Good morning all! I hope this finds you all healthy & happy on this hump day!! The week is half done... hard to believe.

Ok, so I was a slacker yesterday, I know.. I am sorry. Oh, before I forget, my Progesterone level on Sunday was .4, my Progesterone level yesterday was 1.57... nearly quadrupled.

Of course I got up early yesterday and got ready to go to Reach. I got there at about 7:00, wow, they seem to get busier and busier. The line just to check in was out to the elevator. I guess, too, it has alot to do with time of day, everyone is trying to get in early. I got my blood work done and then headed to Wal-Mart (the devil) to get some items I needed: shower curtain & rings, bleach, tub cleaner, furniture polish, dusting spray - for the floor, a few totes (on sale), and some packing tape. I got that finished up and still had plenty of time before I would need to go back to Reach. (I knew yesterday would be the day.) So, my car's oil needed changed and I figured that would be a great way to kill time. To the dealership I went... it was also time for my 30K mile "work up". So, that cost me $275! I got the call from the doctors office about halfway through my anticipated wait time. So, I went to talk to the lady at the check out desk. They were going to get me a rental car. Turns out that wasn't necessary, my car was finished in just a few more minutes.

I made it back to Reach at the previously discussed time, and just in time. Before long they called me back, but it took about 25 minutes before they came in the room. This time I had Dr. Teaff!! My doctor. I told her that we were starting to wonder if she still worked there. She laughed and talked about her crazy schedule. She asked about Tancy and we talked during the procedure. The count (our swimmers) was 27 million. Not too shabby. She's by far the gentlest doctor there... but the whole process is fairly uncomfortable. Talking during it helps to keep you focused on something else... but man! The whole getting the cervix in place sucks & then when they thread the catheter into the uterus... WOW! That sends stars and birdies swirling around your head. Good thing I'm already laying down or I would surely need to!

So she gives me and the procedure her blessing, literally, and says that if it doesn't "take" this time we need to talk about the next step... but that it will take this time. I tell her I am sure it will take this time because she did it. The nurse also tells me she hopes we get pregnant this time. They are all so great there. Another nurse comes in the get "the light" while I am laying there after the procedure. Seems the light went out during an exam, that would suck! So they take the one I am not using. A few minutes later the same nurse comes in to get me up. I pay my usual IUI fee that day and call Tancy when I get out to the car.

I tell her about the procedure. She has been a bit bummed about not being able to be there. I can totally understand that. We decide to meet for lunch. Yay! I am cramping more than I remember cramping the other times. I know my abdomen is tender, which can be caused by the Ovidrel. I really just want to lay down. We end up having Japanese. I have sushi, it isn't the best we had, but it is good... and if I am pregnant it wont be something I can eat often... not that we can afford to eat it often now! After lunch she decides to come home with me. She's tired and it kinda makes me happy to be able to curl up with her in bed for a while. I was going to lay down regardless, not to sleep so much as to help the cramping ease up some.

We get home & make a beeline to the bedroom. I would LOVE to nap, but I already know it isn't in the cards. We watch Bill Maher and then she turns over and falls almost immediately to sleep. I watch TV for a bit. I must admit after about an hour, maybe a little more, I just can't help myself... I start waking her up. Kissing her face & telling her the puppies miss her. She does this to me on the weekends sometimes. LOL. We are so silly. We got up about 3:45 and headed over to Mandy's for dinner and a walk.

We got to Mandy's at about 4:45 and visited with her & Lauren for a while. We played with the puppy for a bit. Lauren left with Chelsea and we talked till dinner was ready. We ate dinner & then got ready to go for our walk. We decided to take the puppy with us, which presented its own interesting issues. We ended up walking 2.25 miles, packing the puppy about 1/3 of that, each of us taking turns. Good thing she only weighs like 3 pounds!! She was a champ though & did really well. She "lead" herself with her leash in her mouth. She provided alot of entertainment.

We got back to Mandy's, had some water & then headed home. By the time we got home we were exhausted. My tummy was still cramping and I just wanted to lay down. I think it was about 9:30 before we got settled in. I fell asleep relatively quickly. I tossed and turned some, but all in all it was a good nights sleep.

Morning came too early. I hate that. 5:30 and I roll out of bed to let the dogs out to potty and make coffee. By 6:00 Tancy is walking out the door and I am logging on to check emails and blog, since I so neglected it yesterday.

