What Would You Do?

OK.  Today I was walking into my coffee place and I am on my way to being late to work.  I got into line (The longest line I’ve ever seen at this particular coffee spot) just behind one woman who was obviously with a group of other women.  So I get in line behind her…and so do the 4 other women with her.  Instead of getting in line behind me, they all gather in line with her.  None of them look at me but instead all start chatting with one another about how late they are and the length of the line.  Uh, yeah. So I left.  Stuff like that drives me crazy.  I need to call Dr. Babymaker today to see if she wants to schedule the endoscopy procedure and if so, when?  Yikes.  

I should have taken a PTO day today.  I am experiencing the worst cramping.  It is bend over, hug your abdomen, and moan kind of cramping.  Yet, I am at work.  I just popped two extra strength Midol but if I don’t feel better by lunch time, I am outa here.  I was not in this much pain during the procedure yesterday or afterwards.  Of course I had jacked myself up on over the counter pain relievers before hand and am pretty tolerant of pain in general.  However, this is just not conducive to doing good work. 

I was watching one of my favorite shows on HGTV last night, House Hunters with Suzanne Whang (pronounced Wong).  I realized that Suzanne is annoying.  Every time she is shown, she cannot talk without wiggling her upper torso.  She doesn’t shake her head, but she shifts her shoulders and upper body all the time when she talks.  I wish I could show you, but you will either have to imagine it or watch the show yourself.  It is highly annoying.  I still love the show though.

So I faxed all the preliminary paperwork to the Big Bank Co lending officer.  We have started down the path to possible home ownership.  Not sure what will happen along the way, but we are not turning back now.  Does anyone know how to get things off your credit report that have already been reconciled/paid off?  There are a couple of things on there that were paid of a couple of years ago and therefore should not be on there anymore but I don’t know who to contact or how to get it corrected.

HSG Report

This is me in the changing room at the imaging center of my hearth care facility. Isn't this an attractive look? What? Don't you take photos of yourself to document your path to parenthood?

It wasn't horrible, but I wouldn't recommend it as a regular extra curricular activity. It was made 100% better by a kind and friendly X-ray tech and my sweet RE, Doctor Babymaker.

I got there about 15 minutes before I was told to be there and taken right back. I had to change into two gowns, one to cover the front and one to cover the back. The X-ray tech was super sweet and took me into the...viewing room, I guess I'll call it. She had me get on the table and then explained the procedure. She asked me if I had taken any pain reliever and I admitted I had, but in anticipation of not getting in right at my set appointment time, I had taken it just before leaving work to get there. She said I should be OK and that while it might not help the discomfort during the procedure, it would most likely help with the cramping that often occurs after.

We chatted a bit while waiting for Dr. Babymaker. She is so sweet. She went over the procedure herself and asked me if I had any questions. I did say that X-ray Techie had mentioned using a larger than normal speculum and that concerned me because of previous issues I've had. She said they would see what sizes they have to work with. She then had me lay back and proceeded to prep me.

I laid on my back with my feet in stirrups. Dr. Babymaker inserted the speculum and then cleaned my hoo haw. That felt weird in that it actually tickeled. She laughed at me giggling from my insane ticklishness. Then she inserted the...tube thingy (I am sure that is the official name of the instrument) and that didn't feel so hot. She mentioned that my uterus is tipped and did I know that. I said I had been told that at my last annual inspection but had otherwise not been aware of that. She said it doesn't make a difference in conceiving but might be an issue in delivering a baby. But first thing is first.

Once she was ready to inject the dye, Dr. Babymaker had X-ray Techie go get the radiologist. Mostly all he did was adjust the x-ray thing so it was positioned directly over my uterus. When Dr. Babymaker injected the dye, it was not a pleasant sensation. In fact, it felt like the beginnings of the worst of my monthly cramps. X-ray Techie held my hand and told me to breath deeply and watch the screen. I did both. I watched the dye move through my uterus into one fallopian tube and then into the other. It took longer to get into the second tube and the discomfort was pronounced. But before I really got too uncomfortable, it was over.

Dr. Babymaker got right to the point. My uterus and tubes look good and all are clear. There are no blockages or stops. That is not to say there is not scaring or issues related to any possible endometriosis, but as far as blockages are concerned, there are none. Dr. Babymaker is going to go over the films more in depth but she said it all looks good. She did say that it looking more and more likely that she will want to do an endoscopy to see what kind, if any, scaring or issues may be occuring from endometreosis. So, yikes! Next up is Bob's appointment with the urologist on the 16th. Oh, and I asked her if the 9 level on my FSH was good and shouldn't it be closer to 7. She said it is good and what she likes to see is an 11 or below. She said 7 is NOT the magic number and I should be happy with the 9. So, go me and go Dr. Babymaker!

X-ray Techie helped me get off the table and sent me into the changing room to get dressed. She gave me a wet washcloth and a towel and a pad. All were needed. I still felt crampy and a little light headed, but was thankful for the whole thing to be done. I cleaned up, got dressed and met X-ray Techie in the hall. She walked me to the exit and told me to make Bob take me to dinner later on.

Once I got home I just rested and Bob took care of me. Not that I really needed it, but I milked it and Bob was more than willing to comply. Hee. While lying on the couch I did manage to make a call to Big Bank Co's mortgage department. The news was not encouraging. We might qualify for an FHA loan but only for $100,000. Do you know what $100,000 can buy you in the Twin Cities? MAYBE a former crack home in the hood. Certainly not a handicapped accessible home with a nice little yard. We could most certainly qualify for another kind of loan with an 80/20 rate but even if we up the cost of the home to $150,000 our payment is close to $1200 per month. Technically we can afford it because our rent plus the 2 car payments we no longer have just about equal that. But still, $150,000 doesn't get you much around here either. I am going to fill out some paperwork tomorrow and fax it in and then we are going to talk to the house guy on Saturday and see where that gets us. The Big Bank Co lenders didn't know of any home buying helps for the handicapped, but maybe the house guy will.

So, encouraging news from Dr. Babymaker but not such encouraging news from Big Bank Co lending. Still, we have been surpised in the past and could still be surprised.

Countdown to the Wand Monkeys

Poor Bob.  He overslept so he missed school today.  So he thought it would be a good time to catch up some on his eBay business…except out DSL is experiencing an outage.  No idea when it will be back on.  He is pulling his hair out in frustration.  The good news is he can now accompany me to my uterine dye test!  Wheeee!  Yeah, that excites him.

