Dear Blog,
I'm sorry you've been neglected. I'll be back soon!
By the way. I'm not pregnant. But I hope to be on Wednesday!
Details later.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
I live for WEEKENDS!!!
We had such a fun weekend! I didn't want it to end! On Friday night both my sisters and my parents came into town. Jay and I scrambled to clean the house and put up the fall decorations before everyone arrived. The weather was perfect and we were able to open the windows, light some fall candles, and blast the music as we prepared for our guests! Here are a few pictures of the house after some light fall decorating:
After much debate, we enjoyed Showmar's takeout for dinner. Since we don't have a kitchen table and our dining room table is always set for the season we did the usual family meal on TV trays. At some point in the future I've got to figure this seating thing out! Anyone else out there without an eat-in-kitchen? What do you do?
On Saturday, Jay headed up to Raleigh for the State game (Go PACK!!!) and I went out for brunch with my family. It has been so long since its just been the 5 of us. We had a great time catching up over IHOP omelets and pancakes. We did a quick run by Grower's Outlet to pick up mums and then I had to head over to the high school for the first of three football games my cheerleaders where cheering at on Saturday. If you are in need of mums or any flowers/plants/trees be sure to head to Grower's Outlet in Pineville. They have EVERYTHING and cheap cheap!!! All of my family headed home on Saturday evening and I was exhausted! My bestie MC was so kind and brought me our favorite Cracker Barrell takeout which we enjoyed in our pjs. Its so nice to have company around when Jay is out of town!
I had a super productive Sunday. Boomer and I woke up and planted all of the mums. I ran some errands and finished up my fall outdoor decorating. I was excited to see my husband Sunday evening and enjoyed cooking the yummy recipe that I posted earlier. Here's looking forward to another great weekend!!!
Also- My cheerleaders and I are walking in the Charlotte CROP hunger walk. The CROP walk takes place each Fall as a part of a nationwide endeavor to raise money to alleviate hunger and poverty in this country and overseas. 25% of all funds raised stay in Charlotte and are directed to the local agencies, Loaves & Fishes, Crisis Assistance Ministry and Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina. The remaining 75% goes to Church World Service to assist people around the world.
No donation is too small or too large. $18 collected will provide lunch for ONE YEAR to a child in a developing country. Our school's goal of raising $6000 will enable a sand dam to be built in Kenya; bringing clean, safe water to an entire village of 1000 people! Please prayerfully considering donating to this great cause. To DONATE please click the following link
After much debate, we enjoyed Showmar's takeout for dinner. Since we don't have a kitchen table and our dining room table is always set for the season we did the usual family meal on TV trays. At some point in the future I've got to figure this seating thing out! Anyone else out there without an eat-in-kitchen? What do you do?
On Saturday, Jay headed up to Raleigh for the State game (Go PACK!!!) and I went out for brunch with my family. It has been so long since its just been the 5 of us. We had a great time catching up over IHOP omelets and pancakes. We did a quick run by Grower's Outlet to pick up mums and then I had to head over to the high school for the first of three football games my cheerleaders where cheering at on Saturday. If you are in need of mums or any flowers/plants/trees be sure to head to Grower's Outlet in Pineville. They have EVERYTHING and cheap cheap!!! All of my family headed home on Saturday evening and I was exhausted! My bestie MC was so kind and brought me our favorite Cracker Barrell takeout which we enjoyed in our pjs. Its so nice to have company around when Jay is out of town!
I had a super productive Sunday. Boomer and I woke up and planted all of the mums. I ran some errands and finished up my fall outdoor decorating. I was excited to see my husband Sunday evening and enjoyed cooking the yummy recipe that I posted earlier. Here's looking forward to another great weekend!!!
Also- My cheerleaders and I are walking in the Charlotte CROP hunger walk. The CROP walk takes place each Fall as a part of a nationwide endeavor to raise money to alleviate hunger and poverty in this country and overseas. 25% of all funds raised stay in Charlotte and are directed to the local agencies, Loaves & Fishes, Crisis Assistance Ministry and Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina. The remaining 75% goes to Church World Service to assist people around the world.
