[goob07]

Hey Susan! Sorry the headache got a hold of you - what a bummer way to start a day. Thanks for checking the gauges on your needles for me too. It helped me to confirm with the darn pharmacy to make sure they send the right ones. They're definitely trying to make swiss cheese out of me!

Hope your day has gotten better and you didn't go shopping!

[GRITS]

Susan and Goob,
I am not sure about the saint thing, but I do believe it is a good thing. She is sweet, so it is easy. And that could be me one day. She has grandkids left (4), but no one will come care for her, and she has all her wits, and desperately does not want to go to a rest home. She wants to die in peace in her mountain home watching the wildlife (she has deer and turkeys in her yard every day, even the occasional bear, elk, or moose). So this is our (DH goes a lot too) way of returning our blessings.
Goob, that poor guy on the phone! LOL I bet he is reconsidering his job now! LOL just kidding. I know what you mean though, they need to consider the importance of what they are doing for sure. If I had not checked mine I would have been missing my Lupron all together. I think my nurse made a mistake though not the pharmacy.

Ronni, 'whats for dinner?' is definitely my least favorite time of day too. I hate cooking! If it were up to me we would eat breakfast for dinner every night!

[goob07]

Grits - It's funny that you say "it could be me one day". When my grandfather's health started failing him and he was in New York without family close by was right after DH and I had started really TTC. It really hit home for me that having children was so very important to me. If not for the joy of raising my own family, but for the needs we'll definitely have as elderly folks. I suddenly realized that I didn't want to be alone and didn't want to think of DH alone when we got old. I know it's a morbid thought but my grandfather's situation just made it all so much clearer for me.

In July of '06 grandfather fell and broke his hip and ended up in a hospital in New York for a couple of months. Prior to that, he was getting around on his own, had his own apartment, was driving, had a "steady" girlfriend, etc. My mom went up several times to see how he was in the hospital and I finally went to see how things were for myself. It was awful. The hospital was in a bad part of town and the conditions were just miserable. I cried for 3 straight days while I was there trying to figure out what we could do for him. It was heartbreaking to do, but we had to have him closer to us. He had lived in New York all his life and didn't want to leave his girlfriend but her health was failing too and she couldn't care for him. We got him into a good nursing home down here but he's still confused about how this all happened to him. Dimentia is definitely setting in and he still asks where his car is all the time. BUT - like I said earlier - he always smiles while we're with him and his conditions here are so much better. He never got on his feet again after the broken hip but we know he's safe and loved and being well cared for. Pretty much all you can ask for at 90+.

You're doing a great thing - keep it up!

I love the fact that your neighbor has made up her mind about how she wants to live. And, if I had deer, elk, moose, etc. in my backyard - they'd have to drag me out of there! I'm a sucker for the cottontail rabbits we get in our suburban yard. We've had a couple babies born under our shribs and I've got a few of them eating carrots out of my hand. I'm also an avid bird feeder. Nothing makes me happier than watching the barn swallows come back every year to raise new babies over my front porch and seeing the goldfinches come back each winter to eat outside my bathroom window. Guess I'm an old lady at heart, huh?

[hopeful2bmom]

Speaking of deer.... Yesterday I was riding my bike down in southern RI near the CT border and a huge female deer ran right in front of me. It was amazing and beautiful. I kept thinking about it all day. I am a believer of signs. Turns out Buddhist beliefs are that a female deer symbolizes the realization of emptiness. It made me cry...

[hopeful2bmom]

Anyone else dreading the winter? Do any of you girls tend to "carb out" during winter months? Or is it just me!!!!

[goob07]

Funny you should mention that Susan! I was just talking with friends from work during lunch today and I was saying how I'm ready for Fall. I really prefer the "comfort" foods that I get to make when it's cooler outside. Stews, chilis, soups, pot roast -- all things that are just too heavy for summer dinners when it's over 100 degrees outside!

[hopeful2bmom]

Ronnie-
I love it! I am ready for Fall but dreading New England winter. I love making beef stew, meatballs and sauce in the crockpot and appple pie! I said earlier that I love to cook. Well, I tasted the soup and I just was not feeling it so I just made another dinner. Pistachio encrusted catfish with baby fingerling potatoes and steamed broccolini. This one is much better. just waiting for Dh so I can cook it all!

[designdiva32]

Susan, can I marry you?!! Seriously, YUM!! I am the worlds worst cook so DH and I end up having the conversations Ronnie mentioned. The 'whats for dinner' nightmare each evening. Usually I too will just go with what he wants...which is normally fairly dull. DH is a good cook but we are both busy so its the usual fast prep. stuff for us. I am thinking of trying out some fun stuff over the next few months for fun, and with what you are whipping up Susan I am feeling very inspired.

Oh, I also wanted to ask if any of you had heard the news a couple of weeks ago that coffee is now perfectly fine during pregnancy. It was up to three standard cups a day is fine. I tell you, I cheered loudly when I heard that one as it would probably mean its fine during TTC as well. I can't live without my morning coffee fix...decaf. just doesn't quite do it for me.

