I have never been politically apathetic…until now.

I’ll be honest and say that politics in Jessamine county were what soured me…I spent time, effort, time, time away from my family, etc., and few things ever seemed to change. It felt like I was trying to help drain the ocean with a thimble. Oh, and it was raining while we were trying to drain that ocean.

So fast-forward 2 years to now, and I voted in Michigan’s primary last night because it’s a civic duty, but my heart wasn’t in it. There’s not one single candidate I agree with completely, and the one I did vote for (Ron Paul) I like, but I don’t think he’s got a snowball’s chance in Hades.

I’m honestly not sure there’s a candidate who has The Plan for the country on either side of the ticket. I’m tired of high taxes and out-of-control governmental spending (leading to~of course~higher taxes), and I’m not sure than anyone *but* Paul would shrink the size of the federal government. But even in Paul wants to, he’d have to compete with the Congress, and those people aren’t even going to consider shrinking government~because that’s where they work and how they are and they enjoy spending like drunken sailors. It’s easy to go on a shopping spree with someone else’s money.

Anyhow, I came across this cool website this morning that was interesting. It’s a Candidate Calculator and you get to rate your interests/concerns and then it matches up your concerns (mathematically) with a candidate. You can find it here. I was matched up with someone I’ve never heard of before (probably not a surprise since we kicked the MSM out of our lives), but I did find Dr. Paul down on the list and above other “mainstream candidates.”

If you’re not registered to vote, despite my apathy, I encourage you to do so. I will vote in November. But I think I’m past spending my time and energy (that I would rather spend with my family) on political candidates. I’ll inform myself through online resources and my friends and I will probably talk about it, but that’s about it.

I like this graphic~sort of makes me think that the Beatles had it right.

For any guys who might be reading (Isaiah!), you might want to skip this post, unless gynecological things are fascinating and or don’t make you squirm.

I typically put off (ad infinitum) going to the doctor for the “lift the hood, check the oil” appointment. I hate it. I rarely use that word (mostly because Brendan reminds me that “We don’t say ‘hate,’ Mama!”), but I genuinely hate going there.

So fast-forward to a discussion a few months ago on a list I’m a part of where a particular doctor who had delivered many Ann Arbor babies was discussed. She had apparently left the University and was opening up a private practice in the city and was doing things ‘differently’ than a traditional practice. I checked out her website and liked what I saw.

My appointment was yesterday and it’s worth sharing (minus the intimate details)~because even if you’re not a local reader, to know that there is a possibility of having a place like this to care for your health and well-being, it’s worth reading about.

I walked in and was greeted by the nurse practitioner (who is also a certified nurse midwife). She asked me to take off my shoes and offered me slippers or socks, much like the traditional Japanese “genkan” I grew up with. She then took me to their kitchenette and showed me hot water, coffee, and tea bags and asked if I wanted anything to drink. I did, and made a lovely cuppa tea in a china teacup (a real teacup!).

The NP gave me paperwork that I needed to read through and sign and directed me to a sitting area with a sofa, an ottoman, and a water-feature that created an incredibly peaceful sound to my ears.

The floor was hardwood (bamboo, as it turned out), the walls were neutral, and the furniture was from Ikea. As far as I was concerned, it was “home” to me~at least, it was like my home, minus the legos scattered from here to eternity. There were plants, a noise-machine (I think to drown out conversation behind a closed door and to enhance the feeling of safety, security, and privacy), and there was an intoxicating sense of peace there. The windows had some custom-made pieces of poly-something over them; it was frosted and had beautiful leaf-patterns in it. It was gorgeous to look at (without question), but helped to create the sense of privacy and safety in the “office.” I put “office” in quotes only because that’s technically what it *is*, but it doesn’t feel “office-like” at all.

When I was done reading the privacy (HIPAA) information and signing it, I walked in to the examination room with the NP and was offered a seat on the exam table (more on that later) or the sofa. I chose the sofa. I curled up with my feet under me and we talked about my medical history, any concerns I had, etc. She explained that if I wanted to weigh myself I could, but they weren’t requiring it and they weren’t hung up on knowing what I weighed. I considered my options and decided against it~the scale still has too much emotional power over me~and we moved on.

