It's the little things

I often say it's the little things in life that make life memorable.

One of those little things?

WHEAT CROISSANTS.

I just ate one of my favorite sandwiches for lunch: hot ham and swiss on a croissant. I used to eat this at Roy & Joan VanWyck's on a weekly basis when I was a teenager.

But then, I got health conscious and stopped eating white bread -- or at least eating less of it. So I stopped eating croissants as well.

Then, yesterday, I found WHEAT croissants at Hy-vee.

I just ate two of them for lunch. I'm going back t work now, but I needed to share about this little thing in life that made my day.

Talked to the nurse

I Peter 1:6-9 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

My pastor talked on the verse above in church on Sunday. It is my new IVF theme verse, and I am sure many of you can make it your theme verse for whatever situation you are personally in.

So we have some more IVF news:

I spoke to the IVF nurse yesterday. She gave me the option to do our FET (frozen embryo transfer) on September 7 or put it off until the 21st. (The 14th is out because of work conflicts for me and school conflicts for JB).

September 7 works fine for us. However, my doctor is out of town. Good ol' Dr. C. (He's awesome!) We would have Dr. G (the new doctor) do the procedure instead. He is new to Mayo but not new to infertility.

September 21 works out okay for us, however, John has a test in Chicago on the 22nd. We would have to leave immediately after the procedure to make the six hour drive. This is a lot for him to handle the day prior to a huge test.

We have decided ... to just go ahead and do the procedure on the 7th. I spoke with the nurse in detail. In the past, patients didn't even get a choice as to which doctor did the procedure. Whatever doctor was in that day was the doctor you got. She said that residents and students are never allowed to do the transfers -- that only the fellows or consultants to do these.

As much as I love Dr. C, there's no proof that he is better. Heck the first time didn't work. My biggest thing is being comfortable with what is happening. It's nervous being wheeled into an OR awake and knowing you are going to stay awake. You talk about being uncomfortable going in for a physical. Imagine being wheeled into an operating room, on valium, with half a dozen strangers walking around you talking about how things are going. It's not my favorite activity.

However, I am not sure I can ever be perfectly comfortable in this situation, and either way, I will leave with one (hopefully two) embryos in me. After talking to my good bud Kristi and JB, we have just decided to go ahead and do our procedure on the 7th.

I did get good news though. If this procedure were not to work, we are scheduled to do a fresh harvest as early as Thanksgiving! I am extremely happy about this! This means that we will be able to get home for Christmas and my brother's wedding which is Saturday, December 30th! We want to do the harvesting before January 5th so we don't have to re-run all of our tests.

I do want to make myself very clear though. I definitely believe that being positive and upbeat is helpful to our situation. I am not planning on our FET not working. The odds are nearly as high for a frozen to work as a fresh. However, I have learned in this process that you have to be one step ahead of the game. If I don't get on the nurse's calendar for an IVF in November, then the schedule will fill up. So we continue to schedule things and look at the next event while praying that the current one will work.

I also have some other news to share:

I wanted to give a shout out to my cousin Justin! His thumb is healed and he is back to AAA Washington to pitch after rehabbing in Arizona! He is very happy, and we are happy for him. Yay!

Our friend Bara is coming into town tomorrow for a few days. We are really excited to see him. I will have to include some pictures. His blog today was very funny. If you are a coffee drinker, you will enjoy it.

South Floridians (not "southerners") and how you know you are one

It happened TWICE today. Right after I wrote that blog yesterday about all the Minnesotans claiming it is so humid here ... two more people made the claim yesterday!

Don't they read my blog?!?!

I, being the calm and patient person I am, put them immediately in their place explaining to them that Minnesota is humid only in comparison, to the west, and that truly, 79 degrees is really not that hot.

I know my sister-in-law Gabbi, who loathes the Florida heat is laughing her head off right now thinking about someone claiming that 79 is hot. Gabbi, it's true. These people are crazy!

I started thinking more about south Florida -- a place that I still call "home". I mentioned yesterday that people from south Florida do not consider themselves southerners. That is VERY true. Now northern Floridians do consider themselves southerners but southern Floridians, are, well southern Floridians.

How can you tell the difference? Well if you drink sweet tea, you aren't from south Florida. If you don't speak a good bit of Spanish, you aren't from south Florida. If you have seen a leaf change or a snowflake fall, you aren't from south Florida.

Others way to know you are a true southern Floridian? The list is endless. Here's just a few. Come on family and friends back home. Have more?! Make sure to share a comment.

My favorites are in bold!

• "Down South" means Key West
• You think no-one over 70 should be allowed to drive.
• Flip-flops are everyday wear.
• Shoes are for business meetings and church.
• You exhibit a slight twitch when introduced to anyone with the first names of Charley, Frances, Ivan, or Jeanne.
• An alligator once walked through your neighborhood.
• You fight the urge to put on your winter coat and wool cap and parade around in front of your picture window, when you finally get power and your neighbor across the street with the noisy generator doesn't
• You smirk when a game show's "Grand Prize" is a trip or cruise to Florida.
• You measure distance in minutes.
• You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt.
• Your parrot can now say "hammered, pounded and hunker down".
• You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls.
• You now think the $6000 whole house generator seems like a reasonable investment.
• All the local festivals are named after a fruit.
• A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.
• You know the four seasons really are: almost summer, summer, not summer but really hot, and Christmas.
• Anything under 95° is just warm.
• Going to a theme park is not considered a vacation.
• You pass on the right and honk at the elderly.
• You understand the futility of exterminating cockroaches.
• You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee and Withlacoochee.
• You understand why it's better to have a friend with a boat, than have a boat yourself.
• You were 8 before you realized they made houses without pools.
• What the heck is a basement?
• You know what it's like to sweat in the shower.
• You were 12 when you first met someone who couldn't swim, and you thought something was wrong with them.
• Never understanding why it's not normal to play in run-off water.
• You know what impitigo is, and have had ringworm at least once.
• You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas.
• You know what the "stingray shuffle" is, and why it's important!

Okay, so if you post a comment with another item and it's a good one, I'll add it to the list. Even though I haven't lived there for eleven years, it will always be home.

Or should I say: Florida del sur es mi casa.

The day in pictures

I had a very busy Sunday, and I have decided that how better to share it, then to share it through photos. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? And since my blogs are sometimes nearly a thousand words, why not just provide six pictures instead of six thousand words? (I know some of you, who read very little, like, say, Josh, are extremely happy about this. Or even Christo who tells met that he visits only once a week and therefore only touches on the highlights.)

My day began at 8 a.m. with, you guessed it, the church bells. My dad, Mr. "nothing stresses him out", even commented on how loud these bells were so early on a Sunday morning. Sunday bells are, well, a weekly occurrence in our household, and I have given up attempting to sleep through them. Even my ear plugs cannot block the bells when they are right next to our window.

I then wandered into the living room to catch "Breakfast at Wimbeldon". I watched the first three sets of the match between Nadal (left) and Federer (right) -- enough to know that Federer would take home his fourth straight title, which he did.


The reason I didn't get to watch the whole match is because I went to church. Knowing that JB was on call again, and knowing that when he can't go to church, I have trouble getting motivated (hey, at least I admit my weaknesses, right?) I made sure I told Kristen Yuan that I would be meeting her there for the service so I wouldn't back out. Here is a picture of Kristen and her husband Brandon that I stole from their blog. Brandon is a first year medical student that we met at the Christian Medical and Dental Association Bible Study. We have really enjoyed getting to know them. They too are high school sweethearts!

On the way home from church, I stopped at Target to pick up some food for lunch and dinner and tried to call JB four times. No answer. Knowing he was supposed to get off call around noon, I couldn't help but wonder where he was and if he would get off in time for the World Cup finale.

