Playing catch up and one week to go!

Historical clock in downtown Prague

Sorry for my absence. I've actually been keeping up with most things going on (thank you Flipboard on iPhone), but my data is limited on my iPhone for international travel. So much going on in the IVF-surro-blogosphere!  Very exciting stuff! I've been reading every few days, but posting comments and writing posts from my phone was not as easy as one expects. Next time I will have it down better.

Husband had an additional surprise for me earlier this month and took me on a world-wind trip. Apparently he had been planning this one for a long time as well. He told me that this is it for our vacation plans for a long time now. He originally planned and paid for this before we knew the costs of IVF/Surrogacy and before I lost my job. Oh and before we got a big fat unexpected tax bill yesterday. But never mind all that - we had a wonderful time in Venice and Prague. I really have the best husband imaginable. I'm fairly certain I took close to 800 pictures. Both cities are beautiful and incredibly romantic.

Now I have a week to get ready for our IVF treatment in India. I'm nervous to say in the least. I had to start talking BCPs again (need to be in sync for treatment start and surrogate) and that has been a bit of a pain. Often I am sensitive to medications and I am remembering why I stopped taking oral contraception many, many years ago. (Had nothing to do with wanting to get pregnant!)

The last 4 or 5 days I have felt bloated and nauseated. I ache easily and I'm testier than normal. If this is what a little BCP does to me, than what can I expect from the IVF medications? Since I actually had to start my birth control a week late and will have to continue the active pills for an additional week, I can only imagine the battle my body is going through. Bleck.

India. One week. I'm nervous like I have never been before. I've been to India before and never felt as nervous as I do now. So many things racing through my brain. More later.

Birthday surprises

Pic I took with iPhone of the Golden Gate Bridge
in San Francisco while we were tandem bike riding 

My husband is awesome. I mean seriously, are-you-kidding-me, all kinds of awesome. Tuesday evening (the 24th) he told me he was going to work from home on Wednesday. Thought to myself, "that's nice. I'll need to try and make sure I don't distract him." Late Wednesday morning he hands me a sheet of paper with a 5 day forecast. He then tells me to go pack because we are GOING ON A TRIP FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!!

I had no idea where we were going, but I was excited! Asked a few questions to give me somewhat of an idea of how to pack, but I still had no idea if it was local or what. Later I finally ask him if we are going on a plane. He confirms we are and then I immediately start worrying about our animals. (Normally I make the arrangements and we have 3 dogs/2 cats.) Fortunately he had everything covered and had been planning it since January. Yes January!!!

We rushed to the airport, groaned to find the parking lots full, and then cheered when we found a spot in the secret parking lot that I had heard about, but never purposely used. I still had no idea where we were going, but after our tickets were picked up my husband informed me we were going to San Francisco. I was already excited when I thought we were going to Houston (we had a lay over and that's what my ticket said.)

I'm not sure how we packed so much into 4 days - but we did! My husband did an incredible job of pre-planning and even with the few obstacles we encountered (eg., Big Sur Marathon closing the highway to Big Sur) we still had a great adventure.

Here's a quick list of some of the things we did:
Thursday (my birthday!): Napa Valley! I only had a tiny bit of wine, but the views and restaurants were breath taking! That evening he took me to a fantastic French restaurant, as is tradition on my birthday (Italian for his!) (We've done the French/Italian thing since we first started dating.)
Friday: Pier 39 + Fisherman's Warf to visit the sea lions and attractions, followed by a tandem bike ride along the coast and across the golden gate bridge. In the evening, he took me to the San Francisco symphony.
Saturday - some shopping in China Town, grabbing lunch with a friend that lives out there, and walking around visiting shops, festivals, cafes, and some restaurants. We had Jim Gaffigan tickets for the evening.
Sunday - We got up early and drove to Big Sur. We were stopped for a few hours as CA-1 was closed due to the Big Sur Marathon (I don't know how people run that!), but that was enjoyable as well. We drove back to San Francisco and then took the red-eye home.

Can you believe all that? Holy cow! A week ago I was dreading my 40th birthday and this week I can easily say it was the best one yet.

If you ever hear me complaining about my husband for any stupid reason (as spouses sometimes are known to do), you have full permission to cyber slap me. I am, indeed, a very lucky girl.