Birthdays, Babys, and Vacations

Another birthday has passed and I have turned 29 again. I will not tell you how old I am. Some of you already know because you knew me before I decided that I would stay 29 forever. It was a good birthday overall. My actual birthday fell on a Monday, so we celebrated the weekend before. It was a good weekend overall. Tim and I both had Friday off so we spent the day together. We had lunch and then went shopping (one of my favorite activities). I shopped for some shoes which I usually have to do by myself, but one weekend a year Tim will go with me for my birthday. And then we went grocery shopping. We had to go to two stores to get groceries because one store never has all the things that I need due to the fact that I buy a lot of organic stuff because I am trying to eat whole unprocessed foods. Tim complained about going to Walmart, but he went because it was my birthday weekend. While we were in Walmart shopping, Tim kept grabbing unhealthy food and putting it in the cart (like a 2 year old). This reminded me of why I do the shopping by myself. This is one of the things that I love about him. He has such a childish goofiness about him.

On Saturday, we went down to the southside and Tim's aunt completed our taxes. We got a small refund which was good because we thought we were going to have to pay. Later on we went out to dinner with my family and Tim's family. It was nice and uneventful which is a good thing. After that we went to Tim's cousin Mark's house to hang out. We saw Mark, Suna, and little Hannah. Hannah is talking up a storm and laughing like crazy. She gets cuter and cuter ever time we see her. I will have to post pics later.

On the baby front, We went to see my gynecologist and she referred us to a fertility doctor because it has been over a year. We had our appointment this morning with the fertility doctor. It was good, but very overwhelming. There was a lot of paperwork to fill out and lots of information given to us. My head was spinning when we left. We have to do a few tests and then we will know more information about what is wrong. The tests that I have to do are time sensitive so I have to wait until I am at a certain point in my cycle before I can do them. So, it will be a few weeks or so before we know anything for sure. I am trying to stay positive and have faith in god. Every child is a precious gift and I know that god will bless me with a beautiful healthy baby. I feel it in my heart.

We did finally book a vacation for the first two weeks in May. It took me awhile to battle with myself in my head about when to take off from work and I finally came to the conclusion that there is no good time to take off. Eventually, I just decided that I have to do it because I need some time away. We are going to California the first week of May and will spend some time in San Diego and LA visiting family and friends and of course enjoying the sand and sun. Then the second week we are driving up the coast to Seattle and stopping along the way to see some sights. We have some family up there in Seattle that we will be visiting as well. Driving up the coast is something Tim has wanted to do for many years and we have talked about it since Tim's brother and my aunt, uncle, and cousins moved out there, but it has just never happened. So, now we are going to do it. It is exciting. I cannot wait!!! I desperately need a vacation.

Life filled with parties, spring, birthdays.......

I have not been very good latley about keeping my blog updated. I apologize to all of my readers for that. This past weekend was pretty busy. We had a birthday party on Friday night for one of Tim's co-workers and an engagement party on Saturday night for my cousin, Guy. Sunday I had to do a lot of laundry and cleaning that I had let go for awhile. I was to the point where I had the uncomfortable undergarments left to wear. So, I had to do laundry.

This weekend is looking to be somewhat busy as well. We are going to the doctor (gynecologist) to find out what is wrong with us. Because we are not pregnant yet. Some of you know that we have been since February 2009. I am unsure about how I feel about this visit. I don't want anything to be wrong with me or Tim, but I also want a reason why we are not pregnant yet. I really hate going to the gynecologist so I am not looking forward to this visit at all. I will be happy when it is over and we have more information. Then we are supposed to go get our taxes completed because we are kind of running out of time to do them. Saturday we are supposed to go to dinner or something with my family for my birthday. My dreaded birthday that I would rather just pass by as another day and move on with my life. I used to love my birthday. I will count down the days until it came. And I would celebrate for like a whole month before and after the actual day with everyone I know. Now it is just another day. And I am just another year older. Don't get me wrong. I am happy to be here and still be alive, happy, and healthy, but I just don't want to get older. I want to stay in my 20's forever. So, whenever someone asks me my age, I tell them that I am 29.

Tim and I are in the process of planning a vacation to go to San Diego, California for a few days and then drive up the coast of California and visit Tim's brother, Adam and our friend Sabrina in the LA area. Then keep on driving up the coast stopping along the way to see the beautiful scenery of course and eventually making it to Seattle to visit my aunt Theresa and Uncle Russell and cousin Lauryn. Tim has wanted to drive the coast for a long time. And we have talked about it since part of my family moved to Seattle like three years ago or more, but have not gotten around to it. I would have loved to go to Hawaii, but it is just too expensive and we need to save our money. I cannot justify spending 1,000 to 1,800 dollars on our plane tickets. We definitely are going to Hawaii in 2012 because that will be our ten year anniversary and I have always wanted to celebrate it by renewing our vows on the beach. It will be eight years on May 18th. I can hardly believe that we have been married that long. In some ways it seems like it was yesterday and I can remember it clear as day. Time sure does fly. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love Tim so much and I will love him forever. With each passing year, our love and relationship grows stronger and stronger.

