Stayed Tuned for After the Holidays...

I know I've been MIA for quite some time. The last few months have been a rollercoaster and I think I just needed some time "away". I hope to be back to regularly scheduled blogging after the holidays... Happy Holidays!!

P.S.
I still keep up with most of the same blogs weekly and I do think about you all!

Happy Birthday Jamie!

I know I'm a day late on posting, but you probably won't read this and I DID talk to you yesterday on your birthday! ha ha ha I really missed seeing you this weekend, but you can bet that I'll be up soon after your little one arrives to spend some time with you! Miss you and love you bunches!

Remember this... Bird aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

365 Days

of me!

I recently took a tip off of Kitten and joined the 365 day pool. Basically the challenge is to take a picture of yourself for 365 days. It's a way to sort of look back at yourself over the year and also to play around with your camera and different things you can do with pictures. I was hesitant at first because I wasn't sure if I could keep up with doing it every day, but it intrigued me at the same time so I decided what the heck. I may miss a day or two here and there, but I think I can do it. Take a look at the pictures for the first 5 days...

Feel free to join me in this fun new photo op, too. Leave me a comment if you decide to join so I can keep an eye on your pics.

5 Years Ago...

I met the man of my dreams. I don't know where my life would be without him nor do I care. He is my everything and I love him so much. I haven't been the easiest wife at times and we've had some major obstacles to overcome. Heck I'm sure there will be more to come in the future. But I love him and I always will.

GWO 14 - Ohio

This weekend we had a Girls' Weekend Out and it was a lot of fun. Thursday I picked up Danialle and we headed to Ohio. We talked all the way over and it really made me feel good. After we got there we got into our pjs and watched Survivor & Flavor*of*Love with Jennifer & Eric. It was hilarious. Then went to bed. Friday we got up and went golfing. (My grandpa always told me I should be a golfer. He used to take me to the driving range when I was younger and I loved it, but didn't really have the desire to do it in high school because I wanted to play softball. Well I realize now that I picked the wrong sport!) We only played 9 holes, but it was a blast. The girls were really impressed with my skills even though I'd never set foot on an actual course! It really made me feel good, too. I ended up not doing so hot on the last couple of holes, but still came out not to shabby overall. Danialle had never played either and only had 3 more shots than me. I think she and I might go on occassion and I think we might do it regularly for girls' weekends.

After golfing we grabbed lunch at Chipotle and decided to hit up Target. We shopped and tried stuff on and just had a blast. I ended up only buying one cute necklace since we were doing a bunch of shopping on Saturday. We also stopped at a couple of shoe stores to check out some of their shoes. Both were pretty blah and we really didn't find much. We went back to Jennifer's and played with Grace for a while before dinner. Heather arrived just as Grace was getting a bath and getting ready to go to bed. After Grace was fast asleep we made a drive over to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and then stopped to pick up some wings for dinner. We caught up on life and watched more Flavor*of*Love then headed to bed.

Saturday we got up early and started our day at Kohl's. In fact we spent 3 hours there. Between trying on loads of clothes and shoes, we stopped by the cosmetic area and Danialle & Jennifer put on their makeup while getting several samples and tips from the chic there. I think I ended up with a shirt, pair of cute ballet shoes, and a blanket for Godiva. We went to Filene's and DSW next and it didn't fair too well. I think only Jennifer bought something (sexy new boots in black AND brown). Our last stop was the mall. We tried on quite a bit of stuff there as well and made out like bandits, especially in the jewelry area. I found some sexy dark, low rise jeans, too.

After the mall we headed back for a disco nap. Then we got ready for our night out. We got all snazzied up and headed over to dinner with Jennifer's husband Eric chauffering us around. After dinner we decided to head downtown and scope up the best place to shake our booty's at. We stopped at one bar and they were having a hip-hop band, but we weren't sure if they would be playing stuff we knew, but it was an option. We walked along and Heather ended up getting us into this fun bar w/out having to pay a cover long enough to do a shot. While we were inside doing our shot, Eric was outside and found out the next bar down might be the place to be. We were a little skeptical at first, but decided to go ahead and try it out. At first it was a little dull, but it finally got going and it was a blast. We danced and danced and danced. I think we finally left around 2 and got to bed around 3. I didn't sleep well and we all ended up getting up around 7:30 and hit the road shortly after 8. It was a super long ride home being so exhausted, but the weekend was great.



Click here for my pictures!

Happy Birthday Danialle!!!

We have known each other our entire lives and for that I am thankful. You are one of my best friends and I couldn't imagine my life with you not in it. You have helped me through so many hurdles in my life and I am sure there will be more. You are a great listener and know when to give advice or to just listen. You are so kind and thoughful and I couldn't ask for a better friend. Yes we have some blood that runs through us that we share, but we have taken that blood further with our friendship. I know we will be friends for the rest of our lives and that puts a smile on my face. Anyway...

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Brithday to You!
Happy Birthday Dear Danialle!
Happy Birthday to You!!

Presented to you by...

Cheeseburger in Paradise

I lost my virginity last night and attended my first ever Jimmy Buffett Concert. It was awesome!!! I told Eric he created a monster and we have to go back again next year. :D





Oh, did I mention we got to MEET HIM???

Wedding Weekend

Friday after work we grabbed dinner at BW*3s and visited the bike store.

We had a fabulous weekend. Saturday we went south to see the lovely Heather get married. It was viciously hot outside, which is where Heather got married in a cute little park dwon the road from her house. Thankfully they had a short & sweet ceremony. Can't you just see how giddy she is on her wedding day?? So cute!!



After congratulating the couple we dashed off to the air conditioning at the reception. It was quite packed there, but we had a great time. We stocked up our purses with some liquor and made drinks at our own table.



After some dancing and many laughs Eric & I made our 2 hour trek home.



I barely got my clothes and make-up off before collapsing on the bed.

Sunday was a wee bit difficult to get out of bed. Eric let the dogs go and they made sure I got up in a timely fashion though. We/I lounged around for the morning, ran the vaccuum cleaner and then we left to go see Pira*tes of the Carr*ibbean 2. It was pretty good. We spent the evening inside, on the couch just plain being lazy. It was nice.

I almost forgot!!! You can check out more pictures from the wedding here!!!

Blueberries!!!

For a long time I've told myself that I didn't like blueberries... Last Saturday we went with Danialle, Chadd, Jennifer & Grace to pick our own blueberries. Since I didn't think I liked them I decided I'd pick some for my stepmom. Well, while we were picking I popped a few in my mouth and they were pretty darn good and realized I was going to have to keep all that we picked. Picking them was pretty fun, too. This farm was very clean and non-buggy and only 5 minutes from our house! Grace was as cute as can be out there, too. She at first took fistfuls from the buckets that we were filling. Then she realized she could pick her own and eat them, so she did that. I tried to convince her to only pick the dark ones, but she didn't quite get it. Although she didn't mind when she got the tart ones either, so I guess it was ok.



After we left I made the call to Peg to tell her she was going to have to come up and pick her own.

Oh the bonus is that they are SUPER easy to freeze, too. You just rinse them off and let them dry completely. Once dry you throw them in a freezer bag and toss them in the freezer. Voila! This weekend I'm making homemade blueberry pancakes and maybe some blueberry muffins, too. YUMMY!

There's more than CORN in Indiana...

I've had this urge for a while to start freezing corn and finally decided to take a stab at it. I called my nanny up and got her recipe. I wasn't sure how much to start with, so we headed to the farmer's market and got 3 dozen ears. It took a while to DE-cob all of the corn, but once that was done it was a breeze. I call it the "3-2-1 Freeze!" recipe*. I called my nanny during the process and ended up adding too much sugar and salt to one batch, but it was easily fixable by just adding plain corn to it on the next round. I ended up with 8 pints of corn total, which was not too shabby. Here's the mess I created...



*In case anyone is interested, here is the recipe I used

3-2-1 Freeze...Corn

Cut corn off the cob with a sharp knife
Use the dull side of the knife and run it up and down cob to get juices

In a bowl
Mix 4 cups corn
1/3-1/2 cup water (depends on how good you are at de-cobbing)

Microwave for 3 minutes
Stir
Microwave for 2 minutes

Stir in
1/2 Stick Butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Microwave 1 minute

Put bowl in a sink full of ice to chill, stirring occassionally.

Once chill put in container or freezer bag then freezer.

Card Night!!!

Recently a few ladies in my family & Eric (because he loves cards) started this weekly card night. The last few nights we've had it at my grams house and last night everyone came to my house. It was such a blast!! We played some mean Shanghai, which is similar to rummy, but a little different, and a few rounds of Mexican Train Dominoes. We feasted on some keish, chips & salsa, oreos, and sipped on my lovely tea.

Last week we learned some new words such as

Sneuter - sneu·ter (snū'tər, nyū'-) pronunciation
adj.

**A castrated animal neither masculine nor feminine in gender.**

You would sneuter a...

Hermaphrodog - Her·maph·ro·dog (hər-măf'rə-dī'dog) pronunciation
n.

