I have been making masks for well over a year now. I honestly thought I would be back to making clothes, quilts and hoarding fabric for fun by now. Oh well. I’ve updated my fabrics. Contact me if you would like to buy washable, fabric masks. I don’t have an Etsy or traditional online shop. I tend to only sell to people I know and friends of friends to avoid the hassles of internet fussbudgets.
Yes and…
Improv show tonight. Went to support my pals at the UTCA Improv Company. Levels II and III performed. These people are funny, joyful and quick. Things I wish I was.
I took improv I a few months back as an experiment of sorts, something to get me out of the house to interact with other people. I didn’t do well at all. I lack a performance gene. I’m afraid of failure, spontaneity scares me and quite honestly I lack a sense of joyfulness. All qualities an improv performer should possess. My classmates are naturals. Seeing them thrive melts my cold heart.
The openers for tonight’s show were from a local improv collective; they were on stage a really long time. I was hoping to see more of the local talent perform. Utica is full of so many funny people. Looking forward to seeing more from UTCA Improv Company soon.
A very different Thursday night.
It’s Thursday; usually my Stand-up comedy day. There is no stand up tonight. There is a pain in my funny bone that only time with a classmate could fill. Somehow Beth knew this, she invited me to a ladies event as her guest. We attended the United Way of Utica’s 100 Women Who Care event. https://www.unitedwayvgu.org/100women (I will get the hang of this blogging thing eventually).
Her original date had some type of plague. I took off my pants and put a big girl dress on, I even brushed my hair. We chatted with lots of people; Beth is really great at people-ing. I used to be really good at this networking stuff. I have never been a fan of people, but I have been good at networking. I could use roller derby as an ice breaker. I don’t have an identity like I once did. I am in the process of redefining who I am.
I left with a couple business cards and a bird feeder. That’s what adults do at these things, right? We make bird feeders and exchange business cards. Remind me to get some of those, I don’t have the type of business cards people want to receive- I work in Social Services… my new cards will say ” I’m Mel, my job is of no real interest to you but I am capable of doing cool things when I’m not at work.” Then my contact information. Would that work?
I imported most of my old blogs from Blogger this evening. I’m having some issues moving some of them (this is not easy for whatever reason). Enjoy what I’ve moved thus far. These are from my egg donation days, might be some roller derby peppered in.
Slowly moving a lot of my me centric content here, hoping to migrate away from Facebook over time.
Under Construction
I’m new to this website stuff. I’m going to try to update daily (more frequently) after my surgery on 3/12. I’ll have some time on my hands while I’m rehabilitating.
Adventures in Stand Up Comedy
https://m.imdb.com/name/nm2087771/ this guy here is my stand up comedy teacher at the Uptown Theatre. Ryan Kemp is a funny guy; he likes cats.
Me on a stage, telling jokes about tits
For 6 weeks worth of Thursdays I attended classes with some of the funniest people around the Mohawk Valley/Utica area. I would have paid tuition to simply sit and laugh until my sides hurt; unfortunately this was not an option. We were there to learn, write and grow. I actually spent extra time with classmates working on jokes outside of class. I didn’t know I would enjoy this as much as I did.
I signed up thinking this would help with public speaking; with my ability to speak to interact with people. I didn’t know we would be having a show! This was a real show. We performed for friends, family, our classmates and complete strangers. I can’t believe strangers paid to hear us tell jokes.
Please support the UTCA in anyway you can. Take the classes, give them your money. They’ve come a long way in a year, they have a long way to go. I can’t wait till we’ve got that big stage ready to go!
https://www.facebook.com/events/422860281616997/?ti=icl upcoming Improv event, March 9th.
Adventures in Stand Up Comedy
I’ve done something… something I didn’t know I was capable of. I performed Stand up comedy to a packed house. I told three silly stories. Some of my set is visual but I’m not letting you see it; oh well- here’s the audio. Please enjoy Stand up Comedy at the Uptown.
