I had pretty much given up this past year on weight loss, though I continued to go to the WIO Gym 5 times a week and exercise for at least an hour, if not two.
Still, the side effects of the Humira I take (in a weekly shot) have been similar to steroids, in that I've been gaining weight by leaps and bounds, until I'm now back at the weight that I was prior to joining the gym in 2006.
But now my gastroenterologist has decreed that I am to lower my dosage of Humira from once a week to twice a month, and therefore, I gather he's hoping the side effects will lessen considerably, and that my Crohn's Disease won't kick up a fit as a result.
Meanwhile, this past year I've been taking a Zumba/Dance Fusion class from a delightful young woman named Melain Blue. I was recently guided to her blog,http://www.nurturingnarcissism.com/2008/03/abcs-of-melain.html and I found it tremendously inspiring, so I decided to borrow one of her posts and post my own responses. Seriously, who wouldn't be inspired by someone so gorgeous who is also smart, talented and loads of fun?
A - ADVOCATE FOR: I am an advocate for women's rights and the right to choose, as well as the right of larger women to not be bullied, blamed and passed over for work because of their size/weight. Prejudice sucks, in any form.
B - BEST FEATURE: Most people do not notice that my eyes are actually two different colors of golden brown. One is light gold with flecks of green and gray, and the other is darker brown with flecks of gold. I think they're pretty nice, but I have been told that my cupid's bow lips and big mammary glands are the real attraction for guys...at least that is what the guys I've dated tell me. I also had an 80 year old guy outside of La Fogata restaurant tell me once that I had a nice rump, but since I have never actually looked at it, I suppose I will have to take his word for it.
C - COULD DO WITHOUT: I could seriously do without my husbands drinking (especially since he's a diabetic and has high blood pressure, and doesn't take his medication for these ailments) and my ferocious roseacia coupled with a rash on my face that will not go away! Drives me crazy with itching! Hemorroids are also no fun, and having no insurance is just plain awful. Could we get some national health care this year, PLEASE?
D - DREAMS & DESIRES: Oh, there are so many! I want to travel to the UK, and stop in Wales to visit the set of Dr Who and Torchwood. I want to stop in Scotland to oogle the handsome Scottish men with their delicious accents, and I want to shop all the bookstores in London and nearby towns, as well as visit all their castles. I want to travel to Australia, again to see all the hot Aussie guys, I want to visit New Zealand, and Japan, where I could shop for all kinds of great pens and teas (I love tea). I have, since I was about 5 and started watching Star Trek, always wanted to go into outer space, and "touch the face of God." I love flying, and would adore a trip (or three) in a fighter jet, or a Harrier jet, or a Blackbird, or one of those bombers that look like a flying wing, or the space shuttle.And I want a 2010 Volkswagen Beetle in Moonlight Beige, hard top (you can't really use a convertible in this area because it rains too much) with automatic transmission and heated seats and low mileage. Oh, and I have always wanted to own my own bookstore with a tea shop inside, and I'd build a theater next door that had space for a World Wrapps, because I love them and I can only get them in Bellevue.
E - ESSENTIAL ITEMS: I collect books, purses and pens (the kind you write with) so I always find it necessary to have a new purse every 3 months, and I need to have dozens of pens with me to choose from in case of a writing emergency, along with a pad of paper for notes, and a paperback in case I am caught somewhere boring waiting for someone or if I am waiting for a flight at the airport. I also find that chewing ice is essential to my mental health, and eating something sweet at least once a day is important, too, whether its Bisco's Sugar Wafers (they are too expensive, though) or Mighty O Doughnut's delicious vegan (dairy and egg-free!) maple bars and regular doughnuts. Dark red lipstick and portable rump wipes are the other two things I carry with me all the time.
