day 3

Yesterday was an amazing day! We went in to see Dr. Patel at 9 am, and my blood was drawn again. Well my thyroid levels are still not normal, so they put me on some meds for my thyroid. It's called "levothyroxine" and it produces more thyroxine since my body isn't producing enough.. Thank goodness we figured this out! That explains that rapid weight gain in the last 2 months, and it also explains why I am so tired all of the time.

We left the Doctors office around ten thirty and went back to the hotel to grab some breakfast. Our hotel does a continental breakfast, so we ordered omelets. I was super nervous to eat eggs here for some reason, but Justin talked me into it. We ordered a vegetable and cheese omelet and it was soo good! I loved it! I could've eaten 2 or 3 of those. :)

I definitely haven't been let down by the food here. I have loved every meal we've had. I'm not going to lie though, the food is real spicy and my stomach doesn't love the spice. :(

After breakfast we got ready real quick, then had to be back to the doc at 1130. The levels were still abnormal, but they decided to start the shots. I was nervous for this, but it actually wasn't bad at all. The needle was very short and tiny. They inserted the shot right below my belly button and it was only in there for a few seconds. Thank heavens. They asked that I return every morning at 1030 for the shots. Then every few days I will have to stay and get blood work and an internal scan to see that the eggs are harvesting on my follicles. This can get pretty painful I hear..

We came home to get our 12 dollar massage for a whole hour. An indian woman did mine, and a man did Justins. Very different than American massages, but overall it was good. They like to use alot of lotion and exfoliates in their massages, which I found unusual. The massage included a facial as well. It was really nice to get my face scrubbed and eye brows plucked. :) Interesting experience for us both.

We met a nice lady from Virginia at the clinic our first day. Her name is Wendy. Well she invited us to her hotel if we ever wanted to chat.. We didn't ever go over there, only because it never came up. Well after our massages yesterday, the front desk had a note from Wendy. She had come to see us and invite us to dinner later that night. We called her back to RSVP. We were really excited to go out to eat at the "hungry jungle" and get a better view of this town.

We had a few hours to kill so we went to the restaurant in our hotel and had some chai tea, which was AMAZING!! While we were there, we got to know the Indian workers a little better. Rhakish, Bhupendra, and Brienka are the ones we have met so far. Our servers are all so nice and seem very curious about us. During our whole time at the restaurant, they will stand right there next to us and stare. They ask where we are from and what we do in the US and where we work. They are so geniune towards us that it melts my heart. Justin taught our waiter, Rhakish, a handshake when we were leaving.. it was so funny to see him do it. They loved it. We ended up giving them some extra rupees :)

We went up to got ready to go out for the night with Wendy. Her taxi driver picked us up, and Wendy was with an older man that she met here named "Nat." She called him "grandpa Nat." This is Wendy's third time to the Country, and she met Nat on her first time here. Nat runs an orphanage in a town 4 hours South. What an amazing man. He has such a kind and giving heart. He ended up paying for all of our food at the Hungry Jungle. This place was such a great restaurant. I took pictures that I will post here in awhile. The grounds outside the restaurant were magnificent. Well, after dinner, Wendy took us to get ice cream at a place called "Amul". It was very very good ice cream. Anand is the "milk capitol" of India, so we were fortunate to get some delicious ice cream here. :) Wendy and Nat took us home, but on the drive home, I asked Nat to sing for us. Wow, what an amazing man he is. He sang this song about God and anyways, it was just really good. I tried to record it but didn't get it in time.

Overall, our day was amazing. We feel so humbled here in this poverty. This experience has been so great for both of us. I feel so grateful for the Country I live in. I didn't realize how fortunate I was until I came here.

Crossing a road in India

wow. what an experience I've had so far. We arrived at the airport in Ahmedebad at 9:30 pm on June 29th. We had to get off the plane and get onto a bus that drove us to the airport. When we walked outside we were amazed at the blazing heat we felt that late at night. I was instantly sweating and clammy.. Not fun. After leaving the crowded, small airport, we walked outside where we found that every soul was staring at us. Amongst the crowded people I saw one man holding a sign "Ashlee Roberts and Justin Larsen." My "secret" name while I am here is Ashlee. Well we went and got in his van and rode to our hotel. The ride was about an hour and a half.. Along the ride we saw cows just sitting and hanging out along the streets. People worship cows here, so you will see them very often on the side of the road.

We checked in at the La Casa Inn. These people waited on us hand and foot, and they still do. They took our luggage to our room. When we got to our room it was like a sauna. Here in India, the room key is also the power key. Once you get into the room, there is a slot for the room key to go into which powers the whole room. We got the AC going and it cooled down pretty fast. Even though it was midnight, I was pretty hungry. I ordered room service for us.. Bombay House Grill Sandwhich. Here is what was on it.. 3 pieces of bread, green sauce (almost like avacado spread), onions, tomatoes, potatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, and white cheese. It was kind of heated, then grilled. Very different flavors than in the U.S. But I ate it up, considering my hunger.

