Best raw soup ever - Carrot Ginger Soup

Last year, I got on a big raw food kick...I ate only vegan raw food for about a month...some things were really hard to make (and super time consuming), others were not...this is my absolute FAVORITE of any of them, and I'm telling you - it sounds so weird, but it is beyond delicious!

Anyway, this is vegan (no dairy) and raw - not cooked at all, so its more of a warm weather soup (but you can heat it a bit - I think it tastes better uncooked)...I found it for the first time at this raw food place called D'lish in Sedona, Arizona...it still tastes super creamy...

Ingredients:
-Avocado (this makes it creamy) - I use one whole one
-Carrot Juice (you can juice it yourself, but that takes forever - easiest is to just use Bolthouse Farms CJ - you can get it at big grocery stores, it is in the fruit section normally - cost $4, and you use about 1/4-1/2 of the bottle, so its not too expensive) - for 1 avocado, I'd use about 1/2-3/4 cup - depending on how big the avocado was

-Apple Juice (I use bottled natural AJ) - about 1/3 of the amount compared to the CJ
-Lime Juice (to taste) - I just get the squeeze bottle of this (it lasts forever)
-ginger (I used to use fresh ginger, but now I just use the powdered stuff cause it doesn't taste any different to me)

I use FLorida avocados (they are bigger than CA avocados - and cheaper)...avocados have fat in them, but it is such a good quality fat...you have to make sure they are ripe, cause when you get them at the grocery store, they are NOT ripe...for me, it takes about a week, I just leave them on the counter and squeeze them once a day...and then when they are ripe, they get a bit squooshy...

And basically, all you do is put it in the blender...
First put in the avocado (don't mix yet)...then put in the CJ/AJ **remember 3:1 ratio CJ to AJ - be sure not to add too much juice or else it will be too liquidy...then mix...finger taste...add the lime (I usually put in about 1-2 tablespoons) and a few sprinkles of ginger...mix a bit more - if you need to add a bit more juice, thats fine, but remember you dont want it too liquidy, and done! Takes 2 minutes to do:)

This picture does not do it justice...

Super healthy meal

Well, sometimes I have to go super healthy - to cleanse...or something...

I've felt that way the last few days...
First is salad, the recipe is straight from this awesome pizza place called SAtchel's which has the best pizza and salad in the world...because of that, I use Satchel's dressing - it might be hard for you to do that, but, its basically balsalmic vinegarette...for the salad:
-spinach (I like it better than mixed greens)
-apples (about 1/2 of one cut into little pieces) - this is so good on salads!
-shredded carrots
-walnuts
-romano cheese (or you can use shredded parmesan which is also really good)
-tomatoes (I LOVE tomatoes!)
-onions (not too much - I put way too much on this time, and it wasn't as good as it normally is because of that)



I get the cheese, onions and carrots pre-shredded, so the only thing I have to cut up are the apples and tomatoes...so, I keep under my 5 minute rule...

I also like to put it in a bowl and mix it up before eating it to make it more blended...

This is SO filling, you wont want to eat for a day - and as you can see, this is a HUGE bowl! The only thing sort of "bad" is the dressing...the dressing that I use has olive oil, balsalmic vinegar as the two main ingredients which is really good anyway...

Docotr's appointment

Well, I finally had my appointment (I'd only gone for pap smears previously), and basically, since we are older, and since we are already timing everything right (and literally checking EVERYTHING already - I brought my bloodwork from last month, all my FF charts, and a page full of questions with me, LOL!) - and my cycles are really long...she is completely ok with being very proactive about everything - so now I'm super excited!!
And, hey, I still have a chance this cycle - right:)

Ok, so this is the plan...
For Matt: Sperm Analysis (he's going to HATE this)
For me (after my period): Hysterosalpingogram (gaack!) - its where you check to make sure the tubes are clear - ohh, she said that my cervix was in a good place, slightly rotated back:)

Then, we are going to do another completely non-medicated cycle...but, I asked if it would be ok to do Soy on CD4-8 (I bought the soy at the store after my appointment - so I'm ready to go), and she said that wouild be fine, so I'm going to do that to try to speed up ovulation...

After my next cycle, if we dont conceive (at that point, it will have been 6 months since we started - even though only 4 cycles) - and everything checks out, then we will be referred to an infertility specialist, and can start medication to get the party started...

