ICLW Week

Hello Everyone! Happy ICLW week.

Welcome to my blog. You will see that some of the posts from the last two months have consisted of a lot of gloom and drama. I'm not going to lie, the end of September and all throughout October, life in my little corner sucked, so most of the recent posts reflect how I dealt with the aftermath of the suckiness of a failed adoption, and the grief that followed, (it felt like another miscarriage).

The highlight of November so far is that The Hubsand and I moved to a newly remodeled apartment. Its very nice with its all tiled floors, crown molding, recessed doors, granite counter tops, sunshine in the living room from morning to afternoon, microwave above the stove, new dishwasher, and plush carpeted bedrooms. (Did I just get excited about crown molding?)

I'm still unpacking, so we will see how much I like this new apartment when I can't fit all my junk stuff in the space that I am given.

Our cat, Jack seems to like the new place, though he camped out in the guest bathroom for the first four days we were here. He seems to have rediscovered the sun and he likes it...a lot.

I hope to get to know many of you this week.

<=== If you would like to read a brief history of our IF journey, you can read it on the left.

Welcome to ICLW week!!

Its ICLW week and Welcome!

Here are some things you should know about me:

I believe Blu-Ray was made especially for me...I am a Special Features junkie.

I'm a huge Friends fan. (My husband and I are always quoting Friends).

I just finished reading "The Hunger Games Trilogy" and I love "The Boy with the Bread" GO PEETA!!!

My favorite dessert is Banoffee Pie (hadn't heard of it till I lived in Oxford and had it at Pizza Express, it is lush!).

I believe Retail therapy is the best kind of therapy.

I love Doctor Who and can't wait for the Christmas Episode.

That is just a few things about me. If you read some of my past posts you will see that I sometimes make references to Harry Potter things (Shhh, don't tell my mom I'm an HP fan... if you know her IRL, really don't say anything to her ). Have a look around at past posts. You will see some of the things I talk about are pretty raw, but infertility isn't pretty.

Please tell me some things about yourself in the comments :)

Welcome ICLW People!

Its been a while since I participated in ICLW week, mostly because for the past couple of months I was travelling.

Some things you should know about me:

1) I am a huge Harry Potter fan (shhh don't tell my mom...seriously if you know her IRL don't tell her). Yes, I've been to the WWoHP, and it was awesome! And yes, I'm one of the crazy passionate fans that woke up at an ungodly hour to get early registration on Pottermore. Now I'm waiting for my Welcome email to start exploring in the beta stages.

Just to clarify, I'm not afraid of dragons. I am afraid of Acromantulas.

2) I love to shop therefore, I am an emotional shopper.

3) Michael and I go to the movies every weekend in the summer from the first Sat in May to the last Sat in July.

4) We go to Disneyland every year on our anniversary and my birthday. Its my happy place.

5) I'm addicted to coffee. To give you an idea the Baristas at my local Starbucks all know me by name.

6) I'm currently unemployed and enjoying my "Woman of Leisure" status.

Please tell me some things about you in the comments :)

Happy ICLW week!

Welcome to March ICLW week! I look forward to reading new blogs and having new readers. I will try to  be good and post more often then I have been doing. You can find our story here.

Here are a few things about me.

Three names I go by:
1. Jonelle
2. Mija
3. Babydoll

Three jobs I have had in my life:
1. Journals Customer Service Advisor
2. Bank Teller
3. Sales Clerk

Three places I have lived:
1. Downey, CA
2. Pico Rivera, CA
3. Oxford, England

Three favorite drinks:
1. Grande Skinny Soy Cinnamon Dolce Latte, No Whip, No Foam
2. Venti Black Tea Lemonade (Sweetened)
3. Mango Lemonade

Three TV shows that I watch:
1. Mythbusters
2. Big Bang Theory
3. Friends

Three Movies I enjoy
1. Sixteen Candles
2. Ferris Bueller's Day off
3 Clueless

Three places I have been:
1. Orlando, FL (Wizarding World of Harry Potter!)
2. Roswell, NM
3. Atlanta, GA

Three of my favorite restaurants:
1. Outback Steakhouse
2. Mi Ranchito
3. Cheesecake Factory / California Pizza Kitchen

Three things I'm looking forward to:
1. Date Nights with Michael
2. Trips to Disneyland
3. Seeing where God takes me and Michael

Welcome ICLWers!

