Points of Needles

Aaaargh!  I am angry.  Looking at me you probably couldn't tell.  I am not storming around, I am not cursing, I am not even frowning but inside I am very very angry and I don't quite know what to do about it.  Before we get to that (yes I know way to leave a cliff hanger) let me tell you about my time at ilumina healing sanctuary. 

This was an entirely new experience for me as I have always pretty much just followed conventional western medicine; I don't even go to a chiropractor.  So when I showed up for my appointment I spoke to Dana Price and she zeroed in on my main reason for coming - trying to conceive, and she was quite knowledgeable about PCOS, fertility and FET cycles (as well as IVF and IUI).  I was nervous but had decided to see this all the way through.  I went into a small room similar to a room at a spa - even the same kind of music - and she told me to take off my shoes socks and pants but I could leave my underwear and shirt on.  She left the room and I undressed and laid down on the table.  When she came back she felt my pulse and asked to see my tongue, apparently in Chinese medicine they use the tongue to diagnose issues.  All I could think was.. I just ate lunch 20 minutes ago and some of that was sharp cheese - I mean I chewed gum but I found it vaguely intimate and embarrassing to show her my tongue.

She started putting in the needles and I have to say that except for two of them I could barely feel them if at all.  I could feel the ones that went near my baby toes but don't know if this is because they were fixing something or the fact that I have sensitive feet and toes and you have to touch them just right or my OCD kicks in... its hard to explain, just ask my parents about me and socks and shoes someday :D  As far as I could tell there were needles on the top my feet near my baby toes, in my shin near the knee, an extra one above my knee on my left side (more about that later), in my forearms near my wrist, my stomach (couldn't feel those at all), one in my forehead and one on the top of my head.  Then she left me to rest for 30 minutes.

I did ask if I could read but she wanted me to "relax my mind".  She said to try it this way this time and if I felt I couldn't relax I could read next time.  I actually found that i was able to relax - not quite falling asleep but existing in that stream of consciousness type of thing.  She said I might feel tingling, heaviness, lightness - all kinds of things.  The extra needle in my left leg was because for the past 4 - 5 months I have had a numb spot on the outside of my upper thigh on the left side.  I only noticed it during the progesterone in oil shots but can't say for certain if that is when it started, that's only when I noticed it.  During my half hour I felt a warm pressure across my brow and my cheekbones close to my nose, I felt some heaviness in my arms and hands and the most surprising to me was that I felt a warm tingling in my upper thigh on the left side.  I would like to say that the numbness was miraculously cured but I can't however it does feel as though it is "waking up" and I can feel more that I could before.  When she came back in she took out the needles and gave me an abdominal massage.

She recommends that I come in once a week until the week before my transfer and then twice a week the week before.  She can go to my transfer procedure to do acupuncture there and then she recommends once a week for 12 weeks after I get pregnant.  She gave me lots of literature on the benefits of acupuncture, infertility, Chinese medicine and nutrition.  I was surprised and gratified to see that two studies had show an increase in pregnancy for groups undergoing acupuncture compared to the control group; and not insignificant!  I showed all this to Handsome and told him about my leg.  He started to make jokes but when he realized I wasn't laughing he told me he supported me and that over time it would probably help the numbness and the studies looked good for the FET.

She asked me to send her my FET protocol when I get it so she can time my treatments better.  And now we get to why I am so angry...  I was told on Friday to send the nurse at ARMS my left over medication and she would get the timing to me on Monday (remember I said I would let you know as soon as I knew?).  Well FINALLY at 4:48pm yesterday I get an email from her, but when I open the email it says she will get it to me by tomorrow (meaning today, Tuesday).  Le sigh.  Ok, I understand, things can get busy...  But it is now 9:21pm and I have NO messages from her, no timing, no protocol, no sorry for the delay, no nothing.  I am ANGRY.  Maybe this doesn't seem like a big thing, perhaps I don't have to worry about anything for a week or more but I don't know that until I get this info!  (ok Andrea, calm down... hitting the keyboard keys harder and harder isn't going to change anything...)  The worst thing is I don't know what to do, do I send an email asking when I get the info, do I send her an email reaming her out, do I call her in the morning, do I call and make a complaint?  I mean I want the info ASAP, and part of me wants then to understand and acknowledge my anger and frustration - I mean this only my fertility we are talking about!  BUT!  And there is a big but - no not mine :D   But, I don't want to piss off or alienate those who are involved in my care.  What do you guys think?  I was thinking perhaps that I could send an email containing the following:

