Can You Hear Me Now?

You know, my babies are just over a year old now.

That was taken Sunday. They still try their best to fit in that together.

More “then and now” pics to come once my one year anniversary with them arrives

As you know, I have been mega-busy with work so that is why the lack of updates. Receipts, receipts, receipts!! I’m taking it easy this morning for a bit. But, it’s a good thing I was up at 7:30. The City called me at 8:00 to tell me my pet licenses came back undeliverable (because they neglected to put my apartment number on! But of course they make it sound like I never gave it to them. Whatever). And then my bank called at 8:30. I never get phone calls that early in the morning, so it was nice to be awake and answering and not sounding like they had woken me up.

On Saturday, my friend Michelle had her housewarming party. Lisa and Russ came by here first to pick me up, and so they could come in and see my kitties. They haven’t seen them since my weeks in the hospital last summer when they took care of them!! In other words, Lisa and I exchanged Christmas presents too, because it had been that long since we’d seen each other. (Her Uncle’s funeral does not count). This weekend I get to give my friend Kim her Christmas present when I finally see her, and then I’m DONE Christmas 2006. Hehe

Lisa gave me this awesome sunflower something-or-other. My guess is it’s for a candle, a big round one would work best I think. I’m going to put it on my oak hutch in the living room where stacks of CDs currently reside, once I get a new CD/DVD holder. For the time being, it actually looks nice on the floor beside the sofa.

She also gave me a big sunflower mug filled with Starbucks treats, and the Sex and the City book. Which I have already started reading… a nice frivolous break from my usual health, healing and spiritual related reads.

Lisa spoils me. Pepper just blends in…

Then we headed to Michelle’s to hang out with her and a few others. Thank God for Russ’ arm, because my balance was totally out of whack. He saved me from falling several times, I would think. Once seated on Michelle’s sofa, I didn’t move until we left. I let Michelle serve me Diet Coke with Lime and Lisa get me snacks. Ahhh, the life of a Princess.

Speaking of, I’ve ordered the tickets for my our new house, and AH dropped me off the cash for his half yesterday. Wheee!!!

Okay, so, now I’d like to bitch about work and clients and waiting on clients and money and loose ends that I hate hanging around here when I could have been done and paid up TWO WEEKS AGO if they just gave me the stuff I needed in the first place.

That’s all.

Hi, I’m insanely busy, and that is why I haven’t been updating. Same thing every year! I don’t want to spend my “off” time at the computer.

Tonight, however, I must update so I can show you my new house. I expect to move in sometime in June or July, not sure how long it takes for all the logistics to be worked out after they draw my (or AH’s) name on May 22.

You see, AH called me yesterday and basically TOLD me we were going to win (he’s watched The Secret). He had me look it up online, and we’re going to buy tickets and go in on it together. When we win, he said I get to live there for the 8 months before we can sell it and split the profits. He will look after paying the property taxes and legal fees and whatever needs to be paid in order for me to live there. (He can be a REALLY AWESOME PERSON sometimes, ya know???) I said, “you’re the one with the big family, shouldn’t you live there for the 8 months?” “No, it’s YOUR dream house. Then you can figure out what works for you and what you want from it, and can include that when you build your real dream home after we sell it”. It’s true, this place is FAR too big for me, I certainly don’t need all that space (and stairs). A triple garage isn’t necessary for my scooter. But with a million each after we sell it, I can build exactly what I want!

The first thing we needed to do was go and look at it, so we could really feel like it is our house and feel what it would be like in there. That makes it easier to visualize and really get the feeling down, and then I’d have lots of pictures to look at daily, too. So, tonight AH picked me up and we went down to the show home. Unfortunately, picture taking was not allowed, as I found out after I took my first one in the kitchen:

So, no more pictures, but that’s okay. I have a flyer with several photos and my memories of that AMAZING ENSUITE OFF THE MASTER BEDROOM. Holy SHIT. Seriously amazing. With a walk-in closet bigger than some places I lived in in Toronto. Hell, the shower stall is bigger than one of the rooms I rented. That rounded part of the second floor with the 5 windows? My office.

All things considered, $2 million does not buy you what it used to in this city. I’ll still take it, but I’m just sayin’. I honestly expected more. It does come fully furnished and decorated though, so that counts for a lot. The VR tour at the website is actually really good! (She realizes now, after she read the instructions and understands you can actually see more than just the front room). Go check out my Ensuite!!

