Must...Have...Antioxidants

In the chocolate form, of course. I'm not sure what has happened to me the past 2 years, because in my life up until then--I was not a chocolate addict. And I was PROUD to be a woman who didn't "NEED" chocolate to stay sane. It was actually kind of funny because my husband LOVES chocolate, but I was a take-it-or-leave-it sort of person. I'm here to say that things have changed. I have accepted chocolate. We are good friends. Today I was chatting with my SIL online and she mentioned something about having s'mores on Valentine's Day. Hmmm, chocolate + marshmallow (marshmallow IS my all-time favorite sweet treat) = yummy! My favorite candy of all time is the SCOTCHMALLOW made by Sees candy. www.sees.com
See photo:

Um, yeah. It's way good. Marshmallow, caramel + dark chocolate. Sheer bliss. However, today during my antioxidant crisis I didn't have these nearby--rarely do I ever get this sweet treat--so I settled for actually making a s'more. I am steering away from sugar in all forms, however, right before "that time of the month" if I don't give in a little--I feel like I'm going to EXPLODE! Anyone have a similiar experience???

Well, I found out what I have: pneumonia. Yeah, no wonder I don't feel so good. So I'm on some pills, trying to relax and let my body heal. (I'm sure those s'mores will speed up the process)

Fertility update: no blood today. Hopefully it won't return until after I've finished taking the progesterone. :)

Do you like my new & improved blog setting? I was needing a little change. Pink is a funny color. I used to loathe it, but it's kind of growing on me...we'll try this pastel pink with brown template for a little while. It's nice to know that I can always change it up if I feel so inclined.

Tyler went grocery shopping again for me today. He said that doing things for me is a way he can show me that he loves me. Isn't he sweet? I'm so lucky to have him. :)

1001 Ways To Be Romantic

Have you read this book? I have read most of it. (yes a book that I have actually read out of!!) It has so many good ideas on how to be romantic. I personally do not think it is fair for women to expect men to be romantic and shower them with romance--and then not feel they should do the same for men. There's no reason why women can't share the romance--especially since we already know how we want it to be done, whereas our poor husbands don't really know where to begin...why not show them by example?? Well, if you're short on ideas--find this book, or something like it, and you'll be set for "the most romantic day of the year!"

Well, I may feel very romantic, but my mortal shell is still quite sick. I may have to seek professional help to overcome this one...although I am hoping that my natural methods will pull me through as in times past.

Do you ever say things that are completely misunderstood? I have come to the conclusion that I am a lousy communicator. I do not communicate very well. It is hard for me to convert my thoughts/feelings/emotions into words. And when I attempt to do it--many times they are not received in the way that I had intended them to be understood. I feel like Moses...I need a spokesperson! Where's my "Aaron?" Anyhow, about once year I get in a situation where I have not been understood and someone has been upset about it. Yes, I know that it's only february of this year, but it's already happened, so I guess I shouldn't talk to anyone until next january to keep my once a year record a reality. *sigh*

Around 11am Anna began asking me when we were going to make lunch. I told her that it was "only 11" and that her bus wouldn't be here for another 1 1/2 hours. So, around 11:45am, I began making homemade pizza. At 12:25pm, the bus arrived. But guess what--the pizza wasn't even done baking. GRRR! I should start listening to my daughter more...poor girl got a granola bar as she raced to the bus. Bad mommy...

Diet Rules for Cheaters

1. If you eat something and no one sees you eat it, it has no calories.
2. If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, the calories in the candy bar are cancelled out by the diet soda.
3. When you eat with someone else, calories don't count if you don't eat more than they do.
4. Food used for medicinal purposes NEVER count, such as hot chocolate, toast and Sara Lee Cheesecake.
5. If you fatten up everyone else around you, then you look thinner.
6. Movie related foods (Milk Duds, Buttered Popcorn, Junior Mints, Red Hots, Tootsie Rolls, etc.) do not have additional calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel.
7. Cookie pieces contain no fat--the process of breaking causes fat leakage.
8. Things licked off knives and spoons have no calories if you are in the process of preparing something. Examples are peanut butter on a knife making a sandwich and ice cream on a spoon making a sundae.
9. Foods that have the same color have the same number of calories. Examples are: spinach and pistachio ice cream; mushrooms and white chocolate.
NOTE: Chocolate is a universal color and may be substituted for any other food color.
10. Foods that are frozen have no calories because calories are units of heat. Examples are ice cream, frozen pies, and Popsicles.

Lovingyou.com

Hi there. It's about that time of year again...V A L E N T I N E' S D A Y. For those of you who want some different ideas, I have found the following link to be useful:

http://www.lovingyou.com/

Disclaimer: I will not be held responsible for any shady ideas found therein, especially topics like "steamy sex," etc. Use caution!

I'm still sick today, but able to do some things. However, once I do one chore--I have to sit down and relax because I don't have much energy. I did some cleaning up on the computer, watched Anna play trouble & chutes and ladders. Anna was really good for me today. Poor girl didn't have school today either, so she was home...again, with her sick Mama. She was very obedient and played quietly for the majority of the day.

My sweet, wonderful, thoughtful husband went grocery shopping for me after work. He went to SAMS CLUB, bought what I needed, then came home & took Anna out to Wal-mart to spend her "tooth money." Any guesses on what my baby bought with her $1?? At first she told her Daddy that she wanted candy. Then she said, "Candy isn't good for the body. Hmm, I want chippies instead." Yeah, pizza flavored pringles potato chips, those ARE good for the body.

So not only did Tyler go shopping for me at two stores--he gave me some alone time by taking Anna to the last store. He's so good to me. He's been so kind and helpful. :)

Fertility update: Okay, so remember how my period ended this past monday??? Not so, as of today, my first day off of estrogen. I had some bleeding ths morning-so I called into the nurse hotline. Dr. Groll said to continue on the progesterone and not take the estrogen. Of course, since this morning I haven't bled anymore...

I recently bought the sheet music for: Comptine d’un autre été, by Yann Tiersen. It was the music playing on the PIANO youtube I listed last week. The music is so beautiful, I'm trying to play it...I haven't played this style of music since college...um, 10 years ago...yikes.

Miserable

Yes, I am miserable. I spent the day feeling LOUSY, not able to do much of anything. I had an appointment with the fertility specialist--and I didn't want to miss it--so Tyler & I went. I brought along a bowl, just in case I hurled while I was there. I've been nauseated all day long...

