Preliminary results from last week's biopsy were incredibly frustrating. On one hand inflammation seems to have cleared up -- but I don't put much stock in that because prelim results last time said the same thing but actual results had a different story. On the other hand, results also said that my lining is pre-ovulatory. WTH. I don't even understand what that means since it was literally timed with bloodwork and medication. Late last week my doctor asked me to come in for bloodwork to verify whether or not I already ovulated. A day later my actual period arrived, so doc was confident about timing. She said to wait for actual ERA results before being concerned. If results are inconclusive regarding ovulation/lining/timing we may have to repeat the ERA.
Chanukah was last week. It was a beautiful, low-key, high-cal holiday. We hosted two parties. One for family, one for friends. I attended two work holiday parties (including two gift exchanges) and we went to two additional parties. It was a lot. I had so many doughnuts and I'm not at all sorry.
My pottery class is winding down. I enjoyed it a lot and decided to take a second class in the winter session. I told a few people about it and they're like, "What? for that amount of money you could buy 10 vases!" Clearly these people don't get it. For me it's not about the end product, but about the journey getting to it. It's art. It's a hobby. It's something else to think about for three hours a week instead of worrying anxiously about the what-ifs. And at the end if I happen to get a vase or a mug out of it, all the better.
Since we didn't get to go to Atlanta because of the procedure, I'm trying to see if we can do a Florida trip in January. I need a change of scenery and now that we got our points back, I want to use them. It doesn't look like there's a transfer any time soon in our future anyway.
Some upsetting news about a family member thinking of moving. I know they have to do whatever is best for their family but my nieces and nephews are really important to me and I'll be sad if they end up moving away. It's not sad news, just a difficult transition for me.
I decided to pull the trigger and join the gym. It needs to happen. I have to work out more often and it's just not happening at home. My goal to start is to get in 30 min 3x week. Eventually I want to be working out 4-5x/week for at least 45 min each, but I know I need to work my way up to that because if I bite off more than I can handle I just won't go at all. Reaching goals start one step at a time.
Showing posts with label trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trip. Show all posts
Monday, December 10, 2018
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Specialist update
On Friday, barely an hour after my last post about the specialist was published, I got a call from their office. He had a change of travel schedule and had an opening on Wednesday after Memorial Day weekend. My girl got us on the schedule for Wed morning and made sure that all the paperwork I submitted was received and added to my electronic file. Bless her.
We booked a hotel and drove in on Tuesday evening after work. Traffic wasn't terrible and we were in by 10:30 pm, parked the car, and went walking around the city looking for dinner. We were passed out asleep by midnight.
The appointment was this morning. The office was recently remodeled and everything was bright and clean and new. The doctor couldn't have been nicer, but beside that he was sharp and engaged. He had a methodical way of thinking that I appreciated. It was about two hours long including going over all our history, answering a lot of his questions, tv ultrasound, and a plan of action.
Among a bunch others, his recommendations include:
We booked a hotel and drove in on Tuesday evening after work. Traffic wasn't terrible and we were in by 10:30 pm, parked the car, and went walking around the city looking for dinner. We were passed out asleep by midnight.
The appointment was this morning. The office was recently remodeled and everything was bright and clean and new. The doctor couldn't have been nicer, but beside that he was sharp and engaged. He had a methodical way of thinking that I appreciated. It was about two hours long including going over all our history, answering a lot of his questions, tv ultrasound, and a plan of action.
Among a bunch others, his recommendations include:
- Glucose/insulin test
- Toxins test
- CD138 stain to check for inflammation in the lining
- Hysteroscopy (if pics from the one I had in Jan don't show what he's looking for - need to have those transferred over)
In addition, he had recommendations for future IVF and FETs, mainly to change up the medication and protocol. So in short, everything. All of our appointments will be done locally with our new RE so we won't have to go back and forth to see him, but he will still be managing care from his office and be in contact as we go on. After the appointment we got lunch and joined traffic to get home. The whole trip was basically 24 hours.
I hesitate to say that I'm hopeful. I am encouraged so I guess that's a form of hope, but it's hard to let go of the baggage we're carrying around in the form of multiple losses. Continued failure weighs you down. He seems to really understand the field in a way that gives him the ability to take a bird's eye view of the situation and make suggestions for improvements. Other REs have the exact same tools but just aren't looking for the same things. I hope we're able to rule out a bunch of things, or even figure out and treat issues, and that it brings us closer to success. At the very least it's something to do while we wait for my husband to recover from varicocele repair. Maybe I am hopeful just a little bit.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Getting ready for IVF 7
Over the holiday my nurse emailed me to let me know she's moving positions and that I'll have to get assigned a new nurse. It took a few days of back and forth but then I involved my doctor and was finally assigned a new nurse. We set a baseline date around my work schedule and I'm working on getting a quote for medication from several different pharmacies.
