Finish This: Week Twenty-three

Linking up with Becky at The Java Mama, Lisa at Coastlined, Jen at The Arizona Russums, and Nicole at Three-31. Join the fun!

The best compliment I ever received is the general response when I announced that I'm going to become a doula. The positive feedback and encouragement was so, so lovely, and it made me more excited {if possible} and made me believe in this dream even more.

Wearing red lipstick makes me feel like I'm about to go on stage, or that I'm playing dress-up. The only times I wear lipstick are for performances; any other time, it's a waiting game of "how long can Bek go without smearing/licking/wiping off her lipstick?!" which is a game I prefer not to play.

The best investment I've made is any trip. Traveling is an investment with countless rewards, and I always feel richer after going somewhere, be it near or far, old or new.

My best childhood memory is making "tents" in my basement. My sisters and I used afghan quilts, tv trays, and dictionaries to construct fortresses that took over the entire family room. We'd leave them up there for days, much to my mother's chagrin.
Also, my sisters and I used to make our own paper dolls. We each had a different spot in the living room for our "houses," and Jayna got super intricate and made a family of cats for her paper family. Good times, good times.

Doula Adventures: Bradley Class

Well, I went to my first childbirth class on Monday. It was fantastic! The instructor, Stephanie, just had a baby a month ago, so it's really fresh for her. There are two couples in this class, and they are both pretty cool. They are definitely not Awkward Pregnancy Pictures material. None of this:

via

The class is for the Bradley method, which you can read all about on the Bradley website. I will be going to class for 12 weeks, which definitely fulfills DONA's requirement. Hooray!

Lesson One was about nutrition, exercise, and relaxation. I think that all the classes are going to include these elements, so bear with! There are also going to be vocabulary lessons each week, so we'll see what gets shared here as time goes on.

In other news, I finished Ina May's Guide to Childbirth! It is an incredible book. If you're at all interested in birth, get a book by Ina May. A review is forthcoming, I promise. I have just a couple books to get through first...

7 Quick Takes: Here and There

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diaries for 7 Quick Takes!

1. First of all, if you didn't catch the announcement of my new adventure, or the first step that starts on Tuesday, you'll be really confused by the rest of this Take. Thank you, thank you, thank you, dear friends, for all your well-wishes and encouragement! I'm very excited to begin this journey to becoming a doula, and I'll definitely be keeping y'all posted along the way.

2. So I guess Grace Patton created a 7QT of blogging tips, and I'd like to share one here. It's more for blog readers, but since most readers are also blog writers, I'm just going to say it applies and to check it out. Here is her tutorial for making sure you're not one of those "no-reply" address commenters. Just say no!

3. Earlier this week I started listening to/reading Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity. Oh. My. Word. Especially with today being D-Day. Oi. It's the story of a captured Allied {spy? solider? not really sure yet, and I don't want to give away spoilers} person in the hands of the Gestapo, and she has two weeks to write down all the crucial information she can. So she writes. And I listen/read. And it's incredible. Still in the first third of the book {don't you love that cds give you easy math!?} and I find myself wondering what's happening to her, even as I sit here at my desk and call people to set up appointments. Sigh.

4. Last night, I was in bed at 8:30pm. I read and texted a bit, and then decided that a) sleep sounded amazing and b) my arms were getting tired of holding up my book. So I texted my friend...

...and that is why we're friends :)

5. Tomorrow I'm going over the mountains to visit Dahlia! Hooray! Since she lives in a rain pocket {she taught me all about it, because she taught her 4th graders}, so she is bound to have lovely weather. Bringing my swimsuit? Why, yes, yes I am!

6. I'm almost halfway done with the second half of my Doctor Who scarf! It's coming along quite nicely. Don't worry; I'll be posting pictures as soon as I can, and when it's done, you can count on a photo shoot with Samara and me modeling both halves.

7. And now to end with Funny Friday, courtesy of Pinterest:

via

Happy weekend, y'all!

Doula Adventure: Step One

Remember back in January when everyone was saying, "Man, 2013 was hard!" and everyone said "Golly, I think 2014 is going to be a GO year." Since Ash Wednesday, I think, we've been in a season of "suddenlies." As in, "suddenly" I realized that birth is my passion and I want to become a doula. 

The process of becoming DONA-certified is a pretty intense one. There are several books and papers that must be read, classes attended, so many hours must be spent observing, and a multitude of resources must be collected. It is, at best, daunting. DONA gives deadlines of two and four years; obviously, this is not an overnight process.

Six nights, however, can start something new. 

The first step that requires a specific timeframe is a childbirth class. There are a myriad of classes you can choose from, as long as the instructor is certified and there is at least 12 hours of class time. So on Monday, I began frantically enthusiastically emailing some local Bradley, Lamaze, and Birthing From Within instructors. A couple people responded, I'd get really excited and email them back, and then I'd hear nothing; NOTHING. Samara will attest to how frustrated I was getting. So finally I decided to call. And I got in the class. For less than half of what she usually charges. For the class series that starts on Tuesday. 

Let me reiterate: On Wednesday, I enrolled in a childbirth class that starts on Tuesday. 

SUDDENLY, I'm taking the first step to becoming a certified doula. Wow. 

Finish This: Week Twenty-two

Hey there! Today I'm linking up with these fabulous link-up hosts: Nicole at Three 31, Jen at The Arizona Russums, Lisa at Coastlined, and Becky at The Java Mama.

I conquer fear by using the extension of the vacuum cleaner to suck up spiders. By reminding myself that as long as the house doesn't catch on fire, it won't kill me to try a new recipe. By laughing at whatever scares me...or laughing at myself being scared. And if I could whistle, I totally would, a la "The King and I."

