Rain, Rain, Go Away

It is a rainy, dreary day here.  I am preparing for my first test of my nerves as it looks like the first thunderstorm since the one that caught our house on fire might be coming through the area tonight.  I have been anxious about this day for a long time.  I have always HATED storms and never sleep well during one.  I am still working out my fear of another fire (which many tell me I will always have) and tonight will be the first real test of my fear.  I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!  :-)

I've been swamped at work this week.  I guess that is payback for me being off a few days and for having one of my doctors out a full week.  It's been a L-O-N-G week!  Only two more days until the WEEKEND!   I am already thinking of things that we need to get done!  

I should be getting the results of my bloodwork soon.  I am praying for it to show what we think it will so we will at least have a cause for my problems.  I promise I will share more when I get a definite diagnosis.

So, who is watching DWTS?  I missed the first two weeks due to getting ready to move and then not having cable last week.  However, I caught up over the weekend with last weeks episode and then watching this week. 

 I am LOVING Melissa from the bachelor and Lawrence Taylor (I ALWAYS love the football star)!  Who do you love?

PLEASE continue to pray for Baby Stellan.  He took a turn for the worst today, but is doing better now.  He needs our prayers in a big way!

Just Another Manic Monday

Whew!  Today was a busy day!  Since I was out Friday I had some paperwork and some messages to work on this morning which always take up a lot of my time.  Then, we had one of the busiest days in Dr. Smith's office we have had possibly EVER!  He has been told that he can never leave town again!  Haha!  It was CRAZY times!  The good news is my back/neck pain is almost gone, but I am planning on changing clothes and then crashing on the couch with either Logan's takeout or a pizza, which ever one Michael shows up with.  Ha!

I am officially becoming a blogger user instead of a mac.com blogger.  I am back on my mac, but I LOVE blogger soooooooo much more!  Look for me to buy a domain soon.  You'll of course still be able to access this page through the current address, but since it is no longer a temporary home, I thought I would celebrate us being back in our permanent home by renaming it with it's own domain!  I am also in the process of starting a new recipe blog!  I have moved over a few of my recipes from the mac site.  Check it out!  I plan to add to it as I try new, yummy things!

Well, that is about it for this Manic Monday!  Hope you all had a great day!

EDIT:  Please be praying for Baby Stellan.  If you are unfamiliar with his story please click on his name to read his story.  He is a miracle baby, similar to Harper and Brayden and he could sure use your prayers tonight!

Weekend Wrap Up

I Hope everyone enjoyed the first weekend of Spring as much as we did!  It has been a busy weekend, but still great to spend it in our house!

Friday, the direct tv guy was here from 8:30-2:30 (apparently we had a bad dish, so it took longer than it should, whatever) so I only got a few things accomplished.  That night we went down the street to our regular Mexican restaurant, yum!  Saturday I spent most the morning going to Hobby Lobby, Sam's, and Walmart.  I baked and cleaned house in the afternoon because we grilled out and had our friends Rodney and Sarah over last night!  I made Kelly's double chocolate gooey butter cake and it is unbelievably good!!!!  I have some left over, so I'll bring those to work tomorrow.

I got a few cute things at Hobby Lobby yesterday.

I got this pretty lamp for my guest bathroom

This red lamp for my wine cabinet

Is this not the CUTEST egg plate ever?!

Today we've just been kind of lazy.  It is nice to just lie around!  I have somehow hurt my neck and upper back, so I am just taking it easy on the couch.  However, we did have this exciting thing happen this morning!  Santa, I mean Sears, brought my new washer and dryer!!!!!!  Yes, I am FINALLY enjoying doing my laundry and yes, there is laundry going in this picture!  Ha!

I wish I had a pic of my OLD washer and dryer to show it, but just imagine your Grandparent's set!  Yes, it was a 1979 Kenmore!  Haha!

Next, I have a question for you.  If you have hardwood floors, what is your cleaning routine and what product do you use?  I am having a hard time keeping mine clean (I know that is just part of having a new house and dark floors).  So, PLEASE give me some advice!

Go Mocs Part II

Ok, so they didn't win (or even come close for that matter!), but just to give you a little taste of my school, here is our most famous alumni (well, other than Terrell Owens) to introduce Jimmy Fallon to our mascot. Don't lie, you know you are jealous that Mr. Belding is my fellow alum! Haha!

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Happy Spring!

Spencer says "Happy Spring!"  God knew what He was doing when He made Spring!  It is so beautiful with trees and flowers blooming, warmer and longer days, and green grass.  Today is the beginning of Spring, which is the season of new beginnings.  I don't think there has ever been anything so true!   We have said from the beginning of the house ordeal that when we got back in our house it would be a new beginning.  Our house would be new again, we would start TTC again (well, as soon as ALL the bloodwork comes back) and find a new church.  Well, guess what, we are back in our house, getting settled, hoping to start visiting churches soon and SPRING HAS SPRUNG!  

