Migraine Monday

The weekend at work was insane. We are back in code purple at valley so stress levels are all running on high. When I don`t get enough sleep, don`t eat right and have high levels of stress I get a migraine. Late yesterday morning I could feel one (A BAD ONE) coming on. I was seeing the lovely yellowish light so I knew it was coming. I looked through my purse and work bag and realized I had just filled my prescription for Maxalt and left it all home. I struggled through and about 20 minutes before the end of my shift I started seeing spots ( like if you look at a bright light then close your eyes) and my fingers were tingling like my hand was asleep. I left work on time hoping that I could get my Maxalt in time. When I got home I realized I had my spare set of van keys and didn`t have a house key. I ended up having to drive to Berwick to get my spare key. By the time I got home I had a full blown migraine. I couldn`t stand light or noise and felt just plain sick. I managed to stay up until the end of the hockey game but had the sound way down. I thought getting sleep may have helped but it didn`t. I really want to call in sick but don`t dare to. The boss has been having meetings with people who call in sick and I really don`t want one of those meetings.
Anyway here is to Migraine Monday.....lets hope it doesn`t carry over into a terrible Tuesday.

Weekend Update

Not much has been going on with me but I haven't been on here in a couple days so I figured I would give you all a little update.




1) Victoria took part in the monthly assembly at her school. Her class presented a book "Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea". Victoria was a crab. I am sorry for the poor quality of the pictures.

2) Work has been super stressful....I need another vacation.

3) Andrea, MaryJo, Amy and I went out for Chinese food last night. It was a good time had by all.

4)Today is my friend Melissa's birthday. Some of the girls and I went together and got her a little present, card and a diet Pepsi.

5)My Bruins won again today against Ottawa 4-0!!! YAY!!!!

I am starting one of my new courses this week. I am actually kind of excited about it. I hope it will help turn things around.

And Again I Say Yay Bruins!!!

My Bruins won again tonight 4-2 over the Leafs :)

Sorry George but I think this mathematically eliminates Toronto from the playoffs.

Life Lesson Number One: How to change a roll of Toilet Paper

I am not sure exactly who taught my daughter to do this but thanks for nothing.......

I considered beating the living daylights out of whom ever taught my daughter to do this. Then I thought about writing a message on the empty cardboard roll (directed at the teacher not my daughter) to the effect of....."You're screwed now!" or something equally as unpleasant but with stronger expletives. I soon realized that this wouldn't solve anything and only lead to the "I don't know how" excuse so I will, in 5 easy steps outline the simple task of changing the toilet paper roll. Now if you are a grown woman or part of the 3ish% of men who actually change the toilet tissue roll when it is empty you don't need to read any farther....HOWEVER if you are under 21 or are part of the remaining 97% of the male population or are someone (male or female regardless of age) who has done something resembling the above picture or worse left just the empty roll, PLEASE read on and learn 5 simple steps to rectify this problem YOURSELF! (Scary thought I know)
1) Remove the holder.2) Discard the empty roll.3) Take a new roll of toilet paper and put it on the holder.4)Replace the holder.5) Roll the new roll about half a turn to make sure the holder is in place tightly and will not catapult the brand new roll across the bathroom and into the wet shower six plus feet away the next time someone tries to get some toilet paper.
Congratulations you now know how to change the toilet paper so now there is no excuse for an empty roll.

Yay Bruins!!!!!

My Bruins won 6-2 over the Leafs. Sorry George it just wasn't the Leafs night. :P

Stupid Monday

Today has been a true Monday in every way possible. My computer finally decided to die....it won't even turn on. I now have to get a new computer and have NO idea what to get. I am using an extremely old machine it really only runs msn and the basic Internet. I will make it work for now.My stereo also died! This is a bigger problem as I have it on 90% of the day and need it in order to dance. I am starting to go stir crazy without it. A new one is on it's way from Future shop so hopefully that will be here soon. The van is making a strange noise again. I have said it before and I will say it again I need to marry a mechanic.

Clearly this is NOT my day :(

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!! Victoria had a wonderful Easter and I am sure you can see that by the pictures. I have a few days off, thank goodness. I must say it feels like vacation was years ago even though it has only been a few weeks. I have to get in touch with Air Canada after the long weekend. I received and e-mail stating my status miles will expire by the end of April. I have NO idea why as I have had several qualifying flights in the past year. Hopefully it was an error on their part but if not I will have to use them prior to the end of April. Any ideas???? Why can't things just be simple?

