Getting Fit

So a couple things happened last week to inspire me to get more Fit. First off the weather is finally nice outside so the 8 month seclusion is lifted and I actually want to be out running and biking. Secondly I got the new Wii Game called Fit. This game is super fun to do, it comes with a board that weighs you, tells your BMI and center of balance. There are all sorts of games like various yoga moves, strength exercises, balance exercises and aerobics that use the board. The final thing was watching the Florida Gator softball team compete in the college world series. Those girls all looked so fit and fun and I felt like running out and tossing the ol softball around again. Our team ended up loosing in extra innings the game that would have sent them to the finals, but after double headers saturday and sunday I was very proud of my gators! During these softball games there was alot of talk about the USA softball team and of course their quest for a gold medal in the upcoming Olympics (64 days away!)

This made me decide to really work on getting fit by the time the Olympics start. I am working Monday-Wednesday-Friday for the summer so I plan on doing big workouts on tuesday, thursday, saturday and sunday. I have a couple 5Ks and Biathlons that I am going to race this summer also. I dont have much weight to loose, but this is more about being more physically active and converting some fat to lean muscle.

The other thing I have decided is in 2012 I am going to attend the summer Olympics in London. Going to an Olympics is a goal of mine, and London seems like the perfect site. Being 4 years away I will have plenty of time to save some money so I can spend a couple weeks in London with Dan and check out some Olympic events and travel to parts of London I didnt see last time I was there.

So every once and I while I will update my fitness goals here since writing stuff down in public makes me more accountable and more likely to stick with it! If anyone else wants to get fit this summer feel free to post along with me. Right now my #1 goal is exercise 4 days a week for a minimum of 1 hour. #2 goal is by the opening ceremony of the Olympics my belt is 1 notch smaller.

Also just wanted to wish my sister-in-law Debbie a big happy 31st birthday today!! I hope you have a great day.

American Idol

Thought I would write a short post about things I do when not posting about cancer or infertility! As everyone knows American Idol ended this week. I am a huge Jason Castro fan, the boy just melted my heart whenever he was on. So, I thought I would just post a couple of my favorite songs from the season.

Carly & Michael - The Letter
Brooke - Let it Be - The Beatles
Syesha - If I ain't got you - Alicia Keys
David A - Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - Elton John
David Cook - Hello - Lionel Richie
David Cook - Billie Jean - Michael Jackson (Studio Version)

Jason Castro:
Daydream- Lovin' Spoonful
Somewhere over the Rainbow - IZ
Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen
Mr. Tambourine Man (Studio Version)- Bob Dylan

5/6 Update

Update on all fronts!

Adoption - We started last week needing a letter from Dan's doctors saying he was in remission and could go ahead with adoption. We asked Dr. Wood first, 5 days later he called us and after talking for about 15 minutes said he didn't have time to write a letter. Pretty sure he could have just written the letter in that 15minutes, but oh well. I was pretty upset about this all weekend We on Monday we asked Dr. Lewis, who gladly did the letter for us!

Fertility - My follow up meeting with Dr. Grohl is May 22nd. This is a checkup meeting from my surgery. Hopefully at this point we will also talk about when we can start the IVF protocol.

Air Force - This Thursday Dan will have one of his major PhD milestones. He will met with his advisory committee and they will ask him questions about his proposal for research.

Also very soon it will be Lt. Dan no more - May 14th Dan gets a big promotion to Captain Dan!

Nursing - The unit where I work is finally going to computer charting. Because I am the only one under 50 who works there and I am pretty good with computers I have been made Super User for this new system. I get to help train my co-workers and be the contact person between my unit and the computer reps which is kinda cool for me. If I ever get tired of bedside nursing, something in medical information or computer charting actually sounds like fun to me.


So that's all for now, the next couple weeks should keep us all busy. My parents will be in Europe for a couple weeks on vacation, so I wish them a safe journey! Hope everything is going well with the people still following my blog!

Earth Day - April 22nd

April 22nd I have my surgery, but its also Earth Day. I figured I would use this blog to ask what changes will you make?

Simple things anyone can do to save money and the environment!

