You Wanna Know?

Okay, since so many of your responded to my last post with "Been there, done that, done worse." I have decided you can all handle the story I was going to tell. I am sure now that you will all get a laugh.

Saturday night Hubs and I allowed my best friend to baby sit (at her request [I'm serious]) and went out for a date for the first time in eons. We started out with a really tasty dinner at Son.oma and then headed to a couple's massage at a massage club where I am a member. I guess Hubs enjoyed his massage so much, it made him a little frisky. We have been so off-sync from each other lately, I welcomed his advances. So we played around a little bit after our masseurs left the room to allow us to get dressed. We didn't stick around for too long because we knew they were waiting for us on the other side of the door.

On our way out, I stopped to use the ladies. Silly me, I forgot to lock the door. Of course, I seriously didn't think Hubs was feeling THAT frisky. He was.

After we had been in there for a couple of minutes, there was a knock on the door. I shouted that it was occupied, and the person on the other side shouted, "Yeah, they're in there." Hubs and I both laughed, but he would not be deterred. A few minutes later there was another knock followed by, "Hey guys, we're closing." Shortly thereafter, we emerged.

I told Hubs I would not be able to go back for another massage for months and was afraid they had marked "Has sex in the bathroom" on my chart. He laughed and told me we should schedule another couple's massage for 3 weeks down the road and request the same masseurs.

The sad (or funny) thing is, I can't say that was the strangest place we've ever "done the deed."

Wooooo Hoooo!

I wanted to tell you all a completely different funny story tonight. I had it all written up and ready to post, but then I wasn't sure if it was appropriate. It wasn't detailed or anything, but some would think that some stories are better left unshared. So instead, I decided to tell you a different, tamer funny story.

When I was in college, a boyfriend and I went for a drive up the canyon where we decided to park and make out. (No, there was no sex involved. I was a firm believer in saving virginity for marriage.) He drove a great big, red suburban that had the back seats removed. We started making out in the front seat, and then climbed gingerly into the back to continue making out in a more friendly position.

As we were enjoying each other's company a car pulled into the same circle as us. I started to giggle and said, "Wouldn't it be funny if that was a cop?" My boyfriend was outraged and said angrily, "No, it would NOT!" That made me laugh more. Just then there was a knock at the window. I could not contain my laughter. My boyfriend threw me a dirty look as he crawled into the front seat and rolled down the window.

The cop shone his flash light into the car and asked my boyfriend what we were doing. Gary replied that we were just hanging out. The cop then shined his light on me as he smirked and said, "Ma'am, I have to ask you if you are being held here against your will."

"Oh no sir. I am enjoying myself very much. Thank you."

The cop laughed and my boyfriend threw me another scathing look. He told us the canyon was closed after dark and told us he would appreciate it if we would clear out. My boyfriend was all too happy to oblige. He rolled up the window and I howled with laughter as I crawled back into the front seat.

"Don't you dare tell ANYONE!" He yelled at me. He was so embarrassed, although I will never understand why.

I laughed and said, "Mum's the word."

As soon as I got home, I ran to my room, grabbed my phone and called my dad. "Dad, I have to tell you the funniest story!"

My ex-boyfriend later went on to buy a purple Do.dge N.eon and date a robust girl. Thank heaven I dodged that bullet!

Grownup

I just wrote up a whole post about how I haven't been blogging due to lack of time, complete with apology for not being caught up on all of yours. But you know what? I think we're all sick of those posts from me. Let's talk about something fun instead.

I have asked this question to many of my friends lately because I am curious as to their responses. Here is the question:

Is being an adult anything like you thought it would be?

The answer for me is absolutely not.

It is a million times better.

I always thought that when I grew up, and especially when I became a mom, that the fun part of me would die. I would have to be responsible, and being responsible meant that I wouldn't be silly anymore. That I would have to be serious all of the time. I was afraid my sense of humor would be stiffled and I would end up being a disciplinarian like my mother.

It wasn't until I became a mother that this thought really started occurring to me. It was because I was having so much fun with my daughter. I was enjoying buying her toys as much as I would have enjoyed getting them as a kid. Even better, I was loving the fact that I could sit on the floor and play with them with her without it being found "creepy" that I was playing with children's toys.

Before I became a mother (and even after), I lived up my adult life the way I always wanted to when I was a kid. It still tickles me pink that I can buy as much gum and candy as I want. I can go wherever I want whenever I want and buy whatever I want. The child inside me is living through my adult self. That is literally how I feel. I feel like I am getting away with things. And how cool is it when I travel the world? How awesome is it to go away on a trip with my husband? Even better, how awesome is it to be a mom and take my child on trips?!

I feel like the child inside of me is constantly bouncing up and down with glee at the freedom of being an adult. That child was made even happier with the addition of my daughter because now she has a playmate.

Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those parents who is more concerned with being my child's friend than being a parent. There are still rules, and discipline is handed down when necessary. I am still a mom, and I take that role very seriously. It is my responsibility to ensure my children grow up to be decent, caring, compassionate, contributing members of society, and that cannot be done if I am too busy being the friend and not the parent. It's just that I really enjoy being silly with my daughter.

