Christmas

[andcohen]

OK hard to belive that it's that time of year again!!!!
Every year my girlfriends & I try to get together for a Chrissy bash. Thank goodness it's not what it use to be with late nights at the club & way too much to drink. These days it a gathering in the backyard with a few friends & their Hubby's / partners & kids & usally in bed before midnight. Any way this weekend was the only weekend we could all get together. It was a bit cold but at least it didn't rain. It was at our place so at least I could put Cohen to bed when he became unbearbly naughty :lmao:
Anyway the gist of the story is silly Andrea a couple of drinks & boy am I paying for it today :headbang: Why do I do these silly things to myself???
although I know it's not very often I have alcohol ( a few times a year, if I have been feeling ok) but I know I pay for it for the next few days. Well I guess I will get through it.
So how has everyone been? all getting ready for Christmas? I bet your busy at work Kirsten & looking forward to a nice long break. Hope you have been feeling better this week. Sara, I haven't spoken with you much lately, but will PM you later this week. Rosalie how have you been feeling?
I haven't been online much lately but have spent lots of time today resending emails to A current Affair & Today Tonight. I also sent an email to Christine Murray who runs a support group in Melbourne. I think she works out of the Mercy Hospital. I have asked her for some info on the support group meetings & I will be trying to get down to Melbourne in the New Year to attend one. I have never been to a meeting before so it would be a great experince. Hey maybey you others in Melbourne could also attened??? what a great chance to all meet. I will hopefully get some more on the details at a later date.
Well my meds are kicking in now so I better be off.
Catch you all later & take care
Andrea

[andcohen]

Sorry Nadia I almost forgot to say hi to you... So a big Hi and How are You :hi: What have you been up to ? & I hope you are well to.
Talk later
Andrea

[deviation72]

Hi Andrea,

Haven't you been busy on these boards!!! :)

I'm feeling a bit better but had a similar experience to you Friday night -went to the pub with some friends, didn't feel like wine (which I can usually tolerate if I stick to one glass) so had an alcoholic cider - bam, flare and restless legs that night. Another thing to add to the 'banned' list!!!

Work finished for me on Dec 22 and then I don't go back until Jan 21 - so 4 weeks off!!! :woohoo: This year has been hard with the constant broken sleep to get up to wee, plus a full time job, so I am looking forward to a decent break!!!

If you find out when the Melbourne support group is having a meeting and you plan to come down, I'll come too (provided I'm not teaching that night!) Sounds like a good way to meet each other :)

Well off to do some more work (love this time of year - not). Hope you are well, speak soon!

[nss]

Hi Andrea hope your feeling a better after your drinky poo's. Thats is something I am not game enough to do, especially with christmas not far away. Been a little busy, was sick last week, now this week my DH is overseas in NZ for work. So battling on without him.

Spent a lovely afternoon today with Sara and her little girl, oh an my son too. It is great to meet up with someone who knows what your going through.

Will try and write that letter to the NSW IC support newsletter group and find out numbers of members and anything else they can share with us.

I wish my endep would kick in soon, silly me took it a little later tonight.

[andcohen]

Sara & Nadia... It's so great that you have found one another (OOO this sounds like Im about to start wrighting some tacky love novel Ha Ha ) You know what I meen, it's great to have made a friend that truley understands your IC :woohoo: And it's great that you live close enough to catch up with one another. I so wished I lived closer to an area with a support group. Although I am hopping I can afford to get to the one in Melbourne in early December, I am so exciated & nervous at the same time.
I feel like a little kid knowing their getting a really cool Chrissy gift. I guess after living like this for 15 years, I am just so looking foward to another DRs advice & speaking with another patient.
Take care
Andrea

[anxious one]

:biglaugh: Andrea, you crack me up! Yes it is great that Nadia and I "have found each other!" :) We met at our local support group and life has been so much easier since we met and could support each other :woohoo: Also great that our littlies get along great too. Really hope that all of you can find somebody close by to support you, these boards are great and so invaluable but it's great to have someone on the other end of the phone too.

Andrea, I hope you have recovered from your drinking bings :D Just kidding, unfortunately for us ICers 2 drinks would equal a binge! :rolleyes: Just not game to go there- no way. Wondering how I'm going to get through xmas with all the goodies, pudding, fruit mince pies, xmas cake YUM!!!!! Wish we had some darn prelief! :mad:

Hello to everyone else, hope you are all ok. I am still struggling with this Endep, I actually slept last night, only got up once but think this may have been due to exaustion!! Will give it to the end of the week and if I am up every half hour tonight will definately switch to the Tofranil. Can't say I didn't give it a shot!

Also need to post that letter I rewrote so we can get started mailing. Andrea, have you heard back from today tonight etc?? Mybe we should all badger them til they respond?? Have been so tired this week with the lack of sleep but will certainly get to it soon.

Hugs to you all,

:grouphug: :grouphug:

Sara

[Rosalie]

What happened? I just typed a post ( it was pretty good too) and lost the stupid thing. Cyberspace ate my post !
Oh well here goes again.

Hello Everyone,
LOVE CHRISTMAS, Guess I'm still just a kid at heart. Andrea, my girlfirends and I get together for christmas as well. Well, we get together all the time but at christmas we include the husbands and kids. Trouble is that as our lives get busier and kids have so many things to be ferried to, its hard finding a time when everybody is free. It took all morning on the phone just getting a hour when we can discuss plans. Now that most of the kids are in their teens we can have a grown up party again, with grown up food. Still, I miss the afternoon gatherings with sausage rolls, fairy bread, paddle pops and little ones playing in the blow-up pool. AND playing Santa!

