6 Little Belknaps

I got a call from the embryologist yesterday. Six of the eggs they retrieved were immature and could not be fertilized, which we expected based on my sonograms. Out of the six mature eggs, all six fertilized. 100% success in my opinion!

We are so excited. I cannot even describe how amazing this process is. It's so fascinating. I can say that it's unlikely I would ever do the first part of the cycle again. Brutal! But this part is crazy exciting. They are going to do the transfer first thing tomorrow morning. We will go in, discuss the eggs' progress and decide on the two best for transfer.

I will let everyone know how the transfer goes tomorrow.

The Retrieval

After a week of sonograms and blood work, I finally had the retrieval today. It was a bit of a roller coaster over the past week: my ovaries were a little sluggish and didn't want to cooperate. At my last sonogram, we had 5, maybe 6, follicles that were responding. Better than the 3 from my second sono! Well, they told Mike when I got out of surgery that they were able to get 12 eggs! Amazing! 

We will get a call from the embryologist tomorrow to let us know how many were fertilized and when we can expect the transfer date. They initially thought, since they weren't expecting many eggs, that the transfer date would be Sunday. But since there were considerably more than that, it may be Tuesday so that they can evaluate all the embryos and choose the best two.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. My nurse even told me she was praying for us specifically! Please continue praying for those little Belknaps, and for us too. :)

Shots and Sonograms

I started my shots on Saturday. One in the stomach in the a.m. and one in the stomach in the p.m. The one in the morning must be made of liquid fire because it burns like crazy! The one in the evening is cake...no burning, no fire, just a little pin prick. I just finished my fourth day of medication; only approximately six to go! Until the next medicine, but that's for another day.

This morning I had my first sonogram since I started the shots and so far everything looks good. I have seven follicles on the left ovary and six on the right ovary. Lucky thirteen!...did I just hear someone say paluthda? (I know someone knows what I'm talking about!) Anyway, the follicles are small, which is normal at this stage. I have sonograms on Thursday, Saturday, Monday and possibly Tuesday to measure the size of the follicles. I will probably have a better idea after the Saturday sonogram when the retrieval will be.

I will post a follow up on Thursday.

Go MAVS!

Belknap Family Update

I know blogs are so last year, but I wanted to have a place where I can make sure I keep everyone up-to-date and not forget anyone. So, blogging it is. My commitment is to try to keep this as updated as I possibly can, and when I cannot, have Mike do it.

On to our news. For those that already know, sorry to repeat myself. For those that don't, this is for you. After many unsuccessful years of trying to get pregnant, Mike and I have chosen to do at least one IVF cycle and then adopt after that. This is my attempt to keep everyone informed of our journey. I am not shy and intend to document every gory detail. I'm sorry to those who feel uncomfortable with over-sharers.

Today was my first sonogram to determine my baseline for the next couple of weeks. I got my call from the doctor this afternoon advising that we were good to go, that I am to start my injections on Saturday, and what the dosage was for each shot. Here we go! We are off and running!

This post is to simply ask for everyone's thoughts and prayers. We are cautiously optimistic about this and are praying for success...if not for the IVF to work, for the following adoption process to be seamless. Please pray for my health (physically and mentally), for the success of the treatment, and most importantly for our marriage. I know that this can be so stressful on a marriage, and our main focus must be our relationship with each other. We believe in the power of prayer and know that God hears and answers them!

More updates and doctor's reports to follow.

G and P

If anyone wants to see the cutest pictures EVER of Gaite and Paige, head on over here.

Christmas Contest

So, we had a Christmas party at work where there was a prize for the ugliest Christmas sweater. I won. I'm sure you can see why. Ugliest, most hideous, and homemade...and a special thanks goes out to Lisa who helped make this possible.

Yes. Those are cotton balls tacky glued to a t-shirt, with jingle bells for buttons, and a felt carrot nose with a felt top hat and scarf. Hideous!!! And a winner!!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

One of the ONLY things that I like about this time of year is that when it gets cold, that means it's time for FIRESIDE COFFEE!!! Woo-hoo!

I love holiday cheer.

I love the smell of fires burning in chimneys.

I love having a fire in our fireplace.

I LOVE sleeping when it's cold.

I love getting days off of work.

I love guiltless eating.

I love my Christmas tree.

I love Thanksgiving.

I love giving gifts.

And I really, really love Fireside Coffee!

In The Navy, In the Navy

Well, last weekend was the weekend that the ole Smith family headed up to Great Lakes, Illinois to watch our baby graduate from the Navy’s basic training. It was beautiful, emotional, heart wrenching, and exciting all at once.

