Yup, I’m a dork.  She found it amusing though.

Despite it being a very calm day, there weren’t too many people out flying around.  We attempted to take off around 9:35.  As I taxied over to the runway and added full power to take-off, I noticed my oil access door wasn’t fully secured.  I powered down and told the tower I had to head over to the taxiway to shut down and close my door.  I felt a little silly, but I’m quite sure that people have done much worse.  Ok, door secure, I’m back in the plane, start him up and I call the tower to say I’m going to take off.  Full power again, we just lifted off when we heard a rather loud sound just outside the passenger door.  I’ve heard this sound before – it’s when the passenger closes the seatbelt in the door and a chunk of it continually whips against the plane.  Weird though because I mentioned to her to check that the seatbelt wasn’t hanging out when she closed the door.  I asked if she could check her belt and she held it up.  What the heck???  I told the tower that I had to land as I was experiencing issue number two.  There was no wind so he said that I could simply land at the opposite end of the runway that I took off from, rather than go around the whole circuit.  Mary was totally calm and collected through all of this.  I landed and asked her to open her door.  A-Ha!  The culprit!  The belt of her coat was hanging outside the door!  I told the tower I was going to taxi back to the proper end of the runway and attempt to take off for the third time.  He said that he would halt all traffic to accommodate me – tee hee!  Pretty easy to do since no one was flying or taxiing.  We headed back over to runway 24 and the tower said “third time’s a charm…..and do you want us to have the emergency vehicles ready for you this time???”  Oh geez!  I said that my passenger decided to hang some of her clothing outside of the airplane.  He then requested we do a fly by past the tower!  I guess that would be called a flash by.  Fortunately, the third time was a charm and we were off to London.  It was very smooth on the way there.  We landed within an hour of heading out and met up with our friend.  As usual, the three of us had tons to talk about and were happy to get caught up on everything.  Also as usual, the food at the Katana Kafe was great:

After noms and an hour long natter, we all headed out to my plane to help me push it back onto the apron.  After parking and shutting down, I had planned on pushing the plane back a bit and use the chalks.  Well, didn’t have a chance to do that as he rolled backwards within thirty seconds of me taking my feet off the brakes.  His little tush actually pinged off the grass.  It was rather amusing.

I thought it was going to take more effort to push him back up the little hill onto the pavement, but it wasn’t an issue.  After bidding our friend farewell, we headed back to St. Catharines.  It was a little bumpy on the way back, but Mary didn’t seem to mind at all.  She really enjoyed the flight and said that she would even like to try aerobatics sometime.

When I left the airport, I headed over to the grocery store to pick up a few items and then to Fonthill for a short visit with my short mother.

Had another fun experience this weekend.  It was my boyfriend’s nephew’s fourth birthday.  I got to meet more of his family and friends of his sister and brother-in-law, which was really nice.  I think the most amusing part of the day was when little Elliott decided to inhale his cake.  We couldn’t figure out what he was doing because he had his face right in his plate.  Mike decided to stick his camera next to his face to get a true picture of the action:

Man it was priceless!  The cake didn’t stand a chance!  Also, notice the word PILOT on his shirt.  We picked out really cute future pilot shirts for the two boys while we were at Sun N Fun in Florida the other week.  It was such a fun day!

Today’s symptoms: Feeling quite good!  I’m surprised how good my energy level is today.  I’m not positive, but I think those spasms/clenching in my thighs may be subsiding.  Hope so!

 

I’ve had so much support over the years for this event.  Like I mentioned in my blurb on my pledge page, I think about a cure every day.  I can’t even imagine the feeling of hearing the words “A cure for MS has been found!”  Awesome!

Ok, coming down off my dream high, I would like to bring up some of the freaks in my life.  I was taking a pic of Boo until Mya photobombed her:

Boo forgave her and snuggled in for the cuteness kill:

When I told Mike about this situation, he told one of his cats.  Here was his reaction;

Poor little cross-eyed Samtard.  So cute!

Ok, change of topic.  Mike was driving me to work one morning and we passed the scariest sight I’ve ever seen since living in St. Catharines.  Mike actually had to brake as a friggen ghost walked in front of his car!!!!

How creepy!  Not sure if I want to live here anymore!

Although, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to walk to Sahla Thai.  It’s one of my favourite restaurants.  I brought Mike here for his first time tonight.  As usual, I got the Crazy Chicken, which is two amazing BBQ’d chicken breasts and veggies in the most amazing sauce ever:

I suggested to Mike that he get the Pad Thai, which my best friend Laura always gets. Almost everyone else that goes to this restaurant usually chooses this dish:

He loved it.  We both cleaned our plates and are more than happy to go back.

As we walked back to my apartment, Mike noticed this license plate and instantly thought of my little mother:

This was our second outing for dinner this week.  The first one was after my Tysabri infusion on Tuesday.  He went with me to the new clinic with the new nurse – apparently with the last clinic had their contract run out so the Tysabri folks were taken over by Bayshore.  I was quite impressed – the nurses were so nice and thorough.  She did the IV perfectly – hardly any pain.  The best part was that they wrapped my IV tubage with orange wrappage:

You always want your bandage to match your plane!

Ok, after almost a week of insomnia, I think I’m going to try to sleep now!  Wish me luck!

Today’s symptoms:  After multiple nights of less than four hours sleep each night, I was obviously quite tired today.  I’m still experiencing the symptom of spasms and full blown clenching in my thighs.  It’s really frustrating and quite painful.  Hoping I sleep well tonight and start feeling better tomorrow!

