Could It Get Any Colder???

The rotten weather is still here.  I started to go into flight withdrawal last week so despite the high winds and freezing cold, I headed out to the airport for a flight.  I hummed and hawed once I got there, as the blowing snow didn’t provide very good visibility.  Regardless, I decided to do a few circuits.  After my first take off, I hit circuit altitude of 1300′ before I was over the end of the runway!  The headwind was so strong.  Within a couple minutes, I was around the circuit and ready to land.  Wow, that was….well….fun-ish.  I throttled up and took off again.  By the time I came around for the second landing, the tower gave me the updated winds and they had increased by two knots!  After another “joyous” landing, I decided that was enough.  Back to the hangar I went.  That was one of the shortest flights of my life.  As you can see by this pic, no one else was flying:

 

That one plane is being pushed back into the hangar – not coming out to play.

Another great reason I went to the airport was to be reunited with Donkay.  Yes, I’m a horrible person – I left him in my plane after my last flight.  Please don’t call FADS (Family and Donkey Services) on me!  Fortunately, my good friend at the airport took him out of my plane and into the warmth of the Flying Club.  This is Donkay meeting the Club cat:

After my flight, my friend Mike, Donkay and myself went for a coffee to warm up at Tim Hortons:

Slurp.

I told Abby about my flight and she shivered at the thought and desperately tried to release herself from my grasp:

Boo on the other paw had her little mouth hanging open as she slept next to us:

Despite the cold, Mike and I decided to wander over to the Market on Friday night to enjoy the Winterfest thing going on there.

There was food and wine to purchase, plus a pretty good live band:

Mike and I sat at a table and had some pizza and a glass of wine.  A few folks joined us.  I was a tad speechless when I heard the woman next to me say she hates vodka.  If I wasn’t still frozen, there probably would have been a little tear trickle down my cheek.  I eventually said something and asked if she really meant that.  It turned out to be a nice chat with a really friendly group of folks.  While I was still blabbing, Mike brought us a piece of sticky toffee pudding.  I don’t think either of us ever had it before.  It was much larger than I thought it was going to be:

Nom nom nom….it was VERY good.  I’m really glad we attended this event.

This weekend, I started to back up some of my old files and stuff that I’ve had on CD’s and DVD’s since I was in university to present.  Wow:

Mike helped me to get all of the other files (tons of them – about 250G off of my now dead external hard drive.  Words of Lizdom: never trust an external hard drive for your really important stuff!  I’m so glad I had a lot of it on DVD’s, as we didn’t think the files on the drive were going to be savable.  I always used to back up my pics and important documents on a few DVD’s and put them in our safety deposit box at the bank.  Silly me hasn’t done that for years.  Needless to say, I’ll be visiting that nice little box at the bank very soon!  Fortunately, Mike was able to extract my files off of the hard drive using his Linux system.  I’ve since bought a 32GB flash drive and put everything on there.  Plus I’m going to create some DVD’s of the most important stuff soon.  Continuing with my Words of Lizdom: Always back up your cherished pictures and documents on a non-mechanical device like a DVD or flash drive, and make extra copies!

So that’s my excitement for the week.  Abby had a thrill of her own when I told her Donkay was back.  She yelled like a little school kitty:

Now they’re sitting pretty:

Today’s symptoms:  I actually had a really good day until later in the afternoon.  Just around 4:00ish, it felt like I was run over by a bus.  The fatigue was really bad, pain everywhere and I just felt altogether lousy.  It’s probably still this bladder and kidney infection, which does seem a lot better than a few days ago. I can’t seem to get warm, either.  Hmph. 

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/27/2014 9:12 PM

 

 

 

Crazy Kittahs

Was hoping I could post some nice flight pics but the weather really isn’t cooperating at all.  I’ll just show these great kittah pics instead.My youngest kitty, Abby, has a chronic intestinal infection, which she has been dealing with since she was a kitten.  She’s a very skitty kitty plus she never seems to feel well, so that doesn’t make her the most social.  The awesome vets at Court Animal Hospital here in St. Catharines, have done so much research into Abby’s rare condition and have tried so many different medications.  I thought what possibly made her condition worse was how anxious she is.  We ended up putting her on a very low dose of an anti-depressant.  Wow, what a difference.  She’s out on my lap when I’m on the couch pretty much every night.  She just looks and acts so much happier and less stressed.  Here she is sleeping on my arm:

I felt bad when I had to get up to go to the bathroom so I tried to recreate my arm for her:

It worked and she didn’t even run away when I came back and sat down.  I’m so happy to see her like this.Needless to say, the other three are all their weird selves.  Boo was in launch mode here:

And Mya decided to look out the window:

Pinky is the lump under her blanket on my bed:

I’m still dealing with insomnia issues.  This is the time that I typically wake up each morning and it takes me hours to get back to sleep:

I can’t believe last week was time for my monthly Tysabri IV infusion.  Time sure flies!  As usual, Mike goes with me.  I was showing him the shopping list on my cell phone when he snapped this dorky photo:

