This should be interesting...

So I got the call today to set up my consult for the acupuncture for fertility study I recently wrote about here. Right off the bat the "dr" questioned my committment to the study since I live/work in the suburbs. Did she not see my address on the six page questionnaire I had to complete? She didn't seem to have read any of it actually, as I would quickly learn. So that was a great start. I assured her that I would not have a problem driving into the city for the 2-3 weekly visits for the length of the study.

She asked me if I had done acu before. I said, yes since Dec. at PDtM.

She seemed surprised, so I told her that most of that time we weren't able to TTC due to my septum surgery in January. She said, "oh, you had nasal surgery?" What?! No, in my uterus...

Then she asked me if I temp. I explained that no I have sleep issues that make it unlikely for me to get accurate temps, so I use a fertility monitor instead (to measure the actual hormones rather the affect of the hormones). She said, "why do you have trouble sleeping, do you have kids?" I'm thinking no idiot, that's why I'm talking to you. So I'm going to start temping tomorrow....

Do I check my CM? Yes. Make sure you chart that too.

Have you O'd yet? No. Make sure you have intercourse two days before and two days after(?). That should be really effective. ;)

Our whole convo was just littered with gems of fail. This can only get more interesting...

Randoms (updates)

So I could probably fill several blogs with all my random thoughts and musings, but alas I have only one, so this is my repository for everything...

BC Hockey won the national championship over the weekend, ironically beating Wisconsin. Yay BC!



S bought tickets last night for us to go see U2 at Soldier Field in July. We had talked about it before, but I guess he still really wanted to go because he asked me when I was at least 70% asleep if I wanted to go. Saw them back in 2000 at the UC, so the outdoor venue should be fun. (Bono's back surgery = cancelled U2 concert :( )



I think I found a pendant light for the dining room, though I haven't done that much shopping around yet. You'll never guess, it's from PB... ;) I really missed out by not signing up for a PB credit card a few years back, I would have made a killing on the rewards program.



I treated myself last fall (after one year of TTGP and our first failed IUI) with a little something from LV. I'm not a handbag snob, but I wanted this, so I bought it for myself.



Sadly, the handle already started to fray, so I took it back to the store to get repaired. Happily, no charge, but it'll be 4-6 weeks, so I'm back to slumming it. I did almost walk out with the spring version, but I did show some restraint, for now.



I was sad to hear late last week that Pamela Fiori has been ousted from the helm of Town & Country after 17 years. She will be succeeded by Stephen Drucker from House Beautiful. I've been an avid reader of T&C since 1996, and she worked so hard to make sure it was focused on quality and substance, rather than just luxury. I am afraid that this will change under new leadership. I wish I was still an ad buyer, so that instead of just writing her a note, I could have "voted" with ad pages (which were down 46% last year). I'm going to give the new guy (who I remember back from his MSL days) a chance before I try to find a new favorite title. (got a lovely e-mail note back from Pam)



Last but certainly not least I had a great get together with some of the Chicago area Bump ladies on Saturday. There were only six of us this time (a much more manageable crowd) and a few that I met in January and some new ones. I had to run off to acu after, and when I ran into my yoga instructor at PDtM she said I looked so happy. I said I just saw my girls, they are the best! :)

The luxe life in Chetek?

I couldn't help but find it hysterical that there is a five star resort in Chetek (of all places) and it's featured on Jetsetter.com today. I grew up about an hour from here (in the "big city") and there's nothing "jetsetting" about this area. It does look like a lovely place though.

Jetsetter sale link
Canoe Bay Resort

Riding the train

The last two nights I've done something I haven't done in 2 1/2 years... I took the train into the city. Super exciting, right? I used to do it every day for work the first two years we lived in the burbs, but then when I started working at A, I just stopped, cold turkey. I got into the (bad) habit of driving whenever I needed to go. But with massive construction on the Kennedy and the Eisenhower, I decided that my sanity would be better served to leave the driving to someone else and have some predictability as to when I would arrive, but my planning went slightly awry.

I ordered my tickets online last week, but of course they arrived on Wednesday, so I had to go home at lunch to get the mail (love working so close to home!). I had checked the schedule at least a dozen times, but when I got there for the 5:15, there was no train... For 30 minutes. So I was late to my Ravinia meeting. I hate being late. We are gearing up for our big fundraiser on the 24th and the woman who is organizing the auctions (the focus of our meeting) is pregnant. So I got to sit and look at her talk for 90 minutes.

I actually don't have a problem with pregnant women (hell, I want to be one), but as you can expect it makes me kind of sad and I always wonder... Did she have trouble? Or is she one of those (like my sister E) who just thinks about it (or doesn't) and boom, done.

Last night went a little better. I figured out, with the help of Metra customer service, that I was looking at the AM schedule, not the PM (good work, Sherlock!). So the train was in fact running on time. I got to the Union League Club after the start time, but it was casual, so no big deal. It was a BC event and the young woman from the development office who took me to lunch last summer was there, and she is of course, wait for it, six months pregnant.

She is adorable and I am so happy for her, but I must have mentioned to her at our lunch that we were "thinking" of starting of family, so of course she asked. I was weak and deflected. I don't like to talk about IF with pregnant women, it just seems so unfair to both of us. She is due in July and is having a boy, a IVth after her DH (who is assistant athletic director @ BC). She is 30...

At least two other people last night asked me if I had kids. "Not yet." To be fair, this is a legitimate question, as most people do. I often wonder what people talk about when they don't ever have kids, and I don't really want to find out...

Let's hear it for free acupuncture!

As much as I enjoy paying $80/week for my current acupuncturist (note sarcasm), I applied a few months ago for a "fertility study" with another clinic in the area. I got a call that I've been "chosen" to participate in the study which includes 90 days of acupuncture services (a $5k value!). Not bad, as this equates to two sessions/week. The only down side (that I know of) is that they are in the city.

study link here

Decor Don't

A la the "Glamour Don't" (which I don't read, but remember from my ad days), this is from our last trip to Utah. My husband, the aesthete, has fallen for the Kimpton chain of hotels, so now this is where he always wants to stay if he has the chance. So in Salt Lake, we stayed at the Hotel Monaco. It was lovely in every way, except for the decor. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. I think they were going for a harlequin look, but it's a swing and miss in my book, with one exception...



I did have to be restrained to keep from packing the Indian style blanket in my bag.

So many conflicting stripes, colors, and patterns... Eek!

Degrees of Separation

Remember that girl from college who always seemed it have it all together? Well, at W that girl was Stephanie Ercklentz. On our leafy campus, she stood out among the ~500 ladies in our class, especially whenever her uber-stylish mom came to visit.



A few years out of school, she was featured in this documentary where she talked about shopping and marrying well.

That she most certainly did. A few years later, she left Vera Wang and married Chase (that's Charles Payson Coleman III to you ;)). It seemed the chronicles were endless (including a full pg. in T&C), and here.



He is a hedge fund manager, who reportedly makes $400MM/yr . Her bridemaids included Chapin/Merrill Lynch chums who are founding partners in Earnest Sewn and Gilt.com .

The Coleman’s bought the Manhattan home last owned by Randolph Hearst (yes, that Hearst), and the home of his widow and step-daughter, Fabiola Beracasa(ironically another college classmate of mine @ BC). At last count, the Coleman’s have three kids and three homes (in Manhattan, Southampton, and Palm Beach). And to their credit, they are already very active philanthropists.