I'm alone with a stranger

This post is brought to you by a socially awkward crazy person that is currently trapped at home with a Telus installation guy. 

THE HORROR!

OH GOD I SHOULD PROBABLY OFFER HIM A COFFEE. 

THIS IS SO AWKWARD. 

NOW I'M JUST OVERLY STRESSED. 

Ok. I'm calm. 
See, I currently have some big news to share, but I've been delaying sharing  it for some reason.
My big news? 

My boyfriend of 3 years and I will be moving in together. 

Isn't this exciting!? Boyfriend has been living in a basement suite for over a year now, and we had the opportunity to move up into the house (or, as I call it, the Magical Upstairs Land). Let me tell you right now, it's the cutest house ever. It's so nice, and I can't wait to show you guys pictures. We have both been utterly stoked to have all the finer things in life, like: a linen closet, heat controls, and a dish washer! We can't wait. 

Our first house together is amazing. Like,  

So this brings me back to the Telus install guy. 

We haven't technically moved up into Magical Upstairs Land yet, but we're having our internet and TV box installed in the basement, which we will later install upstairs. It's a bit weird, but Boyfriend assures me it'll be fine. I'm not gonna lie, I'm very excited to have a place with Boyfriend. 

This whole blog started when my family and I moved onto a small acreage that I dubbed Castle Lakie. Since moving in, I've found myself in this awkward homeless stage, where I don't quite live at home and I don't quite live at my boyfriend's. I've been living out of  a suitcase for a long time, and it's a bit tiring. It's not horrible, but it kinda sucks (makes it hard to get laundry done and I don't get solid quality time with my animals). Leaving Castle Lakie is hard (we literally just achieved our goal of having the horses in the back yard), but starting my own home life with Boyfriend is very exciting. 

In all honesty I'm super stoked to embark upon house wifery. 

Here are some examples of how I expect the whole thing to pan out... 

This is beyond accurate.

How a chronically ill housewife cleans, I think.

UPDATE: Telus guy confirmed that he does indeed want a coffee! With just sugar. I'm on it!!!

I shall keep you guys posted on the progress of moving into Magical Upstairs Land. If you have any suggestions on a better name for our new home, feel free to comment below.

The depot from hell and canned dog food

Happy Sunday, everyone! 

On Friday I announced that I was going to the doctor's for my 2nd Depot Provera injection. Let me tell you, that was the depot from hell. See, the first time I had a depot provera injection it went ok. Apart from having the intramuscular needle jabbed into my tiny little arm (mistakes were made) I didn't get very sick or anything. 

Hours after my depot yesterday, I started feeling very sick, like I had a bad flu. I went home and my mother looked at me and said that my face looked grey. I felt sick to my stomach, I was feverish, and just so blah. Not to mention my ass hurt from the needle. So I slept for most of the afternoon. Yesterday wasn't much better. I watched as five angry, swollen pimples erupted on my face. I couldn't get comfortable, I was aching, sore, irritable. My skin was ultra sensitive, I was sweaty yet cold, I had a headache, and my ass hurt. I cannot properly express how awful I've been feeling! 

Today my pimples aren't as swollen or sore (yesterday my face hurt the pimples were so bad). I still feel malaise, but not as bad as yesterday. My bleeding is persisting, and really I just feel burnt out. 

The swelling has gone down significantly, thank god.

I can't believe how miserable I've been feeling after that injection. I'm seriously upset with this depot provera. Apparently the bleeding thing is normal (December-Present----- let that sink in). I'm sure the acne thing is normal too, as per hormone treatment. But what the hell, man?? I can't catch a break.

I'm currently being a very bad girl and I'm blogging from work. I have my laptop out so I can add fancy gifs and things. 

You're welcome.

In regards to this depot from hell, I would like to tell all women that are considering this drug as treatment to RUN AWAY! But, every woman reacts to the treatment differently. Hell, even I react differently from treatment to treatment. It's not a drug that I would recommend (frankly not many women do) but it's not like I'm an expert on the whole thing. 

Here's the thing. 

Lupron is the worst drug I have ever been on. Lupron, or Leuprolide, is the heavy duty "big guns" endometriosis treatment. It's used to treat prostate cancer, and it's actually listed as a chemo drug (despite the fact that it's a hormone treatment). I did not tolerate Lupron well at all. I was physically ill the whole time I was on the treatment. I was throwing up almost every day, I was weak, my hair thinned, and my pain didn't decrease at all. This drug is bad for your bones and it's just evil, really. 

