Elizaplot

This weekend was just peachy.  On Saturday, I took up a coworker’s daughter for a flight around Niagara.  What a great birthday gift from her mother!  It was nice weather and a smooth ride.  We did a few circuits over Niagara Falls, then along the Lake Erie shoreline, up through Port Colborne and Welland, did a low and over back at the airport (for a photo op by my passenger’s mother) then came in for a landing.  My passenger really enjoyed herself and took some great photos.  I was quite happy to get out flying yesterday, as the weather forecast for the next week looks el yucko. 

Today (Sunday) my boyfriend and I went to the St. Catharines Flying Club (where I keep my plane) for a pancake breakfast.  We met up with my flight instructor/friend, who had flown his Champ down.  I have never flown in this type of aircraft.  It is a two-seater – one behind the other.  He asked me if I wanted to go for a flight after breakfast.  I figured I would be a passenger in the back, but he told me to hop in the front.  After my less-than-graceful entrance into the plane, John crawled in the back (where there is a second set of controls).  I started her up and he allowed me to taxi to the end of the runway.  I was quite surprised when he let me do the take off.  My Cessna 150 and the other planes I have flown have control column (yoke) and the throttle is controlled with a “knobby” with my right hand.  The Champ has a stick controller (which comes up from the floor) and the throttle is a lever on the left wall of the cockpit – thus a totally different way of flying and controlling the plane.  I think my many years of video gaming paid off as I caught on to the stick control quite quickly.  I was thrilled when he let me fly the entire circuit, plus land.  My first landing was off to the right side of the runway and not quite as soft as I would have liked, however my next two were quite a bit better.  I think both my instructor and I were surprised that I was able to convert over to these new controls quite well!  It was an amazing experience, one which certainly needs repeating!  I do need to work on my dismount though, as crawling out of the plane was even a bigger disaster than getting in!
The rest of my day went well.  I visited my extremely tall mother, as I normally do on the weekend.  She was notified by the cemetery that our plot marker was installed.  We decided to visit it today.  I figured it would be really weird to see my name on a plot marker, but it was actually kinda neat!  Here’s why:

Yes, it’s a little unique.  It’s also very comforting to know that this has been taken care of.  Not that either of us is going to need it for at least 49 more years.

Today’s symptoms:  Bad headache later in the day.  Other than that and the usual fatigue, it was a pretty good day, symptom-wise!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/28/2009 8:00 PM

Elizabob

What a wonderful day!  Despite the hazy weather, my mother and I decided to fly to Toronto for a little scenic tour of the city.  We took off from St. Catharines at 9:25 this morning.  We couldn’t even see Toronto until we were practically in it, due to the haze.  I requested flight following from around Grimsby until I was passed off to City Centre.  We entered the city at 2000 feet.  Check out the updated photos in my Odessa gallery, and you’ll get a good idea of how poopy the weather was.  Still, when we were flying by the CN Tower, it was just amazing!  I can’t wait to go back on a clearer day.  The flight back was a little bumpy so I headed out over the water (which is typically smoother air).  My mother gets quite tense when it’s not a smooth ride!  Just as we were coming in for a landing back at St. Catharines, we heard a Hercules aircraft call the tower and stated he would be doing some fly overs.  We took a few pictures as it flew over, but the zoom on our cameras just didn’t cut it for distance.  Thus, I decided to buy a new camera.  Actually, I’ve been researching them for a week or so now.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted a superzoom or SLR.  

