Beta Day... but no results yet

Today was beta day. Aidan and I drove in this morning in semi silence. We listened to the new Dan Brown book on the Kindle. That was good because I really wasn't in a mood to talk. In fact, I felt like crap. Anyhow, we got to the clinic, handed in the form and waited. I was called up and asked if I wanted to stay because they could give me the quick qualitative result if I wanted it. I actually said to her 'no - it'll be negative anyway'. I felt bad after saying that. Anyhow, I got called back, they stabbed me, taped me up and said they'd fax the results to my doctor when they came in.

We left the clinic and as we discussed plans for tomorrow I just started crying. It was such an anticlimactic end to something that I was so positive about. Aidan said that we are on the path to sorting all of this out and we just need to keep going. Good point.... just need to get through this rough patch.

So, I spent the day sorting out my schedule, work, Christmas list, etc. It was nice to be busy, to ignore my period that is still trying to start. I worked on our calendar from Oct-Jan and started thinking about what the next 4 months will contain. I visited a fibroids site over the weekend and when I looked at December I wondered what the Christmas season will bring. Apparently while the Da Vinci surgery will have me in and out of the hospital, the day of and day after surgery are going to be the worst pain days. I'm thinking I'll have to spend a week in Boston, maybe a little more. I hope by the end of it I'll be ok to see the Christmas tree before we fly home.

Anyhow, I'm felling much better tonight. My gut doesn't really but my head feels pretty good. Sure, I know I have to deal with the results call tomorrow but it's one more step towards achieving our goal, right. In the meantime, I have a 3rd wedding anniversary to celebrate tomorrow!!!!!

Trying to Get Back to Normal... Whatever That Is...

It's been a strange weekend. After Friday's bawl-fest I felt drained on Saturday morning. I went to my monthly hair appointment with my new hairdresser and was on the verge of tears twice through just listening to other people's conversations in the salon. Thankfully, I had my eyebrows threaded before I had my hair done (OMG, it hurt like hell) so I was a bit weepy from that so the red eyes weren't that bad. After the appointment, Aidan and I did a little shopping. I got a more potent bone restore supplement just in case I end up on lupron to shrink the fibroid before surgery (I hope not... I am feeling awful enough on the estrogen and progesterone at the moment...). We had a lovely lunch and everything felt ok. And that's how it went for the rest of the day. It almost felt like a normal day - until we watched tv in the evening. That's when I started bristling at pregnancy and babies on the tv shows. I was so mad at myself. I don't want that to happen to me. I don't want to shut down even more of my life avoiding anything that hints of pregnancy, birth or kids. 

I had fitful dreams due to my anger at myself. I never really relaxed. It's like I was debating with myself all night how to get on with life. One side wanted to pretend like nothing was wrong and the other side wanted to save face and emotions. I woke up in the middle of the night confused, feeling those bloody symptoms that are obviously progesterone side effects and feeling pretty lost. When I finally settled in again I dreamed about  the embryos that were made out of me and Aidan. At first, it felt good to know that we had managed to create something together. Then it hit me that we'd never see what the result of that fusion would become. I dreamed that we ran away from our lives due to that. We purchased a house in the US, moved away from our families and started to build a new life. 

I woke up really dissatisfied. I don't want to run away from life or family. Yes, I'd like to get on with our lives but I know that that means dealing with all that life has to offer. I don't know how to deal with it yet as the disappointment is still fresh but we must deal with it. I cannot keep immersing myself in projects to avoid life... I need to figure out how to get back to living. I also need to relax. We need to relax. We both need to cut back on our activities and just enjoy being at home a bit.

I don't get to see my therapist until October. She's helped me so much in the last 12 months and I know working through these emotions and feelings will allow me to get to know more about myself. In the meantime, Aidan and I continue talking. This process continues to bring us closer together. It's a wonderful side effect of a crazy set of circumstances.

