Packages and planes

So I, along with a very worried/pissed off cousin of mine in Arizona, have been dealing with a fiasco of sorts with the US Postal Service. First, some background:


Over a year ago, Jake and I bought our new car, our 2008 Honda CRV. I already had a Mistubishi Lancer and we were thinking of what we might do with it. Jake wanted to sell it, but I didn't. I had a BETTER idea. It's been a kind of tradition in my family to gift old cars to those in the family who need them. My cousin Megan was given 2 cars, one from my mom and one from my grandmother when she bought her Saturn in 1995. When it was my turn for my first car, Megan gave me her grandma-gifted 1984 Buick. Of course there are other car-gifts, but I don't really remember them too much.





My cousins, Adam and Barbara live in Mesa, AZ with their two dogs and were in need of a car. I decided it was my turn to perpetuate the tradition by giving them the Lancer. It was the best thing I ever did, and I've never regretted the decision. Of course every time I talk to them on the phone, thank-yous come even now, a year later. So, as a thank you gift, Barbara made me a quilt. She sent it (I'm guessing) the week before last. Monday, I got an orange slip saying the carrier wasn't allowed to just leave packages on the doorstep and for me to sign the slip, authorizing him/her to leave the box at my door, which I did.





An entire week went by and I went to the post office, tried to get in touch with our carrier, called the USPS, all with no outcome. So, Jake talked to the mail carrier for the office and he said "I'll try to find it for you". Well, he did! I gave him a huge hug and was so happy to have SOMEONE in the USPS who cares about what they do. Thank you Barbara and Adam for the gorgeous quilt!

Also, in about 18 hours, Jake, my Dad and I will be on a plane to Texas for 5 days. I'll try to blog while I'm there, but I can't guarantee anything. I promise to blog when I get home though. No worries! :)

"Good Morning Mommy"

This morning, I was hobnobbing around the house and when I walked into the living room from the kitchen, this is what I was greeted with:

Chloe was just chilling on the "cat recliner" (all cats Jake has ever had/lived with LOVE this chair). So I had to break out the camera. Isn't she too cute?

Weekly video 4/24/09

This is classic, yet so not PC...but then, when is George Lopez ever PC?

Enjoy!

5 days left

As the days creep by, I get more and more excited and yet more and more nervous.

There are a lot of questions rolling around in my head and a million "what if"s. Is this it? Is it finally our turn? If it's not this cycle, do I have what it takes to go through multiple cycles of this? What if it works? What do I do? What will being pregnant feel like?

I actually had a dream last night that I was telling my family that I was pregnant and I had one person give me the biggest hug that actually picked me up off the ground. It felt so good to say those words out loud, even if it was in a dream. I've been holding the words in, not even saying them to myself.

5 days left....5 days left...

We are at DefCom High!

This morning, my CBEFM (Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor) measured me at high fertility. YAY!! My BBT finally changed, I got 97.6, which is good. It's a significant drop (half a degree) but i'm not surprised given half my body was not covered by blankets with the fan on high blowing on me.

What I'm waiting for is a "Peak" fertility reading. I also got some OPKs so I can confirm ovulation. I'm excited about this. I just hope it gets better from here.

Trip to Target...

Target is pretty much our go-to store for everything except groceries, and clothes.

Saturday, Jake and I stopped at Target to get "The Spirit" on DVD (it wasn't that great by the way). Jake was downstairs and I was upstairs where the movies are...and the baby stuff. As soon as I got off of the escalator, I was greeted with baby clothes that were too cute for words. As I walked up and gingerly picked up the little outfits and looked at them, I really started to wonder if this cycle would work for us.

I've been praying a lot for a healthy baby/pregnancy and a successful IUI, but I know these things aren't up to me. I've been going to acupuncture, I've been trying to exercise more and eat healthier. I've been taking prenatal vitamins and eating excess pineapple, spinach and pomegranate juice. In a few days, I'll be taking Mucinex (probably TMI for this blog, so I won't go into details as to why)...but it also made me sad that I once again feel "broken".

These are the times I knew would come. I knew I would feel this way, and I know I will get over it. But in the meantime, I still have 7-8 days until I O, so I'm trying to relax and time things accordingly.

Day 4 of 98.1

This morning was the 4th morning in a row where my BBT was 98.1. Friday, Saturday and Sunday I thought something was wrong with my thermometer, so I went to Long's to get a new one. So this morning, I used the new one and guess what...98.1 degrees. Part of me thinks this might be a good thing since if I stay at 98.1 and there's a big change in that temp around O-time, it'll be easier to catch. But then why am I staying at 98.1? Shouldn't I have different temperatures everyday? Hmmm...

