Chipotle turkey chili y sangria

NoodleGuy and I like to make dishes with lean turkey as opposed to beef, and chipotle turkey chili is one of our favorites. Doesn't seem like a real summer dish, but it's surprisingly easy to make (no oven required, which is good for summer) and paired with sangria, it's actually pretty light. And mmm....


We usually wing it when we make it, but it's basically:

Ingredients

• A pack of lean ground turkey (usually @ 1.25 lbs)
• A large can of diced tomatoes
• 2 cans of kidney beans
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 large onion
• Chipotle chili pepper
• Garlic salt
• Light sour cream
• Taco-blend cheese

Steps
1) Brown the ground turkey, drain.
2) While the turkey is browning, sautee the onions and pepper in a large saucepan (big enough to ultimately contain all of the ingredients)
3) When the onions/peppers are nice and soft, add in the turkey to the saucepan.
4) Add in the tomatoes, with about half of the liquid.
5) Add in the 2 cans of kidney beans, one drained, one not.
6) Add in the chipotle chili pepper and garlic salt to taste. We add in little by little.
7) Simmer the dish as long as needed. It tends to be better the long you can simmer.
8) Serve with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkled cheese, if that's your thing.

It packs and freezes for future use really well too.

I'm a deadbeat

Boy, I can't believe how bad I was at posting since I wasn't having daily IVF appts. I had the initial disappointment of the BFN, but I've mostly been running around on the weekends and studying for tests, so I haven't have the blogging time (posting or reading) that I'd like. For the 4th of July weekend, we went down to New Jersey for a pool party/BBQ weekend with some friends, which was great. Then this past weekend was NoodleGuy's birthday weekend -- we took Friday off and drove down to NYC for a Mets game (of course they lost) and then up to CT to do a family BBQ. All in all, a nice July so far and the weather has FINALLY got summery in New England, so if I have to be taking a TTC break, at least it's a nice one.

In TTC news, I had my follow-up appt with Dr. Faboo late last week. He called my last cycle "interesting". He said that the lab did grade all three eggs retrieved as mature, which is good-ish, I suppose. It means that possibly I got 3 eggs over 1 egg, which is great. But that my fert rate was 33% as opposed to 100%. He and I are both dubious about the other 2 eggs really being viable, but it was a hopefuly sign that they were close enough that the lab graded them as mature. The other good part is that because my fert rate percentage drops, my insurance will now cover ICSI for future cycles. We don't have MF at all, but agreed that if we could get it covered, we should go for it since I get so few eggs. I thought maybe letting the swimmers go for it naturally could still be beneficial (survival of the fittest) but he said in a small environment like a petri dish, that a deadbeat swimmer could hit the egg as easily as a spunky one, so we might as well guarantee a well-chosen one through ICSI.

We also talked about DHEA and he's not a big fan. He said my levels were fine and that he'd be happy to prescribe my some if I want, but his take is that it's kind of the new, hot thing but he's never seen a study supporting its success. He said there was an abstract once (a "pre" study) but the authors never published, which to him said that they didn't see good enough results to support their argument. Since I already have endocrine issues (Graves disease, hypothryoid), I'm not keen on taking other meds unless I really need to, so I'm opting against it. I truly believe that it does help and that the women in the trenches are ahead of the doctors in this case, but I trust this particular RE, so I'm going with his advice on this one.


I also asked the following:

• about stimming in the AM/PM -- he said no studies support improvement and it'll just mean more shots for me)
• whether PIO might be better for me than Crinone gel -- he said that the two have identical pregnancy rates. While PIO may hold off a bleed for a few more days, it does not result in improved viable pregnancy rates.
• whether I might respond better to Clomid than injectables since I got pg the only cycle I took Clomid, and he said absolutely not. He explained that since I already have high FSH, that Clomid does almost nothing for me as it works to naturally increase your FSH. He thinks it was just a coincidence I got pg that cycle and that he thinks I would have even without the Clomid.
• We also talked donor eggs briefly, I just wanted to know if I need to get on a waiting list if I think I might go that route within a year and he laughed and said they have donors lining up around the block. He also told me that my insurance will cover the DE IVF, all the test and procedures. Though it'll still cost us @ $12k for the agency fees and donor fee.