In the meantime I also started getting information from our new financial counselor. I got us a refund for a portion of the last cycle because we overpaid for something that should have been submitted to insurance. It's crazy how on top of things I have to be - isn't that literally their job? They just don't care how they get paid. If payment comes from insurance great, if it happens to come from our pocket also great. It's a challenge to constantly be on the ball and know that if I miss something then we lose out.
I'm trying to not overthink this cycle. Whatever will be will be. IVF 6 kicked me in the nuts with recovery and results. I'm hoping that an upcoming Jan trip will be enough motivation to keep me happy and energized. Bottom line is that it's a hellish 3 weeks and regardless of results it too shall pass.
So how did we get to this decision? As I was thinking about what we want to do next, I tried figuring out how to do another cycle and another transfer before January. I don't know why that was a deadline in my mind. It's possible because the clinic OR shuts down the last week of December for their yearly scrubbing and they don't start any new cycles leading up to that week. No matter how I sliced it, I couldn't get the calendar to fit both an IVF and a transfer which meant we had to choose one. In the back of my mind I was also thinking that it would be nice to do a trip and take a real break.
My husband's work schedule dictates our vacation schedule and we calculated that it may be possible to take a trip in 2018. The more we talked about it the more we realized how much we both want to go. We decided to try to book a trip for earliest possible time in 2018. With that decision made everything else seemed to fall in place. We knew we didn't want to try to do a transfer before the trip which made it easy to choose the time in Nov/Dec for another retrieval. At this point the bar is set so low that the very least will be that we tried something and didn't waste the time, regardless of the results of the cycle. My office is closed for winter break at the end of December so I'll have a solid week for recovery.
Even though it's only mid-October I asked my new nurse to see if she can schedule the retrieval for early December. It gives me time to get back to some routine first and get my head in the game. It also allows me to take care of several work events between now and then without the stress of the cycle and meds. It also gives me the chance to enjoy the Thanskgiving break. It just makes sense overall. There's not much that we can control when it comes to treatment, but for the things that we can it makes a difference.
In the meantime I also started getting information from our new financial counselor. I got us a refund for a portion of the last cycle because we overpaid for something that should have been submitted to insurance. It's crazy how on top of things I have to be - isn't that literally their job? They just don't care how they get paid. If payment comes from insurance great, if it happens to come from our pocket also great. It's a challenge to constantly be on the ball and know that if I miss something then we lose out.
I'm trying to not overthink this cycle. Whatever will be will be. IVF 6 kicked me in the nuts with recovery and results. I'm hoping that an upcoming Jan trip will be enough motivation to keep me happy and energized. Bottom line is that it's a hellish 3 weeks and regardless of results it too shall pass.
So how did we get to this decision? As I was thinking about what we want to do next, I tried figuring out how to do another cycle and another transfer before January. I don't know why that was a deadline in my mind. It's possible because the clinic OR shuts down the last week of December for their yearly scrubbing and they don't start any new cycles leading up to that week. No matter how I sliced it, I couldn't get the calendar to fit both an IVF and a transfer which meant we had to choose one. In the back of my mind I was also thinking that it would be nice to do a trip and take a real break.
My husband's work schedule dictates our vacation schedule and we calculated that it may be possible to take a trip in 2018. The more we talked about it the more we realized how much we both want to go. We decided to try to book a trip for earliest possible time in 2018. With that decision made everything else seemed to fall in place. We knew we didn't want to try to do a transfer before the trip which made it easy to choose the time in Nov/Dec for another retrieval. At this point the bar is set so low that the very least will be that we tried something and didn't waste the time, regardless of the results of the cycle. My office is closed for winter break at the end of December so I'll have a solid week for recovery.
Even though it's only mid-October I asked my new nurse to see if she can schedule the retrieval for early December. It gives me time to get back to some routine first and get my head in the game. It also allows me to take care of several work events between now and then without the stress of the cycle and meds. It also gives me the chance to enjoy the Thanskgiving break. It just makes sense overall. There's not much that we can control when it comes to treatment, but for the things that we can it makes a difference.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Boston
We did a quickie getaway to Boston for a few days. We used points for hotel and flights, so only ended up paying for transportation (Uber and taxis), activities, and food.