IN any case, I need to get through a family birthday party today. I have no desire to interact with anyone yet but I have no choice... I pray I can hold it together.

IVF #1 was interesting...

Well, I started bleeding yesterday afternoon. Not a lot but it was brown, then red. Stopped when I took the estrogen in the evening but not before I took 2 HPTs, both negative. Needless to say, it was a tough night. Tested again this morning. Another negative. Doesn't feel like it did last night. So this cycle's pretty much over except for the beta.

Aidan and I have talked a lot. We're glad we did it the way we did this cycle and barring the desire for Brigham & Women's to have us do a cycle there after the fibroid removal , we'll be in CZ this time next year. Aidan is also going to go back to acupuncture and continue to work on lowering his prolactin level and improving his sperm count. We are also looking at planning CZ better next year to ensure that I get acupuncture treatment, which possibly means staying in Luhacovice around treatment time. We also discussed spending our time between appointments flying out of Brno to see other countries because our weekend getaways were really relaxing for me and got my mind off of the process.

I really want to thank everyone for their support during this cycle. While it was a physical and emotional rollercoaster, it was extremely positive and I have lovely memories - from the vacation itself and your wonderful comments.

Needless to say, I'll still be here - probably talking about how they remove a fibroid that is 3/4 of the size of my uterus! I am grateful for this medium to share and vent and I know that one day I will get to share some amazing news in here.

Not Much Going On...

Well, I'm about to start my last weekend of blissful ignorance. I can't bring myself to do an HPT and I am unnerved that we'll get the beta results on our anniversary on Tuesday. I am trying to mentally prepare for either result but I just don't know how I will take it. Yes, I feel better that I have a plan for a negative but since I have been so emotional in the last 2 weeks, I don't want to even imagine what a low would feel like.

As for how I feel, I'm better. The headaches are a bit less than earlier this week. The BBs are still a little sore and I'm not used to the size. I had some spotting when I put in the progesterone gel earlier this week (old blood) so, of course, it made me hopeful. I've had some mild cramping. All of this (except for the larger BBs - that's definitely the hormones) could be PMS so I have not really paid attention to any of it. I've just tried to get our house back in order and spend some time with Aidan before his schedule ramps up again.

Speaking of schedules, next week is the week we're usually away on vacation (and hopefully will be again in future years). Our anniversary is on Tuesday this year and hopefully we'll go out to dinner depending on our state of mind. Aidan's b-day is Friday but he will be doing a weekend Regiment camp so we won't get to do anything. Somehow I need to make both days special but with work and meetings and Aidan being away, it's going to be tough.

On the positive side, we're leaving for Boston on Oct 1 and I did get the appointment with the fibroid specialist on Oct 2. I can't wait to see friends, do some Christmas shopping (need to work on my list) and see  one of my favorite cities in the world!!!

More Fibroid Removal Planning...

So, after a year of being uncomfortable with the knowledge that I have this fibroid, I am finally doing something about it. Granted, it may be the early stages of planning for its removal but at least the ball is rolling. I contacted the internal coordinator this morning and this afternoon I have a doctor willing to see me at Brigham & Women's on Oct 5th. I'm trying to get in on the 2nd (I am supposed to fly home on the 5th) but I'll change my flight back if necessary. I have to do a pelvic MRI before hand and my doctor has managed to schedule me for one on Sept 28th!

So now I just need to see if I can proceed with treatment sooner or later - and I'll know that sometime next week after Monday's beta. Aidan and I had a short conversation about it and we may therefore do round two of IVF (if necessary) in a year.....

We're Home!

It's good to be back in our own bed - having a tempurpedic mattress does that to you. Everything now needs to be organized, suitcases unpacked and laundry washed. Work is also a mess with tons of emails, meetings and papers all over my desk. And I am moving like a snail because I feel like crap. I am a physical and emotional wreck. If I didn't have acupuncture yesterday, I never would have made it though the day. My head hurts so much that I went home and went straight to bed after dinner.

