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Random update....

I had acupuncture yesterday!!!! More to come later!!!! Going to see Jason Mraz in concert tonight....yes, you can be jealous!!!!! Peace out y'all!!!!! :)
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9/11

Not sure if all y'all in blog-land will be blogging about 9/11/01 today, but I felt like it.

This morning I turned the TV on to see if anyone was reporting on the tragedy that happened eight years ago today. Eight years! I can' t believe it's been that long! It really seems like it happened last year. So, I turned on the tv and the Today Show wasn't talking about it and neither was Good Morning America....go figure, I had to go to the Fox News Channel to see anything about it. They had special tributes and moments of silence and everything you would expect to see today. When I was flipping through the channels and looking at what was going on it was almost as if no one was remembering what happened. Not that we should be dwelling on the past, but I think that today is a day to always remember. It was said the day that this tragedy took place that it was another "Day that will live in infamy".....it certainly will be the day of infamy for my generation. It is really like our "Pearl Harbor" for those of us old enough to remember what happened on this day eight years ago.

I will never forget......
I was working at AT&T Wireless at the time. 9/11/01 was the year anniversary of my employment there. I worked the 2-11 shift and was sleeping when the first plane hit..... My mom has always been an early riser and when she woke up she turned on the tv and it was all over the stations. I remember her coming into my room bawling her eyes out and saying "Sarah, someone has bombed the world trade center in New York". At first I didn't know what she was talking about, all I wanted to do was sleep, but I woke up and walked into my parents bedroom. My dad was sitting on the edge of the bed and my mom was curled up on her side of the bed still crying. I was in a groggy state of shock. It was like watching a movie because it didn't seem real at all! We just sat there with eyes wide open. There were tears and gasps as we watched footage of the second plane hitting the other tower....to this day when I watch it happen I just cannot believe it actually happened. I got up and called my ex-boyfriend (boyfriend at the time) and I think he was already watching it too at his parents house. As the day went on and the news of the other crashes arose I called into my supervisor at work to see if we were to come in to work. He said that we were, so I got ready and went in. Our call center was right down the street from the CA National Guard headquarters and there was a blockade set up. I had to show them my work ID so I could get into the parking lot at work.....I felt like our nation had become a war zone even though those incidents were thousands of miles away. We went into the building, went upstairs into the call center area and it was completely silent (if you've ever worked customer service you know that's an odd thing because there is always talking going on). We went over to our work area and our "team" was standing around our sup. He explained to us that we had an option to stay and work for triple pay or go home to be with our families. It just didn't feel right to be working, so I opted to go home and spend the rest of the evening with my family. As the day dwindled down we all were back at home eyes still glued to the tv and the smoke billowing over Manhattan. I felt violated and numb at the same time.

It has been eight years and other things have happened on this day over those years. I lost a friend, Brian, on 9/11, but a few years after the towers came down. He was on a church boating trip, he slipped and fell into the propeller of the boat. He was such an amazing man of God and I will always remember Brian and his amazing family!

I feel that this day needs to become a national holiday of rememberance. Not just for those who perished in the attack or while helping, but to remember all tragedies. I feel one day it might become just that, but while we wait for that day we can all still remember and pray. We can pray for the families that are still grieving their loved ones, we can pray for our nation, we can pray for our President and our congress men and women. We can pray for our troops that are still being deployed to protect our great nation and other nations from those that would want to cause harm. We just need to pray and to never forget what happened on this day eight years ago in New York, Pennsylvania and the Pentagon.

"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

SJR
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Acupuncture Consultation, Congee and Piranhas???

This past week went by quickly and slowly.....kinda weird? Yes, but it really did.

Last Monday Matt and I went to visit The Texas Center for Reproductive Acupuncture (www.texasfertilityacupuncture.com) for our consultation with Kirsten Karchmer, who is co-founder of this place and a board certified reproductive acupuncturist. I admit that while we were driving to the appointment I was a little scared. First of all, they make you fill out this 5 page health history questionnaire which comes in very handy when Kirsten makes her "diagnosis" and prescribes her plan for you. Secondly, I was scared because I had so many questions "What if she can't help me?", "Am I really infertile?", "Are we doing the right thing, is this what God is leading us to do?".....you know, stuff like that! But we entered the doors and walked down the hallway of the fertility clinic that her practice is in. Funnily we were led down the hall paved with a sperm walk/swim way. LOL!!! That sight totally put me at ease.

