Nights on Broadway: Exciting News for Fall

This morning while eating my Honey Nut Cheerios and watching Morning Joe, I let out a loud squeal.

Husband, unsure as to what on Morning Joe could cause such delight or alternatively such horror, rushed into the room and asked if anything was wrong.

Me: No! It just scrolled across the screen that Alan Rickman is coming back to Broadway this fall!

Husband: In what play?

Me: ...Does it really matter? We're obviously going.

During my car ride to work, I considered the possibilities.

I knew that Rickman had originated the role of Le Vicomte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liasons) way back in 1985, but wasn't considered famous enough to reprise his role in the film version. Then a few years back, he stared in Noel Coward's play Private Lives (which annoyingly I did not know about until the weekend that it closed).

Surely he'd be tackling something different as opposed to doing one of those roles a second time. And as glorious as it would to hear him sing on stage, I suspected that it would be a play, not a musical.

I confirmed both of these things once in the office. The play in which Rickman will star is Seminar, a new play by Theresa Rebeck, which is about four awe struck students taking a course taught by a famous writer (Rickman, of course). Click here for the full story.

I'm totally hoping that they cast some super famous Hollywood types as the students so when I go see the play and stand by the stage door afterwards, everyone will be there to see those actors and I'll have Alan all to myself!

Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

So if you're anywhere near New York this fall, check out this play. Rickman rarely turns in a less than stellar performance and maybe you'll even catch a glimpse of me as I'm being hauled away from him by the police!

(And in the meantime, you can catch Mr. Rickman as Severus Snape in the final installment of the Harry Potter movies on Friday July 15. I've got seriously high hopes for the amount of Snape in this final movie so they'd better not disappoint!)

Happy Wednesday!

I Want a New Drug, Part I

If anyone out there is at all interested in knowing how it feels to be a pin cushion, I recommend starting IVF.

Seriously, readers. I've got needles in my arms, stomach or legs two, if not three, times every day.

I've gone back and forth on how to approach the inevitable fact that at some point, I'm going to undergo a retrieval and transfer and then everyone (myself included) is going to be anxiously awaiting the results. 

What I've decided to do is to space things out with enough time in between posts that we'll have some definitive news that I'm ready to announce (i.e. we're pregnant or, in the alternative, I turn out to be some creature from outer space that can't get pregnant, but I got amnesia when my space ship crash landed on Earth and as soon as I realized who I really was, I killed and ate Husband because I need the nutrients from his brain to survive a la some Twilight Zone episode.)

Hm actually that's more of a Tales from the Darkside episode. Maybe Brent Spiner could star in it as the suspicious doctor who discovers Husband's bones in his office garbage can!

But I digress.

So I'm going to write about my experience with the IVF process, one step at a time. Hopefully by the time I get through writing about the month-long process, we'll have news that I'm ready to share. Or alternatively I'll be putting out an APB for Brent Spiner's contact information so I can pitch him my script.

Stimulation is the first step in the process of IVF. It involves injecting medication designed to stimulate your ovaries and grow follicles on a daily basis. For both IUI and IVF, I used Follistim; however, for IVF I took super-doses of this medication. My final IUI cycle was at 75 iu. I started my IVF cycle at 200 iu. The increase in dose is designed to grow more follicles because the retrieval process is so invasive, the doctors want it to be worth my while.

The IUI shots were not a big deal. I'd trot into the bathroom, inject the medication, and two minutes later walk out, forgetting that I had even given myself the shot. Seriously, there were nights when I'd have to consult my checklist to see if I had injected my medication for the day.

Despite the low dose, I did experience some side effects: namely elevated moods and exhaustion. I'd get home from work and the idea of doing anything other than sitting on the couch watching Star Trek: The Next Generation all evening sounded exhausting. And even doing just that, I'd end up in bed by 9pm on most evenings. The moods I didn't notice so much as Husband did: my moods weren't erratic or unexplainable, they were just increased given the circumstances. For example, I'd get really happy about something that typically would just make me smile. Or I'd become furious over something that probably only deserved an eye roll. Kudos to Husband for putting up with me for the three months that I was dealing with these side effects.

With IVF, the quantity of the injection makes it a lot more difficult. Just injecting the medication is slightly painful because there's a lot more medication that is going into the same small amount of space in my leg. I have to go slow to allow the medication to dispense throughout my body. Then afterwards the injection site is irritated for several minutes. Then afterwards, I can feel (or at least I feel like I can feel) the medication working. It's not pain in my abdomen, but more of a tingling or popping sensation. Actually it's rather unpleasant and since these are evening injections, the aftermath keeps me up at night.

The shots themselves don't hurt. Prior to the first time, I was so anxious about the potential pain that I almost freaked out and couldn't do it. However, giving myself the shot doesn't hurt: the needle is so tiny, you can barely feel it. What is uncomfortable is the amount of medication being injected. So if you're worried about having to give yourself the shot, just go for it: it's really not that bad!

Surprisingly, I've not experienced the same side effects - or for that matter, any side effects - on the higher dose. The bad news is that since my ovaries are poly-cystic, I have a ton of follicles just hanging out in there waiting to gobble up all the Follistim and get big: kind of like Pop-Eye. So the idea is to produce 10-12 decent sized follicles: as of my last ultrasound, I had 8-10 mature follicles and another 30 small ones.

To quote my doctor: "You have a million follicles... [We should trigger ovulation tonight since] we don't want your ovaries to pop."

Thanks, doctor. I'm supposed to be the one prone to hyperbole!

