YMCA outing

I slept in this morning, it was grand. We hurried up and waited until the YMCA free swim opened. I swam about 10 laps while Tyler & Anna practiced flips/diving/etc. Tyler is such a great dad & teacher.

I did some cleaning around the house and starved most of my way through the day. I'm in a funny zone with the diet---not much sounds good, so instead of cheating I just starve. I'm sure it's not the best way, but to cheat would be worse in my mind, so I don't. However, I made this fabulous crockpot recipe from Jenn:

4 frozen chicken breasts
1 can refried beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can corn
1 cup salsa

Cook on high in the crockpot for 4 hours. Stir to shred the chicken. Use in burritos, tacos, enchiliadas, etc. I made this and it was divine! I used lettuce wraps and put some cheddar cheese on top. It was SOOOOO tasty. Technically I'm not supposed to have corn, but I had just a little. The recipe makes so much that we have leftovers for tomorrow. My family was THRILLED that I cooked something that they could eat, too. Anna kept asking for more, so that's a good sign!

We went over to Valene & Trent's house for games. We played hand & foot and then we played something called Guitar hero. It's a video game of sorts but you're playing guitar & bass guitar parts. It was wild and I wasn't very good at it. Anna watched 3 disney movies. We all had a great time...now I'm very ready for bed. I have choir in the morning.

TATTOO

No, I didn't get one. We went to the Air Force celebration for the 4th of July and they call it "Tattoo."

This morning (8:30am) I had another joyous dental appointment. They did 2 fillings. It wasn't too bad, but certainly not enjoyable. I came home & wanted to take a nap but we were late for Tyler's work's picnic. I was worried about what food they would offer, I found some grilled chicken (it wasn't the greatest) and some form of taco salad which tasted really good. Tyler commented that if it was "really good," then it probably had sugar in the dressing. Oops. Well, other than that I've done really well and I didn't want to reason with myself and say that since I already blew it let's eat 2 pieces of the chocolate cake, too! NO! I somehow managed to eat my chicken and the taco salad. YAY! I got to know some people at the picnic who were really nice, one girl said she grew up in Mormonville (UT) and that all of her friends were mormon. (no kidding) She was super nice and just moved here. She has 3 kids and both she & her husband are in the AF. Sabrina actually works in Tyler's office. I also met a family that just moved here from Texas. Nick & Kelli have two kids, one daughter, Madeline, who is Anna's age. They played together the whole time. I think that Kelli would like to become better acquainted with us. It must be so hard moving somewhere new and away from family. (we just did that last year) But being a member of this church makes it so easy. I know that I will have friends wherever I move. It's so wonderful! We're thinking to perhaps invite Nick & Kelli over for the 4th of July. We'll see!

We came home & took naps, then we grabbed some dinner on the way to the TATTOO. We stopped by this chinese restaurant and I got some "chicken on a stick," which was SO yummy! (and I hope it is SBD worthy...I think it is). The TATTOO was way fun. They have several bands that play music, rides for kids, food, etc. We brought our lawn chairs and sat with The Redd's & Pitcher's. We brought our frisbee to toss around. Then we had the airshow at 8pm. Several airplanes will fly just overhead. It's the coolest thing ever! We saw a b-52 bomber, a stealth, f-16, & f-22. The f-22 was amazing! After that we had a firework show. Simply incredible! We went last year, but this year's TATTOO was even better!

Princess

Have you noticed how every 1-18 year-old girl wears clothing with the label "Princess" on it? I don't recall this trend growing up in the 80s--of course we had some horrible trends going, but we needn't go into that. I notice it everywhere. The thought struck me today that it's only natural that others want to be seen as royal...we are all royalty, we're sons & daughters of God.

SBD day #4 was okay, but pretty rough this evening. It was dinnertime, my body was starving and I didn't know what to eat. I feel an intense amount of motivation to not cheat, my problem is, rather, that it's hard for SBD worthy foods to sound appetizing to me. I talked to Suzanne today and she recommended allrecipes.com. Apparantly, they have a SBD recipe section...I'll have to check that out. I definitely need more ideas.

Anna did well in her sw today, but she gave both myself & her sw teacher a scare! (just what I need to help my paranoia) They are now jumping off the diving platform located in the deep end of the pool (naturally). The teacher is using a noodle (flotation device) to keep herself up and the children jump to her. Except, Anna would rather jump away from her-perhaps because it's a challenge? I'm not sure. Also, when she jumps in--she's just like a pencil. So, picture a 45 pound girl jumping in a pencil form away from her teaching in the deep end. She practically goes to the bottom of the pool. I'm, of course, worried that she drown in the shallow end of the pool, so seeing the panicked look from her teacher who has to dive down to get her doesn't help me at all. Of course Anna is fine now, but man, I can't handle the idea of her drowning. I guess that's why she's in swimming lessons after all---TO LEARN HOW TO SWIM.

Leia came over to play with Anna today. They had a ball. After the summer is over, tee ball will be over & I think we'll take a break from swimming lessons since Anna will be in all-day kindergarten (& her lessons are in the morning). I've considered the idea of her taking dance lessons. She has expressed interest in dancing like Angelina Ballerina (which we read every night now). We shall see. One funny thing, today in the mat room Anna asked for her purple bead necklace. My daughter believes that this necklace contains POWER. I'm not sure how this whole idea came about, but it's amusing to watch her tell other children how "the necklace has spoken," etc.

Our Mutual Friend

I'm not sure why, but day #3 on SBD has been the best yet. I don't know what has changed, but I feel different--in a good way. Let's hope it continues...