Jan and I went to Tim Hortons for a greatly needed coffee and treat.  Afterwords, we went to Best Buy to check out their cameras.  I found the one I was looking for – a Canon PowerShot SX10.  I was informed by the sales clerk that they were sold out.  She said she would go check their system to see if another Best Buy had one in stock.  While she did that, I did something very naughty.  I phoned Future Shop!  Unfortunately, she returned while I was on the phone with Future Shop’s digital camera department.  Bob was tellling me they had three left and asked if I wanted him to set one aside for me.  He also let me know the price, which was a little less than Best Buy.  I hung up the phone and apologized profusely to the Best Buy clerk.  She was so nice about it and actually said she was going to suggest checking out Future Shop.  I thanked her for her time, then Jan and I left and drove over to Fairview Mall.  Bob greeted us as we walked up to the digital camera section.  I remember speaking to him a few months ago when I was purchasing a battery charger.  He explained all of the features on the Canon and also the comparable Nikon version.  Although Nikon had 24X zoom and the Canon had 20X, I still decided to go for the Canon.  I felt so bad for what I did to the clerk at Best Buy, then I was hit with guilt for poor Bob.  He explained the extended warranties available and I kept saying I would have to think about it.  I’m usually not one to purchase extra warranties.  Well, soon after Jan and I walked out of the store (and I mean within two minutes!), we had talked me into purchasing the four year warranty.  I walked back into the store and loudly said “Oh Bob!  We’re back!”  I told him I was going to purchase the warranty and he informed me I would have to go through Customer Service.  I felt so bad, as I thought he could just quickly ring it through.  Anyway, he walked us over and stood there with us until the clerk was available.  I felt really bad for being a pain in the butt, but I’m sure all parties involved will find it in their hearts to forgive me.  Future Shop rocks!  http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp  Actually, I have purchased most of my electronics here, from my computers and laptops, cameras, printers, speakers, CD players, receivers, etc.

I’m just going to finish up this entry, then head over to the Cat Quarters to play with the kitties.  I’m going to stop in at Rick Dykstra’s office to see if they will still be holding the community BBQ tonight, or if it will be canceled due to the weather.

Today’s symptoms: I just had a slight headache this morning.  I certainly feel quite a bit better today than I have over the last couple of weeks.  Things are looking up!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/25/2009 2:15 PM

Yesterday’s Blog!

Ok, I remembered to bring yesterday’s blog home from work today, so here it is:

My mother and I had our plot marker made up last Fall and decided to have it installed this Spring.  What’s the rush?  Well, if I’m going to pay that much money for something, I would like to see it at some point in my lifetime!  Also, we had more put on the marker than just our names and dates.  I will post a picture of it eventually….  Anyway, I was driving by the cemetery yesterday and decided to see if it was installed yet.  I was surprised to see there was just a green stick in its place.  I phoned the cemetery later in the day and asked when the plate would be installed.  I told the woman who answered that the stick in the ground was lovely, especially since one of my favourite colours is green.  However, it isn’t quite what we had in mind.  She asked for the name of the deceased and I told her no one was deceased yet, it was for my mother and I.  She said “So let me get this straight, you purchased a plot marker, but you’re not deceased yet, are you?”  Needless to say, I was quite shocked as I have never before been asked if I was dead.  I told her “I am pretty sure I am still alive – hello!”  She was supposed to look into the status of the marker and get back to me.  I haven’t heard back from her yet – she’s probably too embarrassed to call back.

My afternoon involved two meetings, one which was two hours and held at the library across the street.  I was hoping to go out on field calls again today, but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow or Friday.  I have Thursday off as a compressed day.  I work an extra hour every day so I get two days and two hours off per month (compressed schedule).  I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do on that day.  Maybe my little mother and I can go for a flight somewhere.  I’m sure she’s rolling her eyes right now as she’s reading this.  I love you, little mommy!  (Jan say “hmmmmmm….yeah, right!”)

Hopefully I will have a nice flight tomorrow and will be able to show some pictures to y’all. 

Today’s symptoms:  Not too bad in the morning.  Headache is getting better.  People at work told me I looked really drained.  It wasn’t my best day but far from my worst!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/24/2009 3:38 PM

Blonde Moment…

Can a natural blonde have a blonde moment?  Because I’m pretty sure I did today.  I’m so mad at myself.  During lunch, I wrote my blog entry and I FORGOT to bring it home.  DUH!  What a dork! 
Stay tuned tomorrow for today’s blog!

