Biodome and Olympic Stadium November/December 2006

Jeremy and I took in the Biodome and the Olympic Stadium as well. I had never been to a zoo before, and that's what i figure the biodome is, an indoor zoo! LOL Someday I'll make it to a real zoo, and when I do then I'll know what it looks like. The animals are pretty much free to roam in the building. They have different sections, Rainforest, Arctic, North American, and there was a marine time place too with fish...lots and lots of fish! LOL

I was worried in the rainforest that the birds might poop on my head, LOL, and these were no Crows....we are talking parrots and other HUGE birds. I found just about all the animals on the list except for the Iguana or Cameleon...darn thing..blending in with it's background. I literally spent a lot of time looking for him, and went back when he ended up being the only one I couldn't find! GRRRRR!!!! Next time I'll find him! If only I had a way to bring him out of hiding! LOL Jermey had a field day taking pictures, so...I have to try to find a lot to talk about in order to make the pictures fit on here right. lol! Jen needs to teach me the collage thing she does, so that I can do that with the 7 million pictures Jeremy took of our trip! LOL

I liked the monkey, he was a cutie, the birds were huge I tell ya! LOL Much bigger then anything I've ever seen. The rainforest section was quite warm! I had to take my coat off for fear of stroke..Just kidding it wasn't that bad, but it was warm.

They had a place in there that was glassed in that had frogs (Poisonous ones) and a snake. I had a great time finding all of them. The silly frog with blue spots tho was a hard one to get out of hiding! LOL But he made an appearance, but jumped away again before Jeremy could get the camera angled just so! Silly boy snap the picture and hope it turns out! LOL

The otters were cool, they were playing and wouldn't stay still very long, so Jeremy had a hard time getting a picture of them. I got to see my first ever LIVE porcipine! I have the picture to prove that they were ALIVE, and not squished on the road! LOL There were other cool animals in the North American Section too, umm some beavers I think, and some birds (every room had birds...Melissa wouldn't like it! lol)

See all the fishies in the back ground? It was a huge tank full of fish! I've seriously never seen so many fish all in one place! It was cool to see them and I think Jeremy would have stayed there all day! He had a great time taking pictures of all the fish! There was a crab in the next section, and Jeremy had a great time explaining to me all the different organisms in the same tank as the crab, him being a zoologist makes him somewhat of an expert I guess..LOL

Now to my FAVOURITE part!!!!! the PENGUINS!!!!! The night before we went to see Happy Feet at the IMAX (which was awesome...the movie and the IMAX) So I was very very excited to see the Penguins at the Biodome. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't hear any singing or see any dancing, but they were awesome just the same! Jeremy and I had watched March of the Penguins as well, so I am well informed in what those little guys go through! I think we have a picture of the Puffins too...which are another of my favourites!! If you haven't seen Happy Feet yet...You have to make sure you get it on March 27th and watch it because it's an awesome movie! I could have spent hours sitting there watching the penguins, however, apparently Jeremy didn't want to! LOL

Then it was off to the Olympic Stadium, which I was in awe over, as in 1976 Olympic athletes from all over the world had walked the same path I did, they had stood in the same lobby that I stood in, and they were full of excitement and anticipation! It was not the best of days to go there, we went up the tower (not near as exciting as the CN Tower) and it was iced up on all sides except for one, but Jeremy took some pictures on the way up and the way down and from the top.

Old Montreal November/December 2006

We decided to head out to Old Montreal and take in the sites there, I can't believe how many art stores/galleries there are, not that I could afford anything there, but Jeremy and I had an arguement about one painting (I can't remember if it was in Montreal or Quebec City) It was of a tree in the fall I assume since the leaves were red. It was a huge painting hanging in a window. I said it was a painting he argued with me that it was a picture someone had taken. Once we got up close to it you could see the brush strokes...point to me! HAHA!

Old Montreal was cool, but Old Quebec was much more entertaining, so I'll just fill this post with a bunch of pictures that Jeremy took! HAHA! I thought we were going to get lost walking up and down all the streets.

While there we took in the Notre Dame Basilica. It reminded me so much of my nan. Beautiful church. Jeremy took a ton of pictures there too. and since the church is in Old Montreal, I'm going to add it to this post.

