My Outdated "About Me"

A few weeks ago, I took a look at my "About Me" page and was shocked by how out of date it was. Tasks over here in blogland have fallen to the bottom of the to-do list, haven't they? I had written the original about three years ago and, well, a lot has changed in that seemingly short amount of time.

Below I've taken a look at the outdated information to see what's changed, provided a few updates, and documented some of those changes via the very posts on this blog. Let's take a look.

"Put simply, I'm a young professional (writing, editing, and publication design) striving to find a balance between my full-time job, side projects (Zumba and freelance), personal goals, friends, family, and sleeping!"

Is 30 still considered young? I think so, but I'm gonna nix that description because I don't feel new to the field and typically work in management positions. I also quit working a traditional full-time job shortly after originally writing this (I wrote about the decision to quit working full time here) and made the side projects mentioned my main sources of income.

"Sometimes I don't think my inadequate self will ever be able to accomplish everything I want to, but I'm learning to focus on the little things and rejoice in small victories. Some of my dreams? I want to start my own business." 

I started Annesali Communications shortly after this to encompass my freelance work and additional clientele after quitting my full-time job. (See my post "Introducing Annesali Communications".)

"I want to find the love of my life." 

Wow. Check. I think I met Jake two, maybe three months after writing this. My first and only slight mention of him on the blog while we were dating was in my October Instagram recap where I show flowers he gave me. But I did write up our proposal story!

We have now been married for a bit over two years. And he is definitely the love of my life. My best friend. The one I want to do anything and everything with. My biggest supporter. And I'm completely heads over heels for him.

"I want to have a family of my own." 

Jake and I were extremely blessed to welcome our son Emerson this past January. He is a happy, chunky little guy and the perfect addition to our lives. Emerson hasn't officially appeared on the blog, but I did share his and her reactions to finding out I was pregnant.

"I want to live free and embrace happiness."

Happiness intrigues me apparently. I can't seem to stop writing about it.

Happiness Comes in the Little Things—Dec. 2013
A Happy Happy Life + 2 Goals - May 2016

I think my post "3 Things I Love About Life Without a Full-time Job" reflects what I mean about wanting to live free. 

"When I'm not writing, editing, or designing, you might find me teaching a Zumba Fitness class. I also hope to soon earn my group fitness instructor certification and explore the fitness world more from the instructing side."

I have definitely dived more into the fitness instruction world. I did earn my group fitness certification through AFAA (find my tips here). I also certified in and have taught U-Jam Fitness (my certification experience) and Piyo, and added in multiple Zumba trainings including Gold (seniors), Kids, Sentao,  and Pro Skills. Next on my list is barre!

If you made it this far, thanks for joining me on this little flashback through the past few years. I'm writing up a new description of me and this blog, so hopefully that will debut soon.

A little blood clot update

Jake painted my toes for me. :)

I wanted to write up a quick blood clot-related update since I've had so many people ask me about it. I had a draft from when I was still in the hospital written up but I think once they released me, I apparently lost motivation to sit in one place and type. Haha.

Well, I'm happy to report that things have gone and stayed well since that second hospital stay. Putting me on the heparin drip for those few days really seemed to do the trick and get my blood coagulation right where it needed to be.

When I was in the hospital they took care of my Tdap and flu shots AND my glucose testing. If any of you follow me on Instagram, you may know that the glucose test turned into a little bit of an ordeal.

But they released me Friday morning/early afternoon. Jake off course had to work, but we were able to time everything so the nurses, pharmacy, doctors, etc. had everything done and me ready to go for the 45 minute lunch break where Jake could come pick me up. Leaving the hospital and going home is seriously one of the best feelings.

The swelling in my leg was almost completely gone, if only present ever so slightly. As far as medication goes, I was put BACK on my lovenox injections but this time with a higher dosage. So I again got a huge box of needles to take home. And I still have the lower dosage needles which obviously they can't take back. Sooo we'll see what ends up happening there.

I stopped taking percocet after the first couple days in the hospital and while I was allowed to take it, I never felt that much pain again. I think I took Tylenol maybe once in twice in those first few days home. But the "pain" aspect of the clot was over. I was still on crutches for a little over a week after that, but everything smoothed out and I first started walking on my own around home, then brought crutches but left them in the car, etc.

