Start to a New Year

Well, my husband and I have started talking, and we both agreed to change starting the new year.  He is going to help me out around the house more and I am going to try to keep up with the basic cleaning and laundry around the house.  I have been slipping and I admit it.  I am happy that he has agreed to help me more though to help make it easier.  Last night we both even helped each other clean the bedroom really good and moved the furniture around also.  It looks great. 

As for the baby making, we are really going to start at it big time next month.  We were only able to do it once this month do to things getting in the way so I don't really think this is going to be our month.  You never know though.  I am hoping that it will happen soon though, because I would like to try to have a baby not to far from my friend.  It is always nice to have someone else going through the same thing as you so you can go through it together.

In the meantime though, I am going to use this year to help improve myself, to make me a better person.  I am really going to focus on finishing up my Associates degree by the end of next year.  I am also going to really try to start cooking more homemade dinners too.  Just like what my mom use to make.  I also figured it will be good practice too for when we do eventually have a child. 

I am hoping that this year is going to be a good year.  I think it will.

Unsure

Well last night my husband and I had a huge fight.  It is the times like these that really make me wonder if I want to add a child to the mix.  I would say it has probably been a couple of months, if not more since we last had a argument, but when we do fight, I also start questioning the relationship.  We definitely have more good days then bad though and I know every couple argues.  I think that when he raises his voice though, it just brings back memories of being a kid and listening to my parents arguing all the time before they eventually got a divorce.

As for the baby thing though this is our second month of trying and we have only done it once so far.  I think though that the rest of this month, I am not going to initiate anything else, and lets see if he does.  He knows that I am in my fertile time right now, so lets see.  I think that me pressuring him and giving him this time frame is getting to him too.  He has Low T to begin with and so I am sure the stress of a time frame isn't help at all. 

I guess I will just see what happens this month.

Covergirl Blast Flipstick

Well I am so excited that I got picked to be in this campaign from BzzAgent.com.  I got my kit a couple days ago, and inside was a whole bunch of coupons and also 3 tubes of the Flipstick which really is like getting 6 lipsticks because each one has 2 colors.  Needless to say I was in heaven because I love my lip stuff.  Some girls have there shoes, some have there purses, and I have my lip stuff.

2 lipsticks in 1 BlastFlipstick! Flip your look from day to night, soft to bright, with BlastFlipstick's double-ended lipstick duos. With a creamy shade on one side and a shimmer shade on the other, it's two wearable, blendable, lipcolors in one!

http://www.covergirl.com/blastflipstick

I already tried it out and I have to say that I love it.  Each side has a pretty good amount of stick to it too, so it isn't going to run out that fast.  Plus, the color stays on your lips for a while.  I drank 2 cups of coffee and I still had the shimmery color on my lips.  I can not wait to try blending them and coming up with my own look.  I will definitely be buy this again.

I got my dreaded AF for Thanksgiving

Which means I am not pregnant this month.  It was the first month though of trying, so I kind of expected that AF would show up.  Me and Hubby will just have to try harder this month then.  Maybe a Christmas announcement? 

I did buy preseed though to try for the next time we DTD.  I am also going to not temp this month and just have fun with it.  I noticed that the times I temped, I starting becoming obsessed with thinking I was pregnant, and it just drove my husband crazy and it consumed my thoughts.  What I really just need to do is just relax and just really focus on finishing school and if it happens, then it happens.

I also found out that the more I keep talking about it the more pressure my husband feels and the less likely he is wanting to perform, which really isn't good for trying to make a baby anyway.  So I will just take each day as it comes and see what happens.  I think I am going to start doing the whole temping thing again if a couple months pass and nothing.  I just need to take a break though.

Don't want to get my hopes up

But I am really hoping that this is going to be our month.  I started to temp this cycle and I ovulated around the 9th.  Well, on the 15th I was starting to get cramps and it felt like my period was going to come any day even though I wasn't due until the 23rd.  Well the next day I took my temp and it was down by almost .2.  Then the next day, on the 17th, it shot up again even higher then what it was after I ovulated.  Since then, it has been gradually going up.

