Looks like I need to repeat this to myself once again.
Jun 30, 2011
Can I get a do-over?
Today was horrible. My infertility clinic sucks. I got some potentially bad news and with the help of Dr. Google I have made myself sick with worry. I want to write all about it but I just don't have it in me right now.
Looks like I need to repeat this to myself once again.
Looks like I need to repeat this to myself once again.
It's a Black Fly in Your Chardonnay
Irony is receiving a 10 pound box of formula samples and $20 worth of coupons that you don't remember requesting on the day you find out your second IUI failed.
Thanks, Similac.
Thanks, Similac.
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| Yup, that says MOM PREFERRED. |
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| Double You Tee Eff Similac. |
Jun 29, 2011
Jun 27, 2011
Has My Body Failed Me Again?
The spotting started yesterday. 9 freaking days post-IUI. I'm 11dpo today and the spotting has intensified. Just like it does every single month when the bitch's arrival is imminent. This isn't "Hmm...I've never had spotting like this before." This is "this shit happens every month" spotting. My vow to stay away from Dr. Google has already been broken thanks to this stupid spotting. I know it's early and that it's not over until the fat lady sings but I'm 99% sure that IUI #2 was a a big fat failure.
So...what does that mean for us? Well, it means we'll be moving on to Femara + IUI next month. The RE told me that he doesn't like to do IUI with injectables because of the risk of multiples and cancellation due to overstimulation. I'm not sure how many rounds of Femara we will be allowed to do but he did tell us that our chances of conceiving with IUI decrease each month after four our five. Statistically, if I am going to get pregnant with IUI it will happen in the first few months. Third time's the charm?
So...what does that mean for us? Well, it means we'll be moving on to Femara + IUI next month. The RE told me that he doesn't like to do IUI with injectables because of the risk of multiples and cancellation due to overstimulation. I'm not sure how many rounds of Femara we will be allowed to do but he did tell us that our chances of conceiving with IUI decrease each month after four our five. Statistically, if I am going to get pregnant with IUI it will happen in the first few months. Third time's the charm?
Jun 24, 2011
Jun 23, 2011
Which Category Best Describes You?
I'm decided to take some surveys so that I could earn Disney Movie Rewards points. This was question #1.
Which ONE of the following categories best describes you?
I never thought a question like this would be so difficult to answer. Yes, most normal people could legitimately guess that they'll be parents in the next 12 months. Not us. =( Infertility sucks.
Which ONE of the following categories best describes you?
I never thought a question like this would be so difficult to answer. Yes, most normal people could legitimately guess that they'll be parents in the next 12 months. Not us. =( Infertility sucks.
Jun 22, 2011
Preconception Mompetition.
I found this freaking hilarious. As ridiculous as it is, some women do actually get competitive over their infertility.
"I'm on two thousand daily. I grind it up, roll up a page of Taking Charge of Your Fertility and snort it off my OPK box." Genius.
Jun 21, 2011
Whoa...I'm a Grown Up.
Do you have those moments where it hits you, that you're a grown up? I know, I know. Only children use the term "grown ups" but whatever. Whoa....I'm a grown up. I have these moments pretty frequently. I can drive, I have my own house and I love to grocery shop. I haven't lived with my mom and dad in over seven years and I still trip out when I realize that I no longer need their permission for anything. Being a grown up isn't always fun though. Bills, sending your husband to war, your dogs being bitchy and fighting in your backyard (this happened to me today) and of course, the struggle of infertility.
Today I talked to my brother. I'm the baby of five and my brother is 11 years older than me. He married my SIL two summers ago after they reunited on myspace 20 years after high school. She has two kids from her first marriage and for the past fifteen months they have been trying to have a baby of their own. He recently received the primary diagnosis of azoospermia or zero sperm. Either his body is not producing any sperm at all or he is producing and it's not going where it needs to go. If he is producing sperm then they could potentially conceive with IVF and a testicular biopsy to retrieve the sperm. He doesn't know what to do. SIL already has kids from her first marriage but my brother has none. Do they want to go through the expense of IVF? Their insurance covers absolutely nothing infertility related and one cycle will run them about $20k. If they don't do IVF, will they regret it? My brother talked about being on his death bed and all alone because he had no kids to surround him. What a sad thought.