Hi, sorry I'm late in posting. Welcome to my blog. If you would like to find out my story you can find it in the ICLW tab on the right.

Here are some random facts about me.

I love carbs - the sweet, sugar filled variety

I'm almost caught up on season 6 of Gr.ey's Ana.tomy (will watch the finale tomorrow). However, in my attempt to catch up on the episodes I didn't watch them in order. (still slightly confused about things).

I'm a Doctor Who fan - season 4 was my favorite because I also love Catherine Tate. ("Look at my face. Am I bothered?")

I don't cope well in gloomy weather - it makes me hungry (craving carbs)

I'm a Cur.ves Circuit Coach - Its the best job ever


Well that is a bit about me. Hopefully I'll get the swing of things this week and post more.

Welcome ICLW people!

I can't believe its already July and ICLW week. Welcome everyone and thanks for visiting my blog.

I little bit about me and this blog. My husband and I have been married for 9 years. Yesterday was actually the anniversary of when we met, which also happened to be the same day as our first date.

We've been living with infertility for the last 6 1/2 years. Last September we made a hard decision to not try anymore and to stop all IF treatments as it was not only emotionally draining, but financially draining as well. If you would like to read our full IF story you can read it here.

We are currently in the beginning stages of Domestic Infant Adoption. We are excited, but we have also found this process to be emotionally draining as doing IF treatments.

I look forward to meeting new people and hopefully getting new blogs added to my Blog List.

June ICLW Welcome :)

I'm sorry that I'm a little late in doing this, please forgive me. If you are here because of ICLW week, welcome to my blog. If you would like to know how I came upon being 'in the middle' you can find our IF journey here.


Interesting things about me:
 
1) My brain retains a lot of useless information mostly movie and tv trivia and random work knowledge. Example 1: I can recite from memory the entire kitchen scene from Back to the Future. I can also tell you who was originally cast as Marty McFly. Example 2: I can tell you what the acronym PASTA stands for from my first job more than 10 years ago.
 
2) I want to get a tattoo, but they are expensive and I need to save up for our adoption.
 
3) I love frogs. If I could have a pet frog I would, but Jack (my kitty) might eat it.
 
4) I graduated from Cal State Long Beach (GO BEACH!!) in May 2002 the day before Steven Spielberg graduated.
 
5) My husband and I lived in Oxford, England for a 3 years while he was studying to get his D.Phil.
 
I'm looking forward to meeting new people. Please feel free to tell me something about you :)

May ICLW Welcome :)

I'm sorry that I'm a little late in doing this, please forgive me. If you are here because of ICLW week, welcome to my blog. If you would like to know how I came upon being 'in the middle' you can find our IF journey here.

There are some things you should know about me:

1) I love musicals - Its hard to pick a favorite. Right now its a tie between The Sound of Music and Sweeney Todd. Sweeney Todd is winning as I have this soundtrack on my iPod.

2) I'm a night person. I love staying up late, I just hate what it does to me the next morning.

3) I have naturally curly hair, but I straighten it with my beloved Con-Air 2-in-1 Wet 'n Dry Straightener. It was the best $20 I spent at Target.

4) I'm a major coffee addict and an emotional coffee drinker. I will brew a pot if I'm feeling sad just to warm me and cheer me up. Umm its soo good, but maybe not for my kidneys.

5) My cat Jack has 3 namesakes - Jack Bristow from Alias, Jack Bauer from 24, Jack Malone from Without a Trace.

6) I'm probably the only woman my age (32 and 363 days) that loves her birthday. Its the only day I have a valid excuse to be the center of attention and not look like a complete...well you know.

7) I know the entire movie Sixteen Candles by heart.

I'm looking forward to meeting new people. In the comments please leave me some things I should know about you :)

Outing Myself

*****But first an apology*****

I know it's ICLW week, but lately I've been completely blank on anything to post. I'll write something that sounds like an interesting topic to post. I'll read it back and it ends up being complete rubbish. So I'm sorry to all the people from ICLW who have only had my greeting to read.

Now back to topic.

In light of National Infertility Awareness Week April 24-May 1 I decided that I would 'out' myself to my Facebook Friends about our infertility. I was encouraged to do so by Busted Kate of Busted Plumbing, who did this very brave thing on FB yesterday.

