The Las Cacas Henna Experience

Ok, so we are getting ready for our Cuba vacation next week, and I decided to dye my hair with henna.  I used Lush Caca Marron Henna hair dye.  It comes in a block that looks a little like a big chocolate bar and smells like a combination of coffee, chocolate and perfume.  One bar costs around 25 dollars and is enough for two treatments with short hair like mine.

First, you chop up the henna with a big knife. 

Next, put the bits into a double boiler,  or use a metal bowl over simmering water, as I did.  Add enough boiling water to cover the henna.  Stir it until all the pieces are melted and the mixture is about the consistency of brownie batter.  Use more water, if needed.  While you are mixing it up, it really looks like poo, but I guess they don't call it "caca" for nothing!

At this point I took the bowl up to the bathroom, where I already had latex gloves and a shower cap waiting.  The henna works better if it is hot when you apply it, but you have to be careful not to burn yourself.  I let it cool a little while I applied a thick layer of Ultrabalm (a free sample given to me when I bought the henna!) around my hairline to prevent my skin from getting stained by the henna.   You could also use petroleum jelly.

With my head hung over the side of the tub, I applied the henna mixture from the back of my head to the front, and scalp to ends.  It was a little messy, but all the mess went into the tub.

All the splatters washed easily down the drain, and didn't stain the tub.

I wrapped my head in a plastic shower cap for the rest of the day, about six hours in all.  The instructions say that wrapping your head in plastic will bring out the red hues more, while leaving it open to the air will develop the brown hues more.

With my fashion-forward shower cap on, I stuck close to home and just did some cooking for the next week and read.  After dinner, I showered and rinsed out all the henna, then conditioned.

The colour continues to develop for two days after the application.

So, how did it turn out?  My review is mixed.  Check out the before and after for yourself.

Before

After 3 days

Yup, the colour looks almost exactly the same. :-/

Actually, I do notice a more reddish tint, especially when the light hits it.  My greys are now red highlights.  I bet it will look a lot redder in the Cuban sun!

Where I have seen a big difference, though, is in the texture of my hair.  It is so soft and shiny and well conditioned.  Lush's henna is mixed with cocoa butter for conditioning and lemon juice for shine.  I love it!  This is my second time using this product and I plan to continue using it.  I even think I will let it grow longer, now that I know how to get it in such great shape.

Lush has four different shades of Las Cacas, Caca Marron, which I used here, is a chestnut brown with red highlights.  They also have Caca Rouge, an out and out red; Caca Brun, a coffee-cloured brown; and Caca Noir, black.  The Brun and Noir shades have more indigo mixed in to give a darker colour.  I'd like to take my hair to a darker, more dramatic brown.   I think next time I will try the Brun and see how that goes. 

Well, that's it for this week.  Next week I will share pictures of our Cuba vacation. 

 Adiós! 

My Crohn's Story - Part 2

*TMI warning!  The following blog post may contain poop.  (Don't say you weren't warned.)

After my initial Crohn's diagnosis, my doctor put me on Salofalk and iron pills. Salofalk is an anti-inflammatory drug (in the 5-ASA class) that targets the terminal ileum.  It can reduce inflammation and prevent flare ups.  It also has an anti-oxidant effect, and may even reduce the possibility of bowel cancers.

I stayed on the iron until my hemoglobin levels came back up.  I also made an effort to eat more iron dense foods like red meat, liverwurst, spinach, almonds and pumpkin seeds.  In the meanwhile, I was waiting to be booked for an MRI enterography.  MRI is better than CT for monitoring Crohn's disease, because there is no radiation exposure involved.  I will probably need to have imaging once a year or so to track my progress, so reducing radiation exposure is definitely a plus.

I spent the summer of 2012 seeing a holistic nutritionist in the hope that I could get my intestinal inflammation under control through diet.  I knew that if the MRI results didn't show an improvement in my intestine over the CT scan, I was headed for needing drugs that were a lot stronger and a lot scarier than Salofalk.  It was during this time with the nutritionist that I began to realize that I did have symptoms of Crohn's. I started to track my food, sleep, bowel movements, mood, energy, etc.  It quickly became clear that I was having a lot of loose and urgent bowel movements.  This was nothing new for me, but I guess I was just used to it, and, let's face it, poop is not something we usually discuss and compare with our friends, so how are we supposed to know what's normal and what's not?

