Belly Dance Solo Performance

This is my first solo PERFORMANCE of belly dance. :D

Belly dancing

I take Belly dancing lessons now. What a great way to feel beautiful. I am by no means a professional at all, but I really enjoy it! I have also noticed that I am trimmer than I was, and I'm getting more toned as well. If you can take belly dance lessons, or any kind of dance lessons in your area, you ought to. It's very fun. And if you're like me, and NOT into sports at all, this is one way to keep active.

If you would like more info about Monique's Belly Dancing Classes please visit her website:http://gypsymoonbellydance.yolasite.com/

If you would like to see more from my friend Kellie, check out her facebook fan page here:http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150319049975440&id=889825439&ref=notif&notif_t=feed_comment#!/pages/Kellie-J-Winzinowich/122821010933

(Update... I had a falling out with my belly dance teacher. It ruined my interest in belly dancing, to be honest. Perhaps I will take it up at another time, but at the moment, I'd rather not be in the same room as her if at all possible.)

Toilet Installation

Part A:

Part B:

Applying Grout to the Tile Flooring

Tile Installation

Part A:



Part B:

Toilet Removal

Quick update

Hey everyone! I know it's been so long since I posted ANYTHING on here! I got another boyfriend for a while, but that didn't work out. I will try to post about that at some point. But Damn... I miss that man, and I wish things coulda been different... he was VERY sexy... *wink*

So once again, I'm single.

I'm also back at college, my third and last year at this particular college... and I will graduate with a BA in Counseling. YAY ME! So it's been kind of intense and yet awesome too. Right now, I'm in "reading week" or "fall break" so I'm not only catching up on some school work, but I am also getting a home reno done that I've had the supplies to do for a couple of months now. Just waiting for some extra time! :)

The Project is replacing the toilet and the flooring in my main bathroom. I will also be replacing the trim, but that will have to wait. I'm only one person. So what will follow this blog is a series of short videos about my home reno adventure.

I hope you enjoy! You can do it! :)

Migraines

Just got through a lovely 2 day migraine... uggg

Ha, someone had the brilliant idea that I should get prayed for like their friend did. Apparently God cured her migraines...

I'm a Christian, as IF I hadn't thought of that!

He went on to say, "Well I guess you've already decided to live with your migraines." Riiight, since we can't blame God for the bad things cuz he's perfect and good, then we HAVE to find someone to blame, right? Yes, I am CHOOSING to have migraines... cuz they are so freaking FUN!

I am ashamed to be in the same category of "Christian" with this moron! How insulting...

Another thing that irks me is when people who have NEVER had a migraine thing they know everything about it, and they have "the cure" for you. Whether it's prayer, or snorting powdered chicken bones... (ok no one really suggested the chicken bones) do ya think I'm just tootin along with my head in the clouds just hoping for YOUR solution to fall blessedly into my lap?

Don't get me wrong, I hate migraines and I would do practically ANYTHING to not have them...

Somethings that have helped:

Medications - Imitrex, Amerge, Amatryptaline, Gravol, Demerol, Moprhine,
Phenergin and of course Advil for migraine which really doesn't work all that well...

Get into a hot bath and pour cold water on your head - changes the blood pressure in your brain.

DO NOT drink red wine - ever...

Fennel... mmm some say this works.... I dunno...

Massage - helps to prevent, can also create a migraine or worsen a migraine

Chiropractor - same as massage - can prevent, but worsens my migraine when I go there with one. Some people claim it eliminates their migraines... that would be nice.

Prayer - hmmm... well I've prayed my ass off, and others have prayed alot for me, laid hands on me, annointing with oil, all that. So now what? I feel that God has used migraines to help me get in touch with my feelings of helplessness and fear of depending on others for help... So the migraines have actually helped me in THOSE areas. I think people learn to trust God MORE when they DON'T get immediately healed. Just saying...

Havent' tried acupuncture yet, but I do massage the spot in between the thumb and index finger... minimal luck there...

Recently, a fellow migraine sufferer suggested putting half a teaspoon of salt into 8oz of water. Drink that then 2 more 8oz glasses of tepid water... helps to replenish electrolytes and hydrate you... I have to say that this seemed helpful. And the salt water tasted good, if you can imagine, so I guess my body was craving it...

Apparently drinking hot water with lemon and honey can prevent.... hmm, maybe... it does taste good though...

Hydration is a key element for sure...

I even got some kind of injectable vitamin concoction from a naturopath once... so here I am, migraining like crazy, AND jamming a needle into my leg... this did NOT cure my migrains, but at least I got my overpriced vitamins...

So all of these are helpful... but are they the cure - NO... at least not for me.

