Carowinds

When it comes to weekends here in Ft. Bragg you have to try to make the best of it, since basically there is nothing much to do here.  On Saturday hubs and I went to pick up my highlander from maintenance and then went to the mall to look around, we got home early since he had to work a 24 hour shift from Sun 9am – Mon 9am.  And so my NC bff as I call her Julie invited me to an amusement park (Carowinds) in Charlotte, NC.  Sunday morning we drove approximately 3 hours which was totally worth it starting with the day; it was just beautiful the weather was perfect and ok, it’s not no Busch Gardens or Disney Amusement park but we had so much fun, we got on every ride.  I yelled on all the rides; now I can’t even talk.  Here’s a little recap:

This was on our way to the park!!!

 April wasn’t exactly the greatest month.  I recall me saying this was going to be our month and although I am still proud about my hubs promotion, I think I still carry a little bitterness inside with all of the things I’m going through at in this moment. But I’m praying May will be a better month.  I’m hoping we start our first IUI unless we decide to jump to Plan B which would be IVF.  I will also find out how are my Thyroid levels which I’m hoping that have lowered down since I’ve been on a strict diet and exercising every day.  And last but not least we are looking for a new apartment.  Hopefully I will be moving to a gated community by the end of June.

Happy Tuesday and enjoy the rest of the week!

The Real Military Wives of Blogland

I have decided to join “The Real Military Wives of Blogland” 

created by Mallory and Samantha 

Hello! I'm Melina you can call me Mel.  My husband is stationed at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina.  Some people call us Army Wife; a “tag” that I personally don’t like to be called it's a part of who I am..  For starters I’m married to a soldier I am not a soldier.  He belongs to the United States Army.  I belong to my family (my husband).  But I sure am proud to be his wife.  This is his second duty station and I’ve been accompanying him in this journey for almost 2 ½ years. 

I was introduced to my husband when he was deployed by a friend we have in common.  We were cyber friends for some time until I decided not to talk to him anymore because our conversations were getting too good to be true and I was not up for another disappointment.  When he got back from deployment he made a trip to Puerto Rico and once he arrived he contacted me and there it was LOVE AT FIRST SITE.  So yes, I do believe in love at first site.  We dated for 8 months and decided to get married in September 2012.  I moved to Ft. Bragg, NC on December 2012.  

I have to admit that I 'm not too fond with this lifestyle.  I don’t like the fact that I can’t see my family everyday (yes I’m a family person).  And it has been very difficult for me to make friends.  The majority of the girls I've met are way younger, so therefore we have totally different personalities.  I believe that I have made a good bond with one of the girls which in fact is the one motivating me at this moment with exercise and health issues.  

And I have two other girls that I keep in touch at least by text.  But there are times when the hub’s has to go to the field for a week and I have no one to at least go out to a restaurant with.  Work wise I am truly blessed by the fact that I have found a job in 

what I do (Administrative Assistant). 

If I could tell people one thing about being a military spouse or the lifestyle, I would say it’s not the greatest yet it’s not the worst either.  I have to thank Tricare because thanks to our health insurance (Tricare) I have one of the best doctors treating us for our infertility issues.  Throughout these 2 ½ years I can say that it has been a good experience.  It’s not something I would recommend to every woman because not every woman can handle the whole package (I thought I wasn't going to be able too, thank God for patience, love and tolerance).  At this moment we don’t have kids but I've seen so many girls with kids and having their husbands deployed.  I have to give it to them because it is not easy.  

Think about those soldiers that can’t see their newborn because their wives gave birth during deployment.  

And then the pros of this lifestyle are getting to know different cultures, 

different states, and just traveling. 

I've seen some shows where they put the military wives as dependent, cheaters or full of drama.  Well not all are like that.  There are some of us that are independent, hard workers, intelligent, humble human beings that simply love our spouses. 

Stop Worrying

Have you ever felt as if you were heading directly down the drain?  Well that’s how I was feeling this past week.  I completely shut myself down from writing and basically just blocked myself from everything and everyone.  Story long/short on Friday April 4, 2014; I had a doctor’s appointment where I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and thanks to this decease the only way I can conceive is with IUI or IVF. 

