Sick-O

I think there’s something going around because my friend at work was getting sick on Friday, both her kids were sick and I came down with something as well.  It’s nothing major, just some sinus issues, sore throat, ear aches and a headache.  I was in bed most of the day today.  I feel like such a lazy lump.  At least I got a few things done today, such as almost completing the corporate tax presentation for the training I’ll be giving next month.  I know, you’re all wondering how you can get in on such an exciting and interesting topic.  I’m afraid the only privileged folks to partake will be my fellow tax-peeps at CRA.  Perhaps one of them will sneak a camera into the training session and post the video on utube….
I did a fair bit of reading today.  Chuck and I went to the Book Depot on Saturday and purchased about $80 worth of books.  Most of which were on airplanes.  I’m trying to learn more about the mechanics of my Cessna 150.  I also started reading another series of a romantic comedy by Emily Giffin.  I just finished “Something Borrowed”.  My friend at work loaned it to me, and I purchased the next book “Something Blue” from the Book Depot for about $3.  I could literally spend hours in that store.

I’m hoping to feel a bit better tomorrow.  I rarely take sick time from work and hope I can put in a full day – who would want to miss a glorious Monday?  Blech!

I think I noticed some sinus issues during my flight after work on Thursday.  Actually, it was a really nice flight.  I flew over to Dunnville then along the Lake Erie shoreline over to Fort Erie, then back to St. Catharines.  Nothing too exciting, but a good time anyway.

Today’s Symptoms:  Feeling yucky with this cold – weak and achy.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 8/30/2009 6:18 PM

Expected Accident

It finally happened – the accident that I have been predicting for over a year.  Geesh, what took it so long?  The other night, I had something in my hand to take out to the recycling bin on the balcony.  We usually keep the screen door open, as our balcony is all screened in.  Anyway, I opened the sliding glass door, and stepped up over the door tracks…at least that’s what I tried to do.  Of course, the screen door was closed.  It was completely invisible since the screen is new and it was dark inside and outside the apartment.  If it wasn’t for that darn step up, I would have gracefully bounced off the screen.  The step threw off my balance.  Then, I was startled when the screen came in contact with my face.  I must have tripped on the step while walking into the screen because I ended up turning to my left during the initial contact.  This caused me to fall into the corner of the wall, smacking my hip and arm.  My fall to the earth was in slow motion, until I landed in a heap on the ground.  It was also very loud!  The clatter of the screen plus the ricochet of bone against the wall seemed almost deafening!  Mind you, my boyfriend’s wails of laughter were equally as loud.  He turned around to see me sprawled on the floor, paired with sounds he heard over the previous few seconds, it was clear to him what just happened.  As per the title of this email, I knew this would happen sooner or later.  I’m surprised it took over a year!

I sent an email out to my “Freecycle” Yahoo group.  This group is for people to post items they no longer want or need, that can be picked up.  You can also request items.  I asked for bedding such as sheets and blankets, for the animal hospital and cat quarters I volunteer for.  I had a really nice woman (Jennifer – Managed By Mom.com) quickly respond to my plea.  Her friend provides her with sheets from Niagara Lodge & Suites at 7720 Lundy’s Lane in Niagara Falls.  Some of the sheets are too stained to be used again, so she is passing them on to be used for the cats!  She will have sheets for pick up on a regular basis.  These will be used during surgeries on the feral/homeless cats, as well as for bedding and cleaning needs in the Cat Quarters .  We are so appreciative of both Jennifer and Niagara Lodge & Suites – thank you again!

Today’s symptoms: I actually felt pretty good today.  My energy was decent and I even had enough to meet up with a couple friends for dinner after work!  Yea!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 8/25/2009 7:56 PM

Tastes Change

I’m surprised how much some of my tastes have changed over the years.  I used to go through reading spurts – I would be a readoholic for a few months, then wouldn’t pick up a book for months to years.  Well, I’m back into it again and I can’t believe the types of books I’ve been reading.  I just finished Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series [ Sophie’s Website ], including her book Remember Me.  I was always into Fantasy, such as Robert Jordan and his Wheel of Time series [ Book Listing ].  Actually, I’m shocked to see this author passed away in 2007.  I just discovered this now while looking for a link to add to this blog!  Anyway, I’ve always been a fan of Stephen King too, at least with his older books.  I never thought I would be into Romantic Comedy such as with the Shopaholic series.  This weekend I also read Luanne Rice’s Beach Girls and am looking forward to reading her other books.  What the heck is up with that?  Today I’m going to start Karen Harper’s Below The Surface , which is a Romantic Suspense.  What the heck is going on?  This is really hard for me to admit to, but over the last year or so I’ve also started liking purses!  I’m turning all girly!!!  What’s next, looking forward to buying shoes?  Wearing lipstick?  I don’t know how I feel about this new self, but I guess we’ll see where it takes me.
On Friday, I took an hour of vacation time and flew over the Willodell Golf Course.  At work, we had our annual Mike and Angie Golf Tourney, to raise money for cancer.  I donated an hour long flight for the silent auction.  I thought I would raise people’s interest level in this by doing a fly-over.  I took some neat pictures of the shot-gun start:

