Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Summertime!
I'm finally getting into a summertime routine! I love being at home and am truly enjoying a clean organized house. I've made a few summer "resolutions" and have been sticking to them! I have never been one to make the bed but I've done it everyday this summer. I'm cooking every night and our laundry is completely caught up. I even washed the duvet and shams in my sisters room and ironed them! I've enjoyed working out and spending time with friends. I haven't made it to the pool yet but that's my goal for tomorrow. Jay's been coming home for lunch and I've enjoyed cooking for him and eating with him. Our carpets and couches got a good steam cleaning yesterday. The people at Charlotte Carpet Cleaning did a fabulous job and were in and out in no time. I like using local businesses and highly recommend them. I've been teaching vacation bible school and am getting used to my new age group the rising kindergarteners. All my sweet kindergarteners from last year are now grown up first graders and boy what a difference kindergarten makes!!! My dogs have been going for some long neighborhood walks and we're working on Sophie's social behavior... Overall I've really been trying to relax and enjoy summer. It always goes by too quickly!
We enjoyed our first and possibly last lake day of the summer this past Saturday. After picking up our boat from the shop (for regular yearly maintance) we headed out to Lake Wylie and enjoyed the day floating at the Sandbar and working on our wakeboarding skills. During out wakeboarding session we noticed smoke coming from the engine. Turns out something cracked (not due to wakeboarding) and needs to be fixed. Not only is the problem costly to fix, most marinas have a huge wait for boat work during this time. We're hoping to drop the boat of Thursday and who knows when we'll get it back :(
This past Sunday instead of heading out on the boat Mary Clare, Kathryn, and I randomly headed to the NC Music Factory for frozen drinks at Wet Willie's. We had a great time sampling all 18 flavors. I went for a mudslide and found it delicious! This is probably not a spot I'd head to at night but was perfect for catching up with friends and cooling off during the day.
Jay and I and our favorite lesbian couple Mary Clare and Kathryn (JUST kidding! Inside joke!) have been enjoying great music, yummy wine, and delicious picnic dinners at Pops in the Park on Sunday nights. If you haven't been I suggest you go this Sunday for the last concert of the season. They play patriotic music and have an awesome fireworks display. Be sure to go at 4 to drop your blanket and chairs off. The grass fills up fast!
What's Cooking Lately:
Mary Clare requested my potato salad recipe which is not really mine, I need to give credit to Lauren for that one! Thanks Lauren. I've made it several times and it's actually only 2 weight watchers points per serving. Here you go:
Ingredients
1 large russet potato, peeled and quartered
1 large sweet potato, peeled and quartered
1 cup corn
1 teaspoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and chopped
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped peanuts
Directions
Place the Russet potato pieces into a large saucepan, and cover with salted water.
In a large bowl, whisk together mustard, lime juice, cilantro, and garlic.
1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions; add chicken to pasta 3 minutes before end of cooking time; add zucchini to pasta water 1 minute before end of cooking time.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together garlic and ricotta in large bowl. Drain zucchini and pasta, and add to ricotta mixture. Stir in basil, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
I can't get these pictures in the correct order but you get the idea!
Summer Goal: clean and organize linen closet. Check!
We enjoyed our first and possibly last lake day of the summer this past Saturday. After picking up our boat from the shop (for regular yearly maintance) we headed out to Lake Wylie and enjoyed the day floating at the Sandbar and working on our wakeboarding skills. During out wakeboarding session we noticed smoke coming from the engine. Turns out something cracked (not due to wakeboarding) and needs to be fixed. Not only is the problem costly to fix, most marinas have a huge wait for boat work during this time. We're hoping to drop the boat of Thursday and who knows when we'll get it back :(
This past Sunday instead of heading out on the boat Mary Clare, Kathryn, and I randomly headed to the NC Music Factory for frozen drinks at Wet Willie's. We had a great time sampling all 18 flavors. I went for a mudslide and found it delicious! This is probably not a spot I'd head to at night but was perfect for catching up with friends and cooling off during the day.
all 18 of our samples
Jay and I and our favorite lesbian couple Mary Clare and Kathryn (JUST kidding! Inside joke!) have been enjoying great music, yummy wine, and delicious picnic dinners at Pops in the Park on Sunday nights. If you haven't been I suggest you go this Sunday for the last concert of the season. They play patriotic music and have an awesome fireworks display. Be sure to go at 4 to drop your blanket and chairs off. The grass fills up fast!
first pops of the season
my well planned picnic. see below for potato salad recipe!
