Bullet points for Melissa

My friend Melissa tells me that she likes my bullet point blogs. This may be because she has a toddler and is growing increasingly uncomfortable with #2 on the way, and bullets read much faster.

Speaking of Melissa, last night Melissa called me on the phone. In the two years that we have been friends, I am not sure if I have ever spoken with her via telephone. Two phone-phobic people does not allow for a lot of electronic gabbing. Anyways, to make Melissa's day easy, here are my current bullets:

• My Kentucky driver's license has expired. Yes, you read that correctly. I still have (or had as it has now expired) a Kentucky license. The reason is that JB is a student, and is therefore not required to obtain a Minnesota license. This point is actually null, however, because he has a military ID which operates in place of a license. When I first moved to St. Charles, the local police officer told me that we only had to get Minnesota plates on a car that I drove because I was not a student. Since we only had one car, and I drove it, this meant our one car needed plates (and plates on the FRONT of the car in Minnesota is a requirement.)
• Speaking of plates on the front of the car, that reminds me of a funny story, and since the last bullet point is really too long to even qualify as a bullet point, I will make this bullet #2 (for Melissa's sake.) First semester of medical school was a busy time in JB's life. So busy that the local St. Charles cop (where I taught) had to tell me two times to get a plate put on the front of the car. This led to an argument (between JB and me not between the cop and me) because JB wasn't jumping as fast as I would like (or as fast as the cop would like). One day, just to prove a point, I took the drill out to the garage and prepared to drill the holes into the front of the car to hang this stupid front-of-the-car plate. However when I realized that messing up our car was not worth proving a point, I put the drill down and backed up very slowly into the house. Later, when I tried to explain to JB what I had done, I couldn't recall the name of the tool (how hard is it to remember the word "drill"?) John then said he didn't think anyone should be allowed to use a tool they can't name. Funny.
• Okay, so back to my license issue. If I would have been smart enough to realize that my license was going to expire a year before we may possibly leave Rochester, I would have just gotten a stupid license the first year I was here. I always just planned on telling the cop that I was a student's wife. I didn't think it was fair that he didn't have to get a license, and the cop wasn't even positive what a student's wife had to do. How fair is it to move to the Polar North out of love and then have to get a new license because of that love? I don't know if my "I'm a medical student's wife" idea would have worked, but in Minnesota you have to take a WRITTEN test to join their state's fantastic driving association! How bogus is that? Worse -- I hear the test is really hard.
• Since Melissa is on my mind, I wonder if she has a Minnesota license as she is a medical spouse. Cassie, Kristen . . . do you have licenses? If you do, was the test hard?
• Okay, enough about driving.
• Next major thing I need to get done? I need to get a passport. I lost my passport when we moved to Minnesota. It was in my pile of "very important things you definitely shouldn't lose when you move" which included my teaching license and a few other items that made me shed a few tears when it became completely obvious that they were gone forever.
• Problem is I need a current driver's license to get a passport.
• I have gotten the passport photos so that is one thing I don't have to do.
• Another thing I need to is make an appointment with my allergist. He saved my life last fall but told me I needed to come in sometime around July to get "prepared" for another ragweed season. I called today so I will wait to hear if I have to come in or if they can just prescribe my medications.
• I am slightly concerned that my allergy medications may not be safe to take with my IVF medications or in pregnancy. I hope my allergist, Miguel, who is a friend of our's from Bible Study, can help with this.
• Speaking of doctors, I am noticing considerable improvement in my headaches. Today I actually only took THREE Alleve. What a woman huh?
• I have been running quite a bit. Monday afternoon I ran with JB and yesterday I actually ran with Kelsey. She is training for a marathon! Now yesterday was her "light" day so I decided to run with her, and I actually didn't do half bad. I feel so much better when I am running. I will stop during the week preceding and the two weeks following my transfer, and if I ever do a harvest I will stop for longer, but man, it feels so good to run.
• Monday afternoon JB and I ran at 4:45. It was 97 degrees at the time. In conversation today I told my boss this. He immediately switched into "doctor" mode asking me what I was thinking running in that sort of heat. I explained that I grew in south Florida and 97 degrees with only 47% humidity was not that bad, but he didn't buy it -- he said as a physician he had to advise me against that sort of "reckless behavior." :)
• Tonight I am filling in for my RLS office manager's co-ed volleyball team again. I enjoy these occasional outings. I would love to play more regularly but don't think I can commit to a team with my required weeks of no activity for infertility events. However, it has been raining all day today. We haven't had rain in so long so I am just sitting by the window watching it come down. This could ruin the chances of playing volleyball this evening.
• Okay Melissa, I hope that gave you your fill of bullets.
  