The itinerary included a whale watching cruise, guided Freedom Trail tour, self-guided fenway park stroll, and walking around Harvard and along the Charles River. We lucked out with beautiful weather. It was an awesome chance to get a change of scenery without using too many vacation days. We had a great time.
The itinerary included a whale watching cruise, guided Freedom Trail tour, self-guided fenway park stroll, and walking around Harvard and along the Charles River. We lucked out with beautiful weather. It was an awesome chance to get a change of scenery without using too many vacation days. We had a great time.
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| View from the boat, on way to Whale Watching |
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| One way to see things |
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| Street art in the park |
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| Fall foliage |
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| Cafe Eilat |
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| Fluffy clouds |
Monday, October 9, 2017
Sukkot
The first days of Sukkot were tough. Our sleepover guests were exhausting and demanded all of our time and energy. I wrote up a whole post of what was difficult about their stay, but even in an anonymous post on an a supposedly nameless blog, it's still the internet where everything is public and permanent. Suffice it to say it was a lot of work and most of it felt unappreciated.
I used shul as an escape, which kind of backfired because that's where all the ladies with pregnancy bellies hang out (apparently) with their beautiful cute little families. There were triggers everywhere.
Over the holiday I received an email from my nurse that she's moving to a new position. This was our third nurse. Even our nurses get to move on from this hellish journey. I'll be assigned to a new nurse once we let them know we're off our break and decide what we want to do next.
We still don't know what we want to do. We've been enjoying just being a normal married couple, talking about other things. There are a few days we took off at the end of October to take a quick getaway but we're still undecided about where to go. Florida is our first choice but it's still unclear if they're completely zika-free. We also got the Israel-trip-bug again and we want to see if we can try to make a trip work for 2018. On one hand we want to give treatment the best chance possible and really believe it's priority. On the other hand it's an expensive trip and we're sick of the merry-go-round. I don't want to postpone any treatments because I feel my age ticking but I also don't want to feel like I let life slip by while waiting for results.
I know I'm not the best version of myself these days. I feel drained and exhausted. I feel like I'm surviving, not thriving. Just taking it one day at a time, one hour at a time. I want to make changes to help make things better. Maybe it is worth spending the money on an expensive trip to get change of scenery and a fresh outlook on life.
I used shul as an escape, which kind of backfired because that's where all the ladies with pregnancy bellies hang out (apparently) with their beautiful cute little families. There were triggers everywhere.
Over the holiday I received an email from my nurse that she's moving to a new position. This was our third nurse. Even our nurses get to move on from this hellish journey. I'll be assigned to a new nurse once we let them know we're off our break and decide what we want to do next.
We still don't know what we want to do. We've been enjoying just being a normal married couple, talking about other things. There are a few days we took off at the end of October to take a quick getaway but we're still undecided about where to go. Florida is our first choice but it's still unclear if they're completely zika-free. We also got the Israel-trip-bug again and we want to see if we can try to make a trip work for 2018. On one hand we want to give treatment the best chance possible and really believe it's priority. On the other hand it's an expensive trip and we're sick of the merry-go-round. I don't want to postpone any treatments because I feel my age ticking but I also don't want to feel like I let life slip by while waiting for results.
I know I'm not the best version of myself these days. I feel drained and exhausted. I feel like I'm surviving, not thriving. Just taking it one day at a time, one hour at a time. I want to make changes to help make things better. Maybe it is worth spending the money on an expensive trip to get change of scenery and a fresh outlook on life.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Israel
I really miss Israel. It started a few months ago when my cousin was getting married and I thought maybe we can go for the wedding. But at the time we were about to do a transfer and didn't want to commit. The wedding was also early December, a busy time of year right before the holidays and winter break. It was an expensive and inconvenient time. So her wedding came and went. Our pregnancy didn't take. And I still miss Israel.
We recently watched the show Fauda on Netflix (HIGHLY recommend) and it made me miss Israel even more. The entire show is in subtitles, which is annoying when you also want to play on your phone at the same time, but it does make you pay attention. I'm fluent in Hebrew but I needed the subtitles for the Arabic. I love Israelis, I love the humor, I love the traditions. I just miss everything I know about it. The last time we were in Israel was December 2006.
The trip is expensive and far away. We would need a chunk of time off work to make it worth the travel time. It's a 12 hour flight and you lose 7 hours because of the time difference so you need 2 days to travel there. Travel back is not as big a deal because you gain your 7 hours back. Which means that 3 days is just for traveling, before you even see or do anything.
