New Year's Eve Eve

Wow, where has the year gone and better yet, why have I not blogged enough?  I had a wonderful time this Christmas celebrating with our family throughout the holiday weekend, with the exception of my dad and step-mom ( missed them) who were in Florida for a partial move and vacation.  Dustin and Amber were missed as well, thankfully we were able to see them over Thanksgiving....and hopefully we can get  trip planned to go see them soon in their neck of the woods.  I love vacationing with them.  My dad and his wife should be on their way back to Ohio and getting in sometime this evening, we hope to do Christmas with them on New Year's day.  It looks like they will only be back for a short while since their house finally sold, they will be moving to Florida the end of January or beginning of February (super sad that they won't be in the same state as my sister and I, but excited for his life of retirement, and envious of the warm weather they will enjoy). My mom and step-dad left Monday for their 4-5 month hybernation in Florida. Not a good feeling realizing I will not have both of my parents near me...no matter how old I get they will always be my mommy and daddy.  The only thing I can forcast for 2011 is I am sure there will be a Florida visit planned to see my dad and step mom.

Memories Not for Sale.

So my mom and step-dad are wanting to down size, too much house and land to upkeep for just the two of them. So when they got back from there annual snowbird trip to Florida this year they got their house ready to put on the market and then it was listed.  They thought they had a buyer, so they decided to get the auction process started. They started going through everything and moving stuff out into the garage and barn that would be in the auction. There were boxes all over the house with things grouped into boxes for display to be part of the auction as well.  Interested buyer backed out and the folks decided to still go ahead with the auction since the sutff had to go at some point.  I guess it didn't really hit me that all these items that I had grown up with would be gone...sold off to the highest bidder.  That is when the fury hit in, these items that had been gifts or just had some sentimental meaning behind them were being sold for darn near nothing, it broke my heart.  I had a little melt down but pulled it together because I knew that if this was hitting me like this and it was not even my stuff, that this HAS to be really difficult for my mom and step-dad, then my heart sank a little more.  I had to leave before it was over to go to work, I think that may have been a blessing in disguise because when I talked to my mom she said EVERYTHING was gone except for a box of odds and ends (probably sutff somebody decided they didn't want), a playpen (one my sissy and I used),and some buckets.  I am happy that the auction was a success for them and now they don't have to worry about trying to store and then fit all this stuff into their new place.  I am looking forward to what memories we will create in their new home.

Wordless Wednesday...

Monday already???

This weekend flew by and I feel cheated.  I had to work ALL weekend at my part time job...ugh! 20 hours there didn't leave room for much else. We did go to my dad's Saturday after I got off to visit with him for his birthday, it was 10/7, Happy Birthday Dad!....Happy Birthday to Pete, too!  We hung out ate pizza and watched a movie.  Didn't do a whole lot before I had to be back to work at 1:30 on Sunday till 10:00.  I feel drained!  The hubby has a work dinner so I look forward to being lazy this evening after work...I just might have to have a glass of wine...have not done that in a long time! Hope everyone else had a much better weekend. My week should go well, not quite so busy.

Rewind one day...

Yesterday marked the third year that I have been married to the love of my love, my wonderful husband, Lindsey.  I absolutely adore him and do not know what I would ever do without him. I hope one day I can make him a daddy again, I already know he is a wonderful father and I would love to create our own memories with our child.  If that is not God's plan then I am lucky and thankful that we have eachother. I love you Lindsey with all my heart!!!

Blahs

It has been what seems like forever since I have posted anything, but I have tried to keep up on reading. I have just been working alot and the last thing I wanna do is get on the computer when I get home.  I am a bad blogger : o (  This week has just been the worse, lots going on and I just feel really down in the dumps.   I keep having dreams of being pregnant....I hope this is some sort of a sign for what will come in the future! 
I have been at my part time job for almost a year now and for the most part it really is not a hard job at all, but I know it is taking it's toll on me. I realize that it is taking me away from my family and it is having an impact on ttc...I AM ALWAYS TIRED!!! For the most part my checks from this part time job are not figured in to our monthly income, although at times it has gone to pay bills if we are a little tight. I love having the extra money, it has come in handy, I am not sure if I can give it up..heehee On the other hand I want to be a mother more than anything and I think I am sacrificing this dream by being busy and tired and stressed all the time.  I would love to be able to tell my boss that I need to cut back on my hours, but I really am afraid that if my availability changed, he would let me go, because I would not be beneficial to him or the store....he could hire someone else that can work more.  Oh what to do?  I do have a ton of questions for my doc when I go in for my annual, perhaps that will help me decide what I should do! I am going to make a conscious effort to post more, I do know that it is very therapeutic for me when I do, even if it is random stuff! I hope all have a great weekend. I am looking forward to mine, spending it with my hubby, step-daughter and her friend....a great weekend off with my family. Hope to fill you in on Monday. TTFN.

