ReBlog

What Next?

2006-04-13T16:32:00.000-07:00

Mount Washington pokes above the nearer and much smaller mountains in the valley as spring approaches. As the ski areas close one after another, skiers flock to Tuckerman's Ravine for the thrill of one more run, the best run. Much like a surfer searching for that wave of a lifetime. It's a 3-mile hike up Mount Washington to the ravine. I have hiked it and watched the skiers - but I'll be damned if I am going to carry skis uphill for 3 miles!

I have been doing my spring cleaning, which is a good thing since my sister told me last night that she is coming up today and staying with me overnight! I have been doing it because I am in between jobs. I am waiting for the hospital to get all the necessary background checks and referrals before starting work in the Emergency Department. I am psyched for that.

The ambulance has been wicked busy. I don't know what has caused this but we have been running every day, two days this week we had four calls. Strange. We've had a couple of deaths this month which always sucks. We also had a guy roll his propane truck down an embankment. He was ejected and landed on a rock. He will never walk again. His seat belt would have prevented that and the scalping that occured. We were all lucky that the tank didn't leak since he ran over a pole and the wires were on his truck, and the guardrail.

Chip has a job offer on his plate that we are considering. It's crazy as Hell! It's in Papua, New Guinea and is an accompanied tour! LOL We are considering going! We'll see what happens.

There. I blogged Julia :-p

No food after midnight

2006-01-17T17:37:00.000-08:00

I normally don't eat after dinner, however, since the O.R. nurse told me I couldn't eat after midnight I just want to scarf everything in sight! Just like ol' Jocelyn here with the Cheerios (if you enlarge the photo you can see she has one stuck to her nose like a bullring)!

My "procedure" is at 10:00 tomorrow morning. I will be so happy to have this done. My Naturopath things I am doing the wrong thing as menstruating is a natural procession of cleansing. Whatever lady. You're Fired! Heh.

I haven't seen her since I stopped the fast. I have been pretty good at eating organically still though, and juice every Monday for breakfast and lunch at the least. Doing Pilates on Monday evenings, and Hip Hop on Thursdays. I may try Ballet next Wednesday. Just for shits and grins since it's free to try one class.

Anyway. I am nervous about tomorrow but only because my kids are nervous about it! Tim made me explain exactly what I was going through and why!? He didn't quite like my "female surgery" explanation. Welcome to the year 2006. Then again, the kid will be 17 in a couple of months! He and I are going to NYC to see Avenue Q for his birthday :-)

We are supposed to get a wintry mix of weather starting at midnight. Some kid at the local store heard me talking about it and asked me for the "in-fo-mation, the lowdown, and the 411 on tracking this storm." I felt so old when I said, "What??" I had no idea what he was saying at first. Plus the fact that he sounded like Homey the Clown tickled me silly. He was doing all these gangsta moves when he was talking.

I'm rambling. I guess I am nervous about tomorrow. Eh. No biggie.

Winter?

2006-01-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

Today I went skiing and it was close to 50*! It was spring skiing for sure. By 10:30 the snow started getting soft. I had the trails to myself for the most part though as the only other skiers out there were from a college and they were practicing their race techniques on the competition trail.

It was my first day out on downhill skis this season so I was a bit nervous at first, but it all came back to me. I literally had to talk myself through it like I was giving someone else a lesson. Not out loud though...that would have been crazy. LOL

I have had a headache for a week now. I had to take two indocets to get rid of it today. I don't know what it is from, unless it is the animals :-/ Could be, since it is winter and they stay in more, and stay in my room more! Two cats on the bed, two dogs on the floor next to the bed. If the horses could come in they would be in my room too! One good reason not to have mini's! I can't think of any other reasons. They are cute as hell and have little poops.

My sister knows a guy whose asses stay in his house. That's whacked! We call him The Assman. Go figure.

Well gotta get ready for my Hip Hop class! Gonna go shake my thang! HA!

