My mom's surgery went well.
My sister and I took my mom to the hospital this morning for her scheduled mastectomy surgery. She was booked for 10am surgery and we had to be there for 8am.
We got to the hospital just before 8am and they took her right away, my sister went in with her for the pre-op stuff, ( changing into hosp garb, weighing, checking her cloths etc, which took about an hour before taking my mom down to the pre-op-op? that's when my sister came back to tell me what's going on, then my sister and I went to the cafeteria for coffee and cake while we waited.
2 hours later my mom was out of surgery and in recovery. Everything went well. My sister was going to drive my mom back to her home after recovery, so with my mom out of surgery and at least an 1 1/2hrs in recovery, I left to go to the pool for my swim and would meet them back at my moms house.
After my swim I went to my moms house and the timing couldn't be better. They just got home about 15 min before I arrived. My mom was looking and feeling good and sitting up watching TV. I visited for a few hours to make sure things were good and decided to go home as everything was under control.
My sister and her 13yr old daughter Jessica were going to stay with mom the rest of today. Jessica will be staying over night and the rest of the weekend with my mom to help out, which she doesn't mind because she is getting out of going to school tomorrow to.
Tomorrow I'll visit before going into work, and on the weekend the rest of the family will visit to.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Best Job in the world
I just applied on line for the best job in the world.
What job is it?
The Best Job in the World – Island Caretaker Great Barrier Reef.
Tourism Queensland is seeking applicants for the best job in the world! The role of Island
Caretaker is a six-month contract, based on luxurious Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier
Reef. It’s a live-in position with flexible working hours and key responsibilities include
exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef to discover what the area has to offer.
You’ll be required to report back on your adventures to Tourism Queensland
headquarters in Brisbane (and the rest of the world) via weekly blogs, photo diary, video
updates and ongoing media interviews. On offer is a unique opportunity to help promote
the wondrous Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.
About the job package.
Living above the Great Barrier Reef is a pretty unique benefit, but the successful
candidate will also be paid a salary package of AUD $150,000 for the six-month contract.
If picked? You’ll receive return airfares from your nearest capital city (in your home country),
accommodation and transport on Hamilton Island, travel insurance for the contract period,
computer, internet, digital video and stills cameras access, plus travel to a number of the
other Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. The six-month contract commences 1st July
2009.
I sent my application in today and I'm already packed and ready to go! Pick me! Pick me! It's the perfect job for me. : - )
What job is it?
The Best Job in the World – Island Caretaker Great Barrier Reef.
Tourism Queensland is seeking applicants for the best job in the world! The role of Island
Caretaker is a six-month contract, based on luxurious Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier
Reef. It’s a live-in position with flexible working hours and key responsibilities include
exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef to discover what the area has to offer.
You’ll be required to report back on your adventures to Tourism Queensland
headquarters in Brisbane (and the rest of the world) via weekly blogs, photo diary, video
updates and ongoing media interviews. On offer is a unique opportunity to help promote
the wondrous Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.
About the job package.
Living above the Great Barrier Reef is a pretty unique benefit, but the successful
candidate will also be paid a salary package of AUD $150,000 for the six-month contract.
If picked? You’ll receive return airfares from your nearest capital city (in your home country),
accommodation and transport on Hamilton Island, travel insurance for the contract period,
computer, internet, digital video and stills cameras access, plus travel to a number of the
other Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. The six-month contract commences 1st July
2009.
I sent my application in today and I'm already packed and ready to go! Pick me! Pick me! It's the perfect job for me. : - )
Monday, February 16, 2009
Can't run in the cold
Yesterday I ran my first 10k outside in the cold with temperatures hovering around -1c, it was sunny with a little wind but the wind was bone chilling. I managed to run it just under 1hr which at this stage of my running game is good, my knee was a little sore at the start of the run but worked out a bit as i went on and didn't bother me to much, I had more problems with over all joint pains in my ankles both knees and hips then my one bad knee on my run, because of arthritis.
I just hope the weather heats up some more and spring comes faster so I can do more running outside. I hate running in the cold! I know February is suppose to be cold, it is winter after all, but I need to get my outdoor running going if I'm going to race well in Ottawa at my first stand alone marathon in May, and I'm not going to do it well if its to cold for me to run outside......Call me a wimp! but it's not that I don't want to run outside in the cold, it's that I can't run outside in the cold because of my arthritis in my joints and it hurts to run in the cold..... : < (
I just hope the weather heats up some more and spring comes faster so I can do more running outside. I hate running in the cold! I know February is suppose to be cold, it is winter after all, but I need to get my outdoor running going if I'm going to race well in Ottawa at my first stand alone marathon in May, and I'm not going to do it well if its to cold for me to run outside......Call me a wimp! but it's not that I don't want to run outside in the cold, it's that I can't run outside in the cold because of my arthritis in my joints and it hurts to run in the cold..... : < (
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Car is finally fixed!!
