Can You Hear Me Now?

In case you haven’t noticed, my last catch-up post was to the end of last month. I keep popping in here and starting a post, but get distracted, and frustrated at how long it takes me to type out what I want to say, and then it gets left for a couple more days. So, I’m not going to do any detailed catch-up posts, because they are too long and I don’t have the patience or typing power for it. So this is what you get:

• May 1 - 4 - I celebrated my 40th birthday with amazing friends and family, and it was an awesome good time. You can see photos here.
• May 8 - I went back to the Casino to hang out with Jason and Sheldon (The Polyjesters are on the air Friday mornings from 6:00 - 10:00 a.m. on Q107 broadcasting live from the casino, so Thursday nights Jason and Sheldon are staying at the hotel there so they don’t have to drive into Calgary in the wee morning hours). They managed to get me into the over-sold out concert that night, which I was sooooooo excited about - Jeremy Fisher (whom I’ve already established in the past here that I LOVE) and The Proclaimers! OMG “Sunshine on Leith” is one of my favourite CDs of all time, and 20 years later I finally see the band live, and get to meet them and get my CD signed. YAY!!! That was a super exciting night. Oh yeah, and for the 2nd time since I turned 40 I was kissed by a strange random drunk guy.
• May 11 - Mother’s Day - my mom, Bob and brother came over. We ordered in food and I gave my mom a couple presents, Barbara Walter’s book and a crockpot. Wheee!
• May 14 - my mom’s 65th birthday!!! I sent her a beautiful Azalea and a balloon to her office. Yes, office… she won’t be retiring any time soon. She tried that a few years ago with early retirement and was bored to tears. She works full-time as the office manager at a real estate law firm, and if things keep going the way they are, she may end up being the oldest person trained to be a Paralegal in Canada hahaha
• In May - I watched a few good movies… PS I Love You (Sobfest), Eagle Vs. Shark (I love me some Jemaine Clement and anything related to New Zealand), and Once. I watched Once 3 times in a row on a Saturday and 2 times on Sunday, then raced out to buy the soundtrack. LOVE.
• May 25 - Lilac Festival! You know what that means? Just like last year and the year before, an entire afternoon with The Polyjesters. It was raining, so they played indoors this year. Picture this: sitting in a cozy pub all day watching and listening to the Polyjesters do one of their best shows ever, and 4 full sets of it. NOTHING better than that! My friend Kim came out from Red Deer again and stayed over the night before. Oh yeah, the night before (Saturday) I dragged her waaaaaay down south to a divey bar to watch a hard rock band my friend plays drums in. Kim’s such a trooper. We got in late then dragged our asses out of bed early to be at the Lilac Festival before noon. After that great day, Jason, Sheldon, Joelle, Kim and myself went for awesome Vietnamese food. I was home by about 8:00 and pretty much crashed. What a GREAT DAY.

So there, I think that pretty much catches you up on the major stuff. Sorry for falling so far behind. I’ve been insanely busy again. I also sold a bunch of stuff on eBay and the whole packaging-up-and-shipping process is hard for me!! I made a deal with one of my favourite sellers on there that I would box up and send her a bunch of stuff for her to sell for me. That is a lot easier. She is in California, and a reputable seller, so she will sell more than I could as shipping is cheaper from there and she has a lot of regular buyers. We’ll just split the profits. I sent her a big box yesterday, and will send her another one in the next few days. I’ve got way too many clothes…

And finally, I bought myself a new espresso machine as a birthday present to myself. I can’t seem to buy a replacement carafe for my other one that broke, so I decided to get a new machine that makes both regular coffee and espresso. My coffee maker has been living way back in my cupboard because I didn’t want a ton of appliances on my counter, and when I wanted regular coffee I would use my kettle and a one-cup filter thingy. Now I’ll have one thing on the counter that does both, so I’m a happy girl!

With happy kitties.

Okay, so where was I. Ahhh, yes. I’m only about a month behind…

Sunday, April 13 - Sunday, April 20:

Sunday brought Rob Szabo back to Calgary again, for a show at the Ironwood. My friend Kim came in from Red Deer and picked me up around 5:30 ish and we headed over to the venue to meet Rob for dinner. It was sooooo good to see Rob again! It had been too long, in my opinion. And Jason came to see him! That was awesome. Jason plays Rob’s music and videos on Kitchen Radio, so it was about time he came to see him.

