Valentine's Day Decorations

Now that it is officially just about February it is time for Valentine's Day decorations.  Pink and red aren't necessarily my favorite colors but after having no holiday decorations up for most of the month of January after taking my Christmas decorations down I am glad to have some color back.

I didn't get much new this year but I did pick up some heart vase fillers a few weeks ago when I was out to dinner and shopping with a friend.

Happy February!

What's Up Wednesday

It is time for another What's Up Wednesday and it is the first one of the new year!


What we're eating this week:  I have been trying to focus on eating more fruits and vegetables. I made a pot of veggie and chicken chili for lunches this week and last week I made stuffed acorn squash.

What I'm reminiscing about: At the moment my annual pass to Disneyland is expired and I haven't decided yet if I am going to renew it yet on my next trip so I am reminiscing about how much fun I had last year on my trips to Disneyland.

What I'm loving: I am loving seeing my house all decorated for Valentine's Day.  My house looked so lonely after taking down my Christmas decorations but last week I decided it was close enough to February to justify putting up my Valentine's Day decorations.










What we've been up to: A few weeks ago I went to a cute baby shower for my cousin's new little baby boy.  Her due date is next week so he could be here any day now.

What I'm dreading: All the IVF hormones and shots take quite the toll on your body so I kind of dread taking them each day.  I know it is what I need to do but it is still hard physically and emotionally.

What I'm working on: I am working on cleaning out my all my dresser drawers.  I haven't done it in a while and a couple of them are kind of overflowing.  It is a combination of needed to give away things I don't wear anymore and just refolding everything in the drawers so they fit properly.

What I'm excited about: While I am dreading the parts of the IVF process I am really excited about hopefully adding a new member to our family some time this year.  Fingers crossed.

What I'm watching/reading: I have been watching old seasons of The Amazing Race because they are fun and easy to watch in the background of whatever I am doing.

What I'm listening to: Mostly whatever comes on my Pandora which is usually a mix of country and a random mix of 90s-00s pop music.  Everyone needs some Britney in their life every once in a while.


What I'm wearing: In all reality at this point in my IVF cycle I am wearing whatever fits me and is comfortable which is mostly very flowy dresses or my husband's pajama pants.  I did get a new fun new floral dress at Old Navy recently.













What I'm doing this weekend: Not a whole lot probably.  I will probably try to get some stuff done around the house and make progress on cleaning out my dresser but we don't really have any concrete plans for the weekend.

Happy Wednesday!

Preparing for Transfer Day

So now that we have done round one, round two and round three of IVF harvesting and ended up with 5 beautiful healthy embryos it is time for the main attraction...

Transferring one of those embryos into me and making a baby!

After our third round of harvesting we waited for me to get my period like you would if you were doing another harvest cycle but when I got my period instead of starting birth control pills to level out my hormones I started taking estradiol which is a form of estrogen.

After taking the estradiol for about a week and a half I went in to the doctor for blood work and an ultrasound to see if my lining was thick enough.  All the tests came back with what they wanted to see (high levels, low levels, I don't remember) and my lining measured thick enough.

While we were at the doctor we also met with the nurse to get trained on all the medications I would be taking for the transfer because the shots were in a different location than I was used to.  They even drew on me with a permanent marker so we would know exactly where to put the shots.




Transfers are done on Mondays and due to the way the Christmas and New Year's holidays fell this year we scheduled my transfer for January 7th.  Because we we were waiting a little bit longer than normal between the first set of blood work and the transfer because of the holidays I had to go in for a second blood draw on New Year's Eve just to make sure my levels were still okay.

All the levels were okay and we were a go for a January 7th transfer date.

On January 2nd we had to start progesterone.  This was the part of the process I was most nervous about.  Twice a day I have to take progesterone suppositories which aren't fun but not too big a deal.  You just have to wear a little panty liner because the capsule are yellow and they do make you leak yellow when the outside of the capsule dissolves.

The part I was nervous about was the fact that once a day (in the evening) I had to take progesterone in oil via a shot.  Now at this point I have been pretty much become an expert at giving myself shots in the lower stomach but these shots aren't given there.  In fact because they are given in the upper butt/lower back area I am not even the ones administering them.  My husband has to give me a shot every night and his is very much not a fan of needles so I was worried about him having to do it.

He still doesn't like needles at all but he has been doing a fantastic job of being brave and giving me the shot every night. We kind of got into a routine. Put a numbing patch on for 30 minutes and then he gives me the shot.  After the shot he has to massage the area for a few minutes to make sure the medicine is disbursing into the muscle and not just sitting there because it is in oil.  Then I lay on a heating pad for about 5 minutes to try and melt anything still there and then he gives me a little bit more of a massage.






This whole process takes about an hour from putting the pain patch on to finishing the massage.

