Life is too short

Hello!

So, I've come to a conclusion. Life is short. REALLY SHORT. So short, that 5, 10, 20, 50 years will go by, and we'll go, HOLY SHIT where did the time go? I went shopping with a friend on Monday, and we wandered into the swimsuit section. I've worn tankinis since I was 18, being self-conscious of my belly pudge and thighs. However, being 24, I looked at a picture taken from that time, and I HAD A SIX-PACK! If I had the body I had when I was 18, I wouldn't even think TWICE about wearing a bikini. Ten years from now, I'm going to be asking myself why I thought what I did about my body now, and why I didn't just celebrate it...because it usually goes downhill from here lol. Now, I'm not saying that it WILL go downhill, or that I can't prevent it from going downhill, but that statistically speaking, it does. So, I'm going to wear a bikini this year even though I'm 20lbs heavier than I was when I was 18, simply because time flies...and before I know it, I'll have 4 kids, a busy job and life, and breasts down to my waist lol. CARPE DIEM!

Thanks for reading!

~Christine~

Valentine's Day

Hello!

So, it was Valentine's Day yesterday. It's bittersweet for me. Bitter because I've never had a sweetie when this day comes around...sweet because it's nice to see people acting all cheesy and loving towards each other, and it's just too rare of a thing nowadays. I'm not going to lie, I've been very bitter about Valentine's Day in the past, and even wished people an "Un-Valentine's Day" (lame, I know). But you'll be proud of me when I say that this year I turned over a new leaf. I wasn't bitter at all. I just vegged out, and watched Canada win their first Olympic Gold Medal on home soil (WOO HOO!!!!). Wished my parents, grandparents, & brother a Happy Valentine's Day, and that was it. So I think that's a positive thing. I also went to see the movie "Valentine's Day" in theatres with one of my friends, and it was sooo good!! We really do need more love in this world.

Thanks for reading! :)

~Christine~

Frustration

Hello!

I am very frustrated right now. I downloaded Windows7, expecting it to be this amazing program. I just got this new Samsung laptop at the end of August (after having my Toshiba Satellite for 4 years) and with it came Windows Vista. It took a little while to figure out how to use it, but I got the hang of it and wondered why everyone complained about it so much. Anyways, I watched the demo for Windows 7 when they first announced it and I was pretty excited. So I finally received the program in the mail last week, installed it this weekend...and my CD/DVD drive doesn't work! I pop a CD into the drive...and nothing happens. It worked for awhile (I was able to re-install my anti-virus program), and now nothing happens! It was working perfectly fine before I installed this new operating system. So, I've been trying to re-update the damn thing...but it's not reading the disc!! So I'm really frustrated.

But I have options! I've been looking online for solutions (none of them have worked) and I still have the option of going to Futureshop and having them look at it (I just bought this laptop in August!) or calling Samsung and being like WTF. So all is not lost. I should have just spent the extra money and gotten a Macbook...but I've never used one before, and that's kind of scary. The specs on this Samsung were really good, especially for the price $899.00, so I'm really disappointed right now. Then again, I was reading the forums and alot of people have been experiencing this problem. So I'm not alone!! I hope I can figure this out soon though. I promised one of the girls in the group home that I'd burn her a copy of the New Moon soundtrack, so she'll be super upset and disappointed if I show up without it...not to mention my goal is for her to feel comfortable enough around me that she'll feel like she's able to talk to me. So, wish me luck!!

Thanks for reading!

~Christine~

Results & Music

Hello!

So, the results of my allergy test are in. I am allergic to: nickel, cobalt (these are both metals), fragrance (a blend of fragrances added to products such as detergent etc), and "Balsam of Peru" which according to my allergy fact sheet is "a natural mixture of resins and essential oils" and these are commonly found in citrus peels (AKA lemon peel, lime peel, grapefruit peel :'( ). So it was the lemon and lime essence in the Rocky Mountain "Summer Lemonade" that gave me hives :(. This is very sad for me, as I LOOOVE fragrances and citrus scents are some of my favourites. A friend of mine said that I should also be careful about things that contain citrus peel in them (like food and dressings etc). The biggest reaction was that from nickel, but I already know I was super allergic...I think it's the worst also because I've been more exposed to it. ***Positive thing: if a guy tries to pass off fake jewelery for the real thing, I'll be able to tell in about 10 minutes, then dump his cheap ass haha*** Here's a picture 4 days after the patch was removed (sorry if it grosses you out)...it's actually better than it was at first. I've already switched my laundry detergent and fabric softener to "Tide Free" and "Downy Free" which is fragrance and dye free. I was told to be careful of things that say they are "unscented" and "hypoallergenic" as these products will actually still have fragrance they use to mask an unpleasant scent. Anyways, I was super worried about this fragrance free business with my laundry, as I LOOOVE the smell of fresh laundry. But I figured I really don't have a choice as the rashes aren't fun. So, I washed them, and I was SOOOO SURPRISED!!! My clothes smelled sooo good! They just smelled CLEAN. So, I'm in love with this new detergent and fabric softener...they smell like shit when you smell them directly from the bottle, but when you take the clothes out of the dryer, they smell soo good. So that was positive :).

