United States Botanic Garden

On Friday December 22nd we had plans to tour the Capital building and watch the Washington Capitals play hockey. We had a few hours to kill before our tour of the Capital began and this was the day that it rain all day so we decided to spend a few hours in the United States Botanic Garden not far from the Capital building. It was a warm and dry place to walk around, not to mention the Garden was rather interesting.

These two photos are of the model trains that they had setup throughout the gardens. It was really neat being able to view them and it made you feel like a kid again watching all of the trains.

This photo was taken in the children's section of the garden. They have these fake flowers setup for you to smell, each with a different scent. The "flowers" are filled with things such as thyme, oregano, garlic, vanilla, and cinnamon. So here's Jim sniffing one of these flowers. It's actually a very cute idea...

The following photos are all replicas of the different DC monuments and buildings. I overheard several people say that these were made with the different stuff found inside the garden. They are all spectacular and awesome to look at, certainly the highlight of the gardens.

DC at Night

I plan on slowly posting pictures and stories from our Christmas vacation. I didn't feel the need to make one large post so I decided I would tease everyone a little. This post will be the first of probably about three or four posts. On Thursday December 21st we decided to tour (or should I say walk) DC at night. There are a few monuments that are best viewed at night so my sister Stefanie and tour guide Mark took the liberty of showing us around. Unfortunately, we tired out quickly so we did miss several sites but we also had a lot of fun. Keep in mind this is the night that Stefanie got pulled over in the Pentagon parking lot...sorry no photo to follow.

Apparently, my camera doesn't take good pictures at night so I only have a few that turned out well enough to post. Enjoy!

The following three photos were taken at the Air Force Memorial. Tour guide Mark told us that this monument had just opened. It's an awesome monument that is perched on a hilltop with stunning views of downtown DC.

This photo turned out great! It's a picture I took of the Imo Jima (sp) Memorial. We went to this monument directly after getting pulled over by the Pentagon Police, which means Stef was still rather cranky and we were all trying to keep our distance from her.

Here's Jim and Mark at the Albert Einstein's statue. Stef's no longer cranky at this point....

More Winter Wonderland

It continues to snow here in Los Alamos which makes this day three. I woke up this morning not expecting much more snow...guess I was wrong. We now have about a foot and a half of snow here at the house and I can't wait to call my best friend Sam, she lives in the Jemez Mountains. When I talked to her yesterday she had over two feet of snow so I can't even imagine how much she now has. It's two early for me to call her but you can bet I'll call her in a few hours. Also, as of yesterday she had no power and she was very worried about the food and meat she had in her freezer.

Jimmy spent all day yesterday at the ski hill snowboarding. He had a really good time and it's so wonderful to see the ski hill getting snow this year since last year they received no snow. Jim, Jimmy, and myself already have plans to go skiing next weekend and I can't wait. It's been a few years since I skied so I'm really looking forward to it. Jim has only skied once so needless to say I'm also looking forward to watching him spend the day on his butt...haha.

Anyway, here are some more photos for your enjoyment that I took about an hour ago.

Here's an updated photo of our backyard. As you can tell it's still snowing.

This photo is taken from the front of our house. That's our driveway in front of you. I promise Jim did an awesome job shoveling it yesterday and now you can't tell it was ever shoveled.

And of course here's another photo of Nanook playing in the snow. This is his favorite weather.

Winter Wonderland

I was so disappointed that I missed most of the snow last week, but as you can tell from the photo above (this is our backyard) we have received more snow the last few days. In fact it's been snowing the last two days straight with the Jemez Mountains receiving almost two feet. Los Alamos received 8 - 9 inches and here in White Rock we received about 7 inches.

I love this weather! I'm not entirely sure why I love the snow so much considering I can't stand to get cold, but for me a fresh snow fall is the most beautiful thing on earth. Jim stayed home today and shot some photos of the snow fall. Nanook has pretty much migrated outside and has been having a blast playing in the snow.




Here's Nanook in the backyard this evening. As you can tell, by the time this photo was taken the street was clear. However, the street is once again covered.







This is my favorite photo that Jim took of Nanook in the snow....I plan on framing this one.

