Here are the details.

You have until midnight tonight (EST) to email me (polchic@hotmail.com) a little nugget – a blog you love, a little story about yourself, some suggestions for the site – winners will be announced on Monday. Just remember to give me an address where I can send the book.

And many thanks to those who have already taken my latest poll. From the looks of it so far, you dig hearing about all the news your womb can use. Sounds good to me!

Post from: Blisstree

Still Time to Win a Copy of Cindy Margolis’ New Book!

Nope. It’s a whole different package (as it were). One for which hotels, resorts and spas are charging up to thousands of dollars a night. And you thought infertility treatments were expensive.

I first heard of this concept when I followed a link from one of the commenters here at Fertility Notes. It took me to a secluded compound in Hawaii whose sole purpose is to get you in the mood:

KaNeCa Fertility Institute’s all-inclusive 7-day retreat provides you with the tools to realize your inherent procreative powers. We treat the whole person: strengthening and nurturing your physical, emotional and spiritual being. They are interdependent and must be unified to tap your full potential.

As I was flipping through a women’s magazine yesterday morning, I found another hotel offering a ‘Procreation Vacation’ at its Virgin Islands locale, complete fertility specialists, specialty massages, sea moss, and pumpkin soup. Relax. Unwind. Get those juices flowing.

According to this USA Today article, you can choose a number of settings for your procreation vacation: the mountains, the sea, the desert…

There is a Procreation Ski Vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where couples can snuggle by a toasty fire, enjoy a candlelit dinner for two in their room and take a dogsled trip to a nearby hot springs at the Teton Mountain Lodge.

For about $1,800, couples can book a conception cruise on the “Love Boat.” They are taken to a romantic island on the luxury liner of Singapore sex guru Dr. Wei Siang Yu.

At the Miraval Resort in Tucson, sex experts Dr. Lana Holstein and her husband, Dr. David Taylor, help couples with such things as ovulation schedules and achieving intimacy.

Seriously, these places sound awesome, and if someone offered us a complementary trip, I would not say no. (hint)

But for a few grand a night, that better be the best damn pumpkin soup I have ever tasted.

Post from: Blisstree

Take a “Procreation Vacation”

I can always count on my pal L. to send me links and action alerts to get me even more riled up than I already am. Here’s one that directly relates to my Blog Action Day post regarding phtalates and plastics and their nasty effects on fertility (among other things).

Among the results of this Project which strived to answer a basic question: If toxic pollution is in products, is it in us? are:

More than six billion pounds of bisphenol A (used in some plastic water and baby bottles, dental sealants, and the resin linings of metal food cans) are produced each year and 95% of Americans tested by the Centers for Disease Control now excrete it in their urine. In laboratory studies, bisphenol A alters egg development in exposed fetuses and increases the risk of genetic damage in the next generation, thus providing evidence for multigenerational effects. In laboratory animals exposure to bisphenol A profoundly affects the male reproductive system, with adverse changes to the testes, testosterone and sperm production. (emphasis mine)

Damn. This study and others like it are fueling some of my New Year’s Resolutions. Check later today to see what those are.

Post from: Blisstree

Is It In Us?

And we did. And it is heavenly.

We were just out for a regular shopping trip on Saturday. In between the Wegmans and the Lowes, we walked into a new mattress store (grand opening. I had a coupon. I always have coupons) and were greeted by the nicest, non-pushy salesperson (how’s that for an oxymoron). We explained our predicament and the price we were willing to pay. She then took us over to this computer which asked us questions about our aches and pains and set us down on what looked like a twin sized bed which was actually connected to the computer and took a measurement of how our spines were aligned. At least that’s what they told us. The computer then spit out a print out of the beds in the store that would best suit us and rated them: Good, Better, Best (reasonable, expensive, indulgent).

We spent the next hour hopping from bed to bed, trying out different pillows, different degrees of firmness. Here’s a cool trick: if your mattress is adequately supporting you, you should be able to hold up your arm perpendicular to your body and no one should be able to push it back down. We tried this several times and when we thought the salesperson was pulling our legs, we tried the trick ourselves. It works! We found the bed we wanted and were ready to walk out the door and deliberate some more, when the lovely lady at the shop said, “We can have it delivered by tomorrow. You could be sleeping on this in a day.” We nearly fainted. We made the purchase, opted for a great financing package (grand opening) and set the delivery time.

And now we have it. A gorgeous KING SIZE semi-firm mattress that just fits our bedroom. I can’t begin to explain the difference and how I am feeling this morning. I feel alive. Awake. Well-rested, even. We even skipped the gym to sleep in a little more this morning. That’s gotta be some good chi, right?

Why am I blathering on about all of this? Because whether or not you’re down with the feng shui and flow of positive energy and all that jazz, the quality and amount of sleep that you get is connected to fertility. So when you go to sleep tonight, think about your surroundings and what you’re sleeping on. It usually doesn’t require a full-on new bed to make your evenings more restful. Consider a new pillow, new sheets, heavier or lighter blanket….it is the season of giving, you know. Treat yourself to something nice.

Post from: Blisstree

Beds, Backs, Chi, and Oh Yes, Fertility

At the very heart of this statement is an implication that a period somehow needs to be put to use or justified beyond its very existence. There is an assumption that “just” a period is somehow not good enough. Your period is more than just a symbol of your fertility. It is an integral part of a cycle that creates human life.

Dear Tampax, is that not enough for you?

Apparently not. With your new slogan you are perpetuating the idea that periods are a burden, a nuisance, something synonymous with PMS, mood swings and other negative connotations put upon them by a society that does not value motherhood. Your new slogan says to me, “Well, If I have to get my period and I have to buy tampons anyway, I might as well buy tampons that save the world, or at least Africa.”

And I am not buying it.

Post from: Blisstree

“Use Your Period For Good” – Part II

Oh yes.

Apparently, Tampax is out to save the world and this is their new slogan. For every overpriced piece of cotton shelved in a plastic applicator that you purchase to place in your most sacred of places, Tampax will be so kind to donate some pennies to their own Protecting Futures program which they say will provide young girls in Africa with sanitary products and help them go to school.

I am not even going to link to the Tampax site because I think this is such a load of sh*t. If you want more info you will have to find it yourself. Or just wait for the commercial. You’ll see it soon enough.

Is it not bad enough that women spend hundreds of dollars on their own feminine hygiene products each year? Are we not sufficiently contributing to somebody’s wealth? Now, we need to feel bad when we don’t proclaim our brand loyalty to Tampax? If we choose natural, reusable or goddess-forbid, environmentally friendly products like the Diva Cup or sea sponges to manage our flow, are we using our period for EVIL?

Give me a flipping break.

Here is a little bit more that you should be aware of before you shell out your hard-earned cash for Tampax or any other mass-produced tampons. This is from Rebecca Cannon at the Natural Products Marketplace. Emphasis is mine:

The Tampon Safety and Research Act of 1999, passed by Congress, stated many tampons, sanitary pads and even diapers contain dioxins, by-products of the bleaching process used in the manufacturing of paper products. The EPA and the International Agency for Research on Cancer confirmed dioxins are possible human carcinogens that also put women at risk for “effects that could suppress the immune system, increase the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, reduce fertility, and interfere with fetal and childhood development.” The bill goes on to cite an independent study that found mass-market tampons contain additives such as chlorine, absorbency enhancers, synthetic fibers, deodorant and fragrance. These additives, especially synthetic fibers, amplify toxin production associated with toxic shock syndrome (TSS), a bacterial illness that occurs mainly in menstruating women.

Update: It seems I have more to say.

Post from: Blisstree

“Use Your Period For Good.”