High Five for Friday

I have read many, many blogs in my life and both TheSmallThings blog and TheLaurenElizabeth do a High Five for Friday.  Now, I'm not assuming I'll link to either blogs, both are fantastic, but I still thought this might be a fun thing to do.  Here goes!


(1) I came back from the beach on Saturday (for which there will be a post about soon), hung out all Sunday at home, then promptly took Monday off due to a migraine.  Though I did not plan this, it was almost nice having a 5 day weekend.

(2) The Orioles!  I am going to an Orioles game on Monday with Jesse, my brother Jason, and his girlfriend Stef.  I am SO excited, I haven't seen a game all year, either on TV or in person.  Jesse and I refuse to pay a lot of money for cable, therefore baseball games don't make the cut in our 40-channel lineup.  My dad and I are Red Sox fans, while my mom and brother are Orioles fans.  The sounds of a baseball announcer are very soothing to me, as it is ALL we watched during the summer months while I was growing up.

(3) Beyonce.  Queen Bey.  Her VMA performance, and the hug and kiss from Jay-Z and her daughter, Blue, afterward, were amazing.  Also, I've recently downloaded her latest CD and can't stop listening to it in the car. Particular favorites include (but are not limited to): Blow, Partition, XO, Haunted. 

(4) Labor Day!  We have no plans (except for the game) and I'm thoroughly looking forward to hanging out, cleaning the house, and basically just relaxing. Maybe we will squeeze in a little shopping.  Target is having a Labor Day sale and I convinced Jesse I need a new fall purse.  Plus having Monday off isn't bad.

(5) We slept last night with the windows open in the house.  It was glorious.  The low was 54, but with both fans on, it felt positively autumn-like.  I am enjoying this relatively mild and cool summer.  I am a fall and winter girl all the way.

One low for this week?  Please don't let me walk out of the house in any article of white clothing.

Eats

Who has two thumbs and loves to eat? THIS GIRL. (Shameless Office reference)

I love to eat. It's true.  I wouldn't call myself a true foodie, mainly because I have to be in the mood to try new things at times, but when I am, I'll try anything.  I love to go to new restaurants, look over their menus beforehand, and order multiple dishes.  It's also the best when I get to go with my friend Laura. She is a food enthusiast as well and, to use her words, enjoys a "smorgasbord of dishes".

A few of my favorite restaurants include:

Family Meal - Frederick, MD - This restaurant is owned by Bryan Voltaggio, who is famous for a little TV show called Top Chef.  This is his version of family eating, which is basically a less expensive, but still totally delicious, Volt. Favorite items include:

• Brussels sprouts - It is only in the past few years that I have come to love Brussels sprouts.  But let me tell you, these are crispy and bacon-y and altogether awesome.
• Chicken pot pie fritters - The outside is crisp and the inside is warm and full of all the simple chicken pot pie flavors you remember from your childhood.
• Duck fat fries - Now, I can absolutely tell a slightly different flavor due to the duck fat. But it's really the dipping sauces that take them over the top.  So whether you order the regular fries, or the duck fat fries, make sure to taste each dipping sauce.
• Fried Chicken - Last but not least, I will share my husband's absolute favorite dish to order at Family Meal. You get an entire half a chicken, fried to spicy crisp perfection, with TWO (count them two) glorious cheddar jalapeno biscuits, and a side of pickled vegetables.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

(Can you tell I really love Family Meal?  We go here about once every two months.)

7th Street Sandwich Shop - Frederick, MD - A tiny sandwich shop, wedged between other tiny stores in a little strip mall off 7th street in Frederick, MD.  A tad unorthodox, but their Pea Island sandwich has stolen my heart.  They bake all their own bread, and to top it off, they add a tiny homemade cookie with each sandwich, for a surprisingly satisfying sweet treat. Favorite items include:

• Pea Island - This sandwich is loaded with freshly sliced green apples, huge chunks of brie, salty ham, and a gloriously delicious herb mayo.  Seriously. This herb mayo? To die for. I ALWAYS ask for extra.
• Fried green tomatoes - As a side dish, you get a lot!  They are crunchy and sweet and salty and warm and with the Cajun dipping sauce, out of this world.
• Continental Shelf - My husband's favorite.  Roast beef, cole slaw, bacon?!  Color me happy.

