And so it goes...

Finally, the calls are going to stop. The last of my outstanding debts was paid today, so while I'm totally broke, I'm also feeling a bit better. Although, my stomach has been off for a couple of days; if it's not one thing getting me, it's another.

*NOTE: Conall just ripped a stuffed toy to shreds under my feet - I must pay more attention to the little guy. He's like a toddler who just gets into trouble for the fun of it.*

Yesterday I finally managed to get my to do list accomplished. All, save the photos which I finished off this morning. All are named and cropped and blurred in the appropriate places. ...I'm kidding, by the way, folks. Just my way of attempting cuteness.

At any rate, the snow is starting to come down again, so Conall will be eager to get into it. There are a few projects around the house I'd like to hop on as well. And I should get to the gym.... it's just that since New Years, the place is never empty when I go. I can't wait until every one's enthusiasm dies down and I can go by myself.

Recently, my writing has been more of a cheating; listing my daily routine without much poetic forethought. I'm going to make a conscious effort to put myself into the grey a little more. We'll get away from "My So-Called Life" and get more towards some real insight. Sounds good, no?

Is it really only 3pm?

Yesterday we:
- took the pup to High Park, where despite his size, was beaten up.
- bathed the dog (white dog and mud, you do the math)
- got groceries
- got dog treats and training toys
- got the old photos digitized and OFF my wall.

Today I:
- woke with Craig (no sleeping in)
- made the bed
- walked the dog
- did the laundry (including hauling 3 loads up and down stairs)
- cleaned the kitchen and living room
- folded and hung clean laundry
- vacuumed
- dusted
- walked the dog again
- read a bit of Stephen T. Colbert's "I AM AMERICA (and so can you!)", it's actually very funny! SURPRISE!

I have yet to:
- clean the bathroom
- walk to the mall
- run errands
- make a REAL dinner (a personal favourite, taco bake; perhaps I'll share the recipe later tonight)
- clean-up the digitized photos

Let me tell you how I'm feeling... actually, you take a guess! I've got too much to do!

...Good thing I'm cutting back on those sedatives, today those would spell the end of my efficacy!

Things To Do Today

It's already noon and I feel like I'm falling behind...

-grocery shopping
-house cleaning
-laundry
-puppy play at dog park (2 hours of outside time)
-puppy bath
-photo rescues (digitizing old ones)
-new framing for said photos
-perhaps some writing titled, "You never knew me better than I knew myself".

Add to all this my knee is still buggered up, so I have to be very careful about how I move. It's one of those things that happens the second you let your guard down and you're not ready for it. Luckily Craig has a great sport brace that fits me, so when I'm out walking I can feel a bit more confident and not limp so much.

Part of getting better is using it normally... hey, there's some wisdom.

Anyway, this Broken Girl has to get away from the computer screen and onto the chores. We'll see what actually gets accomplished. ;-)

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha... Wipe Out!

Well, for the first time in over two years my knee blew out today. Catastrophic dislocation if I've ever had one.

Granted, it was no fault of my own... Our dogs were playing (see pictured group) and a group of 3 large, muscled pups (including my own) barrelled me over like a bowling pin! There I was sitting in goodness knows what (the ground has thawed and is quite mucky), fighting the urge to cry while three men looked on in total shock. I've gotten knocked over before... lots actually. But this time I wasn't getting up. I had to reset my knee before standing and get back inside - thankfully some ice packs have taken the pain away... okay, ice and some Naproxen.

Aries, Pablo, Tank and Conall (Aries had nothing to do with it!!!) :-)

I responded to an email from the wedding planner today. Turns out he hadn't heard anything from Mom and she never contacted him about cancelling. I'm just so over it now. It's just nuts this is still going on.

And, speaking of nuts... (nice transition, no?) ...my meeting with Dr. Madigan was less than encouraging. She wants to see me twice a week (despite the fact, she'd told me her practice was full), and doesn't think I'm capable of returning to work. For the the next month, perhaps longer; even though working is "integral to my recovery". She wants to change my meds and therapy intensity, which tells me I'm worse off than Dr. Philp (my fantastic G.P.), thought I was. Clinically speaking, I'm disabled.

...and the knee, now, too! This is karmic retribution for something!

So I'll be taking some new regimen of brain-hormone changing drugs and hope that the advice she lends me helps. As she has said, a big part of this is "letting myself, hear myself talk". I used to run my mouth all the time... it'll be interesting to get back at that.

Unremarkable...

I spent some of the day importing Livejournal posts ( http://redpixiesticks.livejournal.com/ ), trying to nap and calm my stomach and then took a walk to the mall where I bought things I probably shouldn't have... or at least didn't need to.

