Interview

This weekend I had the weirdest dream. Don't worry I won't go into too many details, but it involved having to go to a public place to print off IVF documents and running into two other women doing the same thing. Instead of being supportive as we were all going through the same experience, they made fun of me and made me start crying. Good thing this was just a dream.

Speaking of support, for anyone that misses the Bitter Infertiles podcast and wants another infertility podcast to listen to, there is now Beat Infertility. I have been listening for a while now and finally decided to submit myself as a success story. I spoke to Heather on Friday and my episode went live today! If you have ever wanted to hear my voice here is the link: Dual Factor Infertility. I listened to the episode this morning and don't think that I sound like too much of an idiot. :-)

Heather is looking for more success stories so if you want to be a part of the podcast go here.

Thanks for letting me tell my story Heather! It was fun to talk to you and I hope that my story and advice can be helpful for someone listening out there!

Exhausted

Yesterday I finally got a day off from working on Sandy disaster efforts and it couldn't have come at a better time.  I was mentally exhausted.  I can't go too much into it, but it's frustrating when you are the only person (at least it seems like) going the extra step (or more) for these people that have already suffered enough.  People around me (not from my company) were telling me, "Oh that's not what we were told to do."  So you have to be told to give a sh*t?  *sigh*

I'm also physically exhausted after working so many days in a row. I'm not sure why because I'm sitting all day, but 10 hour work days plus the commute and going out for dinner every night leaves little down time. Only a glass of wine seems to help in slowing down my brain down after a tense day. I never thought that working on the weekends would lead to not knowing what day it is! Needless to say, it's probably going to be a really good thing that I get back into Chicago on a Friday so that I have the weekend to decompress after these last two weeks.

I can't complain too much though because, of course, I have it way better than Sandy victims.  And being back on the East Coast has meant getting to see a few friends and family when I do have time off.  After finishing work on New Years Eve I headed up to CT to see friends and celebrate the New Year with them.  I loved having a home cooked meal as it has now been a while!  Then last night I headed into the city to have dinner at Ed's Lobster Bar (delicious!) with my aunt, uncle, and cousin.  I originally thought that I would go do something in NYC since I had the whole day, but a day of doing laundry, watching football, and sleeping in was more of what I needed!!

CP always tells me that traveling for work is not as glamorous as it sounds.  After my first two week work trip, I would have to agree with him.  Eating out for every meal, not having the comforts of home, and being on a totally different schedule in a new city gets old (especially if you are not even IN a major city*).  Not to mention spending time with coworkers that you either have never met or have had limited time with in the past and having to deal with their crazy quirks, backgrounds, annoying habits, and opinions- YIKES.  One of my coworkers is perpetually late, asks inane questions, and tries to make himself more important than he is.  I'm trying to hold back my snark and b*tchiness when talking to him but it's hard when you are already mentally and physically exhausted.

And don't get me started on missing CP and the puppies.  I Facetimed with CP last night and like the crazy dog people were are, I talked to the dogs.  It seemed to confuse them more than anything (where is that voice coming from??), but they at least recognized that it was me.  :-)

I'm definitely looking forward to early Friday morning when I head back to Chicago.  I'll get to have a quick 24 hours with CP before he leaves for his two-week work trip around the world, but at least while he is gone I will be HOME with the puppies.  I think that I will have to check back on this post when I'm feeling jealous of some of his work trips to remember that maybe, just maybe, the fact that he is in Asia, Europe, South America, etc is not as cool as one might think.

Do you travel a lot for work?  What are your tips on staying sane?

*I'm actually staying on Long Island and I don't have a car- my coworker has to drive me to/from work!

Doctor recommended supplements

A number of people commented on my potential increase in vitamins and other supplements to prepare for my first IVF.  This information and the large number of supplements are not combed from the internet, but I  received the list from my doctor.  So in an effort to help other IVF patients out there, I’m going to summarize what my doctor gave me in hopes that it may help another patient.

First off, I am not a doctor.  You should get a blood test prior to starting this regime to find out if you even need the supplements.  THE FOLLOWING SUPPLEMENTS ARE TO HELP IMPROVE EGG QUALITY.  My doctor suggests that you start these three months prior to treatment, but that they can still help even if you don’t have three months (I do not).

