husband asked me what I wanted to do, I said I didn't know what we could do without money, and instead of his trying to come up with something, he put himself on the couch for a nap, despite having slept in that morning already.
We went for a walk with the dog to mail a letter, which I forgot to bring, so got a scathing look of frustration and a "Well! That's the whole reason we came on this walk in the FIRST place!".
Dog hurt her paw and ended up in a bandage and neck cone. Husband bought me a Slurpee. I made a strawberry crisp to do SOMETHING special for Mother's Day, to go with our chicken stir fry. And that was about it. Whoopee.
Next year had better be something amazing. I know you read this, so consider yourself fairly warned....MAKE ME FEEL SPECIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A number of things contributed to my disappointing day...as we are on a very tight budget, it had already been expressed to me that I was not to expect gifts. While I understand that, I have to admit I had kind of hoped that he hadn't really meant that, that he would do SOMETHING. But no. He meant it. And to top it all off, the day before, I overheard him talking to Daughter....he had thought Mother's Day was on the 18th! So he was less than prepared to start with.
I guess I thought maybe he would try to plan something money-free for my Mother's Day, some special little things to be done or something. No. This is how my Mother's Day went....
I got up at the last possible moment to get ready for church, with hubby still in bed with no intention of getting up. No breakfast in bed from him, nor from the kids. Daughter brought out the plant of dirt with flower seeds in it and cards, all of which she had made at school or sparks or whatnot, and she, at least, had the foresight to make the plant from everyone. Got the kids ready and hauled them off to church where it started well, but ended with Son throwing tantrums all the way home, into the house, and into his room where he was sent, until he could calm down, once we finished our oh-so-fancy lunch of macaroni and cheese (boxed) and tinned beans with hacked up wieners. After lunch, Husband asked me what I wanted to do, I said I didn't know what we could do without money, and instead of his trying to come up with something, he put himself on the couch for a nap, despite having slept in that morning already.
We went for a walk with the dog to mail a letter, which I forgot to bring, so got a scathing look of frustration and a "Well! That's the whole reason we came on this walk in the FIRST place!".
Dog hurt her paw and ended up in a bandage and neck cone. Husband bought me a Slurpee. I made a strawberry crisp to do SOMETHING special for Mother's Day, to go with our chicken stir fry. And that was about it. Whoopee.
Next year had better be something amazing. I know you read this, so consider yourself fairly warned....MAKE ME FEEL SPECIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Successes and side effects
I have been going to the gym as frequently as my (and Husband's) schedule has allowed, after papers each morning (which has been 106-109 a day for the past few days, and COLD....where is this spring?). I run for approximately 40-45 minutes, around the track. 23 laps jogging, 1 lap fast walking to essentially stop, since my body reaches a state of equilibrium where it thinks it should jog forever, whether I tell to to stop or not. I always run in lane 4. It's pretty much the absolute center. People who are walking are in lanes 1-3, lane 5 is a jogging lane also, and lane 6 is a running lane. There are days when even some of the walkers are faster than me jogging.....but at least these are the speed walkers, so I don't suck all THAT badly. Lane 4 is 220m long. That means I jog 5.06km a morning, which is good, as my 5Km fun run is in a mere 16 days.
I'm doing well. I plug myself into my iPod (which is an immense help by giving me a rousing, pulsing beat and also drowning out my breathing) and chug around the track, trying my best to ignore everybody else, and not feel too badly about the fact that everybody seems to be in so much better shape than I and for the most part are all faster than me. After all, the main point of this is to get healthier and also to achieve the execution of an actual 5KM run, which is something I have never even signed up for before, let alone actually DONE it.
And to a certain extent, I am reaching milestones and successes. It used to be that 3KM would take me an hour. The fact that I am doing 5km in 45 minutes is a major achievement. My strides are lengthening and starting to get out of the chug-chug-chug look and more into the I-can-run-like-a-normal-human look. I know because half of the days I go, the direction I have to jog has me running 1/4 of the track facing a huge wall of mirrors. The other half of the days, I am directed to run the other way, so that I am running AWAY from the mirrors and would have to make a conscious effort and turn my head sideways to look as I passed them.
I feel better, too. I don't finish feeling like I'm going to have an asthma attack, though I still sweat like a pig when I am done and changing. I am getting the runner's high during my run, too, where I feel like smiling during some laps. I get second winds and don't feel like I'm absolutely going to die if I push on through the wall. I don't get all stiff and sore anymore....any signs of that last only a few hours at most.
I like to think I look better, too. I actually looked at myself in the changeroom mirror today (no, nothing gross, AFTER I was changed, get your minds out of the gutter)....and thought "wow....I really look pretty today!" This, for me, if you know anything about my background, is huge.
Then came the side effects. I stepped on the scale for my weekly weigh-in. I gained 4 pounds. 6 pounds in the last 2 weeks combined. What the hey? I've been eating well, working hard on getting that cholesterol level down....this had better be muscle and water! What a let down THAT was!