Ideally, we'd fly on a Sunday and come back the following Thursday. I think that's enough time to make it worth it, with the ability to recover (i.e., sleep off the jet-lag and unpack and do laundry) over the weekend before going back to work on Monday.
If it's going to happen, it needs to happen soon. I'm hoping for a potential April transfer and I hope it sticks. Even if I don't get pregnant, my busy season ramps up at work and I can't leave work until after mid-June. If transfer does stick, I'd rather not fly pregnant if I can avoid it. Purim is on 3/12 and after that it's time for Pesach preps and likely pre-FET checkups.... so first week of March? How awesome if we can go for my birthday?
Here's a list of reasons why it can't happen:
- My husband doesn't have the time off work
- Cost
- It's too short a time to plan
Here are my own arguments against the reasons why it can't happen:
- My husband has a specific number of paid days off work. He uses almost 90% of them for Jewish holidays. It's worth asking about working a few hours a week extra to make up for those days in advance and/or afterwards so that he can take a few extra days off. I'm sure others have worked something out. If nothing else, it may be worth it for him to take unpaid days for a vacation, since we haven't had a vacation in a long time. It would probably be about 6 business days above and beyond what he already has. This is in addition to the sick days we're hoarding for IVF/FET treatments where he needs or wants to be present.
- Cost: I've been saving for our 10th anniversary for nearly 4 years. The sole purpose of this fund is for an experience/trip. The original idea was to do a Greece/Israel combo but my husband has since lost interest in Greece. Our anniversary is coming up in June. Is this not the best time for a trip, or what??
- It's too short a time to plan? Maybe. But we know what we want and we just need to get our act together to make it happen. It's the age of the internet - we can book flights and hotels. The only other thing is to set itineraries to make the most of the trip and make sure our phones have international plans. It's definitely doable to plan it out.
We can technically travel in June if the April transfer doesn't work. It's an option. But I feel like it's a negative option though. Why push it off? I want to live my life now. Who knows what the future holds or where we'll be in June. The question is whether I can convince my husband. We are not spontaneous people. We rarely travel. We love our house and like to stay near it at all times. We are a Netflix+snacks kind of people, not the kind of people who do international travel and have fun thousands of miles away. Even so. I really hope we can make it happen.
We recently watched the show Fauda on Netflix (HIGHLY recommend) and it made me miss Israel even more. The entire show is in subtitles, which is annoying when you also want to play on your phone at the same time, but it does make you pay attention. I'm fluent in Hebrew but I needed the subtitles for the Arabic. I love Israelis, I love the humor, I love the traditions. I just miss everything I know about it. The last time we were in Israel was December 2006.
The trip is expensive and far away. We would need a chunk of time off work to make it worth the travel time. It's a 12 hour flight and you lose 7 hours because of the time difference so you need 2 days to travel there. Travel back is not as big a deal because you gain your 7 hours back. Which means that 3 days is just for traveling, before you even see or do anything.
Ideally, we'd fly on a Sunday and come back the following Thursday. I think that's enough time to make it worth it, with the ability to recover (i.e., sleep off the jet-lag and unpack and do laundry) over the weekend before going back to work on Monday.
If it's going to happen, it needs to happen soon. I'm hoping for a potential April transfer and I hope it sticks. Even if I don't get pregnant, my busy season ramps up at work and I can't leave work until after mid-June. If transfer does stick, I'd rather not fly pregnant if I can avoid it. Purim is on 3/12 and after that it's time for Pesach preps and likely pre-FET checkups.... so first week of March? How awesome if we can go for my birthday?
Here's a list of reasons why it can't happen:
- My husband doesn't have the time off work
- Cost
- It's too short a time to plan
Here are my own arguments against the reasons why it can't happen:
- My husband has a specific number of paid days off work. He uses almost 90% of them for Jewish holidays. It's worth asking about working a few hours a week extra to make up for those days in advance and/or afterwards so that he can take a few extra days off. I'm sure others have worked something out. If nothing else, it may be worth it for him to take unpaid days for a vacation, since we haven't had a vacation in a long time. It would probably be about 6 business days above and beyond what he already has. This is in addition to the sick days we're hoarding for IVF/FET treatments where he needs or wants to be present.
- Cost: I've been saving for our 10th anniversary for nearly 4 years. The sole purpose of this fund is for an experience/trip. The original idea was to do a Greece/Israel combo but my husband has since lost interest in Greece. Our anniversary is coming up in June. Is this not the best time for a trip, or what??
