...each year would be as eventful as this last one.

Well, I'm off work today, which is good because I'm still sick, but getting better. So I'm sitting in the chair with my pups and I'm researching baby things (of course!). I started thinking about what a HUGE year this has been for me and my friends and family. I was going to put it in a little recap, but as I started putting it together it wasn't as eventful as it seems. We've watched my "little brother" leave for basic training, Hawaii (where he was stationed), and then to Kuwait and onto Iraq (where he is currently stationed). We've been through a total of 4 herniated discs. (Zac and Cousin Amanda combined) We've had two babies. (Rachel & Dan, Nathan & Courtney) We've gotten pregnant. (Brad and I) We've gotten three new jobs. (Zac, Nikki, Mikie) We've gotten new cars. (Me, Nikki, Amanda, Laurie) We've had a wedding. (Amanda and Matthew) We started dating our first boyfriend. (Shera!) We registered to vote. (Shera) We've had family members pass away. (Granny, Cousin Cathy) We got a jetski. (Dad and Mom) We turned 50. (Robert) We went to Hawaii for Thanksgiving. (Mom, Dad, Brad and me)

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of on a whim. But seriously, it was just a great year. We had a lot of great things happen. Some bad mixed in throughout the year, but overall it was an amazing year. Most people resent the unhappy things that happen, but in my opinion it all happened for a reason and I'm happy to have gone through it and made it out safe and sound. So, to everyone who reads my blog, have a happy new year and I hope that 2008 is eventful for you and reveals everything you wish for.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

...people would use their brains for more than place holders.

Seriously, if you're a smoker then you should have to sit in your car with ALL your nasty cigarette butts. I'm pretty sure the next time someone throws a cigarette butt out of their car and it hits my car I believe I will be throwing a bottle of water out of my car to hit theirs after I zoom in front of them and cut them off. I mean, how is that different from littering? People think it's okay because it's just a small little piece. Bottom line is that IT'S A PIECE OF PAPER YOU'RE THROWING OUT OF YOUR CAR, DUMBASS!

Basically, these people think that it's okay to throw a smoldering piece of paper out of their window so that it doesn't stink up their car (like I give a flying rat's ass about the smell of their car...wouldn't want to inhale any EXTRA smoke) and hit my car with it. GREAT! Well, I say if you think that's a good idea, then perhaps I think it's a great idea to dent your friggin' car with my 1/2 full bottle of water.

Seriously, can't people use their heads?!

...I would be able to hear Biscuit's heartbeat all the time.

We heard Biscuit's heartbeat today at the doctor. It was strong and we could hear it very clearly. It was amazing. We're both so in love with our little Biscuit already. :-) The doctor said that hearing the heartbeat with the doppler was a great milestone and it marks the risk of miscarriage dropping to next to nothing. So she said if we were waiting to tell people, which we weren't, that now it is officially safe to shout it from the rooftops. So because I'm not allowed to climb rooftops, due to danger of falling, we're shouting it here instead.

WE'RE PREGNANT! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BABY IN JUNE! WE'RE GOING TO BE PARENTS! WE CAN'T WAIT AND WE'RE IN LOVE WITH OUR BABY ALREADY!

Whew...okay, there ya go. Feel free to spread the word as you wish cause we're as in the clear as we're gonna get. :-) We've ordered a home doppler to listen to the heartbeat at home as often as we like. I can't wait!

...school would still be about coloring in the lines.

Sheesh! So this weekend I had a 40 page assignment due. It was actually due last Wednesday, but my angel of a professor gave me an extension to this weekend. Well, I wrapped it up and sent it off to her yesterday. Now all I have is to finish a fairly simple assignment just correcting a few things and a final exam.

Seriously "burnt out" doesn't describe how sick to death I am of school. I love what I'm learning. I love the kids when I go in to observe, but seriously...the homework, quizzes, tests, and projects are getting really OLD. This semester is finally over, but damn! It can't be over fast enough if you ask me.

Then mid-January it all starts all over again! Thank God for Christmas break!!! Why can't I just color pretty pictures and get A+'s?

...celebrities would NOT be douche bags.