Cacique - Frederick, MD - This is a Mexican/Spanish restaurant in downtown Frederick on Market Street. While having a wonderful atmosphere, I think this is the best Mexican restaurant in Frederick. And I have literally tried them all.

• Chips & Salsa - Let me preface this by stating that I adore their chips and salsa.  I have tried all the chips and salsa at various other Mexican/Spanish restaurants and nothing compares.  Their chips are super thin, crispy, and salty.  The salsa is served warm.  It's not chunky, but more of a medley of tomatos, onions, and everything delicious you would expect in a salsa.  
• Vegetable Fajitas - They have cauliflower!  Any vegetable fajita dish that involves cauliflower and squash is my kind of vegetable fajita.
• Mussels - This isn't a typical dish you would expect, but the perfectly cooked mussels swimming in a wine and garlic sauce with crusty bread to dip, as an appetizer for $8.99, is AWESOME.
• Margaritas - I love margaritas, and Cacique has my favorite.  On the rocks, with no salt please.

OK - I have tons more. But this is a super long post already. Maybe this will be a monthly thing? We'll see.  I'm still deciding if this blog is an actual thing I'm doing.

Conflicted

We met with a fertility clinic last Monday the 11th.

Discussing this with my uber conservative and uber fertile sister-in-law left a nasty taste in my mouth.

But I must press on with what I know I want.

However, I am conflicted.  Do I push for a fertility specialist because we haven't gotten pregnant after a year of trying? Or do I wait it out because my official diagnosis is unexplained infertility, which means in my brain, that there is nothing physically wrong with either my husband or me.  I know God has a plan for me.  I firmly know that.  But at what point do I keep walking this fertility clinic path because he wants me to?  I want a sign!  I believe this is what is right for my husband and I, but do I know it?  A couple weeks ago, a guest pastor at our church discussed what we believe vs. what we know.  Do we believe God loves us or do we know that He does?

I know that God has a plan for our family.  Whether that includes children or not, I can't know.  I can hope and believe it does, but I can't know that.  And that scares the ever loving poop out of me.  How could I want something so badly that maybe I'm not meant to have?

The fertility doctor let us know that our best option at this point is a medicated IUI cycle.  After much debate and deliberation, we decided based on our insurance to move forward with a medicated Timed Intercourse cycle.  Our insurance covers 85% of this procedure and 0% of an IUI cycle. OF COURSE.

BUT! I'm switching insurances to my company's insurance which covers 50% of an IUI.  So maybe we can do it?  More discussion with Jesse tonight.

On another lighter note, we had a jam packed weekend.  Friday night we spray painted our new (old - via craigslist) patio furniture a dark green and I have to say, though we had a little trouble in the beginning, I think it turned out quite nice.  It isn't perfect, and I'm definitely not going to be wearing any white pants on it - but I think it looks great sitting on our little deck.

I had a friend and her 4 month old over for dinner on Saturday night.  The great thing about company?  My house has never been cleaner.  That felt great. Also her son, Graham, is adorbs.

Sunday was a crab feast in honor of my brother-in-law's 32nd birthday. I only made dill dip with cut up veggies but I was exhausted by 9:30.  Hosting a party, keeping everyone happy, full of food, and having fun is a lot of work!  Though I enjoyed it, I think I'll enjoy very much the beach time with my family this coming weekend.  Jesse and I are leaving Wednesday night to meet my parents in Fenwick Island, DE and spend their last few days of vacation together.  Jesse has never been to Fenwick Island and to Ocean City only twice.  I am excited to go there and show him the place I went to as a child on summer vacations.  His family vacations in the Outer Banks because his Dad has a house down there in Waves.  We go almost every year for our week long beach trip, and I thoroughly enjoy it each time.  However, I can't wait for a kitschy Ocean City trip where I lay on the beach, stuff my face with delicious Maryland seafood, play putt-putt and buy everything from Candy Kitchen.

A trip to the boardwalk might also be in order. He's gonna love it.

Weekends

This weekend was a busy one.  Don't they all feel that way?

Friday night I got home from work and was STARVING. So we had hot dogs on the grill and steamed broccoli.  And it was perfect. Sometimes the easiest dinners are the best. It also continues the Frankfurter Friday tradition that my sister-in-law came up with.  I ended up going to bed around 10pm because I was just ding dang exhausted.

