I have so much to share and talk about today. I wanted to show the rest of the Hello Fresh meals we enjoyed this week, how school is coming along, COVID vaccination & the Fibromyalgia Podcast, and I want to say please support Indigenous Artists. 

This was our first week using Hello Fresh. I am so proud of my chefs; they cooked these recipes so perfectly. 
​

This weekend is half way mark of the spring semester. Next week is my final in Medical Billing and the start of the final challenges in Accounting. Accounting ends June 23 and my Human Relations course ends July 2. So close to my diploma, I am so excited to become a college graduate!
​

My blog post called Team Moderna was published last month when I received my vaccination, and this past week, Tami Stacklehouse of the Fibromyalgia Podcast shared her experience when she was preparing and getting her vaccination.

As Tami says in her podcast, please speak with your health provider about the use of supplements if you are considering adding anything to your daily routine. 
 
On April 29, Tami shared with her coaches and her advisors, her doctor's precautionary protocol:

• NAC 600 mg
• D3 10000 IU
• L-Glutathione 500 mg
• Selenium 200 mcg

I used these supplements as a precautionary method, because I did have concerns that I would have bad side effects and pain from the vaccination. 
​

Today, I received three teas: Strawberry Lemonade, Watermelon Mint, and Mango Lemonade. I really love to enjoy a lemonade on a hot day after I finish my courses for the day. I go sit on my patio, we call it patio'clock, and it's a time to unwind before supper needs to be prepared, cooked, and served.

For my tea selection that I favor are usually fruit herbal, rooibos, and basically anything that I can make into an iced tea or a chai latte! I also aim to get the teas that are low in caffeine.

It's a bit of a heat wave in our area of Ontario, Canada. Please keep yourself hydrated and enjoy some iced teas and keep drinking water to concur this heat.

Today was our first delivery of Hello Fresh. Tonight's amazing dish was the Cheesy Monterey Jack Burgers, with a side of potatoes. I truly enjoyed my first meal from Hello Fresh. 
​

I am a full time college student who has fibromyalgia. Since the pandemic imposed self isolation and stay at home orders, I rarely go to the grocery store(s). I love that the meals are easy to prepare. I also love that I am able to select my meals plans to accommodate my need to eat more protein and veggies to help, I hope that these changes will help ease my fibromyalgia body pains and hopefully see improvements in my energy.

My spouse may not have time to go get our ingredients everyday, he works long hours. I have been thinking about Hello Fresh for a very long time. My two youngest children, ages 15 and 12 years old respectively, are able to cook and clean. Their new chore that begins tomorrow, Wednesday, June 9, will be to cook and present our second Hello Fresh meal. Half our daily battles is What's for dinner? ​Well, Hello Fresh has that solution for our family.

Sorry that I keep changing the website's format. I keep going back and forth on ideas how my website should be.

May was pretty great. Just two flares, but lasted long enough. I felt moderate to high levels of pain around May 12 and this past weekend, I over did it on Thursday and here it is Monday, and I'm still hurting. I am grateful that I had no side effects from getting the Moderna vaccination on May 14 - minor pain like I felt like someone punched my arm, and I wasn't able to sleep on my right side. 

I've completed 4 full weeks of the spring semester of OAD. My grades look good, I feel proud. I need to keep pushing to achieve this diploma.

As a youth, I adored reading. I still love to read but I struggle somedays with headaches and somedays I have cognitive issues: I have troubles remembering what I just read (in a matter of seconds).

​For my back to school gift in January, I subscribed to Audible. I get two books a month, and the option to buy more as needed and wanted. I have been loving this app, it's a blessing; I put on a book for bedtime and I get myself settled, I drift off to dreamland while I have someone read me my bedtime story. My no-so-guilty pleasure are books about Witches and Feminism. 

I still love a paper copy of a book so I have been building a little library since I started college in the fall of 2019.  I have shared my little book collection thus far on library page.

I want to be able to collect original copies of the Baby-Sitter's Club series, when I was preteen/teenager, I had their mysteries series and their classic series (til book 70, I believe). I look forward to treasure hunting once restrictions in the province of Ontario are lifted next month. 

