Lemons and Lemonade

You know the saying "When life gives you lemons you make lemonade" Well that is kinda of how I have felt ever since my surgery in December. It wasn't what I expected but I had to go on and do what I had to do to get healthy and my life back in order.

Today we were in the doctor's office and hubby was having his check up post surgery when we started chatting with the doctors nurse. She was asking me how I was liking my new job, and I had said to her well if I was there it would be nice. This lead into explaining to her what had happened. After our little chat hubby being who he is pipes up and said, if I ever needed an autopsy I already had the pattern in place and that they just needed to connect the dots. She looked at him wasn't quite sure what to say at first, but when she saw us smiling she laughed and told him he was pretty quick witted. Well that was like adding fuel to the fire he then says.....I should get a tattoo that says " In case of autopsy cut on dotted line" Ba ha ha.......You are to funny honey!!!!!!!

But truly, isn't life like that. Of course we could wallow in our own self pity, but what good would that do us? Not much good at all I think. Oh don't get me wrong there were times during my healing process that I was in tears, but those tears didn't get me anywhere. Nope, I decided that I was going to take control of my healing and not let it control me. They told me to make sure I walked every day so for the first 3 months that is exactly what I did. Snow, sleet, wind, rain, I was out there walking with my trusty companion Bert.

Each day I set a goal for myself. I would walk to the top of the drive and look down the road ahead, initially I wanted to make it to the end of the road and back, but it didn't take me to long to realize I had bitten off more than I could chew. But through trial and error I made my destinations. One foot in front of the other. I would eventually make it to the end of the road, then it was the next road and then the next. After that is was going down the hill and back....then came my stepper. I decided that I was going to see what I could do. So onto my stepper I went. The very first time I don't think I lasted more than 4 mins. before I got lightheaded and realized I needed to get off. Next time 10 mins, then 15 mins all the ways up to 45 mins. Of course starting off at the lower level. Today I did the stepper for 35 mins at level 5 Yippee! I have been out for 3 runs. I am able to comfortably run 6 km. I'm pretty pumped about that.

Last week I introduced a weight training program. I started off small, I am using a variety of weights and apparatus. Hubby and I converted one of our rooms into our exercise room, so we have the universal, the weight bench, my free weights, the exercise ball and my rubber bands....I put my a little stereo in there and I am good to go. The stepper is still in the office, but it will eventually end up in the room as well.

Anyhow, the point to all of this is that I could have kept the poor me hat on.....I could have sat on the couch and done nothing....I could have whined about how I have felt really isolated through this whole process, how I felt the medical field really abandoned me when I left the hospital,but what good would that have done me. I had to be my own advocate. I had to get myself onto the road to recovery. I still have a whole life ahead of me and I want to live that life to it's fullest. If there was one thing I learnt through this whole process, it's how fragile life truly is, in a HEART beat it can be taken away from you. So I say....it's a good thing I love lemonade.

Heads or Tails Tuesday

Well I haven't played this in a long time.....let me first say how much I love the variety of headers we can use for this meme....thanks Skittles. The theme/prompt for today,is:

HEADS - See
*OR*
TAILS - Sea

Make any kind of post using either "See" or "Sea" as your prompt. You can even use both. This is an easy one and allows for a lot of possibilities.

When I see the word "See" I think of "Seashells down by the Seashore". Which then prompts me to think about all the huge oyster shells I "See" by the "Sea". One day in particular hubby and I had been out wondering the beach when what should he "See" but this oyster by the "Sea" That foot that you "See" is a size 12. That's one big oyster that you "See" down by the "Sea"
If you would like to play along please check out Skittle's Heads or Tails home page for all the intstructions.

Man's best friend......

I have had a request to post a more recent picture of my dear dog Bert......which then got me thinking about my four legged friend and companion.

Bert is 4 years old. Hubby and I got him from the SPCA when he was 9 weeks old. He stole our hearts right from the get go. There he was cowering in the corner of his cage....hubby called him over...he had one ear the stood straight up and the other that flopped over...to us he was just so adorable. The previous owners had abandon the whole litter and were left in a terrible state...so our dear Bert was a SPCA rescue. We wanted him, we knew we could make a good home for him.

Bert when we brought him home

Bert grew really fast. The vet told us Bert is a Retriever, Labrador Mix. My hubby says he is part Retriever and Kangaroo. We get a funny stare when he says that....but Bert has always had such a spring in his step....he bounces. It's so funny to watch.

This is Bert at 4 months. He could just see in the back door.....I swear he was saying "Hey dad let me in, it's cold out here"

Bert as I said grew fast. But he didn't out grow the puppy stage as quickly. I remember one time we had shoes at the front door....I am not sure where we were but when we returned Bert had taken every shoe from the front doorway and put them outside. We lost a few shoes during that phase. Bert I swear had a shoe fetish. I can remember that once he got over the chewing the shoes, he would take one of my shoes and one of my husbands shoes and put them into his bed with him. We would wake up seeing Bert in his kennel and with one of our shoes just on the kennel door way.