My period seems to be over now--which is about time since it would have been 6 weeks long today--it seemed to be done on monday of this week. So Dr. Groll took me off the estrogen and started me on the progesterone. Once that is over, my period should begin again and then we'll start with the clomid + do the HSG (dye inserted in the uterus to check to make sure everything is doing what it should be doing). So that's my update.

Other than the doctor's visit--I didn't do much today. Tyler left for Columbus 3 hours before his class began due to the snow--it took the full 3 hours to arrive and then 2 1/2 hours to drive home. Poor guy.

I actually began feeling a little better this evening--I even scrapbooked a little. :) All for today.

Cough

Yup. I woke up and shortly afterwards...I was coughing. GRRR! Whenever I am sick, it rarely ever involves coughing for me. I've decided that coughing is not fun, especially the dry cough that I now have. *sigh* I had planned to meet Tyler for raquetball, which didn't happen because the schools were closed due to our below freezing weather, so Anna was home. But then, I was coughing/wheezing, so I wouldn't have been able to breathe anyhow. *double sigh* So, Anna was home from school...and less than thrilled about it. And tomorrow the weather is supposed to be the same as today...so she may be home tomorrow, which will undoubtedly upset her again. She loves seeing all her friends at school, such a social butterfly!

I did some major cooking/baking today--which wasn't the best since I don't feel so great. I baked a turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, & honey oatmeal cake. Anna walked in and saw the turkey, then asked "Is it Thanksgiving already?" So cute!

We had a family over for dinner. They have two kids, one daughter Anna's age. They played really well together. The couple seemed to have some marital difficulties, which they freely talked about in front of us...it was a bit disconcerting and led to some uncomfortable moments. But I think that overall the evening went nicely. We played PIT, which is a game I learned from Tyler's family.

Hearing about problems that other couples have makes me realize how wonderful my husband is. I'm very grateful to have him as my husband. :)

All Is Well

All is well, our house is WARM! :) It's SUCH a great feeling (literally) to know that it's not 50 degrees anymore...

Went to choir practice, plugged away on The Lord's Prayer. It's a difficult piece, but I feel that all will turn out well. I thought I would give the youth an opportunity to spread their wings in the musical arena, namely Sacrament meeting. A young woman led the music while another young woman played the piano. The songs weren't exactly the most well known/familiar, but they did really well. I'm quite pleased. I think that next month the young men will have a chance.

Nicole, a friend of mine in the ward, had her Mom visiting today. I was very excited to meet her, because she is a professional opera singer. And she didn't start that until her kids were grown--she was 42 years-old! I told her that I'm almost 30 and thought there wasn't any hope for me in that arena--to which she laughed! Guess I may have a chance afterall...

We had the Blunck family over for dinner/games. They have an adorable little boy, Josh, and are expecting a baby next month. They adopted Josh, and then 8 months later they found out they were pregnant. WILD. They are a very nice family. Their son, Josh, is black whereas the couple is white. I'm not a racist person, by any means, but I do not know if I could raise a black child, actually any child that wasn't caucasian. Tyler has been wanting to adopt a little chinese baby...but I've been hesitant. I'm not sure why, exactly, but one of my thoughts has been that one day they would realize that they didn't look like us and would suddenly feel "foreign." I don't know...maybe it's all in my head.

It's TOOTH FAIRY Time

Today something happened. Anna lost her very first tooth. My alarm clock, aka Anna, came in my bed to wake me up this morning. As we snuggled, I asked if I could see her teeth. One of her teeth on the bottom looked crooked. Tyler has some crooked teeth on the bottom, so I immediately began to worry how Anna was going to have crooked teeth like her Daddy, etc. Then I actually touched that tooth--and it moved! Shortly after some wiggling on the tooth it came right out. I hadn't told Anna about the tooth fairy or even that her teeth WOULD fall out, so she was a bit surprised by the whole ordeal and even a bit concerned, especially when she saw some blood on the tiny tooth. I reassured her that it was completely normal and even exciting! Now she will gladly show off her missing tooth to anyone who asks! Check out the photos below!

So how much money should a tooth fairy give???

I went with Valene to go pick up my order from WALTON FEED. I purchased some hard white wheat and soft wheat, coconut, & honey. On the drive back, I explained our troubles with our heating service. Later on in the day, her husband called and asked if he could come and take a look at our furnace. After a few short minutes, he showed Tyler the source of ALL our troubles! The filter was full of stuff. That's ALL IT WAS. Tyler went and bought 4 filters for $1.45 at the store. Can you believe it?? We've been FREEZING for almost 2 weeks and it was because the filter needed to be changed...it's incredible how simple it all was, and I owe it all to just mentioning it to Valene, who informed her husband, Trent, who helped us solve our problem. We are so grateful and I'm already planning a "THANK YOU" dinner for them...

In addition to the filters, Tyler also bought an air freshner that you can attach to the filter, then as the air goes through it-it takes the scent throughout the house. Right now, our house smells like cinnamon...it smells really good! And it only cost him $1. Do you know how much money those Plug-Ins cost?? Much more than $1, and they only scent the area around them-not the whole house! What a fun idea! See, the things you learn from reading my blog...

We played cranium at the Palmers, and ordered pizza, too! It's just been a great day!

Cute Pics

Beef Stew

Anna's pre-k class had a FAMILY BOWLING ACTIVITY today at the local bowling alley. Tyler came home early from work and we all went together. It was quite fun. I enjoy bowling and really enjoy watching Tyler bowl-he's so good at it! Anna enjoyed playing with her friend, Krizdin. I thought that her name was "Kristen" based on how Anna pronounced it. Anna's teacher corrected me and said that it wasn't "Kristen" but "Krizdin." I said that Anna didn't know the correct prounuciation of her name, to which the teacher replied: Neither does Krizdin! :)

We watched the Chipmunk Adventure as a family...well, Tyler slept for the last half of it. But it was still fun. I attempted to make my first BEEF STEW today. I consider myself fairly good at cooking/baking. However, today proved how I DEFINITELY should have a recipe while cooking. I was given the ingredients to the beef stew in estimated amounts, however, I was never told how much water to use--and I used too much. So it ended up being a beef stew soup or beef/potato/carrot soup. Not the wonderful stew that I had been imagining all day to make...*sigh*

The Palmer's invited us over for some game playing. Anna slept while we played Settlers of Catan--knights & cities version. It was really fun, but I know I'll pay for how late I'm staying up tonight--especially when Anna will arise around 7am...