I came home to find JB in similar fashion to this picture below.

I let JB sleep and began making lunch. I actually got a cookbook out, wrote down ingredients, and picked up those ingredients at Target. Somehow, I ended up making a really good Italian dish. I was very proud of myself. I added some carrots and bread and had a pretty decent Soccer meal. Of course we had to have our Rochester compadres there as well! Here's an old picture of Dave and Lesley Jones.

The four of us finished off Lesley's brownies from the night before and watched Italy defeat France in penalty kicks. Great game!

Following the conclusion of the soccer game, JB and I both took a nap -- make that another nap for him. I got up around 5:00, did a load of laundry (I didn't take a picture of that), and let John sleep another hour. Then I woke him up, and we walked to the Mayo Civic Center for the first of weekly Sunday night free concerts in the park.

Eric Church was the featured act. If you listen to country music, even if you don't know his name, you know his famous song "How 'bout you?" The weather was beautiful, and I packed cheese and crackers and apples and water, and we sat in our chairs and listened to a great concert. We really enjoyed his concert, even the song entitled "two pink lines". I realize I am doing okay with our infertility saga when I can hear that song and laugh at the irony and not cry at the fact that I have seen about 715 sticks with only one line!

Eric (we are on a first-name basis, me and Eric,) is from North Carolina, and the funniest thing he said all night was when he said how nice our weather was and how it was confusing that everyone he ran into during the day kept commenting on how hot and humid it was! He thought this was quite funny and quite strange because it felt rather cool and un-humid to him. John and I COMPLETELY agree. If one more person tells these two Floridians how hot or humid it is, I may just scream.

Let me say this once and for all, and then I will step down off my soap box until this ticks me off again and causes me to write a whole blog on the topic ... Minnesota is NOT hot and Minnesota is NOT humid. If you want hot and humid, visit the south in July or take a trip to Fort Lauderdale (south Floridians do not consider themselves southerners, but that's a whole 'nother blog as well.)

Okay, I feel better.

Oh and I was just joking about the Josh not reading very much comment. I love you Josh. Here, I'll plug your website for you just to make up for it. Visit Heisman today! (Link on right).

Missing JB

Well Saturday call STINKS! JB had all of Friday off while I had to work. Then he went in at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning and doesn't get off until this afternoon. BUMMER! He did email me late last night that he was going to bed, and he thought, if his patients all slept peacefully, that he would get five hours of sleep. This is good because the World Cup finale is on at one o'clock, and I plan to make lunch for our non-Cable subscriber friends Dave and Lesley who are going to watch the game with us.

The air conditioning unit in our bedroom is leaking. JB has been trying to fix it, but currently the carpet is half pulled up and there are little cups under it to catch all the water. He showed me how to do this while he was gone (as the cups have to be emptied every eight hours or so), but somehow, I screwed it up. I put one of the cups under the wrong place which was very obvious this morning when I woke up and one of the cups was empty but the ground was not. Ugh! This is the frustration with owning instead of renting. There is no landlord to call. And, unfortunately, no JB to call either. Even he, with all his patience, will be a little frustrated when he sees how poorly I performed while he was gone.

I did get a lot done yesterday. I got a lot of cleaning done, worked on my Rochester Women story, and even did some writing of my own. I watched the women's Wimbeldon finale and invited myself to dinner at the Jones upstairs. Lesley made a great pizza and salad and brownies, and they taught me how to play Golf. It's a great card game mainly because grown-ups can play it with little kids and still have a great time. Or, Lesley and Dave can play with me. Same thing.

I am going to meet Brandon & Kristen at church this morning. This prevents me from staying home because JB is not going -- a now obvious weakness of mine. Currently I am watching Federer who just won the first set six-love. I'll stop at Target on the way home as I plan to make lunch this afternoon for the four of us.

That in itself will make this an interesting day. I asked JB if he would want to watch the finale if he didn't get good sleep last night, and he emailed me back "Are you crazy?" So he plans to watch even if he has had no sleep. What a fanatic!

Also, if he can get a good nap, Eric Church (the country singer) is doing a free concert by the Civic Center at 7:00. The city offers these for the next eight weeks or so. There are some great summer events here -- a city market on Thursdays, the farmer's market on Saturdays, and free lunch-time concerts on Mondays and Thursdays on either side of my building.

Taking a moment to smile

Saturday in the Polar North

It's Saturday morning. JB is on call until Sunday afternoon giving me plenty of time to sit and do what I love most -- write. Actually he had to leave at 6:45. I tried to go back to sleep after the alarm clock woke us up, but I ended up getting up with him and driving him in to save him 15 minutes and allow me to have the car. I plan to work on my story for Rochester Women today, do some writing for RLSF, and maybe even do some personal writing that I have been wanting to start on. So it is a writing-filled day, and I wanted to start with writing about ...

I work on the 6th floor of the Guggenheim Building when I am at my job at Mayo. Unfortunately, my cell phone only gets service on this floor if I set it on the window sill which I definitely don't do everyday. Everyone on this floor actually knows that this is the only spot in the building that gets service so we often have a gathering of people in our office. (I share an office with another woman, Char, who is awesome, but about to retire!) (I especially like when the callers are British because I get to hear words like "brilliant" and "cheers".) Setting it there is a good idea. Unfortunately, I don't often remember to take it with me when I leave at the end of the day so I have avoided this unless I am waiting for a very important call.

Yesterday at 5:00 my phone begins whistling as soon as I walk out of the front door of the building, indicating all the calls I missed while slaving away in "the Gug". Since I am not a phone person and most people know that, this doesn't happen on a daily basis, however, it does happen enough times a week to allow me to feel adequately loved.

When I say that the phone whistles, I mean just that. Imagine a hot woman in front of a construction site and you can imagine my phone's tune when a message is waiting. This also makes me feel important and valued in a fairly twisted and convoluted way.

It is important to feel valued. This is especially true when you work with post-doctoral fellows who do not speak good English. This lack of good English results in compliments that don't come out very complimentary-like. For instance, yesterday, one of the post-docs looked at the picture of JB and I on my desktop background and said, "Wow, that picture must be very old because you look much older than that now." Since it was taken only two years ago I didn't consider this a compliment. She also told me on another occasoin that if I didn't have children I wouldn't be complete as a woman. I chucked this comment out to language-confusion as well even though I am not sure it was.

Just another reason I like to hear the whistle. Not that I would like to hear men whistling at me. That's rude. But the thought of it is good.

Well, surely you understand. Enough of whistling. I'm starting to hear ringing in my ears.

I got one of these whistles yesterday from my nurse, Ruthie, at the IVF clinic. Unfortunately, she wasn't calling to tell me she loved me. She was calling to tell me that the week we have our FET (frozen embryo transfer) scheduled, my doctor is out of town.

Yes, you heard it right. Yet another postponement.

Okay, so let me recap our FET postponements, errr ... schedule for you:

June: I was not physically ready.
July: The IVF lab is closed due to cleaning.
August (1st week): They are booked already.
August (remaining weeks): JB is in Florida. While technically he doesn't need to be there for the moment our children are dropped into my womb (try to wrap your mind around that for awhile), he would like to be there, and I have agreed he is an important factor.
September (1st week): IVF is scheduled but NOW doctor is out of town.

So I am supposed to call Ruthie back on Tuesday to tell her that, sure, we'll wait another week. No big deal. I am sure she will give me the option of using another doctor, but in these situations, you want to feel as comfortable as possible, and I can't feel completely comfortable (despite the Valium they give me which causes me to tell everyone I meet that JB and I like them) without Dr. C there.