First of all!
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
For Valentines I gave Joanne some flowers and I'm cooking up a nice dinner, one of her favorites, Chicken ala king! with mixed veggie pasta, Mmmmmmmm, Yum!
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
For Valentines I gave Joanne some flowers and I'm cooking up a nice dinner, one of her favorites, Chicken ala king! with mixed veggie pasta, Mmmmmmmm, Yum!
I'm still waiting for my heart shaped Valentines DQ cake that is hidden in the basement cold room. 
This morning I took my car in to get fixed for the second time this week (See Friday the 13Th)
This time it was a wheel bearing on the front drivers side. It's all fixed now and only cost me $260.00 I hope that's all the set backs I have for now. This luck thing is killing me. : < (
This time it was a wheel bearing on the front drivers side. It's all fixed now and only cost me $260.00 I hope that's all the set backs I have for now. This luck thing is killing me. : < (
Today is an off day for training which is good. Although it is a off training day? I still might go to the pool for a swim. I will give my knee more time to get better so no running or diving. I have been taking it easy with my knee, except for my run the other day in the snowstorm, I haven't even been on the diving board since last Thurs. even though my knee is better, it still hurts a little, so I'm giving it extra time.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Friday the thirteenth, Lucky or not!
So you think Friday the 13th is unlucky?
Let me tell you about luck. Luck is what you make it. Was it luck that my car broke down and I had to get it fixed yesterday? or was it luck that my car didn't actually break down, but in fact! I got it to the auto mechanic yesterday before it did break down? In my mechanics words with my break down. " your lucky"
So today is Friday the 13Th, I take my car out to go to the rec center for my swim and I hear grinding? WTF! I just had the car fixed yesterday! it's not suppose to brake down! What dumb luck!!
When I got to the rec center, the pool was empty, so I had the lane all to myself for my 2000m swim. What luck!!
After my swim I take my car back to my mechanic, he looks at it and tell me it's the wheel bearing. "WTF!" I said. What dumb luck!
He said I was lucky I wasn't to far out driving before hearing the grinding, as I could have had an accident if the wheel flew off.
So am I lucky to not be on the hwy as my car brakes down? or am I unlucky because I have second major repair problem to my car in 2 days?
He tells me I'm out of luck today because he is booked solid, but he said I could bring it in first thing tomorrow morning as he will be working this Saturday. "What Luck!" I said.
Is Friday the 13Th really unlucky?
All I know is? things happen. The type of luck you get depends on how you look at it!
Personally I am not superstitious and usually Friday the 13Th is no different then Friday the 1St, 6Th, 9Th or what ever? I do think luck is what you make it, and you make your own luck! I feel lucky today because I'm still hear to tell about my dumb luck. : - )
I hope your day is full of luck. I'll leave it up to you to decide what type of luck you have.
Let me tell you about luck. Luck is what you make it. Was it luck that my car broke down and I had to get it fixed yesterday? or was it luck that my car didn't actually break down, but in fact! I got it to the auto mechanic yesterday before it did break down? In my mechanics words with my break down. " your lucky"
So today is Friday the 13Th, I take my car out to go to the rec center for my swim and I hear grinding? WTF! I just had the car fixed yesterday! it's not suppose to brake down! What dumb luck!!
When I got to the rec center, the pool was empty, so I had the lane all to myself for my 2000m swim. What luck!!
After my swim I take my car back to my mechanic, he looks at it and tell me it's the wheel bearing. "WTF!" I said. What dumb luck!
He said I was lucky I wasn't to far out driving before hearing the grinding, as I could have had an accident if the wheel flew off.
So am I lucky to not be on the hwy as my car brakes down? or am I unlucky because I have second major repair problem to my car in 2 days?
He tells me I'm out of luck today because he is booked solid, but he said I could bring it in first thing tomorrow morning as he will be working this Saturday. "What Luck!" I said.
Is Friday the 13Th really unlucky?
All I know is? things happen. The type of luck you get depends on how you look at it!
Personally I am not superstitious and usually Friday the 13Th is no different then Friday the 1St, 6Th, 9Th or what ever? I do think luck is what you make it, and you make your own luck! I feel lucky today because I'm still hear to tell about my dumb luck. : - )
I hope your day is full of luck. I'll leave it up to you to decide what type of luck you have.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Car breakdown and 5k snow run
My car broke down so I went for an unexpected run outside in a snowstorm today.
