Thou and Thou Only

Pro-Life Law and Order Episode

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:42:00 +0000

It doesn't go so far as to say Roe v Wade should be overturned, but one of the characters does say it should be revisited. About half the major characters in the show were pro-life, and they weren'tall crazy fanatics. I was shocked to see such a fair portrayal from Hollywood! Watch the episode for yourself and let me know what you think of it.

NIH hearings on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:21:00 +0000

The NIH hearings were prompted by a 2009 study published in Science that linked Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with a retrovirus (XMRV), which is a virus that encorporates itself into the host's genome. Probably the most famous retrovirus is HIV, which is a similar virus, but certainly not the same as XMRV. About 2/3 of CFS patients were infected with the virus, compared to about 3% of the control population.

It is important, I think, to note that CFS has been linked with viruses in the past that were later found to be by-products of the disease (CFS causes immune dysfunction) rather than being the cause, so there needs to be more research done before we jump to any conclusions. However, one of the characteristics of CFS is a sudden onset with flu-like symptoms, and that indicates a viral cause. And the fatigue associated with CFS has been described as similar to late stage AIDS, which makes a retrovirus seem somewhat likely. I do hope this virus is the cause, because until the cause is known it will be difficult to find a cure.

This is an important topic for my family, as my mom and aunt both have the disease. My mom's case is mild, for which we are all grateful, but my Aunt's case is much more severe. My aunt is a leader of her local support group and was possibly one of the subjects of the study (she thinks she might have been).

The most interesting video to the layman is this one, but if you're interested in the details of the virus and transmission, watch all of the videos here. The second day hearings aren't up yet. They deal with the blood supply, whether CFS can be transmitted via blood transfusion, etc.

I also thought it was fascinating the link he made in this video between retroviruses and MS, Autism, and Fibromyalgia. Clearly there is much more work to be done in this field!

Music Appreciation Monday: Serenade for Strings

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:26:00 +0000

Composed by Edward Elgar, conducted by Ramon Tebar, performed by the Spanish Radio Television Orchestra. This is a beautiful piece, quiet and slightly mournful. It's excellent baby-sleeping music, too. :-)

First movement, Allegro piacevole*:

Second movement, Larghetto:

Third movement, Allegretto

*piacevole means "agreeable"

Japanese Curry

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:22:00 +0000

I love curry rice, but I don't like how much MSG is in the pre-packaged curry roux blocks. Unfortunately, I had not been able to duplicate the flavor in homemade versions. The flavor always fell short - mostly because all the recipes call for bullion,which I never add. But this recipe? Excellent! It's the Worcestershire sauce* and ketchup that does it, I think. Seriously good eats.

I added sweet potatoes and mushrooms and left out the peas (because I didn't have any). I also didn't use the apple puree. Served over japgok, it was an excellent meal, and really very healthy.

I do need to find a cheaper source for curry powder. I'm getting tired of paying $4 for a tiny jar at the grocery store that only lasts through 3 meals of curry or so. Any good ideas?

*To the best of my knowledge, my Worcestershire sauce does not have any MSG. It does, however, have ingredients (like anchovies) that have naturally-occurring glutamate. You might remember from my discussion of fermented soybean paste that glutamate is the key to getting tasty and savory food

Music Appreciation Monday: Ong Dal Saem

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:07:00 +0000

I freely admit this wasn't my own idea. My sister, as far as I know, was the inventor of the term and I haven't asked to use it. But I don't think she'll mind, especially since her last MAM was in January. I'm planning on posting classical music, folksongs, and hymns that we're listening to at our own house. (If I can keep up with my bloggy habits while I have a baby crawling all over the house, I might even consider turning this into a Mr Linky deal, too, complete with a banner.)

But enough of that. Ong Dal Saem (옹달샘) is a Korean song about a mountain spring and a rabbit who comes to drink from it early in the morning. The tune is the same as the German song Drunten Im Unterland, but the meaning is completely different. Here is a rough translation of the Korean lyrics (Junkmale or Iris can correct me if I've made any gross mistranslations):

Deep in the mountains is a spring.
Who will come to take a drink?
Clear and pure is spring,
Who will come to take a drink?
In the dawn a rabbit
Rubs his eyes and wakes up
He came to wash his face
He drinks water, then he goes.