Only there is one problem with the notion of waiting another week. My boss has a grant due that week, and he has reminded me on numerous occasions he will need me to work days and nights that week. Okay so that week is out. The next week JB has to take a test in Chicago.

Need I continue? I think the picture has been painted fairly accurately.

Anyways, the two of us have to sit down and really look at things and I have to meet with my boss and discuss things, but, quite possibly, it could be the end of September or even October now. All of this to drop two little embryos into my womb. Ugh!

I just feel the need to complain for a moment. I try to look at everything positively and not get down, but when your attempt at pregnancy is affected by the ring (or whistle) of the phone, it already indicates that things aren't going exactly according to plan.

In three years, we have had, six attempts at getting pregnant. Two of these were through IUI and three with drug assistance. These five attempts were most likely facing rather pathetic odds due to our new-found "JB's sperm hate my eggs problem" or is it "Wendi's eggs hate JB's sperm problem" (we aren't sure, but like to blame it on each other repeatedly). This of course is on top of the original problem that Wendi's eggs feel very cozy inside her ovaries and prefer to stay right where they are.

Double whammy.

The sixth attempt was our IVF in May. Our seventh attempt in a total of 36 months will be in September, but no longer the first week of September.

If you can't tell, my sadness over our first failed IVF attempt has dissipated greatly. I can now talk about it again and make jokes about the irony and peculiarity of the fact that we currently have children who are waiting for implantation in a freezer at the Mayo Clinic.

There are still moments, however, that a wave of grief will wash over me. I had one on Thursday night while we were finishing watching Usphizin. If you haven't seen this movie, I strongly recommend it. I really enjoyed it. However, there was, unbeknownst to us, an infertility subplot. If you want to see infertility accurately and appropriately portrayed, this is the movie! Watching as people teased them about why they didn't have children and the conversations that developed between these two devout Jews in the privacy of their home was breathtaking and got me all choked up again.

However, despite these fleeting moments, I really am doing well. The problem is that once I start those shots and the hormones start flowing and the headaches start pounding, and the appointments start piling up, it is difficult not to get obsessed and hopeful. Through counseling, I am hoping to handle each attempt with as much grace and faith as possible.

Okay, completely off track now. Do you all realize that we are going to Florida in AUGUST? August when Florida is squelching and Minnesota is breezy and cool. By September Florida is cooling off and so is Minnesota. Oh well. My complaining is now done. Off to my Saturday list of things to do. Thanks for listening. I'll keep you updated on how our FET schedule ends up working. I have no clue.

1 Corinthians 13

Paraphrase by Angela McCord

If I go to language school and learn to speak a hundred different languages, preach to thousands all over the world, and lead all to Christ, but have hate in my heart in a silent war with my neighbor who's built his privacy fence on my side of the boundary line, my words are nothing except the screaming of a heavy metal rock band.

If I have a doctorate in theology, science, language, arts and literature and can raise mountains out of the dust of the plains, but am only concerned with the size of my paycheck, wardrobe, and house, it is as if I don't exist ... have never existed.

If I give up a good salary opportunity to work in compassionate ministries, tithe ten percent, give the rest to the poor and eventually die for them, but only do it to get my name in the paper, and I lose sight of the the lost hungry souls, I certainly don't gain anything but lose my own soul.

Love walks the floor all night with a crying baby, smiles as she greets new visitors in Sunday school. She doesn't want what she doesn't have. She doesn't say, "Look how wonderful I am," but "Look how great you are." She doesn't snub anyone, isn't always looking in a mirror, and doesn't make a mental list for retribution when things don't go her way. She doesn't close herself in but opens her heart and makes herself vulnerable to others.

Love remains while the world crumbles around her.

While we live here on earth we can only see love in other people, a very imperfect reflection of the love of Christ, full of faults and human failures. But in heaven, we'll see Love in the form of Jesus. And now I can know in part -- full of my own humanity, but then I can love perfectly, even as I am completely loved.

The only things that are really important are faith in God, hope for the future, and love from God for every man. But you cannot have faith or hope until you first understand and demonstrate love.

I can work with the poor like Mother Teresa, write literature like C.S. Lewis, sing like Sandi Patti, move people like Gloria Gaither, preach like Billy Graham, have spiritual insight like James Dobson, be a great leader like Martin Luther King Jr., and martyr like Ghandi, but until I love like Jesus my soul is lost.

I hate when I lose clothes

How do I lose clothes? I mean, those of you who know me, know I am a pretty organized person. It is summer time so I haven't gone to the gym. I haven't been on any recent trips either, and yet, despite these facts, I have two items of clothes that have completely disappeared.

One of these is a pair of black pants! My favorite pair of black pants mind you. How do you lose a pair of pants? (Quiet in the peanut gallery, Josh!) I have looked everywhere and cannot find them. Kelsey joked that she found 2 or 3 items that she thought were lost forever when she moved to our place. Maybe it will take me moving in order to find my lost pants.

I remember when I was a kid and living in Chicago. One of my socks fell off in the middle of the night. I remember, about five years later, admitting to my mom that my bed ate one of my socks when I was a kid. She laughed and said that most likely, she had found it cleaning at some point.

I was quite embarrassed. I had spent five years believing that a bed can eat socks before my mother corrected my thinking.

I have currently been blaming my lost pants on the closet eating them. I am really not sure what another explanation could be? Mom, I'd prefer if you didn't fix this line of thinking.

Today is my friend Shea's birthday. Happy birthday Shea!

English grows up and other trivial life information

We met the Ray family at church in Kentucky in 1997. It was a few months before JB and I got engaged. So that was 9 years ago. This means that Veronica was just 5 years old. English was only 9 years old. Hunter was a baby and Cole was not even born yet. Keep that in mind as you take a look at their family now.

Veronica (aka "Victoria"), Ebby, English, Cole and Hunter. (I have no idea what is wrong with Cole here).

The same gang, this time with the other parent taking the picture.

And little English swearing in.

For those of you who are relatively new to our life and to my blog, I should explain why the Rays are here in Minnesota and were also with us in Kentucky. The reason is simple: they are stalkers!

No, seriously, Ron & Ebby decided it was time to get a fresh start. Ronnie had just graduated from college and so when we said Rochester, they said "we're in." We didn't really believe it until we drove up in March of 2003 together and found a house with an attached apartment that we could all rent. While we have since bought a condo, we still see the Rays quite a bit, and they are a very special part of our Minnesota family.

In other news, yesterday, JB got off early and we watched World Cup Soccer while I worked from home on RLS stuff. I had a counseling appointment at 5:00, and at 6:30 I filled in for a co-worker who was out of town on her outdoor co-ed team. I have been really exercising quite a bit lately, and as a result, I played much better this time than I did previously. I would LOVE to get on a volleyball team regularly, however, with my siestas from exercise due to IVF stuff, I just can't commit. I found out Kristen Yuan was a high school volleyball player. She played "club" which always indicates the seriousness and talent of the individual so maybe she and I will be able to get a team together. I know Tara and Lesley would be great to have on board as well. Any other local females who have played high school volleyball out there? Let me know and get on our team which is still in a fictional state.

Afterwards, JB made dinner while I scrubbed all the dirt from the sand volleyball court off in the shower. We started watching Ushpizin, (which I so-far really like), but at the same time, I started to get a migraine, and with no medication to take, started to panic. What if I couldn't sleep all night? What if I couldn't work the next day because I couldn't sleep because I was in so much pain? What if my whining caused JB to drop to his knees in his own form of twisted pain? However, JB helped keep me calm. We prayed together, and he used some accupressure points to help relieve the pressure, and I went to bed while the pain wasn't too intense.

