More Baby Drama

If you don't like how open I am in a lot of my posts, skip this one.

I've had a few issues this weekend. I started spotting Saturday morning, proceeded to do the Memory Walk anyway. The spotting turned into bleeding (not a lot, enough to call it bleeding, not spotting). This continued through Sunday and finally stopped on Monday. I wasn't really worried about it until Saturday evening. I got home from Mom's and I was passing clots and it really scared me. I know that there is nothing that can stop a miscarriage if it's started so I was very reluctant to go to the ER. What would be the point? All they could do was give me a yes or a no answer and send me on my way. Well, Russ decided that we needed to go...I was getting hysterical by that point. So we packed up and went to the ER at 11:30 p.m. Yay. Just what I want to be doing on a Saturday night. We get to the ER and I get in to get my blood pressure, weight, and temp checked and the nurse tells me exactly what I already know. They can't do anything if I am miscarrying, but they can tell me whether or not I am. We went back out to the waiting room to wait to be called back to get blood drawn and an ultra sound. An hour and a half later not one person had moved from the waiting room. So Russ went to see what was going on and there were four traumas and seven people ahead of us. I was tired and uncomfortable so a half hour later we just left. Like I said, what is the point if they can't do anything for us. The bleeding finally stopped Monday morning. I called the nurse to get instructions and they wanted me to come in for an ultra sound. So this morning I went in for an ultra sound. The baby is huge! I couldn't believe how much it had grown in a week and a half. They couldn't find the source of the bleeding. The placenta has migrated so it's not covering my cervix anymore. My cervix was nice and closed so that's not the problem. Everything looked good. WandBoy said that it could just be stretching and growing of the uterus. There was a lot of blood for just stretching, but what do I know? I have more pictures that I will scan and post soon. WandBoy did get a good look at the baby and it looks like I'll be buying blue. He wouldn't ever come right out and say it, but he kept looking and he would show us the umbilical cord and then say "This isn't the umbilical cord." He then told us to "draw your own conclusions." Obi-Wan released me to the OB today. It was a bittersweet parting. I was a little sad, but this is definitely a good thing. I'm glad to be graduating! I will miss the bi-weekly ultra sounds, though. I've had five and I'm only 11 weeks and 4 days! Oh, I almost forgot about my weight. Total weight gain as of today: 0 pounds. I don't know what the deal with that is, but I'm sure I'll make up for it in 2nd and 3rd tri!

Until next time Blogger Buddies!

Rude, Rude, Rude!

My sweet Aunt Diana was diagnosed with leukemia last week. My mother was able to go see her on Thursday and Friday. I wanted to go, but her doctor thought she had mono and we didn't want to risk that. Anyway, so Mom, my sis, me and my brother-in-law were all sitting in a pew yesterday waiting for church services to start. This lady comes up to Mom to offer her condolences about my Aunt. She then proceeds to tell Mom all about her husband who was diagnosed with leukemia and died six weeks later. I was talking to Chelley at the time and wasn't even paying attention to what the lady was saying. But Chelle did point it out to me and I wanted to kick that lady in the face! What an awful thing to say to someone! Why do people have to have their own story? Just say you're sorry and move on! We don't need to hear about your husband who died six weeks later from the same thing my Aunt was diagnosed with last week. Plus, it was a different strain of leukemia so it didn't even make sense that she was telling Mom this. This lady reminded me of a lady we knew where we used to live except she did the opposite. A woman had started visiting the church we were members of. Her husband had just died of Hodgkins. The lady that was a member told her all about how she had beat Hodgkins three times. How rude! Why don't people have better filters. Would they want us to do that to them? I'm so glad that I've had to battle infertility because I understand that sometimes just saying you're sorry and giving a hug is enough.

We're On The MOVE!

This weekend was the Memory Walk to raise funds for Alzheimers research. Our team raised over $500.00! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.This is our team. Next year we decided to be Pappy's Peeps. This is my sis, Chelley, my Marmie, and me!
We walked for my Grandpappy who has alzheimer's.

Support research Blogger Buddies!

I'm Over It Again

Sorry about the daycare thing yesterday. I vent on here because I don't want to vent to anyone in person. My blog is my cheap therapy. The fact of the matter is is that we are going to have a baby. We are going to figure it out and it will all be fine. It will work out and I just have to have a little more faith in God and His mighty plan. He knows what He's doing...which is good because I'm flying by the seat of my pants! Things have a way of working out at the last minute and I'm content with that for now.

