fun with my new cup

This week has certainly been a week of experimentation, and for once my monthly was actually a bit of fun, exciting even. DaisyLady and I have been discussing more sustainable alternatives to the commercial pads and tampons on the market, and since working at an organic family store i'd tried some bamboo cloth pads that i love, but we both decided we would try out the cup system that lots of people have been talking about, and almost seemed a bit too good to be true. We both went online (because they're not yet available in Australia) and searched through all of the reviews of the myriad of differents brands and types, and for me i felt that it would be between the Yuuki or the Lunnette. We both ended up finding the Yuuki for a great deal, and after a few weeks i finally got it just in time! I boiled it up before its first use, and away i went- and i dont think ill ever be looking back. DaisyLady loves hers equally. Id really like to try a Lunnette, so maybe when i need to switch to the bigger size, but for now its great. I didnt find it hard to insert, and its really soft which i think is helpful. I didnt need to cut the stem at all which was good too as it was just the right length and it was also squishy which helped alot with removal.

For those who dont know much about menstrual cups, they are made of sillicone- mine is medical grade, and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on the brand, and whether you are sexually active and have had children, as well as their softness and the size and shape of the stem. They get folded and then inserted and can be left in for hours, even over night- depending on flow. I found that it took a few goes to get used to it, but honestly you cant feel it, its not messy (just be sure to have a sink or a bottle of water in the loo) and best of all there are no chemicals going into either the environment or my body! oh, and no more washing, or pouring money into multinational corporations that are ripping women off! woohoo, who thought periods could be exciting!

Fellow female readers- WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!! best purchase you'll ever make!

Here are some great review websites:

Yuuki Review

Cup comparisons

Cloth pads and cup options

I still really love my brocade pads, they're so pretty and soo much better and more absorbent than any commercial pads on the market. If youre not interested in a cup these are the way to go. They'll save you so much money (at only $13ea), as well as your body and the environment, and they are really easy to use and clean!

duuude, its the waaaave....

I'll let you all in on a little VW driver's secret.... if you are driving past a Kombi or a Beetle, when you pass another you show respect with a little wave, a peace signal and/or a head nod. Its just the done thing! and it certainly does put a big smile on your face knowing that you are part of this little community that knows exactly what it means to own and drive these amazing cars. But as usual, im getting cranky! people are not upholding their end of the deal- at least not for beetle drivers; you've bought a VW, should know what you've entered into! i must admit that on occasion i haven't seen a bug or two, or the waves have come to late to reciprocate, but i do think its a responsibility i have as Melvins owner =P Thankfully the Kombi-Wave seems to be still alive and well! Its even better when a Kombi driver salutes me as a beetle driver because, like me, more than likely they dont own just one! It might sound silly, but i think its really important to keep even small and seemingly silly traditions alive. Its no easy feat owning a VW, but it is so so worth it, and no one else quite understands the passion (and frustration) and real emotion that goes into these inanimate chunks of metal like another VW owner, and it makes you feel like youre part of something bigger! There's nothing better than a Kombi Convoy or a Kombi club meeting where others speak the same language! Its always hard driving past a VW when in a different (I shouldnt say boring) car and not waving haha- which is why my indecision about whether i can actually part with my Melvin in exchange for a more reliable (boring) car has been so hard, but that's another post. I love Volkswagens, and the community that go with them!

I found this online on another blog that i thought really explains the wave:

"My eldest sister once owned an EH Holden (classic old Australian car) and a Kombi van and driving these cars required the two-fingered wave. When driving the Kombi/EH and passing another Kombi/EH owner, index and middle finger were raised from the steering wheel, acknowledging each other's coolness factor or sympathy depending on repairs and rust said car had. The slightest head nod was also thrown in, very discreet and completely hilarious."

 

pondering the need for a "thing"...

