Do you know that the Twinrix shot is not covered by Nova Scotia MSI?
I don't mean the actual prescription...which by the way costs $67 per shot (and I have to have three shots because we are leaving on our trip within six weeks of my first shot...expedited version).
I mean that doctors' offices actually charge $20 just to stick the needle in your arm.
Yup, you read that right. $20 for the doctor to open the box, wipe my arm with an alcohol swab, and stab me. Takes less than 30 seconds.
And I have to do it three times.
$67 x 3 + $20 x 3 = $261
Oh, and I'll have to get the booster in about 10 months.
Ridiculous.
Showing posts with label Nova Scotia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nova Scotia. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Time to Catch Up
Oh lord, how is it already the middle of October? And how is it that I haven't written in this blog for like two weeks?
Where to start?
DBF is away again. Yup, what's new right? He left on the 6th and is gone until sometime around Christmas, or possibly whenever hell freezes over...whichever comes first. Actually, he'll be back for one weekend in November and then back for December 10th apparently. Of course, shortly after that he'll be making his holiday trip to Winnipeg to visit his son (and I'll be heading back to BC) so really between now and Christmas we'll have maybe 4 days together. Oh the joy.
Before he left we did manage to have a couple of weeks together after my Mom went home so that was nice. We got in one weekend roadtrip to Wolfville in the Annapolis Valley, where we found a great pub for lunch on the Port Williams side of the bridge. Too bad it's an hour away because it was super yum. Maybe I'll take myself there as a treat while he's gone!
We also drove up to the Lookout to check out the view of the valley. Soooo beautiful. Windy, but clear and it just felt like Autumn. I picked up some produce from a farm market while we were there...yummy Honeycrisp apples! I wish I had thought to take pictures at the market...they had their huge hay bales all painted up with scary jack-o-lantern faces. Very cool.
Thankfully, keeping active actually feels good so going to the gym, or doing chores, or working in the garden are basically no problem. Odd I know, but it's an odd muscle.
It's been about six weeks in total since it first started bugging me, but it's been about 2 1/2 weeks since it got excrutiating. Hence, the new chiro...seeings as I'd been seeing the first one about the arm pain and it actually got worse, I opted to try someone different. The first woman was great for other stuff...she worked on my jaw and got rid of my headache, but her methods were not working for the rest of my body. The new guy is much more my style...crack, crack, crack!
I'm actually going to meet with a massage therapist tomorrow because my chiro work has really done well, but the muscle is still holding tight and the chiro admits that he thinks it's not going to get any better without proper muscle attention. I just wish I knew what I did, so I can be sure NEVER to do it again!!
On the gym front, since DBF is away I'm there at least 5-6 times a week. Gained me a few pounds while Mom was visiting and DBF and I were hanging out before he left (funny enough, he LOST weight!). So I'm back on track trying to drop those few extras, as well as actively working on my toning and cardio. Three times a week I do HIIT cardio (the fancy elliptical is my new fave) followed by a full body strength training routine I put together based on the two routines I got from the trainer I hired a while back. The other days I go for 60 minutes of cardio....20 minutes each on 3 different machines. I break that up with some squats, crunches, ab twists, etc in between machines. For the most part I enjoy it...definitely better than being home bored!
I think that's probably enough for now. I've discovered that my arm doesn't hurt if I actually sit with my laptop on my lap on the couch so now I can work and blog a lot more easily. (Prior to this I couldn't make it more than an hour at a time at my desk...and evening computer use was out the window.) So I will definitely try to be a better blogger.
Where to start?
DBF is away again. Yup, what's new right? He left on the 6th and is gone until sometime around Christmas, or possibly whenever hell freezes over...whichever comes first. Actually, he'll be back for one weekend in November and then back for December 10th apparently. Of course, shortly after that he'll be making his holiday trip to Winnipeg to visit his son (and I'll be heading back to BC) so really between now and Christmas we'll have maybe 4 days together. Oh the joy.
Before he left we did manage to have a couple of weeks together after my Mom went home so that was nice. We got in one weekend roadtrip to Wolfville in the Annapolis Valley, where we found a great pub for lunch on the Port Williams side of the bridge. Too bad it's an hour away because it was super yum. Maybe I'll take myself there as a treat while he's gone!
We also drove up to the Lookout to check out the view of the valley. Soooo beautiful. Windy, but clear and it just felt like Autumn. I picked up some produce from a farm market while we were there...yummy Honeycrisp apples! I wish I had thought to take pictures at the market...they had their huge hay bales all painted up with scary jack-o-lantern faces. Very cool.
