Today was a cool day in my life :) A couple of weeks ago one of my new favourite shows, Anna and Kristina's Beauty Call put out a call looking for volunteers willing to let them test hair dyes on them. But you couldn't just want to dye your hair, you had to have grey hair to color. And not just a head of grey hair but just grey roots as the new on the market products were markers that were temporary.
Well I got the call 2 days ago that I had been accepted as a volunteer! WOOHOO~ It didn't help that these 2 are local celebrities and I have been watching their 3 shows since their inception many years ago. I would have been happy just standing in the same room as them!
So we get there and one of the hosts, Kristina, just chats with us putting us at ease. Then the cameras start and she explains all three products to us. That took a couple of takes. Then we go over to this large vanity table in front of a big mirror where we all try product 1 then the 2nd one then the 3rd one. We have to say how we liked/disliked the ease and use of it. Once we were all done, we went back to the sitting area where we took turns talking about the pros and cons of each product and if we had a favourite. After that she gave us the price of them and asked if we would still buy it (for those that have a favourite). I said I would as it blended well with my hair, very easy to use, minimal fuss etc. I loved it.
After we were done that segment then we each had to take a turn at the mirror with no one around other then one camera man on top of a step ladder filming the top of the heads and other cameraman filming the side of the head you were working on. No talking just letting them film as you did it. Then that was it. I was happy just haven been a part of it all. Then I found out we could take the products home AND an extra one of our favourite :)
But no that's not it!! We ended up getting a satchel filled with makeup and beauty products!!! COOL :) Life is good :) Here is the link of the one marker that was my favourite as well as the site for the beauty show. Our segment will air mid March and I promise to keep you all posted! They actually have 3 shows that they film so I am including all the links. You should check them out. They test out everything a woman and man...would use in a home.
http://www.wnetwork.com/Shows/AnnaKristinasBeautyCall.aspx
http://www.wnetwork.com/Shows/Anna-Kristinas-Grocery-Bag.aspx
http://www.annaandkristina.com/
http://styleapothecary.onsugar.com/TouchBack-Hair-Marker-6539099
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Baklava
Hello..
well I did a first on the weekend. We had company coming for dinner on Sunday and I wanted to make a special dessert. Keith and I both love Greek food and I happen to be watching Food Network one day last week (gee what else is new hehehe) and they were making Baklava and so I thought cool that is what I want to make.
Well it was easy to make (although very time consuming) and it tasted amazing BUT I don't know if I will make it again unless I can figure out how to make it with less calories and fat. 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of honey and 1 pound of butter were making my arteries clog as I was just reading the recipe!! They did say to make sure I keep the phyllo pastry sheets covered with a damp cloth while I was working with the other sheets so they did not dry out and I did that but what they didn't say was to make sure I wasn't using the counter on top of the dishwasher as it was going and the steam from it was going under the tea towel drying out the bottom edges. But all in all it turned out really well.. at least I think it did. We each had a piece and I kept one for Keith's lunch the next day but sent the rest to our daughter's home as I just did not want to be tempted!!
Physio and Prolotherapy
It sure seems like these last few months have been spent in a doctor's office working on some part of my back. It is tiring. Every other week I either go for physio for my upper back and the alternate weeks I go for Prolotherapy. Both are helping but both make me cringe while I am going through the sessions. How does one's spine get so bad and so crooked ???
With physio the therapist hooks the TENS machine onto my back for about 30 minutes then manipulates it into place. Once there he binds it to hold. Last week he asked me what on earth I am doing that undoes everything he does. I told him I can't do anything as I am stuck in an upright position. But actually for that visit I had to take the bindings off for a week or so before my appointment as my back was burning and very itchy. When Keith took it off I had welts and rashes all underneath from an allergy I presume from the binding tape. Needless to say without the binding it did not take long to get bent over again. Sigh. But I did learn from him that Pepto Bismal is an actual antihistamine if taken topically!!! Who knew? So he covered my back with it and then bound it again. So far it has been working.
We had misplaced my TENS machine and had not been able to locate it. With all the people here over Christmas, it had not been put away properly and it went missing. We thought we had looked everywhere. The pain was getting out of control so Keith said bag it and went and spent the money on a new one. This was on Friday. Last night he calls from the bathroom and I go over to see what he wanted me to see... and there sitting in the basket in the ensuite was the base of the machine. We had both checked the bathrooms several times each and had not see it. Sigh. And of course I had used the new machine already so could not take it back.
The Prolotherapy also has been working except for this last session. Normally for a couple of days afterwards I am in extreme pain. Don't talk to me, don't look at me, don't call me or anything. I just curl up in a ball and try to not move. Then the pain eases and I have greater mobility and ability to function half way normal. But this last session the therapy has not worked. There is still great burning in my tailbone area and the leg/hip joint area is inflamed. And the doctor is away on holidays last week and this week so have not even been able to go back and get it checked.
So I just fumble around as best as I can and go from there. Then to make matters worse, last week Keith had a meeting with his boss concerning the new contract coming up and he was told that effective the end of this month we were going to lose our extended health benefits. Things have been tight in the construction world for the last year as the city would not allow any new commercial construction to happen until after the Olympics and that means both of them. So they have just been doing renos but there is no money in that. They have had to lay off all of their labourers making the Superintendents do all the work. Keith was expecting that he was going to be told he was going to either get laid off or get a cut in pay but those didn't happen so that's good. But they are letting go of their benefits. Which for us means we now will have to dish out about 1200.00 a month on medications and therapies. Not good.
I do miss my wages let me tell you.
With physio the therapist hooks the TENS machine onto my back for about 30 minutes then manipulates it into place. Once there he binds it to hold. Last week he asked me what on earth I am doing that undoes everything he does. I told him I can't do anything as I am stuck in an upright position. But actually for that visit I had to take the bindings off for a week or so before my appointment as my back was burning and very itchy. When Keith took it off I had welts and rashes all underneath from an allergy I presume from the binding tape. Needless to say without the binding it did not take long to get bent over again. Sigh. But I did learn from him that Pepto Bismal is an actual antihistamine if taken topically!!! Who knew? So he covered my back with it and then bound it again. So far it has been working.
We had misplaced my TENS machine and had not been able to locate it. With all the people here over Christmas, it had not been put away properly and it went missing. We thought we had looked everywhere. The pain was getting out of control so Keith said bag it and went and spent the money on a new one. This was on Friday. Last night he calls from the bathroom and I go over to see what he wanted me to see... and there sitting in the basket in the ensuite was the base of the machine. We had both checked the bathrooms several times each and had not see it. Sigh. And of course I had used the new machine already so could not take it back.
The Prolotherapy also has been working except for this last session. Normally for a couple of days afterwards I am in extreme pain. Don't talk to me, don't look at me, don't call me or anything. I just curl up in a ball and try to not move. Then the pain eases and I have greater mobility and ability to function half way normal. But this last session the therapy has not worked. There is still great burning in my tailbone area and the leg/hip joint area is inflamed. And the doctor is away on holidays last week and this week so have not even been able to go back and get it checked.
So I just fumble around as best as I can and go from there. Then to make matters worse, last week Keith had a meeting with his boss concerning the new contract coming up and he was told that effective the end of this month we were going to lose our extended health benefits. Things have been tight in the construction world for the last year as the city would not allow any new commercial construction to happen until after the Olympics and that means both of them. So they have just been doing renos but there is no money in that. They have had to lay off all of their labourers making the Superintendents do all the work. Keith was expecting that he was going to be told he was going to either get laid off or get a cut in pay but those didn't happen so that's good. But they are letting go of their benefits. Which for us means we now will have to dish out about 1200.00 a month on medications and therapies. Not good.
I do miss my wages let me tell you.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
New Blogs
The advantage of being up most of each nights, I tend to work on my laptop and just putz around. I have had these ideas going through my mind last summer/fall but was too busy with other projects to give them much more thought till late fall. I have started 3 new blogs but rather then this one where everything shows up on it from rants about idiots, to crowing about my grandchildren to everything in between, these will have specific themes. I hope you check them out and give me your feedback. If you find you can't post a comment or start a new post let me know about it and I will fix it. You can email me privately if you have a question or comment but don't want your info on the sites and I will post it for you. You can email me at smilesonly@gmail.com
So here are the blogs:
1. http://padmess.blogspot.com/
This one is about creating an organized home, life, self and family. These are ideas to help you. If you have a particular problem in any of these areas or even for new areas, let me know and I will find some solutions that might work for you!
