194

That is what my blood pressure was at when I went to give blood today - 194!!!! (For those who may not know - 120 is normal - 160 is high - 190 is pushing explosion or something).

To clarify - I don't mind giving blood at all. Needle - no problem. Blood - who cares? In fact, when I was done giving blood I could have jumped off the bed and left (but they make you stay for a cookie and coke, etc). I have given blood like 10 times - never fainted - never had a problem - always feel good during and after - but my BP is often high.

What I don't like is just the "getting there" part - all the sitting and waiting and then all the questions - poke your finger - go here - go over there - go behind this divider thing and sit at this table while a nurse asks you some very personal questions that will either be just embarrassing or borderline lewed and crude (either way - my Blood pressure is going up). :)

If I could just walk in, lay down, give blood and leave - I would be a superstar.

Anyway - as I said - rushing to get there - 90589034589 things to do - go through the process - 194! She asked if this has happened before - I said "yes - one other time I came to give blood" - told her about family history of BP problems - etc. She was really good. Said I could not donate in that state (the pressure would shoot the needle right across the room) so she said that she would ask the rest of the questions and then check it again - this time it was under 160 (so I could donate and I avoided being sent out to have a cookie till I calmed down - that would have been really embarrassing)

Anyway - I told her that I thought it was "spikey high"- normally I think I am in the "below normal range". I had to wear a heart monitor for 24 hours a few years ago (I was having chest pains) and the reading all came back great - low pressure almost all the time - a few spikes.

She then told me that I should get a BP monitor for home and take it a few times per day - if it is still high go to the doctor. Oddly enough, Sari stole one from her parents one time (thanks Dave and Marilyn) and so I checked it at home - 123 over 60 - back in the "good range". So I am going to keep an eye on it and try to cut out some of the stressful things in my life - cut down on coffee - exercise more - etc.

Maybe I need a vacation - or a "paid stress leave" (as Lenny suggested). A hot holiday is good for lowering BP don't you think? The heat thins your blood I hear. If the church paid for it and I did not have to worry about that part I would be really relaxed. Alternately, I ran into a buddy at the hockey game tonight - a guy from the race track named Trevor - he and a bunch of guys are going the NASCAR Stock Car race in Vegas this weekend - Vegas would do something to my BP! :)

Any of the above options would be fine. I will send out the petition later in the week (if it does not stress me out too much). :)

Partying with Mumpy

Sari and Katie having been away since Wednesday (they are at Ladies retreat in Kenosse) so Megan and I have been partying.

Thursday night we went to the movie - "Hotel for Dogs". Megan was really excited about seeing it (she is a dog fan) and it was not all that bad - cute movie. Friday we went shopping, running around and visiting and then that night we went swimming. It was really nice - not too many people there. It was really cold outside and there was not much we could do outside, so it was nice to sit in the hot tub, goof around on the diving board, water slide etc. After that we went to 7-11 for Megan's first ever (though I did not know that at the time) "Big Gulp". Then home to make popcorn and just hang out.

This morning (Saturday) we made brunch and then went tobogganing for 3 hours. It was fun. We ran into our friends the Davenports over there, so I challenged their boys to go off the jumps with me, raced them down the hill, challenged them to surf their sleds, etc. I am sore tonight, but it was worth it. :) Then we came home and took Murphy for an hour long walk in the badlands behind our house. That was fun b/c the snow is so deep that he kept falling in the deep snow - 4 feet deep in some places - he had to jump to see and then he would run and fall - good times. We climbed hills - jumped off - slid down other ones - it was a good time.

So some of it cost money, but most of it was just the fun of hanging out together. We miss mom and Katie, but it is nice to have some time with just the two of us - though Megan may be happy to have mom's cooking back. ;)

Chick or Dude

So I am shopping downtown yesterday, come out of a store, look up and ask myself, "This person who is coming in - is that a chick or a dude?"

In my opinion, that is a bad question to ever have to ask, so I have a solution.

