Grateful

I received a bill today from the clinic where I had the retrieval and transfer.....$6,704.67, of that I owe them $20.00. I am grateful that I live in a state where my insurance covers infertility treatment. I think I paid $50.00 for all of my IVF meds. Don't get me wrong, we would find a way to make it work if we did not have insurance that covered our treatments. Dealing with infertility can be stressful enough, I can't imagine also having the money factor involved! For once, thank you Blue Cross for not sucking.

What I'm cooking

It started to feel like Spring/Summer around here these past few days, so my summer recipes have now come out of hibernation. I envisioned us grilling in the back yard and eating dinner on our porch tonight, but mother nature is not cooperating and it is pouring. Oh well, when husband gets home, he'll have to grab an umbrella and tend to the grill!

This recipe is easy, yummy and it tastes even better the next day!

Orzo Greek Salad:
Package of Orzo (in the past aisle, it's like pasta in the shape of rice)
Baby Spinach (about half bag)
Cherry tomatoes (container)
Feta Cheese (1/4-1/2 cup)
Greek Salad Dressing (1/4 cup)
Black Olives (jar)- can omit if you're not a black olive person

Cook pasta per directions (about 8 minutes)

Drain pasta and pour immediately into a bowl. While pasta is still hot, stir in spinach. I usually use about half the bag, you can use more or less. The spinach will wilt/cook in the pasta.
Add dressing (about 1/4 cup) again you can use more or less. It's important to add the dressing now so that the pasta does clump. At this point I let it cool for a little bit.
Cut up the tomatoes (in half) and slice olives.
Once the orzo/spinach is cool, add cheese (about 1/4-1/2 cup), tomatoes and olives. Cover and refrigerate. It's best if it can sit for at least two hours.

If you are gluten free, this can be made with quinoa and it's just as good.

For our grilled meat tonight I made an easy marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil
4 tbsps Worcestershire Sauce
1 Garlic clove
Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
4 tbsps Soy Sauce

I place all the ingredients in a big ziploc bag, add the meat and place in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Maybe the rain will go away by dinner time??

Orzo Salad

Happy Monday!

Mother's Day

I never thought Mother's Day would be a bittersweet day for me. But this year it is.

I am grateful for my amazing mom. She is my best friend and own personal cheerleader. I hope to one day be half the mom she is. My mom battled stage 3 breast cancer when I was a freshman in college. She fought it with optimisim, grace and as a true warrior. She is not one to sit back and let things happen to her. She researched the best doctors and most advanced treatments. She opted for a double mastectomy and never looked back. She endured months of chemo, hair loss and numerous appointments, procedures, pills and treatments. If anything the whole cancer ordeal made us a stronger family and we definitely appreciate what we have. I can honestly say it made my mom a better person. Before cancer, she was afraid of flying and this fear would hold her back from doing things she wanted to do. Now, after cancer, she is a true world traveler, flying to Vietnam, China, Mongolia, all places that she never thought she would see because of her fear of flying. She inspires me everyday. I'm a lucky girl.

Now onto the bittersweet...when we first started trying I thought to myself that "this time next year" I'll be a mom. Clearly it hasn't worked out that way. When I became pregnant through IVF last month, I thought that Mother's Day would feel pretty special this year. Of course, it hasn't worked out that way and instead of feeling special, I feel broken.

Peonies...my favorite

I couldn't bring myself to even look at Mother's Day cards this year. I avoided the whole card aisle like the plague. I made my mom a card, something I haven't done in years. I think it looks pretty damn good and I am sure my mom will love it. We decided to depart from our normal take mom to brunch thing and we opted for dinner and a movie. I'm just happy to be able to spend time with my mom (and dad and husband). I feel blessed to have an amazing family surrounding me, they help me feel hopeful and not broken.

Hi!

Thanks for stopping by. I'm not exactly sure what this blog is going to be. I hope it's not all about our struggles with getting knocked up. I have other interests that I would like to share. But, right now my thoughts are pretty dominated by getting pregnant. I'm sure I'll sprinkle some recipes, DIY projects, and pinterest finds here and there.