No donation is too small or too large. $18 collected will provide lunch for ONE YEAR to a child in a developing country. Our school's goal of raising $6000 will enable a sand dam to be built in Kenya; bringing clean, safe water to an entire village of 1000 people! Please prayerfully considering donating to this great cause. To DONATE please click the following link
Deliciousness
Jay and I have been trying a ton of new recipes lately. This one is sooo easy and delicious! Jay usually puts "sauce" on everything; worcestershire, ketchup, hot sauce, etc. because he thinks that everything I make is too plain. I tell him that he can't enjoy the natural taste of food. This recipe was approved without any sauce or other additions. We actually fought over who got to take the leftovers to work the next day! I made this in about 10 minutes and Jay was happy with how little mess there was. Without further ado, I present Pasta with Prosciutto and Orange.
Pasta with Prosciutto and Orange adapted from bon appetit
Ingredients
Salt
12 oz. egg tagliatelle or fettuccine (I used fettuccine, fresh is best but we had dried on hand and it was great)
2 Tbsp. (1/4 stick) unsalted butter (I used salted)
2 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1" pieces (I used about 4oz)
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
Directions
I wish i took some pictures of this yummy meal!
Pasta with Prosciutto and Orange adapted from bon appetit
Ingredients
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute before al dente, about 2 minutes for fresh pasta, longer for dried (I cooked the dried for 5 minutes). Drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto; sauté until browned, about 3 minutes.
Add reserved pasta water, orange juice, half of zest, and cream; bring to a boil. Add pasta; cook, stirring, until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese and divide among warm bowls. Sprinkle remaining orange zest over pasta.
I wish i took some pictures of this yummy meal!
Friday, October 7, 2011
SCARY!
Last night we had quite a scare with my medications. The past two nights, Jay has had a hard time getting the needle to puncture my skin and the shots have hurt sooo badly. Last night hurt so bad our conversation went like this:
Me: Jay are you using the old vial or new vial of medicine?
Jay: I switched to the new vial because the old vial was going to expire.
Me: It doesn't expire until 2012 (thinking that maybe he didn't read the year and just the date)
Jay: Shows me the vial of the WRONG medication and points out that it expired on October 5th. (PS- The vial he showed me was the medicine that is REALLY thick and goes in my tush through a HUGE needle. It would make sense that the past two nights were difficult to inject because this medication is not supposed to be injected in my stomach)
Me: Totally freaks out because he has been injecting me with the wrong medicine for the past three days! I got very upset and told him this cycle wouldn't work because I've been taking the wrong medication.(insert long lecture on trust, paying attention, waste of money, etc.)
We then walked back to the bedroom and found the old vial of the medicine he should have been injecting me with on the nightstand. He had been using the correct medicine afterall, he just did not put in back in its normal place making it look like he'd used the wrong stuff. Holy Cow. Talk about freaking out. Although everything turned out fine, it was a good wakeup call for us. We both decided we need to be less cavalier about the whole process and pay more attention to what we should be doing :)
Me: Jay are you using the old vial or new vial of medicine?
Jay: I switched to the new vial because the old vial was going to expire.
Me: It doesn't expire until 2012 (thinking that maybe he didn't read the year and just the date)
Jay: Shows me the vial of the WRONG medication and points out that it expired on October 5th. (PS- The vial he showed me was the medicine that is REALLY thick and goes in my tush through a HUGE needle. It would make sense that the past two nights were difficult to inject because this medication is not supposed to be injected in my stomach)
Me: Totally freaks out because he has been injecting me with the wrong medicine for the past three days! I got very upset and told him this cycle wouldn't work because I've been taking the wrong medication.(insert long lecture on trust, paying attention, waste of money, etc.)
