Sifting Through the Sands

Somehow it Suddenly became 2009

2009-02-10T12:31:00.002-05:00

So it would seem that i have missed an entire year of blogging, I am definitely not very good at this. Though in my defense, dealing with my fibro and CFS has been an all encompassing force that I have had to deal with. Lets see, what happened last year that might be mentionable.... I finally moved out of the basement and into a much larger and brighter main floor apartment. I think the kitchen has almost the same square footage as my old apartment, well that could be a bit of an over statement, but it sure feels like it. During the summer months my Fibro and CFS calmed down abit and I felt somewhat human during that time. However, once the weather started to change it all went downhill. Anyway, Murphy and I are now only 2 short blocks from the park so there have been many more walks there than before. Murphy now expects to go to the park everyday.

Some not too good things have also happened. Like I said, once the weather started to turn in the fall my Fibro and CFS really started to flare up and has been a constant issue up until now. I am trying a multi-displinary approch to manage the illness which includes medical specialists, massage, chiropratics (not really into the adjustments yet)but the assesment was great and was told that I have a slipped rib on the left upper back... joy oh joy. I will be starting accupucture with my chiro next week. I am also seeing a naturopath to help improve my diet and hopefully use some more natural ways of managing all this crap. And I have come to the realization that management is the best I will be able to do.

Murphy has been seen by an orthopedic vet and has been given the go ahead to have the FHO surgery to fix his hip. I am hoping to have it done mid-April so that by the time he is in his rehab stage I will be on my summer vacation and will be able to do the rehab myself. So I am trying to save as much as possible as the surgery will be approximately $4000.00.

Well I guess that enough for now.

3 weeks Without....

2007-10-25T13:11:00.000-04:00

So it has been 3 weeks since I have had to stop taking Prexige... it has really sucked. I was given a new medication - Meloxicam - and meh... not as good. Oh well... what can you do, I guess my liver is a little more important.

I did manage to get out to a Belly dancing class last night, finally lol... actually didn't do too badly... even though it has been like 6 months. The craziness of it all... lots of fun and totally proof positive that I'm seriously out of shape - not that I needed anymore proof... :p

Anti-Inflammatory drug recall...

2007-10-05T11:25:00.000-04:00

The drug, Prexige, I have been taking for the chronic inflammation in my hip has been pulled from the shelves by the FDA.... I fully understand why, it has been proven to be very dangerous including two liver transplants and 2 deaths associated with it. However, it actually worked for me, so this means I will have to start from scratch to find something that will give me the level of relief I have had for the last month... by no means has it been perfect, but it has been so much better than before. Ah well... maybe the next one will be even better.

New Temple Discovered in Mosque in Luxor!!!!!

2007-10-03T10:04:00.001-04:00

The temple, dating to the reign of Ramsess II, was discovered within the walls of a mosque in Luxor after a fire. Here's the link if any of you are interested.... http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070927-egypt-temple.html

They Have Found a Queen in Egypt!!!!!

2007-06-28T08:07:00.000-04:00

While getting ready for work I was stunned to see an article saying that they had found the mummy of the great Queen Hatshepsut. Queen Hatshepsut was one of the greatest women in history, though most of her story was erased and she was vilivied as an usuper. She ruled Egypt for over 20 years, in the 18th Dynasty, and proclaimed herself Pharoah and ruled as a God King. Under her leadership Egypt flourished both internally and as an empire.

I can't wait for the TV show on Discovery Channel next month... I'm such a geek :p

CAMPING

2007-06-19T08:23:00.000-04:00

YAY.... I'm going camping at the beach for a whole week....YAY Well it is not roughing it camping, we are borrowing a small trailer for the week. My mom does not think I should sleep on the ground anymore, and maybe she is right... oh well, doesn't matter I will be spending the week at the beach. My mom, foster brother and I are going... kinda too bad my foster brother is coming, but that's life and Jim needs a break and if worse comes to worse... we can send him home... All I want to do is hang out on the beach, swim and not have to think about much. I can't wait - 3 weeks until camping :)

New Blog

2007-06-18T15:14:00.000-04:00

Again it has been awhile since I have posted... but today I decided that I would hopefully continue to post on this blog about the good fun things going on in my life and I have created a second blog - http://puttingafacetofibromyalgia.blogspot.com/

Where I can let loose about how crappy it is to have fibromyalgia and all the other health issues I am facing in my life. Hopefully it will not only be a place for me to bitch but also a place to explore, learn and teach others about this invisable disablity. So if any of you are ever interested, please feel free to check it out. But be forwarned, there will probably be alot of bitching going on :p

A few other updates: my grandmother passed away on April 20th as most of you will already know... thanks to everyone for their well wishes.

I am now working 8 am to 4 pm... which rocks... even though I have to get up abit earlier. But now I actually have time to walk Murphy again, feel like I actually have time to do things and not as stressful commute.

I'm getting back on track for losing weight... Have lost a couple of pounds and hoping to continue the trend... if anyone is interested in maybe some afternoon hikes - Toronto Island, along the Don, to the beach... that sort of thing on a Saturday or Sunday - Murphy would love the extra company, just let me know.

Hope all is well with all of you out there :)

Been Away for Awhile...

2007-04-02T08:50:00.000-04:00

Well I haven't really been posting recently... I guess beacause all that has been going on has been fairly negative and I didn't want to burden or sound like I wanted pity for it. Since things are not really getting all that much better, I decided I needed to get it out and in the open.

For most of you, you already know that the diagnosis of fibromyalgia, ontop of the already exsiting chronic pain, is pretty much official. So if I have been noncommunicative etc. I'm sorry... but I have been living on barely 4 hours of sleep a night for the last year and a half and so achy all the time that I have started to withdraw and just want to stay home. I just don't have the energy. I'm still here and I miss you all, but when you barely have enough energy to get through a work day let alone anything else... even Murphy has suffered, as we don't get out to the park or for walks anymore. I keep telling myself... it's nice out and when I get home Murphy and I are going to go for a walk but by the time I actually get home.... doesn't happen.

Anyway.... the next bit of bad news that I got last night is pretty hard for me. My mom just told me that my grandma is dying of lung cancer. I have known for about a month or two that she had been unwell... but they could not figure out why. So she went for test after test, because she was having severe back pain, they finally did a chest x-ray and found cancer throughout her lungs. So my mom is taking her in tomorrow to see if there is anything they can do or if it is too far advanced for treatment... of course if treatment was an option we would have to get my grandma to do it... she is definitely my grandma... doesn't want to be in hospital... and she is STUBBORN... lol.... anyway... there ya go... an update.

Meme

2006-11-29T16:34:00.000-05:00

Liked it alot... kinda funny, stole it from M. and look we both come up with the same card.

You are The Tower

Ambition, fighting, war, courage. Destruction, danger, fall, ruin.

The Tower represents war, destruction, but also spiritual renewal. Plans are disrupted. Your views and ideas will change as a result.

The Tower is a card about war, a war between the structures of lies and the lightning flash of truth. The Tower stands for "false concepts and institutions that we take for real." You have been shaken up; blinded by a shocking revelation. It sometimes takes that to see a truth that one refuses to see. Or to bring down beliefs that are so well constructed. What's most important to remember is that the tearing down of this structure, however painful, makes room for something new to be built.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

I Ache

2006-11-24T14:41:00.000-05:00

I ache from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet.... add that to the hip and lower back pain and the lack of sleep I am one hurting unit. Of course the fact that my new family doctor (yes I finally found a new doctor) has me taking one, yes I said one extra strength tylenol every 4 hours... it's doing wonders for the pain, really, seriously... I wouldn't believe me either. So next time I see him I am going to ask to start the elimination process for the diagnosis of fibromylagia... I know the 18 pressure points that are used and so far I am able to hit 8 of them, need 11 for a positive diagnosis, that I have a serious reaction too. Wouldn't that be grand, guess what goes hand and hand with fibromylagia, chronic fatigue syndrome... nice eh? Oh yeah and depression, pain, lack of sleep and so much more. All this is starting to sound vaguely familar.... Anyway, I have had my rant... so now I will go back to counting down the minutes until my next Tylenol.

Insomnia

2006-11-22T03:04:00.000-05:00

So it's 3am, and I have been up for the last hour, and it would seem that there is no chance of going back to sleep. Or i'll finally feel tired and want to sleep right when I need to be getting up for work. Gawd.... it's going to be a long day.

I'm Ready for Winter

2006-11-20T08:31:00.000-05:00

Well at least the car is. Was up to the parent's house this weekend, had a nice visit with the family, including my grandma and got my car all ready for winter. It has its snow tires on and gotta love those guys, cause they did an alignment too and they didn't see any obvious damage to the car from the accident. So overall a good weekend.

It Finally Happened....

2006-11-09T12:44:00.000-05:00

ok, actually 2 things have happened. One is a good thing and the other not so good. I'll do the not so good first so that I can cheer myself up with the good thing.