"When I might get the timing protocol.  I understand that y'all get busy and that you have to make sure the scheduling and medication is correct, but I am reasonably anxious to get this show on the road and know what I will be looking forward to."

Does that seem too patronizing, too nice, too pansy ass, to indirect?  Should I send this email or should I call.  Well when I know more I'll let you guys know.  ttyl

The Little Mermaid
Every step she took was as the witch had said it would be, she felt as if treading upon the points of needles or sharp knives; but she bore it willingly, and stepped as lightly by the prince's side as a soap-bubble, so that he and all who saw her wondered at her graceful-swaying movements.
Andersen, H. C. (Hans Christian) (2009-10-04). Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (Kindle Locations 5248-5250). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.

30 Days

SO SORRY!!!  I know its been a while and I apologize but I have been busy and I was a little upset about my doctor's appointment.  First I have pretty well kept up with my one task a day goal that i set myself even though I let the daily blogging fall through - I will try and do better.

First the tasks that I have gotten done; I last posted on Monday so here is what I have for the following days:

Tuesday:
I have a purse hook that gets me lots of compliments and fits nicely into my bag since it collapses.

Unfortunately the rubber back that keeps it from slipping had come off.  I still had it and would kinda stick it on when using it but it was constantly getting lost in the depths of my purse and was getting less and less sticky since it was exposed.

I thought I had lost it because once when I asked Handsome to hand me my purse hook and purse, the black rubber didn't seem to make the trip.  We scoured the floor and the booth we were in but couldn't find it.  I few days later it occurred to me to look into my purse in case it had dropped in - sure enough it had!

I glued it back on with super glue and now it works just like new!

Wednesday:
 I didn't get any tasks done at home but I did go out for a company happy hour where I chatted with my co-workers and had my first shrimp sushi where the shrimp wasn't cooked (well except for the deep fried head with eyeballs and all!).  I don't know if I would order the shrimp again - the texture was firm, similar to cooked and it was sweet but wasn't my favorite.  I tried the head (excepting the eyeballs) which tasted like soft shell crab but I couldn't bring myself to eat the eyeballs.

Thursday:
I cleaned off the wine cabinet and cleaned out the dishwasher.  I also called the doctor and I called Ilumina - more about this later.

Friday:
No tasks - we went to a birthday celebration for a friend of ours at Christopher's Crush a lounge in the Biltmore Area in Phoenix.

Saturday:
Saturday morning we got to babysit for a friend of mine.  He is happy, sweet and all around wonderful.  Barely cried, only wet diapers no smelly ones and I LOVED watching my husband with him.

Here he is sleeping, I wish I could have gotten a picture of him smiling.  He had the best smile and a cute little laugh.  I am sure he will be a mischievous little boy and will work that smile to get out of trouble... it would work on me ;)

After babysitting we met my parents for lunch (they were up here to go to Fry's Electronics) and then we went to IKEA for some frames.  Normally Handsome HATES IKEA but he was pretty good about it and we got some frames to make a photo wall above the bed in our room along with a few other things that were too good to pass up. 

Sunday:
Today I picked up a few tops at Kohls (nothing exciting) stopped at Joanns and Target and went grocery shopping with Handsome.  I made brownies for work tomorrow and Handsome made Bison burgers in the skillet since it was raining outside. 

