Just one more day until we leave, and I'm just a little excited. ;-)

I'm not taking my laptop. I have no plans to blog. I spend WAY too much time on the computer when I'm home - especially now that I'm running my internet bookstore. So I'm taking three good books with me for quiet time.

Anyway, I'll tell you all about it when we get back.

Aloha!

Such Good News

We received the results of Michael's SA yesterday, and they look really good! He's definitely got many more swimmers now than before the procedure in March. We are still waiting on the urologist to call with his interpretation of the results, but we can see when we compare this week's results to the results he had in the fall of last year that things look significantly better.

I am really encouraged by this. It seems we made the right decision in choosing to have that procedure. Our reproductive endocrinologist was not enthusiastic about it being an effective means of dealing with Michael's low sperm count, but the results speak for themselves.

Maybe we will experience a little miracle this summer...

First Week of Vacation

I'm sort of feeling like this already! However, we have several appointments this week, so we're having to keep track of the days and all that. But every day sort of feels like a Saturday. Nice!

I'm just using my time this week to get us ready for our departure on Sunday - shopping, cleaning, laundry, etc. Nothing too exciting.

Hey, ladies! I've got a question for you. Do you wear your wedding rings when you go on vacation where you'll be spending a lot of time outdoors and in the water? I've decided to leave mine in a secure location (not at our house) while we're gone, and wear a piece of costume jewelry on my ring finger instead. My husband thinks that's unnecessary and he says he's "never heard of anyone doing that before." I told him my sister does that when she travels, and he said, "That's your sister" - whatever that means.

Well, I don't want to take the chance of losing them and I told him so. To that he said that he'd just get me a new one. I said I don't want a new one - I love the ones I have! Then I told him his thinking is illogical because he won't part with ratty, old clothing without emotional distress, but I'm supposed to take the chance that my wedding rings will be lost, stolen, or damaged and that's not a big deal.

Men!

On the fertility/infertility front, I'm not pregnant again this month. I've been charting my BBT temperatures like the acupuncturist told me to, and I could tell my period was going to start because my temperature had dropped a few days ago. I'm finding the charting process to be very informative. I'm still going to acupuncture twice a week and taking all my herbal pills. This month makes it a year since we began trying to get pregnant. I'm feeling slightly discouraged, but trying to remain faithful and patient. We are waiting on the results of Michael's most recent sperm analysis, and that information will help us decide whether or not we need to pursue a more aggressive approach.

Anyway...

Five more days until our departure to paradise!

Cartoon Song

This always cracks me up!

Enjoy and have a happy Father's Day Sunday.

:-)

Jumping for Joy!

Today was the last day of school. I've been a free woman since 12:20 today. Although the weirdness continued up until the last moment (I've told you how odd this group was), I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and I'm giddy about the idea of being off work for the next 10 and a half weeks! Yippee!

I've spent the afternoon doing a little shopping for our trip, and while I was out I stopped for lunch at Quizno's - I'm hooked on their Tuscan Turkey sandwich. Now I'm home with my feet up on the sofa. The birds are chirping, and there's a gentle breeze blowing. It's the perfect afternoon.

I've got a week to prepare for our trip to Hawaii as we leave a week from Sunday. My husband's brother will be house-sitting for us and caring for our dog as Buffy has worn out her welcome at my parents' house - she peed on the dining room carpet while we were staying there. Ugh! Hopefully, Charlie will enjoy his time here with her. She's really very good - especially when she's sleeping! ;-)

Sigh...

Good times ahead!

I'm Back!

We returned to our humble abode yesterday after the fumigation process was completed. It took some time, but we've put everything back as it should be, and it feels good to be home. Staying at my parents' was really nice, though. They have done a lot of work to their home in the last few years. It hardly resembles the place I grew up in. For instance, when I lived at home there wasn't a shower in the upstairs bathroom, but there is now and it's very spa-like. My mom has decorated the rooms we stayed in with a beach-y theme - so cute! We were just really comfortable there. Thanks, Mom & Dad!

Tomorrow is the last day of school. The kids will be signing yearbooks in the morning, and then there will be a party after recess. Since it's a minimum day, we'll say our goodbyes at 12:20 p.m. and I'll be on vacation until the end of August. Oh, yeah!

Come on summer vacation!

I Am

I am looking forward to seeing the new Narnia movie this summer - loved the first one! And this song by Mark Schultz has been a favorite of mine this year. I can listen to it over and over again.

In these crazy times, I am reassured when I consider all that He is.

Long Time No Blog

I'm busy these days:

• finishing up the school year (5 working days to go)
  
• going to acupuncture appointments
  
• scouting for books
  
• enjoying having my husband home
  
• preparing our home for termite fumigation
  

I hope to return to more regular blogging sometime next week.

:-)

Art & Books

Last night we attended a gallery reception for Kenton Nelson. My husband went to school with him and they played in a band together back then. That's one of his pieces above. He does some really cool stuff - very retro, illustrative, with lots of bold colors. There were two other artists featured in adjacent galleries last night, and we really enjoyed Jennifer Steinkamp's work which was so unusual. I don't even know how to describe it really, but her pieces were all projections of small moving flowers in various colors. They were just delightful. In the third gallery was the kind of art where I think, "Gosh, I should have been an artist. I could do that!" You know, large canvases of all one color with HUGE price tags. Yep, I should have been an artist.

My little bookstore has gotten off to a great start. I've sold 13 items in the last two days. I'm pretty excited about it, too. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm encouraged that it seems to be so easy. I shop for books. I post them at Amazon. I get an email that they've sold. I package them and mail them. Amazon pays me. Repeat. If it's profitable over time, then I think I'll keep it up. I'll be happy if it replaces the income I've had from Summer School and tutoring in the past. I don't want to do those things anymore.

We've got some things to do to be better organized with our inventory - books are in bags in the kitchen now. That's not going to work over the long haul. And we are going to get iPhones so that we can check book values while shopping. I want to purchase books that I can make a good profit on and that are in demand. Ah, the wonders of technology! How great to have a phone that you can do online research with! I can hardly wait.

Ten more days of school...

Three weeks until we leave for this:


:-)