Coupon Expires Friday

11:15 AM Posted In , Edit This 0 Comments »
Just a quick reminder that my free shipping for orders over $20.00 expires in my supply shop on Friday. 

Getting items uploaded into that shop is taking longer that I expected so if there's something specific you've been waiting for, just let me know and I'll get it in there for you.

Receive free shipping on Order Total (orders above $20.00)
Use Coupon Code:
SHOWERS MAKE FLOWERS
during checkout.

Friday the 13th

1:35 PM Posted In Edit This 1 Comment »
17 years ago today I was in labor.  All day.  I had been feeling crampy all day on the 11th (my grandfather's birthday!) but wasn't really thinking anything of it.  It was my due date but I hadn't actually done anything, like start to dilate significantly yet and it was my first baby - they're always late.  In fact, I was pretty much ignoring the fact that my life was about to change forever and had been working on some watercolor quilt patterns, exploring an idea for a pinwheel quilt. 

This one, in fact.  Notice that it still isn't quite finished?

When we went to bed that night I discovered that those little cramps were pretty... regular.  But they couldn't be labor because, Really?  these don't hurt.  They're not even uncomfortable.   (We endo types often don't now how to labor - early stage labor is nothin' compared to the the days we spend completely drained and incapacitated every month we're not pregnant.)

So when it became clear that these ... cramps?...  were taking place every three minutes and that was why I wasn't falling asleep and the hospital was over an hour away, we thought we should call our midwife who scolded us and told us to get to her house NOW and she would drive us to the hospital in her giant station wagon which had been the delivery room for more than one baby in its time.

We got stuck at a railroad crossing for 45 minutes on our way to Angi's.  That was when we knew that I was really in labor because the laws of the universe are pretty clear on this point - if a pregnant woman who gets stuck behind a train she must either be in or about to go into labor. 


To make a long story short, my labor never progressed beyond 3cm.  By dinner time on the 12th, my mom took the clock off the wall of my room and carried it out to the nurses station so it could do its little 15 minute/half hour/hourly chimes SOMEWHERE ELSE.  I got tired, I got sore, I got impatient but I never got to transition.  That baby (who was facing backwards and who had her little foot crammed up in my ribcage the whole stinking 36 hours that I labored - probably hooked neatly around a rib so as to avoid making her entrance in any but the most dramatic way) was not coming out.  Around 10:00 am on Friday, May 13th 1994, they prepped me and took me down for a c-section.  I came to - shaking and miserable - to the ER nurse bending over me saying "You have a BEAUTIFUL little girl!"

And she was beautiful.  And feisty.  When I finished my post-op shaking, they brought her to me screaming.  She wouldn't nurse.  I sang to her.  She looked up - right into in my eyes - and instantly became calm.  We've been getting along fairly well ever since. 

Music continues to affect her in ways that nothing else can.  She has an incredible voice - one that can sail powerfully through the Messiah, croon a soft lullaby for Maxx, blend and support the soprano section through Joy in the Morning or rock out some Journey.  (Speaking of Journey- she channels Steve Perry so much better than that new guy.  There's something really beautiful and empowering about about hearing your teen daughter belting out "Be Good to Yourself" as she rattles about the house.  I hope it is a lesson she is internalizing as she sings.)

My Friday the 13th baby is spirited, soulful, compassionate, firey, mercurial, stubborn, talented, intuitive, beautiful, strong willed, bold hearted, brave, determined, messy, lazy, driven, hyper intelligent, bouncy and 100% herself.  She will be 17 tomorrow.  I'm trying to come to grips that we've only got a little more time to enjoy her here at home. 

Some of you may have read about my struggles with infertility.  Molly's presence in our lives has made me wish many, many times that I could have borne more beautiful babies like her.  Knowing that I never will makes me realize that I am very blessed.  Since I could only have one, I am so glad that it was her. 













......

Fun Class, New Baubles

1:22 PM Posted In , , , , , Edit This 1 Comment »
On Saturday, I taught two jewelry classes in Potsdam for the SLC Arts Council.

We had lots of fun - the best part is that one of my good friends from High School came up for the class.  We have talked over the phone a few times and have re-connected over Facebook but this is the first time in over 20 years that we've been in the same room.  It was great to see her and play sparklies with her!  There's something wonderful about spending time with someone who knew you waaaaaay back when you were young and starry eyed and more than a little stupid.  It is nice to see evidence of how age and experience causes us to evolve into our true selves - and to discover that real friends still recognize and enjoy each others' true selves in spite of the intervening years and different lives. 

I built a nice little bracelet in class and then came home and made a loooooong necklace to match it.  I love these watery blues and coppery browns. 

I also managed to get some photos of new bracelets and beads for my ArtFire Shops.

I've been enjoying working with right Angle weave to make these beautiful cuff bracelets. 



The top one is in a beautiful silver grey peacock bead and the bottom one is in a Jet Iris finish bugle bead.

And I think I've finally got the finishing touch for a special order project I've been working on for months.  I've got extra if you feel a need to splurge on an amazing bead!






Molly took lots of fun photos this weekend.  You can see them at the Beorningstead here and here.

On a Sparklier Note:

10:21 AM Posted In , , Edit This 0 Comments »
I was included in this beautiful collection yesterday.


Warning - Rant Included

9:54 AM Posted In , , Edit This 0 Comments »
I'm flabbergasted.  Have you seen THIS?    If you're not sure what this means - go read what Mike the Mad Biologist has to say about it.  Follow his links - scary, scary world out there.

