I'm glad there is a reprieve in the rain, even if it's only for a few hours or part of a day. There sure has been a lot of flooding and slides in various areas around the lower mainland. And so many tornadoes in Northern Texas and New Mexico. I wanted to go there on vacation some time but now am having second thoughts.

Ahhhh, I went to physio yesterday. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my head and shoulders. I didn't realize how bad my neck was (as usual). I never realize how bad my neck is until I leave the clinic and notice that my head can move more freely than before. My physiotherapist is always amazed how much tolerance I have for neck pain. She's glad that I do have a high tolerance otherwise I wouldn't be able to go that long without getting treatment. It is quite painful though when she is mobilizing the joints. I always think it's my SI joint and back that's hurting not realizing that I'm so used to neck pain that I don't notice it anymore.

I always call Ray when I'm getting interferential treatment and tell him I'm being "abducted by aliens"!!! Yep, I was a big X-Files fan :) I sometimes fall asleep when getting neck traction done but didn't yesterday.

I was so relaxed afterwards that I was able to sleep right away without the usual tossing and turning to get a comfy back position. I do have some "bruising" pains along my spine from all the deep mobs (mobilization of the joints) but it's not restrictive in any way. Can just feel it when I touch my spine or am lying down flat on my back. I can also feel it when I move but it's not an achy or stiffness type of pain.

Man, this weather sucks!!! Besides all my finger joints aching, my elbow has been having a dull throbbing ache today. I wanted to walk today but my eyes kept watering from the air and even with my thermal Nike fleece pants, my warm down jacket, fleece toque and acrylic scarf it still too damn cold and everything hurts so didn't end up walking!!! Woe is me!!! Cry me a river!!! Play me a violin!

On a brighter note I was able to get a 3 mile walk in yesterday.

Went to the dentist today to get some sealants redone. Apparently this is done to fill in grooves to prevent cavities from forming. My dentist always says I have BEAUTIFUL TEETH! I always think to myself when he says that: My teeth are crooked and square shaped...what's so great about them? He said that for an adult there are very few who have teeth as good as mine. What he meant was that everyone has so many cavities including himself. He asked where I grew up and when I told him it was Nanaimo he said he didn't think there was fluoride in the water there. Then I told him my mom used to put fluoride drops in our ?milk? every day. I remember her counting the drops. Not sure how you base the # of drops, maybe on your age? Anyways, he said I should be grateful to my mom for that! My dentist also said that sealants are usually done in kids to prevent cavities. I didn't know that!!! Cool.

Speaking of childhood rituals I remember taking a colourful Flintstone vitamin every day.

I had a bad chocolate craving the other day and stopped at Daniel's and got a milk chocolate hedgehog and a peanut butter milk chocolate. Too bad the Purdy's across the street is gone :( So now there are only 3 chocolate stores on Robson. Oh well, at least there's a Purdy's in Pacific Centre. Speaking of Purdy's, their Open House is this Sunday!!! I haven't found any other hedgehog that even comes close in comparison with Purdy's. So far with the milk chocolate hedgehogs I've had here are my favourites:

1. Purdy's
2. Charlie's
3. Daniel's
4. Brussels
5. Rocky Mountain

The best is right out of the fridge so then I can eat the outside layer first :)

What a crappy, wet day. At least it's not cold. I'm so glad I don't have to train anymore so don't have to walk and get soaked out there. I got up before noon today, around 11 to 11:30. Got about 10 hours sleep. Felt great to sleep in. Was at L.A. Weight Loss shortly after 1:00 and then picked up an order of California Rolls for Ray. Saw a little produce/convenience store and bakery/cafe that I pass all the time but never been in. So I popped in and took a look and picked up a few things.

I watched the rest of Friday's Y&R while eating a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Then got sleepy so took a nap for about 3 hours. Ray's been a vampire lately so he got up when I did from my nap.

We went to U-Grill to eat about 7:00. One of the cooks said it was so busy up to then since this morning and just started to quiet down when we got there. Ray commented that it must be because of spring break. I asked the guy how many hours a day he works as he as well as the other 2 cooks are always there alternating with a few others. He said that the 3 of them work 12 to 13 hour days, 7 days a week and have been for the past 8 years!!! Holeeey! The other cook said the older cook has 2 wives and 7 children to support. He said it jokingly a few times. Since he repeated that comment 2 or 3 times within the conversation- things that make you go hmmm....Anyways my first question was - do you get paid for overtime? He said yes. But still, I can't believe some Asian people work the type of hours and days they do. They don't have a life. The joking chef said that it's noisy and smelly working there and he has a beer as soon as he gets home. I guess it's similar hours to those Mom and Pop convenience stores or restaurants but at least there they are the owners.