10,000th visitor to Polar North Blog is .....

Matt Kit!

I got a text message from JB's brother Matt yesterday that he was visitor number 10,000 to the Polar North blog. Congratulations Matt. (You can view the number of visitors if you scroll to the very bottom of this page.) Truth be told, I didn' teven know Matt visited my blog.

Now of course, I have to take Matt's word for this as I have no direct proof this was true. I also can't be sure he didn't hit the refresh button a few times to push him over the top, but either way, congrats Matt.

I'll have more to post later today.

Doctors alarmed over growing preemie problem

I found this article online. It really stirred up a lot of thoughts and questions in my mind:

WASHINGTON - More than half a million babies are born prematurely each year, and specialists are urging that doctors take new steps to battle one cause: infertility treatments that spur twins, triplets and other multiple births.

Among the institute’s recommendations: Specialists should strengthen guidelines that reduce the number of multiple births as a result of infertility treatments. Sixty-two percent of twins conceived through such care were born prematurely, as were 97 percent of other multiples.

To improve the odds of getting pregnant, doctors often implant several embryos at once into a woman’s womb, a technique that sometimes works too well. The American Society of Reproductive Medicine issued guidelines in 1999, and tightened them in 2004, urging doctors to implant fewer embryos, sometimes only one at a time — and triplet-and-higher births have dropped significantly.

The group said it will consider tightening those guidelines further. But European countries that implant just one embryo at a time also pay for women to undergo multiple IVF attempts, while very few American women have insurance coverage for a procedure that can cost more than $15,000 per try, noted Dr. William Gibbons, president of the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology.

“If we want to buy into this, society needs to buy into it,” said Gibbons — who added that parts of Europe also found they saved money on treating preemies even after paying for repeated single-embryo IVF attempts.

I really don't know how I feel about this. Is infertility a right or a privilege? Should insurance cover infertility treatments? Is it fair that women who can't afford to have infertility treatments can't have children? Can they limit how many embryos when we have to pay for each attempt?

Any thoughts? Currently I am leaning toward the fact that insurance doesn't have to cover anything they don't want to especially something that isn't health-related. I am blessed that Mayo chooses to pay 50%. I wonder what non-infertility patients think? Don't worry. You can't hurt my feelings on this. I'm interested to know what others think.

Bara's last day

After JB woke up from his nap on Sunday, we packed full the rest of our afternoon and evening. We started with the grocery store (which I didn't take a picture of -- shoot!) We spent about an hour and a half teaching Bara about foods in our grocery store and ideas about how he can all the food groups in fairly easily, cheaply, and conveniently. I am excited to read on his blog about how he puts all these lessons into practice. He took LOTS of notes!

After our grocery lesson, we headed down to the cities.

Here is Bara and JB right after watching "The Beavers" IMAX movie. (We were all fascinated to learn that one pair of Beavers take down 400 trees a year!). This photo was taken outside of Body Worlds. It was an excellent exhibit and extremely fascinating. Basically it was the opportunity to view actual body muscles, arteries, nerves etc. on real people that donated their bodies to science. Believe it or not, this exhibit was not gross. It was very educational, and I was very entertained. It was a little crowded despite the fact that they limit the number of people allowed in to fifteen minute intervals.

