I was invited to a house-party at a co-worker and friend's house. I decided to go, alone, even though I was going to know very few people there. I am normally very shy and going to a party alone where I would know almost nobody was very out-of-character for me. I ended up having a wonderful time and stayed until 1:30 in the morning. I met some new and interesting people. I learned a new game. Needless to say, I was very happy with my decision to go.
I was invited to a girl's lunch with 5 or so other ladies at work and decided to go. I was so busy laughing the entire I had a hard time actually eating. :)
Another co-worker/friend invited me to go with her over to her new house during our lunch hour this past Friday. Even though I typically don't like one-on-one time with people I'm not really close with, I decided to say yes. I enjoyed spending time and talking with her, seeing her new house, and playing with her new puppy.
I made an impromptu trip to Syracuse this past weekend to visit my sister and ty on bridesmaide dresses. If you know me, you know I don't do impromptu trips. I am all about organizing and planning ahead.
My company organizes a bowling "tournament" every year. It's just one of many activities sponsored by my wonderful company, which I typically decline to attend due to social anxiety. A co-worker/friend really, really wanted me to come and be her partner so I said yes. That will be coming up next month.
After reading the Hunger Games Trilogy I decided to get a bunch of the girls at work to also read it. I'm also talking them all into going to the theater to see the movie made from the first book when it comes out on March 23. Maybe do dinner beforehand. I almost never organize outings. If someone else organizes something I will sometimes go, but rarely initiate.
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My friend notified me yesterday that the movie was going to be out in the theater on Friday, March 23rd and that we were going. I contacted 2 other girlfriends today and said they had to read the book(s) and they had to come to the movie with us on that opening weekend. In talking with one of my friends later she laughed at me and said, "You didn't take a breath the entire time you were writing that email, did you?" Haha. I think she was correct. Yes, I am a wee bit excited. :)
Here is some more info. on the 3 books (from amazon, affiliate links, download Kindle version for free if you are a Prime member!):
THE HUNGER GAMES - $5.39
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.
CATCHING FIRE - $9.98
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.
MOCKINGJAY - $9.95
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins's groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.
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Wikipedia Article on the entire Trilogy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games_trilogy
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Official Movie Trailer:
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Amazon affiliate links:
The Hunger Games Trilogy - Kindle Version (Price: $16.85, You Save: 69%)
The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxed Set - Hardcover Version (Price: $31.57, You save: 42%)]]>The question was, "i have turners syndrome and i got my period with hormone replacement will i be able to get pregnant"
I know how this girl feels. I know, because I was her a number of years ago.
I was a young girl around the age of 8 when I was diagnosed with Turner's Syndrome. I was told I would be abnormally short, and that I would most likely be unable to have children. I would need hormone replacement in my teenage years in order to "develop secondary sexual characteristics". How well do you think an 8 year old girl can process that? Yeah, let me tell you, that does not make much sense to such a young girl.
After that day, not one doctor I had talked to had ever really talked to me about fertility. In fact, nobody at all really talked to me about fertility, not even my family. I consider myself a fairly intelligent woman. I was in the Honor Society in High School, did quite well in college, and always aced any biology or genetics classes. Yet, I still questioned. I wanted it so bad I convinced myself that maybe it was still possible for me to have children. Maybe IVF? I already knew the answer, yet I sought out a reproductive endocrinologist to tell me the answer to the question above out loud. THEN it would be real.
If you get your period with hormone replacement, that is good. That's what's supposed to happen, anyway. I no longer take the hormones and therefore no longer get my period (yay!). Unfortunately, most women with Turner's Syndrome are infertile because they have severly underdeveloped ovaries. They don't function properly and do not produce viable eggs. You get your period which sheds the uteran lining (and helps prevent cancer?) but, sadly, it does not mean you are able to conceive. :( From one Turner Syndrome woman to another... I am truly sorry. I also encourage you to contact a reproductive endocrinologist to get a professional medical opinion, and to talk about possible options for you.
Also, please feel free to contact me if you have more questions or just want to talk with someone who at least has some idea of what you are going through. I wish you all the best.
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Even with the mild weather, I am very much looking forward to, and longing for, brighter, sunnier, longer, warmer days. I'd really like to be able to shake things up again, like I was doing during the warmer months. I'd like to go for long walks on my lunch hour, go for 15-20 mile bike rides on the weekends. I'm just hoping I'm able to continue eeking out a few miles a day, a few days a week in the meantime.
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What's on your bright side of today?
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modern colonial with large yard and garden in the suburbs
This was pretty difficult for me to answer. 1. It's hard to describe something like that in so few words and 2. I'm not entirely sure I really know what I want.
I think I'd prefer a newer home to an older one (although they can certainly have a lot of character).
I'd much rather live in the suburbs than in the city or in the country way out in the middle of nowhere.
I'd love to have a large yard with lots of nice landscaping. My current yard has lots of trees which is nice and almost reminds me of a park, but I'd also like to have a nice sunny area where I could grow lots of nice vegetables and other flowers.
Sometimes I think I'd love to have a nice big pool. I really enjoy swimming, but I wouldn't enjoy all the work that goes along with it.
I'd love to have a nice big kitchen with granite countertops and an island.
I love the sunroom I have in my house now, as well as the patio.