Mission Accomplished

Woke up to more snow...I just love seeing the snow fall down. :)

I made buttermilk pancakes with some whole wheat flour and then tried it with some natural maple syrup-which was really good! :) I like the honey butter syrup that I made, but for some reason it's just better with maple syrup--probably because my Mom always made homemade maple syrup while I was growing up. The natural maple syrup isn't nearly as sweet-but the flavor is quite good. :)

After Christmas, I decided that I wanted some more Christmas cds for next year, and figuring that they would most likely be less expensive AFTER Christmas, I found some on eBay & bought them. One was the Chipmunk Christmas CD. When it arrived, I told Anna that is was just for her. So every day she would ask if she could listen to it and while it was playing she would want to hold the CD case. So precious! Noting how much she enjoyed the music, I went on to purchase the CHIPMUNK ADVENTURE DVD for her. It arrived yesterday, and since then she has watched it about 5 times. Yeah, I'd say she likes it! I watched it when I was a kid, as well, so it's fun to see her enjoy it, too.

Yesterday I noted that I would do laundry today and I'm excited to report that IT'S ALL DONE! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! The three baskets for the dirty clothes are empty, the laundry has been folded & put away, and I feel a great deal of accomplishment in it. Now, if only I could say the same for the dishes in the sink...

LOVE LETTER

To my darling husband,

Before you return from your overseas trip I just want to let you know about the small accident I had with the pick up truck when I turned into the driveway. Fortunately not too bad and I really didn't get hurt, so please don't worry too much about me.

I was coming home from Wal-Mart, and when I turned into the driveway I accidentally pushed down on the accelerator instead of the brake. The garage door is slightly bent but the pick up fortunately came to a halt when it bumped into your car.

I am really sorry, but I know with your kind-hearted personality you will forgive me. You know how much I love you and care for you my sweetheart. I am enclosing a picture for you.

I cannot wait to hold you in my arms again.

Your loving wife.
XXX??

Protein Packed Brownies

Not much to report about today...Anna & I had some fun with games and such this morning. She went to school and I relaxed while she was in school, doing some things on the computer, some cleaning in the kitchen. I decided that it would probably be good to have one cleaning project per day, if possible. Like tomorrow I will address the laundry chaos that I have been ignoring for a week...

Tyler went grocery shopping for me after work--VERY NICE! He's so good to me. :)

For dinner I made a crockpot pizza casserole, or "Pizza Pasta" which was easier to explain to Anna. :) Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Pizza Pasta...

Fertility Update: I called the office today because my period is still here...I think that the menstrual pad companies won't worry about lack of sales while I'm still on my period...*sigh* So the doctor upped my estrogen, or premarin, to double what I'm now taking. I hope that will help. I also have an appointment with the infertility specialist next week to go over all the test results from the bloodwork & urine sample from last week...so, stay tuned for that!

I was needing something sweet today, so I got a recipe from my friend, Sarah, for honey brownies. So, the only sugar was from the honey, however I thought I UP the protein content, so I added a scoop of chocolate whey protein to it. I was a bit worried when it wasn't finished baking on time, but after they cooled down, I put some whipped cream (real whipping cream whipped, no sugar added, inspired from Sarah from England where they don't add sugar to their whipped cream) on the brownies, and they were pretty tasty! :) I've commited myself to not go overboard on the brownies, so far, so good! I like to call them Protein Packed Brownies!

20 Questions x 3

I snagged this little questionnaire from Dana's myspace-thanks Dane!

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
Anna’s car seat, probably some “leftover” snacks of some sort…

2. What was the last thing you threw up?
What a fun thing to remember…homemade tamales that I bought from some Mexican ladies who went door-to-door selling them. Seriously, they were the BEST tamales I’d ever eaten and I bought them every Friday…until, well, you can probably guess why I stopped buying them…

3. What's your favorite curse word?
“Oh, bother!” Anna used to say that…so cute! (Yes, from Winnie the Pooh)

4. What's your favorite breakfast food?
Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes with maple syrup

5. What's your favorite episode of Seinfeld?
Well, I don’t know which episode is my favorite, but one of my favorites parts from an episode is when Jerry & George are in LA and they’re lost, and Jerry is on the phone with the police because Kramer has been framed and the police want to know which street Jerry is on, so George asks a lady walking by which street they’re on, and she replies that she doesn’t know-to which George frantically asks, “How can you NOT KNOW?!” to which she replies “Well, YOU don’t know!” I don’t know why that’s so funny to me…guess you just have to watch it…

6. What was the last big expense you made?
Well, I bought a space heater yesterday for $36. And wouldn’t you know it? It doesn’t put out much heat at all, so I’m going to take it back…aside from that? Um, the garage door opener cost about $100, I think. PRICEY!!!

7. If you could marry any celebrity today who would it be?
Who wants a celebrity when my husband is better looking, more intelligent, and actually knows how to make a relationship work--unlike most Hollywood marriages!!! Yeah, who wants that when I have my sweet, handsome honey bunny! 

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
No thanks

9. Is there anything red within 10 feet of you?
packaging tape

10. Are you wearing socks right now?
Always

11. What's the last thing you had to drink?
Water

12. What are you wearing right now?
Black sweater, grey pants, white athletic socks (I know, doesn’t really match) and my husband’s huge house slippers—which his mom made while he was on a mission, and coincidentally, they are the slippers that I was wearing when Tyler proposed to me. 

13. Last food you ate?
Eggs, smoked sausage, small serving of hash browns.

14. Have you bought any new clothing items in the last week?
Not this last week, but I actually bought some clothes 2 weeks ago—something I only do about once a year. I bought 3 turtleneck sweaters, a black skirt, and some knee highs from Lane Bryant. I feel pretty in them. 

15. When is the last time you ran?
Well, I run around when I play racquetball—last time was in November or December of last year. It’s been several years since I really “RAN.” Probably back in high school, church basketball days…

16. What's the last sporting event you watched?
OSU basketball game against some team…can’t remember who won, don’t really care either. I’m not one to watch sports-doesn’t interest me. I enjoy Olympics Ice Skating and Gymnastics.

17. Last movie you saw?
Martin Chuzzlewit (English film) I recommend it to anyone. 

18. Who is the last person you sent a message to?
Email: Tyler. Text message: Coulter

19. Ever go to camp?
LDS girls camp-6 years, baby

20. Were you ever an honor roll student in school?
Yes, believe it or not. Wish I had been more dedicated in my studies, but if I went back, I’m sure I would have just done the same as I did. 

21. Do you like sushi?
No thanks.

22. Do you have a tan?
Just call me “SNOW WHITE.”

23. How old do you want to be when you have kids?
I was 23 when Anna was born, I feel like I’d better have more before it’s too late!

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
I don’t drink soda, but I do like straws. 

