"Yes, Please" by Amy Poehler- Book Review

I give this book 3 and a half stars. 

A lot of this book was intriguing and funny but, some of it I felt like was a little boring. 

Amy Poehler is hilarious as we all know and her personality shows well through her writing although, I think she is funnier on TV. 

Amy goes into details about her normal childhood. I loved that her parents were teachers since I'm a teacher! I always like to know where celebrities came from because it gives me hope that one day I can go from being a normal American woman to Millionaire. She ate cheap meals and worried about paying rent and I like celebrities that came from that. 

It was also interesting to read about how Amy's career blossomed. She worked her way through the system meeting key people as she went along in order to make it to the success she has today. Some parts of this I found wordy and boring. I think when we talk about our own life and the people in it, we like to add in things that are important to us but, no one else really cares about. There were a few parts in this book that I didn't even care if I read and I could not even tell you about them now because I don't remember them. This made me very sad because I really like Amy Poehler as an actress and needed this book to be good! 

I think the best parts of the book were about her time at SNL. It was interesting to read how they prepared and wrote skits as well as some of the behind the scenes info. I also enjoyed when she wrote about becoming and being pregnant. You could see her happiness about that time in her life shine through her words and her humor. These times in Amy's life went hand in hand and were the times when I had trouble putting the book down. 

In all I would suggest reading this book to others. Its only about 250 pages and generally a very easy read. I found it ironic that I finished the book the same night that Parks and Rec had it's series finale. Also, reading the book did make me want to watch the show. (I see a Netflix binge in my future!). Only pick it up if Amy is one of your favorite actresses and you are familiar with her work because if she isn't, you might find this read pretty boring! 

TTC Penpals!

Do you want to share your journey with someone who knows what you are going through? Maybe you want to talk about something other than TTC and just get to know someone who's pictures you see all the time. Either way, a penpal is always great to have! 

What is #ttcpenpal2015 ? 

You will receive a penpal about two days after the final deadline for signing up. You can send your penpal a letter, a cute card with some encouragement, maybe even a small trinket if you so desire. The point is to write and share! Your penpal will be around the same age as you and going through a similar experience. For example if you are 33 and going through IVF your penpal might be 30 and going through IVF, not 20 and on their first clomid round. If you are 20 and going through your first clomid round, you might get matched with someone who is 21 and on their first femara round. This way you are your penpal are going through similar experiences. This is an opportunity for someone to check their mailbox and get a breath of fresh hope that they needed that day. 

How do I sign up? 

Send an email to lifeonthebooks@gmail.com with the following information: 

1. Age 

2. Where you are in your ttc journey 

3. Any diagnosis (pcos, endometriosis, hypothyroidism, etc) 

4. Instagram name 

5. Mailing address/first and last name

Please send this info by February 5th. That is one week to sign up! 

I hope that you are as excited about this as I am!! Can't wait to match all of you! 

After you get your first letter please use the hashtag #ttcpenpal2015 and share your letter/card/hope! 

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

3 out of 5 stars

I originally picked up this book because I loved Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by the same author and I also love Pride and Prejudice. Zombies are also pretty high up on my list of interesting things. I thought this would be a perfect book! I was wrong. 

While the storyline stayed generally the same, I was not impressed. The Bennett sisters are trained in martial arts along with most of the other characters such as Mr. Darcy. It did give the characters more of an edge but, I generally enjoy them in their original form. The fact that they were trained killers did modernize the story slightly but, I feel like this side of the story left more to be desired by the reader. I would have preferred a slight back story on their training or how it came to be given the ages of the girls. 

I think one of my biggest complaints about the book is that I didn't like how the zombies were portrayed. Maybe I have watched a little more Walking Dead than Seth Grahame-Smith and therefore my idea of the zombie was skewed. At one point the zombies were eating cauliflour because it looked like brains. This was a huge turn off to the book for me because of it's cheesy nature. I think it is a well known fact that zombies can smell the human flesh and therefore would never mistake a vegetable for a human. I also did not like how at one point a gun shot scared off a herd of zombies when they are generally attracted to noises. While I knew the book would probably be cheesy, I was disappointed in the zombie characterization. 

It was a nice refresher of the Pride and Prejudice storyline for someone who had not read the book since my sophomore year in college. (Which was longer ago than I would like to admit). I still love the love story of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. It was not the easiest love match and I love that about it. The book did not deny me that story and I was very happy about that! 

If you like reading different versions of a story then do not deny yourself this version. If you enjoy books about zombies, I say skip this one. 

