6 Things for the Past 2 Days- Planned Parenthood, Petey. and a Dream Realized

1. Planned Parenthood will be offering counseling and birth control online- Bless you and amen. This is a big victory, because if women need non-judgemental help, nothing should stop us from helping them. I say this as a feminist and a Christian. Women have the right to make their choices, and to make choices that are different from what I would make. My only job is to love them, and to me, that means making sure they can get whatever help they need. Any way that Planned Parenthood can get around these nasty people who try to deny women, health, help, and choices is alright with me.

2. Getting my blood taken 4 times without passing out- I was pumped about it. I am also grateful I got to sort of share my medical morning with my Aunt Ann, because nothing puts your own temporary inconvenience into perspective like comparing it to the total courage and badassery needed to do chemo. Not to mention patience. Again and again for 2 yearsI am all proud of myself for a few little pricks while she faces down hours of her chemo treatment. That woman is amazing.

3. That having it all together time that will never come- This is being a parent right? Never getting things off your list? Hopefully this weekend will bring things back into a more timely place. I apologize to loyal readers.

4.  That this boy is 7- How did this happen? Lots of people are mourning on September 11th, but it is also a big day of celebration for us. Basically, one of my favorite people in the universe was born and I am so glad that I get to be his Aunt. 7 freaks me out, because toddler sweetness is gone and you are really just a kid. But Petey is still a sweetie and hilarious.And committed to Minecraft.

5. This- I have hated the whole nude picture debacle, and I kind of wanted to just ignore it completely because giving some disgusting pervert/ criminal the attention he is working for felt counterproductive.

6. "The recovery is a dream realized"- This is one of my favorite speeches about it, still. I hope everyone had a good day of service yesterday and can keep the spirit of that day going in the upcoming weeks.

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This- Jon Stewart 9-11

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Today's Inspiration- Trying to Sell Hyperrealism to my Brother

Chuck Close, Mark, 1979 from www.pacegallery.com

I spent part of my woozy, lazy afternoon trying to pitch hyperrealism to my brother, which is not my favorite artistic style, but it really made me think of how much intellectual nuance there is there in a world of technology and photography. Also, you don't think of Chuck Close and Van Eyck in the same breathe often, but it is fun to pitch them together as another mode of human connection. I don't think he bought it, but alas I enjoyed thinking about it anyway.

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My Ten Tips for Traveling while Pregnant

On Monday, I took my last flights as a pregnant lady at about 30 and a half weeks (I could probably still fly for another week or two, but it depends on what my doctor would say). I love traveling, pregnant or not, but there are a few things you have to keep in mind a little more when you are carrying your parasite inside of you.

Obviously, everyone's really different, and the experience of pregnancy differs hugely from prego to prego, so giving this kind of advice comes with the caveat that none of it will work for everyone, not to mention some people's doctors do put the kibosh on travel. Do what works for you, but this is what I have learned while traveling (we took one trip to Nashville, 3 trips to Pennsylvania, one trip to Baltimore, one to LA, one to New Orleans, and a few small road trips) during my own pregnancy.

1. When you are thinking about it, just do it- You aren't dying, you aren't diseased, you are just pregnant. If your doctor says it's fine, then it is, so go do something that will be harder once baby comes. There is always a reason not to travel, and this counts, but the person you are robbing is yourself. Take a roadtrip. Fly to see a family member you miss. Go on a completely pointless adventure. Plan a trip worth being excited about.

Travel can disrupt two emotional symptoms of being pregnant: first, it is easy to get in a planning holding pattern, where you are so focused on what is coming in weeks or months that you don't enjoy the present. This time is so great, so enjoy it! Also, being pregnant can become a myopic endeavor, because your body is constantly coming up with new, often gross, ways to keep it interesting. Between the constant tectonic shifts in your midsection and the fears, plans, and dreams attached to the future, it is all too easy to fixate. Plan other things, because it will give your brain a baby break.

2. When you plan, buy aisle seats and pick roads with rest stops- If you are planning ahead, you don't know for sure how much your body will be a peeing machine. It is the simplest switch, but aisle seats protect you from having to keep pushing annoyed seatmates out of their comfort zone. Nobody likes that person, and nobody wants to be that person. If you can count on one thing in pregnancy, it's peeing.

3. When you plan, give yourself a little extra time- On a related note, depending on where you are and how your pregnancy is treating you, more time is kinder. You may not be able to do the span of the US in 3 days like you could, and if you try, you will make yourself miserable. A lot of pregos also advocate for rest as a key part of pregnancy transit and visits- I have never found that I need a ton of down time, but it certainly can be nice. Longer layovers can be nice too, so you don't have to worry about long runs through airports (I think I did it twice while pregnant, and it wasn't so bad, but I bet I would have wanted to skip it in the moment if I could).

4. When you pack, keep your lifting limits in mind- A bunch of smaller things trumps 1 big thing when you have to carry it. By late in your second trimester, you are probably enough woman that carrying a big bag, even if it is light, can be a monumental task. For me, it also meant cutting down the weight I carried on my back over the course of the day. It's not something to obsess over, and honestly people will probably help, but if you can strategize to be kind to yourself, just do so.

5. When you get ready, wear whatever will make you comfy-Oh, your cute days in the airport might not be over, but your days wearing tight jeans to fly definitely are. My current theory is that about 70-80% of what you buy as a prego should be soft and stretchy. A maxi skirt, leggings, and a t-shirt worked well for me, but I would just encourage you to cut anything that is going to bug you after 5 hours in an uncomfortable seat (or puts pressure on your bladder. No one needs to help you pee). This works for car trips as well. Sitting too long is never good when you have a bowling ball up front, so anything you can do to make yourself comfortable, just do it.