None of us (except for Beau) had been to Chicago before, so that was a new experience. It was FREEZING! Holy cow! It was as cold in November as it gets the entire winter here. Much too cold and windy for me. The wind was biting. The air was cold. The sun never really came out…the sky was gray and cloudy. We arrived at O’Hare on Thursday evening, and made the 30-40 minute drive up to Great Lakes, grabbed a bite to eat, and settled into our hotel. We stayed at the Navy Lodge, which may not be the Hilton, but it was VERY affordable and clean. And did I mention close to the base? That was the best part! As soon as Andrew would call in the morning, we would race out and head down three traffic lights to pick him up. It was so great!

Friday morning we got up before it was light outside and headed to the base. We hadn’t seen him yet, and we were anxious to get to him. We had heard that we needed to get there super early to get a good seat and to get there before the division t-shirts ran out. (Each division gets to design their own flag, and then they make a limited number of t-shirts that match and sell them the morning of graduation.) We were definitely there early, got a great seat right in front of where Andrew’s division was supposed to stand, and waited, and waited, and waited. Totally worth the wait!!!
The PIR hall (graduation is called Pass In Review, or PIR) is a long warehouse looking building that seems as long as a football field. There is a roll up garage-like door that opens and each division marches in the door, down one “sideline”, and up the back “sideline”. Visitors sit along the front “sideline” as they watch each division come in and then take their place in the hall facing the visitors.
Andrew’s division was second to last to enter, so we were at the end of the hall. We saw his division march up, and we started hunting for Andrew. They all sort of look alike with their matching uniforms, hats, and shaved heads. One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen was when I finally caught a glimpse of Andrew marching in with his head up and his shoulders back. It was absolutely beautiful. I can’t describe it, but I will never forget the way he looked. We all immediately burst in to tears (and I mean “we ALL”). We then made it through the rest of graduation, found Andrew afterwards, and then tried to beat a path out of there, lest he get stuck on base when we wanted him all to ourselves!
Dropping him off at the base each evening was terrible. It just sucked having to watch him walk back to his barracks each evening instead of getting to stay with the family. But the next morning, we did it all over again. We got to go into Chicago to the Navy Pier (freaking cold right on the water until we realized that we could walk inside…genius); went to the Sears Tower (I didn’t go up, but drove around the block a few dozen times because I couldn’t find parking that wasn’t illegal); went to a huge mall at Gurney Mills (similar to Grapevine Mills); and ate.
It was just so great to get to see Andrew, and laugh at his humor, and listen to him apologize to Mom over and over for swearing in front of her. A lady thanked him for his service while we were out, and he said, “Thank you, ma’am.” I cried when she told him that, and I really cried when he thanked her. He held doors open for people; he took his hat off when he went into buildings. He really has changed so much in so little time. He was sad to see us leave, and we were definitely sad to leave him. I wanted to pack him up in my suitcase and bring him home. But I didn’t, and he has already left basic training and arrived in Groton, Connecticut, where he will begin his A School on December 1. He doesn’t get to come home for Thanksgiving, but hopefully he will be able to get a few days at Christmas. Can’t wait to see him again, and I really can’t wait for Mike to get to see him. I am just so proud of Andrew, although I still say he might should have his head examined. Haha!

I am a proud (some might describe it as psycho) Navy sister!!!

I'm a Reader

Most of you know that I am a huge reader. I love reading; I am addicted to reading; I spend a ridiculous amount of my time with my nose in a book; I spend a ridiculous amount of money at bookstores; and I truly believe that people who don’t like to read just haven’t found what they like reading yet. This reading thing really works out well if you are married to a tv-aholic. Mike loves television. I love reading. So as long as I am deeply into a book, Mike gets to watch whatever he wants. Never mind that it is probably the same thing that was on Sportscenter 30 minutes ago, over and over again. But this isn’t a blog about the completely unoriginal and boring choice of tv programming that my husband chooses, so enough about him.

Fortunately for me, I am not that picky a reader. I will pretty much read anything that holds my attention. Unfortunately for me, I am a little bit picky about my authors. If I don’t like the way they write, then I cannot make myself get too deeply involved. That doesn’t mean that I am picky about the reading material; I just don’t like having to plow through a book. I read for enjoyment. I don’t find having to force myself to read a book as entertainment. It’s torture. Most of my reading is typically something that won’t be considered a classic in 100 years.