As you can tell from one of the pictures below there was a choir there practicing. We definitely were not alone in the church! LOL There were tons of people there listening to the choir or just taking a tour of the building.

Montreal November/December 2006

We arrived in Montreal and decided that we would spend Thursday night in the Garrison in Montreal, and then head to Paul and Angela’s for Friday night.

Jeremy called the Garrison as soon as we arrived and they told us we had to head right over, so off to the car we go to head toward our home for the night. When we got there, I realized that we probably should have stayed at Paul and Angela’s. Angela had called and asked when we would be arriving and I had told her we were in Montreal, she asked if we were going to stay the night there. I had said no, but when we walked into the room in the Garrison, I realized that I quickly wanted to call her back and say I want to stay there!!! There was one single bed, two blankets, one pillow, a desk and a dresser in the room. That was it folks. Two grown people sleeping on one single bed, ohh it was one of the worst sleeps I have ever had. I was actually awake before Jeremy, and showered and dressed before he even moved from the bed. I don’t have any pictures of our room in the Garrison, but You can pretty much see it if you close your eyes and repeat my description! LOL

That night we headed to St. Catherine’s Street to see the sights. Ohh I should mention that it rained or snowed pretty much the whole time we were up there, but it didn’t dampen our spirits. Jeremy took me into a Chapters that was 3 floors…..3 floors of books! I was in heaven, I could have so gotten lost in all those books, and I did lose Jeremy a couple of times.
We also went to The Bay, which has I think 8 or 9 floors, and we just kept taking the escalator up and up, until we were at the top floor, which is where they put the clearance stuff, which is still more expensive then I would want to pay! We then took the elevator down.
We walked around an underground mall for a bit, we were to a Future Shop that had 2 floors, and into a few other cool stores. I have never seen the word SEX so much in my life. Still thinking back it amazes me how many sex shops and strip bars there were on that street.
Jeremy and I went to see Happy Feet in the IMAX Theatre. I loved the movie, loved the screen and was in heaven to be able to sit down for more then 5 mins! LOL Ohh and the IMAX theater was on the top floor (I don’t know at least 3 flights of stairs) and the escalators were broken!!!!! So I know I lost like 20lbs just walking up and down those stairs! LOL

Thursday Morning we decided to head to the biodome (indoor zoo, if you ask me). We also went to see the Olympic Stadium. The biodome, was more for Jeremy, and the Stadium was more for me.

Quebec City

Jeremy and I left to go to Montreal on a Wednesday (which was not the plan! We were supposed to leave on Thursday). We got to Quebec City late Wednesday night and decided we would just get a hotel room for the night and start our site seeing in the morning. However, we got lost looking for a hotel. We determined that I suck with a map, but I have to admit by the time we started heading home from Montreal, I’ve improved greatly in my map reading abilities!

Thursday morning, we rose fairly early and headed down to the continental breakfast, which filled us up to start our day. We packed up our stuff and headed out to Old Quebec City, and let me just say it was amazing! I have never been to Quebec City and have only driven through Montreal, so this trip was quite exciting for me, so many new things to see and do….and so much walking!!!!! Thank heavens I’d started going to the gym the month before, it really helped me handle the walking…cuz it seems that’s all we did was walk! lol

I know there may be others to read this who have never been to Quebec City, don’t worry…
Jeremy took about 1000 pictures! So our trip is well documented!



These are the gates going into Old Quebec City. History has always amazed me

and to think that 100’s of years ago this was a fort and the people felt safe inside the walls. I would like to go back someday to get a tour so I can learn all the history of the City and what not, I know I could read it online, but really…it’s much more fun to learn this stuff when you are there. Apparently, November/December are NOT hot tourist months and there were no tours. We walked around the city and seen so many cool things, the architecture is amazing.

city inside walls…it just amazes me…can you imagine what I will be like in Scotland?!?!?!? Yup, I’ll be in awe and I’m sure that Jeremy will be excited to see the pictures that I take while I’m away, altho, it will be weird not having my own photographer! I hope I don’t forget that I have to take the pictures!!! LOL




We walked all around Quebec City, from the top to the bottom, once we got to the bottom we took a elevator type thing to the top again!