Oh, and I dyed my hair darker for Fall. :)
Since DBF left I've mostly been tending to my screwed up shoulder. No idea what I did, but my new chiropractor (yes, new...I'm on my second one here in Halifax) seems to think the vertebrae have been out for a while and they finally wreaked havoc on the muscle, which in turn is irrating the hell out of the nerve. Not only has my shoulder/neck/upper arm been stiff and majorly sore and hard to move, but it's causing a radiating ache down my arm that makes it difficult to type or drive. Lovely, since those are the two main things I do all day!Thankfully, keeping active actually feels good so going to the gym, or doing chores, or working in the garden are basically no problem. Odd I know, but it's an odd muscle.
It's been about six weeks in total since it first started bugging me, but it's been about 2 1/2 weeks since it got excrutiating. Hence, the new chiro...seeings as I'd been seeing the first one about the arm pain and it actually got worse, I opted to try someone different. The first woman was great for other stuff...she worked on my jaw and got rid of my headache, but her methods were not working for the rest of my body. The new guy is much more my style...crack, crack, crack!
I'm actually going to meet with a massage therapist tomorrow because my chiro work has really done well, but the muscle is still holding tight and the chiro admits that he thinks it's not going to get any better without proper muscle attention. I just wish I knew what I did, so I can be sure NEVER to do it again!!
On the gym front, since DBF is away I'm there at least 5-6 times a week. Gained me a few pounds while Mom was visiting and DBF and I were hanging out before he left (funny enough, he LOST weight!). So I'm back on track trying to drop those few extras, as well as actively working on my toning and cardio. Three times a week I do HIIT cardio (the fancy elliptical is my new fave) followed by a full body strength training routine I put together based on the two routines I got from the trainer I hired a while back. The other days I go for 60 minutes of cardio....20 minutes each on 3 different machines. I break that up with some squats, crunches, ab twists, etc in between machines. For the most part I enjoy it...definitely better than being home bored!
I think that's probably enough for now. I've discovered that my arm doesn't hurt if I actually sit with my laptop on my lap on the couch so now I can work and blog a lot more easily. (Prior to this I couldn't make it more than an hour at a time at my desk...and evening computer use was out the window.) So I will definitely try to be a better blogger.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Camping in Nova Scotia
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Our first camping trip since our move to Nova Scotia. In fact, our first camping trip since two Labor Days ago. Last year we were living at separate ends of the country (while DBF was out here on his course and we didn't even know we would be moving) so no camping at all for us.
At first it seemed as though someone up there didn't want us to go camping. The place we wanted was booked, then the weather was supposed to be bad, then we heard about the campfire ban, and so on....but in the end we got up on Friday morning and decided to just go. I worked my buns of until noon then emailed my West Coast co-workers and wished them a happy TGIF and signed off for the day.
We chose to go to Porters Lake Provincial Park as it is the closest campground to us and they still had lots of available spots so we didn't need to book online for the extra fee. :) A couple of friends had wrinkled their noses when we mentioned the spot, but we figured since we've never been anywhere around here it would be fun for us.
At first it seemed as though someone up there didn't want us to go camping. The place we wanted was booked, then the weather was supposed to be bad, then we heard about the campfire ban, and so on....but in the end we got up on Friday morning and decided to just go. I worked my buns of until noon then emailed my West Coast co-workers and wished them a happy TGIF and signed off for the day.
We chose to go to Porters Lake Provincial Park as it is the closest campground to us and they still had lots of available spots so we didn't need to book online for the extra fee. :) A couple of friends had wrinkled their noses when we mentioned the spot, but we figured since we've never been anywhere around here it would be fun for us.
And it was!! What a beautiful spot! The lake is huge and gorgeous and blue. The campground is large and spacious (a bit dusty but what campground isn't?). Our site was in a great location and it was massive and mostly grassy. And we didn't have a neighbor until late last night and even then they didn't bother us at all. Fairly private in general with just enough exposure to enjoy the goings on along the roads and stuff. They even had a proper bathroom with running water and real toilets...which I know defeats the purpose of roughing it...but it sure is nice to wash my face at the end of the day.
The fire pit was a bit chintzy but it served the purpose, and hey, at least we were allowed to have a fire at all! We kept warm for only $3.50 for wood (back in BC it's like $5 for half as much) and had enough of a blaze to cook our smokies and that's all we needed.
Friday afternoon and evening we just lounged around the site after we set up. The sunset was freaking amazing. Super bright orange, then pink, then glowing magenta. Awesome!