Random things that annoy me.....

1)Bad drivers and road hogs.
2)Cigarette smoke.
3)The ditch pig....we all know who she is...lets not speak of "it" anymore.
4)Random pointless hysteria of anyone other than myself.
5) Work Emails that don't even remotely apply to me.
6)Wrinkled clothes.
7)Telemarketers.
8)When the dryer eats a random sock or mitten.
9)People who drive with their signal light on well after they made the turn and have no intention of turning again.
10) People who don't use their signal light when turning.
11)People that think the rules don't apply to them.
12) Liars.
13)Cheaters.
14) People (mostly women but not always) who cram their bodies into clothing 3 or more sizes too small. For goodness sake just dress for your size it looks much better than the "muffin top" that is created by putting a size 16 rear end in size 5 pants.
15) Chicken salad sandwiches from the cafeteria.
16)Tim Horton`s ALWAYS lining up the tab on the cap up with the seam in the cup so when you take a drink it drips ALL over everything.
17) Never being able to find XS scrub pants or tops.
18) That I have so many different user names and passwords for the programs at work. Dear IS just give me one user name and one password and be done with it. The hundreds of time I call the help desk should support this thought.
19) Back stabbing, nosy, busy bodies....enough said.
20) People who go in the out and out the in....READ people it isn`t that hard!!
This is by no means an exclusive list but it`s a good start lol.

Mid week update

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple days...I have been kind of busy even though I really haven't done anything. Soooo I will do a quick update and hopefully try to get back to some regular posting schedule lol.
1) Been working days....now back shift tonight UGH!!!
2) LOVED the scrubs the uniform lady had. I got 2 new tops....couldn't find any pants that fit....I will have to go to Mark's and see what I can get.
3) The fan belt on the van went!!! I swear I need to marry a mechanic.
4) I won a free coffee playing roll up the rim to win.
5) I had words with the dirty ditch pig and ended up in tears to Andrea at work yesterday.
6) Got tickets for two (yes that's right TWO) preseason NHL games in Halifax in September. Did I mention that they are BOTH Bruin games???!!!!!
7)I think I am finally seeing an end to the "endless" pile of vacation laundry I had.....perhaps it is just wishful thinking.
8)I finally got around to posting some vacation pictures on facebook. YAY!!!
9)I no longer get the long weekend...due to staffing issues I have to work Saturday this weekend. ( I would like to say I am surprised but.....)
10) I finally broke down and bought new sneakers for work. I figured since the sole fell off the old ones the other day it was probably time to break down and buy a new pair LOL.
Well that's all for now....that's what I have been up to in a very condensed water downed sort of way at least.

I think the health inspector needs to condemn the office coffee maker

I am by no means an obsessive neat freak nor am I the stereo typical "Suzy homemaker" HOWEVER there are some things that should just be common knowledge. For the girls I directly work with they will know exactly what I am talking about. We have a small kitchenette area on our unit, fridge, microwave, coffee maker and table. This small kitchenette area is, on any given day, a complete disaster looking as if wild animals or small children were allowed to run amuck. Dirty dishes and empty containers get left on the table, items get left in the fridge until they turn into UFOs(unidentified fridge objects) and no one remembers what it was or when it was put in there, and then there is the coffee maker. Only a small few use this coffee pot. While I am a coffee addict I would never drink anything that came from that machine. The pot is cleaned at BEST once a month...as if that wasn't bad enough the old coffee is left in the pot sometimes for DAYS at a time. Our boss has left numerous notes asking to keep the kitchenette clean. Some of us who have been super grossed out by the state of our "break" area have taped notes to the microwave reading "please cover your food when using me" but nothing seems to work. I'm sorry but when GROWN adults need constant reminders to clean up after themselves it is just plain sad. Now it is worthy to note that even though I am old, I am one of the youngest in the department so you can't even chalk it up to not knowing any better. To summarize:1) When you dirty a dish/plate/utensil take it back to the cafeteria or home to be cleaned. DO NOT LEAVE IT ON THE TABLE!!!2) When you are done with the coffee pot TURN IT OFF. Dump out the unwanted remains and at the very least RINSE it!!! Also remember to throw the grounds and filter in the compost bin.3) If you use the fridge, make sure you take things home or throw them out before they become goo in the back for someone else to clean out.4)Take your turn to clean the kitchen area instead of trying to figure out who else worked that you can blame the mess on. Trust me cleaning up after yourself will take far less time and imagination. 5)If you use the microwave cover your food or be prepared to clean it out when your food splatters all over the inside.
Honestly this should be common sense. My 5 year old knows these rules and does a better job following them than these so called adults do.