Pregnancy symptom: I'm exhausted ALL OF THE TIME! I went to bed at 9:30 on Sunday, 9:45 on Monday, 10:00 on Tuesday and 10:30 yesterday. Doesn't matter when I go to bed. I'm always exhausted. Mom said that it will subside in 2nd tri. Good thing 1st tri is going by so fast.

My Boss and Questions

My boss asked me this morning if I had started looking at daycare facilities yet. I haven't. She then told me that I need to start because they need me here. I'm in the process of bidding off on a job in a different department and if I got that job then I wouldn't be here anyway. I haven't told her that I'm bidding on anything. I'll get there eventually. Anyway, back to the daycare thing. I don't want my baby being raised by a daycare. I worked in daycare and I know what kind of influence children can get from other children whose parents don't have the same values that I do. And let's be realistic. That is what is going to happen. You may have 4 or 5 hours a day and weekends of good quality time with your child. The daycare has them for 8 to 9 hours a day. Plus, on weekends you are sleeping through the night so that time is out...we'll say 6 hours. Meaning you only get around 61 hours of time with your infant and daycare is getting around 45 hours of time with your infant. Too much in my opinion. Russ is frantically (ok, that's an exaggeration) searching for a job that can support all three of us so I can stay home with the baby. I didn't mention that small tidbit to my boss because I don't know if it's going to work out. But, the question did get my brain turning and and an effect of the cause, got my fingers typing. I don't know what is going to happen. If Russ could get a job that could support all of us, that would be ideal, but I'm also open to him getting a full time preaching position. Either one is good with me as long as I get to raise my baby and no one else does.

Baby's Nicknames

Some of you have asked about what we are calling the baby right now. Well, the list goes as follows:

1. Mahershalalhashbaz Ashkenaz (this is the official name)
2. Bazkenaz (only because some people can't say the whole name)
3. Baz (this is Russ' "I'm completely lazy" version)
4. Bambino
5. Lo (there is a reason behind this, I promise)

As for real names, we have picked them out already. Actually, we picked them out before I became pregnant. We aren't telling them, though. My reason behind this is that everyone has an opinion and many people that I know aren't afraid to voice them. Also, I'm easily swayed. I can be completely sold on a name, but if someone says something derogatory about it, I'll start backtracking and thinking about other names and pretty soon, it'll be changed...not that Russ is willing to change them. He's my rock.

Hope you all are having a great week so far!

I'm Sad At You, Dr. House

So I was watching House the other night. I know, big surprise. A woman came to the hospital with urinary tract bleeding. Number 13 said that it could be endometriosis. Dr. House told her that was great and she could do a cystoscopy to check for endo. Just a few problems with this Dr. House.

1. Endometriosis doesn't cause urinary tract bleeding.
2. Endometriosis is not found by cystoscopy.
3. Endometriosis doesn't grow inside the urethra and bladder. It grows on the outside.

I could be wrong about every one of these things, but after having read two full books about infertility with chapters devoted to endometriosis and it's effects and after researching infertility online for months, I've never heard of endo inside the urethra and bladder or ever heard of checking for endo with a cystoscopy. I had to look up was a cystoscopy was. Please tell me if I'm wrong about this. Maybe Courtney can shed some light on this from her Endometriosis for Dummies book.

10 Week Belly Picture

Some of you have asked about my belly pics. I meant to take one at 8 weeks, but never did it. Here is my 10 week pic. I'll try to take a pic every two weeks. I'm not sure why the picture is so blurry. It looks like I already have a small tummy, but I had a tummy before I got pregnant so it's really just fat. My little kumquat is definitely not the one doing that!

10 Weeks!

Ack! I'm 10 weeks today. Where did the time go!?!?!? I had another doctor appointment this morning. It went soooo good. Baby was bee-bopping around in there! Baby is measuring 9 weeks and 4 days which is 3 days short of where it's supposed to be, but since it's been that way since the beginning, we aren't worrying about it. I have new pictures. WandBoy put all the pictures from the first ultra sound onward on a cd for me so I have everything. Too sweet! Baby's heart rate was 171 bpm today. The little guy is growing so much! Up to an inch already! Obi-Wan decided that he wanted to see me one more time before he releases me to the Ob (Play creepy horror music here). He picked a new doctor for me. I looked him up and he doesn't look creepy so that's good. I'll have to decide on a nickname for him sometime. Obi-Wan also told me that if baby kept growing at the same rate outside the womb as it did in the womb, by the time it was one year old, it would be as big as a battleship. HA! Good thing they stop growing at that rate, huh!

