Ok... this is my first post in our journal. Yup, took me long enough to get going and you may regret that I did :-)
First off I want to update everyone on my health progress. My Fibromyalgia is getting better and better each week. My chiropractor did his thesis on FMS and he truly believes that I’m standing at the gateway of total remission. Now I have to work even harder to get through the gate and kiss FMS good-bye. What a yucky and debilitating disease.
I guess it was worth the horrific expense of all the treatments that I’ve been going through since July of 2004. Let’s see… Acupuncture once a week, Chiropractor twice per week, Physiotherapy with an Osteopath once per week, Massage Therapy twice per week, and work outs at the gym with a Personal Trainer twice per week. Oh… and it doesn’t stop there :-)
Jason and I discovered the wonderful world of holistic nutrition. We saw the holistic nutritionist for a live blood cell microscopy (where they put a drop of your blood under the microscope) which revealed many interesting facts. Seems both Jason and I are too acidic and need to focus on reducing that by eating less acidic foods and increasing the alkaline ones.
It was a little tricky at first, but I think we’re getting the hang of it. We’ve cut out most of the dairy that we eat. No more milk, very little cheese, no more cream, and limited butter use. I think after the 3rd day of “no dairy” and “no white sugar”, I noticed a drastic improvement. NO MORE UPSET TUMMY EVERY DAY. What a relief that is I tell you. Seems that IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and CFS (Chronic Fatigue syndrome) go hand in hand with FMS (Fibromyalgia). Let’s not even discuss the pit of dark depression that takes over most Fibro patients as well.
We’re also in the process of eliminating as much wheat and yeast as we can. The blood analysis showed that I had a huge yeast issue in my blood along with low iron and fungus. YUCK! So, we rarely eat bread and when we do, we try to get the yeast free and “WHOLE” grain breads. Soy Milk has become a staple in the house and I have grown to love it tremendously. Thank God they have Soy Cream for my coffee. Now that would be a major dilemma for me if coffee were out of the picture :-) I need that one coffee per day and I’ve heard that recently they’ve found out that 1 – 2 cups per day are actually good for you. Well, at least that’s the word this month.
Pasta and potatoes have gone bye-bye as well at dinner. Instead we’re eating all our meats (red meat only once per month – maybe) with mega sides of veggies and salads. What a difference. My last doctors’ visit showed that my “high cholesterol” was now as normal as normal can be. WOOOOOHOOOO !!!! My protein leakage from the kidneys have dropped by over one half. I still have a way to go with that issue… but at least I’m not facing the certainty of Kidney Disease any more. My blood pressure is not only normal, but the low end of normal. I’m still facing the problem of my blood sugar at the high end of normal. And the big news…. The weight is starting to drop…. Yet another WOOOOHOOOOO :-)
The doctor’s face showed his amazement when his jaw dropped as he was reading out the numbers to me. I love throwing him off like that. Dufus! He wanted to take credit for my improvements, so I corrected him and gave him the list of what I do in a day to achieve this success… hahahahahaha.
Thank God I have the most wonderful man on the planet for a husband. Jason has supported every thing I try to do to get “back to normal” ok, ok…. I never was normal… but you know what I mean :-)
So that’s my update on my health improvements. Boy am I happy and feeling sooooooooo much better. The lower back is still a royal pain in the A$$ but I’m working on it. Gotta get the core muscles stronger, along with my left leg (my evil nemesis). It’s taken awhile to figure out what exactly is going on with my back and left leg, but thanks to my wonderful alternative health team, we’ve got it figured out.
It took a long time and a lot of work just to get this diagnosed properly so that we can work on fixing it. It seems that the quadricep muscle has one of the four muscles not working at all and the rest are in total spasm 24/7. Which in turn has the hamstring muscles in the same leg also in spasm and both are pulling on my pelvis which is knocking my lower spine out of whack and causing the DDD (degenerative disc disease) in the lower back. Also the ITB (Iliotibia Band) that connects at the hip and runs along the outside of the leg and connects just below the knee… is tight, tight, tight along with a tight hip flexor and Illiapsoas (muscle that connects the hip to the quadriceps. I don’t know how accurate my spelling or definitions are of these muscles/tendons are, but you can see the little war that is going on inside.
