IVF Is Expensive. Bejeweled Flamingo Headbands Are Helping this Teacher Pay for it
Victoria always knew she'd be a late bloomer in the motherhood department. At 39, after failed fertility treatments and two heartbreaking miscarriages, she finally turned to IVF. But she was dealt another blow when she learned the pricey procedure wasn't covered by her insurance — and certainly not feasible on a Georgia public school teacher's salary.
So, like any woman determined to defy the odds, she got creative. Victoria didn't turn to GoFundMe or second jobs. She leaned into the weird, the whimsical, and the wildly unique: her over-the-top, bedazzled, sometimes bird-covered headbands.
'I never thought I'd make a dime off them,' she says, laughing. 'I just liked creating these headbands for fun — think a flamingo centerpiece or a disco ball with streamers flying off it. The more ostentatious, the better.'
What started as a stress-relieving hobby — born out of her tradition of leading 'lady parades' on Atlanta's Beltline trail every birthday — turned into a niche side hustle. Her crew of friends wore her sparkly crowns with pride, turning heads and drawing Instagram requests from strangers. Eventually, friends of friends began asking for custom commissions.
One of her favorite creations? A grasshopper-themed headband for a Mad Hatter cocktail party. 'There's something so joyful about people putting these ridiculous things on their heads and owning it.' Joy was something she desperately needed. IVF is not only physically and emotionally grueling — it's financially draining. Each round of treatment cost thousands, and for a single teacher in her late 30s, that meant real sacrifice.
By the fall of 2024, after multiple rounds, Victoria faced the reality that her IVF journey had reached its end. 'It was heartbreaking,' she says, 'but I also knew I had to preserve my mental health.' Rather than give up on the idea of becoming a parent, she pivoted again — this time toward adoption. But that path isn't cheap either. 'When you factor in agency fees, legal costs, and travel, adoption can run upwards of $60,000,' she says.
So, once again, the headbands — and the joy they bring to others — have become her unexpected lifeline.
She's expanded into children's birthday parties, crafting unicorn tiaras, bug-themed antennae, and glittery crowns. Each sale, each smile, brings her one step closer to the family she's longed for. 'I didn't plan for my path to motherhood to look like this,' Victoria says. 'But if a flamingo on my head can get me there, I'll take it.' You can follow Victoria on Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
6 minutes ago
- Forbes
‘Fantastic Four' Box Office In Freefall, Down 80% From Last Week
While Fantastic Four: First Steps opened quite strongly in its first weekend, $117 million domestically, with a total around $257 million worldwide so far, things are taking a turn for the worse. While Fantastic Four will still take its second weekend, the movie only grossed $11.7 million on Friday, which is down a massive 80% from the previous Friday during its launch weekend. That puts it on pace to fall short of estimates and it may not even break $40 million in its follow-up weekend. It's difficult to spin this. For comparison's sake, in the same month, Superman dropped 53% from its first weekend to its second. And while Fantastic Four may outpace other recent, rather poor MCU offerings by a bit, this is far from a roaring 'we're back' warcry, despite these big names and how much they will tie into the upcoming pair of Avengers movies. It's not quite clear what happened here. The film reviewed well among critics, an 86%, and really well among fans, a 92% with 10,000 scores in, one of Marvel's highest. But as we've seen that…doesn't quite matter. Thunderbolts, the previous MCU film, was almost an identically-reviewed hit, 88% and 93%, but it was a self-admitted miss by Marvel, and one of its lowest grossers. As a result, Fantastic Four may also be trending toward the bottom tier of overall earners in the MCU. It's a little surprising. You can make excuses for a lot of past MCU failures: Fantastic Four? It's unclear. These are big, big names in Marvel. The cast was great. The movie was liked by critics and fans. Is it just…fatigue? Was Superman a factor? Everyone who cared saw it opening weekend and word-of-mouth didn't matter? Marvel is not down and out. They have just this week started ramping up hype for 2026's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, announcing cast members and roles and a first look at Tom Holland's new Spidey suit. No Way Home made almost $2 billion. This movie will not fail. But Fantastic Four? This is looking rather rough now. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Caddyshack' turns 45! The comedy classic's last line is one of its funniest, but 'made absolutely no sense'
