Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for our troops. I know I constantly talk about my brother in the military but I am so proud and so thankful for him and all the troops serving our country.

Kathy over at Hoping for Baby4678 posted a link yesterday that warmed my heart and brought tears to my eyes. Xerox is showing their support for our troops by sending thank you cards to them. When you click the link below, pick out a card, pick a message, and Xerox will print and mail it to a member of the armed forces overseas. You can't choose who it goes to but I know that every person overseas deserves to know that they are supported and thought about. It's is completely free and literally takes a minute of your time. I ask that everyone do this. It means so much to our military men and women when they get something from home. 

Let's Say Thanks

What are you thankful for today?

Swagbucks and Groupon

A couple of months ago, I joined a site called Swagbucks. In those 2 months, I have gotten free money just for searching the internet. It is so easy! Really, it's one of the easiest ways to earn prizes and gift cards. I mainly joined the site when I found out that I can earn free Amazon.com gift cards. There are so many ways to earn Swagbucks. Instead of using google or bing for my search engine, I just use Swagbucks. Depending on what I search, I earn bucks. For voting in a daily poll, I get a buck. There are several other ways to earn bucks too. I think everyone should sign up.

Of course, for referrals, you get Swagbucks, too. Follow this link and sign up. It's free and you can earn free stuff so why not?

The other site I joined just last week is Groupon. I've been able to get restaurant certificates at more than half off! I really thought it was too good to be true but it's good and it's true. All you do is sign up, select your city, and start saving money on the places you like to eat. They have daily deals and this is where you can save the most money. In addition to restaurants, they have had daily deals on hotels,  concerts, and day spas. The best thing for travelers- If you know you're going to another city and when, you can search that city for deals too!

Follow this link and sign up. Again, it's free and you can save yourself some money.

Those are my sales pitches for the day. :) Hope you can enjoy those sites as much as I do. After all, nothing is better than getting free stuff and saving money.

Snow Day!

I had my first snow day today. We only had  3" of snow but I am the first to admit that we southerners can't drive or do anything in the snow. The entire city shuts down. It's pretty funny actually. There were over 100 wrecks last night alone. (I know, that part isn't funny) Luckily, the majority of the wrecks were fender benders. The interstates were at complete stand stills for over 5 hours. It was completely ridiculous!

I spent my day cleaning the house and doing laundry. I spent the time wrapping the rest of the presents that I have. I spent the time watching the cheesy mid-day news shows. I probably spent more time starring out the window like a 5 year old though.The snow fascinates me. Then again, I am easily amused. :)

I also did some of my Christmas cards. I've spent a ton of time on these and am proud of them. 

Josh and I also went to dinner tonight. It was such a relaxing day and definitely what I needed. I'll be back at work tomorrow but we are supposed to get some freezing rain and temperatures in the single digits tomorrow night so I'm willing to bet that I won't be at work again Wednesday and possibly Thursday. I think it's going to be a fabulous week! :)

So proud!

As most of you know, my younger brother, Matt, is a Soldier in the Army. He is currently stationed in Afghanistan and has been there since this past May. When he is in the States, he is stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. Ft. Campbell' Public Relations department works closely with an area newspaper who does "human interest" type articles every now and then. My brother was chosen out of his brigade to have an article done about him. 

You can read the article here.

 

I am so proud of him. He has matured so much in the last 2 years that it's unbelievable. I know he will do great things in life. 

I love ya'll!

From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely thank each and every one of you for your kind words, e-hugs and words of encouragement. All of you have made an impact in my life and I couldn't have asked for better people to share this journey with. You all keep me going with a smile on my face and you give me the warm and fuzzies. You keep me going when I want to give up and throw the towel in.  If I could, I would meet every single one of you in person and give you a big freakin' hug. Ya'll are absolutely wonderful!

Month 14, Cycle 8

I moved on to cycle 8 this morning. I know, cycle 8 isn't necessarily a big deal. I've seen plenty of women get pregnant on cycles 8-12 and even 13. It's this whole 14 months thing that is the big deal. It sucks. Cycle 7 was 79 days long. In case you can't add, that's over 2 blessed months! I don't understand why I can't have as many chances as others. That's the part that bothers me the most.

I am really okay with moving on. I am. I promise. I keep telling myself that it's just part of the journey. Shit happens and you move on. The last cycle wasn't our cycle. It's fine. I've only gotten my hopes up one time in this journey and I won't ever do that again. That was rough!