All of these are getting better with tons of stretching, exercise and massage. As for prescription meds.. I am proud to announce that I no longer need to take the handful of drugs the doctor hands out to treat Fibro. I still rely on some pain killers and muscle relaxers on really bad days… but that has drastically dropped… yet another WOOOOOHOOOO. Thanks also to the natural supplements that I’m taking along with all the nutrition and treatments. Yup… I’m on a holistic quest which is doing something the doctors could not do, not even suggest to do.
I’m also trying to do self-Reiki at least 3 times per week which I’m positive is helping the mix of treatments towards healing. I am very pleased that I got my Level 1 Reiki Practitioner certification that legally allows me to give Reiki treatments to others. I plan on getting the Level 2 in July and hopefully the Reiki Master level within the next year.
The neatest thing I’ve learned is Aromatherapy. I’ve always had a very keen interest in Aromatherapy but never knew much about it, other than certain blends will energize or relax. When I wanted to do the candle business, I was hoping to start making Aromatherapy Candles, but didn’t know how to go about it. With this overly strong sense of smell that I possess, I thought I’d be a natural for it. What I didn’t know and just recently learned, is the healing aspect of Aromatherapy and the science and chemistry behind it.
I decided to sign up for an online course at a mere $12 to find out what it was all about. My teacher was impressed with my progress and we started conversing in e-mail a bit. She helped me find a blend of different essential oils that would help muscle pain and spasms. I quickly followed her instructions and prepared the blend. As I applied it to my leg, I could feel the oils starting to work and had a virtual pain free afternoon that day. I was hooked.
Continuing on with the online course, my teacher commented that she was more than impressed and suggested I investigate a proper school and become a certified Aromatherapist as I have a real knack for it. I didn’t really believe that I was as good as she was claiming, but I finished the course, all the assignments and tests and ended up with a mark of 100%. She said I was the first student to have done that in all the years she was teaching and will be making up a special certificate and mailing it to me soon.
Needless to say, my interest was peaked even more. I located a school here in Burlington that teaches alternative healing practices and Aromatherapy was their main focus. I called the school, talked with the head instructor, made an appointment and saw her, and even had a free aromatherapy treatment to see if I’m interested enough to enroll. A special blend of essential oils were prepared for my specific medical needs and I had the most amazing treatment. I felt great the rest of the day and even the next day. Pain was at a minimum.
Well… guess what. I’m enrolled to start school on Monday June 6th, 2005 to become a certified Aromatherapist. Yup…. By this time next year, I’ll have letters after my name and I’ll be busy mixing and blending oils to sell. I’ve already got 2 job offers and I haven’t even started. My chiropractor wants me to join his healthcare team (Total Health Link) as soon as I graduate. My massage therapist’s boss also wants me to join his team (Core Link Wellness Centre) by making blends, bath salts, candles, soaps, massage oils, etc.
He's already clearing space on their shelves for my stuff. I haven’t even started school yet and I’ve got people lining up for me to work with. My chiropractor keeps telling me that if I come up with blends for Fibromyalgia, I will strike it rich in no time… LOL.
All I know is what works for me, and I would love to be able to help others that go through this horrific pain every day and get well. Looks like I’ll be able to make the “REAL” aromatherapy candles as well. Not those fake ones that are sold in stores everywhere. I could go on and on about that, but I’m doing a good enough job at the length of this post, that I don’t think I’ll get into how these fake aromatherapy candles are just a gimmick to make money instead of what real aromatherapy is all about.
I am sooooooooooooo excited about this I can’t even begin to describe it. It’s in my blood, it’s something I’m good at, and love. As for the book I’m working on with my writing partner. That is still a go. She’s been very sick lately and hasn’t been able to produce much. Right now I’m waiting for her work so that I can fix it up and add the passion that is my part of our team. At this rate, it’s going to take a long time to get this book finished, but I know it will be done at some point. I just wish I could help Jana (my writing partner) feel better so that she can work more on this. There is only so much I can do on my own with this book. I depend on her for the ideas and story flow as this is her baby and I’m just the word person that puts her ideas into a readable story.
Ok… enough babbling from me. I’ll post this so you can all read. I hope you’ve enjoyed my verbal vomit so to speak.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Monday, May 30, 2005
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Helped Maria move
Well, we helped Maria (Norah's mother) move to her new apartment yesterday. My job was to assist with the large heavy items.
I emptied out the back of my truck and took the cover off in anticipation of using it for moving furniture. Unfortunately, as I discovered when we arrived, there is no visitor parking near her new building. She moved from one building to another within the same complex, and the nearest parking for her new building was where we were already parked for her old building.
