Yep, It's Halloween

And I went all season without buying any candy (although there are still the half off sales tomorrow!) and I didn't decorate with a single pumpkin. Hmph. Not sure where my holiday spirit has been.

We marked Halloween by having sushi and salads at Whole Foods and now we're watching the tube with the gate locked and the porch light off. Bah humbug! (That is the way it goes, right Daddy?)

This one

Loves to be outside.

I concur

"My Bench in the Fortress of Solitude"

We need electricity in the shed.

I need electricity at my bench! I discovered this today as I was out working on a project and had to work by the light of a lamp on an extension cord....that kept flipping the circuit at the house.

Lee wired his shed, so we've got to keep up with the Jonses you know. But once we've got power back there, the Fortress of Solitude may not be so secluded for dear Charlie any more... I like working at my bench!

One project down...

Finished my transoms!

Charlie's just about finished installing the first...


And the second is waiting for him to build a frame.


The completion of one project means the creation of another...painting the door and transom frame and the rest of the room. Isn't that just the way things go?

Zinnias

It appears as though my zinnias have self seeded, and are coming up to bloom in November!

Weekend Mornings

The bakery is a part of my weekend, usually visiting once with my sister and once with Charlie. My favorite is their bagels, which were still warm from baking this morning. With the chilly weather setting in, it's especially nice to sip a cup of coffee and smell the fresh breads and sweets baking in the morning.

Seasons changing

Each time I take a peak at the temperature on the thermostat I try to convince myself it's not that cold, and I can live without cranking the heat up.

So when it was reading 67 last night I reminded myself that my father pays good money to turn his thermostat down to 68 each night before they go to bed, and here we were getting it free of charge.

After some hemming and hawing, Charlie got tired of hearing about it and feeling my icey fingers on his neck, and insisted we turn on the heat. Nothing better than standing over the vent and watching my pajama legs fill with hot air!

The Wu Smoothie

I didn't start swallowing pills until my late teens and I don't think I stopped gagging when I swallowed pills until I was well into my twenties. Actually, I gag each morning when I try to get down the prenatal vitamin and DHA I have recently resumed taking with my other prescriptions.

My acupuncturist has prescribed some herbs which he thought to be helpful, but ultimately advised to stop taking them once IVF treatment began, and then only use the needle therapy.

The herbs are difficult to take because they have a foul taste, but the shear quantity makes it nearly impossible to get it down. My gagging keeps it at the top of my throat. Charlie thought it may go right down if hidden in a smoothie, so he was on the task.

In went the daily doses:

The contents of two waxy balls, the volume of which is comparable to a handful of Nerds candy.

And sixteen round pills.

Behold my breakfast: The Wu smoothie....


Mine is the one on the left and no, there isn't any chocolate in there! It'd be nice and strawberry pink like Charlie's without the herbs.


This one sip was about all I could stomach of the thing. It was way too "herby" tasting. I'm not even so sure that a milkshake from Bud's would help me get those herbs down. But, I'm not against trying.

I knew we were keeping those cups for something...

Those Saints' game soda cups got put to good use. I organized my medicine. Everything came out of the box, and out of it's individual packaging. The nurse gave me directions for mixing meds for injections and my schedule of doses. Of course none of it is as directed on the boxes and instruction inserts, so I tossed those so as to not complicate or confuse things. So I've got it all sorted: needles and q-caps in one cup, stimulant in another cup, pill bottles in another cup, syringes in another...

We should be set and ready to begin.

Deep breath.

Cat Whiskers this morning

This is one of the plants I put in the new bed in the front of the house. I've never seen this plant anywhere before this year. Now I seem to see it in gardens all over town and it was available for purchase at the Fall Garden Show. I think it prefers sun, but can handle some shade.

Banana Bread

We love banana bread around here. I had to have a warm slice as soon as it hit the plate, even before I took the picture. I made this last night and after breakfast I'd say it's nearly two-thirds gone.


Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp corn oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla
  
• 2 large bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup pecans or chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Cream corn oil, sugar, and beaten egg
2. Sift flour soda, salt, baking powder
3. Blend milk with vinegar to create sour milk
   
4. Alternate the addition of sugar mixture and dry ingredients with the milk
5. add vanilla, bananas, and nuts
6. bake 350 degrees for 1 hour
   

Informed Consent

Today we went to see our RE, reproductive endocrinologist, to get informed about IVF and to give our consent to all procedures with their accompanying risks. He went through each of the consents we had read earlier and answered our questions.