Until next time Blogger Buddies!

From 0 to Blog in Five Easy Steps

I love 21st century technology. When I was wanting to put my ultra sound pictures on my blog, I had to go over to my parents house to use their scanner. That will be remedied sometime in the near future. I have been wanting a scanner for a while now and I think now is the time to do that. What do you think, Russ? Anyway, so I went to my parents house and I was able to scan every picture in a matter of minutes. I put them all on my jump drive for later use and then proceeded to download them onto my blog. In under 10 minutes, my ultra sound pictures went from paper to computer. Technology is grand. Oh yeah.

Just Chillin'

I haven't had much to update on lately. Everything is going swimmingly. I am thoroughly enjoying being pregnant. I've been blessed with very little morning sickness. I haven't thrown up any, just dry heaved a few times. Not bad at all, though! I've had some abdominal cramping, but nothing I can't handle. I guess the worst symptom I've been having is that I'm exhausted all of the time. I can't seem to get enough sleep. I've always been a really great sleeper. When we went to Ukraine all those times during my teenage years, I never had jet lag. Not once. I was having restless nights before I became pregnant which I had blew off as stress related because of infertility and finances. Since then, nothing. I have slept like a baby every single night and I HATE getting up in the mornings....more than I used to.

I have my final appointment with Obi-Wan Kenobi tomorrow. I have mixed feelings about this. I really love my doc and I don't particularly want to leave. Also, I love the staff. I love being able to go into a clinic and carry on a conversation with everyone about things other than my medical charts. They are so wonderful and I'm afraid once I go to an OB clinic, it won't be like that. I loved being able to connect with the clinic even though the reason I was there stunk. I know Obi-Wan won't steer me wrong. I trust him in whoever he picks to refer me to. I guess we'll just wait and see what happens.

About the daycare thing, I'm over that. I know I'm totally lucky to have even got to this point and if putting our baby in daycare is the way it has to be, I'll deal. I'm sorry I went off about that. I know my infertile blogger friends were probably rolling their eyes at me and what I have created into a big deal. I'm getting my baby and that's all that matters right now.

Until Next Time
Stay Cool Blogger Buddies!

Beam Me Up

That is what I wanted last night during class. I attend three bible classes on Monday evenings at a school. My Dad happens to teach the last class and loves to embarrass me whenever he can. So last night we are talking about how to prove that God exists to someone who is agnostic and somehow Dad got off on talking about Star Trek. I'm not really sure how this was brought up, but it was. He decided to tell the whole class/Internet about my obsession with Star Trek when I was younger. When I was in High School I loved Star Trek. I was all about being my own person and I wanted to march to the beat of a different drum. Now, I realize that all I was doing was finding out who I was and the blatant disregard for everything around me was unnecessary to do that. I wanted to be as different as I could be from my peers. I succeeded in doing that by becoming obsessed with things that weren't cool and by retreating into books and the Internet. I loved Sci-Fi and still do to some extent. But, if I flip by an episode of Star Trek now, I realize how awful the shows really are. The acting is bad. The special effects are bad. The plot lines are retarded. Gee, let's see, if you put a Romulan and Klingon together, what will their child look like? Great TV, Gene Roddenberry. Really. Just to show Bloggerland exactly how much into Star Trek I was: I had a uniform. Seriously. Of course, my sister did too. We did a marching band show based on Star Trek and we all wore uniforms. I know. I hang my head in shame. I wore the uniform for Halloween and drew Trill dots down my temple and neck....and then wore it to school. Yikes. My bedroom was decorated in a space theme, complete with space border, space curtains, glow-in-the-dark stars and Star Trek ships hanging from the ceiling. Luckily, I grew out of all that during my college years and I now see what an introverted and pathetic person I really was. I realize that just because you want to be different, it doesn't mean that you have to look different or like completely different things then the rest of the world. I have an average wardrobe and an average home. I don't have Star Trek ships hanging everywhere and I love it. Now if I could only get Russ to stop wearing those stupid Wheaties and Coco Puffs t-shirts....