National Lampoons (Libertys) Vacation

I wanted to post a quick recap of our vacation thus far. It's been quite interesting at this point and it's not over yet. We have no internet connection at our hotel...or at least nothing cheap. So, I'm using the internet at my sisters house. I'm hoping this is going to be one of those posts that will make you laugh. Honestly though, I'm not sure how I'll be able to convey the funniness of our vacation through the internet but I'll certainly try. One last thing before I get started, I will not be posting any pictures until I return to New Mexico since we plan to wait until we can download the pictures to our server at home.

So here I go...

We arrived last Wednesday night and luckily we didn't get caught in all of that mess from the massive snow storm that hit our area. Apparently, we just missed the storm (we left the same day most of it arrived). Although I would have loved to see all of that snow and get some really awesome pictures, I heard Los Alamos received over one foot of snow....maybe the next storm.

Anyhow, I arrived here sick. Jim and Jimmy both had the flu a weeks ago and apparently I finally came down with a pretty bad cold as a result of the flu that they had. I'm packed full of phlegm from the chest up and my family is certainly having a good time making fun of me. On Thursday I thought I was feeling descent enough to do most of the monuments at night which was really fun, but also really cold. For those of you that don't know, my sister drives a POS (piece of sh*t) and Mark had the bright idea of driving around the Pentagon parking lot so we could get a really good view of the Pentagon and, guess what? We got pulled over by the Pentagon Police because the car had a headlight that was burned out. I thought about asking the trooper if he would take a family photo with us, but he didn't seem like the type. Needless to say, we didn't get the picture...so Stefanie never got a ticket and we were able to move on our happy way.

It rained all day Friday and we had plans to tour the Capital Building in the morning and go to a Washington Caps game Friday night. By this time I'm completely drugged up on Tylenol and unfortunately the best way around DC is by foot. So, yes we walked all over DC in the rain. Luckily we were pretty much dressed for the occasion. By the time we made it to the Caps game we all looked liked wet St. Bernard's coming through the cat door from spending the entire day in the rain. For those of you that are interested, the Caps lost to New Jersey 4 to 1.

Saturday ended up being a bust...we were all to tired to do anything and I all I wanted to do was sleep. My fever was up and down all day....probably from spending the day in the rain.

Sunday...the main event...spend the day with Aunt Suzie. The day started out pretty descent, although Mom was late as always. We decided to pile all of us in the POS and drive up to Elkton (my home town). My sister has this tradition of stopping at the Maryland House every time she drives to Elkton. So we made the usual stop, we all got out of the car, did our own thing and met back at the car. Apparently, while most of us were gone my sister and Jim decided to "fix" the driver's side window that was broken. They didn't fix it at all...in fact they made it worse, the entire window came off of the track. So here we are, Christmas Eve, driving to Elkton in the POS with a window that is permanently down in the freezing cold weather. Things went great in Elkton, although we did feel like we had to cut our trip short so that we could leave at a descent hour and not freeze our butts off on the drive home. Did I mention that my sister drives a POS???

It was a cold ride home, so don't be surprised if the next blog reads that I have pneumonia....

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Heading Home

I'm so excited to report that Jim and I will be heading home to Maryland tomorrow...wahoo! I spent the entire day doing laundry, cleaning the house, and packing our stuff. We've been planning this trip for months, but I think I'm more excited about taking Jim to see my old stomping grounds around Elkton. Not to mention, Jim has never been to DC and my sister has lots of activities planned for us. It looks like tour guide Mark will be showing us around the next several days. So, during the next week I'm not sure how often I'll get the chance to post a blog, but I'll certainly try when I get the chance. I'm taking my laptop with me, but it doesn't look like our hotel offers free internet service so I'll have to shop around.

Northern New Mexico has been receiving snow the last two days and the last time I turned the news on the airport was closed. I have a gut feeling that tomorrow could turn out to be a longer then normal travel day for us. I had wanted to take pictures of the snow tonight, but apparently the camera is already packed. Oh well...I'll post several pictures when we return if I don't get the chance to post while we are in DC.