Back to work in T-6 hours.

It is currently just past midnight. I have just gotten home from work. I am tired, stressed and not coping well. On top of all this I have to be back to work in roughly six hours, I am starting to wonder why I left in the first place. The lack of a real life is starting to get to me....and with the lack of a real life you tend to have lots of time to look back and think about things.Hind sight is 20/20 and there isn't much that can be done about things past but still they bother me. The stress level in all aspects of my life are at an all time high and again I am not doing the best to cope. Friends are telling me I am doing fine but I beg to differ. The fact I feel either forgotten or stabbed in the back or so sometimes both has to mean something. I am hoping sleep will help my outlook on things but I am not asking for miracles. Tomorrow or rather later today will be better....it has to...

The Uniform Lady is coming to VRH!!! Clearly I need to get out more.....

While drinking my morning coffee I decided to check my work email from home in and effort to prepare myself for work this evening. To my delight there was a mass email announcing a uniform sale on Tuesday. I LOVE MY SCRUBS. Aside from the 2 sets Andrew bought me last summer I have only purchased one new scrub set. I am in need of some new ones. Clearly when I am getting this excited about a uniform sale it shows I need to get out more.

The Webkinz pig has been found

I am pleased to let you all know that Snorkles was found safe and sound. He was hiding under a pillow that had fallen behind the bed LOL. Anyways we are all very happy to have him back. Welcome back Snorkles!

AWOL: Snorkles the webkinz pig

I awoke this morning to the frantic chatter of my five year old who could not find her beloved webkinz pig Snorkles. Since this pig was given to her I don't think it has been out of her sight other than while she is at school. I have searched high and low and have yet to find this beloved member of our family. He has to be in the house since she had him at bedtime last evening. Keep your fingers crossed that Snorkles the pig will return home safe and sound.

Word of the day Honorificabilitudinitatibus

This word is a hapax legomenon of Shakespeare's work. It roughly tanslates to mean the state of being able to achieve honours.

Happy Wednesday!

Yes I know today is Thursday but I didn't get a chance to post this last night because I was trying to finish the schedule. When I arrived to work Wednesday morning and went to print my bed board report this is how I found my computer (see the picture below). We were able to move back to our regular office(s) on Tuesday now that the damage from the flood has been cleaned up finally. Bill from IT came in late Tuesday to make sure all the computers and related printers and equipment were working properly. While waiting from a call to say everything had been switched over to the proper location Bill said he had to "put in his time" and decided to "decorate" the computer. I think next year I will see if he wants to decorate the Christmas tree LOL.

10 Things I Learned On Vacation

1) A bikini top with a plastic fastener is NEVER suitable attire for water sports of any kind
- This one is pretty self explanatory. I was in the water snorkeling, a larger than normal wave cart wheeled me, the plastic clip on my bikini top was gone and the people on the beach got a free show. I luckily was able to get my cover up and walk back to change without calling too much attention to myself. I will be going to every sewing store in the valley and buying as many metal clips as I can find and "upgrade" any of my bikini's as required.

2) Next year I will be bringing Diet Pepsi with me!
-Barbados has a bottling contract with Coke so they buy the locally bottled Coke products and don't import many Pepsi products. I was lucky enough to find 4 small bottles once during my stay. Next year I WILL plan ahead!

3) Sunglasses....wear them enough said
-I think I actually burned my eyes the one day I forgot my sunglasses I will NEVER do that again.

4) If you make one pile of luggage for five people and one for a baby or young child (age 0-7 years) they will be roughly the same size.
- 3 of the 4 suitcases and both of the carry on bags we had were crammed full of my daughters things. All of that was in addition to the blanket and "Snorkles" (the Webkinz pig) she had a death grip on to make sure they got on the plane with her. Should running frantically from one gate to another with 4 carry on bags, and a 5 year old with a blanket and a stuffed pig become an Olympic event I will win the gold medal for sure.