Saturday we went for a picnic with Summer, Candy, Skyler, Lynn and Monroe. At one point, it was Jake's "turn" to watch Skyler (aka follow her so she doesn't run off) and I was watching them. Seeing Jake follow this little person and talk to her, then pick her up and point to me and wave...it was one of those "He's going to be a great Dad" moments. ((sigh)).

I hope everyone is having a great Monday so far. I know I am. :)

Going green?

I've been thinking of making Jake's and my life more green a lot lately. I've been making more of an effort to recycle all I can, and use more environmentally friendly products.

Today I went to Trader Joe's for groceries. I normally don't go there because they have all the "interesting" food that I don't really know how to cook. But I've been hearing some really great things about the stuff they have, so I decided to give it a try. So while I was there, I saw the reusable grocery bags they sell. I'd been meaning to get some, but didn't really know where to get them. So I got 3 of them and I felt this twinge of satisfaction in knowing I made a small contribution to fight pollution. The bags can also hold a lot, that I noticed.

Now we have a total of 5 bags and I intend to use them as much as possible.

We did it!

Well, tax season 2009 has officially ended.

Jake and I got to the office at 6:30am and didn't leave until 8:30pm. Of course, 90 minutes of then end of that time was spent drinking champagne, eating munchies and dancing like idiots to old Soul Train videos on YouTube. It was funny as heck, but we were all pretty much zombies by the time we left the office.

Our last efiled return was actually at about 6:30-7pm, but we spent the next hour trying to organize and check of our pluthra of extensions.

Anyways, thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers! We made it, and not a minute too soon!

D-Day!

It's the infamous day that all Americans dread (or for the select few who are psychotic, look forward too). It's TAX DAY!!!

I'm just checking in, telling all that I'm still here, still alive. I've been in the office since 6:30am this morning, and we aren't expecting to get out of here before 6pm.

Coffee is my friend.

The Tudors

Jake and I have a somewhat set TV schedule.

Mondays: Little People, Big World & Jon and Kate plus 8

Tuesdays: Real Housewives of OC, NYC, and Atlanta (we can't get into the NJ one, sorry)

Wednesdays: The Exterminators and Dog the Bounty Hunter

Thursday: Grey's Anatomy

Friday: none

Saturday: none

Sunday: Big Love, The Tudors

Since Big Love finished their recent season, we've been watching The Tudors.

I find The Tudors to be very interesting because I find any history interesting, especially Renaissance, the Colonial times, Civil War, and WW2...and of course the 60s. I know when I first watched Jonathan Rhys Meyers play Henry VIII, I didn't really believe that Henry was a "rock star" until I started doing some research. He was quite the ladies man. But, besides that, there was a lot of cloak and dagger, betrayal, and watching your own back over anyone else. I think it paints a more accurate picture of life at court during that time than any history book I've read. Right now, Henry is married to Jane Seymour and next weekend we will find out that she's pregnant. Also, Mary Tudorhas just been welcomed back to court, and next week we will see Elizabeth for the first time since Anne Boleyn's execution. Also, I feel for Jane, because she's been trying to "influence" the King's decisions about the rebels fighting for Catholicism, and various foreign affairs but she's not very subtle about it. Anne was subtle and cunning. She knew which buttons to push and when. Jane just puts it blatently out there for even Helen Keller to recognize. You gotta give the poor woman credit for trying, but she's not succeeding very well.

Anyways, watch The Tudors...yes there are "love scenes" but it's still an awesome show!

AF, and more acronyms

Today, AF came. In the fertility world, AF = Aunt Flo...as in the monthly visitor. For most, AF is an unwelcome sight, for others it's a blessing. This month, it's a blessing. It means the progesterone worked and we're ready for the Clomid. This is really happening now...I can't believe it.

So here are a few acronyms I'll be using for those who don't know what foreign language I'm speaking. Some of them are kind of gross, but...yeah.

TTC: Trying to Conceive
AF: Aunt Flo (aka menses)
BFP: Big fat positive (positive pregnancy test result)
BFN: Big fat negative (negative pregnancy test result)
POAS: Pee on a stick (taking home pregnancy test)
HPT: Home Pregnancy test
DPO: Days past/post ovulation
DPIUI: Days past/post IUI
IUI: Intra-uterine insemination
O: Ovulate/ovulation

Also, I've been asked what "dust" is. Dust is another word for good thoughts, good vibes, prayers, what have you that adds to the good luck pile.

