Guilty Pleasures: The Challenge

I saw a post on Facebook that asked you to list ten of your guilty pleasures. I thought it would be fun, but more importantly I want to see all of your guilty pleasures. Consider yourselves tagged. Post them on your blog (Heather and Michelle, I especially want to see yours!) Can't wait to see them!

Here are mine (in no particular order)


1. Award shows. I love seeing the great gowns and I get so excited when they announce the winners. Pathetic much?


2. Lady Gaga. Enough said. (I'll let you in on a little secret: Levi loves her even more than I do!)


3. Puffy Cheetos. I know how bad they are for me, but I would eat a bag a day if I had no shame. Oh wait, I don't.


4. Letting my leg hair grow for a week or two in the winter and then shaving it all off. Gross, yes, but very satisfying.


5. Gossip magazines. I'd never buy one (except People, which is much more credible than the rest.) I like reading them at my work when I'm on my lunch break.


6. The Colonel & his delectable vittles.


7. Giving myself Charlie horses. I like to stretch my leg so I get a cramp in my calf and then I walk it out. I've always done this, no idea why.


8. Staying in pajamas all day on my day off. If I get dressed I feel like I should be doing something productive, but if I stay in my pj's I have to stay inside and read all day.


9. Bridget Jones' Diary. I could watch that movie once a week.


10. Bonnie Tyler.

Let me count the ways....

Things that I love about Levi:

**When I'm upstairs on the computer and I can hear him giggling at a movie or tv show downstairs. He has the best laugh in the world, it truly is just a loud giggle.

**When I come home from work and he's created a dinner. I say "created" because he likes to experiment with meat. Lately he's been perfecting a noodle/carne asada dish that is to die for.

**How much he loves our animals. Levi would die before he let anything bad happen to our pets. The conversations he has with the dogs are priceless. I can't wait to see him as a dad. I think my number one reason for wanting a baby so badly is to watch how great of a father Levi will be.

**His butt. Levi has the flattest, skinniest butt in the world, but I love it so much!

**How much he loves my family. I know we're not always easy to love, but you'd never know it with Levi. He loves all my siblings and worships my mom. I hit the jackpot with him.

Levi, I love you so much and I'm constantly in awe that you would put up with me for nearly five years now. I knew the minute I met you that you were special and I hope you know just how much you mean to me.
Love, your humble wife.

Wilson.

This is just one of the many, many reasons why I love my nephew Wilson:
(click on the pic to get the full effect.)

2010!

Happy 2010!!
We had a great New Years Eve and we couldn't be more excited to start a new year. We spent the evening of the 30th at my father-in-law's house. Levi's foster sister Sayaka and her husband Mark and two boys Akira and Taiki were there and with everyone else and we had a great time eating and chatting. I've so appreciative of my in-laws and I'm so blessed to have them so close to me.
New Years Eve involved me coming home from work, Levi and me eating at Red Robin and then watching six or seven episodes of The Wire. Not too exciting, but we had fun nonetheless.
I'm not usually one for New Year's resolutions, but I figured I ought to have a couple this year, so here goes:

♥ Lose 20lbs. I know, I know. I say this every year, but THIS year I have incentive: Levi's sister Avery is getting married in August and I want to look fabulous in the pictures. Selfish? Yes. Motivational? You betcha!

♥ Read more "classics." This is another thing I say I'm going to do every year, but this year I really want to commit to reading books published before 1935.

♥ Keep a clean home. My sister Heather told me about a something called C.H.A.O.S. It stands for Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome and I suffer from it 100%. I want to keep my house as orderly as possible so I don't have panic attacks when someone is going to come over.

♥ Appreciate what I have. I have a great job, a wonderful husband, a working car, wonderful family and many, many more things that make my day brighter. I feel that I've become a complainer lately (ok, I've always been a complainer, but more so lately than usual) and I want to take time each day this year to appreciate what I have.