Bert has always had a good temperament. Does what a dog is suppose to, the only time he barks is if someone is coming down the drive or to the door. He growls when he thinks he hears something outside....and more times than not he's been right on the mark. He has never been to a dog park. With 5 acres there is really no need to take him to a dog park. The down side to that is he doesn't get many opportunities to socialize with other dogs. Well, my in laws breed Yorkies so he has them to chase around the property. Mind you some days I swear it is the Yorkies chasing him.

We take him to the beach and on our road trips. He's great fun when I go for my walks and he really enjoys socializing. Hubby has trained him well. Bert comes when called, heals and follows direction. We rarely have to put him on leash...when we do, we do it more so for when we come to others who have a dog and we don't know how their dog will respond to Bert. Bert is the farthest thing from being aggressive, but because of his size I know people are intimidated by him.

Bert on guard......

About 18 months ago we noticed that dear Bert's nose was red and raw. We took him to the vet and she put him on medication. This never worked. We took him back, this time his eyes were also not looking good so back to the vet we went. She wanted to do some biopsies. We agreed. Bert had the biopsies done. Have you ever tried to get a dog the size of Bert into your vehicle while he is still dopey from the drugs and wearing one of those cone heads. Not easy thing to do. Poor Bert had to live with this cone on his head for 10 days. Poor Bert was nnocking into everything and scaring himself half to death.

The day came and Bert was to get his stitches out and we were to get the results of the biopsies. Turns out that our dear Bert has Discoid Lupus. He is very sensitive to weather changes and the vet told us that he needs to stay out of the sun and when it is cold to stay indoors. Well my goodness, Bert is not an indoor dog. Of course he is in on days when the weather is poor and during the nights...but generally he is outdoors. When it snows there is nothing more Bert likes to do but bury his nose in the snow!

Bert and his buddy Cooper(Golden Labrador)

So other than his Lupus Bert is good and staying pretty healthy and keeping us happy.

As time keeps Marching on.....

It certainly has been a busy time in our household. This month just seems to be flying by.

Hubby seems to be healing well from his surgeries. He is still on heavy duty doses of antibiotics for another two weeks and then he will see the surgeon.

Two days after his discharge from the hospital my niece and entourage arrived for the weekend....they had no sooner and left and I had to get the linens washed and rooms cleaned for my girls arriving on the Monday. They stayed until Wednesday and we had a wonderful visit. But of course their visit led to more laundry and well....you know. I love having company and I always say my door is open.....but it's a lot of work.

The rest of the week was spent try to speak with some in Service Canada regarding my Employment Insurance for Sick Benefits. Seems like they cut me off 7 weeks to early, and without any explanation. Have you ever tried to get through to a government agency? I am sure you have. They have these automated messages press this if you want to speak in English, this if you want to change your address..blah blah blah.....heaven forbid you miss the number you were suppose to hit....cause they either cut you off or you have to go right back to the beginning and listen to all the prompts all over again. I finally got smart and just pressed "0" and was put on the list for calls waiting for a customer representative......that's when I put the phone on speaker and go about doing my chores....if I didn't I would be sitting there for a very long time watching my nails grow.

My quest to find out what was wrong with my claim started on Tuesday....after my lengthy wait I spoke with a representative....she told me that they didn't have my doctor's certificate on file. I asked how that could be because I mailed it in with the other documents that they got and had on file.....I got the local fax number for the office closest to me and faxed it in right away.....this didn't resolve matters....I needed to speak to someone who could actually make the change to my records. The representative said that she would mark my file for someone to call me ....but they had 2 full business days to return my call which meant they had until the end of the business day on Thursday to call. I waited around fearful of missing their call, but something also told me that they would want an updated form from my GP so I had made an appointment for late Thursday afternoon. The way my luck has been running these days I figured they would call once I had left the house so I gave instructions to my hubby asking him if he could find out from them what they wanted from me in order to get my claim up and running again....I worried for nothing...they never called.

Friday morning bright and early I was on the phone yet again trying to resolve this situation. I went through the prompts pushed "0" put the phone on speaker and went about with my chores. Finally a friendly voice came on the phone....I explained my situation once again....she said that my file would be marked as urgent...but as protocol they had 2 business days to return my call. Well Friday ended with no follow up call. this now meant that I would have to wait until Monday to hear from someone.

Yesterday was a glorious sunny day, a little breezy but wonderful all the same. Hubby and I decided that we were going to go out and take Bert for a nice walk. Whilst we were getting ready, the phone rang....."Hello........." the voice on the other end said......"Ms. C this is Kate from Service Canada" my chin almost hit the floor. Since when do government agencies work on the weekend? Anyhow, we chatted, and as I figured they wanted something updated from my GP.....yippee for me that I had been proactive and got the updated doctors certificate...I told her I had it...I she was a little surprised by that, I said I could fax it to her right away, again she seemed surprised....she said she would stand by the fax and wait for it to come through. I got off the phone and faxed it STAT.....she called me right back told me she got it and that my claim had been re approved and that I was to file my next report. WOW I was impressed.....I couldn't believe it. Jokingly I shouted down to my husband " Hey honey we don't have to eat dog food for the next two weeks"

I desperately need to get back to work. I am so thankful for the EI sick benefits but in no way does it come near to what I was making nor covers our household expenses, and hence the credit cards are on fire. I know I am not alone here. With the economic times being what they are I know that there are many many people in the same boat.

