Keeping it Real

Sex and Trying to conceive a child can sometimes become tedious, or so I've heard. Not to get too personal, but so far making a baby hasn't become a chore yet in this house.

Josue and I's schedules clash so sometimes we like to plan dates, I think the dates really help our sex life and relationship in general. Planning the dates for each other are fun and we really connect while on them. So I'm throwing out a couple of our fav "date nights" in hopes that others will start dating their husbands too. (if you do already, great! maybe some of these will be fun new ideas to try)

I'm sorry if some of these ideas are So-Cal related, but a lot of them can be applied anywhere.

Also a disclaimer some of these are full of cheesetasticness. But hey a little cheese never hurt any one's relationship :)

Dinner & A Movie, a twist on a classic

Plain old dinner and a movie can be a great escape from reality and a fun date, but Josue and I like to turn it up a notch. We found the little gem of Vineland Drive-In a few years ago and have gone back many times. You can see two movies for eight dollars, and you can bring in your own food! Sometimes we bring in Little Ceasers, we make a picnic, or a full blown dinner. Whatever we do we have fun, plus we can talk during the movie and no one will shush us ;) If you have a SUV or truck and you're brave you can always make it Dinner, Sex and a Movie.

Another place we've just come across is Gold Class Cinemas.

We've only been once since at 22/ticket plus food this place can get pricey, but for a true date night it is a must try! This place is like a hotel, with a check-in, concierge, and lounge. You can order your dinner, and a server will bring it to your movie seat. You can order a "real" drink at the lounge and even appetizers before hand. Cold, want a refill or dessert? Just push the light on your table and your server will be right over. The seats are situated well so you don't even notice the servers, and when we went there were no children which made for a nice experience.

Outdoor Activites

One of our favorite outings are the ones during the day time where we can be out, maybe get a little exercise and bonus if we can bring our dog Bentley.


We love the Long Beach Farmer's market, it is a rare treat since usually one of us is working, but when we get a chance to go we take it! We walk Bentley up and down the aisles and pick up lots of fresh organic fruits and vegetables.

We also really like riding our bikes (teaching Bentley to tag along is out next goal) sometimes we take them to the beach and pack a picnic. Other times we just ride around our neighborhood for short trips.

We even make our dog park trips fun. Most of the time Josue or I take Bentley on our own while the other one is at work. But once in a while we pack some sandwiches or grill some burgers and head to the park with B-Man. We sit a bench by the lake and give Bent some food. It is nice to just talk and eat with the breeze. After a nice walk we give Bentley some time with the other dogs. He seriously has a blast. I'm not sure why but when Josue and I go together it almost seems like he has more fun. Seeing him happy gives us great joy.

Theme Parks

A self expalnitory section, but if you have a theme park near you and you have an extra day with your guy go live a little. Every year we get annual passes to a different near by park. And since we have so many it makes it easy for us. It cuts down your costs too. This year we have Universal, and last we had Disneyland so it is fun to go to a new place each year.

Double Dates

We have a few friends that are couples that we like hanging out with, Johnny and Kristal, Yeimy & Ronald, Kristel & Jason, any couple from TKN, the list goes on and on. But there is this couple (Temo & Cecia) that we seem to click with and hang out with the most. Josue works with Temo and Cecia and I just hit it off. We have a lot in common even though they aren't ready for marriage and babies just yet. Bowling has been our favorite activity. If you have a bowling place near you I highly suggest it. We order drinks, get competive, it's great! We've also gone roller skaitng, ice skating, and gone to theme parks together. We love going on double dates with them, we do things with them that we wouldn't have tried on our own and vice versa. Our favorite dinner spot is Benihana. Have you ever been to a teppan cooking place? If not put it on your list of things to try, it is so yummy! We also have fun traveling with them we've gone on Vegas trips, to Big Bear, even Maui with them and they are fun travel partners. Anyway I guess the point of this was to try double dating. It may seem like your back in high school, but it can be fun and open up your eyes to things, or discuss topics that would never be brought up with just you and your spouse.

