Jgimesky

Before I left Tuesday’s appointment with Dr. Risky, she handed me perhaps the greatest pamphlet I’ve ever received.

My mom took one look at it and said, “I’m pretty sure your dad and I got this exact same pamphlet.” Then she opened it up to the first page and…yep:

1983. Apparently, nothing has changed in thirty years.

While the pamphlet is informative, it’s also hilarious. First of all, the illustrations:

Hi Pete, I just called to talk about my reproductive system.

Pretty sure the second from the left was a college professor of mine.

Second, OMG:

If this confuses you, I applaud your decision to not procreate.

Third, it emphasizes in like ten different places that “only YOU [the man] can decide to get [a vasectomy]” and it goes on to say that some men may regret getting a vasectomy if it was someone else’s idea…like a wife. Ugh, women. Who needs ‘em, am I right?

I was also left with some questions.

How can a sperm count be negative? Wouldn’t it just be…zero?

But if I had to pick my favorite page in the whole pamphlet, it would be this one:

If you use this chart exactly right, it is highly effective. In actual use, it’s only medium effective.

My least favorite page was this one:

Hey dudes! You should consider having your women undergo this riskier, pricier, more difficult procedure! That’d be totally bitchin’!

In all seriousness, vasectomy is an option that Mike and I are seriously considering. I’d just like to find some more up-to-date information about it…you know, maybe something from the 1990s.

---

© copyright Heather Spohr 2013 | All rights reserved.

This content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

I spent the last week interviewing men and women, and the children of men and women, who bought their homes on contract in Chicago during the 1950s. Contract buying sprang up in Chicago after the federal government effectively refused to insure mortgages for the vast majority of black homeowners, even as it was insuring the mortgages of white homeowners, and encouraged banks to redline black and integrated neighborhoods. The import of mid-20th century housing policy -- along with private actions (riots, block-busting, contract lending, covenants) -- has been devastating for African Americans. 

There are bad advertising campaigns, and then there are bad advertising campaigns. With “Are You a MILF?” True & Co., the online bra company with the magical algorithm that’s supposed to make in-store bra fitting a thing of our shameful, barbarous past, has probably launched a campaign that’s just a misguided exercise in punning, and, really, who doesn’t appreciate a good pun, hmm?

Read more...

I don't usually make anything other than passing mention of the death of musical figures, but this one really hurts, per this Tweet from our friend Kathleen Geier:

George Jones, RIP. As a singer, he was, except for Hank Williams, country music's greatest. More when I blog this w/e

I do look forward to what Kathleen has to say about the Possum at PA this weekend, but for the moment, this is how I feel about the loss of the man whose music so perfectly expressed the shattered dreams of southern white folk:

Gram Parsons called Jones "the king of broken hearts." Mine is broken by his passing.

Will Smith was asked in an interview about how he raises his kids. His answer was very telling, and explains why the Smith kids are basically running their own careers and being expected to face deep adult issues on camera. He says he treats them like adults, basically, and judging from his answer I would say he’s done that since they were little. It’s sad for them and makes me want to protect them. Remember that Willow is just 12 and Jaden is 14.

“We don’t do punishment. The way that we deal with our kids is, they are responsible for their lives. Our concept is, as young as possible, give them as much control over their lives as possible and the concept of punishment, our experience has been – it has a little too much of a negative quality.

So when they do things – and you know, Jaden, he’s done things – you can do anything you want as long as you can explain to me why that was the right thing to do for your life.”

[From Metro.us via Starcasm]

This is Scientology-speak. This is how the Scientologists treat kids, like little adults who are responsible for themselves and don’t need parenting. The cult’s doctrine preaches “self-determination” for children which may sound ok as some kind of theory, but often becomes neglect and abuse in practice. Little kids in no way have the maturity or capability of adults, and they need our guidance and help. This is a recipe for disaster like so much other crap in Scientology.

Will Smith’s private school uses Scientology “teaching” materials which are wholly unproven and can be harmful, so I guess it’s not surprising that he follows their recommendations for raising his children. I now believe the rumors that the Smiths are undercover Scientologists and that they’ve been hiding it for years. I’ve been willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until now, but no longer. It’s just a shame because the kids are the ones who suffer the most, and I’ll leave it at that. At least Willow and Jaden won’t be expected to join Sea Org.

