Friday Favourites! Thanksgiving Edition (kinda)

Another week is done! Well, almost done but man this week flew by for me! I think it is because it was quite broken up with appointments and such I had this week. I do believe I'm almost done of everything from my trauma this summer. On Tuesday I had to go for an echo cardiogram and CT scan. I had the echo at 9:30am and by 11:15am the doctor called to tell me everything was perfect and I didn't have to come and see him for any follow up, YAY! And, the CT I'm sure was fine too since the one I had about a month ago was good. Love that my doctors are taking good take of me but I would love a break from them for a bit! 

{ andrea | erika | narci }

So, since we are back to Friday, it is time for Friday Favorites! When I was trying to figure out what my Friday Favorites would be I was having a great time because I didn't have a bunch of things jumping out as favorites from this past week since it was hospital/doctor appointments and work. Then I realized my most favorite part of the week was seeing my surgeon Dr. Hoogerboord. Yes, it was another doctor appointments that I might be sick of going to but it is always nice to have another doctor say how things are just coming along nicely. When I saw Hoogerboord for the first time, I was not at my best and even the next day when I saw him I was doped up on pain killers so it was great to finally see him at my post op appointment and actually get to thank him for saving me. For the first 24 hours I was in the hospital in Halifax, it was just a chaotic mess in the best way if that makes sense. They were doing what they could in trying to find out was wrong but no one was making the decision of what they needed to do to make me better. If one more doctor had of come in and said well we might try and drain it but you might need surgery I was going to scream. During, my appointment with Hoogerboord, he said draining it was never an option for him because it wouldn't have fixed anything I would still have been in and out of the hospital with extremely high fevers which just isn't a good thing. Also, when he got in there it has ruptured, so there would have been no way to drain it. The calm that Dr. Hoogerboord bought to my situation was amazing. When he walked into the room and had made the decisions that needed to be made, it was one of the best feelings I had ever had even though I was still scared, I just knew he had everything under control and I was going to be fine. Now, I am fine. 


Since I have gotten out of the hospital and recovered I have researched Dr. Hoogerboord and the man has like 24 letters after his name! He almost has his own alphabet! Not, only is he an accomplished doctor, he is a sweetheart. He doesn't rush with his appointment, he listens, he talks to you like a human being and not a patient. Sometimes he is to the point with no bull but that is what I wanted. His bedside manner is wonderful. When a doctor can look someone in the eye and tell them things are going to be okay and you truly believe them it is a feeling that you can't really compare to anything else. I do not think my mother could have thanked him enough. I swear she was making him blush. But, lets move on and in the spirit of the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving, I'm more then thankful for Dr. Marius Hoogerboord. 

So, even though I'm sure he will never see this post I just wanted to talk about one of my favorite people. 

Happy Friday Everyone! I hope you all have a great weekend and to my fellow Canadians Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!



  

October Goals

Wow, Thursday already! This week feels like it has flown by which honestly the last month has felt that way. Where did September go? Not that I totally mind since now it is officially my birthday month. 35 on the 28th! Crazy!

When I was getting ready to make this post I was reading some other blogs and Emily was doing her October Goals and I thought yes that is what I want to write about to because then maybe I will get more of them done instead of just starting them and hoping for the best!

 

1. Get my closets cleaned out and organized! Finish switching over the summer clothes to autumn/winter. I have started this I have a pile of summer clothes on my floor.

 

2. Try at least 2 new recipes for the crock pot. I love using my slow cooker but sometimes I just don't know what to make so I'm on the look out for some recipes so if you have any leave them for me.

 

3. Finish a few craft projects I have on the go, especially one that I need to have for a Christmas present this year! I know but it is a big one I have been working on for while so I need to get back at it now otherwise it won't be a gift for this year.

 

4. Speaking of Christmas, I would like to start my shopping for it this month just to get a jump on it or at least be on the look out for some ideas. I have my lists started but I don't stick to a strict list when Christmas shopping for my family and friends.

 

5. Plan out my 12 Days of Christmas blog posts. I have some fun ideas for it so hopefully they will come together for me.

 

6. Enjoy most days! I know this one sounds kind of silly but after the summer I had I know how special life is and you just have to enjoy your life. You only get one.

 

What are your goals for this month? Are you a goal setter or just get what you get done and that is good enough? I like making goal lists but we will see how this one works out for this month.

Real Talk Tuesday

Time to get some real talking done. Mainly because I have had a few people ask what happened during this summer and instead of having to tell everyone separately I figured I might as well just blog about it. And lets just start off by saying real life hit me like a ton of bricks this summer.


During the first few weeks of July, I felt like I had the flu that wouldn't go away and man I wish it just had of been the flu. The morning of July 23rd I woke up with the worst pains in my stomach, I couldn't stand up straight I was hoping it would pass. When it didn't get better by lunch I knew something was really wrong so I went to the local ER. Normally, it is quite a wait but I was taken rather quickly since I was grey in color and the people around me who had been there long before me said I should go in first. So began one of the most traumatic times of my life. 

