Fantastic Fundraising News

In 18 days, the Chill Indiegogo page has had over 1500 views and raised $2,355 in donations! 

Chill has also made it's way to page 2 of the film category. It's inching closer to the spot on page 1 AND then to the main page!

I'm truly grateful for all the encouraging emails I've received, rockin’ retweets and generous contributions!  Let's keep it going!  I can't do it without you!

Roundtable Conversation on Egg Freezing

Here's a really interesting segment from To the Contrary about egg freezing.  To watch just the egg freezing portion, skip to 9:59 below.  

A couple of my favorite quotes:

• "The part of me that believes that a woman has a right to plan above all whether and how she going to have children, keeps me from saying don’t do this.  It is another one of the choices that I would not deny a woman, but I do think one has to think about why....With everything new thing there will be people who mistake how you ought to use it, but are we going to somehow deny people that choice?   When it comes to having children, I'm for you making any choice you want to make."  ~Eleanor Holmes Norton
• "This is additional choice and for some women it will mean a miracle, I think especially for woman who have been diagnosed with cancers early in life where they had to undergo chemotherapy and I hope that this creates and option for those women.  I don’t believe that there is any such thing as having it all.  This too comes with trade-offs.  It mean you will be an older parent.  It may mean that your children will have less time with their grandparents, which are such special relationships....it’s another option, but yet again it comes with trade-offs....Culturally this may tell us about our priorities.  Ever since women have been entering the workforce we’ve had more and more opportunities more and more choices and those are wonderful things.  I’m in a generation of people that’s really struggling with the family formation question."  ~Hadley Heath

Fans of the Week - Mandi & Aaron Forehand

Mandi and Aaron,

Not only have you cheered for me on the softball field, but you've celebrated each victory during this journey.  Thank you for your smiles, hugs and optimism.  I couldn't ask for more! 

P.S. - Thanks to Twink too!    

Jagged Little Pill

A few days ago, I read a blog post from Red Pill Theory that made me want to vomit.  It was titled Is Egg Freezing the Next Birth Control?  It wasn't the title that turned my stomach, but the words spewed by the author.  

The blogger shared his feelings about egg freezing and women, specifically Sarah Elizabeth Richards, author of Motherhood Rescheduled:  The New Frontier of Egg Freezing and the Women Who Tried It.  Here's what he said that made me wanna puke:  "There's something powerfully strange about a modern career women:  their inability to admit failure.  Everything they do is part of their path to self-empowerment.  Sarah Richards had to use her life savings on a fairly dicey new technology because she couldn't get a man.  That's my definition of failure, especially when you consider 90% of white women manage to get married."

Fan of the Week - Heidi D. Durrow

To fellow mixie, Heidi:

Thank you for supporting me in more ways than one during this exciting journey.  You have encouraged me to push my boundaries,  believed in me when I had a hard time believing in myself and been a wonderful friend.  I'm so grateful to have you on my team! 

Fan of the Week - Adam Schor

Adam is the first person to donate to Chill's Indiegogo campaign.  Thanks for getting the ball rolling!  We appreciate your support @adamschor! 

Here We Go!

The egg freezing is done. Now, let’s make a movie! 

What We Need

• I’ve taken care of Phase I ($14,000): which included the egg freezing procedure, filming and all other production expenses.
• Now, it’s time to move forward and this is where I need your help. Phase II: post production – transcripting, contracting composers to write music, hiring an editor to organize and edit the footage and so much more. This is where it becomes a short film! My goal is to raise $15,000 (or more).
• The short will be submitted to festivals and then begins Phase III: a feature film that presents the full story— my life before egg freezing, my egg freezing journey and three to five years in future. You’re gonna want to know what happen with the eggs, right?

Donate:  Click here to contribute to Chill!

Thanks to The Festival!

Most people that know me are aware of my involvement in the Mixed community.  Over the past four years, I've put my time and heart into two life-altering  projects, The Mixed Chicks Chat Podcast and The Festival.  An enormous thank you to The Festival for featuring me and Chill on their website!  I am so grateful for their continued support and faith in me.  They helped me find my voice and encouraged me to use it.   Check it out! 

Eff Cancer

I met Alice Crisci at the Fertility Planit Show in Los Angeles this past January. She was a speaker on the egg-freezing panel. The moment she finished sharing her story, I knew there was no way I could leave that place without meeting her.

She was vulnerable, full of life, enthusiastically talking with her hands, and had one of the most infectious laughs I’ve ever heard. I was inspired by her journey and in complete awe of her strength.

At 31, Alice was diagnosed with breast cancer. Let me repeat that – At 31, Alice was diagnosed with breast cancer. Talk about a game changer. When I think of cancer I don’t exactly envision someone in their early thirties having it.

After learning chemotherapy treatments could cause infertility, Alice decided to freeze eggs and embryos. She wanted to give herself the best possible chance to become a mother after she survived cancer. If she survived cancer.

India & Egg Freezing

Egg freezing has arrived in New Delhi! Although the procedure is fairly new to India, the concept of women racing against their biological clock is not.

Deepika Gupta is a 35 year old career focused lawyer who is still looking for Mr. Right. In the meantime, she has decided to freeze her eggs.

"Many women are coming forward to preserve their fertility as either they don't want to have a child now or haven't found the right person. Every month we get four-five queries about egg freezing and one or two of them come in for the procedure," says director of the Surrogacy Centre India Healthcare, Shivani Sachdev Gour.