I realized after some pondering that the reason I thought being an adult would mean being stodgy is because that is how I view my mother. So of course I would think that my role model mother is how being an adult and parent would be. Man am I glad it isn't! I enjoy life so much! I ended up being so little like my mother and more like my dad who has always been a kid at heart too.

Even more to my delight, being in the workforce isn't as stodgy as I thought it would be either. I always figured that being a professional in a professional job would be all seriousness, memos, boringness, and business suits. Again, I love that it is completely different. The people I work with are every bit as much kids at heart as I am. We love jokes and pranks and dirty jokes. We enjoy going to lunch together and laughing till our cheeks hurt. Our faces light up when we see candy and we eat it like it's going out of style. We get giddy at the sight of donuts. It is actually fun. Work isn't the seriousness and dullness I thought it would be. It is almost the exact opposite.

I bought a magnet last week that said, "If you didn't know how old you were, how old would you be?" My answer is 22. How old are you?

How Happy Are You?

I read this article on Yahoo today and couldn't help but want to post and pass it on. Apparently I am a pretty happy person. :D

Your emotional well-being isn’t just about your genes or the kind of home you were raised in. It turns out that some pretty interesting factors—backed by science—play a role in how joyful you feel:

You were a smiley student

Adults with the biggest grins in their college yearbook pictures were up to 5 times less likely to be divorced decades later than those who looked less happy, according to a new DePauw University study. A smiler’s positive disposition may attract other happy people or rub off on a spouse.

You have a sister

People with at least one female sibling report better social support, more optimism, and better coping abilities, according to a study presented at the British Psychological Society’s annual conference. Sisters appear to encourage communication and cohesion in families.

You're not glued to the TV

The happiest people spend 30% less time parked in front of the tube, according to a University of Maryland study that analyzed 34 years of data from more than 45,000 Americans. They’re more likely to spend time socializing, reading, or attending religious services—habits that are linked to better moods and health.

You keep souvenirs on display

People who use mementos or photos to remind themselves of good times better appreciate their lives and are happier, says Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, a professor of psychology at University of California, Riverside. Good memories remind you of your “happiness potential” and promise that soon you can reach it again.

You make exercise a priority

People who exercise more are less likely to be stressed and more likely to be satisfied with life, according to Danish researchers. Compared with sedentary people, joggers are 70% less likely to have high stress levels and life dissatisfaction, the study found. Couch potatoes who start moderate exercise—the equivalent of 17 to 34 minutes a day—experience the greatest happiness lift.

You have a healthy love life

Physical intimacy is a key contributor to happiness, found a study by Dartmouth economist David Blanchflower, PhD, and Andrew Oswald, PhD, of England's University of Warwick. Married people report 30% more sex than singles, which may be one reason they also report being happier.

You hang out with happy people

Socializing with a cheerful person in your neighborhood increases the likelihood that you’ll be happy too, according to a new study. How often you get together matters most, say the researchers: People who live within half a mile of a buoyant buddy increase their odds of being happy by 42%. If the friend lives farther away (within a 2-mile radius), the chances drop to 22%—probably due to fewer get-togethers.

You stay warm with hot cocoa

Clutching a steaming beverage—coffee and tea also do the trick—can elicit a flood of positive feelings, according to a Yale University study. This may be because people associate physical warmth with emotional warmth, say the researchers. Study subjects held cups of either hot or iced coffee; those gripping warm mugs were more appreciative of friendliness in others and also felt more generous and trusting themselves.

You have two best friends

Among 654 married adults, those who said they had at least two “best friends” (not necessarily including one’s spouse) were likelier to have better mental well-being, says a study. But additional friends didn’t lead to any more happiness than just a pair.

Before We Begin

So, this was going to be the post to kick off the memoirs, but I decided I am not quite ready to write up that first post yet (I haven't mentally written enough of it in my head), and I wanted to share a couple of other things in the meantime.

First of all, Fran asked me if I was still going to blog about our progress on TTC #2 on this blog. The answer to that is, absolutely. If I have any news about that, I will definitely let you all know. The way I see it, this blog isn't going to change, it is just going to get better and more expansive. In fact, as I was sitting in a boring training the other day, I created this drawing of how I envision my blog:

As you can see, the roots of the tree are collecting blog content that feeds the tree with mostly day-to-day life, which then branches out into randomness, TTC, and memoirs. Yes, that is a stick figure of me sitting under my tree, blogging. And yes, there are squirrels and birds in my tree too.