The other side effect is that I am SURE I have lost some fat off my arms....they are a little more...uh...floppy. Not nice. And also because of the reduced fat content of my arms, I am discovering new lipomas. I really am becoming lumpy.....or have been lumpy but only now have been in a state where they were find-able. At least they are not visible to others, and are just lipomas, not cancerous. I've read up on my condition and apparently some people get hundreds. I am not at that stage, thankfully.
So on I press, in the hopes of good health, good looks, and the achievement of the 5KM run on May 25th. Oh yes, and in the relief of a good night's sleep that will come with my finally quitting papers after delivery on May 27. Yay.
I'm doing well. I plug myself into my iPod (which is an immense help by giving me a rousing, pulsing beat and also drowning out my breathing) and chug around the track, trying my best to ignore everybody else, and not feel too badly about the fact that everybody seems to be in so much better shape than I and for the most part are all faster than me. After all, the main point of this is to get healthier and also to achieve the execution of an actual 5KM run, which is something I have never even signed up for before, let alone actually DONE it.
And to a certain extent, I am reaching milestones and successes. It used to be that 3KM would take me an hour. The fact that I am doing 5km in 45 minutes is a major achievement. My strides are lengthening and starting to get out of the chug-chug-chug look and more into the I-can-run-like-a-normal-human look. I know because half of the days I go, the direction I have to jog has me running 1/4 of the track facing a huge wall of mirrors. The other half of the days, I am directed to run the other way, so that I am running AWAY from the mirrors and would have to make a conscious effort and turn my head sideways to look as I passed them.
I feel better, too. I don't finish feeling like I'm going to have an asthma attack, though I still sweat like a pig when I am done and changing. I am getting the runner's high during my run, too, where I feel like smiling during some laps. I get second winds and don't feel like I'm absolutely going to die if I push on through the wall. I don't get all stiff and sore anymore....any signs of that last only a few hours at most.
I like to think I look better, too. I actually looked at myself in the changeroom mirror today (no, nothing gross, AFTER I was changed, get your minds out of the gutter)....and thought "wow....I really look pretty today!" This, for me, if you know anything about my background, is huge.
Then came the side effects. I stepped on the scale for my weekly weigh-in. I gained 4 pounds. 6 pounds in the last 2 weeks combined. What the hey? I've been eating well, working hard on getting that cholesterol level down....this had better be muscle and water! What a let down THAT was!
The other side effect is that I am SURE I have lost some fat off my arms....they are a little more...uh...floppy. Not nice. And also because of the reduced fat content of my arms, I am discovering new lipomas. I really am becoming lumpy.....or have been lumpy but only now have been in a state where they were find-able. At least they are not visible to others, and are just lipomas, not cancerous. I've read up on my condition and apparently some people get hundreds. I am not at that stage, thankfully.
So on I press, in the hopes of good health, good looks, and the achievement of the 5KM run on May 25th. Oh yes, and in the relief of a good night's sleep that will come with my finally quitting papers after delivery on May 27. Yay.
Monday, May 5, 2008
I've been Tagged AGAIN!
A friend of mine has recently written a blog about 7 weird things about her, and I have been tagged to do the same because I opened my big mouth once to say I'd never been tagged for it. So now I have to figure out what is so weird about me. Hmm. Here goes...
1) I have lived in 25 different houses or apartments in 10 towns, villages, or cities, in 5 provinces and 1 Territory
2) I can wiggle my ears
3) Coffee makes me mellow, instead of jittery
4) I love having the bottoms of my feet tickled
5) I am petrified of calling people on the phone other than best friends and Husband
6) When I was pregnant, not only did I like pickles and ice cream, but tried to explain to Husband WHICH pickles you should eat with WHICH ice cream. (For example, dill goes with chocolate, bread and butter pickles go with strawberry....)
7) I am insanely obsessed with keeping in touch with friends and do not understand why I seem to be the only one who will automatically try planning a get together any time I am in somebody's neighbourhood, or to actually GO on trips to visit people. Come on people! VISIT MY NEIGHBOURHOOD!!!!!!!! (I mean those of you living outside my city, though anybody nearby reading this [who I know] can call me and we'll do coffee, for sure)
Okay...now I tag....ummmmm....BRAD! KENDRA! Everybody ELSE! :)
1) I have lived in 25 different houses or apartments in 10 towns, villages, or cities, in 5 provinces and 1 Territory
2) I can wiggle my ears
3) Coffee makes me mellow, instead of jittery
4) I love having the bottoms of my feet tickled
5) I am petrified of calling people on the phone other than best friends and Husband
6) When I was pregnant, not only did I like pickles and ice cream, but tried to explain to Husband WHICH pickles you should eat with WHICH ice cream. (For example, dill goes with chocolate, bread and butter pickles go with strawberry....)
7) I am insanely obsessed with keeping in touch with friends and do not understand why I seem to be the only one who will automatically try planning a get together any time I am in somebody's neighbourhood, or to actually GO on trips to visit people. Come on people! VISIT MY NEIGHBOURHOOD!!!!!!!! (I mean those of you living outside my city, though anybody nearby reading this [who I know] can call me and we'll do coffee, for sure)
Okay...now I tag....ummmmm....BRAD! KENDRA! Everybody ELSE! :)
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