We were welcomed by Kirsten and proceeded on into her room and sat down. Can I say that I am so glad that Matt was there even though he was groggy and probably not that excited to be there? I really am thankful for him, he puts up with a lot! (I mean a lot!) She took my paperwork, examined it for a bit and began to half ask questions and the other half tell me what was going wrong with me. It's like she's seen me before because she knew what she would see on my following pages just by glancing at my PMS symptoms and menstrual cycle information. (sorry if this is TMI, but I am an honest and open person, deal with it) She asked me so many other things and it went by so quickly that I can't remember all of them, but the next step came....my homework! She started off by giving me a "Basal Body Temperature for Dummies" run-down...my mom had told me sooo many times that I needed to track it, she even went as far as to buy me not only one, but two different digital basal thermometers! (that I haven't used since this week, sorry mom) Anyway, she told me to start tracking it daily and the path that she wanted my cycle/temperature to be at the end of 3 months. She told me that mine, based on my current health and cycle, would be pretty erratic, but it would eventually smooth out over time. After that she told me about eating for my cycle to promote this proper blood flow and to make for healthier blood. Apparently in chinese medicine, blood and it's flow is everything to maintain ideal health and wellness. My blood flow is not as good as it should be based on my symptoms. So she then prescribed "congee" for me to eat for breakfast every day!

Congee consists of one cup of organic brown rice, water and 6-7 dried apricots left in the crock pot to stew overnight on low heat. Random? Yup! It is a body/blood warming sort of oatmeal type food that I am to enjoy with a little cinnamon and granola if I'd like.....adding those things makes all the difference in the world, lemme tell ya! So, I started eating that this week instead of my usual Fage Greek Yogurt and Kashi cereal bar in the morning.

That was basically it. I needed to eat "congee" and take/track my BBT every morning and then set a follow-up appointment so she could see my progress.

Well, my progress is this......yes, my BBT is very, very, very erratic and I am still "cold" than average people in the morning (avg 97.4 in the past week). I have been enjoying my congee and eating A LOT HEALTHIER!!!! I'm talkin' I don't eat out for lunch, I stick with whole grains and organic foods, and I can still enjoy foods that I normally eat! I've never really been a junk-food-junkie and eating like this isn't that hard to do. Hooray! But basically what we're trying to do is get my cycle to become 28 days every time, where I ovulate precisely on day 14, where I have a beautiful tidal wave-like BBT chart and a period without the following: cramps, clots, pms, etc. (need I say more? you ladies know what I'm talkin' about) Did I leave anything out? I might have, but I'm trying to remember everything, ok???

I am going to be starting yoga classes this week and returning to ballet a week from tomorrow because they had a holiday....I can't wait! Yoga will increase blood flow and promote a stress-less lifestyle, so looking forward to that as well! I am enjoying being at home with Matt every night rather than seeing him for maybe a half hour before I headed off to teach dance in the evenings. Being a wife is what I'm meant to do....being a mother is the next step! We are on our way to a healthier life and then potentially a healthy, robust newborn! (and two silly dachshunds!)

Anyway, back to Kirsten, I made my follow-up appointment for a week from Labor Day (tomorrow) so I can proudly show her my odd looking (but predictable to her) BBT chart with Congee dripping off my chin! Ha! Oh ya! She also gave me a bottle of "Floradix" which is an iron supplement....google it, it's quite the stuff! After this appointment she will probably prescribe an acupuncture action plan. She did want me to get the HSG test which will have to wait until I start my period (unless I'm pregnant) just so we make sure that I'm not blocking any eggs from getting to where they need to be. The Dr. that she shares a practice with is Dr. Arredondo, reproductive endocrinologist....he came highly recommended, BUT they don't take my stupid insurance!!!!!! If I want to be seen with this guy it's either $325 for the initial consultation or I have to wait until January when our insurance changes to Blue Cross Blue Shield (which they DO take). Meh! I've waited this long, what's another 3 months, right?

Well, I am very hopeful that this is the right path for us! I know that God is at work and He is always directing our steps to what He wants for us and our family. I cannot wait to see what He has in store for us next!

Oh ya, the piranhas? Ya, we were watching Animal Planet's show "River Monsters" and that was the episode that was on while I was blogging it out on the 'puter.

G'night y'all!

SJR
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Any takers???

What would be a good caption for this photo??? All I can say is, LOL!!!!

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Friggin funny pics!

So, we were having fun today.....this is the result of too much mexican coke!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you.....Donatella Versace!!!!!

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30 minutes before I get off from work.....

I got all my "chores" at work done! I haven't blogged in a while....I think it's time once again to spew out a few thoughts into the worldwide web. Here goes nothin'.....

I just wanted to start off with bad/sad/a blessing in disguise news (in case you didn't know already) I got let go from my dance teaching job at BNB last Thursday. It was a combination of several stupid "reasons". I put the word reasons in quotations because they really weren't reasons or at least good enough reasons for me. I was released as a result of the owner's feelings of inadequacy with herself and the future of her studio. The firing was not as a result of my amazing teaching skills and choreographical (is that a word, heather?) masterpieces. I know I'm a good teacher and she does too, but she didn't like the following things.....

1- I asked for time off too often....I asked time off when family/friends were in town, I was sick, my family was sick or I was going to visit family. Not good enough? Um, okay?

2- I took students to ballet classes and an occasional outing to Austin or so without her knowledge.....um, as long as I have the PARENT'S PERMISSION it shouldn't matter a tick to her. It was on my day off, my time, my gas, etc. etc. etc. She thought it wasn't a good idea for "her students" to be taking classes at any other studio. M'kay? Then why let them go to workshops? Why encourage them to do anything for that matter?