I feel like crap today.  I am so tired, still crampy even though my period is done, and just have an overall sense of malaise about me.  I am almost looking forward to the uterine dye test because at least I will be lying down.  Right?  Maybe not.  I don’t know.  I am not so much looking forward to the part about having things in my hoo haw, but if I can catch a cat nap while on the table, that might make it all worth it.

Bob and I are meeting with a guy on Saturday to see if we could in any way qualify for him to build us a home.  This dude and his company specialize in building, not only accessible homes, but barrier free homes.  We don’t need all the bells and whistles at this point, but it would be nice for Bob to not have to just “make due” in his own home.  I emailed this guy yesterday and explained our story and situation.  I asked if it would even be worth it for us at this point to look at one of his homes as an option or if we should just work our way up to that and stick to a condo/townhouse type thing right now.  He emailed back and said he can help us and has helped others in our situation in the past.  So we are meeting with him at 5 on Saturday.  I also emailed Big Bank Co’s company home loan experts to see what we might qualify for.  I got an email back with a phone number I will call after the wand monkeys have their way with me this afternoon.

Only 45 more minutes until I leave work.  Still 2 hours away from my appointment.  I just want it to be done and over with and have the answers I am hoping comes with all of this.

Halfway Through the Week from H--L

So yesterday I rescheduled my Simply to the Table session for later this month.  It usually only takes me an hour and a half, but I was fretting about the paper that is due today but was not even started yet.  The Bob insisted I pick something up for dinner, so I stopped at Byerly’s for some chicken and ‘taters.  While standing in line waiting for someone to help me, I struck up a conversation with the gal next to me and she was so excited to be there.  She said she was in town on business and LOVED Byerly’s.  She said they didn’t have anything like where she is from and she was going to eat there every night this week while she was in town.  Her love for Byerly’s knows no bounds.  I agreed with her that Byerly’s is special and that maybe the only way they could be better is if they had room service.  She laughed, got her meal, and went on her way.

I got home, fed the cats, fed Bob, ate my dinner, and then started browning the onions, garlic, and hamburger for the potluck meal I was making.  While that was browning, I managed to clean out the dishwasher and refill it.  Also, I was the recipient of a fabulous shoulder massage from Bob.  Once the meat was browned and added to the delicious taco soup, I could get down and get busy on my paper.  I worked from 6-9 straight and got a 7 page paper on the history of the church out of it.  I never felt so good after it was done.  I spent from 9-10 just vegging out in front of the TV and hit the hay hard ‘til my alarm startled me awake this morning.

The past 3 mornings I’ve had the worst cramps.  I am in the midst of princess lady time, but I am not sure if these are related cramps.  I am hoping to get some answers about all of this tomorrow during my HSG (uterine dye test).  I am surprised they scheduled it so close to my cycle ending.  I started on Friday and they scheduled me for the following Thursday.  I DO know that extra strength Midol is my new best friend.  I don’t know if these cramps are princess lady time related but they do respond beautifully to the Midol.  What did women do before Midol and Always with wings and tampons?  I don’t want to know.

Bob is coming to work to join me for lunch.  We are having a Tres de Mayo potluck lunch today.  If he didn’t come to lunch, we wouldn’t see each other until 11 tonight and it just gets so hard after 2 days of already not seeing much of each other.  The food from the potluck is cooking away in front of me and smells so good I may just have to dive in early.  Some of the offerings today?  Taco soup with and without meat, chicken enchilada hotdish (why does Microsoft not recognize hotdish as a real word? The programmers must not be from Minnesota),   cheese enchiladas, Mexican rice, refried beans, home made salsa with chips, wild rice and chicken hotdish, taco salad, 7-layer dip, home made guacamole, and some yummy desserts.  Don’t you wish you could be here?

This weekend Bob and I are going to the Festival of Nations.  Bob has never been and I’ve been twice.  Bob is not too sure about going and I am anxious about him having a good time, but he wanted to do something with me this weekend and this is what I want to do.  If you’ve never been, come on down to the St. Paul River Centre.  It’s a fun event that celebrates the heritages of all the nations of the world.  There are booths, crafts, demonstrations, dancing, singing, and food!  One year there were even baby farm animals (Mom on Roof, look out, there may be photos of baby farm animals forthcoming!).  Only 3 more days until sleeping in and the Festival of Nations.  I. Can’t. Wait.

The Breaking Point

Wait.  What is that huge glowing orb in the sky?  It mystifies me as it warms me.  I think I recall seeing this strange phenomenon before, but it’s been so long.  It is so enticing. 

Do you think if you cry when your alarm goes off in the morning, things have reached a breaking point?  Poor Bob.  He wakes up to a sobbing wife and it’s not even 7am.  I just don’t have time to do everything that needs to get done and it’s stressing me out.  I did cancel my make and take session for tonight.  I put together the potluck item I am bringing to my work pot luck tomorrow this morning before I left the house and I rescheduled my counseling session for next week.  That lightens the load a bit but I am still stressed.  Once my paper is written, I think things will be much better.

I received a book in the mail.  I wrote a desperate letter to a healing ministry about two months ago.  This was before I found my counselor and my medicinal center on Celexa.  In response to my letter, they sent a book called, “Empty Womb, Aching Heart”.  I read the back cover before I went to bed and in an almost immediate response, the tears, they did flow.  Thankfully I don’t have time to read that book right now, so it sits on my bedside table until some time opens up.  I will also plan to have a box of tissues handy when I do start reading.

OK, I’m still feeling kind of overwhelmed and stressed.  What can I do?  I know!  I will tell a funny story from my youth.  Here is a humiliating story of how boy crazy I was…and how delusional.  When I was 12 or 13, a new family moved into our neighborhood. They had a cute boy my age and I really liked him.  He was NOT interested in me at all.  So how do you get a boy who shows no interest to show interest?  In my mind, you point him in the right direction.  I decided that a letter written by some older kids in the neighborhood might do the trick.  Everyone knows older kids know everything!  So I “anonymously” wrote a letter from three of the older teenaged girls in our neighborhood.  Then I gave it to this boy and told him that three girls in a convertible dropped it off and told me to give it to him.  Yeah. I know!  I was the butt of many jokes after that. (Well…to be honest, I was the butt of many jokes before that as well, but this definitely didn’t help matters any.)  What did you do when you were young and stupid?

This has been rattling around in my brain for a couple of days but I have to say I do not appreciate the adoption story line on Desperate Housewives.  No wonder adoption is so misunderstood and maligned.  However, on Sunday, when they took Gabby’s baby and gave it to the birth mother, I cried.  I know!  I cried over Desperate Housewives.  But seriously, my heart was breaking for Gabby who had finally just allowed herself to fall in love with something other than herself.  That’s not an excuse for them to continue on this horrendous story line though.

