boobies!!

Why is breastfeeding in public such a controversial issue?

reference this article: The 10 Commandments of Dining With Little Kids
(be sure to read the comments to see what I mean)

To me, they all make sense. Admittedly, I am not a mother. I have, however, been out to eat with my nieces and my friends' children. I have paid attention to how children act in restaurants. I've noticed how some parents watch their children closely and make sure they behave, while others seem to not even notice their child is there.

As for breastfeeding, I have personally sewn a nursing cover for my friend who had a baby. It took maybe 2 hours to complete, and I know you can buy them also. It's basically a blanket with a neck strap. You slip it over your neck to cover yourself and the baby. I've seen women use a regular blanket to cover while breastfeeding.

The problem is that some women don't cover anything. They lift up/pull down their shirt, pop out a boob, and let the baby go at it.

Now, I don't agree with how the breast has become so sexualized in our society, but it has. As far as I know, it's not acceptable to flash your boobs in public. So why would it suddenly become acceptable to pull it out and show it off while your baby feeds?

I am not against breastfeeding. Not at all. I was breastfed. My sister breastfed. My friends breastfeed. Breast milk is one of the healthiest things you can feed a baby, if not the healthiest. Yay for breast milk! But it's not an excuse to show off your boobies.

I saw one argument that some women show off more skin in their everyday dress. Well yeah, and some women dress like total skanks, but what does that have to do with feeding your baby? And the fact is, even some strip clubs don't allow the women to show the nipples, which somehow became the point of total breast nudity.

I have witnessed a woman completely exposing her breast to feed her baby. We were in a park in the middle of downtown. I was shocked.

Now to get back to the article, I honestly haven't seen many women who breastfeed at a restaurant. Or if they do, the majority seem to cover themselves with a blanket or nursing cover. Go them. There is also nothing wrong with pumping at home and bringing a bottle of breast milk with you. I know some moms argue that "my baby won't take a bottle." Well, advice straight from my sister's doctor when she had to do just that - if the baby is hungry enough, they will take a bottle.

My niece didn't want to take a bottle, but her mommy had to go to work. Sure enough, after a small battle of wills, she learned to drink from a bottle. She is also one of the smartest 3 year olds I've ever personally met. (I know I'm slightly biased, but really, she is super smart for her age!) Mind you, they completed the battle of wills at home, not in public.

Basically it all comes down to this. People will get offended if you flash your boobs at them, even if you are just doing it to feed your baby. The US is stupid like that. Don't like it? Well it's easy as pie to throw a blanket over your shoulder and cover it up. Also cuts out some of the distractions for the baby. And I won't even get into the perverts that are out there.

I think I've made this long enough. Yay boobs. Yay breastfeeding. But please have some sense enough to cover when in public.

People and their pets

I realize I haven't written in a while. We've moved and just got a new puppy so life is crazy busy. But the puppy (and search for the right one) has inspired this post. It's on the serious side.

So many people get a pet and seem to expect it to be easy. Raising a pet is not a laid back job. I have some new neighbors with 2 dogs. They spend all their time just running around the back yard. They never go inside, and they never go on walks. Let me remind you that I live in the southwest, where it's HOT. These dogs have no exercise except chasing each other around the yard and barking at every little noise. I feel sorry for these dogs. I'm considering offering to walk them.

Then there are all these beautiful animals in the shelters. They post their stories on the kennels. We saw 2 older dogs, 9 years old. Their owners moved and decided the dogs couldn't move with them. They spent 9 long years loving their people only to get dumped at the shelter.

I've seen a craigslist posting where the girl claimed she had to get rid of her dog and cats because she's pregnant. You know, that myth about cats suffocating babies is just that, a myth. I have seen cats sit and watch over babies as though they were their own. My parents had a dog with their first child, and had one dog or another with the other 2 as well. You can have pets and children at the same time. Many, many people have done it.

It hurts me to see these animals being given up for such stupid reasons. "We're moving" is not an excuse. I've moved with my cat multiple times. "We're having a baby" is not an excuse. "I don't have enough time for it" is not an excuse. Animals are living beings, not cute little toys. If you aren't willing to commit to them for as long as they live, then don't even bother.

There are some good people on the craigslist postings. They bring in a pet from the streets and try to find a home for it. They understand they can't care for the animal themselves, but don't just leave it out in the streets.

So please, unless you are willing to commit to the responsibility of owning a pet (exercise, food, vet visits, grooming, love, etc.), don't get one. If you know me personally and make this mistake, be prepared to see the angry side of me. This is one issue I take to heart.

What Are We Becoming?

I keep seeing commercials for paper hand towels for the home. Not the paper towels you use in the kitchen, but towels for the bathroom, for drying your hands. Just like in public bathrooms. And I thought the automatic soap dispenser was lazy.

Apparently, our cloth hand towels are too germy for us to dry our hands on. So we're saving ourselves by using disposable paper towels. You could argue that this also saves the environment by using less water and a renewable resource. However, you could also argue that you're killing tons of trees and adding to the landfills.

