Two words: pap and mammogram. ON THE SAME DAY. That was LOADS of fun!! First was fondled by the nice x-ray tech lady as my boobies were smashed flat like pancakes. Then had pap with my primary care doc who also did a breast exam. More fondling! The good news is I got paid to get felt up! My disability insurance gives 50 bucks a pop for paps and mammos, so I'll make out with a cool hundred. Does that make me a dirty hooker?? :-P
I've been having lower back pain that makes me feel like a crumpled old lady at times. It comes and goes. This time, it's come and won't go! I mentioned it to my doc on Tuesday. She asked if it was radiating and it wasn't. The pain was lower, dead center. However, on Thursday night when I went to bed, it had shifted to the left side and the pain was radiating into my left butt cheek and down my leg. Seriously, do I have frickin' sciatica??? I'm just falling apart here! It really, really hurts. Tylenol doesn't help. Aleve helps a bit. Aleve combined with vicodin really takes the edge off. The past couple of nights I've had a heating pad strapped on. I sent a message to my doc to see what she suggests. I'm also going to see a chiropractor. My insurance covers it, so what could it hurt?
Another part of being older in general.....I went to another funeral yesterday. This one was for the father of my oldest friend. I remember thinking my friend's dad and his wife were oh so glamorous when I was a kid. As an adult, he, Jack, passed on sage advice. Mostly to try to help me understand the male psyche. I remember before HB, I was dating this knucklehead who had "issues". He kinda dropped off the radar for awhile. I discussed the whole deal with Jack and he said, "He'll be back. They ALWAYS come back." I remember laughing my head off, but sure enough, knucklehead resurfaced on multiple occasions. Everything Jack ever told me about men turned out to be true. So wise.
The service was wonderful. So many people had so many great stories about Jack. Mostly hilarious stories. He was an extremely funny guy. There was so much laughter thru the tears. It was a packed house and the love in that room was palpable. His daughter, my dear friend, did such a wonderful job putting everything together and the service really represented who her dad was. I am so incredibly proud of her, her strength and the dedication she had to her dad until the very end. She was his Angel of Mercy. He told her so and truer words were never spoken.
Of course, this all got me thinking about my Dad. My heart still aches when I think of him. There have been some situations in the past couple of months where I would've gone to him for advice. I felt such emptiness, like I had nowhere to turn. ::::sigh::::: Okay, I gotta stop because I'm about to lose it.
Keep you fingers crossed for me and hope this back issue doesn't end up interfering with the timing of round 2.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Birthday Wrap Up
I'm a week late with this update, but better late than never, right?
Last Saturday, I had plans with 4 of my nearest and dearest that weren't able to make it to the fabulous soiree Eija threw for me. The plan was bubbly tasting at 2 different wine shops we frequent, then dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, The Village Pub in Woodside.
I developed a slight sore throat on Thursday that continued Friday. By Saturday, I started to go down hill a bit. Despite getting a decent night's sleep before going in to work a 1am til 2pm on Saturday, my body was not havin' it and punished me with a snotty nose. I headed home after work to pick up HB. The house was clean and a single red rose was waiting for me. Awwwwww! Then it was on to the bubbly!The first tasting at K&L was great and included my favorite, Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose'. I managed to keep my nose from running into my Champagne. Yippie! I kept stepping away to wipe/blow my nose, as I didn't want to gross out the other customers. After that tasting, we tailgated in the parking lot. Soph made some DELICIOUS samiches. So simple, yet so incredibly yummy. Prosciutto and double cream brie on a baguette. The idea was to have a bite between tastings so we wouldn't be hammered by dinner. Didn't want to fill up though. I seriously wanted to inhale several sandwiches, but manged not to.
On to tasting #2 at Beltramo's. Another great selection of bubbles. Didn't think it was good as K&L's selections, but still quite tasty. We wrapped it up and headed to The Village Pub.
