Take the test.....

You Are a Kinetic Learner



You learn best by doing, and you have a talent for complicated, physical tasks.
You excel at athletics, drama, and fixing things.
You would be an excellent Olympic athlete - or a Broadway star!

What's Your Learning Style?

You know there is actually a lot of truth to this one. I do love my sports and I try to lead a very active lifestyle. I love theater and was in drama in high school and one of the jobs I was told that I would be good at would be a television producer or stage director. I can be a very driven individual, my only limitation is myself.

What Mary Anne Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Again there is a lot of truth in this....both the good and the bad...this really pretty much describes me....I never really thought of myself as being irresposnible but I guess there is a component of that in most of us.

Heads or Tails Tuesday....

Well today's theme is "P" or anything that starts with the letter "P". I am feeling rather blah today which brings to mind 2 specific "P's" for me.

PATIENCE and POSITIVE THOUGTHS

My hubby says I am not a very patient person. In my personal life I guess I am not. I think my professional life has sucked the patience out of me. There have been many times in my professional career that I have wanted to say some choice words to some patients but because I know they are unwell and in most cases are trying I must learn to have Patience. So by the time I get home and have to deal with life on a personal level, I feel like all my patience has been zapped right out of me. It's like when I am at work everyone wants everything now or yesterday, trying to deal with someone who is vomitting and generally feeling unwell and then a family member for another patient wants you right while you are in the middle of tending to someone else...it's like they expect you to drop everything and be there for them right then and there....so I dig into my patience bag and pull out the biggests patience tool I can muster up and politely tell them that I am in the middle of something and I will be with them as soon as I can.

In my professional life I feel like everyone wants something from me now and it is expected that I will prvide and meet their needs. So I think, if this happens to me in my professional life why can't I expect things now in my personal life......it' doesn't happen that way. My mom was a great one for saying Rome wasn't created in a day.

Positive Thoughts:

It's been hard these past few weeks to stay positive. With my shoulder aka back injury, and trying to be supportive and as helpful to hubby as I can be with his recovery from his shoulder surgery, and now my colitis acting up.... I am just spent. I try to look at each day as a new day, with bright opportunities. Maybe today I tell myself my back aka shoulder won't hurt.....maybe today my tummy will settle down....today I will go for a walk and drink in all the beauty that my little world around me has to offer. Maybe today I won't get so upset over little things. Maybe today I will see the light at the end of the tunnel....maybe today I won't be so irritable from the medications they have me on....maybe today I won't feel so sorry for myself and be thankful for everything I have been blessed with. Yes maybe today I will be more Positive!

If you wold like to join in on the Heads or Tails fun please check out Skittle's Place for all of the instructions.

Hope you all have a great day!!!

Our day in Victoria....

Well we did opt to make the drive to Victoria last evening, and it was a good thing as it turns out the pass was closed due to fog and motor vehicle accidents this morning.....so had we waited we might not have made it through.

It was a pleasant enough drive. My truck drove very well. We had managed to get a special rate at one of the hotels dowtown which was offering a bed and breakfast rate. Hubby has been suffering from a terrible cold and wasn't up for doing much of anything last evening, so after dinner we retired early.

This morning we were up at the crack of dawn....so we decided to take advantage of the pool, jacuzzi and sauna that the hotel had to offer. It was lovely. After the hot tub and swim, it was off for an early breakfast. Hubby had some business he wanted to take care of while we were in town so after breakfast we checked out of the hotel and took care of some business.

After that we still had a couple of hours to kill before my appointment, so we decided that we would take a stroll along the beach and just enjoy some of the sights.

I didn't get much information from the nuerosurgeon, he couldn't access my current CT scan so he arranged for me to have another one,which I had today while I was in Victoria. He is going to arrange for me to see a neurologist who I think is going to do some nerve studies....so it's still in the investigative stage right now....sounds like we will have to make another trip down to Victoria, but that's ok....the weather is improving and if it turns out to be as pleasant as a time as this trip I won't mind.

Sunday, Sunday.......

Yesterday was a much more relaxing day. After the world wind visit from family, it was nice to just chill. The sun decided to rear its wonderful head yesterday. After the rain and wind of Friday, yesterday was a very pleasant surprise.