This is my favorite version, with all the parts sung by the same person. It is based on a single from a popular Korean boy band, TVXQ. They titled the song "Mountain Spring":

And here we have two adorable boys singing the song, complete with hand motions:

And lastly, the tune used as a background for a yogurt commercial:

For Christians - Halloween or Not?

noreply@blogger.com (JunkMale) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:42:00 +0000

(otherwise known as "let's have some controversy on the old blog.")

As the title states, the question is for the Christian readers of this blog. I am particularly interested in the opinions of the church of Christ readers, especially since it seems like we are the only family in our church who does not celebrate Halloween. But I will gladly accept opinion of those in other denominations ;)

Do you or don't you? Why? Have you ever considered doing the opposite? At any point, did you do differently than what you do now? What convinced you to do differently?

It is a conscience issue for me, per Romans 14. It bothers my conscience to take part in such activities, so I do not do it. I will leave it at that, unless you want to take it to the comments. As I mentioned before, it seems like it's us and a smattering of Baptists who do not take part. This means we miss out on a big Halloween party every year. In a few years we will no doubt have to explain to Pearl why everyone else gets to do it, but she (we) does not. Believe me, sometimes I wish my conscience were fine with it; life would be a bit easier.

I also feel similarly about Christians' propensity for the traditional Easter things like egg hunts and Easter bunnies and whatnot.

Let's hear your opinions.

Sick Mama

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:22:00 +0000

I have to marvel at how well God protects little babies from illness. Here I am, sick as a dog (no offense intended to Luna ;-), having certainly spent the last week sharing every germ I have with Pearl, and she only has a little cough!

On a side note, it isn't helping me recover faster when a certain baby wants to eat every two hours overnight. I wonder if this was because my supply has dropped due to being sick, or if it was due to all my loud coughing and blowing of my nose? Or perhaps it's just how mildly sick babies eat? Whatever the reason, she actually did eat all 7 of those times last night.

Also, I'd just like to say that ginger tea is amazing. That is all.

Luna's Raw Diet Starts Anew

noreply@blogger.com (JunkMale) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:57:00 +0000

That Luna, she's got a lot of heart.

...dehydrating in the garage at 125 degrees F, since 6 PM yesterday.

A few weeks before Pearl was born, we switched Luna over to high quality canned food, then eventually to high quality dry food. We did this because we wanted to eliminate possibilities for Pearl to catch food-borne illness from Luna's licks, which were and sometimes still are quite plenty. After we stopped the raw diet, we did deep cleanings of the house.

Mostly we were concerned with Luna's fondness for licking faces, but now that she has been with Pearl for 4 months, she knows that licking Pearl's face means getting swatted. Sometimes I'll put her right to her face to see what she'll do, and Luna will sniff and turn her face away. "I must flee temptation!"

I also started to cut the contents of a bag labeled "Organs" but when I offered some to Luna, she sniffed and turned away. I'm not quite sure what organ it is, nor am I sure what animal it came from, but it did have a bit of an "off" odor to it. I just figured it was the normal smell of an animal product which we never buy for ourselves, but I guess Luna decided that she didn't want it.

I've decided that from now on, I will dehydrate all organ meats for Luna. It's a bit of work every time I have to dehydrate, but I think it's much more convenient after that. Undehydrated organs can only stay unthawed for so long before they start getting gross. Dehydrated organ pieces stay in the freezer - I can take a piece out and give it to Luna and don't have to go through the hand washing process that I do with undehydrated (I still do rinse though). Also, if the power were to go out for an extended period of time, dehydrated organs will be much less likely to go bad. Related to this is that dehydrated organs are MUCH more convenient for travel.

(I don't believe there's as much nutrient loss from dehydration. This is also why I dehydrated at such a low temperature, for meats.)

Of course, I do realize that heart is closer to a muscle meat than an organ, so I will have to dig through our chest freezer and attempt to find some liver, the best multivitamin a dog can get. We will be in the vicinity of one of the big Asian grocery stores this weekend, so we'll be able to stock up there, if I can't find liver already in our possession.