Doctor Stuff:
As you may know I went in Tuesday for my hCG blood draw.  I didn't hear anything all week so finally left a message Thursday afternoon.  I got a call Friday that the results were under 1 so considered negative.  I was ready to start the protocol but I should call them to set up dates and if I didn't know what was happening.  OF COURSE I didn't know what was happening, this will be my first FET.  I talked to the nurse, Kate, and she said that the earliest they could do it was Labor Day - I don't know if this means I will start the protocol Labor Day, have the actual transfer Labor Day or what.  She said I would get an email Monday, tomorrow, with what I need to do and take for the protocol so I should have more data tomorrow.  I told he I still had some left over medication so she had me send a list and she will order what I need and not order what I already have.  No one else seems to be upset that the time frame is Labor Day.  My husband was like oh, okay in about a month then. I was a little upset I though it would be a next two weeks kind of thing but I guess they can schedule it out since the embryo is frozen and they don't have to watch what is happening with my body as much.

I also decided to try some alternative treatments that were suggested by a friend.  I was thinking about finding a chiropractor but I didn't really mesh with the doctor recommended me and didn't know how to go about finding another especially one who might be versed in infertility as well as chiropractic care.  So instead I will be going to Ilumina and seeing Dana Price who is certified in Chinese medical arts and acupuncture with a focus on infertility and pregnancy issues.  I see her for my first appointment on Tuesday so I will keep you guys in the loop.

ttyl

Thirty Days Hath September
"Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting February alone,
And that has twenty-eight days clear,
And twenty-nine in each leap year."

Sure seems like a long time to wait!

Sew Me The Seam

As I said yesterday I was going to do some simple tasks this week with the sewing machine.  Today I got a lot done.  First I finished moving my fabric to one of the drawers on my sewing/craft desk.  First it is lonely and empty and then after the Fabric, doesn't it look pretty and bright!

And yes I know the pictures show the sewing machine box under the desk but i wanted to make sure it worked before throwing the box in the recycle bin.  Hopefully I will be able to toss it this week.  After organizing the desk I decided I would work on threading the bobbin and loading it in the bottom of the sewing machine.

 Here I am with my "light colored thread", in case I ever go to that new owners class at Joanns - thinking they might not let me in since it has been at least two months since I purchased it.  Is there a time limit on those things?  I also have my handy dandy quick set up instructions - for those of us who are too lazy to read the full instructions :)

 Here it is winding - this is an action shot even if you can't tell, the bobbin is spinning.  Maybe someone out there knows... it says to hold on to the thread that you have put through the hole on the bobbin while it loads up but after a while it just pulled it out of my hands - is that normal or did I do something wrong.  After wards it say to cut the two strings but one had already snapped out of my hand and disappeared so I just cut the one left connecting it to the spool.

 Yay!  A loaded bobbin!

 I figured out how to trip the opener on the bottom portal - don't know if these are real words but I am too lazy to go back and find the quick start guide t see what these parts are ACTUALLY called.

And bobbing loaded.  Yay!  Bet you thought I would stop there, well I didn't.  I decided while the machine was turned on I might as thread the needle.

This was a bit more difficult.  I could understand all the instructions except how to get the thread past this little doohickey on the needle.  I had to resort to looking at the DVD and they showed how you do it with TWO HANDS - the instructions didn't show two hands they showed a dotted line indicating this is easy peasy.  Ah well once I got it through the doohickey I was able to use the threading button to put the thread through the eye of the needle and just like that I was done.  Off for dinner now - lemon pan seared chicken thighs with olives and potatoes YUMM!!!  ttyl

PS Tomorrow is my second blood test, I should start to know more from here on out.



The Two Travellers by the Brothers Grimm
"Sew me the seam,
Draw me the thread,
Spread it over with pitch,
Knock the nail on the head."



Brave Fairies

I woke up early today and while Handsome was sleeping in I decide to get my task for the day done.  My mom got me this beautiful faerie several years ago and I love the whimsy.

Unfortunately a little over a year ago her ball came off of her hand.  I took her down off of her perch to fix her but she stayed on the shelf because I never seemed to get around to fixing her.  Today I got her and her ball off of the shelf and hunted down the hot glue gun.  I had to get out the step stool (it sucks sometimes being short) so I could put her back on her hook outside.  Doesn't she look wonderful!

