Book Reviews

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood is a wonderful book. As some of you may know, I am a very big fan of Ms. Atwood's and this book did not disappoint. In fact, I spent an entire day reading it because I could not put it down.

Unlike some of Atwood's more well-known books, The Robber Bride does not contain any of the sci-fi that some might expect. This is a more traditional, or at least as traditional as Atwood can get with her standout style, fiction tale. Without giving too much away, the book is about a woman who carves her way through men without much thought. It is told through the eyes of three of her female casualties in a way that has Atwood's signature ebb and flow through time and characters in a way that keeps your attention until the very end. I would suggest this book to anyone that loves a good mystery.

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan is good even if you usually get drained by nonfiction. However, if you are the kind of person that needs to be ignorant to the problems with today's consumption of food, this is not the book for you.

Throughout this book, Pollan constantly leaves you wanting to join the slow food movement while at the same time not making himself seem to righteous to take in. Although there is plenty of problems with today's food systems pointed out within the book, you still read it with a spark of hope. Pollan has done a great job of offering solutions to the problems that are presented within this book. After you are done reading this, you will feel not only more powerful when choosing what you eat but also more knowledgeable about corn and grass than you ever thought was necessary and yet, you will love it!

What are you thankful for?

So, awhile back, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Shrink Rap Radio , and Dr. Dave was interviewing someone who was discussing ways to make people happier. One of the suggestions that was made was to make what I have recently heard referenced as a "Gratitude List" in which you list a few things that you are grateful for each day. Well, I thought that it was a great idea and decided that Clay and I should try it out.

Although it sounds easy enough, it is difficult to add to an already busy lifestyle and although our "Gratitude Lists" did seem to be very fulfilling, we can't seem to keep it up. However, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought that I might reattempt my "Gratitude List" routine and share it with my readers. I know that I may not be able to make this a routine blog but I will make an attempt.

So, here is my Gratitude List for today.

1. My wonderful husband.
2. My beautiful daughter.
3. Our dogs who always make life interesting.
4. Our house because even with its idiosyncrasies it is a pretty nice place to live and a perfect location to support some environmentalist actions in a not so eco-friendly town.
5. My family because they are as fun as they are crazy!

And although I'm sure that I could go on, I will save the rest for another day. I hope that my readers will consider joining me in writing a Gratitude List and maybe even share it as a comment here!!!

Aubrey's First Birthday: Birthday Banner Craft

Well, I did it. I managed to distract myself with tons of party planning so that I didn't spend a week crying about the fact that my daughter is now a year old. Oh, and I did it well! So now, I will begin to share my birthday crafts with all of you!

To start, I made a birthday banner following the tutorial linked but with a few alterations that I will share so that you do not have to spend as much time going through the trial and error phase of party planning.
1.  I cut my cardstock into 5 X 7 rectangles and my scrapbook paper was cut into 4 X 6 rectangles.
2.  I used double-sided tape to adhere the papers and letters to each other because it gives a smoother look.
3.  After numerous issues, I bought a ribbon punch and used it to make slits long enough for the ribbon to slide through.
4. I used one piece of ribbon instead of tying each letter individually which allowed me to adjust spacing and gives me the option of using individual letters for other banners in the future without lots of tying and untying.

And that is the first of many birthday crafts that I will continue to share. Let me know if you have any questions or if you do the project and would like to share pictures, that would be wonderful!

Let's Talk About Sex

So, yesterday evening I attended a screening/ discussion entitled, "Sex, Brain, Body: Make the Connection," which featured a video of the same name discussing issues with women's sexual arousal. I thought it would be an interesting event to attend because I had issues in that area of my life prior to having a baby and because my ultimate goal is to become a marriage and family psychologist and attending lectures is my only outlet to education at the present time.

The video was good in that it let women know that they weren't alone. Women of many different ages and in very different areas in there lives were facing the same issues and getting the same feedback. For me, it was reassuring to know that many other women had gone to doctors and been told that nothing was wrong or had just been brushed off without even the simplest tests. In my own life, having no sex drive seemed like a death sentence without any chance of a pardon. To doctors, since my hormone levels were normal, it was all in my head.

Well, I will say that the video also showed that there were a lot of new studies going on that demonstrated how much women were in their heads during sex. In fact, it gave an interesting tid-bit about how women with hypoactive sexual desire had different areas of their brain light up on an fMRI when they became aroused which suggested that they were spending more time judging themselves and their partners than women who retained normal desire. Thus, in a way, it may be all in our heads.

However, the video and lecture also explained how little we really know about women's sexual desire and therefore how little we can actually do. But, what was even more discouraging to me personally was that the entirety of the film focused on medical interventions. Being an advocate for alternative therapies, I was disappointed in the fact that these wonderful new institutions for women would not think to incorporate homeopathic medicine, acupuncture, yoga, etc. into their treatment plans. I guess for them, suggesting erotic materials and exercises stays within the medical model?

Overall, it was a good experience and I would suggest that other women with arousal issues watch the video because it does make you feel a little less like an outsider. However, I would also suggest that they entertain other options. After all, we owe it to ourselves and our partners to find solutions now and not wait for the medical community to catch up!

