Sex.

Pretty exciting title, eh? Eh?? So, we've begun talking about having a kid. This made me think about my educational background and access to healthcare, and how that might compare to other women's experiences. My conclusion: organizations like Planned Parenthood and legislation like the Affordable Care Act are essential.

Here's how it went: when I decided to become sexually active, I took a sexual health class from my top-tier college. I then worked at the Sexual Health Peer Resource Center, where I had access to up-to-date literature about just about every aspect of sexual health. I also read The Guide to Getting It On, which I strongly recommend to anyone who is thinking about having sex, who is currently having sex (why are you having sex and reading my blog??), or who has ever had sex. It's just really good. I also had internet access, and depended heavily on the information provided on sites like Go Ask Alice! to guide my choices about birth control. I learned the ways that different forms of birth control prevented pregnancies and STIs, and I made the choice that was right for me. Until this last month, I have never--not once-- had sex without some form of birth control. When we did have a birth control failure, I was able to access Plan B through my college health center. I also had a really kind partner who supported me and trusted me to make important decisions about my body.

Later, I got a job, and used my employer-provided health insurance to pay for a doctor's visit. At that doctor's visit, I got a prescription for the birth control pill, which my insurance partially paid for. Again, I used literature available to me in books and online to help me decide that I wanted to be on the pill, and which kind of pill I wanted to be on. When I needed Plan B one more time, I was able to go online, print out a coupon, and find a pharmacy that provided the emergency contraception (this time without a prescription!). Luckily, I had a job, so while the pill wasn't cheap, I could certainly afford it. I was also grateful that I was able to access information about the morning after pill. I knew I probably wouldn't get an abortion, so I was happy to learn about the differences between abortion and emergency contraception.

And now my husband and I want a baby. When we made this decision, we did a lot of reading. We knew what would happen when I stopped taking the pill. I downloaded an app so that I could track my fertility. When I get pregnant, I will use my insurance to see my doctor. I have disability insurance and maternity leave. I have a partner who will (after med school, damn it!) also bring in a salary. Throughout my pregnancy, I will use social networking to quiz my experienced friends and then make informed decisions surrounding my ob/gyn, the hospital where I deliver, and my birth plan. I will read all the books. No one is ever ready for parenthood, but I will be as ready as anyone can be.

What is my point? Well, this was my long-winded way of pointing out that education and access to healthcare matter. Because I have always known where to get information and have had insurance and money to take care of myself, I have been able to pretty much plan out my life. I've never had an STI, and I've never had an unplanned pregnancy. I've also always had partners who respect my autonomy when it comes to my body. But what about women who aren't so lucky? What about kids who have crummy sex education? What about women who have to take time off work to drive for hours to reach packed health centers where they barely have time to get a birth control prescription, much less advice from a doctor? What about people who have partners who refuse to wear condoms? What about people who don't have computers at home or nifty phone apps to identify the fertile window? It could be easy for me to say, "Listen, I never got an infection; I never needed an abortion. Everyone should be like me." The problem with this kind of thinking is obvious-- not everyone is as lucky as I have been. However, as I see it, it's an easy fix. If we can use organizations like Planned Parenthood to provide care and education to communities, and if everyone in our government finally understands that healthcare is a basic human right, we can do a lot to put ourselves on the right path. Having a plan is easy if you know how to make a plan.

Blog Fail

Okay, so you know how every so often, I come on here and swear that this time, I'm really going to keep it up?  Well, this time I really am going to keep it up.  I must write, damn it.  I think I put pressure on myself to write long posts, while what I really need to do is focus on writing frequent short entries.  So, this is my short entry.  Maybe I will try to mention two things that are going on with me/that I'm into/ that I am obsessed with (with which I am obsessed) each time.  One: we got a pug.  He is bad.  Lucie is a little unsure about him, mostly because he keeps eating her beds.  He is, however, pretty cute.  Meet Gus:

 

Uh, are you going to do something about this?

Also, I am addicted to refrigerator organization:

Never trust me with a Crate & Barrel gift card.

I just can't help myself.