I would recommend trying depot provera before you  consider trying Lupron. Lots of women struggle while on Lupron. I was paranoid, emotionally unstable, depressed (really just more of a whack job than usual). Many women experience this, and almost all of us advise against Lupron. Try the depot provera first.

Pretty much exactly me while on Lupron:

On a completely different note, I want to share with you what I did for fun today (Sunday Funday, Right?) I mentioned a little while back that I'm working at the shop again as the Sunday girl. Today I kept busy by re-stocking all the Merricks dog food cans. I take a little too much pride in my can-stacking abilities. But look at how beautiful it is!!!

So nice and organized *high-fives self*

If you're looking for a really good, high quality canned dog food, Merrick is the way to go. They have so many different varieties, and all their canned foods are "stews." So instead of getting this pate or paste in a can, Merrick features whole ingredients. For example, Wingaling has a whole chicken wing in it, and Brauts and Tots has a whole bratwurst sausage in it. Really good food for dogs of all ages and sizes. I highly recommend Merrick's canned food.

Merrick's features fresh whole ingredients. The Wilderness Blend, for example, has Salmon, Venison, Buffalo, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Carrots, and Golden Delicious Apples. Yum!

Well, I hope this post has been educational in one way or another. Maybe you've learned something about hormone treatments. I hope at least you've learned about a fancy new dinner you can give to your dog. 

Everyone take care, and remember... 

Self esteem programs for soldiers and veterans

Good morning everyone and Happy Friday! 

YAY FRIDAY! 

If you follow my blog on a fairly regular basis (nobody does that who am I kidding) you will know that I am a proud supporter of Red Friday. 

As a friend of a veteran, I know that a lot of soldier suffer from serious self esteem crashes when they come back from their service. Sometimes troops feel worthless, and some commit suicide as a result. 

I really wish there was a program to help with soldiers' self esteem. Could such a program exist?
I did some research, and some counseling groups exist for soldiers. Is it enough? I don't have the answers, I don't know what the right answer is. It's just frustrating to me and I wish there was something I could do to help. 

The Center for Veterans Issues is an American group that offers programs and counseling for soldiers that need help returning to their civilian life. This is brilliant, and I need to find out if similar programs are available in Canada.

If you know of any such programs or have any questions/comments on the matter, please feel free to comment on this post below. I want to improve the lives of our soldiers and veterans and any suggestions on how to do that are greatly appreciated. 

Bullshit myths about Endometriosis

I've seen this article floating around the Endometriosis community for a few years now. Today I gave it another read and I laughed.

I really appreciate it when other people (especially those that do not suffer with the disease) have patience and understanding for those that suffer. 

Naturally, my favorite part of the article was point #4: Endometriosis can be caused by psychological trauma early in life/ it's all in your head

Easily this is the one that riles me more than any other stupid thing said about endometriosis. The only reason this isn’t number one is because I don’t hear it as often as the last two. Lets address the ‘it’s all in your head’ bullshit first as it’s the easiest to dismiss. Take at look at these pictures here, here and here, print them off if you like and carry them around with you. If anyone claims ‘it’s all in your head’ show them the pictures and ask “does this look like it’s in my head, does it, DOES IT?” scream it in their face should you feel the urge, beat them with a sock full of marbles if you wish, knowing full well the absurdity of your actions matches the absurdity of their statement. This attitude also puts the blame on the sufferer, which is sickening in itself. If you have endometriosis it is not your fault, it’s not like cutting your arm off while juggling chainsaws. It is my firm belief that for most women, the decision on whether or not you will have endometriosis is made before you were even born.

"Scream it in their face should you feel the urge, beat them with a sock full or marbles if you wish" I love this kind of passion.  

That's a tad bit violent....

I also love the author's comment "it is my firm belief that for most women, the decision on whether or not you will have endometriosis is made before you were even born." I love this statement, and I agree with it 100%. I do not believe in the retrograde flow theory because I started having severe pain before I even started my period. Kudos to this author, seriously. 