This road which we took to get down the hill, was really made of bricks which made it kinda lop sided and bumpy. Jeremy told me that when he lived in St. Jean he used to come biking to Quebec City and he said he always had fun going down that particular road with all the bumps.

The elevator to the top was pretty cool, of course Jeremy seen a photo op and he grabbed it. He’s snapping pictures the whole way up the hill! LOL



We also went to a museum while we were there. My first ever REAL museum. I learned all about Indonesia, Quebec, Catholicism, Quebec Films, and I don’t know there was another section there which was done with Cartoon things (can’t even remember the name of the cartoon, maybe someone will remember it from the pictures) any ways, I found that part the most boring and I could not wait to get out of there! LOL I will add pictures of the museum in another post, as there are enough pictures in this one already.

Overall, my first museum experience was a good one, it was definitely educational, and I hope that I get to go to other museums in the future, which I am sure that I will.

We left Quebec City in the early afternoon and decided to head for Montreal. I drove to Montreal, and I have to say that was the MOST boring drive ever, Jeremy had the luxury of sleeping the whole way.

This is a Hotel in Quebec City and I don't remember the name of it, I just remember Jeremy telling me how expensive it was to stay there. So we took some pictures of the outside and then some more of the inside! Might never get to stay there, but I know what it looks like on the inside!

Our Host and Hostess in Montreal

Jeremy and I went to Montreal and Quebec City at the end of November and the first of December. We both had a great time and I got to see things that I have never seen before!

When we arrived in Montreal, the first night (Thursday) we stayed the night in the Garrison (base). It was a small room with a single bed and a shared bathroom, but it was cheap! At the time that was all that mattered!

Friday night, we headed out to long time friends of my family, Paul and Angela's. It has been years since I have seen them! I mean like 15 or more! Crazy eh?!! But when my mom emailed them and told them that my boyfriend and I were heading to Montreal, they very quickly opened their home to us and offered us a place to stay. The arrangements in their beautiful home were much more comfortable then the barracks!

We stayed with Paul and Angela and their family Friday and Saturday nights. We spent the days roaming around Montreal, Jeremy showing me the cool hot spots. I haven't walked so much in a very long time, but it was great!

I got to see Notre Dame Bassilia (sp?). I have pictures to be added at a later date in a seperate blog! (need to get them from Jeremy's PC to my PC!) It reminded me of my Nan so much, and I felt closer to her while I was in the church, I'm sure that she had seen that church at some point in her life.

Here is a picture of our host and hostess!



Their Daughter, Allison (I think) was out at the time of the picture, so we caught her as she re-entered the house! haha!



Angela is an awesome cook, I rank her up there with my Nan! It was great to spend time with Paul and Angela and I hope that we get to see them again in the future! Thanks again Paul and Angela for being such awesome hosts!

Another Move

As Jen mentioned in her post, Jeremy and I will be (hopefully) getting our own place in April. The countdown for that has yet to begin, but it will.

We are going to move into a PMQ in Oromocto, rent will be fairly cheap and we plan to not get cable (as neither of us really watches much tv, mostly movies). We are both excited about moving in together, however we are trying to hold out our excitement as April is a bit away.

First, we need to find someone to rent the townhouse and take over the lease which goes until October 2007. So, please keep your fingers crossed that we find someone! Or pass on the information if you know someone who is looking for a place!

All of Jeremy's possessions are in storage, in some warehouse somewhere in the country (I have no idea, and I don't think he does either). All of his stuff will come out of storage when we move in together. Plus we have to move all my stuff to Oromocto again.

Do I want to move to Oromocto?? Hmmm..tough question! Last time, none of my friends came to visit me, and I felt lonely out there. This time is different, I'm with a different person and not going all the way to Geary! So I have to say I am ok with moving to Oromocto as long as it's with Jeremy. I know ... "AAAWWWWW ain't that sweet" lol

So here's to changes in 2007!

Oh yeah to warn you all now, Jeremy has been talking quite a bit about Edmonton. He says he's going to ask to stay here, but I think he's trying to get me to warm up to the idea of moving there. He keeps telling me he's not going without me. "AWWWWWW SWEEET" So I guess I'm warning you that in September another big move might be taking place for me! Again to Changes in 2007. This might not happen for a couple of years, as he may get posted here, but you never know what the future holds, especially when you are dating an Army Buck! LOL

After a LLLLOOOONNNGGGG Wait

Jeremy's plane landed today at about 245pm. I was both nervous and excited, after all it had been three weeks since I had seen him last.