It was one of those clear and crisp spring mornings. Youngest daughter and I decided that we had to get out and go for a walk. Trails around here are plentiful. There is a shop in my local town that publishes walking trails and yesterday I thought youngest and I would take a nice brisk walk along one of those trails. I found one of the roads that were to lead us to the head of the trail but not the other. Looking at this as an adventure I decided that it didn't really matter we wouldn't get lost. The only determining factor was how far we wanted to walk...so I decided I would put on my pedometer. We headed out. A lovely northeasterly breeze blew on our backs, but the warmth of the sun kept us invigorated that and the fact that we were walking at a quick march pace. We chatted about everything. Youngest daughter will be entering grade 11 next year and has been working on her course selection. She is strongly contemplating getting into a science program. At this point she is not sure if she wants to go into medicine become a nurse or ultrasound tech...it doesn’t really matter...she is just determined to get her sciences in high school and get right into university. Good for you kiddo. She is also very active with grass hockey starting up again soon and cheerleading competitions in full swing. It was just so nice just being with her, chatting about life, what she wants, where she's at. It was one of those times I will always treasure.

Well time passes and so do the kilometers when you are so engrossed in lively conversation. We were heading back to the vehicle when I asked youngest how far she thought we had walked....she said....oh maybe 1 km....I laughed....I said how about 6.37 km....(don't ask me where I came up with that number I just did). Anyhow, we get back to the truck and I look at the pedometer....we had walked 5.75 km.....she commented on how it didn't feel like that at all....and I said nothing like good company and conversation to make the kilometers fly by.

No visit with any of my girls would be complete unless we made a stop to a couple of the local boutiques that we love. So after our walk we ventured into town and checked out the latest wears at the boutiques. Of course this time of year they are doing some major clear out of the winter stuff....but it was more of a looky loo kinda afternoon.We arrived home and youngest wanted to go over to the in-laws to see the new puppies. The in-laws breed Yorkshire Terriers. They do have to be one of the cutest puppy breeds I have seen. They change so much in such a short period of time. When these puppies are little they remind me of little rottwilers. Very dark and short hair...and then as they grow so does the hair, which eventually changes colour to a sandy gold/grey colour, but they seem to stay dark for a very long time. Youngest just loves the puppies....she cuddled them for a couple of hours....just laid on the couch with the remaining two puppies just playing on her chest.

Aren't they the cutest little puppies?

Now onto a completely different topic. Peppylady has presented me with an award:

I thought that was very sweet. I try to make my blog and the way I blog heartfelt....so to get this award was very touching.....thank you Peppylady! Tomorrow I have to make the long trek down to Victoria to see the nuerosurgeon. The timing couldn't be better. My shoulder aka back and extremities have been killing me. I haven't been able to do my running and hence the walking but even that hurts. It will be nice to get some answers...or at least a plan.Hubby and I haven't decided whether we are going to venture down there this evening or get up really early tomorrow morning and make the 3 hr drive....I think we are going to play it by ear today....see how I feel. We have to take youngest to the ferry today which then puts us almost half way into our drive to Victoria....so I am kinda of leaning towards continuing on southward and maybe make an evening of it in Victoria and then tomorrow morning we can have a leisurely morning as my appointment isn't until 11:30.

So there you have it, my weekend in review.....I hope you all have a wonderful and peaceful Sunday....and catch up with you all later......cheers!

The Visit

It's been a busy two days. My sister decided she was going to come for a visit. If there is anything one get's to know about my sister is that she is one of those people who tries to put as much into her day as possible and I am sure the saying "kill two birds with one stone" was named after her.

Yes she decided to cross the pond to come visit, but that wasn't of course until after the day she had. She travelled over 60 km in the morning to go help her eldest daughter out at the schools fundraiser for Valentine's day....after spending a few hours there she ventures over to the other part of town....another 45 mins drive to help outone of our other sisters who was having a severe allergic reaction to some laser surgery she had. Once assuring herself that other sister was ok and got her what she needed she got back into her car drove another 40 mins back to her place....packed her stuff and then went to go get my brother...who she decided would also benefit from a trip to come see his baby sis...Great! After then getting brother she picks up my youngest daughter and they all head off to the ferry...another 35 mins drive away. She, my brother and daughter make the last ferry out....they arrive at my house at 11:30 at night. Youngest daughter was absolutely exhausted as she had been up since 0445 that morning to go skiing, so after some hugs and mummy tucking her into bed she was down for the night. Not so for sister, myself , hubb and brother. We sat around and chatted and chatted some more.....stayed up way past our bedtime....0400!!!! What were we thinking.....I guess we weren't.

