Dilemma and Goal-Achievement!

So, we are leaving for a much needed vacation on friday and my dilemma is this:  I'm due to take my humira shot next thursday (in the middle of vacay) and we are going to be driving/camping.  Should I take the needle with us in a cooler and risk the temperature getting all wonky and possibly ruined, or should I just leave it and take it when I get home?  If I left it home, I would be taking it a week and a half late.  I'm pretty inclined to leave it at home, but am a bit worried that that extra week and a half would put a painful damper on our vacation.

I wish planning a summer road trip didn't also mean having to plan around refrigerated meds!

To end on a positive note, I am beyond pumped about this holiday!  Initially we were planning a trip for the end of august, but due to work commitments, we are now leaving in a couple of days.  The sooner the better, I say.  This holiday couldn't have come at a better time: work is beyond hectic, we've had to deal with no running water, then no hot water at home.  And, to top it all off, our car died (which would have really sent our vacation into a tail-spin as that was our way of gettin' outta here).  But, the car is fixed, and due to my beloved, we have glorious, running, hot water :)  Yay for showers!

So, on friday, we are headed out to Gaspesie, a peninsula in Quebec.  For a fish-lover such as myself, this is going to be a heaven.  AND, folks, I will be fulfilling a goal that I had made for myself a couple of years back!!!  I had read this book and totally loved it.  It was funny and made me absolutely determined to someday hike the Appalachian Trail.  Well, the International Appalachian Trail starts in Gaspesie!!!!  I'm actually going to get to hike on it!  I can't wait!

Love/Hate Relationship

No matter how long you have been injecting yourself, how many needles have pierced your skin, it always sucks to have to do a shot.  There it sits on my table, taunting me, warming up to room temperature to hopefully not sting too much.  I don't even want to really know what's in it, cause I'm pretty sure that would freak me out.  It's not even the needle sharpness that hurts, it's the med itself.  Grrr.

Go away, you stupid needle!  No, wait, come back.  As much as I want to never see you again, you are helping me (in your own sick, twisted way).  At this point I wouldn't be walking without you.  I guess you are doomed to be a part of my life for the time-being.  Sigh.

In a sea of negativity, in she walks...

People continually amaze me with their generosity.  They really, really do.  I work at a Women's Centre.  This is not a women's shelter, we are more of a resource/referral/advocacy agency for any woman in our region.  A few months back I, along with a couple of women I sat on a committee with, started a community drive gathering donations of toiletries for women to access for free.  We have always known there was an issue with this stuff, we keep pads on site from which women could take a couple, as well as being the drop-off for folks gathering those little bottles from hotels.  It can get freakin' expensive you know?  Especially if you are on a fixed income (social assistance up here in Canada), as most of the women we work with are.

Well, we realized that there is wayyyy more of a need than a couple of pads and little bottles, so "Women Helping Women" was born.  We did some advertising, told everyone that we worked with, and were completely overwhelmed by the community's generosity.  Offices put out donation boxes and held comptetions to see who can get the most stuff collected.  I'm pretty sure every church in our area had a box for us next to their food donation box.  There were massive boxes coming in, garbage bags full.  We got donations of money to buy what we needed.  A baby shower was held with the intention of all gifts being a donation.  It was nuts.  And, this program is popular.  I have no idea how many women have used it since March.  Some only once, some come in each month.  All are generally surprised that they can come here and get free stuff.  It's currently the absolute favourite part of my job.

So, our stock has been getting pretty low and I put out another call for donations.  And, this afternoon in walks a woman I went to school with, carrying a bag full of stuff (everything from deodarant, toothpaste, pads, tampons, baby soap, bodywash).  We had a great chat about what we were up to, how great the program was, yada, yada, yada.  I mentioned how difficult it is for women to have to buy these things when on social assistance and she proceeded to tell me she knew all about that as she is on social assistance.  I was all, "you're on social assistance and you're donating to US????"  She does have supportive parents, but mostly she has a keen eye for deals, buys in bulk when she can and is a master budgeter.  Even with a really (and I mean really) limited income, she wanted to be able to donate to this project.