It was a busy night and the place was packed. We were seated at a large round table in what is usually the private dining room. They had the doors all opened up to the main dining room to accomodate the crowd. We considered having our wedding dinner here if we ended up doing a family only thing for 12-14 people. I remarked to HB that we didn't need to request a tour now that we were able to get a peek.
Our waitress looked like she was pushing 6ft. and I thought she was mean! She seemed peeved that we weren't interested in ordering cocktails and didn't seem amused by my comment about being full of Champagne already. She lightened up a bit once we started ordering and turned out to be delightful! Once she dropped the mean act, I noticed she was actually quite pretty in a Raphaelite sorta way. The service was impeccable and we ended up enjoying her.
The food was, as always, DIVINE!! I started off with a mini cassoulet. This is rustic French bean dish that's all full of sausage and duck confit. Meat and beans good. It wasn't as good as HB's cassoulet, but it was damn good. For my main course, I had a steak that was perfectly cooked and served with a side of chard that was so flavorful. I picked off HB's plate, skate with some terrific vegetables. It was delicious as well.
For dessert, I was serenaded along with a chocolate souflee. It was soooo good! Though I was feeling sicker by the hour, I was so feeling the love and felt so lucky to have such wonderful, caring and crazy generous friends. Seriously, how does a girl get so lucky??
We bid one another adieu and were home by 9ish. We ended the evening the way we end most evenings, with a set of Rock Band. Then I took some Nyquil and hit the hay. Fortunately, I could breathe outta one side of my nose, so I was able to get a good night's rest. I think I rolled outta bed around 11:30 or so.
We had a mellow V Day/official birthday at home. We lazed around in our matching pajamas and watched shows on the Food Network. Does a day get better than that? LOL!! We made a fabulous dinner based on a French Laundry recipe. HB had to dash out to pick up a few things. While he did, I decorated the place and wrapped his gift, a t-shirt with the logo I created for our Rock Band, Burning Xmas. I'll post a pic sometime in the near future.
All in all, it was a lovely weekend. I think this is going to be a splendid year and an even more splendid decade! So far, my 40's have kicked ass!!
Last Saturday, I had plans with 4 of my nearest and dearest that weren't able to make it to the fabulous soiree Eija threw for me. The plan was bubbly tasting at 2 different wine shops we frequent, then dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, The Village Pub in Woodside.
I developed a slight sore throat on Thursday that continued Friday. By Saturday, I started to go down hill a bit. Despite getting a decent night's sleep before going in to work a 1am til 2pm on Saturday, my body was not havin' it and punished me with a snotty nose. I headed home after work to pick up HB. The house was clean and a single red rose was waiting for me. Awwwwww! Then it was on to the bubbly!The first tasting at K&L was great and included my favorite, Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose'. I managed to keep my nose from running into my Champagne. Yippie! I kept stepping away to wipe/blow my nose, as I didn't want to gross out the other customers. After that tasting, we tailgated in the parking lot. Soph made some DELICIOUS samiches. So simple, yet so incredibly yummy. Prosciutto and double cream brie on a baguette. The idea was to have a bite between tastings so we wouldn't be hammered by dinner. Didn't want to fill up though. I seriously wanted to inhale several sandwiches, but manged not to.
On to tasting #2 at Beltramo's. Another great selection of bubbles. Didn't think it was good as K&L's selections, but still quite tasty. We wrapped it up and headed to The Village Pub.
It was a busy night and the place was packed. We were seated at a large round table in what is usually the private dining room. They had the doors all opened up to the main dining room to accomodate the crowd. We considered having our wedding dinner here if we ended up doing a family only thing for 12-14 people. I remarked to HB that we didn't need to request a tour now that we were able to get a peek.
Our waitress looked like she was pushing 6ft. and I thought she was mean! She seemed peeved that we weren't interested in ordering cocktails and didn't seem amused by my comment about being full of Champagne already. She lightened up a bit once we started ordering and turned out to be delightful! Once she dropped the mean act, I noticed she was actually quite pretty in a Raphaelite sorta way. The service was impeccable and we ended up enjoying her.