As far as other symptoms, my stomach has been feeling a little weird for a couple of days but seems to have subsided today.  My boobs also started to get bigger a week before my period is due, and it doesn't happen until a day before my period arrives.  I also have had sensitive teeth for the last couple of days.  I know it sounds weird but they just have been feeling different.

I already tested 3 times and all got a BFN.  I know 2 of them were definitely way to early, but I couldn't help it.  Today was the last time I tested.  I thought I might have seen something, but I think it was my eyes just playing tricks on me because it was hardly there and it kept fading away on me. 

I decided that I am going to test Thanksgiving day though, a day before my period is due.  That would be a great way to celebrate the holidays.  All our family will be there too, so it would be a very nice holiday that no one would forget.

Dreaded TWW

I am starting to go crazy with the whole two week wait.  I know I can test earlier too but it is still even too soon for that.  I am kinda feeling some symptoms now, like my boobs are starting to get a little sore, but I don't really know if it is in my mind or what.  I am also cramping on and off, so I don't know if that is anything.  I know that it is still early to tell, but I really just want this to happen.  Plus it doesn't help to find out that two of my friends just let me know that they are pregnant too. 

Well if it doesn't happen this month, then I am going to be prepared for next month.  I started temping and I also went ahead and bought some preseed.  I am hoping that once our one friend makes the announcement, that will make my dear hubby want to try even harder.  I am really hoping though that this will be the month though.

Last Night was Fun

So we finally got to BD last night.  I am so excited.  I also figured we can to it this weekend to cover all the bases too.  How I would love to be pregnant for Thanksgiving.  What a great announcement that would be with the whole family gathered around the table.  If not, then I guess we will just have to keep trying.  I just see everyone around me getting pregnant, and I just feel left out.  Not that I just want a baby because everyone else is, but I just can't help to feel that way.  I know that if we can not have one, then I will be fine.  We have a great life together now and not having one is not going to change that. 

In the meantime though this will be the perfect time to just concentrate on finishing school and getting some bills paid down.  I was also looking at prices of furniture and all, so I really should just starting saving up for all that now.  Then I will have the money when it comes time to buy that stuff.

As for the weight loss and working out, I really do need to get my butt into gear.  I feel so lazy.  I haven't really done anything.  I am going to start buying fresh foods though.  No more processed for me.  Yea, it may take a little longer too cook and all but it will be worth it in the end.  Plus, I now have to start  thinking about my future baby and not just me.  I want it to get the best nutrients it can possible get while it is inside me.  Also, as of last night, that was my last drink.

Wish me luck though and hope that this month is our month and I am going to get my BFP!!!!!!!!

Tonight's the night

Tonight is going to be the first official night of starting our TTC journey.  I am so excited.  I know the odds are slim of getting a BFP this month, the first month, but I sure would love if that happens.  I went to my cousins little girls birthday party, and all I could think of was that being me someday.  Hosting little parties and making birthday cakes.  I don't really have much to write about today, but I just was so excited that tonight is the first night.  Wish me luck this month.

I never new

I found this video from another blog I read to be very fascinating.  It is called the Great Sperm Race.  I never really knew how much work it took to get pregnant.  I now understand why it can take so long to get that positive test.  This video really does explain it all.  Let me know if you found it to be as interesting as I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SFOpHiS-tA

Coffee Please

I am happy to announce that I was accepted into another campaign again from BzzAgent.  The campaign this time was for Green Mountain Coffee.  In my bzzagent kit, I got 3, 4 pack boxes of  k-cups of all fair trade coffee and tons of coupons.  There coffee is now fair trade and I think that it is great that they are doing that, plus in my opinion, I think they taste so much better too.  What is Fair Trade you ask, and what are it's benefits?  Well I am glad you asked.

In 2000, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. became one of the first roasters in the U.S. to offer Fair Trade Certified™ coffees. And there now the largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee in the world, purchasing more than 38 million pounds in 2011 alone. Fair Trade helps ensure that farmers get a fair price for their beans. It also improves working conditions, and supports development in farming communities with projects resulting in new schools, roads, health clinics and safer drinker water. All of the above enables farmers to invest in better quality coffee. So while Fair Trade communities enjoy a better quality of life, you enjoy a better quality cup. It's coffee that tastes good and does good too. The benefits go beyond just dollars and cents. Fair Trade growing practices help protect the environment too. Sometimes good coffee really does make the world go 'round.

