In case you were wondering...

...about yesterday's "Two Truths and a Lie" post (as I did have a couple of comments), numbers 1 and 3 were the truths. I have been the pianist at my church for nearly 20 years now! I began slowly, just playing a song here and there as I learned a new one. But about a year after I began, our regular pianist was put on bedrest to sustain her first pregnancy, and I was sort of pushed into taking over. I've been there ever since--she never took it back.

And I still act with our community theater. We have a dinner theater every year as a joint fundraiser with a local Homemakers club (which I am also in). I've even directed several productions. I love the adrenaline rush of being on stage!

As for statement number 2, while I do sing, I have never sang the national anthem at a ballgame.  That song is reserved for the shower.  :-)

Wednesday's Wishes

Okay, so I decided to change the name a little bit. I think I like "Wednesday's Wishes" better than "Wishful Wednesday." Don't you? I struggled for a bit in deciding whether I wanted to talk about a current wish or one from times past. Since I couldn't decide, I thought I'd include both this week! (Yeah, I knew that'd just make your day.)

Retro Wish: When I was a kid, I used to secretly try to "trick" Santa by wishing for something that I didn't tell a soul about. Ironically, I never was suspiciou when I didn't get it, but rather, I figured that Santa either didn't get the message or he just didn't have time because I put in my silent request too late.

Current Wish: I wish we didn't have to switch from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time. While I enjoy the "extra" hour of daylight, it sure messes my inner clock up for a couple of weeks a year. Once, I tried to trick myself into "gaining" the hour in the fall on Monday instead of Sunday. Probably would have worked if I didn't have shows I wanted to watch on television on Sunday evening.

What do/did you wish for?

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!

Always,

Two Truths and a Lie Tuesday #1

Okay, time for two truths and a lie! If you're not familiar with this "game," I have used it as an ice breaker on the first day of school, and my fifth graders love it! The object is to tell two facts about yourself and one "lie" (believeable or not). The others in the room (or, in this case, the web, I guess) then attempt to guess which statement was the lie.

This week, I think I'll go with a performing arts theme. Two of these statements are true. Which one is false? You decide!

1. I have been the pianist at my church since I was 10 years old.

2. While in college, I frequently sang the national anthem at home baseball games.

3. Bitten by the acting bug at the tender age of 5, I made my stage debut the following year in a community theater production of A Chr.ist.mas Car.ol, and later performed for three years in the same show at a nearby professional theater.

I hope everyone has a TERRIFIC Tuesday!

Always,

Merry Monday Musings #1

Here a couple of pictures I snapped over the weekend of my totally adorable niece and nephew.

Abbey is all dressed up and ready to go to Sunday School.  Note the "lump" under the Cardinals blanket on the couch...that's Special J (DH).  He hadn't taken a shower yet, and refused to be photographed.

I'm not really sure what this pose was all about!

My darling, Ashton...he looks so innocent!

Aw, they look like they actually love each other, don't they?  You'd never know they were pinching each other right before AND after this picture was taken.

Then, Abbey took a couple of me...

Hope you like my shoes!

And, uh, although I'm nearly 30 years old, I still enjoy eating Fros.ted Fla.kes...

(anyone remember those commercials?)

Funny moment of the day (at school):

Student: Can I pull a tooth?
Me: Sure, as long as it's yours!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Until next time,

I think I can, I think I can...well, at least I'd like to try...

...to become a regular poster!  Having survived my first ever ICLW week yesterday, I decided that I just might be able to post more often and apologize less than in the past ten months since I first began my blog.  So, today during my precious planning time, I found myself brainstorming a list of weekly topics about which to write.  Of course, this is my blog, so if I feel the need to bend the rules, then so be it.  :-)  After crossouts, edits, and countless revisions, here is my list of (hopefully) blog entries that I fully intend to make.  So, stop on by for your daily dose of randomness! 