2. http://sallysyourgirl.blogspot.com/
This blog is about being your Internet Yellow Pages ~ how do you find something, are you looking for some references, certain restaurant, directions to something, what is the best hotel somewhere; This blog is your personal info yellow pages for your life whether it be for cooking, cleaning, health, beauty, stress relievers, how-tos etc.
3. http://alivein2010.blogspot.com/
This blog is about starting a new you! Look at this year as a fresh start to a brand new you.. Maybe it is about watching what you are eating, maybe it is about learning to start working out small, perhaps it is about losing that last (or first) 20 pounds...whatever it is that brings you here today welcome and let's get started together!
And then of course there is this one :) So please continue to let me know your thoughts.. hate to think I am always just talking to myself hehehee
So here are the blogs:
1. http://padmess.blogspot.com/
This one is about creating an organized home, life, self and family. These are ideas to help you. If you have a particular problem in any of these areas or even for new areas, let me know and I will find some solutions that might work for you!
2. http://sallysyourgirl.blogspot.com/
This blog is about being your Internet Yellow Pages ~ how do you find something, are you looking for some references, certain restaurant, directions to something, what is the best hotel somewhere; This blog is your personal info yellow pages for your life whether it be for cooking, cleaning, health, beauty, stress relievers, how-tos etc.
3. http://alivein2010.blogspot.com/
This blog is about starting a new you! Look at this year as a fresh start to a brand new you.. Maybe it is about watching what you are eating, maybe it is about learning to start working out small, perhaps it is about losing that last (or first) 20 pounds...whatever it is that brings you here today welcome and let's get started together!
And then of course there is this one :) So please continue to let me know your thoughts.. hate to think I am always just talking to myself hehehee
Lots of Bread
I was looking through my recipe folder on the weekend looking for a cottage cheese roll recipe that I love and came across one that I have not used in about 20 years. This was made each and every week when our children lived at home and I thought someone out there might find it came in handy :) I would be interested in hearing how you like it.
15 Loaf Bread Recipe:
3TBSP yeast
1 C Water
2 TBSP Sugar
Dissolve in water
3 QTS warm water (sorry I did tell you it was an old recipe lol you might have to look for old measuring utensils if all your things are in metric)
3/4 c sugar
3 TBSP salt
3/4 c. shortening
40 cups flour
Start mixing. I would add 1/4 of flour at a time, get that mixed well then add the next 1/4 which made it a lot easier on my arms and shoulders. It also guaranteed everything got mixed in properly. Grease bowl or roaster (Get an actual bread bowl or baby's bathtub or something huge as it will be a BIG batch when rising) turn dough over so greasedl side is up. Cover with damp towel and place in oven with oven light on.
Let rise for about 1 1/2 hours. How you tell if the bread has doubled enough put 2 fingers in the top about a couple of inches. If the holes remain it has risen perfectly. If the holes collapsed it is not ready yet.
Form into loaves. Let rise about 45-60 minutes. Make sure you do not have any drafts in the house. Cover with cloths to keep moist.
Bake at 375 for about 35-40 minutes depending on your oven. Brush with butter. Assume your family will be like mine and will devour 2 loaves the second it comes out of the oven. Trust me they can move pretty fast even with very hot bread!!!
ENJOY!!
15 Loaf Bread Recipe:
3TBSP yeast
1 C Water
2 TBSP Sugar
Dissolve in water
3 QTS warm water (sorry I did tell you it was an old recipe lol you might have to look for old measuring utensils if all your things are in metric)
3/4 c sugar
3 TBSP salt
3/4 c. shortening
40 cups flour
Start mixing. I would add 1/4 of flour at a time, get that mixed well then add the next 1/4 which made it a lot easier on my arms and shoulders. It also guaranteed everything got mixed in properly. Grease bowl or roaster (Get an actual bread bowl or baby's bathtub or something huge as it will be a BIG batch when rising) turn dough over so greasedl side is up. Cover with damp towel and place in oven with oven light on.
Let rise for about 1 1/2 hours. How you tell if the bread has doubled enough put 2 fingers in the top about a couple of inches. If the holes remain it has risen perfectly. If the holes collapsed it is not ready yet.
Form into loaves. Let rise about 45-60 minutes. Make sure you do not have any drafts in the house. Cover with cloths to keep moist.
Bake at 375 for about 35-40 minutes depending on your oven. Brush with butter. Assume your family will be like mine and will devour 2 loaves the second it comes out of the oven. Trust me they can move pretty fast even with very hot bread!!!
ENJOY!!
Friday, January 08, 2010
Dreams
I hate mornings.. but even more so this morning. I have this special ergonomically correct pillow that keeps my neck straight and prevents tension headaches. Well this morning I somehow slipped partly off and woke up with a nasty headache. But that was ok.. well not ok per se but better then what ticked me off. I had been having such a wonderful dream.. you know the kind where you never want to wake up?? Because I dream so much I almost always know I am dreaming but not last night.
I dreamed that Keith and I had bought an old large Victorian house with all these rooms, hardwood floors, tall vaulted ceilings.. gorgeous. Well it was moving day and somehow somewhere between buying the house day and moving day the house inside grew immensely. The outside still looked the same but when you went in the rooms were all larger and there were even more rooms then there had been before.
As I am walking through each room 2 new rooms made me think I had died and gone to heaven, one was a library. It had a ceiling that must have been at least 20 feet high. shelves from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. Every single space was filled with books!!! People that know me know I am a reader. If something has 2 covers and words in between it will find it's way in my hands. It even had one of those ladders you see in movies that are hooked on the top shelf and you can swing around the room in it.. oh man life was good at that moment. In the middle of the room were these big overstuffed armchairs and lounges that just begged for you to curl up in front of the fireplace to read something.
The 2nd room that I fell in love with was the dining room. Well not that room but the room that now was attached to it. This one had wall to wall and floor to ceiling closed oak cabinets and drawers and when I opened them there were the most beautiful china, silver pieces, crystal, linens, centerpieces, it just went on and on.. I could see my mouth wide open and completely speechless!! Yes I know..me? speechless? That should have been my first clue I was dreaming!
Then I could hear Keith calling me and I turned back into the dining room to go get more boxes and where 2 minutes before had been an empty room was now this solid oak large gorgeous table that could easily sit 30 people!! I kept walking around the house unpacking and every time I turned around there would be a new room and new discoveries. Keith kept looking at me like I had never seen the house before. I went into the master bedroom to put things away and saw another door that had not been there before. Thinking it was a closet I opened it to find a stairway. Now this house from the outside was a 2 story Victorian home in the middle of a quiet neighborhood. When I got to the top of the stairway there was another door and when I opened it I opened it to a huge roof top garden!!
There was a greenhouse with all kinds of herbs growing, there was a large vegetable garden in the middle, rose bushes and all sorts of plants all along the edges. It also was flat which was interesting seeing as how the house had a pitched roof when I had first walked up to the house. I could hear all sorts of noises and when I got close to one of the edges I realized I was standing on the roof of a hightower in the middle of New York City.
At that point I woke up with a kink in my neck and a bad tension headache. What a terrible way to start my day!!
I dreamed that Keith and I had bought an old large Victorian house with all these rooms, hardwood floors, tall vaulted ceilings.. gorgeous. Well it was moving day and somehow somewhere between buying the house day and moving day the house inside grew immensely. The outside still looked the same but when you went in the rooms were all larger and there were even more rooms then there had been before.
As I am walking through each room 2 new rooms made me think I had died and gone to heaven, one was a library. It had a ceiling that must have been at least 20 feet high. shelves from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. Every single space was filled with books!!! People that know me know I am a reader. If something has 2 covers and words in between it will find it's way in my hands. It even had one of those ladders you see in movies that are hooked on the top shelf and you can swing around the room in it.. oh man life was good at that moment. In the middle of the room were these big overstuffed armchairs and lounges that just begged for you to curl up in front of the fireplace to read something.
The 2nd room that I fell in love with was the dining room. Well not that room but the room that now was attached to it. This one had wall to wall and floor to ceiling closed oak cabinets and drawers and when I opened them there were the most beautiful china, silver pieces, crystal, linens, centerpieces, it just went on and on.. I could see my mouth wide open and completely speechless!! Yes I know..me? speechless? That should have been my first clue I was dreaming!
