@AboutToLaugh is longwinded: You know what I do when I don't have something to worry about or feel anxious over? I make something up! Seriously. It was an amazing day when I realized that my crazy cyberchondria always cropped up when things were going really smoothly in my life and I had nothing better to think and worry about all the time.
The good news is that my anxiety has gotten much better as I've gotten older and I'm finally aware of my tendency to create my own worries, so I do a better job of keeping my mind busy with more constructive things. Most of the time.
All I wanna do is zoom-a-zoom-zoom-zoom and a poom poom
Just shake ya rump!
@emilielaine: Just don't do what I did -- we took in a pregnant cat and I ended up adopting out two of the kittens and kept mom and two kittens. We now have five cats. And then we got two dogs, too. Yikes.
@Spangles: Isn't a walkabout what John Locke was going to do in Australia on Lost? Now I'm picturing my eyebrows yelling, "Don't tell me what I can't do!"
@SamuelMaynooth: I'm glad to hear from someone who likes having four names. We plan to give our kid four names -- first, middle, mylast, hislast. We've been worried that it's a bit much, but I can't figure out a better way to do it.
@sportz.star: Totally with you on Erin Andrews. I love her.
@CParis: That is the awesomest idea, ever.
I've been researching the hell out of medical care and the birth process. I don't want to bore everybody with too many details, but traditional obstetric treatment is, at least in my opinion, totally batshit crazy.
There are so many things that happen to pregnant women that make no sense -- women are diagnosed with gestational diabetes based on a faulty test that usually can't be replicated, even though there is no documented evidence that treating gestational diabetes results in improved outcomes for mothers and babies. Women with GD are often induced early because an ultrasound reveals a big baby, but ultrasound is notoriously unreliable when it comes to estimating how big a fetus is. Oh, and plenty of women who don't have GD have big babies.
There's the cascade of interventions during labor -- if a woman's labor isn't "progressing" fast enough for her doctor's liking, they may give her pitocin or misoprostal (misoprostal is NOT approved for this use) to speed up the labor. This results in more painful contractions, which in turn might result in an epidural, which in turn might result in labor slowing down and alleged fetal distress, which in turn might lead to forceps or vacuum delivery or a c-section.
The c-section rate in this country is insane and the vast majority of c-sections are not medically necessary. However, obstetricians are trained surgeons and naturally are inclined to perform surgery when they think there's a problem or there might be a problem (even if there really isn't). Unfortunately, so many women who have unnecessary c-sections don't complain about it after because they (thankfully) ended up with a healthy baby. So nothing changes.
Sorry for the rant, but as a pregnant person with a low tolerance for bullshit, this stuff really gets me riled up. If anybody wants to know more about these issues, I recommend "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" by Henci Goer, although there are probably more current sources out there.
I fly less often than John Madden so this probably doesn't mean much, but why not have an airline where you can fly with your pets (without the crazy restrictions commercial airlines have re: animals)? Chances are, if they're traveling you're traveling too, right? I'd freak if I had to put my dogs and cats on a plane and I couldn't be there with them.
While I'm at it, I wish there were combination human/dog health clubs. It would be awesome to have my dog on the treadmill next to me when it's too hot to be outside.
I think my "reality" would be Stephanie March (with glasses). She's pretty dreamy, too, so I'll take her for both.
@DramaClub: Your comment is awesome. It's weird how reproduction can be biologically unfair to both sexes -- to men because they don't get to choose the way women do and to women because they're the ones who have to choose and even be pregnant.
I'm pregnant with a boy right now, and I'm already thinking about how to teach him this stuff.
But I just started calling these "mangs" yesterday and am very pleased with myself. I'd like to be able to say "mangs" more than just this once.
I want to find out more about dog modeling. Is it similar, without the outfits (I hope)? My min pin is always the cutest puppy at the dog park, for reals.
@PrarieMuffin: But wait! I had awesome, delicious blueberry beer at Goose Island in Chicago a couple years ago. It was insanely good. Oh man I wish I could get some of that right now.
@mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it: Oh man, me too -- I hate musicals with a passion. I also am not a fan of Disney.
@Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.: Hi! I'm lazy lately!
I didn't know anything about blood diamonds until reading about it on the internet, maybe a couple years ago. I wish I'd learned earlier, because it would've prevented me from getting diamonds when I was younger and stupider (I still have them but don't wear them -- what the hell do you do with that stuff?).
@Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.: It's amazing how many people I've heard say something like, yeah, I know about the whole blood diamond thing but ooooh sparkly I just want one! I don't understand it.
I'm so anti-diamond I wouldn't even wear a faux or vintage one. This is probably stupid, but I'd be afraid of anyone thinking it's real or not vintage and taking that as my approval of diamonds in general.
Now I feel a lot better about not wanting to waste my money on maternity clothes. I'm trying to see how little I can get by on, and this gives me hope.
And, hey, if that means Brown stops hanging around with women, well, it's a win-win situation.
If you change this to, "And hey, if that means abortion doctors stop performing abortions, well, it's a win-win situation," I hope you'll realize how completely jacked this statement is, even if it was written in jest.
@saintbernadette: I read that book before trying to get pregnant (and yay, it worked). I think all girls and women should read it -- I can't believe I made it to my 30s without knowing that stuff.