Luna's in for some treats the next couple of months. We have the usual chicken leg quarters, but we also have duck feet, goat pieces, whole sardines, and one gutted/skinned rabbit.

Can Christians Ever Disobey Ridiculous Laws?

noreply@blogger.com (JunkMale) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:22:00 +0000

(ah finally, it's been too long since a Christianity + politics and junk and stuff blog post...)

The subject of this post has come into my mind a few times recently, brought on because Harmony is pumping breast milk for a friend of our's who is staunchly committed to breastfeeding, is due with her fourth child, but has been troubled by low milk supply (I'm sure she's tried all the remedies) with all previous children (I think).

Christians are supposed to subject themselves to the laws of the land. So says Romans 13:

1Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
2Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

3For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;

4for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

5Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake.

6For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.

7Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Obviously we are supposed to obey God rather than man, so unless man's law contradict's God's, we are to follow it. If the government were to pass some sort of ridiculous law saying that any/all breast milk must be tested in an expensive procedure before being allowed the possibility of being shared, what to do in that situation? (Think that's too ridiculous to be plausible? Go to the Common Room blog and search for the term "CPSIA," for extensive blog entries about the subject) I have a bad feeling that a law such as that one would not directly violate any of God's laws...

BUT...

Perhaps there would be loopholes in the law that Christians could find and heavily exploit, as long as exploiting the loophole did not involve any sort of deceit or illegal activity (notice the phrasing where I do not include deceit as an illegal activity, for if it were so, all politicians would be in jail, where probably most of them belong anyways). Then again, would that sort of interpretation/exploitation of loopholes be Pharasaical? Would we cease to be following the spirit/intention of the law? (then AGAIN, we are not dealing with exploitation of perceived loopholes in God's law, but man's.)

Of course, some would say "but think of the CHILDREN...what if someone were to try to hurt your children by passing them bad milk...??? So we must outlaw unregulated breast milk in all forms." My question does not pertain to getting milk from a milk bank or whatever; it concerns getting milk from someone you know, from a friend who would never think to give spoiled milk to anyone, much less a friend with a new baby.

I know that this blog has several readers (maybe even the vast majority) who are firmly supportive of breastfeeding, who also happen to have similar Christian worldviews as we do. You know who you are, and I would like to hear from you. I'll also take comments from people who do not share similar views as we do (and you know who you are) ;) What do you think?

Just Checking

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Are we quite sure Obama didn't win the Ig Nobel Prize?

If Only...

noreply@blogger.com (JunkMale) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:47:00 +0000

Don't look too closely, you'll see a messy house, bad photography, and bad editing. But if there were really three of me, the house wouldn't be as messy, and I would have more time for photography and editing.

4-month Book List

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 12:44:00 +0000

For posterity's sake....

I posted about 2 months ago about the books Pearl was enjoying. Here's a list of the books she enjoys now that she's nearly 4 months old:

*Peek-a Who?
*But Not the Hippopotamus
*Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
*Goodnight Moon
*Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
*Rosie's Walk
*A Child's Garden of Verses (the shorter poems*)
*some Eric Carle books (these are hit and miss - she loves the illustrations but the books are long)
*Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
*some Mother Goose nursery rhymes

Occasionally I'll get her to sit through something much more advanced. She seemed to like The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses and she sat all the way through Lentil. And she will usually sit through Corduroy. And of course, I'm still reading aloud to her from whatever book I happen to be reading - but that's usually in a soft, soothing voice right when she's almost asleep.

In general, she likes most stories that have 1) funny sounds; 2) a rhythm; 3) brilliant illustrations. That's not surprising, but I am surprised at how long her attention span is when she enjoys the book. It's obvious which books she likes because she'll stare at them and sit still for ages. When she doesn't like what we're reading, she fusses and cries after a page or two.

What did your babies like to read at this age?

*By "shorter" I mean ones with short lines, not poems with few words. As long as the rhythm and rhyme pattern repeats quickly enough, she is enthralled. Example: A Good Boy bores her (although it's short enough we can get through it), but Picture-books in Winter is fine.