Over the summer, I learned how to reduce inflammatory foods from my diet, including gluten, dairy and processed foods.  I took probiotics, fish oil, kefir, chia seeds, flax oil, spirulina and raw honey.  I bought all my veggies, fruit and eggs from a local farm.  I got my diarrhea under control.  I also lost 15 pounds.  Yay, me!

Then, in late summer, I had my first MRI scan.  The results were not good.  The inflammation was just as bad as on the CT scan, and in addition, this scan showed I had a couple of strictures.  Strictures are narrowed areas of the intestine which can become obstructed.  Finally it clicked into place for me.  I do have Crohn's.   I have probably had it for decades.

Ever since I was in university, I have had occasional abdominal pains which I called "my attacks".  It starts off with a crampy feeling, the pains gradually get stronger and closer together, and after several hours, I will vomit green, nasty-tasting bile.  The pain is all-encompassing; it doesn't leave me any resources to do anything beyond hunkering down and waiting for it to pass.  The attack typically lasts about 12 hours. Eventually the pains ease off, but I am left with a belly that feels like it's been kicked by a donkey for the next day or two.

The first time I experienced this, I went to the emerg, convinced I was dying.  They couldn't find a cause for my pain.  My doctor at the time diagnosed me as having "reverse peristalsis", in which a wave of peristalisis would go the wrong way, up my intestine instead of down.  When it met a normal peristaltic wave, it caused an extra strong, crampy contraction.  I was given a motility drug, Prepulsid, which worked great for me for many years.  Unfortunately Prepulsid got taken off the market in 2000 for causing heart attacks or something.  Bummer.

By that time, though "my attacks" had become much further apart.  Maybe once a year, maybe not even that often.  So when I did get one, I just suffered through it with Tylenol 3 and rest.

Now I see that these attacks are actually partial bowel obtructions.  They often occur after I have eaten something with a lot of fiber, like nuts or raw vegetables.

My doctor wanted me to quit the Salofalk and start taking an immunosuppressant.   This was the thing I had been wanting to avoid with all the dietary changes I had been making.  Immunosupressants, as the name suggests, reduce the functioning of your immune system.  Taking them would mean I would be more susceptible to every passing germ, and I work in a hospital, often exposed to the worst, most antibiotic resistant germs!  There would also be a small chance of developing cancer on these drugs.  On the other hand, untreated Crohn's could lead to many complications, including complete obstruction, fistulas, accesses and the need for surgery, perhaps even the removal of part of my intestine.  He gave me a month to think it over.

I have to admit, I became quite depressed around this time.  I felt sad, I felt angry, I felt helpless.  It seemed like I was trapped between two almost equally bad choices.  I felt like I was grieving for my image of myself as a healthy person. On the worst day, I had to deal with a particularly nasty patient at work, and after she left, I just started crying and couldn't stop.  I had to go home.

In the end, I decided to take the immunosuppresants.  I am now taking Imuran, and I have been for about 6 months.  I feel good so far, and haven't been sick yet this winter.  I am booked for another MRI in April, and I'm hoping to see some improvement by then.  My other symptoms are improved, although I have had 2 partial obstructions since starting the Imuran.

Emotionally, I am feeling much, much better.  I don't accept that I am helpless to fight this disease.  I am using my Crohn's as the excuse I needed to make my health a priority.  I am eating better, though there is room for improvement.  I am prioritizing sleep.  I am planning on starting to walk outside after dinner.  Ironically, I am probably "healthier" now, than I ever have been before.

I am focusing on an "attitude of gratitude".  There is so much to celebrate in my life.  Especially all my wonderful, supportive friends, family and coworkers.  (Yeah, you!)

If you have stayed with me long enough to read all this,  I'd like to invite you to stay with me just a bit longer, and help me in raising money for Crohn’s and Colitis research.  On Sunday, June 8th I will be joining IBD supporters across Canada in the annual Gutsy Walk.  You can make your donation here.  I will be leaving the link up in the sidebar from now until after the walk.  Thank you.

