Tick Tick Tick

The countdown is seriously on!

Only TWO sleeps until I am in England!

Bags are packed... lists are checked... e-tickets in hand.

GACK! So stressed and excited!!! Can't focus on day-to-day stuff!!!!!!

I don't think I'll be posting again before I leave, so TTFN, next time I write I'll be back from the UK!

(giddy giddy me)

The picture is my boys being silly in a toy store a while back.... they look about as excited as I feel right now, so I thought it was appropriate. Presently they are a bit mopey about me going.... they keep saying how much they'll miss me. Sweet little monkeys.

Because Tee asked....

http://www.magicbag.com/pain-relief-pad/


The Magic bag is a fantastic model of simplicity and function (my words, not theirs).... it's a thick cotton shell covering a type of seed or husk or something like that. It can be kept in the freezer as a cold pack, or it can be microwaved as a hot pack. I have 4 of them in various sizes so there is always one around that's cold and one ready to be warmed. Other than helping ease my tensions away so I can get to sleep some nights, my favourite use for it is to throw one in bed from the freezer on a HOT night, it makes my bed so much more bareable. The kids have become dependent on them on hot nights too (keeps the "I'm HOT" whining to a minimum).

Because they are made of grains, they don't like to get wet, so that can be a disadvantage, and other than the covers, they can't be washed.

Part of my collection of these things include home-made ones and I found these instructions online at tipnut.com:

No pattern is necessary, simply cut two pieces of cloth in the size/shape you wish your bag to be. Cotton Fabric works best -- plain, prints, flannels, denims -- it pretty much has to be cotton so that it's microwavable. You can make removable & washable outer pouches too.

Make sure to leave a seam allowance for yourself (about 1/2″). I like the regular square shape bags, but a long rectangle is handy for strapping around the shoulders too. (usually a large washcloth size works well)

Filler Options:

Wheat, Feed corn, Buckwheat hulls, Barley, unmilled Oatmeal, Flax seed

Leave an inch or two open on one side so that you can fill bag with your choice of filler. Fill the bag about 1/2 to 3/4 full, more or less as you prefer. Don’t fill too full though, you want the bag to mold itself around your body when you apply it.

Once bag is filled, sew opening closed either by hand or machine (making sure filler is contained at the opposite side of bag).

If wanting a removable cover, just sew a “pillowcase” idea with your soft, plushy fabric by making it a little larger than your heating pad and leaving an open end (make sure to finish off ends by sewing a hem). Or you can add a strip of velcro to close it. Make sure to never microwave this cover.

Directions for use as a hot pack:
Place in microwave and heat for 1 to 3 minutes, depending on size of bag. Do not leave unattended “just in case” the filler smokes or starts on fire. As a precaution, you can set a cup of water inside the microwave while heating the bag. Be careful when removing from microwave and applying to body. Shake bag first, feel around and make sure it’s not too hot (they do get hot!), especially when using on a child.

Directions for use as a cold pack:
Keep it in the freezeruntil you need it. They really don't get too cold for the skin. Remember to put it back in the freezer after it's done being cool.


So there you go... a household thingy that I actually use a whole lot!

The countdown continues!

Oh yay!

4 more sleeps to England!!!!!

All the last minute running around is under control: the plug adapter is packed, the credit card companies have been told about my trip, I got some British pounds for spending money, I got some dollar store sunglasses (that don't look hideous) that I can lose or break without guilt. I even got a little present for the children of my friend and my aunty.... (just a trifle, but it's canadian, eh!)

Now if only my sinuses would behave! The stupid part is I don't know if it is just allergies for the first time ever. My ears are plugged, my eyes are leaking ever so slightly, I have a tickle at the back of my throat and the area under my right cheekbone is very dense feeling. I can't be sure the neti pot is doing anything except that I do seem to be having a SHORTER coughing spell in the morning than I usually do.

I guess I should clean my office before I go. That would be sensible, wouldn't it...

A whole day wasted

Anyone that suffers migraines will know exactly what I am talking about here.... yesterday was a complete waste. Like being drunk (to the point of sick ALL day), it went by in a haze of different levels of pain and disability.