The "short" version is:

• He's looking for quality embryos and will most likely recommend implanting no more than two. The only exception would be if we had several low grade embryos, then he'd advise implanting more. He commented that one (and sometimes two) embryo transfers are more standard, responsible procedure in IVF, than the sextuplet fiascoes we read about in the paper.
  
• Charlie's sperm look great, and he got a gold star for that, so ICSI is not necessary. I need to find a t-shirt for the man professing his high quality sperm.
• I will end birth control pills on the 25th.
• I will begin steroids on the 26th.
• I will most likely begin stimulants on the 29th. I have baseline ultrasound and bloodwork scheduled for that day. After that I can expect ultrasounds and blood work about every other or every third day.
  
• The projected date to trigger ovulation is on or around November 7th.
• Egg retrieval 36 hours after trigger, so we're looking at the 9th or 10th of November.
• Transfer somewhere around November 13th, 14th or 15th. Transfer of embryos is 3-5 days after retrieval. We would do a three day transfer if there were few fertilized or low quality embryos. However, if many seemed to be developing, he may advise to wait until day five to see which continue to develop and look best. There is a risk of waiting until day five that no embryos survive, but the risk allows for selection of the best quality embryos.
• 48 hours bed rest following transfer, with light activity following until pregnancy test.
• Pregnancy test 10-12 days following transfer, so that puts us testing around November 26th.
• Initial pregnancy test may be positive, but subsequent blood work will check to ensure hcg is increasing at an appropriate rate to indicate pregnancy.

There's more to the story past the positive pregnancy test, but we'll wait to we get to that point to go any further.

I will go back tomorrow morning to get lessons on administering all of my drugs via injection. I am thinking that will ease my mind a bit.

He did say that his last cycle of IVF patients in September had an 80% success rate with 4 of the 5 achieving pregnancy, so that made me hopeful.

Cross all fingers and all toes. I want this cycle to be the last chapter in my ever expanding file folder of medical records in the infertility department.

Mondays

Mondays are for washing and red beans. Charlie doesn't like beans, but he tells me that he likes them simmering on the stove. I always feel like I smell of red beans for the day if I cook up a pot. But Charlie...."It feels homey," he says. I'll settle for that for now, but I have an agenda to make a bean eater out of him.

Beans are healthy, and beans are easy and cheap! $1.05 a pound (at Whole Foods!) and another buck for the seasoning packet. I like them without any rice, but how cheap and easy is rice, right? It is the quintessential south Louisiana meal.

Sometimes it crosses my mind to freeze some beans, but then I realize that there's really no need since they are SO simple.

Ingredients:

• Seasoning packet
  

• 1 lb of Camellia red beans
  

• Salt
• Browned onion and sausage, if I'm feeling adventurous

Directions:

• Soak beans overnight
• Drain in morning
• Cover with water and add salt and seasoning
  
• Simmer for several hours (all day), adding water as necessary
• Mash a few beans on the side of the pot to help give a creamy texture
  

Note: This can be done in the crock pot if you're not home washing clothes all day, but beans aren't as creamy.

For nothing

Got up at 4:45. Loaded up the dog and headed to the park. After only 2 miles it poured. I mean, poured. It wasn't a light rain we could manage to walk through. My shoes were squishing and squeaking with water. and my pants weighted an extra five pounds. The weight was pulling them down!

So home we went. Now, we're up, showered, and the rain has stopped. We'll have to try to put in another four miles this evening, post mowing.

Shifting gears

Ever have one of those mornings that you just can't find anything to wear? Nothing feels right or gives the look you want? I have one of those mornings about once a week. It's often rooted in a certain pair of pants being too tight or finding a stain on the white shirt I wanted to wear or, as was the case this morning, the black shirt went through the dryer with someone's kleenx.

