Weekend Update
Have you ever had one of those days where you just stop and shake your head, utterly convinced that life is something that happens *to* you - completely outside of your own control? That's been my last three years. But I think it's getting increasingly stranger.
ANYWAY.
A quick update on our weekend.
I ran out for a last-minute new client meeting on Friday night, met again on the same subject on Sunday afternoon, and have apparently landed myself another new project. I'm pretty excited about this one... STAY TUNED :)
This new project is *another* new public relations project. Which means that - right now - I'm doing more PR work than writing work for the first time since I launched my little business. It's going to be very interesting to see how this feels because I love both kinds of work, and I can see myself doing both long-term - but I've never really been sure about which one to actually pursue. Honestly, I'm not pursuing ANYTHING. But it's lovely and wonderful and kind of miraculous that people have been tracking me down and pursuing ME. I'm keeping so busy. It's been incredible for my self-esteem.
Geoff and I did our taxes. Actually, LINDSAY did our taxes. I'll let you process that for a moment. Truth be told, this English major did remarkably well with high school level Accounting classes - and that's really all you need for tax preparation. I used a super-simple online program and it was pretty much painless. The best part? Geoff's getting a decent return. And I owed $7.16. I feel like I won the lottery. I was scared that I'd owe thousands because of my freelance work, but I apparently did okay with deductions. YAY ME (especially because I had money set aside for the taxes I thought I'd owe).
I met up with some friends on Saturday morning for breakfast + shopping. It was just so much fun to see them without Briony along. Don't get me wrong - I *love* Briony and so do her adopted 'aunties' - but I've been realizing lately how often we all hang out at my house because 99% of my Girls Nights happen when Geoff is working nights. I'm the only one with a baby in most of my social circles, so we naturally end up here and I'm playing mommy while we're all hanging out. It works well, I think. But there's a different quality to Girl Time when you're not worrying about your baby at the same time. I'm hoping to replicate that same quality on Thursday. Geoff is working all day, and I told my clients I was taking the day OFF (gasp!). Katie is coming and I am spending the day with two of my best friends - who both happen to be teachers on Spring Break. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't remember the last time I saw these girls without Briony in tow. WHEN DID I BECOME *THAT* GIRL? Shame, Lindsay. SHAME.
We skipped church on Sunday morning. Again. I feel kind of strange about how badly we've been sucking at bringing Briony to church. It's not that it's not important to us. It is. But at the age she is, it's super hard to go to church (and I end up missing most of it anyway). And with Geoff and I working so much, and opposite schedules, the rare Sunday mornings that we're all at home together have become sacred. Yesterday, we enjoyed our very favourite Sunday morning activity as a family: a walk to Assiniboine Park. We picked up Starbucks on the way and stopped at the park so that Briony could play on the swings. It was good for my soul.
We also skipped an Open House that we'd been talking about going to. Geoff and I both love our house, but I think we both recognize that - at least in its current state - it might not be our Forever House. There's always an option to do some big renos and make it work, but you always need to weigh the pros and cons of just picking up and moving to a house that will work the way it is. Both of these options are probably far down the road for us. We're not actually wanting a BIGGER house, just one that works a little better for us (specifically, a bigger kitchen, more accessible laundry, a main floor bathroom, and a more functional office space - though I'd add a garage and central air to my list too, hehe). But there is a house currently for sale a few blocks over that totally looks like that house that would work... And the location is to die for - one of the only locations that we'd consider to be possibly better than where we currently are (which is really saying something, because we are in love with our current location). In the end, we chose not to go. Too tempting. Too painful. But it's still fun to think about the future.
Last night, we met my parents at The Keg to help celebrate my dad's birthday. Briony did GREAT, and it was a rather quiet affair without Aaron + Cait and Jessica + Kevin + Chloe there - but Briony did her best to make up for it with her full-volume giggling. They came back to our place after for cake (actually it was pie), coffee, and presents. And so that my dad could watch the end of the curling game, of course :)
Labels: Briony, Church the Universe and Everything, Family, Going Rogue, House Stuff, Mommy Stuff, My Friends, The Boy, Weekend Update
Happy Sunday
Mmmm. Good weekend. Not for any particular - or particularly fabulous - reason, it just was.
Yesterday was quiet other than the whole Coldplay Incident of 2009. We went for a walk with Briony in the afternoon and hung out in Starbucks for a bit (hooray for babies who are totally cool with hanging out in Starbucks), then we picked up sushi for dinner. Emily came over in the evening and was my date for Kris & Kari-Ann's social - good times in Elm Creek, hehe. Although Donna apparently still hates me. Go figure :)
Em stayed over, and we all met Paul at The Meeting Place for church - my first time (believe it or not) and I really liked it. We ran into lots of old friends, and I met some really great people in the baby room. Then it was back to our place where Geoff dug a path to our barbecue and we grilled some steaks with garlic smashed potatoes, asparagus, and lots of mushrooms. It made me *so* excited for spring! We all enjoyed some Demetri Martin and some conversation in the afternoon - that great, comfortable conversation that can only happen with really good friends.
It was just good. I know that weekends don't really mean what they used to mean in my world given that I'm on mat leave and Geoff's schedule doesn't differentiate between weekdays vs weekends... But they still feel significant in my head somehow. And this one - though kind of busy - felt refreshing. I love that.
Labels: Church the Universe and Everything, Emily, Nothing Important, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: The End of Summer
So Curve launched on Friday, amid much fanfare in our office. I was not a part of that fanfare. I was sitting in a basement lab, trying not to puke up an otherwise empty stomach full of orange glucose drink and waiting for my next blood and urine tests (which were repeated four times in three hours). My mom graciously volunteered to drive in and sit with me all morning, which was awesome - it made the time fly by. When Curve was scheduled to launch, we made an excuse to the lab techs about needing something from the car, and then sat in my car and listened to the launch. About ten seconds later, there was a tapping on my window. I rolled it down and was greeted by an angry lab tech who wanted me to know that I was obligated to sit in their dingy nasty lab until my sentence had been served. And so we were dragged back to the basement.
