Felt like I was coming down with something since the beginning of last week. Had aches and pains (non car accident and arthritis type) and was fatigued but was still able to function and go to work. Made it through Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing Day but became feverish on Dec. 27 with hot spells and cold shivers. Haven't had much energy to do anything and I cancelled all my volunteer shifts so I could rest up for Vegas.

Made the 12:30 boat to Nanaimo on Christmas Day. For some reason I only slept about 3 to 4 hours that day. Everyone was shocked I was on such an early boat. I took a nap on the boat - something I rarely ever do. Went and visited Uncle Johnny for a bit before going home. Curtis couldn't wait for me and already opened his presents : Actually it didn't feel weird not going over to "the house" for the first Christmas ever.

Nicole came over for a visit Boxing Day. Eliza came over Boxing Day and we went for dinner at MGM with Uncle Albert and Uncle Johnny.

Ray's sick and missed Christmas Eve at his parents' house. He was in bed when I left and is still in bed now.

Merry Christmas!

Ray's grandmother's funeral was today. I got off work at 12 noon and was lucky that a co-worker goes home that way and was able to drop me off in time. Got there just as the 2 limos were pulling in from Ray's parents' house.

There were traditions that I wasn't familiar with. The grandaughters and grandaughter-inlaws each wore a royal blue yarn flower in our hair held in with a bobby pin. These were put into the grave on top of the coffin after the service. We also had to burn fake lucky money in a barrel right beside the gravesite after the dirt and grass were put back. Kinda reminded me of when people are on strike and need to keep warm. The beautiful assortment of cascading flowers on stands were brought from the funeral hall and surrounded the gravesite in a U-shape. At the open end where there weren't any flowers we had to burn incense and put the stick into the ground. It was pouring rain. Was surprised the incense sticks were still glowing.

We went to a Chinese restaurant for the reception. At the end we got a flashlight, nice umbrella, 2 rice bowls and 2 sets of chopsticks. We turned on the flashlight as we went inside our place. Not sure why we had to do that but that's what we were told. Also got a red envelope with candy and money in it.

We go to the buddhist temple at 9am on Christmas Day for a ceremony. I'd better get lots of sleep tonight.

Saw the movie Aeonflux Friday night as King Kong was too busy. Didn't want to sit in the front row for a 3 hour movie. The ads for Aeonflux looked good and Charlize Theron does a great job. Especially when I keep flashing back to how much weight she put on for Monster. The special effects and fighting scenes are good - GIRL POWER - but the movie was disappointing. Yawn. Will hopefully see King Kong later.

Mmm, mmm, mmm! Yummy! It's Purdy's Hedgehog time!!!! I've had 6 since Friday. Haven't swayed from my self-imposed 2 per day limit, although I also had quite a few Purdy's miniatures the other day. I like the Hogs best right out of the fridge. I eat the outer layer first and then sink into the rest. Ahhh, then some soy milk to finish it off. Hot water is also good! After I finish off this box of 10 I have another box of 6. I guess I won't be losing any weight in December, oh well.

Played badminton last Sunday but didn't play Wednesday as I was too tired. Didn't do much this past week, just some walking.

Congratulations to the Arthrtis Society's Joints in Motion team at the Honolulu Marathon! Wish I could've been there with you. Monique Hurteau was in so much pain when she left last week and she finished the marathon in just over 8 hours!!! Even though she couldn't run it she must've walked. I checked online on the marathon's website to find out her time: www.honolulumarathon.org

Went to my brother and his girlfriend's housewarming party last night. He always has so many people at his parties. Considering they only moved Nov. 30 they worked really hard to unpack and get things ready.

Had a good week. Went on the treadmill for the first time since the car accident in June. Started doing the SportMedBC Walk 10K Training. I registered for one of the Sun Run Walk 10K training clinics that starts in January. Gotta get back into shape and lose about 10 to 15 pounds. The official training for the marathon will start in August or September. Hopefully my back and neck pain will stay under control and not take over.

Played badminton tonight without pain! Just had to stretch and take breaks and I was fine :) Put up the tree tonight. It's so beautiful - Ray surprised me with the tree a few years ago at the old place after coming back from Nanaimo at Christmas time. Put the star on and one strand of lights so far. Of course listened to the Elvis Christmas CD per tradition. Will put on more lights and ornaments later.

It's the last week of training for the Arthritis Society's Joints in Motion Training Team before they go to the Honolulu Marathon. I think they fly out on Thursday for the marathon on Sunday Dec. 11. Hopefully I'll be able to go next year. Good luck to all of them. Especially Monique who hasn't been able to do much running due to her whiplash injury from a few years ago. I think she just started running this year and was up to 13 miles in her training but had too much pain from her whiplash so had to start all over again. The training took quite a toll on her. Check out her website at www.movewithintegrity.ca - she is quite a trooper and an inspiration.

