Every year at this time I generally have one thing on my mind: turkey, turkey, turkey. I didn't grow up in a very traditional American family and somehow giving thought to the meaning of thanksgiving usually escapes me. This year however, maybe because I have a lot to be thankful for, I am more aware and so I thought I would share some things for which I give thanks.
I am thankful for:
-my sweet baby girl and everything she has already taught me
-my loving supportive husband without whom I would probably starve
-my mom, because I never understood the full magnitude of what she did for me until now
-my loyal pup who keeps me warm at night even though it means giving up half my bed space
-coffee, warm, cold I don't care as long as it's caffienated
-sweatpants
-the few hours of sleep I get
-my iPhone because it keeps me plugged into the "outside"
-mouthwash for being more efficient than a toothbrush
-cameras because these last two months have been a blur
-the miracle of life
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
What a bunch of boobs
While the government and news media continues to go to battle over the Obama healthcare plan, the health of the women in the US has suddenly been flung back into the dark ages. First the US Preventative Services Task Force (whatever the hell that is) changed the suggested age for mammograms from age 40 to 50, then the American College for Obstetrics and Gynecology has suggested that pap smears need not be given more often than every two years. While I don't have personal experience with mammograms and breast cancer I certainly know of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer at a much younger age than 50, not to mention that fact that it is repeated time and time again that the main reason that breast cancer death rates have declined is due to early diagnosis. To the pap smears I can speak from a more personal place as I personally was a hair away from cervical cancer, and had I not had my annual pap smear it may not have been caught in time. I guess what I don't understand is why? Why discourage women from getting preventative care? To what, shave a minute or two off of the nanoseconds spent with each patient? To spare a minimal amount of discomfort? To somehow save money? I don't care what the reason is, it's not important enough to risk my life and so to the task force and to the college all I can say is you can take your suggestions and shove em.
Monday, November 16, 2009
"Communism is just a red herring!"
I just finished reading my first book read entirely on my iphone using the Kindle app, read while rocking baby (I love this phone! It seems there's almost nothing it can't do). I decided on the new Dan Brown because I figured it would be a light, easy read and like everyone else I read the Da Vinci Code and enjoyed it. The DaVinci Code was so succesful that it led to a zillion copycats and it seems even Dan Brown stole it's formula and simply plugged new characters and mysteries for his latest endeavor The Lost Symbol.
If you don't recognize it, the quote in my post title is from the movie Clue. Like Clue, Lost Symbol is a wild goose chase in search of an answer, the red herring in this being the lost secrets of the Freemasons. I don't want to give anything away but I'll just say the reveal is not nearly as interesting or controversial as that of the DaVinci Code.
Although I found his latest work somewhat disappointing, it does irk me that Brown gets so heavily criticized by so called literary authors and critics. Of course his writing isn't going to win any national book awards but it's not trying to in the first place. It's purpose like many other succesful books is simply to entertain and what exactly is so wrong with that? Not every book has to be the great American novel to serve a purpose. In fact I would argue that an author like Brown is more aware of his audience than most because he is writing more for them than for himself. His critics should be happy for the fact that he is getting people to buy and read books and basically single-handedly keeping the publishing business afloat. For every Dan Brown a publisher has there are twenty critically acclaimed authors who get to be published even though they aren't bestsellers. It's no different than the film industry, the only way a studio can pay for those Oscar pics is by rolling out a handful of Transformers sequels.
-- Posted from my iPhone
If you don't recognize it, the quote in my post title is from the movie Clue. Like Clue, Lost Symbol is a wild goose chase in search of an answer, the red herring in this being the lost secrets of the Freemasons. I don't want to give anything away but I'll just say the reveal is not nearly as interesting or controversial as that of the DaVinci Code.
Although I found his latest work somewhat disappointing, it does irk me that Brown gets so heavily criticized by so called literary authors and critics. Of course his writing isn't going to win any national book awards but it's not trying to in the first place. It's purpose like many other succesful books is simply to entertain and what exactly is so wrong with that? Not every book has to be the great American novel to serve a purpose. In fact I would argue that an author like Brown is more aware of his audience than most because he is writing more for them than for himself. His critics should be happy for the fact that he is getting people to buy and read books and basically single-handedly keeping the publishing business afloat. For every Dan Brown a publisher has there are twenty critically acclaimed authors who get to be published even though they aren't bestsellers. It's no different than the film industry, the only way a studio can pay for those Oscar pics is by rolling out a handful of Transformers sequels.
