More photos of my babies

I am still loving my new camera, so that means you get to see more pictures of my pets. 

Here's Jasper, the eldest of our babies.

A very pregnant - and feral - cat wandered onto the outdoor weather set of the t.v. station where Ryan and I worked together back in 2002. She had kittens and we took one of the boys home. It turned out a few months later that Jasper was actually a girl.

Despite her feral roots (of which Ryan likes to remind her), she's an elegant cat. She's very thin, nearly underweight. She's also the alpha animal of our house, so her size is not due to her inability to get to the food dish. She could have as much as she wants because she is in charge.

Despite our constant love and affection, she is ornary, to say the least, and cries ALL...THE...TIME. As we like to tell her, we know she has it bad. Really bad. We are mean, horrible parents who don't even let her go outside, except for a stretch of several months where we used to live (until she got lost and almost didn't make it back in time to join us on our move down south). 

She lives each day longing to be an outdoors cat, but, believe it or not, she even cries when we let her out - supervised, of course - so we're not quite sure what she's trying to tell us, other than that she likes to complain. You'd think that perhaps something is wrong with her, but she's fine. She is just a cry baby. 

The other day when we heard her muffled cry, I frantically checked all the closets, where she's been known to fall asleep and then get trapped inside. She was no where to be found, and then it hit me - she was outside. She must have escaped when we were going in or out (it is a constant battle; we never open the door very wide because she WILL outsmart you) and when she realized we weren't right behind her to yell her name and chase her all over the yard, she came crying at the door. It was also raining, but she would have come home anyways because she loves us.

She's also super smart and I even taught her sign language. She waves her hand when she wants some of my food. And she is very picky - she only does this once in a great while. That's how I know when she really wants something I have. She loves rotisserie chicken.

Then there's Sophie...

But you know all about her. When we picked her up, the breeder told us she'd never be a show dog because of her pink nose. And her lazy eye. Oh, darn. We had big plans.

Don't you just love that face?

This isn't one of our pets, but it's on my mind right now...

Low-fat, low G.I. cheesecake bars I made last night, and it tastes even better than it looks. I'm about to go get one. I love my diet. 

Don't worry, I'll post the recipe tomorrow, complete with a picture tutorial. 

A G.I. Thanksgiving

Due to the wonderful schedule of a t.v. news anchor, we're not going anywhere for Thanksgiving. It's not all bad - my husband does get Christmas off (it's always one holiday or the other, and we always pick Christmas) and we'll be visiting my family for five days. But for now, we're at home and it's just the two of us for dinner tomorrow.

Last year we ate Thanksgiving dinner with everyone working at his station that night, but this year he's working a day shift so he doesn't have to eat there. Plus, if we ate at his station, I wouldn't be able to actually eat anything other than dry turkey. So we decided (or I actually insisted) that I make dinner just for us.

So in case you're wondering, no, I will not be going off of my diet tomorrow. I just don't see the need or the value in it. I don't want to negatively affect my hormones after getting them all in line and since I can make everything on the menu low G.I. anyways, I just don't see the point.

I know I am lucky in that it's just the two of us, so there's no one else to complain about my use of Splenda in the sweet potato casserole. So I'm taking advantage of that!

And while I'm keeping the menu G.I.-friendly, I am also going by my motto: cheat with fat not with the bad stuff (i.e. white flour, sugar, corn products, etc.). So my version of "cheating" will be by using lots of real butter in everything! That way, it won't affect my hormones, but will still be really yummy.

Here's my menu, and how I'm altering the recipes:

Stuffing - my favorite! I am using wheat bread, of course, and the "good" eggs (with omega-3). Also, did you know that the Pepperidge Farm bread crumb stuff is actually a mix of white and 100% whole wheat? And that the "white" part of it is actually enriched wheat flour? Enriched wheat isn't ideal, but it's also not "white" and it's a great compromise. I also "splurged" and will be using a loaf of whole grain white bread, which is also not really white and actually enriched wheat flour as well.

Gravy - made with white wheat flour

Mashed potatoes - made with red new potatoes (even though these are allowed on the diet, I haven't had any just because they are pretty high in carbs still, so I'm looking forward to this!)

Sweet potato casserole - made with Splenda brown sugar blend

Broccoli casserole - made with 2% milk Velveeta cheese and much less butter than the orginal recipe calls for. Also, I'll use whole wheat Ritz crackers for the topping.

I'll also make peas, and the turkey, of course! I feel like I'm forgetting something. Hmmm, I think that's it. I don't know if I'll make a dessert yet, which seems kind of sacreligious, doesn't it? I just am not a big splenda-dessert person, so I'd rather go without than make something like that. I might make a low G.I. apple crisp if my husband wants it. I recently found a great no-sugar-added ice cream bar, so I'll be having one of those.