There was a second house across the street, but we didn’t bother to look at it. Walking around that one house was more than enough for me, plus I already know we don’t want to settle for the second best. I want that aquatic fitness centre in my basement!!

Earlier today my friend Lisa emailed me a page from Crocs website that showed a picture we are calling my new logo:

Crocs and a sunflower! How perfect can you get?

By the way, yes, I do realize Crocs are ugly. But anyone who puts them down, has never worn a pair. Because once you do, you will wish you had a pair in every colour and style. They’re still one of only two pairs of shoes I own that allow me to go out with just my cane on some days. (I’m still pretty much attached to my walker, however, I live in hope!) That little pool in my new basement will help.

Our weather has been crazy. One minute you’re sitting outside in the sun with no jacket having a picnic, the next your friend cancels her trip in because it snowed heavily overnight and the roads are too icy and dangerous. Then the next minute it’s all sun and warmth again. Then snow showers. Then… AHHH! Gotta love Calgary’s weather.

The past three days I have barely left my office. One day I didn’t even get dressed, I just moved from my bed to here. I am digging through paperwork for one client I really want to finish this week, and I do believe I will! This morning I was up super early and I’m going to get everything done by tonight. Plus, I need to tidy up around here because another client is coming by tomorrow to finish up some old tax returns. I have to get all this work done to make room in here for another person. It all arrives in one box, but then it spreads out all over my desk, floor and nearby furnishings so I can sort everything, match it up accordingly, and enter it into Simply Accounting. Then when I’m done with it, it’s all put neatly back in the box.

So, today’s mission was to tidy my apartment, finish up Christy’s work and organize it in the box and complete her GST return, prepare everything for her taxes, be home to accept a delivery from Staples (I run out of printer toner in the middle of my busiest time, naturally) and make my office and home presentable for the client coming tomorrow.

It’s 4:00 and I’m not even close to finishing all that. Partly, because I went to Living Well this afternoon. I missed it on Tuesday because of all this work, and was planning to miss it today as well. However, because I was up so early and felt good, I made a deal with myself that if my Staples order arrived before noon, I would go. And it did. So I went. I worked hard, too! I think my abs will be sore tomorrow.

I just deleted several paragraphs about how much work I have to do over the next month and a half. After I wrote it out, I realized YOUDON’TCARE. You can thank me later.

I love MySpace. I found an old, old friend who is now living in Austin, Texas, that I have been wondering about a lot over the years. He used to be in that band I worked with in Toronto in the late 80’s, the Phantoms. Also, two of the former Phantoms, Joe and my good buddy Jerome, are in a band called “Broken Joe” now, and their bass player has uploaded some videos to YouTube, which I found out about because he’s a MySpace friend, and his profile also led me to the old friend in Austin. See how this works? MySpace rocks. If you can just learn to tolerate the friends requests from spammers and MLM companies.

Now I best get back to working and tidying up. I have had to keep the cats locked out of here for days while I’ve been surrounded in papers and really working hard. For obvious reasons:

Pita

Pepper (a re-post, but it matches Pita so I had to)

I had such a lovely weekend! I didn’t do ANY work, really. I mean, Pam came over and I did her tax return, but it’s not like work when you’re with a good friend and it doesn’t take hours. And, true to her word, while I worked on her taxes she trimmed my cat’s claws. Most of them, anyway. What she wasn’t able to do then, she did later. Sometimes it’s a process, one paw here, one paw there.

My kitties really like her though, that is obvious. When you leave and they both run to the patio doors and stand on their back legs to watch you, anticipating your immediate return, it’s a sure sign.

After tax duty, (we’re still unable to file them online, the CRA must have had a big problem, although they swear our “data and personal information is intact” and it wasn’t due to a hacker, but even if it was, do you think they would tell us??) we went to the Olive Garden for an early supper. We got there before 4:00 and before the Big Saturday Dinner Crowd and were seated fairly quickly. I had a $40 gift card, so even with a glass of wine each, we only had to put in a few dollars plus tip. Woo hoo!

