Marley

It's amazing how you can instantly fall in love with someone so quickly. At 11:30am, my niece was born. She weighs 6 lbs, 2 oz and is 19 inches long. After seeing a picture of her, I instantly fell in love. I'll be driving out next weekend to see her.

My vacation

My cruise was amazing. We had such a great time that we are already planning our next trip, possibly a transatlantic cruise that would allow us to have ports of call in Europe. I cannot rave enough about Royal Caribbean and our trip. We were 2 of 4000 passengers on board the world's largest ship. They pride themselves with having a very diverse staff of 1400 from over 73 different countries. I think it was the Captain who said wouldn't it be great if the world could get along as well as everyone on the ship. About half of the passengers were from different countries.

We were never bored, never unhappy, and never hungry. I'm embarrased to say how much weight I gained but all I can say is I wish it was easy to drop this amount of weight as easily as it was to gain it. There's so much stuff to do on board which include shows, casinos, singing, ice skating, rock climbing, flow rider, miniature golf, the gym, spa, shopping, swimming, going in their hot tubs, lounging around, sunning on the deck, participating in tournaments, games, dancing in one of their nightclubs and that's just on the ship. I indulged in a very relaxing spa treatment while on the ship. It was just glorious.

Danielle won several free gifts on board, she also won two basketball tournaments (against all guys), and took 3rd place resulting in a few hundred dollars in a blackjack tournament in their casino. We were in Puerto Rico on my birthday which was kinda cool. Ironically, we both forgot it was my birthday until that afternoon (maybe my issues with turning 30?) But it's really easy to lose track of your days while on board.

The ports of call were incredible. I wish I had more time to get a true sense of the islands but the beaches were stunning. I had so much fun snorkeling at Coki Beach (St. Thomas). We were given fish food and the fishes literally ate out of our hands. At Orient Beach (St. Martin) I had fun sporting my boobs on the clothing optional side of the beach. There was something absolutely liberating about being able to do that. However, poor Danielle was truly traumatized by the sight of the men sporting their stuff. LOL!

When I have my pics organized I will post some. Sorry so short but I have to get back to my disaster of a house.

***3 weeks and counting until we ttc again (If all goes according to plan).

Welcome Home. LOL!

I'm baacccckkkk! I had a FANTASTIC time on the cruise. However, when I opened the door to our home, I was welcomed to water spewing out of a pipe in the kitchen, a flooded floor, and no ceiling in the kitchen. The house is a mess. We called the insurance company who sent out guys to rip out the carpets and put in dehumidifiers and fans last night. Today the insurance adjuster came out to assess the damage and now we are just waiting on the plumber to come and fix the pipes because we don't have any running water. I had such big plans yesterday which included napping, looking over cruise pictures, and ordering take out. Of course, none of that happened. I spent it cleaning and the house is still a wreck (sigh). I'll be back later to talk about the cruise which was amazing.

Oh the Places I'll Go

"Tell me, what will you do with your one wild and precious life?" −Mary Oliver

A friend of mine has this written on her website. I think about this quote a lot and wonder if I'm living life to the fullest. I don't have a profound fear of dying. Obviously I want to live a long healthy life but sometimes I wonder if I am pissing it away and wonder if I'll have regrets. At the end of the day will I be satisfied with how I spent my days on earth? I think I want to abandon all responsibilities and be a citizen of the world. According to Where I've Been .com I've visited 6% of the world. I don't know what my goal would be and because I have a relationship and responsibilities I can't pack it all in but what will I do with my one wild and precious life?

Hello 2009

Happy New Year. I cannot believe it is 2009 already. I remember in 1999 when everyone was freaking out about the world ending in 2000. What did they call it? I forgot. Anyway, look at us now, 9 years later holding strong.

I started my journey of ttc in Jan/Feb 2007 at age 28. In 13 days, I will be turning 30. I had a lot of reservations about turning 30. In my mind I had set all of these goals and felt like a complete failure for not accomplishing all of them. I've bought a home, finished grad school, started a private practice two years earlier than planned and paid off my car. So ironically I've accomplished a lot so I'm not that much of a failure but sometimes these internal messages need rewiring. After talking with some people thirty and up, I've been told that there is nothing to worry about and that it only gets better. I sure hope so because although I'm grateful for my health, home, and family, these past two years have been crap.

So with 2009, I am calling into existence great things. These include continuing to build my practice, looking into getting certified as a Marriage and Family Therapist, getting back to my pre-ttc weight, strengthening my core muscles, saving more money, taking Danielle to Europe, and finally...getting pregnant/starting a family.

To all of my readers, I want to thank you for following me on this roller coaster ride and I wish all of you a happy and healthy new year.