It started with a sinus blockage that went from under my right eye to my right ear. A throbbing ache that I went to bed with the night before last. When I woke up, the action of standing up nearly made my head !explode! and dropping back into bed somehow made it even worse! I am lucky I did not vomit in my bed. My wonderful husband brought me a magic bag from the freezer and the pressure subsided slightly so that I could go get a sinus&cold pill and an Ibuprofen for extra measure..... half hour later I was feeling marginally better as the sinus pressure backed off a bit (however the migraine bit was still quite active, making me feel out-of-this-world hazy, slurring my few words and blurry vision).

Forcing myself to eat something I did feel a bit better. But you have to be careful what you choose to eat when enduring a migraine... the wrong thing can make it much worse, or even make the vomiting happen - and oh baby -when the vomiting starts it has a vicious life of it's own causing so much agonizing pain in the head that death seems like it could be a nice place. Last time I got that far I was sure I must be having an aneurysm and it had been so violent that all the capillaries under my eyes burst, giving me the effect of 2 black eyes for days afterwards. Not nice, not nice at all. But you have to eat something because an empty stomach is not helpful either.

The stupid part is that yesterday my mom came to town and it was my niece's 5th birthday party! So I had obligations and fun things planned for the day!

My husband had to drive. My coordination was at a terrible level, and eyesight not only light-sensitive, but also direction-sensitive (looking left and slightly up is the least painful) and slightly blurry. So even though the pain itself was under control at this point, the other side effects of this cruel thing were disabling.

Got to the party, let the boys loose and sat very still with my husband for a while. Somehow the volume of the party was not making it any worse! I decided it was time to get a neti pot to clear the initial trigger of the headache, so T and I excused ourselves to a drug store and got one. I took another Ibuprofen and ate a plain spinach salad without dressing. It was amazingly good.

Funny that such a thing as a headache can feel so much like being extremely drunk. I had to concentrate to look at things, concentrate even harder on words I wanted to say, cover my eyes to prevent squinting or wild eye movements, be constantly afraid of losing my lunch, hang onto my husband for balance to walk, make any vertical changes carefully (sitting to standing) and I can't really remember what anyone was saying yesterday. Almost the whole day was a right off.

By the time the party ended, I was feeling more myself. I was hearing people and comprehending what they were saying enough to respond coherantly!

We came home and I initiated myself with the use of a neti pot. R-E-A-L-L-Y different. Then we got ready to go to my sister's for dinner with my mom. It was okay. My sinuses were the only pain now.... much more manageable. I was able to hold conversation, eat, see and even walk! By the time we left my sister's the Ibuprofen was wearing off.... I was nervouse, but it was okay -- it was just a sinus headache left. PHEW!

This morning I was very happy to be headache free!

I sure hope this isn't turning into a sinus infection though.... I don't need that on the airplane !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank You James Cameron

Sure it was predictable, the names were unimaginative and the characters uber-stereotypical... I think I may have even groaned when I saw the plains natives riding horse-like creatures.... but that added to the charm of this cautionary fairytale didn't it?

The effects were stunning, visually a feast! The story was super-cool with the interconnectivity of everything and the deep spirituality of the people of Pandora. It was a beautiful adventure, and at the end of seeing it in the theatre I was seriously sad to be leaving that planet so soon after discovering it. I really felt like I wanted to be a part of that story more than any since reading the Narnia books as a youth! And just like the LW & W story, the world was in danger of being selfishly exploited, death and danger lurked around every corner for our alien hero(s) and a distinct feeling of being far from home but close to something really meaningful to their destiny was clearly apparent. Too cool.

So all the predictable story line and transparent ploy's aside, it was a very pleasant escape for me. Thank you James Cameron, I actually loved it enough to buy the Blu-ray disk yesterday (on Earth day) I hope the magic translates to my small TV screen as well as it did in the third row of the movie theatre!

little plate, lots of stuff

You know what? When your husband goes to bed earlier than your kids, it makes for a VERY short evening, especially if you want to climb into bed before he falls asleep (just to be very nice -- after all he complains that if he wakes up it's hard to get back to sleep).

