Fifty hasn't been fun....I've returned to 49 for a while.

Okay, I hate excuses as much as the next person, but here I go again. Excuses. Yes. Truth. Yes. What more can I say?

Just getting over a nasty run of bronchial asthma - whatever. All I know is that I made it this far in life without asthma....and here I am unable to breathe, coughing so much I'm sleeping alone - even the dog won't hang around me for the night...and two days off with my 2 puffers and narcotic strength cough medicine which I ran out of yesterday. Boy, do I ever miss that stuff! Wonder if I go back to the clinic and say I need more, if he'll really see through my now subsided cough and realize that I just want more - i'm no better than a junkie. Sad. Never had junkie thoughts in my 40's. And, so after running to Shopper's to get some decongestant b/c I am so congested that even I can't hear myself talk and have given myself a headache just by trying to clear my sinuses...bought some extra strenth sinus stuff.

Anyways so sorry for the morbid details - if you've signed off by now I totally understand.

Good news - got my nails done tonight. Have a job interview on Tuesday. Going to look at houses in Richmond Hill and Aurora. That's three! Whew. Good things do happen in three. Better sign out while I'm in a positive frame of mind.....

Until tomorrow,

Wanda
age: 49 years, 589 days.

I'm baaaack

it's been a while since I've written, and there's no greater motivation that a man saying "well, that phase was over fast". Guess what? It's not over; never was; and... I'm baaack!

It's been one long week - in a nutshell, visited Sunnybrook emerg yet again, but news was better than expected; followed by a couple nights on the hardest couch in TO - my mothers - then back to work to catch up on being away - then shopping in NY - then the long weekend - the hot spell - a couple hours with Bell internet to get back online - and now, my sore throat.

Man, 50 isn't turning out the way I fantisized. Too much like real life. So, here's to sitting in front of a fan, body temp back to normal to coolish....and here I am writing!

I'm going to make 3 stops on the way home from work tomorrow. Promise. To myself.

1. get my throat looked at (,...may go to the clinic at lunch)
2. stop at the yoga studio to sign up for some beginner classes
3. I forget what the 3rd one was going to be.....grrr.

oh yeah, i'm getting my nails done at 5, so #2 may not work out....but I think the nails was #3, so i'm feeling pretty good about remembering. Sort of.

Did I mention how much i'm loving 50?

There's always tomorrow..,..,

Wanda

Reality

We don't watch that much tv - never really did - except....and there are always exceptions....for REALITY shows. Come on and admit it - everyone who has cable or a dish must watch some kind of reality series. Well I'm coming out of the sitcom closet tonight and fessing up to my addiction. It all started back a few years ago, with what I'd consider the first reality show - Trading Spaces! That got us hooked on other such shows like, Take this House and Sell It, or the ever popular Devine Design - sense a decorating your house theme here?

Pause - okay I just asked Rick for the name of Candice Olsen's design show b/c I couldn't remember what it was called (see Sunday May 16 blog ref altzheimers) and he wanted to know why I wanted to know, so I said I was doing a blog on reality shows, and he said 'that's not a reality show' and I said 'yes it is' and flipped to Wikipedia and googled the definition of reality shows which states,

"Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humourous situations, documents actual events and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors. "

Anywho (new word, not a typo - thx Kail), from decorating shows we progressed to food shows - my all time fave has got to be Hell's Kitchen (Gordon Ramsey is my uncle's next door neighbour in London, England - really - but don't mention his name to my uncle b/c he has no use for the man). Also on our list of food show addictions have been YanCan, Emeril - Bamm!, competitions around cake decorating, restaurant makeovers, 30 minute meals, etc. etc.

Also in the top ten are The Bachelor (only some seasons), ditto for Big Brother, Amazing Race, The Apprentice, and of course Dancing with the Stars - which I became addicted to in 1995, when I started working in the city, and spending one night a week sleeping on my mom's couch which happened to be DWTS night, and hence my mom made me an addict.

