We Got the Cup!

As I am sure most people know, the Knights shut out Rimouski in a surprising 4-0 win.
Not that I was surprised that they would win, but that Rimouski played so terrible. Most of the game they skated around after the puck and London and Crosby's playing was unevenful. After after the first cheap sucker punch to Perry, the Knights dominated the game like I haven't seen in a long time. After their amazing season and the final game, they deserved to win.
Even around here, we could hear people cheering and screaming after each goal and when the game was over, there were even fireworks! Downtown went totally insane. I would have liked to been there but we decided too late and there was no way I would go while missing some of the game.
It was a long 40 years for them to win it, but I am sure they all felt it was worth it.

Saturday was supposed to be my babysitting day but the BIL hurt himself at baseball so they didn't go out afterall. My dad was out of town so we decided to get together anyway. We ordered pizza and watched "Meet the Fockers". OMG! What a funny movie. Better than the first I think.

Monday I worked my first day shift in over a year. Mondays are quite busy but I was ready. My analyzer was ready to go for the morning QC when it breaks down. After 3 of us tried to get it working we called for service. He was able to make it at 3:15pm. But in the meantime we have over 70 STAT and Urgent samples plus other work waiting. The boss was offsite and wan't returning my phone calls so we made a group decision to send all the work we had at the time to our Kitchener lab. But I called ahead first to make sure she could handle it as they are a small lab and close at 8:00pm. We ended up sending almost 150 samples to them. We owe Kitchener big time.
After having a whole assemply replaced it was back up and running and working great and I was able to catch up by 6:00pm... just in time for me to go home. It sure made the afternoon fly by! But it was also good experience as I had to make some quick decisions, make numerous phone calls to Kitchener and our Call Centre, calls to people I have never met. It was a bad day, but also a good day as well.

Go Knights Go!

Here in London, the biggest events this year has to be The Memorial Cup. Everyone in London it seems have the Knights on the brain and they have been in the news for weeks. The Memorial Cup has given London a huge burst in tourism and is making everyone cup crazy.

It all started with the Knights setting many new OHL (Ontario Hockey League) records and CHL (Canadian Hockey League) records. In the CHL, they had the longest winning streak with 31 games, and in the OHL, they had the most number of wins at 59.
After an amazing season, they won the OHL final against Ottawa. It was now on to The Memorial Cup, which this year London was hosting. It consists of other champions in their respective leagues. The four teams in this years cup are:

Ottawa CHL
London OHL
Rimouski Oceanic QMJHL
Kelowna WHL

Since London was hosting this year, they would have received an automatic entry but since they won the OHL this year, their entry was even sweeter! Ottawa was in as they were the second place team in the OHL.

London has received a bye into the final due to their perfect round robin playing (3-0) and tomorrow's game will determine who will go to the final with them. Tonight it is Rimouski and Ottawa. Kelowna is out with a 0-3 record. I hope Rimouski makes it as the two teams are so close it would make an exciting game.

After work Wednesday night, a few of us went out to Montana's for a few drinks and some food. I walk in and see a sea of blue fans being loud and rowdy. Seems that there were a lot of Rimouski fans there. After ordering, we just happen to look outside and see the Rimouski bus pull up. And who gets out? The entire Rimouski hockey team! It was very cool. I had a good look at them and saw Sidney Crosby. He is 17 and many people are saying that he is going to be the next "Great One" (Wayne Greztky who BTW is from my home town!) So running into them make for a fun evening.

So now that you know all about the Memorial Cup you can also chant "Go Knights Go" and sent them some good vibes for the final game Sunday night!

Back to Reality

Well the fun of the long weekend is over and it is back to work today. My house is still in disaster mode from Sunday so I will try to get as much as I can done before I go to work today for 5pm. I have to unload the dishwasher, sweep and mop the floors, vaccuum, put away all the empties and clean out the cooler.

Sunday went great and the guys finished the deck just before 5pm. They even added to the plans and added an extra stair that goes down to the lawn. We Christened it Sunday night by having a drink while watching the fireworks. The last of our company left at 10:30 and I was in bed by 11pm. I was exhausted. The night before I was up to 1:30am coughing, woke up a few times during the night, then woke up again at 6am coughing. I couldn't get back to sleep so I decided to stay up.

