April 09, 2011

STARTING AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

Perhaps it's because I've already had a baby, I don't know, but my body seems to be reacting differently this time around.  It appears I may miscarry this baby on my own without need for the medicine.  We'll see as days go on if it looks like the process is complete, but for now it seems the miscarriage has started on its own...

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April 06, 2011

LITTLE ANGEL

No matter what, we still have our little angel (or Lima Alpha, as my husband calls her.)


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POUCH PEEK

So we all filed into the ultrasound room today, me and two other ladies, and all our husbands, and also Baby Grok.  We looked like a parade of hand-wringers.  And while it used to tear my heart out to hear other people's fantastically alive ultrasounds, it didn't bother me to be seen last this time.  While Baby Grok toddled around and played with the stirrups, I eavesdropped excitedly to hear whether they'd be able to discern the sex of the twins one couple was having (they couldn't yet).  And I was happy to hear that the other couple's baby was still healthy and strong, since I actually know this woman and have seen her try to have a baby for a while now too.

And then it was my turn, and Schroedinger's cat never became a cat in the first place.  I have an empty yolk sac, just like two previous pregnancies.

I will go back next week to confirm, and then I will get a prescription for the gut-wrenching medicine and take it the next weekend while my husband is home to care for Baby Grok for me.  Sadly, it will be our last weekend together before he leaves for a three-month Army course.

And I will have to travel to see him at appropriately-scheduled intervals to try to make Pregnancy #6 be a heads.

I'm OK.  Disappointed that we flipped wrong this month, frustrated that I can't consult my eggs first and make a good one come out instead, but OK.

So let's have a giggle and appreciate what we have: here's Baby Grok napping with her butt in the air.


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March 30, 2011

LETDOWN

So...it's looking like this coin flip is leaning towards tails instead of heads.  My hormone levels aren't doubling and are pretty low.  I have zero pregnancy symptoms.  Hope is dwindling.

I have an ultrasound next week to peek in the kangaroo pouch and see, but I am not optimistic.

But Julia was so right: it's much easier to handle the letdown when you already have a squirmy kid to cuddle.

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March 21, 2011

TWO NIGHTS OF WINE

I nearly just typed "Last week was Baby Grok's birthday."  But it's actually been three weeks.  How time flies.  I had every intention of commemorating the event here, but I didn't get around to it.

I'm not sure who still checks here, but if you do, there's news today.

I'm pregnant again.

Last week I took five negative pregnancy tests.  I was pretty bummed out and getting fairly obsessive again about cycles and luck.  Today I took two positive tests.  Don't know why that is, but it is.

It's wonderful.

Obviously, the same probability applies this time around too, and I still have a coin toss chance of another miscarriage.  But I remain happy that we made it past the getting-pregnant step and now just have to focus on the staying-pregnant step.

And I find this quite humorous: I nursed Baby Grok for the full year and had been slowly weaning her.  We had just taken the step of cutting out her nighttime nursing, and I was happy that I'd now be able to have a guilt-free glass of wine with dinner.

I had two nights of wine.

Heh.

Fingers crossed and prayers offered that I don't get any more wine for another two years...

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February 11, 2011

BABY GROK WANTS TO BLOG

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January 31, 2011

THE EGYPTIAN CONSTITUTION

I have to write a post about a post I was going to write because I don't grok.

At a press conference on Friday, President Obama said the following:

The people of Egypt have rights that are universal, that includes the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to free speech, and the ability to determine their own destiny.  These are human rights, and the United States will stand up for them everywhere.

My first thought was that the president was nuts, that Egyptians don't have these rights.  Or at least they haven't secured them.  I was going to write a long post about how these rights are indeed human rights, inalienable, endowed on us.  Our Constitution does not give us these rights, it simply enumerates them.  Our government does not give us these rights, it is there to protect them.  And that our Constitution begins with "We the people" because it is unique.

So I looked up the Egyptian constitution and was surprised to read that it too begins with "We the people."  I read further about freedom of speech and opinion and individual freedoms and just got more confused.  Why was the president saying that Egyptians have these rights when clearly they do not?  And how can all these rights be enumerated in their constitution when it doesn't appear that they actually have them?