Tips for getting housework done

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:48:00 +0000

I need help. Pearl never was very good at sleeping by herself, but now she refuses to even sleep in the swing. Naps must be done while in someone's arms, and woe betide anyone who dares move her while she is sleeping. The nap will then end within 5 minutes, regardless of how long you wait before setting her as-gently-as-possible down. She has also decided that there are only two options for what to do when she is awake: nurse her or give her 100% of my attention by talking to her, playing games with her, or singing to her. Anything where I'm not looking her directly in the eyes is cause for crying. And my Moby wrap is hit or miss - although usually miss these days. The laundry and cooking are accomplished with a screaming baby in the background, only because I know these have to be done.

I didn't mind so much for the first 3 months bacause I figured the first 3 months are crazy anyway. And for a while it seemed that things were going to get better - she did take one nap in her bassinet. But she has regressed, and I'm not willing to let this state of affairs become the new normal. So does anyone have any strokes of brilliance for how I'm going to get the house back in order?

(I have had two wonderful people offer to come hold Pearl while I clean house, and that's definitely an option... but it's not a long-term solution, is it?)

The Taste of Home

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:36:00 +0000

This is for all you displaced North Carolinians who miss that good old vinegary barbecue*. And I know we've got at least 4 displaced Carolinians who read this blog. This recipe isn't perfect, but it's amazingly close. Just a tad bit too much salt and slightly too little vinegar and sugar.

Eastern North Carolina Style Barbecue

2 lbs boneless pork shoulder
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
a few dashes liquid smoke

Put these in a slow cooker and cook on low for 10 hours (or high for 5). You might want to put your slow cooker out in the garage or on the back porch, if you don't like the idea of your house smelling like vinegar. Pull the pork, and then mix in:

2 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 3/4 tsp hot sauce
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Enjoy. :-) Oh, and for all you yankees out there: The word barbecue? It's so NOT a verb.

*I know, I know, I hate vinegar. But... this is just how barbecue is supposed to be!

Why Does Linguini Exist?

noreply@blogger.com (JunkMale) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:37:00 +0000

Really, what is the point of linguini? You want round noodles? You got spaghetti. You want flat noodles? Let me introduce you to fettuccine. What can linguini do that spaghetti or fettuccine can't?

Someone just got lazy one day while making fettuccine (crushed spaghetti) and said "I don't feel like squashing as much today, I'll invent something called linguini and then my laziness can be disguised as a revolutionary new product."

Pearl's Rules for the Junk House

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:01:00 +0000

Baby must be held at all times
Sitting down is strictly verboten
Standing still while holding a baby is also strictly verboten
If you must do chores around the house (all chores, as a rule, are discouraged), they must not be ones like folding laundry or cooking dinner, which require the do-er to stand in one place
Daddy must never, ever play his computer games
Baby must never be worn in a baby carrier facing inwards
Baby must never be put down to sleep someplace where she cannot touch a parent
Eating is a luxury only Baby should be afforded

Failure to observe these rules shall result in swift and severe punishment.

This PSA is brought to you by Pearl, who is even now reminding me that I am breaking rule #2.

Baek-il Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (JunkMale) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:09:00 +0000

Baek-il

noreply@blogger.com (JunkMale) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:14:00 +0000

Today is the day. Pearl is 100 days old! Preparations have been going on since about 6 PM yesterday. My parents are on the other side of Atlanta at the big Asian grocery store, picking up rice cakes and other assorted food decorations.

...and baek-il (pronounced more like BEG-il, use the tip of your tongue to pronounce the "L" if you have any idea how to do that) is the smaller of the two traditional baby celebrations. My parents spent quite a while yesterday setting up the tables and the backdrop for pictures. No doubt they will go even crazier for her first birthday (dol). There will be traditional clothes (hanbok) involved for that one too.

Unfortunately, it is a dreary day outside. I had planned on taking pictures at a pretty gazebo in our neighborhood. Normally I like and welcome dreary days, but it seems like every time I want it to be sunny, the weather ends up being like this. I will have to do the best I can in our poorly lit house.