It is Scheduled

Kittens huddling together
Originally uploaded by SunFlowery.

So the HSG (uterine dye test thingy) is scheduled for Thursday at 2:30. I will work until 1:30 and then go sign in and prepare to be scanned. I was told to take an ibuprofen or two beforehand and given a prophylactic prescription for an antibiotic I need to start taking tomorrow. I am not looking forward to the procedure but will be glad to have some answers once it’s done…hopefully.

It is still raining. I have lost count how many days in a row it has been raining. Everything in our office has a damp, limp feel to it. Blech. Tomorrow is finally supposed to be sunny and I can’t wait. I want a nap. I wish I had a chauffer to drive me to school tonight so I could nap in the car. If anyone would ever invent a way to nap at work while still looking like a productive member of the cube-a-trail, I would pay good, cold, hard cash for that. They could make a killing!

When I got to work I had a thank you note from Alexis in my email in-box. How sweet was that? I sent her an actual snail mail thank you card this morning on my way to work. It’s the little things, you know?

I still have kittens on the brain. I just cannot get over how cute baby…anythings are. Don’t you wish sometimes that things would stay small and cute and fuzzy instead of growing up to be big and…large? Anyway, I am glad our cats are fixed and indoor cats because caring for a momma cat and her kittens would do me in, I am sure. But I couldn’t resist posting one more photo of the kittens. Enjoy!

One More With Kittens...Sorry MOR!

This is me and one of my coworker's kittens. These cute little furry beasts are only 3 weeks old. Isn't it cute? Poor Mom-on-Roof. She is powerless against the power of a kitten.

Today was the March of Dimes Walk America here in the Twin Cities. It has not stopped raining in 2 days. Bob and I get to the walk location and found many, many people with umbrellas, tarps, raincoats, and plastic coverings. There were more people than I was expecting. We had a hard time finding the Big Bank Co group but eventually hooked up with them just as the walk started. We walked as a team until we hit the first pit stop. I always end up losing my walking partners at the first pit stop. This year we lost 2 of our team members but the rest of us kept together. The walk was supposed to be a choice of 5 miles or 8 miles. Because of the rain, they kept it at about 4.5 miles. The walk started at 11 and we were done by 12:30 or 1. Because of the rain, it was wham, bam, thank you ma'am, let's go. No lingering, no loitering, no hanging around.

We got home around 2 and after I stripped off my wet clothes, I took to my bed with the heating pad. My female reproductive system was screaming in pain and all I could do to shut it up was pound 2 extra strength Midol and take a nap. An hour later and I was better. After a bowl of home made bean soup and some crusty bad, I was better.

Over all it was a good day. A good day for a walk (if you were a duck), a good day for a nap, a good day for some warm, home made soup, and a good day to finish some homework. Whee!

Sorry no photos from the walk. It was so wet and rainy and we were so intent on walking and getting through the course that I didn't even think to take the camera out. If it had been a nicer day, the walk would have been beautiful! The course was through the Kenwood, Lake of the Isles neighborhoods. It's pretty hoity toity there and everyone has magnificent yards and gardens and homes. (Oh my!)

This next week is looking to be completely crazy. Monday and Wednesday are my class nights. Tuesday night I have to go to Simply To The Table and make this month's meals. Thursday Jennifer Weiner is speaking at a local bookstore and Friday is free! Whee! And sometime this week I have to call and set up my appointment for the doctors to shoot dye into my female parts. Whee again.

What, Me Worry?

If you want to know what I am going to write about, scroll down and read the previous entry. Plus, KITTENS! Aw, so cute!

I don't know what I was worried about! Alexis was awesome and we had a really good chat. She is beautiful and amazing and so cool. We talked about her, her business (I was right, it's her baby and she loves talking about it), and me and Bob. She even hugged me when I left. It was...amazing. I would love to work for her some day. So it turned out just fine.

When I got home, I saw that we have new neighbors moving in. It has not stopped raining all day and these poor people have been moving their possessions in the worst weather. I felt so badly for them. I wanted to meet them. I wanted to do something nice for them. So I ordered them a pizza meal deal from the pizzeria across the street. When it came, they weren't home, so I left it outside their door with a note introducing us. About 20 minutes later, they knocked on our door and introduced themselves. Of course I can't remember their names, but I do know they have a cat named Gypsy. They were super nice and very thankful for a hot meal that didn't need to be cooked. They were wet and cold and hungry and they said a pizza would really hit the spot. I hope they aren't vegitarians because I ordered the meat lovers. Heh.

Hope the rain lets up tomorrow. I don't really want to walk 5 miles in the rain. Oh well. It's better than the 25 degrees and snow that fell last year at this time.

So, over all, a really good day. Woo hoo!

Nerves

I am posting this entry from the Dunn Bros in the North Loop neighborhood. I am a half hour early for an appointment I made with a woman from Lola Red PR agency. I am nervous. I am meeting this woman to discuss her PR agency for a report that's due on Monday. Alexis started her own PR firm 6 years ago. She was just a year out of college and had $1500 from a severance package from being laid off from some big PR agency. Lola Red is small and independent and making it big. Who am I? Some aging chick with an assignment. And yet Alexis agreed to meet me for coffee and a discussion. I dressed up. I'm even wearing makeup and I never wear makeup. What if she hates me? What if I make a fool out of myself? What if I've been "out of it" so long I don't know what to talk about? I don't know what's cool or what's hot. I'm the biggest duffus I know. I don't know what I'm so nervous about. It's not like this is a job interview. I'm just talking to her about her company, which is something I am sure she loves to talk about. Just like parents love to talk about their children. Right? Why am I so nervous? At least I have a yummy latte to take the edge off.

This morning I drove Bob to our friend's chiropractic clinic so he could get his back worked on. While he was doing that, I drove down the street and had my nails done. I haven't had a manicure since our wedding day. Four and a half years is a long time to have raggedy nails, people. Bob doesn't so much like it when I spend money on personal grooming. I think it's because he grew up so poor and it seems like such an indulgence. I understand where he's coming from which is why I color my own hair and only schedule hair appointments every 6 months or so. But a girl can't meet a PR mogul with raggedy nails, now can she? Bob said next time; he will do my nails for me. Ha! I said I don't know when there will be a next time. It's not something I do with any kind of frequency. We just happen to have a little extra in the bank account and $15 is not going to break the bank.

After the nails and the chiropractic appointment, we drove to my co-worker's house. She lives just down the way from where we happened to be. This winter a stray cat adopted her and moved in under the steps in her garage. Three weeks ago, the stray had kittens. She wants me to design a poster with photos so she can give the kittens away. So we went out there so I could take some photos. Unfortunately, most of them are too blurry to use, but MAN are those kittens CUTE! Their little eyes just opened last weekend and they aren't too ambulatory yet, but the cuteness factor of those little kitties is overboard. That's them at the top of this post.

