Hell’s Half Acre

Why does a medical transcriptionist need to know the culture medium preferred for growing and identifying neisseria and haemophilus. I mean, really? This is a hard course, but so far, I’m sticking to 97’s.

When you’re trying to stick to a budget, there is nothing in the world like extra food. Thank you SO MUCH to Cora and Pete, Kevin and Jeannie, Deb and Ian, Butch and family and the Sugden family. Cora and Pete brought us lovely goodies, Kevin and Jeannie allowed us to feast on flank steak and couscous (among many other items), Deb and Ian keep us stocked in wild salmon (that they CATCH and CAN themselves!!!), Butch, well, Butch must have filled his fridge and then emptied the entire thing for us as we feasted for weeks on his bounty. It is such a lovely treat especially at the end of a month of budgeting. I don’t know why we have such trouble with the food budget when food here is supposed to be so much cheaper, but it is really only veggies that are cheaper and I insist on the organic cows (or soy) milk, organic PB and whole wheat pasta. This month I started experimenting with buying a set amount and when it was gone, it was gone. Thankfully the boys haven’t hit the ‘eat the contents of the fridge’ state yet and the whole wheat bread we make is much more filling than white store-bought.

You know you’re living life in the snail lane when the highlight of the week (nay, MONTH) is watching waves of storm system roll across the water and hammering the sand and shore. Jamie and I have been walking each evening and follow it up with a stretch on the beach. We’ve had a system coming in from both the West (Jamaica) and south (Tropical Storm Alma) and it has been raining off and on the last couple days. The rain has been absolutely LOVELY as it has been terribly dry, so much more than we remember from last year. So, rain good. The sky was BLACK as we returned from our exercise walk tonight and after checking in with the kids we ran with glee to the beach to watch the storm roll in. The seas in front were turquoise, green and blue and as the rain approached we could see the water turn from dark blue to grey as the raindrops hammered into the sea. The wind picked up, strong enough that we had to shout to be heard, and and humidity dropped like a stone. Sissy joined us to watch the festivities and we sat and cheered and mused and speculated and got thoroughly soaked. And that was the highlight of the week.

I have been really watching what I eat and making a concerted effort to exercise daily and it is finally paying off. Jamie and I have always exercised but I never watched what I ate. Who knew Costco hotdogs were 530 calories and 30 grams of fat EACH??? And so far, I’m down 3 kilos. I’m not trying to loose fast, just steady. Who knew? You decrease the intake and increase the exercise and weight comes off! I know! I couldn’t believe it either!

I’m going to try and update more frequently and I can’t wait to see how the great Spanish experiment will come out. I’ve been speaking Spanish all day and it hurt my brain so much we decided I’d have to take a day off and alternate days. One day I’m Spanish mommy and the next I’m English mommy. But the kids are already picking up new words. So I guess the brain bruising will be worth it.

Oh, and on the FM3 front, it is getting there, very slowly but surely. I’ve been approved, paid my fees, got my fingerprints, saw my booklet (they accidentally gave me an FM2 instead, then noticed their mistake) and now I wait. I foolishly believed the clerk when she told me it would be ready in 2 days time, gave them 3 and appeared giddy with anticipation only to find out I forgot, I’m in Mexico. Maybe in another week. We’ll see.

Oh, (duex) and the culture meduim?  Chocolate agar.  I’m guessing it is NOTHING like it sounds.