Well, this morning John and I met with Dr. G at the Cleveland Clinic. What a nice, informative man he was. He basically told us that if we were to cycle with him he would up my current medication dosage a bit, or perhaps change it just slightly by using Follistim rather than the Bravelle and Menopur I've used for two cycles. He did say that all patients are out for the retrieval, they do assisted hatching on all embryos, and all transfers are ultrasound guided. We brought up the idea of using a surrogate, and he was all for it. In fact, he thought it was a great idea.

We left CC and headed to Akron. As AF (my period) had started on Saturday, I needed to get the cycle day three blood work done for them. Instead of going to a LabCorp up here, the called on Sunday and asked if I wouldn't mind going to them to have the draw. I was excited to see where the office was located and to meet some of the staff. John came in with me and stood there while EIGHT vials of blood were drawn. (I was more worried about him fainting than me!)

After Akron we went to get lunch and talk things over. While CC has a great track record...they ARE "The Clinic" after all, I just didn't feel the connection with the staff and doctor at CC as I felt with Akron. So...I think we are going to cycle with Akron! :-) I still have *think* in the above sentence because I want John to meet Dr. Mooney first and make sure he likes him too, but that is DEFINITELY where I am leaning right now.

Another thing I should add...we are 100% sure we are going to use a gestational surrogate! If money were no issue, then I would 100% move forward with a third IVF try. In my heart I want to believe that cycle #3 would work for us, but if it didn't, then that would be yet another almost $10,000 gone for nothing. So to go the "safer" route, we are going to seek the use of a surrogate. We are still in the beginning stages, and thankfully I've been introduced to some great girls who have gone the surrogacy route, so they have been WONDERFUL, answering all of my zillion questions. As we are in said "early stage", there is still a lot of time and learning left to be had before we can forge forward.

So now we are going to just take it one day at a time. That is all we CAN do. We have a meeting in mid-January to talk with Dr. M and get the results of my blood work. From there, we will decide when will be the right time to move forward and how.

I hope we've made the right decision! I guess only time will tell!

Before I talk about my appointment, I just wanted to let everyone know that I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! Ours was busy but wonderful. Christmas Eve we endured a three and a half hour drive up to Cleveland (it normally takes us just over two hours). We went to friends for an INCREDIBLE dinner. Serena is 100% Italian, so the food was out-of-this-world, and the company was great. It was fun to be around three very excited children for a few hours. Then we went back to my mother-in-laws house to do gifts with her. Then to bed around midnight, only to be up at 6 AM to leave the house by 6:30 to get her to the airport for her flight to Arizona. We left straight from the airport and got home around 9. I started our Christmas breakfast, we opened presents, ate breakfast, then took a needed nap. At two we went to my parents house where we opened an incredible amount of gifts from my parents and Colleen and Tom. We were at their house until after 10. It was a GREAT day with my family...I am SO lucky to have such a wonderful family!

What I want to know, now, is where has December gone? I remember getting out of my appointment in early December with Dr. Mooney from the Akron clinic and thinking that my appointment with Dr. Goldfarb was an eternity away. Well, my appointment is at 9:15 AM on Monday! I am glad John will be with me for this appointment.

In other news, AF started today, so I've found a LabCorp near John's mom's house for me to go to on Monday to have my blood draw done for Dr. Mooney. I'll be there at 8:00 when they open, and then we'll leave from there to go to meet Dr. Goldfarb.

I will update once we return from Cleveland on Monday afternoon! :-)

I posted on one of my Internet boards about the label of "recurrent pregnancy loss" and one of the girls said that maybe my blood work is labelled like that so that insurance will pay for it. I hadn't thought of it that way before at all. I think she might be right.

So I am now back to thinking we are "male factor infertility" on paper, with something funky going on in my uterus when it comes time for embryo's to attach! ;-) Hopefully this blood work will tell us a little more about me!

Recurrent Pregnancy Loss - - - I have never thought about those three words when it comes to my 43 months of trying to get pregnant. Yes, you read correctly...we've determined that we've been trying, for the most part, for 43 months, and within another day or two, that will become 44 months. That number stings, but seeing the words "recurrent pregnancy loss" on paper really shocked me.

I spoke to the IVF nurse at the Akron office this week. She told me that even though they know we aren't ready to move forward today with things (plus John and I still have our meeting with Dr. Goldfarb at the Cleveland Clinic on the 29th) Dr. Mooney wanted me to get some preliminary blood work done. She did warn me that they would be drawing quite a bit of blood and since my period is starting this week sometime, and the blood work needs to be drawn on cycle day 3, they sent it out for me to do (I'm off all this week too, so it makes for getting to the lab easier).