1.      Take a prenatal vitamin with DHA daily but stop with the trigger shot or with ovulation.

2.      Myo Inositol- 2 gm, two times a day

a.      Shown to help with blastocyst (embryo) development

b.      Also correlated with higher E2 (estradiol) levels within the follicular fluid and better quality embryos

3.      Melatonin- 3 mg, once at night

a.      Helps scavenge the free-radicals that can damage delicate sperm and egg DNA

b.      DO NOT take this if you are on thyroid medication

4.      Co Enzyme Q10- 200 mg, three times a day

a.      Helps support and improve mitochondrial function

5.      Omega-3 fatty acid- 1000 mg, once a day

a.      In one study a higher omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was associated with higher numbers of follicles

b.      Eat more leafy greens, nuts and seeds and high quality, purity tested fish oil supplement

c.      Eat less snack/fast foods, factory/grain-fed red meat and processed oils

6.      Vitamin C- 500 mg, once a day

a.      Helps prevent oxidative mitochondrial damage

b.      Supports healthy blood vessel structure

7.      Vitamin E- 200 IU, once a day

a.      Helps prevent oxidative mitochondrial damage

b.      May improve glandular epithelial growth and development of blood vessels in the endometrium

8.      L-arginine, 1000 mg, two times a day

a.      Encourages your pituitary gland to produce more Human Growth Hormone, which helps improve with quality and quantity of egg production

9.      DHEA- 25 mg, three times a day

a.      Positive effects have been reported to egg and embryo quality

10.   Pycnogenol, 100 mg, once a day

a.      Anti-inflammatory effects

b.      Supports blood vessel structure

So there you have it.  10 different supplements recommended to boost egg quality by my doctor.  It certainly seems like a lot, but I am going to try to help my old and crappy eggs as much as possible!!  (NOTE: I may end up NOT taking everything on this list- I'm trying to decide which ones are most important.)

If you are on supplements to boost egg quality, what are you taking?  

Foodshare

Thank you all for your comments over the past couple of days. I have been feeling pretty depressed, but recognize that there is nothing we can do right now. We will just have to wait until later this month when CP goes in to the urologist.

There is always something that happens in my life that snaps me back into reality; a reality where yes we are having fertility problems, but at least we are lucky in so many other ways. The training that I went to last night did just that.

About two months ago I realized that not only was I not getting satisfaction from my 9-5 job, but that I really wanted to volunteer at a place that was making a huge difference in people's lives. After giving it some thought, I decided that I would try to volunteer at our local food bank. People are struggling to not only pay their mortgages and keep their jobs, but also to put food on the table. And food banks are a good way to serve that need.

So I went in and talked to the volunteer coordinator with one of my friends. After finding out our backgrounds, he immediately signed us up for the speaker's bureau. After a night of training (i.e. learning more about Foodshare) we would be able to table at community events and give tours of the warehouse. So last night we had our training.

I knew that the need for food was great, but I was amazed at some of the numbers they told us last night.

28% of food in this country is wasted- whether it is crops that aren't picked in time or food that is thrown out from our dinner plate.

In the greater Hartford area Foodshare helped 128,000 people last year. 50,000 of those people are kids, 10,000 are seniors. Those are staggering numbers because the greater Hartford area only has about 1 million people. That means over 1 in 10 people have hunger issues!

Foodshare, along with food banks across the country, doesn't give food out to people directly. They partner with local agencies (we have over 300) to get the food to those in need. They are the "middle-man."

My local Foodshare moves 16 TONS of food A DAY. Amazingly, just a $30 donation feeds one person for an entire MONTH. Most of the food is donated by wholesalers, the food industry and farmers. Local food drives do not supply the food banks- that food makes up only 3-4% of the food eventually given to the partner agencies.

Aren't those numbers jaw-dropping? And this is in Connecticut, one of the wealthiest states in the country. Think about places like Michigan, Nevada or Ohio with their high unemployment rates.

So yes, while certain aspects of my life aren't going well right now, CP and I are lucky in that we do not have any food insecurity. But there are millions of people out there that are struggling. And a donation to your local food bank or even to Feeding America could make a huge difference. So instead of giving expired cans of food away at the next food drive, consider making a donation instead.

