Thursday, February 26, 2009

Homeward Bound

See you in a week. I am off to Massachusetts. Mom is having surgery on her hand and needs an extra set :O)

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

I am OK

So, I am fine. The other day's crazy weight fiasco is okay - I am good now. But oh so on a diet, which should be pretty easy over Lent anyway since you are suppose to fast through to Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner only. No snacking for 40 days and 40 nights. BTW, I cut that back to only Friday's in years past because the church does allow it, but I am going old school. Should be back to normal by Easter. Which is great because IVF starts the day after.

Speaking of IVF. I talked with the financial office at Walter Reed and found out how much we owe, 367.00. Can you believe it? I am so excited. We fronted 6800 and were canceled on day 10, the day before surgery. Apparently we over paid for an extra procedure that we don't need, so there was carry over from that. That is all a great relief. We should have our small but helpful refund from the IRS on Friday, so there you have it - we don't have to charge another round. Yippeeeeee.

In other news I have been praying a ton for our friends because they just recently finished a cycle of IVF. They must be getting or have already gotten their results some time this week. I am so hopeful for them. Even though they are far away it was nice to go through it together. However, it would be better if we didn't go through it together again because that would mean someone is actually pregnant. For an pretty un-superstitious person, I probably just jinxed us all, oh well Thoughts & Prayers.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Hip Check

Seriously, I am really ticked. Mostly at myself, but if I could find someone to blame I might feel better. Somethings are just not fair. I call foul!

Now, I watch my weight and exercise... a lot. I am not saying I go 'Biggest Looser' style with 6-8 hour workouts, but I get an hour a day at least. For example this morning I ran for 20 minutes on the treadmill than rode the bike and elliptical for another 25, add in normal activities like walking the dog, chasing C around, and cleaning and I more than have an hour already for today. In fact, you would think I would weight much less than I really do, but I have a habit of skipping breakfast, grazing at lunch and totally pigging out at dinner, which means my metabolism hates me. Anyway, I decide that before the next IVF cycle I should try to trim down 10% which would be 18 pounds. YIKES. (Math geeks would see me at 180).

Anyway I have been doing a little better with the consistent eating and cut back caffeine and cream in my coffee. But I noticed I always weighed the same. Then on Saturday I weighed myself with full clothing including shoes and my coat and weighed 180. Oh crap! I thought and promptly went out to by a new scale yesterday. Things are not good my friends they are not good at all.

I must have looked really bad to the doc during cycle because every time before they weighed me I would say 185 when asked the question. But really I was tipping the scales ten pound heavier. TEN! Oh yes, I am admitting it, I am barely under the dreaded 200 mark. 195.

So I grabbed the new scale and weigh myself in every room that has a hard surface. It is the same 194.8, which really is 195. So then I take the old scale and grab the dog and her and I stand on it and weigh in at 175. The dog weighs 35 pounds! I am sick over it, just sick.

All I can say is. I have lost weight since I stopped working at CSS - I do not even want to know what I really weighed back then. I am sooooooooo on a real diet.

No comments please, lets just pretend this is all a scary dream. (HA!)

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Dumpster Dives & Cheapo Finds

Today was interesting. First C wakes me up at 6:00 and announces "Good Morning Mommy! It is 7:00, and I have had 3 granola bars, the rest of the cookies, and poured my own juice, Oh and here is your coffee, bye gotta go, oh yeah and I'm hungry can you make me breakfast?" Sooo I schlep downstairs and let the dog out, poured out the cup of coffee C made, and picked up the wrappers from the snack raid. Next I made a new pot of coffee and made breakfast. Somehow I missed the clock and didn't realize it was 6:00 until I tried to put on the Today Show. I am certainly not that chipper in the morning, but I was particularly not in a good mood this morning. In fact I had quite a headache and by 7:00 I was on the couch, with a blanket and cold cup of coffee sitting on the table. I am pretty sure the dog drank it once I fell back to sleep.

Later, I heard the shower running and went back to my room assuming it was Joe, which it was, so I crawled back in bed and didn't get up until 11:00. Joe said he tried to wake me but I wouldn't budge. It was so weird. I have no idea even when I actually went up there, but once I woke up I was fine. Last night I took four Tylenol by mistake. I meant to take two, but forgot I already took them and then just popped two more without thinking. I ended up in bed by 10:00 and was feeling really dopey. Maybe it was all connected. Anyway...