Then it was back to my place so I could get on my scooter and we headed to Wal-Mart. I wanted to pick up some decaf coffee, because I would like to drink a latte in the evening once in awhile, but never do because of the caffeine. It was around this time that Pam informed me, that I, incidently, do not make lattes if I am using regular coffee. “You need to use espresso”. But… I thought espresso was just really strong coffee, and that by using the amount of coffee you do, and the smaller amount of water, you are making espresso… “oh, no. You actually need to use Espresso Beans. What you are making is a Cafe au’ lait, which is coffee and milk. They serve that to children in Italy!”. I thought they were the same thing? I remember drinking cafe au’ laits in my 20’s, it was my introduction to fancy coffees in a big bowl. I honestly thought they were the same thing. “No… you haven’t been reading your Coffee Geek, have you!”

Okay, so, I just wandered around that site a bit when I went to get the link, and it says that the latte and the cafe au’ lait are like cousins. That the cafe au’ lait is the French version of the latte. It also says that the latte is something you would serve children in Italy! Haha! Latte = a little bit of espresso, lots of milk. Cafe au’ lait = 50/50, strong coffee (but not espresso) and milk. Close enough! I like what I’m making, anyway, and isn’t that all that matters? That didn’t stop me from picking up Espresso beans the next day, however.

When we got back here, we watched “Happy Feet”. I know, you’re wondering… how is that possible? It’s not even out on DVD yet! Yes, well, Pam works in television production, and ’nuff said. The movie was cute. I guess I expected it to be better, but I admit it almost had me in tears at one point. Those “you GO!!” when you’re rooting for the underdog kinda tears.

After she left, I set my clocks ahead. I’m still feeling that hour loss, and I want it back! Before I went to bed, I pulled my wheelchair out of my storage room for the next day. Because it shares a room with cat litter, it was pretty dusty, even though I keep it covered with an old sheet. But getting it out was enough of a struggle, (everything has a place in that room now, but it isn’t necessarily easy to get to!) so I decided to leave the wiping it down for morning.

The next morning I got up and wiped down my wheelchair and all it’s parts before taking my shower and making my latte/au lait whatEVER. While doing my usual net surfing/coffee drinking, I came across a piece of celebrity-related gossip I found quite interesting and forwarded it on to Perez Hilton on the off chance he hadn’t seen it yet (yeah RIGHT). Within 2 minutes he e-mailed me back:

Yes.
Tahnks.
P

Tahnks! Loves it. That guy has more typos on his website than anyone, and now I have my very own personal one from him. Hee!

Anyway, around 11:30 my friend Michelle picked me up and loaded my wheelchair into her trunk. We were heading down to Eau Claire Market, and with it being such a nice sunny day, planning to buy food and bring it down to Prince’s Island Park for a picnic lunch. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do that much walking, so luckily Michelle was willing to help me with my chair.

We arrived at the mall and the first thing we did was head to the food court to choose what we wanted for lunch. I already knew I would be hitting up Cedar’s Deli for some tabouli and falafels. After getting our food we headed outside behind the market, towards Prince’s Island Park. The warm, sunny weather recently has melted all the snow and ice on the roads and everything, but the river is still icy and there are little snow banks around it. The grass in the park isn’t quite ready for summer activities. We chose a bench overlooking the river and downtown, it was quite beautiful and I am kicking myself for not having my camera with me! We took off our coats and basked in the sun while eating our lunch. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a picnic, so I get to cross that off my list. Seriously, it’s been years since I’ve done that!

After lunch we headed back into Eau Claire Market and wandered around, looking in a few stores. I picked up a package of (organic, free trade) Espresso Beans at the coffee shop. That market is really dying. I don’t even think they have anything upstairs anymore! The entire middle of the market area is gone, replaced with comfortable chairs and sofas. There is still a smaller version of the food market over to the side, and the wine market just moved into one of the spots many of the other stores have moved out of. It’s such a nice location, but I know the rent is insane so places keep closing. Cajun Charlie’s is the latest victim, and that restaurant was there for so many years! The big building out back that started out as a Hard Rock Cafe and then became a Brewster’s Pub years later, is even empty now. Oh well, as long as the weather is nice, there will always be people in the area, and lined up at the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream stand. Including Michelle and I, we got ourselves a cup of ice cream and went back outside to eat it. SUCH a nice day.

The cutest dog ever was hanging out with his humans near our bench. So, so, so, cute and I demanded Michelle get one IMMEDIATELY. She had to admit, he made the whole “waiting until Im done teaching for the summer before I get a dog” thing pretty difficult!

Anyway, we headed home around 3:30. What a lovely day. And if I didn’t have two cats and my building allowed small dogs (no comment about the people upstairs that DO have one), I would so be trying to hook up with a Bijon/Shih Tzu cross right about now.

