Confessions of a Twitter Convert

Not long ago, I scoffed at Twitter.  What in the world was it?  Who cared about giving status updates?  Who cared what other people were doing?  Couldn't you just do that on Facebook?  In short, I didn't understand the point. 

Then I joined because my husband had joined and he would tell me about funny tweets from celebrities and friends.  It seemed like an inside joke and if there is one thing I can't stand it's to not be in on inside jokes.  So I joined.  I started off with just a few people I was following.  Nothing crazy.  My husband, some friends, a few celebrities like Jeremy Piven (because why wouldn't I - have you seen him?)(sorry husband).  I checked it occasionally and every now and then would tweet something.

Then before I knew it, I was checking more and more.  Every time I would get a free minute I would be checking it... obsessively.  If someone tweets me, I have to tweet them back.  I didn't really know why I had become so addicted to it and in such a short amount of time.  I daresay, I almost prefer it over Facebook.  And here are the two main reasons:

1. Facebook has become too mainstream and has become too bogged down with Farmville, Sorority Life, Causes, etc, etc, etc.  I don't care how you spend your time on Facebook.  There is no need to fill my news feed with that nonsense.  And for goodness sakes, my mother is my friend on Facebook.  I remember when it first started and it was only college kids and it was this fun way to spend time, catching up with people you hadn't seen since high school.  Now it's just different.
2. The celebrities.  I'm not one who buys tabloids or checks celebrity gossip websites, but they do fascinate me which I hate to admit.  By following them, I feel like I get a glimpse into their everyday life - which celebrity gossip doesn't give you.  I love when they post a new picture because again it's a glimpse into their life - it makes you feel like you really are getting to know them.  And I love finding celebrities that I liked when I was younger and had totally forgot about.  Of course I follow them immediately.  

 So yeah, I totally just wrote a whole post about Twitter.   What's funny is I just asked my husband if I should be embarrassed about what I write on my blog - I think this DOES qualify as being embarrassing, but I don't care.  I like Twitter and I don't care who knows it!!!

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

Here come the emotions...

Well it's official: People my age are on to the second pregnancies and I can't even achieve one.  In a word, it's heartbreaking.  It's so hard to listen to someone tell you they are pregnant again and you can't even have one.  Of course I smile and congratulate, but on the inside I'm crying.  On the inside I'm so angry at myself and God.  Just sad.

To make matters worse, I'm pretty sure that I have come home everyday this week to get on on Facebook and find another person is pregnant.  I don't understand.

All I can think of this episode of Sex and the City - Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda.  I'm sure you've seen it - Miranda finds out she is pregnant while Charlotte finds out she is infertile.  There are two scenes in this episode that just bring me to tears.  The first is when Charlotte comes to brunch angry and frustrated that she has gotten her period and she says:

Charlotte: Do you know how many times Trey and I have done it without a condom?  73.  Have you any idea how much perfectly fine semen that is?

Carrie: No.  Samantha, rough estimate?

Charlotte: Enough for me to know in my bones that it's me.  And the big joke is, I spent my entire twenties worried that I'd get pregnant.  I could have been screwing everything in sight!  

Honestly?  It doesn't get more honest than that.  That pretty much sums up how you feel, how you know it's you.  You just know that you're the problem and that the situation is hopeless.  And she's right.  The big joke is, you do worry about getting pregnant and then you find out, in never could have happened.  When I think of how many times I worried about it, I could just kick myself.  

The other scene is when Charlotte runs into Miranda after Charlotte finds out that she is in fact infertile.

Miranda: This is hard for me too, you know?  And it doesn't make it any easier worrying that you hate me because you think you can't get pregnant.

Charlotte: I can't get pregnant.

Miranda: If I can, you can.

Charlotte: No I can't.  I just came from the doctor.  Here.  My body is attacking Trey's sperm.  15% chance! 15% change of ever having a baby!  Is it ok if I go now? 

