herbs in my life

I went to the Morris Arboretum with my Complementary & Alternative Medicines class to study medicinal plants. Their herb garden was so beautiful. I'm really getting interested in plant medicine. We have a class project to either write a research paper about a CAM modality, or interview and observe the practice of a CAM practitioner. Of course I chose the latter of the two. Who wants to write a research paper when you can witness firsthand and pick somebody's brain about their practice? Fun! So, my interviewee is the herbalist who runs this apothecary in Chestnut Hill. I'm going there this friday, and i'm getting my own consultation. Hopefully I will have some customized herb recommendations. Lately i've been thinking about taking ginseng, to get some energy boost. I'm also considering some St. John's Wort in anticipation of the winter blues (is this bad that I'm anticipating this?) Anyhow, I've also been taking melatonin to help me sleep, and I have to say it works really well. and I've experienced no side effects. It puts me out like a light. Amazing! 

where's dessert already?!

nothing stinks more than having someone tell you they're bringing you dessert. then wait a few hours dreaming about what delicious sweet will arrive at your study haven, then they call to say they will not even coming over! NO Sweet Treats that were promised! BOGUS! so awful! The cruelest of tricks! 

Now I must search myself, in this large city, for warm rice pudding with raisins, chocolate fudge torte, cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing. All I can think of is the most decadent treats..... I, perhaps, am a bit spoiled. Nonetheless, treats I shall have! If it means settling for the lonely freezerburned fudge pop at the back of the freezer, so be it.

mmm. cookie time

at this very moment, i am baking cookies. butterless, flourless, eggless cookies that are full of melty dark chocolate chips. nothing could feel more right at this moment. its from my new favorite food blog: 101 Cookbooks. the other day i roasted tomatoes, which i had never done before, but it was so very easy, and the product, truly tasty. They got all smoky and sweet tasting, and i ate them with quinoa and lentils.  Deelish! The crisp autumn weather has renewed my passion for cooking and more importantly, EATING! I love to eat, especially when I'm under huge amounts of stress. Lets prepare to hibernate! ok. maybe not yet. Next friday, a friend is throwing Jamie and I an engagement party. The emerging theme seems to be champagne divas and prince karaoke. Booyah! Everyone's invited! 

more of the clinical

postpartum really starts to feel like waitressing. i never thought i'd hear so much grumping about and tantrum throwing from grown women. harassing the nurses. and the nurses coming back to the nurses station and quietly ridicule the women. all around, really unbecoming for all parties. 

why can't postpartum be this really amazing, feminist, womyn loving space of praise for the sacred feminine? why can't we get on that groovy lady love train?

i am reminded of how deeply misogyny is ingrained in women. and what negative feelings women have toward other women, that can sometimes come through in subtle ways, but overall creates this environment of antagonism. Its hard, because I'm drawn to working with women, but put into it like this, i see myself start to play into this somewhat dysfunctional dance. its a longer story, i guess.  Maybe i'm just seeing the glass half empty right now. But today, I considered doing med/surg instead. No, who am I kidding. I'm still looking for the magic. Magic swoop down and claim me! Make it easy!

thinking about love

"Like so much else, people have also misunderstood the place of love in life, they have made it into play and pleasure because they thought that play and pleasure was more blissful than work; but there is nothing happier than work, and love, just because it is the extreme happiness, can be nothing else but work..." -Rainer Maria Rilke

the front of my house

i adore our sunflowers. they make me think of jamie's love for kansas, and the fields of sunflowers we would pass, driving through the plains. everytime i approach the house they make me smile. and bumble bees and small birds flock to them, hang from their big bright faces. loving them as well.

early autumn. this morning was chilly. makes me wish I could grow my hair into curly locks and run through pumpkin patches!

i have never

before in my life inspected so many vaginas and anuses. i palpate many a fundus. i check many a lochia. apply many icepacks to swollen labia. hello hospital birth. hello awkward cotton gowns that no one loves. hello newly latching babies to breasts. all these things filled my day. and i'm loving/hating every second of it. 

nora & her childhood dog, sophie. cute!

slow cooking and more..

so, instead of researching for my thesis. oh my god. i went to KMART today and bought a slow cooker. I feel like I've hit an all time domestic high. but actually, i really want to start making my own hand salves (and secretly plot to make this my homemade xmas gifts this year-- the kind that i really like but my family is ewwwed by). it all started with the Boulder Farmers Market. i bought this beautiful, strikingly beautiful bag of dried calendula flowers from an older hippy farmer lady. I was thrilled by their bright orange color. However, I had no idea what to do with them. Upon inquiry, i discovered that calendula has skin healing properties, and is often used in salves. all you have to do is infuse them in olive oil. you can do it in a jar in sunlight for about a week, but apparently that yield a lot of microorganisms that can make yr salve go rancid quicker. Another online tip I found was to infuse by slow cooker. Hence my trip to KMART, in lieu of aforementioned pressing academic work. There were other justifications for such a purchase: I'm really excited to make myself cooked grain porridge overnight, y'know, with raisins, oats, flax, etc. I dont have the patience and time in the morning to cook the shit . but i love the idea of putting it in the night before and letting it slowly stew itself to creamy, delicious, nutritious perfection. i just hope the paranoia of catching the house on fire doesn't keep me up at night. If anyone has slow cooker recipes, hit me up!

i want a boxer! oh my heart!

Orgasmic Birth!

I just went the the screening of Orgasmic Birth and it was, phenomenal! I volunteered and help set-up and sell tix, and we sold out in 15 minutes! There was a massive crowd of angry mamas outside demanding to see it, so we had to have a second screening after the first. Amazing! The film was directed by my Doula instructor Debra, who is just this phenomenal woman. Mother of 6, Doula of 26 years or something absurd, and she teaches doulas internationally. Just a really magnetic and inspiring lady. Anyhow, I'm all jazzed now to do my senior clinical in women's health and help people have amazing birth experiences. My oxytocin levels are high and I've got moaning ladies and babies on the brain. How exciting! Also, if you haven't seen Ricki Lakes Business of Being Born,  you need to netflix that shit, its really eye opening. Its so exciting to be having all these movies coming out, really opening the dialogue of how important it is for women to take back their healthcare and informing them on their rights and decisions in maternity care. So great! I'm so jazzed about it.

we're engaged, folks!

It happened on the side of a mountain in Boulder. we're in love.