F - FAVORITE PASTIME: Reading books, writing in my journal (I've been keeping a journal since I was 12 years old), Facebook, keeping up with 2 of my 4 blogs, watching Glee, NCIS, Castle, Camelot, Merlin, Dr Who, Bones,Drop Dead Diva, Blue Bloods, Hawaii 5-O,White Collar, Covert Affairs, Burn Notice,Terra Nova, Body of Proof,Person of Interest, Parenthood and House. Exercising at Work It Out and chatting with my friends there, and yakking on the phone are my social pastimes, and I LOVE bargain hunting/shopping at thrift stores, garage sales, used bookstores and clearance racks at places like Fred Meyer or Kohls.
G - GOOD AT: I am a great and fast reader, I am a good writer/average reporter and I am really good at making friends, because I find most people fascinating...everyone has a story, and I would like to be the one to tell it. I am also pretty good at directing, acting and various other theater skills, and I enjoy historical legends and myths so I am fairly good at research. I am a good mom, a good wife and a good daughter. I discovered in 1994 that I am a fairly good stand up comediene, and there are things that I am good at that cannot be mentioned on a G-rated blog.
H - HAVE NEVER TRIED: rafting, bungee-jumping, para-sailing, hot air ballooning, martial arts, running a marathon, eating snails, shooting a crossbow, mud wrestling.
I - IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: I would first need about 12 million dollars, but if I had that, I'd build a bookstore-tea shop/movie theater/World Wrapps shop in Maple Valley, I renovate my home (we really need new carpet, new windows, bathroom renovation and kitchen remodel...and I would like built-in bookshelves all over the house, plus a window seat to read in), I'd take my friends on a trip to the UK and Japan, I'd pay off all my bills, I'd buy a Volkswagen Beetle (see dreams and desires, above), I buy health insurance for myself and my family, and I'd go on a Seaborne Legend cruise to Legoland and Disneyland in California with my family, because my son has never been to either place and would love it.
J - JUNKIE FOR: Sweets, especially fruity sweets, such as danishes, or gummy cherries, and I LOVE Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn jelly beans! Mighty O Doughnuts, cookies, etc. are also not safe within my reach.
K - KINDRED SPIRIT: My best friend Muff Larson, who died several years ago, was a kindred spirit, and my neighbor and friend Janine Ferrell, who is a genius artist is also a kindred artist, and the more I learn about Melain, the more kindred spirit she seems, as we like much of the same stuff. Also, my friend Jeff Morris, who owns a bookstore in St Pete Florida, my friends Roger and Nancy Page who own Island Books on Mercer Island, Bob Charles of Baker St Books in Black Diamond, and my friends and Librarians Ann and Sharon at the Maple Valley branch of KCLS.
L - LITTLE KNOWN FACT: I have a dual degree, which counts as two bachelor's degrees in Drama/Speech and in History and an MA in Writing. I also have certification as a Certified Nursing Assistant (120 hours) from Des Moines Area Community College, which I got when I was 16 and still in high school and bored out of my mind. I worked as a CNA to get myself through college, which was not easy. I hate Boston to this day because of my experiences in grad school. I also hate driving, and I refuse to drive outside of the Maple Valley/Covington area.
M - MEMORABLE MOMENT: There have been so many! When my son stuck his foot out of me while I was going to the bathroom 12 years ago after Thanksgiving (he was ready to be born, whether or not I was!), when I had to leave him in the NICU for two months, and they wouldn't allow me to see or hold him for the first 12 hours of his life (I nearly went crazy with this feeling that someone was cutting off a piece of my soul and telling me to leave it in the hands of strangers...I didn't think I could bear it for an hour, let alone 2 months) the moment when Jim said "You bet I do!" at our wedding and I realized I was doing something irrevocable in front of God and my parents, when I watched all the fighter jets take off for the "turkey shoot" with the Miramar, California fighter pilots in 1987, and I could feel the tarmac vibrate throughout my body during a glorious sunrise, when I won "Woman of the Year" from Women at Large, an exercise salon run by larger women instructors for big gals, and I'd lost 100 pounds in one year, when I won a first place award from the Society of Professional Journalists for my article on a Mercer Island psychiatrist who raises rats with her daughters in her spare time, and a first place award from the WNPA for a column I wrote about what I'd ask Paul Allen if he'd let me interview him (and I got a mysterious email after it ran saying "Very funny, DeAnn. signed, P").