A couple of days before the transfer I also started taking an antibiotic to kill any germs in me just in case. By the time we got to the transfer day I was taking 4 pills, 2 suppositories and 1 shot a day!

After all that prep it was time for the transfer but that deserves its own post!

A Weekend in Lake Tahoe

At the beginning of November we took a little weekend trip to Lake Tahoe with my husband's siblings.  We left home around noon on Friday and headed up.  The drive was really pretty and we made decent time.

My sister-in-law had bought this trip as part of a charity auction so we were staying in a 2 bedroom Wyndham timeshare. Since we had a full kitchen some of us went to the store for supplies (also known as food) while the rest settled into the condo. 

We cooked dinner and then just hung out playing games until it was time for bed.  There was a murphy bed in the living room and that is where my husband and I slept.  The bed was fairly comfy but I tend to be the first one to go to bed so that was kind of weird to be in the living room.

Saturday we all slept in and then my brother-in-law made a big Filipino breakfast for everyone for brunch. My other sister-in-law arrived at some point Saturday morning and then we really were a full house.

After lounging around Saturday morning we decided to walk down to Lake Tahoe.  We were about a 10-15 minute walk down a nice little path to the water.  It was November so obviously we weren't going in the water but we walked around the beach for a while and admired the view.

Even without getting in the water it was nice to just get some fresh mountain air and admire the mountains.

A friend of one of my brother-in-laws had recommended a place to go and watch the sunset so some of us decided to venture out to the Edgewater Hotel. By this point in the day it was fairly chilly but we bundled up and sat on the adirondack chairs to watch the sunset.

After watching the sunset for a bit we headed up to the patio of hotel and the fire pit. In the lobby of the hotel there were all the fixings for s'mores for people to use at the fire pits so we gathered some supplies and made ourselves comfy.  I got a lavender gin cocktail of some sort and enjoyed the rest of the sunset from the fire pits. 

The Edgewood hotel was super nice looking and I would love to come back again and stay there when the weather is warmer because the pool looked fantastic and it was right on the lake.  Babymoon anyone??

We all played a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity, drank wine and at dinner Saturday night and then we all packed up Sunday morning for the drive home.

The last two times I have been to Tahoe have been in the winter/fall (cooler weather) so maybe next time I should come in the summer!

10 Random Facts About Me

Today is a very random assortment of random facts about me in no particular order.  Some of them are more obvious than others if you have been reading for a while!

I am the oldest of three girls.  No family resemblance there at all! Ha! One of my sisters is in medical school at the moment and the other one is in law school at the moment.

 

My husband and I got married twice about 7 months apart.  We had already started to plan my dream wedding in Hawaii when we decided that we needed to push up the wedding due to his mother's health.  We planned our first wedding in about 6 weeks but also continued with the planning of our wedding in Hawaii.  The first wedding was at a church in my hometown and then we had a reception at my parents house. Even with the short notice all of our immediate family was able to come and I found a dress in time (two of my biggest worries) so it was a really wonderful day. Our second wedding was in Hawaii overlooking the ocean and was everything I had been imagining for years. I wore a different dress but used the same sparkly belt to tie the two days together.

My birthday is on Christmas.  My mom always says it wasn't her idea and it wasn't mine either so really it was the doctor who ended up doing the c-section on Christmas. Let's go with that theory.  Most of the time I don't mind and people were really good about keeping my birthday separate from Christmas when I was a kid but as an adult it kind of gets lost in the season.

While I was in grad school (and for a little while after) I worked for Nordstrom.  I worked in the lingerie department and loved it. I was a certified bra fitter and was also certified in fitting prosthesis for woman who have had breast cancer. Even to this day my entire underwear drawer is full of things from Nordstrom and I can't wear ill fitting undergarments.  So spoiled.  Wondering about the drink? This is the Peach Italian Soda and my favorite thing to order at the E-Bar.

At a woman's size 7 my feet are fairly small so I can actually wear kids shoes.  A woman's 7 is a children's 5 so if you have small feet you too can wear kids shoes. They are usually about half the price and in my experience they last just as long as the adult version. 

My favorite color is purple and always has been! 

I have loved Beauty and the Beast since the first day I saw it as a kid. I have seen the movie about a zillion times and have seen the Broadway show probably half a dozen times.  My sisters even made my bridal shower Beauty and the Beast themed.  Try the grey stuff, it's delicious!

I have a weird government job title but what it really translates to is manager of special projects and sometimes those projects involve me dressing up in a hard hat and vest. 

I went to a small liberal arts woman's college in Southern California called Scripps and loved it.  Scripps is where I met many of my best friends and had so many good adventures. My grandmother actually also went to Scripps so that made it extra special.

