Takraw

This is the favorite sport of one of our sponsored children in Thailand, Peerawat. This 5 minute video gives an overview of the sport.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15asVgf66KI

Squirrel Problem No Longer a Problem

Who'd have known that the answer to all the squirrel attacks against the plants, pots and chairs on the porch were just a click away?? Thank you YOU TUBE!!!

Put Poor People on the Climate Change Agenda

I liked this response from Jim Wallis to a group of senators who asked for feedback from a small group of religious leaders on a Senate bill on climate change.

Thanks for the invitation. You have, I am sure, heard us speak about creation care as the commitment we have to the environment. Most of us believe that human-caused climate change is a threat to God’s creation. Religious leaders actually do listen to scientists, and they are telling us that the pace of climate change is all happening even faster than expected. A good climate bill could signal a whole new direction and could even be a “three-for.”

1. It could protect the environment and begin to slow and eventually even reverse the dangerous and deadly impact of climate change.
2. It could create important and meaningful green energy jobs, many of which could be an opportunity for low-income and undereducated people, and also be good paying work.
3. It could change our foreign policy, which has been dominated by successive wars over oil. This could begin to decrease our dependency on foreign oil.

Read the rest of the article on the God's Politics blog.

A Joyful Surprise!

This morning, we had our routine first trimester ultrasound! Yes, that's right, I'm pregnant! So much has happened since I last wrote, and we've decided it's time to make it public with everyone online.

In mid-July, we went camping with my cousins as we do every year. A week and a half later on a Friday, I got a call that everything was finally ready to go for me to make an appointment at the fertility center. I decided to wait to call on Monday morning so Andrew and I could look at our schedules to be sure we could go together.

Then a strange thing happened. Over the weekend, I didn't get my period. Remember, I've been charting my cycles for years, so when I was one day later than I'd ever been, I knew it immediately. My temperatures remained high, and even had gone to a higher level. A tri-phasic pattern is one sign of pregnancy. So, on Tuesday morning I took a home pregnancy test, but at that point it was really just a formality. Of course, it was positive!

I've been very tired. That's the biggest thing I've noticed. I also am craving Kraft mac'n'cheese and anything with Velveeta. NOT NORMAL! :) But, I can definitely handle this!

Washington Post Reports Meat Eating is 'Huge Contributor' to Climate Change

Last week, the Washington Post summarized a number of recent reports indicating that one of the best things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint or greenhouse gas pollution is to reduce your meat consumption. Here are some quick highlights:

-A Carnegie Melon study found that the average American would benefit the planet more by being vegetarian one day per week than by switching to a totally local diet (heck, why not do both?).

-A University of Chicago study found that switching to a vegan diet would have a bigger impact than trading your gas guzzler for a Prius.

-The head of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, recommended that people give up meat one day a week to take pressure off the atmosphere.

-According to a 2006 United Nations report, livestock accounts for 18 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.

Although we've reported similar studies in Organic Bytes over the years, it's refreshing to see a mainstream media outlet finally bring attention to the topic. Americans seem okay being told they should recycle, drive less, and weatherize their homes, but something short-circuits when you ask them to reduce their meat consumption.

The OCA article

The Washington Post article

It's Affecting me Deeply

Just a quickie here... 2 issues I'm thinking about this week. One is that last week Andrew and I went camping with my cousins. He and I haven't spent large quantities of time together this summer, it's been busy. So for us to be together (and sleeping in a tent) for 5 days was the first chance we've had to be together like that in a while. While we were driving home, Andrew told me that he started to see during this week that infertility really is changing me and affecting my whole life. Immediately my shoulders dropped and I wanted to cry out of relief. I am NOT making this up.

It is NOT in my head.

Someone else sees it too.

As much as I'd like to pretend I'm fine, I'm not. I want to be the image I have in my head of a strong, independent woman who can do it all and doesn't sweat the small stuff and won't be shaken in the big stuff. The word "steadfast" comes to mind. But, I live in a place called reality and this women in my head is just not me. I'm sensitive. I'm like a vase that cracks easily and may eventually break. I am not invincible.

So, I'm changing. My face, at rest, no longer resembles a smile, and the smiles flow out less freely. I am becoming cynical. I am judgmental. I am bitter. I don't like any of these things, but hopefully admitting it is some kind of first step toward healing.