Church

This one is definetly not Josue's favorite date, but when it is my turn to pick he has to abide :) He isn't a brat about it so I love him for that. Church can be a nice time for the two of you to connect to God and eachother.

Weekend Getaways

OK now this one can be extravagant or not. Josue and I try to go away at least 4x year. I'm sure this will change when baby comes but for now we like the little escapes. We get to forget about reality and just have fun together. Some of our favorite spots are Las Vegas & San Diego. But Camping various places has become a great time too. We also like to one big trip at least once every two years, but I think the little get aways are important. Especially when going through something so emotionally draining such as TTC. I even give my self permission to leave the thermometers, and OPKs at home :)

Staying In

I realize that based on all the above information it must seem like we spend a lot of money, and yes maybe we do but we like to have fun :)

That isn't to say that we do it all the time, and that we don't have fun just hanging out at home. Some of the best time we have together are our lazy days at home. We love to cook together and watch a movie on TV. Sometimes after the farmer's market we scour the internet to look for yummy new recipes to make together. Or other times Josue makes me a candle-lit dinner, and I make him a yummy dessert.

Whatever it may be have fun together, try new things, and enjoy being married!

Also, I realize that we don't have children and things will change once we do. But for now we like to live it up and hope you can too. I believe that I can still in one way or another Date my Husband once a little miracle comes in to our lives.

Infertile? ... Update on our Journey

Infertility;
Inability to conceive; Unable to get pregnant

Primary infertility describes couples who have never been able to become pregnant after at least 1 year of unprotected sex (intercourse).

I googled Infertility because I wanted to add a photo to this blog and that definition is what came up (before I hit "images")

Anyway it struck me because today this defines us. When we first started this journey last July we decided to take it slow, we knew going into this that we would have some struggle but we thought we were prepared. Well now that 12 months have passed, we are each a year older, and we've seen how hard this can be. We've decided to take a more active role in Trying to concieve. Since we started TTC I have only recorded ovulation twice. Dam PCOS!! During one of those ovulation times we got our BFP, but it was short lived. I discussed all this with my OB and we've all decided to start clomid. I had my HSG and except for some cramping it went ok, and my tubes are all clear, yay! Josue still doesn't want to do a SA just yet but he has all the paperwork for when he is ready. I also had my pre-clomid u/s which went well, so I started my prometrium to induce a period and hopefully we will start clomid to induce ovulation in the next day or so.

;)

Inositol, Choline and PCOS

Recently I have been doing a lot of research on my disorder PCOS. Trying to find natural remedies to help with my symptoms. I found this article and many like it that encourage woman to take Inositol and Choline supplements since we have decreased amounts in our systems, and lowered abilty to absorb them. At work recently I was asked to help write a booklet on our new weight management program. We started offering what are called Lipotropic injections to our patients as part of the program. To better explain the injections I wrote the following excerpt as part of the book. I've decided to include it in my blog in case there are any other women with PCOS that are interested.

Lipotropic nutrients are compounds that promote the flow of fat and bile to and from the liver. In essence the produce a “decongesting” effect on the liver and promote improved liver function and fat metabolism. Lipotropics decreases fat deposits and speeds up the metabolism and the natural removal of fat from the human body. By definition, a lipotropic substance decreases the deposit, or speeds up the removal of fat within the liver (lipo = fat, tropic = stimulate). There are three key amino acids used to make these lipotropic shots are Choline, Methione, and Inositol.

Choline supports the health of the liver in its processing and excretion of chemical waste products within the body. Moreover, it is required for the transport and metabolism of fats and cholesterol within the body, which is important for the healthy support of the endocrine, cardiovascular and hepatic systems.

Methione is one of the sulfur-containing amino acids and is important for many bodily functions. It acts as a lipotropic agent to prevent excess fat buildup in the liver and the body, is helpful in relieving or preventing fatigue and may be useful in some cases of allergy because it reduces histamine release.

