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July 30, 2007
would you think you could meditate / in the middle of the eye of a hurricane
puppy - prim and proper
so, the farm bill is out of the house. amazingly. we got some of the increase that we wanted for our section, but not all of it. but an increase from 25 million/year to 150 million/year is nothing to sneeze at, that is for sure. the senate will take it up in sept. we have a lot of support there, so it may come down to the conference committee. oh, american system of government, how truly messed up you are...
my current favorite brunch place was featured on rachel ray's tasty travels. i am not a rachel ray fan, but we saw in the description she was in chicago, so we watched. and she ate at my yummy brunch place with yummy cinnamon rolls.
Posted by christina at 3:01 PM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2007
radiation vibe
i hate how some people use statistics. okay. most people.
last night the instructor of pregnancy and beyond class cited a statistic that you are more likely to have a c-section when you are induced. OF COURSE you are more likely to have a c-section if you are induced. most doctors won't induce unless the baby is big, you are past your due date, or you have some other complication. All of these alone increase the likelihood that you will need a c-section so of course you are more likely to have a c-section if you are induced. the stat was presented as a reason why you shouldn't induce for convenience. of course, i totally want to induce for convenience. : )
anyways, people should NEVER believe any stat they are told unless they have read the study and have analyzed it for crap like this.
this is what i have learned from policy school. be skeptical.
Posted by christina at 6:21 PM | Comments (0)
July 26, 2007
betting on train
my babies
today i went to heaven. or at least what i picture heaven to be like. it was a giant book sale at a library between here and downtown. Mounds and mounds of books for cheap. it was awesome. It was sort of busy, as it had only been open an hour or so when i got there. i got a lot of books for $17. it was awesome.
it is also awesome that i don't even thing about driving somewhere if i can take the el. that is the best thing about having worked downtown and got so use to taking the train. and the el was empty this afternoon. and speedy.
yesterday was my last day of work. i had mixed feelings. I had arbitrarily picked the end of july as my end day. i suspected the the heat of august + 8.5 month pregnant + el would not equal happiness.
but the weather has been mild. and my comfort level is still the same. yeah, i get hot, and tire easily, and my abs muscle hurt if i sit in my office chair all day. but i could definitely go another two weeks. up to when we go on vacation. and then after that i'm going to be walking my ass off trying to encourage this baby to decamp before the end of august. unfortunately ben's sister will be studying aboard for fall semester and so i really would like to have sack before she leaves. but one can't control these things and he will just really be a bump on the log during those 3 months, so she won't really miss much.
anyways, my timing of the end of work also times with Congress's august vacation, so it probably will be quiet around the office.
i'm really enjoyed my internship. I am very glad that i managed it the way i did. i've gotten a taste of NGO policy and advocacy work. I have felt the frustration of our legislative system. and the uncertainty of how it will all end. It has been a great experience and have left with some great contacts - including an invitation to their science advisory council in sept.
Posted by christina at 4:11 PM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2007
as the night comes
our dog is good practice for a baby.
i like that everything i go to is within 6 blocks of my apartment.
i remember this time of year. when it seems like baseball is on all the time. in the past i've been working...but i still remember these feelings.
not that i care. i am currently writing a small memo on community wind projects.
i am also wearing my new jeans from the gap. gotten for half price. i got another pair also on sunday for half price. i love chicago that i am still in jeans at the end of july. i also love the big sale at the gap by my apt in the maternity department. very exciting.
oh - the funniest thing of the week so far is that the chick downstairs with cancer decided to trim the hedges today and totally cut off every branch of the two brushes at the end. All that is left is the base with the bases of the branches sadly coming out. I am not sure why as ben told her yesterday that we are in the process of hiring a company to do all the yard work. It really does now look like crazy people live here. and it just makes me laugh. i really don't care about things like that. they just make me laugh. but it does make one wonder how she has all this energy to cut down the bushes outside, but not enough to put the stroller in the closet!
