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.