The Hollywood Reporter has a great article posted about how at mid-season, American Idol executives tried to replace Mariah Carey with Jennifer Lopez. The mistake that FOX and producers made was telling Mariah. She threatened to sue them forever and they caved. FOX says that it is all just a rumor and that THR is wrong. Umm, unlike most weekly magazines, THR is usually never wrong. The ratings suck on the show. Why not try and fix them. A mid-season shakeup could have done that, but what I would have done if I was Fox was try to get Paula or Simon back. Paula would have probably done it for free. Well, free as long as there was an adequate stockpile of vodka in her trailer. In recent weeks, Idol has not only lost to The Voice, but also got killed by a repeat of Big Bang Theory. These are sad days for the once huge franchise.

I adore this dress, and find the length flattering but a bit too much with opaque tights or boots. So when the weather is how it is now, I look forward to wearing it. You know I adore ponte, and I adore how this dress flatters my curves and is elegant yet work appropriate and is a unique style, but a style that will be fashionable for many seasons to come.

These shoes I got last week at the grand opening of the new Nordstrom Rack in DC; they fit beautifully and I love the gradient of color. I had a pair of snakeskin pumps with a pointy toe years ago - I remember then in some of my first outfit posts on this blog and they were so versatile and chic I literally wore them out. I think these are a great replacement, will look smashing with jeans as well as dresses!

I've been given the opportunity to try out RocksBox for a couple months, and my first order arrived this week. RocksBox is sort of like a mix of Netflix and Rent the Runway, where you pay a monthly fee, enter some details about your personal accessory style, and get to borrow designer jewelry. This bracelet (can see better on my Instagram) is so much fun and so much sparkle, but completely out of my budget; RocksBox is a fun way to try chi chi jewelry without the committment. My first box only had this piece which I adored, but what's cool is I return everything in a postage paid package with my feedback and they better tailor my next box to my style. I'll let you know how it goes, but if you'd like to try RocksBox yourself, follow this link and use the code FABB to get 50% off for three months ($9.50/month - first three months).  Per reader Michelle, in order to use the promo code, you have to click on the "Gifts" tab and purchase a gift membership. If you do the regular one, there is no place for the promo code.

Note: I received a complimentary RocksBox subscription through iFabbo; I do not receive any commission off of those who subscribe nor receive additional compensation for the promotion, but the link in this post is specific to me to track my participation in this campaign.

Follow Me | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Here are some photos of Benedict Cumberbatch in Bristol, England on Monday, where he was preparing to shoot some scenes for Sherlock. I’ve been able to see some SPOILER-tastic images and I hope this won’t be too much of a spoiler, but apparently a wedding is being filmed for the new season. And to soothe your worried souls, I will say that I seriously doubt Sherlock Holmes is the one getting married. The original character never married, and the writers of the UK Sherlock are such fans of Arthur Conan Doyle’s work that I doubt they would ever deviate that much from the original character. Sherlock will always be a bachelor! But if you don’t mind some spoilers, go here to see some more photos.

This weekend, Benedict will appear on the Graham Norton show and OMG, it would be SO good. Chris Pine is allegedly coming along too, so it will be a good chance to see if they have much chemistry together. In the early cast interviews, it sounds like everybody got along and that the old cast loved their new villain (Cumby). As for early reviews… I can’t believe this movie is already getting reviewed! It doesn’t come out for another three and a half weeks! And JJ Abrams is such a stickler for his secrets! That’s okay. The early reviews I’ve seen seem to be cautious not to spoil anything. You can read some gushing about Cumby’s performance here and here.

Would you like to hear his voice? Of course you would!!!

Photos courtesy of WENN.

At the White House Science Fair, President Obama intently pedals a bicycle connected to a water filtration system designed by two teenage girls, as they explain the science to him. [Video here.] President Obama said to participants at the event:

"We celebrate our great football players … and we celebrate outstanding musicians, and that's all appropriate. But we've got to make sure that we're also celebrating, every single day in our schools, in our classrooms and in our country, the outstanding contributions that scientists and engineers and mathematicians and engineers are providing to us every single day."

"We want you to know that you've got a whole country behind you as you pursue your dreams," he said. "And your success is going to be our success, as well. So, way to go."

I continue to love every single personal interaction this President has with kids.

[Related Reading: Last Year: Marshmallows!]

