Because the FDA says so!

This new piece of work put out by the FDA on the subject of raw milk is extremely concerning. It's not just raw milk, but what the raw milk represents--which is freedom of choice when it comes to your food.

"Plaintiffs' assertion of a 'fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their families' is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish." [p.26]

And I suppose it's true--the government does not give us the right to consume any food we wish. We can't purchase raw milk in this state because it's illegal. Now the FDA is working to stop the sale of raw milk on a national level, even in states where it is currently legal.

They are also working in sneaky ways to undermine the sale of small farm produce, and to over regulate alternative health choices like homeopathics and herbs. It's not just a crazy conspiracy theory, it's actual legislation you can read about that if passed will have real consequences.

Supposedly it's all tied to big businesses that the government supports, commonly referred to as Big Dairy and Big Pharma. And again it sounds like some stupid conspiracy theory, but there's a real money trail to follow that leads straight to the top. It's not just something some crazy people dreamed up and started spreading rumors about on the internet.

It's concerning, isn't it? I don't understand why or how the government would need to take control of two private people making a private contract for the sale of milk, or the sale of anything for that matter. Apparently the FDA says on page 27 of that paper that Americans do not have a fundamental right to enter into private contractual agreements with one another.

One section of the paper is titled: There is No Right to Consume or Feed Children Any Particular Food. Another section is titled: There is No Generalized Right to Bodily or Physical Health.

Here is an article written about it, because the actual paper is kind of a lot to read through.

Juggling.

I just cooked supper for Rosie and me while nursing a sleepy baby.

Angel hair pasta, marinara and meatballs, and steamed broccoli on the side.

It went ok, cooking all alone with a baby glued to me. The only bad thing that happened was a bit of marinara splatter.

You know, just a bit...that culminated in my dogs licking marinara sauce off of my non-washable beige walls.

Ahem.

I'm so glad to not feel sick at my stomach anymore. I'd forgotten what it was like to feel human! To go out in public without dry heaving or just wanting to go lay down...it's nice.

Meal planning is in the works because I can cook, eat, and enjoy food. This makes me practically scream with joy. I spent the morning nursing my chubby cheeked baby, eating wooden food from Rosie's constant tea parties, and looking up new recipes to try--simple ones--so that I can cook healthy meals for Rosie every night. Since Tyler is at work in the evenings he won't be here to eat (or help) and that means I can cook whatever I want. Tyler is quite picky.

Bring on the vegetables! I can't wait. We're having shepherd's pie, chickpea curry, baked lemon pasta, pasta primavera, and whatever else I WANT.

This does not include plain grilled meat and a potato, sorry Tyler. Or fast food. Or any frozen food. Or any food made by Nestle for that matter, as long as I am doing the shopping.

I have to get going on my garden so that I can enjoy all of the aforementioned fresh veggies. I've got tomato plants in several varieties growing strong in a big pot. They need to be planted in the garden oh...any second.

I put some broccoli plants in my 4x4 raised bed, and I still have half a big pot of broccoli plants to finish putting in.

I have a big pot full of bell pepper plants, and a few Habanero pepper plants...

Lots of seeds to plant--two kinds of zucchini this year and yellow crookneck squash, corn, green beans, water melons

My pea plants are getting big over in the 4x4 bed. I'm not sure what the carrots, radishes, and swiss chard are doing in the containers...I've never grown any of those things before and they look kind of small and sad to me so far. But they are growing, so that's something I suppose.

My apple trees are growing nicely, all except one. The Yellow Delicious tree isn't well. It sprouted leaves, but they are tiny and curly and wilty. The other trees have flourishing big green leaves now. I have no idea what's wrong with it--it's in the container with another apple tree and the other tree is doing fine. Maybe it's just an unhealthy tree? I'm so lost...anyone with dwarf apple tree advice? I don't know how 3 trees could be healthy and one under the same condition could be so sad unless it's just the tree itself.

Gardening with a newborn is hard. I have to plant things in small increments. I think it will be easier once I stop bleeding and don't have to worry about over exerting myself.

I do have a great helper, Rosie...but she freaks out when dirt touches her fingers...or she sees a worm or any other bug...at least she has enthusiasm I suppose.

My big garden is tilled up thanks to Tyler! It just needs to be raked to get all of the plant debris and clumps of dirt out. There are some vines on the fence that need to be cut back too. That's normally easy for me to do, but again with the over exerting of healing self...bah.

Anytime I do too much I have a small gush of red blood, which is gross and annoying. I hope it heals soon!

Otherwise, everything with my body is almost fine. I feel normal...nothing like after I gave birth to Rosie. I can't even tell where my little tear was! Things are still healing a little though--when I wipe it feels somewhat numb down there. It's strange...but I don't think anything is wrong. Just the tissue is recovering from that big stretch from the baby's head.

My pelvic bones feel funny. I think I need to scrape together some money and visit a chiropractor because my left leg feels as if it's walking in a different direction other than straight ahead, and my tail bone is killing me.

I guess pushing a baby out kind of jolts everything down there.

My sweet baby Ada is growing big so fast. Not only has she already gained a pound, she also is starting to smile here and there. She's following things with her eyes today too! She watched Rosie eat her yogurt next to us on the couch and then she just grinned and stared.

I don't know what to do with her--she's so happy and content almost all the time.

And I'm so happy! I've never felt so happy in my entire life. What's up with that?

I could sit here and stare at my baby for hours, every detail of her chubby face, her squishy thighs, her brand new belly button, her fluffy baby hair...

I did not feel this way after having Rosie. Not at all. I spent weeks shuffling around and crying, worrying about random things like falling down the stairs while holding her, disturbing things like her temple getting bashed on the sharp corner of a table. Wondering if I would ever sleep again, getting angry at her for not nursing correctly or for waking up every time I tried to eat or shower. Resenting my loss of alone moments. Furious at Tyler for not helping enough. Feeling alone.

This time...I haven't had any of those feelings. I don't know what's different. It's maybe a combination of her wonderful birth and the fact that she's my second baby--I've already been through the initial shock of parenthood and I've adjusted. Baby Ada is like icing on the cake.

Delicious, mind blowing, amazing, beautiful icing.

It's not that I love(d) Rosie any less. Not that at all. It's just this baby...everything about it...bliss!

I don't want this feeling of happiness to ever go away.

It makes me want more babies. Badly. If this is amazing, I wonder how much better it can get.

It's like I have postpartum euphoria instead of blues. I wasn't aware this could happen.

Yeah, my sink is full of dirty dishes and my dogs licked supper off of the wall tonight. But that's somehow unimportant, it pales in the glow of this...I can't even think of a word for it.

I don't know what's wrong with me, but it's a good thing. I really good thing.

Snags Ain't Snags

Snags or bangers, sometimes better known as sausages, never tasted better than when they were cooked on my Dad's old brick BBQ in the backyard at home when I was growing up.  Last night we had "Heart Smart" sausages which is a contradiction in terms really - no added salt, fat free, no preservatives.  Might as well have eaten cardboard really.