After Anna's swimming lessons, I did 30 on T, 20 on aw. I chatted it up with "shannon" while the kids played in the mat room. I decided to go to walmart to buy some things. When I got in my car I noticed that it was 1:05pm. Oops. My visiting teaching appointment was for 1pm and I had frozen items in my trunk that I would have to take home first. So we arrived at 1:20pm. *sigh* In my rush to put things away, I grabbed what I thought to be the correct Ensign, since it's my month to teach. I read a quote and it was all well & good, when my companion, Sarah, said that the quote sounded familiar to her...yeah, it was the april 2007 edition. Oops. Oh well, I'm sure it applies now as it did then, right?

Sarah & her descendents came over for some down time at my house. It was fun, until Anna started acting a bit odd. She was spraying Leia with her water gun, then after I asked her to stop she sprayed me with the water gun, then when I put her in time out she threw a ball at me. That did it. Upstairs she went. It was so random, she was playing happily...no problems, then just this craziness happened. We talked about it afterwards and she told me, "Mama, I just wasn't thinking about what I was doing." Doesn't that sound like an adult talking? My baby!

Tonight Shannon & I went to Sarah's for our girls night out. We finished the last half of Charles Dickens "Our Mutual Friend." Sarah is introducing me to English culture and I find myself speaking with an english accent for the next few hours...which my husband finds quite amusing.

Withdrawals

I feel like someone who's trying to overcome an addiction. I guess what I have is an addiction to food. Not cheap McDonalds style food, but good ol' fashioned comfort home cookin'. It is definitely an adjustment to the SBD, but I'm happy to report another successful day on my new lifestyle of eating. For exercise I decided to shake things up and swim laps during Anna's swimming lessons. I did this for 3 reasons: so I wouldn't be watching Anna non-stop afraid that she would drown (I'm paranoid, I know), because I LOVE to swim, and because I thought it would be good for me since it takes more pressure off my body. I swam about 12 laps and it was really fun! I think I'm going to swim on tues/thurs so I can have a change of pace in my exercise routine. I'm a bit sore, though...

Today Anna & I just hung out. We put together a puzzle, played games, worked on her "homework" (a book of pre-kindergarten activities), read stories & watched movies. It was a nice day. I needed to keep busy so I wouldn't think about eating and it's always fun to focus just on my little girl.

Tonight Anna had tee ball practice. Now I understand what my sister-in-law, Tisha, says about watching her boys play baseball=I feel like such a proud Mama when I see my little girl out there batting & fielding the ball. She's SUCH a cute girl and I'm thrilled to see some real athletic ability in her.

Free Time

Took Anna to swimming lessons, she did really well. I exercised on e for 30 minutes and then did 20 on lw. Yes, indeed I did start the South Beach Diet today. I had canadian bacon, eggs, & vegetable juice for breakfast, chicken breast on romaine for lunch, string cheese for snack, chicken breast and green beans and sugar-free jello for dinner. For dessert later this evening I will have vanilla ricotta cheese. I did really well on my first day. I'm eager to see some results! One major thing that I have noticed today is all the free time I had on my hands. I am assuming that I spent A LOT of time in the kitchen either preparing or eating food. I guess I need to find another way to fill my time now. Tyler suggested reading. I really need to do that. I did, however, practice the piano which I had been neglecting to do the past few weeks. We had FHE on being "Fishers of men." Anna was excited because it talked about fish. She's such a cutie. We're going to watch a movie I checked out from the library. It's called Lagaan, it's actually an indian movie (sans Shahrukh Khan) but it's a whopping 4 hours long! We'll see if it's any good...

Saltwater fuel

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On the night before south beach...

So tomorrow it begins. Another attempt at the South Beach diet. I feel very confident that this will be great for me. I even bought some grocery items that I normally wouldn't think to buy: celery, tomato juice, vegetable juice, etc, but I'm excited to begin! I also plan to couple my diet with 5-6 days of exercise at the Y, followed by weights. It's a beautiful new beginning to the rest of my life.

Church went well; had a really good turnout at choir. We sang "Beautiful Savior" for the musical number. It sounded wonderful. The 2nd hour at church, I went around played excerpts from "FROM CUMORAH'S HILL," in the Sunday school classes. I hope we will have a lot of participation from the ward when we begin those practices at the end of July.

After church I baked my birthday cake: pineapple upside-down cake. It's seriously the best recipe for this type of cake in the world. No really. I figured that I wanted to prevent any sad feelings about not getting a birthday cake on my birthday, so we had it today. Perhaps on my real birthday (in sept) we'll stick a candle in my steak and sing happy birthday. Who knows? I was able to sneak in a 25 minute nap after church, very nice.

We had John & Nicole and their kids over for dinner/games. We had a great time. We played carcassonne, which was their first time to play it. John totally won with a whopping score of 228. Consequently, I think he likes the game. ;) Nicole is such a sweet woman--and guess what? She also listened to Pearl Jam in high school, like me. Who would have thought? Does that mean that I'm sweet too, because I listened to Pearl Jam? Hmmm.

In a league of her own

Anna's first day of tee ball began this morning with her very first practice. Her daddy took her and she was so excited! She took her little glove which they found garage saleing last weekend--seriously, I didn't even know they made gloves in her size, it's so small! She shows up at the practice & she's the only girl on the team. All boys & 1 girl. But Tyler did say that they had a pink helmet & a pink bat for her, which I think is pretty cute. Well, apparantly, Anna just LOVED batting but said the rest of the practice was B O R I N G. I didn't even think she knew that word yet. So, we're trying to talk up how fun tee ball is and hopefully she'll be more excited about it as the "season" wears on. Let's hope.

