I've Got Something to Say

As a woman living in the United States, it's frustrating to see the inequality apparent in my gender's healthcare access. I am not going to stand on a soap-box here and rant about feminism, or women's rights. What I am going to do is talk about the disappointment I felt upon discovering that the Susan G. Komen Foundation decided to cut funding for breast cancer screenings that were being provided to millions of women through Planned Parenthood.

I consider myself to be an engaged community volunteer, and advocate for women's health.  I donate money to organizations whose mission it is to provide healthcare access to women, especially if they are reaching under or uninsured communities, or serving populations in developing countries.  I serve on boards, committees, and donate my time to helping local organizations such as The Midwife Center, Susan G. Komen Pittsburgh Affiliate, and Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania further their missions.  Because their missions are ones that I am passionate about, and that I believe strengthen the community I live in.

I was happy serving and supporting these organizations, but upon learning of Komen's decision to pull funding for cancer screening from Planned Parenthood, I was shocked and severely disheartened.  Komen's mission is to eradicate breast cancer. The best chance women have against breast cancer is early detection.  How pulling funding from this imperative screening, is in line with eradicating breast cancer is a mystery to me. I cannot see how this decision from the Komen Foundation will do anything except harm the women who were dependent on these services, and as I believe strongly in women's access to healthcare, I have pulled my support, and resigned from the YP advisory board of the Pittsburgh Affiliate of the Komen Foundation.

I really like the staff at the Komen Pittsburgh affiliate. They said they understood and respected my decision, and that the affiliate would be working to ensure that women and men continue to have access to cancer screening. It must be a difficult situation for the Komen affiliates around the country, not being involved in this decision making, which came from the National Office. Still, I feel that this move directly contradicts their mission, and so I am out.

I know that Planned Parenthood is a controversial organization, and a politically charged topic.  However, I cannot help but think that most of those who oppose it, are largely misinformed of the services the organization provides, or the benefits it brings, not just to women, but to men as well.  As someone who has used Planned Parenthood's health services, and supports the work that they do, I am determined  to stand with Planned Parenthood. Access to healthcare should be a human right, not a privilege.

Drifting out to Sea...

I'm being ice-berged.

Which, yea, is a bummer.  And has naturally, led to a self-doubt shame spiral full of when, how, why, and what did I do, or not do that wasn't good enough?

It's amazing how quickly romance can go from something to nothing. Especially when just ignored. I would have thought that at this point in the game I'd have deserved something more than being ignored to let me know that it's over.

The answers though, don't really matter.  It doesn't matter why, or how, or what, or what not. It just is.

Despite all of that, it was a really nice foray back into the complicated and exciting world of dating.

One of my Favorite Snacks

A couple of years ago, in the midst of preparing for Love of Friends 4, we were holding a meeting/sew night at my house, and it was Regina's turn to bring a snack.

She showed up, opened her back and said, "Ok, I know you said you have cheese and crackers, so I brought some sweet potatoes and avocados."

I blinked at her.

"Um....ok?" was all I could come up with, not really sure what I was supposed to do with this information/ingredients.

She proceeded to boil the sweet potato, slice up the avocado, and once the potato was cooked through sliced it up as well.

Then she piled a slice of sweet potato, avocado, and cheese onto a cracker and handed it to me.

It was absolutely delicious.

The best thing about this snack, besides how easy it is to create, is that its quite satisfying, while being somewhat healthy.  I mean, I'm pretty sure I've read that both sweet potatoes and avocados are "super foods", and most of the time when I make it now, I don't even use crackers, just pile the avocado and cheese onto the sweet potato and enjoy.

It's the perfect comfort food for a cold and rainy winter afternoon like today.

Easy, Genius, Sustainability

There are some things I am bad about.  For instance, buying new toothbrushes.  Precisely will actually go ahead and throw mine out because, as he says, "there's no way those bristles are even doing anything anymore."  And then I feel like a child, albeit being grateful for the forcible reminder to get a new damn toothbrush.

Yesterday, I had lunch with a friend, and we were talking recycling (because this is what I do now) and she told me about one of the most awesome products ever.

There is a company called Preserve Products, that make goods from recyclable materials which is awesome in and of itself.

Even more awesome, is that one of these products are toothbrushes.

But wait.  It gets better. Not only are the toothbrushes made from recyclable materials, BUT when you buy them, the packaging they come in also doubles as a shipping envelope so you can send it back to Preserve when you're done, and they turn your old toothbrush into a park bench!!

I have never recycled my toothbrushes before. Never even thought about it.

AND THE MOST AMAZING, AWESOME, INCREDIBLE PART OF IT ALL, is that they have a toothbrush subscription service.  Meaning, that for the price of approximately 4 lattes, I will have a new toothbrush delivered to me every 3 months, and I will send the old toothbrush back, so that it can become part of a park bench.

Every single thing about this makes me so happy.

Resolved 2012

Since the world might end on 12-21-12, this year's resolutions is also kind of a bucket list.

1. Read more fiction.
2. Plan, prepare, and cook a fancy multi-course dinner party for 10 of my friends, complete with paired wine.
3. Finish the Pittsburgh marathon with my best time ever. (4:30 would be awesome, but I'll settle for under 5 hours.)
4. Once a week, pick up the phone and call someone who isn't my Mom just to say hi and talk.
5. Visit my sister in Rome.
6. Buy a mega-bus ticket to a city I've never been to before, and go for a weekend.
7. Wear only the clothes I own that I love, and give away those I don't.
8. Increase philanthropic giving.
9. Get back to yoga.
10. Keep my houseplants alive.

2012 is going to be a good year.  Though really, I could use a little more time, so if we could get an extension on the apocalypse, that would be great.

We Went Through a LOT of Bramble... and a LOT of Champagne!

Happy New Year! I ushered in the new year at a cabin in West Virginia with friends, flannel, fires, several bottles of champagne, and little cell phone service.  It was lovely.

Notable Quotes from New Years 2011-2012

"We might starve. STARVE!"

"It's been a long time since I've shot a gun."

"Ok, so we make a right on this road, and then we'll pass... and I quote... 'the old barn' on our right."

"This trip just turned into the Oregon Trail. We are now traveling at a GRUELING pace."

"I thought I saw a deer. Turns our it was a mailbox."

"We brought our composting!"

"I can't wait to buy bullets!"

While lost in the woods on a hike. 
"Alright guys. I've seen enough horror movies to know that this is the point in which we should absolutely split up."

- "Are we gonna watch the ball drop?"
- "I think that's some kind of rule."
- "I've never seen it before."
- ::the whole group:: "EVER?!?!"
- "I've always been somewhere partying."

- "What's the verdict on the Hunstman daughters?"
- "The brunette is hot."
- "The brunette is really hot, she looks like her Dad."

When the caviar was served.
"We are seriously the fanciest cabin-folk around."

The Pittsburgh Party Circuit

Precisely: Wait, so what's this event on Thursday?

Me: The Holiday Hootenanny.

Precisely: Didn't we just go to that for Halloween?  Does this happen multiple times per year?

Me: No. That was the Halloween Hooha.  Completely different party.


I love this town.