Camping and other stuff

We went camping this past weekend and it was great! We bought a new tent, one that could fit our air mattress this time, and discovered that our air mattress leaks badly and ended up sleeping on the ground anyway. Again.

Our new tent is water tight. We got a bit of rain. We were predicted to have 50 mph winds and hail, but we stuck it out. This is Texas. Weather is iffy. We knew that a prediction for hail could mean perfectly clear skies, or wrath-of-God style hail with tornadoes. We got the former.

Highlights of camping out: bacon and eggs cooked over a fire in the morning, falling asleep to the sound of the breeze through the cottonwood leaves, seeing the non-Texans react to the armadillo that visited us each night, building a fire from the previous night's coals, time with friends.

Also, I think the video game, Culdcept, is one of the best things to happen to me a long time. The game is made up of short segments, boardgame style. So after my turn, I have to wait for my opponents to have their turns. During this time, I get up and do stuff. My house is a lot tidier. My laundry is pretty much caught up. My lunch gets packed. It's awesome. Who knew playing a video game would bring out the adult in me?

Oh my goodness, am I becoming a lady?

I'm reading a guest post over at Empowered Traditionalist. It's on being a "lady," which I have never considered myself to be. Am I a capable woman? yes. Am I a professional? most of the time, yes. Do I embrace my femininity? yes. (Except when I wear men's sweat pants. That's not so feminine.) But I have never considered myself to be a lady. To me a lady has a house that is always perfect. Knows how to always look just-so. Can hostess any event. Is always polite. Is never offensive.

But then I read this:

"Whether or not you wear linen after Labor Day, the essence of being a lady is an others-oriented mindset. A lady is both regimented and flexible; compassionate and strong. A lady reaches out to others by disciplining herself."

Hmm. Regimented flexibility and self discipline is exactly what I'm trying to instill in my life. Maybe I'm trying to become a lady without even realizing it. Of course, this really hinges on the definition of the word.

But there is also this little list:

• A lady always respects other people’s time whether at the office or at home
  That I do! Always!
  
• A lady returns any item she borrows in a timely manner
  Hmmm. No so much. My fix, I don't borrow.
  
• A lady never points out the imperfections of her mate to others
  Epic. Fail.
  But I'm working on it.
  
• A lady turns off her cell phone at an event or dinner out
  Yeah! I do this!
  
• A lady uses her turn signals when driving
  That's not being a lady. That's just not being a moronic ass-wipe. (Typing ass-wipe probably precludes me from ladyship.)
  
• A lady does not wear clothes so revealing they embarrass others
  Um. I don't think I do this. Some people have been aghast at the whiteness of my legs.
  
• A lady does not wear linen before Easter nor after Labor Day
  Done! I don't own linen.
  
• A lady does not brag, whine, nag, or gossip
  Hmmm. Well. Anyway.

So, I think my point is that maybe I'm on my way to being my version of what a lady is. Maybe being a lady doesn't mean having a museum perfect house, but a house that is welcoming. Maybe ladies aren't perfect hostesses, but are willing to hostess and show hospitality. Maybe she isn't perfectly dressed all the time but just takes pride in her appearance.

I'm not giving up my men's sweat pants, though.

TTC: Update

I started my new cycle last Thursday. I had an ultrasound to check out the ovaries on Friday. I had called ahead so they knew I wanted to start the shots this cycle if the timing was okay.

Turns out I have a cyst on my left ovary. Which means I didn't ovulate last cycle (no surprise there). It also means that I can't take fertility shots this cycle. I'm taking a low level birth control pill in order to dissolve the cyst.

So, we get another break. We are going to be camping on the days we would've needed to go in for IUI's anyway. Now I don't have to stress over whether to push the IUI's out or to cancel our trip. And Husband gets another month of his shots. The more, the better in that arena.

On to the next cycle!

Habit forming: Bringing my lunch

Good news! I got my chicken salad made last night and have my lunch made for the next two days!

Husband has perfected the chicken system. We buy a whole chicken every two weeks. He will use our rotisserie oven to make delicious roasted chicken with crunchy skin and juices (drools...). We usually eat a quarter to a half of the chicken the night it is roasted. Then he will pull all the remaining chicken meat off the bones. All the rest of the chicken (bones and skin) goes into the big crockpot with some onions, celery, carrots, bay leaves, etc. This is simmered for 24 hours. Soooo yummy.

Anyway, we almost always have some cooked chicken meat in the fridge. I use this for casseroles like King Ranch Chicken or pot pies. But now, I've started making what I call Fridge Chicken Salad.

I cut up the chicken and put it in the food processor. Then I add things that I have in the fridge (or pantry). The first time I did this it was homemade ranch dressing an roasted red peppers. Last night I used some celery, mayo, mustard, cracked pepper and homemade pickle relish. Pulsed it a few times to mix. Now I have about 2.5 cups of chicken salad. That's enough for a few sandwiches. If I could get this done on Sunday, then I would have a week's worth of lunch ready to go.

I'm feeling very proud of myself at the moment.

TTC and other stuff

Last night I was researching adoption from Poland. I followed that up with research on fertility shots for women. I'm going to talk to my physician about starting up shots this next round. Husband's shots are going well. I'm very hopeful that we will get to have twins. Fingers crossed!

This past weekend we went to Dallas to celebrate the birthday of a friend. We had a great time and ate a lot of food. I discovered maple blueberry sausage. Absolutely delicious!

I planted lettuces in a container and guess what they are doing? They are growing! Just like happy little plants. I've even eaten some of them! And, and, my green bean plant? It is growing! Even has very tiny green beans on it! Oh, the joy! I'm growing vegetables! I'm not really sure why this makes my cup of joy overflow, but it does.

I need to make snacks for bible study tomorrow night.
I have no idea what to make.
I will have to spend some time on recipezaar.com today. I might even head over to pioneer woman.

I'm currently working on habit forming. I think I probably will be for the rest of my life. Right now I'm trying to form the habit of bringing my lunch. Luckily, my fantastic brother-in-law bought an XBOX game for me for my birthday. I *love* this game. So, I use it as my incentive/reward to bring my lunch. Starting Monday, if I eat out three times during the week, I don't get to play my game again until the next Monday. That means I miss a weekend of playing. Argh! I'm on week 2 of this and so far, so good. Today is a bit of a hiccup. I was running late and hadn't made my lunch and decided this will be day #2 of eating out.

Next up on the habit forming is exercise.

Bible reading is still going strong. I just finished 2 Peter this morning. I only have 5 books to go. Then I'm going to start over with Genesis and take notes.