I told him that he can't put a price on fatherhood. That he needed to compartmentalize the financial aspect of it and think about everything else first. Does it suck? Yes. Is it unfair? Hell yes. I told him that they've been trying for the past year to have a baby so what's changed? Has his desire to be a father been lessened? I know it hasn't.
I told him what I thought. The words came so easily. In that moment, my grown up moment, he was not just my big brother, my elder, a semi-foreign person that I've looked up to all my life. He was an equal, a person new to the world of infertility, a person struggling with the emotions of infertility. This grown up thing kind of sucks sometimes, you know?
I know it is ultimately his decision whether to pursue IVF and it is a LOT to process. As odd as this sounds, I hope that they do get a chance to agonize over this decision. As hard as it is to make a decision like this, I could only imagine that it would be even harder to hear the news that you will never be able to have a biological baby.While it's nice to have someone in my family who can relate to my struggles I really do not wish infertility on anyone, especially my family.
Six months ago my brother told me that I was oversharing when it came to my infertility journey and that some things should be kept private. After all, what big brother wants to picture his baby sister with her feet in stirrups, right? But things are different now. Testicular biopsies, semen analyses, IUI, cervixes, sex. I talked to my brother about all these things today. Whoa....I'm a grown up.
Today I talked to my brother. I'm the baby of five and my brother is 11 years older than me. He married my SIL two summers ago after they reunited on myspace 20 years after high school. She has two kids from her first marriage and for the past fifteen months they have been trying to have a baby of their own. He recently received the primary diagnosis of azoospermia or zero sperm. Either his body is not producing any sperm at all or he is producing and it's not going where it needs to go. If he is producing sperm then they could potentially conceive with IVF and a testicular biopsy to retrieve the sperm. He doesn't know what to do. SIL already has kids from her first marriage but my brother has none. Do they want to go through the expense of IVF? Their insurance covers absolutely nothing infertility related and one cycle will run them about $20k. If they don't do IVF, will they regret it? My brother talked about being on his death bed and all alone because he had no kids to surround him. What a sad thought.
I told him that he can't put a price on fatherhood. That he needed to compartmentalize the financial aspect of it and think about everything else first. Does it suck? Yes. Is it unfair? Hell yes. I told him that they've been trying for the past year to have a baby so what's changed? Has his desire to be a father been lessened? I know it hasn't.
I told him what I thought. The words came so easily. In that moment, my grown up moment, he was not just my big brother, my elder, a semi-foreign person that I've looked up to all my life. He was an equal, a person new to the world of infertility, a person struggling with the emotions of infertility. This grown up thing kind of sucks sometimes, you know?
I know it is ultimately his decision whether to pursue IVF and it is a LOT to process. As odd as this sounds, I hope that they do get a chance to agonize over this decision. As hard as it is to make a decision like this, I could only imagine that it would be even harder to hear the news that you will never be able to have a biological baby.While it's nice to have someone in my family who can relate to my struggles I really do not wish infertility on anyone, especially my family.
Six months ago my brother told me that I was oversharing when it came to my infertility journey and that some things should be kept private. After all, what big brother wants to picture his baby sister with her feet in stirrups, right? But things are different now. Testicular biopsies, semen analyses, IUI, cervixes, sex. I talked to my brother about all these things today. Whoa....I'm a grown up.
So you're pregnant and your friend's not. Now what?
Life is like a mine field when you're infertile. You never know where a pregnancy announcement or ultrasound photo is going to take your breath away and knock your legs out from under you. You're infertile and your friend or relative is knocked up. Now what? My good e-friend, Allie, just wrote a blog that describes this situation wonderfully. **Thank you to my sister, Kris, for being so understanding and caring when you announced your pregnancy to me. I'm so glad you "get it." I am truly lucky to have someone like you in my life.**
Excerpts from Allie's blog entry. Read the entire thing here.
"Infertility is hard. Faith questioning, life changing, marriage shattering, friendship ruining, isolating, horrifyingly, miserably hard. With infertility you are poked and prodded from all angles... From your friends and family asking you when you're going to have babies, to your doctors spending more time looking at your genitalia than your spouse. It's expensive to the point that sometimes, some people with infertility are forced to make decisions like, "Do we put a down payment on a house... or pursue IVF?" Infertility changes your life."