He has some tweaks for me for next cycle -- his biggest concern was that my E2 was high at baseline. It was 95, so just below the 100 cut-off. Then it proceeded to take it's sweet time building up and I wound up stimming for 15 days. Next cycle, I'll reduce the Gonal-f (FSH) and increase the Menopur (LH/FSH), hoping to keep one follie from surging ahead (along with the ganirelix) and also to improve my estrogen and response time.

So, I'm hopeful that he thinks tweaks may help and that he thinks aiming for 3-5 eggs is very realistic. We'll see! I'll post more non-TTC stuff during this week, I promise!

Over and out

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no one else seems to be updating this blog with the news (darned personal blog), so here it is: I'm out this cycle. Wenchy AF showed up in full force this morning, at 10dp3dt.

Of course I'm upset, but I think I did most of my mourning both on Sunday night (when I started spotting. I know lots of ladies spot when pg, but it's never a good sign for me) and mid-way through this cycle when I realized that I will never stim well. Any hopeful signs throughout the cycle were a pleasant surprise, though it has been an exhausting 4 weeks going up and down. The fact that I'm sort of OK today is mostly because this has been such an emotional cycle that I'm sort of beat down by now + as I mentioned at the beginning of the cycle, I've felt oddly detached through much of this cycle, almost like this is happening to someone else. I thought I'd be so excited to start my 1st IVF and I wasn't. It wasn't that I was dreading it, but I was like an outside observer. To some extent I think it's a defense mechanism that us IF ladies learn, but maybe it's also been too many stim cycles in a row. This will have been 5 cycles straight, so I might be numb to the thrill of the u/s wand at this point.

A cycle recap:

The good:

• The one follie/egg looked to be a high quality one, making it to day 3 with high grades
• NG's swimmers were Casanovas as usual, whispering sweet nothings into egg's ear until she let down her guard
• I love my RE who is the only one I know of that would allow his patient to decide for themselves whether to cancel a single follie IVF or go ahead with it, clinic success rates be damned. And I'm so glad I went ahead, because while it was still the one mature egg, I did learn there were 2 more immature ones in there (maybe we can stim differently next time) and that the one egg was very good quality. It gives me hope for future poor response cycles.
  
  

The bad:

• One stinking follie
• Embie did not stick. Just the odds or is there a crew of hostile forces in my uterus?
• Continuing to get AF early, despite progesterone support. I'm not overly concerned with this one as long as my LP is over 10 days, but still annoying.

So, the next steps are that I'm still having my beta tomorrow -- at my local Quest clinic instead of driving 40 minutes to the RE's office. I figure I at least owe myself a little break on rush hour traffic. I won't get the results until Thursday now, since it's an external lab, but I'm in no rush to hear it since I know the drill. I also requested to have my DHEA tested and if it's off, I'll talk to my RE about taking DHEA supps. It's kind of frustrating to me that so many reports have shown positive results with DHEA and poor responders, yet almost every woman I know has had to be the initiator of the conversation with the RE, they're not embracing DHEA for some reason.

I'll be sitting July out because I'm going on vacation to the Caribbean in August, so priming in July and IVF in August wouldn't work. So, instead I'll do priming in August and IVF in Sept. I've got IVF#2 covered by insurance and after that one I'll have to see if they approve any more. My insurance covers 6 cycles max per live birth, but approves them in batches of two. I'm a little concerned that they'll stop approving if they find out what a poor responder I am, but I'm hoping that as long as the cycles aren't cancelled, that they don't necessarily know about the poor response. I'm also going to start the donor egg conversation with my RE next week. I'd like to try as many IVFs with my own eggs as insurance will cover, but I want to be realistic and at least get on the DE waiting list sooner rather than later.

Phew, and this was going to be a quick update...

