I've Been Tagged...

The rules are--
1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So, rules are rules. And the first one says to link to Julie who tagged me ages ago. Sorry, Julie. That was a rough week. I'm doing it now though, hope I can find people to tag that the rest of yous haven't already gotten to. (I said "yous" on purpose, people.)

Now on to rule #2...
1. I cannot parallel park. It's not part of the test here in Colorado to get your driver's license so I never bothered to really learn and I regret it. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. And in dog years, I'm, like, 133. I would've said 210 but there is a special calculator out there for such things.

2. I'm a spice wimp. I cannot handle spicy food at all. Green chilies is my max. And I actually really like green chilis, but they don't provide a lot of "heat".

3. I'm currently following a "Read the Bible in One Year" plan. I went here and picked their "chronological" plan in August (which you can specify your start date), but then I started in the New Testament. Anytime I've tried to read it in a year before I started in Genesis, you know, like God did. :) But man, too much OT can really wear on a Christian. Hee hee. So far, I like my plan, I'm still in the New Testament, though. And let me also say, that reading the accounts in the gospels back to back to back (to back) was a little repetitive and found me nit-picking a bit...like the color of Jesus's robe during His trial...sometimes it's purple, sometimes it's scarlet and if I hadn't read them the way I did, I wouldn't have likely noticed. By the way, I do not see this as a "contradiction" so much as a difference in perspective of the authors. Just my little disclaimer.

4. I do not exercise. I want to. I should. I was doing pretty well with walking in the mornings in the summer up until I broke my stupid foot. Now I'm just lazy and it's cold outside. :)

5. I'm a new fan of "Dancing with the Stars". I love that show. I want to go on a version of Dancing with Regular People.

6. My family considers me to be very photogenic. I've never had a bad driver's license picture. I can pose with the best of them. Certainly I've been caught in bad moments with an eye half closed or my double chin showing, but Jessica (my sister) especially likes to tease me for all my posing for pictures.

7. I am compound heterozygous for MTHFR mutations. This is my "clotting disorder" you may have heard me refer to. MTHFR mutations come in two varieties and I have one of each of them (that's what the compound heterozygous means). Of the 5 different ways you can have MTHFR, my type is the second worst. This mutation is associated with blood clotting and you're most likely to develop clots first in your tiniest blood vessels...which can be found in the uterus.

Enter Easton.

My preemie.

He was no longer thriving and growing in there, thanks to the clotting in my tiny uterine vessels he was getting cut off. :(

Later, when trying to figure out why I developed early onset preeclampsia and then HELLP, as well as Easton's IUGR, my perinatologist discovered my MTHFR. I now take two medications a day and will for the rest of my life. I believe those two meds are what allowed me to both get pregnant with Dalton in the first place and carry him to term, as women with undiagnosed/untreated MTHFR are often "habitual miscarriers" or deliver early (like I did the first time). Even with Dalton, I wonder if the meds were working well enough. He certainly wasn't lacking in the size department (8 lbs. 15 oz.), but I've always wondered about his ugly placenta riddled with what they call 'placental lakes'. Some people think placental lakes point to poor placental function and in my own limited knowlegdge I think...hey! poor blood flow from clots could cause that, right??? But alas, both boys are here and they're both healthy and praise God for that! Gooooo baby aspirin!!! :) Shout out for Folgard! Woot!

So that's my 7 random/weird things...sorry I went off on that 7th one like I did. Not everyone is quite so medically minded as me.

Okay, now it's time for Rule #3...link to 7 random people...I'm sorry, I forgot who all from my "secret board" crew has tagged each other and such so there may be some repeats but how's about (yes, that was on purpose too):
- Molly because I want to
- Larissa because she hasn't posted in a month
- Jennifer of My Landes Family
- Britten because I always tag my girl Britty, even if most of the rest of you can't read her blog
- Angie because I'm not sure she got tagged (or maybe just didn't participate) before
- Katie because I don't remember reading that she did this tag and I love her daily blog that she does now
and we'll finish it off with
- Andrea because she doesn't post nearly enough and although I'm sure she was tagged when the rest of you did this in October I don't recall that she ever did it.

So there...now I'm off to do Rule #4 and let them all know. Make sure you read the regular daily post below this.