Stoned...

I have spent the last 2 days at the hospital in pain I could never have imagined. After blood tests, urinalysis, a CT scan and lots of gravol and morphine, it turns out I have a kidney stone lodged high up in my right kidney.

Gee, aren't they cute looking?

Tomorrow I am going to see the urologist to have what is called an Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy. This is where they use sound waves to try and break up the stone.

If that doesn't work, then I get to have surgery. In the meantime, it's just me and my bottle of percocet!

Violated.

As a Child and Youth Care Worker, I know how writing about a situation that is stressful can help you work through it and process it. Here it goes:




Yesterday, while we were at work, we were broken into. Our place was completely ransacked, and some valuable and personal items were taken. The police came, and they were very thorough, even getting some good fingerprints. They figure it was a Meth addict looking to get some quick cash.

Well buddy, I know from being a Street Youth Worker in the past that you probably got $20 for my husband's $400 favourite watch, $10 for our DVD player, and maybe $50 for our digital camera. It is not so much that you will not get fair market value for these items that bothers me, but the fact that these items were priceless to us. They were items that were bought with love for us by people in our lives. Sure, I can get a new camera, but it won't be the same, and it won't have the great Christmas memory attached to it of our parents giving it to us (we all had the same cameras).

You have also taken something much more valuable from me. My sense of security and comfort. I keep picturing your disgusting dirty hands touching our things. Every little noise makes me jump and think someone is coming in again. I wonder if you are watching from the bushes to see us leave. I am so anxious, I could not even go to work today. You are depriving the kids on my caseload of support today. These are kids with severe emotional and behavioural backgrounds, some coming from pretty abusive and drug-involved backgrounds. Without support, counselling and guidance, they could grow up to be just like you.

Maybe if you had someone to talk to when you were a kid, things would be different for you. Maybe you had lots of people to talk to, but somehow, things went wrong anyway. Whatever the case, I feel sorry for you.

Enter the Vegan...

Well, Christmas, New Year's and my birthday have come and gone. I always feel like after these events I have a clean slate to start my resolutions. I am on day 3 of eating Vegan, and all is well:)

I had such a wonderful birthday this year. I started off the morning with wonderful phone calls and text messages from friends and family. At work my good friend Julia gave me a beautiful celtic green amber pendant and a soy candle (to celebrate my Veganism she said...LOL). I had so many kids singing "Happy Birthday" throughout the day to me...it was so cute. At lunch, while my co-workers sang to me, my co-workers presented me with a Vegan birthday cake! Finally, at the end of the school day, another friend of mine had some grade 7's sing to me over the school P.A. system:)

When I got home, my amazing hubby had a wonderful evening planned. He spoiled me with Lush bath products, a Vegan cookbook, and an awesome vegetable and rice steamer for all my veggie meals! We went out to my favourite greek restaurant so I could have my "Last Supper" containing dairy......spanakopita and tzatiki. When we got home, he had a Tiramisu birthday cake waiting for me! It was so amazingly good. It reminded me of when we were first dating and used to go out for wine and tiramisu. I know it must have been hard for him to get all of this done. He is still recovering from pneumonia. The smallest efforts still take a lot out of him, so everything he did for me was truly special.

The next day, my co-workers and friends (Thanks Darryl!!!!) treated me to birthday drinks and appys at our favourite pub, the RR. My friend Rachel (linked on the right side of this page) made me a handmade strawberry-themed journal. She is so talented! I am trying to encourage her to do an art show with me that I usually do in the summer. I am going to post some pictures of some of her work very soon.

And of course, if I did not mention my AMAZING father-in-law, I know he will be ever so sad. Thanks for the Vegan cookbook Dad and Juilanne!!!! It will be very well used..... (and yes, I will cook you a vegan meal one day, and you will LOVE it!!!!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Well, today is my 34th birthday. I am completely relating to what one of my students said to me yesterday on her birthday, "Well, I just don't feel 12 yet". Well put B. I told her it takes a while to feel your age. She pondered my answer and completely agreed with me. She asked me how old I felt. At that moment, holding her hand, walking outside, looking at the sky, contemplating with her the pros and cons of whether she should eat her pudding or save it for afterschool in case she did not like the snack at the daycare, I felt 12.

Sigh........ at least I don't look 34:)

Out with the Old, In With the New!

Things I was thankful for in 2005:
-my family
-a job I love
-that Dusten has a job he loves
-we paid off our consolidation loan

Things that were hard about 2005:
-Zoe, 0ur 2 year old cat, was killed by a car
-Christmas with both my dad and Dusten being sick
-making a tough decision about not going to Ireland

What I am looking forward to in 2006:
-Buying a new place to live
-Starting a family
-Spending time with family and friends

New Year's Resolutions:
-To eat 100% Vegan as much as I possibly can
-To return phone calls within 24 hours
-To put a concrete financial plan in place for our retirement