In just seven days...

It’s hard to believe that in just one short week, J and I will celebrate our 3rd anniversary. Maybe it’s because I just played for a wedding last weekend, or maybe it’s because of our upcoming anniversary, but I’ve had weddings on my brain lately. I love them! Always have. I played for my first wedding in 1992 (at the tender age of 12), and immediately began planning my own. Never mind that I was only 12 at the time, and the BIG details (like the groom….and the date) were a bit sketchy. I was learning through other couples what worked, what didn’t, and what I wanted to include in my own special day.

My parents bought me a computer for my high school graduation, and one of the first documents I remember typing was entitled, “My wedding—if it ever happens.” In this document, I listed important details such as color scheme, prospective bridesmaids, songs for the prelude, and songs for the ceremony itself. I had it all mapped out….well, as mapped out as you could get without an actual date. Or a groom. (Minor technicality…) While the songs changed over the years as I continued to add to my collection via other people’s weddings and my own personal tastes, a few remained on the list throughout.

So, I’ve decided to spend the next week in tribute to my DH. Let’s start with how we met, shall we? I'll also try to get back into my "routine" postings, too. Perhaps I can combine the theme...

I met J at Chuck E. Cheese. No, really. I did. But it wasn’t just happenstance. It was planned. You see, he works with my cousin’s wife and she had been trying to “hook us up” for months. Originally, she had planned to have us both over to her house for dinner, but the plans never quite gelled. So, one Friday in October 2005, she called my mom to see what she thought about planning an outing with me (and her two sons, ages 5 and 7 at the time) to Chuck E. Cheese after Sunday school. Mom thought it was a great idea, but Michelle (my cousin’s wife) wouldn’t confirm with J until she had heard from me personally. She reasoned that if we weren’t interested in each other, then at least there would be plenty of other stuff going on and we could just focus on that.

Before I knew it, there I was…getting out of Michelle’s car and walking across the mall parking lot to meet a guy at a kid’s pizza place. I can’t believe I’m doing this, I thought. Surprisingly, for the next 2 hours, we didn’t seem to have much trouble finding things to talk about. It was the day after our dinner theater in October, so he asked several questions about that and my involvement in the theater. He also asked me about teaching and grad school. As we were leaving, Michelle invited him to join us at Lowe’s (I was in the middle of building a house), but he declined the offer. But he did say that maybe we could get together sometime. I said that sounded good, and he said he’d get my number from Michelle.

A week later, I was helping with a community turkey dinner that Michelle happened to come to. She asked me if I had gotten a phone call yet. I said, “No, should I have?” She said she thought I would have by now and said that she would check on it on Monday. Apparently he’d been gathering up his nerve all week. He’d gotten my number on Monday after we met on Sunday. Then, on Tuesday, one of the ladies at the clinic asked if he’d called me yet and he said that he hadn’t because I had class on Monday night (he apparently paid close attention to what we were talking about). On Wednesday, he asked Michelle who might answer the phone if he called. By Friday, when he still hadn’t called, they told him that he’d waited too long for that weekend, but he’d better get on the ball for the next one.
The next Wednesday, he called me from his cell phone on his way home from work and asked if I would like to go to a movie and get something to eat on Saturday night. I told him that sounded good to me, and he said he’d call back the next evening to finalize plans. He did, and, well, I guess the rest is history!

Most people have an initial reaction of, Awww… when I tell them we met at Chuck E. Cheese’s. Usually, it’s followed by a, How old were you? A bit sheepishly, I must always reply, Well, I was 25 and he was 32… Whoa! Not what people expect to hear! But we have a nice laugh about it, and then I get to explain.

Sorry this post got so long! Until next time…

Hugs and baby dust,

More Cruise Pictures...

I finally managed to sift through the 575 pictures we took on the cruise, and narrowed it down to a few to share.  Since it took me hours to put together the last post with cruise pictures, I decided to cut my time spent down and make a slide show with the rest.  Here are some shots of the great food (I realized later that I didn't have nearly as many pictures of food as on our first cruise), scenery, and of course, our towel creatures!  Enjoy!