We went to bed and woke the next morning at 7 AM due to the honking of horns outside. Did I mention that there are NO traffic rules here in India? Watch the video that I posted on "crossing the street in India" and see for yourself. People do whatever they want here. Kinda scary!!

We showered up and got ready for my apt which was at 11 AM. Our driver, Ingrajeet, picked us up 30 min early to take us there. He stopped the car in the middle of a street and pointed to a building. That is where we would go to see Dr. Patel. There were many shoes sitting outside the building, so we figured we were to take off our shoes. We entered, and they guided us to Dr. patels office. Dr. Patel is in Rome till Thursday they said, but here husband is also a doctor and he was in her office taking over. He spoke English very well and told us everything to expect during our stay. We exchanged US money for Rupies and got some excellent tips from him.

He told us that today I would get a scan and get my blood drawn, then come back in a few hours to start the medication. The scan was definitely a story. these girls took me into a room and held up a blanket around me, they pointed to my pants and pulling them down. I did that and they got the doc to come in. He did an ultra sound of my uterus and cervix. When he was finished, I was sent back to Dr. Patels room to get my blood drawn. They sent me home and told me to return at 4 pm.

We came back to the hotel and had lunch at the restaurant. We had chicken Tikka Masala and garlic naan. It was so amazing!! We loved the lunch, but unfortunately couldn't finish it. Next time we will remember not to order too much food. It is looked at as "disrespectful"

When I returned, they told me that my levels in my blood were not normal and that we couldn't start the stimulation (meds) until they were. They kept asking if I take thyroid medication, so i'm guessing my thyroid levels were high. So they asked that I return in the morning at 9 am, fasting, for a second blood draw.

Well here I am ready to go into my appointment. Wish us luck!

My thoughts

I can't believe it's already Thursday.. The weeks go by so incredibly fast! I had such a fun weekend last weekend. Justin got the hook up in deer valley at the trails end lodge for three nights. We went up there with some other friends and had a good time relaxing, shopping, and partying! We ate dinner at an amazing steakhouse sat night.. It's called ruths Chris. Wow! I am not a huge meat lover but that steak was thee best one ive ever had!! Thanks Justin :)

Back to work monday.. It wasn't easy getting back in the swing of things but oh well. Work has been pretty busy this last week because playoff tix have gone on sale. Now if only the jazz would step up their game!! Looks like we will be playing Denver.. Ouch!



A few things I am grateful for..
My new nephew Oliver. I am in love with him

The BeAUTIFUL weather!

Spoon me

My healed bunion :) ps I got my check for that in the mail. Woohoo!

My amazing boyfriend.. Justin

Good deals

LOVE

Anyone wanna take a road trip tp Seattle? I miss my nephew terribly.. Check him out here.
Once again, no pictures. I will be sure to upload tons of pics the next time I blog.
Life Is so great. I love it
My new favorite quote.. "the unexamined life is not worth living". How true is that??
Have a wonderful weekend everyone! :)

I'm back! Wow life is full of all sorts of learning experiences. I have learned so much about myself and others these last few months. I don't even know where to begin, and if I should share a specific story with you or not. My heart is bursting with joy and gratitude this very second. Instead of boring you with my life story, I will just make note of the key points and share my feelings and experiences that I've had over the last little while. This is what I have learned...

There is no "try", you either do or you don't.

I will not let people into my life who bring me down. I will surround myself with the kind of people who encourage me, and lift me up, and who love me unconditionally.

The purpose of life is to learn. THEREFORE, Everything that I have experienced and all the tears I've cried have formed me into the woman I am today. I wouldn't change my past for anything.

I am this girl you see. I do not hide behind a mask, or tell you things that I don't sincerely mean. I will be honest with you and I expect the same in return. Because I deserve it! And so do you!

I love myself.. More and more each day.



I cannot hide my smile. I have people asking me everyday why I am so happy. I've even had some people ask me if I am on drugs. No, of course not! I am just happy! I love my life. It is such a great feeling to be able to say that. The last couple years I wasn't able to say that and be 100% honest with myself. I somehow got myself stuck under this cloud of darkness (as my mom would say), I was so lost that not even I could see the change in me. I convinced myself that i was happy, and that I deserved the life I was living. I ignored the comments from loved ones around me, until it hit me. I hated myself.. And I hated my life. I never thought I would have the courage to change it though. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I am so grateful I made that leap towards this better, new life that I am now experiencing.

Some people in my life that I must thank...

My mom and Dad, Justin Larsen, My sister Ashley, Alyssa Nelson, Andrea Tesch, and Chris Sorensen.

Woooooohooooooo!!!! Life is great :) I am still working for the Jazz and looking for either another part time job or a full time job. The plan for school is still to start dental hygiene in august. I am so excited for that! Besides that, I am just enjoying those people that I surround myself with who are truly so amazing, and enjoying life. :)