Update for you.....yes, I am talking to you!

Things are going okay here. I have been getting some slack lately about not being online much and it is not that I have not been online. I've just been hanging out in some different corners of the internet...a lot of time at MDC lately. As most of you know, we are actively TTC again. It's crazy, let me tell you. This cycle was a wash, but we both have a lot of hope for the next month. December 4th sounds like a good due date, doesn't it? We'll know by the end of March. And due to the doctor's HUGE mistake this past cycle, this next ultrasound and IUI is on the house. We only have to buy the Clomid ($19), hcg trigger ($83), and genetic material of the Sexy Cop ($400). Woo-hoo!

We have been going to the Y again lately. I was doing really well at going until I got pregnant. I was too tired that first trimester to do anything but fall into bed at 6:30 pm. Then after the baby died, I just did not give a fuck to go. Plus, I was working until 8:30 several nights per week. We went to the Y tonight and signed up for a Mind & Body Pass. For $50 each, we have unlimited access to yoga and pilates for the next six weeks. They offer 4 pilates and 5 yoga classes per week. My goal is to go to two classes per week.

I am officially done with school and have been since the first week of December. The new house is great, although very far from being completed. I am not sure how much we can do on the new house until the old one sells.....yup, we are still paying two mortgages and have been since July. Ugh. We are really lucky to have two incomes. I am feeling better about work. Therapy really wears me down sometimes....I have noticed I really feel it in the winter. After very, very careful consideration, I have decided to stay with my agency. I do like the work. I believe in the mission of the agency and I really like working with the families. The marriage/relationship therapy can be hard, sometimes. No matter how stressed I get, I always feel more positive when a family is reunified. It makes the late nights and stress worth it. I can't believe it's been almost two years that I have been with the agency. Only one more year until I can sit for the LMFT (licensed marriage and family therapist). They said that once I have a baby, I can work half-time. I would be expected to do 8.5 direct therapy hours per week for 1/2 the salary and 1/2 the vacation time. No insurance, but I can be on K's. I am going to insist that I be allowed to keep my 401k when I switch to half-time. I figure I can do get my 8.5 hours in one full day and one evening per wee. Not bad, huh?

I am getting really excited for summer. I can't wait to go to the Farmer's Market downtown. I love that place! If you haven't been, let me know and we will go together. They have such fresh produce and being that it is all locally grown, purchasing it helps sustain the local economy, supports local farmers, and does not depend on as much fuel as produce being shipped from across the country. Summertime also means grilling...YUM! And camping. I am so ready to get out camping this summer. Getting out the tent and taking the boys camping will surely be highlights of the summer. I am planning a very large garden and hope to plant about 25 tomato plants again this summer. This time, I really want to learn to can and have tomatos throughout the winter for sauces and spaghetti.

One of my goals is to start cooking from scratch as much as possible. I do a fairly decent job of that now, but I would like to do more. I made eggs, bacon, and biscuits for dinner the other night. Instead of using the Pillsbury biscuits from the can, I would like to make my own from scratch. Instead of using a can of Muir Glen fire roasted tomatos for spaghetti or huevos rancheros, I could use my own canned tomatos. We do not eat a lot of processed foods now, but I would really like to reduce even that amount. Instead of boxed cereal or poptarts, I would like to purchase cereal or oatmeal from the bulk bins at Whole Foods. I already get all spaghetti, spices, rice, couscous, sugar, flours, and other dry goods from their bins. I would love to have a kitchen free of any UPC code. That would mean primarily only buying fresh meat, produce, and stuff from the bins!

I really, really need to add pictures of my new niece, Pearlie. She will be three weeks old this upcoming Sunday. K and I were fortunate enough to be at her birth. It was a really great homebirth. Of course I say that....I was not the one giving birth. She was 5lbs. 6 ozs. and 19 inches. Beautiful, of course.