The Other Side of the Journey: Unexplained Infertility Part 3

First and foremost, I want to say thank you for all of the kind words, the shared stories, and the encouragement received as a result of many of you reading this. We truly appreciate it. This post may be a little bit longer than The Other Side of the Journey: Infertility Part 1 and The Other Side of the Journey: Unexplained Infertility Part 2, but a lot transpired in the next 4 years that followed our first miscarriage. This post is a recap of that time and will be the final portion this series.

The Other Side of the Journey: Unexplained Infertility Part 2

If you are just joining in,  this is Part 2 of my Unexplained Infertility Journey. You can read part one here.

We returned to the hospital the next day. My name was overlooked and for over 2 hours we patiently waited until I finally approached the front desk asking if I would be seen. I was quickly taken back into a patient room where a nurse performed an ultrasound.

The Other Side of the Journey: Infertility

When I started Georgiana Journey, I planned for it to be centered around travel because that IS a large part of who I am. But if I think back to why I really started this blog, the intent was to explain why I am who I am and how I got to where I am today. And the reality of it is that there is so much more to me than just traveling. While the global pandemic crushed so many of our plans this year, like finally taking our dream trip to Morocco in May, it also made me realize that there were other things that I wanted to talk about on Georgiana Journey. Possibly things that I felt compelled to talk about, but was not sure if this was the right space to do so. But let’s face it…  Unexplained Infertility has been a massive part of my reality. Behind so many happy smiling pictures of us traveling abroad, there are many in which you would never know that I was pregnant and at times struggling with fear and anxiety of whether my pregnancy would be full term and I would actually be able to bring a baby home. My hope is that by discussing this, that I help someone else along the way…someone who has felt silenced, or ashamed, or scared, or hurt. These next blog posts may not be for everyone and I understand that, but if they are for you, please know that I see you and I hear you.

Cheers To A Decade: 2010s

 

As the year and a decade come to an end I thought it would only be fitting to do a post reflecting on the last 10 years with gratitude, growth, and acknowledging change.
The last 10 years have opened my eyes in so many ways that I could have never fathomed. I’ve loved, I’ve lost, I’ve grown, I’ve cried, I’ve healed, and I’ve found my faith again.
Over the course of a decade I graduated from college, I moved to a new city to take a job on a whim, I lost love, I found love for myself, I found my life long love when I wasn’t even looking for him. I got engaged and like the 2 crazy kids that we were got married 2 months after our engagement. We left everything we knew and loved and moved half way across the world and I learned how to rely on my husband even when it meant swallowing my pride.

I learned to embrace every second of life abroad from finding incredible lifelong friends, gaining international work experience, culture shock, the chance to travel to places I never dreamed of. In our first year of marriage we saw Greece, Qatar, Turkey, Italy, United Arab Emirates, France, Singapore, Maldives, and Spain and with each trip memories were formed and we still sit and reminisce about them from time to time. From hiking cliff sides, to late night shisha, to eating our weight in gelato, seeing the tallest building in the world, seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night, late night walks to hawker stalls, dipping our toes in some of the clearest water in the world, and partying in Ibiza.

We made plans to start our own family and to our surprise we did quite quickly. Our excitement grew, but before we knew it we lost our first little one. We mourned. We depended on each other, we supported each other, we loved each other. And we decided it was time to move home.

We bought our first house together. One that we knew we would love and grow into. We lost more little ones, but we gave so much love to our niece who helped make this house more of a home. We waited and waited and continue to wait for children of our own. And in the midst of all of it, our love and support has grown beyond anything I could have asked for… and for that I will forever be grateful.

We’ve lost grandparents and cousins and vowed to keep their legacy alive. Not a day goes by the we don’t thank them for the road that they have paved for us and the inspiration they gave us to be better people.

We saw more of the world…Canada, Thailand, Italy again, Aruba, Hawaii, and Australia. We walked across suspension bridges, bathed elephants and released lanterns in the Lantern Festival, we ate more gelato, sunbathed with flamingos, hiked to waterfalls, and took a hot air balloon ride to see the Australian country side. We experienced Kentucky Derby twice and dressed to the nines with some of our favorite people.

