Cloud 9

I AM PREGNANT!

That's really all I have to say today.  Rick and I are over the moon excited!  

Yesterday was the longest. day. of. my. life.  I woke up bright and early (after barely sleeping all night) and went to get my blood test.  I then spent the rest of the morning shaking with anticipation!  My good friend Molly came to be with me since Rick had to work all day, and I was not about to chance getting bad news while alone in the mountains!  I made sure to keep busy throughout the morning.  I've never wanted to cook a day in my life, but I made chili for lunch and Molly made cornbread.  We also carved pumpkins which helped pass the time.  While carving my witch at approximately 1:41 PM I got the call.  I was ecstatic and so relieved to get the good news!  But then had to sit on it for three hours while I waited for Rick to call!  TALK ABOUT TIME MOVING BACKWARDS!  He finally called a little after 4:00 and I shared the great news.  We've been celebrating ever since!  

I can't thank everyone enough for your kind words of love and support and all the praying and hoping you did!  My cousin Sarah told me God was probably sick of hearing from her she was praying so much yesterday.  Rick and I would be nothing without the support of our friends and family.  We are so happy we have such wonderful news to share with you all!  Being 4 weeks pregnant, we're staying positive but realistic.  Things happen, and so we're not going to share our news with everyone.  We would appreciate if you would keep this news to yourselves as well.  No one from Rick's work knows and only our inner circle of friends have been involved in the process, so thank you so much for helping us keep this news private, at least for the next couple of months.  Mums the word!  

On a sad note, about 10 minutes after getting the news of a lifetime our most precious wedding gift, a beautiful plate Rick's aunt Marcie and her family gave us, which everyone who attended our wedding signed,  BROKE.  Ugh stab to the heart.  It was on display in our kitchen and I think when I closed the oven it jostled a spoon which hit the plate and sent it flying...This is why I shouldn't cook.  Anyway, I'm going to do my best to glue it back together.  Molly and I stared at each other in shock and my only thought was that in life, you don't get it all, EVER.  Even on your best day, plates break.  I'm just thankful I received good news prior to the plate ending it's life.  I don't think I could have taken it otherwise!

I have to get another blood test on Saturday to confirm I'm still pregnant and then we'll go from there.  Keep those positive thoughts coming!  

Happy Halloween!

Molly's scary Larry pumpkin.  That should keep that bears away!

My witch.  She looks like she has a tooth...really it's a toothpick holding her face on as a result of my cutting mishap. 

Our plate :-( 

The Waiting Game

It's Saturday, which means 4 days down and 5 to go!  The transfer procedure went well.  I had no idea what to expect (other than what I'd seen happen on "Giuliana and Bill."  Great show by the way!  They are the only couple I "know" who have gone through IVF.  And by know, I mean watched obsessively on TV.  My procedure began with a Valium.  Oh Valium, how I love thee!  Every trip to the doctor should begin this way.  The feel good drugs were followed by an acupuncture session.  The purpose of the acupuncture was to relax my entire body prior to the transfer.  That combined with the Valium, was a little slice of heaven!  I definitely entered the room full of anxiety, and by transfer time I had not a care in the world.  The procedure was actually an amazing experience.  Rick got to be in the room with me and he was able to take a few pictures.  It seems only fitting that the father be present at conception. J

The embryos are actually on the computer screen right now, but that didn't show up in the picture. They looked like water bubbles.

The ultrasound shows the two embryos making their way to my uterus.

After the procedure, I had another round of acupuncture and had to lay in bed for an hour.  For the next two days it was bed rest, bed rest, bed rest.  And if those two days were any indication of what this pregnancy could be like, then I'm in for 9 months of a very overprotective husband!  Not that I'm complaining!  We received some paperwork about what to do post procedure and one of the bullet points said I should not lay on my stomach.  No big deal when you're awake, but when you're sleeping you may or may not roll over.  Unacceptable.  Rick basically built a fortress of pillows around me so I was rolling no where!  Then to top it off, throughout the night he would shake me awake and frantically ask, "Are you sleeping on your stomach?!"  No, but thanks for checking!  At one point he even slapped me on the stomach while questioning me.  Maybe sleeping on my stomach would be safer...

Now that the transfer is over, I'm feeling good.  Anxious but excited, and very hopeful!  I had a great time while my mom and aunt were out visiting. Maybe next time they come we'll be able to leave the house a bit more!