Posted by christina at 6:43 PM | Comments (0)
July 22, 2007
I am holding half an acre
So we finally have all of the big pieces for the nursery. Here's some pictures. with our first born.
the glider
the crib
the changing table/dresser
the bookshelf and swingy/bouncey chair
Posted by christina at 4:39 PM | Comments (0)
July 19, 2007
when the coast is clear
33.5 wks
As I walked to my haircut today, I briefly cursed the humidity. But then I realized that it is only in the high 70s. I remembered how I would spend chunks of my summer outside at summer camp without air conditioning in arkansas in 90+ heat. We would always say it isn't the heat, but the humidity. It is great weather today, though a touch humid.
i miss summer camp. i miss being in the woods, spending the afternoons at the swimming pool and the evenings around the campfire. my kids are definitely going to have the opportunity to go to overnight camp in the woods. with cabins. and campfires.
yesterday I had lunch with my friend emily. she is 17 wks pregnant. i think that i think that i am smaller than I am. she is showing pretty well. it is cute. her friend just had twins and had the very experience that i was afraid of having had I chosen to deliver at Northwestern.
Her friend was carrying twins and her doctor decided to induce once she made it to 38 weeks. Her appt was at 2 am. (so as to deliver in the afternoon or so). She got there, and they were so busy she had to wait in the waiting room for two hours! She said there were other people there who had waited 12 hours. The L&D was very busy as they usually have 30 births, and they had had 50! Her friend didn't even get a regular L&D room, but one of the operating room. Crazy.
Though i tell people that I am not delivering at northwestern because it is snooty, the real reason is that it is sooooo popular that things like this happen. And so I am quite happy with our decision.
We started baby class last week. It isn't as bad as I feared. The 4 other couples seem normal. The instructor is not that great (but not horrible), and therefore it is boring. We did get a tour of L&D and the Mom & Baby unit. The most interesting thing is that they don't have a nursery. The babies stay with the moms the whole time. I was planning on insisting on that anyways, so i am glad to know that it is SOP.
(side note - several people have told me that i should let the baby go to the nursery the first night so i can sleep. if this is what you want to do great, but i am not. i have ben. and others. so i think i'll be able to sleep if i can. in the end, i think that i'll sleep better if he is in the room with me. but to each their own. do what works for you and your baby.)
of course, there is a NICU, in case something goes wrong.
Anyways, it was good to see. It was also good to see that all of the rooms are private, so ben will be able to stay (there are a couple of semi-private just in case).
I see a lot of pregnant women nowadays. i think i just notice it more. and in the winter coats cover bellies. but i know a lot of people whose birthdays are in august. so a lot of late summer babies. i only wonder this as i wonder how busy the hospital is going to be. but there are only 5 couples in our class (all due in late august through the middle of sept.).
As i've noted here, this pregnancy has gone really great, but the hormones i must comment on. yesterday i almost cried at the sex and the city rerun where carrie and mr. big break-up for good (well, except for the affair in later seasons and the end of the series). sigh.
Posted by christina at 2:22 PM | Comments (0)
July 18, 2007
more than i am
i love the rain. it has finally felt like summer with summer thunderstorms. i love summer thunderstorms.
i have two days of work left. i will miss it. last week i was perfectly alright with the life of leisure. this week, not so much. though time is passing quickly. i have work next week. then visitors the next. then vacation. then just waiting around for the child to come. it will be fun. ha ha ha.
i am tired. i have vast admiration for those who are 8 mos pregnant and work full time.
our vet is awesome. very awesome. and the dog's supplements have done wonders for the limping as in she doesn't limp any more, not even the day after a crazy day of playing with cosmo.
my tomato plant has four tomatoes!!!!!!
today i found out someone i kind of know had a miscarriage. she's older. it makes me glad that i choose to do this in the order i am. it makes me feel so lucky.
cool stuff that i have gotten lately:
highchair this chair i got for 30% off and was the highlight of last week. it is suppose to be an excellent highchair, but expensive. 30% was like $75. and that made my day.
Posted by christina at 6:49 AM | Comments (1)
July 17, 2007
finer feelings
In my policy persuasions course, we talked about the difference between something being moral and something being right (or in line with the law or rules). Moral will always trump right in the court of public opinion. For example, it may be against the law to for gays to marry, but it is morally right to let two people who love each other wed. or it may be right to refuse treatment to someone because they can't pay, but is it moral? or it may be against the law to give a sick person weed, but it is moral if it helps them eat and live?
I find myself in one of those areas where I am definitely right, but the other side might trump mine with morality. Of course this is a story about the family downstairs whose mom has stage 4 breast cancer. she's had it for 19 months. she is stable, but of course, like elizabeth edwards, it is chronic. I have mentioned my problems with their stroller that still takes up the whole entry way among other things.
