Memorial Day Weekend

Doug and I drove down to the Cumberland area to visit with some friends over Memorial Day weekend this year.  It was a last minute sort of deal, so we didn't even leave until Saturday.  Doug has recently upgraded my computer, so we gave our old computer to the friends we were staying with.  There are actually some Americans that do not have a computer OR the internet.  It was their first desktop computer and it was fun teaching them how to use it.

While we were in the area, we decided to go strawberry picking at Higson's Farm.  Doug went there as a kid and has some very fond memories.  While we were driving there, Doug scared me by suddenly putting on his brakes, pulling over, and running out of the car.  He came back with this!

Meet Turtle... I didn't know that it was in Doug to be rescuer of turtles, but apparently it is.  He picked him up and returned him to a nearby stream safe from cars.

Minutes later, we arrived at Higson's Farm.  We had been wanting to go here to pick strawberries for a while, but I believe the family that runs the farm is Seventh Day Adventist or something, so their Sabbath is on Saturday.  Since our Sabbath is on a Sunday, it makes it hard to get in on a normal weekend.  Thank goodness for four day weekends!

Here are some pictures of Doug and I while we're picking strawberries.  This isn't the most flattering picture of me.  Doug usually wakes up a full hour before me and by the time I was awake, he was up and ready, rearing to go.  I wasn't going to let him go strawberry picking without me so, I just left with him at that moment.  I'm wearing what I wore to bed the night before.  I haven't showered, brushed my hair, put on make up, or do any of the other stuff I usually do to make myself public friendly.

 

Not many people these days drive yellow cars.

iPad Wonderfulness

A little over a month ago, I woke up at 4 o'clock in the morning and could NOT get back to sleep.  I had this crazy idea that I NEEDED an iPad, that it would solve ALL of my problems, and I needed to get it like... immediately.  When Doug woke up an hour later and we both started getting ready for work, I let him know my plans.  I went ahead and bought one online that weekend.  I got the 32 GB black iPad 2 with the incredibly overpriced red leather smart cover.  You can watch the YouTube demonstration of the cover HERE. Unfortunately it took like 3 million years to get to me, but now the iPad is here and I am happy.

So am I happy with my frivolous purchase?  HECK YEAH! 

I basically bring it EVERYWHERE I go.  I even have a little case that allows me to carry it in my purse.  I had lots of hopes and dreams for my iPad.  Most of them have been fulfilled.  My only disappointment has been that I haven't been able to use it for work as much as I wanted to.  Apple isn't really friendly with any other technology except for Apple, so that put a few roadblocks in my plans. 

I use it to check email, blogs, and Facebook and shop online.  About 60% of what I do on the computer anyways.  It's just better because I can do it all in bed and the battery life on this thing is AMAZING.  Much better than any laptop.  The other 40% which I spend on school work, I have not been able to do on my iPad.  I use Microsoft Word a lot to create assessments and worksheets and ActivInspire to create Flipcharts for the Promethean (Interactive) Whiteboard in my classroom.  Neither are available in their full forms on my iPad.  I haven't really gotten to the point where I'm reading much on it yet except for the stuff that comes with my LDS Scriptures app.

So this is my background and my tons of free apps (and just a couple paid ones)

Favorite Apps:

1. FaceTime: This is basically Skype, but it came free on my iPad.  I use to it talk to my sister Bekah in Hawaii.  We've talked both this weekend and last and they were ridiculously long "calls" that I enjoyed so much!  I was basically able to take her on a tour of my house, show her what I was cooking for dinner, and just plain have a fun time chatting.  (Her boys also got to see the dead rotting bird on my back porch that Lucky brought home for us over a week ago.) She lives so far away, so it SO nice to be able to have practically a Face to Face conversation.
2. Dropbox: This is a really cool service that basically functions as a place to drop files.  If I ever want to access any documents or pictures, I just drop them in a folder on one of my computers and I can access them on my iPad.  I am going to start using it at work because I have a hard time keeping my files straight between my home computer and school computer.  It's a free service until you upgrade to over 2MB of storage space.
3. LDS Scriptures: Well, this is a paid app and the first one I purchased.  It was either $10 or $15.  There is a free app called Gospel Library that has much of the same stuff, but I wanted the gospel picture library, hymnbook, and other features of the program.  I love it. 
4. Sing-Along: There is an app for both the church hymn book and the primary songs.  It has the different songs with pictures that match the words.  It plays the music and a little ball bounces over the words as it plays.  I first downloaded the LITE version which is basically a preview of the program with only a few songs.  My Sunbeams loved it so much, I figured I would pay the $5 to buy the full version with all of the songs.  It's awesome!

I'm slowly becoming an iPad expert and learning all of their tricks.  I'm still not going fully Mac, but this is a fun little toy that works for a lot of my computing needs.  Right now, I'm actually creating this post on my desktop computer because it works better for this purpose.

Easter

I know it's been a while since Easter, but I was cleaning out my camera and found these pictures.  When we moved in our house three years ago, Doug started a tradition of doing Easter baskets for each other.  We skipped last year because we were in Hawaii, but luckily I remembered this year in enough time to get the good Easter candy before it was all sold out.  This year for Easter, I put a basket together for Doug with the following: a year's supply of Cadbury Cream Eggs, Chipotle Tabasco Sauce, and eggs filled with Sixlets and Starburst Jelly Beans.  My Easter basket had all of the same stuff basically except I got 6 stargazer lily bulbs.  These are my FAVORITE flowers and the same kind that I had in my bouquet on our wedding day.  (He planted them for me too!)

We then had a yummy breakfast of eggs, waffles, and grits with strawberries.  I always hated grits growing up and would never touch the stuff well... because it was too gritty.  Doug happens to LOVE grits, so I make them for him pretty often.  So, now I've actually started to develop a taste for the stuff.  I must be getting old.

I taught the Easter lesson to the Sunbeams at church.  My lesson was on the Resurrection, a pretty tricky topic for 3-4 year olds.  I started off the lesson by letting them talk about their morning so they could get it all out of their systems.  I then explained that we would NOT be talking about the Easter bunny or Easter eggs or candy and that we WOULD be talking about Jesus.  They nodded and seemed to listen very well through the lesson.  They particularly enjoyed the whole glove/hand, body/spirit part of the lesson.  In the end, we had some downtime, so the parent in the room asked them what they learned.  The only response... "Easter bunny!"  ...yeah.

  

After church, we drove over to my parents' house and had an Easter dinner with the family.  We brought over a monster Easter egg kit we had bought with some hard boiled eggs and invited the family to participate.  Doug has been anti-picture taking of himself lately and would NOT pose for any pictures, but he did agree to take some of me.  The only problem... a HUGE piece of green something stuck in my teeth.  He didn't notice it AT ALL and I didn't see it until I was going through the pictures on my camera a week later.  Here is a far away shot that you can't see the stuff stuck in my teeth...

Painting Project

So it's taken me forever to update my blog because I wanted to be done with my painting project beforehand so I could show you the beautiful finished pictures of it.  You know, because infertility is kind of depressing and I like to have happier things on my blog.

SO, yeah the painting... It's kind of still NOT done.  BUT, most of it is, so I'll show you some pictures of the stuff that's done and the stuff that's not done.  Also you'll get to see some fun pictures of me and my sis, Kate painting together. (By the way, Kate is awesome!  She stayed at my house and painted for three whole days and only was paid with my cooking.)

Upstairs hall-ish area where we started.

The actual painting ended up taking 4 days.  We started on Tuesday by going to the grocery store to get groceries for the week and then to Home Depot to pick up paint.  I had intended on starting and finishing EVERYTHING on that day (riiight), but by the time we finished all of my errands, it was 5:30pm.  When we got home, we decided to just make a yummy dinner that my sister Bekah cooks and then just watch TV.  We didn't actually get started on the painting at all, but I felt like the day was productive so we went to bed early and "officially" started the next day.  That day continued onto the next day, which continued onto the NEXT day...

I taped the top and then Kate painted the top.  We both almost died in the process.

I seriously had a blast painting with my little sis!  I hope it wasn't too torturous for her, but I really enjoyed hanging out with her those four days.  We got to catch up on all of the sisterly gossip that we've missed out on the last three years that she has been living in Hawaii.  We laughed about crazy things that we did as kids and just talked about our lives and our plans for the future. 

The stairs going up and down are now all done!

The entry hall (finished) and the stairs that go down into the basement (not finished).

Kate needed to go home on Friday to do some stuff related to becoming gainfully employed, so I released her from her servitude.  I came home and started finishing up the area that we had started in the basement.  I had gotten most of it done when Doug got back from work and wanted to talk and have dinner.  So, thinking that I would just get right back to it after making dinner, I put the paint brush and roller down, and made dinner.  The second my butt hit the couch, I knew I wasn't going to finish.  So this is how it still looks two weeks later.  I'm not sure when I'll get the motivation to finish.

Oh YES, and this here is the tape ball we made.  That's $25 worth of tape right there.  This picture also coincidentally kind of shows (in a blurry way) all of the different color paints that I've done so far in my house.  There's still A LOT more to do, but that's what teacher summers are for, right?

National Infertility Awareness Week

This week, April 24-30 is National Infertility Awareness Week. 

I was reading the April 2011 issue of the Ensign LDS Church magazine earlier this month and to my surprise it had an article titled, "Faith and Infertility"  Usually you don't hear too much on infertility from The Church.  No one really talks about it and people at church can sometimes be pretty insensitive on the topic without meaning it.

I highly suggest reading the Ensign article.  If you don't have time to read the whole thing, please read this short excerpt:

[...] many people facing infertility look for the reason behind the struggle and sometimes blame themselves. Such thoughts and feelings can sting even more when others make well-intended but hurtful comments, often laced with misguided beliefs.

For instance, Melody Linton recalls sitting in testimony meeting and hearing new mothers say things like, “God trusted me enough to bless me with this baby.”

“I can understand why they said it,” Melody admits. “It’s a fair statement. But in my situation without a child, I couldn’t help but think, ‘God doesn’t trust me.’

Back in February 2010, about two months after my miscarriage, I chatted with a well-meaning sister at church, who was a glowing seven months pregnant and had a toddler playing at her feet.  She was being friendly and trying to get to know me better. 

Her: "I've seen you around church, but I just haven't introduced myself. Have you been in the ward long?"  
Me: "Yes, a little over two years now.  I work with your daughter in Activity Day Girls." 
Her: "Oh, I didn't realize... So are you married?"
Me: "Yes, for almost five years now."
Her: "Do you have any kids?"
Me: "No."
Her: "So, do you not WANT kids or... has it just not happened yet?"
Me: "Uh, it just hasn't happened."
Her: "Oh."

I could tell she felt embarrassed and uncomfortable.  There was an awkward silence and she started  digging in her diaper bag for something.  Thank goodness the group part of the lesson ended at that moment and the teacher started talking.  I thought about leaving the room then and taking a moment to cry in the restroom, but I was able to pull myself together rather quickly and unnoticed.  I made a swift exit from Relief Society as soon as the "Amen" from the closing prayer sounded.

A few months ago my period was over a week late and I thought for sure I was pregnant.  A sister that I have worked closely with in the ward asked me, out of the blue, one day, "Are you pregnant?"  I stared down at my stomach in disbelief and I whispered back unable to contain it, "I don't know, but I hope so!" with a big smile on my face.  My period started that night.  It turns out I was just stressed about completing report cards on time.  The next Sunday she looked at me expectantly hoping for good news.  I simply responded, "Not this month."  She replied with, "You just need to relax a little.  Don't worry about it so much.  It WILL happen."  I gave the deflated response, "Yeah, I hope so."

I'm participating in the "Bust a Infertility Myth Blog Challenge." The challenge was given by  Resolve.org, the National Infertility Organization.  Here's a response to a common myth from their site.

Myth: If you just relax, you will get pregnant.

Busted!:  If only it were that easy! The fact is, the vast majority of individuals who have infertility have a medical reason, not a stress-related one. Upwards of 90% of all infertility cases are caused by physical problems.

For those who are interested in knowing more about infertility, you can visit this link: Infertility 101

I want to leave you with another quote from the Ensign article that I think applies to a lot more than just infertility.

“One of the gospel principles I’ve learned to appreciate through our experience is that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us,” Dave adds. “Sometimes we get caught up in the one-size-fits-all mentality, and we feel that our lives should look like other people’s lives. But that’s really not true. Everyone has different trials, and Heavenly Father is aware of those. If we are humble enough to follow the plan He has for us, we’ll be happy.”

Darwin's Surgery

Darwin was declawed Wednesday this week.  I scheduled it on purpose for during my spring break so I could be home to take care of him.  I REALLY didn't want to do it, but it became necessary after a few situations where things were destroyed.  We really did try every sort of behavioral thing that we could think of.  We bought floor scratching pads, scratching posts, wrapped rope around support beams in the basement, used spray water bottles when we caught him in the act, gave him treats when he didn't scratch, but things never got any better. 

At nighttime the cats participate in what Doug and I call a "Whirling Dervish," which basically means they run around the house like a bunch of crazies.  When Darwin comes to a doorway, he leaps and holds onto it with his claws and then slides down resulting in this...  This is how most of the doorways look in my newly built home.

 

Okay, so the doorway can be fixed.  It should only take hours of sanding and repainting all of the doorways in the house and then he'd probably do it all over again, but I REALLY didn't want to do the surgery.

THEN, a couple of months ago we bought a nice new desk for Doug's front office.  It was a beautiful cherry wood with a leather inlaid top.  We had spent months researching to find the right desk... and it wasn't exactly cheap.  When it came, we spent hours putting it together.  The next morning, we came downstairs and the leather top had been SHREDDED.  Doug let me know that morning that if Darwin didn't have an appointment to be declawed by __ date, then my precious Darwin would running along the side of the road somewhere or at a kitty shelter.  I begrudgingly made the appointment.

I dropped him off at the office for surgery on Wednesday and picked him up after work on Friday.  Here are some pictures from my phone of Darwin right after we got back from the vet's office.  Apparently, he didn't do very well in the little kennel after surgery and they had to put three different caution stickers on his cage.  In these pictures, he only has one paw bandaged because he already took the other one off.  When the bandages are ready to come off, the staff just cuts a slit at the top of it and let the animals take it off when they're ready.  The vets didn't get to put a slit in the other one, I'm guessing because of Darwin's friendly office manner, so I took care of it later and he had slipped the bandage off by the next morning.

Darwin needs to stay in strict seclusion for the next two weeks with shredded paper litter to help him heal.  They suggested a dog crate, but then I realized that we had an extra walk-in closet in one of the front bedrooms that has a window and everything.  I pulled the cushion off of a seat that we had and he is set for the next two weeks.  He actually seems happy with his little space and likes that he can look out the window and see all of the different happenings in the neighborhood.  I also have some pain killers that the vet gave me to give him every other day.

  

Here are some of the latest photos that I took today with my nice camera.  He's actually doing VERY well. He obviously isn't running around and playing like he used to, but he's been very affectionate and purring a lot whenever I pet him (which is a lot).  He doesn't look like he is in any pain that I can tell.

Cleaning his paws.

 Poor kitty!  You can see the stitches and other yuck from one of his paws in this picture.

See, he's okay!

Before I get any warnings on, "He can't go outside anymore."  Don't worry!  Darwin has always been an indoor cat out of necessity with his medium long fur.  At first he was pretty interested in the outside, but after a few supervised walks with big scary dogs barking at him, he decided that the outdoors was not something that interested him.  So he is perfectly content most days with being indoors.

Basement Plans

So, I've been bothering my husband non-stop about finishing the basement of our house for about two years now.  I've toyed with different ideas and done some drawings.  Yesterday, I sat down on my computer and drew this up in Paint. (I don't have any other software on my computer that I thought could do the job.)



First in the upper left-hand corner is the storage room/tank maintenance room.  I want to put in some big metal shelving units to organize food storage on the left side of the room.  Also, Doug and I used to have a salt water aquarium upstairs that we absolutely loved, but maintenance on it was overwhelming with Doug's long work hours from his last job, so we had to get rid of it.  He now has a job that has more reasonable hours (for the most part) and the location of the tank near the bathroom would make it easy to design some automated systems that would make the management of the tank a lot easier.

I call the place in front of where the tank is the "Tank Room" where the front of the salt water tank could be seen.  I'm thinking that there could be a couch or a built-in bench with storage underneath up against the bathroom wall.  I figure that area could also double as a play area if/when we get to have kids.

Doug has ideas for the TV room that involve surround sound and other such man toys.  The office is below the laundry room upstairs and it's kind of this random area that juts out of the house.  I figured we could put a desk and some shelves in there and call it an "Office" even though is really just an awkward 8x8 space.  The bedroom has a egress window so it technically can be called one.  The gray area next to the bedroom is a storage place under the stairs.

Now, I know absolutely nothing about construction or building anything.  I simply took measurements of where everything was in the basement.  There were a few things that I had no choice over like the two support beams in the middle of the room seen on either side of the blue tank.  The area where I have placed the bathroom is where the rough in's are located.  The workroom contains the water heater and HVAC system for the house, so that is dead space as well.  And of course the location of the stairs can't be changed. 

This would move our house into another buying category, a 4 bedroom 3.5 bath house which would be good if we ever need to sell.  Also, it would just be nice to not have it unfinished.  I lived my whole life in a house that was in various stages of unfinishedness so the current state of our basement basically drives me insane.

I tried to look up some basic guidelines for quotes on finishing the basement and I got a range from $4,000 to $24,000.  So right now we're looking for an actual quote that can narrow down that range a little further.  If it is in the upper end, I will just have to deal with the current state of my basement basically forever.  I don't think Doug would ever go for a price tag like that.  I'm hoping that we could get it ALL done for somewhere between 10-12,000, but that may just be hopeful thinking.

Any know someone handy in the Northern Virginia area that can do a job like this?

Pick Two

I went to Panera Bread to meet some friends from high school on Saturday.  It's been a while since I had seen them, so we talked the whole time in line.  When it was my turn to order, I hadn't even looked at the menu so I tried really quickly to figure out what I wanted to order.  There was one of those "Pick Two" deals so I decided on that.

In my hurry, I selected the Turkey Bacon Sandwich, the Tomato Soup, AND the Thai Chicken Salad.

The lady looked at me and said, "It's called Pick TWO.  Which means you can only pick TWO."

Oh yeah, I knew that.