My LOL of the day

I have to share the funny that I came across this afternoon. I was driving home from work, I pulled up to a red light next to a black Mazda Miata, top down, lady with a pony tail, scrunchie in full effect, Pussy Cat Dolls blaring as loudly as possible. Home girl was jamming out! As she punched it as hard as she could, apparently to "beat me" off the line, I broke out into a serious fit of laughter. I really needed that. Thanks crazy Miata cougar lady.

Taking it back to the Old School

My Inaugural Girls Only Movie Night was a big success! I had seven girlfriends over and we ended up watching Sixteen Candles. It is a classic girly/teenage angst film and we all enjoyed it very much. I was surprised how many of my attendees had either never seen the movie in it's entirety or hadn't seen it in a very long time. We all got lots of giggles from the clothing and hair in the movie and also the hilarious dialog. We had tons of snacks and good conversation. I'm already looking forward to next month! We've already chosen our next movie. Up next is Sweet Home Alabama. Can't wait!!

My movie night definitely kicked off the weekend right. Saturday, after making my video blog debut, I went to Orlando with my mom and Becky to the Home Goods store. My mom fell in love with this store while visiting Lindsey in Jacksonville and, of course, had to get online and find one closer to home. I would always roll my eyes at her when she said her "palms sweat" when she walks through the doors. But, upon walking through the doors myself, I had to apologize because that store is awesome! They have so much cool stuff, I could've easily spent a ton of money. But, I restrained myself and only bought lamps for my master bedroom and a console table for my living room. I wasn't looking for a console table but this one was just way too cute and way too good a deal to pass up. I'll work on getting some pictures posted soon.

After Home Goods we went to lunch at Chipotle. It was my first time there and my sister just raved about how awesome it was. She told me how fresh and healthy everything there was and how she'd eaten approximately 6 of their burritos in one week. Well, I knew as soon as I looked at the burritos that they weren't "healthy". Sure, they've got grilled meat and rice and beans but they weigh about 5 pounds each. I wasn't, however, prepared for the shock I got when I looked up the calorie content of my delicious steak burrito. Are you sitting down? You might want to. 970 calories... in one burrito!!!! Seriously! That doesn't even include the 720 calories I wasted on chips and guacamole. Yeah, needless to say, I won't be eating there again any time soon. Oh, and Becky was a little more than shocked.

Joe and I had already planned to go out to dinner at Outback and since I already blew through my calories for the day I figured, what the heck. But, I actually did pretty well at dinner. When we sat down we asked the waiter not to bring the bread. Then Joe and I split the Ahi Tuna appetizer. I got the 7oz fillet with steamed veggies, a baked potato with butter and sour cream on the side, and a salad with dressing on the side. It was so good! And, all of my dinner combined was less calories than my lunch! I feel like I should be doing a Glamour magazine "Eat This, Not This" column.

Sunday Joe and I ran out to Orlando to get him some new shoes. We also picked up a new bed skirt and a few little odds and ends. Then we hit The Wal-Mart for some grocery shopping and high tailed it home to relax for the rest of the day. My bedroom is coming together slowly but surely. Like I mentioned, we got new lamps and a new bed skirt. Our curtains came in today so as soon as I get some new curtain rods, I'll get those up. I also bought some cool, black picture frames which I'm going to fill with some pictures of me and Joe and the dogs. I'm going to try to accomplish that "gallery" look but we'll see how it actually turns out. Once I get everything put together I'll post some finished pictures in the renovation album. I may need a little help picking some accent colors for the bed. Maybe some throw pillows or something.

Other than that, things are moving right along. I'm on day 3 of my shots and things are going well. After the shock of how much the first shot hurt on Saturday morning I've been icing the injection site prior to the shot and it is helping a ton! No more cussing out loud. It is a little strange injecting in the morning, especially on work days, but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon enough. I go for my suppression check on Monday and if all goes well I'll start the stimming process! I'm actually pretty excited for that part. I think it'll seem more real then. I'll definitely keep you all posted. I hope you all have a nice week!

We're off and running

First shot is done! I have to say, it hurt way more than I expected. The needle was very small but still bigger than the needle that I'm used to on the Follistim. You'll see in the video that I was a little surprised by the pain. The video is a little jumpy in places, sorry about that, and also cuts off pretty abruptly at the end but I think you guys will get the gist. Only approximately ten more days of this bullshiz before we move on to the next batch of shots. Anyway, enjoy the video!! Oh, and yes, that is a scrunchie in my hair. Feel free to mock me.