Dressing this morning actually brought me to think about how much my life has changed over the last few years, and the influence my clothes have on my my mood, attitude, and schedule. It used to be that I'd dress in the morning and be out the door and return 10-12 hours later, in the same clothes, shower, and hop into bed wearing a ratty t-shirt and shorts. And then Charlie bought me the first pair of pajamas I'd had since I was a kid. He got them at Walmart, and I loved them. They really changed my life. My entire mindset shifted once I put those pjs on. Somehow wearing those jammies gave me permission to lounge around, read the newspaper, and lie in bed a little longer each morning. I am always on the lookout for new pajama sets.

So pajamas were the first step in my life becoming slower, and becoming mine again. Now I've happened upon another wardrobe influence: I change clothes when I get home from work. I do not shower and put on pajamas, nor do I proceed with after work stuff in my "work clothes," no matter how casual they are. This has made my afternoons feel completely liberated! Really. I feel like I can do so much more than paperwork or house cleaning or chores. I do stuff, stuff for me, that I like. It's like part two of the day, my part. It's worth the extra load of laundry, believe me.

It's confirmed...

We had our psychoanalysis for the adoption done on Friday afternoon. We wrote her a check for $700, answered her questions, and listened to her drone on and on and on about her life. Hopefully we'll have the report in a week or so.

We both agreed the visit confirmed any speculations on whether or not psychiatrists enter the field to help others or to really find on what's going on with themselves... This woman was a kook!

Botanicals on Bordeaux

Went to the Fall Garden Show today with Liz, just to look. When we went in I told her I shouldn't even be there because I haven't any room left to plant anything. Nor do I have any money really to buy anything.

But I planned on browsing. I forgot my camera, which was disappointing as the botanical gardens are looking rather spectacular these days and the water lilies were blooming.

I was over stimulated by all of the plants and people but managed to focus long enough to find three plants for my sweet husband.

Crinum lily, butterfly ginger, and a shrimp plant variety we've never seen before. Each plant is grown from the plants at the gardens or seed and the selection was endless!

I could have left with many, many plants, but I am truly out of room.
It's hard to tell from the picture, but the garden is overflowing with blooms right now...angel trumpets, shrimp plant, milkweed, salvia, pentas, some blue flower I learned the name of today and have already forgotten, cigar plant. It's packed. And I am hoping some of my seeds come up and fill in some more.

But then I got to thinking that I have been wanting to do more with the bed along the side of the house...

Note: I have planted two rounds of alyssum seeds along the edge and they sprout well and then they just fizzle away to nothing. Not sure why.

And then I thought about the side of the yard. There isn't much grass and it's not really a large enough area to really have a "lawn"... so why not turn it into a garden with a few stepping stones throughout!?!


If only I could.... A project I'd love to begin. But it'd be costly so I'm holding off for a while. I'd like to begin some projects on the inside of the house before I start this. But now I've got the idea in my head so perhaps little by little I begin planting and planting, until.... I'm on the look out for clippings, so you may want to watch me around your plants!

And on top of it all...

We're going to the reproductive endocrinologist on Monday to sit down and discuss the IVF cycle and sign the consent forms. The nurse had given me a copy of the consents to read over before the appointment, so I've been reading through and doing some research online. I've got a list of questions, and Charlie and I have some decisions to make about number of eggs to fertilize, freeze, and implant.

I have been a little worked up, ok, a lot worked up, about the medicine that I have to take. It's a lot of medicine. I am bothered by the sheer fact that I will be putting all of that stuff into my body. I am not yet to the point of thinking about the "procedure" and the implications of it's success or failure.

And the risks are what I'd expect. Nothing too shocking or out of the ordinary in the consent forms, but ....

Part IX -- Hazards and Risks

...an excessive number of eggs may develop, causing temporary cysts of the ovaries, swelling of the abdomen, weight gain of more than six (6) pounds, ...

That weight gain thing irritates me. Cysts, had them, bulging abdomen, had it, but you're telling me I may go through this and come out not pregnant and with a bigger rear end? Ugh. Feeling as though I need to work harder to shed some pounds to even things out in the end. Fluctuating weight is a stressful situation for me, silly you may think, but it is on my mind. Just another thing to fret over, I suppose.

I'll eat to that!

Last night after walking the dogs we each weighed in. I am holding at 127 which I suppose is better than gaining. But Charles is down to XXX-27.5! That's come more easily in the last few weeks because we haven't eaten out (no guests and no traveling).