N - NEVER AGAIN WILL I: attempt to live in a big city on the East Coast. I am just not a city person, I work better in a small community like the ones I grew up with in Iowa.I will also never attend another event at the Moore Theater (the seats are awful and too expensive) and I will never attend an event with Neil Gaiman and his new wife, Amanda Palmer. It was, as my husband pointed out, like "An overly long church service from HELL"
O - OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: Every now and then, I treat myself to an afternoon at the thrift store or the book store, alone. At least once a year, I like to take a box of books to Powells City of Books in Portland, Oregon, and while my husband and son go swimming in the hotel pool, I get some credit for my books and allow myself to leisurely browse the stacks in room after room, finding gems and good conversation with fellow book lovers in nearly every aisle. Then I stop at Whole Foods next door for a soy ice cream treat...it's heavenly. Oh, and once a year, I insist on going to a cheap hair salon (I can't afford the nice ones) for a professional hair cut.
P - PROFESSION: I am a freelance writer/reporter/editor who has been writing for websites, newspapers, magazines and newsletters for the past 26 years. I've also worked as a lifestyle magazine editor, a proofreader in a type house (something that no longer exists), a front desk/desktop publishing person for a local non profit and a certified nursing assistant (CNA) in hospitals, nursing homes and hospice. I also worked once, briefly, as a clerk in a Queen Sized Clothing Boutique in downtown Seattle. I discovered that I am good with people but bad with a cash register. I also portrayed Rosie the Riveter at the Museum of Flight for a year in the Personal Courage Wing on the World War II floor.
Q - QUOTE: "An emerald is as green as grass, a ruby red as blood. A sapphire shines as blue as heaven. A flint lies in the mud. A diamond is a brilliant stone, to catch the world's desire. An opal holds a fiery spark, but a flint holds fire." Christina Georgina Rossetti making sure the world knows to not judge a book by it's cover.
R - REASON TO SMILE: Dr Who, who speaks "baby" said that the baby who told him his name was "Stormageddon, Lord of Everything" wanted his flustered daddy to wear a papoose to hold him because "You don't come fast enough when he summons you." He also complained to the Doctor that "not-mom" has no mammary glands, and that he calls all males "not-mom" and "peasants." LOL! I love babies...they're so wonderful to hold, and sniff and cuddle.
S - SORRY ABOUT: my Crohns flares that can just derail my entire day or week, depending on severity, and the fact that journalism is becoming a dying art...there are just fewer and fewer jobs for regular reporters and more people seeking them. And now that I am an old, fat woman, my prospects for employment seem to decrease every month. So I can't bring home the bacon and still raise my son and keep house anymore. Sorry I've had to hang up my superwoman cape.
T - TELL A SECRET: I have/had a crush on Steve Jobs, Sting, Alex O'Laughlin, Gerard Butler, and when I was a kid, I had a crush on David Cassidy, Captain Kirk, Donny Osmond and the Professor from Gilligans Island.
U - UNINTERESTED IN: politics, math, ignorant, prejudiced people, radio/TV talk shows, reality TV shows, tanning, opera
V - VERY SCARED OF: death, the obliteration of self. I am also not a fan of pain.
W - WORST HABIT: I chew my nails, I chew ice (and break my teeth) and I twist my hair.
X - X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: I would imagine the coast of Ireland or Scotland or England...or the coast of Oregon...someplace not too hot, but still near the ocean, with handsome men and good bookstores.
Y - YUMMIEST DESSERT: I once had a creme brulee tapioca pudding that was heavenly...I also once had a tofu cheesecake that made me weep with longing for more.
