Boycotting all things “normal”

I love to looking into one of the counter culture movements over taking  Utah county- the “crunchies”. The crunchies participate in what I can only label- “a boycott of all things normal”. This boycott includes “normal food”, normal medical practices, normal parenting, and normal personal hygiene.  I need to preface this by saying I am in no way condemning their belief that this way of life is best for them, I am just saying that I am intrigued by their lifestyle.

Okay back to the boycott: someone alerted me to the idea of not using shampoo a few weeks ago- I have to admit my first thought was “this is insane!”, after some careful research I have come to conclusion that, yes it is insane, and not only is it insane- it seems like a huge hassle, but whatever. So here’s the idea- shampoo- the normal stuff that can be purchased at Walmart- is too harsh for your hair, instead of helping, you are actually frying your hair so the idea is not to use shampoo, the movement is nicknamed “no poo” (okay really doesn’t that give it away that this is a terrible idea?). Instead of using your trusty shampoo (we use suave since we are poor and it is cheap)  you use a homemade mixture of  baking soda, maybe some vinegar, lemon juice, and if you are feeling adventurous honey. You use this instead of the store bought stuff, apparently your hair looks nasty for awhile, but then is soft, shiny, and healthy. Oh yeah and you don’t need to wash your hair as often… all I have to say to that is… no. I know that is very close-minded of me, I know that I am living “in the box”, and that I am not being open to new ideas- but that is totally okay with me, it just doesn’t sound… clean. Maybe it is, maybe magical things would happen for me if I just gave it a chance… but it sounds gross so I am going to stick with showering every day and using suave green apple shampoo- purchased at, you guessed it- Wal Mart.

Just in case you are thinking about trying this super fun idea here is the link to a forum full of tons of great information, including recipes for your own “poo” (yes they call it that).

http://community.livejournal.com/no_poo/

 

Okay the next piece of the crunchy movement I am fascinated with- cloth diapers. I don’t have any experience with cloth diapers- I don’t have any children, and I am pretty sure my mom used disposables with all of her kids, she used them my little sister and that is the only one I remember. I don’t know many people that have used cloth diapers, but those that do seem to be happy with them, granted I haven’t heard the people using huggies complain either so that isn’t really much to go on.  The idea of cloth diapers seems to be a step backwards to me. I know this is a pretty harsh statement, but it just seems like there is a reason we have Huggies (to make life easier), why not use them. Maybe I am biased because the idea of doing that laundry kinda makes me want to throw up. I think I need more information about the subject. It just seems like the amount of laundry you would have to do would be daunting- and I already hate doing laundry- adding more makes me want to curl up and wear dirty clothes forever. As part of looking into cloth diapers (purely for information sake) I have asked around to people that HAD to use cloth diapers, none of these women recommended going down that route, most of them looked at me like I was insane when I asked the question, so I am just going to assume that the idea of that much laundry haunts them to this day, and that is a good enough reason for me to stick with Huggies.

 

The last piece of the crunchy puzzle that I want to understand is the boycott of “normal medicine”. By normal medicine I mean anything that an MD, NP, or DO prescribes, things like antibiotics. I am currently reading a book titled, The Great Influenza. The book chronicles the 1918 flu epidemic, and what the medical community did in response to the massive death toll. They didn’t have antibiotics, they didn’t have antiviral, they didn’t even really understand oxygen support therapy- so basically people died. Today we do have access to those medicines, why are we  reverting back to the medicine that didn’t work? Why in the world do we think chamomile tea,  ginger, or  peppermint extract is going to be more effective than actual medication? We might as well spray some Windex on it. Here are some natural remedies I found for common health problems

·      Asthma- the patient should be given garlic cloves boiled in 30 grams of milk daily (this sounds disgusting, and I doubt it helps manage severe asthma the same way the steroids do)

·      Pink eye/conjunctivitis- put a drop or two of honey directly on your eyes (if your infection is caused by a bacteria they will give you antibiotic eye drops- so the burning goes away, the infection is over, and so you don’t infect every person you come in contact with)

·      Cough- gargling with warm spinach juice (where do you even get warm spinach juice, and how do you keep it in your mouth long enough to gargle)

I didn’t even have to search for these, they were the very first suggestions that came up- I am not sure what to say about this except to ask why are we throwing away hundreds of years of medical research? I get that people in our society are over medicated but this seems a little bit dangerous.