I think it is pretty obvious at this point that the editors at Kneepads are smoking crack on a pretty regular basis. Either that or they keep a constant drunk going 24/7. There is no other way to explain their choice of Gwyneth Paltrow as the world's most beautiful woman. It is impossible for such an award to be bestowed. Yes, I know it is because she has the best PR person and they thought they could sell the most issues with her on the cover, but there is no one with common sense in their brain that would ever call her the most beautiful. This has nothing to do with outer beauty where I think she loses to almost every celebrity they could match her against. It has to do with inner beauty because I think she has shown the only thing she cares about is herself. Her newsletter and cookbook are geared to people who look like her and are as rich as her and everyone else be damned. She has lived in America for most of her life but chooses to use a British accent when giving interviews. She doesn't do it any other time. I know this is about doing press for her cookbook and Iron Man 3. I get that, but it is so beyond the realm of possibility that Kneepads really has earned its name this week.

Paul Krugman's latest column discusses the alarmingly large ranks of the long-term unemployed:

Five years after the crisis, unemployment remains elevated, with almost 12 million Americans out of work. But what’s really striking is the huge number of long-term unemployed, with 4.6 million unemployed more than six months and more than three million who have been jobless for a year or more. Oh, and these numbers don’t count those who have given up looking for work because there are no jobs to be found.

Don't count on the numbers falling rapidly, even if the economy gains momentum, because the long-term unemployed are getting blackballed by employers:

One piece of evidence comes from the relationship between job openings and unemployment. Normally these two numbers move inversely: the more job openings, the fewer Americans out of work. And this traditional relationship remains true if we look at short-term unemployment. But as William Dickens and Rand Ghayad of Northeastern University recently showed, the relationship has broken down for the long-term unemployed: a rising number of job openings doesn’t seem to do much to reduce their numbers. It’s as if employers don’t even bother looking at anyone who has been out of work for a long time.

To test this hypothesis, Mr. Ghayad then did an experiment, sending out resumes describing the qualifications and employment history of 4,800 fictitious workers. Who got called back? The answer was that workers who reported having been unemployed for six months or more got very few callbacks, even when all their other qualifications were better than those of workers who did attract employer interest.

So we are indeed creating a permanent class of jobless Americans.

Being an economist, Krugman mostly addresses this as an economic phenomenon (the long-term unemployed don't have much purchasing power), but acknowledges this trend is also "ruining many lives." It's another reminder that a sort of "punish the victims" mentality has sunk deep roots in the national psychology in the wake of the Great Recession. It was bad enough when millions of people with underground mortgages were being widely blamed for lacking foresight about their own economic calamities and allegedly expecting "bail-outs" from the consequences of their irresponsible behavior. Now we are talking about millions more (some of them, of course, possibly the same people) who may well descend into the underclass for the rest of their lives because they haven't held a job lately.

At some point, if this status produces anti-social behavior, I'm sure a lot of comfortably situated people will share some additional self-righeousness with these folk, and find it in their hearts to support even more public expenditures for incarcerating them than anyone proposed for helping them get back into the mainstream economy. But I guess this way of looking at it just confirms I'm one of those ninny-faced liberals who identifies with perpetrators rather than victims.

As you may have heard, Beyoncé absolutely loathed a bunch of photos from her Super Bowl performance. We know this because her publicist attempted to eradicate six pictures from The Entire Internet, as if such a thing were possible. This time around, with the Mrs. Carter tour, Queen Bey has found a way to ensure no unflattering snaps are posted: She's banning photographers altogether.

Read more...

Emma is a 1-year-old American Bulldog/pit bull mix who suffers from a congenital vertebrae anomaly called hemivertebrae, as well as a neurological disorder similar to cerebral palsy. She also really freaking loves her life — including her humans, Melissa Swanson and family. Melissa has tried all sorts of ways to make Emma's life easier — including a doggie wheelchair that just didn't work for her — and is still searching for mobility solutions. In the meantime, Emma is happy and healthy and ain't nothing stopping her from sliding into your loving arms. Ugh, I want to hug her so badly.

Read more...

Belonging to a choir might make you a dork — but it'll make you a chill-ass dork.

Read more...

December 3, 2012

This B+ Academy Award winning actress was going through the airport this past week and had her purse hand searched because it was buzzing. Apparently she had accidentally turned on her vibrator when removing her phone and placing it on the tray.