I've just finished sewing a large wall hanging advent calendar for my brothers small children. Now on to Christmas cards. The ironing is "as high as a elephants eye " but I don't care. I have an excuse for not doing any housework. I'm getting ready for Christmas! Sunday is set aside, albiet a bit late, to make the cakes and puddings.

AND I've just discovered ebay. I've made a bid on a special pressie for my 19yr old son. Wish me luck. Now that I have my wonderful donut cushion, I can spend a lot more time on the internet. Hubbie asks if I ever get off the computer, How rude! :biglaugh:

I have marked the Melb IC meeting on my calendar and hope to be able to get there. Feel a bit of a fraud not having a diagnosis as yet. I rang the hospital last week and was told I probably wouldn't get my Cysto till next year. POOOOOO!!!! I guess Santa ran out. I hope the Easter Bunny has one as I can't have the chocolate egg anyway.

Better go, they'll excuse the ironing but dinners a different matter
Rosalie

[Jon]

Hey Gal,
You do those silly things to yourself,because you are human.I hope you are not to hard on yourself.We all need to let go,once in a while.Be nice to yourself,and do not worry.Be true to yourself and your family,and all will be ok.Trust in God

[KellyB]

Hi Everyone,
I am so excited because I will be visiting Australia for the first time. I live in the States. My husband and I are coming over for a wedding. We are flying into Sidney and then the wedding is in Newcastle. I am also getting together with a friend who was an exchange student while in high school. I haven't seen her in twenty years. Where do you all live? My friend from high school lives in Melbourne. We are arriving Jan. 19th and staying through the 31st. I am so excited and am just praying that my IC doesn't act up too much. I just had a hydro done and I usually get anywhere between 3 and 6 months relief from it. Well I can't wait to see your wonderful country that I have heard so much about. Kelly

[anxious one]

Hi kelly,

I live in Wyoming, about and hour or so South of Newcastle... actually, roughly half way between Sydney and Newcastle!! Hope you have a great trip :)

Sara

P.S Nadia also lives near me (nss) and a few of the girls Andrea, Kirsten and Rosalie live in Melbourne.

[Rosalie]

Hello Kelly
Where about in Melbourne does your friend live? I am in East Keilor in the north west of the city. Are you staying in Sydney the whole time or travelling around? Are you coming to Melbourne to visit your friend or is she meeting up with you in New South Wales somewhere?
It can be quite warm at that time of the year so be prepared to slip slop slap! Ha!
What sort of weather will you be coming from?
You probably know lots about us and our country from your friend but if there is anything you want to know just ask. If we don't know we'll find out for you.
Rosalie

[KellyB]

Hi All,
I live in New York and right now it is absolutely freezing here. We don't have any snow yet but I am sure it will be coming soon. The temperature this morning when I left for work was 8 degrees Farhenheit. My friend Paula lives in Kew East and she is actually contacting our friends in Newcastle and they are setting things up for us. The wedding is Friday January 21st in Newcastle. We will probably be going to Melbourne to see her. I am not sure when or how though. She said they would make the arrangements. I am so worried about leaving my kids for two whole weeks, which I have never done before. My kids are not little. My oldest is in college about a half hour from here and he comes home every weekend then my daughter is a senior in High School and my youngest daughter is twelve. I am also worried about my IC acting up. I plan on going to my doctor in the beginning of Jan. and getting all my needed medicine for the trip. I have an interstim which I had put in almost five years ago. The battery died in April so I had a new interstim put in then. I am so excited to visit your country and am very happy to hear that it is warm there because I hate cold weather. The reason I live where I do is because this is where my family is and I could not move away from them. Kelly

[anxious one]

Hi Kelly, when you hear "warm" over here think HOT!!!!!!!!! It is sure to be very hot in January so bring cool, sleeveless stuff. I hate the heat. :mad: Yuk.

sara :)

[Rosalie]

OK, it is a little more than warm today, 34 C in Melbourne, thats 93 F. And Sara, I hate the heat also. I get so grumpy and if the Air conditioner packs it in I'm unbearable. I'm not the right size anymore to slip on a cozzie and dive into the surf!

Don't worry Kelly, the heat is much easier to take when you are on holidays, and some people love it. Melbourne regularly hovers around 100F in summer but we also get these delicious cold changes where the temperature plummets 25F - 30F degrees in a very short time. They say that in Melbourne if you don't like the weather just wait a few minutes and it will change. Well that's what they say in Sydney. We have a very friendly rivalry between the two cities. Isn't that right Sara?

[anxious one]

I have personally got nothing against you melbournians :) but yeah, there proably is a bit of rivalry there and we all know who's gonna come out on top... ;) ha ha, sorry Rosalie, I was seriously joking!!!! I would love to visit Melbourne haven't been since I was very young. here there is great shopping there.

It is 40 degrees here today- bloody awful. :mad: I keep telling my hubby that we are moving down to Tassie!!!!!

[deviation72]

To all my lovely Australian friends on the IC board,

Wishing you and your families a happy Christmas/festive season, and a peaceful and relaxing New Year.

Thankyou all for your support, advice and encouragement this year, I would not have coped without it! :grouphug: :grouphug:

Looking forward to more fantastic discussion in 2005.... :)

[Rosalie]

Ho Ho Ho and a Merry Christmas to you all. I hope that each and everyone of you has a pain free day filled with lots of goodies and pressies.

Best Wishes to you and your families for a happy and peaceful time.
Rosalie

[anxious one]

I echo Kirsten and Rosalies sentiments exactly........

You guys are the best and I consider all of you to be valuable friends, thankyou so much! :grouphug: :grouphug:

have a GREAT xmas, may it be happy and PAIN FREE!!!!!!!

i can't wait til "Santa" comes to my little girl!! :)

HUGS,

Sara