Went camping on the weekend to New River Beach and this happened, sigh. And nope they’re not bug bites. The spots soon spread over his whole body.

He’s handling it fairly well over all though. Just waiting for Alec to get it next. The kids had fun camping, will post more pics later.

Today I received some very bad news that my Aunt has breast cancer. I have always felt close to her. She’s my Dad’s sister and I have such fond memories over the years from the time I was a little girl till now. She taught me my first little piano piece and she always made us feel so special. I have learned a lot about life from talking with her over the years, gaining insight from her experiences with life. She has a new challenge ahead of her, but she is such a strong woman and embraces life for all that it has to offer. She is having surgery on the 19th and I ask that you all send good thoughts for her.

My sister has also has asked me to post this on a similar vein for her friend;

“On August 12-14, I’ll be walking 60 kilometres through the streets of Calgary with thousands of other women and men, in an event called The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. The net proceeds will support breast cancer research, treatment, and services at the Alberta Cancer Foundation, including our own Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

Everyone has to raise a minimum of $2,000 to participate, but I have set my goal at $3,000. Please use the link at the bottom of this email, and visit my personal page on the End Cancer website. If you wish to support me by making a donation, any amount is appreciated and counts towards the goal. If you have the possibility to send the email and/or the link below to other colleagues, friends and family, I’d really appreciate it. After all, you never know who would like to help the cause and donating through a person actually taking part in this very public event is a more personal and rewarding way to do it.

According to the National Cancer Institute of Canada, 1 in 9 Canadian women is expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime and 1 in 27 will die from the disease. That’s why I’m walking so far, to do something bold about breast cancer. I hope that you’ll share this incredible adventure with me - by supporting me in my fundraising efforts.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Sincerely,
Julia

CLICK HERE to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Alberta Cancer Foundation.

I’m in the midst of filling out my divorce forms, they go to Kevin next. It will take about 2 months before everything is finalized. So many issues to finalize and make concrete rather than just what we’ve been doing for the past 22 months. Actually signing forms and filling out everything is not easy and brings a lot of feelings to the surface. I know it’s the best thing for my life that I could possibly do and for him as well. It’s been too long already and our lives have been somewhat in limbo and chaotic at times because of it. It’s not easy letting go of the familiar and something that has been a part of your life for so many years. It’s that last vestige of all we have been through but hopefully like the caterpillar that casts off the chrysalis as a butterfly, we will also be transformed and free to fly. I’m looking forward to my new journey, my new path that I will take. I think I always had one foot partially in the old path but now I am moving forward, both feet planted where they need to be. I’ve come a long way in the past 2 years. I’ve lost a ton of weight, found new friends, gotten financially stable, a new job and discovered what is important to me and where I want to go. Things happen the way they are meant to and with that view, I know my life is happening exactly as it needs to.

It was a busy weekend. I had the kids most of it, although I managed to get out with a friend on sat. evening and and with another friend on sun. morning. Then off to a BBQ for Nana for her birthday. Kids and I watched a movie tonight before they crashed for the night. Alec is still chicken pox free, I hope he gets it soon. Bram is finally on the mend although still scratching here and there.

Work is gearing up to be really crazy soon, deadlines all over the place for a lot of impending work. I suspect there will be some overtime in the future.

Seems like there has been a lot happening in the news lately, positive news for gay marriage in Canada, disturbing news with what happened in London.

I’m discovering that there are a lot of factors to go over when getting divorced. We’re doing a do it yourself divorce and what initially seemed straight forward suddenly has brought up so many questions. My many well intentioned friends have been bringing up many factors to think about. Things that we just assumed would be a certain way because they have been for the past almost 2 years, but I realized that doesn’t mean that things will continue to be that way, so it’s important to have everything in writing. We share some items like the canoe and camping equipment and some of the kid’s larger items. Things like what to do if something happens to either one of us, working out wills in relation to be divorced, etc. It’s not that there is dispute, because there isn’t really, it’s just that I want to make sure we cover everything and not make assumptions over things.

Chicken pox has struck again. Now Alec has it. He had a fever last night. He also lost a tooth last night.