ART and Art

Today, we had a truly lovely Saturday in Chicago...

Stop #1: The Chicago office of our fertility clinic
We didn't even bother trying to get blood from the right arm, and the veins in the left arm - though bruised - produced admirably. The ultrasound showed about eight follicles on my left ovary, and about eleventy bazillion on my right. Maybe my right arm doesn't have any blood to spare because it's all going to that ovary? Anyway, there are 33 total follicles, 25 that are large enough to measure, and 6 that are over 20mm. Every nurse and tech that I saw built the suspense by saying things like, "Oooh, it'll be interesting to see if they trigger you today or tomorrow," "I wonder what your doctor will say," and "Looks like we need a Plan A (trigger today) and a Plan B (stim one more day and trigger tomorrow)." Clearly, I was in reproductive limbo land this morning. So we left the clinic with cell phones on, waiting to receive a call with further instructions.

Stop #2: Julius Meinl
This little Viennese cafe has become our favorite spot downtown (in Wrigleyville). They have delicious coffee, and extensive tea selection, beautiful pastries, and a tasty European-style menu. Today I had vanilla bourbon tea and baked eggs with prosciutto, spinach, mushrooms, and feta. Yum!

Stop #3: The Art Institute
We always enjoy a visit to the Art Institute, but it's rare that we have the time for it. The extensive Impressionist exhibit is probably our favorite, but today we were determined to scout out parts of the museum that we haven't seen or haven't spent much time in. I really enjoyed the current photography exhibit. One whimsical photo especially struck my fancy: a little girl with dress-up fairy wings stood back-lit in a doorway, towering over a small village of toy castles and a carpet of plastic horses, while one brother slept in a bed on the left edge of the frame and another brother eyed the toy ponies suspiciously from under a bed on the right edge of the frame. After the photography hall, we went to the wing of ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan, and Egyptian art, and there we satisfied Aaron's archaeological inclinations. Next we headed through the American art, and we finished up with a special exhibit on Jeff Wall. Our heads full, our imaginations inspired, and our feet sore, we headed back outside. (Oh, and my cell phone rang while we were in the American art hall, with the nurse calling to say that we're going with Plan A - trigger tonight and egg retrieval on Monday!)

Stop #4: Millennium Park
We wandered through to the Lurie Gardens and sat down by the footbridge to dip our toes in the shallow waters. Very pleasant and restful, to sit on the wooden planks with cool wet feet, flowers all around, conversing with my beloved and watching small birds catch smaller bugs.

Stop #5: Pizano's Pizza
I was craving deep-dish pizza, so we had our eyes peeled for a good pizza joint as we walked toward the El. We saw Pizano's, which we had never heard of or been to, so we stopped to check out the menu. It proclaimed that its pizza was voted #1 in Chicago by Oprah and among USA Today's Top 10, so we gave it a shot. Of course, after we sat down, we realized that it was the thin crust that got rave reviews, not the deep dish. We went ahead and ordered thin crust (with pepperoni and fresh garlic), and it was pretty tasty. Their Caesar salad was also scrumptious.

Home again, home again, jiggity-jig
Appetites for ART and art (and food!) satisfied, we headed back to the suburbs. I'm so glad we could turn a pre-IVF check-up into a truly enjoyable day downtown. Now, it's time for me to take an Ovidrel shot to ripen up my follicles for an 8 a.m. egg retrieval on Monday!