P.S. I made a latte this morning using freshly ground espresso beans, and really? Not much of a difference, just a stronger coffee taste. But now, I have options for people… espresso? cafe au’ lait? latte? mocha? espresso macchiato? decaf cafe au lait with an extra vanilla shot? Heh.

Baristah!!!

Notes to self:

• Danny Michel is here May 16, DO NOT FORGET.
• Riding your scooter behind teenage girls in the mall talking on their cell phones is NEVER a good idea.
• Just because the email says it’s from “Jesus”, does not mean it isn’t spam.
• “Couscous” means “pussy” to Lebanese men.
• Just because Krispy Kreme now sells a whole wheat doughnut, does not make it health food.
• Stay away from Second Cup’s Butter Pecan latte.
• Will Ferrell did NOT make up for “Bewitched” with “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”. Here’s hoping for more from “Stranger Than Fiction”.

My buddy Jason was over today. Rather than bore you with the details, (he brought me work, I made him a latte, we played with the cats), here are a few videos that sum it up.

FOR THE RECORD: Yes, I like The Secret and what it teaches about the Law of Attraction and all that stuff, but let it be known that I hate, hate, HATE the way it is being marketed on that website, and I hate, hate, HATE the beginning of the DVD. Argh! It’s not Raiders of the bloody Lost Ark in the Kingdom of the Holy Grail for chrissakes. You need to know this because, I’ll be talking about it a lot, and I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea, like that I actually think that is cool or something. Because I SO DO NOT.

Yesterday my class at Living Well was toooo much. They told us last week that the classes were going to start beginning half an hour earlier from this point on, 12:30 instead of 1:00. Me, being the brainiac I am, assumed that meant the classes would also end half an hour earlier. Not so! Ugh. Their reasoning is they want to start devoting the first hour to education/lectures instead of just half an hour, then an hour and a quarter for group warm up, cardio, balance and whatever other exercises you want/can do, and group cool down/strengthening/stretching. The problem was, our lecture only lasted until 1:00, so that added extra exercise time on. I was in really bad shape by the end, and the rest of the day. I’m going to have to tell them when I arrive from now on that I know my body and what it can do, and 2 bloody hours is too much for me. I may not, in the future, sit with the group to cool down and stretch, I will do it myself, then leave if I have to. I won’t overdo it like that to please them ever again. It pisses me off that the therapists there say they have worked with so many people with MS. Well, then, you should know better! The length of the class is too long.

I’m the only person with MS in the class right now, though. I don’t know what problems everyone else has, except there is one lady who is blind in one eye (no other problems, except that she’s getting older. Aging… the new chronic illness!) and there is a sweet teeny tiny old lady, all 90 pounds of her, that uses a cane but doesn’t even touch it to the ground most of the time. She just carries it around! She’s a funny one, as most little old ladies are (well, I guess it’s either that or miserable old hag!) She says she has trouble finding clothes in her size, she’s so tiny. One woman suggested she try the Girl’s department, but she gave her a funny look. I interpreted it to mean “I don’t want to wear ‘Hello Kitty’ sweaters, thanks”. Oh, to be a size 4 petite and have trouble finding clothes… that’s a problem I could live with.

Anyway, once I got home I realized the therapist who helped me attach my walker to my scooter, did something weird when attaching the pulleys and I wasn’t able to remove them without a great struggle. I bitched out loud and called her every name in the book while I struggled and almost cried in frustration. It’s THAT easy to go from a positive feeling of gratitude and good thoughts (to attract the good stuff, y’know) to a negative headspace. I’m learning to catch myself and turn it around, but it’s hard!! This Secret stuff isn’t SO easy, you know. It’s going to take practice. It’s not hard, it’s not hard, it’s not hard…

Around 5:00 AH dropped by to try one of my lattes. He wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and since I have recently made him a bit of a latte addict, he may get himself a machine to save him some money. Heh. He watched me make one and saw that it was pretty darn easy (but wait… if he gets a machine, he will be calling me 20 times to ask me questions, because he is a man and won’t read the instruction manual). He really liked the latte I made him, and I expect he’ll drop by for another one some day soon. I also loaned him my extra copy of The Secret DVD, because he needs it like I do. We’re very much alike in the way that we appear positive and hopeful on the outside, but inside there is that little negative “yeah, right, sure, whatever” voice. That needs to be KILLED.