Z - ZODIAC SIGN: My sun sign is Sagittarius, my rising sign is Leo and my moon sign is Libra. I am a happy go lucky gal who loves the stage and beauty.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Nancy Upton, the smaller side of "Plus Size"
I think that what Nancy Upton is doing to speak out about how larger or plus size women are viewed is a great thing, but I need to point out that at a size 12, Upton is the size I was at my smallest, most 'regular' weight. So it is rather hard for me to see her as a champion of plus size women when she's just a bit curvy, but otherwise 'normal' looking and can wear regular clothing and not have to shop at Lane Bryant or Fashion Bug or 16 Plus or Catherines because those are the only places to buy, for example a sports bra (and I could only find my size, 3X, at the Auburn Fashion Bug recently because the Lane Bryant clerks all said that Lane Bryant doesn't believe larger women work out enough to warrant them having a full line of sports bras in larger than 'normal' sizes 'around', not in cup). Anyway, here's the link to the article and most of the article below, with another link to Upton's website, wherein lie her photos, which are pretty funny, I think.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/10/10/dallas-woman-launches-social-commentary-at-american-apparel-wins-contest/
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – When American Apparel launched a campaign looking for plus-sized models, it ran a contest called ‘The Next Big Thing.’
Dallas resident Nancy Upton saw that and she was put off by its pitch. But instead of complaining, she entered the contest, playing on the stereotypes as a joke.
“How do they really picture us?” she asked. “Do they picture us sitting around all day being lazy and eating fried chicken?”
The ad said it was “calling for curvy ladies everywhere!”
“You know, ‘bootyful’ or ‘curvalicious,’ as opposed to calling us sexy, or attractive, or beautiful,” Upton said. “No plus sized woman in her right mind would have written that.”
So Upton, who has never modeled before, enlisted the talent of her friend Shannon Skloss to shoot the photographs she had in mind.
“She was like, ‘hey, you want to do it?’ I was like, ‘yeah, sure, let’s go for it. I completely stand behind you,” Skloss said. “We made a list of what order to do them in, from cleanest to messiest so that way we could just go into each one right away.”
The end result? Outrageous pictures featuring Upton lying naked, face down upon a dinner table, or bathing in a bathtub filled with ranch dressing. Another, she’s sitting in the kitchen covered in chocolate syrup. Another has Upton swimming in a pool, chicken wing firmly in hand.
“I definitely wanted there to be an element of satire and kind of an underlying statement about, like, perceptions of beauty in America; perceptions of overweight people and body awareness,” Upton said.
After American Apparel posted the photos online, Upton ended up taking the top spot in the contest. She would end up winning – the popular vote. The company wasn’t too happy with the outcome.
Upton said they sent her a letter saying, “It’s a shame that your project attempts to discredit the positive intentions of our challenge … and that booty-licious was too much for you to handle.”
The company chose 10 other women to represent its brand. And Upton said she’s OK with that decision.
“I stated pretty blatantly on my blog that if I was asked, I would say no, because I feel if you are going to be the face or the body or the voice of the company, you really should agree with as much as the company’s history as you can find out about, as much as their manufacturing and marketing philosophies and those kinds of things,” Upton said. “I don’t think we would click that way.
But not everyone was OK with American Apparel’s decision, and folks complained. As a way of making amends, the company flew Upton and Skloss out for a tour of its Los Angeles factory.
They’re now back in Dallas, exploring numerous opportunities that have come their way as a result of the pictures.
They’re already working on a book.
http://extrawiggleroom.tumblr.com/post/9836643886
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/10/10/dallas-woman-launches-social-commentary-at-american-apparel-wins-contest/
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – When American Apparel launched a campaign looking for plus-sized models, it ran a contest called ‘The Next Big Thing.’
Dallas resident Nancy Upton saw that and she was put off by its pitch. But instead of complaining, she entered the contest, playing on the stereotypes as a joke.
“How do they really picture us?” she asked. “Do they picture us sitting around all day being lazy and eating fried chicken?”
The ad said it was “calling for curvy ladies everywhere!”
“You know, ‘bootyful’ or ‘curvalicious,’ as opposed to calling us sexy, or attractive, or beautiful,” Upton said. “No plus sized woman in her right mind would have written that.”