I made it back to work for the afternoon, and the whole Cocoon crew headed out for a celebratory round after work (a round of cranberry juice with a healthy dose of heckling for the pregnant girl...). Then I headed over to Tiber River for a pedicure with Darcie. Kind of a perfect start to a Long Weekend, if you ask me. The colour is 'Naughty' (which made me giggle) and it's a pretty dark red - almost black - that perfectly captures the essence of Lindsay.
Geoff and I spent Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at the lake with my parents. Aaron, Kevin, Jessica, Rocky, and Emily joined us for the day on Sunday. It was a wonderful, relaxing time... I spent two afternoons on the beach, went for a couple of short walks, sat on the lakeshore, went to bed early, and just generally found myself again. It's absolutely insane to me that summer is over - and that next summer, we'll have a baby to pack up and bring along with us. I'm really looking forward to it, though. Hopefully, Briony will like the lake as much as we do :)
We returned to the Big City just as the rain started to fall. And just in time for me to change and meet up with Erin for the Oasis concert. It made me sooo happy. Seriously. One of my favourite high school bands with one of my favourite high school friends. The music was better live than on their CDs, even if their arrogance made them kind of terrible performers (standing there like you're god and initiating applause for yourself is not exactly modest). It was all part of the fun. And they played every single song I'd hoped they would - including Wonderwall, Lyla, Champagne Supernova, Rock and Roll Star, and (happy sigh) Don't Look Back in Anger.
And elsewhere, outside the Wright residence, a rather motley-looking crew applied the first primer coat of our new stucco coating. Unfortunately, they began on Saturday and then had the rest of the weekend off. And now it's raining, which I'm guessing will delay them again. Not the biggest deal in the world... Except that our earth-toned new house colour looks way beyond ridiculous with our old blue window trim colour (that we can't repaint until the coating is totally complete). Lovely. I know it will be very worth it... And in the meantime, I'm learning humility :)
Labels: Cocoon, Concerts, Emily, Erin, Family, House Stuff, Rocky, The Boy, Weekend Update
Mom (and a mouse... shudder)
I took Friday off to spend the day with my mom. Good decision, Lindsay! We had a really good day - didn't do much, just sat around, watched TV and read a while, ate a little, and she napped while I got some editing done. I returned home to Winnipeg with Geoff in the evening (and watched Speed Racer... seriously, I deserve the Wife of the Month award for seeing Speed Racer AND Iron Man within a week of each other [though I'll openly admit to loving Iron Man]).
On Saturday, I headed back out to The Niv and had brunch with Emily (thank you again!) and then spent the rest of the weekend at my parents' place. Again, it was good. I picked up some groceries for them and made dinner (with lots of leftovers), then watched a hilarious John Oliver with my mom and my brother and made her giggle until she was screaming that her incision was going to burst open. Today, I got up and got a big batch of banana chocolate chip muffins in the oven, then spent time with my parents until I packed up and headed for home in the late afternoon.
It really didn't feel like I did much, but I know it made a difference to my mom. There wasn't much else we could do when she's busy recovering from surgery... It was a strange Mother's Day. Made even stranger by the fact that I received a Happy Mother's Day email from my mother-in-law, and a Mother's Day gift - a book on parenting - from my parents. So sweet :)
So after a busy weekend, I came home wanting to relax and instead - BLECH! - there is a mouse in a glue trap. Alive. Kind of wiggling and screaming. I had almost three hours to go until Geoff is home from work to deal with this - now less than an hour... Not that I'm counting. I'm reluctantly keeping an eye on our prisoner, but it seriously makes me want to puke. I'm not touching this with a ten foot pole. This is precisely why I got married.
Labels: Emily, Family, House Stuff, The Boy, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Zzzz... Edition
So this is a little more than a typical 'weekend update' - but I'll try to quickly get you all caught up on what's new in my life and on my mind lately.
Wednesday Not a good day. It was a particularly exhausting day at work, and I was at the office much later than I'd hoped to be. We got the news about my mom's cancer just before 8 pm. I cried for a while, then clicked on the television to watch the American Idol results - only to watch 'my' Carly get unfairly voted off. Some days, you just can't win.
ThursdayWoke up to blizzard-like conditions at 4.45 am. Was ready and at the office by just after 6.00 am, and on the road to Kenora with three of my co-workers by 6.15 am - questioning our sanity for being on the roads at all for the first half-hour. Spent ALL day in meetings with a new client, and returned to Winnipeg around 7.00 pm. And all without coffee. I think I deserve a medal. Sleeping by 8.45 pm.
FridaySlept through my alarm, and showed up 10 minutes late for my 8.00 am meeting (fortunately, I have amazing co-workers who are totally cool about things like that). Another ridiculously long day at work, capped off by a few hours of spring cleaning with the whole office, from 4.00 to around 7.15 pm (try to imagine how tired I was by this point). Sleeping by 9.00 pm.
SaturdayInexplicably awake by 7.05 am. Dragged Geoff to a few garage sales in the morning (didn't find anything except a Michael Connelly paperback for 25 cents - perfect for the lake). I'd been hoping to start collecting some great kids books... But I'll keep trying all summer. Either that, or my baby will spend this winter hearing me read from the Winnipeg Free Press and Vanity Fair (which may not be the worst thing for developing a strong vocabulary). Met Anja for lunch at Stella's, then browsed the Urban Barn before we both decided to head home for naps. Met up with her again at 6.45 pm for the Moose hockey game in the evening. Arrived home around 11.30 pm, too tired for words.