This morning, I decided to start my day the Secret way. (Poet, know it!) I woke up and said “thank you” and voiced how grateful I was for my comfortable bed and my good sleep and my cats (and whatever was around me). I planned my day… that AH was going to pick me up, either to take me to work or bring me home, that there would be a Tim Horton’s coffee waiting for me (last week Crystal forgot! OhMyHeavens!) and I would “roll up the rim to win” and win something, and that I would have a good day, etc. etc. I was sitting at my computer waiting for my ride, when I saw the yellow of an Access car whiz by out of the corner of my eye. “Oh, that is AH”, I thought to myself. I waited for the buzz, but when it didn’t come, I looked out the window and saw my neighbour getting in… and AH helping him! Damn, he was picking up my neighbour, not me*. No worries, I thought, he’ll bring me home later. I got to the office and drank my coffee, rolled up the rim, and won a DONUT! Ahhh… that’ll teach me. I must be more specific in visualizing “win CAR”.

Around 1:00 I text messaged AH, “are you picking me up today?” knowing full well that he would be. I almost typed “I think you are, because I planned it that way” but didn’t, for fear that he would think I’m crazy or had some “in” with Access he wasn’t aware of. Anyway, soon enough, there he was, at the door. I said “I KNEW IT! I planned this! The Secret works omgomgomg!” Eeeeee! It works! That totally proves it.

There were two other people in the car already, so I had to sit in the back seat. It doesn’t matter how much room there is, I always have a hell of a time getting out of the back seat, and need the driver’s help to stand up. This time, I expected that I wouldn’t. And I didn’t, I got out very easily. I looked at AH and said “wow! I haven’t stood up from the back seat so easily in AGES!” He asked why, and I pointed to my brain. Hehe! Then I checked my mailbox on the way in, and there was a cheque in there. A small one, but still, a cheque. And the Secret mentions that… “if you check your mailbox every day expecting to see bills, you are going to get bills, so you don’t think you’re crazy. Do yourself a favour… start expecting cheques!” Now I need to expand to bigger and better things, and get rid of that little doubt in the back of my mind.

You don’t even need to watch the Secret DVD. Just read my blog! I may be boring the pants off some of you and you’re rolling your eyes at me, but this kind of stuff excites me! It charges me up and makes me believe anything is possible. And I truly need that on a permanent basis!

I’d like to say the Power of my Mind was responsible for the drug dealers across the hall moving out, but I’m not so sure about that. Although, I certainly did hope for that a lot, and they have moved out, so maybe I had something to do with it. I have no idea who lives there now, but it’s been weeks since I’ve seen any strange young guys wandering around here, coming and going from that apartment. I’m positive they have moved because that apartment has been silent, and no smells drifting out of it. Ohhhh time to visualize a hot, young-ish, single guy (WITH A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOUR) moving in across the hall, who loves lattes and cats.

A little hitch in my field of work. The CRA’s website is having technical difficulties and cannot accept online filing of tax returns, and they’re unable to process any tax returns at all right now. Refunds are being held up and everything. I hope it gets working again soon (it’s been down for a few days already) because I want my $78 refund! Hee. I also have my neighbour’s completed tax return sitting here waiting to file and more on the way. The website problems have been all over the news, so it certainly isn’t just a little glitch. I feel bad for the big accounting firms and H&R Block!

*He told me later that he was going to honk when he drove by my window, but he knew I would then think he was there for me and come out, so he didn’t.

It doesn’t SEEM like it has been several days since I last posted.

What have I done? Seriously, I’m asking you, because I don’t remember. Oh, I know. On Friday I…. hmm…. I bet I went to the mall. Oh! Right! I did. I went to Dollarama and bought construction paper and stickers and sparkly gel pens so I can make the best Vision Board ever. Vision Board? Yeah, you know, remember when you were in school and you made one, you tore pictures out of magazines and made a collage of all these things you wanted. Didn’t you? I think I did. Or maybe I just read in Seventeen magazine that I was supposed to. Anyway, I’m making one now. It’s my Secret assignment. Not Secret as in it’s a secret, but Secret as in The Secret. You know. It will have pictures of happy, fit and active people and lovers and dollar signs and Oprah (’cause I’ll be on her show one day!) and an ion cleanse machine. I can find tons of pictures of cars, but I haven’t been able to find one with a car and a driver. I don’t just want the car, you know, I want someone to drive me around in it! Maybe I’ll just paste up a picture of a car I love and draw a stick figure behind the wheel.