I will be taking lots of pictures today, of which you will get to see some. Those of you lucky enough to have access to our Picasa album will probably see a few more ;)

The Divorce Divide

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:19:00 +0000

How divorce has largely become a class issue since the revolution of the 60s and 70s. HT to my dad. Much, much more at the link. Please read it all.

"The divorce revolution's collective consequences for children are striking. Taking into account both divorce and non-marital childbearing, sociologist Paul Amato estimates that if the United States enjoyed the same level of family stability today as it did in 1960, the nation would have 750,000 fewer children repeating grades, 1.2 million fewer school suspensions, approximately 500,000 fewer acts of teenage delinquency, about 600,000 fewer kids receiving therapy, and approximately 70,000 fewer suicides every year. As Amato concludes, turning back the family-stability clock just a few decades could significantly improve the lives of many children.

....

The good news is that, on the whole, divorce has declined since 1980 and marital happiness has largely stabilized. The divorce rate fell from a historic high of 22.6 divorces per 1,000 married women in 1980 to 17.5 in 2007. In real terms, this means that slightly more than 40% of contemporary first marriages are likely to end in divorce, down from approximately 50% in 1980. Perhaps even more important, recent declines in divorce suggest that a clear majority of children who are now born to married couples will grow up with their married mothers and fathers.

....

A third reason for the stabilization in divorce rates and marital happiness is not so heartening. Put simply, marriage is increasingly the preserve of the highly educated and the middle and upper classes. Fewer working-class and poor Americans are marrying nowadays in part because marriage is seen increasingly as a sort of status symbol: a sign that a couple has arrived both emotionally and financially, or is at least within range of the American Dream. This means that those who do marry today are more likely to start out enjoying the money, education, job security, and social skills that increase the probability of long-term marital success.

And this is where the bad news comes in. When it comes to divorce and marriage, America is increasingly divided along class and educational lines. Even as divorce in general has declined since the 1970s, what sociologist Steven Martin calls a "divorce divide" has also been growing between those with college degrees and those without (a distinction that also often translates to differences in income). The figures are quite striking: College-educated Americans have seen their divorce rates drop by about 30% since the early 1980s, whereas Americans without college degrees have seen their divorce rates increase by about 6%. Just under a quarter of college-educated couples who married in the early 1970s divorced in their first ten years of marriage, compared to 34% of their less-educated peers. Twenty years later, only 17% of college-educated couples who married in the early 1990s divorced in their first ten years of marriage; 36% of less-educated couples who married in the early 1990s, however, divorced sometime in their first decade of marriage."

Pearl is Three Months Old

noreply@blogger.com (JunkMale) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:35:00 +0000

Three months ago at this time, Pearl was about 5 hours old and weighed about half as much as she does. I'm not quite sure if I was sleeping at this point, but I sure did need it. I got less than 10 hours of sleep in three days, I think. Visitors at the hospital took pictures, but I cannot remember being in them.

What follows are random things that I remember from the past three months.

It was drizzly on the way home from the hospital. We played Vivaldi's Four Seasons on the way home, and I told Pearl that it's never too early for homeschooling. Harmony had to steady her head the whole way home because her neck was so floppy.

I don't really remember much from when we got home. But I do remember going into the closet to take a nap, because I don't sleep well when it's light, and it's pretty dark in the closet.

She was in premie clothes for a while, and most of our cloth diapers were way too big for her. I don't quite remember when we transitioned to cloth diapers full time.

Watch out for nystatin! We suspect it's what caused her a couple weeks of colic-y behavior.

She used to hate being naked, but now she loves getting diaper changes. She hates having a shirt pulled off over her head though.

One of her favorite activities used to be staring at the wall, but now she LOVES ceiling fans, on or off. She will stare at them, smile at them, and sometimes even talk to them. Good old ceiling fan friend.

She didn't get her first bath until between one or two weeks, I think. Currently she averages about two baths a week. Some people bathe their babies every night. Personally, I think it's unnecessary (except for when it IS necessary, like barf or whatever), but what do you think?

I tell people that aside from being Asian, she doesn't look very much like me at all. They laugh as if I were telling a joke, but actually I am being quite serious. Perhaps she will come to look more like me in the future, but comparing to when I was her age, we don't look a thing alike (again, aside from being Korean). I guess we all do look alike then :p I told Harmony that next time I saw a full white baby, that I would pull aside a completely unrelated adult and say "wow you look SO much alike!" My parents think that she looks just like Harmony.