Spencer and I have already been outside playing ball and enjoying a pretty Spring day.  I had to take off from work today to meet with the insurance adjuster this morning (that was fun, let me tell you!), and to be here for some repair people to look at our electronics.  This afternoon I am planning on making a trip to Target to make some returns of things I thought I would need, but turns out I didn't and to Sam's and Walmart to get some groceries.  It is shaping up to be a beautiful weekend!  We have a lot to do around the house.  We have to do some serious landscaping from where everyone has trampled all of our shrubs and mow the yard (as if you can't tell from the picture! Ha!).  Hopefully we can make some progress to have the outside looking as nice as it did before.  The inside sure does look better, might as well improve what we can outside!

Have a Great Weekend!

PS: I almost forgot!  Congratulations to Kelly on your new beginning!  You officially have my dream job!  I wish you and your adorable little coworker all the best!  :-)

Go Mocs!

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As a proud alumni, I just had to post this video!  Jimmy Fallon has selected my alma mater, UT Chattanooga as his March Madness team!  Too bad they aren't the best out there, but who cares, it is pretty awesome anyway!  Haha!

Praise For Our Blessings

Kelly has asked everyone to share a few of the things that we give PRAISE for.  I really don't think I could have asked for a better post for today!  Wonderful Wednesday really doesn't cut it today!  

PRAISE:  We are in our house and getting settled!  Here are some pictures I took quickly this afternoon.  It is N

O WHERE near completed as far as being settled (like most of my window coverings or pictures are not hung), but you'll get the idea!

Living Room, notice my furniture showed up yesterday!  Ignore the extra floor lamp, it is moving to our home office soon!  :-)  Also, look who is HAPPY to be home and playing away!

The kitchen.  It is a little cluttered right now.  I usually don't have the candle, dishtowel, or coffee maker out!  

Our Bedroom.  I am in love with the way this turned out.  Now if only I could get Michael to hang my brown curtains!

PRAISE:  We might have a cause for my recurrent miscarriages!!!!!  I was having a feel sorry for myself afternoon (which usually happens when I am not busy seeing patients, just something about that time of day) and my OB office called and my bloodwork was back a week earlier than we thought!  GOD has some good timing!  :-)  Something did show up on my bloodwork and I go back tomorrow for a redraw.  I actually want it to be correct so that it can be treated (it is something that is easily treatable) and we can move on.

PRAISE:  SPRING IS HERE!  It is 72 degrees outside and not a cloud in sight!  It makes me excited to get outside this weekend and do some yard work!  Ha!

PRAISE:  I was sooooooo worried about Spencer and my parents dog, Beasley when we took Spencer home.  They had become doggie BFFs and I was so sad to take Spencer.  However, after four days, Spencer seem so be doing pretty well.

What about you?  What are you Praising GOD for today?

There Is No Place Like Home

There is not a more true statement than that! When you are homeless for three months and you get to move back in, it is truly the best feeling in the world.

I'm sorry for being MIA for awhile, but we have been so BUSY trying to get everything ready, moved, and settled. We also have not had internet until today. This is also my first day back to work and I am swamped, but I'll give you a quick recap.

Thursday we had the all clear to start moving in. Everything was completed and ready to move in!!!!!! We finished one day ahead of schedule and technically one week ahead if you look at the original time line! DSI (the company hired for our moving and storage by the insurance co) pulled in at 9:30 and started unloading. We realized pretty quickly that it was going to be quite an ordeal! We have found a few broken things and a lot of our furniture has scratches on it, but I must say that I am EXTREMELY grateful to just have our belongings and furniture! The boxes are quite random, so we have just spent the past four days just opening them up, running to Goodwill, and then bringing in to the house what we need. We still have a garage FULL of boxes waiting on another Goodwill run or to be put in the attic or garbage.

Our living room furniture also had to be returned to the DSI storage place for cleaning. Somehow, they FORGOT to clean it (imagine a moldy ashtray!)! We are hoping to see it arrive sometime today. I do not have any good pics yet since we are not settled. I PROMISE to post some soon!

Thank you all for the thoughts, prayers, emails, and everything else you have all done for us since December 10. We love you all and there is no way to repay you for all that you've done. There will be thank you notes soon, but I just haven't got around to that yet. I promise, we have not forgotten a single one of you! :-)

Happy 60th Birthday!

Today was the 60th Birthday of one of the surgeons I work for. Our MA, Shelly and I spent some time this morning decorating the office and his office and then this afternoon we had a party while he saw patients. Here are some pictures from his party!

Happy Birthday Dr. Barker!