I might need to do some more research on the crunchy movement- I wonder if it has taken hold in Dallas yet (I am going to go with no, since Texas is the land of guns and meat)

 

 

Mixed Feelings About the 2nd Amendment

As most of you know I am not exactly “pro gun”. In fact, if I could get rid of all the guns in the US I would, but I am becoming a little bit less extreme in my views on gun control, maybe it is the moving to texas thing, or knowing people like Kurtis that actually have guns, anyways I still think they are an awful idea but maybe a bit less dangerous than I once did. The other day I heard a quote from Mayor Bloomberg (who I don’t like at all), basically he said that unless we ban all guns the criminals are going to have guns. Okay there is something wrong with that argument-  why do we think that banning guns is going to stop criminals from getting them? I  wasn’t aware that criminals really cared about bans on things. Anyway he went on to talk about how guns kill people. I had to laugh, even me, the person that wants to throw all the guns in the ocean (despite what it will do to the ecosystem) doesn’t think that guns kill people, people kill people, they might use guns to do it, but the gun didn’t wake up in the morning and think- what the heck I might as well shoot someone today. Why do we put up with these ridiculous arguments. I will admit that I think many people are not responsible enough to have a gun ( or a child, or a hamster for that matter), but many of the gun owners out there know what they are doing. They take classes, they do their research, and they use their weapons responsibly- like they don’t use them at all. Sure some criminals use guns, but to be honest they also use knives, cars, and other weapons so I am not sure banning guns is the best option. I am all for stricter screening, required education (which there is), and a waiting period, but once those requirements have been satisfied, let the people be. Sure I might not agree with them, but the supreme court did so give it a rest, the issue has been settled. Just an FYI- even though I don’t think that your guns should be taken away we are still NEVER getting one, no amount of living in Texas is changing that .

 

 

I wish I had a $400 pair of jeans- not really

I dont think health care is a basic human right, and it irritates me when people say it is. I'm not saying that access to health care isnt important, or even that a safety net shouldnt be put in place, all i am saying is that being born in the United States does not entitle you to a lifetime of “free” health care. Maybe I think this way because we recently got information about the health insurance offered through Brian’s job. I need to preface by saying one of the reasons that I like this particular company is because of the health insurance they offer- sure there are other great things, including that Brian likes the job, but the health insurance is the most appealing thing to me. The health insurance is not free, sure the company subsidizes it but trust me we will still have to pay quite a bit for our health coverage. As we work out our budget for the fall the cost of health insurance is one of the first things worked into the budget, right after tithing, savings, and the house payment- paying for health insurance is just one of the things we have accepted. I am sure there are going to be days that I wish we didn’t have to pay since there are tons of things I could do with that money, but in the end I think putting in towards insurance is the best option. Paying for insurance is something that Brian and I have chosen to do, if September comes and we decide not to get health coverage that is our choice- we can choose to do something else with that money. I am grateful that we have that choice, I am grateful that someone didn’t take my money and put it towards what they thought was best- it’s my money, you didn’t earn it, you don’t get to spend it.  Paying for insurance is going to be a sacrifice, there will be some things we don’t buy, or don’t buy for awhile because we are paing for insurance. Despite paying monthly for health care we will also hae to pay a co pay to visit the doctor and for prescription drugs- all of these things have to make it into the budget, and will have to be taken into consideration when seeking medical attention (granted the co pay is very small so I doubt that will stop us from going to the doctor). Despite the fact that we will  have to plan ahead and weigh our options before seeking health care I prefer this system over congress’ proposed changes. I am interested to know how the paradigm works when you don’t have to pay for health insurance. I’m sure many people, including some readers, may think my perspective is just conservative propaganda, and that I have little to no information about the problem, or the first hand experience of those in these situations- tough luck Charlie- I have this one covered, I’ve done both the quantitative and the qualitative research, collected primary and secondary data, and have come to the following conclusions.

