Keeping in Touch

(Cathy) Hi Ladies, I have to redeem myself so I made sure I set up the blog before Sunshine, lol! How was everyone's week? Sunshine, I hope you and your family are all over your illnesses. Let's hope that this cold, snowy weather is coming to an end. Carolin, I think you did a good thing deactivating your Facebook account. Facebook takes up a lot of time doing nothing. I find myself logging on just to see what everyone is doing. I have no interest in those Facebook game status updates and I am not sure how to delete them without deleting the person from my account. I find that I will log on and then become annoyed at what I see so I log off again. What exactly am I hoping to find? That's a question I have to answer for myself. (Carolin) I don't seem to be missing FB except the games, there were a few I liked to play to pass the time with.


Arm update: the physiotherapist noticed that my left arm is bluer than my right arm. I guess this is why it always feels like it is encased in a block of ice. I guess there is something, somewhere pinching both nerve and vein?? I am hoping and praying that the MRI will show something concrete. I am not a priority so I have no idea when I will get an appointment. The hospital said that they will mail me a letter and when I receive it I can call and ask to be placed on the cancellation list. 


Garden update: Have you ladies noticed how many trees seem to be dead or dying? I really noticed it with all of the magnolias. When we had that week of thirty degree Celsius all of the magnolias and tulips were in bloom and then we had that freeze and I sincerely hope it didn't kill off the trees, permanently! This weather is very much like a Calgary spring. 
(Sunshine)  Cathy, I am so sorry that you are having so much trouble with your arm.  I hope that they figure things out and that you will be feeling good again really soon. 

Carolin, I hardly ever go on facebook because I just don't have the time or interest in it.  However, I know that you used to enjoy facebook, so one day we will have to talk about what happened to make you put your account on hiatus(is this how you spell it?).   My official line is:  "I felt my time could be better spent doing other things than being on FB."  There were many reasons, yes my time could be better spent, I was tired of the people who make mean comments, and constantly negtive status's, the people who used FB as their personal soap box.  I felt it was better politically for me to take myself off FB then to delete all the 'friends' that annoyed me.  I didn't say it was for ever and all I have to do is log in and I am back on but I wanted to take a break till May.  So far I have had one BBM and two phone calls asking why I either deleted that person or why I deactivated my account.

I would love to get together next week.  Is there anyway that we could meet Monday or Tuesday evening for a few hours somewhere.  I would love to meet on a Friday evenings but I never seem to get them off. Do you always work evenings?  The husband is on the afternoon shift for the next two weeks so that makes my evenings not optional.  What about Sunday morning for breakfast. Sunshine you know were I like to have breakfast!  Yummy spinach feta omelet. I am free, I am waiting to see what is happening with my physio. Just let me know. Spinach feta omelet, eh, sounds greek to me! I would just need a ride or you could just come here!

I just got another shower invitations :(  That is the fourth shower I am expected to attend so far this year!  I really do NOT like showers, I find them boring, and I am not interested in looking at some persons new towels, baby outfits etc.   Guess I am just a party pooper.  I have gone to one already, and said yes to one for next Saturday.  But I am going to decline (just mail a gift) the other two.  We also have two weddings this summer, both are in August and are a week apart.  And I haven't gotten the shower invite for one of the weddings yet! It's been a while since I have had a year of "showers". It makes for a very expensive year. 

 Have a good week, everyone!

Keeping in Touch

(Sunshine) Hello everyone. I have had a busy week, working and home and everything else. It's been great weather and spring is in the air. I am getting excited about the summer fast approaching. I hope that its a good, warm, long summer. (Carolin) Yes it really isn't much longer and another school year will be complete. I am looking forward to the summer and relaxing.

Well, I did it. I have been contemplating the big deactivation for over a month and this past Monday I finally did it. Yes, I deactivated my Facebook account! So it seems when you deactivate the account it actually doesn't go away, it is just suspended. I can activate it again when ever I want but I would really like to go at least two weeks without it. I will reassess the situation again in May. I was getting tired of the petty dramas and childishness of some. I would have really liked to delete some of the FB friends and family but figured it would cause more drama then was necessary. It was easier to just remove myself from the equation. At this point I have had one text asking why I am not on FB but know one else has asked me which means either they haven't noticed, care or are talking behind my back. Which in all cases I really don't care anymore.

