I've been taken over by martians...or something

For some reason I can post pics from work. Too bad it got taken over by another language! Holy crap. Somehow something got toggled...maybe me?
Anyway, this is the santa I made from strawberries and pineapple. It didn't work out so well because the icing wouldn't stick to the wet fruit!
But the cheeseball snowman turned out awesome! He has a rosemary hat, pepper corn eyes, tomatoe nose (didn't have any carrots :(), slivered almond mouth with an asparagus pipe, whole almond buttons and asparagus arms.

च्रिस्त्मस Fun

वही इस थे व्रितिंग शिंग उप इन पंजाबी? सोमोने हेल्प में!!! wtf...it edits in english!

What have I done wrong?

The tool bar at the top of writing a blog is missing so I can't add any pictures! What have I done wrong?

How's the water today?

This is for you rotten southerners who have been to the 'beach today, been to the 'pool today'. Does it sound like I have a bad attitude! This was taken at 2:00 this afternoon on the 15 minute drive home from work that took me 1 hour!!!!!!! My Christmas shopping is not done, my Christmas grocery shopping is not done and by the looks of it I will be house bound for a few days. I couldn't even get my car into the parking lot. I had to leave it at Shoppers Drug Mart. Hope the plows don't scoop it up and take it away. I had to trudge through a foot of snow, with running shoes on to get home! (real Canadian's don't wear boots) Anyway, enjoy the beach and the pool or whatever.
xoxoxoxo
Oh ya, Merry Christmas
Hey Kathy, when I said the snow was pretty...I was just being delusional!
And Mom, I was only ever going 10 km. an hour so there was lots of time to take pictures LOL

My Sista

Today she is 49. It still amazes me that we are this old. Where did it go? In a blink of an eye, when we weren't looking, we went from 18 to... well you know.
She is beautiful, she is strong and I love her. Happy Birthday DeeDee!
P.S. Happy thanksgiving to my friends down under.

I'm supposed to be Pack leader

I have two, very spoiled, jack russels. They think I am their Mom. Bailey follows me EVERY WHERE! This is Baker, she likes to jump up on my lap for kisses and hugs. They sleep in the lap of luxury in my bedroom. I don't allow them up on my bed but they have pillows and blankets on the floor. I worry that my neighbors will hear me talking to them like they are little babies and think I have finally lost my mind. I baby them, well, Baker particularily, a lot.

Every day when I come home they get a chicken jerky treat. They absolutely love these treats. I let them outside as soon as I get home. Baker barely pees before she comes dashing through the house and starts jumping where her treats are kept. Bailey follows behind but is far too fat to jump. When I give them their treat they go flying into the family room to indulge.

Today, I was out of chicken jerky. I let them out, Baker came flying in and began her ritual. I took the tin down and handed her a rawhide roll. She actually took it in her mouth, realized what it was and SPIT it at my feet! I told her that was all I had. She picked it up and walked to the family room like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders!

I went to the store and bought them their chicken jerky...cause that's what a good Mom would do!

I've regained my composure

Wow, I can't believe that this time next year we will have a little boo boo to celebrate Christmas with. I know it is so very early in Natasha's pregnancy and horrible things could happen but I have told everyone that we cannot put off celebrating the wonderful things in life just because yucky stuff happens. We have been through so very much crap that the thought of a brand new bundle, a fresh new beginning....ya, I'm crying again! It is so amazing and so much fun to plan all the things I'm going to be able to do with this precious gift. Trust me there will be a lot of pictures. Thanks to all who have listened to me and to all I will bore to tears over the next nine months!

I'm going to be a GRAMMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would love to shout it from the highest mountain. I can't explain why turning 50 was so horrible but the thought of being a Gramma is so very amazing!

We knew there might be a possibility but Nick called me last night, just before OBAMA won and said "It's confirmed". I paused, to scared to believe what I heard, and said loudly, SAY THAT AGAIN!!!!!

I am on cloud 9. Cloud 99, cloud 999999999999999!