Looking at the first page, I thought I was going to die. The IVF coordinator was NOT kidding when she said that there was a bunch of blood work ordered...they are checking the levels for 23 different "things" in my body. From my FSH (which measures the level of follicle stimulation hormone in my body) to testosterone (I had mentioned my previous treatment for a hypoactive adrenal gland) to Lupus anticoagulant (not Lupus the illness, but rather something which could cause recurrent pregnancy loss - - - thanks Google!), everything under the sun is being tested.

Then I turned to the second page, where is clearly states, as a diagnosis: Recurrent pregnancy loss. Ouch, that hurt! Never before have I been given that title. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel with that title. I'm sad, I guess. But then John and I were talking during dinner, and I guess it is true. ***UPDATED***After six embryos have been put back, and nothing has thrived, then does that qualify me as having recurring loss?? Does having 3 IUI's, 2 IVF's, and 1 FET qualify as recurring loss? So I guess our medical diagnosis of "male factor infertility" on paper could change to "male factor infertility plus recurrent pregnancy loss" dependening upon what the blood work results come back with.

I am thrilled that this new doctor is taking quite a strict approach and ruling out as many things as possible. I will let you know my results once I find things out!

John keeps telling me that my grading load is worse this year than many past years. I don't think it really is, although I must say, I am swamped. I am trying to grade like mad lately so that I don't have to do too much school work over break. It isn't going too well.

So if you've called, texted, or e-mailed lately and I haven't responded, please know that I'm buried beneath a pile of homework and I will get to you soon.

Oh, and too, if you are someone who normally gets a Christmas card from me...that is going to be delayed. Sorry!

Well, we got the call tonight. The owner of the builder we were dealing with does not want to buy our condo. So, we are taking the condo off the market after being on for 10 months with no hope for a sale.

We are bummed. We just wanted SOMETHING to happen with our condo for once. Geesh, am I asking too much???

So, we have set our sights to fixing up the condo. New carpet, fixing some walls with nail pops (which have recently made themselves aware, after just six and a half years of living here), maybe even getting rid of the current shower and putting something with tile in instead. We shall see.

2009 IS GOING TO BE OUR YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And all I can say is WOW. Just WOW. This doctor was WONDERFUL. He sat and talked with me for almost 1 1/2 hours. He never once said a bad thing about my current RE, which I respect him for, but he was very firm in telling me what would be different if I went with him:

1. No more Bravelle or Menopur. He said that he actually uses Bravelle to slow down women who are stimming too quickly. He said I would be using Gonal F, Follistim, &/or Repronex. He is going to be rather aggressive with my stimming, which, going on round #3 (fresh) and #4 total, I'm perfectly fine with this. He would like me to have about 20 good eggs at retrieval time, with about 15 fertilizing, if all things go smoothly.

2. He would be doing an u/s guided transfer, which is not done at my current clinic.

3. While the clinic is up in Akron, OH, all of my monitoring appointments would be done at their new office near me. So, this means I don't have to go back to my old clinic to have u/s and b/w. This makes me happy. I will have to go north for the ER and ET, but I'm fine with that.

4. He told me that even though there are four doctor's in the practice, he will be the one doing my ER and my ET. I was happy with that, as you never knew who you had at my other clinic until they walked in the door.

5. He wants to do assisted hatching. He was thrilled with my first IVF cycle and on paper said that it looks like it should have worked. He thinks that assisted hatching will give me the "oomph" needed.

6. As I am paying OOP and this is our third fresh cycle, he and his staff are going to do everything they can to keep our costs low and they are going to work their tails off (the nurses words, not mine) to find us as much medicine as they can.

7. Lastly, he doesn't think the idea of a surrogate is that bad. It is something I am still trying to wrap my brain around completely. I guess if it comes down to us cycling at the beginning of the year with a BETTER chance at having a child through a surrogate than on our own, then that is the route I am ready to travel.

We have another "2nd opinion" in Cleveland at the Cleveland Clinic at the end of the month, but John has suggested I cancel that appointment as we are happy with what we had today. Plus I feel that a round of anything at the Cleveland Clinic will 1) be really expensive and 2) make me feel even more like I'm a number, not a patient.

So that's it! :-) Guess John and I have a lot of talking to do!

I can't believe today is finally here. I'm leaving in about 30 minutes to meet the first of two new Reproductive Endocrinologists. Today's meeting is with a doctor whose clinic is actually in NE Ohio, but they now have an office in Westerville, just a few towns away. I'm not quite sure if this Westerville office is just for consultation appointments, or if it is an office where ultrasounds can be done. I do know for a fact that if we did choose this lab our actual retrieval and transfer would take place up NE in Akron, Ohio.

I'm so nervous to have him look at my papers from ORM and tell me where he thinks we should go next.

I'll update later!

I think I am going to try to create a poll. I've never done one on here before, so why not now?

The question is...

Should I change the name of my blog???