When I get elected Prime Minister, I am going to bring in a law that says that all women must wear "Elizabethan-type gowns" and high heels everywhere they go (they will get bonus points for long hair too).

Now, I have stated this for years and have had some questions thrown my way, so let me clear up the confusion before it starts.....

1. What about winter? Answer: What about it? Winter does not override the law. You still have to follow the speed limit - winter or summer - right?

2. What constitutes "Elizabethan type gowns"? Think "Prom dress" or some long bridesmaid's dresses (only nice enough that you would want to wear it again). Better yet, think "colourful Wedding dress" - that should get you started down the right path.

3. What about the guys? If women have to dress in gowns, do men have to dress formally too? My answer: Why not? With my job I am in semi-formal attire most of the time anyway and with my thinning hair a top hat may be a good deal - so I say "sure".

Think of how pretty everyone would look! Now I will grant to you that gowns and High heels may be difficult in snow like we had here last week (25 cm) but as the old saying goes, "Beauty is painful"! :)

One day you will never have to ask, "Chick or dude" again - thanks to me! :)

The Story of Gordon Lawrence

So it has snowed a ridiculous amount here in the past 24 hours.....

When I went to the office this morning, I barely made it. Instead of parking my truck, I basically abandoned it.... Just turned off the main road and plowed it into the snowbank at the side of the road because there was no where else to go. It was awful!

Then it really started snowing!! 20 - 30 cm in one day. No graders out - only big oil field trucks on the road. It was bad.

When I went to go home, I figured that if I could just get out on the main road I would make it. It had not been graded, but it was packed down enough for my truck to get through. The problem was getting to it. I got stuck 3 feet from the snowbank where I started... so I shoveled..... stuck.... shovel..... stuck.... shovel (you get the idea).

As I look up, I see an oil field truck coming. Rig pigs (I mean "gentlemen that work for oil field companies) are not always the kindest and most encouraging people in these circumstances. I have been given several lectures by them in the past when I have been stuck - and I was bracing for another one.

This guy spins his truck around and jumps out - as happy as could be. I tell him that if he would just pull me back to the side of the road that I would just leave the truck there and walk home. When he asks where I live and I tell him "all the way across town" he says, "Well, I think if you get off this street you will be fine. Tell you what - I will get you out then I will follow you home to make sure you get there".

Sure enough - that is what he did. I got home without too much trouble - did not get stuck again, but he was right behind me - just in case. I jumped out of my truck and asked him if I could give him something for helping me - he said "no". So I stuck out my hand, introduced myself and thanked him. He said, "My name is Gordon Lawrence - and you are welcome" - then he drove off.

So - if you ever meet a Mr. Gordon Lawrence.... be nice to him - just in case. He deserves it! :)

PS. On another note: I then spent 2 hours with my snow blower - I cleaned out the alley behind the garage - the parking spot so Lenny can use it this weekend - came around front and cleaned the walk for us and the neighbours - pushed the neighbour's car off the street - got the snow blower because he was stuck in the street again - pushed him again...... in short - I am glad for my free, good working snow blower.

However, I do have one complaint..... I have used it like 6 or 7 times and I have had to fix something on it 2 or 3 times. Today, a bolt came out of one of the wheel clutches and I had to repair it before I could keep going..... so here is the question..... "Is a free snow blower that you have to fix 30% of the time better than an expensive one that just runs and runs????"

I say "Yes it is" - what about you?

Working, Pools, Hockey and a Road Trip

Most of Friday and Saturday was spent working on the garage - fixing last little things that did not get done earlier - returning ladders and stuff to Skip - taking leftover wood to the dump - etc - etc. Nice to get some of that stuff done. Then Sari and I started organizing it, bringing stuff out of my work room in the basement (Apparently I have been buying stuff for a garage for years - I am going to need to build on to this one to get everything in). It looks really good and is starting to get organized and usable (as opposed to everything just being crammed in there) - I will post pictures later in the week.

