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Thursday, August 30, 2007

Preparations

News... news... news... *taps chin*

Absolutely nothing. Really. Honestly! I kid you not. Life goes on.

It's CD20, and next month I'll go for some of that bloodwork that is required for the IVF I suppose. I don't want to put it off much longer. Now that the finances have come together, we can look at moving forward with this soon after the new year I would think. In the meantime, we have the fall to get through.

In preparing for all that, I'm still at the gym and/or doing laps in our pool. The pool is a mere 35 feet, but I've worked up to about 70 laps per day in it. I love that; it lets me zone out and forget stuff. I'm like the Energiz.er Bunny, I just keep going, and going, and going and... well, you get the idea. The other day I lost count of my laps cause I had totally zoned and my thoughts drifted elsewhere. Heavens knows where, but certainly they weren't in the pool with me!

To that effect, I've lost about 20 pounds or so I think. I still haven't weighed myself (for fear of shocking myself I think!) but neighbors and colleagues have noticed a difference, as has hubby. And of course, my clothes fit much more loosely on my frame. I can tell too. Sure, I can still stand to lose a boatload more. I'm not giving up yet. I guess the desire to have children is motivation huh? If nothing else is...

I'm also trying to organize my flight home in the fall, hopefully for around about Thanksgiving (which is in early October in Canada, for you Americans in the audience). Mom's surgery went well; she is home recovering. She was out of bed and walking one day after surgery, and we are cautiously optimistic. She has pain in the soles of her feet, but we take that as a good sign because for more than a year, she has had absolutely NO FEELING whatsoever in her feet or legs. So this is progress. She's limited in her mobility for now though, unable to bend or stretch, or to lift or move objects over five pounds, so that is why we're all helping out. My sister is flying home on Saturday to spend ten days with my parents. That will give my aunts a break for a bit. They'll need it I'm sure. We'll see when I manage to get home; as I said I'm still trying to organize that. Right now I'm hoping around the end of September for two weeks. I'll keep you posted.

And you know something? Acting in the Manager's shoes is d-mn tough. I've never been swamped with so much paperwork in my entire life! It's insane. The red tape one must go through to move offices, have a phone line switched, hire someone, order software, pay bills, justify expenses, etc. Oh dear Lord. I'm just overwhelmed. I'll be glad when a new employee arrives the week after next to take on some projects. And the week after that, we have a clerk starting. At least she'll be able to take care of the files and the admin stuff, entering details of the budget, etc. Whew!

Before I sign out, here's a pic of me and hubby (on the right). On the left is a good friend of ours who went to Vegas as well. This was taken earlier this month at Fan Faire in Las Vegas. I hope you like it.

To Pam and V, it is a shame that your weekend in the Capital is falling through. I'm so sorry to hear it. We'll do brunch another time, promise!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

And the insanity continues...

So it seems that my mom's surgery has been pushed from mid-September to THIS FRIDAY! Yeah, you read that right. My sis and I are frantically trying to figure out flights home and getting time off earlier than expected to help around the house while Mom recovers. Wish me luck that it all works out.

In that mix, I'm trying to figure out if I have to attend a funeral. My cousin's husband passed away very suddenly last week while they were home in Newfoundland on vacation. Age 51, massive heart attack. Apparently even if he were in hospital at the time it had occurred, there would have been nothing they could have done to save him, it was that severe. Anyway, my cousin (accompanied by her father; my uncle) returned home to their 20-something year old son, with her husband's ashes in an urn instead of her husband at her side. Very shocking. It all happened so fast. I can't imagine going somewhere on vacation with my husband and having to return home with his ashes rather than with him. *shudders* I am so sorry for her loss. Anyway, I'm still trying to determine if there is a service of any sort. If so, I need to attend that. Must try to reach them today.

Today is my sister and brother-in-law's Third Anniversary! Happy Anniversary sis! They got married one week after hubby and I did so we had a month of insanity surrounding the weddings in 2004. It was such fun though. I'm glad we did it that way. And I just adore my sister's husband; he's such a sweetheart! With that West Virginian accent of his too; God love him! *smooches*

And today, August 14, is the anniversary of my grandmother's passing in 1988. She was one of the strongest women I know and she, along with my mom, are two of the most important women who helped me become who I am today. Shortly before her death, she gave my mother two $20-dollar bills. She said to her, "Give these to the girls" (my sister and I) "to buy something to remember me by." I still have that same $20-dollar bill. Nothing I could ever purchase could remind me of her like that bill can, and the caring, loving, giving woman she was. So in memory of my grandmother, Edith, I give thanks today for having had 18 years with her. I miss her every single day. God Bless Nan. Wherever you are.

And I have to say, thanks for your encouragement everyone. Last night, I was talking to my sis who reads this blog and she said, "You know, you have some great friends on that blog of yours. They're very supportive and caring. It's a wonderful network to have." I couldn't agree with her more. So to all of you, kudos guys. You are the best. I've known that all along.

P.S. For My Reality: I play a level 70 conjuror on the Antonia Bayle (roleplaying) server in the game EverQuest II. Let me know where your cousin plays and what class/level he is!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Life Goes On

There has been some great news in the IF blogging world.
Bugsy has had a baby boy!
On August 11, Lisa had a baby boy!
And Marie was supposed to be induced and we're waiting for details.

And I'm thrilled for all of you. What wonderful news. It's good to know that this whole rollercoaster can come to a stop and you can find the reward for the hardest quest of all. Congratulations to all of you!


There's little to report from here. Vegas was a blast and hubby and I are very glad that we went. We spent four days in the company of two good friends (from California); we slept little and enjoyed every moment. Let's see, we took in the following:
-- The Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur Hotel
-- for the ladies, a show at Chippendale's (oooh la la!)
-- a banquet for all the attendees at the conference (1700) which included both a live wedding between two folks who'd met in game and then an in-game wedding of their characters (a first for any gaming convention)
-- a live quest on site (our team of 10 came in 7th)
-- Quark's bar in the Hilton hotel where the two ladies shared a drink called a Warp Core Breach (oh dear God, this was amazing!)
-- a lovely meal at a seafood buffet; I loved the sushi!
-- a drive down to Laughlin near the Arizona border to meet friends and have brunch with them
-- a walk to a few hotels on the Strip to take pics; wow, it was so beautiful and so extravagant!
-- and of course, the whole gaming convention and meeting friends who I've played with online for about five or six years. It was amazing. Lots of fun. For those gamers among you, I bought a licence plate frame that says "I'd rather be on autofollow." I thought it was cute; it made hubby and me laugh.

When we got back, we celebrated our third anniversary. We didn't do much except go out for dinner on that date, but it was noted.

Summer is pushing forward and life goes on. I'm in the process of consulting with my sister to figure out when I'm going home in the fall to help out my mom after she has back surgery which is tentatively set for mid-September. And hubby and I are discussing what we'll do for Christmas this year, if anything.

The only other thing of note: hubby and I are back at the gym regularly and doing much better with our eating. We've both shed pounds. I haven't bothered to weigh but I'm estimating between 10 and 15 pounds so far. Lots more to go though. With some motivation and help/advice from MH in California, I know I can get there. I think I'll look at having my bloodwork done next month.

Oh yeah... and while I love stepping into the Manager's shoes, I gotta say, the pile of paperwork is overwhelming!