Girls' Night In

It all began with a box of pink macarons.  Trader Joe's will get you everytime.  I blame it on the packaging.  Yes, they were peppermint and ganache (in the freezer section-during the holidays) but they got my wheels turning.  I figured, "I'm feeling more settled in our place and I need a girl's night."  And so, we had "Girls' Night In"!

Our neighbor is a pastry chef at Bouchon Bakery (he's in their cookbook - so cool!), so we were feted with the most amazing lemon tart and mini raspberry trifles.  Did I mention that I am on Michelle's activities committee at church?  Those are the best! You can imagine what we are treated with during those meetings.  Oh, to be married to a pastry chef; Michelle is one lucky gal! Although, she says that she is not tempted by any of it.  I, on the other hand, am French and so it is in my DNA to be drawn to these things.  My 30 pound heavier self would most definitely return.

It was a fun evening of munching, mingling, and crafting.  I vote more girl time!

Christmas Break 2012

Our 'Winter Break' has come to an end . . . back to work/school tomorrow.  I could really use another week, which is probably due to the fact I've been moving at a snail's pace over these last two weeks.  I would feel guilty, but I think it was well deserved!

Holden Family Holiday Adventures:

-1 Buche de Noel - marzipan details included - courtesy of myself, my mom, and brother
-1 completed puzzle of scenic Norway
-Numerous nights spent by a roaring fire
-A couple trips to Stockholm Inn for Swedish pancakes and the like . . .
-A much needed visit with one of my best friends and her cute family!
-2 movies that were both fantastic but very different from one another - Les Miserables & This is 40
-French nursery rhymes on repeat with Baby Elise - ahh les crocrocro! might just be stuck in my head until next year. . .
-Hours and hours of frustration over Ticket to Ride  wink, wink!

-Lots of quality family time - doesn't get any better than that!

I Can Finally Breathe

At last, I can say that the Ward Christmas Party is over and that I am now able to focus on the holidays for our own family.  It took up A LOT of time.  I think my neighbor/committee's coordinator/friend Michelle can say the same!  I heard it went well, unfortunately I have been taking a technology course on Saturday mornings and because it was a breakfast ('A Cozy Christmas Morning' - to be exact) . . . I missed out.

Friday night:  I did, in fact, focus on holiday cheer by finishing up last minute breakfast dish RSVPs and finished cutting and tying yarn on Christmas ornaments for the kids.  Dang! I really wish that I had seen how everything turned out!

Saturday:  Steven and I composed our Christmas list for family and friends.  Thank goodness for Target and Amazon.  My family's gifts will be shipped directly to my parents' house and then I get the task of wrapping presents Christmas Eve . . . sure beats extra luggage!

*************

Last night, Steven, Megan, Austin, and I headed down to Metro Pizza  close to UNLV's campus.  It's pizza heaven.  Best I've had in this town. . . hands down!

Pizza Joy!

I needed to end the night by doing something festive and because Austin's house is a yard full of holiday wonder . . . we had to check out the Christmas collection!

As you can see, it did not disappoint!

A Birthday and a Treat

December 5th's festivities focused on Steven's birthday rather than the holidays.  I'm a little sad that his birthday falls in December . . .

1.  Boys are hard to shop for.

2.  Gifts and surprises need to be split up throughout the year.

Mr. D finally caught up to me age-wise!  And he made it know that it was a great birthday indeed, so I'm pretty happy with that. 

Originally, I did not know how I would feel about this ice cream.  I like peppermint in small doses, usually with lots and lots of chocolate.  However, I went with the seasonal option.  I'm glad I did!  It's so creamy and it's only 100 calories per 1/2 cup . . . very little guilt there!  BUT I really wanted this to be even better . . .a brownie possibly?  So, in lieu of Steven's birthday, his mom made brownies and I took one home to eat with my Peppermint Ice Cream.  Just what I've been craving and oh so perfect!

A VERY Happy 29th Birthday to my sweet huz!

Mom's Birthday Weekend in Vegas!

I need to play catch-up!  We have had a busy two weeks, with lots to talk about. . . 

Last Thursday, my parents got into town for my mom's birthday weekend.  Despite my bout with the stomach flu, we were able to celebrate our hearts out! 

Some of the weekend's events included:

-KA Cirque du Soleil - Friday night

-My Mom's favorite chocolate cake

-Two golf dates for the boys

-One hike up Lone Mountain (my Dad, Steven, Bear)

-Jazz and Dinner out at Lake Las Vegas

-Lots and lots of good conversation with my Mom (as always!)

