Joys In My Life

I've been really enjoying "The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics". It sounds like a fluffy name, and maybe not worth it, but the recipes are great and she really packs a lot of information in here and makes it make sense to a layman.

Here's the recipe I mentioned the other day that even DH and DD ate with gusto. They told me this one they will eat as well as me. I made a few changes from her original recipe. This is what I made:

1 8-oz package whole-wheat udon or soba noodles (I bought rice and whole-wheat udon noodles at my health food store)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 onion, diced
pinch of sea salt
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
8 mushrooms, sliced
3 teaspoons shoyu (it's a japanese soy sauce)
handful of frozen corn kernels
2 cups of sliced cabbage
1 yellow or red bell pepper sliced to complement sizes of cabbage
1/4 cup filtered water
1 scallion chopped

Cook noodles according to instructions on package, drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

Heat oil i…

And the countdown continues. I really want to know what's up with my back. I was feeling 95% better around lunchtime and through the afternoon yesterday. I went to the accupuncturist and we discussed and I had my session. In the evening it started acting up again. And every time I'd do a twist to release some pressure it would pop and krackle with all get-out, then it would feel a little better. I woke up this morning and it was still nagging me, but not as bad as all the other days had been. I'd still be in pain standing up from a chair this morning and my first few steps after this would be excruciating.

Here's the kicker. Right after lunch today, just like yesterday, I'm feeling great. Huh?

Thank you so much for the comments and positive thoughts. I do appreciate it so much!

Today my back started feeling a little bit better around lunchtime. I don't know what's up with that. It's been a constant annoyance for the past three weeks. It was also right before I went to the acupuncturist in the hopes that he could help me out. Now it doesn't feel perfect, it's a little sore, but still not a constant pain that it had been. We shall see.

I went in for a progesterone level check this morning. I'm sure everything is fine. I start 100mg progesterone suppositories tonight. Oh, fun! I go back for another progesterone check on Saturday and then next Wednesday, I have my pregnancy test! Hope is well and alive here. I just need to stay away from the Easter candy!

I'll probably post again later today. I made an awesome dinner from my macrobiotic cookbook that the whole family loved!

The RE had us come in again today for another IUI since I hadn't felt any twinges much yesterday. I felt some on my left side, but not my right, but I couldn't be sure that the right side happened last night. Turns out the right side hadn't ovulated yet, so I'm really glad we went in. The doctor did the IUI and after that, he decided to do an ultrasound to check ovulation. He could easily see that the two on the left had ovulated, but the four on the right were still hanging out. So they also gave me another HcG shot in the office. Tom's numbers were great today even with that it was 24 hours abstinence instead of 48 like the first one.

I'm continuing to be really hopeful with whatever happens this month. Our odds are really good, but even if it doesn't happen, I feel we're on the right track and it's just a matter of time.

I got the official notice last night to take the HcG shot. Phoebe watched me get the needle. She couldn't believe it was so big and I didn't even feel it - hey, my butt is well cushioned! Tom has to be at the doctor's at 8AM this morning and I have to be there by 9:30. I think we'll all go en masse, and I'll keep Phoebe busy during Tom's appointment and then we'll go to Borders until it's time for my appointment. I'll have Tom take Phoebe for a walk during mine. There's only so much explaining of what's going on that I'll do to a seven-year-old. Wish us luck!

BTW, I still can't figure out what's up with my back. I went to the chiropractor yesterday afternoon and it felt a little better, but this morning it's worse than ever. I took some pain medicine and I'm trying a hot pad, but it's being stubbornly bad. I'll do some more stretching and exercise and see if it gets any better. I think I'll leave a m…

Wow, this week has gone by quickly! I can't believe it's Thursday already. I had bloodwork and an ultrasound yesterday, and then I got a message that they wanted me to come back today. Dr. R did my scan this morning, as the they were really busy today. He said I'll probably have my trigger shot today or tomorrow. They'll let me know after they check my bloodwork. I must admit my ovaries are feeling very full. I remember this feeling from doing this years ago. It's like ovulation will be a relief, because then I won't feel so tender.

I was thinking in the car ride to work this morning about that the odds this will work are much greater than when we were trying on our own. The doctor showed me I have 4 follicles on the right and 2 on the left that are off a good size and should ovulate this month. That's 5 more chances than I would have on any other cycle. I'm feeling good that we decided to go back to the doctor.