The original plan called for me to inject 200 iu of Follistim for five nights before going in for my first ultrasound. After the third day, I had blood drawn and my doctor decided to lower my dose to 175 iu for the next two nights. After my second ultrasound, he lowered my dose one final time to 150 iu and put me on modified bed rest.

Doctor (and I swear she said this): No activity beyond light walking. No laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping.

Me: Um, you might need to write that down. Husband is never going to believe me.

One Hour Later.

Husband: There is no way she said, "No laundry, cleaning, or grocery shopping."

80% of women take Follistim for seven days. I ended up taking it for eight because the low dose meant that the follicles were growing much slower.

The second medication in the simulation phase of IVF is Ganirelix, which I began taking after five days of taking Follistim. So to read about my experiences with Ganirelix, check back on Monday February 28!

Meeting Brian May: What Should I Wear? (A Princess of Taylor Poll)

Currently, Dr. Brian May, best known as the guitarist in Queen, is touring the U.S. on a book tour and signing for his stereoscopic book "A Village Lost and Found" (click here). Last weekend, he was in Ohio, this weekend he's in NYC, and next week he's in Philadelphia. Anyone who has even come across my blog in passing over the past few weeks knows that this Friday I will be heading to NYC for a lecture and book signing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (click here to purchase tickets). I'm going to meet Dr. May. There's no maybe about it - I'm going to his book signing and though I've never been to a proper book signing, one thing I do know is that the attendee gets to meet the author.

*SQUEALS!*

A signed book is fine, but my big hope for the book signing is a photograph. I think it would be awesome to use for my blog banner, the redesign of which my sister has temporarily put on hold in anticipation of this photo being taken.

Though I'll be the first to admit that Dr. May isn't my favorite member of Queen (that honor will always go to my dear RT), I've really come to appreciate him recently. His devotion to his Save Me campaign has really impressed me - so often celebrities talk about a cause, but rarely do they take action. And since RT seems to have some sort of an aversion to the U.S., John Deacon is totally out of the public eye, and Freddie Mercury is dead, this is likely my only chance to meet a member of my favorite band.

In short, this is a big deal.

I've identified four potential dresses to wear to meet Dr. May on Friday. I've listed Pros and Cons for each dress. These Pros/Cons won't be a definitive list, but just a jumping off point. By Thursday, I'll have a winner identified and then hopefully on Saturday, I'll be posting a glorious picture of myself with Dr. May.

To the dresses!

Option 1: Secret Treasure Dress, Anthropologie

Pros: Cotton, comfortable, pockets, complies with Kendi's challenge (click here)

Cons: Too bright? Wrinkles easily.

Option 2: Silk Dress with Ruffle V-Neck, Ann Taylor Loft

Pros: Brown (which my mom claims will make people, i.e. Dr. May, trust me), from my blog's namesake

Cons: No pockets. Wrinkles easily?

Option 3: Banana Republic Dress

Pros: Pretty coral color, nice pattern

Cons: No pockets. Very form fitting (i.e. minimal eating that day...which is probably a good thing!).

Option 4: Swirling Villages, Surplice Dress, Anthropologie

Pros: Pockets, complies with Kendi's challenge

Cons: Comfortable to sit in? Wrinkles easily.

So everyone please vote by Thursday. EDIT (thanks to Lisa's comment for reminding me) - I have the option of changing somewhere before the signing so I won't have to wear my outfit around the City all day beforehand! So keep that in mind when voting!

Usually I ask for advice from readers with a general opinion that I'm hoping to confirm, but not this time. I have no clue what to do so this decision is basically going to be up to you so don't fail me now!

Thanks to everyone for voting! Hopefully on Saturday I'll post a picture of the winning dress WITH BRIAN MAY!

Multiple Myeloma Race for Research 2010

Two Sundays ago, Husband and I participated in the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Race for Research. I was hoping to post a write-up sooner, but the keeper of the photographs was being a little stingy about sharing with me so I had to wait! Here's our team:

This is the third year that Husband and I have participated in this race. The first year, we walked with my sister-in-law (and our dog Abbie) and between the three of us raised a few hundred dollars. This year, we fielded a team of more than twenty friends and family and together we raised more than $4000! It was a tremendous success!

Every year, one of the members of the MMRF Honorary Board acts as the Master of Ceremonies for the event. Our first year participating, WNBA player Rebecca Lobo attended. The past two years, Ann Curry has participated. This year, Husband's cousin and aunt ended up walking a good portion of the race with her! I never realized that the Master of Ceremonies actually participated! Very cool! This makes me wish even harder that one of these years Keith Olbermann (also an Honorary Board member) will be the Master of Ceremonies - oh how I love him!

Two of our friends from Boston and one of our friends from New York came to join us. The latter brought his six month old daughter who is just a doll. I swear I'm going to steal this baby! We spent the whole day with her and I don't think she cried once! As soon as they arrived, I pounced on the stroller and picked her up to parade her around! At one point, her dad went to the bathroom and I was ready to run off into the night with her, but Husband stopped me! Boo!

Every year, MMRF hosts races all around the country to help raise money and awareness for this rare and incurable form of cancer. For additional information about MMRF Races for Research in your area, visit their website here.

Today's Queen memory is Fat Bottomed Girls. This is a more recent memory and I've written about it before. Back in March, my father-in-law got remarried. We all went down to Florida for a wedding weekend. After the ceremony, we had a reception and one of my new "step-brother-in-laws" was in charge of the music on his iPod. The family found out about my Queen obsession, found this song on his iPod, and gathered in the dance floor singing and dancing! It was tremendously fun and I'll probably think of them every time I hear this song from now on!

Happy Running!