Or volunteering! There are tons of different ways to help your local food bank. Speaking to groups, helping sort food (I sorted bread last week for 2.5 hours and burned 800 calories! So not only are you helping the hungry, but you are losing weight at the same time!), helping the warehouse with administrative tasks, etc. Coming up in a few weeks here is the Walk Against Hunger...you could raise money for your local walk and also burn calories by walking! A win-win!

(And now I feel like I sound like a Foodshare commercial or something. Ha!)

I came home last night excited about the opportunity to help others. I look forward to more bread sorting in my future and speaking about the hunger issues in CT at events. :-)

Help

Anyone else use Nike+ for running or walking? If so, please join this challenge! The person that started the challenge worked with individuals and companies who will donate $10-$100 per mile/kilometer to the Red Cross for mileage accrued from 3/15 to 4/15. The more people that join and add their mileage to the challenge, the more money donated! I just joined yesterday and despite the fact that we are halfway through the challenge, it synched my miles from all of my runs since 3/15.

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So I have noticed that my blog reader doesn’t have as many posts in it lately. I think that I may subscribe to too many people that have just had babies! A newborn= no time to blog!

Do you have a blog or two on your blog roll that you absolutely love that I am not already reading (see my list to the right)? If so, leave their URL in your comment. Why do you enjoy reading them so much?

My Google Reader thanks you! :-)

Blood drive

Last night I headed to a blood drive to donate my blood. Not only is a great way to lose a pound (too bad it comes back), but my blood could help save a life! Hopefully I never need someone else's blood, but you never know.

Because of the snow/ bad weather, the Red Cross is having problems getting enough donations this winter. There were a few of us in the room that were donating after work, but I was hoping to see more people.

In law school I always used to try to get classmates to sign up for blood drives…the number one reason people said they didn’t sign up was because they were afraid of needles. I’ll admit, I’m not a HUGE fan of needles, but giving blood doesn’t bother me. Maybe it is because my mom used to take me and my sister to blood drives? Seeing her eat red meat before appointments (she is borderline anemic and sometimes is turned away because she doesn’t have enough iron in her system) and then calmly give blood was just something she did. So to me it is perfectly natural to sit down and have people take blood out of my body.

So as soon as I was old enough to give blood in high school, I signed up. I haven’t always made the smartest choices after giving blood. One blood drive in high school was a few hours before a track meet. I almost passed out after my 200 meter race. Whoops! Nowadays, I give blood and then I wait 12 hours to exercise. :-)

As usual, last night I “competed” against the other donors to make sure that I filled my bag the fastest. Even faster than some people that started before me! Go me?!? My competitive streak is a sickness, a sickness I tell you. I mean, who “competes” to bleed faster than other people in the room???? (The person helping me said that if you drink a lot of water, you donate faster. I do drink a lot of water….)

Do you give blood?

Making green choices for our new house

Today we will be getting an energy audit done on our new home. I am so excited about this (I know that makes me a complete dork)! Because our house was built in 1948, I expect to have some things that need to be repaired or upgraded. Last week the electrician that we had come to the house to do some work said that some of the 2-prong plugs that he switched out to 3-prong were most likely original to the house (!) and that it was a good thing that we changed them over as they were disintegrating. Yikes.

If you do not live in Connecticut and cannot participate in the Home Energy Solutions Program, I would check your state’s website to find out if there is a similar program. For $75 we have a technician coming into our house to do the following:

• Blower door testing and blower door guided air sealing is a scientific test that involves the use of a large fan (Blower Door) mounted in an exterior door to measure air filtration into your home. The CRI Technician will be able to seal most of the major sources of leakage while on-site.

Image from HES website

• As part of the Home Energy Solutions Program, your CRI Technician will install up to 25 CFL bulbs in your home (program guidelines are subject to change without notice). (We already have CFL lightbulbs in most of our lamps, but we need them for our two new lights)

• Duct Testing and Duct Sealing is a process that begins by using a large fan to pressurize your duct system and measure leakage through the system. Where leaks are found, your CRI Technician will apply duct mastic (a grey plaster type of material) and/or silver tape to seal leaky portions of your duct system. After the Technician has sealed all possible leaks, you will be provided with a Duct Air Flow report. This report will provide you with the necessary information to identify if any additional work is necessary to further improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system.
  