Went to Ariena's party last night. Was wondering how she was going to fit 17 people in her place. Turned out quite well as she has a lot of floor space for chairs. The windows were covered in condensation from all the people in there. Had a lot of fun playing Trivial Pursuit. Hadn't played for years. There were 13 of us broken down into groups of 3 and one group of 4. But the older team (Team Black) had the advantage since this game was from the late 80's. The Vancouver trivia questions had better odds for our Team Couch Potato as we were the youngest at the party. The 3 C's tried their best but ended up the losers. I wonder if any of the neighbours heard us as we were quite loud yelling, cheering and making a lot of noise. Didn't leave until close to 1:00 am.

Wrapped most of my Christmas presents last Sunday. Helped my brother move a carload on Tuesday night. That pretty much did me in as my back and neck were in a lot of pain the rest of the night. Had to take a lot of Advil. Felt bad that I wasn't able to help out with the big move on Wednesday but was at home recovering. Managed to go over in the afternoon but only moved a few little things downstairs.

Way too much sitting last weekend. Played badminton on Sunday. Haven't been able to play for the rest of the week as my back has been killing me. Hurts when I bend or sit up straight. Went to massage and physio today. Massage didn't help much but boy oh boy did physio ever feel good!

Had the Maids come over on Monday. The 4 of them did in an hour and a half what it would take me eons and eons and eons to do. The strange thing is they like to clean. The woman who cleaned our bathrooms said cleaning was relaxing. Well, at least she's in the right job. She used to have her own cleaning business in Richmond but when gas prices went up decided it wasn't worth it. Another woman did the vacuuming, another the dusting (Melissa the team leader) and another the kitchen. This team was quite thorough and I will request them next time as I like them better than the team I had the past 2 years.

Last Sunday I went to see Disney's Nemo on Ice again. I've posted new pics of the show. It was at the Pacific Colisseum. I saw the show earlier in the year when I was in Houston but was in the cheap seats higher up. Last week I was on the ice level right in the middle! It was excellent! So much better up close! Didn't realize there was an acrobat in the jellyfish scene before. I loved the movie so loved the show. They used the soundtrack voices from the movie and the skaters lip-sync'd. Great costumes and set design as well as skating. I was very impressed although my photos from Houston turned out better as I didn't use the flash then. Bought another t-shirt to add to my collection. This one was fushia though instead of lilac and had Nemo and Dory instead of Nemo, Marlin and Dory. I'm surprised kids' t-shirts fit me. Kids must be big these days.

Last Saturday night watched Ray play hockey for about an hour. Then went to my friend's place for some brownies :) until Ray finished playing.

Mom came over on the 10:30 am boat and went back at 7:00 pm today. I picked her up at the bus depot shortly after 1:00 and then we went and watched Disney's Beauty and the Beast at the Stanley Theatre. I haven't been there since it was a movie theatre. Now they have live plays there. It was excellent. Awesome singers. Made me shiver and get tears in my eyes at times. Their voices were so powerful. The show was very entertaining and funny too and all the costumes were great. All that could were transferred from the cartoon to the stage: the talking tea-cup, clock, candlestick, spoon, fork, napkin etc. Here's the description from the Arts Club Theatre's website:

"Winner of the 1994 Tony Award for Best Musical, the most beautiful love story ever told comes to life on stage. Brilliantly adapted from the Academy Award-winning animated film, this much-loved spectacle will thrill you with its show-stopping musical numbers, astonishing sets, and lavish costumes."

Had a splitting headache and neck and back pain on Wednesday. The splitting headache went away by Wednesday night but I had head, neck and back pain still. Was such a relief to go to physio and massage yesterday.

Haven't played badminton for a few weeks. Hoping to play tomorrow. Had a Tupperware Fundraising Showcase at work on Tuesday. There's a new type of Tupperware bowl called Flatouts - they're neat as they are like an accordian bowl that you can squish down and flatten out for storage.

Had an enjoyable afternoon downtown today. Ugh, got up by 11::00 am and was at the volunteer orientation for the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship by 12:45 at the UBC Robson Square Theatre. Never been down there even though I pass it all the time.

I think the last time I was at Robson Square it was when my cousin was working at that taco place in the late 80's. Ahhh TACO DON, that's it! Forgot to see if that's even there now. Don't think there are fast food chains there. Wow, that was a long time ago.

Have spent a lot of time this weekend cleaning up my clutter. Man, I can sure cover every square inch of available counter and table space quickly with layers upon layers of paper. After much recycling, shredding and scanning - have put the papers into small manageable piles so that a lot of table and counter space is showing now. I've got other places of clutter to attack, will hopefully be able to do more recycling and shredding tomorrow.

Ahh, was nice to have that extra day off at the end of the week. Got to crash one day earlier. Think I got about 15 hours of sleep with a 2 hour state of consciousness in between when I got up to eat.