Cher - Jocelyn will teach you barrel racing any time!!!

Is it really January 9th?

2006-01-09T15:43:00.000-08:00

I have lost so much time! Driving the parents car from Maine to Orlando was definitely a trip! Jocelyn was at her boyfriend's in CT so I picked her up Sunday afternoon and we were on our way. We stopped in Emporia, VA the first night which is right on the NC border. We had breakfast and started on our way at 0900 the next day. The forecast called for Heavy Rains and possible Tornadoes through SC and GA. We stopped for lunch in SC and was told we were heading right into Tornado warnings. Cool! I decided that we would just drive faster! We got into Orlando around 9:00 that night. There were no tornadoes but the rain was definitely heavy. When we got into Florida all the lights went out! That was bizarre!

We found our hotel in Orlando thanks to "our lady" and checked in and crashed. "our lady" is what we called the GPS system and she was our hero! They also have Satellite Radio so we listened to the comedy stations all the way down which really made the trip quite bearable.

The next day it was 80* and humid! My hair was frizzing! Ack! Jocelyn is not the fun monger that I am; I wanted to go to a theme park, she wanted to shop. Well I am smart enough to know that if we went to an amusement park she would not be amused. We ended up at a mall that had a western wear store of course. She got some jeans for barrel racing and a shirt that says "Rodeo Queen Rehab" which is quite fitting.

We flew out the next morning and life is back to normal.

Well somewhat normal. Yesterday Jocelyn flew out to Missouri for a month long Farrier course. She is doing that, a month of apprenticeship with a master blacksmith here in Maine, and then going to KS for 2 months of Breaking & Training Colts.

Did I mention that she was no longer enrolled in SUNY? I never was very good with the whole tough love thing. Besides, her history being what it is, I don't blame her for being overwhelmed with all the drinking and whoring around that was going on. So she is doing what she needs to do in order to continue being involved with horses in whatever capacity is necessary. She is also giving riding lessons at the indoor arena where our horses are for the winter.

So that is that.

Tim is doing great psychologically, although not physically right now. After going back to school last week he ended up sick. It happens everytime he gets in with a group of kids all day. Must be the asplenia. He likes school and has a bunch of friends so life is much better for him. Even though he would rather be in a big city somewhere. Or it could be the chinese food he and his friend Joel ate :-/

Chip is job hunting, as always. However, his contract is up in March so he is actively pursuing other positions right now. Being it is January he is able to pick and choose at this point, but can't be too fussy as it is a small world in his line of work and you can't burn too many bridges. He has some irons in the fire though. We'll see.

A kid walked in to our office with a nail through his finger - now that was cool! LOL

Happy New Year

2005-12-31T07:05:00.000-08:00

Today started with an early morning wake up "call" for a 63 year old woman suicide attempt. Not a great way to end the year for her; even worse way to spend a birthday. Tube down your nose, wires and tubes connected to your chest fingers and arms, all while convulsing. Hmmm...gotta be a better way to celebrate. She's getting a ride in a helicopter as I write, not that she'll remember, if she survives.

They don't all survive.

It was nearly a year ago that I worked my first code and the gal was younger than me. It was a tough call in that it was also the paramedic's first tracheotomy. Then there was the hypothermic snowboarder (who blessedly survived) which will remain my most memorable call in that I can still hear the dads haunting calls for help as we tried to locate them, his pleas rang eerily through the woods and it was nearly impossible to decipher the driection from which they came.

We recently had another code that affected me more than I thought it would. He was close to my dad's age, which was really sad, too close to home. The bed had to be moved in order to lie him flat on the floor for CPR. This, unfortunately, revealed a porn magazine that had been hidden away. My heart went out to his wife. I knew that in her state of shock she did not notice it, and hoped that someone else would pick it up before she went back into the bedroom. It's sad to see a life end when you know there was no time for good-byes.