I am still cramping today, just par for the course I suppose. It isn't awful, just nagging. I have work to do in the house today. The guy that Tancy works with who looked at the house decided to continue to rent (what?!). So, everything has to be done here by Friday. FUN! Friday we will go look at the "new" place again, walk around some and just take in what we didn't the first time. Then we will come back here & take care of all of the paperwork, etc. to list our house. This is our first time to sell a house and I am a little apprehensive... I am also a bit anxious about trying to keep the house in "show" condition all the time. I just want this to go quickly & easily. I am going to do my best to be positive.

I have lots to do today... and I think I have caught everyone up on everything to this point. We need to take the aquarium to Paul today or tomorrow... Mandy will come over this evening for dinner & then we will go for a walk. We are trying to make it a routine during the week that we get together to walk in the evenings. We all need to MOVE more. So, if we do it together it makes it easier. I need to get the items in the back bedroom packed away and out of sight. I also want to get the things under the house better organized. There's still alot to do.

So, with that said, I should be signing off and getting moving. I hope everyone has a great day today.

Love to all!
Me

Good evening all. I hope this finds everyone well after a no doubt long Monday.

My day was spent cleaning the house & getting things put back together. We have a terrible habit of tearing things up while we are fixing things! Haha. By the time Tancy got home, with Dustin (the guy she works with who came to look at the house), I had dinner ready and "To Do" list done. Even though I slept till 10:30. Needless to say I was jumping through my ass to get it all done!

Dustin seemed to like the house. He was going to stop by and see his fiance` at work, tell her about the house. He took some pictures. He was also going to call his bank guy and talk to him about financing. I think that is all promising. He said he would call us tonight and let us know if he was interested or not. Oh how I hope he's interested. We could have this ball rolling pretty quickly.

We decided to take tonight off. We have been working so hard and our bodies are revolting against us... knees, feet, backs, necks, etc... all screaming at us, all day long & once we get in bed. So, it's time to give them a break. We've already eaten dinner. I made Dad's shrimp fettucini, with crawfish... yummy. I need to wait for it to cool so I can put it away and that wraps up my day.

Tomorrow I go to Reach. Tancy wont be able to go at all, she has a busy day with a full schedule, no possibility to get away. After that I will come home and either do one of two things... work in the house some more OR rest. I'll play that by ear. We are suppose to go to Mandy's tomorrow and walk with her after she gets off work. So, I'll probably take tonight's left overs with us.... hmm, or maybe I'll keep it here for us to eat Wednesday night when Mandy comes here!

The air hasn't been on in two days. Today got a little warm in the middle of the day, but I have all the fans going and it isn't bad as long as the air is moving. It has been getting down in the high 50's at night, so its quite comfortable sleeping. I love the way the fall air smells! It's totally worth it being a little warm during the day.

Oh how I hope this guy likes the house enough to buy it. That would be so wonderful.

Ok, enough about all of that... I need to clear my head for a little while of al the house thoughts. Packing, unpacking, moving, selling, buying, painting, flooring, money, closing cost, lawyers, paperwork, cleaning this house, cleaning that house, timing, cost and on and on and on... these are the things on my mind all the time. And then about a million and one more! Just the thought process is exhausting.

So I am sure this is more than enough for one day.

Love to all!
Me

Good morning all, barely. I hope this finds you healthy & happy. I went back to sleep after Tancy left this morning, something I haven't done in a long time. I was exhausted though. I slept till 10:30!! I couldn't believe it.

Of course I hit the ground running when I got out of bed. I called Mom first thing because I usually talk to her when she gets in to work. We have coffee together. I love it. While I was talking to her I started picking a few things up around the house. I need to get the house put back together today.

My LH was 14, my Estrogen was 163 and my Progesterone was low. i need to get a level on that, just to compare. I go back in the morning to get blood work done again & probably IUI... if my levels look right. We had one definite egg ready to go & a couple of possibilities. I took my shot last night and was really happy not to have to go in today!