To my wonderful surprise, I woke up at 4 a.m. to use the restroom ... pain free! The migraine may have gotten worse but not bad enough to wake me up, and by the morning, it was gone. I was so relieved. So, so far, my migraines have been doing really well despite the fact that I am unable to take anything but my 4 Alleve a day.

It is now 5:30 on Thursday evening but like most holiday weeks, it never feels like the day it is. We are going to go for a long walk and just enjoy the evening together. Unfortunately, JB is off tomorrow while I have to work, and he is then on from 7 a.m. Saturday until Sunday afternoon while I do not have to work.

Kristen, if you read this, can I go to church with you guys on Sunday at 10:30? I would ask Lesley if I could come over for dinner on Saturday evening, but I already did that via email and she said I could. (I'm not shy!) Lesley also let me borrow a basketball movie: Glory Road, so I have that to fill my time as well.

Okay, off for my run!

Fireworks pictures

Okay, Tara was a little late in sending me this, but I will forgive her since her car was in the shop, and she has a flight to the Carolinas for a wedding today. However, here are a few pictures she sent from our night of sparklers and fireworks. You will notice how much more comfortable I got with my sparkler after the initial shock of it being lit.

Also, in response to the previous anonoymous comment I received, yes, Veronica was right. That big tree was in the way. And yes, I am supposed to kiss Veronica's foot because she was right, but when I made that deal, I was SURE I WAS RIGHT.

Uggggh.

Happy Fourth of July

We had a very nice Fourth of July. For the second year in a row, my Dad was with us. We watched Italy beat Germany in the World Cup and then a bunch of us got together over at Ron & Ebby's to cookout. We actually RACED to the Ray's house between the end of regulation and extra time (over time as they call it in America). However, I was so mad, because the moment I chose to go use the restroom, Italy scored. Go figure.

In the evening, some of us went and sat by the river to watch fireworks. Brandon & Kristen brought sparklers, and as I attempted to "play" with a sparkler, I realized I had no idea what I was doing. John grabbed that stick and started whipping it around (so hard that the head of it flew off into the weeds). I, on the other hand, was quite terrified and didn't really think that whipping around hot ash was fun. My dad said that I played with a sparkler when I was a very little girl. He said that he remembers this clearly. So, I suppose I should believe him even though I have no recollection of playing with fireworks -- ever. We also played with these "popping" fireworks. I wasn't half-bad at these. Kristen, on the other hand, wasn't quite as gifted. (Sorry Kristen, but this blog is pure honesty.)

Speaking of my father, when we went to see Superman, he got into the movies for two dollars less than I did because the woman gave him a senior citizen price! She didn't even ASK how old he was. She just charged him two dollars less. This didn't appear to bother my dad (but not much does), however, if my father is a senior citizen, that affects me as well. It means that I am aging! I don't drink often, but if I do, I am never carded. I am so past 21, and my only comfort is that the rest of civilization is aging at the exact same speed.

My Dad, actually, left today. He is driving to Chicago, staying a night, and then heading on to Niagra Falls, where my Mother plans to fly into (she won't actually fly into the Falls of course, but they plan to stay at a bed and breakfast by the Falls). He is very excited to see my Mom. He has now been away from home for four weeks.

My Father is, honestly, absolutely, without a doubt, the easiest guest to have in our house. This is not designed to offend anyone else who has come to visit us, but my dad requires NO effort. One morning I asked him if he wanted to go to breakfast, and he said, "No, I have plans."

Plans? Doing what? He doesn't know anyone else here. I ask him what his plans are, and he simply said, "just bumming."

One day he told me he sat on a swing. Another day he went to the mall. Another afternoon he ordered quesadillas at Applebees. He even joined in on a softball game in the park to help out a team that was short a man. However, sometimes, he doesn't tell us what he does. I ask, and he just says, "bumming."

If I, for a moment, begin to try to "plan" events, my Father immediately tells me that he doesn't need anything planned on his account. He has his computer and his TV and his car, and that's all he needs. He is a simpleton in its purest form.

Even though I am 29, I still miss my Dad when he leaves, and I couldn't help but get a bit teary. It will be weird not having him in the house to play Tetris and Scrabble against. I probably won't see him until Christmas, and I wish I could see him more often.

Okay, no more sentimental stuff. Here are some pictures from the cookout. If you click on the "Brandon & Kristen" link on the right, she should be updating soon with pictures as well. From there, you can link to "Nik & Cassie" who should also have pictures up.

Also, thanks for the migraine prayers. I am doing great. I am also going to play volleyball tonight as a sub for our office manager who is on vacation this afternoon which should be fun. I think JB may go with me.

Karuna goes hunting (that's the head of flamingo -- speaking of that, what do Ron & Ebby have a flamingo in their backyard for?)

Karuna and Lesley

From left: Christo, Dave, Lesley, Tara, and Brandon

Ingrid (and Inessa), Kristen, and JB

Kelsey and Tara

Scrabble reign comes to unfortunate end

Well this morning, my dad beat me in Scrabble. I blame it on the fact that I had 6 vowels for about nine hands in a row. You can only write OAR, FOE, TOE, ODE for so long before that gets old and you start getting creamed. Well not creamed, but I lost nonetheless. 2-1. I am afraid to play one more game before he leaves. I'd hate to leave on a tie. So maybe I'll just stay the champion and refuse to defend my title.

If you guys don't read the comments on my blogs, you are missing out. Especially when dear Lelsey Jones (who my dad said is "cute as a button") decides to post on her own Scrabble victories by writing:

I thought of you the other night because David and I were playing "best friends" Scrabble. When I don't have a letter I need, he gives it to me from his collection (I almost had "seminary" but needed an R), and when I have a place on the board picked out, I ask him not to go there, and he doesn't. I thought you would find that funny. :) Next thing you know, we'll be using proper nouns!

Lesley, 202 is still laughing about this. I have so many questions but don't know where to start. Is Dave okay with you sharing this? Is this really any fun? Do you do this often? Did you at least win? And would you call it winning? I could go on and on, but I'll let it go. To each his own. I must tell you though that there will be no such game played in my house.

4:30 today we are going to over to the Rays house. We are going to say good bye to little English who is now 18 and leaving for the Air Force (Sarah do you feel old?). Then we are inviting people over to their house for a cook-out. Then we'll come back downtown for fireworks. I will definitely share some pictures with you later on.

Oh and thanks for all the migraine advice. Honestly, I have been doing very well. Slight headache but a good nights sleep, a good run this morning, and my measly Alleve seem to be doing the trick right now. I am just praying that this keeps up!

JB said I should just throw the codeine away instead of having him hide it. He said, "I'm going to come home and the house is going to be trashed with you looking for that bottle. I'm not sure I can hide it well enough."

He might be right.

Migraine Mania

So today was the day that I went to the neurologist.

First the good news. I do not, as John repeatedly told me in the middle of the night, have a brain tumor. I remember crying when my migraines were really bad and telling JB I needed to ask him something important, and he would say, "Is it about your tumor?"

"Yes, it's about my tumor," I would say, but of course, I now know that the tumor doesn't exist.

Okay, so my mind is at ease with that.

However, that's the end of the good news.

Unfortunately, my neurologist told me that, yes, I am having very typical migraines. Yes, they are a result of the IVF medications and the fluctuations in estrogen. However, and here is where the bad news comes into play, the reason I am still having them is because they are "rebound" migraines brought on due to a dependency on codeine and other medications!

In other words, when I don't use the drugs, I get a migraine, causing me to want more medications which ultimately creates more dependency.

In other words, I am drug addict.

Now you see where this is going and why this isn't the greatest news. How do drug addicts get off drugs? Well, simply put, they stop taking them and bear the side effects. Thus, my new plight. I must stop taking all medications. All I am allowed to take each day are 4 measly Alleve.