SundayUm... Slept until 11.30. I wish I felt the tiniest bit bad about that, but I don't. I needed every moment of that amazing sleep. Had just enough time to get ready to meet the gang at Buccacino's to celebrate Paul's birthday. Spent the better part of the afternoon eating, relaxing, laughing, talking, and just generally catching up with Paul, Emily, Craig, Jeff, Rocky, Marie-Eve, and a few others (including my Geoff, who graciously sacrificed a good chunk of his post-night-shift sleep to be there). Headed home and threw on some sweats and running shoes and spent some time walking up and down Wellington Crescent with Geoff. We may have also stopped at Dorothy's for ice cream... Then came home, made dinner, read a pregnancy magazine, bawled through Extreme Home Makeover, giggled through Family Guy, and finally updated my blog while verrry much enjoying the new Madonna album. 8.45 pm. Definitely bedtime again... I'm so finished making excuses for all this sleep.
Labels: Anja, Cocoon, Emily, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Finally Spring Edition
FRIDAY:
- Another crazy, crazy day at work...
- Got home and had a nap
- Fired up the BBQ for dinner
- Met Emily & Paul for Starbucks & a movie (Forgetting Sarah Marshall - can't officially recommend it without feeling like a bad church girl, but if you can stomach the jokes and the nudity, it's freaking hilarious and well worth a ticket)
SATURDAY:
- Woke up way too early
- Two hour meeting with a furnace / central air guy to do an assessment of our house (subsequently decided we're too poor at the moment, given the baby that's apparently on its way)
- Met Em for an afternoon of retail therapy - and only spent money on one dress, ON SALE, go Lindsay!
- Had a nap
- Went for a walk with Geoff to go get... ICE CREAM! YAY!
- Baked an awesome frozen organic pizza for dinner
- Watched a movie, and fell asleep halfway through...
SUNDAY:
- Got up and went to church
- Met Steve & Val, Anica, Sophie & Mady at the park for a picnic and an afternoon in the sun
- Had a nap
- Talked to my mom for a while
- Boycotted dinner
- Watched TV and then went to bed early
Are you noticing a pattern developing here? I swear, I am sleeping 10 hours a night PLUS having a nap every day - and I'm still constantly exhausted. I have no idea if I should be blaming it on the pregnancy or if it's fibromyalgia and I should be worrying... I think I'll give it another couple of weeks and see what happens.
Labels: Anica and Sophie, Emily, The Boy, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Back in the Saddle Edition
I've been more than a little bit missing from anything even vaguely resembling a social scene lately. I'm just too tired to care. And this feeling of being about three months behind on seeing friends I've promised to see is overwhelming on a good day. This weekend, we had a few unavoidable engagements that sort of forced me to do my hair and leave the house.
On Saturday, Geoff and I were up pretty early so that I could line up for Oasis tickets (woohoo!). We've been having much better luck getting good seats when we go in person vs booking them online, and I can't really sleep in anyway - so we found ourselves at the MTS Centre just after 9 am. Geoff's not so much into Oasis, but he was kind enough to come with me while I scooped up some decent seats for Erin and myself. I'm definitely looking forward to reliving a few high school memories at that show on September 1 :)
From there, we went for brunch (horrible customer service experience that I'd rather just forget about) and ran a few errands. And then I had a nap.
In the evening, we made an appearance at Kyle & Jill's party with some of my coworkers (where I didn't drink AND stuck to my diet, thankyouverymuch) and then headed over to join Geoff's coworkers at a social (where I didn't drink, and ALMOST managed to stick to my diet). I made it to almost 12.30 before I was absolutely too tired to function and Geoff was kind enough to take me home.
Yesterday, we went to Geoff's church - he was doing sound - and then stopped in at George & Lara's for Zyra's first birthday party. That girl is so ridiculously cute, I don't even have words to describe it... And then it was off to Niverville to spend the remainder of the afternoon and the evening with my parents. I had a nap while everyone else watched the end of the curling final, then went for a walk with my mom, and we all ended off the evening watching 'Juno' together.
It was so nice to see my mom doing better. She's a long way from an official label of 'recovered from surgery' but she's made so much amazing progress this week. It's just so hard to wait.
And I'm feeling... ODD. I can't really describe it. It's tired mixed with queasy mixed with fat mixed with achy mixed with a combination of about seventeen other random emotions at any given second. I'm happy. I'm just... I don't know. I just am. And maybe that's okay for right now.
Labels: Cocoon, Concerts, Erin, Family, My Friends, The Boy, The C Word, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: The Most Boring Edition Yet
So I feel like crap. I've pretty much given up on faking otherwise. I was SO determined to be one of those people who just happens to be pregnant and sails through nine months all glowy and fabulous. But the reality is that I'm sick of not sleeping. I'm sick of not taking meds for this sinus cold and chronic headache I've had since Wednesday. I'm sick of being this psycho drama queen, so emotional that I'm actually irritating myself. And I'm sick of constantly questioning whether or not I need to make a run for the bathroom because of this stupid morning sickness (or 'progesterone poisoning' - thanks for the book, KA).
All this, and I'm barely even showing. I'm embarking on my measly 10th week. I have all my eggs in the 'your second trimester will be a breeze!' basket right now :)
So I worked from home on Thursday and Friday, and my parents came over for tea on Friday evening. The whole cold/flu thing happened on Wednesday, then on Thursday night I had the delightful experience of having a migraine - with no baby-friendly migraine drugs. Shudder. On Saturday, I ventured out for groceries - then returned home to take a nap. Emily came around 9 pm, and contributed to my only significant adventure of the weekend: driving her to the airport at 4 am (not a big deal, because I was up trying not to puke anyway - and we live less than 10 minutes from the airport). Then on Sunday, I spent the afternoon in Niverville and returned home to watch tv on my couch. All evening. In sweats.
