I had a hard time thinking of my favorite children's story - I was (and still am) a complete bookworm, and there are so many good stories. I'm still working on my answer for this, so in the meantime I'm going to share my least favorite children's story.
My least favorite children's story is a series of stories about a naughty little monkey named George. I do not like the Curious George books. Every story about George follows a simple formula - the Man in the Yellow Hat tells George not to do something, then leaves George unattended, giving him the opportunity to do exactly what he was told not to do. A series of zany events follow, creating chaos and then, somehow, the chaos turns helpful, and George is praised and rewarded for breaking the rules. These stories send the wrong message to kids - it's okay to not listen as long as everything works out in the end. I understand that the books are about a monkey who is learning how the world works, but the stories fail to teach George (and the young children hearing the stories) that actions have consequences.
Edited @ 10:45 pm on 9/17:
My favorite children's story is Harriet the Spy. When I read the book, I wanted to be just like Harriet (minus the whole losing her friends and having the whole school turn on her because of gossiping). I think Harriet was very clever and passionate about writing, even if she went about it the wrong way. In the end, she learns a valuable lesson about gossip and how it can ruin relationships, and she learns to use her spy skills in a way that benefits others rather than hurting them. Overall, I think it's a very entertaining story.
A very close second place goes to the entire Babysitters Club series. I loooooved that series - I had every book, loved the movie, I watched the tv series, and may have even had a board game (or am I just imagining that?). I even had a dream fairly recently about living in Stoneybrook [nerd alert!]. The stories were entertaining and the characters were relatable. It was a great series, and I'm tempted to re-read it as an adult.
I did not include Harry Potter as my favorite children's story because the later books got really dark, and I kind of don't consider it to be a children's story (even though I know that's what it began as). The Harry Potter series is my all-time favorite story.
16 September 2014
15 September 2014
Blog Challenge Day 15: Open Letter
Dear Lupron,
We've been together for a full week now, and so far, I'm happy with our relationship. You've only given me 2 bad headaches, and I think I've been myself for the most part. Thank you for not turning me into a raging she-beast (at least, not any more than usual) and for not making me feel like shit. I truly appreciate this favorable experience.
XO,
Me
Dear Ear Infection,
You're not welcome here. Go away.
Seriously, GTFO.
Me
Dear IVF,
Please work. Pretty please. Pretty please with sprinkles and whipped topping and chocolate sauce and cherries on top.
XO,
Me
We've been together for a full week now, and so far, I'm happy with our relationship. You've only given me 2 bad headaches, and I think I've been myself for the most part. Thank you for not turning me into a raging she-beast (at least, not any more than usual) and for not making me feel like shit. I truly appreciate this favorable experience.
XO,
Me
Dear Ear Infection,
You're not welcome here. Go away.
Seriously, GTFO.
Me
Dear IVF,
Please work. Pretty please. Pretty please with sprinkles and whipped topping and chocolate sauce and cherries on top.
XO,
Me
Blog Challenge Day 14: Traits/Characteristics/Values
This post is late (a day late and a dollar short) because I was planning on collaborating with B on this post yesterday, but that didn't really work out. I forgot to bring it up on our long car rides, and he fell asleep on the sofa after I asked him for his input (I did get one response last night at least). Anyway, these are a sampling of the traits, characteristics, and values that we hope to pass on to our future kids - if we shared our complete list, it would me miles long (and probably pretty boring).
We hope our future child(ren) will;
We hope our future child(ren) will;
- Be hard working and have a strong work ethic. Along with this comes an understanding of the value of money and time.
- Be open-minded.
- Be respectful of other people, of animals, and of the planet (yes, I know that sounds kind of hippie dippie, but that's important to me.)
- Have a strong sense of imagination.
- Be independent.
- Have a sense of humor.
- Love reading and learning.
- Be compassionate.
So there it is, a very small sample of some characteristics we hope to pass on to our future kids.
13 September 2014
Blog Challenge Day 13: Life Outside of IF
Sometimes it really doesn't seem like it, but I have a life outside of infertility!
I'm not the best at keeping up with hobbies, mostly because I've really been neglecting them lately - I need to fix that, pronto. This year, I started a Project Life photo album - I try to take a few fun photos throughout the week to document the different things we've done, then I journal about them and stick them in a pocket scrapbook. Or I would if I actually got my pictures printed frequently. I'm currently a few months behind (it's really bad, I need to set aside a few days to just work on things), but I keep up with planning pages to remind myself what we've done during the week, and I add the photos I plan to use in the album to an app called Collect, and that helps me stay somewhat on track.