Me and two of my favourite people

After the show and packing up his gear, Rob and I came back to my place. I got to keep him for a few days!! It was nice to be able to spend some time with him, as the last couple of times he’s been here it’s just been for the one night, and he left the next morning for another city. This time he wasn’t flying out until Wednesday morning.

On Monday, we drove out to Carstairs to hang out at Jason’s house. I had not been there for quite some time… the last time I was there, he still had part of a living room, where people could sit on the sofa and socialize. Now, the living room is cut off from the kitchen by one of those office cubicle partitions, and the entire living room is a recording studio. Two of the upstairs bedrooms are completely geeked out with various computers, studio, sound boards, radio station equipment and stuff I don’t even know where to begin… the hallway is lined with racks of CDs and posters from various gigs. It’s unreal! It made Rob very happy. Jason and Sheldon are becoming big time promoters in the area, with Kitchen Radio, the Mountainview Music Festival, and organizing tons of performances for other musicians passing through. Jason’s house is the headquarters! He basically lives in the basement, and the entire upstairs is devoted to the business of independent music.

After spending a few hours in Carstairs, we drove back here and I got on my scooter for a quick trip to the mall. I think. I can’t quite remember the order of everything hehe But I do know that after that I had to rest a bit before we went to My Favourite Vietnamese Restaurant for dinner. We finished up close to 9:00, then I was BEAT. Done. Ready for an early night after a long, busy day. So I stayed in and went to bed early while Rob went back to the Ironwood where the owners wanted to give him a night out and buy him lots of drinks.

The next day was a quieter, get-stuff-done kinda day. I took my scooter out, and we went over to the mall to eat and pick up a few things, I don’t remember what it was I needed, but I’m sure it was important. Then we went across to the Safeway, so Rob could get some organic food and I could get my Soy milk (Wal-Mart had run out). Also, so I could visit Starbucks and get a latte. I look forward to more warmer weather, which we are NOT expriencing as I write this, so I can scooter over to Safeway more often. It’s a little too far to go when it’s cold and/or windy.

After we got back here, I hid in my office while Rob re-arranged furniture in my living room. I needed the TV closer, now that I have digital and need to read so much small print on the screen. I gave Rob directions, then hid away. I came out once for a brief moment, but saw the mess in the living room (he had to empty everything from the cupboards of my hutch in order to move it) and felt so guilty about asking him to do this, that I hid back in my office until it was all done. I’m very, very happy with the set up now! I’ve got my chair and TV over to one side, like a little private area, and the living room is “over there”. I like it much better. And if anyone is ever over to watch TV, they can just turn the TV towards them a bit.

Then it was time to make dinner plans. We were meeting with Spencer and Sam, a couple of Rob’s friends we had Indian food with back in October when he was here with Peter Katz. This time, we managed to get reservations at Aida’s, my VERY favourite restaurant (period), for Lebanese food. We had a lovely dinner, everyone was very impressed with my choice of restaurants (it’s SO GOOD). I had one whole glass of wine and could barely walk out of the place. Geez!

When we got back here, Rob hard boiled eggs to take with him the next day and packed up while I watched The Biggest Loser finale. Rob was all, “I thought you hated all that diet stuff.” Yeah, I do, but I did watch the season premiere, and it’s always fun to see the AFTER stuff. Even if more than half of them will gain it all back. And a woman won for the first time!! YAAA! Actually, I’m not sure of the Biggest Loser long-term stats. They lose it so fast and are separated from all temptation for so long (even those sent home know there is a TV show to appear on at the end, so that is a good motivator). It’s only natural that when “real life” hits them again, that they gain it back (plus more). Hopefully they get addicted enough to exercise that they can keep some off. I’m just not a big fan of the unrealistic expectations of that show… “I only lost 6 pounds this week WAAAH!!!”

Aaaaanyway, the next morning I got up early to say goodbye to Rob, (sniff, sniff) and then I went to work at a client’s for the day.

On Thursday, Peter called. He was in town that day before heading down to Lethbridge for a show on Friday, then back here for his show at the Ironwood on Saturday. He picked me up and we went to the Samosa Grill for a wonderful Indian food buffet lunch. Oh man, I could eat that food every day! Peter is so sweet. He bought me lunch and then we went to Starbucks after for some lattes. It was a lovely afternoon with a lovely person.