Sister and I, both with our new glasses and noting how much we look alike

It was a good thing that the day before I had made some of the meals ahead of time knowing that I didn't want to spend time cooking rather visiting.

My niece also decided she and her youngest son wanted to come for a visit. So they arrived mid morning. Eldest sister and I had already managed to get out for a vigurating walk before she arrived...after only 3 hours sleep I don't know where I found the energy. But it was lovely.

We were on a tight time schedule as my sister had to catch the 5:00 pm ferry back to the mainland to go to the ballet with other family memebers. So it was a hurry up and have fun kinda of day. After our early morning walk and the arrival of my niece, I decided that we should do lunch and then take my niece and great nephew out for a little tour of the area. The weather was variable yesterday. Cloudy, raining, windy, sunny....seemed whatever old man winter wanted to throw out there he almost did...except the snow of course....

Now having my new truck I was able to get everyone in the truck....well youngest had to sit on hubbies lap and great nephew had to sit on grandma's lap...all buckled in of course....anyhow, we venture off to a place called Spider lake....it's very close to my house....in the summer it's a lovely little lake to go for a swim....fishing is fabulous there.....I've been told they get 9lb bass out of the lake.....anyhow, we venture to the lake....of course it's starts to rain.....and it was cold....so we didn't stay out of the truck for very long......

My sister aka grandma wanted her grandson to see the ocean....so that was our next stop....down to Sunnybeach to see the ocean.....again it was raining, the wind was blowing...and it was darn cold....but great nephew really enjoyed himself....he couldn't blieve the size of some of the sea shells in a very short period of time he gathered more than enough shells.
Well we didn't stay at the beach to long due to the weather....but it was nice to get out. We got home and my sister had to start getting ready to leave. Those that were staying I fed coffee and lime cheese cake I had made.

Oh and just a note to self....when you have company for meals...find out what people's dietary requirements are.....I had planned the meals the night ahead. I made vegetarian lasagna, prepared an arugula salad with raspberries, madarine slices and pine nuts with a raspberry vinegarette dressing, along with a french loave. That is what I had planned for dinner....I was going to make a one pot Italian rosotto dish until my sister talked me out of it. The night before I had also prepared cinammon buns that I would put in the oven when I got up. Breakfast was homemade cinammon buns, yougurt, and blueberries and lattes....big brother had his porridge...somethings never change. Anyhow, as it turns out my niece was on some cleansing program..which meant she wasn't eating dairy or wheat products....great...now what....but actually it all turned out ok....it was dinner which became the problem because the lasagna got eaten for lunch....so I had to get creative.....niece not being able to eat wheat...I had some couscus in the house so made some of that....roasted butternut squash and baked chicken was for dinner.....niece thought her ferry was at a different time than it was.....she had to high tail it out to catch the last ferry home last night.

So after a worldwind visit from family yesterday, today I am going to relax...youngest daughter and I are going to go out for a nice walk...and maybe some shopping.......

Amore.......

Well today is Valentine's Day. I am not a big fan of Valentine's Day, but when we did this week's Heads or Tails the theme was Love. I visited some wonderful blogs on Tuesday and saw all kinds of things of what love meant to them or what brought love to people. My post was about Love and things we remember about Love. These two gave me an idea for what I would post for my Valentine's Day post. And it falls along the lines again of things I remember I love.

Do your remember all those cards your children made you over the years? Or if your were/are a teacher all the cards you received from your students....or a card that was given to you by someone who meant so much to you?

Well I have to admit, I am one of those parents that has saved almost every card or piece of art work my daughters ever made me and I am so happy that I did. On Tuesday after looking at all the themes on love I remember how much love my daughters gave me when they presented me with those cards....well now still having them....I treasure them even more. And so for my Valentines Day post I would like to share with you some of the little treasures my daughters gave me for Valentines when they were young.....