Monday--Merry Monday Musings--get the week started with a funny quote, story, or picture
Tuesday--Two Truths and a Lie Tuesday--stop by to read two truths and a lie about yours truly...you decide which is the lie
Wednesday--Wishful Wednesday--what do you wish for?  Believe it or not, I do have non-baby related wishes, too.
Thursday--Thoughtful Thursday--here, I'll share a quote or brief inspirational story that I have found provoking
Friday--Fun-Facts Friday--anything you might want to know about yours truly, you just might find it here!
Saturday--Super Saturday Review--check it out for reviews of recent movies, books, blogs, or products I've enjoyed (or not)
Sunday--Sunday Sketches--pictures/scriptures/inspirational quotes for a serene beginning to the week.

DISCLAIMER: The author reserves the right to skip any day that has proven too taxing to think; furthermore, if by happenstance there is something more pressing about which to blog, she may make a different post.  In addition, please note that while the author has good intentions, there is also a road to a certain place that is also paved with them.  Translation--if she misses a post or two, please giver her a break!

Until next time...

Lessons Learned from a 3-year-old

We baby-sat for our 6-year-old nephew and 3-year-old niece tonight.  They arrived at 5:00, and were ready to play!  After dinner, however, they settled in to watch the Nicke.lod.eon Kid's Choice Awards (how joyous for us).  At least they agreed on it.  Plus, it distracted them from the fact that the piano had gone to "sleep" before they got there and could not be disturbed (translation--the lid was shut).  Here are just a few tidbits I learned from my favorite 3-year-old this evening.  Many of them come from bath time.

1.  It is impossible to completely fill a 16 oz. cup under the bath water, but for the sake of one's sanity, the answer should be "yes" when asked if it is all "full up." 

2.  There are 101 games to play with a washcloth, a cup, a bottle of baby wash (with a pump), and a tub full of water.

3.  It  just might be impossible to bathe a 3-year-old without getting soaked.

4.  And never mind that it took 10 minutes to button her pajamas...she did it all by herself!

5.  It is possible to do 14 backflips in a row by crawling up your aunt's legs and flipping over.

6.  You can cover a remote control in banana goo in about 15 seconds.

7.  Five words...will-eat-tacos-for-cheese.

8.  Counting coasters never gets old.

9.  One more M&M really means one more handful, no matter how close to bedtime it is.  It's especially okay if you feed a couple to your aunt and uncle for good measure.  (By the way, we're now out of chocolate.)

10.  A hug and a kiss are supposed to cure a headache.  If only it had worked...

To sum it all up, I'm tired, I'm still hurting, I'm soaked, and the bathroom's  been hosed down.  But oh, what I wouldn't give to have one of my own.

Happy weekend, all!

Always,

How about a blast from the past?

On January 13, 2007, just 13 days after becoming engaged, I embarked on one of the most emotional adventures I encountered throughout the entire process of planning our wedding--dress shopping. Unfortunately, I was not yet turned on to the world of blogging, or I would have gladly shared that time of my life with you all. However, as I was cleaning out some files on my computer last night, it occurred to me that even though none of you "knew" me then, it doesn't mean I can't share that part of my life with you.

I've always been an avid reader and writer--and my husband asked me just the other day when I was going to write a best-seller and make us some money. I can't imagine there's anything I've penned down that anyone would care to pay to read, but I can share my ramblings with my new (and seasoned) blog buddies. The adventure I spoke of above was a Saturday. On the following Monday, my 5th grade students and I were submersed in "journal time" (I write when my students write, and then we share--on a volunteer basis), when I was inspired to write a narrative poem about my weekend experience. The following was the result of that journal session. Enjoy your Friday, ladies!


The Shopping Trip

One Saturday morning I awoke with a start.

It felt as if someone had taken out part

Of my stomach and left me instead

with a swarm of huge butterflies and a slight case of dread.

I waited and paced, dressed, then waited some more—

I had no idea what this day’d have in store.

My colleagues all claimed, “Just have fun and don’t stress!”