1) Use reusable grocery bags instead of plastic bags. The raw material of plastic bags is oil. Therefore, the more we use plastic bags, the more we waste oil - a non-renewable energy source. The petroleum-based plastic bags take decades to break down.
The Air Force base grocery store sells reusable bags for 50 cents. These bags are great, very sturdy and holds quite a bit. If anyone wants me to mail they some just let me know!

2) Install energy saving devices. When incandescent bulbs burn out, replace them with longer-lasting, low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs. Wash clothes in cold water. Install low-flow shower heads and take shorter showers to save water and the energy used to heat it. About 42 percent of your household energy costs go toward just two things - heating and cooling. Setting your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer can translate to substantial savings on your utility bills.

3) Skip the bottled water. Filter your tap water for drinking rather than using bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it produces large amounts of waste. Check out this recent update and life cycle analysis for the latest on bottled water trends.

4) Use your local library and other public amenities.
Borrowing from libraries, instead of buying personal books and movies, saves money and printing resources.

5) End the Junk Mail. Save trees and the energy used in paper production by taking your name off mailing lists. Register for online delivery where possible. Register with the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service and your address will be removed from advertising mailing lists for three years. And go to Catalogchoice.org to cancel catalogs you no longer wish to receive.

6) Buy local Produce. Shop at your local farmer's market. Though the offerings can be more expensive, you can generally count on a higher quality product—and the entire purchase price goes directly to the farmer. On the average, produce grown in the U.S. travels 1500 miles to reach grocery store shelves. Save on fuel by buying from local farmers.

7) Plant Trees. Planting trees helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, clean pollution, secure soil in place to prevent erosion, and provide shade for homes. The weather is perfect out right now to be playing in your garden.

Remember: Every day is Earth Day! Anything to help our environment is a perfect thing to do on Earth Day and every day. Don't restrict yourself to just one day a year; learn about how you can make a difference to environmental protection all the time. And put it into practice - every day!

12/4 update

Not much going on, just wanted to update.

Fertility - Ultrasound middle of next week to see if Fred the Cyst is still there. I think the option if he is there is surgery which doesn't thrill me at all.

Adoption - We are officially on the list to wait to be on the list to wait to be on the list...Family Adoption Center (FAC) uses a multi-wait system instead of 1 super long wait system. So basically we are on the list to get our homestudy done, then we will be on the list to turn in all our paperwork to Korea, then we will be on the list for a referral of a child. Once a person is referred another person moves 1 step up the list. So...until then we twiddle our thumbs until we can start the homestudy. Somethings we can do ahead of time like write our autobiography but most of the homestudy is meeting with the social worker and having her write up our worthiness. At least we know our social workers name, Jodi Rice. And also in the state of Ohio you have to attend one adoption seminar so the next one is in the Columbus area on Tuesday night, January 22 from 6 - 8 pm. It is at All Saints Lutheran Church on High St. in Worthington. So thats probably the next thing we can do. I kinda expect it to take several months before we are even on the list of people who can get their homestudy done.

Moved to Ohio, got pregnant!

We moved to Dayton, Ohio in August 2006. Actually got pregnant in August 2006 but it turned to be a blighted ovum. A blighted ovum is a common type of miscarriage. It happens when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus but the resulting embryo either stops developing very early or doesn't form at all. On November 13th (12 weeks) I had a D&C preformed. Although I was 12 weeks along really the pregnancy was only ~6 weeks developed according to the ultrasound.

Good news is Heather after a miscarriage of her own became pregnant again and later had a wonderful baby boy!

History

I felt like writing out this blog to keep track of my plan for fertility treatment and for adoption. A history of Allison & Dan's desire to have children. We got married in December 2003. In May 2004 we decided to start trying to have children. We were stationed at Fort Walton Beach at the time and Dan was on his first assignment with the Air Force and was traveling alot so the timing was poor to say the least. In May 2006 we did our first fertility workups. This included lab work for hormone levels, semen analysis and a Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) to check my fallopian tubes out. We did these tests at the Air Force base with a OB/GYN. The tests showed nothing overwhelming wrong with us, so we didn't start any medicine or any further testing at this time.