In addition to the story-pots, we also painted some miscellaneous designs. Enjoy the gallery:
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Addendum to "Pottery Painting" and other reports of creative discomfort
Happy belated Thanksgiving!
Per my last post, "Pottery Painting Part One: a quiz competition," I must apologize for the poor visibility on the pots. Hopefully the below are easier to see. Technically, since Emily has a question mark on one of her answers, and extra details like authors could be included, there's still room for another winner if anyone thinks they can compete with her.
2.
6.
7.
8.
In other news of creativity and getting out of my comfort zone . . .
a) We assembled our baby crib this weekend and bought our first boxes of diapers and baby wipes. It feels pretty wild to pass by a room in my apartment that contains such things! I guess we're really having a baby now? [we have less than 5 weeks till our due date]
b) Manny and I made Thai curry for the first time - Coconut Curry Chicken Soup, Cooking Light, December 2008, p. 188. We even managed to identify a few ways to improve upon the recipe (to our taste) for the next time we make it, because there will be a next time. The left overs were even tastier than the original, as the flavors had had a chance to really meld. Holy yum.
c) I was part of a meeting yesterday for this nonprofit I supposedly have something helpful to offer to, with this amazing woman and I hardly understood half of what she said - she was so knowledgeable about the community we're working in and how to raise up community partners in a sustainable organic way. It was totally uncomfortable, as I felt lost, and fascinating at the same time.
d) Now that Thanksgiving has past, we put on a Christmas movie (Elf), and decorated our little apartment with little lights and our nativity. With so little space, and my weird allergies, its hard to do much in the way of traditional decor (trees/wreaths are not an option), but this annual decorating tradition always presents a creative challenge and helps me get in the spirit.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Pottery painting part One: a quiz competition
This past weekend, my in-laws hosted a little baby shower for that side of our family. My in-laws have an amazing garden they've cultivated in their yard over the years, so it seemed like an easy theme for the party was "garden party." To go along with that theme, we decided to make the party favors potted succulents, as they have succulents galore and everyone loves them. They found a great deal on some little pots, and we all set to work decorating them to add a little personal touch. (this is a project I referred to in my post "Creating in Community") The decorating started off simple, took a wrong turn, and then sort of got out of control as my ambitious got away from me. But in the end we came up with some fun designs. Below is part one of my little showcase, the pots we made based on children's stories and characters. Here's the fun part, its a quiz. How many stories can you identify? To the first person who is able to identify the most stories most specifically, I will send a custom decorated pot as a little prize. Have fun!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Maternal comforts
For the past several days, my mother has been visiting. How is this noteworthy for a blog about getting out of my comfort zone? It really isn't. Being pregnant, I'm more intimately familiar than ever with this concept of "mother" sort of defining our area of comfort. With my mom visiting, I have a walking partner and things I think are verbalized instants before I can express them because my mother has the exact same thought - but she's still quicker than me so she says it first. My mother is famous for being an amazing cook, and growing up, there was no shortage of amazing food on our table. One of my favorites was Chicken Kiev, and last night, I got to rest my exhausted pregnant feet while she fixed it for Manny and me. I make this every now and then myself and its fine - so what is it about her touch that makes it taste perfect? Momma love, no other ingredient can substitute. I can't wait to start providing some of these comforts to my own little one.
So how did this very comforting visit qualify for a blog post? Well, she took us to a seafood restaurant for lunch today. I do not eat fish. I know that there's this myth out there that pregnant women aren't supposed to eat fish, and that's not why. I just don't eat fish. And it turns out that while there are some fish products I'm not supposed to eat right now, there are others that help my baby's mental development [if you're interested, you can read more here]. So I need to be brave and branch out, my baby's mental development will benefit, and we're moving to Maine in a few months - so I think I need to get a bit more seafood-competent. Therefore, I bit the bullet today, and despite the very appealing burger on the menu, I ordered a Halibut sandwich. Part of me was still longing for some tasty beef, but the sandwich was quite delicious and I would be totally happy to do it again. Culinary comfort zone successfully expanded! Thanks mom for always expanding my dietary repertoire.
