Opps I kinda forgot about my blog

Opps I kinda forgot about my blog but I'm here now updating again. A few updates are listed below since last time I blogged...
Work Status - I managed to sort out my transport to and from work with Dial-A-Ride, Workbridge were happy for me to stay usig them so it all worked out. There have been hicups where the person adding the jobs for the next day forgets to add me to the drivers list, so this meant I was forgotten some mornings. I still got to work just 10-15mins late. This has got better now so I've been on time and not late to work. Work itself is going great, I'm still enjoying it and know what I'm doing more each day. It never stops though, I arrive and it's all go till I go home, getting a bite to eat is hard at times.

I haven't been to another rugby game for awhile, but I might be able to go to a cricket game inthe Summer.

Winter has gone---->>YAY and Spring is here, soon Summer.

That's pretty much all the updates since I last blogged.

Yummmy Chocolate Cake

I just finished making this yummy Chocolate cake..

It has a cream cheese, icing sugar, coconut icing on top with more sprinkles of flaked coconut. Time to go taste my cake.

Tri Nations All Blacks vs Australia

I went to the Tri Nations, All Blacks vs Austraiia rugby game last night with my brother. It was very windy, cold and wet with heavy rain falls, which Ben and I missed so we didn't get wet. We walked to the staidum like we normally do to find it was packed. The wind was blowing into us from the field which doesn't normally happen so we got the odd cold wind coming in at times.

I had three layers on, trackpants, scarf, hat and gloves and I was still a little cold. I got the blanket out and put that over my legs to keep them warm.

The game started with the Aussies scoring the first tri. The All Blacks didn't do too much attach at the beginning, more defense. It was a tight game, 16 to 16 then the All Blacks got some more points and took the win with 22- 16 which was awesome.

Got to Work in School Holidays

As it's school holiday's I was able to get to and from work over the last two weeks, so this was great. Dial-a-Ride got me to work on time and were there waiting for me at the time I needed to go home and they tied my chair down way quicker than ERA Taxis. It was a much better service than ERA Taxis but it's a shame ERA Taxis had to be removed from the TM Contract.

As for work next week, I'm not sure what's going to happen, its all up in the air at the moment. My Co-Managers are flexiable and won't terminate my job. I did manage to contact a Taxi Company again, as I knew the driver may have recovered from his time in hospital, but he said to ring back in 2 weeks to get an answer if he can do my work runs.

Out Shopping with Dad

Dad came over mid morning and we went to the mall to get some veges and look around. The vege shop has changed into a big market type shop, selling all sorts of things. We then had a coffee in the mall where it was nice and warm then had a look around. We had some lunch at Robert Harris and that was nice. We came back to my place to pick up something then went to there place as we having dinner there. Ben brought over his new iMac and I showed him some things and put some stuff on his iMac.

Later we all enjoye a nice Roast Lamb, roasted veges and potatoes and gravey, yummmmm. We had some cake and ice cream after too.

During dinner I had setup the Nokia Software updater so it can update my Nokia phone firmware. That worked in the end. One thing I can't do on my iMac yet as Nokia isn't compatable with Apple yet, but soon I hear.

Town with Mum and Dad

I went to town with Mum and Dad yesterday as Mum wanted to go to a Camera shop to get her new camera. It was freezing too and I was cold and so was Mum and Dad so we had a hot drink and some food first. We then went to the Camera and Camera shop and Mum got her 2 yr Birthday present from Dad - a Nikon P90 camera!! It was very nice and I wanted one too but I didn't buy one. Later we went back to the van and went to the mall and did some things there. We also had lunch there too.

Worked From Home

After talking to T at WorkBridge and knowing my options for today I worked from home. I was able to do data usage and some other work, total hours I did was 2hrs.

Work and Taxis Update

Today was the last day for me to use ERA Taxis and I still haven't found another company to do my work runs. I took some work home incase I couldn't find a way to work on Thursday.

Work and Taxis

WINZ will pay another 6 months subsity for my pay which is great, normally they only do this for the first 6 months.

I was informed from Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) in late May that the ERA Taxis I use to take me 'To and From' work have now been removed from the Total Mobility Service Contract and have heard they have also lost there license. I have been in the process of finding another txi comapny to take me to work and home and it's been a nightmare.

I was given a list of Taxi Company's and most of them I had already contacted last year about getting me to and from work but most of them couldn't fit me in due to dam school runs. I even changed my work times and that still didn't work. Anyhow I found a company and they said 'yes we can fit you in, you contacted us at the right time', as others who were using ERA Taxis are also trying to find another company. I was happy that SuperCare4U.com Taxi's could fit me in and at the times I wanted, so I forward there infomation to T at Work Bridge so she could arrange the billing.

