Bon Voyage

Well ladies, the time has finally come for me to say goodbye as I embark on my adventure to Ireland tomorrow morning at 0700!  Here's the plan: land in Dublin after a fun-filled 15 hours of travel, spend nights in Dublin, Killarney, Dingle (love it), Doolin (love that too), and Galway before making our way back to Dublin to fly home on Sunday April 10th.  How are we getting to all these places you ask?  Well I am trusting my life to Jordan driving a stick shift not only on the right side of the car, but also on the right side of the road around the countryside...talk about a great one-year test of a relationship : )

Nonetheless, I'm thrilled.  Life has been a little busy the past few weeks and both of us can't wait to get away for a much-needed vacation in which a successful day is defined by beautiful scenery, meat and potatoes, maybe some good local music, and a delicious beer.  Of course a full update will be provided when I return! 

Kate I am so sad to hear about little Gumball : (  Pets are special creatures who become members of our family and I hope the best for the little guy.  Ali I am also sad to hear about your health issues, but it sounds like you have some answers and hopefully between the meds and a change in diet you'll start feeling better!  And of course you will look beautiful at Lauren's wedding because you are beautiful!

My last note (slightly cheesy) is that tomorrow I will be flying past all of you as I make my way across the country.  Ali, I'll be in New Jersey for 4 hours in the afternoon so I'll be thinking about you! 

Cheers ladies : )

Continuing with Medical Updates......

Kate, first off, so sorry to hear about gumball. That is really sad. If you get to the point that you want to chat about it, feel free to call!

I first off want to apologize that I've been kinda out of the loop in regards to keeping up with phone calls/texts to you lovely ladies. The past 2-3 weeks I have been going to doctor's appointments, getting blood work, etc. What brought this all on, you ask? Well, for quite a while now I have been gaining unexplained amounts of weight and have been super exhausted, no matter what. I have been going to bed at around 8:30pm, waking up around 6:00 and still having a hard time getting out of bed, despite getting like 10 hours of sleep! I went to my primary care doctor to chat about it and he ordered some blood work to measure my thyroid levels. From googling, I found that weight gain and exhaustion are two of the main symptoms associated with under-active thyroids. So my blood work came back a little high, but nothing alarming or dangerous. To rule out everything, he told me to get a sonogram of my thyroid to check for cysts. Well I did that and what do you know? The results showed that I have an irregular cyst on my thyroid. This lead me to another round of more specific blood tests, and an appointment with an endocrinologist. So, I had that appointment today, and the good news is that the cyst is 95% benign, and he's not even concerned enough about it to get it biopsied (which I was happy with considering getting a needle shoved through my neck is not my idea of a good time). So after we ruled that out, he officially diagnosed me with hyperinsulinema, excessively high levels of insulin circulating in the blood. I wish I could be more detailed but it involves a lot of big words and is heavy on the science. So the long and short of it is -- I was put on a low dose synthyroid pill, which will help raise up the hormones that the thyroid produces since my is a bit underactive. In addition, I have to change my diet. Michelle, this is where you come in! I would love your help if you are familiar at all with this condition! My food intake has to be based on the glycemic index. I bought 2 books on it to familiarize myself more with the condition hyperinsulinemia and how I can get myself on a regulated diet. From a quick browse, reduce carb intake, low-sugar, all brown grains, no white, etc. I also have to eat a snack in between every meal (even if I am not hungry) to keep my insulin levels from peaking and dropping. While I am not looking forward to changing how I eat, I am happy to be getting this under control b/c if left untreated, hyperinsulinemia can turn into diabetes, and lord knows I do not want that!

So, that's the Ali medical update. I am hoping that this diet works and I see results sooner, rather than later because I already bought a dress for Lauren's wedding that I love and I better freaking fit into it! If for some reason it doesn't work as quick as I want it to, I am gonna squeeze my fat ass into it anyway, and you all, as my best friends, are obligated to tell me that I look fantastic and that you can't believe how great I look :)

Gumball

Sorry I didn't answer phone calls last night, but I (we) keep getting really upset whenever we talk about things. This is the easiest way for me to update everyone all at the same time. I spent over 3 hrs at the vet yesterday with L. Gumball. :( xrays...blood work...etc. His liver is starting to fail and he's becoming jaundice because he's not eating at all!!!!!!!!! I was told that if he doesn't start eating by this weekend then we'll have to put him down. :( He was given a steroid shot and an appetite stimulant prescription yesterday and has started eating a little. The dr. is going to call me everyday to discuss his progress...