After putting her up I put away all my stuff and for my second task of the day I FINALLY got the instructions for the sewing machine.  I went through them and I am going to focus on tying to get to a test run on the machine sometime this week.  I will probably separate it into a few different tasks - getting the bobbin wound, threading the needle and then doing a sample seam.  With the instructions I did find a cheap dust cover for the machine which I hate so a new dust cover may be one of my first projects on the machine.

Not much else to tell today; I went shopping but didn't find any new tops and came home to my husband who had gone grocery shopping and picked up steaks and corn for dinner.  The steaks were great but NOTHING beats grilled corn on the cob - I could eat it everyday!  Hope everyone's weekend was great!  ttyl

The Flowers by Robert Louis Stevenson
"All the names I know from nurse:
Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse,
Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock,
And the Lady Hollyhock.

Fairy places, fairy things,
Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,
Tiny trees for tiny dames --
These must all be fairy names!

Tiny woods below whose boughs
Shady fairies weave a house;
Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme,
Where the braver fairies climb!

Fair are grown-up people's trees,
But the fairest woods are these;
Where, if I were not so tall,
I should live for good and all."

Old Mother Goose

So I had a bit of a hiccup yesterday in my gets stuff done challenge.  I did get stuff done, I just didn't blog about it yesterday and post pictures.  Yesterday I made an appointment with ARMS to get my second blood draw done so I can get my second negative pregnancy result and set going on our next cycle.  I also met with the plumber and our pipes are no longer knocking when we use the shower or flush the toilet YAY.

I went out to happy hour with Handsome and his work crew and had a good time.  We went to Turf which is a nice Irish pub downtown.  The food and drinks are good and I love the atmosphere and decor.  Unfortunately it was hot in the pub and we kept asking them to turn the air conditioning colder but it never got past slightly warm.  Just when you thought you could feel air moving and had hope it would cool down, it would stop.

This morning when I got up I got my task done right away.  The top drawer of my desk is where I keep mailing stuff and other essentials.  Unfortunately like many drawers it had started to become a catch-all.  This morning I took the time to clean it out and turn this:

Into this:

On the desk you will find old film we never got developed and used ink cartridges.  While we were out today I added those tasks to our day and got the film dropped off for developing, the cartridges were recycled at Best Buy, and we dropped by Home Depot to recycle batteries where we got some good video and pictures of a giant dust storm moving that we put on FB.

We also went to the Arizona Leather store to look at new couches that wouldn't pick up dog hair.  While we were there my right hand started itching REALLY bad!  I don't know if it was something on one of the couches or something unrelated.  I washed my hands at the store and that seemed to help some with the itching but when I later showed Handsome my hand it was VERY swollen compared to the left.  It is slowly getting better but I have no idea what happened!  Any ideas? 

I wore this cute little dress today that I got at Charming Charlie and Handsome seemed to really like it.  He couldn't keep his hands off me, he was fun and really made me feel special and pretty.  He said it showed me off and he couldn't wait to get me home for some fun time. 

I don't know what my task for tomorrow will be but I do have 3 more drawers on the desk I could go through :D  I am going to try and keep on going with my task challenge but I am sure that once we get cleared for the next cycle things are going to start to fly and I may not have time.  I will however endeavor to continue to update you on my treatments once things start going again.  In the mean time doesn't this look delish?!  Handsome made it for me, it is rhubarb dry soda (no alcohol) with raspberries for garnish.  I love how sophisticated it looks and how he thought of a cute garnish to use rather than olives.

Have a great weekend everyone!  ttyl

Old Mother Goose
"Old Mother Goose,
When she wanted to wander,
Would ride through the air
On a very fine gander.

Old Father Gander
When the wind was fast and loose
Would ride through the air
On a very fine goose."