99 Days

I dropped Bob off at LAX last night. The week went way too fast, and it was painful to have to work while he was home. When we talk to people about our long-distance relationship, we usually say that it's been easier than we expected, and the first year was especially fast. As I am sitting here to write about it, though, I have to admit that it's beginning to get to me. I hate my empty bed. I hate coming home to an empty house and spending most evenings alone. I hate that weeks go by and I'll realize that I haven't been touched affectionately. And I'm not even talking about sex; I just mean the stupid little touches that I think people need. I'm like that baby monkey with the wire mother.

It will get better soon, though! He will be in Los Angeles in July for one rotation, and then he'll do most of his other rotations in San Diego. I will never have to spend a Thanksgiving in Erie, Pennsylvania! This is definitely good. I will also say that there have been some other positive things to come out of the long-distance relationship. First, when he's a resident and never home, at least I will be able to look back at this time and know that it could be much, much worse. Bob has also been able to see some of his old friends a lot more. A friend from high school lives in Colorado, and Bob gets to see him when he drives back and forth from school each summer and fall. There's also a friend from college who lives in Cleveland that Bob gets to see much more frequently. Both guys are groomsmen, and I really like them and their wives. I am glad that Bob has such great friends who have become my friends, too. Finally, there's book club. My book club is great! I got to a point about a year ago when I knew I needed to go find something to do with myself on weeknights or I would become a cat lady. Anyway, we meet twice a month, and there's an offshoot dinner club that meets about twice a month, and I've made some really good friends. I haven't really formed any non-work relationships since college, and it was really getting to me.

Anyway, I started this post to reflect upon the fact that we will be getting married in 99 days. This is very exciting, but also kind of scary. It blows my mind that we've already been together five years, and I am happy to be spending the rest of my life with the guy. Still, I know that many marriages don't work out. It's weird to think that the person I adore now and agonize over being separated from might someday be someone I hate. I realize this is a pessimistic view, but I think it's naive to go into marriage without thinking it's a possibility. We know that marriage is not going to be easy, and ours will be especially challenging. We basically acknowledge that I will be alone with babies, possibly in a state where I know no one. This is terrifying! To this end, we have promised each other that we will go to counseling the second we feel that we're drifting, and we will not live out the plot of Angle of Repose. Also, Bob is great about managing time. I know that he may be super busy, but when he does have time, it will go to me. So yes, I'm nervous, but I'm also really, really excited. So excited that I may or may not wear my wedding band around the house. I'm not saying.

Brussels sprouts???? Brussels sprouts!!!!!!!!

It will probably come as no surprise to most people that I don't like vegetables. But you probably don't understand the deep, searing, white-hot hate I have for vegetables. I hate them. Let me say it again: I hate them. I would rather eat my own face than most vegetables. True story. Bob and I were talking about it (he's in town! Yay!), and we think it probably has a lot to do with the vegetables I ate while I was growing up. The thing is, aside from White People Salad (iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing), I seem to remember them all coming from cans. Ugh. Canned, salty S&W string beans were the bane of my existence, and a big reason I am veggie-resistant to this day. Oh, and that corn, peas, and carrots frozen stuff. Yeck. Aside from less-than-savory childhood options, I also have to say that I am a texture eater. There are whole groups of food I can't (notice I didn't say won't! I mean CAN'T) eat-- eggs, guacamole, and bananas are soft foods I hate. Celery, carrots, and beets are crunchy things that gross me out. Combine all this with the year I spent in Ireland, where we ate hastily cooked veggies 6 days a week, and you will begin to understand my feelings toward all things green.

In our five years together, though, Bob has gotten me to accept some vegetables. I will eat asparagus without too much complaining. I throw hand fulls of spinach into my morning smoothie every day. I have slices of red bell pepper (but never green!) with turkey for lunch most days. I really liked the roasted cauliflower with sage salt and lemon brown butter we had two Thanksgivings ago. Brussels sprouts, however, were something I was getting nowhere near. I hate Brussels sprouts! I don't like how they taste or how they feel in my mouth. And, I'll be honest, I think they smell like farts. There, I said it.

But how things have changed. Why? Because of this recipe. Oh my sweet baby Jesus, guys. I love Brussels sprouts!!!!

They still kind of smell like farts, though.

Years!