[hopeful2bmom]

Yippie for coffee!!! My freezer is stocked with fresh whole beans from all over the world!!! I got hooked on coffee big time when we were in Costa Rica. I got really sick if I did not have it by a certain time in the day. It's that strong that your body starts looking for it if you don't starting gulping by 10 am!!!!!

I could drink it all day long!

[designdiva32]

Me too...I've become a complete sucker this summer for Starbucks caramel frappacinos topped with whipped cream. Its SOOOOO bad for me but its been my little indulgence when I'm needing a pick-me-up.

Oh, and I think its up to two not three cups of coffee a day. Its on the March of Dimes website as they were the ones to recommend it. Thank gosh too...I need caffeine in the mornings or I'm a complete lump!

[Angelwithhope]

Well I guess I'm the odd woman out on this one...even if they say this....I have had two miscarriages and I will do everything and anything to not have a third....even though I am a coffee fiend... no coffee for me, or for my baby. But you ladies can all gladly have a cuppa for me!!

[sunny72]

Hi girlies, just popping in to say hi. I'm in such a lurker mood right now. Still waiting for AF to show --where is she?? It's like she's knocking at the door, but she won't come in. So.... just feel blah right now. I just have no motivation for this FET. I guess when I'm on CD1 I'll have more interest.

Thanks for the suggestions about how to excuse myself for appointments when my aunt and co are here. Trouble is, she's coming all the way from NZ, so don't want her to think I'm being too blasé. Also DH tends to drive me to RE visits because I hate all the highways. I know, I'm a wuss. I'll figure it out.

Mmmmm, love coffee. Actually love the smell of coffee, but drink lattes!! Again, a wuss.

Susan, I'm ready for Fall, not ready for NE Winter also. I forget whether you'd mentioned what you're studying before??

Grits, I'll say it again too -- you're such a nice person for taking care of your neighbor. I really think about my parents getting older now and me being so far away. As in zillions of miles away. I wish I could visit them more often. We have our differences in how we live our lives, and distance makes us more amicable, but I do wish we could just hang out as a family more often especially because of my wee one. They really miss alot when they only see her once a year or two years.

Jen, how did your day in the lab go? I was off today and back to pushing papers around an office tomorrow. Boss is out though so she won't be driving me nutty at least. Never know what kind of crazy situations she has left me with though when she takes a day off. She often fails to mention important little facts that take me by surprise as the day goes on.

[hopeful2bmom]

Hi Heidi,
I am studying for my PhD in counseling psychology with a ficus o behavioral psych. I hope to practice at an infertility center or just in private practice but making a concerted effort to cater to infertile couples seeking therapy. i found very little help here in that department (in RI) Our marriage therapist did not know a darned thing about IVF and what it can do to a marriage. Going through five failed IVF cycles is a doozy, and he could not shed any light on the siutation for us.
Soooo, hopefully I can learn how to counsel myself soon. yeah right!

[jencat215]

Well, first let me tell you what DH is whipping up in the kitchen (barefoot, wife pregnant...just the way it was meant to be). I read him Susan's dinner menu and asked him what he was making so this is what he said:
Foil wrapped sock-eyed salmon w/ herbed rosotto and home grown organe tomato ragu w/ artichoke hearts and capers (tomatoes are Nebraska Wedding and Gold Egg heirlooms). Of course, the risotto is from scratch. It does smell good in here

I do love how you girls are taking care of your older neighbor and your grandfather. I do like being around older folk- DH's grandfather tells the coolest stories (but unfortnuately he is losing mental facilities so he has good days and bad days). I do wish I had my grandparents around.

DH asked when I was going to POAS. He did say POAS! I told him that in this house we PIAC (pee in a cup), cause the freebees I get from work are the type you see at Drs offices- the cartridges that the tech/nurse adds your pee to. But I don't know exactly what day I O'ed and I think I still have a week and a half. I told him that I was going to hold out and not POAS until the day I expect AF and he LAUGHED AT ME!!! He said, yeah right. I mean, he is right and all, but come on!

Today in the lab... urg. It was hot in there. But I uploaded some CDs on the computer and blasted Howard Jones so it wasn't too bad. I had to inactivate the virus and salt out the proteins. Just a long day in the lab. Tomorrow I get to run western blots on Clostridium, a nasty fowl smelling bacteria that causes severe diahrrea, usually spread in hospitals.

Oh, DH just announced that this week he is going to make fesenjan (a walnut-pomagranate chicken dish-he uses cornish game hens).

Ah, I guess I am bragging about how good I got it here. Too bad DH won't shut up so I can type all this! He is a chatty kathy when he is cooking.

I didn't get a chance to get my decaf today. So sad. I can deal with decaf. I just love the smell of coffee. What I need is diet coke. That is where I need my caffiene from.

[sunny72]

Susan, that's awesome! You'll give so many IF couples the guidance and empathy that very few professionals can right now. IF can mess you up. I've never been to a psychologist or counselor, but have definately thought about it before. I really wish I had about 5 years ago when things were really getting me down. I managed to claw my way out of the dark hole, but could have done with some professional help in hindsight.

Speaking of wildlife. I saw the sweetest little chipmunk on my walk the other day. The squirrels looked like giants next to it. It was fairly early in the morning so that might be a good time to catch a glimpse o the little critters.