So... all the doctors at the St. Anne Hospital know me, and I know them. LOL I have friends who can drive me to the hospital when I need to go. My kids are well versed on how to take care of mom when I am migraining. And I just have to deal with it. The list of things to avoid in order to prevent is SO long it's not even worth following because these things don't always cause a migraine. So... I live my life to the fullest and when a migraine knocks me down, well I just deal with it until it's over, then catch up on what I have missed and continue on.

I'm tired of snake oil salesmen, and of "well meaning Christians" who have the answer for me, if only i do this or that... I've given up on the fantasy that I will find some miracle cure for this.

The only person I know who has been "cured" of her migraines got cured when she went through menopause... so I'm looking forward to that! YAY MENOPAUSE! LOL

Crying Over Yesterday - Tips for Euthenizing a Pet

Video Blog - Tainted Love

Ok, time to get back on track... Greg Behrendt says 60 days... another survey mentioned by John Tesh says 10 weeks - so about the same. In that amount of time, I should feel back to my old self again.

There is a reason Greg and John say these things, it's because it TRUE! I was doing so well until I decided to allow the exbf to communicate with me. Spare me the melodrama! I've cried rivers of tears over this man... enough already! As hard as it is to admit... he doesn't want me! No buts! This cannot be sugar-coated and I can't (and won't) do a dance to distract myself from the pain of this reality. It is what it is, putting a pretty blue ribbon on a pig doesn't change the fact that it's a pig.

I am already swimming another river of tears this week... our dog is still in decline, and I'll probably end her suffering by the end of this week. I so HATE this part! :''(

God help me... please...

All Dogs Go To Heaven - just not yet...

Photos featured in this blog by Candace Lylyk, a beautiful, fantastic single mom, and an amazingly gifted photographer-extrordinairre! :) See more of her photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38175437@N04/

Oh dear... Well, last night before bed, I let the dog out. Then in the night she woke me up, and I let her out again. Then this morning, there is pee on the carpet of my office, and runny poo on the rug by the front door. *sigh*...

Thank goodness I have a Bissell Little Green Clean Machine. That contraption makes cleaning up after elderly dogs (and Candace's puppy - LOL) a breeze! This is what it looks like: http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp;jsessionid=MQwNXsLxfvzGlchJgnzb9yzvGQGst9N8rGvS58TYvT2FcqpJjL4T!-1899437019?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443273593&bmUID=1276178605814

But I'm having my coffee and toast FIRST... lol THEN clean up... ugg...

It's been a busy week...

Much has happened in the last week... that's why the video blogs have been MIA... lol I hope to make some more video updates soon...

Basically this is what happened:
- I ripped out the carpet in my son's basement bedroom because of moisture
- I put in most of the dri-core subfloor down in his room, and then I'll need to finish that and then lay down the laminate flooring on top of that.
- My dog's health has been deteriorating and I almost had her euthenized today... emotional roller coaster of a day today - for me and the kids
- I've been doing alot of mascotting this week
- I met with the exbf at a park to discuss things..... an emotional roller coaster of a day yesterday - yes I broke the 60 day rule... uggg not sure it was worth it yet... (ok, Im thinking that if I'm not sure, then that MIGHT be a big fat NO!)

So yeah... I was enjoying my simple bliss, and well, as life does, I got a lot of things dumped in my lap at once. *sigh*

Video Blog - Book Review Chapter Eight - Breakup Book

Video Blog - Book Review Chapter Seven - Breakup Book

The Hearing Part B

The Hearing Part A

Video Blog - Book Review Chapter Six - Breakup Book

May 25th, 2010

Divorce Court Hearing Today

There is a hearing today that I must attend.

Previous to this, I was cross examined by the Respondent's attorney, who was sarcastic and verbally abusive. I guess his job is to work for the Respondent (my ex-husband) and do his bidding.

The cool thing is that whilst I was being verbally bludgeoned, the said Respondent stared at the floor. He would not meet my gaze. This tells me that he is carrying some shame in some form, and well, that he is also a coward... therefore I WIN!

People who are abusive (in my case, he was verbally and emotionally abusive) tend to be cowards. They use abusive techniques to get what they want, which is complete control over a situation or person. They are so afraid that if they relinquish some of that control and relax that something bad will happen to them. But what ends up happening, is that they suffocate the relationship with that person. They end up losing control of the very thing they were trying so hard to control.

So, I shall go to court today, and I shall look FAB. I have a couple of new professional looking outfits that I purchased because I knew I would be attending court at least a few times to finalize my divorce already. I shall hold my head up high. I won't need to be cross examined, but I'll probably have to hear things about me that have been twisted and manipulated to shed a negative light on me. So be it.

I used to live with this bully. I survived that. I shall EASILY survive this as well. I refuse to be bullied anymore. I'm not "taking him to the cleaners" but I'm also not going to lay down and die and let him keep everything. I am just asking for what the law says I'm entitled to have. No more, no less.