I actually scrapbooked one whole page today. I know. It's very exciting! I wanted to scrap more, but I had some time constraints which consisted of Tyler taking Anna & I out to Chili's for dinner. I was trying to prevent any problems early on in my diet. Let me explain, for July 4th we always have homemade vanilla ice cream and since I will be on my diet during that holiday I made it yesterday so I could have it one more time before my lifestyle change which is happening on monday. Well, my birthday is in september and I wanted to go to Chili's for it (I know, I'm a MAJOR planner and I'd already planned where I wanted to go) and I didn't want that to get canceled, so we went tonight. By the time I actually start my diet, I will have gained probably 5 pounds of pre-dieting behaviors.

Did you know?

Yummy

It rained today. Our grass was pretty thirsty from the lack of rain these past few weeks, even though we have been watering it. Our garden is looking really good. It's amazing how well everything is growing. Today Anna & I organized her room. I asked her if there was anything that she didn't want anymore and surprisingly, we filled a large tub with things. I'm considering the idea of garage sale to sell some unwanted things around the house. We shall see.

We grilled dinner and ate outside. I made that wonderful ice cream recipe and it is so yummy. I think we're going to read scrippys & then when Anna's in bed, we may play a game or two or eat more ice cream...or both...until we force ourselves to go to bed & pay for it the next day...why do we do this to ourselves? Because it's fun, that's why. I think.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

This was given to me by my Grandma McElwain, an elect lady.

Cook together these ingredients until thick: 6 eggs, 2 cups sugar, 1 tbsp flour, & 3 cups milk. (I typically blend the eggs together beforehand with a mixer)

Let cool to room temperature and then add 1 tbsp vanilla, 3 cartons whipping cream & pour into freezer (the biggest size, I believe). Fill to the fill line with milk. Freeze and eat. This is a traditional fourth of july dessert on the McElwain family side. ENJOY!

p.s. I really like this recipe because of the texture, it's very soft. However, once you refreeze the leftovers (if you have any) it's nearly impossible to scoop any more out because it has hardened. So, it's one of those fantastic recipes once it's made but not good for leftovers...make sense?

Preparing for the new course of action

I worked out and then Anna had her swimming lessons. I tell you what, that indoor swimming pool makes that room a SAUNA. (it's a heated pool) I've found that if you work out and then go in the pool room that you continue sweating. Now, I'm sure there is some type of reason for this occurring (science people help us out here) I just don't know what.

Tyler came home to watch Anna during my first round of cavities treatment. I must say, the whole cavity filling process has altered since the days of my youth. I'm a composite person--I don't think that putting metal in your mouth is a smart idea--when I was young I didn't even know there was another option other than metal fillings. When I mentioned that I wanted the composite to my dentist, he informed me that 80% of the fillings he does are, in fact, composite fillings. Who would have thought? The one part of the process that fascinated me most was the blue light. Anyone know what I'm talking about here? They put this gel on the tooth and then put a flashlight of sorts with a blue light in my mouth. (to go boldly, where no blue light has gone before...) Anyhow, this blue light is supposed to make the gel harden. Okay. If you say so. Who's to say it won't? 2 hours later, I was ready for my complimentary ice cream cone, instead I got a bill for $60. That just doesn't seem right, you hurt my mouth and you want me to pay you for it?!

Tonight I had a recipe exchange with Jenn, Nicole, & Jessica. We all had a nice time. I don't think I got one recipe (I spent the evening sort through ones I didn't want of mine) but it was great to chat with them. They make great company. I'm so happy that I have found so many nice people to spend time with here. Ohio is great.

So, I'm preparing to begin my diet on monday. How, you ask? Well, I'm reading the south beach diet book (it always helps to actually know what the diet is, right?) and I'm planning to eat some things that I know I won't be able to eat for a LONG time. For example, I made my crock pot macaroni & cheese for the recipe exchange tonight. Pasta won't be something I'll be eating much on the SBD. I also realized that I will be on the SBD during the 4th of July which messes up my tradition of homemade vanilla ice cream (only the best recipe in the WORLD), so I bought the ingredients & I'm going to make it tomorrow...that way, I won't feel gipped when July 4th rolls around and no ice cream. I am ready to make some lifestyle changes and I'm ready to "live it up" until monday. What would be hard for you to give up?

New course of action

Worked out. Anna's swimming lessons. Consigned some items. Checked out movies/cd/books from the library. Went to the commissary. Filled a prescription. Came home and looked for a brainless activity = played tetris.

We went to Amy's house to play some Carcassonne. (such a fun game, you should really try it. No, really).

I feel it's time to begin a new course of action. Very soon I will be beginning a consistent diet plan (it looks like it will be the South Beach diet) + my exercise regiment at the Y. Tyler & I both feel that I should focus on weight loss and put the whole fertility stuff on the back burner for now. In my mind I feel that if I do what I can and lose weight that the pregnancy will come easily for me. I think that my weight (& God) has prevented me from becoming pregnant because I am so overweight. Morbidly obese, according to my health record on base. Not exactly the healthiest state for becoming pregnant. So, we're actually going to prevent pregnancy (not that we haven't been successful in that for the past 4 years, ha ha) and focus on weight loss. I met with the Bishop tonight, who also struggles with his weight, and we may begin a focus group with other members in the ward and get together on a weekly basis for support. I think it's a great idea & it would be FREE, unlike other diet clinics out there. Well, that's my plan. I am excited about it. I plan to read the South Beach diet book this week and I should be ready by Monday. (I'm a slow reader...)

Everybody watch out!

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Am I missing something here??

I really do have good intentions...honest

This morning we woke up close to 10am. Yeah, well, Anna's lessons begin at 10:15am. Can you say RUSHED?! Anyhow, we made it and Anna had a great lesson. I saw Sarah who has been out of town for the past week, roughing it in AZ. We let the kids run around in the mat room and caught up on things. Before I knew it--it was noon, so we hurried to the store to buy some grapefruit (for the liver cleanse) plus some fat-free foods to eat before 2pm (when I have to stop eating). Here is a photo of Anna in her "armor," also known as the piano bench cover...

