I noticed a sign a week or two ago in the men’s restroom at the GingerMan. I thought it was a bit odd, but went about my business (heh, heh). Then last night, I was at a demo at the Hyatt downtown and stopped in a restroom off of the lobby where I encountered a similar sign. I was the only one in there, so I decided to risk looking like a perv and pulled out the camphone to get a shot of the sign…the perils of a citizen journalist.

According to the surgeon general, women should not drink alcoholic beverages, including distilled spirits, beer, coolers, and wine during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects.

Is this some crazy new law? Are they in women’s restrooms as well? Are they only in bars (or near them anyway, I suppose this one was near the hotel lobby bar)? Is Warren Chisum somehow involved? Why the hell are there warnings targeted at pregnant women and alcohol in the one place where there shouldn’t be any pregnant women with alcohol: a men’s restroom urinal?

My idea of a perfect lazy Sunday is a breakfast of strawberries and champagne in bed followed by a brunch of eggs benedict and mimosas at Chez Fred. As luck would have it, my Sunday morning Austin hot spot disappeared about the same time my doctor advised me to cut the cholesterol.

In contrast, AJ’s views Sunday as the perfect day of the week to jump out of bed at the crack of dawn and take a 25-mile bike ride up and down the hills of northwest Austin with a couple of buddies or a 10-mile run around Town Lake. Lately his work schedule has prevented him from indulging in either of his Sunday morning routines and since he’s training for his first triathlon he’s been taking spin classes at our gym, the locally-owned, AIBA member Pure Austin. He’s gotten hooked on spin and has been encouraging me to try it. I’ve always taken a dim view of spin classes because when you’re not participating the music and the instructor yelling over the music is really annoying. Yesterday my usual Sunday date weasled out on me at the last minute, so I didn’t have an excuse not to go to spin class with AJ.

AJ found us two bikes at the back of the class nearest the door in case I wanted to cut out early. I knew I wouldn’t bail. Once I begin something, I attack it with grim determination until I’m finished–emphasis on the grim.

I haven’t been on a bicycle in a year and during the warm-up my leg muscles shot pains of warning through my nervous system informing my brain that this was definitely not their idea of lazy Sunday. Brain wondered if I was in this much pain during warm-up, how was I going to make it through 45 minutes of class? However, the instructor quickly set such a pace that the pain in my legs disappeared and I found myself unable to think about anything–pain, fear, how much time was left in class. I think this is one of the great things about spin class. I truly was focused in the moment. In yoga class or on the elliptical machine my mind wanders–I’m always thinking about something else.

About 15 minutes into class I felt like I was going to throw up. Only my overriding desire not to humiliate myself kept me peddling. I tried to keep pace with the person in front of me. After a particularly intense set of hills, the instructor, Danielle, reminded us to check our form and not get sloppy just because we were tired. “And don’t slack off. Don’t cheat yourself. Remember your goals.” I turned to AJ and said, “The only goal I have is not to die during this class.”

And I survived! I actually felt really good all the rest of the afternoon. Rather than being worn out and exhausted, I was hyped. And, surprisingly, my legs aren’t sore this morning. My only sore spot is where my seat meets the saddle. I guess that will remind me not to spend too much time today sitting on my butt.

If you’d told me a year ago that I’d voluntarily drag my butt out of bed at 6:00 a.m. on a cold, wet Saturday to go running in the cold and wet and actually be happy about it, I would’ve told you you’re crazy. C to the RAZY, man. But that’s just what I did this morning. After training for almost 6 months with AustinFit for a half-marathon, I feel I can say I’m really a runner. I got up in the wee hours (or what I consider wee hours, anyway) to run (sometimes wade) 7 miles, making sure to get in my last long run before the 3M Half Marathon. And just a couple of weeks ago I completed my first-ever double-digit run (10 miles). And I enjoyed it. Me, former Expert Couch Potato. Weird, huh? But I really do dig this running thing now. Not only do I feel healthy and fit, but it reminds me of some of the reasons I love Austin. There’s nothing like running across Town Lake on a clear morning with a view of downtown. And Austin has so many awesome trails. And RunTex. And the mayor is encouraging us to do stuff like this. I don’t want to stop running now that I’ve started, so I’m looking for other races to train for, maybe the AT&T Austin Half-Marathon (my original goal) or the Capital 10,000. And then, of course, there’s triathlon season to look forward to. What ways do you enjoy getting (or being) fit in Austin?