I like authors who don’t ramble on and on with descriptors. This is just too much for my pea brain to process, and I will never remember it. Then I have to go back and forth in the book trying to figure out what is who and who is what. Too much…too much. Unless, of course, it’s Stephen King, and then he can over describe and get all wordy if he wants. That’s because he’s Stephen King, and the man is a total and complete genius. But this isn’t a blog about the completely overwritten and totally ingenius writings of one of my favorite authors, so enough about him.

I love authors who write series of books based on the same character. (I think it’s why I had a slight addiction to Nancy Drew and Babysitters Club books. But who didn’t when they were in elementary and middle school?) And they don’t have to use the same main character in every book, but I do like when they at least reference them and there is a similar theme to all the books. I love Vince Flynn and Janet Evanovich, I used to like Patricia Cornwell, and I love my new favorite author Kay Hooper.

Now…onto what this blog post is really about. Kay Hooper. I found a book of hers that my mother gave me years ago. I decided I would give it a try, loved it, realized I was reading a book that was in the middle of a series, and subsequently decided to start at the very beginning. (I am hearing Sound of Music in my head right now…love it. “…start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. When you read, you begin with A,B,C…”) Anyway, I digress. I gathered all the books that my mom had of hers, and then I bought the rest. I only have two left, and boy are they good! Once I start one of them, I just can’t put them down! They are pretty weird. They aren’t the typical kind of stuff I read; they are about a special group of investigators in the FBI who are special because they have psychic abilities. Weird, right? I know! But I can’t help it; they are really good.

Now those who are really making fun of me now, remember that you laughed when I told you I was reading a fantastic series of books about vampires that my friend (and fellow reader) Leah told me about. And remember that you loved them too! So don’t knock it until you try it. That’s all I’m sayin’…

Not that I think that anyone cares what I am reading at the moment, but just in case you are ever looking for something good to read, you can try Kay Hooper. I highly recommend her.

Side Note: Just read Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks. Not my favorite, but not terrible. I doubt I see the movie though.

Side Side Note: Vince Flynn has a new book coming out in T minus 4 days. Woo-hoo!!

Side Side Side Note: What sucks about reading and being hopelessly devoted to (hearing Grease in my head now) a “series” minded author is that when you have it delivered to your house the very day it is released, and then read it in a day and a half, you have to wait an ENTIRE year before they release the next one. That’s why it is a responsible decision to have many favorites with different release dates. “Reading dry spell” problem solved.

New Meaning to the Phrase "Snail Mail"

Okay, this probably isn't going to knock anyone's socks off, but the craziest thing happened today at work. We got an envelope in the mail that was undeliverable to the person to which the letter had been addressed. I don't even remember where it was going; I think it was Florida. Anyway, the sender was definitely from our address and suite number...from 14 YEARS ago! Yeah! 14 years.

We weren't even here 14 years ago. It was a packet of information mailed out May 19, 1994, it was marked undeliverable because the recipient was not there any longer, and then returned to the sending address. 14 years later.

A whole new meaning to the phrase "Snail Mail".

Totally Lost

Our email at work is down due to a server issue. I don't know what to do with myself! At least I still have my personal email. I would say that 95% of my job is done through email; so I am at a major standstill. This is going to be a LONG day...

O.C.T.O.B.E.R.

This is a shout out to my sibs…for only they can truly appreciate what October means to me. :) This is to be said in a chant-like singsong-like way. I can and will perform this for anyone who has an interest in actually witnessing this train wreck of a rhyme.

O.C.T.O.B.E.R
Halloween brings us a candy bar.
(Hand gestures consist of bringing your right and then left hand up to your mouth alternately as though eating a candy bar.)
Christopher Columbus has a holiday.
(Hand gesture here is hand above eyes at brow as though an explorer looking at far away land.)
Fall is here and winter’s on the way.
(Cross one arm over chest during “Fall is here”; cross other arm over chest during “Winter’s on the way”; arms should now both be crossed over chest.)
Brrrrrrr.
(With arms crossed over chest, shiver action while saying “Brrrrr.”)

Also a big shout out to Ms. Jeter at Jane Long Elementary for teaching that nice little rhyme to all four of the Smith kids in a span of over 7 years.

**We had a rhyme like this for every month…is it weird that it’s the only one that any of us can remember? Furthermore, is it weird that even a single one of us (let alone all 4 of us) can remember the words AND motions?

I've Been Tagged - This is a first...

Well, I’ve been tagged by Julie. I have never been tagged before, and I haven’t blogged in forever…so here goes.