Anyone order a butt load of medication?

Oh yes, that would be me.

My injectible medication arrived today in it's humongous, refrigerated box. Since I can't get deliveries at my job, the box gets delivered to Joe at work. And, like he's delivering an organ on ice, he rushes it home and into the fridge for safe keeping.

I've heard stories of people opening their boxes of IVF medication and being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of syringes and viles of liquids so I was pretty prepared for what I saw. But, I thought you all might find it interesting to see so I took a picture. So, here they are, all of my injectible medications.
Those viles and shots could be responsible for getting me pregnant some day. And here I always thought it'd be a broken condom or a missed birth control pill. Oh well... gone are those days of naive bliss.

All the meds are now resting safely in the door of my refrigerator. I start the first injections on Saturday. As much as sticking myself with a needle sucks, I'm actually really excited to get things moving. I'm not sure where this will end up but the excitement of what "could be" is enough to get me through the pain and bruises and bloating and mood swings. Stay tuned for your first injectibles class!

Confessions of a Shopaholic

***Spoiler Alert... if you are going to see the movie, don't read this post***

I read the entire series of Confessions of a Shopaholic. There are five books total and I love everyone of them. I fell in love with the zany, shopping obsessed Rebecca Bloomwood and was with her through shopping and debt and love, marriage, and baby. The books were funny and well written and helped you really connect with the characters. I would recommend the books to anyone. The movie, however, was a different story.

I was so looking forward to the movie so I could see the book in living color on the movie screen. I couldn't wait to see the characters faces and how they would bring the story to life. I ended up totally disappointed by the movie. I don't know if I would've liked it had I not read the books because I wouldn't have had anything to base my opinion on but I really don't think I would've liked it anyway.

The movie was very jumpy. The way it jumped from scene to scene made it confusing and made the story seem incoherent. There was no introduction or development of characters. They would just all of a sudden be in a scene and then gone again. The casting of the movie was terrible! John Goodman and Joan Cusak for Becky's parents?! Totally wrong. And Suze, Becky's best friend, was awful as well. Throughout the books it was mentioned several times that Suze had long, blond hair. In the movie her hair was black. And she wasn't as supportive of a friend as she was in the book either. And don't even get me started on the actor who played Luke. In the book Luke was tall dark and handsome. He was powerful and respected. He owned his own PR firm and was wealthy. The movie Luke was thin and scraggly and was the editor of a magazine. Seriously, they completely butchered the character!

Then there is Rebecca. In the book she was definitely flighty and definitely spent too much money but she was also smart and compassionate and funny. I think the movie made her more into a materialistic ditz. You didn't get the compassion she expressed for her parents and for Suze and the hilarious letters that she wrote to her debtors. And, really, in the movie, she didn't shop all that much either. She got herself into a crazy scenario or two but she only shopped once or twice. And the Rebecca Bloomwood that I know would have never gone to a Shopaholics Anonymous meeting!

Other than the terrible characters, the rest of the movie was just goofy. There were talking mannequins and an unnecessary trip to Miami, an unnamed gay receptionist, and lots of scenes that had nothing to do with the book. The movie took place in New York with all American actors. Rebecca Bloomwood is supposed to be an English girl living in London! I really can't believe the book's author allowed the movie to go so far away from what she had written. It is sad really. She had great stories and great characters and they just got ripped to shreds in a movie that wasn't worth the $7 I paid to see it.

If you're really bored, go see it and let me know what you think. It would be interesting to know what someone with no prior opinion of the story thinks. But, don't say I didn't warn you!

BEST NEWS EVER!!!!!

OMG you guys!! I just got some of the best news ever! I called the pharmacy to order my medications and got a huge shock. The medication came to a total of $1494.58 but the customer service lady decided to run it through my insurance "just in case" and my insurance is going to pay for the meds!!!!!!! So, that $1494 total got reduced to $165 for my co-pay!!!!

I'm so excited I just couldn't wait to tell all of you so I'm blogging from work. What a great way to start the day!!! Now, let's hope the rest of the cycle goes this good!

Information overload

Well, we had our final IVF appointment today and we finally have the information we've been waiting for. I honestly think today's appointment was the longest and most informative doctor appointment I've ever had. Joe and I both had a chance to voice our concerns and ask questions and I think we both left the appointment feeling confident and well informed.