The preparations for Jeremy's arrival began early last week, however, with me being quite the procrasinator, it took some time to get everything organized and I left 90% of it to today! HAHA.

I had to clean the apartment up so that things were at least somewhat organized when he came, as well as to go with my new years resolution of becoming more girlie, I enlisted the help of Celeste. I bought two new outfits last week, as I wanted to have something new and something slimming, and something sexy to pick him up in. I bought two tops at Penningtons and 3 pairs of pants at Winners.

The problem was trying to decide what to wear and then accessories and then make up (holy, being a girl sure is tough!)

I got up today at about 9am I had something to eat, then I went to get my car washed, then to shoppers to get mousse for my hair and advil for my headache, and I walked out of Shoppers with mousse, two cards, and a new head band (you'll like it Jen!) and I forgot the advil and didn't remember until I was almost home. At that point I said, I'll get it when I go to Shoppers with Celeste to get make up.

After I got home, I got in the shower, added a little mousse to my hair to help keep it looking nice (or that was the plan!) Then I got a hold of Celeste to come over and we hummed and haa'd about what outfit I should wear. We finally decided on the red top with the black lace (I'll have to take a picture!)and black pants. I tried on my black pleather jacket and it was way too big. I couldn't believe it, not that long ago it was snug on me, but it seriously hung off of me..you can ask Celeste! I had another Pleahter Jacket in the closet that was beige/tan, and I tried it on (it hasn't fit in like a year or more) and it fit wonderfully! I couldn't believe it! How excited was i??? well pretty damn excited!

We left for shoppers at like 130 to get make up. It was hard to find what we wanted, and I still don't think Celeste found exactly what she wanted me to get. We got home and started putting the make up on. I of course sat on the floor with my eyes shut waiting for her to apply the make up for me...but NNNNOOOOO, she said "you have to learn to put it on yourself." so I had to apply the silly stuff myself. But then I was doing it somewhat wrong, so she helped me out! haha! SUCKER!!! JK Celeste I luvs ya!

I left here at twenty after two to be at the airport for twenty to three. I got there at about twenty to three...LOL Luckily, his plane was a few mins late. I heard someone say at quarter to three that the plane from Halifax had just landed. I thought ohh that's not so bad. I watched all the people come in from the plane, and then I seen Jeremy. I got all nervous, but I stood up and he came over to me and we both went through this "do I hug him/her" thing. Then our mouths opened and we started talking up a storm. (no hug tho)

Jeremy told me how pretty I looked, and how much a difference in my weight he could see. I told him about my adventures with Celeste and in the middle of that talk he kissed me (IN PUBLIC!!!! haha! He's not much for PDA)

It's great to have him back, and I really look forward to having him around. I really did miss him while he was gone. And I wasn't sure that I would, but he was online almost everyday to remind me that he was still around and that he wanted to come back.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!

I had a pretty relaxing New Years. I went to work at noon until 10pm. It was great, not really, but I really enjoy the customers at the store, I'll miss them when I quit, which is coming soon. A person can only work every weekend for so long before they need a break.

I watched a few movies, and played some poker online.

I took down my christmas decorations today. Sorry that Jeremy will not make it to see them. Ahh well, that's what he gets for going away for 3 weeks! haha! Actually he may have seen some of them because I think they were up when we got back from Montreal.

I hope everyone had a great new years celebration and I wish everyone the best in the new year. Hard to believe it's 2007!

Blog Permissions for Comments

Ok, Since Jen is pretty much the only one who comments on my blog now, I've changed the settings so that anyone can leave a comment. Please leave your name tho, or at least a name that I will know you by! LOL

I've restricted who can access my blog by making it non public and only people who know the address can find it. Hopefully, I won't have too many strangers reading about my life! LOL

Who is Missing from this Picture?

For Christmas for the last 3 years I’ve been asking for Gilbert Blythe. Who is that you are wondering?? Well, if you have ever read Anne of Green Gables, you would probably recognize the name. Gilbert and Anne eventually fell in love, however at first they were bitter enemies! I collect Porcelain dolls. Actually I collect Dolls from around the world too, and those take up the majority of my collection.