The food was, as always, DIVINE!! I started off with a mini cassoulet. This is rustic French bean dish that's all full of sausage and duck confit. Meat and beans good. It wasn't as good as HB's cassoulet, but it was damn good. For my main course, I had a steak that was perfectly cooked and served with a side of chard that was so flavorful. I picked off HB's plate, skate with some terrific vegetables. It was delicious as well.
For dessert, I was serenaded along with a chocolate souflee. It was soooo good! Though I was feeling sicker by the hour, I was so feeling the love and felt so lucky to have such wonderful, caring and crazy generous friends. Seriously, how does a girl get so lucky??
We bid one another adieu and were home by 9ish. We ended the evening the way we end most evenings, with a set of Rock Band. Then I took some Nyquil and hit the hay. Fortunately, I could breathe outta one side of my nose, so I was able to get a good night's rest. I think I rolled outta bed around 11:30 or so.
We had a mellow V Day/official birthday at home. We lazed around in our matching pajamas and watched shows on the Food Network. Does a day get better than that? LOL!! We made a fabulous dinner based on a French Laundry recipe. HB had to dash out to pick up a few things. While he did, I decorated the place and wrapped his gift, a t-shirt with the logo I created for our Rock Band, Burning Xmas. I'll post a pic sometime in the near future.
All in all, it was a lovely weekend. I think this is going to be a splendid year and an even more splendid decade! So far, my 40's have kicked ass!!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Where Ya Been?
It's been awhile since I've spilled, so here it goes....The quest for parenthood continues. Hunny bunny and I continue to do a litany of tests to make sure everything is in working order. It's been interesting at the new clinic. They're requiring alot more tests than the old clinic did. At first, I thought maybe it was a way to jack up the already steep bill, but the more research I did, the more I realized these additional tests make alot of sense. Many of them determine if I have weird antibodies that might make my body reject the embryos. Kind of surprising that Stanford didn't require these tests. I mean, when people are shelling out thousands of dollars, shouldn't every precaution be taken to make sure they're given the best possible shot? :::sigh:::
I was suppose to go in for some bloodwork week before last, but my primary care doc forgot to order 2 of the tests. I waited for her to get those orders in so I didn't have to get stuck twice. So, she orders the tests. I go in last week and get stuck. On my way out, the lab calls to say they forgot one of the tests so I had to go back to get stuck again in the other arm. BLIMEY! So much for efficiency.
I continue to go to acupuncture twice a week. I had to give up Beth though. She rocks, but she's not covered by my insurance. $90/week was getting pretty steep. Especially when I needed to go 4 times in one week right around egg retrieval and transfer. So, now I'm paying $15/visit to see a nice gal who's covered by my insurance.
On another note, my dear friend, Eija, threw a fantastic party for my upcoming 40th birthday! We had such a great time! Eija really did it up. The food was AMAZING! She decorated the house beautifully. I was so blown away and totally feeling the love. It was so cool that friends from different circles were able to meet and get to know one another. My heart was positively overflowing and I felt so lucky and blessed. I have the best friends EVER!
We brought the Rock Band set up and truly, it was the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. It's amazing how people are willing to make absolute fools of themselves in the name of fun. We were the WORST singers in the world, but did we care?? NO!!! Matter o' fact, when we managed to completely mutilate a song (which we did often), we'd play it over and over until we got it right. I'm sure the neighbors were soooooo thrilled with us. If I never hear "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash again, that will be perfectly fine with me. Also, believe it or not, Eija's cat, Conrad, wasn't completely freaked out. He hung out on the couch and watched us act like maniac, wanna be rock stars. I think he thought we were dorks :-P
Oh, hey, this is pretty cool....Someone actually PAID me to advertise on my lil ol' blog!!!! Can you believe it?! Check out the Post Turkey Day Update and see if you notice anything different. Who knows? Maybe one of these days I can make a livin' off this blog thing!
