I'm Back

I have neglected my blog for way too long. There are a few reasons why I have not posted anything. To start of I was really trying not talk about my fertility issues on this blog. I know I vaguely mentioned them before, but over the last 6 months they have taken over my life in a lot of ways. There is nothing that I want more than to have a baby, but my body has not been cooperating with that. Infertility is an emotional roller coaster and the ups and downs started to take their toll on me in August of this year. So, the other reason that I hadn't been posting is because I have been sad and had a negative attitude. We have tried so hard and for so long to have a baby and still no baby.

However, I have renewed hope lately. I had surgery back in September and the doctor found the cause of infertility and is confident that the treatments are going to work. I am not going to bore you with all the gory details of infertility treatments. I have been on hold for the last two months allowing my body to heal. And now the wait is over, so I feel better, happier, and more positive.

I will try to post some pics of things that we did over the summer and fall. I am behind on even getting them out of camera. But I promise to post more and stay positive. I hope that I have not lost all of my readers.

Summer Fun

It has been way too long since my last update. We were busy having lots of summer fun in June with family and friends. In fact, we were so busy that I ended up getting sick with bronchititis at the end of June and couldn't go to summerfest. Which made me really sad because we go every year. In fact we have been going every 4th of July weekend for the last nine years. It is now a tradition. I missed seeing great live music, fireworks, the beach, good food (yummy funnel cakes), and hanging out with the fam and friends. For those of you who live in Illinois or Wisconsin and have not ever been to summerfest should definitely check it out once in your lifetime. It is waaaaaaayyyyyyyy better than the taste of Chicago. In fact we have not been to the taste since we started going to summerfest. It really is that much better.

In the beginning of June we had Candance's graduation party (my brother's girlfriend) and a family picnic at Brookfield Zoo. We love Brookfield Zoo and make it a point to go every summer. This time around we did not pay too much attention to the animals. Our neice, Hannah was there with us and it was her first time really seeing the animals and being able to understand what they were. She was soooooooo cute!!!!











I had a party with my Sassy girls. My good friend, Karla was gracious enough to host at her place. We had a pool and a very nice clubhouse. Unfortunatley, the weather was not very cooperative, so the pool was not used very much. However, it was a good time with lots of laughs as always. Here are a few pics of my very good friend, Anneliese's little boy, Ryder. He had a blast with all the girls.




The next day we went to the southside to hang out with family because Tim's brother, Adam was in from California visiting. We went to a forest preserve and had a picnic and played games. It was a beautiful day. We had a lot of fun. Later on we went to Rainbow Cone (which I have not been to since I was a kid). They have fantastic Ice cream cones. I wish I lived closer to it. If you have the opportunity to try their ice cream, you will not be disappointed.













Hannah loved the water and wanted to jump in. She is talking up a storm. She knows lots of words and can put together phrases.

The following weekend, My friend, Karla and I went to the Tim McGraw and Lady Antebellum concert. It was a really good show. We enjoyed it. We also got pedicures before going to the show. I was starting to feel sick the day of the concert with some sort of sinus bug. I felt better during the week, but it ended up coming back and I had an awful cough and trouble breathing. So, Tim took me to the urgent care and they gave me medicine, but it took all of my 4th of July weekend to get better.

This past week/weekend Tim and I spent a lot of time together because we were apart during summerfest. On Tuesday we had lunch and went to go see Grown Ups which was hilarious. I definitely recommend seeing it. Thursday after work, I went out with my friends, Karla and Tracy for dinner and drinks. We sat outside on the patio at the restaurant and towards the end of dinner the mosquitos came out and I got bitten like eight times. Friday I had a training for work in the morning and then went over to my friend, Anneliese's house. We hung out at her house. We tried to hang out in the backyard, but got eaten by mosquitos so we had to come in. I hate mosquitos!!!!! I still have way too many bites that itch every now and again. The worst ones are on my feet on the bone. I hate those. Anyways, Ryder is growing so fast and he is so big, I can't believe it. His hair is so blond now and he has changed so much. It is crazy how quickly they grow. Friday and Saturday, Hubby and I spent time at home together. We caught up on our shows and watched a couple of movies. Today he even went grocery shopping with me (which he usually would rather stay at home). We had fun in the car punching each other when we saw volkswagens. It sounds kind of juvenile, but it is fun!!! One thing my hubby can do for sure is make me laugh and keep me young. I love him sooooooo much!!!!!!! I did not bring my camera with me so I did not get any pics of this past week.

Nice Long Memorial Day Weekend

Last weekend was Memorial Day Weekend which in my eyes is the kick off to summer. I had four days off and it was great. On Friday, I had a doctor's appointment and then I went to my very good friend, Anneliese's house. We hung out outside on her deck and got some sun or I should say burn, but did not realize it until much later on. We talked for hours on end. Several hours after I had been there, her son, Ryder woke up from his nap. He had a fever the night before and wasn't feeling good, so she tried to let him sleep as long as he wanted to. When he got up, he was quiet at first, but then began playing with his toys and talking. His new favorite word seems to be "no". He is growing so fast. Later on, we went out to dinner and got Mexican food. Tim came and met us for dinner. Ryder was quiet at dinner because the music was very loud. After dinner, we went back to Anneliese's house for a bit and Ryder made friends with Tim. It was really cute. He kept bringing Tim his lawn mower and showing him where the bubbles go and asking Tim to fill it up with bubbles. And when it was time for us to leave, Ryder wanted Tim to pick him up and take him with. Anneliese said that Ryder cried when we left. Here are some pics of the two of them together.




