Bad hair day

There is a woman that works here who has no tact at all. (Okay, there are actually LOTS of women who work here that have no tact at all, but today we'll just focus on the one.)

When my then-cube-neighbor (now minion) first got pregnant last year, this woman, R, would come over and talk to her ALL. THE. TIME. about her pregnancy. And she would relate stories about her pregnancies. Regularly and at length. As often as possible, I would leave my desk to try to avoid these conversations, which R sometimes tried to draw me into. R enjoys being the center of attention, you see.

At one point R asked me when I was going to have kids. (I guess she felt like that was an appropriate question for a work acquaintance because one of her kids was in hubs's class growing up. So that means she and I are "tight.") My cube-neighbor, knowing about my situation, very nicely told R that we have been dealing with IF. R's response was extremely wise and thoughtful. She said, "Just relax and it will happen!" And then she followed that wisom of the ages up with, "I'm such a Fertile Myrtle, my husband would just look at me and I'd get pregnant!!" That's when I blatantly stopped listening and went back to work.

Now R is apparently going to be a grandma. I know because I've overheard her tell no less than 8 people that her son's girlfriend (wife?) just took a "pee-pee test." (How can I even begin to explain how much I loathe the term "pee-pee" used among adults??) The poor girl hasn't even been to the doctor yet and R is telling the entire bank the news. I don't envy her the mother-in-law she has to deal with.

Anyway, that was how I ended the day yesterday and began the day today. Okay, well, actually I began the day as a Kitty sandwich, wedged between Aaron and Atticus in bed, with an insanely stiff and sore neck, then my blow-dryer crapped out on me AFTER I'd already put product in my hair, and then there was an accident on my way to work so I was late. But not long after that I was subjected to the high-pitched squeals of coworkers as R shared "her" news with half the office.

I'll just thank my lucky stars that my MIL and mom are not like her. And now I'm going to try to put on a happy face because it's FRIDAY and it's a three day weekend!

Hooray for surveys!

I'm not trying to hide anything here, I freely admit that I am a survey whore. Does that make me self-centered and vain? It is entirely possible. But I will never apologize for it! Never!!!

