Ever thankful...

So much going on in blogland this week!  Congrats to Jason and Adrian with their baby girls!  I'm also keeping my fingers crossed for Kate that things go well with her EC and transfer coming up. 

On our end, we are making some progress towards June - although it does feel like it's taking it's sweet loving time getting here!  My mom's visa application is ready to mail.  I went to Target and picked up the extra toiletries I'd need for the trip.  The only thing I don't have is hand sanitizer in travel size.  Apparently, there's been a run on that so I'll keep looking in town until I find some.  Harris is supposed to put in his vacation request this week so that he can be off and go with me on vacation with my family 2 days after I get back.  I anticipate jetlag and know from the last trip that I'm going to be out of it for a couple of days.

I had an 8 year milestone this week and it's been a tough one.  Friday would have been my grandmother's 100th birthday.  She was an amazing woman who gave her days and nights to raise me while my mother worked and avoided life at home in a bad marriage.  My grandmother was one of the strongest women I've ever known, and she is someone I miss as badly today as the day after she died.  Just a little glimpse into the stock from which I come:  She and her husband were sharecroppers when he died suddenly at 42.  She had a 12 & 14 year old at home, no money in the bank to speak of, and creditors for everything from farm machinery to seed.  There was no "single parent" term back then but, she managed to find a job that would provide her and her kids a place to live (the "teacheridge" - where school marms were housed before marriage) while she worked in the school cafeteria.  She worked everyday of her life to make sure that there was a roof over their heads and food on the table - although it was sometimes leftovers from the school cafeteria.  She managed to buy her own house and pay it off in the late 90s - she was so excited to get that deed in the mail, I'll never forget it.  After she died, we found a spiral bound notebook that she had kept since 1960 with a record of where she repaid each and every creditor over the years.  Five dollars here, ten dollars there, until the accounts were all paid in full. 

Despite being alone, in debt, and having no idea what the future held, she remained determined and kept going.  She never gave up.  I'm lucky to have had her example of how to live, and how to persevere.   But that we were all so fortunate.

Hello, Hilton!

It's booked!  We will be taking a hit in the wallet, but I couldn't pass on the Hilton for the amenities, the cleanliness, the guaranteed hot water, the pool, and the mall.  I don't think I'll REALLY understand what summer in India is like until I get off the plane in June.  But, I am choosing to believe those who have walked this path before me, and make arrangements to have things to do inside.  

I got a room with 2 beds in case my mom is the one who comes with me.  If Harris is along, it might not hurt to have a separate bed for those last few days on the shots when I am packed with grape-sized follicles.  I tend to get a *little* touchy the last week of these meds and appreciate my space. 

It's nice to have a "home" in place!  Tonight, I'm going to go online and register my trip with the State Department just in case.  Anytime we travel abroad, we send them locations so that if there's a need to evacuate Americans quickly, we're on the list.  I'm hyper-vigilant that way.  So far, I haven't needed it, and I'm hoping by continuing to register, I'll continue not to!

On another front, apparently I mis-calculated my June cycle's start date...by 11 days.  Oh joy.  Three months to move it where I need it.  Come on biology!

3 Months to Go...

Three months from today, I will be boarding a Lufthansa flight bound for Germany, and then India.  It's different preparing for the return than it was preparing for the initial trip over.  This time around, I am much more relaxed because I know some of the things that were unknown before.  I am not wondering what do to in the airport, how I will find safe things to eat, or what the shots & retrieval will be like.  Really, I am amazingly calm about all of this most of the time.

The only things that worry me at this point are the length of the trip I have booked (14 days) and the transportation costs if we stay at the Hilton.  I can't give myself shots (I'm a fainter!) so I would have to go to ISIS daily for those, which would add about $250 to our trip.  I know that's not a lot of money overall, but I am trying to cut corners where possible.

We still haven't decided whether Harris or my mom will go with me.  I don't think I'll be going solo though, and that's much more comfortable for me because I am a total coward with needles.  I still haven't booked the hotel room.  It's on my "to do" list for today!  Seriously, it is.  Really, I'll make a decision today.

As for other fronts, our roof is almost finished (after a month long install), the repair work inside is slated to begin this week, and we've chosen a new realtor to list our property at the end of the week.  We're hoping he's going to actually work to sell the house for us.  That would free up a bit of money to be put towards the baby-making efforts!  Fingers crossed!

To my blogging friends, sorry I've been out of touch for the last few weeks!  I'm excited to catch up on everyone's news today!!!

A Snail's Pace...

Progress is being made on all fronts at this point including the roof!  Materials arrived on Tuesday and we are set to begin work the first of the week!  Harris had his interview in MD and (yay for Bernadette!) it went really well.  We're waiting to see if they can afford him before we make any further investigations into housing, etc. 

I am also thrilled to say that I purchased my ticket back to India earlier this week.  My arrival date is very early on the morning of June 13th (like just after midnight) and I am scheduled to depart on the 27th.  If anyone else is going to be there, let me know! I have started looking for accomodations and am considering staying at the Hilton Garden Inn that's over by Select CityWalk.  As it stands now, I am going alone (Yikes!) so I want to be somewhere safe and have access to whatever I may need while I'm there.  I'm thinking that I would only try and use Rahul's services on the days that I have appts. with Dr. Shivani in order to keep costs down.  The Hilton is cheaper than Svelte, but still pricey by my standards.  On the other hand, it has everything I want (including laundry facilities and a fridge in the room).  Still though, I'm going to have to find a way to wrap my mind around paying $115 per night IF I decide to stay there.  We'll see!

In thinking about returning, I am glad that Harris and I did the tourist thing the first time we went because I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable doing tons on my own.  I do want to go back to Central Market one day during the week (the crowds on the weekend were terrible!) and also to Dilhi Haut (not sure that's spelled correctly).  Those two places were fantastic for finding bargains and I want to do some shopping while Harris isn't there to hold the wallet!  LOL! 

I am excited about the trip, the travel, the possibility of success.  Those are the things I'm trying to keep in mind at this point...I'm trying to not think about being lonely, the heat, more needles, and going thru this process without Harris at my side.