homealone

We had been planning to buy a new car to replace the gas guzzler BMW M3. I liked that car, but it was hard for me to drive because I am pretty short and it was hard for me to see the front and back (being a sports car, it has bucket seats). Also, it’s a guzzler and only takes premium gas. And it was getting too expensive just to keep it. It’s my husband’s car and he’s had it for a while, but he rarely uses it anymore because of the above reasons. While trying to sell the car, we’ve also been looking for hybrid cars. Being environmentally aware, we have decided that the next cars we’re going to get to replace our cars would have to be a hybrid car. So, whenever we had to rent a car for road trips, we made sure we rented a hybrid car. First we tried the Toyota Prius. I hated that car because of the looks but I started liking it when we rented it. Drove just like my honda. It fit me just fine. The husband, on the other hand, liked the technology so much that he actually decided that was the car we were gonna get. Until he drove car himself. It was way too small and uncomfortable for him. He is 6′4″. So Prius was out. The next time, we rented a Honda Civic hybrid. Since we have another civic, there was no problem for us size-wise. But it was a civic. We already have one. We needed a little more room. So, last christmas, we rented a Camry Hybrid. Camry’s don’t usually get rented out, and they were about to give us a Nissan Altima hybrid. We asked the rental person to look around to check maybe there’s one in the lot and we got so lucky because they found one that was just about to be delivered on the lot! We got a brand new Camry to drive with only 20 mi on it, with the stickers still on and everything! So, we drove the car and liked it very much. Last night, after two days of negotiations over the phone and via email, we got the best deal (a few hundred dollars below invoice!) for the car we wanted and so went and just bought it.

So after a long break, we’re back home and back at work. Real work isn’t that bad, it’s actually very quiet these days. I guess that’s kinda bad in a way, meaning, we’re not getting customers! It’s kind of good for me because I get to work on my own personal stuff. We took down our christmas tree, which was seen by just a few friends and family. I finished putting away the christmas decorations, all the gifts, etc. But it feels like it’s never ending chores right now and on top of that, I don’t feel well. I got sick as soon as we got home (stuffy nose, sore throat). I have been taking Sudafe for and that seemed to help a bit. I feel good the whole day but then I crash at the end of the day. I guess it’s because of the nonstop work. I want another long break! We’re thinking of going away again for the the New Year, but as usual, we haven’t made any plans this late in the game. Oh well. It’s probably good to stay in and welcome the new year in our “new” house. 

I finally got that HSG procedure done and Oily Shit that effin hurt! It only hurt during the procedure - which probably took about 3 mins? Anyway, it was painful procedure but my endocrinologist said that pain of labor is about 10x that! Yikes! Anyway, we got the results, we had the doctor meeting and all that. Everything was normal except for one - my progesterone level was really low. Let’s say they wanted to see equal or greater than 10, I only had 4.5. I do not know the standard of measure that they used but that’s what the results said. And that was a little disappointing. The next thing to do for us is to take Clomid, a fertility drug that induces ovulation. As I understood it, the doctor said that clomid lets your brain know that youre ready for reproduction and so it tells your brain to produce eggs and prepare your body for pregnancy. Did I get it right? If i got it right, then I am a little confused about the whole thing. On all the tests performed, including the vaginal ultrasound, it seemed to me that I had no problem ovulating, and the ultrasound even showed then that I had two eggs ready to pop. Why then would I want meds to produce more eggs when all I need is something that will make my body be ready for the egg, assuming we got them fertilized, to nest to. And if I the level of progesterone is the problem, can’t I just get progesterone supplements (if that exists) instead of something that will make more eggs? We just started using an ovulation kit this month to see if i ovulate and it showed that I did…  I don’t know, this whole process is starting to confuse me and frustrate me so I think this will be the last ‘pregnancy update’ for now.

Last week we went to see an endocrinologist to check if there’s anything wrong with me, why we haven’t been able to conceive yet. She was really nice and very friendly, I felt really comfortable. They did most of what I assumed was standard stuff - a complete physical, a pap, and even an ultrasound! Everything checked out good. Whew. But it’s not over yet-  this weekend I need to practically “donate” blood. They have to do about eight blood tests! What sorts of stuff can you tell about somebody just by looking in their blood? A lot apparently! They told me they could even tell how  many eggs I have left! HUUUHHHH???  Oh well, Im sure they were telling the truth :). I’m getting tired of waiting but I’m still really hopeful.

Barack Obama WON! (ok, so this is a little too late of a news, sorry for that). That’s one less thing I need to worry about for now - a good president in the white house. I’m sure that McCain was a good man in person, we just don’t need to worry about him having the same views as Bush, and certainly we don’t need to worry about him dying and then having Palin as the new president. Imagine the President of the World’s Most Powerful nation didn’t know the Africa is a continent.  Or do not imagine it because there’s no need. Thank goodness!  So for now I am taking a deep breath that there’s hope for us. Maybe a new leadership is what we all need to get us out of this mess. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to worry so much that now I can really think about conceiving and not worrying about the world that I would be bringing the baby in to… Let’s have  a good weekend. I’ll start posting daily stuff again next week.

