a night out.

This is perfection. S is out with the boys tonight (I know- he is out- having fun, not building or helping- he is hopefully having fun!) and I am awarded a window of time to do exactly as I like. I am reading a fiction book of little worth, and eating egg-salad sandwiches- which S despises. I am in full save money/homemaker mode. The bread is the first batch of bread that I feel good with. It is wheat, but is moist and light, and makes perfect sandwiches. I have been dipping the crust in homemade tomato soup, which I made from tomatoes I canned this summer. It is accompanied at present by some water, but later tonight I will brew a canning jar full of tea to sip on as I read. Mom and Dad stopped by this morning to drop off some wood that Dad had been saving from my bunk bed in collage. S discovered that the steps from the front door to the basement are awful and need to be rebuilt. sigh. So Dad, always wanting to help us, (secretly I think he feels bad for us) offered to bring it down so we could use it. I offered to make them breakfast, and I created from scratch wheat cinnamon rolls as well as a bacon spinach quiche. Both of which were edible- even tasty! I am feeling better and better about my ability to put food on the table that won't make people want to die, and this morning certainly helped. It was nice to see my parents, but I must admit the night before I was not pleased as I tried to put together a breakfast from what was in the house and we scrambled to clean up a house that had been dedicated to demolition. However, today it is lovely. The dining room is cleared, and it is so calming to sit around and pretend that more construction, conferences, and another pregnancy test are not just around the corner. . . .

Biopoems

We did these poems at school in my class, thought it would be funny to do them for me and the spouse.

S
Opinionated, loyal, funny, hairy
Son of K
Lover of movies, music, food
Who feels happy, content, anxious
Who needs my wife, my family, time
Who fears anything with more than 4 legs,
bugs that make a bzzzz sound, falling
Who gives help, comfort, myself
Who would like to see Vietnam, Japan, and Greece
Resident of Minneapolis
B

R
Loud, centered, caffeinated, loyal
Daughter of E
Lover of plants, high heels, the open road
Who feels grounded, misunderstood, enough
Who needs my husband, my family’s acceptance, loud music
Who fears thin ice, crickets, not liking my life in 30 years
Who gives unsolicited advice, experimental recipes, enthusiasm
Who would like to see S and E relax, the Great Barrier Reef,
the bridge at fifty
Resident of Minneapolis
B

turkey basting.

So we have crossed another threshold and for better or worse S and I entered the world of artificial insemination. It went pretty well, and in all honesty, it was a lot less drama than usual because it felt like we had an extra mind making sure everything went well. The night before, was a lot of drama because when S when to give me my ovulation shot at 3:30 am (I know, I know) the needle head came off with the cover- and we both had a really sleepless night after a little leaked out. But I had super cramps the next day, and the doctor said that I had good cervical mucus on insemination day, so we eventually calmed down. sigh. So if all goes well, we will know exactly when we got pregnant- 3:30 on March 9th. If all goes poorly, I will sink into another mini depression. Then I will pick myself up off of the ground, and we will drag our sorry asses to the infertility specialists. This is our life- for now.

sprout.

So in the orchid theme. . . . here is a cutting that L got me from her Jewel Orchid plant. This is definitely an orchid, but its more known for its leaves than its flowers, so right up my alley!