Played badminton 2x last week and had both physio and massage yesterday. My back and neck are getting a lot better.

Had dinner at Swiss Chalet last night for a belated double birthday celebration. Mine and one sister-in-law's b'day was Oct. 27. Nope, I didn't have chicken. Had a vegetable stir fry on noodles. It was really good. Dropped off 25 bags of Kernels popped popcorn to one of my customers. The popcorn is one of my fundraisers I'm doing for the Arthritis Society's Joints in Motion Marathon.

Went to the 2005 House of Stars Gala tonight. It was a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House held at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. Fortunately we didn't have to pay as it was $250 per person/$2000 per table. I think there were over 30 tables. Made use of one of my evening gowns. It's been a few years since I've had to wear one. It was quite an enjoyable evening. The reception was first with a large silent auction. I bid $25 for the $100 gift certificate from Brentwood Mall but didn't get it. The Nanaimo hotel/dinner package as well as the Campbell River golf didn't get any bids.

The salads, little cupcakes and buns were already on each table when we went into the ballrooom. Dinner was really good with filet mignon and salmon. Desert was a mousecake with a strawberry, raspberry and chocolate thing. An edible dusting of the Ronald McDonald House was on the plate. Zack Spencer and Steve Darling from BCTV Global News were the MC's. Some kids with cancer and their families who have been staying at the Ronald McDonald House were there. There were different raffles and fundraising going on during the night. We bought 2 balloons but didn't win anything when we were told to pop them. But I was pleasantly surprised when they said to look under the tablecloth for a Park and Fly gift certificate as there was one at every table. I looked under the tablecloth in front of me and voila! A Park and Fly gift certificate good for a week's worth ($80) of parking at the airport. Cool! We can use that when we go to Vegas - won't have to cab it to the airport. All the women got a sterling silver Ronald McDonald House necklace and all the men got a money clip.

There were dancers and stiltwalkers, also a show where 2 long curtains hung from the ceiling and 2 women did synchronized acrobatics on it. There was a live auction after dinner. Lots of different stuff including jewelry and a Gretzky jersey and print. There were 3 West Van Firemen there. They were auctioning off dinner at the station as well as a tour, pole demo etc. The bidding went over $3000 then they ended up auctioning off 2 dinners at $3400 each! Then they noted that it might be adult-oriented! Wow! $6800 was defintely the highest anything sold for. The chef of the hotel only fetched a measley $1000 or $1500 for a catered dinner and clean-up!!! After the live auction a live band came and there was dancing. Some guitarist from the Guess Who. Can't remember his name - before my time. As we were leaving we each got a gift bag, one with Eveline Charles body lotion and the other with Eveline Charles Body Goat Butter - interesting. Both bags had a $25 gift certificate for their salon and spa with a minimum $50 purchase as well as other discount coupons and samples for other places. There was also a Ronald McDonaldhouse pin - nice gold colour.

YUMMMY! What a week of chocolate! My sister-in-law dipped into her Halloween stash when we were over there Oct. 29. Gave me a bunch of Reese Peanut Butter Cups and a few Oh Henrys'. Then at work on Monday a co-worker gave me 3 more! Anyways I ate 12 in 3 days! Haven't been as bad the rest of the week but have been having at least 2 of those little mini chocolate bars each day. Snickers, Mars Bars, Oh Henry, another Reese PB Cup. My co-worker who sits right beside me has a huge ziplock bag - must be close to 1 foot x 1 foot! It's stuffed full of her leftover little Snickers, Mars Bars etc and she's got more at home! Cool! Bring on the leftover Halloween chocolates! Yee ha! I've had some tonight so am flyiing high on a buzzzzz! Oh yeah, had some little orange foiled chocolate balls.

My brother has some exciting news but I don't want to spoil it by posting it on my blog. Will let him get the word out. I'm looking forward to his news happening as it doesn't seem real yet.

Well, 2 weeks have gone by since my last post. Been able to play badminton 2x each week. Also been able to do more walking and played ping pong.

Was able to celebrate a friend's wedding reception at their house last weekend. They were married a year ago in Vietnam after only spending time with each other about 5 weeks. He's Vietnamese (30 years old) and lives here and she (19 years old) was living in Vietnam until this past June. She's a family friend. They are both on the shy side so it was fun to play games on them!

Didn't do much this weekend but got lots of sleep! Got my criminal record check done yesterday as I will need it for some volunteering I'm hoping to do.

Made it to Nanaimo on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. But missed out my aunt and uncle's dinner Sunday and Ray's parents' dinner Monday. Wasn't feeling well.

Saw the movie Flightplan last night. I thought it was pretty good. I like Jodie Foster movies.

Got a lot of errands done today. Played badminton for the first time in quite a few weeks. Will probably really feel it tomorrow.