On Friday, I had a doctor’s appointment. My doctor has moved his office (again), and I didn’t even know! Luckily I looked at his address online when booking my Access trips, but I didn’t even realize it was a different address than last time because it was still in the NW part of the city and I don’t go often enough to memorize it. Anyway, the driver was trying to drop me off at a giant Superstore (which is not only a grocery store, but has a gym and offices and stuff) and I was all, “no way! My doctor isn’t in the Superstore! He’s in a mall in Beddington…” but we were at the address I had given. So I reluctantly got out of the car and wandered into the store and found the elevator to take me upstairs to the medical offices. Sure enough, my doctor works out of there now. Nice of them to let me know. They swore they called every patient, but I never got the call. Now that I know where it is, I remember seeing the medical centre’s name on my call display, but they never left me a message or anything.

By Saturday, I was beat. After Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday being out and about every day, I just couldn’t do it. And we all know what happens when I push myself and don’t listen to my body. So I called Peter and left a sobbing voice mail message that I wouldn’t be able to make it to his show. Of course he totally understood, and if it wasn’t for the family friends he was staying with having a big Passover dinner, he would have come over to play a private show for me before going to the Ironwood. Awwww. As it was, he called me from the back room before he went on stage to play me a song over his cell phone (because he is about the sweetest person on the PLANET), a new one he just wrote:

As he mentions in the start of that video, “I’m stranded in Calgary because of the snow storm”. He was supposed to head to Saskatchewan on Sunday morning, but he wasn’t able to. So, he called me and said “the bad news is, I can’t get to my gig in Saskatchewan. The good news is, I can come over and play a private concert for you.”

That’s right, people, Peter Katz called me and offered to come over and play a private concert FOR ME IN MY HOUSE. bold italic all caps exclamation marks

Of course, this was a little difficult to keep to myself. I thought I better call a few friends and see if they could make it over. Joelle lives close to me, so I called and left a message for her. When she called me back, she thought she was too late, and apologized for missing it. I said “he’s not here yet! Get your butt over here!” and she called Sheldon, who was on his way over to Joelle’s, to meet at my place instead. Sheldon was the first to arrive, then Peter in his mis-matched socks (so cute haha) and finally Joelle made it, bringing coffee with her at my very desperate request.

It was, to say the least, amazing. To be seated all comfy in my chair with Peter Katz playing and singing just feet from me. Hello, heaven! I recorded this little video, which I’ve kept pretty quiet because I don’t know if Peter would want it seen by all You Tube users. But for you guys that read my blog, I’m going to allow it! Peter had sung his heart out at his (PACKED) gig the night before, so his voice was a little rough, but we don’t care.

Photos from the week (I didn’t take many) above can be seen HERE.

To be continued…

*Sung to the tune of “I’m Sorry” by Brenda Lee.

I have sooooo much to talk about since my last entry. Like, 5 entries worth! But of course I have no time. It’s my 40th birthday and I’ve got lots of plans the next few days!

So, for the time being, here are some cat pictures to tide you over.

Pita caught at the end of a yawn.

Snugglemuffin.

Invisible Teddy Bear

Please vote (5 cheezburgers!) for Pepper’s LOL pic at I Can Has Cheezburger to get her on the main page!! Thanks!!

Mandatory daily stretching exercises

I got myself some hot pink streaks for my birthday. I am 40, after all! Heh

I decided to do an update because Maggs tagged me with the above award, so I needed to put it up here, and figured I may as well update while I’m at it.

The rules for the “You Make My Day” award are to re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness, inspiration and make you feel happy about blog land. Let them know through e-mail or by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times, and if you do, consider yourself really, really loved. So to pass it on and keep the love going ~ here are 10 of the 100’s of blogs that keep me inspired and bring a smile to my face. Please check them out when you have a few minutes…perhaps there are some new friends to be made!