1.   When something is “free” people tend to think it is lower quality. This same principle applies to health care. People tend to question why it is free, and choose not to use it, believing that the quality is not comparable to costly options (which to be fair is often the case true). So it looks like we are going to require people to enroll in health insurance that they either don’t want, or don’t think will be helpful, and people will continue to go untreated.

2.   Adding everyone to the system will put additional strain on an already over taxed system.  Yesterday I read a report about the implementation of universal health care (straight single payer system), the liberal policy group that published the report clearly stated that the supply of medical professionals will be unable to keep up with demand for service for several years leaving many people without necessary treatment or a primary care physician until the medical profession grows. Is the medical profession going to grow over night? I am going to guess no, why? We want qualified physicians, as a result they go to school for longer than 2 days, in order to make it through the rigor of med. School candidate need at least 2 brain cells and people like that aren’t a dime a dozen, and last time I checked med school wasn’t free or easy- so all of those things combined, I am guessing we are going to have shortages for a bit.

3.   Misallocation of funds- this isn’t a reference to the government, although I am quite sure they will not use the funds available as efficiently as they claim they will, this is a reference to the people currently receiving free or low cost health care. Let me start by saying that New York is a progressive state- they have basically universal child health care, and have extended adult Medicaid further than the federally mandated levels using state only dollars. The goal is to provide all New Yorkers with access to health care- the goal is noble but the execution is lacking. Part of the goal was the alleviate some of the financial strain that paying for health insurance would cause, in some cases this has happened, in other cases people have purchased other things with that money, including designer bags, cars, cell phones, all things that were not necessities. Every day I get on the train and wonder how someone making $12 and hour on Medicaid, food stamps, and public assistance has $400 jeans, a $1000 bag, and the newest cell phone- then I think again and realize that the reason that they have all those fun things is because they don’t have to spend money on boring things like food, rent, and health insurance. With all of this financial freedom people have the option to buy things they don’t need, they come to expect a fun cushy life, and they stop seeing the value of work- when your $12 an hour job gets you the same things someone’s $25 and hour job gets them why work harder?

So there are a few dozen more reasons why I am against the proposed health care reform options but I think I have rambled on long enough- two things to take from this 1. I agree the system is broken, 2. Health care is not a human right*

 

*I am torn about what to do about children. I do think that we need to have some system to insure children, preventive medicine in childhood can prevent costly health problems later in life and lead to reductions in health care costs, I am just not sure how to help kids without enabling others.

 

 

Washington DC

Brian and one of his least favorite presidents, he kept asking why there was a memorial for FDR, i couldnt answer the question, but it was really pretty
Korean War memorial, one of the saddest memorials in DC
The lincoln memorial
World War 2 memorial, this one is my favorite
The view of the capitol from the washington monument
the presidential motorcade!
Getting ready to move to texas
my favorite button in the smithsonian. It's true I am a hilary fan (just an FYI they had buttons for all of the first lady's)

cooling off in the WW2 memorial- not ture why I thought putting my shoes in was the best idea
Semi frightening WW2 poster we saw in the smithsonian... it seems a bit extreme 
Little Chinese place we ate at in february, we made the trek back and it was worth it 
fish tank in the ocean section at the natural history museum- i do have to say the NYC ocean section was better than the dc version - yes that is a nemo fish
the diamond alphabet- i didnt know what to say to this
brian in the rocks and gem sections, his inner nerd was so happy!
that national mall! I think they need the BYU grounds crew to help  make it a bit nicer

We spent this last weekend in Washington DC. We figured that we might as well go now while we live so close so we packed up the car and headed down.

Our trip was basically uneventful (once we crossed the New York State line). Some of the highlights of our trip included:

-seeing Camille and her amazing ring- yes I did get to see it, I feel like I should get a little badge or something for being so special

- Finally meeting Jimmy and his cute family- I have heard tons about Brian’s cousin Jim since marrying into the family, but never had the chance to meet him, now I have a face to put with the stories

- lunch in Chinatown- I went to the same place when I was in DC in February, I made it there with about 1/3 of the people I went with last time, but it was fun to take Brian since I have talked about it so much

- Nice people- people outside of NYC are so much nicer than those living in the city, it was so nice to see normal people, with normal kids, in normal places

-Dinner at chilis- say what you want about chain restaurants but sometimes it is just nice to go somewhere familiar- thanks Randy!