**A dog who has both sets of sex organs.**

It was quite funny at the time let me just tell you. Last night the F*** word was thrown around a few too many times and grams thought she was going to have knock Sherrie out of her chair or drag her on the back of her car back home. Please believe me when I say my jaw hurts from laughing so hard last night.

Dog Biscuits - Take 1

I recently bought some "homemade" dog biscuits at the farmer's market. As soon as I got them home I checked the ingredients and new instantly that I could make them myself with very little effort. So off to google "dog treat recipes" I went. I found several. My first recipe I tried consisted of wheat flour, baking powder, milk & peanut butter. It was a cinch. I made probably around 50 biscuits, but they were much larger than I wanted for daily treats. So now I'm off to find some smaller cookie cutters. It was fun though and as soon as I find some different cutters I plan to make more and maybe even freeze some.

New Kitchen

So it took me forever to post that final part of our trip to Jamaica, I know. I've been quite busy the last few weeks and it was hard to make myself finish what I started. However, I vowed to myself that I couldn't post anything else until I finished it, so thus the lack of posts. Now I get to play catch up, so hopefully there will be lots of posts for a while. Enjoy!

A few weeks ago Danialle came up on a Saturday morning to help us paint our kitchen & dining room. We made a trip to the farmer's market first thing followed by a trip to Wal-Mart then got back home to begin our project. Eric & I had taped everything off the night before, so we waited for Eric to get everything ready to get started. Danialle broke out a peach from the farmers market before we got started. Well, Godiva through it was a treat (all that was left was the peach pit) and devoured it right out of her hand. She didn't even chew it because Danialle tried to get it back. We were a little concerned, but decided we'd just check and make sure it passed.

We got started on painting. It was a chore painting around all the cabinets and stuff. We painted the entire kitchen a pale yellow (pineapple fizz) and in the dining room we painted the yellow on top and a dark blue (planetarium) on bottom. Then we bought chair rail and cut and stained it and put it up between the colors. Here's how it turned out.

Dining Room...
Before


After


Kitchen...
Before


After


We are really pleased with how it turned out. It feels so warm and inviting now. The white drove me crazy. We finished around 7:00 that night, so it took all day.

To elaborate a bit more on Godiva by the time I got ready for bed she still had not passed it. Eric decided to google "dog eats peach pit" or something to that affect and we found out that peach pits are poisonous to dogs. Lovely. We called the emergency vet and they said she should be ok since she didn't actually chew into it, but they weren't positive, so we should call this poison hotline to make sure. So Eric called and they basically said the same thing. Apparently the inside of the pit is what is poisonous and normally they show signs of being poisoned after 6-8 hours. It had been over 12 by this point. They said to make sure we check her BMs and she should pass it within 48 hours. If not then we'd have to take her in because there would be cause for concern for a blockage. She was still doing #2 that day and even on Sunday, but no pit. Finally monday morning almost exactly 48 hour later she passed it. We nearly threw her a celebration party. Eric took a picture to send to Danialle for confirmation, but I won't share it with you all. Hopefully Danialle didn't even look at it. ha ha ha

Jamaica - Day 3, 4 & 5

So it's taken me long enough to post the rest of our vacation I know... Sorry

So on Friday we got up early, grabbed breakfast and departed for our trip to Mayfield Falls Riverwalk. We made several stops to pick up people at various stops. Finally we were on our way. The ride there was long, but very interesting. We saw so many things that you definately would not get just staying at the resort. You can see many of the things we saw in the photos. The drive to the falls was probably an hour to an hour and a half long, but again was super interesting. When we got to the falls you walk down this long set of man-made stairs. Then across this bamboo bridge which made me a little nervous. Then you get to an area they call the bar. We had to sign consent forms and made a restroom stop. Then they grouped us into 3 tiki huts. We ended up with 2 other young couples (one from New York, the other from Canada) and another couple that were probably a little older than us, but I can't remember where they were from. Finally they came around and got our lunch order. Our entire table ordered fried chicken. Then our guides came around and told us to leave everything there except what was absolutely necessary to talk. We were told to get in our bathing suits, but keep our shoes on. They had a waterproof bag that we could put valuables in. Finally we got to head to the river. It was cold going in, but so totally awesome once you were in. While we didn't see any ginormous falls. We did see a lot of small ones and one big one for the end. We took so many pics, plus there were two guys along with our guides that took pictures and video. We got to see so many gorgeous things. It was absolutely the best part of our trip without a doubt!! After the falls we walked on a path back to our tiki huts. We sat there and dried off for a bit and then they brought us our lunch and something to drink. The fried chicken was awesome and I'd never had red beans & rice, but it was very good, too. While we were eating we chatted with our table mates and the camera crew came around and gave us a preview of our pictures and video. We ended up getting all of the pictures. I think we ended up with about 20, so it wasn't a bad deal. Finally we walked down this long path back to the bus. Along the path we stopped at a little hut where a local woman was selling stuff. Our bus was down in this huge cliff it seemed and it was a little scary going back up. Thankfully I sat on the side closest to the hill and not overlooking the cliff. The ride back wasn't as long thankfully because we were absolutely exhausted. When we got back we relaxed for a while and then got ready for dinner.

Dinner that night was at the main dining area. The resort had a huge gala with all the food from all the restaurants at the resort and life music and dancing. It was really nice. We were so exhausted that after dinner we headed back and lounged around the pool with another couple for a while. Then we headed to bed.

Saturday we got to sleep in thank goodness. We got up and had breakfast then lounged around the beach for a while. It was nice just to relax for a while. We grabbed our regular lunch and then headed back to our room to get ready for the Rhino Safari Tour. Another couple who had heard it was awesome actually joined us. We left in the early afternoon and headed down the road. It wasn't long before we arrived at our destination. I had a bad feeling when we got there, but it seemed reasonably ok. We waited around until a group came in then we went over some things and got on our pieces of shit floatation devices, I mean boats. It was the worst experience of my life. It's really hard to explain, but you have to basically hang off the front of this thing at full throttle until you get the nose down, then you can sit down. However we couldn't get it very well and the other couple were taking in water and couldn't get the nose down either. Once you get the nose down you have to go at full throttle and our seat ended up falling off. All this in 20 minutes and we finally said screw it and told them to take us back because we were done.

When we got back to the hotel the guys went to the office and got a full refund thank goodness. That stupid "excursion" was not cheap by any means. Then we headed back to our rooms to get cleaned up and ready to meet up with everyone else to go to Rick's Cafe. This was absolutely worth every penny, too!! We watched several people jump off. Then Eric and another guy from our group decided to go. Ironically I wasn't nervous for him at all. I guess I knew he would be fine and of course he was! We watched some more and Eric jumped one more time. Then we sat down and ordered an appetizer and listened to the band. Two other guys from our group jumped a little later, then it was off to the other side of the restaurant to watch the sunset. The sunset started out gorgeous, but some clouds rolled in and we didn't actually get to see it duck below the horizon. You can see in this picture how I feel about it. Finally we made our way back to the resort. We had only eeaten the appetizer at Rick's so we joined a few others and had some italian, which wasn't too bad. Then we headed off to bed for our last night in Jamaica.

Sunday morning we got up early and packed everything up and grabbed breakfast. We walked around the resort one more time and took several more pictures. Made a last stop at the gift shop and met everyone in the lobby to head for the airport. The ride home was pretty uneventful as well. Our connection flight in North Carolina was delayed for about an hour because of a storm that was rolling through Indiana. As soon as we arrived it started downpouring again. We had to run to our car and were drenched, but we made good time on our way home and was glad to be home with the puppies again. I think they were pretty happy to see us again, too. We would go back again anytime. It was a great trip and we vowed to do more excursions on our next trips like we did in Jamaica. You just get so much more out of your trip. :D

View our entire photo album from Jamaica!

One Year Ago Today...

I lost my brother. My only baby brother. Life has not been the same since. I have so many great memories with him and for that I am thankful. Not a day goes by that I don't think of him. Because I am remembering the good times today I'll leave you with some of my favorite pics of he & I.













If you want to see more pictures of him, check out Matt's Photo Album

Jamaica - Day 2

Thursday morning we got up pretty early. Eric swam in the ocean while I relaxed and got ready. Then we headed down for breakfast. After breakfast we schedule two excursions, the Mayfield Falls River Walk for Friday and the Rhino Safari Cruise for Saturday. We had known before we even got down there that we wanted to go to Mayfield. Someone in our group had heard that the safari was "awesome" so we thought we'd try it out, too. We also checked out the gift shop and scoped out our purchases. I ended up getting a gorgeous tanzanite ring for an awesome deal. After that we lathered up in sunscreen and hit the pool. Around lunch time we headed back to get changed and then head down for lunch.

After lunch we found out that our new room on the "CO" side was ready so we got everything ready back in our room and headed over to the new room. The room was exactly the same except for a couple of things. First we actually had a view!! It was also on the ground floor as opposed to the second level, so we could open our door and walk right out to the beach. It was awesome! We spent a while unpacking all of our bags and getting settled into our new room. Then we went out to the pool and Eric played some volleyball. I sat in a chair and sunbathed and watched. Later I was still a little tired so I decided to take a little nap and Eric had to go to this "blending seminar" (so they could make it a business trip). I ended up not sleeping very well, so I ordered a tortilla & vegetable chip basket w/ salsa, sour cream and guac from room service and ate the whole thing just before Eric got back. :D After he got back we got ready and walked around for a while before heading to dinner.

