3/23/2006:
This has been a VERY busy week!
On Saturday, we went down to Cincinnati to visit and have dinner with friends of ours (Wayne and Kristy Schlosser) who were unable to come up for the wedding, so they invited us down whenever we could all get together. They have a GORGEOUS house! (On the way home, we talked about our own dreams of someday being able to own a house on a quiet cul-de-sac like theirs'.) We had a very nice time, showed off our wedding pictures, and it was perfect weather to do the drive.
On Sunday, we went to visit with Grandma & Grandpa for a short time before I needed to leave for work. Grandma gave us the just-finished, full-size quilt that she has been working on (by hand!) for over 5 years now. When it was begun, Grandma had pretty much given up on me ever getting married (and therefore wanting a wedding-ring quilt); so she had begun this quilt for her single granddaughter. But, THEN...(poof!)....God brought Bruce and I together. Like Bruce described a few days ago, suddenly each of our resigned-for-single-life-plans came to a sudden, screaching halt and 180 degrees U-Turn. :)
Anyway, on the quilt, there are just so many details...it just looks SO gorgeous! And, like a true artist, Grandma DID sign her work (please see the photos!). :)
For the rest of this week, Bruce & I really did not get to see each other, except for about one hour of most mornings. I worked a LOT this week at all of my jobs.....the worst being yesterday when, after sleeping for only five hours, I got up at 6am to teach 1 1/2 shifts, then worked second shift at the group home, which turned into a third shift too. That brought me into this morning. When I got off work, I had 15 minutes to take a shower (whew!) before I had to leave for this silly training at work that I've now completed 5-6 times (The company, REM, has <repeatedly> lost almost ALL of my files about what I have been trained in....but that's another story....) Thank goodness for our free calls with our cellphone plan.....at least we've been able to TALK to one another. Now, I am looking forward to going to sleep WITH my husband for the first time in a week....rather than falling into bed when he's already been asleep for 2-3 hours by the time that I get home. Good night!
This has been a VERY busy week!
On Saturday, we went down to Cincinnati to visit and have dinner with friends of ours (Wayne and Kristy Schlosser) who were unable to come up for the wedding, so they invited us down whenever we could all get together. They have a GORGEOUS house! (On the way home, we talked about our own dreams of someday being able to own a house on a quiet cul-de-sac like theirs'.) We had a very nice time, showed off our wedding pictures, and it was perfect weather to do the drive.
On Sunday, we went to visit with Grandma & Grandpa for a short time before I needed to leave for work. Grandma gave us the just-finished, full-size quilt that she has been working on (by hand!) for over 5 years now. When it was begun, Grandma had pretty much given up on me ever getting married (and therefore wanting a wedding-ring quilt); so she had begun this quilt for her single granddaughter. But, THEN...(poof!)....God brought Bruce and I together. Like Bruce described a few days ago, suddenly each of our resigned-for-single-life-plans came to a sudden, screaching halt and 180 degrees U-Turn. :)
Anyway, on the quilt, there are just so many details...it just looks SO gorgeous! And, like a true artist, Grandma DID sign her work (please see the photos!). :)
For the rest of this week, Bruce & I really did not get to see each other, except for about one hour of most mornings. I worked a LOT this week at all of my jobs.....the worst being yesterday when, after sleeping for only five hours, I got up at 6am to teach 1 1/2 shifts, then worked second shift at the group home, which turned into a third shift too. That brought me into this morning. When I got off work, I had 15 minutes to take a shower (whew!) before I had to leave for this silly training at work that I've now completed 5-6 times (The company, REM, has <repeatedly> lost almost ALL of my files about what I have been trained in....but that's another story....) Thank goodness for our free calls with our cellphone plan.....at least we've been able to TALK to one another. Now, I am looking forward to going to sleep WITH my husband for the first time in a week....rather than falling into bed when he's already been asleep for 2-3 hours by the time that I get home. Good night!
3/2/2006:
Today, Bruce's much-anticipated new Steeler's t-shirt and ballcap came in. He has recently sold many of his big-ticket CDs on ebay, and now, he is happy with his exchange. Can you see the pleased look upon his face????
