Week 2

Some thoughts after my first full week of sick leave:

1. Bra-less-ness.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhh :)

2. Netflix, how I love thee.  Thank you for indulging me in all the movies that Dom hates.  Time to catch up on my horrors/thrillers!

3.  I just realized, despite not working, I do have my own uniform.  It goes like this:  sweatpants, t-shirt, slippers, bra optional.

4.  Man, I love my couch!

5.  Wow, I can kill time like nobody's business.  I can't believe I thought I'd be bored!!

When Life Hands You a Float, You Ride It

So, I work at a feminist organization, and one of the events we hold each year is Take Back the Night.  It's an opportunity for women to march down the street, chanting, singing, holding signs and protesting violence against women.  Supportive men wait for us at a local park, bbq-ing and preparing for our arrival.  Then it's fun family time with singing, poetry and other open-mic type entertainment.

This is one of my favourite events we hold.  It's utterly empowering, thrilling and totally fun.  Over 100 women and children, a float and a lot of noise.

                                                      Getting ready for last year's march

However, this is going to be the first year that I may not be able to walk.  I've been in a major flare impacting my right hip and right knee (with some major neck muscle pain to boot) for about two weeks.  I can barely make it around my house most days, never mind a 30 minute walk.

As I mentioned above, we do have a float, and I will be taking full advantage.  So, this year, instead of walking at the front and chanting until my throat is raw, I will be riding in the back and chanting until my throat is raw.  I'm still participating, but I'm a little sad that it's not how I want to be participating.

This is all a lead in to the fact that the march, this Friday night, will be my last day of work for a month.  I'm taking off a month paid sick leave to try and get my health back on track, then re-entering work on a part-time basis for a period of time.  My workplace is beyond supportive, for which I am unbearably grateful.  I know not everyone has this option.

RA got the best of me, y'all.  But I'm not going down without a massive fight, and I plan on rising from this crap by taking care of myself and RESTING.  What a novel idea :)

Belly Braggin'

Guess what I've been eating, huh?  Strawberries from my garden.  That's right, I have my own patch of tasty little morsels in my very own yard.  And, yes, I know people have been eating strawberries for a little while now this summer.  BUT, I live in Labrador people, and it's pretty amazing to eat something out of my yard when it's not even August yet (which is in a couple of days, but whatever).  It's not exactly the tropics around here.

I think I could be at least documenting some of my garden on camera so I could physically show off to people...I'll get on that.  In the meantime, here is a picture of a patch of strawberries not in my garden (and my patch doesn't have that many red yet.  It's still Labrador.  While it's 28 degrees Celsius this week, it was 7 degrees Celsius last week.  I've only eaten maybe 6 strawbs thus far):

                                                            You are the sunshine of my life

Tastes of Home

How can eating fish make me so happy??  I don't think I need anything else in my life at this very moment other than this freshly caught salmon with spinach, red pepper and avocado salad.  Salmon caught by my uncle.  I guess it would be better if Dom were here, but I know he is probably right now eating his exact replica of a lunch, so we're good.

This should be us, in a few weeks:

                                    Dom and I summer 2009, cleaning the salmon we caught.

                                               I wish I could still squat down like that! 

Living the good life, I tell ya!  Summer in Labrador ain't nothin' to be sneered at.  I'll soon be in my small, ocean-side hometown, fishing, attending a salmon festival (a whole festival dedicated to my one true love - after Domino), whale-gazing, eating great food, and loving my family.  Can't wait!

* edited to add:  I don't know what in the crap is up with Blogger, but I currently can't comment on any blogs - mine or otherwise.  I wanted to comment in the post down below and thank everyone for their support in this wacky/anxious/exciting journey I am on.  So, thank you! 
Much love and peace, Pony.

Good Things...

1.  Summer, though the temperatures are a little on the low side.  On the upswing, though!

2.  Sunflower seed butter.  Melty on my oatmeal.  Who knew??

3.  The tulips in the strawberry patch.

4.  The strawberry patch, for that matter.

5.  A three day work week coming up.  Monday and Friday off.  Sa-weet!!

5.  Having clear fallopian tubes.  Truly under-rated, and pretty key in this baby-makin' business :)

Send Some Love?

Well, in a couple of hours time, I'll be off to the doctor's to stick my feet in stirrups have an HSG test done, which is basically a fertility test to see if my tubes are open.  I'm excited and scared and looking forward to answers (whether negative or positive!).  When I started this blog, it was to find support, from anyone with RA, but mostly to talk about being a woman with RA and trying for a baby.  I never thought it would come to me talking about infertility like this, but here we are.  And, support I get in droves!  Despite this post, I feel optimistic, as whatever news I get today, there are paths to take (either easy or expensive and time-consuming-whatever, they're still options).

Just lookin' for some good vibes!!  Thanks :)

Back To Life, Back to Hyper Dog Activity

Back from vacation, back from a work trip, back to reality where my four-pound weight loss was shot out the window because of vacation, and back to dog-sitting (by myself).  Yeeeaaaahhhh.

Why do I feel like I need a vacation just after I had a vacation???

Oh, and that picture down there, the one in the post below where I am all warm and sunny in Montreal?  Never happened.  No, no, no, it had to be the coldest temperatures in 70 years while we were there.  And rain.  Which has resulted in an awful flood in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, my sweetie's hometown.  Not to worry, all the family are safe and sound, as are their houses.  Not so for about 3000 other homes and buildings in the town.  Please give a shout-out, prayer, thought or anything else to the folks of Richelieu, who are going through some pretty crap time right now.  Which makes my crap time pretty insignificant.