My boyfriend came over the other night and we decided to wander over to the Entertainment Overload store, just about a block away.  We seem to have an addiction to Wii games, mainly shooters.  We were able to find three games on our list we wanted.  That should keep us entertained for many hours!  I was shocked to see the one clerk’s phone.  Check out this bad boy:

Still works!  The funny thing is she said she dropped it multiple times on hard surfaces and it never broke.  It wasn’t until she dropped it on carpet that it totally shattered.  Weird.

We had a food extravaganza day at work last week.  This is the first time we’ve ever had one office-wide.  Wow, what an amazing turn out:

There was another huge table of desserts in the other room too.  Man, I ate so much.  It was all excellent.  For dessert, I brought in some chocolate chip cookies and fortune cookies.  I made this sign for the fortune cookies:

Needless to say, it was rather entertaining!

An interesting little scene in my bathroom this morning.  It’s not too often that I see all four freaks up on the counter at the same time:

Bunch of dorks.

My little mother is coming over in about an hour so we can do our taxes.  Blah!  Tonight, Mike is coming by and we’re heading over to the St. Catharines Flying Club for their rib night.  I don’t normally eat ribs so I’ll probably just suck back a Shmirnoff and mingle.  Of course, I’ll have to go out to the hangar and give Vyctor a hug.  He’s so cute.

Today’s symptoms: I don’t have the greatest energy level today, plus tons of aches and pains.  For some reason, over the last week my thighs have been going into almost constant spasms, mostly when I’m just sitting.  Weird.

We hit the expo around 10:00 the next morning:

It was overcast all day and VERY windy.  We first hit a couple of the hangars with tons of exhibitors.  In the second one we visited, we ran into another Recreational Aircraft Association member and his wife.  Before heading to Florida, we said that we would meet up and have dinner on the Friday night.  It was just so convenient to run into them like that.  They recommended that we take one of the the tractor tours of the flightline and planes on display.  Sounded like a great idea.  After wandering around for another hour or so, we headed out to the tour which consisted of a tractor pulling a trailer with benches.

It was awesome – thirty minute ride all over the grounds for only $5 a person.  I managed to get a ton of great pics during it:

When we drove toward the front of this plane, we noticed the hammock:

After the tractor tour, we wandered around a bit more then went over to our seats to watch the air show.  It was amazing.  I managed to get some more decent pics:

While the above planes were flying, they had simulated bombs going off below them:

Then there were some aerobatic performers:

It was nice that it was so overcast, so we weren’t looking up into the sun.

Everything during the first day at the expo was fantastic.  We met up with the other RAA member and his wife at 5:00 and they followed us over to a great pizza place that Mike had been to before.  Actually, Mike and I went there the night before for dinner too.  Probably the best pizza I’ve ever had (ABC Pizza):

The next morning, we got up and went downstairs for breakfast.  Mike was thrilled when I pointed out the pancake maker.  We were both surprised to see that all you had to do was push a button and two pancakes magically spewed forth after a few minutes:

How exciting!

Back at the show, we stumbled upon this helicopter that is the perfect size for my little mother:

I brought Donkey with me and he was enjoying the show and exhibitors as much as we did:

Check out this cutie we saw on the cart of one of the volunteers:

Mike and I also admired the gun tower the Police set up:

Ok, so they just called it an “observation tower” but whatever!

We watched another over two hours of air showage on our second day there.  Both were amazing.  I still can’t believe that I lasted over six hours each day at the expo, especially with my heat intolerance!

We both had a total blast and were sad to go home on Sunday.

I really wish that I had slept in this morning to help recover a bit.  Stubborn ol’ me set my alarm for my normal 6:23 time.  Ugh.  I ended up having to leave work at 1:45 today, as I was not feeling well at all.

Today’s symptoms: Felt totally drained, weak and quite a bit of pain all over.  Basically, it felt like I had the full-blown flu today.  I kinda expected this would happen after everything I did during the previous few days.  Totally worth it though!

I was really enjoying the nice weather we’ve been having, but it seems to have come to an end.  I flew Mike and I to Tillsonburg on Saturday morning.  It was a very clear day, but a tad bumpy.  Not something that bothers us though.  It took about 45 minutes to fly there – an airport Mike has never been to before.  They have a nice little restaurant in the terminal building.  We touched down, taxied over to the restaurant, and fortunately noticed the “Restaurant Closed” sign before shutting down.  Ugh!  I went through this once with Jan a couple years ago, but had phoned prior to landing to find out whether it was open or not.  It wasn’t.  Guess I should have phoned this time too.  Oh well, we took off and headed over to Brantford about 15 minutes away.  It was very busy there and we followed a few more planes in for landing.  The restaurant was really full and we had to sit with someone else at his table.  It took quite some time for our food due to the mass peopleage, but it was nice to sit and watch the planes coming and going.  When we walked out to my plane to leave, we were totally shocked to see two jets land.  I didn’t have a chance to get my camera out for the first one but did get a shot of the second:

 

It’s an Aero L-29 Delfin.  Obviously.

I was able to fly again yesterday.  I took up a friend of my brother’s, whom I’ve known for over 20 years.

Kevin loved the flight.  He wanted to try aerobatics, but I took him up over the Falls first.  He took some great shots:

After the Niagara Falls tour, we headed back over to the St. Catharines Airport and started doing some aerobatics.  He loved it!  Actually, so did I – but that’s pretty much always the case.