I also went to a shooting up the road here. One woman lost her eye, a young girl lost her life. I will probably be called in to testify when it goes to court...not looking forward to that. These were troubled people with troubled lives.

The best call was when we had the service dog on the ambulance with us. :-) I have seen the patient since that day and was introduced to the dog's dad. LOL

Those are just the calls that stand out this year. There have been many calls, from respiratory distress to overdoses, car accidents to snowmobile accidents, with a few horse mishaps thrown in for good measure. We go to nursing homes at 0300 for fevers, and convenience stores at the same time for Cardiac Arrest (usually a trucker). Regardless of the nature of the call, you go never knowing what to expect, but you expect the worse and pray it is not.

Sometimes I have nightmares but not from the worst calls. One time I had nightmare after bringing a girl in for stomach pains. I dreamed she was the devil. Must have been because she was contorting her face and it reminded me of Linda Blair in the Exorcist. I am just glad that she didn't projectile vomit green shit; or nothing jumped out of her stomach at us!

Becoming an EMT was the best thing I ever did. Wished I had done it sooner!

Merry Christmas!!!

2005-12-25T06:39:00.000-08:00

From MJ and Booty Claus!

Happy Holidays!

2005-12-24T06:10:00.000-08:00

Duke and Colton love Christmas (okay, they love winter)!

Slowing

2005-12-23T16:30:00.000-08:00

Get it? As opposed to Fasting? Not that I am slowing, I freakin' pigged out today. I was good but I did have a little piece of fudge. And just now I had a Toll House Cookie! Too bad. I ate it for my Nana.

Nana used to bring the Toll House cookies to every family gathering. She would bring them wrapped in tin foil and tell us to hide them until later. One year we forgot to bring them out until everyone was gone. The next time she brought an extra roll of cookies and told us to hide those as they were just for us, the rest was for everyone else! Nothing slipped by her!

Her cookies were the best.

She was the best Nana in the world.

So in honor of you Mary Elizabeth Mooney Cormier, I ate a Toll House Cookie :-) I have a feeling you knew that since this is the best batch I ever made, they are a lot like yours!

They tell me the secret is to use real butter. Here is another secret Nana. When we came to your house I used to make extra passes through the kitchen just so I could taste the butter you had on your table. It was soooo much better than the margarine we ate!

I miss you every day of the year but even more so at Christmas.

Love,

Mary Jo Elizabeth Cormier Britton

He lives!

2005-12-22T06:32:00.000-08:00

No not Jesus, but it is a miracle of sorts.

I have found my little brother.

My little brother is 40 and not so little.

Last summer he and his girlfriend bought a condo together in order to live happily ever after. My parents put their house on the market and moved up here shortly after, in July.

We hadn't heard from Tom in months. No phone calls, and ours were going unanswered. All his birthday cards were returned. The neighbor down in Mass saw him once, he shoveled the driveway at mom and dad's and then walked down the road with a backpack.

It was at this point that I figured he was no longer living with his girlfriend and was basically homeless. Funny, I pictured him looking like a Vietnam Vet with long straggly hair. It could never happen; his hair is curlier than mine...

Well today I called and he actually answered the phone. He is back at the condo. He was out and about for a while. Not working, no money, no job and depressed. I am bummed that he did not feel that he could call on us. I would have done anything possible to help him.

I'm just glad he is okay. For now.

He is coming up for the weekend to spend Christmas with us!

Feeling Obligated

2005-12-21T19:08:00.000-08:00

I was driving home from a Reiki session when it dawned on me that I needed to Blog! I am trying to get Debbie to add me to her blog links but she is afraid that I will slack off again ;-/

She is probably right.

Today is Day 12 or something. I had some cauliflower and it hit the spot. I am going to add something with a little more substance tomorrow. I am ready to eat!

I am not hungry though which is awesome. I don't feel full or bloated, with is even better.