We either put him down (which, unfortunately, we would end up doing) or it would be aggressive and expensive treatment to save him. Feeding tube, ultrasound episcopacy (sp?), biopsy, chemo...the list goes on and on...

He only weighs 11.6 lbs. Its tough because he still has his same temperament--just less energy, which makes sense because he's not eating. He's losing a lot of muscle in addition to fat. He's literally dying of lack of nutrition like someone who is anorexic. :(

Today's Toast

To all my Bethenny loving girlfriends- Skinny Girl Margarita shout out on Ellen!

Indiana Shower Weekend

So we're going to attempt to do a group post today! Kate, Michelle and I are all in Indiana this weekend for my second bridal shower. Michelle and Doug got into town Friday and graciously picked us up at the Indy airport. We got to my parents house around 11 and stayed up late to hang out with Jill and Todd. Saturday morning we slept in, and then met Kate and Grace in BLOOMINGTON for lunch! We went to Mother Bears for pizza and beer - it felt like college all over again (except this time we had a baby!). After lunch we stopped by the track to watch the Little 500 qualifications... unfortunately it was freezing and we couldn't wait to drive back to Columbus. After a rough car ride for Grace we were back and we started getting ready for the shower. It turns out the "shower" was really a cocktail party that didn't end until 2AM. The night included delicious food, lots of wine, loud music, a champagne toast (with a splash of Grand Marnier), and an after party at the Freeland's house. After meeting the Freeland's family friends, we've decided we have to bring our A game to the wedding (because we were definitely the losers at the shower - those grown ups know how to party!). Sunday morning was all about breakfast and Grace... and that's where we are now. I had a great time spending the weekend with Mich, Doug, Kate and Grace and I cannot wait for us all to be together in May! :)

Guess What...

I did something a little impulsive today. Okay, not a little impulsive... VERY IMPULSIVE! I quit my job today. Well, that sounds more dramatic than it actually was... really I just told my bosses that I will be leaving in May. I did not give them an exact date, so I will keep you girls posted on that. Doug and I are still trying to figure out the details and we still don't have any definite plans.

Anyway, I feel like 10,000 pounds have been lifted off my shoulders! I couldn't wait to tell you girls!

Weekend fun

These past couple of weekends have been fun in Chicago. Michael and I have been doing a great job with still doing the things we want to do, even having Grace in our lives. A couple weekends ago, we decided to act like irresponsible non-parents again, and had a party for Chicago's St. Patty's Day. We have yet to make it to the parade or the dying of the river, but we did have Irish flag layered jello shots. Rachel found them on a blog that's solely about gourmet jello shots.  Libbie and Matt spontaneously watched Grace this past Friday night  so Michael and I were able to have a dinner date at Coast Sushi...always a treat for us!

Rachel and me enjoying our cheese cake, Irish flag jello shots with "Alyse."

Reality TV friends, I had an interesting dream last night...I was dating the country singer from American Idol (Ali, what's his name?) and he was pouting that he wasn't going to win this season because we live in a dominantly Jewish and hip-hop listening kind of a country. What does that even mean??? I woke up right after I turned to him and asked him how old he was. Haha...he is definitely in high school! On a side note: I am loving J. Lo. (gorgeous) and Steven Tyler (hilarious) as judges!

Back To Reality...

I can't believe my week long vacation in the Caribbean is already over! My trip was super fun, and it was awesome to have an entire week off. It is so rare that my whole family gets the chance to be together - I think being with my family was my favorite part of the vacation. The cruise stopped in Cozumel, Grand Cayman Island, and Jamaica. All three stops were beautiful - I just love the ocean. We spent most of our time in Cozumel and Grand Cayman at the beach, and in Jamaica Doug and I (and my sister and her boyfriend) went zip lining and kayaking. It was crazy scary! Zip lining was really fun (after I had a small panic attack), but kayaking was a disaster (just for me!). I am an absolute terrible kayaker - I have like ZERO coordination!


Lauren, your first bridal shower sounded great! I wish I could have been there to celebrate with you, but I can't wait for this coming weekend in Indiana for your second shower!

We Can't Legally Ask You to Lose Weight...

I've got exciting news! I've been offered a new position at Target beginning April 4. :) I just found out and I'm pretty pumped about it. I still can't believe I got it! When I told Molly, she sent me this youtube video, and Jill told me to channel my excitement into starvation. They're both so... witty. Anyways, wanted to share my news with you guys!