So where's the disconnect?

Was the president being lofty and speaking in idealistic generalities about humankind, or was he specifically stating that Egyptians are guaranteed these rights by their constitution and are being denied them unjustly?

And how can Egypt have a constitution that guarantees its citizens a "democratic, socialist state" and then have the same leader for 30 years?

I really don't grok.

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January 10, 2011

ONE OF THOSE POSTS I HATE



I've been busy chasing after the baby.  I've also discovered it's hard to use the computer when she can crawl over and start slapping the keyboard.

Plus I just don't have anything good to say.

I hate posts where bloggers explain why they're not blogging...

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November 03, 2010

A WIN FOR THE COUNTRY

A European friend of mine was saying recently that she doesn't really understand how American government works because it doesn't make sense to her that our "parliament" could be of a different political party than our president.  She wondered how anything would ever get done.

I tried to explain that the Founders of the United States intended it this way, that our system was created under the assumption that government works best when it governs least.

This result from last night, it should ensure the least amount of government.  That's a good thing.

It's a win for the country.

Now leave us alone.

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KEYNESIAN IRONY

Via AirForceWife, these are really funny...



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October 30, 2010

PUMPED UP

I barely follow politics lately and try not to let it work me up anymore because I can't waste energy right now being depressed about the direction of our country, but this open letter to Rush at Hillbuzz (via Amritas) got me all pumped up on dorkosterone.

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October 22, 2010

WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE

I heard about this secondhand so perhaps I'm missing some nuance, but did Juan Williams just get fired for expressing basically the same thoughts that Barack Obama attributed to his typical white granny during the greatest speech on race relations since Martin Luther King?

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October 08, 2010

THE REASON FOR THE PRIZE

How utterly pathetic is it that this man has to share the Nobel Peace price honor with the likes of Al Gore and Barack Obama...

Imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights" — a decision which produced a bitter reaction from the Chinese government.
[...]
Unlike some in China's highly fractured and persecuted dissident community, the 54-year-old Liu has been an ardent advocate for peaceful, gradual political change, rather than a violent confrontation with the government.
[...]
Liu Xia said she hoped the international community would now press China to free her husband, adding that the country itself should "have pride in his selection, and release him from prison." He is serving an 11-year sentence for subversion, which was imposed last year.

She said she had not expected her husband to win. "I can hardly believe it because my life has been filled with too many bad things," she said in an emotional telephone interview with Hong Kong's Cable television.

I could almost cry reading this.  This man is the reason the prize was created, not do-nothing douchebags like Gore and Obama.

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October 03, 2010

IF THIS WERE FACEBOOK

If this were Facebook, my status would read:

Sarah Grok wants to keep blogging, but when she realizes she spent the baby's entire morning nap and part of the afternoon one writing the previous post, she kinda wants to throw up.

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DUSTY BOOKSHELVES, MY FOOT

Via The Corner, I had to laugh at this NYT article about the Tea Party Movement.  I think the author is pretty ignorant of her subject matter.  It would be as if I tried to write a professional article on the environmental movement; I am not a part of it, I am fairly contemptuous of it, and I really haven't done the grokking necessary to understand why its followers behave the way they do.  (But I'd like to think I could do it better than she does because I've done it before.)

Her thesis is that "long-dormant ideas" and "once-obscure texts by dead writers" have shaped the movement.  (I find it amusing that she considers Hayek to be obscure, but I digress.)  She says of authors like Hayek and Skousen, author of The 5000 Year Leap, that:

They have convinced their readers that economists, the Founding Fathers, and indeed, God, are on their side when they accuse President Obama and the Democrats of being “socialists.” And they have established a counternarrative to what Tea Party supporters denounce as the “progressive” interpretation of economics and history in mainstream texts.

All told, the canon argues for a vision of the country where government’s role is to protect private property — against taxes as much as against thieves. Where religion plays a bigger role in public life. Where any public safety net is unconstitutional. And where the way back to prosperity is for markets to be left free from regulation.

