Longwood Gardens

My co-workers and I went to Longwood Gardens on Tuesday night when I got into the PA/DE. They were very beautiful but very COLD! I hope to go again when I'm in PA for Anna's wedding in April.

Here are some pictures....I tried to get some good ones but I'm not the best photographer.

I licked a ninja at the dinner table because I think I need serious help!

I am cleaning out my old emails and came across this one:

Pick the month you were born:
January-------I kicked
February------I loved
March--------I karate chopped
April----------I licked
May----------I jumped on
June----------I smelled
July-----------I did the Macarena With
August--------I had lunch with
September----I danced with
October-------I sang to
November-----I yelled at
December-----I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a snowman
6-------a gangster
7-------my mobile phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbour
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19------ - a smurf
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an iPod
29-------a surfer
30-------a homeless guy
31-------a llama

What is the last number of the year you were born:
1--------- In my car
2 --------- On your car
3 ----------- In a hole
4 ----------- Under your bed
5 ----------- Riding a Mot orcycle
6 --------- sliding down a hill
7 --------- in an elevator
8---------- at the dinner table
9 -------- In line at the bank
0 -------- in your bathroom

Pick the colour of shirt you are wearing:
White---------because I'm cool like that
Black---------because that's how I roll.
Pink-----------because I'm NOT crazy.
Red-----------because the voices told me to.
Blue-----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green---------because I think I need some serious help.
Purple---------because I'm AWESOME!
Gray----------because Big Bird said to and he's my leader.
Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange--------because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown---------because I can.
Other----------because I'm a Ninja!
None----------because I can't control myself!

Soooo....I licked a ninja at the dinner table because I think I need serious help.....

Clotting Disorder...

Wouldn't you know that my doctor's appointment was cancelled for today! Very frustrating. My doctor's office called last week and said that he had some unforeseen events causing him to cancel and that his next available appointment was for February 7th. That is a LONG time from now! When I was talking with the receptionist, I asked her to have a nurse call me because I still didn't know what was "wrong" with me and February 7th was an extremely long time to be in the dark.

I was so thankful when the nurse took time on her Friday afternoon to visit with me about my "disorder". I can't remember what she called it but my Factor VIII level was elevated. Normal was some number up to 158 (sorry, I don't remember the lower number). My number was 168 which is very slightly elevated. She said the reason for my visit was for the Doctor to run more tests to see if there are other "factors" that are playing a role in this. She didn't elaborate what those other factors are but I'm OK with that. Basically, it is a blessing in disguise because had we gone forward with the IVF, there would have been a higher risk for a miscarriage because there isn't a good enough blood flow between me and the embryo/placenta/whatever you call it for it to remain attached to my uterus. If we had not miscarried, there could have been severe damage to the embryo/baby including lower brain development, etc.

I learned that when I am traveling, I need to make sure that I get up and walk around and very often. This includes car rides! I also cannot be on "regular" birth control anymore but the progesterone only birth control. When we do get pregnant, I will most likely need to be on some sort of a blood thinner (she gave the name of the drug but I don't remember).

David and I had a good weekend. We stuck around home on Friday night. I was actually able to stay up until 10 pm that night despite only getting two hours of sleep the night before. Saturday we went to his work Christmas party where he got to go up on stage to get an award for 5 years of service! We also went to my God Daughter's 2nd birthday party which was just a blast! I love that little girl so much. Sunday we went to church and then David took me to Doolittle's for supper to celebrate his 5 years at Swanson's and him getting employee of the month. It was an OK meal. My favorite part was the flight of sparkling wine I got. So yummy! I know what I'll be getting at the next Happy Harry's penny sale!

I'm off to DE this week. I leave tomorrow (Tuesday) but I'm back on Friday morning by 10:30 am. I am really excited to stay in a "real" hotel on Thursday night. I'm staying at the Embassy Suites in Philly so I don't have to get up so early for my 6:10 am flight!

We head to Rugby on Friday night to celebrate Christmas with my family. We're back in time for the kids' Christmas Program at church Sunday night. Tuesday we'll celebrate Christmas by ourselves. I think I'm going to make Suzy's (Tammy's Mom) Peppercorn Ranch Chicken for supper. I can't wait for David to open up his gifts! He actually made a list this year! The on Wednesday morning we will leave for the cities to spend a few days with David's parents. We're also planning to have coffee with Laura (from my Outreach group).

Operation Baby Making: On Hold...

WARNING: Some "foul" language will follow. Not an easy post to make.

I had finally come to a point where I started to talk about having a baby. Like really, really talking about having a baby. As I always say, "I should have known...."

I have always experienced some sense of disappointment when I get excited and look forward to something. And it seems that whenever I allow myself to feel this way, I experience another disappointment. It is SO frustrating!

David and I will not be going through the IVF process next month (or anytime soon for that matter) because my blood sugar has been too high. They are classifying me as a Type II diabetic which really pisses me off. I am disappointed in myself for letting my eating and lack of exercise habits get out of control. I am mad because yet again another factor that has pushed back our IVF cycle was never discussed with me until AFTER it became a problem.

I also have a clotting disorder. I have no idea what this means but I'll find out more during my appointment with the hematologist on Monday (12/13). I don't think it affect our IVF but I'm not getting my hopes up that it won't.

In the midst of all the appointments I had to determine if we could go forward with the IVF, I was even more pissed off because I had to answer the same set of questions four different times in the span of 2 hours. This would normally annoy me but not make me mad. I was mad that day because I had applied for a position with Sanford in their electronic health records department and never heard anything back. I can clearly see an issue in the implementation of their electronic health record system...

Too many people are having babies..which also pisses me off....

We've been going through this process since March. That is an awfully long period of time...I'm quite sick of it. If we don't do the IVF before March, I have to do all of my tests all over again. All the blood work, ultrasounds, etc. This really, really sucks not only for me but our bank account.

My goals are:

• To get through the holiday season by remembering the birth of Jesus as the Reason for the Season. Our God is an awesome God. He has a plan for me...I just need to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
• Not kill anyone that says that they are pregnant (I really am happy for you..I'm just annoyed with my situation).
• Continue to lose weight (my pants are falling off me as it is).
• Join Carbaholic Anonymous (does you think there is such a thing?).