I follow my heart by volunteering at Care Net as a client advocate. Getting to discuss options with a lady facing a crisis pregnancy is one of the most intimidating and most rewarding conversations I'll ever have. I love it, even when it's challenging. 

I feed my soul by reading wonderful books. By laughing with my bestie. By a phone date with my bosom friend. By babysitting. By watching "Miranda." By baking cookies. By cleaning my room. 

I used to worry about making friends after moving home, but then I found that by letting go of my preconceived ideas of people allowed {and still allows} me to get to know some amazing people. As Yvonne and I shared, and then as I shared for the Not Alone Series, making friends is about making a risk and then sharing the reward. Also, blogging friends can become real friends! :)

Thanks for reading! Come back next week for more Finish This prompts.

Not Alone Series Anniversary

The awesome Jen at Jumping in Puddles and Morgan at Follow and Believe have been hosting the Not Alone Series for one whole year! So today in honor of this anniversary, participants are sharing what we've learned through this series.

Wow. The fact that these ladies have been linking up encouragement for a whole year is pretty amazing. I started participating back in January {read my first post here}, and I have to say, each Tuesday I've looked forward to a new topic and reading others' posts.

I think my favorite part of this link-up is the community, or the "support group," as Morgan jokingly {half-jokingly?} called it at the very beginning. I love that we have each other in this blogging world full of married homemakers and mommy bloggers.

I love that we find a sense of solidarity as we discuss various aspects of singlehood. I love that we can freely say/type, "you know what? I'm sick of ____" or "I really wish ____" or "For the love of Pete, if he would just _____" and we all know what we're all feeling and thinking.

I love our Facebook group and how we get really real and down and dirty and into the nitty gritties. And we find, wonder of wonders, that we are truly not alone. I know that's the name of the series and it should be obvious, but at first, it's strange and I wondered if it was real.

It's meeting someone and a deep topic comes up and you share your fears and this stranger says, "Oh, I know exactly how you feel," and you wonder, do you really? And through this series, I've learned the answer: yes, really. We all really know how we're feeling, what we're facing, and what our brains are thinking. It's not just that we've been there; we are there.

And while we're relating to one another, we're also making friends! We're getting new perspectives on all aspects of life. We're learning more about others and ourselves as we go through this series.  I can't tell you how many times I've sat down to write one of these posts but wanted to read someone else's first, just to make sure, once more, that I'm really not alone in this. And every time, the wonderful ladies in this link-up are tracking right along with me, and it's beautiful.

So what I've learned, really, though this wonderful series, is that there are some fantastic women in this world who are facing the same experiences I am and are handling it with grace, and I know that if they can face their situations with a heart full of trust and peace, then I can, too. Thank you so much, Jen and Morgan, for this community in the blogging world. This is a gift, and I'm grateful.

P.S. Some of my favorite topics from NAS are: Another Engagement, What I Know Now, and Dating Dos and Don'ts.
And in case you get sick of my posts, here are some of my faves from other NAS-ers: Rachel's post on friends, Dahlia's post about marriage, and Laura's post on marriage.    

Adventure!

On Friday, I alluded to a new direction that I'm pursuing. Sorry for all the vagueness there... I wasn't quite ready to announce it to the internet/world. I still don't know how to transition from "telling you that I'm going to tell you" to "actually telling you." Here goes. Gulp.

I'm going to start the certification process to become a doula!!! 

via

I know, I'm excited, too. 

It all started with an email from Laura at A Drop in the Ocean. She sent me the link to DONA International, which is the standard of doula certification. I looked at the requirements and thought, I could do this. I tried to dismiss the thought, but I couldn't! So I began to wonder if this was a subtle hint.

A couple weeks later, the conversation and lightbulb moment happened. Samara was relaying to a friend how people tell her "you just light up" when discussing one of her passions, and I was in the corner de-fuzzing my clothes and wondering what on earth made me "light up" and then it hit me: birth makes me light up. 

{True confession: when I'm bored, I go to Camp Patton's birth story link-up and read birth stories.}

So when Samara and Cami and I made our way down to the Oregon coast for an extended Memorial Day weekend, and we just so happened to stop in Portland a) for some yummy breakfast and b) for the mother of all used bookstores, and I just so happened to find my way to the childbirth section within 3 minutes of entering the store {seriously, less than 3 minutes!}, I figured that maybe this "subtle" hint was more like "a neon-lit sign with a marching band" hint. 

And I also figured that  purchasing one book on the subject should be thought of as an investment. I joyfully, gleefully purchased Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth. 

{True confession: I finished the first third of the book that same day.}

Yesterday, I was home alone for the afternoon, and I decided that I should finally watch some videos, because reading can only take you so far, especially when you *cough* have a history of *cough* fainting. Previously in my life, AJ showed me the documentary "The Business of Being Born" and I made it through that one alright. But that was a few years ago, and now I needed to know what all I could visually handle. So yesterday, I watched the first episode of "The Midwives" AND the first episode of "One Born Every Minute." And I didn't faint. I didn't feel woozy. I didn't get dizzy. I didn't see spots. I'm amazed, actually. 

The responses I've received from telling people have been incredible. So many people have encouraged me in this, from "You'd be great at that!" to "Wow, that's really cool." One of my concerns was that I wouldn't be completely qualified since, um, you know, I've never had a baby. But person after person encouraged me that it wouldn't matter and that actually it's easier when you don't have kids because of the crazy "schedule." 

So that's where I'm at. I'm thrilled and nervous and excited and scared and incredulous and awed and delighted. I'm at the very beginning of this journey, and my plans are to keep this little bloggy-blog updated as my journey progresses. I'll be posting useful links, book reviews, and general thoughts as I go, so stay tuned!

via