So that pretty much writes off after-dinner on weekdays: dinner, dishes, short TV time, bedtime routine, hit the hay -- That's it!

The thing is I have offered to volunteer for a couple things before leaving on my trip, silly me.

Firstly I am canvassing for the Canadian Cancer Society. Bless them they made it easy and kept me to 37 houses right near my place. BUT they suggest evenings are best. And my evenings are so short! I have only been out once, and I got 13 houses -- not everyone was home of course. But I thought I did okay.

Secondly I am helping with the grade 7 yearbook. There 3 moms, and we are all gungho, so as long as I contribute where I can, and try not to get pushy with my "professional" opinion on the layout, it will be fine (oh but it hurt me to agree to use a cheesy program for the layout, complete with clipart frames! But I backed off and relaxed -- it's for the kids, it's for fun) I will press my influences elsewhere.

And then there are all my clients that need to be caught up and happy before I leave!

more than 1/2 dozen ads, web layout ideas, logo rebuild and business card/letterhead (with mandarin translation). Oh and a couple schematics for my moonlighting job.

The household itself is just trying to get the day to day stuff done with the other stuff going too.

And then there are family events: My neice's birthday is this weekend and so is the MS Walk.

Last second travel things... I have to get a power adapter for the UK, another memory card for the camera, and other small sundries (but thanks to Wolfgrrl's Hawaiian hotel, I have tropical, travel sized toiletries!)

About the trip... I have already emailed (so it won't be lost) a PDF outlining when we will be where with the email addresses and phone numbers and flight informations to my husband.

So my little plate of only NINE, short days is very very full.

A bold new era

It's insignificant for anyone else, but it's a huge advancement for my household.... T and I went out for dinner and we didn't need to hire a babysitter!!!

This is HUGE!

13 years we have been acutely conscious of the necessity of childcare. One responsibility (and law) of having young dependents is that they need to be under adequate supervision. I hear that girls get to that point earlier (which is why 12 year old babysitters-for-hire exist), but for my boy it took to 13 years. And what a relief it is to be here! I feel like shouting from the rooftops "SUCCESS!"

We have been saying... "we're running out for a minute, keep an eye on your brother" for a couple months. Always during daylight hours, never for long. But this was different.... it was a DATE!
At NIGHT!
For a romantic meal at a GOOD restaurant!
And the only cost was the meal!

Ah yes, I feel like we have reached a finish line of sorts. We came home (after a delicious, quiet meal) to a home no messier than we left it. And kids that were not harmed in any way.... I see more regular dates in my furture! woohoo!

A perfect day

What a wonderful day!

I got up right when my alarm went off and rolled over to see a lovely day on the horizon. I listened to the news on the radio (nothing serious) and got up to see my darling husband making scrambled eggs for everyone (he makes the BEST scrambled eggs with 3 different kinds of cheese and cooked into these cheesy nuggets...mmmm)

The kids got ready in lots of time and rode their bikes to school.

I got right to work and was quite productive, successfully catching up on some things I had been putting off.

Fresh coffee came down to my desk regularly (I love my husband) and the dog stayed with T in the garage instead of breathing on ME all day.

I had time to do a bit of yard work around lunchtime and the weather was exactly right for it. Then I had a long..... quiet... shower.... with no pressure from anyone. I had a late lunch (home made, chicken pesto bowtiepasta salad with pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes -- yummy) my fridge looks so bright and nice inside! And I ate my meal out on my back deck in the Spring sunshine.

Dinner was quick and easy and then we all went out for a nice, long walk in the woods..... no fights between the boys, no need to nag them at all, so nice.

It was a perfect day.

Full of productivity, courtesy, beauty, exercise and loving family moments.

Food Clutter

What kind of a society of overindulgence am I living in that this could even be a concern?! But in my lower-middle income family household FOOD CLUTTER is a reality.

- I have looked in my fridge, wondering how I am going to fit one more variety of mustard in there.
- I have stacked cardboard boxes of dried goods on TOP of my cupboards because my pantry is overflowing.
- I have had to pass on meat sales because my chest freezer and fridge freezer were at capacity.
- I have even taken to designating a shelf in my basement for warehouse-quantities of canned goods!

