TWENTY QUESTIONS {09.30.2015}

It's almost October and to end this month, I thought I would do something fun and different than my normal, everyday blog post. I was catching up, aka binge reading, the Momentary Moments blog by Sara Holt when I read this post. I figured it was fun and different so I figured I'd give it a try.

 

1. Favorite Food? Does ice-cream count? No, ok well I guess it would be Chick-fil-A's amazing and delicious chicken nuggets. Seriously, I cannot live with out Chick-fil-A.

 

2. High heels or flip flops? I love high heels but I don't always wear them just simply because I'm a klutz. Flip-flops are my go-to for the weekend or when I'm not doing anything "fancy."

 

3. Favorite places to shop? Hobby Lobby is my favorite home décor place, but as far as clothes go, I love JC Penney's, mostly because aside from the clothes, they always have a Sephora in them and I love stopping in and rummaging through all the new and fun makeup items.

 

4. Standard coffee order? Well, I don't drink coffee, *gasp*, I know it's hard to believe but I have never liked the taste, but it does smell amazing. However, I love Starbucks and anytime I see one, I will order a Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino! *yum*

 

5. Must-have road snack? Pretzels, Flamin' Hot Funyuns, or Beef Jerky. I also enjoy fruits but they are sometimes messy and hard to manage if driving.

 

6. DIY or hire it out? I am a firm DIYer. I love being crafty, although I'm not always the best at it, I still really enjoy it. I look forward to buying our first home just so I can get in there and DIY-remodel everything!

 

7. Top 5 TV shows? Right now, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Scream Queens, American Horror Story, Difficult People, and any home remodeling, home buying, or just home related shows.

 

8. Favorite Book? The Great Gatsby! And you can bet that I own the movie and love it. It definitely helps that the main character is played by one of my favorite actors. But aside from the movie, I absolutely adore the book. The first time I read it, I was obsessed with it. The writing just seems to pull me in and I can't seem to put it down, no matter how many times I read it.

 

9. Favorite form of exercise? I used to love cardio. I thought that was the only way to lose weight, but after I really started working out and getting into a better routine at the gym, I realized that I prefer anything with weights. If I had to choose a favorite machine, that would be the Smith Machine.

 

10. How tall are you? Last time I checked, about 5 foot 2.

 

11. Do you try something new at restaurants or stick to favorites? Typically I will stick to my favorites but every now and then, if I'm feeling brave or adventurous, I will step out of my comfort zone and find a new favorite.

 

12. One makeup item you can't live without? Mascara. Forget everything else, I would not be able to enjoy putting on makeup if I couldn't have mascara.

 

13. What's on your nightstand? Right now, mostly TTC items such as essential oils for infertility, Progesterone tablets, my basal body thermometer, and of course my cell phone charger.

 

14. One thing infertility/TTC journey has taught you? I've learned that trusting in God is the most important thing. Even more, praying to Him and just having faith to know that He will provide and He will keep His promises for us to "go forth, be fruitful, and multiply." I hold on to His words and promises dearly.

 

15. Music that reminds you of high school? This may be showing my age a little bit, but I remember Fall Out Boy. Although I loved all forms of music, they were, at the time, growing into the band they are today. I loved that there were only few people who listened to them and liked them, now the whole world knows who they are and I feel they have become more commercialized so I don't really listen to them as much.

 

16. If you could live anywhere in the world, other than your current city, where would it be? On one hand, I'd love to live in Europe, like Paris, Germany, or Italy, but on the other hand I'd love to live somewhere else like Canada, Australia, or even stay in the states and live in Hawaii.

 

17. Something about you we might not know? I am a total nerd for movies like The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Twilight Saga, to the point that I only want to go to Universal to spend the entire time in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

 

18. Websites you read/browse besides blogs? Google! I could spend hours just searching through Google. Best part is, you can start out searching one thing and then end up somewhere completely off the beaten path. Google is an online adults play land.

 

19. Morning person or night owl? During the weekends, I am morning all the way. During the week, I am looking forward to night time. Overall, I would say I'm more of a morning person, because I don't mind waking up early, but when it comes time for bed, I'm not missing out!

 

20. What's your best feature? Oh geez, I would say my eyes...I have always gotten compliments on them growing up and as I've gotten older, I've learned to appreciate just how much your eyes can do. I like that they can tell people if I'm happy, sad, angry, or outgoing. Like they say, "the eyes are the window to the soul."

 

Well guys, that's my post for today. Thanks for reading!