Once I awoke from the dead Scott dropped me off at the post office to mail some Ebay stuff. I ended up walking home because he and C saw a basketball hoop on the side of the road that someone was throwing out. So they ventured off to get it. As they drove off I told Joe to get the bench and the Tonka trucks from a few doors down too. He has no shame, me I wait until it is dark out (hee hee - like it matters) So he went shopping / dumpster diving what ever you want to call it, we call it Curb-bees. Next we went over to Andrews and ate Taco Bell. (the results: most likely the dog won't even want to hang out with me later) After lunch we checked out their thrift store- I got C a new shirt and vest for Easter for only 3.00. Then we headed over to a thrift store I read about online near the base. It was packed, but we managed to load up our cart. I got C two pairs of sneakers, once pair of Walmart brand and one pair of Vans which look new, then we got two pounds of Lego's, a bag filled with transformers and McDonald's toy, and I got a Kate Spade pocket book, the whole bill came to 14.00. Last weekend we went to a different thrift store in Falls Church which we loaded up a full cart with stuff for only 33.00. I looked online to see if they had any other locations and found this one.

So I expected the purse to be a knock-off. I remember reading somewhere that Kate Spade's are the easiest ones to copy. I checked it out and it looked pretty good. The stitching is good, the leather handles are real leather and there is a country of origin label on the inside. So I decided to check the web. http://ihatecounterfeitbags.info/katespadelabels had my labels - under real Kate Spade bags. That means I just paid 3.94 for a 300.00 hand bag either that or I paid 3.94 for a damn good 40.00 knock off. Either way, I made out. Yeah me.

After my great finds, we headed home and decided to take Maggie and C over to the baseball field. We had a blast. For over an hour we were hitting tennis balls to the out field and seeing who got them faster, the dog, or the kids. It was a riot and we had so much fun. It was still in the 40's today but with no wind we could bear it :O). Maggs was thrilled to get to run off leash. She has pretty much been sleeping since we got home. Up only once to see what I put in the sink after dinner. She can reach the sink, and likes to lick the plates, so so sad.

Once we got home we were all wicked thirsty so I poured us some juice and C and I sat at the table eating a snack and he says "Mom, this is a great weekend, Monopoly last night and Yatzee, getting cheap stuff at the store and Curb-Bees then going to the baseball field." I really don't know how we are going to top this for tomorrow. Ha ha.

Friday, February 20, 2009

IKEA - the new daycare?

A friend and I brought our kids to Ikea today. We brought them there with a mission. Wear them out, and avoid the winter blahs we have all been experiencing. So we bussed four kids 25 miles just to have free day care for an hour. It was so worth it. The kids all played in the ball pit and T and I walked around looking at weirdly small furniture. After we took the kids to their cafe and loaded up on oddly American versions of Swedish foods. In the end we talked about going there next week if the weather doesn't warm up.

It has been in the 40's - YIKES! I was feeling really cold until I read a friends blog - she said it was 9, and not that bad. Perspective is everything.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

What NOW?

An email:

S, J, C & Maggie,

Lets plan on talking this weekend.

Love L & D

So I ask you, now what? Do we have to plan to talk, really - is that how we are now? I am not in the mood, so there.

Last I talked to L I was so angry that I may have been foaming at the mouth. The quick run down, Joe is going back to school at the end of the month (Yeah for him) and she wanted to know what would happen if he failed, what will he do if he gets busy at work, what will happen if he doesn't pass a test, who is going to help him with his papers, blah blah blah. My answer to everything, "S is a really smart guy, he can take care of himself and will be fine". Then L starts carrying on about being a bad mother and needing more faith in her son.

I can't take it, it is an emotional roller coaster I do not wish to ride. It is ridiculous. The man is 32 years old. He runs three major government production programs in three different states and works in a fourth. He remembers every darn history and baseball fact he has ever heard, read or seen and can cross-reference and draw congruences between them all. The guy is smart. And yes, you should have more faith in him.

Granted he does drive like a moron and leave the toilet seat up. So unless they are teaching toilet etiquette in college, the man will do great. And what is all this talk about who will help him? Certainly she was fishing for the "Oh I will help out." Noooooo. He is a big boy who can take care of himself. I graduated; REMEMBER! Joe proof read maybe four papers for me in the eight years I went to school. Why? Because I am a grown up!

Lets plan on talking this weekend ... great.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Old, Shriveled, & My Mother

New readers - this is way too much info I am sure - but what else are blogs for?

Still no period. Still. As in it has been a month since I stopped the fertility drugs and have an abundant amount of eggs just floating around all shriveled up and gross. I just made an appointment for the annual the nurses ordered and am going to get the blood work done today. I read somewhere that your body may absorb unused eggs much like a miscarriage in early pregnancy. In that case, I would assume I wouldn't be in pain. And as you might have guessed I am not a doctor.