Today’s Symptoms:  Clearly I’ve developed dementia and amnesia.  Other than that, I’m feeling better today than I did yesterday.  I still have a headache, but not as bad.  Sharp pains in my hands and arms throughout the day.  I think they were spiritual pokes of pain, reminding me to bring my blog entry home from work.  Apparently I didn’t listen.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/23/2009 7:31 PM

Where Did The Weekend Go?

I can’t believe how fast the weekend went by….I don’t even remember most of it!  I haven’t been feeling too well lately and this weekend was no better. 

This morning I walked over to the Cat Quarters, which is a home next to the Court Animal Hospital.  Each room houses one to five cats, plus there is a room upstairs which has about twelve kittens.  You may have seen the Cat Mobile around Niagara.  The Cat Quarters is part of Community Animal Allies of Niagara.  Check out their site:  http://www.caancatmobile.org/index.php?action=about  I started volunteering at the Cat Quarters.  My duties include playing with the kitties, loving the kitties, poopage scoopage, feeding, loving, socializing, playing….etc.  It’s like my dream home – filled with cats!  Today was rather amusing.  The main volunteer was just on her way out to drop off her car.  She left me to play with the kitties while she was gone.  Well, within minutes after she left, I broke the plastic rod on one of the toys!  I felt so horrible.  I decided to run out and buy a few new toys to replace the one I broke.  I ended up going to Liquidation World, Value Village, three dollar stores, four pet stores and Wal-Mart!  I bought quite a few baby blankets for the cats plus an adorable fake tiger rug, all at Value Village.  Oh, the clinic was also looking for some sheets, so I picked up a couple.  At a couple of pet stores and Wal-Mart, I bought a pile of cat toys.  I went back to the Cat Quarters around 4:00 and showed the cats their new toys.  They were thrilled, or at least pretended to be as to not hurt my feelings.  I’m sure they all made fun of me to each other after I left.  They likely thought I was a dork for replacing one broken toy with a slew of new ones.  Oh well, it made me happy.  I stayed until about 6:15 then wandered back to the apartment, just a very short walk away.
Now I’m waiting for my sleeping pill to kick in so I can float away to sleepy-ville.

Today’s symptoms:  Very fatigued, bad headache (week two) and just feeling totally run-down and lousy.  I’m tempted to call my doctor as I’ve been experiencing these yucky symptoms for a couple weeks now and it’s not fun anymore!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/21/2009 8:48 PM

I’m Mildly Disturbed….

We are having a bake/dessert auction at work to raise money for Cancer.  I decided to make one of my insanely healthy cranberry pies.  I’m tempted to put a picture of it in my photo gallery, but it looks really scary – not a photogenic pie!  Anyway, it simply consists of cranberries and Splenda for the filling.  I used a frozen pie shell, because I’m a big cheater.  The topping is quick oats, Splenda brown sugar, cinnamon and butter.  I call it “Lizzy McPie’s Cranberry Delight!”  I thought I would personalize it a bit more and create the topping in the shape of an airplane.  Ok, this is where the “I’m mildly disturbed” part comes in.  First of all, who has heard of a cranberry pie?  Second, I gave it a goofy name.  Third, have you ever seen a pie with an airplane on top of it?  Just when I thought I wasn’t taunted enough at work.  Oh well – every office needs a little silliness.

I have to do a product promo, for no benefit of my own, but simply because you have to try it!  I cannot stand feet.  Yuckaroo!  I have never had a pedicure and probably will never have one.  I’ve never used one of those pumice stones because just the thought of it makes me want to hurl.  Anyway, I recently won a quiz and draw at work, which awarded me a Ped Egg.  What on Earth is that, you ask?  Well, let me tell you.  It is a gruesome and gory device that sloughs off the dry skin on your feet.  It basically looks like a mini cheese grater.  Once again, yuckaroo!  I decided to give it a whirl and was astounded at the results.  My feet now feel like a Sphynx’s bum!  Yes, they’re that smooth!  Here’s the link:  http://www.pedegg.com/  I told both my mother and my friend about it, and they both picked one up at Winner’s for $2.00 less than at the As Seen on TV store (where they are $14.99).

