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We had our appointment yesterday with the reproductive endocrinologist.  On a positive note, we liked her.  She explained things really well, even though it was information overload, and I’m not sure I grasped everything that was being said.

She ordered more blood work and another appointment for a saline ultrasound for a more detailed examination.  We’ll go back within the next two to three weeks for all of those results and to consider further testing to possibly include a bone density scan and an MRI to check out my pituitary gland.

In short, this is what we know or at least suspect so far.  For someone my age, I should have 7-10 follicles between my two ovaries.  I have just one.  The FSH hormone in my brain, which should be between 3-10, is around 78.  My brain is telling my ovaries what to do, but they are not responding, nor are there many eggs to send out anyway.

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Our New Journey

March 21, 2013 — 19 Comments

3/21/13

Dear Baby,

Either one day you will read through these love letters to you and understand your birth story and how much your mama and papa love you, or these writings will be just a therapeutic way of coming to the realization that you were my third baby I will never know.

Yesterday I was given some news at my doctor’s appointment.  I was told that, based upon my blood work I had done, I have a high FSH level and a low estrogen level.  These are fertility hormones.  FSH is a chemical that is produced in the brain.  Its job is to tell my ovaries to work.  It’s too high which means it’s doing overtime in its job while my ovaries aren’t listening.
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Just as recovery time is a critical component of triathlon training, it is also critical in one’s personal life. Today I will be wrapping up a 13-week traveling physical therapy placement (woohoo!). During this time I pulled double duty as I tried, as best as I could, to continue to grow 90 Revolutions. Throw into the mix family time and I’m in danger of “overtraining”. It’s time to recover and reconnect.

On Dec. 8 we’ll be packing up the rental house, loading up the storage trailer, and leaving our temporary home in Abingdon, VA. We’ll be off on a new adventure.

I’m in the process of setting up my next traveling PT placement. I’ve applied for licensure in Oregon and Arizona in addition to my existing Virginia license. So, we’ll see. We should know in a few weeks.

As part of our recovery time, we’re taking the month of December off from the newsletter. We’ll be spending the next month celebrating the Christmas season with our families in Pennsylvania. It’ll be a much-needed break from PT and a great opportunity to focus on the training software development. We’re hoping to send it off to our coding team within the next few weeks. Wow… progress. Awesome!

In closing, Jody and I want to extend our sincerest appreciation for supporting us over the year. Thank you for opening our newsletters. Thank you to everyone who gave of their time to allow us to interview them. Thank you for your feedback and support. It means a lot.

Best wishes for an amazing holiday season and a happy New Year.

In case you missed it…. A few weeks ago my friend, Alana Mokma, shared her “training” video for her fake Spartan Race. Click here for the backstory and to watch her video.

Another friend, Claudia Good, and I embraced our inner child and joined in on the fun. We created our own videos to rival Alana’s. Below is Claudia’s video.

Here is my video.

Our “Spartan Race” challenge is a great memory that the three of us (and our husbands and friends who participated in the creation of the videos) will always cherish.

It was nice to be silly. It was nice to connect with new friends.

Regardless of the fact that we are all living in three different states, with a little effort and imagination, I was able to time travel back to my freshman year at college. That was a fun year. My existing friendships grew. I met strangers who quickly became new friends. Those friendships have stood the test of time even though we are scattered across the country.

And the Epic Adventure continues…

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Today I realized, almost too late, that our personal property tax bill was due.  If it wasn’t postmarked with today’s date, we would be assessed a 10% penalty.  With an hour to spare before the post office closed, Elijah and I took off, on foot of course, for the post office.  Catching and averting this potential issue was amazing in itself.

On the way to the post office, a lady stopped me and asked for money.  I typically never carry cash, so it was easy to be truthful without feeling guilty.  As I continued on my way, I realized that I did indeed have money from my coffee shop fund I withdrew from the bank the day before.  I did feel guilty then.

I never know how to deal with people who ask for money.  On one hand, we are instructed to help one another.  There are plenty of references to helping the poor and the downcast through the Bible.  On the other hand, I recall those 20/20-type undercover shows where panhandlers spend their days begging in rags then walk around the corner and jump into their Mercedes and drive off.  (I know…I’m cynical.  I’m working on that. ) Then you have those people who use the money for alcohol and/or drug.  All of these things went through my mind.

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My day was amazing today because of the love and kindness of a friend. When I got home and opened the screen door, an Amazon box fell out. I wracked my brain to try to recall ordering something, but I came up empty. It turns out my friend, Mark, sent me a book. Enclosed was this note:

“I started reading this book for my e-group, reluctantly, but I am finding myself encouraged. Hope it does the same for you as we journey together towards our own epic adventures. Love you all, Mark.”