So how did this very comforting visit qualify for a blog post? Well, she took us to a seafood restaurant for lunch today. I do not eat fish. I know that there's this myth out there that pregnant women aren't supposed to eat fish, and that's not why. I just don't eat fish. And it turns out that while there are some fish products I'm not supposed to eat right now, there are others that help my baby's mental development [if you're interested, you can read more here]. So I need to be brave and branch out, my baby's mental development will benefit, and we're moving to Maine in a few months - so I think I need to get a bit more seafood-competent. Therefore, I bit the bullet today, and despite the very appealing burger on the menu, I ordered a Halibut sandwich. Part of me was still longing for some tasty beef, but the sandwich was quite delicious and I would be totally happy to do it again. Culinary comfort zone successfully expanded! Thanks mom for always expanding my dietary repertoire.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Facing fears and finding freedom
Sometimes the benefit of pushing out into discomfort is that the area of your comfort zone is expanded - like blowing new air into a balloon. Other times, it is about facing your fears and pushing through to the other side. Ever since I was little I can vividly remember dreading having to go into situations where I did not know people and I would have to be disconnected from things that gave me comfort - like my mother, when she dropped me off at the church nursery. I kick and scream on my way into this territory (or sometimes express these emotions in a more mature fashion now that I'm almost 30, but the kicking and screaming still happens every now and then) and yet I always survive. It was usually the case that by the time my mother came to pick me up from the nursery, I was just as unwilling to leave as I had been to enter. This was true when I went to this conference on ethics in high school; a service trip to Sewanee, Tennessee; a Mayterm abroad to Sri Lanka; and probably countless other scenarios I am blocking out right now. As I reflect on all of those experiences, I'm so glad I faced my fears and went. And the same is true of my trip last week to Denver for the American Public Health Association's (APHA) national conference.
Fears surrounded this trip on so many levels.
1) I've already written about the effort it required just to find the discipline to spend time preparing my presentation.
2) Wardrobe was also a significant concern, I am a pregnant, unemployed woman living in San Diego who hates to spend money on clothes and therefore avoids any expense remotely unnecessary in this category. Yet, I was traveling to a professional conference in chilly colorado with a bulging belly. My closet was not prepared for such a challenge.
3) I am a social worker, I barely know what public health is all about, much less the culture of this crowd of professionals. Two of my research mentors have degrees in public health and usually attend, but for some reason could not go this year.
4) I didn't know a soul attending the conference and knew I'd have to go into it and navigate it all alone
5) It cost much more money to attend this conference than I really had to spend and I didn't know whether the investment would really be worth my time or the career pay-off
As you can tell, as I write this in the past tense, again - I survived. phew.
1) My presentation got prepared. And even though my legs almost gave way beneath me, my voice quavered for the first time in my life, and I was more nervous being in front of people than I've been since I was a flower girl in my 2nd cousin's wedding (I was 3), I miraculously managed to keep my shpiel within the time limit (which is more than any of the other presenters in my session could say, thank you very much!) and due to everyone else spilling over time, did not have to face public questions of my presentation.
2) Wardrobe - oh wow - ha ha - well, the weather was much nicer than I'd anticipated, and while it did snow, I was never uncomfortably cold and didn't even need all the warm layers I packed. So functionally, I was ok. I was however the WORST dressed person at the conference, hands down. I just laughed at myself as I walked around from session to session amongst the sharp business casual. Picture a stout little middle aged man from about the 18th century in black pants, stockings, shoes and coat with a white top - curly hair and all. I felt like I looked a little something like these guys:
Not exactly 21st century impressive professional attire. Maybe it was better that I didn't know anyone there!
3) Public Health culture: public health folks are a pretty cool crowd! There was even a decent number of social workers peppered in. I found the people I listened to and interacted with to be really nice, intelligent, and similarly compassion-inspired and social justice driven as social workers. I do still feel like social workers are a bit more of a friendly bunch in general - its hard to be around a group of social workers for long without making new friends - but it was really inspiring to be around people who are moving and shaking things in this country to improve well being for the public. After all my education and charge about doing macro-level social work, I feel like in the public health professionals I heard from, I finally saw what it could look like for people to really effect change on a macro level and it was really awesome!