Heh.

I think she's attributing parts of the movement to these books when really she wants to attribute them to Glenn Beck, but that dead horse has already been beaten, so she focuses on the books he promotes on his show.  I admit that I am out of the loop these days, but I have watched some Glenn Beck lately and I must say that I am impressed with his new approach to bettering America.  My summary of it is that he is moving away from pointing out how much Washington stinks these days and is instead truly trying to encourage Americans to "be the change you want to see in the world."  His plan calls for self-reflection and self-improvement, with a focus on "faith, hope, and charity."  He wants everyone to commit to becoming a better person, and once we're all better people, we will have better people running for office as virtuous candidates for whom we can vote.  We are a nation of individuals, and we will be a better country once we are better individuals.  It's a long-term strategy, something quite interesting to promote nightly on a news show.

Glenn Beck does encourage people to strengthen their religious devotion on the way to becoming a better person.  If the NYT wants to characterize that as "where religion plays a bigger role in public life," um, OK.  I think that's a negative oversimplification of what he's proposing from a journalist who wants to scare readers into thinking he is advocating the blurring of church and state, but maybe I'm nitpicking.  I think the scare tactic of saying that "any public safety net is unconstitutional" is more egregious though.  It's funny because it's technically a true statement, but by not explaining it, the article leads readers to conclude that Tea Party folks are Scrooges who are out to screw the poor.  I have never heard anyone say anything of the sort: they resent the safety hammock, not the net.  And Glenn Beck regularly encourages his following to tithe, either to a church or a charity of their choice.  He wants people to be more charitable, not less.

I just thought the article was an interesting example of someone who is obviously writing outside her level of understanding.  It's a window into the mind of someone who's trying to be objective while writing about something she clearly thinks is simultaneously hokey and dangerous.

It wasn't as bad as it could've been, but the undertone of contempt was clear.  And I bet she thought she was being fair and balanced.

The most interesting part of the article was this, in my opinion:

Doug Bramley, a postal worker and Tea Party activist in Maine, picked up “The Road to Serfdom” after Mr. Beck mentioned it on air in June. (Next up for Mr. Bramley, another classic of libertarian thought: “I’ve got to read ‘Atlas Shrugged,’ â€ he said.) He found Hayek “dense reading,” but he loved “The 5000 Year Leap.”

“You don’t read it,” Mr. Bramley said, “you study it."

Across the country, many Tea Party groups are doing just that, often taking a chapter to discuss at each meeting.

I think this would've made a much better thesis.  Glenn Beck is prompting postal workers and regular folks to read substantive books.  I read Hayek last year and found it dense as well; the fact that Glenn Beck's viewers are devouring these intellectual tomes and creating book clubs to discuss them is phenomenal.  People are setting aside their Harry Potter and Twilight for Frederich Hayek!

But one would have to be less contemptuous of Tea Party people to write that story.

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September 26, 2010

MOLLIFYING

Reading this new Mark Steyn makes me really miss being in the loop...
Mollifying Muslims and Muslifying Mollies

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September 16, 2010

TERRIBLE ADVICE

Evidence that our priorities are completely out of whack...

In the USAA Magazine this month, my husband noticed a section on buying a car.  It was adding two cents to common buyer claims.  And to the claim "I just need something to get me from here to there," this financial advisor said, "Really? Can you truly be happy with no frills [...] Deep down, you don't want your car to reveal that you're on a tight budget."

And that, dear readers, is part of the reason America is going to hell in a handbasket.  Because financial advisors tell us to pretend that we're all ballers.  Don't buy a cheap car you can afford; people might think you're living within your means!

Terrible advice.

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September 03, 2010

OH WAIT, I THOUGHT OF SOMETHING

Just this morning, I thought of something I wanted to blog.  I told my husband, "Shoot, if I keep blogging, this is exactly what I'd say..."

