Who is Champuru? 
Aloha, I'm Donna, known everywhere on the Internet as "Champuru." I'm a Christian, blissfully wedded to my perfect match (the yang to my yin) of 15 years and a stay-at-home mom to my miracle baby, born in October 2008. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from my hometown, seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest. Read more on the About page.
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I forgot to mention that today is the big thaw date. In other words, the snowflakes (frozen embryos) are now being thawed and prepped for transfer.
This is an important time since the next couple of days will determine how many of the six embryos will be healthy enough to make the journey to my womb. We lifted up special prayers for our snowflakes tonight. If you remember, please say a prayer for them, too.
We know that no matter how much science is involved in this process, only God truly gives life.
“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.”
(Psalm 139:13-14)
[tags]in vitro fertilization, IVF, frozen embryo transfer, FET, infertility, fertility, progesterone, estrogen, climara patches, hormones, conception[/tags]
At my in-laws’ house, it is customary to begin the new year with a steaming bowl of ozoni. It should be the first thing to hit your stomach on new year’s day. Mom-in-law says it’s good luck. I don’t know whether it’s good luck or not, but it sure tastes good. She makes a simplified version of this traditional soup and I’ll share the recipe with you so you can begin your own ozoni tradition for your family!
Easy Ozoni
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 cans of chicken broth
1 can of Hokkigai (surf clam) – chopped
1 kamaboko fishcake – sliced
1 bunch of mizuna – coarsely chopped
mochi
shoyu to taste
In a large pot on medium heat, simmer chicken broth and liquid from Hokkigai. Add chopped Hokkigai clams, sliced fishcake, coarsely chopped mizuna and a few dashes of shoyu to taste. Finally, add the mochi. (If your mochi is dusted with mochiko, it’s a good idea to rinse it before adding to the soup to prevent the broth from thickening too much.) Cook on medium heat until mochi is soft. Serve and enjoy!
NOTES:
* I usually put no more than 4 large mochi in the pot at a time to prevent them from sticking together and becoming one huge clump of mochi.
* Depending on how hungry your family is, you can always add more chicken broth and mochi to stretch the recipe.
In case you’re not familiar with some of the ingredients, here are some photos.
Hokkigai (surf clams) come in a can and can be found in the Asian foods section of your grocery store. Just a warning, they are quite expensive. This year, one can cost me $15.77 at Don Quijote. Mom-in-law saw them selling for $23 at Star Market, so it pays to shop around.
Below is what the clams look like before chopping.
Red and white kamaboko fishcake
Sliced kamaboko
Mizuna (Japanese mustard greens) has a very mild flavor
Shoyu (I use Aloha Shoyu exclusively, the low-sodium variety)
Mochi
If your mochi is dusted with mochiko, be sure to rinse the mochi before putting in your soup. Otherwise, it will cause the soup to be too thick.
Serve and enjoy!
I went to Donki (Don Quijote) today to pick up the ingredients for the ozoni. Luckily, they still had some good-looking mizuna and the Hokki clams left after the new year’s rush. The Hokkigai was $15.77 a can, but I figured what the heck, it’s once a year. Mom-in-law dedicates an entire day to making mochi for the entire family using her mochi machine and some good old-fashioned elbow grease, so we came home with a gallon-sized ziploc bag full of the glutinous rice goodness yesterday. When I discovered how long it takes her (8 hours!), I promised that I would help her next year.
I’m debating whether to make a new videolog entry for this year’s ozoni. Nothing has changed, so it would be redundant. However, maybe I could do a mochi-grilling vlog? But then again, how interesting is it to watch mochi fry? About as exciting as watching grass grow, I would assume. Well, we’ll see if inspiration hits.
Embryo transfer is set for Friday at 12:30 pm.
* Take terbutaline 5 mg at 10:30 am
* Take a valium 5 mg at 11:30 am (woo!)
* Drink a bottle of water at 12:00 pm and meet in the doctor’s office
* Bed rest for 3 days (but I’ll be extending that to 5 days)
* Lots and lots of prayer throughout
The bed rest is required only through Sunday night, but I intend to lie around for the next 5-7 days after the transfer just because once I’m off bed rest, I’d be tempted to get back into the normal swing of things — which is usually running at 100 mph and that can’t be good for the snowflakes.
Tomorrow, I need to:
* Go to Duke’s and exchange a shirt
* Go to the credit union
* Visit the library and check-out some books to read while on bed rest
* Show hubby how to use the iMac so he can transfer movies to my iPod Touch while I’m lazing around, encouraging the snowflakes to stick and grow!
[tags]in vitro fertilization, IVF, frozen embryo transfer, FET, infertility, fertility, progesterone, estrogen, climara patches, hormones, conception[/tags]
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