4) Didn't exactly make any new BFF's or even manage to grab a meal with a new acquaintance, but independence and solitude can be under-rated. I had plenty of freedom and space to go about the conference as I pleased and reflect on all I was learning, or everything that's been going on in my life in general, and it was surprisingly renewing to have this space.
5) Its hard to say at this point what the return on investment will be, but I managed to cover the costs with our little budget somehow, and I enjoyed myself so much more than I expected and am pretty glad to be able to put it on my resume now. I also made a couple contacts that will hopefully give me opportunities to continue to pursue work in the area of my research in some interesting and meaningful ways . . . we'll see how that all goes.
Have I signed up for next year's conference in Washington DC? Not exactly. I can't say I'm rearing to re-plunge into such an experience (especially while pregnant), but I faced my fears and am glad I did. My comfort zone may not have exactly expanded from this experience, but I did manage to push forward through something scary and make it to the other side - and log in 96 hours of being "out of my comfort zone" for this blog (wink) - so it was a week well spent. One of the best parts about the whole deal is that I have been anxious about this trip since I found out my research was accepted to be presented in June - that's about 5 months of dread. And now, after having that constant burden hanging over my head, I'm finally totally free of it. I keep walking into my apartment expecting to see the paperwork hanging on my bulletin board reminding me to get prepared, and its not there, and I'm finally free to do other things with that emotional energy. I can't tell you what a refreshing feeling this is. Oh happy day.
Fears surrounded this trip on so many levels.
1) I've already written about the effort it required just to find the discipline to spend time preparing my presentation.
2) Wardrobe was also a significant concern, I am a pregnant, unemployed woman living in San Diego who hates to spend money on clothes and therefore avoids any expense remotely unnecessary in this category. Yet, I was traveling to a professional conference in chilly colorado with a bulging belly. My closet was not prepared for such a challenge.
3) I am a social worker, I barely know what public health is all about, much less the culture of this crowd of professionals. Two of my research mentors have degrees in public health and usually attend, but for some reason could not go this year.
4) I didn't know a soul attending the conference and knew I'd have to go into it and navigate it all alone
5) It cost much more money to attend this conference than I really had to spend and I didn't know whether the investment would really be worth my time or the career pay-off
As you can tell, as I write this in the past tense, again - I survived. phew.
1) My presentation got prepared. And even though my legs almost gave way beneath me, my voice quavered for the first time in my life, and I was more nervous being in front of people than I've been since I was a flower girl in my 2nd cousin's wedding (I was 3), I miraculously managed to keep my shpiel within the time limit (which is more than any of the other presenters in my session could say, thank you very much!) and due to everyone else spilling over time, did not have to face public questions of my presentation.
2) Wardrobe - oh wow - ha ha - well, the weather was much nicer than I'd anticipated, and while it did snow, I was never uncomfortably cold and didn't even need all the warm layers I packed. So functionally, I was ok. I was however the WORST dressed person at the conference, hands down. I just laughed at myself as I walked around from session to session amongst the sharp business casual. Picture a stout little middle aged man from about the 18th century in black pants, stockings, shoes and coat with a white top - curly hair and all. I felt like I looked a little something like these guys:
3) Public Health culture: public health folks are a pretty cool crowd! There was even a decent number of social workers peppered in. I found the people I listened to and interacted with to be really nice, intelligent, and similarly compassion-inspired and social justice driven as social workers. I do still feel like social workers are a bit more of a friendly bunch in general - its hard to be around a group of social workers for long without making new friends - but it was really inspiring to be around people who are moving and shaking things in this country to improve well being for the public. After all my education and charge about doing macro-level social work, I feel like in the public health professionals I heard from, I finally saw what it could look like for people to really effect change on a macro level and it was really awesome!
4) Didn't exactly make any new BFF's or even manage to grab a meal with a new acquaintance, but independence and solitude can be under-rated. I had plenty of freedom and space to go about the conference as I pleased and reflect on all I was learning, or everything that's been going on in my life in general, and it was surprisingly renewing to have this space.
5) Its hard to say at this point what the return on investment will be, but I managed to cover the costs with our little budget somehow, and I enjoyed myself so much more than I expected and am pretty glad to be able to put it on my resume now. I also made a couple contacts that will hopefully give me opportunities to continue to pursue work in the area of my research in some interesting and meaningful ways . . . we'll see how that all goes.
