Sorry about the weird musician photo-- it was the best recording I could find.
I heard (no joke) twenty seconds of this in my music class today and ran to the teacher after class to ask hungrily, "what was that last piece, please?" Grinning, he told me it was the oboe sonata written by Francis Poulenc, and his favorite piece ever. I think that's a pretty big thing to say since he's a professional clarinetist. The first movement of the sonata, "Elegie," is just... oh, I love the oboe.
If I were to learn to play an instrument (other than the piano) I would choose the oboe.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
QUEEN of ESTROGEN, Part II
Part II: The Science Behind it All
I'm a little unbalanced.
My problem, among others that I have, is being "Estrogen Dominant." That's a condition in which a woman can have deficient, normal, or excessive levels of estrogen, but has too little progesterone to balance it. Let me try to sum that jargon up. Estrogen is balanced by progesterone-- if there isn't enough progesterone, you end up with too much estrogen.
Understanding the players: ESTROGEN & PROGESTERONE. Where do they come from? How they end up unbalanced?
1) Your monthly cycle.
A menstrual cycle can be divided into two phases: the follicular phase which is the first half, and the luteal phase which is the second half. The follicular phase is where estrogen peaks and ovulation occurs. The second half of the cycle is where progesterone is released from the corpus luteum, the rupture that was formed on the ovary from the egg being released at ovulation. That rupture is stimulated by a hormone from the pituitary gland, and large quantities of progesterone are released.
Okay. So basically estrogen is made through your cycle, and then when you ovulate, progesterone kicks in and balances it out-- sort of controls it. But what if you don't ovulate? What if you're on birth-control pills that work by preventing ovulation? Well, then you'd have no corpus luteum rupture on your ovary to produce any progesterone at all-- and your estrogen levels will just get higher and higher every month.
2) Stress & Your adrenal glands' production and use of progesterone.
One of the main functions of the adrenal glands is the production of cortisol, a stress-fighting hormone that is made from progesterone. When you experience high levels of stress, the increased need for cortisol depletes the progesterone that is required to make it. As more progesterone is shunted or sequestered to make cortisol, less is available to balance off the estrogen. If you're stressed out, you end up with less progesterone, and thus-- too much estrogen as a consequence.
Not only that-- but cortisol stimulates slow-wave, restorative sleep. A deficiency of progesterone can limit your production of cortisol, which, can cause you to feel exhausted. Even after a full nights’ sleep. That may be why I am so exhausted. Plus, progesterone has a calming, sedative affect that reduces the amount of time required to fall asleep, and which helps you to stay asleep. If, like me, you don't have enough of that stuff-- it could explain why you're having trouble sleeping.
3) During pregnancy, the placenta produces progesterone.
Progesterone also increases blood supply of oxygen and improves circulation, both of which are important in pregnancy. What may interest my sisters, is that post-partum depression is due, in part, to a relative depletion of the body's stock of progesterone vs. estrogen.
4) Xeno-hormone exposure is a source of estrogen.
Livestock, from which we get not only meat, but also eggs and milk, are fed growth hormones and estrogenic hormones to cause rapid growth so they can be marketed sooner, and then we eat those hormones. Also, the sugar and chemicals ingested from processed foods create chemicals called “xeno-estrogens” in our bodies, which stimulates a vicious cycle in which fat cells are enlarged. Fat cells in turn make more estrogen in the body. Source. Transfats like margarine also contain xeno-hormones. Processed foods and pesticides are full of them.
The extra sources of estrogen that frankly have no business being in your body can be limited by sticking to organics & whole foods, and by any number of other things. If you're interested in this I'd suggest checking out Mastering Your Metabolism and Melissa's Blog.
5) Excess fat storages in your body produce estrogen as well.
This is the most ridiculous cycle I've ever heard of, but it's true: excess estrogen makes you gain weight, and those extra fat cells that you've gained then produce more estrogen that... make you gain weight. Lather, rinse, repeat.
After learning more about what can disrupt your hormones and not just what they're meant to do, I've had "oh, that's why this is going on" moments. I'm so glad there is information to be had that can help me repair and replenish imbalances-- cause I'm really looking forward to being healthy again.
I'm a little unbalanced.
Understanding the players: ESTROGEN & PROGESTERONE. Where do they come from? How they end up unbalanced?
1) Your monthly cycle.
A menstrual cycle can be divided into two phases: the follicular phase which is the first half, and the luteal phase which is the second half. The follicular phase is where estrogen peaks and ovulation occurs. The second half of the cycle is where progesterone is released from the corpus luteum, the rupture that was formed on the ovary from the egg being released at ovulation. That rupture is stimulated by a hormone from the pituitary gland, and large quantities of progesterone are released.
Okay. So basically estrogen is made through your cycle, and then when you ovulate, progesterone kicks in and balances it out-- sort of controls it. But what if you don't ovulate? What if you're on birth-control pills that work by preventing ovulation? Well, then you'd have no corpus luteum rupture on your ovary to produce any progesterone at all-- and your estrogen levels will just get higher and higher every month.