WEEKEND RECAP {09.28.2015}

Well, we are just two days away from October and this weekend was a blast. Probably the best way to celebrate the last weekend in September. Friday night we spent time with the family at Willie's Icehouse to celebrate E's mom's birthday. We laughed and enjoyed quality family time. Saturday, E had to go to school to make up for the days he missed while we were cruising, so I spent most of the morning catching up on sleep and then headed off for a pampering session. After a long TTC week, a nice pedicure and nails. This is literally the first time I have gotten short, rounded nails. I usually go for short, square. It's also extremely rare, if ever, that I get a color rather than white tip. Saturday afternoon we headed over to E's parents house to help remodel and "fix it up." His mom has been saying for months that she wanted to finish the guest bath, kitchen, and paint the living room/dining room. I told her that it wasn't going to get done unless we actually did it, so E and I assisted. His mom and I were able to paint the whole living room and dining room in just a few hours. Although we do have several spots to go over since we couldn't reach, but overall, we managed to get it done. E worked with his dad on the guest bath and got quite a lot done. There is just a few more pieces left but they have to measure and cut the wood and it's being extremely difficult. Afterwards, we enjoyed some Chinese food at the dining table together. It was really nice getting to have dinner with E's parents without the TV. Although we were all worn out, it was nice just getting some one-on-one time with them.

Sunday, we woke up and burst out the door for church. Our church is about fifteen minutes from our apartment and it's a nice, country drive. The service was amazing and I was bawling. There was a video of a couple who struggled with infertility, had a miscarriage, and are now blessed with twins. I feel like that was a sign from God. Really and truly. I feel like that message was for me. Not that I have any doubts in Him or His plan, and I certainly am not in the position I was when we experienced our first miscarriage, but after this long week of TTC, the only thing left to do is pray and pray and pray. Pray that this round worked, but more importantly that we will have a healthy baby. Ironically, this isn't the only sign this weekend. Saturday night, we were laying in bed and turned on the TV, first show that came on was SteamPunk'd, mind you we had never seen this show before, but yet the first episode we watched was about baby nurseries. I laughed and looked at E and he knew exactly what I was thinking. After church, we headed home to watch the Texans game, and they won! While E enjoyed the game, I napped in the bedroom. I needed it. I had so much sleep catching up to do from the week prior, so it was really great being able to nap. Later that day we headed to the grocery store, grabbed our My Fit Foods for the next few days and before going to bed, we watched the new season premier of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It really was a wonderful weekend and now I am looking forward to the upcoming weekend. Aside from it being the first weekend in October, we have some fun plans and I can't wait to share them with you.

iPhone Photo Dump • Weekend Addition

Pampering - most relaxing two hours ever!

 The color, I'm in love.

 Before the Blood Orange Moon, we got gorgeous sky views. Looked just like a watercolor painting. God can make thing so beautiful!

 Here is the items you'll need for the Mason Jar DIY. Mason Jars, hot glue gun, glue sticks, pile of real or fake leaves, and a mini candle. I decided to use real ones because big Texas trees equals big gorgeous fall leaves.

Here is the final product. I just love the way it turned out and plan on making more. Although I think I may buy some of the fake mini candles, that way I can put these all around the house at night and not have to worry about it burning my house down.

 

 

OPK | CYCLE DAY 16 : CLOMID YEAR 2 • ROUND 3 {09.25.2015}

 Technically, you will not see an OPK from CD 16 because I stopped testing after my positive OPK. Typically, when using the ClearBlue Digital, after a positive you are no longer able to test so I figured I would use the same "process" with the Answer tests. After today, I will only have one more day of BDing and then Sunday, CD 18, I will begin Progesterone as well as the Two Week Wait. Anyways, here is the last OPK and cycle update.

 

OPK | CYCLE DAY 16 : CLOMID YEAR 2 • ROUND 3 

 

*top to bottom* 

CD11 (11am) - negative, very faint

CD11 (6 pm)- negative, extremely faint

CD12 (11am)- negative, line is getting darker but is still faint

CD12 (6 pm) - negative, very faint

CD13 (11 am)- negative, getting darker but still faint

CD13 (6 pm)- negative, very faint
CD14 (11am) - negative, darker than CD 13 but faint

CD14 (9pm) - negative, very faint
CD15 (5am) - negative, waiting for the positive knowing that O is close
CD15 (10am) - positive, as dark as the control line
*ovulation took place on CD15; last OPK @ 10am*

*side by side comparison of morning OPKs*

In this photo you can see the progression to O. They were getting slightly darker but not nearly as dark as the morning of CD15 when I ovulated.
 

***********Cycle Update Below***********
 

Fertility Chart

This cycle I tried to pay attention to the signs my body was giving me in terms of my CM. The day my temperature dipped is also the day that I received a positive OPK so I know O took place between 11am on CD 14 and 10am on CD15. My temp will need to rise for two more days before the Fertility Friend app will recognize that CD 15 was O day.

Ovia Fertility Monitor

I think I've been on "12 days until pregnancy test" for about two days now. Every day, the Ovia app tries to update the information so I never know what it's doing but I do like that it gives you cycle information and uses your cycle data to give you notes about certain things that take place.

Sperm Meets Egg Plan

•{Pineapple Core}

Start on Cycle day 16

9/25
*start only after positive OPK*

•{Two Week Wait}

Cycle days 18 thru 30

9/27 thru 10/09

•{HPT}

Cycle days 30 thru 35

10/09 thru 10/14

•{Progesterone}

Start on Cycle day 18

9/27