I was able to pick up a temporary handicap parking sticker Monday after leaving the hospital. That has been extremely helpful. Obviously when I was on crutches, but even now that I'm not, walking and activity really does tire my leg really quickly and I've been thankful for that (even though I'm a bit embarrassed at times to be using it.) I also took full advantage of driving carts at stores for a few weeks and Jake told me multiple times that I apparently have no shame. Yes I'm going to park in the handicap spot and yes I'm going to drive my slow cart around the store, thank you very much. :D

After being home a week, I decided to teach my senior Zumba class. I had been on crutches this whole time but didn't really want to show up on them to the gym. So I braved without the weights and adjusted class so I could be sitting down more. Because you can do that with senior Zumba. Class went well but it was definitely a bit hard for me. The next week teaching went WAY better  with my only needing to sit for 2-3 songs. Today will be my third week.

Jake and I went on a morning walk this week. While it wasn't as long as we usually go for, it was longer than I've done since the hospital. I'm hoping to attend some regular Zumba or fitness classes to see how I do and then MAYBE try teaching for a few more weeks until the baby says no again.

That's pretty much the gist at this point. I gave myself 15 minutes to write this update but have several more, mostly unrelated, posts to add. I'm finishing up my 31st week and I'm trying to get some many things in order. Yes, the nesting has begun.

My box of medication to take home.

Yay! Going home

Week 30

Hello Blood Clot: Treatment and Moving Forward

We finally made it to the outcome and moving forward. (Again, I'm sorry I ramble so much.) Everything has happened in such a short amount of time that I know things are likely to change and I don't know what will change or come up.

So the doctors found a blood clot, or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in my upper left leg. Having a blood clot while pregnant immediately puts makes this a somewhat "high-risk" pregnancy. (That seems SO weird to say since everything has been so low key and better than expected up to now.)

Aside from the pain and discomfort, the blood clot itself isn't the main concern; the potential pulmonary embolism (PE) is the bigger threat. PEs are life-threatening and occur when a clot moves to the lungs. There's also an increased chance of a clot forming in the placenta. A clot has to be treated with a blood thinner which could also cause complications come labor and delivery.

So here's what this means for me:

Switch in Doctor
My medical insurance is through the military and I'm being treated at the local naval hospital. Most pregnancies are handled through family medicine. With this new development, I am being switched to an OB specialist. This means I'll probably be seen more often and will have more ultrasounds and attention throughout the remainder of the pregnancy. I'm pleased with this because I wasn't super confident in my previous doctor and was considering switching anyways.

Crutches (For Now)
Before I was allowed to be released from the hospital, I had to meet with the physical therapy team. The doctor had requested I have some help since I had become so unable to walk. Initially they were thinking they'd send me home with a walker or cane (hello, grandma!). But after meeting with the team, they saw that I was young and typically active. We went with crutches because the problem wasn't balance (which walkers/canes help) but rather relieving pressure from the leg. The PT team made me practice standing up and sitting down with the crutches, walk all the way down the hall, and then practice going up and down stairs. That was the most activity I had down in a while and it left me really tired and sore. I'm hoping I will only need them for a week and can return to somewhat normal activity within two weeks. The doctors says everyone is different but definitely encourages me getting back as soon as I'm able to tolerate.

Monitor Swelling
My ability to return to normal activity depends on the swelling going down. The swelling causes pain and indicates that the blood thinners aren't quite working. Currently anytime I have to move a lot or

have been in a certain position too long, I'll have a noticeable increase in swelling, and thus pain.

Here is a look at my legs after my PT session (mentioned above) that probably lasted at most 10 minutes (left side) and Saturday evening after going to dinner with a group, sitting in a booth, and using crutches to and from the car. The difference in color is more noticeable on the left. Can you guys see the difference in size??? I swear my left leg seems twice its normal size. You'll also see the measurements still written on my legs from the hospital. (Yes, I've showered). Jake and I have continued measuring at home.