Been Working on Brownies

So day #2 of my "one task per day challenge".  Originally I thought I would clean out the top drawer of my desk so that it only had mailing supplies (envelopes and stamps), and some desk essentials such as tape, paper clips, etc.  Instead I decide to make brownies for my team at work.

I would have been able to get both tasks done but I had to stop at Target to buy the brownie mix, eggs, a water pistol, batteries and some earphones.  Then after the gym on our way home we had to stop at the pet store to buy dog food and Handsome stopped at Walmart to get some drinks.  Looking at that I guess I got a few extra tasks done as well.  Unfortunately when I started to put the brownies together I realized I was out of vegetable oil and had to make a quick run to the store.

You may be wondering about my strange shopping list at Target, well the brownie mix and eggs are obviously needed to make the brownies but what about the other items you ask?  I had to buy a water pistol because Bremen, my doberman, has decide to jump up in our raised garden so he can see over the wall and bark at the neighbors.  He's really not vicious but it is so embarrassing when he is acting like cujo as he peers over the fence.  The water pistol will be used when he starts to use that behavior (both dogs hate being squirted with water).  The batteries are for the water pistol because I didn't want to have to pump so bought the mechanized option.  The earphones are for my Kindle Fire since Bremen (seems like he is the bad child right now) ate my other ones.  So my nursery rhyme - which is actually a fun car song is included because it talked about working not because it talks about trains - I wouldn't know how to link trains to this post.

I've Been Working on the Railroad
"I've been working on the railroad
All the live-long day.
I've been working on the railroad
Just to pass the time away.

Don't you hear the whistle blowing,
Rise up so early in the morn;
Don't you hear the captain shouting,
"Dinah, blow your horn!"

Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Someone's in the kitchen I know
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Strummin' on the old banjo!"

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Getting Stuff Done

Have you ever been in a rut?  Lately I have, I rut of laziness.  On a typical work day I come home around 5:30, get online for bit, go to the gym with my husband if it is Monday, Wednesday or Thursday and then watch TV while dinner cooks.  I have decided that I am going to try and get one thing done each day so break out of the rut and in turn get stuff done.  I didn't do much Monday but yesterday I changed out two of the entry door knobs and deadbolts.  Sunday I had finally gotten around to changing out our front door knob and deadbolt.  I don't have a "before" picture but imagine crappy polished brass.  Now we have this:

 Here is a picture of our front entry way - I can't take credit for the beautiful planting, I have a black thumb, but Handsome is GREAT with plants!

It didn't take long for it to start to bother my OCD-self that the other entry doors were still that horrible shiny brass color so I decided to go out and get new level handles and deadbolts.  Kwikset (the manufacturer of our front door handle set) makes matching lever handles with deadbolts which means all of our keys would match sue to their re-keying tech.  We couldn't re-key the front door to our existing key because our existing key set wasn't for entry doors it was for interior french doors.  Quality construction :P  So Tuesday I went and got two set for our garage door and our back door. 

Just a note to all my friends out there always be aware of their price matching policies.  Lowes promises to beat any other company's advertised price by 10%.  I looked up the handle sets online on lowes.com and homedepot.com, Home Depot was 5 cents cheaper - that's right, a nickel.  I pointed this out to Lowes with my smart phone and got 10% off each handle.  That's right folks, because of a price difference of a NICKEL, I saved $7.00 on each set.  AWESOME!!!  Yesterday, while Handsome grilled delicious bison burgers on the grill I installed the handles on the back door and then the laundry room door.

Bremen is acting as my Vanna White here :)

Ahhh these look so much better but there is one little detail that is tugging at my OCDness although these should all be the same, the deadbolt on the back door is slightly different than those on the front door and garage/laundry room door.  I have shown the two images below - can you spot the differences?

