I missed this.

Hi all. First off, apologies. I had to take a little bloggy break. Things piled up and something had to give. Well that's part of it anyway, but I'll get to that in a bit. Between work, volunteer, home, and family responsibilities I was stretched entirely too thin. Hell, look at the way I typed that sentence; the way I prioritized it, even now. That is part of my problem so let me take a mulligan on that: family, home, work and volunteer. I am working on changing the way I prioritize my responsibilities and time. I have completed a schedule for myself (and even included time to be with my computer and blogs each day...oh and sleep! Seven hours a night if I can discipline myself.) However, I am not setting myself up for failure and will not permit myself to allow sticking to the schedule to become one more thing that stresses me out. It is just something I am going to refer to for awhile to help me into better time management habits and to help me recognize where my time needs to be budgeted.

The second part of my bloggy break was that I needed to step away from fertility issues for awhile. I still read all of you. I checked in about once a week and passed things over to Lost and Found. I commented very little. I am not sure if this happens to any of you but what I sometimes experience when reading others is a blur of the things I want for myself or unrealistic thoughts about what is possible or good for US. Everyone is different and I would never question the decisions or processes that others choose in their efforts to build their family. Nor would I judge the depth or length of someones grief or emotion. However, over the last month I have really been thinking about exactly how aggressively I want to peruse having a pregnancy and I really didn't want other's experiences to influence my feelings. I have said before that I love our current approach to becoming pregnant and I still do. We do what we do and if it happens, it happens. But the fact is that I am over thirty (Oh fuck, it pained me to type that. Really, it produced a distinct pang in my chest.) and if we want a biological child it is time to start being a little more serious. After the first of the year looks like a good time to start being more serious. I am sure that I will just end up cursing that old New Year's hope but I am going to hope anyway. Auld Lang Syne, OPKs and peesticks...Bring it!

Hence, the new approach to re-prioritizing and de-stressing my life. I figure if I start now I should be at least halfway to where I want to be in making the schedule a habit by the first of the year. I need time to sleep, I need time to not just do my job but do it well, I need to lose weight and have time to exercise, and I need time to spend uninterrupted with my husband, family and friends. Definitely friends, because unless idle chit chat with the grocery check out girl or texting your best friend a happy belated birthday counts as a social life, I no longer have one. And, I need time post and check in with you guys. I feel better when I do that. Being a small part of this community has been so helpful, even outside of fertility issues. So, I'm back. Back with regular posts and comments. I even have ICLW noted on my calendar and have my first ICLW post written and scheduled.

I know its been awhile but some of you may remember that I promised to post an idea I had for all of us. It will post tomorrow at 9:00am. Did I mention that consistent follow through is also on my list? Wish me luck!