Father's Day Weekend etc...

Wow..another week gone by...I swear time just keeps going faster!! I had a great week though. I took Saturday and Sunday off, just to have 1 weekend off this summer. We didn't go anywhere, but I did get caught up on some yard work and house cleaning, so that was good. Saturday night my dad and sisters came over for a Father's Day dinner. We BBQ'd some burgers and had a good time visiting and playing a few games on the Wii. After they left Andy and I rented a movie and relaxed the rest of the night.

Sunday morning we got up and went up to my mom and Dean's house for Father's Day brunch. Nancy and Kenny, Todd, Shey and Bryce were all there too. So we had some of my mom's delcious breakfast casserole, baked french toast and fruit. It was nice to be able to see everyone too, since I'm at work a lot of the time during family functions. After we ate, my mom, Andy and I took Shey and Bryce down to the park. We had fun playing on the swings and teeter totters!! I felt like a little kid again :) After brunch, Andy and I drove down to Redondo for a walk on the boardwalk. It was a perfect day for it too..the sun was out, but it wasn't too warm for walking. We left the beach and ran some errands before coming home to call it a night.

Monday afternoon was my first day volunteering at the Child Therapy Unit at Good Sam. It was kind of boring at first, as there weren't very many patients when I was there and not much for me to do...plus there wasn't really anyone there to show me what to do! So I wandered around attempting to look busy most of the time, then I met one of the therapists and I helped him with a couple of patients, so that made the time go faster! I'm not sure how long I will continue volunteering there, especially since I will start babysitting for my friend's kids on Monday mornings soon, but for now I will continue and see what I think!

Tuesday was another busy day...I got up early and met with my friend Karina's First Grade Class for their field trip to NW Trek!! We drove out there and I spent the day chaperoning a group of students around the park :) It was so much fun to see all the animals and the excitement on the kid's faces when they saw them for the first time!! I was pretty tired after that, but I spent the rest of the afternoon working out at the gym, running some errands, then making dinner for Andy and Jon.

Wednesday was my follow-up appointment with Dr. Dudley. I hoped that he had come to a conclusion and would have a diagnosis for me, but instead he said that he wants me to get another opinion from a neurologist to make sure my headaches and female problems aren't connected in some way (with the hormonal imbalance). So....I got the name of a neurologist at UW Medicine that he wants me to see..so hopefully I can get in there soon and get some treatment started to fix these hormones!!! After my appointment, Andy dropped me off with my mom and we drove up to Port Townsend to my Aunt Sharene's house for the monthly 'girl time.' My Aunt surprised us and took us downtown for High Tea!!! It was so much fun, not to mention delicious...and I had always wanted to do that. We decided that we are going to plan fun little outings each month and make charm bracelets to add a charm for each thing that we do! I hope I can get the days off work so I can join, it will be a lot of fun and will definitely be good to have some girl bonding time :)

Well...that about sums up the highlights of my week...now it's off to get ready for another day at work!!

Another busy week

Alright..time for another update in the life of Suzie...

we'll start with my 'weekend' last week..Monday was a busy day, my friend Amanda stopped by around 10, we went and got some coffee and then took her new puppy to the park to play for a while :) his name is Harley..he's a Yorkie/Bischon mix and is soo cute!! It makes me want another puppy..although Maverick is definitely enough of a handful when it comes to dogs!! After our 'walk' I came home and got my car to meet Christia and Keren at the Supermall for some 'mall walking'..which actually turned into shopping, but we had a lot of fun chatting and all got some good deals!! I got a couple cute shirts for under $20! After shopping I was planning on spending a quiet night in with Andy and Jon, but some co-workers called and insisted we meet them at the Scoreboard for some drinks..so off we went :) It was fun to spend some time outside of work with them too!

Tuesday I ran errands in the a.m., got my hair trimmed up then had my mom, Dean and Steve (my brother) over for dinner. I made a pot-roast in the crock pot that turned out delicious!! After dinner the boys played some video games and my mom played Yahtzee and caught up on some girl talk.