Dinner was at the Japanese place at the resort. I thought it was good, but Eric wasn't as fond of it. I guess we are spoiled from our local japanese place. Our chefs were great. They were singing and telling us jokes/riddles. I actually tried some spicy tuna sushi rolls and loved them. I was pretty proud of myself for the things I was eating and trying. After dinner we headed back over to the "CO" side and lounged around the pool.



Again I added more pics to flickr from Day 2. Only a couple more days before it's finished.

Jamaica - Day 1

Jamaica was absolutely wonderful! We enjoyed it and it is now our destination of choice. We would go back in a heartbeat.

Tuesday evening we dropped the dogs off at the kennel. We ran some last minute errands and grabbed dinner before heading home. It was so odd going home that night with the doggies not around. We packed and just tried to relax for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday morning we got up at 4:00 AM, showered and headed to the airport. We were excited about getting there, so getting up early didn't bother us too much. We were one of the first couples to get there an check-in. We grabbed some Star*buck's and did some people watching while the other's arrived. Our flights were pretty uneventful. We caught the second leg of our flight in North Carolina. It wasn't much of a layover, so we grabbed some snacks to eat on the plane. We talked with a couple on the plane who were goingt down to get married on Saturday. They were pretty cute. Once we landed in Jamaica we had to go through immigration. I swear we walked 5 miles to get there and then waited in line for about an hour w/ only a fan blowing on a small area of the line, so we only got it on occassion. As soon as we got through immigration we went to this room especially for the grand lido guests. They took our luggage and we filled out these cards for the resort and waited for everyone to arrive. They did give us a complimentary small bottle of water. Finally we were off to the resort. It was about an hour drive. We stopped once at this little place and I got my first taste jerk chicken, which was yummy. I hated how they just took a butcher knife to it and chopped up the bones along with the meat, but that just made it finger food.

Finally we arrive at our resort. As soon as we got off the bus someone greated us with very cold washclothes which were heavenly by this point. Then ladies came around with classes of mimosas and rum punch. We were then sent to this waiting area. Finally someone came & called our names and walked us to our rooms. Our room was very nice, but the view sucked. We pretty much had a view of a damn tree w/ a tiny bit of ocean on either side. Eric went back down and complained and they said they didn't have a room for that night, but they'd move us the next day. It was around 5 pm and we were meeting for dinner at 6:30, so we just walked around the resort and took it all in. We took some pictures, etc. There is this huge tree (you can see in the pictures) that we are standing in front of and the look on my face means "there is a huge bee hive behind me, so please take the picture fast!!" After checking out the area, we decided that we actually wanted to be moved to the "clothing optional" side and ended up getting that settled for our move the next day. The reasoning was b/c it was further in and not right up next to the road like the clothing side was. Also it was just more quite & peaceful over there.

Dinner that evening was with everyone. We chose a table with a "cock" as the centerpiece, although someone eventually took it away from our table. Dinner was decent. After dinner we went for a swim on the "CO" side and just hung out with another couple for a while. Then we headed back to our room and ordered room service. before falling asleep.



See more pictures from the first day here

Rested and Refreshed

We are back from Jamaica. Well, actually we got back late Sunday night, but Monday we stayed home and recooperated from our trip, did laundry and went grocery shopping. Yesterday was my first day back to work and I spent the morning going through e-mails and the afternoon going through postal mail. Ugh!

Anyway, I am working on some posts and I'm sure I will have to do them in a couple of posts. I hope to post them soon. I also need to download nearly 200 photos to flickr... hee hee I just have to find some time for that.

Stay tuned for scenes from Jamaica...

On a differnt note, I joined my friend Jennifer in doing Weight*Watchers. I'm pushing a dreaded weight and really need to get my butt in gear and get it off and keep it off. So far it's going well. I didn't start until Monday afternoon technically, which didn't go too bad and yesterday was perfect. I even got a short walk in over lunch yesterday. I'm not thinking of it so much as a diet, but more of a guide to help me control portions, which is essentially what it is. My goal is to get back down to my ideal weight and feel more sexy again.

We're off to Jamaica!!!

See you next week!

Weekend of Shopping, Bridal Showers, Girls including Grace, Wax

My weekend was really nice. Friday Danialle got in around 10:30. She came to my office and we chatted while I worked. I hadn't planned on getting of work until 12:00, but managed to squeeze out at 11:30. We ran to my house to let the dogs out and then headed to C'ville. Danialle found out the day before that she would be moving back in 2 weeks to start a new job. She happened to call her soon-to-be boss on Friday morning during her drive down and learned that he bought her a house to rent off him so she and her hubby wouldn't have to live with relatives for a little while. He asked her to come down and take a look at the house, pick out carpet, and possible countertop. It's a small house, but sits on a decent size lot, so they can have a huge garden next spring. We met our grams and headed over to check it out. Boss already had a crew in patching the walls, tearing out old carpet and getting ready to paint everything "eggshell". They are free to paint the walls whatever color they want after they move in. After doing the house stuff, we headed over to our grandparents house and visited with everyone. Then we headed back to my house. We ran to Wal-mart to get some stuff for Heather's bridal shower on Saturday then headed to a local shop. I had scheduled a "waxing" for my trip to Jamaica. I had never had this done before, but thought I would "go to brazil". Well, I the pain was intense, so I didn't "go all the way". Just ended up with a landing strip. Plus I got my eyebrows done. It was a rough ride, but the chick doing it was awesome! After that we headed over to Goodwill then headed home. Eric left to get us pizza and we watched a few episodes of Sex & the City. Jennifer & Grace arrived around 9. Grace got a bath and went to bed, while the three of us hung out and talked until about midnight.

Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast at home. After everyone was ready we headed back to C'ville. Jennifer wanted to check out Danialle's new pad. After that we grabbed some super yummy chinese at our favorite chinese restaurant and then headed to TH for Heather's shower. We had planned on getting in early so we could see Heather's remodeled house, but we hit a detour and it ended up taking us longer than anticipated, so we headed straight for the shower. She had it at a friend's house and I was in awe over this lady's landscape. It was absolutely gorgeous! We had a great time at Heather's shower. She got some really cute lingerie and it was good just to see her again. We can't wait for her wedding at the end of July! (See shower pics here) We also got some lovely ideas on a baby shower we are throwing for Jamie in September. After the shower we headed back. Once back in Lafay, we grabbed dinner at Olive Garden, where Grace found a hottie waiter/bus boy that she couldn't keep her eyes off of. It was so hilarious! Then we stopped at Target for some shopping before heading home. We were all exhausted when we got home, so we stayed up to talk for a while and finally headed to bed. Oh and check my flickr pics to see how adorable Grace was!



Sunday the ladies left pretty early. After they left I cleaned house and got ready. Eric & I headed out to grab lunch and ran a few errands. We ended up getting a few more items than anticipated, but it was worth it. I got this adorable new Fossil purse (on clearance) & some jewelry to go with the dresses I got last week.




I spent the evening making lists and laying stuff out for Jamaica... We leave on Wednesday. We are a little nervous b/c of Alberto. We hope he's gone by the time we fly in although we are connecting in North Carolina... I think we'll be fine though!

Major Addiction

Last Friday we went to the Dave Matthews Band concert. It was pretty good, however he played a lot of new stuff and it was more instrumental than I was in the mood for. I wanted to sing and dance. I did...just not as much as I would have liked. The weather was perfect for it though.

Saturday I found my new addiction...Sex & the City... I watched 30 episodes in one day... Granted they are 20-25 minute episodes, but 30!!!

Sunday Eric mowed the lawn in the morning while I caught a few more episodes then took a shower & got ready. After Eric was done mowing, he showered and we headed to the movie. We saw The Davinci Code. I thought it was pretty good and quite thought provoking. Definitely raises a lot of questions, too. After that we headed over to the mall to grab a few things then headed home. I watched a few more episodes of S & the C and hit the bed.

This week has been rather hectic at work. We are still moving stuff and cleaning some things out. I can't tell you how many file cabinets I've moved. I'm ready to get into a normal routine and start purging some of my files. Today I have a recruitment workshop that initially sounded great, but I'm tired today and it's not sounding as fun. I'm still going, so hopefully it's worth my while.

This weekend my girlfriends are coming in and we are heading south to go to my friend Heather's bridal shower. Should be fun, so expect some pictures. And, of course, this time next week I'll be in the air heading towards Jamaica!!!

Oh and stay tuned for an issue I will be facing Friday night... I'll definitely post "pics"...

Memorial Weekend

My weekend was pretty good. It was so freaking hot out though. Friday after work we stopped by our bike shop and ordered me some Chacos for Jamaica. Eric got some a few weeks ago and we decided they would be good for when we go to the falls and stuff, so I ordered mine. Then we grabbed dinner at BW3s and headed home.