Christmas Shopping

Okay, I know it's been several days since I last posted and I really do appoligize for the long delay. There really hasn't been much going on here in the Liberty house. I've been working my butt off at the credit union trying to get ready for my vacation and I've also been trying to get ready for Christmas. I can't believe Christmas is next Monday...it doesn't feel like Christmas here. The weather has once again been unseasonably warm these days and I think the warm weather certainly hasn't helped. We did get an awesome snow storm a few weeks ago (I should have taken pictures to document it), but within days the weather turned warm again. We are also suppose to get more snow today but I managed to get my Christmas shopping done in a short-sleeved polo shirt...with no jacket, so I don't think it's going to snow anytime soon.

Anyway, like I said, I did get my Christmas shopping done today. I spent the day in Albuquerque finishing up my shopping while Jim spent the day in the mountains getting more firewood. While in Albuquerque I went to the new ABQ Uptown shopping center and was really impressed with all of the nice shops that have moved into Albuquerque. I can't wait to go back there again when I have more time to look around and enjoy myself. Anyway, nothing else here...

Victory at Last!

After seven straight loses, Toronto finally pulled off a victory tonight! Toronto played Tampa Bay and saw a 5-4 victory. Feel free to use the Liberty Links on the right to get the full story on this nail-biting game. As I'm sure you can imagine, Jim is feeling confident in his team again and hopefully the Maple Leafs can go from losing streak to winning streak. Their next game is scheduled for Friday night against Carolina, so tune in later for all of the game highlights.

As for me, I really have little news to report on. I'm breathing a sigh of relief tonight, as this semester has now officially come to an end. I took my economics final today and I'm feeling pretty good about my performance on the test. So, I'll be enjoying the next month with no class and no homework!

With the semester finally over I now feel like I can concentrate on getting ready for Christmas. Jim and I leave in a week to go home for Christmas so now the stress really begins. I've gotten some of my Christmas shopping done, but I still have a lot more to go. I'm not sure if I got lazy this year, or I was just forgetful, but it looks like I will not be doing a lot of my traditional holiday stuff. Normally, I make loads of cookies and send out Christmas cards to the entire family. This year I haven't managed to do either and I really don't think I'll have the time now. So for those of you that normally enjoy my cookies...sorry, maybe next year. And for those of you that normally enjoy my annual Christmas card...sorry, maybe next year.

Lumberjack Jim

I can't believe how far my wonderful husband has come since he moved to New Mexico. He has quickly gone from city boy to lumberjack and it's really cute to see. This winter he has really taken to playing in the woods and chopping firewood. We woke up on Saturday morning with the intent of going to the mountains to get some firewood and pick out our Christmas tree. Going to the mountains to pick out a Christmas tree is an event that I'm very familar with, but this is something that Jim has never been a part of. Jim had a wonderful time and I think this will be something that we will be doing every year from here on out.

I only managed to take the two pictures that you see now. I apparently came down with the stomach flu while we were in the mountains, so taking pictures was the last thing on my mind. I am feeling much better today, although I am still home from work. Finals are this week and since I spent the entire weekend sick, I didn't have any time to study. So, today I'm spending the day studing.

Polly The Polyp

Polly the polyp was officially removed from my uterus yesterday afternoon. The good news is, my uterus is now officially ready for IVF! The procedure was extremely uncomfortable and it made me realize how much of a wuss I am when it comes to pain. I always thought I was someone that could tolerate pain pretty well, but I guess I was wrong...thank god for pain meds.

'Polly' was really small and I'm still baffled that Dr. Thompson was able find her. 'Polly' is now on her way to pathology where she will be tested....although I'm not sure what for. I'll call the office in a couple of weeks to see if I can get some results and when I do I'll be sure to post them here.

We also met yesterday with Jayme, the IVF nurse coordinator for Dr. Thompson. It looks like I'll start taking birth control pills after the start of my next period. Okay, I'm sure most of you are saying, "birth control pills, what is an infertility doctor doing prescribing birth control pills?" Well, the purpose of birth control pills is obliviously to prevent you from getting pregnant, but how the pill accomplishes this is by suppressing your follicles inside the ovaries and by making your uterus an inhospitable environment. So, the birth control pills will essentially stop my cycle (or at least stop any follicles from being released) and allow the doctors to control my ovaries. Our goal is for my ovaries to listen only to the synthetic hormones that I'll be taking later on.