Work is work, the TWINAT has finished her second year of university. She wrote her last exam last Friday and has a couple of weeks off before she starts her full time summer job with the city's Parks and Works department. She is fortunate as her part time Job at the book store (which she very much enjoys) had agreed to reduce her hours over the summer so she can take advantage of the full time work.


(Cathy) Carolin, I know what you mean about Facebook. Facebook is a lot of work! I can go a week without logging on and when I go back it's full of those game updates. I really do not care to read about them. I like Facebook because I can keep in touch with family and friends. I do not like "friending" people with whom I really do not want to keep in touch. I do feel bad ignoring the occasional "friend request", especially with people I have not seen or had contact with. I have yet to change to the new "timeline". Good luck!


Arm update: no change. I see the doctor again this week to arrange for a MRI. I have no idea when that will happen. Physio hurts. I am longing to garden. 


That aside, the boys turned 18 and 16 years old this past weekend. Wow! Time flies! 

How is everyone doing? Have a great week!

Keeping In Touch

(Sunshine) Hello everyone. I hope that everyone had a good week. Cathy, how is your arm doing? Carolin, how are things with you?

I feel as though we haven't seen each other in so long.

We are still getting over this long lasting flu in our home. Most of us are starting to feel better but its been a long haul. Miss Teen Sunshine has it now and she has missed two days of school and a day of work. No fun at all.

Summer is fast approaching and I can't wait to be sitting outside and enjoying the hopefully nice weather.

(Cathy) Sunshine, thanks for setting up the post. I guess I am slipping up. I am sorry to hear that you are all still feeling sick. I thought we were a bit under the weather here, however, it is just allergies. I am wondering with this up and down weather if allergies will be worse or better this year.
The arm is the same and that is worrisome. We all thought by now it would be showing signs of improvement. I think I am in for the long haul. 

See you all later.

Keeping in Touch

(Cathy) Hi all, I hope everyone enjoyed Easter! I chose to change the title of our weekly post. It is getting harder to post on Fridays as we all are busy with our lives. The whole point of "Catch Up Fridays" is so that we Ladies can keep in touch. It's been about eight years since we started the exodus out of our original neighbourhood where we all met and became good friends. It is so very easy to keep in touch with, and see people when they are present in your daily life. As time passes it gets harder and harder to pick up that phone or to get in the car and drive over to visit. It gets even harder to find an actual date where everyone is free so that we can get together and catch up. Our blog started with a purpose. It was a way to keep busy and as three of the four of us had jobs (I think it was only you working so would be 1 out of 4 had jobs),(oops, thanks for catching that). it was a way to connect with people and get back to work. It has worked! This is a good thing. We are all now working and herein lies the consequence. We are so tired after a days work and then to come home to the "house work" which in turn leaves us all too brain tired to get on the computer and blog. Vicious cycle! I look forward to catching up with "the Ladies" every week. It really helps me to stay in touch with them. I love reading about the ups and downs in our lives and it helps me to feel "connected".Ladies, thank-you for being who you are! I love you all and look forward to continuing on our lives journey together.Have a great week everyone!!!

Happy Easter All (Carolin) It has been a busy weekend but also an enjoyable weekend. We spent time with family which is nice. Traditionally Easter is not a time we spend with extended family. I don't know why but it just hasn't been. My Mom and some of her brothers and sisters will get together but we have never joined them. This year with my brother and his wife getting ready to move back to BC in a few weeks I felt the desire to be with them. So on Good Friday we decided to change our plans with Sunshine and her family for fish and chips and had dinner with some of mine. After dinner the TWINAT went out to a bar and partied with some of the more adventurous family members. She said she had a good time and enjoyed confusing the guys hitting on them when she would say she was with her second cousin (who is three years older then her) and her Aunt (also three years older) and Uncle (seven years older).