So I hope this post has been somewhat informative. So, here we go...

Instead of weekly video...

So, my post yesterday was titled "Going Whole-Hog"...well I guess it wouldn't be considered going whole hog since it's something I've wanted for the past 7 years.

I've learned in my life that you should be proud of who you are, including your heritage. I connect more with my Irish side than my Portuguese side since I know more about the former. When I got my tattoo on my ankle, I knew it's what I wanted because it's a part of who I am, and I'm proud to be who I am...so why stop there?

So, I got another one. Another tattoo. It's actually the original one I wanted when I was thinking of getting my first one, but I held off because it was quite big and I didn't want to be discouraged or scarred for life, so I started small with the Cap sign on my ankle.

This one has meant a lot to me. It's the Claddagh. It's the hands holding the heart with the crown on top. Each symbol has a meaning. The hands mean friendship, the crown means loyalty and the heart means love. This symbol meant so much to me as it is a symbol of my Irish heritage and because the different elements of the symbol mean a lot to me. I love my friends, I love my family, and I am loyal to a fault (according to my mom and Jake).

So I went back to the guy who did my ankle and the whole process took about an hour. I sat in a chair and thought the entire time "this is who I am, be proud...be proud...be proud". By the way, manufacturers of those machines need to make those things have a pleasant sound rather than the...well..tattoo needle sound. So, here it is. My #2.

Going whole-hog

I can't give away the surprise, but everyone will know tomorrow. There's something I've been waiting for 7 years to do, so I'm finally doing it tonight....are you waiting with bated breath yet?

he he he he he he...

Prayer request

I am writing from a confused and angry place right now.

Many things have changed for me in the past few weeks, and without the help of Jake, I'm pretty sure I'd be in a corner of a random room curled up into the fetal position right about now.

I do not know where to start explaining why this is happening, or what is going on. It's a very long story, and one I cannot tell without starting to cry.

I'm just please requesting my friends and family for their prayers, thoughts, and dust during this trying time for me.

p.s. Everything is fine with Jake, my back, and the fertility treatments. This has nothing to do with those.

Weekly video 4/3/09

OK, this is for my Catholic family. This is Dane Cook, making fun of church. Have some fun with it..and a "crouton-o-Christ"

Acu-what?

It seems these days, my affinity to needles isn't getting the best of me (knock on wood).

I have had the tremendous support of a group of gals from an online forum I frequently visit. For some reason, my fear of needles didn't avert me from getting a tattoo, and it's not getting the best of me towards something else: acupuncture.

I'd been thinking about getting acupuncture for infertility for a while. It's something I feel would help the process along. So, I contacted a family friend who is an acupuncturist in Berkeley and I made my first appointment for this Saturday at 2pm.

Our friend told me with acupuncture combined with treatments, there's a 40% increase in chance of success. So, on Saturday I will officially become a pin cushion. Yay for me hahahaha.

Happy April Fools

Or in SF, they call it "St. Stupid Day"...seriously.

I don't have any jokes today for anyone, honestly. I have an update though.

I took my first progesterone last night and it's finally hit me that this is real again. I'm not stressed about it, I'm excited. I had a tiny scare at the pharmacy though when I went to pick up my medication:

I go to Kaiser San Rafael because they have the IF clinic there, and because it's a good hospital not in the ghetto unlike Richmond Kaiser. But, since I'm unable to jump across the Richmond/SR bridge every time I need to pick up medicine, I ask that it can be picked up at Richmond Kaiser. My doctors have been more than happy to oblige. I called my OBGYN and told her we'd like to start treatment again and therefore I needed the medicine. She looked up what dosage worked and ordered it for me to be picked up in Richmond. So on Monday, I went to get the medication and I get to the counter of the ONE pharmacy they have there (San Rafael has about 3 pharmacies) and ask (for confirmation sake) that my doctor ordered 100mg Clomid, not 50mg. The tech looks at the computer and says "She ordered 50mg"...crapola. So I'm sitting there, waiting for my name to show up in the screen they have, and I've chalked it up to maybe I need to start again from scratch...oh well, I'll deal with it. So I got my medicine and I stopped to check everything out to make sure I got everything, and what do I find? 100mg Clomid! Woohoo!!!

I guess the tech looked at the dosage of the medicine in the pills since they only come in 50mg pills. But, I got 2 pills of 50mg for each day, so I got my 100mg I needed. It's probably less complicated than I'm making it sound. Anyways, we've begun now. I'm excited. :)