The Collapse of Primary Care

I found this article interesting.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/158429/page/1

Dr. Lisa At Your Service

Russ thinks I'm crazy. I watch medical shows constantly. I love to watch surgery's and I'm very curious about different diseases and ailments. I got my 4 seasons of House in on Monday and I've been trying to get through them before Tuesday's start of season 5. Well, I still have one episode to go in Season 1 and that's after skipping 4 of the ones I've seen. I don't know that I'll get through them all unless I have a House marathon on Saturday....and I did that last Saturday. So, Russ is a huge baby when it comes to medical things. He doesn't want to see blood and especially not bloody organs during surgery. I, on the other hand, can't get enough. I watched some chick get a cyst the size of a bowling ball removed from her ovary on Youtube the other day and IT. WAS. AWESOME. Russ now believes I watch too much House or Scrubs or any other medical show. This is why:

*During House, lady brought in from the street*

Me: "That chick has rabies."

House: "We have a case of rabies."

Russ: "Wow. That's sad, Dr. Lisa."

*During House, brain scan on light board*

Me: "She has a pituitary tumor."

House: "We have to operate. She has a pituitary tumor."

Russ: "All hail Dr. Lisa."

*During House, babies have an epidemic*

Me: "This is what happens when you rely on antibiotics for every little thing. They stop working."

House: "These are our babies. We bred these super virus'. You have a cold? Here. Have penicillin. Penicillin not working? Try this one instead."

Russ: "You watch too much House."

A Day in History

I thought it only fitting to blog about 9/11 today. 7 years ago the world trade centers fell after two airplanes slammed into them. The Pentagon also was hit by an airplane and another plane went down in a field in Pennsylvania. I remember the day as clearly as if it was yesterday. I was driving to a child care job that I had during college. Every radio station was covering the tragedy and I didn't know if it was real or not. When I got finished watching the children an hour later, I drove to a student center that I liked hanging out at. I worked there during my college years, also. There were about 10 other students there. We all skipped class to watch the coverage. The whole house was dead silent. I remember going to class and running errands the next day and you could just tell there was something wrong with the town. Everything was melancholy. I assume this is how it was accross the whole United States. Eventually things went back to normal, but with more flags waving and more patriotism in general. The next March, a group of students went to New York on a mission trip for Spring Break. We visited Ground Zero and the same sense of melancholy that was in my college town was still there at Ground Zero. Even though New York is usually a busy, insane place, Ground Zero wasn't. It was quiet. There were rows of banners proclaiming love to the lost ones hung up on fences. There was a pile of ash with a shovel from the wreckage of the two buildings. The globe from the top of one of the Trade Centers was erected in memory of those who were lost. It was a tragic site. I don't know that I'll ever forget the feelings I had on that day or during the two trips I made to New York in the following years. It'll be like my parents and the JFK assasination. We'll remember this forever. Gone but not forgotten.

New Complications

First, if you are a guy and I haven't scared you away yet with my candidness or if you are a girl that gets a queasy stomach, you may want to skip this post.

I woke up yesterday to some spotting. It was accompanied by sharp pains in the right side of my abdomen. They weren't continuous, but they were still sharp pains. I called the nurse and my doctor wanted me to come in and get checked out. My appointment was at 2:15 p.m. and over the course of the day, the spotting got worse and I started passing small clots. I wasn't real worried until that started happening. I went in and WandBoy wasn't as upbeat as he normally is so I knew that what was to come might not be good. So the wand went in and up pops the most beautiful little heart beat I've ever seen. The baby seemed to be fine. It was measuring 8 weeks which is a little less than what it is supposed to be, but that's fine. The heart rate was 162 bpm. Everything looked good. So WandBoy starts looking around trying to find the source of my bleeding. Finally, he said that it looks like I have a placenta previa. In normal pregnancies, the placenta grows on the back side of the uterus away from the birth canal and cervix as shown in this diagram.

WandBoy and the NP believe my placenta is covering the birth canal and cervix as shown in this diagram.

As the baby grows, the placenta is pulling away from the birth canal most likely being the source of the bleeding. Hopefully, this will resolve itself as time goes on. If not, I may be looking at bed rest and/or a Cesarean section delivery. WandBoy said that they really can't be sure because this isn't usually diagnosed until 12 weeks, but they are fairly sure. That's it for now. I'll post the ultrasound pictures when I get them scanned. The baby looks like a little teddy bear now! WandBoy did jokingly accuse me of making up stuff so I could get more ultrasounds. Unfortunately, I think my insurance only covers two ultrasounds per pregnancy so I'm paying for this one out of pocket. Oh well, it's worth it!