Better take off the contacts and try to get to sleep early so my muscles have some time to recover.

We checked out Friday afternoon and then headed to the Outlet mall again :) I didn't have a chance to go to the Reebok store the other time so about 4:00 we got there. Ray waited in the car and I told him I'd be a few minutes. About an hour later I had bought 3 tank tops - purple, light fushia, and white. Also a pair of shorts. Great deals as they were all on sale for $14.99 already and then were further reduced by 40%!!!

Went to Safeway to get a few things and then hit the road out of Lincoln City about 5:40 pm. Wasn't foggy on the drive back to the I5 like it was on the way in so made better time going home. There was a lot of traffic heading to the coast. Made one gas/bathroom stop on the way home. There were only 2 cars at the border and by the time we pulled up that car was gone so just drove right in. Got home at midnight.

Was going to watch my Y&R but saw the hub-bub in New York. I guess it was only a matter of time before they got a threat on their subway system. Too bad, must be really scary to be there now.

We went to the Christmas Cottage store. Or I should say that I was in the store and Ray was in the car taking a nap. We went to the Outlet mall again. I had a $15 discount coupon from the Gap Outlet that I picked up on Sunday. Spent time online completing their survey to get it. Survey was hard to complete as I just quickly walked in and out to take a look on Sunday. Anyways with the discount I only paid $25 for 2 pairs of jeans, lilac jogging pants and a tank top. Ahhh, nice not to have any sales or State taxes here !!!! :)

Went for dinner at Lee's Chinese restaurant again in Lincoln City. The lady who served us once before remembered that I wanted hot water and we wanted bowls and chopsticks instead of plates. Ray asked if she plays badminton and found out that the other guy there plays. This time we had the Tofu and greens soup again minus the mushrooms so lots of tofu and vegies. Had bean sprout egg foo young and Veggie Chow foon. Mmmm, mmm, mmm the food at this restaurant is so good. And no MSG too!

Well, am packed now since we'll be leaving tomorrow. Has been a great relaxing vacation. Today was foggy but the week has been good with a few days of nice sunny weather mixed in with spots of showers and sprinkles.

Ray's sitting behind me in the lobby on his laptop in front of the big fireplace. Chatted with Peter at the front desk, he had an MRI on his foot last week. When Ray checked the price of MRI's in Newport it's $1500 - EGAD! The private ones at home are only $475 and that's Canadian! He'll probably end up waiting until he can get in with MSP paying. His knee has been okay after playing ping pong.

Will post some photos of the trip when we get home. Need to go through them and decide which ones to post. Think I'll sign off now to get ready to go to bed since it's 1:30. G'night.

Been watching Y&R as I've been taping it here. On Wednesday we went to Florence. On the way stopped at McD's and tried there fruit and walnut salad. Pretty good - apples, red grapes, candied walnuts and yogurt. The green apple slices were tart but the red was good.

Saw Hecate Lighthouse in the distance. The Sea Lions Cave elevator was closed but got some good pics of the caves from a viewpoint further north. Went to the Oregon Dunes Park in Florence and paid $5 to go in and see the grassy low dunes and the beach. Beautiful beach with no one around as far as the eye could see. Saw a few ATV tracks but up to Sept. 30 that area is off limits to them. We wore our hiking boots to walk up the hills. Actually not too bad in the sand. We saw the huge dune on the way out of the Park. Will have to go back in the summer to ride the dune buggies.

Ate dinner at Newport's Chalet. Good veggie burger. Ray had steak.

Watched Jaws 2 and 3 on tv.

On Tuesday we stopped and looked at different ocean viewpoints. Started at the Depoe Bay Sea Wall, then the Rocky Creek viewpoint. Saw lots of whale blowholes in the distance!!! Went a short distance to Rodea Point off of Otter Crest Loop. This time we were lucky and were able to see 2 whales at times just 10 to 20 feet off the shore. We watched them for about an hour. It was so exciting! Just saw the water shooting up from their blowholes and then the curve of their backs and a few times their tails! One of them came up more frequently and had a smaller tail so was probably younger. Ray had them timed so he knew when to expect them to take a photo. Too bad they didn't come up out of the water more. Since there wasn't a fin and their backs were jagged they were gray whales.

After tearing me away we went to Cape Foulweather, and then Devil's Punchbowl. Saw lots of surfers in the shallow waves of the beautiful long beach.

We ate at Lee's Chinese restaurant again in Lincoln City. Great food. They have really good tofu and veggie soup. The woman there has only been here for 5 months from China as her hubby's family owns the restaurant.

Played ping pong again.

On Monday we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. Saw turtles, octopus, otters, seals, lots of fish and a tunnel of sharks! Went to the Yaquinna Bay lighthouse but it was closed so just looked around at the view. Ate at China Star Buffet for dinner. I was starving. Had good desert there - creme puff, vanilla roll, chocolate cake and YUMMMMY chocolate ice cream. I was so full, my pants were so tight.