On the note of flying, Mike and I are going to the huge aviation expo in Lakeland Florida on Thursday.  I’ve been to Sun N Fun once before and can’t wait to go back.  I’ll certainly have great bloggage either during the four days we’re there or soon after I get back.

On the note of Mike, here is a classy picture of his cat he sent me:

Too cute!  Weird, but cute!

Today’s symptoms:  Had a somewhat bad day today.  I was hit with some pretty bad fatigue and had to go home a couple hours early.  I had really bad pains in my forearms and my legs were also quite stiff and crampy. 

 

 

Once we arrived at the International Centre, we were a tad overwhelmed at the size.  We ended up walking around more than half of the buildings before finally arriving at the pet show.  The amount of people there was insane.  It was hard to walk around from one vendor/exhibit to the next.  Fortunately, what we were able to see was great.  Check out the cute Savannah cat:

Over in the cat show section, I of course sought out the Sphynx kitties.  Chatted with the owner of these two cuties:

I think the fluffy one is a Devon Rex.

We checked out the birds:

Little owl dude:

I really started to feel sick after less than an hour.  There were just too many people, sounds, smells…..being pushed around plus my balance was really bad that day.  I felt bad that we couldn’t stay longer than we did.  I had to sit down in the food court for a bit, just so the room would quit spinning.  After a brief rest, we checked out the horses:

It was a really great time, just wish I didn’t start feeling so sick.  I feel like I kinda ruined it for Mike.

The next day, Jan came over and the three of us walked over to a nearby restaurant for dinner.  I was really surprised how dead it was in there.  Oh well, good food and good company.

Yesterday, I went to Mike’s for Easter dinner.  As with the previous meals I’ve had there, this one was great too.  His mom made the cutest bunny cakes:

She’s such a great cook and baker!

It was a wonderful evening that unfortunately had a bad ending.  I’ve had McRosenkrantz the Betta fish for over two years now.  He’s been rather sickly for a few months – spent most of the time at the bottom of the tank with a swollen chest.  He ate well at least.  Poor little goober passed away last night.  I don’t have it in me to just flush him, so I wrapped him up and stuck him in the freezer.  I’ll take him to Jan’s on the weekend and bury him in the garden with all my previous pets (hamsters, mice, gerbils, turtles, birds, etc.)

Tomorrow I have to give a “motivational” presentation to the Air Cadets in Port Colborne.  It’s the same presentation I’ve given to other groups in Niagara, such as John Deere retirees, Air Force Association, Zonta Club, plus to an aviation group up in Sexsmith.  It takes me about 45 minutes to get through and I show a PowerPoint presentation throughout.

Today’s symptoms:  Feeling fairly decent today, although a tad more fatigued than normal.  Mind you, I had a busier weekend than usual so it’s all good.  Really bad aches and pains in my forearms and hands too.

After the snake handler gave his presentation and the crowd started to disperse, I approached him to ask if there was any way I would be able to hold one of their tarantulas.  I mentioned my bucket list after being diagnosed and he was unbelievably eager to allow me to do this.  I think that’s when I started shaking.  Strangely enough, I wasn’t nervous at all.  Rather, totally excited as this is something I’ve wanted to do for so long.  I can’t believe the handler (Kevin Dugey) would be so accommodating.  Within minutes of putting the snake away, he came out with the spider:

Wow, this was it.  I can’t believe number 1 on my bucket list was about to be accomplished.  He handed him over to me and I was instantly hooked on the little dude.  He was so cute!  It made me think of all the little pets I had in the past – mice, hamsters, gerbils, rats, hairless guinea pig.  I wanted one!  What made this whole experience perfect was Kevin’s attitude.  He was so encouraging and showed so much interest in what I was telling him.  I was truly touched.  He even allowed us to pose for this great pic before taking little spidie dude back.  I really hope he’s ok with me putting it on my blog!!!

Actually, this was the second pic.  During the first one, I noticed him pointing but didn’t get to see his great expression until after:

He is totally in the right career!  His passion for his job was amazing!

After this great experience, Mike and I went into the actual butterfly conservatory.  As most people do, Mike was totally trying to convince the butterflies to land on him.  I told him it was never going to happen.  About half way through our walk, he turned and started looking at something to our right.  That’s when I spotted a cute little butterfly and asked him if I could hold him.  He said yes.  He crawled onto my finger and I said “Hey Mike, check it out!”  He was all jealous so I passed him over:

He held it for a bit then passed him back to me.  I then moved the little butterfly dude a little further north:

Tee hee!  He then wanted me to stop talking to he moved down:

I wandered around like this for about five minutes.  I actually had three people take my pic!  Little dude then wandered up to my eyebrow as another one landed on my shoulder:

Eventually, they both fluttered off.  Mike kinda wanted to go around the conservatory again, but it’s very hot and humid in there.  Due to the infamous MS heat intolerance, I was already at my limit and started to feel a little woozy.  I told him I needed to get going.  We had such an awesome time though!

The rest of our day was going over to the States to visit Wal-Mart and TOPS, then to Applebee’s for noms.  Back at my place, we played Call of Duty on the wii for hours, then both passed out in exhaustion.  What a perfect day!

I had another great day today.  I went to visit my little mother.  We headed out for a Timmies and then over to Wal-Mart.  Back at home, I got ready for my little outting.  A bunch of us girls from work plus some of their friends met up at The Feathery for a St. Patty’s Day gathering.  We had to wait quite some time to get a table, but it was totally worth it.  We sat right up near the live band.  Soon after our food came out, we had the absolute pleasure of watching some wonderful Irish dancers:

They were awesome to watch.  I always wanted to do Irish dancing!