2) Stress & Your adrenal glands' production and use of progesterone.
One of the main functions of the adrenal glands is the production of cortisol, a stress-fighting hormone that is made from progesterone. When you experience high levels of stress, the increased need for cortisol depletes the progesterone that is required to make it. As more progesterone is shunted or sequestered to make cortisol, less is available to balance off the estrogen. If you're stressed out, you end up with less progesterone, and thus-- too much estrogen as a consequence.
Not only that-- but cortisol stimulates slow-wave, restorative sleep. A deficiency of progesterone can limit your production of cortisol, which, can cause you to feel exhausted. Even after a full nights’ sleep. That may be why I am so exhausted. Plus, progesterone has a calming, sedative affect that reduces the amount of time required to fall asleep, and which helps you to stay asleep. If, like me, you don't have enough of that stuff-- it could explain why you're having trouble sleeping.
3) During pregnancy, the placenta produces progesterone.
Progesterone also increases blood supply of oxygen and improves circulation, both of which are important in pregnancy. What may interest my sisters, is that post-partum depression is due, in part, to a relative depletion of the body's stock of progesterone vs. estrogen.
4) Xeno-hormone exposure is a source of estrogen.
Livestock, from which we get not only meat, but also eggs and milk, are fed growth hormones and estrogenic hormones to cause rapid growth so they can be marketed sooner, and then we eat those hormones. Also, the sugar and chemicals ingested from processed foods create chemicals called “xeno-estrogens” in our bodies, which stimulates a vicious cycle in which fat cells are enlarged. Fat cells in turn make more estrogen in the body. Source. Transfats like margarine also contain xeno-hormones. Processed foods and pesticides are full of them.
The extra sources of estrogen that frankly have no business being in your body can be limited by sticking to organics & whole foods, and by any number of other things. If you're interested in this I'd suggest checking out Mastering Your Metabolism and Melissa's Blog.
5) Excess fat storages in your body produce estrogen as well.
This is the most ridiculous cycle I've ever heard of, but it's true: excess estrogen makes you gain weight, and those extra fat cells that you've gained then produce more estrogen that... make you gain weight. Lather, rinse, repeat.
After learning more about what can disrupt your hormones and not just what they're meant to do, I've had "oh, that's why this is going on" moments. I'm so glad there is information to be had that can help me repair and replenish imbalances-- cause I'm really looking forward to being healthy again.
QUEEN of ESTROGEN, Part I
Heads-- I know it's really long, but since Melissa is blogging about what I'm getting into as well in attempts to save my health, so here's my part of the story. Part 1: how hormones affected my health.
A long-standing joke among my friends that the last thing I'd ever need more of is estrogen. People have actually told me that I'm the most emotional person they've ever met. While I take great pride in my ability to feel overwhelming passion-- think sensibility, not sense-- lately I've noticed that things have been even more over the top. I'm concerned.
What first gave away that there was something wrong? Sleep.
My sister has a "superhuman ability to compete at sheer Olympian levels of mommyness and wifery on only 4 hours of sleep". She's unstoppable! I used to have something similar; I kept four jobs and went to school full time, getting better grades than I ever had before, and still wasn't overwhelmed. I got hardly any sleep, and worked myself to the bone.
So when, after being on the pill for a few months, I started needing more and more sleep to function, I knew it couldn't just be me. I mean-- I'd done the workaholic with no REM to speak of thing before and knew I had it in me. So why, when I was willing to work that way again, did I require 10-11 hours of sleep DAILY to not feel exhausted? I'd have to miss class or work because I couldn't stay awake in the morning (which did wonders for my GPA, I can tell you). I knew from experience that I wasn't just a lazy bum-- so why on earth did I have to stay in bed all the time?
Eventually other odd symptoms started to click into place as habitual, and not just occasional. Headaches I'd never had before were common. Crushing depression was daily fare, when I had no cause to be depressed. Agonizing stomach cramps that ended with me writhing on the bed happened all the time. I caught every single bug that came my way, when I used to never be sick at all. I would faint, feel dizzy, vomit, spend *ahem* hours in the bathroom, and no matter what I tried all of those things would happen every day.
I went from being healthy, full of energy, and being skinnier than I ever had been (which still wasn't that skinny) to feeling like there was so sunlight, that walking from my bed to the couch was tiresome, and to being bed-ridden if I wished to be comfortable. Talk about your fast turnaround!
A friend suggested that it might just be PMS. "But," I thought, "This can't be PMS if it lasts all month long." I frantically searched through the contraindications of my birth-control pill, and it was all in there.
So I switched methods. Things got worse. My husband said "okay, no hormones for you" and I tried to get it all to leave my system, which, as the doctor said, could take 3 months or more. With every month that passed I started to feel better; the worst symptoms are gone, but some ugly ones remain. I still have no energy. I still feel exhausted and require 12 hours of sleep.