Bad Thing: I was finally in an accident on the DVP, I don't count the multiple stone chips and replaced windshields, anyway... I was rearended while stopped in traffic. The is car is ok and I'm ok (so that's some good news), though I did take yesterday off just in case. Blah... going to have the backend checked out on the weekend to make sure there was no structual damage. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Ok, now for the Good Thing.... and it will come as a shock to most of you as I have not mentioned this really to anyone. I have met a boy, that's right me the chronically single friend,has met a boy, a very nice boy, and a very cute boy, so I'm in the seeing where things may go stage.

So... that's what's been going on.

Murphy is on the DL

2006-09-26T19:45:00.000-04:00

So Murphy is out for at least a week. He has been having issues with his right hind leg. I gave it a week or two to see if it was just a muscle strain, but it continues to act up, so off to the vet we went. The vet offically put Murphy on the disabled list, no off leash activities. So now he is moping on the couch. I hope that it is no more than a muscle thing... it could be worse, arthitis or hip dysplasia... my poor puppy. Now he's on dog anti-inflamatories for the next 5 days and no really active play. Hopefully the rest and meds will clear up the problem.

I'm Sick

2006-09-12T16:54:00.000-04:00

It's not even fall yet and I am already sick... fever, body ache, sore throat and cough... Tomorrow is going to be a sick day. No work for me.

Finally

2006-09-12T13:36:00.000-04:00

Someone has woken up and noticed that models are waaaayyyyy too skinny.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2006-09-12T163513Z_01_L11573495_RTRUKOC_0_US-SPAIN-MODELS1.xml&src=rss

I think I heard on Breakfast Television that the smallest models allowed would have to be a size 8. Can you believe it... normally the average is size 2. Finally, finally, finally.... and I could so care less how this is going to impact those 'naturally' thin American models. Maybe now they will eat something.

B-day Thing

2006-09-01T16:02:00.000-04:00

Your Birthdate: January 13

You're dominant and powerful. You always need to be in charge.
While others respect your competence, you can be a bit of a dictator.
Hard working and serious, you never let yourself down.
You are exact and accurate - and you expect others to be the same way.

Your strength: You always get the job done

Your weakness: You're a perfectionist to a fault

Your power color: Gray

Your power symbol: Checkmark

Your power month: April

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Vacation:

2006-08-11T15:13:00.000-04:00

Blog update:

Tuesday August 8, 2006
So I am on vacation, sitting on the deck of the cottage enjoying the sunshine and sounds of the waves hitting the shore. Murphy is relaxing in the shade and it is quite. Nice and quite. Only the sounds of nature. It’s great. My mom, grandma and Mike went into town to pick up some stuff that we forget to bring with us yesterday. As we were in a hurry to leave – trying to get away from my crazy sister-in-law. So I have the cottage all to myself for a little bit. I’ve decided to hang out here until Thursday and then head back into Owen Sound for a few days by the pool and going to the beach. Being out here is so amazing, it is totally the way I would love to spend every summer, through in some camping and I would be in heaven. Too bad that I have to work all summer and only can take like a week of vacation. I could do this for a whole month. Though the lack of internet is a bit of a drag, no checking my email or reading everyone’s blogs….it would be so easy to get really out of touch… though I can get a signal on my cell, so at least that’s
something.

Came up yesterday after spending the weekend in TO – lots of things to do. Friday was Laura’s birthday so we all went out for Ehiopian food and then beer at Café Volo. Though I was only able to make it through one beer, I was insanely tired and it was a struggle even to get out the door. Saturday was pretty much cleaning up the apartment and napping. Sunday was also cleaning up the apartment, getting ready for my vacation and napping. Good thing I had that nap because we went to Velvet Underground for Spirit of the Edge night. It was great, lots of good music, a little dancing and beer. A very fun night out. Up early on Monday, believe it or not, packed up the car and headed north, stopped in at the parents and had a swim and then piled into my mom’s car and came out to the cottage. Where I find myself now. Relaxing and not worrying about anything. The weather is great and the breeze is nice and there is no one around. All in all a good start to my vacation.

So vacation has been great up until now... warm, sunny, at the cottage reading books. Arrived back in Owen Sound on Thursday which was perfect timing as the temputure decided to cool off in the afternoon. Made it out for a couple of drinks with Alison... was home by 10pm mind you. Pretty crazy, I've discovered that I need to have a nap in the afternoon. That's the problem... need more time to sleep. Well actually I need to get my sleep disorder figured out but hey... I'll go with naps in the afternoon until that happens. So if anyone knows of someone hiring a parttime person for a full time wage and benefits, let me know.... I will not be holding my breath.

And now for the kicker... took my car in for it's regular service + brake service... does everyone remember my track record with brakes.... well this time it wasn't $700 at least. $378 later.... so no going out for me for quite some time as I am now officially broke and I mean broke.

And now for some pictures:

Murphy on the deck in Toronto: this one is getting blown up and framed

On the way to the cottage in the car.

Sunset at the cottage.

Murphy enjoying a light read at the cottage.

Thinking of Updating....

2006-07-30T14:09:00.000-04:00

I was thinking of updating this morning, but never did... I think it's because I don't really have all that much to say. Or the fact that I really don't feel like doing it. So I'm updating about how I really don't feel like updating right now.

Stolen from M.

2006-07-24T08:51:00.000-04:00

It's so very true....

You Have a Melancholic Temperament

Introspective and reflective, you think about everything and anything.
You are a soft-hearted daydreamer. You long for your ideal life.
You love silence and solitude. Everyday life is usually too chaotic for you.

Given enough time alone, it's easy for you to find inner peace.
You tend to be spiritual, having found your own meaning of life.
Wise and patient, you can help people through difficult times.

At your worst, you brood and sulk. Your negative thoughts can trap you.
You are reserved and withdrawn. This makes it hard to connect to others.
You tend to over think small things, making decisions difficult.

What Temperment Are You?

I make less money....

2006-07-13T16:18:00.000-04:00

Yes I am still amonge the working poor. Over the last two days the goverment has managed to rip me off by $263.72 per year.... I now make $4.52 less per pay, and because I make over $30,600 they reduced my GST credit by a good $30 - wow... doesn't seem like all that much but for me it's a big deal. I feeling very screwed over. I just don't have any luck when it comes to money. :-(

I made it up....

2006-07-13T10:40:00.000-04:00

in time to take the dog out for a walk this morning. First time in weeks, I've just been so exhusted all the time and just can not wake up at my usual 6:30am. But, today I managed to get up and feel somewhat human, more awake then I have in weeks. Though when I came into work I had people asking if I was tired, and telling me that I looked tired... god what must I have looked like for the last couple of weeks then - Zombie Colette - I wonder if last nights good sleep had to do with that beer I had.... mmmmmm I will have to do some more research on this thing called beer.

Update

2006-07-12T08:46:00.000-04:00

Let's see... I talked to the head huncho of the Fines and Returns department from U of T - he decided to remove the $50 overdue fee but then proceeded to tell me that I was going to owe $150 for a book I claimed to have returned in 2003. I really love how they inform people of this sort of thing. I figured it was all sorted out because I had not heard from them, but no..... He kept trying to tell me that it showed on my.Libarary account... no no it does not and never has... have the screen shots to prove it. So not too happy about that... and he hasn't called me back with another update... so I'll have to call him again. There has to be a point to all this... if anyone has any idea what it might be, besides to just fucking piss me off, let me know.

Friday night was spent hanging out with Murphy, nothing really to write home about. Saturday started out great, Murphy and I spent a relaxing hour and a half at the PARK. Just sitting in the sun, well Murphy sat in the shade, tossing the ball every once in a while. It was nice. But by 2pm I was an emotional wreck... barely made it through Murphy's afternoon walk... had to hold back tears for most of it. I hate how that sort of thing can sneak up on you like that. So the rest of Saturday was a complete write off. I slept for a couple hours and then just hung out on the couch. By Sunday morning I had recovered and was out to meet Laura for a stroll through the Outdoor Art show and a yummy brunch. Before having my arm twisted to join her for the World Cup final. So off we went. Started at Hoops for the first half and then went to meet Darcy at an other place as there was no way that he was going to get in at Hoops. Meet some nice new friends, tried to drown our sorrow as France went down to Italy in a shootout... quel horreur... Then I was lured by free beer to an after game party, but I tried to be good and stumbled home by 10 pm. Poor Murphy was beside himself... Monday was evil. Good thing I drank 2 bottles of water before going to work, I managed to get around the headache that was brewing. Yesterday was a normal Tuesday, work, walk the dog and meeting Laura for belly dancing.

Otherwise it's been a pretty non-eventful kinda week. I have had no motivation to do anything, and have pretty much none nothing... the sleep problem is continuing to cause havoc... hopefully in Aug. when I see the Dr. we'll be able to find a solution.

Sometimes I can be so Dense....

