It feels like a school day...

And that's what so nice about a 4 day weekend!! Kevin and I are just finishing off the packing now, getting ready to head back to VA. But before I left I wanted to post MyMom's Cranberry Salsa recipe.

Cranberry Salsa with Lime - Makes about 3 cups (which is a lot!)
1 package (12 oz) fresh cranberries, picked over and stemmed
2 large ribs celery, finely diced
1 small white onion, finely diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
In a food processor, process the cranberries until coarsely and evenly ground then pour into a medium sized bowl. Mix in all the remaining ingredients and stir well to mix. Refrigerate until ready to serve, at least several hours, best if done day before serving.

It's yummy and there's always tons leftover to make awesome ham (or turkey), stuffing and cranberry salsa sandwiches.

In Sunny Florida

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! Kevin and I are currently in Florida, visiting my parents. We had turkey and ham (cause I don't like turkey), stuffing, gravy, maple carrots, mashed potatoes and cranberry salsa. The salsa that my mom makes is awesome. I'll be sure to post the recipe later. I'm so thankful that Kev and I were able to come down and spend this time with our family (especially after the whole JetBlue fiasco).

Speaking of traveling, I'm kind of excited because Kevin and I might go skiing for New Years! At first we didn't think we'd be able to do anything cause Kevin was going to have to work on New Years Day, but now he's been told that he won't have to. Yay! So now I have to muster up the courage to ask for the day off after I'll have been off the whole week previous. Hmmm.

My Husband is Awesome!

I love watching TV.  I love different types of shows but especially those that I can lose myself in the story. It's the same way when I'm reading a good book.  The only thing is that Kev and I only own one TV - well two but the 2nd is only for the playstation and dvds. On Mondays and Tuesdays Kev and I found ourselves in a quandry.  We had three shows each night that we wanted to see and only able to record two. So one had to give.  I decided since I was the only one who really watched Dancing with the Stars - and it was available online - that we would drop it from our DVR series list. However because I watch so much other TV and Kevin and I usually have very similar tastes, I haven't been able to keep current with DWTS. As of this morning, I was only half way through Week 6 - Monday's episode.  This week was Week 10 - The Finals!

Every weekday morning the clock radio turns on at 6:00 AM. Kev and I don't have to be up till 6:30 so we spend the next half hour half listening to the radio and half sleeping. This morning at about 6:10, the dj started saying "last night on DWTS, the crystal ball was awarded to..." Kevin jumped out of bed, ran to the radio and turned it off! Isn't he awesome? Even though he doesn't watch it, he didn't want it to be ruined for me. How could I not love this guy?!?

What is up with me?

Today has just been a comedy of errors!  First, I forgot that I unscrewed the top of my water bottle off and ended up dumping a LOT of lemonade all over me the next time I went for a drink.  Then when I refilled the water, it took getting water all over the floor and my jeans for me to realize that I wasn't actually pouring the water into my water bottle.  And lastly while at lunch, upset that I didn't get a my taco with my chile relleno I practically chased down the poor waiter all over the restaurant.  I just couldn't sit at the table and wait.  Pfft!

How I Thought I Was Going to Turn Out, Pt. 2

This is a continuation of this post.

So fast forward 10 years. I was 17, in college and having fun. I had dated throughout high school, even had a couple of boyfriends, but never anything serious. By this time my plans were to get my degree, travel the world, come home to start my own business, buy a big house and start fostering and adopting kids. And then I met Kevin.
Kevin was unlike any other boy I met. He was quiet, intense and was just so interested in me. Kevin and I exchanged emails, letters and phone calls for two years before we were finally able to meet IRL. The summer between my sophomore and junior year Kevin and I planned an exchange trip where I would go to England for a month and Kevin would travel back with me to the US (for a month and a half). Kevin met me at the airport and the first time he smiled at me, I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with this man. Just like that. All my previous ideas and plans were out the window. I knew in that moment that Kevin and I were going to be together until forever. We had plenty of things in the way of our being together, even just the fact that I still had two more years of college to finish, but somehow we always found a way to make it work. We always trusted in each other and were always truthful.
And then I started dreaming a new dream. One where Kevin and I had a family together. Where he was the Dad and I was the Mom. Where I would have his children growing inside of me and we would be complete. Of course this meant that we would have to get married. But first one of us had to give up everything and move to a foreign country. After looking at things rationally, we decided that it made more sense for Kevin to move here. And so began our two year trek to get Kevin a visa to work here in the states. It could have been much easier if we had just gotten married first and then had him move over, but we both wanted to do this the right way. So Kevin finally got a job in the states, although not in Florida, where I lived. So I ended up leaving everything (family, friends and my own business) and starting over in a new place too.
A year later we were engaged and a year after that we were married. And then came time to start TTC. Oh boy. I knew right away that we were probably going to have some issues. I had never been regular in my life. And, unfortunately, I was right.