After that, it was time to go home where I did some prep for my meeting with Alexis. Now I am just wasting time until she gets here. Man, I'm nervous! She is all young, downtown, urban hipness and I am all aging, nontraditional student homemaker chick.

Oh, did I happen to mention that I applied for a job in the marketing department of Big Bank Co? This is the marketing department in the insurance department where my current department used to be. We are still in the same building with them, but are completely and totally separated from them now. The woman that would be my boss has been out of town all week. I don't even know if she's seen my resume/application yet. It's a long shot, especially since I don't have my degree yet, but it's what I would like to do, so we'll see. I hate interviewing. I hate changing jobs. But there is really nowhere for me to go in my current position, so here's hoping! I told my boss about it yesterday because I didn't want her to hear it from the grapevine or at the last minute. She seemed genuinely excited for me, so that was good.

Only 10 more minutes until my meeting. Better go over my notes. Wish me luck!

Grey Day

So, my princess lady time is 4 days early.  Wasn’t expecting it.  Wasn’t prepared.  Yet, here she is.  Lovely.  Well, at least now I can call and make an appointment for my uterine dye scan.  Looks like it will be week after next…if there’s a spot available.

Bob hurt his back and is going to see the chiropractor tomorrow.  I had to make the appointment because he just lives with the pain.  He is worried about the appointment with the urologist next month.  He says he’s been experiencing pain in his abdomen but that might be the hernia.  Poor guy.  He’s really been worried about it but hasn’t voiced it much at all.  I hope it’s nothing.  He’s so worried that he started the “no matter what happens” speeches. 

It’s supposed to rain today through Tuesday.  We need the rain, I just don’t like the low temps that go along with the grey skies.

Tomorrow we are running an errand that should make us smile and laugh and bring brightness to an otherwise cloudy time.  More on that in the coming weeks.

Those little sprouts are Bob's morning glories. To say he is proud and excited about these little babies would be an understatement. He can't wait until we can keep the pots outside all the time instead of just in the afternoon.

I am enjoying having flowers to care for as well. My petunias are opening and my geraniums are just lovely. I am loving this gardening thing.

This has been the longest week ever. I can't believe it's only Thursday. I've been able to keep up on homework for both the classes I'm taking right now. But work has been crazy and there is more homework piling up. Work is crazy because we are rolling out new paperwork for all of our thousands of bankers. We had temps doing most of the heavy lifting on that project. However there was other stuff left over and that went to me. Yesterday it was my job to clean and organize our storage room. I actually didn't mind that since I LOVE to organize. Today my job consisted of alphabetizing hundreds of boxes of business cards, first by state and then by banker last name. Fun! Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Maybe I will actually get to do my actual job.

Saturday I am going to the farmer's market for the first time since I moved here 8 years ago. I can't wait. I am going with a formar co-worker that I've recently developed a renewed aquaintence. We were supposed to go walking tonight but I had to go to the grocery store after work and Bob was complaining that he hadn't seen mme all week. So, we will meet at the FM on Saturday.

Sunday is the March of Dimes Walk America. I only ended up raising $75, but it's $75 that is going towards a great cause. I ordered a large button to wear on the walk. It features a photo of Aidyn and says, "I am walking for my great niece". It's supposed to rain tomorrow and Saturday but Sunday should be nice. That's a relief because last year's walk was on May 1st and featured temps in the middle 20's and snow.

The rest of the weekend features homework and something fun that Bob and I are going to keep to ourselves for a few weeks.

Loving This Beautiful Spring Weekend

The photo at left is one of the geraniums I planted today. Along with geraniums, I planted pansies and petunias. I have some beautiful window box-type things with the coconut husk bottoms. I'll take a photo and share later. Bob planted morning glories and a wildflower mix, but his are in seed form planed in pots. We bring them in during the night but will be able to leave them out after mother's day. We LOVE flowers.

Yesterday I met some girlfriends for coffee and chatting. We ended up staying for 4 hours! It was nice to catch up and spend some time with the girls. We all have our stuggles and it's good to have someone to help bear up under them.

After coffee, Bob and I went on a date to Chili's for lunch. It was nice until a party of 5 adults and what seemed like a dozen little boys ages 8-12 showed up. They seated them right next to us and the boys were telling "your mom is so..." jokes which morphed into young boy sex and bodily function jokes. Not great for the appetite. We left Chili's and went to Wally World where we picked up some personal toiletries and the aforementioned pots and window boxes. after Wally World, it was home to do homework and housework.

Today Bob was in great pain and hadn't slept well the night before so he slept in and I did more homework and more domestic stuff. I made an egg bake for breakfast, put a roast in the crockpot for supper, and washed all the dishes.

Once Bob woke up, I made him coffee and heated up some egg bake for breakfast. Then we went to the flower place to get some flowers. the day started out cool, but by the time we got to the flower place, it was over 70. We meandered around, looking for flowers and trying to pick just a few out of the miriad of gorgeous flora available. At the checkout line, Bob saw a $5 bill and pointed it out to me to pick up. We asked everyone around us if it was theirs and all answered no. So we kept it and decided to stop at Dairy Queen on the way home.

When we got to Dairy Queen, we were just behind an entire baseball team. That was OK by me since the day was so gorgeous, it meant spending more time outside. We took our treats to the creekside to eat. We watched the little boys from the baseball team try to throw one another into the creek. After a while they got bored with that and just started heaving large rocks in to splash one another. As we left, Bob noticed a Porsch Boxster convertable parked in the only other handicapped space available. Nothing gets his ire up than people who don't need it, using the handicapped spaces. He used our cell and called the local police to report it. They took the info and said they would send a squad. They called us back to say the Porsche owner had a handicapped tag, it just wasn't displayed. We just think he has friends in high places.

The rest of the day was spent planting flowers and seeds, finishing homework, and just enjoying the end of a relaxing and beautiful weekend. I hope my flowers grow and bloom and stay beautiful. I've never had flowers before and am not sure what to expect. I know to keep them watered and fertilized, but beyond that, I am not sure. My potted tulips are done blooming. I snipped off the flowers but I do not know what to do with the bulbs now. So far, they are still planted in the pot. I also need to buy one more pot or box. My eyes were bigger than my planters and I have 3 little flowers still to plant. I just have to say there is nothing better than blogging from the patio. I am loving this spring.

Aidyn

Aidyn
Originally uploaded by SunFlowery.