In Other News...

This has not been a great week.  You know how when you start out a new project and you are filled with excitement and motivation, but then as time goes on your enthusiasm starts to flag?  Well, that's me this week.  

Upon reflection,  I can see how it started.  I didn't do meal planning and grocery shopping on Saturday, thinking I could do it Sunday.  We stayed up until 3am Saturday night, and slept until afternoon.  By that time, I was feeling cranky and decided I could shop on Monday after work.  Well, that didn't happen either.   We wound up eating a lot of take-out crap all week.  When we eat take-out, I am out of my cleaning and laundry routines, because they rely on the framework of cooking and doing dishes, so the house is back to looking pretty trashed.  

So what I have learned is, the whole week's success really depends on having a plan and having the right food on hand.

Now, usually when I reach this point, I say "oh well, I guess it's just not going to happen" and give up on my new project, but not this time.  This time I am adopting FlyLady's motto, "progress,  not perfection".  I need to relax my all or nothing standards, and just pick up where I am and keep going.  So this weekend, I have done my planning and shopping and I am ready to go for next week!

On the positive side this week, I spent Wednesday evening crocheting up this adorable baby bonnet.

It's a gift for one of the doctors I work with who is going on maternity leave next week.  I found the pattern on Pinterest, here.

On Thursday night, I had a partial intestinal blockage, probably due to the underdone vegetables in the teriyaki bowl I had at lunch.  Despite taking 2 T3s, I couldn't sleep until the worst of the pains ended, about 10 am on Friday.  I missed a day of work to sleep and recover.  Now I have been on liquids and soft foods for 3 days and I am just starting to feel like myself again.

This time next week we will be on a plane travelling to Veradero, Cuba!  We are spending a week at an all-inclusive resort.  I can't wait!  I will have a whole blog post on our trip after we get back, as there is no wifi at our hotel.

Television Worth Watching

7 hours this week.  

How I Met Your Mother, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,  Modern Family, Supernatural and two movies.

A couple of times this week I felt the siren call of couch and remote, but I resisted until the weekend.  As long as I stay away from the tv, even if I have a totally non-productive week like this one, I still call it a victory.

My Crohn's Story - part 1

*TMI warning!  The following blog post may contain poop.  (Don't say you weren't warned.)

The name of the blog is Maiden, Mother, Crohn's, and no, that's not a spelling mistake.  Last year I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease.  Having Crohn's is not the focus of my life, nor is it going to be the focus of my posts here.  However, for the sake of anyone who may have found their way here thinking this was a blog about Crohn's/Inflammatory Bowel Disease, I think it's time to share my story.

First of all, I know that Crohn's can be a terribly debilitating disease.  My case has, so far, been on the mild end of the scale.  I feel somewhat unworthy to claim to be a part of the brave group of people who deal with things like unrelenting diarrhea,  severe abdominal pain, intestinal strictures/blockages, fistulas, multiple surgeries, fatigue, weight loss and many other painful and embarrassing symptoms. I know that what I have experienced pales in comparison with what most Crohn's patients go through.  Nevertheless,  my story is my story, and if sharing it can contribute to raising Crohn's awareness, then here goes...

About 2 years ago, on routine blood work, my family doctor noticed my hemoglobin levels had dropped.  Not to below normal, but low enough that she thought further investigation was in order.

I was referred to a gastroenterologist at Sunnybrook.  I underwent colonoscopy and gastroscopy, searching for a GI bleed to explain my low hemoglobin level.  I have to admit to being more than a little freaked out about this test.

The bowel prep starts the day before the procedure.  You have to drink litres and litres of a foul tasting mixture which turns everything in your GI tract into liquid. You keep drinking it until what is coming out looks about as clear as what went in.  I found the taste of the bowel prep solution so nauseating, that by the 3rd or 4th glass I could barely choke it down.  Even the memory is nauseating!