I also really love to draw, and have been practicing hand lettering quite a bit. I love the creative chalkboards that people make with quotes and such, as well as creative envelope addressing. For a few months, I created a new drawing every couple of weeks on our kitchen whiteboard (whiteboards are nice because it's easy to change and fix mistakes), but I've been a slacker and haven't updated the board in a while. It's definitely overdue, as the current doodle says "fun in the sun" (along with some messages my sisters left when they were at the house while we were away) which no longer applies, as it's feeling very much like fall lately. I'm going to have to sketch up some ideas, hopefully I can find some inspiration.
I also consider updating parts of our house a hobby, but it can be quite an expensive one, so those projects are usually few and far between. Right now, I have a few things that need to be completed - the coat hooks to finish our front entry, a new towel hanger for the downstairs bathroom, putting the final coat of paint on the trim in our garage entry, painting the garage entry ... I'm hoping to get the coat hooks and towel hanger done soon, the other projects probably will have to continue to wait.
One hobby that I always make time for is listening to music (yes, that's totally a hobby). Most days, when I'm not working, I spend more time with my phone playing a Spotify or Pandora playlist than I do watching TV. It's the easiest way to manipulate my mood - if I wake up feeling like crap, I play songs that perk me up; if I need to be productive, I turn the music up loud so I can dance around like an idiot while I get things done.
I've been noticing, especially now that we're in the middle of this IVF cycle, that I haven't been paying attention to the things I enjoy doing, so this has been a great reminder to step away from Dr. Google and the infertility forums and work on fun projects.
I'm not the best at keeping up with hobbies, mostly because I've really been neglecting them lately - I need to fix that, pronto. This year, I started a Project Life photo album - I try to take a few fun photos throughout the week to document the different things we've done, then I journal about them and stick them in a pocket scrapbook. Or I would if I actually got my pictures printed frequently. I'm currently a few months behind (it's really bad, I need to set aside a few days to just work on things), but I keep up with planning pages to remind myself what we've done during the week, and I add the photos I plan to use in the album to an app called Collect, and that helps me stay somewhat on track.
I also really love to draw, and have been practicing hand lettering quite a bit. I love the creative chalkboards that people make with quotes and such, as well as creative envelope addressing. For a few months, I created a new drawing every couple of weeks on our kitchen whiteboard (whiteboards are nice because it's easy to change and fix mistakes), but I've been a slacker and haven't updated the board in a while. It's definitely overdue, as the current doodle says "fun in the sun" (along with some messages my sisters left when they were at the house while we were away) which no longer applies, as it's feeling very much like fall lately. I'm going to have to sketch up some ideas, hopefully I can find some inspiration.
I also consider updating parts of our house a hobby, but it can be quite an expensive one, so those projects are usually few and far between. Right now, I have a few things that need to be completed - the coat hooks to finish our front entry, a new towel hanger for the downstairs bathroom, putting the final coat of paint on the trim in our garage entry, painting the garage entry ... I'm hoping to get the coat hooks and towel hanger done soon, the other projects probably will have to continue to wait.
One hobby that I always make time for is listening to music (yes, that's totally a hobby). Most days, when I'm not working, I spend more time with my phone playing a Spotify or Pandora playlist than I do watching TV. It's the easiest way to manipulate my mood - if I wake up feeling like crap, I play songs that perk me up; if I need to be productive, I turn the music up loud so I can dance around like an idiot while I get things done.
I've been noticing, especially now that we're in the middle of this IVF cycle, that I haven't been paying attention to the things I enjoy doing, so this has been a great reminder to step away from Dr. Google and the infertility forums and work on fun projects.
12 September 2014
Blog Challenge Day 12: #IFproblems
Even after nearly 3 years of trying to conceive, I haven't had any really embarrassing or funny stories yet. I'm almost a little disappointed, honestly.
I do know that we'll have a semi-entertaining scenario soon. In a couple of weeks, we have a wedding to attend - just in time for me to start PIO shots. I'm hoping B and I will be able to comandeer a bathroom so we can have some privacy while I get the shot. If all else fails, I suppose we could do it in the car, but that's definitely a last resort situation. I'm sure everything will work out fine and it will end up being a non-event. I should feel thankful that nothing has gone awry so far, but it just feels wrong to not have any embarrassing stories to share.