ANyway, she was super nice, and basically read my mind with everything I was thinking - I'm very numbers oriented, and wanted to get things checked out beforehand, and she was very accommodating with everything that I wanted...she thinks that I might be getting my period late because I am kinda underweight for my height...I am not ready to do much more than I have been about that...which is just to do less cardio...and eating tons of coconut oil and avocado:)

Legs feels better - musta been the cookies!

So, I don't usually have the ingredients to make cookies in my house, because if I do, I'll make them and eat all of them! Yesterday we made cookies with coconut oil - and they were incredible! I had 7 - yes, SEVEN! - yesterday, and then 7 more today...

I ummm, ate salad for dinner tonight as an apology to my body (I have pictures but am too lazy to get them up tonight)...and now, I'm eating chocolate chips...to punish my body more...I have been wanting cramps and a stomach ache, something to tell me that I might be pregnant, but I have nothing...even with all this junk I ate the last two days - nothing...how in the world can I not get a stomach ache from all that! FWIW, I took an HPT today (8DPO), negative - obviously...I'll keep taking them, cause I have 20 of them left...and, well, I feel like it...

On the good news front, my legs aren't hurting at all any more, so for the first time in a week, I'm able to sleep...I've been taking advantage of that, I slept for 9 hours last night, then took a 3 hour nap this afternoon...I really needed it, hadn't gotten more than 5 hours of sleep this whole week and it was driving me crazy!

Tomorrow is my dr appointment - YEAH!!

On Tuesday, I'm starting a new exercise plan...I have been such a blob about that recently...so, here's the plan:
Tuesday/Thursday - yoga at 6am
Monday - swimming at 5pm
Wednesday - swimming at 6am
Wednesday/Saturday/Sunday - walking for 3-5 miles with DH
That should be a good relaxing exercise schedule...

No symptoms continued...

Still nothing...not overly tired, not bloated, dont have to pee...no cramps...temps aren't going higher (when I look for charts like mine only like 10 % are pregnant!!)...ugh, nothing...

And, my leg hurts bad, and I have no idea what it is...I'm not old enough to have pains, so its really freaking me out...it goes all the way down the outside of my leg, and it has caused me to wake up in the middle of the night every night because it hurts so much...

Well, all that and its V-day...DH is making me cookies which is sweet, and we are heading to a movie and dinner now...

Pretty resigned at this point that its going to be on to next cycle soon...

6DPO

Ok, I take it back...I am now not being productive at all...
now that I'm at 6DPO, I'm obsessing about every little twinge...
Honestly, everything is identical to last month, and my temps are so low compared to most people's post-O temps that I might as well get ready for next month...

and, I was so sick also, not the end of the world, but it means I have to try again...

So, on Monday I'm testing even if I have no good reason to test, we dont have school, so I have the day off...I also have my dr appt. and I'm really going to hope that she can get me on SOMETHING so that I O sooner...if they do not give me something to get me to O sooner...then next cycle I'm going to take 150mg soy isoflavones on CD3-7:
http://www.twoweekwait.com/newsletter/2006-01/
Along with the Robitussin starting when I start to see signs of O, and the Instead cups (only for when I need to get up - not when I'm just laying there...I guess I'll keep up the OPKs, but I NEVER get + OPKS, so I think thats just a waste of money...oh, and I'll start BBT at CD14 as well...

At least I have a plan...am really hoping that I dont have to wait till CD31 to O again, its just too long, I cant handle that neverending wait...

In other news, I've been having trouble sleeping all week cause the muscles in my legs are really messed up, and they are still hurting, so sleeping hasn't been fun lately...I need to go do some yoga or something to help them, but I haven't yet...

I guess thats all for today...
Oh - HAPPY (early) VALENTINE'S DAY !!

I can focus now!!

For the last month, I've been obsessing about everything ovulation...every twinge, timing everything perfectly, not stressing out DH, not stressing out myself...

And now, its over, I've Oed, and at this point there is nothing more I can do...
And, I can finally focus on other things...since getting over being sick, I'm actually doing things that I should have done for the last month...

Here's to getting things done!!

Almond Joy update

So, I promised that I'd update with a picture of my Almond Joy dessert...
So, it is: almong flour, coconut oil, vanilla, salt, cocoa, and agave...

I made this for hubby (it's supposed to be a flower:))

Avocado Sandwich

This is hubby;s favorite!

Pretty easy sandwich, got good high quality fats and protein...although the bread is a carb, try to get good quality bread so that it isn't that bad...