Poor Geoff. I'm sure he wonders what happened to his lovely wife... Yesterday was our six-month anniversary. Honeymoon's over, babe :)
Labels: Baby Talk, Emily, Family, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Nothing Fancy Edition
FRIDAY: Um, nothing very exciting. I went to work, I came home, I dropped Geoff off at work, I came home again, and then I worked for a whole bunch of hours with the tv on in the background. My life is SO fabulous :)
SATURDAY: Let's see... I woke up, made myself some tea, worked for a bit, and then Geoff came home - with a couple of Kanye West tickets in hand! SO excited. Anyway. Then he went to bed and I got groceries and scoured a couple of book stores for this one particular title that I really needed for work (and found it).
Then the real work began... I whipped up a ginormous batch of lasagna - enough to throw a couple in my freezer - with all organic ingredients and things that I can eat. I won't lie to y'all - it's pretty amazing.
In the evening, I started reading the book I purchased. It's so intense. I'm writing a piece for a client who deals with youth issues, and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about cutting so that I can effectively write this piece from the point of view of a young girl who's thinking about it. This book was written by a journalist who spent years getting to know 50 cutters from around the world, and climbed into their heads and their lives to learn as much as she could about the issue. It's pretty heavy reading, but I'm learning so much. And I'm not-so-secretly enjoying wearing my writer's hat again for this project, especially because I care so much about it. It's a challenge, and I love a challenge :)
SUNDAY: Ugh. Stupid #&$^ daylight savings time. I HATE springing ahead. I'm one of those losers who feels totally off-kilter for at least a week after the clocks change, with that constant nagging feeling that someone's playing a giant prank on me and switching all my clocks to the wrong time so that I'll be early / be late / just generally make an ass of myself.
We went to Geoff's church in the morning because he was doing sound (don't you love how it's still 'Lindsay's church' and 'Geoff's church'?), and I got to see the lovely and talented Miss Meredith Daley there - which always makes me a little bit happy. I still think it's crazy that we ran into each other again at Geoff's church, of all places.
From there, it was lunch at Cafe Kohler (yum) and then an afternoon at the Art Gallery with The Boy. We *finally* checked out the Post Secret exhibit, and the rest of the gallery. It was a fun Sunday afternoon.
The rest of the day was spent reading and experimenting with a couple of new recipes (me), surfing the internet and shoveling snow (Geoff), and watching 'Run Fatboy Run' whilst laughing hysterically (both of us).
Labels: Concerts, My Life, The Boy, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Tired and Hungry Edition
FRIDAY: My work week ended with all kinds of drama last week. Specifically, the person in our office who is in charge of keeping our space clean decided that they shouldn't have to do it anymore - and suggested a new policy that whoever's turn it was to clean the bathroom (we all take weeks) should also mop and clean up the entrance / lobby area. I had issues with the new policy to begin with - and then I found out whose turn it was last week. I was stuck dealing with weeks (possibly months) of sullenly neglected floors. Ugh. Thankfully, after an hour of toiling on my own, Christine and Dolly both pitched in and helped. After that, a few of us went for drinks until Geoff was done work and met me for dinner. It was a super-fun ending to a really, really loooong day.
SATURDAY: Not a sleep-in day. I got up, made myself semi-presentable, and headed out to visit my herbal consultant. Long story, which I will share later. From there, I spent the afternoon having tea at my brother's place - delightful - before picking up groceries and heading home to do some laundry. Very fabulous and exciting :)
SUNDAY: REALLY not a sleep-in day. I got up at 6, started getting ready, stopping getting ready and drove Geoff to work, came home and continued to get ready, then headed to Niverville for an 8 am soundcheck. Did soundcheck, met my mom for breakfast, went to church. Are you keeping up with me so far?
I had so many Sunday highlights. The first was getting to SING. I hadn't been able to sing in church with my team in weeks - more like months. My health has just not allowed me to. But it felt SO GOOD to be back. Just walking into soundcheck, I couldn't help smiling. I can't describe why it means so much to me. It just does. I have a totally unique and powerful worship experience when I'm on stage with that group of people, and it's such a joy.
And my aunt Verna was in church, and joined my parents and I for lunch. I hadn't seen her since her heart attack scare a few weeks ago, and it just made my happy to spend some time with her. She's special to me.
And then, I got to spend some time with my parents, which I haven't done in a while. My mom and I spent a chunk of the afternoon in their hot tub, which was so nice.
And it's not over yet... In the early evening, I headed over to Kathy and Greg's place with Emily and Rocky where we enjoyed dinner together (I brought my own... sigh) and then we all made an appearance at our church's Young Adults group. Yes, people gasped in amazement... hehe. Kathy was speaking on the topic of heaven, and she did such an incredible job. I was so very proud of her, and I was encouraged and challenged by what she shared.
Finally, I set out for home. And the roads were TERRIBLE. It took me forever to get home, driving 30 km/h on very icy and blustery highways. Shudder. But I arrived safe and sound. And exhausted. And quite happily slept like a log until my blasted alarm went off in the morning.
Labels: Cocoon, Emily, Kathy, My Friends, My Life, Rocky, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Fun and Games Edition
FRIDAY: Okay, so Friday wasn't so much about the fun and games. Geoff came to pick me up from work, but I got stuck in a meeting - so he wasn't really happy. Then we had to rush around to get him to work on time for his night shift - so I wasn't really happy. This unhappiness was cured by a quick stop at the mall, where I found the most perfect pair of black dress pants. Three cheers for retail therapy! I finally got settled in at home around 8 pm and worked like crazy to get a bunch of client work done (see previous post). Up too late, but very productive - so that was okay.