I also decided to ask Jayme how many fertilized follicles they plan to transfer back into my uterus. I've been kind of concerned about how many babies my small uterus can hold and I've also been concerned about my sanity. Providing everything fertilizes without any problems they plan to only transfer two fertilized follicles back into my uterus. So, yes we will have a chance of having twins, which I would be extremely happy with. Remember our goal is to have a healthy baby and a healthy pregnancy...not a liter.

Moving on, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost again on Thursday night. This makes six straight loses for Toronto and I'm sure most of you can relate to the anguish that Jim is feeling. The next game is tonight against the Red Wings so we are hoping to break the losing streak and see Toronto to a victory. GO LEAFS GO!!!!

Tammy The Tumor

I have a few things on my mind that I would like to cover tonight, so I think I'll just get right down to it. First, I'll start by talking about Tammy the tumor. 'Tammy' was a tumor that I had removed from my left breast last Friday. And yes, in case you are wondering I decided it would be comical to name this tumor...so I decided on Tammy. And don't worry, by the end of the week I'll also be talking about Polly the polyp.

Anyway, in 2004 I discovered a lump in my right breast that was eventually removed. The lump turned out to be some fibroid benign tumor...apparently pretty common in women my age. Well, unfortunately I discovered another lump about two months ago (this time in my left breast) and once again my doctor and I decided it would be best to have this one removed as well. Since Jim and I have plans to do IVF in the upcoming months our doctor was concerned about how these tumors would react to the natural changes in hormones. It was eventually determined that we wouldn't take any unnecessary risks and just have 'Tammy' removed right away.

Today I went back to the doctor to receive the pathology results and 'Tammy' turned out to be another fibroid benign tumor...phew. As I'm sure you all can imagine both Jim and I are very relieved that it wasn't anything major. I'm still healing from the procedure but overall doing pretty good. I'll feel a lot better once the swelling goes down and I can fit into a normal bra again.

On a lighter note, I finally started my Christmas shopping today. I got lucky and was able to leave work a few hours early which enabled me to do some therapeutic shopping before my appointment and I think I'm actually starting to get into the Christmas spirit...kind of. I feel so behind this year on my Christmas duties. Jim and I will be going home for Christmas this year and I think that might be part of my problem. Normally, I spend an entire weekend and several nights in the kitchen baking my Christmas cookies and this year I don't think I'll be baking any cookies. Sorry to those of you that would normally get to enjoy my cookies...maybe next year.

In hockey news, the leafs lost Tuesday night. Jim was extremely upset and I think that makes five straight loses. They play again tomorrow night and I have a feeling that Jim will be having us wear the leaf jerseys to provide some luck to the leafs. GO LEAFS GO!!!

Half His Size

Today I only worked for a few hours since Jimmy is home with the flu. However, I did manage to take Nanook to the dog groomer today and I would swear he is half the size today that he was yesterday. I can't get over how good he looks!

I was starting to get tired of vacuuming the house a few times a week so I decided it was time to get him a good bath. And a good bath he got!! Sasha even sniffed him for several minutes the second he walked in the door...I guess she didn't recognize him.

This is a good "before" shot taken of Nanook just a few weeks ago. My mom came by the house earlier this month and she decided to brush him. Twenty minutes later the backyard looked like it was covered in snow. Can you see the dog hair in the background? I promise, that's hair...not snow.

Here's a picture I just took a few minutes ago. He wasn't home very long before I took this shot. I love the bows that are in his ears. However, I know those bows will be coming off the moment Jim comes home and sees them. Jim apparently thinks the bows make him look like a girl. Oh well, at least I got the picture taken...with the bows still in. Hehe

Meet the LibertyHerd

The Den Master:
Meet Jim Liberty, he grew up in Toronto Canada and moved to the states in 1984 where he settled in Omaha NE for a few years before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1987. While in the Army he meet his first wife and had a son, Jimmy. In 2004 Jim moved to Los Alamos NM where he meet his current wife, Margot. Jim currently works for ACS doing computer support for the state health care division of New Mexico. He spends his time doing yard work, playing golf, playing softball, and enjoying the outdoors. He's an avid hockey fan and spends every Saturday night cheering on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Go Leafs Go!!!