In other news, I think I might have turned into my mother. Yesterday I wore a "clean bowling" shirt (as she would call it) and later that night, as I am stripping in front of the washing machine, (a habit of mine) I realize I have on white boring tennis shoes, ripped jeans, a brightly colored shirt, a stained sweatshirt, and as you may have guessed, if you know my Mom, my hair was a white a women's fro. No need to throw it all in the wash, I trashed the sweatshirt and the jeans, shirt went to the goodwill bag, and the sneakers - well they are the best walking shoes I have - so up in my closet they went. If I start talking about the Home Depot at random intervals please just shoot me.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Smashing

My sister is a fantastic author. Just thought I would put that out there. One of her most recently finished books, Smashing, is being sent to different publishers. One such publisher asked to see a full copy of the book but then rejected it. Although said publisher did offer detailed feedback and mentioned that she may be interested in reading a rewrite.



Now, for some reason or another I cannot stop thinking about this book. It was amazing. I loved it. In a nut shell, teenage angst mixed with I am Legand w/o the zombies. Actually it could be mixed with a lot of "Last Survivor" type stories, but it is so much better than anyone I have seen. Sadly, though M was pretty crushed that the publisher didn't love the book as is and suggested key changes which in her opinion change the story and characters that she loves.



So why do I feel the need to ramble about another's accomplishments and angst, because I keep dreaming of the book. I keep seeing it as a movie playing with all different changes and comparisons to her current draft. Last night I was evening dreaming I was eating popcorn while watching Dakota Fanning play Francine.

The whole popcorn thing was the nightmare part of the sequence. If you have read previous posts you may remember I have a new love affair with spray butter. Well, the affair is on the fritz. First I bought the blue kind instead of the yellow. The yellow is sooooo much better. Next I have overloaded on the popcorn. Worse, I keep getting pieces stuck in my teeth. My gums are retaliating and I am certain I might need to go to the dentist early than planned because I keep feeling like a kernel is stuck in my back tooth. No amount of floss or little flosser sticks have helps.

Nothing like making an ode to my sister's great book a story about me.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Vulgarity, the new Valentine's Day Theme


A few weeks ago, I checked my favorite movie theater's web site to see what the Monday movies were. (on Monday's all movies are 1.00 - seriously that is it) Bolt was playing which we saw randomly a few weeks back at Andrew's AFB. So the plan for the moment was not going to happen. Anyway, they advertised on their site for a Valentine's Day, Wine Tasting, Comedy, and Movie Night. The cost was 8.00. How great is that. We live in one of the most expensive places in the US and we get great deals on entertainment.


** side note, last year we were loaded. I worked full time made more than Joe and spent it like there was no tomorrow. It was like I forgot everything I learned in Minot and Vandenberg. At first, I was like WOW we can afford to by Milk on the 10th of the month. The next thing I know we are flying to Disney and staying longer than we planned, going to huge name concerts, and shopping became a past time. Fortunately, I did save some of it, but in reality, not much. So then in April I quit the full time gig and went to part time to help the company and make a little extra money through the summer. Next thing you know we have blown through savings and liquid cash, our IRA's and my 401K has TANKED and I have gone back to really knowing when we get paid, how much, and when I can and cannot buy milk.


Now with all that being said: Last year we went to a really fancy reservations required semi-formal, kind of a place. 120.00 prepayment required plus 24.00 tip. You had to pre-order. Scott ordered some fancy steak, and my meal was forgettable. In fact what we do remember is great ambiance, walking around Georgetown after, holding hands, and going to McDonald's on the way home. Yes McD's. Our food was so minuscule that we were not just a little hungry we were absolutely starving. So this year's 16.00 total price tag for an even had me pretty happy.


Onto the Vulgarity:


We got to Arlington around 6:10 and doors opened at 6:30. So we go in, we stand in line, and when the doors open there is rush to get to the good seats, of which we did get. Then, the waiters come around and ask if you want anything from the restaurant or bar. We ordered drinks and nachos - oh soooo romantic. Then the comedy started. Three comics strutted their stuff and we pretty funny. Vulgar, yes, funny, oh yeah. (although the people behind us brought their tween girls - weird) One comedian imitated a cat in heat another complained that too many bums in DC and had an entire unsympathetic hilarious bit on the political incorrectness's of such a bit. I almost choked on my dink as I inhaled a laugh and made a hiccup noise escaped my nostrils, so it must have been funny. Then the movie. The Princess Bride. OH it was so sweet and nice. Oddly people felt and extreme need to clap, hoot, and repeat famous lines. But I enjoyed the movie. And remembered something funny half way through.