"People who struggle with infertility really will and most do give anything and everything that they can to be pregnant and for a chance to be a parent. Someone who has spent $100,000 on infertility treatments and drugs does not want to hear a pregnant women sound ungrateful in any way. I don't know if this sounds bitter, but to me it's just logical... You don't go to an amputee who has lost both of his legs and start complaining about how annoying it is to walk everywhere and how nice it would be to just have a motorized vehicle to push them around do you? Of course not, it's callous and ignorant. That is the same as complaining to someone with infertility about your pregnancy."
"If we need space, don't assume that we are just selfish and jealous and bitter. We are broken hearted and self preserving. It doesn't feel good for other people to think these terrible things of you, on TOP of the infertility itself. Don't think negatively of us, or your friends if they or we need space. Try to think of your lowest moments, when you found out the worst news of your life and you sat down on the floor and cried inconsolably... Sometimes that's what pregnancy announcements feel like... and judging someone for their grief doesn't make sense. A lot of people make the mistake of taking our grief personally, but our grief has nothing to do with you or your pregnancy."
Excerpts from Allie's blog entry. Read the entire thing here.
"Infertility is hard. Faith questioning, life changing, marriage shattering, friendship ruining, isolating, horrifyingly, miserably hard. With infertility you are poked and prodded from all angles... From your friends and family asking you when you're going to have babies, to your doctors spending more time looking at your genitalia than your spouse. It's expensive to the point that sometimes, some people with infertility are forced to make decisions like, "Do we put a down payment on a house... or pursue IVF?" Infertility changes your life."
"People who struggle with infertility really will and most do give anything and everything that they can to be pregnant and for a chance to be a parent. Someone who has spent $100,000 on infertility treatments and drugs does not want to hear a pregnant women sound ungrateful in any way. I don't know if this sounds bitter, but to me it's just logical... You don't go to an amputee who has lost both of his legs and start complaining about how annoying it is to walk everywhere and how nice it would be to just have a motorized vehicle to push them around do you? Of course not, it's callous and ignorant. That is the same as complaining to someone with infertility about your pregnancy."
"If we need space, don't assume that we are just selfish and jealous and bitter. We are broken hearted and self preserving. It doesn't feel good for other people to think these terrible things of you, on TOP of the infertility itself. Don't think negatively of us, or your friends if they or we need space. Try to think of your lowest moments, when you found out the worst news of your life and you sat down on the floor and cried inconsolably... Sometimes that's what pregnancy announcements feel like... and judging someone for their grief doesn't make sense. A lot of people make the mistake of taking our grief personally, but our grief has nothing to do with you or your pregnancy."
Jun 19, 2011
Going My Way
I have vowed to make handle this 2ww differently. After our last IUI was googling every.single.day. for post-IUI symptoms, agonizing over every single temperature and obsessing over all my phantom symptoms. I didn't drink, I watched my caffeine intake and I took it extremely easy.
This month I'm doing my own thing--I've had a few beers, I have not charted for two months and I have not asked Dr. Google any questions. Of course, I'm only 3dpiui so that could always change but for now I'm going to do my own thing. Worrying about the outcome of this IUI will do me no good. What happens, happens.
This month I'm doing my own thing--I've had a few beers, I have not charted for two months and I have not asked Dr. Google any questions. Of course, I'm only 3dpiui so that could always change but for now I'm going to do my own thing. Worrying about the outcome of this IUI will do me no good. What happens, happens.
Jun 16, 2011
The Deposit Has Been Made
Our second IUI was this morning. There was a new receptionist at the IF clinic and she asked me if I wanted to go back with Mike while he did his thing. We weren't the only ones in the waiting area. Talk about an awkward moment. Ha!
Mike is a rock star---even the nurse that did our IUI this morning said so! His numbers were even better than they were last time. The nurse was hilarious--she had me hold the tube of sperm and told me to talk to them....for motivation.
Pre-Wash
Concentration: 144 mil
Total Motile Sperm 258.3 mil
Post-Wash: Concentration 263mil (they want greater than 20 mil)
Total Motile Sperm: 105.2 million (they want greater than 10 mil)
Last IUI Mike had 90 mil motile sperm and we thought that was awesome. Maybe this extra 15 million will do the job! I am feeling a little crampy but nothing too terrible. Mike has a three day weekend and tomorrow night is Army Appreciation night at Safeco field so if you're watching the Mariners/Phillies game, look for us in right field!