So a couple of weeks ago I had a quite pivotal moment in my life. My DaisyLady friend and i were chatting over tea and cookies in our usual style about life goals and what our next moves should be with me being frustrated with uni and her unsure about whether to take a job she had been offered. She was telling me about needing a Character Reference and that she needed someone to write one for her when she suddenly thought of ThePartner who has just become an official teacher. I asked whether i could do one for her and innocently she said, "but you dont have a 'thing', you know like a title or a profession" and it suddenly hit me that she was so right. Im not really a Behavioural Scientist so BBSc doesnt count, im not working in the field and im not yet a Social Worker or a Midwife- So After 6 years of studying Im still a Student, working casually in retail who really needs to question what exactly i have got out of it all and what i want from it because at this point it just seems like im studying for the sake of studying!! While i really really want to be a midwife and combine it with Social Work, how am i going to finish my degree and work/make money/contribute to society and travel before we want to have a baby?? or more to the point, am i really enjoying still being at uni when i dont feel like i have actually achieved much, and while i shouldnt feel compelled to conform to the expectations of needing a title or profession no one will employ me in the area i want to work until i do have my 'thing' but i wont get that until i pull my finger out and either go back and finish the small part i have left in SW or suck it up and stick it out for the next two years to finish Mid in which i wont be able to work, travel or have kids! argh, the decisions!

Ive decided that this was a very necessary kick in the be-hind that ive been needing for a while and ive decided to start getting proactive and realistic about achieving my goals. So now im thinking that I really need to consider getting a job NOW that i can use as a placement for my social work, finish my Masters (and hopefully still do at least one subject in Mid so im still in the field) and get a very well deserved 'THING" at the end of my name, become part of the ASW association, earn enough during this time to go and volunteer in Cambodia, India and Thailand in some birth centres, orphanages and women's groups, and then we can consider what comes next! ThePartner are very much on the same page that we want to travel in our van around Australia, but we can certainly do this with a baby and once i have my 'thing' i can focus more on midwifery and do it slowly.

I have also come to the realisation that my passion is working in women's health and what i really want to do is educate women about their birthing options, which is really in a Childbirth Education role so during this time i hope to also complete a Dimploma in Childbirth Education and Breastfeeding Counseling through possibly Childbirth International which i can do externally and take my time, and its not too long so i get get this fairly quickly and use it while im traveling and/or working as a Social Worker! I just need to find $1200 and rearrange everything to make it all work and tie in nicely together. Thank goodness that at least ThePartner is sorted out at least for now, he has is 'thing' and he's got a job so fingers crossed i can start the ball rolling by finding a job that's around 6months and that i can use for my Masters!

Favourites for the month:

Yes, I know, I have been very very slack- well, at least in the blog department! So ill make up for it by adding quite a few things that i am enjoying of late, and i think ill make it favourites of the month rather than week because lets face it i just cant keep up:

Album/s of the Month: This week I have really been enjoying listening to lots of the Arctic Monkeys, from My Favourite Worst Nightmare, to Humbug, to Whatever people say I am thats what Im not, and im loving them. ThePartner and I have also been listening to lots of Ween lately- Im totally obsessed with the song Voodoo Lady, and the song Ocean Man definitely sums up ThePartner!

Books of the Month: My pregnancy/birth book collection is definitely growing at a rapid pace. Ive been prowling the local secondhand book stores, and online stores and have managed to rack up quite a pile- although with no room in our place to put them anywhere! but the book im reading at the moment is absolutely fantastic! its called "Birth: the suprising History of how we are born" by Tina Cassidy and is the whole history of childbirth from our animal insticts, to the dawn of midwifery, to the war of obstetric led care, right through to the begining of forcep use, the first c-section, twilight labours and all that came in between. It is probably the most fascinating book ive ever read, and answers so many questions! If youre interested in the area of childbirth, it is an absolute must read!

Movie of the Month: Kindergarten Cop. ThePartner has just started is first 'real' job as a teacher in a 4 week contract. I cant believe he is a real teacher, and im soo happy that he is loving it so much. In the first couple of days he was saying how the kids were playing up so i suggest we watch one of my fav childhood movies Kindergarten Cop with good ol Arnie. ThePartner hasnt seen it before so so hopefully we can cook up a big bowl of gnocchi and have a good laugh.... "its NOT a TUMOR!" ahahahahaha

TV Show/s of the Month: its a tie between True Blood which is sadly coming to the end of the season and we are totally addicted too! and One born Every Minute which is a real life show with cameras all over a labour ward in England and would scare the living daylights out of any mother-to-be, lets make that any woman! Its shows the 'reality' of birth as being just like that of the movies! I thought england had a muc hbetter maternity service with homebirths as the majority and midwifery led care the priority! Cant believe how many woman have given birth on their backs, not to mention the crazy husbands! argh! why cant there be some nice birth footage shown on tv for once.