Vacation Recap

We left Friday July 2 after work and arrived at The Bennett's lake house about 11pm that night. There house is right on Norris Lake, well you have to journey down a few stairs to get to their boat dock.  We got the car unloaded and got the tour of their house and headed to bed. When my hubby and I woke up the next day, we peeked through the blinds...oh what a view. We grabbed coffee and headed outside to take in the view from the deck.  We loved it there.  We spent everyday on the water boating, swimming, tubing....and consuming a few cocktails.  We had a wonderful time with the Bennett family and felt so blessed to be able to vacation with them.  We had great meals together, played games with the kids, and I even tried knee boarding for the first time. I surprised myself that I got up and stayed on, I only stopped because my ankles just couldn't take it anymore...definitely not a young kid anymore. We watched Fire on the Water, Norris Lake's fireworks. Best fireworks I have seen so far, they were incredible. Thank you Bennett family! Here are just a few pictures, hopefully I will follow up at a later date with some more photos!

We stayed at Norris Lake until Tuesday evening and then we headed to Pigeon Forge for one night before heading back to Ohio. On our way out of Pigeon Forge, my hubby requested we make one stop at a guitar store that he has always wanted to visit. So we did, and let me tell you he looked like a kid at a candy store. It was quite impressive, and my step daughter snapped this picture of him out front.

Vacation Take Two

So we are off on our second vacation of the summer. We will be leaving this evening right after work.  My step daughter is with for the next week so she is going with to Norris Lake, in Tennessee. We are so excited to be able to hang out with our friends. They live in Kentucky and have a lake house on Norris Lake, so we will be vacationing with them.  We have never been to Norris Lake, so we are really looking forward to it and we don't see Mike and Jennifer very often, Mike and Lindsey went to college together and were active in the same fraternity. It is always a riot when the two of them get together.  I am really going to try to take a ton of pictures AND post them.  I usually don't do so hot on taking them and I pretty much never post any. We will see!  I wish everyone a very safe but fun filled Independence Day...Happy Birthday America!!!!

Vintage Virginia 2010 Wine Festival

Here is a picture taken with my cell phone at The Vintage Virginia 2010 wine festival that we went to last weekend. We had a great time, tried  many different kinds of wine. I think my favorite was the chocolate...of course we bought a bottle of it.  We even had one that was made from 32 different kinds of peppers, it was incredibly hot, but hey after all the tastings we had prior to that vendor there was no way we were passing it up.  It was good fro the "shock" value of it but I would never by a bottle, unless it was for a prank. ha ha  We were there for about 4 hours, it was so hot and humid, thank goodness that most of the day it was overcast so we did not have to deal with the sun beating down on us also. I love visiting with my cousin and his family, we always have a great time and drink lots of wine. I will try to share some more pictures that are on our camera in another post.

This is me with my cousin's wife, Amber.

Not much going on...

I am so glad it is Friday and I do not have to work my part time job.  This is the frist Friday I have not had to work in the evening in like forever, it has been so long that I cannot even remember. Of course I have to work the next three days (eight hour shifts) so it will be like a regular day at my full time job. So much for a 3 day weekend for the holiday.  Win some, you lose some.  We are going to West Virginia next Thursday, be back on Monday. I am really excited to see my cousin and his family and just have a break from both jobs.We will have my step daughter with us too! We are planning on going to this huge wine festival they have there every year so hopefully we will stock up on some new and different wines to stock our cooler. Hope everyone has a great weekend and a Happy Memorial Day. I leave you with this:
I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.~ Lee Greenwood  Thank you all who have served and continue serving!

This is what I walked out into the living room to find this morning...

Three of my four doggies all in the recliner. I think they were actually sleeping until I turned on the light so I could take a picture with my phone.  They crack me up. 

So my hubby took me to the movies Saturday night and he let me pick the movie. I chose The Back-up Plan and loved it. It was cute and funny and let's be honest Alex O'loughlin is hott!

Finally finished.

My hubby had to go to Florida this past Sunday-Wednesday for work. I decided while he was gone I was finally going to paint my step-daughter's room. She picked out the color and then we secretly went back and bought it last summer. Yep we had the paint that long. My cousin gave us an awesome comforter set, that was like new, so I bought a few other accessories and curtains to match that. I just finished last night painting, cleaning, moving everything back, and hubby hung a few things for me....he is the pro at hanging things and using those tools! I am really happy with the way it turned out, except the curtains need hemmed, but I wanted them up so she can see her room when she comes tonight for the weekend. She has no idea that we did this to her room. Unfortuneatly I did not take any before pics, it was yucky, we had never painted since we moved in 3 years ago. It use to be this peach/tan color, all 4 walls and the trim.  I also realized that she needs to go through all her toys, games and stuff and make a donation pile. She can not and does not play with half the stuff she has. There are still a few other things I want to get to add to her walls, and eventually we want to replace all of our old blinds with something new, I am thinking I would love to have the wite wood blinds, but we will see.  I can't wait for her to see it and I am so glad that it is finally done.