Today, Bruce's much-anticipated new Steeler's t-shirt and ballcap came in. He has recently sold many of his big-ticket CDs on ebay, and now, he is happy with his exchange. Can you see the pleased look upon his face????
3/6/2003:
This past week has been good on many accounts:
First, we learned that our sister-in-law, Sherry, had a successful surgery, and she appears to now be free from her melanoma. We hope that it stays that way.
Next, I am now on a new med to force a period to happen (thanks to my PCOS <ovary problems>, my last cycle was in October), and THEN, I will take Clomid for about a week....here in about 2-3 weeks. Bruce has already been warned that this will make me quite PMSed....he said that he thinks he can deal with it. lol! :)
Additionally, I will be starting an extended-release Metafomin (rather then the one I'm taking now...and hating, since I always forget about it and it makes me get sick). Anyway, with this new one, I'll just take it 1x each day in the morning with my other meds, which should also decrease the upset stomach. Whew! Yeah! :)
Finally, starting today, we began to workout together at Bally's.....we got a free 30-day pass, so we're taking advantage of it! One month of walking, treadmills, bikes, weights, and whatever else. We have been eating good and losing weight since the first of the year; and are working hard to keep each other's health in check.
This past week has been good on many accounts:
First, we learned that our sister-in-law, Sherry, had a successful surgery, and she appears to now be free from her melanoma. We hope that it stays that way.
Next, I am now on a new med to force a period to happen (thanks to my PCOS <ovary problems>, my last cycle was in October), and THEN, I will take Clomid for about a week....here in about 2-3 weeks. Bruce has already been warned that this will make me quite PMSed....he said that he thinks he can deal with it. lol! :)
Additionally, I will be starting an extended-release Metafomin (rather then the one I'm taking now...and hating, since I always forget about it and it makes me get sick). Anyway, with this new one, I'll just take it 1x each day in the morning with my other meds, which should also decrease the upset stomach. Whew! Yeah! :)
Finally, starting today, we began to workout together at Bally's.....we got a free 30-day pass, so we're taking advantage of it! One month of walking, treadmills, bikes, weights, and whatever else. We have been eating good and losing weight since the first of the year; and are working hard to keep each other's health in check.
3/15/2006:
For those keeping track, I am now finished with my first hormone med ("Prometrium")...and it worked! Yesterday, I started my first cycle since October!!! Yeah!!!! The Clomid will start Friday....with no extreme PMSing <yet>. :)
We are still exercising regularly at Bally's...and we each lost two pounds at last weigh-in!
On Sunday of this week, we both went through a ceremony in which we joined and were accepted into the church that we have been attending for awhile now. It is Church of the Messiah United Methodist, in Westerville, Ohio. For those familiar with Westerville, it's that tall triangle church on the North side of "Uptown Westerville."
We have been attending the "Contemporary Service," which is similar to our experiences at the Vineyard Church in Cincinnati (the church Bruce attended and loved while in Cinci). We have both been feeling really accepted there and are both slowly getting to know people and become involved with the church (Bruce more than me because of my crazy work schedule!). Since when I lived in Cleveland, I've known that Methodists are known to usually be very accepting/welcoming of all types of people and ideas...which we've both felt, so it made our quest to find a church pretty quick. Yeah! :)
It's also been nice showing Bruce around Westerville, and sharing the stories of my elementary school years at Emerson (an OLD Victorian-era school-building, where the story was that an old King and Queen were buried in the basement and I began my history of slapping boys who made fun of me...in kindergarten), at Whittier (where, as a fourth-grader, I made money on the playground, drawing portraits for 10 cents each), and Hanby (where I was in sixth grade, when the Challenger explosion occured). :)
For those keeping track, I am now finished with my first hormone med ("Prometrium")...and it worked! Yesterday, I started my first cycle since October!!! Yeah!!!! The Clomid will start Friday....with no extreme PMSing <yet>. :)
We are still exercising regularly at Bally's...and we each lost two pounds at last weigh-in!
