Obviously God is telling me SOMETHING!

He must want me to slow down.

I called into my GP's office today because I started having really bad kidney pain last night. They had me come in and I have a UTI. Oh, and I'm really dehydrated (which would explain being lethargic but not able to sleep unless I take a sleeping or pain pill!). So, I'm now on an antibiotic, in addition to the Ibuprofen. And I was told to "drink until you float." Fabulous.

We did manage to get to the store this morning, too. I now have a fridge full of healthy food! David is going to cook 3 different meals tonight (I'm hoping I can help a little bit), so that we both have things we can reheat over the next couple days.

David's new insurance kicks in August 1st. We have some infertility coverage. So, now he is going to check into the preexisting condition clause. If it's not long, or we can squeak by because he hasn't "officially" been diagnosed as infertile yet, then he is going to wait until then to do the next S/A. If it's bad, or will somehow fall under preexisting, then he's going to do it next week. But, since we actually have coverage now, we know we are ready to go with whatever we need to do!

David's brother, Matt, left for basic training today. Matt and David have had a very tough relationship. Matt did not come to our wedding. He showed up at the reception to eat and take his wife home. But, I think this is really bothering David. He will be gone for 14 weeks, and then he will be stationed *somewhere*. It's Army, so it won't be Omaha. I think the closest would be Ft. Riley in Kansas, but I'm not sure.

Back on the program!

Well, David and I finally went back to Weight Watchers. We haven't been in a month! And we both knew how well it worked, and we were watching ourselves slip into our old habits. While I was sitting on the couch for the last week ~ not making healthy choices ~ I decided that I would do it. I told David, "I'm going back. I hope you'll join me, but if you're not ready to change your life, I understand." His reply: "When are we going?"

We chose yesterday morning because the leader we like the best only does Monday @ 10:30 and Thursday @ 5:15. David will be working Thursday, so we went for Monday. I have lost 6 lbs since last weigh in ~ probably because I've been sick and haven't been eating much. David gained, but he knew he would. And he didn't gain it all back, so that was the good news.

We head to California for my grandparent's anniversary party on August 1st. I won't be pregnant like my "perfect" cousin, so damn it, I'm going to be thin! I have a gift card left over from my birthday, so I'm treating myself to a dress for the party. Once I find the perfect dress, I'll post a picture of it.

Today, my daily outing is the grocery store. Doesn't sound very exciting, but I am really happy about it! Fruits and veggies will be around the house again. We're going to cook a few meals that are easy to reheat for David and I since he has to work tomorrow and Thursday, and I am still not up to cooking by myself.

I re-vamped the look of my bio, too. #1 - I was bored. #2 - I want my weight ticker where I can see it. I'm gonna post before and current pics shortly. I just need to find them on my computer. Hopefully I didn't delete them.

I'm also hoping I can get back to the gym soon. I miss it. But, obviously, not really up to it yet. I thought about trying a swim class, but now my kidneys are hurting, so it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Maybe by the end of the week or early next week...

So, ready or not, weight loss: here I come!

Say it 5 times fast!

Okay, ready? Here's your phrase:
Epiploic Appendagitis

Oh, I forgot to mention - you have to pronounce it right too! Can't? Well, that's okay. Either can I. But, that's what I have. So, here's the run down of my week:
Saturday night: severe abdominal pain, passed clot. In ER for 6 hrs; CT, b/w, u/a. All clean. *possible* stone passing ~ somewhere near bladder at the time.
Sunday: very lethargic. David took me back to ER. 4 hrs; b/w, u/a. Nadda. Genious Dr thinks it's abdominal wall pain. Gave me an Rx for Vicadin. Didn't fill because David had to work tonight.
Monday: more pain, very lethargic. David told me to try Ibuprofen before the Vicadin. Didn't help. Got the Vicadin. Didn't help either.
Tuesday: went to GP because I was so weak. No pain today, though. She has no clue. Radiologist's review of CT confused even her! Said to call if anything changed.
Wednesday: Pain came back with a vengeance after I ate breakfast. Called GP. Go get u/s Thursday morning. Pain got worse throughout the day. Spent another 8 hrs in ER. Had u/s done. Came back perfectly clean. Given Percoset for pain ~ no more Vicadin.
This morning: All of 3 hrs of sleep. Hurt like hell. Called GP. Fought with nurse to talk to dr. Finally talked to dr. Go to ER, get admitted. Showed up at ER. 5 hrs later, sent home with "diagnosis."

So, here's what it breaks down to: Around your colon, there are these little nodules. Everybody has them. Sometimes, they get twisted and inflamed, causing severe pain. This can be mistaken for appendicitis or diverticulosis. So, I'm taking 600mg Ibuprofen 3x a day for a week as an anti-inflamatory and some pain relief. If I have extra pain, I can take Percoset every 6 hours. If it continues or gets worse even with all this, I get to go back again and say, "Idiots, you were wrong! Now figure this out."

