I can't believe I forgot to say too that I passed my boards and am now officially a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). So that is very exciting for me; it's what I've been indirectly and directly working toward since early 2006 when I wrote the grant to go to Bali, Indonesia to study prenatal and perinatal customs, and saw my first birth.
Now, unfortunately that doesn't mean I can legally practice in my home state of Iowa yet. This year will be the 3rd year to have legislation at the capital to decriminalize and hopefully license midwives in Iowa. Iowa will hopefully become the 28th state (I believe) to do this. ALL of the other states are currently working to do the same. So if you live in Iowa, get in touch with your state legislator and tell them you support the decriminalization and licencing of midwives in Iowa!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Happy Winter Solstice
Well I'm 18weeks almost (4 1/2 months) and next week we are leaving our Austin lives to be Northerners. I am on a mission to eat as many tamales as possible before then. I think I've already had my fill of breakfast tacos and huevos rancheros by now, but I'll probably slide in another set of each before we leave Friday morning.
I just worked my last shift at YogaYoga, the best yoga studio ever, and probably worked my last shifts as a sub at the Montessori schools and a PRN nurse at a nursing home. Now my work is packing and cleaning. We realized we were doing this exact same thing at this time last year. We had a good laugh and mused: what the hell is wrong with us? hahaha
I've had some recent wonderful Austin experiences lately; trying to cram them in before I live in tiny (wonderful in different ways) Iowa City again. The farmers' market is still going on (temps are in the 50s here) and last Weds Justin and I feasted on vegan, organic tamales at one. A week ago we had a chakra balancing session with Tibetan bowls, where Everitt (one of my yoga instructors) put the bowls along our spines and at our head and feet and played them, as well as played the gong. Last night we went to a winter solstice gong ceremony with probably 50 other people. It started with a short kundalini yoga class, followed by laying back and having the vibrations of gongs wash over us, played by 3 different people. Also yesterday I just happened to walk by my neighbor's house, where they were hanging out and doing cleansing ceremonies with a Huichol Shaman from Mexico. He was delighted that I was pregnant and did a ceremony with me which involved lots of spitting, brushing me with a feather, sucking energy from my body, and rubbing me with something that smelled like alcohol, menthol, and herbs. In the end he said the baby was very happy and healthy.
A less unique experience occurred a few weeks ago, and is really not Austin-esque at all, but it's fairly telling of our lives. We had a giftcard to Walmart (don't ask), which is the only reason we stepped foot in there. Since we never go, it was like an exotic vacation: looking at all the people, experiencing the bright lighting, the smell of rotting produce, etc. Justin mentioned he wanted some coconut ice cream and we doubted they would have it, but wouldn't you know, they did! So we each got a pint, and after making the rounds and getting the full experience of Walmart, we rounded it out by sitting in the McDonalds, using plastic spoons borrowed from them, and ate our coconut milk icecream, while we watched other people spend their Saturday nights as well in the Walmart: working, hanging out, shopping, eating, whatever. Why this story took up a whole paragraph and the stories about solstice ceremony, gongs, tibetan bowls, chakras, and a Huichol shaman had to share a paragraph, is probably also indicitive of where I'm at in my life and what is really "out there" to me. Haha.
We're heading to San Antonio in a bit for Christmas with Justin's family. I'm excited to be making a strawberry rhubarb crisp for them. I ran across rhubarb at the grocery store (eeep imported from Holland!), and just had to get some because Justin has never had it before, because generally they don't sell it down here since it appears they do not grow it...
Loves!
Rachel
gong and bowls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hncJzoAiAw
I just worked my last shift at YogaYoga, the best yoga studio ever, and probably worked my last shifts as a sub at the Montessori schools and a PRN nurse at a nursing home. Now my work is packing and cleaning. We realized we were doing this exact same thing at this time last year. We had a good laugh and mused: what the hell is wrong with us? hahaha
I've had some recent wonderful Austin experiences lately; trying to cram them in before I live in tiny (wonderful in different ways) Iowa City again. The farmers' market is still going on (temps are in the 50s here) and last Weds Justin and I feasted on vegan, organic tamales at one. A week ago we had a chakra balancing session with Tibetan bowls, where Everitt (one of my yoga instructors) put the bowls along our spines and at our head and feet and played them, as well as played the gong. Last night we went to a winter solstice gong ceremony with probably 50 other people. It started with a short kundalini yoga class, followed by laying back and having the vibrations of gongs wash over us, played by 3 different people. Also yesterday I just happened to walk by my neighbor's house, where they were hanging out and doing cleansing ceremonies with a Huichol Shaman from Mexico. He was delighted that I was pregnant and did a ceremony with me which involved lots of spitting, brushing me with a feather, sucking energy from my body, and rubbing me with something that smelled like alcohol, menthol, and herbs. In the end he said the baby was very happy and healthy.
A less unique experience occurred a few weeks ago, and is really not Austin-esque at all, but it's fairly telling of our lives. We had a giftcard to Walmart (don't ask), which is the only reason we stepped foot in there. Since we never go, it was like an exotic vacation: looking at all the people, experiencing the bright lighting, the smell of rotting produce, etc. Justin mentioned he wanted some coconut ice cream and we doubted they would have it, but wouldn't you know, they did! So we each got a pint, and after making the rounds and getting the full experience of Walmart, we rounded it out by sitting in the McDonalds, using plastic spoons borrowed from them, and ate our coconut milk icecream, while we watched other people spend their Saturday nights as well in the Walmart: working, hanging out, shopping, eating, whatever. Why this story took up a whole paragraph and the stories about solstice ceremony, gongs, tibetan bowls, chakras, and a Huichol shaman had to share a paragraph, is probably also indicitive of where I'm at in my life and what is really "out there" to me. Haha.
We're heading to San Antonio in a bit for Christmas with Justin's family. I'm excited to be making a strawberry rhubarb crisp for them. I ran across rhubarb at the grocery store (eeep imported from Holland!), and just had to get some because Justin has never had it before, because generally they don't sell it down here since it appears they do not grow it...
Loves!
Rachel
gong and bowls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hncJzoAiAw
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