And my family got some really great news, that deserves its very own post . . .

My Go To Summer Dessert

Recipe from Marthastewart.com

The last couple of weekends, we have hosted dinner with friends or have been hosted by friends.  Needless to say, it's great.  It's fun to just be able to enjoy a good meal, with good company, and then play games or swim or what have you.

So, for the past two weekends, I have whipped up a new favorite of ours!  It's easy, tasty, light and fresh for summer, and has looks to impress.  No one will ever know that it was a last minute dessert.  Plus - it's all from scratch. . . no boxed cake mix here!

Makes 1 Two-Layer Cake

For the Cake (x2):

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 cup cold water

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together all-purpose flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and coarse salt.
2. Make a well in center of flour mixture and add vegetable oil, pure vanilla extract, white vinegar, and cold water. Whisk until well combined.  Pour into a prepared 8 in round cake pan.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Cake Assembly:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Cakes, baked in 2 8-inch round cake pans
• 2 pints heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Bake cakes and cool completely.
2. Whip the cream to soft peaks, add the sugar and vanilla, and whip again until just stiffened. Do not over mix!
3. Slice the top off 1 cake round to make a flat surface. Spread bottom cake round with a thick layer of whipped cream. Top with a layer of half the amount of strawberries. Top with the other cake round and spread with another thick layer of whipped cream. Top with remaining strawberries.
4. Slice and serve with any extra whipped cream and berries on the side.

Voila! You won't be disappointed!

Results Are In. . .

After about three hours at the doctor's office on Thursday, we made a game plan. 

Initially, we thought that we would go the IUI route, because we were under the impression that our insurance covered 6 rounds of the procedure.  They do in fact cover the actual procedure; but do not cover the meds, monitoring, etc . . . which would cost us over 3k per cycle.  Ahhh, never underestimate the fine print!

So at 3k per cycle - with very little probability (due to my condition), we are going the IVF route.  In a way, we had to pick how we are going to gamble!  3k a pop (with a low probabilty) for several rounds VS. the cost of IVF (with a higher probability) for up to a year's worth of embryo transfers.  We'll pick the latter.

**I learned something new.  With IVF, you create a batch of good embryos and then freeze them.  Each time you attempt implantation, is called a "transfer".  I was always under the impression that each transfer was around 10k, and maybe it is in some places . . . I don't know, but at FCLV we get unlimited transfers for a year or until it results in a pregnancy with a live birth (within the year).

So, there you go.  If we want a family, this is our route.

My (Honest) Feelings. . . 

- I am thankful for modern medicine.  We at least have an option to have a family, whereas, we probably would not have had one a few decades ago.
(I'm not dismissing adoption as being a family unit.  I'm strictly referring to having a biological family)

- Even though my dad is an REI of a physician, I feel like I personally only know of 5 others (maybe!), who are in our age group and have had to do IVF.  It's kind of isolating (I've used this word a lot - but it fits the circumstances).

- There are some feelings of, "Why do we have to pay to have a family, when others do not?"  Don't get me started on the people who are irresponsible.  It doesn't seem fair; but then again, life isn't fair for anyone. . .

- There is a level of guilt attached with the fact that, I am the factor.  I need to remind myself that we are in it together.  Steven has been nothing but supportive.  The guy deserves more credit than I give him.  I am beyond grateful for him!

-Okay. . . this part is funny!  Steven has this issue with how children are created/conceived.  He never wanted to tell anyone that we were trying because he didn't want for people to know what that entailed.   Well, it kind of all came out when we were trying forever and nothing . . . and then my surgery, etc.  So, at least our kids will be conceived in a lab . . . bam! Sterile, purely scientific.  Perfect for my science-teacher-of-a-husband! Ha!

**Disclosure - These may offend some of you, or you may perceive me as ungrateful.  These are my honest feelings about the matter and this being my personal blog; I am posting my thoughts.**

After some budgeting and saving, we'll start in a few months!

To My Parentals

Last night, we noshed on these sweet treats because today is my parents' 31st wedding anniversary!  It was a last minute surprise that I threw together, but they were surprised. . . indeed!

I am grateful for the example of marriage that my parents are to me.  I'm glad that we could be here to celebrate with them, even if it was a quick and simple celebration.  Sometimes those turn out to be the best!