So, we had to walk all of her stuff across the parking lot. Fortunately, our chiropractor Dr. Ed Fillion had loaned me his hand cart, which converts to a flat 4-wheel dolly. When I mentioned to him that I was going to be moving, he insisted that I borrow it. I think he didn't want me to undo all the work he's been doing on my back. Good thing too, as that cart pretty much saved the whole move. Maria's friend Steve had a cart that had been designed along a similar idea, only it was ancient, about half the size, and the wheels kept falling off. Our hand cart only has two wheels. We would have had an interesting time moving a lot of the stuff that we easily handled with Ed's cart.
It's amazing how quickly the time goes when you're trying to get an apartment moved before dark. I've never had a day in the office go that quickly. I blinked and it was already 7:30. We weren't that late starting in the morning. Well, we managed to get almost all of her stuff over to her new place. She doesn't have to be out of her old place until tomorrow, so she was planning on getting the rest of her clothes and food today. Steve is there to help as well. I don't envy the unpacking and organizing job she has in front of her.
So, I survived walking all of her furniture from between buildings. I hate using elevators to move. As much as I hated bringing all of our stuff downstairs in to our apartment here, I hate waiting for the elevator much more. I think that's where a large chunk of our time went, especially as the superintendent who was supposed to set the elevator to service mode was strangely nowhere to be seen.
Maria lives in a senior's building. Senior citizens amuse me. Having someone new move in to their building is apparently the event of the year. We were constantly answering questions regarding who was moving in. I think several people thought Steve and I were either professional movers, or employees of a furniture delivery company. One gentleman asked regarding Maria's mattress, "is it new?" Steve replied it was fairly new. "How much does it cost?" he wanted to know. I don't know if he was comparison shopping, or if maybe he was going to make us a better offer if we took it to his place instead. Another lady waited until about 9:30 PM to comment "you guys have been at this all day. When is your truck going to show up?" Well, lady, we have the truck right there... if only we had a place to park it.
Today was recovery day for me. My feet were none too happy to see my shoes again this morning, and I've spent the day moving in slow motion. I have no idea how Steve survived the experience. Although, Maria won't have a phone for another week while the phone company gets around to deciding whether they want her money badly enough to hook her phone up. For all I know, maybe Steve never made it out of bed this morning and didn't show up after all. I certainly hope that isn't the case, as we weren't able to make it back to help Maria finish up.
I emptied out the back of my truck and took the cover off in anticipation of using it for moving furniture. Unfortunately, as I discovered when we arrived, there is no visitor parking near her new building. She moved from one building to another within the same complex, and the nearest parking for her new building was where we were already parked for her old building.
So, we had to walk all of her stuff across the parking lot. Fortunately, our chiropractor Dr. Ed Fillion had loaned me his hand cart, which converts to a flat 4-wheel dolly. When I mentioned to him that I was going to be moving, he insisted that I borrow it. I think he didn't want me to undo all the work he's been doing on my back. Good thing too, as that cart pretty much saved the whole move. Maria's friend Steve had a cart that had been designed along a similar idea, only it was ancient, about half the size, and the wheels kept falling off. Our hand cart only has two wheels. We would have had an interesting time moving a lot of the stuff that we easily handled with Ed's cart.
It's amazing how quickly the time goes when you're trying to get an apartment moved before dark. I've never had a day in the office go that quickly. I blinked and it was already 7:30. We weren't that late starting in the morning. Well, we managed to get almost all of her stuff over to her new place. She doesn't have to be out of her old place until tomorrow, so she was planning on getting the rest of her clothes and food today. Steve is there to help as well. I don't envy the unpacking and organizing job she has in front of her.
So, I survived walking all of her furniture from between buildings. I hate using elevators to move. As much as I hated bringing all of our stuff downstairs in to our apartment here, I hate waiting for the elevator much more. I think that's where a large chunk of our time went, especially as the superintendent who was supposed to set the elevator to service mode was strangely nowhere to be seen.
Maria lives in a senior's building. Senior citizens amuse me. Having someone new move in to their building is apparently the event of the year. We were constantly answering questions regarding who was moving in. I think several people thought Steve and I were either professional movers, or employees of a furniture delivery company. One gentleman asked regarding Maria's mattress, "is it new?" Steve replied it was fairly new. "How much does it cost?" he wanted to know. I don't know if he was comparison shopping, or if maybe he was going to make us a better offer if we took it to his place instead. Another lady waited until about 9:30 PM to comment "you guys have been at this all day. When is your truck going to show up?" Well, lady, we have the truck right there... if only we had a place to park it.
