Summer Days Drifting Away

I've been an atrocious blogger this summer. I think to myself, "Amanda, you should blog," but then I think, "ehh, nothing to say and I just blogged a few days ago." I then look on Blogger, and lo and behold, I blogged three weeks ago. Whoopsie! But then I remind myself that I have nothing to say and I move on with my day. That's been the pattern for the last few months. I'm blaming it on the following:

1. ZERO activity in infertility treatments
2. LOTS of time spent working on the house
3. work has been INSANE this summer
4. nothing worth saying

When you work full time (and you're not a teacher) and you're not a mom, summer is REALLY unglamorous. The days look like every other day of the year with even less holidays (only ONE holiday, really???)... it's just a lot hotter. Add in the boredom of zero vacations and well, believe me, you're grateful I didn't blog a lot.

But, the good news is that fall is just around the corner, or so I keep telling myself. Kids actually started back to school in Georgia today! UGA starts back up two weeks from Monday. It has even felt a bit like fall lately... I'm not necessarily hoping for a bitter winter, but I'm okay if summer ends and fall starts like, oh I don't know, tomorrow. I'm over the heat and the humidity and high power bills. I could really use a good 3-4 months of needing no AC or heat... my bank account would really appreciate it.

Plus fall brings an assortment of other good things that I'm looking forward to, such as football (we got tickets this year), our annual camping trip with the Fentons, and I'm also hoping to get a few photo sessions in the fall... it's been waaayyyyy too long. I would typically mention all the birthdays (my mom, myself and my husband are all within nine days), but I can already feel the mid-life crisis brewing. This is NOT going to be a good birthday for me, so I may just sleep through that day... it feels like the mature thing to do.

In other news, despite all of my budget woes and big ticket items like HVAC units, it appears that we're going to be okay. I mean, it's not like we've got savings or anything... I'm not even sure what that feels like. Retirement... what's that? 401K... in our dreams. We're still in debt, but it's just not as bad as I thought. Thanks to a couple of raises, and some generous family, we might be debt free (I use that term so loosely) in the next couple of months. I can't even explain what a GIANT answer to prayer this is. Once we finally pay off our credit cards, I have some big news... that's all I'm saying for now. I hope you like surprises and anticipation and all of that... if not, forget I said anything.

The only other thing I've got for you is a request to go show some love to my friends! Jessah is pregnant after SIX YEARS and an incredibly long, bumpy journey, so go send her love and hugs and warm wishes and all of that stuff. And my last request: say a prayer and think positive thoughts for my friend, Erika. She's in the process of adopting again after a heartbreaking failed adoption last fall. The baby is due on Monday and I, for one, am desperate for this to work. It's been six years for Erika as well... it's time people, it's time. That's really about all I have for you, today. And really, I'm patting myself on the back for even getting this together. Much love people, much love.

What the Future Holds

Sorry for the long break. The radio silence was intended for a day, not a week plus. I did actually honor it, by the way, and it was sadly pretty difficult. I've been back checking in on blogs and such since then, but I just don't have much to say. There's not a whole heck of a lot going on in my daily life, and I recently feel at a loss as to what to say to others. Bad blogger. Sorry.

We're dealing with lots and lots of unknowns right now. It's pretty hard to plan or dream or do much of anything. Sam has begun the application process. This has been the long awaited point for us that we have looked to with so much anticipation for so long. Now that it's here, I'm full of anxiety. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited. I'm sooooooo ready for that first pay check, but in the mean time, the unknown aspects are kind of scary.

The most likely scenario will be that Sam will find employment somewhere within driving distance of Athens. In which case, we will find a super duper cheap rental in the Athens area (our desired living area in Georgia). I'm currently applying to just about everything in the Athens area myself on the assumption that this is where we will land.

In this scenario, we will stay at RBA with Dr. Slayden. The only foreseeable reason we would leave RBA is if we simply cannot get the funds together for IVF. Sadly, RBA is like THE most expensive. clinic in the metro Atlanta area. There are two other clinics that are significantly cheaper. The first is the Servy-Massey Fertility Institute, which is promising all inclusive IVF for $6,975. The only thing not included in that price is medication. ICSI and assisted hatching aren't even an additional cost. Pretty sweet. But we didn't have an awesome consult as you may remember. The second cheaper option is Georgia Reproductive Specialists which is now doing IVF for $9,500, which is still significantly less than RBA and ACRM. We're keeping both of those in the back of our minds just in case.

