I've Moved!

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Baileys Adventures

My Blog Is Growing Up....

When I started this blog, Brian and I were just married. There were a lot of adjustments to make, and we were starting to think about trying to have a baby. I originally wanted to hide this blog, to keep it just for myself and maybe a friend or two. Definitely not the majority of our family or complete "strangers". I griped a lot, used the F word copiously, and didn't censor myself at all.

And then, eventually, I changed. I started censoring myself in real life a bit (those of you who know me IRL are shocked, I know), I've been trying to watch my potty mouth, and I'm much more open about our fertility issues. I've realized that most people with infertility hide it from everyone in their lives, and so compound the isolation we already feel. I flat refuse to do that, in case you haven't noticed. I try to live my life as an example of certain things, and how to deal with IF without going crazy is one of those things. We cannot be defined by our fertility or lack thereof any more than we can be defined by the books we read, jobs we hold, or car we drive. I'm going to deal with my infertility right out loud.

Now, I share this blog address on my Facebook page, via Twitter updates, and give it to family and friends. I want people to be familiar with what's going on in our lives, not just infertility but our many misadventures. My blog has become my forum, my chance to make a tiny difference. The chance to share my faith in Christ, to help others dealing with infertility, and get the thoughts rattling around in my head out and about. As I try to do this more often, there are a few things that I want to be able to do. Things that Blogger doesn't allow. And lately ol' Blogger and I have been fighting more often than not.

So, much as I left LiveJournal when my blogging needs outgrew it, I am leaving Blogger. I invite you all to join me at my new address.....

The Baileys Adventures

thebaileysadventures.wordpress.com

I tried to get "Baileys Adventures", but somebody named Bailey apparently thought she'd post about her adventures, too. Except that she never had any and there is nothing on her site. So add 'The' and come on over. Make note of the new address, change your blog readers, edit your bookmarks. Because the boxes are packed, the truck is loaded, the posts are exported, and I'm heading to WordPress. There's a post there waiting for you, too....

Thank God...It's Friday!

Praises

Uncle Roy was sent home from UVA a few days ago. Apparently his doctors think he'll heal faster and regain more abilities if he's in a familiar environment. Word on the family grapevine is that he's still quite out of it and confused, and is having some trouble with falling. While we're all so thankful that he's even alive and that he had relatively minor injuries compared to what could have happened, the family will definitely still need prayers as they try to work out care schedules and keep Uncle Roy and Aunt Margie safe.

So far, the news is good for friends and family who were fearing for their jobs in the Virginia public school system!

My friend Turkeymary bought a house this week!

I think I have it worked out to allow me to continue to sell baby and child-related products like slings, felt play food, etc. I've been talking with the vendor contact at the store here in town that carries my products, and we're pretty sure we've found a way to follow the law without breaking the bank. I'll update further on the business blog. Thanks for prayers and ideas during this time!

Requests

This is a rough day for a friend. She has a lot on her plate, as well. Please keep her in your prayers as led.

MadHat76's dog at yet another sock. This one earned him a trip to surgery. Please pray for him (and her!) as he heals.

My friend Arinne's wife is expecting their first baby any minute! Hopefully this wait will go quickly for them and they'll have him to love on soon.

Work is kind of crazy right now. It's the same every time I have a new baby, and will pass soon enough, but prayers for sanity would be appreciated.

Little Bro has laryngitis. Yuck and no fun!

The man who was in the wreck with Uncle Roy is still in critical care at UVA, and from what I've heard is still on a ventilator.

Have I mentioned we'd like to get pregnant this month? Just puttin' it out there....

**As a little housekeeping note, Mama let me know that some of the pictures from the alpaca farm weren't showing up. I fixed them, I hope. Check it out!

Have a great weekend!

I love to grill out. As soon as it's warm enough, I fire up the grill and keep using it until it's so cold and dark I can't stand to be out on the deck. Once we get the chance to wash off the furniture we usually have dinner on the back porch, soaking up the vitamin D sunshine and spending some time not in front of the TV.

Before I met Brian, I had a little tabletop grill. It was the perfect size for my itty bitty, teeny tiny, two-people-and-one-shared-cigarette balcony at my apartment, and was great for camping. I actually went through two or three of them in the years before I met Brian. When we moved to our hovel old house, we put the grill in the cellar because we had no real place to grill out without stray cats stealing our meat. When we moved here to the Square, we bought a brand-new, cobweb-free tabletop grill for our deck, and it's served us very well.

That is, until I lit it on fire last year. Twice. I don't remember if I blogged about it or not, but last summer while Brian was gone for work I grilled some chicken with the skin on. Big mistake. The grill lit up like some manner of burning bush, and the flames threatened to burn down our deck. There are slight black burn marks on our deck wall (why do our decks here have walls? Anyone?) to memorialize my grilling prowess. I am deathly afraid of fire, and was completely terrified by the idea that I nearly burnt our house down. Those flames were four feet high, and the baking soda was inside the house. I finally grabbed it and put out the conflagration. The grill caught on fire again later in the summer, albeit in a much smaller manner. There was an insane amount of residual chicken grease in the bottom of the grill, and I've never really felt safe about it since.

