Feelin' good makes me feel good!!!

Today I was thinking of things that make me feel good, or happy.

1. Reading books to my unborn baby.

2. Resting my head and hand on Ali's belly, and feeling Butterbean kick.

3. A good slobbery kiss with my wife. (Mushy, I know)

4. Friday night in the Summer, especially during Blue Bomber games.

5. Visiting our parents in Ontario.

6. Road trips to anywhere. I heard a little rumour that the Broncos are playing in NC this year....

7. Eating fresh seafood, especially when it's somewhere in the Caribbean.

8. Hanging out with my best friend Mike, just playing video games.

9. Puppies.

10. Going to concerts.

11. Fishing with friends.

12. Drinking a big cold glass of water when I'm reeeaaaalllly thirsty.

13. Thinking of being not only a dad, but a great dad.

14. Buying my baby's first Bomber jersey. I got # 00, just like my first jersey....

15. Swimming and snorkeling in the Ocean.

16. Flying in a plane.

17. Enjoying a cold beer when it's hot outside.

18. Laughing at Ali's stupid jokes, or adding to a comment I just made about somebody.

19. Hanging out with my dad.

20. Talking about nursing stuff with my two moms.

21. Finding old baby pictures of me and my family.

22. Adding to our baby book.

23. Hearing my favorite band on the radio, and screaming the lyrics as loud as possible. (When I'm by myself)


I think most of these can happen, just by Summer coming around this year. 2008 will be the best year yet.

ROAD TRIP!!!

Yesterday we ventured South, to a little place called Grand Forks, ND.
This town is the perfect size, and the streets are laid out in a way that you can go exactly where you want to go with little trouble.

On a side note, I don't know what our American neighbours are taught, but in Canada when an intersection is out, and there are no lights, we treat this as a four way stop.....
As we approached the very first light, they were out due to a huge power outage, and it was an absolute free-for-all for everyone in the area. Nobody was even hitting the brakes, cars were cutting in front of others, and there I was.....waiting patiently, until the van ahead of me sat there. And sat there. And sat there. I finally honked the horn, yelling every curse word that I could muster in one breath, while my beautiful 8 months pregnant wife did the exact same.....two peas in a pod I tell ya.

As we were driving back home, we received a phone call from a family member. They were in the hospital, but were medically stable. I have never felt so helpless, being two hours away from Winnipeg, and being stranded on a quiet highway. It felt as if I was standing still, even though I was going 110 KM/H.
This family member is now at home resting, and doing okay, but it sure did bring back some ugly memories for Ali and myself. Sometimes I think my family was cursed.

To end this blog, I will let you know that our Manitoba Government has come to their senses, and avoiding the Nurse's strike. As with any other strike, wages/benefits/pension were the main sticking points. Now we can all breathe easy.

Have a good work week everyone.

Coming of age

They say you're only as old as you feel. My best friend celebrates his 30th birthday today, and soon I will join him in the 30 + club.

Whenever I go grocery shopping, I feel like an "adult". I don't know why, maybe it's just a thing that "grown-ups" usually do. When I look around the store, there's mostly 40-50 year olds there. I see lots of parents pushing their kids in the cart. Maybe that's why I feel older when I shop.

Of course all of this is a moot point, when they look in my cart and I have granola bars, pudding, sweetened cereal, juice, and chocolate milk. My cart is the unofficial wish list for any kid.

I quickly jump back into my "adult" role when I load up the minivan to go home....

I feel that I am where I am supposed to be at this point of my life. Parenthood, and all of the things that come with it are all that I could have hoped for. I can't wait.

On a side note, I believe that I'm over the shock (see last post) and am coming to terms with it.

I'm.....speechless.

Have you ever heard some news from somebody, and you honestly did not know what to say?

I had the pleasure of being blind-sided by some shocking news yesterday, and for the first time in my life, I honestly was speechless. I think back as far as I can remember, and I have always managed to make up my mind that instant - whether I liked it or not.

I'm having difficulty right now, because I am truly flustered.....
Maybe I'll share this info with you at a later date, but right now I don't know how I feel about it.