2006-07-07T13:59:00.000-04:00

So here I have been panicing about the fact that my family Dr. decided to shut down his practice and that I haven't had a family Dr. since the beginning of May. I have been trying to find a new Dr. and it has been hell. So today while surfing the Ontario College of Physicians, what do I see... Dr's at the University of Toronto Student Health Centre... DUH.... I'm a student at the U of T.... hey wait... that means I can go there and they offer full services and have appointments in the evening. I was able to get a female Dr. and an evening appointment, and I don't even have to wait that long. I have an appointment on Aug. 2 at 5:45pm. If I wasn't so picky I could have been in even earlier. Panicing has now stopped. : )

U of T Blues

2006-06-30T13:06:00.000-04:00

and no I don't mean the sports teams.... So I have been trying to figure out what course to take in September from the numerous selection of 1.5. There is one full credit course and one half credit course that I can fit into my work schedual. I was leaning towards the Archaeology of Ancient Mesopotamia for a half credit, so onto ROSI I went to register. But it would not let me. So after fiddling and searching for an hour I discovered that somehow I owed the Library $50, for a book that was checked out and returned in 2005. Arg.... this is the second time this has happened. Still waiting to hear back from the Overdue and Fines department, hopefully I will not have to go down to the school to fill out some sort of crazy paperwork. This is no way to start a long weekend.

Too Busy to Blog...

2006-06-27T21:32:00.000-04:00

So here are some pictures to fill in the missing posts:

Murphy at the vet - super healthy dog

my Guardian

couch in a Kia

heee I have flowers

couch in a Kia II

new expandable bookcase

Murphy on the new couch

new TV stand

Murphy on the couch again

old colour of the apartment

new colour of the apartment

Ever have One of THOSE days?

2006-06-13T10:03:00.000-04:00

Well, today would be the day for me. It all started at 5am this morning, when I woke up the omnipresence of back pain, from which I tossed and turned for an hour and half until my alarm woke me from the semidream state that I was in. Guess what I was dreaming about... having a sore back... go figure. Then I barely managed to get the garbage out in time for pickup, as I decided not to get out of bed until 6:50am... I swear they are coming earlier and earlier and since I put out a garbage bag I refuse to put it out the night before due to the overgrown racoons that live on the upstairs balcony. The drive to work sucked, as I vaguely recall, my memory of the drive is slightly hazy as I was half asleep. Once at work, the phone started ringing right at 8:30am and I had to spend 15 minutes explaining how to find a file and attach it to an email to send to us. Just to top it all off when I went to start up streaming radio and do you think it would work...of course not. Someone please send the waaaaahhhhhbulance stat.... ugg and it's only 10am.

A whole week....

2006-06-09T12:55:00.000-04:00

A whole week to update. I've been a naughty blogger. Lots of stuff going on and no updates. Ok, lets see.... last Friday I redid 4 loads of laundry, which wasn't all the laundry that had been washed in that evil Downy with bleach. The hives have finally receded which means I don't look like a leper anymore. On Saturday I met up with Laura and we went to the technical rehearsal for the belly dancing Student Gala. I must be crazy for letting her talk me into that, though it's not like she strong armed me or anything... I just couldn't let her go alone... "aside" Laura, next time we decide to do something like that can we do it at the start of the 6 week practice time instead of the Tuesday before? 'aside finished' Anyway, we managed to get through the rehearsal. I went home and cleaned up while waiting for my doom. Ok... I might be being 'alittle' melodramatic. :) That evening we met up again and actually performed, on stage, infront of lots of people. Good thing I didn't know anyone. Managed to get through the whole 3 minutes without messing up, but right at the end, damn those shimmies, I started to lose my hip scarve. It started sliding down. So what do I do, but of course, I start laughing. But somehow I was able to hold on until the finish and then quickly do an exit stage right. Oh well, I guess the point of the exercise was that we did it.
On Sunday, Laura, Darcy and I went to the Gypsy Co-op to see our teacher dance. She just makes it look so easy.... She was absolutely amazing. Maybe one day.
The past week has been otherwise pretty quite. Tonight I am hopefully going to finally get the living room area painted, as, weather permitting, I will be hopefully getting my couch this weekend. Oh boy, how exciting can one be? ;-pppp

Feeling better now....

2006-06-02T09:58:00.000-04:00

So yeah, I went through a couple of weeks of just feeling like crap. Migrains, upset tummy and overall blah. Of course I tool Murphy to the vet and he was super duper.... If the vet had not know his actual age she would have said he was 3. All the vet assistants loved him and he was centre of attention the whole time we were there. So he just turned on the charm. They were all gushing about how cute he was and what great shape he was in and how shiny his coat was and what a great mom I was that I was getting embarressed, but proud all at the same time. I'm just not that great at taking compliments.

Last weekend was busy... L. held this months SnB so headed over there for some good bitching...not so mucg stitching for me... but hey at least I try. M. and I decided that it was a Cosmo day, it was so nice out and we figured it was a girly drink kinda day. After some bitching and drinking M. and I went to meet A. to head to a BBQ at a friend of M.'s. M. called up and asked if I could bring Murphy, 'cause I was feeling guilty that I was out all day.... so Murphy came to the BBQ with us. And of course he was the life of the party. Go figure. On Sunday, I went to my first belly dancing class in 2 weeks. Unfortunently it was taught by the one instructor that we really don't like. She just does stuff and doesn't really instruct. Oh well, we now know when she teaches and we will avoid those days.

This week I've noticed that I have developed a bumpy rash across my upper back and neck...now it seems to have spread to my right hand and along the right side of my head. The only thing that I can think of that might be causing this is the Downy I bought... I normally use scent free, but I thought I would try the new one that has colour safe bleach in it. But it also has a scent.... So that will mean I have to wash everything sheets, clothes, towels etc... again. Fun....... Hopefully that's all that I will need to do. Otherwise, I will be completely covered in little bumps. I think that my back and side of face is from when I am sleeping, but I'm starting to notice it on my shoulder too... kinda were the tank top goes. I'll have to see if I still have some medicated cream around the house. :(

Update

2006-05-24T22:06:00.000-04:00

Very healthly dog, not so healthly me and a nicely painted bedroom...

and oh yeah.... you can fit a couch in a Kia....
well ok... a small couch :)

The Pictures are up....

2006-05-17T08:53:00.000-04:00

So all the pictures of my trip are up. About 570 or so.... I took a few out here and there as they were way too blurry, damn not being able to use my flash... my hands just are not steady enough for that. You can clicky on the side panal on the right and you will go right to my Flickr account. Enjoy. Oh yeah, still working on titles and descriptions and things...

Rain, rain go away....

2006-05-11T14:24:00.000-04:00

Ok, I know that we need the rain, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. This kind of weather makes me tired, sore, and grumpy..... oh wait that's just the way I am... ok shut up.... it makes me more tired, more sore and more grumpy. To cheer myself up I have to tell everyone what happened when M. and I went shopping last Saturday. We had stopped at the Tim Horton's by Old Navy et al. and there was a pop can in the cup holder, so being the good friend she is, she took the can to the garbage. On her way back she tried to get into the wrong car.... I so wish I had my camera... the look on her face when she figured out that it was the wrong red car was priceless. Of course the owner of the other red car didn't seem too amused by the whole thing... but I sure was laughing. The other thing that I'm doing to make myself feel better is planning where I'm going to in Egypt next March. That's when I've decided that I'm going to go again. I should have most of this trip paid off... well at least the shopping ;-ppppppppp If anyone is interested... I'm thinking a group of 6 would be cool.

Tired already

2006-05-10T09:55:00.000-04:00

I've only been home for a week and a half and I'm already exhasted. Tired to the point of barely being able to get out of bed in the morning. Blah. I was probably just as tired when I was away but was too distracted by all the stuff to see. Fell asleep at my desk yesterday afternoon, good thing it was on my lunch hour. And with S. going to the 6th floor, I'm now here all by myself... no one to talk to and no one to make sure I don't fall asleep. Waaaaaabuuuulance where are you?

Addition: Fun with Credit Reports

I decided to get a credit report... it was way too much work, but now I have one. And actually my credit is pretty good, I have better credit than 52% of the Canadian population. However, by debt ratio is not so good. Oh well, I will survive.

More Pictures...

2006-05-05T19:27:00.000-04:00

Since I just can't bring myself to typing a whole lot....
Me in front of the Pyramid of Khafra

Kissing Moses

The Sphinx

There I am...

Look where I am now...climbing Menkaura's pyramid

On the train

At Abu Simbel

Sailing on the Nile

Feluccia sail

Belly dancing anyone?

I'm Home

2006-04-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

So I arrived home on Friday night, and I'm just getting around to posting today. Damn jetleg... I went to bed yesterday at 4:30... PM woke up around 10:30pm (Sorry L. got your message then) and then went back to bed around midnight and didn't get up until 8 this morning. Holy sleep. Though I feel much better now.

Ok... now that I am home I'm going to get some pictures up.... so here goes.

The Pyramid of Khafra and Sphinx

My new necklace - 18k gold and Lapis Lazuli

Sunset over the Nile

Me in front of the Stepped Pyramid

The Great Pryamid

I'm hoping to get some up on Flcker, I guess that means I might actually have to pay for a membership.... Especially since I have over 600 pictures.