We did something a little weird that night.  We really didn’t feel like going to sleep, even though it was getting late.  I decided I really wanted to play Jenga, even though I don’t technically own that game.  Fortunately, the flooring in my dining room has some loose pieces that were perfect:

Yup, we’re a tad bit weird.  We always have fun, though!Last weekend, we went to his nephew’s birthday party.  He turned three.  As usual, his mother made an amazing birthday cake.  She’s so talented:

It was very yummy, too!When we got back to my place, three of the four freaks were waiting for us:

Pinky came out and joined everyone (although not up on my laptop), right after I took that pic.In other news, I had a little laugh when I noticed this broken jar of beets while walking home from work.  I really hate to see food wasted, but considering how much both Mike and I hate beets, I wasn’t too upset:

There were four people behind me, who saw me take the pic.  I felt like a bit of a dork.  Mind you, now I’m a dork for posting a broken jar of beets on my blog.And in conclusion, here’s a picture of cute little Mya, beautifully decorated with my hair scrunchies:

Today’s symptoms:  Not feeling too good as I have a bad bladder infection that is going up into my kidneys.  Went to the clinic and was prescribed some meds, so will hopefully feel much better soon.  I’m wondering if this infection working on me might have contributed to my insomnia over the last week or so.  Hmmmmmm……  Dealing with a really bad headache today too.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/21/2014 8:36 PM

I’m A Slacker

I had planned on doing a blog last night but completely forgot. Wasn’t feeling well so we’ll blame it on that.

Had an interesting experience on Saturday night. Mike and I went to visit his sister and family in Stoney Creek. We decided to pick up noms for everyone at the Five Guys restaurant that just opened on Centennial Parkway. There was a guy and his kids behind us in line. While Mike was ordering, he tapped me on the arm and asked if I did a blog. At first I thought he asked if I was blonde. I felt like saying “Duh!”  Then I thought I was going to have to try and convince him that this is my natural hair colour. I asked him to repeat himself and that’s when I realized he said “blog.”  He said his mother is a loyal follower of my blog and that he himself had just seen it with her last week. Small world, eh? His wife took a pic of us and sent it to his mother:

 

He said that she has seen me in Tim Hortons a few times but has never introduced herself. I’m hoping she does the next time she sees me as I would love to meet her. After that nice meeting, we headed over to Mike’s sister’s house. We had good food and a great chat. When it was time to take the two boys to bed, Chelsea asked us to watch their four month old daughter while she slept on the couch. Big mistake! Chelsea wasn’t half way up the stairs before I started grabbing props. This is the end result:

Love the hair:

Chelsea’s face when she walked into the room was quite priceless. Mind you, knowing Mike and I, she wasn’t overly surprised.

Mike and I watched the second Hobbit movie last week. It was quite good. While he was sipping away on his glass of water, Mya decided she would like a drink too:

How can you get mad at a face like this?

So naughty. Also last week, I had to go to a meeting in Hamilton for the Employee Assistance Program. The two other Referral Agents and I joined up with the RA’s in Hamilton, as our offices have basically amalgamated. It was a very productive m

eeting and I was also able to give a little demonstration on OneNote to the group. At the end, we were presented with this awesome and very yummy cake:

Coming home from that meeting, I had this adorable surprise in my bed:

Pinky was being a little anti-social that day.

Not sure which day it was last week, but I heard sirens stop by.  Yet another large fire nearby:

This is the third large fire I’ve seen from my apartment over the last three years:

Hopefully that was the last one for a long time.

I had an appointment with a urologist today at the Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton.  My neurologist suggested I see if I was a candidate for bladder botox, to lessen/stop the urgency and frequency issues I’ve been having.  This is a very common symptom of MS.  My mother and aunt joined me today.  I met the doctor’s student, followed by the doctor himself.  Both were very nice and I was very comfortable with both of them.  Kinda a good thing since I’m going back on February 20th to have my third cystoscope then hopefully the botox injections.  Paws crossed this works!

Today’s symptoms: Felt pretty good today except some really bad crushing pains in my hands.  My fatigue level was quite tolerable today, which is kinda nice.  Let’s hope for another good day tomorrow!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/13/2014 9:54 PM

Elizicle

Well, I just got another item off my bucket list.  For some strange reason, I’ve wanted to do a Polar Bear Dip since I was a little kid.  Luck behold, there was one today in Chippawa (near Niagara Falls).  Yes, I’m a wee bit weird.  Mike and I arrived at the Chippawa Boat Launch Ramp to register around 11:00 this morning.  First, we stopped at Timmies for a nice, warm coffee:

 

Then over to Chippawa:

Nothing like showing up to an event, surrounded by fire and rescue trucks and personnel:

I raised almost $100 through folks at work, my mother, aunt and Mike.  The funds went to St. John Ambulance and Chippawa Public Docks.  Thanks, everyone!