Mom and Dad were over last weekend. We went out for dinner for C's b'day to the Old Bavaria Haus. Never knew what a schnitzel was before. They sure had a lot of different type of schnitzels. Had a lot of "regular" food on the menu too. I tried the vegetarian ziegeuner schnitzel which had red peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and melted cheese on top. The schnitzel itself was made of grain and had grated brocolli, cauliflower and other vegies in it.

Last Saturday night I chaperoned the parents at the Rod Stewart concert at GM Place. I didn't think I had to go but then Dad told me I had to be their concert tour guide. Actually the concert was quite good and I enjoyed it as I knew the majority of the songs. Didn't think I would. He had so much energy and is in good shape for his age. He was in the round and had an impressive round stage with 2 half circles around it. There was a floor to ceiling kilt-like curtain that covered the stage and then got lifted. There was quite a Celtic and soccer theme going on. Lots of old footage of Rod Stewart playing soccer, old concerts etc were shown.

Considering we were in the 3rd level our seats were decent since the stage was in the round. We were in row 1 of the 3rd level so no one was in front of us and we could rest our feet on the railing in front of us. I could look down and see my co-worker in the section directly below us (I knew she was going to be there ahead of time). I brought my binoculars as we wouldn't have been able to see his face too clearly from where we were sitting except on the big screen. Plus could look at the details of what he was wearing. Cool gold Adidas runners. He sure dresses quite flamboyantly. Well, not as "flamboyant" as Elton John though.

Didn't feel too great Sunday and Monday as my back and neck were sore. The concert was a good length and since Mom and I only danced for one song (Do You Think I'm Sexy) I guess I was in the same position too long without stretching. Combined with the crappy wet damp weather I hibernated inside with the aching body and joints.

Managed to get in some 1 mile walks this week as well as one 3 miler so am glad about that. Went a new route which was cool. I haven't walked 3 miles for a couple of months. It felt good afterwards but then I had to stretch a lot throughout the night as my muscles weren't used to that much walking anymore.

Now that my parents have a computer and email I find that I don't blog as often as before. This is because I usually update them weekly or so to what I've been up to and forget about blogging. Also, I've been working on my bowling fundraiser for the BC Cancer Foundation's Underwear Affair as well as volunteering for various things.

I'm still recovering from a cold I got a week ago. It's at the tail end now so the worst of it is over. I got run down the week following Chinese New Year starting with the day after. I went to the City of Vancouver Heritage awards presentation as my cousin was recognized for some work he did. There was a new pop opera group called Destino who performed. They weren't bad but since I've seen Il Divo in concert Destino was just a scrawnier version of them. Of course there's no comparison but they are okay in their own right. We went out to eat afterwards and had a great visit but I ended going to bed really late that night. Instead of going to bed early on Tuesday I had already committed to being an Event Outreach Volunteer for the BC Cancer Foundation to distribute display stands for the Underwear Affair. This took a few hours. Thanks A for helping me distribute these in the brrrr cold weather that night. A lot of businesses were closed by the time we got to them but we managed to give out 17 display stands. I brought 2 to work on Wednesday and distributed the remaining 6 Wednesday night. Brrrr, it was cold and being the night owl I am, I didn't go to bed early that night either. Nor the night after on Thursday night. So I guess I paid for the late nights Friday morning when I woke up with a sore throat and runny nose. The weekend was a write-off as I was feverish, congested and totally fatigued. Good thing I already had Monday off. Since I wasn't able to do anything I read half of my Hannibal Rising book so will be able to see the movie after I'm done. It will be interesting to see how closely the movie follows the book and how the gruesome details will be portrayed. I can't wait!

Another thing that happened last week was that I ate 2 boxes of chocolate-covered Macadamia Nuts that my sister-in-laws brought back from Honolulu. One box had "premium" chocolate and was coated in honey. Unfortunately I couldn't just put the boxes in the cupboard and forget about them, being the chocoholic that I am. Strangely enough, when I went to LA Weight Loss on Saturday I actually had lost a pound since the week before. Ha! Who said you gain weight from OD'ing on nuts and chocolate! I told them what I ate and they were shocked too. Yes, chocolate is a food group! Speaking of chocolate, I've discovered a new type of chocolate that I really like. It's Ritter Sport. I get the little square ones. I love the Corn Crisp one the best followed by the milk chocolate one. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!

I can't wait until I'm feeling better so I can start exercising again and playing badminton. I don't usually eat as much chocolate when I'm exercising regularly.