Saturday we went to see "X-Men 3", which was ok, but not as good as the first two. After the movie we ran some errands and then met Danialle & Chadd for dinner. It was nice seeing them as they passed through. We also did a little shopping (or more browsing). I did buy 2 little chocolate lab magnets, 1 for home and 1 for work. :D

Sunday I was l-a-z-y. My allergies kicked my butt majorly. You know that commercial with the chic talking about sneezing, nasal congestion, itchy, watery eyes, etc. etc. well I could have starred in that role. It sucked. Eric played outside with Godiva with the hose. It was quite cute!

Yesterday we had a cookout. We got ready yesterday morning, stopped and grabbed some flowers and then went to visit grave's. After that we headed over to my grandparents house. Everyone was late or rather no one told us they had changed the time, but that was ok. We visted with everyone and finally ate around 3:30 or so. It was yummy. I even got to play with my niece. She's so darn cute! I could just eat her up. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I didn't get any pictures of her. I know...Bad Aunt! Last night I started getting a horrible headache and ended up in bed around 7:30. It was so bad I thought I was going to puke, but thankfully didn't. It lasted around 3 hours and I was finally able to get some sleep around 9:30-10. I haven't had one nearly that bad in a really long time and I hope it doesn't come back anytime soon either.

It's back to work today. We have some student workers starting so I will finally get some filing done and can start setting aside some of my easier tasks for them to do. Yay! I'll try to post pics in the next couple of days and do a post about my cousin's wedding and my florist skills. :D

JAMAICA Mon!!!!!!!

So Eric won/earned a trip to Jamaica!!! This couldn't have come at a better time... We are staying at the Grand Lido Negril. It is an all-inclusive resort. We fly out on June 14 and return on June 18, so 5 days in Jamaica (3 full days, oh my!). The resort has complimentary manicures and pedicures, which we plan to take advantage of. I even convinced Eric to partake, too. Plus we are getting the couple massage in the cabana. We are trying to get our room moved to the "clothing optional" side as well b/c we've heard its much better on that side. Some other places on our agenda include:

*Mayfield Falls
*Negril Lighthouse
*Rick's Cafe (where Eric plans to jump off the cliff)
*Drinking fruity slush drinks by the pool
*Maybe some Snorkeling
*Possibly a boat ride
*Fun in the sun
*Oh and LOTS AND LOTS of sunscreen this time. :D

I can't wait to get away for a few days and have nothing to think about but ourselves. I'm sure there will be a little worrying about our puppies, but they'll be in good hands.

Post-Cycle Appointment

We had our post-cycle appointment with Dr. B on Wednesday. It went well. Basically he thinks the most likely reason we didn't get pregnant was a chromosone difficiency. He used this "A" word that I can't remember. He said even though my embryos "looked" great that's the most common reason for women to not get pregnant. He said it's hard to tell. Sometimes average looking embryos that they aren't sure will implant do great and then perfect looking ones don't. Just one of those things.

Dr. B said the chromosone thing is a lot more common than people think, however our body recognizes it and doesn't allow implantantion. He said if that is the problem that it's unlikely ALL of my embryos.

If you remember when we were going through all of the tests in the beginning we found out that I am A- blood type and Eric is O+, which can cause antibodies to build up and attack after the first pregnancy. I asked Dr. B if it was possible that at some point I could have gotten pregnant and miscarried without realizing it and if that could be the problem now. While he said it was unlikely we could do a simple blood test to check for antibodies to be 100% sure. I love that he did it just to appease me. Haven't heard back about the results though although I'm sure the results are fine.

We went on to discuss the FET, which we plan to do later this fall. I would call them about 2 weeks before I'm supposed to start and let them know that I want to do it on the next cycle. They will put be on a low dose of FSH for 5-7 days, basically until my lining is at 8. Then they will unfreeze all 4 and transfer whatever make it. He figured 2-3, but if all 4 make it then we'd transfer 4 (that scares me a bit), but not enough to say "No". hee hee

I'd like to have a couple "normal" cycles before we start, too. That's my idea not the doc's. Plus we need to come up with some money. It was a little more than we both anticipated, but that's ok, too. It will all be worth it.

Yesterday, the day after meeting Dr. B and after 60 LONG days the flood gates opened up I just wanted to go home and curl up in bed. Ugh! I wasn't expecting it until next week per what they told me when taking the prometrium, so this was a rather pleasant surprise I suppose... Guess they just needed a little talk from the doc...

Matt's Grave

A few weeks ago we got together with my sisters and mom and landscaped my brother's grave. It was nice that all of us could do it and the grave itself really does look nice. See...



It was sort of soothing for me to get it done. It really sets it apart from some of the other graves, too.

Last fall after my brother's death I had already planned on landscaping his grave this spring. I found these two rocks as well that are just perfect to put out there. Click on the image to read what they say...





So now the landscape is done and I'm as happy as can be. I miss him so much. I think about him every day, too.

I've been neglecting another thing in memory of him that I hope to check off my list soon as well. We put together some videos of Matt when he was younger and my cousin Danialle put it together and editted it. I just need to make a DVD cover and make about 20 copies. I think I'm going to start working on this and give it to all of our family members around the 4th of July.

See last year our WHOLE family got together during the 4th and had the most spectacular time ever! This was just a few weeks before my brother's sudden death. Thankfully we were able to get that picture because that is how I will always remember the last few weeks of my brother's life. He was happy, maybe not on the inside, but you couldn't tell on the outside. I'm so thankful that I got to spend time with him before he was gone, too.

One of my favorite memories of him was the day before he died when we were all at my aunt's house. We couldn't find him and finally we looked outside and Matt was floating around in the little pool they have with a huge smile on his face. When I think about that it makes me smile.

I'm still around

It's been a while since I updated... Between my new job kicking my butt, sadness of our IVF/C not working, my cousin's wedding (in which I did all the flowers) and just laziness, I haven't gotten around to posting. I hope to get caught back up this week/weekend and get back to regular posting. Some posts you can look forward to in the near future are:

**Landscaping my brother's grave (pics), which was particularly soothing for me.
**Pics from our trip to the Wisconsin*Dells.
**Pics of my cousin's wedding including the corsages, bouteniers, and bouquets I put together.
**Hopefully my post-cycle consult appointment, which is this Wednesday w/ Dr. B.
**Pics of the rock we are putting down in our landscape in the next few weeks.
**Info about our much needed, all-inclusive, trip to Jamaica in mid-June for 5 DAYS...

I've been so busy at work that I have only been skimming your blogs and haven't been commenting. I hope to get back to commenting soon as well. This week is the start of some slower times at work and I can do things more at my own pace. I've been thinking of all of you though.

My life is just crazy and I think I'm fighting some depression issues. I quit going to therapy since I got my new job and shouldn't be taking off work. Maybe I should go back. I'm hoping that getting outside and doing some landscaping and getting into some regular exercise (walking, biking, maybe gym) will get me to feeling better, too. Anyway, I'm hanging in there and just wanted to let you all know I'm still around.

Rubbing salt in my wounds...

I've been a bad blogger. Since we got the good news and since starting my new job I haven't had the time or even the desire to post. I've thought about it multiple times, but then either get busy or don't know what to say... Thank you all so much for checking in on me. I greatly appreciate it. I'm hurting, I'm angry, I'm numb. I just feel so lost. I haven't started my period. That is what upsets me the most b/c it's just like a horrible tease.

Yesterday we had our post-cycle appointment with Dr. B. We got there and G called us back and said that Dr. B was way behind and we were going to have to reschedule b/c he had a surgery at 11:00. (Our appt was supposed to be at 10:30) I stood there in shock. Eric asked if we would get information about our 4 cryo'd embryos and she said that we would get all that in our post-cycle appt. She went back to see if she could reschedule us and I just stood there, numb. Then it occurred to me I needed to let them know I hadn't started my period. As soon as she came back I told her and lost it. She hugged me and was understanding. She said it takes 60-90 days for my cycle to get back to normal and if this was normal for me. I said no, that I was very regular. I was pretty much sobbing at this point. She said to follow her and she wrote us out a Rx for a beta (that hurt the worst) b/c of the med she then gave me to induce my period.

She said we could sneak out the back and call later to reschedule, but I sucked it up and said it was ok, we'll just reschedule for next week. She told us to wait and she'd go over a chart a little bit with us. I think she could tell we were dying inside...

They cryo'd 4 embryos, which we know. There are three stages where they cryo... I can't remember the names. Stage 2 was something like cleavage (what I heard) or cleaved (what Eric heard) and Stage 3 is balast (heard that one before). They cryo'd ours at Stage 2. This is good. They cryo them in "straws". Our were cryo'd 2-1-1, so 2 in one straw and the other 2 each in individual straws. Success of them surviving the unfreezing is somewhere between 60-70%. Don't know the percentage of getting pregnant w/ FET, but it's less than IVF.

For the FET, they basically give you meds (similar to clomid), but injectible for 5-7 days, then check your lining and 5 days later transfer. Then some progesterone, just for additional support. Have no idea on $$ though. Very easy cycle though. We told her we would be doing that later this fall in the Sept-Oct timeframe.

