IVF, New Store, and Granny Squares

I'm posting tonight because I told myself I must post, but I'm not sure exactly what I plan to write about.

I really need to get better at posting regularly. Hopefully I can make myself post at least once a week. That's my goal anyway.

It helps that I plan to have more to write about.
First of all, on the fun side of things, I plan to be posting more of the projects I'm working on. And, I plan to be working on more because I plan to open a new Etsy store in June, and I will be working on finishing a project a week between now and then. That's an approximation because last week I finished two and this week I have about 80% of one done and 2% of another. Anyway, I'm super excited about the new store. It will ave more of a focus on crocheted items and very few hand painted items if any. I enjoy crocheting much more now and find it much more relaxing than painting. I will also not be doing custom items, just listing for sale what I make as I make it. You can look forward to seeing things like hats, slippers, blankets, and stuffed animals. Like I said, I'll be sharing some of them as I make them. In the future you can look forward to seeing some that I already have done like an owl hat, a cupcake hat and scarf set, a rainbow mohawk hat, a doll with clothing (I'm super excited about that one, but can't share it yet because it's a gift), a monster hat, a little girl's capelet and boots, a bubble blanket, and a knight's helmet hat. Those are all done or nearly done. Add to that a million ideas in my head and on Facebook, and I should be able to keep you entertained with some fun ideas.

Second of all, our timeline for IVF has moved up. I've gone back and forth as to how much I'm going to share about the process on here. I want this to be a blog that offers encouragement to people going through similar experiences. That and the fact that I am a naturally very open person (understatement) make me want to post. I read the blog With Great Expectation written by an awesome girl named Logan. Her posts about the IVF process and PCOS have been so helpful to me, making me want to provide others with similar help.

BUT, most of my readers are friends and family whereas most of hers are other women struggling with infertility and PCOS. As much as I want people praying for me as we go through the process, I don't want having everyone knowing that we're waiting for a bigger follicle or a positive blood test to add more stress to an already stressful situation. Steve is also a little more private in nature and I have to be sensitive to that.

So...the decision, currently, is to post a few things here and there about the IVF process, but not necessarily as we're doing it, and not in great detail.

That being said, I did recently have my first appointment just to discuss the whole process, and it was definitely overwhelming. Good overwhelming though, I guess. I was given the list of medications and injections I will need to be on and a schedule of when to take them. I learned lots of little details like, don't pee before this procedure, and wear your contacts not your glasses to this one. Overall, I learned that I'm very happy with our choice of doctors and with the practice as a whole. The nurse I met with was super friendly and easy to talk to, and the office as a whole is helpful and open to questions. The most overwhelming part is that we are still waiting to hear about finances, but all that really affects is timing.

It's a strange feeling because it's all planned out to the point where I can make a pretty educated guess as to when I will be taking a pregnancy test, but there are so many variables that could change it. It's such a bizarre feeling of anticipation, hope, joy, caution, and nervousness. Prayers are appreciated.

Anyway, back to my projects. I have a sneak preview of the one I'm working on right now. I love the colors and the way the square work together. It's a variation of the basic granny square, which, I just read, is the pattern that has been in print for the longest time. It's difficult to see in the pictures, but the gray is a variegated yarn with a hint of purple in it. I'll post the finished project when I'm done. Right now I've got sixteen squares, or really hexagons, done, but I can't decide if I need more or not.

I'd love to hear you thoughts about the new store. Any things you'd like to see, either specific things or types of things?

Finally!

It finally feels like spring, and I am so excited. I feel like we've been on the brink of spring mid-February when we had that one REALLY warm day, but it just hasn't wanted to come. But finally, instead of the breeze being the air just being cold, it is cold with a hint of warmth to it.

My sisters and my brother and I played outside today, together. It felt so good! Probably, it wasn't as big a deal to the girls, or even Tyler, but it was for me. I am not an athletic person, in any way shape or form, and when I was little, we were not an athletic family. Nobody in our family played sports until I went to college. Then the girls started playing soccer and running track and Tyler has played both basketball and soccer. So I guess they experienced more of the "athletic family" feeling, but the most I ever experienced was playing soccer with my dad when I was like five. So even though today were only kicking a ball around or trying to keep it up in the air, it felt so good for me!

Plus, we were all three (girls not Tyler) wearing skinny jeans which is also a huge deal for me. After thinking of myself as skinny for my entire life, I gained 30 lbs in our first two years of marriage and could not seem to loose it (which is apparently a symptom of the PCOS that I have been diagnosed with which is causing infertility which I'm trying to start writing about on another blog if anyone is interested). But I lost 17 lbs. on Weight Watchers and although I could stand to lose more, I now feel good enough about myself to wear skinny jeans.

Anyway...for anyone who is interested, the craft fair on Saturday went decently. I was a bit intimidated at first because although they said they would try not to put us near other vendors/crafters with similar products, there were three tables right around me that sold either crocheted items or hand painted glassware. I did feel like mine was the best combination of hip and practical items, but it was still intimidating. Overall it went pretty well though, in that I gave out TONS of business cards and got my name out there. However, I didn't make a very big profit because most of the items I sold were smaller things. I will be doing some more craft fairs this spring and summer, so I'll try to keep you updated (become a Facebook fan for more updates).