Snowpocolypse, 2014.

I think I speak for every Ohioan when I say, ' GO F YOURSELF WINTER'. sigh. It's been BRUTAL. I wake up in the morning and have to force myself from laying in bed kicking my legs & throwin middle fingers at the ceiling, aka Mother Nature. I mean, if I hear "snowpocalypse" on the nightly news as an indicator of the weeks ahead one.more.time I'm going to FLIPOUTTT!!! Clearly I need an outlet for this anger ;) 

I'm not sure it would make me as irate as I am if our new house was done. BUT, considering feet upon feet of snow is not the best building climate, our home is wayyyyy behind schedule. We were supposed to close end of Feb, then March and as we aren't even at the dry wall phase, they are predicting mid May. I don't think they know who they're dealin with here but , lets just say I am not the person they call anymore and B has become their main point of contact, ha!! Yesterday when we were snowed in and hibernating for yet another day, we decided we were both over this shiz and it was time to get outta dodge. I don't think we were in our right minds while booking our vacation that's in exactly 2 weeks, but we booked it. St. Lucia, lookout!!! Security is going to have to pull our wrinkly bodies out of the pools at 11pm because we are devouring every last drop of  vacation. Have I mentioned its been months since we've seen the sun? ok... I"ll stop now. 14 days and counting....thank you Jesus.

La Toc, the resort we are staying at. Hellooooo heaven!

What else? Hmmm.... Bad cold Valentines week. Work trip for training & board rooms the entire week to follow. Knocked out Breaking Bad while being holed up {highly recommended}, so that was a plus! Good times. I hope y'all have a fun vacation on the horizon too! And if not, there's PLENTY of room in our suitcases. 

Xoxo,

Andi 

Evelyn's Baptism!!

B & I absolutely adore our God Children. It's such an honor to be asked to serve such an important role in ones childs life. We were asked to be (1 of 2 sets) God-Parents to our dear friends Steph & Jas' daughter, Evelyn Kate, and we really enjoyed spending their special day with them. With season in full force, and me leaving for our National Sales Meeting the same day, we didn't get to spend quite as much time with them as we'd prefer, but word on the street is that Jas may have an opportunity for a position at Wright State {wrong university} this summer so they may actually be moving to the big D! Holy crap-- I can't even let myself get excited about it. Neighbors again? Chillaxin' any day of the week with Easy E? ..... it would be a dream come true!! Here's to hoping.

Anywho, we had a great time the night before E's baptism spending time with the other set of G-P's, PJ from Houston and Alex in from Germany. As well as Aunt Lauren and the MK & D, the Grandparent's. Such a wonderful family they have, and I love em like they are my own. Evie is surrounded with so much LOVE and we all are so blessed to be a part of the 'village that raises her'. I mean, could she be any cuter? I think not.

Up to no good with Auntie Andi 

Night out on the town!

Alex from Germany! {Her other GottMutti}

PJ from Houston! So cute!

B & I before heading to the baptism 

The whole FamDam

Cheers Evie! We love you beyond words; Happy Baptism!

Xoxo,

Andi

Progress!

I thought that 5 people actually followed my blog. However, people have been reaching out to ask about updates on my all natural break from meds, and I didn't even consider that they were reading this blog! So, luckily, I have great news to update! My herbal venture has been successful!! Although I'm not knocked up, the Vitex & Acupuncture lead to an ovulation & 5 day period-- holy Moses! The overall cycle was still long {per my norm} but it went off without a hitch. I now swear by this stuff & will continue to stay on it until proven otherwise. 