So that’s how it works, and here are 10 blogs that make me smile and/or inspire me regularly:

Maggie
Kerri
Scott
Sylvie
Shauna
PostSecret
Big Fat Deal
Robyn
Sandee
I Can Has Cheezburger (Seriously cannot go 10 minutes without a peek over there haha)

I’m not going to let them know I bestowed this honour upon them, but if they happen to check their referral links and end up here, they are free to recognize it if they want

Lots has happened since my last update, and wouldn’t you know it, I don’t have much time here. For starters, I saw my dad for the first time in almost 6 years. One thing I have realized, is that he may never change, but I certainly have. Hopefully that will be enough for us to have a relationship of sorts. It has never been a question of love; it’s more about how to have a relationship with him without him trying to take over my life. I am an independent person, and he wants to take over and do everything and have all the answers, and in the past this has caused me more stress than you can begin to imagine. (There’s other stuff, too, but I won’t get into it). Anyway, hopefully we can set boundaries that will keep us both happy. I know after spending a few hours with him yesterday evening, that I’m much better at handling his personality than I used to be. Rather than get stressed out, I let it slide and just shrugged it off as *just the way he is*. I have learned, if nothing else over the past 6 years, to allow people to be the way they are and live their life the way they want and not let it get to me. Their problems/behaviours/choices etc. are not mine to worry about, unless they are hurting me (or my family, or children, or animals, or…). I am a mere observer. Wow, I think I’m growing up!

On a whim today, I decided to get my legs waxed. OUCH!! Facking OUCH!!

Last weekend was supposed to be a lot of fun. CD release parties galore, including the Calgary one for The Polyjesters. So what do I go and do?? Fall and twist my ankle, of course. I stayed in with my foot up, icing it. My mom was here, and without a show to go to, that gave her the time to clean out and re-organize my cupboards. Gotta love moms!

I’m switching my TV from our regular Shaw Cable (I just have the basic cable) to Telus TV. I’m excited! I didn’t realize everyone has to be digital by 2009, and I’ve got a pretty old TV here. So I’m getting a free digital box, one year of basic cable for free (which is $10/month cheaper than Shaw anyway! Wheee!) and extra channels I’d like (to get those great HBO shows and A&E, the Learning Channel, etc.) for only $6.00/month. I’m really pleased! My neighbour has it, and loves it. It’s great that Shaw finally has some cable competition.

Anyway, I’m crazy busy with work, and outta time. Catch ya later!

I must tell you about last Friday, a.k.a. I-Must-Have-Royalty-In-My-Blood night. It was the Polyjesters CD Release Party in their hometown of Didsbury, and I got to go. As Sheldon said a couple weeks ago, “if I have to drive in and get you myself, I will, because you HAVE to be there”. Luckily it didn’t come to that, because that guy did enough that night. He did, however, make arrangements for his girlfriend Joelle to pick me up, his parents to give me a bed for the night, and Joelle to drive me back the next day. Among other things.

I had considered taking my wheelchair, and when talking to Sheldon about seating at the complex, he said it was most likely those folding plastic chairs. So I said I’d bring my wheelchair. He said, “Oh, if it’s a chair you need, I’ll bring you a chair! Yes! I’ll bring a special chair, just for you! Then you don’t have to bring your wheelchair and can be more mobile”. I requested a La-Z-Boy, preferably of the electronic lift variety, okthx.

Joelle picked me up around 3:30 p.m. and after a stop for gas and coffee, we were on our way. I love Joelle, she’s super cool and fun to talk to. Didsbury is about an hour away from Calgary, so we got in some good boy talk. When we arrived at the Didsbury Community Centre, we were greeted with gigantic hugs and I was driven right up to the front door so I could by-pass the ice that hadn’t melted out back. (It’s been so sunny and warm, but that back area is all shade). A good friend of the band named Saunder (I’m not sure that’s how you spell it… he is Dutch and it comes from Alexander, so maybe it’s Xander?) paid an awful a lot of attention to me. I think the guys must have paid him to be my personal slave or something. (He lives in Ottawa and is married with an adult son, so it wasn’t THAT kind of attention!) He was just so helpful and took care of me. As so many others did that night, I’m still in awe of everyone.

Sheldon had yet to arrive with “My Chair”, but him and everyone else had been running their asses off all day. There was a big dinner being served before the show, African beef curry that Sheldon cooked up, and beef satay by Saunder. (If I ever get married, I’ll get Sheldon to cater my wedding, now that I know he can successfully cook and serve 100 people). The band rented the hall so they had to look after all the set up, tear down, food, liquor, etc. themselves. Lucky for them, they have very supportive and hardworking girlfriends, parents and friends! I felt pretty useless as I watched everyone else drag out stacks of chairs and set up big tables. Sheldon arrived with My Chair, and once I sat in it, I knew I would not be getting up. Literally, it was one of those low armchairs you sink right into, and I knew there was no hope. The wooden legs slid along the floor fairly easily, and Sheldon slid me right up to the front of the stage where I enjoyed watching everyone’s soundchecks. It was one of those chairs that even looks like a throne, if you know what I mean! Saunder brought me 7up and chips from Indonesia. They tasted a little too shrimp-y for me to eat many, but I could not refuse after he went through the trouble to wait on me!