5) Money doesn't grow on trees but apparently rum does....
-The pictures below were taken of a random rum bottle strapped to a tree. Apparently this is the new "norm" for several beach bars on the island.

6) The makers of sunscreen are evil and want you to burn.
-My "waterproof" sunscreen apparently wasn't waterproof. I had a very interesting splotchy burn, so I purchased another "sport" brand which also claimed to be waterproof and a higher spf....I turned a lovely shade of Carmine. I eventually smartened up and went with an old trusted stand by that I knew was waterproof and actually HAD some form of sunscreen in it.

7)Golf carts are dangerous implements of death.

- There should be a written test, followed by an intensive driving test prior to being allowed to operate one of these contraptions. This should be followed by a safety briefing and making sure each cart is equipped with fire extinguishers, life vests and parachutes.

8)The terms "ugly", "fat" and "old" have no meaning on the beach.

- This one explains itself....go south...get a beach chair...observe...enjoy :P

9)Never again will I buy black or red luggage.

-After spending more time than I should have at the baggage collection area and picking up a million bags that weren't mine I have made the executive decision that I will never again buy black or red luggage. Perhaps bright sparkly pink or purple would be appropriate choices....or maybe a set with large polka dots or stripes. The more hideous and bright it is the better.

10) Tropical shrieking birds are creepy.

- I am not a big fan of birds at the best of times but when a group of wild parrots starts shrieking and swooping it creeps me out. They are shrieky and annoying and are best kept FAR away from me.

Quick Update

Just a quick update. I finally got a call from down south. Dad is still having trouble getting around and refuses to tell me what is going on other than he has had to start antibiotic treatment for some of his lacerations. This of course makes me wonder what is really going on. Also quite concerning my Aunt, who stays in the apartment next to my parents down south, had money stolen from her room. She started noticing money disappearing but since there money is worth half of ours it goes pretty quick so she just assumed she had made a mistake. When the Canadian money she had went missing she knew something was up. She reported it to the complex manager, then our maid suddenly started calling in sick...and ended up fired. Kind of fishy if you ask me.

Poor Dad :(

I just got a call from down south. Dad fell. He hurt himself pretty bad. He was walking home from a restaurant last night and fell. He has hurt is knee and hip again. He also has a lot of lacerations to his upper body and face. I wasn't able to get a lot of details but it was enough to make me worry. Dad says he is fine but he always says that.

My free Coffee

On my way into work for back shift Friday night I stopped at Tim Hortons to get a coffee. I only got an extra large coffee and I paid with a five. I SHOULD have gotten $3.27 in change but got $8.27. I told the lady at the counter that it wasn't right...she apologized and handed me a 10 dollar bill. Okay clearly math was clearly something they skipped during orientation. The more I tried to explain the more confused she became. In the end I was going to be late for work so I took my coffee and the $18.27 she insisted I was owed and went to work. Honestly I don't know how people like that stay employed ANYWHERE!

Playing in the waves

This is a video clip from our last day in Barbados. As you can see Victoria was soaking up every last bit of sun, sand and sea before we had to get ready to go get on the plane.

Monkey Business

I decided to post a couple video clips of the monkeys that we watched from our deck every morning in Barbados.

Stress

Last night wasn't good. It was so busy I only got sporadic opportunities to try to grab something to eat/drink, it was 25 minutes at the most. I am so overwhelmed and stressed. As most of you know, I made some poor choices in regards to taking a 2/5 position and having no seniority. I did this so that the guy I thought was moving home to be with Victoria and I would actually have time with us. Well that was a VERY bad choice. Not only did that relationship end and he not move here but I was now stuck with the many choices I had made to try and make his move home work. Well I was able to get a full time position, find someone to take the lease on the place I had gotten us among other things however there was nothing to be done about the seniority issue. Now I am paying for it. Oh am I paying for it!!!!The new "draft" for the new schedule is not good. Due to the lack of seniority I will no longer have stretches off nor have every other weekend off. I will now have to work 3 out of 4 weekends and deal with long stretches at work. Being a single mom I don't know how I will ever make this work. I actually want to see my daughter and with this rotation it won't be possible. We have no casuals and rumor is we won't be getting any to replace them. My hopes of ever having vacation when I want it has pretty much gone out the window. I haven't been able to sleep yet and I have 2 more night shifts. I wish I had someone here to talk to and help me through this....