On the day of the test, I got a ride to the hospital from my Dad (thanks, Dad!).  You can't drive yourself for 24 hours after the procedure if you take the sedative, and I definitely wanted the sedative.  I had an IV put in, and I got the sedative, and the rest of the procedure is a bit of a blur.  It didn't put me out entirely, because I remember being asked to turn on my side and on my back.  I also remember thinking how cool it was to be able to see the inside of my colon up there on the screen.  The procedure was uncomfortable, but not painful.  It took about a day to recover from the effects of the sedative.

Everything looked normal in my stomach and large intestine, so then we needed to look at the small intestine, with a CT enterography.  More nasty bowel cleanse.  (As an aside, I've been through this quite a few times now and, IMHO, it is the prep that is the worst part of any of the tests and/or procedures I've had so far.  I read that it helps to chill the liquid and drink it through a straw, so you don't have to taste it as much.  Not!)  The CT was quick and painless.  The results came back, saying I had about a foot of thickened intestine in the ileum "consistent with Crohn's disease".

Crohn's disease?  No.  That didn't make any sense.  Aren't people with Crohn's thin as a rail, with constant diarrhea and pain?  Not me.  There must have been some other explanation for the thickened intestine.

But, no, I talked with my doctor and found out that it was entirely possible for me, a 43 year old, 180 pound woman, to develop this disease.  Apparently, it is more common now to diagnose Crohn's in the early stages, and by treating fairly aggressively, it is possible to avoid or delay a lot of the nastier complications.  Well, I was certainly in favour of that!  But the treatments can carry some pretty frightening complications of their own, including cancer(!), and I didn't even have any really bad symptoms of Crohn's yet.  I felt trapped; there just didn't seem to be any good choice I could make.

Next week

I will be posting about my symptoms, the drug treatments I have been prescribed and how I finally came to an acceptance of my diagnosis.

In Other News

This has been the craziest week for weather!  We started off the week with super cold temperatures down to -40 to -50 with the wind chill.   The thermometer in my car was showing -27 on Tuesday morning.  Many parents kept their kids home from school and the buses were cancelled.  I made Sarah go, of course, and she wound up being one of only two students who showed up in her class.  What can I say?   I grew up in Winnipeg.

The cold weather was caused by an "Arctic Vortex", which brought cold air down from the north pole, looked around, consulted its GPS, made a u-turn and went home again.  By the weekend, the thermometer was back up well above freezing.  The warm air meeting the cold snow created a thick fog.

I was on call this week, which means I stayed late at work a few evenings.  No calls, though, so it was a good week.  The extra money for carrying the pager is a nice perk.

On Sunday night we filtered and bottled Bruce's latest batch of wine.

It has been fermenting and then aging on the kitchen counter for about 6 weeks now.  It still needs a few more weeks to age in the bottles before it will be really good, but that didn't stop us from sharing the first bottle that night!

We took our "old man" cat, Schrodinger, to the vet on Wednesday.   He is 15 years old and has lost a lot of weight over the last few years.   More recently, he has been having diarrhea and vomiting, no matter what brand of food we tried.  Almost $400 later, we found out he is hyperthyroid.  The good news is it can be treated by giving him an iodine free cat food.  Hopefully he will be feeling a lot better soon.

Also on Wednesday,  Bruce started his next course at York.  This semester he is taking e-marketing.  He says it should be relatively easy.  It's a little different though, instead of a final exam each student has to develop a marketing plan and pitch it to a real company.

Thursday night I went out to a Stampin' Up card class.  It's a lot of fun to get out with a bunch of the girls and do something crafty.  And the end product is so pretty!

Saturday we got an invitation to dinner at our friends Liana and Rob's house.  Liana and I are Paleo buddies.  We always inspire each other to great things in the kitchen.  She made a fantastic dinner of bacon-wrapped water chestnuts, chicken wings with two different sauces and french fries, all from scratch.  After dinner we played board games late into the night.  Good friends, good food, good conversation, what could be better on a Saturday night?

What's Cookin', Good Lookin'?

I used the rib bones from the Korean short ribs I made last week, plus some grass-fed beef soup bones I had in the freezer, and started a new batch of bone broth.  It's so easy to do and so nutritious.  Just cover the bones with cold water in the slow cooker, add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and some peppercorns and let it simmer away for 24 hours or so.  For chicken or turkey bones, I do 12 hours.