Today was such a beautiful day outside. It was 60 degrees and the sun was shining. I wanted to stay outside all day in the sunshine and warmth. I love random days like these that pop up in March. I know it is not going to last, but I will enjoy it while it is here. I don't realize how much I miss the sun/warmth and how much I need it until it randomly comes back into my life and god gives me a beautiful day. Thanks for such an incredible gift.

Sugar Addict

I have recently discovered that I am absolutely positively addicted to sugar and it is the reason for me being overweight. Don't get me wrong, I knew that I liked to eat pasta and potatoes and all things starchy. And I like to eat my chocolate. But I never really realized how much it affected me. I am a pretty busy person and I don't have a lot of time to cook, so typically I would eat frozen meals and convenience food and eating out was always a big thing. And I would think I was choosing something healthy to eat like a granola bar or a yogurt. Little did I know that all of these processed foods are loaded with sugar. Some of the yogurts have like 33 grams of sugar and you are only supposed to have 16 grams in one whole day. Crazy right. Not to mention all the low fat stuff like salad dressing is loaded with sugar. And if it is sugar free, then there is usually stuff in there that is horrible for you like sacharin or high fructose corn syrup. These all raise your blood sugar too.

Anyways, I have read tons of new research, along with Dr. Oz's book and Jorge Cruise's first book and the research shows that elevated blood sugar causes excess belly fat. When I read all this stuff it was like a light went on. I was able to see the reason why none of the other diets worked or why cutting calories would make me lose a few pounds, but not really lose inches in my waist. I also feel so much better now because I am eating healthy foods that are fresh and give me the nutrition that I need. I have only been following this for a week, but it is already working. If you have been struggling with your weight and you are reading this, please check out Jorge Cruise's book The Belly Fat Cure. It may be the answer you have been looking for all these years. I know I sound like an advertisement, but do whatever you want with this information. I am just telling you my story. I will keep you updated as I go along in this journey.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Tim and I had a great Valentine's Day together. We celebrated it on Saturday evening because on Sunday we usually don't feel like going out anywhere. We are usually together, but it is just hanging at home. We went out to dinner at Gianni's in Deer Park which we love. They have fantastic Italian food and it has a great atmosphere. Tim goes there often for lunch with some of his co-workers because one of the owners used to work with him. The portions are huge so we had leftovers to bring home for the next day which I love because then it means I don't have to cook something. After dinner we were going to go see a movie, but it got too late and we ended up missing all of the movie times, so we just went home. We got each other small gifts which isn't something we usually do for Valentine's Day, but we did this year. I got Tim an easel and some oil paints for his art. Two Christmas' ago I got him some canvas and paints and wanted to get him the easel, but they were out of the one that I wanted to get. So, I told him that I would get it for him when they got more in and it was just one of those things that I never followed through with. But it wasn't a big deal to Tim because there were several other gifts that he got that Christmas. He seemed to like his gift and I got him one of those musical cards. It was perfect because it played "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You" which is our song.

Tim likes to be a little bit of a jokester when it comes to giving gifts. For example he is the person who wraps one tiny little package in like one very large box or you have to open ten boxes before finally getting to your gift. Well, this gift was no different. He handed me a card and a medium size wrapped package. I read the card and it was really sweet. Then I opened the package and it was peanut M & M's and I thought what the heck is this. There has to be more. I smiled and laughed and he joked with me and asked how I liked my gift and I was like no, where is my real gift. So, then he finally takes a small box out of his pocket which was the real gift. I opened it and it was a very pretty heart shaped necklace. It was very sweet. The first gift that Tim ever gave me which was our first Christmas together which was a huge Teddy Bear which I still have with a gold heart shaped necklace around the bears neck.

Valentine's Day has always been very special to us because it marks the anniversary of the day Tim asked me to marry him. It was eleven years ago that we got engaged and I remember it like it was yesterday. We were still in College at the time and I had no clue that he was going to ask me on that day. I thought it was just going to be a regular Valentine's Day. Don't get me wrong we had talked about getting married someday, but we were in College we didn't have any money. So, the day we got engaged, we started the day with a beautiful walk along the beach. It was one of those abnormally warm February days. Then we had an indoor picnic to candelight. Then he put on music and spread rose petals all over the room and we exchanged gifts. I actually have no memory of what I got him on that day. He was sort of a jokester that day too with the gifts. I was struggling with my weight as I always have. Although I was much skinnier then than I am now. Well, I told him not to get me any chocolates because if he gave them to me of course I was going to eat them. So, he gave me a wrapped gift, medium size package and inside was a candy box (one of those heart shaped ones). When I saw it I remember being so angry and irritated with him for getting me candy when I told him not to. He kept encouraging me to open the box. I did and to my surprise there was no candy in the box. It was a bunch of those chocolate paper wrappers. He grabbed something out of there and put it in his hand. I still had no idea what was going on. He told me to read this card. I did and it said all of these wonderful things in it and then it said to flip it over to the back and it said "Will you marry me?" I was so in shock my mouth dropped to the floor. Tim actually took a picture of my face when I read it. Then he took the ring out of the little candy wrapper paper and asked me to marry him again. I said, "Yes" of course. We were so happy. I wanted to call everyone and tell them, but all of my friends already knew that we were getting engaged because Tim told them that he was going to ask me. It is one of the best memories. And I am so happy that I said yes. I love you so much honey!! I love you more and more as each year goes by. I wish for many many more years of happiness together.

