OMG Heather. I want to nominate you for a Nobel Prize for what you have written. I have been reading you daily for years now and have even commented once or twice before, but your post today has hit home for me and for so many others judging from all the comments.
I have been on and off Celexa for 6 yrs now. I tried to wean myself off apprx 3 yrs ago and learned then that I cannot possibly function without it. As long as I took my "little white peace pill" every morning, life was good. Now the past 4 mths have been a slow decline. It took a very good friend to point out that she has seen me like this once before, apprx 3 yrs ago for me to realize that I needed to see my doctor NOW.
That was 3 weeks ago and with a slight medicinal adjustment, this week my life has started to look pretty good again.
I had found and corrected my path already, but your words today have given me the strength to feel justified again. Although I have never been one to be silent about my story, I have sweetened it on many occasions to avoid dealing with society's stigma's.
No more.
Thank you.
Monarch

In honour of NaBloPoMo I give you this.

Heh, heh, heh. Just thought I'd actually post and see who notices first. I have a prize for the first comment.

Pictures?

Look here, more to come. I have hundreds, literally.

teaser

home

We are home.
We are tanned.

We had a great time. I can't think of a single thing that was negative about the trip. It was all good. I am however, really happy to be home.

Awwhhh...

Weather Forecast for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Issued at 00:00 (Local time) 03 May 2007 Date Temperature oC Weather
Minimum Maximum
03 May ( Thu ) 19 32 PARTLY CLOUDY

04 May ( Fri ) 20 31 FINE

05 May ( Sat ) 21 33 FINE

06 May ( Sun ) 22 32 FINE

07 May ( Mon ) 21 33 FINE


2 sleeps until I'm on the this beach.

It's been a long, hard, busy spring. It's now time to start relaxing.

Mexico

Here we come!

Well any chance of changing our minds is past. We bought and paid for our tickets on Friday.

D's brother and his wife have a time share. Last October they had booked themselves a week long family vacation in the Mayan Riveria for this May. In early January they rec'd a phone call from the time share people and were told that the resort they had booked has fallen behind in its renovation schedule and will not be available for their booking. To make up for this situation they offered them two suites in Cabo San Lucas at a 5.5 star resort for a week. They were kind enough to think of us and offered us the extra suite.

After two weeks of trying to decide if we could afford the air fare, we decided that we couldn't afford to say no to this once in a life time chance for us. So D, K and I are headed to Cabo San Lucas for a week in May. We will be flying out of Edmonton VERY EARLY May 5th and returning VERY LATE on May 12th.

I am both excited and scared. I have never been in any sort of air vehicle in my life and have never travelled out of Canada in my life. I am however more excited than scared.

But first, on tuesday, we must stand in line in the middle of winter in the middle of the night to get our passport applications in the system and then wait patiently for them to hopefully arrive before our trip.

Wish us luck.

REALLY

Well, well, well. Surprised? Me too. I actually have a few minutes with nothing better to do. It could be that I can't find anything else to do or it could be that this has finally made it to the top of my priority list.

I'm not telling you which.

I want to start this long overdue update by commenting on how the most comments any of the posts this page has ever seen is on the stealth blog. What does that mean? I know I'm boring, but c'mon!

Work is really, Really, REALLY busy. My sinuitis is really, Really, REALLY bad. So I am REALLY tired. I have no extra energy to do much of anything. 5 more weeks and work will ease up and I am on a waiting list for an ear, nose, throat specialist.

On the up side, the twins are doing really, Really, REALLY well. The scars are starting to fade a bit and they haven't hurt in a really long time. I think I've spent a few hundred dollars trying different bras, and I have finally found one I like. I can't seem to find any bras in a beige or nude colour that don't make them look like "Pointer" sisters. In fact, I have only been able to find 2 bras in a beige or nude colour in my new 36C size in this whole town. I have also been looking everywhere for a leopard print bra. The only place I haven't shopped yet is the internet. I will be looking there next.

D, K & I have been invited to join D's brother and sister in law on their family trip to Mexico in May. We have agreed to go. I can't believe it either. I am excited for both of my firsts. The flying for the very first time and the leaving Canada for the very first time. I just hope we can get our passports in time.

