50th Birthday Party!

May Journalling

1.    Thirty years ago today I came to Toronto. I was twenty, very naïve and wonderstruck by the big city. I gaped at the sky scrapers and stared too long at the punkers in the Eaton Centre who had rainbow rooster mohawks. The first month I lived downtown with my sister and her roommate, just a block from where I now work. It was magical to live over a food court, even though I had no money and was still job hunting. In those days, you had to pound the pavement to fill out job applications in person. I got a job as a nurse’s aide in a hospital, where I met my husband. It was a difficult job but I got something good out of it. He was working in housekeeping to put himself through university. I like to say he swept me off my feet because he was washing a floor the first time we spoke. He still washes my floors.

2.    First appointment with an endocrinologist to see about doctor supervised weight loss. This way it’s free. I start on Monday. It’s mostly meat and veggies, no carbs in phase one which is the first fifteen pounds. Then we’re heading out to Ancaster for the Sovereign Grace Fellowship Ladies’ Retreat, the same one I spoke at last year. The speaker this year is Sharon James and I’m looking forward to hearing her. There are fourteen attending from our church.

3.    Four couldn’t attend the SGF Ladies’ Retreat, because the driver was sick, but the ten who went had a great time, although many of us were tired.They dangle two of my favourite things in front of me; bags and books. So I bought a bag to carry the new books I bought. I know, I’m weak.

4.    Good to be back at church but exhausted from the weekend.

5.    Dental appointment this morning, then first day on the new diet. I felt the lack of sugar a little bit, but overall, not bad. I’m not hungry at all, it’s just new to not reach for carbs, dairy or fruit.

6.   Busy night with a few confused and needy patients.

7.    Good night.

8.    I feel the weight coming off already. I have dropped inches off my abdomen in just a few days. Incredible!

9.    Slept all day. Too exhausted to do anything, even laundry.

10.  Bought my dress today for the party. It’s red. I love it. I have next week off to finish the planning.

 

11. Mother’s Day.

12. Physio appointment this morning and then to the dentist again for an exchange of my metal fillings. They showed me some stretching exercises. I found out I need a root canal. It will be done on Thursday. Should I be nervous? Also my sister’s birthday today.

13. Prepped all the jars and candy for the candy bar. I want to be ready to just pack up and go on Saturday. It’s coming up!

14. My mother-in-law’s birthday today. Mani-pedis with my youngest daughter. I hope the nail polish lasts until the weekend for my party. Also went to physio again, and made Atlantic salmon, broccoli and mushrooms for dinner. I’m coping okay with the diet. After one week I lost 4 pounds and 4 inches. Progress. Also excited to receive the proofs for Testimonies of Faith, the book I’m editing for our church’s 50^th. Even the sample cover is nice. I’ll give it a read-thru and send it back.

15.  Physio in the morning, then my root canal. I also saw a chiropractor for the first time and they did one of those spinal adjustments. It wasn’t so bad, neither was the root canal.

16.   Last day of prep for the party. I paid for the cupcakes, picked up the flowers, and scanned a few more old pictures into the computer for the slide show. My earliest memories of my grandparents include the strange Finnish tradition of photographing them seated at a table full of flowers. They looked old. They also didn't smile. As a nod to my forebears, I did the same, although I broke tradition by daring to smile.

 

17.  Party! It went well, about 60 guests. The food catered by Astra Petamus Foods was delicious, the cupcakes by Cake Expectations were the best I ever had, and it was so good to see friends from far away.

18.  Leftovers from the party for church. Delicious. Now to clean up this mess.

19.  Victoria Day! Physio this morning. Walked for an hour and 15 minutes with my husband and daughter along the shores of Lake Ontario. Then we bbq’d and my brother-in-law and his wife came over for a hot tub. I posted pictures of the party.

20.   Physio, chiropractor and fit for orthotics this morning. Dropped off the cupcake stand back to the cupcake lady. Back to work tonight. I sent the last of the candy and cupcakes to my husband’s work.

21. Work, just work.

22. So I’m on track with my weight loss. Five pounds, and 8.5 inches. They can even measure how much of it is fat vs. water. Mine was 4.2 of fat and .8 of water.

23.  My back is getting worse and worse. It’s definitely muscular stiffness, probably a side effect from my Lyrica. I’m doing physio, chiropractic, massage, hot pads, muscle relaxants every four hours, orthotics, weight loss, and stretching exercises. What more can I do?

24. Massage after physio this morning; lovely. Then went to Doors Open Toronto with my youngest. We tried to get in at the Don Jail, but the wait was two hours long. Then we went to the Toronto Necropolis, Osgoode Hall and my husband’s workplace, which was on the list for the first time. They had 1400 through on the first day. Totally wiped out afterwards from all the walking.

25.  We had a providential dinner and wedding shower for a couple at our church who are getting married in two weeks.

26. Back to the dentist this morning to re-do my root canal. Lovely.

27. Four nights this week. Tonight was crazy busy as I had a patient who went to ICU so my other patients were covered by my colleagues for four hours while I focussed on her.

28. Another busy night, I guess that’s why they pay us the big bucks.

29. One more. Not so bad.

30. Slept all day. Sent back the proofs from the Testimonies of Faith book.

31. Lovely day, beautiful weather. Started the day with a massage, physio and chiropractor for my aching back. I also found out I’ve lost a total of 7 pounds so far, along with almost 12 inches of fat. A foot of fat, how gross does that sound? And there’s lots more where that came from, but at least it’s trending down. My husband and I cleaned the house and did some yard work. Then we bbq’d jerk turkey and went for an evening stroll in the ravine. I also did some more prep work for the upcoming writer’s conference in mid-June. I’m excited to be going again, but frustrated that with my year of health issues, I’m hovering at the 95% done mark on my novel and can’t seem to write, The End.