I'm not exactly dieting right now. I am eating healthier than I have in a while, and I am working out more than I used to, and I am trying to just take care of myself, both inside and out. I am NOT, however, dieting for "that"...as "that" isn't a guaranteed thing anymore.

I'm thinking I want to change my blog name to something like....
The Road Not Taken

or

The Road Less Traveled.

Vote, and let me know what you think! :-)

I just wanted to quickly wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people fill my life with love and happiness each and every day. I am thankful for ALL OF YOU today.

Love,
Kristen

Well, John starts this coming Monday, not on the 8th! :-)

After spending one year in the call center for Huntington, John was offered a new position on Thursday and he happily accepted!

Starting December 8, John will work in the same building he is in now, but he will be working for the fraud department. He is beyond excited! It is a department in the bank he has had an interest in since day one, so this is coming at a great time.

Another nice perk about this job...he will now be working Monday through Friday, 7 AM to 4 PM! And he'll get all the nine holiday's off that the bankers get as well, unlike being in the call center when they close just one day all year, Christmas.

Finally good things are coming to him!!!!!!

I am not quite sure where October went, and November is moving just as quickly!!! That is both a good thing and a bad thing, I guess!

IRONMAN
I think the logical place to start is to tell everyone about my sister and Tom's INCREDIBLE Ironman finish. I'm not quite sure how either of them has done it, but they are incredible. They are determined, strong-willed, and quite frankly, amazing. The day, November 1, 2008, could not have been any more perfect. It was a chilly morning but by afternoon was sunny and warm (mid-70s). Colleen and Tom had a great swim. Tom came out of the swim at 1:12 and looked great.
Colleen came in at 1:26. Colleen came out of the water with the greatest smile. She had conquered what she thought was her weakest event...and yelled "I lived!"

Next came the bike part...all 112 miles of it. This is the time during the Ironman when we don't get to see the participants, as they go out 50+ miles from Panama City Beach. We did catch Colleen and Tom come in. Again, they did wonderful. Tom came in from the bike at 5:35. His leg was cramping but he was in good spirits.

Here is Colleen coming in at 6 hours, 35 minutes. She looked great and told us she was so excited to be getting off the bike.
After that came the 26.2 mile run. Both Tom and Colleen did exceptionally well. Both always had a smile on their face when they approached us...our condo is located on a curved street where they would pass us at approximately miles 4, 9, 14, and 22.

Finally, after many hours of swimming, biking, and running, both Tom and Colleen crossed the finish line as Ironmen. Tom crossed with a time of 11 hours, 49 minutes, and 48 seconds.
Colleen crossed with a time of 13 hours, 22 minutes, and 6 seconds. Here are the proud parents with their Ironmen children: Jay (Tom's step-dad), Janet (Tom's mom), Tom, Colleen, Nancy (my mom) and Tom (my dad)
Me with my favorite Irondiva!
Here is the cheering team the next day at dinner, proudly standing behind the Ironman and Irondiva.
There are SO many more pictures. If you would like to see more of the family supporting our Ironmen, please let me know and I will send you a link for them!

Weekend in Chicago
Last weekend I took a road trip with a friend from Columbus to Chicago. While there I got to do something I never thought would happen...I got to meet girls who have been a huge amount of support as John and I have struggled through infertility. To spend a weekend with these girls is something I cannot say enough wonderful things about. They were what I had hoped they would be, and so much more. I had a great time!

Seeking a Second Opinion (and a Third!)
After much thinking and debating, John and I have two appointments in December with two different RE's here in Ohio. While I LOVE Dr. S at ORM, we need to make sure that when we are ready to move forward with whatever step that might be (be it trying another IVF round, surrogacy, or even adoption) that we are armed with all the information we can have. So, on December 8 we have a meeting with a doctor whose clinic is in Akron, OH, yet they have a satellite office here in Westerville. Then on December 29 we head to Cleveland to meet with a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic to see what he has to say. We don't know what will happen next, but at least we will have some food for thought.

The House
Thank to you everyone who has inquired about the house. We have signed paperwork for the house, but the builder has decided they don't want our condo, so now we are waiting AGAIN for someone to buy our condo. We did have an open house last Sunday and not one solitary person came in to look...despite the fact that we have dropped our price $3,500. We have been told by the housing rep that maybe, just maybe, in the middle of December the builder will come to us and offer to buy our condo, they don't want the house sitting there empty anymore. I'm not 100% convinced, but John is holding onto hope for us.

If you have made it this far, THANK YOU FOR READING! I hope to have another entry here in the near future...and not keep you, my readers, waiting!

~Kristen

I promise I'm alive!

I will do a bigger post on Sunday!

I'm headed to Florida tomorrow. The time has FINALLY come to watch my sister and brother-in-law compete in the Ford Ironman Florida Triathlon.

