Fortune cookie for G...

and a perfect one at that...but I'll get to that later.

yes despite needing to eat better we ordered chinese. It was yummy and well... there's not much in the house after all the travelling we've done lately. Peanut ate combo fried rice, a steamed dumpling and a spare rib. Right off the bone...classic G.

Dinner over it's not time for the cookies. I grab all 3 (this is Dad by the way) and put them in front of G who takes 1. It was actually a surprise that she didn't take ALL 3. Then Jenn and the last one for me. G takes a bite and hands the cookie so mom can retrieve the note. as I said before...perfect.

"You will have a fine capacity for the enjoyment of life."

This sums up our little G...the girl who smiles with her eyes.

Ohh OHH OHHH

So how is this for interesting.

My name is Jenn and I have hypothyroidism. I could go on and rant about how little people understand this disease, how it is often overlooked for laziness and eating too much or too poorly or how its dumped into a 'fat person' problem and ignored.

But folks ~ its real and it sucks. REAL BAD.

So frustrated with the hormone replacements I'm making an appointment with an acupuncture dude and really starting to get on that diet bandwagon. And by diet - i don't mean DIET - i mean eating certain foods and minerals and skipping others.

Anyhoo i'm getting to the interesting part I swear.

It's recommended that I increase my intake of selenium. Its an antioxidant trace mineral that is essential for converting the thyroid hormone your body produces, T4, into its active form, T3. The highest source of selenium is found in...BRAZIL NUTS.
Yes, it is in other things as well (almost everything really), but the distribution is absurdly skewed.

Brazil nuts, for those of you not in the know ~ are the one and ONLY thing i am like DEATHLY allergic to. For example, I walk past them in the grocery store and my throat gets all tight. Lord forbid should I accidentally ingest some dust ~ i need benadryl within 3 minutes. An actual nut ~ call 911.

Soooo what if i don't really have this lovely autoimmune disorder?!?! What if I am allergic to selenium and/or it just doesn't do its duty in my body?

Functionally this means a whole lotta nothing. (but is crazy interesting, no?) Just another piece of my health puzzle I've get to figure out what the picture is.

Oompa Loompa Orange

So I have this weird food thing. Ok, perhaps I have a few weird food things, but I'm only addressing one here today. I HAVE to eat seasonally. Salads, raw veggies, grilled chicken & baked fish are SUMMER foods. Grilled squash, pizza, wings, pasta, baked chicken and perhaps a little red meat are FALL foods. Winter is reserved for chilli's stews and all the red meat one can sink their hands into and fish...well you best forget it unless its salmon with a nutty sauce. Ok - now i'm getting hungry and waaaay off topic.

Point is ~ last night the AC must have been turned up too high b.c. I craved CHILI. And not just any chili but ~ blast from the past ~ one of the only midwestern things I cling to ~ its not chili in a bowl with beans ~ Cincinnati chili over spaghetti! And O-M-G was it wonderful. Just the thought of it makes me want it for breakfast again.

Apparently the 'orange' doesn't fall far from the tree though. If you should see a little orange stained Oompa Loompa running around ~ please send her home by dinnertime.

its a dance party

So this past weekend we were traveling (yet again) and went up to PA. It was a wonderful walk down memory lane to stay at my Uncles / Grandparents old home. I stayed in my old bedroom, and hung out by the stream. G danced on the same porch that I dyed easter eggs and swam nudy in the same stream.

I won't mention WHY we were away for such a fun relaxin weekend...because i'm in denial.

I wish we were still at the beach :(

Beach


Home

Our First Graduate

After 37 (or so) hours of incredible labor Peter & I are proud to introduce the cutest graduate baby one could ever ask for of the Bradley Method.

But perhaps her parents deserve a lil of the credit! They are one amazing couple. They may not have had the exact birth they were wishing for but man-oh-man did they make us proud. In reading their birth story they are why we are soo happy about teaching. They knew how to read their labor, they knew when to stay home, and later - when to ask to come back home. They knew different positions for relaxation, for labor and for pushing; They knew how to stimulate contractions when the body got tired, and most importantly they knew the cause and effects of the sometimes necessary interventions and how to deal with it all making the most important decisions for a healthy mom and baby.

Of course it wasn't my body ~ but i'd say that sweet lil thing was totally worth it!

Oh Mama Mia!!!

Με σκοτώστε παρακαλώ !!!

(that would be KILL ME PLEASE) OMG OMG OMG that could have been the most miserable movie EVER. Ok - so admittingly i never wanted to see this movie in the first place. But...it was Monday Movie night with the girls and i'm making an attempt to let others think the world doesn't always have to revolve around me ~ so I happily obliged. Well, last time folks!

One sweet girl suggested that perhaps I'm not so into musicals. Nope - there isn't a show tune out there I don't know.

Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood? I was DRUNK ~ i had dirty martini's for heavans sake and no dinner. If this isn't the best possible way to get in a silly mood ~ i don't know what is!

So I ask myself. J you KNEW it was going to be cheesy ~ you KNEW instinctually that it wasn't your cup of tea...why are you soo shocked at how horrible it was?

Two Words. "Man Boobs"

Uh Oh

Last night, I walked up and down the beach following G as she tossed her little yellow shovel into the water...all night long! After each and ever toss she exclaimed "uh oh" (like it was a real surpise) and then proceeded to lift her arms and shrug her shoulders in the 'where did it go' fashion. Then she'd spot it ~ squeal ~ and chase after it in the water. Occassionally i'd have to grab her under one arm and chase the shovel down with the tide. And it never ceased to make me giggle when i'd give it back to her and she'd look at it and no more than 2 seconds later -- "Uh Oh!"

P & I got the occassional horrendous parenting looks as we let her run into the waves and get knocked over. It cracks me up when she comes up, spits out the water, wipes her face, then proceeds to clap for herself. She's such an independent thing. A blessing, but a pain in the butt sometimes as well!

Our Life...

is a very very very fine life!

After 9 days at the beach, we've decided that we just aren't ready to leave yet. So, we're not!

Happy 4th!

What a fun 4th of July! For the first time in about 15 years I'm down in Hilton Head for the 4th of July. This morning we did a lil shopping, had lunch, went to the beach, came home for dinner, went up to harbor town and listened to Greg Russel and then saw the fireworks. Nothing amazing, but amzing within itself.

We took a decent bunch of pitures however the tree behind us was the primary focus instead of us. Guess we'll just have to redo em ;)

p.s. - thanks lil Will where ever/whom ever you are. we missed Eeyore and he tells us you took good care of him.