Back door

 Front door and garage/laundry room door

Yes I know that one is in the upright position and one is not - that is not the difference, look closer ;)

So it kinda bothers me but on the other hand I REALLY don't want to pull off the one dead bolt to take it back to Lowes to get one that matches the front door.  After I got all this done yesterday I felt really good, even though it was small I got something besides sitting on my butt accomplished; which is where my new vow comes in.  This is a short term vow I am going to try and do some little thing each day, blog each day and have pictures in my blog until at least Sunday.  I will also try and update the Kindle corner.  I don't know which, if any, of you look at the Kindle corner but I am WAY behind.  I have 27 books that I have read that haven't yet been added and 5 in the hopper, two of which I am actively reading.

So what did I do today as my one task, you ask?  I framed a matted photo we got on our last anniversary in Sedona and hung it.  This is big because Handsome is always saying that we buy pictures but never put them up.  Whenever I find another art piece or photo to buy he asks, sarcastically, if this will also go in the pile to never be hung.  Slowly but surely our walls will lose their bareness.

I know it still looks a little bare but I've got plans, yes.. yes... I've got plans :)

Well I think that is all for tonight because I still have to update the Kindle corner and then get to bed.  ttyl

"The Little Red Hen"
Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who lived on a farm.She was friends with a lazy dog, a sleepy cat, and a noisy duck.

One day the little red hen found some seeds on the ground.  The little red hen had an idea, she would plant the seeds.  Then the little red hen asked her friends, "Who will help me plant these seeds?"
"Not I," said the dog

"Not I," said the cat
"Not I," said the duck
"Then I will," said the little red hen.  So the little red hen planted the seeds all by herself.

When the seeds had grown, the little red hen asked her friends, "Who will help me cut the wheat?"

"Not I," said the dog

"Not I," said the cat
"Not I," said the duck
"Then I will," said the little red hen; and the little red hen cut the wheat all by herself.

When all the wheat was cut the little red hen asked her friends, "Who will help me take the wheat to the mill to grind into flour?"
"Not I," said the dog

"Not I," said the cat
"Not I," said the duck
"Then I will," said the little red hen; and the little red hen took the wheat to the mill and carried the heavy sack of flour back to the farm.

The little red hen was tired and asked her friends, "Who will help me bake the bread?"

"Not I," said the dog

"Not I," said the cat
"Not I," said the duck
"Then I will," said the little red hen; and the little red hen made dough, kneaded the dough and baked it into bread.

When the bread was finished the little red hen asked her friends, "Who will help me eat this delicious bread?"
"I will" barked the dog
"I will" purred the cat
"I will" quacked the duck
"No!" cried the little red hen, "You did not want to help me with the work so I shall eat the bread all by myself," and so she did.

PS I included this because it is about doing tasks not because I was taking a stand against laziness or bad friends.  Had I been the little red hen I would have shared with my friends and I am sure they would have helped :)

Dog Days

HI guys - sorry so long but I have had a busy weekend and never really got much time on the computer.  I was going to post Wednesday but got caught up in finding and booking our hotel for our October Anniversary trip - it will be 5 years this year! Hmmm just looked it up and the traditional 5 year anniversary gift is wood.  Now Handsome and I don't usually buy anniversary gifts because our trip is our anniversary gift to ourselves but this is a biggie so maybe I'll try and include wood this year.  Maybe we can go hiking in the "woods" or find a restaurant that grills on wood - who knows.  If anyone has any ideas please shout them out we will be going to San Diego - how do we incorporate wood?

Well enough about wood and on to the stories I promised you.  I don't know if I mentioned it but Bremen, our big goofy dobe, has an appetite for paper, and wood, and packs of gum and other things he finds lying around but mainly paper in the house and wood and plants outside.  When we went on our summer vacay to Shreveport we were able to get our and our dogs' favorite house/dog/cat-sitter.  She stays over at the house, leaving for work and going out with friends, but she is able to let them out (we have no doggy door), feed them and keep them on some kind of schedule.  She also brings her dog Loki whom Bremen loves and Heidel tolerates (Heidel isn't much of a dog dog, she is more into lizards).  When our house sitter got there we put her money in an envelope and I put it up on the bar counter where the dogs couldn't get to it and hopefully the cat wouldn't knock it down.  A few days into our trip she calls and asks about Bremen eating paper and stuff - my stomach started twisting - I knew, I knew before she even told me! - yep Bremen had eaten all $220.  I told her we would re-pay her when we got back but do you know what that girl did?!  She went through his poop, yes his POOP and got all $220 back!  It is more than I would have done (although Handsome said he would have done it if necessary) only one of the bills was ripped up but she has 51% of it which is required for the bank to exchange it for her.  So it was a happy ending but Bremen, really - eating my magazines and books isn't enough now you are going straight for the green stuff?!