Did you know that premature birth is the leading cause of new born death in the first month of life? It affects 1,305 babies a day in the United States. That`s 1 in every 8 babies born. Those who survive may have lifelong health problems. And premature births are on the rise -- up to 27% since 1981.

My great niece Aidyn was one of those babies. She was born at least 6 weeks early and weighed only 3 lbs. She spent a total of 16 days in the NICU undergoing phototherapy for jaundice and spent her days in an incubator to help her maintain her body temperature. Thankfully Aidyn is doing well now. She is home and is a beautiful, growing, 7 week old infant who now weighs more than 6 lbs!

Other babies aren`t as lucky as Aidyn and won`t survive or could have health problems that could last a lifetime. The funds we raise in WalkAmerica support research that help save babies` like my great niece.

That is why I am asking you to support me in March of Dimes WalkAmerica. Because premature birth can happen to any pregnant woman. In nearly half the cases, the causes are unknown. The March of Dimes is leading the way to find answers by supporting research into the causes of premature birth. I am joining the fight, and so can you.

Your support helps fund:
-Research into stress and other factors that may trigger preterm labor.
-Programs to educate pregnant women to recognize the warning signs of preterm labor.
-Tools to help health care providers find better ways to detect women who may be at risk for preterm labor.

Please join in and help fight prematurity. Visit my webpage and sponsor me in the Walk that saves babies! I am walking for Aidyn and babies like her. My personal web page address for donations is....
http://www.walkamerica.org/amiebea


Thank You!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

My class last night was awesome!  Another classmate from my cohort is joining me in making up this class, so I didn’t feel so weird and lonely.  I did have a lovely surprise in that a former student from the youth group I used to lead was also in the class.  I didn’t recognize him at first since it’s been seven or eight years since I last saw him.  It does my heart good to see these students years later and see that they are such good people, upstanding adults, and have hearts for God.  He is finishing his degree in psychology because he wants to be a marriage and family counselor.  My parents knew/know his parents and I knew him before he was in the youth group.  He was kind of a squirrelly kid but has grown into a fine young man.

Today we had a staff meeting because my boss’s boss’s boss was in town to cheer the troops.  I stopped listening after the 7^th corporate speak word.  I also started taking notes but only writing down each corporate buzz word as it was uttered by the half-dozen or so managers present.  The following were mentioned several times.  I wish I had but tick marks next to each one as well. 1.) Profitability, 2.) Skills set, 3.) Market share, 4.) Strategy,  5.) Recognition, 6.) Management recognizes this, 7.) Product set, 8.) Model, 9.) Corporate model, 10.) Primary Functions, 11.) Structure, 12.) Art of Possible.  There was more but that’s all I could stomach.  Bah!

There is a new guy at work that is a little annoying.  Someone filled our 3 coffee pots with warm soapy water and it appeared they were soaking them because of all the yucky coffee crud on the bottom of each pot.  This guy complained that he couldn’t make coffee because of this.  More than one of us told him he was more than welcome to dump the water and clean out the pots and make his coffee since we didn’t have anyone assigned to make and/or care for the coffee.  He said he would just do without and wait until someone else washed them out.  He added that he isn’t the office gopher/coffee maker.  Puh.  I bet he’s waiting for one of the women to do it.

It’s been raining/hailing on and off all day.  It was colder than it has been and now it’s grey and dreary and at least we are getting the rain we need.

Last night I tried to call a friend of mine on my cell phone.  First I tried her at home and a young girl answered.  I asked for my friend and she said, “who?”  I repeated myself and she said no one was there by that name.  Mind you the number is programmed into my cell phone and I’ve called her lots of times before.  I tried her on her cell and some guy named Mark answered and said he did not know anyone named Deb and this had been his cell number for quite a while.  Same thing.  The number has been programmed in our cell for a good long time.  How does this happen?  I emailed her this morning at work and she said she hadn’t changed any of her numbers.  I will have to reprogram them.  Weird.

Bob's Diagnosis

My RE (reproductive endocrinologist)’s office called with the results of Bob’s semen analysis.  They want to see at least 20 million in the supplied sample.  Bob had 181 million.  The want 50% or more to be moving.  Bob had 45%, a little on the low side.  They want at least 30% to look normal (heads and tails intact etc).  Bob had 32%. So other than the low movers, Bob looks good right?  Wrong.  They found white blood cells in his sample.  I don’t know how many they found, but they referred Bob to a urologist for further tests.  Of course I Googled “white blood cells in semen” and everything that comes up talks of male infertility and something called Leukocytospermia which is typically the result of a genital tract infection.  The nurse made it sound like something men over 40 are prone to.  Dr. Google made it sound like something promiscuous men contract as a result of an STD.  Who to believe?  I guess we will get Bob into the urologist’s office and see what they can come up with. The earliest appointment they had was May 16^th, so we have to wait until then.  I still have to schedule my HSG (tubal dye study…or what I call the uterine dye test) and have to wait until my next Princess Lady time to schedule it.

The nurse did say that based on the results of the tests that have come back, my doctor already recommends that I go on a low dose of Clomid and that we inseminate.  I know I said in the past that I didn’t want to take drugs or go the insemination or IVF route and that if it came to that, we would count on adoption to build our family.  What I didn’t count on is how strongly I want to be pregnant.  I really want to experience a baby growing inside of me and delivering said baby.  It is such a deep longing and yearning and I wasn’t prepared for that.  I still want to build a family through adoption but not exclusively.  To me, a child is a child is a child.  I wasn’t prepared to feel so strongly about experiencing pregnancy and delivery first hand. 

Cold Weather Coming

A Beautiful Bud
Originally uploaded by SunFlowery.

So by all accounts the weather here is not supposed to stay as beautiful as it's been. Good thing I didn't buy all the gardening stuff I was salivating over this weekend. The front bringing the snow over the plains is only going to bring us rain, but it's going to feel like so much winter after this lovely spring. Bob and I went for a walk tonight and leaves, flowers, buds, and blossoms are busting out all over. I am loving it.

Today wasn't so bad at work. By all accounts, tomorrow is going to be hellacious though. It looks like I will be working late tomorrow. I like the overtime and miss the 80-90 hours I had in overtime by this time last year. I am so looking forward to the tax time rush being over.

Hey, what's the deal with Subway's replaying of their late 80's commercial with the Square Pegs-like chicks? Did Jared die? Why the recycled material? It's not even that great of a commercial. I hated it then and it hasn't matured well with age at all.

Wednesday night I start a new class. I am taking the class that I withdrew from last month. It means I will be doubled up for a while, but it also means I can graduate on time with the rest of my class. Another classmate from my cohort is also taking that class so I won't be going it alone and that makes all the difference.

