What friends are for

From Rex Jory:

• A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future and accepts you just the way you are.
• Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.
• Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smill spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not still friends.
• True friends stab you in the front.
• A true friend is someone who thinks you're a good egg even though they know you are a bit cracked.
• Life is partly what we make it and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.
  

On labour and childbirth

"Natural childbirth has evolved to suit the species, and if mankind chooses to ignore her advice and interfere with her workings we must not complain about the consequences. We have only ourselves to blame."

- Margaret Jowitt

Last night, I'm talking 'bout last night...

Last night I did something that makes me happy, and added to two other people's happiness. But I can't tell you what it was, nor who it involves. And this makes me annoyed. Why can't I share this with you? Well, it has something to do with something private in my life and to a point I will share these things with my blog but not past this point (boundaries, I do have a few!). And in some ways that annoys me as well. What I did wasn't illegal but even today, in 2009, it is something that is considered not for polite conversation, and outside of the "norm". Therefore I can't share it.

And while I'm at it - if anyone needs a PhD study in anthropology, my group of friends and aquaintences is probably rich pickings. It's complicated and intense and hilarious and heartbreaking all at the same time. And the amusing "A --> B --> C and D -->A and B but not C" details are pretty engrossing as well!

I have a sore throat. I've been away for a weekend with midwives. I've got the baby bug at the moment. Uni is still going. Apart from that, I've knit much of a Rogue - pics to follow once I've unpacked my camera cord.

Poem

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
something perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal, that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship....

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW....
when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. .
whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go... be it to her best friend's kitchen table, or a charming Inn in the woods, when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day... a month... and a year...

Public Perceptions of Breastfeeding

This is not my article originally but Radical Midwife brought it to my attention and a quick search of Google shows that LOTS of people are reposting it!

Society is so sexualized that they have forgotten what God created our breasts for in the first place. They throw hissy fits over breastfeeding in public and expect us to feed our babies in dirty, stinky bathrooms. So I ask you to judge for yourself, which breasts are truly offensive here? And I understand some of you won't think ANY of them are offensive. But I am making a point by showing how ridiculous it is that society looks upon scantily clad women in sexy ads as ok, even GREAT, but providing important nourishment and nutrients to your child in public by breastfeeding is offensive, distasteful, disgusting, whatever. Give me your feedback. :)


Wait... well, this is a bad example. Let's try again...

Hmmm... just a minute. Surely i can find better ones than these...

Eh... still not racy enough. I'll check one more time.

That's better. LOOK AT THAT! I see about an inch of boob! Totally disgusting.

Ugh! Look at that indecency!! She must be from some third-world country to be exposed like that!!

Now that's just... There's no words to describe how inappropriate that is. Something needs to be done!!



Now this takes the cake!! How dare they actually put such a disgusting image on the cover of a magazine where teenage boys might see it. This simply must be disposed of ASAP via a shredder, before teenage boys learn what boobs are really for!!


This just makes me want to vomit!

...but why stop at breastfeeding women? There are boobs everywhere. Beware! If you thought the above photos were offensive, you WILL DEFINITELY be offended by the photos below.



Not this one though. This was in plain view on newsstands and in mailboxes in 19 countries worldwide!

Not this one either. This one actually won an award!

Oh, and i guess this ones fine too, since everyone knows you can't sell jeans without someone being topless.

or beer, for that matter!

or sunglasses...

or movie tickets...

or CDs...

...you know what? Maybe I'm crazy, but i think that someone mixed up some photos here. The first batch are offensive, but the second batch are just fine and dandy???

People who live in glass bras:


shouldn't throw stones:

Which message is healthier?

Breastfeeding which is medically approved to give HUMANS the best start in life. . . or


Images that promote STDs, unattainable beauty standards, sexual promiscuity, plastic surgery, and just plain TRUE indecency?

Which would you rather your daughter live up to?

Ifyou think women have the right to breastfeed their children no matter where they are, please re-post this. The least you can do is help some children get the best nutrition they can get. Breastfed babies have lower instances of obesity, asthma, allergies, certain childhood diseases, learning disabilities, and other health problems. For each woman who feels like she shouldn't be breastfeeding right where she is, there is an innocent baby who is losing out. Don't be responsible for any child's health problems. support breastfed babies and their right to eat in public like the rest of us.