I did a couple low-and-overs at 1000 feet and tipped my wings at those who waved at me.  I’m anxious to hear how much the flight went for at the auction and how much we raised overall!

I’m just getting ready to head out to my little mother’s house.  We always go out on Sunday.

Today’s Symptoms:  Gee, this is my first morning blog.  I typically feel better in the morning and start to get fatigued and develop other symptoms as the day goes on.  Right now I feel pretty good! 

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 8/23/2009 7:34 AM

St. Jacobs Air Adventure

What a perfect day for a flight!  My mother and I drove out to the airport and cranked up my bird just a little after 8:45.  After my walk-around and getting fuel, we taxied down to the end of the runway.  Just before we got to the end, my nose wheel started to shimmy and vibrate.  I thought I blew a tire.  I told the tower dude that I was going to quickly hop out and check the tires.  All looked fine so I hopped in and headed back to the Flying Club.  The chief instructor came out when he saw me approach. They always have the radio on so they can listen to the pilot and tower transmissions.  He said that the shimmying is fairly common and seems to happen periodically, especially with the Cessnas.  This was a big relief.  I got back in the plane and my mother and I headed back to the runway.  It was great weather which made for an extremely smooth flight.  My GPS lead us directly to the Elmira West “Airport” after an hour long flight.  It was a single, narrow runway in fairly rough condition.  I ended up parking on the grass near the end of the runway, because there really wasn’t anywhere else to go.  The owner came out and asked if everything was OK and if I needed help.  At first I thought she was going to ask me to leave!  I mentioned that I had phoned them last night and left a message on their voicemail.  She said they don’t always check it.  I was relieved when she said I could stay.  Within minutes, the cab I called upon landing arrived and whisked us off to the Stone Crock in St. Jacobs.  We were in desperate need of a coffee and of course, couldn’t turn down their fresh, home-made muffins.  Yum-O!  We spent a few hours wandering around the shops.  I even got a big chunk of my Christmas shopping done!  A little after 1:00, our moaning stomachs signaled our need for foodage.  We headed back to the Stone Crock and waited for about 15 minutes to be seated.  We both decided on the salad buffet.  Everything was amazing, as usual.  With full bellies, we headed back out into the town to hit a few more stores.  We were surprised at how many new stores there were, plus a few more closures.  Apart from the Christmas shopping, we didn’t buy too much for ourselves.  It was still a wonderful day!  We took a cab back to the airport and prepared to bump down the runway for take-off.  Here are some pics:

No, I don’t normally have plants in the back of my plane.  Jan and I both purchased a flower arrangement!  They were back there with a slew of pies, tarts and muffins from the Stone Crock….and Christmas pressies!

Today’s symptoms: Despite the long day and how much walking around we did, I feel pretty darn good right now!  I couldn’t believe how much energy I had when I came home, and was able to throw in 50 minutes of exercise too!  Thankfully I have the day off tomorrow so I can recuperate!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 8/19/2009 7:39 PM

Emily

I have the day off tomorrow so my little mother and I are going to fly to Elmira then take a cab into St. Jacobs.  We usually go on the CAA bus tour in the Fall and Spring, but I thought it would be more fun to fly.  I’ll be able to check out my new GPS (Garmin 495), which should get us there a little easier than using a chart.  At least the weather is supposed to be decent and less humid.

I had a joyous day doing field calls from Niagara-On-The-Lake to Niagara Falls, Welland, Port Colborne, Wainfleet, Ridgeville and Fenwick.  I had to use the doggie treats I had in my brief case when a couple black labs ran out to greet me.  *woof* 

I’m a little disappointed in my mother.  She is typically very observant but was seriously slacking in this area today.  She bought me this gothic doll a couple years ago (named Emily) and I had to leave it at her place as there was no where to put it in the apartment.  She recently brought Emily up to her bedroom from downstairs.  I was shocked when I called her an hour ago and she didn’t even notice that I kidnapped Emily.  I sent her some pictures to clue her in to her neglect:

Needless to say, Emily is having a lovely visit with me and is in no rush to get back to Jan’s house.