25. What's your age?
28

26. Are you someone's best friend?
I think so

27. What are your siblings' names? Here we go: Heather, Jennifer, Evan, Jacob, Coulter, Rachel, Ashley, Alleigh, Ashley (no, that’s not a typo), Hailey, Collin, McKensie, & Matthew.

28. Where is your dad right now?
My dad is in Chicago, IL. My step-dad is in heaven.

29. What was the last thing you said?
Can you please fax Anna’s medical information to her school? I’m on the phone with the hospital on-base. Apparently her shot record & physical was never sent to her school. GRRRR!

30. What color is your watch?
brass? No nickel-I’m allergic

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia?
Well right now I would think of the eBay item that I just sold and shipped to Australia…

32. Ever ridden on a roller coaster?
Several times

33. What is your birthstone?
Sapphire

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
On road trips, go in, otherwise-drive thru.

35. What is your favorite number?
8—age you can be baptized.

36. Do you have a dog?
No. I’m not sure I’m ready for one, either.

37. What happened to you in 1993?
nothing that I can remember that stands out in my mind.

38. 1996?
Graduated from high school and entered college at 17 years old

39. 1997?
College, baby, Oklahoma State University

40. 1999?
My step-dad died. 

41. 2000?
Became engaged in November to my sweet husband

42. 2001?
Got married in January, became pregnant in march, Anna was born in December—BIG YEAR!

43. Does your first memory involve your dad?
No, my first memory was being in the family van as it was backing out of the driveway.

44. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
infertility/weight

45. Do you like watching a bonfire?
As long as it is contained

46. Are you allergic to anything?
Mold, dust, nickel.

47. Favorite shoes that you wear all the time?
Slippers or the fancy athletic shoes that my sweet husband gave me. 

48. What is one thing you've learned about life recently?
that I need to do more to lose weight and focus on myself more than I have in the past.

49. Are you jealous of anyone?
I don’t think so

50. Is anyone jealous of you?
I hope not, jealousy isn’t a good thing

51. Do you own an ipod?
No, but I do have an MP3 player for exercising—it’s MUCH cheaper than ipods and I don’t tend to get into the whole trendy scene.

52. Do any of your friends have children?
Most of them do.

53. Do you ever take medication to fall asleep?
No.

54. What cd is in your cd player?
Harry Connick Jr, ONLY YOU cd

55. Do you own any band tshirts?
No thanks. Ask my husband, though.

56. Do you do your own dishes?
E V E R Y D A Y

57. Do you hold grudges?
No, not really.

58. How old will you be on your next birthday?
29….yikes!

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Once in texas, I prefer DISNEYWORLD.

60. How did you get one of your scars?
Rode my bike and turned too quickly around the van in the driveway and skid across the pavement on my knee. OUCH! Once I got it bandaged up, I did the same thing again and ripped the bandage off…and re-skinned (if that’s possible) my knee again. Yeah, I don’t think I was learning very well from my mistakes. 

Time For Me

It was really difficult to wake up today. I'm not sure if it's because my house is so cold or what. It was literally a STRUGGLE to rouse myself. Poor little Anna--she's always so ready for me to be up & spend time with her, but I was just DRAGGING. After I got ready for the day, I had more energy, thankfully.

When Anna went to school I did a couple of eBay things, did some dishes, and when Tyler came home I went to mail a few international packages at the PO. Leia & Spencer came over to play with Anna after she came home from school. I think they had a good time. The original plan was for Leia to come over, but Spencer begged to come along as well-which I didn't mind. During their playtime, Spencer poured some pink sand along the part in Anna's hair. (remind you of anything from Bollywood, Melisa??) Here's some pictures:







So that was fun. After Tyler left for Columbus, Anna & I packed up in the truck and went to wal-mart. We purchased a much-needed space heater. It looks like it will be very helpful in keeping our house above 59 degrees--yes, that's how cold our house is currently. After the bedtime routine, I actually allowed myself to do some scrapbooking. I can't tell you how nice it feels to do it. I'm doing a scrapbook of a "heart attack" that my family did for my grandparents--you know, the whole activity of cutting our paper hearts and writing nice thoughts on them. I printed off some pictures with my new photo printer and began scrappin'. WHAT FUN!

Oh, I took this picture of Anna yesterday, apparently Anna has not completely learned what is appropriate and inappropriate in dressing a person:



Isn't this cute?? Yeah, who needs more than panties in this cold weather??

Just Call Me MAILBOXES ETC!

That's right, I've been packaging, weighing items, printing address labels, shredding paper for cushion, ALL DAY LONG!!! I hope it will all be over soon, I would like to return to my former daily routine...

It's COLD COLD COLD in my house. I'm not sure what can be done, though. Tyler suggested that perhaps we should put more insulation up in the attic...but I don't see how that will help us when we're downstairs during the day...perhaps we will buy another space heater, I'm not sure.

Anna was "special friend" today at school. That means she gets to choose songs to sing and choose which toy she wants first and pass out the nametages. She LOVES being "special friend." Perhaps I should organize a similar type thing at home...would "special friends" do laundry???

We had FHE on our 72 hour kits. They are almost completely done. We only lack a few items. We put one in the honda & the another in Tyler's truck, then the last one is in the closet. Next week we'll work on fire safety, I think.

Well, it's now time for bed. Tyler & I had lofty dreams of watching a movie tonight...not going to happen. I hope it will soon, we need more time just relaxing. I think I try to fill our free time with busy activities when I should just sit back and just relax with him...I need to do better about that.

The Piano

This video is really good. For you sensitive people out there, get out the tissue...

61

Today we awoke to more snow falling, but not enough to really stick around. Our poor snowmen are dying a SLOW death of slightly warmer temperatures...

Church was really good-choir practice was fairly well attended. We worked on "The Lord's Prayer," which is my personal favorite choral piece for Easter. It's a difficult piece and I can already tell that we are going to need to work on it quite a bit before it will be ready in April. I know, you're thinking to yourself--"But Jill, it's only january," yes I know that--but practice makes perfect!

After church, I slaved away in the kitchen. Tyler invited one of his co-workers + his family over for dinner. We had a really good time. I just wish that I had made some of the meal in advance! :) We had Tyler's favorite: Pork chops with mushroom, green pepper, & onion gravy, mashed potatoes, italian cheese bread, & green beans. For dessert I made a cherry pie sweetened with honey-no sugar! It was actually really good, I was quite pleased. Anna had a fun time playing with their 2 kids, while we chatted and played a partial game of UPWORDS, a game taken off of Scrabble.

