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I am a |
I have a confession to make:
When I saw the new NKOTB music video, I got just as giddy and excited as I did when I was their BIGGEST fan back in 1990. And honestly? If the tickets didn't cost so damn much, I'd be at their concert (with two of my friends, who are just as crazy about the New Kids as I am) singing my heart out, and probably (embarrassingly) crying.
Some things never change.
So today, my local paper (which, btw, was voted as the worst in the nation by the Columbia School of Journalism..nice) ran a bogus article (Some couples embracing natural...) about infertile couples successfully conceiving using the Billings Method aka "charting your temps to determine ovulation". I was really pissed off at how misleading this article is and how they were glorifing this ignorant doctor who, for religious reasons (she's Catholic) will not prescribe bcp's and encourages the use of "natural family planning". Ok, that's fine if that's also your religious beliefs, but don't go around toting yourself as some sort of miracle cure to infertility, bitch!
Naturally, being the big mouth that I am, I had to respond to this crap. Here's my toned-down response, just in case you can't read the article:
"Articles like this are misleading and do a dis-service to those of us who suffer from genuine infertility. My husband and I cannot conceive w/o medical intervention due to problems we both have medically. Most women who have been trying to conceive for some time are already charting their fertility by tracking ovulation with basal body thermometers, ovulation predictor kits, and scheduled intercourse around their peak fertility days, so the Billings method is nothing new to an old hat in the fertility game. While there is nothing wrong with trying to conceive naturally as long as possible (1 yr for women under 35 and no more than 6 months for women over 35), women and men both need not be afraid to seek the advice of a more experienced doctor when it comes to fertility. Also, don't be afraid to seek a second opinion, especially when words like "hysterectomy" are thrown around. I wasted far too many precious years by listening to people like Dr. Martin who were convinced that I just needed simple surgery and charting to get pregnant. Now we know that IVF is our ONLY option at ever conceiving. While I'm happy that these couples were successful, I feel that more balanced article would've included opinions from leading fertility specialists, like Dr. Eli Reshef, at the Bennett Fertility Institute at Baptist (who is also my doctor). Also note that just the Billings Method alone was not successful for any of these couples, they also required surgery and medication. If you want to use this method for family planning purposes (ie: trying NOT to get pregnant between planned children) as an alternative to taking birth control, that's fine, but don't rely on this method to get you pregnant, especially if you already know you have fertility issues. For more information, please visit the website for RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association at: www.resolve.org .
Natalee, Oklahoma City - Jun 24, 2008 4:11 PM"
BTW, when I wrote this reply, the article was on the front page of the website, now it has been taken down, and I had to actually search for it in the archives to post it here. Yet, all other articles that were up at that time are still there. Hmmm....sounds like someone can't take some criticism!
Ten years ago today, you said, "I do."
Thank you for that.
There's nothing more I love in this world than you, and I'm so proud to be your wife.
aka The Amish Rite of Passage
Just a non-update of the possible adoption situation:
Looks like this thing is going to take A LOT longer than what we had been led to believe. In fact, several things about this situation are not exactly as they were initially presented to us. I don't know why smoke was getting blown up our asses, but I'm angry and sad at the same time. I shed copious amounts of tears last night because I'm tired, after nine years of this shit, of continually having my heart broken. Of course, it probably won't be the last time it happens either.
We're still interested in this baby girl, but will probably be taking a step back from the situation until the smoke clears and our position is more secure.
I know I shouldn't, but I feel like such a fool/idiot for even mentioning the situation to anyone. Jake wanted me to hold back, but I was so excited at the prospect of finally becoming a mother, that I let my jaw flap. Now, I have to do some damage control and wipe egg off my face to everyone I've told, including my small audience here. So, please accept my apologies. For what, I don't know, but I have a guilt complex and feel the need to apologize, so please indulge me. However, I want you all to know how much your love, support, and good wishes have meant to me. Thank you all so much for that.
If there's anything more to update, I will when the time is appropriate, otherwise, it just back to business as usual at Casa de Natalee.
*"Why" by Annie Lennox
**UPDATE 5/12/08**: Some family has come out of the woodwork, and it looks like she'll be going back to them. So, it's definitely over. I got the news yesterday, and the irony of being told this on Mother's Day did not escape me. I've had my cryfest, and am now trying to re-focus my energies elsewhere. Otherwise, I'd go bonkers. Thanks for all of the good thoughts and encouragement.
is that I'm Crazy For You.
*Sigh* I love this song. Madonna, Matthew Modine, the 80s....what more could you ask for? Just feeling nostalgic on a rainy Wednesday.
As most (if not all) of you know, today is Earth Day. Founded in 1970, Earth Day is a day to spotlight ongoing environmental changes that we can all take to improve our world. Yes, I'm a liberal, hippie-ish, tree hugger, but I think we all realize now how important it is to start making changes in how we affect the environment around us.
One thing I'd like to highlight today, that is a really simple change, is switching all of your light bulbs to CFLs.
Jake and I did this back in late October, and boy, are we seeing a difference in our electric bills! Here, let me show you:
I couldn't upload my actual electric bills, so I just copied the last year's billing info and made this chart for you. As you can see for yourself, once we switched, our electric bill went from an all-time high of $214.63, to this month's bill of $57.02. Granted, the high was during an Oklahoma summer, but just look at the last entry for April/May of last year: $77.86. That's a $20 savings from last year!
Besides switching from standard bulbs to CFLs in all of our light fixtures, I'm also diligent about turning off lights we don't need, and I've adjusted our thermostat by a couple of degrees. Sure, it's a bit cooler in the winter, and warmer in the summer, but I'd rather throw on a sweater or sit in front of an energy-efficient fan and save money, than waste it by trying to be at an optimum level of comfort. I live in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage duplex (approx. 1200 sq ft MOL w/garage). Since we rent, I can't purchase a digital programmable thermometer to really increase our savings, but when we buy, you can bet I'll be doing that as well. I actually expected our electric bill to be much higher this month because the timer went out on my dryer, and it stayed on for 8 hours overnight, drying my whites while I slept (thank goodness it didn't catch the house on fire!).
I'm also a recycling fiend now, and throw everything I'm allowed to into our "little blue" recycling bin the city provides. It feels really good to know that I'm taking part to make a difference. These are just small things, but every little thing any of us can do makes a difference. We can't take our planet's resources for granted anymore. If you watched National Geographic's "The Human Footprint", you'd know that if the rest of the world consumed at the rate American's do, then we'd need FOUR Earth's worth of resources to satisfy the demand.
So, I hope you all take the time to do some research to see how you can offset your "footprint", and change our world for the better!
Happy Earth Day!