I don't have too much else to report... we have just been working frantically in the house. Necessary items first, cosmetic last. We got a shower curtain rod in place in the bathroom, the ceiling finished, the paint finished... Master Bathroom - DONE! (Thanks to Tylor for all his help.) The touch up paint in the living room - DONE! We still have some touch up stuff to do, mostly on the trim & ceiling where we accidentally touched that with a roller. The kitchen still needs to be painted & we still need to put the trim down in the utility room. The small flower bed in the front - DONE! The big flower bed with all my butterfly bushes - DONE! (Thanks to Heather for all her help.) The grass is cut & all the trim work in the yard is done. Yay! So, we got some things marked off the list. Not to mention the items went to Mandy's that needed to go & the trash went to the dump.

Now, a question was posed to me yesterday... "Do you think the girls will help with the move?" My answer was "Yes, of course they will help with the move." We have great girls. We all have alot going on, but I believe with all my heart that they will all be there to help us move when that time comes. Not to mention they know that I will cook something & they all LOVE my cooking. Hehehe. I don't think my cooking is enough to lure them in for a big move... but like I said before, they are a great bunch of girls, we all help each other... that's what keeps us all together sometimes, knowing that no matter what we need, we will all be there to lend a hand.

Alright kids... I need to get to work on my "To Do" list for today. Dustin will be here this afternoon, I don't know what time, so I really need to get moving! Wish us luck, cross your fingers, say a prayer.

Wow, we have alot going on... as usual. Trying to get pregnant, trying to sell our house, trying to buy a new house, Mom's birthday trip to the beach (ladies... ya'll are more than welcome to join us), Holidays coming up, wow!! We'll get there. It's always all or nothing with us. I' be happy to get pregnant, sell the house & be moving into our new one all at once! Crazy, yes!! But, I'd have everything I want.

Ok, gotta run!

Love to all!
Me

Good Sunday morning all. I hope this finds you all healthy & happy... enjoying a quiet day after a no doubt busy weekend.

We haven't been back home long from REACH. We've got one definite egg & a couple borderline possibilities. I nearly passed out when they drew blood. The girl that did it was new, she wiggled the needle, even after I asked her not to & when she withdrew the needle from my arm it spurted blood all over the place. She then went for the back of my hand, which successfully produced enough blood for the tests that they needed to run & in the mean time I flushed white, felt like I was going to vomit & pass out all at the same time. The other lady that was in there noticed and took care of me, the young girl never checked up, calling in the next patient as soon as I was out of her chair. I hope she gets better quick or gets outta there!

We went by our "new" place on the way home. Of course it isn't ours yet. But I am in love with it. I am already placing furniture in my mind. The land is beautiful and the house is plenty big. If you want to take a look at it, email me and I will send you a link to check it out.

One of the guys that Tancy works with is coming to look at our house on Monday. Hopefully he LOVES it like I love this new place. If so, we would be good to go. If not, we will be putting the house on the market post haste. I will do my best to keep you posted on all the goings on.

Yesterday we started working here in the house. Tancy got the plumbing done that needed to be done, the patch work done that needed to be finished (including the ceiling from tearing out that partial wall). I got all the nick nacks and trinkets taken down and put in the bedroom... next I need to pack it up. We took the drums & camper over Mandy's yesterday & will move the kennels into the office so the master bedroom looks as big as it is. I am already packing the rest of the house in my mind. I think I got it all done last night, I didn't sleep much at all. What a miserable night. Oh well. I am trying to work out all the details in my head, how do we make this happen before that when this HAS to happen first?! Jeeze!! I just want to get our house sold & buy this new one... then I can figure out what to do from there.

Anyway, I guess I should wrap this up... there's much to be done here & it isn't getting done with me on this computer. I hope you all have a fantastic day and a restful end to the weekend.

Love to all!
Me

Good Friday morning all. I hope this finds you all healthy & happy. The weekend has either begun for you, or will in a few short hours.

You all know Tancy had a doctors appointment yesterday for her neck. They took an X-Ray to check out the plate from her surgery almost a year ago. We, finally, got to see the doctor and he said, based on the X-Ray's  (which remember doesn't show discs, etc. Only bones and her plate.) she was healed perfectly from the surgery and everything looked good. He said that "flare ups" aren't unusual and if you can ride it out, it usually resolves itself. Since she has been feeling some better, he wants us to give it about 6 weeks. If between now and then it gets worse, we will schedule an MRI and see how her discs look. If at week 5 she's feeling a ton better, we'll call and cancel the appointment. But he definitely didn't want to rush into anything and seemed very happy with how things looked from her surgery.