Were you named after anyone? Why yes, yes I was. Both of my grandmothers, and I got one of their nicknames to boot!
When was the last time you cried? I actually don't remember. That's got to be a good sign, right?
Do you like your handwriting? What kind of question is this? I really could care less about my handwriting. It's messy, but it does the job.
What is your favorite lunch meat? Turkey. Chicken's good too. Oh, and tuna! That counts as lunch meat, right?
Do you have kids? Clearly, no. Except the one I've convinced myself is already in my ute. Hey, gotta think positive!
If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Of course. I am the shiz.
Do you use sarcasm a lot? My husband has a hard time telling when I'm being sincere vs. being sarcastic, so I guess you could say that.
Do you still have your tonsils? Yes, and thank you for asking.
Would you bungee jump? I'd rather skydive.
Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Only if I can't get them off while they're still tied.
Do you think you are strong? Physically? Not so much. Emotionally? Depends on the time of the month.
What is your favorite ice cream? Whatever kind is in my mouth. Mmm... ice cream...
What is the first thing you notice about people? I'm not real observant, so I don't know how to answer this. The first time I meet someone I usually forget their name and face as soon as they walk away.
Red or Pink? Red.
What's the weather like? Crappy! It's overcast and drizzly and cold. Whoever stole my sunny SoCal weather - I want it back!
What is your favorite drink? Water. And wine. And beer.
What color shoes are you wearing? Black. I like to shake things up ;)
What was the last thing you ate? Leftover food from some meeting at work. I am all about freebies.
What are you listening to right now? My boss talking to the HAG, and I'm trying to tune the HAG out. Her voice makes me want to staple bagels to my face and remove them with a pitchfork (thanks for that wonderful analogy, Weird Al!).
If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I always liked the metallic Crayola colors, so maybe gold?
Favorite smells? The beach, jasmine, roses, clean laundry, and baked chicken with tons of herbs.
Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? One of my underlings.
Favorite sports to watch? Baseball!
Hair color? Brown.
Eye color? Dark green.
Do you wear contacts? I used to wear them exclusively, for years, but I haven't been lately; for some reason they've been killing my eyes, so I switched to glasses.
Favorite food? How can you have a single favorite when there is so much good stuff out there? Mexican, Greek, Italian, sushi, Chinese... I love it all.
Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings of course.
Last movie you watched? Ir.on Ma.n 2, I think.
What color shirt are you wearing? Ivory.
Summer or Winter? This time of year I can't wait for summer, but by the end of September I'll be itching for winter. I don't care much for Fall or Spring.
Hugs or kisses? Depends on who they're from! ;)
Car or truck? Hubs and I have both, and both are equally useful.
What book are you reading right now? I'm almost embarrassed to say it, but it's a little piece of fluff called "The Temptation of the Night Jasmine," by Lauren Willig. It keeps me entertained on my lunch breaks.
What is on your mouse pad? The bank's logo and slogan. I'm fancy.
What did you watch on TV last night? Baseball I think, I wasn't really paying attention.
Favorite sound? A nice breeze rustling through a palm tree, waves crashing, piano and classical guitar.
Rolling Stones or Beatles? I guess the Beatles, but I like them both.
Where do you want to go to next? Well, I want to go to Hawaii or Greece or somewhere like that, but I'll actually be going camping at a beach up the coast next. I'll take whatever I can get though!
Do you have a special talent? We all have special talents! Let's see... I can sing a bit, fry taco shells, I have a good eye for design, and I make killer dips and spreads (a newly discovered talent)!
Where were you born? Same place I live now; it just wouldn't be the same without me! ;)

Calling all cooks...

I need help!

As I've mentioned (probably several times now), my friend T's shower is Tuscan-themed. Well, the moms and I have decided to make the main courses (pastas) ourselves in order to save money. Both T's mom and step-mom are making some rather filling dishes, so with that in mind, and also because - let's face it - I'm no Julia Child, I've decided to bring a light pasta dish, maybe even a cold one.

But my problem is, I don't have any recipes for one! I've searched AllRecipes.com, and nothing seems to suit. I don't have enough confidence in my cooking abilities to completely wing it either.

So if you have a yummy pasta recipe, or even just an idea for one, that meets the following criteria, please help out a poor, untalented cook!

-Vegetarian (this is an absolute must)
-Easy enough for even me
-Can preferably be served cold (I won't have much time to cook the day of the shower)
-Light (i.e. No heavy sauces, creams, etc.)

To sweeten the deal, I will send a special prize to the person whose recipe or idea I end up using! How's that for bribery? :)

Two weeks

Did I say I was feeling optimistic about TTC? Oh, well that must have been because I wasn't in the 2ww yet!! Oy... It's going to be a long two weeks...

Since I don't have much else to talk about, I guess I'll tell you about my weekend.

As planned, I headed down to the L.A. fashion district with my friend A and her other friend/bridesmaid, J, on Saturday. A was looking for a wedding dress that would knock her socks off, but unfortunately she came up empty-handed. So from there we headed up the street to Chinatown in search of decorations for her bridal shower and hit the jackpot! Yeah, technically A probably shouldn't have seen all the things J and I bought, but it's such a pain to get to downtown L.A., and an even bigger pain to get around once you're there, we just had to take advantage. We bought a bunch of really cute stuff - bamboo shoots for the favors, some prizes, paper lanterns, strings of lights, just about everything you need for an Asian-themed shower. I think it's going to turn out pretty cool :)

Sunday was a really productive day, shower-wise, as well. Hubs and I helped my brother and SIL move into their new house - which is actually my SIL's grandfather's house. (Grandpa has moved to an assisted living facility.) They've done an amazing job updating the place so far, but they still have a garage FULL of stuff. So SIL let me look through some of it to see if we wanted anything, and I found these green vintage glass salad plates that are absolutely gorgeous. They look valuable so I only asked to borrow them for my friend T's Tuscan-themed shower. I think they'll be perfect for the oil and vinegar on the tables, and they'll add a pop of color to the white tablecloths. After that we had dinner at my in-laws' house for grandma's birthday... and I scored some bread baskets and 2 big glass beverage dispensers as well! Thank goodness for having family that likes to entertain!