On Easter Sunday we went and watched a parade in Toronto's Beaches area. It was a parade and was OK (not big on the parade thing) but then went out for dinner with family again. So all in all it was a good weekend.

The little one seems to enjoy her Easter gift of One Direction (British boy band) CD and the TWINAT likes hers (but has not opened yet) a bottle of Rum. Yes, I am a cool mom when I want to be.
(sunshine) Happy Easter. I am sorry that Good Friday did not work out for all of us. This Easter weekend has been quiet as we were all sick with a nasty flu. Its been a week and we are still not back to par. Cathy, it was nice to hear you talk about old times and it was great and we all miss it very much. I am still planning on coming over to see you one day soon. Carolin, it sounds like you had a great time with your family. I am happy that you had a chance to spend time with them. I miss you both very much and I hope that we can get together soon. Cathy, the new post title is perfect.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Catch up Fridays

(Sunshine) Yeah, the weekend is finally here. Its been busy as usual. The weather has been hot, cold and colder. I am finally catching up with my family whom I have not seen since the wedding. I am so looking forward to seeing them this weekend. Last weekend was my niece's first birthday and for the first time ever, I actually missed it all because of work. Weekend work can really stink sometimes. This weekend we have Little Miss Sunshine's birthday and next weekend is Easter and my nephew's birthday. (Carolin)Its a busy time for birthdays. We don't celebrate birthdays with the same enthusiasm in our family. It is much more low key, usually just the four of us.

The little one has a busy few weeks coming up as she has her normal school and massive amounts of homework. We are also having her tested over the next three weeks for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). I talked to her about her willingness to take medication if she was diagnosed with ADD. We talked about what the medication would do and some of the side effects. She said she wants to try it. The last few weeks she has been begging for the pill to help her concentrate. I think she thinks it will be a miracle drug. I bought some multi-vitamins and plan to start giving her on Monday. I am curious if the placebo makes any difference to her. (Cathy) First off, Happy birthday to Little Miss Sunshine! Secondly, Carolin, my nephew also has a bit of "something" disorder. He is ten now and aware of his inability to focus. He asked for the medicine as he was starting to have issues with his confidence. My sister and brother in law put him on the lowest dose over the past Christmas Holidays. He takes one pill in the morning as the effect is about six to eight hours. They did not tell the teacher. After a few weeks they had an interview with his teacher who was amazed at the difference! My nephew can now work independently and is more focused and calm. He is so much happier now and is starting to make and keep friends! When my sister told the teacher about the medication the teacher understood and was happy for my nephew. Hubby and I have also seen a huge change in our nephew. As much as we are "anti" all of the ADD labeling and medicating, in this case it has had a positive outcome. Good Luck. 

How is everyone doing?

Cathy, what's the update on your arm? I started physio last week and I go for a neck x-ray and shoulder ultra sound this coming Wednesday. I am now on Tylenol 2 and one of those at a time does nothing for me, however, I cannot take two as they make me too wonky!!! I cannot move my arm, it's worse and I am in too much pain and grumpy!!! 

Carolin, what's new and how was your vacation? The vacation was nice and relaxing. The pictures looked great!

Is anyone into the new Hunger Games Series? My oldest says that it is her second favourite series ever. My little one has no interest but now that all of her friends are reading the books and gone to see the movies, I think that she may be reading the first book soon. I was thinking that I may even read it myself. It has been all the talk the past few weeks. I have never read the book but the kids at school (girls) say it is "Sooooo Goood". The Teenager who is not a teenager anymore (TWINATA)(perfect!!) saw the movie and loved it. She said she cried (at one point sobbing like a baby) and she never cries at movies. She said she might even read the book now that University is done (except for exams). I bought her the book for Easter and might even read it when she is done. The little one has shown no interest and I am good with that. The TWINATA did not recommend the movie for the little one not because of the effects or that it would  be too scary but because she felt it would be too emotional. She said it was tough watching children fight each other till the death. I think the concept is creepy but I have never read the book so I will hold my judgement for now.


The concept for this book reminds me a bit of a story we had to read in school called, "The Lottery". That story "creeped me out", too! I have yet to decide if I will read the series. 

Have a great weekend!!!!