What's Les Doing on the Big Screen?

So today Chicken and I went to go see this movie:
We were going to go last night, but it ended up taking Chicken 3 1/2 hours to get home from DC. She even ended up in Maryland! Oops!  Once she got turned around she was able to make it home without any other mishaps.  But we ended up being too tired after dinner to do much of anything so we just went back home.  So this morning after a bit of shopping at Kohl's (my favorite!) we went to go see it.  It's awesome! I've decided that Les is going to be Bolt for Halloween next year.  

Saturday from TBWE

Finally this week is coming to a close! Today's activity was going to Dr. T to get my CD16 U/S and possible HCG shot. It wasn't Dr. T that did my ultrasound, but the other doctor. That was a bit surprising! Also sometimes I feel like the staff gets into such a routine that they automatically assume that you know what you're doing. Guess what? I don't! I'm not sure if I'm suppose to pee in a cup or not! But anyways, the other Dr didn't seem too impressed with what he saw on the U/S but said I should get the shot anyway. So now we wait for FF to tell me I've ovulated and we wait the 2WW.

Oooh, tonight at the usual time, I took my OPK and it was positive! I'm not sure if it's a side effect of the HCG because of the hormones injected into my body or if it was because the shot did something to me that caused my hormones to cause it to be positive. Yeah, I'm slightly confused too.

I've uploaded my pictures of the OPKs (including today's positive!); I think I'm going to keep taking them even though you're suppose to stop once you get a positive.

Totally unrelated: Kevin and I spent this afternoon raking up all the leaves in the front and back yards and we now have 42 bags of leaves sitting in front of our house! That's right, 42! Sheesh! Plus we still have 2/3 of the back yard to do! Sheesh!

Friday from TBWE

Tonight's activity is picking Chicken up from the airport. If you can't tell I'm kinda excited that she's coming into town even if it is only for a little while. It's a good thing that this week was TBWE as I probably would have felt like the week went soooooo slowly. Her flight is running around 16 minutes late so I'm just waiting in the chairs.

Thursday from TBWE

So tonight's activity was Les' agility class.  I was going to post a picture of her coming over the jump but then I forgot to take one!  Plus, next week we don't have class cause of Thanksgiving (and we're headed down to Florida to visit my parents).

The other activity tonight was preparing the house for Chicken's arrival.  Which is tomorrow!!! I'm so excited.  I haven't figured out exactly what we're going to do yet.  Anways, tonight we did a lot of cleaning—and by we, I mean Kevin—so we should be all set.

POAS - Type 2

In the mail today was a inconspicous little package with my name on it.  I opened it up and found 20 little dip strips.  Yep, I got my LH/OPK testing strips today.  Of course I immediately peed in a cup and tried it out.  And of course I did it wrong, so I didn't have any results.  Once I got back from class I did it again and my test line was sooooooo light, it was really hard to catch it on camera.  But I did! Once I've got a few of them, I'll post the pictures here in a slideshow.

Wednesday from TBWE

Today's activity was my weekly Bible Study Class.  I've written a bunch of posts on this, but I've not published any of them! Oops!  I will soon. I'm still collecting all my thoughts. The class has been really interesting.  It's the first time I've done something like this.  Most of the women in the class are all older with kids and families and stuff, but I can keep my own. This past week we focused on Judith.  Which is who the book cover painting is about, so I figured that  would make a good pic to post.