So Tyler goes to class (he started back this week) and I went to the dentist because my gums are swollen on my upper right side. They said it would take 10 minutes....1 hour later I left with the knowledge that I have SEVEN cavities, and am due for my very first root canal, plus I have an abcess (sp?) where my gum is swollen, so I have to start on penicillin (sp?) asap. GREAT. What fun news, eh? So I come home and prepare for the dreaded epsom salt. I read over the cleanse directions briefly and come across something saying that I shouldn't do the cleanse if I have any tooth infections. GREAT. So, for the 2nd time in a row, I can't do the liver cleanse. GRRR. Now, you know me, I loathe epsom salts, but I was mentally forcing myself to do it and I felt more confident about drinking them than in the past...but yet, I'm unable to do it. So, I'll probably be attempting it next week. *sigh*

Anna has been saying "Excuse me," when she wants to say something to an adult, including her parents. So Tyler & I will be talking and Anna will say: "Excuse me," and then proceed to say whatever is on her mind. It really is nice & polite that she does it, but sometimes we ask her to wait to speak until we're done talking. But now I'm thinking that perhaps we don't let her talk enough...last night I went in to her room to kiss her & I heard her talking in her sleep. Any guesses on what she was saying? "Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me!" over & over...that made Tyler & I sad. Poor girl can't get a word in edgewise!

Exciting & Frustrating

So Anna goes to her swimming lessons today. She's a starfish now. She did a great job. In the dressing room, her teacher, Stephanie, & I began talking about Anna's progress. Stephanie was her teacher when Anna was a stingray--the class just before starfish--and on Anna's report card she said that Anna should move up to polliwog, which is the class after starfish. When I asked about it at the main desk, they said she must have written it wrong because polliwogs are 6 years old & up. I asked Stephanie about it and she said that Anna is skilled enough to go into polliwogs and that she sees great potential in Anna as a swimmer. Now, this is from her teacher after only 3 class sessions at the Y. I was pretty amazed at how well Stephanie said that Anna was doing, she even mentioned & I quote: "She could definitely go on to be a synchronized swimmer and be on a swim team." Pretty neat, except it's hard for me to imagine that far away, since Anna's 5 years old. Anyhow, I'm going to speak with the aquatics director and ask if it's possible for Anna to move up to the next class despite her age. She won't be 6 for another 6 months and I'd rather her not just sit around and not be able to progress as fast as she could. So, it's exciting that she's doing so well but frustrating that she can't move up. Yeah.

I feel like I've been blogging all day long. I've been compiling all my blogs since I began this one almost a year ago. It took 155 pages once they were all printed. I put them in a 3 ring binder. Who knows if they'll ever be read, but I'm doing my part to have my journal for my descendents and also for when I want to remember how I overcame something, etc. Does anyone else keep a journal other than online?

My back was giving me trouble this morning--which doesn't happen to me--so I opted to not exercise, which wasn't good. (I was all dressed any everything. *pout*) I tried to take it easy so I wouldn't hurt my back. Tomorrow I'm doing another liver cleanse. Yes, fun stuff. I am determined to follow through with it. Last time I drank some epsom salts, threw them up (lovely mental image, I know) and then quit the cleanse. This time, I will persevere, conquer, overcome!!! And hopefully this back pain is related to gall stones & will be gone within 2 days after the cleanse. I hope.

We had some outdoor fun this afternoon. Here are some photos:

Tyler cut down some branches and he's showing off his manly muscles! Woo-hoo!!!!
Anna also wanted to display her, um, muscles. Go ANNA!

The Testaments

Have you seen the movie, The testaments? If not, I recommend it to you. We watched it tonight as a family. My eyes are puffy from the crying marathon that occurred. It is such a powerful film. At the end, when Christ comes to Helam and says his name--I feel as though he was speaking my name. Wow. The film reaffirms my belief in Jesus Christ and confirms my testimony that He is the Messiah. I await his 2nd coming and the time when he will call me by name.

This morning we had choir, which went well. I'm thinking to organize section leaders for the 4 sections in the choir (soprano, alto, tenor & bass). We have such dedicated members in the choir and fabulous accompanist. This has been my best experience being the choir director yet. I taught Anna's class again in primary. I've never taught in primary so this is a new experience for me. I have enjoyed it and Jana asked me if I could teach until they get a permanent teacher. Sure, why not? My daughter has really enjoyed having me as her teacher, even when I have to hold her to the same discipline standards as the other 4 girls in the class. I love my little girl.

After church we had a fast lunch then took a nap. Tyler & I were up until almost 2am. Yes, I forgot to mention, I bought Tyler that game. Carcassonne. We're hooked! It's nice to be able to play a strategic game that you can play with 2 people! (it can go up to 6 people, I think) Very nice. Anyhow, for dinner I made Tyler's favorite pork chops (with onions, mushrooms, & green peppers), mashed potatoes, italian cheese bread, a salad--made from our square foot garden--and mint chocolate brownies. And we have enough leftovers to feed a small army. Did you expect otherwise??

Interesting...

Geopathic stress.

Motivation

This morning I went to our Enrichment meeting which consisted of 3 classes on money management, meal management, & home management. All of the classes were enlightening and MOTIVATING. I came directly home and began organizing my C2 room. I decided that are many things in this room that I don't need/want/use. So, I'm going to get rid of them. ALL. My sweet husband has spent the last 3 hours helping me sort things and going through all of our important documents, etc. And he did that after he took Anna garage saleing (he found some great deals, too) and went to SAM'S to buy some things we needed. I'm so blessed to have him. Anna picked up a doll at a garage sale today. She doesn't need another doll, but she showed some interest in it and the lady just gave it to her, free of charge. All day the doll has been at Anna's side. She named the doll "Anna." I hope this means that she likes her name. ;)

Hiking

This morning I got a call from Jenn, inviting Anna & I to go hiking at a nearby place called Charleston something...it was really neat! I was a bit concerned about how much I could handle in the hiking department, but I was able to do everything and didn't hurt myself at all in the process! Anna, however, fell down 2 times and was scared to do some of the hiking, which surprised me, since Anna isn't usually scared to do ANYTHING. Here are some photos:

Laura, Celeste, & Anna...so cute!