I'm going to take pictures tomorrow, so I'll post them in the coming days. And eventually I'll also post the recipes for all this stuff as well. It's too late for Thanksgiving, but perhaps some of you will be inspired to make some of it for Christmas.

So before when I said it was just the two of us, I wasn't being entirely truthful. We actually have quite a full house. Sophie's cousins are visiting us for Thanksgiving:

Meet Winston...



...and Sammie.

Technically, Sam is Sophie's aunt, but you get the picture. Winston's mommy just started reading this blog, so now she'll get to see her little guy on here. And speaking of Winston's mom and since I just came across some old pictures on my phone while uploading the ones of the doggies...

A couple weeks ago I posted about visiting my in-laws in NC. The reason we were going there that particular time was because we were having a "girls' night in" at her home. We spent the night painting a painting (or, rather, three paintings in one) for her bedroom:




I was supposed to be teaching her and my other sister-in-law to paint, but since I'm not a natural teacher (unlike everyone else in both my and Ryan's families), I kind of took over. Although Winston's mom did contribute a lot, including some of the detail on the petals.

I'm usually a nightmare to be around when I'm painting (the words, "we are to never speak of me painting EVER again," have been known to be spoken at times), so I told my sister-in-laws that I'll need to do all my paintings in front of them, apparently, because I did this one in about three hours with no complaints!

Here it is in her room (we took great care to match it to her bedding!):

Doesn't she arrange her bed beautifully? It looks just like a catalog picture or something!

Anyways - back to Thanksgiving - I hope you all have safe travels, great food, fun times with your families, and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The real victim of my infertility...

Because I have too much time on my hands and no little babies to do this for, my dog has to suffer this:



I made this dress for Sophie today (and she actually LOVES dressing up). If you are among those who have an aversion to dogs wearing clothes, forget this ever happened. I will say I never take her out of the house like this (except tonight when I drove her to see my husband at work). That makes it a little better, right?

So if you don't like cutesy dog stuff but were able to look past me sewing Sophie a dress (remember, I blame it on infertility), then maybe you shouldn't continue reading. Seriously. Keep any amount of respect you still have for me and don't read on.

Okay, if you're still here, let me just say that I blame what you are about to see on several factors: 1)The material was 60% off, 2) I had tons left after making Sophie's dress, and 3) it only took 15 minutes.

Okay, look at your own risk (don't say I didn't warn you).
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Please don't think less of me and I promise I'm not going to enter some mother/daughter dog photo contest or anything. I swear!

Sophie's big day

I'm kind of in a funk today. Today's my three-week weigh in, but my scale is broken so I'm not sure how much I've lost. And depending on where the scale is placed, I haven't lost any this week. So I'm feeling sorry for myself. I'm also feeling sorry for myself because I can't eat chocolate chip cookies right now (I'm watching a cookie episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I'm not sure why I'm torturing myself like this). Oh, and word to the wise: if you recorded this week's season finale of House and haven't watched it yet, don't watch it if you are currently in a funk. Not a good idea.

Yesterday was a great day, though. It was my husband's day off, so we took a very long walk on this little island in Richmond called Belle Isle. It was the first time we went there and it was really great, and Sophie LOVED it! It's right in the city, but there's wildlife, swimming, rock climbing, and tons of trails. We walked for two straight hours and it seemed like hardly any time at all. I brought my camera, so here are some of the highlights:

Here is me carrying Sophie. See, the bridge to the island is a suspension bridge and something about it scared her (and scared me for her). She was refusing to walk and I was trying to pull her. From past experience, I know that when I pull her, we run the risk of her sliding out of her collar. Well, I don't know if you can see it in this picture, but there was just enough room below the bottom railing for a little Sophie to fall through. So... I picked her up and carried her until...






...my husband thought that was silly and took over.













Here's a view of the city (way in the distance) from Belle Isle.





I wasn't quick enough with the camera, but this is Sophie trying to chase a frog. It was kind of pathetic, though, because we had to practically put her nose right up to the frog for her to even realize it was there.






Here she is exploring. She's not one for water, so there's not really a risk of her jumping in.








Here's how we spent most of our afternoon - walking. Sophie LOVES walks, so it's safe to say it was one of the best days of her little doggie life.






We're about to leave for another walk right now, as a matter of fact, except for one small problem. Sophie is still sleeping. In fact, until a minute ago, she was lying in our bed.

I hope my mood gets better. Perhaps this is hormones? It is cycle day 25, so maybe, just maybe, I ovulated this cycle and now I'm having hormone shifts I don't normally experience. Who knows. But at least it's optimistic that I'm taking my bad mood as a possible good sign, right?!

