101 Things, the Final Installment

I did it!! I'm done!! I actually came up with 101 things!!

33.  My favourite colours to wear – lavender, lilac, purples.  I can wear a different shade or purple every day for 2 weeks and not wear the same thing twice

32.  I had hair to my waist and cut 16” off in January 2008 and donated it to Wigs for Cancer.  The latest haircut before surgery wasn’t quite long enough to donate

31.  We bought our house 8 years ago and yes, it is still a work in progress.  If you don’t like it, too bad.  We live here, you don’t.  We’ll get the kitchen remodeled when 1. we can afford it and 2. when we can afford it!

30.  I am still good friends with a few people I’ve known since birth.  Yes, that’s 34 years.  In this day and age how many people our age can say that

29. If David Boreanaz and Robbie Williams both showed up at my door I’d be hard pressed to choose which one I would eat cookies in bed with

28.  My grandmother died on a Saturday in May.  A spring morning.  She closed her eyes and went to sleep.  She did not suffer in the end and for that I am grateful.  And I miss her every day

27.  I prefer to wear Birkenstock sandals over dress shoes.  Yes, even with suits to work.  Dress shoes squish my little feet

26.  I dislike the smell of leather but I have to wear it for riding my motorcycle.  It’s hot, heavy and my gloves turn my nails black

25.  I wear my fingernails long.  They look like acrylic fake nails, but they are all my own

24.  I wear out the keys on my keyboards at work because of 25

23.  I spelled the Canadian way – colour still has a U in it

22. I practice yoga, but I’m very novice at it and have to modify some poses to accommodate my bad shoulder and my head

21.  When I was three I tripped over a skipping rope and fell on my aunt and uncle’s concrete steps.  My front tooth went up, into the gum and later had to be pulled.  I had no front tooth until I was 11 or so

20.  I cannot sing, but I would love to be able to sing

19.  I have been t-boned, rear-ended, and backed-into; none of these accidents were my fault.  Skidding off the road, that one was my fault

18.  I would like a dog, but I don’t have time for a dog.  It would be unfair to leave the dog inside all day while I’m at work

17.  I love flowers.  I would love to have fresh flowers in my house all the time.  Wish somebody (hint hint hubby!) would buy me flowers

16.  I’m not a big drinker.  Between 46 and a low tolerance for alcohol I’m a cheap drunk who gets a tummy ache

15.  If I ever fulfill 18, I would love to own a Weimaraner

14.  I can’t stand most scented anything – candles, perfumes, incense, room sprays – cause mega headaches.  I can tolerate lavender, real cinnamon, and sometimes cranberry

13.  I’m beginning to realize it’s hard to come up with 101 things

12.  I dislike going without my toenails painted – I feel like my feet are naked

11.  My favorite movies are Memoirs of a Geisha and the 6 Star Wars movies

10.  My eyes are green most days, sometimes with some blue tossed in

9.  I am addicted to iPod apps – Tap Ranch and Froggy Jump

8.  I saw the Olympic torch pass through town for both the ’86 Calgary games and the ’10 Vancouver games.  I think it was cool to be a part of it

7.  Have I mentioned that I love chocolate

6.  I like things homemade or homegrown – bread, jams, vegetables, food in general

5.  I don’t like horror movies; I have nightmares after

4.  I drink soy and almond milk instead of cow

3.  If it is possible, I’m addicted to grocery shopping.  I love reading the flyers every week and going for what is on sale

2.  I don’t buy anything I can’t get on sale if I can help it

1.  I can’t believe I  made it to the end of this list!!!

0.   (to make up for the entries at 13 and 1) I have a cell phone.  It dials numbers and receives calls.  It does not have games, or a camera or even downloadable ring-tones.  It doesn’t have text capability.  It’s a phone, not an internet surfing, networking, photo taking, iPod, keyboard in my pocket!

Wow, I'm done, and if you made it all the way through - hurray for you!! And to reward you here is a picture of my dream puppies from 15.

101 Things, Part Two

Shall I carry on??   

