Day 436 - Packing & Heidi Baker

Well, I think I was on box #36 this morning. I'm not on box #57. And I'm no where near finished. I'm getting really tired of boxes! I feel like I'm just shuffling stuff & throwing out the odd thing here & there. I haven't made any headway in my bedroom & that's where most of the stuff is! Oh dear! I think I may have to leave things until I come back from Cuba. I did find my 'Havana Nights' Dirty Dancing DVD. Tee hee!

Roxy has come to my rescue once again. She's going to help me with my stuff at Dad's. She's going to use, potentially keep, the furniture that I have at Dad's, rather than Jaco & I paying storage fees for it to sit somewhere. I was going to let it all go, but now I can decide later & Roxy can have some more furniture in her house! Problem solved & stress relieved! Yay!

This evening I watched a service at Bethel Church online. It was so cool! It was streamed live & Heidi & Rolland Baker were the speakers this evening. I think it cost $3 & it was the best $3 I've spent in a long time! It was like I was right back there! I LOVED every minute of it! Heidi is one anointed woman! She lives in Mozambique & runs Iris Ministries. She is a gifted healer. Through her love of Christ, she has risen over 80 people from the dead, the blind see & the deaf hear. Don't believe me? Investigate for yourself! Miracles do exist! And I LOVE that she is showing the world that!

She is a very entertaining speaker & I found myself laughing out loud, crying, no, weeping... I can't wait to meet her one day! She's originally from Laguna Beach, CA & she gave up everything in her life to go to Mozambique & live in the dirt with the poor people there. She feeds over 7,000 orphans & nearly 10,000 people every day! She has some pretty amazing stories. She's written a few books & if you feel inclined, you can get them here.

After the show was over, I went to packing. It's now 0231 & I really need to hit the hay. The girls are sulking tonight, as I caught them both (at different times) in the cat's litter box. Gross! ARGH! They had their teeth brushed & got a chilly reminder that naughty dogs are not tolerated in the house. I think they both learned their lesson, as it took them a good 1.5 hrs to wipe the guilty look off their faces. Here's hoping!

xxxx Maria, Oceana, Valentina, Adios

Day 433 - Headaches & Boxes

Today Mom2 & I ventured out to Chinook. We both woke up with headaches - gee, maybe from the gorging we had last night? Hers was a bit more severe than mine - it took 6x the pills & an aborted shopping day out. We returned to the house & she had a nap in the dark while I went through boxes in the basement.

I moved a few boxes here years back - before ships - & I haven't been through them in a long time. I found my Lara Croft:Tomb Raider braid from Halloween 2001. My flight school texts & cross country plans. I went through a bunch of clothes & picked out some clothes for goodwill. Funnily enough, as Mom2 was going through the clothes, one by one, these were my words:
'Oh, that's the shirt from Darren, the Firefighter I met in the Dominican.'
'And that shirt was Ryan's.'
'And that one was from Nashville. No, wait. That was from Kelly, the jerk.'
'And that was from Tyler, the Ranch guy.'
It was like a parade of the exes from an old closet! Hilarious!

I got rid of old College texts from 1998, my toy helicopter collection & beanie babies! Oh my, do I ever have a collection of beanie babies! I found 2 rustic looking stuffies that are going to be my new mascots for 2011... My personal version of the squirrel that pops up in random photos. Here's hoping for a good year. We'll start off with a bang in -20 weather, head to Cuba & onwards & upwards from there! Stay tuned, as it was too cold to get a photo today! Ha ha!

Mom2, Dad2 & I played crib. I don't think I've ever played it. Maybe once with Kristina at the Park when I was 12 or something. I don't think my math has improved since that age. In fact, it's probably worse now. In any case, I think I got the hang of it - right before they skunked me! Oh well! My Granny was a card shark - my brother took on the role & I'm afraid I'm a poor card player. In any case, we had a lot of laughs!

After supper, we watched Going the Distance with Drew Barrymore & Justin Long. It was bust a gut funny in the first 20 minutes, but turned into a chick flick after that. The screenplay writer must've been very inspired & then it all fell apart. Although I enjoyed the music by Boxer Rebellion. A little too much profanity for my liking. There are many more eloquent words & ways to express one's emotions besides THAT word.

I'm struggling with Oceana on the treadmill. I took her outside to pee before her afternoon workout & she managed to pee TWICE on the treadmill. Yuck. Give me one big puddle any day. I was quite frustrated with her. She knows better! As I type this late night post, she sits on the edge of the bed & whines every now & then. She wants to go to Mom2's room. She runs to her every time I call her name. She wants nothing to do with me. She loves Jaco to bits & Mom & Mom2. Not I. Win some, lose some.

Tomorrow I'll venture home. I haven't spoken to my husband all week. He's going to think I left my igloo for another dog sledder. He never reads the blog, just looks at the photos... Maybe he'll catch this last line - I love you Honey & I'll see you in 52 days! xxxxMaria & the girls

 I tried tonight for a better shot, but Dad2's eyes are still sleepy!

Oceana threatening to jump overboard.