Free digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

Hugs and baby dust,

So, I tried not to embarrass myself...

Gee, with a title like that, I'll bet you're expecting a good story. Well, I don't know if it will be nearly as "entertaining" as one might expect, but I'll share it nonetheless. Partly because it's my blog and I can write about whatever I want (right?), and partly becaues I desperately need validation that I am not, indeed, ahem, crazy. (Or confirmation that I am, whichever you deem most appropriate.)

I must preface this story with a story. You should really know that this is the norm for my story telling. I usually find it necessary to present my captive audience (voluntary or otherwise) with as much background information as possible. I do this in an attempt to make the details of the current story as comprehendable as possible, not to lengthen the story itself (contrary to popular belief). If I didn't think the listener (or reader, in this case) needed said details, I would have left them out. But, I digress...

As families go, mine was quite small. While I was born having all four grandparents as well as six great-grandparents living, my general "extended" family was small. My father was an only child, and my mother had one older sister. Oh, how my aunt adored me (and my brother). It was just like having a second mom, as she had no children. We spent countless hours with her each summer, as well as several weekends throughout the year. Every Sunday, we gathered with my aunt and uncle at my grandmother's house for lunch after church.

I won't deny that she spoiled us, and we even had a few toys to leave at her house to play with when we visited. Not a lot--just a few. My "big" toy at her house (though I much preferred to try on her shoes and play with her purses) was this Barbie doll:

Now, I find myself becoming that aunt.  The one without children of her own, but a  nephew and nieces whom she simply adores.  While mine usually prefer to play with our W.i.i. or bring their own toys, I do keep crayons and coloring books in the house.  We also have a big ball to play with outside, but today I was out for a bit of shopping (because I had a coupon for Koh.l's and couldn't bear to listen to the banging of the construction any longer), and I found this on sale:

I know her outfit has been given a "facelift," but it's practially the same doll!  Mind you, I had seen it before, and I knew it was being reintroduced due to the new Toy St.ory movie, but it just struck me when I saw it today: I should buy this doll for my nieces to play with at our house.  And after sobbing uncontrollably for 5 minutes in the toy aisle at Koh.l's, that's exactly what I did.  (And for a very good price, I might add.)  That's where the embarrassing part came in.  There had been no carts available (of course) when I arrived.  That was okay.  I really wasn't planning on buying too much.  After all, I had a couple of things specifically to look for, and then I was supposed to take J some lunch.  No problem.  In, out, done.  Simple, right? 

Wrong!  I really should know by now that not much is simples these days.  I decided that J might need some new swim trunks, since he has lost so much weight.  I bought him a new pair at the end of last season, but I really think they're still a bit too big.  They'll do, but I thought he might like a pair that actually fits.  I found a pair fairly quickly, but then I saw that they had some shirts on sale for $8.99.  What a deal!  (Plus, I had a 15% off coupon to use.)  I snatched up three colors I thought J would like and decided to check out the kids' shorts.  Abbey's birthday is coming up, and I have pretty much finished shopping for it, but I did need a pair of yellow shorts to go with a little shirt I caught on sale earlier in the year.  (Okay, it was last fall...I'm an early shopper, what can I say?  I can't resist a good bargain!)  While I didn't find any yellow shorts, I did discover that kids shorts and shirts were on sale for 67%  off.  Wow!  Never mind the yellow shorts, she can just have an extra shirt!  I bought her a new outfit, and I picked up an outfit for Ashton and Torre as well.  It's not like I wouldn't have anyway--we always get them a back-to-school outfit so they have something to open for Abbey's birthday, too.  That's when I saw the doll.  On sale.  For $10.  (Plus an extra 15% off, remember?)  And for some reason, even though I had seen it before in its Toy Story 3 box, even made the comment that it was just like the one I used to play with at my aunt's house, it all just hit me right then and there.  What if I never have children, either?  What if the only kids I ever get to buy toys for are the ones I only get to see if it's convenient for their parents?  I dropped everything I had been carrying and could NOT stop the tears.  People were probably staring at me, but I couldn't help it.  This very nice older lady came over and started picking up my armload of clothes and asked if I was alright.  Yes, I told her.  (Liar.)  Thank you. 