I also wanted to share a few other random things with you in this post:

1. I found my first love on FB the other day. I had had a dream about him a few days prior, which got me to thinking about him and wondering where he was. When I saw his picture, my first thought was, "Boy did I dodge that bullet! You look like you live in a trailer and watch Je.rry Sprin.ger." Okay, the last part may be a bit harsh, but I really do feel like I dodged a bullet when things didn't work out between us and we didn't get married, as we had so often planned. Let me tell you, seeing his face made me even more grateful for the man I am married to now.
2. I know at least my blog friend Hannah is super excited about the new season of Glee, but I want to know who else is besides us? Hannah is actually the gal who got me to watching the show in the first place, and I have to say I love her for that. Glee rocks! The first episode of this season was no let down either. I am really excited for this season!
3. I am really, really sad that this season is the last season of Little People, Big World. I have been watching that show since it started 5 years ago. When I heard it was the final season, I got choked up and wanted to cry. I am really going to miss that show and feeling like I am a part of the Roloff family. I learned a lot about dwarfs and just how much they go through in daily life as well as in their lifetime. It has definitely given me a greater appreciation for them.
4. I watched a TV show a while ago that studied what happens to women during a full monthly cycle. They wanted to see how the woman's body changed over the span of a cycle. They found that a woman's complexion actually clears up around ovulation and that her skin looks its nicest around this time as well. Additionally, the pitch of her voice goes up a bit, and her scent changes. The latter is no surprise, as scent is what tells males in all species when a female is in heat. Ever since I watched that program, I have been watching my complexion to see if I notice a change around ovulation. This month it was my first indication that ovulation was nearing. It cleared up even before I got the lovely EWCM. It's not even just that it clears up, but the pores become more refined and less noticeable and the overall skin looks softer and smoother. Interesting huh?

Well, that's it for me. It's 11:30 and I am exhausted. Signing off for now!

Slacker!

I have been a major blog slacker lately and I have no excuse other than that it is summer and a zillion degrees here, which turns my brain to mush. I signed up for ICLW thinking, "Surely I can comment on six blogs a day." I hate myself right now. I can't even keep up with the blogs I follow. What was I thinking? I am, however, able to at least comment back on bloggers who stop by. I will make a huge attempt to read up this weekend.

Have any of you in the US heard of a site called Gro.upon? My husband joined this site last year because they have daily deals for attractions around your area. For example, there was a dinner theater here that was selling tickets to a show for 60% off the original cost. You could only get the deal by buying the Gro.upon through the website. Each deal usually lasts only a day. Sometimes stipulations are placed on the deal, such as at least 30 people have to buy in or the deal is off. My husband bought my laser hair removal through one of these babies (which, by the way is going awesome; I know I'm weird because the laser doesn't hurt, it tickles--at the highest setting).

While we were at work today, DH sent me a link to the deal of the day, which happened to be a class on speed reading. At first I thought it was stupid and wondered if he was serious. Then I looked into the website for the company offering the class and realized I could use speed reading to get through my blogs in half the time it normally takes me, which means I could keep up, which means I could quit feeling guilty when I can't keep up, which means I won't avoid the blogs because I know I am so far behind I will never catch up. Whoa! Sign me up baby! See that, I'm always thinking about my blogs. lol

I'm hoping he bought the deal. I can't tell you how appealing it sounds to me, not only for blogging purposes, but because I want a Kin.dle for Christmas. Do you know how many books I could read?! The company also guarantees that you don't lose comprehension by speed reading, it just helps you read faster so you can read more. I like that idea.

If he actually did sign us up, I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes. :)

Spoiled

First of all I want to say I have every intention of catching up on every post I have missed from Jill in her recent series of posts. I will be doing that this weekend, and then commenting like crazy. Just know that is coming up and that I haven't forgotten you Jill!

Lately the Munchkin and I have been getting spoiled, and we're both loving it.

Today I went for my first ever pedicure. That's right, I'm 31 and have never had a pedi before. Don't ask me how that is possible. I've only ever had one manicure in my life before too. I guess I would rather squander my money on other things like peanut butter M&M.s, music, food, or something else stupid. *insert big stupid grin* I do have to say I really enjoyed the pedi and being pampered. I went with my friend J who was going to get her nails done. Since she was going to be a while (she was getting a new full set), I opted for the "Deluxe" pedi. That's the one where they rub your legs down and put your feet in paraffin. It was pretty dang sweet. At the end of it they painted my toe nails, and for $5 extra I had them paint a design on my big toes, which turned out awesome. I really enjoyed the experience, but at the end of the day, I can't say it was completely worth the price. It was great for a one-time thing, and for an intro to pedi's, but I think next time I will opt for the less expensive option.

When I told DH I was going for a pedi with J, he told me it was a good thing my new allowance started on Wednesday of this week, rather than Monday, which is how it will be going forward. I laughed and said, yep, it was a good thing. I think he was relieved when I got home and said I wouldn't be getting pedi's very often. Honestly, I have a massage membership to Ma.ssage. E.vy, and I would rather spend my money getting a full body rub down. Speaking of which, I really need to go use my free massages. I think I have about 9 or 10 now. :D

As for the Munchkin, a friend of ours from church gave us a free toddler Pl.ay Sc.hool slide and picnic table. The guy has four daughters, and the youngest is around 4 or 5, so needless to say, they have all outgrown toddler playground equipment. We were more than happy to take it off his hands, and the Munchkin LOVES it. In the past week she has gotten a pool, a tree swing, a toddler slide, and a toddler picnic table. She might be too young to know what it feels like to be spoiled, but her mama sure feels it for her.