Image from HES website

• CRI will install low flow faucet aerators on your kitchen and bathroom sinks. Properly installed aerators will seal drips, saving water and the energy used to heat that water. CRI will install newer showerheads that come with a variety of settings and features for increased comfort and savings. Showerheads over 10 years old typically deliver between four – five gallons of water per minute. Since 1992, legislation has required manufacturers to produce only low-flow showerheads, which deliver 2.5 gallons per minute. CRI will install pipe wrap to insulate at least the first nine feet of pipe on your water heater to stem heat loss before it reaches the tap. CRI will wrap your tank with fiberglass insulation to keep an extra 30–40 percent of heat from escaping through the walls. If your tank is relatively new, it already has insulation on the inside and CRI will verify this.

• Part of the HES Program is identification of older, less efficient appliances. You may qualify for incentives (rebates and tax credits) for the replacement of older inefficient refrigerators, freezers clothes washers and dehumidifiers. Your CRI Technician will review the options with you at the conclusion of your appointment.

• With the HES Program, a CRI Technician will inspect the insulation in your home and discuss the results with you. If you need insulation, CRI will work with you to provide a list of qualified contractors to help. CRI can also assist you in getting detailed estimates to get the work done through its pre-screened network of qualified insulation contractors. This service also includes assistance with applying for rebates, information regarding possible tax credits, and a comprehensive quality assurance program to make sure the work is done correctly.

• Your CRI Technician will measure the airflow through your duct system when your heating or cooling system is operating. Based on test results, CRI will seal leaks or offer recommendations on how to improve the system.

• As part of CRI’s HES Program, we identify and recommend other services that may make financial sense for our customers. These additional services sometimes require the use of licensed subcontractors who specialize in specific technologies such as insulation, heating/cooling systems, electrical upgrades, etc. CRI maintains a list of licensed, pre-screened professionals that work closely with us in our delivery of energy efficiency programs throughout the state. We can arrange for one or more of these companies to provide you with additional information or a competitive estimate. There is no obligation to purchase these additional services, but if you decide to proceed, CRI will stay involved throughout the entire process to ensure that all work meets CRI’s strict quality control standards. CRI will also help you correctly complete and submit all necessary rebate forms where applicable.

• Through the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund (CEEF), there are sizeable rebates available to homeowners who participate in Home Energy Solutions. The offers may be subject to availability, but currently include incentives for: increased insulation for attics and walls; purchase of ENERGY STAR Refrigerators, freezers, dehumidifiers and clothes washers; installation of a high efficiency natural gas water heater; and installation of high efficiency split heat pumps.

Can you believe they do all of this for $75???!!??

Have you taken advantage of any energy efficient programs in your state?

The power of the Internet

This message has been posted on numerous blogs that I read and although our readership is probably very similar, I thought that I would post it just in case. It truly amazes me how powerful the internet can be.

Our Plea
Our friend Brandy is a brilliant writer, a wonderful teacher, and a generous friend. And she is in love with a man who has just been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

We are raising money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Fund in his name. For the price of a cinnamon dolce latte, half-caf, hold the whip, you can be part of an effort to cure a disease that affects approximately 750,000 people worldwide.

http://www.loveharder.org

Every dollar brings us a dollar closer to a cure. And every donation brings a sliver of hope to a girl who needs all the hope she can get.

What You Can Do

• Give. Be part of a worldwide effort to cure a disease that affects approximately 750,000 people worldwide. Every dollar helps.
  
• Pass it on. Forward this story to five people. Share this blog post. Become our fan on Facebook.
  
• Love harder. Life is short, love is unbending, and no one knows what could happen next. Tell someone you love them today.

Where Your Money Goes

The American Institute of Philanthropy recently named The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation one of the best organizations to give to in terms of their accountability and use of resources.

By working closely with researchers, clinicians and partners in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, the MMRF has helped bring multiple myeloma patients four new treatments that are extending lives around the globe.

The MMRF has advanced twenty Phase I and Phase II clinical trials. They need your support to advance these clinical research programs and accelerate the development of better, more effective treatments.

The MMRF's Multiple Myeloma Genomics Initiative recently became the first to sequence the multiple myeloma whole genome in its entirety.

A whopping 98% of your donation to the MMRF will be used immediately to support high-priority multiple myeloma research.

With diminishing funding for early stage drug development and the next myeloma treatments not expected to be approved until 2011, the MMRF desperately needs your help.