I still have a TON to do before the showers (in less than 2 weeks now, yikes!), but it feels like they're starting to come together, and I'm getting excited! And did you notice - 2ww, and 2 weeks until the showers? Hopefully that'll help me keep my mind off waiting. I love it when Providence shines down on me like that!

Happy body

Whoa, I guess I must be doing something right! Yesterday was only CD12, and amazingly I got a positive OPK! I've never gotten one so early! Hopefully that's a good thing, but if nothing else it leads me to believe that what I thought were O pains on CD14 last month really were O pains. Which would also explain why my period was 2 days 'early,' since I normally don't O until CD17 or so. Anyway, nice! All aboard the BD express :)

I've been feeling pretty stressed in general lately, but I haven't been worrying too much about TTC. In fact, I'm fairly positive and optimistic, and I think the C+B is to thank. For the first time in... well, ever, I'm thinking about my body in a positive light. I don't picture my reproductive parts as broken or malfunctioning, but rather that everything is healthy and working as it should, which is a major part of the guided visualizations. The cool thing is, those mental images don't go away after doing the sessions, they actually stay with me every day. That's a big help for keeping a positive attitude!

I remembered the other day that my acupuncturist recommended a book called Making Babies, by Sami S. David and Jill Blakeway, and I finally looked it up. It has some great reviews and looks really useful (and come on, how adorable is that baby's derriere? The cover alone would make me buy it!). One of the authors is an RE and the other is a TCM practitioner, and the book goes into a lot of detail about truly complementary medicine. If you're interested, read through the introduction on the "click to look inside" link on Amazon and you'll see what I mean. I'll probably pick it up in the next couple weeks.

Well chickies, other than that - IT'S FRIDAY! Finally! Got any fun plans for the weekend? I myself will be heading down to the L.A. fashion district with one of my bride friends tomorrow, and then helping my brother and SIL move. Hubs and I may also hit up a BBQ and family dinner if we have time. It's going to be a busy weekend! Hope you enjoy yours!!

Knowing what I want

I wonder how many people really think about whether and why they want to have children. And by "people" I mean fertiles, since we infertiles have plenty of time to ponder these questions. Most of the mothers I know simply couldn't have put that much thought into it because their first pregnancies weren't planned, and many of them were still teenagers at the time. What 18 year old thinks, "I do believe I'd enjoy the challenges and rewards of raising a child"? None that I know, they just want to bone.

While hubs and I were on our road trip last September, for the first time I thought long and hard about why I wanted to have a child. I was starting to feel afraid that maybe what I really only wanted was to be pregnant. Pregnant ladies get all kinds of attention, they get to personally experience some amazing things, not to mention it's a great excuse to send their husbands out for pickles and ice cream at 2:00 a.m. (For the life of me I can't get hubs to do that! And he swears when I'm pregnant he still won't. What a meanie!) I really worried that I was in this whole TTC thing for purely selfish reasons.

So on our trip I just let my mind wander. And you know what? I discovered that I have lots of reasons for wanting to have children: I want to be remembered after I die; I want the challenge of raising a teenager as difficult as I was (and hubs was); I want to teach a kindergartner how to tie their shoes; I want to sing sweet songs to put my baby to sleep, and funny songs to make him laugh; I want to learn how to effectively discipline a child; I want to watch him or her graduate from high school and college, fall in love, get married, start a family of their own; I want to be a grandmother; and when hubs and I are old and decrepit, I want to be surrounded by our family.