We then walked back to the bedroom and found the old vial of the medicine he should have been injecting me with on the nightstand. He had been using the correct medicine afterall, he just did not put in back in its normal place making it look like he'd used the wrong stuff. Holy Cow. Talk about freaking out. Although everything turned out fine, it was a good wakeup call for us. We both decided we need to be less cavalier about the whole process and pay more attention to what we should be doing :)
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Grown Up
There are somethings in life that make you feel like an adult with a capital A. I recently did one of those things last night. I refinanced our mortgage all by myself. Not that it was that hard, it was just an important decision that Jay and I made together. Usually we ask my Dad for advice on everything. He has worked for banks since before I was alive and is very good at providing advice when it comes to money management. I had called him several times about refinancing and getting his opinion and when it was time to pull the trigger he wasn't around. Although it seems silly, this was the first time Jay and I have really made a huge decision without his "blessing" first. Of course after it was over and I did get a chance to speak with him, he completely agreed with our decision; but it felt good and I felt confident making this decision with just Jay and I.
I'm super excited about lowering our mortgage and being able to put more money away to save for the future. This will also help lighten the load if I decide to stay at home when we do have children.
On to other things, I am getting really excited about an upcoming homecoming tailgate we have planned with all my best college girlfriends. We all haven't seen each other in so long and now that MC and I have this tailgate thing down pat (tailgate) I'm excited to share with everyone and catch up on our lives.
I'm super excited about lowering our mortgage and being able to put more money away to save for the future. This will also help lighten the load if I decide to stay at home when we do have children.
On to other things, I am getting really excited about an upcoming homecoming tailgate we have planned with all my best college girlfriends. We all haven't seen each other in so long and now that MC and I have this tailgate thing down pat (tailgate) I'm excited to share with everyone and catch up on our lives.
FET Here we go!
So by the time I post this I will probably have just announced that I am not pregnant, sad but ready to move on! At this point I will also have had some of my frozen embryos implanted! That's the exciting part.
We started our first round of shots on Tuesday evening. My anxiety level is really low probably because I know what to expect. Tuesday's shot was super easy and painless. Last nights shot was miz. Jay stuck me once and then quickly again. Pain. He explained that the first shot wouldn't puncture my skin and so he quickly tried again. I gripped his arm and left some marks :o
The protocol for an FET should be much easier on me than the fresh cycle of IVF. I've been on BC pills since September and will be on them for a total of 21 days. These are to regulate my system and quiet everything down. I'll be on the lupron shots for several days (14-20). I will also start adding estrogen patches soon. Those should help me become quite the moody bitch :) as well as thicken my lining. 6 days before the transfer we will add those lovely progesterone shots in the tush. Our transfer is scheduled for November 2nd. That leaves me finding out if it worked the day before my birthday. I'm praying for a wonderful birthday present this year :)
So I think that's where we're at on the expanding our family section of our life. Things have definitely been stressful recently so if the FET doesn't work, we're going to take some time off to regroup and recoup our finances. As always, thanks for the continued support!
We started our first round of shots on Tuesday evening. My anxiety level is really low probably because I know what to expect. Tuesday's shot was super easy and painless. Last nights shot was miz. Jay stuck me once and then quickly again. Pain. He explained that the first shot wouldn't puncture my skin and so he quickly tried again. I gripped his arm and left some marks :o
The protocol for an FET should be much easier on me than the fresh cycle of IVF. I've been on BC pills since September and will be on them for a total of 21 days. These are to regulate my system and quiet everything down. I'll be on the lupron shots for several days (14-20). I will also start adding estrogen patches soon. Those should help me become quite the moody bitch :) as well as thicken my lining. 6 days before the transfer we will add those lovely progesterone shots in the tush. Our transfer is scheduled for November 2nd. That leaves me finding out if it worked the day before my birthday. I'm praying for a wonderful birthday present this year :)
So I think that's where we're at on the expanding our family section of our life. Things have definitely been stressful recently so if the FET doesn't work, we're going to take some time off to regroup and recoup our finances. As always, thanks for the continued support!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
WTF
Today I had our "WTF" meeting with my doctor. I've been waiting on this appointment for so long. Originally, I was supposed to go in on October 17th (thanks to the lovely scheduling department) but after a quick phone call to my nurse yesterday, they told me to come in this morning.