Read Brandy's story here.

Be the Match 2

Yesterday, NPR ran a story on Maya, a mixed-race child who is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. A few months ago, I posted information on becoming a bone marrow donor.

Well.....did you sign up? If you didn't, Be the Match is once again looking for donors and waiving the sign up fee. If you are interested, go here. The promotion code (supposedly good through the end of 2009) is marrow4maya.

Charitable donations

While looking up something on Google for work, I came across this blog on Aid and Charitable Donations. I know that a large number of you do charity work and/or give to charitable organizations…..this blog is both interesting and informative.

This woman worked in Thailand after the tsunami, helping with aid efforts and gained a lot of knowledge in what works and doesn’t work. Interesting stories include sending large numbers of baby bottles and diapers to women in Thailand…..except that most of the country doesn’t use bottles or diapers. Or a request to send used bras to Uganda….but women there don’t wear bras.

From what I can tell, it looks like a good resource to check out before making donations this year. She stresses that the “non-sexy” donations are actually the most helpful ones. Plus, she is hoping to put together in the next month or so a rating system that looks at best practices of aid agencies, not simply the percent spent on administration costs.

What do you think about what she is saying?


*If you don’t feel like poking around the website, here is her list of things to think of before giving.

Inspiration

About two weeks ago I made a snap decision to run in a Thanksgiving-themed 5K. The race was yesterday and I am really glad that I did it. Not only did I burn some calories by running a hilly course for 3.2 miles, but I supported a local charity in the process.

Little did I know that there would be a “celebrity” also running the race! A couple of years ago I remember sitting down to read one of Rick Reilly’s back-page Sports Illustrated columns. The article about Dick and Rick Hoyt made me tear up because it was just such an amazing story!

Picture from Team Hoyt website

Yesterday, Team Hoyt kicked my butt. Dick ran the 5K in 26 minutes and 30 seconds, averaging an 8 ½ minute mile pace. It was not even close to his best time of 17 minutes and 40 seconds (which is RIDONKULOUS because that means that he was running at a sub-6 mile pace!!), but then again he just had HERNIA surgery this summer….and he is 68! I was fully inspired yesterday after the race. I mean here is this 68 year old man who is pushing his son in a wheelchair up the same hills that I was dragging my fat a** up…..and his pace was a whole 2 minutes faster than me!* Dick has push Rick through marathons, 5Ks, 10Ks, Ironmans and even triathalons!! Amazing.

*My time was 32:54 which I was pretty happy with considering that I didn't run for the entire month of October! It was a 10:36 pace.

Surprised

I had a great time checking people in and serving lunch at the soup kitchen yesterday. All of the other volunteers were really nice, along with the two AmeriCorps employees that help run the program. This particular soup kitchen serves lunch every weekday and recently added dinner three nights a week.

I remember being surprised as a kid when someone would come in dressed in a suit or looking particularly clean. Yesterday no one came in dressed to the nines, but I was surprised to see the janitor from my office building. I hope that he wasn’t embarrassed to have me see him eating there….I can’t imagine that he gets paid very much although he does work really hard.

Seeing him reminded me of the book “Nickel and Dimed.” Have you guys read that book? It’s by a journalist (Barbara Ehrenreich) that decides to go undercover and work minimum wage jobs in different parts of the country to see if people can really survive. It’s a fascinating book and not surprisingly, she finds it very difficult to eek out a living on minimum wage. I would bet that the janitor in my office building gets paid more than minimum wage, but most of the northeast is crazy-expensive to live in. I don’t know if he has a wife or kids, but I truly shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was to see him eat the free lunch.

I look forward to going back next week!

Volunteering

The last post of honeymoon pictures will be up either tomorrow or Friday—this time photos of our week in Mozambique! I hope that you guys have enjoyed the pictures….

In other news, today is my first day volunteering at a soup kitchen! Weekly I will be serving lunch in a church across the street from work. When I was a Brownie my troop volunteered at a nearby soup kitchen one day and I liked it so much that my mom, my sister and I would go monthly. With so many people out of work and hungry, I hope that I can help to make a small difference in the lives of others while I am still working for my company. :-)

Day of questions

Today I am full of questions. I think that it is partly because I am still EXHAUSTED from a day of sheet rocking yesterday at a Habitat for Humanity home with coworkers. 8 hours of that can make a girl pretty tired! I think that it also because CP and I put off thinking about future stuff until after the hump of the wedding and honeymoon. Now that they are behind us, there is uncertainty in our lives once more. Or rather self-imposed uncertainty. We both have jobs that we could stay at and a landlord that loves us. However, I am unhappy with my job and we both are unhappy with where we live (me more so than CP).