Not to worry though, we'll get through this, and no, it's not related to Ali or Butterbean.
I know that I can count on Ali to talk me through everything, and reason out all of the good along with the bad. That's one of the things that makes her so perfect for me.

Has anyone else ever had this feeling of being so indecisive?
If so, how did you cope?

Maybe I'll call Dr. Phil.

I should write Soaps...or sell couches

Man, my life lately has been like a bad Soap Opera....

I talked to my back surgeon yesterday, and he was "reluctant" to do surgery. He didn't rule it out completely, but he felt that there was one last option to explore.
He referred me to this guy who runs a private clinic in the city. He apparently has a PhD. in sports medicine, and he's a Physiotherapist who specializes in chronic pain, and different coping methods.
At this point, I'm willing to try acupuncture, massage, or hypnosis. OK, maybe not hypnosis, but you get my drift....

As a last option, Dr. J said he would fuse the affected disc, but I would more than likely need further surgery down the road. I've inherited my Grandfather's bad back, and have to play with the cards I've been dealt. I just wish I knew what to do so that Ali won't worry about me as much.

To take my mind off of my back issues, I went to scout baby furniture. That's right, you heard right, I went shopping - alone. I even had to steer away form the pushy salesman. The kind who lines you up as soon as you enter the door, then cuts down the angle like a linebacker coming in for the hit. I must have given him a certain "leave the the hell alone" look, because he fumbled his words, and totally messed up his approach. As he walked up to me, he said "Uh, good morning. Ah shit, it's not morning....good afternoon. It's afternoon now. 12:45 to be exact...."
I just diverted my eyes to the nearest piece of furniture, which happened to be one of the most ugly two toned couches I've ever seen. It was black, with tan leather.
As soon as I looked at it, he says "I bet that would look gooooooood in your living room."

Now, by the way he exaggerated the word "good", I figured I was on some kind of hidden camera show like Oblivious.
I told him I actually thought it was gross, and I wouldn't be caught dead with that in my house.
He asked what I did need, and directed me to the bedroom sets. I told him I wanted one dresser/change table, but they didn't carry that.

Sometimes I think it would be fun to work sales, just for one day. I could sell some real ugly crap....like that dreaded couch that will haunt me in my dreams.

STRIKE!!!!

It appears that talks between our Nurse's union and the Manitoba Government have stalled. As a matter of fact, they've stalled so badly, it it believed that the union might ask us to strike in the next few weeks.

I was in another profession the last time the nurses had a strike vote here, and I really don't remember much about that time. Now that this will directly affect me and my family, I'm more interested in the events taking place within the next two weeks.

There is already a "work to rule" order in effect, where members are encouraged not to work any extra shifts or overtime. The first people who will suffer from this is unfortunately the patients.
It will all start in the emergency room. From there, all elective surgeries will be cancelled. Aside form that, all hemodialysis patients will suffer. I hope for their sake (and ours) that it doesn't come to this.

When we hear about other essential services (firefighters, police, etc) getting decent raises, it should only include the nurses as well. What the government has offered won't even cover the cost of living.

I say boo to the government.

On a lighter note, I will be going to see my favorite comedian of all time - Emo Phillips tonight with Ali and a few other friends. His distinct style stage presence and dry sense of humor make him truly stand out. I need a beer, and a few laughs.

As you may have noticed in Ali's blog, I too have experienced all of the sympathy pregnancy symptoms. I can still squeeze into my Bomber jerseys, so I think I'll be okay.

Stay tuned.

Bumper stickers

Some bumper stickers make me laugh. Others make me roll my eyes. Some are controversial, others are offensive. I saw one the other day that made me think.

It said Health care before Olympics.

I never really put much thought into that, odd because I am in Health care, but this really does make sense to me. As you may or may not know, Canada is hosting the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler British Columbia.

There were a list of contenders, which was narrowed down to three. Canada "won" the priveledge to host them, then the mad dash began. There is the issue of building at least three new venues from the ground up. They need a new arena to host curling, a main staging area, and other various other buildings to host the athletes and the 25000 volunteers they need. That's right - 25000.
Ten times the amount of athletes they expect in B.C.