-- Posted from my iPhone
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
09.09.09
Been lacking blog posts in quite some time but for good reason, I've been pretty tied up since the date titling this post as that was the day my daughter was born and my life pretty much changed forever. I hate to sound so dramatic and to be honest before becoming a parent myself I couldn't stand people with kids who would harp on how different life was with children and that you couldn't possibly understand until you have one, but damn it they were right. Life has changed in numerous ways. Its almost difficult to even explain it. At times it is trying but mostly it's amazing. I have never felt so much joy and love and the feeling only grows each day.
I mean don't get me wrong, certainly I didn't expect life to go on as it had before, but what I didn't expect was how much it would change me as a person. I've always admired moms because they all seem to have a similar air of confidence and now that I am one I finally understand where that confidence comes from, it's simply not caring. The minute you become responsible for such a helpless and ridiculously adorable human being everything else just suddenly seems to matter less. Would I rather not walk around unshowered and covered in spit up? Sure, but at the end of the day none of that stuff really matters when compared to her happiness and well-being. For the last 29 years it's been a me-world and suddenly I've been thrust into new world view, one in which the planets no longer revolve around myself, and quite frankly- for someone who generally is quite self-concious- it's a very liberating feeling.
All that said I haven't forgotten there's a whole world of life still going on everyday, in fact the only thing that keeps me sane some days is having five minutes to plop down on the couch and watch the Today show or the View (yes I watch the View and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) just to be reminded of what I now refer to as the "real world". I have missed blogging and there's been so much I've wanted to discuss but I simply haven't had the time. Everything from turning 29- fairly uneventful- to Starbucks new instant coffee Via- suprisingly good. And then of course there was the new fall tv line-up: Modern Family- hilarious, Cougar Town- awfully unhilarious, Community- meh. And for those of you still tuning into Survivor like I am, there's Russell- possibly my most favorite player ever, not saying the guy's likable but man does he know how to play the game.
I spend a lot of my day sitting in a rocking chair, iPhone in hand to entertain me (what did moms do before this amazing invention I will never know, nor do I want to), while Sofie sleeps blissfully in my arms. Thanks to the discovery of this blogger iPhone app I should be able to blog occassionally, although it took me a week of typing one handed while holding and rocking baby just to write this post so don't hold your breath.
I mean don't get me wrong, certainly I didn't expect life to go on as it had before, but what I didn't expect was how much it would change me as a person. I've always admired moms because they all seem to have a similar air of confidence and now that I am one I finally understand where that confidence comes from, it's simply not caring. The minute you become responsible for such a helpless and ridiculously adorable human being everything else just suddenly seems to matter less. Would I rather not walk around unshowered and covered in spit up? Sure, but at the end of the day none of that stuff really matters when compared to her happiness and well-being. For the last 29 years it's been a me-world and suddenly I've been thrust into new world view, one in which the planets no longer revolve around myself, and quite frankly- for someone who generally is quite self-concious- it's a very liberating feeling.
All that said I haven't forgotten there's a whole world of life still going on everyday, in fact the only thing that keeps me sane some days is having five minutes to plop down on the couch and watch the Today show or the View (yes I watch the View and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) just to be reminded of what I now refer to as the "real world". I have missed blogging and there's been so much I've wanted to discuss but I simply haven't had the time. Everything from turning 29- fairly uneventful- to Starbucks new instant coffee Via- suprisingly good. And then of course there was the new fall tv line-up: Modern Family- hilarious, Cougar Town- awfully unhilarious, Community- meh. And for those of you still tuning into Survivor like I am, there's Russell- possibly my most favorite player ever, not saying the guy's likable but man does he know how to play the game.
I spend a lot of my day sitting in a rocking chair, iPhone in hand to entertain me (what did moms do before this amazing invention I will never know, nor do I want to), while Sofie sleeps blissfully in my arms. Thanks to the discovery of this blogger iPhone app I should be able to blog occassionally, although it took me a week of typing one handed while holding and rocking baby just to write this post so don't hold your breath.
Monday, November 2, 2009
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