My poor husband is one of a kind, that's for sure. I love him to death. He has all the confidence and optimism in the world. I wish I saw just a little of what he sees in life. Some of you may remember my Pumpkin Patch Post a couple of months ago. Coincidentally, we were sitting at the same restaurant Monday night when Josh looked at me and said that I will get pregnant on the cruise. The only thing I could muster up at the time was "My body doesn't work like that, honey". Without hesitation he says, "It's going to this time". I almost cried in the middle of a sports bar. This cruise that he speaks of is the first week of January. This would mean that I would have to have a somewhat normal cycle where I would ovulate the earliest that I ever have which would be cycle day (CD) 27-31. That is damn near impossible in my books. I really hope and pray that he is right but I just don't see it happening like he does. I see it being February before we have another shot at getting pregnant. Ya know... because my body sucks like that.

Since we are moving on and this cycle will roll over to the first of the year, we have decided to begin testing. I know I said I was going to have 7 days past ovulation(DPO) bloodwork this last cycle but I just wasn't feeling it. We will do 7DPO bloodwork and a semen analysis this cycle. When cycle 9 comes around in February probably, I will have an HSG to check for blocked tubes if the SA comes back normal.

I had some 7DPO bloodwork done back in April and everything was perfect and above normal except for my thyroid levels. From what I understand, I have a slightly elevated thyroid level at 3.75. The ideal level for trying to get pregnant is closer to 1.0 and anything over 3.0 isn't good. However, apparently in my area this is completely normal and acceptable. I spoke to every doctor that I have ever seen. I called every doctor that my in-laws and husband sees and I called the infertility clinic. They all say anything less than 5.5 is fine. I'm so lost and confused. I know that an elevated thyroid level can cause longer cycles. I guess this is something that I will discuss with the OB and RE together since they will be working with me as a team for insurance purposes.

Josh and I  have also decided that when we get back from the cruise, I will begin acupuncture treatments. I have completed hours upon hours of research on acupuncture and acupuncturist in my area. Josh and I have done phone interviews with a list of 6 and we then narrowed it down to one lady that has had positive results with ladies who have long cycles. Not to mention, she was very open and positive about her work. She didn't seem stand-offish like the others and I think the three of us clicked so well.  She says that I should see a difference in 2 months. She went on to tell us about all the success stories that she has had over the last couple of years. I am very confident that she will help get my cycles under control without medication and that hopefully it will help lead to me getting pregnant.

I really am ready to move on and get some answers. I hate being in cycle limbo hell and never knowing what my body may or may not do. The only thing I know for certain, at this moment, is that 2011 has got to be better then 2010.

It's Christmas!!!

It's definitely Christmas in my house! Christmas is my favorite time of year. I love the lights, the shopping, and the gift giving. I love spending time with my family and closest friends. I love the new and old traditions that we honor each and every year. 

There's just one teeny, tiny thing wrong with Christmas in my house. It's the tree. I hate this tree. It's ugly. It was Josh's tree from him previous marriage and bachelor days and he has some weird attachment to it.  I *WILL* be buying a new tree after the holidays when they go on sale. This one just has no meaning to me and our relationship and well, I think it should. I've tried decorating it as best as I could. My poor mother felt bad so she went and bought me a gorgeous angel but the tree is so small that the angel looks ridiculous! It's kinda funny. Anyway, I've got a lot of the presents wrapped but I still have some more things that I need to get and wrap so there will be more! 

The bows my mom made for the stairs and some of the doors.

I made the arrangements. :)

Here's my decorative kitchen towel.

Josh wants to show all of you his stocking. This is his favorite part. 

So, there you have it. Some of my favorite Christmas things in my house. I started with nothing 3 years ago(other than that thing called a tree) but I'm working my way up to having a bunch of Christmas stuff!

New Hair & Christmas Sneak Peek

Yesterday was hair day. Wahoo! I love hair day more than I can explain. There is just something about it that boosts my confidence and makes me feel absolutely beautiful. 

I'm not one for changing my hair too much. I normally just boost my natural color. Bryan, my old pageant guy/hairdresser very rarely tells me what he is actually going to do with my hair. Instead, I sit in the chair and he works his magic. 

I'm now an almost redhead! I love it. I wish it was a little more red though. 

Before- I know I look like a hot mess. Just look at the hair. I took this the night before my appointment.

After- This was taken tonight before dinner.

Today, we decorated for Christmas. I didn't have time to get all the pictures but here's a sneak peek. 

Here's my new wreath on the front door.

And the other sneak peek is the centerpiece on the coffee table in the entertainment room. Any time other than Christmas, this has ivory candles and neutral colored rock in it. 

I will get all the other pictures tomorrow and post them. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Wishful Wednesday

If I had my way, I would have had one of these a long time ago. 

Today, I wish for a 2011 GMC Acadia. 

Josh and I have decided that we will get one probably next year some time but I want it now!