Tricia's Musings

Random Thoughts about life in general, living in the big city of Toronto



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Dreaming of a Carribean vacation

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It’s been a really long time since my husband and I went on a real vacation. If you’ve been reading my site you probably already know that I’ve been home sick with Crohns for the last 10 months. I’m going stir crazy!

So I’m thinking … In the new year, whether I’m back to work or not, and as long as I’m feeling healthy enough to leave the country for a week or so – why not take a real vacation?

If we are able to go away for a week I think we’ll take a Caribbean vacation. I found a site that describe many of the popular Caribbean islands. It discusses things to do on each island, places to see, things to do on each tropical island and even suggests what kinds of foods you could try eating during your stay. There’s even recipes for popular tropical drinks and food items too, so when you get back home, or maybe before you go, you can get into that vacation mood easily again by sampling one of the recipes.

One feature that I really like about this site is the “Warm Islands” Forum. It’s broken up into sections so you can talk to other forum members about the Bahamas, or the ins and outs of cruise vacations. Forum members can also discuss the various attractions of each island, such as golfing, surfing, tours, scuba diving and great restaurants.

The warm islands vacation planning and guides site has articles that discuss the many aspects of vacation cruises. You can learn about how to book a cruise, read about the cruise industry news, get tips on what kinds of clothing you should bring when planning your cruise vacation, learn about shopping on board and on the islands the cruise visits, and read about the various cruise lines and specialty cruises.

The more I read on this site the more determined I’ve become to take a topical vacation in the new year. There’s not much more that I can do to get better, but perhaps with a nice goal like a beautiful vacation on a warm island with my husband floating in my head, my body might start to co-operate and start getting better.

I can dream, can’t I?





My husband paints his nails!

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That’s right, he’s painting his nails again.

You might remember my story about him getting fake nails for the first time? That’s occurred at least three times since April. No my husbands not really odd, well he is, but shhhhhhh don’t let him know I told you that. No he’s been wearing the fake nails – only on his right hand – because he’s a guitar player and he can use the fake nails to pic the strings on the guitar better.

He’s got really thin weak nails and by having the fake nails applied to the finger nails on his right hand he can use his nails rather than a pick most of the time.

The unfortunate truth about fake nails though is that they end up thinning out and weakening your natural nails when you use them.

So Chris has been pestering the cosmetic advisor’s at drug store cosmetic counters, and the ones in the cosmetics departments of many major department stores. I thought they’d look at him strangely, but for the most part they don’t. In fact one told me just yesterday that she’s seen it all, and nothing that people do in stores, or the questions that she’s asked, surprise her anymore.

In fact she told me a remarkable story yesterday of a lady that did a pregnancy test right in the cosmetics department of the drug store! I’d really like to know how someone managed that. I mean don’t you have to pee on a stick for all of the instant pregnancy tests? If you do, that means that this lady was so desperate to know if she was pregnant or not, that she had to have peed right there in the store!

If I ever get tired of working in the Emergency Department, but still crave a taste of the strange, I think I’ll apply to work as a cosmetician at a drug store. Seems that they see the kind of strange stuff there that’s in line with the kind of things I’m used to seeing in the ER.

Back to Chris. I think and hope that he’s given up on the fake nails. I really didn’t like the look, and they felt so creepy when he’d touch me with the nails. *shivers* He’s been spending all that time talking to cosmetic specialists trying to find out what other kinds of products he can put on his nails to strengthen them.

Since yesterday he’s been applying a liquid product called Ecrinal to his nails three times a day. It’s made from the oils found in horse hair. It’s supposed to be the best out there. We’ll see. Three times a day for seven days and hopefully Chris nails will start to become stronger. I, for one, hope it works so I don’t have to see a return of the creepy fake nails.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for my thin nails metro sexual husband?

Comparision shopping for healthcare

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Living in Canada, I don’t really have to worry about health care coverage like many of my American friends do. We have Provincial and National health care programs here cover all legal citizens.

Having said that I came across a website that makes comparing, researching and buying health care insurance a lot easier and cheaper. I thought my American readers might be interested in visiting this site. The company is called Vimo and they make it easy to comparison-shop for insurance, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), medical procedures, doctors and dentists.

The site is set up in a very easy to use manner. You can do all of your searches by typing in your zip code. I’ll leave it up to you to visit the site and see if it really offers money saving opportunities in health care insurance, but I have a feeling you’ll be pleased by what you see.

Construction on my street – again!

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I’ve lived in this house for five years now and do you know how many times they’ve either dug up my lawn, the sidewalk in front of my street, the street in front of my house or the street directly across from my house? Six times!

I started to become suspicious that they were going to dig up my sidewalk again as early as last spring. I’d come out of my house and see orange symbols painted on either my snow covered lawn or newly growing grass. I was worried but nothing happened and the mysterious orange symbols stopped appearing in June or so.

Then in August I noticed pink lines and symbols marked out on the sidewalk in front of my house. Well actually on the sidewalk between my tiny little lawn and my planted boulevard. Oh gawd no! They aren’t going to tear up my lawn or my lovely little planted boulevard again are they?

The pink lines are still there – they probably mark the gas or water line, but so far there’s been no digging.

Unfortunately digging has resumed on the sidewalk on the street that is directly across from my house. They had a big machine there yesterday drilling and breaking up the sidewalk – the sidewalk they just put in last year after a digging session.

It’s so noisy! I hate it!

And why is the city or various companies digging up roads and sidewalks around here so often? Why can’t they coordinate their work? I’m sure it’s costing the Taxpayers of Toronto extra money to have a new sidewalk or roadway put in the SAME place every single year.

Update- you know what they were doing? Tearing out the sidewalks they put in last year and replacing them with new ones! I think I need to talk to my representative about this. Crazy!

My meds are causing side effects

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My medications are causing side effects again … and no they aren’t causing the good kind of side effects either.

I’m back to itching, really severely itching, ALL OVER, a couple of hours after I take one of my heavy duty pain pills. There isn’t much that I can do about it since it’s a normal side effect of the drug, but geeezzzz, I’m already in pain, why do I have to itch too?

If anyone sees someone in a store or on the streets of Toronto, scratching away – It’s probably me.

To make things worse my pain doc prescribed duragesic patches yesterday. I’ve had fentanyl in the past when I’ve had one of my favorite medical tests done- the colonoscopy. They used it as a form of sedation. It does not work as a sedative on me at all – just so the GI docs out there know. I’d rather be put out with diprovan / propafol, and I’d rather not spend the rest of the day recovering from the test and itching like crazy either.

anyway, I’m going to try one of the patches in a little while. It’s a low dose patch at only 12 umg. If I’m lucky it won’t cause the dreaded itching.

Wish me luck!

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