You are always on my mind...

I usually talk to my hubby every morning either on the way to work or shortly after I get there and this morning was no different than any other. We talked  for a few, he told me that he thinks it is going to be a good day and then asked me if I was thinking about baby stuff?  Of course the obvious answer is yes, even though I try to not be "obssessed" with all things baby/pregnancy, it is hard to let it escape my thoughts completely. They come rushing back everytime I start my cycle again, when I have to check out a customer at my part time job buying a pregnancy test (really hard when it is the young nervous girl who was not planning this-yet we have been trying for 2 years), everytime a pregnant vendor walks in to my office, the news of a relative or friend expecting...yes I think of it. I find myself daydreaming of how I will tell my husband whenever I actually get a BFP, finally being able to tell me stepdaughter that she is gonna be a big sister (something that she requests frequently), what we will name our child, how will the nursery be decorated and on and on and on. Hubby said we have to quit stressing over this and just let it happen, it will happen. God I love him so much.  I do know that when we are pregnant and after I deliver, I will be able to look at my sweet baby and say you were always on my mind.

TGI-Thursday

      Not much new going on here other than my hubby and I joined a gym and I love it. I feel sooooo

good after working out, I just can't believe it. So far I have been averaging 3 times a week, which is

about how often I had in mind to go, maybe shoot for 4 times a week.  It is hard since I have been working so much at my part time job, but that should slow down as soon as they get someone else hired. I am just going to get in shape and tone up a little. I would love to have awesome abs and better toned arms, but I am not sure if I am dedicated enough to get there...my hubby is helping me and he has been great. 

     

My step daughter is on the track team fro the first time this year(she is in 7th grade)  Her first meet is Monday April 5th and I am supe rexcited to see her compete. I think if she is dedicated enough that this will be a sport that she can really excel in. She seems to really like it.

    

So wondering about the title, funny little story behind TGIT. During my time in the U.S. Navy, I did a six month deployment on board the USS Abraham Lincoln an done of the ports that we frequented was Jebel Ali, a port town, located 35 kilometres southwest of the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)).

Anyway it has been 12 years since I have been there so I don't remember all the exact details but there were some weird laws about drinking and where alcohol was serveed. So a group of my friends and I  decided to go to Fridays thinking we could drink there....no alcohol there. We were then told to try this other place called...(can you guess?) TGI Thursdays...so we went after we ate at Fridays and they did indeed serve alcohol....just made us some happy sailors!

Wordless Wednesday...well almost

My hubby sent me these today for the anniversary of us

meeting 5 years ago. I love him sooooo much!!!

Oh and Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Your time will come.....

Ugh, if I hear that one more time I think I am gonna scream....as I am sure anyone else who is on the TTC journey will agree.  My hubby, step-daughter, and I went to a surprise birthday party for my aunt this past Saturday...who knew the surprise would be on me.  My youngest cousin who got engaged after me, but married before me, gathered the whole family around shortly after everyone had arrive, so her and her hubby could make an announcment... I knew what was coming so I am thankful that my hubby and I were at the back of the "crowd"...as soon as I heard the words "were pregnant"...my heart just sank. I scrambled out of the room to the empty living room and tried to fight the tears.  My other aunt must have known instantly how this would affect me because she was there in an instant...and then came my hubby, he calmed me and made me laugh and gave me words of encouragement (i knew his heart was breaking too)...just what I needed and just in time because the "crowd" had broke and everyone was making there way back into the living room. I got my self together and walked over to my cousin gave her a hug and congratulated her. And I meant it, I am really happy for her and her husband, they will be great parents...it just really hurt because I thought we'd be next to share news like that, and jsut FYI, I will NOT gather my whole family and make an announcement like that..NO WAY.  I am not sure if my cousing picked up on my sadness, I hope not because it was not my intentions to put a damper on such wonderful news.  Of course as the night went on I had to listen to everyone tell me, you are next, your time will come, don't worry you will get pregnant, and on and on and on. UGH, I know everyone truly means well, but it is exhausting and I try to have faith in it as well....but I really can't bear to hear that over and over.  I will pick myself up and life will go on and I will just hope and pray that one day I can tell my hubby that we have a BFP!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

This is my little Piper, I love her so much, she is a wonderful part of our family-as are all of our doggies!

Happy Birthday

To my BFF Danielle . Stop by and leave her a birthday message.  I hope you have a wonderful day, as least as wonderful as you can since you have to work, but at least at 3:30 you will have the rest of the day to spend with your family.  May all your wishes come true, I love you!!!