Monday morning I woke up hacking. It was so deep and hard that I actually couldn't catch my breath and I was now bringing up hard, green sputum (Sorry for the details). I finally decided to go the walk in clinic and he said I had a bad case of bronchitis. My two presciptions for my antibiotics and cough sryup (first time that I ever had a script for cough sryup) came to almost $80. Not good when my benefits haven't kicked in yet. I kept the receipt so hopefully I will able to get reimburshed for it. I also had a plasma donation today which I had to cancel. There would be no way they would let me donate. I go back into two weeks.

Here are some pics:


For the deck corners we will probably plant some bushy shrubs to hide the concrete and sand.

My FSIL gave us a deck gift. It wraps around the umbrella pole. She knows how much I love candles. We used it Sunday night it it's pretty and practical.



Here was Milly at 6am on Sunday. When a greyhound rolls on their back and stretches out it is called roaching. Some people say when they do it they are happy and content. They usually smile too, just like she is. I think it is the strangest, yet funniest thing I have seen a dog do.

Deck Building Day

Well the day is finally here! Today is the day we get our new deck! I got home from work yesterday and saw all of that beautiful wood laying out in the backyard ready to go. Sounds like we will hopefully have 4 guys (3 for sure) so I think my only job is to keep food and beer handy.
When I have company coming over for a meal, I always prepare too much. I though more would be coming for supper so it looks like I have enough to feed a small army. Hamburg anyone?
I have been up since 6am. Getting woken up by a hacking cough is getting kinda old now. I finally fell asleep at 1:30am after going to bed at 11pm due to me hacking away. Now I have junk in my lungs so I think it has moved down and taken up residence there.
If I am still like this on Tuesday, off to the doctor I had better go.

Happy May 24!

Def Leppard!

It's been a few days since I have posted. I am still quite sick and I think my cough is getting worse. Going to the doctor might be in order.

Everyone who knows me knows I love 80's music. When I was a teenager, music was a big part of my life. I like many types of music but I always come back to the 80's. A few days ago I heard from a friend that Def Leppard was coming here and I couldn't believe it! I was the biggest fan when I was 14 and I still like them today. So guess who I got tickets to see in August? It is just me and The Man going. This must be my year for concerts... this will be my third one this year.

I am so excited!

I am working today, tomorrow and off Sunday and Monday. Sunday is deck building day!
Monday is up in the air. Going to see some fireworks might be fun.

I finally decided and bought our new patio set yesterday! Turned out one I liked went on sale until today so I had to quickly make plans with a friend to borrow their truck. It is black framed with back and dark brown material. It looks sharp. I knew I was holding out and being picky for a reason.

Still Sick and So is My Dog

After having a really rough night on Saturday due to a high fever and nausea, I figured it would be a rough day on Sunday. I was still sick but I felt well enough to got to dinner then to the concert that night. Sarah put on a phenominal show and did two encores. Even the first two opening acts were great. The first was a large Samba band that played right in the middle of the fans who had floor seats. There was no singing, just mainly different drums with a latin beat. The second band was from Sweden and they were so good that I bought their new CD.

It was when I got home that my sore throat and cough turned into a head cold as well. After not sleeping well and sounding awful, I called in sick to work. It has been over a year since I took a sick day so I think I am entitled. I also had to cancel my plasma donation tomorrow as they don't take donations from people who are actively sick.
So I think it is safe to say I don't have Rubella. I thought it was a possibility due to the sore throat and fever but when I also got a head cold, I figured it wasn't. And I couldn't find a rash either. But I will be having my Rubella immunity checked anyway just in case.

I woke up Sunday moring to hearing the dog puking. I wasn't concerned as she does it maybe every other week. It wasn't until The Man said that she was having a seizure that I jumped out of bed. The dog had a seizure last year while I was at work so I wasn't able to witness it to determine if it was in fact a seizure. I was just going with what The Man said. We took her to the vet and he said that since they were so infrequent, they like to monitor them first before the possibility of medicating them. Greyhounds are a very healthy breed but epilepsy is more common in this breed.
So for the first time I witnessed my dog having a seizure. It broke my heart. She was still trying to walk but she was very unsteady on her feet and was walking and banging into furniture. I tried to call her name and get her to lie down but just continued to try and walk and she couldn't hear a word I said. And her eyes were not focusing... like she wasn't even there. It only lasted about 2 minutes but it felt like 2 hours. We finally got to lie down when it was over and we cuddled with her and gave her lots of pets. Her breathing finally slowed down and she fell asleep and had a nap. It was so scarey to see her like that. But she hasn't had a grande mal seizure (where they collaspe and convulse) so we are thankful for that. She has an upcoming vet appointment so we will have to mention this lastest seizure to him. We just hope they don't get worse for more frequent.