- the presidential motorcade- yes that’s right we saw the presidential motorcade, it  was pretty big, I didn’t realize the president traveled with is own ambulance

- the protest- as we were walking the National Mall (right after we saw the motorcade) we saw a protest, pretty exciting.

-WW2 memorial- this is my favorite memorial in DC- not only is it beautiful but it is located about halfway down the mall and they let you put your feet in the cool water- it is a great place to stop and take a break.

Other less exciting highlights included paying more in tolls than we paid for gas, finally seeing the “rocks and gems” section at the natural history museum (it is closed in NYC), seeing the FDR memorial with the waterfalls, riding a clean subway (seriously it is immaculate compared to NY), and eating a Chick fil A (or however you spell it).

 

 

I miss my kitchen...

I really love to cook, but I hate cooking in New York. In Utah we had a lovely well stocked kitchen (thanks to Grandma Suker), we had nice pots and pans, sharp knives (I never thought this would be a problem), more wooden spoons, spatulas, and whisks than I could ever use, tons of bakeware, pyrex, and dishes galore. We  had these lovely little glass bowls to put chopped herbs in (before you add them to the larger mixing bowl), lovely metal, plastic, and glass mixing bowls, and of course my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer, these are just the items I miss and dream about at night- oh yeah did I mention the old kitchen had a full size stove and fridge… yeah this one doesnt. Here we have one pot, one large frying pan, one stock pot,  4 bowls, 3 plates, one wooden spoon,  2 knives so dull they no longer cut, and… that’s it, there is nothing else. I never thought I would miss my super small, poorly lit wymount kitchen, but I do every day.  My dreams alternate between our old kitchen and our kitchen in Dallas, hm… maybe I need something else to occupy my time.

 

My iPod

Do you ever see someone listening to an iPod and wonder what they are listening to? I have the privilege (yeah right) of riding the train for about 90 minutes each day, and as I look around it seems like everyone is listening to an iPod, I always wonder what they are listening to, granted there are always the people who you don’t have to wonder about- their music is so loud you have to turn yours up to hear it, but in general I wonder what people are listening to. I wonder if knowing what people were listening to would make life seem more like a movie (because there is always music in movies), but mostly I wonder if the music people are listening to matches what I would imagine they are listening to. I wonder if the businessman sitting next to me is listening to Celine Dion instead of NPR podcasts everyone thinks he is, or if the “gangsta” sitting across from me is actually listening to the Beatles instead of rap, or if the hippie girl standing across the aisle is listening to George Strait instead of the Grateful Dead. Mostly I just hope everyone is listening to country. I wonder what the people on the train think I am listening too… well I guess to be realistic they don’t care, it is just me that has way too much spare time.

What am I listening to you ask… I am listening to country. I love country music, I honestly and truly do. I am not sure what it is about it that appeals to me, Brian thinks it is the songs that tell a story, I’m not sure what it is but I love it. Maybe it is the twangy guitar, maybe it is the occasional banjo (although I did have a boy serenade me with a banjo when I was a freshman and it was not nearly as romantic as you would think- well it was actually just weird), maybe it is the accent, maybe it is the insane amount of cheesiness packed into 3 minutes, whatever it is I love it.  I was introduced to country by a good friend’s mother who LOVED 92.9 KFRG, I cant listen to that station without thinking of her.  There is something appealing about music that talks about falling in love, kids, living down south, and summer picnics- oh well I guess it is time to accept and embrace my backwoods nature.   

Just in case you were curious I DID listen to country while I wrote this post, and just in case you need some country music in your life here is a nice list to get you started- beware if country isn’t your thing you will hate these songs so avoid them, and if you like country that talks about trucks these aren’t the songs for you.