After visiting Body Worlds, we toured the rest of the Science Museum a bit (there really isn't much more than the featured exhibit) and took a break outside. While taking a break, we attempted to teach Bara about miniature golf. He said that he thought it looks like a lot of fun, and if we would have had more time, I would have loved to be there for Bara's first try at miniature golf (and maybe assure myself a victory!) I have not played miniature golf in years, but it was one thing our family really enjoyed doing together when I was young. My father showed no mercy!

JB talking to Ajit on the phone. This isn't an important part of the story, but, he's my babe so I'll include it anyways! I love this guy (A LOT!) We got in a lot of relationship discussions with Bara. He observed the fact that JB and I have a very sarcastic and humor-filled relationship. This is something we once attempted to change, but have since decided that bantering works for us and so if it works for us, who's to say otherwise?

On the way to the restaurant, JB attempted to teach Bara, in one hour or less, about all the genres of American music. He started with Big Band and made it all the way to Alternative Rock using actual selections from his own IPOD. Bara's favorite? Classic Rock 'n Roll.

Lesley and Dave joined us for dinner at Chino Latino. They had spent the day at the Mall of America. I really love Dave and Lesley and am so blessed they are in Minnesota. I really hope that all four of us get to stay here for residency. If one couple doesn't get to stay, I'd prefer it would be us because I really don't want to be in Rochester without them here. (Is that selfish? I think so.)

Bara, JB, and me after dinner. Bara liked some of the dishes but not the shrimp curry (way too spicy!) We offered to buy another type of dish, but he said he would rather save space and take us all out for dessert. We settled on Cold Stone. I learned another thing about Syrians (or maybe just about Bara). They can eat A LOT of ice cream. For any of you who have ever had Cold Stone or Marble Slab type ice cream (where they throw the ice cream on a slab and combine it with topping of your choice), you know how THICK this ice cream is. On my BEST night, I can manage to eat a medium, but normally can't get beyond the small. And as most of you know, I can EAT ice cream. Bara, taking my advice, got a medium, and added a chocolate waffle cone. Despite this, he was debating getting a second dish!!! Wow!

Another funny thing: on the way back to our car, we passed a punch buggy car. In America, when you see one of these, you punch the people you are with (not hard unless you are mean). I punched JB and then punched Bara and said "Punch buggy." We cracked up when he said, "Why did you Punch Boppy me?" I had to explain that it was not a "Boppy" but a "Buggy". It's only when you try to explain something that you realize how stupid it is. What the HECK do we punch people when we see a type of car? I have no idea. It's like trying to explain why we don't end sentences with the word "I'm". I have no idea we just don't!

Bara is now back in Boston. We had a WONDERFUL time while he was here. I have learned so much about his culture and about our governments and about the world from him. Honestly, if everyone in the world was able to get along like we do with Bara despite some major differences, then there wouldn't be any wars!

Bara said the thing he will miss the most when he leaves Minnesota is hearing people say, "You betcha!" Hmmm ... is that the most memorable thing about Rochester? (Tara is probably nodding profusely).

Two other things I wanted to note quickly. Today was a VERY hot day in Minnesota. It felt SO wonderful. However, despite this, the humidity was 47%. So just for kicks, I looked it up in Fort Lauderdale. 70%. Case closed on that one Elizabeth Ray! Yes, I called you Elizabeth, Ebby. That means I am SERIOUS.

Another thing? I have mentioned before that I usually don't get a lot of tall comments in Minnesota. There are a lot of tall women here, and it is rare to be made fun of or commented about. The time that I get the most comments (if any) is usually when I have to run an errand for my boss and I walk through the main part of the clinic. The reason is that these people are usually NOT from Minnesota and therefore not used to all the tall women (and also not as polite.)

Today I had a man say something to me I have never heard before, and it so took me off guard that I made sure he knew he offended me.

As I walked by, this man in his late twenties said -- get this. "Six foot seven -- halfway to heaven." Then he stopped and stared at me.

