Share a coke & a bee sting. Quite a day

September 12, 2014.

Yesterday was an interesting day. I woke up in pain as I often do. Took my medications & went back to bed for 1/2 an hour. After making coffee & getting my sweetheart up, I jumped on a bus & went to the University of the Fraser Valley Abbotsford campus, to get 2 free cans of Coke. If you are curious about the share a coke program, you can get more information here: http://www.shareacoke.ca/#comeAndShare
A lot of the dates are already past, but not all of them. 

Because I have a fairly unique name, I can't get the cool personalized pens or Christmas ornaments, that people with more regular names can easily do, at the dollar store. There are places you can special order them, but that can get expensive (I usually wait for the deals!)

Then I went to the women's food bank, & missed a bus & couldn't make it in time to go to the Salvation Army for free veggies. But overall, a pretty good morning. Except that I managed to gash my wrist on the sign at the bus stop at the University.

Then hubby & I did some shopping. One the way home from shopping, we were waiting for the bus home at 7 Oaks mall, when I got stung. I am not sure by what, as it stung me in the back & Robert was a ways away & didn't see it. All he saw was a tiny bump (like a mosquito bite), so I took another Benadryl & we went home. About an hour later, I started noticing that my breathing was becoming laboured & my lips & tongue were swollen. I called the nurse's hotline, they recommended calling 911 & going to the hospital. The nurse told me to get Robert to give me my shot first. I freaked out & couldn't do it!

At the hospital they asked questions, examined my vital signs, observed me for a while & gave me another anti-histamine. Then they let us go home. So, all in all, an interesting day. Mostly good, but. I learned something new, while at the hospital. If I take an anti-histamine & my reaction is getting worse, I can take a different one (say for instance, Zyrtec & Benadryl). I never knew that before, so it is handy information to have.

Canning & a new shirt from Sirens (I miss that store).

Saturday, August 10th, 2014

I had a pretty good day today. Woke up early, worked on the computer for a few hours. Played some games. We went to the Abbotsford flea market this afternoon. We went pretty late, got there around 3pm & my favourite vendor was starting to pack up. I got 2 - 15 pound flats of tomatoes for $10 & 10 bags of tomatoes that were marked down to$1/each.  Approx. 4-6 per bag, so probably another 10-20 pounds of tomatoes. We were almost out of potatoes, so I was going to put back 3 bags of tomatoes, but he let me have the potatoes free! 

Robert took a few photos of me by the pool today, in 1 of the new shirts I bought at Sirens yesterday.

I have a lot of canning to do tonight & tomorrow, but it's a lot of fun. I am looking forward to it!

Publication day!!

My first 2 e-books are now available on Amazon!! 

I have been writing poetry since I was 13, it has taken me a long time to put a whole book together. And I got the idea for my other book, from a Facebook friend who runs a group for TBI (traumatic brain injury) survivors. Several other people on her group have written books of their recovery journey.

Here's the link to my poetry book:  http://www.amazon.com/poet-dreamer-Michaelann-Dahlman-ebook/dp/B00M07LDDY/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1406089979&sr=1-1

And here's my other book:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M080DD4

ENJOY!

Today is a good day, to publish.

Today is a good day, to publish.

I have been working on a couple of manuscript ideas, for a while now. The poetry I've had kicking around for ages, but in a hand written book form, not on the computer. A Facebook friend of mine has been publishing some of his work on Amazon, so I asked him for some information on how to do it. So I started getting it all formatted into a book manuscript format, & saved on my hard drive.

The notes I wrote on have been sitting on my dining room table for a week or 2, I finally got around to starting the process yesterday & it is official. I have submitted 2 books on Amazon, they should be available in a couple of days!!

I will come back in a few days, with more information & links! 

Canning & smurf my photo.

A beautiful summer day!

I was at a local farm market yesterday & got a great deal on tomatoes, a total of 25 pounds for $15! I love the deals on fresh summer produce.

I spent most of the morning canning, got a total of 9 liters of tomatoes, 10 if you count the one that I put straight in the fridge. Here's what 25 pounds, or 9 liters looks like.

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I found another really cool photo editing site, here's a few samples of my work, from Smurf my photo:

If you would like to check it out, here's the web address:  http://www.smurfhappens.com/feature/smurfyourphoto/

Swimming is great exercise.

Swimming is great exercise

It’s that time of year again, the pool is open & I am enjoying the water. I did some research on Spark People & myfitnesspal, to find out how many calories I was burning.

According to both of them, 30 minutes of swimming the breast stroke, burns approximately 400 calories!! (Happy dance!)  

I had Robert time me this morning & I apparently do a lap in our pool (which we measured & is 31 feet long), in 20 seconds. So I did the math, & 45 laps = approx. 200 calories.

My intention last fall in buying the exercise bike, was primarily to help me (us), from getting really out of shape over the winter. It seems to have helped, as my 1st day out (Saturday), I did 50 laps. I think last summer I started the season at 10 or 20 laps. So it does appear to have helped.

This is a photo from September 2012. I will update with a current photo as soon as possible.

My husband & I have been dealing with an annoying cold/flu bug all month, which morphed into sinusitis for him & bronchitis for me Very annoying, since it has made it very difficult for me to exercise, which of course makes losing weight more difficult. 

I've been downloading a ton of free e-books lately & audio programs, many of which are designed to help with weight loss. So while recuperating, I've been reading & researching, since my current methods have not produced much in the way of long term results. 

I've only ridden the exercise bike twice this week, 7 miles on Monday & 5 miles tonight. I am going to try & ride every morning for at least 5 miles.

And with the Victoria Day weekend coming soon, I am really looking forward to our building's pool opening for the season!! 

These gifs are the main reason I miss MSN messenger. You can't add your own custom smileys on Yahoo or Skype. I obtained these cuties & many others on my favourite free graphics site www.uselessgraphics.com , which appears to be gone. I have been trying to go there for over a month.

I just downloaded Microsoft Movie Maker, to do some editing on a video we made recently. I was quite surprised that it doesn't come with Windows 7. I designed a new video that I am hoping will help motivate me this year.