The Great Interview Experiment

I would like to introduce a newly for me discovered talent Cindy care of the Citizen's 2nd annual project to make us all fell important;) I had a great time stalking through her archives and meeting the boys and aspecially her theory on LBDs.


1. You describe yourself as Sybil, something I totally understand, but would you care to elaborate a bit? Having grown up all over Canada I'm always interested in how we got to be who we are.

I do feel like Sybil. I am happiest when things are changing, although I am a total bitch when I am in the middle of a transition. My Other Half and I have moved a lot, we have tried living in the country, in the city and now in a small town. We have lived in the UK, the US and Canada. On the west coast and the east and each place suited us at that time in our lives. I say “our lives” because we have been together since high school so every move I have made has been with him packing the truck. Right now the change is from fulltime mother of three little boys to fulltime mother of three older boys while trying to figure out who I am. It’s the hardest one yet.

2. What are the 10 best things about living on the Bay?

i) The water calms me every time I look at it
ii) It is great for getting the mud off of dirty dogs and boys after a hike
iii) It’s nice to know that if I did want to run away I could hop in a boat and sail out of the Bay into Lake Huron, then into Lake Erie, then Lake Ontario, down the St Lawrence River and out into the Atlantic. Who knows? Someday I might need to.
iv) When there is nothing else to do we can always go down to the beach and skip stones, this occupies the boys for hours
v) The last day of school is celebrated with a bonfire at the beach
vi) It is fresh water so when you swim you don’t get all salty
vii) I love eating fresh Georgian Bay whitefish straight off the boat with a little lemon & white wine
viii) Some days it is the colour of the Mediterranean Sea without the billionaire yacht traffic
ix) It inspired so many of the Canadian Group of Seven painters whose work I love
x) There is nothing better after a long ride than jumping off the pier into crystal clear water

3. How DO you find that perfect LBD?

I am always on the lookout for the perfect LBD, unfortunately styles and my body shape seems to change more often than I’d like. I found one full length dress at Marshall’s years ago and I still pull it out for black tie occasions and wear different accessories (wow, that sounds very organized and practical, but it’s true) and I found the short one I wore at Target two years ago and never wore it until now. Cost per wear - $30!

4. I grew up with 2 sisters, I have a boy and a girl (grown) and one of each for grands. What's it like to have three boys?

It’s physical all the time. There are no arts & crafts in our house, there are punch & grabs. They are hyper-competitive and seem to have no “off” button, at least not one that I have found. I grew up with a brother and a sister and we fought - a lot - but nothing like my guys. My Dad, when he is with us, just shakes his head and looks up to the heavens and says, “I’m sorry Mum”. He was one of three boys too.

5. You seem to be involved in volunteerism. What motivates your sense of compassion?

My compassion comes from my family. Both sides of my family were/are very active in the community. My grandmother recorded books on tape for the blind and drove for Meals on Wheels. My mother organized afterschool activities for kids who couldn’t afford to participate otherwise and my Dad and brother started a camp for inner-city kids which has given hundreds of at-risk kids a chance to succeed. I grew up wanting for nothing but my parents always made sure that we understood how lucky we were and I hope I can do the same for my kids by being involved and trying to make a difference.

6. When you choose which blogs you want to follow, what are three things that interest you?

The first blogs I read were recommended to me by my sister-in-law. They were all different, some were by mothers, some weren’t but they all captured my interest. I love reading about other people’s parenting trials and tribulations but I also love to look at gorgeous photography of places I may never visit. I read some political blogs, I studied Poli Sci at university and I used to want to be the first female Prime Minister of Canada (Kim Campbell beat me to it) and some blogs I have found by meandering through other people’s lists or randomly clicking on links. That’s what I love about blogging, you never know where it is going to take you.

7. How did you get to Citizen of the month?

I had to think about this one because figuring out how you got to a certain blog is sort of like trying to trace a conversation between two people over a couple of glasses of wine. You start complaining about how your kids are talking back, then it’s on to your boss expecting you to do the job of three people, then it’s how your spouse never cleans out the kitchen sink drainer and suddenly you are reminiscing about your driver’s test. Huh? How did we get here? But back to the question, I think I found Citizen of the Month on drowning in kids blog.

8. Decribe your family, including yourself, with one word each. When I asked my mom to do this years ago, she tagged me the "bulldozer" qualified with, "come hell or high water you get it done."