She’s in Love with the Boy- Trisha Yearwood (this is my all time favorite song)

Check Yes or No- George Strait

Chattahoochee- Alan Jackson

Sweet Southern Comfort- Buddy Jewel

Wrinkles- Diamond Rio

Two Pump Texaco- Diamond Rio (if you have driven from SLC to Dallas you have experience this and need the song)

Little Houses- Doug Stone 

Make Up In Love- Doug Stone

The Secret of Life- Faith Hill

I Saw God Today- George Strait

Heartland- George Strait (my aunt loved George Strait in the early 90’s and this song reminds me of that, plus it is such a texas song, watch the video it is just… awkward)

When I think About Angels- Jaime O’Neil

Ruby Shoes- Jessica Andrews

Red High Heels- Kelly Pickler

I Go Back- Kenny Chesney

The Woman with You- Kenny Chesney

Independence Day- Martina McBride

Love is a Beautiful Thing- Phil Vasser

Everyday Love- Rascal Flatts

Then I Did- Rascal Flatts

Some Say- Rascal Flatts

My Sister- Reba

You’re Gonna Be- Reba

 Four-Thirty- Sara Evans

Aint that the Way it is- Tim McGraw

My Next 30 years- Tim McGraw

 

Playing House

I hate transition and I hate change, maybe that is why I don’t enjoy summer vacation.  Brian and I have spent the last few months, and even the last year discussing what life will be like “in the future”, for us the future refers to life after graduate school, life after provo, life after NY (thank goodness for that one), life after exams, life after paying tuition (who thought that would end), and life after low paying or no paying jobs. We are months away from that transition, Brian starts his first real job in 2 months from today, by then we will be moved (well by we I mean brian and our stuff) to Dallas, we will be away from NYC, we will have good dental, health and vision insurance, and we will be making actual money, these are all of the things that we (and by we I mean Brian) have been working towards for so long and now they are finally within reach. I feel like I should be excited, bt I’m not. It’s not that I am not happy that all of our (and by our I do mean Brian) hard work is finally paying off, I think it just hasn’t set in yet. It hasn’t set in that our carefree days in Provo are over (not that they were ever really that carefree we are a little uptight), it hasn’t set in that in January I wont be counting pennies to pay tuition, it hasn’t set in that we are getting a house,  and it really hasn’t set in that we are getting a washer, dryer, and dishwasher.  None of that has set in yet. Right now is seems like we are playing a really expensive version of “house”, you know one where everything is sorta real but not really and in the end everything goes back to normal. It feels like after we leave NYC we will head back to provo, go back to school, wash our dishes by hand, and haul our laundry in the snow, it doesn’t feel like it is time for us to be grown ups, mow our lawn, and clean our house (not apartment, house). It looks like September is going to make my head spin. 

Household chores and Malaria

I don’t enjoy ironing. I just don’t like it, I would rather wear wrinkled clothes than take the time to iron them, and as for ironing my husband’s shirts, I know it sounds awful but he is 25 and knows where the iron is, if he wants ironed shirts he can do it. I am sure you are all (all one of you) scratching your heads and asking why is Ashley writing this?, well it could be for a number of reasons- but if I had to choose just one I would say it is because I recently read something  about how “good” wives iron. Let me start again- I don’t consider myself a bad wife because I don’t iron- I just consider myself someone that doesn’t iron. I am secure enough in my personal identity not to feel threatened by this ironing comment. Saying I don’t like ironing doesn’t mean I don’t think it is a worthwhile endeavor, it doesn’t even mean that I don’t iron (in fact I am about to), it just means of all of the things I can choose to do with my time, ironing isn’t high on the priority list.

My dislike for ironing doesn’t mean I am advocating shunning all household tasks, it doesn’t even mean that I am going to push them all off on Brian in the name of feminism and women’s liberation, it just means I hate ironing. There are some aspects of the  June Cleaver persona that I have worked to maintain- the love of butter for one, a clean and organized home for another, and on the rare occasion the pearls (you know like for weddings and funerals).

Why in 2009 we are calling women bad wives and mothers  because they choose to express dislike for one household chore, why in 2009 is Mrs. Smith’s laundry our business? Personally, I think there are larger problems facing the American public (have you seen what Congress is doing?), don’t we have more important things to worry about, like caring for our own families, building stronger communities, and working to maintain some order in this crazy world? Why do we as women see our neighbor’s dislike for one task as a character flaw on her part? Maybe this is a woman thing, maybe we tear each other down for the simple reason of justifying our actions- Mrs. Smith doesn’t iron and I do so it’s okay for me to feed Timmy and Susie McDonald’s tonight- is that why we do it? Or do we do it simply to prove to ourselves that we are doing a good job? Whatever the reason, why do we care about something so menial? Hm… well that’s it for now.