I hope this two week wait goes by fast....Mike leaves for a course on Sunday so I'll be doing a lot of sewing next week, which should help past the time. Crossing my fingers and praying that I'll have good news for Mike when he gets home from school.
Mike is a rock star---even the nurse that did our IUI this morning said so! His numbers were even better than they were last time. The nurse was hilarious--she had me hold the tube of sperm and told me to talk to them....for motivation.
Pre-Wash
Concentration: 144 mil
Total Motile Sperm 258.3 mil
Post-Wash: Concentration 263mil (they want greater than 20 mil)
Total Motile Sperm: 105.2 million (they want greater than 10 mil)
Last IUI Mike had 90 mil motile sperm and we thought that was awesome. Maybe this extra 15 million will do the job! I am feeling a little crampy but nothing too terrible. Mike has a three day weekend and tomorrow night is Army Appreciation night at Safeco field so if you're watching the Mariners/Phillies game, look for us in right field!
I hope this two week wait goes by fast....Mike leaves for a course on Sunday so I'll be doing a lot of sewing next week, which should help past the time. Crossing my fingers and praying that I'll have good news for Mike when he gets home from school.
Jun 14, 2011
Yay for proactive doctors!
For those of you who aren't military you probably get to see the same doctor every time you go to an appointment, right? The nurses probably know you by your face and maybe the receptionist even knows you.....When I go to my appointments I always see a different nurse and most of the time I see a different doctor as well. Doctors and nurses who have to ask ME what medication I have been taking because they aren't familiar with me. Today was no different. Dr. B. walked in and asked what I was taking. because it wasn't on my chart. I explained my protocol and laid back for my date with the Dildo Cam. My uterus lining looks good and I have one ripe 19mm follicle on my right ovary. Leftie was hiding today and he had to push my belly to get my ovary to move down so he could take a look which was weird. I didn't know ovaries could be so mobile!
Dr. B was great! He sat with us and answered all our questions. He did not brush us off for being young or having unexplained infertility. I asked him if we could try something other than Clomid next month if this month doesn't work and he agreed that it was reasonable to move on to something else. We'll be moving on to Femara + IUI next month if I don't get pregnant. He also said that it was totally reasonable for us to start considering IVF, which on one hand was good to hear but on the other hand really difficult to know hear someone say that. He said that based on statistics he recommendds six IUIs before moving on. We could continue IUI after those six but our probability of sucess decreases. Right now we have a 10-15% chance of achieving pregnancy. He said a lot of unexplained couples learn the reasons for their infertility once they get to IVF and that about 30% of his IVF patients have unexplained infertility. So...we're on the IVF waiting list and have a spot for next July just in case IUI doesn't work for us. We'll need to save up $7500 by then. If we want to do IVF on our own before next July it will be about $15k. Yowsers!
I also talked to Dr. B about my brother's recent diagnosis of azoospermia and asked if there could be any co-relation between the two of us having infertility issues. He said it would be really rare but to be on the safe side he put in an order for a Cystic Fibrosis Gene Mutation test. 99% of men with CF are infertile due to a congenital defect of missing vas deferens. In women, the CF mutation can cause cause infertility issues such as thick cervical mucus and other issues as well. He also put in an order to have my thyroid levels checked. Yay for proactive doctors!
So just one follicle this month but that's okay. I'll trigger tonight (Mike will give me the shot) and we go for our IUI on Thursday at 1000. Fingers crossed.
After our appointment we applied for on-post housing. Thankfully we qualify for a 3br based on Mike's rank alone and we put our names down for the new housing. Our lease in our rental house isn't up until 1 March but the wait for new housing is 6-9 months so it should all work out. Why are we moving on post? The #1 reason is that after 14 months here we still don't have any friends. It is SO hard to meet people here. The military community is a very small percentage of the population here so we are not surrounded by a military support system where we currently live. #2 It takes Mike about 40-45 minutes to get home from work even though we only live about 13 miles from the gate. Moving will also make it easier for me to deliver orders to people who live on post. #3 Deployment rumors. If these rumors are true, I don't want to be off post all by myself with no support system when he leaves. #4 If I do ever get pregnant I will not have a 45 minute trip to the hospital when I'm in labor!