Whether you believe in an Intelligent Designer or study the matter scientifically, you’ll agree that mother’s milk is the perfect food for infants. Only in the last couple of generations have many Americans allowed commercial interests to pervert the essentially human act of nurturing our babies.

Fortunately, in Texas, breastfeeding in public has long been protected under law. However, that has not kept mothers from being harrassed. In fact, in the last couple of decades since I breastfed my own son I’ve noticed a decline in support for breastfeeding. A woman’s breast has become increasing eroticized by the media with nipples being pixelized even on medical shows. People seem to have forgotten what breasts are for; we don’t need to protect kids from breasts–breasts are designed for kids. Luckily, Austin has restaurants like Jaime’s Spanish Village which advertise that they are breastfeeding-friendly.

If you are currently breastfeeding, consider taking part in Saturday’s Breastfeeding Challenge 2006 which is taking place simultaneously in cities all over the US and Canada. This is a family event designed to heighten awareness of the importance of breastfeeding in raising healthy children. Help take back breasts from the realm of smutty magazines and put them where they belong–in babies’ mouths.

The Mothers’ Milk Bank of Austin encourages new moms to join in so that Austin can break its own record–42 moms and 44 babies. The Breastfeeding Challenge will take place in Republic Square Park right next to the Farmers Market at 11 o’clock, Saturday, September 30th. Check in at 10:30 am at 4th and Guadalupe.

I discovered earlier this year that I really enjoy training for some sort of athletic event. I spent two months in the spring training for my first triathalon, and I managed to cross the finish line at the Rogue Women’s Tri in July. I had a blast. Me, former couch potato extraordinaire. So I decided to train for another event. This time, I’ve chosen the AT&T Austin Marathon (the half-marathon portion, anyway), and I’ll be training with AustinFit, the best training value in town. I’m a slow runner, wogging (walk/jogging) most of the time rather than actually running. But with AustinFit, that’s okay. We’re divided into pace groups, and I’m confident that I’ll be able to keep up with my fellow Orange group runners throughout the 26-week training. For folks who are faster or more experienced, there are training groups for you, too. Training started officially last Saturday morning, but you can still sign up. Show up at TxDOT on Riverside at 7:15 a.m. tomorrow morning to register. Join me!

Oh, me.
Okay, so, got my apartment, feelin’ groovy. Decide my hair is gross and flat and decidedly not punk rock. I have weird, fugly, Michael-McDonald’s-greatest-hits hair. And this, this cannot be. So I recall my best friend raving about a little place called Bird’s Barbershop where she came back with this creative and cute haircut for a pittance. I remember that haircut. It was badass. Maybe they’ll understand my need for “emo bangs”. Celebratory haircut it is.
I call ahead and apparently they’re more of a walk-in type of place, so I take my sweet time getting there. When I finally do, I have a wait time of about 2 seconds before I’m hurried over to a chair by a very nice lady named jacqui/jackie/jakqee/you know what I mean. She asked me a lot of questions, trying to get a feel for my relationship with my hair (drunkenly cursing screaming “you’re not the boss of me!” at it in the mornings) and what I use on it daily (duct tape and pudding mix) and what look I was going for (hard to explain without Meg Ryan reinventing the Shag every two years.)
(more…)

You’ve heard of cord blood banks? They operate on the idea that the blood from your child’s umbilical cord can be used later to treat diseases like leukemia, sickle cell and metabolic problems among others. The problem is that it’s generally expensive and the likelihood that you’ll actually need it is difficult to predict. Costs range from $600-$2000 for the initial deposit in a private bank and then there’s a yearly storage fee that hovers around $100. The probability that you’ll need it can be anywhere from 1:1,000 to 1:200,000, depending on who you ask. It’s free to donate to a public cord bank, but there you’re not assured that you’d have access to the blood that you deposited.

Now, apparently, there’s a new cheaper option and it’s based here in Austin. BioEden can take your child’s baby teeth and extract stem cells from them that can be used to treat diseases. The cost is somewhat cheaper and for those of us that have kids that were too old or decided to delay the decision, we’ve got another option. I’ve inexplicably been saving my son’s baby teeth as he’s lost them. They’re sitting in a plastic baggie in the top drawer of my dresser. Honestly, I don’t know why I’m saving them. I don’t think I’m shelling out the money on the outside chance that they’ll help later though, especially since we don’t have a history of the types of things it might help. I wonder how long you can keep the teeth and still harvest the cells? I guess you’re SOL once the tooth is out and you haven’t put it in their special ToothSaver solution with ice packs?

Update (2006.07.17): The Statesman wrote a story about this today.