Aren't they cute? Everywhere we go kids seem to love Tim. Our neice, Hannah loves him and his Donald Duck voice. Katie, our friend Chris and Jen's daughter love Tim and she has since she was a toddler. She always wanted Tim to go play with her and he would do it and they would have lots of fun together. I know he is going to be a great dad someday.

On the baby front, in case you were wondering, we got our test results back from the fertility doctor and everything was normal. So, the doctors are not sure what is wrong. They call it unexplained fertility. Anyways, they are trying to help us get pregnant.

Saturday morning, I got up and went out to breakfast with my good friend Emily, who was visiting from Springfield. It was good to see her. Several other friends were there too. We had a good breakfast at Walker Brothers. Then I went grocery shopping which is something I haven't done in a month. We were on vacation for two weeks and then when we got back, I just kind of picked up a few essentials. So, it was a very large shopping trip with trips to several stores. Not my favorite thing to do, but it had to be done. While on my way home from grocery shopping, I discovered that my air conditioning was blowing out hot air. Tim powerwashed the deck all day. We relaxed in the evening.

On Sunday, we got up early to go take my car in and have it looked at. Only we found out that they couldn't fix it because the temperature control is messed up and apparantly only the dealer can fix it. I took a nap in the afternoon and Tim stained the deck. It is all pretty now.

On Monday, I cleaned a little and we just kind of chilled at home. We watched TV and played Mario Kart. I don't play very often, so I am not very good at Mario Kart. Tim is really good, but he plays way more often than I do. It was just for fun though. All in all, it was a nice weekend of seeing friends, doing things that needed to be done, and spending time with my hubby. My kind of weekend. Can't they all be four days long.

California Coast, Portland Oregon, and Seattle Washington

Well, we have returned from our vacation/adventure/road trip. We began our journey in San Diego, California. On Day 1, we met up with Tim's brother, Adam for a visit and ate some fantastic Mexican food. I had fish tacos and they were excellent. I love fresh fish. We then saw some seals and beautiful coastline in La Jolla. We then headed to San Diego for some shopping, sun, sights, and food. I don't really remember what we saw specifically. I have been to San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park on a previous trip to San Diego, so it wasn't like there was anything specific I wanted to see there.







We utilized our timeshare when we stayed in San Diego. It was a very beautiful place. Here are some pictures from the resort.







We did a lot of shopping while on our trip. It began with the outlet mall where Coach was having a 30% off sale so I picked up a few things. I bought lots of souvenirs along the way and some gifts for people. We bought Salt Water Taffy in San Francisco and Fortune Cookies at the Fortune Cookie Factory. And I found lots of jewlery that I loved and had to get. It got to the point that I had thought I might have to mail some things home because I was running out of room in my suitcase. But in the end we made it all fit without going over our airport weight limitations of 50pounds per bag.

We got to visit with our very good friend, Sabrina from College when we were in Southern California. We saw her one day for lunch and another day for breakfast. It was great to see her. It was like old times, like no time had passed at all since the last time we saw each other.






We also saw the Laguna Beach made famous by the MTV, Newport Beach made famous by the show the OC, Venice Beach, and Hollywood. Here are some pictures from those sights.







While at the resort in Southern California. We made sure to get some massages and spend a little time relaxing by the pool. It was oddly cool though. I didn't go in the pool, but got some sun instead. On Day 5 we got in the car and started drving north. We stopped in Santa Barbara which was a very hip town with lots of shopping and art studios. We also went to Pismo Beach which was a very small but cute town. The next day we went to Hearst Castle which is a very beuatiful place. The detail in the buildings and the views from the balcony was incredible. Here are some pics from Hearst Castle.







Then we headed onto Big Sur which I have to say is the most incredible part of the drive. The mountains were on one side and the ocean was on the other. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Then we went to Carmel which had about a million art galleries in town. We had an incredible dinner there. Here are some pics from there.






Then we headed on down the road to Santa Cruz which has a boardwalk on the beach with rides and games. We then went to San Francisco to see some sights. Tim has been to San Francisco before, but this was my first time there. We went to Pier 39 and Chinatown and Gharidelli Square. We had some fantastic seafood and chineese food. Here are some pics.













After a few days in San Francisco, we headed north to the redwood forest which was incredible. I have never seen such beautiful trees, animals, and beaches. Tim went in the water and he said it was freezing. I was not brave enough to go in the cold water. We hiked some in the forests. Here are some pictures.












After the Redwoods, we headed into to Oregon. We went directly to Portland to see some friends from College, Barb and Dan who are getting married this June. We had dinner with them and caught up. The next day we walked around downtown Portland which was extremely clean and had lunch in a restaurant that was on a very high floor, so we got to see the entire city. It was a beautiful clear day so we could see the top of Mount St. Helens. Here are some pics.




Then we headed to Seattle to see my Aunt Theresa and Uncle Russell and cousin Lauryn. We had a lot of fun visiting with them. We got to see some beautiful waterfalls and the weather was beautiful so you could see the mountains clearly from where they lived. We also went downtown and saw pikes market and the space needle. Even though we saw some things, we did not feel like we saw everything that we wanted to in Oregon and Washington. Basically we ran out of time, so we will be back in the future. Here are some pics from Seattle.












The kitty is Tigger who fell in love with Tim. All in all it was a great trip. We got to see great sites while visiting great friends and family. And the weather was really good. We only had one morning of rain in San Francisco. It wasn't as warm as I would have liked, but that is okay. 60's and 70's are acceptable. So, if you haven't ever driven the coast in California, you should definitely do it once in a lifetime.