Well I hope all of you out there had a great New Years and I hope 2010 is a fantastic year for everybody!


(Still can't figure out how to stop red eye on my new camera.)


(Avery, Sayaka, Taiki, Sevy and me.)

Book Quiz

Recently I bought a copy of The Bibliophile's Devotional for my sister Heather. I ended up liking it so much I bought a copy for myself too. It's a book that has a synopsis of a classic (classic being subjective, since many of the works are modern) work of literature for every day of the year. I like it because, along with the synopsis, there's a snippet of a review for the book as well as the book's first line.
I realized that even without reading many of the true classic works, I was able to recognize the first line (hopefully that's because I've been inundated with those lines in pop culture and not because I've started and not finished many, many classics.)
So here's a quiz: Match the first line of a book with the book's title. Leave your answers in the comments. No CHEATING! I'll post the answers in the comment section. See how many you can get right!

1. (This is an easy one) "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
2. "All this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true."
3. "My father and mother should have stayed in New York where they met and married and where I was born."
4. "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."
5. "There was no possibility of taking a walk that day."
6. "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."
7. "We are at rest, five miles from the front."
8. "Samuel Spade's jaw was long and bony, his chin a jutting v under the more flexible v of his mouth...He looked rather pleasantly like a blond satan."
9. " My legal name is Alexander Perchov. But all of my many friends dub me Alex, because that is a more flaccid-to-utter version of my legal name."
10. "It was Wang Lung's marriage day."

Here are the books (out of order, of course) See if you can match them to the quote:

a. The Maltese Falcon
b. The Good Earth
c. Jane Eyre
d. All Quiet on the Western Front
e. Angela's Ashes
f. Everything is Illuminated
g. One Hundred Years of Solitude
h. Rebecca
i. Slaughterhouse-Five
j. Pride and Prejudice

***Click on the comment link to see the answers***

Christmas and the (almost) new year

Wow! Is it really almost 2010? Where did the time go? I am so excited for the new year. 2009 was a tough year and I can't wait to have a fresh start. Also, does anyone else feel like the future has arrived whenever you say the year is "Twenty Ten"? I think it sounds so cool, although when I was a kid I thought we'd be on flying skateboards by now....
This year we had an amazing Christmas and spent lots of time with our families. Levi's mom Maria was in town, which is always a treat, and Levi's foster sister Sayaka and her husband and kids were able to come from Japan to be here for Christmas. Christmas Eve is always spent at one of Levi's uncles houses and then we go over to his dad's house where we all open our presents to each other. It's taken a couple of years for me to get used to opening all our gifts on Christmas Eve, but I love it now and it also means that Levi and I get to sleep in on Christmas Day and then give each other our stockings that morning.
My big gift this year was amazing. Levi and Heather came up with the idea of getting me a Geoffrey Krueger painting. I am still in shock that I own one and I am so grateful to all of you who chipped in for my Christmas gift. Levi did a great job of keeping it a secret and I am so pleased to be an owner of a real piece of art (not to mention it's just like the one we saw at one of his shows that I fell in total love with! It's of the Boise River, which is one of my most favorite things about this city.) Heather also recently acquired a painting from him, and it is absolutely exquisite. Geoff and his wife Susan are in Heather's ward and we've all become friends over the past few years. My next goal is to save up for another of his paintings. He has done paintings of homes in various stages of dereliction and of water towers, among other buildings and for some reason these paintings really leap out at you and force you to stare. I love them.
On Christmas Day we saw Sherlock Holmes which was a very fun movie and that night Sevy came over with Maria and we watched one of the movies I got Levi for Christmas. All in all, a VERY good day.
Well, here is to the future, "Twenty Ten", and hoping that all of you out there have a safe and prosperous year. Love you all!

Sevy, Sayaka with Taiki on her lap, me, Maria and Avery

Seth, Chris, Avery and Maria getting ready to open more presents.

Julie, my father-in-law Brad and Grams.