This doesn't even include the cost of the Olympics proposal, and the cost of naming the three cute, but expensive official mascots of the 2010 games.

If the Government was thinking, they would have stepped in and stopped the Olympics from coming here. How could they justify the millions of dollars being spent when we have emergency rooms closing, nursing and doctor shortages across Canada, and a tremendous lack of operating room time from coast to coast?

I'm obviously in favor of the whole Health care issue, but I could easily argue for Education, training and development for young Canadians, roads and highways, upgrading sewer and water systems, providing clean water to Northern communities, funding small buisnesses, and so on.
What I'm trying to say is, this money could have gone to people who actually need it.
What does hosting the Olympics really do anyway? It's basically the Olympic big wigs using the different countries as playing cards, just trying to "keep up with the Jones' " by playing host. In all honesty, we're a country that can't afford to host this party.

But it'll look good on T.V.!

That's my soapbox for the day.

How men shop, and "grandparents"

Today I was driving all around the city, scouting out the stores for a cozy glider chair.
This will be a very important piece of equipment for the baby's room, as Alison and I plan on spending many hours in that chair, rocking our Butterbean to sleep.

I checked out four different stores. Not a big deal usually, but I was done checking these stores in about 20 minutes (including driving time).
I walked in, asked which way the chairs were, sat on a few, and got the heck out.

The worst culprit for spending excessive amounts of time in a store has to be my mom. She can spend upwards of three hours in Winners/Wal-Mart/Sears etc.
I guarantee I know where to find her. She first spend a good half hour looking at sheets. Of course, she finds sheets so soft I almost weep (600 thread count) but I can't be bothered with linens.
Next, she moves to the kids clothes. My two cousins are 13 and 11, and my mom is constantly buying them jackets, pj's, jeans and everything else for the school year. This gives me the sneaking suspicion that she is going to want to buy our baby a lot of stuff.
My dad is always on her case to but stuff for herself, but she is just to generous,, and has to buy for everyone else.

My dad on the other hand, just sits back and plays the role of driver. He goes all over the city, not saying a word, but you can read his body language that he is getting bored. This is the point where I usually offer to take him to the Blue Bomber store. His face lights up like a kid in a candy store, and we both tend to come out of there with a bag full of stuff all bearing our beloved "W" on it.

Right now, my parents are vacationing in Dominican Republic. They try to take two trips a year, one in February, and another in October. Of all the places they've gone to, they prefer Cuba the best.
The beaches are beautiful, the people are very friendly, and the music can't be beat.
Ali and I went to Cuba for our honeymoon, and I would love to go back there again.
My parents might decide to change their holiday plans around, as they are both very excited about being grandparents.
My dad is so excited, he actually booked Christmas off for this year. I think this is the first Christmas he will have off in about 7 years.

I can't wait to call them grandma and grandpa. It's a name they've both been waiting for.

Weddings and catchy but bad songs

My best friend Mike was married this weekend. I was the Best man, and therefore did a speech in honour of him.
When you're writing a speech about someone you've known for so long, it is very easy to write plenty of material. After about two pages, my hand was cramped from writing so quickly, and I decided to cut it back a little. I wanted to avoid the inside jokes, and opted for the "from the heart" type of speech. He's like an older brother to me, so I thought it was fitting to try to make him cry....

The wedding was good. A nice ceremony, followed by a good sized reception. It was pretty neat to see both sides of the family mingle so well. Most weddings I have gone to keep the two sides seperated for most of the night, until the drinks get flowing. Luckily, the Groom's family are huggers.

I like to think that I have a good taste in music. Once in a while, there is that odd song that comes on the radio, and I want to punch out my own eardrums because they are so terrible. Since they are on all of the top 40 radio stations, they are played every ten minutes for the next 6 weeks. After a while, I give up trying to turn the station, because I'd likely get blindsided by Nickelback or Good Charlotte (both of whom I hate) so I leave it. I regret to admit that I slowly start to like the songs, and before you know it, I'm actually hoping to hear it. Let's get one thing straight though, it's usually not the entire song that I enjoy, it's a few lines, or the way the beat picks up halfway through a song. That's how I can justify liking that Paris Hilton song that came out a few years back.....it hurts me to type that.
Anyway, this week's choice stinker song the I've grown to like is Miley Cyrus "See you again".