Wednesday morning I had my follow up Dr. appt with Dr. Dudley. We sat down and discussed my blood test results from the week before. He originally thought from my ultrasound that I have PCOS (Polycistic Ovarian Syndrome) , but looking at my blood test results he's not too sure now. All my hormone levels that should have gone up since my previous blood work has actually gone down..which is not a good thing..so he's going to look at some previous MRI's I had done to make sure I don't have any benign lesions on my pituitary gland that could be causing the low hormone levels and also my headaches. We go back next week to possibly get scheduled for another MRI and HOPEFULLY have some more answers so treatment can get started. He said oral medications probably won't work to raise my levels, which means I may have to use injectable medication..which wouldn't be fun, but not the worst that could happen, as long as it works! After the dr. appt, Andy and I had the rest of the day off together, so we went to Target, then to the mall for a bit. We both got a couple new things, then we went home to watch Mean Girls before meeting up with Joy and Dan for dinner at Claim Jumper. We had never been there before, and although their drinks were super expensive (luckily only Andy got one!) the food was good and it was great to hang out with Joy and Dan..I'm so glad they are finally living over here!! Thurs-Sunday was a busy work week with 2 12 hour days..and now I'm back on my 'weekend'. I babysat for my friend's Brad and Katie's daughter Avery for a few hours this morning so Brad could sleep for work tonight, then went grocery shopping at Winco..now here I am..and I just remembered I need to get up to Good Sam before 4 to have my second round of TB tests done so I can start volunteering..so I better head up there....until next time, I hope you all have a wonderful week! :)

Answers

Well...I guess it's time to update everyone on my last couple weeks :) Last Monday I spent the morning volunteering in my friend Karina's 1st grade classroom, I had fun watching them learn and helping them with their math problems and reading! It's always fun to get away from my crazy job and do something like that too! I will definitely be trying to make some time to do more volunteering there next year! After that I met Christia and Keren for lunch at Red Robin and a walk at Bradley Lake Park. It was so much fun seeing the kids play on the toys and I got to hold Gabe for a long time too!! He's so tiny and precious :)

Tuesday Andy had the day off with me, but unfortunately I had an orientation to volunteer at Good Sam for 3 hours, so that took up most of the day ...but I'm super excited to start volunteering there! I just have to finish my paperwork and TB test and I should be able to start soon..so hopefully just a few more weeks!

Wednesday was my last Bible Study Fellowship class. It was a very inspiring day, all the ladies were invited to share experiences and lessons they learned throughout the year during the study of Matthew. Although I didn't start BSF until very late in the year, it made me even more excited for next year in hopes that my knowledge and understanding of the Bible will grow and that I will form relationships with other christian women. After BSF I drove up to Redmond to see Joy's new apartment and go to lunch. We had a tasty lunch at "Matthews" at Redmond Town Center, then went into a cute shop and both found new outfits!

Thursday through Sunday was back to work again...so not much exciting there...but Monday was Memorial Day and I was lucky enough to have it off with Andy! We went to Point Defiance Park and walked throughout the gardens, on the beach and hiked through the woods :) It was so much fun! Then we went over to Nancy and Kenny's for some delicious BBQ and socializing and card playing with the family! Tuesday night I met Sally, Alysha and Katie for dinner at Bahama Breeze, we had fun visiting and catching up, it had been way too long since our last "girls dinner." We definitely need to plan some more of those!!

Yesterday/Wednesday I had off with Andy again..we had hoped to get out and do something fun, but the majority of the day was taken up by my dr's appointment. I finally had an appointment with a Reproductive Specialist to discuss some of the issues I've been having (basically no period since October...) and he did an ultrasound as well as some more blood work and found that I most likely have what is called PCOS (Polycistic Ovary Syndrome)...I don't know a TON about it yet, I'm still researching, but it's basically a hormonal imbalance that makes it so I don't ovulate on my own. I will be going in for a followup next week and hopefully to discuss what my options are going to be. I was kind of upset when I got the news, but at the same time I'm glad to finally have some answers, after multiple doctors telling me I was a 'medical mystery.' I know that God has put this obstacle in my life for a reason and he won't give me anything I can't handle!! Wow..this post is a lot longer than I meant it to be, I will shut up now ...it's time for me to head to work anyways!!