New Season, New Remakes, Only One Has My Heart

Yeah, okay, so I guess you all noticed that my TV ban went out the window with my subfertility. Notice how I've decided I'm not infertile anymore. I'm subfertile. Anyway, back to the topic on hand: the new TV season! I have gotten into very few shows since Gilmore Girls and Project Runway came on the air. I've always thought "My Name is Earl" looked incredibly stupid (never watched an episode, though) and yet it's still around so there must be something about it. I doubt I'll ever get an inclination to watch it. Russ wants to start watching "Heroes." I said I'm all for it since I can drool over Milo Ventimiglia for an hour every week. Hands off Hayden. I'm going polygamist and he's mine...along with Dr. House. I don't care one bit about watching "Kath and Kim." The previews stink so you know the show is going to stink...plus I can't stand Selma Blair...she just...weird. Also off my list: Washed up shows that have been remade like "Knight Rider," "Terminator" and "90210." Excuse me Tori, but you're not that cool anymore. Which brings me to the one show that I am completely excited about: House, M.D. That man has skills. Cranky? Yes. Brilliant? Absolutely. Dead sexy? Oh yeah. Sorry Russ, but it's true. Anyway, the point is this: House has my heart. Okay, I really just wanted to use this picture. Disregard whatever mumble jumble is above.

Eight Weeks

Yay I'm eight weeks today!!! I can't believe how fast this is progressing. I feel like I just saw the digital "pregnant" read out yesterday. I guess it's true what they say: time flies when you're having fun. I've had minimal symptoms so far. I did finally start getting the morning sickness last Wednesday and it really hasn't subsided much since. No vomiting, though so I'm thanking my lucky stars for that. I've had a slight headache for the past three days which I'm told is normal. I won't take any medicine for it. Wouldn't have before I was pregnant, either. Everything is still looking good and I'm so excited to be eight weeks! Only 32 more weeks to go before I get to meet my little bundle of joy. I can't wait....but I know Bazkenaz needs to cook a little longer. Here's a picture of a baby at eight weeks for your enjoyment. It's a little gross in a way. At least it's starting to look more like a baby and less like a sea monkey.

Lisa's List of Fashion Faux Pas

I happen to be a huge fashion fan. I don't actually buy Prada or Chloe, but I do enjoy seeing the artistry of fashion designers. I have my own list of what I believe to be fashion faux pas. Now, remember that I've only gotten into fashion in the last couple of years. We won't talk about the smiley face shorts and glow-in-the-dark Batman shirt I wore TOGETHER in high school. I'm hanging my head low right now.

1. Wife Beaters - who decided that wife beaters were acceptable to wear out in public? These things are about as see-through as the sheets at my doctor's clinic. Bad for men. Horrible for women...especially one's who are overweight, which unfortunately happens to be the ones I see most in them.

2. Pajama Pants - Again, who decided fleece pants with reindeer on them were acceptable for a shopping trip? Have you no pride in your clothing and body whatsoever? It doesn't take that long to put on a pair of jeans...they don't even have to be True Religions.

3. Knit Jersey Fabric - Sometimes knit jersey is okay in shirts if they are flowy. Dresses, on the other hand, are probably not the best thing to create out of knit jersey and it happens to be the fabric of choice at the present time in the fashion world. You have to be a size negative 10 to be small enough to be able to pull off knit jersey without it finding the tiniest flaw and exposing it to the world....but, then again, if you were a size negative 10 you would be dead. Tough choice.

4. Capri Pants - On some people...short ones. What happens when someone less than 5'8 puts on a pair of capri pants is that the person looks like they are standing in a bucket. Personally, I have one pair of capri pants and the only reason I wear them is because they hit my calf in the exact right spot and with the help of heels my legs look like they are miles long. But, I usually go with bermudas.

5. Gladiator Sandals - hate them. Just my opinion.

6. Aged Garments - Why would anyone pay money for something that looks like it came out of a dumpster. And why do people follow after this trend like it's the best thing since sliced bread? Sliced bread eventually goes stale and I can't wait until this trend follows suit.

7. Horizontal Stripes. I only know two people who look good in horizontal stripes and they are both about 14 and a size two...oh and babies. But for the rest of us who have real bodies and aren't emaciated, horizontal stripes need to be outlawed. What happens with horizontal stripes is that they draw the eye outward making you look wide. Sound fun? I didn't think so either. There are a few exceptions to this rule. Tiny horizontal stripes that blend in to look like a solid color until up close are okay. Also, if there is a solid color on top and the stripes are only in the smallest part of your waist, bringing it in, could work. Personally, I just don't ever use them because I look like an elephant.

8. Shorts and Flip Flops in Winter time - Hate it. If it's December, January, or February and you aren't in Cancun, skip the shorts and flip flops. It just makes you look stupid.

