High Five for Friday

It's amazing that the weeks go by so quickly as you get older.  Not than I'm complaining about another Friday being on the books, but man, I really wish time would SLOW DOWN, even for sure a few days.

This week was even more of a whirlwind, because we had Monday off for Memorial Day and then I had Wednesday off to take the Audit portion of the CPA exam.  

High *FIVE* for Friday!  

1.  Well, I've successfully studied and taken the first part of the CPA exam. Whether I've passed or failed remains to be seen, but I'll know in just over a week. The good news is that I've taken one of the parts, I know more of what to expect, etc.  Now, let's just keep our fingers crossed for a PASSING grade.  

2.  We bought & returned a car this week.  It was a decent car, decent price, etc. but when we found out that the salesman completely lied to us about a couple of pretty major things, we decided that this wasn't a car purchase we wanted. Luckily, the dealership took the car back, tore up the checks, and all is well.  But still.

3.  Chloe has been extra snuggly this week.  I think it's a combination of me not being able to spend as much time with her as I've been so busy studying, and the influx of new people in her house.

4.  The boys crack me up, especially J.  That dog will pull the covers up over him, and sleep like a little kid.  It's pretty funny.  It's kind of hard to see in this picture, because I didn't dare use the flash and wake him up.

5.  Can you believe that LJ's due date is only 87 days away?  And the baby shower, even closer than that?  I'm not panicking or anything.  But I haven't even gotten the invitations mailed yet.  I'm still waiting on the final proof so that I can send them to the printer.  Ugh!  They *should* go out on Monday, if everything goes well.

Weekend Recap

Well, I'm back at work for one day before my test tomorrow.  Mentally, I'm doing okay.  I should have spent more time studying over the weekend, but I didn't.  I don't know if the mental break will help or not.  I'm going to spend a few hours today reviewing as much as I can, and do what I can do.  The test is tomorrow at 12:30, and there's only so much I can do at this point.  Just prayers will definitely be appreciated.

I thought I'd do a quick recap of my thoughts & feelings on Memorial Day.  I usually don't publish things like this, but well, it's been bothering me and this is the best way to get it down on paper.  

Alex has been making the trip to the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery for the past few years to remember the men and women who laid down their lives for our freedom.  This year was my second year to join him.  And can I just say that people seriously need to learn some R-E-S-P-E-C-T?  Just because you "show up" doesn't mean that you either a.) understand the significance of what you are experiencing, b.) have any manners whatsoever, or c.)  really care.  

Here are a few of my "open letters" to the events/people I saw...

Ladies;

I realize that you might have a thing for a man in uniform.  I realize that you might think this is a social hour, but this is a time of remembrance and mourning for a lot of people. People who have lost a spouse, a son/daughter/mother/father/brother/sister.  This is not a time to put on your shortest dress, and see what attention you can attract.  Have a little dignity, respect for yourself, respect for the men and women around you.  It's really not too much to ask.  However, I guess I should say thank you to these ladies that actually put a little bit of thought and effort into getting dressed, instead of rolling out in their pajamas. 

Treat this ceremony like you would any memorial service for a loved one.  Would you go to those types of events wearing your pajamas and short dresses?  If the answer is no, then don't wear it here.

Sincerely,
The girl who wishes some women had more self respect.

Mr. Army Recruiter;

You should freaking know better.  Having a conversation on your cell phone during prayer? Are you kidding me?  You should be ashamed of yourself.  Whether you believe in our Lord or not is irrelevant.  Have some respect.  

Sincerely,
The girl who thinks you suck.

To the kids walking through the middle of a burial plot;

You are lucky.  Lucky that I didn't let Alex say to you what he wanted to say.  But for real? How would you feel if you watched someone walk over the location where your loved one was buried?  Or would you care?  If you are walking towards the location where your loved one is buried and you have to step on another, okay.  But to just walk through because you are too lazy to walk around?  Shame on you.

Sincerely,
The girl who WILL teach her kids better.

To the people who can't be still;

Each year, as part of the ceremony, they read the names of the deceased throughout the past year.  It might take 10 minutes.  But really, find a place, get comfortable, and stay put until the names have all been read.  It's just the polite thing to do.

Sincerely,
The girl who just doesn't understand everyone's lack of respect anymore.

High Five for Friday

It's that time again.  :-)  You know, Friday!  And this is a SPECIAL Friday, because well, it's Memorial Day weekend.  