Today’s symptoms:  El Pooped!  Holy cow!  I think I’m still trying to recover from my Air Race weekend.  I’ve had a bad headache for a couple weeks now.  I should take a day of sick leave and just chill out, but I have an issue with hoarding my sick leave…and vacation time.  It’s a really annoying habit!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/17/2009 7:24 PM

Red Bull Weekend

What a great few days I’ve had.  This past Friday was my day off.  There was a golf tourney through work at the Oakland’s golf course in Niagara Falls.  I decided to give the folks on the course a free mini air show!  I did a few fly over’s, and took a slew of pictures.  I created a PowerPoint presentation to email my coworkers tomorrow. 

After my flight on Friday, Chuck and I drove down/over to Windsor for the Red Bull Air Races.  We purchased tickets for the Saturday races.  We decided to splurge and enjoy the benefits of the Race Class seating.  What a great view – centre of the “track”, free drinks and food, nice washrooms in trailers instead of port-a-potties.  Yee-Haw!  We also booked a great room at the Riverfront Radisson, 16th floor with a perfect view of the river and Detroit.  It even had those perfect sleeper beds.  I had mine adjusted to extra soft and fluffy and Chuck had his at the rigor mortis setting. 

When we were entering Windsor, we decided we would go to the Mandarin for dinner.  I GPS’d it and found there was one just blocks away from the hotel.  We also asked the hotel-personage who confirmed there was one a few blocks over.  After we unloaded our schtuff, we headed in the direction of the Mandarin.  We came upon the Armouries where I worked for four years.  I forgot they closed it a few years back and built a new Armouries.  Actually, the celtic group Leahey was performing in the Armouries – I’m not sure what other civilian uses they use the building for.  Anyway, I asked the ticket dude out front if I could make a quick run inside to take a couple pictures, since I hadn’t been there in nine years.  He hummed and hawed, but let me go in quick.  The band sounded great!  I took a couple pics and made my way back outside.  We asked him how much further the Mandarin was and he laughed, stating the closest one was in London.  What the heck?  How could a GPS and hotel-personage both be wrong?  We walked away dejected, trying to accept the fact that we would be starving that night.  The race would go on tomorrow, as we layed in the street in a heap.  After about a minute of walking, lo and behold – the Mandarin….HOUSE.  Yes, the restaurant was called the Mandarin House.  ARGH!  Well, it was a good laugh!  About half a block away was a restaurant I went to quite frequently with my Army buddies, during the four years I lived in Windsor for university.  It was a great meal.

The next morning, we headed out to the river for the Air Race.  We hooked up with a really nice couple from Toronto, as we enjoyed some of the best seats in the house.  What an amazing day.  The races were amazing!  The skill these pilots have is mind boggling.  Our Canadian guy did quite well, considering it was only his third race.  We were lucky that the whole day was fairly overcast.  I thought we would be under umbrellas or a tent, so I didn’t bring sun screen. 

I will post some pics of the great weekend, in my photo gallery under Odessa.  I hope the races come back to Windsor/Detroit next year!

Symptoms for Today:  Despite my long weekend and being totally exhausted last night, I didn’t fall asleep until after 11:30 and woke up around 3:00!  I couldn’t fall back to sleep so I was really wiped out today!  Fortunately, we had a great speaker from the Enforcement Unit give us some training, using real life examples.  Very interesting!  Kept me awake.  I got a little giddy in the afternoon.  I plan on taking a sleeping pill tonight around 9:30. 

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/15/2009 7:46 PM

Words of Lizdom, Part Deux

I do believe we are all due for another segment of Words of Lizdom.  Actually, some thoughts came to me after I finished a test at work today.  I had about 10 minutes to wait before the test period ended.  Since I had nothing else to do, I started writing these joyous thoughts down.  Once the time was up, the supervisor stated that we could now hand in our test and all paperwork was to remain in the room.  This makes sense as they don’t want us to write down the test questions and share them with the rest of the office.  I mentioned that I was having a blonde moment, and accidentally started writing down what I was going to put in my blog.  I begged and pleaded with her to read what I wrote to see that I wasn’t spreading confidential test materialage to the rest of the office.  Being the nice person she is, she agreed to this and relinquished my notes to me.  That being said, here is part deux of Words of Lizdom…