“Penis Jokes”
For 6 weeks worth of Thursdays I attended classes with some of the funniest people around the Mohawk Valley. I would have paid tuition to simply sit and laugh. We were there to learn, write and grow. I spent extra time with classmates working on jokes outside of class. I didn’t know I would enjoy this as much as I did. I didn’t know I needed it as much as I did.
I signed up thinking this would help with public speaking; with my ability to speak to interact with people. I didn’t know we would be having a show! This was a real show. We performed for friends, family, our classmates and complete strangers. I can’t believe strangers paid to hear us tell jokes.
Please support the UTCA in anyway you can. Take the classes, give them your money. They’ve come a long way in a year, they have a long way to go. I can’t wait till we’ve got that big stage ready to go!
https://www.facebook.com/events/422860281616997/?ti=icl upcoming Improv event, March 9th.
audio-only-utca-mel-k-set-3.2.19-1.m4a
Stand up Comedy at the Uptown.
https://m.imdb.com/name/nm2087771/ this guy here is my stand up comedy teacher at the Uptown Theatre. Ryan Kemp is a funny guy; he likes cats.
https://www.facebook.com/events/422860281616997/?ti=icl upcoming Improv event, March 9th.
Egg Donation and My Personal Tax Hell
I have been avoiding writing this post for over a year now; I am so full of love and joy when I think of the gift that I have been able to provide so many families with. I am writing about the anxiety and disappointment that I now feel about the after effects of this process.
I am happy and healthy and otherwise pleased with my decision to donate eggs. I am not happy with the way that the financial compensation works. After researching the process for months I was under the impression that the compensation was not taxable income. I was wrong, very wrong.
After completing each cycle I was given a check, out of each check I rewarded myself with a reasonable gift; purse, massage, skates, etc the rest of the money was used to pay various bills. I paid off a couple school loans and paid down a credit card still left over from college. I wasn’t using this money to go on vacations, purchase extravagant items or buy a fancy car, I was using it to make life a little easier. What I didn’t realize is, the IRS categorizes this money differently. It’s taxed at a very high rate- essentially they want 33% of what I brought in- when the compensation gets into the thousands this is devastating.
I have now been audited twice- I was quiet and did not blog about my issues in 2011 with my 2010 taxes; i cried- i stressed- i refiled- i paid BIG and I moved on. I have been audited a second time and the IRS wants what I feel is a very large sum of money for 2011. After deducting tolls, gas, wear and tear on my car, missed work (not to mention the toll on my body) I actually don’t make any money on these donations. Each requires upwards of 12-16 trips to the clinic (over an hour away), missed work, injections, tanks of gas, keeping my body healthy, etc.
I have been researching this online and spoke with a tax lawyer (through a work program last year)based on this I shouldn’t owe anything I should be able to write off everything from gas, tolls, vitamins, missed work, etc and not owe the IRS a damn thing. I just don’t know how to make any of this happen- the tax software I am wrestling with isn’t set up to deal with egg donations.
I am very anxious, very stressed and looking for some advice. I have reached out to a friend that prepares taxes. Instead of dealing with this on my own I hope he can help with the whole deductions and tax law stuff.
Egg Donation Round 6
I started the egg donation process a few weeks ago. After my period in February I began taking birth control pills so the clinic can regulate my cycle with the recipients. After 3 weeks of pills I began taking Lupron . This is supposed to repress my body’s usual menstrual cycle. I administered this through injection in my stomach- I could have administered the shot in my booty or thigh, I choose the stomach each time.
After my first ultrasound the clinic discovered that I have a few oocytes (eggs) growing in my ovaries , my body should be producing one, maybe two eggs at a time, I have at least three maturing. Also the lining of my uterus is getting thick, this means that I should be ovulating soon and having a period. The clinic ups my Lupron dose in hopes of stalling the egg production. I return the following week and I have even more oocytes! Some how my body began producing a bunch of eggs with out the hormone injections.
The clinic isn’t sure why my body has decided to do the work for the clinic- they decided to mail me an HCG shot- this will cause the eggs to mature and make my body ovulate so I can can restart the cycle.
