Some good old vintage whine

Here I am at the end of another work day. It's still a little early for me to go home. Mostly because Husband and I carpool and he's not here yet. However, my brain is done. So completely done. I feel surrounded by problems right now. None of which are under my control. All of which are impacting me. Grrr.

Yesterday I called a sex hotline in a meeting on speaker phone with about nine men in the room. It was one number different than the conference bridge we use. I should've known something was wrong when the recording started off with a woman saying "Hey there sexy gentleman" but I just thought my company was trying some radically different advertisement campaign. Then I started to verify the number because the number I had dialed was still on the display. Then the recording woman informed all the sexy gentlemen that there were h@rny girls waiting to talk to them right now. That's when I frantically started mashing buttons to hang up the phone. Why it took me that long to figure out what I'd done, I don't know. It's the first time I've ever called a sex hotline.

I'm in homebody mode right now. I just want to be home. I want to do things at home and be in my surroundings. I want to make another pie (pumpkin this time!), I want to do my workout, I want to do my laundry, play my computer games, watch my anime, read my books, listen to my music, finish my Christmas cards, organize the sofa table, the list goes on. (and on and on)

It will be Sunday before I get the kind of time in my house that I want. Sunday. That's not until next month.

Tonight I'll get home, start the deviled steak, switch the laundry, workout, shower, eat (while watching anime), then it will probably be time for my pre-bed reading which is followed up by going to bed. Sigh. Just not enough time. I do not know how working mothers get it all done, I really don't.

Habit Forming: Exercise and Bible Reading II

Exercise habit is going great! I'm enjoying my XBOX as I type :)

I'm gradually increasing the duration of exercise each day, but I still only need 10 minutes to qualify for XBOX time. There are some evenings when 10 minutes is just all I can do.

Here are my sources for exercise:

• 10-minute solutions: Pilates (video)
  
• The T Tapp basic workout (video)
• Wii Fit
• www.bodyrock.tv (awesome!)
• jogging (C25K iPhone app)
• walking (as a cool down)
• bikini bootcamp (book)

As I may have posted earlier, I've completed the Bible. Now I want to reread it and record the verses that I particularly like or find interesting. I just need to buy the journal.

TTC: How many is too many?

Monday I had four follicles.

Today I have twenty. TWENTY.

The probability that I would get pregnant from an IUI cycle shot up dramatically.

So did the probability that I would have multiples. And we aren't just talking twins.

Since Husband and I aren't comfortable with selective reduction, there will be no IUI this round.

I was very disappointed with this news and I cried some.

However, really bad news would be no response at all. At least we know that the shots work for me. I just need less.

There's always an upside!

TTC: Update

I've started the shots.

I went in last Friday to checkout the ovaries one more time. The cysts were gone.

I took my first shot Friday evening. Husband gave it to me. I'm a chicken.

Saturay, Husband wasn't home. It was just me and my friend Abby (not her real name). I first tried to convince Abby to give me the shot. I could tell she really didn't want to. She had given her sister one of her fertility shots. According to her sister, Abby doesn't do well with giving shots. But, according to any older sister, the younger sister doesn't do anything well, so I was willing to give her a try. In Abby's words, her sister can't stop being her sister, but I could stop being her friend.

So, Abby was out.

That left only me.

Me and a large syringe with a seemed-small-at-first-but-not-so-much-now needle. Strange how a needle seems large only when you have to stick it into your stomach.

After eleven minutes of deep breathing, staring at my stomach and counting to three several (several) times, I finally stuck it in. Only it didn't go all the way in. So I pulled it out. I then had to stick it in again and push until it was all the way in.

When I finally did it, I realized that I'm a drama chicken. It's really not that bad. It doesn't hurt at all. The dose I'm taking is so small, it doesn't even leave a bump.

So there we are. I've had three shots and went in today to see how the ovaries are reacting. It looks like there are four that are doing well. Now, the probability that all four will get fertilized and implanted is low. Heck, even the probability that one will get fertilized and implanted is low.

Something about doing the shots makes it seem like we leveled up in the fertility game. Like, now we are serious. Now we are in the big leagues.

It's exciting.

Habit forming: Exercise

Yes. You read that right. Exercise.

I feel like my lunch habit is under control. I'm reliably packing my lunch and not eating out more than twice a week. Creating a habit of exercise has been my Everest. And I am finally going to conquer it! I have a plan! And I have a really good rewards system! My rewards system is my barefooted sherpa who doesn't need oxygen and can, literally, metabolize thin air.

So far I've exercised every day this week for 10 minutes.

Side note: Some of you may be scoffing at only exercising for 10 minutes. But, if you take the number of minutes I exercised last week, multiplied that by infinity, it would still be less than 10 minutes. So, in a very mathematical sense, I've increased the time I spend exercising by infinity percent. So there!

I even got my 10 minutes in on Monday night when I got home late and had to cook dinner (oriental cabbage rolls, yum).

What's my secret? Video games, Netflix and Hulu. I'm not allowed to enjoy any of them on a weekday unless I've exercised. I only get them on the weekend if I exercised all five days that week.
Very. Motivating.

I shall see how this goes. If it goes well, then I'll start increasing the duration of exercise. As it it, I have sore abs and thighs. Yes, I'm that out-of-shape.

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.