But would I ‘ere find the perfect wedding dress?

The “troops” all arrived and we hit the road—

my mom, me, a bridesmaid, and two friends of old.

Each outwardly seemed more excited than I,

but inside I pleaded, “Please, don’t let me cry.”

I’m usually free with my tears, you see,
and this day brought many new emotions for me.
We arrived a bit early, the shop was still closed.
Unprepared for this detour, my panic arose.
I had no idea how they all stayed so calm
while I worked to steady my trembling palm.
The time finally came and we all went inside.
I felt a bit queasy (yet, had NOTHING to hide).
No one could prepare me for what happened next—
it was madness—sheer madness—that left me perplexed.
People snatching and grabbing, yet I was at ease
for no one else wanted a gown with some sleeves!
“Now European sizes,” the saleslady warned,
“run quite a bit smaller; don’t look so forlorn!”
And smaller they were—she’d told me quite right.
I was forced to slow down just a bit in my plight
To find the right dress
without leaving depressed.

We finally found something we thought just might work.

When I put the dress on their heads turned with a jerk,
And their eyes filled with tears.
I felt like a princess for the first time in years.
“Oh, wait! I’m not done yet!” the clerk said with a frown.
“We’ll finish this look with a veil and a crown!”
She brought them both over; I pulled back my hair.
It felt like she scalped me right then and there.
My friends snapped some pictures As they “ooh-ed,” “aah-ed,” and sniffed; with that woman, I was getting a little bit miffed.
She kept finding more things I “just had to buy.”
Never mind that the pricetags were numbered too high!
We left there with nothing, depression set in.
We stopped for some lunch then began once again.
This time at a different store with more gowns,
but I found nothing there—and this time, I broke down.
I could not stop crying—my mom joined in, too.
I almost wore down the non-crier, Sue.
I wasn’t expecting emotions to play
such an integral part of this shopping trip day.
Back to the first store we went in good cheer
to buy the dress that caused the first tears.
I tried it once more to make sure it’s “the one.”
I have to admit—I was having fun.

We left with the dress but no crown, veil, or slip.

We’d make them or buy them elsewhere—that’s our tip.

I still need shoes, jewelry and each bridesmaid’s dress.

There’s 4 of them total—yikes!—but, I digress.

This was an experience I’ll never repeat.

I’m just glad the day didn’t end in defeat.

Though stressful and tiring, the day was a success.

For I came home with the perfect wedding dress!

Always,

Out of the mouth of babes...

So, this is how I know I've been baby-sitting my nephew and niece too often. Last night at church, the little boy who sits at the other end of my pew was laying down in the seat when I arrived. I pretended I was going to tickle him when I sat down, and he grinned his 3-year-old grin at me, rolled over, and said, "Where's your kids?" At first, I didn't grasp what he was talking about, and responded with, "Sweetie, I don't have any; but if I did, I would bring them and they could sit here by you." (Dagger in the heart, anyone?) Then the lightbulb flipped on--he was talking about my niece and nephew, who frequently spend the night with us and/or go to church with me. Once I told him not to worry, they would be there on Sunday, he seemed happy and returned to his Teddy Grahams. I guess I'm just a "weekend mommy."

I hope everyone has a great day!

Always,

Angie-ology

Rules: YOU! Yes, you, reading this. You're tagged. Now that you know more about me than you ever wanted to know, play the game, it's fun! Let others know a little more about yourself, re-post this as your name followed by "ology"

FOODOLOGY:
*What is your salad dressing of choice? Fat Free Honey Mustard
*What is your favorite sit down restaurant? Cheddar's
*What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Hmm...maybe Chik-fil-a
*What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? pasta
*What are your pizza toppings of choice? mushrooms and peppers
*How many televisions are in your house? 3
*What color cell phone do you have? red & white

BIOLOGY:
*Are you right-handed or left-handed? right
*Have you ever had anything removed from your body? 2 bicuspid teeth
*What is the last heavy item you lifted? a big box of books
*Have you ever been knocked unconscious? no
*Have you ever fainted? Do black-outs count? If so, yes--once.