Me & Anna...being a stinker & not smiling because she didn't want to be where we were...sigh

Celeste, Michael, Laura, & Anna...out on the trail!

This was a really neat area where the stream went over some flat rock, The kids really enjoyed walking through it. This park area had a trail, some small waterfalls with fish in the bottom, was almost completely shaded with trees, just a great place to go!

I did more laundry (it never ends) and Anna swam for a bit in the backyard. Tyler came home & we ate some homemade hawaiian pizza--so tasty! Tyler knowing that I was in need of some down time, took Anna to the store with my grocery list. Isn't he wonderful? Yes, yes he really is.

A new toy...

I want this Bread Maker.

Chuck E. Cheese

Fun or not-so-fun?

Anna got her "report card" from swimming lessons. She is again moving up to the next class: Starfish. She really is swimming well. I hope this is something that she will continue to enjoy throughout her life. I feel it's important for everyone to learn how to swim because you never know when you might need to know how. The same thing applies to learning to drive a stick shift.

I finally attempted to work on the laundry and it's amazing how after you fold a mountain of laundry how little space it takes up on the floor! Sadly, though, I haven't put it all away, but I'm much closer than I've been all week!

This afternoon we met our friends, Nathan & Heather, at Chuck E. Cheese's about 25 minutes away. I've only been about 4 times, I think, but it's different when you go as a child versus going with your child. Anna's personality instantly changed as we entered the room. She needed those tokens and she needed them NOW. We insisted that she eat dinner before playing games--she was complaining that she was rumbly in her tumbly the whole drive down. Of course, she couldn't feel those hunger pangs when there were so many games to play! We had fun talking with the family and watching the girls have a good time, but all-in-all, it was extremely overstimulating. And not just for Anna---for her parents, too! I can safely say that I probably won't go there for a long time. We had thought to have Anna's birthday party there this year, but I can assure you that won't be happening. The pizza wasn't very good and it was overpriced, the places was full of kids. Tyler even had this little girl come up to him begging for tokens. He said she should find her mom and the girl said she couldn't. Tyler replied that the little girl had better locate her mom before doing anything else, to which the girl asked if she could have 2 tokens instead of just 1. Yeah, those kinds of places just don't mesh well with us, I guess. We went to incredible pizza with Melisa's family, but I don't remember the same chaos there...refresh my mind, Melisa, was it that bad when we went??

Now we're just relaxing our home. I just love this house. I'm so happy to be in a home that I feel completely comfortable in--I don't remember feeling this way about our previous house. Life is GOOD.

Dilemma

This morning I went to the Y earlier to workout before Anna's swimming lessons, then we went to consign on base, went to the bank, & library, too. Came home & I did some dishes, swept the floor and pretty much anything except laundry. Yeah. I have a mountain of laundry in our bedroom...do you ever just wish laundry would somehow just put itself away to save you the trouble? Well, I just looked and it's still there...perhaps I can convince myself to do it tomorrow, having spent 4 days on the floor by then it will probably need to be washed again...ha ha.

Anna went over to Glittersmama's house so Tyler & I could go to the Temple. We hadn't been in 2 months and I was eager to go. I seriously need to feel the peace that comes with being in the Temple. We did some sealings and it was wonderful! My goal for our next move is that we'll be closer to the Temple. We're only an hour away right now, but it was great living in Provo and I could drive 5 minutes to the Provo Temple and get in within 20 minutes. It's amazing how often a new session starts there! (and no appointments either!)

Being active in the LDS church, I do not partake of alcohol or any type of drugs. However, we do have one common drug: FOOD. At practically every function there is some type of food. And typically it's a sweet treat, which isn't helpful for me who needs to lose, oh, about 150lbs?? Yeah. My grandma said it best that I've had a life-long love affair with food. I enjoy cooking/baking/presenting ornate dishes. It's fun. And we all HAVE to eat, don't we? It's not like it's something I can just stop doing and still survive. I feel good when I eat, and I don't seem to have many other activities that make me feel as good as when I'm eating something tasty. I read a book recommended to me by Melisa that was called "Running with Angels." It was a story about an overweight LDS woman who battled with her weight & exercise and how she lost a lot of weight & went on to run a marathon. It was a great book & very inspirational. I wish I heard more talks about the dilemma of obesity in the church. I know that my body is a Temple. I want to take good care of it, but it seems that I can't or won't for an extended amount of time. It's rough, I tell you.

ummm...huh?

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Looking the part

If you ever wondered what an analytical scientist, aka intelligent geek/nerd, looks like--you're in luck. I have a picture of one right here:

Aren't those glasses the coolest you've ever seen? Well the Air Force certainly thinks so. They gave them to Tyler free of charge. I was happy they did, but hoped the occasion wouldn't arise where he'd actually have to wear them. That unhappy occasion was this morning. Tyler was at PT this morning playing soccer. The ball came right at him, and somewhere in his mind he thought he could bump the soccer ball off the top of his head. Now, you must know that Tyler hasn't played soccer more than a few times and he's only seen professional players achieve this feat. That probably didn't even cross his mind as he dared to bump the ball up. The only thing was, the ball just hit him smack in the face. Yeah. And it was so hard that it broke Tyler's glasses which proceeded to cut him on the top of his nose--which is covered by these nerdy glasses (they're big enough to cover his face practically)--so, he went in to order another pair of glasses. The optometrist said it would take 2-3 weeks for them to come in. So, for the next 2-3 weeks Tyler will walk around "looking the part."