So we'll be moving in mid-February and even though we'll be sacrificing our large yard and two car garage I think it will be a good decision for us. It may also help us save up that $7500 we need to save up but hopefully won't need! =)
Dr. B was great! He sat with us and answered all our questions. He did not brush us off for being young or having unexplained infertility. I asked him if we could try something other than Clomid next month if this month doesn't work and he agreed that it was reasonable to move on to something else. We'll be moving on to Femara + IUI next month if I don't get pregnant. He also said that it was totally reasonable for us to start considering IVF, which on one hand was good to hear but on the other hand really difficult to know hear someone say that. He said that based on statistics he recommendds six IUIs before moving on. We could continue IUI after those six but our probability of sucess decreases. Right now we have a 10-15% chance of achieving pregnancy. He said a lot of unexplained couples learn the reasons for their infertility once they get to IVF and that about 30% of his IVF patients have unexplained infertility. So...we're on the IVF waiting list and have a spot for next July just in case IUI doesn't work for us. We'll need to save up $7500 by then. If we want to do IVF on our own before next July it will be about $15k. Yowsers!
I also talked to Dr. B about my brother's recent diagnosis of azoospermia and asked if there could be any co-relation between the two of us having infertility issues. He said it would be really rare but to be on the safe side he put in an order for a Cystic Fibrosis Gene Mutation test. 99% of men with CF are infertile due to a congenital defect of missing vas deferens. In women, the CF mutation can cause cause infertility issues such as thick cervical mucus and other issues as well. He also put in an order to have my thyroid levels checked. Yay for proactive doctors!
So just one follicle this month but that's okay. I'll trigger tonight (Mike will give me the shot) and we go for our IUI on Thursday at 1000. Fingers crossed.
After our appointment we applied for on-post housing. Thankfully we qualify for a 3br based on Mike's rank alone and we put our names down for the new housing. Our lease in our rental house isn't up until 1 March but the wait for new housing is 6-9 months so it should all work out. Why are we moving on post? The #1 reason is that after 14 months here we still don't have any friends. It is SO hard to meet people here. The military community is a very small percentage of the population here so we are not surrounded by a military support system where we currently live. #2 It takes Mike about 40-45 minutes to get home from work even though we only live about 13 miles from the gate. Moving will also make it easier for me to deliver orders to people who live on post. #3 Deployment rumors. If these rumors are true, I don't want to be off post all by myself with no support system when he leaves. #4 If I do ever get pregnant I will not have a 45 minute trip to the hospital when I'm in labor!
So we'll be moving in mid-February and even though we'll be sacrificing our large yard and two car garage I think it will be a good decision for us. It may also help us save up that $7500 we need to save up but hopefully won't need! =)
Jun 13, 2011
Follie Check. Cycle #29.
This is our fourth cycle of Clomid and I'll have my ultrasound tomorrow to check my follicle size. I'll only be on CD10 so I'm not sure what to expect. The nurse told me they'd send me home with the trigger shot. We'll do IUI one day later this week too.
I'm going to talk to the doctor (again) and request 7 dpo blood work (again) and pray that he doesn't say no (again.) Ridiculous, isn't it? We're also going to talk to him about moving on to other drugs if I don't get pregnant this month. Considering that 85% of women who become pregnant on Clomid get pregnant within the first 3 months, we're ready to try something else. Wish us luck for a good appointment tomorrow.
I've started blogging about our time in the North of England but still have to finish it--never fear!
I'm going to talk to the doctor (again) and request 7 dpo blood work (again) and pray that he doesn't say no (again.) Ridiculous, isn't it? We're also going to talk to him about moving on to other drugs if I don't get pregnant this month. Considering that 85% of women who become pregnant on Clomid get pregnant within the first 3 months, we're ready to try something else. Wish us luck for a good appointment tomorrow.
I've started blogging about our time in the North of England but still have to finish it--never fear!
Jun 10, 2011
Two Yanks in the U.K.: Part Three
Our final day in London Town--bittersweet! We were sad to be leaving but so excited to see our family up north the next day. We slept in a little this day and after our breakfast we walked over to Westminster Cathedral (not to be confused with the Westminster Abbey, which we saw the day before) on our way to the train station. It was a Sunday morning and we were lucky to have a look around before Mass started. We were happily surprised that there was no admission fee AND we were allowed to take pictures.
