Get to cleaning, woman!

So the day started out just like any other day. Meaning I slept too late, ran around trying to find something to wear that wasn't a.) wrinkled b.) dirty c.) Aaron's, and put my hair in a clippy that was missing a tooth. The past month at work has been very stressful and I have been working about 60 hours a week. It takes everything in me to just get out of bed in the morning. Getting dressed in something that matches is no easy feat. And the hair! Don't get me started on the hair.

Anyhow, on this particularly dreary day, I let the dog outside to go potty while I found something to spray Febreeze on and throw in the dryer to de-wrinkle wear and when I called him in, was shocked at the amount of mud on his little paws. I wanted to go out and investigate the situation, but I wasn't wearing a bra. Or pants. I grabbed the closest thing I could find to wipe his paws. Aaron's boxers. He will never know, so if you tell him, I will deny that it ever happened.

Little Duke Monster ate his breakfast, I continued with my rushed morning routine, and after taking the time to put on proper undergarments and pants, I went outside with him to make sure he was...um, okay to spend the rest of the day inside. As we walked close to the tomato plants I despised planting in the first place (because I hate dirt and bugs and worms), I noticed that not only had my tomato plants been dug up, they had been tossled around the yard.

Please know that I do not condone animal abuse, but seriousy, I wanted to kick Duke right square in the butt. With my shoe. That didn't match my shirt.

Recalling that I was already leaving the house 15 minutes later than usual, and I needed to make my daily Panera stop for their iced tea laced with cocaine, I put Duke in his cage, grabbed my keys, my lunch, my sweater because it's cold in the office, my phone, and my purse, and ran out the door.

Let's recap. Dug up tomato plants in backyard. Muddy paw prints all over kitchen floor. Aaron's boxers, now also covered in mud, laying on laundry room floor. Fourteen shirts I thought about wearing, but didn't wear because they were a.) wrinkled b.) dirty c.) Aaron's thrown about the bedroom. And my dirty undergarments on the floor because even when I don't get up early enough to take a shower, I still like to be clean. THANKYOUVERYMUCH.

When I got to work, I had an email from my realtor that someone wanted to see the house. Today. At 4 pm. I emailed her back and said:

"My house is a disaster. Our only hope of them buying our house is if they like dog hair and dirty dishes"

To which she replied:

"I'm afraid if they don't see it today, they won't want to reschedule"

Then she called. And someone else wants to see the house at 1 pm. Breathe in, breathe out. These people have seen dog hair and dirty dishes right?!

And at that very moment, I remember the muddy floor, clothes strewn bedroom, boxers on the floor, and the kicker of all kickers, embarraser of all embarressers: the pregnancy test on the bathroom counter.

In case you weren't paying attention up to this point, my realtor showed my house twice today. WITH A PREGNANCY TEST ON THE COUNTER.

We will be living in this house for the absolute rest of our lives.

My Dog is having a Birthday

I know you're not going to be 1 (or 7, as it may be) until Tuesday, Duke, but Happy Birthday. To celebrate your special day, Mommy will go to Starbucks and get you a cup of whipped cream. YUM!

(This is what happens when you don't have kids. You celebrate the birthdays for your "other" children. Ha!)

And then they called again.

I figured I should follow up on this post, and let you all know that the doctor's office called and I get to keep my uterus. It's really quite exciting, and while I have forever been a supporter of Breast Cancer Awareness, I am now adding Cervical Cancer Awareness to the list, cause that was some scary crap.

And even though he tried to hide it, I could tell my husband was really worried about me. Even though I didn't want him to worry, it meant so much to me. I know the he cares, but it was a special concern that he usually doesn't show.

I'm so glad to be okay, and I'm so glad for the friends and family who are my support system.

I will leave you with this pleasant message - get an exam every year ladies, no matter how uncomfortable it makes you feel. It is totally worth it.

You Capture

This week's You Capture theme was "Sweet" and since I promised the gals at work that I would bring them cookies in the morning, I figured it was a perfect opportunity to showcase my baking skills. If my husband is reading this, he no doubt just spit Coors Light all over the computer because the only skill I have in the kitchen is eating.