Kate Winslet

Neil Diamond, the greatest songwriter of this or any generation, took a redeye flight from Los Angeles to Boston so he could sing “Sweet Caroline” for the good people gathered yesterday at Fenway Park for the first Red Sox game since the Boston Marathon bombings on Monday.

Read more...

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake felt so bad for Caren Teves, whose son died shielding his girlfriend from bullets in the Aurora theater massacre, that he wrote her a handwritten note in response to a letter she sent him pleading for reform. "I am truly sorry for your deep loss," Flake wrote. "While we may not agree on every solution, strengthening background checks is something we agree on." More »

I’ve had a lot of questions from you folks as of recent that aren’t fashion related…

Will you help me with my wardrobe/find me a dress for an event/go shopping with me?
I used to do virtual wardrobe consultations… but then I had a baby. I don’t have the time to commit to this in a quality manner so have stopped all wardrobe and shopping consultations or personal shopping trips. There are so many talented and qualified folk out there who do this as a profession, check out Yelp for your area, Style for Hire, or if you’re in the DC area send me an email and I can provide you with names of those who do it in this city and do it in a way I admire and respect.

Will you help me with my blog/be my mentor/help me become a stylist?
I so want to help you, but I don’t have the time to give you the quality advice and support you deserve. Many of you are starting your own blogs so I will from time to time offer some basic blogging advice on here (one will go live tomorrow), but I can’t offer individual consultations.

I don’t like your use of swear words on this blog.
Each week I receive at least one email telling me that I have offended someone. I can write what I find to be the most benign and pleasant post and yet can still hit and nerve or hurt someone. I really care about you readers, and I want this site to be helpful to all and not exclude or offend but I found over the past year I worried more about offending than being authentic. I wiped out all profanities, and tried to consider all types of people in all sorts of situations before posting. You can’t believe how many times I wrote on emotion, saved as draft, then came back the next day and deleted the whole thing because I feared it would offend or be misconstrued. I often think about those posts, and how what I wrote may have helped some, but it wasn’t shared because I was so scared, and because I didn’t want the flack. I sacrificed my voice and this blog to try to appeal to everyone.

You can’t please all the people all the time, and when you try you can go mad or go vanilla. I don’t want to go crazy over a blog, and I don’t want to lose my voice. I swear in real life, and sometimes I say things that are politically incorrect. I don’t plan on swearing on a regular basis, and you won’t find me using profanity in advice posts, but sometimes life gives you four-letter word moments, and I’ve decided to be real again on this blog, and with it there may be some profanity.

What happened to your baby blog?
I don’t have a baby anymore, I have an independent and unique small person living in my house who doesn’t even know there was a blog about her. In the past year the blog became less about her and more about me as a mother, but there are still the archives. Also, as the blog became more about me, I ended up using it as a place to rant about things, especially the blogosphere. It seems that some folks who don’t seem to like me or my daughter very much found the blog and started writing very mean things about us on it. It was a good wake-up call; at first I was going to have it open but password protected but decided I would rant less if I didn’t have the place to rant so I decided to shut it down all together.

I know it was a good resource for cloth diapering and all that; I’d like to have those posts open but when digging through the archives I saw that the cloth diapering and BLW posts were still too personal. I recommend checking out the Eco Friendly Family and Cloth Diapering boards on The Bump where I first found out all my cloth diapering information and I am happy to answer specific questions you may have!

How do you take your pictures?
My husband takes my pictures. He uses a Canon 5D with… some lens that is beige and black and fancy looking. We take the pictures before I head for work, he takes about 12 shots, hands me the memory card and I edit the photos on my lunch hour. I use PicMonkey for editing my photos because it’s quick, easy, and cheap (I don’t know how to use Photoshop).

What do you do for a living?
I work at a wonderful company in DC where I sit in front of one, sometimes two computers all day and spend a lot of time wearing a headset. I work with really great people who are passionate about what they do. My office dress code is business casual though some days I dress up more than that because I have meetings with clients.

What happened to that garment you used to wear and no longer wear?
Either I sold it on eBay, donated it because it went through some mishap, gave it to a friend because it no longer fit or felt wrong on me, or packed it in the attic because it just didn’t seem to fit my current personal style.