A few weeks ago when I learned that everyone here is an avid hunter my dad thought it would be funny to add me to a mailing list to receive catalogs that are of a particular interest to men and women up in these parts.  He didn't say a word to me and waited for the catalog to arrive.  I can just imagine him in his office surfing the Internet for the perfect catalog.  Giggling to himself over how hilarious it would be when I arrive at my PO Box to find a hunting catalog.  OOH Dad!  But days went by and nothing.  More time went by and I received nothing.  Finally, after about a week and a half he couldn't take the suspense any longer and asked me if I'd received a catalog full of rifles.  Nope.  Great joke Dad!  That would have been hilarious if you had waited for me to get it.  But no, you couldn't wait and now the joke is a FLOP.  More weeks went by and the fact that this magazine had not shown up grew into a funnier joke than if his idea had gone off without a hitch.  In fact I loved making fun of the fact that his joke choked.  "Hey Dad, remember when you tried to make a joke and send me something and it NEVER SHOWED UP.  Good joke Dad."  Then FINALLY, when he thought all was lost, I went to get my mail on Thursday.  And there it was in all it's glory, a package thanking me for my interest in "The Rifles of the Henry Repeating Arms Company."  And the joke was even better than he intended, because not only was there a catalog of ridiculous rifles, but there was a bumper sticker.  That's right, a bumper sticker.  And here is what it said.

"Load on Sunday, shoot all week long."  PRICELESS.  I'd put it on my car, but I don't have the hunting equipment to back up that statement.  I'd hate to be parked at the grocery store one day and have some mountain man strike up a conversation with me about my bumper sticker.  "Hello, ma'am.  I see you're a member of the Henry Repeating Arms?  Don't you just love the quick release chamber and the smooth machined action of the Henry Golden Boy .22 Magnum when you're out in God's country hunting those whitetail bucks?  (Did that sound legit?  I literally just researched via the Internet and my spanking new catalog to compose every word of that sentence.)  MAY DAY, MAY DAY I'm a fake, a phony!  This is a joke between me and my Dad.  Guns are scary! Goodbye.  Bad idea.  So instead, it's on our refrigerator.  And I'm sure the United States Government is now watching me to make sure I'm not a terrorist, with my new found interest in weaponry.  YAY.  Thanks Dad!

Tomorrow is the big day!  Naturally, I'm a mix of emotions.  What do you do the day before your life may be forever changed?  So far I've done some laundry, exercised, and showered.  Not quite the day to remember, but I think it's important for me to just go about business as usual.

I took this picture a while ago to remember what I had to go through to get to this point.

 

The dichotomy between faith and science is not lost on me.  For the past few months I have relied heavily on both.  I feel very blessed to be living during a time when science has the ability to step in and make my dreams come true.  How odd that tomorrow my husband, my mom, and my aunt will all be present for what could be the conception of my child!  I wish I could be a fly on the wall for THAT waiting room conversation.

With butterflies in my stomach and unparalleled anticipation, I'll leave you with the following picture.  This is actually a magnet given to me by my brother's girlfriend, Laura.  It's a beautiful magnet, but more importantly the words could not be more comforting.

Let's do this thing!

The Highlights

My friend from college, Jenny, was kind enough to come out and visit me this past week.  I think I must have mentioned to her one too many times how, "I've lost my mind!!"  She pretty much jumped on the next plane to save me.  Did I mention I love her?  She kept my mind off the impending transfer doing what she does best, making me laugh.  Here are some of this past week's highlights.

Our First Fire:  In our new place we have an old school fireplace.  Rick and I have only ever lived in places with gas fireplaces, so starting a fire was going to be a new experience.  Jenny said she knew how to get that bad boy started, and we trusted her.  OUR MISTAKE.  She methodically organized paper bags (we were out of newspaper) and some of the logs the last tenant left behind.  And once it was set to her liking, she began lighting the paper.  This is where things went wrong.  If only we hadn't lit the darn thing, we would have been golden!  Immediately the fire took and began to roar.  SUCCESS!  Unfortunately, the smoke began immediately filling our tiny living room instead of snaking it's way up the chimney.  Rick walked in from work at this moment.  "What the (insert expletive here) are you guys doing?"  Hmmmm apparently we are smoking ourselves out of the house!  Turns out the flue was absolutely, positively closed.  And of course we had no idea how to get it open while the fire was ROARING.  I cannot explain how quickly smoke filled the room.  Smoke is the real deal people.  You've been warned.  Rick did what he could to open the flue, but we really had no clue what to do, and we were in panic mode once the smoke alarm went off.  That thing gets the blood pumping and triggers emergency mode in your brain!  One second we're laughing about how there's a little bit of smoke in the room and the next second we're filling mixing bowls with water to douse the flames while running around the house to open all windows and doors hoping the neighbors don't notice.  NOTHING TO SEE HERE FOLKS!  Eventually the flames were extinguished and the smoke subsided.  At least we know the smoke detectors work.  And once to panic wore off, Rick noticed there is a lever on the front of the fireplace to open the flue...PERRRRRFECT.