The diet went well today. I had some nuts for breakfast, and then had a half sandwich of peanut butter and then some peas for lunch. Dinner was what I listed earlier--I'm sure it wasn't equal carbs to protein, but I was much more careful in the amount of my servings of the various foods.

Our house is freezing. Our temperature is set at 70 degrees, but it's only 61 degrees in our house. My hands are practically shivering as I type this email. BRRRR!
Our house was built in the 60s and the insulation shows it! I wish we had a fireplace...

Day 1

Today it all began. It took a LONG time to calculate my first meal: breakfast. I made poached eggs, french toast (with honey butter syrup) and italian sausage. Total protein: 33.8 grams, total carbs: 50 grams. Not exactly equal, but much better than my typical french toast breakfast which consisted of 4 pieces of french toast with homemade SUGAR syrup. For the rest of the day I ate half an apple with peanute butter, one chicken tender leftover from Anna's GIGANTIC kids meal last night at OUTBACK, & crackers and cheese. I forgot all about the "free" vegetables that I can have. I'm sure those "free veggies" will make an appearance tomorrow, or two, or three...

No exercise today--still waiting on the DVD to come in the mail. I drank lots of water. The metformin has me feeling pretty sick to my stomach all throughout the day. I try not to think about it, but it makes me just want to lay down and relax, which I never do for myself. (I really SHOULD relax more...)

Sariah came over and played with Anna today. They had a pretty good time. Just before Sariah went home, I was told that they had been painting each others' nails up in Anna's room. Furious, I went up and told Anna that that was unacceptable, spanked her & put her in time out-much to her dismay. Later on in the evening, Tyler & I talked about the situation. He asked me if Anna knew that she shouldn't be painting her nails without me being with her. I stopped to think...I had never told her that. I felt like someone should take away my license to be a Mom...Tyler said that it should be something to learn from. I feel terrible about it. I rarely spank Anna anymore at all, and this time she didn't deserve it. :(

Tyler broke a glass lid to my nut jar today. After cleaning it up, Anna made her way to come talk to me about what had happened concerning the broken glass lid. She then returned to the kitchen, where Tyler was cleaning it all up, and stated "Daddy...I told on you!"

LAST HURRAH

Slept in...oh, so nice. It's hard to get up early on wednesdays & fridays-because I stay up late waiting for Tyler to get home. But then, it's really just hard to get up early at all! ha ha!

Today was mainly devoted to eBay. We made about $500 from my sales. Pretty remarkable! I've never sold anything that was worth so much as these star wars action figures. We went & mailed about 15 packages today. I'm eager for my weight scale to come in the mail so I can print off my labels at home and not have to go to the post office. Did you know that the Postal workers will come to my house to pick them up? Yeah, nice.

We met the Harris' at OUTBACK for my LAST HURRAH. Tomorrow I will begin my new way of eating--no sugar and equal protein to carbs. I'm excited to start anew. I've been eating some sugar these past few days because I knew I would be giving it up, but when I ate the sugar I really felt terrible. It's so bad for me and I feel a sense of freedom in giving it up. Tyler thinks I should just announce that I'm diabetic so I won't have to explain my whole situation in that I shouldn't have any sugar...until I know for sure that I'm diabetic, I don't think it'd be right to say it outright.

We played settlers with the Jeff & Deena after dinner at our house. It was fun. Their daughter, Hailey, is 3 months old-check out the picture below of my baby girl holding their baby girl---just precious! It was a fun evening-it's so nice to have some friends to play games with now...



Deena & I



Anna & Hailey



Suce cute girls!!!

Recipe Exchange

This morning I slept in, which was SO nice. My sweet girl just plays quietly until I get up. I think I am the most blessed mom in the whole world! Seriously, Anna is the most obedient, loving, affectionate, sweet-natured girl I've ever known. And this poor little girl has a cold today, so she couldn't go to school. She LOVES school, so that was not good news for her. I gave her some cold/cough syrup, but then realized that it's the drowsy kind, so she took a nap which is quite unlike her to do. I normally don't ever give her medicine, I typically give her herbs or "yucky herbies" as she calls them when she's sick, and when I do occassionally give her the over-the-counter stuff, I only give her the drowsy kinds at night...but it was SO nice to have a snugglebug today. She let me hold her for about 30 minutes...30 minutes of sheer joy. I haven't held her for that long amount of time since she was really little. I loved it.

I did some laundry, cleaning, baked some granola, made some crockpot macaroni & cheese, read books & played games with Anna, ect. I had a "recipe exchange" at my house. It's a fun idea-have friends come over with their favorite recipes and then copy down the ones that look good to you. My friend, Shannon, suggested that we bring a sample of a recipe to share. I invited several people, but one by one they cancelled--except Deena. So Deena came and we had a nice time eating the macaroni & cheese that I made and the oreo truffles that she brought-YUM! We got some recipes copied, but mostly just chatted it up. It was a fun, relaxing evening. I really do prefer one-on-one activities to big group settings-although those can be fun as well. Tonight was just what I was needing. :)

I called a long-time friend of mine tonight and we chatted a bit. She's having a hard time finding people to date. She's such a great woman, it makes me wonder why no one has just snatched her up! It's all in the Lord's timing. I hope she will not have to wait much longer for her knight in shining armor...

72 Hour Kits

For Family Home Evening on Monday we got out our three 72 hour kits and went through them. My dad gave Tyler & I each a backpack full of items...let's see, I believe that was back in 2002. Needless to say, ALL of the perishable items were not only outdated, they looked pretty GROSS! Tyler bought a 72 hour kit from the church and that's for Anna-it's much more updated than ours. So this week we made a list and we went grocery shopping for some food items to put in it. I was surprised to see that a can of cashews will be fresh until the summer of 2008. Preservatives, anyone?

Today I did some eBay stuff, some dishes, scripture reading, piano practicing, phone talking, ect. Deena picked me up & we went to OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE, but they weren't open until 4:30, which messed with our schedule--so we're going to try again tomorrow! She's a nice gal with a little 3 month-old cutie! She's coming over tomorrow to hang out--which will be so nice! :)

Tyler, Anna, & I went to the commissary to buy some groceries. I prefer going together-it's so much more fun. :) Then we went to look at some miniature schnauzers. We're considering the idea of having them after this military family relocated to Alaska. The mom does NOT want to give them up-but her husband insists on it. She was so emotional just talking about not having them...poor lady. I'm just not sure if they are the type of dog that I want.

Jill's qualifications for a dog:
SMALL-I like little dogs
Little to zero shedding of hair
Won't urinate/defecate in the house (VERY IMPORTANT)
Is good with kids-won't hurt Anna or any future kids

Is it possible to find such a dog?? Any suggestions???

