Pittsburgh Girlie

10. Oh! Look at Me Now

On May 21st we adopted 3 baby birds. One of them was a baby robin that only needed a safe place overnight and then I reunited it with its nest mates. I didn’t even get a picture of this robin. The other two are cardinals.

So cute and fuzzy!

Unfortunately, one of those baby birds refused to eat. You can probably guess which one, even from that picture there. We did everything we could really, but that doesn’t make it less sad.

Bird Watching

Even Morgan liked hanging out with the bird, affectionately known as ‘PEEPACHEEP!’, Peep for short. I’m pretty sure Morgan doesn’t realize this visitor is a bird. All she knows is Peep peeps a lot, and loudly. However, nowhere near as loudly as the conure parrot The Boy has back at his parents’ house.

By May 26 you could really see a change in Peep. At that point we still referred to it as him simply to avoid confusion with Morgan being a she. Peep started getting some real feathers and loosing some baby fluffy feathers.

Strutting for the Camera

I woke up early one morning about a week ago. Peep was awake but not yet peeping for food, but I opened her cage anyway and she jumped over to the bed and nestled in with me. There I am, cat curled up on one side and baby bird nestled into my neck on the other. Peep had enough after a few minutes and jumped back over to the window, but missed. She managed to mangle her one wing and break it. It was limp and she dragged it. I felt and still feel like the worst bird mama in the world.

We’ve babied her, more than we probably would have. We’ve definitely kept her longer. If she hadn’t broken a wing we would have been able to let her go already. She’s been eating baby food (beef in broth and chicken in gravy – yes I get the irony) and more recently meal worms. It’s so cool to watch her hunt them!

She hung out with me all this evening and even started jump/flying around a bit. Small leaps from one level to another. Then when The Boy came home she was all dancey for him. She lurves to tap dance on the mini cookie sheet we have for the toaster oven. So he put water in it, just enough to cover the bottom. She went nuts! It was great! After her bath she jumped up on top of the toaster oven and start preening, spreading all her feathers. For modesty’s sake I didn’t take a picture of that. I’ll just say she is definitely a she!

Bath Time

I’m just looking at the differences in Peep now. Her beak has changed, not only colors, but in strength. She also lurves to nibble on everything, ears, earrings, noses, lips, you get it. She’s tested every cables on both of our desks and reports back that none of them are in fact worms. Something I’m happy about but she’s probably pretty disappointed.

Another thing; worms are WAY more expensive than baby food!

Psst! More pics on Flickr.

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March For Maddie

I’m walking again* this year for the March of Dimes March for Babies fundraiser. I walked last year because a big group of new friends invited me and it seemed like a cause I would like to support. After signing up I realized that I have a cousin who probably directly benefited from March of Dimes funded research.

In January my nephew was born; he is healthy and (mostly) happy, minus one tiny problem. One of his kidneys is dilated and thus not fully functioning. You’d never know looking at him though, he is the most.gorgeous.baby.ever! (Okay, yes, I am extremely biased here!)

I think a lot of people assume March of Dimes only helps under privileged families and babies. But it’s not true. The research they fund helps all babies. And you can be part of that.

Please click the badge on the right to donate, even $10 will help me reach my goal and help babies. Or visit: http://marchforbabies.com/beth910

The team I’m walking with is walking in honor of Maddie Spohr, more info over here.

Thanks

* I signed up last year, but I was unable to actually walk the day of. Obviously I’m very excited to be actually participating this year.

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Running

When I say running I feel like I’m lying to you a little. What I’m really doing are intervals. Seems silly to say that I’m intervaling though. Is that even a word!? I’m listening to mixes from Podrunner and they are fantastic. I’ve been using these for a while and just discovered the Podrunner Intervals and I love them. I love that they are free; and I really should buy a shirt from them.

I know there are iPhone apps, like Couch to 5K etc, but I wanted to use my Nike+ to track progress and goals. (I have an older Nike+ that only works with my Nano.) The Nike website is a bit bulky and obviously really heavy on the advertising. But, it integrates nicely to twitter and Facebook. I normally don’t like a lot of things between these accounts, however with this the tracking and mini-kudos I get are great.

My brother and sister got me the Nike+ a couple years ago for Christmas. They kept asking what they could get me and I’m loathe to tell people to spend monies on me, especially when I know they don’t really have it. The unit was just under $30 and I still felt terrible asking for it. But I absolutely love it! I spent something like $3 on a pouch for the Nike+ fob that attaches to my shoe laces.

I run in the mornings before work and it really has made me feel better during the day, even if I’m starving. The downside is that I don’t get to brag about it until the evening. When I sync’d Monday evening I got a super cute and lovely “*cheers*” from@aPSUmama. I know she runs and I’m a little jealous that she ran in high school and can run faster/farther/better than I can. But that little congratulatory nudge made getting up on Wednesday morning just a little bit easier.

