February 26, 2009
Posted in Puppy at 8:10 pm by lifebytheday
…my husband and my dog go for a walk in the woods. 😛
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Posted in Books tagged Books, Faith at 8:37 am by lifebytheday
I started reading a great book yesterday – The Year of Living Biblically, by A.J. Jacobs – and yes, it was a coincidence that I started it on Ash Wednesday. I’m sure many of you have heard of this book, and as of page 150 or so, I can definitely say that it doesn’t disappoint. Besides being very funny – one of my favorite parts so far is based on his discussion of not being able to touch women when they are “impure,” which leads to one of A.J.’s co-workers providing him with an Excel spreadsheet detailing her cycle (!) – it’s also very thoughtful. I hope that reading this book will help me re-connect with my own faith.
I think that part of the reason I’ve been feeling extra down lately is because I’ve let my faith slip. I am a pretty liberal Catholic, but I generally enjoy, appreciate, and value my faith, and in the past few months, I’ve foregone attending Mass in exchange for those few extra hours of sleep or time with S. I went to AW services with my Mom last night, and left feeling such a sense of peace and hope. I have some definite plans for Lent and I’m hoping that they will help get me in a better mental and emotional place for when we’re ready to start our next round of IVF.
Interestingly enough, A.J. and his wife also went through IVF, so there’s a lot of discussion in the book as to the moral consequences of that decision. I don’t think I’ve reached his final word on the subject, but at the moment, A.J. and I agree that the commandment “be fruitful and multiply” justifies any means necessary.
Wishing all of my fellow IF-sufferers peace and hope this Lenten season. Here’s to “being fruitful”!
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February 24, 2009
Posted in Infertility at 12:11 pm by lifebytheday
**Disclaimer**
Infertility is making me a mean, grouchy person, so I apologize in advance. It’s baby season, and it’s starting to wear on me…
Whenever I hear that someone is pregnant or has given birth, my mind immediately shifts to this scale by which I weigh that person’s “deserved-ness.” Everything becomes a factor – that person’s relationship with their significant other, their relationships with their friends, but most of all, how easy (or not!) it was for them to get pregnant!!
I used to read this great blog – Confessions of a Young Married Couple (marriageconfessions.wordpress.com) – until she announced that she was “Surprise, pregnant!” and not ready or even all that excited! Add that to the Angie and Jaime Lynn Spears of the world, and I become a raving lunatic. If these people can get pregnant, why can’t I?!?
I have some very dear friends who are very close to giving birth, and in my sick twisted brain, they “deserve” their baby. One tried for a good year before getting pregnant, one had an ectopic pregnancy, and one has PCOS. It makes me feel like a bad friend and a mean person for even thinking these thoughts, but I can’t help myself!
Can someone please save me from myself??
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February 6, 2009
Posted in Infertility at 1:32 pm by lifebytheday
I guess I just have to take a trip to Myrtle Beach… 😉
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MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Starting a family might be a little easier with a trip to Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum in Myrtle Beach. The museum on Thursday opens a monthlong display of its fertility statues. The 5-foot tall wooden statues were acquired on the Ivory Coast of West Africa in 1993. The company says they were then placed in its corporate headquarters in Orlando, Fla., and within months, 13 women became pregnant.
The statues have since been on display around the world. According to the company, more than 2,000 women have reported becoming pregnant after touching the statues.
They will be on display at Ripley’s through the first of March. The company says couples wanting to have a baby can touch the statues for free during business hours.
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February 5, 2009
Posted in Infertility, Marriage tagged House, Infertility, S at 9:23 am by lifebytheday
Last night, S and I went out to look for a new sheet set, and two hours later, came home with a 42′ plasma TV! I’m still not quite sure what happened, but I know that S has wanted a plasma for years, and has not stopped talking about it since we moved into our house last May. I guess this is one of the differences between men and women, but we have a perfectly good TV and I just couldn’t justify the purchase on top of our mortgage and all of our infertility bills! S agreed, but little did I know that he’s been squirreling away money, just waiting for the chance to buy a plasma.
So we were out at the mall last night and drove by Circuit City (who just happens to be going out of business and offering all sorts of ridiculous deals), so S asked if we could go in and “just see…” Long story short, we drove away with a plasma in the car!
I’m feeling so conflicted…we have so many other things that we could use the money for, but S has been so understanding (well mostly!) with all of the money we’ve spent on treatments, acupuncture appts, organic food, herbal supplements, blah, blah…that I feel guilty for being annoyed. He works so hard, and if this is the one splurge that makes him feel happy, then I guess we’ll survive. I won’t be telling him that though…he “owes” me one! Maybe a trip to the spa 😉
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February 2, 2009
Posted in House tagged House at 9:08 am by lifebytheday
S and I bought a house in May – a little colonial built in the 1920s – and moved back to my hometown outside of Boston. The house definitely needs some updates, so we’ve been working on it little by little, and have managed to survive the renovations – thus far! People tell you that renovating a house will be hard on your marriage, but they don’t tell you that some days you’ll want to throw your partner out a window!
Last Saturday was one of those days. I had just finished cleaning the house in preparation for some friends coming over, when S walks upstairs from the basement with a trowel in one hand, and a bucket of joint compound in the other. For those of you who haven’t experienced the joys of plaster work, let me try to explain the dread I felt at the sight of this bucket of plaster.
Plaster is a necessary evil when working on old houses. Our walls are made from plaster mixed with horsehair and must be either repaired with more plaster or completely torn down and replaced with drywall. In an effort to maintain the “charm” of our house, we try to repair what walls we can. However, when the multiple layers of wallpaper come down in preparation for painting, the wall either comes with them, or reveals a hole previously hidden for half a century. So “fixing” the walls entails painstakingly filling these holes, layer by layer of plaster.
The plaster itself isn’t the problem, it’s what comes between each layer…sanding and…plaster dust. Plaster dust is a creature unto itself. Even when we cover and tape doorways, etc., the dust manages to cover every square inch and sneak into every little unguarded crevice. The last time we did plaster/sanding, I found plaster dust in my closed kitchen cabinets! And the best (worst!) part is that it takes multiple applications of plastering and sanding, so it just doesn’t make sense to clean until everything is completely done, which means you basically need to live in filth for a few days. Not my cup of tea…
So we (…well, S) just did the walls in our entryway, stairs, and upstairs hallway during our Christmas vacation, and we just recently managed to get everything clean again. That was after 5 or 6 separate cleaning attempts AND a full deep clean by a cleaning company! So last Saturday, S decided he was going to do some “touch-ups.” All I could picture was our friends arriving to a sandstorm in my living room…and I knew I had to nip it in the bud.
Picture 5’4″ me with my hands splayed across the opening to our hallway…”No! You CAN’T plaster!! I won’t LET you!!!” …S patiently (gritting his teeth) and telling me that if I don’t get out of his way, he WILL move me. LOL!! After much back and forth, I let him by, but once he put his materials down to go get the second load, I threw his trowels OUT THE WINDOW!! …And then promptly got in my car and went to the grocery store. Needless to say, there were some words when I returned, but since S refused to get the trowels (on principle!) the work was stalled until I returned…just long enough that he wasn’t able to plaster before our friends came over. Crisis averted!! …Or maybe just postponed for another day…?
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