Happy woman.

Ixtapa, Mexico
Aruba
Las Vegas
Regina, Saskatchewan (HAAAA!)
Catalina Island, California
Phuket, Thailand

Trying to decide where we want to say our vows has never been more of a welcomed choice...

Saturday Mornings...

...have been spent with my Mom the past few weeks. She will knock on my door and wake me up at 6:30am and we will go for a 1-hr walk...well, she'll walk - I usually jog.

I love her to death. If I am anywhere near her fitness levels at the age of 59 I will be very happy.

Nothing is better than starting the day with some exercise followed by a heart-healthy omelette at Lad's Dairy Bar!

My cheesy running shirt

I think this shirt might be from 1992. It has very large armholes and is decorated with very bright royal blue lettering.

When I run in it I like to hum the theme song to "Saved By The Bell" because it seems like something Zack Morris would wear.

Harrison's Tractioning

After seeing the chiropractor three times a week for the last 4 months, I was given this ramp-shaped thingy to do neck stretches with.

Basically I am to hang my head over the high edge for 20 minutes a day. This in turn will help stretch the ligament in the front of my neck and give me a nice 60-degree curve that is oh-so-desirable. (According to my chiropractor my neck is too straight and flat, which explains my migraines and asthma.)

To be honest, I was skeptical about chiropractic care, but it has surprisingly eliminated my migraines the past few months. I feel well a lot of the time and I sleep better too. I have not gotten sick even when a nasty bug was infecting everyone at work. Coincidence? Perhaps, but things are functioning well.

I am not a big fan of this traction. It hurts and we are expected to put our shoulders on the edge and get crazy far back. Not sure I'm ready for that yet...

Work Rant.

+ Two pregnancies right now - Shelley and Stephanie. Wow. Considering that Sasha is going to be trying again in the next few months means that I could potentially be stuck with two new kins for an entire year. WTF.

+ Constantly am reminding myself about watching what I say. Working with females means that a lot of gossip and backstabbing goes on. There is a love-hate relationship amongst Steph, Sash and I. I need to be less open about my personal life and feelings.

The Financial Breakdown

Annual income: $50,000 - $60,000 to start

What I Get:
+ 2 weeks paid vacation
+ 24 paid sick days
+ Dental and health benefits (at a cost of $10/month
+ Great pension plan (which I must contribute $140/paycheque to)
+ Union membership and job security
+ No shiftwork - straight daytime hours

I met with the Pension and Benefits Representative today to get my new full-time position sorted out. I am a little overwhelmed - I kind of feel like I've crossed into the realm of adulthood and am completely and totally naïve to what I need to do. To help make sense of it all, I am meeting with a financial advisor sometime within the coming weeks. Need to start with some wise money choices.

Farewell good paycheques! Hello budgeting!

Apple shaped

Defined as “abdominal adiposity, dangerous for its correlation to the development of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, cancer etc.”

I have recently discovered that I have morphed from a less- dangerous pear shape to a freaking apple.

I need to work out! Will go for a walk tonight after this class…

They seem happy.

I should probably take it as a good sign that the participants at CWC are excited that I got my permanent position.

I have mixed emotions.

I am not entirely certain that this will be a life-long career choice. Doing a million blood pressures a week and repeating the same old thing is something I find hard to swallow. But it is stable income for now. Perhaps it will bring more choices my way.

I'm nosy.

Today I grabbed some sushi and headed over to Nick’s house to check everything out. He had left the key in his football cleats which were located in his unlocked garage.

I guess it started off innocently enough. But then I got nosy and found his journal from Australia which was completely irresistable. I couldn’t put it down. I thought I had know him well enough but after reading that I found out he struggles with himself quite a bit. There is a huge sense of inadequacy. I wonder if that still plays a role in his dealings with me. Perhaps this is why we have not made any strides towards marriage. Maybe he still doesn’t feel good enough.

Oddly enough, the journal’s last entry was made November 4th - about a week before my miscarriage. I wish he had continued. I would’ve loved to know what was going thru his head.

As long as we’ve been together and as much as I love him, there are parts about him that I wish I could figure out, come to terms with and accept. He is still very much a stranger to me.

Weekend-Not-So-Great #2

I tried to visit Raechel again this weekend and it did not turn out as great as I’d hoped. I shouldn’t even really use the word “great” to describe it - the weekend wasn’t even good.

+ Got hassled at the border.
+ The on-ramp to I-75 South was closed and so I had to take the northbound ramp. Traffic was jam-packed on the I-94 ramp and I was stuck for an hour in traffic.
+ My phone popped up with an “App Error 523″ and was useless the entire time I was in the States.
+ We got sushi at a restaurant called Izakaya. Thought that our luck was beginning to turn around until Raechel started complaining of nausea. She puked in the parking lot of this Chinese market.
+ We bought Mochi ice cream which was melted in the box.
+ The next day we head over to the Henry Ford Museum to see the chocolate exhibit thinking we’d get samples. Hardly anything to taste. Raech was disappointed.

Oh well. I guess this means an absolutely fantastic visit must be coming soon because this can’t keep happening for much longer!

The baby is kicking and I felt it! I am excited!