We always talk about food. Or at least I do and Charlie quickly shushes me. I could talk about poboys, cheeseburgers, chocolate cake for the entire 6 miles. His rule used to be if I brought it up we got to eat it. He's since given up on that but doesn't indulge in my conversations of "oooohhh, I really want a Bud's burger" and "why don't we go get a Popeye's biscuit."

We skipped eating out last week and almost did the same this weekend, knowing that the calories would later rear their ugly head. But when he stepped on that scale, we knew we had to celebrate, and not with any stinking carrot sticks.

So we walked over to Casamento's, sticking to oyster and shrimp loaves and beers. The crab claws and fries were tempting, but we were trying to be reasonable. And besides we still needed to get dessert. We then walked up to The Creole Creamery for a scoop. I've got to believe that walking to "Fat Fest 2007" kept things under control. That's how those Parisians stay thin, right?

No more junk for a while. That means eating lunch before heading to the Saints game so we're not tempted by nachos and hot dogs, and no Halloween candy. That candy thing is going to be hard for me.

His, Hers, Ours

Our three year anniversary is upon us, well, next month, but we've been talking a lot lately about our first date, dating, and our wedding day. We're also both amazed on one hand that it's already been three years, and on the other hand we think, "Three years? That's all?!?" And we both mean that as a good thing. We've experienced quite a bit in our three year marriage, and I think so far so good...we've handled it as a team and come through.

But the day to day living together as a couple stuff can sometimes be a different story. Charlie's not much into the team thing when I want to scale down his "stuff" and create spaces free of clutter. And who wants to compromise to the point that old newspapers creeping from around the bed being acceptable. But, we've managed.

And for the most part we've created lots of our own ways, each compromising a little. But there is this little matter of of vocabulary. Charlie thinks I'm different. I think he's wrong. And I am not sure we'll every agree.

For example:
The FCS word: der der
The EEO word: doo da doo
Definition: The empty toilet paper/wrapping paper/paper towel tube made into a musical instrument

The FCS word: toe jam
The EEO word: toe cheese
No definition required, I'm sure.

And issues of pronunciation:
The FCS way: sirup (said quickly!)
The EEO way: sear-up
Definition: What you put on pancakes

I suppose it will require the addition of someone under the age of 3 in our home to settle these matters once and for all. I have a feeling he/she will see things my way.

French Onion Soup and Our First Date

Charlie ordered French onion soup on our first date. This is something I'll never forget.

Emmy, cupid herself, told me she doubted Charlie had dress pants and I should dress casually no matter where we were going. But lo and behold! The man was wearing slacks and an ironed shirt upon our arrival to Cafe Degas. Although he felt the need to bust out of that ultra casual (i.e. sloppy 20something male) mold, he was going to be true to his tummy and order his favorite, French onion soup.

It was January, perfect soup weather, and I too would have liked some warm soup, but I wasn't going to attempt to eat that cheesy goodness on a first date. It's like a roast beef poboy with lots of gravy...something only to be eaten in the privacy of your own home or with really close friends. I don't think he know such boundaries when it comes to food. And I was impressed when he ordered. I do think he held back from picking every last bit of browned cheese from the bowl though.

We talk about that night a few times a year, each time we have soup really. He's been on me to make it, so finally I did. Elizabeth guided me via email, and has offered some tips when I try round two. "Thank god for, Lizzy!" I know that's what he's thinking. When the weather cools I'll try it again, but before then I need to know if my house will ever be free of the scent of onions...

Ingredients:

• onions, 6-8, I used a few white, a few yellow, a red, and some fancy ones that Whole Foods had
• flour
• 1 stick butter
• 2 quarts beef stock, I made mine from "Better than Bouillon"
• salt
• fresh thyme
• wine, red, about 1/2 cup. Didn't use it this time, but will help cut down on that sweetness from the onion caramelizing
• crusty baguette from French bakery around the corner
• gruyere cheese

Directions:

1. melt butter in dutch oven
   
2. slice onions into thin half moon shapes and place into butter, layering with a bit of salt
3. on a LOW heat, with minimal to no stirring, let onions soften and brown (an hour or more)
   
4. add a bit of flour, be careful of clumping
5. add broth, thyme, and wine
6. Simmer for 20-30 minutes
7. Place crutons made from baguette atop soup in bowls, sprinkle with cheese, and bake until brown and bubbly
   

Lemon Bars

I'm not so sure I like lemon bars, so I guess these turned out well. Charlie wasn't overly complimentary and hasn't been begging for seconds, so I'm a little suspicious. They're pretty tart and the crust is pretty crisp. I also used self rising flour instead of all purpose, which I have been informed is a big no-no.

