Fertility junk

Wow, sorry for my absence the last few days! My computer has not been friendly, and I have been extremely busy.

Let's see...what's been going on?? Well, Friday I had an ultrasound done to check my follicles...and I had two wonderful 20mm follies ready to go! So, the nurse gave me a trigger shot (OUCH, this particular nurse I swear just likes to stab people) to stimulate ovulation, and the next day I went to Seattle to had an IUI (intrauterine insemination) done.

I won't go into too much detail about the IUI because J would probably kill me, but it definitely wasn't my favorite experience. Basically in the morning, J went in and did his thing, and then 90 minutes later I went and had my part done. Essentially, it's like doing a pap smear with the speculum and everything, then they insert a tiny catheter through your cervix into your uterus and inject the sperm directly in. It didn't really hurt so to speak, but it was definitely not comfortable. That's pretty much it. I probably worked myself up over it for nothing. So hopefully, especially with two good follicles and an IUI this time, we'll have some better chances!

On a sadder note, today was my first day back to work after a week long vacation. Fortunately, it was only a half day (I work this Saturday, so I was compensating for it) and I had an acupuncture appointment this afternoon. It was a slow day, I didn't have to help too many people and surprisingly didn't have much to catch up on since I worked on all of it before I left. Acupuncture was really good and really relaxing today. It was a light treatment, but again, really good.

We've spent a lot of time with Kelly and Ken the past couple of days, and it hasn't been too bad. We had dinner last night, and Kelly and I worked on a couple crafty things in my new happy room. :) It was nice and relaxing...We did see them tonight at my mother in law's house since J was getting his hair cut by Ken (and for some reason they had to do it at their mom's??), and I kind of felt like it was time to take some time away from them again. Haha. I guess I'm just not one of those people that can spend a ton of time with the same people over and over again. Here are a few things I've realized about myself the last few weeks:

- I'm a much better friend on a one-on-one level, I can't really be myself in large social settings
- I love my in-laws, but have realized that I'm very different than them
- I think I am most like my mother-in-law, but she has to play roles that inhibit her from being who she really is, so I'm not really sure
- I love love love tea
- I love the fall because it makes me love tea more
- I have 2 things in my life that many people don't have: A best friend that TRULY knows everything about me and doesn't judge me, and a husband that TRULY wants me to be happy and loves me for who I am. These sound simple, but they're very rare.
- I would be a really good mom.
- If I were to become a mom, I would be a fun mom.
- I need to find a different career path but don't know how to get there.
- I love to relax
- My side of the family is very sane ;)
- I can live with simple things
- I don't have to prove anything to anyone anymore

Anyway, I'm going to go relax now and possibly have a cup of tea with my husband. Oh, and possibly catch up on Dexter! Goodnight.

Love, Melonhead

Thursday blues

I can't believe my vacation is almost over. I feel like there's still so much I want to do. However, we did accomplish a lot of one thing - relaxation! I drank a lot of red clover and barley tea, slept in, had a couple great workouts, cleaned up the house and arranged my new "zen" room, and cuddled with my husband. I couldn't really ask for more. Oh! And that same husband is, at this very moment, baking an apple pie with apples from our tree outside! These things are HUGE. The apples are the size of my two fists put together, it's insane. Yum, I can't wait.

Being that it's already Thursday, I'm already starting to feel a little anxiety over going back to work. I take it that that means I really don't like my job. That's okay though, I already knew that. I've just really enjoyed being home for a week. Tomorrow, I have an ultrasound appointment to check my follicles, then I'm planning to do a mean cardio workout after. J and I are planning to have an IUI done this cycle as well, but we'll see how my follies pan out. I'm a little nervous about it since I've never had it done, but I've heard some women get some great results from it. Wish me luck!

Love,
Melonhead

Vacations, Red Clover & Gyne Chord

Praise the good Lord, I am off this entire week! J and I are planning to relax, get a few things done around the house, and have a pizza day. Doesn't that sound blissful? I think that's just what we need! I am definitely on the path towards happy. Now...if I can keep it up after I get back from vacation.... :)

Yesterday, we both had a massage and saw the chiropractor to get adjusted. Then I went and had a great workout afterwards, and came home where we both proceeded to take a nice afternoon nap. Remember how I said it was too much energy to ignore everyone? Well, Kelly called during my nap and asked if we had plans for dinner. I said no, and her and Ken ended up coming over for some of my yummy chicken adobo. While I was dreading it at first, it actually ended up being a nice, relaxing evening with them. We watched New Girl, played cards, and ate some apple crumble pie. Yum! Like I've said before, my relationship with Kelly has always been easy. Things just get awkward and complicated when Jenn comes around, so I try to stay away whenever she's in the picture!

I had my 2nd acupuncture appointment today, and it went great! She said I looked a lot better (not sure if that was a compliment or not) and I told her that I think I'm feeling more relaxed. At the beginning of each appointment, she checks my pulse and looks at my tongue. I didn't really want to ask why the 1st time, but this time I did, and she explained that in ancient Chinese medicine, those were the vital ways they could tell how somebody was feeling. The Chinese had to be really observant, so for women for example, the tongue is the only "internal" organ you could see from the outside. Now I know the tongue isn't technically an interal organ, but I guess it kind of makes sense. If the tongue looks bad, it is probably a good indication that something else is wrong. Through the pulse, she can feel the energy in your body and how it's reacting to certain things. So for the actual procedure itself, she put needles in the same spots as before, but put a few on my belly as well...I'm assuming to help with fertility. I laid there for 30 minutes on my back, and it was really relaxing to just practice my breathing exercises and listen to the rain outside. I almost fell asleep! :) When she came back in, she "tested" a few homeopathic remedies on me....meaning she took small vials of them, laid them on my arm, and I guess she could tell which ones my body wanted to take. I ended up going home with some red clover (to make as a tea) to help with blood flow and Gyne-Chord, which is supposed to help with detoxification of the reproductive organs. I figure it can't really hurt, right? :)

So far, two days down, not so shabby. Why does time have to go by so fast during vacation? Ugh!

mmmmm tea.......and the mantra that I wish existed in my life everyday....

Love,
Melonhead