My Thoughts on Hobby Lobby

I originally wanted to write some of my thoughts on the ruling on another form of social media, but found I had exceeded a reasonable word count. I moved it here, and might have gotten carried away. But all of it has been on my mind, and it felt good to let it out.

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I was beyond disappointed in the SCOTUS ruling on Hobby Lobby. I was outraged. As a woman of child-bearing age (what a lovely term), I care a lot about access to contraception. I want to be able to have children when I am emotionally, financially, and spiritually ready, if I decide on motherhood. I do not want to make decisions about contraception based on what the people who own my company (or my hypothetical spouse's company) believe about contraceptive methods.

I have the crazy idea that my decisions about my reproductive health should be guided by my health, my doctor's advice, and my personal wishes. Even though in the real world, there isn't a sacred bubble around a patient and health care provider, there need to be reasonable guidelines for third-party limitations. How is the religious beliefs of a company owner trumping those of an employee "because I believe so" reasonable?

Books of 2014 - June

I only have two books to report on this month. Sorry readers.

I ran out of gas! I--I had a flat tire! I didn't have enough money for cab fare! My tux didn't come back from the cleaners! An old friend came in from out of town! Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!!!*

Actually, this month I've been crocheting a blanket and spent a lot of time tending my mother's garden while she and my dad celebrated a major anniversary.

In addition, I've been preparing for the arrival of my nephew. I have been taking the American Red Cross babysitting course (with such sage advice as following the parents' instructions regarding TV/internet time and acceptable snacks**) and will take a First Aid/CPR class. One of the more interesting tips was how to determine if a toy is too small for children under 3: see if it fits through a toilet paper roll. If it does, it's a choking hazard.

Moving on to the books I read:

Books of 2014 - May

Spitting Blood: The History of Tuberculosis by Helen Bynum
Life Animated by Ron Suskind
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

It's a shorter list than April, so I will give you my thoughts on all 3 books after the jump.

Books of 2014 - update

It has been a year since my last post. Much has happened in my personal life, some of it very joyous, some of it exciting/terrifying, and some of it very sad.

For now things are going quite well. I have a wonderful volunteer job at a local cat shelter, and I have successfully turned my childhood room into a grownup room.

Also, I have been reading a ton of books, thanks to my new Kindle.

January:
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach (started 1/5)
The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum by Temple Grandin (1/28)

February:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2/5)
Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick (2/15)

March:
The Borderline Personality Disorder Survival Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Living with BPD by Alexander L. Chapman (3/2)
Dracula by Bram Stoker (3/6)
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (started around 3/15?)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (started around 3/22)

April:
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (4/3)
You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About by... shoot, I forgot the author (4/3) 

Updated to add (on 4/21/14):
"If Your Baby Must Travel in Wartime" by United States Department of Labor - Children's Bureau (1944)
The Etiquette of Engagement and Marriage Describing Modern Manners and Customs of Courtship and Marriage, and giving Full Details regarding the Wedding Ceremony and Arrangments by G. R. M. Devereux (published 1903) - this was a riot and deserves its own blog post
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel  Hawthorne - I liked this way more as an adult than as a high schooler
Big Trouble by Dave Barry - I've reread this a lot but it's always a treat

New Home, New Projects

I realize that it has been a long time since I posted.

During my fall semester went back home to MA to recover from an illness. During my recuperation I did a lot of writing/crocheting (made 2 afghans and several scarves in about 2 months). When I was feeling better, I took on a part time job as a barista, which got me to appreciate coffee a little more (in the form of good lattes and mochas - yum).*

Right now I am making an afghan composed of 20 square blocks. Each block has 3 "V" shapes from the lower left corner going in, each of a different color, and a small square of a 4th color in the upper right-hand corner. I used 4 variegated yarns (Lion Brand Homespun), so there are subtle variations from square to square, and I'm looking forward to figuring out how to show off those variations.

As of yesterday I'm also teaching myself how to make granny hexagons. Granny squares and hexagons are small pieces which are sewn together to make bags, afghans, scarves, etc. Traditionally they are a "beginner's" project" and are used to use up yarn remnants. Despite learning how to crochet at age 12, I had never attempted to make one, but I found some cheap navy acrylic yarn near our cat toy stash (go figure) and decided - why not?

Hope to post pictures of my projects soon.

* For years, I almost exclusively drank tea. Coffee was something I drank when no acceptable tea was available, or as an energy drink before class. I guess now I am joining the millions of 20-somethings who throw money at Starbucks for premium espresso drinks.

4th of July 2012

A recap of how I spent the 4th. Click the link to read more.

Summer Goals for Med Surg

I just started my Medical Surgical Nursing class today. Unlike the 3 previous classes I've had, this one will last 7 weeks and will be very, very content-dense. The basic schedule is class 2 days a week (9-5 or so) and 24 hours of clinical. I got assigned 12-hour shifts, so it might be more intense but I'm sure I will learn a lot.

This class will definitely require more study time, but I am continuing to focus my summer goals on my personal life. The times that school has become miserable for me have been when my personal life is overtaken by classwork and stress. Right now, I am focusing on eating well, working on my novel, and practicing my drawing.