Then I could hear Keith calling me and I turned back into the dining room to go get more boxes and where 2 minutes before had been an empty room was now this solid oak large gorgeous table that could easily sit 30 people!! I kept walking around the house unpacking and every time I turned around there would be a new room and new discoveries. Keith kept looking at me like I had never seen the house before. I went into the master bedroom to put things away and saw another door that had not been there before. Thinking it was a closet I opened it to find a stairway. Now this house from the outside was a 2 story Victorian home in the middle of a quiet neighborhood. When I got to the top of the stairway there was another door and when I opened it I opened it to a huge roof top garden!!
There was a greenhouse with all kinds of herbs growing, there was a large vegetable garden in the middle, rose bushes and all sorts of plants all along the edges. It also was flat which was interesting seeing as how the house had a pitched roof when I had first walked up to the house. I could hear all sorts of noises and when I got close to one of the edges I realized I was standing on the roof of a hightower in the middle of New York City.
At that point I woke up with a kink in my neck and a bad tension headache. What a terrible way to start my day!!
Monday, January 04, 2010
2009 Reflections
1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
took my children to Hawaii
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I rarely make NY resolutions but this year I have made 2: work on being more patient with others and to be off 75% of my medication by end of year
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
yes one of our sons and daughters in law
4. Did anyone close to you die?
yes a very good friend
5. What countries did you visit?
Only the USA.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
a home business that makes money
7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
July 31st. We had a family reunion for my paternal side of my family. I got to see over 140 members of my family, some I had never met some I had not seen in a couple of decades
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Overcoming cancer
9. What was your biggest failure?
putting so much burden on Keith
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
no injuries and as for illness..just recouperating from all the surgeries
11. What was the best thing you bought?
tickets to Hawaii for our family
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Keith's
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
No one that I can think of
14. Where did most of your money go?
what money?
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
our family reunion
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Remember When by Alan Jackson
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? same
iii. richer or poorer? same
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
gotten on my knees
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
snap
20. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Nope, I was already in love.
21. What was your favorite TV program?
Survivor, Amazing Race CSI's
22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Nope
23. What was the best book you read?
When Thou Art Truly Converted
24. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I could listen to music that wasn't country
25. What did you want and get?
finish the year cancer free
26. What did you want and not get?
all of our family in Hawaii
27. What was your favourite film of this year?
The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw
28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Keith took me out for a surprise picnic - 53
29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I can't think of anything
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
same as always, comfy casual
31. What kept you sane?
Keith
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
hmmm can't think of anyone
33. What political issue stirred you the most?
H1N1 - people freaked out! My goodness!
34. Who did you miss?
my family back home as always
35. Who was the best new person you met?
I can't think of anyone new that I met
36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
That I can delegate and still live
37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I'm Alive -Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews
So damn easy to say that life's so hard
Everybody's got their share of battle scars
As for me, I'd like to thank my lucky stars that I'm alive and well...
It'd be easy to add up all the pain
And all the dreams you sat and watched go up in flames
Dwell on the wreckage as it smolders in the rain
But not me...I'm alive
(Chorus)
And today you know that's good enough for me
Breathin' in and out's a blessing can't you see
Today's the first day of the rest of my life and I'm alive
And well...I'm alive and well
The stars are dancin' on the water here tonight
It's gonna fall a soul when there's not a soul in sight
This boat has caught its wind and brought me back to life now I'm alive and well
took my children to Hawaii
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I rarely make NY resolutions but this year I have made 2: work on being more patient with others and to be off 75% of my medication by end of year
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
yes one of our sons and daughters in law
4. Did anyone close to you die?
yes a very good friend
5. What countries did you visit?
Only the USA.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
a home business that makes money
7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
July 31st. We had a family reunion for my paternal side of my family. I got to see over 140 members of my family, some I had never met some I had not seen in a couple of decades
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Overcoming cancer
9. What was your biggest failure?
putting so much burden on Keith
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
no injuries and as for illness..just recouperating from all the surgeries
11. What was the best thing you bought?
tickets to Hawaii for our family
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Keith's
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
No one that I can think of
14. Where did most of your money go?
what money?
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
our family reunion
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Remember When by Alan Jackson
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? same
iii. richer or poorer? same
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
gotten on my knees
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
snap
20. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Nope, I was already in love.
21. What was your favorite TV program?
Survivor, Amazing Race CSI's
22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Nope
23. What was the best book you read?
When Thou Art Truly Converted
24. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I could listen to music that wasn't country
25. What did you want and get?
finish the year cancer free
26. What did you want and not get?
all of our family in Hawaii
27. What was your favourite film of this year?
The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw
28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Keith took me out for a surprise picnic - 53
29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I can't think of anything
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
same as always, comfy casual
31. What kept you sane?
Keith
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
hmmm can't think of anyone
33. What political issue stirred you the most?
H1N1 - people freaked out! My goodness!
34. Who did you miss?
my family back home as always
35. Who was the best new person you met?
I can't think of anyone new that I met
36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
That I can delegate and still live
37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I'm Alive -Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews
So damn easy to say that life's so hard
Everybody's got their share of battle scars
As for me, I'd like to thank my lucky stars that I'm alive and well...
It'd be easy to add up all the pain
And all the dreams you sat and watched go up in flames
Dwell on the wreckage as it smolders in the rain
But not me...I'm alive
(Chorus)
And today you know that's good enough for me
Breathin' in and out's a blessing can't you see
Today's the first day of the rest of my life and I'm alive
And well...I'm alive and well
The stars are dancin' on the water here tonight
It's gonna fall a soul when there's not a soul in sight
This boat has caught its wind and brought me back to life now I'm alive and well
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Happy New Year
To my family and friends:
As this year ends I have spent a great deal of time this past year reflecting on what really is important in life. As I made my list I realized there wasn't a single material thing on the list. The first item was God, the second was family. Short list. I also came to the realization that I need to let go of this need for everything in my life to be perfect. That doesn't mean that I will or should just let everything go to hell and back or lower my standards of work, it just means I need to learn to accept others for who they are and that their ways of doing things may not be the same as mine and that's ok.
My goal this year is to focus on being more patient with others both at home and at work; I need to breathe in and breathe out more and just let go of little things; I will endeavor to work on accepting people for who they are and what THEY can do with their talents no matter what they may be. I will work on being less critical of myself and understanding that I do NOT have to do everything. I will work on being able to delegate more of things that I can delegate and let go of some of the other things.
I want to work harder at being more healthy, to get off my medications and take a more holistic approach to my care. I want to work on having more of an open mind in regarding to new ways of dealing with my health rather then automatically saying no just because it is unheard of and not the "norm".
My wish for you my family and friends for this coming year is this:
Let go of grudges, they have no place in your life. They are poisonous and they accomplish nothing but bring you down. Learn to be the better person and forgive first. Not for others sake but your own. You absolutely do not know when someone's life can be taken away without notice and the guilt of wasting valuable years will eat away at you for the rest of your life.
Today open a new book, it's pages are white and blank and is called Opportunity. The first chapter is today. When this next year ends let it be said that you were a friend of the best kind, that you lived and loved to the best of your capabilities. The object is not that we start each year as a new year but that we start it with a new renewed soul. A new year is a new chance to get it right, to banish worries, doubt and fear from your life. Learn to love live and laugh.
We are given this chance once every year and we need to take advantage of it. Let go of the mistakes you made but learn from them and from others. Try and grow each and every day to be the best you can be. Live each day as if it was your last. Take this opportunity to right some wrongs. I want to wish you health so that you can live each day in comfort ( I know a lot of us who deal with chronic illnesses and pain). I want to wish you love of family and friends and peace within your heart.
I want to wish you the beauty of nature. Take the time to enjoy it. Take more walks, watch the sunrise and sunsets more often. Take advantage of your surroundings. I want to wish you courage to change the things you can , acceptance for the things you can't and wisdom to choose your priorities for things that should really matter in life.
I want to wish you generosity so that you may share all the good things that you have been given. I wish you happiness and joy in this new year. I wish you the best of everything good that you so well deserve. I wish that we may all be a bit more wise this next year, more kind, more brave to try new things,with a heart that is a bit more true. I wish that we may learn to be a bit more anxious to reach out our hands more, despite hurts and problems to still understand and accept the heartache that life often brings.
I wish for more peace within our hearts, our families and our friends, faith to guide our way when lost and hope to guide us each and every day. I wish for us to have sunshine to lighten our days, stars to wish upon and rainbows to let us know we have another tomorrow. I wish for you to have tears to show compassion to others.