Since I hadn't been able to get dinner together, my sweet, thoughtful husband suggested Papa Johns Pizza. WAHOO! He's working on a school project right now--it will be good for him to have pizza around-because I fear that it will be a late night tonight.

Fertility update--I'm doing a fun thing today called 24 hour urine collection. Oh yeah, it's WAY fun and most convenient. I also started taking estrogen today, which hopefully will end my period. I was hopeful that after I took the first pill this morning that the period would instantly halt. NO SUCH LUCK! So I'll be on estrogen for 3 weeks...add progesterone on the 3rd week. That's all for now.

Diabetes??

Anna & I went to the hospital on-base to the lab to have my blood drawn. They seriously had 7 vials to fill with blood. When the guy finished, I asked if he left any blood for me! I imagined myself fainting over the loss of blood...but I didn't, thank goodness. I also have the PLEASURE of a 24 hour urine collection. I have this lovely orange jug to keep my urine in beginning tomorrow morning. I can't remember exactly why I'm doing this...anyone remember why this has to be done for fertility reasons??

Anna & I went over and surprised Tyler at work. It was fun seeing him and spending a little time. We came home and I fed Anna some lunch before she got on the bus. I did some eBay stuff on the computer and checked my emails. Before I knew it-it was after 3pm and Tyler came home, followed by Anna. They went outside and made another snowman, I intend to include a picture in this blog. Tyler went off to class while Anna & I did some cleaning around the house, followed by some intense board games, ending with scriptures + bedtime routine. :) After Anna went to bed I did some major laundry, dishes, cleaning, scripture reading & planned the meals for the week and some ward musical numbers for the next month. I feel like today was quite productive. I did plan to do some scrapbooking--which I always PLAN on doing, but have not as yet actually DONE yet. Maybe tomorrow I will get to do it. After this next wave of eBay items are done, I can imagine having more time. I have 54 items listed...that will keep me busy when it's time to ship them out, eh?

Tyler has been doing some reading about insulin resistance and feels confident that I am in the early stages of diabetes. He also feels that if I will accept this idea that I will work more diligently to be strict on this plan of action that my infertility specialist has given me. I'm having trouble accepting this idea, but maybe I should "outsmart myself" and this may, indeed, help me in the long run. :)

Infertility Specialist

Today I dropped Anna off at Sariah's house and then I went to meet the infertility specialist on-base. He was very nice and attentive to me. We met for one full hour discussing all my symptoms and he addressed every one of my questions. The conclusion that he made was that I am insulin resistant. Type B diabetics produce insulin, however the hormone receptors do not function properly and therefore the insulin does not produce its desired effect of triggering the consumption of stored energy. Type B is insulin resistance.I'm not diabetic, however, I just am resistant to insulin.

Being insulin resistant explains why I haven't been able to become pregnant in addition to my past failures in losing weight. He said that without counteracting the insulin resistance, it's next to impossible to lose weight--even if I'm exercising and eating right. Let me tell you how nice it was to learn that!!!

I will be taking metformin to help remedy the insulin resistance.He plans to put me on metformin in conjunction with clomid (to help me ovulate) once my new cycle begins. He plans to end the menstrual bleeding that I currently have with some estrogen for 3 weeks & add progesterone during the third week + the 3 following days. I'm thrilled that birth control pills were not part of his plan to end this period. Once the new cycle begins, we will do a HSG--where they will inject a dye in the uterus and it will flush through the fallopian tubes. Then they will do an X-ray of the uterus. He said that this is more beneficial than just the X-ray because sometimes just flushing out the fallopian tubes can remove any type of blockage that might be present.

So he plans to do this metformin/clomid duo for 3 cycles and if no success, we will move on to artificial insemination. I am hopeful that we will not have to do needles...he seems confident that we could have success with the aforementioned plan. In addition to this, I will be exercising daily plus doing "strengthening exercises" twice a week and following a diet of equal carbs to protein. I am VERY excited about everything that we discussed and feel hopeful to have success in this area. It just feels SO GOOD to be DOING SOMETHING about my infertility, instead of just crying and asking Heavenly Father to just "make my body work!" ha ha!

Speaking of my body working, it helped bring my adorable, loving, beautiful daughter into the world. Here are her 5 year old pictures, enjoy!



Isn't she adorable??



My Anna Belle, 5 years old!

The Snow Is Here!

This morning we awoke to snow! It was glorious to see, but a bit difficult to drive on. However, we made it through the day with no accidents. :)

Choir practice was great-we had over 20 people attend. We sang in Sacrament meeting today: As Sisters In Zion/We'll Bring The World His Truth. It went really well. I must admit, I enjoy leading the choir. I recognize that I am not a great or well trained conductor-but I enjoy it nonetheless.

After church, Tyler & Anna shoveled the driveway and made the most adorable snowman! We baked chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and then went over to the Palmer's house for dinner/chatting. Anna played with the kids while we adults chatted. It was VERY nice.

Tomorrow I will be meeting with the infertility specialist on-base. I'm eager to see what he will do with me. My friend, Sherry, has offered to keep Anna so I won't be distracted while I'm there. I will, of course, give you full updates in tomorrow's blog. Until then, enjoy the pictures!!



Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman...



The snowman that Tyler & Anna built!



Shoveling the driveway!



What a snowy scene!

NEW CLOTHES

I love new clothes, don't you? I ordered some online from Lane Bryant. I got 3 sweaters, a black skirt, some knee highs, and some way comfortable pajamas! I am excited about having more clothes-I don't have very many clothes. Tyler & Anna both have more than I do! I just can't seem to find shirts or pants that are LONG ENOUGH! I enjoy being tall, but it definitely poses some challenges when shopping for clothes.

Anna's friend Leia came over to play this morning. Then her mom, Sarah, came over and we chatted a while. It's so nice to have friends. I think the whole idea of having friends is good. I like it.

Our home teachers came over and they brought Christina to play with Anna-they've been playing the last 3 hours and going strong. Christina is 9 years-old, but enjoys playing dolls and such with Anna. I really like it when they play together because there are NEVER any issues. There's no competition about certain toys or anything...pure bliss for me!

Tonight I'm going to Shannon's house to watch the rest of Martin Chuzzlewit (spelling?). I really enjoy those English films. :)

Getting Through, One Day At A Time

So things have been better since my post earlier today. We had a really fun couple over for dinner/games this evening. It was quite enjoyable. They have a little baby girl who is SO precious! When I held her, I realized how long it's been since Anna was a baby and I'd forgotten how to hold a newborn! My "baby" is now 5 years old! She is growing up so fast!!