Last Day

2006-04-27T15:19:00.000-04:00

So this is my last night in Egpyt, we head out tomorrow morning on the long trek back to Canada. It has has been amazing here. As I type this there is a wedding going on behind me. Well the wedding part is done, now it's the celebrating time, and they are definitly celebrating lots of music and bellydancers with candlabras on their heads. Very Egpytian, though the bag pipes earlier was alittle out of place, but hey, why not. Scottish/Egyptian wedding.... very exciting. Anyway, as I was saying I will be back in the Great White North tomorrow night. I'm still trying to figure out how I will carry all the stuff I bought. Can you say shopping spree. I'm running out of time on my internet card so I'll just say that I'll see you all when I get home... get ready for pictures... there is a hell of a lot of them : )

Safe and Sound

2006-04-25T14:18:00.000-04:00

Just to let everyone know that my Aunt and I are safe and sound in Cairo. I know that you may have heard of the bombings that took place just the other day, they were centred at a resort in the Sinai which is a fair distance from where we are. Actually we really didn't know about the attack until I started reading emails that were saying that everyone was worried. We had noticed an increased police and military presence but that would seem to be fairly common here, so we didn't really think too much about it. Anyway, like I said, we are okay and had a relaxing day here in Cairo which included some suntanning, swimming and a massage. And if you can believe it, I think I'm all monumented out. We have seen so much and there is still so much to see that I have already started a list of the places to see next time.
I'm starting to think that I could start my own tour operation to Egypt. Especially, since all the guides here just loved me. They all want me to stay in touch and if I need anything just to let them know. Can you say business opertunities. Anyway, my Aunt wasn't able to marry me off, she was only getting offers of camels and she was holding out for Arabian horses.... though I've heard that a 1000 camels is quite the fortune. So I will be home on Friday afternoon, am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. At least until I can afford to come back... though that might take a very long time. I somehow learned how to shop while I was here, and shop I did. I so don't want to see my credit card bills when I get home. All the best everyone and see you all soon with lots and lots of pictures (over 500).

Day of Rest

2006-04-17T14:04:00.000-04:00

After an overnight train we arrived in Aswan this morning. I can not sleep on trains. So I had a really great nap and then hung out by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. My aunt and I both realy needed the break. We have to be up and ready to go at 2 am to go to Abu Simbul. Long drive. But it will be worth it. I finally managed to get some pictures ready. So here goes. Blah, this is getting complicated, it takes so long to get the pictures to upload... All I want is to show some pictures... is that so much to ask. It would seem so. ugg... this just will not work... I'm going to try something else.

Day 1

2006-04-15T15:00:00.000-04:00

So we just got back from our first full day here in Egypt. It was amazing. I saw the stepped pyramid, the pyramids of the Giza Plateau, the Sphinx and did alot of shopping. Tomorrow is the Egyptian Museum and most most likely more shopping - belly dancing outfits. So hopefully L. I'll have found us some great outfits. I don't have alot of time on my internet card so I will get to the pictures. Ok so I lied no pictures today... it does not want to bring up the USB connection to my card reader.... anyway, I'll try in again a little later.... Hope everyone is doing well and I will post again soon.

Today is the Day

2006-04-13T11:59:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it. The day is finally here. It's amazing how fast the time went. Now I am doing all those last minute things that need to be done. The dishes, clearing out the fridge, giving everything a good clean, packing my carry on. I have already been out to go down town to pick up some Egyptian pounds, managed to get the bedroom all cleaned and clean sheets on the bed, the fridge is cleaned out and now I'm slowly working in the dishes. I was doing ok for the morning but Suz called me and we talked about going and now I'm starting to get that nervous/excited feeling in my stomach. It seems so unreal that I'm actually going, I'm absolutely positive that I'm going to cry when I get there (shut up)... I think that I will be uplifted by the whole experience, it's probably the closest thing to a religious experience that an Agnostic like me could have. I hope to be able to keep everyone posted while away. If I can't, don't worry, I have a gig memory card for my camera so a powerpoint picture show might be in order when I get back. I will probably do that anyway, but hopefully I'll at least get to write about what's been going on. See you all when I get back.

The Final Countdown

2006-04-11T11:07:00.000-04:00

So it's Tuesday... I leave on Thursday. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...... so many thngs to do. I have to goto Shoppers, the bank, study, clean up the apartment, laundry, study, pack, study that sort a thing. Oh yeah did I mention study? Exam tomorrow night... I just can not get into the whole studying thing. Maybe not the best ideas to go on vacation, especially to Egypt, when I have an exam. However, I had to use up my last year's left over vaction time before the end of April. So there you go. Well I better try and get my day going... It's almost half over already.

ONE WEEK TO GO!!!!!!!

2006-04-06T09:05:00.000-04:00

OMG there is only one week till I go to Egypt. I think that I might be almost ready. There are just a few little things I need to pick up, like travel size toiletries, make sure my email contacts are all upto date, get some AMEX travellers cheques, pack and oh yeah sunscreen. I've been keeping an eye on the weather in Cairo and it has been nice - right at this moment it is a reasonable 23 degrees at about 3 in the afternoon. Not too hot... good for sight seeing. The first full day I am there it is supposed to be 31 degrees... I will definetly be sweating when I see the pyramids.

If anyone wants me to bring back something in particular drop me an email and I will try to oblige - L. I already know what you want... ;)

2 WEEKS TO GO

2006-03-30T12:54:00.000-05:00

There are now only 2 weeks until I leave for Egypt. I am so unprepared, I have nothing to wear. Went through my 'summer clothes' and there was only one pair of comfy capris that would be ok to take with me. I have plenty of tank tops, since that's pretty much the only kind of top I wear. However, I don't think a whole bunch of tank tops and a single pair of capris are going to cut it. So I am thinking of going to Scarborough on my own tomorrow night to do some shopping. Since my shopping buddy has been deathly ill for the past 2 weeks. It seems to be one of those lingering types of flu that just don't want to go away. Get better soon M.

And now for something completely different -
I thing i'm going to start my own anonymous group... CA Carbs Anonymous...
Hi my name is Colette and I am a carbalholic....

Weekend Update

2006-03-27T10:47:00.000-05:00

Oh boy, I need to go shopping. I pulled out the summer clothes, blah, it's mostly work stuff of course. There was one pair of capris that I will be able to take with me on my trip. I have some scooters (skirts with shorts attached to them), but they are kinda short and I don't want to be like those crazy Americans who don't respect the culture of the place they are visiting (that was a generalization, I'm sure that there are culturally sensitive Americans out there... though I have yet to met one). I'm thinking linen... 'cause it's going to be hot... temperatures are already hitting the mid 30's, I also want to find a nice shawl... I was kinda thinking of going down to Gerrard, to Little India, if anyone is interested in going let me know, I've never been and someone to come with me would be nice. At least I have a good pair of shoes, since I see alot of walking in my near future, maybe some climbing and crawling... heee though I don't really think that I'll allowed to climb or crawl on/in things.... it sure would be fun if I could.

Saturday was clean up the apartment day, I normally do that sort of thing on Sundays but M. was having her Stich 'n' Bitch Sunday afternoon. Oh and I even managed to fit in some P0P - I haven't played since mid Feburary... I will eventually finish and finally give M. her Xmas present. : )

Sunday involved lots of walking and cursing... walking was done with the dog and the cursing was when I went to M.'s house. Now I knew that it was Greek Independance day on Sunday and I knew that there would be a parade... but generally they have it in the morning, not at 2pm. So M. calls me to see if I was coming and if I had passed the IGA (which I had) and all I could do was curse and swear about all the people and the stupid fucking parade and how it was in my way. I don't like big crowds especially when they don't know how to walk. Oh, lets stop in the middle of the sidewalk and take up the whole damn thing so no one can get by. I hate it when one or two people do it, try to imagine the whole Greek commmunity stopping infront of you. Blah. Good thing there was some yummy wine (homemade) and knitting at M.'s.

3 Weeks to Go!!!!!!!

2006-03-23T14:54:00.000-05:00

In three weeks I will be here:

24 Days and Counting

2006-03-20T08:34:00.000-05:00

The days are counting down and I'm starting to get excited. It's kinda weird, I can go all day without thinking about it and then suddenly I'll 'remember' that I'm going. I guess I won't believe that I'm really going until I get there. So at some point this week I am going to pull out my summer clothes and see what I have. Then I'm going to go shopping.

This weekend turned out to be a complete write off... I was supposed to meet L. and friends for Korean BBQ and then pub for St. Paddy's day, unfortunately, I managed to fall asleep and slept through the festivities. I was chilling with Murphy for a bit, playing and snuggling on the bed, when I thought I could just 'rest my eyes' for a minute.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz was the result of that. I feel bad for not making it out, so a huge 'sorry' to everyone. Believe me when I say that I'm sick of having sleeping problems, 1st I don't get any sleep, now I just fall asleep... I'm thinking of getting a new mattress, of course I'm only thinking of it... I definitely cannot afford a new one... So I'll just have to look into mattress toppers, which can cost a pretty penny and see if that helps. Blah, I hate living with chronic pain and all the crap that goes with it... waaaaaaaaaaaaa Send out the waaaaaabulance.