When the clock rings at midnight there will be cheers heard all around the world but for some it will be just another day on the calendar. For others it will symbolize a start of a new life, the beginning of a new tomorrow. So if you are looking forward to a new tomorrow, take the time to spread that happiness to others. Don't keep it all inside. When you are lonely I wish you love, when you are down I wish you joy, when you are troubled I wish you peace, when things seem empty I wish you you hope. May the dawning of this new year fill your heart with new hope, open up new horizons and bring for you promises of brighter tomorrows. Most of all I wish for a better relationship with each one of you, more time together and a better understanding of what is going on in your life.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
As this year ends I have spent a great deal of time this past year reflecting on what really is important in life. As I made my list I realized there wasn't a single material thing on the list. The first item was God, the second was family. Short list. I also came to the realization that I need to let go of this need for everything in my life to be perfect. That doesn't mean that I will or should just let everything go to hell and back or lower my standards of work, it just means I need to learn to accept others for who they are and that their ways of doing things may not be the same as mine and that's ok.
My goal this year is to focus on being more patient with others both at home and at work; I need to breathe in and breathe out more and just let go of little things; I will endeavor to work on accepting people for who they are and what THEY can do with their talents no matter what they may be. I will work on being less critical of myself and understanding that I do NOT have to do everything. I will work on being able to delegate more of things that I can delegate and let go of some of the other things.
I want to work harder at being more healthy, to get off my medications and take a more holistic approach to my care. I want to work on having more of an open mind in regarding to new ways of dealing with my health rather then automatically saying no just because it is unheard of and not the "norm".
My wish for you my family and friends for this coming year is this:
Let go of grudges, they have no place in your life. They are poisonous and they accomplish nothing but bring you down. Learn to be the better person and forgive first. Not for others sake but your own. You absolutely do not know when someone's life can be taken away without notice and the guilt of wasting valuable years will eat away at you for the rest of your life.
Today open a new book, it's pages are white and blank and is called Opportunity. The first chapter is today. When this next year ends let it be said that you were a friend of the best kind, that you lived and loved to the best of your capabilities. The object is not that we start each year as a new year but that we start it with a new renewed soul. A new year is a new chance to get it right, to banish worries, doubt and fear from your life. Learn to love live and laugh.
We are given this chance once every year and we need to take advantage of it. Let go of the mistakes you made but learn from them and from others. Try and grow each and every day to be the best you can be. Live each day as if it was your last. Take this opportunity to right some wrongs. I want to wish you health so that you can live each day in comfort ( I know a lot of us who deal with chronic illnesses and pain). I want to wish you love of family and friends and peace within your heart.
I want to wish you the beauty of nature. Take the time to enjoy it. Take more walks, watch the sunrise and sunsets more often. Take advantage of your surroundings. I want to wish you courage to change the things you can , acceptance for the things you can't and wisdom to choose your priorities for things that should really matter in life.
I want to wish you generosity so that you may share all the good things that you have been given. I wish you happiness and joy in this new year. I wish you the best of everything good that you so well deserve. I wish that we may all be a bit more wise this next year, more kind, more brave to try new things,with a heart that is a bit more true. I wish that we may learn to be a bit more anxious to reach out our hands more, despite hurts and problems to still understand and accept the heartache that life often brings.
I wish for more peace within our hearts, our families and our friends, faith to guide our way when lost and hope to guide us each and every day. I wish for us to have sunshine to lighten our days, stars to wish upon and rainbows to let us know we have another tomorrow. I wish for you to have tears to show compassion to others.
When the clock rings at midnight there will be cheers heard all around the world but for some it will be just another day on the calendar. For others it will symbolize a start of a new life, the beginning of a new tomorrow. So if you are looking forward to a new tomorrow, take the time to spread that happiness to others. Don't keep it all inside. When you are lonely I wish you love, when you are down I wish you joy, when you are troubled I wish you peace, when things seem empty I wish you you hope. May the dawning of this new year fill your heart with new hope, open up new horizons and bring for you promises of brighter tomorrows. Most of all I wish for a better relationship with each one of you, more time together and a better understanding of what is going on in your life.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
resolutions
It is that time of year again. I am not big on New Year's resolutions.. I would rather just try and live my life as good as I can and at least make improvements from the previous year. But this year I am going to focus on 2 areas. One.. I am going to work on being less of a perfectionist which will help make me more patient with others and secondly I am going to work on being 75% off my medications by the end of 2010.
What is your plan for the coming year?
What is your plan for the coming year?
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Large Batch Punch
With the holiday season upon us I thought there might be some of my readers looking for a large batch of punch recipe. I used to use this all the time when I lived in Sask and had my catering. It maks 129 - 8oz glasses
7-48 oz orange juice
1-24oz lemon juice
2 whole oranges and lemons
4-48 oz of pineapple juice
10-24oz ginger ale
10-24oz soda water
2 cups berry sugar
Mix altogether and serve. Make sure the sugar is well dissolved
If you need a smaller amount to serve here is a smaller version . This serves 60-8oz glasses
3-48oz orange juice
12oz lemon juice
1 whole orange and lemon
2-48oz pineapple juice
5-24oz gingerale
5-24oz club soda
1 cup berry sugar
Both recipes you slice the fruit to float in a punch bowl
Enjoy!!
7-48 oz orange juice
1-24oz lemon juice
2 whole oranges and lemons
4-48 oz of pineapple juice
10-24oz ginger ale
10-24oz soda water
2 cups berry sugar
Mix altogether and serve. Make sure the sugar is well dissolved
If you need a smaller amount to serve here is a smaller version . This serves 60-8oz glasses
3-48oz orange juice
12oz lemon juice
1 whole orange and lemon
2-48oz pineapple juice
5-24oz gingerale
5-24oz club soda
1 cup berry sugar
Both recipes you slice the fruit to float in a punch bowl
Enjoy!!
Friday, December 11, 2009
wonder how big is big?
Little bit of an eye opener for sure. When I started on my weight loss journey 6 years ago (in a couple of weeks it will make 6 years officially.. thanks Jan!) I was shocked at how large our food portions were. You think well I ate chicken so I am ok.. but that one chicken breast was 2 full servings... glad I had a good friend who talked me into changing my lifestyle and making it a new and better life. It now makes 4 years that I have maintained my weight with no gains..
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/42673
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/42673
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Care of your Christmas Tree
As most people will be getting their real tree this week I thought I would give you some tips on how to keep it fresh longer. We have tried a lot of different ways depending on who we spoke to and have found that this has worked every single year. We like our tree up the first Saturday in December and we don't take it down till the 1st or 2nd weekend in January and we rarely lose needles. The only time it did not work was when we mistakenly got Grand Firs instead of our usual Noble Firs. Grand Firs have amazing true Christmas tree scent but only last 2 weeks at the most. Which is ok if you only put your tree up the last week .
-When you get home, decide where you want your tree and once decided, cut at inch off the base. Do this EVEN if you only chopped it down an hour before. Sap starts drying up within minutes of a tree being cut.
-The stand needs to hold at LEAST one gallon of water. A freshly cut tree can take up at least 4 litres of water a day in the first few days.
-Make sure the base is in the water. At times we just check the stand and think as long as there is water in it, the tree is fine, but if the base is not in the water it can not take any water into the trunk.
-Fill the stand with BOILING water. Keep an eye on the stand and keep it full.
-Keep using boiling water for the first 48 hours, after that regular temperature water is okay.
-You do not need sugar, syrupy solutions, aspiran etc in the water. Plain water out of the tap works plenty fine
-Keep it away from registers, fireplaces and heat sources. If you do not use LED lights make sure you don't leave your lights on for extended hours as the heat from the lights does dry out the needles which in turn dries out the branches.
That's it.. pretty simple. Enjoy your tree and if you have any questions please feel free to ask away.
-When you get home, decide where you want your tree and once decided, cut at inch off the base. Do this EVEN if you only chopped it down an hour before. Sap starts drying up within minutes of a tree being cut.
-The stand needs to hold at LEAST one gallon of water. A freshly cut tree can take up at least 4 litres of water a day in the first few days.
-Make sure the base is in the water. At times we just check the stand and think as long as there is water in it, the tree is fine, but if the base is not in the water it can not take any water into the trunk.
-Fill the stand with BOILING water. Keep an eye on the stand and keep it full.
-Keep using boiling water for the first 48 hours, after that regular temperature water is okay.
-You do not need sugar, syrupy solutions, aspiran etc in the water. Plain water out of the tap works plenty fine
-Keep it away from registers, fireplaces and heat sources. If you do not use LED lights make sure you don't leave your lights on for extended hours as the heat from the lights does dry out the needles which in turn dries out the branches.
