Day 135 - Level 3 Yuen Method

Today was another early start. Up & at it & on my way into the city. I was pretty excited about the weekend. I had a lot of questions remaining from the 1st level of Yuen, so I was anxious to learn some more & cement it all together. 

I met some pretty amazing people & learned a whole heap in the first day. I think I wrote about 20 pages of notes! Jessica is absolutely gut-wrenching hilarious! I seriously think she should consider a career in comedy! I would come to classes every weekend!


She had me up at the front for a short while to work on my neck. It was pretty cool! I must say! I had been having intense neck & shoulder tightness & pain for the better part of the day. After she finished working on me, the tightness & pain was gone! Awesome! Shortly after that I could feel little 'bubbling' inside my neck (the puffy side). Later on, after the class was over, I was in line at the grocery store. I was trying to crack/stretch my neck. It hadn't cracked in a few months, when all of a sudden - CLICK! Oh sweet relief! I was so happy! When I got back to Mom2's, where I was staying, the other side cracked too! Yeah! The craziest part of all this neck stuff was about 0200. I woke up & felt this 'Woosh' - like a clogged pipe that suddenly breaks free. It was pretty stinkin' cool!


We were lucky enough to be serenaded by one of the students who was also playing for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra that night. She played the trumpet & did 'What a Wonderful World' for us! Awesome!!! Nice job Linda!


I chatted with Mom2 about life, the course & her business until about 2230 - we were both wiped & I desperately needed to get some sleep. I had a headache coming on strong! I fell asleep in the warm glow of my salt lamp - bring on the negative ions!


Here's to a great class tomorrow! Sleep well!! 
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Linda prepping for our serenade

Yes, it is a Wonderful World!

Duke - Guarding the couch!

Mom2 & her Super-sexxy new haircut!

Mom2 cuddling with her 'Grand-Baby'

Day 115 - The Best Laid Plans

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!


I hope your day was filled with love & all that mushy stuff. I hope you spent it with someone or several someone's that you love. Although Jaco & I were apart, I was still fortunate to have a 2 minute phone call from him this morning! That completely made my day! He is still flying from London to Cape Town, but should be arriving in the next couple of hours. I'll be anxious to hear from him!


Today was supposed to be a movie & Lacrosse, but alas, it was not. When I woke up this morning, I could not move my neck. The muscles had seized. Again. This time was the worst so far. Adding to that my coughing fits & I was again in rough shape! 


But it was Mom to the rescue! She rubbed peppermint oil on my back, got the hot water bottle ready & sent me to her bed. Oh yes, there was also a shot glass of Buckley's in there too. Buckley's has been my stand by for any cold or flu. Mom gave it to us when we were kids. Yes, it tastes awful. But it works! I was trying to sleep in her bed, as mine apparently isn't too comfy for my neck. I can remember moving positions in the middle of the night & feeling all the blood drain back into the entire one half of my head. Hmmm. Not so great!


I had just fallen asleep in Mom's bed when I heard the phone ring. There was no sitting up to answer it, but that's when I heard Valentina whining frantically at the door. She's never done this before. Mom didn't get the call, so when the phone began to ring right away again, I figured it was time to move. I literally rolled out of bed - luckily she has a high bed - & made my way to the phone. Hmpf, don't know the number anyway, but know that I'm up, I'll see what the dog wants. I open the door & she's excited to see me. She didn't want out, okay. I walk to Mom's office only to have her hand me the phone. It was Jaco & he literally had about 40 seconds to talk before the card ran out & he had to board the plane. Call it coincidence, but I think Valentina knew it was her Papa calling. :o) Hey, it makes me feel good!