I don't think these reasons are particularly noble, and in fact most of them are purely selfish. But does anyone really have noble reasons for wanting kids? Unless you're God, begetting a Son to save the world from our own sin, I doubt it. I do feel better having realized for certain that this is what I want, though. Sometimes I get so caught up in the drama of TTC that I forget the end result isn't going to be seeing two lines, it's going to be raising a human being.

I'd love to hear your reasons for wanting kids, if you'd like to share :)

Hump day quickie

Happy Hump Day!

Well today started off sort of crap-tacular, but things are starting to look up! Work is chaotic, but starting to get under control, the bridal showers are coming along, and the best part - it's CD11 and I already have EWCM!!! Ahh... it's the little things that really brighten one's day, isn't it? Good thing the hubby has today off, he's going to need his energy tonight! Brown-chicken-brown-cow...

That's all, now I have to go inventory 25 boxes of years old documents for storage. Try not to be too jealous!

Brain smorgasbord

Whoa lordy!! Things are getting crazy for this girl lately and I'm trying to keep everything running smoothly. Or even just running.

Our trip to the Central Coast was really fun, and we had a great time with our friends. They live in a college town that holds a big farmer's market on Thursday evenings, so we went downtown for that. I always forget how good (and cheap!) the produce is at farmer's markets, hopefully we can start going to the one in our town. Anyway, hubs and I went wine tasting all day on Friday, and then back to our friends' place for dinner... and more drinks! And Yahtzee! And Scrabble! LOL It was really fun but of course I felt like death warmed over the next day. We thought about staying an extra night and making a trip to the hot springs, but in the end we wanted to spend the last day of our time off at home. Which we did - and spent the entire day Sunday working on our backyard planters! They're looking really nice now, I'll have to post some before and after shots so you can see the progress.

The backyard's going to be getting a lot of use in the next couple weeks. We have Beer Fest coming up on Memorial Day weekend, and then my friend A's bridal shower will be held there the following Sunday. Did I mention my friend T's shower is the day before A's? Luckily A's sister and other bridesmaids are doing the majority of the planning for hers, as I've been totally wrapped up in T's. I have to say, I did not count on the amount of stress all this planning would cause me! Between auditors, testing, and training at work, the two showers, the backyard work, Beer Fest, my anniversary trip, and of course TTC, I'm just about to my breaking point!

I'm trying to woo-sah my stress away, and am still enjoying using C+B (although I forgot to do it the 3 days we were out of town). Like I said, the meditation and guided visualization are really good. I'm having kind of a hard time with the relaxation though. I get to a certain level and then my brain tries to kick in, my thoughts wander, etc. I just can't seem to get to that deeper level of relaxation. Hopefully it will get easier with practice; I think it will.

My acu has moved me to an every-other-week schedule instead of every week, since money was getting tight. He actually told me at my last appt that he doesn't really think I'm infertile, and it caught me so off guard I didn't think to ask him what he meant by that. My guess is he wants hubs to get another SA, but this time by a specialist. He doesn't have a lot of faith in the test labs that most doctors' offices use. I do need to hurry up and find an RE, but here's the deal: My insurance covers 50% of IF testing, but hubs isn't on my insurance. (I don't think his covers anything regarding IF.) I'm obviously going to be limited in my choice of doctors under my insurance, and since it only covers half of testing, and nothing for treatments, cost is still a big concern. So I guess I'm kind of dragging my feet in seeing an RE because I don't know where to start! Hubs keeps telling me to "research" some doctors, but it's not like I can call and ask how much they charge for tests and procedures! I mean, I can, but they're not going to tell me that. Ugh... Help? What would you do?

Sorry this is such a meandering post, it's a pretty good representation of my brain lately though! I will leave you with this thought: Neil Pa.tric.k Ha.rris is on G.lee tonight, and I do believe there's going to be a flashback scene in which he sports a mullet. Just go ahead and let that marinate for a while!

