Saturday, May 31, 2008

Positive

The blood test showed a positive pregnancy.

I will get the results of the quantitative (beta HCG numbers) tomorrow night.

(Here where I live the lab does not process that test on site but has to send to another lab for those results, so another 24 hours of agony, LOL!)

So initially I am VERY EXCITED, but will wait to see numbers tomorrow and then watch them closely over next few weeks.

Will call my doctor tonight as well to see what he says and when he wants to see me.

Tell me ladies, what should I expect in these early few weeks. What should the doctor be doing, beta how often, ultrasounds (is vaginal ok) stuff like that. It's all NEW to me and I am in Egypt, so want to be sure he is on track.

Pray for our embabie(s) that they stay healthy and in place and of course I will continue to keep you posted.

So in closing I say i am SO HAPPY, but a VERY, very cautious happy at this stage. Love you all!!!

Todays THE Day!

It's 1:30AM, May 31, 2008.

I have been waiting for this day for the past two weeks or so and its finally here.

Now I just wanted to say to all of you, you are AWESOME! I love you, really, I really mean it.

You don't know how much I look forward to your kind words, the fact that you take the time to leave a comment (even if it is NaCoLeavMo) means so much!

Whatever news I find out later, I am okay with it. It will hurt if negative, but I will still be okay with it God Willing.

I am so lucky to have a belief that everything happens or doesn't for a reason and that reason even though we may not understand it now, or it may not seem fair, we will know why later.

I will share with you some supplications I have been making for many, many years...whatever your religion, whatever you believe or not, its fitting for all.

O my Lord, do not leave me alone, childless, though You are the best of inheritors.

O Lord, bestow on me a goodly offspring from You; verily, You are the hearer of prayer.

This is a verse that I read often and always make me cry, so true.

" But God is the best of guardians; and He is the most merciful of the merciful.

God knows what every female bears, and that which the wombs fall short (of completion) and that which they exceed.

And every thing with Him is measured. "

Friday, May 30, 2008

Saturday come on, get here already!

Just one more day until the test, Saturday, can you believe it? I can't and am sort of nervous, but super anxious as well.

With IVF number 4, i didn't get my period before test date, but felt pregnant and got a negative test. Was totally bummed.

You know, this time, I really feel like our embabies are "grounded" and sticking, I SO HOPE they are. Also too, with the implantation bleeding I think I had, my stomach feeling like something is attached, feeling hungrier...I don't know... I just need to wait.

The one and only time I was pregant was in Jan 2006. I went to see my grandmother, who was very ill, she died while I was in the air on the way to USA. My mother told me a few days before she died, that she said to her "I see INSERT MY REAL NAME sitting in that chair over there with her baby...."

So when i got back here to Cairo and for some strange reason I felt the urge to go to the doctor. (my period was strange that month, brownish not red) but still I had no idea that I could be pregnant.

Anyway when i tested a positive result, I almost fell out right there in doctors office. I gave the paper stating result to DH when we got home and he just about died!

After comfirming that it was ectopic, of course I had to have my tube removed... they said I was 6 weeks.

The ONLY person who knows we are doing IVF other than you guys, is DH's sister. I talked to her today and she said she has this feeling like we are pregnant....

Thursday, May 29, 2008

This is how they do it baby

So i watched THE cutest and funniest video on babydustdiaries blog .

I embedded below, its a trip!!! Implantation nation could have been a cool name too, LOL!

A much needed laugh for many of us. Funky music too.

IVF Due Date Calculator

This is waaaayy too cool!

I was trying to see when my due date will be, cause you all know I'm pregnant now, (a few more days, May 31st and i'll know) and I found this cool little gadget.

Not only does it calculate due date based on egg retrieval date, it gives you so much more info, you will love it if you haven't tried it already.

I hope ALL of us trying get to use this cool calculator real soon.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

A great day!

Today my husband had his niece's son, we'll call him "O" who is 3 years old tomorrow actually, over for the whole day. He is a handful. Too cute and is super energetic, I guess most kids are at 3 years old aren't they?

It's a sad story for O, his sister (almost 2 years old) and their mother, my husbands niece.