As soon as I had regained my composure, I chose a doll from the shelf--the one with the most perfect-looking hair and whose box was not bent or torn, and definitely not the one in front (another quirk I inherited from my aunt), and headed for the checkout counter.  Will my nieces play with it?  Probably.  Will I freak out the first time one of them pulls her head off?  Probably.  Will they ever understand the significance of that doll or how special it is to me to have it here for them?  Probably not.  Does that lady at Koh.l's think I've lost my ever-loving mind?  Most definitely!  But that's okay.  If I can live my life so that other people think I'm as terrific as my dearly-departed aunt thought I was, then I'll be doing alright. 

Hugs and baby dust,

Okay, so where are the pictures?

I've finally been able to catch my breath! It seems as if last week was CRAZY, so I found it very difficult to find time to blog. But, I did promise pictures of our trip (which was WONDERFUL, by the way). I spent a good part of yesterday uploading my pics to shutt.erfly. I think I'm going to make a photo book for myself there. It seems a bit cheaper (and easier) than getting prints of all 575 pictures we took.

After much contemplating, I have decided to categorize my pictures. (Oh, who am I kidding? I "categorize" everything!) So, today's compilation will consist of some of my favorite snapshots from the ship. We sailed on the Carn.ival Fant.asy, leaving from Charleston, SC. While their embarkation process was a bit different than what we had experienced before (our other 2 cruises have left from Mob.ile, AL), we were able to go to our staterooms immediately after boarding, and were reunited with our checked luggage within a couple of hours. So far, so good!

Before I begin with shots from the ship, I have a very interesting picture that I took while we were in line to get in line. (Seriously.) We were waiting in our van to get our passports checked, etc., before heading into the parking garage. As we neared the first checkpoint, this is what we saw:

At first, I thought maybe it was a fasade, used as some sort of scenery.  But the closer we got to it, the more I could tell that this really was an aged structure.  My mom and I are quite the creative ones, and we made up this whole story about how this freestanding wall came to be.  Anybody know the real story?

As soon as J and I finished lunch on the day we boarded, we set out to explore the ship, cameras in hand.  Here, we went to the forward deck to check out the water. 

Here's J taking what I think might be the only video we have of the entire trip.  (We're sort of a novice at thinking about the camera!)

Later that afternoon, I (with a little help from mom, N--my brother, and J) won my very own piece of "ship on a stick" by winning "Ultimate Mind Challenge" trivia.  Such a proud moment!  Later in the cruise, J won his own for 80's trivia.

The inside of the ship looked like some kind of elegant mall or something. 

Here, mom, dad, N, and J played in a bean toss tournament.  They actually played a couple of days.  They did a good job, but the didn't win a trophy this time.  (Dad won on his last cruise.)

They had a walking/jogging track around the miniature golf course on the top deck.  We got up early several mornings for a walk before breakfast.  I walked.  J jogged some.  Mom and N played miniature golf.

N, who is a math teacher, went to the library every day for a Sudoku game.  Since it was the first time he willingly went to a library, we snapped his picture!

Here we are, cheesin' for the camera!  (I can't help it--if I see a camera, I smile.  I had to re-take my passport photo 3 times before I down-played my smile enough.)

Here are a couple of random shots taken from upper decks of the pool area.  There is also one of my favorites--a replia of the ship built entirely from Legos.  How cool is that?!

Stay tuned for food, scenery, and a few surprises along the way. 

TTC and construction update to come later.

Hugs and baby dust,

I'm back...

Well, we've been back for nearly a week now, but I've not had much time to blog about our trip. We had a wonderful time, and I promise pictures will follow very soon. I'm still sorting them--I don't figure you'd really like to see all 50 pictures of the sunset!