So, almost one week down. Something like 12 weeks until The Skirt Chaser 5K

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One Day at a Time…

I ran Monday morning. It was super hard to get out of bed, but I knew that I’d be very disappointed if I didn’t get up and just do it. In fact one of the best pieces of advice I got was from @BurghPotPie, “Put on shoes. Propel yourself forward.” I also got loads of advice and encouragement from all over, some unexpected places.

I ran Wednesday. I had to cut it short though and I’m really bummed about that. My ankle hurt. A lot. I had noticed it after I ran on Monday, but I couldn’t pinpoint any reliable movement that would make it twinge. I assumed it was from using muscles I don’t usually use and slapped a brace on it for the evening. But when my whole right foot was in pain and I kept dragging the toe of my shoe up the treadmill I knew it was time to stop. I slowed to a really slow walk to cool down, stretched, and grumbled at myself a lot. Not too interested in really messing up a limb that I kind of like and use quite often.

I will run Friday morning. Even though it means my Friday is going to be reallllly long. I will. I will.

Things I’ve noticed this week:

1. I don’t mind mornings so much, at least not now that the birds are up and chirping away.
2. I need to go to bed waaaaay earlier than I have been if I’m going to continue getting up so early.
3. I’m going to have to figure out better food and a better schedule of eating said better food.

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Pro Educated Choice

I’ve been throwing around the idea of a post like this. It’s fairly controversial though and I was worried about stirring up a lot of emotions without being able to provide substantial evidence, research, etc. My first, very snarky, thought for this post was, “I am pro-abortion! I think more people should have them!” This definitely oversimplifies how I feel and also is the wrong message. I am definitely not willy-nilly about this kind of thing. It’s a very personal decision, it should remain that way, women should have these options. It’s my body and it’s my right to be educated about it and make decisions regarding my carrying, birthing, and possibly raising a child.

Last night a health care reform bill was passed in the House, barely. It was by 5 votes. I do not believe that health care is a right. It is a luxury in the society we have evolved. I do believe, however, that in this society it is absolutely unacceptable that any person should be without it if they so choose. Health insurance companies should not be for-profit either, that is most definitely not in line with the mission statements I was able to find. UPMC’s Overview and Highmark’s Vision, Mission, & Values.

A big item in this bill that passed last night was dealing with the use of Federal money to pay for abortions. An amendment was added to the bill that dictates when money authorized by this bill can and cannot be used to perform abortions. I do not know how Federal funds are being used now for health care. I would like to know more, but with the amount of crap that is out there versus the time I have to sift through it and then process it, I just do not have that luxury.

We’ve all seen those nasty anti-abortion posters people hold up lining the streets going to Magee Women’s Hospital. Guess what? Birth (natural or cesarean) is also nasty, traumatic (for both child and mother), and painful. I remember being ill after having to watch The Miracle of Life in health class in middle school. Nasty. This poster tactic plays on your guilt. Frankly I’d feel a lot more guilty bringing a child into the world that I know or think I wouldn’t be able to provide for or that I know won’t have a decent quality of life. And yes, I as the mother, would be the one to determine the values for the quality of life. Guilt is also a piss poor way to keep children from having children. Just look at the statistics.

Educating people about their bodies should not involve making them feel guilty about the outcome. I didn’t know how sex worked, but I was damn sure that I would get pregnant as soon as my vagina touched a penis. And no I won’t use a cutesy word for vagina or penis. Oprah has done more damage for sex health and education in calling it a va-jay-jay.

Here I could make a sweeping statement about the moral integrity lacking in politicians, with their “family values and illicit affairs” but sweeping statements and generalities are poor excuses for arguments. Instead I’d like to argue that no one else should get to make this decision for me or worse take this choice away from me or any other woman. Dear Politicians, Get out of my uterus! I am pro-choice. Pro Educated Choice. No one is anti-life.

Do not argue religion with me. Religion is not a valid argument here for a political debate, in fact it is changing the subject. Don’t fall for that. If abortion is against your religion and you CHOOSE to follow that, than it was your choice. That is totally acceptable in my book. I may not agree with you, but you had the choice. You get to make the choice for you, not for anyone else. No one ever said this choice would be easy either. If you find, or have found, yourself faced with this decision, you will live with your decision for a long time.

What is not acceptable in my book is religion having a place in law. A person is not evil simply because they do not believe in God. Conversely, a person is not good because they do, or because they attend church. This guilt or innocence by association is, quite frankly, bullshit. The choice is for the woman and anyone else she chooses; be it her doctor, partner, family, or religion. The keyword here is choice. It is her responsibility to make an educated choice.

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