So Upton, who has never modeled before, enlisted the talent of her friend Shannon Skloss to shoot the photographs she had in mind.
“She was like, ‘hey, you want to do it?’ I was like, ‘yeah, sure, let’s go for it. I completely stand behind you,” Skloss said. “We made a list of what order to do them in, from cleanest to messiest so that way we could just go into each one right away.”
The end result? Outrageous pictures featuring Upton lying naked, face down upon a dinner table, or bathing in a bathtub filled with ranch dressing. Another, she’s sitting in the kitchen covered in chocolate syrup. Another has Upton swimming in a pool, chicken wing firmly in hand.
“I definitely wanted there to be an element of satire and kind of an underlying statement about, like, perceptions of beauty in America; perceptions of overweight people and body awareness,” Upton said.
After American Apparel posted the photos online, Upton ended up taking the top spot in the contest. She would end up winning – the popular vote. The company wasn’t too happy with the outcome.
Upton said they sent her a letter saying, “It’s a shame that your project attempts to discredit the positive intentions of our challenge … and that booty-licious was too much for you to handle.”
The company chose 10 other women to represent its brand. And Upton said she’s OK with that decision.
“I stated pretty blatantly on my blog that if I was asked, I would say no, because I feel if you are going to be the face or the body or the voice of the company, you really should agree with as much as the company’s history as you can find out about, as much as their manufacturing and marketing philosophies and those kinds of things,” Upton said. “I don’t think we would click that way.
But not everyone was OK with American Apparel’s decision, and folks complained. As a way of making amends, the company flew Upton and Skloss out for a tour of its Los Angeles factory.
They’re now back in Dallas, exploring numerous opportunities that have come their way as a result of the pictures.
They’re already working on a book.
http://extrawiggleroom.tumblr.com/post/9836643886
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Finished at Fifty?
Let me first state that I am not normally a quitter. I have, throughout my life, seen things through to the often bitter end. Sometimes that has been a good thing, and sometimes it has just taken a huge toll that was far worse than quitting would have been.
But I've been doing some thinking lately about how fat and old and STRESSED I've become, and how many things I've failed at, including keeping to a 'normal' weight, and it just seems like I have been struggling against Sisyphean odds for far too long...since I was 5 and was put on cortisone for asthma and my weight bloomed as a result, to be exact.
Now that I am suffering the consequences, also called 'side effects' of Humira that seem very like the side effects of cortisone, I feel like Paris during WW2, outnumbered, outgunned and looking at an indefinite occupation of enemy forces.
In other words, the joint pain and stiffness, the headaches, the weight gain, the fatigue and irritability and the rosecia have taken over, and I am surrendering my body because I don't have the energy to do battle against them, or the knowledge of how to mitigate them, at the very least. If I stop taking the Humira, my guts swell up and I can't go to the bathroom for weeks at a time, though I have cramps and bloating and pain, which is a miserable state to be in. But I still can't eat raw veggies (and some I can't even eat cooked, like broccoli and cauliflower) fruits with seeds, nuts, dairy or eggs, onions (including shallots, leeks and chives) garlic, meats with nitrates, peas, pole beans, or whole grains like whole wheat and oatmeal, which sends my colon into complete shut down.
So all that advice from Dr Oz and the bazillion books on diets and weight loss don't hold much hope for me. Nor can I use one of the pre-made meal diets that are so popular, (Jenny Craig, Nutra System, Weight Watchers) though I wouldn't be able to afford them anyway. All of them, from what I have seen, have dairy, eggs, nuts and onions in nearly every dish, not to mention the artificial sweeteners they put in the snacks, which give regular people diarrhea, let alone someone with a touchy colon!