Anna did really well in her swimming lessons this morning. I think the teacher likes Anna--being the only girl in the class--she always takes Anna further out in the pool than the other 5 boys. I would complain about favoritism, but it's in favor of my girl. Is that wrong?? Comments are welcome.

I had a good workout. I did 5 on e, 20 on t & 10 on b (bike) followed by 20 on arm weights. Anna went over to play with Laura for over an hour. I went through the house looking for consignment worthy items. I plan to consign tomorrow. There's some money to be made from all this extra clutter around my house, I'm just sure of it.

I swam with Anna in the backyard today. I wish we had a fence, I feel self conscious in my swimsuit...we'll probably get a fence 6 months before we move. ha ha. Anna & I played PIRATES and we looked for "buried treasure" and we had to say "ARRRRR" whenever we found some. It was really fun. She is truly my treasure.

I ordered some music today. I'm going to advertize to teach beginners piano lessons. I have 3 voice students and I think I'm ready to teach piano now. Wish me luck!

If only...

I adore you

This morning Anna had her swimming lessons and she did wonderfully. Although, I tend to worry a lot when she dives down and touches the bottom of the pool with her legs flailing in the air. *sigh* I'm a nervous mama.

We went to the hospital to have some more blood drawn. Incidentally, they didn't call me with the number on it. I hope it's lower than 11. We went to the commissary to buy some groceries. Came home and I made that wonderful chocolate cake. You know the one. It's the chocolate cake with hot fudge poked through the top with whip cream over it. YUM! We had our good friends over for dinner/fhe/games. It was really fun. We had a great time. And Anna enjoyed playing with little glitter.

Last night my husband said, to me, "I adore you." I know that the words "I love you" are very powerful, but when you hear the words "I adore you," it seems to be a very powerful phrase as well. I'm adored, isn't that wonderful? I like the idea of being adored and love the idea of actually being adored.

Last night we watched the first & second Work & The Glory dvds. Tonight we're going to watch the third & final one. I'm excited!!!

Pampering. Okay ladies, and some men--but that might be weird, tell me how you pamper yourself. I want to know what you do just for you. Pedicures? A good book? Godiva chocolate?

Comfy jammies

This morning I got up the latest that I could get up leaving myself 25 minutes to shower/get myself & Anna ready & get out the door for choir practice. WHAT FUN THAT IS! Last night we were up late, so I was trying to get some more sleep by snoozing a bit...question: do you really get that much more sleep by snoozing every 10 minutes?!

Choir was wonderful, we had some new people show which was great. We're singing an arrangement of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." I love that song. I'm toying with the idea of assigning section leaders to try to recruit more people. We're also looking to call a Choir President, someone who would assign opening/closing prayers and remind choir members (or section leaders) about practices/performances/ect. I thrive on organization, can you tell?

For dinner we had over Stephen & Amanda. They are super nice and their daughter is Anna's age. We had a lovely time. Amanda is interested in taking voice lessons from me after her baby is born.

We're about to watch some of the "Work & the Glory" movies. Valene let us borrow the first & second movies and when we finish them she has the third/final one for us to borrow. We're going to watch is as a family, so we got in our jammies. I just love mine...I'm not sure what material it's made out of--but they are way comfy and that's what counts!

Hand & Foot

I got to sleep in today--something I haven't done in over a week. I was desperately needing some sound sleep. Of course, I'm writing this post at midnight and tomorrow is church so you know that I won't be getting my full 9 hours tonight! (supposedly I need 9 hours, perhaps due to sleep apnea? not sure)

On saturdays we try to have a nice breakfast and Anna wanted pancakes, so we had those. I went with Angela to get a pedicure. My toes are a lovely shade of orange, perfect for the summer. (perfect for me, since I love orange)

I taught 2 voice lessons, they went well. Maria & Elizabeth came over to hang out. There was a baptism tonight at the church and I wasn't sure if it was too early to invite Maria to it--but Elizabeth was adament that they come as well, so sure enough they did come to it. It was a wonderful baptism. I really felt the Spirit there. I was needing to feel it--I have been really down lately with all the fertility woes, but what I heard at the baptism really helped me & buoyed me up. It was a good thing to be there. I wish that more people could have come, it was pretty empty, but the Spirit was strong. I wonder what Maria felt. She left pretty quickly afterwards, so I wonder if she felt anything during the baptism. We'll see.

We invited Valene & Trent over for some hand & foot (remember those days, Melisa?) and some homemade tapioca. It was really fun to play some games.

ummm...okay

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Chocolate Pudding

I went in & had some more blood drawn today. Guess what? The results were 11. That means that they have ruled out the ectopic pregnancy and now it just means I've had a miscarriage. I'm excited about the news. I'm sure that had I known/thought I was pregnant for a few months & then have had a miscarriage that I would now be devastated. But, I didn't know and didn't even suspect I could have been pregnant, so it wasn't a huge upsetting thing for me. I am happy that at least something is working better--the egg did fertilize! Hooray! So, all is well in Jill's world once again. Thanks for being here to share it with me.

Anna had her first ever dentist cleaning today. She did SO WELL. I was very pleased with her behavior. She even got a Princess Belle toothbrush. She did so well that I decided to treat her to McDonald's for lunch. I called & invited Maria & Elizabeth to join us there. We had a very nice time.

We came home & watched a movie. Then I talked on the phone with Coulter, Nina, Suzanne, & Nilma. It was so nice to talk with all of them! Tyler got to come home early which was nice. We made some dinner and then I decided to try out some of the Chocolate Pudding that I got via Cannery. Let me tell you--it wasn't bad, it was pretty good, actually. If we were only to eat food storage from today on, we wouldn't be upset with our only outlet for chocolate/sweet treats!

