Shoe Frenzy + Femara Follies: Everything's Lining Up!

I am just going to warn you now; This post is pretty darn exciting! If you've been reading a while, you already know how much I love "before and afters" as well as the occasional home decorating/organizing project. De-cluttering=Free Therapy

How then, have hubby and I lived in this house for almost FIVE YEARS with the fiasco that is our closet? Truth be told, he's been griping about the situation forever, and I've been putting it off...Other priorities and I didn't want to spend any $ to fix it.

This is pretty embarrassing, but we've been living out of these ridiculous hanging canvas shelves. You know, the kind that velcro onto a closet bar and leave all your clothes hanging out of the front in a very dorm room'esque fashion? I'm going to share something with you, but then I'll have to kill you...

Yes, this is the closet of a 35 and 37 year old married couple. So sad.

Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought, "How'd I get so fat?" That is how I feel about this closet...NOT easy to look at! ha! Something just snapped in me last week and I could not take it ONE. MORE. SECOND! Time to bite the bullet and do something about it.

I do not like multiple dressers in the bedroom if I can help it either, because I like an open feel, so I spent last week meeting with custom closet designers, visiting closet showrooms, and haggling with sales reps.  I highly recommend doing this if you have a closet crisis yourself and have the energy. Even if you don't end up buying anything, you will get some fabulous ideas on how to organize it yourself.

I don't think I'll be able to sleep for the next 6 weeks, because that is when 12 new drawers will be custom built into our closet! So exciting!! No more looking at this mess. I will definitely post pics once this side of the closet is done. Stay tuned in December.

The other thing that has been really embarrassing and also quite hazardous is my shoe situation. Apparently, a long time ago I thought it would be smart to pile my shoes into clear plastic bins and slap some Sharpie onto labels to "organize" them. Only problem (besides the fact that it looks like kindergarten class)? I am 5'4" tall and not a good basketball player. Many times while trying to aim for the correct shoe bin a few feet above my head, a shoe will hit the rim and divebomb my face! It happens more often than not to be honest. The more I write this, the more ridiculous I feel.

Anyhoo, we did want to cut costs with the closet people where we could, so I decided to tackle the shoe situation myself. A trip to the Container Store and a couple of broken nails later, I ended up with something so fabulous I should add it to my resume. Prepare to pick your jaw up off the floor once you see the amazing shoe transformation that just occurred!...

BEFORE

TA DAH!! AFTER!

BEFORE

I JUST WANT TO STAND IN HERE AND STARE AT IT!

This shoe project cost less than $200 and what a difference! I had so much fun that it almost makes me want to organize for a living. I can just breathe easier when things are organized. :)

Speaking of work, I started substitute teaching again on Monday. I have not subbed in about ten years (before I became a certified teacher back in FL) but figured I'd be really daring and jump right in to a position with ED (emotionally disabled) and Autistic middle school students. I learned upon my arrival that the woman I was subbing for had a table and four chairs flipped over on her the Friday before. I really know how to pick 'em!

I did end up (gently) commondeering a pair of scissors from said kid who flipped the table, diffused a few meltdowns, and made it home relatively unscathed.  I would like to think I'm good at helping special needs students, but let's just say Monday was a reminder of why I left special ed and started teaching regular ed science when I did years ago. Phew! I am learning how to navigate the online system where subs go to claim jobs and decipher the abbreviations for the assignments I'd rather not choose. My foot is in the door though, and that is all I wanted. So now, I will pick and choose a tad more selectively.

As if this is not enough excitement for the week, I will share one more happening...As you know, I took 5 mg Femara CD2-CD6 this cycle, in order to scoot up ovulation before hubby flies out this weekend. After some discussion, hubby and I decided that if we are going to try on our own with Femara at home, why not up the anty and just go for an IUI? So, we went in for ultrasound monitoring yesterday (CD12) to discuss with Dr. V and see what follicles were brewing in there.

Turns out I am having probably the best response on Femara I've ever had. I have 3 follicles growing nice and synchronously...

Left ovary: 16.5 mm, 16.5 mm
Right ovary: 15 mm
Lining: 7.4 mm

I have only produced two follies max on Femara in the past, so this is good news. I am most likely still a few days away from ovulation, and hubby flies out on Sunday. So, I am testing with OPK's, and if I don't get a + by Friday afternoon, we'll go back to the RE for another ultrasound to confirm everything is mature. If all looks good (22 mm follies), I'll do an Ovidrel trigger shot Friday night and we'll have the IUI Sunday morning before hubby leaves. Honestly though, I'm hoping I'll get a +OPK naturally by Friday so we can do an IUI on Saturday (CD16). One day at a time. It's taken some creativity and planning, but right now it looks like this cycle is going to work out timing wise!