O.K.  O.K.  I understand that pro-life advocates would like to stop abortions from happening in the US and to some extent, I can understand that some people would think that it is a good idea to place an extra tax on an insurance policy that covers this "elective" procedure.  The problem that I have with this is that victims of rape and incest would have to submit legal proof of their abuse to the IRS (the IRS!!! WTbeeeeeeeep???) in order to avoid that tax.

When I posted the petition on Facebook, my friend Diane responded;

"Ok we have government that is having trouble doing their jobs already, and now we are going to add yet another "job"...and to all people the IRS...If those governing are against abortion, then go to through the court system and challenge Roe vs. Wade....isn't that the proper channel?"

She's right.   Having an actual hearing on Roe vs. Wade would be one proper channel to address the abortion problem here in the U.S.  I suspect that they aren't really interested in just having a reasonable, fair and democratic discussion of RoeWade.   Instead they would rather try all sorts of back alley alternatives that have the potential to subject countless women to all sorts of abusive, government induced humiliation.  

ALL of these GOP sponsored anti-abortion bills either explicitly or implicitly target women who have either been raped or victimized and/or who have trouble carrying a pregnancy to term.  Georgia had a bill on the books that would have required women who suffer a miscarriage to present their medical records to local law enforcement to assure that they did not seek illegal abortions.  Women who miscarried "illegally" would have been at risk for the death sentence.  (Seriously!  These people are freaking brainless women hating Zealots.)

The IF (infertility) community is following this trend very carefully and doctors & lawyers working closely with IF advocates are warning that these laws the GOP are pushing to try to prevent abortion will make basic women's health care and especially health care for women who suffer from IF  much more difficult to access and in some cases, completely inaccessible.  Kieko Zoll has a few more pertinent articles and links on her blog - she is a young infertility advocate who is in the thick of the IF Family Planning Nightmare and having to advocate pretty hard for herself to get the care she needs so she stays very current with these issues. 

Those supporting these laws and legislators are probably unaware of the potential consequences because they aren't reading the whole legislation.  They just hear that it is supposed to limit access to abortion and that makes them happy, because they believe that abortion is the worst possible choice.  And, in general, I agree with them on that.  The problem is that they aren't thinking about all the possible scenarios. 

How about the heatbroken woman who has had 8 miscarriages over the course of years of IF therapy and still hasn't been able to grow her family and NOW she has to hire a lawyer because she's being investigated for murder and at risk of being placed on death row for "illegal abortions" in Georgia? 

How about the little girl in Texas who is abused, becomes pregnant and when her family decides that the best course of action is an abortion, she is subjected to an invasive vaginal exam in order to show her pictures of the fetus to inspire guilt designed to make her change her mind.  How is that humane?  How does that protect the rights of children?   

Or how about me?  A D&C is a procedure commonly associated with abortions.  It is also something that those of us who suffer from endometriosis and other forms of IF have to undergo every few years.  It pretty much isn't fun but it does alleviate a LOT of my other symptoms when things are getting really, really bad.  It is also used to diagnose cancers and other diseases of the female reproductive system.  If H.R. 3 passes, will I have to document my non-abortion need for a D&C?  Should the IRS need to worry about my IF care?  Do I WANT to have to rehash my extensive gynecological medical history with the TAX MAN every few years???  No Thank You.  

If the GOP get their way and start making more headway in womens' reproductive rights, will a D&C suddenly become unavailable to me eliminate one useful, relatively safe medical procedure that actually decreases my suffering and helps prevent the progression of my disease (including potentially reducing my risk of endometrial cancer)?   Could very well be.

You know what?  If you are really, really concerned about abortions in the U.S. and you want them to stop,  how about you start looking at some other ways to diminish the NEED for abortions instead of intruding on my rights and privacy and that of millions of other American women.  I contend that abortions are in high demand in the U.S. because women still (and increasingly) lack the respect and protection of society and because we do not train our Young Men to treat women in a respectful way.  Have a listen to this On Point program about women on college campuses.   (There.  Now are you scared to send your baby to school?  You should be.)   Go out and read Gail Dines' book.   (Are you sick yet?)    Stop supporting businesses like Marriott who pretend to be clean but who have been raking in the Big Porn cash for decades.  (How convenient.)

And when you're ready, ask me about step two.  That's all about poor women and their families who have no shot at good educations and good jobs and who don't know where their next meal is coming from.  It is about a dramatic restructuring of society so that ALL have access to basic needs and opportunities and so that NONE are victimized or powerless.  Abortion would decrease dramatically if there really were no poor among us.  Sadly, our society isn't really ready to talk about that yet.

We need to stop pretending that the way to end abortion in America is as simple as making women feel guilty/embarrassed/ashamed or afraid for seeking them.  If you look at abortion as the symptom of societal disease, addressing that disease at the end stages is the worst possible approach.  It is like trying to cure cancer in the hospice ward.  Just about all of your patients are going to die anyway and your treatments will only increase their suffering.  A good doctor addresses disease prevention before their patient ever becomes sick. 

Start preventing abortion in your own family by raising kids with knowledge of and respect for their reproductive capacity. 

Start preventing abortion  in your neighborhood by doing what you can to make sure that every kid has access to education, health care, shelter, food and something that inspires them to their greatness.  If your neighborhood has got that down, then see what you can do for your further neighbors. 

Start preventing abortion by recognizing, calling out and rejecting those who distribute and profit from the sexualization of girls and victimization of women.  (reader beware - the feminist fatale link shows actual advertisements that will turn your stomach - or turn you on if your a mysogynst.)

Let's get out of this fantasy land where punishing already victimized women will help prevent the loss of unborn lives and start fighting this war where it begins.  In the minds and hearts of our children and in the basic consumer driven values of our society.

There.  Rant done.  But I don't really feel better.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...