I do need to try to make a chi…

I'm on Cycle Day 6 and had my second ultrasound and bloodwork this morning. Things are going well. I started injections on Friday night and I've been doing them myself mostly. It just seems easier that way. Funny to think I've gotten so nonchalant about sticking a needle in my leg every day.

My 37th birthday was yesterday and it was great! I got a new handbag from Banana Republic and a hand-carved wood plaque with the om symbol carved in it. I love it! Tom picked it up at some boutique in NYC when he was working last week. DH and Phoebe also picked me up a carrot cake for my birthday, so I splurged on the sugar and had some. Carrot cake is my ultimate favorite - especially with raisins and walnuts like this one had!

I was really bad food-wise a bit over the weekend. I had some bacon with my breakfast on Sunday. But I've still been great about no coffee, and I bought more green tea and this time it's decaf. Today for my eating, so far I've had oatmeal …

Wow, was yesterday rough! Work was having problems that continued until I went to bed, but at that point, I knew it could wait until the morning. Today is much better.

I love how much Phoebe knows me. It was just her and I going to her ice skating practice last night and coming home, I was still feeling stressed, knowing I had to work more on the work issues when I got home and got her in bed. Phoebe asked me to play my iPod music on the way home. As I let is shuffle through the songs over the car radio, sometimes I decide to skip through a song I'm not in the mood for. A few times Phoebe asked me to put it back - like for two of the Beatles' songs. Also for Green Day's "Holiday". That one cracked me up. She said, "Mom, go back. You want to hear that one. You'll thank me for it!" And she was right. Something about going back to music that sounds like what I loved in my teenage angst days can bring me out of a bad mood - some Dead Kennedy…

AF officially started today. I baseline on Friday! Yippee!

Cr@ppy day at work though. All messed up. Phone calls and meetings all over the place!!!

AF still has not shown up. What's up with that?! My body is just deciding to continue to do exactly what it wants to do, which is not necessarily what I want it to do. I'm on day 2 of spotting, not that that helps.

I started doing my Flylady evening and morning routines last night. I think it's helping reduce my stress. I also started doing Julia Indichova's imagery exercises again last night and this morning.

DD is caught up on her homework from last week when she had all those dress rehearsals and shows, my house is roughly straightened up, we have laundry done and clothes to wear. Things are looking up, even though the show hasn't gotten on the road yet.

They moved up my pregnancy test and endometrial biopsy to this morning based on Friday's progesterone check. It apparently dropped and they wanted to make sure we got the test in before AF showed up. Of course the test was negative. My lower back has been killing me all weekend, I've just been waiting for it to show up at any moment. It'll probably be this afternoon or tomorrow.

So based on all that, the doctor and I discussed next steps after he finished the test. I'm all set to start injectibles after I baseline on day 2 or 3, which will be sometime this week!!!! I don't think I've ever been wanting AF to show up this bad, so we can get started!!! Of course I know with the meds and stuff, I need to try to take better mental care of myself and stop beating myself up. I'm working to get back on the Flylady routines starting today, to try to keep me calm as we move bravely foward.

BTW, one thing I like about the new procedures at the doctor's offi…

The iPod is the most amazing invention ever! I got for Valentine's Day a 160GB iPod classic. It is the best thing ever! I've downloaded a few individual songs that I love, but wouldn't buy the whole CD. And subscribed to a few Podcasts. One is Flylady's weekly show. Next thing I want to get is one of those iPod docks, so I don't need to use the headphones. This would be really helpful for the yoga sequence podcasts from Yoga Journal. They sound great, but I can't do yoga wearing headphones.

Last night was a good night for me. I was able to spend some time in the kitchen. I juiced my wheatgrass flat that I got from the health food store. If anyone is interested in doing this on their own, I bought an Omega 8005 juicer which can juice vegetables and wheatgrass. It's worth it to me, because I knew I would use it. If you have a health food store near you, they probably won't have a flat of wheatgrass in stock, but they might be able to order …

I'm one week into my two-week wait. Technically, it'll be one week after Thursday or Friday, but since my pregnancy test is next Tuesday, I only have one more week to wait.

Things are going well. I'm still off the sauce - aka coffee. My new eating plan is going reasonably well. I can't say I eat all the healthy all the time, but I haven't had meat or chicken since I started this. I've also been very good about eggs and dairy in that cheese is my only downfall and I've had a little bit of that here or there. I need more time to cook things right now, but with all of Phoebe's dress rehearsals for "Pirates of Penzance" this week, it's been crazy. She has another dress rehearsal tonight and then they have one show on Friday for the school they are borrowing the theater from and then two shows on Saturday for the public.