SATURDAY: As per usual when Geoff's working a weekend full of night shifts, I slept in a little before tiptoeing out of bed and getting ready for my day. I spent the morning and early afternoon running some errands, then returned home and made a late lunch for both of us. The Boy and I spent a little quality time cleaning up the house, then he left for work - and I had all the Cocoon girls (and the boys' significant others) over for Girls Night. We laughed and talked about played board games and ate too much food. Very good times.
SUNDAY: On Sunday morning, I attended the International Church of Lindsay - I just wasn't in the mood to haul my fabulous self to church. Instead, I made a cup of tea and settled into my favourite (slightly ugly) reading chair with a very good book. Happy sigh. It was exactly what my soul needed. I woke Sleeping Beauty from his slumber and we headed out to meet my family for lunch, in honour of Jessica's recent 20th birthday. From there, I had a little bit of an afternoon adventure (see my next post). And then - it was party time again! A bunch of friends came over to watch the Oscars and we had a GREAT time. More very good times.
And with that... The weekend was over. Lots of fun. But I'm glad that I have five days to recover before the next one :)
Labels: Family, My Friends, The Boy, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Long Live Louis Riel Edition
I don't know about you guys, but I'm fast becoming one of Louis Riel's biggest fans. I was ALL OVER the idea of a February long weekend. Though I honestly don't understand why we couldn't just have Family Day like Alberta and Ontario. Us Manitobans, we're *obviously* not followers. (Laughing to myself...)
You know about my weekend up until Saturday afternoon. On Saturday evening, I was emotionally exhausted and still processing everything I'd heard at my appointment earlier in the day. Geoff came home from work, and he helped me process - which was kind of nice. On Sunday, he did even more research at work.
Sunday morning, I got up EARLY to drive The Boy to work, then headed back to bed for a while before I got up for real, made myself presentable, and met Emily for church. It was a good morning - the whole service was really a learning experience about prayer, and I liked what the pastor had to say on the whole issue of faith and healing. I've been to so many churches that aren't scared to say that illness - or a lack of healing - is evidence of a lack of faith or of sin in someone's life. And I'm not scared to say that's bullshit. This guy talked about the verse where it says that you should pray with faith if you want to be healed. And he talked about how that faith is not necessarily the faith of the person who's sick - but the faith of the people who are doing the praying. He also spoke about how God doesn't make his healing decisions based on faith alone, which is something I believe very much. I just thought the whole morning was super-encouraging, especially given my day on Saturday.
And I was encouraged enough to actually let someone there pray for me... If you know me at all, you know that's pretty huge. But all my philosophies on healing are changing and growing. I no longer carry around the expectation that I'll experience an on-the-spot miracle (though I know that God is capable of that) - instead, I'm starting to think that the healing comes from what it does inside of me, to open myself up to share openly about my struggles and to allow my disappointment and hurt and frustration about the whole situation just gradually start to fade away.
Em and I went for lunch and spent part of the afternoon together, then I spent the rest of the day reading a book - awesome.
Yesterday was pretty quiet too. Geoff had been scheduled to work, but had his schedule changed at the last minute - so he ended up being off, which was a nice surprise. We slept in (I honestly don't remember the last time I didn't set my alarm... amaing) and had brunch, then ran some errands in the afternoon and spent a totally lazy evening watching more 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' reruns.
That's about it, other than a series of five EXTREMELY ANNOYING wrong-number phone calls that I received between 04.30 and 05.00 this morning... Ugh. Not impressed. Let's hope that wasn't indicative of how this week will go, because I'm determined to make it a good one.
Labels: Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Church the Universe and Everything, Emily, My Friends, My Life, The Boy, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Cold and Lazy Edition
It was a long, cold weekend in Winnipeg... Nothing like snow, wind, and temperatures under -40 to make you feel absolutely crazy for living here.
FRIDAY: Friday night was pretty much the definition of low-key. Geoff picked me up from work and had made dinner (!) so we got home and literally crashed on the couch and watched reruns of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.' It's a crazy-funny show. If you aren't already a fan, you must become one. In between, I felt guilty about sitting there and doing nothing so I managed to unpack a bunch of stuff from the basement and cleaned the office.
SATURDAY: Someone must have been gunning for some bonus points, because I woke up to a husband cooking breakfast. That's always either (a) a good sign, or (b) a very, very bad sign. It was a good sign.
We headed out to run some errands and pick up groceries. And then it was another do-nothing evening, which was absolutely fine with me because I was not feeling anywhere near 100%. I watched the Dixie Chicks documentary 'Shut Up and Sing' - another must-watch, if you haven't already. And we finished cleaning the house. Then I baked brownies while I caught up with Mel on the phone. And then I fell asleep while Geoff was on the phone. We are SO fabulous and exciting...
The night became significantly more exciting at around 11.30, when Geoff woke me up to take a call from my mom. Calls that late are NEVER a good sign, and this one was no exception: my aunt was being rushed to emergency with all the signs of a major heart attack. I didn't really deal with that news very well. She is incredibly important to me, and she just had to be okay. She just had to be. I didn't even cry, because I refused to think that way. Needless to say, my sleep while I waited for a follow-up phone call wasn't awesome. The phone call finally came, and she's okay - thank god.
SUNDAY: I went to church with Geoff on Sunday and helped him out with sound a little bit. It's starting to feel friendlier and friendlier there - people know my name and go out of their way to come and talk to me. When we were leaving, Katherine (Geoff's 'adopted' grandma) absolutely refused to let me leave without a hug and hearing about my week... So sweet.