A few months back her husband was killed. She is only 23 and the husband was only 27. She was left with these two small children. THANK GOD the family is super close, she has 5 sisters and they are all very close to each other and their mother, my husband's oldest sister. Everyone takes care of her and helps in every way with these small children.

O absolutely adores my husband and I think he looks up to him as a father like figure. He knows his daddy is gone, not sure he fully comprehends it. My husband's sister told us O looks at his fathers picture everyday and talks to him, laughing and giggling.


O and Flora too cute!!!

As i watched my husband play with O , he was so natural. He is SUPER good with kids ( all kids seems to sense this and always LOVE him too) and will make THE best dad I know it.



Our crazy girl Flora!!!



So it was a happy day at our house, a great little kid, our new addition the fabulous super kitty Flora, the sun was shinin' all was good.

So I am hoping in a few days I can finally tell him he's gonna be a dad....I hope so so badly.

PUPO on me

Hey, its 1:35AM here, getting ready to go to bed and felt the need the share my excitement , my possibly misplaced excitement.

The spotting has pretty much stopped and I am feeling like MAYBE just maybe this could really be it this time. Spent most of the day Googling "Implantation Bleeding" and boy did the information lead me to believe that really I may be pregnant. (God Bless the internet for misleading us, giving us false hopes, and of course all the good stuff too in a matter of seconds).

I know this is bad, really bad. But you know its ok. I feel like I deserve to get my hopes up, why not? As i read on another blog somewhere, i am considering myself pregnant until proven otherwise, PUPO. Good night.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Just 4 mo' days, come on!

Hey all, it's cycle day 32 and just 4 more days until preg test.

Same thing today, intermittent pink when wiping, no flow yet, and I am TRYING not to think about it. Should I call doctor, no I shouldn't. What will he tell me other than, just wait... so I will just wait and see. It's SO HARD though...

Thanks for all your comments and encoragement, you guys are awesome.

Will update later, just keep praying and sending good positive thoughts my way!!!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Calling all those who had blastocyst transfers

***I'M a LOSER UPDATE***

Since i posted below now its gone, nothing but clean wipes, LOL! I will follow you're advice Hope2morrow and stop worrying or reading into this stuff. God Willing its all good. I know you all may think I'm nuts, I am, but just want this too badly...I have to chill, I will try.


So much for me trying NOT to think too much.

Ok, today is 7 days after i had two (2) blastocysts transfered.

It is day 13 for these blastocysts.

It is cycle day 31 for me.

I need some opinions, and yes I will take these as personal, not medical opinions I know, don't worry.

***WARNING****

I am trying not to be too graphic, but I want to see if any of you have experienced any of this.

Here goes...

I have some light red color when I wipe, nothing coming out if you will, but when i wipe, i see some very faint light red in streaks like. Its day 7 after transfer remember, could this be a good sign?

Three days ago, for three days until yesterday I had mucous like discharge with a VERY LIGHT color. It was thick, not much, small amounts.

So should i panic, no I know i shouldn't.

I haven't called the doctor yet, trying to be patient. But wanted to put it out there to see if ANYONE ever had this after a blasto transfer.

Again I KNOW all cases are different, but so many of you are so knowlegeable and have went through the same things many times before, so i thought I'd see if anyone replies.

I know I may kick myself for posting this, but I just had to.

An AMAZING post

Just finished reading the most AMAZING post, I wanted to share with all of you in case you haven't stubbled upon her blog already, I know many of you have.

I have so many thoughts on it and will write about them later, for now just take a moment and read...it will make you cry.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Is Egypt your dream destination?

I was laying in bed last night thinking about living here in Cairo, Egypt. Its been almost three years now and it is really my home now.

My mother still tells me, when people hear her daugther, ME, lives here the comments are varied, but most being, "wow how cool I have always dreamed of visiting Egypt." And a few being "aren't you worried with all the figthing and war going on over there in that part of the world..." She assures them Egypt is safe, having been here now twice, and we feel nothing of war in surrounding countries thank God.

Anyway, I wanted to ask, have you ever been to Egypt? If so tell us alitle about your experience here.