1.  We got J and T on Sunday, and they've settled into our routine and our house quite nicely.  The first night wasn't great, as Mr. T decided to cry all night.  As much as I'd love to let everyone run wild at night, A and I both need sleep, so we've been kenneling everyone when it comes time for bed.  Since then, they've both done exceptionally well.  J even goes to bed on his own when he's tired.  T isn't as accommodating, but even he'll go to his bed reluctantly.  

They are both such sweet boys, and I'm happy things worked out where Alex and I can give them a home.

This is J telling me that Chloe stole his bone, and he wanted it back.  Pitiful, huh?

Mr. T making sure no one is harming his budder, while he gets a bath.

2.  Tomorrow, Alex and I are buying a new "to us" car.  We've been in the market for a second car for a couple of months now, and we finally found one that works well for our now expanded little family.

3.  I am starting to panic a little bit, as I'm less than 7 days from taking the first portion of the CPA exam.  I can do this!  I've been studying at night, while in the waiting room at the doctor's office, during lunch, pretty much any time I can catch a few minutes.

4.  Work has been relatively quiet this week.  We had a team member move onto another company (sad face!) but we had our new accounting supervisor start this week as well.  Close is coming up, so we'll see how things go there.

5.  This weekend is Memorial Day.  Memorial Day is a US Federal holiday, in which we pay homage and remembrance to the men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so that all of us can be free.  That's huge, you know!  And in my humble opinion, these men and women need so much more from us than one day.  They should be recognized, remembered, appreciated, every single day.  

So while everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day cookouts, the day from work, and their family - please just say a prayer for those families that are celebrating without their service member this year.  

And, if you are free and want to attend the Memorial Day services at the National Cemetary in Dallas, let me know!

Doctor's Visit

This post contains a lot of likely TMI material.  If you aren't interested in what's going on with my body & PCOS - you might want to skip this post.  :-)  Don't say you weren't warned...

With all of the fun things going in my life re: PCOS, I made an appointment with my OB/GYN to have a couple of exams done that would show what's really going on with my ovaries, uterus, etc.  

My appointment was today at 11:30.  

Without going into too much detail regarding the actual tests themselves, the results weren't terrible.

Basically, they were looking for possible cysts, polyps, fibroids, a possible miscarriage, and maybe even cancer.  The good news is that the tests showed that all of those possibilities to explain the constant bleeding aren't the answer.  The bad news is that she did see a bunch of little follicles on my ovaries.  Now, under normal circumstances, you want follicles on your ovaries, but when you are on CD13, and none of them have grown to be big, strong follicles, there's an issue.

I found a great article on vcuhealth.org that kind of explains this a little better than I can...

Basically, here's what the article says:

Women with PCOS may {also} have enlarged ovaries which contain multiple small cysts, thus leading to the descriptive term “polycystic ovaries.”  These cystic formations are called follicles and under normal hormonal influence one follicle will grow, rupture and release an egg, while the other “non-dominant” follicles shrink.  This is the naturally occurring physiological process of ovulation that occurs monthly in women of reproductive age.  However, in women with PCOS, whose hormonal balance is altered, these follciles fail to grow and rarely ovulate.  This hormonal imbalance leads to multiple immature follicles in the ovaries giving this “polycystic” appearance.

So now, we try to figure out what to do, either holistically or medically, to get these babies to grow!

High Five for Friday

I think it's been a couple of weeks since I've participated in High Five for Friday, but I thought I'd give it a whirl this week.  

It has been kind of a rough week around these parts.  And, I always find myself going back to this verse.  So I thought I'd share it this week, along with my HF4F.  :-)

1.  I'm almost finished with the homework/simulation part of the audit review.  And I still have a little less than two weeks until my exam.  That's *GREAT* news.  My goal is to have it completely wrapped up by Sunday, and then spend the next 1.5 weeks studying.  :-)

2.  We are getting two new pups this weekend.  They have names already, because they are really not longer puppies, but their current owner is moving overseas and doesn't want to take the dogs with her.  They are brothers, both Boston Terriers.  Should be fun to have more feet in the house!

3.  My doctor is finally scheduling me for a sonogram.  Thankfully!  They want to rule out a variety of different causes, and while the exam isn't until next Wednesday, I'm glad it's finally happening.

4.  Alex got me the most gorgeous roses for my birthday on Sunday.  And they've totally opened up.  I need to take another new photo to show just how big they are, but I can barely wrap my hand around them.  