If you are ever planning to take pictures in similar settings to track your baby's growth, make sure not to use a shirt as the comparison item, because it's a big hassle to change a baby's clothes in order to take progress pictures. Instead, use something like a hat or a stuffed animal, so you can prep easily and take the picture and be done. We were/are using a little GT shirt, but have been quite bad about actually taking pictures to mark her progress.

She looks full Korean, but she has such big beautiful eyes. Korean women spend lots of money on surgery in order to attempt to have eyes like her's. Her hair has been getting gradually more brown, which Korean women also imitate by putting all sorts of chemicals in their hair.

She has the muscle condition torticollis, which explains why she favors her left side much more than her right. Fortunately, it's a very mild case and will be easy to correct, since she is so young. The physical therapist congratulated Harmony at the first appointment, since she could very well have been the only mother who has not brought her baby in one of those bucket carseats. She also mentioned that we were already unknowingly doing a lot of the right things, such as not laying her on her back, carrying her over the shoulder, carrying her facing outward, carrying her in the crook of an arm, etc.

Her 100 day celebration will be on September 11th. No dressing up in hanbok yet, but there will still be traditional foods and some traditional decorations, and many pictures to be taken.

She will be going to her first pit barbecue on Monday. At church, of course ;)

If there's anything else you'd like to know about Pearl, feel free to ask in the comments.

Grandparents' Disease

noreply@blogger.com (JunkMale) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:38:00 +0000

Pearl's 100 day celebration* is coming up very soon, on September 11th. Harmony and I had always planned on doing something to celebrate this traditional (vestigial) Korean milestone, with or without extended family. When I mentioned it to my parents a while ago, they were not sure what they would do.

As time went on, it was said that my mom would fly up here for the weekend, because supposedly my dad did not have enough vacation time to take the time off. Well, he must've dug around and found some, because he is also coming up. They said they would get here this coming Sunday evening, since they don't like to miss their church services.

It was said that they would be here Friday at 1 AM (my dad likes to drive through the night) and that we should leave a key hidden so they could come in unannounced.

...

Now they say they are getting here Thursday evening around 9 or 10 PM. The JunkFamily is not really trusting them to meet those times and I do believe we will be prepared to receive them as early as this evening. I do not actually believe they will be here this evening, but I definitely don't put it past them to get here much earlier than 9 PM on Thursday. They just can't help themselves ;)

Becoming a grandparent also gives you grandparents' disease, apparently. A mental illness reducing sensible, reserved people into frothing maniacs. Then again, I would also be a frothing maniac if I only got to see my dear little Pearl only a few times a year except for webcam and pictures.

* - We will not be incorporating any of those polytheistic pagan practices. We will incorporate traditional Korean food and decorations though. Any prayers had will definitely not be to any non-existent Korean gods.

Speaking of Breakfast Burritos...

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:24:00 +0000

JunkMale mentioned our new, delicious breakfast in his last post. I love breakfast burritos. They are tasty, reasonably healthy, and should be filling. Unfortunately, we both were hungry 1.5 hours after eating one. Now can someone tell me why breakfast burritos - full as they are with protein, fat, and whole grains - would make us hungry when a bowl of overnight oats (with its 30+ grams of sugar!) will satisfy JunkMale for an entire morning? Yes, the oats have about a hundred calories more than the burritos, but could that really account for the huge difference? But then what about JunkMale's other favorite breakfast, two eggs and two slices of toast, which has nearly the same nutrition profile as the burrito? Why will that hold him an entire morning when the same number of calories from a burrito left our stomachs growling in church?

Comparing Butter to Other Animal Fats

noreply@blogger.com (JunkMale) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:32:00 +0000

Harmony recently bought a bunch of nitrite/nitrate-free bacon in order to help experiment with cheaper (yet still satisfying) breakfasts. We remembered a Common Room blog post on this subject, and I remembered reading the Wikipedia article on lard, particularly the part that said lard actually has less saturated fat and more monounsaturated fat than butter.