We rescheduled our appointment for May 24th.

Today we are leaving for Wisconsin for a vacation with my inlaws, SIL & BIL. It should be fun except it's supposed to be cold and raining. We'll still have a good time though. I'll be back to somewhat regular posting next week.

GWO 12

We had our quarterly Girls' Weekend Out this past weekend. Thursday night Eric & I cleaned the house up and sat down to watch TV. I made it through Survivor, but not all the way through CSI. Danialle showed up around 10:00 and we sat up and chatted for a while. We were both exhausted, so we headed to bed.

Saturday morning we got up and took our time getting ready and things. We grabbed some breakfast and headed over to this flower shop to check on some flowers for my cousin's wedding in May. After that we made a stop at Starbuck's and the bank. Then we headed back home to meet Jennifer, who arrived around 11:30 am. We headed straight to C'ville and had lunch at the China Inn. It was so yummy! After lunch we did some road farming while trying to find this house Danialle is interested in renting. It was quite fun. We made a quick trip to Kroger to pick up some cards and headed over to my gramp's retirement party. It was sorta fun seeing some people I hadn't seen in a while as I worked there for a short time. Unfortunately we got sad news that my great-gramps was in the hospital and he wasn't doing good at all. He has a huge mass on his brain and is going into renal failure. He was in good spirits though. After we left the part, we decided to go ahead and get our tattoos.

Danialle got 3 stars that represent us 3


Jennifer got three chinese symbols that mean "Survivor"


And I got this symbol we found that means sisterhood


James of Jak of All Trades was awesome! If you are ever in the area definitely go to him & tell him 3 awesome girls sent ya!!

GWO Tattoos...


After getting tattoos we went over to my grandparents to check on the status of great-gramps. He is basically slowly dying. He's still in good spirits though because he asked the ambulance driver who was taking him to a bigger hospital if they could stop by DQ and get him a "wizard" (that's what he calls blizzards). He still hadn't got one as of last night, so Eric & I are taking one to him tonight. He has prostate cancer and it is now in his brain and causing his kidneys to shut down. He keeps telling everyone that he's going to visit with all his family and then he's on the road to visit his wife. (She died in 2001) We visited with the family then headed home and pretty much went to bed. It was an emotional and exhausting day.

Saturday we got up and headed to iHop for breakfast. Then we headed to Target and walked around there forever. Finally a quick stop at PetSmart and Michael's and then headed up to see great-gramps. He was doing pretty good when we got there. We visited with him for a while then headed back to my house. Heather had already arrived. By this time we were starving, so we sat down and had a yummy healthy lunch. (Sandwiches, pasta, fruit) After lunch we decided to play some Phase 10. Heather hadn't ever played and ended up winning. Next we decided to break out the dominoes. We played a few hands of that and then got started on our "Build Your Own Pizzas".





That was a blast and they were pretty good, too. We played some more dominoes, had several drinks and then decided to watch a movie. That was all she wrote for me. I didn't make it very far before my eyes were closed. I think around 11 I headed to bed.

Sunday everyone got up and got ready to head home. After a quick breakfast they were on the road. It was a great & much needed weekend, despite the bad news about great-gramps. Later we ran a few errands, visited gramps and spent the evening on the couch. I was exhausted and just didn't feel well.

Today I'm back to work. I woke up with a sore throat, so I hope I'm not getting sick, but I have a feeling its coming my way. I just feel a little icky. I don't have time to read blogs or update much. This week is crazy busy and I have several trainings & meetings on top of the regular stuff. I'll be catching up as I get time.

Here is more pics from the weekend as well. GWO 12 Photo Album

Away for the Weekend

I'm not actually going "away" this weekend, however my best girl friends are coming in for the weekend. It just happened to be a girls weekend and boy is it ever right on time and HIGHLY needed by all three of us. Danialle will be coming in tonight and Jennifer will be coming in tomorrow. We don't have major plans, but a few things include eating, hiking, picnics, pizzas, white zin, asti, bloody mary's?, games and LOTS & LOTS of girl talk. Probably some tears, too. However there is some happiness... We are celebrating Jennifer's cancer free-ness, which is W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L!! Expect a full update and pictures on Sunday.

P.S.
I've been super busy at work this week and will be for several weeks, so only expect blogging from me at lunch or in the evenings. I'm trying to stay up-to-date on blogs, but that's challenging, so I apologize if you don't see me around yours for a while. Priorities, right? ha ha I'm swamped to say the least. It's a little overwhelming with everything else that's going on, too. This weekend is a much needed break!

GOD DAMN HOPE

My hcg dropped off the face of the earth... Set up 2 week post cycle appointment.

Hope lingering...

Spotting has eased up tremendously. Did go for second beta today. Talked to them and they said 75% of pregnant women spot and/or bleed, so don't give up all hope. Nerves are driving me crazy though. Just waiting on a phone call for the results...

ZERO Hope...

What I didn't update yesterday was I started spotting yesterday afternoon. Then yesterday evening it was just flow. It's over, I know.

Well...

I'm pregnant...at least for now... We are guardedly optimistic right now...

Beta = 12.8

<5 = Negative

Will do another beta on Wednesday. Obviously it must at least double. I might even have to do a third depending on Wednesday's number.

Goodbye Assholes!

I am NOT talking to you lovely internet readers!

Today is the last day of my current job. And I couldn't be happier! I won't go into all the details, but I am happy to move on to much bigger and much better things. I contemplated thanking them for how shitty they treated me, but decided to just smile and pray for the next person who follows me. I've spent the entire week having my 500+ students come in and tell me how much they'll miss me and how wonderful I am. It's been great and especially wonderful when my co-workers are in here and hear it. hee hee

I start my new job on Monday, only after going to Indy to give blood for my first (of two) betas. What an exciting week. I will update Monday, probably evening, with results of my beta since I'm not sure if I'll have time at my new job. Stay tuned for a fun and exciting week! Yay!

CD 25

My sister, Ashlee, was over at my house last night doing her laundry. It was nice chatting with her and making her change the background of her ppt presentation on gay marriage to a rainbow effect. Anyway, I was getting ready to go to bed and was changing clothes. We were still talking until she noticed my belly and commented, "Man you really are bloated...and it's not even jiggly!!" I poked my belly and said, nope no jiggles. It was quite funny.

So this morning I did what any girl who had just been made aware of her bloat would do. I got out my "regular" dress pants as opposed to my drawstring pants and sucked in my gut...well it doesn't suck in but I tried... and made those damn things button. I wore them today, but they aren't the most comfy. I'll go back to drawstrings tomorrow... :D

I don't think I said this before, but she also gave me one of my shots when I was still doing injections. She was shaking terribly and scared to death, but she did a great job although I did bleed and buise. Eric tried to say his had never done this, but I corrected him... I think this inspired her to get back into her dream of nursing. I hope at least a little... And now she has a bit of experience. She even got to mix it together. Watch out nursing! Here comes Ashlee!

CD 24 - Cryopreserved Embryos & Case of the Dribbles...

Due to recent up roar, I have been leery about posting... But I have to go back to this is my blog and I shouldn't be leery about it. I can and will post whatever I want. And be perfectly happy about it. Here's the latest news though...

I've been having the case of the dribbles lately. It seems like it's just been in the mornings, but yesterday it seemed to have stayed all day. I suppose it's because of the monstrosity of my ovaries pushing on my bladder, but the bloating is going away, so you would think that this "problem" would be subsiding, too. It's annoying, but I'll take it if that means...well, you know... I guess I'll just have to start wearing a liner. I can only imagine how much worse this will get when those little ones grow.

Yesterday afternoon I started noticing some slight cramps in my belly, too. Not severe or even in a specific location, just sort of like I have floaties in there or something. I even had to do a panty check this afternoon too make sure I wasn't starting my period or something. Hopefully this is good cramping!!! Fingers crossed... The look on Eric's face when I told him made me feel like he was ready to take me home and put me on bed rest indefinitely though. hee hee

CD 23

Weekend Update

Overall our weekend was pretty good. Friday night I was exhausted from work. We grabbed dinner and I was able to find some cute drawstring crop pants at Target for $9.99 EACH! I snatched up 3 pair! After we got home the weather was wonderful so I opened the windows. A storm was brewing and we were watching the radar. At one point several of our neighbors, including us were standing outside just watching the storm roll in when the tornado siren went off. Come to find out it was for an area north of us and we were fine. We watched a huge storm cell coming towards us and then break up and go around us. This was good for us, but the part that went below us hit my hometown fairly hard. I was on the phone with my nanny when my papaw yelled he heard a train whistle so she gave me her last goodbyes and hung up. We can joke about this now as they were safely in their basement and only had some limbs down. I called my dad in a panic though. Finally the storm seemed to move out of their area and head east and finally was out of my family's way. I called me dad back and found out that they had lost a huge pine tree in their front yard. The funny thing is I had mutilated this tree when I was young trying to make a fort or something, so while it was a pine tree it was missing about the bottom 5 feet of branches, so it was the ugliest damn tree you ever saw!