Events: The Royal Adelaide Show!! I love this annual event! While everyone thinks its just a big waste of money, we tend to not spend too much and do lots of the cheap for free things like the Yellow Brick Road, the Taste SA tent that i often work in with my dad and love all the free tastings, and i loooove the animals, especially the baby animals and the cows! And you cant go past a good wood chop or a pig race ahahaha, we sound like such hillbillies! I also love the Ferris Wheel and the toffee apples but ive been pretty disappointed the last few years that the Ferris Wheel is just too expensive and the apples have been really floury and yuck. I also love visiting my friend Roger at his stall- he is the Thai Pants Man and his fisherman's pants are the best ive ever ever had, and I know they are made ethically! Cant wait! will post some photos.

For the love of Shoes

After getting my Tax back, while saving up for overseas and for a new car are the main priority there were a couple of thing that i have had my eye on for over a year that i felt were practical and i needed- plus i was sick of seeing them on my ebay continuously relisted, knowing that one day i would miss out. So for the first time, probably ever i treated my self to a couple of what i would class a expensive things, and im so excited its sad!

Im sure you can guess by now that yes i fit into the fisherman pant-loving, birkenstock-wearing, homebirth-supporting midwife (student). But gee do i love my birkenstocks! I truly wear them down to the cork! They are supposed to last 10 years but they are the most comfy shoe ive ever owned so even with a few pairs (collect could be a better word) they get a thrashing. I decided i needed a colourful perky pair that would be my 'happy shoes' that i can wear to uni or to the hospitals and i just need to look down at my feet and remember to smile! I ended up finding some that were 1/2 price which is pretty rare for Birkis which made it an even better buy. So i thought they deserved their own post...

Wedding Mania!

This year can absolutely be called the year of weddings and babies! While three of my family members are pregnant, One of my closet primary school friends got married in April, then my cousin got married in August, then two of my other friends got engaged AND my other cousin who i am very close with (who got engaged two years ago) is getting married in October in which i have been asked to be the maid of honour! Now it is indeed an honour to be asked, but ill tell you the truth that i have no freaking clue what this means and ive been fudging my way through learning about all these wedding 'rules' along the way. As you have probably been able to tell im not your 'follow the rules' kind of girl so for me a wedding, if it were ever to happen between me and the partner would be something pretty low key, symbolic, earthy and lets face it- cheap! My cousin however is slightly more traditional which i love because it means that i can be a part of a wedding that i always thought i would have because thats what my family would expect, without it actually being mine- i just didnt realise what it all involved so hopefully i can meet these expectations that come with the title of maid of honour- particularly because im in a bridal party with girls that have been bridesmaids before and actually know what to do.

I am lucky too because my cousin is no Bridezilla and she has been really accommodating of my lack of knowledge in the area of traditional weddings (and lack of funds), but saturday was a big test for me because i had to put on the Kitchen Tea/Bridal Shower in which we had a theme of Red and White (the colour scheme for the wedding) and around 50 women to feed and entertain- i wont say i wasnt freaking out just a little. So i stayed up all thursday night sewing together some red aprons for us (bridal party) to wear and look 'the part', and then spent all day friday with my aunty making over 50 decorated cupcakes to feed the masses- although my aunty, being Italian and all didnt hold back putting on a feast particularly when it came to desserts. And im glad to say that my hard work paid off because Saturday went smoothly, begining with a small candle ceremony to begin the day, games like Pin the Veil on the Bride, make a dress out of toilet paper, and match the famous couple, we ate till be couldnt fit anymore and chatted until we went horse, but best of all i made the Bride proud and she had a great day! phew!

