Third times a charm, right?

Third times a charm, right?

That's a saying that I have heard for years, but this month I pray it is true as we prepare for our 3rd IUI. This month is different than the last 2 times.

It's more doctor visits, blood draws, ultrasounds, shots...and of course, more money. 

We joke that our future child(ren) will be born already in debt and will have to start at a young age to work this debt off. We might not be joking if we have to endure more expensive treatments in the coming months!

We went in on Wednesday, August 27th for a baseline ultrasound and to learn how to administer the shots will be doing this cycle. Anyone who knows me knows I pass out with around blood and needles, which is why going to the infertility doctor isn't one of my hobbies. I surprisingly did really good when the nurse explained everything to us and about 20 minutes and a couple thousand dollars later we were out the door!

(Thanks Indiana insurance for not covering fertility treatments!)

On Friday, August 29th, our meds arrived! My amazing neighbor, Robin, was so sweet to wait for them to arrive and put them in the refrigerator right away. I mentioned to her that she is basically babysitting our first born child so take extra care (LOL)

When we got everything out, it looked like this. 

Scary right?

Monday, September 1st, was our first injection. It has to be a good sign that it was LABOR Day, right?! After we had dinner and I had stalled enough, we got everything out and ready. I just wanted it done before I made it a bigger deal that it is (and I think Barry was in a hurry to finish his movie) and 5 seconds later and one, "Slow down!" It was over :) 

The medicine was straight out of the refrigerator and his nerves/excitement to poke me with a needle, caused him to push the medicine in super fast. Good news, it took about 1 second. Bad news, I may have yelled at him. (Sorry babe!)

 5 shots, 3 ultrasounds, and 2 blood draws later, we were scheduled for our IUI on Sunday, September 7th. Waking up a 7am to head to the fertility doctor wasn't super exciting for Barry and I, but we made the best of it. We were able to enjoy a quiet breakfast together at Le Peep in between appointments, which rarely happens. After the procedure, we went home and I relaxed for a couple hours as my amazing husband did ALL the laundry and made me lunch. 

 Now, we wait... a LONG two weeks before we know if we are finally starting our family after nearly two years of trying to conceive. Our hope is that this will be the final procedure we have to endure to achieve our first child. We would also like to avoid a reality TV show contract (Remember Jon and Kate Plus 8... yes, she did IUI with injectables!!)
All the thoughts, prayers, and kind words are very much appreciated! 

- Sarah 

"Trials are just difficult blessings"

Yesterday morning was tough. A LOT tougher than I expected. I had done my research, talked with friends who have been down this road, and had my list of questions ready for our fertility doctor. This past month we took a break from the medications, ultrasounds, and IUI process after our first two rounds left us no where closer to conceiving a baby. We were ready to discuss our next step with our doctor and see where this road would take us.

I knew what I wanted our next steps to be and they were exactly what the doctor recommended. Yet, as soon as he walked out of the office, I burst into tears. 

Overwhelming is an understatement when you know your best hope of conceiving a child is by way of self administered shots, several ultrasounds, blood work, and more. It's almost as though you have to bury the dream of conceiving "naturally."

 What is most frustrating is that we don't know why we aren't getting pregnant. 

We don't have a medical diagnosis, besides "unexplained infertility" which affects 10%-15% of couples. This diagnosis leaves us with just enough hope that maybe we will conceive without medical assistance, yet if the past 22 months have been any indication of the future,  a 4.5% chance each month isn't looking good. 

So, what's our game plan for this coming month?
We are taking things up a notch. 
Instead of a regular IUI, we are adding in injectables. 
Yes, like shots. Shots I'm supposed to give myself.
This was my reaction.

That and tears.. lots of tears.

Fear #1: Shots

Fear #2: Multiple ultrasounds...

(seeing an empty uterus is my favorite)

Fear # 3: Several Blood draws...

(don't let this picture fool you, I'm not a fan.)

Fear #4: This doesn't work... and we are out over $2,500

Fear #5: It does work... and I lose the baby, again.

No one ever imagines going through infertility. 

No one can relate to it until they have been down the road either. 

The vision of your husband holding your child for the first time...

 The sound of little feet running through the house...

  The longing to be a mother...

These are all dreams I have. 

I never thought I would have to struggle so hard to accomplish these milestones that many people take for granted.

 This is a disease I would never wish upon my worst enemy.

I want to thank you all for following our journey and all the prayers you are saying for us. 

It truly means the world to Barry and I. 

We can't wait to tell our future little bundle of joy how hard we worked to bring him/her into this world and how loved they are by so many people. 

Until next time... 

