Surgery, dancing, and even a cycle update

Thank you all for your prayers for my husband. We found out today that he does have to have surgery on his back, which he'll have this coming Monday. He has a herniated disc and a fragment broke off and is pinching a nerve. If it was just painful, the surgeon said he might try treating it with physical therapy, but because my husband's leg is showing signs of weakness, it becomes a much more urgent matter.

The surgery is apparently pretty easy, as far as back surgeries go. It should only take like 20-30 minutes and he'll stay in the hospital overnight. He will have to be out of work for two weeks, which he was kind of nervous about at first. God has already taken care of that for us, though, and he'll be able to go on short-term disability without losing all of his vacation days (not having any vacation time for half of the year is tough when your family's eight hours away). We are still a little worried about money and paying for our portion of the surgery expenses. We paid off our credit cards last year and even managed to pay off expenses for both of my surgeries without going into debt, so we hope we'll be able to do the same this time. We don't know exactly how that will happen yet, but we're trusting God (something I'm great at when it doesn't involve my own infertility).

Turning to a completely different topic - did you see tonight's episode of So You Think You Can Dance? You know it's a good episode when I have to save it on my DVR indefinitely (it's right there with the Saturday Night Live episode featuring the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad digital short. Had we not moved last year to a new state and a new cable provider, the 2006 American Idol finale would be there as well). Let me just say, it started out strong when they announced Comfort was back, and it only got better when I found out she was paired with Twitch! Then to top it all off, they got hip-hop! Seems unfair, but it works for me! Okay, so they're hip-hop dance was A-MAZING! Or "buck" as Lil C likes to say. It's my favorite hip-hop routine this season, if ever. And then Will and Katee's second routine - I'm speechless!

Okay, sorry if you don't watch the show but I provided links to get you all caught up. Do yourself a favor. And while you're at it, watch this one too.

On the infertility front (do I have to? yes, this is an infertility blog).. I had some spotting last night (Tuesday) but none so far today (1:45 a.m. is still Wed. to me, so you'll just have to keep up with the day references). My temp dropped this morning to 98.2, so this cycle will probably come to an end in the next two days. It's weird that I can predict that now! Definitely not something I am use to.

Okay, time to go to bed.

*Update: So I just saw something very out of the ordinary for me - peak-type mucus (or what appears to be peak-type mucus) on cd 29. And I'm talking 8KL. I know I shouldn't over analyze, but I'm just curious what that could mean about my hormones. My temperature has been dropping for two days now (which I assume has to do with progesterone dropping. And, by the way, do normal cycles see a sudden temp drop? My dr. said one of my problems is that my prog. drops too gradually, so I should probably hope that eventually my temp drops more suddenly, right?) and my period is expected tomorrow, so what would cause peak-type mucus at this point? I've read that some women get this before their period, but I never have. I wish I could just be permanently hooked up to some portable monitor that is constantly reading-out all of my hormone levels. Yes, I would wear one.

My American Idol post

Maybe it was hormones, maybe it was the confetti, maybe it was the fact that producers lied about the "biggest star in the world" making an appearance (sorry, George Michael), but the American Idol finale left me in tears. I was a Jason Castro supporter until he was kicked off (and yes, very happy he reprised 'Hallelujah', but was I the only one waiting for some big name to come out and duet with him? Ray LaMontagne, or Damien Rice, perhaps? Missed opportunity, Fox. And speaking of Jason, did you catch him getting a bit too close to the pyro at the end of the first number? Be careful with the dreads!). After Jason left, I became a David Cook fan. Yes, Archuleta was great too, but I just wish he wasn't so "adult contemporary" at the ripe age of 17. I just think David Cook is so nice, and how sad is it that his brother has brain cancer? All I keep thinking is how hard it must be for that family, especially for their mom. One of her sons is on the top of the world, while the other is possibly dying. So, anyways, that explains my tears I guess.

Okay, so AI is out of the way and Fox's very best reality talent competition can now begin - So You Think You Can Dance! That's right. I love it. If you've never watched, give it a try. You won't be disappointed. Unless you hate dancing.

Back to infertility now.. I came across a great blog tonight that maybe you all already know about, but it's new to me. It's called The Apostolate of Hannah's Tears. It's a Catholic infertility/adoption blog and offers links to several great resources. One part I found especially interesting was a list of patron saints of childless couples. Since I happen to get a lot of visitors who find my site after googling "patron saint of infertility," I thought I'd post the list: St. Anne Line, St. Catherine of Genoa, St. Colette, St. Gummarus, St. Henry II, St. Julian the Hospitaller, St. Agnes of Rome, St. Gianna Beretta Molla, St. Nicolas of Myra, and Sts. Perpetua and Felicity.

And now I just realized that when people land on my site in the future via a "patron saint of infertility" search, they'll forever be forced to first read my American Idol review, wondering what this blog has to do with infertility. Well, if you made it this far, just consider it an extra treat.