This morning I had to take my car in to get looked at. I take my car to an auto shop just outside of Barrie down in Midhurst, a town just north of the city limits. My car has been making a funny sound for a while now and last night coming home from work it started to jar on the hwy which felt like I hit and ran over something, but I didn't. It was obvious to me something was going on with my engine, so as not to make things worse I eased up on the hwy babying and wishing the car home without a breakdown.
I made it safely home, man I was lucky.
This morning I go to my mechanic to get it looked at. He tells me it's the harmony pulley,( or better known as the cam shaft pulley) is wobbling and ready to fall off. EEK! I say! I told him about what happened last night with the jarring. He just said I was lucky the pulley didn't fall off. I ask him? what's the damage to get it fixed. He quoted me a price of $210 for the part plus labour another $60 plus tax. I said ok, get er done!
So I had to leave the car there and decided to run home, It's only 5k.
Man I like saying stuff like that being an Ironman! (It's only 5k)
Now what makes this run different is the fact that there is a major snowstorm going on, I'm running along the hwy with no shoulder and the road is full of slush, snow and water. I'm running in my everyday running shoes with no socks on and a pair of jeans that are to big for me since I lost weight and are hanging halfway down my ass because I have no belt on. I have my bomber jacket a pair of gloves and no hat. Plus there is the huge hill on the way home I had to run up, ( bayfield hill, better know to locals as Patty Dunes hill )
Well I start my journey back home and start running. I was fortunate I had the wind to my back but I was still getting pelted with Ice pellets and snow in my eyes. I had to keep looking back at traffic for on coming cars so I don't get hit and move onto the slushy sides of the hwy when traffic came by.
By the time I got to Patty Dunes hill the sides of my jeans were already soaked from cars passing and splashing the slush up onto me. My toes were starting to freeze because I had no socks on, but I kept on running. I ran about a third of the hill before I had to stop and walk, which surprised me because I don't run hills, and my knee still hurts as I run. While I was taking my walking break, I was thinking this is exactly the same feeling I had while doing lake placid last year in the rain soaking me and my feet, except instead of rain coming down on me I have cold and snow raining down and slush soaking my feet, numbing my sock less toes. GAK!
When I caught my breath i continued on finally getting to the top of the 1km hill at 6% grade, I know this because I ride this hill all the time and have clocked the distance, which from the lights at the bottom of the hill to the top of the crest is exactly 1km.
I continued onward and finally get into town, (the city limits line is at the top of the hill.) I get some sidewalk to run on finally, but it's just as slushy as the road, but safer. When I got home I was drenched with sweat from my warm bomber jacket being to warm and doesn't breath holding in moisture. I check my watch, and to my surprise It only took me 30 min to run.
Not a bad work out run today, not bad considering the route I took and the weather.
Now I just have to wait for my mechanic to call and I can go pick up my car. But I won't be running back!...Ohhh NO! ...Melissa will drive me back when she get home from work.
This morning I had to take my car in to get looked at. I take my car to an auto shop just outside of Barrie down in Midhurst, a town just north of the city limits. My car has been making a funny sound for a while now and last night coming home from work it started to jar on the hwy which felt like I hit and ran over something, but I didn't. It was obvious to me something was going on with my engine, so as not to make things worse I eased up on the hwy babying and wishing the car home without a breakdown.
I made it safely home, man I was lucky.
This morning I go to my mechanic to get it looked at. He tells me it's the harmony pulley,( or better known as the cam shaft pulley) is wobbling and ready to fall off. EEK! I say! I told him about what happened last night with the jarring. He just said I was lucky the pulley didn't fall off. I ask him? what's the damage to get it fixed. He quoted me a price of $210 for the part plus labour another $60 plus tax. I said ok, get er done!
So I had to leave the car there and decided to run home, It's only 5k.
Man I like saying stuff like that being an Ironman! (It's only 5k)
Now what makes this run different is the fact that there is a major snowstorm going on, I'm running along the hwy with no shoulder and the road is full of slush, snow and water. I'm running in my everyday running shoes with no socks on and a pair of jeans that are to big for me since I lost weight and are hanging halfway down my ass because I have no belt on. I have my bomber jacket a pair of gloves and no hat. Plus there is the huge hill on the way home I had to run up, ( bayfield hill, better know to locals as Patty Dunes hill )
Well I start my journey back home and start running. I was fortunate I had the wind to my back but I was still getting pelted with Ice pellets and snow in my eyes. I had to keep looking back at traffic for on coming cars so I don't get hit and move onto the slushy sides of the hwy when traffic came by.