If you haven't been to Egypt yet, has it or is it a destination you'd like to come to?

Just my little poll for today, LOL! (you can share with us by leaving a comment at the end of this)

I also thought it would be fun to mention some of things I miss back home, in the States, things I always took for granted actually, sadly. I list only some here but I am sure there could be more.....

You may find it interesting, or dumb, but when you don't have them/can't do them, they are missed. So if you enjoy or use/do any of the below, be grateful that you can.

All this being said, however, Egypt is a fabulous place to live, you feel very safe (the most important factor for me and in life generally I think), the weather is awesome year round and people are generally very kind. There is much to explore throughout the country and various cultures are found everywhere.

You can buy almost anything here, Cairo has fabulous shopping, great malls, and little boutiques are everywhere. Most supermarkets, the larger hypermart type, have many products from USA and England so its cool too.

So heres my little list...

1. Being able to talk on phone at anytime to Mom and Dad (webcam is great but not the same)
2. Customer Service 800 numbers for recourse/compliments
3. Franks Red Hot Sauce (i have two bottles now frm a friend, she brought while visiting)
4. All kinds of instant powdered seasoning packets, to help hook up your meals
5. Driving in lanes designated on streets and observing lights, signs etc. and not hearing horns every second
6. Lines and form of order in daily life
7. Cities with less than 20 million people
8. Traffic tickets/enforcement (really, if they issued and assesed fines here MAYBE people would slow down and drive like humans are supposed to)
9. Shopping at TJ Maxx and Ross
10. Unlimited cell phone calls monthly for a flat rate
11. TACO BELL , $.79- $.99 valu menu what could be better?
12. Pre-made curtains, ready to hang
13. Dollar stores
14. Public "cool" libraries, although in Alexandria there is an AMAZING one
15. Good pizza and man oh man chicken wings, hot (i make em but its not the same)
16. Ready made Rotisserie chickens from grocery store
17. Affordable cars
18. Using change (coins here are not accepted most times, even though you get them ocassionally back as change, go figure)
19. Being able to go into a bank and not wait 2 hours to do a simple transaction
20. Shopping at COSCO
21. Half & Half (we use powdered CoffeeMate, not the same AT ALL)
22. Always pads (we have here, but not same quality)
23. Being able to sell on eBay (oh how i miss, i could, but items would never reach their buyer)
24. Getting mail other than via FedEx
25. Hallmark card stores
26. In-N-Out cheeseburgers

Friday, May 23, 2008

Cycle day 28

So i just finished marking my meds and injection for today , yes I keep a daily record in a book. ( I know I am not the only one, am i?)

So i was lauging to myself, as i am not much for numbers, but when you're doing the ivf thang, numbers are important, you can't avoid them EVER!

  • Today is cycle day 28 (the 28th day after the first day of my last period)
  • It is day 10 for my embabies.
  • And in 8 days, including today, I will take a preg test.
So as I said I am trying not to think too much during this 2 week wait, LOL, there you go.

The header!!!

What about the new header? Is it AWESOME or what? A friend of mine who is a GENIUS artist did it for me. She is AMAZING and does some incredible work!

What do you guys think about the new background color, like it?

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Flora our new kitty

So yesterday while we were watering the yard, the cutest little kitty appeared.

Photobucket

She was so playful and loving, like rubbing up against our legs and following us around the garden everywhere.

We went out for dinner, came home and she was waiting for us at the front door after about 3 hours!!!

flora 3

So we just had to feed her...

flora eating

She ate like she was STARVING, so the dish above is a second helping of tuna for her.

We woke up this morning, had breakfast and I told my husband lets go see if Flora is still here...I went outside walked around, I didn't see her.

Then a minute or so later, here she comes running to me, meowing and rubbing against me. So we fed her brekfast and we have decided she is here to stay, LOL.

We are both a bit hesistant about bringing her inside, we have both never had pets, we like them, but just not used to them. So for now, we will feed her and if she sticks around, she can be our outside kitty for now.

Too cute huh? Our interim daughter while we wait another 10 days or so to see if we have a human one in the making, LOL!!!