My argument? How can we become a nation of germaphobes and still eat the way we do? Seriously, we've all heard about the obesity epidemic, haven't we? We eat fast food and gigantic portions and then sit and watch tv, but we're worried that our soap dispensers and hand towels have too many germs?

Besides, look at how many of us grew up without all this anti-bacterial crap. We're still alive, aren't we? Did we die of some weird flu virus?

I'm of the belief that a little bacteria is good for you. Your immune system can't learn to fight things it's never exposed to. So expose it a little. Go ahead and touch that doorknob! Use that cloth towel! I dare you!

In the mean time, I will continue using my manual-dispenser soap pump and my cloth hand towels. I'll even continue to touch the handle on public restroom doors on my way out. Take that, germaphobes!

I think the big macs and cokes will kill you before the germs on your hand towel. (Assuming you do wash the thing periodically, or at least replace it with a clean one.)

The Joys of Being In The Middle

**Not my usual snarky attitude, but actually a somewhat thoughtful post.**


I am a middle-of-the-road type of girl. I love the word compromise. While I admit there is no way to keep everyone happy, I believe there is almost always a way for everyone to not be as unhappy as they would be otherwise.

I am reminded of my middle ways with the signing of Health Care Reform, and my friends’ posts on Facebook. I have friend on the far-right, the far-left, and everywhere in between. I’ve already seen a comments argument over health care. Today, I am thankful that my far-left friends and far-right friends are (usually) not friends with each other. And I am thankful to be friends with them all.

I often describe myself as a fence-sitter when it comes to hot issues. I can see both sides, and that makes it hard for me to choose just one side. Plus, most of the hot issues are ones that I just am not passionate about. (Bring up bras and finding your true size, then you’ll see me get passionate!) I have never been, and will never be, a political person. While I try to follow what is going on around me, I just can’t get worked up over it.

It’s not that I was raised a certain way, since my father is getting more and more conservative as he ages, and yet it is that I was raised a certain way. Let me explain. My parents taught me to survive, no matter what. Whatever life throws at me, I will find my way through to the other side. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger (yes, cliché, but I believe it).

So let’s look at Health Care Reform (HCR). In my opinion, I cannot control this. Sure, I can have my say, but I cannot control it myself. I can control my own personal circle, my personal life, so I will focus the majority of my energy there. It has taken me 29 years to understand that. If HCR is here to stay, I will make sure that I know how to get myself and my family through it. If it changes, I will still get through it.

Now, I’m not saying anyone should stop being passionate about politics or HCR. If you are passionate about it, follow your passion. But as long as my passion lays more along the lines of bras, books, and music, I will stay happily in the middle of the road, and keep my friends on either side of me.

They're Playing What on Animal Planet??

Today's rant: TV channels that can't stick to their niche.

It started with MTV. You remember Music Television, don't you? The channel that played music videos? Well, at first. Now I scan right past MTV since it's usually playing a movie or stupid series that really has little to nothing to do with music.

Other channels are doing the same thing. Look at ScyFy (previously SciFi). They had to change the way they spelled their name when fewer and fewer shoes were actually considered science fiction. I will admit that I still watch the new ScyFy.

And now, my beloved Animal Planet is going to have "I Shouldn't Be Alive." Um, wasn't that from Discovery Channel? I know their owned by the same company and closely related, but what does a survival story show have to do with animals? Put it back on Discovery Channel, where it fits in with the programming.

And please, Animal Planet, give me more dog shows. I'm tired of seeing the same one every Saturday morning. They aren't as much fun when you know who's going to win.

You Call That Art?

Look! Two posts in one afternoon!

To all of you out there, Photoshop does NOT make you an artist!

I was looking at a photography website. This girl is trying to be a professional photographer. I say trying because 1.) she needs to remove the stupid music from every page on her site, and 2.) she needs to back off the Photoshop!

It's like some people think that with Photoshop, they can take crappy pictures and still make money. Now, this girl actually had some good pictures, but the majority of them had at least 1 Photoshop filter applied to them, and half of them made absolutely no sense! Using PS (Photoshop is too much to type each time) filters is a cheat, not a fix. Sure, you can fix some red eye or focus in PS, but it should not be relied on to make a good photo. And knowing how to apply a filter to a photo does not make it art or you an artist.

Look, photography takes skill and talent. I am quite lacking in those skills and talents, but at least I don't try to PS my pics into something "artsy." I believe that if your photos can't stand on their own, without being "touched up," then maybe you shouldn't be taking so many pictures.

When your POA is a POS...

Slightly more personal rant today.

I mentioned that I'm an Army wife. We are trying to get a house on the Fort. The housing office, however, seems to not care.

See, they have this list. When you fill out an application for housing, they put you on the list, because there isn't enough housing for everyone (and they say there's not enough demand to build more?!?). Well, I have not met a single person that made it past number 30 on that list. Not a one.

It seems that, no matter what that biatch in the housing office says, they do not follow the list. Instead, when you call or stop by, if they have a house available, they offer it to you.

Now, what is the point of having a system, and a list, and a whole Plan of Action laid out, when you do not then follow that plan?

For now I am following the same course of action as everyone else and we are going to call or stop by every day until they have a house for us. But I seriously want to see them properly use the system they have in place. grrr!