Groceries

2006-03-15T21:17:00.000-05:00

delivered to my door. Why didn't I do this ages ago? I finally tried grocerygateway.com and they were great. It was quick, easy and the delivery guy was really nice. I didn't have to lift a finger. Made my life so much easier, I was able to clean up the apartment, do laundry, walk the dog while waiting for the groceries to come. He phoned to say he would be here in 5 minutes and he was. And the best part, I did my groceries while at work - you know since I don't have anything else better to do. ;pppppppp
In other news - 4 weeks until I head out to Egypt. I'm already having dreams about how I'll be the last couple of days of work before going on vacation. Too bad I have to worry about a final exam before going. I will be writing my final on the 12th and get on a plane on the 13th. Ohhhhhhh I can not wait.

Winter Wonderland

2006-03-05T19:29:00.000-05:00

Well I assume that no one will think that it's Toronto that I'm talking about... Went up to the parents this weekend and oh boy was there snow. In a weird way I kinda miss it. But not enough to want to to through the storm that brought all that snow. Anayway, here's some pictures to give everyone an idea of what it's like.

The really snowy ones are from last month's storm.... the birch tree, or what's left of it, is what happened during the storm. One of the branches end up on my parents car. The others are just cute pics of Murphy and some landscape shots of the woods while we were out hiking.

Wow, Did I Fall off the Planet or What

2006-03-02T10:09:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody, long time no blog. The reason.... laziness, sickness, exam... did I mention laziness... Anyway, I'm back. Now lets see, what has happened since my last post...
1. My Aunt came to town and we pretty much spent the whole weekend together - lots of fun - on the Friday we went to dinner and comedy at the second city, then on Saturday I dragged her out to a belly dancing class with me(since I wanted to go and you get your first class free). Then we went out for dinner at the Kit Kat and just happend to see Kurt Russel(Goldie Hawn's husband) who was there for a drink and to hang out. The waiter told us that he's a regular there when he is in Toronto. My Aunt that that was really cool. Then it was off to the theatre... to see The Lord of the Rings stage production. Was surpizingly good... long but good... first show I've been to that had 2 intermissions.
Needless to say, it was a very busy weekend.
2. Then I was pretty much sick for most of the following week - took a couple of days off but still felt crappy.
3. Studying.... oh boy....
4. I've lost a total of 6 pounds
5 Exam was last night - the best I can do is 71/75 and the worst.... well... I'll have to wait for the marks... I'm pretty sure I passed.
6. Tomorrow, I'm heading to the parents for the weekend - Murphy will be happy, hikes in the woods yea.

Been Awhile...

2006-02-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

Seems that I have negaleted to update for a few days. Oh well, shit happens. Anyways, lets see... Murphy now has his own webpage at dogster... he's so cute. Now I'm trying to decide if I should set up a blog for him... more to show off really cute pictures of him. Yes you now all can call me your weird single friend with the dog... at least I don't dress him up and put him in a carriage... yet.

Started exercising again and trying to eat right... the goal.... lose 15 pounds by the time I go to Egypt... 1.2 pounds gone and 13.8 to go. The long term goal is to lose 25 pounds... no real set date for that yet. Must accomplish the small goal first.

Knitting news - I am knitting a hat... much easier (if I can keep track of my rows)than the lace scarf I was attempting.

The Countdown Begins

2006-02-09T08:40:00.000-05:00

9 weeks and counting - in excately 64 days and about 9 hours I will be getting on a plane and going to Egypt... I know... maybe a little early to start a countdown, but I'm so excited that I had to start now. And I'm still hoping that M. and A. between the two of them come up with a neat counter for me to post here. Heeeeee..... I have to remember to buy a bigger memory card for my camera because I plan on taking a whole whack of pictures.

Long Weekend...

2006-02-06T08:50:00.000-05:00

That included sleep. I actually slept this weekend, for the last couple of weeks I couldn't sleep and this weekend all I wanted to do was sleep. And sleep I did. Though I still feel tired, but I'm much more alert and feel much better. No more insane breakdowns just lots of yawning and naps.

Mental Health Day

2006-02-01T09:54:00.000-05:00

So I decided to stay home today... well actually I decided yesterday at about 3pm that I was not going to work. Which is good because I went out for drinks with M. and A. last night, thanks guys just going out made me feel better - didn't really help with the whole not sleeping thing - but I had a good time. So today I'm going to relax and maybe nap - try to catch up on some sleep - of course Murphy will pester me all day... if it's nice later on I might even take him to the P A R K hopefully the walking will tire me out. I'm also going to cut my meds back from the insane 450mg to 300mg between the two of them - hopefully this will help especially when both have insomnia as possible side effects.

How am Il?

2006-01-30T18:39:00.000-05:00

Well let me tell you....FUCK EVERYONE AND THE FUCKING HORSES YOU ALL RODE IN ON
I'm so sick of telling people that I'm fine - 'cause guess what - I AM NOT FINE and the next person who asks me how I am I think I'm going to scream and tell them excately how I am starting at the bottom and working my way up, hope you have lots of time. Then rev up that waaabulance 'cuase I'm going to need it. All I want to do is stand in the middle of my apartment and scream FUCK over and over again until I'm unable to scream anymore. Unfortunately, that is out of the question so I guess I'll just stew about and wait for the next person who asks me how I am. Consider yourselves warned.

It's Official

2006-01-27T18:42:00.000-05:00

My deposit has been recieved - Egypt here I come... well in almost three months... I guess I should start a count down counter - if I had any idea how to do it, I would -

In other news, I have decided to set myself goals.... oh boy.... goals.... 3 goals that I need to do per week, 3 goals to be accomplished in 3 months and 3 goals to be accomplished in 6 months...

My weekly goals are:
1) Take Murphy for a walk everyday and go to the park at least twice
2) Attend class
3) Go to belly dancing twice a week

The next three months:
1) Get my hair cut - professionally
2) Write an internal dialoge journal for at least 21 days
3) Start the massage registration recerification process

The next six months:
1) Get new tattoo
2) Recertify massage registration
3) Be able to have one hour of my own time every day

We'll have to see how I do.

So Tired

2006-01-25T09:11:00.000-05:00

I went to see my Dr. on Friday and was told that I am suffering from non-restorative sleep. That is when you go to sleep, but don't actually get any rest. This has been going on for I don't know how long. I am so tired... I go to bed and wake up feeling like I didn't. I can not get anything done, I forget things ie: putting water on to boil for pasta last night, then forgetting about the cooking pasta... got lucky and it wasn't too overcooked. I can't concentrate on any one thing for any amount of time and just feel grumpy. I resorted to taking OTC sleeping pills last night to see if I could get a little rest... I guess I'm slightly more awake today in comparison to yesterday... it's hard to tell anymore. My Dr. has prescribed more drugs, but they'll take anywhere upto 3 weeks to kick in so if I suddenly go absolutely mental it's due to sleep deprivation so please forgive me. Hopefully it's nothing more than another side effect of chronic pain - I can just add it to the list of things that I find myself suffering from. Of course it comes right when it seemed things were getting back on track... anyway... must think positive and hope the Universe is still up there looking out for me... I really good use the extra help.

Bday Pictures....

2006-01-22T21:31:00.000-05:00

Better late than never.....

Instant Snow Storm

2006-01-18T11:45:00.000-05:00

I love Canada, there's lots of things to love about this great country of ours, unfortunately the weather in most cases is not one of those things. Especially in the winter. It has been cold, bitterly cold, it has been wet, it has been warm... I think my head is going to explode. I bought $600 worth of snowtires and have driven in snow maybe 5 times, at the most. Better be really snowy next year.

For Jo...

2006-01-17T15:27:00.000-05:00

Ok, ok.... the pictures are coming.... I was just a little tired over the weekend and did not manage to get anything really accomplisehed. Well besides ending up at a bday party for a 3 year old and I did manage to get to belly dancing and M's stitch and bitch...not that I did alot of stitching as I was way toooooo tired. Anyway, I'm at work right now and I will try and get some pics. up later this evening. Just goes to show you that my friends did a very good job on my Bday.... Thanks everybody :)

The Big Day

2006-01-13T09:07:00.000-05:00

So it's here - Friday the 13th - my birthday. I am so excited, I can barely remember the last time my birthday fell on a Friday... damn those leap years. Anyways, I am so ready to go out and celebrate, and I am so happy that people are going to be coming out and joining me - who cares if the music isn't all that great there's drinks and pool and if it's really bad we could always go somewhere else. I just wanna dance.... dance, dance, dance, dance heeeeeeeeee Sorry getting distracted. Must remember to bring my camera... then there will be pictures to post. And as a Happy Birthday to me present - I have paid my deposit on my trip to Egypt.

The Count Down is On...

2006-01-08T14:35:00.000-05:00

Only 5 more days to B-day, and this year I am beginning to feel much better about the whole thing. Usually around this time I get super critical of myself and throw myself into a week long depression before the big day. But I think I might actually get through this week ok... - yes one of my goals for this year is to be kind to myself and to be more positive. I also think having that huge emotional break-down before New Year's really helped too... I really need to find the strength to express myself otherwise I just know I'll endup breaking down again. Another goal to add to the list. These are not resolutions per se - I see resolutions being quit smoking lose weight that sorta thing... these are more goals towards me living a happier and healthier life. Discovering what makes me truely happy - Murphy makes me happy - so I must appreaciate everyday I have with him because I know he is one of my guiding lights,my family makes me happy - I have to think of a way to connect with my brother again(even if that means being nice to the witch, I mean sister-in-law), my friends make me happy - I must spend more time with them and reconnect with the ones that have faded from sight, unfortunately it also means that I have to clear away the ones that I have to work to hard at(the whole two way street sorta thing), belly dancing makes me happy - that means more, more, more - hope you are upto it L., dancing makes me happy - even if I have to start going on my own, reading makes me happy - I have to allow more time to non-educational reading - well maybe not non-educational but not to do with U of T classes. Wow... that's quite the list off the top of my head.... It's going to take alot of work... but being the quintissential Capricorn I will slowly climb my way to the top.