I have my appointment with the specialist at the beginning of April and I am optimistic that I will be given the go ahead to start what we call a gradual return to work. I really am looking forward to getting back to work...not only from a financial aspect but I love what I do and I really do miss it.

Well, that pretty much sums up what's going on in my small world......how's life in yours?

March...out and about

It's been a crazy time in my household. Hubby ended up having emergency surgery for his arm last week. Actually he ended up having two surgeries within a three day period. I spent every day making the 120km trek to be with him in the hospital. Some days I was there 12hrs or more.....I just didn't want to leave his side. He is recovering well at home now. On massive dosage of antibiotics for 3 weeks and then follows up with the surgeon.

This past weekend I had my niece, her son, dog and friend come for a visit. We had a really nice time.....this time of year the herring are running and I know in previous years I have shared photos of the herring boats and all the action that takes place along the coastline during this time. The eagles, seagulls, seals, and sea lions are abundant. A place that the sea lions like to return to every year is called Fanny Bay. The sea lions like to congregate on the log booms. This year was no different.....they were abundant and huge...some of these sea lions weigh over 2000 lbs. The tide was out when we went to go see them and they were only about 100 feet away....I wouldn't want to live in Fanny Bay this time of year as the barking sounds of all these seals is very loud!!
The wind was blowing and it was rather chilly at the waters edge, so back into our vehicles we got. The adventure was not over yet, I took them to a couple of our favourite spots, Rosewall Creek, and my favourite spot up on the logging roads. Seeing as we both were driving 4 wheel vehicles I decided it wouldn't be back roading if we didn't try to make some jumps....here is a little clip of my niece and her friend making the jump...this footage doesn't really do it justice. We had to drive up a almost vertical hill, then jump a crevice that was about 6 feet wide and 10 feet deep.....it was such a rush!!!!

Comox Lake

My girls have been here since Monday and again we had to get out and about. This time we went up to Comox Lake. It is a lake as a result of a hydro dam....it is situated in the mountains and in the summer it is a very popular spot. One of the nice things about visiting Comox Lake is that you drive through historic Cumberland BC. Cumberland is a town which came to be as a result of coal mining. The mines have long since closed down, but there are many historic sites to see.

Not sure what they would have done if they had fallen in.....

Catching up....

On Valentine's day hubby and I took a lovely walk around the neighbourhood. The owner of the property not far from us has been doing a lot of clearing. I think he is thinking of selling the land in parcels. Some of the area in which he has cleared has the most wonderful view of the water and the local islands and the coastal mountain range. I am sure whoever the lucky person(s) are who buy the property will enjoy the wonderful view.
While walking in the cleared area we noticed some of the local vegetation.....this really caught my eye.....At first I thought is was frost on a twig.....but after a closer look....it appears to be some kind of fungus....what do you think?


I found this very intriguing....how these two trees of different species intertwined. As our walk took place on Valentine's day the first thing that came to mind was even in nature opposites can attrack. Then is got me thinking even further.... if nature can find harmony and compatibility in difference what is wrong with the human race?

We made our way home. Hubby and I had no special plans for Valentine's day, but I couldn't let it go by without making a special something for us to enjoy...It's called Strawberry Cream Cake

I got a little messy with the Belgian chocolate....but boy was it yummy......

Now onto a completely different note. As most of you know I am into birding. Over the past couple of years I have shared photos of birds that I have spotted in my travels. Today was no exception in the bird spotting category. With spring just around the corner the birds have been abundant. So while I was clicking away with my camera it dawned on me that maybe I should start a blog on birding. So that is exactly what I did. The link to it is on my sidebar...but here is it as well....it's called The Amateur Birder. I have met many of my blogging friends as a result of birding. What I am hoping to acheive with this blog is that it would be used by amateur birders like myself to share birds that we have seen....their antics and the likes. I figure there are some wonderful people with a lot of resources out there and we can share our love for birds. So please stop by my new blog....let me know if you like to bird and if you have photos to share or questions to ask.....I am hoping this blog will be used to talk about anything to do with birding.

I hope you will join me in the fun.

A poem for you....

Another week beginning, Lord, Another page to turn, another chance to start a new With Lessons still to learn, A time to lose all last week's fears And leave them all behind, To look for bright horizons, Lord, And find new peace of mind. Then going forward through the week Whatever lies in store, Be with us on the path we tread, And keep us safe once more.

by ~ Iris Hesselden~

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead! Stay safe and be good to yourself!

Cheers!

Sunday Camera Critters

We were out fishing last summer, and hoping to catch some salmon. All we seemed to catch were theses "Dog fish" actually they are part of the shark family. This is youngest son holding his catch of the day.