Once the broth is done, strain out the bones and peppercorns and put it in the fridge.  

The next day, all the fat will be solidified on the top and can be easily removed.  The broth itself will have turned into jelly.



 Don't worry!  This is a good thing, it shows that the vinegar has pulled the gelatin and minerals out of the bones.  When you reheat the broth it will liquify again.

Then I take the jiggly meat jello and put it into ice cube trays and freeze it to use later in sauces, soups, or just to drink straight when I am not feeling well.  The gelatin is so good for soothing an inflamed digestive system!  When my digestion is off, I stop eating solids, and this "liquid gold" becomes my go to drink.  Even when I don't feel sick, bone broth adds a depth of flavour to anything I add it to.  It's great for deglazing pans.  Just grab a cube or two and throw them into the pan after taking out the meat.  Voila, a yummy sauce.  Easy!

Next, I tried the "Magic Chicken Wings" recipe from "Food for Humans".   First I made the Magic Mushroom Powder, which combines dried mushrooms, kosher salt and a few other spices into a seasoning powder with one heck of an umami punch.  The powder can be used on any kind of meat.  For the Magic Wings, I dusted the wings in Magic Mushroom Powder, then put them in a large freezer bag for 24 hours.  The next night, it was a simple matter of baking them in the oven.

The wings were crazy good!  Even without any sauce.  I am definitely bringing these to the next potluck I go to.  I served them with blue cheese dressing for dipping, and Bruce enjoyed them with Frank's Hot Sauce.

Saturday morning (ok, afternoon), I tried a recipe for "Pumpkin Pancakes" from "Practical Paleo" by Diane Sanfilippo.  The pancakes are flourless, of course.  They are based on eggs and canned pumpkin puree.

Although they looked nice and fluffy in the picture in the cookbook, mine came out flat, wet and rubbery.  Not very pleasant! 

Maybe my baking soda is old, or maybe I could add some coconut flour next time.  If there is a next time.  I have a good recipe for almond flour pancakes in the "Wheat Belly Cookbook" that I  really like.  I will probably make those next time.

Television Worth Watching

Total TV time this week was just under 4 hours.

I watched the new episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Big Bang Theory, Community, Modern Family and Sherlock.

It's been almost a month since I curtailed my TV habit, and I am still not really missing it.  I'm also not enjoying the time I do spend in front of the TV as much as I used to.   Although the Sherlock episode was very good, the sitcoms aren't capturing my attention.  I guess the next big thing in television I am looking forward to is the return of Game of Thrones in April.

Have a great week!

Shiny!

It was back to work this week, but only for 2 days and now it is the weekend again.   It was weird coming back from holiday on a Thursday that felt like a Monday, and then having the next day be Friday.

It got really cold, down to -27 degrees Thursday morning.  Makes it that much harder to convince myself that going to work is a good idea.  On the other hand, the new wake up light alarm clock we got for Christmas works great!  By the time the light is at full strength and the birds start chirping, both Bruce and I are awake.  It sure is better than being jarred awake from a sound sleep by loud buzzing and the resulting surge of adrenaline.

I am back on my FlyLady routines. The first thing you do when you start "Flying" is to keep the kitchen sink clean and shiny.  I know, it sounds crazy, but I have been doing this off and on for 12 years and it really does make me happy to see that nice shiny sink when I walk in the kitchen.

The real magic of the shiny sink, however, is in how it spreads to the rest of the kitchen, and eventually through the whole house.  You don't want to mess up your pretty sink, so the dirty dishes go into the diswasher.  The mess on the counter is more noticeble by comparison, so you tidy up and wipe down.  You get the idea.  Before you know it, the whole kitchen is shining.

In the evenings this week, I have been working on a cross-stitch Christmas stocking for Sarah that I started in 2007.  It is the last one of a set of four.  I usually pick it up in November, hoping to finish it in time for Christmas...  There's actually not much left to do to finish it.  Here's a sneak peek; more pics to come when it is finally finished.