6. When you get ready, pack an extra empty water bottle and a bottle of Purell- Just because you are having a travel day doesn't mean you should give up on drinking your weight in water. We have started bringing an old bottle with us and filling it up in airports so we have water on flights, not just the wimpy glass they give you. In the same way, you can refill your water bottle at reststops as you drive. Also, bring something to sanitize your hands, because public bathrooms come with so many quirks (and germs). If you have your ID, water, and purell, you have everything you need. The water may seem to encourage the peeing problem, but it's a good thing because...

7. When you are traveling, walk around whenever you have a chance and treat your body kindly- Walk. Get up and move around. This is the nicest thing you can do for yourself, so when you can, just move around a little.

8. When you are traveling (and you want a good laugh), drink a cold pop- I don't know if this works for everyone, but since I only let myself have a pop when I fly, Bumbo Baby is crazy impressed by the blast of cold sugar. Sometimes because we run around so much on travel days, it just feels good to have him dancing around to let me know he is in there, fine, and having quite the fanta-inspired partytime. If you need that little bit of encouragement that everybody is fine, I recommend this trick.

9. When you are traveling, buy snacks! Never go without them- By the end of a five hour flight or a long stretch of road, I am super hungry. I may even get a little hangry, which is way out of character for me. Don't risk the anger, just have pretzels or crackers or an apple or something. I won't judge you for what you pick, but I do think a little snack can take things to a much happier place.

10. When you are traveling, look around and notice all the babies traveling with their parents, and feel happy- Traveling is as much about making priorities as anything else. Just like with pregnancy, your ability to travel with baby is dependent on a bunch of factors you can't control, but it isn't entirely out of your hands either. If it is what you want to do, you probably can! So feel encouraged that other people are making it happen for their families, so you aren't stuck on Baby Island forever (and for that matter, neither is Baby).

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3 Things- Biden, Mozarella, and Plant Pod People

1. Joe Biden- Gah, I have proclaimed my love for this man, awkward gaffing and all, many a time, but can we all just agree that this is what a male feminist sounds like? And it sounds good, people. The shocking video of Ray Rice has brought up a lot of issues- violence between partners and the NFL's corporate complacency/ encouragement of this kind of behavior (thank goodness that they fired the guy, but it seems that they probably knew the length of the violence and only changed their stance when that knowledge became public). It has not said a lot of great things about what is permissible in big money, athletic hypermasculinity. So to have one of our nation's leaders pushing back this way (and propers to Tamron Hall as well for keeping this on the radar), is so encouraging. I don't see this as a partisan issue- if you are a conservative or a liberal, how could you not be against the violent behavior that categorizes domestic violence? You can see the whole video here, but this is my favorite quote:

"The one regret I have is we call it domestic violence as if it's a domesticated cat. It is the most vicious form of violence there is, because not only the physical scars are left, the psychological scars that are left. This whole culture for so long has put the onus on the woman. What were you wearing? What did you say? What did you do to provoke? That is never the appropriate question."

Preach it, Biden. Also, have you read about the Baltimore businesses donating money to a women's shelter for every Rice Jersey people bring them? I love it.

2. Primo Mozarella- I am pretty sure Primo is just Safeway's store brand, but it is the best not-exactly-fresh mozarella we have found. So good!

from moldeandolaluz.wordpress.com

from www.foam.org

3. Karl Blossfeldt photographs where the plants look like people- I genomed 30 of these yesterday, and these extreme typological close-ups of plants don't all have that human-y look to them, but the ones that have that personality make me smile.

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Real Vintage Bride Harry, in 1930s-style vintage wedding dress.

Dear Reader,

I couldn't wait to give you a preview of this stunning bride... 

Harry is a fashion PR, so she really knows what looks good! For her vintage wedding dress, she chose 1930s-style Angel. I know you'll agree she looks fabulous in it.

Harry - her full name is Angharad - has just married Joe, drummer with super-cool indie rockers, The Horrors. And you, dear readers, are the first to see this gorgeous little teaser from their wedding video.  (I don't even think their wedding guests have seen it yet...!)

I promise to show you the pictures as soon as they're in... Meanwhile, huge congratulations from us all to fabulous Harry and lucky Joe!

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

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Real Vintage Brides

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Today's Inspiration- Maxime du Camp

Do you ever read about early travel photographers and jut think we should all be traveling all the time, because contemporary travel's demands are so easy and cheap compared to what people went through to see the world? Go read about Maxime du Camp, who was pretty rich to begin with, and you will know exactly what I am talking about. He was one of the first to publish pictures of his travels in his travel books (I wonder what he would think of the world now).

 It took a whole team of people to create each of these images; they had their own tent to process the photographs and they basically learned exposure and timing through trial and error (gah, 19th c. photographers had it rough!). When Maxime du Camp began to sell these images, he became rich and famous overnight. Imagine that no one had ever seen photographic images of Egypt before, just drawings and paintings (now I wonder if the ubiquity of these images actually keeps people from going and experiencing the world themselves- it's not the same).

 This is some of his photography from Egypt.

Cidi's Tomb, Upper Egypt, around 1850- from theredlist.com

Abu Simbel, 1850- from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1981.1229.2

Untitled, 1849- from http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/10/30/the-birth-of-travel-photography-du-camp-and-flauberts-1849-trip-to-egypt

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