The guide was so friendly and once he heard we were American he took time to show us a few things around the interior. I guess we must have been expressing our awe in a less-than-graceful manner because he leaned in and with a laugh he said, "That's one thing about you Americans. You sure love the word awesome!" Haha. Westminster Cathedral was actually built on the foundation of an old prison or women and children. Ironic, right?
After ice cream it was time for lunch. I think we did it a little backwards--whatever. We ate a lot on this trip! :)
We had planned to head back down to Big Ben and Parliament so I could get pictures of them at sunset and at night but I could barely walk, we were exhausted and so we just went back to our hotel for a good night's rest before our journey north. Fare thee well, London Town.
The guide was so friendly and once he heard we were American he took time to show us a few things around the interior. I guess we must have been expressing our awe in a less-than-graceful manner because he leaned in and with a laugh he said, "That's one thing about you Americans. You sure love the word awesome!" Haha. Westminster Cathedral was actually built on the foundation of an old prison or women and children. Ironic, right?
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| Westminster Cathedral |
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| The remains of the last Catholic Priest executed in England. He was hung, drawn and quartered and a Spaniard paid 40 shillings for his body that was eventually brought back to England. |
After Westminster Cathedral we hopped back on the tube and headed to Covent Garden, which used to be an open air market for the monks at Westminster Abbey. Not it's full of vendors, street performers, shops, bakeries, etc.
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| Front of Victoria Station |
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| Mike on the Underground |
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| Street performer at Covent Garden |
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| These guys were fantastic! They had an entire act that we watched for about 20 minutes. |
Okay, this ice cream shop was just cool and they had the coolest flavors ever and their music selection was fantastic.
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| Natural Stimulant ice cream. Mike asked if I brought any home with me. Ha! |
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| This is what I got. I loooooove white chocolate ice cream. |
After ice cream it was time for lunch. I think we did it a little backwards--whatever. We ate a lot on this trip! :)
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| Mike made his way through the list of beers and I made mine through the ciders. |
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| My "traditional" English Sunday Lunch. Yorkshire Pudding, potatoes, vegetables and nutloaf. :) It was delicious! |
After lunch we headed to Trafalgar Square and walked around because I wanted to see the Twinings Tea Shop. It was closed because it was Sunday but I still got to peek through the windows. On our way we saw the Royal Courts of Justice--holy courthouse batman!
We headed back to the Hard Rock Cafe and were upset to find the wait over two hours. The line wasn't very long so the inside must have been awfully small. I could barely walk at this point--my feet hurt so badly! We lucked out though--we found the Hard Rock Cafe Pub right around the corner and went in there for a pizza and a few drinks. When we walked in we saw a group of guys drinking Budweiser and Mike and I immediately pegged them for military. I said to Mike, "Stupid Americans. Who comes to ENGLAND to drink BUDWEISER?" Mike talked to them a bit and we found out that they were Navy en route to the Middle East and had a few days off while their ship was being readied for the journey.
We had planned to head back down to Big Ben and Parliament so I could get pictures of them at sunset and at night but I could barely walk, we were exhausted and so we just went back to our hotel for a good night's rest before our journey north. Fare thee well, London Town.
Jun 8, 2011
Two Yanks in the U.K.: Part Two
Luckily we were able to sleep a little later the next morning and headed down to breakfast. It was the 28th of May--our seventh anniversary and thankfully the both of us were a little less cranky. It was a big day in London as Manchester United was playing Barcelona in the League Championship that weekend. There was a huge influx of football fans and everywhere you looked you'd find someone wearing a crazy hat or cape and they all sang songs (and I thought it was only a Harry Potter/Quidditch thing!)
Our first stop was Buckingham Palace, which we walked to from our hotel. I will admit, I totally got swept up in the whole Royal Wedding thing and I recognized many of the sights from that day. The entire time we were there Mike and I kept talking about how insane it would be to live there. We just can't imagine that type of life.