Again, it breaks my heart.  I can't even watch the scene without bursting into tears.  Which, yeah, I just watched and sobbed myself silly.  

By the end of the episode, Miranda decides to keep the baby and Charlotte is happy for her.  And ultimately?  Yes, I am happy for those people in my life that are able to get pregnant.  I still love them and I love their children and am happy to be part of their lives.  Before I ever knew I had infertility issues, I admired Charlotte for her strength and bravery throughout the rest of the series regarding infertility.  She always managed to put others before the pain of what she was dealing with.  I know she is just a fictional character, but still, I find that I do identify with the character so much.  I hope that I can have just a bit of her strength and bravery because Lord knows it's tough.  

Perhaps my favorite scenes with Charlotte are here - especially around the 3:02 mark.  

Sorry the volume is so low - it's the only one I could find. I hope that one day, my husband and I share a moment just like that. And now I'm crying again. Like I said, here come the emotions...

Sometimes it just hits me harder than others and since my husband told me on Thanksgiving he thinks these will be the last holidays with his mother, all I can think about is how we don't have any grandchildren for her.  That if we are ever blessed enough to have children they will not know either of their grandparents on that side and she will never know them.  And what's worse, it's not my choice.  I could more easily accept this if it were a personal choice but it's not.

I don't know.  I guess just chalk it up to typical holiday emotions.  I'll be back to myself... hopefully sooner rather than later!

And to clarify, I don't hate people that are pregnant/can get pregnant.  I'm angry with myself and my situation and no one else (and maybe a little angry with God, but that's between me and Him).  Just thought I should throw that in!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I've seen tons 'o bloggers doing the What I'm Loving Wednesday posts and I decided to link up and do one of my own.  Because I always love a good bandwagon.  Even if I don't always stay on...

I'm Loving Taylor Swift's new album.  I got it less than a month ago and I pretty much know every single song by heart already.  Probably because it plays on repeat on my iPod nonstop.

I'm loving that a week from today I will be celebrating the fact that I don't have to go to work for FOUR whole days.  I really hate to wish my life way, but I live for days off work.

I'm loving that the holidays are right around the corner!  Usually, I'm stressed about the holidays, but this year I am beyond thrilled.  Probably because after the first of the year a new life will be starting for me.  (No, it's not a baby!!)

I'm loving adding to my Amazon Wish list.  Everything I see I just want to hit "add to Wish List".  It's an addiction.

I'm loving the fact that my husband and I finally went to the grocery store.  I am embarrassed to say that it looked like a couple of college kids lived in our house if you looked at our pantry.  Luckily this is no more!

I'm loving books by Elin Hilderbrand.  I may or may not have read about 5 of them in two weeks time.  They're so good!  They are all set on the island of Nantucket and now it's my life's mission to visit there.  At least once!

What are you all loving?

Now This is Too Much

I saw this article today on Yahoo about one of my old favorite TV shows, Days of Our Lives.  I used to watch that show every day after school starting when I was in the fifth grade.  I was there for Marlena's possession.  I saw Belle go from a baby to a teenager over night.  I saw John as Roman and as a priest and as Kristen husband and as Marlena's husband. I saw Hope come back as Princess Gina and then get her memory back.  I saw it all.  Except I never saw what the article was talking about - product placement.  Sure it's common practice for shows to show a certain product or mention a certain product, but this?  This is just plain BAD.  Check it out...

Turn on the Boob Tube

Day 11 - Favorite TV Shows

I have been waiting for this entry since I have started this whole challenged.  As I have mentioned I adore all thing Pop Culture, so of course I love TV shows.  I could make this entry a million pages long, but I promise I will try and it keep it as short as I possibly can.

I'm going to split this up by shows that are no longer on shows currently running.  Yes.  I have that many favorite TV shows.  Don't judge.