74.  I don’t eat beef, pork or dairy

73.  My favorite holiday is Halloween – you can be anything you want to be!

72.  The most influential person in my life was my grandma

71.  I went to a high school that had over 800 stairs, and the best cross-country and track teams because of it.

70.  My favorite drink is juice – Minute Maid punches, followed closely by peppermint tea with honey

69.  I don’t tolerate caffeine, hence the peppermint tea in 70

68.  I have driven across half of Canada – the Western half

67.  My husband and I were set-up by a mutual friend

66.  I love to read historical fiction – Colleen McCullough, Anne Rice are two of my favorites

65.  I love things ancient – Egyptian, Roman and Greek

64.  I visited the ruins in Rome and the outside of the Coliseum but everything was closed because it was a national holiday :P

63.  I stand 5’1” tall

62.  I was born during a heat wave and kept my mum up all night

61.  I intensely dislike the take off and landing while flying

60.  My husband does most of the heavy housework.  I do the cooking

59. If I could go anywhere in the world, no budget, no conflict, no terrorism – I’d go to Egypt and tour the pyramids of Giza, Luxor and the Temples of Carnak

58.  I love music.  All kinds of music – 30s and 40s, classic rock, current pop and rock, country, classical, broadway.  I don’t like jazz, hip hop or rap

57.  There are days when I can really relate to Eeyore

56.  I married my husband exactly 8 years to the day I met him

55.  I cannot grow house plants.  I can kill a cactus. 

54.  I took piano lessons for 5 years

53.  Instead of having a day-after party for our wedding my husband and I went riding on our motorcycles

52.  I believe chocolate should be it’s own food group

51.  I learned to write left-handed in high school when I chipped my elbow bone of my right arm

50.  I’m petrified of being sick to my stomach.  I cannot discuss it, I cannot hear others talk about it, watch it on tv including on Southpark.  And no, I don’t know how to get over it

49.  I am allergic to most man-made painkillers.  Give me morphine or see me suffer the side affects of most everything else

48.  My wedding ring is size 4 ¹/₂, my pinky is under a 3. Yes, I have small hands

47.  I ran into a bird while driving 90 km (55 mph) on my motorcycle.  I did not stop to see how the sparrow was.  It hit me square in the forehead.  THANK HEAVENS for full face helmets!

46.  I have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).  During a flare in 2006 I lost over 40 lbs in 4 months because I couldn’t digest anything I was able to eat.  Great for the waist line, bad for my immune system.  Hence 74.

45.  Re: 81 – my orthopaedic surgeon for my 2 foot surgeries always knew there was something wrong with me more than he could diagnose.  Turns out he was right – Chiari!!  I should sent him a thank you card for not giving up on me (even if he didn’t lead me to the diagnosis)

44.  I’m learning to enjoy Christmas – I used to hate the holidays

43.  My grandparents were married for 60 years.  I can only dream my husband and I live long enough to enjoy the same

42.  I love to cook, but I’m always worried that what I make isn’t good, especially if I can’t test it because of ingredients I can’t consume due to 46

41.  My favorite artist is Michelangelo

40.  I screen my phone calls and have talking call display so if I’m not in the room my phone tells me who is calling

39.  I’m a huge arachnophobic.  That and 50 could put me in the mental ward.  If a spider is near I’ll grab the vacuum.  In my logic, they can't crawl back out the hose

38.  If I had to chose a time of day, it would be morning, I function my best and usually my pain is the least at that time

37.  I wear a size 5 US, 36 UK shoe

36.  I used be afraid of the dentist to the point I would be physically ill.  Now I have a new dentist and it is much less tramatic

35.  I love Angel, Bones, CSI and CSI New York.  I’ve seen every episode of all 4 shows and have most of the DVD box sets

34.  My favorite food would have to be chocolate.  Followed closely by anything made for Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner except turnips

I'm working on the rest!! Watch for it!  (If you're not already bored to tears that is!)

101 Things

I saw another blog or two with 101 things about the person, so I'm hitch hiking once again.  But rather than 101 all at once, I will divide it into a couple of posts instead, a little easier to read.

101.  I live in the same city in which I was born despite wanting to move away several times, I always came home

100.  I have one brother, one uncle, three cousins, one nephew, my mum, my mum’s partner, one papa.  Kinda small family, which I love deeply!