I hope Bob and I can manage to move out of our apartment into a house this October. The element they have allowed to move in here over the winter is really kind of creeping me out. There is a large group of guys standing outside our apartment in the parking lot right now. They are just standing there being loud and obnoxious. Maybe this happened before and we just didn't know it because our apartment was farther away, but I don't think so.

In my last post I didn't mean to imply that all bratty kids are the product of bratty parents. I guess I was painting with a broad brush. We live in kind of a hoity area and we often see made up moms acting hoity towards those they might view as "the help" and I guess I just projected that attitude on this young girl. It's possible that she comes from a lovely family and is just a bratty kid. I was just amazed that someone so young could be so incredebly self absorbed and bratty. I hope she has to work in some kind of customer service job some day. Of course YOUR kids are beautiful, talented, amazing, kind, and generous.

Spring Time in Minnesota

Tree Budding
Originally uploaded by SunFlowery.

Happy Easter! Happy Spring! Today started out cool, rainy, and cloudy. But the end of the day was so worth waiting for. It became sunny, warm, and spectacular. Everything a spring day on Easter should be. On the way to church we noticed that all the trees are full of buds and leaves. It is greening up and is just spectacular. The tree in the photo above is just outside our apartment. The birds hang out in it all day long. In the morning they sing from it and the cats love to watch them from the windows and bedroom balcony.

This weekend was wonderful, if busy. Friday was a low key night. I picked up a papa murphy's pizza and we both went to bed early. I had to work on Saturday. Before I got there, I stopped at Caribou for some chai. There were 4 high school girls ahead of me. They all ordered oreo snowdrifts. They got their orders and started for the door. The alpha teen girl took a sip of her drink, stopped, and marched back to the barista who made it. She declared that it had no taste whatsoever and demanded that he remake it and this time he needs to make it stronger. He apologized and asked what the problem was and she repeated that it had no taste and he needed to make it again only this time stonger. She was a total snot about it. She didn't ask nicely and she didn't say please or thank you. She treated the barista as though he were a lower life form than she and acted as though it were his station in life to bow to her whims. He was gracious, kind, apologetic and never once treated her badly. He was so far above her, he could see the part in her hair. I could see that she learned her behavior somewhere...probably from her mom. After I got my chai, I left and the guy in front of me dropped his large coffee on the ground right in front of me. Poor guy.

I only had to work for 3 hours. Me and my boss and 3 others were there as well. We got most of what needed to be done done in 3 hours. We are ready for tomorrow...tax day.

After work, I ran some errands. I went to Wally world to get some East basket supplies and checked out their garden center. I don't want to plant anything yet because while the weather here has been phenominal, it can easily change. But I saw some things I would like to plant next month. I found some lovely bleeding hearts that would look nice in a pot on our north balcony. I found some lovely geraniums and other sun loving flowering plants that would look nice on our west facing balcony. Finally, I found some great tomato plants that I would like to pot and plant as well. Yay!

After Wally world I picked up some dinner fixings to grill out. I got some brats, a simple pasta salad and some green salad fixings. I also picked up a bottle of beer and some eggs and dyes.

When I got home I cleaned and set up the egg dying stuff. I cleaned the grill and cat boxes. Then I turned on the grill to get it hot for the brats. Bob started dying the eggs and once I thought the grill was hot enough, I went to put the brats on the grill. It was out. I tried lighting it again but no luck. We can't be out of gas. We only used it once last year. I think there may be a leak in the line. I had to grill the brats on our indoor grill and it smoked up our whole house. But dinner was yummy nonetheless. After dinner, I cleaned up and helped Bob dye the rest of the eggs.

Today was church, but before that I made an egg bake for Easter breakfast, put supper in the crockpot, cut Bob's hair, and other sundry chores.

Church was excellent. We couldn't stay after and chat as we had a date with my grandma for lunch. We sceedaddled to meet her. We got to her building and went up to get her. Her apartment is cute. It's smaller than I first thought, but now that she's all settled, it looks great. She has a nice East facing view and it's bright and airy.

We left for lunch at Baker's Square and suprisingly, it wasn't busy at all. Everyone must be at the Easter buffets. We had a nice lunch, with pie, of course. Afterwards we went back to her place where she gave us a tour and then we went back up to her apartment to chat. We ended up leaving around 5 or so.

The rest of the evening was spent in low key ways. Bob wrote an appeal letter to his life insurance company and I chatted on the phone with my folks and some friends. Oh! Also, a house went up for sale down the street from us. It's a rambler and is kind of outside our price range except that it features an apartment in the walkout basement. It could work if we found the right renters at the right price. We would have to see the house from the inside first, though to see if Bob's chair would work. Sometimes older ramblers have really narrow doorways and halls. So, we will see. I think our financing comes back this week. After that we will see what we can afford.

Overall it was a peaceful, productive weekend. It was lovely.

Big Green Eyes

Big Green Eyes
Originally uploaded by SunFlowery.

Maisey, up close in the outdoors. I love her green eyes and whiskers.

Tax Time is Taxing Me

Tulip S
Originally uploaded by SunFlowery.

I had it coming and going at work today. Why is it when you're given a deadline the only thing I can count on from my coworkers is more work and more interruptions. Today was high stress and we haven't hit the high tax day time yet. Plus I have bankers calling me all the time wondering why they haven't received credit for the annuity they sold. Stop calling me and let me work, would'ja? Sheesh!

Bob is still whining about having to give his sample yesterday. I am grateful he did it, but I haven't been very sympathetic. I told him my tests are far more invasive and possibly painful. He said he felt for sure that everyone was smirking at him when he came out. I assured him that wasn't the case and even if they did know what he was doing in the bathroom, it wasn't like he was visiting a library or nursery school. He was at a sperm bank/reproductive lab for heaven's sake. I did manage to show him how very grateful I am and apologized for being so cold, but I still say his job was the easiest. Sheesh. Men are babies.

Oh, a friend emailed to ask about the boudior photos and what would happen if they did fall into enemy hands. First of all I doubt that will happen since Bob hid them in the deepest darkest recesses of...even I don't know. But if they did get out, I would be embarassed, but not mortified. While I was nude, I wasn't showing any naughty bits. My arms were covering my chest and my legs were crossed. I am of the firm belief that what you can't see can be sexier than showing everything off. So, if they fell into enemy hands, it would be embarassing for sure but not the end of the world. Mostly because I don't really like my body and am embarassed by the bumps and lumps. But Bob likes it, so hence the photos.