Well I'm off for another nap. All this typing has made me tired...

Me Sick!?! I hope it isn't Rubella

I very rarely get sick. Maybe twice a year and usually in October and May. Must be due to changing of the seasons. This year it was November, March and now today. The Man came home 2 days ago complaining he had the flu. He always says it's the flu when it is just a cold. I think he doesn't know the difference.

So yesterday I had a slight annoying cough and the first hint of a sore throat. Five hours after I went to bed last night I woke up with a searing sore throat. Great, just great. We have 3 couples and 2 babies coming over for supper tonight and tomorrow night is dinner then the Sarah McLachlan concert. And I never get sore throats and cough, just head colds.
Ever since I moved here 2 years ago I have gotten them.
Must be something in the air. Just as long as it isn't Rubella (German Measles).

There is a fairly large outbreak (almost 200 people now) of Rubella in this region and many experts believe that it will climb higher due to the fact that it's incubation period is two weeks.

I am all for vaccinations. I am a child of the 70's and I had all the shots that were available at that time. My mom is a nurse and she made sure of it. Back then, if you weren't immunized against certain diseases, you weren't allowed to attend school. I can even remember going to a mass immunization clinic at my high school. Now, they are giving the parents the choice to have their kids immunized and sad to say, this is what can happen when a population doesn't.

It is believed that the outbreak came from the Netherlands. There is a large population of Dutch Reform in this area and most of them don't believe in immunizations due to their religion. Now one school is almost 70% infected with Rubella and is still expected to go up. Most of the population around here are immunized and for those that aren't, getting infected isn't a huge risk to that person as long as they aren't or plan to get pregnant. Rubella in pregnant women most often cause blindness, deafness and brain damage in the baby. There are 4 known pregnant women infected right now. In people who are not immunized, they get a fever, sore throats and red rashes all over their body.

Just last year, WHO (World Health Organization) announced that they were quite sure that Rubella was irradicated in Canada. Well it isn't now.

My FSIL isn't immune. When she was pregnant, they checked her immunity to Rubella. She didn't have any even though she was immunized as a child. It was determined that she received a bad batch of vaccine which turned out, would not provide immunity. It was made and stored at incorrect temperatures which made it worthless. She was given another vaccine and her immunity was checked again. No antibodies. She is just one of those people who will never develop immunity. All of this makes me wonder about my immunity. It is standard practice not to have your immunity levels checked after a vaccine.
I read that a man the same age as me was vaccinated around the time I was. He is now infected. Did my vaccine really work? I was also in the region affected two weeks ago.
I'm calling my mom to get details.

Make a Decision You Wuss!

So I made the mistake of looking through another catalogue yesterday and I found another patio set that I like. Sheesh. I have 3 choices and I would to buy it May 24 weekend as the BIL's truck will be here and I won't have to try and fit a patio set in my car. I guess I will just have to visit them each one again take a picture maybe and firmly decide. Yep, obsessive/compulsive. :-) And 10 more days until we build our deck!

Looks like I am making $300!
I put an add in our work newsletter that I have a mobile air conditioner to sell and a girl in our other department wants to buy it! I had no idea what it was worth so I went under what I thought I should ask for it. I am taking it to her today.
Maybe I should put that money towards my new patio set...

I Want My Blog!

I finally had some time today to post on my blog and wouldn't you know it that the time I decided to go on was when Blogger was doing the maintainence.
So I am sneaking a few minutes at work while I am waiting for the machines to finish running for the night.

So while I was out today doing errands (paying bills, going to my weekly plasma donation) I decided on the spur of the moment to get my hair cut. I like it shorter during the summer and I was way overdue to get it cut anyway. What a difference three inches off can make you feel. I am definitely feeling a little more spring in my step today.

Did I ever mention that when I get an idea into my head about something I want or want to do, I usually end up being an obsessive/compulsive about it? I know exactly what I want in a patio set and patio lights and I know exactly what I want it to look like. I think I have hit every major store looking for a specific set. It has to seat 6. It has to be rust proof. And I have to like the colour. But I think I have narrowed it down to two choices. Same thing with the patio lights. They can't be plastic or have cables. They have to be cordless and solar powered.
Is it wrong to have specific tastes and know exactly what you want? Please tell that to The Man as he thinks I am nuts. I just don't want to go cheap anymore and have the things rust out. And of course it has to look nice.
I just have a few more stores to check out....