Today was recovery day for me. My feet were none too happy to see my shoes again this morning, and I've spent the day moving in slow motion. I have no idea how Steve survived the experience. Although, Maria won't have a phone for another week while the phone company gets around to deciding whether they want her money badly enough to hook her phone up. For all I know, maybe Steve never made it out of bed this morning and didn't show up after all. I certainly hope that isn't the case, as we weren't able to make it back to help Maria finish up.
You'd think we had kids or something
Our shopping bill today contained items such as an "activity center" and a "play ball". We're desperately trying to find something to keep Ashley entertained. She's desperately trying to find ways to escape to the outside. She hasn't yet figured out a way to hitchhike along with the dog when he goes out for a walk, but it's probably just a matter of time. The reason her boredom is a problem is that she complains about it. Often. Loudly.
Unfortunately, Ashley wasn't as impressed with the activity center as Pierre was. Her main source of entertainment was trying to attack Pierre's back through the bag, but that didn't last too long. Maybe we'll try putting some catnip inside the bag and let them fight it out.
Unfortunately, Ashley wasn't as impressed with the activity center as Pierre was. Her main source of entertainment was trying to attack Pierre's back through the bag, but that didn't last too long. Maybe we'll try putting some catnip inside the bag and let them fight it out.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Packrat heaven
A list of Surplus Stores. Keep for my own reference, and share with anyone else who might be interested.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
New project idea
As it turns out, we happen to have two Nokia cell phones just sitting around not doing anything. We were planning on giving them away, but maybe I'll try taking one apart and using the parts to make up a display.
pcd8544 based displays (serdisplib)
This would make a really nifty display in zathras to keep track of things like drive space free, CPU usage, network throughput, or anything else worth keeping track of. The monitor usually isn't powered on, so an LCD display in the case would be really handy. There's even Linux software available to drive it.
Or, there are many more expensive (and easier) hardware options available as kits. Check the "supported hardware" section on the LCDProc site. I've looked at the CrystalFontz (sic) displays before.
pcd8544 based displays (serdisplib)
This would make a really nifty display in zathras to keep track of things like drive space free, CPU usage, network throughput, or anything else worth keeping track of. The monitor usually isn't powered on, so an LCD display in the case would be really handy. There's even Linux software available to drive it.
Or, there are many more expensive (and easier) hardware options available as kits. Check the "supported hardware" section on the LCDProc site. I've looked at the CrystalFontz (sic) displays before.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
10 Things to Do With Old PCs
An article on PC Magazine's site. This is supposed to be an instructional and informative article helping people figure out what to do with their old computers that they have no use for any more.
10 Things to Do With Old PCs
10. Learn networking: done that
9. Make a Multimedia Player: already had that idea (living room PC), just haven't ever had a chance to get it set up
8. Try Multiplayer Games: who has time for games?
7. Install Linux: done that, several times
6. Make a Printer/File/Web Server: done that, it's name is zathras
5. Donate: a la Freecycle. Already gave Jon a bunch of junk anyway.
4. Take It Apart: yawn. Been building my own from parts since '92.
3. Strip It: thought about that, hardly seems worth the effort to make two or three bucks per component on eBay.
2. Turn It Into an Aquarium: now we're talking
1. Recycle it: again, like Freecycle. The Google ads here came up with some interesting links, they might make a good place to start when looking for other people's old recycled junk :-).
10 Things to Do With Old PCs
10. Learn networking: done that
9. Make a Multimedia Player: already had that idea (living room PC), just haven't ever had a chance to get it set up
8. Try Multiplayer Games: who has time for games?
7. Install Linux: done that, several times
6. Make a Printer/File/Web Server: done that, it's name is zathras
5. Donate: a la Freecycle. Already gave Jon a bunch of junk anyway.
4. Take It Apart: yawn. Been building my own from parts since '92.
3. Strip It: thought about that, hardly seems worth the effort to make two or three bucks per component on eBay.
2. Turn It Into an Aquarium: now we're talking
1. Recycle it: again, like Freecycle. The Google ads here came up with some interesting links, they might make a good place to start when looking for other people's old recycled junk :-).