I asked the doctor what I should do, if quite honestly, I feel like the pain may kill me, and he said in those situations, if I must, I can take a Tylenol.

A Tylenol? Are you joking? Does he understand how bad these things get and that on bad nights I need 4 codeine to make it go away.

He said he does understand and that, chances are, I am in for a very rough 3-4 weeks.

This caused me to tear up and to tell him that I was afraid. He tried to make me feel better by telling me that with all the shots and medications I have been on, he believes in me and that I can do this and need to do this for my future children! Oh my!

In addition to going cold turkey off of all drugs including Ibuprofin, Immetrix, and the Codeine, I am supposed to try to go to bed at the same time, exercise at a regular time, and eat at the same times in order to create a routine. That's hard enough, but then he said he wanted me to eliminate all caffeine. I told him I didn't drink any caffeine (except for my recent habbit of drugging my migraines with Mountain Dew). However, he reminded me that chocolate has caffeine which I knew but was attempting to accidentally forget about. He told me that I didn't have to eliminate all chocolate but should attempt to eliminate as much as possible.

He said that if, in four weeks, I am not having migraine relief, I can return to my GP who has permission to prescribe some beta blockers. However, he said that there are currently no drugs that are truly safe during pregnancy (codeine is the safest) and so I must work on this now and try to get things under control now.

We didn't even discuss what I would do if I have to go back on IVF medicines.

Okay, so, people, you need to pray for me. You need to pray for JB and Kelsey who must live with me and anyone else who comes in contact with me. Pray that this Alleve is strong stuff. Pray that my migraines don't even reappear. Just pray in general. When I told JB what the "plan" was he said, "I am glad I will be in the hospital a lot this month."

He said he was joking, but I don't think he was.

* * * * *

In other news, I wanted to wish my cousin Jason and Kathleen congratulations. Number two is on the way. Congrats guys -- can't wait to meet the little GIRL!

Say it ain't so

Yesterday was a good day. I accomplished a lot of things while JB was on call. (Call for this rotation means he goes in at 7 a.m. and gets off at noon the following day.)

For example, I:

• went for a run (an activity I am currently very bad at).
• went grocery shopping (an activity I despise).
• attended a Honkers game with Kelsey, Dad, Ebby, Hunter, and Veronica (this is the local summer college baseball league).
• ate well (got broccoli instead of french fries when Kelsey, Dad, and I went out for lunch).
• cleaned out the bird cage (an activity that I despise).
• played my dad in Tetris a few times (who won isn't important).
• cooked dinner for my dad (grilled cheese and canned fruit, but hey, it was an effort, and he said it was good).
• helped Kelsey figure out how to put a curtain up in her room (something that had previously stumped JB and I, but Kelsey solved it).
• vacuumed (not very well but it was done).

However, all of these activities pale in comparison to my most important activity of the day -- a scrabble game that left WENDI AS THE WINNER AGAIN! This means that I am 2-0 to the king of words!!! YES!

My dad's reply to this embarrassment: "You have your fun Wen. You know what is going to happen."

My reply: "2-0 baby!"

Saturday in the Cities

Well as I told you yesterday, the four of us (Dad, JB, Tara, and I) headed down to the cities. We went to the Mall of America and as soon as we walked in, we went through Sears and saw the TVs flocked with spectators for the final seven minutes of the France vs. Brazil soccer (futball for all my non American readers). So we joined the crowds and watched the last few minutes of France's upset of the mighty Brazilians. (Sorry Calvin).

We then spent a few hours walking around. Actually three of us walked around while JB found himself a seat in Barnes and Noble for a great reading day. He also made a stop at a wine store and William & Sonoma but otherwise just read.

For dinner, Tara took us to a fantastic restaurant called Chino Latino. It was amazing food and a place we would definitely plan to go back to. The menu changes on a daily basis and everything is served family style. It is a little pricey (about $25 a person for us) but you could definitely get less food than we did (we simply went off the waiter's recommendation) and get dinner for about $15 a person. If you are a Polar North amigo, you want to check this place out.

Dad, Wendi and Tara before dinner.

Tara not sure where she should begin with our jerk chicken platter

A view of both levels of the restaurant

We sat right behind this long table which serves really large groups

Almost means didley squat

Today, I almost beat my dad in Tetris. We play the best of three. I had him on the ropes. It was 2-1, and I needed to win only one more game, and I couldn't come through in the crunch time. Maybe it was because I had already written the blog (in my mind) that would tell the world who the grand champion of Tetris was. I screamed to JB (who was in the shower) to let him know of the possibilities, and I lost my edge. Unbelievable. Mom, you should have seen it. It was beautiful. Or, it would have been beautiful.

Anyways, I said I would post about JB's schedule. Yesterday, he took his last test of third year, and today he started his Sub-I in gastroenterology. This is where the medical student is basically treated like a first year resident so they understand what residency is going to be about. He went in at 7:30, but because it was the first day, was able to meet my dad and me at Pannakooken for breakfast. Dad and I had walked there (the new one is right downtown) and John joined us.

When we got back, Tara and I took a walk to the hardware store so I could get some extra keys to our house. We've got a full one, and I want to make sure I have enough keys to go around.

In a bit, Tara, Dad, JB, and I are going to head down to Minneapolis to go to the Mall of America. Kelsey may go to -- I'm not sure yet. It should be a nice day. We may or may not catch a Twins game in the evening. We'll see how things go. Dad wants a steak for dinner so we'll try to find somewhere that caters to his needs.

I did want to take a second though (I know, two posts in one day), to tell my husband how proud I am of him and how I cannot believe he is ONE YEAR AWAY from being an M.D. How ridiculously crazy is that? He will be Dr. John. :) Okay, maybe Dr. Kit., but I think Dr. John is kinder sounding. That makes me think of my friend Michelle Rogers who married Hershal Pleasant and became Dr. Pleasant which she says people comment about on an hourly basis. It's so weird though. It feels like we just started this journey and now it is a year away from being over.

Great job JB. You are almost there. We are almost there. I am almost a doctor's wife. Now that's weird.

World Cup Soccer Woes

I usually work mornings at Mayo, but yesterday, my boss told me he planned to take the morning off to watch World Cup Soccer and would I come in at one. Later he emailed me and said, "let's make it noon."

Sure thing. I worked on RLS stuff at home in the morning instead and watched Germany and Argentina play.

Around 11:50 the game concluded in a tie score and was going into extra time. I checked my email figuring my boss would tell me not to come in until 1:00. I waited until 11:56, didn't see an email, and left for work.

The MOMENT I sat down at work I got an email from him saying he would not be in until one! I emailed him a sarcastic email back about the fact that he was home for the overtime and I was already at work and he apologized for not emailing earlier. Bummer! So I missed the overtime.

He watched Germany win in a shoot out while I entered references. Oh well. At least I got to leave at 4:00 instead of 5.

Speaking of the World Cup, if you are watching a game, take a look at the crowd. Actually take a look at the "guards" in orange shirts in front of the crowd. They have to watch the crowd the entire game! I have decided that this has to be the worst job in the world. They are at one of the best sporting events of the year, and they have to have their back to the action. Ugh! They have to watch for unruly fans or people starting to run out into the field while people yell and cheer about events they can't see. How horrible! I wonder: do they at least get to listen to the game on an ear phone or something?

Well, my dad and I are going to run to Pannakooken for breakfast. I'll update you later today about JB's schedule when I know more.

Update on residency

JB spoke today with the woman in charge of the residency application process for the Air Force. He told her our entire situation and asked her for her advice. Here is what we learned:

The Air Force's FIRST responsibility is to fill every single one of their Family Medicine spots with an Air Force doctor.