If you would like to play along please check out Misty's Musings at My Dog's Keep Me Sane
Hope you all are have a great weekend!

Something to Celebrate

I received this award the other day from my dear blogging friend Peppylady.

It's her "Encouragement Award" Whenever Peppylady visits a blog she ends her comments by saying "Coffee's on". Peppylady says this award represents the encouragement people provide her and that the coffee is on and are ready to listen, encourage and even advise.
Thank you so much Peppylady. Again this is a very hard award to pass along as I would say all bloggers who leave comments are leaving comments of encouragement or good will....but in the spirit of the award I would love to pass this along to:

Jeni at Down River Drivel
Claudia at On A Limb with Claudia
Grandmocha at In the MIddle~Mad Hatter

It was also Peppylady's Birthday yesterday....so if you get a chance stop on over and see who she shares her birthday with.

That gave me an idea.....What do all these people and I have in common?


1922 Shelly Winters (actress)

1933 Roman Polanski (film director)

1936 Robert Redford (actor)

1954 Patrick Swayze (actor)

1957 Denis Leary (actor, comedian)

1958 Madeleine Stowe (actress)

1969 Masta Killa (rapper)

1969 Edward Norton (actor)

1969 Christian Slater (actor)


On This Day In History:

1920 The Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is ratified.

1991 Soviet hard-liners launch a coup to topple the government of the vacationing President Mikhail Gorbachev.

1227 Genghis Khan, Mongol leader and warrior, dies.

1994 Blues singer Cab Calloway dies of a stroke at age 86.

Hope you all have a fantastic Day!

The single Letter name..........

The other day I wrote about insurance companies and how I don't like them. The unfortunate thing is I do have a policy that I am currently trying to make a claim on and as a result I have to correspond with them.

I recieved correspondence from my case manager last week and I don't know if this person was trying to stay anonymous or if their actual last name is only one letter name. This person signed the letter with just a single letter....i.e Mr. Kevin G. My question to myself was is this for real or as I said are they trying to remain somewhat anonymous. The reason I wondered that is because you never get to speak to these case managers directly. I have to go through the bank that I have the insurance with and they look things up on the computer to see where the file is at. I am not given a telephone number or possibly of a last name of the person who is handling my file. Seems a tad odd don't you think?

It got me thinking, are there really names out there, whether it be a first name or last name that actually are only one letter? I did some checking and I still don't think I understand or got answers.

Looks like the most common use for single use letter names is for bands in the music industry. In my search I also came across a blogger who was posting on a similar topic and had taken offense to people abbreviating names by using single letters and hence felt those individuals had lost their identity. Of course one of the respondents to this person post stated that their first name was indeed a single letter name. This then reminded me of my brother. When he was a real estate business he shortened his last name to a one letter name. He said he did it because so many people had difficulties saying the last name so he thought it would be easier if he just gave them his first name and the first letter of his last name...it did have a catchy tone to it and I guess in the real estate industry you want to do anything positive that will make you stand out from the competition.

But I wonder, do you really think that is what this is about that people want their name to sound catchy or do they really just want to stay anonymous? I can understand abbreviations and single letter use in arenas such as this but when sending out a professional letter and only use a single letter for your last name just seems odd to me.

I ended up writing a letter to Mr. G and all the while I felt it odd that I was addressing this individual in this manner.

Update on this post....I wrote this post yesterday before I got my mail....can you guess what arrived in the mail? I'll tell you. I got another letter from the insurance company from a completely different case manager. T his person like Mr. G signed their letter using their first name and initial for their last name. It makes me wonder what is going on with this company that they find it necessary to have such a policy? Are times that rough that the company has adopted such a protocol for their staff to stay anonymous? How very odd and sad. Doesn't give me much confidence in this company.

Reality TV....what's it all about ?

Do any of you watch Reality TV? Shows like John and Kate plus 8, or the Dugger Family a family of soon to be 18, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Bachelor, The House or Little People Big World and the list goes on.

Well I have to admit that on occasion I have been known to watch John & Kate plus 8....I guess I watched as I was intrigued wondering what it would be like to raise never mind twins but multiples in their case 6 plus their twin daughters. After watching one episode I found it really wasn't that much different from raising children who are close in age. Yes lots of extra laundry and tears to wipe and scratched knees to put a band aid on....but really it is pretty much the same.

So what is the attraction to all this Reality TV? I know there has been research done on this and obviously their is a market for it as more and more Reality shows are popping every season. The latest being about Jockey's. Again what is it...what draws us to a Tuesday night to sit down in front of the television and watch such programs? Are our own lives so boring that we need to look in on someones so called life? Are we that bored and need to watch such mindless drivel?

Some of the show I find an insult to our intelligence and members of the cast should apologize to the public for their displays of bad behaviour. I'm talking about The Real Housewives of Orange County here.... What is so real about these over Botoxed, Cosmetically altered women? I have only seen the adds for the show and that is enough for me to know that it's not a program for me. What do I care about watching some rich spoilt women gallivanting around the country going to the spa, drinking their bubbly and talking trash about each other. No thank you there are some great Documentaries out there that I would far rather watch. Better yet read a book.

