Our friends world trip.......Machu Picchu

Some of you may have heard the news stories about the mud slides near Machu Picchu in Peru last weekend.  We had an Email shortly after, from our friends who are traveling around the world this year - they were actually THERE at the time and were actually on the very LAST train to leave the area.  They were so very lucky because another Edmonton couple had to be airlifted from the area and sadly watched another couple on the trails beside them slip and die :(

You can read Derek and Sarah's tales from that day HERE  as they continue to update their travel blog regularly.

Thursday Thirteen..... my migraines

1.  I've had migraines since I was about 18.

2.  When I first started getting them I didn't know what was wrong - I swear I thought I was dying.  I was admitted to hospital several times and had sooo many tests for 'viruses' and kidney disorders and brain problems and all kinds of things and no one EVER considered migraines.  Even though the pains were in my head no one even QUESTIONED migraines!!

3.  Finally when I had moved to a different part of England and had a different doctor it was finally discovered that I had migraines.  I had an amazing doctor and he was happy to drive straight over any time I had a migraine and inject me with an anti-emetic and pain killer.  I was also put on meds to prevent the migraines.  they made me tired and made me gain weight (they were beta blockers)  but helped with the migraines.  

4.  I get migraines sometimes 6 times a month and sometimes 4 or 5  times a week - every week depending on the time of year.

5.  My triggers are weather.  If the pressure changes and the weather changes then I get a migraine.  If my routine changes I get a migraine.  If I miss meals I get a migraine.  Certain foods can give me migraines.  Being over-tired can give me migraines.  Stress can give me migraines - but it tends to be AFTER the stress has passed.    Hormones play a part - certain times of the month cause problems too.  

6.  My WORST migraine was the day we travelled back from Florida in 2007.  A MAJOR weather system had gone through Orlando - tornadoes had ripped through killing several people.  I was so ill I could not even lift my arms or dress myself.  I was so sick.  Lloyd had to do everything for me.  I had to travel via a wheelchair and do not really remember anything about the two flights back.  Horrible :(

7.  I have been on Imitrex which helped for a long while.  Now I take maxalt which helped for a long while but now I am starting to get horrible side effects much like imitrex.  Time for a change I think.

8.  I take a preventative daily.  I take Topamax daily and that helps a lot - when I don't take it, my migraines increase.  Topamax is the first drug NOT to cause weight gain.  Woohoo....finally a brighter side to something ;)  However - a downside to this drug is that I had to give up running as it causes my bloodpressure to rise if I run :(  I miss running.  I can swim and walk still etc etc but when I run on this drug I feel very ill very quickly.

9.  I am not sure I get an 'aura' as such with my migraines, but I do know when one is coming - I start yawning a LOT shortly before it starts.  Also my nose will block on one side and it will feel as though I've been punched in the nose - it will feel kind of numb.  

10.  I have tried all kinds of natural remedies/ diets and natural methods or dealing with migraines.....nothing helps really - Lloyd massages my shoulders regularly and I do find that helps a little with tension etc.

11.  I am lucky though - I get migraines but I don't really get headaches - very rarely anyway!!!

12.  My doctor has offered me botox for my migraines and that may well be my next step - he actually gives botox injections in his clinic.  I have had a prescription in the past but never actually got it.....Im still not sure....maybe I will try that next.  The movie 'Christmas with the Kranks' puts me off a little (lol).

13.  migraines have ruined a lot of days and I live in dread of the next one.  I dread my meds not working, however, the days of vomiting for 18 hours are long gone.  Thankfully these days meds can control things.  If mine don't work I can go and get some that DO work.  I don't have to suffer the way I used to.  Migraines are miserable and horrible and I hate them - but when I think about all the other problems I COULD have - really, I could be a LOT worse off ;)

I don't know who created these fabulous pieces of artwork - but they really do explain migraines through art sooooo well!  

You can find Thursday 13 HERE

too much cuteness for one day :)

awwwwwww :)

Check  THIS out!!  And then have a look at the rest of her photography because it is ALL awesome!!  And I don't even USE the word awesome ;)

New games...

On Tuesday I picked up a whole bunch of new board games at the thrift store.  I got some unusual ones that we hadn't heard of, as well as Fear factor, The DaVinci Code, and a few others...and a few jigsaw puzzles too.  I think they must have had a sale on or something because I ended up paying $4.25 for all of them even though some of them were $2 each.  

It said on some of them that they were unchecked and untested but so far all the pieces are there - and I figured for that price I'd risk it!!!  The kids are happy to have new games to play with.  

Of course when the camera comes out these days they all do weird things - and no Sam is NOT licking the game - I promise!!!  lol!  

Art classes continues....Kandinsky!!

Abigails art class this week focused on music as art - and the artist Kandinsky.  They listened to music throughout the class and then were helped to translate that music into art.  

Abigail is really enjoying this semesters classes.  So far they have done watercolour, pottery, weaving and music.  Next week they are doing Valentines.  Each topic also includes the study of an artist.  they are given materials on the artist to take home too!  

I love that our town supports homeschoolers so well!!  

Wonderful birthday gifts....

....from a wonderful friend!!

Val gave me these beautiful scarves for my birthday!  And a gorgeous card - with the most perfect wording - couldn't agree more with the wording which talks about having a  friend with whom you can totally be yourself and relax with :)   There are so few friends you can vomit caviar in front of these days ;)  hahahaha!!

I've worn the green scarf a lot already and Lloyd has started calling me 'The girl in the green scarf - he said it as soon as he saw it - and he's right - it's JUST like the scarf in the Shopoholic movie!!  I love it :) The other beautiful scarf is an evening scarf I think and is gorgeous and wide too - I'm going to wear it next Friday when we go out with friends - and again when we head out with James and Val in a coupe of weeks - hhmmm we have to set the date for that still!  

Thank you soooo much Val - they are beautiful!  

Do you believe????

LOVE this commercial....love the feeling it inspires in me :)


Go Canada :)

Easy peach cobbler

Val made THIS Easy Peach Cobbler and gave us each a slice on Monday.  It was soooooo delicious!!  In fact I was so impressed that I went straight home and put some in the oven for dessert for my family!! I didn't have peaches, so I used tinned pineapple and it was equally yummy!!!  A HUGE hit with my family!!  We had ours with Birds  English custard. It would be great with ice cream or whipped cream too.  This is going to be a new family favourite and it really is sooooo easy - one tip though is to cook it MUCH longer than the recipe says!!!  

We had oven roasted potatoes and chicken slow cooked in gravy in the crockpot, with brussel sprouts and yorkshire puddings for dinner:

Quick - get Val a drink!!!

I took Val over some caviar on Monday and she had a try :)  

Hhmm going by her expression - and the fact she had a gulp of her coffee afterwards...would you guess she loved it or hated it????  ;)  lol!

At least she didn't throw up in the sink like me ;)

(I just noticed that Abigail is continuing to crochet, oblivious, in the picture hahahaha And you can spy Vals very cute Grandson in the piccy)

We put some caviar aside for Vals husband James who was game for a laugh and tried some - he quite likes fishy foods though, so he wasn't that grossed out by it - or impressed either....but he did pull a funny face for the camera ;)

Not quite as funny as Vals though, I'm sure you'll agree ;)  

A day at Vals....

On Monday Val and I were desperate....Val had been awake since 6:30am with her Grandson and was bored by 9am and desperate for company!!  I had had no sleep and was grouchy!  I was desperate to get out of the house so that I wouldn't be a complete witch all day - and so I wouldn't have to face chores all day while too tired and grumpy!  

A perfect pair :)

I threw chicken in the crockpot, packed a bag of essentials and headed out to Vals for the day!  the weather was bad - having snowed for days - and still snowing, but as Val could be considered a 'neighbour' in acreage terms, it is easy to get there and stress free as you don't even have to touch the highway - it's really just a couple of lanes/ back roads away!!  I let her know when I was leaving so she could have the coffee on ready :)  I supplied the vanilla syrup :)

One of the things we did at Vals was that she attempted to teach us to crochet!  It turns out that we had been almost doing it right - thanks to the dvd that Rhona sents us, we had been on the right track - but I think we had been putting the hook in slightly the wrong place - in the v instead of the top of the stitch....BUT even though we kind of know how to do it now - both Abigail and I agree that crochet seems a bit fiddly!  It seems to take forever!  And until you get going - like REALLY going, it looks such a MESS!!!  I think thats why I thought I was getting it wrong - because mine kept looking such a mess when I did that second row!  It was just a blob!  

I could have knitted 20 rows by the time you've just done a couple of crocheted rows!  Or maybe I'm just not getting it!  Val did show us a really fancy rosette type thing though that she crocheted - and she did help us a lot - but since we got home, Abigail has reverted to knitting - and using the crochet hooks to weave with!!  they are handy for pulling the wool through the loom!

Go Canada!!!!!!

Do you believe???

Timmys do!!!  :)

Sunday afternoon....

Family dinner for our birthdays.  We wanted to go to East Side Marios as Susannah had never been there, but when we got there, we found it had been closed down - not sure if it is closed for renovations or closed entirely s the signs inside and out are GONE - just some interior and renovations signs outside and lots of fencing.....

Disappointed, and hungry, we headed to the closest place - Boston pizza.  

Boston pizza have a fundraiser for Valentines Day - they have heart shaped pizzas as well as heart shaped cards you can drawer on for $1 and they put them up on the wall, so each of the kids had a heart to draw on:

I caught it on camera :)

My 50,000 visitor lol!

Breakfast at Denny's....

Yesterday while Abby was at art class, I took my two middle boys to Denny's for brunch.  I've never seen Sam eat so much!  He finished off all of his own breakfast and then tucked in to the rest of Laurences and THEN he ate all of my toast...I was just telling the server that I was done and he grabbed the plate of toast that I hadn't touched and said "I'll have that"....the server laughed and said "Good on ya".....he ate it too!  This is a boy who really doesn't eat much!!!  I guess he was hungry!!!

Hangin' out.....

Laurence has been off school for the last couple of days....and his favourite hang-out when he is home, is the big comfy chair in my craft room!  He says it's because the signal is good for facebook for his PSP, but I think it's cause he gets to chat with me ;)