I had the pleasure of going down to Panama City Beach, FL one year ago to watch Tom complete his very first Ironman. I surprised him the morning of the race with my presence, and it is something I will never forget. All throughout that day I remember my sister watching her husband complete each stage of the Ironman with complete success. She could not have been any more proud or excited for him. It was also during that time that I realized that my baby sister would be doing the Ironman someday, and she signed up the very next day.

Since Colleen and Tom signed up, both of them have given up weekends, nights, family events, and basically their lives to train for this event. And while Colleen has endured the roller coaster of emotions about the race, I KNOW that she is ready for it. And I cannot wait for her to hit all of her transitions, where I will be there screaming her name and wishing her luck. And I especially cannot wait for her to enter the "chute", and run into the home stretch, to hear Mike Riley tell her..."Colleen K, You ARE an Ironman."

Colleen....No matter how things turn out on Saturday, You ARE MY Irondiva, and I couldn't be more proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xoxo,
Kristen

I am so incredibly proud of my parents. At the young age of 5* (don't worry, I won't tell anyone how old, I mean, young you both are), both of my parents completed something I have not done and am pretty sure I will never do...they completed a 1/2 marathon yesterday. It was my mom's 7th 1/2 Marathon and my dad's 1st (and according to him...his last). They did INCREDIBLE. John and I got down to mile 8 at around 9:15. My mom figured they would be there between 9:30 and 9:45. Wouldn't you know, right at 9:30 this is what we saw...
John and I then hopped into our car, drove to get some hot chocolate (it was COLD out), then we made our way to the finish line. Holy Moly there were a lot of people. We wanted to see mom and dad cross the finish line, however a large chain-link fence was in front of us. Luckily we wormed our way up front and got some decent pictures of them crossing. They were so proud of themselves...as well they should be! Dad told me at the end that he had always wanted to wear one of the tin foil wraps, and he finally got to!

WAY TO GO MOM AND DAD!

Well, tonight I headed out to see the house with my posse...John, my mom, and my dad.

I love the house.

Absolutely love it.

I love how quiet it is. I love all the rooms. I love all the closets. I love all the windows. I love the carpet color. I love the front porch. I love the large 1st floor laundry room. I love the dining room. I love the two sinks in the master bathroom. I love it.

I do NOT love the backyard. But we are working on that and hope to have an answer about it (whether it is fixable or not) by the end of the weekend. I'll keep you posted. Until then...some pictures!!!!

Obviously, the front of the house. It is set back about 45 to 50 feet from the road. The space to the right is just 1/2 of the side yard. As the house is set so far back, there really is no back yard, so the side yard would have to be "it" for us.








This is standing at the front door, looking into the entry way. There is hardwood in this entry way...actually, it is the only hardwood in the entire house. The entry way also has a wonderful 2nd story window with the same exact chandelier that my parents have in their house. Looking up the stairs you can see the left room which is a bedroom and the right room is the full guest (children?) bathroom. To the left of the pictured bedroom is the master bedroom. To the right of the bathroom are two more bedrooms which are across the hall from each other.





Standing in the family room, looking into the dinette area and the kitchen. The first door on the lower right side is the door to the basement, then the hallway to the front door, then the double door is the kitchen pantry (a nice size) and finally, barely visible, is the entry into the dining room.





This is the picture of the family room, taken while standing in the dinette. I love the three large windows. The entrance to the left is the little hallway to a 1/2 bath, the large 1st floor laundry, and the two car garage.

How long have we been trying to sell our condo? The answer...TOO DAMN LONG!!!!!

My new cell phone.

At all.

I'm so overwhelmed!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for all the e-mails and phone calls asking if I am alive. I'm here. It has just been a crazy month. That is the easiest way to explain my absence. Plus, my life is not that exciting, so I'd rather not bore you if I don't have to! ;-)

School is moving along quickly. Progress report grades went out on Friday, so I expect some e-mails and phone calls starting tomorrow. I already got one e-mail tonight from a parent, but she clearly e-mailed me thinking I was another teacher. My classes have started to really show their true colors...their attitudes and abilities are finally shinning through. This isn't a bad thing at all. Now we are just on a roll. As of Tuesday all three of my preps will have completed their first unit test, and as of early next week all three preps will have submitted their first major writing assignment. This, of course, means mucho grading for me!

Everything else is just fine. John and I have joined a new gym, and I love it. It is called Urban Active. It is about 20 minutes from our condo but only 10 minutes from work. We got an incredible membership deal ~ we get full gym access (which has a full basketball court, racquetball court, swimming pool, exercising theater, all workout classes, lots of cardio and weight equipment, and much more) plus access to any Urban Active gym in the country for $25 a month. I was paying around $36 a month at our old gym, and the equipment was old and the location of the gym was in an old hallmark store, so it was tiny. Needless to say, I am enjoying working out for once! :-) My two favorite things about Urban Active are the new cardio equipment and the workout theater (the workout theater is a dark room with bicycles, treadmills, elliptical machines, and much more which are available to use while I watch a movie). Each day a new movie is played constantly. I have watched Pride, 16 Blocks, and Rudy just this week. So, I hope this solves my workout blues.