A few years ago, (ok about 6) I started the collection of Green Gables. It was great! I got Anne one year, Diana the next, then Matthew (who is my favorite!), and finally 3 years later I got Gilbert.

Let me introduce you to the crew!



From Left to Right: Gilbert, Diana, Anne, and Matthew. Hmmm…someone seems to be missing don’t you think?? Whoever could that be?? Hmm…I’ll have to think about it.

Let’s take a closer look at the dolls.
Starting with the Star of the books Anne!



I have several Anne dolls, or rather Dolls that are supposed to be Anne. I like this one the best, mostly because of her outfit. To me it looks like the ones described in the books. We have her red haired braids there and the hat…all fine. Let’s look at her face a little more closely. I always pictured Anne to have a mischievous look on her face or maybe a smile. Other then when she was fighting with Gilbert or Marilla (hmmm…hint, hint) she didn’t look happy, but I picture her to be happy the rest of the time…so my complaint is I don’t like her non smiling face!

Next we have Anne’s Kindred Spirit, Diana.



Diana Barry was Anne’s Best Friend, who she called her Kindred Spirit. She felt a strong connection to Diana, and every once in awhile the pair ended up in some situation that was almost always Anne’s idea! Lol. Let’s talk details. I don’t particularly care for her outfit, although it does show that Diana was a bit more sophisticated then Anne, so I guess it will have to do. Maybe it’s that pink isn’t my favorite color? The black ringlet hair is perfect. The eyes seem a little big, but mostly I’m pretty impressed with this doll, again no smile, maybe her and Anne just got caught being drunk because they drank the wine instead of the Raspberry Cordial??

Matthew was the only one who wanted to keep Anne, when she first arrived. He and his sister, Marilla adopted what they thought would be a little boy to help around the farm. When Matthew went to pick him up he found Anne instead. He fell quickly in love with her spirit and energy. Anne talked the whole ride home, with Matthew hardly saying a word. When Matthew returned home Marilla (there’s that name again), quickly asked what this was all about and where was the boy that they had asked for. Matthew said that they couldn’t send her back, Marilla and Matthew got in a bit of an argument, but Matthew ended up winning and Anne stayed with them.



Unfortunately, Matthew dies of a heart attack very quickly in the book, however it still leaves you time to fall in love with his character and how he bonded with Anne. I love this doll, it’s probably the one doll that I think represents the character the best. He’s carrying a basket of potatoes. I just think he looks perfect. Don’t you? If you don’t, check out the next picture.



See the hump in his back?? OMG I do fell in love with this doll when I opened it, I couldn’t believe how perfectly the creator of this doll had depicted Matthew.

Gilbert Blythe was as mentioned before Anne’s enemy. She broke a chalkboard over his head, they competed in different things and they genuinely did not get a long! However in later years, they managed to admit that they loved one another and they got married and had kids. This doll is a representation of the young Gilbert. I remember reading the books and falling in love with him at the same time Anne was, these books serious are amazing! LOL



I haven’t made a decision on the details of this doll yet. I think I was just happy to finally get him! LOL

So again, who is missing from this crew of characters in a bunch of novels? That would be Marilla. I will do a write up on her, if she ever appears under the Christmas tree! LOL

Merry Christmas 2006 Everyone!

We were off to a slow start this year for Christmas. I didn’t rise until 8ish, Mom and Dad were both up. Before we opened any presents we called Troy (who couldn’t be with us this Christmas), Mom and Dad opened their gifts from him while he was on the phone. My present from him is still in Fredericton and I’ll open that tomorrow, when I get home.
We started as always opening our stockings, I got some text messages from Jeremy shortly there after, so I went online to talk to him for a few mins, so we were really slow opening presents. Dad as always got tons of Coke stuff…it’s taking over the house!

Here’s Wink wondering what all the excitement is about



Mom and Wink playing with the string.



Dad sporting his new Coke boxers! He was so excited he put them right on over top of his pants!



Here is a collection of the stuff that I got from everyone.



