Ka ching!

It's payday again...and another $1600 was added to our baby fund today! These super quick savings will be coming to an end soon however, because the crazy overtime that Mark has been working is slowing down. He will have a few more weeks with just a smidge of overtime, I am hoping that it will get us to our original $12000 goal, but I doubt it. We should get a tax return which might just be enough to push us over the edge, though.

I always knew....

That the flute was cool! It makes me wish that I never stopped playing!

A Change in plans?

Today was payday, and our ivf fund was able to grow by $1700.00. Bringing us to $6800, over half of our original $12000 goal! Not bad since we started saving only two months ago!

However, it looks as though we are going to need more than we thought. I have been feeling a little apprehensive about doing IVF and been having a hard time justifying the cost even though we have by all accounts an amazing doctor. So, I called a second doctor in order to get another opinion. I am feeling a bit better about the new doctor because his clinic offers a shared risk program while the first doctor does not. This means that for the cost of about one fresh IVF and one frozen embryo cycle, we can actually have two fresh cycles and two frozen cycles. The risk is that if we succeed the first time, we just paid extra, but if it is the fourth time, we got a steal of a deal. Since it is relatively common to need more than one IVF cycle, I think that this may be the best option for us. This clinic also is doing a clinical study on a new progesterone medication, and if we qualify we could receive 20% off the costs. Providing that we do not qualify for the study, we will need about $4000 more than we originally planned. That makes us just over a third of the way there. I meet the doctor at the new clinic at the end of February, and by then we will know what our insurance will cover, so perhaps it will be better than we think.

Moving forward!

It has been difficult to find the time to write recently, so the blog has been sadly ignored. Mark has been working out of town, so I have had a lot of time on my hands to fill with other things.

• I have been working my way through "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" trilogy. The first book was nothing special, but I adored the second!
  
• I have made a couple new friends that I hope to see again.
  
• I have been painting the closet we started re-doing last July.
  
• I have done more than a few crafty projects which I will start sharing over the next few weeks.
• Planning , researching and starting seeds for the garden has taken a lot of time over the last few days as I contemplate a few new to me gardening methods.
• I have been organizing Mark's magic card collection......which has taken an enormous amount of time and space.

Most importantly, I have been organizing donations for our upcoming yard sale, and watching our IVF fund grow. We are now at $5100, just shy of our half way point!

What makes you whole?

My Resolutions

I am a goal setter.....but not necessarily a goal meeter. So this year my resolutions are going to be a little less all or nothing. Hopefully that will give me a chance to succeed a little more easily!

1. Be more patient. I struggle with being patient with people. It is a skill that I have improved greatly over the years, but I am still not where I want to be.
2. Get Dressed Six Days A Week. This a big one for me. I tend to hang out in pajamas, or work out clothes all day long when I know that I have no where to go, and only get dressed if I leave the house. Why am I only willing to look nice for people other than my husband? I think this will not only improve how Mark sees me, but how I see myself.
3. Early to Bed and Early to Rise. Over the last year I have gotten into the habit of sleeping until eight or finish and the staying up past midnight. While my schedule allows for this, it also means that Mark is staying up too late in order to spend time with me, and he is often going to bed alone. Not anymore....which leads me to my next goal.
4. Live Intentionally. With the absence of kids in our home, it has been easier to just go with the flow and have no routine and no real purpose. I want to live more fully, more for the moment.
5. Hold Hands More. No, not yours! Mark and I have always been hand holders, but it seems as though we have been neglecting the little day to day romances. I blame it on the stress of infertility treatments and the way that it turns romance clinical. It's time for us to change that!