In the afternoon, we hosted a joint Open House Extravaganza (exclamation point optional) with my cousins Jon & Tania. Not many people had seen where either of us lived, so we organized an informal little progressive family gathering. They had our grandparents and assorted aunts, uncles, and cousins over to their place for tea in the afternoon, then everyone came to our place for the evening.
A couple of highlights:
- Seeing everyone jammed into Jon & Tania's living room like clowns in a tiny little car (and taking an extra couple of minutes before I spotted Sam sitting UNDERNEATH their computer desk)
- Watching Mady try on ALL of my shoes :)
- My grandpa's comment about how our bedroom reminded him of their honeymoon suite... When I saw that he was going to keep talking, I quietly apologized to Geoff and then RAN downstairs to the safety of the kitchen
- Putting on 'Planet Earth' for the kids, and watching Sophie's face when the lions started attacking and eating an elephant... (Sophie: 'Um, what are they doing?' My Dad: 'They are killing and eating an elephant because they are hungry.')
- Anica keeping me company in the kitchen while providing a VERY detailed account of her recent class presentation on space, and why Orion's Belt is her favourite constellation
- The look on Sam's face when he saw the Man Cave
It was fun. I love hosting stuff like that, and I love having our house full of people. But again - are you noticing a pattern here? - I CRASHED after everyone left. Ugh. I am SO grateful for parents who stay and help clean up without making it seem like it's a big deal at all :)
Overall, the new meds are making me feel like of groggy and I swear I'm significantly more irritable than normal. Every little thing is seriously pissing me off, and I can feel myself doing it - and I HATE IT. I'm not noticing any big changes in fatigue or pain. By the time it's nearing the end of the evening, I'm really tired - that kind of nauseated tired where if anyone gets in the way of my pillow and my sleep, they do so at their own peril. And I wake up with pretty serious leg pain and shakiness.
I have a massage appointment after work tomorrow and a series of appointments with my herbalist this Saturday and next. So we'll see! I'm not giving up yet.
Labels: Family, My Life, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: The Country Mouse and The City Mouse(s)
Here's how it all went down...
Saturday started off busy. I set my alarm and got up to get ready and make brunch for me and The Boy. Anja came to pick me up around noon, and we set off for Elm Creek (and actually found it). The rest of the day was spent checking out Kari-Ann's steadily belly, her rapidly expanding collection of baby STUFF, and chasing around Winkler and Morden in pursuit of the perfect paint colours. In the evening, she threw together an incredible steak dinner (yep, that's right - steak for girls night) and Anja and I slept over. It was so relaxing, and during dinner we laughed for about three hours without stopping.
In the morning, we returned to the Big City - and Geoff and I bundled up and walked over to Cafe Kohler for lunch (yum). We ran a few errands, then it was another trip to the country, this time in the opposite direction. My whole family (minus Kevin, who joined us later) congregated at my parents' place in Niverville for the SuperBowl, which extended into also watching the So You Think You Can Dance finale. Lots of food, and lots more laughing.
We returned to the city pretty late, but I felt like I'd had a great weekend. Busy, to be sure. But great.
Last night, I started on my new meds. Didn't quite feel like myself today - and no noticeable change in my pain level - but I'm giving it a chance. Eventually, something's got to work. And in the meantime, I absolutely refuse to give up these little mini-adventures with the people I love.
Labels: Family, My Friends, My Life, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Now Entirely Work-Free!
FRIDAY: Work ended *promptly* at 5 pm last week, which was absolutely okay with me. It was a looooong week. My parents picked me up and we headed over to Carlos & Murphy's for a very healthy dinner (hehe) - I'd been craving their tacos all week, and I was NOT disappointed. From there, my mom and I headed to MTC for 'Fiddler on the Roof.' And I don't really have words for it... It was incredible, amazing, wonderful - the actor playing Tevye seriously gave me goosebumps, he was so perfect. The first show at MTC this fall was phenomenal, and - if it's possible - I think they just keep getting better. Next up is Glengarry Glen Ross at the Warehouse, which has me pretty excited - I love Mamet plays.
SATURDAY: Glorious Saturday. I had every excuse to sleep in on Saturday because Geoff slept half the day once he got home from work at 8 am. Unfortunately, I'm not able to sleep like I used to be able to, so I was up and showered by 10 am. I got a bunch of stuff done around town, then woke up Geoff around 3 pm - and we had a great, relaxing day together. We had the latest brunch in the world, then hung out and ran some more errands, watched TV, and then got a little fancied up for our 'date night' - sushi, yum :)
SUNDAY: This morning, we went to go see what all the fuss was about at Soul Sanctuary - a church here in Winnipeg. We joined Emily there, and ran into *lots* of other people we knew. It was nice... I like a lot of things about the way they do church. And I liked what I heard. There were two messages that I walked away with this morning. The first was that it's okay for Christians to express disappointment or hurt or anger, and to talk about the process that gets us to a place of healing - instead of just glossing over or masking up the tough, dark, ugly stuff. The second was that it's so critically important to LISTEN, and to hear other people's stories - it's the most important 'ministry' we'll ever have. Both great messages, and both truths that I'll carry for me all week. I love when that happens at church.
After that, we met up with Em and a friend for lunch and skating at The Forks - and it was a *perfect* day for skating at The Forks. From there, Geoff and I spent an hour enjoying some hot chocolate at Second Cup, then took in U2 3D at IMAX. Very cool. If you're even a moderate U2 fan, you MUST GO.
I'm feeling a little more like myself lately... The 'detox' from my meds was pretty rough on a couple of days last week, but I feel like it's almost entirely out of my system now - and it's AWESOME. I feel like my brain is clearing, that my personality has a little bit of spark to it, that I'm loving and enjoying life again. I want to cry when I type that, because it's so huge to me. The downside, of course, is that my pain is creeping up a little bit again. Not like it was before, but it's definitely more than it was on the meds. And I'm (mostly) okay with that. In a few more weeks, the meds will be totally gone and I'll be free and clear to pursue some less toxic natural approaches to finding a balance in my health. I'm kind of excited for this adventure, finding and cultivating a sustainable approach to living the best life that I possibly can.