The above is the front and inside of a card my eldest daughter gave me, she was in grade 2 at the time....she's now 22.

These two were from middle daughter she was in grade 4 & 5 when she gave me this card....she's now 19.

And finally, this one is from my youngest daughter, I can't believe I didn't have this dated...but knowing what her language and writing skills were I think this was grade 4...she's now in grade 10 and I still get the most fabulous homemade cards from her.

Whatever your plans for Valentine's Day, I wish you all much love and happiness.

Is it just me?.........

I was over at Myownwoman's blog yesterday and she had the greatest Utube post on menopause women title Middle Aged Women. Oh my gosh it got me and hubby laughing.....being the youngest of 6 girls and working in a predominantly female profession, I have seen my share of women going through the angsts of menopause. Unfortunately for me, at a spry young age of 46 I fear I have some of those traits/angsts rearing their ugly little heads. I call them "The 3 M's".

M #1 : Memory.....yup.....I now have to write myself lists when I go to the store, when I pick up a box of laundry soap instead of the jug of milk I needed I know I am in trouble.

M #2: Mood......oh dear god if I thought they were bad before......7 days of hell I put myself and my poor hubby through....yup....my moodiness, my tears, my anger....my why the hell can't you take the garbage out mood....yup....7 days, oh where or where did my pleasant self go...or where or where can she be?

M#3: Measurements.....where did they go......my chest use to be.... well on my chest.....my waist...yup I know it's there somewhere.....and my butt....now what happend there?

I want to share a story with you that I think demonstrates what I am talking about when I make reference to my 3 "M's". The other day I went shopping.....M #1, I forgot my list.....yes I went shopping and forgot my list......which of course leads me right to M #2 my mood....I am pissed at myself for forgetting my list....so what does any emotionally unstable menopause woman do...she shops...for what...oh yes.....this now leads into making M#2 worse....she shops for a bra....which of course brings us to M#3. Well M #1 must have stepped in here, because I should have known better, my breasts size have been all over the board since I was a teen....going from a D to an A to a DD to B and now what I thought I was... a C.....still suffering from M #2, I quickly search the racks(no pun intended)and shelves for bras. I can't find what I want....until I finally come accross this one bra...it was white...what I was looking for....it had some nice lace on it...and well it was my size....and the price was right. Feeling happy with my find I purchase the bra without trying it on. Yes silly me, testing all 3 M's at the same time, I know. Well, I didn't try the bra on until a couple of days after I had purchased it. There it was sitting on my dresser, so I thought I better try this thing on, I do....it just didn't feel right....it gave my already pathetic excuse for breasts the look of one of those old 60's wonderbra commercials, they had all weird and distorted look about them, and well the girls just weren't fitting where they were suppose to, it was not a pretty sight.....I thought...what the heck is going on here.....I can't be that far off with my measurements......still having the tag on the bra I look down to see what it says.....guess what I bought.......a Maternity bra........there you have it....all my 3 M's put together.....you know the saying if you don't laugh you will cry.....oh did I laugh.....

Have you ever really looked at the word MENOPAUSE take it apart....MEN O PAUSE....maybe in some sick way our bodies are trying to tell us to take a break from MEN and hence the "O" for No and well Pause, and enjoy your coffee......

Have a great day all!!!

Just a Quick question

Does anybody know why spell check went down....and if it will ever be up again......I.... being the worst speller in the world am really having to use the dictionary a lot these past few days......hmmmmm.....maybe it's a conspiracy.....

Heads or Tails Tuesday....

This weeks theme is "Love".... being February and only 2 days before Valentine's day what a perfect theme and opportunity to share things about love..........

Do you remember your favourite "Love" song?

Do you remember the name of your first "Love"?

Do you remember what you "Love" the most?

Do you remember the "Love" you felt when your child was born?

Do you remember how it felt to tell someone I "Love" You?

Do you remember how you felt when someone told you they "Love" You?

Do you remember one of your favourtie pets and how much "Love" they brought to your home?


I do.....and that is what I want to remember this Valentines day......the people I love, my pet who lovingly greets me and lays in the doorway keeping me company while I sit at my computer, my family, my wonderful beautiful daughters that love me even with all of my idiosyncrasies, my step sons who bring me such joy and my wonderful husband who is by my side whenever I need him.....yes I remember......I hope you remember what you "Love".