I have also decided it was time to begin real thearapy for my hip again. Of course this was brought about by throwing my back out last week, this time it happened to be the right side which is quite unusual for me. So I am now going for theraputic massage to help restore my body's balance and I am sure that it will help with restoring my emotional balance as well, since it is all connected. Yoga and meditation are also going to be apart of this, I know that my brain goes off in a million different directions at any one time, so these will help me bring it all back and focus my energy and it doesn't take long. I did about half an hour of meditating, stretching and 3 rounds of Sun Rise Salutatation this afternoon and I feel so much better. My neck was killing me, my mind was all over the place and I was feeling tired, but afterwards I feel better, stronger and more able to concentrate. Hence the really long post.

Anyway here is to making 2006 my year for postive change and moving forward. I hope that I can include you all in this process.

Turning out to be a fabulous 2006...

2006-01-03T18:27:00.000-05:00

Please insert a whole lot of sarcasm here... not only did I overdo it New Year's, which i guess isn't all that bad... but now I've managed to really throw my back out. So I decided to stay home and will most likely stay home tomorrow too. Especially since it doesn't seem like it is getting any better. It's all ok if I don't move, however... I just have not been able to sit around... which has probably made the problem worse... The furthest I have made it today is to Tim Horton's at the subway station. Poor Murphy... This is not the way I wanted to start out a new year - whining and all... This year is supposed to be a turning point and a time to finally move forward.

Happy New Year

2006-01-02T16:39:00.000-05:00

Well I think that I'm glad 2005 is over, especially since I managed to have an complete emotional melt down on the 30th...I think this year I will have to come up with some sort of stategy to express myself emotionaly so that it doesn't get all pent up... if anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciate... Anyway, I made the decision to head up to my parents house for New Year's seemed like the safe thing to do. Was feeling in need of a safe place to be. I then ended up at the rockin' establishment Club H in metro downtown Owen Sound for New Year's with my friend Alison, she figured I should go out for a few drinks and have some fun. Well it was more than a few drinks so New Year's day was spent mostly in bed, recovering and trying to remember if I did anything stupid. I've made it back to TO in one piece, unfortunately I've managed to mess up my back and I have been moving around like the Hunch Back of Notre Dame... such a beautiful image... blahhhh oh well hope the Robax platinum starts working soon.....

Why do I need a vacation from my holidays?

2005-12-28T12:37:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah... might be due to the early mornings, late nights and the overindulgence of food, beer, vodka drinks and boytoys. What's a girl going to do... but get up, fix her hair and start all over again. Anyway, feeling a little tired today especially after the hangover and lack of sleep from the annual Boxing Day celebrations and the very long drive back to the city. Not that it was any longer than usual, but it felt like an eternity. Oh well I will just have to relax quitely this evening going over crockpot recipes to try in my new crockpot... I'll probably have to go shopping before I can actually use it, so I am going to try it out this weekend and once I have it down pat I'll invite people over for a crock pot dinner party... I'm actually thinking of trying M's Irish Stew first, it turned out great when I did it in my stock pot so....

And just an aside - I now have my massage table here in TO.... enough said : )

MERRY CHRISMAHANAKANZIKA

2005-12-25T13:50:00.000-05:00

It was a very early morning and I am just about to head for a nap. But I thought I should do a bit of an update before crashing out for a few more hours of much needed sleep. Does anyone remember being 9? I was reminded this morning at 6:30 am... that's when we got up... Anyway we had all the presents(and there were alot) opened and everything cleaned up by 9 am. Pretty exciting. Managed to get most of the things I asked for (kinda helps when you go shopping with my mom who does most of the shopping : p) Best of all I got a crock pot and new cutlery... I'm actually starting to feel like a grown up. Real cutlery... wow. So here are some pictures, 'cause I'm too tired to type any more.

Just couldn't help myself

Murphy always wants to help... especially if he thinks it's for him.

Here I am playing Santa's helper

The proof is in - I do knit!

Almost Xmas

2005-12-22T09:50:00.000-05:00

So things have been pretty busy this week, especially at work. Well at least busy for this department, I visit my old department just to remind myself what being busy is all about. Was over to M and A's on Saturday to celebrate A's Bday, which turned into one big apartment party, just like old time. At one point I was swiffering the kitchen floor while drinking Strongbow, and being assulted by Jo with chocolate balls. The best quote for the evening goes to M. - "I've always wanted gonorrea for Christmas" and of course there was a bout of syphillis going around too. A very good night, with good friends and good drinks. I've even managed to get some wrapping down this week still have a bit to go, but I'm sure I'll get it all done by Saturday morning. Really, I will.... Now if only I could get my apartment cleaned up. Just when I think I've got it under control it seems to explode again. Ahh well what's a girl to do. Anyways, if I haven't wished you Happy Holidays - HAPPY HOLIDAYS - eat, drink and be merry and I will see you all in the new year.

PS - My Bday is on a Friday 13th so going out for drinks is mantatory - not sure where yet but I will let you all know.

Such an Anti-Climatic Storm

2005-12-16T14:54:00.000-05:00

So there were all these dire warnings of the first real storm of the year and what did we get... not a whole hell of alot... But it still took me two hours to drive home last night and a good 45 minutes to shovel out the wet, heavy crap off my walkway this morning. So if I've spoken to you, emailed or had any sort of communication with and I was a) indifferent b) bitchy or c) sleeping you will have to forgive me 'cause I'm very tired and sore today. Poor Murphy has sure gotten the short end of the stick (no pun intended) the last little while. Though I did manage to get him to the P A R K on Tuesday, he really does love that fetch and flash... :) However, he seems to want to keep reminding me of how much he is suffering... oh a dog's life.

A Very Early Xmas

2005-12-12T08:35:00.000-05:00

So I was off to Owen Sound again this weekend, all this travelling is sure getting in the way of my belly dancing... This time it was so that I could meet A.'s new baby, Jacob, and for our family Xmas lunch/dinner. Managed to spend even more money, shelled out for nice new winter tires, which are absolutely amazing, picked up another pair of jeans from Reitmen's and a pair of boots from payless - Merry Christmas to me. On Friday night I went to my friend Joanne's for an evening of drinks and catching up, saw her kids for the 1st time in years... they have gotten so big. Owen Sound is such a weird place, my friend Jo is now dating the older brother of my ex from highschool. Makes things kinda interesting... Anyway, the biggest surprise of the weekend went to my brother... he's going to be a Granddad... Merry Christmas to him. I knew that it was a shotgun wedding.

All in all not too bad of a weekend, besides the family seems a little out of sorts over the whole Christin marriage and baby thing... really none of our side of the family is very impressed with the new memember of the family and now a baby on the way... I hate to say it, but they should not be breeding... we had so hoped that the cycle could be broken. Guess not.

Long overdue Update

2005-12-07T09:58:00.001-05:00

Lets see what have I been upto the last couple of weeks... Mmmm
-trip up north for to spend too much money (at least it wasn't all on myself)
-too much school work... damn assignments and that horrible essay
-feeling crappy
-yummy roastbeef at Michelle's
-damn school work - studying for exam and more assignments
-feeling crappy

I guess that leads us upto today - throw in some swimming and belly dancing and that should just about cover it. On the positive front, on Sunday at belly dancing I actually felt like things were actually working out. And I had another person at work mention that I look like a lost weight. Go me.

Now I have to get back to studying.

So Sore...

2005-11-24T09:09:00.000-05:00

Ohhhhhhh boy, are my legs sore. I decided to blow of class last night and go to belly dancing with Laura instead. We had a really great teacher, however, her warm up was killer. By the time we were done that, my legs were jelly. Of course it probably didn't help that I have been doing 15 min of legs only in the pool the last couple of days. Anyway, I really liked the class. The teacher really broke down the moves and we really worked at them, though going at night is a little hard, especially after a whole day of work, drive home and time with Murphy I was pretty tired when I got there. But the class was still great. I am not looking forward to tomorrow though. That whole DOMS thing (delayed onset muscle soreness)could be a very painful Friday.

Losing... very slowly

2005-11-22T16:34:00.000-05:00

So I have managed to lose an inch off my waist. It has taken a month to do it. I even stepped on a scale, only to discover that my weight remains unchanged. Anyway, I guess an inch is a start, though at an inch a month it is going to take me forever to look or feel like I've made any progress. I guess I'll just have to keep on swimming, belly dancing, doing crunches and walking the dog then maybe, eventually, I will get in shape.

First in Line...