So i've given up on the stroller. It is just going to be there. I'd decided to quit worrying about it as we would just deal with the situtation in sept. I've basically tried to quit caring that the family leaves their crap alllllll over the entryway. until today. i was walking in with the dog and the groceries and tripped over a pair of small clogs that were right in the walk way between the door and the stairs (not over the the side with the rest of their crap). We have put up with the stroller, the red wagon, some type of bike push thing in the entry and in front of their door making it hard to get past. but as i (thankfully) caught myself, i got angry. At 32 weeks, i very prone to falling and falling is BAD. It can cause preterm labor which is very very bad. At this point the mess has ceased to be annoying and become dangerous to me and to sack.
so i e-mail them. here's what i wrote:
Hello -Please make sure that shoes are not left in the entry way. I just tripped and almost fell over a small pair of clogs as I was bringing in groceries. The shoes are right in front on the stairs between the door and staircase, in a vary dangerous unexpected place even for non-pregnant people with their hands full.
Thanks,
Christina
Here's what i got back:
HiI'm sure _______ and the Kids didn't leave them there
intentionally...As you'll soon find out...it isn't very easy bringing kids in and out of
strollers...condo's, etc..with your hands fullAnd once you've been doing chemo for 19 months along with having 2
kids...you sometimes get something called "Chemo Brain."http://www.breastcancer.org/chemo_cognitive.html
That means that you get very forgetful...So I would ask for your patience if you see something out of
place...again it's not done intentionally...We'll be more careful and make sure we clean up after ourselves...
this was followed with another e-mail about how the wife is sick and how we should be more patient and blah blah blah.
it is such an irrational response that it hard to really take it seriously. did i say it was intentional? was i mad? was I aggressive? no. i just simply asked for you not leave shoes in the entry way as people can trip. is this unreasonable? am is just being a stickler for the bylaws (as his second e-mail said)? (I'm not posting the second e-mail, but suffice it to say it was all about how his wife isn't going to be able to see her kids grow up and how we should have patience and blah blah blah.)
The simple answer to my questions are no. thankfully, my excellent husband (who the dude cc on the e-mails back to me) stepped up and explained that the only reason i e-mailed was because i had a legitimate health concern.
the strangest part is how defensive the dude has been. and how his response wasn't, sure, we'll try hard in make sure that stuff is not in the path. it is strange how he really tried to make me feel unreasonable and bad about the situation.
unfortunately the first part unfolded right before i went for my awesome prenatal message (expensive, but sooooo excellent). as I laid there relaxing and trying to come to some conclusion to get it out of my head, i remembered that i really don't care what these people think of me. i don't think i am being unreasonable and I am not going to not say something when their actions endanger my well being. this isn't a who is "sicker" competition. this isn't even a who is right situation or moral.
i said to ben earlier that i really feel like there are two camps of people - considerate ones and inconsiderate ones. Both get sick. both have bad things happen to them. as "they" say - it is how you respond to life. considerate people are still considerate when sick. inconsiderate ones use sickness as an excuse. I've had a bad medical thing happen to me. and even as i laid in the icu not knowing wether i was going to live or walk i still care that i was inconveniencing all these people. that is just who i am. it was a choice. a choice to still say please and thank you and to not guilt those around you that did not have a broken neck.
unfortunately my shoe e-mail (about safety) may have ruined the opportunity to talk about the stroller in a month (about convenience). but so it goes. i'm not going to endanger the health of my child so that their children can leave their crap everywhere. nor am i going to feel guilty for doing so.
not only do i have the right to say something, i have a responsibility to say something for my own health. if i had not said something and then ended up tripping and falling and something bad happened, that would be a much worse situation then not getting along with our downstairs neighbors.
Posted by christina at 4:00 PM | Comments (3)
July 16, 2007
participate
support one of my causes - go here. support clean energy. participate in your government.
(the link is to send a letter to your rep urging them to support clean energy funding. it takes 30 secs)
(Chambliss is a ranking member, so you GA people really should click and send. But everyone should. cuz when was the last time you participated? (Besides Shelby. He is way more participatory than anyone i know, and rocks.))
most of the time, i really wish that my ph.d. was as visable as being pregnant or even being married. i'm tired of people looking at me and just seeing my belly. today i want to be surrounded by science, to be surrounded by people who see my brain and not my tummy.