I'm staring at my "cheat sheet" wondering how in the world I'm going to pass all the info to you all in blog form. The protocol we are going to follow is the "Hyperstimulation Protocol". My doctor chose this protocol because of my polycystic ovaries. People with polycystic ovaries tend to respond very well to follicle stimulating medications. Since I already have (and almost always have) lots of little follicles in my ovaries the medication helps to mature those causing me to have a ton of mature follicles which could lead to Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. In rare extreme cases, OHSS could cause so much fluid to build up in your abdomen that you have to be hospitalized and have the fluid aspirated. So, obviously, my doctor is trying to avoid that.

Anyway, here is the plan:

Currently- continue taking birth control pills until 2/25
2/21- start 0.1 ml Lupron injections to put my ovaries into hibernation. Take Lupron every morning between 6-8 am for ten days.
3/2- office visit for blood draw to check estrogen levels.
3/4- if estrogen levels were appropriate at 3/2 appointment, being Follistim injections. Take Follistim every morning between 6-8 am AND every evening between 6-8 pm. Also continue Lupron injections but now at 0.5 ml. Also, Joe and I both begin taking antibiotics.
3/6- office visit for blood draw and ultrasound to check for follicles. Continue Lupron and Follistim.
3/7-3/12 (appx)- Continue Lupron and Follistim injections, visit office every other day for blood work and ultrasound to check estrogen levels and follicles on ovaries.
3/12 (appx)- Ovidrel injection to prepare follicles for egg retrieval within 36 hours.
3/13- Pre-op appointment
3/14- Egg retrieval. Under IV sedation, my doctor will insert a needle through my vaginal wall, into my ovaries and aspirate the follicles and remove the eggs. The eggs will be placed in prepared petrie dishes and Joe's sperm will be introduced. I will begin taking progesterone the day of the retrieval to prepare my body for the transfer.
3/14-3/17- Eggs will be watched by the embryologist to determine if they have fertilized. Fertilized embryos will be watched for cell division and growth.
3/17- Possible 3-day embryo transfer. Depending on the quality and number of embryos, we could be offered a 3-day transfer or a 5-day transfer. Usually, if you have several high quality embryos by day 3, you'll usually be pushed to a 5-day transfer.
3/19- Possible 5-day transfer. At this stage, the embryos have reached Blastocyst stage and the embryologist is able to better asses which embryos are "the best of the best" and will discuss how many to transfer. The transfer is done by inserting a catheter (looks like a hollow spaghetti noodle) into my cervix and injecting the embryos directly into my uterus.
3/31- Blood pregnancy test. And, hopefully, a gestational scan will follow 3 weeks after. That would put me at approximately 6-7 weeks pregnant.

There you have it. The next month of my life in a nut shell. Joe and I are really excited and just REALLY want this to work. Our doctor really prefers to only transfer one embryo back for someone of my age and medical history but Joe and I are almost positive that we will transfer two back. Since we're out of pocket we're trying to maximize our chances of success. And, we'd really prefer NOT to have to do this ever again. Plus, we would really be ok with twins. I asked the doctor the likelihood of the embryos splitting and us ending up with three or four and, while he did say it is possible, he said it is unlikely. He didn't give us specific statistics on pregnancy but he did say that we have a 98% chance of having at least one embryo. The national success rate for a live birth for women under 30 is 30% - 40% after one IVF cycle.

Once I get going, I will try to keep you all up to date on everything that is going on with me. I'm sure I will be experiencing a lot of changes in my body. I am also thinking of adding a little video to the blog once I get to my injections so that you can fully experience that with me too. It is a long journey but at least we're finally getting started. Hopefully it'll all pay off in the end!

In the dog house

Well, Valentine's Day didn't go exactly as planned. It started out good enough but, by the end of the night, I ended up ruining it. So, I'm in the dog house today and, as Joe reminded me, probably will be until next Valentine's Day. I think he was kidding though. At least I hope.

We woke up yesterday and I attempted a nice breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and sliced strawberries. The bacon and the strawberries turned out great but I'm not so good with pancakes. I just can not get them right. I'll either burn them or not cook them enough or they'll be cooked perfectly but taste terrible. The chocolate chip pancakes were no exception. I followed the recipe to a "t" but they tasted very heavy and almost rubbery. I think I'll stick to eggs from now on. Joe said he liked them but I think he was just trying to be nice.

After breakfast we went out to Lowe's to get some stuff for the projects we had planned. I needed paint and supplies to paint our bedroom furniture and Joe needed stuff to work on fixing our pool light. Lowe's was fun. I always like walking around and picking out the next project we'll do around here. Once we filled our cart and checked out we headed home to get started on our projects. I cleaned out the dresser and nightstands and hauled it all out to the carport. I have to say that painting the furniture wasn't nearly as hard as I had expected. I sanded it, then primed, then did two coats of paint. I was exhausted once I was done and my muscles are very sore today but the furniture turned out great. I've posted some pics in the renovation album. Joe had a tough time with the pool light and after working on it for six hours, still couldn't get it to work.