We truly have made an effort to LIVE!

I lost my faith, but in the last 2 years I can say that found it again. I found peace, patience, hope, and trust in God again and I am blessed to have been afforded such grace.

 

So as this decade comes to an end I can’t emphasize or express the gratitude I have for all of the life lessons that I have gained, for the strength I have found in my husband, my family, my friends, and God. As we prepare to enter a new year and a new decade my hope for all of us is that… we LIVE AND LOVE like never before, we FIND PEACE amongst the ups and downs of life, we FIND FAITH in which ever deity we chose to believe in, we LEARN from all that life presents to us, we FOCUS OUR ENERGY on the things and people that make us happiest, we’re KIND to those around us, we BELIEVE IN OURSELVES even when it is difficult, and we TAKE TIME to be present and enjoy all things no matter how big or small that surround us..

Goodbye to the 2010s and with open arms we welcome the 2020s! May the New Year bring you peace and prosperity! Cheers to the New Year!

How To Book Flights Without Breaking the Bank

 

A popular question that Ryan and I are often asked is “how do you all travel so frequently?” What may seem frequent  to one person versus another is purely based on perception, but in this post I will explain to you how we make the most of our ability to travel. Let me start by prefacing this post with, this blog post is in no way sponsored or paid for by any of the companies that I will touch on today. All thoughts and preferences are based on our own beliefs and experiences. 

Wine, Whiskey, & Washington

Finding the right time to head to the Pacific Northwest can be quite difficult when you’re spoiled with sunshine and beautiful beaches in Florida. Ideally I would choose July when the weather is much warmer, the chances of sunshine much better, and I can spend time with my dad and little sister for a week. This usually includes my aunts and uncles flying out for a family gathering, taking part in Bite of Seattle where food vendors fill the lawn of the Seattle Center offering samples of their latest creations or the trendiest new delights, and an over all a good time. However, we missed that window this year and instead we got to experience Fall in the PNW.

Perusing Phuket

Part One of my Phuket post was all about the softer more relaxing side of Phuket . If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to read that portion entitled Finding Peace in Phuket. This portion of my Phuket blog, Perusing Phuket, will be dedicated to island hopping and night life which let’s be honest, that’s what you came here for, right? Without further ado, here are the details about our time living it up in Phuket.

Finding Peace in Phuket

More often than not, when someone mentions Thailand, Bangkok and Phuket are some of the first locations that come to mind. For those looking to relax, lay by the beach, and potentially party, Phuket is the place for you. This portion of my Phuket blog will be dedicated to the relaxation part of our time in Phuket. This particular blog will be split into two portions to over our full experience. As always you can catch the full experience on Ryan’s Youtube channel. The video can also be found here on my blog. 

One Happy Island: Aruba

After over  a year of not traveling internationally, we picked up where we left off and decided to tap into a part of the world that we had never ventured to before. Living in Florida you would think that the Caribbean would have been an obvious destination for us to have already dove into. Some may know the location we chose as One Happy Island and others as Aruba. Thanks to a deal we found on Scott’s Cheap Flights, we were able to find a flight deal before taxes at about $180 a person/round trip. We had been eyeing the Caribbean for a while and weren’t sure where we wanted our first trip to be. I knew that at some point I wanted to see the ABC Islands -Aruba-Bonaire-Curacao. So when the opportunity to check one of them off the list appeared, we were all over it.

Rays of Sunflowers

I can gladly say that if you seek it, you shall find it. There are always so many things to do in and around our city. Or as my mom says “you all always find the strangest most interesting things to do.” Thanks to a friend, I recently learned about Sweetfields Farm. Sweetfields Farm is a pick and pay produce farm located out in the county,  but it has so much more than produce to offer. During the month of May,  Sweetfields Farm opens up their sunflower maze to the public as the sunflowers reach the peak of their blooming.