Saturday morning DBF got up early with Mojo and I ended up sleeping in for another couple of hours. hehe :) When I got up I made us a yummy breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs with mushrooms and hashbrowns. We forgot our coffee cups, so drank our tea from our travel wine glasses. LOL. Then we took a run to the front gate for extra ice and fire wood, then a nice long walk around the park. I considered going in for a swim, but we had Mojo with us and he doesn't like water and kept barking at all the other dogs. He's not good at sitting still for beach sitting either (and it's not a very big beach, and it's rocks not sand...). Instead we just took some pictures and enjoyed the walk. The sun was blazing! Then we decided to drive back out to the road and see if we could find a store for something refreshing to drink (we only had booze and Cokes and in this heat we needed something less dehydrating). Once we had waters and Powerade in hand, we came back to the site and just enjoyed the afternoon playing cards and reading our books. Our evening was spent at the fire pit again, with Trivial Pursuit and hot chocolate with Bailey's. :) Oh, and yet another fantastic sunset.
This morning we slept in a little longer then got up to another yummy greasy breakfast before packing up to head home. Yet another beautiful day! The location was just the right distance away to feel like a little trip away from home, but close enough that we were home by noon. DBF cleaned my car (holy dust and dog hair Batman!) because he's nice like that, and I unpacked and tidied up our stuff.
We were both covered in a massive layer (or ten) of dust and camping grime (ewwww....sunscreen)... a shower has never felt so good! Too bad a shower doesn't cure mosquito bites...but such is the price you pay for spending the night in nature.
All in all I totally recommend it. A perfect camping weekend.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Car Ride
And just cuz you haven't seen enough photos of us and our life....hehe...here are the pics from the first road trip last Saturday...(these were on my old camera so I almost forgot!).
Here's Mojo enjoying the car ride:
Here's Mojo happy to be out of the car with Daddy:
Here's Mojo enjoying the car ride:
Here's Mojo happy to be out of the car with Daddy:
Here's me trying to make sure there's a picture of me and my honey:
Here's me figuring out where to hold the camera to get us both in the shot:
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Another Saturday Drive
Saturday morning we decided to go for another drive since we had such a nice time last weekend. We chose to head up to Victoria Park in Truro....actually we were looking at something to do with the Bay of Fundy, then noted that Truro is on the edge or end of the Bay or a part of it or something so that's what led us there. Then some surfing the web led me to find Victoria Park.
We loaded the doggie and the extra baggies and water into the car, stopped at our new favorite restaurant The Armview for a cheap but yummy breakfast (seriously.... $5.70 for my breakfast...2 eggs, bacon, toast, hashbrowns and coffee...score! plus patio seating!) and then hit the highway. It's about an hour's drive to Truro....and the gastank light came on about 1/3 of the way there....and even though I know that my car can go a LONG way once the light comes on I was starting to get nervous....but we didn't want to pull off the highway so we just went for it. Of course, it was fine.
Got to Truro, but didn't have a map, so just drove around until we found the signs for Victoria Park. What a gem!! This huge, beautiful, sunny, green and lush park. Mojo isn't so great for walking with crowds of people so we opted to stick to the lower main trails and didn't get to go off the beaten track....but it was still a lovely walk. I'd like to see it in the fall or spring when the waterfalls are really flowing. Afterwards we got drinks (cherry slushie for me!) and sat on the grass watching the funny band play.
Don't ask why I'm carrying my purse...we had already started down the path when I realized I had it and I didn't feel like going back to put it in the trunk.
On our way out of town we stopped at the viewpoint for one of the Tidal Bores on the Bay of Fundy. If I remember correctly a tidal bore is when the water is flowing out of the canal but being pushed back in by the ocean tide, creating a crazy whirlpool tidal effect. Mostly it just looked like muddy red water due to the massive amount of clay, etc. Still quite pretty though.
Then home we came to relax for a bit, then out to dinner with some friends. Followed that up with another quiet night in with wine and some Trivial Pursuit. I was poopered from all that sun!
We loaded the doggie and the extra baggies and water into the car, stopped at our new favorite restaurant The Armview for a cheap but yummy breakfast (seriously.... $5.70 for my breakfast...2 eggs, bacon, toast, hashbrowns and coffee...score! plus patio seating!) and then hit the highway. It's about an hour's drive to Truro....and the gastank light came on about 1/3 of the way there....and even though I know that my car can go a LONG way once the light comes on I was starting to get nervous....but we didn't want to pull off the highway so we just went for it. Of course, it was fine.