I have been looking into educational books for my kiddo and I was intrigued by the "Who Was" series.  They are way above her level for now, but I was investigating them to see if they have a PC agenda or if they're good biographies for her to read someday.  And I noticed something funny about the list of books.  Here are some of the people they cover:

Albert Einstein
Queen Elizabeth
Mark Twain
George Washington
Sacagawea
Leonardo da Vinci
Neil Armstrong
Mozart
Hellen Keller
Barack Obama

One of these things is not like the other.

What on earth is in the Barack Obama book?  I mean really...how does he possibly stack up to Edison and da Vinci?  The only presidents in this series are Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy, Reagan, and...Obama?  Wow, that's some prestigious company he keeps.  Especially since there is no benefit of hindsight whatsoever.  The book was published before he'd even finished his first year as president!

I'd really love to know what's in the Obama book.  Once upon a time there was a boy who lived in Indonesia and Hawaii and then went to law school and then was a community organizer and then a senator and then president.

The only thing the man has done is get elected.  And triple the already-too-awful national debt.

And somehow that stacks up to Mozart and Helen Keller.

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September 02, 2010

YOU HAD TO KNOW IT WAS COMING

Yesterday was my baby's six month birthday.



Motherhood has, in many ways, been exactly what I expected.  It's tiring, it's grueling, and it's repetitive.  It takes up every minute of your day and every thought in your head.  Much of my free time is unfortunately devoted to researching problems: annoyingly short naps, night waking, nursing strikes, etc.  Other moments are spent researching more fun things, like baby food recipes and age-appropriate toys.  But thankfully, at six months, there is indeed free time.  I do get about four or five hours to myself every day.

I just have to prioritize those hours.

Half that time is spent with my husband in the evening.  I still get to knit and wind down before bedtime, which these days is 9:30.  The other half is during the day, and it gets split between research, housework, and relaxing.

And while blogging used to be one of my favorite hobbies, it's just not at the top of my priority list anymore.  I barely make time to follow the news, much less form an opinion on it.

It should come as no shock to you -- seeing as I have written only 30 posts in the past six months -- that this blog is winding to a close.  And the thing is, I hate when blogs peter out.  I never know if I should keep checking in on Rachel Lucas or if she's done.  I hate that.

So I was all ready to write this post last night and close up shop...and I checked my email first.  And there was an email from a lurker who said she misses me...

And I took pause.

The only thing keeping me here anymore is all of you.  All the people I've met and the sharing of ideas I've made a tiny contribution to over the years.  I hate to not share anymore.

It's quite painful for me to quit.

Even moreso after I went back and read this post and its comments.

I was very ready to hang up my hat yesterday.  At peace with it even.  But now that it comes time to do it, I can't quite bring myself to it.

But I also hate to leave this blog hanging too...

I have to sleep on it.

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August 10, 2010

THE SOLUTION TO GLOBAL WARMING

Today's amen goes out to Pat Sajak.  (Yep, THE Pat Sajak.)

Let’s assume that a third of the world’s population really believes mankind has the power to adjust the Earth’s thermostat through lifestyle decisions. The percentage may be higher or lower, but, for the sake of this exercise, let’s put it at one-third. Now it seems to me these people have a special obligation to change their lives dramatically because they truly believe catastrophe lies ahead if they don’t. The other two-thirds are merely ignorant, so they can hardly be blamed for their actions.

Now, if those True Believers would give up their cars and big homes and truly change the way they live, I can’t imagine that there wouldn’t be some measurable impact on the Earth in just a few short years. I’m not talking about recycling Evian bottles, but truly simplifying their lives. Even if you were, say, a former Vice President, you would give up extra homes and jets and limos. I see communes with organic farms and lives freed from polluting technology.

Then, when the rest of us saw the results of their actions—you know, the earth cooling, oceans lowering, polar bears frolicking and glaciers growing—we would see the error of our ways and join the crusade voluntarily and enthusiastically.

How about it? Why wait for governments to change us? You who have already seen the light have it within your grasp to act in concert with each other and change the world forever. And I hate to be a scold, but you have a special obligation to do it because you believe it so strongly. Then, instead of looking at isolated tree rings and computer models, you’d have real results to point to, and even the skeptics would see the error of their ways and join you.

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