I just don’t know where to even start. Do I look for jobs in CO? Boston? Abroad? Who wants someone like me with my experience? What am I qualified for? A JD is a general degree and I don’t know that the experiences that I am getting at my current job will be that marketable. What kind of job do I think will make me happy? Is CP going to take the GMATs? With CP thinking that his boss is going to pull him off his current job to have him work from home/ travel, is that going to make CP happy and thus ensure that he wants to stay in MA? Or will he still want to get his MBA? What do our future plans hold for having kids?

I was half expecting to have some of these conversations while on our honeymoon, but CP really didn’t want to talk about them. Which I understand (not wanting to think about real life while on our honeymoon), but it also would have been a nice time to flesh out some plans. Of which we have none.

I get excited for change, but only when I have concrete plans. Uncertainty (especially in a crappy job market) is not my cup of tea.

Be the Match

I had been flirting with signing up to be a bone marrow donor for a while, since I already give blood on a regular basis. However, I had balked at paying the $50 sign up fee.....at least until my finances were a little better.

Then I came across Confession of a Jersey Girl's website. Right now, the bone marrow donor program is running Marrowthon through June 22nd. It's a great way to sign up- for FREE!


Here is some more information found on CJG's post:


Be The Match (formerly National Marrow Donor Program), helps facilitate the coordination of searching cancer, or pre-cancer, patients with bone marrow donors. Their registry is a place where suffering patients can go and try to find a matching marrow donor who would give them a bone marrow transplant. For many people searching for marrow, their only chance for survival is finding a perfect match on the registry. Ordinarily it costs about $50 to join the registry to become a potential donor, but during the Marrowthon, June 8-22, joining is free. And it is really, really easy.

Joining the registry doesn’t mean you have to give blood or anything with needles. All you do is swab the inside of your cheek with a long Q-tip. I’ve done it, and it’s completely painless. You can even join from home and do the whole thing yourself. By joining the registry you basically say that you are willing to donate marrow to a recipient if you are ever matched up, which in itself is an extremely rare occurrence. The vast majority of people who are on the registry never get called. Even if you do get matched up, all you do is donate some blood and help save a life. No needles in the hip (it’s not 1950 anymore).

To sign up, log on here, answer a questionnaire, and Be The Match will send over a swab kit in about 3-5 days. All you do is swab your inner cheek, place the swab in a sealed bag and mail it back.
Steve, Cynical Sympathy


What are you waiting for? You could save a life!!

National Public Radio

You all know my love of National Public Radio....it is how I stay sane with my two hour commute every day to work! Well good news- NPR has record ratings!

My guess as to why NPR is doing so well? Because websites like CNN.com have iReports- random people putting up silly pictures, videos, and short blurbs about their lives such as this one. Not to mention being able to buy a CNN tshirt that has some random headline of the day on it. HUH? This is news? I don't think so.

As 24 hour news stations try to "entertain" people instead of informing them, I think that people such as myself simply want the news. And I believe that NPR does just that.

Although they are achieving record ratings, NPR still has had to lay off some employees. Their corporate sponsorship is down and gifts from individuals is down. So if you are a fan of NPR as I am, next time you hear an on-air fund drive, think about giving if you can.

BlogDrive

One of the bloggers I admire has decided to do a BlogDrive in support of a local theater in Chicago. Please read her plea here and donate!

I'm like awesome 'n stuff

Wow I am so honored! The pretty lady from this blog has given me an award! And by the way, if you are not already reading her blog? You should. She just got engaged!

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

So I have decided to give this award to the following blogs:

1. Du Wax Loolu. I'm sure that Jess gets a ridonkulous number of awards because her blog is so popular, but her blog is so fun to read! And now she has a new city, a new house, and a new dog to blog about!

