Boom

Well I kicked ass at my talk. It was great. I was able to sit instead of stand and it was a lot more casual than I expected so I invited people to ask questions as I went and there was lots of great discussion. I also added some image slides in at the last minute on the advice of a coworker and it was a good decision. It just went A1 great and I am so pleased.

I almost missed it because the ride shuttle was relocated and noone told me but my lovely J swooped in and picked me up and drove me over. I'd have walked but I'm still being kind to my foot to make sure it heals up well. It felt really good to present my work and answer questions from people who understood why it was so cool and why it mattered to me. And I got to meet the pathologist who read my biopsy and thank her personally and talk to a woman from the diagnostic crew there who I hadn't seen since I finished my MSc. They all helped process biopsies and work tirelessly every day to help patients get their diagnosis as fast as possible - and they're one of the best labs in the country. I am proud to have worked with them. To have them admire my work is an honour.

Then after work my brother gave me a big kids classic Star Wars coloring book with some markers and a full 64 box of crayolas for a birthday gift hee hee. We visited and drank tea and just hung out for the first time in a while. My big brother has a stressful job he is starting to hate and is looking for new work -he's had a few interviews for a job that is exactly what he would like to do that he could do from home (technical IT writing - I don't get it but whatever floats your boat). He has another skills test thursday and I hope it goes well -I want him to be happy and be able to crawl out from under his ball of stress job. He's a good guy and he deserves it.

He and his wife have started eating a ketogenic diet to try and address some of her health issues and I'm curious to see if it will work for her. No grains or sugars (no carbs really) must be tricky, but the meal they made was super tasty... I'm going to look into it a bit more and see what it entails.

But now I should go get some work done. I have an 80s playlist on and am feeling pretty good...
Hope you all have a fabulous day :)

Just imagine they're all naked...

I am flattered and nervous at the same time. My old boss discovered there is funding in his department to purchase a digital microscopy system for pathology  similar to the one I used in my MSc project. Since I am the only one to really use the system and put it through it's paces he's asked me to dig out my MSc talk and head over to the pathology board room at City Hospital and present it to a few of the pathologists and talk with them to see if I can give them any useful information for purchasing a quality imaging system. My project data isn't exactly what they need to hear but I was able to use the system and discover what is really needed for a  good system and be able to tell them what it can and can't do for them as far as diagnostics and resarch goes.
Am I nervous? F*ck yes.
Will I do this right? Absolutely.

I dug out my thesis defense talk yesterday and went through it 4 or 5 times and added a few slides to try and make it a bit more relevant to what they are looking into and I hope I won't bore them to tears. It should be about 30 minutes I think with lots of time for discussion after if they haven't all fallen asleep. I seem to be coming down with a cold (because it's my birthday on sunday and I always have a cold around this time it seems) so I will try not to sniffle too much. To be honest my main panic is that my hated chemo brain will strike mid presentation and I'll stand up there like an idiot trying to remember basic words and phrases and just stare blankley until I just panic andsay "and that's the waaaaaaaay the news goes" like Rick Sanchez and run out of the room in flapping my arms. I know you aren't supposed to put all your talking points on your slides, but for my own sanity and to try and stop this very thing from happening I've got most of what i want to say on my powerpoint slides so that I can read off them and hopefully keep my shit together enough to give a good talk.

After I get to go to my brother's for supper and we'll likely celebrate both mine and my sis-in-laws birthday and I can relax a bit.

For now, I will think about happy things and be off to a meeting. I found this the other day on a quest to cheer myself up and it makes me smile...sometimes that's just the thing :)

Later taters.

Listen all y'all it's a sabotage

Ugh...you'd think the world was trying to sabotage me or something. While raking the yard on saturday I managed to spectacularly roll my right foot and it's still somewhat sore. So...no walking to work for a few days, and definitely not working out. Cuz why would I want to do that?

Sigh

I just have to try and be good and I'll get there. My foot only hurts when I go on stairs now, so hopefully there isn't anything seriously wrong.  The yard isn't done, but whatever. The front yard leaves just needs to be bagged and J said he'd do the back yard - I'm holding him to it...although I admit I'm suspicious.