The next bizarre part of the day occurred while I was talking to Mom2. We were having a good ol' chat when all of a sudden she says, 'Oh no! There's water coming out from underneath my washer & its going all over the place!' I agreed that yes, this was very unfortunate, when not 10 seconds later, I hear a very loud buzzing sound in my house. The septic tank alarm! Oh no! We both hung up & tended to our water issues. Mom was outside & said that we better be careful, because the tank was all the way to the top & it could start backing up in the house soon! Great! Needless to say, our company's dinner dishes are still sitting in the sink! However, I did check the alarm & it's turned itself off during the course of the evening. Here's hoping it's fixed itself! It's certainly warm enough, the pipes shouldn't have frozen! Tomorrow will tell.


I asked Mom if we could have Lawrence & Vivian out for supper, seeing as we were unable to do the movie & game. She agreed. She cooked a sweet potato shepard's pie with ground turkey for supper. It was fantastic! I actually did something as well! I made a raw hummus dip from cashews! Thanks to Collet & Roxy for the recipe, it turned out great! Although we have enough for the next 2 months! Neil ended up driving out & brought Vivian with him, so there were 5 of us for supper. We enjoyed a wonderful meal & great conversation. 


I also spoke with my Granny today. She will be 95 this month. Unfortunately I will be in Mexico, so I will miss her special day. We have made plans to celebrate when I am back. She is now in a nursing home & although she would much rather be elsewhere, she makes the most out of every day. She is an inspiration to anyone who has taken the time to get to know her. 


Tomorrow I will call my other Grandma - Grandma B. Her birthday will also fall while I am away! I saw Grandma B's picture on Facebook today. It always makes me giggle to think that my 83 year old Grandma is hanging out on Facebook. She doesn't have a profile, but pops up in random photos. I think she's the 'Where's Waldo?' of Facebook. Yes, this is the same Grandma who loves Bon Jovi. The picture today was of her & her favourite bull rider, Justin McBride. I'll admit. She's got good taste. Must run in the family. In fact, she told me after the wedding, 'You're lucky I'm not any younger, I just might try & take him off your hands!' :o) 


I checked the temperature in Tijuana today... 26! Yes! It is only supposed to be about 20-23 for the rest of the week, but I don't care! That's awesome! Yippee! I'm so excited to go! Oh & today was shot day. I only have 2 left to do in Canada & then I'll be in Mexico. If they don't do it via IV, well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there! I've survived 43 needles! Yay! Okay, so 15 of them my husband did, I botched 3 of them, but the rest I managed & got it done! Oh my gosh, if I was still in Brownies, this would be the most significant badge I've ever earned!!! 


I have wrote out my To Do List for the week & it's fairly hefty. I'm not sure what day I'll get to town, but it could be messy! Wish me luck on the last week of running around before I get to unwind & rebuild! 


Love & hugs,
Maria & Valentina
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Love, Hope & Faith. But the greatest of these is Love.

Valentina's Day Supper

Maybe next year we'll be together! :o( I'll love you a whole year more!

Granny

Grandma B & her hottie Bull Rider, Justin McBride

Day 113 - Montserrat Erupts & I Clean the Kitchen

I woke up at 0645 to bright lights & silence. Mom was up & at it & had every light in the house on. She was no where to be seen. She was at the other end of the house in her bathroom. I stumbled into the kitchen half awake & proceeded to start turning off lights until I made it back to my bedroom in darkness. Last week I told her to remember to turn out her office light when she leaves, in order to save power. I'm not sure. Maybe this is some sort of reverse psychology on living green.


In any case, I saved power until the late morning when I finally got up. My neck has been kinked the past two mornings. I'm not sure why, perhaps Valentina has me doing tricks in the middle of the night. :o)


I managed to clean the kitchen & sort out some paperwork. I called the bank to try & organize a few things, but the lady on the phone got nosy about my trip to Mexico & 20 minutes later, she learned her lesson to never ask personal questions if she's on a limited time schedule! :o) We had a few good laughs, although she didn't help my finances any!