On Saturday, my friend/client Ken came by and took me for lunch, again, to My Favourite Vietnamese Restaurant, again. He gave me a copy of The Secret DVD and book, so now I have an extra DVD to lend out. My mom has it right now, AH is next. Get in line! I’m reading the book right now, it goes along with the DVD but says a bit more. More author content and more quotes from the professionals. Plus a section on weight loss, which I don’t think the DVD covered…? Basically, I have to stop wanting to lose weight, because then I am focusing on wanting to lose weight, so that’s what I’ll get. The “want” to lose weight, and there will always be extra weight there, to ensure I keep wanting to lose it. I need to see myself at my goal weight already, and feel that I am there and what that would be like. I need to love my body now. OUCH. I’ve heard that one a lot. So much easier said than done. But I’ll throw it out there, because it can’t hurt!

On Sunday, my friend Pam picked me up and we went to the Crossroads Farmer’s Market. I brought my walker, and managed to walk around it okay. It would be nice if my vision didn’t go blurry when I walk, because seeing things properly without having to stop and squint would be good! There was a lady with an Avon sales area, so I picked up some Tranquil Moments fragrance mist for $10. Good deal. That left me with another $10 in cash, and when I saw/touched the softest most amazing blanket/throw ever in the history of the world, that just happened to be the burnt orange colour I want in my bedroom, it was $14 and they only took cash. Ack! Pam ran back and got it for me after we passed an ATM machine and I got more cash. ‘Whew. I have to go back and get another one, so I can give it to someone who sews and say “make me a sweater!!” Then we ate. Lots of ethnic-y type places to choose from! We went Turkish and I ate some feta cheese in a grilled pita something-or-other and got some baklava. We were seated by the coffee shop, so naturally we needed a latte to go with our baklava.

We were only out for a couple hours, but it felt like a lot longer than that by the time I got home. I was tiiired. Pam handed me a Starfruit as I exited her car! (They have great deals on produce in that place, I must return often!) I’d never had starfruit before. It was really good! I Googled it because I didn’t even know how you’re supposed to eat it. But it’s a simple wash-and-eat thing. Quite apple-y tasting, very fresh.

Sunday night I spent emailing media to promote Rob’s tour out West in April. I also watched “Walk the Line”. You know, I never realized it was the story of Johnny and June and how they met and ended up together. I mean, I knew that would be in there as a big part of it, but I always thought it was the Story of Johnny Cash’s life, you know, like “Ray” was the life story of Ray Charles. I didn’t realize it ended shortly after he proposed to her, and the next 30 some odd years weren’t portrayed! I also didn’t realize Johnny Cash was married with two kids when they met. Obviously, they were meant to be together, it’s just unfortunate that so many people were hurt in the process. Ahhh, the difficulties some people have to go through to be together.

What do you mean, you haven’t seen it yet and I just ruined it for you??? Everyone has seen that, I was the only one who hadn’t.

Yesterday I worked at the Pub. Dez and I had a loooong talk about the Secret and stuff. She said she has always used that… like when there was a Football pool at the Pub, she won the big cash prize. She had visualized the square where her name was to be the winner. Stuff like that. I hope she is visualizing a good life for her and her new baby! She’s almost done working, I hope. I thought she was leaving at the end of February, but she is sticking it out and plans to go down to one night a week. Until what… she serves up a baby with a side of fries?? She is due at the end of April.

When I got home I had tons of Rob-related emails to deal with and CDs to package up and mail out. Then a once-a-year client called and will be bringing me her year of books this morning. She’s a big one, many hours… “I pity you, I had a very busy year…” she was also audited for 2003 and 2004, and learned the hard way a) the importance of proper receipts, and b) the importance of a good bookkeeper. I did her books in 2002, and then she asked someone else for 2003. Probably because she was cheaper, and didn’t spend all the time I did on matching receipts to statements. Then she came back to me for 2004, but asked that I not bother matching her receipts, and just go by her credit card statements. I didn’t listen to her, because I do things the way I do them for a reason. So, the Government wasn’t happy with how her 2003 was done, and disqualified $30,000 worth of her expenses. For 2004 they only rejected a few thousand dollars worth of expenses, and they were rejected because she didn’t have all the receipts! (I recorded all expenses on her business credit card, but she was missing a lot of receipts). They said without the receipt as back up, it won’t fly… “so, you bought something from Staples… (an office supplies store!) How do we know it was for your office? How do we know you didn’t buy candy and eat it?”) There is a reason why I spend all those hours matching up receipts to bank and credit card statements for my clients. There are reasons why my system works Let this be a lesson to all of you that are self employed or run a business: SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS!