At first I was very apprehensive and couldn't see the good in doing so. Are you mad? I don't want to open myself up to MORE insensitive comments, MORE useless platitudes, MORE unhelpful advice. NO Thank you.

But the more I got to thinking about it. If I didn't out myself about our IF the perpetual cycle of insensitive comments, useless platitudes and unhelpful advice would continue to find me. At least by doing this one simple thing I can educate and inform.

I fretted about it for a few hours until I decided to just do it. But first I needed to make sure it would be okay with Michael. As this outing would be our outing not just mine. He told me to do it. I was scared to do this, but still determined.

Here is what I put as my status yesterday:

April 24-May 1 is National Infertility Awareness week. This week, I am not hiding the fact that we suffer from infertility. It has been a part of our lives for more than 6 years. Please don't tell us to relax. Please don't tell us there is a reason. Please don't tell us everything works in God's time. Instead, just say you're praying for us.

And I waited to see what being honest would do to me. I felt liberated...and slightly nauseous. What if this backfired on me? But nothing bad happened.

All the comments I've received have been great and supportive. One I got from my old pastor thanked me for being real. I thought that was the best one, because I'm not very real on FB, and putting this as my status was as real as I've ever gotten.

The absolute best was when I went on FB this morning and Michael put it on his status too. I really love that man of mine.

ICLW Week :)

Welcome! If you would like to know more about ICLW just click on the green icon to the right. If you are visiting here for the first time let me share a bit about myself and give you the summarized version of our story.


Michael and I have been married for 9 years and have been TTC our first for 6 1/2 years.

After 3 years of no pregnancies we discovered that I had PCOS causing annovulation so we decided to see an RE. We did 4 cycles of Clomid and the last one was successful, however it was a tubal pregnancy and I ended up losing a tube and our first child.

The next option after the Clomid we did injectables w/IUI. After 4 cycles the last one worked but not good enough as I miscarried early. Treatments and medications got increasingly expensive not to mention emotionally taxing on our hopes and dreams.

We felt that we needed to redirect our focus on other ways of building a family, so we will eventually be pursuing domestic infant adoption. We haven't yet made a formal decision on selecting an agency. We are still in the information stage and working through the emotions and grief of not being able to have children of our own. We are somewhere in the middle (hence the title of my blog) of no longer trying, but not yet ready for adoption.


Hopefully by the middle of this year we will be a bit further in the adoption process. I think that is it so far.

Happy ICLW week. I look forward to meeting new people.

ICLW Welcome :)

This is my first ICLW week. If you would like to know more about ICLW just click on the purple icon to the right. If you are visiting here for the first time let me share a bit about myself and give you the summarized version of our story.

Michael and I have been married for nearly 9 years and have been TTC our first for a little over 6 years. After 3 years of no pgs we decided to go see an RE.

We were diagnosed with PCOS, so the RE suggested a few cycles of Clomid. On the 4th cycle of Clomid in Feb 08 we thought it didn't work as the pg test I took at the RE's office was BFN. Two weeks later I was in the ER with severe pain. They made me take a pg test and it was positive. We were finally pregnant, but it joy was short-lived as I was rushed into surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. My tube was beyond saving so it needed to be removed along with our first child.

After six months of recovery, we continued with treatment, this time with injections and IUI. I overcame my fear of needles by learning how to give myself shots. We learned that with the IUI procedure, Kaiser only offers 3 cycles so if it didn't work after 3, it probably won't work at all, so we had 3 shots at this working. The first 3 cycles failed.

Because I responded well to the meds, they offered us a 4th cycle. The 4th IUI cycle was, by far, the best one we had since starting the injections. It worked, but not as well as we would have hoped. I miscarried early. Kaiser offered us another cycle, since this once was considered a m/c, but the cycles were exhausting our finances and our hopes of ever conceiving. So we decided to stop all further treatment.

Michael felt that we needed to redirect our focus on other ways of building a family, so we will eventually be pursuing domestic infant adoption. We haven't yet made a formal decision on selecting an agency. We are still in the information stage and working through the emotions and grief of not being able to have children of our own. We are somewhere in the middle (hence the title of my blog) of no longer trying, but not yet ready for adoption.

Hopefully by the middle of this year we will be a bit further in the adoption process. I think that is it so far.

Happy ICLW week. I look forward to meeting new people.