I took pictures this week of her and I in our pool and Sadie dog in her pool, as well as pictures of the Munchkin playing on her new playground equipment, but I can't find the stupid camera cable to download the pictures. Grrr! I took pictures just for you gals! I'll have to find it this weekend and upload them later.

Hopefully my sweet blog friend Hannah will be spoiled too and receive a BFP soon. She had two embies transfered this past Thursday. If you can spare a minute, hope over to her blog and send her some love and prayers as she battles the angst of the dreaded TWW.

I hope those of you in the US have a safe and happy Independence Day this Sunday. Be sure to exercise caution and safety when lighting fireworks, and always remember to point the tanks that shoot firecrackers away from your face. :p

Ahhh, Facebook

All right girls, I need some catty advice.

How is that for a juicy intro? lol

Back when I was a sophomore in college I played trumpet with this other gal, we'll call her Sandy. I never really had feelings either way for her, but if asked, I would say I liked her all right. She was definitely a superior trumpet player, and I respected her skill with the brass. However, when it came to guys, I was definitely the superior player.

At one point or another, we both liked the same guy, but not at the same time, mind you. I let her crush run its course, and then I briefly tried my hand, and I do mean briefly. Partly because my attention span was so fickle when it came to guys. If things didn't move fast enough for me, I was on to the next crush within weeks. I didn't waste time on a lost cause. ;) I think part of that side of me bothered her too. I dated a lot, and she didn't date much at all.

Regardless, I never had a beef with her.

A couple years back, another trumpetess friend of ours, whom I still remain in contact with to this day, told me she had found Sandy on MySpace and suggested I add her as a friend, so I did. I went out and found her and wrote her an email, asking her what she had been up to, commented on her pictures, and told her a wee bit about where my life had gone since we last saw each other.

She never replied, and she never accepted my friend request.

"Maybe she never got on MS," you say. Well, if you have been on MS, you know that it lets the world know the last time you logged on.

She logged on almost daily.

She was choosing to ignore me.

Months went by, and I finally revoked my request. I really didn't care. Obviously I had done something, unbeknownst to me, in our past that made her dislike me and not want to be in touch with me. No biggie.

Well, a couple of weeks ago while I was at work, I got a friend request from her on FB. When I saw it, I sat back and chuckled. Seriously? Why did she want to be my friend now? Why had she ignored me a couple of years back when I wrote her that nice email?

I IMed one of my best friends, gave her the back story, and promptly told her I had no intention of "friending" Sandy. J told me that is exactly what she would do too. Let her hang out there without a reply. So I did.

Then tonight I was on FB and saw her request again while approving another friend. I told DH about it, and that I had no intention of accepting her request. He told me to stop being a b**** and approve her, that two wrongs didn't make a right (no, but two lefts do!).

So I am going to ask all of you, if you were in this position, would you approve her request, or would you feel like letting her hang out there until she revokes the request? Decisions, decisions....

I Love Technology

One of my favorite lines from The Sim.psons is:

LISA: What's inside you Nelson?
NELSON: I dunno, guts, black stuff, and about 50 Sl.im J.ims

The beautiful thing about living in this day and age with all of its technology is that when you have an MRI, they send you home with a disc of your scans for your own records. Even more beautiful for me is I work in a company that creates software to view MRI scans. I can't tell you how much fun I had at work on Thursday looking at my guts in MRI format.

"There are my ovaries. There is what looks like a nice steak. There's my bum crack. I think that's my uterus, although it could be bowel. I'm not sure what all of these black and white pockets are unless they are cysts or endo."

I even had fun showing off my guts to a few interested coworkers who found it as interesting as I did.

And now, if you are interested, here is an image of my guts and black stuff, minus the 50 Sl.im J.ims.


This is a top down view. Gross and freaky, yet really cool.

Apparently I have a nice layer of thermal padding. :)

Need a Laugh?

Today has been a fantastic day full of smiles and laughing. I went to lunch with two of my best friends because one needed cheering up. By the time we got back to work, the cheering up had been done sufficiently, and we all just wanted to run away and party for the rest of the day, rather than come back.

Because I have been having such a great day filled with happiness and laughter, I thought I would spread the love by sharing my first picture of my daughter on this blog. This picture was taken during a weekend getaway in a hotel. The little darling LOVES to be outside and look out windows. I didn't realize what she was doing in this picture until I had downloaded it. Upon seeing it, I burst into fits of laughter. Enjoy!

Waterloooo

My dad grew up a Country Boy, and so he listened to the good 'ol classic country. During one of his visits to my house he downloaded all of the music he owns from his iP.od to my computer. Being a daddy's girl through and through, I like to put some of this music on the iP.od I keep in my bathroom so I can listen to it and think of the days when I was a little girl, sitting in his office listening to this same music with him as he worked.