That's it.. pretty simple. Enjoy your tree and if you have any questions please feel free to ask away.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Tis the season.....
Today was a great day :) We went to our family annual Christmas tree hunt with some of our family, I look forward to this day for months!! The only thing that could have made it more perfect was if there would have been snow outside .. but that's ok.. it was snowing great big snowflakes in my imagination!!!!
This is the 2nd year that we have gone to this new place. We used to go to this other place but last year they announced that they no longer did U-Cut due to whatever reason they had. It had something to do with not having enough big trees and that people were cutting the wrong trees. So last year I googled a search and found this new place...http://www.dogwoodchristmastreefarm.com/Dogwood_Christmas_Tree_Farm/Welcome.html
We loved it and went back again this year. You could tell we were getting close about 4K from it as all these cars kept passing us with trees attached to their roofs. I guess the first Saturday in December is a good date for everyone to get a tree.
This was the first year though that the grandkids cut the tree. That has always been Papa's or one of the dad's jobs but this year the kids did it. I have to say they got that tree down pretty fast! The boys also helped him put the lights on which again has always been Papa's job with the kids helping me do the decorations. I guess they are growing up :( After they boys were done the girls and I did the decorations. It was hilarious watching our 15 month old granddaughter wanting to help. I would give her a decoration and she would just put it on a branch and toddle back to get another one. If I was taking too long she would yell NANNNNAAA and try and pull the box down to reach one lol. Her big sister had to go behind her and hang the ones that fell to the floor as they were sitting on a branch and not hooked on.
She also kept hanging on to Papa's leg while he was trying to do the lights. I guess every job needs a supervisor! The kids kept putting her on the other side of the coffee tables to keep her out of the way and she would scream till someone would lift her over. Then she would just toddle back to the box to get another ornament. It was priceless!!
We ended up getting a much shorter and smaller tree then we usually do which made it difficult to locate but one was found. Now we can get onto the rest of the preparations!!
This is the 2nd year that we have gone to this new place. We used to go to this other place but last year they announced that they no longer did U-Cut due to whatever reason they had. It had something to do with not having enough big trees and that people were cutting the wrong trees. So last year I googled a search and found this new place...http://www.dogwoodchristmastreefarm.com/Dogwood_Christmas_Tree_Farm/Welcome.html
We loved it and went back again this year. You could tell we were getting close about 4K from it as all these cars kept passing us with trees attached to their roofs. I guess the first Saturday in December is a good date for everyone to get a tree.
This was the first year though that the grandkids cut the tree. That has always been Papa's or one of the dad's jobs but this year the kids did it. I have to say they got that tree down pretty fast! The boys also helped him put the lights on which again has always been Papa's job with the kids helping me do the decorations. I guess they are growing up :( After they boys were done the girls and I did the decorations. It was hilarious watching our 15 month old granddaughter wanting to help. I would give her a decoration and she would just put it on a branch and toddle back to get another one. If I was taking too long she would yell NANNNNAAA and try and pull the box down to reach one lol. Her big sister had to go behind her and hang the ones that fell to the floor as they were sitting on a branch and not hooked on.
She also kept hanging on to Papa's leg while he was trying to do the lights. I guess every job needs a supervisor! The kids kept putting her on the other side of the coffee tables to keep her out of the way and she would scream till someone would lift her over. Then she would just toddle back to the box to get another ornament. It was priceless!!
We ended up getting a much shorter and smaller tree then we usually do which made it difficult to locate but one was found. Now we can get onto the rest of the preparations!!
Friday, December 04, 2009
Health Analysis.. huh go figure
Well hello all.. man where does time disappear?? Days are getting shorter and not just because it is becoming late in the season. Christmas has always been by far my favorite time of year.. I love all the hoopla that goes with it, the lights at night time, the prettiness of the decorations everywhere, the family gatherings.. all of it.. the baking till all hours of the night.. the smells.. the food.. yup yup yup I am a happy girl at this time of year.
This season has been slow moving for me. Well slow moving physically at least.. mentally I am still going on at break neck speed :) I was talking to my mother the other day and she was asking if I had had a nap that day, or the before or anytime this past week.. I said Mom I am 53 years old what are you going to do.. send me to my room? I am too old to be told to go have a nap. She went on to say how I needed to slow down. I was quiet and she finally said what?? Are you still there? Yes Mom I am here.. you are telling me I need to slow down.. yes... this coming from the woman who is going to be 80 in a few months, who still plants gardens, who still washes her walls every month and scrubs the inside of her oven and fridge every week.. and YOU want ME to slow down? She chuckled at that point.. sheesh mother... :)
So mentally my brain is as busy as always but physically my body is going so slow most days it seems I am going in reverse. UGH. I have started the Prolotherapy treatments, I had my first one almost 2 weeks ago now and will go for my 2nd one in a couple of days. The hard part was not moving at all... Thank goodness Keith was sitting at the head of the bed so I could squeeze his hands. The specialist kept asking if I needed a break or wanted to stop for the day and I kept saying no keep going. He kept saying how impressed he was that I could lay so still that most of his patients are yelling or squirming or asking to stop. He was putting Lidocaine in with each injection as he had mixed it in with the solution so that the freezing could go as far deep into the muscles as it could. So needless to say the freezing wasn't there so much to prevent me feeling all the injections but more for keeping me somewhat comfortable later on when I got home. And you sure could tell the second the freezing wore off.. not nice.. Poor Keith.. He sure is getting his fair share of sleepless nights. Thank goodness for family members who pop over at midnight to come and give me blessings and check up on me.
So last weekend we went to the West Coast Christmas Show. I had seen the ad for it and thought cool... they had designers there that held workshops on how to decorate your home, chefs that taught you new and exciting dishes to make for the holidays, dairy producers who had cheese tasting shows etc etc. All for ten bucks.. right in my budget! Man I had a blast. But they also had exhibtors and one of them was a practitioner who did health analysis. Now I see them as kind of like hocus pocus that they draw you in with small talk getting you to reveal info about you without you realizing that you actually were doing so. I was walking with a cane that day and so I put it in the stroller so that they could not see I was having difficulty. The idea is you place the palm of your hand on a computer mouse sort of thing. You take some deep breaths and then in a couple of minutes the computer generates this analysis. Now I stayed quiet the whole time just letting her talk.. not letting on that she was right or wrong.
Then when she finished she asked if I had any questions. I just looked at her and said I had never had anyone peg my health so clearly and to the point. It blew me away to say the least!!The printout comes out in a bar graph and each area shows whether that area in your life was just fine etc. It the bar was clear it was normal, if it showed a splotch of green it usually was a temporary thing that needed to be fixed such as you needed to eat, you stayed up too late the night before, had jet lag or something that was easily fixed; it it was yellow it meant your body was trying to right that area on its own, if it showed orange, you needed to take care of it, kind of like a warning light; if it was red it was a problem, a serious problem.
I was surprised how many clear spots there was so that was good. The only one that I felt was wrong was my immune system. It showed as clear and I know for a fact it wasn't so I told her this. She said oh no, she said there was a difference between immune and auto-immune. She said you don't get colds or flues do you. I said I have never gotten a cold and the only time I have ever gotten the flu was when I had to get flue shots but other then that nothing. She then showed me my auto immune graph and that was red. She said your body is trying to fight against itself, it wants to heal itself but it's hitting brick walls.
It even does moods.. go figure - My organizational skills were clear, my enthusiasm, cheerfulness, communication and tolerance were also all clear as was thoughfulness, forgiveness and emotional stress release. My memory was red.. really? sorry what were we talking about :), Contentment, sympathy, and courage were yellow. I had no orange. Then she did the radiation.. now no laughing at this part!!!!! Computer radiation was off the cart red lol. I think that was when Lareta snorted behind me! So was mocrowave radiation (well I do nuke leftovers most days for my lunch) and radio radiation was orange.. radio?? She said well not transistor radio but radio waves from power lines etc.
Then she went into environmental poisons.. She said tobacco was bad.. but not tobacco but more second hand smoke was nasty. I told her I knew that for years. I also told her when I know I am going to be around a lot of second hand smoke even smoke that is on people's clothes I have to take allergy medicine ahead of time. She said why not just stay away from it totally because it was so bad.. I said well because my family smokes and they won't listen to me when I tell them it's bad for them :) . Mercury, copper and tin were all yellow/orange.My vitamin B's were all bad, carbs were orange, gluten was orange and my PH balance was out.
Then she went onto the organs, she said heart was excellent, part of the brain that works with sleep, cell rejeuvenation, calm was not good; Liver, skin kidneys needed help.