Have I signed up for next year's conference in Washington DC? Not exactly. I can't say I'm rearing to re-plunge into such an experience (especially while pregnant), but I faced my fears and am glad I did. My comfort zone may not have exactly expanded from this experience, but I did manage to push forward through something scary and make it to the other side - and log in 96 hours of being "out of my comfort zone" for this blog (wink) - so it was a week well spent. One of the best parts about the whole deal is that I have been anxious about this trip since I found out my research was accepted to be presented in June - that's about 5 months of dread. And now, after having that constant burden hanging over my head, I'm finally totally free of it. I keep walking into my apartment expecting to see the paperwork hanging on my bulletin board reminding me to get prepared, and its not there, and I'm finally free to do other things with that emotional energy. I can't tell you what a refreshing feeling this is. Oh happy day.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Donating Cord blood, harder than I'd anticipated
Being pregnant brings a tremendous amount of advertising and offers your way. One of the big pushes is for you to arrange to have your umbilical cord blood collected and stored. It is essentially cryogenics for babies - in that they store these cells in case your child ever becomes sick and can then donate this useful bio-material to your own baby (you can learn more about the benefits here: http://www.lifeforcecryobanks.com/). It is actually a great and fascinating scientific resource, but it is also hugely expensive and way outside of our little budget to store it for ourselves, especially with how rare it is that it would ever really need to be used or would actually work out to be a proper match (these donations are most frequently used on siblings). But because cord blood has so many (at least 75) existing medical transplant uses that could conceivably be a match for another child with cancer or something like that, and so many (over 700) in development, and because I REALLY really hate things going to waste, it seems a shame for no one to benefit from my baby's cord blood, just because we can't afford to store it. So a few months ago, I set about to figure out how I could donate the cord blood instead. I figured my doctor could tell me how to go about it all . . . she was not helpful, so I was on my own. It was way more of a headache than I ever expected (hence my justification for blogging about it as stepping out into discomfort), but long story short, I think I finally got it figured out. I hope the hassle was worth it, but if nothing else, I figured I could share what I learned so others who might be interested won't have as much running around to do. Jump to the end for a quick solution, but I've included extra resources and my experiences with certain agencies leading up to that, in case that could be helpful.
So here are two guides for parents about cord blood banking (and donating):
1) http://parentsguidecordblood.org/content/usa/banklists/publicbanks_new.shtml#limitdonate
2) http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/index.html
but even this is a alot to wade through, because you might be delivering at a hospital that will collect it right there, but you might be no where near a local collection service and have to find a national program, like I did. So if the above links don't help you find a bank near you, you can go straight to a list of national programs here: http://marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/How_to_Donate_Cord_Blood/CB_Participating_Hospitals/Donating_at_Other_Hospitals/donating_at_other_hospitals.pl
I first looked into the MD Anderson program because I'm from Houston (where MD Anderson is) and am familiar with how great the hospital is and that loads of people I grew up with as well as people from all around the world have found healing there (did you know that Houston has one of the world's largest medical centers?). The people I talked to there, when I could get them on the phone (they're a bit short staffed) were really great and lovely to interact with. But their donation program is part of a research study, so their regulations are a bit tight. They require that the person collecting the cord blood (the doctor delivering your baby) go through their training on how to do the collection for the sake of consistency. Its only a 7 minute online video, I didn't think this would be a problem. But, my doctor is part of a practice and therefore can't guarantee that she will be the actual individual delivering my baby, and wouldn't ask the other doctors to do the training just in case, so it was a no-go for me and MD Anderson.
So, I moved onto Lifeforce Cryobanks. It was a pile of paperwork to fill out, get signatures from doctors on, and mail to them (which needs to be done before you are 34 weeks along), but it seems like things are going to work out with this one. I just had the final phone conversation this week confirming that I am approved to donate. . . . if you're looking for a quick way to arrange to donate, you might go straight here: http://www.lifeforcecryobanks.com/enroll/donating/. If I deliver on a weekend, this will all be for nothing as they can't receive it then - so I hope someone else can find this useful, or pass it along to a pregnant friend and somebody out there will receive a needed transplant to make all this worth it!