Sarah

Life is all about how you handle Plan B :)

It was a Monday afternoon. I was at work and counting down the hours til Barry and I would put an offer on a beautiful 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath home in Speedway...just about a mile from our current home. We were in the middle of our two week wait after our second IUI and would be able to take a test in less than 48 hours!  As much as I tried not to, I couldn't help but think, 

"What if everything is working out?" 

"What if we find out we are pregnant AND have a new home to move into?!"

I should have known better because less than 2 hours before I was heading home for the day, I knew our dream of starting a family wasn't happening this month.

To say I was devastated is an understatement. 

I went numb. 

I think I just stared at the wall in my office for who knows how long before sending my husband a message saying,

"I think I'm going to lose it." 
After his sweet attempt to tell me it's too soon and we still have a chance... I replied, 

"I just want to hide in a dark room and cry....I don't know how much of this I can handle."

We had discussed taking a break from fertility treatments if this cycle didn't work and I knew as I drove home that evening, with tears streaming down my face, that taking some time off was exactly what I needed. 

I had a flood of emotions run into my head on the way home and my poor husband took the brunt of it. I tried to pull it together before pulling into the driveway, but the emotions were too intense. We had gone from dreaming about our beautiful loft master suite just the night before to  me coming into our home an hour before we put an offer on a house and saying,

"Why are we buying this big house when we can't even fill the one we have now?"

I was upset. I was confused. I was hurting. It was the perfect storm of emotions coming down at the worse possible timing. We were getting ready to buy a beautiful new home- the home I dreamed we would raise our family in, yet here I was,

once again... not pregnant.

After Barry and I both admitted all of our fears and reservations about taking this leap of faith and moving into a larger home, we decided we wanted to continue with the process and now happily have an accepted offer and a FOR SALE sign in our yard :)

Shameless plug here :)

So, where do we go from here? 

What's our next step in the process of bringing us a little Baby Bear 2.0?

We honestly don't know. We hope and pray that a baby is in our future, but for the first time in my life, I'm starting to look at what life would look like without children. It's not what Barry and I want, but if it isn't in God's plans for us, he must have something pretty amazing waiting for us. 

All we can do is trust in His plan. 

Thank you for all the support, prayers, and kind words for Barry & I. 

We are so very blessed!

Debt is normal, right??

Back in November 2013, I ordered the DebtBuster System that comes free to all Advocare distributors. I knew I had come into our marriage with more than my share of debt and often joked that the only thing Barry would get if I died was a steep bill from Sallie Mae.

Our culture is accustomed to debt. Debt is "normal".  Student loans, car loans, credit cards, etc are all apart of what most Americans deal with on a daily basis.

 I was "normal."

 

Bad decision #1: Relying on student loans

I went to a great four year college (BOILER UP!) and never thought twice about the loans I was taking out each semester to pay for my classes, books, rent, and weekend shenanigans. Yeah, I did work, but not with the intention of putting that money towards school.

(How else would I afford Mellow Mushroom Pizza on a Sunday evening?)

Crime: $30,000 in student loan debt

Bad decision #2: Taking out ANOTHER loan

Now that I had worked so hard to graduate from Purdue, my $30,000 worth of student loan debt and I moved to North Carolina where I landed my first "big girl job." Since I had no money, I took out another $5,000 loan (this time private- yay 9% interest!) to move and live stress-free down in Raleigh with my college roommate, Sara.

Crime: $9,000 in repayment

 

Bad decision #3: Getting a credit card

When I moved to Raleigh, I went to the local bank and set up a checking and savings account. As I was nearly out the door, the lady helping me asked, "Would you like a credit card with your account? It's free and you automatically qualify!" My initial thought was, " Well, I don't NEED a credit card, but I could start building up my credit this way. Plus, I have a year to pay everything off."

My response, "SURE!!"

Crime: $3,000-$5,000 in repayment and LOTS of stress

It truly wasn't until I met my husband that I started looking at money differently. I never had long term goals because I was constantly fighting my way out of every bad financial decision I had just made. We are fighting out way out of debt and are so proud to say that we have paid off $30,000 worth of debt in only 8 months!

 

We still have a way to go, but are working everyday at making smarter financial decisions for our future.

What bad financial decisions did you make in your 20's?

What advice would you give to a young adult about their financial future?

 

 

5,000 Views! :)

Since I started over sharing this past January, I am excited to announce that my blog has exceeded 5,000 views! 

Some cool stats about Weim Time:

My blog has been viewed in 10 countries!