I am getting ancy- I want my period so I can get this show on the road. I was hoping to be done by the end of April. Oh well, you can predict nature or control it fully, right? I called the clinic today, the fertility nurses said that my period should come 7-10 days after the shot. I took the shot last wednesday. If I haven’t bled by then I have to call. I’m crossing my fingers that all is well.
Each cycle I usually take some of the money and I buy myself a little gift- like skates, a purse, boots, etc. This time I have to pay taxes! That is a whole other story- one directly related to my egg donations. I am going to make a separate post about that. Egg donation = hard work, egg donation = extra cash, egg donation = MUCHO TAXES, approximately $2400 worth of taxes from 2009. I will write about the taxes in a post titled, the IRS can kiss my hormone injected/bloated/baby making ass. 🙂
*photo- one of the MANY bruises on my belly from this cycle
Hello Aunt Flo I’ve Missed You! (updated)
Wow it’s not often a gal is this excited to get her period. Either a gal’s period is late and she’s afraid she’s pregnant or she needs her period before she start some fertility treatments.
I’ve become paranoid about my cycles since I began donating eggs. I feel so good about giving someone a shot at being a parent, the money is SO helpful- but I am worried about my own ability to get knocked up someday. Everything that I read about fertility after egg donation seems to say that I will be fine. Some sources even say that the whole process of egg donation is too new to know for sure. I know that I want to do this a few more times before I become ineligible due to age. 32 is the magic number, after 32 I can no longer be a donor. So soon after my 32nd birthday I’m thinking I might like to have a wee ginger kid of my own.
A few years back 30 looked really far away, now its almost here. That means that 32 is just around the corner. I don’t think I have the baby urge, unless you count getting other ladies pregnant. I’m not ready for my own wee one, but I think I’d like one someday. Up until a couple of years ago I didn’t want any. I’ve come a long way, my mom is thrilled.
I called the fertility clinic this morning around 9am to let them know that I still didn’t have my period. I don’t want to waste their time with another visit if they are still waiting for me to bleed. Around lunch time today I had cramps. I was actually getting excited about menstrual cramping. A little while ago I finally got my period it wasn’t going to come early for anyone. This clinic wanted it 3 weeks ago, my uterus decided that it would bleed when it was ready (or the progesterone shot finally worked).
I’ll be back in the saddle tomorrow morning! I will try to update y’all tomorrow night.
Update: 9:26pm I came home from dance class and I tell my BF that I finally got my period. He says “oh honey, your uterus is no longer holding your eggs hostage, now you can start the rest of the shots” I love that man, yup my uterus was holding mt reproductive cycle hostage.
Oh I’ve been slacking and round 6.
It looks like I started a cycle a few months back and dropped off the face of the earth. I will try to be better this time. My last cycle was awesome, the same issues popped up. I had a cyst and had to have it drained, ick. It’s basically par for the course at this point. I missed a day and a half this time of work after the retrieval, my number 1 problem was the problem with number 2 again. If that is the worst of my problems constipation is a small price to pay.
I began preparation for my sixth cycle in September, I began with 2 packs of birth control pills. My Lupron Shots began after that. I am currently on .10ml of Lupron one time daily by injection before bed. I have been at the clinic twice in two weeks for baseline blood tests and ultra sounds. The blood tests were good to go, but I have another cyst and the lining of my uterus is super think. I need to shed it before I can start the next round of shots. Since my body isn’t cooperating I was given a shot in the butt of progesterone oil. This is supposed to help regulate my girlie parts and cause the lining to shed (i’ll get a period). I’m so bloated and cranky. I also feel bad that i am holding up the show, so to speak. I want my period NOW, but the shot could take up to 10 days to work its magic.
I have an appointment at the clinic on Tuesday, if I haven’t started my period by Monday morning I have to call them and likley reschedule until I have my period. I’ll be bummed if i have to wait. I am pretty sure the recipiant and the lab will be bummed as well.
I will try to be better when it comes to updating the blog this time around. I want to make sure I share all the fun with all of you.
MellFire 