3- I cut my days down from teaching 3 nights a week to 2 nights a week. No big deal, right? Wrong! It bothered her that I had to do it....well, some of us are trying to have babies and the stress of working full time and teaching 3 nights a week, on top of barely seeing your husband is too much to deal with! No thanks, I'm good!

It's just totally dumb that this happened, but like I said earlier it is a blessing in disguise. Yes, it is sad that I don't get to teach those precious, talented girls, but I needed to not be as stressed anymore! I needed to be with Matt in the evenings! Last time I checked, you need a male to get pregnant, right? Or did they lie in Human Sexuality? LOL

Now onto good news! Hooray!!! I will keep it short because I'm almost off to head home to my sweet hubby!

- I'm taking ballet class at Ballet Austin every Monday morning!! I love ballet class! I love Austin!! Hooray for endorphins!!!!

- I'm going to start taking yoga somewhere soon. Right now it looks like Austin is my best bet, but I'm still doing research. I need to commit soon because I cannot stay dormant!

- I got my "Making Babies" book and am starting to read it. Lot's o' good stuff in there....which brings me to my next point....

-This coming Monday I'm going for a consultation with a Reproductive Acupuncurist! Looking forward to what they're gonna say and prescribe for me! I will do anything to get pregnant short of IVF! Pray for us!!!!


I cannot think of much of anything else. If I missed it, I will post it somehow. But pray please? I am so excited about our future! I know that God made the way for me to not stress anymore by removing something that I didn't need. He is at work! I am really looking forward to what He has in store...more to come soon! :)

SJR
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Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad....and other things too...

Today my mom and dad have been married for 39 years! Quite the feat, if you ask me. The years haven't been carefree or without challenges, but the most important thing is that they have God in their relationship. If you truly have God as the center of your marriage no one can seperate the two of you! A cord of three strands cannot easily be broken. So, I am thankful that my parents have made it this far. I just cannot believe that in one more year it will be 40 years! I guess I have my work cut out for me now as far as getting something put together to celebrate their 40 years next year. I'm not sure what is gonna happen yet....any suggestions? Vow renewal? Family trip to Norway? Family cruise? (you see how I'm incorporating the entire family? we're here too! lol)
I dunno, what do y'all think?

Anyway, congratulations mom and dad! I am proud to say that my parents have made it this far and they will make it even further! They aren't a part of a negative statistic!!! They made it through the empty nest too!!!! Yay!!! Now if I could only get the grandchildren thing working better...hmmmm.......did you hear that God? ;) I think He's gettin' sick of me! LOL, that's not true! (hooray for that)


So, I was reading an article from Conceive magazine about this new book coming out called "Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program For Maximum Fertility". They even had a preview of the first chapter! I must say that this book inspired me and I need a lot of that nowadays! I pretty much will take inspiration from wherever I can get it. I am expecting it in the mail sometime next week from Amazon.com. I will post more later about it as I start the "program".




Now, the other parts of my previous week...including today. It's been a hard one this week. I'm at this point that I don't really want to listen to other people's advice, but maybe my mom. Everyone says the same things to me. Here are some examples......"You need to take a trip and relax. Then it will happen!" or "You just need to stop trying. If you do that it will happen!" I think that one's my favorite....ever hear of the phrase "EASIER SAID THAN DONE"? Oh, I think there's more and they are so generic, but I know that everyone means well. I think what I need more than anything is your prayers. Taking advice from people who haven't had the challenges that we're going through is hard to take. Sorry about the brutal honesty that I'm hurling out today, but I have to be honest! It's not really encouraging to me. Prayers are encouraging...knowing that you care enough about me and my family to pray about our issues is the best thing you can do for me....in case you were wondering. Lift it up to God. Let me know that my concerns are your concerns....because I will always do the same for you!

I don't exactly know why we're going through this. I don't know why the same thing happened to my mom either. She only had the two of us, but she reeeeeally wanted more, God knew better. He always knows better, doesn't He? I'm just glad that I have my mom and her experiences. She knows exactly the pain that I'm going through. She knows the jealousy I feel and the discouragement every time another person I know announces their pregnancy. She knows it, she's been there! She had to go through it so she could help me! That's why God allowed it. Little did she know that she would have a daughter that would have to go through the same thing. Her experience gives me hope in that I know I will have a child or two or more one of these days. My mom was meant to be a mom. Mothering comes so naturally to her and she's good at it. I have been told by my friends that I will be a good mother because I tend to nurture everyone. People who need that kind of nurturing are just drawn to me and that's fine with me. God wouldn't have given me that gift if it wasn't meant to be used, right? He doesn't waste gifts, it's not His nature!

Well, those are my thoughts for today. Please pray for us. If you would like to see Matt and me become parents (and the Altman's become grandparents), please lift us up in your prayers. You all mean the world to us and if we can return the favor, just comment this post below or email me at sarahreed7880@gmail.com

Love y'all!
Sarah (mom in waiting)