The early crowd started arriving for dinner around 7:00. Sheldon moved me to the back again, so I could sit with people I knew. By this time Kim had arrived, looking fabulous as usual. She stood in line for her food and brought me a plate as well. I highly recommend curry with sliced apples and bananas. I think I mentioned this a couple entries ago, the first time I tried Sheldon’s curry. It’s sooooo good! After filling up on dinner, I got a couple strong men to help me stand up, and I was able to get to the bathroom! By the time I got back, the room was packed and the show was about to start. I’m not sure how many people were there, I don’t think anyone knows for sure, but my guess would be 250, which is pretty damn good for a local act in a small town putting on their own show!

First up was Tony Charron, a good friend of the Polyjesters, followed by Dave Taylor, another local singer/songwriter. During Tony’s set Sheldon raced me back up to the front, causing a bit of a commotion (there was some laughter and applause as he ran, pushing me in my chair, to my front row spot). I even got a “hi, Donna” from Tony onstage. Both Tony and Dave played short sets, and were really good! After that, CBC Radio got involved. They were broadcasting the show from that point on, attracted by the multi-cultural evening - a French band from Quebec played next, called Chakidor. They were absolutely brilliant. They only sang one song in English, but that was okay! Music is a universal language. They have an amazing fiddle player, and since the Polyjesters were without theirs that evening, I was wishing she knew their stuff too, so she could play with them! The Polyjesters are used to improvising without certain members when they need to, but I do miss the fiddle the most when they’re short a player.

After Chakidor’s wonderful set, the Polyjesters took to the stage. Oh, yes, and I will mention here that I was very well taken care of. Carol (PolyMom) told me she felt bad that I was up there all by myself, but I’m a listener, anyway, so it’s not like I’d be talking to anyone while the music was going. And I had so many people coming to visit me throughout the night; Barry (PolyDad) brought me drinks, Saunder made sure a second helping of his beef satay was brought to me around 11:00, and many friends popped around during and after. Being as close as I was, I managed to get a bit of video, and here are a couple of my favourites:

My photos from that night can be seen in my Public Facebook album, right here. They are all live shots because of my position for the night. If I’d had more running-around freedom (or wheeling-around, as the case would be!) I’m sure I would have some behind-the-scenes and other friends pictures too!

Following the show, clean-up had to be completed before we could leave for the night. Cut to me feeling completely useless again! Even Kim, in her high heels and no commitments to being a volunteer for the night, ran around tossing empty beer bottles into boxes and helped tidy up. There was garbage and empty bottles to go, chairs to be stacked, tables to be put away, floors to be mopped, a kitchen to be cleaned… it all took a couple of hours, and I just sat and watched. Seriously, I didn’t like that one bit. Even though Jason and Sheldon kept insisting it was their pleasure to treat me like a Queen for a night and pamper me. I WANTED TO HELP! Next time I’m bringing my wheelchair so I can at least carry a box on my lap and toss in empties as I wheel myself backwards, which is my specialty.

There would be no partying after this show, as Jason and Sheldon (I’m thinking, especially Sheldon!) had been running non stop all day, it was now 2:00 a.m., and they had to be in Calgary for a soundcheck by 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. I got my hugs and kisses then left with the PolyParents to stay at Chateau Valleau. Barry and Carol were a great help getting me inside, as there were a few steps up with no railing to face once we got there. Once safe inside and sufficiently tackled by their dog Suzie, they showed me to the spare room. Lucky for me the bed is high, so my struggles to stand up were over for the night! Not that I was going to be getting up again any time soon. I think it was about 3:30 a.m. by the time I fell asleep.