Hypothyroidism means your thyroid is not making enough thyroid hormone. Having a low level of thyroid hormone affects your whole body. It can make you feel tired and weak; you may have dry skin, constipation, memory problems, irregular menstrual periods (0 ovulation), sporadic mood swings and excessive amount of overweight.

I can say I cried during my consultation with the doctor, and all weekend. I explained to the doctor how constantly I would have mood swings and how I had gained so much weight (30 pounds to be exact) from December until this day; and that I was frustrated because I was doing diets and exercising and yet I would continue to gain.  And that’s when he told me that I wasn’t going to lose any weight until I began medication; he also gave me a huge list of foods I can’t and can consume. 

In my eyes I felt as if everything was over.  It may sound a little exaggerated but if you were in my shoes you would totally understand what it feels like to have to intake medication for life and totally change a lifestyle you were already accustomed too. And then the fact that I can’t conceive like any other normal person could was breaking my heart. 

God has surrounded me with an amazing husband, family and friends.  I’ve got so many words of encouragement and motivation.  I realized shit I’m alive.  This is my time to prove myself that I can.  I can wake up at 5am and do a ½ hour jog with my beautiful friend Jules.  I can start eating healthy and forget about sweets.  And most of all I have an amazing man by my side who is willing to do whatever is in God's hand for us to have a child. 

Jules & I

My lesson learned for this past week is:

ABC's of Me

My cyber friend Elena from Baby Ridley Bump posted this a week ago, and I thought it was a cool idea to do so here are my ABC's:

A - Age: 34

B - Birthday: January 19

C - Color: Purple & Turquoise

D - Drink: Moscato

E - Eyes: Dark Brown

F - Flashback: When I met my husband the first time after talking like 3 months on the phone.  Yes we had a long distance relationship.

Our first date

G - Gent: My sergeant!  

H - Hobby: Beach, Writing, Reading, Cooking, Makeup

I - Indulgence: Chocolate

J - Job: Administrative Assistant 

K - Kiddos:  Currently TTC for approximately 2 ½ years!

L - Love: The hubs, My Familia, Knela, Coffee, Wine, Pasta

M - Music: Everything! I mainly listen to Bachata & Merengue don’t ask me why I guess it’s a hipanic thing.

N - Nickname: Mel, Morena

O - One Wish: To have my miracle baby!

P - Pets: Knela (Toy poodle)

Used Waterlogue for my baby's picture

Q - Quote: Too many here’s my two favorite

R - Residence:  We own a house in Puerto Rico, right now we currently live in Ft. Bragg. 

Our House in Puerto Rico

S - Siblings: I have two sisters Jessica and Dixie. 

T - Temperature: I'm Puerto Rican of course I love the tropical weather.  I hate this weather really bad right now. And the pollen is killing me.

U - University: NONE

V - Vehicle: Currently driving a Toyota Highlander.  Dream car Lexus

W - Worst Habit – Spanish Cursing. 

X - X-Rays: Dang!!! Too many to remember lol 

Y - Yuck: Being alone in the dark, roaches and horror movies

Z - Zodiac: Capricorn

5 On Friday

[ONE] Hubs promotion

When it comes to my husband’s work/military related things I never get involved.  I may post 1 or 2 things regarding duty stations, or some other topic but never related to him. 

 But, today was my husband’s promotion ceremony in which he got pinned on as Sergeant. I am beyond proud of him, not just because he’s my husband, but I’ve seen him work really hard for this promotion.  The ceremony was held at 9:00 am at his company with the Captain, all the soldiers that work with him, and his family members and/or friends.  I arrived around 8:45 am and stood close to the front.  They began with a speech and then there it was Hubby was called to the front and I got the opportunity to put his new Sergeant logo on his uniform. Hubs said a few words and that was it.  I can say it was short yet exciting.  Congrats to the most handsome man that I get to call my husband.

[TWO] Hyperthyroid

Today I found out that I have Hyperthyroid and my heart dropped.  I know it’s not something to get depressed over.  But now I understand why my metabolism is so slow. Why after all the diets I never lose weight and why I’m having problems to conceive.  Today I start medication for this little situation.