Played ping pong at the resort and then went on the bike and treadmill to work off the desert! The resort also has an air-hockey table, a few arcade games, pool table, swimming pool, hot tub and big screen tv. There's free internet here in the lobby.

Our suite is great. The best ever. Great view looking out at the beach and ocean. The bedroom has a sliding glass door onto the balcony overlooking the ocean and beach. The living room has a door to it as well. Cool to fall asleep to the lull of the roaring surf pounding on Gleneden Beach. We have all the amenities of home with a full kitchen, in-suite washer and dryer, bbq on the patio, vacuum cleaner etc. Too bad we don't have a king-sized bed at home. Can stretch out as much as I want when my back is sore.

On Sunday we spent the day in Lincoln City. Went to the Chinook Winds Resort and Casino but didn't play anything at the casino. Went there for the Teddy Bear Convention. Apparently it's been there every year for the past 14 years or so. What an interesting place to be. So many bears but not the commercial Andrew Brownsword Bears or Gund Bears I was expecting. These were collectible bears with prices starting over $100. There were so many variety of bears with so many different costumes. The reason why they're so expensive was that they're made of mohair - sheared hair from a goat or sheep.

Went to the Tanger Outlet Mall and then to Lee' Chinese Restaurant.

Ray and I left for the Oregon Coast Saturday night about 6pm. After 2 bathroom breaks we got to Portland at 11pm. Ate at Denny's - I was disappointed that they didn't have the free b'day meal there :( I was looking forward to it as I think that's what we have at home. Have never gone to Denny's on my b'day so was looking forward to getting a free meal. Oh well. Left Denny's about midnight, went through Salem to the coast and arrived at our destination in Gleneden Beach (just south of Lincoln City) about 2:30 am. Not bad timing.

Had lunch on Thursday with a dozen of my co-workers. Thanks! Was nice to have everyone at the same table. I have made a lot of good friendships with my co-workers so consider them my friends not just co-workers. I really enjoy working with the people I do and feel fortunate that they are my "family" away from home.

On Friday had lunch with a friend and her 3 month old daughter. She has her father's eyes and mother's complexion.

Had dinner with my bro' last night at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond. We ate at the buffet restaurant. It sure was busy. The resort is huge now as the hotel, shops and more restaurants have opened. The ceiling is so high there.

Curtis filled up his plate the first round. I didn't have too much meat in my first round - a few raw carrots and cauliflower, rice pilaf, potato pancakes, cooked vegies, chicken strips, breaded cod balls - was saving room for desert!!! Ahhh, yes let's move on to the desert. I always get ripped off at buffets as I don't eat much meat but with the 2 for 1 coupon it was worth it. The desert buffet was grrrreat! It was deeelicious, made the buffet worth it. I had peanut butter pie, trifle, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate ?mousse? chocolate ?mouse? chocolate ?moose?, anyways, chocolate chip cookie and creme caramel. Didn't like the creme caramel at all, was sort of like a slimy hard boiled egg white. The cheesecake was good, best savoured and eaten very slowly - i.e. leave in your mouth for a bit to enjoy each and every bite. The chocolate chip cookie was reaallly good too. Mmmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm. Yummy peanut butter pie - never had that before. Trifle was very good too.

Anyways, while on the waiting list waiting to be paged for dinner we went to the casino and I played the poker slot machine. Put in my usual $5 bill - i.e. 20 quarters/credits. Got up to about 41 quarters and then back down to $5 before cashing out. Lasted a while before getting back down to my $5 again. Good way to kill time while waiting. How come coffee, tea and soft drinks are free at the casino but juice which is better for you costs $2.25?

Was great to spend time with my bro' - glad we're able to hang out together. Maybe we'd see more of each other if we ever became neighbours :)

Had dinner with Ariena on Friday night at the Riverboat Casino restaurant in New West www.royalcitystar.bc.ca - the food was good and the restaurant was quite big. You don't have to go into the casino to get to the restaurant and you can't tell you're on a boat (i.e. no rocking motion) so it would've been okay for Kirk and Elaine's baby Kali. I won $5 at the poker slots - started with $5, got up to $17.50 and then cashed out at $10. Ariena accidently pushed a button that betted 10 quarters. I called over an employee to see if I could lower the bet but that wasn't possible. Ariena brought me good luck as I got a good hand from that bet! Thanks!

Going to the Riverrock Casino on Tuesday with Curtis for dinner at the buffet restaurant: www.greatcanadiancasinos.com/riverrock - I have a 2 for 1 coupon. Looking forward to it as I've only eaten in the food court there.

Here there are only 25 cent poker slot machines. Can't wait until we go to Vegas for New Year's as there are 5 cent ones there.