So, like I said, I've been busy. Below are three other things going on in my life...I am concentrating on the good, fun stuff, which will help to overshadow the stinky, crappy stuff that has been going on the past few months!

Let's see...what else is new in my life?
1. I am going to see some Broadway shows with a co-worker of mine. Actually, Chris is a former GLHS student (I only knew him through working with him when I helped out with the marching band) who now works security at the high school until November, when he will fill in for an English teacher who is headed overseas for 14 months to Iraq. We got tickets to the opening nights of the following shows: Frost/Nixon, Grease, Spring Awakening, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Color Purple, and A Chorus Line. I'm pretty excited about it.

2. I got a new cell phone. I know, real exciting, right? I upgraded to a Pink Blackberry Curve (thanks to suggestion from my sister and my best friend Danielle). My grandma (Amma) would be very proud of me...the phone did not cost me a cent! :-) It should be arriving by Tuesday. I am totally geeked up about it. Such little things bring me such happiness! Below is a picture of my soon-to-be-phone...except where you see gray/white will be pink on my phone! :-)

3. I am going to see New Kids on the Block this coming Friday with three friends from work. The group is playing in Cleveland so we are going to take a road trip, see the concert, stay over that night, then come home on Saturday. He he he. Below is a picture from the opening concert NKOTB had just a few weeks ago in Boston. It should be a great time and bring back some great memories!!!

I'm sorry I haven't been around. In the light of our sad news two weeks ago today and then the passing of John's grandma one week ago today, I haven't been in much of a blogging mood.

Doesn't help either that school is KICKING MY BUTT!!!!

My new students are great. I really like my English 10 classes. My biggest complaint is that in two classes, and a total of 23 students, six of my students DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH!!!!! Um, hello? This is 10th grade English, and many of them are new to the country this year. Talk about a challenge. I get so frustrated knowing that THEY are frustrated. As it is my literacy class, my time is being devoted to helping struggling students with their reading and writing skills...no where does it say that I am also to help teach students the fundamentals of basic English. UGH.

My seniors are okay. I have a few cocky boys who are starting to get on my nerves, but tomorrow my students are starting to read the perks of being a wallflower (by Stephen Chbosky - a MUST if you haven't read it!). With reading a novel comes the structure and rigor that my class is known for, so I'm hoping those cocky boys get things in line now that the novels are being started.

My juniors. Wow. What to say about my juniors? I like them. I really do. I took seven of my English 10 students from last year and put them into my one junior class, and now I'm wondering why I took a few of them. They have not grown up like most juniors do over the summer between their sophomore and junior year. My other kids in the class are GREAT. They are respectful and are hanging in there with me as we make our way through the Colonial period.

So there is my school update that I promised a while back. And now the fun grading overload has started. Didn't help that I was understandably out for two days, but this grading load is a bit much right now.

So if you haven't heard from me in a while, I promise I am okay. I am good. I am hanging in there. I am just HORRIBLY busy!

(And for the diet front...I have COMPLETELY fallen off the wagon from WW. With my last cycle I stopped going and need to start back up. Ugh. I hate when I fall off the wagon!)

We got the call this morning that Grandma Mullally, John's grandmother, died. We knew it was coming, but it does not make it any easier. Last Thursday John's mom called to say Grandma was being brought from the rehabilitation center back to the hospital. Friday we were called and told to get to Cleveland to say our goodbyes. We arrived Saturday night and over the next two days visited Grandma in the SICU. Leaving her bedside at 8 PM on Monday night was a very difficult thing to do...we didn't want to leave her knowing that would be the last time we saw her alive.

Here is Grandma...four years ago tomorrow (our 4th wedding anniversary)...

I just want to thank everyone for their kind words, prayers, and positive thoughts. Today was by far one of the worst days of my life. I didn't understand, when I awoke this morning, how really hard this day would be for John and I...and all of those who have supported us in our journey. We are so lucky to be surrounded by such incredible people. It is somehow so incredibly comforting knowing that our tears were not the only ones shed today. It is nice to be loved unconditionally, and that we are.

Thank you.


*********And on a lighter note....they got rid of my study hall! :-) Such things to make me happy, I know! :-) Instead, 8th period I will have writing lab duty...I sit in the writing lab, a little room, and wait for a student or students to come in from class or study hall for English help. SOOOOO much better than a large study hall! Thank you Mark and Di for getting me out of that hell hole we call study hall!

