Answer Me This!

I have been yearning to join Kendra's "Answer Me This" linkup, but it hasn't ever worked for me...until now.  This week's questions and my schedule finally hit it off, so here we are!

1. What's your favorite room in the house?
Our bedroom.  A little birdy once told me "nothing good happens with a television in the bedroom," and I'd have to say that birdy was indeed a wise one.  We don't have a TV in ours, so the bedroom is a quiet space away from all the distractions of life.  It's probably the only room in the house with photos displayed, which makes for a cozy atmosphere.  I love how I get to leave everything behind and have sweet conversations every night before bed, and wake up to a warm kiss every morning.  It's a "goodnight, I love you"..."good morning, I love you"...kind of space.

2. Do you subscribe to any magazines or other periodicals?
Not actively.  I receive regular publications via mail from the Child Life Council, the Diocese of Shreveport, Louisiana Baptist Children's Home,  and boring stuff like insurance companies.  Fun (unrelated) fact:  I started collecting bulletins from churches I attend.  It's like a scrapbook of places I've traveled - one I hope will become quite thick over the years.  

4 states pictured, though there were many more before I started collecting. 

3. How do you feel about the sign of peace in Mass?  Enriching?  Awkward?  Overdone?  Just right?  Some combination of the above?
Awkward is an understatement.  Who do I turn to first (husband, duh) - left, right, front, back?  Then, GROSS.  What if the person behind me just sneezed?  What if I picked a scab on my arm during the homily?  ...After Mass...Move out the way people, I need my hand sanitizer!

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4. What is your least favorite sound?
Hands down - ALARM CLOCKS!!  I cannot stand them!!!  How do I wake up, you ask?  My phone alarm is set to vibrate and you can bet the second it goes off I'm pressing the button to silence it.  Don't even get me started on all those times I'm stuck in a room with other people who sleep through their alarms!

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5. What was your favorite TV show (or shows) growing up?
Full House!!  Mary-Kate and Ashley were my BFFs, of course!  (Okay, wishful thinking.)  Really though, anything on TGIF...Boy Meets World, Saved By the Bell, Step By Step, etc.  Side note:  Have you been watching Girl Meets World?  We have...it's the bomb diggity.  You should check it out.

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6. What are your favorite TV shows now?
Honestly...pretty much anything on TLC.  I'm a sucker for 19 Kids and Counting, Sister Wives, The Little Couple, Breaking Amish, Four Weddings, and Dance Moms (ok, I know that's on Lifetime but it may as well be on the TLC lineup).  Hate me if you want to, but I have seen all but one of the first season of Orange is the New Black.

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Together, Alex and I are watching Big Brother, Duck Dynasty, and the never-ending marathon of One Tree Hill (9 seasons takes forever).  We started watching House of Cards but it's on the back-burner until we get through "Trees."  I'm convinced that one day we'll get around to watching L.O.S.T., as well.

...Okay we watch way too much TV...we really need to make some friends (or babies, that works too).

Hey, Jen and Amy...tag - you're it!  Play along and add your post to Kendra's list before the week is out!

Have a great one, folks.
-Lauren

Happily Ever Holland

I should probably be doing something actually productive, but it's Friday afternoon and I have looong ago "checked out."  So instead I am here, itching to share more about the newest Mrs. Holland and the fabulous weekend Alex and I shared celebrating her big day.  And just in case you want to check things out for yourself, search #happilyeverholland on all major social media platforms!

About a week before our second trip to North Carolina, I became especially excited about the wedding festivities.  I started trying out hairstyle tutorials (courtesy of Kate at The Small Things Blog), I finally decided on one of the six pairs of shoes I'd purchased from Zappo's, and I went ahead and applied the Seascape Jamberry nail wraps on my tosies.  The excitement was almost too much to handle!

The day of the trip, Alex and I were thrilled to be flying together, for only the second time ever.  (Seeing as how plane trips were a regular part of visiting one another during our two years of dating, that's kind of a big deal).  The only hiccup we worried about was that tiny little layover in Atlanta...you know, the airport that has its own zip code.  Thirty-six minutes was nerve wracking when we purchased the tickets, but with a delayed arrival, it was even more scary.  But hey, we busted booty and made it!  No missing the rehearsal/dinner for these kids!

A few of us girls stayed overnight with Kara on Friday night for her last slumber party as a single woman. Little did we know, "sleepover" was code for "manual labor."  Yeah, four of us girls and two (un)lucky guys got stuck tying ribbons on programs while the happy couple snuck away to "practice their wedding dance."  Mhm...what were you really doing back there, kids? ;-)

The big day was lots of fun... Of course, Kara was a beautiful bride...

 Kara's brother, Josh, crammed 6 bridesmaids into his Prius...like a Toyota commercial or something.

Hannah's hiding in there, somewhere.

The decor was super cute...

Kara officially kicked Miller to the curb!

And everyone had a GREAT time!

This photo is too much awesomness to handle.
(Credit to Josh's selfie skills.)

These gorgeous sunflowers even made it back to Monroe in one piece (Seascape Jams included).

We had a great time and were so honored to be a part of her special day.  So yeah....go to www.mrskaraholland.com to follow the newest Mrs. Holland as she shares her newlywed adventures of building a home and traveling the world (well, mostly just the States right now...but eventually!).  You won't regret it!

