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I've been tinkering with macrame for a few weeks now. I saw a video of a home designed in a Boho chic style and the room was decorated with macrame curtains and wall decors. After a few searches, I found a few simple macrame projects which I tried.
According to Dictionary, macrame is the art of knotting cord or string in patterns to make decorative articles. If you know how to tie a knot, you can do macrame.
Supplies
Since I live in the province, craft supplies are not that easily available. I bought my first rope in a general merchandise store in the market. You know, the store which sells bolo knives, gardening tools, bamboo cradles, and whatnots, you'll probably find a cotton rope there.
I also bought some rope at a store where everything is P20 or less. It was the cheapest rope I bought but, when you cut the rope, you'll see that inside the rope, there are plastic fibers entwined with the cotton fibers. I didn't like using it.
I also found cotton ropes and other materials at Wilcon Depot. I prefer the 16-strand BRAIDED cotton rope (50ft = P72). The tried the SOLID rope, but it was tougher, a bit difficult to knot, and more expensive than the braided one.
Check out Hallmark's video, How to tie the basic knots of macrame, before embarking on a macrame journey.
Macrame Plant Hangers
For my first project, I chose a plant hanger. I found an easy tutorial in YouTube by WhatsUpMoms. The video said it's a 5 Minute Macrame Planters but I finished my project in 30 minutes!
Since it was my first time to do macrame, I was very careful at measuring the rope and following the instructions. I shouldn't cut the rope too short nor too long for the project to avoid wastage. For quick measurement, one planter like this uses 32 ft of cotton rope (8ft per strand).
It was a fairly easy tutorial but I was being a perfectionist and wanted my first project to turn out well, that's why it took me half an hour to do a 5-minute project. LOL
Here's my first ever macrame plant hanger!
After that, I was able to do other planters quickly. Ta-dah! I hang five planters on my kitchen's window so the plants can get a bit of sunlight. On weekends, I put the plants outside so they can get full sunlight and good 'ol rain water.
Feeling bold to do other designs, I tried Crafty Ginger's plant hanger design #1. This time, the project needed a hoop. At Wilcon Depot, the silver hoop I bought cost P40.
The project was fun to do since I did several kinds of knots. Instead of a planter, I experimented on using a glass bowl with a candle holder inside. Here's my final project.
Macrame Curtain
I also did a macrame curtain in about an hour. Using Rachel Metz' tutorial, DIY Macrame Curtain, I was able to somewhat replicate her project.
Lessons on Macrame
- For me, macrame is therapeutic. Once I got the hang of knotting the ropes, I kinda forget everything else while working on a project.
- I like macrame since I can see the outcome right away. I don't need to work on it for months before I'm able to see the final project.
- Macrame uses a lot, and I mean A LOT of cotton rope.
- I have to be resourceful on where I get my cotton ropes. Among all the ropes I used, I like the one I bought in the market. It's cheaper and softer to use. But, the store had no stock of the rope when I returned to buy more.
Working from home allows me to carve time for fitness. After doing Blogilates for a year, I decided to change my routine and switched to yoga.
Last year, when I was setting up a schedule for my LIT booster with Dra. Carol, she mentioned that Hubby and I could consider IVF.
I'm writing fresh out of our third online Bible study. Today's assignment was Colossians 1:24 to 2:3.
Seven years ago, our family was introduced to a new born baby girl named Jamie. We are not related to this baby. My father knew the baby's father in his recreational activity that involves roosters. :)
I have been writing for a Christian website for a few years now. My client recently invited me to an online Bible study. She told me I wasn't obliged to attend, she just wanted to extend the invitation.
I consider pregnancy as a mystery. Some get pregnant in a heartbeat and at the other side of the coin, there are those who try for years and years but still don't get that two parallel lines in a pregnancy test. Despite millions of information, books and researches about how to get pregnant, despite the expensive fertility treatments, there are still couples who struggle with conceiving.
Casa Rica Hotel is an ancestral house converted into a boutique hotel. It has ten rooms only making it a relaxing haven for tourists.
