As some of you frequent visitors may have noticed, I haven't posted very often lately. I guess I am at a standstill-a little unsure what to do with my blog right now. When I started it in 2004 it was a way to keep friends and family near and far updated on my life. Pretty soon I had to make it private as students found it and knew a little too much about me. Once it was private I was even more carefree with the information I shared because I knew exactly who was reading it. After I went public with our struggle with infertility on my blog I was very honest sharing about what was going on physically, emotionally, etc. Recently, I decided to make my blog public again because I have found so many other great blogs out there I can relate to that discuss everything from adoption to infertility. If I can help someone else feel like they aren't alone in their journey, I want to
However, now that so many people have the ability to read my blog (strangers, close friends, acquaintances) I am nervous about what to post. I am aware that if I post about something that is hard, like feelings related to infertility, it might make people uncomfortable. I also have become more aware in the past few months that some people don't want to hear about the hard stuff. Walking "in the valleys" with someone can get hard and their patience runs out. Although everyone in my life knows what we are going through right now, they often may not know (or really want to know) the emotions surrounding it aren't always pretty and wrapped in a nice little bow.
So...do I write generically about what's going on or share whatever I feel comfortable at the risk of alienating people? That's what I've been thinking about lately...
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Monday, January 03, 2011
Christmas and the end of 2010
We spent Christmas back "home" in Arizona. We were very fortunate to have wonderful weather in Scottsdale. In fact, on Christmas day it was a sunny 75 degrees! What a change from cold, rainy Seattle gray skies. We were busy pretty much every day: running errands (I don't even think I can count the number of times we went to Costco and Walmart :)), catching up with friends, and seeing family. My Mom's birthday is the 26th, and I felt fortunate being able to celebrate alongside her for her big day, too.
Most of our gifts to each other (and from others) had to fit inside of a suitcase. This can be a challenge, but overall we were successful. As Jon tweeted, this ended up being a Blu-ray Christmas for us. I got Jon a Blu-ray player this year, but of course I couldn't pack it to Phoenix and back. Instead I got him the Avatar blu-ray, so he successfully inferred there was a new player waiting for him at home. Jon surprised me with a new Coach purse I had been eyeing for some time at the Factory Store. Some other gifts I received from family included the complete Les Miserables musical CD, a new bluetooth headset (hopefully it will cut down on the noisy freeways that are in Seattle), some new ASU apparel, 4 in 1 cake dome, aluminum water bottle, and a Mom-Daughter day where we got a massage and pedicure. Fun! The most outrageous gift was this awesome travel pillow! I know it looks crazy, and when Jon blew it up on the plane I thought it looked pretty funny, but I actually fell asleep on a plane (an amazing feat) with it! For that it is a definite keeper!
Jon also met our renters for the first time, and we are so thankful that these two are living in our home. They seem to be doing a great job taking care of the house-everything looked squeaky clean and we both got good vibes from them. It has been such a blessing to have one less thing to worry about, and we hope they will renew the lease at the end of May. Finding *new* renters (let alone quality renters) from 1300 miles away is a burden for us and my parents, who end up showing the property.
It's so hard to believe that 2010 is over. It seems like only yesterday I was reflecting on 2009 and looking towards the year ahead. Although this year was still very hard in its own way (failed fertility treatments jump to mind), we also had some great experiences as a couple visiting Portland, Victoria, the Olympic Games in Vancouver, and seeing family in three different states! I can also safely say I finally felt more at home in Seattle, learning to appreciate the things living in the Pacific Northwest brings like seasons, snow capped mountain peaks in the distance, blue lakes (I drive across one each day!), and great friends through our church.
Also, this year we decided how we were going to resolve our infertility-through adoption in South Korea! We can't wait to "meet" our child through pictures this year, and are already looking towards 2012 when we can finally hold him in our arms. I am doing most updates regarding our adoption on our blog, so be sure to check there if you want to stay on top of that. Eventually we might close that down and put everything here. Either way, one will become a protected blog.
I hope you all had a great New Year, and I look forward to seeing what this year brings!
Most of our gifts to each other (and from others) had to fit inside of a suitcase. This can be a challenge, but overall we were successful. As Jon tweeted, this ended up being a Blu-ray Christmas for us. I got Jon a Blu-ray player this year, but of course I couldn't pack it to Phoenix and back. Instead I got him the Avatar blu-ray, so he successfully inferred there was a new player waiting for him at home. Jon surprised me with a new Coach purse I had been eyeing for some time at the Factory Store. Some other gifts I received from family included the complete Les Miserables musical CD, a new bluetooth headset (hopefully it will cut down on the noisy freeways that are in Seattle), some new ASU apparel, 4 in 1 cake dome, aluminum water bottle, and a Mom-Daughter day where we got a massage and pedicure. Fun! The most outrageous gift was this awesome travel pillow! I know it looks crazy, and when Jon blew it up on the plane I thought it looked pretty funny, but I actually fell asleep on a plane (an amazing feat) with it! For that it is a definite keeper!
Jon also met our renters for the first time, and we are so thankful that these two are living in our home. They seem to be doing a great job taking care of the house-everything looked squeaky clean and we both got good vibes from them. It has been such a blessing to have one less thing to worry about, and we hope they will renew the lease at the end of May. Finding *new* renters (let alone quality renters) from 1300 miles away is a burden for us and my parents, who end up showing the property.
It's so hard to believe that 2010 is over. It seems like only yesterday I was reflecting on 2009 and looking towards the year ahead. Although this year was still very hard in its own way (failed fertility treatments jump to mind), we also had some great experiences as a couple visiting Portland, Victoria, the Olympic Games in Vancouver, and seeing family in three different states! I can also safely say I finally felt more at home in Seattle, learning to appreciate the things living in the Pacific Northwest brings like seasons, snow capped mountain peaks in the distance, blue lakes (I drive across one each day!), and great friends through our church.
Also, this year we decided how we were going to resolve our infertility-through adoption in South Korea! We can't wait to "meet" our child through pictures this year, and are already looking towards 2012 when we can finally hold him in our arms. I am doing most updates regarding our adoption on our blog, so be sure to check there if you want to stay on top of that. Eventually we might close that down and put everything here. Either way, one will become a protected blog.
I hope you all had a great New Year, and I look forward to seeing what this year brings!