I listen to music everywhere I go and every chance I get. When I get ready for work in the morning, bathe the baby, and take a shower at night, my iP.od is blaring away. The other day I was getting ready for work, or maybe even bed, when it started playing a little ditty called, "Waterloo," by Sto.newall Ja.ckson. The tune itself caught my attention, and then I started to listen to the words. I think I replayed it a couple of times because it was not only catchy, but I applied the lyrics to the my current life situation.

For your viewing and listening pleasure, I give you, "Waterloo," set to pictures of my part of Texas. Enjoy!

For the Love of a Dog

Okay, I had to have a bit of doggie fun after my last couple posts in which I ranted about CDL. I realize you must all think I'm a wack job, as no one except my IRL friends justified me with comments in my last post about her. I think that is because they know I'm really not a nut case. Thanks girls! I love you so much and am so glad you are here to support me!

So, a couple of weekends ago I took one of my BFFs to an Irish festival that was in town. She has been having a rough go at life lately, loves EVERYTHING Irish, and needing a day out to just enjoy herself. We had a blast. My husband didn't, but the girls did, and that is all that mattered that day. We toured hundreds of booths peddling Irish fare. I bought a new dress for the renaissance festivals they have here in Texas twice a year and that DH and I LOVE to go to, and my BF bought a gorgeous green bodice. We dress up for these festivals and have a great time. My BF now intends to go to said festivals with us.

It was during our booth touring that I came across a Scottish booth. Okay, I am seriously in love with Scotland and all things Scottish. My husband and I visited there a couple of years ago when we were in the thick of infertility treatments. It was a much needed and deserved break. If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be Scotland. On top of being a completely gorgeous land, Border Collies come from Scotland. In fact, Sadie's daddy is from Scotland (I always ask her if he had an accent). So when we visited there, I bought tons of BC stuff because you don't really see it here that often (when I do, I buy it).

The thing that first attracted me to the booth was this pair of socks.


Of course I had to buy them! Then on further inspection I found these socks to go with the others.


Guess who was in heaven? Me!

The sales lady got wind of me and it all went down hill from there. Before I knew it I had this pillow cover in my hand to go with my socks.


Then I had their last BC Christmas ornament in which I can write my dog's names. A magnet for my car that says "I *heart* my Border Collie", and a stuffed BC for the Munchkin (which she loves and sleeps with in her crib).

My husband had to walk away to keep from seeing me go nuts over so much BC stuff, and my friend just sat there and laughed. I couldn't help it. I so rarely see BC stuff, and then it was in a Scottish booth to top it all off!

But the best two BCs at the end of the day are right here, under my roof with me.


They are sitting in front of Sven, my husband's mannequin that he intends to use to make himself leather armor (or so he said when he bought the leather and Sven 4 years ago) for said renaissance festivals. Sadie is hiding his "Man Junk." Good pup!

In closing I would like to say that I really am a very sane person and not weird in any way, even though I realize some of my posts on this blog can make me appear that way. If you want or need proof of my sanity, let me know and I will provide you with my primary blog address. :)

A Bit of Fun

After all of the seriousness on my blogs lately, I decided it is time to do something a little fun by telling you about some of the funniest days of my past. This was before I met DH and hung out with my best friend, Nate.

As I have said before, Nate and I hung out every single Friday and on the occasional Saturday when he didn't have to work. We always had so much fun together. Even when life just plain sucked, we had each other to cheer us up. One spring we decided to take a trek downtown for a bit of fun with some black and white film. We were kind of goofy, but we always had a blast. So now I give you, Fun in Black and White!

First up we have a picture of a very humiliated, dilapidated bike.


This bike had been chained to the pole just like this for over two years. I don't know if it is still there, but every time Nate and I saw it we would laugh and make jokes. In the winter when the snow fell, this bike frame could be seen sticking up just above the inches of accumulation. Even the thought of this poor thing still makes me laugh. But seriously, could we have taken a more artistic picture? (Doesn't being in black and white automatically make it artistic?)

Next up we have what I liked to call, "The Cal.vin Kli.en Pose." This is a pose in which I try to be serious with a slight smile on my face. What I was looking at, we'll never know.


I mean, look at that gorgeous subject matter. It was such a beautiful spring day, and apparently no jacket was necessary. I sure did love those Do.c Mar.tins too. Those were the best shoes.

Now we have Nate, taking time to stop and smell the blossoms.


What a fantastic picture. How often do you see guy of Nate's caliber stopping to smell the new spring blossoms of a fruitless tree? The answer to that is not very. If I remember correctly, those blossoms either didn't smell, or they stunk. I'm going with the latter just for comedic purposes.

And Finally, I present you with trying to look gorgeous in 80% humidity and a misting rain at Mt. Ver.non in Virginia.


I think my dad took this picture, as Nate was clear on the other side of the country while I was out visiting my sister. In fact, this picture was taken just weeks after I met and hooked up with my DH. Guess who I was thinking about when this one was taken?

I hope you have enjoyed this happy ride down memory lane and that it evoked even a small smile (even if that smile was only in your head).

My next post will most likely be back to everything serious. Until then, enjoy looking at the bike.