The “Dear Santa” sign is from my Aunt Bev, There is a Sarah’s Angel beside it, that’s from Mom and Dad. The salt and pepper shakers/napkin holder is from my Aunt Heather and Uncle George. The movie and santa hat is from Cheryl and Ben. The Ovations from my granddad. The New Brunswick Sheets from Santa, socks from Santa, Gilbert (from Anne of Green Gables) from Santa (he made a special stop in PEI for me!), and the collection of stuff in the front is my stocking stuffers. The big present this year was my luggage! Pink, I’m not a fan of pink, but Mom made a good point, at least it’ll stand out at the airport and I won’t have to worry about getting it mixed up with someone else!). I got pajamas from my Aunt Gail and Uncle Lloyd, it’s an every year thing! I love it, at least I’m always guaranteed pajamas!

This is a better picture of the stuff down in front!



These are Mom’s presents, minus the red bag, that’s Dad’s from Troy that he didn’t open. Mom’s presents are missing the George Foreman Grill that Aunt Bev and Kayla got for her and Dad.



This is Dad’s presents. See all the Coke stuff?!?! Where’s he gonna put this stuff?!?? Lol.
Everything there is new, except for the transport truck, that was from a previous year.



As you can tell Santa definitely found his way here!

This is just too cute, I couldn’t not take a picture of it by itself! Santa brought that!



Wink had a great time playing with all the paper and ribbon and bows, ohh and let’s not get started on the boxes and bags! Silly kitty!!!


We went for Christmas dinner with my Aunt Gail and Uncle Lloyd and the rest of my Dad’s side of the family. Sorry folks, I didn’t take my camera with me, so I have no pictures. I should have taken it to take pictures of the spread of food! OMG, there was so much!

Later that evening (after a much deserved nap), Mom and I headed down to Blackville to visit my Grandmother and Grandfather. (I took my camera this time!)

The lights on the house, see that little bear there, that’s what my mom got them last year for Christmas, the picture doesn’t do it justice, but it is definitely cute.



Here is Nanny and Grandad’s Tree and spread of gifts. I was more focusing on the Montreal Canadians guy then anything else, but wanted to get everything else as well. Pretty cool eh?!



It looks like Mom is reaching for the snowman, but she is not, she was playing with the fire trucks! LOL Actually, she’s trying to get out of the way of the picture, however she failed! HAHA!



I had to take a close up of the fire trucks because this really doesn’t do them justice. They don’t look like toys at all, not even like models, ok maybe really REALLY good models.



After that Mom and I headed home and Mom introduced me to a new website called Bebo.com, I think it’s going to be a good place to put all my pictures, I can put some in my blogs, and the rest I can put there for people to look through. Also, a lot of the relatives from Scotland are on there, and it will be an easy way to keep in touch with them.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!!

Driving Home for Christmas

This is what I love about going home for Christmas! Every year on my way home, I always get so excited when I hit the top of the hill and I see this:



I know that home is just at the bottom where the glow from the Christmas Spirit lights up the sky. Ever since I can remember and probably that means forever, Dad and Mom have always gone all out for Christmas. My friend Darren always asks me at Christmas “Has your parents gone all St. Mary’s again this year?” And of course they do. What he is referring to is the many lights my dad puts up. Every year on the Reserve there is always a great display of lights from the people’s houses. I don’t think I’d like my dad’s house there, it would fit in and not stand out like it does now. When I topped the hill this year and seen the lights they were pretty much the only ones on, none of the neighbors had their lights on.

Once I got home, I decided to take a walk to the top of the hill and take pictures looking down, let me tell you this was not an easy task! You might think it would be, but getting a good picture of the dark and the lights was so hard! I really missed my photographer! Jeremy, how dare you go to Winnipeg for Christmas! Haha!

When I walked up the hill I noticed how big the moon was, not that it was a full one or anything. It seem like it was just sitting on top of the hill! So I tried to take a picture of that too, but again I’m not good at this night picture stuff! Give me a day time and I can take any picture you want!



This picture looked about 100 times better on my camera, I swear it! LOL but none the less, it does depict the moon! Can you pick it out?!?!? Haha!

As I walked down the hill I took pictures at various spots along the way.
About halfway down the hill…



Another a bit more of a close up…



This is at the edge of the first drive way you to come to when you go to my parents house.