Saturday we got up early and I actually felt great! I even decided that the gorgeous weather was calling and couldn't stay inside any longer. I went outside and cleaned up around my magnola tree. For some reason the weeds there are terrible. Anyway, after I got this looking nice I realized that I shouldn't be pulling anymore weeds, but I did pick up some dead foilage around the house. Eric & I had made a deal (sort of) that I wouldn't over-do it and I could just leave piles around the yard and he would pick them up when I was done. It was wonderful to be outside. Of course I got in trouble because I did over-do it a tiny bit and was feeling quite bloated and tired when I got done. It was worth it though.

Saturday evening we went down to my grandparent's house for dinner. We haven't seen them since Christmas so it was nice to see them and the rest of the family, too. I also got to play with my cute little neice who is doing much better now. I just love that kid to pieces.

Sunday was a lazy Easter. I wanted to go outside, but I couldn't do anything in the front yard because Eric had put down fertilizer, so I merely just walked around and surveyed my flowers and pond and such. Now that I think about it, I should have taken pictures and given you a little photo story. (I'll try do that soon.) It was nice just hanging out on the couch and cuddling with my puppy and relaxing. Of course the evening ended on a bad note or at least with a major bump in the road. I sat down on the floor to breathe and do some stretching, but my little Godiva decided it was play time, so I spent about 45 minutes playing with her and went to bed. Oh and Eric came in and rubbed my back and shoulders while I tried to get to sleep.


**Note about Yesterday's Post:
I apologize for those of you loyal and supportive readers that read my blog. Please understand that it was for that sole reader and I love the rest of you unconditionally. (Well, unless you stab me in the back, too. ha ha) While I am still hurt and angry about it, it doesn't surprise me in the least that it happened the way it did. This woman will never learn her lesson and maybe I did stoop to her level my calling her out on my blog, but it is MY BLOG and MY THOUGHTS and honestly, I feel better about it. So please don't bother leaving me hateful comments or messages, b/c they will be deleted immediately. I hope she realizes the hurt she's caused by putting her nose where it didn't belong. And if the problem continues I will be forced to go password protected for my own sake. From this point forward this will not be talked about again.
:D

Public vs. Private

It has been brought to my attention that some of my family members are reading my blog now. While them reading my blog does not bother me.... OPENING THEIR BIG FUCKING MOUTHS AND TELLING THE ENTIRE FAMILY ABOUT MY LIFE DOES!!!!!!!!! If I wanted to tell the family about certain things in our life I WOULD. There is a reason that NO ONE KNOWS!!! THE BIGGEST REASON BEING THEY CAN'T KEEP THEIR BIG MOUTHS CLOSED. Plus they all of a sudden become VERY involved in my life. And considering they can't call me on a regular basis to see how I'm doing and then spread very deep private aspects of my life really bothers me. What gives this person the right? Isn't it obvious that I don't want them to know? If she has been reading my blog for very long at all she'll realize the reason I didn't tell any of them. STRESS!!!!!

It amazes me how someone who wants so much attention only strives for the worst kind of attention. She thrives on gossip. She wants so much to please people, but yet she does everything to hurt them and stomp on them while they are down.

You want to know why I called in SICK to my family thing on Saturday??? Let's see I kept our fertility issues a secret for a long time. I think around this time last year is when they found out. All of a sudden they come out of the woodwork with all their fucking ASS-VICE!! Again these are the people that could give two-shits about our lives the day before. BUT NOW THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT AND GOSSIP ABOUT. Before long there will be an article in all the county newspapers.

Headline
"Mr and Mrs T - Infertility - IVF - Multiples - Tell Everyone!"

My uncle happened upon my blog a while back by accident. I commend him because he actually sent me an e-mail and told me then ASKED if he could read my blog and that he would keep it private. To my knowledge he has lived up to his word. Thanks Uncle Brian!

I'm not trying to hide anything. Obviously my blog is public and we have lots of pictures up. I am just so disappointed that my BIG MOUTH aunt got to tell the whole family and not us sharing the news when we are ready. That's what upsets me the most... So Sherrie I hope you are fucking happy sharing all of OUR news and having all the fucking glory and I will somewhat blame your big fucking mouth if we don't get pregnant (now that I am quite upset and stressed). Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted!!

What's the worst part is that we are in the most crucial time and don't even know if those embryos are stuck and I'll even get pregnant.

**edited to add**
For anyone close and personal with me (friends, family, etc). Whether you have let me know you are reading or not, I really appreciate you just following me and hoping and praying for us. Our dreams will one day come true and I know just how much those close to us really mean to me by just silently following. Thank you so much! I commend you!

CD 20

H0-hum day. I had to go back to work today. Boo! Hiss!! We should have this holiday off, but "if they observe X religious holiday then they must observe Y & Z, too..." Of course they do observe MLK, jr, but not president's day for god's sake. Anyway, the point is that I don't want to be here! I shouldn't complain though b/c it is only 1 day of a 5-day work week.

I was this.close to crying this morning. Yes, I'm super bloated and already feel like I'm about 4 months pregnant, but it never really occurred to me that I couldn't wear my low-rise dress pants....until I put the damn things on... Yea there was no way I could get them buttoned let alone be at least a bit comfy all day. I panicked and woke Eric up. Then I scoured through my "Drawer o' pants". Lo and behold I found a single pair of linen drawstring pants. They were wrinkled to all hell, but were iron-able (is that a word?). Praise the heavens above! I immediately told Eric we had to go to Target or anywhere else tonight and find me a couple of pairs of pants to get me through for the time being. It was not an option. I can't wear this single pair of pants every day! Plus we have 2 family things this weekend. Ugh! I tried checking Target on-line, but couldn't find any hits on "elastic dress pants"! Imagine that. I may even have to hit the "older" women's section. I'm ok with that though. When I say older I mean like all my grandma's wear elastic waist pants. It's actually a great idea as they are fairly expandable.

So I had to go to work today. My desk was, of course, piled high. Thanksfully I'm so damn proficient and organized that it took me only about an hour to get through everything. Then on to reading the news, blogs, etc. My nosey co-worker G asked me some questions and I answered some of them. She asked me twice when I'll find out if I'm pregnant or not and I just said, "in about 2 weeks". She knows that I know the exact day, but I'll be damned if I'm telling her. She said to keep her posted, but I don't intend on it.

Then she started asking me about my new job... I can't remember if I told you this or not, but she's nosey... Yea well before I gave my notice she e-mailed someone in my soon-to-be department pumping them for info on me (interview, offer, etc.) The person came straight to me b/c she's not all gossip-y and stuff. So here she is asking me all these questions and me fully knowing she already knows the answers. I swear that I wanted to tell her she should confess her sins on Sunday at church b/c I don't think God would be very happy about her lying & deception and I wanted to explain the HIPA rules to her, too since she's always preaching them, but I didn't. I just smiled and half-answered her questions.

Oh can you tell I've got a little pissiness to go along with the bloating? Yea, not a good combination.

The progesterone thing... Yea I just love shooting those up my ho-ha morning and night. Makes me feel like jumping Eric's bones, too. Poor guy! I noticed that it's starting to come back out a little, too. Icky. (Sorry TMI!) From what I've read and what they told me in the Dr.'s office this is normal. I had just hoped I would be one of those people that never saw a trace of it once it was inserted... No suck luck

In other news my mom is having Easter at her house tomorrow... This is such a touchy subject anyway, but needless to say "I'm calling in sick tomorrow morning". Eric & I both agreed I don't need to have any of the stress during such a crucial time in my cycle. See they would gossip non-stop about each other non-the-less. Then they would talk about my cousin J who just got married and only b/c she's pregnant, blah, blah, blah (grrr...) And I'd have to get mad and yell and defend my poor cousin J b/c I love her and while she did get pregnant on accident and they did get married right away, I truly believe that they would have gotten married regarless. They are happy and in love and I think they made the best decision. In fact I've already point blank told my mom not to bring it up to me that I didn't want to hear it. I think she's brought it up 2 of the 3 times I've talked to her since...

Ok, have a Happy Easter everyone! I'm going back to news & blogs...

CD 19

Have you missed me? I'm finally back at least long enough to post a bit...

So yesterday on CD 18 we had our transfer. As my dear husband said we were up way before the birds and on the road. I slept horribly the night before. I had major heart burn and I'm sure a lot of it was nerves, too. I couldn't wait for the alarm to go off. I had this sensation of throwing up all the way to Indy (1 hour) and I was so scared to take my valium b/c I thought for sure it would come back up. When we got there I took it. As soon as we got in we bee-lined it for the vending machines and got some animal crackers. My life saver! I munched on them up to the second floor and then had Eric get me some complimentary hot chocolate. Then it hit me...the valium that is. I started feeling great! There was another girl already there who we had seen before, so we knew she was there for the same thing. I wanted to go wish her luck, but Eric wouldn't let me. Finally the nurse came to get me (first) and we headed back. As I stood up I nearly spilt my hot chocolate and the nurse chuckled that the valium must be kicking in. I swear I felt drunk.

