Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! And Happy Birthday to meeeee!!!!! This birthday doesn't feel quite as symbolic or important as last year's big 30. It's more of a recognition that I'm doing well and am moving forward from all my medical drama. This past year is the first in about 8 years where I haven't spent a single day of it admitted in the hospital.

Onto a new year! My goals for the last year were to run a 5km and do something creative once a week. I ran the 5km but I'm not sure I actually did something creative every week. I did paint and sew way more last year than previous years so I count that as a win.

My non-exercise goal this year is to work on my calligraphy. I would like to improve my handwriting so it no longer looks like chicken scratch.

I also am going to try and do yoga every day. That may be a bit ambitious but I've been doing yoga videos for the last few months and really enjoy it. I feel better overall and I think it's improved my balance for other sports like skating and cross-country skiing.

My other exercise goals are to hike 50 trails, run five 5km (because I did one last year so why not jump to 5 this year), and cycle 750km.

2018 will be the year of activity! 

I hope everyone has a warm and wonderful New Year!

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

We had a wonderful time in Cuba. We spend the week snorkelling, kayaking in an inflatable kayak, and eating a lot of ice cream. We were in a small town where almost no one spoke English so it was a very immersive experience into the Cuban culture. Cindy and David translated for us at the restaurants but even then, it was somewhat of a guess as to what we were ordering. It was all delicious (except for the spaghetti...do not order spaghetti in Cuba) and we had a lot of fun. I would definitely go back if I get the chance.

After spending a week in a country of scarcity, it was a bit of a shock to return to Canada and be bombarded with Christmas advertising telling me to buy everything in sight for every person I know. While that is over the top and to be ignored, I am thankful for our full grocery stores and consistently running water.

Our Christmas will be quite low-key although the meal on Boxing Day is going to be wonderfully chaotic with a lot of family. I better go help with the prep for our Indian themed Christmas meal!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with family and friends and a lot of good food!

The ocean side of one of the B&Bs where half of us stayed. The pile of coral and debris was washed up after the hurricane.

We all made it!

The 2nd B&B where half the family stayed was two houses down from the 1st. It had a wonderful swing on the back porch where we spent a lot of time. 

Cuba!!

The Watson family is off on vacation! It's part Aruba lung celebration do-over, part Christmas celebration, and part taking advantage of David and Cindy being back in the Maritimes for a few months.

It's obviously my first Caribbean beach vacation since my transplant so I've packed a suitcase of sunscreen. I'll be the one on the beach in the shade or wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt because I'm terrified of burning. I burn so quick on my anti-rejection medication and I'm at such a high risk of skin cancer that sunning on the beach isn't a good life decision. I'm sure I'll still get plenty of sun when I'm snorkelling or around Havana.

I'm sure the vacation will be a lot of fun and super chaotic with 8 people making dinner decisions. Can't wait!

Toronto three year assessment

We had a great visit to Toronto. We had a quick nap after landing and getting to our B&B and then spent the rest of the day walking around the city. We visited the Kensington Market, all the fabric stores on Queen st., the athletic stores on King st., and then over to Younge to the game store. My feet were so sore by the end of the day. I had coffee with a friend in the afternoon and we had a great visit with family that evening and then I was up early for blood work Tuesday morning.

View from our B&B

I think Tuesday was the quickest appointment day I've ever had in Toronto. I took some knitting and managed to knit a total of two rows all day. Every department moved right along which meant I was able to leave between appointments and actually made it for breakfast at the B&B. 

I made it 698m on my walk test. So close to 700m! I may have gotten there if I hadn't detoured around the man lingering in the hallway. I should've run him over. Or maybe I shouldn't have spent Monday walking 11km on pavement. Either way, it's still up a bit from last year and I know I'm doing well physically so the physiotherapists were happy.

The doctor didn't have much to tell me. My x-ray looked good, my blood work is stable (although my cholesterol is still a tad high), and he was happy with my lung function test results. 

My lung function numbers were the same as they've been in Amherst which is up from last year's Toronto numbers. The doctor did not seem to think much of my "high" in June and July and said the change in percentage is all statistically similar. Boo to doctors crushing my highs! Although that does mean that I haven't really dropped since the summer which is a good thing. Maybe I don't need to jog as much as I think I do.

After the appointments, I had a nap and didn't want to go anywhere so Isaiah got us greasy Thai take-out for supper. We spent the evening eating greasy food, played the board games we bought, and watched X-men. 

On Wednesday we had a quick trip to the St. Lawrence market and the Distillery District Christmas Market before our flight home. 

It was a short and sweet trip! 

Great lunch spot! 

Christmas Market! Everything was adorable. 

Good-bye Toronto! Until next time!