Weight

For a long time I have known that my fertility issues could and probably are linked to my weight issues. I have been lost though where to start. Do I try a gimmick to loose the weight only to bounce back into a bad weight once I got preggo? Do I try a fad diet or a service like Jenny Craig?

We all know that the key to loosing weight and keeping it off is to have good eating habits and exercise. In both categories I lack, big time.

However, I really want to get preggo and we are coming up on a year here....

My mom has started a new "eating style" (not a diet, I refuse to call it as such). That she got out of a book she got from a friend. I can't remember the name perhaps something like "The Paleo Diet". Paleo refers to prehistoric man and how they ate (yes, we laugh all the time about it to). There is this bunch of nonsense about monkeys deciding to eat meat and became man....yada yada yada. The gist is this. Grains as we know them today are not all that great for us. Back before we refined all the goodness out of them and they were these hard crusty things they might have been all right, but as we eat them today not so good. (I am paraphrasing off of what Mom has told me, I haven't read the book)

What we should be eating is lean meats, fish, and fresh fruits & veggies. No starches, no potatoes (though I don't quite understand why Paleo Man didn't have potatoes), no bread, no cereal, no dairy, you get the idea.

But the stuff you can have, you can have all you want. If you want to sit down to a meal of 3 pork chops and a bowl of strawberries then go for it! There is no starving yourself, no counting anything, no growling tummy at 3am in the morning.

My mom, my dad, my sister, and my brother have all lost inches on this "eating style". When Ben showed me that his pants were too big that sold me on it. Jason and I are now going to try to eat this way.

We'll see how it goes.

I'll keep you posted.

Dandelion

Why are children fascinated with dandelions? I remember as a child picking them by the handful and giving them to my mom with pride. Even after I knew that they would barely last a day in a vase, I still would pick some and lovingly put them in a vase for her to enjoy.

Why don't dandelions last in a vase? Why do they wither up and die? They survive the lawn mower and sometimes the weed whacker, but not being plucked....

The daycare kids are always trying to give me the tops of tiny flowers and I thank them and put them in my pocket. Sometimes I say "Oh that is really pretty, but I don't want it. You can save it and give it to Mommy."

I like looking at dandelions, I don't mind at all when the lawn is yellow because of them.

I am very thankful that spring is here and summer is chasing it's heels.

House

We went and talked to the lady that owns the house we want. She doesn't sound very interested in the whole idea. I think she's interested in her head at the idea of not having it to worry about, but in her heart she doesn't want to move. Plus before we could buy it all her projects would need to be finished and I think the task is too daunting for her to imagine it ever completed.

So, on to plan B.

Jason and I will be looking for a different house to buy. It would be so nice to have a bigger place this winter. Winters in this tiny apartment are rough. When we have a disagreement or discussion or just need to be alone, we can't do that. There are no interior walls in our home.

We went to the bank and were pre-approved for a loan. I didn't think we'd get approved. I was certain that we'd have to clean up our credit some. I am hoping that sometime this summer we will be in a new place!!

My Back

Went to see the chiropractor and he adjusted me. Apparently I "twisted" a rib. Funny, I didn't think ribs twisted....

I'm much better. I can move, it still hurts, but not stabbing-shooting-can't breathe, pain.

Aging?

I wrenched my back today and it wasn't my fault. I wasn't even doing anything foolish! All of a sudden it was like "BAM" my back hurts. I called the doc and she ordered me some muscle relaxants. It is better but not up to par!

I hope that this is not a sign of things to come. I find it so hard to believe that I will be 30 at the end of this year!

Piper

I told Jason that until he "knocks me up" he has to get me a kitten every spring.

Say "Hello" to Piper!
She is four weeks old and oh-so-cute!

Bangor Trip

Jason decided that we didn't need to be totally "responsible" with our federal tax return for 2008 and decided that we needed some R & R. We picked some place coastal and nearby, set a date, got some hotel reservations, and headed to Bangor, Maine!

The weather wasn't all that great (did I mention coast in the spring?) but the clouds did appear long enough for us to take a stroll in downtown Bangor, Maine. We did some window shopping, ate some food, and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company.