Now, I'm getting ready to watch my guilty pleasure, The Bachelor!! I thought watching this season's bachelor would be more boring than watching paint dry, but he's actually grown a pair and made the show interesting. If any of you are watching, who's your front runner?? Peace out for now, from the mommy to be.
I was suppose to go in for some bloodwork week before last, but my primary care doc forgot to order 2 of the tests. I waited for her to get those orders in so I didn't have to get stuck twice. So, she orders the tests. I go in last week and get stuck. On my way out, the lab calls to say they forgot one of the tests so I had to go back to get stuck again in the other arm. BLIMEY! So much for efficiency.
I continue to go to acupuncture twice a week. I had to give up Beth though. She rocks, but she's not covered by my insurance. $90/week was getting pretty steep. Especially when I needed to go 4 times in one week right around egg retrieval and transfer. So, now I'm paying $15/visit to see a nice gal who's covered by my insurance.
On another note, my dear friend, Eija, threw a fantastic party for my upcoming 40th birthday! We had such a great time! Eija really did it up. The food was AMAZING! She decorated the house beautifully. I was so blown away and totally feeling the love. It was so cool that friends from different circles were able to meet and get to know one another. My heart was positively overflowing and I felt so lucky and blessed. I have the best friends EVER!
We brought the Rock Band set up and truly, it was the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. It's amazing how people are willing to make absolute fools of themselves in the name of fun. We were the WORST singers in the world, but did we care?? NO!!! Matter o' fact, when we managed to completely mutilate a song (which we did often), we'd play it over and over until we got it right. I'm sure the neighbors were soooooo thrilled with us. If I never hear "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash again, that will be perfectly fine with me. Also, believe it or not, Eija's cat, Conrad, wasn't completely freaked out. He hung out on the couch and watched us act like maniac, wanna be rock stars. I think he thought we were dorks :-P
Oh, hey, this is pretty cool....Someone actually PAID me to advertise on my lil ol' blog!!!! Can you believe it?! Check out the Post Turkey Day Update and see if you notice anything different. Who knows? Maybe one of these days I can make a livin' off this blog thing!
Now, I'm getting ready to watch my guilty pleasure, The Bachelor!! I thought watching this season's bachelor would be more boring than watching paint dry, but he's actually grown a pair and made the show interesting. If any of you are watching, who's your front runner?? Peace out for now, from the mommy to be.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Ding Ding! Round 2!
So, it's 2010. I know we're only 9 days in, but so far, so good!
We're gearing up for round 2 of baby makin'. All set at the new clinic. Loved my doc at Stanford, but here's the deal....Our insurance covered 50% of the first cycle and that's it. We're on our own now. Stanford only offers a 15% disount for self pay patients, so we're outta there. The new clinic has similar success rates and has numerous financing options. We don't wanna burn thru all our liquid assets so we'll finance part of it at a super low rate. Lower even than going thru our credit union. It's ridiclous how much one can spend trying to get knocked up. Like buying a luxury automobile expensive. If we have a girl, we're going to name her Mercedes. So long Stanford! It was nice knowin' ya.
The new clinic is actually not brand spankin' new to me. I saw a doc there in May 2008. Nice guy, but something about him made me uneasy. I recently received a letter announcing his retirement. Maybe it's someone's way of telling me it's time to go back. My new doc is fabulous! I really, really like him. We're on the same page about nearly everything and I just have a good feeling about him. Also, a dear friend of mine works for the clinic and has made sure everyone is super nice to me! Good to have someone on the inside.
I have a few tests to do that are cycle dependent, so we'll get those finished up in February and be ret ta go by late Feb, early March at the latest. March sounds good to me. I love when it starts warming up. Everything is fresh and new. Upon spring's arrival, I am always full of hope and imagine the possibilities for the remainder of they year. We need a bass player and a singer for a full Team Martz/Rock Band/Burning Christmas complement, so we need to get on it! We're ready to roll here, people!