Well, another week gone by and another week without playing badminton. At least I've been doing a bit of walking. Had both massage and physio on Monday and Friday. Got dizzy on Monday so my massage therapist had to stop stretching my neck. Didn't have neck traction at physio that day either. Saw my doctor Tuesday and found out I have benign positional vertigo which is what has been causing my dizziness. Just an inner ear thing when particles in there are moving around. It's better now. Saw my doctor on Wednesday as well to go over the ICBC report for the MVA.

Wasn't feeling that great Thursday so ended up cancelling my Chocolate Festival volunteer orientation - didnt' feel like going to Coquitlam. But will hopefully go the festival in a few weeks.

One of my coworkers donated a container of coins for my Arthritis Society Joints in Motion Team fundraising. I was shocked as she had already donated a container of coins a few months ago that turned out to be close to $50. This time it was just under $20 so another great donation and a nice surprise. This week has been good for fundraising as I've been selling Famous Players tickets, chocolate covered almonds, Kernels popcorn and Arthritis Society bracelets. Even sold a bracelet to the teller at the bank yesterday!!! :)

Just the usual during the week. Didn't do much this weekend. Slept a lot :) Ray and I went to the Keg for dinner last night. Curtis and Eliza came by to pick up our brand new BBQ and gas tank which had been collecting dust on our balcony since it was given to us as a wedding present 3 years ago. Had brand new Pampered Chef and Regal utensils too so was a whole set they got.

Was hoping to go to the Nike warehouse sale at the PNE since it's the last day today, but my back and neck have been bothering me this weekend. Been having pain and dizzy spells. Took 2 Advils 1/2 hour ago so am starting to feel it kick in.

Hmm, been a few weeks since my last update. Let's see, been fundraising - selling Arthritis Society bracelets, popcorn, chocolate almonds (sold 13 boxes to the staff at Mr. Ho's Chinese restaurant!).

Last weekend I was in Nanaimo for my Dad's birthday dinner on Friday. Curtis and Ray were also over. Yoda, my parents' Rottie pup was only 8 1/2 weeks old, so cute and fluffy with soft puppy fur :) My Mom and I were at Woodgrove Mall on Saturday at a table where we were selling blue bracelets (which say Arthritis Society Hope for the Long Run and has the Arthritis blue bird on it), stickers by donation and donations. Since my Mom was there the whole day and didn't mind sitting at the table I got to stretch a lot walking around the mall shopping! Thanks MOM!!!

My Dad was at a golf tournament Saturday. My mom and I went to pick up Yoda at Lisa's house after the mall as she was dog-sitting during the day. It was so cute seeing Dark Vader and Luke - Yoda's remaining siblings. They're so adorable! Can't believe Lisa copied Dad and named her pups after Star Wars too!

Then my Mom and I had dinner at the casino and then stayed there for a bit playing the slots.

On Sunday, my Dad picked up Cassie, Yoda's mom. Mom, Dad, Cassie, Yoda and I went to Swy-A-Lana Lagoon for the SPCA Pause for a Cause walk. No free give-aways like in Vancouver and not very many booths but still lots of dogs. Good thing Cassie was there as Yoda would follow her and it wasn't difficult walking him. Yoda got a lot of attention as he looked like a little fluffy, stubby bear cub which is what a lot of people said as they saw us. Then when they saw Cassie was his mom got even more attention.

Was quite an interesting weekend. Was hoping to play badminton Sunday night but was too tired from lack of sleep (i.e. no chance to crash yet on the weekend) and had a lot of back pain from sitting at the mall and the ferry rides. So went to bed at 9pm!!!

Sunday afternoon I volunteered for the Arthritis Society with registration for the athletes for the Triathalon. Part of the registration fee went to the Arthritis Society. I was at the Fila store on Robson for 3 hours writing #'s on swim caps, finding t-shirt sizes and race bibs, and handing out race bags. Triathaletes don't look as drawn out and haggard as some marathoners. I guess there's more bulk from the muscles they use from swimming and cycling.

Picked up the Arthritis Society blue "Hope For the Long Run" silicone rubber bracelets with the Arthritis Society's blue bird on it. I'm selling them for $2 each.

Played badminton Sunday night.