Today I will discuss the value and power of positive thought.
When I suddenly became very ill over three years ago, I was rushed through a battery of tests by my neurologist.  She suspected MS from the lesions on my MRI, but had me undergo a spinal tap to confirm the diagnosis.  I was told I would hear the test results within three weeks, but I actually ended up waiting over a month and a half.  It was so easy to allow myself to sink into thoughts of negativity during that time.  How long before I became disabled?  What things would I lose in life?  No one is going to want to be around a sick person…..etc.  After a couple days of these thoughts, I asked myself how they were helping my situation and frame of mind.  Also, how would they impact or change the outcome of the test results and diagnosis?  I came to the conclusion that this negativity and self-pity was causing far more harm than good.  It wasn’t easy, but I forced the negative thoughts out and replaced them with positives.  The negatives came so easily and it took a great deal of conscious effort to turn them around.  Many times I would end up in a vicious battle between the two extremes.  It literally was a constant fight, which was emotionally and physically draining.  It was the most worthy fight of my life.  What a difference this made during the waiting time for my test results, and now in my everyday life.  While waiting for the neurologist to call, I wasn’t as stressed out mentally which reduced the severity of many of my physical symptoms.  It also had a positive influence on those around me.  I was constantly asked how I wasn’t freaking out waiting for the results.  I told them I would deal with whatever the diagnosis was when I received it and I would not allow it to take control of my life.  During the spinal tap, the neurologist told me that I either had a viral infection in my brain or MS.  I told her I would take door number one!  Unfortunately, almost two months later I found out it was indeed MS.  I went straight to work after hearing the news at 8:15 in the morning.  Everyone was so supportive.  Mind you, they also thought I was nuts for going back to work that day!  I figured I should stay active and keep my mind busy, which was a much better alternative than going home to mope!  I did leave a little early that day as I was physically exhausted – and relieved to finally know what was wrong with me (I’ve been wondering since I was eight years old!)  On the way home, the song “You Had A Bad Day” came on the radio.  I started crying and said “Why yes, I DID have a bad day….a very bad day!”  I actually said it out loud in a really silly voice, which caused me to start laughing.  I was laughing and crying, to the point I was snorting!  I had to pull over before my giddiness caused an accident.  I gained control of myself and headed home.  I knew it would be hard, but I needed to keep up my positive outlook on life, despite my diagnosis.  I wasn’t going to let MS destroy me.  It was the worst thing that ever happened to me, but also the best.  It triggered this positivity that has enveloped every aspect of my life.  Sure, I have many “bad days” but they would be SO much worse if I surrendered to the nagging (hi mom!) negativity that is always there waiting to try and sneak in.  If you would like to see what the battles in my head are like, please check out this video.   I’m a pretty silly person, so this is a great representation of my thoughts! 

This concludes part deux of Words of Lizdom.  Please join me next time for the continuation of the story of my life!

Today’s symptoms.  I was really pooped and had a dilly of a headache.  I went home sick an hour early. 