But, for now, the pain is better. It comes and goes ~ especially after I eat or move around alot. Puppies are at daycare (since I thought I was going to be staying longer than 6 hours this time), and David comes home in the morning! Unfortunately, this is his weekend to work, so he's gone again Saturday morning.

So, off to bed I go! I feel pretty good right now ~ bag of fluids, strong pain killers at hospital, meal at Village Inn, and first dose of Ibuprofen ~ what could be better?!?

What a shitty weekend!

Last night was the weirdest thing ever... Let me preface this with it might be kinda TMI, but what the hell... here's your warning!

I don't know if this is "normal," but I usually pass small tissue or clot-like "stuff" when AF is visiting but never until the 3rd or 4th day. Well, on Thursday (6 Days Past Ovulation), I had severe nausea, tender breasts, exhaustion, moody..... and I don't usually start spotting until 9DPO (on average), so I thought, maybe, just maybe, the miracle could happen! Friday (7DPO), woke up spotting. Of course. I woke up yesterday morning with full flow (also not normal - usually have 2-3 days of spotting), but thought maybe the increased peeing because I had a couple drinks for the 4th had "pushed" it through... Last night, around 7, I passed the biggest piece of tissue I have ever passed. Almost immediately, my right abdominal area began feeling like I was about to ovulate, but worse. I got really lethargic and nauseous, and David was out of town.. so, I had a friend take me to the ER. I had talked to David and told him what was going on. I had no clue what I was feeling, but something didn't feel right. What if we had managed to get pregnant and I was losing the baby? What if it was an eptopic or something? David was worried about Appendicitis. A pelvic exam, b/w, u/a, and CT all showed absolutely nothing except a small stone making it's way through my system....

This morning, I woke up, feeling even more drained. David was home today, and could tell how uncomfortable I was. He decided to take me back for MORE b/w, and they did a clean cath (since my u/a obviously had blood because of AF). Everything is perfectly fine. They think it's muscular. David said I'm probably exhausted because my muscles hurt so bad. And it's probably my body's way of passing this stone... They did give an Rx (although nothing at the hospital either time), which I decided not to fill since I'm home alone again tonight (don't want to be completely doped up when I'm by myself). Took some ibuprofen and an hour nap... 4 bottles of water later, the pain is gone, but still lacking energy. I'm headed to bed shortly...

So, I'm not, nor was I ever, pregnant. I really don't ever want to suffer the pain of a miscarriage. But, I actually caught myself sad that that WASN'T what was happening. At least then I would have known that we CAN get pregnant.

Totally pointless blog... thanks for reading. Now I'm going to bed.

3 years ago and other news...

Yesterday marked an important date for David and I! 3 years ago (July 4, 2005), I got my first email from him on Yahoo!personals! I wasn't looking for anything serious.. to meet some guys, go on a few dates, and yes, eventually find the man I wanted to spend my life with. I was still reeling from the ending of my previous relationship, and had had a few dates go bad. So, I really wanted to move slow before I met anyone. I was scared to do the "online thing," but I was willing to give it a shot!

David found my profile and emailed me to say hi and hope I had a great 4th! I read his profile, thought he was cute, so decided to email back... and so it continues.... We talked on the phone for about 2 weeks before we actually met on Aug. 27th, and everything just worked out....

We feel like we've known each other for our entire lives. We were laying in bed last night talking about everything, and it was just nice to talk about our past and how things happened for us.

The 4th was nice last night. My dad came over for hamburgers and brats. We hung out and watched the neighbor's illegal fireworks. The puppies did really good! Jazz was the only one really nervous from start to finish. Max started getting nervous when they did the first BIG boom. Chewy and Sam hung out in the kitchen and watched through the door (we had it open so they could come and go). They preferred staying inside, but enjoyed watching the excitement from where they were! Toby and Allie played outside until I made them go in (an ember flew into our yard, and it made me nervous). Later, they came back out and continued their game of Chase the Firefly!

And in not so happy news... my period started this morning. So, we have to wait another month before we can do anything medical. And then, we have to make the decision: do we wait until January? On David's insurance, I will have to use doctors in Winterset, Creston, or W. Des Moines. I might be able to do one in Council Bluffs (I need to look at the book). If we go forward with Clomid + IUI, which is what my current OB says we will do if David's S/A comes back better, we will both have to be ready and "available" at a drop of a hat. When my OPK reads positive, David will have to go "do the deed" the next morning. What if he is in Greenfield? And he wants to be with me when I have the procedure. So, pray for a miracle, will you? I'm going to temp and do the OPKs this month. Maybe we can hit it on our own!

So, this has gotten ridiculously long (I'm sure), so I'll end it here. I hope all of you had a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

Puppy Bath Time!

