Mish mash...

Last week, I returned to work. I'm an 8th grade special education teacher. This year, in addition to my 8th grade consultant teaching and resource room teaching duties, I am also teaching AIS ELA for 7th grade and AIS Math for 6th and 7th grade. (AIS stands for Academic Intervention Services.) In no way am I unhappy that I am teaching AIS, however, I am frustrated that I wasn't notified until the day before school started that I was teaching it. Especially given it is 6th and 7th grade. I have no resources for AIS, and am scrambling daily to keep my head above water. I enjoy my job (the part that actually includes working with the kids, that is), but feel like this year I am not being given the support to be successful at it. I know I'm not the only teacher in my building and/or district who feels this way. This is especially frustrating given that teachers are being evaluated by a new system this year, affectionately known as APPR. This new teacher evaluation system is a major sticking point in the current Chicago teachers strike. I will refrain from climbing on my soapbox and discussing my personal feelings about APPR today. Maybe in a future post...

Last Tuesday, while at work, Dr. Vitek from Rochester called. She said the team met (their clinic doctors work as a team and discuss every case to form a plan), and that they all agreed IVF is our best option. However, she did say, given our insurance coverage, that she could repeat the HSG test to check the right tube. She said sometimes tubes spasm during the test. It can't hurt. My insurance will cover it. If on the off chance the tube isn't blocked, we could use our two remaining injectable/IUI cycles covered by insurance. If those don't work, we will have stockpiled some more meds for an IVF cycle. My meds start expiring in the early part of next year, so I am hoping we can figure this all out by then. So, I will call with the start of my next period and schedule the HSG (which will occur between days 5 and 12 of my cycle). If my cycle remains 28 days as it has been the past several months (before this last IUI), I should expect my period towards the end of next week. I am not going into the test hoping for an unblocked tube; I am really doing it more for peace of mind and confirmation.

Returning to work last week brought with it a return to a routine. I've learned that I need routine in my life to be successful with my weight loss goals. This summer was especially hard. No routine = no weight loss. In fact, I gained. I'm ashamed to admit that, but there is no way around it. When I weighed in last week, I was up 12.4 pounds. That is how EASY it is for me to gain weight. 12.4 pounds since June 12th. 12.4 pounds in 12 weeks. So, in essence, I gained about a pound a week this summer. No bueno! When I weighed in last night, after one week back on plan, I was down 6.4 pounds!!! So, 6 more pounds to go to get to pre-summer weight. I HATE having to re-lose weight I've already lost. My short-term goal is to lose 7 more pounds by the end of September so I can enter the 220's! (I'm not sure if I ever admitted what my starting weight was on here. I guess now is as good a time as ever. My starting weight, right after my IVF failed in January, was 280.6 pounds. I cringe when I think back to that weight.

I'm going to share a picture I never thought I'd share on my blog. This picture is actually two pictures side by side - my school picture from September 2011 on the left, and my new license picture from August 2012 on the right. I can't believe the difference I see between the two pictures. When I look at myself everyday, it isn't easy to see a difference. But, after looking at these pictures, WOW!!

Lots of people at work, who haven't seen me all summer, are complimenting me on how I look. At first, it made me feel a little uncomfortable. Now, I LOVE it! Why not take credit where credit is due?! I worked HARD to lose the weight I've lost and I feel good about it. Now, I just have to keep it up!

Oh, how could I forget to mention that I signed up for an adult Hip Hop class at a local dance studio?! The class is on Tuesday nights from 7:30-8:30. Last night was the first class, and all I can say about it is that it was HARD. My friends Phoebe and Elisabete (who I met at Infertility Support Group in 2010) are doing the class as well. I can imagine some of the questions people have....

1. No, I have NEVER danced before.
2. Yes, there is a recital in June.
3. Yes, I will be participating in the recital.
4. Yes, there will be costumes and I will wear one!

As always, thanks for checking in!