Second dog story of the vacation.  Ringo.  Now Ringo is the cutest, most darling mini-dachshund on the planet but he HATES Handsome and me.  He always has.  He always looks at us suspiciously out of the corner of his eye, takes the long way around to avoid us and will only grudgingly take treats from us.  We don't chase him - don't want to scare him, we tell him how good he is, and we pet him anytime he's on the trusted lap of someone he likes.  This year was like all the others, we got to my cousins house while she and her family were still out and while he would hang out with my Aunts, he wanted nothing to do with me or my husband.  Everything was going fine until the night before the fourth when I went into the room we were staying in and I saw a little yellow puddle on the corner of our luggage and on the carpet beneath it.  Now Ringo is the only boy dog in the house, the only one who can aim onto a vertical surface, and really the only one small enough to make that tiny puddle.  Now we KNOW he hates us - it's not just a feeling, it's confirmed fact.  We kept the bedroom door closed after that.  I am sure he smelled our dogs and was competing but still, no one else got peed on.  Oh well, maybe he will like us better next year - but probably not.

Well those are my stories of the dog days of summer.  Hope everyone is enjoying their summers, we got rain yesterday and it was lovely all day.  Still another week and a half before my second test and I find out more about the FET cycle. ttyl

How Much Is That Doggy
"How much is that doggy in the window,
The one with the waggly tail.
How much is that doggy in the window,
I do hope that doggy's for sale"

Comin' Round the Mountain

It seems I am half way through my waiting period (YAY!!!) and will go in for the second test in two weeks so that I can get started with my next FET (frozen embryo transfer) cycle.  Many have asked me what's going to happen next and all I can say is that you'll know as soon as I do.  I don't know what medication if any I will be on - I am assuming a trigger shot and perhaps progesterone (butt shots) but I don't know.  As soon as I get the second negative I will probably have a teaching visit and then I can tell you more. 

We just got back from our trip to Louisiana Saturday and I am sorry I didn't post yesterday but give a girl a day or two to recuperate from a 2 day drive ;).  I have to say that Handsome did almost all of the driving.  When we got back home I realized that unlike most trips where I take hundreds of pictures, on this trip I got very few and in fact they were all of some giant walking sticks so I will have to borrow from family.  On the way to Louisiana we took I40 and took the northerly route so we could stop in Albuquerque so I could meet up with my best friend.  We had a great time eating out at a tapas bar with Charlie.  We stayed much longer than planned and didn't get to our stop for the night, Tucumcari, until 11:30 pm (which is actually 12:30 pm here) and we were exhausted!  Here are some pictures from the first half of our trip.  The northerly route was really nice although we did run into a lot of seemingly unnecessary road construction in New Mexico

Our second day of travel we stopped in Ft. Worth so that I could have some "real"food.  I was so tired of burgers and other fast food.  We stopped at Outback but I was so hungry I forgot to invite my cousins who live in the area ( I heard about that all week, lol).  We got into Shreveport, at my cousin's house about 9:30 pm.  My cousin and her family were out of town but my aunts were staying there and one of them let us in.  We talked for a long time until I just had to go to sleep.  Handsome was already in the room and told me to turn on the ceiling fan - it was on low (barely turning) and yet it was clicking like a metronome or fast clock - that kind of thing drives us CRAZY so we slept without the fan and without covers to help with the heat.  My cousin came home Monday and the house got much cooler.  Monday afternoon Handsome and I went to a local independent pizza place nearby (great pizzas!) called PieWorks (we almost drove by because we though it was pie not pizza).  Afterwards we went to the Boardwalk, ate at an Irish pub and went to see the movie Brave in 3D.  Of course I cried and Handsome laughed at me.  Before the movie we also did a lot of driving around and happened upon this old cemetery.  Parts of it were falling apart and even though we were in the middle of the city it felt like the world had stopped around us.  The stones told such stories - of men in the war, families dying.  One stone just said "Infant" meaning he/she probably dies at birth or soon after and another had a 17 year old who Handsome postulated had probably dies in childbirth. 