We had our lunch at Paddy Murphy's Irish Pub. The food was good and the ambiance relaxing. We tried a new kind of fried food there. Have you ever had Pickle Chips? As in battered and fried dill pickle slices? I'm still not certain if I like them, but I'd have them again.

We took a short walk around the park near the river so Jason could enjoy one of the few cigars he smokes in a year. We would have liked to have walked longer but it was very windy and chilly (coast in the spring, what were we thinking?)

We went back to our hotel for a dip in the pool and some rest. Later that evening we tried our hand at pool (neither of us is very good) and then tried our hardest to find some place to eat. There is just nothing open at 9 o'clock at night on a Sunday in Bangor, or hardly nothing. We found a 99 that was open.




The next day we checked out and headed to Bar Harbor to check it out. I have gone to Bar Harbor four times (twice on business) and thought that Jason would enjoy walking in the town. There are a lot of little shops and some fantastic restaurants, not to mention there is a state park nearby and lots of stuff to look at. Anyway, we got there and found some food. I couldn't tell you the name of the restaurant. It was an odd name from like Brazil, but the food was American (go figure). I had tuna. Not the canned kind, real tuna. Which is amazing since I don't like fish. The food was awesome but I'm not certain if I'd return. The place is a little "stuck up". We had a good time walking around and going down the the pier. Sadly, not much was open since it was the off season. We are hoping that next summer we can return and enjoy the area a little better. I want to take him to the park, because it is pretty fantastic up there.

Some Good Stuff

So, I've been feeling a little negative lately about not being pregnant and all that.

(Current pregnant count: 3)

Plus I'm menstruating and that always brings me down. All day yesterday (when I wasn't sleeping) I just felt like crying for no reason. Being a woman can really blow sometimes!

I wanted to take a moment to refocus myself on some good things in my life. It can be so easy to point out all the bad. Anyway...here is a list of all the great things in my life right now (I'm sure there is more...)

1. Loving Husband
2. Loving God
3. Happy Home
4. Roof Over My Head
5. Food in my belly
6. Smallville in my DVD player
7. $750 in debt .. and that is it!!!
8. Mostly working car
9. Jason has a job
10. Jason got the shift he wanted
11. I have a job
12. We added 4 kids for the summer to the daycare which will help a lot with the budget
13. I have a new kitten!! (I told Jason that until he knocks me up he has to get me a kitten every spring)
14. Brand new LCD monitor should be here tomorrow.
15. Clothes to wear
16. SHOES!
17. Awesome siblings
18. Fantastic Boss
19. Furry Animals to love in my home
20. A backyard to hang out in to enjoy the sunshine
21. Goats to watch be dumb (have you ever noticed that our food animals are real stupid? --cows, pigs, chickens, fish, ect--do you think there's a reason for that?)
22. Books to read.


Well, that's good for now, maybe I'll add more later.

A House for Hamlins?

(Click on the pics to see them better)

Yesterday Jason and I went to look at a house. It is not the most beautiful house, it is not the newest house, it is not the most intelligently constructed house but it has two things that our current apartment lacks: 1)space and 2) 6.5 acres of land!!!

First let me tell you about the house's history. As Jason has this to say about the short man who put the house together: "It is hard to build a house with only one hand." No, the man was not a victim of some unfortunate accident or birth defect, we are talking beer in one hand and a hammer in the other. Yes, a drunk man built his house upon the dirt. Well, it started out as a camp and then morphed into this odd shaped, multiple roofed, unique structure. None of the roofs really match up, none of the floors match up, the walls are less than straight, and the ceiling fairly low.

My Dad is currently in the process of putting on a singular metal roof on the house. The project is nearly complete and once finished the snow will slide right off it instead of stay and step up house for the winter. My Dad is also putting in a closet near the kitchen for coats and a pantry.

We talked for sometime with the owner and she assures us that although the house leaks heat it stays more than enough warm inside with the wood stove pumping out a serious amount of BTU's. She also has a monitor heater (soon to be two monitor heaters) to make up the difference when no one is at home and the fire goes out. As far as renovating she has completed: removing a whole room (it was badly constructed) and adding a deck in it's place (so that she could sit out and watch her horses); replacing the washer, dryer, fridge and hot water tank; added a monitor heater; added a closet; put in an arch between the kitchen and the laundry "tunnel" room/space to let in more light; and some basic pain touch ups.