Speaking of friends...Hey Jen G! Do you still read this? Do you get the USF Cross Section school magazine? This month they focus on international adoption and we know everyone they profile! The Brenner family, Cindy Cummins, Steve Williams and his wife, and even Kirby and Nancy and Beth Jernberg have adopted! It was an awesome section and makes me want to contact them and pick their brains on the costs, highs, and lows. I can photocopy it for ya if you are interested.

Speaking of friends again...what is the story with people in Minnesota? It seems like everyone who grew up here still has all their friends from grade school. It makes it hard to make new friends as an outsider because everyone already has all the friends they need. It makes me miss all the friends I had in grade school in South St. Paul. I wish I knew what happened to Julie, Susan, Jeffrey, and Paul. Not to mention the neighbor girls from across the street, Barb, Jill, Kathy, and Jenny.

Tomorrow is going to be a difficult day at work. Not as difficult as Monday and Tuesday, but still...We were getting 25+ faxes an hour during the afternoon. Should be interesting to say the least. My boss told me to get there early, expect to take a half hour lunch and work late. Are they bringing in lunch? Nope. A little lunch would be nice, but oh well. It's to be expected. Actually as much as I want to complain, I really shouldn't. We are no where near as busy as we were last year and last year was slower than the year before. This time last year I'd already logged about 60 hours in over time. This year? None so far. So really, I think it's going to be OK. Just wake me when it's May.

Welcome Spring!

Shy Tulip
Originally uploaded by SunFlowery.

Sorry I've been away so long. This time of year is crazy busy at work and it leaves little time for extras. Also, I started class again and am working on homework for that.

Since I last wrote lots has happened. Here is the catch up post.

Friday and Saturday I attended my church's womens conference. I was originally looking forward to it until Friday arrived. Then I wished I didn't have to go. It ended up being a very beneficial time and I think some healing occured in my heart. I realized that in my hurting heart, I have withdrawn from my church. I worked through some of that and feel a lot better about going to church. I took a bunch of photos which you can see if you click the Flickr badge. I even connected and reconnected with some women there and that felt good as well. I miss having girlfriends. I commuted to and from the event with one gal and had good talks with her each time. I also set up a time to get together with three other gals for coffee next weekend. Over all it was a good time and I am glad I went.

Sunday was Palm Sunday and both Bob and I made it to church and it was awesome. It is such a blessing to have a place to go every Sunday where we feel part of a family.

We picked up lunch on the way home from church and then I loaded up all our laundry and my schoolwork and went to the laundromat. We had 8 large loads and it took me 3 hours to do all the laundry. By the time it was done, I didn't feel like cooking, so I picked up dinner too. Good thing we made some money when we sold Bob's truck.

Bob was asked to speak to a men's group before they head to a larger men's breakfast. He was speaking to one of the Metro Mobility drivers and this guy remembered him and his positive attitude and called him up. Bob is excited about this. He has also been helping out the local MDA with some fundraising and networking. On Thursdays and Fridays, he has class. Since getting the van, he is a guy on the move.

Monday was a new class. This one is public relations. I really liked the first class. It doesn't seem like it's going to be too labor intensive so I think I am going to double up and take the class from which I withdrew last month at the same time. That way I can just be done in November. Whoot!

Oh! I forgot. On Saturday night Bob was at his sister's house visiting our nephew. I got home from the women's retreat and used the time to do something a tad unorthodox. I used the self timer function on our camera and took boudiour (not sure how to spell that) photos of myself for Bob. I printed them out and put them in a small photo album and gave it to him on Sunday. He LOVED it! He is paranoid about someone finding it, but he LOVED it nonetheless. Hee.

Bob finally made it to the place where he gave his sperm sample. It turns out he was in and out (ha!) in record time and it wasn't a big (ha!) deal after all. Not that it was his favorite thing to do, but at least it's done. Finally! Now all that's left to do is my uterine dye test next month and then we might have some answers. Or not. Who knows.

Ever since the women's conference, I have been feeling better. I think the 3 good cries I had and the resulting healing really helped. It doesn't hurt that it's spring and the weather has been beautiful and warm. We sleep with the sliding glass doors open and the cats are LOVING it! I also finally picked up my bike and am looking forward to taking a nice bike ride this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend, I may have to work on Saturday since it's tax day on Monday. We have no realy Easter plans other than maybe bringing my grandma to church and dinner after. If her sons make plans with her then we are on our own. I should really get something from the store to cook at home just in case. We don't have any easter basket stuff and have not colored eggs this year. Don't know if we will, but we have other years.

The photo at the top of this post is of a tulip plant I bought at Wal-Mart for $5. I bought the one plant that hadn't yet opened up. 24 hours later, they are in full bloom and are just gorgeous. I love me some tulips. I hope I can use the bulbs for future years. Happy Spring!

Maisey's Shadow

Maisey's Shadow
Originally uploaded by SunFlowery.

Maisey is enjoying the warm, spring weather. She has been outside on her harness every day this week. She is getting used to the new apartment location and is exploring new territory. Her favorite place so far is under the balcony. She also likes to sit under the mature pine tree right next to our balcony.

An Update...Finally!

So where was I?

I stayed home from work on Tuesday.  Still felt yucky and truthfully I think it was princess time related.  This brings me back to my high school days where I would miss a day or two every month because of my stinking period.  I was better by Wednesday and have been even better every day since.  I hate using that as an excuse to miss work/school.  Just because I’m a girl.  Bah!  I should be tougher than that and yet…not so much.

I did get in to the RE’s (reproductive endocrinologist) office to give my day three blood.  No big deal.  I was in and out in less than 5 minutes.  I got my results today, not that they mean a lot to me right now.  I need to talk with Dr. Google to really see what they mean, I think.  My thyroid level was a 2.08, my Pro…something was 5.3, my FSH which is the follicle stimulating hormone was 9.5, and my EST…something was 50.  The nurse said they were all in the normal range but she didn’t quantify/qualify high or low normals.  I do know that a low FSH level is good and I think I read somewhere that it should be near 7 for optimum results.  Bob’s appointment with the analyst is Wednesday at 2.  Hopefully, he will make this appointment…I can only hope and pray.  I was supposed to call and schedule the uterine dye test for right after my princess time, but I can’t take any more time off this month, especially with tax time just a week away.  So, I will have to wait until after princess time next month for that one.

I also met with my counselor for the first time.  It was nice, but the first time usually is.  Mostly I just filled out forms and answered questions and scheduled an appointment for next week.  She seems very kind and gentle and has a philosophy that I steer my own therapy and she will help.  Sounds good to me.  Of course, the day before my appointment I felt so good that I wanted to cancel.  That always happens to me.  I didn’t, and I will continue to go for a while.  Sometimes it just helps to have someone listen me.