So this is what we have been relegated .... so called Reality TV. First thing I ask myself is how real is this....Do you really think their lives are like that? I don't want to believe that some people can be that rude, ignorant or egocentric...but I guess they must be.

What is the attraction to shows like the Bachelor or Bachelorette? Why do I give a hoot as to who this person marries? Why does air time have to be wasted on watching someone have a so called intimate dinner with their possible future husband or wife....why...why are we drawn to this?

Let's take the Dugger family for instance...again I haven't watched the show only the advertisements. Yes that is a very large family....something they choose to do....I too grew up in a large family of 12 children....most of my friends came from large families albeit it not 18 but 14...so why is there a program about them? Families can and do amazing things. When you have large families everyone has to pitch in, everyone has chores....grocery shopping was an all day affair for my mom....she would do the major shopping at the grocery store and then her and my dad would go to the bakery often buying the day old bread and then off to the butcher where they would get the hamburger meat the chicken necks and backs and maybe a roast for Sunday dinner. I don't recall there being anything special about doing what you had to do to raise your family. Yes I thought my parents were extraordinary people to provide for us the way they did, but was it TV worthy? I don't know.

If you really want reality TV why aren't those producers out there with the cameras and just filming what goes on in the streets everyday.....do they witness an act of kindness...do they observe an accident....do they see someone just stopping to lend a helping hand.....Reality TV as I understand it is to be non scripted....but I can't believe that some parts of it aren't. How natural are you going to be with a camera following you around all day? Here's the true test....put a hidden camera in someones home for a day...or a restaurant...or a bank.....film the goings on in that environment for a day....see what happens.

If you want reality look at yourself....look at all the amazing things you have accomplished in your life. Look at the adversities you have overcome. Take a good look around you and see the wonderful circle of family and friends you have...that didn't just happen...YOU made it happen...that is reality.

Insurance a false sense of security......

How many of you have been talked into buying those extended warranties? You know the ones when you go to Future Shop or Best Buy and you purchase some electronic and they want to you get the extended warranty....or you go and purchase an appliance and again they want you to purchase the extended warranty, and what about those one's on vehicles, now those can cost you. When I bought my Mustang it was practically new, they talked me into purchasing the extended warranty...what a goof I was, it cost me an additional $3500 for that insurance and I never used it.
Back to the salesperson who first off tries to sell you the most expensive item in the product line for which you are purchasing...you finally decide what it is you want and then of course they use the pitch on the extended warranty. I actually had a sales person try and sell me an extended warranty on a chair I bought for my husband. Can you believe it! I know these sales people make most of their money on selling the extended warranties but really it's just not right.

I am told that all products have a shelf life or life expectancy....how long a product is estimated to last. Personally I think the product should last that..and if it doesn't the manufacturer should be responsible for either replacing or repairing the product. It should also be affordable that if the product does only last the predicted life time then it's not going to cost you an arm and leg to replace it.

Now let's talk about life insurance, home insurance, mortgage insurance and health insurance. Again I am finding it to be a bunch of crap.

I got my first life insurance policy when I was 24 it was shortly after I had my first pacemaker and my first daughter had been born. I had my life insurance policy with this company up until last year, when it came time for my renewal. I went to renew and right out of the blue they cancelled my policy because they said I "lied" about my pacemaker. I was shocked. The only reason I went to this company was because I knew they provided policies for people who had pacemakers. So why would I lie. I had a very thorough physical way back when I applied for the policy...I completed all the forms, I couldn't believe what was happening. I spoke with the broker who I maintained contact with all these years and he said he would do what he could....he spoke with them....we wrote letters...but they were having nothing to do with it. So there I was with no life insurance...now what am I going to do. We found another policy holder...it is costing me triple of what I was paying...and has a lot more limitations. The life insurance policy does nothing for me, when your dead your dead. It is however giving me peace of mind that if I were to die tomorrow at least I know I would have left something for my hubby and family.

Personally I wouldn't have gone for the life insurance....but when I went for mortgage insurance they turned me down. Again I was shocked. I was turned down because of my pacemaker and colitis...I am considered a high risk. High risk....bull s..t. I run regularly, I am not over weight, I don't have hypertension or cholesterol issues...none of the risk factors which would normally be considered. So as a result I went to increase my life insurance policy and that is how the whole mess with the life insurance started.

I have home insurance coverage....but right now as it stands it would be void as it says we don't have a wood burning fireplace, but we do....we always have....I have personally been to the agent on three occasions to get this changed but it hasn't happened....I know I have to pursue that more.

I have a loan that I got an insurance policy on in case of injury/illness. I went to go make a claim on this policy this past month......again they are making me jump through hoops to get them to pay up for the loan( and this is not asking them to pay out the loan it's only asking that they pay the monthly loan). I am still paying the loan....I just wanted it covered while I was off on sick leave....chances are it won't get covered by the time I go back to work....it's been useless. You see I couldn't even claim for it until I had been off work for 6 weeks then of course all the medical forms have to be completed by myself and my doctor...which I had done....but no...they send me and my doctor more letters telling us about all these restrictions and how they want more information...like I said by the time I get this approved...if I do get it approved....I will be back at work and won't need it.