On the first night of our Ilocos trip, I booked a room at Laoag Renzo Hotel via Agoda. The hotel fit the criteria I set on where to stay during out-of-town vacations:
- walking distance from the town/city
- offers breakfast
When I was preparing for our Ilocos trip, I searched online for a low-priced hotel with breakfast included. Hubby preferred sleeping in a hotel room than a pension inn or a room for backpackers. He loved the comfort and amenities provided in hotels.
Over the weekend, I watched a segment of Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho about the story of the Go brothers.
During my LIT booster with Dr. Carol, I told her that my third IUI was not successful. She advised that maybe what Hubby and I needed was some time off to relax and just be with each other.
When I shared my LIT story, some of you asked if my LAT score improved. I automatically replied yes, my LAT score changed for the better. But, after some recollection, I realized that Dr. Carol didn't require me to take a LAT test, so I wouldn't have known my actual LAT score or whether my score went from low to high.
Note: I had my LIT booster last August 2016.
With Dr. Carol, my immunologist, she recommends a series of four LIT sessions before pregnancy or within the first trimester. If pregnancy wasn't achieved, an LIT booster is required every six months to maintain a positive LAT score.
Since hubby was overseas, we asked her sister to be my donor for the LIT booster. She underwent the screen test and passed.
On the day of my booster, we went to the Asian Institute of Immunology in Makati so she can have the blood extraction.
Afterwards, we went to Alabang and waited for my schedule of injection in Asian Hospital at noon. My mother accompanied me to the hospital while my in-laws waited in Festival Mall.
Dr. Carol administers six injections per LIT session. Other immunologists do four per session and requires five sessions.
While she was injecting the white blood cells, I kept praying the Hail Mary in my head to somehow alleviate the pain. When it's more painful, I pray Our Father. Praying keeps me calm and focused while dismissing the pain. My mother was surprised that I didn't show any distress in my face during LIT.
After removing the bandage, here's what an arm which underwent 4 LIT sessions would look like. Everybody is different so your arm might not look like mine so don't be frazzled.
After my third IUI in St.Luke's Global City, Dr. Guinto gave me a lab request for a Beta hCG to be done a 2 weeks later.
When Hubby and I got home, I rested and didn't do much at home. My family visited me that night to check up on me. Them visiting me felt like I just came out of a major surgery. :)
After one week, we went again to St. Luke's to have the Beta hCG test.
I had my third IUI in St.Luke's Global City in Taguig in 2016. My OB-GYNE was Dr. Valerie Guinto.
We came to the hospital in the morning of my IUI schedule. Dr. Guinto instructed us to have Hubby's sperm prepared and washed in the Center for Advanced Reproductive Medicine and Infertility (CARMI) in St. Luke's. In my previous IUIs, it was my OB-GYNE who washed the sperms in preparation for the procedure.
CARMI had two rooms for privacy where Hubby did his share for the IUI. The room had a comfy couch, tissue, sanitizer, sensual magazines and videos to "set the mood." Hubby said he wasn't *in the zone* despite the helpful paraphernalia in the room. But, having a room was better compared to the last IUI where Hubby got his swimmers in the men's bathroom. The cost of the sperm procedure at CARMI was P9,629.76.
After that, we waited for Dr. Guinto. My IUI was scheduled at 1pm.
Dr. Guinto arrived and we were the first patient she met since we were having an IUI. Her secretary, Mimi, already got the sperm sample from CARMI.
I laid down at the clinic's cot as Dr. Guinto prepared her stuff for the IUI. She checked and double-checked Hubby's name on the vial containing the sperm sample. She wanted to make sure that she inseminate me with the right sperm.
She had difficulty locating the opening of my cervix. Mimi put some pressure in my tummy area to help Dr. Guinto find my cervix. Once she found it, she used a catheter to insert the sperm to my retroverted uterus.
After that, Mimi adjusted the clinic's cot so the lower half was elevated at an angle. She and Dr. Guinto helped me put my legs up to give the sperm time to swim inside my uterus. I was embarrassed when Dr. Guinto held my calves and moved my legs on top of the raised cot. She then left us and reminded Mimi to leave me in that position for 30 minutes.
Hubby then came into the procedure area. He could've been inside the room during my IUI--Dr. Guinto even asked him to--but he was uncomfortable.
After 30 minutes, it felt like all my blood was going into my brain! I was getting dizzy and my neck hurt because of that awkward position.