Today’s symptoms: Actually had decent energy.  My headache was a little worse than normal, as was my jaw pain.  I hope to get a good sleep tonight so I have energy for our trip tomorrow!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 8/18/2009 7:42 PM

Elizabatic

I had one of the best days of my life today.  I have always wanted to try aerobatic flying and today my dream came true.  Dave from my Recreational Aircraft Association took me up in his Skybolt.

We started with a briefing on how I would be strapped in – good thing since it was an open cockpit.  We then went over what to expect from the G forces and how to deal with them.  I’m glad we had this lesson as I ended up putting it to good use!  He used a model airplane to show me the maneuvers we would be doing.  I felt like such a dork during the briefing as I was so excited and couldn’t stop smiling.  After doing his pre-flight inspection and answering my nine million questions, he assisted me into my seat and helped strap me in.  Once I was firmly belted into place with my headset on, I informed Dave that I had to pee.  I then told him I was kidding and that was my attempt at “aerobatic humour”.  He cranked up the engine – what a beautiful sound!  We were airborne within seconds of barreling down the runway.  He held us just off the ground until we picked up enough speed, then he made a very abrupt ascent toward the clouds.  It was such a rush.  In order to make me feel confident in my harness, he flew us inverted for a few seconds.  As soon as we were upside-down, he had me place my hands on my head to prove that I wasn’t going anywhere.  I do believe it was from this point on that I threw my hands up in the air after every single maneuver, because I was having the time of my life!  I was constantly giving him a double thumbs up (he sat in the seat behind me) to let him know I was feeling fine with everything.   He took me through a slew of insanely enjoyable moves and actually did a few more than we planned, because I was enjoying it so much.  We hit almost 6 G’s during one of his final maneuvers, which is when I put my G force coping technique into play!  It was a good thing too since I was starting to feel a little funny as the G’s peaked, and I started to get tunnel vision.  Overall, it was an amazing experience and I am certainly going to seriously consider purchasing an aerobatic-capable aircraft in a few years.  Dave informed me there are aircraft that are good for both aerobatic and “regular” flights.  Thanks again Dave, if you’re reading this! 

After my flight of a lifetime, my mother, Chuck and I went to the Mandarin for dinner.  This is when I told them about my amazing experience.  They both seemed so happy for me.  Yea!  I think I was still talking about it after they carted our bloated, stuffed bellies out of the restaurant.  *burp*

Today’s symptoms:  After recovering from my three day migraine and taking a couple days to get my strength back, I was feeling pretty decent today!  I’m completely knackered after today’s excitement, but it’s worth it beyond what I can describe with words.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 8/12/2009 7:30 PM

Full Moon?

Sorry about the lack of Bloggage this week, but I wasn’t feeling too well.  I had a bad migraine for almost three days, due to a bad sinus infection.  Yuck!  I even had to dip into a little bit of my sick leave at work, missing about half a day on the first day and an hour the next.  I had one a couple years ago, but had no clue the migraine was caused by a sinus infection.  It wasn’t until my mother and I went to the emergency room that I knew!  At least this time I figured it out within the first day and started pumping Advil Sinus into me.

Anyway, the title of this blog reflects my suspicions of my youngest cat’s actions today.  I woke up a little past 07:00 this morning, with little Mya under the covers against my stomach and Abby half under the covers, snuggled under my chin.  I thought it would be nice to serenade her, so I started my rendition of “Abby-pop”, which was actually from the Chordettes “Lollipop”.  A couple lines into the song, Abby’s eyes became very googly and she suddenly sprang up from the covers, touching down in the centre of the bed.  Upon landing, her eyes were still very big, and she almost looked to be trembling.  She then fell over on her back, with all four paws in the air.  Geesh!  I know my singing is bad, but isn’t that being just a tad ungrateful and dramatic?  After I got back from my outing today, I decided to take a shower.  I opened the top drawer of the dresser to get some gotchies and Abby jumped up on the top of the dresser.  I had a pair of underwear in my hand and reached for a bra with my other hand.  Abby took my gotchies in her mouth, ran across the dresser while tripping over the material with her back feet, then jumped down and carried them under the bed!  What the heck is with her?  I knew some of my own oddities would run off on her, but not to this extent!