- It's too short a time to plan? Maybe. But we know what we want and we just need to get our act together to make it happen. It's the age of the internet - we can book flights and hotels. The only other thing is to set itineraries to make the most of the trip and make sure our phones have international plans. It's definitely doable to plan it out.
We can technically travel in June if the April transfer doesn't work. It's an option. But I feel like it's a negative option though. Why push it off? I want to live my life now. Who knows what the future holds or where we'll be in June. The question is whether I can convince my husband. We are not spontaneous people. We rarely travel. We love our house and like to stay near it at all times. We are a Netflix+snacks kind of people, not the kind of people who do international travel and have fun thousands of miles away. Even so. I really hope we can make it happen.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
IVF 5: Baseline
It's a go!
I got my email reminder from the financial counselor yesterday and paperwork was straightened out at check in. I waited about two minutes for bloodwork. Weigh in went well! I was being a little ridiculous worrying myself sick about it - to the point that I purposely chose a short sleeve shirt and left my watch in my purse "just in case." I was way under any kind of limit.
Bloodwork took two sticks. I feel like I should get a tiny x tattoo right where the vein cooperates.
Very shortly after I got called back for the ultrasound. Usually this is a huge time suck - I've waited for 20-40 minutes at some past appointments. It was the fast doctor today so I was out of there in less than 5 minutes. Results came in around noon with the all clear and dosage amounts.
Really breezy appointment overall. Shots start Saturday night and my next monitoring appointment is on Tuesday.
In unrelated news, I had a meeting with my supervisor about my salary and responsibilities. It was a really positive conversation and I'm on track for a raise and title change in the next contract year.
In addition, I got a bug in my mind about a trip to Israel. I'll elaborate more in another post. There's a short window of available time between the IVF and FET and if at all possible I'd love to squeeze a trip there. It depends on a few factors so we'll see.
I got my email reminder from the financial counselor yesterday and paperwork was straightened out at check in. I waited about two minutes for bloodwork. Weigh in went well! I was being a little ridiculous worrying myself sick about it - to the point that I purposely chose a short sleeve shirt and left my watch in my purse "just in case." I was way under any kind of limit.
Bloodwork took two sticks. I feel like I should get a tiny x tattoo right where the vein cooperates.
Very shortly after I got called back for the ultrasound. Usually this is a huge time suck - I've waited for 20-40 minutes at some past appointments. It was the fast doctor today so I was out of there in less than 5 minutes. Results came in around noon with the all clear and dosage amounts.
Really breezy appointment overall. Shots start Saturday night and my next monitoring appointment is on Tuesday.
In unrelated news, I had a meeting with my supervisor about my salary and responsibilities. It was a really positive conversation and I'm on track for a raise and title change in the next contract year.
In addition, I got a bug in my mind about a trip to Israel. I'll elaborate more in another post. There's a short window of available time between the IVF and FET and if at all possible I'd love to squeeze a trip there. It depends on a few factors so we'll see.
Monday, September 5, 2016
Labor Day
We had a great weekend. To celebrate our 10 year engagement anniversary we did a quickie getaway to DC for a night. The Greek exhibit at the National Geographic museum was interesting, and we rediscovered our lack of appreciation of modern art after visiting the Phillips Collection. We went out for dinner and stayed the night in a hotel that was hosting a big wedding celebration. It was nice getting away and we loved coming home.
After a situation with family, I had an honest conversation with my pregnant sister over text about how much about it I want shared with me. With her being pregnant, I'm officially the last one in the family not to have gone through pregnancy, labor, or child-rearing and it seems all family gatherings include conversation about that and only that. I want to be ok with it and I didn't choose to feel this way but I do and it's not fair to expect them to be sensitive if I don't speak up when something bothers me.
In other news, my 4-year-old neighbor developed a crush on us. He loves saying hello and asking questions. I was unpacking our bags from our DC trip when I heard the doorbell. I went to answer it and there he was, asking, "Can you invite me over?" as I tried to make out what he was asking his mom comes running, apologizing for him bothering us. She explained that he'd been haranguing them to come visit us but they told him that he wasn't invited but that didn't dissuade him. His solution was to come ring the doorbell and ask to be invited. So clever! As he came running up the steps to our house I called out to her that we'll go to the backyard and she could meet us there. We sat on the swing and he started asking questions... Why do you have a fence? Why are there two chairs? Why do we have a BBQ?.... Normal kids questions. Of course he also got to... Why don't you have kids? What can I answer? "That's just how it is." When he asked why again, I repeated it, "It's just how it is."
