When it rains it pours

Well, first off I did not have my surgery today. I got bumped because there was an emergency surgery and also my surgeon has to cover for someone who called out sick. So it is rescheduled for 1/17/08 - Which seems so far away and I am not too happy about that.
Also, H. broke her finger while we were in VT sledding (full xmas update to come). It is broken right in the joint and the bone shatters are impacted into the joint. It actually looks like she will have to have surgery. That's right, you heard me, she might have to have surgery. H.'s finger is purple, yellow, very sensitive to the touch and it just doesn't look right. The emergency doctor at NYU joint hospital gave her Vicodin, and the surgeon today said she should take it when she is in pain. It has been helping a lot but it has also been making her a bit out of it.
So it looks like she will have her surgery before mine so the upside of my surgery being postponed is that we can focus on her hand. The downside of course will be that her hand will be immobilized for 4 - 6 weeks so it is unclear how much she will be able to do around the house after my surgery. Time for the cats to earn their keep.
It is all crazy. We have each had a CT scan in the span of 3 weeks and it looks like we will both have a surgery in the month of January. We are of course ever grateful that we have good insurance and are just sort of shaking our heads at the craziness of this all.

oh so much to say

We have not been posting. I am sorry. We have been going through so much and now feel ready to share with all of you. It all started because we were planning a secret attempt of getting pregnant. We were thinking we would inseminate in early December and we were so excited. Maybe naive. Definitely hopeful. We wanted this.

Instead, we go to see the RE and she sees a cyst that is really big and she thinks we can still go forward but wants to get it checked out, just in case. One week and tons of ultrasounds later (more then can be counted on a hand), we leave her office with the knowledge that maybe tomorrow (last Tuesday) we can start inseminating and being told "call back in the afternoon for your blood results and I just want to check with the oncologists." I call back and am told "this cycle is off, you have to get a CT and meet with the fancy dancy oncologists." F*ck. Now, everything is so scary. Cancer? Surgery? Can we still go to CO and VT for the holidays? Everything was up in the air for another week.

It turns out I have a cyst the size of a grapefruit between my bladder and my left ovary.

We went to the oncologist yesterday. Young, so nice, so smart oncologist says yes, surgery. No question about that. She does not think it is cancer. She really did not even focus on that - which i am taking as a good sign, although she will do tests once its out. I really liked the surgeon and the facility in general. So, no pregnancy to report here. Just a surgery happening on 12/28.

To say that H. and I have been praying and hoping that good good news comes to us is an understatement. The best thing about all of this is my wife. She has been amazing, I don't know what I would have done with out her. I feel that always, but this has just made me appreciate her so much. I feel like that sentence does no justice to how I have been feeling about her. What a perfect partner in life I have. (If you know me well, you know I am tearing up as I write this.) Family and the handful of friends who know about all of this have been wonderful too. We have been surrounded by a band of angels.

Still scared, still praying, still hopeful for good news here. We are mostly so happy to know the next step. I will be out of work for at least 3 weeks after the surgery (more if they have to do an incision) so there will be many more posts. Meanwhile we are so happy to be going to our families. We know good food, tons of laughter and family time with be restorative to us both. We need this next two weeks.

Here is our Christmas tree.

Here is Ellie doing a glamour shot

Hazel is loving sleeping under the tree. It is so so cute. I just might have to send this picture to here it is so cute. She also loves to "play" with the ornaments and she has discovered that she loves to eat popcorn-right off the tree of course. (You might have noticed the bottom of our tree looks a bit sparse.)

and here are Hazel and Sadie who have discovered that it is really not that bad to cuddle (all of Hazel's hard work and persistance in the persuit of snuggles is finally paying off!)


So if you pray, believe in cosmic energy, please send it out to me and H. in two weeks. I write this post ready for our band of angels to get a bit larger and with so much happiness that, while it seems this will be a process and likely a bit (or more) scary, at least it is not cancer. As H.'s Busia would say, "This too shall pass." If we don't post again soon, Happy Holidays everyone.
L.

Trees and garland for all!

We had such a good Thanksgiving feast yesterday. Wonderful family friends, really good gluten-free food for H., and tons of laughter and silly games. (Although our team still contends that "The US Guide to Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Sinks" is not a fair charades entry. Though we did rock it.) Yesterday it was so foggy and drippy and this morning it was bright and snowing. Perfect for picking out a Christmas tree!!!

(L.'s family traditional day after thanksgiving activity missing K.H. sadly because she had to go back to work in Boston.)

L.'s family found the "perfect tree" and staked their claim with the customary tacky garland so others would know this tree is spoken for and so the tree knows it is loved. While we where there, we decided to pick up a Vermont grown, fresh tree to take down to Brooklyn.

We will post some decorated tree pictures soon - Hopefully not to be destroyed by over excited kitties.

And now for something completely different

I just found this photoblog and am completely fascinated. It is called "Express Train" and the subject, as you may have guessed, is the NYC Subway system in all its glory. Here is the link and an example of what you will find there. http://www.travisruse.com/

Like I said before, the subway attracts and repels me all at once. Some of the photos are beautiful, some are ridiculous, and some just do a great job of showing what it is like to slog through the subway everyday. Hope you enjoy it!