Now, with the finish line in view (beta scheduled for Monday), I am really hating this process. I still believe that going to the Czech Republic was brilliant. I doubt I would have been as calm as I was if I was working and flying back and forth to the US for appointments. Still, if this doesn't work, it's not like I can find another 3 weeks that easily.... plus I need to have a fibroid removed before I go back and will need to go to the US for laproscopic surgery. I hate that the whole process is a gamble. We've put our lives on hold to be able to do all of this. I'm just tired - emotional and tired.

In any case, I have contacted the patient liaison for Brigham and Women's about fibroid removal. I hate not having any contingencies. Since we have to go to Boston next month, it would be good to get in to see a doctor. Not that I've given up on this cycle yet.... It just hasn't set well with me that I could have had it removed a year ago and could have been in better condition for this IVF cycle. Since another IVF cycle won't be until 2010 - and possibly next September if recovery from surgery takes 3-6 months (and looking at our calendars), it is better to get the information now.

Thanks everyone for your support through this process thus far. You've all been invaluable support!

Off to London

We're going to London a day early. A day and a half of bed rest turned me crazy. Yesterday was my first day back out-of-doors and I really had no interest in figuring out what to visit next. At least in London I can just go on autopilot and not think. So today we're driving to Vienna to catch an Aer Lingus flight to London Gatwick.

Other than that, not much going on. I've read everything that could be read about this stage of the process. At moments it's comforting and other times the info is paranoia inducing. I'm positive yet careful..... I just want to not think about any of this anymore...

Cycle Day 20 - Transfer Day

We started the day as usual - breakfast and then relaxing in our room. I then had a massage appointment at10am. I had a Thai full body massage for 90 minutes. Believe me, it was heaven. With the knots gone for the moment, we then went and had lunch as we were making 12.30 at the clinic.

Once we checked in, we then had to meet with the embryologist. We had 2 grade 1 expanding blasts, 1 grade 2 early blast, 2 grade 3 (can't remember what), 3 morulas and 4 eight-celled embryos. We decided to transfer the 2 expanding blasts. We discussed freezing the grade 2 & 3's but ultimately decided not to freeze anything. I took that a bit hard since that was my contingency plan gone....

Anyhow, we then went to prepare for transfer. I listed to my visualization cd to get my mind back on track. I was prepped and we were shown the expanding blasts on the screen. Both of us were smiling at that. I then had to lay back as the doctor described what was going on. Aidan watched the blasts being readied for the transfer. They did an ultrasound guided transfer and it was over in seconds. The nurse and the doctor got me arranged on the bed with my legs up and I was taken back to the room. I then had 45 minutes to relax. I listened to the visualization cd and a little Frank Sinatra.

We stopped by the pharmacy to pick up supplies on our way out and I am now on bed rest for 24 hours. I plan a Ballykissangel marathon and hopefully will get to start watching Firefly.

Cycle Day 19 - Day Before Transfer

I am scared. There is no other way to describe it. I am on the verge of the possibility of a life changing moment and I am freaking scared!!!!!

This weekend we went to Vienna to keep our minds off of everything. We didn't want updates on the embryos. We didn't want to sit around saying 'what if'. We drove from the Czech Republic to Austria, played tourist and for a few hours didn't think about it.... much. I've been a monster, you see. I've been snappy to my mom and husband and I feel bad about it. It's partially me feeling anxious... and scared.

Due to this we made our way to church today in Austria. We went to the 9.30 Mass at St. Stephen's - in German. And my German sucks. Still, even with me doing the responses in English - and loving the choir who did the Hayden Mass - I was able to calm myself somewhat. It wasn't meditating as much as stillness. I needed it. It didn't last long though - I was snappy at the Art History Museum.