Inositol a nutrient belonging to the B vitamin complex is closely associated with choline. It aids in the metabolism of fats and helps reduce blood cholesterol. Inositol participates in the action of serotonin, a neurotransmitter known to control mood and appetite.

Vitamin B12 is also added to the injection which is essential for helping to form new, healthy cells in the body. It also boosts energy, helping to increase activity levels.


The different ingredients of the Lipotropic B12 mixtures are known to provide the following attributes:
• Co-enzymes that are required for proper metabolism of fats, and have the ability to remove fat from the liver
• energy boost
• speed up thought process and improve mood
• building blocks for cell walls
• essential components for normal cell and brain function
• help control cholesterol levels and gallstones
• helps emulsify cholesterol and detoxify amines
• helps keep healthy skin tone and strong nails
• promote healthy hair growth, and controlling estrogen levels
• help with transforming carbohydrates into energy

Because of the article Rebecca Rice M.S., L.Ac. wrote and others along with my own research, I decided to talk to my Doctor about taking the injections myself. I'm not sure if they will help me get pregnant or not, but it sounds like a great injectable supplement either way so with my Doctor's permission I started taking them.

Yummy ways to keep cool this summer!

Sugar Free Strawberry Popsicles

12oz of Diet Lemon Lime Soda
20 Large Strawberries
2 cups crushed ice
10 drops of liquid stevia or more to taste (clear, lemon, or vanilla flavored are good choices)

Blend all ingredients together well
Pour into six Popsicle molds

Makes 6-8







Rainbow Sherbet Float
3 Scoops of Fat Free Rainbow Sherbet
8oz of Sprite Zero
Put them in a glass and enjoy :)

Cherry Limeade Freeze

4 Scoops Lime Sorbet (can be homemade, sugar free, fat free, etc)

12oz of Sprite Zero

1oz of grenadine

(you can also just use Black Cherry Soda)

Blend together and pour in a glass

Freeze for a couple hours

Enjoy :)

Sugar Free Ice Cream Cake

I guess it was a couple years ago that I started making the birthday cakes for special occasions in my family. I really enjoy doing it so when I my sister asked me for an ice cream cake this year I was up for the challenge. I wanted to secretly make it sugar free since I am on this new stevia kick. So except for the little pink and yellow chips on top this cake is sugar free. Feel free to use real sugar. But I was pleasantly surprised how yummy this was. :)

Chocolate Cake


2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups Splenda No Calorie Sweetener Granular
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup boiling water
1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate, shaved (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF Grease two 9-inch round cake pans

Combine eggs, milk, oil and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and add to mixture. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed for two minutes. Stir in boiling water slowly and mix thoroughly. Add shaved chocolate. Pour into pans. Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for ten minutes then remove from pans to wire cooling rack. Then put the cakes in plastic wrap and place in the freezer.

Make the ice cream while the cakes are freezing.

Ice Cream

2 cups 2% milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup of Splenda or 1 Cup Stevia Extract in the raw or 3 t of powdered Stevia
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract (I bought pure mint extract, but peppermint is easier to find and just as good)
3 drops green food coloring (optional)
1 cup shaved pieces of Simply lite milk chocolate bar (trader joes)

1.In a large bowl, stir together the milk, cream, Splenda, salt, vanilla extract and peppermint extract until the Splenda has dissolved. Color to your liking with the green food coloring.
2.Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. After about 10 minutes into the freezing, add the chocolate shavings. After the ice cream has thickened, about 30 minutes later place it in the freezer until ready to use. ( you may want to have the cake ready at this point because it is better if the ice cream is soft to 'frost' the cake with it.)

Topping

Ok I'll admit it I didn't make this part I was planning on make fresh whip cream, but I read that it wouldn't freeze well so I used all natural Sugar Free Whipped topping from Whole Foods. However Cool Whip will work just fine.

Putting the cake together:

Pull the cakes out of the freezer and place the bottom layer on your serving dish or on a plate. make sure the top is flat. "Frost" the cake with a very thick layer of soft (but not liquidy) ice cream. Put top layer of cake on top of the ice cream and wrap with plastic wrap. Put in the freezer until an hour or so until you are going to be serving it. When you are ready to frost the cake with the whipped topping do so. For fun you can add some sprinkles or maybe some more chocolate shavings. Place back into the freezer until you are ready to eat.