I feel like I need to eat a final meal and do something over the top. School starts tomorrow. Don't get me wrong...I love my job (most days), but this summer just went by way too quickly.

While I am looking forward to getting back into a routine, I am not looking forward to getting up EARLY again, waiting in line to use the bathroom, or having lunch at 10:30 A.M.

I definitely have an interesting class schedule this first semester. 1st period is my conference period. 2nd and 3rd periods I have English 10. 2nd period has 17 students enrolled, 3rd period...7. Yep, 7 students. It doesn't make sense. 4th period is my lunch...nothing like lunch at 10:30 in the morning until 11:15 A.M. Yum. Then I have Popular Literature 5th and 6th periods. 5th period I have 27 students enrolled. 6th period...14. Again, wierd. 7th period is English 11 with 24 total enrolled student, eight of whom are students I hand picked from my two sophomore classes last year. And I get to end my day with 65 students in a study hall in the cafeteria 8th period. I think I must have pissed the assistant principal off to get that duty the last period of the day. Kids don't want to sit in a stuffy cafeteria counting the minutes to the end of the school day, so they don't come to class, which is a paper-keeping nightmare for me. Should be...fun?

I won't actually meet my students until Thursday. I'll be sure to update how my first two days go before our Labor Day weekend! :-)

Do I have to? Really? Please tell me I don't!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Where did summer go????

T-minus 7 days until I am back at GLHS for my 11th year of teaching.

Wish me luck!

I know, I know, two posts in one day....but what else is a person to do when she is patiently waiting for the phone to ring????

A fellow t-ttc and blogging friend and I often talk about bringing on AF (Aunt Flo=period!). It seems that in the IF world, when one wants her she is no where to be found, and when one doesn't want to see her ugly face, she shows up out of nowhere.

Well...I do an AF jig. I'm happy to dance for other people to get their cycles to start. Me, I'd rather AF stayed far, far, FAR away. Anyhow...Amy made this avatar today, saying this is how she'd picture me doing the jig for her. I think it is HILARIOUS!!!!

I'd say it is pretty accurate!

We went to look at Lori's house on Sunday. It is a very nice house. Rather small, but we knew that going in. We were thinking it would be okay until we got to the basement, and smelled the bleach, and saw the MOLD.

Yep, she is dealing with mold in the basement. Talk about a deal breaker. I was a little bummed. But after I got to thinking about it later yesterday...I wasn't sure I could see us in the house after all, mold or no mold. It is a cute house, but it is tiny, and we want something that is comparable to the square footage of the condo, not something that is smaller.

We came home and told our realtor about Lori's prediciment. He says he thinks he can help her buy our place and get rid of her house. I called her to let her know, and of course she is already working with a realtor. She told me she was going to call her people today.

I've heard THAT one before.

So we are back to the drawing table.

How long have we tried to sell our condo? Let's see....it has been on the market since February this time, it was on for six months in 2006, then it was on for two months in 2004. It is craziness!

And what is even CRAZIER is that I think I FOUND A BUYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back in May I ran into an old friend at JoAnn's. Lori and I knew each other when I was at Kent...her cousin (Carrie) and I were good friends, so naturally I became friends with Lori. Time had passed and since I don't speak to Carrie anymore, I lost touch with Lori. Well, we bumped into each other at JoAnn's. Making small talk I found out that she lived down the road from me and I told her how we were house hunting and whatnot. We exchanged phone numbers and parted ways.

Fast forward to today....

I get a text message asking if the condo is still on the market. I reply enthusiastically YES! Long story short...she has a house that she can no longer afford. She is looking to sell her house, and either rent or buy a condo. I come to find out that her house is literally five minutes from our condo and in an area we had already looked into buying. Her house has three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a fenced in yard, a deck, a fireplace, and a full basement, among other things. Cha ching!

Soooo.....

She came over to see the condo this afternoon. She fell in love with it (who wouldn't, right???). Says it would be absolutely perfect for her and her two daughters (same school district, near the old schools, nice and roomy, etc.). John and I drive past her house and like what we see.

So during our open house on Sunday, we are going to go to Lori's to look at her place. If it is something we like, we might pursue this. It would be a great starter home. Definitely not the exact home of our dreams, but it has what we are looking for and it is a great home for us to start our family in. And the price could not be any better for us.

I'll keep you updated...and I'll keep dreaming!!!!!!