The food was quite yummy.  I had a buffalo chicken wrap:

Very yummy!  It was a great night.  I was a little anxious to get home and watch the Amazing Race and write this blog though.  Had so many great things to share.  Actually, here’s a few more.  I just received some pics from the Women in Aviation event I was a part of in Waterloo the other weekend.

Notice how Vyctor is the only plane with his wheel on the line:

This is when a helicopter almost landed on my head.  It was a perfectly calm day.  My hair and scarf are blowing from the helicopter’s downwash:

Tee hee!  I’m a dork.

Today’s symptoms: I have amazingly started having more good days than bad.  Honestly, I can’t remember the last time that happened.  My energy level has been better than normal – that’s all I really care about.  I’ve been having bad headaches and a lot of crushing aches and pains, mostly in my forearms, but the pain is something that doesn’t impact my life as the fatigue does.  Please let this continue!!!

Marineland:

We then went over to Fort Erie.  I just wish it was a smoother flight.  Lots of cute little fluffy clouds overhead so it made it quite choppy.

Here’s the Fort Erie Race Track:

Quite a bit smoother back in St. Catharines.

Heading back in to land:

It was a great flight.  I’m thrilled to know she wants to go back up with me again.  Perhaps even try some aerobatics!

Jan came over yesterday and we had our girls night, which we’ve had to reschedule for the last few months now.  My fault – I’ve been sick a lot lately.  So glad we finally got to have it though.  We ordered Chinese food, watched our 1200 Britain photos I put on a DVD as a slide show, a Jeff Dunham video, then some episodes of Hardcore Pawn.  It was a really fun night.

I’m looking forward to my long weekend.  I decided to take Monday off, as I seem to still be hoarding my vacation leave at work.  Really hoping for decent weather so I can go up for another flight.  An aerobatic session would be quite nice.

After doing this blog entry, my cats are going to hate me.  They all need a bath as they’re getting a tad greasy.  I think they already know what’s coming because two of the goobers are hiding.  I still haven’t figured out who hates baths the most.

Pinky growls:

Abby lets out tiny little squeaks:

Boo squirms constantly then growls and hisses while I’m drying her:

Mya screams like crazy:

Yup, this is going to be fun.  Not!

Today’s symptoms:  Feeling quite good!  My energy level is decent and the sharp pains in my arms and hands aren’t nearly as bad today.  Hope this continues for the rest of the weekend.  The rest of my life would be nice too!

After noms, we headed back to the Hilton for the night:

We met up with a few people from the course we were on in Ottawa last April, plus another co-worker from our office.  It was good to see everyone.  If you go back to my Ottawa training blog from last April, you’ll notice I brought Donkey with me.  Needless to say, he had to join me on this trip too.  The reaction from the folks from Ottawa that remembered him was quite amusing:

There were about 50 people or so in the course.  The guest speakers were really interesting to listen to.  There really wasn’t a part of the day where I was getting tired or bored.  They even provided us lunch, which was nice so we didn’t have to wander anywhere:

And an afternoon snacky:

What made the day perfect though was the fact that jets were flying over us every couple of minutes.

I tried very hard not to turn and look every time I heard one.

It was an awesome day of training and I hope we get another course like that in another year or so.

After my somewhat long day on Friday, I was impressed with how well I felt on Saturday.  Good thing too as the Waterloo Airport was hosting the Women In Aviation: Fly It Forward With Flare event.  They had volunteer pilots fly in and take up girls and women for free fifteen minute flights, all throughout the day.  The contest is to make Waterloo the most female-friendly airport.  It’s an international contest run every year.  We had 603 females registered to go up for a flight.  Most of which have never flown in a small plane or helicopter before.

I landed in Waterloo around 10:30.  Just a tad early since the pilot briefing wasn’t until 12:00.  Oh well.  I lined up little Vyctor with the rest of the planes ready to go.

I wandered around for a bit and met up with some of the other pilots and volunteers.  I was really looking forward to the briefing so I could get back up in the air.

My first passenger was a woman who moved to Canada from Russia.  She was so nice and very curious about everything that had to do with the flight.  We followed a bunch of other planes around the extra large circuit over the airport.  I was thrilled that she loved the flight.  Here she is heading back to the gate:

All passengers were escorted by a volunteer at all times when on the ramp.

Little Vyctor and I patiently waited for our next passenger, while they guided in planes behind us:

My second passenger was a sweety, probably about ten years old.  Once again, I had someone else totally enjoy the flight.

Things started getting a little hairy up in the circuit though.  I heard a few people being told that they were in the wrong place.  The controllers in the tower sure had their work cut out for them with about twenty planes flying, two helicopters plus all of their normal commercial flights.  Still, I was looking forward to going up at least a few more times.

My third passenger climbed aboard and up she went.  Once again, I lucked out with a really nice, inquisitive person.  It was such a pleasure to speak with her during the flight.  I still thought everything was going great, until I was told upon landing to park and shut down for at least an hour.  I didn’t hear any one else being told that, so I took it somewhat personally at the time.  I decided to fuel up, visit the little pilot’s room, chat with a few folks then head on home.  I knew I didn’t have the energy to sit around for over an hour, then start taking people up again.  It was about 45 minutes after my last passenger, I fueled up and visited the terminal building before heading back to my plane.  I was actually kind of relieved to see many of the same planes sitting there when I landed, still there in the same spots.  It looks like things did get a little crazy and not everyone was still able to fly.