First, take two pieces of bread (I like to toast the bread first - DH likes it untoasted - since this sandwich was for hom, I left it untoasted)...then sppon out avocado onto one side of the bread (since I'm in FL, I use florida avocadoes, cause they are cheap and really good!)...




Then I make a sauce using yogurt (I use Fage - fat free) and Sun dried tomato pesto, and spread that on the other side of the bread...





Then I put a few slices of tomato on one side, and some spinach on the other...



DH just went for a long run, and was worn out, so I wanted to give him some protein, so I included tempeh (tempeh is a soy product fermented with bacteria - sounds gross but its really good...it is not overly processed like tofu is, so its not "bad" in the way that processed tofu is...I get these patties from a local grocery store, and they are made locally also - this is tough to find if you aren't in a vegetarian friendly town) in the sandwich - personally, unless I'm in need of protein, I like it better without the tempeh, but he likes it better with...I just boil it, then put it on the sandwich...





When I have the tempeh in it, it is a huge sandwich, so I then stick a toothpick in either side, and then cut it in halves...




Anyway, a good quick sandwich - enjoy!!

TIMING!

So, this week, I noticed a huge increase in CM...and I knew that it was O time...last month was either CD30,31,32 (it was Christmas, so I dont know for sure), so I was hoping that this month would be the same. I had everything planned perfectly...we would BD on Wednesday (CD28), then again on CD30 (we were going out of town on Saturday to MIL house, so we couldn't on Satuday...but I'd drop the dogs off at my friend's house on Friday night, so we'd be able to BD without the dogs around - double good)...and then, if needed - again on CD32 (Sunday)...

Here's to great plans...

Started off well enough, got in a good BD on Wednesday...

Then, Thursday night, I started to feel the scratchy feeling in my throat - uhh ohh!!

Friday morning, temp was still normal (no fever) - and low, so I definitely didn't O on Thursday - but by lunch time, I was feeling bad. The kids at school were giving presentations, so I had to stick around...and by the end of the day, I was feeling horrible!! Took an OPK at 11am, and it was glaringly negative, so was hoping that we could skip our Friday BD, and I'd feel well by Sunday and we could catch the eggie then...but I kept think that I must be Oing, cause I was really getting all of the signs - high, soft CP, tons of EWCM, etc. I decided to take an OPK right after school let out at 3:30pm (cause I really had the feeling that it was just my bad luck that the timing would be like this - ugg!), and to my surprise, it was as close to + as I've ever seen it...since reading the Consumers Report about OPKs being negative even when Oing, I decided that I'd fake out DH, and BD anyway...so, I rested for a while, pretended that I was feeling fine when I was talking to DH, but was just feeling worse and worse...but, I was also feeling major O pains...I dont know if that was my body actually Oing, or just preparing to O, but I KNOW that it meant that O was very near!

Finally, I took my temp, and it was 101.87 - that's really high for me - and I used my BBT, so it was probably higher than that...and so I finally broke down and told DH what was going on...ugh!! Poor guy...it was like, you have to do it right now, but I feel awful, so I'm just going to lay here like a blob, oh, and you cant kiss me either, and I'm not going to kiss you...so, anyway, we decided that it just wasn't meant to be this month...I still held out a bit of hope cause we BD on Wednesday, so I didn't want to take anything that would be bad for a baby, or dry up CM, so I ended up taking 2 Extra strength Tylenol...that definitely helped with the fever...

Well, I woke up at 4am, and had just huge gobs of EWCM...and my temp was only 100.7, and I was feeling a little better (at that point, I knew that I just had a cold and not the flu - if I'd had the flu, we would have just skipped the month, cause when I get the flu, I get really sick!)...so, I woke DH up from deep sleep...and told him I wanted to do it right now...so, I was a - slightly more animated than last night - hot blob...and we managed to do it...I elevated my pelvis for an hour afterward, and put in an Instead cup as planned (think I put the cup in wrong - am hoping that doesn't mess things up), the only thing (besides the fever of course) which didn't go as planned was that I hadn't eaten much or had much to drink - so my CM wasn't quite as watery as I had hoped (if I'd thought about it, I would have taken some Robitussin, but I wasn't quite thinking that clearly)...