My Other Half is the rock we can all cling to when we need it.
Number One Son is the calm in the storm that is our day-to-day lives.
Number Two Son is the clown, funny whether it is appropriate or not.
Number Three Son is the devil in not much of a disguise.
Me, I’m a chameleon, always changing depending on those around me.

9. What makes you sing to yourself?

I’m not much of a singer but I do love it when I hear something on the radio in the car that I haven’t heard in a while. ipods have sort of taken that away from us, it’s too easy to download songs. Kind of like how kids don’t have to wait for the one time a year The Grinch comes on TV anymore.

10. What do you do for YOURSELF, in your ever busy life?

I ride my horse and yes, I know I am incredibly spoiled. Last Christmas my family surprised me by leasing a horse I had ridden a few times at a friend’s barn. I hadn’t really ridden since I was a teenager and now I try to ride once a week if I can. It feeds my soul and keeps me from losing it.

Thanks top you both - this was FUN!

brad's battle

There are so many avenues you can take to try and keep weight problems under control/find control/regain control. None of them are easy and every weight cursed individual - be they underweight or overweight - responds in a unique way to most if not all of the methods to resolve the problem. I know. I've gained and lost and regained between 165 pounds to 325 and back to 170. Kept it off for several years and then it slowly climbed ... lost 50 or 60 pounds ... it found me again - y'all know the drill.

My point is that calorie, portion, intake control is the hardest thing to do because you can not just quit eating. You can quit smoking, drinking, drugs, sex, hoarding, or washing your hands too many times a day, but you can not simply just STOP eating. Sometimes the solution requires some extraordinary intervention.

So I have a friend named Brad who has struggled with a severe weight problem most of his life. Dietary and exercise programs were never successful. In 2007 Brad topped 507 pounds and despite all of his efforts, was gaining about 60 pounds a year. With the encouragement and assistance of his doctor, they applied to the only Saskatchewan program for gastric bypass surgery, and was rejected in April 2008 as not meeting the criteria of Dr, Kalban’s program.

Expanding their search outside of the province, Brad was accepted to Dr. Ferries’ program in Red Deer, AB. With his first appointment scheduled for June 8, 2009. a call in April 2009 informed him that Dr. Ferries had chosen to cancel all out of province patients, so the search was on once more with a letter to the Alexandria hospital in Edmonton.

With the continued deterioration of Brad’s health and walking becoming difficult, a friend who had the surgery in Brazil suggested Brad discuss this option with his doctor. Brad was accepted to the Brazilian program and began to prepare to go to Brazil. Brad and his wife Denise were prepared to do whatever they had to, to pay the projected cost of nearly $20,000.00 to extend Brad’s life. Pre-surgery fundraising efforts by friends and family helped to supplement their funds.

October 13,2009 Brad had his gastric bypass Roux en Y surgery in Brazil. The surgery was a success. However, a few days later Brad contracted Pneumonia in both lungs and had a blood clot to his left lung. The lung infection sent him to septic shock and shut down his kidneys and on the evening of October 19, 2009 Brad almost died due to these complications. By the grace of god, Brad is now out of ICU but recovering very slowly and is still in the hospital in Brazil. Medical bills from just the treatment of the complication alone have now passed $90,000 and Brad is out of ICU, but isn’t home yet. It’s been over a month.

The office of the Minister of Health has refused assistance claiming they simply do not have any programs that apply to this situation. The ministry indicated that preapproval for out of province coverage should have been arranged before Brad’s surgery. Brad had not applied because others he knows, who also went to Brazil, were previously rejected.

Brad is not looking for anyone to pay for his "elective" surgery, that was his choice. We are asking for assistance to cover the costs for the treatment of the complications portion. Dr. Marchesini has done 3000 gastric bypass surgeries with a 99% success rate, and Brad is only the third patient to suffer complications.
Fundraising efforts continue, with great thanks to the Eagles Club Ladies Auxiliary, the Victoria Club, and a whole host of generous hearts. A PayPal account for direct donations has also been set up and funds can be sent to bmilligan-davis@spotcheckservices.com or send a cheque payable to Denise Bantle at 1540 Albert Street Regina Sask. S4P 2S4
###
For more information or to schedule an interview please contact Denise Bantle (306) 949-4815

tuesday sucketh in an entirely different way

waaay behind at work now, worked through lunch and 45 minutes after home time and I still feel like I got exactly no fuckin' place.