When I do post clothes on eBay, I share the link on Facebook. I no longer have a blog for selling my old clothes because I couldn’t keep up. With eBay, though I lose a percentage, I can just list when I have the time. So follow me on Facebook if you are interested in buying my old clothes when I get around to it (a couple times a year).

What is your monthly clothing budget?
To be completely transparent, it all has to do with how profitable the blog is. If I do well, I buy something or two off my list. I keep a ton of lists, lists calm me. I love writing in a five-subject notebook with a medium tip ball point pen, or an empty book with one of those very fine felt tipped pens. I have notebooks and journals all over the house and even one in my purse. Anyway… I make lists of what I need to fill holes in my closet, things I see that I want, wish lists. And after I pay the bills and cover blog costs and put some away for Emerson’s future fund, I may buy a new pair of shoes or a dress or maybe just a new Revlon lipstick. However, before the blog made money, I did about 7-8% of my income towards wardrobe, hair, and beauty products.

What size do you wear?
I am 5’3”, have a 36DD chest, and usually wear a large or 12. For jackets, I usually do petite so it fits right at the small of my back, but that means I sometimes need to go up to a 14. For NYDJ jeans, I do a 10; petite if I want to wear them with flats or low shoes, regular for heels. For all other jeans I am usually a 12 and need that sweet spot between petite and regular to fit both my rise and length which is why I own few jeans that I like that aren’t NYDJ. I wear an 8 shoe and if it comes in wide, I’ll choose that (I can’t wear most sandals or strappy shoes unless they come in wide). Random size thing, but my left ring finger is an 8 and every other one (except my pinkies) are bigger, which is why I rarely wear any other rings. That and I have metal allergies…

Where do you buy Emerson’s clothes?
When Gap/Old Navy have their 30% off promotions, I go online and stock up on sale stuff in Emerson’s next size. I have a Rubbermaid tub in her closet with larger sizes and clearance scores I find. My community also runs a twice-yearly kid stuff swap, where parents bring clothes their children no longer fit into and swap for larger sizes (or smaller if they had another baby). My mom buys Emerson some super cute clothes and my sister has become Emerson’s personal stylist for holidays and events that warrant big frothy dresses. As for shoes, I buy most of them on eBay, where I can find new or like-new shoes for great prices.


Follow Me | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Hey you — yes, you with the glassy eyes and your finger endlessly hovering over the "refresh" button on your Twitter feed/live blog: take a time out by reading about the heroic Boston hospital workers who, according to the New Yorker, saved every single one of the wounded patients from the Boston Marathon bombings.

Read more...

According to a new poll by the Pew Research Center, when reached for comment on this week, 93 percent of Americans responded “Okay, enough’s enough here, you have seriously got to be kidding me with this week,” with 84 percent saying “Is it Sunday yet? What? How in the hell are we only at Thursday? What the hell is going on?” and 100 percent of Americans responding “No, no, go ahead, just pile some more horrific shit on this hellish shitshow of a week. Have at it.”

Read more...

I’m calling a full lid on celebrity news this week. Have some pictures of Louis Bullock, Amy Poehler’s ginger baby, the Beckham gentlemen, and, of course, me.

This Saturday, Nat Geo, a television channel we could all once delude ourselves into believing was at least three thimbles full of educational programming, will unleash Spoiled Rotten Pets, a show about people who treat their pets like humans and treat other humans like garbage by wasting so many resources on quasi-amnesic creatures that require only four things to achieve spiritual nirvana: food, water, sleep, and affection. Pets don’t really need anything else, which is why we can walk them around on leashes or make them defecate in small boxes — they’re not people, so no one is going to judge us for heaping so many indignities on them.

Read more...

A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing movies on demand through all the crap I subscribe to and picked a mindless romcom, What’s Your Number. I was treated to scenes of Joel McHale’s bare ass within the first ten minutes, which was a true score for me. (The movie itself wasn’t worthwhile except for some great guest appearances by McHale, Martin Freeman and Anthony Mackie.) I screamed and immediately emailed Kaiser and Bedhead about it. So that’s why I get first dibs on Joel McHale stories. I love him so much and am a huge “Community” fan. (Although it’s getting weak lately, right? I didn’t see last night’s episode yet though.)