If there are 30 spots to fill and 35 applicants, than 5 people will be given a "civilian deferment" which is what JB wants.

She said that JB should easily be at the front of the list IF there is an overflow of physicians. She said that our reason for wanting to stay (infertility, frozen embryos, no reproductive endocrinologist on any of the bases we can go) is extremely valid and would be seen as worth staying. She also said we would need a letter from our doctor explaining why we want to stay.

They also talked about a new program they have recently implemented which doesn't apply to John but forces doctors to work two years in the Air Force before completing their residency. She said that this new program is encouraging more doctors to choose family practice which should help John's cause.

So to make a long story short, if there is an overflow of doctors, we should be able to stay at Mayo. If there is a shortage, we cannot. She won't know that for a few months. So we will just continue to wait.

That's the update as it stands.

We have given in ....

Yesterday, while at the baseball game, JB called me, confused as to what to do.

"Wendi there is a cooking show, a travel show, and a show on crocodiles. I have no idea which to watch."

This dilemma was created because we finally gave in. We now have real TV.

Now I must explain. We have always had TV, but we have refused to pay $60 for the real cable. So instead we got the $15 package which basically consists of Spanish channels, religious channels, and home shopping channels. There was not an inbetween package. It was $15 or $60.

Then last week we got an offer in the mail -- 6 months of the BIG package for a compromise -- $30. We gave in and when I called, I found out that the deal was actually good for one year and was only $27!

We now have 75 channels including some of our long missed favorites: ESPN, Fox News, the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel, ESPN (oops did I say that twice?) ... we are in heaven.

Well, actually, I have been so busy, I haven't gotten to watch it, but when I do, I am going to enjoy flipping channels and not having to stop fifteen clicks later.

In other news, I won a "High Five Award" at work yesterday. This is just a recognition tool to say you did a good job. They always come with a $10 gift certificate to somewhere special. Mine are always to Bakers Square because as my boss says, "They have chocolate."

So after my dad treated us to Chipotle tonite, we picked up a pie of the French Silk variety! I am eating right now. It is good. If you would like some, there is plenty, so stop by 202 to help me not eat too much of this stuff.

A night at the ballpark

Tonight, my dad, Tara and I went to see the Twins beat the Dodgers 9-2. We had a great time -- my dad watching the game and Tara and I watching some and talking some. Seeing a game was one of Tara's "Rochester goals" so I was glad to help her accomplish that as she attended her third baseball game ever! That thought is quite foreign to two Huismans. Well, actually, that thought is foreign to any Huisman. Okay, sorry, before we get on another Huisman tirade, I will stop.

So Bara asked for a picture of me with my Dad. I should tell you that there is a good family picture at the link on the right: "Who we are", but for Bara's sake, I have also included a picture of my dad and me at the game tonight.

I will also include of one Tara and myself (a little lower in the entry so that only loyal readers get that far) despite the fact that it completely reminds me that I am no longer a Florida girl and couldn't be whiter if I TRIED! Oh to be young and tan again. Okay JB, yes I know. I was young and tan and as John reminds me, had a pre-melanoma removed when I was 20. So, okay, I'm okay being white if I live long. But couldn't I just, somehow have everything I want? Is that really too much to ask?


Oh and apparently, nagging is productive. Gabbi, brace yourself everyone, has posted on her blog! I know, I know. Amazing, huh? I'm very proud of you Gabbi. I have also heard rumors that Bara has returned from his quiet slumber as well. Speaking of Bara, he is COMING TO VISIT US in Rochester next month. We are all so excited to see him as are the Rays.

My dad is here!

I am so excited! My dad has arrived in Rochester. He got in about 3:30 this afternoon. I am working from home on RLS stuff, JB ran out to the store, but plans to make Thai for dinner, and we are excited to get to spend some time with my Dad. My friend Tara plans to join us tomorrow evening for a Minnesota Twins game, and of course I'll take my dad out for lunch everyday if he wants. I am so blessed to get to spend some time with my Dad. I haven't seen him since Christmas. Only thing better would be if my Mom were here too.

You know my dad doesn't read my blog too faithfully, but I am, a faithful blog writer, and more importantly, a faithful blog READER.

You know, I make a genuine effort to blog everyday. However, I must make a shout out to some of my fellow bloggers who are close enough to me to earn a link on the right side of this page.

Gabbi -- no excuses. It's time for some more pics of the kids on you blog. We are almost in July.

Jason, you said the labor dispute had been settled, so how long do I have to stare at Cullen in his cowboy hat. I mean, he's real cute and all, but come on. Post, okay?

Bara, I can't nag too much. You have at least told us you were taking a blog vacation.

Calvin, I'm not overly impressed, but at least the scenery changes occasionally.

Kristen, the newest blogger, I am very impressed with your skills. I actually see some new pictures when I click. Well done. I am proud of you. Maybe I should move you to the top of the list. Maybe the best bloggers get the top spot. Hmmm ...

Everyone else, pick it up already! Let's get some effort here.

record

Today I set a record.

I did NINE loads of laundry. I used all eight washers and then did another when I finished one. I didn't know I had that in me, but I did it. I once did SEVEN, but today ... NINE.

Last night, JB and I went over to Ajit's house for an Italian meal with the Jones', Tara, Philips, and Chuck, a leader in our CMDA (Christian Medical and Dental Association) Bible Study. It was a nice night of fellowship and good friends. Karuna actually turns two today. She is becoming quite the grown-up, and she and John played "rocketship" (where John has her blast off and fly around the air) until John could not play rocketship any longer.

I am excited because my Dad is getting here tomorrow. I can't wait to see him as I haven't seen him since Christmas. I talked to my cousin Sarah yesterday, and they were able to meet my future sister-in-law, and of course, as I knew they would, loved her. There was actually a Huisman picnic yesterday and all six of my grandmother's children were together (my dad and his four brothers and one sister). I wish we could have been there!

Miguel loves Tara

Well I know this post will probably make our friend Tara feel uncomfortable, but I HAVE to share these photos. John and myself decided to go to the Rochesterfeste parade. Overall, we weren't very impressed, however, it was fun to hang out with Tara (center in the picture below) and EVB (right in the picture below). We also ran into the Rays and the Philips while we were there as well. Karuna actually turns TWO this week! We also saw Natasha and her husband Nikkola. However, I just HAD TO include all the pictures that JB took of Tara and Miguel. We have never seen Miguel in our life but he was in LOVE with Tara as you will see from the photos. They are just too cute not to share.

I finally can tell you ...

Picture of me with Kristi and my goddaughter Logan

It's been welling up inside me for MONTHS!

But today, I can post on my blog that my best buddy Kristi is PREGNANT again!

I actually found out about Kristi's pregnancy very early on. However, she had a very difficult first few months. The Lord has truly done a miracle for Lee & Kristi and their daughter Logan (my goddaughter.) This has been a difficult pregnancy with a lot of "issues" so they have kept things low-key and waited until the first trimester. This is still a high-risk pregnancy so I would appreciate if you continued to keep the Hunts in your prayers.

Kristi's announcement email cracked me up when she wrote:

Well this is going to be a year that Christmas comes even slower. We are expecting our second child. The baby is due in mid December. For those of you doing math, I am almost 15 weeks pregnant. Because of past problems and because the first trimester was filled with lots of problems, we wanted to wait until we were out of the danger zone to tell folks. Well things are looking very positive and my belly is really starting to stick out. So to avoid nasty rumors about eating lots of chicken enchiladas, we thought it was time to tell everyone.