I woke up at 9:30 to the sounds of phones ringing, voices, activity in the house… so I figured I better get up too. I went into the kitchen and was greeted by a fresh pot of coffee and Carol making breakfast: pancakes, hash browns, and crispy bacon. Was this heaven? Turns out Carol didn’t even sleep the night before - “I stayed up on the couch reading. I’ll sleep later”. Non-stop, that woman is!! We had a wonderful breakfast and then I washed myself up. I tried to dress myself, but gave up when I was struggling with my pants, so I called Carol. “You’re a mom, you can help me…” of course, she was more than happy to. Pants on, bra clipped, top on. Easy as pie.

Perfect timing, because as soon as I was dressed, Sheldon, Joelle and their friend Dawn arrived. Sheldon was driving right out to Calgary, but my ride was with Joelle, and her and Dawn wanted to stop in Carstairs for some Chinese food. It hadn’t been that long since breakfast, but I did manage to sneak in a couple spicy won tons and dumplings. Oh, and the Ginger Chicken was delicious! Next time I’m going there on an empty stomach. Actually, next time I’m in Carstairs I want to try the Burger Baron, I’ve heard soooo much about it! Anyway, we had a nice lunch and good conversation. Great ladies!

I’m not sure what time I got home, probably around 2:00 or so. I’m pretty sure I spent the rest of the day lazing about.

Since then, I’ve been back to my usual life. Psychologist on Monday, work at Troy’s on Wednesdays, working at home, Facebook, TV, etc. The excitement starts here! Today I bought some Millionaire for Life tickets, so by tonight I’ll know if I’ll be getting a million dollars a year for the next 25 years. Yippeee!

“That was fun! Do you like your new blue carpet?”

Oh, I know, I’m long overdue for an upate, blahblahblah.

Guess what happened to me yesterday afternoon. SO embarrassing. I got on my scooter and backed it up, and remember that time the walker carrier caught on my TV stand and dragged the TV across the room? Well, this was even worse. The walker carrier caught on the TV stand again, but this time the TV started to fall off, everything on and around the TV stand (DVD player, candle holder, video tapes) crashed to the floor, and the TV was on top of me. I couldn’t move or it would crash to the floor, and I couldn’t push it back up onto the stand. It was… um… awkward.

Since the first thing I do before taking my scooter out (after locking Pita safely in a room) is open the door to the hallway all the way, I figured someone should hear me. The rental office is right next door, after all. So I started yelling “HELP!! HELP!! SOMEONE PLEASE!!” and yelled the names of the girls who work in the office several times. HOW COULD THEY NOT HEAR!?!?! GEEZ. Finally after about 5 minutes of yelling I heard the door across the hall from me open, and knew the man-who-never-wears-pants heard me. I called for him to please come into my apartment. I guess he figured the situation was serious and more than he could handle alone, so he called out “just a minute!” and ran to the rental office. Soon the girl from the office and man-without-pants (wearing, as usual, just a t-shirt that barely covered his tighty whiteys) were both in my living room. There was no time for eye-rolling or giggles, a TV was falling to the floor. So between the two of them they got my TV back up on the stand and detached me. I wish I had asked someone to grab the camera first. Instead, I just took one of the aftermath when I got home:

I am SO getting that walker carrier removed. I never use the damn thing anymore, anyway. It makes my scooter way too long and I hit things with it all the time, and I can’t afford a new TV. Oh, and I’m also very glad I live beside the rental office as that is not the first time they have rescued me.

So, what have I done since we last talked…. oh, I tried to watch “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” but turned it off after the first 10 degrading/dehumanizing minutes. I didn’t even want to see what else was in store. I’m really ashamed of you, Adam Sandler, I was a fan!!

Last Monday I had a great night out with some of my very best friends. I LOVE hanging out with these people; there is so much mutual love and they help and protect me so very much. I love my supportive, selfless friends!! Anyway, it started with Jay and his brother Marc (and their friend Dave) picking me up (and they had a burger for me, too) so we could all drive out to Carstairs, home of the Polyjesters. Jason and Sheldon had organized a big show at a local bar, starring Randy & Mr. Lahey from the Trailer Park Boys. We arrived late, (long drive), and the place was packed, but there was my friend Kim at the door waiting for me, and she had saved a couple seats for me at a table. She also gave me a gorgeous bracelet, one which she was wearing, too. “I know you’ve been having a rough time lately, so I want you to wear this and everytime you look at it, remember that I am thinking of you.” Awwwww Jason and Sheldon were there, of course, to supply me with lots of hugs n’ kisses, and a few of their new CDs. YAY! I finally got to see my name in print on a Polyjesters’ CD The first name, by the way. We can’t forget that part.