Well, I'll save some stuff for the possibility of another post. There will be some drunkenness going on tonight, so you never know...

Love yah' all.

Stealth Bloggin

Mwah ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I am taking this prolonged absence of The Monarchs, and the fact that, for some strange reason, I actually remember her password from that last post, to perform an act of sabotage.

Oh yes, it's the time of the season for loving and my gift this fine winters day is the gift of posting. Because I just don't feel like posting on my own blog.

Way back when, when I was a wee spud myself, I had a fixation about blondes and The Monarch was the only blonde one in the family and I adored her. I still do, of course, but for much more tangible and respectable reasons.

Anyhoo, I remember playing the Air-Plane game where she'd lay on her back and put her feet on my belly (as I stood), then lift me up so she was supporting me on her feet and I could soar and pretend I was an airplane. For some reason, we thought it would be funny to stick our tongues out at each other and she'd bend her legs to lower me down and we'd touch tongue-tips. It grossed most people out and that is probably why we did it.

-Chair

Blunken Drogging

Greetings and salutations (and more back=spacing than I'd care to admit) from Chair. We've all been playing Settlers of Catan and Dutch Blitz and since The Monarch doesn't feel like blogging (she says she didn't say she didn't feel like blogging but I'm in the chair so too bad for you).

What?!

Deal with it.

Anyhoo. How's it going? Mmmm... wine. We wish you all were here. Drunk with us and blogging and drinking wine and watching me type.

THIS IS THE EXISTENTIALIST POST

Or not.

Job is licking his belly.

Back to work already

Well, I saw my surgeon on Monday and she said the twins are healing very well "for my age". Apparently the older you are, the longer it takes for you to heal. I must be healing at the rate of a 20 yr old because she sent me back to work 2 weeks to the day after surgery. I'm not supposed to lift anything over 7 lbs, lift my arms above my shoulders or get my heart rate up much until I see her again on Dec 4th. I also have to wear either a VERY good sports bra or the boobie binder at all times, 24/7. Other than that, I am back to usual.

I want to complain about not having at least another week off as I have only started to feel myself last weekend and I haven't done anything on my list of things I was gonna' accomplish while I was at home. But, alas, I am going to try not to. I am very happy to be healing so well. I know it could be much worse.

On another note, my kids are all coming home this weekend. I will have them all under my roof together for the first time in 3 months. It will be good times.

Meme

1. What is your craft, & how long have you been doing it?

Craft? I am going to take this as what I define my creativity by. I like to think I am a creative in my parenting techniques. I would love to learn to paint watercolours, but that's a possible future craft. This is tougher than I thought, I'll have to come back to this one.

Okay I'm back. My craft would have to be making people comfortable and listening.

2. Are you a vegan, vegetarian, veg-curious, veg-friendly or other?

I like most vegetables, but I also like meat, probably more.

3. What is your favorite color(s)? Do you particularly dislike a color(s)?

My favorite would have to be one of the many, many, beautiful greens of nature, but I really like browns and purples too. I am not very fond of pink and I really don't care for coral.

4. Do you have any allergies (such as pets, foods or cigarette smoke)?

I am allergic to Penicillin and some seasonal environmental stuff that has not been identified.

5. Do you have any companion animals? If so, names and types?

Cricket, AKA: Bickie, Bicket, Bickers. Toy poodle extraordinaire.

6. Do you collect anything?

I used to collect tins, but that got WAY out of hand, so I have limited it to antique tins now.

7. Do you have a favorite vegan food, snack or dish? If no fav that's vegan (for those who aren't vegan), what's your favorite food?

OMG, you want me to pick one? I can't, I like almost all food. It would be easier to tell you what I don't like. I don't like seafood, except smoked oysters at Christmas and canned tuna and I don't much care for corn.

8. What tools/supplies/accessories for your craft(s) are you wishing you had but don't? Also, what do you have TOO many of? (basically a wish and anti-wish list)

Coming back to this one later too. Okay, the only thing required for my craft is time and I certainly wished I had more of it.

9. What type of handmade item would tickle your fancy? What don't you like? (Keep in mind this swap is open to all types of crafters.)