So close I can almost taste it!

Happy Tuesday everyone!! Today is my "Friday," so I apologize if my overly-chipper mood is irritating to those of you who have to work. For what it's worth, I wish you a speedy, easy and pleasant week!

So far today has been going suspiciously smoothly, but it's still early. I anticipate all the crazy stuff to start going down about an hour or two before I leave for the day, causing me to have to stay late. I really hope I'm wrong because I want to try to leave a few minutes early. Fingers crossed, but I'm not holding my breath!

Tomorrow is the hubs' and my 3rd anniversary! (And I want to send a shout-out to my anniversary buddy Sherry, celebrating her 10th tomorrow! I believe tomorrow is also Steph's anniversary! Congrats to both of you and your hubbies, I'll definitely be toasting you tomorrow!) Hubs and I will be celebrating by going to see Ir.on M.an 2 at the new 21 and over movie theater. That's right, we can have booze in the theater, every 17 year old's dream! Haha. Afterwards we're going out to dinner at a location to be determined.

And then Thursday afternoon we're heading up to the Central Coast! (To answer Sweet Pea's question, the Central Coast is the coastal region of CA between the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. And about right in the middle of the Central Coast is one of the 3 major wine-producing regions in the state. Of course, that's where we'll be!) On Thursday evening we'll probably hit up the big farmer's market in town, Friday we'll be wine tasting all day, and we'll head home on Saturday. Should be really fun!

On the TTC front - I did buy Circle+Bloom the other day and have done the first two sessions. I'm enjoying it so far; the sessions are only about 15 minutes long, and I'm surprised at how relaxed I get while listening to them. I think that with practice, and by giving myself a few extra minutes to unwind before starting, I can get to that really deep level of relaxation eventually. The guided visualization is very good, I like that they don't try to throw too much at you at once. I'm planning on taking my iPod with me to my acu appts so I can listen to my sessions while I'm there too. All that relaxation, I'll be leaving those appts feeling like Jell-o!

Now I'm off to try to find trouble before it finds me!

CD1, WTH!

Happy Mother's Day to ME.

AF crashed my weekend and showed up 2 days ahead of schedule, the hag. What's she trying to do, make up for last C when she sauntered on in 4 days late? Sigh.

Some thoughts on this visit:

1. I thought I felt O pains on CD14, which would mean I had a 12 day LP. That's not too bad, considering I don't normally O until day 17 or 18, giving me a 10 or 11 day LP in a 28 day C.

2. Some of my usual PMS symptoms were MIA - no sore/swollen boobs at all, minimal moodiness, no bloating, and very little cramping (until now). All this and #1 make me think maybe, just maybe, acupuncture is doing something for me.

3. At least my period will be mostly gone by the time hubs and I leave for our anniversary trip on Thursday. Not that we'll be getting all romantic in the guest bedroom at our friends' house or anything! But you know, I'll be able to wear my white spandex pants and twirl in slow motion and whatnot.

As you can tell I'm really trying to see the silver lining in this situation. I'm not happy but I'm not devastated either. Last month was much worse with all the "signs" and AF being so late. I'd much rather start early than late, and I had no reason to get my hopes up this C. Plus I was so depressed all last month I was kind of looking forward to it being over!

I'm also looking forward to trying Circle + Bloom this C. I'd read about it a couple months ago but didn't want to spend the money on it at the moment, and I was also a little skeptical. Then I read about it again on Busted Plumbing the other day and thought, why not? I got hubs (a.k.a. the Treasurer) to approve the $59 it costs for the mp3s, and I'm about to head on over there and download them right now.

I hope everyone made it through today with relative ease, you were all in my thoughts! (((Hugs)))

Gender-guessing, road blocks, and adoption

(Possible trigs) You will be relieved to know that my multi-year streak of being completely wrong when guessing baby gender still goes unbroken! My "strong" feeling that my brother and SIL are having a boy must have just been gas because they found out yesterday that it's a girl! And ya know, now that they say that, I can totally see my brother with two little girls. I bet that's what I was really thinking all along.