Easy though. I'd bring them to a party.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 5/8 cup lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and confectioners' sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven.
4. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Update: Served these bars to the teachers in my seminar tonight and got RAVE reviews!!! So, maybe I'm just not a lemon bar kind of girl.

New entries

I do use this blog as a garden journal, and have found it helpful to look back at prior posts to see what I had planted and what was doing well in the garden during a particular month. So with that in mind, I decided that I would start using the blog to document my budding hobby: cooking. (Stop laughing. And Charlie, I mean you!)

I'm not sure I can go as far to say that it's a full fledged hobby, but it has been taking up a lot of my time lately. I have been seeking new recipes to assist in our quest towards healthy eating. Easy sweet treat recipes are also high on my list. They cancel each other out, but I think I like baking more than cooking.

Over the summer we learned that Janet, Charlie's mom, who makes lots of new meals, uses a recipe once and then tosses it. Yep, throws it in the trash with the dinner scraps. And I've been doing that as well, but really because I am a neat freak and can't stand the recipe hanging around. I can't commit to some recipe filing system.

What I try in the kitchen I will be posted on the blog. Sorry if you're a reader, but this blog serves multiple purposes for me right now. Hoping it generates some comments with recipes for me to try!

Another bed

In front of our house lies a patch of crab grass...



But no more...



My weekend project was to dig up the rock hard ground and put in a little flower bed. I was inspired by those New England gardens that have flowers growing everywhere!

I used some old bricks lying around the backyard for the border and built up the bed. I've filled it with a hodge podge of flowers, and planted nasturtium seeds along the front, so within the next few weeks, we should have lots of color in the new front bed. Pictures to come as it develops!

Laying down the law...

No one is even going to think about parking in front of our driveway anymore...


Attention grabbing, right?


A little paint and plywood goes a long way on Bordeaux Street. Ya heard?!?

The Gumbo Run 5K

Here we are, post race, beer and gumbo, in Home Depot
doing our Sunday shopping.

Times:

• Erin: 36:26
• Charlie: 28:46

Lessons:

• All coffee must be finished at least 2 hours before race

Upcoming:

• Fall Classic, 10K, November 10th, 8:30 am

Perfect weather for this 5K across the Huey P. Long Bridge. I used my daddy's strategy...run to the foot of the bridge, walk to the peak, and then run down using your downhill momentum to propel you to the finish line. It worked. Kinda.

Charlie did rather well and is really enjoying our monthly races. I think he beat the old guy with the bushy eyebrows and pink leggings, but I didn't. I really do commit to doing some training running before the next race, because no matter how far I walk, it doesn't enable me to run any distance.

In full bloom

I'm not so crazy about the devil's trumpet. It's a leggy looking thing. I am not sure if it's the nature of the plant or if I can prune it and shape it. But it blooms and blooms and blooms. I can't ever bear to take anything out of the garden that's blooming.

Extra! Extra!

My trashcan made the newspaper today!

Today's a day...

I am thankful for my swing.

All work and no play

My Danny (my maternal grandmother) says the fall weather is her birthday gift, arriving each year right on the 15th of October, give or take 2 days. This year it's showing up a bit earlier, and unfortunately for her, our weatherman is calling for the return of the muggies by her Monday birthday. In the meantime, we'll enjoy the weather leading up to her day.

Yesterday we didn't answer the call of our predawn alarm and slept until sunrise. I tried to convince Charlie that we should play hooky, but he's much too straight laced for that sort of thing. We did enjoy a walk in the evening to make up for missing our morning workout. I've got a bit of fall fever and would like to play today as well.