I got a phone call on Thursday from T (Work Bridge) saying that the guy from SuperCare4U.com Taxi's had emailed her to say they couldn't do my run anymore as they had a better job. Well that just pissed me off!!! as I only have till Thursday 2 July to have another Taxi company pick me up and the guy didn't even email me when I had contacted him in the first place. So now I'm in high stress mode trying to find another Taxi Company and I have now contacted Dial-a-Ride and no can do. I left Re-Li-On-Us last, as they are my last resort as they are not reliable (I use them with a friend of mine as he has an account with them). They will contact me back tomorrow. If they can't help me then I will have to ask the Volunteer Auckland for a driver, to drive my van.

Home Help Issues

On top of all the transport issues I'm having to deal with I've also got Focus 2000 problems as they can't find anyone to do the home help I need, at the times I need. The lady that was doing the home help and cooking is now just doing the cooking for an hour each night.

Focus 2000 want me to change my hours to suit them so they can find someone to come do the home help during the day, but it doesn't work like that as they are meant to work around me. I'm also not sitting around waiting for someone to come do my home help when I could be out and about. It's not that easy for me to get transport for me to get home so they can do the home help then go out again. If I go out, I make it a day outting to be worth the taxi cost.

Anyhow I've given them some time slots and still waiting to hear from them, been about two weeks since I emailed them. Might have to try a different agency.

Attitude TV - Jenny Independent

My story about living independent was shown on Attitude TV this morning.

Jenny Independent
Date aired: Sunday 21 June 2009, TV One at 10am
Episode#: 16
Although Jenny Smyth comes across as quiet, she is fiercely independent.

Still Here

I haven't blogged in awhile so here I am. I'm still enjoying work which can get really busy at times that I'm doing about 5 things at a time. It can be tiring at times too. I've been doing some training on how to do Usage Data and that's going ok.

I went our for Dinner with Mum and Dad at Bricklane which we like as the food is good. We all had Roast pork that night too hehe but it was so yummy. I had to take half of it home as I couldn't eat it all.

Ben and I went to another Rugby game at Eden Park and it was a good night. It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, just a very calm night.

Still playing sports, but soon to have a Winter breakup as it getting to cold in gym.

A friend came over and we had a good catch up and some lunch. We talked about missing N. E.W.S (sports) in Australia and wondered how some of the teams were doing.

I got new tires and castors for my TDX as the tread was bald and had no grip left on them. My chair looks all new again haha

Finally I got some free tickets to go to the Bledisloe Cup match at Eden park, it be All Blacks v Wallabies..I can't wait!!!

Shoulder and Elbow Ultrasound Results

I got my results back from my shoulder and elbow ultrasound and I've been told I've got thickening of the subdeltoid bursa/subacromial bursa and the infraspinatus bursa. As my shoulder was pain free at the time of the ultrasound, it is possible that I have long term bursa and it can get inflamed every so often, which normally has been treated with anti-inflammatory tablets. My elbow ultrasound came back as normal which was great.

I'm still currently struggling with lower arm muscle pain on both arms now and I think some upper arm muscle pain. I'm not really sure what is causing the muscle pain but it might be me overusing my arm muscles as I use my arms a lot or it's realated to the shoulder bursa. Ever since I got my sore shoulder (bursitis) in January I developed the lower arm muscle pain at the same arm which meant my whole arm felt weak and just made my every day living a little bit harder. I didn't take musch notice of the lower arm pain, instead I got anti-inflammatory tablets for my shoulder and that healed my shoulder. The muscle pain in my lower arm was still there so later I went on 2 weeks of Voltaren (Dr got wrong message and thought my shoulder was still sore) which didn't really help. I was trying everything including anti-inflam creams. I then did some google research and wanted to know if I should use ice or heat on my muscle and in the end a heat pack was suggested. I used my heat pack on my lower arm muscle for 15mins and BAM the worst part of the pain had gone!! It was great, it meant I could do a few things without pain. The muscle pain hasn't complelety gone though and is now in both arms and is annoying me, I want it gone.

I'm thinking about contacting my Community Physio and see if she has any ideas or treatments she can do. I can't rest my arms as I use them 24/7 really. The main things that cause the muscle pain are, getting my stockings, socks and shoes on and off each day, getting my legs up onto the bed at night and positioning my feet and legs in my chair throughout the day.

Congratulations Jenny!