How a 58-year-old movie-making novice clinched the big finish. Writers often agonize in search of the perfect words — and the last line of a comedy is a moment where they really have to stick the landing. Many cite the final zing from Some Like It Hot, "Nobody's perfect," as the ne plus ultra of screenwriting excellence. According to lore, writer-director Billy Wilder and his scripting partner I.A.L. Diamond slipped Joe E. Brown's final retort to Jack Lemmon as a placeholder until they could come up with something better. (Wilder later said they didn't trust the line at first, because it came too easily, but when they finally screened the movie, it got "one of the biggest laughs I ever heard in the theater.") Not questioning good creative fortune also served Harold Ramis, director of the madcap country club romp Caddyshack — a film that celebrates its 45th birthday today. (That's 15 years older than Bill Murray was when the movie came out, if you were curious.) The original screenplay for Caddyshack, written by Ramis, National Lampoon cofounder Douglas Kenney, and Brian Doyle-Murray (who based the story somewhat on his own memories working as a caddy), had a different ending than we now know. As Ramis explained, after Michael O'Keefe shames Ted Knight by making the game-winning putt (thanks to Bill Murray setting off explosives in pursuit of a pesky gopher), there was going to be two little wrap-up moments. Chevy Chase and Cindy Morgan were going to have a "walk off into the sunset" moment and we'd also see O'Keefe at the airport, about to leave for college, but instead following a foxy gal on a trip to Jamaica. This all got nixed because of the mad genius from Queens-born Jacob Cohen, better known to the world as Rodney Dangerfield. In 1980, Dangerfield was not really known much outside of comedy clubs. (Indeed, his own spot, Dangerfield's, opened in Manhattan in 1969.) He'd done appearances on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson and put out an album or two, but mainstream success eluded him. (Perhaps this was to his benefit, as he used these hard workin' years to hone his "I don't get no respect" everyman schtick.) When Ramis and producer Kenney cast the 58-year-old Dangerfield, he'd never really done any acting. Yet his natural instincts took over when he inhabited the role of Al Czervik, the gauche nouveau riche real estate developer that disgusted the blue blood snobs at the stuck-up Bushwood Country Club. Dangerfield sank his teeth into the role, which was initially much smaller but expanded due to his sensational improv skills. For example, there was the ad lib that was so out of the blue that Ramis decided to make it the last line of the entire picture. As the director explained it, the celebratory sequitur "Hey, everybody, we're all gonna get laid!" was agreed upon as the closer because of the film's ethos of "why not?" "It was a totally improvised line that I can't even believe I left in the movie," he said. "It makes absolutely no sense, which at that point was pretty much par for the course." And in some social circles, there are still guys who shout this out whenever anything good or unexpected happens. Caddyshack was an international box office sensation and made Dangerfield a star. Cable specials and top-selling (and Grammy-winning) albums followed, as did leading roles in '80s classics like Easy Money and Back to School. After Dangerfield died in 2004, the neighborhood where he grew up in Queens, Kew Gardens, decided to honor him with a mural. (It's right near the spot where Kitty Genovese was murdered.) In classic form, Dangerfield's widow thought the rendering of her late husband was terrible, and complained about it. Even from the grave he gets no respect! Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
33 minutes ago
- Fox News
Unearthed ‘Son of Sam' prison tapes reveal chilling details about serial killer David Berkowitz
Joe Berlinger wanted to understand how one man who seemingly came from a loving home went on to terrorize New York City. The Oscar-nominated director has launched a new true-crime docuseries on Netflix, "Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes." It features newly unearthed audio interviews between David Berkowitz and crime reporter Jack Jones, which took place in 1980 at Attica Correctional Facility. The three-part series also highlights a phone conversation Berlinger had with Berkowitz, 72, who is serving multiple life sentences for his murders. "David Berkowitz is very different from other serial killers," the filmmaker told Fox News Digital. "He wanted no human contact. He didn't want to know his victims. There's an anecdote about a snowstorm when he had a gun in his pocket. He came upon some people stuck in the snow, and he decided he'd rather be a hero than a killer, because he had a human interaction with those people. He is more about rage and alienation and having to express that rage." "I liken him to the school shooters of today rather than the sexual sadistic killer that most of these other serial killers are," Berlinger shared. "Serial killers, particularly Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy and Jeffrey Dahmer, needed to be intimate with their victims. Bundy and Gacy, in particular, got sexual gratification out of killing somebody and watching them die in their hands. Dahmer took that intimacy to the next level by consuming body parts. . . . But with Berkowitz, he needed to satisfy his rage." In the mid-1970s, Berkowitz, a postal employee, plunged the city into fear with a series of shootings using a .44-caliber revolver that killed six people and wounded seven. He appeared to target young women with long brown hair and couples canoodling in a lover's lane. The New York Police Department formed a 200-person task force to hunt down the killer, The Associated Press reported. Frightened women began cutting their hair short and dyeing it blonde, while many others rushed home before nightfall. He went on to send taunting letters to the police and the press, where he called himself the "Son of Sam" and claimed that a demonic-obsessed dog belonging to his neighbor had ordered him to kill. Berkowitz's reign of terror came to an end when he was arrested on Aug. 10, 1977. According to Berlinger, more newspapers were sold for the "Son of Sam" being caught than for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Berlinger said he wanted the film to also address rumors about the slayings that have persisted for decades. "There's