So here are two guides for parents about cord blood banking (and donating):
1) http://parentsguidecordblood.org/content/usa/banklists/publicbanks_new.shtml#limitdonate
2) http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/index.html
but even this is a alot to wade through, because you might be delivering at a hospital that will collect it right there, but you might be no where near a local collection service and have to find a national program, like I did. So if the above links don't help you find a bank near you, you can go straight to a list of national programs here: http://marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/How_to_Donate_Cord_Blood/CB_Participating_Hospitals/Donating_at_Other_Hospitals/donating_at_other_hospitals.pl
I first looked into the MD Anderson program because I'm from Houston (where MD Anderson is) and am familiar with how great the hospital is and that loads of people I grew up with as well as people from all around the world have found healing there (did you know that Houston has one of the world's largest medical centers?). The people I talked to there, when I could get them on the phone (they're a bit short staffed) were really great and lovely to interact with. But their donation program is part of a research study, so their regulations are a bit tight. They require that the person collecting the cord blood (the doctor delivering your baby) go through their training on how to do the collection for the sake of consistency. Its only a 7 minute online video, I didn't think this would be a problem. But, my doctor is part of a practice and therefore can't guarantee that she will be the actual individual delivering my baby, and wouldn't ask the other doctors to do the training just in case, so it was a no-go for me and MD Anderson.
So, I moved onto Lifeforce Cryobanks. It was a pile of paperwork to fill out, get signatures from doctors on, and mail to them (which needs to be done before you are 34 weeks along), but it seems like things are going to work out with this one. I just had the final phone conversation this week confirming that I am approved to donate. . . . if you're looking for a quick way to arrange to donate, you might go straight here: http://www.lifeforcecryobanks.com/enroll/donating/. If I deliver on a weekend, this will all be for nothing as they can't receive it then - so I hope someone else can find this useful, or pass it along to a pregnant friend and somebody out there will receive a needed transplant to make all this worth it!
Friday, November 5, 2010
A day of discomfort . . .
Inside my comfort zone:
1) hanging out with people I know (ok, I'm an introvert, I'll be honest, sometimes comfort for me is hanging out with no people at all)
2) ordering the Chick-fil-a chicken tender meal [seriously - I think I've only diverged twice in the past decade to order chicken nuggets instead, which is barely different, and I only did that about 3 times at most]
3) planning/strategizing/consulting on nonprofit management issues
4) sleeping in and having time for a nap in the afternoon if I need it [cut me some slack, I'm growing a human inside of me - I get tired!]
My Wednesday this week:
1) going to a big Beth Moore bible study with a room filled with strangers, where the expectation was to quickly jump into sharing myself with these people
2) ordering the Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich for lunch [silly to you, but this was a big deal to me. my current pregnancy diet restrictions mean I have to be careful about how much potato products I consume, and I just couldn't have chicken tenders without the delicious waffle fries, especially since I was already also sacrificing my standard Dr. Pepper!]
3) meeting with Marnie, who is starting a charter school called City Heights Prep, to discuss a school social work/counseling perspective on issues she should consider and how she can get these types resources and supports in her school
4) waking up early to do all this and not getting done before I needed to be home to make dinner [aka - no time for a nap]
So the day really wore me out, but ultimately, it was worthwhile. And it didn't hurt that I was doing it all with my friend, Lexie, which certainly mitigated much of the discomfort. The Beth Moore bible study group was great, I think I'm going to get a lot out of participating in it. The women, although strangers, were super welcoming and made opening up to them easy by being so open and generous with themselves. I am still forlorn over missing out on those waffle fries, but really, the chicken sandwich is also super tasty, and its hard to beat a $3.09 for lunch! Other than classroom exercises, trying to make plans for meeting the bio/psycho/social needs of students at a school was a new experience (even though the school technically has nonprofit status, its just a different animal). While it stretched me in a really new way, and I don't feel like I've been able to make a substantial contribution to the conversation yet, it was really exciting to get to be a part of.
