Day 274 - The Mack Truck Has Arrived.

And I'm not talking MAC makeup either. I feel like I've been run over by a truck. At high speed. Wow. I slept until 1030. Sat & talked on the phone for a bit. Sat on the couch & tried to stay awake while watching a short movie clip. Fell asleep on the deck in the sunshine. Pulled my journal out to the table on the deck. Wrote 1/2 a page. Fell asleep on the lounger for an hour. Went back to bed for 2 hours. Sat on the couch & talked for 1/2 an hour. Mom arrived home, made me some supper, we did some Photoshop stuff. I went to bed. Full stop. Wow. I hope this passes as fast as it hit me!


Sleep well... I know I will...
xxxx
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

And no, I didn't just bite my tongue. It's a full blown yawn.

Day 245 - More Teeth & Naturopathic Stuff

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I booked an 0800 dental appointment the morning after surgery, but I did. So away we went. Mom had to drive me, as I was legally impaired until 1330 this afternoon. Naturally we left a bit late, but Lois was ready & waiting for me when I arrived at 0810. 


Oh dear. My bottom teeth were bad yesterday. My top teeth were even worse! My gums have receded so much that the root is exposed. Which meant that Lois couldn't even drag her 'little scrape-y tool' across the area! It sent me through the roof! She cleaned as best she could & polished them afterwards. I love the suction thing & I love a Hygienist that lets you control the suction. There's nothing like gagging on your own spit or swallowing some mint tasting chemical! Ick! Lois let me use the gadget & I was grateful! I took the wedding photos to show her, as she was quite amazed at the story of Jaco & I. She is such a sweet heart! She's very passionate about her job & thankfully so. If she wasn't I probably wouldn't have known my teeth were in the shape they are in! I picked up a Sonicare toothbrush & I'm in love already! The organized side of my personality loves it! It has a 2-minute timer with 30 second bleeps to tell you when to change quadrants in your mouth. And it has a UV brush cleaner! Oh & it brushes your teeth sparkly clean! 


I waited outside in the sun for Mom to pick me up. She'd run to Okotoks to get the 14" rims for the car. I waited for quite awhile. I thought she was in a rush, but you know Mom! Lo & behold, she finally drove by. Apparently she'd been into the clinic a few times looking for me, but didn't bother to look outside or drive through the parking lot! She'd been there 1/2 an hour! Whoops! We stopped at the bakery for a quick bite & then headed home. She had to rush into town for her day planner production.


I crashed for a good 1.5 hrs. I was so wiped! I really didn't want to get up for my 1445 appointment. I quickly got ready & hopped into the car. It wouldn't start. The battery was completely flat. Great. Thankfully the truck was running! I don't enjoy driving the beast, but I had no other option! Away I went!


Parking was fun & I still have no idea how the silver Honda made it out of the space next to me, but kudos to the driver! The Naturopath didn't impress me too much today. The last appointment was pretty hefty. ($$$) Today was nearly $60 & I was there for about 5-10 minutes. He browsed over my medical papers & focused on blood work from 6 months ago.  He told me to email him on Friday after chemo & let him know how I felt. Huh? What is going on? He'll get one more shot. I certainly didn't feel like we had a $60 conversation. Thank goodness the parking was free! 


I stopped at Jugo Juice (of course!) & headed home. I spent the rest of the evening trying to sort out my desk & a pile (mountain) of papers. No, I'm not finished yet! I also attempted hooking up the Magic Jacks, but I hit a few roadblocks. Looks like I will need to set them up on a PC! How rude! :o) 


Okay, super wiped & looking forward to some R&R...
xxxx
Maria & Valentina

Lois - she's a riot!

Sleepy little town...

Saving my teeth!

Watching the clouds roll by!

Day 138 - Fazzoletto, Per Favore!

Today's post will be short & sweet, I'm afraid! I spent most of the day on the phone... Very much the norm for me these days! I think I might be avoiding something by talking on the phone so much! Perhaps! 


I caught up on laundry, cleaned, rearranged, cleaned some more & tried my best to put things out of sight! I did manage to do 1/2 an hour of walking on the treadmill. I long to run, but I know my stamina isn't quite there yet! Baby steps, I guess! The diet wasn't so raw, but it will take many more baby steps to get there! But, as they say, the journey of a 1,000 miles begins with the first step... Or something like that! I'd far rather tango, samba, belly dance & hip hop my way through those 1,000 miles, but that too, takes practice!