If you would like to join in on the fun please go over to Skittles Place and get all the instructions.

Rural Health Care

When I first started blogging I thought I wanted to write about a city girl gone smalltown, from my RN perspective. Well I think I have pretty much covered the aspects of city girl gone smalltown but I haven't really spoken much about it from a RN perspective. Today that is what I would like to chat about.

When you live in the city, you tend to take a lot of things for granted. Like the proximity and accessibility to stores,schools, libraries,community centers, restaruants and the likes. But most importantly your accessibility to doctors, walk in clinics and hospitals.

When I lived on the mainland (Vancouver) I had 3 hospitals all within 15 min drive from me. One of those hospitals being a major trauma center. I was walking distance from doctor's offices, walk in doctor clinics, medical labs and xray/diagnostic labs. If you needed a GP in the city they are very easy to find....if you had an ear ache and didn't want to make the trip to your GP, you had the option to go to a walk in clinic. Medical services are readibly available in the city. I can't say that about living in a rural community.

I didn't truly appreciate what was readibly available to me until I moved away. The funny thing was....one of the reasons I stayed in the city was for my youngest daughter. When she was eight she had been diagnosed with cancer and required treatment. After many trips to childrens hospital and sitting in many waiting rooms and seeing the anxiety on some of these parents faces I was humbled. I remember talking with one woman who told me they had to make the trip to the city at least once a month(3 -4 hr drive) so their child could have treatment. For them this meant, booking time off work, financially arranging somewhere to stay...and believe me staying in the city is not cheap. She told me that on one particular trip that their vehicle had broken down and that it cost them over $600 to repair, and then they had to stay at a motel. So if you don't have family living in the big city, it can be a very costly experience. It then dawned on me why I use to see so many motorhomes parked in the hospital parking lot....those motorhomes would become their home while their child was being treated in hospital. How tragic. I use to think to myself....it's bad enough that your child is ill but then having to travel such a long distance to get help and the all the financial burden that goes along with it. I felt for those poor families....here I would complain about having to drive in city traffic for 45 mins to get to appointments....it's all in how we percieve isnt' it.

Being active in my nurses union at the time, I would hear stories from my colleagues who worked in the northern communities or rural posts and the challenges they and their patients were faced with when it came to providing adequate care. If a patient suffered a heart attack in a rural community they were stabilized and flown out, to the city sometimes 5 - 6 hours drive away. How isolating for the families and the patient. Research has shown that patients tend to recover quicker when they have a good support network, that being having family close by.

I understand that we all make choices about where we choose to live, but should we have to sacrifice accessibility to health care? I don't know. I guess when people move to more remote locations they think they will always be healthy, never require a doctor. Well they better hope they don't need a doctor to quickly, because they are hard to come by in the rural communities.

Many rural communities lack sufficient doctors. Even in my tourist little town with the highest population of seniors per capita doesn't have enough doctors. I think you have heard me talk about how my docotor was off for 6 weeks himself with an ailment....he didn't have anyone to replace him....patients appointments just got back logged. There is only one walk in clinic that I know of which is about a 20 min drive from me, but that is an after hours clinic open from 5:00 -9:00 pm and you better get there before 5:00 or you won't see a doctor...that is how busy they are. The only other choice is to go to the emergency departments, which is a poor usage of emergency staff and services, but getting to the emergency department is another 45 min. drive away.

I personally have been effected by the lack of accessibility to GP but also to specialists. For example with my recent diagnosis of the herniation of discs in my spine, I have to go see a neurosugeon....he is 3 1/2 drive away.....I have difficulties driving 45 mins as it is....but as I said, I chose to live where I do...and with that comes the down side, the lack of accessibility to doctors.

One can easily get over looked in a small rural community if you are not an advocate for your own health. You have to be out spoken. Keep calling....so they don't forget you. My father in law needs to see an orthopaedic surgeon. He waited approximately 6 weeks to only be told that he couldn't get in to see the surgeon for a consultation for 2 years......2years for a consultation!!!! That is just wrong. Now I recognize there are waiting lists all over our province for surgical procedures...but this is just ridiculous, and it is due largely to the fact that we live in a rural community and there are few orthopaedic surgeons. Again, a choice one makes when they move to a smaller community.