When I was in the 6th grade a friend and I pretended we were making out with Fred Savage using pillows while watching the Movie. The show the Wonder's Years had premiered that winter and we begged the girls mom the rent us the movie from Video King because we were in love with the kid. Laugh- it is okay - I take solace in the fact that it was a short lived crush. I moved on to Jonathon Brandice years later - I had a poster of him with a soccer ball from the movie Ladybugs. He offed himself some years later or so I have heard. That was a pathetic crush - he looked like such a girl. Next I moved on actually boys I knew. Some of which have also looked like girls, but have not offed themselves.


Fred is still alive. Granted I am married ... but ... I might have to rekindle my crush - because he is now a producer of one of my favorite shows, Always Sunny in Philadelphia which had been referred to as "Seinfeld" on crack. Who pooped the Bed?, being my favorite episode of his. How can a guy this warped also have produced gems like Hannah Montana and Zoey 101? (granted he only worked on a few episodes, but still???!?!?!) I warn fellow followers the vulgarity of the comedians last night is nothing compared to Always Sunny. But I digress, the Princess Bride ... ahh what a great Valentine's Day.



Friday, February 13, 2009

Just so you know

I totally stink at Rock Band. The guitar - I can handle sort of, but then my hands get tired. The drums are a horrid mess - there is no excuse there, when you have no rhythm and cannot pat your head and rub a circle on your stomach at the same time - it pretty much means you will never play an instrument that requires two hands. The singing is passable, but really I must be considerate of the neighbors.

Needles to say I LOVE IT! C and I played a few cities tonight - we totally rock.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Honesty - Really - Shut Up

There really is no such thing as true honesty is there? Point in case:

Case One, a phone call from a family member:

"Hey J how are you?"

My Answer: "Oh pretty good - you?"

The Truth: "Friggin terrible, but what do you care? Because if I tell you the truth you will cut the call short and say something stupid"

Case Two, self explanatory

"Mom Can I have candy?"

My Answer: "No, if you have too much candy it will rot your teeth."

The truth: We skipped teeth brushing the other night which I am sure is worse than a piece of heart candy the in-laws sent in the mail, and quite frankly I am just to damn lazy to get up and get it off the top shelf.

Case Three, strangers

"Oh your dog is so cute."

My Response "Oh thanks, we sure like her."

The truth: YES SHE IS YOU DUMB F thanks for pointing out the obvious, now if you don't mind I am in the middle of my walk and would like to make it back home in time to watch my shows.

The truth of the truth: The shows are DVR'd

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Agony

I am dying. No it is not a tumor, a real death threat, or my mother-in-law, it is the result of fertility drugs. I have over 45 eggs floating around in me still! I am in pain with the tenderness, swelling, feeling full when I am hungry, and irritability, but are all secondary to the idea that something is really wrong. I am calling the nurse this morning.



I last took the Lupron, Menopure, and FSH the day we were canceled, 1/24/08, I would have thought I would have had a period by now. It isn't fair, The retrieval was suppose to me the 25th with a back up date of the 26th. Granted all the eggs are dried and shriveled up by now, but I am in pain. Also I am really moody, and tired. Weather that is related or not, I have no clue.

Last night I went to bed at 10:20. I slept until 7:00 and am still tired. I watched the news for a while, and now and off to play castle ghettoville with C. But really he is whiny - has been for two days - and I am crabby... so, well I would rather take a nap. I am a mess, and it seems as though it is rubbing off on him.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

I Got Nothing

Would you believe nothing has happened that is blog worthy this weekend? I wouldn't either. Here is a quick recap:

1. Took the dog to Pet-Smart with C. It was a blast. Also, most of the pets there were out of their minds, and mine was calm and happy. We had a great time.

2. I saw a lady in church who forgot to take the tag of a new pair of jeans. A long tag down the back of one of her legs revealed that she wore a pair of CK size 9 jeans. Upon a further look, I am inclined to tell you that the muffin top she was sporting most likely would have brought her out of the juniors sizes and in to the double digit ladies department.

3. I watched the movie Hancock and was not overly impressed. It was flat. That makes two Will Smith movies in a row that were disappointing. I Am Legend being the first. Not that either were terrible, just boring and predictable. Just a thought, Will sing me some more Get Jiggy With It, PLEASE.

4. My husband has been sorting baseball cards feverishly because he starts school at the end of the month. He wants to organize them yet again before his free time is filled with studies. Anyway, he opened a tote he hadn't looked at in a while and held up a 24K Gold Larry Bird card. He leaned over and held it up in the light and said "Hey this is cool, have you ever seen this one." My response "Yes, it is mine, you gave it to me one year as a gift, then kept it."