Not really anything I should be complaining about. EXCEPT that I occasionally catch the show "Hoarders:Buried Alive", I see a little bit of myself in those people and it scares me.

I'm not alone either, my sister has the same compulsion to stock-up on food. It gives us a sense of security, makes us feel like we are providing for our family -- noble goals, but really we have to say enough is enough at SOME point!

Lets just have a peek in my fridge. At any one time I am likely to have: prepared yellow mustard (your standard, hot dog condiment) Dijon mustard (in the BIG jar), Grainy German mustard, sweet mustard, hot mustard, honey-mustard mayonnaise, and dried mustard. (The sad part is I use them regularly).

Pickles are a no less crazy. Dill pickles, pickled mushrooms, pickled asparagus, pickled banana peppers, pickled jalapenos, two varieties of stuffed olives, marintated artichoke hearts and pickled capers. And around Christmas I have pickled onions, rollmops and gherkins too.

Also on my fridge door, RIGHT NOW, I have 3 varieties of bottled marinades, 15 varieties of Asian sauces (including the soy sauce and wasabi mayo and hot sauces), chili sauce, tartar sauce, seafood cocktail sauce, mayo, Tabasco, Worcestershire, franks hotsauce, 3 flavours of relish (gourmet onion is my personal favourite), 2 Indian chutneys, a vindaloo paste, chipolte/blackberry syrup anchovy paste and ketchup.

Strangely I am out of BBQ sauce.

I have maple syrup, corn syrup and butter syrup for the different breakfast choices! (and a few kinds of spreads, from Blackberry jam to apple butter, cinnamon spread to mocha topping, marmalade, etc...

I could go on and on -- JUST in the FRIDGE!

Now I have to mention, I rarely let food SPOIL in my fridge. I buy perishables with a purpose and they usually get consumed in time (the occasional 1/2 tub of cottage cheese being the exception)

I need to be honest about whether I am going to use it at all. And then either use it or swallow the guilt and toss it. I do feel terrible that so many people have NOTHING and here I am complaining about having too much. I've managed to start to bury myself and there is no one to blame but me. At least my eyes are open now. I can see that I need to get shovelling.

Today I want to be able to wash the shelves in my fridge, that's my goal for the day.

+++++
Okay the task is done. I had 2 opened jars of jalepeno-stuffed olives and 2 giant open bottles of chinese hotsauce (one of which expired last month)... not so many duplicates as I was afraid there would be! And the shelves are so bright and CLEAN now!

Life goals update

My life is doing it's thing and things are getting done at a satisfactory pace:

Taxes are paid (bah humbug).
International Driver's Permit is aquired (just in case we want to hire a car in Cornwall).
Tent Trailer is insured for another year.
Veggie Garden is turned over, (and looks like it's inviting some seeds! )
Another bag of clothes and books went to charity.
I took TEN DVDs to sell to a pawn shop. (10 is not even a tiny dent in the collection, but it felt good and the cash bought me a nice little sushi lunch for myself.)
I am keeping up with the laundry (having less clothes makes this way easier!)
Dog is getting more walks now that the weather is better.
Somehow I am about 10 pounds lighter than I thought I was.... (a weird but happy thing - no cause I can think of).
AND I had a dentist cleaning appointment, no cavities!!!!!

How about my resolution of "a place for everything and everything in it's place"? Well, the laundryroom is still semi-decent (!) and the books are fitting in the bookshelves better than ever! The closets are easily fitting things, and I am not getting more food than can fit in the pantry anymore (I still have a hard time reminding myself of that one).

I am a pushover.

I have been accused of it for many a year. And it isn't true in every category. But I can be a pushover, that's a fact.

