Archive for denise on…
hello gym!
Posted by: | CommentsFor several years, while I worked in North San Jose, I went to the Gold’s Gym “Airport location” by 101/San Tomas. When my job changed, and I was no longer going to North San Jose, I moved to the Gold’s Gym in Campbell, also near San Tomas. One evening, I was leaving the Campbell gym and noticed a bum walking around inside the gym. I know for certain he is a homeless bum because I’ve seen him on the streets pushing his buggy many times before. After that, I never went back to Gold’s Gym, and I canceled my membership shortly thereafter.
I began looking for another gym, and ended up at Club One Santana Row. The membership dues were about $15 more per month, but the amenities are a lot nicer. Gold’s Gym is all business. At Gold’s Gym, the only fragrances are sweat and more sweat. The only signs on the wall are instructing members to not throw the iron around, and I think there are a few posters of professional body builders (including Arnold Schwarzenegger). The locker room is tired, dark and dingy looking, but clean and well kept. There are no steam rooms, “luxury” shower stalls, saunas, endless supply of clean towels, child care, or spa services like massages and facials. There are no treadmills with personal TVs and personal fans. All of which they do have at Club One.
All that said, I absolutely LOVE Gold’s Gym (Airport location). The amount of weight training equipment is probably 10 times what they have at Club One, and it is much easier to use and more comfortable. The other people who are working out at Gold’s Gym are there to work out. Not to be see and be seen by others (not a meat market). And, Gold’s Gym knows you’re there to work hard, so they keep it very cool inside. Club One keeps a comfortable temperature for watching TV, not working out!
So, yesterday I “re-joined” Gold’s Gym, and I am so excited about getting back in the gym. I only wish I could go more than 2 days per week!
My job as a Mother…
Posted by: | CommentsAs the co-founder of the Loo Family, my current job responsibilities are:
I am the exclusive provider of nutrition to the Little Loos until they are ready to experiment with solids. I continue to provide primary nutrition throughout the weaning process, which is determined by the Little Loo.
Teach the Little Loos the finer points of life like table manners, conversational English, ABC’s, 123’s, colors, objects like trees, flowers, cars, dogs, cats, bears, lions, etc.
I also focus on teaching these Little Loos the dangers of closing doors and drawers on fingers, staying out of the street, not touching a hot stove/oven, keeping clear of the toilet, etc. The least enjoyable aspect of this job is the discipline. Sometimes I must issue a verbal warning to correct bad behaviors.
Change more dirty diapers per day than I care to count.
Wife and partner to the other co-founder of the Loo Family.
Manage inventory of daily consumables including everything from toilet paper, diapers and soap to veggies, fruits and other food stuff.
Prepare and serve at least 3 meals and more snacks than I can count per day.
Provide laundry services for this family of four.
Maintain the home at a minimum that will not violate any health codes.
Fix things when they break.
Design and make Halloween costumes.
Manage external contractors who are hired for specific tasks like install a new patio, irrigation and new plants.
Research and verify advice given by doctors and other health care professionals. This is almost a full time job in itself!
This position does not provide “sick time”, vacations, days off, no retirement/pension, etc. I consider myself lucky if I get to eat lunch, and bathroom breaks are hard to come by!
This position does have its perks, though. I get to dance with a 2 year old. I get lots of hugs and kisses, and hearing the sweetest little voice saying “Mommy” makes my heart melt even when I’m having a bad day.
Oh, being pregnant and giving birth…does that count? I’ve done that twice now in 2 years.
Whew…I feel like I’ve been busy!
Facebook…
Posted by: | CommentsLast week, two people ask me if I’m “on facebook”, so I decided to check it out. I’m already on “Linked in”, but had not created a profile on facebook. While creating my profile on facebook, I realized I don’t have a “current employer”, so I wrote my current job responsibilities as a Mother. It was the most difficult of all my “jobs” to describe, and also turned out to be the most lengthy…gee, I wonder why!?
So, I’m on facebook now, if you wanna look me up. 
acupuncture works!
Posted by: | CommentsWith Katie, I started having “pre-term labor” at 35 weeks. These often very intense contractions did not stop until the day I had her, at 40 weeks + 2 days. My midwife had suggested I consider acupuncture to help with some muscle/tendon pain that I had been having, and by the time I got in to see the acupuncturist I was 2 days late. She assumed I was there for an “induction”, and I decided whatever she might try would be fine–contractions every 3-5 minutes for most of the last 5 weeks was really taking its toll on my mind and body.
Long story short, I got to the acupuncturist office at 3pm, had 3 needles inserted by 3:10pm, and started having “active labor” by 3:20. At 4:14 we were in traffic, about 5 minutes from home, and I told Roger I needed to push! Roger had our midwife on the phone, who by this time was also on her way to our house, but she was stuck in traffic. She told Roger that he might have to deliver this baby. Now that the event is over, I really wish I could have seen the look on Roger’s face when she said that. At the time I was curled up in the back of the van, on the floor, dealing with labor. But can you imagine Roger’s reaction when he thought he would be delivering a baby!?