It's not a lie. Sure, I could go into the story of fertility treatment, and talk about our failed attempts, or what our plan is moving forward. But it all boils down to one fact: it's just how it it is right now. Also, he's a kid!
It was adorable. As I walked him back to his house I told him he can come visit any time.
After a situation with family, I had an honest conversation with my pregnant sister over text about how much about it I want shared with me. With her being pregnant, I'm officially the last one in the family not to have gone through pregnancy, labor, or child-rearing and it seems all family gatherings include conversation about that and only that. I want to be ok with it and I didn't choose to feel this way but I do and it's not fair to expect them to be sensitive if I don't speak up when something bothers me.
In other news, my 4-year-old neighbor developed a crush on us. He loves saying hello and asking questions. I was unpacking our bags from our DC trip when I heard the doorbell. I went to answer it and there he was, asking, "Can you invite me over?" as I tried to make out what he was asking his mom comes running, apologizing for him bothering us. She explained that he'd been haranguing them to come visit us but they told him that he wasn't invited but that didn't dissuade him. His solution was to come ring the doorbell and ask to be invited. So clever! As he came running up the steps to our house I called out to her that we'll go to the backyard and she could meet us there. We sat on the swing and he started asking questions... Why do you have a fence? Why are there two chairs? Why do we have a BBQ?.... Normal kids questions. Of course he also got to... Why don't you have kids? What can I answer? "That's just how it is." When he asked why again, I repeated it, "It's just how it is."
It's not a lie. Sure, I could go into the story of fertility treatment, and talk about our failed attempts, or what our plan is moving forward. But it all boils down to one fact: it's just how it it is right now. Also, he's a kid!
It was adorable. As I walked him back to his house I told him he can come visit any time.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Beach day
Late last week I found out that my office will be closed on Monday due to power-related repairs so my husband took off Monday too and we planned a short getaway. We chose Ocean City, MD because it has the beach, we were able to get accommodations at the last minute, and it's a fairly quick drive.
We got home last night happy and slightly toasted. Even with waterproof SPF 50 sunscreen being reapplied nearly every hour, we still came home sporting some fierce burns. We had a large hotel room with a fridge and microwave, and a balcony with a direct view of the ocean. It was a great - so glad we were able to get away.
Sunrise in Ocean City, MD
Mid-afternoon view from our balcony
View from my face ;)
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Results
Bloodwork results came back some time in the afternoon and the voicemail said that HCG is now at negative levels, which I assume means back to zero. This officially closes the chapter on FET #3.
AF started yesterday. It feels like my uterus is mad at me. Period from hell has arrived. Tylenol was helping but cramps have gotten painfully intense and I'm debating upgrading to something stronger.
In prep for the in-person appointment with the doc I requested a copy of my file. I don't care if they think I'm leaving the clinic (I have no plans for that now). I want to see what he sees so we're on the same page.
I want a change of scenery and I really miss the beach. Eff Zika. We don't have friends or family to stay with near the beach so accommodations will be the biggest expense. I have points for flights and I have points for hotels, but for some reason I can't seem to make the two line up in the same city. I don't have the talent of getting great deals at amazing prices. If I try to save money the place is always gross. If we want to go somewhere specific it's going to cost at least $1,000 for just a few nights. I'll keep looking.
AF started yesterday. It feels like my uterus is mad at me. Period from hell has arrived. Tylenol was helping but cramps have gotten painfully intense and I'm debating upgrading to something stronger.
In prep for the in-person appointment with the doc I requested a copy of my file. I don't care if they think I'm leaving the clinic (I have no plans for that now). I want to see what he sees so we're on the same page.
I want a change of scenery and I really miss the beach. Eff Zika. We don't have friends or family to stay with near the beach so accommodations will be the biggest expense. I have points for flights and I have points for hotels, but for some reason I can't seem to make the two line up in the same city. I don't have the talent of getting great deals at amazing prices. If I try to save money the place is always gross. If we want to go somewhere specific it's going to cost at least $1,000 for just a few nights. I'll keep looking.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Results
Got the results from my mole: looks benign so no further treatment required. Great!
I also got a general voicemail over the holiday from the lab testing the embryo biopsies asking to give them a call. Since I didn't get it until after the holiday was over on Saturday night I can't talk to anyone until they reopen on Monday. My feeling is that they needed authorization to use the credit card on file, which is annoying because I had already given permission previously and had they ran it on Friday instead of getting permission we may already have the results by now. I get why they need authorization and logically I guess I prefer that they don't use my card without asking first, but now I'm anxious to find out results. At least I assume that's why they called.