On Sunday of this week, we both went through a ceremony in which we joined and were accepted into the church that we have been attending for awhile now. It is Church of the Messiah United Methodist, in Westerville, Ohio. For those familiar with Westerville, it's that tall triangle church on the North side of "Uptown Westerville."
We have been attending the "Contemporary Service," which is similar to our experiences at the Vineyard Church in Cincinnati (the church Bruce attended and loved while in Cinci). We have both been feeling really accepted there and are both slowly getting to know people and become involved with the church (Bruce more than me because of my crazy work schedule!). Since when I lived in Cleveland, I've known that Methodists are known to usually be very accepting/welcoming of all types of people and ideas...which we've both felt, so it made our quest to find a church pretty quick. Yeah! :)
It's also been nice showing Bruce around Westerville, and sharing the stories of my elementary school years at Emerson (an OLD Victorian-era school-building, where the story was that an old King and Queen were buried in the basement and I began my history of slapping boys who made fun of me...in kindergarten), at Whittier (where, as a fourth-grader, I made money on the playground, drawing portraits for 10 cents each), and Hanby (where I was in sixth grade, when the Challenger explosion occured). :)
3/17/2006:
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Don't Forget to wear your GREEN today....(don't want any pinching going on!)... :)
3/30/2006:
Two weeks ago, Bruce had another mole removed. It was located underneath his left armpit, discolored, and probably the largest of all of them. As a result, it has been concerning us (as well as his family and the dermatologist) for some time. Thankfully, the test results from it came back as benign (meaning that there was nothing wrong/no cancer/etc). Now, we are both working to heal the wound from his surgery twice each day.
This last weekend, we decided to drive down to Kentucky to spend a few days with Bruce's Mom and Dad. We drove down as soon as my Friday group ended, and returned home at about 9pm Sunday night. We both had a really nice time, and agreed that it was nice to just RELAX with the family...which included having dinner Saturday night at a mom-n-pop restaurant that was built into an *OLD* train station in a *tiny* Southern country town that seems to have remained about the same size (and ambiance) since the mid 1800's....very cool..... For the very first time, Bruce and I ate Fried Green Tomatoes there....couldn't help but think about a certain movie.....
While there, we also spent time looking through family photos for pictures of Bruce as he grew up....ended up with a nice collection by Sunday afternoon. (The photos include my favorite school picture of him.....probably his first grade photo....he was destined to be a cutie...) The plan is to use these photos to create an on-line pictoral collage of Bruce's life history for our webpage (and soon to follow will be the same for me!). Look for them in the "About Us" section of this webpage! :)
Then, yesterday, I went with my sister Debby (with Natalie and Ethan) to visit Sarah in her dorm down at Ohio University (in Athens, Ohio). This was our first trip since Sarah's been at OU, and we had a good visit with excellent weather. Natalie especially liked walking on "the catwalk" around the dormatory quad. :)
Two weeks ago, Bruce had another mole removed. It was located underneath his left armpit, discolored, and probably the largest of all of them. As a result, it has been concerning us (as well as his family and the dermatologist) for some time. Thankfully, the test results from it came back as benign (meaning that there was nothing wrong/no cancer/etc). Now, we are both working to heal the wound from his surgery twice each day.
This last weekend, we decided to drive down to Kentucky to spend a few days with Bruce's Mom and Dad. We drove down as soon as my Friday group ended, and returned home at about 9pm Sunday night. We both had a really nice time, and agreed that it was nice to just RELAX with the family...which included having dinner Saturday night at a mom-n-pop restaurant that was built into an *OLD* train station in a *tiny* Southern country town that seems to have remained about the same size (and ambiance) since the mid 1800's....very cool..... For the very first time, Bruce and I ate Fried Green Tomatoes there....couldn't help but think about a certain movie.....