Things like that are always so strange. You don't want anything to be wrong, but you want an explanation for why you hurt. I think he told her exactly what she expected to hear... but I am sure it still has to be frustrated to have that level of pain & no real reason.

I talked to Mom yesterday immediately after we spoke to the doctor. My Paw-Paw's brother passed away yesterday. He had been sick for some time and in the hospital for a while. It's always hard to hear of a family members passing, but I know he is not in any pain anymore... and he's got good company up there. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, kids and grandkids.

We went to the "Festival In The Park" with Sandy yesterday evening. It was nice. Lots of "fair" food. Lots of arts and crafts (like jewelry, wood turning, pottery, etc.). I would LOVE to learn pottery and glass blowing. Not at the same time. I'd like to start with pottery. But glass blowing fascinates me!! I am amazed by peoples creativity ad artistic ability. I feel a bit inept sometimes in that department. But honestly, I have tried so little, I can't say that I don't have the ability. I can write. I have done a little water color painting & some chalk drawings... but I don't "draw" so that presents its own challenges. We had a good time, but by the time it was over our feet were hurting... and my back was really getting worse.

We headed home, on our way taking Sandy back to her car. Then on to the house. We really enjoyed spending the evening with Sandy. She's a mess and when you put her & Tancy together it is sure to be entertaining! We were exhausted when we got home. I put an ice pack on my back and settled in to go to sleep. Thankfully it didn't take long for me to fall asleep last night.

This morning I need to get moving... but just don't feel motivated to. I have a few things I want to get done before Linda gets here. I don't know if I will get it all done... She'll be here around 11:30. After we are done at our house we are going to look at a few properties. There's one, 22 acres with a double wide on it. 60K. Come to find out the trailer is considered "uninhabitable" by the seller. And there's a sewer easement on approximately 1/4 of the property. So, that changes the appeal of the place. I don't know.We will go look at it, and for 60K, you figure there's still 16.5 (approx.) acres unaffected. We would have plenty of room to build & room for our family to come, stay, whatever.We shall see. After that I think we will both want to take it easy.

Tancy's foot was still hurting her this morning & my back is still hurting me... so a leisurely evening would be nice.

I hope you all have a good day. Please keep Uncle "Toad's" family in your thoughts and prayers.

Love to all!
Me

It's nearly lunch time here and already my "To Do" list for today has gotten significantly shorter.

Mandy got here at 8:00 and we pretty quickly started doing what we do. She started in the hall bathroom because she likes to clean bathrooms & kitchens (she's sick like that!). I started working on the cabinets in our bathroom. I know, if we put the house on the market, that when the house shows people are going to open every door and look in every space that would potentially be there's. So, I need things to be organized. Everything has a place & everything should be in its place! Mandy moved to my bathroom to clean & I worked on what little needed to be done in the bedroom. I moved quickly to the back guest bedroom & then again to the front guest bedroom. Here's where I got hung up. That closet really needs to be cleaned out. But I have stuff in there that I have listed for sale on Craigslist and I have to keep it somewhere... the problem is organization. I swear I organize every couple of months. I don't understand how things get so out of sorts. I could speculate... but that wouldn't be fair.

I was wrapping up in the front bedroom as Mandy was wrapping up in the master bathroom. So we took a brunch break. Really we just had a ham sandwich on toast. It was good. I normally don't eat during the day, I just don't get very hungry (wow, I just heard Gilda's voice say that!). Anyway, after that she moved on to the kitchen and I moved on to the hall closet... can you hear the music playing? Like in bad horror movies? That's where all the spare aquarium stuff is, Tancy's diving odds and ends and our coats. It really is terrible. But, it has to be done. I manage to drag a few things out so I can get in there and sweep the floor. Yuck. I think I got it as organized as it is going to be with that amount of stuff in there. The good news is that you can now see the pretty hard wood floor in there and things are neatly placed instead of thrown in there. I move from there to going through our ever growing magazine collection. I got rid of everything except the most recent "Advocate" and "Camping World" and I kept all of the "HandyMan" magazines at Tancy's request. I really don't like keeping them.... but she is handy around the house & I know she's learned alot from them... so I suck it up and keep them. After that I go through the stack of mail on the table, most of which is crap. Then I move to the utility room to straighten it up.