He sent me Pastor Steven Furtick’s newest book Greater. The book is a challenge to live a greater life. As the back of the book says….

Greater than the labels you were given when you were young.
Greater than the cynicism the settles in as you get older.
Greater than the dreams you’ve dreamed for yourself.
Greater than even the greatest moment you’ve had thus far.”

I feel loved. I appreciate that Mark and his wife Laura have supported us and encouraged us to live a better life. Their kindness made Amazing Day #4 that much more amazing. I am blessed!

Here’s more information on the book if you are interested:

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Amazing (and Poopy) Day #3

October 3, 2012 — 8 Comments

Today was amazing in many ways, but some that I had not planned. Here is the back story: Elijah is 99% potty trained.  He wears Pulls Ups at night and hasn’t had an accident during the day for a few weeks now.  Apparently, I’ve gotten cocky and complacent.

Today I planned an amazing mommy/son day.  The plan was to go to the library for storytime.  Then we would walk around Abingdon taking beautiful fall pictures of the colored leaves, cobblestone sidewalks, and historical civil war era building.  This would be followed by a trip to the park where Elijah and I would ride on the swings together and climb the huge old trees.  Finally, we planned to have lunch at my new favorite coffeehouse, Zazzy’z.  (I hate that it ends in a “Z”, but what are you going to do.)  So that was going to be our amazing day.

We did all of those things today, but not as I had envisioned.  First, Elijah had a little pee accident at the library.  No problem. Being the awesome mom I am, I had an extra set of underwear and clothes.  No problem.

A few hours later, when we arrived at the playground two miles from the house (on foot), he said his belly hurt then proceeded to squat down and poop in his underwear… the back up pair… as in I-did-not-have-any-more.   Uggg!

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Today is the first day of our 31 Amazing Days Challenge.  I have my list for the month pretty much outlined, but I’m leaving room for random moments of inspiration.  Wouldn’t you know, I got that moment on day #1.

My relatively new online friend, Alana Mokma, posted something to Facebook the other day that caught my attention.  She wrote:

“Random Fact: If you dare me to do something, I will almost always accept the challenge.

Oh, game on, sister.  I challenged her to organize a group and participate in an upcoming Spartan Race.  For those who don’t know, Spartan races are adventure races with obstacles spread out over several miles.  Warrior Dash, Spartan Race, Tough Mudder… they are all similar.  I sent her a link to a video from their home page.

A couple hours after “accepting” my challenge, she returns with her “Spartan Race” video.  She was hoping that it would substitute for the real deal.

After some trash talking and joking back and forth, she challenged our mutual friend Claudia and me to create our own spoof Spartan Race video.  Since Claudia thinks of me as her quirky friend, I have to live up to her image of me.

So, within the next week or so (when Steve, my camera man, has time to help me), I’ll be creating my Spartan video and putting myself out there for her (and all of the YouTube audience’s) amusement.  Oh, dear!

My sister’s wedding is coming up next weekend.  Maybe the wedding party can all join in.  Ohhhh, she would kill me :)

If you’re participating with us, how did your Day 1 go?  Tell us about your amazing day. 

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Are you interested in living “31 Amazing Days” throughout the month of October?  My last post, “Where Did the Epic Go?”  chronicled the sudden change of direction we took when we stopped traveling the country at the end of the summer and settled down for Steve’s first 13-week traveling PT position.  Those amazing three month of adventure and meeting a lot of awesome people were replaced with mundane and “normal”.

The same thing happened to Adam and Christine Jeske.  I stumbled upon their story today.  They are the authors of a new book called “This Ordinary Adventure: Settling Down Without Settling.”  Their tagline on their Facebook page is “I’m Determined to Live a Life That Doesn’t Suck.”  After my “Where Did the Epic Go?” post, their story really caught my attention.

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Where Did “Epic” Go?

September 13, 2012 — 11 Comments

The summer portion of our Epic Adventure officially ended on Sept. 7 when we pull up to our new, temporary house in Abingdon, VA.  Steve started his 13-week travel physical therapy position on Monday.  I’m going to reserve final judgment on this current phase of our Epic Adventure for another week or so, but so far, I’m not even going to lie; it sucks!

I’m trying really hard to be all puppies and rainbows, but it’s not working.  We’ve long ago figured out that Steve isn’t wired to be a PT.  He doesn’t like an 8-5.  He doesn’t like needless paperwork and antiquated systems.  He loves being his own boss.  He loves creating new ideas and working on innovative projects.  He loves interacting with athletes and those who are actively pursuing their passions.  An 85-year old men on with his butt hanging out his hospital gown isn’t his preferred clientele.  (true story)

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