Whew! What a week it has been! We docked on Friday morning in Charleston, and planned to drive to Knoxville to stay with some friends overnight. When we disembarked the ship, my dad and brother had messages on their cell phones telling them that a lady we went to church with had passed away while we were gone and her funeral would be on Saturday. Mom asked if we would mind coming home early on Saturday morning so we'd be back in time for the funeral. We assured her we would make it, and we set out toward Knoxville.

Somewhere along the way, J got a message from our friends saying that one of them had come down with a bug and we should probably change our plans so we didn't catch it. So, we drove straight home--with a few bathroom breaks and a lunch stop. J and I rounded out the evening with a quick grocery run so I could cook a couple of things for the lunch our church prepared for after the funeral. Oh, how my bed felt good that night! Don't get me wrong--I slept pretty good on the trip, but there's just something about snuggling under your own covers that brings comfort.

We picked up some dinner (since we'd pretty much blown our diet the entire week anyway) on the way home, and it was while I was unboxing my chicken that I saw them. ANTS. All around the sink. It was strange, though--they weren't any place else. Just around the kitchen sink. Not crawling all over the counter, not in the floor. Just around/in the sink. I grabbed a paper towel and began to get rid of the ones I saw. Satisfied, I took my dinner into the living room so we could start catching up on a couple of shows we had recorded. When I went to the kitchen to take care of the trash from dinner, I noticed they were back. Well, not really back, but new ants were there. I quickly became very frustrated. Again, I took care of the ones I could see and wracked my brain trying to figure out what to do about this problem.

On Saturday morning, I went to fix a couple of things for the funeral. When I went into the kitchen, I saw only a couple of ants. I took care of them, and went about my business. I saw very few ants for the rest of the day. The next morning, however, they were back again. ARghhh! What was I going to do with these pesky things? And I was scheduled to have a homemakers' meeting on Tuesday night! Talk about frustrated! I couldn't have these ladies come into my home with ants crawling around in my kitchen. As we were getting ready for bed that night, J asked if we didn't have some kind of ant spray or something. I checked under the sink, and, as luck would have it, we did! I read carefully and it said to make sure you didn't get any spray on untensils. Great. More good news. Not so easy to do in a kitchen, right? It also read, "For best results, spray directly on insect." So, I cleared out everything around the sink and started spraying. The andts stopped moving almost immediately. I left the spray to do its work and went to bed.

I fully expected to see NEW ants making themselves at home when I returned to the kitchen on Monday morning, but to my pleasant surprise, there were none. I scrubbed down the area I had sprayed with Soft Scrub and bleach, then sprayed and wiped it down with an antibacterial kitchen spray. So far, that seems to have taken care of the problem. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it is over. I spent the rest of the day cleaning, unpacking, and doing laundry. That's my least favorite part of returning from vacation--all the laundry!

Tuesday, I finished cleaning a few things that I didn't get to on Monday, and spent the rest of the day cooking for my meeting that evening. Exhausted doesn't even begin to describe how I felt when I finally got into bed just before 11:00 that night. It felt so good to just stretch out in bed. But, alas, it was a very short night. I had to get up at 4:15 on Wednesday morning to get ready and take MIL to the hospital for some surgery. (Please note that I'm not complaining, I'm just journaling how my week has gone.) Yesterday, I had a meeting to go to.

This morning, I can barely walk. I don't know what's the matter with my left foot, but I can hardly stand to put any weight on it at all. I hopped around trying to get to the kitchen to get some pain reliever (and finally succeeded). Dr. Goog.le has been very little help on this matter, too. It seemed the more I tried to walk, though, it got a little bit easier. Still painful, but a bit easier. I hope it goes away soon. I don't have time to sit around. :)

Most of the rest of my spare moments have been spent reading blogs. I've tried to stay caught up with all of you wonderful ladies (sorry I haven't been much support with the comments, but I have been thinking about you and reading your entries), but I've also been checking out some other IVF stories. J and I are seriously discussing giving it one shot. Since the doctor has told us that it is pretty much our only shot at conceiving, J feels that we will regret it forever if we don't at least try everything we can. We can't possibly afford more than one round, and I hate to put all my eggs in one basket, but I think we'll probably be filling out the new patient forms very soon. We can at least go for the consult. I am not quite sure how it will all work, though, with the RE's office being a whole state away. Oh, well. I suppose I'll work it all out when the time comes.