Levi and Brad

Our painting!! I could stare at it all day

Here's the painting he did for Heather. Breathtaking huh?

Buster hit puberty.

Our little Buster is all grown up, but instead of a bar mitzvah, he's getting neutered! His appointment is tomorrow and I'm so nervous for him. I know he'll be fine, but I wonder if he'll be ok alone for a whole day because he spends every waking minute with Morty (literally, they don't leave each other's side for more than one minute at a time.) Lately, Buster has started the inevitable humping of Morty and Morty is not too happy about it. Because of this, and because we've procrastinated long enough, it is time for little Buster Boy to become a man. Mazel tov Buster!

Our Buster has gone from this:

...to this:

(how awesome is it that Levi just happened to be wearing the same shirt!)

Buster and Morty are so fun together. They are such dorks and they have such distinct personalities. Morty gets jealous when we try to take pictures of Buster and Buster doesn't care what we do as long as Morty is nearby. They seriously make my day better and I'm so glad I married someone that loves having as many pets as we do.

Morty's smile:


Two bad boys:


Morty wants nothing more than to hold hands like a little old man. He'll sit like this and stare at you for hours, if you let him:


Crazy eyes (I need a new camera):


Morty attempting to snuggle. He's bigger than he thinks he is:


Our kitty boys (no chance of getting a picture of all four pets together)

Tis the Season...blah blah blah

Working retail during the holidays always seems to give me a bit of the "Bah Humbug" blues and this year is no different. It's unbelievable how rude and pushy people can be at the holidays, especially considering what the holiday is celebrating.
Another issue I'm having this year is not being able to buy all the wonderful gifts for my family that I'd like to. We are on a strict budget and it's killing me. All the medical bills from our infertility issues keep coming in and we're just trying to stay on top of them. Normally I like to handpick fun gifts and, as long as they were under $30, never thought twice about buying them. Now I have to think extra hard about what someone would want and it has to be $15 and under. This is very challenging and I'm apologizing in advance to everyone out there (my in-laws never read this blog, but hopefully they see this since it affects them too) that your presents may be a tad on the lame side.
Something that is cheap and not lame is our new Christmas tree:

It's the Charlie Brown Christmas tree (only $11 at your local Fred Meyer!) I love this tree so much. I feel like it represents how I feel about Christmas this year: low budget, low maintenance and all-around minimalist. You know who else loves our new tree?
OLIVER!

He feels this tree was a gift to him and he plans on laying near it all day, every day and occasionally pulling off the lone ornament.
The weather in Boise has been FREEZING! I forget that it can get this cold, especially since the summers can get so hot. The other day, I left for work at 9:30 am and it was -2 degrees. -2 degrees?!?!. I didn't sign up for that! Of course, I did move to Boise in June, which is the most gorgeous time of the year. I was suckered in and enticed by the smell of the trees lining the river and warm days at the pool. Never were there thoughts of dirty snow pushed to the side of the road and days so cold my car wouldn't start. Luckily I have a husband who doesn't mind shoveling the walkways and is willing to let me park my car in the garage (such a man thing to have a garage filled with things other than cars.) Levi really is the only thing that keeps me going in the winter. Oh, and wearing sweaters and boots. I love that too :)
Changing gears a little bit, here is a favorite conversation I've had with a customer. This sums up why I consider becoming an alcoholic every December:

Customer: I wanted to see if the item I ordered has come in.
Me: Yes, it came in yesterday. We will hold it for you until the 22nd of December.
Customer: So it's there today.
Me: Yes, as I said, it came in yesterday. It's on hold for 2 weeks for you.
Customer: So if I come in, it will be there.
Me: *Banging head against nearby hard object* Yes! Your item is here. It's here! We will hold it for you! It's here!
Customer: How will I know that it's really there?
Me: *Fashioning a noose out of tissue paper* Because I'm looking at it. It's here, I PROMISE!