Add to that the frustration of hardly being able to move in exercise class many times,because I ache all over and feel so stiff and tired, and the stress of not having enough freelance work to make a living (like most journalists, I am watching my career swirl down the drain in favor of online news sites, which are using more free content and blog posts than legitimate articles written by experienced,skilled journalists) and you have more days when I don't even want to get out of bed than days when I feel I can overcome any of this. I ask myself "Why bother?" and 9 times out of ten, I have no good answer.
I love my son, and of course want to stay alive long enough to see him get into college and started on making a life for himself, but I figure his father will die long before I do, because he isn't caring for his diabetes and drinks to excess, so if statistics are anything to go by, he will not make it to 60, and I will have to try and raise the boy the rest of the way through high school. I have no idea how we will survive without our main income, but I will have to think of something when the time comes.
Meanwhile, I think I will just kick back and try to stay alive in these rough times. Wish me luck.
Here's a funny bit about a product that I could use, as I spend a lot of time in the bathroom with Crohns troubles, and this would make it a bit 'sweeter' in there:
Via Unbridled Books: Positing that the place where people read the most
is the bathroom, the bookstore chain 100,000 Books, in Yekaterinburg,
Russia, "came up" with this very clever product: Book Fresheners
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11278504.
The launch was part of an ad campaign
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11278505
But I've been doing some thinking lately about how fat and old and STRESSED I've become, and how many things I've failed at, including keeping to a 'normal' weight, and it just seems like I have been struggling against Sisyphean odds for far too long...since I was 5 and was put on cortisone for asthma and my weight bloomed as a result, to be exact.
Now that I am suffering the consequences, also called 'side effects' of Humira that seem very like the side effects of cortisone, I feel like Paris during WW2, outnumbered, outgunned and looking at an indefinite occupation of enemy forces.
In other words, the joint pain and stiffness, the headaches, the weight gain, the fatigue and irritability and the rosecia have taken over, and I am surrendering my body because I don't have the energy to do battle against them, or the knowledge of how to mitigate them, at the very least. If I stop taking the Humira, my guts swell up and I can't go to the bathroom for weeks at a time, though I have cramps and bloating and pain, which is a miserable state to be in. But I still can't eat raw veggies (and some I can't even eat cooked, like broccoli and cauliflower) fruits with seeds, nuts, dairy or eggs, onions (including shallots, leeks and chives) garlic, meats with nitrates, peas, pole beans, or whole grains like whole wheat and oatmeal, which sends my colon into complete shut down.
So all that advice from Dr Oz and the bazillion books on diets and weight loss don't hold much hope for me. Nor can I use one of the pre-made meal diets that are so popular, (Jenny Craig, Nutra System, Weight Watchers) though I wouldn't be able to afford them anyway. All of them, from what I have seen, have dairy, eggs, nuts and onions in nearly every dish, not to mention the artificial sweeteners they put in the snacks, which give regular people diarrhea, let alone someone with a touchy colon!
Add to that the frustration of hardly being able to move in exercise class many times,because I ache all over and feel so stiff and tired, and the stress of not having enough freelance work to make a living (like most journalists, I am watching my career swirl down the drain in favor of online news sites, which are using more free content and blog posts than legitimate articles written by experienced,skilled journalists) and you have more days when I don't even want to get out of bed than days when I feel I can overcome any of this. I ask myself "Why bother?" and 9 times out of ten, I have no good answer.
I love my son, and of course want to stay alive long enough to see him get into college and started on making a life for himself, but I figure his father will die long before I do, because he isn't caring for his diabetes and drinks to excess, so if statistics are anything to go by, he will not make it to 60, and I will have to try and raise the boy the rest of the way through high school. I have no idea how we will survive without our main income, but I will have to think of something when the time comes.
Meanwhile, I think I will just kick back and try to stay alive in these rough times. Wish me luck.
Here's a funny bit about a product that I could use, as I spend a lot of time in the bathroom with Crohns troubles, and this would make it a bit 'sweeter' in there:
Via Unbridled Books: Positing that the place where people read the most
is the bathroom, the bookstore chain 100,000 Books, in Yekaterinburg,
Russia, "came up" with this very clever product: Book Fresheners
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11278504.