What I didn't know was that when something catches on fire, it often rusts. Like rusts out. You can see how traumatic the fire(s) was by the fact that the top of that grill used to be red. The paint burnt off. O-F-F, ya'll. Burnt. it. off.

So, we were in need of a new grill. $40 would get us a new tabletop grill at the local Wally World.

But then! My amazing husband called! From work! Where they had received a shipment of Holy Cow Amazing How I Lust After It grills. For an insanely reasonable price and the benefit of an additional employee discount. He asked me to come out and look at it, and we brought it home to live with us forever.

**insert a choir of angels singing here*

Brian put it together last week and then helped me light it up. I love to grill, and I have never been afraid of propane or my grill. But read about that fire again...and know that I was terrified. Which disappointed and embarrassed me. Brian helped me, and I'm totally okay with it now. I just had this irrational fear of setting our deck alight. Can't imagine why.

I marinated up some chicken thighs in our favorite marinade, and tossed some asparagus with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

A few minutes of hot, searing, yum-inducing heat, and viola'! Let there be dinner!

Here's the recipe I used for the marinade. I use it pretty much weekly in the summer, and it's wonderful. I can't take a bit of credit for it, though. I got it from Recipezaar about two years ago. It's basically idiot proof. Enjoy!

California Marinade

Combine the following in a jar and shake vigorously:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 TB Worcestershire sauce

1-3 dashes of Tabasco sauce

2 TB apple cider vinegar

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

2 cloves of crushed, minced, or pressed garlic

Marinate meat or vegetables for a few hours. Brush over meat while grilling.

Forest Fire

On our way to the alpaca farm Sunday, we noticed some smoke on the mountain ridge north of Route 259 by the West Virginia state line. Last week there were several red flag fire warnings, so we knew the possibility of forest fires was high. Seeing the mountain burn is sadly pretty common around here, but always heartbreaking. We saw some fire crews already set up by the roadside, taking ATVs back over the ridge to fight the fire. At that point, they were probably digging ditches to stem the fire's progression. There was a tent set up providing refreshment for the firefighters, and a rescue squad handy just in case.

By the time we headed back home from the farm, the fire had spread and grown much larger. As best we could tell, the fire was back behind the ridge, so we could only see the smoke.

A Visit to the Alpaca Farm!

On Sunday, I went to Lost River, West Virginia with Mama, Daddy, and Uncle Larry. Daddy has a friend with an alpaca farm and we've been meaning to get over there to see them for months. Sunday was gorgeous and none of us had plans, so we hopped in a van and took off after church.

These little animals are so fun! They're gentle and sensitive, and I was amazed to see their interactions with their owners and with each other. Here are a few pictures from our trip...

Inside the barn with the girls

Connie, who is due to have a baby any day, on the left. I'm not sure who's on the right.

Daddy feeds the boys. They ate rabbit food as treats.

Their mouths are very soft, and their upper lips are split to move independently! Daddy was spit on pretty early in the day by Lilly, and then was shunned by most of the other alpacas!

Teddy on the right. He spit a little before this. When they spit, alpacas' bottom lips are frozen open for 20-30 minutes! So Teddy's teeth were sticking out.

I don't remember this guy's name, but he was extra-sweet. He let me rub his nose and tried to eat my camera.

Naomi, who is due in September, and Manny. Manny is an award-winning show alpaca, and very sweet!

After we spent a few hours playing with the alpacas, we headed to Lost River Grill for a late lunch and then home. We're hoping to go back soon to see either Connie or Naomi's babies, so I'm sure there'll be more pictures. Needless to say, this trip only fueled my desire to have a little alpaca herd of my own someday!

Thank God...It's Friday! The Saturday Edition

Yeah, yeah, so I didn't get this put up on Friday. With the week I've had, it's a miracle I even have the presence of mind to type. So here you have it....

Praises

This week I am literally thanking God that I made it through. It's been a long one and all my kids were nutty this week. I'm actually looking forward to trying to Spring clean this weekend....

Uncle Roy is conscious and seems to be improving. He has two places bleeding in his brain, but the scans from this afternoon were improved over the ones from 4 AM. He also has a broken shoulder bone. He has no memory of the accident. The other driver has internal bleeding and is currently on a ventilator. So in the midst of praise, prayers are still needed.

Requests

A couple from our new church is currently in the process of adopting their son from Russia. They are waiting on his visa to be approved and hope to travel to Russia in about four weeks to pick him up and have their Russian court date. Unfortunately, today the Russian government starting making threats to freeze all US adoptions. While they are justified in their reaction to a horrible incident, making thousands of new adoptive parents suffer is not the answer. Please be in prayer for our new friends and their son, as well as anyone affected by this.

A friend's wife should be having their baby soon (update us, you know who you are....). Please lift them up in prayer as they grow their family.

Several friends are looking for work or are facing unemployment.

Please keep MadHat76's grandfather in your prayers as he undergoes treatment for cancer.

YaYaPrincess' pooch has been sick. God loves dogs, too, you know.

Two of the families whose blogs I follow are observing the one year anniversary of their children's deaths this week. I cannot even imagine how hard this would be. Please keep them in your prayers.