On a different note, I start one of my volunteering positions tomorrow right after work. My position is essentially as a youth mentor in a group home with 3 teenage girls. Two of the three want to learn how to play piano...the organization has been looking for a piano lessons for these girls for awhile, and it's just too expensive. When she noticed that I'm classically trained, she jumped on the chance...free lessons! lol So, I'll be a mentor/piano teacher for them since they want to learn. It's really exciting, but really scary too. I've never taught piano before...I've taken piano from the ages 6-17, but to be honest I'm pretty rusty. I sat at the piano for a good hour and a half tonight warming up, and re-learning a few songs to play to them, and I can tell you my forearms are going to be sore tomorrow lol. So there's the aspect that I could totally embarrass myself. The second is that these girls are survivors...at 15 years old, they've had a really hard life...they've experienced things I can't even imagine, so I feel like I'm out of my element. But one of the best ways to get to know yourself is to be uncomfortable and just forge ahead. And although my mission with this blog is to be a more positive person and learn about myself, I can't think of a better way to do this than to be an active positive influence in another's life :).

Thanks for reading!

~Christine~

Fire on the Arm

Hello!

So I don't have to worry about the test not being sensitive enough. OMG. I didn't think the itching was that bad last night...more of a passing annoyance. What I didn't realize until this morning is that I took 2 Advils last night after my class because I had a massive headache! So that brought the inflammation down, which would also reduce the itching. So there is definitely something going on. I can feel heat radiating from the bandage...it's so hot, that I took off one of my shirts (I layered) and wore a tank top for the last part of the day. It's so itchy, I was unconsciously rubbing my arm against random surfaces and not even realizing it! I can't scratch it, so I slap it instead...that's what I was told to do when I got my tattoo and couldn't scratch when it was super itchy...I even made my own ice pack to wear this afternoon lol. But the good (positive) thing is that I get to take this off in a little over 8 hours, slather on some super strong cortisone cream, take an antihistamine, and go back to normal. AND I'll finally know at least partly why I get the random rashes. Woo hoo! :)

Thanks for reading!

~Christine~

Arm on Fire

Hello!

Sorry, I've been so busy I almost forgot about writing here. My bad.

So I went to see an allergist today to figure out about my skin allergies. Over the past year, my skin has become really sensitive. I have been breaking out from random rashes over different things that touch my skin. For example, I'll buy a lip balm, use it for 2 days, then get blisters on my lip! (Sooo attractive, I know haha) So I'm driving to the allergist's office this morning, and because it was snowing people drive like they're 90 years old (extremely slowly). So I phone to let them know that I'll be 5-10 minutes late, and the receptionist goes, "that doctor's not in today"...what?! So I was a bit peeved because I took time off for this appointment, just in case something went awry and I ended up getting sick...and I don't like it when my plans get messed up. So I was about to turn around, but the positive aspect?? She got me in with another doctor! Which is good because I haven't heard many good things about the doctor I was going to see anyways. So it all worked out! (even though I had to wait a few hours and didn't get out until well after lunch)

So, my arm's been on fire all day. I have about 30 diskettes taped to my upper left arm, and it's swollen and itchy. Positive thing: I'll finally figure out some of what I'm allergic to! One fear I have though is that I know one of the discs is nickel (and I'm very allergic to nickel), so I hope it's not just that one that's itchy...I just don't want it to show that I'm not allergic to anything else because I know that there are other things. I guess I'm just fearful of the test not being sensitive enough. But to think POSITIVELY, if it's not conclusive they can do a skin-prick test instead of just a transdermal one. So that's good!

I will keep you posted on the results! :)

Thanks for reading!

~Christine~