I said, "Excuse me?"

Thinking I really wanted to know what he said, he repeated himself!

And I said, "Well that was a really nice thing to say."

It was at that point, and ONLY at that point, that he realized he had offended me and mumbled, "Well good day to you."

Now I need to be cautious here. This man very well could be sick. He could be mentally sick. When you walk through the main stretch of the Clinic, you often see some VERY sick people. However, he didn't look sick. He looked very normal. What does that comment mean anyways? I really am not sure. For one thing, I'm not even 6'7", however, because he wanted to rhyme with heaven, he obviously thought it was okay to make me more than four inches taller. I was actually so shocked to hear someone say something that brazen.

He must be from south Florida. Who ELSE could be that rude?

Oh well. At least he didn't complain about the humidity after that. I may have had to lay him out.

We'll miss you Bara!

The Knot

My brother and AD now have a "Knot" page. Now obviously I am old because I did not have one of these when I got married, but they do. You can visit it at: ADRIENNE BROYLES & KEITH HUISMAN.

Also, just to give you a head's up. Keith and AD aren't having a mombo-sized wedding so the guest list will be limited. So don't be offended if just because you know me, you don't get invited! They still love you because they love me. (Right guys?)

P.S. Bara and JB just left for the airport. We had a GREAT time yesterday and after work I will post some pictures and details.

Bara meets (and remeets) our friends

Friday night, as I was having my girls night and JB was on call, Bara hung out with Ronnie. Ronnie took him to the Dodge County Fair.

Now you don't have to be from Dodge County to picture the Dodge County Fair. If you have ever gone to a fair in a tiny country town, you can picture it. They are all the same.

Bara loved it! He got to see a Demolition Derby and also see the way many Americans live. It is so difficult to picture the fact that most of Americans don't live in huge over-crowded metropolises (it's hard to pluralize that word) unless you see it for yourself. But Bara saw it. He saw people that, most likely, have no idea where Syria is or maybe, even where Wisconsin is!

Country towns present a different world and are a far cry from Boston or even Rochester. Bara said that he heard a statistic once that 50% of Americans do not have a passport. Now since I am positive that most of my family, including my parents, John's parents, and most of my cousins and other blog readers don't have passports, you don't find this number amazing. But it was amazing to Bara.

It was amazing until he went to the Dodge County Fair. What would these people need passports for? There's their farm, their neighbor's farm, and the Demolition Derby. Do they need anything more? However, to a visitor, like Bara, these country towns often go unnoticed.

Saturday afternoon, Bara and I watched Father of the Bride while JB attempted to catch up on his sleep. Bara really enjoyed it, and even though I have seen it numerous times, I enjoyed rewatching it. That's a classic American romantic comedy! The last time Bara came he hated romantic comedies and wouldn't go near them. Now they are one of his favorite genres. Go figure!

Saturday evening we had a bunch of friends over. Since John didn't have a lot of time to prep, we had chicken and steak fajitas, an easy meal in John's repertoire. Bara was a little unsure of this new food but wanted to watch John make them to get another idea of something he could cook in his apartment in Boston. I asked him if he liked them, and he said that the fact that he was on his third is pretty indicative of the fact that he thought they were really good. The first time he used sour cream, he just put a little dab, but the next time, he had smothered his shell in sour cream and was a little more adventurous in the contents of his fajita.

We have so enjoyed having Bara visit our home. It is always wonderful to catch up with old friends, and we have had some wonderful and educational conversations. The world is such a big place, and I am so thankful to have so many friends of different ethnicities and nationalities to share that world with.

Speaking of a wide assortment of friends, you can definitely appreciate that from some of the pictures of our evening.

Here is Tara and Nicole. Nicole spent much of her third year of medical school avoiding Rochester as much as possible and doing rotations all over the country. However, she actually said that while she did not miss Rochester, she missed all of us and so she is going to stay closer to "home" for her fourth year (not counting a month long jaunt in Australia!) So hopefully, you will get to see more pictures of Nicole. I think the girl on the right has made enough appearances on the blog to no longer warrant an introduction, but if you haven't paid good attention in the past, that's Tara who personally finds Rochester the most riveting location of her twenty-four year existence.