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/10/2009 7:53 PM

Bad Start, Good Ending

What a day I’ve had!  It didn’t start out too well.  I drove to work and the parking machine took my money and didn’t give me a ticket.  I had to dig out an old ticket and write on it that I had paid the full amount and kindly NOT to tow my car.  Then I walked into work, took my coat off and noticed a decorative button was missing off the front of my nice, new skirt.  (Tip: if you are missing a button in a noticeable spot, remove the identical button from a not-so-noticeable area and sew it where the missing one was)  I walked back out to the parking lot to look for it and stepped in a puddle.  I checked my car and couldn’t find the button.  While walking back to the office, I twisted my ankle.  Back at work, I discovered that all the files I completed over the last few weeks were not signed in time by the proper authority, thus the letters had to be reprinted and I missed my deadline for a couple of them.  I was finished at 2:15 today which worked out perfectly as I had the MS banquet tonight.  I drove home and did some things around the apartment (despite being totally exhausted) while waiting for my boyfriend to arrive so we could leave for the dinner.  I was told the dinner started at 4:00, so we drove to Welland for around 3:50.  It was at that time we were informed it didn’t start until 6:00.  UGH!  I actually considered not going because I was so tired, but I was looking forward to it so much.  We drove over to the Seaway Mall and wandered around for about an hour and a half.  The excitement from purchasing energy efficient light bulbs and Bounty paper towels perked me up a little.  We drove back over to the hall for the dinner.  It started about 45 minutes late, but the yummy meal they provided was worth the wait.  I was presented with a volunteer appreciation certificate and another certificate from Rick Dykstra M.P.  It reads “On behalf of the Government of Canada, I wish to recognize the resolve and discipline you have shown in your quest to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.  You flight overhead will parallel the determination of men and women alike who seek a life that is even more complete in the absence of MS.  I share in celebrating this personal initiative by presenting you with this scroll of recognition.”  I was asked to say a few words when I went up on stage to accept the certificates.  It was so nice that they did this to recognize my flight over the three walk sites for the Walk for MS.

I’m looking forward to crawling into bed tonight.  I had a late night last night as it was the RAA monthly meeting.  Our guest speaker was Don Bird from Bird’s Performance Coatings http://www.birdsperformancecoatings.com/index.html  The meeting went great and many members had questions for our guest speaker.  I’m sure there will be a few new customers to his business from our group!

Well, I think I’m going to call it a night soon.  I should be doing the next segment of Words of Lizdom later this week – stay tuned!

Today’s Symptoms:  Very exhausted from about 9:00 this morning until present.  I even dosed off briefly at my desk this morning.  For any management reading this blog, please focus on the word “briefly”.  Besides, it was on my break!!!  I also experienced quite a few sharp, stabbing pains throughout my body.  Maybe they were jolts of wakefulness….they didn’t help much though.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/9/2009 8:31 PM

Farewell June 3rd!

I’m SO glad today is over!  It’s rare that I say such a thing.  I usually say I had a really long day, and mean it as a good thing!  At 7:00am, my boyfriend and I drove over to the hospital for my cortisone injection into my jaw joint.  I was surprised that they let him right in the treatment room with me.  I was totally shocked when they let him stay for the procedure!  The nurses are so nice and comforting and really help to calm my nerves before the injection.  As it was last month, it was very painful.  The only thing that was different this time was that I didn’t hear the fluid entering the joint.  After the injection, I stayed in the bed for a few minutes.  I was so tempted to call the doctor back over to my bed to see if he would do it again!  I decided against it as I didn’t think I could handle that much joy and pleasure in one day.  The nurse asked how I was feeling and then told us we could go.  We headed down to the X-Ray department to have his hand X-Rayed.  I squeezed it so hard during the injection, we figured most of the bones were shattered.  Fortunately, everything turned out ok for him and he will get the cast off in a few weeks.
I headed to work straight from the hospital.  I was surprised to have made it to 2:45, before finally giving in to going home.  It was actually a fairly productive day.  I think I could have physically lasted until my regular 4:15 quittin’ time, but mentally I was finished around 2:30. 
Here’s a little handy-woman tip.  If you have those insanely old windows in your house, you know, the ones that have that weather-proofing furry/fuzzy strip along the top and bottom edges…..sometimes they become very hard to slide open and closed.  Simple, little trick – slab some petroleum jelly (Vasaline) along the tracks.  Open and close the window a few times, apply more jelliage, open and close and voila!  A smoothly sliding window!  Ok, it seems kinda obvious but that window has been driving me nuts since last September.  It took me this long to clue into the fix! 

Today’s symptoms: I was a little spacy from all the 222′s I took…..

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/3/2009 7:24 PM

Words of Lizdom….