I just want the sun to come out. All this wet weather makes my dog smell funny and look like a stray. He takes more baths than I do now... and I don't get massaged with suds by two people in mine!

That fire the other day was crazy... some of the footage Craig shot actually made the 6 o'clock news, which was pretty cool (thanks CityTV/CP24 Toronto). We just saw dozens of trucks and went to investigate. Once we saw what was unfolding, we ended up staying until most of it had been contained. Our toes and fingers were numb and we were wet (from the hoses and the rain), but as I said to Craig, "it's like staying to watch the slaying of a beast - you can't leave half-way through. And of, course there were all the residents that were crying and distraught, T-PASS alarms going off every two minutes... Not a scene that's easy to walk away from. But we did when actual frostbite began to nip at my fingers.

Conall has been most aggravated by the shorter walks that come with rain and as a result is taking his pent up aggression on the cats. Poor Craig disciplined him last night (after he'd attacked Tweek) by putting him on his side (something we haven't had to do in months) and the poor thing peed himself. We cleaned him up and made no big deal out of it... of course he's acting rather sheepish today, but no less bold with the cats. *nip, nip*

I think deep down, I am more upset about it than Conall was.

Anyway, time to plan dinner for the working man.

SUPER HAPPY FUN DAY

Dog peed on our couch last night.
Cat peed on the dog bed this morning.
Other cat peed on the same spot on the dog bed.
Sickness benefit deposited.
Then prematurely eaten by Visa bills.
...but with what's left, I get to spend all day shopping.

It has been 8 months since I've had ANY retail therapy.
Thank you, Lord! LOL
I get to collect some of the things I need for my wedding...
needlework.... I'm so excited...
Grandma Ball taught me this skill for this... and I'll actually use it!

So I have to get ready... but I thought I'd share one of my top 5 these days... it's my morning song:

Carrie Underwood

"So Small"

What you got if you ain't got love

the kind that you just want to give away

It's okay to open up, go ahead and let the light shine through

I know it's hard on a rainy day

you want to shut the world out and just be left alone

But don't run out on your faith

'Cause sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand

What you've been up there searching for forever is in your hands

When you figure out love is all that matters after all

It sure makes everything else seem so small

It's so easy to get lost inside

a problem that seems so big at the time

it's like a river thats so wide

it swallows you whole

While you sit around thinking about what you can't change

and worrying about all the wrong things

time's flying by moving so fast

you better make it count 'cause you can't get it back

Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand

What you've been up there searching for forever is in your hands

When you figure out love is all that matters after all

It sure makes everything else seem so small

Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand

What you've been up there searching for forever is in your hands

When you figure out love is all that matters after all

It sure makes everything else

Oh it sure makes everything else seem so small, yeah, yeah

New things, changes, remodelling, it's all a metaphor...

Our brand spankin`new futon, made by my father-in-law.

Our home finally looks like a home. This has settled me greatly. And Craig loves the fact we can actually sit next to each other on the couch. :-) In other happy notes, our puppy has been so hyper since the snow fall started, we've had no choice but to spend hours outside. This has been good for my my head and my body.

Conall eats as much snow as he can while laying in it simultaneously.

All Hallows Eve...

Life is good this Hallowe'en day.

Got a job. Starting tomorrow.

So excited and nervous.

Probably won't sleep much.

Next Monday meeting the people at the Delta for the wedding booking... it's all real now!

Also in unrelated news... Dog the Bounty Hunter is a racist... "Something ain't right."

Conall is getting HUGE. Bigger than the picture below... love them both to pieces!

The start of the "illness"...

After our engagement, Craig and I have moved into our new digs and are settling in as best we can... it's bizarre to have to shout at each other just to be heard or to both be at home, yet out of each others line-of-sight.

I've also been pretty sick recently... my GP says I likely have Gastroesophegial Reflux Disease, or "GERD" - sounds nice doesn't it?




On the up side and the wonderful side, LJ peeps, I'd like you to meet our new BABY!!!




Conall, this is LiveJournal [now Blogger]. Livejournal [now Blogger], this is Conall.

CONALL RIGDEN

Born: February 9, 2007.

Adopted: April 20, 2007.

1/2 White German Shepherd

1/2 Domesticated Wolf

100% Cutie Pie

So again for the 400th time I'm sorry I can't live the abundant online life I once did... but I do have some pretty nice things in my life that are really time consuming. Seriously, could you say no to a face like that?! :-)Hugs to everyone!(And kisses from Conall)