Maybe, maybe not

I have a feeling I'm out this cycle. Today is 12dp3dt, which is late for me to not have AF yet, my LP is usually on the shorter 10/11 day range. So you'd think good news. But I had minor spotting last night. Actually, I wouldn't even call it spotting, just a very mild tint on the T.P. I had been having some false alarms the 2 days prior due to pink-colored crinone (progesterone) globs. For anyone ever on progesterone gel, you know these globs of which I speak, one of the lovely yet innocuous side effects to ART. But some quick consults to Dr. Go.ogle assured me that "salmon" colored globs are pretty common, something many users report. From the few REs with a theory, they seem to think that the cervix can get a little irritated either by the applicator (which ideally touches the cervix when you inject the gel) or just by the gel itself sitting around it. But anyway, I digress.... the "spotting" wasn't bad and hasn't seemed to increase this morning. But I just feel like I'm out this cycle. We'll see... I'll be on constant alert (you know what I mean). If I can make it to Wednesday morning for my beta, it'll be a victory unto itself, both for my sanity and the fact that for the first time in my life "spotting" doesn't turn into AF within a day.

In other news - yes! sometimes I talk about non-TTC things! - I'll be starting my Microbiology class tomorrow night. It'll be Tuesdays/Thursday for 6 weeks. It's one of the prerequisites I need in order to apply to nursing school. I'll have to see if I change my mind during this prerequisite phase - I'm famous amongst my friends for toying with almost every type of grad school. I took the LSATs, culled applications, but never got as far as applying. I took the GMATs (in South Dakota, no less, but that's a story for another day), applied, got into Dartmouth's Tuck business school, accepted and bailed before I started. I once accidentally implied to a blind date that I took the MCATs but then didn't care enough to correct this misconception since I knew I wouldn't see him again ;). So, we'll see if I make it through the prereqs + GRE and follow through with nursing school. I do need to make a move eventually, especially if this quest for a bean doesn't pan out. I like my job enough, and I've had really bad jobs in the past, so I know I have it much better than I could. But I work from home in a town that I just moved to when I got married 3 years ago, so my local social life consists mostly of NG and the cats and the occasional in-law visit. Everyone always says "when you have kids, you'll meet so many new people". Um, yeah, we see how well that's gone. So I'm trying to take the bull by the horns and move into a career that I think I'll really like, will give me the flexibility to move anywhere in the country, will allow me to continue to dream about joining the Peace Corps after retirement and actually have a skill they'll value. Somehow I don't think Web Development is something in great demand on the African tundra.

Also, finally, for those of you who have HBO and don't watch True Blood, you're crazy! It's such a kick-ass summer show, lots of southern gothic fun and vampires! Last night's ep was great, there's a new monster in town and NG and I have all sorts of theories. It was a great hour spent not obsessing about the 2WW. If you don't have HBO, Season One is available on DVD, check it out!

Simplicity

I wish my days could be such a simple, slam-dunk success.

Cute chattering rodent + open windows = one heck of a day for kitty.

Of course screens in the windows are a must or we'd never see kitty or chipmonkey again.

Overanalysis - Killing time after ET

Sadly, I think I may currently be a boring blogger who has nothing to talk about that is not TTC-related. I intend to post pictures of my re-done living room and dining room later this week and talk about my new favorite mascara (fascinating!).

But in the meantime, I found this handy-dandy breakdown of what a typical embie does day-by-day during the 11 days past a 3-day transfer. Of course, I've been analyzing every pang today as I am 3dp3dt, but according to the list below - which admittedly is from a message board, not a doctor - I probably wouldn't feel pangs until tomorrow. And I know more people than not don't feel implantation, but with my only other BFP, I felt it so I'm on high alert this cycle.