As Nate and I always used to say, "We're so cool. I wish we were us."

Yes, I am Wonderwoman

I want to start off by saying my husband and I have a great marriage. We have a relationship most couples envy. We were definitely made for one another and we both waited until we had found each other to get married. I was 25 when we met, he was 29. Suffice it to say, neither of us settled. My dad told me a while ago that he wished his marriage was as good as mine. My husband and I are complete equals. Neither lets the other get away with crap and we both know it. Our fights are rare and never last long when they do occur.

However, there is one area where our marriage is far from equal, and that is when it comes to housework, maintaining a household, and doing things for the baby. There, I do it all. It drives me INSANE. 99% of our fights stem from his lack of help.

I (from hereon referred to as "Wonder Woman"):

• Work a full time job
• Cook
• Clean the house from top to bottom
• Do the laundry for DH and I every other week and twice a week for the baby
• Take care of two dogs (these are my dogs, so I don't mind that he doesn't help here)
• Take the baby to daycare
• Take the baby to doctor appointments
• Take care of the baby
• Get the baby up and ready in the morning
• Bathe and get the baby ready for bed at night
• Give the baby all of her prescription medications, which right now includes three breathing treatments a day due to RSV
• Do the grocery shopping
• Fill the prescriptions
• Do any and all shopping for the house minus the stuff from Lo.wes
• Clean the baby bottles and sippy cups daily
• Clean her breathing treatment mask and cup three times a day

I do it all. My days go from the butt crack of dawn until the late night hours. I rarely get to sit and have time to myself, and when I do, it comes out of the time I should be sleeping, which is usually when I blog.

DH (hereon referred to as "Superman"):

• Works a full time job
• On very, very rare occasions helps me clean up a little bit
• On even more rare occasions, tinkers with a house project
• Watches TV
• Plays with the baby
• Occasionally helps with the baby
• Plays on his computer

Do you see my frustration here? Even more frustrating is the fact that he gives me zero recognition for all that I do. If I complain he doesn't help, he tells me I don't have to do any of it either, and that if I don't want to, I should just stop. Good call Superman. The baby doesn't need to be taken care of and neither do the house or the dogs. Let's just let everything fend for itself while we watch our flesh melt into the couch as we watch TV.

But even more frustrating than that is when I ask him to help out. My God you'd think I asked him to cut off his favorite appendage! The screams can be heard across the galaxy. And then what does Wonder Woman get called? A nag. Let me tell you, I rarely ask him for anything because he is such a pain in the ass about it when I do. So when I do, it is because of days like today where I am emotionally and physically exhausted. My super powers are drained, and I need a little help. I don't think that is too much to ask. After all, I do it all, all of the time!

Yes, I am Wonder Woman, but every now and then, even Wonder Woman needs a little recognition, a little recharge to her super powers, a little break from her crazy insane life of keeping the world at rights. I understand he needs time to recoup at the end of a long work day. My question there is when does Wonder Woman get to recoup?! I worked a long work day too, and then some! It seems like Superman's powers are short lived and the recharge time is incredibly long, like an old laptop battery on its last leg.

During my recharge time, I often blog. He HATES the blog. He LOATHES ICLW. He wines about it. He actually smarts off to me when I want to go to bed early and says in his naggy voice, "Going to bed to blog?" Who cares? It didn't come out of our time together, it comes out of my sleep.

Now I will climb down off my Bitch Box. I sincerely love my husband, and there is no one in this world I would rather be with. He is my everything, and I am nothing without him. I just wish that every now and then he would recharge my battery with a little help when saving the world is too much for me, or for him to let me know he realizes just how much I do. Is that too much to ask?

Guilty Pleasures

I feel like I'm having a Jennifer.Lo.ve He.witt moment here because it is time for me to come clean about my love affair... with a couple of different TV shows. I would like to tell you all about two shows I secretly watch, but won't openly admit to.

The first is The Secre.t Li.fe of the Ame.rican Te.enager. I got sucked into this show with its horrible, horrible acting when it first aired last year. Admittedly, the acting, and especially the lead character, Amy, have turned me off of the show many times. But the stupid thing is like a train wreck, and I can't stop watching. I hoped the acting would get better after the first season, but it didn't. I further hoped the Amy character would stop being such a horrid, selfish b***** once she gave birth, but she didn't. She actually got worse. I really dislike that character... a lot. Yet I keep DVRing it and watching it week after week, loathing the season finale, and applauding the season premiere. What is wrong with me? My anti-deps must no be strong enough.

My second guilty pleasure TV show is The Ba.chelor/Bach.ehlorette. This season's bachelor is from my area. We shop at the same Tar.get, eat at the same restaurants, improve our homes at the same Lo.wes. I asked a coworker of mine who lives in the Bach.elor's neighborhood if he knows him personally. He doesn't, but he does know which church he goes to.

As this seasons bachelor is from my area, I feel especially inclined to not only watch the show, but to have a #1 pick for the girl I would like for him to bring home to shop at my Tar.get with me. If you've been watching the show, you know who Ali is. Oh yes friends, she is my FAV. I just know we could be friends, shopping buddies, the works. She is a doll, and apparently Jake thinks so too.