Labels: My Friends, My Life, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Emily's Picture-Perfect Birthday Edition
FRIDAY: Nothing to note here, really. I worked from home, fighting off extremely icky side effects on Day Two of my 'new and improved' double dose of the new meds. Geoff got home from work around 8 to find a wife who'd cocooned herself into a blanket on the couch, ordered pizza for dinner, and was determined to spent the rest of the evening watching What Not to Wear - and then sleeping (sleep, glorious sleep!). And that, my friends, is *precisely* what happened. No apologies. It was a super-long week.
SATURDAY: I was totally evil yesterday, and refused to take my pills until waaaay late in the day. Instead, Geoff came with me to see Shelly - a herbalist and nutritional consultant who I used to see. It was a great appointment. Shelly is eternally optimistic, and absolutely determined that we can work together to improve my quality of life with fibromyalgia through healthy eating, herbal supplements, and natural therapy options (while not discounting the role that traditional medicine will play). It was music to my ears. There's not really much we can do until I'm off my current meds - so I can't see her again for almost a month. But I was so encouraged to spend some time with someone who (a) believes that I suffer from a disease that causes me lots of discomfort, and (b) believes that we can do something to fix that. Based on my first couple of days on this new dose, I have decided that I need to stop. I can't handle this anymore - it's not a quality of life that's acceptable to me. Unfortunately, it will be a little bit of a process to wean myself back off (and I know that I'm risking a relapse of the pain I dealt with during the first half of January), but I think it's what I need to do. This is no life at all.
After my appointment, Geoff and I went out from brunch (I was starving because I hadn't taken my meds yet), and then Emily came over and we spent the afternoon at Polo Park and getting her make-up done before the whole gang congregated at Elephant & Castle downtown for dinner. Then Emily, Rocky, Chey, and I headed over to the Michael Buble concert. Lucky girl... Who else gets to celebrate their 28th birthday with a Michael Buble concert? What a very cool memory.
Um, AMAZING. We had such a great time - it was an absolutely incredible concert. I'd go into all kinds of details, but my friend Erin (who had *way* better seats) did such a fine job, I'll just link to her summary and you can read it
here!
Because I waited until dinner to take my meds, I managed to make it until probably 20 minutes before the end of the show before my nausea and headache kicked in - so I could truly enjoy the evening. I'm sure my doctor would freak about my stupid decision, but I don't care. I have no regrets. Other than the tiny little fact that I was up sooo many times during the night because I was fighting extreme nausea and my legs were in lots of pain. Still, a mild price to pay for a very fun evening out with friends, in honour of Emily :)
Click here to see the pics from Em's birthday dinner.
Oh, and one other (random) thing that happened on Saturday: my car's odometre hit 200,000 kms. Now THAT's depressing. Geoff and I were half-expecting it to either die on the spot, or to spew confetti :)
SUNDAY: Today, we went to church in the morning and then picked up some much-needed groceries. Nothing much planned for the rest of the day. I'm feeling extra-nauseated today and am very much okay with just taking it easy before I begin another busy work week...
Thanks to all of you who continue to pray for us. I can feel your support, and I appreciate your emails and messages you've been sending me. I *am* going to get better - but it's a journey.
Me with the Birthday Girl
Labels: Concerts, My Friends, My Life, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: 'That Dog Would Make Nice Warm Earmuffs' Edition
So we were dogsitting for Jess and Kevin (well, technically, I guess it was for Pugsly) this weekend, and I confirmed one thing immediately upon my arrival at home after work on Friday night: I AM NOT A DOG PERSON.
It seems that the tiny but mischievous pug had managed to escape from our front entrance (chewing the door and our baseboards in the process - ew). In the half-hour that we were away, she had turned a magazine into absolute confetti AND somehow managed to find two pairs of my underwear from my laundry basket and chewed them into shreds as well. Oh, and did I mention that I had to clean up a pile of dog s**t from the carpet AND a puddle on the floor of the bathroom? And Geoff the dog-lover was at work. Awesome. We were off to a *great* start. There is not enough disinfectant in the world to make that okay.
That pretty much set the tone for the weekend. While I was dealing with medication side effects, I was also dealing with a hyperactive puppy who was attempting to chew everything in sight and did NOT have very good manners. Geoff laughed at my attempts to reason calmly with the dog, and our talks about her unacceptable behaviour. And my frantic disinfecting of EVERYTHING.
In between the dog-fuelled insanity (and while I sacrificed yet another pair of underwear - what is UP with this dog?!), I managed to:
- Watch a couple of episodes of What Not to Wear on Friday night
- Have (count 'em!) TWO bubble baths
- Spend a lovely and long-overdue evening at home with Erin on Saturday, made even lovelier by the flowers and muffins that she brought along
- Survive an hour at the home show with my parents on Sunday afternoon - the survival part was more to do with the noise and people and walking around, not with spending time with my parents :)
- Read an entire brainless romance novel (thanks, Em!)
- Do a little bit of work from home
Jess and Kevin called on Sunday that they were ready to come and get their precious little angel. I mentioned that she'd been incredibly hyper. Jessie laughed and agreed with me. I also mentioned that she'd been chewing everything in our house. Jessie laughed again, and agreed with me. All things that would have been *very* nice to know ahead of time... Ah, family :)
PUGSLY: A face that only a mother could love...