The launch was part of an ad campaign
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11278505
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Horrifying News from South Dakota
I don't normally share my views on hot button topics like abortion (I'm very pro-choice) on my blogs, but as a woman who has been raped and knows what it is like to fear for her life in case of unplanned pregnancy, I just couldn't let this horror go by without comment or post. This is from the ACLU's Blog of Rights:
We'll See You in Court: South Dakota's Governor Signs Outrageous Law Restricting Abortion Care
Today, South Dakota's governor, Dennis Daugaard, signed a bill that creates unprecedented restrictions on access to abortion care. As we've blogged before, this law requires women to wait 72 hours between the first counseling session with the doctor and the abortion; it also requires women to first visit "crisis pregnancy centers," entities that are notorious for providing false and misleading information; and requires doctors to tell the woman of any possible risk factor published in medical and psychological journals since 1972. These new restrictions are on top of the long list of abortion restrictions in South Dakota, and come from a state that has one abortion provider.
If the law were to take effect, the consequences for women in South Dakota would be devastating. Given that Planned Parenthood is the only abortion provider in South Dakota, and they are in Sioux Falls, some women already must travel great distances to see a physician. But under the law, they would have to make to make two trips: one to visit with the doctor in person, and then another 72 hours later for the abortion. In the meantime, they must visit a crisis pregnancy center, which, under the law's requirements, must be anti-choice.
At the crisis pregnancy center, the woman must tell the staff her private reasons for having the abortion and give the name of her doctor. These intrusions into women's private lives are outrageous, and they also put physicians at risk for violence and harassment.
And just in case the law was not cruel enough, there is no exception for women who have been raped, who are survivors of incest, or have a wanted pregnancy that is doomed.
So we're headed to court. We won't stand for this blatant mistreatment of women and blatantly unconstitutional law. We'll join Planned Parenthood in court to stop the law in its tracks so no woman is faced with these burdensome, humiliating requirements.
I sincerely hope that Governor Daugaard gets his arse whupped in court, because the women of his state deserve much better treatment than this. They deserve access to clean and safe reproductive health care, and not back alley abortions or access to only those horrible 'crisis' pregnancy centers that offer no solutions at all to a woman in distress with unplanned and unwanted pregnancy.
We'll See You in Court: South Dakota's Governor Signs Outrageous Law Restricting Abortion Care
Today, South Dakota's governor, Dennis Daugaard, signed a bill that creates unprecedented restrictions on access to abortion care. As we've blogged before, this law requires women to wait 72 hours between the first counseling session with the doctor and the abortion; it also requires women to first visit "crisis pregnancy centers," entities that are notorious for providing false and misleading information; and requires doctors to tell the woman of any possible risk factor published in medical and psychological journals since 1972. These new restrictions are on top of the long list of abortion restrictions in South Dakota, and come from a state that has one abortion provider.
If the law were to take effect, the consequences for women in South Dakota would be devastating. Given that Planned Parenthood is the only abortion provider in South Dakota, and they are in Sioux Falls, some women already must travel great distances to see a physician. But under the law, they would have to make to make two trips: one to visit with the doctor in person, and then another 72 hours later for the abortion. In the meantime, they must visit a crisis pregnancy center, which, under the law's requirements, must be anti-choice.
At the crisis pregnancy center, the woman must tell the staff her private reasons for having the abortion and give the name of her doctor. These intrusions into women's private lives are outrageous, and they also put physicians at risk for violence and harassment.
And just in case the law was not cruel enough, there is no exception for women who have been raped, who are survivors of incest, or have a wanted pregnancy that is doomed.
So we're headed to court. We won't stand for this blatant mistreatment of women and blatantly unconstitutional law. We'll join Planned Parenthood in court to stop the law in its tracks so no woman is faced with these burdensome, humiliating requirements.