Pesach is over. All that work and now it's done! Our guests left this morning and the house suddenly feels enormous. I love my house and I enjoyed spending my stay-cation here.
I started looking at options to go for a summer trip this year. In addition, I also started looking at vacation spots for a big trip for our 10th anniversary next summer. We never went on a honeymoon so I'm excited to spend time and energy planning one now.
In addition, I decided I need more hobbies in my life. I made a list of things I should try over the summer: tennis, clay wheel throwing, learn an instrument, yoga, running, camping, writing. I may or may not do all of them, but it's a starting point and I feel the need to stretch past my comfort zone. I asked family members to think about things I can add to my list. Willing to take any and all suggestions under consideration.
I also got a general voicemail over the holiday from the lab testing the embryo biopsies asking to give them a call. Since I didn't get it until after the holiday was over on Saturday night I can't talk to anyone until they reopen on Monday. My feeling is that they needed authorization to use the credit card on file, which is annoying because I had already given permission previously and had they ran it on Friday instead of getting permission we may already have the results by now. I get why they need authorization and logically I guess I prefer that they don't use my card without asking first, but now I'm anxious to find out results. At least I assume that's why they called.
Pesach is over. All that work and now it's done! Our guests left this morning and the house suddenly feels enormous. I love my house and I enjoyed spending my stay-cation here.
I started looking at options to go for a summer trip this year. In addition, I also started looking at vacation spots for a big trip for our 10th anniversary next summer. We never went on a honeymoon so I'm excited to spend time and energy planning one now.
In addition, I decided I need more hobbies in my life. I made a list of things I should try over the summer: tennis, clay wheel throwing, learn an instrument, yoga, running, camping, writing. I may or may not do all of them, but it's a starting point and I feel the need to stretch past my comfort zone. I asked family members to think about things I can add to my list. Willing to take any and all suggestions under consideration.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Chicago!
This year's birthday trip was to Chicago, IL. Neither of us had been there and it fit all the requirements for our trip: close enough to travel to, enough attractions to keep us busy, and no zika virus!
It was a jam-packed trip and even though we have very different vacation styles we both had a great time. When I go somewhere new, I like packing everything as much as possible. My husband thinks that vacation is for relaxing and taking it easy. What? No, we didn't fly here to sleep. Party time!
We were able to get a lot done even though it was only a few days. We lucked out with the weather. It was pre-spring and the weather was beautiful the entire time. In a nutshell, we visited the Bean in Millennium Park, did the Architectural Boat Tour, walked up and down the Magnificent Mile, visited the Navy Pier (and the stained glass museum section) even though most of it was closed while they were getting ready to open for the season, saw an improv show at Second City, went to the top of the Hancock center to get a 360-degree view of the city, and walked along Lake Michigan on a beautiful day. We also visited Skokie a few times since that's where the kosher restaurants are.
When we checked in and told them we were there to celebrate a birthday, the hotel upgraded us to a river view room and gave us complimentary drinks at the bar. We also met a TSA agent whose birthday was also on the 8th!
It was a jam-packed trip and even though we have very different vacation styles we both had a great time. When I go somewhere new, I like packing everything as much as possible. My husband thinks that vacation is for relaxing and taking it easy. What? No, we didn't fly here to sleep. Party time!
We were able to get a lot done even though it was only a few days. We lucked out with the weather. It was pre-spring and the weather was beautiful the entire time. In a nutshell, we visited the Bean in Millennium Park, did the Architectural Boat Tour, walked up and down the Magnificent Mile, visited the Navy Pier (and the stained glass museum section) even though most of it was closed while they were getting ready to open for the season, saw an improv show at Second City, went to the top of the Hancock center to get a 360-degree view of the city, and walked along Lake Michigan on a beautiful day. We also visited Skokie a few times since that's where the kosher restaurants are.
When we checked in and told them we were there to celebrate a birthday, the hotel upgraded us to a river view room and gave us complimentary drinks at the bar. We also met a TSA agent whose birthday was also on the 8th!
City skyline from Navy Pier
View of the city from our room
Deep dish pizza
Second City stage
The best part was that it was not only a physical change of scenery, but it was also a mental break. I like my job and I like my schedule, but getting a break from the routine of regular life was really nice. It was great to walk around in the beautiful weather and see new things.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Party time
Another year, another birthday. Well, not yet - it's next week.