She's The One Jake! Bring her back to Texas!

I was slightly shocked at her language regarding The Cheater (Roz) in the last episode, but that furthers my resolve that she is The One and that we could be friends simply because she showed in that moment she is serious about being with Jake. Not winning, like Rozl.yn was all worried about, but being with Jake. Yeah, I pretty much hated Rozzie from the get-go. She was there for all the wrong reasons - winning. I actually guessed she was the one who messed around before this week's episode aired. She just gave off that vibe.

So, do any of you have guilty pleasure TV shows you're not proud to admit you watch? Do tell!

God Bless Texas... But Damn!

I am not a native Texan, I married one, and then gave birth to one. In fact, my Texan husband moved to my home state to find a wife and bring her home. When I tell people that story here in Texas, I always end it with, "Ta da!"

I always knew from the time I was little that I wouldn't live out my life in my home state. It felt like home, but it didn't feel like Home. I always felt like I was supposed to live somewhere bigger and better.

On our first date, DH asked me if I was attached to my home state. My answer, and the one that made me an automatic candidate for a second date, "Hell no!" He still laughs about my response to this day.

We ended up staying there for two years after we got married, first because I couldn't get married and then up and leave my family and everything I knew. I needed to adjust to being married while still in a comfort zone. Then I got a new job and needed to stick it out for at least a year because I knew doing so would pave the way for better, higher paying jobs in Texas. It did.

So almost two and a half years after we were married, we were relocated to Texas. I loved it right away. It felt instantly like Home. The place I would raise my children (if I ever got any), and live out my days. I adjusted quickly, and then good news after good news greeted me, which made it that much easier to get used to.

All of that being said, there are a few things I don't like about Texas.

1. ALLERGIES! - I have never had allergies in my life. Here, one of my best friends is my bottle of Zy.rtec. Everyone told me that if you aren't from around here, you will have allergies for the first few years. They were right. Have you ever had the roof of your mouth itch from allergies? Mine does. I scratch it with my finger and my tongue as best as I can, which usually leaves a welt.
2. Flea and Tick Medication for the Dogs - In my home state, I never ever had to think about flea and tick medication. I'm from the Northwest where it is too cold to worry about those pesky pests. Even mosquitoes weren't a problem unless you were in the mountains. Do you have any idea how much flea and tick medication costs for two dogs? It makes me and my wallet cry every month. Not only that, but my dogs only needed HeartG.uard April-November at home. Here they need it year round. I didn't know you could buy that stuff in a 12 month supply until I moved here.
3. Hot @$$ Summers - Being from a state where it isn't uncommon for the temps to hit 106 in the summer with zero humidity, I thought I knew what a hot summer was. Boy have I learned the hard way! It got up to 103 here last summer with 60%+ humidity. DAILY. It is gorgeous here, beautiful and lush green, but it gets so stinking hot you can't set foot outside to enjoy it without looking like you just got out of the shower within 5 minutes of setting foot outside.

So that's it. Its not bad that there are only a few things I don't like here. It stacks up well against all of the reasons I didn't like my last home state. I have to say though, I didn't expect things to be more expensive here for me. The cost of living isn't more, but the fact that I have to keep a constant stock of allergy meds and meds for the dogs sure makes me a little sad. If those are the only things I don't like, I guess I will live out my life here, as planned.

God bless Texas!

Ahhh Shane....

Tonight for some reason a funny story from my past popped into my head and I decided it is totally worth sharing. I have said before that in my single days, I was a bit of a player. I loved the thrill of the chase when it came to guys. Once I had gotten them, I quickly got bored and moved onto my next kill. My average high school relationship was two weeks. Once I graduated, that number moved up to a nice, round five weeks. The record before I met my husband was seven months, followed by a few relationships that lasted a whole four months. My attention span was fickle and none of the guys I dated could fit the bill, until I met my husband. Needless to say, I dated a lot and left a few broken hearts out there.


I lost a few really good guy friends when I announced my engagement. Two of which were really hard to say goodbye to. I understood that they were both holding out hope I would one day come to my senses and realize the love of my life was right under my nose. I did love them both dearly, but not in a marriage way. One of them was an ex boyfriend whom I had dated for four months and then could never break the bond between us enough to let him go from my life forever. When I got engaged, however, he respectfully bowed out and told me he could no longer be my friend. I understood why, but it still broke my heart. We'd been good friends for years.

The other was a guy I met in my college internship, his name was Frank. He watched me hunt a delicious fellow in our office for months before finally snagging him. Frank always hoped that things with the other guy would fail so he could move in. Things did fail, and I moved on as I always did, but I never turned the eye to Frank that he wanted. Instead, I made him a dreaded best friend. This was during my senior year of college.