Well, I can't believe it is Friday already! Yet another week of my summer has passed! Oye vey! :-)

I spent a BUNCH of time in my classroom this week. I am happy to say that my classroom is 98% done and I'm ready to start planning. I even have papers copied for the first two days in all three of my classes, so I'm set there too. I really am looking forward to getting back into a routine and back to work. Summer is great, but I miss seeing my friends and students. I was thinking yesterday while I was there that I need to bring my camera in next time and take some pictures and post them here. What do you think???? Would anyone care to see my classroom???? Really, no feelings would be hurt if the answer was no! ;-)

Tomorrow I get to clean the condo as we have an open house on Sunday from 12 - 2. I must admit, I'm not hopeful. It will probably be the last open house we have for a while, as we will be taking the condo off the market at the end of August/beginning of September. I can't justify keeping it on the market as we have had no showings EVER besides people coming in for an open house. It has also been on the market since February. Six months is long enough with no movement. Also, our realtor has done NOTHING for about the past three months, so that is discouraging too. We'll take it off for a few months, then re-list in February or March. Ugh...I hate this! Oh, and the house we loved and would have purchased in a heartbeat is gone...purchased, off the market, etc. Boo!

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. The weather is to be beautiful here (in the 70s), so I'll be sure to be outside some this weekend too, when I'm not cleaning the condo or watching the Olympics! Have a good one!

I've been tagged by the beautiful Allison, and her blog is Bouncing Buckeye Baby.

Here are the tag rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you (i.e. me)
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 6 random things about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger (me) know when your entry is posted.

So, my challenge is to share six random things about myself. I am kind of an open book, so we'll see...

1) I absolutely LOVE to do counted cross-stitch. I started it when I was a young girl, and find it rather relaxing and cathartic. I haven't cross-stitched in a long time. I guess the reason is that I started a baby announcement pattern about three years ago...thinking I'd finish it once I got pregnant. Unfortunately it is collecting dust at the top of the guest closet, waiting for me to get pregnant so I can finish it. Maybe, when I DO get pregnant, I will treat myself to a new pattern and do that for nine months while I await the arrival of our little one!!!

2) I do all of my reading of novels during the summer and winter break. I know, I know, as a teacher I should read during the school year, but I just don't have time. With having three preps in one year, the amount of paperwork is just too great. I have colleagues who read vociferously, but I just don't. During the summer I can kick out about ten novels or more, but that numbers goes to zero until December. I wish I had the endurance to read each night before I go to bed, but I have a horrible habit...

3) My horrible habit when I read is that I need to finish the chapter. I ABSOLUTELY cannot leave a book with a chapter unread. I don't know when this started, but it is a must with me. I don't care if the house were burning down while I was reading...I'd have to finish the chapter! This is part of the reason why, when my students do independent reading in class, I won't read a novel. I would hate it if the bell rang and I was in the middle of a chapter. Goofy, I know! :-)

4) I am a night owl. It doesn't matter if I have to be up early, my mind and body are not ready for bed until around 11 or 12 PM. I have always been a night owl...ask my parents or my college roommates! John, thankfully, sleeps like a baby, so he doesn't mind if the light is on or if the TV is going until I fall asleep. (((thanks honey!!!)))

5) I am a reality show junkie. I could watch reality shows morning, noon, or night. I LOVE them. Thankfully I have no desire to ever be on a reality show, but I love all of the interactions (whether real or not, staged or not) and I love the drama.

6) I wonder some days if I should have stayed with my first major...nursing. I love being a teacher, don't get me wrong, but when I'm in a setting with nurses around...be it a doctor's office or the hospital, I get this little twinge that I should have stuck with my first major. I know I'd be a great nurse, as many people have told me that I have "the people skill", I just don't know if I could do the blood and guts. I wouldn't have to take any work home. Sometimes when teaching isn't going well, I look online to find information about night schools for nursing...and there are a few around me!

So now it's time for me to tag some people:
1) I tag Christi, a wonderful, beautiful friend who knows what I'm going through...and still sticks by my side!...of Our Journey
2) I tag Carolyn, my incredibly supportive cousin...of Brooke Lauren
3) I tag Amy, a strong friend, even when life throws a million lemons her way...of Make It Grand
4) I tag Jill, a new friend who is just starting her own blog...Maybe Baby Momma
5) I tag Teri, one of the first people I ever met on the Nest...she is an incredible person who is full of hope and desire, just like me...of The Infertility Chronicles
6) I tag Ariel, someone who has become one of my biggest cheerleaders. She is full of spunk and energy...of Wishing for My Miracle

It is not often that John and I have such a fun-filled weekend with something planned for each day, and it was nice for a change! :-)

Friday night we went out on a "date night". We went first to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then we went to see "Step Brothers". I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. The movie is VERY raunchy, but I was in a mood for something funny, and that it was.

Saturday night we got together with Danielle and her boyfriend Brad. We first went and played putt putt and then headed to Cheeseburger in Paradise. It was a fun night.

Sunday afternoon John and I headed to Zoombezi Bay, a new waterpark next to the Columbus zoo. It was a gorgeous day and we thought it would probably be the last chance we'd have to do something like this, so we went. It was super crowded, but the lines moved pretty quickly. We were there from about 1:30 until 7:45. We had a ton of fun. I told John that the tides are changing...he came home sunburned, and I came home tanned (I guess that is what happens when someone, ah hem, wears SPF 50 and someone else, ah hem, doesn't!).