Okay, I acknowledge that it's been YEARS since I last posted. I am going to try to do better, I promise. Here are some of the topics I'd like to cover.

Wedding-- I guess the biggest news is that I'm getting married in a few months (wait! TheKnot.com check: 110 days!). I will also be turning thirty that week. Milestones! In the coming weeks, I will try to bring you some wedding craftiness. I know you care about my thoughts on different brands of glass glue.

Long distance-- Bob and I have been "enjoying" a long distance relationship for nearly two years. This is awful, awful, awful, but I've been really proud of how we've handled this less than ideal situation and how our relationship remains strong. Good news: he'll be moving to San Diego for the next two years. Better news: I will never have to spend another vacation in Erie, Pennsylvania again. I hope to use this blog to talk about being a med student's wife and later, what it's like to be a doctor's wife. I don't anticipate having an easy road ahead of us, but I think we'll figure it out.



The apartment-- I have been living in the same apartment for six years now. Sometimes I love it, because it does have a lot going for it. We only share one wall, we have a garage, we're allowed to have a dog, we have laundry. All this is great, and a tough combination to find. I've made some updates to it lately that I'm pretty excited about (see the new bookshelves?). There are also things I hate about our place. Mostly, it's OLD. I will talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly (namely, the hideous bathroom).

The job-- Right now, I am seriously burned out on teaching. I will try to talk about this is a not-too-negative way.

Books-- I lead a book club that meets twice a month. I love my book club! I will talk about the stuff we read, as well as the stuff I read on my own.

Weight loss-- This is a little hard for me to talk about, but I've lost nearly 130 pounds, and I have thoughts, people.

Okay. That should do it for now. Comment, and let me know if anyone's out there.

Election Excitement

I am SO excited about tomorrow. More exciting, though? I'm going to the Inauguration. How cool is that??

Catch Up

Sorry I've been so MIA, guys. The beginning of school is always hectic for me. It's going really, really well so far, though. I have most of my kids from last year, which is thrilling because last year was awesome. I wanted to share my newest Donors Choose proposals with you:

Here

And here.

Also, I've signed up with Adopt-a-Classroom, which is pretty cool. It does the same thing as Donors Choose--it sets up teachers with donors--but it provides a little more freedom, plus it doesn't charge the overhead that DC does. My page is here.

Give them a look. If you can't afford to donate, perhaps you can forward the links on to someone who can.

Finally, I found this clip on YouTube today. It's about Ballytobin, where I lived for a year. The clip gives you a pretty decent idea of our lives there. Enjoy!

This actually made me like her a little

Paris Hilton was actually kind of funny. I'd embed it, but it was too wide for my page. Just go, will you?

Also, by the way, Sharon Osbourne recently said this about Ms. Hilton:

"She's got a look that a lot of younger girls liked and copied but she has no talent. I'm sure Paris would tell you that herself. The timing was right for her. A lot of younger women looked up to her.

"She's a very sweet, nice girl. But that's it. Then you put a full stop. It's over."

Um, somebody's glass house had a reality show, too...

I'm pretty sure we need to get Anderson Cooper to join the DGSC.

Totally Overpriced but Perhaps Worth it Product Review

Every year, my dad's side of the family visits Lake Tahoe. The highlight for me is our trip to Shannon's Day Spa. The first year, I got a massage. I loved it, but I kind of felt drunk for the rest of the day. It was disconcertingly odd. For the last few years, then, I've been getting facials. I'm pretty happy with my skin these days. I went on Proactiv for a month, and though it made me feel like my face was covered in snake skin, it did clear me up. After that, I moved onto Cetaphil, and I've been clear and haven't had too many blemishes. So now I'm working on cultivating a bit of a glow.

I think that exfoliating is a key step for that. I used to use Kiehl's Milk, Honey, and Almond Scrub. I really liked it--it was like scrubbing my face with cookie dough. It smelled wonderful. My esthetician, however, said that after 25 or so, people should really stop using anything that uses shells or nuts, because they're too rough. Instead, she suggested the Ayur-Medic Papaya Enzyme Peel.

