Details from my follow-up...

So I had my 6-month checkup this past Wednesday for my thyroid and sugar levels. I was kinda nervous since I haven't really lost a lot of weight, maybe like 7 pounds, and I was already considered to be pre-diabetic. And these conditions really impact not only my ability to have kids, but to carry them to term without major health problems (and future health problems for myself).

When I finally saw my doc (an hour late; he was 5 patients behind when I got there) I was REALLY nervous. We talked about how I was feeling and such, like how was the stress level in my life (it was all I could do to not laugh at that question), what changes I've made (I've been eating a LOT better), etc. And when he asked about kids, I told him it would depend on what happened at the appt. And his response?

"Your thyroid levels are perfect, your blood sugar levels are perfect, and your cholesterol has dropped 26 points since May. All your blood work from your kidneys to your liver to your hormones are normal (yeah, they tested everything). If you want to go and have kids, there is no reason medically speaking why you can't."

Woooooo-hoooooooo!!!!!!! I was calling all my friends to tell them not only was I healthy, but that now kids look to be in the near future. :) Yes my friends, Craig and I think that we are as ready as we are ever going to be to have a couple of munchkins now. We'll probably start trying after the holidays and see what happens. All I care about is that both the baby and myself are healthy.

So that's my news for now. Thanks to everyone who has wished me well and prayed for me (mom). Love ya!

What I'm thankful for...

Sorry this is late, but Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I hope that you all had a fun and full holiday. We went over Angie's for dinner, along with my family and Max's, and it was so fun. Max's sister May taught me how to play Guitar Hero and I was totally hooked. But I've always been somewhat of a video game geek anyways...

Ahem, back to the original point of this post. This time of year usually makes me reflect on what I'm thankful for. So here is my list of what I'm thankful for this year:

-Craig and Milo, even though both can drive me completely bonkers I love them dearly.
-My mom and sisters. The real reasons I can make it through life and the definitions of survivors, to me.
-All of my family, from my cousin Monica in California to my aunts and uncle here. They all rock.
-Bill, Debbie, Brian, and Kim. I lucked out in the in-law department.
-My friends (you know who you are). You all not only let me lean on you, but you've helped carry me through life at times. I don't forget that.
-My relative good health (although I have my sugar and thyroid checkup on Wednesday so we'll see how that goes)
-My job. After 3 years of trying to move on up I finally did and am SO appreciative of it.
-My home, as time- and money-consuming as it may be. It means I have a place to sleep and be warm.
-Everything I've learned in the past two years that has made me as strong as I am today, and taught me that I am a lucky person despite what's happened in my life.

I hope that you all know what you're thankful for and are appreciative of it. I have one more thing that I'm thankful for that I'll post at the bottom.

Gobble gobble!

What I'm MOST thankful for this year:

Radio sucks!!!!

Ever since I was able to have my own desk, I was all excited to have my own radio to listen to music during the day (I LOVE music). What I quickly discovered is that THE SAME GODDAMN SONGS ARE PLAYED OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!!!!! Here is my current sh*t list of songs I cannot stand anymore due to overplaying:

"Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie
"Stronger" by Kanye West
"Ayo Technology" by Fiddy Cent
"Wait for You" by Elliot Yamin
"You and Your Hand" by Pink
"Who Knew?" by Pink

And that's the ones I can think of off the top of my head! I blame it on all the radio stations being owned by the same parent company and so they have the same playlists. So when I listen to 96 the same songs are on 104! And I'm not a huge fan of 92 during the day unless it's 90s rock. AND there is a station now playing Chrismtas songs full-time! It's gotten so bad that I find myself sometimes listening to OLDIES during the day. OLDIES!

Anyhoo that's my rant for the day. There's some vintage Snoop on the radio so I better listen while I can. :)

Cheerio!

Pictures, pictures, pictures!

Here are some pics from our downstairs remodel. There's a lot, since I've included before and after. It's pretty self-explanatory, so I'll add captions where needed.

Our old downstairs:





Our old blinds, or windows without blinds:


(Pic on left) Milo didn't like not being able to see outside, so he made his own window.



New shades:



Floor before carpet (Craig pulled up the old carpet before I could take pics, but it was a really old-looking grayish shag. And the stairs had a LIME GREEN shag. Literally.):





How to level a floor:



And ta-da!!!!




Close-up of the pattern:



Milo already likes to stretch on "his" carpet:

The final phase has begun...

Our new carpet is finally being installed as I type!!! Yippee!!! It was supposed to have been done this past Thursday, but the guy who did the measuring didn't let the installers know that part of the floor needed to be levelled. So they had to level on Thursday and are now finishing today. And once they are done I can finally post the before and after pics.

I think that after the carpet we're good on the projects for a while...money's getting a tad tight and I think we've done enough for one year: new landscaping, new front doors, and redo the living room area. Plus the holidays are here and I don't want a bunch of dust and debris all over my decorations. :)

I already have our projects lined up for next year: priority is the bathroom, since no matter what we do we keep getting mold in there. So that's probably in the spring. I do want to redo our bedroom ceiling...it's made of these cheap cardboard tiles and there's some water damage from when the roof leaked. And then the backyard. That REALLY needs to be done...it's totally unlevel and there's a ton of holes from roots we have found back there. Although that will be easier than the front yard, since I think we're going to hire someone to help with levelling and we're going to lay sod instead of plant seed. And I think we're going to put in a stone patio too...I grew up with both front and back porches, and it drives me crazy that I have nowhere to sit outside. So yay. :)

Anyhoo, I've gots to get going now and see how the carpet is going. Once the carpet is done I'm hoping to post some pics tonight.

Toodles!

Shot in the arm, the flu's to blame...

So the reason there hasn't been anything new for a while is multi-pronged: we've been finishing our downstairs area (once the carpet is installed on the 15th I'll post pics of our remodel), it's still crazy at work, and I've been sick. I don't think that I had the flu per se, although it started off like it. I think it started as a mild case of the flu, and then it segued into a sinus/respiratory infection. Basically I've been super congested so I've been coughing up a storm and blowing my nose 24/7. Plus I've been really tired from getting up during the night to cough and drink water.

I am feeling loads better now, especially since I went to the doc on Friday and he gave me the above diagnosis. Plus some high-dosage pills to break up the rest of the congestion. And I also had to get not one, but two shots: one a flu prevention and the other a pneumonia prevention (since I'm pre-diabetic I'm at a higher risk of catching pneumonia. Yeah, that was news to me too.). And my arm is sooooooooooo sore. Plus the meds are breaking up the congestion like they should be, so now I'm coughing even more. Poor Craig...he'd heard me do nothing to cough and sneeze and hack for the last week.

Anyhoo, I don't want to make this all about my health, so once I feel a bit better and have some time, I'll put up a more interesting post.

Stay healthy!