2. Jonniker. This lady just had a baby so go congratulate her! She is not afraid to be blunt- a girl after my own heart!

3. Somi. This lady is always ready with a lot of helpful advice- whether it be wedding advice, working out advice, or just random encouraging comments.

4. These Little Moments. This lady has had some unfortunate things happen to her recently, but is somehow STILL upbeat and adorable. Plus she has an adorable big puppy just like me!

5. Musings, Graces, and Fate. This lady is also engaged so it's fun to read about her planning and how it is going.

6. Stylish Handwriting. She doesn't live in the same city as her boy and he is dealing with law school (something I know alllll too well). That's amazing right there!

7. Another Excuse to Procrastinate. I'm pretty sure she loves her dog just as much as I love Fuzzy Britches!

8. Burlap Condoms. Her "David Caruso war" with her fiance? Hilarious!

Updates

Today I am in a "update" kind of mood.

*I still feel sh*tty about sending the save the date to my great uncle and his dead wife (ugh!). I am a serious sh*thead. A**hole. Idiot. Etc. I had the name and address correct but for some reason last weekend, I was only semi-paying attention to what CP was doing with the address labels and said, “oh wait. Why is my great aunt not on the label?” Not even thinking that she died over a year ago. If I thought about it, I obviously would have known. But instead I am going to make my great uncle feel very, very bad when he gets the save the date. I still can’t believe I did that.

*The local NPR has started their winter fund drive, but I haven’t heard my “spot” just yet….

*The university student that bought all of the oil and gas leases, but didn’t have any money will be happy to know that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has suspended the oil and gas leases in Utah. However, his legal troubles might not go away….

*One more thought about all of the nominees dropping out….at least Obama owned up to the mistake and took responsibility for it. I admire that. No one is perfect (especially not George Bush who refused to admit he made any mistakes during his presidency. “Disappointments” my a**)- so the ability to realize that you made a mistake, admit it, and (hopefully) learn from it is a good step.

*Our last session with the trainer was yesterday. CP and I decided that we didn’t have enough money to continue our sessions….at the same time, our trainer got a job at another club and will be moving to Boston. She has been doing amazing things with us- including dropping all kinds of time off our mile run. I worry that we won’t continue to do the partner exercises or the exercises that I hate to do because they are hard. And I worry that my weight loss is going to slow down….

*Speaking of the gym, it is still packed! What is with all of these people? They were supposed to forget about their New Years Resolution a few weeks ago!

Inspired

I was inspired by Obama’s run for the presidency, but I did not volunteer or really do anything except “donate” my Facebook status on Election Day and vote for him. I attended one rally early last year when he came to speak at my school, but even after 100s of emails from organizations such as Moveon.org, I didn’t volunteer.

In the beginning of 2008, it was because I was busy trying to find a job, busy trying to graduate from law school, and busy trying to figure out our move across the country. In the summer, I was busy studying for the bar, so I truly did not have ANY time to volunteer. After I started my job, there was not much to do in the state of MA as it was obviously going to go for Obama, so instead of driving up to NH to help out, I stayed at home.

I obviously know a lot about what is going on in politics (who couldn’t this year?), but I have never felt the drive to volunteer. When I get emails from different organizations asking me to talk to my congressman about an issue, if I can quickly send an email that is already written out for me then I will. If it requires me to do much more? I’ll be honest and say that I just delete the email, no matter how personal the issue is to me. I believe one would call this laziness.

That is why the people that are out there, on the ground, standing up for what they believe in, inspire me. I recently came across an article in the Washington Post about Tim DeChristopher, a University of Utah student. Having always been an environmentalist, instead of picketing the auction of public land (most of it near national parks) to oil and gas men, he registered as a bidder and won 13 tracts of land. However, being a student means that he was not able to pay $1.8 million- the cost of the land he bought to keep from getting drilled.

Recently, he raised $45,000 to cover the cost of retaining the leases to the land….at least for a little while. However, there is still the problem of potential criminal charges and the other $1,755,000 need to pay for the land. Would you have the balls to do this? To sit in a room of strangers and bid for what you believe in, knowing that not only did you not have ANY money, but that you could face jail time? To me, that’s pretty impressive.

Are you also impressed or inspired? Go donate or read more of Tim’s story here: http://www.bidder70.org/. By the way, I already donated......

Can you imagine an oil derrick bobbing up and down while viewing this scenery?

Or how about here?