My baby is going to be a Daddy...it makes me cry.

I'm going to be a Gramma...it makes me cry.

Matthew will be a great Uncle...it makes me cry.

David would have been a gread Grampa...it makes me cry.

My Dad would have been a hugely amazing Gr.Grampa...it makes me cry.

I CAN NOT WAIT...this is going to be a very long 9 months.

If it's a girl...Oh my GOD, if it's a boy, like Nick or Matt, Oh my GOD!!!!

I'm gonna be a Gramma, wow!

So, here I am again! Surgery could have gone better. But at least my toes are pretty!

My FLA time is almost up...

I've been here since last Saturday. Since then we have already moved to another beach house. You wouldn't believe the beauty of this place. It is a fully furnished 4 bedroom beach house. When you walk in the front door and look to the top of the staircase you see a WALL of wine. Seriously. There is a wall that holds 210 bottles of wine. It is very impressive and the rest of the house lives up to that reputation. Wow. We took Jake to his karate class where the stupid woman at the front desk asked it I was Shelley's Mother!!!!!!!! Then she made some excuse that she didn't have her glasses on!!! THEN she asked where I was from. She asked if it was always snowy in Canada and was shocked beyond belief when I told her our summers were just like here. I could have smacked her but I have taken that course about being nice and chose to ignore the bitch :)
We have gone to an arts festival, gone Cuban dancing. Neither Dylan, Shelley or I could keep up with that Latin beauty of ours, Lisette. She sure knows how to shake her thang and she loves to do it. We have had friends over and I met such a cutie, Carissa. We played down on the beach today. There are always places to take the kids or pick them up. It's endless. We shop a lot at Walmart and eat out enough too. I got my hair cut (not very good) and we had manis and pendis too. I have also dealt with so many memories of David here too. We pass the beach house that we were at in Nov06 every time we go out. It's really hard to see the ghosts of him even here! John flies in tonight for a week or so. Thank God they are getting a hotel tonight. Nicola and I will have all the kids here at the house. We're having a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow then I will be home on Monday. I am so sad that Shelley and the kids were evacuated from Bolivia but I got an amazing beach vacation cause of it. I'm pretty sure that that 4 lb. loss over on the left side will be a gain by the time I get home but it will have been worth it. I'll just start AGAIN!!!Thanks Shelley for a wonderful vacation XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Shake my head and go MMMMMMMM......

OK. I'm not terribly political but Sarah Palin has caught my attention....and not in a good way. I watched the debate last night to, hopefully, see her fall on her butt. Actually a guy on CNN said that that is what she would have to do to fall below anyone's expectations! Now, she seems smart. She seems like a good old, small time, hockey Mom just like anyone's next door neighbor. Trouble is, is that who you want for PRESIDENT? I don't get it.

1 Week

2.6 lbs.
I am very happy with the weight loss. I was fairly careful of what I ate. I only walked 2x this week. I hate exercise so, so much! Denise is taking me down to the beach today for a 'very long walk'. Oh how I love the support!

It's time

I have gained about 20 lbs. this year. I lost quite a bit when David was sick but it sure didn't take long to pile back on. I haven't been too active since my car accident either. So...enough is enough. It's time.

I will record my journey. I went out and bought a pedomenter. My first week of exercise will be a .75 mile walk at least 3 times. Wish me luck.

!!!!! Mom's Birthday !!!!!!

Happy birthday to my beautiful momma. Hope your day is filled with sunshine. Hope you enjoy our dinner & movie (Momma Mia)!
How appropriate.
Love you.
xoxoxo

My baby is 24

Yesterday was Nick's birthday. I went to his work to give him a birthday kiss. He was very, very busy with customers and employees deferring to him. He looks so mature. No one in that world would ever believe my baby just turned 24. He is (usually) the epitome of self control.

I am so proud of all he has become. He is a wonderful man. He is a mature, loving, caring, and thoughtful man. What more could a Mom ask for.

I love you and I hope your day was full of sunshine and laughter.