As it turned out, Katie was not born for another hour and a half, so there was plenty of time. But quite frankly, if I had not gotten out of the van when I did, I may have seriously had the baby in the van!
It was not until after the birth that Roger and my midwife discussed the details of the acupuncture visit. When I started active labor, I ask the acupuncturist to call Roger and get him back to the office (he had taken Julie out for a walk). She was so super duper calm, that when she said, “things are RAMPING up here”, he thought she said, “things are WRAPPING up here”, so he took his sweet time coming back! He says that when he got in the room, and saw me crying, he thought I just had “an emotional session”. Even the midwife said she didn’t sense the urgency in the acupuncturist’s voice. With me, she didn’t mince words. She looked me straight in the eye (and with a very calm voice) said, “I think you’re in active labor!”. And when Roger did finally get back to the office, she ask him how far the drive would be to get home, and when he said 15 minutes, she had a very concerned look on her face, and I think she said something like: try to hurry!
Of course, everything worked out perfectly. My midwife was here in plenty of time to get set up and my doula lives close by, and she was able to drop everything and be here within just a few minutes.
Someone has since ask me if it could have been a coincidence that I went into labor while having the acupuncture treatment, and my answer to that is that it was definitely NOT a coincidence. The acupuncturist noted a “change in my energy” when she checked my pulse before and after putting in the needles. At the time, I thought it was a little hokey-pokey that she noticed such a big difference, but since she produced results, now I’m a firm believer! My midwife says she’s never experienced anyone responding so quickly and positively to acupuncture treatment. And the acupuncturist told me that only one other time has a woman gone into active labor during treatment, and she ended up driving that woman to the hospital. So I guess my results were a little “unusual”, but the acupuncturist believes I was already “ripe and ready”, and that was just the little nudge I needed.
I admit to being somewhat of a skeptic at first. When we arrived at the office, we parked behind a car with a license plate frame that said, “acupuncture works!”. I told Roger, “ha! we’ll see about that!”. I also said that if it DID work, I would get one of those frames and put it on my car. Now I have to find one of those frames!
Two Under Two
Posted by: | Comments…years old, that is! It’s kinda old news now…but yes, there’s a little sister in the works! I’m due mid-September. Hey, sweetie!…I’m pregnant! And NO, I can not go on rides at Great America!
For a while her name was Emily. With Julie, we decided on her name within a few weeks of knowing she was a girl, and that name always felt right. We decided on Emily around the same time during this pregnancy, but it doesn’t seem to fit. Roger probably thinks I’m crazy, but to me she already has a personality, and Emily doesn’t match what I know about her personality so far. My top pick is still Grace, second is Katie. Roger likes Katie so we’re gonna test drive that for a while. Good thing there’s still time to change our minds again!
The Future of Food
Posted by: | CommentsLately I’ve been hearing about GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) aka GE’s (Genetic Engineered) for humans, but it wasn’t until I learned more about it that I realized why it’s so bad for us!
“The Future of Food” is great film that explains GMO’s and talks about the science and politics behind it. The film is 1 1/2 hour, which took me a day or two to watch all the way through (because I’m also caring for Julie), but it was well worth the investment of time.
There’s lots of things that disturb me about GMO’s, but perhaps the biggest is the fact that we (the consumer) have no idea if we’re eating GMO’s. Even if food packages and produce were labeled (which they are not), some farmers claim they have no idea that GMO seeds have taken root in their fields. One farmer interviewed in the film claims that he only learned he had GMO seeds when Monsanto filed a lawsuit against him for patent infringement. GMO crops are indistinguishable from non-GMO crops. According to the farmer’s neighbor, a truck load of GMO seeds was passing by his farm when the tarp blew off, and seeds were blown into the air, settling in his field. The farmer first noticed something different when he sprayed Round-up (a weed/grass poison) around power poles in his field and his crop didn’t die–he dismissed it, thinking that the weeds must have built a tolerance to the poison. This is in fact one of the patented “features” of Monsanto’s seed. It’s called “Round-up Ready”. They take the active ingredient DNA in Round-up, and insert it in the DNA of other crops. This enables a farmer to dump loads of poison on the crops, killing pest weeds and grasses, but not killing the crop. There is a lot still unknown about GMO’s and how they will impact our health in the long run–this is one of the reasons that lots of other nations have stopped accepting imports of certain American foods.
Some scientist and scholars say that the methods used to make these genetic changes to seeds further compromise the seed to unknown viruses and bacteria that most likely will have long term effects on our health. Accordng to the film, scientists penetrate the cell of the seed using e. coli bacteria and “cauliflower virus”. Lots of studies have been done on animals, and the results are disturbing at best. There are lots of unexplainable problems including illnesses, stomach lesions, sterility, damaged immune systems, development of severe allergies, and death.
Now I use this list as a reference of processed foods. This list contains both non-GE and GE foods.