I gave Marc my camera for the night, so he could go up to the front and take a bunch of shots for me. He… filmed video, mostly. He took a few shots, as you can see, but mainly he filmed it. He used all of my memory to get as much video as he could, and I’ve just ended up with a 700mb piece of video that I can’t share or upload anywhere because it’s too big! Hee

Jason and Sheldon joined them on stage for a few tunes

Mr. Lahey shows off the Randy’s Belly BBQ apron

So, that was a very fun night. The show was funny (most of the time, especially if you like potty humour). The PJ’s joined them on stage and did a few songs they wrote for them, the funniest one being a rap about “that shitstain Ricky, the shit spot!”. (You had to be there). There was a lot of talk about Shitstorms, and wouldn’t you know it, a few minutes after they got off stage, a major shit storm rolled in! The wind was UNREAL. I mean, there were 4 of us in the van and we still felt like we could have been blown off the highway at any minute.

Anyway, thanks all of yous for a great night. And I can proudly call Randy & Mr. Lahey “Pat and John” now, as it is the second time I’ve met them and they remembered me from the last time. Plus, they are very good friends of Jason and Sheldon’s, and Sheldon totally talked me up to them, and Kim had dinner with them, so that makes us all friends.

The next day I ate beef curry that Sheldon had made and sent me home with the night before. ZOMG. So amazing. He sliced apples and bananas in it, which is “how they do it in Africa” I guess, and it was incredible!! That Sheldon can cook, man.

Did anyone else watch Oprah the other day, when Dr. Christine Northrup was on?? How AMAZING is she?? I need to get her books. I wish she was my doctor. How many doctors address vitamin deficiencies, speak out against their own profession with respect to unecessary vaccinations, recommend digestive enzymes, Chi Kung, total mind/body connection (her theory on Fibroids: “It’s creativity that hasn’t been birthed yet because [the uterus] is our creative center, the low heart. Or it is shoving your creative energy into a dead end job or relationship.”) I think THIS was my favourite part. I am learning more and more these days, with my regular visits to the Clinic for Mind/Body Medicine, just how true that is. I just wish I could undo 30 years of hating my body. It’s no wonder I’m in the shape I’m in… I can’t remember a time in the past 30 years that I loved my body. “It” has failed me time and time again, and if there is any truth to that Law of Attraction stuff, my body has been responding to my thoughts and feelings and expectations of it. TA-DA!! Now, how do I rewire my thoughts, preferably overnight??? Sigh.

I actually had a really great meeting with my psychologist yesterday, and there could be some very exciting help available for me soon… she’s looking into it and discussing me with the head doctor at the clinic, who may pull in a few favours he is owed from another specialist… and I could become a Priority Project in the near future. More on that when I find out what they’ve got planned! In the meantime, I’m weaning off my anti-depressants. I’ve cut down slowly from 40mg/day and am now at 10mg/20mg alternating days. It hasn’t been very easy, I cry pretty easily and have had many cry-myself-to-sleep nights, but I know that’s normal. My brain is used to getting that hit of seratonin every night and trying to lower the dose and getting your brain used to producing its own is not something that will happen overnight. It won’t last forever! I hope to be off them completely by the end of February.

Can we stop talking about Britney Spears for five minutes and talk about something IMPORTANT?? Like the fact that The Polyjesters new CD is out and I’m the first name thanked in the liner notes?? And it’s an awesome CD and you can buy your own copy using PayPal or cheque at the Shop on their website? (Individual mp3’s and full digital albums available too). Kitchen Radio, people. It’s the best CD of 2008 and we are only a week into it. Samples of the songs are on their site now, too. And you can hear two full tracks and become a Fan on their Facebook Profile page. So much going on!!

Oh I just noticed that they have a deal in the shop to buy ALL FOUR of their CDs for $50. That is a major great deal!!! Wheeee!!! I’m so super excited about this CD. They are my most favourite band ever, and I don’t need to tell my regular readers how much I love Jason and Sheldon. If you’re not a regular reader, I LOVE JASON AND SHELDON.

And Britney, get some help!!! I don’t want to be reading about your death any time soon.