After we got back to my room I changed into a warm gown and laid on the bed and they took my vitals. They said they would be paging Dr. W for my acupuncture and she'd be in shortly. The wait seemed like forever, but she finally arrived. She put 13 tiny needles in my and I laid there for 20 minutes and tried to focus on breathing and relaxing. After the 20 minutes another nurse came in and took the needles out. Shortly thereafter Dr. B came in. I asked him about this enormous amount of discharge that developed on Tuesday and he said it wasn't anything abnormal and it would go away after today. I was satisfied. Next a nurse came in and said they were ready to go. I got to walk down the the "IVF Transfer" room. It was dimly lit and I sat down on the table. There were 2 nurses in there and then another door that opened to another room, which we realized was the lab. As soon as I sat down Dr. B started getting ready and told me that removing the diaphram would be the worst part and OMG was he right!! It was horrible. AFter that was done they said it would take about 15 minutes before the transfer. The lab would spin the device a few times and then see what was inside.

The wait seemed like a long time. We made small talk, but everyone knew we were all just waiting for the results... Finally one of the nurses peaked around the corner and said it looked like it wouldn't much longer. Then we heard the others started getting really excited. We thought to ourselves that it must be good news. Dr. B came in and said that 7 of the 10 inside fertilized and they would be transfering a 9 cell and a 13 cell back into me. I thought those were huge numbers from what I read and they confirmed that they were great. While waiting on stuff the frenchman who developed the device even came in and chatted with us saying I had beautiful embryos. I was so proud and happy! And we were ecstatic to have even met this man. He was there on the day of our retrieval, too, but we didn't meet him then.

Next I got to slide back down in preparation for the transfer. I was a nervous wreck. I'm pretty sure the valium was wearing off. Dr. B "washed" my cervic and whatever else he had to do before transfer and then VOILA....



This pickture was taken as soon as they transferred the embryos into me. It's the little white glob that contains the 2 embryos. I sat there in shock for a minute. It was almost surreal yet I was on cloud nine. After that Dr. B shock our hands and we thanked both him and the frenchman. The nurse said I could go to the bathroom now and on our way out they gave us this picture of our embryos.



The biologist stopped us, too and said that they would be cryo-ing some today. (Eric heard 6 and I heard 4) and they would watch the remainder and call us in a few days with those results.

I, of course, headed straight for the bathroom and that was a relief. After we got back to the room they took my vitals again and my b/p was up a bit, but that was normal. Then we waited on Dr. W to come down and do the acupuncture again. After she put the needles in this time I couldn't relax and concentrate on breathing. I was just too excited! I think it still served its purpose though. After the 20 minutes the nurse came in and removed the needles, we got dressed, and headed home. Well, we made a stop at McD's for breakfast then headed home.

Once we got home I took a nice long nap and spent yesterday in bed. I was getting really restless last night though. Today has been worse. I got up this morning around 11 and took a shower. Then relaxed on the couch. Then I made mac & cheese while Eric made us some turkey sandwiches. I watched a movie and now I'm updating. I plan to spend the rest of the evening on the couch though. That's all for today. It's back to work tomorrow to the job I will be leaving one week from tomorrow. Hooray!! I'll be catching up on blogs and back in touch with the world.

And as Eric said thank you all for your abundance of comments and support! We love it and are so thankful for each and every one of you! You are great friends even if we've never met some (most) of you!!!

Transfer Complete

I am updating for Mrs. T because she is a little tired to say the least. We got up around 4:45 AM this morning to get going. We left the house around 5:15 AM and got to the hospital around 6:20 AM. Everything went well with the transfer. 7 out of 10 eggs fertilized in the device. So in total, we had 12 total embryos. Dr. B placed 2 embryos in Mrs. T, a 9 cell and a 13 cell. They are going to cyro 6 embryos today and watch the remaining 4 to moniter cell division. Mrs. T will probably update later today, if not tomorrow. She also has pictures of the embryos which she will most likely post on Friday. On behalf of Mrs. T and myself, I would like to thank everyone for their support as you don't often get to see me posting. Again, thank you to all for your support, I know it means a lot to Mrs. T, and also to me.

CD 17 - Time Changed Again

Dr. B's office jsut called and our appointment tomorrow has been changed again. Our transfer is now schedule for 8:00 AM and we have to be at the hospital at 6:45. Ugh. Good thing I'm on bed rest for the next 2 days...

CD 17 **updated*

My transfer is tomorrow, Wednesday at 11:45. Eric talked to them when they called, so we didn't get to ask about the extra egg. So I guess we won't find out until transfer now. I have been taking extra strength tylenol and that seems to be helping with the cramping I'm having. Nothing major though. Definitely don't need the pain medicine. I felt pretty good this morning and got up and took a shower, but I am exhausted now and still need to dry my hair, which is a chore in itself. My stomach is still bloated, but doesn't seem to be as bad as yesterday.

**updated to add**
I'm so out of it today! I forgot to mention that tomorrow is also our 3rd Anniversary!!! So it's even more special to have our embryo transfer tomorrow!!

CD 16 - Fertilization Report

The biologist called around 11 this morning. We had 5 of 11 show signs of fertilization. I think this is a good number. That is exactly what my goal was so I'm happy. You might notice that I said "of 11" and yesterday I said 10 and 10... I have no idea where that extra one snuck in and didn't think to ask until after I got off the phone. ha ha ha As my friend Jennifer said, it must have been a sale, "Buy 20, get 1 free". We probably won't know anything about those 5 until Wednesday. They won't be transferred back into me either, unless god forbid, none of 1-10 fertilize inside the device. But I highly doubt that will happen. My goal for the device is 5 of 10 as well, so hopefully we get our wish there, too.

I got super sick last night, but I think it's the pain medicine, so I'm not taking any more. I had already been taking a minimal dosage anyway. I'm just going to stick to extra strength tylenol now. I was feeling pretty crampy, but I'm actually feeling better now. I still feel bloated, but that's normal, so I'm not worried about it. I just need to make sure I'm getting lots of fluids.

I will get a call this afternoon from Dr. B's office for the time of my transfer on Wednesday. Hopefully they can tell me about the extra egg, too. They might not know though.

And in case you missed it when I first shared all this information with all of you this is the article that tells you a little about the device and process. I'd be happy to answer any questions though. Oh and I do not feel the device inside me at all. It's similar to wearing a tampon except when they put it in, they turn it horizontal and put it up next to your cervix then put a diaphram in to hold it in place. So I'm incubating for 3 days. :D

CD 15 - The Story

So we got up at 5:15 this morning and headed down. I showered last night so I wouldn't have to this morning. :D We got there about 7:00, so we headed to the 2nd floor where I was supposed to check in. The lab didn't open until 7:30, so Eric waited with me. Finally around 7:15 a nurse came by and said she'd be with us shortly. Eric decided to go ahead and head upstairs to "collect". A few minutes later the nurse came back and got me. They took me back to my own little room. I got a warm gown and blanket and laid back on the bed. They came in and started taking my vitals. Another nurse came in and starting working on my IV. I was cold and hadn't had any water, so my veins were not easy to find. They checked each arm twice and finally the nurse went back and got a really warm blanket and put on my arm to get the blood flowing. She said she'd only stick twice and then leave it for the anesthesialogist. This nurse rocked though and found one and got it. It didn't hurt a bit.

Eric came back down and we talked while we were waiting. At one point I got really mad at him because he took a big swig of water and swished it around in his mouth. I just sat there and couldn't believe it. He realized as soon as he swallowed (probably by the look on my face) what he had done and immediately apologized and felt horrible. hee hee I was dying for some water!

Next the biologist came in and went over a few things. I asked what Eric's sperm count was and she said the measured it different for this, but that he had 63 million. Eric asked what they want and she said 20 million, so he was really excited about that. Next Dr. B came in and we chatted for him a little while. Finally the anesthesialogist came in and went over some stuff. He said he'd give me a couple "martini's" first and make me a little funny to relax me before we got started. We waited a little while longer and finally right around 8:30 they took me back.

When we got back there they introduced everyone and starting getting me ready. The anesthesialogist gave me my two martinis right after I got in there. They put my legs up in stirrups that were actually 1/2 boots. They put both my arms straight out on boards and strapped me down. He asked me how I was feeling and I said pretty good. He hooked up my heart monitors and then gave me two more martinis. That made me feel quite nice. Shortly after that I fell asleep.

I woke up and was quite chatty. They only put you under twilight and let me say I am a huge fan of that. Apparently I told Eric about going in there twice, but that's ok. When I was waking up Dr. B had come in and that's when he told us about the 20 eggs. I was in shock. I had told Eric before going in my goal was 15. I asked him a few times if he really said 20. Yep. I said 2-0? Yep. Eric said I kept saying "F*ing Cool". I have no idea why though. ha ha ha We are trying to cut that F-word out of our vocabulary. They let us go at 10 and we were on our way home. I did stop at the little machine and get some hot chocolate on my way out of the hospital though. :D We stopped and grabbed breakfast and headed home.