To back track, I started to get impatient so I went into the doc on CD 40 like "ummm.... obviously my method isnt working, I guess I'll have to get back on the medicinal horse". So they did bloodwork and I assumed they would put me on Provera to induce a cycle and pick up like we did before. But, they ran my progesterone & oestrodiol levels and called me later that day to say "sit tight, you ovulated on your own. So, you'll either start in the next 7 days, or you're pregnant!" I have to honestly say, I was simply elated that my prayers came true that month & I had a sign of progression. At this point, I just wanted to know that I don't need all this doc/ RX garb and that my body is functioning just fine & moving at a pace that's healthy for it to. And it worked! For someone as erratic as me to get into a sync is a huge accomplishment. No feeling miserable, no doc appointments weekly. Just good ol health & wellness. While I don't think I'll ever be like clockwork, I feel sound that I've made progress. Vitex is supposed to shorten your cycles the longer it's taken (daily at 1000 mg) and this was the first month, so on to the next. Very pleased so far. 

Yay me! :) 

xoxo,
Andi

WAIT

Oh, this poem, I tell ya, it nearly brought me to tears it spoke to me so! Figured I'd share to anyone else out there on their own journey of patience. It shed a light of patience on me. Enjoy!

WAIT

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried.

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, He replied.

I pleaded, and I wept for a clue to my fate,

And the Master so gently said, “Child, you must wait”.

“Wait? You say wait?” my indignant reply.

“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why.

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your Word.

“My future, and all to which I can relate

Hangs in the balance, and you tell me ‘wait’?

'I need a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign,’

Or even a ‘no’, to which I can resign.

“And Lord, you have promised that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:

I’m weary of asking: I need a reply!”

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate

As my Master replied once again, “You must wait.”

So I slumped in my chair; defeated and taut

And grumbled to God; “So I’m waiting, for what?”

He seemed then to kneel and his eyes met with mine

And He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens, darken the sun,

Raise the dead, cause the mountains to run.

“All you see I could give, and pleased you would be.

You would have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.

You’d not known the depth of My love for each saint;

You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.

“You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair;

You’d not learn to trust, just by knowing I’m there.

You’d not know the joy of resting in Me,

When darkness and silence was all you could see. 

“You would never experience that fullness of love

As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,

But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

“The glow of My comfort late in the night;

The faith that I give when you walk without sight;

The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask

From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

“And you never would know, should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that ‘My grace is sufficient for thee.’

Yes, your dreams for that loved one o’ernight could come true,

But the loss! if you lost what I’m doing in you.

“So be silent, my child, and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.

And though oft’ may My answers seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all… is still… wait. 

xoxox,

Andi

Drowning.....NOT in IV Fluids!!

I don't even know where to begin with where my sanity January went!! Oh wait, yes I do, it was me glued to my home office getting ripped a new one EVERY SINGLE DAY. To say work this month has been stressful is a complete understatement. Perhaps you're in the medical field, so this has already impacted you or your facilities, but in case you haven't been flipping through USA TODAY recently, the news has finally gone to the media. Feel free to take a gander here about the National IV Solution Shortage that we are starting to see the impacts of and will continue to do so until the end of the year. 

Of course the media has taken a different twist as to WHY we are in a solution shortage until the end of the year (yikes) which is completely inaccurate, but hey, whatever twist they need to put on it to completely freak people into getting more vaccinations, they will. The article states that "due to a violent flu season" manufacturers are dealing with IV Solution shortages that are preventing hospitals, surgical hospitals, oncology facilities and the alike from receiving enough fluids to treat their patients. That part is true... and scary as hell, however it's not due to flu season it's due to a product recall on Hospira's behalf last year, which caused way too much bandwidth added to the other two fluid manufacturers causing allocations, backorders and more business than we were prepared to handle. Other than B. Braun (the company I work for) only Baxter & Hospira make these IV bags that you see hanging from IV poles that are necessary to treat each and every patient having surgery or treatments that require admixture/drugs (Oncology facilities).  So, as you can imagine they are VERY necessary for facilities to have. In the landscape that we are currently in, cancer patients are being referred to hospitals for treatments because they dont have enough fluids to treat them. Smaller Physician Offices and Gastro/Endo facilities arent getting ANY product and are having to refer patients elsewhere as well, so you can imagine how pleasant these conversations have been to have. People are literally being forced to close their doors; it's terrible. 

Have I mentioned I need a vacation/pay raise/mental health counselor/massage?? Cuz I do! Mehhhhh.