About that time Mandy finishes up in the kitchen. I need to sit down, my back is killing me. I tell her take a break. We sit for a bit and talk. She asks what else we need to do. All I have left on my list is: sweep, dust, organize the shoes that are thrown hap-hazardly in the bottom of the closet & get Tancy to put some things under the house. The trash, of course needs to go to the dump & I need to clean  up the front porch. Not all of these things have to be done today. My back is hurting so badly right now that I am not going to anything else strenuous today. Lets call it a day. I know she has things to do at her house too. I am planning on sweet talking Tancy into doing the floor for me. It always looks fantastic when she's done! And she's great about doing it for me because she knows how badly it hurts my back. I'll dust in the morning and maybe do the shoes later this afternoon. Other than that, I have done all I can do for one day.

We visit a little while longer and she heads to her house to get her cleaning & running around done. I love Mandy. She's a great help & we work well together. Her being here to help with the bathrooms & kitchen (lets face it, the most important rooms in the house... especially for cleanliness) allowed me to focus on the organizing that really needed to be done. I could have done it without her, but I sure as hell wouldn't be blogging now!! LOL. She's alot of help & doesn't judge if something is really cruddy!

I am trying not to take on the stress of cleaning & keeping a house clean for "showings". The help really helps keep that in check... but I know what's coming. I am going to do my best to manage it, to communicate what I need an let go of what I can't control. The first place my mind goes is that our house is filthy, which it isn't... but when you are selling a house it has to be nearly perfect all the time. It's taken Tancy 4+ years to get me away from that mentality... and we are back to square one!

So right now I am going to sit here with my feet up, hoping my back will ease up a bit. Then I am going to get a warm bath & try to soak some. Then it'll be time to get ready to go to the doctor with Tancy. And then the festival with Sandy. I'd better wear my good shoes. My back is already hurting, the last thing I need is to be on my feet with crappy support.

I am hoping Tancy gets home soon. It is a beautiful day and it makes me want to be with her even more... of course dreary days make me want to be with her even more too... lol. I just miss her some days more than others for many different reasons. I just enjoy time with her. She's that safe place to land... or cut up... or whatever I am at the time.

That Fall smell is in the air! I love it. I can't put to words the feelings it conjures up, but they are all great. I can't wait for the trick-or-treaters this year. That is one cool thing about our neighborhood, Halloween, everyone sits in their driveways and hands out candy. It's like a big block party really. I am making bags this year, with candy & a little extra something for the kids.

Alright kids. I think that's about all I have for today. I could go on and on about thoughts, feelings, fears, stress, clean vs. dirty, family, friends, what makes me happy, Tancy, what pisses me off.... but you don't want to read all that today & I don't want to type all that today. LOL. So, I will probably get a quick blog in tomorrow & then maybe not again till Monday. I'll try to blog after the doctors appointment on Sunday, but if not, I'll post first thing Monday morning.

Love to all!
Me

Good morning all. I hope this finds everyone healthy & happy. No doubt everyone is getting excited about the weekend at this point. Funny how we spend all week looking forward to the weekend, even me... and I don't even have a "job" to go to during the week.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I did take a water sample to our fish guy. Looks ok, our nitrates are a little high right now. We need to build our refugium and get some critters and algae going in there to help naturally dispose of the fishy waste. So I think that will be part of our "honey do" for the weekend.

Anyway, after going to see Paul I went to Wal-Mart, yes the devil, to get some groceries and toilet paper. I hate how quickly we seem to "need" things. It amazes me that each week I have a legitimate list of items we need. Already, I have one started: Rice. Of course, going to Wal-Mart (The Devil) I also end up with things not on the list, no matter how hard I try. I have gotten better about limiting it... but still!

I came home, unloaded everything and got to work on dinner. I made chicken and sausage jambalaya and white beans (that my wonderful parents get for me). It was DELICIOUS!! I made a big ass pot. So I sent some home with Mandy & this morning I sent a mess of it to work with Tancy. I love feeding people, even people I don't know. I even thought about an ad on Craigslist for a "meals on wheels" kind of thing. A few dollars a plate and bring it to older people or those who aren't able to get out alot... I don't know... I come up with these ideas, but I don't do anything about them.

Mandy came and ate with us & after dinner we went for a nice walk. I don't know how far we went, but it was a pretty good pace & hilly too, we were all a little out of breath. We even took the pups with us. They were tuckered out when we got back home!