I know it doesn't seem like much, but that exchanges like that happen at least four or five times a day and it can get so frustrating. I implore all of you out there to be extra nice to anybody working retail. We are all miserable, I assure you. Please don't assume we're doing anything to make your holiday anything but extra special. Also, is it really anyone's fault that you waited until mid-December to do the bulk of your holiday shopping? Just sayin'
Well, I don't know about you, but I feel better :) Blogging about the holidays has made me like them just a little bit more.

Nom nom nom

I can has Turkey? Heather and Laurie with the gorgeous bird.

What a great Thanksgiving!
We drove down to Utah on Tuesday and left Thursday evening (yes, we made it home without crashing from the overdose of tryptophan.) The food was incredible and I can't thank Laurie enough for hosting it at her house. As usual, I hardly got any good pictures and I realized, too late of course, that there were several family members I didn't get one photo of. Next time I'm down there I'm just going to have to round up Scott's kids for a photo shoot :)
Here are some that I did manage to get:







Charlie in his basket.

Holidays and whatnot.

(Does anyone else think of this whenever they see a Thanksgiving turkey??)


We are getting so excited for Thanksgiving! We were worried that we wouldn't be able to go to Utah ever since Levi was laid off, but through the love and support of family we will be able to go and we can't wait! We were hoping to be able to stay until Friday, but since working retail means handing over your life and spare time during the holidays, we will have to leave Thursday evening. I'm still excited and I'm even excited for the drive. We've got our audio books ready (Levi wants to finish A Confederacy of Dunces and I'm only too happy, since it is one of the best audio adaptations out there.) and I've created a new 80s compilation cd, complete with Bowie, Thompson Twins and Depeche Mode. Woo hoo!


I am excited for the Christmas season, even though this will be a much trimmed-down version for us. Unfortunately we are in a spot where we will be unable to purchase gifts for each other, as well as for everyone in the family. We will instead be making a few homemade gifts and sending out cards. I know everyone says they don't mind not getting a gift from us, but it is one of the hardest things in the world not to buy gifts for my family and this Christmas will be bittersweet for that reason. In the meantime, I can work on a letter to Santa for next year to ask for a Nook, which is currently sold out until January right now.
(Look how incredible this thing is!!)


Today Levi & I spent a nice day off together. We were given a $50 gift certificate to Angel's Bar and Grill for referring my mom to the Hyundai dealership up here. I was hesitant going there tonight because I had heard the place was really expensive and chic (two things I normally don't look for in a dining experience.) Let me just tell you, I am not cut out for the expensive food world. We walked up to the hostess station, which took a minute to find since the place was practically pitch black. Why do fancy restaurants think light bulbs are tacky? I understand wanting to create a little ambiance, but this was ridiculous. Anyway, we were told that by being there at 6 pm we were too early to be seated in the dining area, since it didn't open up until 8pm. Whatever. They sat us in the "lounge" area and handed us menus made of, and I'm not making this up, copper and leather. Anyroad, we started looking over the menu and I realized that we didn't understand what any of the food was. I would see the words "Prime Rib" and then see that is was covered in a "Szzjg gioirkjkg" sauce and served with a side of "Lerjgn%b#" I was getting so frustrated trying to find anything that I could understand and I finally looked at Levi and asked if he'd rather just go to The Flicks, our local independent theater, and get a sandwich and catch a movie. He was more than willing to oblige and we took off out of that joint. I'm sure it's a great restaurant, just not our thing.

We saw a fantastic movie at Flicks. It's called "An Education" and I'm sure it will be a front-runner at the Oscars this year. Fantastic story, amazing acting and all around good movie. I HIGHLY recommend it (it's PG-13, just FYI.)


Well, I'm off to bed. I work tomorrow and I have a feeling it is going to be a madhouse.

Ry Guy's Visit!