We're going to watch Bryant & Avery tonight. Of course, Anna is thrilled! I'm choosing my next cross stitch project. This is way overdue. Cross stitching truly relaxes me. I don't know what it is about stitching some floss in little x's for hours at a time, but I love it. What is your hobby that relaxes you?

Update

Well, I went in for the follow-up blood test. They called me late this afternoon (this was one phone call that felt like it took forever to be received!) and said that my count went from 12 (on tuesday) to 16 (today). That isn't good. The nurse said it is indicative of an ectopic pregnancy, also called tubal pregnancy. I looked up some information on ectopic pregnancies and found some symptoms that look familiar. I am having some pregnancy-like symptoms=frequent urination, crying, & increased sense of smell. I am having some lower back pain and pain in my neck & shoulder--which I read was indicative of ectopic pregnancy. Needless to say, it doesn't look like a good situation to find myself in. I'm not sure how my doctor will proceed with this information, assuming it is true. Tomorrow I'm supposed to go in to have another blood draw. With all my symptoms, though, it seems like I am experiencing an ectopic pregnancy. I'll be honest. This is very new and scary to me. It lowers the chance of becoming pregnant (something I'm already struggling with) and increases the likelihood of another ectopic pregnancy happening in the future. I pray that Heavenly Father will help me through this trial. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Anna had swimming lessons today and she did so well! She's quite the little fish. I saw my friend, Maria, & her daughter, Elizabeth, also at the Y. Anna & Elizabeth played while Maria & I chatted. We need to get together sometime soon.

I went VT to see Sherry & Angela. Both visits were really nice. I so enjoy the sisters that we VT. Sarah came over to hang out while Leia played with Anna. She's always fun to hang out with. She's a great friend. I made taco salad for dinner and Tyler went to Columbus for his last final of this quarter. He'll get the next week off, which will be nice. Right now I don't feel like I could accomplish very much, my emotions are on the surface and I feel like I couldn't get through a conversation with anyone without crying.

Husband to the rescue

Today was Anna's last day of preschool. And just to add some confusion to our lives, they had the afternoon preschool go to school 1 hour earlier than usual and come home 2 hours earlier than usual. So, instead of 3 hours, it was 2...and the whole times were off. It was crazy--either have it as it normally is or just let them out of school 1 day early. Who decides these crazy schedules anyhow?! As I saw Anna's bus drop her off, I wondered when the next time she would ever ride a school bus. I'm planning to take Anna to & from school beginning with kindergarten. My baby is growing up so fast!

Well, today hasn't been an easy day. When my period came last Sunday, I was upset, but I handled it surprisingly well and just thought we'd try again next cycle. When the nurse called me yesterday and mentioned that my blood tests showed a miscarriage, I was actually kind of happy---thinking that perhaps things were getting closer to working and that a pregnancy would happen soon. But when she said that I could possibly be pregnant now...that has been driving me CRAZY. Am I pregnant? Do I feel any symptoms? It's to the point where I don't know what it feels like to be pregnant or not pregnant--each cycle I would feel a bit tired, and think, Oh, maybe this means I'm pregnant...or maybe I would be really emotional and I thought that that meant I was pregnant...enough to drive the most sane person INSANE. (not that I'm extremely sane, mind you). Anyhow. Tomorrow I'll have my blood drawn and then we'll know.

I was in a pretty lousy mood for the morning/afternoon...focusing on the aforementioned topic. My sweet husband came home & came to my rescue. He took Anna & I bowling, out for dinner and then out for a frosty at Wendy's. It was JUST what I needed. I needed to be out of the house, having a wonderful time with my sweet little family. I was surprised at how much better I felt. My husband is such a terrific man, he's everything that I need and then some. =)

Is 12 a lucky number?

This morning I met Tyler on-base and he took Anna home as I went in for my blood draw & baseline scan. I had prayed that the blood draw would be painless, and it really was--much to my happiness. =) I went to the women's health center for the baseline scan, which meant a vaginal ultrasound to see if there are any cysts on the ovaries. Apparantely, I have 2 cysts--one on each ovary--and they are big enough that my Dr doesn't want to do another cycle of injections right now, because that could make the cysts grow and that could damage the ovaries. SO--we're going to "sit this cycle out" relatively speaking=no injections or HCG shot this cycle. The Dr said it's not uncommon for couples to become pregnant on their own in this particular situation, so we're hoping for the best. When I heard the news, I had mixed reactions. Part of me welcomed the time off from the injections and all the stress therein, but I was also sad to not be actively trying for another baby.

Once I was home, I received a call from the nurse. She said my HCG blood work showed 12 which was higher than they expected. 6 = not pregnant, 35=pregnant. 12 is somewhere in the middle. So, the nurse explained that either I was pregnant for a very short amount of time and then had a miscarriage or that I could still possibly be pregnant. I'm going back on thursday for another blood draw to see if it has gone up. If so, then we could have some good news, if not, well we'll just try, try again.

I had a dental appointment today. I can't remember my last cleaning. Growing up, we faithfully had our teeth cleaned every 6 months. While Tyler's family only went to the dentist if something hurt (Tish, that's what he says, I don't know if that applied to just him or everyone). So, my teeth are nice & clean now. It's so nice to have dental insurance now. In college we didn't have it--you just can't afford it. Anyhow, they wanted to do an x-ray, but couldn't since there's a chance I could be pregnant. I want to see if that tooth that was giving me trouble was anything more than a fleeting, sharp pain. (Let's hope it was!)