Not too much after that, we visited a bit. Mandy left. I got my bath, Tancy got hers. We watched "Ghost Hunters". I love that! I wish it had worked out with the group here. I am extremely interested in that kind of stuff and the investigation of "occurrences". Then to sleep. I didn't sleep well, so it was really Tancy sleeping & me tossing and turning. It was sometime after 11:00 before I started to doze. I know this because at 11:35 I woke myself up talking! And it was 10:50 the last time I flopped myself over in the bed in frustration.

Mandy is coming over this morning to help me clean the house. It's already pretty picked up, but I want to do some extra cleaning & Mandy is great at that. Together we are both efficient and fast. We clean the same, basically, so I can be working in one area and her in the other. It gets done in half the time!! Then we have Tancy's doctors appointment for her neck. After that we are going to some festival with Sandy. Should be a full day.

Tomorrow the Realtor that has been working with us while we are looking for land is coming to look at our house & discuss putting it on the market (the reason I want the additional cleaning done). After that we are going to look at a few properties. Then we have Angie's show at the Tavern to go to. That should be alot of fun.

Hopefully, after the show at the Tavern Tancy and I can have a weekend with some time to ourselves. We are going to have some work to do around the house, I am sure Linda (our Realtor) will have a list of things here we need to work on... so there's that. There's also the refugium that we need to build. Other than that, maybe we can find time to curl up together and just breathe.

Sunday we have our ultrasound & blood work to see how close we are to being ready for the next IUI. I am excited. I have no idea what this month holds. I am sure it will have its own obstacles that I am not prepared for yet... but it sure is one hell of a ride. Good, bad & ugly... its our journey following our dream.

Ok kids. I think that's all I've got for today. I hope you all have a great Thursday!
(12 days & a wake-up!!)

Love to all!
Me

It's hump day!! Yay, it's all down hill from here! Some of you are actually starting your weekend when your work day ends today. Others will start tomorrow at the same time. My weekend will start Friday before noon for sure!!

So I do hope that this finds everyone healthy & happy. Looking forward to the weekend no doubt. I know I am.

Yesterday was kind of a gloomy day. The weather was yuck and grey and rainy. I think my motivation mirrored the weather. I did manage to get the laundry done, the fridge cleaned out, the dishes done and at the end of the day - with help from Tancy - the floor got swept too. I managed about 2/3 of the floor myself, but my back hurt so bad that I just couldn't finish it up. Tancy was sweet enough to finish it for me. I don't know what I would do without her. I try not to ask her to do much of anything in the evenings, I know her days are long and stressful, but sometimes I just need an extra pair of hands.

I did find a new home for Lucky yesterday. Young guy from Shelby (so young he still lives at home & kept saying "my daddy's gonna be pissed"). He came and got him around lunch and then had to come back to get the cage because it wouldn't fit in his Mustang. It sure was funny to watch though! I had another guy coming that evening to get Tancy's old Pantech Duo (the one that has a battery problem) and possibly my old camcorder. He had car trouble though & wont make it till this evening. I'm trying to clear out some things we don't need/use any more and possibly even gain a little cash in the process.

I made "B-B-Q" shrimp last night for dinner. It really isn't barbecue at all, but it's called that... go figure. Basically you put italian dressing in the bottom of a bowl. You heat butter and whats-this-here (worchestire) sauce till the butter is melted. You put the shrimp in the italian dressing and mix, then slowly add the butter concoction (because it is hot and you don't want that to cook the shrimp), steady stirring the shrimp around. That sits for maybe 10 minutes (the vinegar will cook the shrimp quickly, so you don't want it to sit for too long). Then you cook it wok style in some butter and a bit of the marinade. This works best with shrimp that still have the shell on because all that yumminess gets in the shell & you get to suck it out before you peel it.... mmmm. It's really good. I also made some yellow rice to go with the shrimp.