I would love some hand made built in bookcases & shelving.

10. Is there anything else you would like your pal to know about you?

Hey pal, I tag you!

Healing

I am slowly healing. I have tried to take an after photo, but I haven't had much luck. The twins, what I am calling them for now, don't seem to want to show themselves to their best advantage yet. Every photo I have taken doesn't look very different from the day before ones.

I am going to be patient and you will just have to be too. From what I can find out, it can take up to 2 years before they finally make up their minds and settle down to a permanent shape.

I won't be that patient. Once the incisions are mostly healed and I don't have to walk around with bandages and a boobie-binder holding them all up tight and snug, I'll get you a good picture. Until then you will just have to trust me.

As for the naming of the twins, Pert & Perky are my front leading sugestions. After names like Flip & Flop for 20 years Pert & Perky have the same tone and I think they may adjust well. But, yes there is a but, I have also been considering something along the lines:

- Bambi & Brandi
- Candie & Cherrie
- Bunni & Barbi
- Trixie & Tracie
- Ginger & Cocoa *

* My personal favorite cause it sounds so yummie, but the first letters don't match, so I don't think I can use it.

I have also come up with:
- Nikki
- Felicity
These need partners that start with the same letter.

HOWEVER!!!!Whatever the outcome may be, Dean gets the largest vote.

before

I'm home

Everything went very, very well. I'm at home and feeling a lot better than I thought I would at this point and

"I NOW HAVE THE NICEST TWINS IN TOWN".

HEY-HEY-HEY-GOODBYE

Finally.

I got the call Tursday morning. Flip & Flop are going to meet with Nip & Tuck on Tuesday, October 24th.

So, I've been hearing Kelly Ripa in my head ever since. Mind you, it's going to be a tad harder and take a little longer than the Tide Pen to Go does, but I am expecting the same emotional end result.

Right now I can barely contain my excitement. I know that it won't last and at some point before they put me under, I will become scared, but I'll deal with that when it happens. I have been waiting 2 years for this call. There is no way I'm not going to do it.

an inventory of things found under your bed

Okay, fussy, I'll bite.

1) A wooden block thingie to support the middle of the bed.
2) Dried up crusted over dog puke.

The official gift giving list 2006

Well, well. I rec'd 5 official ideas and one unofficial.

#1 Rec'd by email:

Since my mailed $5 and suggestion may be a little far fetched (you’ll see), I offer another suggestion. It’s kinda out there but, really, when you think about it, it could work very well.

Have everyone congregate here in Edmonton and go to the Medieval Feast at the Celtic Hall. I called today and they have lots of space for Dec 8th and 22nd, not much for the 15th. It would cost $67 per person. Ouch, I know, but that includes a buffet meal (all you can eat ribs, chicken, potatoes, oh man, it is SOOO good –trust me), entertainment, mulled wine for supper, desert, GST and gratuities (does not include other alcoholic drinks). The whole evening runs from around 6 pm till 11. If we don’t buy gifts for each other and/or spouses, it’s a deal. For those who can’t come (Tami & Fam, Brian & Fam) we can all pitch in to do something else awesome.

Lemme know what you think. I can reserve a chunk of space and find out when they’d need payment. I would also invite J’s parents so you could certainly invite Dean’s parents, etc. Make it a big party! I think it would be great. Lots of good food & lots of fun.

Like I said, kinda out there, but if you plan/book now, it could work.

It did not come with any money and since it told me there was another idea coming with money, it was automatically put on the back burner.

#2 rec'd at my door:
Theme: Red + tacky
Amount $40.00 18+
$25.00 17 & under

This was was accompanied by $20.00 and was immediately way out front.

#3 rec'd in my mail box:

Re: Christmas 2006

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR (OR GUARANTEE)
My plans are that everyone (and I do mean everyone-none of this "I live in Another Province" or "I Have to Work" nonsense) meet in a remote Scottish castle with lots and lots of fireplaces (the castle, not the people), a staff of house-keepers (we can do our own cooking, though, of course) and well-stocked wood pile, pantry, fridges and wine cellar.

