January 16, 2012 · 1:00 pm

Age: In Mom Years

mom and child readingYesterday I hung out with two friends, both of whom have daughters around the age of nine. While we chatted, the girls played downstairs, ventured out into the snow and watched cute puppy videos on YouTube.

After about an hour, I heard one of the girls exclaim disbelief at the young age of the other’s mom. See, one of my friends is in her mid twenties, while the other is in her early 50s – sort of opposite ends of the age spectrum when it comes to having young children.

For my part, I was instantly taken back to my third grade classroom and a conversation a few of us were having about the ages of our parents.

“Daaaang! Your parents are oooold…”

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January 13, 2012 · 1:00 pm

Duck Feet

duck sliding on ice

I wonder if the ducks know that the pond is frozen before they land on it. There’s really nothing funnier than a mallard skidding across the ice, leaving smudgy web-prints in his wake.

All I can think of is how much it must scrape their  little duck feet, and how cold it must be. Of course, they don’t seem too bothered… Most waddle over to the edge, where liquid water no doubt carries some sort of seasonal lunch.

And really, if this were a “normal” mid January, these duckies would be battling wind and snow, or working their way south to warmer weather. Maybe they’re just as baffled as the rest of us by the sunny, 50 degree days, and figure they might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

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January 11, 2012 · 1:00 pm

Journal of American Medical Association Reports Pot not as Bad as Tobacco

pot in Ancient EgyptSo, regardless of how you feel about the legality and morality of marijuana use, some new studies suggest it may not be as detrimental to health as regular tobacco smoking.

Here are a few articles reporting on the study:

Marijuana Shown to be Less Damaging to Lungs than Tobacco

Pot Smoking Not so Harmful to the Lungs, Study Finds

Marijuana Doesn’t Harm Lung Function, Study Found

I wasn’t really surprised by this, especially since tobacco smokers tend to smoke more leaf volume in a day than pot smokers (who don’t smoke tobacco as well).

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January 9, 2012 · 1:00 pm

One Weekend as an American Consumer

consumerism Victor LebowAt the Mitchell house, we try to be responsible consumers – generally striving to buy local, fair trade, low impact, repurposed and healthy (for us, others and the planet) items when we can, or at least considering such options whenever we can.

As with everything, I believe that changing our mindset is half the battle. Being aware of our effect on society is a huge part of making good change. We don’t want to be wasteful or harmful in any way, and hope to diminish the truth of the Victor Lebow quote shown here.

Obviously, there are a lot of limits and failures. We aren’t rich. We are busy. These two things make convenience a constant wrench and temptation. Midwestern empires such as Meijer and the warm vehicle are essential, and all too often win out over the farmers’ market and a 20 minute walk, especially this time of year.

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January 6, 2012 · 1:00 pm

January 6: Why I Blog

colonial wedding

I’ve been blogging regularly – three times a week – for nearly six months now. I decided it was time to review the concept.

I set up this blog a couple of years ago as a place to play around, make myself feel hip and keep a volume of writing. I figured I’d either turn it into something real or just let it become inactive. Happily, I’ve pretty much kept up with it.

One thing I’m proud of is the running themes on the different post days. Mondays are for recounting personal, sesonal and random thoughts. Wednesdays are practical with recipes, science and health info. Fridays alternate between an update on my freelance career and some sort of creative piece.

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January 4, 2012 · 1:00 pm

The History of Dentistry

old fashioned dentist drawingThis is a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while… in fact it tried to post itself without my permission last week. The idea came to me after we had our routine six month check ups.

I have this sort of fascination with old medical stuff. Whether it’s practices, philosophies, instruments or potions, I think looking back at the way we’ve “fixed” our bodies over the centuries is entertaining and educational.

And it serves to remind us how little we actually understand about health and illness. Sure we’ve come a long way since leeches and doctor recommended smoking, but as with any science, the more we learn the more we realize we don’t yet grasp.

So, for a little bit of fun and fact, I present to you a brief history of dentistry:

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January 2, 2012 · 1:00 pm

Happy New Year!

happy new year hatHello 2012!

I am truly hoping for a more predictable year than 2011, which was 12 months of emotional roller coasters, major life changes and new territory.

It was my first full year of being in my 30s. We also passed the one year anniversary of the loss of my mother-in-law and the 15th anniversary of the death of my father.

I marked a year of vegetarianism, and my husband met me at pescetarianism just after that milestone.

We found out we were having a baby… three days after I quit my job to be a freelance writer.

I learned a lot about my health and the way I perceive it. I’m ending 2011 as a very healthy person who happens to be six and a half months pregnant, but for a lot of the year, I was convinced such a thing was impossible. There are a few reasons for this:

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December 30, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Fish: Part 1 of ?

mermaid swimming blue

The boat rocked so subtly that I barely felt it, though I could see the movement of the water beneath my face.

My vessel was small – just large enough to hold me and a basket of food and water. I’d consumed its contents, and was contentedly stretched out and peering over the edge.

Now and then I caught a glimpse of the fish darting around under the surface. I imagined a whole world down there, one I could only see through a curtain of liquid and reflection, and that was distorted by ripples and sediment. How strange that a place that looked so peaceful could prove deadly were I to enter it for more than a few minutes.

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December 28, 2011 · 1:00 pm

Pregnancy Weirdness

27 weeks pregnantThey always say that pregnancy does weird things to one’s body.

Then they proceed to list things like constipation and heartburn and stretch marks – the same things that everybody lists… the things that really aren’t so weird when you think about it.

Where are the truly weird symptoms? The ones most people never have excepting the few who scour the Internet for someone to relate to.

I’m going to list some of the less than lovely things I’m experiencing with pregnancy, and it’s stuff I’ve not seen in other reports:

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December 26, 2011 · 1:00 pm

From My Family to Yours…

family at dinner table

Another Christmas here and gone. Except in my family, most of the parties are yet to come.

With the deaths, births and marriages of the past couple decades, the Reilly, Borst, Mitchell and Barnes clans have had to rearrange our old holiday traditions. Pretty much all of our get-togethers happen between Christmas Day and New Year’s.

Today we’re on the road, headed to southern Ohio to visit my dad’s side of the family. That trip has become especially fun in recent years as our two cousins on that side are well into their teens… It’s been great to watch them develop into two smart and funny individuals.

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