Short Takes

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Like it or not, good or bad, I'm having trouble keeping up with my Baby Bump bloggies. Especially the ones who more or less cycled "with" me last month. I'm so sorry, and I can't really put my finger on why, because Mr. A and I are genuinely happy with trying on our own this time and looking forward to how we will become parents... I guess it's just knowing we'd be 5ish weeks right now, too, if we'd been blessed, stings a little...

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My sisters have alot going on right now. One just got engaged and the other just got back from a 2.5 week-long fancy-pants trip to Europe (preceeded last year by a 3-week trip to Hawaii, and the preceeding year by a week-long trip to South Carolina). Compared to them, I feel dreadfully boring and am anticipating not getting a word in edgewise when we are all with our entire extended family coming up to spend time with our grandfather. But even if there were to be a break in the conversation (in between, you know, what fancy dinner did you eat at the Ei.ffel Tower and let me see this rock you got from Tiffan.y's), what am I going to say? Mr. A (God bless him) always tells me to talk about Banana. But that is getting old (at least for me). I have told everyone a million times already that we have a great dog. Maybe we can talk about our exhilirating experiences with writing big checks and having nothing to show for them! (Oh, the cynicism is almost too much even for the joke.)

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It's interesting how hubby's deal with infertility, especially failures of significant cycles. A guy we know here (late 50ish) and his wife (late 30ish) are also going through treatments. They, fairly regularly, smoke cigarettes and something-different-than-cigarettes-if-you-get-my-drift, polish off bottles of wine per person, make enough j.ello sh.ots to satisfy an entire fra.t house, drink enough at home to cause passing out on their front porch, and drink enough at a bar to cause a yelling match in the parking lot followed by a poor decision to drive home. All while romantically professing that it is their deepest desire to have a child together. You know, just the people whose first IUI (fairly recently) will be wildly successful. They are having a party coming up, the day after they find out if their IUI worked. We have gone to their parties before (and have chosen coke instead of ya.ger, of course). I told Mr. A that I don't mind going, but he said without equivocation that he doesn't want to go because it will be right after they find out and he doesn't want to be there either outcome. Struck me as a demonstration of how guarded he actually is when it comes to others trying, especially others who have no apparent regard for trying to be as healthy as possible through all of this.

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Months off are pretty flirty and romantic, aren't they? I'll just leave it at that. I think we'll enjoy it, yep, sure do!! Surely God can sprinkle some babydust on our marital bliss, right?

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Our garden is doing wonderful this year! Our lettuce and spinach have been great, and we're about to get some peas. Coming along nicely are broccoli, carrotts, tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, cantelopes, and watermelons. Not to forget our berry patch with strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries! We just planted the strawberries this year, so we're not sure if we'll get any, but there are a zillion raspberry buds, and quite a few blackberry buds. I can't wait to try to make jam!! I need to plant some herbs- we had basil and oregano last year and it was excellent! At least we can grow things to eat!! All my perennials are looking beautiful, too- I had FOUR poppy blooms this year!!

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I just started a new book. The prologue was a little shocking/risque/alarming, but I wanted to try something out of my normal genre/mood of books, and the first chapter has held my attention and not alarmed me further. I'll keep you posted. But, I just finished (again) one of my all-time favorites: "if you lived here"- I love love love this book- it is centered around the main character who is pursuing foreign adoption following infertility. I 100% recommend it to anyone!!! It's a book I never get tired of reading again! (Edited to add that one of the reasons I love this book is that you will immediately find yourself rooting for and ready to defend the main character within moments of "meeting" her!!)

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Having alot of peace about placing our quest to conceive entirely in God's hands right now. The emotional transition has happened faster than I think we thought it would. Not that we don't pine to fill up the nursery, but for now we are going to have happy, light hearts- and incidentally, according to my fortune cookie the other night (even in our little rural town, we happen to have the world's greatest Chinese place!), a happy heart is the best medicine. Best of all, it's free!!!