While there, we also spent time looking through family photos for pictures of Bruce as he grew up....ended up with a nice collection by Sunday afternoon. (The photos include my favorite school picture of him.....probably his first grade photo....he was destined to be a cutie...) The plan is to use these photos to create an on-line pictoral collage of Bruce's life history for our webpage (and soon to follow will be the same for me!). Look for them in the "About Us" section of this webpage! :)
Then, yesterday, I went with my sister Debby (with Natalie and Ethan) to visit Sarah in her dorm down at Ohio University (in Athens, Ohio). This was our first trip since Sarah's been at OU, and we had a good visit with excellent weather. Natalie especially liked walking on "the catwalk" around the dormatory quad. :)
3/31/2006:
Maybe something is in the Ohio water........Debby just called me....and as a *complete* surprise, she just found out that she's pregnant! For the third time! It's potentially due November 19th. AND, about a week ago, my friend Jenn announced that she (and her husband, Jim) is finally pregnant with her FIRST, due in October, after a long time trying (Jenn and I have been very good friends since our Kent State years and lives in Cleveland...they came down for our wedding, and it was just SO nice to see them!). Jenn sent ultra-sound pictures (of her new family member). :)
For any regular readers of this blog, if you haven't guessed yet, Bruce and I have been trying, too, and will be testing (again) the day before Easter....15 LONG days from now.... It would just be SOOOO cool if Debby and I were pregnant at the same time....(makes us both think of our mom and Aunt Patty 19 years ago when they each had their babies 6 weeks apart).....
As of our honeymoon, Bruce and I decided that we would just let nature take it's course. But since then, my periods stopped after October (thanks to my ovary problems...though I've never before went 5 months w/out a period!). So, with that plus my hot flashes, it appears that my fertility days are beginning to end....(sigh). Knowing that we DO want kids and be finished by about age 35 (I'm now 32 and Bruce is 34, and I've taken care of WAY too many disabled people from post-35-pregnancies), my ob/gyn put me on Metafomin and then a Prometrium/Clomid cycle to jump-start my ovaries....which DID produce a period. We'll see! :) Fingers crossed, everybody! Fingers crossed!!
Beyond that, I made my first sale yesterday on my Dichroic pieces...well, I mean my first REAL sale....not sold to family or given away as presents. (It's hard to SELL a piece that I have put my heart and soul <and sometimes blood> into....but now, I'm doing it! yeah!) The other facilitators of my art therapy group LOVE my work; and NOW, I have a total of 20 standing orders for more to-be-created-pieces. They also said that I should call the Ohio Arts Council and sell some there....
Maybe something is in the Ohio water........Debby just called me....and as a *complete* surprise, she just found out that she's pregnant! For the third time! It's potentially due November 19th. AND, about a week ago, my friend Jenn announced that she (and her husband, Jim) is finally pregnant with her FIRST, due in October, after a long time trying (Jenn and I have been very good friends since our Kent State years and lives in Cleveland...they came down for our wedding, and it was just SO nice to see them!). Jenn sent ultra-sound pictures (of her new family member). :)
For any regular readers of this blog, if you haven't guessed yet, Bruce and I have been trying, too, and will be testing (again) the day before Easter....15 LONG days from now.... It would just be SOOOO cool if Debby and I were pregnant at the same time....(makes us both think of our mom and Aunt Patty 19 years ago when they each had their babies 6 weeks apart).....
As of our honeymoon, Bruce and I decided that we would just let nature take it's course. But since then, my periods stopped after October (thanks to my ovary problems...though I've never before went 5 months w/out a period!). So, with that plus my hot flashes, it appears that my fertility days are beginning to end....(sigh). Knowing that we DO want kids and be finished by about age 35 (I'm now 32 and Bruce is 34, and I've taken care of WAY too many disabled people from post-35-pregnancies), my ob/gyn put me on Metafomin and then a Prometrium/Clomid cycle to jump-start my ovaries....which DID produce a period. We'll see! :) Fingers crossed, everybody! Fingers crossed!!
Beyond that, I made my first sale yesterday on my Dichroic pieces...well, I mean my first REAL sale....not sold to family or given away as presents. (It's hard to SELL a piece that I have put my heart and soul <and sometimes blood> into....but now, I'm doing it! yeah!) The other facilitators of my art therapy group LOVE my work; and NOW, I have a total of 20 standing orders for more to-be-created-pieces. They also said that I should call the Ohio Arts Council and sell some there....
Welcome to March 2006