Oh, her name.... i just thought she looked like a "Flora" and she loves running in the garden, through the trees and plants, so thought it was appropriate. She's so playful and reminds us of a baby tiger actually, too funny!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I feel weird

Woke up this morning and feel really achey, my back hurt, my stomach feels so so bloated and just not well rested. (despite sleeping for 9 hours)

I like to think this is because my embabies, (thanks to Steph for this great name), have attached and are starting life in their new home, but I hesistate a bit. Last trial, i felt the same way, felt bloated, tired etc. but got a negative.

So what shall I do? I shall be positive, keep thinking that YES, these little ones have attached and that is why i feel the way I do. Not because of progesterone shots, or additional medications I take to keep those embabies in place, its because I am finally pregnant, thats why I feel like I do.

I know God has a Plan for all of us, if it His Will to give us babies, He Will. That is something I am so comfortable with, thank God.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Our babies LIVE


These are our little blastocyst babies, two were transferred yesterday, May 19th, 2008. I hope they make it....12 days and counting until till test!

I had some tight cramping like feeling today against my uterus, I hope it was them attaching.

If you ever had a blastocyst transfer what did you experience following transfer? Any comments thoughts will be greatly appreciated. xoxoxo

I made a WIDGET

Capital L me again, but this time I think its worth it.

I made a widget that you can add to your blog, I knew you've been waiting for this, so here it is...
Scroll down to the end of my blog and see the widget at end of right sidebar, well just click on GET WIDGET and the code pops up for you. You can choose to automatically add too, depending on what forum you use.

Or to make it REALLY easy, cause I know you can't wait to get this, you can copy and paste HTML code from HERE

Monday, May 19, 2008

Our babies, God Willing

Had two blastocysts transferred today. They look really good on DVD so God Willing this will bring us twins or at least one baby.

Will take a pregnancy test in 12-14 days... i really hope this time is it.

I found an AWESOME infertility site from Amman, Jordan that has 3D and 4D images of ultrasounds at many stages. It is really the most comprehensive image site I have found yet online.

Visit it at http://www.layyous.com/root%20folder/ultrasound_photos.htm

I have also added it to my sidebar links too.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Monday 12 noon

Doctor said two of our embryos look very good and are at a nice (didnt ask grade, will grade after I look at DVD images, internet is AMAZING isn't it?) blastocyst stage and another one is coming along good.

We will go to have embryo replacement tomorrow at 12 noon, and they will replace 2 or 3 depending on how the third one is tomorrow.

Anyway let us hope for the best, thats all we can do. If God Wills it will be so.

I'm pretty calm, its scary...

Last chance tomorrow

Talked to the embryologist today, said our embryos were at the morula stage yesterday and looked great but as of 12 noon today had not yet reached blastocyst stage.

He said to call and check-in with him at 7pm tonight and hopefully they have developed more and we can transfer tomorrow am; as 6 days is maximum time for embryo replacement.

BUT, i have misunderstood something, we had all seven ovum fertilized and all cleaved. Ok, I got that.

None have been cryopreserved at all. Embryologist said that they needed to culture all to blastocyst, the 4 grade 1's ad the 3 grade 2's as to see if any would reach blastocyst stage.

Saying for example, the grade 1's maybe would not reach blastocyst but the grade 2's could, and vice versa.

So......

This is it for this IVF cycle its blastocysts and a transfer tomorrow or bust....if bust, its over for this round. Man I sure hope those little ones split and blasto-sized.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Little men or Little Dummies?

Ok so tonight we drove into Heliopolis (Cairo) to take our good friend to eat fruit salad and ice cream for the first time. This isn't any fruit salad and ice cream, its a place called MAGIC. It has been there since my husband was a child and they make it the same way all these years he says.

It's hard to describe, but at the bottom of dish is fruit salad in a gooey syrup like the juices of fruit but weird, cause its thick and fruit colored, then a layer of real whipped cream, then topped swith icecream of your choice...milk is bext choice, milk I guess you'd say is like vanilla. But they have many flavors to choose from.

ANYWAY....

After parking our car and strolling the streets of Korba and Roxy areas, we come across this shop window.....





