Say NO To Puppy Mills

I am sick of puppy mills. I am sick of treating poor, sweet innocet puppies for parvo virus that could have been easily prevented with a vaccine. I am sick of seeing them not make it.

I do not know who is buying dogs from these people. You are not "saving" these puppies. You are reinforcing the puppy mill to keep on producing puppies. Buying that puppies dooms many, many more to being born and raised in those conditions. Same goes for buying from a pet store. I know they are cute, but a good breeder would never let their puppies be sold in a pet store! If no one is buying their puppies, they will realize there is no money in it and stop breeding!

Puppy mills do not care for their dogs. They are simply doing it for the money. And they are not willing to spend ANY money on their animal's health. They do not do vaccines, deworm and their animals never get health check. If a pregnant dog is having trouble in labour, they do no want to do the C-section she needs because it is too expensive, and the puppies die inside of her. Then she has to get the C-section anyways. Sometimes it is too late and she dies a few days later from an overwhelming infection. Then that "breeder" is angry with the veterinarians because they spent all this money and have nothing to show for it.

These puppies do not even look healthy. They are sickly, they stink, they have crusty eyes, their coat looks horrible. They have worms. They are disgusting and they make me sad.

This needs to stop. These poor animals depend on us to care for them. They cannot speak and save themselves.

So if you are looking for a puppy, make sure you ask all the right questions. Go to the person's home. See where the puppy has been raised. Ask to see the parents. If it is questionable, report it!

Most puppy mills will not let you come to their homes. Their contact info is always cell phones. They will meet you somewhere to drop off the puppy. They will sell to pet stores.

Listen to me people! For the price you are paying at a pet store for a puppy mill MUTT, you can get a purebred dog, with papers, from an excellent breeder with a health guarantee!

So watch out puppy mills. I am coming for you. And I am going to shut you down.

What We Let Your Kids Do At Youth :)

Eric & Lindsey's List Of Things Not To Say

I like to see the humor in every situation, no matter how bleak. So today Eric and I compiled a list of things NOT to say to an infertile couple. If you have said these things to us or any other infertile couple, most likely they hurt, but we understand you are just trying to help or really don't know what to say. Your forgiven! :)

1. Just relax! - OH REALLY? That is all I have to do to have a baby? Wow, I wish someone would have told me this 3 years ago! (While stress can prevent ovulation, it is rarely the cause of infertility for so long.)
2. But your still young, you have lots of time.- How long are people going to say this to us? Is there an age cutoff for this comment? Having lots of "time" is not going to cure infertility!
3. At least you are getting a lot of practice *wink,wink* - Haha, akward...
4. My cousin/sibling/friend/etc couldn't get pregnant and then they did (insert procedure) and they had a baby. - And that helps me how? I know, I know, you just don't know what else to say.
5. What drugs are you on? Oh... I heard this and that works better. (Meanwhile, no correct drug names are cited) - When did your get your PhD? I guess you know more than my OB/GYN and my REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGIST. Surely they don't know what they are doing.
6.I had no problem getting pregnant, whenever I wanted a baby, I had one. - Thanks. Would you remind someone who had a terminal illness how healthy and vibrant you are? I think not.
7. Trust God, His plan is always best - This is 100% true, and I would never deny that. But it is not comforting! It is easy for someone to say, when they are not in the middle of a spiritual and emotional battle!
8. Complaining about your pregnancy - Were you not aware of what you were getting yourself into when you planned on getting pregnant? Did no one tell you there would be some discomfort invoved? I would give ANYTHING to be experiencing those things. It is a blessing, and you should be thanking God for every sore stomach, every twitch of pain and every stretch mark!
9. Just enjoy your time alone before you have kids- Minimizing my pain? Nice approach...

I just read a great blog post, it explains my feelings very well! Click here to check it out. There is also a great site where that blog post got many of it's ideas from. Click here to check it out. There are some things on their lists that are not on mine, but I can totally relate to everything they say. I wish I could print those out and give them to all my friends and family!

My Pumpkins!

We didn't plant much in our garden this year, it was mostly weeds. But I wanted to try to grow pumpkins again! I was hoping to get more, but this was my crop! The one on the left is supposed to be one of those giant pumpkins that grow to 500lbs, but I think the weeds in the garden sort of took over! I would like to try again next year, starting with a weed free garden! For some reason I just love growing pumpkins!

Empty Womb, Aching Heart - Book Review

I had been eying this book up in the church library for several weeks now, but I was in the middle of so many other books I thought I would wait. But after a particularly hard weekend, I decided to take the book out, desperate find hope and healing in the pages. I was disappointed. In fact, I think it made everything worse.

The book is a collection of stories from real people, and their struggle with infertility. It just made me sad to read them, and most of them were 35+ and have been dealing with infertility for much longer than I have, and still did not have any children of their own. It kind of makes me panic. It makes me want to get on an adoption list right now.

This book conveys SO many of the emotions I have felt, and that I am feeling. I think it would be a great book for a pastor, or my family and friends to read. It would help others understand what I and so many other infertile couples are going through. It would also be great for someone who wants to know they are not alone. But I already know that because of the blogs and message boards I am part of.