We ate dinner and I worked on the house work I hadn't completed during the day (lack of motivation). Folding clothes & putting them away, another load of dishes, sweeping the floor. Tancy caught up on blogs, myspace and face book. In between all that she carried out my requests for help with some things. We were both in the house, but seemingly both in different places. I was watching an episode of "Wife Swap", they showed a woman who had like 8 dogs and a goat inside the house. The first thing they show is a clump of animal hair on the steps in the house. Immediately I felt aware of my neglected floor... and dog hair. From there I got moving. Funny what motivates you sometimes! Anyway, we talked to each other, but somehow our communication wasn't our norm. By the end of the evening we were in a very emotional discussion about what was going on with us, individually and as a couple. She's been incredibly stressed with school... which I can completely understand... she's the bread winner at this point. That has to be alot of pressure. I can be an emotional train wreck since we started trying to get pregnant. The Femara, though I only take it for 5 days, really affects me for about 7. Not to mention the financial strain that the cost of trying to get pregnant puts on us. Then, of course, there's the raw emotion of waiting, wondering, hoping, trying not to get excited, getting excited and (so far) not being pregnant. We do pretty good about pulling it together and regaining our positive outlook on getting pregnant... but its still one hell of a roller coaster ride.

I think the combination of school & trying to get pregnant has really just affected us both in ways we didn't even realize. Tancy isn't able to be at the doctors office with me most times, so that has to be hard... and there's nothing I can do to help her with the classes she's taking and that is frustrating. In addition to those two circumstances we are also trying to deal with each others mood swings and emotions. Yesterday it just all hit a breaking point. For me, that's good though because it forced us to talk about it, to hear where we were at individually with everything. To better understand what is needed of each of us from the other. It certainly wasn't an easy talk, we were both fairly emotional, but I think it ended on a positive note giving each of us a different perspective and more understanding.

Relationships are such hard work. If anyone out there thinks that a partnership, marriage, etc. comes easy, think again. The easy part, for me, is loving her, respecting her... there's never a question there. And I think I can say the same for her about me. But we don't always like each other. LOL. That sounds kinda harsh... but what I mean is, we are still two different people & we get on each others nerves, hurt each others feelings and just flat out piss each other off sometimes. Me, I talk about it... too much as you can plainly read, I don't know how to process it without discussing it. Tancy, tries to let it go... she's much better about choosing her battles, but sometimes in choosing doesn't communicate what needs to be said. We work at finding our balance constantly. For the most part we do a really good job, but sometimes there are days like yesterday that jump up and bite you right in the ass! I will say, we are a kick ass team though. When we are working together, there's not one thing we can't accomplish. I would say those days are 98% of the time. That's a pretty good average I think!

Tomorrow Tancy goes to the doctor about her neck. I am hoping that she doesn't need surgery again. I think she is too. But I know she needs some relief. Friday we go hear Angie play at the Tavern. That should be a good time. Sunday we have an ultrasound & blood work... we should have a really good idea then how close we are to being ready for our next try. Seems like soo much is going on. I really just need a day to be with Tancy, just the two of us, some intentional "Us" time. Maybe we will get that this weekend.

Well, I think today I might take a water sample to our fish guy, see how we are looking. Since I got almost all of the house work done yesterday & no puppy sitting today I am basically a free agent! That would probably be alot more fun if I had money to spend!! Haha!

Alright kids. I think I have rambled more than enough for this morning (notice I leave room to ramble more later). I hope you all have a fan-freakin-tastic day today. Smile at everyone... it makes them wonder what your up to!

Love to all!
Me

Good morning all. I hope this finds you all healthy & happy. Monday is over. Thankfully. And Tuesday marches in.

This morning I am a bit crabby. I think I am grinding my teeth at night... I woke with a headache again this morning. That doesn't make me happy at all! My sinuses are also bothering me, so that adds to that.

Yesterday I managed to change out the battery & air filter on the riding mower. I was quite proud of myself, took the old ones off, went to Lowes, got the correct new parts and then came home and put the new on the mower correctly! I then cut the grass. We actually have some nice grass, we just still have "bald" spots in the yard. Once that was done I came inside to give the puppies some attention. Then I let our dogs outside, they have to check out the yard after the grass is cut. Duke and I played for a bit and then he went to this kennel so I could go get a bath. I guess its allergies, but I was itching like crazy from the grass. Truth be told, I am still itching a bit.

Tancy and Kenny got here just as I was finished getting dressed. I showed them my handy work, I even had Tancy make sure I did it right, lol. Kenny took Duke home and we left to go have dinner with Mandy. We haven't seen much of her since she started working, which is a big difference. I can miss her, so I was glad to go see her & Lauren. We had dinner, Lauren wasn't home so Mandy went to get her. We stayed and visited for a while and a bit after 8:00 we left to come home.

To bed we went, almost as soon as we hit the door. I was ready for sleep pretty quickly. Tancy watched TV for a while.

