Yes, I have a fistful of pregnancy tests

In that tiny little pic of me to the right, I have a handful of pregnancy tests. During my photo shoot, I stomped on them, glared at them, threw them up in the air and broke them in half. I highly recommend doing all of those things the next time you get a negative pregnancy test.

The photo shoot was for my book cover and my publicity shots for when The Inadequate Conception comes out (so excited!). What's funny is that the two cover designers are men and so was the photographer. I brough the HPTs and some ovulation detection test sticks as props and they didn't know the difference. When they were shooting the HPT for the cover (it's hard to see, but it is a HPT with a frowning face where the "pregnant" or two blue lines should go), the guys started taking shots of an ovulation stick, so I quickly had to pull it out of the shot and hand them an HPT. Hmmph...men... Would any of your husbands or SOs know the difference?

I told the photographer, that I bet he never thought he'd be using HPTs as a prop in a shoot. I also had a turkey baster as a prop, but we didn't like those pics. I tried doing the Princess Leia stance from Star Wars with it as my light saber, but it didn't translate well on film. Still, I thought that was pretty funny. My sister thought I should also do a shot of me drinking a bottle of wine with a straw and a plate of cookies. Oh wait...that's what I'm doing now.

Same bat place, new bat title

Don't fret. This is the blog formerly known as Fertility Foibles (wish I could have some cool Prince-like symbol in here like a X'ed out pregnancy test). I have changed the name to reflect the title of a book that I have written about the funny and absurd stories that have accompanied my and others' fertility foibles.

I just sent my manuscript to the publisher on Friday and my cover art is finished - see the photo on the right.

I believe it will be ready around early November, so just in time to combat all of the "Hellidays" that happen when you're infertile. I give highly personal and intimate details of Jack Bauer and my struggles to get pregnant in hopes that it makes just one frustrated, sad or blue infertile smile or look at their situation a little differently.

And, don't worry, I will blantly be self-promoting it through my blog.

I apologize for no exciting or clever posts this week. My internet access has been down, but Jack is on the case, trying to make it work again.

Can't wait to share some excerpts of the book with you soon!

An Infertility Story Line on TV

I'm a fan of the CBS comedies on Monday nights, especially How I Met Your Mother, and I've recently gotten into Rules of Engagement. On today's episode, in the first scene, Jeff (AKA Putty from Seinfeld), was trying to give his wife, Audrey, a shot of estrogen since they're doing an IVF cycle. Instead of jabbing her in the rear, he accidentally stuck his hand with the needle and yelled, "I stuck myself with lady juice!"

Maybe you had to see it for it to be funny, but I cracked up. And, they made it very realistic because Audrey was complaining about how the hormones made her crazy - her brain foggy and not focused. Now that's something I can relate to. She was sweating profusely wiht hot flashes. Again, been there, done that.

It's about time that infertility was part of the mainstream. I'm tired of it being in the dark. I understand that not everyone wants to air their fertility issues, but I'm not one of them, and within a day or so, you will understand why I'm saying that.

I appreciate that the writers of this comedy are bringing infertility to light. They're not making fun of it; it seems pretty realistic and the conversations are making me think that one of the writers has been through it her/himself.

I'll be interested to see where the story line goes.

Another FaceBook foible

As some of you know, I enjoy an occasional rant about FaceBookers who go on and on about their pregnancies or kids.

I have a new one tonight that makes me think Big Brother is definitely watching me. A few weeks ago, one of the ads on the side of my page was for an infertility clinic. I do not have anything about my lack of fertility anywhere on my FaceBook page, so I'm wondering how this popped up. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't a coincidence.

Maybe it's because I don't post pics of my kids or rattle on about how much formula my kid has ingested over a 24-hour period (yes, this is a real post from one of my "friends" today).

In any case, it's quite curious to me how the ad found its way to my page.

Have any of you had this happen before?

Inspirational Infertilty eBook

My good friend, Lily, over at The Infertile Mind, has provided some amazing on-line classes to help us deal with infertility and get all of our frustrations, hopes and dreams off our chest.

I participated in both of her eclasses and it was a great experiences. She's now gone above and beyond in terms of her creative chops. She put together an ebook based on her classes that will help you examine your feelings and will help you think about them in a new way.

I hope you'll check out her blog, and tell her how much you enjoy her brilliant offering. Thanks, Lily for letting me share it!

It's like I've been pregnant for more than 2 years

A few weeks ago marked the two-year anniversary since we learned about our little boy in Vietnam. He was 7 months old when we first learned about him and saw the picture of him with his shock of black hair, and it was the second time in life I experienced love at first sight. He's now 31 months old (actually to the day today), and he's still not home with us.

I liken it to a 2-year gestational period, which is two months more than the mammal with the longest pregnancy - the elephant.

When parents go to help at the orphange, I get photos, videos and updates about how he's doing - just like I would if I was carrying him in my uterus and going to the doctor and getting ultrasounds.

I have felt the nesting urges, my mood is constantly having peaks and valleys and I am now have food cravings - mostly Twizzlers.

I am more than ready for my water to break and start the contractions. Maybe I need to have sex, go for a walk, take some castor oil, or one of the other many labor-inducing tricks.