On the upside though, I had a fun weekend. I made meat buns (spicy beef and gouda inside a bun pocket - yes they are as good as they sound). There are lots to freeze for later. Unfortunately I forgot the ones I prepped for my lunch at home...so I have no lunch. And no $ to buy lunch...so I have to dip into my emergency cereal and almond milk supply in my desk that I keep for just this occasion. Not half as tasty, but it'll do.

Tomorrow I have to present my master's research at the health region so tonight I have to dig the talk out, dust it off and practice a bit and hope I don't have one of my now very common brain farts and forget what I'm talking about mid sentence. Now is not time to freak out. It's for a small group, so I don't think I'll be too nervous, but I am thrilled to have been invited to present my work to help them with an issue they are working on in Pathology so I want to do this right.

+5

I weighed myself yesterday since for the past few weeks I have not been even remotely trying to be good and my clothes really fit wierd...aaaaaand I have gained 5 Lb in the last few months - I am unhappy about that. So...since I have no desire to buy new stuff, I will be focusing on losing those 5 Lb by christmas (where hopefully I won't eat them all back in one go ahem). Yeah I know I said that was the plan last month but you gotta just get back on the wagon and start again with this sort of thing. More importantly, my mood is sinking with winter coming and the lack of light and I know how much eating well and exercising helps me with that. I have been walking to work but I could be doing more. I've just been staying up late (while drinking and snacking) and sleeping in instead. If I want to fight off the depression that likes to creep up on me since I started taking tamoxifen I need to take better care of myself. Plus I can't eat like I'm working out if I'm not. It doesn't work that way. I have the metabolism of a sleeping sloth so I have to watch myself - I was told one of the best things I can do to keep myself cancer free is to maintain my weight and be healthy, so I really want to look after myself better.

Because I'm worth it.

I also have a whole bunch of fun winter projects to look forward to. I want to reorganize my pantry (no really this is a good thing), do some sewing, knitting and canning for christmas gifts and spend some time getting the basement back in order after the whole chimney removal thing.

On a totally other topic - I discovered yesterday that tuna salad on bread with a slice of apple is a rather heavenly lunch. So good I had it 2 days in a row. Yum.

This weekend I have to rake the whole yard since the snow melted and it hasn't rained lately...I figure it's my last chance to do so before winter hits for real so I have yard work to do. I also have about 15 Lb of apples to juice and try to make cider out of...I was going to make pies but cider seems like more fun. I won't fortify it with sugar like I did last time and hopefully it won't be so crazy strong...plus I have a wine kit to get started so I'll get on that on sunday too so I have some nice Pino Grigio at Christmas.

Only a few hours left before I can be home for the weekend. I'm looking forward to it. Tasty meals, snuggles and reading in the bath with a glass of wine - I am definitely looking forward to that.
Have a nice weekend!!

get by with a little help from my friends

This was a great weekend. I am exhausted. I slept little. But...I am no longer crushed by the annoyances of the life I live and refilled with energy and happiness from some quality times spent with some lovely people.
There was pumpkin spice ale.
And a friend's new kitten.
And brunch and an afternoon with my bestie H.
And noodle bowls.
And dancing with lasers by J...
And then ....technobreakfast after a night of fun with friends at C's house, where E made delicious frittata for us all and we sipped coffee and Bailey's and pina coladas and ate sweet potato hashbrowns with them while we laughed and smiled and enjoyed the company of each other before bumbling home all happy and fed to a day of naps and ginger tea.

Now I just need some coffee to stumble through today and get home to a nap and all will be well I think.
Life is good peoples. Life is very good.

Meh

Torpid. that's me. somnolent even. meh.

This whole week I've been meh and ravenously hungry 24/7. 
 



I don't know if  it's the cold cloudy weather or what but seriously. Meh. I am looking forward to the weekend and working out next week. For now I'll stick to just not eating everything I see and go from there. I actually got coffee and timbits today (donut holes). I don't even really like donuts...yeah it's that kinda day.

hooray for bebe

Yay I'm an auntie again!
J's sister had a little guy named Logan yesterday and he is just a cute little mellow guy. I'm stopping by the hospital after work on my way to volunteer at CFCR for their pledge drive tonight to see him and I'm very excited. They've been trying for a long time to have a little one and we have all been waiting for him very excitedly. The first boy on J's side too. Finally....too much girliness at times. This will balance things out. Hooray. We plan to bury him in Wolverine stuff :) Hee hee...