We're researching a new all-in-one printer (copier, fax, scanner, & printer) because ours is on the fritz. I have some photos I'd like to scan, but can't. It's frustrating, but I found one on tigerdirect.com for $29.99 after the mail-in rebate. We'll see.

Carcassonne

So I'm still on my period, but it feels like my insides are all falling out. I couldn't leave my house for the majority of the day, because I had to be near the restroom because I was visiting it about every 15 minutes. I wonder if it's related to the injections...my nurse called me & I'm going in tomorrow for a baseline scan and bloodwork. Oh joy of joys, I'm already back to the bloodwork. It's just one more reason that I want to become preggo---to end the bloodwork that occurs 2-3x each week. Does anyone know what a baseline scan is? I haven't heard of it before...

My grandparents had breakfast with us and then drove off to visit Aunt Rhoda. It was so nice to see them. I miss my grandma. She is very special to me.

So, I was home all morning and most of the afternoon. Lea came over for her voice lesson. It went well. She's going to sing a duet with her Dad in church. What a wonderful experience that would be. I've never had that opportunity.

After dinner, we went over to Amy & Kacey's house for FHE. We had a great lesson on memorizing hymns and then played Carcassonne, which was really fun. It always takes me a little while to get a new game learned. My favorite game is Settlers which I could play everyday, if possible. It took me quite a while to learn Settlers so that I could feel strategic in my playing. Tyler seems to catch on faster in these types of games, so then the real struggle (& the fun part) is whether or not I can beat my husband!!!

VISITORS!!!!

Fertility update: my period came yesterday. I'm pretty bummed about it. I'm trying not to think about it, but I find myself crying over things that shouldn't be cried about...so, perhaps I should just have one long cry and then move on to the next cycle. I had hoped that I would have had beginner's luck with the injections. I'm not looking forward to the next few weeks of blood draws. I don't mind the injections or the vaginal ultrasounds. It's the blood draws that really get me. I don't like them. At all. It probably has everything to do with my "donating" plasma back in the college days. I didn't have a job and that was my only cash flow--I didn't know that my veins would pay for it...every time I have it drawn.

Yesterday was spent in preparation for my Grandparents arriving today. We were up until 1am getting ready. Well, actually, Tyler was working on a project for his MBA until 1 am and I didn't want to go to bed without him, so I cleaned furiously until 1am. The alarm going off this morning at 7:30am was notsofun. But somehow I've made it the whole day without a nap. (is that smart or dumb?)

Grandma & Grandpa arrived around 5:30pm. We had a lovely meal of chicken enchiladas, refried beans, spanish rice, & corn. We showed them around our house and our lovely backyard and garden. Then we had some angel food cake with cream & strawberries, because Anna couldn't wait any longer. Anna went to bed & had stories from Dad while I did some dishes. I had intended to "interview" my grandparents tomorrow morning after breakfast. I have a list of 73 questions about their life's experiences that I wanted to video them answering. Grandpa said he needed more time to think of the answers before the video could happen. That wasn't what I wanted to hear. I had planned to give them the questions beforehand, but I didn't get them all compiled until yesterday...such is the way it goes. I'm planning to go out to visit my sister after her baby girl is born and then I guess I'll do the interview while I'm out there. It's hard for me to get something out of my mind when I want it. I wanted the interview to happen tomorrow. I guess I don't always get what I want. (when have I ever??) ha ha.

Our Garden!

Graduation, already?!

A couple weeks ago I got a form from Anna's school requesting $10 for pre-school graduation costs. I didn't think the school needed any more money from me--we pay taxes, right? So I threw the form away and didn't think much of it. Honestly, I figured that Anna just wouldn't go to the graduation. We graduate from high school & college, not pre-k. I thought the whole thing was downright silly. However, Anna was coming home from school all pumped up for this graduation that was coming and she said that her teacher said we needed to send some money to purchase Anna's graduation tee-shirt. The next morning, I found that Anna had taken the money change that she had been collecting in her bedroom and put it in her backpack to take to school. How precious. I finally caved and paid the $10. Yesterday was the GRADUATION. We had to be there early so Anna could get ready and we waited in a humid gym. There were TONS of people. There were about 20 "graduates" and every possible relative seemed to be there. The principle began handing out kleenex to all the parents. Oh please, they're only 5 years old!!! Then they started playing pomp & circumstance (you know, the graduation song that we all know so well). Slowly the children starting filing in.


Once I saw this precious baby girl of mine walking with her graduation hat on, I couldn't help myself. My eyes started tearing up. I was so proud of what she had accomplished. Then I wished I had grabbed one of those tissues. It then occurred to me that there's nothing wrong with setting an example for our children by having them "graduate" from pre-k. It will prepare them for future graduations. My whole outlook completely changed. It was a day to remember. :)

Nice picture
Silly picture
Anna & Krizdin. They're such cute girls!

Well, at noon we went on-base to the spouse appreciation picnic. They had hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, cookies, & water. (a diet's dream of a meal, eh?). They had bingo, door prizes, free stuff, etc. They even had a real firetruck where the kids could spray the fire hose--Anna loved that!

After that Anna went with Tyler to the library & I went shopping at the commissary. It was really nice being able to buy food that was more conducive to my low calorie diet. (I actually have food in my kitchen that I can eat! Hooray!)

We came home & Anna swam while I put away groceries and Tyler headed off to SAMS. When he returned, he brought me a bouquet of lovely roses. I was so surprised = big brownie points. He's so good to me.

Then I ran some more errands: ALDI & Wal-mart. I wanted to buy an egg crate to go on our guest bed, but it cost $35 for a full-size egg crate. CRAZY EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!! I just couldn't do it.

Then Tyler & I watched the second half of ELIZABETH, THE VIRGIN QUEEN from the BBC. It was interesting. I've always been fascinated with the story of Anne Boleyn & her daughter Elizabeth. Fun stuff.