Update

So, I have decided to try and give this blog thing another go. I know I've said that in the past, but recent events (See the post about Maddie Spohr) have sort of brought home to me the community aspect blogs. I'm on Facebook every day, so why not my blog? I'll be able to cut down on my personal email obligations (it's not that I don't like writing personal emails - I do. It's just that sometimes I'm really lazy and it seems less rude to refer people to my blog if they want to keep up with me than send out form emails), and hopefully, find my swing again, especially if I have any hope of actually being paid to do this one day.

Casa del Certa is thriving, you'll be glad to know. Married life is awesome. People are still asking me how I like married life and I always respond the same, "It's awesome." It really is. Of course, we have it pretty easy. We both have good jobs, we're childless for the moment, everyone in our family is healthy and making progress in their own lives. We don't really have too many worries. However, every day I'm more and more certain that when we do come face to face with one of life's many major challenges, we'll be OK. We have complete trust and confidence in each other. We don't know how to be any other way. Obviously, I think we have what it takes to make it or I never would have gotten married. So far, so, so, so good.

Also, we have a few balls in the air about which we're very excited. I can't discuss all of them, because some of these "planballs" are still in the developmental stage (no, I am not pregnant), but I can talk about one or two.

For one, if we're really, really lucky, there will hopefully be a baby Certa on the way by the end of this year. We would have liked to have started earlier, but a few wrenches thrown into the cogs of our lives turned the whole "there's never really a perfect time to have a baby" thing into, "No, seriously. This REALLY is NOT that time." So, we're waiting. In the meantime, I need to transform my body into the ultimate EasyBake Baby Oven. Prenatal vitamins, though helpful, are not enough. I've stopped eating sushi (mercury sticks around for MONTHS!) and have been trying to find the motivation to exercise, but I'm sort of failing at that. I'm not sure how much more motivation I can get other than "for the health of your future children."

As Jillian said on the Biggest Loser (what? There are so many life lessons on that show that touch me deeply! For instance, gastric bypass surgery can lead to a 6-pack of MOOBS! Lesson learned!), "It's a lifestyle." And she's right, it totally is. I think I should know that better than most people considering how much weight I've lost in my lifetime, and how hard I had to work to reach that goal. But for me, I'm realizing, it HAS to be a lifestyle. There really is no other way. I'm not a natural athlete, nor am I naturally thin. I'm also one of those people who really should not be eating processed foods or too many starches/too much sugar/too much salt. I think I'm still a cavewoman in the most basic ways. Ooga Booga. Time for more fruits and veggies and less gluten-free Mac 'n Cheese (dudes, I have MASTERED that recipe. Come on, did you think I WOULDN'T?).

So, that's one of our planballs. Babymaking in Q4'09!! Woot!

Another planball is one I'm sure will be developing for a loooooooooong time. Like a lot of you, we're really trying to cut back on our expenses. We transferred all recurring payments that were hitting credit cards to our checking account. We adjusted the due dates to a lot of bills we thought would be easier to pay mid-month. We canceled our cable and restarted our Netflix instead. We've downgraded other services, too, and we cook more at home now than we ever did. In fact, we spent $424 less on eating out in March than we did in February. Yay Certas!

Eating out less is a constant goal we are forever chasing in Case del Certa. We looooooooove to eat out. We're foodies. And even though I can REALLY put my foot in it, I recently went through a personal energy crisis that found me in several doctors' offices looking for answers. The general consensus is that I need to:

1. Eat right. As I mentioned for me that means fruits, veggies, lean protein and brown rice products. That's about it!
2. Drink more water.
3. Exercise more.
4. I'm probably allergic to wheat.
   
5. I might have IBS.

That last thing I was DREADING. Throughout all the lethargy and stomach pain and irregular bowel activity (sorry), I was absolutely dreading hearing the letters I - B - S. I feel like it's sort of a blanket non-diagnosis and I don't mean any disrespect to people who also suffer from it. I know they're in real pain. I just KNOW there's something else going on inside my body and it's frustrating that I can't get the tests I want as fast as I want. I have another appointment with my supposedly Rockstar gastro Doc tomorrow. I'm going to ask him to skip the waiting and fast track all the tests he was trying to avoid in order to spare me any discomfort. Screw that! I have good insurance, I'm hoping to conceive at the end of the year, I can no longer digest nuts or leafy greens so can someone PLEASE stick a camera up my butt and find out what the hell is going on? Court, I know you're with me, girl!

On that note, I should probably end this post here. I'm going to continue to fudge the posting dates so I can leave the Maddie post at the top of this page - not because I'm trying to bum you out, but because I'm just trying to do what I can for the Spohr family.

Please keep on checking in. I'm going to be doing some Spring cleaning around here, not only to the site, but also in my mind. You never know what I might uncover next. I mean, seriously, I just confessed my desire to have a camera up my butt. You can safely assume TwerpsWorld has FINALLY entered a whole, new, unexplored territory!