Changed oil in the snow blower while it was nice too - so it is ready for the next big storm. Hopefully that is in like November. :)

Friday night we took the kids swimming - that was a lot of fun. Swimming is something that sounds like a lot of work to get ready for (somehow) and then none of us wants to go when it is cold outside - but we always have fun when we do it. Pool was a little packed, but it was still fun. I always like sitting in the hot tub looking out the windows at the snow - seems odd to me in a nice way (And I can still do a front flip off the diving board - so I am not OLD yet..... he keeps telling himself)

Saturday night I took the kids to the Bruins' game against Weyburn - it was bad. We took a ton of penalties and lost 8-2. Then today (Sunday) Shady Shane, Randy Bye (Kim's husband) and I went to Weyburn for the back end of the "home and home" series. Shady has been talking about wanting to do this all winter - so this was the day. It was fun - though the Bruins lost again (5-3). I had not been in the Weyburn rink for 20 years I bet. Lots of people from Estevan there and we made a lot of noise when the Bruins were up 3-1..... not so much after that! :)

Sari and Mumpy have been sick again this weekend - head and chest colds this time (as opposed to the stomach stuff last weekend). All night long one would cough, then the other. Finally at 3:30 or so Katie yells out "Will you two quit coughing already?????" The funny thing: She claims that she does not remember doing it! The other funny thing: I wanted to yell it myself, but restrained myself (for once). Hopefully, for their sake and ours, they are getting better.

And so ends another weekend..... looking forward to Lenny and his family coming down next weekend - and the Daytona 500 too! :)

Saskatchewan Highway Hotline - wa?

So we were in Regina on the weekend - I had a camp board meeting and it was a good opportunity to visit the Mooney Clan.

As people arrived at the meeting, the common theme was, "Man the roads are terrible! You can't see a thing out there" (We had gone up the night before so we missed that part). When the meeting ended around 4 pm, again we kept hearing how bad the highway was and how the visibility was so bad. Trinda even called back to tell us, "If you are going home tonight, you better get going now while it is still daylight because it is terrible out here". So, we waited, ate supper and played a couple of games of "John Madden Football".

At 9pm I checked the highway hotline: "Blowing snow, swirling snow, icy patches, reduced visibility" on every highway leaving Regina. We debated staying there until Sunday am and then coming back, but then decided that if we were going to go we better leave Saturday night b/c then if it takes 6 hours to get home at least we are not late for church (I was doing class, preaching and leading singing today so I figured I needed to get back).

Deciding that the highway south of Regina (#6) is always bad, we decided to try #33 (through Stoughton). Highway Hotline report at 9pm still said, "Blowing snow, swirling snow, icy patches, reduced visibility", but we decided to try it.

With crying children in tow (they were scared of heading out on the bad roads at night) we got to the ring road..... not bad. Turn on "Arcola street".... looks good. Out on Highway 33..... and it is beautiful!!!!

Not a patch of ice - not a snow drift - not a cloud in the sky - you can see for 904890348569348690 miles. Every once in a while a gust of wind would pick up some snow and make it hard to see for 4.3 seconds - but it was good winter driving conditions all the way home.

Now here is my question: "What were the Highway guys looking at when they made their 9pm report? Did they even go out there, or did they just guess?"

I can just see them sitting at their computer..... "Hmmm - lets say it is raining with 80% chance of a sand storm" - or whatever else they want to say. Maybe it is like a game show....... "I am going to take 'slippery sections' for 100 Alex".

I don't get it. Either someone somewhere isn't earning their paycheque, or they do not understand their job description. Something is wrong one way or the other.

PS. On a side note: We heard (and then bought) the Beyonce song "Single Ladies (Put a ring on it)". It is fun - we played it 18 times on the way home and then another 10 on the way to and from church this morning. All of us singing at the top of our lungs, minivan speakers distorting they are up so loud - "Aaaalllll the single ladies........" If you have no idea what I am talking about - Google it - you will like it - it is fun! :)