Honest confession: I've really been struggling lately when people ask me what I'm doing with my time. I just got this masters degree and there seems to be so much expectation to get a great social worky job - launching a great social worky career. I flounder over explanations about how I am only living in this town for less than a year, having a baby, wanting to stay home with my baby, and therefore trying to find a job in a tough economy with only a few months available to actually do that job doesn't seem to be worthwhile. Maybe people are more jealous than they are judgmental when they hear all this, that I get to take this break and enjoy this freedom.
Several years ago, I started a support group, "Charis," for Christian women who were trying to pursue their vocation - as in calling, not necessarily career. I felt like I was for the first time in a geographic space where a woman could both care about her mind and talents and possibly use those for a career, at the same time as she was honoring God. I felt like God did some great work through that group to support each other in respecting whatever path God called each individual woman to with her time and talents. Their support helped me through my own career transition to social work. And yet, I still have trouble having equal respect for myself now, as when I was pursuing my vocation through pursuing a career.
Why do I feel guilty and irresponsible about this decision? Why do I feel a little relief at the fact that I can say (and blog about how) I had no time for creative crafts this week because my time was so full of these other responsibilities, as if these other things give me a greater sense of importance? Who am I living for when I try to appease these expectations?
1) hanging out with people I know (ok, I'm an introvert, I'll be honest, sometimes comfort for me is hanging out with no people at all)
2) ordering the Chick-fil-a chicken tender meal [seriously - I think I've only diverged twice in the past decade to order chicken nuggets instead, which is barely different, and I only did that about 3 times at most]
3) planning/strategizing/consulting on nonprofit management issues
4) sleeping in and having time for a nap in the afternoon if I need it [cut me some slack, I'm growing a human inside of me - I get tired!]
My Wednesday this week:
1) going to a big Beth Moore bible study with a room filled with strangers, where the expectation was to quickly jump into sharing myself with these people
2) ordering the Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich for lunch [silly to you, but this was a big deal to me. my current pregnancy diet restrictions mean I have to be careful about how much potato products I consume, and I just couldn't have chicken tenders without the delicious waffle fries, especially since I was already also sacrificing my standard Dr. Pepper!]
3) meeting with Marnie, who is starting a charter school called City Heights Prep, to discuss a school social work/counseling perspective on issues she should consider and how she can get these types resources and supports in her school
4) waking up early to do all this and not getting done before I needed to be home to make dinner [aka - no time for a nap]
So the day really wore me out, but ultimately, it was worthwhile. And it didn't hurt that I was doing it all with my friend, Lexie, which certainly mitigated much of the discomfort. The Beth Moore bible study group was great, I think I'm going to get a lot out of participating in it. The women, although strangers, were super welcoming and made opening up to them easy by being so open and generous with themselves. I am still forlorn over missing out on those waffle fries, but really, the chicken sandwich is also super tasty, and its hard to beat a $3.09 for lunch! Other than classroom exercises, trying to make plans for meeting the bio/psycho/social needs of students at a school was a new experience (even though the school technically has nonprofit status, its just a different animal). While it stretched me in a really new way, and I don't feel like I've been able to make a substantial contribution to the conversation yet, it was really exciting to get to be a part of.
Honest confession: I've really been struggling lately when people ask me what I'm doing with my time. I just got this masters degree and there seems to be so much expectation to get a great social worky job - launching a great social worky career. I flounder over explanations about how I am only living in this town for less than a year, having a baby, wanting to stay home with my baby, and therefore trying to find a job in a tough economy with only a few months available to actually do that job doesn't seem to be worthwhile. Maybe people are more jealous than they are judgmental when they hear all this, that I get to take this break and enjoy this freedom.
Several years ago, I started a support group, "Charis," for Christian women who were trying to pursue their vocation - as in calling, not necessarily career. I felt like I was for the first time in a geographic space where a woman could both care about her mind and talents and possibly use those for a career, at the same time as she was honoring God. I felt like God did some great work through that group to support each other in respecting whatever path God called each individual woman to with her time and talents. Their support helped me through my own career transition to social work. And yet, I still have trouble having equal respect for myself now, as when I was pursuing my vocation through pursuing a career.
Why do I feel guilty and irresponsible about this decision? Why do I feel a little relief at the fact that I can say (and blog about how) I had no time for creative crafts this week because my time was so full of these other responsibilities, as if these other things give me a greater sense of importance? Who am I living for when I try to appease these expectations?
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