Kenny has an errand after work, so Tancy drove by herself in to work today. I don't have Duke today since they didn't ride together, so I am hoping to get a few things around the house done today. The only way I can get anything done is to put Duke in his kennel and I just don't like doing that. With our dogs, they will lay on the couch, follow me around, whatever tickles them... but I don't have to worry about "accidents" with them. Duke just isn't there yet. So, its either keep an eye on him constantly or put him in his kennel.

Anyway, I don't have too much to report... another day in the neighborhood. I'll be glad to stop taking the Femara, I have been so hot lately. I think it might be contributing to the headaches as well.

I hope you all have a great day today!

Love to all!
Me

Good morning all. I hope this finds everyone healthy & happy this morning. Refreshed, recharged and ready to take on the world after a nice weekend. Am I taking it too far?

This morning I feel assaulted by Monday. Like I have been hit by a freight train out of control. I don't know why... but that is how I feel. I don't want to be awake, I wasn't ready for the weekend to be over and I'm missing Tancy already. Strange day today is already.

Saturday night we found a leak under the tub. It was too late to do much of anything about it. So Tancy shut off the water so we could attend to it first thing Sunday morning. I went to sleep fairly early, before the OSU game was over, but you all know that ended badly. Tancy came to bed and watched TV for a while and then she crashed out.

Sunday morning we woke around 8:00 I guess. I have been really tired at night, going to bed fairly early and sleeping more hours than my norm. Anyway, I slept like a log. Tancy said she was taking tests and fixing leaks all night. We had coffee and sat a minute, trying to shake off that sleepy feeling. Then she got to work on the leak and I picked up around the house. By 10:30 she had it fixed. I had to get under the house with her at one point... boy that sure made me appreciate her more. I hate to even think about what it would have cost if we'd had to have a plumber come out!!

After that we headed over to Heather & Sonias. They were grilling out to watch the Panthers game. We bought a big ass T-bone steak to share. It was yummy. I didn't watch the game, I don't care much for sports in general. Sandy & I sat outside and had a good political debate. It was interesting for sure. I like a good debate from time to time. Tancy helped Heather change the blades on her riding mower, so they didn't watch the game either. They have DVR and what we did watch was MadTV and SNL. Those were funny! Especially when they get political and make fun of the candidates. We left there around 7:00 I guess.

We came home, got a snack and I got in the tub. The Femara makes me so hot, like hot flashes almost... not quite that severe. So I took a cool bath to find some comfort. I don't really like a hot bath anyway, usually warm works just fine. Anyway, got my bath & we got in bed. I think I was asleep by 8:30, just tuckered out. I don't have any idea what time Tancy turned the TV off.

When the clock went off this morning I really wanted to pretend it was Sunday. But Tancy got out of bed anyway and started getting ready. I followed shortly behind her, getting dressed and then making coffee. Kenny got here with Duke (his puppy I am helping to house train) and they headed to work. I played with Duke for a minute and then put him in his kennel for a little nap while I blog and catch everyone up... and drink my coffee. I'll let him out in just a bit and take him outside to potty. The rest of the day will be more of the same and hopefully some much needed house work. I have a pile of clothes to get done & the floor really needs to be swept. Its just difficult for me to do with a house training puppy, you really can't take your eyes off of him for long.... if you do, he'll leave you a surprise!!

I am looking forward to Mom being here in October. That'll be here before I know it. I am so excited. I do wish Casie and Marlie could come, that would be so great. And if Aunt Jan and DJ could come, that would be awesome too. But it just isn't in the cards, so we'll think of them while we are enjoying the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the fresh ocean air.

The next week or so will be busy so it should pass by fairly quickly. Tomorrow I have a guy coming to get the bearded dragon. I hate to get rid of him, but he needs more than I give him and that isn't fair. Thursday Tancy goes to the doctor about her neck. Friday we go see Ang play at the Tavern. Saturday we are suppose to go to "The hole" with the girls. Sunday I go to reach for an ultrasound and blood work an then we will know how things look from there (possibly IUI that day, or return again the next day to do blood work again). You get the idea.

Today I need to get some things done in this house. Just have to find the balance with the puppy. I haven't been able to find that so far.

Alright kids. I hope you all have a great day today. Don't work too hard, you've got all week!! LOL.

Love to all!
Me