There's only one more class which will be next next week.  They're already talking about doing another class after the holidays.  I think I'd be willing.

Tuesday from TBWE

Today's activity was climbing. Kev regularly goes climbing (he's getting back into it now since he had to take a break due to the biking accident) and occasionaly I'll tag along. I agreed to go last week before I realized that this week was TBWE.

I kept waiting for that guy to get out of my shot, but of course he wouldn't so I had to take the picture anyways. It turns out he was "climbing down" as well. So he took forever to come down instead of just being lowered down by the belayer. Arg!

This photo is of the 50 foot wall at Pea.k Exper.iences. It was the first time I attempted it and I got all the way to the top. Also kind of hard to see is that the wall is actually slightly overhanging so it makes it even harder. I love slabs, why can't they all be slabs?

Monday from TBWE

So Monday's activity from "The Busiest Week Ever" was the second concert in our Masterworks Concert Series. It's technically the third concert in the series, but as we were in NYC for the real second one we'll call it the second. We're suppose to be getting new tickets since we had to miss that concert, but they haven't come in yet. I'll have to follow up on that tomorrow. So the seats we have are right on the bottom. Kevin and I were worried after the first concert but this time it was like I was the conductor!

This was the view from our seats! Tonight's concert is the Symphony of Psalms. The first two pieces were okay, but the last one, Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C Major, "The Great," was sweet. The next concert isn't till January, however MIL wants to go to see the philharmonic for her 60th which is in December.

How 'bout them 'Boys!?!

Got here about two hours early. Pigged out on lots of free (and good) food and the boys kicked back some major alcohol. We still have 31 minutes to kickoff. Taking tons of pictures which I'll post later.

The Busiest Week Ever

Okay, so maybe not the busiest, but darn near! Every evening this week, Kevin and I have somewhere to go. One of the most exciting things this week has to be what we're doing tonight. I'm mean what can top seats in the Owners' Club Box watching my Cowboys take down the Redskins! Yay me! Plus Romo is suppose to be back tonight. Right now I'm waiting for Kevin to get back from getting his ears lowered (cutting his hair) and then we're off to do the weekly shopping. And then an 3:15 we leave for the game! A full 5 hours before the game starts. Crazy! Anyways, I'll try to post a pic from my iPhone each night this week.

Almost Here!

My HCG shot has come in finally. I'm planning on going to pick it up today after work. I'm still taking Clomid, tomorrow's my last day. My temps did a weird thing this month. They didn't really come down till CD3, really down, the lowest since I started temping. Then were only down for 3 days. They shot back up once I started Clomid. Weird.

Here's what it looks like compared to last cycle.

This round I'll be using OPKs as well. Each cycle it seems to get a little more complicated, doesn't it?

How Did You Do That?!?

So Kev went to see the dr. today to get the results from the CAT scan he had last week. The dr. told him he has a fractured sternum! Ow! The dr. has never seen it before so he told Kev he's just gonna have to wait to see if it gets better on its own. It's like a broken collarbone, there's nothing they can do about it, just hope it heals correctly.

A Blindside From Within

So last night I watched the latest episode of Biggest Loser (yes, I know, I'm addicted to reality tv) and I was sooooooo excited about Amy C's vote for Brady. The people I always feel bad for on shows like this are the ones that think they're on the inside and then they are totally surprised when they find out that they're on the fringe of the group and are the first ones to go.

Like Paula on Road Rules/Real World Challenge: The Island (yes, a third reality tv show I watch). I mean, come on, you're in an alliance with 4 guys and you seriously think you're going to end up on "the" boat? Really? Wow! I like Paula, she's one of my favorite players, but I was always hoping she would wake up and realize she was on the fringe.

I think I pull for these players because I myself have been caught it this predicament. I've been on the inside, secure in my knowledge that everything was good with the people around me. And then one day I wake up and realize that I'm now on the outside looking in. This has happened with friendships, sports teams, and jobs. I hate being this person, yet over and over again, I find myself being this person. Maybe this is why I pull for these people. I want them to realize their status before they get blindsided so that maybe next time I will realize it before I get blindsided.