Posted by christina at 12:15 PM | Comments (1)
July 14, 2007
i never knew / i never knew that everything was falling through
i saw Sicko (the movie) last night. I was reluctant to see it as I know a lot about the health care situation in this country and knew that the movie would just depress me. And it did. I didn't learn anything new, and actually had some issues with michael moore's extreme one-sided presentation. but it is a movie and I do hope that it opens people's eyes to the mess of insurance system.
The thing that bothers me most about insurance is the for profit aspect. Why do we as a society allow some members to capitalize on other member's bad luck? People don't chose to be sick. I think that all health care should be nonprofit.
Unfortunately, the health care debate is up against people who have insurance through their jobs, therefore the preexisiting conditions and denials of private insurance focused on in the film probably will not ring true. Losing one's house because of co-pays and deductible will. I wish he would have focused on that more.
Moore's focus on the Canadian, French, English, and Cuban nationalist health care system glossed out an important point. Each of these countries have COMPLETELY different systems of governments than ours. Moore did interview a guy who made this point subtly, but it was almost lost on me (with a ton of political theory knowledge), so I am sure it was lost on everyone else. The parliamentary system of the first three allows the poor a lot more power. In fact, the individual voter on average has a lot more power as one can vote for a candidate with goals closer to one's own and it not be a wasted vote as it in is the two party system here in the US. Nationalized health care will never happen because one needs 60 votes in the Senate to get anything passed (with the support of half the house, more if you don't have the support of the president). Legislation (if you have noticed) is virtually impossible. VERY FEW THINGS actually make it into law. It is even rarer that an important, life changing thing makes it in to law. (Of course, this is a good thing in case the people in power are crazy, but bad if one actually needs to make any changes). In parliamentary systems, one only needs half of the votes and so things get changed, like health care.
I do think change is coming. I don't think that "liberals" should think that that change is going to be nationalized health care - i.e. everyone on medicaid. I think if insurance companies were made to be non-profit, it would be a step in the right direction (and a fulfillment of the actual definition of insurance, though what we want is more like insulation and not insurance).
On a personal note, I know way too much about the theory behind insurance. Hence when we were deciding on which plan to go with in the fall, I pushed up toward the HMO as healthy people (in theory) self-select into the less expensive plan, so the premiums are more reflective of your actual risk. Less healthy people self-select into the more expensive plans and therefore your costs probaly outweigh your risks. So we decided on the HMO of a major national company . Then we pick a peditrican and find out that they only take the PPO plan. Of course, just the idea of not being able to see the doctor we want made us change our mind. That and the horror stories of HMOs and my mom's comment that more and more doctors are not accepting the HMOs b/c of issues with payments. We are lucky lucky lucky enough that the extra $60 a month isn't a big deal to us, but to a lot of people, the cost difference b/t the PPO and HMO is a big deal. Of course, we are lucky to even have the choice at all.
Posted by christina at 11:52 PM | Comments (0)
July 10, 2007
once upon a time / not a long time ago
our entertaining ourselves with the pack and play. the puppy, not so entertained.
i "worked" 11 hours yesterday. and i loved it. i don't mind "working" when i have interesting/important stuff to do. I was in early for a roundtable thing with a congress person and "environmental leaders". A question about the environmental movement's support for nuclear power illustrated how little science both environmental leaders and congressional members understand. all the problems with nuclear are political. the problems are not scientific. we have the engineering capabilities to store the waste at a risk level much much less the the harmful effects of coal and oil. so it isn't a waste issue as people (especially environmentalists) say. I almost said something, but kept my mouth shut. it wasn't important. it is a political issue for sure. but coal plants, oil refineries, waste dumps/incenterators also all have their own political problems.
the other thing that the hour illustrated was how much the environmental community focuses on bandaids - biofuels, solar cells, wind - there are all stop gap measures. What we really need to do is focus on reducing our consumption - through fuel efficiency standards, through energy saving technologies. I am all for renewable energies (of course), but we should also be focusing on the other side also.
I stuck around late to do some faxing to d.c. time is getting tight in the context of congress and their breaks, so things get important in waves. I really like it. I like think that i might be helping make a difference.