On a positive note, my gf Brittany recommended a really fantastic course that I started beginning of Jan that couldn't have arrived at a better time. I've been taking Oprah's LifeCourse by Brene' Brown which I cannot rave enough about. This is a 3 month online course focusing on "The Gifts of Imperfection" {which is also a book written by Brene; at the very LEAST I recommend you pick it up and take it for a test drive}. It's been 3 weeks and I've really benefited from this course already. You keep a journal and have specific growth projects that really make you dig deep and essentially work on how to accept your imperfections and know that you are good enough in all that you do (there's a new concept for a Type A who grew up getting her balls busted more often than not). Is this possible you ask? Pah, well I'm a work in progress. Everyone feels pain, everyone feels judged at times and this course allows you to learn how to open up and live a more authentic life. It has shown me how to set boundaries with people, and how to love myself more; in all of my imperfections!! I've always been pretty open and authentic (never been able to fake a thing) but as you may have noticed in previous posts, there are still things in my life that I 'shame' myself for and of course everyone has their own inadequacies & insecurities. Mostly, I'm growing, learning and coping better; and in my opinion friends, that's worth every individual ($40) dollar that I paid for this class! Who doesn't like a little self help every now and again? 

So that's what's been going on with me this month. I feel like my head is about to spin off like a top-- but guess who just booked a night out with the girls tomorrow night & a massage for Friday? THIS GIRL. I don't know of a better way to release some steam & round up January. I hope yours was much less hectic than mine!

Xoxo,

Andi

Holy Horoscope!

I think we all can agree Horoscopes are fun to take a gander at. My gf Brittany was sending me some screenshots of hers that were spot on. It tempted me to add it myself. And can I just say, goosebumps?! Check out the first horoscopes I came to when I pulled it up! ......Its like they know me! ;)

Happy Hump Day all!!

Xoxo,

Andi

Bring it on 2014!

2013 was kind to us in many ways. We were blessed to sell our home at asking price {for sale by owner} within 30 days. That process, albeit stressful, couldn't have gone any smoother. Blair received a fantastic offer on his new position and although the change & newness of building a basketball program has it's stressors, he's never been happier. Makes it all worth it. We are still "in transition" from 2013 as we enter 2014 while waiting for our house to be finished, but we have so much to look forward to & be grateful for!

In reflection of 2013, my one word to sum it up is GROWTH. I have had to grow more mentally through personal challenges than ever before. I never realized how much stronger it truly makes a person to have no other choice but go through obstacles & dig deep to find solutions that work best for the 'self'.  Until this year, I've been fortunate enough to struggle through small hiccups in life {breakups, moves, family distresses & drama} but I have never had to deal with a situation that I had no other choice but to have patience and faith in. I've always been able to make a Gameplan and work my butt off to accomplish results. In reflection, I have to say I'm very grateful as this year has made my faith stronger, my relationships deeper, my patience larger & most importantly, the ability to be kinder to myself. So many quotes and motivational segments have helped me push through this year; it's truly amazing how much words can inspire. This one has been one right at the top of the list for me.

I never do resolutions, but this year I thought I'd at least post one of my "Goal Boards" as it's always nice to review at years end. I'd love to hear what some of you are planning to work on this year. It may inspire me to add it to the list. 

Personal Goals: 2014

- travel somewhere new 

- strengthen faith & commit to a stronger spiritual/mediation schedule. Find a local church in our new town. 

- influence others positively 

- influence myself positively  

- learn a new hobby 

- minimize (home, office, closet)

- Top 3 in work rankings; Rep of the Year, earn company reward trip

- become more involved in our new community

- be a better wife 

- plan less, live more

I have a good feeling that this year is going to be one of the best years yet!! I'm really going to work hard to do my part to be a positive role model to myself & others. So, don't be alarmed when you see straight sunshine rays comin right outta my arse ;) Happy New Year friends!! I wish you all the absolute best year yet.  Xo.

Xoxo,

Andi