2005-11-21T13:54:00.000-05:00

So we managed to be first in line for our showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on Friday. That means we had the best seats too... Unfortunately, we missed dinner at Spring Rolls, M. had spent the afternoon at the bar and I spent two and half hours sitting in traffic. God people, there was barely any snow... I hate the first snowfall in Toronto... can't wait untilit really starts to snow (insert sarcasm here). On Saturday I headed to the Greek bakery and picked up some yummy honey balls to take to Suzzette's that evening. So I spent a nice evening eating and chatting with her and her friend Eva. All in all a good night. Sunday was pretty laid back, much the same as every other Sunday. Managed to get my quizzes and assignment for my online course done and submitted. I remember more than I thought I would. Got to keep focused, this is the first step in re-certification. Hopeing to be back at the massage by spring.

It's Official...

2005-11-16T08:30:00.000-05:00

My Aunt is going to go to Egypt with me. I am sooooooo excited. Now comes the crazy planning stage. I love this part.

The Weekend

2005-11-15T08:19:00.000-05:00

Friday after work I met M. for drinks at the Jester. She totally needed a bitch session, so we ordered some pints and I just let her go. Of course that made us both thirsty so we had a few more, then a couple more. Well I think you can get the picture. So I wandered my way home about 11 or so to let the Murpdog out. After letting him out and managing to get my shoes off I pulled up a nice comfortable piece of floor and laid there for awhile. Murphy took advantage of this by dropping his kong on stomach, then my head... so I tossed the kong for a bit for him. He was a happy puppy. Then I managed to get myself to bed.

On Saturday, I went to belly dancing. Let me tell you that I was all left footed. Note to self - should not drink lots of beer the night before belly dancing - does not do good things for your balance. After having to do pushups and all sorts of torture at belly dancing, I headed to M.'s for a Sitch'n'Bitch. I actually managed to get something accomplished on my lace scarf, but I only managed to make it until 6:30pm... I blame the beer.

Good thing that there was nothing important to do on Sunday, because I didn't really do anything.

Oh yeah, I might have a partner in crime for my trip to Egypt - my Aunt - she's checking her schedual to see if she can go. That would be great. My Aunt is such a riot.

Friday at Last

2005-11-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

It has felt like it should be Friday since Tuesday so I am very happy that it is finally actually Friday. The weather this week has been killer, causing achy joints and massive sinus headaches, and yes even a tornado. No wonder I have been having horrible headaches - too many changes in pressure - hopefully it will get better over the weekend. At least there are some fun things to look forward to on the weekend. Such as belly dancing and a SnB at M's. I'm also happy to say that I now have heat, the furnace was fixed yesterday so my apartment is now warm and cozy, unfortunately it will be another week before the dyer is fixed. The landlords could not get a repair guy until next Thursday. Hey at least now when I hang up my clothes in the bathroom it would take 3 days for them to dry.

The Darkness is Here

2005-11-09T09:57:00.000-05:00

It would seem that the weather has finally decided to catch up with the month. Now I am in for a good 4 months of it being dark when I get up and dark when I get home. Dark, dark, dark.... Yes I'm completely grumpy, tired and the hibernation factor is trying to take over. The rain is not helping, achy, achy, achy. ugg. That's all I have to say.

Couch tease

2005-11-07T08:11:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I get this call yesterday from M. asking if I wanted the couch. Of course I was all like yes. Then she called me back and said that they really needed to clean their apartment and wouldn't be able to bring it over. They are such couch teases. But in the end I guess it was for the best, since my apartment wasn't quite finished being cleaned either and I really needed to take that hour and half nap. So... but hopefully I'll have a new to me couch by next weekend, that would be wonderful.

I'm Looking for Boots....

2005-11-04T09:28:00.000-05:00

Found these online - so I might have to find a store that sell Aerosoles... If anyone is up for shoe shopping let me know.

Not even 2 pounds...

2005-11-02T19:14:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? I didn't even have 2 pounds total taken off my chest... no wonder my weight was pretty much the same as the day of surgery and two weeks later. I would have thought it would have been more in the range of 5 or 6 pounds, especially with the difference the surgery had on my back. Well I guess a litre of fat is alot, that's how much came off the right side. Anyway, the Dr. took out some stubborn stiches and said that once the reddness goes away that I will have perfect scars.

So Tired

2005-11-01T10:51:00.000-05:00

I am so tired today, did not get very much sleep last night. I just could not get comfortable and kept waking up. I'm sure Murphy was completely put out at all the tossing and turning. Every once in a while I would hear a big sigh coming from him. Not like he can not catch-up on all the sleep he missed, I'm sure he is sleeping on the couch (or the bed) right at this moment. I'm so jeolous... he has such the dog's life. So is it bedtime yet?

In other news, I signed up for an online anatomy refresher course through Humber - not like I have enough to do - starts on Nov. 15th. This is the first step in getting back on track for my massage therapy. Then I'll take the board certified refresher course and hopefully be working by the first part of the new year. Then I will being doing a job that I love at least part time. It will be better then not at all.

Happy Halloween

2005-10-31T09:07:00.000-05:00

So it is Halloween, my favorite tme of year. Unfortunately I'm not doing anything for it. Ah well doesn't help that it's on a Monday. Anyway, need to send out a congratulations to D. and F. on their wedding day and I hope that the weather cooperates down in Jamica. Have a great day you two.

Belly...

2005-10-24T09:09:00.000-04:00

and I have a whole lot of it... which I attempted to shake on Sunday at my first belly dancing class. The class went very well, though I was completely left handed yesterday... anyway woke up a little sore this morning but it was the good kind of sore...

In other news my friend A. gave birth to a healthy baby boy on Friday - Jacob at 8 pounds 4 oz. - in hospital, naturally and only took 2.5 hours. Everyone is doing fine. Unforuntately, I have to send out my sympathy to our other friend E. who lost her baby just after birth. My thoughts are with you.

Meme

2005-10-17T11:07:00.000-04:00

I know that these usually are a Friday thing, but I just saw it on M.'s LJ so...
Google "[your name] needs" and then list the entertaining results:

Colette needs more surgery
Colette needs to see her way through her sacred journey
Colette needs to avenge the man who took away her powers
Colette needs money from the government
Colette needs to be fair
Colette needs more
Colette needs a helping hand freshening up
Colette needs a TV/VCR or projection unit for laptop
Colette needs little introduction
and the best (though not quite the right order but hey...)
Who needs Madonna when you've got Colette.

Egypt in April

2005-10-17T10:08:00.000-04:00

So I have decided to go to Egypt in April. The trip of a lifetime, one that I have wanted to do for a very long time. I have managed to find a tour that will take me to many of the places I want to see - http://www.gattours.com/tp/tp_discoveregypt.htm
Sorry link did not work - cut and paste you guys
;PPPP

And with airfare to Cairo it sould be around $3500.00, I was willing to go as high as $5000.00 - but the tours I saw at that price just did not have what I wanted. If anyone is interested in going - leaving April 13th and returning April 27th - let me know.

I don't think I would look good in Orange

2005-10-12T15:51:00.000-04:00

Your Hair Should Be Orange

Expressive, deep, and one of a kind.
You pull off "weird" well - hardly anyone notices.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

Arrrrgggggg it's a pirate's life for me

2005-10-10T16:08:00.000-04:00

My pirate name is:

Bloody Charity Bonney

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Update

2005-10-02T18:00:00.000-04:00

So I have survived the first week back in the big city. It has been crazy hectic, well at least for me. Monday when I got to work my manager decided to have me start coming to work full time, 5 pm every day. Now I have to completely change my schedual... I couldn't get anything done this week, suddenly I didn't have the time. To make it worse it took me an hour to get home Tuesday to Friday, so by the time I'm home and take the dog out I don't even get to eat until 8pm. Which is making my whole diet thing hard to sort out. Now I have to do everything on the weekend, which was made very hard by the massive hangover I had from the Friday night deck party. Someone please remind me to stay away from tequila. Anyway, it was a good time.

This morning I went out and bought the $250.00 worth of books I need for my course this year, it would have been more but I had already bought one of the books I needed last year for my won personal interest. Then I managed to get to the grocery store, reminder to self - do not go shopping on Sunday at noon.... to top off my day the dyer died, while I was in the middle of doing laundry. So now I have clothes hanging all over the bathroom. Oh yah, now my DVD player isn't working, won't turn on. Somehow, this day really didn't go very well.

Some nice pictures to remind me of my time off:

Well on the way to being Perfect...

2005-09-23T10:50:00.000-04:00

So on Wedensday I made the 2.5 hour trip down to TO to see my Dr. for my follow-up appointment, was 40 minutes early, saw the Dr. for the whopping 5 minutes and was on my way back to the Sound be 11:50 am. It always amazes me how things like this happen, the Dr. was in and out so fast I barely had time to breath, let alone ask any questions. I told her that I had gone to the ER on the Sunday after surgery 'cause I was abit worried, and was able to find out that swimming is ok but contact sports were not - of course going through my head was the question "what qualifies as contact sports" ;ppppp - Anyway, despite the fluid build up and all she has told me that the girls are perfect, no openings in the stitches, no infection, no leaking of any sort. In regards to the perfect thing, I'm going to have to take her word for it because to me they still look pretty beat up.