Today’s symptoms: Just weak from my not-so-great sinus issues.  Other than that, very grateful to be rid of that horrid migraine!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 8/9/2009 7:06 PM

Jerks O’ Plenty

Jerk number one: We were at Tim Hortons yesterday and I ordered a cinnamon raisin bagel.  The guy behind me ordered the same thing.  The first bagel came out and he promptly took it off the counter.  I found it a little rude, but knew the next one would be following soon.  The guy took “his” bagel over to his table, then came back to the counter.  Soon after he arrived, the second bagel came out.  Would you believe that he took that one too?  The two workers and I looked over at the guy as he walked back to his table and set the second bagel down next to the first.  He then sat down.  One of the workers knew him and said “Hey Kyle, ummm, do you think you can bring one of those back, since you only ordered one?”  Kyle looked like nothing was wrong as he walked back to the counter and set one of the bagels back down.  What the heck is up with that?  How could anyone be so completely stupid and inconsiderate?  Plus he’s a thief!

Jerk number two: I was driving back from the airport today and was about the eighth car back, stopped at the Homer Bridge.  Two cars in front of me decided they didn’t want to wait, so they both turned around.  I had already turned my car off and wasn’t going to turn it back on just to move up a couple spots.  There was quite a line up behind me by the time the bridge was coming down.  I looked in my rear-view mirror, as I heard some honking.  There was a carload of punks driving the wrong way, passing the entire line.  A car was coming out of the gas station going the opposite way, so now they were headed right toward each other.  The jerks going the wrong way stopped and made the other car go off onto the shoulder to get around him.  He then pulled into the gas station on my left.  I had just started my car and was closing the gap between the car ahead of me, when the car full of wankers decided they needed to be first, and he floored it to get ahead of me.  He didn’t have enough time and all I could do was slam on my brakes and lay on the horn.  I noticed his little jerk passenger yell at the driver to stop.  He slammed on the brakes and his front right bumper must have stopped less than an inch from my front left bumper.  How he didn’t hit me blows my mind.  The guy behind me saw the whole thing so he edged up to close the space behind us.  He wasn’t going to let these boneheads in front of him, so they had to wait for the next car to let them in.  All that just because they didn’t want to wait in line like the rest of us.  I would have given anything for a cop to have been there.

Jerks three to nine hundred and seventy-eight:  All the stinkin little bugs that got in the way of my plane and splatted all over it.  Actually, I feel bad for the killing spree caused by my plane.

OK, I feel much better to get that out of my system.  On a brighter note, I got my plane back today after her annual inspection.  She was thoroughly examined and was in the “stirrups” for over a week.  It was great to have her back!

Today’s symptoms:  Despite this weekend’s jerk-fest, I’m not feeling too bad.  I’m a little pooped now with a fairly bad headache.  I’m looking forward to hitting the sheets soon.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 8/16/2009 8:24 PM

Erie Visit

We’re in Erie, PA today, doing a little shopping.  I really mean “little!”  So far we’ve purchased two pair of shorts for Chuck and some magazines for my mother to read while she’s on the treadmill.  It has still been a great day!  The weather was rather icky during the morning, but it ended up being nice in the afternoon. 

Upon arrival to Erie, we started our shop-fest at the Millcreek Mall.  It’s a nice mall.  There are plenty of larger stores surrounding the main mall.  After a couple hours there, we went to Damon’s Grill for lunch.  Great place!  For dinner, we went to Quaker Steak and Lube .  I had the biker chick salad, which had grilled chicked, candied pecans, strawberries, cranberries, and an amazing wildberry poppyseed dressing.  El Yum-O!  Here’s a pic:

I seriously think it was the best salad I’ve ever had.  After our amazing meal, we went to Target where we made our first real purchase of the day, consisting of two pair o’ shorts and some deoderant for my mother.  Not saying that she needs it – I mean, something that tiny can’t get TOO stinky….  Speaking of my mother, the ajoining room was wheelchair accessable, so also had to peep holes (one much lower).  Chuck and I both thought of my mother when we saw the lower one.  We took a picture demonstrating what she would look like if she tried to use the lower peep hole:

I am so glad I’m in another country, because my mother would kill me if she read this while in range of my butt!  I love you, mother!  Just think, I’ve been shopping all day and I’ve only bought YOU some magazines and deoderant!

Today’s symptoms: I had to take an Alertec to wake me up a bit around 2:00.  After resting a bit at the motel then having suppies, I feel a little better.  I’m going to get a good sleep tonight so I’m all fresh for tomorrow!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 8/2/2009 8:13 PM