When the NP was done with our discussion and her paperwork, the doctor came in. We sat and chatted about life, my medical history, upbringing, marriage, etc. for about 45 minutes, and it was as natural as if I was talking to a friend. I have NEVER had that experience in a doctor’s office before. NEVER. We talked about my PCOS and options to manage it (she suggested going back on metformin if I wanted to do so), but as I explained about my own research and successes controlling my endocrine issues, I made it clear that I was an informed patient and felt pretty comfortable doing what I am doing. And that was fine with her.

She left me with a robe (a real terrycloth robe!) and a real sheet and told me that I needn’t disrobe completely, but to let her know when I was ready. The table was a leather (napa leather, if I had to guess), very softly upholstered table designed for both massage and gynecologic exams (i.e., it had stirrups).

When the doctor returned, she brought the NP with her and explained every step of the way what was going to happen, what was happening, and what she was seeing (or not seeing). It was over in a few moments and aside from a reminder from the NP to ‘breathe, Sue!’ (did I mention she is a midwife?), it was as easy as I had hoped it would be, but honestly had built up to being horrible in my mind.

I redressed after the physical exam (which included a look over my back and any potential moles or skin lesions that might be suspicious), and we sat down to talk again. The doctor and NP were encouraging, supportive, and made me feel like I had done a courageous and heroic act for having my annual exam. Which in all honesty, I felt like I had done just that, as it had been several years since I “screw[ed] my courage to sticking place” as Lady Macbeth said and actually *went* to the doctor.

I paid the doctor personally (she doesn’t participate with insurance at all) and will be reimbursed by our insurance, but I don’t even care about that. I genuinely don’t. I would have shelled out twice as much as I did to have the same type of experience and to not feel stressed about the visit. I wish all women could have this experience and realize that there is more to medicine and self-care than what we typically receive.

When was the last time anyone referred to this type of exam and doctor’s appointment as “amazing”? I’ve never said it or heard it before from anyone else, and yet it truly was.

I’m faced with Brendan’s impending birthday–when he turns 6. This seems incomprehensible and although it’s an entirely happy occasion, I’m already maudlin about it.

Where did my baby go? He’s sprouted up very tall and yet I want to keep him small. Not so that he’s dependent on me, but because those younger years were so full of joy, discovery, and innocence. He’s still full of those things, but as he grows older, I recognize that these things will fall away a bit. It makes me sad to consider, despite the fact that this is what we want for him: to grow in wisdom, love, maturity, and in favour with God and people.

There are times when I wish I could just freeze-frame him as he is…sweet, helpful, and full of vigor.

Of course, the days when he’s feeling ornery, I don’t want to freeze-frame anything at all. But by and large, I’m blessed to have a kid who is pretty compliant and has a pretty darned good temperament.

I guess I really do want to have more kids and enjoy the youthfulness that they bring (they also bring grey hair, but we won’t dwell on that. We’ll just rely on hair colour.) . Brendan is a great help with my friends’ kids whom I watch a few afternoons per week, and I know he wants siblings as much as we want more kids. Hopefully these desires will intersect with babies who need families someday soon.

In the meantime, I’ve got to go help that “big boy” comb his hair and get ready for dinner. Oh, and I’ve promised him a game (or 12) of Uno Attack! before Mark gets home tonight.

Now that’s the fun part of having an almost-6-year-old.

I have never painted a wall brown, although Brendan thinks that “Trusty Tan” by Sherwin Williams *is* brown. It’s not~it’s a lovely shade of cafe au lait. And to a woman, there’s a difference. Trust me.

I’m in the process of painting our bedroom “Toasty” in Sherwin Williams SuperPaint. It’s not chocolate, and it’s not coffee…it’s a toast-colour. Rich and beautiful, and yet warm and muted at the same time. I got one wall and a tad of another done yesterday, and although it’s taking longer than I expected to be fully dry (we’re having weird, warm, and very humid weather here right now), it’s really quite nice. It defines the room and the ceiling, and makes it feel sophisticated.

Of course when I came up with that adjective, Mark snorted, because we’re really not all that sophisticated over here. But it does feel like an adult’s room, and believe it or not, it simply makes the very funky duvet cover truly >pop<.

And Brendan wants to get in on the act, so I’ve given him a mini roller cover (the kind I use in tight spots) and let him roll away as a first coat. I will roll the second coat and even everything out, but for now, it’s a fun Mama-Boy time for us and empowering for him to know that he “helped” paint our room.