Anyway, back to the unknown. We've also decided to throw some applications out west. Rumor has it that PT's (and doctors in general) make more out west. I'm not sure if that's the case for where we would be interested in living, but we will see. If you've been a long time follower of this blog, you might remember that I have a mild love affair with Colorado. It's pretty much the greatest state in my opinion. For a brief period, Sam and I were pretty fired up about moving out to Colorado. And then life started to happen. It started to look less and less feasible. We began to plan for life in Athens and shelve the Colorado dream. However, infertility, believe it or not, has brought Colorado back into the picture. Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine has the highest success rates of any clinic I've found (props CO). CCRM has come up over and over in the last several months, until the point I just couldn't ignore the feelings I had. Sam and I discussed it, and we've decided to throw some applications that way. We see it like this: 1- it doesn't cost us anything to apply. Just a few bucks for postage out there. 2- Colorado is AWESOME, so moving there wouldn't be a loss. 3- if we're going to pay a zillion dollars for IVF, we might as well go to the best (if we can).

If moving to Colorado doesn't work out, we won't shed any tears. We are fully satisfied with the prospect of living our little life in Athens, the greatest college town in the world. It's a pretty sweet deal to be honest. Southern hospitality, awesome food, beautiful surroundings, excellent social life opportunities, a fantastic church home.... Plus six Saturdays a year the city bleeds red and black as the Dawgs host some team at Sanford Stadium and serve them up as puppy chow. BUT, if Colorado does work out with an awesome job opportunity for Sam, we are prepared to view it as a sign that our path leads west in the hopes of being a one hit wonder in this hole IVF insanity.

With all of that being said, the future is pretty unstable. We could be looking for a rental home in Athens in the next few weeks, OR we could potentially be moving across the country in a few months. That is, of course, assuming that we have a job opportunity at all in the next few months. We are pretty confident that Sam will find employment. However, nothing is certain, as we have learned time and time again over the last few years.

What I Learned from the Volunteers

WOW! What a freaking game! The Dawgs almost gave me a heart attack more than once. But we eeked out the victory, so I am thankful for some perseverance to "Finish the Drill".

It was a WILD game for everyone, but particularly interesting for Sam and I as we were on the fringes of the Tennessee visitor's section. I think we were actually technically in the visitor's section, but there were plenty of Georgia fans behind us and around us. That is the closest I have ever sat to the opposing team's  fans. If you win, it's pretty cool, I guess, but if you're down, you feel like you're drowning in a sea of orange. And I HATE orange.

But, I did gleam some valuable information from the Volunteers.

• The Tennessee Offensive Line is SICK! I don't know if it's size, strength, determination, or what but these guys were amazing. I think Bray had about 10 seconds (felt like a minute) to throw every stinking time. 

• This is NOT their mascot:

And neither is this:

                                                   

This is the Volunteer:

                                   

Confused? Me too. According to the Tennessee sports website, they have two mascots (reminiscent of Auburn anyone?). They have the Volunteer and Smokey. Further research shows that this Daniel Boone type character is the true "Vol" while the pooch is his faithful hunting sidekick, but he's cuter so it's obvious why they use him more!

Further confusion comes upon finding out that the Volunteer is so named because he signs up for war frequently. So, shouldn't he be a man in uniform? What's up with the suede jumper and the raccoon hat?

• Every shade of Orange is permissible. I mean it. Peach, tangerine, coral, burnt orange, salmon, neon orange… You name it, they wear it. I guess it's nice to have some freedom in your wardrobe, especially if you're color is orange (gross), but I'm a big fan of continuity.
• I'm so thankful that these currently do not exist in Red & Black.

• The Tennessee band needs to learn a new song. "Rocky Top" is their go to song for EVERYTHING! I'm all for tradition, and it is a catchy tune that's easy to sing along with, but seriously, your band is more talented than that!
• And lastly, don't ever, EVER, doubt the Tennessee game at Sanford Stadium. Even when one team is down, having a rough year, or totally rocking, it's not a game to miss. So show up EVERY TIME GEORGIA! Geez!