Well, I met my second celebrity on Thanksgiving Day in the Honolulu airport. Hurley from Lost, aka Jorge Garcia, was a complete douche bag to me. So here's how it went down. I saw him, rushed Brad to get the camera out of the camera bag so I could photograph him. I took two photos of him, one is good with Photoshop. I went up to him, with lots of trepidation, and asked if he would take a picture with me and my Mom.

Hurley: "Haven't you already taken some pictures of me?"

Em: "Yes, I've taken two, but I will delete them from my camera if you'll take one with my Mom and I."

Hurley: "Yeah, you really should've asked first."

Em: "Well, I'll delete them in front of you right here if you'll take one with my Mom and I."

Hurley: "Yeah, but you already did it."

Em: "Okay, fine. I'll just keep the ones I have." and walks away.

So, Mr. Garcia, I have this to say to you: You are a fat, ugly, no name celeb. Even calling you a celeb is a stretch quite honestly because I had to look your mother effin' name up when I got home. Only two people in the whole airport recognized you...so if you want to make it big, I suggest you grow a thicker skin to cover your big ass and recognize that without your fans, which I was until now, that you would be NOTHING. If you want to be nothing, then request ABC to kill you off on the show. After my Thanksgiving encounter I can honestly say I will be thrilled at the notion.

Here is my contraband pic of Mr. Garcia, aka Douche Bag McGee:

...Hawaii would be a two hour flight away...

Well, tomorrow Mom and Dad (meaning me and Brad) are flying to Hawaii with my Mom and Dad to visit Nicholas. We have a full day of flying ahead of us. We will arrive in Honolulu at 7:30pm our EST...2:30pm Honolulu time. So yes, if you're pregnant that will seem like an eternity. I can't wait to see Nic, Hawaii, the sun, the heat, the sand and all the other things that go along with it, but that flight to and from is going to kill me. I'm actually tired just thinking about it.

So Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and I'll give you a full report when I return. Enjoy your food, your family, and your days off work!

...no one would have to wait for this joy!

That's right! We finally made it! After 17 months of trying, trying, and trying...we're expecting! Biscuit, which we have decided to call him/her until we find out the gender, is due 6.26.08. So we'll have a little summer baby on our hands.

We are beyond thrilled. For those that have been following our story, this is not from any fertility treatments, which makes it that much sweeter. I was on a medication for my polycystic ovarian syndrome, but other than that it was just me, Brad and a good time. We have known since 10.17.07, but we didn't want to spread the news to the whole world until we saw/heard the heartbeat. Well, today we got to see Biscuit's little heart beating. That little flicker was worth every penny we've spent and every hour we've spent working toward this.

So that's all for now, but I'll keep you posted! December 10th we go back in to hear the heartbeat. :-) Keep us in your prayers or keep sending out the good vibes, whatever works for you. We'll take all we can get...we're sure it's helped get us this far!

...I would be organized and NEVER forget things.

Yeah, it's true...disorganization has reared its ugly head again. So all day today I was totally stressing out about how messy my desk was, but I just didn't have time to get it organized. Everytime I'd get done with something someone else would be right behind me with something else to do. No biggie, makes the day fly by...however I can't stand disorganization.

Yes, by looking at my house sometimes you'd think otherwise, but I'm telling you I need organization. Case in point, I missed a midterm exam for my class yesterday. Yes, it's true...she gave us "the week off" so I took that literally without looking at our syllabus to see that our midterm exam was due YESTERDAY! So I emailed her and being the saint that she is she let me take it a day late. So I got home from work today, sat down on the couch with my computer in my lap and I slaved my little fingers to the bone taking a 50 question exam.

I had a break, FOR CLASS, because yes, my other class was tonight. So I worked on my exam from 6-8. Class from 8-9. I had another quiz due in my other class tonight so I had to take that 10 question quiz too. So I did it and got it done with a 100%. Then I just turned in my midterm exam for a 94%!!! Woohoo!! That means I got an A on it! Thank God my professor is a saint and she isn't deducting any points for me being a dingbat and turning it in late!

I NEED ORGANIZATION BACK IN MY LIFE ASAP!!!!! BAD THINGS COULD HAPPEN IF I DON'T FIND IT SOON...LIKE BAD GRADES, MISSED DEADLINES AT WORK, INCREASED STRESS, STRESS EATING, ETC.