Don't laugh, it won't be me downloading this song. I'll leave that to Ali, so I don't feel completely like a 13 year old girl. I'll just be sure to slip it into my other better music when I make my next CD.

There, now you know one of my best kept secrets. Please don't think less of me.....

Double digits

Today officially makes it 98 days to go until Butterbean is scheduled to grace us with their presence.
For the past few days, I've been able to see little kicks, and other squirmy movements. Poor Ali is the recepient of all of the bladder shots, and she makes me jump when we're lying there, and she suddenly goes "Oohh. That was a good one."

It really pisses me off when you try to keep a car clean, and scratch free. It seems the harder you try, the more determined people are to mess up your car.
First it was somebody denting the rear passenger door with something. Next, it was some a-holes throwing a box spring away into the dumpster. Of course, they hit the side of our car, and put an 8" creased dent down the door - again. At least it's the same door.

I've managed to injure my right heel/ankle again. The pain and swelling is nothing new to me, it just adds to my frustration about the whole back issue. I feel sorry for Ali, she's the one who has to hear me grumbling as I hobble around the house. As the ankle gets better, so does my mood.
I have some serious making up to do tonight.

Have a good day. Keep your fingers crossed that Bruce's repairs won't be too pricey...

He's baaack!!!

Today marks a good day for all Winnipeg Blue Bomber fans.
Milt Stegall , "The touchdown beagle" has decided to come back to the Blue Bombers for one more year. Last season, he was constantly hounded by the media about the chase for the CFL touchdown record, which he broke.
He also said that last season was his final one. In fact, he even said 99.9% chance he was finished.

It looks like I have a good reason to renew my season tickets afterall.....

In other news, I've finished my speech for my best friend's wedding. I e-mailed a copy to Ali, just in case I lost mine. She called me a few hours later, telling me that I had forgotten entire words in some sentences. My only excuse was that I was reading it from a notebook, and was trying to be like those fancy pants people who can type and look away at the same time.
I was thinking of these speeches, and how so many guys try to make the whole thing about personal jokes. The funniest thing about these speeches, is watching the people who don't have a clue about the jokes, but laugh like they know it anyway. They look like idiots.
If I were them, I'd just stare at the guy giving the speech, not batting an eye when he looks at me. Each time he looks at me, my eyes would get just a little wider, and my would move just a little closer. Yeah, give him something to think about.
Here's a toast to you, my fellow reader(s). Have a helluva day.

Sore, tired, headaches, eyes hurt....

Isn't the flu fun?
Every year, I have the debate with people who get/don't get the flu shot. I'm neutral on the shot, and have had it due to work reasons in the past.
I have to put one rumor to rest. The flu shot does not make you get the flu. It is designed to combat the top three "forcasted" flu viruses each year. The problem is, when they make the vaccine, it is only an educated guess as to which strain it's going to beat. As luck may have it, some of you will get the flu anyway. Boo.
I have called in sick for the past 2 days. I never call in sick. As I lay in bed every morning around 7:30a.m. (the time I start my shift) I half expect my manager to call me "just to see how I'm feeling."
Yeah right.

It drives me crazy when so many of my co-workers call in sick because they hurt their back, wrist, ankle, etc. and milk it for a week. Then there are the other parents that I work with. The ones with a spouse at home, who also has a job with sick time, who bail out of a shift three hours in to go tend to their sick kids, while their spouse is at home!!
But yeah, you're right. Call me at home to make sure I'm not faking it......
Even with a bad back, I can count on one hand the number of times I actually have called in sick.

Wow, see how defensive I get? Imagine how mad I'd be if she actually did call me this time.
Plus, Ali's now sick too, so I have to treat her and the Bean.