 I hope I'll be back to my optimistic self tomorrow. I'm not as sore as last week. My right ovary still aches a bit but it is nothing like it had been. I am soooo bloated ans my profile is not something that I am used to. Still, I am excited about this - and grateful that we have embryos that are made up out of the two of us growing at the clinic. So I am excited, and hopeful and scared....

Cycle Day 16: Fertilization Report

Here are the details:

19 eggs retrieved
14 mature
14 ICSIed
12 fertilized (currently 1 celled embryos)

Transfer is scheduled for 1pm on Monday, September 7th.

Cycle Day 15: Retrieval Day

I was a mess last night. I was freaking out that I'd ovulate before the procedure, that I'd twisted an ovary with the walking through the caves on Tuesday (I was soooo bloated), that there would be nothing in the follicles. After Aidan did the assigned acupressure points, he did the happy spot on the top of my head to calm me down. Boy did it work. We watched 2 episodes of season 5 (I think) of Ballykissangel with him pressing the spot on my head. I slept like a baby and only work up once during the night.

This morning Aidan had cereal in our room as I could not eat or drink before the procedure. We headed out at 7.15 to check-in at 7.30 on the third floor of the clinic. They took our paperwork and took us back to our room. It was a room for 4, painted a golden yellow with Anne Geddes prints on the wall. The beds had brightly coloured pillows and comforters. My bed had a window that looked out on the forest. I was asked to change into my pajamas (a long top in my case) and I climbed in bed to read while I waited.

At 8am they took Aidan to do his part (he said the room was well furnished - posters, magazines and DVD player already loaded) and at 8.20 or so I was walked across the hall to the procedure room. It was bright and modern and well equipped. They got me settled and my doctor was cheery and said it would be a quick procedure. The anesthesiologist was quick and I was out in moments. When I awoke they transferred me to my bed covered me with the comforter and told me to rest. Aidan was in the room when I got back.

I was in some pain. My right ovary, who had been playing hide-n-seek during each u/s was throbbing. I did the guided visualization exercise for the time between retrieval and transfer and was able to breather through most of the soreness but that ovary was driving me nuts. Aidan did the happy spot on my head for a while and I zoned out for about an hour or so, napping and such. The doctor came in to tell us that he had retrieved 19 eggs and that the embryologist would be down shortly to talk about Aidan's sample. He was also going to check to see if everything was ok and decide whether I needed the shot of pain medication.

The embryologist was very nice and said that the eggs were good quality but the sperm sample made her decide to use ICSI. She said they would begin the process at 12 noon and for us to call our coordinator, Petra, tomorrow at 1pm to see how many fertilized. We'd talk later about freezing because we had already decided that we'll transfer 2 embryos in a 5 day transfer on Monday, Sept 7.

We were then visited a few more times by the nurses and my doctor. My examination went well and I was then given the pain meds injection on my Bottom. Boy, did that sting. It smarted for a while and then it was fine. I dressed slowly and then after checking out we went to the pharmacy to get the progesterone gel suppositories that I'll be using instead of PIO (they don't want to take any risks with my allergies).

The rest of the day I took it slow and napped a lot. I wanted McDonalds for lunch so Aidan and my mom made it happen.  I'm still a bit sore but I feel much better than I did earlier. Thanks everyone for the kind words. I truly appreciate it and you bring a smile to my face often. The next few days are a numbers game and, yes, we've started a Novena to St. Gerard because we need all the help we can get... :)

She's OK

Hi - It's Aidan. Marisa asked that I come online to say that she's ok. She was in pain when she woke up from the procedure so they gave her a shot of pain medication. They retrieved 19 eggs and ICSI took place at 12 noon Czech time. We'll be told at 1pm tomorrow how many embryos have resulted.

Cycle Day 13 - Day 11 of Stims and Trigger Night

I was more than a little paranoid going to today's appointment. I was so bloated that I was thanking God that I brought all elastic waistband and drawstring pants on the trip, save one pair of low rise jeans. I did not have to have blood drawn so we had to be there for 10am. The waiting room was crowded but we only had a half-hour wait. Aidan played on his DS while I read an english language issue of Hello magazine that someone had left in the waiting room.