Health care, in Canada we have universal health care. What the means is if you have to have surgery you can have the surgery...there is no such thing as an HMO dictating your treatment. Most employers offer health benefit packages which often includes not only health coverage, but extended health(prescriptions, glasses,massage therapy, and chiropractor just to name a few)dental and long term disability insurance. Now if your employer does not offer this or if you are a retiree you still can get the basic provincial health insurance which again covers any doctors visit, hospitalization, surgeries and the likes. If you can't afford the provincial premiums then there are systems in place where the government would pay for such services. But you would have to prove eligibility for such services. Which I think is only right.

So, I talked to my brother who is an insurance adjuster about the whole insurance thing. He said to me that insurance companies are not out there to pay your claims or make our lives easier....they are out there to make money...and you making a claims takes money away...so of course they are going to do whatever they can not to pay out on a claim.

So let me recap this....I have life insurance which is very restrictive..and I truly wonder if I were to die tomorrow if my hubby would be able to get anything....but that would be a battle he would have to fight. The house insurance as it stands isn't worth the paper it is drawn up on because we have a wood burning fireplace and the loan insurance company is already giving me the run around. To me insurance is truly a scam in the greatest sense of the word and yet it is consider acceptable and prudent. But that has been falsely fed to us by the insurance companies.

I have fed into this insurance scam and allowed them to provide me with a false sense of security, that they will be there when you need them.

When I was looking for pictures to coincide with this post I came across this one cartoon...it was a picture of the insurance agent on the one side of the desk and two snowmen on the other the caption said "Are you prepared if one of you melts" That was just the icing on the cake.

Goals.....

" When we remember that life is a process, it helps us put our goal-setting in perspective. The purpose of setting goals is to give us a temporary structure in which to operate. Unfortunately, when we begin to believe that the structure is solid and real, we lose touch wit the process of getting there. This is why we often feel so depressed and let down when we reach our goals. We have not let ourselves enjoy the experience of that journey, and when we reach the end, we have missed the journey.
Being in the present allows us to experience the journey, and to respond to the process of the journey. When we operate this way, we see that all goals are just temporary ideas that change as we draw near to them."

Each Day is a journey. Each day is a process

~Anne Wilson Schaef~

I have often used those phrases "life is a process" and "this is my journey". Although I mean those words when I say them, like Anne says I tend to lose touch with the enjoyment of the journey.

I am a very goal orientated person. I have always enjoyed projects and assignments whatever it might be. Unfortunately, I looked to the end product to give me my reward and not appreciate the hard work and effort and the process in getting there. I missed the journey.

I am fortunate that I recognize this and have an opportunity to change. I want to slow down to enjoy the process and ultimately the journey. I am the captain of this ship and I guide it's course...it's time to enjoy the course in which I'm am charting.

Ramblings.....

I started writing this post at 0420 this morning. I had been awake since 0230.... my mind was very active thinking about many things. I stayed up until 11pm last night I wasn't tired but I knew it was going to be a long day today so I thought I should try and get some sleep. I had a bad dream....which partially had to do with a program I had watched on TV last evening.

Have any of you ever watched that program Intervention? It's about people who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, food whatever....but it's where the addiction has taken over their lives and the families have requested that an Interventionist steps in and helps the family see how they can help their loved one. The Interventionists points out to the families who their behaviours at times enables the addicts behaviours. The purpose of the program is to get the addict to agree to an intervention by way of getting treatment for their addiction. I watched back to back episodes. The first two shows dealt with people who were addicted to alcohol. The one man was in very bad shape. Being a nurse I have seen patients like him to many times to count. This man was so far along...you could see the tremors, the vomiting, the perspiration as it dripped down his face....his shear sense of anxiety and need to get another drink. It was very sad to watch. In the end these people did take the intervention....some people are successful some are not.

Another episode was giving updates on previous interventions....one was for a gal who was addicted to methamphetamine and the other was killing himself with food. Both of them had underlying issues regarding their sexuality and their families refusal to accept it.

The individual who was addicted to methamphetamine came from a profoundly religious family. She was a top notch athlete in the running for the Olympics. What I found disturbing in this episode was when the mother said that her daughters sexuality was demonic. I truly could not believe I was hearing this woman say this about her daughter. The father wasn't much better...they were making it sound that she was intentionally being gay to hurt them. Although I believe the parents thought they were speaking out of love for their daughter I found both their comments to be terribly hurtful and detrimental towards the daughter's well being. In fact it made me wonder if she possibly sought out the drugs as a way to escape and hide from the pain caused by her parents beliefs. There was a lot more to this episode than I am sharing here, but what stood in my mind was as parents we sometimes don't realize the effects our behaviours, actions and comments have on our children.

The reason I mention this is that last evening my middle daughter called me...I could tell she was upset....and I asked her what was wrong and she immediately broke down in tears.