Growing up we didn't make a big deal of celebrating birthdays. Of course, there would always be a cake with candles at family dinner and a token gift. We didn't do the big bashes kids have today with 70 screaming children hopped up on sugar and running wild at laser tag or whatever.
When I got married I expected a similar celebration from my husband - thoughtful gift and a token celebration. Since thinking ahead and planning romantic anythings is completely out of his comfort zone, my birthday was disappointing the first few years of marriage. I get that I may be hard to shop for, but more than that is that my expectations were unrealistic to the personality type I married.
Enter Brilliant Plan of 2015. We decided that since we never go anywhere or do anything, since our favorite activity is being lazy together at home binge watching TV, we should use birthdays to visit new places. The birthday person would plan their perfect trip and we would go together.
Last year my birthday was on a Sunday and to save on cash we decided to make it into a day trip instead of an overnighter. It worked out so well. We went to Philadelphia and spent the day touring. Among other things we visited the Liberty Bell and were surprised at how small it was. I made sure to point out that we would never have known that if we didn't see it in person because it always looked so big in pictures! Wasn't it supposed to be bigger? Also, should we tell someone there's a crack in it?
We splurged on dinner at a fancy restaurant and headed home. It was only a 2 hr ride away and we always said we would visit but we hadn't been able to get our lazy butts out of the house any other day. Not only did we have a lovely time, but I also felt thoroughly celebrated on my birthday.
This year is a little different. I wanted to go to Florida for my birthday. I miss the beach. It's such an easy trip and there are so many great restaurants. My husband hasn't been to Florida since I ran the Miami Half Marathon in 2012 so he was on board even thought it's not a new place. We made the plans in the fall and started looking forward to the trip.
Since then, zika virus broke out. Even though I haven't heard much about it recently, there is no way I'm going through all this fertility treatment to try to have a healthy baby only to compromise it with getting the zika virus. So Florida was out. In fact, any place down south was out - I don't know where those crazy mosquitoes are breeding! Not risking it.
We also can't really visit the West coast because we only planned a few days off work and didn't want to spend most of them on an airplane. So we were limited to the upper right quadrant of the United States. After much searching online, considering the weather, debating locations, we picked a place and have it booked for next week! I'll post pictures and details when we get back. Happy almost birthday to me!
Growing up we didn't make a big deal of celebrating birthdays. Of course, there would always be a cake with candles at family dinner and a token gift. We didn't do the big bashes kids have today with 70 screaming children hopped up on sugar and running wild at laser tag or whatever.
When I got married I expected a similar celebration from my husband - thoughtful gift and a token celebration. Since thinking ahead and planning romantic anythings is completely out of his comfort zone, my birthday was disappointing the first few years of marriage. I get that I may be hard to shop for, but more than that is that my expectations were unrealistic to the personality type I married.
Enter Brilliant Plan of 2015. We decided that since we never go anywhere or do anything, since our favorite activity is being lazy together at home binge watching TV, we should use birthdays to visit new places. The birthday person would plan their perfect trip and we would go together.
Last year my birthday was on a Sunday and to save on cash we decided to make it into a day trip instead of an overnighter. It worked out so well. We went to Philadelphia and spent the day touring. Among other things we visited the Liberty Bell and were surprised at how small it was. I made sure to point out that we would never have known that if we didn't see it in person because it always looked so big in pictures! Wasn't it supposed to be bigger? Also, should we tell someone there's a crack in it?
We splurged on dinner at a fancy restaurant and headed home. It was only a 2 hr ride away and we always said we would visit but we hadn't been able to get our lazy butts out of the house any other day. Not only did we have a lovely time, but I also felt thoroughly celebrated on my birthday.
This year is a little different. I wanted to go to Florida for my birthday. I miss the beach. It's such an easy trip and there are so many great restaurants. My husband hasn't been to Florida since I ran the Miami Half Marathon in 2012 so he was on board even thought it's not a new place. We made the plans in the fall and started looking forward to the trip.
Since then, zika virus broke out. Even though I haven't heard much about it recently, there is no way I'm going through all this fertility treatment to try to have a healthy baby only to compromise it with getting the zika virus. So Florida was out. In fact, any place down south was out - I don't know where those crazy mosquitoes are breeding! Not risking it.
We also can't really visit the West coast because we only planned a few days off work and didn't want to spend most of them on an airplane. So we were limited to the upper right quadrant of the United States. After much searching online, considering the weather, debating locations, we picked a place and have it booked for next week! I'll post pictures and details when we get back. Happy almost birthday to me!
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