The Guest of Honor!

The.Best.Cake.EVER!

House Update

There will be a lot of house updates this week, but this is the latest. Today, the hardwood was finished, granite was installed, and we are on track to move in on FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!

Our living room/foyer! I LOVE the green with the dark hardwood (please excuse my dust!)!

Kitchen is almost finished! The backsplash will be done tomorrow!!!!!

Candles Anyone?

In everything that has gone on I've never told you about my hobby. I sell Gold Canyon candles as a hobby, but unfortunately with car sales the way they are right now, I am having to sale them to help pay the bills! They come with my personal guarantee that you WILL love them more than anyother candle you've ever had! Every candle with the exception on some specialty and 5oz candles have two wicks to burn evenly. They last a LONG time. I have a couple of Christmas candles that I have burned for about 3 Christmas seasons now!

If anyone is interested, go to my website and take a look. I promise that you will NOT be disappointed! :-) If you order anything it will come directly to you within two weeks, most of the time within 10 days! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at AJLedford@mac.com.

Fabulous Friday

Yay for Friday!!!! I am spending my day working on FMLA forms, charts for next Monday and Tuesday, and cleaning my office. I can't believe how dusty it gets over just a few days! Yuck! With it being Friday, it also means that it is only a week or so from our completion date!!!!!!! We went to the house last night and it was wonderful being able to actually turn on or off a light! We haven't done that since we went to bed the night before the fire! Just yesterday, the remainder of our light fixtures/fans were hung, cabinets are in and on the wall, closet organizer systems are in place, all the damaged vinyl has been replaced, and now we are just waiting on hardwood, countertops, carpet, and plumbing. You know, all the pretty stuff to make it complete!!!! So, barring any major crisis or catastrophe (and we do tend to have a lot of those! ha!), we should be complete next Friday at the latest!!!!

Speaking of crisis, let me update on you on light fixture crisis '09. My builder went by the lighting store and they actually had ONE and only one of our foyer fixtures in stock! So, obviously I told him to go ahead and pick it up! Then there is the issue of my beautiful, most favorite fixture in the dining room. We have found a way to rig it up and it will be usable. So, that was the end of my mini crisis of the week! :-)

I will be posting some pictures this weekend to show our end of week progress. Hopefully, but not likely, we will have countertops today. I am not really looking for them until Monday though.

Hope everyone has a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Midweek House Update

I started feeling better around 2, so I went and met my builder to discuss the next week of building and got the best news yet (well, other than my girly parts are ok!), we WILL be back in sometime the week of March 16!!!!!!!!! PTL!!!!!!!!!! While I was there, the electrician was finishing up, the granite guy came to measure for the countertops, and the tile guy came to replace the few broken tiles!

I was able to get some better pics today with my big camera.

Look what came home today...my cabinets! Oh how I've missed you! The glass door and molding around the top should show up soon.

I had them change the light kit on my fan to one of the old ones that were on the damaged fans. Much better! I always hated the one I had before.

And since everyday has to have a little crisis, here is today's crisis. I am a little sad about this. My two favorite fixtures I had in my house, my dining room fixture (shown above, please excuse the electrician's ladder) and my foyer fixture are causing problems. First, the foyer fixture is MIA. The last time we saw it, it had been removed by the fire department (yes, they really did remove it and we LOVE them for all the time they spent making sure everything was safe!) and laid on the floor in our office. Well, the insurance people came, packed everything up, moved it all to storage, and as of today, has no clue what they did with it. Beautiful foyer fixture, please come home, I love you and miss you!!! Then there is the case of the fixture that I fell in love with so much, it made me want to buy the house (well, not entirely, but it did help persuade me!). When the electrician hung it he could not get the bottom piece back on. It is warped and probably won't go back together. The sad part of this story, it is no longer available. :-( I am still hoping for a light fixture miracle and that it can be rigged up!

I didn't get a picture of this room Monday, but this is our home office/boy nursery. I love how the crown molding and dark paint just pop! GORGEOUS! (in my opinion anyway!)

Wonderful Wednesday!

Today is one of the best days I have had in a LONG time (at least so far at 11:30 am!)! Here is a few reasons why:

No, this isn't me, but this is what I had done this morning. I went to my OB's office for a procedure under ultrasound that would show if I had any anatomical problems with my uterus, tubes, or ovaries. It was very uncomfortable, well, ok, it just flat out hurts, and still does two and a half hours later! The OB dilates your cervix and inserts a catheter to fill your uterus and tubes with saline. After it is injected, he watches the screen to see the flow of the saline. My uterus looked perfect, tubes are wide open to let a little egg travel, and my ovaries looked great! So, what's next you may ask? After a pretty lenghty conversation, it was decided to draw a few more labs and wait for those to come back in two to three weeks. If those are normal, I am back into the swing of things. If not, we fix the problem and then start again! So regardless, I should be back to babymaking by May if not April!!!! We are going to do a few new things when the time does come that we are pregnant again. I am to start taking progesterone the day I get a positive pregnancy test and call his office immediately. We will get beta HCGs and ultrasounds from 4 weeks on. He has promised me he will do everything in his power to keep me from having another miscarriage. That is all I need to hear!