Injections Twice Daily
I will be on blood thinners for the remainder of the pregnancy. This medication comes in the form on an injection I will need to perform myself twice a day, 12 hours apart. Yes, twice a day. Until January. I have to insert the needle in the fatty sections of my side and alternate sides with each injection. Tonight Jake helped me decide to do "Night, Right" so I remember to inject on the left in the mornings and on the right at night. These injections MUST be done 12 hours apart, but I do have about 30 minutes to work in adjustments. Because I received my first injection at 11:30pm Thursday night, I'm adjusting each injection by 30 minutes until I get it to appropriate times. I've made it to 10pm/10am, but think I may aim for 8:30. We'll see. Before leaving the hospital, the pharmacy delivered my medications for the next month (Left: my two large bags of medication; Right: a look at my injection needles)

Managing Pain
For now, I'm on Percocet to manage the pain in my leg. I definitely do not want to stay on this long term, but for now it's been necessary. I don't think Tylenol will ever do anything for me, but I hope that will do in an emergency after we get this leg pain and swelling under control. I have enough for a about a week depending on how much I take. We'll reevaluate my need at my follow-up appointment next Friday.

Be Ready for an Emergency
The doctor tried not to scare me but made it very clear that I need to seek emergency help should I notice anything concerning moving forward. I need to call 911 for ANY chest pain or difficulty breathing. Immediately. She advised me to also check out the other local hospitals to know which I'd prefer should the need arise (the naval hospital does not have an ER). I'll also look into the different labor units in case we end up needing additional attention.

A Look at Pregnancy So Far

Now that I'm more than halfway through this pregnancy—and have completely announced the fact that I am in fact, pregnant, I've been feeling the need to attempt at documenting things thus far.

Honestly, I don't know that there is much to document. Jake and I found out I was pregnant exactly nine days before we moved across the country. Those nine days included me teaching my last full week of classes, packing, planning out our drive, coordinating where we'd stay the weekend after our belongings were picked up, various last-minute projects, finishing Air Force paperwork, shipping Jake's car, and more.

Then we had six days of driving, visiting family, and staying in hotels, followed by another week of living out of our suitcases with none of our belongings. Followed by multiple weeks of unpacking, organizing, exploring, and simply getting used to an entirely new life.

With all that said, I was very lucky to experience very few pregnancy symptoms. If fact, most of anything could have been explained by other causes.

During the traveling time, I experienced some slight stomach discomfort with some added bloating and gas. My limited physical activity and nutrition coming from car snacks and quick food stops on the road surely didn't help my slowing digestive system.  

After getting a tad settled in Pensacola, I really started to notice my fatigue setting in. I was tired ALL. THE. TIME. Can I take another nap please? Again, I'm sure the whole ordeal of moving would take a lot out of people, plus add in having no set schedule (aka nothing to do) and the heat. Oh the heat.

I never had much nausea. I've thrown up two times. Once because I took my yummy gummy vitamins and forgot to eat something quickly enough. (And that's happened to me when I'm not pregnant...) Twice, because I taught a Zumba class and got caught in traffic getting back on base. So I wasn't able to eat quickly enough to replenish my system after working out.

Jake had a training out of state during my 11-14 weeks and I was out of town during my 12th week. My sister and her family came to visit me during that 13th week. After all that, something must have gone bad in the fridge as I couldn't open it without gagging. There really wasn't much I was up to doing about it, so I just held my breath and plugged my nose anytime I used the fridge...and I definitely didn't explore much in there! Then I had Jake clean it out when he got home. I banned him from ever telling me what smelled.

Aside from that, everything has been pretty smooth sailing. My fatigue is the only consistent factor, but I really just don't think I do well in hot weather. I've also been a slow show-er, but everything including weight gain, baby size, and heartbeat are on track. I just seem to be getting chubbier and wider rather than having the typical baby bump...as of now.

I do have one story about fainting at week 16 (which I was fascinated about for a while as I've never experienced that before), but I'll share that in a separate post. I'll also share our experience with the first doctor's appointment.

Stay tuned. (For those and hopefully some non-pregnancy-related topics).

P.S. If you don't already follow me on Instagram, seriously do it. I post a lot more pictures and updates there on a day-to-day basis than I do anywhere else.

From Her: Finding Out

I woke up in the morning and on my way to the bathroom decided to take the last of the two dollar store tests I had impulsively bought a month earlier. I had been waiting a week for my period to start but was planning to wait a few more days before doing the test. Having stopped taking my birth control pills this month, I knew that change could be affecting my body and wasn't too thrown off by the delay.

