Blog Award!

Here are the rules:                                                                      

1. Thank the person who gave you the award
2. List 7 things people may not know about you
3. Pass it on to 5 other bloggers and don't forget to notify them     
   
   
   

I'm extending a "Thank You!" To Nicole from her blog Happily Ever After.  Please check out her blog!  I met Nicole through BabyCenter.  She has been going through some fertility issues and has had a pretty rough go of it.  She has Endometriosis and had to have surgery to have it removed.  She is currently back to TTC, so please, feel free to follow her journey as well!

1.  I have a sister that is 19 months older than me.  She and I grew up extremely close and are still best friends even though we disagree on quite a few things.  My sister has 5 kids, all oops babies...lol  I could only wish to be fertile like that!
Here is a picture of my beautiful sister:


2.  I hate having my picture taken!  I am a camera phobe!  I've been this way since gaining so much weight.  I don't think I'll ever like getting my picture taken ever again!

3.  I LOVE to bake!  I'm a person that could spend all day in kitchen making breads, pastries, and cookies for everyone else to eat.  (Except the cookies!  If I make them, they are MINE!  COOOOOOOKIE!!!  LOL)

4.  I have a calico cat named Callie.  She is super smart and thinks she is human.  I got her from my sister and am very thankful!  She's the best cat I have ever had and I don't know what I would do without her to keep me entertained!  LOL  Here is a pic of Callie:





5.  I also have a pitt bull named Avalanche, but we call her Ava for short.  I rescued her when she was about 4 weeks old from some guys that were being mean to her.  She is so sweet, but right now is living with my mom because I have nowhere to keep her where we currently live.  I'm hoping I can bring her home REALLY soon!  Here is my Ava Lou:



6.  I play the French Horn and have for 27 almost 28 years now.  It is my passion!  I could not live without my horn or music in general.  I also sing, but it pales in comparison to playing my horn!  Here is a pic of me playing my horn quite a few years back. (Like I said I'm a camera phobe!)


7.  I belong to the National Honorary Band Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi.  It is something I am VERY proud of and hope to stay involved in for the rest of my life.  I was part of the founding line at my college.  Here is a picture of our founding line:






Other Great Blogs I follow:

www.peacebegan.com  This the my friend Brittany's blog.  She has been through a lot, like me.  This blog is her story of  her journey through pregnancy and loss.




http://survivingmiscarriages.blogspot.com  This is my friend Jessica's blog.  She has had 3 losses and is currently pregnant with her son Logan.  This blog is the story of her survival and journey to her take home baby.


http://aidanbabyofmine.blogspot.com  This is Emily's blog.  I don't know Emily other than through her blog.  I've been following it for a while, now.  The story is heart breaking and joyful at points, too.  It's most definitely worth the read!!


http://buchananmama.blogspot.com  This is one of my dearest friends' blog.  Beth and I met almost 2 years ago on BabyCenter and have been close friends ever since.  This is a blog about life in general with 2 babies, at home. (Well, one toddler and a baby.)



http://dearbabycook.blogspot.com  This is my friend Kristin's blog.  This is her story through pregnancy, loss, grief, and her journey back to finding joy and happiness once again.  Kristin started the Faces of Loss Faces of Hope website that I talk about so often.  She is an amazing woman!  I met Kristin through a fellow BLM and must say she has a very inspiring story!  This is also a must read!!

Absence Explained

I'm sorry I have been neglecting this blog for so long.  Nothing has been going the way I planned, so there hasn't been anything to post.  My cycle has gone from an average of 32 days to 16 days after doing a round of clomid.  Clomid did an absolute number on my hormones.  It made my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) go up to 12.9, my estrogen shoot way up (causing me to be estrogen dominant again) to 48, and my testosterone go sky high, as well.  My D3 was still too low at 14 (up from 9, but supposed to be 40) and my progesterone was low at 8.  So, our plan of action was to change my meds.  My doc started me back on armour thyroid, but only at 30mg or half a grain.  I was on 60 mg or a whole grain.  She also changed my progesterone from cream to sublingual.  The cream was 200mg and the sublingual was 100mg.  She told me to stay on the Vitex to regulate the estrogen and testosterone and to up my D3 to 20K IUs a day.  We did this for a month and it hasn't done anything to help.  So yesteday, she upped my armour back to 60mg, and my progesterone to 200mg again.  Everything else is the same.  I go back for blood work in about 4 weeks.  She doesn't expect me to be back to TTC until at least March, but more likely June.