Test after test happened and nothing good was coming back, I stayed up in the ICU for the night and was transferred to city the next morning. More tests, more doctors, still in pain and no real answers or decisions on what they wanted to do. During all these tests they did find out that I had an abscess on my spleen which they wanted to see maybe if they could just drain but they were not sure if that would solve everything or if they should just go in for surgery. The doctor who was telling me all this I swear looked like he was 16! They tell me he was 31. I was moved again to another ICU and I had more tests. I swear I had every test done they could have performed at least once. They took so much blood I wasn't sure I had any left inside me. On Wednesday, I saw more doctors who basically went over the same stuff again with me saying maybe drain or maybe surgery...Okay I get it make up your mind and do something! Now, they were also telling me thankfully I went to the ER when I did because if I had of waited another 24hrs they wouldn't have been able to save me, thank god for strong antibiotics and pain killers.

It was around lunch time I think and there was a big, strong, handsome surgeon with two residents walking towards me. Dr. Hoogerboord was my life saver. What we didn't know was that the abscess had ruptured so all the poison was now inside my body. Dr. Hoogerboord took control and was like we are going to take you to surgery hopefully this afternoon or in the morning because he himself wanted to make sure it was him to who did the surgery. He said everything would be okay, promised my mom to take good care of me and then went on his way. I was excited to know that decisions had been made but scared because of the surgery. My surgery ended up being that afternoon and lasted for about 5 hours. When it was done I'm without a spleen or appendix, add in 50 staples to my stomach but who cares because I'm alive and ready to heal. The difference in myself from Wednesday to Thursday was amazing. I gave my mom another scare because when they came back the next morning I wasn't in my bed but sitting up in the chair, hair washed and having some juice. All my pain was gone minus the pain from the surgery which was nothing compared to what I had been feeling. Everything was okay, I was in recovery mode. Hoogerbooard came back to tell us how everything went since he ended up having to go right into another surgery after mine finished because of an accident. I stayed in the hospital for another week and then finally got to come home or fully recover. I'm almost back to normal now and could not be more thankfully for all the doctors and nurses who gave me the best care I could have asked or hoped for.

I also want to say my family was amazing during this time. I have told them many times how grateful I am to have them but I will say it again and again because I don't know what I would have done without them especially my sister Erica, mom and cousin Callee. You don't know how important certain people are to you until you really need them and they step up to plate in more ways then you knew they would.

Gosh, I didn't mean for this to become this long but here we are! So that was my summer I hope yours was less dramatic.

Have a great day everyone! Thanks for dropping by!

TBB Asks: Fall 2.0

Happy October Everyone! I know it was officially fall before this but I feel like October 1st truly marks Fall for me. I'm also excited for it because it is my birthday month. Anyways, since it is feeling rather fallish this morning I decided to chat about some fall stuff today along with TBB. 

| The Blended Blog | 

1. Favorite fall color?  I love them all together! The oranges, yellows, reds are just amazing. I love how they all just come together and just make everything look beautiful.

2. Apple cider - hot or cold? Hot because otherwise it is just weird apple juice hahaha

3. Caramel apple - yes or no?  Yes, who doesn't love a caramel apple or even just an apple with some caramel sauce you know they just go together so perfectly.

4. Pumpkin or apple cider doughnut?  Hmmm neither but I would lean more towards the apple cider one.

5. Long or short cardigan?  Both, in all knits, weights and colors please!

6. Favorite football or fall party food? Hmm, good question since I never been to a football party and most of us don't just have fall parties which I think we should but maybe dips (of any kind really) or chicken wings because who doesn't love a good chicken wing.

7. Orange or white pumpkins?  A mix of both please and even a green one is nice to throw in the mix too.

8. Hayride or bonfire?  Again, both...maybe you could even take a hayride to a bonfire? But really I think I would take a bonfire over the hayride if I had to choose.

9. Favorite fall baked good?  Anything with apple please! My mom's apple pie YUM!

10. Most anticipated fall activity? Pumpkin carving and treats for my birthday and Thanksgiving with the family. 

*all images from google search or Pinterest

Friday Favorites!

I figured lets start back with something fun and easy! So I'm linking up with some other lovely bloggers to tell you about my Friday Favorites!

Erika | Narci | Andrea

Since it is now fall, most of my favorites are fall related. As much as I love summer/sun/beach/sand/heat, I was more then ready this year for autumn to get here (more about why on Monday). But, yes I was ready for first day of Autumn to get here. Lets get onto my favorites for this week...

Firstly, I got to make my Tomato Basil soup which I have to say it was even better this time for whatever reason. It was rainy and cold so a perfect day to have this soup. You can find the recipe here.

Hallmark Holiday movies are one of my favorites! They are cheesy, feel good, fun! I found this one and I totally enjoyed it. Yes, it is cheesy but it is always great to just settle down with a coffee, cozy blanket and enjoy some Hallmark cheese.

Last week changed up all my summer candles for my autumn ones and forever Sweater Weather will be an all time favorite of mine. It makes me happy.

It is nice to back blogging! Hope you all have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

*all images from google image or pinterest

After a long break.....

...It is time to come back and try things again.


When blogging feels more like a chore than a joy I have a hard time making myself sit down and write a post. That is how I was feeling last year so yes I just up and left basically. I was busy with life and trying to balance blogging in my life at the time was not something I was making a priority. Over the last couple of months I have missed writing and I have been thinking about coming back into the blogging world. I actually had plans to start coming back slowly during the summer but alas I had some major complications there and I will talk about that later. I feel like I'm ready to come back and try this blogging thing again. I hoping the fall season which brings me into my homey self of cooking, baking and crafting will make me want to blog even blog more because I will have fun stuff to share with you. So, bear with me while I get back into the blogging groove, I like I'm very rusty but I'm sure it will come back to me quickly.

Thanks!