Next week is the hens night so I'll have to see how my hippie, feminist self holds up with topless waiters, penis straws and strippers but as long as my cousin has a great night I can hold my views to myself for one night. Am looking forward to doing a post-wedding post about the two years that have led to this wedding and the preparations, because it has certainly opened my eyes to modern weddings and ive been able to think more openly about what both weddings and marriage actually mean to me- but thats for a later post (if i ever get enough time)

Famous redheads.

In honour of our newly elected Priminister...

Julia Gillard: Our first Female Priminister,
who is also Adelaide-raised AND a ginger!

...I thought I would dedicate a post to some of my favourite Gingers... and what great role models, strong women, natural birthing/parenting advocates they are!:

My Favourite Redheaded Women:

Clare Bowditch: amazing singer/songwriter,
environmentalist and homebirth activist.

Alyson Hannigan: Played the awesome
Willow in Buffy and birthed her baby at home

Laura Prepon: I love 'that 70s show'
just a shame she went blonde!

Molly Ringwald: i always wanted to be her in '16 candles' haha.

Tori Amos: amazing singer/song writer/musician
that can make anyone feel better

Lauren Ambrose: I think i found my doppelganger.
Ive loved all her movies and 6 feet under.

Katharine Hepburn: a strong woman who didnt take crap.
Im glad to be named after such an awesome person.

Kate Winslet:
She is such a great, eclectic actress.
I loved her as Clementine in
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind.

Cynthia Nixon:
while i dont watch sex and the city, she is a great role model,
as she hasnt been afraid to publicize her sexuality

Nicole Kidman: Cool Aussie girl

Julia Roberts: great actress and baby-wearing rold model.
She loves to be photographed with her babies in an ergo.

Bette Midler: great singer/actress and strong woman.
 I particularly liked her Janis joplin-esque character in The Rose

Susan Sarandon: great actress and
environmental and human rights activist.

Annie: Who doesnt love this freckled-faced ginger!

Geri Halliwell: I always loved ginger spice best as a kid,
she never took crap.
but then she stopped eating and went
 blonde!

Marcia Cross:
I can admit to watching a bit of DHW occasionally
and she gave birth to twins at 45.

Isla Fisher: A nice Aussie red-head, and married to Borat!

Lucille Ball: whats not to love?!

Julianne Moore: actress and activist.
She doesnt hide her pale skin and freckles!

Queen Elizabeth: you cant get a much stronger
and more powerful woman.

Milla Jovovich as the Fifth Element: the 'perfect being' needed to save the world-
red-hair and all! One of my favourite movies, with a great message haha

Red is in the family:Ginger families.

Bryce Dallas : Ron Howard's daughter. I particularly liked her in the Village

The Weasleys: What an awesome family! This is how I see my family growing haha

Ode to the main campus, and degrees past

 Ive clearly been at uni too long! The other day i went up to the main campus at uni which is quite different to where i am studying at the moment, but where i had spent 5 years of my life and felt this overwhelming sense of nostalgia and realised how great i had it there and how much better the university life is up there! so i wrote a little poem in honour of my time there:

oh main campus how i miss you

Sturt just doesnt measure up to anywhere near you!

With your big trees, ducks wandering by the pond and all of that surrounding greenery,

all i have now is old crusty buildings as my scenery

You make me feel like a real uni student as i relax under the tree listening to bohemian looking philosophy students debating  the consciousness theories, all i over hear now is hair, makeup and the latest sports series!

I miss the fair days where vegetarians were included in the bbq and the various societies would try to get students involved, i should have helped out at the community garden, or maybe turned up to a pagan meeting just for fun because it seems that the further you go down the hill (toward Sturt) campus life just seems to dissolve.

But most of all, how i miss the wholefood store with all kinds of delectable (vegetarian) food, 

Sturt's canteen is hopeless, and sells only junk that clearly needs to be renewed!

from soy crisps and soup, choc covered raspberries an amazing lentil pies;  now i can only choose between pasties, chips and all things fried! :(

At least i have my friends down at Sturt and together we can whinge , but every now and then i like to visit up at main just to remind myself of degrees past, and a life lived of what seems so long ago but also to treat myself the wholefood store where there is great food that i can binge!