United States	4998
Germany	19
Canada	15
Malaysia	14
Russia	10
Spain	8
Thailand	8
Australia	5
Dominican Republic	5
Lithuania	4

 

It has also earned a whopping: $1.76

(my goal is to not spend this all in one place! LOL)

Over half of my blogs are read from an iPhone (54%) while Android readers are only 13%. 

Stats aside...Blogging is therapeutic for me. 

It helps me stay accountable to my 2014 goals, share my experience with infertility, and recap the months as they quickly come and go. 

My blog is constantly evolving and changing as I'm learning as I go.  

I would love to hear from you, the readers, about what interests you.

What would you like me to blog more about? 

Health and fitness?

Weight Loss?

Free Workouts?

Infertility?

Smokey?

Barry and me?

Let me know in the comments :)

Thanks for reading, sharing, commenting, and more! Cheers to another 5,000 views!

"If they stand by you during the bad times, they deserve to be there in the good times."

Last week as I pulled into the parking lot at Midwest Fertility, preparing for another IUI, I was completely caught off guard when my husband texted me and said he not only wrote a new blog post about his feelings of battling infertility, but that he posted it on his Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Anyone who has a blog realizes that you are often times sharing very personal details of your life and then throwing it out there for the world to dissect and critic. You instantly invite everyone to be apart of whatever it is you are going through, which is terrifying. 

I began sharing our battle with infertility in my first blog of 2014.

2013. The Good and The Bad

I was petrified when I clicked publish and posted it on my personal Facebook page, but felt an immediate weight lifted off my shoulders. I was no longer living a secret life of, 

" Oh.. no.. we aren't ready for kids, etc" 

 I had nothing to hide or to be ashamed of suddenly and it felt absolutely amazing.

The unexpected result of my first blog was several friends sharing their experiences with infertility. I had no idea so many people struggled to conceive! Barry had a similar response to his post, which makes my heart happy. We have so much support, prayers, and love surrounding us during this journey.  I want to just say thanks. Thanks for the sweet notes, text messages of support, and an ear to listen when we just need a friend. 

We are truly blessed.

Top 3 Reasons You Aren't Losing Weight!

Have you been trying to lose weight and seem like no matter what you do the weight won't come off? 

Let me give you an insight as to why you aren't losing the weight!

 

1.  You are consuming all (and more) of the calories you burned during your workout

So, you started working out a couple times a week... GREAT!

To reward yourself for getting to the gym, you treat yourself to ice cream or drinks with friends, claiming "I worked out today!"

 

The problem with this mindset is that to lose weight, the body must be in a caloric deficit. 

A 30 minute circuit training workout for a 155 lb person burns around 300 calories. 

How many calories are in a small Butterfinger Blizzard?!? 470!

OK, instead of DQ Date, you hit up your favorite Mexican restaurant after your workout. 

Just one small margarita will cost you 550 calories!

((and we all know you didn't order the small... or just one!)

Now, instead of losing weight, you actually added 150 net calories to your intake.

Remember, you aren't a dog. Don't use food as a reward!

2. You are trying to out work a bad diet

So you started going to the gym 3x's a week for a 30 minute circuit training class..Awesome! Your body is now burning around 900 extra calories a week. Great start! 

The only problem is that to lose 1 lb, 3500 calories must be burned. 

At this rate, it would take about 4 weeks to lose 1 lb. 

((No wonder you want to give up!))

If you are a Starbucks lover, just giving up your daily Venti White Chocolate Mocha will up your weight lose to 1 lb/week!

(510 calories per drink X 7 days a week)

Think about all the other things in your diet you could switch to save calories... it all adds up!

3. You do the exact same workout

(Over, and over, and over again)

There's so many people that I have seen over the years come in to the gym time after time and do the same workout. They did this routine so frequently that even I had the routine memorized. 

What's the problem with this?

Your body will adapt to a workout routine after only 4-6 weeks. At this point, no new results will occur in strength, cardiovascular, flexibility, etc. You have achieved the results you will achieve. 

What should you do?

Change something- ANYTHING!

Increase the resistance or intensity during your cardio, go to a higher weight with your strength training exercises, and/or change up the amount of repetitions/sets. 

Better yet, meet with a trainer to learn new exercises that are specific to your goals :)

What has worked for you? 

What are the best tips you can give to someone trying to lose weight?

 

May Goals: Part 2 - "Never Forget Why You Started"

 

Part 2 is always harder to write because these are my weaknesses. I struggle each month to accomplish several of these goals I set for myself back in January and it's not easy to admit it month after month. It would be much easier to avoid this and move onto a fun blog post, but the only way I'm going to accomplish these goals is by reminding myself daily of what I have set out to do. 