I’m going to start a new, periodic segment called “Words of Lizdom…”  I shall share with you some lessons I learned – most of which people learn much later in life.  I guess I’m lucky to have had the good and bad experiences that have taught me these lessons.  They have made me a better person and made my life more meaningful.  So here we go!  Here’s one that everyone has heard hundreds of times, as have I for the last thirty-one years:  Effective Communication.  Sounds so simple, eh?  Here’s how it has changed my life.  When my boyfriend and I first moved in together, it was a bumpy road for the first few months.  It was a huge adjustment for both of us.  One thing that both of us did on a daily basis was to misinterpret, overanalyze and put a negative spin on many of the things the other person said.  He seemed to think I was out to get him and I thought the same about him.  For example, I would pick something up or try carrying most of the bags in from the car and he would immediately run over and take it/them out of my hands.  He was simply trying to help but I turned it into something else. In my head, he was suggesting that I couldn’t handle it – that I was weak and dependant.  His deal with me was similar in that he would also put a negative spin on things I did to try and help.  If I suggested something for him to do or try, he wouldn’t take it that way.  He w ould take it as a criticism – that I was saying his way was wrong and mine was right.  Both of us were on a path to destroying the relationship soon after it started.  I’m not sure what this was doing to him emotionally, but it was certainly doing a number on me!  I knew something had to change.  We were both bringing caa-caa from our past into our present and future – not good!  I was holding everything inside and it was quickly  breaking me down.  I knew I had to let him kn ow how I felt about things and also find out how he felt, or we would never get out of the rut we were digging ourselves into.  Opening up to him wasn’t easy in the beginning.  I think it also caught him off guard, which didn’t help.  I kept at it though, and he started to catch on.  Yea!  I cannot believe how much better our relationship has become over the last few months, just through more open and honest communication.  If we are not sure what the other person means when th ey say something, we ask for clarification.  This is SO much easier than thinking of all the things it could mean, especially when it gets turned around into something negative and hurtful.  It doesn’t happen over night, but if you both want the relationship bad enough, the effort it takes to change is definitely worth it.

If you want to read an amazing book on improving your relationships, read Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner
http://www.amazon.ca/Dance-Anger-Harriet-Lerner/dp/006074104X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243988628&sr=1-1
It is also available on audio cassette and CD.  Worth every penny!

Symptoms for today:  I have a really bad headache and my jaw is throbbing.  I think I’m stressed about getting that cortisone shot in my jaw tomorrow morning.  I have also been experiencing many sharp, stabbing pains in my arms and legs.

Side note:  Speaking of communication, my boyfriend just COMMUNICATED with  me how much he would appreciate a link to his favourite team, the Chicago Bears, on my blog.  It’s against my better judgment, but here it goes:
http://www.chicagobears.com/index.html

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/2/2009 8:31 PM

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s House…

What a joyous weekend I had.  I flew for the first time in over three weeks!  I’m glad I remembered how.  I knew that to start the plane, I had push a few levers and buttons, adjust a few things here and there, turn a little key, tweak the throttle thingie and pull on the starter-do-hicky.  Sure enough, I did all those things and my little propeller started a’ spinning!  How exciting!  There was quite a bit of traffic that day because the weather was so nice.  Also, the air cadets were taking their gliders up.  I had to wait for two planes to land before I was cleared to barrel down the runway.  It felt so good to be airborne again.  The clouds were less than 2500 feet, so I wasn’t able to go as high as I normally do.  This also meant that I couldn’t fly the Niagara Falls scenic circuit, since planes need to be at 3500 feet.  Oh well, it was still an amazing flight, which included flying over my little mother’s house.  I called her and she came out to wave at me.  I tipped my wings and headed to the south east.  I did a low and over at the grass strip where I purchased the plane.  All the dogs there came running out toward the runway.  Good times!

Today at work, I gave GST system training to some of my coworkers.  Most people remained conscious through the whole session, which was quite flattering!  I have to give the same training to a different batch of co-folks on Friday.  I’m sure that the people who had it today will tell all the Friday people what a pleasure and joy the training was.  They’ll be so excited!  They’ll also be so disappointed!  Yea me!

Today’s symptoms: Didn’t feel too bad.  My jaw hurt quite a bit though.  I have to go for another cortisone shot on Wednesday morning – yuckaroo!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 6/1/2009 9:30 PM