How’s the new year been treating you so far? Mine has been pretty damn good. My friend Melanie stayed over on NYE and then for a few more days before catching the bus back to Fort MacMurray on Friday morning. (So early that I did not get out of bed to hug her goodbye, she just got a muffled “thanks, bye, good luck, snore” out of me). It was great having her around, she was good company and it’s always nice to have someone here that can help with the basic things that I may fall over while doing. Oh, and she did ALL OF MY LAUNDRY OMG.

I’m feeling rather good these days. Keeping myself on the up and up. I’ve cut my anti-depressant dose down by half so far. Hopefully I’ll be off them completely in another month or so. Then I need to work on the sleeping pills and I’m not looking forward to that!! I have not been sleeping very well lately, even with their help. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, one step at a time.

Yesterday my mom, Bob and I went to Red Lobster for lunch. I had chicken tenders (not a seafood fan, but I’ll go there ANY DAY for the garlic cheese biscuits) and did you know I prefer broccoli over fries as my side dish?? I really do. I wish every restaurant gave broccoli as a choice of side. I’m not a salad fan, so “soup, salad or fries?” quite often ends up as fries. But I sure love me some broccoli, I would eat it every day if you cooked it up for me.

Speaking of cooking for me, I’m patiently awaiting my first food order from Cooking For You. I’m starving, so I hope it gets here soon. I’ve got a hankerin’ for some butter chicken curry!! Or maybe Greek meatballs? And parsley mashed potatoes. Ohhhh, hurry! I hope today is my delivery day and not Thursday. She told me Mondays, but I think it’s Thursdays because I’m south of Highway 1. Argh! I’m so hungry I may just have to make some soup to tide me over until I know for sure.

5 minutes later…. so I was just about to make some soup, tearing open the package, when there was a knock at my door. The rental office accepted the delivery for me earlier in the day when I was out, and decided to bring it over now EVEN THOUGH I’VE BEEN HOME FOR HOURS. Anyway, meatballs and mashed potatoes are defrosting in the microwave while I try to keep my cats from chewing up the huge styrofoam cooler the food was delivered in. I’ll get back to this after I eat, so….hungry….might….die.

I feel much better now. That was really good! Tomorrow I’ll try the butter chicken curry and I’m already planning my next order.

Yesterday I received a lovely note from Kate, who works at the women’s shelter our Pay It Forward project helped. Part of her note said “I do want to tell you one thing that you did with the gifts. I have a client who left an incredibly abusive relationship with 2 small children & she was 5 months pregnant. She has scrimped and saved and been put through the mill with lawyers and no money, etc. She was the first person to choose some gifts you had sent. She was soooo grateful that she had tears of joy at my truck - because of you! So from her & those who also recieved some gifts you had sent - a HUGE BIG ENORMOUS HUG and many thanks!” So… thanks also to all of you who donated! Yay us!

Another new release I must mention is Shauna Reid’s book, The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl. I started reading Dietgirl just as Shauna was planning her move to Scotland… late 2002. Wow, over 5 years ago! Shauna is amazing. I’m so happy she wrote a book, she’s such a brilliant, funny, and down to earth writer (and person, I’m guessing). I’m anxiously awaiting my copy of the book to arrive in the mail, autographed by Shauny herself. I’m not reading any other books at the moment because I don’t want to be in the middle of anything else when it arrives! Hopefully Amazon.ca will have it back in stock soon… otherwise everyone has to order it from the UK! Maybe copies will start showing up on eBay soon

Speaking of eBay (see that? Great shopping-related transition) I have curbed my addiction somewhat, out of necessity obviously. There is only so much money and so much closet space. However, I found a great deal on a couple MP3 players. I never have owned an iPod, (for shame, I know) but all my music is in mp3 format anyway and I don’t really plan on using it a lot. I’m a little adverse to headphones. I figure one for music and one for my meditation and Laws of Attraction CDs and stuff like that. I think listening to The Secret Meditation CD every night is helping… I mean, it certainly can’t hurt, and I am feeling better these days. Considering I’m weaning off anti-depressants, that says something, I think.

Beautiful Pepper in front of my beautiful new monitor. Jealous, much??

Jason and Sheldon just left. I asked them to try and interpret things for Dietgirl’s Scavenger Hunt, 3rd Installment by me, just because it’s fun. They didn’t think they could do a wedding dress or Greek Yogurt, but here are the others. Videos are short because I started laughing too hard. Photos are blurry from shaking with laughter. Just the usual, when these guys are around…

Sigh… I love those guys.