1. Where was I 10 years ago?

10 years ago, I was in college at Abilene Christian University, was having the best time, making tons of new friends during pledging, and working hard on my major, Communication Disorders.

2. What was on my To Do List today?

Where to begin...hmmm.

- Work.
- Leave work at 4:00 since I got here before it was even light outside (which was only 7:00). :)
- Go home, cook, and read for about an hour.
- Go to my (and Candas') class for small business starter uppers...this is our last class of this session.
- Come home and go to bed.

Pretty darn exciting day I have.

3. What would I do if I were a billionaire?

Pay off my school loans, first and foremost.
Pay off my family's and Mike's family's debts - all of them.
Set aside money for each person in our family to do something with, whatever they wanted to do with it.
Start college funds for my future kids, Gaite, Paige, and any other future nieces and nephews.
Give a lot of it to church, Samaritan Inn, and the Alzheimer's Association.
Travel, travel, travel.
Sock the rest away where neither Mike or I could touch it...so that we weren't poor in a matter of minutes. :)

4. 5 Places I've Lived:
- Abilene, TX: born, raised, college
- Lewisville/Carrollton, TX: first and second apt after college
- Addison, TX: first apt after getting married
- Dallas, TX: crack shack that Mike and I moved to in the ghetto
- McKinney, TX: our first home that we bought together and where we currently reside

5. Bad Habits:
- Saying "Um" all the freaking time! Sounds so unintelligent, and yet, I can't stop.
- Eating dessert after practically every meal.
- Not good at keeping in touch with old friends...in fact, I am terrible at that.
- There are lots more, but I don't want to be too self-deprecating, if you don't mind. Thank you very much.

I tag Lisa, James, Chad, Sherry, Alison. (For the record, I don't care if you don't respond to this on your blog by completing this. I am just short on material lately and thought this could enlighten a few of you.)

TTFN

My New Favorite Thing

My new favorite thing is iced coffee. Now, I know what some of you are thinking, for I was thinking it myself just a few short months ago. But then my father-in-law got an iced coffee from McDonalds. I wasn't quite convinced until I tried it myself a week or two later. Now I am a believer...a firm believer.

I recently saw a post on Smitten Kitchen on cold brewed iced coffee. Very simple and very delicious. I must say, I am hooked! I would rather make my own cold brewed iced coffee than buy McDonald's or Starbuck's iced coffee. Not that their's isn't good. It's just a little bitter, where the cold brewed iced coffee is almost sweeter. If you don't believe me, try it yourself. It's super easy and totally painless. You won't be disappointed!

Tropic Thunder - Worst Movie of the Season

Don't go see it. If you decide to NOT heed my advice, at least do yourself a favor and rent it so that you can turn it off when you realize that you should have listened to my valuable advice. That's all I have. Later I plan on discussing the Democratic National Convention. I just have to figure out a way to do it in a non-partisan way. :) More on that later.

You So Funny, Mr Grizzly Adams

If there is one thing I love about my husband, it’s the way he makes me laugh. Now, he can also make me not laugh, like when he is being a pig-headed ignoramous…but that’s not what this is about. It’s about how he makes me laugh. Sometimes it’s the things he says; sometimes it’s the way he looks; sometimes it’s the terrible jokes he tells and then says something like “I am just like my father” (which by the way also makes me laugh because even if no one else thinks his dad’s jokes are funny, I normally do).

Sometimes it’s the funny things he does on a dare. We love to bet each other to do stupid stuff and we love to dare each other to do even more ridiculous stuff. Normally a bet would consist of something silly like the time Mike bet me lunch that I wouldn’t wear my camo shorts that I bought in the men’s section at Target with my unmatching camo shirt that I got when I worked at Legacy. Oh, and did I forget to mention that I had to wear it to small group in front of all my friends? He almost had me convinced to wear knee high striped socks with my cowboy boots…with the camo. I got all dressed up, socks and boots included, came out of the bedroom and Mike said that it was too much with the socks and boots. YOU THINK? That got me laughing. The socks and boots were too much? Not the camo men’s shorts that are WAY too big and the unmatching camo shirt from a former employer? I could not stop laughing. And then I had to walk down the street dressed in that get-up to small group, which was around the corner. The things I will do for a free lunch. I should be ashamed.

One time he asked me if I thought that he should grow out a mustache. Oh yes, I do. I think a mustache is a great idea. It looked like the boys in middle school that don’t shave yet, but almost need to. It was hilarious! And he went out in public like that. Everytime we would leave a place, we would die laughing and wonder if the people inside were laughing as hard as we were. (And as hard as I am laughing now just thinking about it. Seriously, tears are streaming down my face.)