The second thing going on is that it is taking forever to be able to make an appointment to see the fertility specialist. Every time I call, they tell me they are waiting on this or that. So I call whoever they are waiting on, and give it a few days. Then I call the specialists office again, and they got what they needed, but they also need this other thing.... so I'm on the phone again. I'll get more lab work done tomorrow, and hopefully that will be the final requirement so I can finally make an appointment, which will be 2-4 weeks from when I schedule it.

I'd like to say that I've learned some more deep, philosophical or spiritual truths since I last wrote, but the only thing I've learned since then..... I don't have chlamydia. Phrewf! There is some good news in all of this.

Infertility at the End of the Month

It's about that time... the end of the month. My period is due in the next 7 or so days, and I have all the usual symptoms. I feel weak, and tired. I'm not quite weepy yet, but I know that's coming too. So today I thought about it a bit, and I'm trying to think of ways to prepare for the first few drops of red that show me again that we have not conceived this month.

You'd think that knowing its coming and being prepared would be half the battle, but how do you prepare for this emotional tidal wave? I've been down this road. I feel weak and tired, but isn't that how I'd feel if I were pregnant too? Month after month I've played these games with myself. No matter how much I tell myself that, rationally, this is PMS not early pregnancy, my heart is still battling with my mind. I know that if I were pregnant there would also be other signs, but somewhere deep inside I cannot let go of hope. People always talk about hope as a positive thing, it's the thing that keeps you going. Why do I feel like hope is destroying me? If I could only let go of this hope, I would be more emotionally stable, which would help me feel physically stronger. But no, hope has it's grip on me, and I can't shake it, even if I desperately want to. Logic will not win the battle against emotion, especially with the current hormone cocktail I've got brewing.

In nursing school, you learn about the "feeling of impending doom". If a patient describes anything like this, you listen, because it truly means something big and bad is about to happen. You notify everyone who needs to know. You get help.

What do I do with that feeling now? I know my period is coming, and I know that when I does I will cry for a day and be depressed with no energy or drive for about 3 days. I know it's coming, and I don't want it to rule my life. What can I do to prepare?? It feels so helpless and again, the lesson of this whole thing....... out of control. I get it God, I'm not the one in control here. Help me get through the next week and a half....

Adventures in Infertility

We haven't posted in a long time, so I have no idea who, if anyone, will be reading this. I (Jen) am just kind of looking at it as a public journal for now. It's going to be personal, and not nearly as riveting as Andrew's conspiracies or ways to get involved to save the earth. It's just me, and what's been going on... looking for anyone who can relate or has constructive ideas.

Since December 07, just after we ran the Chicago and Grand Rapids Marathons, we've been trying to conceive. If that's too personal, stop reading now. We've tried everything. We are educated folks, and I'm a nurse in labor and delivery, so we have a lot more information than the average 20-something who wants to have a baby. I planned to be pregnant in the first 2-3 months of trying. Why not? We are healthy, young, not overweight, not eating an abundance of junk food, get 7-8 hours of sleep a night, drink a lot of water, eat some organic foods, and have no family history of fertility issues. I've been taking prenatal vitamins since before we started trying, so we have covered all the major bases. Needless to say, 3 months came and went.

I didn't start getting anxious until about 6 months. Many of our friends who started trying at the same time as us were announcing their pregnancies, and every month when I got my period again it felt like failure. Andrew and I are both first born control freaks, but we are aware of this so it's fair game to talk about. We are white, middle class, educated. We recognize that we are privileged. For our entire lives so far, if we wanted something, we were able to work harder or smarter and get it. We've never encountered anything (at least not anything important) that we absolutely could not get. But we cannot control this one. We can't work a little harder and end up with a baby. We can't get more educated to learn what steps to take to have a baby.

By 10 months we stopped charting our cycles. We'd been charting for over 3 years by then, first to avoid pregnancy, then to try to achieve it. We just needed to stop thinking about it for a while. After one year, I knew that we had officially inherited the title "Infertile". This was my biggest emotional breakdown. At work women of all kinds were coming in to have babies... fat women, smokers, women who had been on the pill or had an IUD to prevent pregnancy, and even women on cocaine. They gave birth to healthy babies, both wanted and unwanted. And here am I. Young, healthy, and wanting.

