Friday, February 27, 2015

Goal Tracking & A Giveaway!


If you remember this post from a few weeks ago I talked a lot about the things I wanted to do differently and some of my goals and changes that I wanted to make going forward.  It’s been about a month now and I thought what better way to hold myself accountable then by recapping my progress…

Revamping my diet…
PASS.  This is going really well.  You guys can tell by my Friday Favorites posts and Instagram photos that I am UHBsessed with my spiralizer and have been eating zoodles at least 2x a week.  That is about how often I was eating regular pasta and this substitute has been amazing.  I’ve eaten them both raw and cooked and have really enjoyed every recipe that I’ve tried.  I’ve also been really focusing on stopping when I’m full, that is a challenge for me because if I love something (which is mostly everything I am eating) I just keep going until it’s gone rather than stopping when I’m full.  So far, so good.



Revamping my workout routine…
HALF-PASS.  It’s been hard to work out because my back has been bothering me, I have a lower back issue that stems from when I dropped my motorcycle a few years ago and tried to pick it up, never the same since.  I really need to get to the chiropractor.  I’ve been really taking it easy on the DailyBurn workouts since this started.  I’m hoping that between the chiro and the yoga classes that I’m registered for in March that I can start feeling better.  My next big purchase is going to be a treadmill because it’s something I can do, I love to do, and it won’t cause me any pain. 



Revamping my finances…
HALF-PASS.  I still had a few expensive Target trips and did some minor online shopping, but we made our first full house payment in February and we got a really nice, unexpected tax return this year which gave us a nice little boost in our savings.  I would say pass, but I still feel like there’s a lot of room for improvement.


Revamping my Infertility Treatment…
PASS!!!!!!!! This by far was my biggest accomplishment this month, mostly thanks to our new doctor who shares some of my same concerns and is addressing them, you can read more details here!  Although the one thing I said I really wanted (PGS) he advised against, I’m trusting him as a doctor that following his recommendation to not have the testing will be the right choice.  I hope I don’t regret this.  Fingers are still crossed for the Eeva testing as well and my hysteroscopy is scheduled for Tuesday!


Revamping Life in General…
PASS.  You all saw that I went from a blonde to a brunette again which I haven’t done in a couple of years.  I decided to make a change and I love it!  I've also been trying to organize and box up some of our stuff that we haven’t really used since living at my parents and getting it ready to be moved.  I got all of our bedroom furniture ordered, but putting it all together will be on the list for next month!  I've also been working on weeding out the closet and selling and donating different things.  Lots of good things happening.



One of the other things that I've added to my self-care routine is the It Works! Wraps and their Greens.  I've used their Greens for a while; I add them to my smoothies because they are equal to 8 servings of vegetables!  They come in different flavors and can be mixed in with just water.  I will tell you, these wraps really do amazing things and using them along with a well-balanced diet and regular exercise, you will be thrilled with the results.  I've even used the wraps at times that I’m not working out at all and have seen amazing results.  I’m pairing up with my amazing friend and sponsor, Amanda to giveaway not one, but 2 wraps and a week’s worth of the Greens!  You can enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below!  The winner will be announced a week from today! 
I am not going to be really adding anything to my list of goals, I’m just going to continue to work on these, even the ones I've passed on, I still want to continue to work on.  I've realized, especially now that we are on the finishing stages of the house, it's impossible to 100% commit myself to all of these things, but  I feel confident that I will continue to make these lifestyle changes for the better!

Friday, February 20, 2015

Friday Faves!

Ok, I seriously cannot believe that I'm already drafting my FF post for the week!  These days are just flying by, but with this -15 degree weather we're having, I'm ready for Spring I'm welcoming the time moving a little quicker these day!

Forget Spring, take me to the beach!


Favorite Moment:
So much progress on the house!  Joe has been off and working his ass off for 12+ hours a day getting the bedrooms painted.  Our bathroom vanity is in, but I found out Home Depot canceled the counter top so now we have a nice custom vanity with no top on it.  I called and they said that the refund that I received was probably for the counter top being canceled so now we've got to get another one ordered and paid for.  I am NOT happy with them right now.

So obviously missing from this is the granite counter top.  I apologize for the crappy phone photos.  I fully intend on doing a photo shoot of the entire home and a virtual tour once it's all said & done. Bare with  me for now!  



Favorite Recipe:
Finally, a week without a zoodles recipe!  I made these Chicken Avacado Burgers and holy yum!