I do know that we'll have a semi-entertaining scenario soon. In a couple of weeks, we have a wedding to attend - just in time for me to start PIO shots. I'm hoping B and I will be able to comandeer a bathroom so we can have some privacy while I get the shot. If all else fails, I suppose we could do it in the car, but that's definitely a last resort situation. I'm sure everything will work out fine and it will end up being a non-event. I should feel thankful that nothing has gone awry so far, but it just feels wrong to not have any embarrassing stories to share.
11 September 2014
Blog Challenge Day 11: Getting Organized
When we first decided when we planned to start the IVF process, I started doing my research on the process, including tips and tricks to make the process easier. Almost everything I read emphasized the importance of being organized. I am not an organized person by nature (although I wish I was), so it's easier said than done for me.
There were a couple ideas on Pinterest that caught my eye, but I wasn't ambitious enough for them (which is to say I would have had to spend money, and I'm broke). I have seen The IVF Journal pinned on nearly every infertility board I follow. I think it sounds like a great idea - a binder/book full of useful informations and helpful forms to help keep everything organized - genius. I'm not going to buy that though. For my papers, I stuck to the system that has worked for me in the past - an envelope folder (from Target's Dollar Spot) with 5 sections. It's not the most creative, but it gets the job done.
My favorite med storage solution that I came across was the use of an over the door shoe organizer. Syringes and meds go into labeled pockets and the organizer is hung over your bathroom door - so clever. Unfortunately, it's not the most practical for me because I frequently babysit, and I use our downstairs bathroom for injections - it probably wouldn't be the best idea to have a shoe organizer fil of syringes hanging on the door of the bathroom that children use. For my meds, I stuck everything for each different medication into it's own separate baggie. Honestly, the pharmacy gave me a head start on that by sending most of the meds that way, I just shuffled a few things to consolidated bags. Then the separate bags were stuck in a clear plastic shoe box storage container thing and shoved it in the cabinet above our sink. This is also not a unique or creative solution, and really, it doesn't even work that well. I need to rearrange things so they fit better in the container or figure out another way to store all of my drugs and syringes. I'm open to suggestions for better organization :).
There were a couple ideas on Pinterest that caught my eye, but I wasn't ambitious enough for them (which is to say I would have had to spend money, and I'm broke). I have seen The IVF Journal pinned on nearly every infertility board I follow. I think it sounds like a great idea - a binder/book full of useful informations and helpful forms to help keep everything organized - genius. I'm not going to buy that though. For my papers, I stuck to the system that has worked for me in the past - an envelope folder (from Target's Dollar Spot) with 5 sections. It's not the most creative, but it gets the job done.
My favorite med storage solution that I came across was the use of an over the door shoe organizer. Syringes and meds go into labeled pockets and the organizer is hung over your bathroom door - so clever. Unfortunately, it's not the most practical for me because I frequently babysit, and I use our downstairs bathroom for injections - it probably wouldn't be the best idea to have a shoe organizer fil of syringes hanging on the door of the bathroom that children use. For my meds, I stuck everything for each different medication into it's own separate baggie. Honestly, the pharmacy gave me a head start on that by sending most of the meds that way, I just shuffled a few things to consolidated bags. Then the separate bags were stuck in a clear plastic shoe box storage container thing and shoved it in the cabinet above our sink. This is also not a unique or creative solution, and really, it doesn't even work that well. I need to rearrange things so they fit better in the container or figure out another way to store all of my drugs and syringes. I'm open to suggestions for better organization :).
10 September 2014
Blog Challenge Day 10: Something Positive
This Sunday, B and I are going to Chicago for Jason Segel's book signing. I'm pretty pumped about that.
Kim at Salt in the Womb wrote a hilarious post about the more attractive side effects that we wish would accompany fertility drugs. This post had me literally laughing out loud this afternoon. Check it out and dream about the more pleasant side effects that we wish were real. :)
Kim at Salt in the Womb wrote a hilarious post about the more attractive side effects that we wish would accompany fertility drugs. This post had me literally laughing out loud this afternoon. Check it out and dream about the more pleasant side effects that we wish were real. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)