please stop!

Ok, now my head is spinning. I have been working on my poster all day, and it's taking forever. I have a pretty good layout, and need to generate 2 figures and a table tomorrow. I still find it ironic, that the one thing I hate in this world are insects. And what am I working on? Insects! At least they are just mosquitos and ticks.

Now my head hurts...and I'm only about 3/4 of the way done. ;(

busy!

Next thursday, I fly out to San Jose for a conference. I'm excited to get away for a few days, but I'm also crazy busy trying to get my poster presentation finished before I go. So I'm staying home today to crank it out and get it done with. I hope! I'm really looking forward to this trip for 2 reasons. First, I'm going without my family, which means I'll get some me time. I'll get to spend the flight watching the TV they provide, knitting, and sleeping. Without babysitting a 3 and a half year old who hates sitting still on flights. Secondly, I'm flying in and out of San Francisco. And my flight home is 2 days after the conference is over! So, I will be heading up to San Francisco the day the conference ends, and spending time exploring, shopping, and eating. And, my supervisor is going to join me for the majority of it (which is a good thing!). I had debated initially long and hard on whether to spend some extra time there, and I'm glad I finally decided to do just that. I have never been to California, so I'm really looking forward to going. The only bummer (which I got over really quickly) is that I'll be SO close to Napa and can't go. I'll just have to save that for another time when I can go with Nathan. ;)

Yesterday.

Yesterday was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberence Day. First I want to say that I was thinking of all of you who have had a pregnancy or infant loss. You were all in my thoughts yesterday. It wasn't until I was in bed last night, that I realized that I myself lost a baby a few months ago. I don't know why, but I didn't think of it like that. But after reading everyone's entries yesterday, it really hit home. While twins wasn't an ideal situation for us, I was excited about them. While I only had 1 week knowing that there were 2 growing inside me, it was still 1 week that I was having 2 babies. I was attatched to them both. When we found out that one wasn't viable, I was devistated. My husband's relief completely took over, and I just ignored the fact that I was sad. Until last night. I think I also feel guilty being sad, when I'm so lucky to have one daughter, and one healthy baby growing inside me. Like it was greedy of me to want them both to be OK. Anyway, I thought about it a lot last night, and I then went to sleep thinking about the baby who didn't make it. I hope that he or she knows that I did love him/her, and I always will. Even if I was afraid to recognize that before.

Nothing says Fall...

Like beef stew and apple pie! So, today- I made an apple pie, and the stew is on the stove bubbling away. It smells SO good in here!! I'm so exhausted, and it's nice to be productive, and be able to relax and enjoy the smells of my labor. I can't wait to eat dinner!

We had planned on going apple picking this weekend, but it looks like we missed it! We went to the local farm website to see what kinds of apples they have, and they're done. It's now all about pumpkins. So, instead, at the grocery store this morning, we grabbed some apples. And I was pleasantly surprised, because they had a bushell of Empire apples! My favorite apples are all NYS apples. They're the best. Most flavor, crisp, sweet, but tart, and just perfect. Cortland, Empire and MacIntosh are my absolute favorites. And last week, they had Cortlands. This week, it was Empires! So, my pie has Empires and a few Granny Smiths. I'm so excited to have it! I wasn't too upset about the apple picking, because I can never get my favorite ones off the trees anyways. This was way better. And with luck, this will be my last year without an abundant supply of my NYS apples. I hope!

Friday was amazing. I got loads of stuff, but actually came home with cash in my pocket. Not just change either...$50 left! I was so proud. It even allowed me to take Nathan and Celia to Fuddruckers for dinner (I totally forgot there was one in Gaithersburg, and it was SO good and SO cheap. Definitely going there again soon!!

Well, I'm off to stir my stew! I'm so glad fall is here! My down comforter went on the bed last night, and I slept SO well!

One of my favorite days of the year!

Today, I'm taking off work, and going to Stitches East! It's a huge knitting and stitching show, and I get to go today! I'm not taking any classes, but will be spending the day shopping at the market. Aah, the market. All the yarn, pretty colors, textures... makes me SO happy!! I'm going to try not to spend too much. Notice I said try?

I've been debating.

Over the weekend, I had a conversation with one of my best friends, and I've been mulling it over a bit. She just got married in June (I was matron of honor), just after my transfer- who knows- her big day could have been the big day that baby A and baby B implanted. Anyways. She and her husband started trying for a baby last month. I knew this was coming, so I wasn't the least bit surprised. I half expected her to make an announcement the second I saw her...but in fact, that was not the case. Apparently, they tried, and she was 8 days late. She had taken several HPTs, but they were all negative, so she went for the bloodtest anyways. Completely expecting to hear a "you're pregnant". And when they didn't, she was devistated. Now, apparently, her mom never actually tested positive on a HPT. And she's had 5 pregnancies. But never did she have a positive HPT. So my friend wasn't at all surprised to have a negative HPT, but still was convinced she was pregnant. Anyways, when they found out that she was not pregnant, she and her husband were completely shocked and devistated. Now...here is my question for you all- Have you ever heard of getting negatives when you're actually pregnant? Not just one, but all the time? I thought there had been so many advances with HPTs in the last 20 years, that it wasn't an issue anymore.

Anyway, something else she mentioned, was that her brother and SIL were trying. For a year, and then they got tested, and are undergoing IUIs at the moment. Trying to figure out how to afford IVF, which isn't covered. Anyway, I told her to forward my e-mail to her SIL if she wanted to talk. Don't know if she'll actually e-mail me or not.

Here's where I'm a horrible person. While I don't wish Infertility on anyone, I was a little relieved that my friend didn't get pregnant on the first try. Hopefully it will happen over the next month or two.

Shopping anyone?

Our fearless leader Mel has come up with yet another brilliant idea! She's coming up with a list of people who have stores, and either use their proceeds to help pay the high costs of Infertility treatments, or donate it to help others in their quest to become parents. I am one of these sellers! My shop contains mostly handpainted yarns named after characters and places from the Harry Potter books, as well as stitchmarkers and some other jewelry from time to time. And coming soon, will be a new colorway, inspired by the Pomegranite Infertility's common thread, which I'll be donating 20% of the proceeds to others going through infertility treatments. I'll also be offering a 10% discount to all who find my shop through the mom or pop shop. Thanks for organizing this Mel!!