And So It Begins

I'm picking up my mother from the airport in 30 minutes, which is to me the beginning of this whole wedding stuff. 3 days out from the wedding and let's see where we're at, shall we?

Wedding bands: check
Wedding vows: check
Wedding readings printed: check
Deposits paid: check
Designers/Caterers/Event planners on board: check

I could go on, but really I'm sure this is only interesting to me. I only have a few (and when I say few I mean 35ish) things on my list to take care of in the next 3 days, but I'm trying not to sweat the details at the very end. I'm trying to remind myself to STAY CALM, cuz I'm not your usual take-it-in-stride kinda lady. So. Deep breaths. In. Out. Keep it together, Libby.
I'll be out for a while with all these details, so next time I post I'll be hitched! (well, officially I already am, but this one is "the wedding" to me).
Wish me luck!

My first mobile post! Let's see if this thing works...

El Numero 19

It's true, 3 months in a row don't lie. CD19 is my day, ladies. My total cycle is 28 days, making my luteal phase only 9 days which is a wee short. Anyone else out there with a shorter luteal phase? Any suggestions/recommendations on how to deal with it? (patient sigh...)

In other news, it's only 11 days until the big wedding day. Amazing how I was never that little girl dreaming of a big wedding with a white dress, and funny how now I've become that bride. (I'm a bit jealous of this crafty lady for her eloping insight.) I've been finding that I'm asking myself the "how the hell did I get here?" question a lot. Marrying a woman..who knew!? Being a stepmom...never expected that! Shopping online for jizz (excuse my language)....how interesting! Getting married in a big wedding to someone 10 years my senior....what a pleasant surprise! I'm just going through a season of big changes...some unexpected. So far the surprises have been great. I'm understanding that my life has never and will never have a script. I have just been open to what comes....and here I am! How thrilling. I can't wait to add a wee one to this crazy mix.

Also, my fertilitea and OPK's came in the mail. Now all I have to do is quit drinking coffee and wine. Of course I am waiting until we get back from our honeymoon in Paris to do both of these. Today...indulgence! Three weeks from now the discipline begins! Wish me luck...

The Pinoy Gene

I love to shop. L-U-V it. I am elated that I live three blocks' walk to downtown Union Square to get my shop on whenever I feel the urge. In the past two months, my realm of usual shopping accoutrement began taking a distinct turn. A distinct sperm-turn, if you will. In the beginning, I would only casually cruise donor sites, just checking out catalogues, getting acquainted with the system of buying genes online, cruising profiles, getting my bearings, etc..

A couple of months ago though, I started getting serious. I logged in, started checking 3 to 4 donor sites a week, saving my advanced searches, reading staff's impressions, downloading stuff (ok, it may not seem that serious, but I have commitment issues.) Anyway, getting to the point- I am looking to find a Filipino donor. Chefy's 8yr old son by her ex-wife was from a full Filipino donor, and I want our little one to also be a 50/50 reflection of us, as well as her/his older bro. I would go to the ex to get the donor details, but we don't exactly have what you might call a "friendly" relationship. We are cordial and nice (especially when it comes to the PooMan), but asking her the details of the donor they used for PooMan is out of the realm of possibility.

Sooo...in my search of Filipino donors online, I have found a total of 4 full-blooded Pinoy (at CA Cryo.bank.) Apparently not much of a popular ethnicity as far as donating sperm goes. I'm a *little* annoyed that I have such limited choice options, but will deal. What I really curious about is if anyone else out there has run into this situation, especially concerning donors of a specific ethnicity. I would love to get some feedback on this, as I don't have anyone in my Re.al life to talk to this about.....

X.Saw.Schun.

Holiday weekends are always busy at our wee restaurant. We fed a record number of people this Saturday, and had lines and hour-plus the entire weekend. I'm not complaining about any of these facts (the best problem to have, really), just unwinding and still admiring my chefy for making food people are willing to stand in line for.
Last weekend I stood in my oldest friends wedding. It was a lovely quaint outdoor affair with 140 straight people whom chefy and I had the always-entertaining-and-almost-always-awkward marriage conversation with. We're getting married next month, but what does that mean? Is is legal? Can you two really get married? You already got married? (veerry confused face on straight white guy)..but so then you're really just having a party? Uuuuuugggh. These conversations could be fodder for a great comic rant on straight privledge and ignorance, but I'm too busy explaining legal precedent and judgement on gay marriage in CA to write that rant. Anyone interested? And needless to say that the guests at the wedding weren't simply the nicest and most genuine straight people, it just gets a bit tiring to have to explain your entire life to strangers ten times in one night. Okay, someone should call the whambulance, I'm done. Promise.

Oh, except for the fact that my sweetie was the only person of color there. That was awesome too. Yikes, look at me, I've become that cynical dyke, haven't I? Oh screw it. I am cynical. I love my friend and was thrilled to be a part of her wedding. So there.

Moving on.. I've found an OBGYN whom I want an appointment with. I've called her office a few times to get a quote for an un-insured intro exam, but no one seems to be able to answer that one. I'm paying cash for a lot of things these days, why not healthcare? Maybe I'll postpone it until after the wedding. Chefy and I spend all our free minutes scratching things off our wedding TODO list. Exciting, I know.

Sarting from Scratch

Chefy and I have only a wee bit of medical insurance. The deductibles are high and the payments low. We jokingly refer to it as our "get run over by a bus" insurance. Now that we are officially going to start this whole baby-making venture, we've been throwing around different insurance scenarios. Our biggest question mark is the fact that we own our own business, which has only just turned two years old. We have a great State Farm agent who takes care of our "death by bus" health insurance, but I feel like if we went to her to get a more cohesive coverage, we'll pay through the roof.
I've also looked a little bit into small business owner insurance companies, but am totally overwhelmed (and not in a good way) by that route. Another approach we've discussed is going straight to the source. We've thought that asking the hospital where we want to have the baby and where the RE we want to use, which kind of coverage will be the best fit with their system. My question is, does anyone else out there own a business and have their own coverage? Has anyone else begun TTC w/o coverage and gotten coverage specifically for this crazy journey? I'm a bit in the woods as far as this goes....