I was sure that I would tell my sister. "Go to Paris without me, I really want to stay in London with my friend that I haven't seen in years!" But I came into her home to get our itinerary more concrete, and she was SO EXCITED about Paris, and asking my opinion about the hotel choices, and pointing out where the favourites were on the map and all the things within walking distance, etc, etc, etc. Listening to her I started off as very depressed (only half listening) dreading the idea of telling her my decision, then her fever got contageous. One of the hotel rooms looked so much like the room I got to have in Rome, that I suddenly wanted to go too. She showed me on the calendar how the flights were going to be travel-plan-friendly and we wemt over the plans for each day around the Paris weekend, and it simply looked like more and more of a good idea to join her! SHE HAS A GIFT! Now I am actually excited about Paris too, and I didn't think I could be (more specifically I am excited about that hotel with the red and gold curtains and giant windows with Juliette balconies and a little garden courtyard).

And this is the plan now, most of the stuff is booked except the daytime excursions.

May 2 we fly overnight across the Atlantic
May 3-7 we are in London
May 7-9 we are in Paris
May 9-12 we are in Cornwall (though the transport from London to St Agnes is still to be decided)
May 12 overnight we are in Gatwick, and then we are HOME May 13th.

SO EXCITED!!!!!! And completely exhausted from all the thinking about it. It's not as easy as I thought it would be to coordinate the different locations. England may be a small country but it's PACKED with potential things to see and do! Decisions decisions decisions.

Was it wrong of me to want be happy with my sister? I feel like I did the right thing, but I was so sure this morning that I wanted to stay put instead..... sigh.

Spring has really sprung!

It's a bit chilly out, but the sunshine beckoned this morning. Lucky dog got to go for a walk in the woods! Sure there is still some snow on the hill and frost on the windshield first thing in the morning....
But the evidence is undeniable.... birds are gathering the fluff from the cattails in the marsh, the bleeding hearts are lighting up the forest glades with their tender greenery and pink blooms...

I even sppotted a trillium in the loam!

The wild currants are going crazy in the sun (but not a bee in sight!)

It's official that spring is here.... even with the other evidence, I never beleive it's true untill the skunk cabbage are out!

Hooray!

dirt dirt dirt

1 man
1 woman
2 boys
1 dog
1 cat

add them up

=

LOTS OF DIRT


I can't believe the sheer volume of grit, grime and dust that finds it's way into this house! UGH!

20minutes of vacuuming and it does look better. Now to dust, and wet rag the kitchen cupboards.... daily ickyness that I can never seem to get on top of.

How do you find housework? What's your least-favourite chore?

whatcha think of my new look for Spring?

Spring cleaning for the blogscape. I thought I'd try WHITE for a while.

Last night my youngest had his best friend stay the night -- and it's super cute because his best friend happens to be his cousin (my sister's son)! We have been very lucky that they get along so well... it's simply wonderful actually. And the icing on the cake is that he's a really good boy, and loves us as unconditionally as we love him.... hugs and kisses.

Calm between the storms

It was wickedly wet and wild weather on Friday! The power went out and the branches (and even whole trees) littered the streets everywhere. The rain was driving so hard that even under the eaves were soaked and things went flying off the back deck.

Thankfully we had nowhere urgent to be. And except for the trip to the public pool, we hunkered down for the day in intermittent power outages.

Saturday was quite different. The sky was still grey and the wind not exactly calm, but it was civilized enough to venture out to our favourite park.... Pipers Lagoon.

The light was strange, but it made for nice, moody pictures! Like these yellow flowers clinging onto the cliff's edge.

The tide was low, and the storm from the night before washed HUGE quantities of sealife onto the shore...one thing I did not expect -- fish row! Tiny little orange eggs like you'd see on your sushi.

The wind-swept rock has particularly lovely flora.... I think this is a variety of choclate lily:

And the fauna.... This rock is much steeper and taller than it looks in the picture, and yes the dog thinks he's a mountain goat!

The tide was low enough that we were able to trek across a spit of beach to "Shack Island"! (In all the years I have been visiting that park, this was my first time over there.)

Aside from the real, historic, fisherman shacks there is a fun assortment of driftwood forts to be found and explored too...

And when dad and I had had enough, and the dog chased enough sticks into the sea, we made our way back to the truck. Steve and Cam stopped at the bench to watch some kites while we loaded the wet dog into the box.