I know most of us have had this thought before, but it's been bugging me lately for some reason. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that "normal" couples can get pregnant just by having sex. While my brother and SIL's first baby was a surprise, they planned their current pregnancy. Guess how long it took them to conceive. Yep, one month. It blows my mind. I can't even imagine what it would be like to want to get pregnant and to know you can pretty much whenever you feel like it. I have this image that my reproductive tract is like an old and busted single-lane street with a road block set up. No detours, the road is just closed and the spermies have to turn around and go back. The reproductive tracts of fertile women must be like the autobahn - smooth and straight to allow the sperm to reach maximum speed and fulfill their purpose. I certainly hope mine's at least under construction and that the road block comes down eventually.

Anyway, enough about road construction. Last night hubs, my friend B and I brought back bowling night! It was really fun, even though it was just the three of us. At one point B told me about her coworker's sister, who is 19 and KU and wants to put the baby up for adoption. I automatically told her I want it, and to my great surprise hubs didn't say no (right away). We truly aren't ready for adoption quite yet, but the way the conversation went made me more confident that when the time comes, hubs will be just as ready as me.

And now, I am ready for the weekend!!! But first I have to make it through today. I'm already irritated which makes me think PMS is creeping in (AF is due Tuesday, just in time for my anniversary), and Fridays tend to be a PITA around here. So I'm sending up a quick prayer that we all have a nice easy Friday to transition us into the weekend!

Bombardment!

I thought I was in the clear for The Dreaded Holiday this year, seeing as my mom is currently off the continent and my MIL is on the other side of the country (hubs's family usually does a big party for MD). I already DVR all my shows, so I can fast-forward through all the MD ads, and I hate shopping so I wouldn't be coming face to face with many banners and signs anyway. I figured I can pick up some cards whenever the mood strikes, have them ready when the moms get back, and bada-bing, bada-boom: a Non-Mother's Day!

Well, my friends, I neglected to take into consideration the fact that I'm signed up for every email coupon list known to man. And do you know what all their emails are geared toward this week?? Of course you know!

BevMo - Wines Mom Will Love!! I don't doubt that many moms love wine, mine sure does (and so does my MIL)! But this year I think I'll drink it all myself, thanks! Do I still get the discount?

Quizno's - Kids Eat Free!! Well, Quizno's, I don't have kids, but can you slap a scoop of tuna in a cup for me? I'd love to take it home to my cat. What, you don't serve cats?? Specists! (You know, like sexist or racist, but toward different species.)

Even my VocalPoint email (surveys, free samples, etc.) asked me to fill out a survey about whether I'd be interested in a toothpaste marketed to "TWEENS." Uhhh... NOPE! But next time you have something for 29 year old infertile women who always forget to floss, send me a sample!

My one saving grace was from Macaroni Grill, who so thoughtfully remembered my wedding anniversary and is giving us a free slice of chocolate cake to celebrate. Thanks, MG!! It's nice to know someone's looking out for me.

Okay, honestly these emails don't really bother me all that much. It's just a little annoying to be bombarded with ads to buy stuff no one needs, and reminded that I'm not normal, and yeah, I'm still a tiny bit bitter about it. But I'll get over it!

1ww

Well, today is CD22 and hubs and I BDed every other day from CD7-19. We fell off the wagon last night, but I'm pretty sure we're out of the "window" anyway. I'm pretty proud of us for keeping it up! Next month I'm going back to OPKing; it would be nice to know if the acu is helping me with stronger Os or something. I miss seeing those nice dark test lines. There was something very satisfying about seeing them, like at least I knew something was working properly! And if I can't get two lines on an HPT, well dammit I better at least see two on an OPK!

And now... I wait... I was doing pretty well not thinking about the 2ww until this very moment...