McHale’s latest interview, in The Advocate, elevates my opinion of him and I didn’t think that was possible. The entire interview is worth reading, but in the interest of brevity I’m using some excerpts that The Advocate people sent. Go over to their site to read it, it’s worth it. Joel is a very attractive, well-dressed, quick-witted guy and he’s often mistaken for a gay man. He’s kind of flattered by it, though, and says that anyone who is offended by that has something wrong with him. Was he subtly throwing shade on Ryan Seacrest? (Probably not, Ryan is sort-of cool about it too.) Joel has been married for 16 years and has two boys, and he doesn’t mind the gay rumors at all:

The A-List Interview: Joel McHale
The snarky and stylish Community star and The Soup host talks dude crushes, flirtatious gay fans, and the big thing he has in common with Michael Fassbender. Whether he’s cracking wise as host of The Soup or as vain ex-lawyer Jeff Winger on the wacky community college-set sitcom Community, now in its fourth season on NBC, Joel McHale looks good enough to be mistaken for gay. Is it any wonder that men throw themselves at him?

On his boy crush:
Ooh, boy, I have so many. Josh Gad. Brian Williams. Patrick Stewart. Nathan Fillion. Kobe Bryant. Chaz Bono.

On the gay rumors about him because he’s well dressed:
Oh, I still see that on Twitter every day. It’s flattering. I always find it really weird when guys flip out over someone thinking they might be gay. If a guy gets offended by that, there’s something’s wrong with him. I take it as a compliment.

On his shirtless Community scenes:
…I’ll do anything for ratings. I mean, was Michael Fassbender exploited when he did Shame? Because it’s exactly the same thing.

On the support of his gay fans:
Community needs all the help it can get, so thank God for our gay fans. Our young gay fans especially are the loudest and most Internet-savvy. That also speaks to the quality of our show, which I think is highly intelligent.

[From The Advocate]

Kaiser especially loved that Fassbender quote. Oh and I have to mention that Joel was semi-nude in the DVD extras for Ted. (I have to see that, gah.) I would tell you to Google it, but I can share Joel in theory and it’s not NSFW or anything, so here you go. I love that this guy is so cool about his gay fanbase, I wish everyone thought this way. I’ll include one additional quote from this interview that I can’t pass up.

What’s the best way for a straight man to handle [getting hit on in a gay bar]?
“Just a very quick, courteous bl*wjob.”

Joel and his lucky wife in January. I would say something rude, but I can’t. They look sweet like they belong together.

Other gratuitous photos

Photo credit: NBC, Emmy Mag and WENN.com

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes would have liked to give Matthew and Lady Mary Crawley a happier ending, but wasn't able to because Dan Stevens bailed so unceremoniously.

Read more...

"Tour de Franzia" is a famed wine-chugging extravaganza celebrated at college campuses across the country; you may recall the name of the event from the great butt-chugging incident of 2012. Wesleyan University's administration has tried its best over the past few years to police what campus blog Wesleying calls a "wine-fueled shit-show of a scavenger hunt," but undergrads seem hellbent on participating, despite warnings that they'll face judicial consequences and be prohibited from participating in commencement if caught with a box in hand.

Read more...

Maybe it's a product of the false hopes aroused when Manchin-Toomey was unveiled (Wow--Pat Toomey on a gun regulation bill?), but the recriminations and the vows of near-term vindication coming from supporters of this legislation today are both loud and (unfortunately) hollow.

The brave survivor Gabby Giffords is entitled to say whatever she wants on this subject, but her pledge to secure "a different Congress" not under the thumb of the gun lobby isn't very convincing. Joe Biden caused a flurry by suggesting that the White House plans to undertake "executive action" on guns now that efforts in Congress have failed, but it appears this is mostly about actions announced back in January. And Joe Manchin promised to keep fighting for better background checks, but it sounds like he's mainly interested in trying to find some formula the NRA will accept (good luck with that one!).