On Monday went cycling for the first time this year across the Queensborough Bridge. Ahem, let me rephrase that. Ray cycled across the bridge. I got about 1/3 of the way and was getting too much anxiety from the traffic whooshing by and the narrow width of the sidewalk so I got off my bike and walked it the rest of the way. When someone came in the opposite direction there wasn't enough room unless one of the parties stopped their bike. The first thing Ray asked when I got to the other side was "did you fall?". We cycled around all the new stores and restaurants by Walmart. Went to the viewpoint with benches at the Fraser River. Ray thought there was a fence under the water but it was a shopping cart. Had a pleasant walk back over the bridge and noticed that the sign at the end said that cyclists are supposed to dismount when going over the bridge - HRRRUMMPH!!! I took time to look at the view from the middle of the Queensborough Bridge. First time while stationary. There's an ICBC salvage yard there with mangled cars in every form of ?manglement? Man, I was cringing looking at some of the wreckage as there was no one any could survive the cars that were totally smooshed on the driver's side. We cycled to New West Quay along the boardwalk. Couldn't sleep later on that night as every bone and joint in my body was screaming in pain. Had to take Advil before I could sleep :(

Did the usual massage and physio and played badminton last week. Had my eye exam at my optometrist. Been over 2 years since my last one. They do retinal scans now so got to see my retina on his computer. Ewwww, yuck, lots of veins and the black macular whatever-it-was. Was interesting to see it but when Ray asked if I got a copy of it - it's not something I would really want to look at again. Told my optometrist about my mom's vitreous detachment and cataract.

Hmm, let's see. Last week. Went out for dinner for my cousin's birthday. Heh heh heh. Two years older than me again eh? My other cousin, his wife and their baby were there too. Went to the Arthritis Society office to sign up to volunteer for the triathalon registration.

This past weekend, saw the movie the 40 Year Old Virgin. Was pretty good but thought a few scenes were unnecessary like when the guy who went to Tijiuana recounted what happened there with a woman and a horse. I thought that was disturbing, i.e. not even funny. Ray and the audience laughed at some scenes I didn't really find funny. Went to Krispy Kreme after the movie. By then my back was killing me from too much sitting :( Ate my custard-filled chocolate doughnut. Was going to walk around the parking lot to stretch but when I saw a couple of guys fighting, punching each other and dropping their box of doughnuts and coffee in the parking lot I decided to stretch in the car.

Played badminton Sunday and Monday and ping pong yesterday. Had a DQ chocolate sundae yesterday - YUM! My friend only lasted for an hour on Monday before his arm was too sore as he hadn't played for years. But considering how long it'd been he did quite well.

My parents were over for my uncle's 65th birthday/retirement dinner so on Tuesday we went to the casino before dinner. I brought my butt pad to the restaurant but forgot to stretch. Didn't take any Advil that night either. Paid for it the next day. Woke up really early Wednesday but couldn't sleep so had to take Advil all day. Had pain in my neck, shoulders, top of head, bridge of nose, temples, and my lower back was throbbing. I was also dizzy had a headache - throbbing top left of head, not small point. Chin tuck felt really good. Fingers were stiff too. Missed a dinner Wednesday as I was in too much pain. Dragged myself to work on Thursday. Went to physio and massage Friday - ahhhh. My physiotherapist didn't think I was ready to only come in once a week and should still keep it at twice a week :(

Had an excellent day at the PNE on its opening day Aug. 20. Got there just in time to see Joyce Becker's Soap Opera Talk show. It was so exciting. We were right at the stage in the 2nd row. Joyce was in the audience and we got to ask questions! It was awesome. Check out my photos. Christian's face was red from the sun - he was flipping pancakes in the morning for the free pancake breakfast. I asked Christian where Michael and Lauren would get married. I welcomed them all to Vancouver and the PNE which caused them all to cheer as well as the audience! I also asked if Christian and Greg would follow Eva Longoria (Isabella) to Astoria Lane (Desperate Housewives). Ray was originally standing right beside me but got jostled and pushed by all the excited fans (mostly women) so ended up standing a ways from me! Most of the fans were Y&R fans so the GH stars didn't get asked many questions.

After that we went and watched the pig races. The venue is a lot bigger now so everyone had a seat. In the past years the venue was too small and it was standing room only and if you weren't in the front row you couldn't see anything. We then went to the stables where I petted the horses and cows. I went to the petting area and petted the llama, pigs, and donkey while
Ray went to get a Coke and popcorn. We saw the Lego exhibit which was quite impressive. Pressed the buttons to see what moved. There was a cafe behind the Farm Country so I had a veggie burger and fries. The burger was really good.

We then went to the Eukanuba Superdog show. I got a free bag of puppy food for my parents' puppy - had to carry it around for the next few hours. Don't remember frisbees being thrown in previous dog shows. Was a good show and glad I went to see Herb Williams for the last time. On the way to watch the parade we stopped and watched Loverboy for a few songs. Great concert even by a big Mike Reno.

To top off this great evening at the PNE we went to play games at Playland after the parade. I tried to win a purple turtle at the $2 month game but after spending $4 decided it wasn't worth it as the turtle was just so-so and we kept walking. Ahhhh the lilac Care Bear looked good. We each paid $3 at the Whack-a-Mole game. Whoever hits the moles and gets to 150 points first wins. I think there were about 10 people playing. I only had 130 points as I missed a few. The light went off at Ray's game!!! He won. I was so excited I hugged him and was screaming! The guy was getting a Scooby Doo for us (a much smaller Scooby than the pyjama one I have from a few years ago). I told him - No - lilac Care Bear! He was confused and didn't know what that was so Ray had to tell him it was the purple one. I've added the photo with me and Harmony Bear in my profile as well as my regular pics.