Here we come!

Just wanted to share these photos we received from L's Mama. For those of you who may not yet be convinced that Vermont is spectacular, I submit these as evidence...



All this beauty + time with family + turkey = a lot to be thankful for

um..... too funny.

I love this. And I have to say that there are not enough raps about ol' vt and I support this one. H. sent to me, and it was the perfect thing to make me laugh out loud after a morning at court. Thanks for seeing it, sweetpea! If you want to see the article look at the article in the NY Times

Reasons to Celebrate

Today we went to the psychologist. She was a required step by our Reproductive Endocrinologist. Although at first we were put off by the fact that our parenthood had to be scrutinized, it was really good to go see her. We had a great conversation about all aspects of our conception and parenthood. Which is uncharted territory in our lives; however, not in the world for sure and we have been really enjoying reading ton's of lesbian mom blogs to see what others are doing (thank you to all of you out there - I have been lurking and gathering a ton of support from you all).

Of course we have have been talking about our future babies for a long time now. We know that H. will be called mom and me mama, we have talked about how we will talk about the donor to our children, and on and on we have talked. But it was really nice to talk to someone else about all this, and she seemed to think we were right on track.

Also, the best outcome of the meeting, was her questioning us about our families and our support networks. We always know we are lucky to have such a wonderful community, BUT....

We are so lucky. Really lucky. Really to the point of making me teary lucky.


Both of our families are excited about an up coming pregnancy. I returned to my office to get an email from one of my "besties" saying congrats on starting prenatal vitamins with the most xoxo's possible. We have a community to bring this not yet conceived baby into.

We were so happy we went to go have coffee and I thought of this place near our doctor, http://www.serendipity3.com/ , and we had coffee but we also shared the biggest sundae known to man. (Sometimes, it is really good to be a tourist in your own town.)After all we were celebrating our life, we have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to. We know we are going into stressful times, for sure, and we are so thankful to everyone who will be with us on this journey towards babyhood.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The little purchase for a BIG reason

We just wanted to let all of you know that today we purchased prenatal vitamins that L. will begin taking tomorrow. I can't believe it! So we are almost set to start trying to get pregnant. We are so excited for this new chapter and will keep you all updated as we go along.

The Brooklyn Bridge: uphill both ways, downhill both ways

In an effort to be healthy and to enjoy the beautiful fall weather, I have been riding my bike to work instead of taking the subway. I have only done it a few times so far, but overall I love it. How many people can say that they see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge on their way to work? You can see the views for yourself...

Brooklyn ---------------------------------- Lower Manhattan

Since I moved to New York I have had a love/hate relationship with the subway. On the one hand, it can be very fast and efficient, you can go out for the night and not have to worry about a designated driver, and you can see and interact with every type of person you can imagine. Once I got on the subway and noticed on the bench across from me a nun, a woman in a burka, a wall street looking guy, a woman who looked like she was on drugs, and a Rastafarian dad with his two dreadlocked kids - I just had to smile to see all of them sitting there shoulder to shoulder. That wouldn't happen in any other setting I can think of.

Tiny Statue of Liberty cheering me on

On the other hand, as the name implies, the subway goes underground. It is sad and a little disorienting to get on the subway on a beautiful evening, only to get off after the sun has set and it is dark outside. Also, as I mentioned above, you can interact with every person imaginable, sometimes against your will. There are days when I have to get on a packed train after work, stand pressed against my fellow New Yorkers for my entire commute and I just want to cry.

I consider it a major bonus to be able to stay above ground for my entire commute. And, not having to spoon with a stranger is gravy.

baby dreams

Today I am obsessed with getting pregnant. Partly to avoid work, I did so much "research" on baby slings. I want to have one and more importantly a baby to put into it. It was relatively silly at one point when I got on the phone and debated with H. about which one is the best for newborns, and which is the best for toddlers.
I love that she is able to take me seriously at times like these.
In positive news on the baby front, (besides that we have its first baby carrier picked out) we have an appointment with the required psychologist and I talked to the RE today to confirm procedure. It all is coming together.
January can not come soon enough.

Kitten paws in our faces.

This is too funny and a bit too much like every morning at our house. Imagine this times 3.

Fall is HERE!!!

This is from the Onion - Why, why are they so funny? I post it because, we are experiencing now for the first time fall weather. Last weekend K.H. was here, we went to the beach, and it felt weird ordering a 3-in-1 winter jacket from LLbean. (It is so chilly right now that I have checked the tracking status 3 times in the last two days.) Autumn is my favorite season, perhaps because it is pretty in Vermont, or because I see it as a start to a new year because it was when we all went back to school. I now just want to settle in, bake and perhaps watch a movie. I am of course working tonight but I did make homemade bread for H.Mclhibbertian's breakfast. I am already thinking of the apple crisp I am going to make tomorrow after our Sunday hike. This weather is causing us to close the windows and the radiators are on in all their hissing glory. It is wonderful. I am not complaining about last weekend's weather either though.... there is something wonderful and strange about going to the beach on the 1st weekend of October.

