Friday, May 28, 2010

Canning Party

I'm hosting a canning party next week. I'm excited about it, despite the fact that many people I've invited can't come or didn't RSVP (which I'm taking to mean that they're not coming). It's too bad that more people can't make it because I received party favors to give away to 15 people... more stuff for me, I guess.

I also now have canning equipment. I'm super excited about that. I know nothing about canning (but, luckily, some people who are coming do know a thing or two about it), but we're trying out a couple recipes that sound yummy and learning a new skill that I have wanted to learn for some time. Seriously, my family room is a mess right now with all the stuff I got spread everywhere. It's like Christmas!

If you haven't RSVP'd for it, please let me know if you're planning on coming or not. PLEASE. If I didn't invite you but you would like to come, let me know and I'll send an invite to you. I tried to garner interest on Facebook before closing my account, but at least one or two people who said they wanted to come ended up RSVPing no. Let me know. You get free goodies and a couple hours away from home!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Dealing with Infertility

I know there are people out there who think I am just being too over-sensitive about my fertility challenges. I have been told several times to just "relax" and then I'll get pregnant, or other such unhelpful and hurtful things. Is it easy to forget about a broken foot and just keep walking on it, thinking that if you don't focus on it, it'll go away? I know this is a struggle I must work through, and I am working through it, with the help of my doctor, my husband, and my Savior.

So when I read this article today, I was reminded that while I am vocal about my struggle, there are people out there who are struggling silently. There are probably people I know who are struggling with the same sorts of issues. I know I wouldn't be able to do much to help them through their challenges except to say that I'm going through it right now myself. I know people who have overcome fertility issues, but I know it is through VARIOUS different methods based on differing circumstances and needs and abilities that those issues are overcome.

I'm still in the stage where I don't know if I can have a child. The miscarriage I had a year ago gives me some hope, but I'm still looking for answers. All I want from others is non-judgment and maybe a little sympathy or understanding. It is SO hard for me to be around a group of my mom-friends to hear them go on and on about their children. It isn't like I don't expect friends with kids to talk about their kids or bring their kids around me. But those conversations don't include me. And they act as a reminder that I'm not a mom yet. So when it's complaints about kids misbehaving all the time as though a woman wishes she didn't have kids, it is especially tough for me to hear.

Friday, May 21, 2010

How to talk to someone trying to lose weight

Read the MSN article about things you shouldn't say to someone losing weight and things you should say instead. Luckily, I don't have to deal with most of these things on a regular basis, but as someone who is losing weight, I have to say I agree with them. I've found myself wishing several times that I could do things with friends not revolving around food (we do sometimes, but not nearly enough). I also feel that well-meaning family or friends are kind of insulting with some comments. What are your thoughts about the different points made in this article?

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Bye, bye Facebook!

I deleted both of my Facebook accounts earlier this week. I had a good friend ask me why today. There were lots of reasons behind it. I was sick of having to reset my privacy settings every time they made a change. I was sick of sending messages and leaving comments on people's walls, trying to communicate with them, and having them ignore me. I was sick of feeling like I "should" friend certain people who don't even really talk to me in person. And I was sick of feeling left out when I kept reading about all the fun things people did with others that I wasn't invited to or was otherwise left out from. Well, this kind of over-simplifies my feelings.

I've always been a very sensitive and emotional person, and I know I sometimes overreact. I know that my overactive imagination doesn't help matters. I realized I wasn't happy with Facebook or on Facebook, and I didn't like the amount of time I spent on there looking for some kind of human connection. I guess I have gotten so used to the online human connections I've made over the years and have felt really close to many of my online friends, but I find that a lot of the online communication I have with my local friends and my family actually makes me feel more more distant from them unless it's used as a way to plan in-person events (which it sometimes was, but not always). Instead of having personal phone calls or email exchanges, it's like we all expect people to read about our lives on Facebook and/or blogs and think that is doing our duty as friends or family. It's sad, because it really takes away from the personalization and human connection that I really desire. So, I know that I'm going to reach out more to people in my life, and if they really want to be part of my life, they'll accept it when I reach out and do some reaching out as well.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

A terrorist attack

I came home on Thursday and sat on the couch, so grateful I'd managed to get through the day at work. And then I heard tapping. It didn't go away, and I soon realized we had a woodpecker pecking at our house. I walked outside and it flew away. But after I came back inside and sat down again, the courageous woodpecker flew back and started rapping on the house. So after chasing it off again, I opened the blinds in our room, hoping it would see my cats moving around and stay away. Alas, it didn't. Increasingly frustrated, I chased it off a third time, opened the windows, and flipped on the TV, hoping that as long as there was sound on, it would stay away. So I parked myself in front of the TV for the rest of the night, which wasn't what I really wanted to do. But the woodpecker didn't come back


When I was talking to my husband about it, he said he had heard it in the morning before he went to work. So I figure it was basically on the house all day, pecking away. And it definitely left its mark! There are 3 holes on one piece of wood, and it even chipped the paint off a section about 18 inches long!

As I was getting ready for work yesterday, I heard it again. I knew I didn't want to call in to work and spend the day on the couch (tempting as that idea sounded), but I didn't want to come home to any more damage to the side of our house than there already was. So I opened a window and turned on the radio, very grateful we have an alarm I could set so I had some peace of mind. We haven't heard it since. I hope it found a new place to peck!