AFTER 3-DAY TRANSFER:
1dpt3dt... Embryo is growing and developing
2dpt3dt... Embryo is now a blastocyst
3dpt3dt... Blastocyst hatches out of shell on this day ** I'M HERE TODAY **
4dpt3dt... Blastocyst attaches to a site on the uterine lining
5dpt3dt... Implantation begins, as the blastocyst begins to bury in the lining
6dpt3dt... Implantation process continues and morula buries deeper in the lining
7dpt3dt... Morula is completely implanted & has placenta cells /fetal cells
8dpt3dt... Placenta cells begin to secret HCG in the blood
9dpt3dt... More HCG is produced as fetus develops
10dpt3dt.. More HCG is produced as fetus develops
11dpt3dt.. HCG levels are now high enough to be immediately detected on HPT

Meet Han Solo

She's a superstar! Yes, Han Solo is a she, don't argue with a PUPO...

Day 3 ET today, the embie was an 8-cell, grade 3, which at my clinic means the lowest level of fragmentation. The doctor told me it was a beautiful embie and was also given a HIP stamp. I'm not sure if other clinics use this (apparently my clinic started it), but it stands for Highest Implantation Potential. Happy dance!

I know the odds are still against me, but I'm just so happy to at least have clambered my way up to be in the same odds ballpark of some other IVFers. Now to make it through the 2WW....

Hello embie!

Thawed from carbonite, Han Solo rises again! OK, actually floating in a culture medium, but still. Of the 3 eggs retrieved yesterday, one has fertilized and color me happy! The 2 "surprise" eggs, while I couldn't help but hope for a miracle, were likely immature and I knew they probably wouldn't fertilize. I wish I had gotten a dozen eggs and embies, but I have to say that Han Solo has been a superstar so far. Greedily hogging the FSH buffet, making it through retrieval and now succumbing to one of 75,000 potential boyfriends who attended last night's rave with her. She's a gluttonous tramp, just how I want her right now.

I'll spend the next 43 hours terrified of the phone, worried that the lab might call about arrested development. But at least tomorrow is Friday (hooray!), my in-laws are coming in the afternoon to house hunt on the Cape over the weekend, so I'll be somewhat distracted. I'll go off to the transfer on Saturday at 11 a.m., with pre and post acupuncture appointments while NoodleGuy looks at houses with his parents. House hunting is not his very favorite activity (would be much more up my alley) but considering the weird houses that FIL was liking last time we went looking, some intervention is clearly needed.

NoodleGuy has a hockey game tonight (he plays) so I'm left to my own devices, but that means I can FINALLY watch the Grey's Anatomy finale which I had been saving for while I convalesced after ER, but never got around to it yesterday. I can't watch it with NG because in between getting sucked in by the wily writers, he feels the need to shriek over the girl-rock music and goofy dialogue. Our marriage is much happier when I can watch my shows without the peanut gallery pretending to dry heave in the background.

But back to the main reason for this post. Grow embie grow! For today at least, I'm a mom.

Uno, dos, tres -- arriba!

Han Solo has been upgraded to the Three Amigos! Hip, hip, hooray! Happy dance! Yes, my friends, they were able to get THREE eggs at retrieval today! Yippee! There was the giant Jabba the Hutt 25mm follie - which I was starting to get afraid would have 1) ovulated on its own, 2) withered away, 3) turned out to be an empty follicle (kudos to Nurse D who felt the need to remind me of that possibility yesterday afternoon, causing much tossing and turning). In addition to Jabba, the RE on duty was able to get eggs from two smaller follies. Upon my immediate response that they're probably immature (I swear, I'm usually a glass-half-full gal) the RE said no way is that the assumption and he's seen all sorts of eggs make it through.

The day started off not so great, there was the worst traffic on the way up to the clinic. We had allotted ourselves 90 minutes to get there, it's usually a 40 minute drive. But it was borderline rush hour (on the later end), so we wanted extra time but no more than 90 minutes because NoodleGuy does his samples at home and 90 minutes is the cutoff to get there. As soon as we got in the car and turned on the local news radio station, we hear Arnie Pie-in-the-Sky traffic copter dude saying "This is the WORST traffic morning I've seen in a year!". Awesome. There was a tractor-trailer that turned over right near my clinic, 25 miles north, so it was backed up pretty much to my front door. I was concerned about making it to my appointment on time and possibly ovulating while weeping on the steering wheel. But more than that, I was panicking about NG's swimmers, who were like a ticking time bomb. Bourne Identity-style, we whipped out our GPS and mapped out an alternate route which turned out to be somewhat disastrous too, there were accidents ALL OVER Boston today. Was there a city-wide pub crawl last night or something? Anyway, I called my clinic at 9:20 regarding my 9:30 appointment and the sweet receptionist said not to worry, the two women booked before me hadn't even arrived yet due to the traffic. We wound up getting there at 9:40, so the swimmers spent 100 minutes in their pre-orgy vacation cabin. Apparently, though, they were none the worse for wear and were in tip-top shape post-wash. Phew!