In other news, I've been working a campaign in the GOP Presidential Primary.  It's kept me very busy on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.  I've started a political blog if you are interested.  http://easttexans4freedom.wordpress.com

Giving Thanks

Wow, I have a lot to catch you up on.  Let's start with the weeks worth of 30 Days of Thanksgiving that I have neglected to put on here and then I will explain why.

Day 18:  Today I am thankful for the little tidbits of knowledge you learn each day as a mom. It never ceases to amaze me the things we learn on this journey! Onesies can be pulled DOWN!! That's why they have the flaps at the neck like or snaps on the shoulders. Who knew????? LOL

Day 19:  Today I am thankful for Pinterest and all the crafts it has that make great gifts. With the economy being the way it is, I believe most people will resort to making gifts, thus reawakening their sense of creativity helping them to reconnect with the joy of giving something of themselves in each gift. This is how gift giving should be! I think we often times let life get in the way and let money try to speak for us. I think it falls far short of something that we make ourselves!  

Day 20:  Today I am thankful for my wonderful husband that takes care of me when my body decides to fail me. I honestly don't know what I would do without him!!! I love you!

Day 21:  Today I am thankful that there are organizations and programs dedicated to foster the education of music! I am thankful that I belong to one of those, Kappa Kappa Psi. I am thankful for shows like Majors & Minors, too! How awesome to take young kids and really teach them about what they already love to do! THIS is why I want to be a band director someday!!

Day 22:  Today I am thankful for my sweet sister! She has been my best friend, confidant, and giggle buddy for my whole life. I was blessed to be born her sister!! LOVE YOU!!!!! *HUGS*

Day 23:  Today I am thankful that I am only cooking pies and stuffing for our Thanksgiving dinner. I just don't think I could pull off another full blown meal this year. So, I'm thankful for my sister-in-law for cooking it all for me this time! I'm also thankful that I will get to see my "Llama", ex-mother-in-law that I love dearly, and spend some time with her! Thankful for getting to spend time with my mom, and my sister, on Sunday evening for our Thanksgiving at home! I love the holidays because we make a point to spend time with our family so we can enjoy each other. I'm especially thankful that our holidays are not filled with grumbling and complaining and hurt feelings! My family...on BOTH sides is a joy to be with! So, thank you, Lord, for blessing me with such an AWESOME family!

Day 24 (Thanksgiving Day):  Today I am thankful for living in the land of the free, the home of the brave, for everyone taking time to remember why we are all thankful, for the curious nature of explorers, and for the bravery of the Pilgrims who came here to start a new life in a land they new nothing about. I'm also thankful for my family and all the many blessings we all take for granted every day. I'm thankful for our military and their families! Thank you for sacrificing your holidays with your loved ones so we can still celebrate holidays like this in peace. I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving full of blessings, family, friends, love, laughter, and lots of good food! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Ok, now to explain why I have been absent for a week.  I have been dealing with raging allergies and have been in a benadryl coma for the last week.  It's been crazy.  It seems that taking Clomid has thrown my hormones out of whack something fierce and now all my allergies and some new ones are showing their ugly heads.  I was taken off my progesterone for a week while they switch me to a new form, sublingual, in hopes it will work better and get rid of my dyshidrotic eczema.  We went in on Monday and decided on the testing we are doing and tried to get blood.  That was a no go.  I ended up with 4 bruises from that adventure.  Then Tuesday was spent tanking up on water and then trying to draw blood, which failed, and Wednesday I was back at the doctor trying to get my blood drawn again.  They finally got about an inch and a third of blood in a vial and said they hoped that was enough to run all the tests they needed to run.  If not, I'm sure I will get a call on Monday to have it drawn again.  OH THE JOY!  I have 8 bruises now and three of those are VERY painful ones from veins blowing.  I hate being a pin cushion.  Oh, and no, AF has not arrived and I am not pregnant.  It's the hormones holding things off, so if all goes as planned, I will start AF today since I stopped the progesterone Tuesday night.

Anyway, today is Thanksgiving and I hope that all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving that is full of love, laughter, family, friends, joy, and great food!!  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!