BULLCRAPOLOGY:
*If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Nope, I like surprises
*If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I don't know, but I wouldn't tell my students what it is! (LOL)
*How many pairs of flip-flops do you own? lots....maybe 10?
*Last person you talked to? Special J (DH)

FAVORITOLOGY:
*Season? Spring
*Holiday? Christmas
*Day of the week? Sunday
*Month? July
*Color? red
*Drink? water (but I'd LOVE some sweet tea these days)

CURRENTOLOGY:
*Missing someone? Yes.
*What are you listening to? "American Idol"
*What are you watching? "American Idol"
*Worrying about? catching "O"
*What's the last movie you saw? at the theater, "Old Dogs;" on DVD, "Flags of Our Fathers"
*Do You Smile often? every chance I get!
*If you could change your eye color what would it be? bright blue
*What's on your wish list for your birthday? some clothes that fit!
*Can you do a chin up? nope
*Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Excited
*Have you been in a Car wreck? no
*Have you caused a Car wreck? nope
*Do you have an accent? Apparently! (I didn't know it until I saw myself on video.)
*Last time you cried? Sunday
*Plans tonight? church at 7:00, then watching the American Idol results with Special J
*Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? no
*Name 3 things you Bought yesterday? a can of Diet Rite--that's it
*Met someone who changed your life? yes, on 10/30/05
*For the better or worse?? Way better.
*How did you bring in the New Year? went to a family get-together, took my niece, had to leave early to clean her up because she had an accident--but got to kiss my favorite person at midnight anyway!
*Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? no, I rather like the present
*What songs do you sing in the shower? hmm...usually "A Moment Like This" or "Amazing Grace"
*Have you held hands with someone Today? not yet, but the day's just beginning--give me time!
*Who was the last person you took a picture of? my niece, Abbey
*Are most of the friends in your life new or old? new (in the sense that I was first acquainted with them within the past 10 years, not like in high school or college)
*Do you like pulpy orange juice? no
*Last time you ate peanut butter and jelly? Gosh, I'm not sure....before we started dieting, which was last June....that sure does sound good!
*What were you doing 12 AM last night? sleeping
*What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Already? Okay...where's my thermometer?

Happy Wednesday, all!
Always,

Whew, what a day!

While I can't pinpoint any particular "bad" thing that happened today, I can honestly say that I am beat today! I don't know what made me so tired. Our routine wasn't out of sorts at school, I left home at my regular time this morning (so I wasn't running late or anything), and there's nothing extra going on this evening. So, why do I feel like I just can't get it all together today?

Oh, well. This, too, shall pass. I'd better go check on dinner. I somehow managed to spoil my darling husband when we first got married to having dinner ready to eat when he gets home at 5:00. Most of the time, that's not a problem. But there are some days when I just need a little more time. Looks like dinner's gonna be late today.

Hope everyone has had a terrific Tuesday!

Always,

ICLW

Good Monday morning, everyone! I am an ICLW first timer, and so I realize that my little blog may be getting some new visitors this week. I decided that this may be a good time to re-introduce myself and share my story. Even some of my regular readers don't know the "whole" story. :-)

I met the man that would become the love of my life in October 2005. We were introduced by a mutual friend who just knew we were perfect for each other. (I guess she was right!) We dated for the next 14 months, got engaged on New Year's Eve '06, and married on 07/07/07. Being a bit older than most newlyweds in our area (I was 27, he was 34), we decided rather quickly that we were ready to add children to our little family. So, when my samples of BCP that my OB/GYN gave me in May ran out, I stopped taking the pill. (In case you didn't follow that clearly--as sometimes things make more sense in my head than they do when I've actually said them--I quit taking the pill after 3 total months. I never even filled my prescription.) So, we counted ourselves officially "trying" in September '07.