Now, I think $44 for 2 oz. is just stupid. I will be the first to admit this. I will attempt to justify myself by saying that a little goes a very, very long way. A teeny dip of the fingers in the green goop covers my whole face, and I will only use it once a week. And boy, does it seem to work. In the shower, I spread a truly small amount over my face, wait a minute, and then rinse it off. Ta. Da. It feels warm while it's on, but not uncomfortably so. After, my skin is crazy smooth and really glows.

Overpriced? Probably. Effective? Hell yes.

Reason I dislike my neighbor #3,973

Yes, in addition to the drums, the smoking, and the sinister house guests, he is currently playing a song whose title, as far as I can tell, is "Move those N*****s North." Awesome.

Dear John, please move. Love, Casey.

Sadly, he is a friend of my landlord's, so I doubt complaining will get me anywhere...

Unrelated, but I'd like to throw out a wag of my finger to Obama for kind of sorta saying he would kind of sorta think about offshore drilling. Yeah, yeah, if it's a part of a plan that includes energy conservation and alternative energy solutions. Get a spine, my friend.

I got Katie Holmes' hair cut.

No, not the weird-ass curled monstrosity of late that just begs, begs for a dicky bow. The one before. Since I take shitty pictures, you're just going to have to picture that haircut. On my head. I'm going for highlights next week. I've never dyed my hair, but I figured, meh, what the hell.

In other news, can they really say "douche bag" on TV? They just did. I didn't know that.

Mickey is going to be pissed

This is SO bitchy!!! I can't believe that Miley Cyrus would be so stupid to put something like this up. If I were her parents, I'd be really disappointed. I know, I KNOW, I'm posting something about Hannah Montana. Totally lame. But:

Just So You Know

My landlord watered our sidewalks again. And porches, patios, and stairs. You know, like he does every day. As, in fact, many of our neighbors do every day. How are people so clueless???

I enjoyed this.

Pop Culture Confession

I've got a pretty bad confession to make: I kind of adore ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager. It's by the creators of 7th Heaven and it's bad in all the same ways, except maybe even more so. And the pregnant teen isn't just some side character Hilary Duff sister. No, it's the main character. And drama abounds, I promise. My favorite part, though, is when kids (usually Amy's best friends, who annoyed me at first but are growing on me) will be having regular "OMG she's pregnant!" conversations, but then one of them will slip in a phrase like, "Amy needs to start eating right and taking prenatal vitamins for the fetus." It's sounds so unnatural and scripted; it verges on awesome because it is so, so bad. Also, one of the Dukes of Hazard is the super Christian doctor dad of the celibate cheerleader character, and he sways when he talks. It's super annoying. But again, awesome. The Christian cheerleader's mom was Amy's dad's first wife. AND there's the SPICY Latina majorette character who's also a slut and whose mom is a stewardess and always gone. And her major secret, along with the fact that she really just wants Jack, the boyfriend of the Christian cheerleader, or Ricky, the drummer who impregnated Amy, to love her, is that she's also really smart, and scored almost perfect on the verbal section on the PSAT. Also, she has sex with Ricky and it's pretty clear that she gave Jack a blow job. I think it's hilarious that the slutty character is the only Latina on the show. It is so unabashedly racist. Oh, another important point: Ricky has sex with everyone he possibly can because his dad sexually abused him and he's trying to prove his masculinity. He now lives with foster parents and sees a pretty cool shrink. What else? Amy's little sister is Goth, and really sarcastic and I like her. And Amy's new boyfriend doesn't care that she's had sex (but doesn't know she's pregnant yet) and he's such a geek but very endearing. His two best friends are this funny Asian couple. The girl of the couple is kind of a mix between Paris and Lane, and keeps spewing sex stats.

And the mom is Molly Ringwald. Snap.

Again, I recommend.

Inexcusable

Obama explains his inexcusable vote FOR the FISA bill today:

I want to take this opportunity to speak directly to those of you who oppose my decision to support the FISA compromise.

This was not an easy call for me. I know that the FISA bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn't have drafted the legislation like this, and it does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush's abuse of executive power. It grants retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have violated the law by cooperating with the Bush Administration's program of warrantless wiretapping. This potentially weakens the deterrent effect of the law and removes an important tool for the American people to demand accountability for past abuses. That's why I support striking Title II from the bill, and will work with Chris Dodd, Jeff Bingaman and others in an effort to remove this provision in the Senate.