Being infertile made me question myself as a woman. Being tall and athletic, I have always been teased. People have called me names: Jolly Green Giant when I wore my favorite green dress, Ogre throughout middle and high school, and yes, of course, lesbian. Now, this one thing that makes me distinctly woman, the ability to carry and give birth to a baby, is being withheld from me. Why?

Also, it's been a time of deepening faith for me. I have yelled at God and asked "Why?". I have cried, and begged, and probably tried to strike deals with Him, but still, here I am. Barren. Maybe He's not saying No, maybe He is saying Not Yet. On my good days I know that I still trust Him and love Him, and on my bad days I eventually come to that conclusion after I rage at Him for a while. Glad He is all loving and full of grace. He can take it.

Marriage. I truly think that a thing like this can tear it apart or make it more solid than it ever would have been without these trials. Praise God; Andrew and I are closer than ever. We can talk about all these things, and usually our bad days don't come on the same day.

At about 15 months of "trying" we got some basic testing done. We check out okay. That's great! And horrible. As control freaks we want to know what's wrong so we can fix it. Instead we fit into the category of "Unexplained Infertility", which applies to about 20% of infertile couples.

Meanwhile, our friends are now having babies. And more friends continue to get pregnant. We are truly happy for them. It does, also, remind us of our great saddness.

We are now at 18 months and met with the doctor yesterday. She is great. I am not thrilled at the idea of pumping my body full of synthetic hormones, and she understands that. Here are the options. Do nothing and continue to wait. Start treatments with drugs to try to treat a problem that doesn't seem to be there. See a fertility specialist and find out more options. We'll see.

We've also gone to informational meetings about adoption, which is something we both wanted to do before we got married. We always pictured it as more of a choice, not as our only option. We were told that if we conceive during the adoption process, we have to wait until the baby is about 8 months old and start the process over from the beginning. Does anyone have anything to say to that? Did this happen to you? What did you do? What are you doing now?

Friends and family. No one knows how to respond to this, and it makes them uncomfortable. When you run into someone and they say "Hey, how's it going?" or "What's up?" or "What have you been up to lately?" I can feel it bottle up inside of me and I want to regurgitate this entire blog for them, but how many people really want to stop and listen to that? The more polite response is that not much is up, and you're doing well, so I stick to that for the most part. When I do tell people, they either look like they would like to close their eyes and wish themselves out of the situation because they are so uncomfortable, or they offer some cheery advice to "help". Like this:

Just stop caring/trying/worrying about it and it will happen.

Look into adoption and it will happen.

Um, not helpful. I want to punch them in the face and run away crying, but I know they are only saying this because they have heard it said before or they just don't know how to respond. No worries, I'm going to tell you how to respond right now...

If someone tells you anything that is difficult for them, infertility included, respond something like this: "I'm so sorry, that must be really hard for you guys. " Then, encourage them to open up about it as much as they would like to. It really shows that you care and is way better than any cliche you have to offer.

So, like I said, for now we have a decision to make. I think we'll probably see the specialist, but as much as we'd like to have a baby we seem to be dragging our toes a bit. I just keep thinking that maybe this month will be different. Maybe if we are just patient this one more time it will pay off....

Setting myself up for another disappointment. About the 19th or 20th one, actually.

Signing Off

I haven't posted in two months, and I don't plan to post for a long while. Blogging takes more time than I want to give to it. If we do pick it up again, we'll probably return to the personal stuff. That just might be worth the time. A&J

McCain's Buddhist Faith

Don't believe everything you read. Barack Obama is not a Muslim. John McCain is not a Buddhist. Both are Christians. Let us not come to evaluate candidates by trying to determine which is more "Christian". So with that preface, I thought that you might be interested in this crazy email I received at work. I couldn't find anything about it online elsewhere.

as a member of a small Christian church here in Germany and interested in US and world politics I am watching the events in the United States very closely.

In this context I want to give you my honest assessment about John McCain. I have read that almost all the Evangelical congregations in the US have endorsed him. That's hard to understand.

Frankly: After I listened to John McCain several times, heard his statements and watched his encounter with the Dalai Lama on July 25 in Denver, Colorado, I have very strong reservations about any endorsement of an Atheist or Buddhist candidate who left his wife when she was disabled. There is nothing Christian in John McCain's biography.

I do not see anything in his words and deeds which is in concordance with the words of the Gospel. Absolutely nothing! I only see in John McCain hatred and Buddhist spirituality at the same time.

Look at the pictures of Denver: how the Dalai Lama took McCain's right hand and patted it repeatedly while he spoke and McCain smiled like a Buddhist acolyte. Finally John McCain removed his hand, put it to his heart and said to the Dalai Lama: THANK YOU YOUR HOLINESS.

Buddhism is surely a peaceful religion, so you may wonder why John McCain is exuding so much hatred, infirmity and confusion.

To understand this you have to know very briefly two of the most important constituents of Buddhism, metempsychosis and the concept of Vices:

first there is the idea of a transmigration of souls, metempsychosis (the current Dalai Lama is still worshipped by his followers as a semi-god, because he incarnates the souls of his predecessors) and

second there is the conception of three Buddhist 'Vices', who are driving the life of human beings on their earthly circle (this earthly circle is called 'Samsara' = 'Wheel of Life' in Buddhist religion).

As an acolyte John McCain has often gone to see the Dalai Lama for spiritual guidance.

The last time John McCain visited the Dalai Lama was on Friday, July 25. Of course McCain sought in these visitations an answer how to contain his 'Vices' who are - as he believes it - the 'Vices' of - Greed - (symbolized as a cock) - Ignorance - (symbolized as a pig) and - Hatred - (symbolized as a snake) (all according to the Buddhist religion).

If you look at John McCain's hatred, infirmity and confusion you can easily find these so called 'Vices' of Buddhism as the driving forces behind his 'Samsara' (wheel of life). But McCain's Buddhist spirituality, his aggressiveness and his hatred have absolutely NOTHING to do with Christianity.

Yours sincerely

name witheld (München, Germany)

Video (Washington Post) of the encounter of the Dalai Lama and John McCain in Denver, July 25:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2008/07/25/VI2008072502539.html?sid=ST2008072503003

Apologizing for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans

February 27, 2007


Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1)
acknowledges that slavery is incompatible with the basic founding
principles recognized in the Declaration of Independence that all men
are created equal;

(2) acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow;

(3)
apologizes to African Americans on behalf of the people of the United
States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who
suffered under slavery and Jim Crow; and

(4) expresses its
commitment to rectify the lingering consequences of the misdeeds
committed against African Americans under slavery and Jim Crow and to
stop the occurrence of human rights violations in the future.

Full text of bill - it's short.

Why many Americans perfer their Sundays segregated

I found this fascinating and disheartening. CNN article.

Our First Kiva Loan is Repaid

Last December, we lent $25 as part of a collective $1,200 loan to an Ukrainian woman for her shoe selling business in Kharkiv. Now, we just reloaned the money again! What a beautiful cycle possible in capitalism. If you haven't heard about Kiva.org, check it out!

100% Clean, Renewable Energy in 10 years

Olympics on Google

The Summer Games Google Maps lets you view medal and event information based on your favorite regions and sports, and there's a 3D video of the various Games venues you can tour:

Anthrax - Government coverup?

I know I'm behind the times with this. Here's an 8 minute video and a NYTimes article link.

USDA Organic Fraud

The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Organic Program (NOP)
announced on August 5th that 15 of the 30 accredited organic certifiers
they recently inspected failed the USDA audit and will have 12 months
to make corrections or lose their accreditation with the NOP. It is
clear that there are numerous violations of organic standards taking
place in the U.S. and across the world. (Read the August 5 NOP Audit
Report here)

Rest of the OCA article here.

Free CFL Recycling at Home Depot

It's about time! More.

Organic Foods Priority

From ConsumerReports' Greener Choices: Go for produce first on your organic shopping budget. Then for meats, eggs and dairy. Not surprisingly, Jen and I had come to this conclusion on our own. Nevertheless, it's nice to feel validated! More.

McCain's Funny Alright

This just in from McCain's campaign - the prize that can be yours for a $25 donation! Arguments are confusing to most of us. I think McCain's campaign has a better sense of humor. I suppose that goes with the territory of being a senator for the past 22 years - you can play defense when you know the ropes a little more and have less dramatic solutions for the country. Not that that's a bad thing, necessarily. Seriously. This is a purely humorous post. Too bad I already have a stainless steel tire gauge.