I am humbled and, oh, so happy today.  I really just wanted to write this post to continue to thank her and thank her and thank her.

Edited to add:  I wrote this post with the intention of later posting it.  About two hours after she dropped off the first bag she came back with another from her mom.

Dear Mother Nature

Please send some warm and sunny weather our way.  Not to be a Negative Nelly but I'm kinda cold, slightly depressed due to lack of sunshine, and a little tired of having to wear full-length pants and sweaters all the time when it is nearly July.  I understand that rain is really important for warding off forest fires, especially in this fire-laden area of the world.  However, I feel that we can come to a mutual agreement that a couple of nice days in a row may not be too dangerous?  Even if you are worried about fires, perhaps you could warm it up just a little?  All of this rain would be a bit more bearable if it weren't so frigid.  I promise to be better at enjoying your wondrous beauty, weeding my garden, and as an extra bonus I will actually get to use my clothesline.

Much love and many thanks,
Steph

P.S.  I think you are really pretty when you showcase ALL the different types of weather you possess.  Not just the cold and rainy days.

Garden pictures from two weeks ago

Just because I've been a bit of a slacker lately, I thought I'd put up some pics of our finally-planted garden :)

First up, our beans and peas:

And, naturally, Fran being cute with scary eyes next to our new fire pit:

And, because blogger is being a big wiener-head with my pics, here is the picture I had posted FIRST, but has decided to jump down to the bottom, and I cannot for-the-life-of-me manage to get it back up top.  Our potatoes, beets and carrots:

And my sweet little daffodils that I thought were crocuses when I planted them:

I forgot to take the pictures of the little mini-greenhouse that contains our spinach, swiss chard and kale, and I ain't gonna try after this hulla-balloo.  I have no idea why this post was so hard to do.  Blogger, why do you hate me so??? 

On another note, the gardening that I did do, which admittedly is a lot less than the work that Dom did, made me sore for a good week.  Not joint sore, but leg muscle sore.  I have this habit, as my knees don't like to squat for any length of time, of bending straight over at the waist when I garden.  So, basically I was stretching on and off for a couple of hours.  Stretching is great.  Extensive stretching when your are not particularly stretchy is not so great.  I think I need to invest in a little stool if I want to spend any time in our garden this summer.

Current Philosophy

This is a wonderful philosophy from one of my favourite characters, one that I'm trying to tell myself all the time. In a good way of course! Things are great, but I need to just keep swimming. Especially as I prepare for yet another work trip, work on increasing my patience, and try to deal with stupid blogger being a curmudgeon about posting pictures right now. Anyhoo, I'm off to follow the wisdom of Dorrie.

Night and Day

I'm realizing this morning, as I type slowly with my stupid wrist, that I have different types of flares dependant on the time of day.  In the beginning of all of this, there were some flares that just lasted and lasted, for days, weeks, months on end.  However, as I got my disease under control I notice that they come differently.  For example, I had a night flare last night.  I went to bed fine (some achy muscles due to a long bike ride and gardening, nothing extreme) and proceeded to wake up an unbelievable amount of time in ridiculous pain, and unable to get comfortable.  However, I know that as this day wears on, and my meds kick in, I will start to feel fine.  Tired, but in much less pain.

Then there are the day flares.  I wake up fine, then an ache starts to set in, or worse yet, it comes on sudden.  A screeching immediate pain in one joint, that then may spread throughout my body.  I get immobilized, overwhelmed and tired.  This flare may last for days, but if I can find a fairly comfy position (usually on my back, arms straight at my sides), I can sleep okay.

I've yet to find many triggers for my RA, other than stress or lack of sleep.  I can't find a food that can start a flare, or many environmental factors.  I do know for my health in general, I need to eat balanced, with lots of fruit and veggies, and get some gentle exercise.

I wonder what brings on a day flare, and what brings on a night flare?