Happy 31 Years Mom & Dad!!!

Cupcakes are from Halo Cupcake in Rockford, IL

I'm Going to Miss This.

We were supposed to leave today but that didn't happen, so for real (for real!), we are leaving tomorrow morning.  Super mixed emotions about this.  While I know I have a million things to get back to, I will miss my family immensely.  Plus, let's be honest. . . I don't want to get back to our reality!

Plus, I really hate loading up the car and driving!

Here are the things (just a few of the things) that I will miss. . .

 Walks along the green streets of the midwest.  You don't get that kind of joy or beauty in Las Vegas.

Late night Ticket To Ride games with the fam.  So glad we brought this along!

Baby Elise/Aunt Stephanie time!  Next time (probably around Christmas), she will quite possibly be crawling!

My Mom's cooking! Yum.

It was fun to be able to visit for so long!  We were able to accomplish a lot of fun things. . . I'll post more when we get back!

Here's to 30 hours in the car! Cheers! 

**sarcasm intended**

Lake Geneva, WI

One of my most favorite places here in the midwest is just 45 minutes from my parents' home.  Monday afternoon, my dad came home from work; we jumped in the car and headed up to Lake Geneva, WI. 

It was the perfect quick-trip!  We rented sea doos for an hour, hit some of the shops (I'm a sucker for boutiques. . . as you know!), dined at Popeye's (not to be mistaken for Popeye's chicken. . . sorry, but gross!), and finished the evening with a stroll through the quaint town. 

I could easily imagine my parents moving up there in their retirement, and Steven and I spending summers there with our future children.  A girl can dream. . .can't she?!   

Popcorn Parlor

Something about being home brings about a sense of nostalgia.  Last night was no exception.  I made Steven take the quick 2-mile bike ride over to Edgebrook Center and we grabbed some soft serve ice cream from The Popcorn Parlor.  This was my first time at the shop but I'm kind of in love!  I'm determined to go back.  25+ flavors of ice cream and the fact that I'm a sucker for any boutique-type store . . . I was in Heaven!  I kind of felt like I was in the 8th grade again. . .

   

  I was about to take a picture of Steven and he said, "Don't take a picture of me, I'm wearing a helmet!"  Yes, he wore a helmet (probably the safer option) and then kept it on while we savored our strawberry soft serve.  Not a cool kid!

STL Adventure

I apologize for being a bad blogger while on vacation.  You would think that with the more time I have, the more inclined I'd feel to be on the ball.  Unfortunately, it's made me really lazy!

The time here has been great!  My mom and I have spent lots of time in the kitchen together; chatting and making up fixings for the fam (I don't know why I just chose Southern verbage).  This is time spent that I will cherish forever.  

Last weekend my brother Shane, brother Christopher, Mr. D, and I drove down to Saint Louis, MO for a Saint Louis Cardinals game.  Only four hours away from my home in IL. . . it was my very first time in St. Louis.  Christopher, on the other hand, is a diehard Cardinals fan; so he's been numerous times.  We got some really great tickets, booked our hotel, and made a quick 2-day trip down south.  Nothing like a good old fashioned baseball game during the summer!

The weather was hot and humid, it made Vegas seem like a piece of cake (we look like a hot mess in most of our pictures).  The weather in the Midwest has since eased up and is incredibly beautiful!  Makes me so happy!

I sold my free replica ring for $20. . .yay!  I guess they go for much higher on Ebay.  I really could care less. . . it was free at the door!

We attempted our first Man vs. Food extravaganza, but because it's supposedly amazing. . . the line was crazy busy for Pappy's Smokehouse and with the weather being the way it was; no thanks!  Next time!

Our Fourth - 2012

I love spending the 4th here in my hometown.  I feel so patriotic celebrating in a smaller town.  I have yet to spend our nation's holiday in Vegas, but something tells me that it wouldn't feel the same.  I may be completely wrong. . .

This Fourth. . .

-We (more like, I) decided it was a boat shoe kinda day - So American, ha!

-Once again, my dad outdid himself on the BBQ - his fajitas were FANTASTIC!

-We went down by the Rock River for fireworks and left a disheveled mess (the humidity is deadly right now. . .my hair is proof).

-We caved in, and at 11pm; we found ourselves savoring the Red, White, and Blue Trifle (one of our best traditions, yet!)