We were so lucky to have my thirteen year old nephew Ryan stay with us this weekend. He is the oldest of five kids, and has four younger sisters, so you can see why a trip to I-dee-ho is good for him to get away. This is the second year we've been able to have him stay with us and it's shocking how much he's grown up in these last twelve months. We had lots of fun, watched fun movies and ate lots of good food. Levi and Ry went to the Boise State/Idaho State game on Saturday and they nearly froze their butts to the bleachers. We miss him terribly already and can't wait for next year!!

Ryan, Heather and Eliza at Blue Sky Bagels. Yum!

Ryan & Wilson playing the Atari(!) at Heather's house

Proud Aunt and Uncle

Ryan has discovered the bliss that is the Snuggie.

Before the game. The cold wind hadn't kicked in just yet.

Go Orange, Go Big Blue!

I was NOT ready for him to leave!

Trials.

Last week was a tough week, to say the least. A couple days after my D&C we found out that Levi was going to be laid off due to slow business. This is such a huge blow because Levi absolutely loves his job, and that is a rare find these days. Levi's business usually picks up in the springtime, so it's possible that he could go back then, but there's no guarantee. Instead, we're going to do some serious job hunting and I was hoping to ask the family to keep your ears to the ground and let us know of ANYTHING you hear about quality job openings. Levi was the manager of the detail shop, managing nine guys, and we'd like him to be able to get into another sort of manager position, but realistically we wouldn't turn down any job.
Please, please let us know if you hear about anything.

Thanks so much.

Taking it easy.

Yesterday was my D&C and it went as well as it could. I first met with my OBGYN, who basically explained everything in detail to me and was very kind and sympathetic. I then checked into the surgery center and was taken back to my temporary "room." The nurses were unbelievably nice and gave me a bunch of hot blankets and let me read my book while we waited for the operating room. Luckily they were running behind so Levi was able to meet me there before the procedure. We hung out and chatted and I really felt fortunate to be surrounded by such nice people. They gave me the sedation stuff through my i.v. about ten minutes before being wheeled back. Can I just say how much I love that stuff?? If there is one good thing about surgery, it's getting that wonderful sedation cocktail.
After wheeling me back to the O.R., they had me shimmy onto the operating table, still covered by warm blankets at this point, and then gave me the oxygen mask and then knocked me out through the I.V. After having such a good experience before the operation, I surprised myself when I woke up sobbing in the recovery room. I wasn't in extreme physical pain, I was just sad beyond belief. I realized that my baby was gone and I have never in my life felt such a loss. The nurse that was there with me tried comforting me but I couldn't stop crying and I asked that they get Levi for me. He came back and was very sweet and just let me cry and mourn. I could hear the nurses talking to the doctor and they were saying, "She's fine, she's just very emotional." and I thought that summed it up pretty well. I am fine and I will be fine, but I just wanted to have a little bit of time to cry and be sad. I realize that the baby wasn't healthy and I realize that I wouldn't have wanted to carry an unhealthy baby to full term, but I still sometimes just need a good cry.
Thankfully, I have the world's best husband who has been with me for every part of this journey. He is my rock and he is the reason I'll make it though this tough time. In addition to Levi, my sisters, brother and mom have been absolutely amazing. Thank you all so much for all your prayers and phone calls. I have been overwhelmed by the love you have all sent my way and I don't think I could have done it without you.
Throughout this long process of trying to get pregnant, I have learned so many things. The most important thing, I think, is what a great life I have. I have so many things to be thankful for and I'm confident that it will only get better in the future. Having my mom move in with us is going to be fantastic and we are so excited to have her here as soon as possible! I've learned that as long as you're surrounded by people you love, it makes the trials and tribulations just a little bit easier. If there is anyone who has had some trials of her own this past year, it's my mom. She has had some of the worst things possible happen to her, yet she wakes up everyday and is there for everyone when they need her. This is the kind of thing that motivates me and inspires me to put on a happy face and lean on those around me for support and guidance. I love you mom and I hope you know how much you've helped me throughout these past two years.
I hope this post isn't too rambly (is that a word?) I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm fine and I sometimes find that using this blog to express my feelings has been helpful. Thanks for putting up with me!