The u/s was good. We counted 17-18 follicles that were measuring at 18-20mm. There might be one or two more as my right ovary didn't want to cooperate. Both ovaries are about 7cm in diameter at the moment. That explains why I feel so bloated. My endometrium was considered optimal.

I was given a reduced amount of Gonal F and the last Ganirelix shot by the nurse. I was also given the HCG shot that we'll have to deliver tonight at 8.20pm. Retrieval is scheduled for 8.20am on Wednesday. Aidan has to check in at the same time for his sample. We'll be told the number of eggs retrieved at the clinic as I am required to stay for 1.5-2 hours afterwards to recover from the anesthetic. Our coordinator will tell us on Thursday how many fertilized. We're tentatively scheduled for Transfer next Monday at 1pm.

After the appointment I went to the thai massage place. I was scheduled for an hour long back massage. She started at my feet and worked her way to my head. It was amazing! The knots in my shoulders were a mess though and she has to use tiger balm to work them out. I can honestly say that I feel much better today than I did yesterday. I am scared to death about Wednesday but I am also feeling pretty positive about retrieval.

Cycle Day 12 - Day 10 of Stims

This is my "I feel like crap' post. I've had a headache throughout the last 10 days - some days it is a dull ache and some days it is a throbbing bass drum. I finally relented and went to have a Thai Head Massage on Friday and as I guessed, my neck and shoulders were knotted. It was the most hellish and most satisfying massage that I have ever had. I am going back tomorrow because I am just too tense.

I am also bloated like I have never been bloated. Yesterday, when we were in our amazing B&B room in Prague's Old Town, I felt fine about being bloated - in my drawstring pants I felt good and thought I looked good (great hair day, perhaps). This morning, after the Gonal F shot and a horrible Ganirelix shot that left a bruise, I just felt tired of it all. I hate feeling my ovaries right now. I used to relish being able to feel them during ovulation time. Now, it's old. They ache. Aidan says they're producing little hamster eggs. It was cute on day three of stims - it's not anymore.

I just want this process to be over and it's nowhere near finished. I am dreading each stage because I just want it to work. Sure, tomorrow I'll be my optimistic self and will see the whole experience as amazing. Right now, I think it's horrible to be going through this.... sigh.

Cycle Day 10 - Day 8 of Stims

Today's appointment went smoother than previous appointments. We arrived at 8am and I quickly was taken back for my blood test. We were in our doctor's office as soon as the results were available. The follicles were measuring between 14 & 16mm so I will probably have one last stim shot (lower dosage) on Aug 31 and the HCG shot that night at 8pm for retrieval on Sept 2. Transfer would be set for Sept 7th.

We discussed my intramural fibroid today. It has not grown due to the stims which is good. I've been put on extrimax because even though my endometrium growth is good thus far, he wants it to build up particularly in the area of the fibroid. He, like the RE in NJ, is fine with the fibroid but said that if I get pg this cycle, to have it removed once I give birth. He also advised to have it removed if I am not successful for peace of mind going through the next cycle, which I am fine with as well.

In any case, all is going well and I am contemplating making an appointment for a thai massage - I need to relax more.....

Cycle Day 7: Day 5 of Stims

The last few days have been interesting. I was pretty relaxed on Sunday when we visited Spilberk Castle in Bruno. Yesterday I was a mess. We visited the Zlin Zoo, Luhacovice and Uhersky Brod and while it was fascinating, I was getting more and more nervous about today's appointment. Aidan was not any better - when he posts on our vacation blog, you'll see how he was yesterday....

Anyhow, I slept relatively well last night. We have started watching True Blood so we saw two episodes before turning in and thankfully the second episode was pretty funny and helped with the feeling of stress. We got up this morning and the first thing that I did was put all of my meds in a little purple case that they gave me and then put that in my Lindos Bermudiana Shopping bag - It didn't make sense to my to carry everything in a plastic bag like I've seen everyone else do at the clinic. We went down and had breakfast and we're able to talk with Jenny & Issac again. We also met a couple from Japan.