Thank you all for praying for my OB decision back in October. It was such a hard thing to do, as I really did LOVE my old OB, but she didn't specialize in infertility and her staff just wasn't the right fit for me. This OB is FABULOUS and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE his nurses. So, thank you God for putting me in the right place at the right time to get encouraged to see him. He has made all the difference in the world in my attitude right now!

The next thing is too cool! Last night I had a comment from a girl that is not only moving to my area, but DOWN THE STREET!!!!! How exciting is that?! The funniest part of the story is that she found me through Kelly's blog. It just makes me laugh that neighbors found each other through a blog of a girl ten hours away! Ha! Brittney, if you read this, email me, I tried to email you, but I don't think it went through. I want to get to know you better! I promise I am not a weird stalker! :-)

In a couple of hours after I start to feel better (they said I should feel better in a few hours), I am going to run to my house to look at our light fixtures and cabinets, which should all be there by afternoon!!!! PTL, we are still ahead of schedule!!!!! I'll post some pictures when they are all installed. I'll also bring my better camera today and try to get some better paint pictures.

Bachelor Finale Recap

All I can say is "WHAT IS HE THINKING????!!!!"

What did you think? I'll post another post tomorrow to follow up on part 2!

UPDATE: I seriously could not have written this any better myself, but this is what my good friend Lauren had to say.

Paint Makes Me Happy!

Today is the day I've been waiting for the last few weeks! The day the painters came and essentially painted the entire house in one day! There is only one thing I am going to have them do differently, but otherwise I AM IN LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I am going to list the colors because I had a hard time finding pics of the colors I liked and at least now it may helps others! Ha!)

Living Room, SW Tansy Green

The room that is quickly becoming my favorite, the kitchen, SW Nuthatch (this is not as dark as it looks in pictures)

Dining Room, also SW Nuthatch

Please excuse my mess! They are using our bedroom as storage! The ceiling in our room is the only thing we are having changed. They painted the inside part blue and we wanted it white. The walls are SW stream.

Our bathroom (yes, that is a toilet in the center of the room! ha!). SW Brevity Brown (which we used in both bathrooms, master ceiling, and both extra bedrooms).

My future little girl room! I can't wait to accessorize this room in pink and green, but for the time being it will have white and green accents.

Sorry that the picture quality is so poor, not sure what that is about. :-( Anyway, that concludes our tour for today! Hopefully by the end of the week you can see our light fixtures and kitchen complete!

Weekend Wrapup

The Ledfords had a great weekend! They are almost done painting, which I will take pictures of tomorrow. I decided to wait until it was finished to take pictures so you can get the full effect, and we are about two days ahead of the timeline I was given two weeks ago! God is so good! I talked with our builder today and he expects painting to be done tomorrow with maybe some touch ups on Tuesday, cabinets set on Tuesday, lighting hung and countertops in by the end of the week or first of next!!!! Hardwood, carpet, and plumbing will be all that will be left except a few minor things that we are doing extra! I am getting so excited!


We went today and picked out our ceiling fans and hung out with a good friend this afternoon at Fox and Hound. I love Sundays since it is the only day we are both off from work and we get to spend the entire day just hanging out together. It is always a good day! :-)


So, be sure to come by Life With The Ledfords tomorrow night to see pics of our paint! Can you tell that I am SUPER excited?!?! Ha!

Saturday Surprise!

I just had the best surprise today! I went by my house a few minutes ago and what did I see...two painters and a lovely green foyer and living room!!!!!!!! I didn't think they would be working this weekend, so I had not anticipated seeing any wall color until Monday. WRONG! I'll try to go by tomorrow with a camera and get some pictures for you!


I also got my ivory canisters today! Thanks Mom!!!! I decided that I couldn't beat the fact that they were regularly as expensive as the red ones, but on a HUGE sale, so I went ahead and got them. I LOVE them! I can't wait to see them on my pretty countertops!


It has been a gloomy, rainy day here. Michael and I will probably spend the night eating in, but may go out for a little while just to get out of the house (it gets a little old sitting in our one room every night!). Have a great rest of the weekend!

Thankful Thursday

I know it has been awhile and I have so much to be thankful for, so Thankful Thursday is back!