I was looking for encouragement, hope and healing but instead this book reminded me just how serious and hopeless my situation is and could be. I thought maybe it was just because of the valley I have been in lately, but to quote an Amazon review "I do not recommend this book for anyone who is already on the brink of losing hope. This book will take you right over the edge"

Wish I would have read that review first.

My Running Schedule

I did not run at all last week. I just needed a break week. Plus it is dark and COLD in the morning and I don't really want to run in the dark ( yes, I am scared. Coyotes, bears, skunks. Need I say more?). So I might stop running for the season, and get up and do p90x or TurboJam or something like that. I like getting up and working out, it is a great start to the day, and I don't want to loose that routine. Here is the schedule I used to get me to running 20 minutes at a time:

Week 1: Run 1 min, Walk 2 min x 6 sets, run 1 min. (Total run time : 7 min.)
Week 2: Run 1 min, Walk 1 min x 10 sets, (Total run time : 10 min.)
Week 3: Run 2 min, Walk 1 min x 6 sets, run 2 min. (Total run time : 14 min.)
Week 4: Run 3 min, Walk 1 min x 5 sets, (Total run time : 15 min.)
Week 5: Run 4 min, Walk 1 min x 4 sets, (Total run time : 16 min.)
Week 6: Run 5 min, Walk 1 min x 3 sets, run 2 min. (Total run time : 17 min)
Week 7: Run 6 min, Walk 1 min x 3 sets, (Total run time : 18 min.)
Week 8: Run 8 min, Walk 1 min x 2 sets, run 2 min (Total run time : 18 min.)
Week 9: Run 10 min, Walk 1 min x 2 sets, (Total run time : 20 min.)
Week 10: Run 20 min non stop (Total run time : 20 min.)

Let me know if you are going to try it! I would love to cheer you on and encourage you!

Fruit Fly Trap

We have had a problem with fruit flies in our house for a while. I made a trap a few weeks ago, just a half a lime in a glass bowl with saran wrap over it. Just punch a few small holes and flies get in and can't get out. It works great. Then I had the brilliant idea to just make it out of a half of a melon! I always eat melons like this, so it was readily available, and it skips the step with the bowl! It works fantastic! Check out all the flies we caught!

Sharing Sunday

Today was a sharing services in church. We have never done that before, and it was neat. There was no sermon, nothing planned. The whole services was left up to the congregation. It ended up being 1/2 hour longer than normal, and it was great!

Eric and I shared about our infertility for the first time in church. It was hard. I was hoping Eric would do all the talking, so I wrote down what I wanted to say. But when it was our turn Eric barely said anything and I did all the talking. I managed to get through it without crying, but then I bawled when we sat down. I am glad to have shared it in church, we need all the prayers and support we can get!

This summer our church's theme was "Are We There Yet?" and we studied the Israelites and their time wandering in the desert. I could relate to them in so many ways. I feel like we are wandering the desert too, but rather than looking for a land of milk and honey, we are looking for a land of milk and Huggies. (Although we will be cloth diapering, that just doesn't sound as good! hehe)

I have been learning to praise God through everything. Although sometimes it seems like it just can not get worse, and I beg Him to take me home, God IS still present, real and He loves me. He is blessing me, but it is not always in ways I want Him too! Today Andrew shared a song by MercyMe that I love, and today I realized how much it applies to me. It is my prayer:



So Jesus, bring the rain!

My Journey To Fitness Month Two

Minutes running at a time: 20

Pounds to goal: 70

Acceptable Goal: Continue running for 20 minutes each morning and add 20-30 more minutes of exercise a day.

Challenging Goal: Run for 45 minutes at a time, run a 5K and not get last.

Ultimate Goal: Loose 71 lbs, win a 5K. To be active every day. To run 5x a week, strength train 3x per week, and bike 2x on the weekends.

What changes I have made this month: Honestly! Not a whole lot. I stopped taking a certain medication, as instructed by my doctor, and I gained back 5 lbs! I also got a ravenous appetite off the meds, I was just hungry all the time. So I started PGX, which is a concentrated fibre capsule, that helps with supressing my hunger and helps regulate blood sugar levels. So far it seems to help with the appetite, and I have lost 3-4lbs that I have gained. I have been on it for about 2 weeks.

What I have learned this month: That I am capable of running for 20 minutes at a time. It was such a huge goal for me to meet. I can do things if I put my mind to it!

What I want to change next month: Eating more vegetables and fresh foods. I would also like to get in more exercise somehow! I am still thinking of readying Thin Within again. I feel like I am stuck at a weight plateau that i just can't get off of! I would love to loose another 20lbs before Christmas!

And for fun, I decided I was brave enough to post picture. The first is from when I started Thin Within 1.5 years and 23lbs ago, the second I took tonight. I don't actually think it looks that different, but it's a start!! Please ignore my stupid faces in the before pics. I guess I just figured people always look miserable in the befores!

The Finished Product!