I feel a bit nervous, but I also feel empowered. :)

I have a video blog in the works for the book review, and I may also do a video blog to update y'all on what happened today. Thanks for listening! :)

Video Blog - Book Review Chapter Five - Breakup Book

Video Blog - Book Review Chapter Four - Breakup Book

Video Blog - Book Review Chapter Three - Breakup Book

Video for blog- Book Review Chapter Two - Breakup book

For whatever reason, Blogger would NOT upload my video, so then I had to spend hours uploading it to Youtube and THEN posting it here... sheeeeeeesh! lol

Video Blog - Book Review Chapter One - Breakup Book

I just realized that tomorrow is my wedding anniversary. My ex-husband and I were married May 17th, 1997. Wow... 13 years? sheesh... I felt wonky here and there today and I thought it was exbf stuff, and it probably is to a degree, but I think that anniversary dates can add old pain onto already existing, current pain...

I am so sleepy! I used to be such a night owl, and then I'd sleep in... but here I am, out of college for the summer, and I'm STILL waking up most days at 6:30 am!!! ugg.. As soon as this video is done being processed, I am hitting the sack, man. I got alot of gardening to do tomorrow! :D

Oh... speaking of gardening, my daughter wants to turn her old sandbox into a veggie garden! I picked up a new wheelbarrow today, so then I can have some soil delivered and can haul it around the yard to where it needs to go. It should be such fun. :D

May 16, 2010

I help out my friend Aaron by wearing a mascot suit for the company he works for now and then. I am "working" at this for a few hours later today. This will knock down some of the debt I incurred at Hecla. lol

I was going to insist that my son cut the grass today, but it's raining out at the moment. Hmm... if it's sunny, I shall insist. :) ...and then get my daughter to clean the kitchen. :)

Later this evening, the plumber guy will be coming to take a look at my bath tub drain, so hopefully he can fix that. In fact, I hope he can fix that tonight. The last time I drained the tub, I held an ice cream pail below and caught HALF A PAIL of bathwater.... omg, THIS is what was seeping into the carpet in my son's room???? yuk! That's gotta be fixed ASAP!

I need to have a bath before I leave today, so I guess I'll put out some pails and towels below before I jump in... ugg.

Video Blog - at Hecla Island

Well, for whatever reason, the internet is working better late at night at this hotel. This video was much more creativity to it, and isn't SO sad like the last one!

I just want to say thanks for listening to me blather on, because you have basically become my surrogate "boyfriend", since I used to talk to him all the time, well, until he stopped talking to me, forcing me to eventually (after 4 months) break up with him. So thanks! lol If you have questions, please feel free to ask, I will do my best to answer. Although, currently, I have no followers... but I am new at this. I may never have followers, but that's ok, at least I am able to accomplish what I have set out to do and that is go 60 DAYS of no contact with him.

Will keep y'all informed of what transpires. I mean, he could call... right?... Course... that isn't the kind of thinking that is going to help me grow beyond this, is it? Nope... *sigh*

Can't upload my video right now...

I am at the Hecla Island Oasis resort. I have made a video blog of it, but the internet set up is making it next to impossible to upload the video, so I"ll just give a short update.

I am on day 5 of the 60 day "he-tox" and today I got the "I'm so dissappointed in you" email from "him". It was so hard to NOT contact him yesterday on his birthday. OMG. But I know that to have what I want in life, I really need to stick to my guns on this. The email was a short one, and it said that there is a bigger email to come. *sigh*. Due to the tone of this short one, I'm expecting to be lambasted. Well, I guess that's a far cry from my fantasy of him apologising to me, and asking if we can talk things out. Perhaps, if he were to ask that, I should still impose the remainder of the 60 days, in order to break free from that unhealthy-ness part of our relationship so that I don't get sucked into this dysfunction once again.

He chose to distance himself from me for such a LONG time... what did he expect would happen as a result of that? Sheesh... I don't hate the guy, I'm actually just really disappointed in HIM as well... and I really want to be in relationship with someone who wants a real relationship with me. Is that too much to ask?

Video Blog - Sad About the Breakup

Please note that I have minimal experience vlogging, so this will probably be kinda boring. But I'm doing this mostly for me, to get me through this rough patch after breaking up with my boyfriend. I really am a lot more fun than this normally... lol

Newbie to Blogging

I started this blog because I just broke up with my boyfriend of approximately 2 years and I REALLY miss talking to him. I plan to make this a video blog as well, but that will take some time and I'm making supper right now. lol

I really don't want to overburden my friends with all the chit chat that I would have normally had with my exbf, which I am realizing I am doing, but I also recognize my need, as a single mom, to have SOMEONE to talk to about the daily goings on of life. And there are ALOT of them!

Another thing is that I really don't want to be tempted to keep checking my email every 5 minutes, or the phone to see if he happened to call while I was in the "loo".... for heaven's sake...

So, if you have found yourself here, please check back soon, I have a TON to say, and no time to say it just now... lol But I just wanted to say HI!