Funk

So every now and again I get into this bad "funk" where I am overly negative, and see things through dark-colored glasses. Right now, I am on the edge of this funk and I am trying to stay positive to avoid going in.

Last night on our way home from Mexican, Cleveland decided to start acting up. Just before coming to a red light, Cleveland started making some strange noises. Loud enough that we could hear them over the radio. So we get to the light and then we smelled this awful smell... and then Cleveland decided to shut down. Then we saw a bunch of smoke coming from the right side (the passenger) of the car. Steve got out and checked under the hood, but it was too dark to see anything. As this was happening, it was pouring rain.

Steve got back inside, and turned the key and it started. We were able to get home without Cleveland stalling out. So we got up this morning and took him to the car place for them to do a quick analysis and they found that it's something with the air-conditioning. Apparently, when Steve turned on the defrost in the car last night, that's what caused the smoke and Cleveland to turn off. So... now we're waiting to see who is going to fix it. I just want to trade the damn thing in and get an Edge, but Steve wants to wait until we have a few more payments on Cleveland and have some money saved for the Edge. Leave it to him to be logical and whatnot... what fun is that? I can't wait to go and test drive one and have it be mine!!! :(

Then there's the issue of needing to get away for a vacation. When Steve got his Burt's award, he said we could use the money to go somewhere nice for our 3rd anniversary. Well... that's approaching in four months, and it'd be the right time to start planning, but now he says that we don't have the money. Sandals has a HUGE 60% off sale... it'd be wonderful to get away this July/August... when I'll really need it. When I asked about the award money he said we used it to pay off bills. :( No vacation for me I guess.

Then there's the whole baby issue. I've been on my new medication for about a month and thought it was all going great. Not really... the same problems as before and I still don't think I am ovulating. I just found out that one of my sorority sisters is pregnant-- while I am super happy for her, I am still upset for myself. It seems like all the people that I know that have had problems getting pregnant... the ones that I can say, "At least I'm not the only one" are all getting pregnant. So now it's down to Mindy and Andrea as the only two left with me. I just fear that it'll never happen for us. AHHHHHH!!!

So that's about it from me. I am just in a rotten mood. On the positive, I got my hair done today. It's much lighter-- AND soooo long! I'll use Steve's camera and take some pictures and post them on my Fb and Myspace for anyone that's interested in seeing my new do!!

Until next time...
>^..^<

Sedation Dentistry

Okay, so not too long ago, Steve went to his dentist (Dr. Todd "Hot" Garcia) and was telling him that his wife (me) would like to come in for an appointment. Dr. Hot Garcia began asking Steve some questions about me and when Steve told him that I get really nervous about the dentist, Hot Garcia said, "Then don't send her to me. Nervous patients make ME nervous." So with that, he gave Steve the name of Dr. Rushin and told him to check out her website: http://www.endyourfear.com. So he came home, told me about it, and I went online to check it out.

I had my first appointment with them back in December. I think it was the 23rd-- right after I was out for the holiday break. We set my appointment for February 4th (which was yesterday). Now, a lot of my friends that I've told about this have said, "Oooh, you'll have to tell me how it goes. I've always been curious about it." Well, let me say that it was the best dentist appointment that I've ever had in my life.

As soon as I arrived, they had several heated blankets ready for me. I sat in the chair and they gave me blankets to warm me (it was chilly in the office). I had taken a tiny pill an hour before my arrival and when I got there-- I felt nothing from the pill. I was nervous as could be, and so they gave me some more pills to take. They laid my chair back, put on a heart monitor thingy and blood-pressure cuff and then gave me some protective glasses to wear (so nothing would get in my eyes during my procedure). I literally sat back, closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

Now, I was asleep, but I was awake enough to feel them give me the novocaine (which still hurt, but I didn't care), and then when they asked me to open wider, I could, and when they said to close my mouth, I could. So I was awake, but in a state of la-la land. It was wonderful!!

Steve picked me up and they had prescribed a Chic-Fil-A milkshake for me to drink on the way home (I had not had anything to eat since 7:30 the night before and he picked me up at 1:00). It was delicious, but I don't remember much more about it. I also had chicken nuggets and waffle fries, but I don't remember that either. I got home, took a Vicodin, and crashed until 5:30ish.

When I woke up, I felt great. I was a little hungry, but I felt wonderful. They ended up filling more than seven cavities (I know-- it's a lot-- but I hadn't been to the dentist since March of 2007 and he had a whole plan of treatment that would have taken forever to complete), and they did a cleaning. My mouth is as perfect today as it's going to be for a while.

What I liked the most is that they were able to do in one visit, what would normally take more than 10 visits to do. For people who fear the dentist, and have a lot of work to be done, it's the definite way to go. I am going to keep going back, but I don't think I'll need the sedation again for a long time. I can handle a cleaning.

:)
Until next time...
>^..^<

New Year, New Me: UPDATE!!

Okay, so there have been some great things to report for all my readers (lol). I've been getting up religiously at 5:30 every morning (except on weekends) and working out with my Wii Fit. I haven't had a drop of regular soda since January 5th and have only had five servings of diet soda since then. I've been drinking mostly water, and then skim milk. Haven't had any candy or sweets either. :)

In addition to that, I joined Weight Watchers. I am doing it online because none of the meetings around me worked with my schedule. I like being able to do everything from home and with my computer. Anyway, I did my weekly weigh-in yesterday and so far I've lost 17.8 pounds! I am so proud of myself!!