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mothers' Day to all the moms out there. Hope you day was wonderful!
My future in inlaws were down visiting this weekend so I managed to squeeze in a few hours to see them. I worked all day Saturday then I had to rush home and get ready for a wedding that evening. We had to miss the ceremony as I wasn't done work by then, but we made it just in time for the dinner. We were impressed that the speaches lasted only 5 minutes!
Sunday was brunch. We took the moms out and during dessert, I found out that FSIL was going to a local nursery and suggested we go as well. I have heard rave reviews about this place and they were right. The selection and quality were just amazing. We bought 3 shrubs and some triple mix then went to Walmart and Canadian Tire to pick up a wheelbarow, edger and topsoil. It took several hours but we put in a new bed at the front of the house and considering we don't have green thumbs, I think it turned out great. (Contrary to the pic, the edging is actually square. ;-)
What was there before was weeds and a little grass. It really makes the front of the house stand out now. In a few weeks we will add some annuals and also a pot or two of flowers on the front porch. How exciting!





We also added 6 bags of topsoil to the edge of our driveway and a bare spot in the front yard to bring the areas even with the rest of the lawn. We seed in two weeks!

Had to add a pic of my sleepy neice that was taken last weekend during her baptism reception. Awww.

Day of Rest

Yesteday was my first day off during the week in a long time so I invited my sister out for her birthday lunch and some shopping. With Christine's recommendation of an all you can eat sushi bar, we went there for lunch. It took us a little while to get served each time we placed and order but the food was great and the menu was very extensive! We both throughly enjoyed it.
We then headed over to Rona to check out patio sets and gardening supplies, then it was off to the mall where my sister proceeded to always find something to buy no matter what store we went into. I managed to buy a new purse, wallet and watch.
It was after 4pm when we headed back to my place and she decided that my neice should be fed before leaving. Once Paige gets off her scedule, it takes days for her to get back on it again. Paige is such a good baby... always smiling and rarely fussy. I was asked to babysit and the end of the month! Wheee!
I didn't feel like cooking so drive through it was for supper. After a quick nap, I watched my favourite Thursday night TV shows. After pulling out all those dandelions the day before, my legs and back were killing me.
Ahhh, what a relaxing day.

Today is cleaning for the inspection tomorrow... FIL is visiting. Hopfully MIL will be with him. They are down visiting from Owen Sound for mother's day. I have to work all day on Saturday then we have to go right to a wedding so I probably won't see them until brunch on Sunday. Phew.

No Soup for You!

Elaine: "Do you need anything?"
Kramer: "Oh, a hot bowl of Mulligatawny would hit the spot."
Elaine: "Mulligatawny?"
Kramer: "Yeah, it's an Indian soup. Simmered to perfection by one of the great soup artisans in the modern era."
Elaine: "Oh. Who, the Soup Nazi?"
Kramer: "He's not a Nazi. He just happens to be a little eccentric. You know, most geniuses are."




The "Soup Nazi" is Coming to a Location Near You
I read in the paper Monday (or was it Tuesday?) that the real Soup Nazi in NYC is hoping to open over 1000 locations in both Canada and the U.S. within the next 7 years. They will be in shopping mall food courts, airports and in markets. The first one is opening this summer in NJ. Count me in to try it when it gets here.

I don't know how I found out that there were copycat recipes of his out there in cyberland but I did end up making "his" lentil soup. Now I have no idea what the original tastes like so I can't compare but the one I made was quite good.

From what I read, the "rules" will still be the same but there will be no yelling "No Soup for You!"

Darn. That would have been quite funny.