I still feel bloated and a little sore, but overall I'm doing great. I took one pain pill when I got up home and went to bed. Apparently I was exhausted because I slept until 4. Eric is out hunting down some dinner for us now. I'm starving and plan to eat, take another pain pill and watch some TV.

To answer questions about the device:
The device is what they put the eggs (1-10), sperm and media in. It's inside me where it will stay until Wednesday, transfer day. The device is actually what the study is. I know I talked about it somewhere, but can't remember where or I'd link.

The other eggs (11-20) will be fertilized via dropping sperm on them in a the dish. They will call us tomorrow with the fertilization on those and freeze whatever any that fertilized. They will only transfer the ones from the device back in me.

Hope that helps!

CD 15 - Retrieval

Total Count - 20!!!!!!!!

T-W-E-N-T-Y!!!!!!

2-0!!!!!!!!!

HOORAY!!!!!!

So that means 10 in device, 10 regular invitro'd. Will find out tomorrow how many of the regular initro'd ones fertilized. This should be a good indicator of how the 10 in the device will fertilize.

Off to bed now! More details later!

CD 14

My massage last night was wonderful! I was apparently quite talkative b/c we pretty much talked through the entire massage, but it was nice and still very relaxing. Trigger last night was a breeze. I had to take 2 pre-filled shots, but the needles were small and they didn't hurt much. I'm definitely getting needle shy though. I guess that's what happens. Today I'm being super lazy. I got up and Eric made me some toast w/ peanut butter. Yum! No plans for the day though.

24 More Hours til Retrieval!!!

I want to thank you all for your well wishes! You are such great support. I wish all the best for all of you as well. Hopefully I can at least have Eric post a quick update tomorrow. I'm sure he will if I ask nicely. :D

CD 13

So let me recap what happened yesterday. I started working on a post while I was waiting on Dr. B's office to call. It was all perfect and ready to just add times when I got the call. I was in shock that I don't even remember all the conversation. Nurse L went over my blood work with me and said my estradiol had spiked and increased about 1000. I didn't really know what this meant. Then she said Dr. B wanted me to continue taking my medication for 1 more day and come in for a scan on Friday morning. I asked if this included my cetrotide because I didn't have any more. She said yes and that we would need to come down as soon as possible to get it and take it. She put me on hold for a long time while they tried to figure out where I could pick up the Cetrotide because their office was actually closed. Finally she came back on and said we could pick it up on the ER. So as soon as I got off work at 5 we sped back down to Indy and picked it up. Even shot up in the hospital of the parking lot. After that we grabbed dinner as we were both starving. We ate at this mexican restaurant called "Cancun". Then we headed home. I was exhausted and barely made it through "Survivor". I was in bed my 9:00.

I didn't sleep very well last night at all. I am getting so uncomfortable and just toss and turn. Around 3 am a storm started brewing and our black dog hates them so she started whining and being a baby. At one point she got up in our bed and slept between my legs with her head on my belly. Godiva was between Eric & I and had her head on my belly, too. Finally around 4 am I couldn't take it any longer or more Eric couldn't take it any longer and moved the dogs to the living room. I did get a little sleep between then and 6 when we got up.

Our trip down was uneventful as usual. We waited in the waiting room for a bit before Nurse A called us back. I got undressed, hopped up on the table, put my feet in the stirrups and laid back on the bed. Then asked Eric to dim the lights. It feels much better lying down. Nurse A came in and was a little surprised we had already dimmed the lights. As soon as she got over to me I asked her to explain what was going on b/c we were confused. She basically said I could have probably went on Saturday, but there are a couple of us going at the same time and they needed another day, so they went ahead and pushed me back to Sunday as well. I assumed this was the reason. She did the scan and the follies had definitely grown just since yesterday. The left side had 5 that were between 18-20, which is where they need to. She said there were several that were just under that could very well catch up by tonight's trigger shot. On the right side there were 7 between 18-20 and again several that were just under that could very well catch up. After the u/s we headed over to the consultation room and went over pre-op again since everything was bumped back a day. She even gave me a day's worth of meds to take home just in case, but she was 100% they weren't needed. She said she'd call me this afternoon w/ the trigger time tonight and retrieval time on Sunday.

After we left there we went up for a quick and final blood draw just to check my levels and headed home. I spent the afternoon taking a nap, too.

About 3:15 Nurse A called with the details, which are as follows:
*Friday - 8:30 pm - Take 2 Pre-filled syringes of HCG
*Saturday - Nothing to eat or drink after midnight!
*Sunday - 7:15 am - Be at Hospital - I will register, Eric is to go directly to lab for collection.
*8:30 am - Retrieval

I'm guess I'm the first one on the list, but that's ok. I'll be done first, too. :D She also said that I would be doing the 3 hcg booster shots (day of transfer, 2 days later, 2 more days later), too. So this means I'm not done with shots for a little while, but that's ok, too.

Tonight I go for my massage at 5:00 pm and tomorrow Eric has insisted I be pretty much on bed rest.

Wow...It's SO real now. Like really real!!

Funny thing Eric said... On our way home we were talking about how nice it is out. He mentioned that he'd love to go for a bike ride, but didn't think we should because he didn't want anything to happen to me or our eggs. I told him I'd be fine and that sounded like a good idea. He said that all of our eggs were in one basket, me, and he didn't want anything to happen to his basket. Aaaawwww... He's so sweet. If it's not storming when I get back from my massage I think we should at least talk the dogs for a walk!

CD 12 - Complete with Bunny ears and a cotton tail!!

Last night I believe my eggs had a massive growth spurt. I started feeling very bloated and tender. I've been wearing my pants as low as possible on my belly. Oh and my breasts are quite tender, too. I even tossed and turned more in bed because I just couln't get comfy.

Blood work was a little different this morning. She pulled out this butterfly thing and I was confused so I asked her why she she was drawing it different this time. She said that I was getting 2 vials drawn. Again I asked why. She said the second vial was for pre-op. Hooray! I said draw away and stuck out my arm!! I'm getting super excited and anxoius now. I even did a little squeel telling Eric about it although he overheard it anyway. Next stop, Dr. B's office.

G was not in this office today, so we got Nurse A. I hopped up on the table and we got started. My uterus lining measured at 8.7 and she said they like it to be at 8, so mine was good. Next over to my left ovary. The monster stood out right away. He measured in at a whopping 36 mm. Besides that one I had 11 others they measure between 15-20 mm. They like to retrieve them at about 20 mm and they grow 2-3 mm per day) They only have room to measure 12 on each side, but there were definitely more that were a little smaller. Next she wondered over to the right side. Again there were several. She measured 10 between 15-20 and again there were several smaller ones she didn't even measure. So final count is 22+ FOLLICLES! Eric has dubbed me the Easter bunny and let me say that my easter basket is overflowing! Dr. B will have a lot of eggs during his hunt on Saturday. hee hee

Next we went over to the consultation room and met with Nurse L. Very sweet lady! She went over some paperwork, my trigger shot, the progesterone, retrieval, transfer, etc., etc. This was all the pre-op stuff, so we don't have to come back tomorrow. We got our trigger shots and enough progesterone to get us through Beta #1 today and before we left Nurse L HUGGED me and told me good luck. I nearly melted into tears. (I'm getting a touch emotional now.) That was so sweet of her and I had never even met her before.

So where are we now you ask?????

I got a call at 4:30 that we need to take meds one more day. I don't have any more Cetrotide, so we have to drive back down to Indy (1 hr each way). Go back Friday for a 9:00 am scan. NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON... On my way out the door. Likely to push back retrieval 1 day, so Sunday...

I'm changing jobs!!

This week has been so crazy. A position opened up in my old department. This isn't my actual old job that I talked about a few weeks ago, but the job that I REALLY wanted. So obviously I applied for it. I got a call on Monday for an interview. We ended up having the interview 5:00 pm on Tuesday. The whole interview was actually comical. One of the professors I used to work for was doing the interviewing along w/ my old boss. Basically as soon as we got started he asked me when I could start! I asked him if didn't want to go over any of the job or what? He went over the briefest description ever lasting, oh...maybe 2 minutes and then said "When can you start?" He is hilarious. So we went over some other things, the professor left the room and said see you in a little over 2 weeks. (All that took about 15 minutes.) I sat and talked to my old boss, D for another 45 minutes. We talked about salary and raises for a bit then just gossiped about some recent events. I just love her!

So yesterday about 4:50 pm, I got a call and she e-mailed me my offer letter. It was for more money than we had originally talked about and I was stoked! She told me to talk to Eric and let her know whenever. Of course I signed it as soon as it got done printing, then got started on my resignation letter to my current bosses.

Today after we got back from the Dr.'s office I stopped over there and accepted my new job. I will have my own office even. No more cubicles. Unfortunately it doesn't have a window, but that's ok. I'll live. The great part is that I'll still be working with the students and not "being someone's secretary". I'm so glad I got away from that. Yucky! The funny part is that I came in late to work today and am giving them my notice this afternoon, then taking tomorrow and Monday through Wednesday of next week off. ha ha ha It's really not that funny, but yea... well, it really is. What am I saying?!

I'll update about today's ultrasound as soon as I get the final details this afternoon!