((If you missed May Goals: Part 1, check that out before reading Part 2.))

OK, enough rambling here we go! 

May Goals: Part 2 

Spiritual Goals

Attend church weekly

We hit 0% of our goal this month... which is embarrassing. We continue to struggle every week to get to mass and find a routine that works for us. I could list several excuses here, but that's all they would be... EXCUSES. 

I have believed this quote since I first read it and it applies 100% to this situation. We simply haven't made church a priority. My goal is to find a time that works for us and start to attend this service regularly. 



Personal Growth
Read 2 new Leadership books a month (24 total in 2014)

This was me in May.  I don't think I picked up a book the whole month! We were busy paying cash for our new driveway and finishing up other outdoor projects around the house. Guess I better step it up if I'm going to reach my goal of 24 books this year!

Volunteer once a month

Fail. I think the only thing I volunteered for this month was to host our 2nd Annual Day Before the Race Party.. (and I'm pretty sure that doesn't count) After volunteering in April for the Dave Ramsey Legacy Live Event, I slacked off in the month of May. My goal is to get back on the volunteering and commit to at least 2 hours a month. (Seems easy enough right?) I just need to hold myself accountable and be intentional with my time.

Make someones day, everyday.

This goal is all about being intentional and positive, everyday. Whether you are in the best mood or the worst mood, making someones day will make your day. 

4 Easy Ways to Make Someones Day Today:

- Saying "Hi" to everyone you see as you walk down the hallway at work

- Genuinely ask someone how they are and take interest in their life

- Call up a friend you haven't spoken to in awhile and catch up (CALL.. Don't TEXT)

- Spend time with a parent, grandparent, or child doing whatever they enjoy

 Budget Goals:

1. Hit our budget/debt payment goal every month.

May was a tough balance of doing what we wanted and sticking to the budget. We upped our Costco category to cover the extra expenses of our Race Party...plus a little more, but we cut costs by getting free tickets to both the Grand Prix Race and the Indy 500! We also made the decision to save $200 by not staying downtown the night of Prom and $50 by forgoing the Jason Aldean concert. It wasn't a perfect month, but much better than it would have been if we weren't intentional about our money and budget. Paying cash for our driveway and kitchen remodel in April/May lowered what we put towards debt, but we still were able to throw an extra $1,000 on my student loans this month! One month closer to debt freedom! 

2. Use envelope system to stay on track for all purchases
 (expect gas and Costco.)

Our envelope system has been changed nearly every month as we continue to strive for the perfect balance of amount per category and number of categories. 

Our 4 Envelopes currently consists of:

- Groceries

- Eating Out

- Miscellaneous

- Spending Cash for Barry and I

We just added the spending cash category or "blow money" as we found ourselves either A. not having any money to spend at all during the month or B. One person using the MISC category for something they wanted and the other person looking like this... 

If you are just starting your budget or debt snowball, know that it will take 3-4 months to get it right. Because each month is different, no two months will look the same. Don't worry about it being perfect... because it won't be. We are still far from perfect but on our way to debt freedom... and it's worth every sacrifice we have made!

Our first BIG win is coming up very soon and we can't wait to share it with you all! We have lots of exciting things in the pipeline so look for lots of blogs this month! :)

May 2014: Goal Recap

January is always a time of reflection and resolutions. Just like many people, in January 2014 I wrote down several goals I wanted to improve upon this year. Writing down goals is one thing, while sticking to them is another. (This is why I blog!)

Here's a look back at how I've done so far this year..

 If you haven't read my original blog on 2014 goals

 click here ---> 2014 Goals<----

January Part 1 & Part 2

February Recap:Part 1 & Part 2

March Recap/Goals

April Recap/Goals

May 2014 

Career Goals

I have now been in my position at NIFS for 6 months. I feel confident in this position and truly enjoy being on the corporate side of fitness vs strictly commercial fitness. I am now ready for a more permanent position at one site now that I have had a taste of all 20 sites in the Indianapolis area. I'm keeping my eye out for any openings at the sites I would like to work at daily, but loving the change of scenery everyday.

 I also have some NEW career goals that are in the works.