I had actually taken the first of those tests just two weeks prior mostly out of curiosity of having never taken one. Obviously by going off the pill, we were planning to try for pregnancy. But I saw leaving my daily pill more so as a pre-step than I saw it as us actually "trying." I'll admit that my mindset and actions were more so aligned with the "not quite yet" approach than the trying approach. I didn't expect to have a positive result immediately after going off the pill and wasn't surprised when I did in fact get a negative with the first, probably premature, test I took. However, given the timing and my body history, if I were going to be pregnant this cycle, I thought it would have had to show up by that point.

My decision today was made in a split second. It was a Sunday morning, our one-year anniversary AND Mother's Day. I still hadn't started and figured if I were going to take the test that week anyways, I might as well do it today.

I completed the process of getting my sample in the right place and left the room. I played a game on my phone and just so happened to finish my round a bit more than 3 minutes later. In no rush, I made my way back to the bathroom, really and truly not expecting anything. As I looked down at the test, I saw the two lines and looked back and forth from the test instructions to the test itself.

Really? Positive? ... Really?

I thought about calling for Jake, but he was still sleeping and I didn't want to wake him up. Because it was our anniversary, I decided to turn the results into a present and let him wake up and open it on his own time. I tiptoed into our bedroom to pull a couple sheets of tissue paper out from the wrapping supplies box under the bed.

I found a small box to use and folded the instructions with the results key showing and placed it in the box with the test on top. I then layered multiple pieces of the white sparkly tissue paper around the box and taped them in place.

With my "anniversary present" ready, I slowly made my way back into the bedroom. Jake was stirring but I made my way to his side of the bed and placed the box on his dresser. Jake is a bit hysterical when he's sleeping and he says "What are you doing? Come back to bed."

"I am. But I have a present for you. You can open it when you wake up."

Jake groaned. We had decided we weren't going to do presents; we aren't really presents people anyways. But I think he always fears I'll say no presents and turn around and break the agreement.

Now with that present on the dresser, Jake was noticeably grumpier, even more so than his normal just-waking-up self.

I crawled back into bed and reassured him. "Don't worry, it's not really a present."

I really intended to go back to sleep for a bit and let Jake wake up on his own time. But I found myself not being able to relax.

"Maybe you should open it now."

"Ahghektjhejhkhgs Shtkhjkehs." (Translation: No I want to be sleeping. And now you've made me feel worse for not having a present for you.")

"Yeah, open it now."

Jake sits up, grabs a shirt, and lets me snap a picture.

I realize as he's unwrapping that this should probably be something I film. I thought...oh this is too dark, I need to turn on the light, but there wasn't time to do anything about it. This video shows what unfolded next.

I love the video and proceeded to watch it at least a dozen times today...even though Jake hates how he looks and sounds :D.

Read Jake's version here.

From Him: Finding Out

Jake:

We had talked about it before - a family. When do we start trying? Would we want a boy or girl? What name would we give? Sure these are all things that most married couples will think about, but just like in any physical science, the actual experience is nothing like the well thought out theories.

A few months ago, Karianne (aka LOML - love of my life, guys) showed me a video when a woman told her spouse she was pregnant through the "subtle" clue of putting a literal bun in the kitchen oven. He exclaimed, dropped whatever he was doing and picked her up and kissed her. He may have cried too... I don't remember. Anyways, I thought his reaction was sweet and heartfelt, and then I immediately felt a little bad for Karianne since I predicted that my reaction wouldn't be as memorable. I don't react excitedly in a visible manner, but Karianne would still see how happy I would be... right?

Ever since graduating from BYU and commissioning in the Air Force in April, we decided it was time to start trying to add a new member to the family. I figured that things would take a while for the birth control to clear her system, and I didn't expect any results in the near future - after all, I had no idea if we could even have children! I was just hoping a lot and trying not get my sights set on something that may not be physically possible for us.

So May 10th rolls around  - Our anniversary and Mother's Day (not to mention I also like to sleep in on Sundays). It's probably 8 o'clock or earlier and Karianne whispers for me to wake up. I flip the fluffy brown pillow over to its cold side and shove my face even deeper and grumble that it's too early.

"What?" Karianne asks.

"It's too early. Go to sleep."

"I have something for you..." Karianne says softly.