Anyway, she should be here any minute so I better go watch for her. This afternoon I have my Living Well exercise class, then it is my Quiet Night of Solitude™ Tomorrow I work at Troy’s, then the rest of the week is work, work, work, and Rob Promo. Which is still work, but it’s music-related so it doesn’t feel like work. Oh! Vision Board idea!

Okay, so, I watched “The Secret” DVD the other night, and I have been sufficiently inspired. I will no longer talk about the negative aspects of my health or fears of getting worse, because it just puts it “out there” in the Universe, and I don’t want that “out there”. Our lives are a manifestation of our thoughts… good and bad. I truly believe that. As I have said before, my MS was in remission and I was doing fine for the first couple years after diagnosis, until I started researching MS and finding out more about it and fearing all these things that “could” happen to me. Whatever you focus on, you get… and I was inadvertently focusing on getting worse and all my fears, and it started to happen. So, no more of that. I want to get better and the only way to do that is to believe I am and will!

Wow, re-reading that old entry was a bit of a wake-up call, too. I need to get back into that frame of mind, it sure was working for me!! I wonder what happened to set me off track? Probably stuff with AH, and then I remember I went to Toronto and that threw me over the “I overdid it” edge. Oh, and messing with my hormones by taking birth control pills again (I’m re-reading old entries, can you tell?? Heh). Anyway, I’m back into visualization and affirmations again, and expect to reap the benefits soon! (Have I ever mentioned that the more I lost use of my right side, the more I would fear falling and breaking my left wrist? “OH MY GOD, what what I do if that ever happened???” I used to think. Well, now I know, because I focused on that fear enough to make sure it happened).

Anyway…

Today was fantastic. I went back to ‘Living Well with a Chronic Illness‘ and re-started the program. Now that I have the walker carrier on my scooter and can actually bring my walker, it is much better. I participated in the 15 minute warm-up, then we all moved to whatever stations we wanted or to education, but since I already attended the first education class on February 1, I skipped that and went straight to exercise. I walked around the gym once, then did some balance exercises, then walked around the gym again, then rested, then sat on one of those big fitness balls and practiced sitting straight and lifting my leg, then walked around the gym 2 more times, then rested, then did strength exercises and stretching with the group. Apparently AH walked in at that time and saw me, because he was picking someone up. Later on he teased me, “I saw you, but you didn’t see me!! You were tying something around your legs.” Ah, the resistance band!

I came home and felt amazing, and still do. I wish I didn’t have to work and stuff, and could just go to classes like that every day. I can’t wait to get in better shape.

There is already a man there with a crush on me. He followed me around for awhile and then finally said “I haven’t seen you around here before”. Wow! Classic!

Speaking of men with crushes on me, that cab driver that lives in my building has never contacted me again. HE is the one that said I was beautiful and “maybe we can get together and watch a movie…” Maybe when/if he found that note I slipped under his door he thought I was being too forward? ‘Cause if he never saw the note, you’d think he would have knocked on my door by now. And HE is the one that said “if you ever need anything or any help, you ask me!”… so I dunno. I’m pretty sure he drove by me when I was on my scooter coming home from the mall a few days ago. He didn’t honk or anything. HMPH.

Anyway…

When I put my right shoe on before leaving today, I felt something in there… I pulled my shoe off and stuck my hand in to pull out a little water bottle cap, courtesy of the kitties. I realized then that I actually went through the entire day yesterday with that in my shoe. I kept thinking, “my toenails sure did get really long, really fast!”

I mentioned to Rob that I want an ion cleanse machine but need about $3,000 US to get one. He thinks we should hold a benefit to raise the money for it, fly me out to Toronto and get him, Lindy, Peter Katz, and a bunch of others to perform. You know, that’s a great idea! Those guys would totally do a show for me, and give all the $$ from ticket sales to me to buy the machine. I know they would! Organizing it and getting me (and Emma, because she must be there too) out to Toronto would be the hard part, but I am “putting it out there” for the universe to take care of. I will get one of those machines, one way or another!

By the way? I love Rob for even suggesting something like that. He is the BEST. I wish I could clone him. Several times over.