As I taxied over to the runway, I was the first one in line.  A few more planes filed in behind me.  Then I heard the tower talking about a different runway.  I guess the winds shifted so they started using 8 in addition to 14.  The runways cross each other so they weren’t able to have planes land and take off at the same time.  Needless to say, we had to wait quite some time to take off.  Here is my flight timer about five minutes before I was cleared to take off:

At least I had planes to watch land while I was waiting.  Killed the time a little:

Planes kept lining up behind me:

When I was finally cleared to take off, there were eight planes behind me.

I had an uneventful but very pleasant flight home.  It was an absolute blast and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

My Cessna 150 Aerobat was tucked back into the hangar for the night:

Today’s symptoms:  I had a rather rough day on Sunday, but Monday and Tuesday have been quite good!  I’m having quite a few really sharp pains in my hands and forearms again, plus an average headache.  Other than that, I’m feeling pretty good!  I hope I feel this good after my Tysabri infusion tomorrow, but I usually end up feeling quite flu-ish a few hours after the medication is administered.

Someone even had this huge cake made up for us:

What’s better than being able to support a great cause, dress somewhat casual at work and eat cake?!

Actually, this week was filled with great noms.  My boyfriend and I went to The Keg that night.  I haven’t been there in years.  I had an 8oz steak with double-baked potato.  Wow, everything was amazing.

We split and big honkin slab of chocolate cake for dessert:

When we got back to my place, we noticed an unusual site.  The pants I wore that day which I had set on the cat tree were missing a leg:

We decided to investigate by opening up the visible pant leg:

The source of the missing pant leg began to emerge:

Fort Pinky was rebuilt in all its glory!

Dang, that is one weird cat….

The next night I had to go back to the doctor’s office to pick up the equipment for my sleep study test.  I’m having issues again with TMJ – had surgery on it a few years ago, but the pain and issues seem to be back.  It’s nice that I was able to do the test at home, but the equipment strapped to my face and body didn’t make things too conducive for sleep:

Had some tubes up my shnoz and a blood oxygen metre on my finger as well.  Not too comfy so it took me a couple hours to fall asleep.  I just hope everything recorded properly so I don’t have to do it again.  Blah.  Here’s a joyous video on using the device:  VIDEO

The day after that, my boyfriend came over, even though I really wasn’t having a good day both physically and emotionally.  We ordered in some Chinese food and watched some telly.  To show my appreciation for his visit and support, I created this beautiful masterpiece from his noms:

The good times and great noms continued the next day.  I went over to Mike’s older sister’s house to eat and play Guitar Hero.  It was nice to see them and their two adorable kids again.  Also, I got to meet their kittahs.  The one year old they just adopted has a completely crooked head – I’ve never seen anything like it.  It’s so weird to see a cat running along with a head cranked completely to the side.  I took a pic of him sitting, but it doesn’t do any justice with regards to how tilted his cute little head really is:

He sleeps a tad odd too:

Before dinner, it was requested that I read a book.  The pressure was on!

Fortunately, I only goofed on a few words but was quickly corrected!  It was so cute!

For dinner, we ordered hamburgers and fries from Five Guys.  My tiny mother mentioned eating here when on her trips to Florida.  She said it was great.  I haven’t had a hamburger in years, so I was really looking forward to it:

Janski was right – the noms were amazing!  After eating, we played a few rounds of Guitar Hero.  It was the first time I played or even watched it.  I just sat out for the first few rounds, observed and played with the kids a bit.

They finally talked me into trying Guitar Hero.  Mike started me on Easy level.  Gee, can you tell I was in the Army for eleven years?  I held the guitar like a C7 Service Rifle:

It was so much fun and I was even able to up my levelage to Medium.  Actually, the whole evening was a total blast!

Had a decent day today.  Jan met me at the apartment in the morning, and we headed over to St. Catharines General Hospital for my 12th MRI!  My neurologist ordered it last week to see if this new flare up has provided me with any more lovely lesions on my brain.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to pick up my images on CD, and will have to go back tomorrow.  I usually check them out for new lesions before getting the full report from my neurologist, whom I’ll be seeing on Thursday.  I had to get an IV during the MRI.  I think the technician gave me the IV and a snake bite:

Weird.

Gee, when I started this blog, I looked up to see little Boo admiring the sunset:

The sun is long gone now!  Signing off.

Today’s symptoms:  I actually didn’t feel too bad today.  My new symptoms of tightness and tingling in my right arm, leg and face seem to be fading just a tad.  Yea!  Had a fairly bad headache today, but other than that, things are pretty good!

Then, later that night I was playing the Roll Up The Rim online addition and won three song downloads:

First time I’ve won on the online edition.  Yea!

Speaking of winning, how is this for a winning family:

They’re all having their night-time snacks.

Had a decent week.  My mother and I drove to Hamilton to see my neurologist, as I seem to be having a bit of an MS flare-up.  My neurologist kinda thinks I may be having one as well.  He said he wants me to have an MRI within a week.  This will be my twelfth!  He didn’t give me anything to treat my new symptoms, at least until we get the MRI results.  That night, my boyfriend and I went to The Feathery for nachos.  As usual, they were amazing:

It was a perfect start to a night that didn’t end quite as well.  I was scooping the kitty litter and took it into the bathroom to flush.  I kinda wiped out and corked my toe on the door.  Amazingly, I didn’t spill a drop of litterage.  However, this is the after shot:

Nice.  One seriously maimed toe.  Still a tad blue and swollen, going to lose the nail, but at least it was entertaining!  On a bright note, my limp is way better than it was for the first few days.