Do i think that i am really making a difference? Hard to say. It is interesting to compare my academic knowledge with the real world. I know that research shows that special interest groups don't really effect how congress people vote (even if they do give a lot of money). the attitudes of their constituents matter much more. So as a special interest group, we strive to motivate the constituents to communicate with their representatives. You should communicate with your representative. votes do matter.
the best thing about working late is the boy drove down and picked me up and then we went to yummy boston market. and then dairy cream, which has a line out the door! they are fast, so we waited, but it was strange.
i saw the cute doctor today for my 31 wk visit. (I am now seeing other doctors in the practice so i meet them all before i go into labor. whoever is on call is the one who delivers. i've really liked all the ones i've met, and i really like that none of my appts have to be rescheduled b/c my doc is off delivering.) I now start the every two weeks. appts are so fast. they weigh, take your blood pressure, check your pee, listen to the heart rate and measure your belly. everything was normal. my tummy is measuring a little small, but he said that is was fine.
my appt was quick, and the wait not too long. the waiting room was packed with women who brought multiple kids (like older kids) with them. it was really annoying. you aren't suppose to bring kids. i'm the first one to recognize that child care can be impossible for some, so their presence doesn't annoy me as much as the fact that they were taking up all of the chairs and patients were having to stand. at least make your kids sit on the floor if there is not enough chairs for all the patients. it is funny how the makeup of the waiting room changes with what doctor is in the office. when we normally go on monday afternoons there is hardly anyone there. and there are no kids. If there is a baby, there is a dad to wait with it.
question of the day - why does the usual suspect park her suv in the middle of the two spaces in front of the building? It is more annoying b/c she knows that i am out and about in the middle of most days and would really like to park in front of the building seeing that it is 90 degrees, i have groceries, and am almost 8 months pregnant! she just need to move her monster car up 3 feet or back 3 feet. sooooo annoying.
Posted by christina at 5:24 PM | Comments (2)
July 8, 2007
first thing on my mind
the puppy trying out the baby bjorn
it is hot here. i know that it is rarely hot here that i shouldn't complain, but i feel like i put up with A LOT of DAMN COLD temperatures, so why so hot? not that i'm really affected as i have not ventured outside beyond watering my tomato and basil plants on the balcony.
speaking of my tomato plant. i have two tomatoes! I am SO EXCITED.
why does the boy like to watch old movies on tbs what he has on dvd?
why are the other people who live in my building (with the exception of one other couple) unable to show up to a meeting they all said they could come to? it is an important meeting as it involves a special assessment of $10,000 (to be split) for the sealing of the building. it needs to be done as people are getting water damage. and so people need to come to the meeting so we can get it approved and get the ball rolling. seriously, it is like these people are college students.
Posted by christina at 5:57 PM | Comments (0)
July 6, 2007
every little thing she does is magic
me. 30.5 weeks
There is a police (as in sting) concert going on at wrigley. We have the door open and I can clearly hear every word. it is better than being there. comfort of my own apartment and a concert. it is much like how on the 4th, the people down the street put on a nice little fireworks show (with real in the air fireworks). we watched from the back balcony with Jenny and Rachel. It scared the shit out of the dog, but it was nice. We had them over for grilling. They brought a lot of yummy sides and desserts. It was all quite nice.
My mom and other sister (also named Jenny) were here last weekend. It was really nice having them here. We saw Wicked, which was excellent. We had great seats and had a great time. I do really like Wicked. It was better the second time. Musicals are better the second time for me for some reason. I am not sure why. i think it is because i'm not trying to figure out where the story is going or how long it is going to last. I can just enjoy it.
While they were in town they also put in a good hard day of shopping and lunch at the taste of chicago. They also went to a cubs game. neither event i could participate in because of the belly. walking around all days hurts the belly muscles. and my problem with crowds has gotten worse with the belly, so cubs games and taste of chicago are just not my thing.
On sunday, ben's mom, sister, and my sister threw us a baby shower. it was fun to see his family and to have my family there. We got a crazy amount of stuff. our families, they are crazy generous. statement of fact. so now we have pretty much everything we need. ben and his dad are going to put together the crib and bookcase tomorrow and we shall have ourselves a nursery. crazy crazy. considering I'll be considered full term in about 6 weeks, it is nice to be getting all the stuff taken care of. ben is so excited about the furniture. it is amusing.
i want the glider to come for no other reason than it is crazy comfortable and i would like a comfortable chair right about now. my back is hurting from my car trip to naperville yesterday to see liz. it was great to see her. it is always great to see her. plus she knitted the sack of organs a blanket and a hat. her knitting skills are amazing!
Posted by christina at 9:05 PM | Comments (0)