So at the end of the day Joe and I were both pretty tired from our projects so we decided to skip dinner and hang out at home instead. I ran out to the store to get a bottle of wine and some desert and Joe stayed home to get a fire started in our outdoor fireplace. When I got home he had the fire going and nice romantic music playing. We decided to order takeout from a local Italian restaurant. While we waited for the food to arrive I opened the wine and we headed out back to enjoy the fire. I have to say, we had the best time. I loved sitting outside under the stars and listening to the music. We put in my Body and Soul CD (yes, I bought it from an infomercial) and just sat outside and talked. We weren't starving by the time the food arrived so we just continued to sit outside and enjoy each other's company. I think I was enjoying myself a little more than Joe because I proceeded to drink an entire bottle of wine by myself.

We headed inside to eat dinner and I was only three or four bites into my spaghetti when I felt that old familiar feeling rise up inside me. No, not love. It was the feeling of regret for drinking too much combined with an overwhelming urge to vomit it all up. I put my food away, gave Joe a kiss and an apology and headed off to bed. Approximately 2.5 seconds after my head hit the pillow, I knew all that wine was about to reappear. I made it to the bathroom and... I'm sure you know what happened next. I thought I was finished so I went back to lay down in bed. Boy was I wrong. A minute or so later I was back out of bed and rushing to the bathroom. This time I wasn't so lucky. I managed to make it into the bathroom but this time I didn't quite hit the toilet. Actually, I pretty much managed to hit everything but the toilet. So in my drunken stupor I was cleaning up wine and spaghetti from my bathroom floor, taking down my shower curtain, and cleaning the toilet. Very romantic. Poor Joe tried to help but I was so embarrassed and grossed out that I didn't want him to help.

Luckily, I was able to sleep after that. I woke up around 4 am still a little drunk and definitely regretting what I had done. I let Joe sleep in but when he got up I could tell that my little episode from the night before had disappointed him. He told me that he was so lonely because I was already passed out by 9:30 and he didn't have anything to do and that he thought, "some Valentine's Day." Oops. I think I just got carried away by the fact that it had been a while since I'd had any wine and that I won't be drinking any for at least a month, hopefully longer. I was having a really nice time sitting outside and the drunkenness just kind of crept up on me. But, if anything good came from last night its that I don't really have any urge to drink wine anymore.

So, there is my Valentine's Day. Definitely not as I had planned! Tomorrow is the big doctor's appointment and I'm sure I'll be on to tell you all about it. Also, I need to give you a quick review of the movie, "Confessions of a Shopaholic". I saw it today with some girlfriends. So, be on the look out for that too. I hope you all had a much nicer Valentine's Day than I did.

Totally cheesy?

So, let me just put it out there that I think holiday attire is totally cheesy. The "theme" sweaters at Christmas and Halloween should be reserved for those under 10 only. But, with Valentine's Day coming up I can't help but wonder what crosses over into cheesetastic territory.

Joe and I have plans for dinner on Saturday. We're going to a nice restaurant up in New Smyrna Beach. He is going to dress up a little, which for him means nice jeans and a button down shirt. I told him I was thinking of wearing nice jeans and a cute shirt too but he said he'd prefer if I wore a dress. I love dresses so I'm fine with that. But, I was browsing my closet trying to figure out which dress I should wear when I began to have a little internal struggle. When does dressing for Valentine's Day cross the line from "festive" to "cheesy"?

Obviously I wouldn't wear anything with hearts on it. And the combo of red and white is definitely out. But, what about a red dress? Does that just scream "theme dressing"? I'm sure there will be about a quatrillion women out on V-Day with red dresses on but that doesn't make it ok. And I definitely don't want to blend in with all the other ladies in red. Red and black might be ok but I'm still not really feeling it. I think my main concern is just red in general. I love the color red but on V-Day it just seems like I'd be trying too hard.

I also have a pink dress that I was thinking about. Its the dress that I wore to the Sex And The City movie and its kind of, uhm, saucy. Maybe not saucy but definitely loud. It is a "notice me" dress for sure. Which, I guess isn't a terrible thing but may, again, come off as me trying too hard. And even though it isn't red, its hot pink which, really, is just a shade away.