SURPRISE!!!!!!

Well I finally made it. I am over the hill. I am over 50 today. It really wasn't so bad. I made such a fuss about it that everyone went out of their way to make my day happy.

There have been a few things that have made me go, Mmmmm, wondering if there was something in the works. Matthew, God bless his soul, cannot keep a secret for love nor money. He got me thinking when he said that they were going to have a 'dinner' for me at his house and I was to be there at 7:00 p.m. I knew I could turn him inside out with more questions so I didn't. Then I happened to be in Moore's. I mentioned to Nick that I thought they were up to something. Nick is about as cool as they come. He's mature and put together. Well he was flustered, dropped stuff, couldn't think straight! It was the icing on the proverbial cake. I knew they were plotting.

Then my birthday came. Last year I had a zillion calls before I even left for work. This year, nothing. Mmmmmm. It must be big. When I got to work no one called till about 10:30. Donna called and swore she didn't know anything about anything but wanted to wish me happy birthday. Mom called. We had planned to go out for dinner to LaSpaghett. The kids called on their way to buy me a gift. Cindy called and said that the surprise was that her and Rick were going to kidnap me, take me for dinner and then to the casino. Rick couldn't make it so Cindy wanted to know if Mom and I wanted to go to the casino. Mom and I went to dinner. We got around to talking about Shelley. I asked her when they were coming up. Mom changed the subject....twice. Cindy showed up at my house with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Then I got to thinking, maybe there really isn't a big do tomorrow. Maybe it is just dinner with the kids. Then I got my phone messages..Shelley. I had called her a few days ago and she didn't call me back. Where is she calling from now????? From Aeron. She is a huge bundle of energy screaming happy birthday and hoping she can make it to the PARTY tomorrow! Ah, ha!

So here I am getting ready to go to my DINNER. I will update on the surprise when I finally get the whole story!

Well it was a surprise dinner. Most of the work was done by my beautiful red headed boy. He has the heart of an angel, he really does. It was wonderful. So much food, so many gifts and so much love. What more can a 50 year old broad ask for? It's all good.

Tiara Weekend

I have just returned from the most amazing weekend.

Last year Cindy returned from her annual Girl's Weekend and announced that I must accompany her this year. You see, the motel they rent holds 16 people. Their group is about 8. They were so roudy that the owner, Barb asked them to try to fill the place so she wouldn't have to worry about other guests. Each member was therefore asked to bring one guest. I resisted, God knows I resisted. Cindy insisted, again and again. I finally was worn down.

More than ten years ago this tradition was started. Cindy has been participating for at least 5 years. It is called Tiara Weekend. They rent a tiny little, for lack of a better word, motel. This place is so pretty. It has four teeny, tiny cottages in front. The main motel has 3 or 4 rooms on each of the first two floors. These rooms have 2 beds and a sitting/kitchen area. The 3rd/top floor is the 'penthouse'. It has a big kitchen, a larger living room area, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and then a huge bedroom with an ensuite.

Each year a new 'queen' is chosen. I can't divulge the process because 'What happens in Southampton stays in Southampton'. The queen is in charge of organizing the weekend.

This weekend my wonderful sister was the Queen. She did a kick ass job. The meals are organized ahead of time and are prepared by and brought up by the assigned people. This year for breakfasts we had french toast and the last morning we had eggs benedict. For dinner we had an Italian night (compliments of Cindy and I) which consisted of Caesar salad, Lasagne and was followed by a fabulous Limoncello Cheesecake! The other night we had Ribs, baked potato & salad. There was never a shortage of food.

And we drank. (remember, what happens in Southampton stays in Southampton) End of that story.

I took pictures (see above disclaimer).

We laughed like I haven't laughed in a very, very long time.

These are friends (some I have met before, some I haven't) that will stay in my heart for years to come, Cindy & I, Margie, Anita, Debbie, Laura, Wilma, Brandy, Laurie, Sandy, Darlene, Karen and Julie. Each one of these women made this weekend an amazing and fun adventure. I've already put my downpayment on for next year.

