Because my health coach told me to.....

That is part of the reason i am here ... because my amazing health coach told me to. Erin and I are using each other as practice clients for our certification to became a certified health coach. It has been amazing experiences so far! I went into being coach with the attitude of "good luck coaching a contemplator!" but i have made so many changes so far that have benefited me so much.

So here is my deal. I have had on again off again baby fever for years--yes even before we were married. After we got married baby fever struck hard at a very low time in my life. I had left a job that i absolutley loved and moved 600 miles away from everything and everyone . I was an overachiver in school and in past jobs and when i could not land a job for the life of me i sunk into a dark place that took a lot of helping hands to get out of. In Septemeber i landed my dream job with came with a great added bonus, a great friend. Erin and I started work on the same day and bonded from the begining. We were close in age and at similar points in our lives. I always felt that i could be open with her and to this day she knows more about me than anyone else--even those who have been in my life for years on end. My job also came with the most honest, compassionate, and caring co-workers anyone could ask for. They all saw me struggle being so far from my past and were always there with a "mindful" ear to listen and a hug to reassure me that things would get easier. I am so happy to say that things are wonderful now. Having these wonder co-workers which i more so consider my friends were able to bring out the old Sarah and make me happy again and enjoy all Indy has to offer. When the issue arose that Alex may be rolocated in the fall of 2009, i was devistated to think that i may have to leave Indy--because it was becoming home and i was happy. That dark cloud of that issue is starting to break up with some wonderful news we recived last Friday :-)

So back to baby land......

I started my job in Septmeber with that baby fever still burning when i met Erin who at that time was four months pregnany. She is now 35 weeks--wow how time flies. Needless to say she made the fever burn stronger. Alex was afraid of many things when it came to the subject of starting a family. He was afrain of the financial strain it would cause and was afraid of what he would be as a father. Many nights of crying took place because i could not fathum waiting much longer. The convorsations ended and i didn't talk it about it as much so that i would not annoy him with the constant nagging--i knew that he wanted children and i knew we wanted them sooner rather than later--so i had hope that he would come around. Fast forward to the begining of December. Alex started make a lot more remarks about how fun it will be when we have children and other positive comments about starting a family. After much debate i asked him while out to eat at Squeelers if he was feeling any different about starting a family--he said he was. I told him that i would love to have a baby by next Christmas and he agree that he would like that as well. We left that night with the agreement that we would start trying to concive :-)

Cycle 1 TTC

I was familiar with charting and all the signs of fertility so when our first cycle rolled around i felt ready to go at this knowledgably. We surrounded for optimal chances to concor--if you will. It is awful how much your mind can play games with you. In the weeks procedding i was eating everything in site, feeling the right pains, my temperature was still high, so forth and ect. I did not want to get my hopes up because this was cycle 1 and the chances even if everything went right were only 25%. The tests labeled "Results 5 days earlier" got the best of me and i decided to test on Monday -- 5 days become the due arrival of AF--negative of course but i didn't give up hope. Then Friday came along with AF, i was a little sad but happy that i knew because the suspence was killing me. I went shopping picked up a few pants and shirts on clearance and i felt a little better--retail therapy solves all my problems.

So here we are Cycle 2 and T-5 days until projects O-Day haha i love the termonology. I purchased an ovulation detecter kit to use this cycle just as a back up to hopefuly show me that everything is working, added reasurrance is all i needed.

So here i am with the answer to why i started this blog in the first place. I am writing because i want to stay positive. I do not was to be depressed each month when AF arrives. I want to be able to focus on the goal and stay positive--it will happen when it happens.

PS. I will probably still get my hopes up this month--i am praying that it happens :-)

That is another thing i wanted to say. I am praying that it happens this month and yes to be honest i was upset when i got AF last month and one of the many things that daughnts my mind it the fact that there are so many couples out there who have been trying to convice for years and years and i have no right to be upset after one month. It will happen i know it will i just need to stay postive, optimistic, and relaxed :-)

Have an awesome weekend!

Sarah

Friday Quotes

Here are two quotes i found inspiring today. The first is from my group coaching instructor and the second is from a blog that i frequent.

“Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling.”
Margaret Lee Runbeck (1905-1956)

"God is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine."
Ephesians 3:20

My New Blog

Welcome to my new blog Growing On Gettysburg.

I have one public announcement before i start putting it all out there. I am not a good writer, especially when i am typing profusely to get things off my mind. Spell check is my best friend but often times not that great to me. I am not sure if i will ever go public with this blog but if i do i wanted to have that in the open. I acknowledge this as a weakness.

I scream .. You scream .. We all scream for homemade ice cream!

Alex and I purchased an ice cream maker this weekend and i was able to put it to use yesterday and today. I made chocolate covered strawberries with cream for me and chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough for his. They turned out wonderful! With both recipes i churned the ice cream in the machine for 30 minutes, poured it into a Tupperware container and then stirred in the add-ins.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries with Cream


2 cups fat free half and half
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons sugar (add more if you like it sweeter)

1/2 cup chocolate chips
10 strawberry's sliced and macerated in 2 tablespoons for sugar for 2 hours

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough


2 cups fat free half and half
1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup Hershey's chocolate syrup

for the cookie dough i simply halved my go-to recipe and did not add the eggs

Potato Pancakes

These were so yummy. My family always eats potato pancakes with butter beans on top, weird i know but so good!

• 3 large potatoes, peeled
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon grated onion
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• vegetable oil

Finely grate potatoes. Drain any liquid. Add eggs, onion, flour, salt and baking powder. In a frying pan, add oil to the depth of 1/8 in.; heat over medium-high (375 degrees F). Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls in hot oil. Flatten to form patties. Fry until golden brown then turn and cook other side. Serve immediately.

Waffle Waffle Waffle

Alex and I recently purchased a waffle dipper maker over the internet for a steal ... only $20 ! Alex told me to make myself some waffles for breakfast today .. so that i could perfect them for this weekend when he and i have our weekend breakfast feast! So i put it to the test and they came out wonderful. I used a basic waffle recipe that i adapted from allrecipes.com

Soft and Fluffy Waffles

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoon white sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater until fluffy. Beat in flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth.
2. Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve hot and enjoy!
3. 

Cinnamon and Sugar Crepes

Cinnamon and Sugar Crepes
adapted from allrecipes.com

• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/3 cups fat free evaporated milk
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  

1. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, melted butter, flour sugar and salt until smooth.
2. In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon
   
3. Heat a medium-sized skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Grease pan with a small amount of butter or oil applied with a brush or paper towel. Using a serving spoon or small ladle, spoon about 3 tablespoons crepe batter into hot pan, tilting the pan so that bottom surface is evenly coated. Cook over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes on a side, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture and roll into a log. Serve immediately and Enjoy!