99.    I’m a 1998 alumni of Lakehead University – a Bachelor in French

98.    I drive a truck, not a car, not an SUV, a truck.  And I will always prefer a truck to a car.

97.    You can’t pick your in-laws, but I got great ones out of the deal, and I miss my father-in-law dearly

96.    I live where the average temperature in the winter is -8C / 16F in January during the day and overnight can dip to -38C / -36F.  In the summer we enjoy up to 16 hours of sunshine and temperatures in the 30sC / 80sF.  I like variety :P

95.    I love frogs.  I gave up counting at 125 collected frogs, and occasionally a live one or two – African dwarf frogs

94.    I speak English, Italian, French, and a little Finnish

93.    My husband and I have no children and do not plan to have any (don’t preach to me, I’ve heard all angles – it’s a medical reason)

92.    I ride a 1998 Kawasaki Ninja 500 – it’s purple and silver and I really miss  riding it this summer

91.    We don’t have cable or satellite tv.  We have rabbit ears on our 50” Pioneer plasma tv which gets us 2 channels most days, and up to 4 when the weather is right

90.    I love to garden.  I inherited that from my grandma and mum

89.    I am a Taurus and the year of the Dragon, and I fit both descriptions very well

88.    I prefer to bake my own bread.  But I use a bread maker to mix it because of a bad shoulder and arthritis in my hands

87.    I lived in La Spezia, Italy for 3 months on exchange when I was 16

86.    My father was born in Finland, making me and my brother first generation Canadians on his side

85.    My best friend lives 1,600 km or 1,000 miles away, and I miss her!

84.    I work as a legal assistant for 2 lawyers in corporate law.  Nothing nasty in my job – just business

83.    I am a crafter.  Needlework, beads, cards, painting, ceramics… I do it all

82.    I worked in insurance claims for almost 10 years just out of university, and no, it’s not what I went to school for

81.    I have had 2 surgeries to repair my right shoulder, 2 on my right foot, 1 for an ectopic pregnancy and 1 for posterior fossa decompression with a dura graft from my thigh (brain surgery….), and countless scopes

80.   My husband and I spent our honeymoon at Walt Disney World.  10 perfect days, 4 parks, and lots of roller coasters.

79.     My love of roller coasters ended with the Chiari diagnosis

78.    I have way too many Disney movies memorized…

77.    I have skied since I was not quite 3 years old

76.  I have an aquarium with tetras, neons, a pleco, and a catfish.  No froggies right now :(

75.   I trained as a lifeguard in high school and taught swimming lessons

8 Weeks

Eight weeks post-op was yesterday.  And I've felt pretty good for the past few days.  My hubby even noticed I have some more energy and I'm not lying down to rest as much.  And the temperatures dropped from the 30s (90s F) to the 20s (70s).  THANK HEAVENS!! It makes me feel a lot better without the high humidity.  I even baked!! Monday I made a lemon meringue pie, Tuesday I made chocolate - chocolate chip cookies, and today... hopefully I'll have the energy to make yo-yo's.

Instead of walking my now 1.7 to 2 miles, I decided to go to the pool for the first time since before Christmas.  I swam 4 lengths and realized how badly out of shape I am!! I was huffing and puffing... I used to swim, lots.  I was trained to be a lifeguard and swimming instructor in my teens.  I used to be able to swim 100 lengths of a 25m pool at a time.  Right now though I can only swim breast stroke and a gimpy freestyle, forget backstroke.  First, my shoulder doesn't like it at all, and second, my neck HURT! (Note to self, new goggles might help too!) So, rather than kill myself trying to actually swim, I did some aquabics for twenty minutes or so, then swam 2 more lengths and did some cool down stretches.    I was in the pool for about 25 minutes.  And now, I'm fairly tired.  I don't think I overdid it, but it definitely takes more energy than just my walk.  One good thing is my shoulder isn't killing me like it does after my walk.  So, those cookies may just get made soon!

We will be formally saying good-bye to my grandma on Saturday at a private family interment.  Grandma loved baking and cooking.  I remember many, many visits to her house baking cookies or bread.  So for the luncheon after interment I am also bringing cookies, some of her favourites were yo-yo's, hermits, chocolate chip and peanut butter.   I want to bring a little something - a comfort food I guess.  I miss my grandma, lots.  

What to Report??