And wouldn't you know I had already instituted a "no projects, no fun" weekend, not realizing what the weather would do. Yes, no projects...no lawn mowing, no bathroom work, no power tools, no mopping. And no fun...no dinners and wine, no afternoon beer and football, no Domingo Latino, no Oktoberfest, no Wooden Boat Festival.

Charlie has an exam/paper to do. It needs to be done before December, and he's putting it off. I am trying to avoid the late nights and cranky mornings with him waiting until two weeks before his deadline. So this weekend it's all research. I will not distract him.

I have some things planned, but will have to repeat that "do not disturb mantra" and make sure he works. We've already got a race scheduled on Sunday morning, and I think lacrosse practice needs to fit in somewhere, and don't forget about "checking" football scores. Hoping that some work this weekend gets the ball rolling.

A tidbit of information

Did some reading last night about my medicines. The Menapur information sheet was blank so I got online and found the following on the pharmaceutical company's web page:

MENOPUR® (menotropins for injection, purified)
MENOPUR is a purified preparation of human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) containing hormones necessary for human reproduction. MENOPUR is the first and only fertility treatment approved by the FDA on the basis of pregnancy rates. MENOPUR® is a preparation of naturally derived gonadotropins that has undergone an exacting purification process. The hMG in MENOPUR® is extracted from the urine of postmenopausal women and is purified using state-of-the-art technology. It contains equal amounts of 75 IU follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and 75 IU leutinizing hormone (LH).

Let me repeat this line for you:

The hMG in MENOPUR® is extracted from the urine of postmenopausal women and is purified using state-of-the-art technology.

Interestingly fascinating when I think of it with a science mind, but that's really my husband's role. The normal, every day Erin thinks that's kind of icky.

I will be injecting the urine of postmenopausal women...to assist in creating a baby.

Special Delivery?

My medicines for IVF arrived today. In a big box. And it was full.

Included are:

• 2 packages Ganirelix act 250mcg/0.5 ml
• 30 Pentoxifylline 400 mg tabs
• 2 Diazepam 10 mg tablets
• 20 18G 1.5 inch needle
• 14 27G 0.5 inch neede
• 35 3cc 22G 1.5 inch syringe
• 1 package children's aspirin 81mg tablet
• 2 packages Vivelle-Dot 0.1mg patch
• 20 Methylprednisolone 4mg tablets
• 10 Doxycycline 100 mg capsules
• 2 packages progesterone in ethyl oleate 50mg/ml
• 20 o.5cc 29g syringes
• 1 package Novarel 10,000 units vial
• 12 packages Menopur 75 unit vial
• 1 package Follistim pen
• 2 packages Follistim AQ 900 IU cartridges

And that doesn't include the medicines Charlie picked up for me yesterday:

• Yasmin 28 birth control pills
• 30 Dexamethasone 0.5mg tablets

It took me about 30 minutes to go through the box and check the packing list to make sure it was all here. It's all there. Thank goodness. I don't know if I can manage to pump all of this into my body and if there were more?!?

Looking at that medicine and the needles, I am sure you can begin to imagine my stress and anxiety. And the disappointment that potentially follows a failed cycle. It's not just the failing, but the process of feeding your body all of the above with no results.

Dr. Wu wouldn't be happy, that's for sure. He doesn't say so, but I can just imagine. I know he thinks western medicine has its place, and is effective, but this I am not so sure he'd approve of. Looking at it now makes me not so sure. Amazing what we go through for an end result sometimes.

I have pages of reading material on each drug that I'll read over tonight, and then take with me to our appointment on October 22nd when we sign the consent forms to get an explanation for the purpose of each. And this cocktail is just all a shot in the dark. There's no definitive diagnosis being treated, and that's the case for most women experiencing infertility. It's based on trial and error, what's worked before for others.

I've begun taking birth control pills and will then begin the other medication on October 25th, and I suppose I'll find out the exact regimen on the 22nd. Stay tuned for further updates. I'm sure it'll be an interesting ride.

Baking Fever

Each of these containers is filled with mini pecan pies. They are about the easiest, yummiest thing to bake.

I've had an unusual desire to bake lately, and I'm not sure why. I am not so fond of cooking and I am doubly not so fond of baking. But there's just something about that finished product that's got me hooked. Thankfully, I am able to take the fruit of my labor to my seminar to share with the teachers who come. Poor Charlie is left at home with only a taste.