But it goes on.. she had it down pretty good. Cost me 20 dollars and well worth the 15 minutes of my time. I don't know if that is what it normally costs but it was a pretty good deal to me! Here is her website if you wan to check it out more:
www.SAHservices.com
Right next to her was an acupuncturist that did by acuppressure. His claim to fame was that he could tell all about you through your ear. Ok.. well the last one was so good let's go for it. Again there was no way he could have heard what she had been telling me. He did not see me with my cane so didn't know I was in pain etc. He checks my left ear for all of one split second and says you had a head traume right at the top of your head a couple of years ago and then right after says you had another bad head trauma at the back of your head about 40 years ago or so. Lareta asks what he was looking at in my ear that he could say that so fast?? So he shows her.. She told him I had a head truama 3 years ago and then I told him I had been in a bad car accident about 35 years before when the car I had been driving rolled off the road and I had been thrown completely through the windshield quite a ways out of the car. He went on to say I had a lot of pain in my shoulders and lower back, my right hip and left knee.. ok do I have a flashing sign on my firehead?? So he asks if it was alright to do the acupressure that he uses whole mustard seed and places them on pressure pointsl I said sure. So he starts and keeps asking is the pain gone? Nope. 6 times he does it and 6 times I keep saying no then he calmly said I had to ahve taken something for pain within the last hour and I said yes about 30 minutes or so. He said that was why, the pain killers were blocking the relief. So he walks around me and puts the mustard seed in my right ear and the pain in my shoulder blades disappear. He does anothe rspot and the burning in my tail bone disappears. The acute pain never left but the burning did. Again I was blown away.
So blown away that the next day I drag Keith all the way back so he could get done. Needless to say it was with the same results.. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry or shout Hoorah!!. So they both gave us some advice on how to work on ourselves, and I told him that I was a firm believer in accupuncture but had never had acupressure done. Although I do have to admit there is no pain whatsover in acupuncture but I could not say the same about the acupressure :)
So his website is www.mikelang.ca if anyone is interested in hearing more about him.
OH and the best part? Keith and I went to the cheese tasting seminar and he actually tried not only Brie cheese (And loved it!!) but he got to try all these other cheeses that weren't even orange!! He figures if it is n't orange cheddar it isn't real cheese hehehehe
This season has been slow moving for me. Well slow moving physically at least.. mentally I am still going on at break neck speed :) I was talking to my mother the other day and she was asking if I had had a nap that day, or the before or anytime this past week.. I said Mom I am 53 years old what are you going to do.. send me to my room? I am too old to be told to go have a nap. She went on to say how I needed to slow down. I was quiet and she finally said what?? Are you still there? Yes Mom I am here.. you are telling me I need to slow down.. yes... this coming from the woman who is going to be 80 in a few months, who still plants gardens, who still washes her walls every month and scrubs the inside of her oven and fridge every week.. and YOU want ME to slow down? She chuckled at that point.. sheesh mother... :)
So mentally my brain is as busy as always but physically my body is going so slow most days it seems I am going in reverse. UGH. I have started the Prolotherapy treatments, I had my first one almost 2 weeks ago now and will go for my 2nd one in a couple of days. The hard part was not moving at all... Thank goodness Keith was sitting at the head of the bed so I could squeeze his hands. The specialist kept asking if I needed a break or wanted to stop for the day and I kept saying no keep going. He kept saying how impressed he was that I could lay so still that most of his patients are yelling or squirming or asking to stop. He was putting Lidocaine in with each injection as he had mixed it in with the solution so that the freezing could go as far deep into the muscles as it could. So needless to say the freezing wasn't there so much to prevent me feeling all the injections but more for keeping me somewhat comfortable later on when I got home. And you sure could tell the second the freezing wore off.. not nice.. Poor Keith.. He sure is getting his fair share of sleepless nights. Thank goodness for family members who pop over at midnight to come and give me blessings and check up on me.
So last weekend we went to the West Coast Christmas Show. I had seen the ad for it and thought cool... they had designers there that held workshops on how to decorate your home, chefs that taught you new and exciting dishes to make for the holidays, dairy producers who had cheese tasting shows etc etc. All for ten bucks.. right in my budget! Man I had a blast. But they also had exhibtors and one of them was a practitioner who did health analysis. Now I see them as kind of like hocus pocus that they draw you in with small talk getting you to reveal info about you without you realizing that you actually were doing so. I was walking with a cane that day and so I put it in the stroller so that they could not see I was having difficulty. The idea is you place the palm of your hand on a computer mouse sort of thing. You take some deep breaths and then in a couple of minutes the computer generates this analysis. Now I stayed quiet the whole time just letting her talk.. not letting on that she was right or wrong.
Then when she finished she asked if I had any questions. I just looked at her and said I had never had anyone peg my health so clearly and to the point. It blew me away to say the least!!The printout comes out in a bar graph and each area shows whether that area in your life was just fine etc. It the bar was clear it was normal, if it showed a splotch of green it usually was a temporary thing that needed to be fixed such as you needed to eat, you stayed up too late the night before, had jet lag or something that was easily fixed; it it was yellow it meant your body was trying to right that area on its own, if it showed orange, you needed to take care of it, kind of like a warning light; if it was red it was a problem, a serious problem.
I was surprised how many clear spots there was so that was good. The only one that I felt was wrong was my immune system. It showed as clear and I know for a fact it wasn't so I told her this. She said oh no, she said there was a difference between immune and auto-immune. She said you don't get colds or flues do you. I said I have never gotten a cold and the only time I have ever gotten the flu was when I had to get flue shots but other then that nothing. She then showed me my auto immune graph and that was red. She said your body is trying to fight against itself, it wants to heal itself but it's hitting brick walls.
It even does moods.. go figure - My organizational skills were clear, my enthusiasm, cheerfulness, communication and tolerance were also all clear as was thoughfulness, forgiveness and emotional stress release. My memory was red.. really? sorry what were we talking about :), Contentment, sympathy, and courage were yellow. I had no orange. Then she did the radiation.. now no laughing at this part!!!!! Computer radiation was off the cart red lol. I think that was when Lareta snorted behind me! So was mocrowave radiation (well I do nuke leftovers most days for my lunch) and radio radiation was orange.. radio?? She said well not transistor radio but radio waves from power lines etc.
Then she went into environmental poisons.. She said tobacco was bad.. but not tobacco but more second hand smoke was nasty. I told her I knew that for years. I also told her when I know I am going to be around a lot of second hand smoke even smoke that is on people's clothes I have to take allergy medicine ahead of time. She said why not just stay away from it totally because it was so bad.. I said well because my family smokes and they won't listen to me when I tell them it's bad for them :) . Mercury, copper and tin were all yellow/orange.My vitamin B's were all bad, carbs were orange, gluten was orange and my PH balance was out.
Then she went onto the organs, she said heart was excellent, part of the brain that works with sleep, cell rejeuvenation, calm was not good; Liver, skin kidneys needed help.
But it goes on.. she had it down pretty good. Cost me 20 dollars and well worth the 15 minutes of my time. I don't know if that is what it normally costs but it was a pretty good deal to me! Here is her website if you wan to check it out more:
www.SAHservices.com
Right next to her was an acupuncturist that did by acuppressure. His claim to fame was that he could tell all about you through your ear. Ok.. well the last one was so good let's go for it. Again there was no way he could have heard what she had been telling me. He did not see me with my cane so didn't know I was in pain etc. He checks my left ear for all of one split second and says you had a head traume right at the top of your head a couple of years ago and then right after says you had another bad head trauma at the back of your head about 40 years ago or so. Lareta asks what he was looking at in my ear that he could say that so fast?? So he shows her.. She told him I had a head truama 3 years ago and then I told him I had been in a bad car accident about 35 years before when the car I had been driving rolled off the road and I had been thrown completely through the windshield quite a ways out of the car. He went on to say I had a lot of pain in my shoulders and lower back, my right hip and left knee.. ok do I have a flashing sign on my firehead?? So he asks if it was alright to do the acupressure that he uses whole mustard seed and places them on pressure pointsl I said sure. So he starts and keeps asking is the pain gone? Nope. 6 times he does it and 6 times I keep saying no then he calmly said I had to ahve taken something for pain within the last hour and I said yes about 30 minutes or so. He said that was why, the pain killers were blocking the relief. So he walks around me and puts the mustard seed in my right ear and the pain in my shoulder blades disappear. He does anothe rspot and the burning in my tail bone disappears. The acute pain never left but the burning did. Again I was blown away.