On Saturday, I went to my boyfriend’s for dinner.  I was able to meet his older sister, her hubby and their two adorable boys.  I had such a great time.  It was also nice to see his four Siamese cats.  Here I am giving headlight-eyed Coco a rub down:

I visited with my little mother on Sunday.  I wasn’t having the best day symptom-wise though, so we didn’t wander around as much as I would have liked.  It was similar today, as I was extremely fatigued and weak and had a hard time making it through the day at work.  I was able to leave a little early as I had a doctor appointment.  I plan on going to bed early tonight and feeling much better tomorrow.

Today’s symptoms: Still having my new symptoms, which feels like tight bands around my right arm, leg and side of my face.  It’s very tingly too – rather annoying!  Very tired today, much more than normal.  I think it still has to do with recovering from my six week long sinus infection and cold.  Blah!

People are always so shocked to see me eat a big pile of food.  I guess my spindliness makes it seem like I don’t eat too much!

Speaking of noms, my friend and I went to Timmies this past weekend and decided to try out their new grilled cheese panini.  We split one:

Extra yummy with ketchup.  Also with the Tim Hortons theme, Roll up the Rim started a couple days ago.  I think I only won a donut last year, which was a bit of a bummer considering I had about two coffees a week.  Well, my first cup this year:

My mother only won one thing last year too.  She won a coffee on her second cup.  We’re on a rolllllllllll…..

Last night, I walked into the bedroom to see a really cute scene.  I had thrown my sweater I wore that day on the cat tree.  Pinky shoved part of it into one of the holes and made it a little kitty fort.   Welcome to Fort Pinky:

Mya was being a bit of a goober earlier too.  I think one of the other kittahs put this stuffed cat on her back:

I have tomorrow off so I was going to go in a little later to put in some overtime.  Slight change in plans.  A couple of weeks ago, I started getting a numbness, crawling, tingly sensation in my legs, mostly my right.  That sensation is now in both my arms and my face.  I phoned the MS clinic at McMaster Hospital and spoke with a nurse.  She said it sounds like I may be experiencing an MS flare-up.  Ugh.  She phoned my neurologist’s office this morning and got me an appointment with him tomorrow at 1:00.  I’ll still be able to go into work at 7:15.  My little mother is going to pick me up around 11:15, we’ll go to the apartment to switch vehicles then head to my neurologist’s in downtown Hamilton.  I’m really hoping he can give me something to abate these rotten sensations.  It’s not painful at all, just constant and very annoying.  I’m having a very hard time sleeping and also concentrating at work.  I’ve been unable to have my monthly Tysabri infusion, which is supposed to lessen the chance of having a flare-up.  I’m three weeks over-due.  Not sure if this could have something to do with it or if it’s more the six week long illness I just endured, that weakened my system and made me more susceptible to an MS attack.  Hmmmm…..

Today’s symptoms:  Feeling very weak and those new sensory symptoms in my legs, arms and face are getting really annoying!  My right foot was dragging a bit today too. 

The meeting went well, although I was really glad to get back home afterwards.

The next day, I woke up feeling worse.  I had an appointment with my doctor that morning.  She didn’t want to put me on another antibiotic right away, as I was just on two a week earlier.  She told me to take my nasal steroid spray, over the counter sinus meds and to use my sinus rinse.  If things were still bad the next week, she would prescribe another antibiotic.  I had my paws crossed that things would start clearing up…..stay tuned!

The morning after my doctor visit, I woke up around 2:30 with a pretty severe case of restless leg syndrome.  Actually, it was some of the worst I’ve ever experienced.  Needless to say, I didn’t get back to sleep.  Less than two hours later, I was hit with some pretty strong nausea.  I was sick to my stomach about 20 times in 10 hours.  Yeah, that’s what I need on top of the sinus infection.  I was getting really dehydrated so I called my little mother and she came up with Pepto and apple juice.  It wasn’t until after 1:oopm that the barfapolooza finally ceased.  The next day I was really weak and sore, so I didn’t go into work.  The great part of the day was my boyfriend stopped by for about an hour – as it was Valentine’s Day!  He brought me a dozen gorgeous roses:

We opened our pressies, then chilled on the couch with the kitties.  Mya got into the day’s festivities too:

Unfortunately, I still wasn’t able to eat anything by that night, other than some light soup.  I was really weak when I woke up Friday, and the sinus pain was intense.  I felt so guilty over missing work, plus I was going stir-crazy, so I went into work.  I knew I wasn’t contagious, so I didn’t put anyone at risk.  I might as well feel crappy at work and be productive than do nothing at home.  I got a ton done and actually made it through the entire day.  Once home, I was able to eat a bit more soup, but not much.  So I basically went three days with hardly eating anything.

I woke up around 8:00 this morning and felt even worse than yesterday.  My bod is so loaded with infection that it actually started coming out of my eye!  How gross!  I knew I couldn’t wait until next week to see my doctor, so I went to urgent care at Hotel Dieu hospital.  Fortunately, Jan came up and took me over.  We were there before 10:00 and there was only one person ahead of us.  It was perfect timing because by the time I left (we were there less than an hour), there were at least five people in line for the triage.  The doctor I saw was so nice.  I told her how long I had been sick, the previous antibiotics I was on plus the fact that I can’t have my monthly Tysabri infusion while I’m sick.  She said she wasn’t going to play around.  She put me on a rather potent antibiotic called Moxifloxacin.  It’s kinda a last resort med for severe and stubborn sinus infections, as well as pneumonia.  I’m so appreciative that she gave me something that will clear it up.  Five weeks being sick on top of my regular MS symptoms is really starting to take a toll physically and emotionally.