Day 429 - Boxing Up On Boxing Day

So today was a day of boxing. Yes, it's Boxing Day. That's what I did! All day. I think I may have overdone it. In true chemo recuperation style, I wake up on day 2 thinking I am feeling fabulous & can take on the world. So I try. And without fail, by the end of the day I'm exhausted. But! At least I have made progress in the task of packing up my things to finally give my Mother back her entire house! I think she's as happy as I am about that!

I packed away butterflies, books, bathroom supplies, bathing suits & beads. Oh and sweaters. I'm keeping a detailed inventory, so when I need something, I can find it easily. Excel is my friend! So is my point & shoot so I can refer to photos!

I've managed to make quite a mess in my room, but rest assured, there is a method to my mayhem!

I hope you scored some fantastic deals on the REAL Boxing Day! xxxxMVO&A

The Butterfly Collection from Panama

Day 407 - Whoops. Chemo Brain.

I started a bit of the packing process today. Not the smartest cookie in the jar. Roxy & Kevin are coming tomorrow & I'm going to spend a few days at their place. Seeing as I'm home alone, I thought it high time that I try to pack up a few things. I've filled the rubbermaid tubs I have at the house, so I went to the bunkhouse to get a few things. Normally I'd just back the car up to the deck & put the boxes in the car from there. But since we have snow, I can't get the car in there. I thought the boxes would slide well in the snow, seeing as I'm not supposed to lift more than 5 lbs with my left arm because of the Picc line.

Well.

I managed to pick out 8 boxes of stuff that I could drag through the snow to the car & then sort through in the house. I dragged them 2 at a time, stacked one on top of the other. I managed to get it done, but I was certain I was going to pass out at least 6 times! Maybe I was a *wee* bit overambitious. I managed to get the car loaded & drove in reverse back to the house, as I couldn't get the car turned around in the snow. I didn't get the car unpacked, as I was too exhausted.

I spent the rest of the day trying to expend as little energy as possible. That worked fine until Jaco called. I told him about my flights that I had booked & he asked me how much more money it was to fly from Calgary. I told him it was a couple hundred dollars. He then brought it to my attention that I was going to have to pay for a hotel (twice), fuel, food & not forgetting the time it would take to drive to Great Falls from Calgary. Ugh. I'm an idiot. Why didn't I think of that?!? I was so stressed out! Not to mention that I checked the flights from Calgary tonight & the price was LESS than it was last night! Argh!

Unable to think about anything else, I told him to call me tomorrow & I'd let him know what I was able to work out. I had booked through Priceline.com, so I assumed that since I'd received such a cheap ticket, it wouldn't be refundable. Well, bless the little angel on the other end. It was FULLY REFUNDABLE! No penalty! Thank you! I managed to book through Expedia.com & was flying out of Calgary. Phew. That was NOT fun! Thank goodness it worked out!

With that matter taken care of, the girls & I called it a night. Tomorrow we travel. If only to Red Deer!

xxxx Maria, Valentina, Oceana & Adios

Day 381 - Boxes, Lost Dog, & Blogging

Today Jaco helped me look in the bunkhouse for a lens box. With no luck. I was a little worried that he would grow impatient & start chucking around my boxes, filled with breakable stuff. Nope. He was so patient & careful, I was amazed! Unfortunately we couldn't find the lens box, but in any case, I found a few toques I'd forgotten about! Yay! Party for my head!

We weighed the dogs last night. In a grocery bag with my luggage scale. Oceana is 10.6 lbs (0.6 overweight) & Valentina 'Porkchop' Rose is a whopping (ding, ding) 13.6 lbs! So, it looks like we're all going to be hitting the treadmill in the near future! But for now, they accompanied us to the bunkhouse. We threw the ball for Valentina all the way there & one we arrived, she was on her own. Shortly thereafter, we hear a scratching, digging, whining noise. She'd pushed the ball under something & couldn't get it. We used the end of a curtain rod to pull out the ball. Papa to the rescue! We return to looking for the lens box. 5 minutes later, the noises are back. Only this time, Valentina crawled around the side of the bunkhouse & is now stuck between a slanted dry erase board & a box. Papa to the rescue again! No more ball! More Cesar!

We returned to the house with toques & no lens box.

Nurse Wendy also arrived today & changed the dressing on my Picc line. I'm starting to have a reaction to the adhesive on my arm. The skin is very red & itchy & pretty much gross. I'll be happy to have it taken out & not have to shower with a veterinary glove anymore! That said, the vet gloves work well! Wendy asked about Jaco & so I introduced the two of them, showed her the wolves on the blog & also the wedding slideshow. She asked! I told!

The remainder of the day? Well,  Jaco studied & I caught up on the blog again. What a day.

xxxxMJV&O

Wendy cleans the Picc line 

 Paparazzi torments Oceana

Hu-llo! Trying to rest here! 

STOP!!! 

 Pick me! Pick me!

 Peekaboo!

Go away already! 

 Tee hee hee!

 Wiener dog bunk beds!

 Head shot!

And this is comfortable how?!?