Got to Truro, but didn't have a map, so just drove around until we found the signs for Victoria Park. What a gem!! This huge, beautiful, sunny, green and lush park. Mojo isn't so great for walking with crowds of people so we opted to stick to the lower main trails and didn't get to go off the beaten track....but it was still a lovely walk. I'd like to see it in the fall or spring when the waterfalls are really flowing. Afterwards we got drinks (cherry slushie for me!) and sat on the grass watching the funny band play.
Don't ask why I'm carrying my purse...we had already started down the path when I realized I had it and I didn't feel like going back to put it in the trunk.
On our way out of town we stopped at the viewpoint for one of the Tidal Bores on the Bay of Fundy. If I remember correctly a tidal bore is when the water is flowing out of the canal but being pushed back in by the ocean tide, creating a crazy whirlpool tidal effect. Mostly it just looked like muddy red water due to the massive amount of clay, etc. Still quite pretty though.
Then home we came to relax for a bit, then out to dinner with some friends. Followed that up with another quiet night in with wine and some Trivial Pursuit. I was poopered from all that sun!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
We got our four days!
Woooooohooooooooooo!! We ended up getting our four day weekend afterall. Too late to plan any camping, of course! But we still got it. :)
DBF ended up getting an extra leave day (at the last possible minute), and I sent yet another email to my lovely bosses...and voila, extra long weekend. Maybe they could all hear me whining from afar? haha.
Sure enough we woke up to rain today though...typical. It is supposed to be sunny today and tomorrow, so maybe this will blow off. It's not raining right now, but it's grey and gloomy...boooooooooo. Still warm though, so we're off for a relaxing adventure anyway.
We decided to pack a little lunch and grab the dog and just do a day trip down the shore to check out the potential camping spots. We've never been to the parks, so we might as well see what they are like before we pick a place to spend a weekend anyway. I really just wanted some "us" time so that's what we are doing.
Mojo likes car rides and we can let him run a bit when we get to the parks so it will be fun for all of us. Hopefully the rain holds off, but if not, oh well!!
Hope you all have fun plans for today!
DBF ended up getting an extra leave day (at the last possible minute), and I sent yet another email to my lovely bosses...and voila, extra long weekend. Maybe they could all hear me whining from afar? haha.
Sure enough we woke up to rain today though...typical. It is supposed to be sunny today and tomorrow, so maybe this will blow off. It's not raining right now, but it's grey and gloomy...boooooooooo. Still warm though, so we're off for a relaxing adventure anyway.
We decided to pack a little lunch and grab the dog and just do a day trip down the shore to check out the potential camping spots. We've never been to the parks, so we might as well see what they are like before we pick a place to spend a weekend anyway. I really just wanted some "us" time so that's what we are doing.
Mojo likes car rides and we can let him run a bit when we get to the parks so it will be fun for all of us. Hopefully the rain holds off, but if not, oh well!!
Hope you all have fun plans for today!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
I just need a minute to vent!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
I'm so annoyed and frustrated right now!
Good news: DBF's sailing schedule got changed at the last minute. He was supposed to leave tomorrow for five weeks, but due to some unforseen preparation issues they have been held back for about a month. He'll still have to go away, but not for quite as long and not until the end of July now. (So he'll be away for August instead of July). Technically we still miss out on part of the Summer together, but that can't be avoided so I'm happy just to have him home now.
Bad news: This weekend should be a long weekend, right? Canada Day is on Tuesday, so you would think that most government agencies would be taking Monday off as well, right? mhmmmmm. So I get all excited that "holy shit, Arron and I might actually get like a four day weekend together!!! this never happens!" Yup, but nope. Leave it to the freaking Navy to decide that they have to work on Monday. Booooooo. So no one can make any special plans for the weekend because they just have to come back to work for one day in the middle of it. Stupid.
I'm especially annoyed because my job was totally willing to help me out and give me the two days off (and I'm not even supposed to get Canadian holidays), but that nice gesture goes to waste because I can't even take them up on it.
Sure, he could book an annual vacation day, but then that can bugger up any future time off he wants for trips to see his son, so again I get burned. Well, not me...but us. It's always "our" stuff that gets the shitty end of the stick.
You would think since they just screwed them all out of any Summer plans they had already made (ie: because they were supposed to be home in August but now they won't be) that they might step up and give them a long weekend to spend with their families....but, noooooooooo.
Today I hate the stupid military.
(and to top it all off, we decided we might still go camping anyway, but stupid Nova Scotia provincial parks have a no booze rule until July 1st anyway. Boooo. Who camps without some drinkies? Someone just doesn't want us to have a little getaway....)