...wars would only be in video games.

My brother is coming home on Sunday for two weeks. He is a private in the Army, stationed in Hawaii, so I don't get to see him very often. For the last 6 weeks he's been in the Mojave Desert for desert training before he deploys later this year. In talking to him, I can hear that he's ready to get his deployment over and done...and he's never even deployed before.

As an older sister and someone who has always protected him...I'm terrified of the day he deploys. He's smart, in great shape, and hopefully will listen to orders...but I'm still scared of what *could* happen. I know the odds are in his favor, but it's still scary for me to think about. He's 24, he just joined in January...so this is his first deployment... and hopefully his last.

So in my world...all wars would be fought PS2/XBOX style...on TV and with a video game controller. Blood would be digital red, machine gun fire would be dolby surround sound, and the wins could be saved on a memory stick rather than in history books. Or better yet, all battles could be settled paper, rock, scissor style. That's how we settle arguments in my house...it seems to work very well. :-)

...Neverland would be real.

We'd never have to grow up. Growing up means responsibility, pressure, stress and bills. In my world I'd still be 18...I'd still be living in the summer after my senior year of high school. Things were simple, fun, and warm. I was cute, I weighed 50 lbs. less (hard to believe I know), and all I had to worry about was having a good time. I worked at a grocery store for $5.15/hr. and that was plenty for me. I rode around all summer with the windows down and the music up, my hair blowing all over, caring about nothing except what to do that night and who to do it with.

Oh those were the days...my how things have changed...

...presidential speeches wouldn't come from movies.

It's true. Brad and I were watching Demolition Man (1993), with Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. In it, they are in the future, not sure what year, but way in the future. Anyway, in the future there is no use of guns or weapons. It's a peaceful time and all the vagrants live underground. Well, they refer to guns as "Weapons of Mass Destruction"...yes you read that right...WMDs. hahahahahahahahahahahaha! That's right, our fearless leader's speech writers got that phrase that we heard daily in the rhetoric put out by the Bush Administration came from a 1993 sci-fi movie. I couldn't make this stuff up! It's too good.

So next time you hear that phrase remember where it came from! Oh that's right, you won't hear it very often anymore because they never found those WMDs. Okay, that's all I'm sayin'. :-)

...hopefully this would never happen!

Holy crap! Seriously, when they start to "fall out" I think it's time to reconsider having any more. Sweet Jesus, are you kidding me? Dad, did you really need to stop for some java? I think not! They have it at the hospital for FREE in the waiting room. Perhaps had you waited for the free coffee not only could you buy another vehicle that will accomodate your 800 children, but you could also have avoided your child rolling around on the floor board of your SUV. Pahlease! It hurts me...it really does. See the video below.

http://tinyurl.com/38xsbf

...OJ would disappear.

Seriously, WTF?! The man gets away with double murder...and yet the dumbass is BACK in the news with more charges being brought against him. Are you friggin' kidding me? Why can't stupid celebs just disappear? First Paris...then Britney...then Lindsay...NOW OJ! For Pete's sake move on! I'm starting to think we should just send stupid celebs to an island somewhere and see if they can survive without their publicists, assistants, team of lawyers, coke, alcohol, and panties...oh wait...they don't need those as it is. Better yet, let's film this and call it reality TV. I know I'd watch...screw the tabloids...gimme "Tabloid Island"..."Temptation Island" ain't got nothin' on this!

...people who want babies can have them.

So for those of you who are just meeting me, I'll give you the short version. Brad and I have been trying to make a baby for 16 months with no success. We've been through over 6 vaginal ultrasounds, 3 semen analyses, over 40 rounds of bloodwork, one hysterosalpinogram, 6 rounds of ovulation induction meds, 1 round of in-vitro fertilization (IVF), 8 days of follicle stimulating hormones given by injection, and many visits to a few different doctors.

We're now in between treatments after our first failed round of IVF. So here we sit trying to figure out our next move toward parenthood. We go through all this while seeing babies deposited in garbage cans on the news, children being abducted, children being taken from their parents and forced into guerilla warfare, thousands of crack babies born, and tons and tons of "oops!" babies. So in my world...people who want babies can have them and those who don't can't. It's only fair. Unfortunately, my world is only real in my head.