The house's most strangest room would be the second bedroom which barely has a window. The window looks out over an entry way in the back of the house. The second strangest room would be the laundry area. It is only as wide as the washer and stretches nearly the length of the house on that side. I have no idea what the original intent was when the drunk (or the crazy mean man that owned it after the drunk) put that section on to the house.

Now you are wondering why Delia, why would you want such an odd house? .... 6.5 acres of land!!! Jason and I walked some of the property and it has GREAT potential. There is a cleared off, nearly level area where a house could go. A real house. A nice house. Not some Alice in Wonderland house. We wouldn't have to CLEAR any trees like we would if we were to build on my parents land, we wouldn't have to pay to dig a well or to get electricity in or to make a driveway because it is already done!

I am so in love with the land there. There is a little stream and some woods and I can just envision children playing in it and having so much fun. There is a nice barn and a shed for Jason to do his "man stuff" in or get goats for pets or get me a runner duck....

The downside is that her brother(s) are living on the property in a trailer. It's a nice trailer (at least on the outside) and she's letting them stay there and in return they are supposed to help her out with the house. They haven't helped and there is more work than she is able to do on her own so that is why she wants OUT of her mortgage and out of the house. Jason and I would probably get a lease with the brother(s) that they'd have to be out in 2 months after we bought the place. There are also some crudely built add-ons to a fairly decent shed that will need to go. Plus there is the usual stock pile of junk that old places get: random pieces of tin, machinery, wood, concrete, ect. I don't think that we'd be biting off more than we could chew.

As far as the funny little house goes. Well I have some plans. Dad tells me that since the roof is now supported on the outer walls that we could move some walls around. The first thing would be a major bathroom renovation. It is wayyyy too small. So the weird entry way in the back would go and the bathroom would fill it's place. I think that the 2nd bedroom walls should be moved so that it could be a real room with real windows and possibly retain an exit to the back for the dogs to use so that I don't have to chase them every morning.

The house isn't some down-on-it's-luck fixer-upper. It's just odd. Everything works in it. Nothing leaks or is in bad disrepair, it's just really really really odd.

The goal would be that in 5 or so years to refinance and get some more money and build a REAL house or get a modular house of some sort.

On May 6th we are talking to a loan agent to see if we can get pre-approved or at least find out what we need to do to improve our credit score.......

OH!! that reminds me.

Jason and I are with-in $750 of being DEBT FREE!!! With our income tax return & the vacation pay Jason got from Franklin County we paid off a credit card, Jason's school loan (from the whole month he attended), half of another credit card, and the whopping $78.00 we still owed on the car

If you can't tell I'm super excited. Maybe, just maybe in 6month I'll be in a house!!!

( All drawings were done by Delia and are not in any shape or form close to being accurate in size or proportion, they are all a rough estimate of the fact )

Feeling Frustrated

Sometimes I really don't like my body.

I just wish that I could get on a normal cycle. I really, really, really thought I ovulated, but maybe I didn't. I'm on like week 6 of my cycle and I've taken 3 prego tests and they are all negative. I just wish that if I wasn't prego that I'd at least bleed. That'd give me a drop of hope that in the future I could get prego.

There is a mom at the daycare I run and she means well, but every week she asks me about my cycle. When I told her that I was on week six she said "I'm buying you a test." I said: "Thanks, but I have one that I'm taking on Sunday and it will be my third." She shut-up. She said that when she wasn't even trying and she'd be late and take a test and it be negative that she'd cry. I told her that I've been crying every third. Which was an improvement from every time.

August will mark a year that we've been trying and that's when we'll get "aggressive" with trying. Also in August Jason will have been at his new job for several months and will be "settled".

*sigh*

On a positive note it looks like (if all goes according to plan--I know, I know I can hear God laughing too) we will be out of debt by no later than the first of June. Including credit cards and Jason's college bill (he went for a WHOLE month! lol before deciding that college was not for him).

I'm hanging in there and remembering that God's got the whole world in his hands!