I am so thankful that our house is moving along so fast. We've only been in the rebuild stage for about a month, but we already have sheetrock up and finished and the trim should be finished today. I went by yesterday and let me tell you, you have never seen sheetrock, doors, crown molding, and baseboards as pretty as when you still picture them as either warpped, completely gone, or hanging off the wall! It is the prettiest thing I have ever seen (and I've been around building all my life, so the building process is nothing new to me, I've seen my share of new sheetrock!). I am so excited because we are still on track for mid March, that is only about 3 weeks away!!!!!! Please continue to pray that we get to move the week of March 16. I will only have one doctor in town that week, so it would be a great week for me to take off. The next week would be complete chaos!

I am also soooooooooo thankful that Baby Harper and Baby Brayden are doing so well!!!! This is truly an answer to so many prayers.

The other thing going on in our lives is that we have been struggling lately due to the economy and that NO ONE and I mean NO ONE is buying cars. Well, this week Michael has already sold three!!!!!!! Please pray that he continues to sale so that we can at least pay our bills! :-)

Last Canister Question...I Promise!

Won't you be glad when I finally decide on some canisters? Ha! Anyway, look what I found on clearance at JCPenney (my favorite home store, can't beat the prices!).

No, they aren't red, but they would still look good with my dark granite and brown walls, but what about the fact I have a red stand mixer and red/brown french chef decor? What do my blog girls think? Yes or No?

Canisters and the Bachelor

For those of you who asked, the canisters I found are here. The reviews say they are a little small for everyday use, but I am just going to use them for decoration more than anything. I usually just keep my flour, sugar, tea, and coffee in the pantry anyway.


Next, for more important business! I have to sadly admit that I did not watch the bachelor last night. GASP! I know, it is a reality tv sin, but I had to pick Michael up from work (long story) and by the time I got home it was late. So, here is the deal, I need you girls to fill me in! Tell me what happened. I heard at work that it looks like Jillian will be the next bachelorette. What do you think? Also, it is less than one week now until the finale, so go ahead and make your guess as to who will win!


Hope everyone had a good day! I am having some pain tonight so I am going to get in bed and try to get some sleep before a busy day tomorrow.

Monday, Need I Say More?!

It has just been one of those days and I am so glad it is over. I have been a bad blogger lately and not taken very many pictures, but we had a pretty busy weekend. Friday night we just stayed home and ate a pizza and watched some tv. Saturday while Michael worked, I went to Hobby Lobby, Steinmart, and Target looking at various things I need for the house. I found a great deal on a coverlet and shams for our extra bedroom at Steinmart. It is a bright green with chocolate brown shams to go with the dark chocolate bedroom and white sheers. I can't wait to see it all together! That night we went to Murfreesboro (about two hours away) to visit our friends, the Fletchers. We hated to only get to stay about 18 hours, but we still had a great time! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures. :-( However, Dawson is seriously the cutest, happiest baby I have EVER been around. I just love him, but maybe I am partial! :-)

On our way home last night we stopped in at the house for this weeks update. The sheetrock is finished and now they are starting the trim! It won't be too long once they start painting next week! Here is a pic from yesterday.

Thanks for all the comments on the canisters! I did however, decide to pass up the $150 set, (yes, you read that right) and go with these economy canisters! :-) I can still dream though!

I forgot to tell you all last week, but I did get excused from jury duty! YAY!!!! Now, I am all set for my procedure on March 4, one week from Wednesday!!!!! So, hopefully we will start getting some answers on why we are having so much trouble.

Today, I have had a crazy busy day. Hope the rest of the week calms down a little bit! Ha! Hope everyone else is having a great day!

Waiting Is The Hardest Part

My theme right now is waiting. I am waiting on my house to be done, for the tests to be completed so we can TTC again, and waiting on the economy to turn around so that people will be buying cars again. I have thought a lot about waiting this week while I have sat up at night not feeling well. This poem was in my book, Hannah's Hope. It spoke to me when I read it and it made me think tonight when I read it again.

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate...
and the Master so gently said,"Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!"
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I relate
hangs in the balance and you tell me to Wait?
"I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign.
Or even a 'no,' to which I'll resign.

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply.

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
as my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
and grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting...for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine...
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
you'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
when darkness and silence are all you can see.

You'd never experience the fullness of love
when the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
the faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

You'd never know should your pain quickly flee,
what it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
but oh, the loss if I lost what I'm doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
that the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still "WAIT".

- Russell Kelfer

I am In Love and Must Have...

I am in love, but I am afraid I might have to rob a bank to have them! Are these not beautiful?!!!! There are even shown on the same countertops I am getting!!! They would look so good with my red mixer, red salt and pepper mills, and can opener! I wonder if new, red canisters are considered such an emergency to dip into savings?! Ha!