We were making 9am and literally ran out of the door. At the bottom of the hill I realized that I left the meds - so we went back and somehow managed to get to the clinic at 9am. I had my blood test by 9.30 and then we sat and waited. We knew we'd have to wait 90 minutes for the test results and the clinic was busy as usual. We were prepared this time. Aidan had his DS and I read Women & Home (UK) and a Stephanie Plum novel (I'm on book 8).

When we were finally called I was ushered into the ultrasound room and Aidan was taken into the doctor's office. No hospital gowns here but I was warned - I had on a long sweater to cover my lower half when I ran from the bathroom to the table. My nervousness went away as the doctor showed me each ovary and began measuring the follicles. I dressed and went to the office. The doctor was telling Aidan that he was very happy with my response to the Gonal F. I had at least 16 follicles that he counted during the ultrasound and most were measuring at 8mm. Additionally, my estrogen levels were excellent. I have to continue theGonal F and then on Thursday I'll add Ganirelix. My next appointment is on Friday and he believes I'll be ready for retrieval on Tuesday.

So right now we're feeling pretty good and will hopefully be relaxed through Friday. My mom flies in on Thursday so we will be driving to Vienna to pick her up. Not looking forward to the second shot though... thankfully it is pre-prepared but the needle looks scarier - and the injection site will be my thigh.

Cycle Day 5: Day 3 of Stims

Welcome ICLWers! Sorry, no proper intro this month. I planned to do the A,B,Cs of me but time just got away from me. Please see my timeline on the side and I welcome you to follow along on our adventure.

I think I am fighting a head cold. I am also having trouble getting used to being 5 hours ahead. Other than that, all things are well. Yesterday, DH did injection #2 for me. We didn't let the alcohol dry before the needle went in so it stung a bit. I did the injection on my own today and it didn't sting at all. I did look at the needle for the next stage (Ganirelix)and that needle looks like it may hurt a bit. By lower tummy is a bit sore when I stretch but it's not too bad. I just want my period to end...

Every evening I either soak my feet in hot water or put them on a heating pad. Then, DH works on the acupressure points for this phase of the cycle. t is quite relaxing. I plan to do the guided visualisation this evening. I can't believe we're going back to the doctor in 2 days time - I guess that's what happens when a weekend is in the midst of treatment.

Vacation is going well. We're about to go for a walk and then will take a drive to Brno. We need to go to the grocery store as well - I ate all of the blueberries for extra vit c yesterday to get through this had cold. We're loving our little studio apartment. We have eaten here for the last 2 nights, making half of dinner ourselves. DH has purchased a potted blue hydrangea for the main room and potted lavender for the bathroom. I love both and am so thankful that I have a thoughtful husband.

    

Cycle Day 3 - Start Stims

Today was the day that I only managed to get nervous about once we finally managed to check into the hotel. There will be more detail of the vacation aspect of our journey on our family site but I will say that we had a long drive to get here as our GPS ran out of power before we even managed to leave Vienna (no - forgot to charge it before we left and then we also left the car charger at home...). It was fine though. We purchased some maps and drove through Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and saw some great scenery along the way. I wish my camera wasn't packed while we drove but I'll get pictures soon.

We checked in around 9.30pm (we have a cute studio with kitchenette and great views), unpacked and shared an egg sandwich and chips for dinner. We turned in by 10.30pm but my nerves started around 11.30 and I was up a few times due to that. By 5am I took out my iphone and listed to a guided visualization session to calm down. I then slept until 7.30am. We caught the news about Hurricane Bill before going to breakfast. It was lovely - sausages, scrambled eggs, fresh bread and jam and cereal. We sat with Jenny and her husband who are here from Germany and caught up in real life since Jenny and I met on one of the IVF boards. We then went back to our room to set up our wireless internet access while they headed to the clinic.