Kathryn
Me & MC
Can't remember why we're excited?
Please excuse the sweaty hairdo! It was toasty out there!
What's Cooking Lately:
Mary Clare requested my potato salad recipe which is not really mine, I need to give credit to Lauren for that one! Thanks Lauren. I've made it several times and it's actually only 2 weight watchers points per serving. Here you go:
Ingredients
1 large russet potato, peeled and quartered
1 large sweet potato, peeled and quartered
1 cup corn
1 teaspoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and chopped
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped peanuts
Directions
Place the Russet potato pieces into a large saucepan, and cover with salted water.
Bring to a boil, turn the heat down, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the sweet potato, and cook about 15 minutes more.
Remove a piece of each potato, and cut it in half to see if it is cooked enough.
Once the potatoes are tender, add corn kernels; cook another 30 seconds.
Drain through a colander.
Fill the saucepan with cold water, and drop vegetables into water.
Cool for 5 minutes, and drain.
In a large bowl, whisk together mustard, lime juice, cilantro, and garlic.
Slowly whisk in oil.
Mix in salt and black pepper.
Cut cooled potatoes into 1 inch cubes, and add to dressing along with cucumber, and red onion.
Toss well.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Toss the peanuts in just before serving.
I've been trying to incorporate all kinds of veggies into our everyday meals. I went to the Matthews farmers market last Wednesday and was disappointed in the selection until I realized that all food is grown within 100 miles of Charlotte so um duh there aren't going to be any bananas there! Ha!
I've been trying to incorporate all kinds of veggies into our everyday meals. I went to the Matthews farmers market last Wednesday and was disappointed in the selection until I realized that all food is grown within 100 miles of Charlotte so um duh there aren't going to be any bananas there! Ha!
I bought some gobbetti pasta at Earthfare the other day and needed to find a recipe to use it in. I though this recipe was delicious and light for a nutritious summer meal. I added diced up chicken breast tenderloins for a little protein. I just tossed them in about three minutes before the pasta was done cooking.
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
8 oz. dry gobbetti pasta (2 cups) [or pasta of your choice]
4 small zucchini, julienned (4 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup low-fat ricotta
1/2 cup torn fresh basil
4 small zucchini, julienned (4 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup low-fat ricotta
1/2 cup torn fresh basil
3 chicken breast tenderloins cut into small pieces (I love Trader Joe's Frozen Tenderlions. They thaw quickly!)
1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions; add chicken to pasta 3 minutes before end of cooking time; add zucchini to pasta water 1 minute before end of cooking time.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together garlic and ricotta in large bowl. Drain zucchini and pasta, and add to ricotta mixture. Stir in basil, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
4 zucchinis julienned
3 chicken breast tenderloins cut into small pieces
ricotta cheese, garlic, salt and pepper
fresh basil
mix it up with the noodles
and serve!
I was craving a sandwich from Bedder Bedder & More today and rather than spending $7 on a sandwich I bought the ingredients to make it myself. It was so good and filling I could only eat half. I had way too many vegetables to all fit on the bread so I ate some on the side and plan to use some tonight for kabobs. The whole sandwich was 9 points (5 for bread, 2 for turkey, 1 for cheese, and 1 for sauce) but splitting it in half cut it down to 4. You could also lower points by using pita or a low-carb wrap.
Ingredients I used:
4 medium slices of squash
4 medium slices of zucchini
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1/4 thickly sliced yellow onion
Handful baby spinach
2 medium thick slices deli turkey
1 whole wheat harris teeter brand flatbread
1/4 cup shredded cheese
For the sauce:
Cooking spray
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp turbinado cane sugar (you can use regular sugar I just prefer turbinado)
1 & 1/2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Recipe:
Heat pan over medium high heat with cooking spray (I used olive oil spray) until it shimmers.
Add veggies and cook for 2 minutes
Add vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt, and pepper
Continue cooking for 5 minutes
Meanwhile put turkey on bread and heat in microwave for 30 seconds
Add veggies and sprinkle with cheese. YUM!
I can't get these pictures in the correct order but you get the idea!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Well Hello There Blog
Recently I've stepped back and tried to take a break. The school year was hectically coming to a close. I was waiting on our last ditch effort to create a child on our own. My parents had officially moved to Atlanta. I sort of avoided this blog. I started living a little and doing what I said I would do prior to starting IVF. I went out to eat with friends, went to a few concerts, visited the beach, made two trips to my parents house (one to hang out and one to see my aunt who was in town), and enjoyed my first week off of work.