Needless to say, we both slept really well last night. It was such a fun weekend...made us forget about all the things going on in our lives for a few hours each day...and that is always a welcomed thing!!!

A literary MEME, because the National Endowment for the Arts apparently believes that the average American has only read 6 books from the list below.

Here's how it works:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Underline (or mark in a different color) the books you LOVE - mine are in purple
3) Mark in another color books you want to read - mine are in red
4) Reprint this list in your blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them ;-)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare -- ALL of them??? SOME of them
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Yes I am going.

No it will probably not be a great week for me.

Yes I am 100% back to being committed to the plan, as I seem to have lost my ways recently.

I will update when I get home....yikes!

*********************************************************************************
Well, I gained.

I knew it.

2.0

I hate being on a freaking rollercoaster in my life.

When will I go steadily down a good road? WHEN???

We go to Kroger, come home, unpacked our groceries, then Dan, John, Kevin and I headed to Finn McCool's (a.k.a. Quinn's) for a light dinner.
Sunday, July 20 - We woke up to GORGEOUS weather. The sun was shinning, the pool was relatively crowded on and off all day, and the beach was packed. It was a beautiful day.
Here is a picture of Allison and Daddy (Dan):We laid by the pool all day. It was WONDERFUL. The pool was rather cold, but it felt good after sitting in the warm sun. That night Robyn made her tuna casserole and afterward the boys went to Finn McCool's for a few hours. Robyn and I stayed home and relaxed.

Monday, July 21- Another beautiful day in North Myrtle Beach. More pool time. More sun! The boys were constantly trying to out-do each other with their cannonballs, can openers, and hammocks. Here are a few pictures of their efforts:

Dan's Hammock

That night we went to "Broadway at the Beach", a large area full of shopping and resturants. We ate at Key West Grill then returned home to put Allison to bed, then Dan, Robyn, John, and I went to Finn McCool's...see a pattern here?? :-) We LOVE Finn McCool's (or as John calls it, QUINNS!) !!!

Tuesday, July 22- Another beautiful day. Today I went down to the beach...where I went into the Ocean just up to my knees. I decided then that I really hate salt water. I really do. It is so beautiful to listen to, so beautiful to watch, but I really hate salt water. I finished my first of four books while sitting at the ocean. I read My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccoult. It was FABULOUS. That night we did Quesadillas. Afterward, the boys went to play Putt Putt while Robyn and I stayed in and watched a movie. When the boys got back, we headed out to Finn McCool's. Where else??? When we came home we took a nice walk on the beach...
Wednesday, July 23 - Happy 3rd Anniversary Dan and Robyn!!! Today was another pool day. The weather was hot and steamy. We did burgers and turkey brats on our portable grill today, as we knew we were going out to eat tonight for Dan and Robyn's Anniversary. After Allison was put to bed, the four of us headed to Umberto's Italian Resturant at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach. After dinner we went to play Putt Putt where I came in first, Robyn second, Dan third, and John fourth. Ha ha ha. We missed a rain storm at the putt putt place by about five minutes. We headed to Finn McCool's for a few hours and watched the rain come down.

Thursday, July 24 - I finished another book today while sitting by the pool. I finished Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. It was a great read about life in a traveling circus. The weather today was cooler than the past few days, but the sun was still shinning.
John treated everyone to a Prime Rib with Twice Baked Potatoes and a salad for dinner. It was a great dinner. Afterward, we went to...Finn McCool's!!!!


Friday, July 25 - Where did the time go? We simply could not believe that it was our last day here. We spent almost all day outside, enjoying our last day on the beach and by the pool. I finished my third book while at the beach...The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain. I couldn't put it down it was such a great read!! We had a great time too with Allison, who, for being 1 1/2, was so wonderful the whole trip. We enjoyed her songs, her giggles, her little voice, and she warmed to us so well. She especially loved my water shoes and we became fast friends because of my silly shoes.
That night the boy's went to the Nascar Speedway to race cars while Robyn and I began to pack up. When they returned we went to The Giant Crab for dinner, then to some of the beach shops, then to Finn McCool's for our last time.

Saturday, July 26 - It was so hard to believe that our week long vacation was OVER. Ugh! We packed all morning with the goal of leaving by 10 A.M. After making sure we had everything, we went outside for some last minute pictures and then headed on the road.

John is sad about leaving...

It was such a wonderful week!!! We got on the road at 10:30 A.M., made a few stops, and eventually pulled in to Cleveland at around 12:15A.M. (We went straight up there so as to avoid having to drive there later in the week to pick up Cider.) We can't wait until our next vacation!!!