We got to the clinic around 10.15am. I got my blood pressure meds and then we had to wait. They took us in for our STD blood tests and my hormone blood test at 11am. It was easy - which is something for me to say since I am the worst person for blood tests. I guess she has tons of experience since it's an IVF clinic so it shouldn't have surprised me. We then had a long wait. The place is soooo busy but it does move quickly. I think we noticed how long the wait was because we weren't prepared - we only had my iphone and sharing it was awful. We talked with Jenny and her husband before they went in for their 1st control visit and then we were on our own. I looked at the pictures in the Czech magazines and even started picking up the gist of some of the articles.

We went in to see the doctor at 1pm. It was so worth the wait though. He explained everything to us - what our records meant in terms of what he was going to do, the entire cycle, the decisions we'll have to make, an ultrasound with descriptions of everything on the screen and what the results of my hormonal blood test meant in relation to the protocol he was going to give me. My FSH was 5.3 this morning and he was quite happy with that. He's started me on the Gonal F 900IU pen with daily dosages of 187.5 units through to Monday. On Tuesday (8/25) we have a 9am appointment where they'll do another hormone test and a vaginal ultrasound. I will then tentatively have my next visit on 8/30 where I'll probably receive the trigger shot and ER would then be on 9/1 and transfer would be 9/4 (for 3 day) or 9/7 (for 5/6 day - they don't do transfers or retrievals on Sundays here). So once we discussed that we were taken to learn how to use the pen. I felt nothing! It is so easy to use. They gave me all of my stims and I have put them in the fridge in our little studio apartment.

Well, off to do some grocery shopping and then we'll walk around Zlin a bit to get used to the residential part that we're living in. I am loving the gardens already.

Ready to Go

First of all, we're leaving with a hurricane coming. Hurricane Bill's closest point of approach to the island is currently calculated at 12 pm Sat, Aug 22, 2009. Distance: 184 nm to the west. So we're currently packing and preparing the house at the same time.

Today, in addition to tying things up as best we could, we also visited our acupuncturist. DH came with me and I had an acupressure session at which our acupuncturist showed DH what he wants him to do during stims, before retrieval, after retrieval and after transfer. Many of the points are lovely. He printed out tons of information to remind DH of the correct spots and so we're set!

So, I took the last BCP on the night of Aug 17 and AF began this morning. Guess this cycle has started. We've emailed our coordinator this information and told her we'll see her on Friday.

WOW - it's starting to happen!

Getting Ready for the Adventure

We started packing this weekend. I generally don't pack early but since we're away for so long and need to ensure we have things to live there for a while, I thought that I should start and figure out what's missing. We then went shopping to pick up a few things - tylenol, suitcase scale, benifiber, etc. I also got another sweater from Marks & Spencer, this time in grey. We've gone through our documents and our only major thing we need to do is get a few customs forms so we can take the computers and cameras in and out of Bermuda.

I'm starting to feel a little nervous. Right now it is a fear that I will get out there and go to the first appointment and them saying that we can't do it for some reason. Outside of that nightmare, I am still concerned about needles and such. I know it'll all be fine once we get started and then i will worry about other things...

As for the vacation part, we purchased a few guide books for Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic. We've decided not to schedule anything yet and to keep this vacation as normal as possible (we generally don't schedule anything other than theatre tickets...).

I have forgotten one thing due to the hectic nature of the last few weeks. Our dating anniversary/engagement anniversary is on Wednesday. We usually go out to dinner but we'll be on the airplane this year. I went to look at the gift to see if it would be ok to carry with me on the plane to give it to him and realized that I don't have anything! I have the b-day present for September but forgot this anniversary. I can't give him the b-day present so I had better find something in the next 4 days. I will make a card today. Any thoughts for a simple gift that will travel well?????