Over the course of the next few months, I read everything I could about TTC--articles, message boards, the whole nine yards. If it sounded like it might even pretend to help me, I read it. Having never had regular, "typical" cycles, I wasn't quite sure how to feel that first time I was "late," which happened to be in October. Like many others, my brain convinced me that I had every pregnancy symptom in the books. But the 10 pregnancy tests I took between October 1 and November 18 kept showing up negative for some reason. By that point, I was just glad SOMETHING was happening. I wasn't too discouraged yet, but I secretly diagnosed myself with PCOS after reading so much about it online. (I'd imagine doctors hate it when patients self-diagnose.)

In May 2008, I was forced to switch to a new OB/GYN because my old one relocated to another state. I love my new doctor, and he expressed some concern on my very first appointment about our unsuccessful efforts to conceive. I hadn't even considered talking to him about these issues yet, since it hadn't even been a year since we started trying (or gotten married, for that matter). He ordered a battery of tests, prescribed Pro.ver.a to jumpstart my AF, and offered to try me on Clo.mi.d to see if that would help.

It was during the 5 months I took Clomid that I discovered that my body does not like to be poked and prodded. I was never one to get sick too often before, so I hadn't had blood drawn but a couple of times in my lifetime. Now, I was having it drawn every single month just to see if I was ovulating. I responded well to the meds, but I was incredibly hard to stick, and often left the lab with bruises. Plus, AF continued to find me each month. In October 2008, the doctor switched me to Fem.ara. I took this drug for 3 months, took a month off to have an HSG (all clear, but complicated--long story in itself) while DH had his first SA (not so great), then did one more month before the doctor decided we should stop treatment for a while.

In May 2009, at my yearly exam, Dr. G. decided to try me on Met.for.min to see if that would help regulate my cycles. It has, but it made my very sick to my stomach for the first several months. (More than once did I abandon my grocery cart to make a mad dash to the restroom...and got there too late. So embarrassing.) Meanwhile, DH saw a urologist, repeated the SA (better results, but still not great), and he decided to see his general practitioner to see if there was something else wrong that could be causing our problems. He discovered that he had a slight thyroid issue, but other than being overweight, he was perfectly healthy. So, in June 2009, we made some MAJOR lifestyle changes. There hasn't been one single food fried in this house since he went to the doctor (June 10). We are on a 1500 calorie/day diet, walk at least 2 miles daily (missing very rarely), and do 20-30 minutes of cardio workouts 3-4 days a week. So far, he's lost 94 pounds and I've lost about 40.

DH plans to get tested again before my next OB/GYN appointment on June 1, just to see if all we've done has made a difference. If things are better, we may be candidates for IUI. At the very least, we may be able to try a new round of Fe.mar.a or something.

For now, we're just taking our vitamins, working on getting as healthy as possible, and trusting that God is waiting until the time is right to make us a family of 3.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. It actually felt pretty good to get that all out in the open. I don't know that I've ever told that whole story at one time before. If I bored you, I'm sorry. I'll try to have something more interesting tomorrow.

I hope your Monday is marvelous!

Always,

Oh, I'm in love...

...you see, there's this guy that I saw at the track the other night. I was walking in one direction, and he was jogging in the other. I didn't think he would pay any attention to me, but I noticed that everytime our paths crossed, he'd flash me his beautiful smile. And, wouldn't you know it, lucky me got to take him home with me. Yep, it was my dear, sweet husband.

Happy Sunday morning, everybody!

Always,

Still here....

Nothing major pressing on my mind today, but I wanted to let my few readers know that I'm still here. My fifth graders have been extra "wild" the past three weeks, and I haven't had a chance to write much for myself lately. I did sign up for "IComLeavWe" this afternoon, so hopefully that will be just the motivation I need to keep up with my own blogging.

AF showed up in full force today, so maybe we'll have better luck next month.

I hope everyone has a terrific weekend. I'll try not to wait a month before posting again!

Always,