But, to commemorate the final episode of American Idol (in progress as I type) - this is hands down the one show that I prefer not to miss.

And, after this week we will shut off the television and begin living our own reality series - picked up from where we left off a few months ago - get up, go to work, come home, play with dog, make dinner, walk dog, sleep, do it all again....reality.

Until tomorrow....

Wanda

Out of body experiences....

...aren't that uncommon, are they? Because I had one yesterday....I was telling my sister about this conversation I had with a friend at work. Her name is Liz. (My friend's name is Liz, not my sister's name. ) And I was recounting this story along the lines of "so I said to Liz...." and then "Liz said to me..." and then "I said to Liz...." and then "Liz said to that other girl..." but here's the kicker - the whole time it was just Liz and I having a conversation, but when I was telling my sister about it, I switched and refered to myself as "that other girl". My sister thought it was hysterically funny. Me, not so much.

Kinda makes me wonder....like last month went I went on vacation and my daughter gave me a paperback to read called "Still Alice" about "a woman who turns 50 and begins a descent into a battle with mental illness and ultimately altzheimers. Every time I forget something, or can't remember the silliest little thing - like what I had for breakfast, or what day of the week it is, or where I parked my car, or if I took the train to work or drove - I begin to wonder......could I be losing my mind?

But then I think, "Naw....it's probably that other girl".

until tomorrow...

Wanda

Two new goals! Maybe three? Four?

We're planning a bus trip to Buffalo to shop. You know, one of those all-girls weekends across the border to eat, drink, shop and hang out with 48 of our closest friends. Planning to hold it the last weekend in September....let me know if you want info on how much, when and where exactly we'll be shopping.

Next we're planning to go to Manhattan for a weekend - hopefully fly - but this time I definitely want to do a tour of the city b/c I've never really been off 5th Ave and Central Park. I'd like to see ground zero, the statue of liberty, empire state building, etc. Not so interested in seeing the plays b/c I've been there, done that, and think the TO productions are just as good and a lot cheaper. Would love to stay at the Helmsley Central Park Hotel (Leona Helmsley's old digs)again.

Then, A and I are still planning to go to Italy - Florence or Rome, and Capri - so exciting! I've wanted to go forever....and it looks as though it will happen this year!

Also, return visit planned to Nica...probably after Christmas, but before K's b-day. Hey, a mom needs to see her kids more than just a few times a year, right?

And tonight just got invited to the Yukon in June. Now, that's a cool trip - but checked flights and they're a little pricey....so we'll see how do-able that will be to add into the mix.

All in all, it's shaping up to be a year full of more travel goals - I hope they come true.

Until tomorrow...

Wanda

p.s. To follow up on yesterday's blog post, definitely feel healthier today.
p.s.s. Note to self - "Buy more organic red wine."

Skinny Bitch recommends Organic Red Wine

My girls recommended that I read "Skinny Bitch" (not for timid readers) I skipped right to the section on wines and antioxidants.

Just got back from the liquor store, bought a bottle of organic red, and ready to try it with nia-nia. Tune in tomorrow to see if we're any healthier....

ta-ta!

Wanda

Time to get the chain-saw out...

At home today feeling blah - napping and doing a little light reading by going through some magazines on the coffee table, and here's my 'pick me up' (not!) for today - it's my horrorscope for today....way too deep for a sick day. It makes my head hurt.

Now I'm thinking to myself,

"you don't have a headache....you've got hang ups."

Grrrr.

Horoscope - Aquarius
" Can you produce the piece of paper on which your limitations are laid out? Is there some binding agreement that keeps you from happiness? Are there no loopholes or ambiguous phrases that could be given a more liberal interpretation? No chains tie us tighter than the ones we create in our own minds. No enemy, opponent or perverse person now prevents you from finding freedom and fulfilment. But if that's what you want, you've got to let yourself off the hook you've been hung up on for too long."