Shopping:  Throughout Jenny's visit we did what we do best, shopped.  One day we walked around Vail Village and did some shopping.  We went into a store looking for a dress Jenny needs for an upcoming event at UVA.  She went into the dressing room to try on the dress.  It was ADORABLE and she loved it, the only problem was she couldn't get the zipper up.  I went in to help her.  In hindsight I probably shouldn't have helped her.  If a zipper won't zip, do. not. force. it.  I forced it.  Fast forward to a broken zipper half way up the dress yet unzipped on either side of the actual zipper.  Never good.  It's time to take the dress off.  I'm sure you can guess how this turns out...Clearly Jenny wasn't going to be able to get out of the dress alone.  What are friends for?  First we tried the over the head maneuver.  No luck. Then things got serious.  Jenny began the sweat.  In her defense it was unnecessarily hot in the dressing room.  But the sweating only made things worse.  Have you ever been wearing a coat and gotten instantly hot.  You need to get that coat off, NOW.  You needed that coat off months ago and cannot get it off fast enough.  Somehow that makes it impossible to pull your arms out of the darn thing.  And at one point your mind goes there and thinks, "This is it, I'm dying in this coat."  Well, I imagine this is how Jenny felt once we realized we could not get her out of this thing.  Plan B, get help.  I went to find an employee and ask her for assistance.  Thankfully she was understanding.  Her immediate reaction.  "I'm getting the scissors."  Wait a second, you are going to cut my friend out of this dress?!  And this is when I know this experience had become blog worthy!  She left and came back with a pair of scissors.  Jenny was concerned about ruining the dress.  It was THAT cute.  So the employee tried one more time to dislodge the zipper.  No luck.  Then she handed me the scissors (am I cutting this thing off?!) and went back to the dress.  Now here I need you to picture this employee as the Hulk.  I've never seen the movie, but I know that when he turns into that crazy green monster he grabs either side of his shirt and ferociously rips it from his body while expelling a guttural roar so intense that it causes dresses to fall from women's bodies.  That doesn't happen in the movie?  Well it happens here.  The Hulk grabbed either side of the dress and tore it, freeing Jenny from it's restraint.  VICTORY!  Jenny did not buy the dress.

Strike a Pose

My friend, Jenny, has been out visiting me for the past week.  We've been on all sorts of adventures (more on that later) and spent a lot of time exploring my new surroundings.  We've also been brainstorming about what the heck I'm going to do in the mountains for the next couple of years.  Photography has been a growing passion of mine, and if I want to pursue it further I need some practice!  So we decided to head to Breckenridge for Jenny's first photo shoot.  Jenny channeled her inner super model and I tried to capture her natural beauty!  Here are some of my favorites.

If anyone is interested in channeling their inner super model, let me know!  I would love to photograph you!

Luckily Rick Looks Good In Orange...

 When I found out I was moving to the mountains I was prepared for the following question "So do you ski or snowboard?"  I was equally prepared for the assumption people made that I participated in either activity even though I don't.  What threw me off was the presumption that both Rick and I were experienced hunters.  Here are two examples:

1. Acupuncture

(We were discussing nutrition and what sort of diet I should have right now.  Our conversation turned to meat.)

Me: So my husband and I have been wondering where we should buy our meat.  In Denver we went to Whole Foods.  Do you have any suggestions?

Dr: (Without batting an eye) Does your husband have his hunting license?

Me: No.

Dr:Your best bet is to have your husband go get a hunting license.  They aren't expensive at all  and he can go shoot his own deer.  You'll have deer for the whole season you can put in your freezer and defrost when you need it.

Me:  Uh huh, right.  So is there another option??

Now whenever I need a good laugh I imagine Rick in camouflage hunting down a kill.  BAH!  It's more likely he would bring Bambi home to shack up with us.  The cats would love it!

Later that Day... 

2. Eye Doctor

Dr: So, your eyesight is worse in your left eye.  Are you left handed?

Me: No, I'm right handed.  Why is that weird?

Dr: Well, when you look down the sight of a rifle which eye do you use?

Me: Ummmmmmm. (Long pause.)  I use my right eye when I look through a camera lens.  Is that the same thing??

Today my Grandma called and told me I better become a Pioneer Woman.  I don't know what that involves, but I think she's right.

Island Time

If you've ever been on a beach vacation to the "islands" you know about "island time."  Things slow down on islands, and because you're on vacation and you're trying to slow down too, this is a good thing.  You lose track of time and go with the flow because you're on vacation, Mon!  

Well, over the weekend Rick and I learned there is also such a thing as mountain time.  It's very similar to island time, the only problem is WE AREN'T ON VACATION!  So instead of relaxing on a 7 day vacation, then heading back to your real life, we are coming to the realization that this IS our real life and things here work a little differently.  For example...