By the way, turns out we're heading up to the Central Coast for our anniversary after all. Hubs talked to his friend J, who said it would be great if we came and stayed in their spare bedroom for 2 nights! It'll be fun, in addition to wine tasting we can spend some time with our friends who we don't get to see very often. Plus they have a new tiny kitten to play with! And I am a sucker for tiny kittens!!

And that's all she wrote. And by she, I mean me. And by "all," I mean for today. :)

Funky fried

I was going to post some long lamentation about how I've been so depressed this whole C, but it was just making me more depressed to write about it, so instead I'm going to talk about some things I am grateful for. This is more for my own benefit than anything else; my apologies if it's boring!

First of all, I'm grateful for my hubs. He's always full of praise when I cook. Even when the salmon is overdone and chewy he doesn't criticize, he just says thank you.

I'm grateful for our little house. Did I ever mention I can clean the WHOLE THING in about 2 hours? Yeah, sometimes I wish we had more space (or a second bathroom), but there's a lot to be said for tiny homes!

I'm grateful to be able to live in the town we do. It's small enough to have a nice "community" feel, but big enough that there's always something going on. And it's right on the beach! What's not to love?

I'm so very grateful that it's almost summer, and that the weather is finally starting to reflect that! (Knock on wood!)

And I'm grateful to myself for taking 3 days off next week for my wedding anniversary! Hubs and I were planning on spending a couple days on the Central Coast for wine tasting, but we decided we don't have the money to spend on a hotel. So instead we'll stay home and do fun stuff around town. We might take a day to go to the CC if we can crash at our friends J&M's house after wine tasting, but we'll see. Either way, I'm only working 2 days next week, and I can't wait!

Well, that actually helped get me out of my funk a little bit. Now maybe I can get some work done :)

Bat Mitzvah, the weekend, and Africa

I made a commitment to comment on everyone else's blogs today before I started typing up my own post. I think I got everyone! I'm going to try to keep doing that going forward so I don't get too wrapped up in my own stuff to support my pals.

This weekend was very nice. Saturday was my niece's Bat Mitzvah, and it was pretty incredible. The service was two hours long, and she basically led the whole thing. I got all teary at my sister's speech, and I was impressed that my parents (strict Catholics) participated in the service too. My niece did a great job, hardly made any mistakes and just sounded lovely, although I couldn't understand most of it, seeing as at least half of it was in Hebrew! The party afterwards was amazing. There was a DJ with 4 dancers to keep the party going and teach people some moves (e.g. the Electric Slide, and the moves to Thriller). They had all kinds of neon stuff - hats, funky gloves, and these body stamps that all glowed under a black light. And there was a photo booth and a candy bar. Pretty much every kid's fantasy, but the adults had fun too!

After all that, hubs (who had a cold) and I needed some time to recover! So we napped at home for a couple hours before heading over to my brother and SIL's for some Wii. It was a very mellow evening since us old folks were all exhausted from the Bat Mitzvah. Sunday we just did a little house and yard work, and I got to spend a couple hours in the sun too. Although I didn't get much color. For some reason no matter how low of SPF I use, it seems like it completely blocks out the sun! But if I don't use any then I instantly burn. It's going to be a real pain for me to get a tan!

In totally unrelated news... Today is a really big day for my parents - they're leaving on a three-week trip to Africa! Over the past several years they've become good friends with a priest (Fr. E) from Cameroon. They met him when he was serving at their church, and now he lives in Washington DC. But they've been helping Fr. E (monetarily of course) to build a church and school in his village in Cameroon. Now they get to go see what they've helped build, and meet the people they're helping as well. Fr. E is traveling with them (thank goodness!), but I'm still a little worried! I know it will be a huge culture shock for them, but I hope it will affect them in a good way. Please send up a little prayer and good travel vibes for a safe trip!

I hope you're all having a decent Monday, and that it's going by quickly and painlessly!