Monday, May 23, 2005
Victoria Day camping
We went camping over the long weekend. The weather cooperated beautifully. The forecast called for rain, but the worst we got was clouds and grey skies today. Friday and Saturday were glorious. Not too hot, a bit on the cool side at night, but not bad.
Dakota seems to be adjusting more to camping than he had in the past. We're working on teaching him that he doesn't need to bark incessantly at every dog and child he sees.
We had a very nice and relaxing weekend. There's something about sitting and staring at a campfire that seems to tap in to some primal instinct. My theory is sitting around a fire was a survival trait in early cavemen, and the desire to do so was naturally passed down to those of us living today. This might also explain why television and computer screens are so endlessly fascinating.
Dakota seems to be adjusting more to camping than he had in the past. We're working on teaching him that he doesn't need to bark incessantly at every dog and child he sees.
We had a very nice and relaxing weekend. There's something about sitting and staring at a campfire that seems to tap in to some primal instinct. My theory is sitting around a fire was a survival trait in early cavemen, and the desire to do so was naturally passed down to those of us living today. This might also explain why television and computer screens are so endlessly fascinating.
Friday, May 20, 2005
Common sense in government???
Can it be true? They've finally got something right?
ABC News: US says no billboards in space
The cynic in me is guessing that this will only last up until Coke figures out they can slide some election campaign contribution money to the right people and get this repealed. And one hand will be taking tax money from Coke and feeding it to pet pork barrel projects while the other hand takes tax money from the public and uses it to pay for putting the thing in orbit in the first place.
Do I trust big companies, their marketing departments, OR the government? No, no, and ummm... NO.
ABC News: US says no billboards in space
The cynic in me is guessing that this will only last up until Coke figures out they can slide some election campaign contribution money to the right people and get this repealed. And one hand will be taking tax money from Coke and feeding it to pet pork barrel projects while the other hand takes tax money from the public and uses it to pay for putting the thing in orbit in the first place.
Do I trust big companies, their marketing departments, OR the government? No, no, and ummm... NO.
You've gotta be kidding me
Note to selves: leave the Zippo camera at home when flying.
Boing Boing: TSA doesn't allow Zippo camera case past security
Boing Boing: TSA doesn't allow Zippo camera case past security
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Going camping this weekend
Well, we're coming up to time to go get our trailer out of storage and make sure it survived the winter. We'll be at Milton Heights Campground as usual. It's a nice easy drive from the storage area to the camp site, and we like the campground.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be quite nice, but the forcast right now says rain on Monday. Well, whatever happens, we'll deal with it.
It should be quite fun. I wish we had time for more trips, but it looks like getting time off work is going to be an impossibility for a while. I'd better get myself relaxed, because the comment has already been made "you all have a long weekend and even a half day off the Friday before, so I expect you to all be refreshed and ready to dive in to six weeks worth of overtime." Yeah, one and a half extra days of time off is really going to give me the extra energy I need for six weeks.
But, no more ranting about work. I've done enough of that this week already. For now it's time to think about having fun and relaxing. For some reason, today feels firmly like Friday in my mind. I have to keep reminding myself that I really do have to come in to work tomorrow, even if it is only for a half day.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be quite nice, but the forcast right now says rain on Monday. Well, whatever happens, we'll deal with it.
It should be quite fun. I wish we had time for more trips, but it looks like getting time off work is going to be an impossibility for a while. I'd better get myself relaxed, because the comment has already been made "you all have a long weekend and even a half day off the Friday before, so I expect you to all be refreshed and ready to dive in to six weeks worth of overtime." Yeah, one and a half extra days of time off is really going to give me the extra energy I need for six weeks.
But, no more ranting about work. I've done enough of that this week already. For now it's time to think about having fun and relaxing. For some reason, today feels firmly like Friday in my mind. I have to keep reminding myself that I really do have to come in to work tomorrow, even if it is only for a half day.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Monday, May 16, 2005
The List: The Definitive Internet Services Buyer's Guide
Just found this. It's a list of Internet service providers. Good to keep for future reference, in case we need to find a good ISP any time in the future. Say, if we move, or if Primus manages to upset us, or anything.
Pick Canada, then check for just DSL providers.
The List: The Definitive Internet Services Buyer's Guide
Pick Canada, then check for just DSL providers.
The List: The Definitive Internet Services Buyer's Guide
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Welcome!
Whoo-hoo!!! Welcome to our shiny new blog.
This is a fairly useless post designed to see if everything is working.
This is a fairly useless post designed to see if everything is working.
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