Work was better, but it always is on Wednesdays when there is just three of us in the office. Myself, an RN I call Auntie Em, and Dr. Smith; or Little Jen as my mom calls her! I think mom is a bit leery of Little Jen because she is about the same age as her oldest grandchild. They are used to having a Dr. who is the same age as them. One day mom saw Dr. Royer instead of Little Jen and she thinks he is da bomb. Course he is a.) a He, and b.) Grey-haired. He is a hoot and a half. We have the same quirky personality and have fun laughing at things that no one else really gets. Oh well.

Little Jen is a doll and we are blessed to have her in our little burg. Unfortunately (for us) she is also pregnant so things are going to become a bit strained when she goes on maternity leave. Her husband is also an Osteopath, and just as cute as her.

So those are our docs. I'll go into the other personalities at another time. I'm in too good of a mood right now to go there.

Day 10 - Holy Sweet Potato!!!

2005-12-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

I did it! I ate a sweet potato and I loved every mouthful!! In talking with my sister, who has also juice fasted, we decided that I really should start adding some foods prior to Saturday so that my system does not freak out when I sit down to Christmas Dinner.

So I decided that a sweet potato would probably be the best choice; for flavor and substance. I felt like I had been on a desert island and it washed up on shore.

Tomorrow I'll probably add a piece of fruit.

We are leaving the ND out of this. She told me I would be fine to continue to fast completely and then eat on Saturday. I find that hard to believe, unless of course she didn't realize how much I can eat at a turkey dinner!!

Work was work - as usual. I really don't like it there. I like the job. I love the proximity to my house and you can't beat the hours. However, there is so much animosity between people that it is draining. It makes me sad, and I don't like to be sad.

MJ

Day 9

2005-12-18T05:13:00.000-08:00

Food! Gimme Food!

Just kidding.

I was a bit uncomfortable with this whole fasting thing on Friday when yet again we had a snowstorm that was bad enough to keep me from my appointment with the N.D.. It was probably just as well since I think I would have given up on it at that time.

Instead I went yesterday and ended up with more supplements (my only solid nutrition at this point!) and told to juice more green veggies, and add plain yogurt to the fast.

She said I wouldn't have any problem going off this Friday and then eating some Christmas dinner on Saturday? I find that hard to believe.

I didn't realize how neurotic/OCD I can get about things. I brought one of the docs a birthday cake the other day and accidently got frosting on my finger when I put it on the table. I automatically licked my finger! ACK! I was like OMG! OMG! and then I laughed (after washing my hands). What the hell is wrong with me. I was reminded of the time Chip put sugar in my coffee when I was on Atkins. You would have thought he was trying to murder me!

So...Friday is the goal. Guess I better go juice some greens for Sunday Dinner.

MJ

Day 6

2005-12-15T15:04:00.000-08:00

Here I am Day 6 and I am still Juice Fasting and still not hungry. I thought I was going to make a list of all the food items I want to eat but it seems every time I see something then that is the food I want. However, I am still banking on the Jaws wrap from Morning Dew!

I have noticed that I am colder than usual, but then again it is in the single digits here so I am not sure if it is the fast or not. I have lost 10 pounds. Unlike Atkins, I have done so without losing energy.

Last night we had a rescue call at 0030 hours for a woman who was being "poisoned by her neighbor." We were met at the house by a cop just in case the neighbor was still around. Uhuh. Fortunately I know the woman and know the story. It's her story and she is sticking to it. Another time she sought medical care for parasites crawling under her skin...she could see them. That must have been when her eyesight was more superior than ours. At this time her hearing is more acute she says. She can hear the noise of the machine that is poisoning her running next door. It comes on with a whoosh at 1900 and goes back off with a whoosh at 0700. Not completely off though...she can hear the humming all day long. The saddest part is: she has this beautiful Irish Wolfhound that she is taking out to her car at night for four hours or more at a time. They sit in there and run the motor and heat until she feels the house is less toxic.