But this past week I got to see on two different shows what I always hoped I would. First was on Biggest Loser. Amy C had her spot on the blue team. She was good with her other 3 teammates and they were going to pick off the black team one by one. And then Ed came back. At that point the other 3 teammates starting talking about the final four, but now with Ed instead of Amy C. I felt bad for Amy C because she became this fringe person. She thought she was on the inside but clearly was the last one on the totem pole. So imagine my surprise and delight when she decided to vote for Brady. It was the blindside that rocked!

The second one this week was the latest episode of Survivor (okay, a fourth show!) when Susie voted for Marcus. Susie had to know that of the "Kota 6" she was going to be the first out. And when she approached Marcus, he tried to convince her that she would be in the final 3, but really? Here again was someone being convinced they were on the inside when they weren't. And somehow she was able to see the real situation and blindside Marcus. Yes!

Score two for the "fringers!!!"

Amazing Race: Finally!

So I am a HUGE fan of the show Amazing Race. I have been since the 2nd one (I lived in England for the first one so I missed it). I fall in love with each series and usually form strong opinions about the people on it. This series though, there are two divorced women racing and while usually I pull for the all girl teams (Go Dustin & Candace!), this season I just can't stand these two. I watched the latest episode last night and I was soooooo happy when they were eliminated. Now I'm a Texan originally, so I wanted to like them, but I just found them to be catty, rude and annoying. Also they misinterpreted something about the clue in almost every episode so I was usually dumbfounded how they got through. I kept hoping that their mistake would cause them to be eliminated and usually they managed to fix it in time. But last night they made two mistakes in both the Roadblock and Detour and it finally caught up to them.

So far my favorites are Toni & Dallas.

How I Thought I Was Going to Turn Out, Pt. 1

This story is kind of long and rambling, but I'm a firm believer that you need to have all the pieces in order to fully understand this story. I'll tie it up all nicely in the end, I think. I hope.

So you know how when you're a little girl, you would play with your dolls and play house? You grow up thinking about that man you're going to marry and the 2.5 kids you'll have with the dog and the white picket fence? Yeah, that was never me. Not that I didn't play with dolls and play house.

When I was 7 years old my Mom, Wiki and I were shopping at JC Penney when I noticed that there was a Cabbage Patch Kid sitting atop one of the rotary clothes racks. I pulled him down, looked around and couldn't see any other little girls looking for their dolls. I took the doll over to my Mom and showed it to her. Of course she thought that I had taken the doll from someone so I showed her where I got it from. She asked me if I had taken it out of the packaging and I said it was just sitting there. Wiki pointed out that the clothes/shoes/doll didn't look new. So we walked around and we stopped Moms with kids and asked if they had misplaced a doll. None had so after about an hour my Mom decided that we could keep it. At the time there was no way I would have ever gotten a CPK on my own. They were about $30-$50 dollars and my Mom was in no way going to spend that much on a doll. I remember thinking "How could anyone leave him sitting there? How could they forget they put him down? How could they walk away from him?" But then I knew he was mine. I no longer cared where he'd been, why he was left behind, or anything. He was mine.

Quick side bar here: My Dad was obsessed with computers and technology. He always wanted the latest thing. Sometime before the whole JC Penney scene, he convinced my Mom to buy a Coleco Adam. With it you got a $500 college savings fund (which was like the cost of the system) and a rebate for a free Cabbage Patch Kid. We mailed off for it and she arrived. She was really pretty, but remained in a plastic bag on top of my parent's hutch in their bedroom. Like I said before, there was no way my mom was going to pay for an actual CPK and since we only got one and there were two of us, it was decided that the doll would be kept as a collector's item. Neither one of us got her.

So back to the day of the JC Penney trip. We got home that evening and there was a decision to be made. As I was the youngest and very much a spoiled brat, Wiki let me decide which CPK I wanted. I knew right away, I wanted him. I named him Marc Allen, made him an adoption certificate like the one that came with Wiki's. I loved him. He looked nothing like me—pale, blonde and blue eyed—but I loved him. I played with him all the time, even when playing with my other toys. During the day he lived on my bed instead of in the toy box. Then about a year later my Mom and Wiki came home with two new CPKs (the ones that could hold pencils and wore glasses). Marc Allen and I welcomed Miguel Andres (whose original name was Headley Roy—yuck! Quickly renamed!) to the family. Miguel Andres was older, looked more like me with his darker hair and made our play family whole. I loved that my CPKs came to me, I didn't choose them. I loved that we made a family and that they were "adopted."