After graduating from college, I moved back home to find a job and start my life. I went back to my college town one weekend to visit a few friends, one of whom was Frank. I brought my current boyfriend, Shawn, with me, as well as my little brother's girlfriend. We spent the majority of our time with Frank. The first night we were at his house Shawn was talking to Frank, who of course thought Shawn was a twat. Frank interrupted Shawn:

Frank: Shane, let me tell you something....
Shawn: Its Shawn.
Frank: What?
Shawn: My name is Shawn.
Frank: Let me tell you something Shane. It doesn't matter what your name is because a month from now, Saige is going to get bored with you, dump you, and move on. And she's going to come to me and we're both going to think back on you and laugh.

I was flabbergasted! I couldn't help but laugh. I know it hurt Shawn's feelings, but it was like a scene right out of the movies. Not only that, but Frank was spot on. He knew me all too well. Within three weeks, Shawn had been kicked to the curb, and I was onto my next kill.

That story still makes me laugh to this day. I wonder if Shane still thinks about it....

What I Really Wanted to Write

So yesterday I didn't want to blog about my creepy BIL. I wanted to blog about something much more fun. I don't know about all of you, but the depressing posts are really bringing me down. I don't like being down, and I don't like writing things that are depressing. However, I really needed to get them off my chest so I could move on. Now that I have done that, we can move onto funner things!

First of all, I want to say I think what R and my dad did really worked! My optimism on that front increases daily. I think I am truly free this time! Whenever a thought about her pops into my head (which is getting more and more rare) I think, "I don't give a sh*t," and move onto the next thought. No dwelling, no feelings, nothing. Ptht! Gone!

Secondly, today rocked! Seriously rocked! I got all kinds of Christmas presents in the mail from my family (all of which are perched under the tree waiting for Christmas), four Christmas cards to hang on my railing (which now makes a baker's dozen), and had three guests show up. Today felt like Christmas. On top of which, I am currently on a two week vacation from work so I can spend time with the best present of all, my baby. The two of us had a mostly fun-filled day. Not to mention the weather is gorgeous.

I also found my little sticky note that had the list of things I wanted to blog about. I mentioned this in the blog that got deleted yesterday. I don't know if you remember that one or not. When I found the sticky note today, I realized it really didn't have anything of great importance on it after all, which made me laugh because I thought all of the bullet points on it were huge when I wrote them down.

There was one thing on there that I am really excited about though. Last week two emails hit my work inbox that got my toes tingling. The first was a teaser asking if anyone in the office would be interested in joining Wei.ght Wat.chers if the company brought them in. We would still have to pay for the membership, but it would be something we could work on while at work. I clicked the "Hell Yes!" button right away. (Okay, so it didn't say "Hell Yes," but I wish it had.) I am 20 lbs heaver than when I got married. 10 of that is my infertility weight still hanging around. I would love to get rid of it and go back to being a hot skinny chick again.

The other one that got me all in a dither was asking if anyone was interested in taking yoga classes AT WORK for 6 weeks during January and February. Again, I clicked the "Hell Yes!" button. I took yoga for a while when I was undergoing infertility treatments and I remember it left me feeling incredible. I had to stop for a couple of months after my laparoscopy to let my body heal, then DH and I moved, and I never found another class afterward. I love yoga. Did I mention this is going to take place AT WORK?! My employer has been looking for ways to boost morale and get their employees healthy. I think they are off to a good start. I love my job!

Anyway, it is almost midnight and I have a fun-filled day ahead of me tomorrow. Not to mention my melatonin kicked in about an hour ago. So I am going to bid you all sweet dreams now. :)

Head Conversations

Do you ever have conversations with other people in your head? More specifically negative conversations so that if the opportunity arises where you have to go to verbal battle, you are prepared.

Saturday my BF S and I were going shopping and had a conversation about this. She asked if I ever did that and I told her I absolutely did. The biggest reason I do is because I am not a confrontational person, so if the need arises where I need to defend myself, I want to be ready. I want to have my quiver full of insults and sharp words to fling back ready in the exact moment they are needed.

My biggest inner battle is between me and a woman I call "Crazy Dog Lady." I blogged about her twice when I first started this blog because I was in absolute shock that the whole thing had taken place at all, and then proud of myself for sticking up for me and every other dog owner who walks on the trail where I encountered her.

If you want a bit of fun reading, you can read all about "CDL" here (part 1) and here (part 2).

I still have conversation battles in my head with this woman because there is a very real possibility of coming across her every time I set foot outside my house. I swear I have never met anyone like her and hope to never meet anyone like her again.

Do you have head conversations? Or are S and I just that weird?

ROFL

In response to bullet point #5 of my post below, I did in fact get the exact lecture # I thought I would when I talked to my MIL today. I had to bite my cheeks to keep from laughing. She did add a newer lecture though:

Lecture #2,343,653 - Always go with your motherly instincts. Don't ever second guess yourself. As a new mother you will tend to second guess what needs to be done for your baby, but you should always go with your gut.... blah blah blah... swine flu... blah blah blah....

Just for the record, I don't second guess my motherly instinct. I'm smarter than that. 99 times out of 100, my instincts are spot on, so I trust them with my life... literally.

Good times.