I was hysterical! We laughed so hard! I have NEVER seen mannequins this short or this FREAKY looking ever before. I had to snap on mobile and share with the world. (the shop sold medical clothing/uniforms.)

What do you think, aren't they the freakiest looking dummies ever?

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Oopps...

Uh em, he called at 10:15.

So we have 4 grade 1 and 3 grade 2 embryos, woo hoo! They will freeze the 3 grade two's and try to culture all 4 grade one's to blastocyst, with replacemnet being Sunday at 3pm, God Willing.

I'm so happy, just have to see if those little guys and girls can make it to day 5. Let's hope so.

Time, no big deal

I called my doctor at 7PM, he said he had not yet spoke with embryologist, but to give him a half hour and he'd call back.

It is now 9:50PM, no call!

I will not call back as BAD as I want to, I will wait and see if he calls later. I say later as he works in his office seeing patients until 11PM.

( here in Egypt they have strange, but convenient i guess, working hours. Example, my doctor works from 1-3pm and 7-11pm)

( Also here, they practise the concept of "malesh" meaning loosely "don't worry, or "I'm sorry", so punctuality and a "I'll get back to you" means you could hear from them in a few days, LOL!)

So hope he calls and we get some good news, I'll keep you posted.

Progesterone shots RULE

Sure they do, yeah right!

Back to the nightly progesterone injections love it! I took it at the pharmacy last night before we went out, but depending on where we are, maybe DH will give to me. No side effects yet, fingers crossed. Along with progesterone injections taking Duphaston 2 times a day as well.

Will call doctor tonight to see how embryos are developing, hopefully good news, really I hope so.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Can i just say he's so great?

I know three posts in one day, wow, too much free time today for real.

I just had to say what an AWESOME guy my husband is. How lucky am i?

We were just sitting in our garden and were talking about our little embryos that they are being fertilized today. I told him we have only seven and the chances that all or any really, make it to blastocyst stage is slim.

He said even if one makes it, maybe it will work, telling me not to worry. Assuring me also that no matter how many cells they cleave to, what medications I take, and all that good stuff, it is all in the hands of God.

(Saying also that I am everything to him and kissing me on my forehead...) What a great guy!!!

Simple? Maybe. But coming from this awesome man of mine it means the world to me.

Luv ya' baby!

Great picture of pyramids!

I was on slide.com and came across this awesome photo... what a great job she did, really!


Host unlimited photos at slide.com for FREE!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Seven ovum

Well they retreived just 7 ovum yesterday.... just seven! Anyway will call in Thursday morning to see how fertilization is going.

Last time in 2006, we had so many more ovum, i guess two years passing for a woman in her 30's makes a big difference? Anyway, we'll see.

I was under anesthia, asleep totally, my husband said it took like 15 minutes or so...I don't remember a thing. I rested for an hour and a half and then we met with the embryologist. I asked a few questions about blastocyst transfer and it seems we may not have alot left over for freezing like last time, let's hope this transfer is successful.

So thats it. Now we wait to see if any grow to blastocyst stage.

Today is the day

It's 8:40Am here, will leave at 9:30 to do egg retrieval...even though we've done this before, I feel a bit nervous.

I so hope all goes well and they get lots of eggs and they create lots of embryos and they divide into the blastocyst we are hoping for in the next five days.

So will blog later...

Monday, May 12, 2008

Al Ghuri Palace Cairo, Egypt

So as I said last night, we went to a fabulous concert last night. It was at a place called Al Ghuri Palace. This is a 16th century palace and the ambience was AMAZING!

On our way to the concert we walked through Khan el-Khalili, Cairo's oldest and most famous bazaar, prayed maghreb in Al Hussein mosque.



(Al Hussein Mosque- front view at sunset)



(Al Hussein Mosque- side view)

Its always amazing walking in this area. It was busy with tourists and locals alike, always is. Then a short walk down Al Azhar Street to the palace.



(A part of the bazaar adjacent to Mosque)



The palace was constructed by Sultan Qansuwa Al Ghuri, the last powerful ruler of the Mamelukes in Egypt. Qansuwa died at the hands of the Ottomans and his body is buried in this complex. They use it now as a cultural center and theater. So this is where we watched the concert...