But I also believe that the compromise bill is far better than the Protect America Act that I voted against last year. The exclusivity provision makes it clear to any President or telecommunications company that no law supersedes the authority of the FISA court. In a dangerous world, government must have the authority to collect the intelligence we need to protect the American people. But in a free society, that authority cannot be unlimited. As I've said many times, an independent monitor must watch the watchers to prevent abuses and to protect the civil liberties of the American people. This compromise law assures that the FISA court has that responsibility

The Inspectors General report also provides a real mechanism for accountability and should not be discounted. It will allow a close look at past misconduct without hurdles that would exist in federal court because of classification issues. The recent investigation uncovering the illegal politicization of Justice Department hiring sets a strong example of the accountability that can come from a tough and thorough IG report.

The ability to monitor and track individuals who want to attack the United States is a vital counter-terrorism tool, and I'm persuaded that it is necessary to keep the American people safe -- particularly since certain electronic surveillance orders will begin to expire later this summer. Given the choice between voting for an improved yet imperfect bill, and losing important surveillance tools, I've chosen to support the current compromise. I do so with the firm intention -- once I’m sworn in as President -- to have my Attorney General conduct a comprehensive review of all our surveillance programs, and to make further recommendations on any steps needed to preserve civil liberties and to prevent executive branch abuse in the future.

Now, I understand why some of you feel differently about the current bill, and I'm happy to take my lumps on this side and elsewhere. For the truth is that your organizing, your activism and your passion is an important reason why this bill is better than previous versions. No tool has been more important in focusing peoples' attention on the abuses of executive power in this Administration than the active and sustained engagement of American citizens. That holds true -- not just on wiretapping, but on a range of issues where Washington has let the American people down.

I learned long ago, when working as an organizer on the South Side of Chicago, that when citizens join their voices together, they can hold their leaders accountable. I'm not exempt from that. I'm certainly not perfect, and expect to be held accountable too. I cannot promise to agree with you on every issue. But I do promise to listen to your concerns, take them seriously, and seek to earn your ongoing support to change the country. That is why we have built the largest grassroots campaign in the history of presidential politics, and that is the kind of White House that I intend to run as President of the United States -- a White House that takes the Constitution seriously, conducts the peoples' business out in the open, welcomes and listens to dissenting views, and asks you to play your part in shaping our country’s destiny.

Democracy cannot exist without strong differences. And going forward, some of you may decide that my FISA position is a deal breaker. That's ok. But I think it is worth pointing out that our agreement on the vast majority of issues that matter outweighs the differences we may have. After all, the choice in this election could not be clearer. Whether it is the economy, foreign policy, or the Supreme Court, my opponent has embraced the failed course of the last eight years, while I want to take this country in a new direction. Make no mistake: if John McCain is elected, the fundamental direction of this country that we love will not change. But if we come together, we have an historic opportunity to chart a new course, a better course.

So I appreciate the feedback through my.barackobama.com, and I look forward to continuing the conversation in the months and years to come. Together, we have a lot of work to do.

This makes me sad. I've left the links to his justifications in. I really want to like him. I really do.

New Donors Choose Proposal

I put up another Donors Choose proposal. You can find it here:

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=191500

Be warned, I am basically incapable of getting my thank you packet out on time, because it's nearly impossible to get into my school's computer lab, and there's no way I'm letting my kids send out their hand-written stuff. It's kind of embarrassing. Trust me, I'm working on it.

In other news, I just cleaned the walls of my bathroom. Not fun. It's amazing what goes into keeping a place clean. Next, I'm going to go do my least favorite chore of all time: cleaning off the thin film of grease that accumulates on the stuff on the shelf over the oven. I hope Bob appreciates me.

By the way, Cristina, I've got your white people beat. I went sailing this weekend. I know!!! Bob grew up on boats--his dad loves to sail. When Bob was a kid, they would go on multiple-week long sailing excursions. His dad has been offering to take us out for a while, and we finally went on Sunday. OMG. I was terrified. I mean, looking back, I definitely had fun, but only because I was repeating my mantra of "You can swim, you can swim," to myself. I just don't think I'll ever be able to get used to that nearly-tipping-over feeling. Scary. Although I must say, I enjoyed watching Bob sail-- hand on the rudder, the breeze blowing back his curls, wearing a collared shirt and saying things like "Okay, coming about"--it was cute.