Favorite Pin:
Ummm, yes to all of this!  Of course the link leads you to Newport Skinny Tea rather than where that fabulous bathing suit is from, but still, swoon!

Thing I'm looking Forward to:
I'm ready for this next IVF cycle to start.  I am really excited and have a 100% great feeling that this will be it.  I'm not sure that I ever felt this assured for a cycle yet.  Maybe I'm getting my hopes up too much, but I have to keep true to my conviction of positive attitude+positive vibes=positive outcomes.  Life is pretty good right now, even with infertility and I'm going to continue to be happy and just let things happy as they are happening.  I'm trying not to wish the time away, but I am anxious at the same time to get some answers.  I'm sure it will all happen at once for us, IVF cycle, moving into the house, all that fun, big, important stuff will all come at the same time but I am up for the challenge and I welcome all of these things with open arms because I am so blessed to be where I'm at right now.  Building such a beautiful home and being able to say that I am doing a 4th cycle of IVF, some would think that's a crazy thing to say, but it's because of my kick ass medical insurance that it's even possible that we continue down this road.  Of course I would've liked cycle #1, 2 & 3 to work, but they didn't and that's just life.  Moving onward and upward!  I'm not giving up.


Happy friday blogland!!




Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Currently...

Thanks to miss Aimee for this idea, it's been a while since I've done one of these posts and she really covers all her bases so here we go...

Drinking... I'm loving the bai5 bubbles in Bolivia Black Cherry, so yummy, and not too bad for you!  Sweetened with Erythritol rather than sugar!

Wearing... I wish that I was wearing this super cute shirt I ordered from The Nest on Main.  I just got it in the mail and it is seriously lime colored, more than what the picture shows.  It's really cute! Bring on Spring!



Reading... Some inspiration from Ernest Hemingway, especially this, which is what I try to apply to my own writing..

Watching... Currently on my DVR: Brooklyn 99, New Girl, The Mindy Project, Archer, and Justified, yeah we have a lot of catching up to do!

Needing... To unsubscribe from Zulily like ASAP!  They make it practically impossible without logging into your account which then turns into a cart full of stuff that you just can't pass up because it's been marked down to 70% off!  I got two of my wishlist Tom's for 40% off this week and I have to admit I am pretty pumped.  I could never get myself to purchase either pair at the original price.  



Loving... My new print from UO!  It's perfect for out at the house.  I've got a couple ideas of where it might go, I'm excited to see where it ends up!

Wanting... Do you guys remember that bedding that I posted last week?  I found out that Nordstrom doesn't sell the pillows anymore so I searched them out online... SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS a piece.  I'm having a really hard time justifying that one so I might have to pass on those details.  I did get the duvet cover already, but those pillows are just killin me!


Anticipating... Aunt Flo!  I hate to say that, I hate it so much that I wish for a period, but she should be here any day now and the sooner she gets here the sooner we can start the testing for #IVFTake4 (thanks to Rachael for coming up with that hashtag, and congrats to her on her BFP!)

Eating...Fruit like it's going out of style!  I've been obsessed with Cuties, pineapple, and watermelon lately!  I'm not sure if it's because it all reminds me of summer or what!  

Doing... Lots of work at the house!  Painting is in full swing and the 3 bedrooms are really coming together.  Joe's dad got some of the lighting installed for us and we should be putting closet doors on soon.  Every little bit counts!


Learning... A lot about painting!  That will be a common theme for us over the next several weeks. Joe taught me a lot about proper painting techniques and I think I'm doing a pretty good job so far.  I just hope that I can live up to his standards! LOL!

Wishing... For warm weather!  It's been in the single digits here during the day when the sun is bountiful!  Over night it's been well below zero.  Those 15" of snow that we got over 2 weeks ago is still here and it's all so frozen that I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon.  So over winter!.



Plotting... Actually nothing!  For once!  I usually have all kinds of plots and plans up my sleeve, but with the house going on I've been hardly committing to anything lately.  If I was going to plot something it'd be a vacation to somewhere super warm!

Bermuda looks great!

Disliking...Can I say weather again?  How bout the fact that not every weekend is 3 days.  It's amazing how much more I can get accomplished with an extra day to do things!  Who's with me!?

Monday, February 16, 2015

Valentine's Day Recap

Happy Monday everyone!  I'm off today so I am able to get it together enough to actually have a weekend recap post!  I can't remember the last time I did one of these, but this past weekend was great and I'm excited to be able to share it with you!