Podcasts Gallore

So, I've recently gone a little podcast crazy. I always get into phases were I listen to more or less podcasts, depending on my like or dislike of my music library. But this time I've been going a little over the top. I think that this is mainly do to my newest attempt to cutback on internet time (trade one habit for another).

Needless to say, I thought that I would share with you some of my favorites. They are all free on ITunes so check them out!

-Democracy Now
-60 Minutes
-Mommy's Milk and More
-VerbaLearn.com's GRE Vocabulary
-Shrink Rap Radio Psychology Interviews
-The Princeton Review's Vocab Minute (This one is just hilarious!)

Middle Eastern Monday

After weeks of lagging behind on cooking and a weekend which included way too much meat, I finally got to make a delicious meal that I must share with all of my viewers!

 Hummus Recipe

16 oz. chickpeas (cooked or from can, drained)
4 T tahini paste (I make my own out of 2 T olive oil and 4 T toasted sesame seeds)
2 T lemon juice
1 t cumin
1/2 t garlic
1 t coriander
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t seasoned salt

-Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend till smooth


Couscous Recipe

2 c. uncooked couscous
2 c.vegetable broth
1/2 c diced fresh parsley
1/2 c diced bell peppers (or other veggies)
1/4 c diced onion
2 T butter
2 T lemon juice
1/4 t salt
cumin & coriander to taste

-Boil vegetable broth, salt, and butter. Add couscous & veggies stirring quickly. Remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 5 minutes and add seasonings.

Falafel Recipe (found here and altered)

16oz. chickpeas, drained
1 diced onion
1/2 c fresh parsley
1 T garlic
1 egg
2 t cumin
1 t coriander
1 t salt
1 t lemon juice
1 t baking powder
1 T olive oil
1 c bread crumbs
seasoned salt and pepper to taste

-Preheat oven to 400.
-Heat chickpeas in microwave 1 min. or until slightly softened. Mash chickpeas with a fork.
-Combine onion, parsley, and garlic in food processor and blend until smooth. Add to mashed chickpeas.
-In separate bowl, combine all other ingredients. Add to chickpea mixture.
- Make mixture into balls and put onto greased cookie sheet. Cook 10 min. Flip. Cook another 10 min. Then broil each side for 2-3 min.

Cucumber Sauce Recipe (found here)

1/2 large cucumber, seeded
6 oz. plain yogurt
1 T mayonaise
1 t dill weed

-Combine ingredients and refrigerate at least 30 min.

Voting

I have lived in Oklahoma most of my life and therefore never thought much of the rules revolving around voting until recently. You see, until moving away, it never occured to me that other states had different rules and regulations regarding voting. I guess I just always thought that voting was something regulated by the national government.

However, a few years ago, Clay and I moved to Montana and discovered that in MT, you could register to vote on the day of an election, which is very different from Oklahoma's laws which stop voter registration 24 days prior to an election. I have to admit that although I had made sure to register long before the elections, it was very liberating to find out that they encouraged people to register even on election day.

But the full impact of Oklahoma's voting laws did not hit me until we moved back to OK. Now that we are back, I have discovered how sketchy OK is about voting. In Montana, voting is advertised and encouraged in every way. Mailings are sent out to remind people to vote and to give information about candidates. In Oklahoma, voting has the feeling of an event attended by invitation only. It seems as if voting in OK is designed for the elite, the organized, and the elderly which in general would exclude most of the younger, more liberal, college population as well as those of us that are unable to spend all of our time tracking elections.

Now, I'm not trying to make excuses for my irresponsible actions. I understand that I should have registered to vote as soon as I moved back to Oklahoma so that something like this wouldn't happen. Nevertheless, voting in a democracy should not be designed to exclude a certain group of people. All people are created equal and should therefore share the right of expressing their opinions in democratic elections.

Valentine's Craft

After being absent from the blogging world for a few weeks due to illness, I thought I would share a little craft for Valentine's Day. It isn't anything fancy; just something cute to give the grandparents!

First, I started out by buying heart shaped cards and envelopes from Michaels for about $8. This craft also required a stamp pad, letter stamps, a ruler, and a precious baby foot.

I started out by stamping "Be My Valentine" on the front of the card. I used a ruler to keep the letters in a straight line and to make sure that "Valentine" ended up in the largest part of the card.

After letting the front dry, Clay and I proceeded to stamp Aubrey's foot and put it in the inside of the card. Although the pictures show each of us doing it on our own, it is really a two person job; one person is needed to hold the baby and another person to get the foot in the stamp and onto the paper. Also, at four months old, it is basically impossible to keep her fingers uncurled so that is why we chose the foot!

After that, we just added a sweet message and a little flower stamp on the front. And there you have it! A sweet Valentine's Day card to share with the family and a keepsake of that sweet little foot!

The Things I Love Most of All

Today is the final day of PAXbaby's 13 days of peace and love and for that, I have saved my biggest loves.

Day 12: I love my daughter, Aubrey