Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Things I have learned during our fertility journey

Things that I have learned during my fertility journey. Some are funny and some are sad, but they are all true.


1.) Saliva kills sperm

2.) My follicles are lazy! I have 2 that are pulling their weight and the rest are lounging on the sofa!

3.) There are a lot of people in this world struggling with trying to build and expand their families.

4.)That deep down inside, I can be a very jealous person.  

5.) That simply relaxing will NOT get you pregnant. NEVER say this to someone!

6.) That a pregnancy doesn't always equal a baby.

7.) That it does not get easier, each cycle is just as hard as the last.

8.) That there is nothing to aid conception in the water at work, despite what some may say.

9.) That a simple blood test costs $648! 

10.) That some people around me would become more insensitive as time goes on. "It is so hard having a new baby." or "Be happy you only have one."

11.) I'm not alone



12.) That despite the losses that my family and I have experienced, that we are very blessed and lucky.

13.) I have learned that taking risks is important and worthwhile, even when we don't always reach the goals we have in mind or get the outcomes we are hoping for.

14.) During difficult and uncertain times in our lives we make the best decisions we can with the information we have at the time.

15.) We need to do our best to be kind to ourselves and not spend too much time reflecting on what we could have done differently.

16.) That infertility is not as rare as I was led to believe.

17.) Every day, a healthy adult male can produce around 70 to 150 million sperm, while an average teaspoon-sized 'serving' contains between 200 and 500 million of the lil' guys.

18.) Sperm are produced in the testes, where it takes about 10 weeks for a single soldier to reach maturity

19.) An egg lives for about 12-24 hours after you ovulate, and sperm can live for five to seven days.

20.) Fertilization process occurs near the middle of the fallopian tube, not in the uterus. And that is where my eggs like to stay. LOL

21.) Most of all, I have learned that joy really can be found in the journey.




My journey is not over, so I may add more over time.




The brook that flows over stones makes the sweetest music. If you remove the rocks, the brook will lose its song. ... You will never be the person God wants you to be, if afflictions, trials, and disciplines are taken out of your life. 

Monday, May 23, 2011

A week of Swag Buck Excitement!

First of all, Swag Bucks is rolling out an all-new series of collector's bills, which they are calling the "Score Four and Twenty Swag Bucks" challenge, because there are four Memorial Day-themed collectible Swag Bucks bills, and if you can collect them all before Thursday, you'll get a 20 Swag Buck bonus applied to your account (that bonus will be applied later that following week). Also, they are going to have a new area of the Swagbucks Ledger where you can track the Collector's Bills as you get them, share your wins on Facebook/Twitter, and keep them after the promotion is over as a kind of trophy case.
Also, they are going to have a BIG Swag Code Extravaganza Thursday, where they will give out over 40 Swag Bucks in codes through the day. 
Swagbucks, the best place to get free stuff from searching and more is celebrating Memorial Day next week  - they'll have 4 special Limited Edition collector's bills available!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Swag Bucks : Happy Mega Swag Bucks Day

If you haven't joined Swag Bucks yet, today is a good day to join.


Happy Mega Swag Bucks Day! Every Friday is Mega Swag Bucks Day, which means you can earn Swag Bucks in increments of 50, 100, 200 or even 1000 just by doing routine web searches.  I LOVE Swag Bucks!
If you’re new to Swag Bucks, it’s a free rewards program that lets you earn points for online shopping, web searches, taking polls and more. Just a few searches a day can help you earn points quickly. Then trade them in for prizes like Amazon gift cards, iPods, DVDs, video games and more. And who couldn’t use some Amazon gift cards!
You’ll earn 30 Swag Bucks just for signing up for the free rewards program. As a bonus, you’ll also earn an extra 50 Swag Bucks on your birthday!

If you’re new to Swag Bucks, or even if you signed up some time ago, here are five tips to help you earn Swag Bucks quickly.
  • Search Regularly at SwagBucks.com. Most recently I’ve been able to win Swag Bucks when I search for items that are popular in the news, but not too popular. I haven’t had any luck searching for terms that everyone is gabbing about. It may take a few minutes, but it’s always a rush when you win Swag Bucks!
  • Once you Win, Come Back in a Few Hours. Once you winSwag Bucks doing web searches, come back again in a few hours. It does happen, but it’s rare to win back-to-back. I generally doing searches in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening.
  • Download the Swag Bucks Toolbar. I love having the toolbar because not only does it update me on how many Swag Bucks I have, but when I have my web browser open, I always wake up to a fewSwag Bucks that are waiting for me when I first hop on my computer.
  • Check out Swag Bucks Outside of SwagBucks.com. Visit Swag Bucks on TwitterFacebook and on the Swag Bucks Blog to get codes that you redeem for more Swag Bucks!
  • Tell Your Friends. Once you sign up for Swag Bucks you have the opportunity to grab a referral link that you can send to your friends to encourage them to sign up. You’ll earn a Swag Buck for every one each one of your friends earns (up to 1,000 Swag Bucks). So add your referral link to your email signature, your Facebook page, your Twitter page and more.