The guitarists name was Emad Hamdy. He is really good; he played Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, really really good! Along with some other sets as well.





Here are a few misc. pics of the Palace... a bit blury, but you get the idea.








HCG Shots at HOME?

My husband gave me an injection tonight...
He had to give it to me as the pharmacies here were not available to give an injection at midnight, despite the fact they are open 24 hours... ( i called ahead to ask). He did great and was so confident too, mash Allah.

So check this out.... we had to mix the injections first...drawing up the solvent or water into syringe and then injecting the water into powder vials that contain the medicine, not too hard right?
Well...

So me trying to help, I try to break off tip of glass vial that contained water, and I snapped it too far up the vial, and my finger started bleeding.

Then my husband takes off the cap of the syringe and he pokes his finger and is bleeding too, we were laughing so hard! I was like "are you sure you can do this, are we sure WE can do this...."

(not a pic i took, thank GOD! courtesy of Google images...)



Anyway went fine and all is good, a good laugh we had though, man!

So Tuesday AM is the retrieval day, let us hope we can get lots of eggs and lots fertilize too.

Our doctor mentioned to us again today the risk in culturing the embyros to blasocyst stage...saying that there is a risk that not many and sometimes none make it that far. We are aware of this, but want to try because IF they can make it to that stage, there is a higher success rate for implantation and we decided we are willing to take the risk.

On a different note, we went to a GREAT concert tonight, classical guitar and piano, it was awesome, took pics and will post some tomorrow and tell you more about it.

It's almost 2AM here, i gotta get to bed.... good night.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Can you say follicle party?

So my follicles were alot better today- woo hoo. Endometrium was thickening up nicely at 12mm. The follicles on left ovary were at 14-17mm, the right even better measuring 16-18mm, many of the follicles measuring 18mm in size on the right ovary.

I took another set of injections tonight and will go again tomorrow to doctor to see if any better. If all is good, then comes HCG shots and will wait 36 hours and do egg retrieval God Willing.

Anyway will update tomorrow, thanks for all the encouragement and emails....

Egg stimulation anxiety

Woke up this morning, feeling a bit nervous really. Going to the doctor today to see if more follicles have appeared, man I sure hope so! The injections these past few days have been hard. I don't know if its because I've been taking for almost 13 days or so now or what!


I really hope that ultrasound shows lots of follicles and big too. Will report back later after appt.

So don't know if I ever wrote, but we are wanna-be gardeners, LOL. We have really taken an interest in plants and trees and stuff, (I never thought in a million years I would love gardening).

Since we moved into our house almost a year ago now, it seems to occupy most of our time. We are lucky to have a very big yard and have planted lots of pretty flowers and tress and stuff. When we go walking or we are out anywhere, we always observe and comment on the trees and plants and stuff, we laugh at ourselves about it too, but its all good. It's really a relaxing hobby actually.



Our pride and joy is our grapevine...it is AMAZING to see the growth, literally each day there is new leaves and it grows at such a fast rate, very cool.

<------ Here's the latest pic from yesterday... (guitar on chair is DH's he is an awesome player, we always sit under grapevine and he serenades me, LOL!)


Below is what it looked like almost a year ago when we go it... progress huh?



We also just LOVE bogainvillas...they grow here in the hot climate of Egypt so well too. We have like six now, here's one of my favorites..... we also have white and orange and another fuscia one.

So until later, say a prayer for my eggs and hope that they are covered with big, puffy follicles.....xoxoxoxo












Friday, May 9, 2008

Capital "L" fer sure!

It happened again today, my loser-ness in hiding reappeared!

I was outside gardening, and looked at my cactus' on the window sill, and what do I see.... flies . Now I don't care for flies at all, especially Egyptian flies. Its like once they land on you, they keep landing on you and won't leave you alone. I'm serious, they are very, very strange.

Anyway so I see these two flies and all I could think of is 'get the camera' and 'flikr' and 'my blog' ... i know, i know capital L me. But even though they are "busy" i thought what a great close-up shot, if it comes out....