We actually went in the water, and it was wonderful, chilly but not unreasonably so. It was so good to get those last wave jumping needs out of our systems before autumn really hit.

I love The Onion

Sometimes they go too far, but sometimes they get it just right. This story made me laugh out loud.

New Heart Device Allows Cheney To Experience Love

WASHINGTON, DC —"He broke free from the straps that secured him to the bed as he normally does after heart surgery. But then he hugged me," Cheney's cardiologist said.

Neighborhood Pride

We live in a diverse and fascinating neighborhood with such disparities between classes and we are part of the gentrifying group. Our neighborhood is comfortable and we love it even if and perhaps because it is not fancypants. We see this man frequently, this picture was taken on our block, and we park our car every day right where the photographer is standing. The amazing thing about this city is that although we "knew" this man by his face and pedi-cab, we had no idea that he actually gave rides in it, nor did we know any of his back story. You can read his whole story here, in the New York Times, how they knew to do a story on him is a mystery.

Evidence of a closeness

The big ones are starting to tolorate her better.... who wouldn't when she looks like this?

An Example of Courage and Hope

most of you may have seen this, but for those of you who have not you should really watch it, and grab a tissue.

Why aren't there any pictures of L. on the blog?

I figured some of you might be asking yourselves this, and I don't want to disappoint!

In Chicago last November and her new(ish) haircut.

Isn't she adorable?

Our creepiest hike, to date

The weather this weekend was perfect for being outside. Lauren and I decided to jump in the car on Saturday to find adventure in the woods. With the help of our trusty hiking guidebook, we chose to go on a hike in Long Island, at a place called Muttontown Preserve. Given the name "Muttontown" it may seem unlikely that it could end up being creepy, or that at times Lauren and I were both secretly scared, but, alas, it is true. Here is where we started the hike, when we did not yet know what lay ahead. This guidebook (60 Hikes within 60 Miles of New York, a wedding gift from Deb Westcott) has been our tried and true favorite for hikes. It described the "Muttontown Mystery Trail" as having easy terrain (which would be true if you stay on the trails) and taking 1.5 hours to do the complete loop. The big selling point for me was that the trail leads to ruins of an old 60-room granite palace that was built in 1907, then purchased in 1951 by King Zog (yes, that is his real name), of Albania with buckets of rubies and diamonds.

First, the map must have been drawn by a third-grader (nothing against third-graders) and the trail markings were done 40 years ago by their younger sibling; they were impossible to read. These facts coupled with the issue that the park was set to close 30 minutes after we got there led to us making a series of misguided decisions.


Because of my nagging fear that we were going to be told to leave by park officials (though we did not see any evidence that any even existed-but they can be tricky that way) we set off the find the ruins on the other side of the park as quickly as possible, and on the least traveled paths. (First, we had the good sense to move our car outside of the gates to avoid being trapped...more on this later.) This led to some bushwhacking and getting turned around completely. With a map that was almost completely useless, we never knew exactly where we were, or which turns we should make or avoid. After both being scared about getting so lost we finally made it to the ruins just as it was getting dark under the canopy of trees. As we were hiking a long looking for the ruins, not knowing what to expect, they came up out of nowhere. Adding to the creepy factor was that everywhere that we looked there were disjointed pieces of the mansion covered in a sea of ivy. It was like the ivy was taking the building back.
So, we should mention is that the palace was destroyed by treasure hunters who were convinced that King Zog hid Albania's wealth there. Also, the skeleton of a woman curled up in the fetal position was found under a tree in 2001. It was determined it was a murder, and it remains UNSOLVED....Hopefully these pictures give a taste of the creepiness, but truly do not do justice to how it felt being there. It felt as though we were cloaked in a mantel of darkness (sorry, I'm reading Harry Potter right now). And we knew that we were alone because the park was closed...or were we?

After taking some photos and not talking about how we both thought a madman could be lurking, we decided to be brave and make our way back through the park to the car. We passed a walled garden, that frankly we were both too freaked out to try to find the entrance. Finally we made it back to were we started safe and sound. But trapped. I thought there was a break in the fence that we could leave though, there was not. We could see our car on the other side of the locked gates, and all we wanted was to be in it. After two failed attempts to climb over the fence, Lauren scrambled over the gate using the lock as a step. And I, well, you can see...

Once we got to the car, we broke out our beef jerky and decided we had never been so happy to be in the Champ. We decided to drive up to the ocean to cleanse ourselves of Muttontown. We can't wait to go back in the winter with our snowshoes!

H. says me too!!

so this is our blog together. and to introduce her is this picture featuring her new haircut and hazel.

why not me?

new to blogging here but as i said to A.H. today.... everyone is doing it so why not me. i hope that this is a useful tool and that i get into it. i am sure it will be mainly cat pictures here for a while, but who knows maybe something exciting will happen, wink, wink.