You see back in September she started off on a new career path in the safety field as a Safety officer for construction sites. Now there is a lot of rules and regulations that govern jobs like these and having to be the enforcer of these regulations can be stressful. The soul purpose of her job is to ensure the employees that she is responsible for stay safe. In order to achieve this it is essential she ensure to the best of her ability that the standards are being met. This can be a daunting tasks especially when it is compounded with the fact that she is female working in a predominately male environment. She is knew to the site and has the responsibilty of telling someone who has been there for 15 years that they are not following protocol...not an easy task. As a result she has had to deal with the jeers and the derogatory comments...not a job for the meek and timid which I might add she is not. I tried to explain to her she is not there to make friends....she is there to make sure the workers are safe and that no one gets injured on her shift. If that makes her unpopular then so be it...chances are that reinforces that fact that she is doing her job. There have been times when she could have shut the site down but she didn't...instead she went the extra mile and did what it took to make it safe and to try to minimize the work stoppage.

So needless to say she is stressed. Yesterday she cut herself on a rusty piece of metal so she went to the First Aid and was going to write up the incident. The Superintendent at the sight didn't want her to write it up...told her to go pour some peroxide on it and put a band aid on it....now you know if I was at home...I most probably would have done that. But this is a job sight...it is the expectation that she follow protocol complete the necessary documents and seek medical aid. Setting standards can sometimes come with a price. You often make enemies and are not popular. Yesterday was no exception. She knew what she had to do. She also knew she had to get a tetanus shot. So when she called me it was around dinner time her work day was complete. She was on the bus on the way to the clinic to go get a tetanus shot. She was telling me that she really hated what she was doing. That she didn't want to do it anymore, that the only reason she was continuing was because she didn't want to let her father or I down. That broke my heart. I told I truly didn't care what it was she did as long as she was happy. I have not only said this to her in the past but I have said it to her siblings, and I stand by what I said. I don't care if she or her sisters bus tables for the rest of their lives as long as they are the best bus person they can be and enjoy what they are doing. You know what she told me, she said "Mom, I want to be a cop.....I am going to a recruitment session on Saturday" All kinds of pictures go flashing throuh my head. My daughter the Police officer, oh alrighty then,now my heart skips a beat.

Camera Critters #40

With winter strongly wrapped around most of the country with flooding on the Westcoast and snow storms on the Eastcoast, I thought it would be nice to show a little Spring. This picture was taken from my front window last spring. I was looking out my window when what should arrive at my flower box but this beautiful Butterfly. I wish I knew the name of this butterfly, do you?

If you would like to join in on the fun please check out Misty's Musings

Saturday Scavenger Photo Hunt

This week's theme is "Aftermath". I wasn't sure what to post for this theme until I had viewed some other blogs and realized that I might have something that would do. Back in 2006 we had the worst wind storms I have ever experienced in my life. Power was out for a week. Winds got up to 120km/hr....you've heard of white out conditions well we had what I called green out conditions...the roads were covered with trees and their debris...a four lane highway was down to one lane.....I had to drive to work that evening...it was the most frightening drive of my life....power lines falling down around you....swerving to miss flying branches.....Vancouver's Stanley Park was hit hard as well and lost thousands of trees.....the park is still recovering.....

Here's a glimpse of what happened at our place. My husband had some of those tent shelters....not anymore...we also lost some very large trees....Our driveway was blocked and we had to get the chain saw out to make a path to get through....We are very prone to high winds where I live and in the fall and winter months you expect to have a least one black out a week.....

If you would like to join in on the photo hunt please check out tnchick for all the instructions.

Let's get real.....

So I have really been trying to take every one's advice and just lay low and relax and heal. So I have read a few books and a text book for work, and done a lot of television watching....something I don't do a whole heck of a lot of.

Wow is day time TV full of crap or what.....You've got your Jerry Springer who's guests are always fighting with each other on stage...we see way to much flesh and at times it's beyond obscene...then you have Maury Povich....who dedicates most of his shows on teen pregnancy and who's your daddy...lie detectors and so on....throw into the mix all those Judge Murphy and Judge Joe and the likes....and of course let's not forget those home decorating shows...telling you how to decorate and drop an easy $1000 on some faux throw or something...or better yet what about shows like What not to wear? Dear god who died and made these two hosts the guru's for fashion....have you seen what they wear sometimes? Then there is the reality TV shows...now that is when it gets really interesting......The nanny, or Wife Swap....I ask you who on this planet would want to up lift their lives and go live with some strange family for a couple of weeks who's morals and cultural beliefs are so opposing to you own? Or what about that show...oh what is it called? hmmmm let me think....oh yeah it's something about all these California housewives...who all act like they are in their teens, behave worse than some toddlers and live off of their husbands fortunes and spend their days at spas, shopping and having body augmentation.....oh my goodness.....reality TV really really sucks!!!! Bring on the books.