So enjoy my shots, and excuse my brief state of loser-ness, must be the meds... this too shall pass.








Tuesday, May 6, 2008

More BUT not enough

The doctor said today 4 more days of injections for me, will see him again Saturday. He said I have more follicles on both ovaries, but not enough and not large enough yet.

Anyway, sure hope those little suckers multiply and grow bigger soon. All in all really the injections are going ok. Not too much moodiness actually, not like last time.

I am just hoping that this time the blastocyst transfer takes, its so hard to be let down so many times...but the strange thing is, even though you know how bad we want a baby and are doing everything in our power, I am still OK with whatever happens. I think after all these tries and all the let downs, it just easier- for me anyway. I say this now, and it feels good typing, LOL. Let us just wait and see...

Positive thoughts and lots of prayers/supplications...God Willing it will happen this time.

Monday, May 5, 2008

A clear night for people-watching in Cairo

This is a very descriptive article, capturing the real feeling of a night in downtown Cairo, well-written- hope you enjoy it.

From: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-night5-2008may05,0,3672463.story






A train station in Egypt's capital becomes a vantage point on the tableau of humanity coming and going on a night thick with untold dreams and stories.

CAIRO -- The boys sat in front of the train station, sipping orange soda, watching, as the girl, so pretty in her embroidered head scarf, long denim skirt and makeup just right, slipped out of a car driven by a young man who smiled and drove away.

She walked toward the ticket booth, stopped and turned. The man's taillights were gone. The girl wasn't getting on a train, not this night; she headed down the street and disappeared beneath the trees, perhaps to a secret rendezvous with a lover, or maybe just to meet some friends.

The boys with the orange soda could only guess, but they laughed anyway because on a night like this, clear and a chill in the air, that's what you do in Cairo. You watch people hurrying in and out of the train station in a city so crowded that lives seep into one another without anyone really minding; a big, loud family clamoring for a sliver of space in the desert.

Like the man in the dirty tunic selling vegetables in crumpled bags, or the young cleric reciting from the Koran as he slips through the turnstile, or the suit with the briefcase and brow of sweat, or the mother shooing flies from the baby in a blanket, or the guy with no money and nowhere to go except into the night, because, if you don't dream too much, the night is free. You can skate along the Nile, wander the alleys, and, if the smog shifts, you can glimpse the Pyramids in the distant spring sky.

That's when she came, squeaking at first. The boys with the orange soda noticed. She was an old woman, dressed in black and wearing a plain head scarf. She was holding groceries in one hand and pushing a wheelchair. A young woman, legs thin as reeds, sat smiling in the chair, its rusted spokes not even glinting in the headlights of taxis that battled for space near the man selling newspapers that, as the moon rose, were starting to feel like history.

The old woman put down the groceries; she lifted the young woman and set her on a brick wall. The young woman teetered, but gained her balance as the old woman, stout and firm, pushed the wheelchair toward the sidewalk. She strung out a chain and locked it to an iron fence. She walked back to the younger women and helped her down from the wall; the younger woman was as unsteady as a newborn foal. The old woman held her with one hand, grabbing the bag of groceries with the other.

They walked toward the ticket booth in a practiced rhythm, maybe the cadence of mother and daughter, or maybe just the shared shaky amble of two poor friends in a poor city.

The soda boys watched as the young woman got tangled for a moment in the turnstile. The old woman steadied her as the two stepped onto the platform and waited for the train, which came quickly and took them away.

The boys got up. There was a lot of night left, and if you kept yourself moving, there were a bunch of stories to see too.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Six and Four

So we know that as of today my right ovary has 6 follicles and my left has 4! I will continue the injections and see doctor again on Monday for another ultrasound.

On a very sad note, Thursday a tourist bus crashed and caught on fire, 9 people died and alot injured...and yesterday we drove past this crash site and saw it with our own eyes, very very sad. The bus was just destroyed as you can see in the pictures form link above.

We were in the area (about 4 hours from us in Cairo) while driving to see family of a very good friend who died last Wednesday. He was a very dear friend from Dahab,we'd know him just two years but our friendship was as if we'd known him forever. Rest in piece dear Ali, we love you!