If you follow me on Instagram then you saw the picture of me at work with my special delivery from Cupid the Cupcake.  We have a local business here called Life's Sweeter Side.  She's really known for her gorgeous candy and cupcake bars at weddings, but she is also known for her cupcake deliveries.   Here's the link to the YouTube page, since it won't let me post it into the blog for some reason. It's pretty funny and worth the minute and a half of your life it will take to watch.  I was completely surprised and had no idea Joe had this planned for me.


 
seriously amazing spread from Life's Sweeter Side

Joe also got me this acrylic canvas I'd been wanting.  The high heel is actually metallic and textured.

Friday night we had a surprise party for a friend of ours who turned 30, it was fun but we stayed out wayy too late!  You know how recovery time gets as you get older, it gets a lot harder.  Saturday morning was a little rough but I dragged myself out of bed and did my Saturday errands with my mom.  We had to hit Home Depot for paint since we were finally able to start painting the bedrooms at the house (yay!) and 1 hour, 17 gallons of paint (for just 3 rooms!), and $628 later we were done! 

Saturday afternoon we spent paining for a few hours.  I absolutely hate painting and I'm required to go through Joe's Painting Class every time we paint.  He is really good at painting and wants it to look perfect because his drywall finishing is perfect.  Once I passed his class I was let loose with roller and a pan full of paint.  The #1 necessary requirement for painting you ask? Patience.  I pretty much laughed in his face when he said that, he responded by saying, I know that's hard for you, so I'm glad he understands.  I'm trying my best to do a good job since this is our house and he has done such a great job on the drywall.

After a couple hours of painting we got ready for dinner with my aunt and uncle at an Italian place called Alberto's.  We went there for NYE and we really loved it so we had to go back.  We had so much food and lots of fun!  We were exhausted afterwards so we called it a night early.  


Joe's lobster tail over scallop, shrimp, and crab stuffed homemade raviolis  

 Yummy rosemary garlic beef ribs that were unbelievably tender.

 Can't have Italian without a little split bottle of Chianti!

My asiago gnoccchis! So yummy!

 Hazelnut coffee flavored ice cream

And my lemon sorbet! 

Sunday morning we got up and started painting again right away.  I'm actually really happy with the way that the room turned out.  I was so paranoid about my lines, but you can't see them at all.  I had a baby shower to go to for my best friend's little sister so I had to cut out early for that.  


 First guest bedroom ready for paint!

Today I'm off and so is Joe so I'm going to go to breakfast with my bestie and her family since they're heading back to Indy today and then I'll spend the rest of the day doing you know what... PAINTING! That will be my life for awhile now.  My grandpa was in the hospital last week with pneumonia but is home now so I'm going to deliver a Valentine's gift to him too today!  Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Friday, February 13, 2015

Friday Faves!

Happy Friday the 13th Blogland!  

CDFavorite Moment:
If you guys didn't catch it, this was by far my favorite moment this week!  So happy with our plan!


Oh and I went brunette again!


House Update:
Joe has been working really hard on the drywall, it's a lot of work for just one person but he has been spending 12 hours a day there doing as much as he can.  I have high hopes that we might start paining this weekend.  It would be awesome since I have a 3 day weekend if we could get started.  We will be doing the 3 bedrooms first, all the same color.  We are going with Glidden Cappuccino White for now in the bedrooms, it's easier to just get a good neutral color up on the wall and then once babies come or we decided we want more color, we can do something different.  I want everything to feel bright and open, we have a ton of natural light in our house so I think this color will be perfect for the bedrooms.
here's an idea of what the color will look like.

Favorite Recipe:
Are you guys sick of the zoodle recipes yet?

Favorite Pin:

Favorite Purchase(s):
I finally bit the bullet and bought our bedroom set, island bar stools and a medicine cabinet from Ikea this week.  We went to Ikea which is about an hour away from us and looked at everything in person but I decided to just buy it all online and pay the shipping and save myself the headache of going to Ikea, I do love it, but not when you're buying this much furniture. The bedroom collection is the Hemnes Collection.  I still have a desk I want, but I figured I spent enough at the time. I ended up getting some king size pillows (thanks Lisa!) and I got a king-size sheet set on clearance at Target for like $34 so I couldn't pass that up!  And this is the fabulous duvet cover I'm getting in grey.