I think that's when I started thing about adopting. I started thinking about what would happen when I grew up. I always wanted a big house, but not because it was big, but because I could adopt lots of kids then. I pictured myself opening up my house to all these kids. But no where did getting married and having kids of my own factor into it. I always pictured it just being me. And the adopted kids.

I Forgot to Mention

That Chicken is coming to visit. She mentioned while in NYC that she might be coming to DC in November for work. Well she is! I'm so excited! She's coming the weekend before Thanksgiving. She gets here on Friday and is staying till Sunday. She's going up to DC during the day on Saturday, but as I have my CD16 u/s that day it will all work out. Yay!

Third Time's the Charm

To match all the excitement at the beginning of this week, today turned out to be the start of the 3rd round. Each round, I do a little better so hopefully this will be when it finally happens! I feel extra lucky because if it does work then that means that the kiddos will be due around Wiki and my Mom's birthday. Yay, another Leo in the family! We've got 3 already!

The $210 Trip and Fall

I was walking back to the chair when I tripped over my own feet and ended up on the ground. As I was falling I tried to use the chair to catch myself. However the chair has these neat sliders that help keep your hardwood floors nice. So they slide. Away from you. Especially when you're trying to catch yourself while falling. And while their sliding, anything on the arms of the chairs tend to fall off. Especially if it's your iBook. CRASH! Oh and the whole time, Kevin is just watching me fall.

When I got back up, I found that the computer was okay but the power lead was broken. Of course it's broken! This is the 3rd power lead I've had in three years! I got my iBook in 2004 with the first power lead. Then in late 2005, my adorable pup Les chewed through it. So Kev replaced it. Then in 2007, I noticed more teethmarks in my power lead and so I taped it up. That lasted until early this year. I replaced it this summer because it was no longer powering my laptop. Oh did I mention that if unplugged my laptop doesn't stay on? Bad battery, doesn't hold a charge. Since 2006.

So I bought #4 today. I visited the Apple store on my way to Les' agility class. I got a new power lead ($80). Plus I went ahead and bit the bullet and bought a new battery ($130).

Plus I stubbed my toe on the coffee table.

See I don't need kiddos, I cost myself enough grief and money.

The Proof is in the...

Ultrasound. But I'll get to that later.

Today I had my first appt with the RE (Dr. T). It went well and I'm excited to have a clearer idea of what can happen and what all the options are. A few things stuck out to me as unusual. The first thing, the entire time I was talking to Dr. T, it seemed like he was giving me choices rather than saying "okay, here's the plan of action." He was more like "you could do this" or "others have done this." I'm think the whole time "you're the doctor, tell me what to do!" It was kind of annoying.

Anyways, he "suggested" that I keep going with 100 mg of Clomid but add in an U/S and HCG shot on CD16. I suggested that I move up to 150 mg of Clomid because my b/w last week showed that I didn't O with 100mg. Then I mentioned that FF showed that I O'd on CD27 and showed him my chart. He looked at it but thought it wasn't correct.

Interesting note, Dr. T said that if I did Clomid and I didn't have any follicles on CD16, I could start Clomid again right away. Then he said I could do a U/S right then and if everything looked good I could start Clomid in a couple of days. So I agreed and we did it. Shocker: I DID OVULATE on CD27! He found a cyst (remnant of the follicle) that proves I ovulated about 4 days ago.



Yay! I truly do work! However this means that Dr. T wants me to stay on 100mg for the next cycle.

So all in all an interesting appt.

Another Twist from FF

I woke up this morning and took my BBT like normal. However the results weren't normal! FF is telling me that I ovulated on Friday (CD27). I don't know if this is because of the fact that I slept in on Saturday, had the time change on Sunday and just an abnormal temp this morning? This is really unexpected and really late, but even if Kev and I missed this round (which we most likely did) I am excited. I work! Yay!