Monthly Archives: February 2007

Exercise – Good for the Soul

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I was so inspired today to better my health I got up at a decent hour so I could get in a good 40 minutes of exercise before work. I decided to focus on my upper arms, legs, and back in my workout today. It feels so good to be alive!!!!

:>>

Okay you figured me out. I didn’t go to the gym – I had to shovel snow. I only got the area cleared from behind my back bumper to the road. Luckily the plow hasn’t made it to our street in a couple of days. I had to shovel my way from my door to the gate and then shovel out the gate so it would open. From the gate to the front bumper of my truck the snow is knee high (truck is parked mid-way in the driveway). I used Jeff’s big snow scoop for quite a bit of it. (He’s out of town this week).

After my work-out, I rushed through a shower, pleading for the plow not to come. Thankfully it didn’t.

We’re supposed to get up to 30cm again today. I have to take some photos tonight. It’s impressive! Damn that global warming! :) )

Wind Chill and Hospital Visit

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Snow squalls kept the Trans-Canada closed north and east of here last night. It isn’t snowing today but the windchill is -30 and the forecast says it is to be -40°C tonight and tomorrow. Brrrrrrr…

So whatever it is on my cheek has gotten worse every day. Today when I woke up the skin under my eye was so swollen and puffy it was affecting my eye – looked like my eye was swelling shut. So Jeff and I braved the cold and went to see a Doctor.

However I don’t have a family Doctor, even though I’ve been on the waiting-for-a-doctor-list here for years, so I had to go to the walk-in clinic at the hospital emergency room. The triage nurse checked me out and said she was pretty sure it was shingles and sent me off to the clinic in the basement.

We didn’t wait too long for them to call me back into an exam room, but then I sat there for about 40 minutes. Luckily the Dr. working the clinic today was my FAV! He’s such a nice man. After he looked at my face he said, “I sure wish I was a dermatologist, because I have NO idea what this is.”

He said we could treat it like it was from the cold because it didn’t really look like rosacea because it’s mostly on one side of my face. He left the room to see if the dermatologist could get me in today at a special dermatology clinic that is on the weekends. Turns out it is next weekend so they are working on getting me in as an urgent patient.

He decided to treat it as if it was rosacea just in case it was. He prescribed a gel to put on it twice a day (and the info sheets that come with it say it will take 2 weeks to work! AHHH!) and the pharmacist also recommended a particular cleanser to use on my face before I apply the gel.

Bon Soo Fireworks 2007

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Jeff and I went to see the Bon Soo fireworks tonight. I think this must be our 4th year seeing them together now.

Anyway, Jeff’s brother Brian wanted us to take our camera and blog it for him :>> so I took my camera.

Are we old fuddy-duddy’s now? We somehow lost the romance of bundling up and standing along the waterfront freezing our butts off waiting for them to start the showaf. This year we saved our $5 each and parked the truck along a different portion of the river and watched half of them through the windshield of the truck after I got too cold outside :)

Mind you, they don’t have the incredible snow sculptures this year or the tug of war on the street contests that I always wanted to walk around and enjoy. It is also really nippy outside. Okay so I’m old and whiny now. But I didn’t hear Jeff put up much of a fight either. Plus I think I have frostbite on my cheek – the portion of my cheeks under my eyes have always been extra sensitive to the cold since I used to walk to school in Thunder Bay at -36°C plus windchill weather. It was the only part of skin that was always exposed. I know it gets cold fast since then and I felt it the other day when Jeff and I were out shovelling waiting for the agent to stop by to show the house (2 days ago?) This morning I woke up and that part of my cheek is swollen, pink, and is covered in bumps. There are a few more bumps going down my cheek and there is a small patch under the other eye. I’ve never seen it before. If it isn’t frostbite, then I have no idea what sort of contagious skin disease I have, I just hope my cheeks don’t fall off. It hurts a little – sort of like a sunburn.

So back to the fireworks, I decided to try the fireworks feature on my camera. Unfortunately I can’t stand myself as still as a tripod and I couldn’t wear a mitten and press the camera button at the same time so I didn’t get any stellar shots for you Brian S. ;D

Here is my handsome boyfriend Jeff. I was trying out the night time portrait setting on the camera. It was pitch black in the truck so it turned out pretty good I think.

Jeff at the fireworks
Jeff waiting for the Fireworks to begin

Here is.. well whatever it is.. on my cheek (we were passing time until the fireworks began). Can you see the big patch of pink bumps? Paging Nurse Mom – any idea?

My Cheek
My Cheek

On to the Fireworks!

Bon Soo Fireworks 2007
Bon Soo Fireworks 2007 – As Captured without a Tripod or Mitten
Fireworks
Standing so far away kinda sucked – I think we’ll go back to our front row seat next time.
Fireworks
Overall – excellent show

I imagine we’ll be long gone from here before Bon Soo 2008. I hate most things about the Sault, but I’ve always loved the Bon Soo fireworks. If you ever get a chance to see fireworks in the winter, don’t pass it up!

Finally Did Something I Put Off For Years

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With my job about to end (well in 4 weeks now), I decided to buy something I had put off for years – since 2001 actually – while I had the money to pay for it.

When I finished University, it took me another two years to get around to doing my thesis so I could actually graduate. I didn’t attend a graduation because we had a “Ring Ceremony” where we get our silver Forestry rings for our pinkie fingers. My degree was sent to me through the mail.

Although it represents thousands upon thousands of dollars (of debt) and years of time investment, the piece of paper itself is cheap and tacky looking. So I finally bought the nice wooden frame from Lakehead’s Alumni services that has a Lakehead matting that goes around the degree itself.

I’m really happy I did it and now that it is on my wall I will be able to sit back, collect my unemployment cheques, and feel proud that I am an educated University grad. :p

I’ll take a photo of it and upload it here for you to see tonight or over the weekend. Here you go!

My Degree

Why I’m so Firmly Against Organized Religion

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Anyone who knows me personally knows that although I was raised Catholic and was forced to go to Religion Classes every Tuesday night for 7 years of my childhood, as I have grown and matured I have left my Catholic upbringing and schooling behind and I am now firmly against organized religion.

Now I won’t go over my multitude of reasons for this decision because I know some of you are deeply religious and I don’t want to offend for the sake of offending.

However, I just can’t believe these people currently in our daily news. They are Jehovah’s Witnesses. They used scientific methods to conceive and the result was a woman who was pregnant with sextuplets. The Dr’s urged them to abort two of the fetuses to help save the lives of the four remaining ones. Sure. Tough decision. But why were you implanted with so many eggs in the first place. They decline and give birth to 6 babies that are 15 weeks premature.

Bump up to present day. The babies were born in January. Two have now died. The parents refuse to give the remaining babies the necessary blood transfusions that they need for any hope of survival because it is against their religion! HELLO!! Where is your free thought? You believe in scientific methods to carry 6 babies at once, and you bring these precious lives into the world, but you don’t believe in the necessary health care for them to survive because it involves blood products?????? :crazy:

The British Columbia Ministry of Children and Family Services took over custody of 3 of the remaining 4 babies this week just long enough to give them the blood transfusions they required and then reverted custody back to their parents.

Now the parents have a lawyer and are taking the government to court for an apology.

Anyway, rant over, needed to get that out of my system.