 You can find a $1 coupon on there Facebook page below.  Also, don't forget to like there page so you can get announcements of when they are giving away free samples of there coffee.  They also took acclaimed musicians Grace Potter and Michael Franti to Colombia and Sumatra to experience why Fair Trade means better coffee for you and a better life for farmers. Learn more about Fair Trade and watch exclusive videos from their travels below.

 https://www.facebook.com/GreenMountainCoffee/app_123707314444061

So happy that  I am not going to have to give up coffee completely if I get pregnant, because I don't know what I would do to get through the day.

Dreaming

Did you ever have a great dream that when the alarm wakes you up, you try so hard to go back to sleep hoping that you can continue the dream?  Well, that is what happened to me last night.  I dreamt that I was at work and I ended up taking a pregnancy test and it turned out positive.  I was pregnant and so excited.  I could actually feel the happiness and joy when I woke up.  Now, since we are not going to start trying until next week, I know that it wasn't my self conscious trying to tell me something, but I really do hope that my dream does come true sometime in the near future.  I probably had that dream because all I can think of is baby, baby, baby.  What I really need to do is just stop focusing so much on trying to have a baby, and just enjoy the moments that me and my hubby have together, just the two of us, because once we do get pregnant, that is all going to change.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Now with the cold weather coming and trying to find some good ideas for dinner that are easy and healthy to make I came across this recipe from Shine on Yahoo and I can not wait to make it.

Flemish Beef Stew
Active time: 45 minutes | Total: 8 3/4 hours
To make ahead: Prepare through Step 3; cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day before cooking.
For this slow-cooker interpretation of Carbonnades Flamandes, a Flemish stew made with beer, if you can't find a brown ale, use a strong, dark beer (but not a stout).
4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
2 pounds bottom round, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 pound sliced cremini or white button mushrooms
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups brown ale or dark beer
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half the beef and brown on all sides, turning frequently, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker. Drain any fat from the pan. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and brown the remaining beef. Transfer to the slow cooker.
2. Return the skillet to medium heat, add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they give off their liquid and it evaporates to a glaze, 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms; cook undisturbed for 10 seconds, then stir and cook for 30 seconds more. Pour in ale (or beer); bring to a boil, whisking constantly to reduce foaming, until thickened and bubbling, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the slow cooker.
3. Add carrots, onion, garlic, mustard, caraway seeds, salt, pepper and bay leaf to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
4. Put the lid on and cook on low until the beef is very tender, about 8 hours. Discard the bay leaf before serving.
Makes 8 servings.
Per serving: 272 calories; 9 g fat (3 g sat, 4 g mono); 72 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; 27 g protein; 2 g fiber; 359 mg sodium; 645 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (110% daily value), Zinc (33% dv), Potassium (17% dv), Iron (15% dv).  

I love the crock pot.  You can make so many healthy meals with it.  If anyone wants to share any ideas or meals, please feel free.  I would love to try it.

Aunt Flo just showed up

Which means that once her visit is over, me and the hubby is finally going to start BABY DANCING!!!!!!  I am so excited.  So now I am wondering if I should go out and get the ovulation tests, start taking my basil temp or if I should just go a couple of months of just having fun.  A lot of people are telling me different things, but I don't know what to do really.   I am thinking about just not worrying about it and just do it a couple of months and see what happens.  But on the other hand, what happens if nothing happens because I didn't do any charting or anything.  So many options to choose from. 

 On another note, I just starting taking prenatal vitamins and for some reason they make me sick to my stomach, even after taken them before bed with food.  Does anybody know any good remedy about that.  Also, I know this may me TMI, but they seem to make me constipated too.  I know they say pregnancy can do that to a woman but I really wonder if it is in fact the pregnancy, or just the vitamins, lol.  If anybody has any good info to share with me on what to do, it will be greatly appreciated.