So blown away that the next day I drag Keith all the way back so he could get done. Needless to say it was with the same results.. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry or shout Hoorah!!. So they both gave us some advice on how to work on ourselves, and I told him that I was a firm believer in accupuncture but had never had acupressure done. Although I do have to admit there is no pain whatsover in acupuncture but I could not say the same about the acupressure :)
So his website is www.mikelang.ca if anyone is interested in hearing more about him.
OH and the best part? Keith and I went to the cheese tasting seminar and he actually tried not only Brie cheese (And loved it!!) but he got to try all these other cheeses that weren't even orange!! He figures if it is n't orange cheddar it isn't real cheese hehehehe
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Rain Rain go away
I am sitting here eating my breakfast and decided instead of whining about the fact that we have had solid rain for 21 days in a row I would come up with positive reasons... so here are my reasons why it is a good thing that we need all this rain..
now don't interrupt me.. I'm thinking..hmmm nope nothing yet
now don't interrupt me.. I'm thinking..hmmm nope nothing yet
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Holiday Season
Hard to believe it's barely a month left before Christmas!!Life is getting busier then usual in the Haysom household. We finally got our village all done a few days ago. We have a new addition to it this year, Keith's great grandfather's train set. You will see it in the pictures below as the train on the higher level. We also took away a section only because of my health Keith has had enough on his plate so I told him to not put up the ski slope with the tram rides etc. He also is starting a 2nd job starting the 1st which I am even less happy about so am minimizing his to-do list.
All we have left to get ready for Christmas is to put up the outside lights (have to wait till it stops raining first ugh) and chop the tree down then decorate it but I can take care of that area. Keith just has to chop it down and get it home. I have been working on the gifts and making a very small dent in my list. Most of mine is homemade so it is just a matter of finishing what I started. I got the tree up and decorated at work this weekend so that's done and have started my baking although I will do the bulk of it closer to Christmas to keep temptations away.
On Saturday Lareta and I went to Super Saturday and made chocolates and some word plaques (see pic below as well). They were pretty basic beginner classes which I am way past that stage but it was time spent with my daughter so that is always a good thing. So will just have to make my regular chocolates closer to Christmas ..out of sight out of mind.. Keith will be working from 6am to 4pm at his regular job and 4pm till midnight at the other one so will have lots of extra time to make things when he isn't home to snitch :)
I went and saw the specialist this week and if I wasn't hurting before I was there I sure was by the time he was done. He had to check out each and every vertebrae, every joint every muscle group to try and localize where the pain was originating from. When he finished he said I had the worse back he had ever seen.. no ... really? I thought I was here for fun!! He did say I was a candidate for the prolotherapy but warned me I would go through a lot worse before I could get better. He suggested I continue with the acupuncture and that I might want to go with a more aggressive form of acupuncture called aggressive Neuro acupuncture. I have to say about 5 minutes after he started talking to me, my brain shut itself off. It was just way too disheartening to keep listening. He said my muscles were in one large spasm, that although most of the muscle groups were in chronic pain there were several areas in acute pain. Again.. no.. really?
So when I went to the front desk to book my first treatment I made sure that I made it late enough in the day so that Keith would be there and then he can remember everything. In the meantime I will just keep doing what I can when I can how I can. My motto is if I can fool myself into thinking I am doing great I AM doing great :) That's my story and I am sticking with it!!
Saturday night we had a progressive dinner out with friends.. it was A LOT of fun!! In case you have never heard of these.. this is how it works. You gather up your friends, and everyone moves to one house for appetizers, then everyone goes to the next house for soup, then to someone else for salad then the next for main course then the last house for dessert! I was so stuffed by the time we got back home.. oh man I will be lucky if I am hungry by Tuesday lol. It was very enjoyable and was glad for the evening out :)
So am off for now and going to go work on my next present.. enjoy the pictures :)Oh I knew I had something else to say :) Of course when don't I hehehe. I started 2 other blogs.. one is almost done so will post that address when it is more complete but have one ready for viewing.. I would love your opinions and comments :)
http://sallysyourgirl.blogspot.com/
All we have left to get ready for Christmas is to put up the outside lights (have to wait till it stops raining first ugh) and chop the tree down then decorate it but I can take care of that area. Keith just has to chop it down and get it home. I have been working on the gifts and making a very small dent in my list. Most of mine is homemade so it is just a matter of finishing what I started. I got the tree up and decorated at work this weekend so that's done and have started my baking although I will do the bulk of it closer to Christmas to keep temptations away.
On Saturday Lareta and I went to Super Saturday and made chocolates and some word plaques (see pic below as well). They were pretty basic beginner classes which I am way past that stage but it was time spent with my daughter so that is always a good thing. So will just have to make my regular chocolates closer to Christmas ..out of sight out of mind.. Keith will be working from 6am to 4pm at his regular job and 4pm till midnight at the other one so will have lots of extra time to make things when he isn't home to snitch :)
I went and saw the specialist this week and if I wasn't hurting before I was there I sure was by the time he was done. He had to check out each and every vertebrae, every joint every muscle group to try and localize where the pain was originating from. When he finished he said I had the worse back he had ever seen.. no ... really? I thought I was here for fun!! He did say I was a candidate for the prolotherapy but warned me I would go through a lot worse before I could get better. He suggested I continue with the acupuncture and that I might want to go with a more aggressive form of acupuncture called aggressive Neuro acupuncture. I have to say about 5 minutes after he started talking to me, my brain shut itself off. It was just way too disheartening to keep listening. He said my muscles were in one large spasm, that although most of the muscle groups were in chronic pain there were several areas in acute pain. Again.. no.. really?
So when I went to the front desk to book my first treatment I made sure that I made it late enough in the day so that Keith would be there and then he can remember everything. In the meantime I will just keep doing what I can when I can how I can. My motto is if I can fool myself into thinking I am doing great I AM doing great :) That's my story and I am sticking with it!!
Saturday night we had a progressive dinner out with friends.. it was A LOT of fun!! In case you have never heard of these.. this is how it works. You gather up your friends, and everyone moves to one house for appetizers, then everyone goes to the next house for soup, then to someone else for salad then the next for main course then the last house for dessert! I was so stuffed by the time we got back home.. oh man I will be lucky if I am hungry by Tuesday lol. It was very enjoyable and was glad for the evening out :)
So am off for now and going to go work on my next present.. enjoy the pictures :)Oh I knew I had something else to say :) Of course when don't I hehehe. I started 2 other blogs.. one is almost done so will post that address when it is more complete but have one ready for viewing.. I would love your opinions and comments :)
http://sallysyourgirl.blogspot.com/
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Too early for Christmas
Our local radio station posted on their Facebook page a question on whether or not their listeners thought it was too early to begin decorating for Christmas particularly if you thought stores should not have their merchandise out until at least December 1st. It has become quite a hot bed of replies let me tell you. Then someone said I was not very Christian because I happen to post why should I be punished by not being able to check out stores for ideas for my home for decorating because parents don't want to listen to their children whining about "gimme gimmme". Are you kidding me?
It takes us several weeks to get our villages and train sets set up. We have to start in November otherwise it gets too crazy in December. I LOVE everything about Christmas. I think we have a very healthy blend of the true meaning of Christmas and the fun of Santa.
What do you think? When do you start decorating your home? When is it too early for stores to display their Christmas merchandise? Costco has had their stuff out since September and I have commented several times that it needs to wait until AFTER Halloween but yet I always have to go through the displays to check out their new stuff :-D
It takes us several weeks to get our villages and train sets set up. We have to start in November otherwise it gets too crazy in December. I LOVE everything about Christmas. I think we have a very healthy blend of the true meaning of Christmas and the fun of Santa.
What do you think? When do you start decorating your home? When is it too early for stores to display their Christmas merchandise? Costco has had their stuff out since September and I have commented several times that it needs to wait until AFTER Halloween but yet I always have to go through the displays to check out their new stuff :-D
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Update on Medical Air Miles
So I decided today that BC Medical should develop some sort of a frequent flyer plan for those of us that seem to be in one office or another on a regular basis. I finally was able to see my family doctor this morning in regards to getting a req for upper back xrays after I saw the other specialist a couple of weeks ago for my lower back when he discovered my right rib cage had slipped forward.