I sincerely hope that Governor Daugaard gets his arse whupped in court, because the women of his state deserve much better treatment than this. They deserve access to clean and safe reproductive health care, and not back alley abortions or access to only those horrible 'crisis' pregnancy centers that offer no solutions at all to a woman in distress with unplanned and unwanted pregnancy.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The St Patrick's Day Greenish Blues
So I was wandering through a poetry list made by some Lit professor who hates all the classic poets I adore (like Carl Sandburg and Pablo Neruda), when I came across this poem by TS Elliot, who is, apparently, still in favor in the academic community.
Anyway, it occurred to me that what he's saying here could easily be changed to be about Crohns Disease. So forgive me, Thomas Sterns Elliot, if I replace the word "river" with the word "colon" and contemplate the 'strong brown god' that is my troubled digestive system.
(The Dry Salvages—presumably les trois sauvages—is a small
group of rocks, with a beacon, off the N.E. coast of Cape Ann,
Massachusetts. Salvages is pronounced to rhyme with assuages.
Groaner: a whistling buoy.)
The Dry Salvages
I do not know much about gods; but I think that the COLON
Is a strong brown god—sullen, untamed and intractable,
Patient to some degree, at first recognised as a frontier;
Useful, untrustworthy, as a conveyor of commerce;
Then only a problem confronting the builder of bridges.
The problem once solved, the brown god is almost forgotten
By the dwellers in cities—ever, however, implacable.
Keeping his seasons and rages, destroyer, reminder
Of what men choose to forget. Unhonoured, unpropitiated
By worshippers of the machine, but waiting, watching and waiting
Anyway, I've been on Humira for 8 months now, and have gained 45 pounds back in that amount of time, as well as gaining headaches every Monday and Tuesday, joint pain in my shoulders and elbows and back, plus a pica-like tendency to need to chew ice 24/7, probably due to anemia and vitamin D deficiency. So while I am taking some iron tablets and vitamin D supplements, I still have painful flares and trouble going to the bathroom at least once a week, which is still too much. I am still also going to the WIO gym 5 times a week, and I've gotten Jim signed up at the MVF gym, so that's a step in the right direction, but it's still depressing that I seem to be gaining weight without changing my diet that much. But, since I have no insurance, I can't go back to see my gastro doc, so I am going to have to just deal with where I am now and try to accept myself as I am at the moment.
Anyway, it occurred to me that what he's saying here could easily be changed to be about Crohns Disease. So forgive me, Thomas Sterns Elliot, if I replace the word "river" with the word "colon" and contemplate the 'strong brown god' that is my troubled digestive system.
(The Dry Salvages—presumably les trois sauvages—is a small
group of rocks, with a beacon, off the N.E. coast of Cape Ann,
Massachusetts. Salvages is pronounced to rhyme with assuages.
Groaner: a whistling buoy.)
The Dry Salvages
I do not know much about gods; but I think that the COLON
Is a strong brown god—sullen, untamed and intractable,
Patient to some degree, at first recognised as a frontier;
Useful, untrustworthy, as a conveyor of commerce;
Then only a problem confronting the builder of bridges.
The problem once solved, the brown god is almost forgotten
By the dwellers in cities—ever, however, implacable.
Keeping his seasons and rages, destroyer, reminder
Of what men choose to forget. Unhonoured, unpropitiated
By worshippers of the machine, but waiting, watching and waiting
Anyway, I've been on Humira for 8 months now, and have gained 45 pounds back in that amount of time, as well as gaining headaches every Monday and Tuesday, joint pain in my shoulders and elbows and back, plus a pica-like tendency to need to chew ice 24/7, probably due to anemia and vitamin D deficiency. So while I am taking some iron tablets and vitamin D supplements, I still have painful flares and trouble going to the bathroom at least once a week, which is still too much. I am still also going to the WIO gym 5 times a week, and I've gotten Jim signed up at the MVF gym, so that's a step in the right direction, but it's still depressing that I seem to be gaining weight without changing my diet that much. But, since I have no insurance, I can't go back to see my gastro doc, so I am going to have to just deal with where I am now and try to accept myself as I am at the moment.
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