Thanksgiving was marvelous. It snowed insanely all weekend up at Dad's (about a foot was there already and another foot fell while we where there). I had a nice visit with Dad and cooked turkey stuffing and gravy for 25 people. Everyone brought something and we ate until we groaned and drank wine and watched the Blue Jay's win at baseball and had a great visit with all of Dad's friends who live up there. We popped in at J's parents for supper on the way home (because really, we were wasting away from lack of food...) and after a nice visit we were quite happy to get back to our home. The cats have forgiven us and have been quite snuggly.

It's like early winter and I'm not amused. I can still walk to work since it's only about -4, but soon I will have to stop and I suppose that I'll start coming into workout in the mornings instead when that happens. With the winter wind it's pretty darn chilly now. I loathe taking the bus and it'll be a bit less painful if I make my mornings useful. Being able to run and workout there in the winter and use the pool for laps some mornings goes a long way to keep me sane once the winter cold comes. I feel like I've been cheated out of fall so I hope we get a melt before winter stays for good...if only so I can rake a bit and get the yard ready for winter.

I hope you all had a nice weekend. I sure did. I should go and make myself useful :)

september whirlwind

Hi.
So what's up? :)
I've been off and insanely busy until now and so amidst all the madness I just didn't post. LOTS to do at work plus J and I helped friends who are opening a float tank (sensory deprivation tank) business decorate the ceiling in their lobby with fabric and lighting (blue and fabric over the tiles and white draped like waves with twinkling blue lights behind it- it looks AMAZING. I am so proud. We get paid a bit and get a bunch of free floats out of it. I'm excited to try a float - never have before.

Then I helped a friend with first aid and harm reduction at their weekend music festival which was a blast - one last chilly weekend being a twit with friends. This past weekend was a day trip to a craft fair out of town with my best friend and then a hot tub party at anothers that night, with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's Run for the Cure bright and squeaky early on sunday AM. I made it to all of them and thoroughly enjoyed myself. My team the Scientits raised ~$1200 this year. It's less than last year but we had a lot of team members who couldn't come this year and we all had a lot of obligations this year that kept us from fundraising as aggressively as last year so I am happy with what we raised. I managed to raise nearly all of that myself so I am proud. You do what you can when you can.

Now? Well...it turns out it's Canadian thanksgiving this weekend. Whew. That snuck up on me! I'm actually looking forward to things slowing down massively now that fall and winter are here. J has been really stressed out lately and I've been trying to help him with things and with his projects along with all I regularly do, but he was there when I needed him so it's time to pay it back...it makes for an exhausted me, rather unhealthy quick meals, fewer workouts and very little getting done around the house tho. It's been a bit maddening so I am welcoming the slowdown to come.The weekend up at my dad's should be nice and relaxing. We will be having all the local neighbors over for supper sunday. Everyone brings something and we do the turkey and stuffing and it's always a great time. Usually 25 people or so. It's a family tradition my Mum started that is still going and I'm proud to help dad with the cooking to keep it going.

We had a freak storm this week. Up to 20 cm of snow in some places and 50 kph winds...for 2 days but then it's supposed to melt and be warm again until the end of the month. We're breaking temperature and snow records. I had to dig out my winter boots waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay early. Um....yay? Not amused. But hey - this is October in Saskatchewan. Anything goes...

I admit to slacking off with a lot of my workouts in September because of being so damn busy. I also drank too much during the week (I usually delegate booze to the weekends). Sleep won out as a priority. Liquor won out as a stress reliever. I'm not proud of that...but it was what it was. Thankfully now that things have calmed down I'm back at it though. I was running the last while but with this weather bullshit I'm doing some bodyrock intro bootcamp workouts inside until it warms up a bit. Just keeping at it. Bit by bit. :)

Hope you've all been happy and that all is well with you. I'm off to get some science done. Later taters.