I appreciate all the support that I have received right now when things aren't ideal for me in my life. It means a lot to me to have so many people care. I feel very blessed. :)

Ignoring Myself

I normally don't post in the middle of the day, but as I was responding to an email from Suzanne, I realized that I wanted to remember what I wrote, so I am going to post some of that in this blog. It is highly personal and very honest-please respect the privacy of what I am writing. Thanks.

I'm not doing very well to be honest. For as long as I can remember, I have ignored myself. I have tried to focus on those around me and serve them in any way that I could-at my expense and hence ignoring myself in almost every way. Now I look at myself-over 300 pounds-and I wonder what happened to me? I'm trying to understand myself and to figure out what I want for me and what would make me happy. Does that make sense? I am reading a book that is entitled OWN YOUR OWN BODY. It talks about how mental stress can cause physical ailments. I feel that I am struggling in all areas-physical (weight, infertility), mental (breakdowns-nothing major-just mainly emotional/mental breakdowsn), emotional (crying often and not completely sure why), and spiritual-Satan is working hard on me in ways of my feeling guilty and that I'm the one to blame that we haven't had more kids (because I haven't lost weight). *SIGH* This is certainly a new type of trial for me, but I am hopeful and confident that I will pull through-it's just getting through it that is difficult right now.

I Want To Own My Own Body

My sister, Heather, recommended me a book called "Own your own body" and I'm actually reading it now (shock of all shocks). It talks about how your mental stresses can contribute to our physical ailments. I feel that is the case with me. I hope this book will help me in my desires to lose weight. I feel hopeful about it because of the book.

I went visiting teaching with Sarah. It was most enjoyable. Afterwards, Sarah offerred to take me grocery shopping since I don't have a vehicle. It was so nice of her! Then she had Anna & I over for lunch. Aren't friends great? :)

It's funny, the day started off well, but then after Anna went to school I started craving anything sugary, and became depressed about my not losing weight and our lack of success in becoming pregnant. My hormones are all over the place! I received a comforting email from Kathey, and my husband showed me support by calling & chatting while he was at work. I feel so blessed to have people around me who truly want me to be happy. What more could a person ask for??

A Sweet, Lovely, Forgotten Sound...

What a sweet sound! It is music to my ears...yesterday, an old friend was reinstated to me: The Dishwasher. Yes, it's true! No more washing by hand!!! :)

Today I woke up quite groggy...perhaps it had to do with my going to bed around 1am. (ya think?) It was hard to get going...but Anna is very insistent that it's time for me to get up and she informs me how she got up before me...but, that's an everyday occurrence! ;)

I taught Anna to play UNO today. It says it's for 7 years-old and up, but my 5 year-old got it on the first game. That's my girl! I welcomed a change of pace from the daily chutes & ladders game. :) While she was in school I practiced the piano, read my scriptures, chatted on the phone with Kathey, and did some eBay stuff.

One of my new years "goals" was to practice the piano daily. I'm working on the hymn book from church. The REAL hymn book-not the simplified version. Last year, I was working from the first of the book and learning each hymn perfectly, which was a fine idea until I hit Hymn #2, The Spirit of God. Yeah, that's not exactly an EASY one. This year, though, I'm going to play each hymn 2-3 times and then just move on to the next hymn. I'm on hymn #40 now, and I'm beginning to feel more confident on my sight reading skills. The piano is a funny thing for me-I've technically been playing since I was 8, but my piano skills do NOT show that. I have a great foundation in piano, and now I want to build on that foundation and be able to play ANY HYMN IN THE HYMN BOOK! Well, that's my goal.

Can I just say that I have been missing out GREATLY in the bedtime department. We have been putting Anna to bed at 7pm. Oh my goodness, now I actually have a few hours at night to do things. It's amazing. :)

SNOW

We awoke to snow this morning, glorious white snowflakes falling from Heaven up above. It was a delight to see.

Anna & I had a pleasant morning-we ate breakfast, played games and read a few articles out of the "Friend" magazine that my church puts out for children to read. Then we sang some songs, and watched LAMBERT together. Lambert is a cute disney cartoon-I highly recommend it. :) While Anna was in school, I busily did some packaging of several items I sold on eBay this past week. I shipped them out today-there are still a few unpaid items that will be shipped once they have paid. To be honest, I enjoy the "secretarial duties" that accompany selling items on eBay. It's fun to me. :)

Tyler left for school and so Anna & I decided to get out & about to deliver some Amish Friendship Bread Starter to both Sarah & Shannon. We had to take Tyler's truck because the Honda gets better gas mileage-so Tyler takes it to Columbus. We were driving along and I even had the thought that the truck was functioning quite well-despite some troubles that Tyler said he had been having with it. After an hour long visit with Shannon, Anna & I buckled ourselves in the truck...but the truck wouldn't start. At this point it was dark outside, and I hadn't brought my coat with me. I went back inside to ask Shannon if she could jump the truck--long story short, we couldn't get it started, so she drove us home. I'm glad it happened the way it had-if Tyler had taken the truck to Columbus, he wouldn't have been able to make it back. :)

I called the nurse and she scheduled an appointment with me next monday. She said it "wasn't good" that my period was still on-going. So, will keep you posted on what happens next week!

RAIN

It's been raining here in Ohio for the past 3 days. I don't mind the rain, I guess, I just miss the sunshine. :)

Today was a holiday so Anna didn't have school & Tyler didn't have to work, so we had some major downtime, which was nice. Anna's friend, Christina, came over to play for 4 hours-so Anna had a GREAT day! :) I worked on eBay stuff and Tyler did homework for his classes.

We had a family from our ward come over for dinner/fhe. It was very nice-they are a friendly family. I made some Amish Friendship Bread-from the packet that Liz gave me. It turned out quite well--although, it has sugar in it. :( I only had a little bit, and was pleasantly surprised that I didn't CRAVE MORE! That's a good sign of my not wanting sugar the way that I used to want it.

Fertility update: Tomorrow will mark 3 weeks since my period began. I had a "normal" period for 2 weeks (meaning the flow of a typical period but not normal in that it was 2 weeks long) and then have been spotting this whole past week. I'm not sure what's going on there-but plan to call the nurse tomorrow to ask her about it.

We're supposed to get some snow tomorrow--I'm excited for that. Also, the dishwasher man is supposed to come tomorrow to repair the dishwasher--I'm VERY excited for that!!!