It’s always important to find the new addition to the decorations! The polar bear was a gift from Santa last year to my dad. Kinda looks like the coke bear eh?!



And once more picture of the front of the house. Please note that this year the “Peace On Earth” sign is missing.

Dermoid Cyst

This post is for Jennifer! LOL She's gonna love it!

Quite a few years ago (within the last 5..I don't remember the exact year) I had surgery to have a dermoid cyst removed from my ovary on the right side. During the surgery they had to take my ovary. I've been thinking about the surgery a lot lately as mom had surgery not that long ago and it reminded me of the day I went in for surgery.

My dermoid cyst was the size of a kiwi when they first found it. I was told I would be monitored every 6 months to make sure that the cyst didn't grow any. About a year later (after no follow ups) I was going to to Colscopy clinic to have my PAP tests done (for like ever!) when I asked the doctor if the cyst would cause abnormal cells in my PAP he said no, then I explained that I was supposed to be monitored. A little bit after that I got a notice in the mail to go get an ultrasound done. During that ultrasound they discovered that the cyst had grown to the size of a softball (that is quite the increase!) That's when it was determind that they would take the cyst out. At the time of the ultrasound the cyst was not twisted, but by the time I went in for surgery the cyst had twisted and cut off the blood supply to my ovary which in turn caused the ovary to stop working and made it the removal of the ovary neccessary.

The other day at work we were talking about it and Jen asked me what a Dermoid Cyst was so I started to explain it to her and she made me shut up as she thought it was too gross! Then I told her to look it up on the internet so that she could see a picture. LOL She thought I meant I had a picture of my cyst. But I don't have my own picture, as it busted when it was taken out and he said it wouldn't have made a very nice picture! LOL

I thought that I could write a post about it so that everyone will know exactly what a dermoid cyst is. The information has been gathered from several websites.

Dermoid Cyst - A bizarre tumor, usually benign, in the ovary that typically contains a diversity of tissues including hair, teeth, bone, thyroid, etc.

What is a Dermoid Cyst?
The idea of a dermoid cyst is somewhat startling. For reasons we don't understand, the cells of the ovary can, all by themselves and without the presence of any sperm, start to produce hair, teeth, fluid, and other growing tissues to form an ovarian cyst. This is called a dermoid cyst. Dermoid cysts are fairly common, occurring most often before menopause and are almost never cancerous (less than 1/1000). Dermoid cysts have a fairly characteristic appearance on sonogram and often the diagnosis can be made this way. Unfortunately, these cysts do not go away by themselves and surgery is recommended when they are found.

What Causes a Dermoid Cyst?
I looked online for a long time for the answer to this and it ranges from you are born with it to fluid collects for no reason. So I guess what they really want to say here is they have NO idea! LOL

General Dermoid Cyst Information
Dermoid cysts may occur at any age but the prime age of detection is in the childbearing years. The average age is 30. Up to 15% of women with ovarian teratomas have them in both ovaries. Dermoid cysts can range in size from a centimeter (less than a half inch) up to 45 cm (about 17 inches) in diameter. In 25 percent of cases, cysts are found on both ovaries. Hmmm 15 to 25% of women who have a dermoid cyst in one ovary gets a cyst in the other one. This information scares me, I don't want to go through that again.

These cysts can cause the ovary to twist (torsion) and imperil its blood supply. The larger the dermoid cyst, the greater the risk of rupture with spillage of the greasy contents which can create problems with adhesions, pain etc. Although the large majority (about 98%) of these tumors are benign, the remaining fraction (about 2%) becomes cancerous (malignant).

Depending on the position of the cyst within the ovary, it may be necessary to remove a portion of or the entire ovary. In this case, a woman may wonder about her fertility potential. If the remaining ovarian tissue is normal, a woman may still ovulate, menstruate, and conceive a pregnancy. Even if one ovary is completely removed, the other ovary is stimulated and continues to produce eggs, so that conception can occur. (that's incase anyone was wondering about my fertility! LOL)

I was going to include some pictures of the cysts...but my goodness they are GROSS!! and I wouldn't want anyone to have to see them. If you are interested, the best way to find them is to type pictures of an ovarian dermoid cyst in google and it'll bring up some wonderful pictures! I found one that was all labeled and everything, but like I said...they are really gross!