PS. I have 11 (yes 11) mosquito bites in a 2 inch area around my elbow- who knew there were so many bugs in Queens! Yes the purpose of this little section was to get you to feel bad for me,- I am just so darn itchy! (and yes I think I have malaria)

New York 0 Texas 1

I am convinced New Yorkers hate their lives. I know this is a pretty bold statement coming from someone from the west coast, but I honestly think they do. I think those New Yorkers that tell you they actually like it here are kidding themselves, trying to believe that if they say it out loud enough times they will actually like it, it’s either that or the one’s that are saying that can actually afford to live here, either way the people that like it, I mean honestly and truly like living here are in the minority (kinda like the people that think Obama is putting the country on the right path). Why do New Yorkers hate their lives, well let’s think about it, it is filthy here, people are rude, some of the nastiest people I have ever met live here, everything is really really expensive, they pay insane taxes, and they are all crammed together all of the time- who would like that? Sure it is fun to visit but living  here is a huge hassle, something simple like going to the grocery store takes twice as long, is twice as difficult and costs about three times as much- who wants to do that? In the midst of that you have to work 2 jobs just to make ends meet, and when you come home, you live in a crappy studio apartment where everything is falling apart. Yes I know that many New Yorkers live in better conditions than that, but really, living here it is a hassle. Granted I might be spoiled, I am from suburbia, I went to college in suburbia, and I am going to move to suburbia in a few months- NYC is the opposite of that so maybe I am just outside my comfort zone but it seems like people are miserable here. The people here don’t smile, they aren’t friendly, they don’t seem to have any enthusiasm for anything (except being “green”), it seems like they need a little bit of sun, some open space, and to be honest a nice refreshing Dr. Pepper (have you ever noticed how much Texans love Dr. Pepper?), personally I think the people in Texas have it a little bit more under control (I know, shocking) than the people in NYC- they seem nicer, happier, and a bit less downtrodden than the New Yorkers.  Oh well, 6 weeks left, right, then I can go drink my Dr. Pepper in peace (not that I really ever drink Dr. Pepper, but you never know I might become a Texan after all).  

502 Austin Drive

We went to go and visit the site of what we thought would be our future home... and it turns out that it IS going to be our future home! We loved the house, the neighborhood, and the lack of New Yorkers everywhere. I am sure that none of you actually want to hear my commentary on the house so here is what you have been waiting for... pictures. celebrating our house like true texans, with ribeyes

brian's dinner
the tile for the entry way, kitchen, and dining room
the tile for the bathroom floor
backsplash tile
the carpet and counter tops
this is what our house will look like, this is the model and the type of brick (texas used) that we chose
the water park
the pool- sorry you cant see it well
the club house
502 Austin Drive
this is what our yard will look like
the office, the red thing is the front door
the view of the office from the front door
view of the house from the front door
the view from emily's room
emily's bathroom
emily's closet
Looking out from the second bedroom into the hall
emily's room
The larger of the two additional bedrooms
another view of the pantry, sorry it isnt in the right order
washer and dyer- the pantry is on the other side
more of the kitchen, i love it! we are going to have the same cabinets but lighter counter tops
the dining room 
The master bathroom, view from where our bed will be 
The family room, this is where our tv would go
The dining room and kitchen
the kitchen it is amazing!
Kitchen and dining room

pantry- the laundry is on the other side
more of the kitchen, i am just happy to have a full sink and stove
The dining room
the view of the family room from kitchen room
the view of the master bedroom from the kitchen
The family room- the fireplace, not our favorite feature but oh well we are keeping it. By the way this is the same color carpet we are going to have in our house, and the same color walls come to think of it. 
The master bedroom walk in closet- it's not inside the bathroom- which is odd but workable. 
The windows in the master bedroom- our bed is going to go against the wall- the part of the wall that you cant see is the entrance to the bathroom
The shower in the master bath- we decided we wanted a linen closet i