I'm so annoyed and frustrated right now!
Good news: DBF's sailing schedule got changed at the last minute. He was supposed to leave tomorrow for five weeks, but due to some unforseen preparation issues they have been held back for about a month. He'll still have to go away, but not for quite as long and not until the end of July now. (So he'll be away for August instead of July). Technically we still miss out on part of the Summer together, but that can't be avoided so I'm happy just to have him home now.
Bad news: This weekend should be a long weekend, right? Canada Day is on Tuesday, so you would think that most government agencies would be taking Monday off as well, right? mhmmmmm. So I get all excited that "holy shit, Arron and I might actually get like a four day weekend together!!! this never happens!" Yup, but nope. Leave it to the freaking Navy to decide that they have to work on Monday. Booooooo. So no one can make any special plans for the weekend because they just have to come back to work for one day in the middle of it. Stupid.
I'm especially annoyed because my job was totally willing to help me out and give me the two days off (and I'm not even supposed to get Canadian holidays), but that nice gesture goes to waste because I can't even take them up on it.
Sure, he could book an annual vacation day, but then that can bugger up any future time off he wants for trips to see his son, so again I get burned. Well, not me...but us. It's always "our" stuff that gets the shitty end of the stick.
You would think since they just screwed them all out of any Summer plans they had already made (ie: because they were supposed to be home in August but now they won't be) that they might step up and give them a long weekend to spend with their families....but, noooooooooo.
Today I hate the stupid military.
(and to top it all off, we decided we might still go camping anyway, but stupid Nova Scotia provincial parks have a no booze rule until July 1st anyway. Boooo. Who camps without some drinkies? Someone just doesn't want us to have a little getaway....)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Crazy Nova Scotia Weather
I thought I should probably clarify as to how the roads were magically clear today when yesterday I was worried about there being too much snow to bring my car home.
Crazy Nova Scotia weather. That's how.
It did snow about 4+ inches yesterday between 10am and about 4pm. Light snow though, so I went out right at 5:00 and shovelled it all out of the driveway... especially since my car was gone all day....I was worried it might freeze and then I wouldn't be able to get my car back into it's spot today.
The forecast had called for ice pellets and rain for the evening. Well, I never saw any ice pellets, but good Christ! Once it started to rain it never stopped. And then it got heavier and heavier. And then the wind started. Amazing, crazy, blustery, hard, fast wind. House rattling style!
I went to bed at midnight and was awake for probably 2 hours because the weather was sooooo loud. That huge window in our bedroom was vibrating and rattling the blinds. It sounded like the roof was going to pull right off. I kept having visions of laying there in bed and just having the whole roof tear right off, leaving me and the cat there in bed getting rained on. This tall house of ours really sways in the wind and last night was the worst yet. I finally fell asleep, but it took a long time.
The benefit to the whole thing was that it washed away more than a weeks worth of snow. The five foot pile of snow in my front yard has been reduced to two feet. The back deck is cleared completely. DBF's car is no longer buried under 8 inches of snow, and actually looks clean from nature's power wash. Even our driveway was pretty much washed clean.
Now, as long as it doesn't freeze, this should be good for at least a few days!
Crazy Nova Scotia weather. That's how.
It did snow about 4+ inches yesterday between 10am and about 4pm. Light snow though, so I went out right at 5:00 and shovelled it all out of the driveway... especially since my car was gone all day....I was worried it might freeze and then I wouldn't be able to get my car back into it's spot today.
The forecast had called for ice pellets and rain for the evening. Well, I never saw any ice pellets, but good Christ! Once it started to rain it never stopped. And then it got heavier and heavier. And then the wind started. Amazing, crazy, blustery, hard, fast wind. House rattling style!
I went to bed at midnight and was awake for probably 2 hours because the weather was sooooo loud. That huge window in our bedroom was vibrating and rattling the blinds. It sounded like the roof was going to pull right off. I kept having visions of laying there in bed and just having the whole roof tear right off, leaving me and the cat there in bed getting rained on. This tall house of ours really sways in the wind and last night was the worst yet. I finally fell asleep, but it took a long time.
The benefit to the whole thing was that it washed away more than a weeks worth of snow. The five foot pile of snow in my front yard has been reduced to two feet. The back deck is cleared completely. DBF's car is no longer buried under 8 inches of snow, and actually looks clean from nature's power wash. Even our driveway was pretty much washed clean.
Now, as long as it doesn't freeze, this should be good for at least a few days!
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