All I can say.
This morning I put a meal in the crockpot.
Tonight, while making salsa to accompany aforementioned meal, I noticed I didn’t turn it on.
Sigh.
Author Archives: juliebyers
10 Years Ago
Right about now (11am) ten years ago, Scott kissed the bride.
Some things haven’t changed much: Scott got a kayak paddle salute as we left the church. And since I was obsessing about equality, the lovely church ladies put “Congrats Scott and Julie” on one side of the church sign and “Congrats Julie and Scott” on the other side.
Some things have changed: The beloved jeep that carried us away from the church is gone. Many faces in our wedding pictures have scattered to other places–some as far away as China. Our flower girl is much taller than I am now. Scott’s hair is several inches shorter. And I would never fit in that dress!
Ah, that fateful night a baffled, irritated, slightly put-out teenage boy got tricked into a date…who would have imagined the chain of events to follow?
‘Poo Free
Hi. My name is Julie. I’ve been free from shampoo for 17 months. The recovery process from shampoo abuse took about 6 weeks during which time my hair looked, um, like I hadn’t washed it in 6 weeks.
I decided to stop using shampoo out of vanity. But others do it for safety. Or, for frugality.
Here is how it works for me:
I mix up some baking soda and water and keep it in an old apple juice bottle in the shower. Before each use, I shake the mix. I pour some on my head (yes, it is cold) and then scrub it into my scalp. Then rinse.
About once a week, before rinsing, I pour on some apple cider vinegar (ACV). It bubbles in reaction to the soda and then I rinse. The ACV takes care of any build-up and adds shine.
I still use conditioner–I’m a curly. But if you have straight hair, using ACV after the soda or even ACV alone may be all that is needed to soften, clean, and shine.
I finish with a quick rinse with cold water to seal the follicles.
Maybe once a month, I scrub a little brown sugar and honey into my scalp before the baking soda step.
My favorite hair help is a spray bottle I filled with water and lavender oil. If my hair ever fills blah or if I don’t have time to wash it, I squirt on some lavendar love and it perks up.
And I never, ever brush or blow-dry. No way. Oh, and about that recovery process–depending on your hair, it can look crunchy for a period of time while it gets over the shampoos withdrawal. Lavender water will be your best friend and must go with you everywhere.
Want to know more? Find full instructions, recipes, and reasons in this book.
Of course, my husband, with his perfect curls, laughs at the lengths to which I go…
Missing me one place search another
Upstate Childbirth Education and Doula Services has a new home! We’re now in the lovely Waldrep building near the corner of N. Main and Stone Ave. It is so nice to be in a place with no hint of sheet rock dust! Of course, as always, we continue to serve our clients in the birthplace of their choice: hospital, home, or birth center. We go where they go!
Our email newsletter will be going out soon with a full calendar of upcoming events in our new home. If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter, click on over to UCEDS and type your email in the top right corner to keep up with our happenings. I hope we’ll see you at the next Blessingways on June 28. Leia will be sharing her birth story and we’ll have a special topic on “Going Green in the Nursery.”
Ok, shameless plug is over…
Till Human Voices Wake Us, Or Why I Wish Doulas didn’t Exist
I imagine if you visited a culture in which birth was considered a normal event–a visible part of the community–the idea of hiring a doula would be laughable. Your intuitive knowledge of birth would be intact. You would believe that since you figured out how to digest your food and how to wake up after sleeping, you would, indeed, know how to birth. And the people around you would let you.
In our culture, birth is private. Typically we retreat into the den of medicine, technology, and malpractice to celebrate our journey into motherhood. Once entangled in this trinity, we are pinned and wriggling on the wall so how should we presume?
And we need instruction and authority and equipment to deliver.
Some families hire a doula. A woman who has attended many types of births. A woman who can navigate the intricacies of the system. I do believe that whether planning a medicated birth, a cesarean, or a low intervention experience, families can enjoy the best outcomes with a doula at their side. The doula becomes the surrogate community that is missing in our culture–she provides support from early pregnancy coffee shop talks to postpartum home visits. And she is the advocate–working for the family and no one else; no hidden agendas, no judgement, and no insurance company to answer to. And–she is pretty inexpensive considering she is on call 24/7 for you. She’s less expensive than an epidural and probably less expensive than the bill from your wedding florist.
The fact that the profession of doula exists is merely one symptom of a deep isolation, fear, mystery, and sterility surrounding birth. So while I love being a doula, I’m sad that the profession is necessary. I wish that our community guarded the sacred transformative power of birth instead of timing it, numbing it, sterilizing it, insuring it, managing it.
Following Huck
Before Norah was born, we painted the words “Follow Huck” on the walls of her nursery. I’m a fan of Huck Finn (though not so fond of Tom Sawyer). He had an honest soul and a seeker heart. He searched for truth even when “sivilized” society taught a different morality. I’m not sure what deep rivers Norah will cross but I pray Grace will be her raft.
Ok, and maybe I hope she’ll keep holding our hands…
Ride the Water
Tonight we loaded up for a quick paddle and picnic. It was Norah’s first time in a kayak. She loved the canoe last summer so we knew she would have fun. She’s been asking to “ride the water.”
Aside from the difficulty in getting her out of the water and saying goodbye to the geese (she had to blow kisses to each of them), it was a sweet time!
Wedding Ring–Found!
For those of you who commiserated with me over my lost wedding ring–I found it!
I knew my ring was on the bathroom counter. An hour later, it had been absconded. The culprit: an adorable 2 year old. When asked where mommy’s ring was, Norah confidently and immediately pointed to the air vent saying she “put it there safe.” When we looked in the air vent, we discovered that she had indeed put a few things in there (another one of her sneaky packrat places). But no sign of the ring. Then Scott thought he saw it down the sink drain and commenced to taking apart pipes. No ring.
I searched every hiding place I could think of. I found her hairbrush (she hates that instrument of torture). I found some money. I found an energy bar. I FINALLY found my ring. It was in a tiny drawstring bag inside a bathroom drawer. Whew. Lesson learned and crisis over.
Go Hug a Midwife!
Today is International Midwives Day! Hooray for the babycatchers. Sal wrote a great post on midwives. Go check it out.
Here is one of my favorite midwives:
Inexplicable Ways 