So here I sit, very weak but finally able to eat solid food!!!  Yea!  I’m so glad.  I know I’ve lost a few pounds.  I look horrible – my face is sunken in and my mother keeps calling me gaunt.

Speaking of sick, I was starting to think Boo was a little sick in the head earlier this week.  First she started nomming her tail:

Then she made a silly face:

And the grande finale was when she turned into zombie kittah:

I ran into the other room after her transformation, to shield the other kitties from her wrath.  I told them what was happening.  Apparently it has happened before because they really didn’t show much of a reaction:

Yeah, they really weren’t too concerned.  Cute though!

So it looks like I’ll just be chilling this weekend.  I can’t wait until the meds kick in and I start feeling better.  I have never been sick for this long before.  Unfortunately, I won’t be able to have my Tysabri infusion for at least three weeks, due to the antibiotic I’m on.  That’s causing me a bit of stress as the longer I go without my meds, the more likely I am to have an MS flare-up.

Today’s symptoms:  Needless to say, not feeling well at all today.  I really couldn’t tell you whether some of the symptoms I’m experiencing are from the sinus infection or MS:  fatigue, weakness, aches and pains all over my body, headache and stiff joints.  We’ll just say they’re a bit of both!

While the six of us plus a few other members of the Recognition Committee were standing around, waiting for the ceremony to start, the head of the committee approached us to speak with Jan.  She said “Mrs. Murphy, I just want to tell you how pleasant it is to work with your daughter.”  There was a brief pause from everyone in our small group, as we kinda looked around at each other.  Then we all burst out laughing – especially Jan!  Tee hee!  Poor Margaret didn’t even know how to respond.  She sure wasn’t expecting that response.  She started backing up slowly, still sweetly smiling while we continued to laugh.  Jan then said “Well, ok then!  If pleasant is the word you want to use!”  Man it was funny.  A nice little comedic relief to calm our nerves.

The three guests were escorted inside and seated at the table set up for the six of us.  The three medal recipients followed them.  I was shocked how many employees came to watch.  It was quite overwhelming.

I was the first recipient.  The Director read the details of my volunteer work, charity/fund-raising and spoke about my time in the Army, being diagnosed with MS and now being a pilot with my own plane.

I then went up to the front and was given the medal, a certificate and bouquet of flowers:

The stories of the other two recipients were wonderful to listen to.  Kinda renews your faith in humanity!

One of the employees, who has an amazing voice, sang the national anthem.  I saluted throughout and tried not to get chocked up.

Afterward, we went to the smaller room next door, mingled with everyone and had some delicious noms.  It was nice to introduce my mother to so many great people I work with.  She thought it was rather neat to put faces to the names.

Once the room cleared and everyone headed back to work, Jan and I drove to the airport so I could get a few pics with Vyctor, while still in my uniform:

It was just a tad nippy out!

I would just like to formally apologize to all of the employees who gave me a hug that day, and I whacked them in the head with my massive bun.  Seriously, I’m truly sorry.  At least it was soft!

What an amazing day.  Due to all of the excitement, plus overheating in my uniform while mingling, I was completely wiped out by around 2:00.  I ended up having to go home a couple hours early.  I think I fell asleep that night with a huge smile on my face.

Here are pics of the certificate and book I received with the medal:

Despite being so weak today, I’m still on cloud 9.  I don’t think it has even fully sunken in yet!

Today’s symptoms:  Very physically weak today.  My mind was ok (well, as ok as it will ever be!) but my body was truly struggling.  I did make it until the end though.  I’ve been blobbed on the couch ever since.  Had quite a few very intense pains in my forearms.  They always seem to be worse when I’m weak like this. 

Since I’ve been sick for the last while, not too much exciting has happened.  I did go over to TOPS with a friend today.  I couldn’t believe how much I ended up buying.  I was dared to buy some joyous cereal – I was fearful of a triple-dog-dare so I ended up buying a box:

I’m typically a fan of Shredded Wheat, however the strawberry flavour on these bad boys seriously tastes like chemicals.  I guess that’s probably because it is.  Even little Mya shunned a taste:

Had a good time being out today.  Nice to get out after being somewhat apartment-bound for the last few weeks.  Still very weak and tired from the antibiotics though.  Today is my last dose, so should start feeling better soon.

Woke up to a rather cute site this weekend.  Little Mya and Boo were being all cute and friendly, sleeping next to me and each other:

After snapping this pic, Boo decided to start chewing on her back toe-nails.  Nice:

She gnawed one off and spat it next to my pillow.  once again, nice.

This afternoon, I worked on getting all of the lint and cat hair (from my previous fluffy kitty, Beau) off of my formal Army uniform.  Have to get it all nice and pretty for the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal presentation on Tuesday.  Rather looking forward to it!  It’s nice that we’re allowed to bring one guest, so my little mother will be attending.

Kinda hoping the weather clears up a bit this week.  I haven’t flown in about a month due to being sick and the yuckola weather.  Last night the forecasts said it would be mostly clear Monday – Thursday.  Now it says there will be snow every day this week.  Ugh!

Today’s symptoms: Still quite weak from the antibiotics.  MS symptom-wise, not too much to report.  Just some sharp pains in my forearms, but that seems to be an ongoing thing now.

Yup, it was invaded by a little pink freak.

At least she warmed up the blanket for Abby.  Needless to say, she didn’t move once I plugged in the heating pad.  Eventually though, Abby and I had to leave.  Nothing new wrong with her, just was hoping to change up her meds a bit as they don’t seem to be helping anymore.