This brings me to black. I know all the magazines say that a little black dress is your best friend but I think they can also be boring. Well, maybe just the black dresses that I own. Its possible that I can jazz one of them up with some shoes and a cute clutch. Maybe I could pair a black dress with my hot pink shoes. Just a little hot pink could be ok.

Or, I could just go completely off theme and wear a printed dress or, like, a blue dress or something. I have the dress that I wore to Meg's wedding that I really like. It is navy and has purple and yellow and hot pink in it. See picture at 7:00 (down and to the left). Bonus, it is really comfortable too. I have a couple other dresses that I could wear too but I'm afraid they are too work-ish for a dinner date.

So, what are your plans for Valentine's Day and what will YOU be wearing?

I'm Just Not That Into It

Hello all... I hope this blog post finds you well. I'm just finishing up another weekend that flew by too fast. Actually, I don't mind that time is passing fast these days. Only one more week to go until my doctor appointment. But, I do wish I had more leisure time and less work time. Don't we all though?

This was a pretty awesome weekend. It was action packed and full of good food and good friends. Probably a little bit too much good food but it was good times nonetheless. Friday night Joe and I went out for Mexican and then to Target where I got some new jeans. On Saturday we went out to breakfast, then I met a girlfriend for coffee and a wedding cake tasting!! Mmmm... a specialty cake shop in town was hosting a free tasting so, even though we're both married, we decided to take advantage. I tried several different kinds of cake and kind of wish I didn't once it was all over with. But, it was fun while I was eating. Saturday night we went to a BBQ in honor of one of my best friend's thirtieth birthday!! It was very fun and we had a very good time.

Today was really fun too. We went to my mom's house for breakfast so we could see Lindsey and Peyton before they left to go back to Jacksonville. When we got home Joe and I took the dogs for a nice walk. The weather has warmed up again and it is beautiful here. Definitely good weather for walking and being outside in general. After that, my girlfriends and I headed out to the movies to see, "He's Just Not That Into You". Overall the movie was very cute. There were definitely some laugh out loud moments. However, I did think that the women in the movie were portrayed as a little neurotic and needy. I do recommend it to all of you though. I think you'll definitely enjoy it. Oh- and the best body ever award definitely goes to Scarlett Johanssen. Holy Crap... she's freaking hot!

We had a little bit of time before the movie started this afternoon so we popped into one of the stores nearby and did a little shopping. I wasn't there to shop, I was just there to help my friend look for jeans. But, I hit the jackpot! I got two pairs of pants, two shirts, and a necklace in about 15 minutes. I'm trying not to spend a lot of money on clothes right now but when the shopping is good like it was today, you just have to go with the flow. It was really nice to find some cute stuff so unexpectedly.

Now I'm home and Joe and I just finished Chinese takeout. We're all set to watch our HBO and Showtime shows tonight before gearing up for another week. Don't forget next Saturday is Valentine's Day so remember to be sweet to your sweetie.

Oh and, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRE BRE!!!! We love you lots!!

Checking in

Just wanted to do a quick check in. Not much new to report here. I'm impatiently waiting for my appointment on the 16th.

I've actually taken up the task of redecorating my master bedroom while I pass the time waiting to get this IVF show on the road. It won't necessarily be a "renovation", it'll probably be more of a "renewal" but I will be posting pictures in the renovation album once I get started. I know I've been slacking on both albums lately but I haven't gotten any new pictures to put in. I'll try to get that updated more regularly.

I know a couple of you have been wondering how all my "alternative" treatments have been going. I am still doing the wheat grass. I just switched from the powdered to prepared shots of wheat grass. They are much easier and faster to take than the powder. Mixing the powder in with a smoothie was ok but it just prolonged the gross taste. I am also still taking my fish oil supplement. I have slacked off on almost everything else though. I have been trying to keep my body warm and to cut back on iced drinks but I haven't been soaking my legs. I also have not been listening to my relaxation music. I tend to get "hypnotized" by the TV and forget about all the good stuff I should be doing instead.

The book club is going well. I finished another book, Shoe Addicts Anonymous, which was cute. Still not as good as the Shopaholic series though. I can't wait for that movie next weekend! I'm going to see it with a couple of girlfriends.

Speaking of movies. I have officially set the date for my first Girl's Only Movie Night. It'll be on February 20th. I haven't announced the first movie yet because I want it to be a surprise. I am really looking forward to it though. I think we're going to have a great time.

I guess that's it for now. I'll keep you posted on my master bedroom re-do and anything else that's happening.