If you aren't new around here this will come as no surprise but I LOVE Disneyland.  I have had an annual pass off and on since college and in recent years if I don't have a trip planned (even if it is many months away) I feel the Disneyland withdrawals. My pass is currently expired as of around Thanksgiving and I am debating whether or not to get a new one when I go in the spring. In addition to Disney blog posts I also often post my Disney adventures on my Instagram so feel free to follow along.

Hope you enjoyed learning a few fun facts about me today!

Linking up with The Bolin Bunch

Showing the Coziest Place in My House

When thinking about the coziest place in my house the obvious first choice is my bed.  I think if your bed isn't cozy you need to rethink things in your life so I decided to exclude it.  

With my bed excluded the next coziest place in my house is our living room couch with its multiple pillows, supply of blankets and a candle burning in the background. 

I work from home a few times a month so my couch is not only used for relaxing in the evenings and on weekends but I pull up a little side table and it becomes my desk.  I love working from home in my pajamas all cozy under my favorite blanket. While I couldn't do it everyday I find I get so much done on the days I work from home with no distractions. On a side note: We have had this couch for over a year now and I still haven't picked out a coffee table to go with it.  I know I have had other things on my mind but really I think it is time...

In recent months I have also spent quite a bit time cozy on the couch during our IVF process.  Each retrieval is minor surgery so there is recovery time and much of my recovery time is spent curled up on the coach binge watching old seasons of Survivor. In addition to pajamas, a candle and a blanket my new slippers help me to feel a cozy while I am resting following my doctor's orders.

Now that this is hopefully the year we have a baby I expect I will continue to spend lots of time on my cozy couch.

Linking up with Let's Look At...

Life Lately and What Is To Come in 2019

So before we move all our attention to 2019 I wanted to do a quick recap of what we were up to in the last month or so of 2018.

Right after Thanksgiving my office threw the head of our department a baby shower.  If it isn't immediately obvious (ha!) she is having a little girl at the end of January. We have baby showers fairly often in my office so we like to think we are pros at it at this point!

In early December we had our third and final IVF harvest and then to celebrate we took a little weekend trip to Solvang to belatedly celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary and the end of the harvest portion of our IVF journey. We even had a fireplace in our room. A full recap of our trip to Solvang coming soon!

In the middle of December my brother-in-law turned 50 and had a traditional Filipino Kamayan dinner to celebrate. Everything is served on banana leaves directly on the table and you eat everything with your hands. All the food was delicious but my favorite thing was the nutella bibinka for dessert.

In all the craziness of life and IVF I wasn't very on top of sending Christmas cards and when I went to order them I realized I didn't even have a good picture of us from the year to put on them.  I knew we would be getting dressed up for the party so I made it a mission to take a photo of us specifically to use on our Christmas card.  This was the winner.

The Friday before Christmas we went on a little date night. We went out to dinner and then walked around our local Christmas in the Park looking at all the pretty lights and Christmas trees.

The weekend before Christmas our niece turned 15 so we spend that Sunday at my brother-in-law and sister in law's house celebrating her.  We had Filipino breakfast foods for lunch and then spent the afternoon playing games and watching her open presents.

Last week I ran into Target with a co-worker to grab a few things for a game night and saw this absolutely perfect mug.  The mug was so perfect for me that I had to buy two so I can have one at home and one at my desk at work.  Good job Target!

For New Year's we knew we didn't really want to be out and about at midnight but I didn't want to do nothing at all.  We were both working on New Year's Eve so after work we went out for a sushi date since my days of eating sushi are rapidly coming to a pause.  After dinner we stopped by Foster's Freeze for some ice cream (despite it being quite cold and windy) and then headed home.  This is where our plans changed a bit...

After we got off the freeway on our way home we noticed that the signal was out. Then we realized the whole area looked like it had no power.  It had been so windy that day that our whole neighborhood was out of power so instead of relaxing at home and watching some TV until midnight we manually opened our garage door and went in to find candles and flashlights.  We got home around 7 PM and the power ended up coming back about 9 PM.  

While we were in the dark we lit some candles and then taped a headlamp to our light fixture that hangs above our kitchen table.  We had enough light to play a card game and then decided to do a puzzle.  Even once the power came back on we still ended up finishing the puzzle before toasting to the new year in our pajamas and my sparkly headband.

Now that we are in a whole new year it is time to think about what I want to achieve in 2019. During 2018 we did 3 rounds of IVF to harvest eggs and we ended up with 5 healthy frozen embryos from all of that so this year is the year we implant.  I am hoping and planning for this to be the year we have a baby.  Our implant date is fast approaching. More details to come soon!

Assuming all goes well with the implant (send all the positive thoughts out there) most of my plans and goals for the year will revolve around having a healthy pregnancy, preparing for a baby and then figuring out life with a newborn.