Well, recovery continues... brain and leg are healing well. I'm up and walking 1.5 miles every morning and sometimes up to 1.3 miles in the afternoon if it's not hotter than the Mojave out there!!  My shoulder is still giving me GRIEF! But I can't do much about it until I have my MRI and then see an orthopaedic... I have one locally and one in Toronto to whom I am being referred.  Whoever can get to me first I will see.  Yes, it's that frustrating and painful that right now I'd be willing to chop it off at the joint and go limbless.  Except, I would have to work on my left-handed hand writing again...

Seeing as I don't have anything to report on my recovery, I thought I'd post a pic of my latest creation...  

Christmas fairies - in red, pink, violet, blue and crystal. Red photographs the best. I've started working on some other designs too - Christmas trees - and I'll share them with you soon too.  I also really want to get out the fabric and porcelain heads to make some more angels.

It's pretty quiet around here so I have a lots of time to work on my crafts when I have the energy.  There are lots of days when my shoulder screams at me to stay away from the wire cutters and dishes of beads, but I try to push through and make one or two things...  Days like today when the humidity is high and the heat unbearable there's not much I can do outside, so sitting in front of the fan with my projects is it.

I have to place an order for more beads sooner than later it appears too.  I've been using them up like crazy.  My local store charges an arm and a leg and a foot for beads so I buy there in a pinch when I'm running low.  But my ultimate supplier for beads comes from, surprise surprise, the US, Florida to be precise.  The price difference when you can buy bulk is astounding - 18mm pearls $0.40 here, or $0.07 from the US, including shipping and exchange.  Not to mention the variety and the bulk bags I can get.  When I use almost 100 of a bead on one project and the local supplier sells the bead in bags of 100 - kinda gets expensive.

But not to bore you any further with talk of nothing anyone else in the world is interested in... I'll sign off and wish everyone a pleasant, cool evening.  

A Letter for Those Who DO NOT Live with Chronic Pain

This letter was written and posted on the internet with no author revealed. 

A friend on FB posted this in her notes and I couldn't have said it better myself... For those of us with chronic pain, we understand.  For those who don't have chronic pain, we can only hope you will understand.

Letter to people without chronic pain:

Having chronic pain means many things change, and a lot of them are invisible. Unlike having cancer or being hurt in an accident, most people do not understand even a little about chronic pain and its affects, and of those that think they know, many are actually misinformed.

In the spirit of informing those who wish to understand:

These are the things that I would like you to understand about me before you judge me.

Please understand that being sick doesn’t mean I’m not still a human being. I have to spend most of my day in considerable pain and exhaustion, and if you visit, sometimes I’m not much fun to be with, but I’m still me– stuck inside this body. I still worry about school, my family, my friends, and most of the time, I’d like to hear you talk about yours too.

Please understand the difference between "happy" and "healthy." When you’ve got the flu, you probably feel miserable with it, but, I’ve been sick for years. I can’t be miserable all the time. In fact, I work hard not being miserable. So, if your talking to me and I sound happy, it means I’m happy. That’s all. It doesn’t mean that I’m not in a lot of pain, or extremely tired, or that I’m getting better, or, any of those things. Please don’t say, "Oh, you’re sounding better!" or "But, you look so healthy!" I am merely coping. I am sounding happy and trying to look "normal." If you want to comment on that, you’re welcome.

Please understand that being able to stand up for ten minutes doesn’t necessarily mean that I can stand up for twenty minutes or an hour. Just because I managed to stand up for thirty minutes yesterday doesn’t mean that I can do the same today. With a lot of diseases you’re paralyzed and can’t move. With this one, it gets more confusing everyday. It can be like a yo yo. I never know from day to day how I am going to feel when I wake up. In most cases, I never know from minute to minute. This is one of the hardest and most frustrating components of chronic pain.

Thats what chronic pain does to you.

Please understand that chronic pain is variable. It’s quite possible (for many, it’s common) that one day I am able to walk to the park and back, while the next day I’ll have trouble getting to the next room. Please don’t attack me when I’m ill by saying " You did it before" or "oh I know you can do this!" If you want me to do something, ask if I can. In a similar vein, I may need to cancel a previous commitment at the last minute. If this happens, please do not take it personally. If you are able, please try to always remember how very lucky you are to be physically able to do all of the things that you can do.

Please understand that the "getting out and doing things" does not make me feel better, and can often make me seriously worse. You don’t know what I go through or how I suffer in my own private time. Telling me that I need exercise, or do some things to "get my mind off of it" may frustrate me to tears and is not correct. If I was capable of doing some things any or all of the time, don’t you think I would?