Any ideas on where I might could find these cheaper than ebay, stores found on google, Hobby Lobby, or Steinmart (all the places I've looked, but either couldn't find them or couldn't afford them)?

Wonderful Wednesday

Wonderful Wednesday just took on a whole new meaning today! I just received an email from my builder that we should be in our house by the middle of March!!!!!!!! I have not heard that good of news in a LONG TIME! He has made my day! This is my email from him:

"We will finish the drywall hopefully this friday
Feb. 23-27 interior trim
Mar. 2-6 paint 3 days, then set cabinets, hardwood, final trim
Mar. 9-14 plumbing, light fixtures, H/Vac
Mar 16-20 carpet, final painting, clean"

I hope he knows that yes, I may be picky, but I love him and he has made my day! :-)

I did not make it to the gym this morning. Cycle 12 is here and that is ok, we are not currently TTC since we are waiting on our tests and trying to get back in the house. We are also going to back off for summer. I think we are going to take a big trip and enjoy our time on the boat and if it happens, great, if not, we'll get aggressive again in the fall. However, I feel terrible today. My endometriosis has flared up and I am in a lot of pain. I was up almost all night hanging out with my heating pad in the recliner. After today or tomorrow, it will go away and I will feel better. Hopefully I'll make it tomorrow morning.

Bachelor Recap Week #7

Well, I think it is week 7! Ha!

Anyway! This week was my favorite episode this season! I really did like all three, but as the episode went on, I really felt like Molly would be the one going home. I was really surprised in the end.

What did everyone think about the dates? I thought it was tacky for Jillian to keep asking him if he could handle her all night! Again girls, lets at least TRY to look classy! I wasn't too sure about Molly giving him a list of questions and I don't think she should have given him the fantasy card. Come on, you know you are going to get one, everyone does! I do have to say yay for her for bungee jumping. I would have been cut right then and there! That is one activity I CANNOT do! I can't even ride a roller coaster I am so afraid of heights! Ha! I am still LOVING Melissa. I did feel like she was trying to hard with trying to explain what happened with her hometown date.

So, what is everyone's thoughts? What are your predictions now? I am still going with Melissa.

DIET UPDATE: I made it to the gym AGAIN!!!!!!!! Woohoo! Two days in a row!!!!!

Monday

I have decided that since this is not only my blog, but my online journal, I would document my mission to lose thirty pounds. Today started the operation get skinny. I started the day at 6am at the gym where I ran for almost 3 miles on the elliptical. It felt great when I got done to know that I did that for myself. I am also trying to cut back on my snacking and trying to drink more water. Lets see what happens!


I also went to my primary care doctor today for the first time in over two years (oops!). My OB wanted me to go to get a physical just so we can say that I have done that. I am also going back on some medication that I haven't taken in awhile due to TTC that should help me lose a little weight (it always suppressed my appetite).


After I saw the Dr, I went to my house and much to my surprise, all the walls had been taped up and mudded to finish the sheetrock!!!!! I am praying that it won't be long now!!!!!


Hope everyone had an equally good day. I am in my pjs and ready to watch the Bachelor!

Weekend Wrapup and House Update

UPDATE: Thank you all so much for the sweet, encouraging comments. You girls are the best!!!! :-)


I did go out and run some errands yesterday. First, I went to mail a letter to try to postpone jury duty for at least three months, considering I am not currently living in my state and that I do not feel "emotionally equipped". Given all that has gone on and the fact that my HSG is the same day as my jury duty, I KNOW I could not give all that I should to serving as a juror. I don't mind doing it, but right now, I just don't think I am the best person for the job. Second, I went to buy a cute pair of black dress shoes for Valentine's Day! :-)

We did got to Chop House last night. Thank the Lord we had reservations! The wait was three hours without reservations!!!! Can you imagine?! Here we are all dressed up and ready to go!

Today we went by the house so Michael could see all of our pretty sheetrock (seriously, until your ceilings are caving in and there are no walls, you have never seen such a pretty site!). Here is how our house looks after week 4 of the rebuild! This weeks agenda is to finish the sheetrock to be ready for paint by next Monday!!!!!

Today has been a hard day. Sometimes I just have to remind myself of Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Days like today I wonder, why me, why do I not have a beautiful baby and why am I not sitting on my couch in MY living room with that baby? I HATE asking why, I know I am not supposed to, but there are days it is so hard. It is days like today that I wonder when it will ever be my turn. Will I ever just spend the day admiring my beautiful baby in our pjs on the couch? I am sad tonight and praying for all of us in this journey together. I know there are so many of us out there. We WILL have our baby one day, it just may not be on OUR time, but it WILL be on HIS time!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sorry I went missing again this week! Things are just busy at work and at home and there just isn't enough time in the day to blog! Wednesday I went to work out at 6 am and by the time I got home at 6 pm, I was worn out! I also had to give my final selections on paint to the builder that night. I ended up changing somethings, and you'll see soon what I did! :-) Thursday, I had a busy day at work and left a little early so I could run by the house to see if any sheetrock was hung. Surprise, it was all hung!!!!!!!! We have walls and ceilings again!!!!!!! Then we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Chili's, to celebrate! I could eat Chili's chips and salsa every meal, every day! YUM! Last night we went to Taco Mac with a friend and by the time we got home, I was in bed, asleep! By Friday night, I am so tired from the week, all I want to do is go to sleep!