I roll over half upset and half curious. She tells me to put on some random shirt she found - of course the Flash one we got for Halloween when we dressed up as Sheldon and Amy from The Big Bang Theory - and places a package wrapped in white tissue paper (not the toilet paper, but the sparkly filler paper for presents). I grumbled and reminded her of our deal that we weren't going to buy gifts for each other and just enjoy doing things like going to see a play or going to the amusement park with each other this weekend. I was now in her debt with this package in front of me.

Still half asleep and as coherent as a teenager who just got his wisdom teeth taken out, I fumble with the package grumbling that she wasn't supposed to get me anything.

I finally figure out the "complex" opening to the small cardboard box and look in to see the blurry contents. I pull-out this kazoo-looking thing that resembles a USB device. Alright, now I'm confused.

"Is this a large flash drive?" I ask lazily and trying to show enthusiasm (I'm not good at pretending that I'm happy when I first wake up, so this was really brave of Karianne to even think I would show some sort of positive emotion).

"Read this," she says while pointing to the rest of the contents in one hand and holding her phone with the other. I completely didn't register the cell phone there or else I would have put some sort of hand in front of it... I can't stand pictures or videos of myself. ugh.

Anyways, I grab these instructions out of the box and start trying to make sense of the words - they might as well be Chinese characters, I couldn't figure out what I was looking at for a few seconds.

Finally, I see two images of the kazoo-looking flash drive and under one image it says "Pregnant" and under the other "Not Pregnant."

I start to put the pieces together, but everything becomes so much more urgent now that "Pregnancy" is at stake... I don't know why, that's just how my mind responded to the words. I figured Karianne could be the type of person to say, "HEY! We're not pregnant, but I love you anyways! Happy anniversary!" ... And I would probably hate her for waking me up, then. But she would do something like that. You see, she doesn't understand the value of sleeping in... yet.

I flip my eyes between the instructions and the pregnancy test (which I am now sure is not a flash drive) frantically trying to make sense of what I am seeing and what the results are. I beg her to just tell me what it all means...

"YOU'RE PREGNANT!" (Now she'll understand the value of sleeping in.)

I had no idea that we were this close to having a baby. Everything became so real at that moment. This is something neither of us has ever experienced. Just witnessing as much as a good aunt or uncle does... I'm really going to be a father?! Holy Smokes!

I think about the little guy (or girl) who is growing and can't help but imagine all of the experiences we're going to have together as a family. I start dreaming our entire lives and I don't even know what we'll name her/him.

And yet, while I'm so excited, I am still a bit reserved because I know a lot can happen in the first trimester of pregnancy. I am hopeful for everything to go well, but I am always prepared for the worst and the hardest of things - It's in my nature. The thing I know for sure is that I will support my lovely wife with all of the needs she will have - emotional or other - and continue to look forward to the future Ortiz family getting one girl or boy bigger.

I'm constantly thinking, "Am I the father I want to be? What do I need to change? There is no time better to change things than right now." There are so many things I need to learn about being a dad and becoming a better husband and I have always felt like the present is the best time to make changes.

While I was serving as a missionary in Las Vegas, I met an elderly man who invited us over for dinner with him and his wife. He asked me a question that he already knew the answer to - "What is the most important decision you will make in your life?"

"To get baptized?" ... "Nope."

"Who you marry?" .... "Good idea, but no."

He explains, "Both of those are indeed very important decisions, but the most important decision you will make... is the very next one have you before you."

I have thought greatly on that ever since hearing it 7 years ago. I realize that after we make a decision, its consequence changes is priority. The highest priority decisions we make in life are always the next ones we have to face. If you get in an argument, your next decision is to either apologize and make amends or let it fester. If you break a commandment, do you ask for for forgiveness or hide from God. If you are told you are going to be a parent, do you prepare yourself and change accordingly or do you ignore the higher calling?

I am so excited to be the father of Karianne's child. I can't believe I can even be writing these words now. Being married and having a family was a pleasant day dream of mine since I was a kid (of course I also wanted to go to space or invent some cool mechanism - call me old fashioned), but I didn't know what it would feel like when those things would finally be coming true. It feels like a jell-o is what your brain and stomach are made of and your heart just grows three sizes bigger. I am ready for the challenges that parenthood bring and I can't wait to welcome our whatchamacallit into the world....HURRY UP!

Read Karianne's version here.