So here is a picture of Bara and JB. This was taken during our game of the evening -- Time's Up. Time's Up is a game that requires you to be semi-familiar with pop-culture. Bara was my partner, and while we finished in dead-last, he was getting the hang of it by the end and earning everyone's praise. Even though we lost, even Bara recognized that the point of this game wasn't so much about winning but about how hard you could laugh at other people and yourself.

As I have mentioned previously, Karuna now repeats everything and anything anyone says. This object she is holding is a battery recharger. We are all well aware of this because Karuna told us so upwards of fifty times in a period of less than two minutes.

Here, Karuna finally acquiesces and gives Wendi the battery recharger, assured that everyone in the room knows what it is.

Here's Lesley and Karuna, both of whom no longer need introductions on the Polar North blog. I admire Lesley for a lot of things, but one of them is her ability to play with children in a room full of grown-ups. I think we are all so prone to get into our adult conversations and shoo the kids away, but Lesley always takes adequate time to entertain Karuna with the utmost of patience -- even if Karuna won't let her pull her next card in Time's Up.

Cole (front) and Hunter (back) are growing WAY too fast. Take a look at Hunter and Cole on year ago on my blog. You can see what I mean. Man time flies and kids grow up fast. They are great boys and always fun to have around.

Here is Bara with his first attempt at a fajita. Also pictured are Ronaldo Ray. Do you all remember the picture from a few days ago which featured Cole making a crazy face? Is it any wonder where Cole gets his antics from when you see Ronnie in this picture? Also pictured is our great friend Melissa (off to the right) due to have another baby in just a little over a month.

I am sure that Lesley will only realize what was occurring behind her when she views this picture on my blog today. Lesley, don't worry, it's Nicole who has reverted back to her adolescence, not you.

Here is Dave playing Time's Up. Dave has gone, in a matter of just two years, to being the worst Time's Up player we had ever seen, to the best in Rochester. In fact, the reason we did not play in couples last night was because Dave and Lesley are so stinkin' good at the game now, no one else stands a chance. However, Dave did agree that his pop culture is still well behind the rest of the crowd, hence he and Bara's reason for determining they were probably not the best two to pair together.

So there are some pictures from our evening.

Currently, it is Sunday morning. We were hoping to make it to church this morning, but Wendi had one of her headaches last night. They have gotten much better, but as the neurologist warned, not going to bed at a consistent time, could cause them to flare up as is what happened last night. Not only could I not sleep, but my poor husband who had not slept more than two hours the night before could not sleep. He finally wandered to the couch around two a.m. and wandered back around six a.m. I made the executive decision to turn off the alarm clock and let him sleep until he wakes up. In addition, I am still fighting a doozy of a headache this morning. Please continue to pray for me in this regard, especially as we start another round of IVF on August 4th, and I must restart the drug that initially sparked these headaches.

Call really stinks! I don't know how else to say it. Our church only has services on Saturday evening or Sunday. For the last five or six weeks, JB has been on call either Saturday night, Sunday, or he's been post-call and not slept at all in the days preceding Sunday. It's frustrating. During the school year we at least attend a Bible Study on Thursday nights, but our church doesn't have a mid-week service. We've actually been talking about trying to find another church that we could just attend during the week.

Today though, we have a packed day planned! First we are going to take Bara on a field trip to the grocery store! We are just going to try to familiarize him with some American foods that would be easy for a bachelor of his cooking caliber to make. Then we have tickets to Body Worlds at the Science Museum of Minnesota. We also plan to take him back to Chino Latinos, the restaurant Tara introduced us to. Dave and Lesley and Ajit may also join us, but are not positive yet. Call is screwing EVERYONE up! Dave and Lesley have a busy two weeks coming up and need to make sure they have everything in over first. Ajit also, wants to make sure he gets a good night sleep to prepare for the craziness of his next rotation which begins on Monday.