Then if the programming isn't bad enough you get inundated with really bad commercials...and again I have found that day time commercials to be far worse then evening.... and are certainly geered towards a certain market. The female market... and based on the commercials I gather they think all stay at home mom's are obsessed with either wanting to lose weight, clean windows with the latest cleaners...or wash floors with some fancy shmancy floor cleaner and mop. But for me.....nothing burns my twizzlers more than commercials that keep telling us about losing weight.


Especially this time of year....just after the holidays....telling us to lose those extra pounds...blah blah blah....Ok I know we all need to be accountable for living healthy life styles and making good life choices. So where am I going with this you might ask. Well I was watching a Special K commercial today....and well it made me mad.....now it's not the first time I have watched this commercial....oh no....I have seen it a few times...and the more I watched it the more infuriated I got about it. It's a woman and her daughter playing outside...running around a snowman that they have just finished making....note I mentioned they were already outdoors doing something active. The mom is wearing a white coat, red scarf, hat and mittens. The young daughter pipes up and say something along the lines that her mom looks like the snowman.....at first I thought well yeah...they are dressed similar...but that to me is where it ends. The Special K folks want us to think that mom is over weight and needs to lose some weight...the next scene they show mom in the kitchen eating a bowel of Special K.....mom by no means was over weight.....

As I said it infuriated me...I thought what kind of images are they sending our daughters and other women.....So being the person that I am I felt that I needed to write a letter. So I went onto the web and found both the Canadian and US advertising and marketing representatives...and sent off an email explaining my displeasure with this particular advertisement. Now I don't know if it will get me anywhere....but I couldn't just sit by and say nothing. It was important to me to let them know I found this particular commercial in poor taste. One of the things I suggested they look at when they do commercials like this was to look at the persons BMI(body mass index)which is used to determine if someone is truly over weight. As I said the woman they had portrayed in the commercial was by no means overweight...and I just didn't understand what message they where trying to send.

So what I am saying here....couple of things...there's a lot of bad daytime tv out there....that portrays women in a bad light....and as an individual if I find something offensive then I need to speak up....I maybe only one voice....but one voice is better than no voice.

Have a great day....and might I suggest you pick up a good book or puzzle or better yet get out for a walk if possible...and turn off the TV. Cheers all?

Humor Thursday

A few people have asked me how I am coming along post surgery. My answer honestly would be slower than I had hoped. My chests from my sternotomy still is very uncomfortable......my old pacemaker site is uncomfortable as they did a lot of scar tissue removal and it required retention sutures to keep it closed...now that those are out....it pulls and burns at times....but I know that is just the nerve endings.....the left side of my chest where my new pacemaker was implanted seems to be healing well..but because it is NEW it takes longer to heal. I am getting a cold.....now if there are any of you out there who has ever had broken ribs or a sternotomy you will know what I mean. Sneezing and coughing and blowing your nose can be very uncomfortable. Last night hubby set up my vaporizer with some Vick's rub in it... he had me take some god awful cough syrup and a hot cold medication drink......well it did help me sleep for a bit, but moving in bed is challenging. I am still doing my daily walks...and trying to stay active as possible....some days it's just a couch day.

Hence my mood is not the greatest....and so I thought I would bring on some humour today to help pick me up....and maybe put a smile on some of your faces.....Have a great day!!!

Van Gogh Ear Award.....

This is the Van Gogh's Ear Award as created by Roger of Idaho Photo This is what he wrote about the Van Gogh's Ear Award:


"Every year I like to make up a award and hand it out to people that make a difference in the blogsphere. I like to make it a award for all to enjoy and pass out if one so wants to, I just ask if your going to give it out to link back to me as the creator of the Van Gogh's Ear Award."


Inspiration of the Van Gogh's Ear Award


"You may know the story of Vincent Van Gogh a well known artist in history. Although a brilliant painter in his later years went quite insane he received the nickname of fou roux ("the redheaded madman"). The most bazaar of Vincent's behavior is when he cut off the lower part of his own left ear lobe, which he wrapped in newspaper and gave to a prostitute named Rachel in the local brothel, asking her to "keep this object carefully. After this he suffered recurrent bouts of mental illness, which led to his suicide July 29, 1890 he was 37 years old. His works of art are priceless."

The point of this award

"We are all artist in are own way be it art, photography, writing, philosophy, comedy, blogging and we all go a little crazy sometimes. But if you ever feel so crazy to cut off your ear and give it to a prostitute 'Seek Help'!"

This award was given to me by my dear blogging friend Akelamalu. When I was telling her that although I appreciated the award it struck me as funny how it was titled Van Gogh. You see ever since my surgery I had explained to people that the scars on my chest reminded me of a very bad Van Gogh painting and that the surgeon got a little scissor happy....and then what should happen I get this award.

Anyhow, I am very honoured to accept this award.....and I would like to pass this along.....


Cathy at Cathy's Place
Jeni at Down River Drivel
Michele at Rocky Mountain retreat

Sunday Critters #39

Gosh I haven't participated in this one for a long time.....being the bird lover that I am I think this week's entry will be of a the Blue Heron I took at the bay down the road from me.....

If you would like to join in on the fun....please check out..... Misty's Musings for all of the instructions.