So tomorrow is election day 2008. Time for all of us (if you haven’t done so) to go out and exercise our right, acknowledge this wonderful privilege of being able to vote for who we think would be the better of the two contenders. In my previous posts, you saw who I would most likely vote for. Let’s make that VOTED for. That’s right. I already made my mind, filled out the ballot and mailed it last week. I can’t wait for the results. This country really needs change that they can believe in. You may not trust the new guy on hundred percent, but at least give him a chance. He’s already better than the current one.

I feel like we’ve been doing the best we can to conceive but it’s just not happening. The previous month was spent waking up a little earlier and taking BBT or basal  body temperature. Basically, your resting state temperature. Experts said that doing so would increase the chances of conceiving by taking note of when the woman’s bbt takes a dip and comes back up. Ovulation is likely to occur when the temperature takes this slight dip before it shoots up again. I thought we were doing everything right, but apparently wasn’t enough as we were still unsuccessful this month. I think it’s time to call the healthcare provider and get me tested. This is getting very frustrating.

Since we’ve been trying to become pregnant, I have been very careful about the things I could take, eat, apply to my skin as there seems to be a great concern about how these products might affect the baby or unborn baby. In my case, the yet-to-be-conceived-baby. I went to my dermatologist the other day to have this what seems to be like an acne break-out checked up. He immediately wrote 3 Rx’s, and made it sound like those would be the cure for my issues. And then he asked, if i had any questions so I asked him if this would affect my planned pregnancy? And then he said to ask my OB/GYN, but he suggested not to use any of it til after the baby’s born and done breastfeeding (if i was to breast-feed). Great. Can’t use that, so Im stuck with zits?! Geez! 

Today I am having sneeze-fits. Allergy attack! I was about to use my nasal spray when I thought of checking the lit that came with the Rx spray. Again it said, “If you’re pregnant or planning to get pregnant,  consult your doctor before using this product”.  Ayayay! So now I have runny nose and zits. The things we do for love.

Last night I looked at my husband and I noticed that he was  looking a little glum and the first thing that came to mind was “uh oh, did he get fired?! We can’t afford to get fired, we just got the house!” No, he didn’t get fired. He’s too good of an employee and a very valuable one, too (thank goodness!) but he did say that because of the state of the GLOBAL economy, there’s a big chance that his company is going to start laying off people next year. Eeks! That won’t be good! But it seems inevitable, and that’s the sad fact. This state of the world’s economy is just bringing everybody and everything down. We personally don’t have a reason for it YET but we’re starting to get depressed. Yeah, depression! It seems like that word’s all over lately.

I wish the change of the US administration would give instant relief to everybody and we really need CHANGE.  Get it?

Hindu and Buddhist priests appointed a living goddess in Nepal on Tuesday.Wrapped in red silk and adorned with red flowers in her hair, Matani Shakya received approval from the priests and President Ram Baran Yadav in a centuries-old tradition with deep ties to Nepal’s monarchy, which was abolished in May.

The new “kumari” or living goddess, was carried from her parents’ home to an ancient palatial temple in the heart of the Nepali capital, Katmandu, where she will live until she reaches puberty and loses her divine status.

She will be worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists as an incarnation of the powerful Hindu deity Taleju.

A panel of judges conducted a series of ancient ceremonies to select the goddess from several 2- to 4-year-old girls who are all members of the impoverished Shakya goldsmith caste.

The judges read the candidates’ horoscopes and check each one for physical imperfections. The living goddess must have perfect hair, eyes, teeth and skin with no scars, and should not be afraid of the dark.

As a final test, the living goddess must spend a night alone in a room among the heads of ritually slaughtered goats and buffaloes without showing fear.

Having passed all the tests, the child will stay in almost complete isolation at the temple, and will be allowed to return to her family only at the onset of menstruation when a new goddess will be named to replace her.

“I feel a bit sad, but since my child has become a living goddess I feel proud,” said her father Pratap Man Shakya.

During her time as a goddess, she will always wear red, pin up her hair in topknots, and have a “third eye” painted on her forehead.

Devotees touch the girls’ feet with their foreheads, the highest sign of respect among Hindus in Nepal. During religious festivals the goddesses are wheeled around on a chariot pulled by devotees.

Critics say the tradition violates both international and Nepalese laws on child rights. The girls often struggle to readjust to normal lives after they return home.

Nepalese folklore holds that men who marry a former kumari will die young, and so many girls remain unmarried and face a life of hardship.  -source.

 If I were the parent of a child who was chosen to be a goddess, i think I would have a really hard time about letting go of my child. Imagine, you wont see her for years and years, and when she gets out of isolation, she’s maladjusted, and nobody would want to marry her because of fear that they will die soon after! Poor child. If my child had the potential to be the next goddess, I think i will just let her scratch anything that itches, maybe she’ll develop a small scar that would disqualify her from being chosen.