Is there an answer to this.....I don't know.....I love where I live....I wouldn't go live in the city....but there have been times I have been really tempted to hop on the ferry to go see my old GP who was amazing for getting a person in to see specialist or services he felt you needed. So there is a part of me that misses that...but I wouldn't sacrifice the tranquility I recieve from my surroundings and the soaring of eagles overhead.....that in itself can be the best medicine of all.

Humor Thursday.......

When I worked in an office I used to always love Thursday. I knew the end of the work week was coming to a close and Thursday nights used to be my head start to the weekend.....I use to psychologically tell myself that I only had one more day left and I could handle anything.Well now that I am a shift worker, days of the week don't really mean anything to me.....my Thursday could be your Monday.....you know what I mean. So I can't really say any day of the week holds any special purpose for me anymore...other than my last night shift what ever day of the week that might be....the morning after your last night shift is a great day!But with today being Thursday I thought I would try and start my own little tradition.....and I am going to call it "Humor Thursday" not terribly creative....but humor comes in so many different forms. So I am going to try to make a commitment that on every Thursday I dedicate my blog to humor. If you would like to join in and make a post about humor or include something humorous on your blog on Thursday just let me know and I will keep a record and certainly make sure I stop on in to your blog and send others your way.

Well I hope you find some humor in a few of these jokes....and like I said if you've got some to share please let me know......cheers all....and Happy Humor Thursday....keep on smilin!

Thought I would start today off with a little humour...but to be honest, I kinda feel that way today. I've got lots to get done today, but just don't have the energy to get at it....but I am sure I will find it somewhere, maybe it's hinding on the couch.

Quick update on the shoulder....I had my CT scan....turns out my pain is not muscular but rather I have a herniated C5-6......well gee gosh.....that would explain a lot of my symptoms now wouldn't it......here all along I am thinking I am being a wimp....they kept telling me it was muscular and that I needed to keep up with my excercises and work it out and that I should expect a bit of pain. Well we all know our own bodies.....I knew that I wasn't healing as I should....it just pissed me off that it was me who had to insist on getting the CT scan......my doctor had been off ill himself for most of my injury so I was dealing with his replacement who I think was feeling a tad overwhelmed. Anyhow, they are now making an appointment for me to see a neurosurgeon.....they don't always treat this surgically, they do prefer to be as conservative as possible....but I will let the surgeon make that call. So the waiting game begins.

My eldest sister remains in the hospital with her bowel obstruction, she is having a barrage of tests. Again, one knows their own body. My sister has lived with Crohn's desease for 35 years....this flare up presented completely differently than her usual Crohn's flare ups...she knew....our fear now of course is it cancer. She is having all the test to rule it out...and I pray that she will come through this with flying colours.....I can't imagine my life without my big sister....she truly is the matriach of our huge family.....she is the glue that keeps us together.....we have often told her she puts to much responsibility on her shoulders....but she being the eldest of 12 has always felt it was her responsibility to make sure everyone was ok .....always being there for anyone who needed her....and believe me over the years there have been many many times she has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Being a mom of 4 herself and a grandmother to 7 one would think her plate would be full enough, but no....whenever a brother or sister or niece or nephew needed a helping hand.....my big sis is right there by their side.....she's also one of those volunteer extrodinare.....again if there is a task to be done....she is in there like a dirty shirt....no job to big or to small. You know that saying, if you need a job done...ask the most busiest person, they'll get it done....there is a lot of truth in that.... She is so talented something I aspire to.....she knits, sews, cooks,and bakes basically an all rounded talented person...if she doesn't know somehting she's not afraid to find out or better yet...she loves to experiment. For awhile she was the resident hairdresser....and of course she does all this while working full time.... I think about what she has endured over the years and she still comes out fighting and strong and pleasant....I say to myself.....self get off your ass stop complaining and get on with life. I love that woman with my whole heart and soul.....she is my inspiration.....god keep her safe.

Here's to you all....have a wonderful day....be good to yourselves, both physically and mentally!

Cheers!

The new truck......