On another note, I'm gonna be 40 next month! Can you believe that sh*t??? If you say you can, I'm gonna make the light go off in your face! :-P
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Holiday Recap
It's been a wild and wooly holiday season. Christmas Eve at my parent's house was great. I know my mom was thrilled to have all her children around her for the holiday. Lots of laughs and reminiscing. My brother said something that sounded EXACTLY like our Dad. It's always funny to me to see how the old man has rubbed off on us :)
Christmas Day at home with HB was fabulous. We woke up and put on the matching, red plaid footie pajamas I got us, grabbed a Santa hat and commenced to openin' gifts. He got me Rock Band! Wooo hooo! Best gift EVER!!!! We played it on and off all day and all night. Our dear bud and neighbor, M, came over and played. It was hilarious!!! I damn near peed my pants, we were all laughing so hard!! In between sets, we made a delicious prime rib (our best yet), Yorkshire pudding and my special brussel sprouts. Absolutely divine.
Over Christmas week, I had a variety of symptoms including dizziness and sore boobs. HB was kind enough to feel me up and report they were bigger too! I suspected this was because of all the progesterone I was shovin' where the sun don't shine. I was right. We got the official word yesterday that we are not knocked up :( So, New Year's Eve was not the celebration we hoped for, but we made it through.
Upon hearing the news, HB held me tight, then brought me booze...at 10:45am. I pretty much sulked in bed all day. HB brought me booze in bed too, which was kinda cool! Though I am a complete lightweight now. Ruined! Took me forever to finish a beer. I was afraid I was going to conk out after 1/4 glass.
HB made a kick ass dinner, spaghetti with crab in a truffle cream sauce. We also had a lovely 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc. I swear I had a hangover BEFORE I went to bed. I felt great this morning though.
Though our year ended on a suck a** note, at least we can leave it behind and start fresh in 2010 with re-newed hope. I KNOW Team Martz will have a new member in 2010. Our dream WILL come true. We knew this might take multiple attempts and we are down for it. Battle to the finish. As I sit here in my footie pajamas with my man and my 2 fur babies, I feel blessed. Here's to a fantastic 2010! May we all get what our hearts desire!!!!
Christmas Day at home with HB was fabulous. We woke up and put on the matching, red plaid footie pajamas I got us, grabbed a Santa hat and commenced to openin' gifts. He got me Rock Band! Wooo hooo! Best gift EVER!!!! We played it on and off all day and all night. Our dear bud and neighbor, M, came over and played. It was hilarious!!! I damn near peed my pants, we were all laughing so hard!! In between sets, we made a delicious prime rib (our best yet), Yorkshire pudding and my special brussel sprouts. Absolutely divine.
Over Christmas week, I had a variety of symptoms including dizziness and sore boobs. HB was kind enough to feel me up and report they were bigger too! I suspected this was because of all the progesterone I was shovin' where the sun don't shine. I was right. We got the official word yesterday that we are not knocked up :( So, New Year's Eve was not the celebration we hoped for, but we made it through.
Upon hearing the news, HB held me tight, then brought me booze...at 10:45am. I pretty much sulked in bed all day. HB brought me booze in bed too, which was kinda cool! Though I am a complete lightweight now. Ruined! Took me forever to finish a beer. I was afraid I was going to conk out after 1/4 glass.
HB made a kick ass dinner, spaghetti with crab in a truffle cream sauce. We also had a lovely 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc. I swear I had a hangover BEFORE I went to bed. I felt great this morning though.
Though our year ended on a suck a** note, at least we can leave it behind and start fresh in 2010 with re-newed hope. I KNOW Team Martz will have a new member in 2010. Our dream WILL come true. We knew this might take multiple attempts and we are down for it. Battle to the finish. As I sit here in my footie pajamas with my man and my 2 fur babies, I feel blessed. Here's to a fantastic 2010! May we all get what our hearts desire!!!!
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