Okay so tonight or tomorrow morning, I will post some more pictures from our day in the cities with Bara. Tomorrow, he returns to Boston. Hopefully, we will be able to make a trip and visit him there sometime in the next year and a half.

Thank Goodness it's Friday

Last night, Tara and I decided to have a girl's night. We had plans to watch Beaches (which I have never seen) and just hang out and maybe get pedicures etc this morning. But everything got changed -- for the better. EVB, Nicole, and Tia (all classmates of Tara's and JB's) all ended up calling to see what Tara was doing (she is so popular!) and while Tia had to leave, EVB, Nicole, Tara, and I decided to go to TGI Fridays for dinner and then hung out back at Tara's after that. I spent the night at Tara's and then this morning we walked to the Farmer's Market where I got great looking rasberries, cherries, and JB's favorite -- a brandy wine tomato!

It is now about 12:30 on Saturday. JB just got home from being on call. He and Bara are hanging out, but John didn't get much sleep last night so he is going to take a nap. Tonight, we are having some friends over for dinner.

Here's a couple pictures (thanks Tara) from our dinner last night.

Tara and EVB

Nicole and myself

Hearts like Hannah

The support group I am apart of is a huge part of my life. Two woman at Christ Community Church and myself helped start this group we call "Hearts like Hannah". I know I haven't talked a lot about this group on the blog, but it is a very special part of my life, and I am so thankful for the people I have met through this group. Women who get pregnant are still welcome to attend, and we have had quite a few of our "members" go on to become moms. For example, one of our meetings we had nine women in attendance. Six of them now have a child. Here is an announcement for our upcoming meeting so you can see what it is we do. We meet quarterly and then meet for lunches inbetween our quarterly meetings.

Hearts Like Hannah ~ Infertility affects one in six marriages, yet remains one of the most overlooked and least understood issues facing Christian couples today. We want to invite you to join other women who are or who have been through what you are experiencing. We are a group of women all on different paths in this journey. Our next meeting is Monday, July 31at 6:00 p.m. at Caribou North (by Target). If you would like more information, please contact 282-5569 or heartslikehannah@cc-church.org.

Jb's Syrian meal (as best an American can do)

Here, as promised, are the pictures of JB's meal last night:

Baba ganoush. This is put on pita bread. It is pretty good. At first, Bara said it was not sour enough. With a little more lemon, he said JB got it just right.

This is actually dessert. These are actually quite tasty but very strange. They honestly taste like dried cotton candy with pistachios in the middle. Or maybe flavored rope. These were a gift from Bara.

Sambusak. The ones with meat were excellent. The ones with cheese were just so-so. Bara said that these were not totally authentic due to the bread that was used to make the dough. However, JB was unable to recreate that part of the dish.

Tabouleh. This is a salad. Everyone liked it but me. I thought it tasted like I was eating parsley. Maybe that's because it has a lot of parsley in it. Bara said it was very authentic.

The main dish: Moroccan Lamb Stew with Basmati Rice. This was delicious!

Tara and Bara (there names are pronounced in rhyme-style!) helping us with the meal.

We are now off to see Pirates of the Caribbean with the Ray family. I'll update you tomorrow!

One year Anniversary of "Life in the Polar North" blog

Today is the one year anniversary of my blog. I have 306 posts so that is pretty good especially considering in the beginning I only posted every few days.

In celebration, I thought I would link to my very first blog ever on July 13, 2005. Here it is:

First Blog Entry

In other news, Bara came in yesterday. It was great to see him again. Today he takes his big medical test down the street from out house.

JB made a great dinner last night, and Tara came over to eat with us. Later this evening I will try to post pictures from the food JB made. He attempted to make a Syrian meal of sorts, and Bara helped him figure out what he was doing right and not so right.

Tonight we plan to go see Pirates of the Caribbean with the Rays.

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.