Update.

This is an update from the post I wrote earlier today.
I found out around noon today that my HCG levels had doubled since Monday and were at 116,000. This is a fantastic number, if the fetus is healthy. Since the last ultrasound proved that my fetus wasn't healthy they had to dig around (literally) and see what was causing my HCG levels to continue to rise. They were worried that there was an ectopic pregnancy somewhere else in my body, like my abdomen or my tubes, but luckily they didn't find anything. They ruled out a couple of other things and came to the conclusion that my body is still producing lots of HCG and feeding it to the gestational sac, but not necessarily the baby itself. So in other words, there's still action going on, but none of it is productive and my body will not voluntarily have the miscarriage.
The only thing that will work, apparently, is the D&C. I'm not stoked about this option, but if my body won't admit that there is a problem, this is the only way to clear my body out and start fresh. The baby hadn't grown one bit and had no heartbeat so I'm not worried that it will all of a sudden come to life. It won't. That's a heartbreaking thing to admit and has taken me about 3 days to understand but I'm at peace with it and I just want to start over. This has been an unbelievably painful week, but obviously this pregnancy wasn't meant to happen and we look forward to trying again.
My procedure is scheduled for Monday. The doctor wanted me to do it sooner, but I selfishly didn't want to use any more sick time at my work and the doc said I should be fine waiting those 5 days. I also have an ulterior motive, and that is that I just want a couple more days with the fetus. I know there is not spirit in it anymore, but I loved the feeling of being pregnant and it's really hard to give that up.
Thank you everyone for all your kind words and prayers. It was quite a shock to feel great and hopeful one day and find out the next day that your world is crashing down around you. I always told Levi if I had to go through another miscarriage I wouldn't try a third time but that's not true anymore. I'm more excited and determined than ever. Third time will be the charm, I can feel it.

Rollercoaster.

As anyone who reads this blog knows, Levi and I received the horrible news on Monday that we were going to have a miscarriage. We went in for a standard ultrasound and the on-call doctor (my doctor was out with the flu) said that the fetus hadn't grown and there was no heartbeat. This was BEYOND devastating for us. I did my best to keep it together in front of the ultrasound tech and the doctor, but eventually just lost it and sobbed for a good five minutes. After explaining my three options (have a natural miscarriage, induce it by using a medicine, or the good 'ol D&C option) they said they needed to take my blood to figure out where my HCG levels were.
Levi and I took Monday and Tuesday off of work to cope with the bad news and we were just starting to recover when I get a call on Tuesday from the physician's assistant that my HCG levels were still through the roof (55,000 at 7.5 weeks). She said that they would do another blood test today, which I just got done with, and we'd see if the number fell. If it still rises it means they need to "repeat the ultrasound" which basically means they made a mistake. I can't decide which option is better: my body trying to save a baby that isn't growing or my body having a normal miscarriage. Both options suck in my opinion and I'm nervous to find out what the real outcome is.
I'll update this tonight after I find out what my HCG levels were today. Wish us luck.

Thanks for another great year.

So it didn't end in an ideal fashion, but that's life and we will look forward to next year. Thanks for entertaining Levi and me with a great 2009 season. April can't come soon enough!! Go Sox!

Sick, sick.

Today is the first time in two days that I've been able to be out of bed for more than a few minutes. I've had a horrible flu that, luckily, peaked last night and I feel a lot better today. I started feeling feverish Thursday morning and I left work an hour early. That night I was practically hallucinating and had a 102 degree temp. Good times. My body ached so bad I started crying and couldn't stop for a full ten minutes. How sexy, huh?
Anyway, I slept almost the entire day yesterday, I woke up in time to see the Sox lose, AGAIN :(, and then slept through the night. I'm pretty sure I'll be ok to go to work tonight.

So Monday is a big day for us. I'll update the blog as soon as we find out some more information. Until next time...