So I went to one of my favorite government operated sites, the USDA nutrient database, and looked up the total fat contents of the following fats: salted butter, chicken fat, bacon grease, and beef fat. As I was posting this, and for purposes of full disclosure, I decided to toss in the facts for "SMART BALANCE Regular Buttery Spread," as the entry is titled in the database. I also decided to throw in the cholesterol numbers.

All of these are per 100 g serving. Excluding Smart Balance, I have underlined the best fat for each category.

Total saturated fat, g:
Butter: 51.368
Fat, chicken: 29.800
Animal fat, bacon grease: 39.004
Fat, beef tallow: 49.8
Smart Balance: 19.510

Total monounsaturated fat, g:
Butter: 21.021
Fat, chicken: 44.700
Animal fat, bacon grease: 44.874
Fat, beef tallow: 41.800
Smart Balance: 25.640

Total polyunsaturated fat, g:
Butter: 3.043
Fat, chicken: 20.900
Animal fat, bacon grease: 11.144
Fat, beef tallow: 4.000
Smart Balance: 17.700

Cholesterol, mg:
Butter: 215
Fat, chicken: 85
Animal fat, bacon grease: 95
Fat, beef tallow: 109
Smart Balance: 0

The fact sheet for Smart Balance also listed that it had 0.710 g of trans fat per 100 g. None of the other fats had an entry for trans fat, but since they occur naturally in the milk and body fat of cows (and other ruminants such as sheep), I would guess that butter and tallow probably have small amounts of it.

Thus, we saved all of the bacon grease from this weekend's cooking, and in the future will save the fat from every dead chicken that enters this household. I'll bring it to your attention that if you are the type to care about how processed your foods are, chicken/bacon/beef fat are the least processed of these (considering that you sort of "make" it yourself), with Smart Balance being the most processed, assuming that the bacon drippings are from bacon that you actually made and not the hydrogenated and chemically treated lard that you buy from the store.

No to Govt Healthcare, but what about Govt Schools?

noreply@blogger.com (JunkMale) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:57:00 +0000

Voddie Baucham has a very good point: how many of the people that are fervently against government-run healthcare are equally against government-run schools?

(I'm not a Baptist, but I do agree with Voddie Baucham on many many issues)

For those who don't feel like clicking, here is an excerpt:

One of the mantras we hear repeatedly these days is, “we don’t want socialism.” While that sounds good (and conservative, and constitutional, and patriotic, etc.), it rings hollow when you consider the overwhelming majority of the people leading the charge have their children in what amounts to socialized education. What’s the difference? If you’re really against government-run, socialized programs, yank your kid off the yellow prison bus and just say no.

Why exactly is it fine and dandy to protest socialized healthcare, but then turn around and just accept socialized education? While families can reject socialized education by private (still institutionalized age-segregated largely one-size-fits-all, albeit not government-run) and homeschooling, I somehow doubt that there would be a homeschooling equivalent for medicine. (if I'm wrong, let me know) Or maybe more Christians will join Samaritan Ministries and opt for private care, assuming that there will be private care clinics here and there.

If anything, it seems like they should be protesting government schools MORE, because children go to school as a norm. People, by and large, do not go to the doctor as a norm, but only when something's wrong.

Anyways, Baucham lists more mantras stated by people opposed to government healthcare, but then examines those statements in light of government education. Statements like "I support the 10th Amendment!" "I have a right to pick my own doctor!" and "Not with my tax dollars!"

A Mom Survey: joint pain

noreply@blogger.com (Harmony) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:15:00 +0000

When I was pregnant, I would often hear about the pain of labor, the sleepless nights, the exhaustion at the end of the day, and many other of the trials of being a new mom. But no one warned me about how much my body would hurt. Prior to having Pearl, I considered myself a fairly healthy young lady with not much to complain about. Now, not yet three months later, two-thirds of the major joints in my body are bothering me, and two of them (left ankle and left wrist) are sometimes too stiff, weak or painful to use normally.

I have to wonder: is this one of the complaints all moms have but none mention, or was I so out of shape that a little baby is too much for my weak self?