I called a few friends today & had a wonderful chat with my friend Joanne. She is doing really well on her program & I am so happy for her! She is spending this coming Christmas in Dubai with her daughter, who recently married & now lives there. I told her Jaco wanted to spend Christmas in SA, so perhaps on my flight over I could stop in Dubai for a few days & see her! How fun would that be! Joanne has this incredible talent of making me laugh gut-wrenchingly hard. I don't know how she does it, but every time we chat, it happens. 


Today was shot no. 6. Yes, I missed a day. Yesterday was late all around & I'm paying for it today. My throat is tickling & my nose is running. Let's hope I nip it in the bud! In any case, that leaves me with only 5 shots to go! Yay!


Oh, yesterday I forgot to mention, along with my email from Jaco with the CV, I also received an email from my friend Ami. Ami was my roommate when I worked on the Coral Princess. When we met, it was a total Forrest Gump scene when I boarded the bus to go to the ship. All the seats were taken until I got to Ami. I asked if the seat next to her was taken & we were inseparable from that moment on! Ami & I used to go to the gym on a regular basis & one day I was running on the treadmill next to her & when my 20 minute stint was up, I said I was finished. She asked how far I went & I said 1.5 mi (or so).  She said, 'WHAT? You're going to quit now? But you're so close!'
'So close to what?'
'5K!'
'No, I'm only 1.5.'
'No, Silly! 3.12 is 5K!'
'Really?' I asked in disbelief.
'Yeah!'
'Oh!'


So I popped the treadmill back on & did my first ever 5K run! I was so proud! I felt such a sense of accomplishment! Ami was the first (& only) person to ever get me running. Why did I tell you all this? Well... This is the email she sent me. I'm still a puddle when I read it...

Hi cutie,

I'm running in a 10k in May in support of cancer research and I was wondering if you would be okay with me putting 4 Jill C on my shirt because I would like to run in honor of you and your fight. I'm so proud of you and how strong and brave you are and that you have stuck to your guns in regards to your treatment. Even if your name is not on my shirt I'll still be thinking of you while I'm running and using you as inspiration to get me to the finish line. Let me know what you think and let me know how you are doing. 

X

Ami

Needless to say, I've never had anyone do anything like this for me before. I feel absolutely floored. I don't stop to think of myself as doing anything out of the ordinary. I guess I feel like everyone out there who has the same thing as I do would be doing all the same things as I am! The research, the questioning, contacting survivors & trying all sorts of crazy things to make life work! I am speechless, but as far from emotionless as I have ever been! Wow. Thank you Ami - you have no idea how much this means to me!


I also heard from Jaco. Twice. I had checked his flight departure time when I got up & thought I'd already missed him. But then he called about 2 hours later. Apparently the volcano on Montserrat was erupting & the visibility was affecting flights out of Barbados. His flight got canceled. He was now on a flight at 2100 this evening. Then he calls me at 2200. That flight got canceled & he's now stuck at the airport until tomorrow morning! Poor fella! He hardly slept the night before, he won't sleep tonight & he can't sleep on a plane & he has a good 24-30 hr journey home! Worst of all, because his flights were canceled, instead of flying business class, where he could try to sleep, he's been bumped to economy! I think he needs a good luck travel charm!


Speaking of travel... I'm such a nerd! I put the new 'Who's Online?' thing on the blog & I'm so excited! I've had people all over the States, Canada, England, Norway (!), & Africa check out the blog! Yes, I know, it doesn't take much to amuse me! Thanks for giving it a read!


Alright, I'm sure there is more news I am forgetting, but I'm pooped & need to get some shuteye. Have a wonderful weekend & feel free to update me on the Olympics... I don't have TV out here & I would love to know the scoop! (Not the bad news though - I already heard that!) Go Canada Go! 


Love & Gold Medal Hugs,
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox


No pictures from today, so here's a few from SA last April. Enjoy!

Henko, Jaco's Nephew, in his new Flames jersey!

What a handsome man! I'm so lucky!

Our B&B on a citrus grove near Addo, South Africa

Grenadilla blossom