No Longer Playing... Sadly

 
Sex and the City...
I'm sorry, but does this even need explanation?  This is just one of those shows that I have connected to on so many levels and so many occasions.  The relationships with men, friends, self, fashion - it was just an amazing show.  Unfortunately, they had to sully the memory by making the horrific second movie, but in my mind it is still as perfect as always.

Gilmore Girls. 

Again, I will love this show forever and for always.  I own every single season on DVD and watch them all.the.time.  I love the story.  I love the mother/daughter dynamic.  I love the writing.  Again it was just everything that makes a good show all rolled into one.  This is how shows are done right. 

 

The West Wing.

For realsies, this show rocks my socks.  Yes I just said that.  I didn't think that I could get into a show about politics, especially about democratic politics.  But I did.  Oh yes I did.  My husband and I spent the better part of our summer burning through the seasons and it was time well spent.  Aaron Sorkin is a genius as evidenced by this show and The Social Network.

via here

Veronica Mars

Be still my heart.  Ok, seriously.  Most of you have probably not seen or heard of this show, but you must, no, you need to watch this show.  It will change you life.  Kristen Bell is a woman after my own heart.  She is awesome in the show and the rest of the cast is just as good.  Seasons are currently playing on theWB.com.  Go watch it!

And there are so many more, BUT it's time for the current shows:

• Project Runway (finale is TONIGHT!)  I love Tim Gunn.  He should be my friend.
• Dexter - Who knew loving a serial killer could be so much fun?
• Big Bang Theory
• Modern Family
• Greek - Is this show ever going to come back?
• Top Chef - All Stars season is coming up.  I'm pumped!

And again there are many more and I'm sure as soon as I hit publish I am going to think of a bazillion more, but this is a good start, right?

I Left my Heart in San Francisco

Day Eight - A Place You've Traveled

I love traveling.  I wish that I had more money in the good old bank account to do more traveling.  I would love to get out of the here United States and see Europe.  I would love to see Rome and the Vatican or see the blue waters of Greece.  Sadly though, there are other things that I need to spend my money on, but maybe one day I will get to see those things. 

In all honesty though, I have been very lucky in my travels.  I have been to NYC, Chicago, various parts of Florida, New Orlans, etc.  One place I NEVER thought I would get to go was California.  I don't know why, it just seemed unattainable.  About two and half years ago a good friend of mine packed up her and a her fiance and moved clear across the county to Sacramento.  It broke my little heart, but she promised that one day she would be back (actually as I write this, she is back is the good old KY) and promised that if we ever wanted to come out, we would have a place to say.  Well last year after coming off three unsuccessful rounds of Clomid (fertility drug) we decided to treat ourselves.  Plane tickets were uber cheap so off we went to California.  It was ah-mazing and just what we needed.  It was a change of perspective that I needed at the time.  While we stayed in Sacramento we got to see various parts of Northern California including UCDavis, Napa Valley and San Francisco.  It was a real life and Pop Culture (don't think for a second I wasn't in Full House heaven!!) dream come true.  Here are some pictures of our amazing trip:

 

 

Home of the original Mission Style Burrito - as seen on Man vs. Food!

 

 

What's Your Favorite Scary Movie?

Day Seven - Your Favorite Movies

So I guess the title of this post is a bit misleading as I'm not really talking about scary movies, but I can't help it.  I love to use Pop Culture references.  It's an obsession.

So I'm favorite movies in no particular order...

Dirty Dancing

My goodness.  Are there any words?  This movie is a life changer.  Once you watch it, you will never be the same.  Plain and simple.  It is one of those movies that I can watch and know every.single.line.  I can even close my eyes and tell you exactly what is going on.  You are kidding yourself if you think that while I'm writing this I'm not watching the final dance on YouTube because I totally am and so should you .  I'll never forgot the moment when I realized what Penny's "situation" was.  I could never figure out why Baby's dad was so freaked about the whole thing.  Then one day it all clicked and I had the major "ah-ha" moment.  Whatever.  It's still a fantabulous movie in my eyes.

Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory

Not to be confused with that disasterous Johnny Depp crap.  Don't even get me started.  Who could not love this movie?  With the candy and the humor and the good story, it just makes for an all around good time.  And a great movie to quote to boot. 

Clueless

Sorry, but this movie is iconic.  It's when we first were introduced to the awesomeness that is Paul Rudd and Britney Murphy was all awkward.  Again another great movie to quote and these girls will always be in style to me.

Sixteen Candles

Although I have not seen this movie in a very long time, it will always remain one of my favorites.  It gave hope to dorky girls everywhere that maybe, just maybe the cute guy in the class will fall for you.  It probably won't happen, but we can all dream, right?

Serendipity

This movie has so many things going for it, that I just have to put it in my favorites.  1)Two Sex and the City actors play roles (John Corbett and Bridget Moynahan) 2) Jeremy Piven. 3) It's set in New York 4) Serendipity is a truly awesome restaurant.  Given all these factors, plus a cute storyline, I can't NOT put it in my favorites. 

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Like many movies I watch, this one gets better every time I watch it.  It just becomes funnier.  Which is hard to do.  You would think that the more you see something the less funny it would become, but the opposite holds true for this movie. This movie also stars one of my all time favorite actresses - Kristen Bell (more on her in an upcoming entry on TV shows).  Even though she is slightly bitchy in this movie, I still love her all the same.  

And I know that there are a million more and as soon as I see everyone else's lists I'm going to want to add those to my list too!

Hopping Right On

In my effort to become a more diligent blogger, I have decided to take on a 30 Day Challenge via: Katie's Journey.  If you want to join it, head over there and let her know!  I think this is going to be fun and I am very excited about it.

The first challenge is to post a picture of yourself and give 15 interesting facts about moi.  Well I can give you 15 facts, but I can't claim that they'll all be interesting per se. 

Me!

Now on to those facts:

1. I got married three years ago on 07.07.07.  Everyone said I was crazy for getting married on "the most popular wedding day ever" but I really didn't have an issue with it.
2. Yes, I have been married for three years and no, I don't have any children.  I am what you would call reproductively challenged.  We are working on it albeit at a snail's pace.
3. I went to school for elementary education, but I don't teach.  And I learn a little bit more everyday that it was the best decision for me.
4. And in the next breath I'm going to tell you that I do actually teach CCD one night a week.  These are Catholic education classes for public school children.
5. I worry.  A lot.  About random things that no one should ever worry about.  Once something has resolved itself I move on to something else to worry about.  It can be quite stressful. 
6. I have an intense fear of vomit.  Enough said.
7. I love pop culture.  LOVE it.  I think this is why I quote movie/TV shows every chance I get. 
8. I am a trivia FREAK.  I know the most random things and I couldn't tell you where I pick it up. 
   Sometimes I think the random information takes up too much information in my brain.  
9. By nature I am shy, until I get comfortable and know you.  Then I don't shut up.  I'm just really bad at the whole small talk thing.  Being in a sorority really helped to bring me out of that shell though.  Who knows how socially awkward I might be otherwise. :-)
10. I spend WAY too much money on purses.  I should really learn to save my money and not buy a million cheap ones and buy one really nice one. 
11. I take a lot of things personally.  Like things that shouldn't be taken personally at all.  I guess I'm just sensitive and have a lot of feelings and emotions.
12. I really enjoy reading blogs - especially Kentucky bloggers, sorority bloggers and others struggling with infertility  (I cringe at how cliche I sound.)
13. I love reading.  There is just something about getting lost in a good book.
14. I met my now husband when I was a sophomore in high school.  We started dating right before our senior year and have been together ever since (let's just ignore that three week period we were broken up in college).
15. I work hard everyday to be just a little bit better of a person than I was the day before.

So there you have it, day one of the challenge is complete!