Enjoy :)

HMO vs PPO and Infertility

As long as I can remember I've had an HMO. I had a PPO as a kid, but I don't really know much about it. Once we started TTC we looked into our pregnancy/baby benefits with Aetna HMO. We thought it sounded great, it was only going to cost 250.00 for the whole pregnancy/delivery. I was very content even though Claim Jumper had just bumped up our insurance cost 300.00 dollars a month.

Then last month we were told that the Landry's Company (the owners of the Restaurant where J works) were switching us all to United Health Care PPO (only). I was worried that we were going to have to spend so much more money, I always thought PPO's were for rich people, and we are far from rich. I love my HMO doctor, so I had no interest in a PPO "so I could pick any doctor" The HMO of course wouldn't pay for any infertility testing or procedures but neither will my new PPO. I seriously couldn't find one good thing about this new insurance. It is costing us 100.00 more per month, we have a huge out of pocket yearly max, and a deductible that isn't cheap! After looking into our new benefits I freaked out! It is going to cost us 3,000 dollars to have a baby! and even more if we need a c-section.

Once I got over the fact that this is what we have, and we're just going to have to take it. I also tried to be grateful that we have insurance at all. I know so many people that just go without it. I talked to friends about it and got some good information. My Boss and some others even convinced me that a PPO will be good for us because I can go to any hospital, and in emergency situations you get much better care. Sad but true.



Anyway there is a good point to my long story. I work at a whole health medical clinic. Kinda like in the show Private Practice. We have a GP, an OB/GYN, and an RD,  we even are starting a preventative weight loss program.  It is a great working environment, and I am constantly learning. After work last week my Boss and I were discussing my new insurance predicament. She told me that I can see our OB/GYN if I wanted to. I felt a little awkward at first but he is so awesome that you just immediately feel comfortable with him. He told me that if I wanted to he would be more than happy to help Jand I get pregnant. I could be his patient and he wouldn't charge me, he would just bill to the insurance. If we choose to have him deliver our baby we get to deliver at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, which I hear is very nice :) How amazing is this!? This would never even be a possibilty if I still had the HMO. It's funny how God works in this way sometimes. You think you want one thing but he tells you that you need the other thing. I realize we may not get pregnant right away but after trying for 11 months I needed some new motivation. This good news is exactly what I needed. When you have your husband poking at your ovaries and asking them to start working and you lose your chance at carrying a baby to term your spirit gets crushed, you need some new found sprirt. I found some recently and I am so grateful.

So here's hoping for a spring baby!
Ok So maybe that wasn't the best title it should be more like Daniella ramblings about insurance etc, but I was trying to be catchy.

Home made green enchilada sauce

Green Enchilada Sauce

I love making green enchilada casserole, but I used to always use this stuff for my sauce.

Until one of my best friends Ana taught me how to make the 'real' stuff. It is very simple and makes a huge difference so I thought I'd share :)

2-3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 green peppers, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, seeded and membranes unless you want it spicy (you can even use a Serrano for some real spice!)
1 1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked and quartered
1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
4 c. chicken broth


In a large saucepan or stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until tender and fragrant.

While onions are sauteing, combine tomatillos, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro in your blender. Process until smooth; you may have to do it in batches and/or add some chicken broth to make things blendable.

Pour the tomatillo mixture over the onions and garlic and add chicken broth, salt & pepper. Simmer 15 minutes-1 hour, depending on the consistency you want. I usually turn the heat to high and boil it uncovered until I reach the consistency I want; it makes things go a lot faster. The sauce can also be simmered in a slow cooker all day.

Serve over tacos, as an enchilada sauce, inside burritos, or as a dip for chips.




When using as a dip for chips I love adding the sauce to the blender with some salt and a few avocados. Seriously best dip ever!!