OMG

The ALA convention was held in Anaheim this past week. Are teachers allowed to go to these? How does this work? It sounds like shitloads of fun, I have to tell you. Why?
1. Books
2. Writers
3. Librarians
4. OH MY GOD STEVE KLUGER, AUTHOR OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK, THE LAST DAYS OF SUMMER, AND JOHN GREEN, MY CURRENT OBSESSION, ATE PIZZA TOGETHER. How cool is that? Do you think the pizza came with a side dish of AWESOME?

Emily, this reminds me of your obsession with the bloggerazzi. I have a fantasy about hanging out with YA writers.

Next, I would like to note that I have thus far been a complete failure at "getting really fucking good" at Guitar Hero. Turns out that practicing pseudo-guitar is not much different from being nine and putting off doing scales on my flute.

I am getting my carpet steamed on Monday (huh, huh, she said that she's getting her carpet steamed!). It's sad how excited I am about this. I am at the point, though, that I am so sick of living in a always slightly-dingy apartment. No matter how much I clean, there's nothing I can do about some areas. The bathtub has no veneer on it any more, and apparently the previous residents here were swamp monsters. Same goes with the tile in the bathroom. I can't tell you how many times I've scrubbed them. They're just too old.

It's funny, though, because one of the things that I don't like about a lot of apartments is how new and blah they feel. I don't want blah, but I don't want to be embarrassed when company comes.

Whoops!

My daily blogging lasted one day. Forgive me. I have a semi-excuse: my Mac's power chord broke, so I had to buy a new one. Okay, so maybe I bought a new one immediately, but you don't have to know that.

So, what have I been up to? Basically, I am living the life of a housewife. I kind of like it. I clean a lot, I read a lot. I would also be watching copious amounts of Oprah, except Oprah's suck levels have been exceedingly high lately. My biggest accomplishment so far is that I finally took control of our increasingly desperate book situation. You all know that I am a compulsive book buyer. It had gotten to the point where there were little stacks of books on every free surface. Also, poor Bob's library has been stuck out in the garage. We've lived together a year now (!), and it was certainly time to invite his books in.

Now here was the hard part. I am incapable of just putting books on shelves. They must be alphabetized, damn it. I have been like this since I was a kid; it's one of my bigger obsessions. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to merge and alphabetize books??? Let me tell you, it took me around four hours and it was not fun. I did succeed in getting everything on a shelf. The bad news is that Bob and I can either only buy about three more books total, or we have to move. My Edith Sitwell and Walt Whitman have already been relegated to shelf-top "decorative accessories." Desperate, indeed.

I had a few other points to share with you. First, my desire to be more natural, more environment-friendly around the house has directed me to a few new techniques. I've started using Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap for lots of cleaning, and also for laundry (with a little baking soda thrown in). A little goes a long way, and it really cuts dirt. I've also been using vinegar to do some basic cleaning. It takes me back to Ireland, where each Saturday I'd clean the entire house with vinegar and newspaper. And of course I have continued devotion to Mrs. Meyers. I feel good about not spraying weird chemicals all over the apartment, especially since Lucie has a need to lick everything.

We've also finally completely stopped using paper towels. This one has been a little hard. It's so easy to just grab a paper towel for a quick clean up. I have to keep telling myself that it's just as easy to use a rag. It's also provided some comedy around the apartment: I had to pause and laugh at myself as I explained to Bob the difference between my "nice" rags and my "whatever" rags. Ridiculous. Okay, okay, I'm high maintenance.

One of the fun things about being more Earth-conscious, though, is that I get to look for new solutions to problems. For example, our basil plant in the kitchen keeps attracting fruit flies. The solution? I bought a Venus fly trap. It has been happily munching on flies all day.

Oh! I keep forgetting to talk about my new hobby. It's not that new, actually, but I haven't taken pictures. Ladies and gentlemen, I present ironic embroidery:



Call me Little Susie Homemaker and die.

And finally, a gratuitous picture of Lucie: