FLIB-ur-tee-jib-it (n.) is 2!!!

Whoot! So I've been blogging for two years now. Wow! I hope you found the blog somewhat interesting to read. It's definitely been an interesting year for me, and 2008, well I can't predict what will happen other than I will finish my stupid Evil Homework!

However, I do have a number of things to blog about before 2007 closes off, more to come as the days progress. I have this week off from work, so you will see something!

Christmas wasn't too bad for me. My sister was in town and we had Christmas dinner on the 24th, then Christmas Dim Sum on the 25th as my sister had to leave later that afternoon. I ended up spending Christmas night having Christmas Dinner with some of my Dad's family. Adventures abounded of me trying to find a strange house in the dark of winter, driving up a mountain no less, while it was snowing. Good times. No misadventures met up with me, thank goodness, and I was able to enjoy a hearty Christmas dinner, and reconnecting with some family I hadn't seen in some time. Then up early on Boxing Day for some shopping! I walked away with some nice booty, and even a sweater for hubby!

H0pe everyone is having a lovely holiday!

Happy Christmas!!!!

Click on the image above to see it properly. Happy Christmas everyone!

Another Update

Yes, going another week without blogging. Bad me. I have been busy, and I actually have two pieces of news to share. One I can't share quite yet in Internet-land, but hopefully by the end of next week I will be able to. And for PJ3 and the rest of my faithful followers who are trying to guess what's behind door number one, no, I am not pregnant! But still, it is good news, just news that I don't feel yet is the right time to put up on the ol' blog. However, if you know me in real life, I will tell you my news--for the right price (chocolate!).

The other piece of news has to do with school. Without getting into the details as to the absolute project management disaster this whole debacle has been since day one, I had yet another breakdown about it about two weeks ago and cried bitterly on hubby's shoulder for a good half an hour. Shortly after that, I spoke at great lengths with my advisor. The long and short of it is that come hell or high water, I will be handing in my report come May 1, and I'm done with this hellish project after 2.5 years. Regardless of what happens after that, this is the biggest weight off my shoulder. This thing has felt like an absolute albatross around my neck, one that I can finally cut loose from. Bu bye birdie!

Something fun to leave you with as I sign off: Hubby and I enjoying ourselves at our annual Bible Study Group Christmas Party. I think I look like a bucked-toothed, horsey-faced idiot in the picture. Good times!

365 Days of Pictures: Christmas Lights!

My hubby rocks! I was going to ask him to put the Christmas lights this weekend, only he beat me to it. I found him putting up the lights when I got home. Yes, I know it's not a lot of lights, but I'm not much of a Christmasy person. Still some lights help bring a bit of a festive air to my humble abode, n'est pas?

Snow!

This was taken at about 12.30 pm this past Sunday. 24 hours later, all of the snow was gone.

Life, maybe not so boring...

I do have one little piece of exciting news. Well, exciting to me.

We paid off the car loan.

One year ahead of schedule.

Whoo. Go us!

Wet Snow

Apparently, it's our first snow fall this season. Typical that it had to be wet snow. Depending on which part of the city you're in, it could have fallen as big fat flakes or it could have fallen as really cold rain, with nare a snowflake in sight.

This has been about as exciting as my life has been getting so far. Work is steadily chugging along. Evil Homework is, well, there. Not too much else happening right now, at least not with me. Oh wait, I caught a cold and had my flu shot. Joy.

However, November is quickly coming to a close, and everyone knows a lot happens in December. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to blog about.

Later.

Some headlines

Now doctors say it's good to be fat?

I understand their point of view, but as the article also brings up, what about quality of life? And what does it mean that more people die or less people die? Everyone dies. I always read stuff like this and think that they need to qualify their meaning. Do you mean people under a certain age? It's just too confusing. I certainly hope (but know that this won't be the case) where reports such as this will just give people more of an excuse to eat poorly. Our bodies certainly weren't made to process junk. Nonetheless, there's too little information in the article for me to come to any good conclusions about this.

Parents win right to grow babies for 'spare parts'

I don't know how to feel about this one, I really don't. I understand that parents would want to try to save their children, and this is one possible avenue. I also understand that the child should have a right to make the choice of helping the sibling with the health problems, and not feel like his parents needed him to exist in part because they needed a solution. I am not a parent, nor do I know anyone else in this position, so I don't know what my true feelings will be if I had to face this situation. I've learned a long time ago never say never, because sometimes when push comes to shove, and you're feeling like a trapped animal, you may end up doing things that you'd thought you'd never do.

But that doesn't mean that I don't see the ethical dilemmas and the social impact laws like this may trigger. I would like to think that our world leaders would try to make the best decisions for the people that they represent, and hopefully they have talked about and debated the ramifications of this legislation. Even if that were the case, you can never please everyone, and it is impossible to come to a consensus about it. However, I wonder the state of mind of the person or persons who had originally lobbied for this to become law, did they have to deal with this very same situation, and are they basing their actions on fact or emotion? Let's just hope that this turns out to be a good idea after all.

Too much stuff

I heard this on the radio the other day. The DJ was reading people's comments online about the fire that is raging through Southern California, and he came across this person's comments...

In nearby Escondido, Susan Healey returned after two days with friends to a house unscathed except for heavy soot in the swimming pool.

"I don't think after something like this you're ever not different," the middle-school teacher said. "I had two days to think about, what are the most important things in my house? And they all fit in my car. I realize now how much junk I have."

It got me thinking, are there things that I can live without? The answer is yes. I posed this question to Hubby, and we came to the conclusion that we both could fit everything that was important to us in our one car. So, is it necessary to have so many things? And the things that we insist on holding on to, and are things "that might be useful one day", or are they really "junk"?

Certainly in this world of consumerism, we have the ability to obtain items when we want, but how often do we really question if it's really needed? And similarly, are we holding on to things that are simply collecting dust, and could either be reused or recycled by someone else? And did we really need to buy that item in the first place? Not until we are forced to think about it will we know.

Lemonade???

To my loyal readers, I apologize for not blogging lately. It's not that I don't have anything to say, I always have something to say: I'm very opinionated, and have strange thoughts, and unusual interests. Just ask Hubby. I've been pretty busy: last week, we had visitors stay over at our house; I was dealing with my pain in the butt; work was busy; Evil Homework is, well, there.

Well, said visitors are gone, my pain in the butt is almost gone, I'm glad I'm actually going back to the gym again, and work is still busy.

Anyways, I've been in panic mode with my school project because I have about 6 months left to finish everything. We are (my best guess) after 2 years, only about 1/2 to 2/3 done, no more than that. I recently had a kind of an epiphany about it.

Lemme explain where I'm coming from with the though first. My current career goal is to move into Project Management. Let's face it, I'm not getting any younger, and while technology still interests me, I don't have the same drive and energy as I once did to keep my skills current, so I'm moving towards more soft skills.

Don't get me wrong, being a Project Manager in IT still means that you need to stay on top of the technology, but it also means that you pay less attention to the technical details, because quite frankly, they are for someone else to worry about.

Anyway, back to the epiphany.

I just realised that how I should be treating the whole school project thing at this point is pretending that I'm a project manager whose been hired to get this train wreck completed on time. And I am approaching the project, and especially my clients, with this attitude. After all, my real job will throw me into situations like this eventually, I might as well start here and get some practice.

Really, nothing much has changed, but my attitude. If you have lemons, make lemonade. I've finally figured out how to make the lemonade. But as my attitude has changed, so has my approach to my dilemma.

While I'm still not happy with the progress, I did have a very long talk with my clients, and I think they finally (I hope) realise what my frustrations were all along. I'm not holding my breath to see if I did get through to them, because, well, sometimes when you try to convince someone of something, some people just never get it. I'm just going to take it one day at a time.

After this revelation, I did feel less burdened and less anxious. My unease hasn't gone away completely, but I am at least feeling a little bit better. However, I've been down this same path before, so I'm trying to be positive about it all. Attitude is key this time around.

And the verdict is...

Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction.

Well, my chiropractor called it a SI Joint sprain, but it's really an inflammation. The picture show exactly where my pain the the butt is, but on my left side.

As much as I am glad to have this figured out, it also means that I need to take it easy for a while, definitely no or little exercise. Not exactly what I want; I need to exercise some, if only to regulate my stress a bit. However, I want to make certain that this heals properly, and that I can maintain it so that it doesn't happen again.

Short term pain for long term gain. Or so I tell myself.

I'm sad, I know.

Gobble Gobble!

For those of you who've read my last blog post and/or seen my stressed out Facebook status messages the past week, and have contacted me asking about me, I thank you!

I figured since today is Thanksgiving, that I will list all the things that I am thankful for. Sometimes we tend to focus so much on the negatives of our lives that we forget that we are very fortunate in so many ways. Here's my list:

• I'm thankful for the bestest husband in the whole wide world. Not only does he cook for me, puts down the toilet seat and helps me clean the house, but he also puts up a lot from me, and puts up with my whining, ill-humours and is always there rooting for me. Even after the Really-Embarrassing-Moment on Wednesday, he didn't make me feel stupid and bought me chocolate, and that helped a lot
  
• I'm thankful for my parents, though they still drive me up the wall (especially my dad) that I know they will always be there for me no matter what happens.
  
• I'm thankful that I'm in a stable job, that will allow me to do some splurge shopping, like the cute dark brown leather Roots flat bag that I got today. (Whoops!)
• I'm thankful that I have people around who care that I'm stressed out and asked how I am doing
• I'm thankful that I'm able to do Evil Homework. I have the means and the money to get the education I want, even though it wasn't how I expected to be, and once I have that piece of paper is in my hand, I will pretty much have forgotten all the blood, sweat and tears that went into getting it.
  
• I'm even thankful for the big pain in the butt, because of it, I haven't been sitting very much, which is a big relief for my upper back problems. But seriously, I'm thankful that I have easy access and can afford to have someone to look and fix my health problems, not everyone has that luxury.
  

There's more, I know but that's what I can think of off the top of my head for now. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Update on me...

I had posted this as my status on Facebook yesterday:

Irene is frustrated. Irene had a frustrating week. Stoopid people. Stoopid body. Stoopid Evil Homework. Sigh.

Yes, I had a very frustrating week last week. And it really wasnt' one thing in particular, it was a lot of little things.

Work: I'm dealing with a space crunch, and it's looking like Plan A won't work. Plan A was to move into a new room. I was going to do it later, but I decided to step up the time line as we had more people coming in very soon. To make a long story short, the room I'm moving into is mess, there is half-put-together furniture in there, and I don't know when the rest will be done. I dearly would like to yell at someone, but she is on vacation. I have to wait until Tuesday to discuss Plan B.

Body: Not only now do I have to contend with a constantly sore upper back, but my left hip has decided to give me problems. I can't sit for too long, and standing's not fun either. I had two meetings on Friday, and I was standing up for both of them. I don't see my chiropractor until Tuesday. The pain's manageable, but barely. I've learned what a piriformis is, and have been stretching that, but I'm not 100% certain that is the problem (or the whole problem). I've been telling everyone that I have a pain in the butt. Lame, I know.

However, until I can get this hip thing under control, I'm not going to the gym. As much as I don't like going to the gym, I hate the feeling of my body feeling flabby and me feeling like a slug more.

Evil Homework: I hate it. I have to do it. Enough said.

Rest of Life: I had a really embarrassing episode on Wednesday (not at work), and was throughly tramatised for a couple of days. I had a good cry on Hubby's shoulder, and ate chocolate, and went for some more H&M retail therapy (I have to stay away from that place!), so I do feel better. I was hit pretty hard with PMS too, and coupled with a lot of extra stress, eating too much chocolate, not being able to go to the gym to work off stress, my mood is a little low of late. This last week has been very off for me.

Blergh.

Life is interesting...

Well, I've been on Facebook for a few months, and here is what I've discovered so far:

• The world is indeed a small place. Some of my Friends know some of my other Friends, but I know it wasn't through me.
  
• Looking at the list of people from my high school graduating class, I sadly have little recollection of most of them beyond their name and/or face, and some I don't remember at all
• A lot of my high school graduating class have young kids. Not a big deal in of itself, as we're all in our mid-thirties. But it's weird to think that we're actually ADULTS with ankle-biters. I still am not there mentally yet.
  
• I'm still trying to not be sucked into this. I don't feel like I'm an obsessive Facebook user, but I am on it more often than I want to be. I blame L in Cowtown and T and LA. Yes, you two know who you are =P
  

I can't breathe

This happens to me twice a year, and no, it's not an allergy (unless you call being temperature sensitive an allergy). I've pinpointed it to the weather, and in particular, during the spring and fall when the weather starts being schizophrenic.

When the temperature drops or rises to a certain range, my sinuses decide to start plugging up. However, it only plugs up enough so I can't breathe properly, but not substantial enough to blow out. So I'm in a perpetual state of misery.

Joy.

(You should feel doubly sorry for Hubby, who gets to listen to my constant whining.)

Good Pain?!?!?

For those of you who don't know, I have really bad upper back, neck and shoulder problems. I go see a chiropractor every 1-2 times a month and a massage therapist (RMT) twice a month. In fact, my chiropractor has mentioned that my back is one of the worst he's ever seen (not the worst, but close).

Anyways, my old RMT had decided to quit practice to go back to school, so I saw a new RMT on Tuesday. She does deep tissue massage, like my old RMT, but unlike my old RMT, she does it even deeper.

So yeah, it hurt when she did it, and my muscles hurt even now (As an aside, I was quite surprise how such a tiny woman had so much strength in her hand, I sure don't!). She explained to me that what I'm going to feel afterwards is a bit of muscle bruising, or "good pain".

Good pain my foot. Pain is pain, it's never good. It's been about two days, and I'm still feeling it. The only reason why I put up with it is that after the pain subsides, my muscles do feel better. I'm just waiting for the day when it will go away for good. Sigh.

La Belle Auberge: The actual anniversary dinner

Last night hubby and I went on our 5th anniversary dinner. Granted, our actual anniversary was the week before, but we had just come back from Paris, I was jet-lagged, and hubby was jet-lagged and sick. After some deliberation, I had decided to go to La Belle Auberge for dinner.

I've only been to this place twice before, and it was a good 10-15 years ago. However, I've always remembered the exceptional food on my two previous experiences, and after taking a quick perusal of the menu online, we'd decided to go.

I have to say that the food was absolutely phenomenal! We decided to go with a 7-course set menu, and although a bit pricey, was totally worth it! I highly recommend the place. Note that this restaurant is about 40 minutes south of Vancouver, and you must cross a bridge and go through a tunnel to get there, but it is worth the trip, really! 10 out of 10!

Menu:
1. Amuse Bouche - this turned out to be a Feta and Spinach Quiche, some chicken thing, and Chilled Tomato Soup. Best quiche I've ever had, and the soup tasted so fresh and light!









2. Lobster Bisque with Seared Scallop - You could really taste the lobster stock, and it wasn't as heavy as other lobster bisques I've had in the past.















3. Me: Origino Tomato Terrine with Basil Goats Cheese - I hate raw tomatoes with a passion, but I thought I'd give it a go. It was very yummy and light. BTW, I still hate raw tomatoes, and the raw cucumber, but I ate it! The truffles on the lower right of the picture, not to my taste
















Hubby: Roasted Arctic Char with Mushroom Broth
















4. Salade Waldorf with Blue Cheese “Macaroon” - The Salade Waldorf was yummy, even for a mayonnaise-type of food (my stomach doesn't like mayonnaise). It's really a fruit salad that you're seeing, great for a summer menu. The blue cheese thing was "interesting".
















5. Lemon sorbet - to cleanse the palate. Very refreshing!
















6. Me: Wild Boar with Morel Sauce - The waitress said that because this is a multi-course menu, the portions were resized so that there wasn't as much food per dish. She lied. My main dish was huge, and had a lot of different flavours and textures going on.
















Hubby: Bison Loin with Burgundy Sauce
















7. Me: Chocolate, Hazelnut and Passion fruit Mousse Cake - note that the passion fruit was supposed to be a waterfall, but the liquid broke and I couldn't fix it for the picture, but I did see it!
















Hubby: Tiramisu

Five years!!

Yup, today is our fifth wedding anniversary. Five years. That's a long time.

We don't have any plans to celebrate, hubby got sick on the last day of our trip, and frankly, we still a bit jet lagged. But hopefully we can go out later tonight to celebrate.

Back from vacation!!

I'm baaaacccckk! Paris was awesome! I'm soooo jetlagged. Once my laundary is done, I'm crawling into bed. Stay tuned for details and pics!

Paris: T minus 2

So it's two days before Paris, and I still have to:

• Do laundry
  
• Pack (haven't started)
• Tie up stuff for work (there's something major that's planned for Sunday, I may be pulling out hairs then)
  
• Figure out what we're doing (cracking open ye olde guidebook)
• Get evil homework to a point where I can show stuff to people
• Get copies of my documentation online for backup
  

On top of that, family is in town, so I won't have time to do nuthin! And I've looked at a half-dozen weather sites and they all tell me something different! I'll need to take half my wardrobe to be properly clothed! Bah!

Stress, stress, stress...

People, stop asking if I'm excited about my trip, I haven't had a half decent minute to think about it properly yet!