Other brilliant points include: 

I’m not a very good cook, I can just about manage to make cheese on toast without a trip to the burns unit. Therefore, with my limited knowledge on cookery, I don’t walk into restaurants and stand next to the chef saying things like “You’ve over seasoned that”, “I think that steak is overdone” or “that’s not how you make a pie”. The reason I don’t do this is because, as someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about when it comes to cooking, I shouldn’t be professing on that subject. It is very much the same thing whenever you hear someone say “endometriosis is only bad period pain”.

and 

The old saying goes, misery loves company, and endometriosis, being a herald of misery, is no exception as there are also co-morbid conditions to consider. Co-morbid conditions are conditions that are frequently found to be more common in women with endometriosis. Some examples of common co-morbid conditions include: Irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, fibroids, adhesions, migraine, chronic fatigue, interstitial cystitis, excessive menstrual bleeding, depression, anxiety and reduced fertility. The list of reasons why endometriosis is more than just painful periods is as long as my arm and I’ve got very long arms. 

My congratulatory clapping: 

 

Thank you for this brilliant article.

Depot day & mail-order Moroccan husbands

Good morning. 

Today is Depot Day. Translated, that means, giant intramuscular needle in my ass cheek day. Yahoo.

I also just discovered that Tim Hortons made my breakfast sandwich on an english muffin instead of a biscuit. 

So now I'm eating my breakfast all pissed off like:

 

AND I forgot to grab ketchup to go with my hashbrown. 

Man I better win something on this roll up the rim. 

On this gloomy, foggy, snowy winter day in Alberta, my classmate discovered that mail-order Moroccan husbands are available. Just in case you were wondering. 

Last night I had a dream about my endometriosis. I never really dream about the damn disease, normally if I'm sore in my sleep I'll dream that I've been shot or something. But last night I dreamed that my ultrasound results showed the endometriosis (which, I must add, is rare/unheard of). In my dream I was able to clearly see the disease covering my ovaries, tubes, and the inside of my pelvis. It was gross and disturbing. And a friendly reminder that there's no cure for this disease.

Wish me luck on my ass needle today.

Writer's Block

I love to write and 99% of the time I have something to say (relevant or not). But now I have a column assignment due today. I've been excited for this assignment because I am enamored with literature. You don't get to do creative writing in journalism, which pains me. Column writing is as close as we'll get to literature in journalism, so I am quite excited. So why can't I think of anything to write??? 

 I'm just staring at a blank word document like:

I got nothin'. 

What's a girl to do? Writer's block is the worst. My pain killers aren't helping the matter either. This period from hell is keeping up, and the cramps are ridiculous. That, plus tramadol (which is supposed to fix the problem) = serious brain fog. 

ANGELS OF CREATIVE WRITING PLEASE COME FORTH AND AID ME IN MY COLUMN ASSIGNMENT!

I'll let you know how this one plays out.

Back at it and OW

Hello everyone!

Today is Sunday which means I'm back at my old job. I quit for a month, and now I'm back to cover all the Sunday shifts. It really isn't all that bad, some extra money in my pocket never hurts! 

Speaking of hurts, I have a big time complaint. 

I have been on my fucking period since the beginning of January (this is after bleeding off and on for the duration of December). Give me a break! This is ridiculous. I'm currently experiencing hard core back aches. Ugh I just want to lay down with my pain pills and a hot water bottle. I've said it before and I'll say it again (and again and again and again) endometriosis is an evil disease! 

Tonight I am going to my friend and former coworkers house for a sleepover. She had the idea of doing the kind of slumber party that 10 year olds would do. We're gonna make cupcakes (that's right be jealous). 

Im not gonna lie, it's weird to be back in the store. Kinda like getting back together with an ex- familiar but weird. It's already proving to be dangerous, as I've picked out a few new toys for Clancey (as if he needed any more). Wanna see? 

The jungle cat skineez is too cute to resist

Skineez and Kong make some of the cutest toys. I love that we stock a wide variety of both brands at the shop. The little ducky (a Kong product) comes with a replacement squeaker which is pretty handy. The skinnies are great because they're soft. My yorkie loves to play with them. Clancey's favorite game is tug of war so the skineez are perfect for that! And those little kitty boinks he loves. I think they feel funny in his mouth and that's why he likes chewing on them. 

Man, time is dragging on here at the store. I'm beginning to feel a bit desperate because my bleeding has been SO heavy all month. I've been at shoppers drug mart twice already to buy stupid lady products. Uhg I am so sick of this. What the fuck kind of period has the nerve to stick around for so fucking long? 

this picture is always an accurate depiction of me.

Blerg. I hope you all had a great weekend. Beware, tomorrow is Monday. 

-Captain Lakie (The Silly Mallard)