By the way, I just charted my BBT's for this cycle so far, and I know I'm not a BBT expert and I also know that PPVI doesn't even advocate the use of temps, but I think mine might show that I may not have ovulated. There was a slight spike on the morning after my last peak day (day 14), but other than that, this isn't how any of those sample charts look at all! Isn't it supposed to be all low, then spike, then all consistently high? Mine just looks like a bumpy diagonal line. Okay, I just found a way to save it as a picture so here it is:


Okay, I am not worried about this and I don't want to overanalyze it, but I'm bored and curious. So, that being said, anyone know what this may mean?

Feeling good

I've been thinking a lot lately about how much infertility makes no sense. I once talked to a priest about infertility. I told him about my situation, hoping he'd offer me some sage spiritual advice. But what he told me was that when he gets to heaven, one of the top three things that he'd like to ask God is why some couples can't have children. His confirmation that this is all a mystery just confused me further. I want to make sense of it all. Things that don't make sense, that aren't fair, that don't mesh with my image of God, well, they just drive me nuts.

So I realized that, for the most part, infertility just doesn't make sense and to try to understand it would be futile. Way too many good, God-fearing couples can't have kids and there's just no way to make sense of it, so why try?

I'm actually feeling pretty good lately. Not because I'm starting a new cycle and we can begin trying again in a week or so. That doesn't really affect my moods. I personally feel my mood is affected by hormones, otherwise there's no explanation of why sometimes I'm up and sometimes I'm down. So I'm up right now, not necessarily hopeful, just in a good mood. Maybe it's because we're going on vacation in a week and a half. That could be it.

As I mentioned yesterday, I started working on my documentary again and I think that is also helping my mood. Every time I've prayed lately and asked God what I can do to serve Him, all I keep coming back to is the documentary. It's like God is telling me "I already told you what you can do, and you're not doing it!" I just need to finish it. That's what He called me to do and I need to carry out His wishes. So hopefully now that I've started working on it again my prayer life will improve and I won't constantly feel guilty. I also know I have to finish it because I got a lot of money from people for it, so there's absolutely no way I won't complete it. It's just been a writer's block sort of thing. I get that with painting a lot. I'll go for a year without painting anything. My inspiration runs very hot and cold.

Today was a pet day. Our cat Carmie has a cold and had to go to the vet. Poor thing. And Sophie got groomed and looks beautiful, or 'bootiful' as my family would say. Here's my baby with her new haircut and her new pretty girl (I should explain that my family calls dog bandanas "pretty girls" as in "My, that's a beautiful new pretty girl you're wearing!" I know, we're weird.)



Sorry this was such a hodge-podge post!

Support group, adoption and Sophie

Tomorrow morning is our first infertility support group meeting, so if you would, please pray for us. Although I have no doubt that this group will be a great success one day, I am not under any illusions that we're going to get a big group of like-minded women wanting to support each other through infertility woes tomorrow. We may not get anyone to show up, since that's always a risk when starting a new group at any parish. But that's fine. It's always good to start slowly.

I can't believe how thoroughly exhausted I still am from this medication! The best way to describe it is that I feel like I pulled an all-nighter, but that feeling never goes away. I really don't care, as long as it works, but I'm just saying.

I'm starting to feel more called to adoption (again). It scares me though, because there's this horrible habit I have of telling myself that if I start feeling like God wants us to adopt that He doesn't intend for me to get pregnant. I know that's delusional. I read this post from a blog I found through Jen from et-tu's other links blog. It instantly made me realize that there are children out there who are waiting just like we are waiting. Just like I am left waiting indefinitely - wondering if God will give me the answer to my prayer that I hope for - a child somewhere out there is waiting as well, wondering if God will answer their prayers and give them a family. They are waiting just like us, so why not end my suffering and the suffering of the child at the same time? This feeling lasted a couple minutes before I soon realized if I do adopt, I really want to adopt an infant, at least at first. It is the older children who are the ones waiting and wondering. Not to mention I remembered the cost of international adoption and other silly things, like I wouldn't want to fly to Ethiopia (I'm scared of flying) and I'd feel bad if my husband went alone (we have looked into Ethiopia adoption before). We'll see. I'll continue to pray to God will put this on my heart if it is what He wants of me.

I will leave you with a story and picture. The other day when we were unpacking, I found an Old Navy golf shirt that belonged to my sister's dog (my dog's biological brother) and I put it on Sophie. She looked sooooo cute. But later that day I looked at her and it was around her waist. This didn't surprise me, but then when I looked closer, I realized she had somehow managed to get her two back legs into the arm holes and the shirt had become pants! So here she is:

Isn't she precious?