[THREE] Fallopian Tubes

Well good news with these two is that the Radiologist told me wrong; my right tube is not blocked. Now, my left tube has a little bit of obstruction but nothing to worry about. 

[FOUR] IUI

Since Dr. P knows my complete story with Clomids he decided to take care of my Thyroid issues and we will now wait for AF to arrive.  Once she gets here I would have to call my nurse to schedule an appointment and begin with injections to begin our first IUI.  He says he’s 90-95% sure I won’t have to go through IVF which I’m praying that we don’t have to get to that point. 

[FIVE] Massage

Can Monday come already!!! I have a full body massage scheduled.  And I need it ASAP

(Via)

32 Things That Makes Me Happy

Today I decided to join a link up that Sarah from Venus Trapped in Mars created. It's writing 32 things that makes me happy here:

1. God

2. Hubs

3. Flamenco Beach – Look at this beach in Puerto Rico its a must if you ever go on Vacation. 

4. Chinese Food – I don’t care what people say about it being nasty I just crave it. 

5. Discounts – A good coupon, rewards or simple sale from my favorite stores.

6. Vino

7. The Walking Dead – I have this huge crush on Daryl (Norman Reedus)

8. Purple & Turquoise

9. Owls

10. Hamsa

11. Karma – What Goes Around Comes Around

12. Road Trips

13. Puerto Rico

14. Makeup

15. Chipotles Guacamole (God I could live by this)

16. Sunflowers – I hate flowers but the only ones I truly love are sunflowers.

17. Waking up next to the hubs every morning – I hate when he’s in the field.

18. Massages

19. French Macarons

20. Hearing my mom, dad and nephew’s voice every day.

21. Relaxing

22. Staying in bed til noon on Saturdays

23. Candles – The smell must last  

24.  Coffee

25.  Nail Polishes – I’m into Gel Nail Polishes now

26. Mani/Pedi’s

27. Talking for hours with the bff

28. Sex and The City Series and Movies

29. The Secret Books

30. My Wedding Ring – I look at it and realize how happy I am that I married my best friend.

31. Taking pictures

32. Rollercoaster’s – I just feel like a little child again. 

HSG Procedure

Today I went to the hospital and had my HSG (Hysterosalpingogram) procedure done.  How do I feel?  First I began to cry.  Yes!!! I cried.  For some reason every time I go into a procedure I tend to cry.  Thank God for the nurse and my doctor; they were so understanding and sweet.  Continuing to the procedure… While I laid on the x-ray table they inserted a speculum, then they cleaned the area with a brown liquid (this prevents any infections). I have to admit I thought this was painful but at least in my opinion it did not hurt at all. 

After they put in the catheter they started blowing up the balloon at the end of it to hold it in place. When injecting the dye into my uterus (this part it’s a bit uncomfortable, but not to stress about) they did several x-rays.  After the procedure was completed, I began to dress (recommendations bring a pad with you because the dye will come out and at least to me they were providing a “pamper”). Once dressed, doctor told me he had to take a deeper look to the x-rays he did but from what he saw my right tube is blocked and my left tube is perfectly normal.  I have to admit I was overwhelmed thinking on what will happen next but my doctor looked at me and said “you know you only need one tube to get pregnant”.  He made me feel a lot better.  He also said that a lot of women get pregnant easier after having the HSG done, because the dye flushes everything out and leaves the tubes clear and ready for the egg to pass through, except on my right one. 

My upcoming appointment is this Friday the 4^th.  We’ll see what plans they have for us. I have been saying April is our month, I feel it, and we are finally getting answers.  In the meantime I’m praying continuously as always and I’m not losing my faith this time.

A special thank you to my amazing husband for being there, supporting me and for loving me.  Te amo!!! My mother and father that through distance they've texted me today to check on results and how was I doing.  And my best friend Wilmary she's my soul sister.  She gave me so much strength today.  This lady had two miscarriages one of them she lost her right tub due to an ectopic pregnancy.  And now she has an amazing beautiful daughter that is my God child.  I have an amazing support, and I don't know what I would do without these people in my life.