The fun thing is envisioning this when it’s all done. I still have to paint behind the bed/headboard combo and the wall where the dressers are, and then a 3-canvas motif of white orchids will grace the wall behind the bed. I think it will be stunning. Of course, it’s all from Ikea, which is where I seem to get the most bang for my buck in terms of furniture and decorating, but also where I find raw ideas (by the pallet-full) and get to think outside the box regarding decoration and furnishings. I think with all the furniture and things we’ve bought we’ve spent less than $3000 (total), which sounds like a lot, but when I realize that we showed up in Dexter with a kitchen table (no chairs), 3 mattresses, and one sofa, we’ve furnished an entire house very inexpensively and with quality stuff.

And just because it’s fun, here’s a list of the different pieces we’ve procured.

• kitchen chairs (4)
• desk
• book cabinet
• occasional table
• sitting chairs (2)
• footstools (2)
• sofa-loveseat
• bunk bed
• queen bed frame
• queen headboard
• dressers (2)
• entertainment unit
• bookshelf
• kid-plates, cups, bowls, and cutlery
• laundry cart w/drawers
• storage baskets
• shelves (2 sets~one free-standing, the other mounted on the wall)
• storage tubs for toys
• canvas art
• duvet cover & pillowcase set
• and more, but I’m not recalling it all at the moment

So we’ve definitely spent time and money at the store, but it’s a good expenditure of both, I think. And it was particularly fun to meet up with a friend from elementary and high school there yesterday. I didn’t recognize her immediately, but when she stopped to talk to me & my friend about our kids, things started clicking. She thought she recognized me (but couldn’t place me), and I put the pieces together. Which of course, led to what a small world it is (we didn’t grow up in Canton where Ikea is located), catching up on our families, and how in the world we met up at such an enormous store on a day that I didn’t intend to be there. Very fun and odd simultaneously.

Anyhow, back to the brown toasty paint and cutting in a second coat before I make dinner.

I came across this airline at another blog and although I’ve never heard of them or seen their ads before, I thought they were pretty darned funny.

They fly out of Metro, but appear to be a smaller carrier, as Southwest (my airline of choice) used to be. Anyhow, peruse the ads they have here, and see what you think.  I like “Babysitters” and “Room Service” the best, disturbing as they are. 

I am finally feeling better. I’ve recovered from the salmonella poisoning (thankfully!) and have the tail end of a cold, but I feel pretty darned good, all things considered.

New Year’s was a fun, if not raucous, celebration: my cousins and their kids drove out here on NYE and spent the night and we ended up with 12″ of snow between 1am and 6am on New Year’s Day. It was incredible~both beautiful and awe-inspiring to realize that the sheer volume of the white stuff was out there, but also that we had to shovel it so the Jaspers could head home that afternoon.

And it was still snowing! We shoveled and scooped (with our newly acquired Yooper Scooper) and three of us (alternating between 2 shovels and one Scoop) cleared the mess up in about 90 minutes. Which, for the volume of snow, was pretty impressive. The kids had a fantastic time~to the side of the driveway is an area we semi-affectionately call The Gulley. There is a large portion of dead vegetation and fallen tree and brambles over there, but as it was covered in snow, Brendan and cousins discovered that they could get in the space under the branches and brambles and create “rooms” and “tunnels.” And truth to tell, it was pretty darned cool. It reminded me quite a bit of the snowy scenes in “The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe” movie; peaceful, quiet, and wooded. Very fun in there!

We trouped in for a while and I made a vast quantity of fried rice for lunch~about 8 cups of cooked rice plus meat and vegetables. About 3/4 c. of the finished product was leftover…shoveling and scooping snow gives people gigantic appetites!

Now the icicles are forming and we’ve had to dig out not once, but twice. We ended up with another 4″ after the original 12″, and scooping that much with The Scoop took me (alone) a little under an hour. I just can’t get over how easily this thing takes care of snow removal! It was much cheaper than a snowblower ($85 vs. $400+) , and there is no “blow-back” from it as there tends to be from the chute of a snowblower. It was a lot of work to move the 12″ at one time, but if it hadn’t all come overnight inside of 5 hours, we would have done it in stages, removing several inches at a time until it was clear.

Tomorrow will be procurement of paint for our bedroom (the up-side to being sick and horizontal for several days in a row is I’m changing how *boring* our room is with a duvet cover, artwork, and paint), digging out the mailbox (which we thought was okay, but apparently not, as the mail carrier skipped our box completely, despite having the flag up for a pick-up), and taking down the Christmas decorations.

p.s.–there are new photos of events in the Flickr badge to the right of this column. Enjoy!