We got shepherded in and prepped. The clinic was backed up due to the staff being affected by the traffic too, so I got in about half an hour later than planned but everything went as well as it could. A little crampy afterwards, but nothing major. I was bummed not to get my own RE for the procedure, I could have grilled him with more questions. But the doc who did the procedure now has a soft spot with me since he managed to get 3 eggies, so it's all good. :)

So, as I said earlier, I'm aware that the big follie could be post-mature and the two smaller ones could be premature, but there's nothing I can do about that now, so I'll just enjoy the fact that they got triple the predicted outcome until I get the fert report tomorrow. Maybe finally getting three follies to respond will help my RE toggle the antagonist a little better if there's a next cycle to get all the follies in synch, if nothing else.

A new look, what do you think?

So, I decided to overhaul the blog look. Though I love chocolate brown/blue or chocolate brown/pink (those will be my nursery colors, should I ever get there), I wasn't really feeling the previous blog. Plus, I really felt the need for a third column to get more widgets and such above the fold. What think ye folks?

In honor of the new look, I will also finally succumb to one of the blogger's rites of passage: Eight Things.

Eight things I am looking forward to:
1) Having one margarita and one beer in the days between ER and ET (it's allowed!)
2) Taking July and August off from TTC (at least medicated) if this cycle is a BFN. See #1 for reason why (amongst others).
3) Puppy shopping
4) Caribbean cruise in August
5) Acupuncture on Saturday
6) Episode 2 of True Blood
7) Seeing my family in TX this summer
8) My ILs moving to Cape Cod (mmm, lobstah!)

Eight things I did yesterday:
1) Worked
2) Avoided work
3) Read message boards & blogs
4) Cooked dinner (chicken sandwiches, so a wimpy dinner, but still)
5) Went to the post office to mail my older sister's birthday present
6) Scheduled a meeting with my friend to discuss another friend's bridal shower (sadly a meeting on our work schedules was the only way to force ourselves to find time to discuss it)
7) Harassed my RE's nurse
8) Scheduled my ER

Eight things I wish I could do:
1) Pay off my mom's house
2) Get NoodleGuy a job where he could work from home, like me, so that we could live anywhere.
3) Speak any language in addition to English
4) Get my 25-year-old ovaries back
5) Save every dog and cat in a shelter
6) Get my sister to help my mom more
7) Travel in a time machine
8) Enjoy running

Eight shows I watch:
1) Mad Men
2) Breaking Bad
3) Lost
4) True Blood
5) House
6) The Office
7) 30 Rock
8) Gossip Girl (embarassing, I know)
* If you don't watch Mad Men or Breaking Bad, definitely give them a try, they're two of the best - if not THE best - shows on TV and they're on free cable.

Eight favorite foods:
1) Dim sum
2) Tacos
3) Pizza
4) Tofu
5) Penne in vodka sauce
6) Sweet potatoes
7) Warm chocolate chip cookies
8) Sushi

Eight places I’d like to travel:
1) Greek Islands
2) Ireland
3) London
4) China
5) Japan
6) India
7) Kenya
8) Galapagos Islands

Eight places I’ve lived:
1) Brooklyn
2) Manhattan
3) Ithaca, NY
4) Boston, MA
* Sorry, no more ;)

Eights places I've traveled:
1) Thailand
2) Prague
3) Amsterdam
4) Paris
5) Mexico
6) Virgin Islands
7) Dominican Republic
8) Vienna