We went to Buckingham Palace with the intention of watching the Changing of the Guard. However, we arrived to discover that it wouldn't take place that day. Go figure, right? We did luck out though and get to watch a rehearsal for the Trooping of the Colors which is a ceremony that only happens once a year. There were a ton of horses, marching bands, bag pipes and a lot of pomp and circumstance.
After Buckingham Palace we walked back to our hotel, grabbed some more layers of clothing and and headed to Victoria Station to grab the Underground to Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed inside so I don't have any interior shots. It was by far the most amazing church I have ever been in. Constructed in 1042 there was an enormous amount of history inside. We were given an audio guide that took us around the entire interior, explaining the significance of many of the monuments, graves and statues. It was awesome to be right in the middle of such a historical place.
I've seen many London tourists take a photo from a particular phone booth with Big Ben in the background and I was determined to take the same picture. It was a success! :)
We hopped back on the Underground and headed to Oxford Street-- a big area for shopping-- since I wanted to see the Disney Store! The tube was SO loud that day, mostly due to the immense (drunken) football fans.
I ended up buying a few small things like a London pin (for my pin trader lanyard) a London Mickey Mouse tea cup and a CD for Madeline and Annabelle. After the Disney Store we headed up north to find the Sherlock Holmes museum, not realizing that it was closed for the day. :( My dad is a big Sherlock Holmes fan so at least we got some pictures for him.
Since we couldn't go into the Sherlock Holmes museum we decided to move to another item on our bucket list--Abbey Road! For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about---shame on you! Maybe this will help?
From Abbey Road we took the tube to Hard Rock Cafe. Mike and I have sort of a tradition to eat at HRC if we're in a city that has one. The line was extremely long, we were extremely hungry and so we just bought a shirt and left with the hopes of going back and eating there the next day. We should have waited in line. Little did we know that every.single.pub. would be packed to the brim because of the big football match between Manchester United and Barcelona. People were standing, pints in hand, on the sidewalk outside the pubs just trying to catch a glance of what was happening during the game. We ended up settling for The Rainforest Cafe near Picadilly Circus--there was no TV and therefore no line at the door. I'd never eaten at one and will never eat at one again. My food was disgusting and the entire "experience" came at a very high price--it was our most expensive meal in London! We were both disappointed in our anniversary dinner, Manchester United lost the match and when walked back outside the streets were full of Barcelona fans celebrating their big win. It was a crazy night in London town!
Our first stop was Buckingham Palace, which we walked to from our hotel. I will admit, I totally got swept up in the whole Royal Wedding thing and I recognized many of the sights from that day. The entire time we were there Mike and I kept talking about how insane it would be to live there. We just can't imagine that type of life.
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| Victoria Monument in front of Buckingham Palace |
We went to Buckingham Palace with the intention of watching the Changing of the Guard. However, we arrived to discover that it wouldn't take place that day. Go figure, right? We did luck out though and get to watch a rehearsal for the Trooping of the Colors which is a ceremony that only happens once a year. There were a ton of horses, marching bands, bag pipes and a lot of pomp and circumstance.
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| What a way to spend our 7th anniversary! |
After Buckingham Palace we walked back to our hotel, grabbed some more layers of clothing and and headed to Victoria Station to grab the Underground to Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed inside so I don't have any interior shots. It was by far the most amazing church I have ever been in. Constructed in 1042 there was an enormous amount of history inside. We were given an audio guide that took us around the entire interior, explaining the significance of many of the monuments, graves and statues. It was awesome to be right in the middle of such a historical place.
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| Parliament |
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| Gargoyles on Westminster Abbey |
I've seen many London tourists take a photo from a particular phone booth with Big Ben in the background and I was determined to take the same picture. It was a success! :)
We hopped back on the Underground and headed to Oxford Street-- a big area for shopping-- since I wanted to see the Disney Store! The tube was SO loud that day, mostly due to the immense (drunken) football fans.
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| Me and Mickey at The Disney Store |
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| The real 221B Baker Street! |
Since we couldn't go into the Sherlock Holmes museum we decided to move to another item on our bucket list--Abbey Road! For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about---shame on you! Maybe this will help?
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| A little band called The Beatles. You might have heard of them. |
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| It was a really busy road so I didn't risk my life trying to take a perfect picture. |
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| Grafitti wall outside Abbey Road Studios |
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| Barcelona Fans Celebrating in the streets To be continued......... |
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