To my new friends, I GIVE YOU THE TWO FINGER SALUTE! LOL

Oh the dreaded month has arrived....

Apparently I am as old as Barbie, the frisbee and legos. Can you imagine. The trouble is I feel as old as these things. Maybe that is why I am dreading this so much. 50 is frickin old! I should have thought to sign up for freedom 55 a long time ago, I suppose it's too late now. Well, I have 28 days left to be in my 40's. How will I enjoy it? Crap!!!!
ps - I don't care that the 'alternative' sucks. Being 50 sucks too

Attitude

I've been thinking a lot today about attitude. I just found out that a guy who wrote a blog about "kicking kidney cancer's arse" died today. Throughout the journey with David, we stumbled on this guys blog. It was so informative, entertaining and down to earth. David, who never wanted to come to terms with his illness, read this blog and felt comforted by it. I continued to read it after David passed away because I was so impressed with how he was able to help other people during a horrible time in his life with such a positive attitude. Another person with a truly amazing attitude is by brother-in-law, John. I watched him in amazement as he struggled through his journey of losing his leg. Always positive, always struggling to overcome obsticles with a positive outlook. I've been told over and over again that I have an amazing attitude during the struggles of the past few years. I think that is true. Sometimes it's more a matter of being stubborn as hell, a quality I inherited from my Dad. What's the point of wallowing in our sorrows. I don't understand that. I'd much rather fight through the pain while maintaining some kind of normalcy. Any other way is just self destructive and it doesn't change reality. So, chin up, suck it up, think positively and try to bring a ray of sunshine to someone else's life. Yours could always be so much worse.

My baby sister is 44!

Wow. I was going to write something like "I remember when" but that's so corny. Shelley, I just want you to know how special it is to have someone that you have shared every minute of your life with from the very beginning, knowing that through thick and thin they will ALWAYS be there, always being the shoulder to cry on and the belly to laugh with. We sure have been tested these past few years, we've all gone through more than anyone should in a lifetime but it's only made us stronger. We are lucky the three of us have such a special bond and I think we all are clearly aware of how special it is.
I hope you have a magical day full of all you deserve.
xoxox

Progress on my foot....

I started a blog to record the progress of my foot. If anyone is interested here is the link.
http://lisfrancinjury.blogspot.com/

ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!

I loved this email - it's how we feel in MARCH!

It's all relative

This was the middle of the storm on March 8th.

My momma in Florida will be ever so thankful she's not here....cause she had to put on a sweater

My sista in DC will think it's cold in her neck of the woods too....cause she had to put on a coat.

My Aunts up north or in NFLD will say "that's nothing, you should see it here!"

So, you see, it's all relative. Really.

Hope everyone stays cozy no matter where you are.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Thelma & Louise Weekend

Well, Cindy and I are driving down to see Shelley and the gang on Thursday and will be returning on Monday. We have been calling it our "Thelma & Louise Weekend". Well I guess I haven't seen the movie after all. Apparently they drive their sports car off a cliff in the end. We will be taking my sports car but hopefully the tides of my luck have turned and we won't be encountering any cliffs. Um, second thought...please pray for us.

Hi, aren't I cute?

Hi. I don't have a name yet. I think my Mom (Cindy) is seriously considering calling me "Sadie".

I arrived at my Aunt Kimmie's house on Saturday. My mommy brought me home to these two horrible cousins of mine. I know they wish I would just go away but I am here to stay. Hopefully they won't eat (or worse) before my Mommy and I go to stay in our own house in a couple of weeks.

Getting ready to dance!

Hummmm. A girl can dream! I'll just have to be happy dancing in my running shoes for the time being. At least I don't have to wear that horrible boot.