Today was my vaccination day. I received my first dose of the Moderna vaccine. There was no super cute billboard cutout to take selfies at so I found my spot after I exited Gate 3, and I was fully aware to be prepared with my own merch about my special event. My cute enamel pin was purchased in Esty from a Canadian seller (link is provided in the photo of the enamel on the card from the seller.)
​

I haven't had any side effects thus far. Slight headache but that started earlier in the day and my arm is starting to be sensitive to touch, my nurse did warn that I feel like someone punched me. I'm not too concerned about side effects, but that arm pain might be amplified by fibro. Wait. See. Rest.
​

I was very impressed with the organization and the staff running the COVID-19 vaccination center at the Gardens. My nurse was awesome. He talked me thought the script and knew that was uneasy about needles, so he was calm and support, got me distracted during the moment. I DID NOT FEEL A THING! I was able to get myself to the seating area where you get to rest, and make sure that no side effects are kicking in. I left the gardens feeling good. Excited to take that selfie to share with my friend who appreciates enamel pins, and science, and weird stuff: She's awesome. She said to my post on her wall with  "you are always so effortlessly on brand! Even during a pandemic you bring the aesthetic a-game! What a Queen!" I love that woman and the support she shows. This is a Robin appreciating posting: She's super awesome and supportive to Katie and I - - - we love you.
​

​I am already book for round two. I am looking forward to school in the fall. I will continue to wear the mask that will be my comfort left. I like being cautious my fibro body and my mind.

Book list in the library and try out a new empowering playlist,
​on repeat for today is Imani Coppola. 

Today ended up being a bad fibro flare day, I guess I used my hands and arms too much during school and getting my workspace organized, I was reminded that I have preventative measures that I neglected lately. 

​In a previous post about my favorite products, I talked about the products I use for fibro flares (preventative and during a flare). Click the photo below to visit that post. There's links available to each product.

I made it through the first week of semester three of Office Administration at Canadore College (13 more to go!). It was great to see my professor, Charmaine, again. She starts the class with a punny joke, I love her sense of humour.

My courses this semester are Human Relations: Group Dynamics; Computerized Bookkeeping; Office Procedures III; Medical Billing; Office Simulation; and we complete the program with a two week Field Placement Simulation (60 hours). I already got my credits for the other two courses, OAD216 and CMM230, so my schedule is slightly "easier" for me at this time. The schedule is different in this semester versus other semesters, as certain classes end, another class gets added into the schedule. Right now, I have three classes while my classmates in OAD would have five classes.

I'm very grateful that I have this opportunity to redeem myself, learn from my breakdown last spring, grow, learn, and earn my first college diploma. I made this image below with the information and tips from my professor in OAD227: 

The first Human Relations class was great, the professor is great. Small group today, we did that first day of class look over the program and grading is done for the this specific course. How our assignments, the tests, and the discussion board protocols to be successful for the semester.

(Breathe in. Breathe out.) That was year one of the Indigenous Wellness and Addiction Prevention course. My final papers have been turned in and I wait until (I think) Tuesday for my final marks. I had great success in my assignments and projects. I am getting better with public speaking, it's still nerve-racking when it's over Zoom. I am grateful for the teachers and my classmates. Somedays the subject matter is hard to deal with, but I love that we are able to discuss and question things, we learn from each other. It's an amazing group of people. Our group is getting smaller, I think we started with 18 students and we're down to around ten. Some unfortunately won't be moving on with the 2022 class but we'll still be connected and encourage one another on our journeys.
​
In just over a week, I return to school for my final semester of Office Admin. So I'll be taking advantage of my week off and resting for the big stretch. I'll have "most" of August off from schooling then it will be September and year two of IWAP. It's going to be a good time.

​​04/26/2021 - I got a notification this morning from my HUM200 professor that we start tomorrow, and I don't have my book or funding yet. Yikes. 

The last time I sat in a hairdresser's chair was January 2, 2020. I was to have a follow up appointment to start treatment to achieve the hairstyle of choice, lavender locks that would be about shoulder length. The follow up never happened because of the pandemic. For several weeks, if not months, I've been complaining about my brittle hair; the damage goes over half the length of my hair, it's thin, and I lose hair in small clumps. This is probably connected to adrenal function. I've had enough and I can't even manage it anyway. Several nights, I would say something to Kirk about my hair and he would joke out taking the scissors and cutting it at shoulder length, I finally called him out on his comments and told him to cut my hair. He said no initially, but he said yes last night. 

As mentioned in the previous post about my hairstyles called How I Manage My Hair With Fibromyalgia, I prefer having a short style. My styles of choice is a pixie haircut or a bob. I wanted my hair to be styled in braids while it was long, but with my eldest daughter on her own in her new apartment and Kirk working long hours at work, I don't have help with my hair. It was time to let the damaged hair go and start fresh with a short style.

I am super impressed with my haircut, this was the first time Kirk cut my hair. He is surprisingly good at everything he tries. He's my Jack of all trades.

When Katie saw my haircut this morning, they were shook. I told them that if they're still looking for that hair trim they spoke about recently, that I know a guy that does hair. (lol)