A steady blog this time?

I'm moving my blog. Yes, again. But this time, I'm making it for keeps. No more one blog for one adventure for one year and then back and forth again. Nope. You can update your bookmarks and this time, keep them there. My new blog is called Goat Milk and Cookies, and is located at quinoacake.blogspot.com. And yes, there are stories to both of those strange food combinations.

I've discovered that I really don't know when I'll be in one place for more than one or two years. Honestly, at this point, it doesn't seem extremely likely in the next five years or so, and I felt like I just kept jumping around blog-wise. I'll keep jumping around in reality, but you'll be able to find all my adventures on my new blog.

-Bethy

Toksook Bay

I'm in Toksook Bay today (through Wednesday) for work. I am here with my coworker Virginia, who is from here, and that makes the village trip so completely awesome. It's hard to come into a community and try to help people when you have absolutely no legitimacy at all, but seriously, having someone who is from the community vouch for you makes all the difference. That, and it's fun to have snowmachine rides with someone you know, and a mother who is making dinner tonight. :) Virg took me on a little ride to the ocean today - I guess technically, it's the Bering Sea, and I snowmachined on the Bering Sea!!!

Toksook also has three windmills that stand up on the bluffs just overlooking the water, and they're really beautiful from the sea. And as pretty as it is now, it's still all white and snowy - I bet it's fabulous during the summer, when it's open blue water and open blue sky.

I guess I'll have to come back :)

More updates on Toksook later -

Love, Bethy

Stand up.

I'm furious.

I'm furious and I am not sure what to do about it.

I rarely blog about political things because I find I'm either preaching to the choir or picking a fight. I know that I have friends who disagree with my liberal leanings, and I'm ok with still being their friend. I wouldn't want everyone to agree with me all the time - that would make life pretty damn boring. And, honestly, before now, I haven't felt that extremely affected by political bullshit going down in DC. I have been functioning just like most Americans - only paying attention to things that will impact me right NOW.

Well, you got it. There's something impacting me. ME. RIGHT NOW.

I am an American citizen with no health insurance, and a pre-existing condition that prohibits me from getting coverage with most providers. I have a job. I pay my taxes. I love my country and I recognize that sometimes people can't pay doctor's prices for essential services like pap smears, breast exams, STD tests.

I stand with Planned Parenthood because even with a job, I need help paying for medical expenses.

Abortion has nothing to do with my argument. If those on the other side of this feel that people who would go into Planned Parenthood for an abortion shouldn't be able to, what would they say to me? I'm not going in for an abortion. I and other low income and/or uninsured Americans are going in for condoms, or for a pap smears, for birth control pills, or for information on STDs, for breast exams, or for prenatal care. Where would you have us go?

As an American, as a woman, as someone who would never block access to cancer screenings to ANYONE, regardless of age, sex, race or political leanings, I stand with Planned Parenthood.

Will you stand with me?

-Bethy

I can do pictures now!!

So, I'm learning about how to post pictures to this blog. Yes, I know, I should have been doing this for AGES, but there are some things that I've just never messed around with. So, I'm going to be uploading some completely random pictures here.

This one is Chris and me at Chelsea's going away party. As a team, we identified the most kinds of booze in unmarked jars, and we won the two worms in the bottom of a bottle of tequila. I thought it would be gross, but it was even worse than I imagined. Of course, that's because I freaked out and bit down once the worm was in my mouth. Gross.

The promotional picture for Swan Court String Band's concert in December. Kevin described to us, over email, that he "altered the picture and cut everyone's head off". No lie, I was kind of worried...but I think it turned out great! It puts the focus on the instruments anyway, which is what we wanted since Lisa's turned away from the camera, and we all had funny looks on our faces.

Ok, enough playing with this for now. Hopefully this means that when I'm at my own computer and I want to post some pictures it'll be easier. Also...

HOLLA AT JOHN WALLACE!

-Bethy