So, we went off to MIL house, and my fever had broken...but then we walked around till 3pm (some leaking from BDing in the morning - think I really put that Instead cup in wrong, cause when I did pull it out 6 hours later, there was a big snot rocket of either semen or CM caught on the plastic edge), so it goes...anyway...definitely felt worse than earlier in the day, went to bed at 4pm, and by 7pm when I woke up fever was 100.64...then ate, watched a movie, relaxed - and ate ice cream!! Before going to bed, fever was 98.97 (much better)!

Woke up Sunday with BBT of 98.39...not a fever, but much higher than my normal - even post-O BBT, so I still dont know if I Oed...

Well, after all that, DH is kinda sick right now...I feel better...still have a little bit of EWCM, but I'm going to go with that we did what we could to catch this eggie...

Should be able to get an accurate BBT tomorrow morning, and I'm literally waiting in anticipation to go to bed tonight so that I can wake up tomorrow and find out if I Oed...it is the strangest things that we TTC people look forward to:
- peeing on sticks (and usually getting a bit of pee on ourselves also
- going to bed (cause it makes the time go by faster until we wake up to take our BBT)
- waking up (to take BBT)
- peeing (cause then we can look at the toilet paper for evidence of CM)
- sticking our fingers "up there" (to feel CP)
weird stuff!

Anyway...will update when I know for sure if I Oed...
Either way, am not holding up that much hope for this cycle, simply because my fever was so high, that it probably killed the spermies before they even had a chance...

Also, by Dr. appt is on February 16 - when I should be 9DPO (if I Oed on Saturday when I think I did), so I'm going to test right before going there (I'm OK with a negative, I'd rather just know so that I wont hold out hope!!)...

Well, nevermind...again...

So, my hopes were high yesterday - thinking that I might O - I mean, it's CD26, so it should happen soon, right?

But, I dont think it did...CM dried up just like every time I almost O - but don't...so here I sit, once again...so mad at my body for not working right (AGAIN!)...

Neverending comedy of TTC...

So, yesterday, I felt the lube (just a little but it felt right for O)...so, I decided that we will DTD, and I have everything ready...
But, DH is running 12 miles...so, he is tired - and smelly...

So, off to the shower...that was fun, all cleaned up...
Put the dogs in the back, and pretend to walk out the door (open it and slam it shut)...and then sneak into the bedroom...feel like teenagers sneaking off for some fun...exciting...

Poor guy is so tired, we dont fool around much, just get right to it...since I'm not warmed up, I got the Preseed right there to squeeze in - works perfectly...he gets cramps etc from the run...but finish beautifully...insert Instead cup as planned...relax and snuggle...and then 2 minutes later, my mom calls - oh crap, its 6pm and we were supposed to pick her up (she just came into town) to go to dinner...so, instead of snuggling, off we go...I still have the cup in - and I'm so rushed, that I didn't even get to wipe down there - so I'm dripping a bit and everything...ugh!

So is the trials of TTC:)

Well, dont quite know if that bit of EWCM was the real thing, but I definitely feel close...OPKs are still negative, but as I said before, I'm kinda ignoring those...CM for the next two days will tell the tale and BBT will confirm it...I really hope this is it...

Going to try to do: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday this week - or at least till O is confirmed...

C'mon baby - catch that EGGIE!!!

AHH!!

I feel a LITTLE BIT more "lube" down there...please let it be a sign...that is all!

NEVERENDING

The neverending cycle is making me really sad...
I've not wanted to do anything today...just sit here and mope...Usually, I'd exercise, but I dont want to do that, cause I think thats what screwed up my cycle to begin with...I want to DTD with DH, but the $#%@ing dog wont stop crying...

I just read the forums all about people who at least O, at least have a chance - and I get sad...

Then I'll read about celebrities (which is mind numbing so I get out of my own little world for a while), just to read something else...and then I feel my brain cells stabbing themselves, so I stop...

Then I'll read the news, and I'll get depressed - love Obama, but just way too burnt out from the election cycle...

I had high hopes this morning, took an OPK at around 11am (yesterdays OPK was almost positive, so I was hopeful even though the other signs weren't there), and it was super negative, and just got down...

I have a doctors appointment on February 16 at a place that does do infertility...and I'm going to be VERY vocal that I need something done for me...this is ridiculous!

Oh, and to top it all off...we are supposed to go to MIL house next weekend - and so help me, if it is O time (and it should be based on a 31 day O) I am NOT staying overnight...and she gets very pissed very easily...ugh...how much do I not want to deal with that...but I dont even care...I already gave up my chance in December because of being at my parents house over Christmas and I'm not doing that again!