Tuesday my parents got in (they were on one of their epic motorcycle road trips) and we all (parents, my aunts, and Handsome and I) went to Herby K's, home of the shrimp buster and the BEST crawfish etoufee anywhere!

Tuesday night I stayed up and chatted with the girls while Handsome sat out and chatted with the guys.  By this time there were about a billion children there bit it was fun!  That morning, I also asked my cousin's son about his horrible ticking ceiling fan but he said he had gotten used to it.  I told him that was too bad because if it bothered him I was going to buy him a new one and install it.. before the words were even out of my mouth he was telling me how much he hated it and it bothered him.  After Herby K's with the folks we stopped by Home Depot and got him a new fan.  My husband installed it and we had silent moving air for the rest of our trip - HEAVEN!

Wednesday was the 4th and not only was much of the family there (my cousins, aunts, parents) but many of their friend and neighbors as well.  Before it got started my Aunt took us out and took pictures of each family - here's a picture of Handsome and I

My parent and us - check out my Dad's cool motorcycle cap to cover up his helmet hair.  I can't believe that Mom agrees to these road trips and that she can pack in such a small  suitcase!!

We had hot dogs and hamburgers (my cousin-in-law made mine perfect, burned on the outside and hot and steamy on the inside!), live fiddle music, kids in and out of the pool, a zipline (Handsome helped catch kids on the way down) and a kickball game at the end adults vs kids.  The kids kicked are butts - I took myself out half way because lets face it - I was hot and I SUCK at kickball or anything athletic pretty much.  Here's the official picture for the 4th of July reunion.

Okay, okay I know I promised pictures of giant walking sticks and I know you are all DYING to see them so here they are.  We say three in all but I only got pictures of two.  I have also included video.  The first picture is one that took me a while to realize it was a walking stick, I thought it was a branch from the tree behind us.  I couldn't get a good picture of it on the chair so I had Handsome pick it up and it scrambled up his arm, across his back and over his shoulder where I captured a picture of it.

It could curl and straighten its butt which allowed it change its shape and better blend with different types of branches and plants.  We moved it to a tree so the dogs wouldn't get it and I took a short video.

This second one was found by some of the kids and I caught a picture of it on my cousin-in-law's muscular arm.

Thursday all the cousins and kids, Handsome and I went to Herby K's for lunch - mmm more crawfish etouffee! 

Then back to the house for a dip in the pool before Handsome and I went out for dinner at the Wine Country Bistro.  We later met up with the family at the Boardwalk and then back to the house.  We told some funny stories about the time I hit Handsome's truck with my car.. in the garage and the scorpion booby trap. 

Friday Handsome and I made our way home.  We stopped in Pecos where we had a nice meal at Alfredo's and the worst bar experience at the Alpine Lodge (which for some reason Handsome referred to in an Irish accent which was hilarious!).  We got home on Saturday, I drove a small portion and started singing "She'll Be Coming Around The Mountain When She Comes" which prompted Handsome to start yelling no... I found that so funny I could barely breathe and so made sure to complete the first two verses!!  So much more happened but I am wiped so I'll try and talk more next time - about Bremen eating money, Ringo hating us, the horrible Alpine Lodge and more. ttyl

She'll Be Comin' Round The Mountain When She Comes
"She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes,
She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes,
She'll be comin' round the mountain,
She'll be comin' round the mountain,
She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes.

She'll be driving six white horses when she comes..."