Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Super Bex

Every time a person feels they have been through it all, something happens.  Or perhaps that's the pessimist's way of viewing the world.  I choose to look at is as trials of strength.  I may be a big, flabby goofball, but mentally I'm solid muscle.  Sure, there are times when I think that  I'm about to crack and the only cure is a vacation to a padded room, replete with wonderful sedatives, "story time" during group therapy and wonderful spa treatments in the ice baths.  But I know myself.  And I know that no matter how bad things look at the time, they will get better.  But I can't say I wasn't surprised this time.

On Saturday I got a positive pregnancy test.  Oh the joy!  We took a picture of the happy , positive test next to my smiling face.  We told a couple close friends and vowed to keep it a secret from everyone else, save Ron's mom.  On Monday I had confirmation through a blood test at my doctor, although they did say the levels were low.  Still positive, yet low.  Today I repeated those tests and my Hcg should have doubled or tripled.  Instead it went down.

Wuh waaaaaaaaaah.

I just got the call that I have a chemical pregnancy, just as I had feared.  That means I indeed got pregnant but it didn't implant in the uterus.  Instead it's getting ready to miscarry.  Any day now.

I only had the emotional high for a few days so I guess there isn't much to mourn.  This does give me some more time to acclimate the new dog, paint the rooms in the new house, etc.  I'm also trying to get off my fibromyalgia medicine as it's not safe past the first trimester anyways.  So the withdrawal symptoms have hit me and I feel exhausted and disorientated.  The pain has returned already and I am not even done taking the medicine yet.  Every time you think that maybe this shit is all in your head, your body readily reminds you that yes, indeed, this is real.

I'm just very thankful that I have some close friends here that I can talk to about all this. Because it still hurts. It still feels like a failure.

In happier news, the house is almost finalized so hopefully we can move on the 30th. I'm ready to paint and look for a new couch. I think the sectional is about done. I give it about 20 minutes on the curb and someone will have carried if off. That's my hope anyways.

Saturday is the Pinups for Pit Bulls 2011 Calendar Release Party. I did not make it into the the calendar exactly but will be included in the back page as sort of an honorable mention. I am very honored because I hope and think that the gals at PFPBs liked me but my photo wasn't exactly what they were looking for. I'm sure they had a lot of creative and wonderful submissions to choose from. However I am happy to be involved with the group as a whole because they bring such a positive and fun presence to a very serious and tragic problem in our pet community. For instance there are about 30 adoptable Pit Bulls and Pit Bull mixes that will die tonight at a shelter due to overcrowding. There are so many dogs...and then there are the dogs that just LOOK like a Pittie. Got to hate the media hype.

But if you are local and out and about this Saturday, I expect, no DEMAND, that you stop by our party! I'm not dressing up for nothing dangit. :)

Come see us on Oct 23!

That is about all I have the energy for right now. I'm so tired and my hands hurt because I've been putting off my arthritis medicine on top of everything. But all will be well in time. It always is! Excuse me while I go cry again.

Tschus.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

“Fleeced” stitch

Didn't I post this yet? Ah well I'm sure you've seen it on my Facebook page. If not, this was the last stitch that I did. It's a quote from the tv series Deadwood. Al Swearengen is one of my faves and I had to finish this piece before I got to the actual town of Deadwood.

I want to make it into a pillow however I've never made a pillow in my life. So I'm considering a small sewing machine purchase and reading a crap load of tutorials. Any thoughts? I'd love some kitchy cowboy fabric for the back.

Finished!-32

That's all for now. Pain, tired, looking at some life transition stuff....heh. No biggie!!!

Tschus.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Absence makes the heart do what?

I haven't been posting much lately which is not just due to laziness and being busy, but because Flickr changed the way they do their sharing code. Stupid Flickr. It's just another step to do when blogging.

First, we made it up to the Rapid City area a few weeks ago so I could attend a conference. It was beautiful, calm and fun. We managed to get to Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Deadwood but not much else. The conference stuff took up the rest of the time, plus it was about 11 hours each way. Sadie and Patton went with which brought down the cost of the trip (no kenneling.) My presentation went well and it was good to connect with an old buddy from graduate school. Perhaps I'll get more involved with this museum group in the future. It felt great to be treated like a professional!

Some photos:

South Dakota 012 bw

South Dakota 010

The NoDak column

My head keeps getting in the way

Through the cracks

Crazy Horse

Me, geeking out about history

Mt. Moriah Cemetery

Wild Bill's grave

Sheriff Bullock's grave

You can see a crap-ton more on Flickr.

Also we have been house hunting like crazy. There isn't really much rush other than we are tired of paying exorbitant amounts of money to live in this duplex. And our allergies have never been so bad. We made an offer on one house but the lady wouldn't pay any closing costs. We did find something, much farther south, that includes those costs. The house is in a new development and is only seven years old.

Here is the outside:

If all goes well...

If the bank approves the final paperwork (which it should!) I will be posting plenty of photos later. We do have to finish off a couple parts of the fence so the dogs can run free. I don't think I'll have time to dig up a garden before it freezes but for sure next spring. The house is near a corn field, on the edge of town and about twenty miles from downtown KC. It's also near a small air strip and we can watch little bi-planes flying around. I'm pretty damned excited.

And finally, I went out looking for a new Rowdy. Silly me, you can't replace your pets. I mean, sure you can clone them now. But they have such unique personalities, which I don't believe can be replicated. So long story short, we looked at some Cocker Spaniels and came home with a giant Collie/Shepherd mix. His name is Tobin. That's what they called him at the shelter and I can't think of anything better to name him.

Introducing....

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. It's been hella busy to say the least. Maybe things will call down next year??