Maybe tomorrow.

monday sucketh

Icky and tired all week end - cancelled all Saturday outings and slept 12 hours.
Not sure if I have a come and go fever or hot flashes.
Sunday, left the house for the fundraiser supper for 2 hours.
No sniffles but sinus drain - no headache but I'm just freaking exhausted.
Couldn't sleep. Barking like a seal.

Went to the doctor. Waited patiently for an hour and a half before asking for an update on how long this was going to take. I could feel the millions of virii trying to attack me from all those other sick people. I was told I was next. My doctor called 4 other people. I arched my eyebrow at the asst who told me "next" even though I felt like SCREAMING at him. He moved my file to a different doctor. It was still another half hour in the waiting room and 15 in the exam room.

No fever - no flue. allergies resulting in sinusitis complicating bronchitis. More antibiotics.

Go to the pharmacy - they said 20 minutes and gave me a pager. I wandered, found an emery board some lengthening mascara and a back of jujubes that I'm not supposed to eat. half hour killed. Sat down on the waiting chair BESIDE THE PHAARMACY COUNTER. at the hour mark I went and asked how much longer it would be? Politely I might add. The pharmacist says its been waiting half an hour. I hand him the pager and he shrugs, smiles, and tells me "sometimes they work and sometimes they don't" - sorry.
I am surrounded by mental midgets, always bad when I'm not at my best.

Home I go. No parking places. get me a gun - a big one, like a howitzer and I'll make a parking place. 16 drives around the block.

I start some stew since I missed lunch chasing my prescription. Go to have a nap = forgot I was to have coffee with the boy after work. Call wakes me up. Lay back down, another call - NOT MINE. The boy comes over to see me quick, give me some horrible news about a good friend's ex, but he does take the trash out to the bin for me.

I go downstairs to do laundry - it's always busy Sunday open Monday. Loads in both washers with another basket waiting, back up the stairs with nothing gained. REALLY. Next trip down - only one washer is free. Back to put in dryer - doesn't want to accept my loonie... finally. Now it is after 11pm - I'm tired and bitchy and waiting for my single load to dry. Have to do the rest tomorrow.

AARRGGHHHHH. Going back to bed as soon as I get my clothes.

belated image post

... in a world with no pumpkins spaghetti squash transform

















I love Hallowe'en. Since I can't be a Blues "Brother" I was their big Sister.




and here are the geese leaving for the winter:

missing in action

I've been looking forward to my three day weekend for several weeks and now the 100 little gods have decided to rain on my parade. I spent 5 hours Friday running around completing what was supposed to be a simple task - not even my own really - only to have it grow tentacle like complications that pretty much wasted my day. I did get it finished though so that's positive. Then I got to spend a few hours with several of the best girlfriends one can have.

By the time I got home the "visitor" showed up, and I hadn't really been watching the calendar so I hadn't gotten myself psyched up to deal with it. You know, it never used to be such a big freakin' deal. Every twenty eight days - a little poochiness, 4 days of bodily betrayal and done. Now, it starts with a day of ovarian twinges, 5 days of mess, fatigue, cravings for salt & sugar, neither of which I am supposed to have, and general malaise. I want to see my friends but I don't want to GO OUT THERE. My pants are too tight, I get two days of kankles so a dress is out, and I have a zit on the end of my nose. Just fucking lovely.

Apparently I am a little cranky.

And because it is my own body betraying my general desire to have a good time, I obsess.

I also missed Katie's Wino party last night and the santa claus parade today due to general uncomfortablity topped off with the remains of a hacking bronchitis cough and an icky stomach.

I wish the mental pause would be done already. Stupid hot flashes. Did you know that people think it is inappropriate to skin down to a tankini at the office in the winter?

I know - whine whine whine. I have the cheese thanks.

friday the 13th doesn't count

got my interview questions sent ;)

GIST # I'm not sure

I am grateful for:
1. My ability to look myself directly in the mirror and say YECH! and still have a good day.
2. Dove's 71% cocoa chocolates with only 190 calories in 4 pieces, 19 grams of carbs in same, and the lovely little notes on theinside of the wrapper : "enjoy retail therapy", "have a spa day", don't skip breakfast", "gossip harmlessly"...
3. The completion of work I volunteered for but didn't really want to do which made my day when I was done.
4. Taking risks both emotional and financial.
5. Smoking less than 2 packs a week.