What's disappointing to me, of course, is that gun regulation advocates seem to be counting on some unprecedented mobilization of public opinion to turn the tide (if it didn't happen after Newtown, it's hard to see it happening when memories of Newtown fade, and polls showing Manchin-Toomey as overwhelmingly popular didn't cut much ice in the Senate), instead of focusing on the immediate cause of the legislation's defeat: the inability to enact it by a majority vote. At the risk of beating a dead horse, I'll note again that the false hopes about Manchin-Toomey arose from the successful cloture vote on beginning debate on the measure, even as cloture supporters were openly warning they'd flip when the debate was concluded and the actual votes were cast. I don't know if it was a strategic error for Harry Reid to accept a unanimous consent agreement to set a 60-vote threshold for all gun bill amendments, since the outcome of an actual cloture vote after an actual filibuster might not have been different. But there's zero question, on guns and every other issue, that the ability to thwart legislation by 41 Senate votes gives enormous power to the hard-core conservative wing of the GOP, even if its House bastion never comes into play. Filibuster Delenda Est.

Patton Oswalt has obviously given a great deal of thought to how the next Star wars movie should play out. This is incredible when you think that he is doing it in one take, with one camera, and never breaks character despite the interruptions. Unfortunately it will only be available on the outtakes portions of Parks & Recreation.

The First Lady was in Annapolis, Maryland today where she met Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley for the signing ceremony of a Maryland state bill, the Veterans Full Employment Act of 2013, supporting military veterans. For the ceremony, Mrs. O wore a crimson pleated georgette crewneck dress by Michael Kors, previously seen on the cover of Parade magazine in 2011, here. Red patent pumps and a double strand of pearls completed the polished look.

Today's guest post is by Rebekah Lyons, author of Freefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning.  Rebekah has become another gift of this crazy little online world--a friend I met through another friend and, coincidentally, a mama to a son with Down syndrome.



She lives in New York City with her husband and three children and writes openly of many of the challenges women are facing today.  She serves alongside her husband, Gabe, as cofounder of QIdeas, an organization that helps leaders winsomely engage culture.  Rebekah has been very honest about her struggles with depression and anxiety and, in her memoir, discusses how she has transformed her fears into freedom.  I'm honored to have her poetic voice part of Enjoying the Small Things today.



Freefall
by Rebekah Lyons

Days unfold as we’re knit in our mothers womb, til the moment we enter the world.

A world of wonder in our youth, our eyes feast with delight on the beauty in our midst.

We are free to dream. Big dreams.

As kids, we know our natural bent, and we live it. No questions asked. These birthright gifts flourish with each endeavor. Victory takes us higher. Our imagination is expanded. We are beautiful and life is celebrated. We are free.

Through the years, things change. We begin to see the world differently. People tell us we can’t do things. It’s not appropriate. We should be responsible. We must resist the urge to imagine, because dreams disappoint. People fail us, and leave. In our distress we take on the expectations of others. These wounds bury us in their wake, and we slowly forget who we truly are.

As we mature, we grow silent. We medicate. We numb. Because the pain is too much to mention, too much to bear. We toil and task through our days with just enough to survive.

But wait. By providence we stumble upon an expanse that points to the way we felt when we were young. It’s hard to focus, but we recognize that glimmer in the distance, beckoning us to join.

So we JUMP.

Out of desperation, in an effort to save ourselves. To find life again. To thrive again. This leap is intoxicating. Dreams of grandeur fill our heads. As we plunge full speed into the depths of this new journey.

But wait, what is happening? We keep falling. Grasping for shoots to slow our descent, we suffer bumps and bruises along the way. Who will catch us? This breathtaking lure is leading to greater despair. It’s not making us stronger, it’s bruising us. We long to return to toiling responsibly far from the ledge. Where life was predictable and safe.

Could it be that this freefall was intended for our brokenness, for our surrender? We will never see a life that’s vast and rich if we escape. We’ll never see a life redeemed.

So we stay in the struggle. As long as it takes. We cry out for deliverance, for rescue. Finally, in a moment, we are caught. We’re being carried. Our balled fists open as the sun peeks shyly around the clouds. We breathe as deep as the day we were born. Into a life more glorious that anything we could have ever imagined. Our search for meaning has led to surrender.

Hope is reborn. A peace not our own, but a product of something greater. We have only to soar and watch what springs forth. We delight as we put our rusty wings to use. Our gifts awaken to new heights. The view is breathtaking and glorious. And we are grateful to suffer this freefall, because for the very first time, we see redemption, beauty and grace.

This freefall has taught us how to fly.

******

Rebekah Lyons is the author of "Freefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning." She writes on womanhood, purpose and mental health at RebekahLyons.com. Find her on Twitter/IG/FB @rebekahlyons.



Check out the three free gifts with her book purchase HERE.