Today, I need to run a few errands and then we have reservations at Chop House at 8. I have always pretty much hated Valentine's Day. It never failed in high school, I either didn't have a boyfriend at the time, or I didn't get any flowers. It was just depressing! Ha! Michael isn't a big fan of the day either (I'm sure most guys aren't), so we don't get too excited about the day. We don't do gifts for each other on Valentine's, just a nice dinner out. With a bottle of wine! :-)

Hope Everyone has a GREAT Valentine's Day!

Happy Birthday and Two Month Anniversary

Today was my Dad's 56th Birthday, so Michael and I took my parents out to a restaurant in Cleveland (about 45 mins away) that serves wild game type meat (don't worry, I had fillet!). It was a lot of fun and my dad loved his wild game sampler platter.

My parents

When I saw this picture I realized where I need to be and FAST...the gym! So, my plans are to go at 6:00 tomorrow morning. Boating season will be here before I know it! AHHHHHH!!!!!

Today also marks the two month anniversary of our fire. Everyday things are getting closer and closer to being done. I am starting to get really excited to see everything complete and to have our house just the way we want it. If only I could chose my chocolate brown and light blue color. We would be ready! My OCD has kicked in so bad with paint. I know exactly what I want, but afraid that it won't look like it does on the card when it is on the wall. STRESS!!!! :-)

WEDNESDAY AM UPDATE: I made it! I went to the gym this morning at 6am!!!! I ran on the elliptical for 30 minutes. Now, will this continue tomorrow? Stay tuned!

Bachelor Recap Week #6

Since we had a hour delay getting to see the Bachelor I have to disclose at the beginning of this blog, that I missed the last home visit, but woke up during the rose ceremony! Does the President not know what comes on TV on Monday night?!!!

I love the home visit episodes. They are my favorite other than the fantasy date one (which appears to FINALLY be the DeAnna episode). My favorite family was Molly's family (other than the crazy hat box thing). I still can't believe the whole dead dove thing at Naomi's family. I knew she was going home, so I don't think that is why she went home, but it sure didn't help! Jillian's family was ok, but I think she will be the next one gone. I hate I missed Melissa's hometown visit, even though her parents weren't on there. I still LOVE her! However, from the previews, I think she better start opening up more!

Ok, what did you girls think? Who are you seeing as the final two and who do you think will be the winner? I still say Molly and Melissa, but it is a toss up right now as to who wins (although Melissa is still my favorite!).

Decisions, Decisions

Yesterday Michael and I each left work around lunch and went to the granite store and the hardwood store and made our final selections!

We have selected brazilian uba tuba granite for our countertops that looks like this:

For our hardwood we chose a dark brown oak called java (similar to this):

We also went to the lighting store and finalized our selection there. It will all be similar to what we already had. No big changes there. For dinner we decided to try Sugar's Ribs downtown. YUM!!!! That is all that can be said to describe that place! If you live anywhere near Chattanooga and haven't tried it, run, don't walk, and go tonight!

Today I went to the paint store to have them mix a sample of the green that I am thinking about painting the living room, foyer, and hallway. In case you've ever wondered what a severly OCD person does when it is time to pick paint, this is it:

What do you think? You won't hurt my feelings, but I want input!

Here are the latest pics of our house!!!!

Can't wait for next weekend's update! There should be some sheetrock then!!!! :-)

One Fabulous Friday

Sorry I've been MIA for the past couple of days. I have been busy at work and actually caught up for once and trying to make some final decisions on the house at night. It has been a great couple of days.

Wednesday we got the best news we have had in a LONG time. The house will be ready at most in 5 weeks!!!!!! That is only 35 days!!!!!!!! However, since things are moving so fast, we have to hurry and select everything. So, this afternoon Michael and I are both leaving work at lunch to go look at granite, hardwood, and lighting. I am getting so excited! I can't wait to be back in my house, organized and decorate, and just sit on the patio! It won't be long now!!!! We will be going by the house today and I'll take some pictures. You won't believe how much has been done this week!