5. I am loving my new dryer. I have had dryer woes for two years due to the purchase of a high end washer/dryer combo. The machine is popular in apartment because it uses no ventilation is small and requires you to do nothing but add some soap and press start. It washes the clothes then dries them all in the same drum. It sucks. It takes 3 hours to dry a small load. Jeans never dry. With that being said, I saw several dryers and washers on the curb last week waiting for our monthly bulk trash pick up. We made use of the new Jeep and brought one home. Dumpster Diving at its best. I had it hooked up with in 20 minutes of bringing it home and have washed as much as I can fit into my washing machine. Every comforter, curtain, blanket and coat I could wash and dry was fair game. It has been a week ... I have nothing left to wash. I feel a slight sense of loss. So so so sad.

6. I replaced the batteries in the mouse.

7. I did not disconnect the mouse Joe plugged into the PC.

8. Every time I have used the computer I have knocked the old mouse with my elbow, throwing my focus off from the task at hand.

9. I am lazy.

10. I still have not unplugged the other mouse.

11. I have no plans to unplug the other mouse.

12. I basically just typed a couple hundred words with out saying a darn thing,

Thursday, February 5, 2009

It's an IVF World Out There

Yesterday, after tracking down the phone I placed a call the IVF nurse and left a message. I've noticed how completely out of breath I am when I call this place. Normally because I find the phone somewhere downstairs and then run upstairs because that is where her phone number is located and because it makes me so nervous. So here is my call:

ME "Hi Tessa! My name is JW and I was part of the January IVF cycle. My last four are **** and I am ready to try again in April. Call me, +++-+++-++++.

Press One to Keep and Press Two to re-record. I then Press two.

ME "Good Morn.... oh crap it is afternoon."

Press One to Keep and Press Two to re-record. I then Press two.

ME " Good afternoon, my name is JW my number is ***-***-****"

Press One to Keep and Press Two to re-record. I then Press two.

ME "Hey, this is JW and I ...." then I inhale large breath and inadvertently make a fart noise with my mouth.

Press One to Keep and Press Two to re-record. I then Press two.

ME "Hi, this is JW please call me regarding enrolment in the April cycle, my number is ***-***-**** and last four are ****, thank you.

Press One to Keep and Press Two to re-record. I then Press one.

Anyway the nurse called back today and said I need a new PAP and new blood work, that all my previous information was now out of date. Need I remind anyone that I had eight trans-vaginal, yes eight, as in probe up the who-ha ultrasounds in a matter of seven days. You are telling me no one could let me know then my PAP was going to expire. And blood work?!?!?!? Hello, you took my blood every day for almost two weeks! But I digress. After the first cycle, I really have no shame.

The nurse also let me know that she would send my chart back to the finance department and they will call me with the balance due for April. I am on pins and needles over this one. The doctor did say we would be able to roll over the majority of costs, but still it is scary to know a big bill will be on our door step again.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Ring, Ring, Do you hear the phone?

NO, because we are always loosing it!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Let's Play!

This morning I woke up to the sound of a battle. The dog was barking, C was hooting and hollering, and all this plastic sounding crashing was going on. It took me only seconds to know which toys they were playing with. Imaginex take up a large toy box all by themselves in our guest room. On rainy days, or super cold nights we pull them out and build castles, ships, and entire villages of dinosaurs and pirates. The toys are fun, but the building part is tedious. We have books upon books of part lists, and connection directions, but it just takes hours to complete. So once upon a time Joe told C that he was building "Castle Ghettoville" and proceeded to secure mismatched pieces together just to create something quick. So that is what we call our Imaginex, Castle Ghettoville. And Castle Ghettoville is what I woke up to this morning, and I immediately joined in the battle for the lava pits. It was kind of fun to play in my jammies with my hair all crazy.

My hair is still crazy, although I did manage to get a quick show in, I didn't have time to actually do anything with this mop. C has been wanting to play different things all morning. After Castle Ghettoville we moved on to magic tricks, go-fish, word games on his kiddie lap top, puzzle games, and a time telling game. After a few hours I said, okay time to clean up and get ready for school. C looked at me shook his head, and said "Uhhmmm Mommy, I kind of have a lot to do today, sooooo can we just keep playing." To which I responded to in a giggling, "Really, a lot to do, ahh yes, like school." The conversation went back and forth, I lost. Somehow I have been talked into a play dough mess, a hair cut, a bath, then lunch, then school. Currently we are up to the bath.

Sometimes I forget how much fun it is to play. I start thinking I actually don't like it, I'm too tired, too busy, too lazy, too something or other. I have had fun this morning and so has my son, which is a nice change from the normal Monday routine.