5.  I'm super looking forward to the weekend!  Birthday celebrations for a dear friend tonight, a girl's lunch to plan Lindsey's baby shower & nursery decor, studying tomorrow afternoon, church Sunday, getting the boys Sunday afternoon, and just an overall relaxing weekend.  I need to make a trip to the store this weekend, and get back on my paleo diet.  :-)

Endo

So I got great news today.  :o)  My medical records have been approved so to speak, and I finally have an appointment scheduled for an endocrinologist.  Woo hoo!  Hopefully we're on our way to recovery.  My appointment isn't until August 18th, but at least it's scheduled.

Many people have asked, why an endocrinologist?  So many people associate PCOS with just being infertile and having trouble trying to conceive a child, but it's so much more than that.

Over the next 90 days, I'm going to really focus on my eating, water consumption, exercise, as well as temperature charting & tracking my periods so that I have as much information as possible to present to her when we meet.

I'm excited!

The best...

I pretty much spent the entire weekend blissfully quiet, if that makes any sense.  But, for a girl like me, blissfully quiet isn't really my thing.  A knew that something was up, but I wasn't ready to talk about it, and he doesn't pry.  He realizes that the minute I'm ready to open up about what I'm feeling, I will.

So last night, we got home from my mom's house celebrating my birthday and Mother's Day, and A told me he had to run to the store.  I stayed at home, studying for my CPA exam, but he was gone for awhile.  I didn't think much of it, he leaves for the store sometimes at night, so it's not like it's completely out of the norm for us.  

When he returns, he brings with him a dozen pink long stem roses.  AND CUE THE TEARS! 

I came clean with him on what I was feeling, even that I was thinking of asking him to leave because I didn't feel like he deserved to be with someone who couldn't for sure give him a child someday.  

And let me just tell you this, I'm incredibly fortunate.  And so loved.  While I've always known that to an extent, I think this weekend just reaffirmed that for me.  God gave me the one person in this world that is strong enough to pick me up when I feel down, to be my rock when I feel weak, and to help shoulder this burden.  I'm forever blessed.

And on a side note:  

I did speak with my doctor today.  She said that she's not surprised that the progesterone would start another bleeding cycle.  Progesterone is the hormone in the body that starts your period.  I think just speaking to her gave me a bit of reassurance that my body is kind of doing what its supposed to do.  She was pleased that the progesterone stopped my bleeding for a bit, so that's positive news.

I also am waiting to hear back from the endocrinologist.  I found one that a.) takes my insurance, b.) is super close to work, and c.) has GREAT ratings on various websites online. I had to send her my medical records, and she's received those, but now she reviews them and talks to my OB/GYN before she agrees to take my case.  So I'm waiting to hear.

Mother's Day

I said I wouldn't talk much about PCOS on this blog, but well, it's my blog and I'll do what I want.  

I've had one of the roughest weekends known to man in a LONG time.  It has honestly felt like everything that could go wrong, has.  Without getting into too much detail that no one cares to know about, I had a VERY long period in April, and after going well past the time it should have ended, I called my doctor.  She put me on a 10 day dose of progesterone.  Things were going great, I had energy again, felt wonderful, the bleeding had stopped, and then the prescription ran out.  And I'm back to where I started.  Not only am I back to where I started, but it's my birthday and Mother's Day weekend.  Anyone who gets their hormones messed with my natural or unnatural means knows that it sometimes makes you feel irrational.  

All day yesterday, I went from crying to angry.  ALL FREAKING DAY!  I contemplated over and over again telling Alex to leave, because he deserved to be with someone who could give him a child someday.  That someone probably isn't me.  Then I cried myself to sleep.  Woke up around 5:15, cried some more, got up and laid on the couch, cried some more.  I'm not sure I have any tears left to cry.  

Mother's Day is a joyous occasion to celebrate all the Mothers out there.  But what about the women that aren't mothers?  The ones who have struggled emotionally with the fact that they may never have kids?  The ones who have been to the doctor, time and time again, hoping for something that will give them a bit of encouragement?  And get nothing.  Because PCOS won't go away.  It can't be treated, and while the symptoms themselves can be treated, the overall picture doesn't change.  And that makes me feel hopeless and broken and sad.  Incredibly sad.  Sadness that means I'd rather be alone than drag anyone else through this miserable journey.

I know I should be happy, because I have a lot of good in my life too.  But it always seems to go back to this.  

Chipotle

I'm beyond annoyed.  I adore Chipotle, I always have.  I've been a big fan of the place since the first Dallas location opened.  However, something happened today while I was at Chipotle that made me not so impressed anymore.