1.  Comcast:  It's not surprising that it took three days to actually get the Comcast guy to show up.  But that could have happened in Denver.  What was surprising was that when he did show up he took one look at our equipment and told us it was too advanced for the likes of these parts.  These mountain towns still use analog for some of their channels.  Wait, did you say analog?  Didn't I watch commercials for over a year about how analog was going to be obsolete and all the old people still using it better get rid of those antennas because it's all digital baby!  Well, no apparently this is where all those people moved so they wouldn't have to update their technology.  Not to mention there is no On Demand here!  How spoiled do I sound?  How will I watch all the shows that I don't have a chance to Tivo?  ABSURD!  The Comcast guy actually told us we'd probably get better reception just plugging the cable cord directly into the TV.  YOU CAN DO THAT?!  Watching the Bronco game yesterday was like turning on the NFL Classic channel and watching a game from 1972.  And boy is it hard to watch TV without a guide!  You turn to a channel and it's a commercial.  What show is on?  How long will I have to wait to find out?  Do I turn the channel and find something else?  But what if there isn't anything better?  What if this is as good as it gets?  And if I do decide I want to go back to the previous channel, how will I ever find my way back?  But what if I stay on this channel and watch 3 minutes of commercials for nothing?!    Oh the horror of it all!  

2.  Mail:  We are now the proud owners of PO Box 3805.  That's right, there is no mail delivery service here!  I went to the post office Friday afternoon to set up my PO Box.  As soon as I walked in the door I saw "island time" written all over the scene.  There was only one worker behind the desk and four people in line.  The worker was a woman in 50s who has clearly embraced the relaxed nature of this town.  When it was my turn I told her what I needed and she grabbed the paperwork.  I had to go fill it out and return it to her.  So I did this and when I brought it back she had to enter all of my info and register the box.  I looked behind me and saw that a line had begun to form.  I instantly started to sweat.  I know how I feel when I'm waiting in line at the post office: agitated.  And this woman behind the counter had clearly never had much training on the computer she was trying to use because she kept saying "oops, that's not right.  You don't want that size box.  Let me try that again..."  Oh god this line of people is going to start giving me death stares!  I looked again at the line of people, no death stares.  I'm not going to lie and say they all smiled at me and welcomed me to the neighborhood, but they weren't irritated either.  It must have taken 10 minutes for this woman to finish the paperwork.  She even walked me to the box to make sure it was working properly leaving a line of at least 7 people waiting for her to return.  But nobody groaned or let out that long sigh indicating to everyone that you have something better to be doing than standing in line at the post office.  They all seemed to have embraced the mountain town mentality and accepted that things just take longer here.

3.  Pizza Delivery:  Not only do we not get our mail delivered, but nothing gets delivered!  

And the rest of these have less to do with the slow nature of the mountains, but more to do with how unique of a place this really is!

1.  Heated gutters:  Apparently, we get so much snow that the gutters have to be heated in order to handle it all!  And you have to remember to turn them on, because the ice has been known to break through the wood floor on the back porch!  

2.  Dumpsters:  In order to get into the dumpsters here you have to unlock a gate surrounding them.  Then you have to unlock the dumpster.  And finally, you have to lift the dumpster lid that must weigh no less than 30 pounds.  Over the weekend Ginny and I were making a couple of trips to the dumpster to throw out some things (more on this later). We had opened the many locks and thrown out our first load.  Then we went back to grab a second load, but decided we didn't need to lock all the doors since we'd only be gone for a couple of minutes.  We came back with our second load of trash and met a neighbor who was quite concerned that we hadn't locked the dumpster.  She reminded us that it must stay locked and ensured us that she had gone ahead and locked it herself.  Are the bears that hungry that they're staking out the neighborhood dumpsters for a couple of blondes leaving them unlocked for minutes at a time?  

3.  Weather:  I've never wanted those pants that with one pull of a zipper become shorts so badly in my life!  You wake up to temperatures in the 40s. Then suddenly by noon it's 75 degrees and if you stand in the sun you might melt, but if you're in the shade you might be chilly.  Then by 5:00 it's cooling down again and suddenly you're scrambling to close all of your windows and contemplating starting a fire!

4.  Stars:  I forgot they were up there!  Every night is like the first time you went camping as a kid.  Stunning.

I'm sure there will be a multitude of unique experiences to come.  We are excited to explore our new town and get used to mountain time.  I'm sure at some point we'll head back to Denver and feel it's just a little too fast paced for us:-)

A great big thanks to Ginny for helping us move!  We couldn't have done it without her!  Not only was she a great unpacker/organizer but she also helped me throw away things (mostly Rick's) that I've been trying to get rid of for years!  We got rid of things we've moved six times.  Ahhh I feel lighter already!  Thank you Ginny!