New Direction

Since starting this blog, its primary goal has been miscellany.  And while I enjoy this as it allows me to just blog what I feel, it is also a detriment.  Without a clear focus, I don't always blog very consistently. But, there are SO many blogs out there: blogs for cooking, cleaning, being young and married, being teachers, photography, and everything in between.  Therefore miscellany has been my not so focused focus.

Yet, it is time for some more consistency and a new direction. Yesterday, it came. While walking downtown in Boston and eating lunch in the Garden, I received a call from my doctor.  Holding my breath, she told me that I had a second abnormal pap smear. She was very nonchalant about it, "Just come in for another pap in 6 months and if it is abnormal again we will do a colposcopy."  A procedure I have already endured with my previous abnormal pap. This is a lovely exam in which the gynecologist looks at the cervix under a microscope and if needed performs a biopsy.  Thankfully, when I went for this more invasive exam last year, there were so few "abnormal" cells that there was not enough to biopsy.  I felt this was wonderful news at the time and I experienced so much relief.

Now this relief is gone.  HOW DID I GET ANOTHER ABNORMAL RESULT? WHY ME?  Well upon a little research over 3 million American Women have also heard this news. Yet, while I am one of many women and this should comfort me, I feel completely disconnected from my own body and powerless.  I am suppose to merely wait until January for yet another test which will or will not show abnormal cells.  But, I want something more.  I want to be able to be active in my own healthcare and to take charge of a part of my body I don't really feel nor have I ever seen.

That is why, I have decided to make a life-change. In a few articles I have read, which I will post in more depth over the next few days and weeks, it has been proven that diet helps with cervical dysplasia. I am going to cut out all processed food from my diet, I will eat 4-5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day, I will aim to make my food from scratch whenever I can, I will increase my intake of vitamins particularly folic acid, and I will try some homeopathy. And, this blog, along with my miscellany, will also help me document and stay honest to these new goals I have set for myself and for my health. I don't ever want to be told I have cancer....but, that may be impossible to guarantee. What I can guarantee is that I will do everything in my power to make myself healthy and food-conscious in order to increase my chances of a long life cervical cancer free. Along the way, I am sure it will be hard, I will slip, I will forget, I will despise this choice, but I will document it all: the good, the bad, the ugly.  And, hopefully in January, instead of feeling dis-empowered, I will feel empowered and be a pretty good cook too!

Summer Shots

Honeymoon

After planning the much anticipated wedding for months, perhaps even for some brides years, it is finally time to unwind and share in the tradition of the honeymoon. It is funny because leading up to the wedding, the honeymoon was the furthest thing from my mind. Consumed in the details and the nerves of the wedding, there was not too much thought that went into planning the honeymoon.  There were times even when I thought I did not need to even spend money on a honeymoon and should just come back from our wedding weekend and go on.  Weddings are SO expensive and then to add a honeymoon on top could add another $3-10,000 depending on where you go and for how long. The other reason I originally thought I could skip the honeymoon was because our wedding was a destination.  We traveled down to Florida on Thursday.  Relaxed and enjoyed the sun, beach, surf, and poolside for two days.  Our rehearsal was on Saturday on the yacht of the resort and then Sunday was the BIG day.  Monday before leaving, still heady from the excitement and delight of the previous magical day, we shared brunch with our family and friends and then headed home to Boston. Because of this delightful and deliciously sweet wedding weekend, we were unsure if we needed a honeymoon.  In the end, we booked one. And, it was the best decision we made!

The honeymoon has an interesting history. Sources indicate that the concept of the honeymoon comes from Norse culture.  There a man would come and kidnap a woman, take her into hiding for a period of the cycle of the moon (or until her family gave up looking for her) and then they would continue on in their marriage.  Some sources state it comes from a tradition of the newlywed couple drinking a glass of honey mead for the first month. Others state it is just that the first month is the sweetest of all months of marriage.  My favorite however is from the Belle Epoque. This is the turn of the century from the 1800s to the 1900s when couples would journey either to see distant relatives who were unable to attend the wedding or just travel the grand tour of Europe. I can just imagine newlywed couples traveling with all of the pomp along the French Riviera or the streets of Verona. Clearly, this more recent history is closest to our own version of the honeymoon.

When booking our honeymoon, we originally thought a trip to Europe would be ideal.  But, I am such a busy-body and would run us around the cities trying to soak up every inch within our limited time. Instead, we settled on Antigua. A small island in the Southeast Caribbean.  Limited to 15 miles of terrain, I would be forced to finally relax. David made an excellent choice.  He truly knows me so well. In choosing our location, he sought to save some money via an all-expense resort and to make sure that we both just chilled out.  Leading up to the wedding, I started to get nervous about everything tying together.  It was all perfect from my perspective. And then landing on Antigua could not have been better.  For 7 days we swam, wind-surfed, sailed, listened to live music, played games together like kids, and overall just had a blast with each other. I am so happy we held to the long tradition of the honeymoon, And, to all of those out there planning or thinking about taking one....do it!  Do it simple, do it playfully, and enjoy your new spouse.  It is a wonderful time to reconfirm why you married your best friend!