Back In The Saddle

Today Anna & I went to the church early to get everything set up for choir practice. We had a large attendance of 20 people come and it was wonderful. I have discovered that I greatly enjoy conducting the ward choir. I'm not a gifted or talented conductor, per se, I just enjoy choosing the music and when the members enjoy singing the music. It felt nice to be leading the choir again. Of course, this is a temporary thing, but I am enjoying it for now. I am thinking to try and do the Cantata "From Cumorah's Hill" here in the fall. There are enough talented singers in this ward-who can read music-and that is a wonderful cantata. :) I'm also planning a ward classical recital this coming May.

After church, I mixed up some dinner and then took a short nap before finishing it up. We took dinner over to Jessica's house and had dinner there. Anna enjoyed playing with the kids while the adults played scrabble and chatted. It was a nice evening.

Tomorrow is a holiday-no school for Anna and no work for Tyler-so that will be fun! :) I have TONS of eBay items to package up and prepare to ship out on tuesday.

I guess it's funny that I have been writing recently that I need some time alone-yet we have been doing some activities with other couples. That would be seem odd, eh? All that I can say is that I need time alone. And one main reason that we are social is so that Anna will have kids to play with...plus I like to be social, and Tyler does too. (it's interesting how you rub off on your spouse, Tyler was ANYTHING but very social when we were first married) :)

Tyler & I watched an IL DIVO dvd that he gave me for Christmas. The music they sing is SO wonderful! It was nice to snuggle up with my honey bunny and listen to the music as I cross stitched...this is the life!

Girls Night

This morning we went over to Sherry's house to install a ceiling fan in the kitchen. We arrived around 11am, and Tyler confidently said it would be a "quick job." 3 hours later we left...and so it goes! But I had fun playing rummikub with Sherry and Anna didn't want to leave because she was having fun with Sariah.

Afterwards, Anna begged to go play with Brenna-since she didn't get to yesterday which we had planned on doing. So I dropped her off and then went to the church to get some music ready for choir tomorrow. I came home and chatted with my super wonderful friend, Kathey, on the phone. We came to the conclusion that I need my time alone. I need that time to be the most effective wife & mother. I feel a sense of accomplishment just in learning that about myself. However, I suspect that many people need time alone, not just me.

Shannon & I went over to Sarah's house and we watched half of a 6 hour movie while eating chips & dip and fabulous honey brownies-so yummy! It was so nice to get some time with just girlfriends. I really needed it. :)

Groovy Baby It's Almost The Weekend

Just in case you are wondering...it's from one of the audibles from yahoo messenger...in the UK section...

I slept in today-was quite tired after getting about 10 hours of sleep (no kidding-tired??) I did my last ovulation prediction kit tester--still no sign of ovulation. Although, I have all sorts of pains that-to me-feel like I am ovulating, but I guess I'm not from the results of the ovulation prediction kit. *sigh* I am doing all I can do, I pray that the Lord will have mercy on us & our family in that we can have more children soon.

Today was a bit rough for me. Anna is a dear little girl and I LOVE to be home full-time with her. Lately she has been wanting to be with me every waking moment-including whenever I am in the bathroom. Anna doesn't have school on fridays-so we get to be together the whole day. Normally I welcome this-but today I wanted some space. Anna didn't understand that-and I didn't want to upset her and I couldn't fully explain how women are emotional and they need their time alone--at least this woman needs some time alone. So I was a bit crabby...am a bit crabby...but if it's not very often, that should be okay, I think.

Tyler bent to my wishes and renewed his cell phone contract. I am excited that we will be able to talk ANYTIME. It's such a comfort to know that. Tyler gave me another massage today--he's planning to give one every friday. Can you say WONDERFUL? He does a really good job for only have read one book on the subject. I am so blessed to have him. :)

Re-re-re-organizing

Yes, I'm up to 3 re's in my reorganization of the C2 room. However, I am quite pleased with it's current state. I have gone through and purged it of things I no longer want to have, although I'm sure I still have more things that I don't use whatsoever.

Anna & I went to the Post Office and other errands. I took her out for lunch at Arbys and then took her to school. I'd like to do that once a month--just some time together and she LOVES it when I take her to school. I'm sure that will change when middle school rolls around...

I made a polynesian ham rice dinner tonight. It was okay. Actually, it wasn't good. I have been feeling a bit sick to my stomach today (don't get excited, I haven't even ovulated this cycle) and this polynesian dinner was NOT looking good to me. I made buttermilk pancakes (way yummy) and then fed Tyler the ham rice dinner and sent an extra serving with him so he could eat it on his way home---yeah, halfway through the extra serving, Tyler decided he didn't want to eat any more of it...ever! That has rarely happened--when I make something that we both don't like, especially Tyler. He likes just about anything. So I won't be posting this recipe for you. ;)

After Anna went to bed, I hit the C2 room. It took me a few hours, but it seems like things are CURRENTLY in their places. I hope it will last, yet I know it's just a matter of time before 4 re's appears in the title of my blog...

Book Club

Last night I hosted the book club. There were 16 women in my living room! Things were pretty tight, but only one person sat on the floor. Next home we have I vote for a bigger living room. I enjoy hosting gatherings and it's difficult to do when you can only accomodate a few people comfortably. Oh well, such is our situation. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the house we're in, despite a small living room--it's fantastic!

Today I did some more EFT with Kathey. The past two sessions I felt that I had accomplished what I needed to by the end, but this one was different. I think I'm actually experiencing a feeling that it new to me: anger. Not to worry--I am okay, but there was a certain experience in my past-which I will not cite here-to which I never became angry about, when perhaps I should have felt it. Poor Tyler, I'm in angry-type mood, and we haven't had time for me to explain why that is, just yet. He's putting Anna to bed right now, so soon he'll be briefed on the situation. Hopefully this new emotion will help me overcome this terrible experience in my past.

Anna had a friend come over today-Christina-and they had a good time. One interesting note is that Christina is 9 years-old and Anna is 5 years-old. They play very well together and Christina says she really likes to play with Anna. I'm happy that Anna has so many friends to play with. :)

I'm re-re-organizing the C2 room yet again. Over Christmas things were just thrown in my precious room, and now I need to get it organized so it can be a peaceful room once again.

I bought a new cd: IZ. My mom turned me on to this Hawaiian singer. His music is so soothing and his voice so nice and warm. He's a very big person--not sure on how much he weighed--he has since died due to complications from his being obese. I'm so glad that he made cds...I think I will look to purchase a couple more of his cds...his music makes me feel calm & relaxed. It's funny how my taste of music has changed through the years. Some of my current favorites are: IZ, IL DIVO, Kathleen Battle, & Sarah Brightman.