*Mich -I celebrated with a Skinny Girl Margarita last night and thought of you. :)

Breakfast at Tiffany's

My first bridal shower was last weekend, planned by Becky and Molly, and they did a fantastic job. Everyone had a great time and it was super cute, too! I haven't uploaded the pictures yet, but check out Molly's blog where she explains everything that we did. I did snag this one from Molly's blog, but more pictures to come! Can't wait for next weekend!!! :)

Toast to laughter

I used to (okay still do sometimes) make fun of Freeland for being the "cat lady." This hilarious clip reminded me of her! (Charlie and Izzy too) Now that L.Gumball has has come into my life, my cat references are definitely aimed at myself as well...don't forget to turn on your volume!

Toast to laughter

I thought this was hilarious and wanted to share it with my girlfriends. Which actor do you think could be making fun of you or which actress could be making fun of your man?

Country in NY......

So while Kat blogged to brag about the sunshine in San Diego (I am totally jealous!), I am blog-bragging that yesterday out of no where, and for no particular reason, George surprised me with tickets to see Darius Rucker in concert in September. Woo-Hoo! When he told me he bought them I made sure that he knew Darius Rucker was now into the country gig, and was no longer touring with Hootie and the Blowfish! He was well aware.

Anyways, hope all is well and that everyone is enjoying their weekends! Tomorrow the family is headed to Mom's for our annual St. Patty's dinner. Yummy! Love you all!

Enjoying the sunshine...

Sorry to brag for a moment, but I am sitting poolside blogging from my iPad in beautiful 72 degree San Diego weather :) Michelle you can't get jealous since you are going on a cruise tomorrow, but to the rest of you... I'm sorry. Maybe you should come visit! I wanted to send a quick toast thanking everyone for a wonderful trip to St Louis. It was such a treat for all of us to be together, and I left feeling so lucky to have such amazing friends in my life. Cheers to us :)

Gonna Make it Rain...

My first shower is this weekend...yay! Tammy got into town last night, so we ran some wedding errands together, and Jill gets in tonight (she's going to hate it here when she sees the three feet of snow that are still in my yard from last november). Should be a fun weekend, except I have a dilemma. Do I wear tights or not? I'm thinking warmer knit tights because I'm wearing a dress and the thought of sitting around opening presents in front of people without tights on make me squeamish. But, on the other hand, I don't love the way I look in tights. So, group vote... what do you think? Thanks girls! Have a great weekend!

Today's Toast

Today was the first day I successfully worked out since Grace was born. The good news... I didn't pee myself! This is a HUGE accomplishment in the life of a new mommy! I am also now "that girl" at the gym who needs to go out and purchase a good, supportive sports bra. I have a question for my girlfriends... Where does one buy a quality sports bra for BIGGER breastfeeding boobs?!

Miss You Already

I miss you girls already! I can't believe our girls weekend in St. Louis has already come and gone. It was so fun to have everyone in one place again for an entire weekend - I think it had been over 18 months since we all had the chance to be together! The picture above is one of my favorite pics from the weekend - I loved taking you guys on my usual walk around the neighborhood.

I don't have much of an update since you all left St. Louis. I'm still really frustrated with work, but trying to stay positive. I know Doug and I will figure out whatever our next step will be soon - I just need to be optimistic that it will all work out. What is meant to be will be... right?!

The next 6 weeks are crazy for us - we are literally going to be jet-setters! Because we are out of town every weekend I should have a lot to blog about. Our jet-setting begins with the cruise this Saturday with my family. I am SO excited to take a whole week off and just relax! I can't wait to tell you all about my trip when I get back. XOXO

Our New Addition - Grace

The weekend was the perfect amount of group time, girls time, Grace time, relaxation, and a bit of craziness. The girls went out Saturday night while Daddy and Uncle Dougie watched Grace. It was my first time getting drunk since before I found out I was pregnant. I couldn't have picked better company to toast this momentous occasion. At one point in the evening I even remember leaning over to the girls to tell them, "I know I will regret this in the morning, but I kinda hope I have a little bit of a hang over!" Am I a loser now or what???

Girls' Weekend - St. Louis

Two weekends ago, the five of us got together in St. Louis. Our girls weekends are always fun and Michelle and Doug proved to be the perfect hosts. Kat and Ali arrived earlier in the week with Katie and I joining later Friday night. We had a wonderful dinner created by a local chef in Michelle's kitchen that night. It was perfect for us to enjoy a multi-course meal while catching up. Saturday we went for a walk and ended up at a cute little candy shop (picture below).


Saturday night we went out for dinner and drinks, ending up at the Ritz Hotel with the 65+ crowd for some martinis and inappropriate dancing. :) Most of us left on Sunday after a great breakfast and I cannot wait until we get together again in May!