The Den Mother:
Meet Margot Liberty, she grew up in Elkton MD and in 1989 moved to Los Alamos NM where she graduated from Los Alamos High School in 1996. She started working for Zia Credit Union that same year and is currently still employed with the credit union. She currently holds the position of Senior Vice President of Finance and is still working toward her associates degree in Accounting. In May of 2006 she was awarded a Certificate in Accounting from UNM-LA. She hopes to have her associates completed within the next two years. She met Jim through a mutual friend in 2004 and the two married in July of 2005. She enjoys her time playing softball, hiking, 4-wheeling, cooking, traveling, and spending time with her family.

The Den Pup:
Meet Jimmy Liberty, he was born in Fayetteville NC in 1993. He moved to Los Alamos in 1994 and is currently a 7th grader at Los Alamos Middle School. He started his own band this year and enjoys playing lead guitar for this band. The Den Master and Den Mother both hope that he makes it to the big time some day. Currently he enjoys spending his time hanging out in the mountains, playing football, skateboarding and listening to music. His favorite bands are Avenged Sevenfold, Green Day, and System Of A Down.

The Alpha Dog:
Meet Nanook, he came to live with the Den Mother in 1999 after living at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter for a period of time. He has always been a loyal companion to his Den Mother and is also very protective of her. Nanook enjoys his time sleeping, hiking in the mountains, and going for long car drives with his nose out the window. He especially enjoys playing (or shall we say tormenting) his cat, and chasing any rabbits he finds while going on long walks with the Den Mother and Den Master.







The Den Helper:
Meet Corki, he came to live with the Den Mother in 2002 after the Den Mother's sister was unable to take him to VA with her. He spends his time sleeping and playing with the Den Terror. He enjoys the occasional cat nip and chasing any string that might come his way. He especially enjoys cuddling with anyone that lets him, and sleeping on fresh clean laundry that the Den Mother has left out. He also keeps the Den Mother on her toes picking up all that hair.




The Den Terror:
Meet Sasha, a.k.a. trouble maker. She spends her time knocking over trash cans and hiding stuff from the Den Master and the Den Mother. She enjoys playing with her alpha dog and stealing his bed. She sometimes forgets that she's a cat and she secretly wishes she was dog. She especially enjoys watching the toilet flush and playing with the Den Pup.

Welcome Family & Friends!

Welcome to the LibertyHerd corner on the web!

After much debate I finally decided to start a family blog site so that everyone could keep in touch with us here in New Mexico. Since Jim and I have family strung between Seattle and Toronto I thought this would be the best way to keep everyone updated. So, with the help of Jim's uncle, and viewing this site from another family friend in Phoenix, I decided to try my hand on a blog site.

My main objective with this site will be to keep everyone updated with those of us in land of entrapment (sorry, I mean land of enchantment) with those of you across the US. I also hope to keep you laughing at times with some funny stories and we may even cry a few times. Either way, check back often to see what is going on. For the most part I hope to post daily, however if I get busy please bare with me a post will be coming soon.

For those of you that are not aware, Jim and I will be undergoing IVF during the next several months and I will be doing lots of posts during that time. I'll tell you what I'm feeling, how many shots I had to do that day, and I'll retell the funny stories that go along with conceiving a baby in a doctors office...certainly not romantic but I want to make it fun for all of you.

IVF is a medical procedure that allows conception outside the womb. My follicles will be surgically removed and then fertilized with Jim's sperm in a petri dish. After a few days the fertilized follicles will then be placed back inside my uterus and we'll spend the next two weeks wondering if my body accepts them, or rejects them. It will be a stressful two week period for Jim and I, but we will try to stay very optimistic that everything takes as planned. Shhh, I'm secretly hoping for twins....

During my last doctors appointment I had the luxury of having a scope shoved inside my uterus and a polyp was found. Don't worry, the procedure really wasn't that bad...just very uncomfortable. I'm scheduled to have that polyp removed this Friday and I think that's the last test that I have to have completed. Needless to say, I'm nervous but at the same time I can't wait to have the procedure completed....that way it's done and over with.

Anyway, be sure to check back often to see what we have to say. I really want to expand this site, so as I learn fun and exciting things I'll make changes right away. I'm really hoping to get pictures posted, set-up a corner for Jimmy, and of course I need to set-up a hockey corner. See you all tomorrow!

Best Wishes!
The LibertyHerd

A.K.A
Margot, Jim, Jimmy, Nanook, Corki, & Sasha