still this belief that there were multiple Sons of Sams," Berlinger explained. "There's this conspiracy theory that there were multiple shooters, and they all belonged to a satanic cult. . . . It's preposterous. . . . It just further spurred me on to want to tell a clear-eyed, factual story about what happened. And just from a common-sense standpoint, the shootings stopped after Berkowitz was arrested. If there was a nationwide satanic cult, why weren't there more killings?" "There's just no forensic evidence to support that theory," Berlinger stressed. According to the docuseries, Berkowitz was brought up by Jewish parents in the Bronx. He was traumatized by both the startling revelation that he was adopted and the death of his adoptive mother from cancer. In 1971, he joined the army, and he distinguished himself as a talented marksman, reported. But after returning to New York, his mental health began to deteriorate severely. He was later diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. "I think it's a slippery slope to blame it on a bad childhood," Berlinger pointed out. "He had a good childhood by all accounts. He was just shocked that he was adopted. I had a rough childhood, and I'm the opposite of somebody walking around with a lot of rage and wanting to do terrible things." "Some people go through horrible experiences early in life and end up stronger and better," said Berlinger. "Others … end up doing terrible things. [What we do know is] that Berkowitz felt alienated and disconnected to the degree that he had to satisfy his rage." Berlinger admitted that at first, he was hesitant to speak with Berkowitz. WATCH: TED BUNDY'S EX-GIRLFRIEND INSPIRES HAUNTING NETFLIX BIOPIC ON THEIR ROMANCE: 'HE WAS A MASTER MANIPULATOR' "I debated whether it was appropriate to include his present-day thoughts, because it broke with the former," he explained, referring to his previous documentaries. "People are very sensitive about giving a platform to a serial killer. But … you are dissecting human behavior as a cautionary tale." Berlinger described Berkowitz as "disarming," someone eager to please and "wants to say all the right things." Still, it took some convincing for Berkowitz to speak out for the docuseries. And when he did during their phone conversation, there was one comment that Berlinger said took him aback. "It wasn't his final comment in the interview, but it's the final comment in the show," said Berlinger. "His chilling admonition to the younger David Berkowitz to just run and get help, meaning run from that horrible decision to get a gun and kill people randomly. I felt it was just so chilling, because it could have been so different for him." "The deeply sick, psychological disturbances of these other killers who liked looking into the eyes of their victims as they were expiring or eating body parts … it exists, but I don't think it's common," Berlinger continued. "But I do think youthful young men feeling disconnected, feeling rage, feeling unfulfilled - that's not uncommon in our society right now. I found that comment so chilling because it could have been so different had he just gotten help. I think with these school shootings, for example, there were so many signs where, if people had gotten help, maybe the outcomes would've been different." "… I think we have an epidemic of [poor] mental health in this country," said Berlinger. "I think young people, particularly young men – a lot of young men – feel alienated and lost. And I think that's important." GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB In addition to hearing Berkowitz speak, the film also highlights interviews with detectives, journalists, loved ones, survivors and others closely connected to the case. Berlinger said it was important for him to get the blessing of the survivors, in particular, to move forward with the project. "It's always important to include the victim's point of view in these shows," Berlinger explained. "I always reach out to victims and want their participation, or at the very least, their blessing. I have canceled shows in the past where the victims have said, 'This will hurt us if you do this.' And it was heartbreaking to hear the accounts of the survivors in this film. These were young people doing quintessential things that people in their youth do. This random act of violence snuffed out their hopes and dreams and reverberated for decades." Berlinger noted that the primary reason he agreed to reach out to Berkowitz was because of Wendy Savino. She was recently confirmed by the New York Police Department as Berkowitz's first known victim. The director wanted to see whether Berkowitz would weigh in on that shooting. "I believe that she was a victim of his," said Berlinger. "I can't say whether he believes it or feels a need to deny it." Berkowitz now claims he is a born-again Christian and feels remorseful. He previously appeared to relish the media attention he received and sold his exclusive story rights to a publishing house, reported. According to the outlet, New York State was the first to adopt a nationwide series of laws that take the proceeds a criminal earns from selling their story and instead gives them to a victims' compensation fund. It's unclear whether Berkowitz is sincere about being remorseful, but his message to his younger self has stayed with Berlinger. "When I asked him, 'If you could speak to the young David, what would you tell him? ' he said, 'Run, get help. I could have talked to my father,'" Berlinger recalled. "That touched me deeply," he said. "… If you're feeling rage or disconnection, and you're concerned about this level of rage that you live with every day, get help."