Our military does not get the recognition they deserve, and it's incredibly thoughtful when an organization/restaurant/location/etc. will offer them a discount.  I'm not saying that it's required that every entity do so, but it's definitely a nice perk.  What tends to annoy me, and quite frankly, piss me off is when these establishments offer a police discount, but not a military discount.  

I love our law enforcement personnel.  I think they put themselves on the line to protect our laws on a daily basis, and I'm not saying that they too shouldn't get a discount.  But what I am saying is that without the military protecting our freedoms, the police would have no laws to police except that of a ruler or dictator.  

So, I'm going to add Chipotle to the list of places I'll no longer frequent.  

High Five for Friday

These are going to be quick... but I wanted to keep posting the positive things going on in life.

1.  I paid for the first section of the CPA exam yesterday.  I'm currently waiting for the NTS (Notice to Schedule) so I can register for an exact date to take audit.  :-)

2.  My birthday is officially just over a week away!

3.  PINK IMPACT is less than a week away!  I'm so looking forward to this year.  The positive of being in Conference B is that you get to see all the sneak peaks from Conference A.

4.  I've lost 4.6 lbs so far on Advocare's 24 Day Challenge.  I'm pretty darn proud of myself!

5.  But today was hard.  It's our Day 2 spread pot luck at work, and I ate a piece of cake.  It was yummy, but I'm not sure what it did to my overall day.  The good news is that I stayed away from the enchiladas and tacos, and ate a salad instead.

May Goals

How in the HELL is it May already?!  This year is flying by.  While that's a blessing because the things that I can hardly wait for are approaching very quickly, I'm stressing because time is going by sooooo fast!

Here are my May goals:

Just for your info:
S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Relevant
T - Time-Bound

HEALTH
1.  Get my butt in the gym.  Since started the Advocare 24 Day Challenge on 4/28, I need to up my working out.  I'm going to do the Lean Body for Her Challenge.  While the actual "challenge" is over, I have the work out plan, and I'm going to focus on that for the next 12 weeks.  Goal date:  5/31/2014

HOME
1.  Hang curtain rod & curtains for living room.  Goal date:  5/11/2014
3.  Hang IKEA shelves above desk, and organize the office space.  Goal date: 5/11/2014

PERSONAL
1.  PASS AUDIT!  I sit for the first section of the CPA exam in May.  I'm nervous, but I'm ready.  I'm prepared.  And by the time the actual test gets here, I will have studied my behind off!  :-)  Goal date:  TBD based on when my exam gets scheduled.

3.  Start work on baby shower decor items.  Goal date:  5/18/2014
3.  Sew maxi skirt from knit fabric.  Goal date:  5/25/2014

April Goals Recap

April was a good month for GOALS!  It's kind of exciting to be able to check stuff off the ol' list.  :-)

HEALTH
1.  Do some sort of physical activity, 3x per week.  Goal date:  4/30/2014  

Done!  While it wasn't intense work outs, heavy weight lifting, etc. it was a physical activity.  Alex and I started walking several nights a week around the "circle" of our apartment complex.

HOME
1.  Hem curtains for living room.  Goal date:  4/12/2014  Completed:  4/12/2014

2.  Hang curtain rod & curtains for living room.  Goal date:  4/12/2014  

So, yeah.  I kind of ran into a snag with this one.  Apparently, hanging the curtain rods within 6" of the window isn't going to be possible with the way the framing is done.  All I was left with is a GIGANTIC hole in the wall.  So this one is on hold until I can get to Lowe's, get some wall putty, and some paint to fix the hole.  Maybe by the end of the month? 

An update update:  Well, the hole still remains in the wall.  I haven't made it to Lowe's. Oops.  This one will be showing up again for the May goal list.  :-)

3.  Hang IKEA shelves above desk, and organize the office space.  Goal date: 4/12/2014

After the issue with the curtain rods, I decided to hold off on this one for fear of MORE holes in the walls.  LOL.


PERSONAL
1.  Finish bunting for Eve.  Goal date:  4/17/2014  Completed:  4/2/2014
2.  Meet with Jeana to start baby shower planning.  Completed:  4/25/2014
3.  Pick out fabric for baby shower decor.  Completed:  4/29/2014

4.  Sew maxi skirt from knit fabric.  Goal date:  4/30/2014
5.  Start work on baby shower decor items.  Goal date:  4/30/2014

I didn't get the maxi skirts sewn, and I haven't started working on the shower items, simply because I haven't received the fabric yet.  But May.  :-)  Definitely May.