-Lauren

#18 Bloodwork (Part 2)

About four months ago, I wrote about biting the bullet and finally getting that appointment for having blood-work done and crossing #18 off my 20 in 14 list.  We were all left hanging when a series of test results ended with another waiting period as I scheduled an endocrinologist appointment for mid-July.  I wish I were back to say everything has been resolved since the last post, but as life goes, that has not come to fruition.

I will say I was thoroughly pleased with the endocrinologist, as she spent a full hour with me gathering my health history and investigating each potential avenue.  In this day and age, what doctor spends an hour with a patient?  Not many, that's for sure.

When I left the office, the plan was for another round of blood tests - 11 more, to be exact.  I scheduled a follow up appointment for September (2 months later, mind you), with the understanding that it could be rescheduled earlier or later depending on the results from tests.  I was also informed that additional tests may be completed before the follow-up, again depending on what resulted from those tests.

About a week after giving blood...ahem...8 vials for the 11 tests, I received a call with the results.  Once again, everything but my prolactin levels were normal.  This time, my prolactin count had more than doubled from 35 to 71.5.  Eek.  The nurse told me the doctor wanted to schedule an MRI.  ...A what?  Yes, an MRI.

Fast forward 10 days, which brings me to today - the day of said scheduled MRI.  A bit nervous, but prepared to go at it alone, I made arrangements to take care of some work business in Monroe around midday, had lunch with Alex at his office, and then proceeded to Admissions at St. Francis North.  Everything seemed to be going fine, until I was called to the back and right there in the hallway the MRI tech told me I couldn't have the procedure because I indicated on the check-in form that there's a possibility I could be pregnant.  *FACE PALM!*

I knew I shouldn't have written in "not that I know of" next to the question about whether I could be pregnant.  I mean heck, I wrote the day of my last cycle on the form...it hasn't even been a whole month!!  Of course, I backtracked and tried to explain that I wasn't actually pregnant, just that there was the potential for pregnancy since we don't use contraceptives.  Yeah, that didn't fly.

Round and round we went, but to no avail.  The staff insisted I PROVE I wasn't pregnant (how the heck does one do that mid-cycle?!?!) before they would do the MRI.  Fine.  I'll take your dumb blood test (that's inaccurate, I might add) and come back again on Friday for the stupid MRI.  I just better not have to fork over that darn co-pay again...

OH, and I also don't appreciate the tech saying I don't practice "safe sex" (referring to the reason for having to reschedule).  Everything about having sex with my husband is safe!  Okay? Thanks.  (And I'm not quite sure whether her comments about how she thinks what we're doing is "so great," were respectful or patronizing.  Gah.)

Um so, yeah.  That's where we stand.  I'm tired of dragging this out.  Emotions have worn me out, and I'm just ready for answers.

Unfortunately, there is a great chance that this is only the beginning.
-Lauren

Update:  Click here to read the next installment in this story.  

tl;dr (July 2014 Edition)

Once again, July stole my life away in the blink of an eye, and here we are with another edition of tl; dr thanks to Madame Jenna at Call Her Happy.  Read on to find out more.

The last week of June was quite the calm before the storm... I almost didn't know what to do with myself having a full week in the office for the first time in months.  Don't tell anyone but I spent a lot of time "Jamming" (working the Jamberry biz!) and likely even more time perusing Facebook while chatting with the husband.  

And then there was July.

July 1-2:  District Horse Show, 'nuff said.

July 3-5:  My parents convinced us to visit them for the holiday, even though we really just wanted to rest at home.  We ended up getting to visit with some good friends (including a former coworker and her husband whom I haven't seen in over a year and a half)...and who can argue with 20+ dozen boiled crabs fresh out of the marsh for dinner?  Not this girl.

The following week was spent scrambling to get things done before a couple of deadlines, and finally getting in to see the endocrinologist (more on that to come...eventually)....

July 11-19:  Alex and I drove 14 hours East to visit his parents in North Carolina.  While there, we spent a little less than 24 hours at the beach, I had a sleepover with one of my bridesmaids (whom I hadn't seen since the wedding 19 months ago), Alex showed me around the campus where he went to undergrad (UNCW), and he got to have lunch with an old friend.  We had some minor travel issues in each direction, but I'd say overall the trip was time well spent.  :)

July 21-24:  Almost as soon as we got home, Alex left for two days of meetings down in New Orleans.  A day later, I left for meetings in Baton Rouge.  As convenience goes, of course our travel overlapped so we had to take separate vehicles and were apart for 4 days.  At least there was (practically) someone home to take care of the animals and prep for our the quick turnaround that came the next weekend.

July 25-27:  Alex and I flew (together, for only the second time ever) to North Carolina for Kara's wedding weekend.  It was definitely a quick trip, but we had a great time meeting all of Kara's and Peyton's friends as I served as a bridesmaid for the festivities, and Alex chipped in with one of the other bridesmaid's boyfriend to be gophers for us all weekend.  I can't wait to share more about the big day (hopefully) in another post.

And then there was another week in the office as I ease back into the crazyiness that will soon be the start of another school year.

Because no modern blog is complete without photos...

My friend Megan and her husband from Little Rock moved to Lafayette!  Yay!!!

Toes in the water...Topsail Beach, NC

Yep, my vacation souviners were groceries from Trader Joe's.
Just call me Lame.

On our day trip to Wilmington, NC, we made our pilgrimage to several famous OTH sites!

The beautiful bride!

Next up, August!
-Lauren