To be honest, I didn't enjoy it all that much! I hate structure but I need it. I woke up at 9:00am today and really haven't gotten off the couch since. If I don't have things to do, I'll do nothing, as I've done today. So I need to start working on this summer routine thing. First of all, I NEED to start running. I miss the clear-head and skinny body that running gives me. That will be my first priority. Second, I need to start cooking. I haven't been in the kitchen in sooo long! I got a taste last night preparing food for the pops in the park concert and I realize how much I have missed it. I want to read books, paint several pieces of furniture that I've put off, list a few things for sale on craigslist. Organize the garage (dun dun dun). I've decided to create my "summer list". Things I want to accomplish this summer. I thought about writing the list in the post but decided to create a separate page so I can easily make additions and cross things off that I've accomplished!
On another note, I figure I may as well do an infertility update. I didn't get pregnant this cycle which gave me a feeling that Jay's test results were not going to come back as high as we wanted them. I was totally prepared for IVF to start today (my cycle day 3, which is when I usually start the meds). The doctor called us yesterday on our way home from the beach to tell us the results. She told me that we would need to proceed with IVF and I should call tomorrow (today) to schedule our IVF consultation. Um what? IVF consultation? Haven't we been talking about this for a few months? Can't we get started right away? Um no. All patients pretty much take a month off and have their consultation before anything can begin.
I was devastated. I cried and cried. Why was I crying? I knew this was going to be the case. I have weird feelings about things and I've pretty much known since January that we would have to do this. But it hit me hard. Really hard. Mainly the idea that we will never be able to have children on our own. It sucks and I was not prepared. I cried the entire 4 hours home from the beach. Poor Jay. He's not a talker when it comes to that kind of thing. Doesn't show a lot of emotion. Just kept telling me it would be ok. It didn't help. Nothing helped (well maybe the fettuccine alfredo we had for lunch from olive garden...jk). I took some deep breathes. We fought for a little bit. About how Jay doesn't show emotion, about how he can just say "ok so we're doing IVF, lets do it" without any reservation or feeling. I'm jealous.
By the time we got back to Charlotte and finished lunch I was doing really well. We had plans to attend pops in the park and I was able to keep myself busy and distracted. I prayed and prayed last night that the first round of IVF will work. I really don't know what I'll do if it doesn't. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I called to schedule my consultation this morning and the receptionist told me we couldn't get in to be seen for the consultation until July 21st. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I already have to wait this cycle out and possibly another. I can't image wasting three or more cycles! I was already bummed that we wouldn't get through our first cycle this summer. We had really wanted to do it this summer so that I was out of work and stress free. It looks like now I'll be doing it right at the beginning of a new school year. Talk about stress! I almost started crying to the receptionist. I think she could hear my voice crack and told me to hang on a minute. 10 minutes later when she returned to the phone she told me they could fit us in on June 30th. Thank you God! I am happy to wait 10 days instead of 40!
On June 30th we'll have an hour consultation with the doctor, an hour meeting with the nurse, and then a two hour meeting with the financial counselor. Please pray for us that day! IVF consists of a several days of birth control pills (to get control of my cycle), followed by several days of Lupron injections (to make sure that I am not growing any eggs on my own), next is several days of injections intended to stimulate my ovaries to create several follicles/eggs. Once the eggs have grown, I'll be giving another shot to release them and then I'll go in for the egg retrieval. This is an outpatient surgery where the doctor will go in and collect my eggs from my ovaries. The doctor will then inject a single sperm into each of my eggs and allow them to grow in the laboratory for 3-5 days. After the growth period, we will select how many eggs we would like to transfer back to my uterus. Another 12 days later we'll learn if the IVF was a success and if we are pregnant. At our clinic, 52% of people undergoing IVF get pregnant. 45% of people undergoing IVF actually have a child meaning the pregnancy did not end in miscarriage. Since this blog is read by pretty much only my friends and sisters, I want to ask you something. I've been really strong in the past few months. Haven't cried, have tried not to talk about babies 24/7, have tried to really enjoy my life pre-baby. Please bear with me over these next two months. Please be there if I need to talk. Please don't get annoyed if this is all I'm talking about. Please be there. I haven't realized how much this really would affect me until that nurse called with the news. I think more than anything I'm terrified that this won't work and that we won't be able to have children. Please keep us in your prayers. Thank you all so much!