Favorite thing I'm looking forward to:
Valentines Day of course!  Joe and I will be celebrating 7 years together and have dinner plans with some family at an awesome Italian place called Alberto's!  I got Joe an awesome gift but it's on back order for 4-6 weeks, boo!  He says I know what he got me, but I honestly have no idea! I hate surprises!  Happy Valentine's Day weekend everyone! 






Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Keep Moving Forward... Our New Plan


Warning: Lengthy Post!


Yesterday we had our IVF consultation and met Dr. Loret de Mola (I’ll refer to him as Dr. LdM for short) for the first time.  My overall first impression of him is good.  He is very serious and knowledgeable and explained things exceedingly well which Joe and I both noticed right away and is a quality that is important to me.  He has some things that he wants us to do initially before we start a cycle and I was happy to hear his concerns and how he wants to address them.


First off, a hysteroscopy, using a camera to examine the cervix and the uterus, will be done as soon as my period comes, probably in the next 8-10 days.  I will also start a LH surge indicator around the same time in preparation for an endometrial biopsy.  Dr. LdM has concerns about why the embryos have not implanted after 3 cycles.  The endometrial biopsy will test for Beta-3 Integrin, it’s a protein that is necessary for implantation and is only present in a small window of a cycle, hence why I am doing the LH surge indicator.  The biopsy needs to be done within a certain timeframe.  It will be sent off to a lab and they will test for the protein.  If it’s present, then we’ve ruled out that as an issue, if it’s not then another protocol will be added to my cycle.  He is also going to take some specific bloodwork at one of these two appointments.  The endo biopsy is something that I asked my previous doctor for and he said he didn’t feel it was necessary.


Once these two procedures are done we can move forward with an IVF cycle.  He wants me to do a one-time dose of Lupron Depot which differs from the Lupron that suppresses ovulation.  A Lupron Depot is what is used to prevent and diminish endometriosis.  I had never been given a real diagnosis from my previous doctor and when I had my lap, he said that he removed some endo, but never indicated what stage I had.  Dr. LdM believes that I have Stage II-Mild which is more than what I thought I actually had.  I’ve been lucky that it’s never been debilitating for me, but it something that we need to address.  The Lupron Depot is good for 30 days and will be taken at the beginning of my cycle while I’m taking BCP.


For the actual IVF cycle he wants to see me on less FSH (the drug that makes the eggs) than my previous fresh which was 200units x day.  He said that I respond too well which is a problem; he wants to see me on 150 or 100units and then monitor me every couple days to see how I am responding.  He said that once you get to 20+ follicles, their quality reduces significantly.  If you recall, last time I had 34 follicles which is too many.  He wants to see between 10-15.  I have two options for trigger, either a Lupron or an Ovidrel trigger which we will determine when we get closer to starting meds.  They will also have me on a steroid, Medrol along with Doxycycline for an antibiotic.  I’ve never had a steroid in my protocol before, but it is something that I’ve wanted so I’m happy to add that.


For fertilization he said we do not need ICSI (where they take an individual sperm in a needle and inject it into an egg) this time.  Some believe that ICSI is “better”, but in reality, it isn’t necessarily better for everyone.  If you don’t have MFI (male factor infertility), then ICSI is not needed.  He said that most often they will ICSI your best follicles leaving the lower quality follicles to fertilize on their own.  For me this could be part of the problem.  I had more embryos fertilize on their own than I did with ICSI.  I’m happy that we aren’t doing things that we don’t need.  He was happy with Joe’s semen analyses that he’s had.  I am definitely the problem, which is tough, but we have known that for a while.  I am thrilled that we are doing some different things to try to solve this problem and beat this. 


We will not be doing PGS/PGD at this time.  He said that it’s very expensive and wouldn’t be a huge benefit to us.  He did say that they have new technology recently approved by the FDA about 3 weeks ago called Eeva.  Its non-invasive testing that is done to the embryos to aid in picking the best ones.  What it basically does is flashes a beam of light into special incubators that the embryos are in every 90 seconds and they can watch the embryos develop much closer and pick the best ones.  The only downside is they only have 3 incubators so they can only do this for 3 people at a time.  He said we are great candidates for it, but it will depend on availability at the time of our cycle.  Please cross your fingers that we will be able to use this technology.  You even get a video of your embryos and get to see how they grew over the 3-5 days in the incubators.  I think it’s awesome that they are so open to using such a new technology and I’m really hoping that we get to be part of it!