This cute, shivering polar bear was standing next to the registration tables:

Here are some of our joyous rescuers (hopefully not needed):

The water rescue team got into position.  It was kinda good to see the water level:

I decided yesterday that my goal was just to go in up to my waist, then get the heck outta there.  For some reason, I changed my mind while I was standing with my fellow dippers, that I was going to put my head under.  Go big or go home.  Here’s the four of us, getting psyched to run forth and freeze:

Could I be any more pale?

Finally, our wave was given the signal to go.  Mike took a video, which I will be posting in my video section.  One of us females kept saying “Oh God, oh God….”  When my feet hit the water, it felt like blades going into them.  I have very sensitive skin, especially to extreme temperatures – just an MS thing.  I knew I had to keep going as I would never forgive myself for not going all the way.  I got in just past my waist then stuck my head in.  My hair kinda floated on the surface:

Wow, that hurt!  Kept smiling though:

Poor Mike told me after that he thought I tripped at first, as I said I wouldn’t be putting my head under.  Sorry!

Unfortunately (again, MS related), my leg muscles seized up and I had a hard time straightening up then walking forward.  Was able to force them to move, although I did grab onto the arm of the rescuer to help pull me up.  Then a cheerful wave to the crowd (gave me another second to get my legs working again):

Wow, that was crazy!  I went back to Mike and we headed over to the changing trailers.  One for females and one for males.  The only thing that really bothered me was a guy that walked into the female’s trailer.  He said he was getting his clothes from his wife who was in there. Not impressed, as were most of the other girls.  Anyway, after changing, the shivering really kicked in.  The pain in my hands and feet was really bad.

All of the polar bears were given free noms at the Boat House restaurant, just down the road.  I was quite happy to pose with a rye and diet Coke:

They had a great  DJ and entertainer there, Robert (I think he said Tanis, but I could be mistaken – my bad!)  Good times.  I had pizza and Mike ordered this awesome omelette:

So that was my joyous experience today!  Took about an hour to thaw, but totally worth it.

Today’s symptoms: Felt pretty good minus some pretty sharp pains in my hands.  Needless to say, I was very fatigued after my little dip today.  I’ll feel better after a good rest.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/4/2014 6:30 PM

Welcome 2014!

I said goodbye to a great year (minus health issues) – hopefully 2014 will be just as good, if not better.  Mike and I had a quiet New Year’s Eve, stayed home to watch a movie and then some TV.  We sent a few pictures of my kitties to Mike’s father, who decided to art-erize some of the pics of Pinky (his favourite):

 

And this great Happy New Year one with Mya:

The only thing that bothered me a bit about this one is Pinky’s neck.  Kinda looks like she’s decapitated, rather than just a cute, floating head (I’m sure there’s a difference!)  I decided to fix it up:

Much better!

Since there’s really only one place open in the Niagara Region on New Years Day, we headed down to the Factory Outlets on Lundy’s Lane.  Our first stop was Timmy’s though.  Mike drooled a little when he noticed they got a couple new muffins, including this red velvet one:

Quite yummy!  Once we finished nomming, we headed over to the outlet mall.  We got there soon after it opened at noon, and the parking lot was already about half full.  We only spent a little over an hour and didn’t buy much at all, but it was a nice time.  Of course the best part was the chocolate store:

While leaving the outlets, I thought of Lapennaco’s Liquidation Centre, which was just around the corner.  It was open so we wandered around there for a bit.  I ended up getting two huge boxes of my Stevia sweetener (800 packets per box) for only $13 each.  Typically the 100 packet boxes are $7, so it was a sweet deal.  On the way back home from there, we noticed Target was open, so we headed there.  It was a rather productive day!

Looks like we’re having another spell of bad weather.  I’m glad I was able to get in one last flight for 2013 last Saturday.  I made fudge and brought some up to the tower at the St. Catharines airport and to the Flying Club.  My friend was working at the Flying Club in Welland that day, so I decided to make the arduous seven minute flight out there and drop some off to him:

I also met up with my mechanic and his son, so had a nice little chat with them.  Then it was back to Vyctor, although I really didn’t know where I was going to fly next.  On the way to my plane, I passed this sign:

Good to know!

Time for take off:

I decided to just fly around Niagara then over Lil Jan’s house.  I phoned her (blue tooth – hands free, no worries!) and she came outside to wave.  I think she’s really going to like this picture as her shadow makes her look really tall:

After that, I headed back to land at CYSN.  I decided to leave my Christmas decorations on my plane for a bit longer:

Until next year, little Vyctor:

Once back home, I figured it was time to take down my Christmas tree.  Fortunately, Mya helped tying the tree box together:

Meanwhile, Boo and Pinky just kept to themselves in the bedroom:

Little Abby didn’t come out until it was dinner time.  She sat on my lap while I ate:

So cute and googly.

Wow, I can’t believe it’s the end of the week already!  Sweet!

Today’s symptoms: Had a bad headache but my fatigue didn’t really start getting bad until a little later in the afternoon.  Can’t complain about that!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/2/2014 8:48 PM