To be honest, I didn't enjoy it all that much! I hate structure but I need it. I woke up at 9:00am today and really haven't gotten off the couch since. If I don't have things to do, I'll do nothing, as I've done today. So I need to start working on this summer routine thing. First of all, I NEED to start running. I miss the clear-head and skinny body that running gives me. That will be my first priority. Second, I need to start cooking. I haven't been in the kitchen in sooo long! I got a taste last night preparing food for the pops in the park concert and I realize how much I have missed it. I want to read books, paint several pieces of furniture that I've put off, list a few things for sale on craigslist. Organize the garage (dun dun dun). I've decided to create my "summer list". Things I want to accomplish this summer. I thought about writing the list in the post but decided to create a separate page so I can easily make additions and cross things off that I've accomplished!
On another note, I figure I may as well do an infertility update. I didn't get pregnant this cycle which gave me a feeling that Jay's test results were not going to come back as high as we wanted them. I was totally prepared for IVF to start today (my cycle day 3, which is when I usually start the meds). The doctor called us yesterday on our way home from the beach to tell us the results. She told me that we would need to proceed with IVF and I should call tomorrow (today) to schedule our IVF consultation. Um what? IVF consultation? Haven't we been talking about this for a few months? Can't we get started right away? Um no. All patients pretty much take a month off and have their consultation before anything can begin.
I was devastated. I cried and cried. Why was I crying? I knew this was going to be the case. I have weird feelings about things and I've pretty much known since January that we would have to do this. But it hit me hard. Really hard. Mainly the idea that we will never be able to have children on our own. It sucks and I was not prepared. I cried the entire 4 hours home from the beach. Poor Jay. He's not a talker when it comes to that kind of thing. Doesn't show a lot of emotion. Just kept telling me it would be ok. It didn't help. Nothing helped (well maybe the fettuccine alfredo we had for lunch from olive garden...jk). I took some deep breathes. We fought for a little bit. About how Jay doesn't show emotion, about how he can just say "ok so we're doing IVF, lets do it" without any reservation or feeling. I'm jealous.
By the time we got back to Charlotte and finished lunch I was doing really well. We had plans to attend pops in the park and I was able to keep myself busy and distracted. I prayed and prayed last night that the first round of IVF will work. I really don't know what I'll do if it doesn't. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I called to schedule my consultation this morning and the receptionist told me we couldn't get in to be seen for the consultation until July 21st. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I already have to wait this cycle out and possibly another. I can't image wasting three or more cycles! I was already bummed that we wouldn't get through our first cycle this summer. We had really wanted to do it this summer so that I was out of work and stress free. It looks like now I'll be doing it right at the beginning of a new school year. Talk about stress! I almost started crying to the receptionist. I think she could hear my voice crack and told me to hang on a minute. 10 minutes later when she returned to the phone she told me they could fit us in on June 30th. Thank you God! I am happy to wait 10 days instead of 40!
On June 30th we'll have an hour consultation with the doctor, an hour meeting with the nurse, and then a two hour meeting with the financial counselor. Please pray for us that day! IVF consists of a several days of birth control pills (to get control of my cycle), followed by several days of Lupron injections (to make sure that I am not growing any eggs on my own), next is several days of injections intended to stimulate my ovaries to create several follicles/eggs. Once the eggs have grown, I'll be giving another shot to release them and then I'll go in for the egg retrieval. This is an outpatient surgery where the doctor will go in and collect my eggs from my ovaries. The doctor will then inject a single sperm into each of my eggs and allow them to grow in the laboratory for 3-5 days. After the growth period, we will select how many eggs we would like to transfer back to my uterus. Another 12 days later we'll learn if the IVF was a success and if we are pregnant. At our clinic, 52% of people undergoing IVF get pregnant. 45% of people undergoing IVF actually have a child meaning the pregnancy did not end in miscarriage. Since this blog is read by pretty much only my friends and sisters, I want to ask you something. I've been really strong in the past few months. Haven't cried, have tried not to talk about babies 24/7, have tried to really enjoy my life pre-baby. Please bear with me over these next two months. Please be there if I need to talk. Please don't get annoyed if this is all I'm talking about. Please be there. I haven't realized how much this really would affect me until that nurse called with the news. I think more than anything I'm terrified that this won't work and that we won't be able to have children. Please keep us in your prayers. Thank you all so much!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)