PS I would post some old pictures from our engagement day, but our scanner, printer, fax machine is broken and none of those pictures are on my computer.

Oh and guess what else my wonderful husband did. He had flowers sent to me today. Here is a picture.



Here are a few other pictures from our night out. We had our waitress take one of us together but accidentily deleted it.





I hope everyone else had a good Valentine's Day!! I wish you all Love. All we need is Love and everything else will fall into place.

Full Circle

For those of you who do not know, I moved into a new position at my job in January and so far I am loving it. With my new job came my very own office which I have never had before, but I have dreamed of for so many years. I have enjoyed decorating it and making it my own space. I am much more productive in my own office than before when I was sharing with all of my SASS girls. However, having my own office is bittersweet because I miss all my SASS girls. I don't get to see them and socialize with them as much as I used to. I feel very disconnected from them now that I don't see them everyday. I miss all of you girls. Even though, I miss my SASS girls, I am very happy to be in my new job. It has been a very long journey, but it was all worth it.

Here is a picture of my SASS girls that my good friend, Anneliese took at a recent party.


It all started back in High School when I took a psychology class that I just loved. I also have a lot of family who have emotional challenges that intrigue me. I began taking psychology classes in College and declared my major in psychology. My professors LFC had mostly research backgrounds which I was absolutely positive that I did NOT want to be a researcher. I hated research and statistics with the passion. We had a class and a lab that went on for hours every Wednesday afternoon. I knew I wanted to work with actual people and help them. I was very fortunate that my school had an internship program, so my junior year I interned at a crisis line/talk line/help line. My senior year I completed another internship working with victims of sexual assault. At that time, I really wanted to be a doctor and get my PsyD in Psychology, so I applied to graduate programs, but did not get into any of them. Probably due to my having a little too much fun my sophomore year in college. I was devastated at the time that I did not get in. But looking back it all happened for a reason. I was not ready to go into a graduate program at that point in my life.

Then I had to figure out plan B. Get a job and make some money. I got a job in a residential facility working evenings and weekends with adolescents. I enjoyed the clients but the job was really stressful. Two years later, I changed jobs to have some more time with my hubby and worked in Foster Care and Adoptions as a caseworker. I enjoyed this work too, but it was not right for me. I wanted to be doing therapy with clients. So, I decided to apply to schools to get my masters degree. I got into two schools Argosy and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. I was ecstatic. I chose The Chicago School because of their reputation and the fact that I could take classes close to my home. I worked during the daytime and went to school in the evenings. I loved all of my classes in graduate school. My professors were all working in the field doing therapy with clients. It was a fantastic experience. My last year in school, I had the best internship ever. I counseled children, adolescents, and adults and got to do all different kinds of therapy. I loved it and knew that it was the best fit for me.

After I graduated, it took me awhile to find a job. I first worked at a hospital in the inpatient psych ward part-time. I did not really like this job, but I needed the money to pay those hefty student loans and I was helping people. I liked helping people, but the treatment in this job was too short-term. Clients were only there for 5-7 days. After a few months of working there, I got offered a job to work in the SASS program. I learned so much while in the SASS program. Now, I actually enjoy doing crisis work now which is something I never thought that I would say. I am also very confident in my abilities to do crisis work and therapy. I got my clinical counselor licensure almost a year ago. I love working with children, adolescents, and families. I feel very blessed to be in a job that I love and work with people that are not only my co-workers, but my close friends.

It was a long journey finding a job I love with fabulous co-workers. During my journey, there were times when I thought I would never reach my goal. No matter how long it took or difficult it was at times, I wouldn't change a thing. Each experience made me the person who I am today. Accomplishing this goal, gives me renewed hope that I will be able to accomplish other goals that I have been working on for awhile. Everything happens for a reason and I truly believe that.

Mady's 1st Birthday

My BFF Carissa's daughter, Mady turned 1 on January 5th. We went to her house and celebrated with some other friends and Carissa's sister, Magdalena. Here are some pictures from that day.

Tori

Mady's Birthday Cupcakes

Tori and her dad, Tim

Magdalena and Mady

Carissa and Jonathan (he fell asleep while Carissa was holding him) so cute!!

Carissa helping Mady eat her Dora cupcakes!!




Dawn and Timmy

Mady opening her presents with Timmy and Christopher helping her




Christopher eating his cupcakes




Carissa, Dawn, and I went to High School together. Our friend Barb was supposed to come but her kids were sick, so she couldn't make it. Dawn's kids are Tori and Timmy and she has another one on the way. She is due in July. Carissa's only child is Mady. And Magdalena, Carissa's sister has Christopher and Jonathan. We had a good time hanging out and I think the kids had a blast too!!

New Years Pics

Here are some of the pictures from New Years Eve. Even though it wasn't the greatest night of my life. It was spend with good company.