 More details will be coming VERY soon :)

Wifey Goals

Prep all 10 of our lunches for the week every Sunday and plan out the week

This goal has become harder to achieve as the weather has been warmer and days longer! It's easy to want to stay inside in the winter and prep meals for the week, but now I just want to be outside, enjoying the warm, summer weather. OK, now that my excuses are out there, we have been about 50/50 this month in meal prepping. Barry typically grills about 10 chicken breasts and 6-8 turkey sausages on Sunday and we use those during the week for lunches/dinner. I have apples, carrots/hummus, protein drinks, and protein bars ready to pack for lunch and frozen veggies, sweet potatoes, and salads ready for dinners. Our meals are less formal in the summer and more easy to eat and get back outside :)

Perform 20-25 min of daily cleaning

Who wants to be inside cleaning all summer long?! Not me. I do look at my cute cleaning chart everyday, but once I skip Monday, there's a slim to none chance I'm going to stay on track. What has worked for me is setting my oven timer for 10 minutes and picking up the entire house. This forces me to be intentional and stay on track. My goal is to set my timer for 20 and get everything done on the schedule everyday... I will report back on how that goes!

Reduce our spending

This has been the focus of 2014- reduce spending and get out of debt. Every month we do a budget before the month begins and "spend" our money on paper. We have read countless books on this topic  and continue to educate ourselves daily on better ways to reduce spending/living simply.

Here's a couple ways we have reduced our spending:

Grocery shop at Costco/Aldi with cash

Cut Barry's hair (Saving us over $2,500 over 10 years)

Keep the blinds closed during the day to keep cool air in & AC used less

Find inexpensive entertainment  (ride bikes, take dog for a walk, etc)

Rent library books instead of buying new books

Future ways to cut spending:

Cutting cable ($92/month)

Creating an at-home gym ($165/month)

These two small expenses in our budget will allow us to save over $45,000 over the next 10 years if we invest this money vs giving it away. We have debated giving up cable for months, but there's no way ESPN is worth $45k in my book. 

Look for future blogs on how we created an at-home Crossfit garage gym and Part 2 of May 2014 Goals :)

May 2014 in Review- "If your not first, you're last"- Ricky Bobby

It's hard to believe we are halfway through 2014! After the winter we had, I'm sure I'm not the only one who is enjoying every nice day that comes our way. May, as always, was an amazing month here in Speedway, IN! 

Here's a rundown of May 2014:

May 1st: 
Our 3 year dating anniversary. Here's our first picture ever taken together at Buffalo Wild Wings in Speedway on May 1, 2011. I was just getting off work and decided to stay up there and hang out with some friends. Barry was up there with a friend having some dinner and came over to say hi after he was done. We ended up hanging out together all evening and that Friday we went on our first date. The rest, you could say, is history.
                 

May 3rd: 
I started off the first Saturday in May with my niece, Vaida. We rode bikes down to Main Street to watch the Mini Marathon and to see my brother, Joe, and his girlfriend, Morgan's, cute new house. We had a blast riding around town, but she did tell me towards the end of our bike ride, "You know this would be much faster in a car." LOL ;)

May 3rd (PM):
I never realized that I would be lucky enough to continue to attend Prom when I first started dating an administrator! (...cough, cough...) 
This was our 3rd prom at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis.

May 10th: 
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted the first annual Grand Prix Indy car race. My cousin, Monte, hooked us up with Suite tickets so my Dad, Barry, and I all headed out for a fun day at the track! We ended the evening with a cookout with great friends, Tyler and Kayla, that bought a new house one block from Georgetown Road on Main Street! 

  May 12th: 
You know you are officially old when you get excited about a new cement driveway, but that's exactly what happened on May 12th! Check out the details here about how we saved up and paid cash for our new driveway and porch!

May 23rd-25th: Race Weekend! 
After the Grand Prix Race just two weeks before, we were even more excited for Race Weekend. The one downfall was my best friend Michelle, and her husband Todd, weren't able to make it for the first time in 3 years. We made the best of it and hosted our 2nd Annual Day Before the Race Party, which turned into the pre-Jason Aldean party. On Race Day we ended up getting free tickets from our neighbor (Thanks Jake!) and Barry and I went to our first race together. The weather was absolutely perfect and the race went down to the final lap. 

We ended the evening like every Race Day before.. hanging out at my parents house with family and friends. (Please note Thomas's outfit)

May 30th-June 1st:  I ended the month with a trip to DC with my Mom, Dad, and Grandpa to see my cousin, Emma, graduate as the valedictorian of her high school. We enjoyed a round of putt-putt and dinner together on Saturday evening.

Sunday morning, Dad and I woke up early to head downtown to see the monuments. After walking for the first hour, we rented some bikes to get around a little quicker!  

After a quick Metro ride back to the hotel, we all got ready and headed to Emma's graduation. Before we had to fly home, we spent the last couple hours at Peggy and Kieran's home for Emma's graduation party.

May 2014 was an action filled month and June is looking to be just as fun-filled! Look back soon for my June 2014 in Review! :)