Yesterday we all got great news when Baby Harper went home after spending 20 days in NICU!!!!!!!!! I have never been so happy for a family as I was for them yesterday! I hope they are doing well today and that they had a good first night at home. :-)

This morning I went to my OB for my follow up. Everything is looking good and my HCG is back to zero, which is awesome because it took almost 6 weeks last time, so that is half the time! I love my OB more and more each time I see him. First, I never have to wait, and he seems to understand my situation. Today he said something that I have never had a dr tell me and it made me so happy to hear. He said that he knows that it is hard for me to deal with everyone around me having babies, coming in his office, or when someone asks about it. He takes so much time and really tries to understand how I feel. That is a lot more than I can say for my old OB, and she was a woman! Anyway, we are starting my workup on March 4 with an ultrasound with dye injected to check for any uterine problems. If that doesn't show anything, then we move onto genetic testing if I choose to do so. Yes, I will choose to do that. I am not comfortable trying again until we have a cause for all of this.

Be sure to check in tonight for pics of the house and maybe some pics of some of what we select this afternoon! Oh, and I am super excited because since it is Friday and I don't have patients today, I got to wear my super adorable purple ballet flats (my most favorite shoes!)!!!

Bachelor Recap Week #5

Last night was the best episode yet, in my opinion. I loved the date with Melissa. She is just too cute! I love her. I think she would be the best mommy for Ty. Not to mention I could just see her putting him in some precious argyle and monograms! Ha!

What about the radio date? That was strange. The whole lets blindfold you and let them kiss you thing was disturbing. I thought Jillian came across a little trashy on that one!

I am now thinking Melissa and Molly are in the lead after Stephanie got sent packing. I have to admit that blew my mind! I really expected to see her in the finale.

Ok, now lets discuss. Tell me what you thought! When do you think DeAnna will be back? I'm starting to wonder if they cut that out????

Slow Sunday Equals Random Facts

We still aren't sure what we are doing for the Super Bowl. Probably just going to sit somewhere. None of our friends are having a party and since we can't host one, we are lost! Ha! Anyway, this is how our entire weekend has gone. We started a movie and fell asleep on Friday night around 10:30 and yesterday we picked out some hardwood and granite (although, not a final decision) and ate some Thai. Today, no clue, so I thought that since I spent an unreasonable amount of time working on my 25 Random Facts for Facebook, I'd post them here too!

1. I have situs inversus, meaning my internal organs are on the opposite side from where they are supposed to be. It is really cool until you have your gallbladder out and your boss, the surgeon has never done a left sided gallbladder! (Just kidding Dr. Smith!) :-)

2. I have always hated being an only child. It gets very lonely.

3. I have severe OCD. If you don't believe me, come to my office and see my lovely color coded call schedules!

4. My house has been struck by lightning and caught fire. How many people do you know who can say that?

5. I love having a clean house, but hate cleaning it. There is just too many other things to do.
Unfortunately, I still have to devote an entire Saturday to it twice a month.

6. I am becoming desperate for a baby. We've been trying to have one for almost a year and a half with two losses, it is not as easy as everyone tells you it will be.

7. On the same note number 6, I have the most spoiled dog ever. He is my baby and that is why he is so loved!

8. I have naturally curly hair, but it doesn't look good on me (in my opinion), so I flatiron it every day.

9. I was deathly afriad of dogs and cats until I was 9 and my parents brought home a cocker spaniel puppy for me. I instantly loved him and had him for 13 years.

10. My husband is my best friend and I can't imagine my life without him. (I love you!)

11. I love my job. I honestly believe I have the most fun job out there. I love the two surgeons I work for and my coworkers. They are the best and will do anything for you. (refer to number 1)

12. I am obsessed with decorating my house. I start buying Christmas decorations in August!

13. I always have my camera in my purse. I LOVE to document everything.

14. I have a very sad need to always please everyone around me. It tends to stress me out and when I do let someone down, I get upset.

15. I spent a year planning the best wedding I've ever been to, but now it is only a blur!

16. I miss my college friends. They helped define who I am and I never see them.

17. I have an addiction to Starbucks. I have a favorite for every season. Again, very sad!

18. I LOVE monograms and unique things.

19. I have always been told that I am a very positive person. I find that it is much easier to be happy and positive than sad. With infertility you cannot let yourself get down, you would never get back up.

20. I met my husband on a blind date! Trust your friends, go on blind dates! They work!

21. I could live on desserts! There isn't much in the way of sweets I don't like!

22. I love that my husband tries to make me happy and keep me going when I get down.

23. I miss the way my Nana used to be. Dementia is a terrible thing.

24. I never go anywhere without makeup. If you see me without makeup, know that I must feel terrible and be on the verge of death!

25. I was on tv when I was 1 day old! News Channel9 did a story on babies and chose me out of the nursery! It was my 15 minutes of fame! Ha!