Of course, I was planning on going with Mom to the US border. She had some stuff to pick up from Customs & I thought I could visit Collet (Maid of Honour @ Wedding #3 & my lifesaver!) & then my cousin, Dawn (yes, another Bridesmaid at Wedding #3!), since Mom was picking up a trailer in Bow Island. However, it turned out I would only have about 1 hour with Collet & a quick visit with Dawn. And it would also mean about 10 hours in Mom's truck. I think the shopping carts at Walmart would have better shocks going over bumpy roads! I thought I was going to pop my lymph nodes out of the needle hole the day of the biopsy! Sleeping in that truck just doesn't happen!


In lieu of my not traveling with Mom, I think she felt it necessary to extract something, anything else from me. She left me a note to edit an order she'd written out & also to create a 4 page bio/pamphlet for her upcoming art show in Kamloops. She wanted it for tomorrow morning. Um, okay. Because I can do that in the blink of an eye! Doesn't she know these things take time! The worst of it was, I didn't see the notes until about 1400! I thought she just wanted me to TYPE out the order form so it looked pretty. No. She wanted me to EDIT the photos & make them look pretty! Needless to say, I hit the computer & had made significant progress on the bio. When the computer quit the program. I hadn't saved. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? ARGH!!!! I was not happy!!!! I had the first two pages done & I lost it all. Whoopsie. Needless to say, I started again & pretty much saved after every second mouse click!!!


It took me about 5 hours of nothing but the computer, mouse, keyboard & me battling it out, but we got it done! I don't think Mom really comprehended what would have to go into the project, but in any case, I hope it will help her out at the show. Next time, a little advance notice!!!! 


When she got back from her trip, she was pretty pooped, as was I from staring at the screen. She was going to go straight to bed, but before she could sleep...


I decided to try 'Fazzoletto' again. WOW! Valentina must really love those treats! I didn't have to ask her twice! She ripped that kleenex out of the box like it was on fire! Of course, she immediately dropped the 'burning' kleenex on the floor & ran to me to collect her reward. I was so impressed! The second time we practice the trick & she's already got it figured out!!!! What a good girl! So, naturally, we had to show Nonna (Grandma in Italian) our new trick! 


Now, before you can say, 'Wow, that Valentina is quite the little angel...' Let me tell you what else happened today!


I was on the phone (of course) in my room, sitting on the bed. A basket of folded laundry sat at the foot of my bed. Valentina has this big red ball that she loves to play with. While she's on the bed with me, she drops her ball into the laundry basket. She's trying to get it out, but can't really reach from the bed. She's half sliding into the basket, unable to reach the ball. I giggle at the challenge she's given herself & carry on talking on the phone. I leave the room to get something in the kitchen & about 20 minutes later, I realize, I need something from the bed room. As I walk towards the bedroom, I can see into the bathroom & there is my laundry basket. It's by the tub. How did it...? I'm sure it was...? What the...? What is all over the floor? What the...? VALENTINA!!!!! Yup, there was a trail of wicker bits from the foot of my bed, down the length of the bedroom, out the door, down the hall & into the bathroom, where she finally gave up. Inside the basket was her red ball. Of course, she'd tried to pull one of my shirts through the hole she'd chewed into the side of the basket. Oh dear. Well, time for a new basket. 


As soon as she heard me raise my voice at her, she knew she'd done something wrong. I usually put her outside for a bit to let her think about what she's done. (Because I'm SURE that's how dog's think... It makes me feel better, leave me alone!) :o) But this time, I put her inside the now empty Holy basket. It makes me howl even typing this 10 days later, when I think of her sitting in the basket with her little head peeking over the top of the basket & her sorry little eyes begging to be forgiven (more like begging for her red ball!) So she's not the perfect angel. Yet! But I still love her to bits & couldn't imagine life without her now!


So there you have it. The excitement for the day! Sleep well & see you tomorrow!
Maria & Valentina (sans Red Ball)
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Wicker anyone?

Forget the trail of breadcrumbs...

Down the hall we go...

And towards the loo...

The basket was on the bath mat when I found it.

Note the Red Ball still inside the basket.

Thank the Good Lord the Red Ball didn't fall into one of my Italian Boots! 

Valentina in a 'time out' & Adios, the 'big brother' gloating. I'm sure Adios stuck his tongue out at her when I turned around!