Saturday we woke up bright and early to a rainy, cloudy, cold day. Alright, it was 68 degrees, but it was also the first day of summer so I expected a little bit more out of this Maryland weather. On my way to work on Friday I saw a sign for a vintage barn sale.  I immediately looked it up and was very excited about all of the adorable furniture and knick knacks.  I convinced my husband to go with me and we were there for almost 2 hours just looking at everything.  There was A TON of stuff. I probably could have spent all day there.

We purchased a multitude of items, but the one I was most excited about was this:

I have it hanging above my stove in my kitchen and for $14, I'd say it was a darn good purchase.

We also got new (old) end tables for our living room.  I've decided the colors are dark blue, dark grey, and orange.  Very comfortable, yet chic in my opinion. 

We purchased a gorgeous antique cabinet for our upstairs hallway to store towels, linens, and candles.  It has glass doors on top, drawers in the middle, and an enclosed space on the bottom.  I love it and all of the details.

We also purchased two rocking chairs for my nieces, they are 4 and 2.  Their mother, my other sister-in-law, mentioned something about getting rocking chairs for her girls and I found two great ones.  And for under $50 for both, I'd say it was a success.



On Saturday night and Sunday we spent time with family and friends, hung out with some kittens, and got to bed very late. 

Loved my weekend, but it was a tad exhausting.  I feel as if I need 3 days. Or maybe I should just do less?  Not sure. Need to find more of a balance between relaxing and doing.

Also need to exercise more.  But that is a WHOLE other beast.

My Mother

Last night Jesse had to work the late shift (14 hours) so I ate half of a pizza and went over to my mother's house.  Her next door neighbor recently got two kittens and I was dying to see them!  My kittens aren't really kittens anymore, they are a year old, so I was surprised to see two tiny fur balls rolling around and think, "geez, mine were like that only a year ago!"

Afterwards my mom and I hung signs up around her neighborhood because our cat is missing. We think she ran out on Sunday night when everyone was over for Father's Day.  She is 15 and isn't an outdoor cat so we aren't sure what she was thinking.  We miss her!

We drove around in my car and hung up the signs, then parked in her driveway and talked.  She knows what Jesse and I are going through, TTC-wise.  She and my father went through the same thing, but for 5 years! (I definitely don't think I can wait 5 years).  It is so nice to have someone to talk to who knows EXACTLY what I am going through.  She usually says everything I am thinking but am too ashamed to say.

My mom and I are basically the same person.  We have the same body shape, most of the same personality traits and characteristics and laugh at the same things.  She is the one person I tell everything to and she is super supportive.  I'm always thinking about what my mother would say whenever I get into a sticky situation. And she's usually right. Dang mothers!

But seriously, I can only hope to be like her when I become a mother. And I wish everyone had a mother like her!

Tuesdays

I'm pretty sure Tuesdays are the worst day of the week.
Let me break it down:

Monday - You're just getting back from the weekend. It's OK to be a little tired, you had a ton of fun over the 2-day break! 

Wednesday - Alright man, this is hump day! You're halfway through. You're staring at Thursday and Friday which we both know are super easy.

Thursday - On Thursdays we get some work done.  We feel energized, the weekend is coming! This is the 4th day. I am Super Woman. I made it through 4 whole days of work.

Friday - Laaaaid back.  Fridays are for wrapping up projects, deciding to do things next week, not making any promises, and leaving work early.

Saturday - Perrrrfect for sleeping in.  Perrrrfect for throwing the windows open (when applicable) and breathing new life into your house. Taking naps on the sofa with your kittens, going out to dinner, getting a drink with friends. Perusing yard sales and shops. 

Sunday - Church. Praising God. Awesome cookout food. Hanging out with my parents and husband and playing games until our brains are numb. Cherishing the last few hours of weekend.

But Tuesdays? Tuesdays are awful.  Tuesdays are the days when the week has just begun really.  If you don't get work done today, when can you get it done? You can't make the same excuses you do on Monday. If you're tired, that's your own fault.  If you're behind, that's your own fault.  Nothing good happens on a Tuesday.

The results are in...

The semen analysis my husband had last Wednesday proves one thing.

That my husband is perfectly healthy.

I am so happy.  He passed with flying colors.  All 10 tests done came up totally normal. 

.....

That leaves one resulting feeling.  The problem can only be me.