He grew out a fu man chu once for a friend’s wedding. What was he thinking? Probably that it would get a good laugh out of me. And it did. He made it the whole weekend with that thing. Everytime I looked at him I would start giggling. I couldn't stop.

These are all entertaining stories that you can think about for the rest of the day. But I wanted to leave you a little bit of a visual as well. Mike was growing his hair out once, and he loved to put his hair in a samari ponytail. I love it. I can’t stop laughing!!!!!

My Life As I Imagined...And My Life In Reality

I was reading Pioneer Woman the other day and she had an entry about whether or not your life turned out like you thought it would, like you had planned for it to turn out.

She asks:
How similar is your life now to how you imagined it ten years ago? Twenty years ago? Are you exactly where you imagined you’d be? Or are you constantly asking yourself, “How did I get here?” Do you mourn the unrealized plans in your life? Or are you happy no matter what your circumstances?

Some of the responses she got were about how happy people were with where their life was, but a lot of them were really, really sad. They were people talking about how miserable their life was, or about how their kid was in the hospital with a terminal disease, or about how they had made a lot of mistakes along the way, and so on.

I have been thinking about where my life is a lot lately. This post on Pioneer Woman made me contemplate even further. I can honestly say that I absolutely adore my life. It is hardly what I thought it would be in some ways, and exactly what everyone hopes for in other ways. Some days are pretty darn hard. Other days are so happy, how can I even complain about the ones that aren’t?

Am I where I thought I would be 10 years ago? Not even close. But would I trade it for what I naively thought that I wanted? Not a chance.

Let’s start with 10 years ago…I had just finished my freshman year in college (Holy crap!!! That was 10 years ago?!?!). I had just started dating someone who was a year older and had completely different friends than did I. The relationship was doomed from the start, but we generally enjoyed each other’s company. I was serious about school. I couldn’t lose my scholarship; that would have spelled disaster for my college plans. Heck, I could barely get enough financial aid to stay in school. I sure wasn’t going to jeopardize it any further by not having good enough grades to keep the free money I was getting. I was working like a dog to afford life. And I was having a blast. I had a ton of friends, almost all of which had the same beliefs that I did and liked to have fun the way that I did.

I had HUGE dreams. I was going somewhere. (That meant, somewhere outside of Abilene.) I was going to succeed professionally; I was going to make a difference in the world; I was on a career-minded mission. I guess somewhere in there I was going to eventually find a relationship that wasn’t doomed from the start. I had zero plans for children.

I still have huge dreams. It’s just that now they are totally different than they were back then. My focus has gradually changed. I want a fulfilling job that allows me to be with my family as much as possible. Right now, it’s just Mike and me, but we hope to eventually have kids. I want to be able to focus on that aspect of my life as much as possible. I can’t imagine working in a high-powered position that didn’t allow me to go home at the end of my day and leave my job at work. Sometimes it is really hard for me to accept that I am in a job that is not satisfying and not at all prestigious. In fact, a monkey could do my job. Seriously. But the thought of trading that to go back to my high-stress health care job, where I honestly felt like I was making a difference, makes me cringe.

Do I mourn this change of plans? Absolutely not. While I may have a job that I find less than satisfactory, I still have a job. A job that allows me to go home to the teeny tiny house that I am madly in love with and is the product of our hard work. I love that I love to come home to my husband, dogs, and home. Does that make me a “desperate housewife”???? I guess so. And I'm okay with that.

4th Anniversary Staycation

Last week Mike and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. It seems like just yesterday that we got married, but in some ways it feels like forever. In a good way. I almost can’t remember what life was like without Mike. Then again, Mike and I went out on our first date over 9 years ago, and we were friends for awhile before that. Essentially, Mike has been in my life for right at 10 years. That’s about a third of my life. So that’s what I mean by it “feels like forever”…

We celebrated our anniversary this past weekend. We went on a staycation!!! Mike surprised me by planning the whole thing. He just told me when and where and took care of all the details. We had such a great time! We left the house and drove to downtown McKinney, where we went to a little bed and breakfast that Mike found. The B&B is an old house called the Dowell House. http://www.dowellhouse.com/ It is 130 years old, and was built by an influential family in McKinney. It was also the house used in the Benji movie. It’s been owned by the current owners and run as a bed and breakfast for the last 18 years. It is such a quaint house. Our room was on the second floor and had its own private balcony. There were doors in the room that opened up onto the balcony, which was huge! There were plants and trees all around to shade and make it private. There was a table with two chairs, an awning, and a hot tub. The owners really didn’t miss a thing. We had everything we could think of. There was even make-up removal pads, face masks, Off at the balcony door for mosquitoes…everything we could possibly think of.