Thanks to everyone that has had us in prayers lately and there is no question that prayer works. A few more prayers would be greatly appreciated. Lee and I are very excited and Logan is giving the baby kisses every night. The only problem is after kissing my belly, she runs to Lee's and says baby and then kisses it. So there might be a little confusion, but lots of love.

Kristi and I have been friends sine we came as freshmen together to Western Kentucky University, and I am so blessed by her. She is one of the few people that completely knows everything about me -- one of those people that I all when I have something very personal to get advice on. I love her, Lee and Logan so much and can't wait to go visit the family of FOUR in the spring in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Keep the prayers coming.

* * * * *

Tonight, John and I are going to walk to Rochesterfest's parade which is just a block or two from our house and then enjoy a low-key weekend. We do plan to go to dinner at Ajit's house tomorrow night but other than that, just enjoy spending some time together at home (and finish my laundry!)

I can't think of a title

My head is a chasm of random thoughts including:

• I have a gazillion pounds of laundry and not enough quarters to do it.
• It makes me mad that the quarter machine in the Hilton building gives me 5 nickels for every dollar I put in!
• I took one of those $5 headache pills at 3:00 and haven't head a headache since. Are they worth it?! Well, time will tell but today they definitely were!
• That chocolate truffle that my co-worker Char bought for me today was amazing.
• That chocolate truffle makes me never want to eat a cheap candy bar again.
• That chocolate truffle is $1.75. However, when I bought one for JB with coconuts in it he admitted that it was worth every bit of $1.75.
• My dad will be here on Sunday night or Monday. I am really excited to see him. Tara, he and I are going to go to see the Twins play on Tuesday evening.
• My heart is heavy today with sadness for journey's through life that kind of suck. I have quite a few friends that are really hurting right now due to bad things happening (death, relationships, infertility, etc.). I can't list all of their prayer requests as most are private, but if they are reading this, they know who they are, and they know that there is a girl in Minnesota crying out to the Lord on their behalf.
• I also have friends who are going through such beautiful times in their life including my brother and AD and their engagement. Life is quite a roller coaster and quite a journey.
• My load of laundry is probably close to done. I have about 10 loads to do. Why am I doing one at a time?
• My neighbor Susan, who's about 75, wants me to help organize a pot luck for the building. This isn't quite my thing but Susan is pumped about it so I think I will try to help her. She knocked on my door the other day and talked to me for quite some time.
• What can I make for the potluck that 70 year olds like? I'm not used to cooking for that audience.
• I am not used to cooking period.
• I have to write a book review for RLSF. Only problem? I am still like only 3 chapters into the book that I have to write a review on. Heavens! It makes me have restless legs just thinking about tackling the rest of this book. My goal tonight is at least three chapters!
• I think I need to do a blog educating my readers about RLS. Since I work there, it would be good if I shared. I may do that.
• JB is out for a bike ride. When will he be home?
• Our boy turned girl bird laid ANOTHER egg today. I guess that makes him even MORE a girl than we thought. Jeepers.
• I'm hungry.
• That chocolate truffle was AMAZING!

I hope you enjoyed this quick romp through my brain. You are either overly impressed or, well, chances are that is not the case, so please don't be too harsh with your comments on this blog.

Doctors, sister-in-laws, pizza, eggs, and volleyball

Well if you notice the title of my blog you will see that this blog is coming in a few parts, completely unrelated. So here they are, in no particular order.

Doctors
Yesterday I went to meet with my doctor about my headaches. JB was unable to come with me although he was one floor above me seeing patients. He did give me questions and comments for the doctor to try to help guide things along.

My doctor isn't exactly sure why my headaches have continued despite going off all hormone medicines. Her basic deduction is that I have a headache 24-7. That headache waxes and wanes, but it never completely goes away and sometimes reaches migraine status. However, because we are about to do IVF again, we have to be careful because there are very few migraine medications that are safe during pregnancy.

She decided to put me on Imitrex (sp?) at least until July 3rd when I will meet with a neurologist. She wanted me to go get a ct-scan, however, I asked her if I could wait and meet with the neurologist first. I told her I am just all tested-out. I had a ct-scan in 2003 and just don't feel like doing it again (or paying for it again). She agreed with that deduction. The main reason for going to the neurologist is to see if we can figure out a way to combat these migraines while attempting to get pregnant. Codeine is really the only medication safe for pregnancy, however, I may have started to develop a tolerance to codeine. Imitrix is not safe during pregnancy, however, I can at least take it for a month or two. The doctor would prefer that I did not find relief for a two month time span only to face it again when the IVF meds start up and the hormone medicines start up again.

JB picked up my Imitrix today. I am supposed to take it every time I feel a migraine coming on. However, it is $5 a pill! John regretted telling me right away. How am I supposed to just "take one" when it is $5 for every stinkin' pill? Oh well. We'll get through this. My gonal shots for IVF and IUIs were $45 per every unit of 75. So I guess this isn't too bad.

Sister-in-laws
If you missed it, AD, my soon-to-be sister-in-law posted a reply to my post the other day. I was actually pretty happy with how well I did with the "Facts about AD". Here was her comment in case you missed it:

Thanks for the nice write up, now I have some ideas for our engagement announcement. You were right about most things. I am 5'8" and 26 years old. Keith is 9 months older. I was a softball catcher and majored in Sociology at Stetson. I am 10 credits away from earning my Master's in Public Administration. Not sure what I will do with it? And we would definitely be friends if we lived a little closer, I've always wanted a sister. Keith wanted me to write "older sister"Chicago has been great, lots of sleeping and meeting Trinity people. We are off to the Museum of Science & Industry. I am looking forward to meeting the Huisman clan on Saturday and showing off the most beautiful ring I've ever seen.

I wish AD luck as she meets the Huismans. I hope they don't tear her to shreds! Just kidding. However, I did realize that neither AD nor myself have a sister. I do have three sister-in-laws but I am excited to have a "sister" on the Huisman side. How fun!

Pizza
Okay, onto word three from the title: pizza. Today, I met my friend Stephanie for lunch at Bilottis -- a cute Italian place downtown. Stephanie is getting ready to do IVF in August. We enjoyed talking about the journey and sharing ideas and comments. I was also blessed because this is really the first time I have actually talked about our failed IVF in intimate details, and I was proud of myself. I am excited for Stephanie, and we are both excited that maybe we could be pregnant right around the same time!

Eggs
All right, so I have talked about the doctors, I have talked about my sister-in-laws, and I have talked about pizza. Now I must mention "eggs".

I mention eggs because our bird laid one.

Let me rewrite that sentence: our boy bird laid an egg.

Now obviously, Twain, is not a boy. However, when we bought Twain to keep our now deceased bird Chaucer (rest her soul) company, we were told that Twain was a boy by the woman who sold him/her to us.

That woman lied!

I thought it earlier but now I know it.

Now if you remember, I posted about my idea that our birds had an identity gender crisis in an earlier blog back in January: Gender Identity: Our Confused Birds. I suspected that our birds may not be the sex that we believed they were due to some kinky activities that I observed in the cage when they didn't think anyone was looking.

However, yesterday, our supposed boy bird LAID AN EGG. This means that, for sure now, Twain is a girl.

Now one question remains: is Monet, the bird that has always been sexless, a boy? We don't know. Twain-ette can lay eggs without them being fertilized, however it appears that Monet is doing (his?) share of fertilizing.

If baby birds emerge, then we will know.

Volleyball
Our office manager at RLSF asked me to play co-ed outdoor volleyball as they were short a girl. I haven't been able to do any major exercise in a few months so this was something very new for me. John and I rode our bikes to the park, about a thirty minute ride, played volleyball, and then rode back home. It was wonderful to be outside in gorgeous weather even though I got filthy.

Okay, so that's all I have. See you tomorrow!