Back to work

Tonight is my first shift back to work after vacation. The chest pain has already returned...it is going to be a long night......

Restocking

I now have food.....an hour of shopping and a couple hundred dollars later I can honestly say I have food in the house. Thank GOODNESS REAL FOOD!!!!

There are UFO's in my Kitchen

Before you go call the pysch ward to let them know I have finally lost it and will require a room let me explain. I am sure you too have or have had UFO's in your kitchen. No I am not talking about Unidentified flying objects but Unidentifiable Fridge Objects. Having been away for two weeks and knowing I left a litre of milk in there I knew I would have to clean the entire fridge. However I didn't quite realize the extent of disorganization and mess it was truly in. I took a large garbage bag and threw out several plastic containers of "unidentifiable fridge objects". The further back I got the worse it was. If I didn't know better I would say some of them were from the days of horse drawn carriages.
I am pleased to report that the fridge is now clean....however I need groceries...I have several jars of pickles and things like Ketchup but not real food items....on to the next step restocking.

The Death of the Airline meal

I made the 16 hour journey home in one piece as did Victoria. It was very long and went from being unbearably hot (at least while clothed in long sleeved sweaters and jeans) to being unbearably cold. I can only hope the plane that we were travelling on from Barbados to Toronto was in better shape mechanically than the interior looked. I noted the following things when entering the aircraft
-The bathroom at the front of the plane had a large OUT OF SERVICE sign on the door.....not the best way to start a six hour flight.
-The overhead bin ABOVE my seat did not latch and therefore could not be used.
-The seat in front of my daughter appeared to have duct tape on it. Upon closer inspection it was in fact duct tape (or some reasonable equivalent) holding the seat pocket to the chair. Oh good!!! The plane is held together with duct tape we must be safe!!!
-My tray did not fasten properly and as a result kept coming unfastened smacking me on the knee at the most inconvenient times.
-The same tray did not stay all the way down either...the springy thing was gone so my coffee had a nice lean to it while in the cup.
-Shortly after take off the flight attendant comes on with a passenger announcement that for us poor saps in coach the entertainment screens (the ones that show the news and movie) was not working and they hoped we enjoyed the flight anyway. Great now I have to occupy myself and a 5 year old for 6 hours with no movie.....we are off to a great start.
-The seats Victoria and I had did NOT have working audio entertainment either. Thank the heavens above I had a portable DVD player and a wide selection of childrens dvds.
-There was NO duty free available for purchase on the flight. That one didn't affect me but there were some pretty upset people so I thought it worth mentioning.
-Victoria never like airline food so I always made her a meal to take with us that she could eat on the plane and this year it was a good thing. The air line meal is dead. Gone are the days of an unidentifiable mush being placed in front of you. Now you have to pay $5 for something that you normally wouldn't feed to your worst enemy. The best part is the few selections that looked ok weren't stocked well and were gone by the time they got to us....and yes I was desperate enough to pay 2 bucks for a tiny can of Pringles that Victoria ate 90% of despite having already had the meal I made for her.
-Once in Toronto we get searched at customs....annoying as they have no problem taking things out of the suitcase but they don't put things back in.
-We barely made our connection. Any attempts at summoning assistance didn't work and in fact we ended up helping some poor gentleman in a wheelchair as he was left to fend for himself as well.
I am cold...I am tired and I have WAY too much housework....Welcome home eh?

I hate packing

With my vacation coming to a close I decided to pack up all the dirty and un needed items so that I don't have to spend my last night tomorrow packing and running around in a state of panic. Having said this I have come to realize I hate end of vacation packing more than pre vacation packing. I really think for a small fee there should be a service at the hotel and someone will come throw all my stuff in a suitcase for me. Mind you I am very picky so I would likely end up doing it myself any ways. My friend Scott suggested to me one time that I just buy new ones and discard the old dirty sandy clothes. While this may cost a lot it would save me a lot of headaches. I am off to enjoy more of the beach and then heading to Berts bar for Hockey Night in Barbados.