I am enjoying listening to audio podcasts while I work.  It is amazing how much is out there!  Right now I am listening mainly to trivia quiz shows and science podcasts.  I'm also a big fan of "The Vinyl Cafe".  How is it that everyone in my family already knew about this and I didn't?

What's Cookin', Good Lookin'?

Early in the week I made "Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs" from Michelle Tam and Henry Fong's new cookbook, "nom nom paleo: Food for Humans".  This is a fabulous cookbook and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

The ribs turned out great.  I tried fish sauce for the first time!  I served them with rice and sauteed spinach.

Saturday morning I made sweet potato

hash from the same cookbook.  With a couple of fried eggs on top and some of the leftover rib meat on the side, it was a very filling brunch.

Dinner on Saturday was a simple taco salad, with seasoned ground beef, tomatoes, avocado, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro.  It looked so pretty, I had to take a picture.

I ate the leftover taco meat scrambled up with a couple of eggs for breakfast.  There is enough to last for the next three days' breakfasts.

Tonight is roast beef with mashed root veggies, broccoli and sauteed mushrooms.  Smells good!

Television Worth Watching

This is where I keep a weekly tally of the time I spend in front of the tv.  Keeping track helps me be more discerning, and sharing here keeps me honest.

This week I watched 7 hours.

We watched 3 movies.  "Insidious", "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" and "One Day".  We also watched the new episode of "Big Bang Theory" and 2 episodes of the new season of "Community".  I feel pretty good about all these choices,  but I think I can live without the "Community".  It's just not as funny as it used to be.

Strangely, I am not missing tv as much as I thought I would.  I think that now that my eyes have been opened to how much time I was wasting, it has really affected how I feel about it.  At no time this week did I crave it.

Well, that's it for this week.  See you next Sunday!

Hello 2014. Declaration of Intent.

New Year's resoloutions?  Yeah, sure, I have a list as long as my arm of things I would like to improve.  But let's be honest.  Everyone knows that the grand, sweeping, unrealisitic, poorly thought-out resolutions traditionally made at this time of year are usually long forgotten by February.  This year I have come up with just one simple thing that I am doing, and I hope that it will improve my life in all areas.  Maybe even in ways that I can't predict.  It's not actually even a New Year's resolution, per se, since I came up with it in November, and vowed to follow through with it at Yule.

Over the last I-don't-even-know-how-many years, I have fallen into a bad habit.  This one thing, that I do every single day, takes up a large percentage of my non-working hours, cuts into my sleep time and prevents me from doing other, more productive activities.  

"Hello.  My name is Marne, and I am a television junkie."

I watch too much tv.  When I sat down last November and calculated how much time I am actually wasting watching tv, I was honestly shocked.  30 to 40 hours a week!  No wonder I always feel like I don't have time to do things!   I was reminded of the bridge of Flanders and Swann's "The Sloth" song.  The song is from an album my parents used to have when I was a kid, and I remember listening to it often one summer at the cottage.  I'll write the relevant lyrics here, but the entire song is well worth a listen.  If you have the time.

I could,

climb the very highest Himalayas,

be among the greatest ever tennis players,

win at chess, or marry a princess,

or study hard and be an eminent professor.

I could,

be a millionaire, play the clarinet,

travel everywhere,

learn to cook, catch a crook,

win a war and write a book about it.

I could paint a Mona Lisa.

I could be another Caesar;

compose an oratorio that was sublime.

The door's not shut

on my genius,  but,

I just don't have the time.

Imagine what I could do with those 30 to 40 hours a week!  The thought resonated with me so much that I cut way back on my tv watching that very day.  I have a lot of ideas of things I want to do, now that I have found so much time, but none of these things are my resolution.  My resolution is to watch much less tv and find out how that one change affects everything else.

Oh, don't imagine I'm giving up television entirely!  That's just crazy talk!  What I am doing is being very selective about what I watch, and when.  No tv on weeknights.  On weekends I will only be watching the shows I really love, the ones that actually add to my life.  No more will turning on the boob tube be the default any time I don't have anything else I have to be doing.  I am already seeing the benefits of this decision. I am cooking more, I am working on a piece of cross-stitching I've been trying to finish for 7 years and, oh look, I started a blog.