When we got Toby (seems like ages ago), we thought we would give him a bath every week. He loved his baths! It worked, but usually once every other week, especially as we got closer to the wedding... then we got Max. Max HATED baths. Let me emphasize the HATE in there. I would come out of THAT experience looking like I had just walked through a rose bush or something. But, if I tried to do Toby first, he would jump back INTO the tub (needing to be redone because he would get all dirty again). We got Allie... a bath on occasion, but not very often. Sam, Chewy, Jazz... yeah, they haven't ever had a bath in our house!

Well, we knew the time would come when somebody would get SO dirty, they would have to have a bath. That time came last night. David likes to squirt the dogs with the hose to cool them off - Toby and Chewy love it! Everybody else likes it if it's in their pool (yes they have a pool, but Chewy chewed a hole in it, so it's deflated now). But, our garden hose has a leak in it. Positioned directly over a hole, compliments of Max, we have a very dangerous muddy situation!

Sam saw the water and thought she wanted to play. This is what she ended up looking like:

And if you don't know Sam, she has a white snout and 4 white paws. This is her on a regular day.. Pay attention to the white!



So, back to the story at hand...
Chewy was pretty muddy also, so I decided to give just these two a bath! Well, what do you know... Toby JUMPED into the tub! It was covered in mud, so then he was disgusting and needed a bath. My loving, "helpful" husband suggested everybody get a bath since I was already drenched. Sam and Chewy had not been as excited about the bath as Toby.

So, everybody got a bath! Jazz and Max absolutely hate it! Sam and Chewy tolerated it once I was working on them (left in the tub by themselves, they both tried to jump out). Allie was a very patient girl! And Toby... well, let's just say I caught him in the tub again this morning after I got out of the shower! He loves to be wet! Here are some pictures to illustrate the pain we go through...

Jazz being tortured...

Max trying to escape while Jazz is being tortured...

Chewy waiting for Daddy to get done drying Sam off so he can get out!

Allie avoiding the soap!

Toby LOVES his bath! Look at that smile!

So, after each one gets washed, they have to get dried! The problem with dogs with hair is that they take forever to dry. So, we use a towel, dry them off a little.. then, the main reason I even own a blow dryer... the dogs get a "spa treatment" from Daddy! Toby illustrates (only because he was the only one who sat relatively still enough for me to get a good pic)...


Then, they are free to roam... Sam chose to stay in the bathroom and sit on clothes. I think she was mad at me, but didn't want to get in trouble in the living room like everybody else!


And of course, what Spa Day wouldn't be complete without a quick tooth brushing? More or less, I'm just trying to keep the plaque down, and brushing their teeth is cheaper than giving them a rawhide or chewy bone every day! Allie likes the toothpaste, so she tends to lick it off before I actually start brushing:


Ahhh... the exciting lives we lead!

Scary Storm!

This year has been crazy for Omaha and storms. Last night marked the 3rd severe storm. Last storm was 2 weeks ago and 3 boyscouts were killed. The storm before that was the night of the 7th. Nobody was killed, but tornadoes were sighted (if I remember correctly).

Thankfully, no tornadoes were sighted last night, but the storm really came out of nowhere. I was still at the shop when the storms came through Council Bluffs. Right about 5:00, we went outside to check the skies.

This was to the Southwest ~ basically looking into Omaha. Carter Lake would be to your right (north). It started with strong winds, then an insane amount of rain and hail. Before we knew it, the hail stopped and the rain went to a sprinkle. We ran to the basement thinking the tornado was coming, and our power was out so we couldn't watch the news. But, thankfully, nothing.

Some of it melted, but you can see the size of some of the hail we had.

Not everyone was so lucky...There were 2 fatalities in Omaha. The two boys and the girl who survived all were from Council Bluffs. A freak accident, and so absolutely heart-wrenching. I can't imagine what the girl must be feeling.

After the storm cleared Council Bluffs and I felt safe to drive home, I headed that way. Alot of streets were flooded, but I made it home safely. David had gone on a rescue call. A man on a motorcycle was hit by a falling tree. He was alive when they got to the hospital, so hopefully he made it.

The Qwest center got damage as well. They lost part of their siding and one of their statues broke. What a mess! But, according to the paper, they are going on with the Olympic Trials starting tomorrow.



We had power in the house, but this greeted us in the backyard:

You can't tell, but it was the top of our biggest tree in the yard. It is as tall (or wide - whatever you want to call it) as me, and about 10 feet long. We're going to worry about it on Monday (David had to work this weekend). And we had mild flooding in our yard, which is somewhat normal when we get alot of rain.

David decided to go on the fire truck and do a quick survey around the city to make sure everything was okay. Sheila and I went to Baker's to get something for dinner. She wanted to stop and check on her son, daughter-in-law, and twin granddaughters. I'm nto quite sure where we were at (she took back roads to get there), but it's in East Omaha, I think around 16th and Leavenworth, but I could be wrong.

This was outside of their apartment building. The truck belongs to their neighbor. Nobody was in the vehicle when the tree fell.

So, I guess the point of this blog, besides showing friends/family from out-of-state is make sure your loved ones know how much you care for them. You never know when the last time you see them will be.