Physio SUPA STAR

14 weeks post accident/ 11 1/2 weeks post surgery

Seems I am a super star! Michelle told me so. She's my new physio therapist. A lisfranc injury is very uncommon so when I spoke with Michelle on the phone I asked her to do some research before we met. She said that she knew she had heard of a lisfranc injury and remembered as something bad. When we met she said I have quite a bad injury. She proceeded to check my foot for flex and (whatever the opposite of flex is LOL). She looked at me like I was pulling her leg. Flex up is the same in both feet and flex down is close. There are some muscles in my foot that need to be strengthened but she was amazed at how much mobility I had. She said she fully expected me to come in with absolutely no movement in my foot. I explained to her that I was very stubborn and had been moving and exercising my foot often. She said I had probably done 90% of the physio I needed all by myself! She doubts I will need a month's worth of physio. I ROCK!!!! Plus, I am a very good healer. Go figure. She will do what she has to then give me direction when I can get back to the gym. As usual, I am thrilled with the progress. PS - had an appointment with Allison the Occupational Therapist and she is also blown away by my progress. She knows of another woman with lisfranc injury (last year) who has resumed running and is wearing heals and doing perfectly well. Allison said that she wasn't doing as well as me at my stage now. Ya baby!!

Kim Hammond

Officially,
At last

I am divorced...

Officially,
Finally!!!!!

Doctor's appointment

13 weeks post accident
10 1/2 weeks post surgery

Doctor says I am a good healer. I asked when I could wear proper shoes and give up this boot. He said I can wear regular shoes in the house if I am very careful but I have to wear the boot for two more weeks when I'm out. He rolled his eyes when I told him my foot feels really good, even when I'm walking barefoot (just around my bed). I didn't dare tell him I was driving too. I can start back at the gym in one month and will start physio now. We talked about the screws coming out in 8 months post surgery. I asked why they had to come out. His answer was because that's what they do. I asked him if they could just stay there if they weren't bothering me and he said yes. Why have surgery to remove them if they aren't bothering me? Just makes sense, plus Shelley already had that thought in my head (thanks Shmelly). I will probably still have swelling for the next couple of months because of the trauma, not unusual. I am thrilled with the progress so far. Just about ready to dance!

Progress report

12 weeks post accident - 9 1/2 weeks post surgery... I cannot tell you how fantastic this week has been. I got my new car on Friday. I gave up the crutches on Friday night, I decided over the weekend that enough was enough and I was ready to drive again (still wearing the air cast). Getting back my independence means more than you will ever know. Things finally, I mean FINALLY started feeling normal. Still there is the swelling, but even that is getting better. My knee was really sore this week but for the first time today it feels better. The boot is kind of high so there is a bit of a teeter to my walk because of it, probably that's what is bugging my knee. Anyway, progress continues at a nicely rapid pace. Next doc appt. is next Tuesday.

Mine, all mine!!!!!!!!

It's in my driveway, I've been sitting in it patiently waiting to be taken to the MTO on Monday morning. I am so tired of waiting and waiting to be taken places. Come Monday morning all strings are being cut. No more taxi, no more help in the evening, no more help getting groceries, no more help being driven here or there. I'm tired of waiting and I will wait NO more. Look out world I am ready to go and I have the perfect ride to take me!!!!!!!!

Coming real soon......

My "Mid-life Crisis"
Stay tuned.....

Tootsie update...

11 weeks post accident, 8 1/2 weeks post surgery.

Today I walked next door to Tim Hortons. First time since October! One hand for the crutch, one hand for the coffee! Life is good. Swelling is still an issue and so is the desperate need of pedicure. But all in due time I suppose.

My Toe Toes

10 weeks post accident...7 1/2 weeks post surgery...

Here is my progress. If you saw the picture from November 27th you would understand. If you have a real strong tummy go back to that date, I have since added the pic. There is still a little scab on the scar but no infection. My toes are still a bit swollen, can't seem to get a handle on that and the colour is a bit pinker than my good foot. Other than desperately needing a pedicure I am thrilled with my progress. I have started putting some weight on my foot (with the aircast on) and it seems weird. It will take some time before I am walking properly, for sure, but the progress is exciting.