Labels: Family, My Life, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Party Girl Edition
So here's what *was* on my agenda for this past weekend:
- SLEEP IN
- Finish my Christmas shopping
- Wish I hadn't participated in Friday night Cocoon karaoke
- Finish writing out all the still-blank cards that have been sitting in our office for a month
- Do some laundry
- Book a mani/pedi
- Buy 240g of meat, then take a picture of it
- Eat more Christmas cookies
- Think quasi-seriously about going for a run, then decide it's too cold
And here's a quick overview of what I *actually* accomplished:
- SLEEP IN
Check! A blissful Saturday morning...- Finish my Christmas shopping
Check! A not-so-blissful Saturday early evening... But at least it's done.- Wish I hadn't participated in Friday night Cocoon karaoke
I set a record by actually *not* doing karaoke, for the first time in my history at Cocoon. Though I did regret some other points of the evening, namely allowing Chuck and Jason to mix my drinks... Ugh. This may or may not have contributed to my sleeping in on Saturday. Rest assured, I spent a good portion of Monday morning yelling at them.- Finish writing out all the still-blank cards that have been sitting in our office for a month
Well, not so much finished, but I got a few done. It's on my agenda again tonight.- Do some laundry
Um, I started. And then I fell asleep (last night). And so Geoff actually went and switched the laundry, and pulled it out and folded it and brought it upstairs after I went to bed. So sweet. So I guess it's a check!- Book a mani/pedi
Crap. I knew I forgot something. - Buy 240g of meat, then take a picture of it
Okay, I couldn't quite work up the nerve to do it. - Eat more Christmas cookies
Check!- Think quasi-seriously about going for a run, then decide it's too cold
Check!Not too shabby, I think. In between all these stellar accomplishments, we helped Geoff's friend Erin celebrate her 27th birthday on Saturday night, we went to church on Sunday morning (and I got to see Meredith, which is always a treat!), and got groceries and cooked a *real* meal on Sunday night. It was just about enough to make me wish for another weekend to recover from this one :)
Labels: Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Cold and Miserable Edition
Okay, so it's not quite as bad as that. But I don't think our thermometers have risen above -20 in over a week, and it's getting to be a little much. I appreciate the snow and all that, but this is starting to be a little bit ridiculous, especially in light of all our efforts to reverse global warming. And they wonder why Canadians are so slow to adopt new environmentally-friendly habits. On weeks like this one, I'm secretly a little bit tempted to treat my 'how to save the planet' books as a *reverse* how-to guide.
Friday night was nothing special. I ordered pizza, watched What Not to Wear (heckling mercilessly), and went to bed early-ish. Saturday, Geoff and I ran a few errands, got a random tree delivery (a late wedding gift from his friend), had Mel and Marc and Malakai over for coffee, had a brief emotional meltdown (I blame a long, stressful work week), and then went to Geoff's work Christmas party. Sunday was quiet. We went to Niverville to spend some time with my parents, then came home and pretty much crashed.
I had intended to work yesterday evening, but I could literally not keep my eyes open. My solution was to get up early and head into the office for 8 am. Ugh. It seemed so brilliant last night, but I was CURSING my plan this morning. Good thing I did, though, because I had a frantic client call at 8.30 am that I needed to get started on immediately. Which also meant that I didn't get done what I came in early to do. Sigh. Such is life.
Today's challenge is letting go of my feelings about a tagline we're proposing to a client that is grammatically incorrect (the tagline, not the client). I run into this situation with relative frequency - because advertising is not academics. But seriously. I had a physical reaction to this one. It just feels so WRONG.
Labels: My Life, Weekend Update
Weekend Update: Turkey, the Sequel
Sunday night at 11 pm, and here's how I'm feeling in point form:
- Sad for the Bombers.
- Proud of the Bombers, who played pretty well and managed a close game despite some less-than-stellar odds.
- Happy for the Bisons.
- Confused why a university team would choose an incorrect plural as their team name.
- Still a little tired from my week.
- SO excited to be counting down ONE MONTH til Christmas!
- Incredibly full.
- Incredibly content.
- Incredibly blessed.
Today was a super-fun day. I had a house full of friends here to celebrate a belated American Thanksgiving (an longstanding tradition I've held with Emily), and to enjoy the Grey Cup together. We cooked, we feasted, we laughed, and we trash-talked with Ally, our friend from Saskatchewan. It was such a great night. More than once, I found myself looking around our dining and living rooms, full of friends - Emily, Rocky, Ally, Kathy, Greg, Kris, Char (and Geoff, when he got home from work) - looking outside at the absolutely gorgeous wintery snow on our street, and feeling absolutely overwhelmed at how lucky we are. It was a warm, happy feeling. The outcome of the game *hardly* mattered.
Well, it mattered to Ally (who gloated just a tiny little bit) and Rocky (who had previously promised to run down our block in the snow barefoot if the Bombers won).
The rest of my weekend was a nice mix of quiet and busy. I spent Friday night at home with Geoff. On Saturday, I slept in, ran some errands in preparation for the party, and then met up with Char at Mark's Work Wearhouse (another stupid spelling...) to help Kris with his fundraiser for Guatemala. We wrapped Christmas present for any interested shopper, and even though the store was PACKED full of Winnipeggers out for a deal - it still made me feel a little Christmasy. I *love* wrapping presents, and it was such a great selfish good deed to get to help Kris while doing something that I found totally fun.
Back to work tomorrow, post-Grey Cup, which will be a little bit quieter for a change. Last week was all-consuming, putting together the lovely ad you see here in time for posting in Manitoba branches this week and submitting to the Free Press for this weekend. We're so pleased with the result (and it was crazy-fun helping to create this Bomber-related enthusiasm in the Scotiabank office at the photo shoot), but it cost several of us more sleep than I'd care to count up - and I think I'm still recovering a little.
Labels: Cocoon, My Friends, My Life, Weekend Update