The last thing he asked me is why, if I already have 4 frozen embryos do I not want to use those first.  I told him that I refuse to keep doing the same thing over and over.  My previous doctor was not open to changing the protocol and did not seem to monitor some of the vital things that Dr. LdM thinks we should be watching.  I told him that I was afraid that they would just push transferring 2 embryos on me and that is not something I’m open to at this time.  I told him that after 3 failed IVF cycles and no changes to how things were being done that a second opinion and a fresh outlook were necessary, at least in my mind.  He said that was fair and that he understood my concerns. 


Joe and I are both really happy with Dr. LdM and are excited for what’s to come.  I feel a lot better about things and I don’t feel nearly as anxious to get things started as I have been in the past.  I’m not wishing my days away, I’m just taking things as they come.  I think this 4 month break that we’ve been on has been such a blessing and what we really needed.  This is what will hopefully work for me and my situation, everyone is different so I hope that no one takes any offense to anything that I’ve said in this post.  Thank you all so much for following along and supporting us on this journey!

Friday, February 06, 2015

Friday Faves!

I apologize for my absence this week!  It was kind of a crazy one.  After the 15” of snow we got over Saturday night and Sunday I ended up at work until 7:30 Monday night so I got a few hours of OT!  I work for the electric and gas utility company so storms are our business!  Tuesday we got our taxes done and went to meet the newest baby in our circle of friends, Everly.  She is just a doll!  Wednesday was dinner out at a local restaurant that’s been open for 51 years and is finally closing this April, so sad!  So, like I said, things were a little crazy and I didn't make any time for blogging.  Well today is a double whammy, I'm also guest posting over at Believe in the Sparks!
all of us cousins and the owner of 101!  So gunna miss this place!

 Favorite Moment:
I’m sure that my favorite moment of the week will be tonight.  We are going to August Hill (the winery that we belong to) for a wine and chocolate pairing and I cannot wait!  Two of my favorite things together!  The girls are headed to the winery and the guys are headed to the pub across the street then meeting for dinner somewhere in the middle.  Should be fun!


 Favorite Purchase:
So I’m totally blowing my shopping goal.  I mentioned the Dream Bigger MantraBand, I’m so in love!  Then I ended up at Target to shop for baby Everly and ended up with a new purse and another swimming suit top! Oops!  I swear they put something in the air there that makes every single thing in that store more appealing… #132dollarslater …. I also ordered a new cell phone case and a pair of lace-up wedge booties from Amazon.  I’ve got a free Amazon Prime trial right now and I’m totally taking advantage of the free shipping!  I’m all over the place with my purchases and I need to get myself under control ASAP.



 Favorite Pin:
 I really NEED this in my life!

  Favorite Recipe:
Of course another zoodle recipe!


 Favorite Thing I’m looking forward to:
Besides the wine & chocolate pairing, I’m looking forward to doing some cooking tomorrow night with my longtime friend Alicia and another relaxing weekend.  I’m also looking forward to Monday, our IVF consultation with our new doctor!  We will be meeting him for the first time and I really hope that he has some new ideas for us.  I am going to push for PGS testing, which is all that I really want.  For those of you not familiar, PGS testing is Preimplantation Genetic Screening, it screens the chromosomes of the embryos for abnormalities (i.e. abnormal # of chromosomes Trisomy 21).  It’s common testing done for people with multiple failed IVF cycles like we’ve had.  I’m interested to hear what type of protocol he is going to recommend.  I already know that they want fewer follicles than I had last time.  I had 34 and they want me to have about 10-15.  I was definitely overstimulated with 34 follicles which could’ve been the cause of the failed cycle.  I will definitely post an update after the appointment!



Thursday, February 05, 2015

A New Sponsor...Fairhaven Health

When Fairhaven Health reached out to me about their fertility, pregnancy, and nursing products I was excited to be given an opportunity to sample some of their products.  They have a multitude of different products for getting pregnant, boosting fertility, products for pregnancy, and products for nursing too!  It took me a while to decide what I wanted to try, but after reading a ton of reviews I decided that I wanted to try the FertileDetox for Men & Women and the Fertilitea along with some ovulation predictors and pregnancy tests.



All products c/o Fairhaven Health

So far I'm loving everything, but have only used the products for a couple days now.  As soon as I get a good month of use in I will write a review.  If you're currently TTC, I would highly recommend checking out their website for products to help boost your chances of achieving a pregnancy.  I know if I would've known about them when we first started trying I would have stocked up on a lot of their products! Go check them out!
 
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