I took advantage of being in her office to go over a few things that had come up since my last visit:
1. Upper back: she said she could see the difference just looking at me sitting on a chair, that my right shoulder was quite a bit lower then my left one. She gave me the req and said it could be either a compressed fracture or due to the sheer number of surgeries I had in my chest in the last 2 years that the muscles just are in constant spasms pulling on the shoulder forward causing the problem. I told her that the acupuncture had helped tremendously for my lower back that I had had at the other office, and that the only time my lower back burned now was when I forgot and bended at the waist to pick something up. She said to see if I can find a local acupuncturist and see them as often as needed. She also said Keith should go take a course on acupuncture so he could give me the injections. Uh. No.
2. H1N1: I told her that other people I knew that had cancer were being told to get the shot but that I had not planned on getting it and wanted to get her feedback. She said she is telling all her patients they need to make that decision on their own. If they wanted to have it she would arrange for them to get it. I knew that was a diplomatic answer so asked her if SHE was getting it. She said no she was not and she was not getting her family vaccinated either. She said the vaccine is just too new without enough information. She said she would not subject her family to it when there was so little info on long term effects. Good enough for me.
3. Sleep Study: I asked if she had gotten the report yet and she said yes. She kind of smiled at me and said she bet that the diagnosis of depression went over well with me :) I told her about my thoughts and how annoyed I was the doctor had not even been willing to discuss any other possibilities. So my doc and I spent about 15 mins going over choices etc. We agreed that I would increase one of my medications I am already on so that I am taking it throughout the day instead of just the night and that should help. We also agreed to start using Melatonin which is a natural sleep aid taking one that is quick acting and another that is long lasting so that I can fall asleep at a normal time and stay asleep for longer then 30 minutes at a time. Much better outlook then depression and anti-depressants. Although when I told Keith about this part he said he was going to have to have a chat with her. I said buddy when it comes to my health I trust her more then I trust you :)
4. Prolotherapy: I told her the specialist a couple of weeks ago had found a doctor that did prolotherapy so we went over that. She said to expect my pain levels to greatly increase. She said the solutions that are in the injections will actually inflame the area that is being injected. The idea is that inflammation is your body's natural way of healing itself but because of different health issues lately my body isn't able to heal itself. Gee.. thanks..
Now you understand why I think BC Medical should invest in a frequent flyer plan :)
I took advantage of being in her office to go over a few things that had come up since my last visit:
1. Upper back: she said she could see the difference just looking at me sitting on a chair, that my right shoulder was quite a bit lower then my left one. She gave me the req and said it could be either a compressed fracture or due to the sheer number of surgeries I had in my chest in the last 2 years that the muscles just are in constant spasms pulling on the shoulder forward causing the problem. I told her that the acupuncture had helped tremendously for my lower back that I had had at the other office, and that the only time my lower back burned now was when I forgot and bended at the waist to pick something up. She said to see if I can find a local acupuncturist and see them as often as needed. She also said Keith should go take a course on acupuncture so he could give me the injections. Uh. No.
2. H1N1: I told her that other people I knew that had cancer were being told to get the shot but that I had not planned on getting it and wanted to get her feedback. She said she is telling all her patients they need to make that decision on their own. If they wanted to have it she would arrange for them to get it. I knew that was a diplomatic answer so asked her if SHE was getting it. She said no she was not and she was not getting her family vaccinated either. She said the vaccine is just too new without enough information. She said she would not subject her family to it when there was so little info on long term effects. Good enough for me.
3. Sleep Study: I asked if she had gotten the report yet and she said yes. She kind of smiled at me and said she bet that the diagnosis of depression went over well with me :) I told her about my thoughts and how annoyed I was the doctor had not even been willing to discuss any other possibilities. So my doc and I spent about 15 mins going over choices etc. We agreed that I would increase one of my medications I am already on so that I am taking it throughout the day instead of just the night and that should help. We also agreed to start using Melatonin which is a natural sleep aid taking one that is quick acting and another that is long lasting so that I can fall asleep at a normal time and stay asleep for longer then 30 minutes at a time. Much better outlook then depression and anti-depressants. Although when I told Keith about this part he said he was going to have to have a chat with her. I said buddy when it comes to my health I trust her more then I trust you :)
4. Prolotherapy: I told her the specialist a couple of weeks ago had found a doctor that did prolotherapy so we went over that. She said to expect my pain levels to greatly increase. She said the solutions that are in the injections will actually inflame the area that is being injected. The idea is that inflammation is your body's natural way of healing itself but because of different health issues lately my body isn't able to heal itself. Gee.. thanks..
Now you understand why I think BC Medical should invest in a frequent flyer plan :)
Monday, November 09, 2009
New Project for Monday
I have been working on three HUGE projects this past summer, one was writing a family history book, another was doing a family reunion for my dad's side of the family and lastly a huge family history seminar where literally hundreds of patrons gather for an all day seminar of about 30 odds classes. It has been an exhaustive last year, add to that 5 surgeries and recuperation time in there to boot.
But we did it with a great team but today I went to get something in my office, went onto my online day timer and put only 1 thing on my daytimer for my todo list for tomorrow. CLEAN MY OFFICE. Now I have done many many times in the years but it will be the first time that I will clean and sort it without bending at the waist, don't bend to get anything , don't lift, don't wash walls, don't vacuum, don't take garbage out.. but where there is s will I will find a way. You can't stop me.
These are all the storage boxes that have gotten pulled out because someone needed something and they never got put back.
there is a spot from floor to ceiling beside the cabinet that the boxes are SUPPOSED to stored
THis is supposed to be my sewing area. And with Christmas coming I have projects to get completed
My poor dining room table would be so happy to get this cleared off and back onto my own desk so we can eat at the table again.
I'm not sure what scrapbooking projects I could work on here!! Bad bad bad
I have spools of ribbon that people have been using and most of the spools are unwound and all have to be fixed as well as things put away in drawers etc
And all the scrap papers and card stock now needs to be reorganized and sorted out, plus sort out and pout away kids play dohs and paints. But once all done I will be abl eto rest.. well until something else gets me going!
But we did it with a great team but today I went to get something in my office, went onto my online day timer and put only 1 thing on my daytimer for my todo list for tomorrow. CLEAN MY OFFICE. Now I have done many many times in the years but it will be the first time that I will clean and sort it without bending at the waist, don't bend to get anything , don't lift, don't wash walls, don't vacuum, don't take garbage out.. but where there is s will I will find a way. You can't stop me.
These are all the storage boxes that have gotten pulled out because someone needed something and they never got put back.
there is a spot from floor to ceiling beside the cabinet that the boxes are SUPPOSED to stored
THis is supposed to be my sewing area. And with Christmas coming I have projects to get completed
My poor dining room table would be so happy to get this cleared off and back onto my own desk so we can eat at the table again.
I'm not sure what scrapbooking projects I could work on here!! Bad bad bad
I have spools of ribbon that people have been using and most of the spools are unwound and all have to be fixed as well as things put away in drawers etc
And all the scrap papers and card stock now needs to be reorganized and sorted out, plus sort out and pout away kids play dohs and paints. But once all done I will be abl eto rest.. well until something else gets me going!
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Mammograms
Tomorrow I have to go for my mammogram. I have been going for them since I was in my early 30's so basically 20 years. They have never bothered me. I could never understand why some women made such a big deal about it ...took 30 seconds per side, was never painful..piece of cake. I was very lucky to have doctors on my side that believed in letting women get them done before 50 when there was a strong family rate of breast cancer.
But this one tomorrow is scaring me to hell and back. First, it is the first one I have to have since my mastectomies. Secondly with all the surgeries I have to had these last 2 years I worry that something will split inside or tear or start bleeding... something to go wrong.
But I will be there, I will go through it because it is important to my family and important to me. So why am I telling you this? Because you can support me by getting yours done. If you have been putting yours off till "tomorrow" or next week, or later..don't. Just do it. Ignoring something does not make it go away. If I can go for mine tomorrow with everything I have been through in the last 22 months, you can go for yours. Please. Then let me know that you did it and I will smile and hug you and cheer you from my rooftop.
But this one tomorrow is scaring me to hell and back. First, it is the first one I have to have since my mastectomies. Secondly with all the surgeries I have to had these last 2 years I worry that something will split inside or tear or start bleeding... something to go wrong.
But I will be there, I will go through it because it is important to my family and important to me. So why am I telling you this? Because you can support me by getting yours done. If you have been putting yours off till "tomorrow" or next week, or later..don't. Just do it. Ignoring something does not make it go away. If I can go for mine tomorrow with everything I have been through in the last 22 months, you can go for yours. Please. Then let me know that you did it and I will smile and hug you and cheer you from my rooftop.
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