I don't know which is sweeter:

Peanut butter cookies?

Hershey Kisses?

Or the man who stole 1/2 the cookies off of the cooling rack?

It's My Blog and I'll Talk About It If I Want To

Welcome to my journal, my place for family, faith, humor, life-changing memories. I write about my husband, my dog, my job, things that I like, and things that frustrate me, like the woman I work with who curses in the workplace. I write to inspire and encourage, to make you think and make you laugh.

I've said before that this is not my sounding board for fertility issues, and while I have tried to limit what I say here (with the exception of the past couple weeks), the reality is that my life the past few weeks has been about our fertility journey and working 60 hours a week . It's hard to write about my life but avoid certain topics for fear of seeming conceited, but then I would have nothing to talk about I would be lying to myself and denying myself the support I know ya'll can provide.

So here's the story.

In mid-April, I went in for my annual exam, which has got to be comparable to death by stoning. I discussed with my doctor that Aaron and I have been trying to conceive for going on 6 months, and while I wasn't worried it wouldn't happen, I was a little concerned that for as many ovulation tests I had taken, I had never been able to detect the hormone that indicates ovulation (LH Surge). She suggested a "21 day draw", which would determine the levels of progesterone my body generates or produces or gives off or something. Just 48 hours after my blood test, a nurse called to tell me that my levels were low, and the doctor wanted to start me on Clomid. I said okay, thinking all the while that I was going to research alternatives to this medicine because I don't want to have the side effects that will make my husband want to leave me. I certainly wouldn't get pregnant that way.

Ahem.

Anyhow, that same night when I got home, there was a letter in the mail from my doctor, the results from my test the week before. The letter had mulitple lines available for the office to check, from "Everything is fine" to "PLEASE CALL US BEFORE YOUR UTERUS FALLS OUT" and for the first time ever, I had the "PLEASE CALL US BEFORE YOUR UTERUS FALLS OUT" line checked. My heart instantly sank, and I had nightmares about what could be wrong. This is not the place for me to go into my past (that may actually require multiple posts), but I will just say that had I never expected to see any lines marked, other than "okay" and I certainly hadn't expected to see them after I turned 25. Things like "this" won't happen to "me". Of course!

When I called the next day, the nurse was very sweet in telling me that there had been some abnormal cells found during my visit, and the doctor wanted to see me. As if being violated once a year isn't already enough, I scheduled an appointment, and didn't even have to beg Aaron to come along.

The procedure itself wasn't terrible, although I did squeeze Aaron's hand pretty tight, and my doctor mentioned that I'll be a terriffic candidate for an epidural - that she will be able to administer in my fourth month of pregnancy. I couldn't hide the fact that I am a baby, and I have no pain tolerance.

During the appointment last week, she was able to tell me that my risk for cervical cancer is very low. She was not, however, able to rule out other cervical issues, which may or may not be related to my difficulty conceiving thus far. The test results will be back this Friday or next Monday.

When I said this was not my sounding board, I intended to keep it that way. Unfortunately, or not, life happened, and if I was going to continue posting about the things that matter to me, I couldn't avoid letting you know where I've been!

Look for an uplifting picture post soon!

Mother's Day Weekend

These pictures are SOTC (Straight out of the camera). I just wanted to post them so my mom could see them. Hi Mom!

I think my sister, Payton, is just adorable. And now matter how old she gets, I will always think of her as my baby sister.

My momma and her Great Aunt, Donelda.

My mom and her kids on Mother's Day. I am biting my sister because she called me a skeeze. And because I love her. And in my family, we bite people when we love them.

There are a few more pictures in the two posts below this one, so keep scrolling to see the ones that were edited!

You Capture

I haven't been taking part in You Capture lately because I haven't been taking my camera with me! I'm so bad, I know!

The You Capture challenge for this week is COLOR, and I tried to focus on one color per picture.

This past weekend, during a trip to Ohio to visit my mom for Mother's Day, I photographed some of the vintage things at my parents house, as well as some of my mom's beautiful flowers.






























I'm excited to start taking my camera with me more places, because I love seeing the beauty that can be captured!

Go over to Beth's site to visit with the rest of the folks who "Captured" this week!