Yesteday, I went to get my nails done. Now they are all pretty and such, of course I have already chipped the nail polish but I actually think that a piece of the nail peeled away taking the polish with it. Just like me to have that happen. Oh well it was fun and it's alway nice to go out and get pampered. Just if all this pampering didn't cost sooooo much money.

Pictures for M.

2005-09-20T12:46:00.000-04:00

The start of the new me....

Shopping

2005-09-19T20:23:00.000-04:00

Okay, I totally blew the bank today... I went shopping. My poor VISA was smoking by the end of it. I managed to pick up 3 new pairs of paints - one pair of pin-stripe business type pants, a pair of black cords and the most comfiest jeans ever. Of course that is coming from the girl who never who jeans. I also bought several new shirts, actually being able to buy tops that fit they way they are supposed to was very unnerving in a way but also very exciting. Two new work shirts, well blouses if you must, a purple sweater type shirt, two black shirts (of course) and a baby blue coloured one. And to top it off I bought this really nice brushed cotten jacket, it fits perfectly and the cut is just right, good thing Allison was paying attention to the What not to Wear folks, and guess what, it's a baby blue colour too. Oh yeah, I bought a bra.... 38 C.... can you believe it. My surgery took 4 inches off my band size alone. Don't worry M. it's a functional bra, something not horribly ugly, that makes me look good in my new clothes... kinda a day bra and the others can be night bras, we are so still on for pretty bra shopping when the time comes. I also got my hair done today, and since I was the last customer of the day, we decided to straighten it. So for the next day or two I will have straight hair. On Thursday I am going for a manicure... just to top everything all off. Man I will be on pampered girl when I get back. A new woman. Can't wait to see everyone.

Recovery is Boring...

2005-09-15T10:25:00.000-04:00

Ok, the fact that I was able to swim, well wade around, in our pool upto the 13th of September was pretty cool. But still... not a whole lot to do ... I've completely changed by budget, did some knitting, read a little and played on the computer... now what? and I still have a week and half to go... At least things are feeling better. I still have that hematoma thing, it doesn't seem to be changing much so I might have to have it drained... joy of joys. But I guess then it would be gone and my boobs would start to look normal again, besides all the wonderfully colourful bruises I have. At least I have a car today, so I guess if I get really bored I could drive somewhere... not sure where but it's something. Mmmmm Tim Horton's sounds good... coffee here I come.

A Beautiful Sunday Morning...

2005-09-12T09:26:00.000-04:00

In the Emergency room... ok so I kinda got freaked out and had to go to the Emergency room for a little reassurance. Not to worry, I am ok. I just found that the right side was much more swollen, warmer to the touch and seemed to have this slooshing sound. So I spent 2 and half hours in the Grey Bruce Health Centre hoping that I did not have an infection. Especially since I'm prone to that sort of thing ever since my hip replacement. The Dr. was great, she had a look and made sure I didn't have a fever and figured it was just a hematomia, well not just... because it's not the greatest thing to have, but better than pus and an infection. She said that there had been more trauma to the right side and there was blood still at the wound site, and that it might take 3 weeks for it to finally be re-absorbed by my body. So now I have to watch out for the signs of fever, or if the area does not improve and if that happens get my butt to the emerg pronto. But otherwise I am a o k. I feel much better for going, but it was kinda scary there for a bit.

Allison also came by for a visit yesterday... that was great. We had coffee and sat around and chatted and I even showed her the results, well the left side anyways, since the right side is still a little gross. I'm thinking now that they removed a mole from under my left breast. I have an extra stich or two under there and at first I thought they might have done some drainage, but now that I think of it I did have a huge mole there... so maybe they removed it... ah well whatever... I'm not going to worry about it too much. Now I am off to make my follow-up appointment and enjoy this summer weather. And I thought I wasn't going to get a summer vacation. Well the weather seems to have other things in mind. We have been in the pool everyday and I plan on hanging out on the deck and soaking up the last of summer.

Tiny Boobs

2005-09-09T11:01:00.000-04:00

Well tiny for me... they look so small now, it's great. They even stay put when I take my bra off, now that's amazing and there is even a space between them now too. I don't think I remember a time when I could say that. However, right at the moment they are not so pretty, bruised and swollen but hey that will pass. I can't help myself when I walk by a mirror, I just have to look, they are smaller... I think it's going to take some time to get used that fact, and everytime I look I get all excited and can't believe that I actually went through with it. At least I can say that it will definitly not be something I regret. I so can't wait to go out and buy cute sexy bras. In the mean time I'm going to take it easy and let them heal... I have been taking pictures not that most people will see them, but for myself to document the process, kinda like my hip replacement scar pics. Now I will just have to work on getting the rest of me smaller too, then I'll match. Not that I need to be much smaller, just toned. I have decided to start belly dancing later this fall, a good work out and will help with range of motion for my hip. You know, get the swing back : )

Today is the Day

2005-09-08T09:57:00.000-04:00

So it is finally here, surgery day. Right now I'm trying to find things to do to keep my mind off the fact that I am going to have surgery and that I'm hungry and thirsty. I have about an hour to go before we even leave for the hospital so I'm sure you all can appreciate the state I'm in. I haven't had anything to eat since about 9pm last night and nothing to drink since 11pm. Feeling a little hungry and dehydrated about now. Anyway, I'll keep everyone posted about how things go this afternoon. Wish me luck.

Horrible Smell....

2005-09-03T00:46:00.000-04:00

There is this absolutely horrible smell coming in through the vents in my apartment. It started half an hour ago when the fan turned on. Kinda smells like burning plastic. Which makes no sense as there was no horrible smell earlier when the fan was on. I have gone all over my apartment and even upstairs to make sure that nothing was actually on fire. There must be something in the vent. I don't know what but it is nausiating. I have a feeling I won't be getting much sleep, unless I go and sleep on the deck. I am actually afraid to go to sleep, I have no idea what the smell is and I'm sacred I won't wake up. It hasn't set off any detectors - fire or carbon monoxide - but that doesn't mean it's not dangerous...I'm sure it will give me one hell of a headache. Unfortunately the fan does not turn off... there is only on and auto... All I want to do is go to bed. Murphy doesn't seem to concerned about it, you would think it would be worse for him. Of course this would happen when the landlords are away for the weekend. Why does this kinda stuff happen to me... I really don't need this kinda thing this week, I have too many other things to worry about.

Only a Week Away

2005-08-31T13:37:00.000-04:00

Well the big day is just a week away... I was out to Etobicoke this morning to take care of the final paper work and have my blood taken. I so hate having blood taken, good thing the nurse at the hospital was really nice and it all went well, even though it took a bit to get the vein in the right place. I personally think it was purposely hiding. Anyway I managed to get to appointments out of the way and hit the university to drop of some papers and be home by 12:15... yeah me. Now I think I'm going to have a nap. Just cause I can.

Quiz for the Day

2005-08-30T10:47:00.000-04:00

So if I hadn't decided that I always fell for the bad boys - I would have been Wolverine... oh well next time I'll put that I would kill the bad guys... Must of had a girlie moment.

You scored as Rogue. Rogue is a strong but tragic personality. She loves Gambit. Because of her mutant powers, she cannot touch anyone without hurting them. Therefore, she longs for human contact. However, this southern gal's strong personality has allowed her to deal with this. Powers: Absorbs lifeforce and powers by touch, Super strength, and flight

Wolverine

80%

Rogue

80%

Jean Grey

70%

Colossus

60%

Cyclops

55%

Storm

45%

Nightcrawler

40%

Emma Frost

35%

Gambit

35%

Iceman

35%

Beast

30%

Most Comprehensive X-Men Personality Quiz 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

Katrina is already here for me

2005-08-29T21:26:00.000-04:00

The headache has started and nothing I take will even put a dent into it. Since the big storm last week I have felt absolutely shitty. At first I thought I was getting the insane flu that Suzzette at work and her son have... but I think it is actually all this stupid weather. And it's only Monday.... at least I have Wednesday off, well if you don't count the two doctor's appointments I have and the fact that I have to have blood taken... uck... So if anyone out there has a sure fire way to get rid of a headache... without resorting to cutting my head off :pppp ... I would love to hear it.

Another busy weekend

2005-08-28T21:30:00.000-04:00

Saturday was Sarah's B-day, so we were off to the horse farm were she works for abit of a soggy party. But fun all the same, though I made it a pretty early night. But I did get to see everyone and had a great time talking to Allison... we have to do that more. Today was Amber's baby shower, so Laurie's house was crammed full of people and we all enjoy good food, wine (well not the 3 pregnant girls) and good conversation. Lots of great presents, that girl is going to be set. And I promised that the baby blanket would be done by the time the baby was born.... of course it will probably be a Christmas present the way I'm going.
Some shower pics:

and of course a dog pic. (it's been awhile)

Sad day at Work

2005-08-24T08:33:00.000-04:00

It's a very sad day at work today. A very valued and well loved employee - Robert - passed away yesterday after being struck by a car on his way to work on Monday. I just want to pass on condolences and well wishes to his family in this very sad time.