0-4

It's bad. Really bad.

I wonder if paper bags will begin showing up at the next game.

Saturday Nights

Tonight's Art for Art's Sake. The galleries are all open along Julia and Camp streets, the French Quarter and up and down Magazine. There are lots of people strolling around.

The Gretna Heritage Festival's got a great line up until 9pm.

And there's Oktoberfest!

Where are we?

Home, of course. College ball rules around here. Especially when LSU is playing Florida.

On the Market, Yet Again

Yes, again. One more time, we hope.

The buyers didn't like the looks of the outdated electrical wiring.

We weren't into the $5000 to rewire.

The agent agreed we could do better.

I sure hope we're right.

A little bit of Munich right here at home

I've been fighting a cold, and our 4:45 rising time each morning has suffered because of it. Thursday and Friday morning when the alarm buzzed, "we" decided it best to remain in bed. I don't know of anything that would get Charlie to decide otherwise. And each morning we decided to sleep in, before the clock showed 5:00, it began to rain, affirming our sleeping in. Getting up would have meant a waste and how perfect to sleep while the rain pitters on the windows.

So to make up for our lack of exercise Thursday and Friday mornings, it was time for the park Friday after work. And wouldn't you know when we got to the park it started to pour. We thought to wait it out but quickly decided it was a sign. A sign that an evening at Oktoberfest was a better way to spend our Friday. Exercise in the rain or drink beer in the rain?

Off to the Deutsches Haus.

The rain stopped as the sun set making it extra muggy out. But promises of 17 different beers in 42 taps got everyone out. The line trailed a block down S. Galvez.


This year Deutsches Haus has a mission to raise awareness of the role of the Haus, past and present, in the community. The proposed "medical district" and VA Hospital jeopardize its continued presecnce on Galvez, their home since 1928. Everything means something to someone in New Orleans. Brats ans biers would be just as good to me anywhere in the city, but German New Orleanians feel differently. It's their haus, after all.

Oktoberfest in New Orleans is just what you'd expect...


...grown men in lederhosen...


...brats and strange men who've visited the taps too often (have no idea who this guy is!)...




...beer (and thus beer goggles)....


...did I already say strange men and sausages? (Sorry, Bruno. This picture was too good!)


And lots of music...music to accompany the chicken dance!


I think Elizabeth and Bruno got their fill until next year!


We even found the perfect flag for the porch!

Yes, a flag with a mug of beer!

I think we may have had our fill of German beer and food for the season, but Oktoberfest has three more weekends to celebrate. Take a drive down to the Haus if you can, and share in one more New Orleans tradition.

I've come a long way

Meals around here have really improved since the days of casper chicken. Amazing what a year, a grill, and reading Real Simple magazine can do!

We are working to lose weight, improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and just generally eat well. If we stick to meals at home we do rather well. It's still lots and lots of chicken, but the things I can do with chicken! Everything is simple and quick, or else it wouldn't happen, and it tastes pretty good.

Charlie grills eight or so chicken breasts and then I find ways to reinvent them throughout the week. The craft of easy reinvention usually involves lots of minced garlic, which makes everything better.

The most popular chicken reinvention meals currently include:

• Chicken Salad Sandwiches: We do make traditional chicken salad, but the one from Real Simple is a welcome change and better for us (no mayo!). I shred the chicken and stir in some shredded carrots and bbq sauce, put it on a bun, and top with some shredded cabbage. Best served with a side of steamed or grilled veggies.
  

• Chicken Enchiladas: So easy, and Charlie's favorite. Again, I shred some chicken, and throw in some corn. Wrap it up in some corn tortillas, cover in sauce and low fat cheese, and bake. I serve this with fat free refried black beans and some Spanish rice from a box.

• Chicken and Veggies with Spinach Pasta: My favorite. Probably because it is the easiest. Dice some of that grilled chicken, brown it with garlic and olive oil, and throw in whatever veggies we happen to have (lots of squash and asparagus). Top it off with a bit of Parmesan and it's done.

I'm on the look out for more easy meals before we grow tired of these. So if you have any suggestions....