Basically everything went really well. Our embryos were perfect, my levels were perfect, our Dr. was sort of perplexed until I started talking about the bleeding. Bingo. That is where the doctor thinks that things went wrong. I bleed too much too soon and the embryo didn't have enough lining to stick to. For this round, I will be coming in much more often to have my progesterone (the hormone that keeps you from bleeding) checked. I will also be on another type of progesterone supplement in addition to the lovely shot in the tush.
Please keep us in your prayers and pray that this one (or two!) decide to stick around :)
Basically everything went really well. Our embryos were perfect, my levels were perfect, our Dr. was sort of perplexed until I started talking about the bleeding. Bingo. That is where the doctor thinks that things went wrong. I bleed too much too soon and the embryo didn't have enough lining to stick to. For this round, I will be coming in much more often to have my progesterone (the hormone that keeps you from bleeding) checked. I will also be on another type of progesterone supplement in addition to the lovely shot in the tush.
Please keep us in your prayers and pray that this one (or two!) decide to stick around :)
Monday, October 3, 2011
Welcome Fall
I am so excited that fall has arrived! We had a full, fun, fall weekend! Pics to accompany the post later!
Friday night we enjoyed meeting up with friends for dinner and heading out to see our neighbor's band play at Lucky Lou's. I've never been before and this isn't a place that I would normally frequent. We did have a fun night listening to live music.
On Saturday, we woke up early and headed to Raleigh to watch the Wolfpack. We had a yummy tailgate but missed seeing most of our friends. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up during homecoming weekend!
On Sunday, we planted our "fall" garden. I never knew you could plant in fall but we are going to try our hand at broccoli, onions, rosemary, and cabbage. I've also heard you can plant spinach (which I love), but couldn't find spinach starter plants anywhere. We also enjoyed watching the Panther's play and opening the windows and filling our house with fresh cool air.
My family is coming to visit this weekend and I'm planning to head into fall full swing. Mom and I are going shopping for mums, putting up all the fall and Halloween decorations and making a fall wreath for the front door. I'm also looking forward to all of us being together for the first time since May!
Also coming up is a 4 day weekend (Oct 28th-Nov 1st). We are looking at heading out of town but unsure where to go... Ideas include: Chicago, Monterey CA, Boston & Bar Harbor MA, Denver, or Gatlinburg TN. Any suggestions?
Friday night we enjoyed meeting up with friends for dinner and heading out to see our neighbor's band play at Lucky Lou's. I've never been before and this isn't a place that I would normally frequent. We did have a fun night listening to live music.
On Saturday, we woke up early and headed to Raleigh to watch the Wolfpack. We had a yummy tailgate but missed seeing most of our friends. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up during homecoming weekend!
On Sunday, we planted our "fall" garden. I never knew you could plant in fall but we are going to try our hand at broccoli, onions, rosemary, and cabbage. I've also heard you can plant spinach (which I love), but couldn't find spinach starter plants anywhere. We also enjoyed watching the Panther's play and opening the windows and filling our house with fresh cool air.
My family is coming to visit this weekend and I'm planning to head into fall full swing. Mom and I are going shopping for mums, putting up all the fall and Halloween decorations and making a fall wreath for the front door. I'm also looking forward to all of us being together for the first time since May!
Also coming up is a 4 day weekend (Oct 28th-Nov 1st). We are looking at heading out of town but unsure where to go... Ideas include: Chicago, Monterey CA, Boston & Bar Harbor MA, Denver, or Gatlinburg TN. Any suggestions?
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