Sloth no more!  I am ready to grab my life and do something with it!

*January 1st clip art courtesy of Pam's Clip Art

*sloth clip art courtesy of Clker.com

Goodbye 2013. A look back.

Welcome to January.  A month named for the Roman God Janus, ruler of beginnings and transitions.  He is usually depicted as having two faces, giving him the ability to look to the future and the past at the same time.  In the same spirit, I am writing a two part post, one looking back at 2013, the other forward to 2014.  Looking back and remembering is not something I frequently attempt, but with the help of Facebook and last year's calendar, I will grease up my brain and give it a try.

January

• We rang out the old year with our good friends Rob and Liana at a buffet dinner and dance at Markham Hilton Suites.
• Bruce started taking classes every Saturday for 6 weeks to prep for writing the PMP exam.
• I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, based on a CT exam I had in December. I started taking 5ASA to reduce inflammation.
• Allyson, Eric and Hannah came from Ottawa for a visit.  We met them at Jason and Sherry's house and had a really great evening.
• I finished my first crocheted teddy bear.
• We celebrated my Mom's birthday at Boston Pizza.  (We gave her the bear.)
• We celebrated our nephew Danny's birthday at Scott and Christiane's place, with the Gasson clan in attendance.

February

• We went to Varadero, Cuba for a week!  My parents, Auntie Ruth, Sarah and I spent a week at Breezes Bella Costa, an all inclusive resort.  Sadly, Bruce could not come with us.  He was still working on those PMP classes, and he would have had to miss 2 out of the 6 classes. 
• I saw live pelicans!
• We went snorkeling and Sarah got sick from swallowing too much salt water.
• I missed spending Valentine's Day with Bruce.  I was in Cuba and he was at home.  I did leave him a surprise gift hidden in the filing cabinet, though.  I texted him the location on the 14th.  We texted a lot during that trip!
• Back at home, later in the month, it was a busy time in Girl Guides for Sarah and me.  We had Thinking Day, International Night and the "Sing, Ontario, Sing" challenge all in the same week.

March

• Sarah and I went to see the Wizard of Oz stage adaptation with the folks from my work.  We also brought her friend Bea.  The girls each got a stuffed Toto to take home.
• During March Break, we had our Guides meeting at the swimming pool!
• We went to an Ostara ritual at our new friends Karen and Evan's house.
• I had a baseline MRI to determine how badly inflammed my ileum actually was, and to be able to compare with in the future.
• We spent Easter Sunday with Bruce's family, after a special clue-trail egg hunt at home.
• The BIG news for March was Bruce's new job as a Business Analyst for TD!!  His first day was March 18th, almost a year after starting at TD in the loss prevention call centre.  I was (and am) so proud of him!

April

• Our Guide unit went to Great Wolf Lodge for the weekend.
• They also had a sleepover at the ROM.
• My in-laws, Al and Sandy, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on April 20th.  They rented a hall and all their family and friends turned out to wish them well and witness them renewing their vows!
• More Guide doings: spring cookie sales at Sears and tree planting in the Rouge Valley.  Busy, busy Guides!

May

• In May, I did a 30 day Paleo challenge.
• We did the annual MS Walk with my Mom and Dad.
• We celebrated our nephew Alex's birthday at Scott and Christiane's. 
• I started seeing a Holistic Nutritionist,  hoping to be able to heal my gut without needing to go on immunosuppresant therapy.
• Our Guide unit participated in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.  Sarah found the bench from a picnic table!  We also picked up a big bag of cigarette butts.  Yuck!
• We started a short-lived attempt at taking karate.
• I went to an end of the year Guider dinner and met some great ladies.
• Bruce bought a chainsaw and played lumberjack, chopping down a dead apple tree beside our driveway.  I stood by with the phone, dialling 9-1.
• Sarah's school had a fun fair and barbecue.
• We took my Dad (and Mom) out to Swiss Chalet to celebrate his birthday.
• On the last day of the month, Bruce took his PMP exam.  And passed!  The first time! 