Okay, that's it for now. Take it for what it's worth...maybe a little more than a pile of rotten vegatables.

Have a great Saturday Blogger Buddies!

Palin = Drama, Drama, Drama

Warning: The following blog contains some political views.

I was in the check out line at Wal-Mart last night and looked over to see multiple magazines with Sarah Palin on the cover as well as titles saying "Palin's Teen Daughter Pregnant" and "Trig is Afflicted with Down's." What I want to know is why there has been so much put into Bristol Palins pregnancy? Millions of teens become parents. Why is this particular pregnancy being spot-lighted and since when did that become a good basis as to whether we should nominate her mother for VP? The papers are saying things like "if she can't control her family what makes the American public believe she can be a VP?" What? I remember how I was when I was seventeen. I thought I had all the answers. I did realize that I didn't before making too many life changing decisions. I can't really relate to Bristol because that never happened to me, but she is seventeen. She is taking responsibility for her actions. She is marrying the father of the child. What more do we as Americans want her to do? She is giving up many of the things of childhood to raise a child and become a wife. I realize that I don't have all the facts. I can just see what the papers say and believe what I believe to be true. But, I think it's wrong to lash out on the seventeen year old daughter when the real issue is whether Sarah Palin would be a good Vice President and help lead this country out of the demise it has fallen into.

Four Years and Counting

Russ and I's anniversary was yesterday. We've been married for four years, together for six. It doesn't seem like that is possible. Russ turned 26 last Friday. I turned 26 last Saturday. We celebrated four years of wedded bliss (ok, maybe that is a bit of an exageration, the first year wasn't the best). We are expecting a baby in April. We're actually growing up. And I still don't know what I want to be.

Thank you

Gustav for the rain. Now go away.

The Secret is Definitely Out!

Not that it was ever a secret for those of you who read my blog on a daily basis! Apparently, my wonderful husband let it "slip" when he was teaching in chapel at the institute on Tuesday. I went to Bible Class last night and I received many congratulations. I was wondering where they all came from until I remembered my hubby preached at the school. Duh. I shouldn't have let him out of the house! Anyway, I was dreading the comments I would get from some people. Here are the best:

"Now no one can make fun of you guys anymore." Thanks so much! Just the thing to say to an infertile (not that she knew that so I guess I can't really fault her).

"Do you want an ugly or cute baby?" How do you even respond to that?

"Take care of yourself. Don't push a lawn mower up the side of a mountain or anything." Are there really people who do that? Weird.

Have a great Thursday Blogger Buddies!

House, M.D.

Does anyone besides me watch House? I LOVE THAT SHOW!!!! We watched it last night and I got on the internet and watched three more full episodes on the website. I didn't get into it until this last season, but I am HOOKED. I ordered all four seasons on DVD and they should come in some time next week. Can't wait! Cruddy beside manner, sarcasm, and a limp: What more could you want in your physician?

Small Victories

I celebrate every day that goes by with this pregnancy. 6 weeks! Woo hoo! 7 weeks! A little closer! 7 weeks 3 days. Progressing nicely. Every day is one day closer to viability and one day closer to my due date. And I hate it that I'm looking at it like this. I am missing parts of the enjoyment of pregnancy. It seems that this is normal after going through an infertility struggle. Though, I know my symptoms are a good sign and the lack of some symptoms is a good sign. I guess all I can do is put one foot in front of the other and celebrate the small victories.

Labor Day

To "celebrate" Labor Day, Russ and I went with my parents out to a park to have a picnic and nature walk. Fun times! Here are some pictures from our adventure.

If you look closely, there are minnows in the water in this picture.

I thought this tree was very interesting. The water has completely washed away the dirt from around the roots, but it's still standing and growing strong.

Does anyone know what kind of fowl this feather came from? Dad didn't know, but he kept it because it was unique.

Do you see the snake with the fish in it's mouth? We watched this snake swallow that fish whole. When the fish was completely swallowed, it was still flipping inside the snake! The grossest and most intersting thing I have seen in a long time. The Discovery channel doesn't do this process justice.

I would like to take a photography course. I feel like I don't capture the pictures the way I want. Oh well, that's probably not going to happen!

Stay Cool Blogger Buddies!

Yes, I am a Nerd

I was driving my Mom and Dad back to their car after eating out.

Me: "Please stay seated until the vehicle has come to a complete stop. The exits are here, here, and here. Please leave your seats and tray tables in their upright positions."

Dad: "Lisa, you can be a real nerd sometimes."

Me: "Wow, that was observant after 26 years."