Well, I'm sorry this post got so long. I'll break up our trip so there won't be anymore marathon posts. If you've made it this far, thanks for being such a good friend and sticking it out! I hope everyone has a terrific weekend.

Hugs and baby dust,

I forgot to say...

...thank you for all of your support this week. You are an incredibe group of ladies, and I'm thakful to have met you. I'm glad I've stumbled across each of your blogs. Never in my life would I have believed that I'd become so emotionally involved with strangers, people from all over the country (and, in some instances, the world). I truly want the best for each of you, and pray you'll eventually get what your heart so desires.

Oh, and don't worry. There'll be lots of pictures!

Giant hugs and baby dust,

Getting away from it all.......

Ladies,

I know I haven't been a very regular post-er (or commentor) lately, but I just wanted to let you know that I'll be gone away for the next week. My original intent was to schedule some posts to compensate for my "absence," but I've been sort of numb since my D/A on Tuesday and the writing just didn't happen. I apologize, and I'll check in on you all if I can. I will definitely try to get back to posting when I return from the BAHAMAS! So, for the next week, I wish you the best of luck wherever you are in your cycles.

May we all get the miracle we've been waiting for.

Hugs and baby dust,

I believe in miracles…

If I didn’t, then I’d certainly be going crazy right now. I just returned home from a visit to my kind, wonderful OB/GYN. He was not, however, the bearer of good news. At all. Apparently, beyond a miracle, the only way DH and I can have a baby together is via IVF with ICSI. Well, we’re not rich, nor are we willing to deplete our entire savings on the off chance we might be successful.

J, if you’re reading this, I love you more than anything in this world. I’ve never been more proud to be your wife. I’m sorry I cried at the doctor’s office today.

So, I guess for now, we’re out of the race. No more temping. No more OPK’ing. No more CBEFM for me. I need to save my money. I’ll still take my vitamins, though. Because I believe in miracles.


Hugs and baby dust,

I'm a copy cat...

I've seen this on a few other blogs, so I thought I'd give it a try. Feel free to "copy" it for yourself!

The Bucket List
Put an "x" next to things you've done:

( ) Shot a gun
(x) Gone on a blind date
(x) Skipped school
( ) Been to Canada
( )Been to Alaska
( ) Been to Cuba
( ) Been to Europe
( ) Been to Las Vegas
(x) Been to Mexico
(x) Been to Florida
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been on a Cruise Ship
(x) Served on a Jury
(x) Been lost
( ) Been on the opposite side of the country
(x) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Swam in the Ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played Cops and Robbers
(x) Played Cowboys and Indians
(x) Recently colored with crayons
(x) Sang Karaoke
(x) Paid for a meal w/ coins only
(x) Made prank phone calls
(x) Laughed until some beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone
(x) Blown bubbles
( ) Gone ice skating
( ) Gone skiing
( ) Camped out under the stars
(x) Seen something so beautiful that it took your breath away
(x) Are or have been married
( ) Have children
(x) Had a pet
( )Been skinny dipping outdoors
(x) Been fishing
(x) Been boating
( ) Been water skiing
(x) Been hiking
( ) Been camping in a trailer/RV
( ) Flown in a small 4-seater airplane (even a 2-seater)
( ) Flown in a glider
( ) Been flying in a helicopter
( ) Been flying in a hot air balloon
( ) Been bungee-jumping
( ) Gone to a drive-in movie
( ) Done something that should have killed you
( ) Been to Africa
( ) Ever ride an elephant
(x) Ever eaten just cookies for dinner
(x) Ever been on TV
( ) Ever steal any traffic signs
( ) Ever been in a car accident
(x) Have a nickname?

Happy Tuesday, all!

Love and baby dust,