I am working with my doctor and I am doing what I am supposed to do.

Another statement that hurts is: "You just need to push yourself more, try harder." Chronic pain can affect the whole body or be localized to specific areas. Sometimes participating in a single activity for a short or a long period of time can cause more damage and physical pain than you could ever imagine. Not to mention the recovery time, which can be intense. You can’t always read it on my face or in my body language. Also, chronic pain may cause secondary depression (wouldn’t you get depressed and down if you were hurting constantly for months or years?), but it is not created by depression.

Please understand that if I have to sit down, lie down, stay in bed, or take these pills now, that probably means that I do have to do it right now. It can’t be put off of forgotten just because I’m somewhere or I in the middle of doing something. Chronic pain does not forgive, nor does it wait for anyone.

If you want to suggest a cure to me, please don’t. It’s not because I don’t appreciate the thought, and it’s not because I don’t want to get well. Lord knows that isn’t true. In all likelihood if you’ve heard of it or tried it, so have I. In some cases, I have been made sicker, not better. This can involve side effects or allergic reactions. It also has includes failure, which in and of itself can make me feel even lower. If there was something that cured, or even helped people with my form of chronic pain, then we’d know about it. There is worldwide networking (both on and off the Internet) between people with chronic pain. If something worked, we would KNOW. Its definitely not for lack of trying. If, after reading this, you still feel the need to suggest a cure, then so be it. I may take what you said and discuss it with my doctor.

If I seem touchy, its probably because I am. It’s not how I try to be. As a matter of fact, I try very hard to be "normal." I hope you will try to understand my situation unless you have been in my shoes, but as much as possible, I am asking you to try to be understanding in general.

In many ways I depend on you — people who are not sick. I need you to visit me when I am too sick to go out. Sometimes I need you to help me with the shopping, cooking or cleaning. I may need you to take me to the doctor or to the store. You are my link to normalcy. You can help me to keep in touch with the parts of my life that I miss and fully intend to undertake again, just as soon as I am able.

I know that I ask a lot from you, and I thank you for listening. It really does mean a lot.

Trial and Error

I'm trying to see what I can do or can't do, a little at a time.  I have to start somewhere, so starting with small things around the house is a good place I guess.

Things like laundry - the husband brings it to the basement for me and I can manage to put it in the washer and dryer, then fold it.  Not bad.

I manage to make dinner most of the time by myself, although I get frustrated sometimes that I'm always doing it by myself.... But it's done, we're fed.  But I leave the pots to be washed the next morning... more for the sake of my shoulder than anything.  My shoulder is so bad that making supper then doing dishes is out of the question.

Still not doing housework per say, but I do wipe down the sinks and toilet, load and unload the dishwasher.  But I will not pull out the vacuum - my shoulder won't have it.  And scrubbing the tiles or the tub I know will be a little to much to handle.

I still haven't gone for a drive yet.  My neck is still pretty tight.  I move it every day so that I can teach the muscles to move again, but I don't want to be driving and in a situation where I have to react quickly and not be able to turn my head!!

Today's test - staying up all day.  No lying down.  No nap.  Just my regular Tylonel and ibuprofen for meds.  I need to know if I can manage it.  Tomorrow will be 6 weeks post op.  And at the end of the month I have to go back to Toronto for my follow up with Dr. Gentili - that will be a 20 hour day with flights there and back.  I need to know that if I stay up all day I'm not going to suffer too much for it tomorrow.  Let's hope I don't suffer for it tomorrow!! 

Yesterday my mum wanted to go raspberry picking.  So I joined her.  But we didn't find any raspberries.  So we went for a short drive to another location.  And still no luck - lots of plants, no fruit.  One last stop and we were going to head home... we didn't find any raspberries but wholly chokecherries!! My mum was in heaven!!  So in a little over an hour we picked 2 full 2 quart baskets.  Enough to juice for between 5 and 6 cups of juice!  And we plan to go back on Saturday - lots of red berried left to ripen for the week.  Mum will make up some chokecherry jelly - yum!!  So a pretty normal activity for a summer morning - and I did get tired, but I was traipsing through the brush for berries!  And I needed a nap when I came home... after a shower!

So I'm trying to get back to normal... whatever the new normal is.