We will each consider the splendour of the Scottish countryside and the awesomeness of the castle, fireplaces and wine cellar to be our gifts to each other. We will play guitars, sing songs, lounge on couches, go for long, snowy walks, make snowmen, ride horses and, though I fell silly to even have to mention it, eat good, good food.

This will last at least one week, maybe two.

Thank you

PS If you need help planning the songs, let me know and I'll do what I can.

PSS I was keeping this old $5 but for this, it's worth parting with. It was in my chest where I store all of my incense, hence the lovely scent.

Since this only came with $5 and I had already rec'd $20 it wasn't gonna fly.

#4) Rec'd in a brainstorming session with Dean after we agreed that if we had to buy red & tacky gifts, we sure as hell weren't gonna spend $40.00.

Adults:
$25.00 budget to be used in whatever way you need to, to pass on to your giftee, your favorite family Christmas memory.

Under adults:
$15.00 budget to be used to provide a gift for your giftee that will encourage creativity, growth of character, and CANNOT be a commercialized, mass marketed gift.


This theme came with $25.00 from my own wallet. NO!, it was not the $25.00 I collected from the other suggestions. The total money rec'd, $50.00, will be used to purchase pet food for the animals at the Lakeland Animal Shelter.

The theme I finally decided on, for the adult group, is to encourage our memories of our family and spending time together. It is open to your own personal interpretation of your own personal memories. For the kids group, I wanted it to have nothing to do with the mass marketing of Clifford the Big Red Dog, Harry Potter, Barney, Disney, etc. I could go on & on, I'm sure you get the idea.

I rec'd one other really good theme, but alas, it came too late and did not have any money attached. I won't tell you what it is, as I think Stephanie may want to step up to the plate and take over the organizing for next year so that she can get her great plan out to you all.

The unofficial suggestion was just about the money, it didn't actually have any theme or idea about the gift giving, so it couldn't possibly be official.

The list of who buys for who will be emailed to you. Those without email will get a phone call.

Okay, the rules are posted, the lines are drawn, get out there and have a great Christmas 2006!

There aren't enough hugs in the world today.

I came across this the first time I visited here.

If you do nothing else today but watch this 3 1/2 minute video, you will be a better person. If it doesn't move you even a teenie bit, you are, in my opinion, a lost cause to the human race.

Thanks to my buddy Neesja for hooking me up with Kirala. She is able to write the things I can say, but can't seem to be able to put onto a page.

Hugs to the world!

My hips hurt.

At noon today it was absolutely beautiful outside. I looked down at Cricket and asked her if she would prefer to enjoy it working on the new garden or going for a good long walk?

We hooked her up to her leash and headed down the street with the poop bag.

Off we went, headed toward the lake. I wanted to walk by the beach as I haven't been that way in quite a while. Once we got there, I decided to take the path along the shoreline from the beach to the marina. We got about 1/4 of the way around the point when I started to wonder if I might stumble across any of the "drunken town folk" that prefer these little off the beaten path places hidden by the little stretchs of woods we have here and there. I was trying to decide how I would handle the situation when I noticed a strange looking barefoot footprint in the mud on the path. I stopped there to stare at this rather large, weirdish-shaped print, and while multi-tasking my brain over this new puzzle and at the same time, the old one of how to handle a very possible meeting of a bum, I saw a branch a few feet above me snap back into place out of the corner of my eye.

I instantly imagined a bird as I whipped my head around to see what it was before it flew off and my heart jumped up the back of my throat. I was facing a black bear about 7 feet away.

He wasn't very big, and he looked pretty freaked out himself, but I wasn't wasting any time getting to know him. I think I said "Hello." and I casually sauntered away down the trail with my eyes on my caboose and made a lot of noise until I found the first way back up to the street above. I am sure Cricket never noticed him at all because if she did, she would certainly have barked. I am really glad she didn't as that could have turned a nice walk into a horrible, horrible day.

I saw quite a few other tracks along the trail as I put as much distance between us as I could, but those ones looked like bear tracks were supposed to look like. The first one I saw looked almost exactly like a human footprint but like the foot was very flat. There was no indentation like a human footprint has.

My heart has settled down now, but my hips are sore from the long walk.