The worst part of this is that I have to go see my Doctor, get a sick note (which I have to pay for) and ask her to write down that I had the flu. Aren't we all adults here? Don't we know what the ass kicking flu feels like? To be sure, let's get bundled up in the -45 weather, get into a freezing cold car, drive to the clinic to sit there for an hour, just to have the Doc say "you're right. It's the flu."
Sometimes I wish I was a kid again. Being sick was easy.

P.S. I didn't get the flu shot this year.

An early preview of fatherhood

I spent some time with Ali at her Dr.'s appointment this morning. After the usual 2 hour ordeal, we got some lunch.

After I dropped off the family at work, I headed to the public health Nurse's office to ask about prenatal classes.
I then went to my auntie's house to ask her if she'd be interested in watching our little Butterbean after Ali has finished her maternity leave. I got a soft "yes", and made my way back home.

I got to thinking about when our baby arrives. I picture my everyday routine, then apply the baby factor into things. I think it will be an easy transition. Actually, I think the baby will get me more active, as I take them to the park, Blue Bomber practices, the pool, etc.
Since my best friend is miles away, my Butterbean will be my main source of entertainment while Ali is at work. By the time she gets home, I think I'll be in need of some "adult" time, so then the roles will be reversed, at it will be me talking her ear off, telling her about our day, until she snaps and tells me to "please be quiet" or something to that effect.;)

May cannot come soon enough.
Plus, there will be no more -45 Celsius weather to contend with....





And the Bombers will be back in town.

A hodge podge kinda post

While I was driving today, I had a really hard time finding any music appealing.
It was the same crap on every single station. Nickelback, Fergie, Simple Plan, etc....
I finally settled on one of the two University stations that we have in our city. They play a lot of independent artists, and a lot of good music, but they don't announce what the band is called, or what the song is entitled. There is nothing more frustrating than hearing an awesome song on the radio, then not knowing who sings it.

When I drive, I like to play "air drums" on the steering wheel. I used to stop when people looked a t me, but now I just look away and channel Neil Peart anyway. Of course, I don't do this with Ali and Butterbean in the car - for safety reasons. That, and Ali would probably laugh at me.

I find that I only really crave coffee when I'm working. I think it's a comfort thing, allowing myself that break to walk down to the cafeteria, and grab a hot cup of Tim Horton's.
Speaking of coffee, I have this elderly patient at work. He was telling me about a great little coffee house with comfy couches, and entertainment, which is actually only a few blocks from our house. While I was joking around with him and his wife, I said that I'd be looking for them when I finally go there.
Each day, as I see him walking down the hallway, I think that I would really like to hang out with him and his family for a while. I normally don't want to see patients outside of the hospital, but this guy reminds me of my Grandpa.
I guess this, coupled with the fact the I only see all of my patients at their very worst, makes me hope that this guy can make a good recovery.
I noticed how excited I was when I was attending physiotherapy for my back. It was at the rehab hospital, and while I was there, I saw a lot of former patients. The only exception was that they were smiling, laughing, and walking. I can make my patients laugh and talk, but it's something to see them making progress after horrific accidents/injuries.

2008 - the best year yet?

I was talking to Ali yesterday, and I was saying how I really didn't remember many huge events in 2007.
This year will be a little more memorable. Just next month, my best friend Mike gets married, and I get the honour of being his best man. It will be a weekend full of good times.

Of course, after that, Butterbean makes their long anticipated entrance into the world.
I've been noticing how many things we need to change around the apartment to make it baby safe.
Mainly, a lot of things will have to be put up out of reach. I get excited when I hear our parents or friends talk about our baby. It's funny how everyone has used the nickname "Butterbean" along with us, and how easily it rolls off of everyone's tongue.

We had a quiet new year's eve last night. We rented a few movies, and vowed to make it until midnight. At 11:00, I offered to change the channel, so we could watch the ball drop in the East coast. We didn't, and we missed midnight. I can't honestly remember the last time I was awake for the big moment at 12 a.m.
Actually, I did see it turn midnight - in Australia.

Happy new year everyone, let's make it a good one.

My resolutions are to get my back fixed up, and to be an excellent dad. What are yours?