I'm dying for a walk-in closet and master suite which is lacking in my current house.
I also dream of living on the water -- either an ocean or a lake.
And a professional interior designer would be great to decorate my perfect home. I'm no good at that stuff.
What about you? How would you describe your perfect home in ten words or less (or more if you like)?
]]>We both had an amazing, amazing time. I think the pictures below kind of sum up the trip nicely. They are all from the resort we stayed at. We had a rental car but for the most part we didn't want to leave. It was approximately 85 degrees and bright sunshine every single one of the 6 days we were down there. I felt myself relax as soon as we checked into the hotel and we first walked outside by the pool and ate an early dinner over looking the ocean.
On the day of our return flight, I was so not ready to leave. Apparently some other higher being or greater force didn't want me to leave either. Our flight was at 9 AM but we sat on the tarmac for about 4 1/2 hours before acutally taking off. It was supposed to be a 40 minute hop to Orlando. We finally got to Orlando and of course we missed our layover flight so had to scramble around to figure out how we were giong to get home. They gave us tickets for another flight that would get us back home around 10:30 PM. The real kicker was that particular flight was first going back to to Fort Lauderdale first (a.k.a. the very same place that it just took us about 6 hours getting there from). Luckily we got the last 2 seats on another stand-by flight that would get us home at 6 PM and was direct. So it took us just over 3 hours to get down to Florida on a direct flight and close to 10 hours to get home. It was a bit of a sour note to end the vacation on, but it could have been worse.
When we arrived back in NY back on the 5th, it was 32 degrees outside. Today, it snowed. I tried to bring the beautiful weather back home with me, but apparently it didn't work.
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Although people, Americans especially, are putting off marriage later and later as the decades progress, it's still fairly common to get hitched when you're in your early thirties or sometimes even before. However, not all of us thirty-somethings are ready for this particular milestone. Whether we haven't met the right person or we're waiting for financial security and our careers to reach a certain stage, we find ourselves in the single camp while more and more of our friends are taking the plunge. Of course, getting married is a wonderful life experience and is perhaps one of the most important moments in a human being's life. But what do you do when all the friends who used to be available to have a night on the town have morphed into creatures from a distant planet of respectable, settled down responsibility? Here are a few tips.
1. Demonstrate a desire to still hang out, even if it's in a family setting.
One thing I noticed when many of my friends had settled down and we would not hang out as often was that they assumed I wasn't interested in family time. That is to say, my friends associated the single life with single socializing and figured I, as a single person, would think family time was lame. But having dinner with your married friends is one of the most enjoyable things ever, especially when kids are involved. Demonstrate a desire to do the family time thing, and you'd be surprised by how much closer you'll be with your married friends.
2. Find some younger friends, or friends who are not on the marriage path yet.
Of course, there will still be times when you want to go out as you used to when you were in your twenties, and your married friends will not always have the time to do so considering their commitments to spouse and children. As such, you should consider casting your nets wide. There are plenty of thirty-somethings who are far from ready to get married, and hanging out with people who are a few years younger than you can be fun, too.
3. Plan get-togethers well in advance to give your family-centered friends some time to arrange for babysitters, etc.
Although the married life is described as "settled down," it's not nearly as boring as some people make it sound. Married people can have fun, too. The conflict arises when you don't plan accordingly, since those who have family commitments work on schedules while the unmarried among us can afford to structure their social lives in the last minute. That being the case, make sure to set aside a specific time at least a week or two in advance, and offer to help find a babysitter if needed.
These were the most helpful points of advice for me, especially at a time when I thought my friends was dropping like flies after getting married. You don't have to segregate your social life between "marrieds" and "unmarrieds." You just have to find some balance that takes into consideration your somewhat different lifestyles.
By-line:
Alvina Lopez is a freelance writer and blog junkie, who blogs about accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alvina.lopez @gmail.com.
]]>After months of debate and hours hunched over the computer researching, the plane tickets have been purchased and the hotel reservations have been booked. My boyfriend and I are both horrible at decision making and are also very frugal, so between trying to read every possible review for every possible hotel and typing in various flight departure and return dates to see what the best possible price we could get was, it was a very trying and stressful experience.
I think we are both very happy with the fruits of our labor, though. All the sweat and tears were worthwhile. We decided Hawaii was too expensive a trip for us right now but still wanted to go somewhere nice. We settled on southern Florida. We picked what seems to be a very nice hotel and splurged just a little for an oceanfront room with a balcony. We also added to the agenda (consisting mostly of sleeping in late, sitting by the pool or on the beach, reading, taking lots of walks, and eating at a few nice restaurants) a day to drive an hour north to visit my grandparents. I have not seen them in about three years and they have never met my boyfriend so I am excited about this. My grandfather will be turning 98 in a few months and my grandmother will be turning 91, so I really want to get there to visit them while I am still fortunate enough to have the opportunity.
So the countdown to when we leave at the end of the month begins. We did a bunch of shopping today (bathing suits, cover ups, shoes, shirts) so I'm pretty much ready to go and I'm hoping the time goes by quickly. My soul could use some R & R and a little Vitamin D right now, that's for sure.
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I'd love to read your Monday 5 Countdown. Leave a link in the comments and I'll check it out.