I am also going to be starting my new workout routine and eating more healthy today.  I really want to lose at least 15 pounds before I get pregnant.  My today's weigh in is 165.5.  I am hoping that by next week I will be able to post a smaller number.  I just really need to find my motivation and get a routine going, and then I know I will be able to stick with it.  Wish me luck.

Painting Project

So I am a member of a wonderful site called BzzAgent.com.  You answer surveys every now and then, and if a company thinks that you are qualified, then they will go ahead and ask you to participate in the campaign.  Once you get accepted, the only thing they ask you to do is talk about the product, good and bad.  Well, I was excited when they asked me to go ahead and join the Benjamin Moore Aura paint campaign.  Well, in my Bzz Kit, I got a free pint of white paint and also a coupon for a free gallon of paint, plus lots of coupons to give to friends and family.  I did a lot of thinking of what room was going to get painted.

Well, I decided to go ahead and pick a nice neutral color for the room that we are going to use as the nursery.  I was thinking of a really light mint green color.  That way if I have a boy, I can use the brown accents with it and if it is a girl, then pink will go really well too.  In the mean time though until I get pregnant, it will be a nice airy color room that I can use for my reading/zen room.  Here is the link of the color that I am thinking of.  Let me know what you all think.  Once I get the room done, I will be sure to post before and after photos.  I can not wait to get started.

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/crystalline


Here is a link to the BzzAgent site just in-case anyone is interested in doing it. 


Bzzagent.com

The scale says it all

So this morning before getting ready for work, I stepped on the scale and was very shocked at what I saw.  165.5lbs.  That is the heaviest I have ever been and I do not know how it happened.  I gained 10 pounds in the last two years.  After getting dressed, I looked in the mirror and I already look like I am 4 months pregnant.  Now don't get me wrong, I would be completely happy looking like this when I finally do get pregnant, but I AM NOT PREGNANT YET!!!!!

Starting next Wednesday, I decided that I am going to start getting up early with hubby and start working out before I go to work.  We have a nice treadmill that we bought last year, but we never use it.  I am going to start using it for 30 minutes every morning.  I am also going to stop eating junk food and really going to cut back on the alcohol intake.  I guarantee that is where all these extra pounds came from.

I am really hoping that I will be able to lose some weight before I get pregnant, because I really do not want to gain 20-30 pounds on top of what I am now.  I am also hoping to get into somewhat of a exercise routine, so I can continue it through my pregnancy.  Plus if I can lose some weight before I get pregnant, I can just keep my old clothes and maybe not have to buy a lot of maternity clothes.  I really just wish I can keep this motivation to lose the weight and get more healthy.  I will keep everyone updated on the progress of the weight loss and also when I get pregnant. 

Intro about me

Well after talking and debating about it for a couple of years, me and the hubby have finally decided to go down that path of trying to become parents.  I just turned 31 this year, and so I really only have 4 more good years left.  I am really excited to start trying already.  I already ovulated this month, so next month can't seem to get here fast enough.  I know that it may take time before I actually get pregnant, but in my wishful mind, I am really hoping to get pregnant on the first month.

We were going to start trying months ago, but our schedules were never together.  I worked days and he worked nights and the only time we would see each other really, was one day a week.  Maybe 2 if we were lucky.  On the times we did get to see each other, we would want to go out and do stuff, and so by the time we got home, we were to tired to do anything.  He now got his schedule changed, so he gets to be home at night with me.  So hopefully that will help us out a lot.

It seems like everyone around me is getting pregnant now and I can't help to feel jealous and a little envious right now.  I know that sounds silly, because we are just going to starting trying next month, but I guess it makes me realize how much I really want this now and am afraid that for some reason, it may not happen.  In the meantime though, I am really going to start trying to lose some weight and just start eating healthier.  Really going to try to cut done on the processed foods the best I can and going to limit my intake of alcohol and caffeine.

I will try to keep an update at least once a month to let everyone know what happens and if it was the month or not, and really try not to drive my husband crazy with babies all the time.  I really just need to focus on school and hopefully finishing up with my AA by next year.  It is taking me a long time to finish, but I will get there.