We got all dressed up and then headed over to a restaurant downtown in McKinney on the square called Goodhues. http://www.goodhuesgrill.com/ It was so yummy! Mike and I both had fish: he had mahi-mahi and I had sautéed tilapia. It was incredible food. The service was impeccable. I highly recommend it; it’s a great date place. The owners of the place we stayed said they have the most delicious steaks too. We’ll have to try the steaks next time.

The next morning, we were served breakfast in the dining room. We had oven baked French toast that was in corning ware dishes. It had a great cinnamon and pecan sauce at the bottom, a cream cheese filling, with the bread baked on top. Oh my – it was rich and oh so good! Even I couldn’t finish it, and I rarely think anything is too rich. After breakfast, Mike and I headed home to let the dogs out and get ready for our day.

It was a sweet and memorable anniversary. Mike has a lot to live up to for future anniversaries now! And I am sure looking forward to them!!

#1 Redskins Fan

We have a winner folks! It's the number 1 Redskins fan! Little baby Jefferson is such a fan. It's a shame his dad is the number 1 Dallas Cowboys fan... Take a look at happy little Jefferson. He just loves it at the Belknap house.

Here he is lounging on the Redskins blanket that my mom made for Mike. He looks so comfy. I doubt he has a blanket this cool at his house. Poor guy.

Look how much he loves wearing clothes too! (By the way, he was a lot happier about wearing this than Reagan or Roxy ever is...honest.)

Man oh man! That little Jefferson is the cutest thing. He just looks up at you with the sweetest most innocent face. He and Roxy had the greatest time playing. They ran and ran and ran until they could run no more. They wrestled together over and over. Then they would wrap their heads around each other's necks likes giraffes to rest before they started wrestling again. It was so cute. Poor Roxy never has anyone to play with. Reagan, which I'm sure is no surprise, does not like to play with pesky Roxy. But Jefferson sure does.

Oh, and you don't want to miss this - I got Mike an "I love you" gift. This is what it DID look like:

This is what it NOW looks like: (Side note...Kyle, when did you teach Jefferson this trick?)

Little Bits of Nonsensical Information

If you don’t want to completely waste your valuable time, you should stop reading now. If you are interested in a crazy mind at work, then read on…I normally only share these thoughts with those closest to me, but since they are probably the only ones reading this, then I am sure they won’t be surprised or find it a total waste of time…hopefully.

So, I asked Mike the other day if he thought people would think it weird if I told them that our dogs’ middle names were “Bacon” and “Kins”. I know it’s KIND of weird, but is it REALLY weird? I always call the dogs Reagan Bacon and Roxy Kins (although I normally say Roxykins, like it’s one word…so I guess that wouldn’t make it a middle name, it would make Roxy a kind of nickname. But that’s beside that point.). I only call them those names though if I am not calling them Sister. They are sisters, and I think they should recognize each other as such. So it’s a kind of reinforcement to continually call my two totally unrelated and different bred dogs “sisters”. Probably not something that I should share with anyone or that Mike wants me to share. But now it’s totally out in the open.

Another thing…I really get on these kicks where I am obsessed with something and can’t get enough of it. There are two very important things I am obsessing about right now (I can TOTALLY hear my dad saying, “Stop obsessing, Jennifer!”). One being Cristina’s tortilla soup. Yuummmmyyyyyyy!!!! Can’t get enough. In fact, I made some homemade tortilla soup on Sunday, and I was not disappointed. I even had it again on Monday to satisfy the urge. The second obsession right now is BBC America’s Robin Hood. If you haven’t seen it, don’t knock it. If you have seen it, then you know the acting is completely horrendous and totally addicting. I freaking love that show! Whoever thought that up was a bloody genius. I am currently trying to figure out how to rent season one of the show. We caught the end of season 1 and are now deep into season 2. I feel that it is very important to get all the background info that may have been presented to the viewer early in season 1. What if I am missing some vital piece of information that is hindering my total understanding of the current episodes? Alas, my local Blockbuster does not carry this breathtakingly splendiferous foreign tv show. How irritating. I will have to venture to the next Blockbuster which is a few short blocks from my current Blockbuster. Maybe they will have a better selection for my viewing pleasure.

Ciao.