-I got to spend another holiday with my family, which is, always terrific!

Tomorrow, we are off to St. Louis for a Cardinal's game, sampling of a Man vs. Food restaurant, and exploring my little brother's favorite city!  I love summer!

Road Trip!

My lack of posting is due to the fact that we have spent the last week traveling and are now in ILLINOIS! Yay! 

One of the benefits of us both working in the education system, is that we get summers off!  Just like the old days.  So we loaded up the car. . .Bear in tow. . .and are now crashing with my family for the month!

We stopped in Utah for a few days to visit with family and friends; many of which we realize, are truly missed! 

Things I'm Looking Forward to This Month. . . 

My Mom's Cooking

All-American Style 4th of July

Visit Family/Time Spent With Family

STL Cardinals Game

Chicago

Sewing

Time With Friends

Lake Time

. . .and Much More!

And, luckily, my 'dumb phone' died and I have now been forced to join the club. . .

Finally!

Souvenirs From Maui

I'm really slacking on posting photos from our vacation.  I'm trying to touch up a bunch of them before they are all uploaded for my free Shutterfly book.  I love it when I get those coupons - it happened to come at the perfect time!

Readjusting, has also thrown me into a kind of a funk. 

 I remember back in 2005, calling my mom after she had just gotten home from a month-long stay in France; and she seemed like she wanted nothing to do with any of us or just life, in general.  At the time, I was kind of hurt because Steven and I were seriously dating and I was hinting towards my parents meeting him.  I sent her a text on Wednesday morning, letting her know how I completely understood her frustration with coming back to real life...especially when it's crappy (she was under a lot of stress at the time).

Wednesday afternoon, I didn't want to think about my next doctor's appointment or dropping a large chunk of change on four new tires.  Who knew that tires were so expensive?! Yikes!  Reality slaps you in the face. . . quickly.    

That's life and I know it. . . we could have it a lot worse.  It just makes me realize how grateful I am for good vacations!

A few of my favorite things that we brought back from our trip. . .

Steven's new wedding ring!  We renewed our vows. . .kidding. . .but we kind of renewed our spirits.  It's Titanium (good for him - he hates the weight of jewelry) and koa wood.  I think it fits him!

All of this goodness - minus the pineapple. . . we're having that beauty tonight.  Hopefully, it lives up to the Maui Golds!

Plan of Action and A Little Saturday Productivity!

Steven and I woke up super early this morning to do our Initial Female/Male Labs at the FCLV.  We had to fast...yuck.  Last night I was so nervous for today, that I didn't even think about eating; but by this morning my stomach was grumbling, I was so hungry!  This was our first step since Monday's consultation with Dr. Daneshmand.

Initial Work-Up is as follows:

Initial Female Labs - check!

Physical Exam - Scheduled for 5/31

Vaginal Cultures - TBD

Initial Male Labs - he was a trooper...check!

Nutritional Consultation - I think I'm okay on this one.  $100 not covered, no thanks!

Cycle Day 3 Labs - haven't gotten there yet. TBD

GYN Ultrasound - Really? Another One? TBD

Sonohysterogram - sounds a lot like my HSG test.  No fun.  TBD

Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) - check!

Follow-Up Consultation - TBD when all of the rest is said and done.  REALLY nervous for this one.  Note to self and all others....Bring Steven (in your case, your husband) with.  Initial Consultation was a lot to take in alone!

Initial labs went pretty well, all in all.  Steven was a champ, where I was quite squeamish.  The lab tech kept asking me if I was alright.  I can't stand to see my blood filling in small vials...especially on an empty stomach.  She told me that usually, it's the other way around.  The husband usually has issues with having his blood drawn and the wife is just fine.  I guess I better get used to it!

We treated ourselves to breakfast at The Cracked Egg.  Delicious....Steven had the most savory omelet!

Star Nursery is heavenly!

After breakfast, we headed over to our local nursery and snagged some sod.  When I say "snagged", I mean "snagged".  Apparently, it's hard to find grass in this town and everyone had already pre-ordered theirs.  After 10am, it's free game!

With our backyard (more like patio) under construction, it was fun to be at the nursery and dream up ideas for our small yard.  Gardening/Home design has become a sort of hobby for us.

So, we FINALLY have grass, thanks to my huz and father-in-law! It's pretty exciting to have REAL grass here in this town!

Hopefully soon, this will not look so patchwork quilt-like!