Well after many weeks and hundreds of hours searching and searching some more I finally got my vehicle. It's funny how things turn out....when hubby and I first started looking for a vehicle I told him there were only two things I didn't want.....I didn't want a green vehicle and I didn't want a monthly payment.......I lost out on both accounts.

My dear sweet and wonderful husband search and search some more on ebay, consumer reports, compared and compared some more. I test drove so many vehicles my head was spinning. I guess at first I thought I wanted a utility vehicle....something that was more reliable in the winter months...something that would have space for the kids....and Bert.....yes I really wanted Bert to be able to come on some of our adventures.

My first vehicle I test drove was a Ford Sport Trac.....fun easy drive....but the cost put it out of the market....or a least I thought. Ideally I wanted to be able to get a straight across trade for my Mustang...or at the very least a very small payment. Well the stories the car salesmen would give us about my car not being worth this or that....and the resale value on the vehicle they were trying to sell us(me). Always going in prepared, hubby would have researched the book values done cost comparisons both on year, models, mileage and extras, so we always knew when they were trying to give us the gears.

Well finally when I thought I was giving up, I decided to make one last drive through this Ford dealership that we had been to twice before....and there lo and behold there she was, in all of her glory...shiny, and just shouting at me to test drive her......I did....it drove like a charm....like a luxury car actually, all leather interior, heated seats, memory seats, automatic adjustable foot pedals, 6 CD stereo, sunroof, power back window....need I say more...this baby was loaded. I got behind the wheel of that truck and it was as if the vehicle and I became one.....it was wonderful. That was on Saturday....after the test drive of course we sat down with the salesman....I told him right then and there that I shouldn't have driven it that it was out of my price range.....he said....let's see what we can do with the numbers. Well of course he came back and we weren't close at all.....I countered.....they moved a bit....they weren't willing to give us what we thought we should get for trade in on my mustang...hubby told them that he had researched their sister company up island and that they had a vehicle just like mine on the lot for a lot more....they concured and came back with a better offer....but still not good enough.....a senior sales person tried to step in and close the deal....I think he just pissed my hubby off instead....if there is one thing you can't pull over my hubby is numbers....he sees numbers and can calculate better and faster than most people do with a calculator.....long and short...we ended up leaving.

Hubby knew I wanted that vehicle....how could we make this happen.....we called them and made our final offer.....they accepted.....we returned to the dealership....it was closing time...but we worked on a deal. They wanted us of course to finance through them.....again...hubby and his numbers....knowing they couldn't get in contact with a financial institute at that hour we did a subject to financing agreement and left. We came home and crunched the numbers....we went to our bank and got a pre- approval for a small loan. We went to the dealership armed knowing that we could pay cash for the vehicle. At this point hubby is loving the wheeling and dealing that is going on....he is trying to negotiate many options for me....but the icing on the cake came when after they said what a wonderful job they had done with getting me this great financing....yeah right....10.10% when we got a 7.25%.....that is a significant difference....Hubby saved me about $12,000 on the deal.....the dealership knew that we got a fantastic deal...I got top dollar for my trade in...we talked them down to a price we wanted...and we didn't finance...which of course they wanted us to do.....so at the end of a very long day, I got what I wanted..... so without further adue let me introduce you to my new baby.....I call her "Betsy"....yes beautiful Betsy May.....

Heads or Tails Tuesday....

This weeks theme is Heads "First" Tails "Last"......I have chosen Heads......

I am not the "First" child in my family....I am baby number 10

I got my "First" transitter radio when I was 8
My "First" boyfriends name was Chris
I "First" learn't how to ski when I was 12
I "First" married at the age of 21
I was 21 when I got my "First" mortgage for my "First" house
My "First " child was born when I was 23
I did my "First" knee boarding when I was 42
The "First" car I owned was my 2004 Mustang GT convertible
I bought my "First" quad when I was 44
I did my "First" skydiving when I was 43
I did my "First" solo parasailing when I was 46
I bought my "First" truck today!!!! Thanks to my wonderful hubby

If you would like to play along with the Heads or Tails Tuesday....check out Barb at Skittles Place for all of the instructions......I hope you play along.....