By the time I got to Patty Dunes hill the sides of my jeans were already soaked from cars passing and splashing the slush up onto me. My toes were starting to freeze because I had no socks on, but I kept on running. I ran about a third of the hill before I had to stop and walk, which surprised me because I don't run hills, and my knee still hurts as I run. While I was taking my walking break, I was thinking this is exactly the same feeling I had while doing lake placid last year in the rain soaking me and my feet, except instead of rain coming down on me I have cold and snow raining down and slush soaking my feet, numbing my sock less toes. GAK!
When I caught my breath i continued on finally getting to the top of the 1km hill at 6% grade, I know this because I ride this hill all the time and have clocked the distance, which from the lights at the bottom of the hill to the top of the crest is exactly 1km.
I continued onward and finally get into town, (the city limits line is at the top of the hill.) I get some sidewalk to run on finally, but it's just as slushy as the road, but safer. When I got home I was drenched with sweat from my warm bomber jacket being to warm and doesn't breath holding in moisture. I check my watch, and to my surprise It only took me 30 min to run.
Not a bad work out run today, not bad considering the route I took and the weather.
Now I just have to wait for my mechanic to call and I can go pick up my car. But I won't be running back!...Ohhh NO! ...Melissa will drive me back when she get home from work.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Film at 11
Here is a link to the A-channel news report on the polar bear swim that I star in. The segment is about 1/4 into the new broadcast.
http://www.atv.ca/home/promo/news/6Webcast/index.asp
Edit: ....Apparently this link above is a daily news cast link, so as of 6pm today they changed it to today's news stories.
Sorry about that. At least I recorded it on my DVR and will transfer it to tape for prosperity
http://www.atv.ca/home/promo/news/6Webcast/index.asp
Edit: ....Apparently this link above is a daily news cast link, so as of 6pm today they changed it to today's news stories.
Sorry about that. At least I recorded it on my DVR and will transfer it to tape for prosperity
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Todays Polar Bear Dip.
Here are some pictures of today events at the annual polar bear dip here in Barrie.
The weather was nice hovering around 0C but was a lttle windy, making if feel a lot colder.
I was filmed and interviewed by the local news station the A-channel as usual..... Yes, a star is born! I just hope my interview makes it on the new tonight.
This is the news guy from A-channel, getting an interview with some people behind me after he interviewed me.
This is the Kathy the Barrie Rec director talking with another News guy from the weather channel who was taping the event for the weather station to be aired later today.
Some rescue fire fighters at the ready for safety.
Just taking it easy before the dippers begin.
This is the whole team of lifeguards and fire rescue for today's dipper.
The weather was nice hovering around 0C but was a lttle windy, making if feel a lot colder.
I was filmed and interviewed by the local news station the A-channel as usual..... Yes, a star is born! I just hope my interview makes it on the new tonight.
This is the news guy from A-channel, getting an interview with some people behind me after he interviewed me.
This is the Kathy the Barrie Rec director talking with another News guy from the weather channel who was taping the event for the weather station to be aired later today.Some rescue fire fighters at the ready for safety.
Just taking it easy before the dippers begin.
This is the whole team of lifeguards and fire rescue for today's dipper.
Me talking to the lifeguard while waiting for the start.
Still waiting for the start.
Ah! just about ready for the start. the guy in front of me always goes first as he/she raises money for charity with this event. I have been second in line for ever year since we've been doing the dip.
OK, my turn, as I gingerly walk to the edge with my "bear feet" to jump in.
Ahhhhh, refreshing!!! Brrrrrrrrr
Now live! for the first time, for your viewing pleasure, with the help of modern technology, .....LIVE VIDEO!! Enjoy! : - )
Still waiting for the start.
Ah! just about ready for the start. the guy in front of me always goes first as he/she raises money for charity with this event. I have been second in line for ever year since we've been doing the dip.
OK, my turn, as I gingerly walk to the edge with my "bear feet" to jump in.
Ahhhhh, refreshing!!! Brrrrrrrrr
Now live! for the first time, for your viewing pleasure, with the help of modern technology, .....LIVE VIDEO!! Enjoy! : - )
I can't wait until next year!
Polar Bear Day
Yeah! it's that time of year we shed our cloths and jump into the frigid waters of Kempenfelt bay! Ya, it's polar bear swim season.
I was looking for a theme for this years swim, but couldn't come up with anything? Then it hit me!! why not go as a Triathlete and ride my bike into the hole cut into the ice! maybe I'll try that! hehehe.
I was looking for a theme for this years swim, but couldn't come up with anything? Then it hit me!! why not go as a Triathlete and ride my bike into the hole cut into the ice! maybe I'll try that! hehehe.
Well, we will see? I'm having my coffee now getting ready to go out and will let you know how it goes or what I do with pictures.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
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