Congratulations Jenny! You are one of the winners in the Barry Cardno book competition.
From Attitude TV

This is a book about Barry who is embarking on his lifelong dream to become a pilot. But for Barry the thrill of flying soon gives way to pervading sense of unease as he confronts the solitary nature and constant danger inherent in aerial topdressing in rural New Zealand.
Unflinchingly Barry describes how at age of twenty one has ambitions are shattered in an instant. He candidly reveals the highs and the lows of his courageous rehabilitation, as well a the difficulties and frustrations of rebuilding his life as a paraplegic.

Goes off to start reading the book.

Blues vs Highlanders

My brother and I went to Eden Park to watch the Blues play against the Highlanders. On the Blues first pass we were all waiting for the Blues to drop the ball, which they did a lot in there game last Friday, but they did not drop the ball, within 3 minutes of the game they scored a try!! The Blues thrashed the Highlanders and won the game 26 - 6. The Blues got a bonus point too and are now in the top 4.

Invacare and Orthotics Appt

I went to Invacare today with Dad to get something fixed on my chair. The job didn't take too long and the problem area just needed some adjustment. We then went to Sylvia Park mall for a quick look around and some lunch which we had at the Coffee Club. We then went to Orthotics as I had a shoe appt. I'm going to get another pair of everyday shoes made and they will be ready in 6 months or so due to funding being tight. We then went to another mall to exchange a peice of clothing I got on Monday, then we came home.

Ultrasound Done

I went to my hospital appt this morning to get an ultrasound done on my left shoulder and left elbow. It was a little uncomfortable on my shoulder due to him putting pressure on it while doing the ultrasound. He could see some long term Bursitis in the shoulder and said the report will tell me more. He didn't see to much wrong in the elbow but again I felt the pressure in some areas of my elbow as he was doing the ultrasound. He also asked me where it was sore. Report should tell my Dr what is going on. He took a quick picture of my right shoulder to compare I guess. It proably would of been a good idea to ultrasound that shoulder too as it has similar signs, just not as bad as the left side.

Afterwards, Mum and I went for some lunch and had a quick look around the mall then Mum dropped me home.

Daylight Savings

awww it's Daylight Savings again and tonight we have to set our clocks 'back' one hour. We will have less light in the evenings now, from around 6pm onwards it will get darker. in the mornings it will be lighter.

Browns Bay, Long Bay, Albany and Dinner

My uncle Tim and his partner Val arrived on Monday at Mum and Dad's place. They had been touring New Zealand. Today Dad, Tim, Val and I went to Brown's Bay, Long Bay and then stopped off at Albany for a little while before heading back to Dad's place. It was pretty overcast and a little windy today so it wasn't really a nice day, let alone warm. I hadn't been to Browns Bay for so long but it was nice to check it out. We walked along the little town street then we went to the beach and Val took some photos and I did too using my phone. We then had some lunch.

We headed to Long Bay which I have been to more. We got out and had a walk along the beach edge, Val and Tim went on the sand for a bit and looked at some shells. More photos were taken. We then headed off to Albany for a drink and to show them one of the nice shopping malls. We then went back to Dad's place and later we went out for Dinner at a nearby resturant. I had pork belly, beans and eggplant mash and it was good, I had to take a doggie bag home though. I also had chocolate fondue which I shared with anyone wanting some, it was good but the chocolate could of been thicker.

Sports, Food Shop, Warriors vs Broncos Game

I had a long and fun day today. It started off st sports practice at 1pm, we had all ten player's which meant we could have two full teams of 5 v 5 players. This was awesome as we were able to play positions in hockey and balloon soccer. If we all had foot guards we could of played rugby and that would of been awesome. Anyhow hockey went well, I was team captain and we decided to change positions every so often to give everyone a go at the different positions. Our team won hockey by 2-1. Playing positions means we are playing more as a team and doing more passing etc. It was the first time in a very long time that we played positions in balloon soccer, we haven't done this in 3 yrs actually. Sean and I the two experienced player's took on the adjoining six position on each team and informed our team players about the positions they are in and some key things that they need to know during play. Soccer was awesome and I have no idea what the score was. It was just fun all round, I loved today's practice.

Dad and I then went to the mall to get some things then I did my food shopping. I got Dad a birthday pressie too. We also stopped for a drink and something to eat. Came home and put the food away, then I got changed ready to go out to the rugby game with my brother.

We headed off to the stadium and parked the van in the disabled parking area, then we had to walk some way to get to our seats. We sat right in front of the field basically so we were real close and we could see the big screen as well.
Normally when we go to Mt Smart stadium we are sitting up high so we can see the whole field and what's going on better. At this stadium I could actually see how freakin fast these guys were running and omg they are fast!! I found it harder to keep up with the play as I was eye level with the players so i had to look at the screen a lot but it was awesome anyhow. The down side was that the Warriors got there butts kicked. Scroe: Warriors 10 - Broncos 26 I'd go again.