I know that there's not one thing to attribute the weight-loss to, but I think the Metformin is definitely helping. I can also say that since starting Metformin my morning temperatures have been stable and not so up and down like they have been for the last six months.

So... that's the latest and greatest.
Until next time...
>^..^<

Update!

So I went to the OB yesterday and was absolutely amazed at what she had to share with me. She had the labs completed and run (from my blood work back in December), and she had my internal ultrasound results from the doctor that I went to last Thursday.

First off, I was very nervous. I wasn't sure what she was going to find, but I was alone and very nervous that it'd be bad news. As I think most readers know, I went because I've been having irregular cycles and bleeding and not been ovulating. She thought the internal would explain some things, but it came back completely normal. My ovaries are full of eggs (GREAT SIGN), and I have a nice uterus (thanks mom and dad) and my cervex looks great too. A girl couldn't ask for more. LOL.

So the internal ultrasound doctor (it wasn't a tech, he's actually a doctor that specializes in this) said it was most likely a hormonal issue because everything on the inside looks wonderful.

The first thing my OB said to me was, "You don't have genetal herpies." LOL. I busted out laughing because I didn't know she was even testing for that... and I said, "Well, that's good because if I did, my husband would be in some trouble." She said that with a woman looking to get pregnant, they always test for that because of complications that can come from herpies. Anywho--- I am STD free (lol). :)

I am also HPV free which was a little surprising because back in Michigan, I had an irregular pap and they said it was due to a strain of HPV. I had to take it very seriously because HPV can lead to cervical cancer. Anyway, I didn't know you could "get over it" but apparently whatever strain I had was mild enough that I no longer test positive for it and two different tests showed a negative result. Yay me! :)

My pap came back normal and everything looked good. More good news. So... where's the bad news? Believe it or not, there really wasn't any. All my hormone levels (with the exception of one) came back completely normal. I'm not diabetic, my insulin was in the normal-high range, but normal none-the-less, and my labs showed that I have eggs but am not ovulating. So, she put me on a prescription for something that starts with an M (can't remember the name), but it's supposed to help with the ovulation AND as an added bonus, will help me lose weight.

Her best guess as to what's happening with things is that I've gained weight and just am not ovulating as a result. This can happen to a 160 pound individual (I am not 160 btw)-- or someone like me (just a smidge more than 160 LOL). She said to focus on eating better (I AM) and to try and exercise regulary (I AM) and those things with this prescription should get things working for me. When I told her about my "New Year, New Me" campaign, she got really excited and actually got emotional about how proud of me that she was. She really is a sweet woman!

So... bottom line, I am good! Nothing really wrong with me health-wise, I just need to lose some weight. She said that she'd like me to lose 30-40 pounds before trying to conceive, because it'd be the healthiest for me and a baby. She also said that just losing 10 pounds will make a world of difference in my health. So I'm starting with 10 pounds, and working my way toward my goal weight which is well past 30-40. :) I think I am going to join Weight Watchers on Thursday. :)

Until next time...
>^..^<

New Year, New Me Part 2

Well... it's almost been a week and things are going strong! I am very proud of myself for sticking to my guns and writing down EVERYTHING that I eat. It's been enlightening to see just how much sodium is in food! Obviously processed food has more, and I'm trying to steer clear of processed foods.

I've been able to do my Wii Fit each morning and Thursday I stayed home for my internal ultrasound appointment, and did the Dance Dance Revolution 2. Talk about buring up some calories! I was sweating like crazy!

Speaking of my appointment, it went well. I had a slight melt-down because I hadn't thought about what I'd do, or how I'd react if he found something bad (tumors, etc.). Steve had meetings all day and wasn't able to go with me, and I was really nervous. Fortunately, he said everything looked normal, and nothing stood out to him. He said that his best guess is that it's something hormonal.

I go tomorrow for my OB appointment. I am nervous about it because she'll have my blood results and his results and we'll be talking about what to do next. Hopefully she'll be able to prescribe me something to restart my system and get me ovulating.

Speaking of ovulating... I feel like now that I've got a good start to my new lifestyle, I want to focus on losing weight and getting healthy before trying to make a baby. Don't get me wrong, if it happens that'd be great, but I think I'd be a whole lot better off if I lost some weight first and just focused on that for a while. I get very fixated on certain things and then they drive me crazy. Trying to get pregnant has been one of those things, and I'm ready to move onto something more productive with my fixation. I'm going to give 100% effort to me... and my health... and then worry about pregnancy stuff later.

Steve is being very supportive about all of this. WHICH IS AMAZING! I am no longer drinking regular soda... and really, have only had soda twice and it was Coke Zero and Diet Coke both times- and he and I shared it. All the rest has been skim milk and a whole lot of water. I've found my cravings for sweets and sugars have kinda diminished and I am not eating as much as I used to. I hope to be able to report some great things as a result of all this soon!

I have a lot going on this week. Tomorrow I go to the OB for my post-blood and post-ultrasound appointment. I'll try to get on and post more about that tomorrow. Tuesday I have my mentor practicum class... and pray that I pass! Friday is the OG staff party and should be fun and then there's no school Monday! WHOO HOO!!

Keep me in your prayers!!!
Until next time...
>^..^<