Mountain Climbing

Head over to Lake Loop for a brilliant rendition of our recent hike up Whiteface & Esther. Peaks #4 and #5 for me!

Doula-ing Update

As I mentioned in the previous post I am mid-way through my fourth book off the required reading list for doula certification. I have one more to read after this one.

Last night I attended a breastfeeding class to meet another requirement. It was pretty neat to be in a room full of beautifully pregnant women. I'm not sure how much I learned though, having already read the material in much more detail in Breastfeeding Made Simple. Next month I start a five week childbirth education series at one of the other hospitals in the area. I decided to split the classes up at different hospitals in hopes of meeting more folks in the field.

Tonight after work I will tag along with one of my doula mentors on her initial meeting with a potential new client. It will be good to see the whole process from the get-go. If the mom chooses to work with us, she should deliver in December.

At the beginning of this month I attended my first birth with another doula mentor. It was the most amazing experience imaginable. It absolutely confirmed that this is something I want to do. I hope that after a couple more mentoring births I will feel ready to go out on my own!

Knit the Season

My advance copy of Knit the Season arrived yesterday. It's the newest edition of the Friday Night Knitting Club novels by Kate Jacobs. I'm midway through my fourth required reading book for doula certification, but now I have extra motivation to finish that. It's funny to me that I enjoy the Friday Night Knitting Club books so much considering I don't even knit. I do occasionally crochet though! It's the characters and storylines that really grab me, of course. But I can't believe it's time for holiday stories already!

Red

I'm drawn to red things designed for use during an emergency. Yesterday I rode a shuttle bus from my suburbs into the Fair. As I stood, swaying, and trying not to vomit, packed in like a sardine, I kept imagining pulling the bright red handle on the window nearest me. When I worked as a movie projectionist there was a giant bright red button that would shut down the whole unit. Every shift I would eye it greedily, so tempted to give it a good whack. I never did, and now I can't even remember if I was ever in the room when it had to be used (I was most definitely in the building). Sometimes I'm not sure how I've managed to resist these temptations.

Out Comes the Pedometer

Earlier this summer I set a goal for myself of a minimum four walks per week. That is my "official" goal, but my more obsessive minded goal is 5, or even 6, walks per week. I've reached my minimum nearly every week (I may have missed once when I was sick), and have often reached my ideal. Yet, I don't look any thinner or feel any fitter. I'd figured after many months of inactivity, any increase would reap the rewards. Alas, that has not turned out to be the case (or at least not in any way apparent to me). Obviously, I can't do much better with my frequency, so it must be my intensity and duration that are lacking. Both of those are a bit tricky because I prefer to bring the dogs along for my walks, and Small Dog can't do much more than 30 minutes at a steady clip.

So today I dusted off my pedometer and clipped it to my capri pants to see if I could find new ways to encourage more activity. Every little bit must help.

Pregnant in America

This morning I started my day with a big mug of tea and the documentary, Pregnant in America. I first learned about this film through a review in International Doula, the quarterly publication of DONA International. The film covers many current trends in maternity care in the United States, including epidurals and cesarean sections. It also gave a brief glimpse into the birth process in Holland and Germany. I was particularly impressed with the percentage of home births in Holland. I would recommend this film to anyone interested in learning more about pregnancy in the U.S. It is both interesting and accessible, requiring no prior knowledge on the subject.

Spontaneous, me?

Spontaneous or even fun are not words that can normally be used to describe me. I'm usually pretty serious, sarcastic, and predictable (stuck in my ways?). All of that changed, at least for one night, this past week.

Less than 24 hours before the concert in question an old friend called with an extra ticket. I hadn't seen him in years, and I hadn't gone to a show with him since 1996. I called my boss and begged off work. At the show I rediscovered music I've loved for almost half of my life. I also was reminded that I can have great fun if I just let myself (even while completely sober!). It was also amazing how comfortable I felt with him after all these years. I am far from easy-going and unfamiliar people and settings tend to make me feel tense, but there was none of that on this night.

It was, by far, the most fun and best time I've had in a long, long time.