Little Abby at the vet:

She’s always so well behaved and seems so calm, but I know how stressed she really is.  Hopefully these new meds will help though.

After dropping Abby off at home, I had to walk over to the drug store (less than five minutes away) and pick up a prescription.  About an hour after getting back home, all snuggly in my jammies, the specialist I went to on Wednesday called.  I had some lab work done and it turns out I have a bladder infection.  Oh great.  Sinus and bladder.  I just need a case of athlete’s foot and I’ll be infected from head to toe!  Needless to say, they had to call in a prescription to my pharmacy.  Had to get dressed again and head back over.  I hope this means I’m getting everything over with at once and I’m going to feel quite good at least for the next few months!

The kitties have been great company while I’ve been crashed out on the couch and bed.  They’ve also been rather licky:

Just a minute ago I asked Pinky to do a lick, but she just looked serious instead:

Mya is far too regal for licky shots.

Started feeling quite a bit better this morning.  Met up with a friend for a coffee then called the CAA folks to boost my car.  Turns out I left the little ceiling light on.  I never turn it on – I’m assuming I hit it with my backpack while lifting it over the armrest.  Duh.  Not feeling as good this afternoon though.  Really, really tired and fatigued.  I’m sure these antibiotics have something to do with it.  Evil little pills.

Today’s symptoms:  A fairly bad headache, but I think most of it is sinus infection related rather than from the MS.  Quite a few aches and pains in my forearms, but more than tolerable.

My little mother helped wrangle up three of the four kitties, who needed a bath.  Here is an unhappy albeit clean Pinky:

And an equally unhappy Abby:

Boo also got a bath but I forgot to snap a pic.  She was too busy screaming anyway.  Mya only needs a few baths a year, as she doesn’t get as oily as the others.  I asked Mya to give me the cutest face she could muster up, and if it was good enough, I wouldn’t give her a bath this time.  This is what she threw my way:

Yup, nailed the cute look!

Anyway, had a nice visit with the Janski, and since she left, I’ve been laying on my couch like a blob.  Looking forward to sleeping tonight (have hardly slept the last few nights) and feeling MUCH better tomorrow.

I had a really nice surprise come my way yesterday.  Apparently, I’ve been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal.  This is what came in the mail:

I phoned the manager at work to find out what it was all about.  She said I was nominated and selected for the work I’ve done with fund-raising for the MS Society.  I’m still in shock!

Today’s symptoms: Still feeling yuck-o-la from this cold.  Having some MS aches and pains in my forearms though – quite bad today.

 

 

Duchess getting a belly rub:

 

Coco stared at me the entire time I was eating – it was so cute:

And adorable little Blue:

After a great visit, I drove back home and did a few things around the apartment.  Mike met me there soon after.  Before leaving, there was this interesting little gathering around the bathroom sink.  Weird kitties:

We had a potluck to go to that night in Fort Erie, with a bunch of pilot folks.  I decided to make fudge to bring:

And after:

There was an amazing turn out at the potluck.  Must have been over 60 people there.  I met up with a few folks I knew.  Mike and I sat with my airplane mechanic and his wife.  It was a truly great night, except for the fact that Mike and I forgot to go back up for dessert.  Sniff, whimper.

At work yesterday, someone had a birthday.  Someone on her team made her this awesome beach scene out of cup cakes:

Check out the little Teddy Grahams!  Tee hee!

I didn’t go into work today as I was hit with a fairly bad cold.  Just spent the day in bed and on the couch.  At least I had lots of little kittahs to keep me company.  I have tomorrow off as my compressed day, so I’ll have another day to recover.

Today’s symptoms: Felt quite yuckola.  Hard to tell how much of the fatigue was from MS and how much from the cold.  Hopefully it doesn’t last much longer – I don’t have time for this silliness!

Other than that, the weekend was great!  Went to see the film version of Les Miserables.  It was exceptional.  I saw the live version many years ago.  I knew there was a scene coming up where I was really going to have to fight off the tears.  I started thinking of not so pleasant things, and admired the bits of popcorn stuck to the wall.  I looked back at the screen briefly and started crying.  Ugh!  I’m such a dork!  Mind you, I heard other sniffs and whimpers in the theatre too.  My boyfriend (Mike) was quite nice about it though and was rather comforting.  However, I still felt like a dork.  Anyway, the movie was excellent and we would both recommend it.

There was a bit of an injury on the weekend and despite only being slightly nicked by my ring, it turned into a “two inch gash.”  So, nurse Lizzy to the rescue!  I gave him an extra kitty band-aid to take home and he decided to taunt his cat (Blue) with it rather than cover his gaping wound:

Tee hee!  Way too cute!

We were watching TV the other day and were rather shocked to see this pop up on the screen:

Finally!  I’m famous!  Ok, I actually have no idea what this was referring to, but it was still pretty darn cool.

Feeling rather yucky today, I didn’t think I would make it until the end of my work day at 4:45.  Made it though!  Actually, getting out during morning break helped to perk me up a tad.  As it’s Tuesday, my friends and I wandered through the market, which is just behind our office.

It’s usually a little sparse on Tuesday’s, with more vendors on Thursday and Saturday.

Today’s symptoms: Didn’t feel well at all.  Got to work an hour late because I couldn’t get up in the morning.  Crushing pain in my forearms and hands for much of the day, really bad fatigue, a headache and general aches and pains all over.  Really looking forward to going to bed soon!