100 Things You Might Not Know About Me

I borrowed this from another blog Syllogism

1. I was born and rasied in a small town 2. but moved to a small city for college 3. and finally ended up in a large city 4. I have one younger sister 5. and was jealous of her until recently 6. I spoil my 5 month old neice rotten 7. once I had two dates the same day 8. I live with date #2 now 9. we often sleep in separate rooms 10. because he snores and moves around a lot 11. and because I am a light sleeper 12. and I sleep with earplugs 13. I really haven't travelled much 14. but I would like to 15. I am Scotish so maybe a trip to Scotland is in order 16. I love my job 17. but it took me 8 years to get into my schooled profession 18. and I can legally add the letters MLT after my name 19. as my job is governed at the Canadian level 20. I like the man's family, even FIL 21. FSIL and I get along great 22. and she helped me get my job I have today as she is also a MLT 23. sushi is my favourite food 24. but my favourite comfort food is carbs: potatoes, chips, bread, pasta 25. I hate liver, brussels sprouts, pineapple and squash 26. I am not a picky eater 27. in fact I love trying new food 28. I like beer and hard liquor 29. but also like fuity and frozen drinks 30. margaritas are one of my favs 31. I won a shooter contest when I was 20 32. I drank 16 shots 33. I used to drink everyone under the table 34. but not anymore 35. I am a follower rather than a leader 36. but I can take charge when needed 37. one of my strengths is that I am a great multitasker 38. and I often stay late to complete work 39. I have a bad short term memory and often double check my work 40. but it is from a concusion I had when I was 27 41. and I still have amnesia from that day 42. when I tripped over an ex's dog and cracked my head open on cement steps 43. I got 8 stitches 44. I have never broken a bone 45. but I have severely sprained my ankle 46. while missing a step at the ocean while vacationing in Vancouver B.C. 47. but I have numerous surgeries like tonsils, foot, roof of the mouth, gall bladder removed and an endoscopy 48. I am a regular blood donor 49. and recently a weekly plasma donor 50. I am also on the National Bone Marrow Registry 51. I feel like I am helping others and hopefully making a difference 52. I have 4 ear piercings in 2 ears 53. and one tattoo 54. that I designed myself 55. I got it after graduating college as a gift to myself. 56. it is on my left shoulder 57. I want another on my lower back that has a maple leaf and says "Made in Canada" 58. I keep saying next year 59. it didn't hurt when I got my tattoo 60. I have been engaged twice 61. first when I was 17 62. then when I was 28 63. and I still have my dress and shoes and favour stuff 64. people say I should use the dress but I dunno 65. but it would save me money not having to buy another 66. I have lived with two guys 67. first guy I met over the internet 68. that lasted almost 3 years and the wedding was evenually called off 69. because he felt pressure and had a mid life crisis 70. the second guy and I own a house together 71. and marriage has been talked about 72. the man and I met through my dad when dad got is email from him 73. the man has known dad 4 years longer than I have 74. I will never live this one down 75. I have small hands and feet 76. my feet are a size 6. 77. which means I can wear kids shoes 78. which is great as they are cheaper and there is only one tax on them 79. my ring finger is a size 4.5 80. and my pinky is a size 2. small eh? 81. maybe my small feet is the reason I am always tripping over things and falling down 82. I write right handed 83. but I am left hand dominate 84. as I shoot pool, drive and use my knife with my left hand 85. math is my weakest area, I can admit that 86. while sciences are my strongest 87. I am a fairly sensitive person 88. and I don't usually tell someone when they have hurt my feelings 89. I don't want to be deemed as weak 90. I am a procrastinator 91. but I am nearly not as bad as I used to be 92. I am the type of person who has to have proof that something exists like aliens, ghosts, God, reincarnation 93. but I don't not believe in them either 94. there are facts and fiction out there 95. I am a night owl 96. and will often stay up past 1am 97. but I work afternoons and that is my excuse as to why 98. I used to smoke, but not heavily 99. and I still like the odd one now and then 100. as I have never been addicted to nicotine. Seriously.

A Bittersweet Weekend

Why do the weekends seem end too soon? Is it because we look forward to them too much? I don't know but this weekend flew by. After the busy day I had on Saturday, I figured Sunday would be a little longer. I guess not.

Sunday we drove to Paris to my niece's baptism and the service was wonderful. I go to church maybe twice a year but this service just seemed more special. My grandmother was so excited to learn that she would becoming a great grandmother. Unfortunately she passed away last June 15 from congestive heart failure and cancer before my neice was born. Our minister knows our family quite well and she was mentioned many times during the service. It was bittersweet. I also felt that I needed to visit the cemetary before the service... just to let her know that we were all thinking about her that day.

After the service we had some food and drink, then we all met back at my parent's place. I then gave my gift to Paige... well my sister opened it and was very moved at the jewellery box that I had picked out. I was glad she liked it. It was funny; earlier that day she mentioned she would have to buy a jewellery box for her due to the bracelet and necklace Paige had already received. I did good.

Sunday night was our monthly movie night. It was my turn to host and I picked Roman Holiday. None of us had seen it and we all seemed to enjoy it.

Tomorrow I am meeting some coworkers for lunch then it is off to my weekly plasma donation. From there it is work until 1am. I think it is going to be a long day.