Hokey Pokey

I try to vow to myself that I am going to be more active on my blog and make time to post and it just never happens, I feel like there is never enough time in the day, but where does it all go?  I know realistically most of my time is devoted to my jobs and then when I am not working I try to spend time with my hubby and step daughter.  I have pictures that I want to post from my trip to West Virginia, I just have not made time to sit down with my new computer and new camera to try to upload.  Sometimes I get on here and plan on posting but then I think I have nothing interesting to write about, there is always our on going battle with TTC, but alot of times I start writing about it and then I delete it all.  At first I found it therapuetic to write about TTC, of course I never gave all the details, somethings are meant to remain between my hubby and I, but now anytime I start to write about it, I feel really vulnerable and I feel that if it is written word then it somehow will affect our chances...make any sense?  Just a little update on the TTC, I am on my third month of taking Clomid @ 50mg dose, if no pregnancy this cycle then I must take one month off and then my hubby and I need to decide if we want to go round 2 @ 100mg for 3 months.  We were timing before the Clomid, but this seems different, I feel there is more pressure, like I paid for this medicine so we are not missing a beat. I must admit there were times in the past that we might skip day 10 or 18. I am so afraid that my hubby is gonna feel like this is becoming routine.  UGH...makes me wanna scream and cry. My hormones are on a roller coaster ride, my gyn doc warned me about this possibility, but I was not prepared and the hot flashes, where do I start. I am the person that is ALWAYS cold, usually long sleeves at work, with a sweatshirt for added warmth, I actually stripped down to my little cami top at my job, freaked my boss out, I felt on fire and at night I have the covers on, then off, then on, stick a leg out, stick it back in...do the hokey pokey..lol.

Back in the swing of things.

I had a wonderful visit with my cousin, his wife and their kids. It was a really relaxing trip, we mostly hung out.  It was a great break from work, but I was anxious to get back home to my hubby and sleep in my own bed.  We did go to one winery, the one I wanted to go to was closed due to the snow, but my second favorite was open so we went and tried one of their new bottles, it was yummy. I bought one fro my hubby. I did manage to take a few pics, not many so I will try to post them on here soon.  I had a lot of fun with the kids, the pictures of them are great.  I am finally caught up at work, always the downside to vacations. TGIF!!!

Leaving on a jet plane...in 5 days.

It has been one crazy busy week here at work, which has made the week fly by..putting me closer to my departure date. Yippee. I leave on Wednesday to fly out to see my cousin and his family. I am really looking forward to hanging out with them and the break from work. I am not looking forward to being away from my hubby..again..and so soon.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?  It is a short trip so I will be back before I know it. I bought the hubby a new camera for christmas and he has yet to break it in...I am hoping he will let me borrow it for my trip so I can take photos of the kids and whatever else we get into. So hopefully I will actually be able to post some pictures on here from a camera and not my cell, um not that there have been too many of those either. I am awful at taking pictures, well actually remembering to bring a camera in the first place. I am looking forward to my trip!

Home at last.

My hubby returned from his week long work trip to Georgia Friday night....I was so excited to see him.  I had to work for 4.5 hours Saturday, but after I got home we ate pizza and watched a movie with Miss Lindsey, she picked the movie.  I had Sunday off which was wonderful. I did some cleaning and laundry and the hubby worked on the ceramic tile floor, he has the entry way done, just has to grout.  Then he can start the wood laminate and once that is done, put the new base boards up...then I think except for some painting we need to finish and some that we want to start...our house will be pretty much where we want it.. I still want to shop for soem new area rugs and rugs to put at our doors.  I can't wait to till the floors our done in the dining room so we can move in our brand new table!!!  My hubby may take a little longer to get things done, but we our saving soooo much more money by him doing it himself....I love him and all that he does for us.  So glad he is home.

Wordless Wednesday...my hubby with our 2 youngest doggies!

Ginger, Piper,and the hubby.

Happy New Year!

I had to work my part time job New Year's Eve and New Year's Day,but we still managed to ring in the new year at our friends house and even brought along one of our other friends.  We had a great time with Mer and Adam, so glad they invited us. We played The Things Game,and it was so much fun..if we had more get togethers involving games I would definitely buy it.  Then we played Wii, a dance game and bowling.  I think Wii is on our Christmas list for 2010.  The hubby made a yummy dinner for when I came home on break New Years Day and then we went to his mom's when I got off at 10 so we could get some pork and sauer kraut before the day was over.  I actually had the weekend off.....and it was wonderful. We went to my dad's and step-mom's house on Saturday for dinner, visited for awhile.  Had a really good weekend, wish it was still Sunday again, I don't like Mondays!  Hope everyone had a safe and happy new year.