Had lunch at Enthuze www.enthuze.ca Friday. Quite a neat concept for a restaurant. They have quite a variety of main entrees, as well as a display case full of deli items such as pastas, salads and lots of desserts. There are a lot of nifty items that they sell too including dishes and unique items. Worth a look.

Wow, what a beautiful day for the first day of the PNE - no rain, how unusual! Looking forward to the annual tradition of going to the PNE. Hope to get a good glimpse of the 3 Y&R actors who will be there - Christian Leblanc (Michael Baldwin), Greg Rikkart (Kevin Fisher) and Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor) - how exciting! It's Herb Williams' last year hosting the Superdogs so will see him for the last time. Loverboy is having a concert at 8 but we'll be watching the Superdogs then. Maybe catch of few of their songs at the end.

Another week gone by. Only played badminton the one day on Sunday night. Didn't play any games, just rallied so my back and neck were okay the full 2 hours.
Did the usual massage and physio Monday and Friday. Am feeling better so will start going once a week. Had a bad arthritis attack on Wednesday when the weather changed and we got rain. Had burning, throbbing pain in my back, neck, elbows, wrists, forearm, fingers, knees, hips and ankles. I was fine the next day with just a bit of soreness.

Ahhh, nice to catch up on sleep. Went to bed early Friday night around 11pm and got up around 11am. Had something to eat then went back to sleep until about 4pm. Must've gotten about 16 hours sleep.

Ray and I went to Boston Pizza for dinner last night and I got about 10 hours sleep today. Feels good to get enough sleep :)

Well, another week's gone by. Did the usual massage and physio on Monday and Friday.

On Tuesday I helped out Monique at her stand-up comedy fundraiser at the Urban Well in Kits. She's also fundraising for the Arthritis Society's Joints in Motion Training Team for the Honolulu Marathon. She's running it. She has quite a story and gave me so much credit for helping her out that she called me an angel - can you imagine - ME an ANGEL :) Check out her website at www.movewithintegrity.ca and see her Marathon Journal on August 10 about me. She is in such good shape as she's a personal trainer and teaches pilates. She was diagnosed with arthritis when she was 10 and told that she'd be in a wheelchair by the time she was in her 20's. She is quite a hero!

Ray and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary last night. We had dinner at Horizon's on top of Burnaby Mountain. My chicken linguini was deeeelicious!!! Pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, asparagus and some other veggie that was good. We weren't able to see the fireworks from our table as the trees blocked our view but walked to the other side of the restaurant and saw some.

I played badminton tonight for the first time in a month and a half. Only played 2 games though as my neck and back became sore. Was great to see the gang again.

Hmm, need to figure out how to add photos and hyperlinks like Kirk does. Maybe on the weekend...need to try and go to bed early.

Mom's Okay. Spoke to Mom tonight and glad to hear she's not seeing as many floaters and lines as she did on Saturday as her eye has stopped bleeding from the vitreous detachment. She saw her own opthamologist today and will see him again in 3 weeks. Apparently vitreous detachment in the eye is common in myopic people as they get older. Luckily it wasn't a retina detachment which is quite serious.

Instead of fundraising at Country Club Mall in Nanaimo last Saturday for my fundraising we spent the morning in the emergency room at the hospital in Nanaimo (Dr. Digby) and the afternoon at the opthamalogist's (Dr. Pollack) on call in Duncan. Good thing I brought a box of Kleenex with me as my stupid head cold was in full force.

Luckily my dad was carrying their cell phone and actually had it turned on because I was in town. Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to contact him and keep him posted. He met us at the South Gate Timmy's and we all went to Duncan together. I'm glad I drove so my mom and dad could yak the whole way down about what was going on.

Whine Fest

Hrrrumph, it's been a month and a half since I've played badminton - June 22/05!!! Had to stop training for the marathon too in June!!! Arrrrgh!!!!!

Been going to massage and physio every week. Wah!!! I hate MVA's!!! Well, 3 times a charm and that's it for me - enough MVA's to last me a lifetime.

I've deferred the Arthritis Society's Joints in Motion Training Team for the Honolulu Marathon www.jointsinmotion.ca to December 2006 so that's a relief. Maybe I can raise enough so that Ray can go too :)

Now, just need to get over this damn cold!!!

Well, it's nice to have a whine fest. I feel better now.

Hmm, I've been such a hermit lately. Not feeling well for one reason or another. Have been really bad in keeping in touch with those close to me. Hopefully that will change soon. By blogging I'm hoping that my friends and family will be able to know what I've been up to in case I forget to reply to their emails or phone calls.