Elfing SAD. Only in Stephenkingville.

MJ

Day 4

2005-12-13T19:07:00.000-08:00

I didn't wake up as energized as usual but that is to be expected on this day of the month anyway. Frig.

I juiced Cranapple today and drank my breakfast and then went off to work. Today is the first day we went live on our computer system and it was a big to do. We had two other doctors and two computer techs in the office to help us with any problems that arose. One of our nurses brought 2 pizzas, one tech brought Dunkin' Donuts coffee, bagels and donuts. A drug rep brough us a jar of chocolates. They all ordered out for lunch which included Lobster Rolls and Stuffed Mushrooms! Ack! I love both of those! Wait, the food fest continued when they all pigged out on desert pizza!

However, I didn't give a rip. I drank my juice like it was the best thing on earth, which at that time it was. Actually, watching them all eat sort of made me ill. Especially the hot pizza at 8:00 am! It was sausage and onion for God's sake!

Tonight was more broth for me. I made this while perusing a new Organic recipe book that I ordered. It'll be fun to look through and pick out recipes to make when I can make food again.

I am making a list of food that I miss. :-/

MJ

Day 3 of Demastication

2005-12-12T06:26:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up at 0430 feeling totally charged. I was ready to get up and get my day going but I wasn't sure what to do with myself so early. So instead I did a little bit of Reiki on myself and the cat and then got up. I need to go get my Level II certification in the coming month...

This morning's juice is Kiwi/Orange with one apple. It's green. Hmmm. I haven't "eaten" it yet because I have to wait for the psyllium seeds that I took to grab stuff on the way through my intestines and don't want it grabbing my breakfast!

I woke up thinking about things I have to do soon. I really didn't realize that the end of the year was so close! I am driving my parents car to Florida for them and it just dawned on me that I had better let my work know that I will be gone for three days! Doh!

How do I get myself into these things????

2005-12-12T03:35:00.000-08:00

Foggy morning at the Fryeburg Fair

2005-12-11T13:16:00.001-08:00

House in the fall

2005-12-11T13:16:00.000-08:00

NH apple orchard

Getting Healthy

2005-12-11T09:35:00.001-08:00

Getting healthy is hard. Period.

I started juicing yesterday and have a headache, am a bit irritable and a (more than a) bit hungry.

Everywhere I look there is food: the TV, newspaper, magazines...even my friends email posts are about food and recipes!

I invited a female soldier who just returned from Iraq to dinner on Tuesday. I had to explain that I was going to bring my daughter with me just so she would not have to eat alone. Nice.

I am craving a Jaws Wrap from the Morning Dew in Bridgton, Maine. The wrap is Tuna and made with Canola, carrots, sprouts and green grapes! It's shocking when you get your first bite of grape. Maybe not so much after that first wrap...

On to the juicing itself:

Two weeks ago I ate all organic foods. OMG! It is not right to introduce someone to all these great tasting foods only to take them away!!

Last week was all organic fruits and veggies. Hmmm...I was really liking that bread...and the chocolate. Organic freakin' chocolate. I love these people!

As of yesterday - the official start date - I am juicing all my own fruits and veggies. All organic. I made a veggie juice yesterday with carrots/grape tomatoes/green pepper and it was pretty darn good. Last night was apple/orange/grapefuit juice; and this morning was apple/cranberry. All tasty. Perhaps not filling, but definitely tasty.

The juice is totally amazing when fresh.

I am taking Psyllium Seed, Alfalfa and LBC-LAX along with my synthroid (not parting with that anytime soon). I am also taking my prenatal still. I need the iron and the N.D. said it was okay.

She also said it was okay to put native honey in my decaf organic tea. Thank goodness! Almost makes up for the lack of caffeine...not!

So that's where I am right now. Sipping tea and waiting for my broth to be done. Oh yum.

They say day three is easier. Maybe I should go to bed now?

MJ