Blowing it out of the Water !!

Yep ! That's what I am doing !!! I have put my nose to the grindstone, my pedal to the metal, and I am ROLLING !!!! This has been a long itchy miserable stretch ... 2011 I guess I mean ! ... and I am over it !! Fall came and with it came my mojo ... I love Fall and can't help but be energized by it . I have accomplished so much this last few weeks and I am ELATED !!! Tired but elated !! I really have nothing exciting to blog about ... that's what happens when your nose is squished on the grindstone - you really just see the grindstone for a while. But that's okay. There is great comfort in getting stuff done and just being & doing. And I am loving it !!
Here's a quick recap ...
* renovating my store ... a chunk every week on my closed days
* unpacking an unholy number of boxes of new product ... did I really think I needed ALL of this ??? (yes, of course I did ...lol)
* filling my head with ideas for samples & workshops
* being so happy with the progress and newer tidier look of my store.
* helping out my favourite charities when & however I can ... not always easy but I will if possible. And I have let myself off the hook for not doing as much as I would like ... I KNOW I am not sitting on the couch eating bonbons !!
* dreaming up some kick ass Hallowe'en projects ... I love Hallowe'en !!
* letting go of my annual Pumpkin party ... it is soooo much work and I don't think I really enjoy it ... I'll enjoy a little more time more.
* enjoying cooking comfort food meals and baking (late at night) ... oven meals are sooo good !
* Nutella ... let me count the ways !!
* a little ... no, lots of solitary time. Here at work mostly while I am renovating. And I realize how much I like being alone & just chugging along on a project. I really like my own company and my own way of doing things !!
UPDATE !!! I do have news ... 2 new kittens !!! Leonard & Cohen ... and we LOVE them !!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone !!! Be thankful - life is good !!

WAHOOOOOOOO !!!

My groove is back !!! I have kicked butt this week !! New shelving set up at work, new work area set up, tossed bags & bags of junk, sorted papers, paid bills, baked cookies, gardened a bit, weekly card kits back in production, made an awesome sample for work, new computer set up & actually loving it !!, unpacked MANY boxes, processed orders, updated store blog & page, dumpster-ed stuff, made lists and plans ... I am on a rolllll !!!
Watch for happy, non-complaining blog posts !!
WOOT ! WOOT !

Pre-occupied ...

I have been pre-occupied ... this has been my problem and it is taking me over !! Hives are my best friend & constant companion every day since January...24/7.... sometimes a dozen, sometimes well over hundred ... but there EVERY STINKING DAY. And when the triggers are bad , they become this ... (sorry for the yucky picture ...) and this is after a few days of healing.

It sucks. And it seems to dictate what I do. "Kneel down ? OOPS !! GET UP !! You'll get hives !!". "Be careful, if the cat scratches you, you'll be sorry !" "Don't get too hot/get that heating pad off you/don't exert yourself." Blah blah blah ... sucks. (I said that already didn't I ???!)

So I spoke too soon about it all going well ... but now I have become a real oddity and I have a TEAM of people reviewing the photos & biopsies. And it is hives but with something that is not hives ... interesting ... So I look forward to progress and finding my wonderful fall groove again. I got kicked out of that groove with a big ugly sucker punch to the gut, and I am DETERMINED to find the groove and climb back in. I will. So there.

P.S. I am starting a "hive diary" ... "The Year my Skin Turned on Me..." ... I hope it will help ... help the specialists and help me vent this junk out of me !! HAHA !!!

I ♥ This Week !!

I do ! I ♥ it, I ♥ it !!
This is the last week of summer ... not officially, I guess, but by my inner calendar & the school's calendar it is ... I am not crazy about summer so I am happy to see it go ...go on with you !! ... I do like a few things about summer ... bonfires, open doors, sandals, flowers ... but I see no reason to not embrace those things all year anyway.
This is the week I pack up my tiredness. I sort through my old ideas & throw away those that aren't working for me. I unfold my dreams, write them down, plan the steps to make them happen. It is the mental equivalent of buying a new book bag and filling it with crisp new school supplies. It makes me excited , brave, and energized.
No matter how old I am, September will always be a new start . It is the first blank page of a new scribbler, a whole new pack of crayons, and a chance to start and learn. To try more, learn more, experience more, and be more.
I always have ideas percolating in my head ... hmmm ... but I let them simmer until now. If not I fear that summer's heat & (for me) discomfort will make the ideas wither and die. I will not have the determination or the mindset to deal with them. But come September I am "back to normal" ... lol. And I am ready to make dreams happen !!!

YAY !!!

Happy Happy !!!
As some of you know I have been complaining about hives ... for months ... since January actually, 8 months. Almost a full term pregnancy. lol. These aren't the spotty itchy hives though ... those I deal with ... every day. I have had those every day since late December. But these are - in addition - big huge swollen spots that burn and sometimes cause big blisters. They can last for days if they are severe. They exhaust me and make me unable to do a lot of things. They come from kneeling, carrying a purse, heat, walking, using a paper punch, applying a foot mask, having a massage treatment, rubbing my arm, wearing a sweater over sleeves, a paper cut, a bug bite, a bra strap out of place, shovelling dirt ... yep, silly things really. They can be on my hands , on the bottom of my feet, arms, anywhere. They are really a problem.
So I have been to the doctor several times, been referred to a specialist for 2012 (yes, waaaaaay in the future), that specialist died, and then I was referred to another specialist. I went Wednesday. I was so nervous the night before that I made lists on paper, I had my symptoms all layed out ... I was so sure I would have to convince the specialist. I had been hearing "Oh, you must have an allergy" for so long. I didn't sleep that night, I ate no breakfast ... I was nervous.
I went in & started speaking and she NODDED. She nodded. She knew what I was talking about and knew I wasn't crazy !! She did some very simple tests, took a biopsy (yes, right there ... cut out a piece of the hive !! UGH !!) , ordered some very specific blood work, and gave me a partial diagnosis ... right there !!! I was thrilled. It is fairly rare and is multi layered. The biopsy and tests will tell more but it's a start !! I am on a MEGA dose of medication for a month and then taper it off a bit for a few more months, then back to see her in 3 months. In the meantime we await the blood and pathology tests.
I didn't feel well when I left ... maybe from the biopsy ;) ... but I was elated !! To have someone say "I know some of what is wrong and can start helping you now. And I will soon be able to figure out the rest of it ... and it can all be dealt with ". I can't tell you what a relief !!!
Happy ! Happy !