We paid Mimi for Dr. Guinto's fee (sorry, I forgot the amount!)and left St. Luke's.
Hubby just signed his employment contract with a new employer. His joining date is next week. Tentative. Hopefully, the date on the contract would be delayed so we could still have a few days to be together.
To know where we processed Hubby's blood for white blood cells in my LIT, check out my post on Asian Institute of Immunology.
After Hubby's blood extraction at AIII, we went to Festival Mall in Alabang, the mall nearest to Asian Hospital. The mall was still closed so we waited in one of the benches outside. When the mall opened, window shopped and ate lunch. MY LIT was at 12nn.
Nurse William texted me that the white blood cells were already delivered to Dr. Carol's clinic. We immediately went to the hospital.
There was another TTC couple having their last LIT when we came to Dr. Carol's clinic. While waiting, I was so nervous. I read stories of women shouting, crying during LIT. The pain was so bad that some patients couldn't take it. Nurse William assured me that there was pain during LIT but not gut-wrenching. Some ladies just overreact during the process.
From 18 vials of blood, the white blood cells were now in a tiny container, almost the size of a P1 coin. The WBCs were white. Dr. Carol had a laugh when I told her I was surprised to see that the white blood cells were indeed white.
After some chit-chat to relax my nerves, Dr. Carol sanitized my inner left arm in preparation for LIT. On her desk, she had six new small syringes, small cotton balls in cut up medical tape. She told Hubby to hold my hand during the procedure.
Dr. Carol got one syringe and drew a small amount of the WBCs. She injected the WBCs underneath my skin--not in the muscle--underneath the S-K-I-N. The skin surrounding the injection swelled and redden. After injecting the WBCs, she closed the puncture with the cotton ball and tape. It was done six times. In a row. Same arm.
We waited and chatted some more. After 15 minutes, Dr. Carol checked out how my body reacted to the WBCs by measuring the size of the redness of each injection. She measured the diameter of each red spot and wrote the sizes in my chart. The goal was to minimize the size of the redness at each LIT session. This would mean that my body was slowly accepting the proteins of my husband. If and when I get pregnant, my body wouldn't be attacking this "foreign" body growing in my belly.
My left arm was put in an elastic bandage. Dr. Carol gave me a list of do's and don'ts:
1. Do not wet the area for three days.
2. After 24 hours, check the wounds. If there was some pus forming, apply the prescribed ointment.
3. Replace the gauze if needed.
Dr. Carol said the injection of the syringe was less painful than the release of the WBCs. It was actually the WBCs that caused a stinging sensation during LIT and caused pain in some women.
In my LIT, the pain differed every session. During my first LIT, I was praying the "Hail Mary" over and over in my head that I didn't feel the full scale of pain of the injections. I was focused on my prayers that my brain didn't notice the injections. I squeezed Hubby's hand whenever I felt the WBCs being pumped from the syringe. There was one session when I felt like my skin was being slashed with a disposable blade. OUCH!!!
LIT may be a scary--even torturous--treatment. Some believe in its effectiveness in helping couples conceive, some don't. I heard KATO Repro Biotech Center don't recommend LIT to their TTC patients. To each his own.
We TTC couples try and research the various treatments and procedures which we think would help us in our journey. We never lose hope. We try and try anything and everything.
Some people around us may commend us for our courage at trying something new. Some may discourage us with our choices. But, at the end of the day, it's our choice. Our decision. Our life. Our journey. Also, our money. :)
(This is a late blog. We did LIT in 2015-2016.)
For those who are curious what goes on during an LIT, here's my blog of my experience. This is a series of blogs, so please bear with me.
Every immunologist has his/her own requirements of doing LIT. My Reproductive Immunologist for LIT was Dr. Carol Gloria of Asian Hospital. She required four sessions with six injections per session. Each session was done every four weeks.
We scheduled my LIT with Dr. Carol's secretary, Nurse William. He called Nurse Jane of Asian Institute of Immunology Inc. (AIII) to inform her about my LIT.
When doing LIT, you need the white blood cells of your husband or a donor. There are screened donors available if your husband is not around. You have to pay the donor, though. Last time I checked, a donor is paid P2,500.