Happy Anniversary

Well today, JB and I celebrate our eighth (Yes, EIGHTH) wedding anniversary. We feel old. However, I am sure those of you who were at our wedding feel old right along with us. We actually sort of forgot it was our anniversary because our gift to each other was our trip to Mount Rushmore. We were both relieved to realize the other person and had not gotten a card or anything either. We just kept saying the trip was our gift that we felt like our anniversary occurred over the weekend.

To take a quick (and not too sentimental) trip down memory lane, JB and I were engaged on my birthday in 1997. John had told me all week that we were going to go out to eat on my birthday. I therefore suspected that it was at this dinner that he would propose. Instead, I went to bed on the 21st and was awoken by loud music at 12:01 on the morning of May 22nd. Ticked off at my roommates, I meandered out of my room. It wasn't unusual for them to party into the morning, and I thought they were bringing the party home with them. Instead, I found rose petals leading into the living room. However, I was still half-asleep so I had no idea what this meant, until I followed the rose petals into the living room and found a card with a Bible verse and a quarter taped to it.

Every couple has their own quirky "inside" jokes and ours was that John would give me a quarter when he asked me to marry him. I am not sure exactly where this originated. At some point we had given each other a penny, nickel, and dime, and we joked that this was the next "step".

John had one of our favorite songs playing and got on one knee to propose. He would have slipped the ring onto my finger if it wasn't too small. Oh well. You have to have a funny story or how fun will the story be to tell?

So a year and a month after we were engaged, we were married in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Even though both of us were from Florida, the fact that we were both living in Kentucky at the time coupled with the fact that I had a lot of family in Illinois that I hoped would be able to make it to the wedding if it was closer (6 hour drive vs. 26 hour drive) made us opt for Kentucky. The church we were attending was too small, so our pastor asked a friend if we could borrow his church -- Westminster Bible Church.

It was a VERY hot June day and to make matters worse, the air in the church broke. Luckily it didn't break in the second floor fellowship hall where I was getting ready or I would have had makeup smeared all over my dress I am sure. There were about 150-200 people at the wedding. My Aunt Dorothy played the music and even though she would have preferred I chose another song, as apparently "Here comes the Bride" is from some horrible opera, I did walk down to "Hear comes the Bride." My Aunt Mary and Aunt Linda sang a beautiful song, and I have the words they changed slightly for us, hanging above my dresser. My friend Deanna also sang. My best buds Kristi and Michelle stood up on my side as did JB's two sisters, Elizabeth and Katie. My junior bridesmaid was my long-time "little sister" Brianna V. JB was joined by his three brothers. Ray was the best man, Matt was a junior groomsman, and Robbie was the ring bearer. My brother Keith, his friend Sean and his childhood friend Craig D. were also in the wedding.

One of my favorite parts of the wedding was when we took communion together and our friend Deanna W. sang a beautiful song. This was a very moving part of the ceremony despite the fact that we were both so hot!

The reception was held at Garrett Ballroom on the campus of Western Kentucky University. We didn't have a lot of money to spend so we had a buffet style meal and a DJ and a beautiful cake. I was amazed at how well things came together on a small budget and my lack of intimate bridal influence. When the cake maker asked me what I wanted I said "pretty and purple". When our florist went out of business, and I talked another into taking us a few weeks before the wedding despite the fact that she had another wedding that day I said, "Something that is pretty and goes with purple." I really didn't know what I wanted nor did I care that much. I just wanted a simple, pretty wedding. And I wanted to be Mrs. Wendi K. (I avoid writing last names on my blog!)

We spent our honeymoon in a cabin in Boone, North Carolina. We spent the first night of our honeymoon at Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, a gift from John's parents. We went back there on our third wedding anniversary as a special surprise from John.

Our first house, which we lived in in Bowling Green, Kentucky was actually a 2 bedroom, 1 and a half bath townhome that we rented for $365 a month. After that, we went to Franklin for 3 years where we rented our 2/2 duplex for $450 a month. Needless to say, our rent increased when we moved to Rochester in 2003.

Eight years later, and I can't even remember what it sounds like to introduce myself as Wendi H. But I guess that used to be my last name. We have now been together since December of 1993. Thirteen years. In a few years, I will have been with JB more than I have been without JB.

John's younger brother Robbie was 4 when we started dating and is 17 now. He admits that he doesn't remember John before I was his girlfriend. This really makes me feel quite old.

Anyways, so that is a little trip down memory lane. I have to say, as I have never been shy about saying, that I am married to the best guy in the world. He is truly my best friend.

If I can find some pictures, I will post them tomorrow.

The Big Announcement

Well this is a pretty big moment for me (as everything is about me of course!) Here is the big announcement I promised on yesterday's blog.

My little brother is, GETTING MARRIED!

Here are the facts (as I know them) to answer all the questions I have been receiving (and those that I predict I will receive):

• They got engaged last week Tuesday I think, however, I was forbidden to share until everyone he wanted to tell had been told.
• No official date has been set yet (as far as I know -- but Keith isn't known for his fantastic communication), but the girl has been picked!
  
• Her name is Adrienne Broyles, but everyone calls her "AD".
  
• Yes, my brother is an "AD" (athletic director) and that is fairly ironic.
  
• I have honestly, only met AD one time, but we went on a five day cruise together, so I feel like I got to know her fairly well, and I definitely approve of Keith's choice.
  

Here are some photos of AD with her new ring.

Keith and AD are actually on their way to Chicago. I originally thought that they were going to surprise people with the news when they got there, thus my reason for not telling anyone. Come to find out though, the news was already shared so they gave me permission to share it with the world. Finally!

Okay, here is what I know about AD. I think AD reads my blog so, AD, if I messed any of this up, please forgive me and please correct me. I am going to do my best here:

• Keith and AD met at church.
• AD is fairly tall (I get this question all the time). I am going to guess 5'8" or 5'9". Is that right AD?
  
• I am not exactly sure what her job is, but I know she works for Park and Rec doing something recreational in nature. (Aren't I brilliant for that deduction). Actually, she was switching jobs when we met her so I think this is why I don't have this straight.
  
• I believe she was a recreation major in college.
• I think she is about Keith's age -- 26 or 27. I think she was 26 when we went on the cruise, but I thought she had a birthday since then.
  
• She is very involved in FCA at her former school, FAU (Florida Atlantic University).
• I believe she is getting her master's degree right now at FAU.
  
• I have no idea how far along she is in her master's and am now wondering if that is even accurate information at all. Ugh!
  
• Maybe I should have checked on these facts before posting the blog.
  
• AD was actually a Division-I softball player for Stetson.
  
• I think AD was a catcher.
  
• Honestly,the only thing that I don't like about her was that she graduated from Westminster Academy (our biggest rivals while I was growing up), but other than that, there is nothing I don't like.
• AD's mom owns a pet shop thus immediately earning her brownie points with John!
  
• JB and I both agree that AD is perfect for our family. I joke that in John's family, where there are six siblings, if you don't like one of the spouses, no biggie, you can find someone else to sit with at dinner (not saying that I don't like any of the spouses of course). However, when I only have one sibling, it's kind of important that I feel like I can be around her and not have to "work" at being friends. If we lived closer, I think AD and I would be good friends.
  
• I hope AD would say the same thing about me but maybe not. Maybe she is like, oh gosh, my one sister-in-law is just a PAIN!
• AD is a wonderful person. She has great style and personality and charisma and is a very strong Christian. She is a perfect match for Keith and will keep him from becoming a sports-watching hermit! She shares his love of sports and his love of the Lord.

Anyways, congrats you two. AD, thanks for saying yes to my brother. I owe you one! Also, thanks for forgiving me for everything I screwed up in this blog!