My HEROIC Actions ... and a "Group Hug" thanks to Mother Nature...

Hello !
You may not read about this life saving story in the paper ... there really was no media coverage ... but I'll share (as I am not one bit modest ... heehee). My husband (Feedman we call him) has been moving a truck body- by himself, by hand, with a jack & a winch. Hard backbreaking work. Inch by inch. (and yes, he realizes that there are people & machines who can do that, but he has been waiting months for any of a number of them to show up ... with no luck). So I have been coming back to work at night so I can check on him - I am worried he will get squished and I will be at home. (yes, I am a bit of a worrier...) Sooooo ... last week I went out to check on him and he needed a bit of a hand. The body had slipped off the rollers and needed to be jacked up again. So he asked me to go around and take the other jack out. Okaaayyy ... I needed directions on how to use a jack - never done that before - and I had to ask if the "righty tighty, lefty loosey" thing worked. It did. So I put in the handle, gave it a small turn to the left, and the BODY DROPPED !!! BANG onto my shoulder. OUCH !!! I heard Feedman give a yelp and my mind immediately envisioned him pinned under the truck ... OH MY GOD !! I couldn't look over as I was bent under the truck and it was sitting on my shoulder. I sat motionless ... I didn't dare move. I was (somewhat) calmly trying to figure out how I could continue to hold up the (fully loaded) truck body while getting help. Oh my . It was heavy. Then I hear Feedman say "Are you bringing me the jack?" WHAAAAT ???? Turns out I WASN'T actually holding up the truck body. I moved my shoulder and it DIDN'T fall ... something had hit the side of his face when it LOWERED . I removed the jack and took it to him. Later that night I admitted that I thought I had saved his life and had been supporting the truck with my shoulder ... let's just say he laughed ... a lot. But I do have a bruise ...

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A few nights ago we had dinner at a wonderful place, The Hall's Harbour Lobster Pound. Great fish & chips !! It had been a very hot day in the valley and we had hidden out at home all afternoon & evening. We were ready to get out. So we headed there for a late dinner. We placed our order, took our fun little number on a stick, chose a table and waited. The host ,Lowell, came over to tell us that the clouds and sun were in an amazing formation - the light was wonderful. So I went around the building ... and there it was. A wall of fog out over the water was topped by clouds and from behind it beamed a glorious light. The top edges of the clouds sparkled an amazing pink and glowed. Dragon's tails, wisps of dreamlike clouds, and fairy wings grew from the top of the cloud ... all illuminated by this mysterious light. We all stood together - strangers- and stared at this wondrous sight. It was magnificent. For a brief time we all came together in a magical moment embraced by the beauty of nature ... exquisite.

This IS my life !!

This is the view from my front porch ... and from my heart. I live in a blissful place and in a state of bliss. Yeah, I have things that bug me ... who doesn't ? But all in all, my life is wonderful. It flows along peacefully with gorgeous blazes of colour and happiness... what more could I want ?

* my FRONT PORCH ... besides the view "out there", I love the view "right here". I have put up some awesome kick ass (If I do say so myself ... and I do !!) planters and they are full of delicious colours. My lovely old gargoyles are peeling and looking like they have lived there an eternity ... just what I wanted. We have a wonderful new lawn, beautiful walls, and an amazing lamp that looks like it is beckoning those on the water to come in. LOVE IT !!!

* HIVE CONTROL ... I have learned the source of my hives and I am working on CONTROL. Not always easy ... mmm, cleaned the bathtub ? Apparently that's a hive inducer by the swollen knees and blotchy stomach ... who knew ? But I am working on it and doing okay ... avoiding heat, pressure, injury (except bathing the cat ... there was no avoiding the injuries I incurred there ... eeek ... and the hives INVADED !!) But all in all, I think I have the upper hand ... shhh, don't tell the hives !!

* DRAMA-FREE ZONE ... I hate drama in my life. I hate hearing the word "stress" . Hate hearing people talk about how "stressed" they are. ... hate it all ! So I have distanced myself from all that is drama and "stressful". I have no desire to listen to that. (and I don't mean real stress - I am 100% supportive if someone has a real reason for stress) Some people love drama and draw it to themselves ... feel like there is nothing going on if they don't have something to be fretting & obsessing about. And that's okay for them. But I find it sucks the life out of me ... keeps me from enjoying my days. SO I have stepped away from all that is dramatic and negative ... who needs it ? I like to enjoy my ups and deal with my downs (on my own) . And everything is smooth and happy.

* ZOKU POP MAKER ... makes popsicles in under 7 minutes ON YOUR COUNTER !!! Oh Yah ! Amazing. And the flavour combos are limitless and DELICIOUS !! And, HEALTHY !!! How often does that happen ???!!! So far we have had strawberry banana and pineapple coconut ... both WINNERS !!

So, I guess, what I am trying to say is ... stay drama free, stress free, hive free, and enjoy a good sunset with a popsicle !! Happy days to you all !!!