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| The door of AIII. |
AIII is where the donor blood is drawn and processed. It takes about 3-4 hours to filter the white blood cells from the donor blood. AIII is in Makati City.
My schedule for LIT at Asian Hospital was 12nn. Nurse William scheduled the blood extraction at 7 am in AIII. From Makati, an AIII staff would bring the processed white blood cells to Asian Hospital in Alabang.
For my first LIT session, Dr. Carol asked for 18 vials of Hubby's blood. Yes, 18! Hubby is scared of needles, so imagine his shock when he learned that I needed 18 vials of his blood. (insert Dracula laugh)
On LIT day, we left before dawn to reach Makati on time. Any delay on the blood extraction would also delay my LIT schedule at Asian Hospital.
Nurse Jane said the blood extraction only needed one needle and not 18. Still, this did not ease Hubby's fear. The donor should be relaxed to help the vein remain open. She said if the vein closes up, she needed to extract blood from the other arm.
The extraction lasted for about 10 minutes. The filtering of white blood cells from 18 vials of donor's blood costs P20,160 at AIII. For the following LIT sessions, Dr. Carol requested less vials of blood (14, I think) and it costs P18,000 each session at AIII.
Asian Immunology Institute
Unit 1803, Unit 1203 Medical Plaza Building,
Amorsolo Street, Makati
Phone: 0922 811 8508
FB: AsianInstituteOfImmunologyIncorporated
On our night in Laoag, we strolled along the Capitol. The city was celebrating the Pamulinawen Festival so the Capitol was buzzing with activities. That night, there was a concert and fireworks display at Aurora Park.
Herencia Cafe is located right across the famous Paoay Church and is known for its Pinakbet Pizza.
Over the weekend, my husband went to the dermatologist to have his skin tags removed. Cauterization is needed to get rid of those unsightly skin tags. I accompanied him for emotional support 'coz you know, he's afraid of needles.
It's Ash Wednesday today.
I heard Mass this morning and had a cross of ashes marked on my forehead. The priest said there are three things a Christian should do during the Lenten season: Praying, Alms Giving, and Abstinence.
On our second day in Vigan, we visited Baluarte, Hidden Garden and the Pagburnayan Pottery.
Vigan is a two-hour commute from Laoag. After checking-out the hotel in Laoag, we rode a tricycle to the Partas terminal and rode a bus going to Vigan.
We stayed at Casa Rica, an ancestral home converted into a cozy hotel. The Heritage Village--the tourist magnet--is a 10-minute walk away from Casa Rica.
I just want to share Didache's daily reflection for today. It is so timely for me and uplifting, too.
There are many tourist spots in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, but we narrowed down our tour to the cultural and historical sites in Batac and Paoay.
We used the Partas Bus Co. on our travel to Ilocos. They have terminals in Cubao, Pasay, and Sampaloc, Manila.
Manila to Laoag is a nine-hour trip. Travel bloggers suggest taking a Deluxe/Sleeper bus so you can have a semblance of a bed during the long trip. Bringing a blanket and a pillow will make your trip more comfortable.
I booked two tickets a day before our trip. Advanced booking is not required during off-season but I just wanted to reserve our seats and make sure that our seats are side by side. The fare from Manila to Laoag is P965.
Deluxe buses have 3 seats in a row. If you're travelling alone and don't want to be bothered with a seatmate during the trip, you could choose the aisle with single seats.
Here are the bus schedules of Partas posted in the Cubao terminal:
Our bus was supposed to leave at 10 pm. By 9:30 pm, we were already seated inside the bus. I had my neck pillow ready and already spread my fleece blanket over my legs. Hubby and I even removed our shoes and put on our slippers, ready to sleep during the trip.
By 10 pm, the aircon of the bus was turned off. After a few minutes of waiting, a passenger decided to ask the conductor of the bus why we weren't leaving yet. He announced that there was a problem with the bus' machine. The passengers were asked to alight the bus and wait to be transferred to another bus.
After an hour of waiting, we rode another bus and we were finally off to Laoag!
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| Image: Google Maps |
Hubby's home again!
After six years, we were able to have a vacation again. This time, we decided to go north and visit Ilocos and Baguio.