Tonight and tomorrow night I will be at a woman’s conference at my church.  I was looking forward to it…last week.  Today, not so much.  I hope it’s not too emotional.   I will judge the whole thing by tonight and if it’s not good, I won’t end up going tomorrow.  I do look forward to seeing some of my church friends and getting some face time with them during the breaks.  It’s one of my friend’s birthdays today and I got her a little something to celebrate.  She’s had a very difficult year, so I hope this makes her smile.

Bob is still sad over the loss of Honor.  He talked to someone at the service dog office and they told him they retired her and now she is at the farm of her puppy raisers, enjoying all farm life has to offer a dog.  We tend to be kind of skeptical about that…it sounds too much like what parents tell their kids when they put the family dog down.  They did leave the door open for him to have another dog and really wanted him to foster a dog this weekend but he just can’t right now.  He DOES need to see his doctor though because since the fall he has been having some vision and memory problems.  I am making an appointment for him for next week.  He found out that he doesn’t need hernia surgery right away.  The doctor said surgery is risky for him because of his neuromuscular disorder and medical history, so they are going to have him wait 3 months and then re-evaluate from there.  Poor baby.

Work is getting crazier right now and while things aren’t as busy as they were last year or the year before, they are picking up.  I miss the overtime I had last year.  That helps pad the paycheck.

So, that’s the update.  Oh, and Kathy, I am sorry about the crack about 40 sounding old.  I just meant that it sounded old to be getting a first tattoo.  Speaking of sounding old, while I was at the MDA Black and Blue Ball on Saturday getting my temporary tattoo, I told the chick to put it somewhere that would be fun for my husband to discover.  She laughed and said her mom works at a nursing home and told her a story about a woman who dropped cookies down her blouse and when her mom tried to clean her up, the old woman laughed and said her husband Earl would help her get them out later.  Then the tattoo chick laughed at the crazy old woman and said, “I mean, she was OLD!  She had to be at least…60!”  Wow!  60?  Yeah, that IS old!  Heh.

Amys Tattoo

Amys Tattoo
Originally uploaded by SunFlowery.

I am home sick today. I actually went to work at 7, but felt too crappy to stay, so I finished what I could and came home. Not sure what it is, but I feel freezing cold, queasy, and light headed. Better to spend the day blogging in bed than at work with my head on my desk all day.

The photo above is from the MDA Black and Blue Ball Saturday night. It's a temporary tatoo but Bob thinks it's sexy, so I might consider getting a real one some day. Maybe for my fortieth birthday. Geez, that sounds old.

This weekend was good. We sold the truck Friday night and had big euphoria about that. I talked on the phone to my dad and nephews for a bit as well. Friday nights tend to be pretty low key for us and this one was no exception.

I was looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday but it must not have been in the cards. I woke up at 6:30 and could not get back to sleep. So I got up and balanced the checkbook and paid a bunch of bills. Woot! Then I ran a bunch of errands. It was supposed to be the day we gathered Bob's sample, but he wasn't feeling good, so I let him sleep while I went out and about.

I went to the bank and deposited the money we got for the truck. I went to the post office and picked up a roll of stamps and mailed some more thank you cards to people who donated to the van fund. I stopped by a local salon and made an appointment for later to have my brows waxed and hair cut. I stopped at Goodwill and dropped off a bag of clothes. Man, was that line long! Everyone must be doing their spring cleaning and getting rid of everything. After that I had some lunch and bought some new hair color. I wanted to color my hair before my appointment and boy, am I glad I did!

I hate getting my hair cut. Actually, I like the act of getting my hair cut but since I moved here, I have not been able to find anyone I like and trust to cut my hair. The last gal to cut it made fun of my self colored hair. I just can't afford to have it professionally done every 6-8 weeks so I do it myself. This new gal actually complimented me on the color and said it was a good one for me. She kept saying that throughout the appointment. Another thing I hate about getting my hair cut is the small talk. I am trusting this person to cut my hair and yet I don't know them. If they don't talk to me, am I supposed to talk to them? This gal was pretty good. She asked me questions like, "Are you married?", "How did you meet your husband?", and "Do you have kids?". So that was OK. I asked her the same and we did OK. Part of the problem was that she is obviously from another country and English is her second language so at times there was a language barrier, which made some conversations awkward. But over all I think she did a great job and I would not be adverse to seeing her again.

After the hair and brow beautifying, I bought Bob some lunch and headed for home. While he ate, I went about beautifying myself some more for the Black and Blue Ball.

The Black and Blue Ball is one of MDA's biggest fundraisers. It's in conjunction with Harley Davidson so you get a nice mix of bikers and bankers. The bikers wear black leather and blue jeans and the bankers wear suits and ties and such. The biker babes wear leather and the banker babes wear ball gowns or fancy dresses. There is a silent auction, a live auction, and fun stations throughout that accept donations for services. That's how I ended up with a temporary tattoo. We had a great time, as we always do at MDA events.

The event started at 6 and we were there around that time. The first 2 hours were kind of a happy hour/mingling/silent auction bidding time with a cash bar and free martinis. I'd never had a martini so I thought I would try one. They had cosmos and appletinis so I chose a cosmo. It was OK, but I had an empty stomach and felt the effects pretty quickly. I had to sit down for about 30 minutes and let the booze wear off. I laughingly joked with an MDA worker about how they had planned the event to get everyone drunk before dinner so the bidding went higher.

Dinner was good. They served a nice white fish and beef tips with a sweet potato cake. Dessert was creme brulee and it was my first ever. I have to say, yum! I had an appletini after dinner and liked it better than the cosmo. I did better booze-wise too.

The live auction went fast and then they brought out the band. Bob and I shook our booties on the dance floor for the first time since he was put in the wheelchair. At first he was afraid and wouldn't dance, but the music proved too much for him and soon he was out there jamming on the one. During the slow dances, I sat on his lap as he rolled around and it was better than when he danced on two legs.

Overall it was great evening and we had a blast. I can't wait until next year.

Sunday was low key. We had church in the morning, went out to lunch with friends after, and then home for a nap. Pretty much that was our day.

Bob is doing better regarding his decision to not have Honor come home. He really feels like it's the right thing to do because he can't take having her taken from him again. He has a consultation this morning for surgery. He has a hernia and it needs to be fixed. Hopefully they can get him in soon as it's been giving him some problems.

I have my third day blood draw on Wednesday and need to make an appointment for the uterine dye test for sometime next week. We will try and get Bob to give his sample this Saturday.

Right now I feel a nap calling me. Hopefully I will feel less queasy after I sleep.