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

This is most definitely a five star read! 

Let me start off by saying I will never ever complain of having a bad day again! This man endured such terrible things and yet, maintained hope and faith through all of it. My worst day would easily be his best day times two. 

The book starts out revealing facts about Louis Zamperini's troubling childhood. He was quite the troublemaker and when I was reading it I wondered how this man ever made something of himself. I think this was a great way to show the reader that while this man was great, he was not perfect. 

As the story continues you see his true self begin to form through his love for running. It is amazing to me how fast he was and how easy it seemed to him. I grew a new respect for the sport of track. 

The meat of the story came when Louis entered the war. He flew huge planes and made an impact on the war as he fought in key battles which endangered his life but not his spirit. 

One day, Louis plane crashed. (I will not get into details because it will take away from the book!) Himself and two crew mates lasted for months out on sea in a raft before being captured by the Japanese. While I am sure the Japanese are a friendly people, during WWII they were not kind to the American POWs. 

Louis, who was starved and needed medical attention when they found him, found himself being beaten, starved even more, fighting disease, and fighting to maintain his spirit. 

His survival depended upon his spirit. They tried to literally beat it out of him but, he could not be beaten down. 

I'm sure his rescue was more exciting to him than what it was to me but even I felt like a celebratory wine was needed by the time I got to it. His health and his demeaner actually concerned me and I wasn't even sure he would live (despite knowing that he died in 2014). 

Laura Hillenbrand took Louis Zamperini's story and enthralled audiences in order to show how a spirit can not be broken. Keeping faith is key. I thought it was fabulous to read right at the beginning of the year when you need a boost of confidence to propel you to be a better person. 

Planning it out

So I met with my RE today in order to discuss our next options. She has suggested that we just up my femara to 5mg for 2-4 rounds and see what that does before moving on the the injectables. 

She explained that people with PCOS don't produce the best quality eggs so she wants me to produce more than the one measly follicle I've been producing. 

She also was not pleased that the other doctor in the practice who saw me for my egg scan last time just sent me on my way with no double checking of my one 14mm follicle. She just told me to take the ovidrel two days later and assumed that it grew. This time I will be returning if they are not up to size yet! 

Overall I was pleased with the visit. 

Fun Fact: My doctors office performed the first IVF in America! I go to EVMS in Norfolk, VA and I was reading some material in the waiting room and found that out! Makes me feel like I'm in the right place! 

Are things going to go my way?

First of all I want to start with THANK YOU to my ttc sisters for all the support. I'm not sure how anyone is able to go through this without the support of others in the same situation. 

This was our second femara round with an ovidrel shot and timed intercourse. Of course this morning I got a BFN. We will do this one more time before moving on to the next step. 

What is the next step? I have an appointment with my RE on the 24th to discuss it. I'm wondering if IUI will be our next step or if we will just try other injectables with timed intercourse or something I was not even aware of! My husband is also finally getting his seman analysis. Since he has two children we had not yet done that but, now we feel like that step needs to be taken. 

Hopefully the next time will work and we won't have to worry about it but, I feel like I have been saying that for a year and a half now! 

Halloween fun? Or not?

Yesterday was Halloween and I loved every minute of it, well on the outside I did. On the inside, a little peice of my heart was breaking. 

This time last year I remember thinking "I can't wait until next year when we will have a little one to dress up!". This was before we had a diagnoses and before I knew that this Halloween I would be saying something similar: "I hope next year we have a little one to take around!".  Those two little words "I hope" show that I'm not sure if this time next year we will have a little one. The infertility battle always seems never ending and when you look at the future, you want to see yourself with a child but, you hold back knowing that the dream of the future might not be fulfilled yet. (Notice I said YET!) 

I put on my happy face yesterday and I really was excited to see all the kids in their costumes. They are all so cute! I just kept thinking of how much I want to dress up my kid and let them have so much fun. 

While I have never suffered a loss of a child, the pain seems greater. A friend of mine lost her 6 month old daughter to SMA in the past 2 months. She mentioned on Facebook that her heart was breaking because she thought that this Halloween would be fun and she would get to dress her daughter up. My heart went out to her and made me check my own emotions, that is a loss that I could never understand and I am sure that yesterday was a terrible day for her emotionally. While a little peice of my heart was breaking, her entire heart was breaking. 

We are officially in the 2ww so right now I have a little bit of hope for next year. I am probably about 2dpo today. I hope things are happening in there that will make next Halloween a little more fun!