June

• Our CSA farm shares started this month and came every week until just past Thanksgiving.  It was a challenge to use up all the veggies, and I didn't always succeed, but we definitely will do this again next year.
• Sunnybrook sent me to Vancouver for the annual Society of Nuclear Medicine conference.  I extended my stay and Bruce and Sarah flew out for a whirlwind vacation.  We saw Capilano Suspension Bridge, Stanley Park and Grouse Mountain.  Sarah really liked the lumberjacks!
• At the end of June, we went to a family barbecue for Bruce's Mom's side of the family.  Sarah yelled a very bad word (or two) at her cousin in front of all the great Aunts and Uncles!
• On the same day, Liana and Rob were hosting a Canada Day party at their new house.  We got there a bit late but in time for the backyard fireworks display!

July

• My Guider friend Karen introduced me to Stampin' Up, a great new hobby for me to spend lots of money on.  Thanks, Karen.
• Sarah and I went to a "mom and me" Girl Guide camp at Wyoka for three days.
• Sarah stayed on at Wyoka for another week, then flew (unaccompanied) to Winnipeg to spend the rest of the month at the lake with her grandparents.
• I attempted to ferment my own sauerkraut.   After a few weeks it got mouldy, and I was too afraid to try eating any.  So I threw it out.   
• Lorraine and I made blackcurrant jelly from the blackcurrants in her backyard.  It was much more successful than the saurkraut!
• We celebrated Lammas with Karen and Evan.

August

• We went camping for a week at Bon Echo Provincial Park.  We went with Lorraine and her boys Ryan and Jake.  Ally, Eric and Hannah were also able to come, but only for a few days.  We bought a huge 3 room tent, thinking Connor was coming, but he had to work.
• The appliances went on strike.  The dishwasher, fridge and air conditioning all broke within a week of one another.  We had to get a new fridge.
• Sarah went to sleep-away horse camp for a week.
• Bruce started a wine kit for December.
• My boss, Yasmin had everyone from work, plus spouses and kids over to her house for a pool party.
• Karen and I went on a singalong cruise around Toronto Harbour with a bunch of other Guiders.

September

• Sarah started grade 6.  She got red highlights framing her face for the first day back.
• I started taking Imuran, an immunosuppressant, despite my efforts at healing through diet alone.
• A small but ongoing leak from the upstairs bathroom caused the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom to collapse.  Not covered by our insurance.
• Celebrated Mabon with Karen and Evan.
• Sarah's Guide Unit did the Shoreline Cleanup again.

October

• I entered some of my crochet projects in the Markham Fair.  I won 2nd place in the baby blanket class, as well as 4th place for my fingerless gloves and chemo cap.
• We celebrated two Thanksgivings, once with the Gassons and once with the Jamiesons.  I cooked a turkey from the farm where we get our CSA shares.
• My Aunt Barbara and Uncle Gordon came for a visit from Calgary.  We went for dinner at Boston Pizza.  It wss great to have a visit!
• Sarah had her 11th birthday party at Forsythe Farms.
• Karen and Bea took Sarah to Canada' s Wonderland as a birthday treat.

November

• Bruce and I went to "Reversed Polarity", a three day convention celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.
• I hosted a Stampin' Up party of my own.  I am officially hooked. 
• Bruce's Mom, Scott, Christiane and the boys came up to Markham to watch our version of the Santa Claus Parade.

December

• We threw a birthday party for me!
• The Sunnybrook Snowball was at the Palais Royale.
• Sarah's school did a winter concert.  Her class performed "Twas the night avant Noel", in a mixture of french and english.
• We went to Rob and Liana's Christmas party.
• We took Al and Sandy out for dinner to celebrate her birthday.
• We celebrated Yule at Karen and Evan's and participated in a Norse ritual involving mead,  wine, toasting, boasting, and making oaths for the year to come.
• Icemaggedon 2013.

Wow.  I really thought we didn't do too much last year!  Amazing what memories can be prompted just from old entries in a calendar.  There is probably a lot more that we did that never made it into the calendar, too.  This took me all day to write, and now I realize that, despite the dips in the road here and there, 2013 was a great year!

Goodbye, 2013!  I am so looking forward to what the next year holds in store!