And now for something completely different.....I have been honoured with this lovely award by a very dear blogger, who herself I blieve is so deserving. I think the picture really describes this blogger....she is so sweet , and kind and unconditionally gives of her friendship....so to be a receipient of this award mean a lot to me.....thank you so much Misty. Misty Dawn has a passion for her dogs and is a fabulous photographer.....the picture here is one of her very own puppies....how sweet is that.....I would be great if you went over and just said a hello Misty Dawn and let her know I sent you, I know you won't be disappointed ......Misty, thank you sweetie for this lovely award, it means a lot to me...

Well I hope you all had a terrific day.......cheers for now....

Things that go bump.....

Is anyone else having problems with Blogger? I can't seem to get my spell check or the uploading of pictures to work either yesterday or this morning......Urgh!

I can't believe it has been almost a week since I last made a post. Time flies when your having fun.....

I started back at work last week on a gradual return to work....Monday I also had my CT of my cervical spine in the hopes that we might be able to get to the bottom of my dicomfort. I am trying really hard to optomistic about my gradual return to work(GRTW) and am hoping it is going to be a success. I fear it has not gone as well as I had hoped. On Monday after my CT scan I went and worked 4 hours...I didn't really do a lot...there was a lot of paper work and documents to read and catch up on....I helped with night work, phone, answerd call bells...but no hands on patient care. On Wednesday I arrived and was immediately put to work....there was a very sick patient that required lots of special lines to be put in and eventually ended up on a breathing machine....I ended up caring for this patient during my four hours...no break and on my feet the whole time.....I was sore by the end of if but I thought it was bearable and to be expected. So I iced my back and shoulder when I got home. Thursday I spent on the couch with my bad tummy....that's a whole other story....Friday I went in...and assisted with direct patient care. By the end of my 4 hours I was feeling it. I got home and immediately iced my back and shoulder.....I was woken up by the pain at 0400 and couldn't get comfortable at all....shooting pains down my arms....burning down my spine.....ouch....Ok don't be a wimp right? Saturday we went vehicle shopping......and in order to go vehicle shopping meant I would have to do some driving....the weather wasn't t the greatest slushy snow and rain, just yucky....anyhow....the drive really irriatated my shoulder and back. I am off to see my doctor again on Tuesday and hopefully he will have the results of my CT scan and we can get to the bottom of this.

On a completely different note. The strangest thing happend yesterday. Do any of you remember me telling you the story about the 9 litre jug of laundry soap falling off of the washer in the middle of the night? That always bothered me, so the other day hubby looked up on the internet to see if there had been any recorded earth quakes at that time.....none recorded....hmmmm...the mystery continues......anyhow yesterday, I was laying on my couch with my ice pack on my back watching some TV when I heard this loud noise...it was like something was being forceably removed from the wall and thrown and then a huge crash sound. I got up to investigate .....and walked over to stairs where I have family pictures hanging on the wall, when what do I see but one of my old family photos had fallen off the wall and was smashed. Now I looked at the wall to see if any of the other pictures were ascew, but nope...they were all in place...not crooked or anything.....the nail on which the picture hung was in place and still sticking out far enough that it should have held the picture in place. My initial thought was we had a mild quake or something...but like I said nothing else was moved.....it just gave me the shivers. Yesterday I also found out that my eldest sister was admitted to hospital the previous day with a bowel obstruction.....I had spoken to her maybe about 45 mins before this happend....this really bothered me so I called her to make sure nothing had happend....she said to me she was ok, hadn't seen the doctor yet today....I told her what happend...she said to me...your having another one of your preminisions, I said I think so...but I just don't know what....it really made me feel unsettled....maybe I am just making to much out of this...but it was just so weird...... Anyhow, about an hour and half later....another picture falls....but this time it is one that sits on the table in my foyer along with other family photos......this pictures was sitting behind other pictures on the table, it was a picture of my step son....it fell flat on it's face and managing not to cause any of the other pictures to fall......next thing you know, we get a call telling us that he had a fall Saturday evening hitting his head and had to get stitches......another coincidence? Creepy if you ask me......
I've told hubby about other things that have happend here.....and I am sure there must be some logical explanation....but I think hubby was even surprised about the picture of his son falling......

Through out my life I have had numerous unexplainable things happen, preminissions and the likes...it's to the point with my family that they call me the resident spook. What about you....have you ever had anything that you just can't quite explain ever happen?