I suspected that I feel this way because my hormones were just really out of whack. Being me, I did a lot research and study to see if my suspicions had merit. Turns out, I was right-- but it wasn't just the birth control. Then I found out that the other things going wrong with me physically could also be caused by a hormonal imbalance!
What other stuff? My acne has flared, I constantly feel cold-- which never happened before either, and my previously broken leg has been killing me again right where the bones were busted (which makes it really hard to walk).
GET THIS! TOO MUCH ESTROGEN LEADS TO:
Weight gain, especially in the breasts, waist and mid-section of the body. Well, yeah. That's practically the only place I put on pounds.
Carbohydrate and sweet cravings. Um...
Immune system problems, allergies, catching colds easily. Oh boy, have I been sick!
Joint pain. Wait, what? Estrogen may be the cause of that?
Cold hands and feet. This is starting to freak me out.
Acne. It was better when I was on the pill, so I figured it could be related to hormones.
Panic attacks, depression, anxiety, feelings of dread, etc. Oh, so it's not just me!
Mood swings, PMS, irregular bleeding, cramps, and because associated with changes in hormonal levels in the body-- dysmennoreah. Psh! I don't have any mood swings! Ahaha. Anyway. Dysmenorreah is a beast, I can tell you; I figured out that I have that a few years ago. It stopped when I was on the pill (a common treatment for dysmenorreah because there's no ovulation), but when the pill was gone it all came back. Joy.
Bone loss. Okay... so my broken-leg hurting out of nowhere was ALSO related to this? You've gotta be kidding me.
A long-standing joke among my friends that the last thing I'd ever need more of is estrogen. People have actually told me that I'm the most emotional person they've ever met. While I take great pride in my ability to feel overwhelming passion-- think sensibility, not sense-- lately I've noticed that things have been even more over the top. I'm concerned.
What first gave away that there was something wrong? Sleep.
My sister has a "superhuman ability to compete at sheer Olympian levels of mommyness and wifery on only 4 hours of sleep". She's unstoppable! I used to have something similar; I kept four jobs and went to school full time, getting better grades than I ever had before, and still wasn't overwhelmed. I got hardly any sleep, and worked myself to the bone.
So when, after being on the pill for a few months, I started needing more and more sleep to function, I knew it couldn't just be me. I mean-- I'd done the workaholic with no REM to speak of thing before and knew I had it in me. So why, when I was willing to work that way again, did I require 10-11 hours of sleep DAILY to not feel exhausted? I'd have to miss class or work because I couldn't stay awake in the morning (which did wonders for my GPA, I can tell you). I knew from experience that I wasn't just a lazy bum-- so why on earth did I have to stay in bed all the time?
Eventually other odd symptoms started to click into place as habitual, and not just occasional. Headaches I'd never had before were common. Crushing depression was daily fare, when I had no cause to be depressed. Agonizing stomach cramps that ended with me writhing on the bed happened all the time. I caught every single bug that came my way, when I used to never be sick at all. I would faint, feel dizzy, vomit, spend *ahem* hours in the bathroom, and no matter what I tried all of those things would happen every day.
I went from being healthy, full of energy, and being skinnier than I ever had been (which still wasn't that skinny) to feeling like there was so sunlight, that walking from my bed to the couch was tiresome, and to being bed-ridden if I wished to be comfortable. Talk about your fast turnaround!
A friend suggested that it might just be PMS. "But," I thought, "This can't be PMS if it lasts all month long." I frantically searched through the contraindications of my birth-control pill, and it was all in there.
So I switched methods. Things got worse. My husband said "okay, no hormones for you" and I tried to get it all to leave my system, which, as the doctor said, could take 3 months or more. With every month that passed I started to feel better; the worst symptoms are gone, but some ugly ones remain. I still have no energy. I still feel exhausted and require 12 hours of sleep.
I suspected that I feel this way because my hormones were just really out of whack. Being me, I did a lot research and study to see if my suspicions had merit. Turns out, I was right-- but it wasn't just the birth control. Then I found out that the other things going wrong with me physically could also be caused by a hormonal imbalance!
What other stuff? My acne has flared, I constantly feel cold-- which never happened before either, and my previously broken leg has been killing me again right where the bones were busted (which makes it really hard to walk).
GET THIS! TOO MUCH ESTROGEN LEADS TO:
Weight gain, especially in the breasts, waist and mid-section of the body. Well, yeah. That's practically the only place I put on pounds.
Carbohydrate and sweet cravings. Um...
Immune system problems, allergies, catching colds easily. Oh boy, have I been sick!
Joint pain. Wait, what? Estrogen may be the cause of that?
Cold hands and feet. This is starting to freak me out.
Acne. It was better when I was on the pill, so I figured it could be related to hormones.
Panic attacks, depression, anxiety, feelings of dread, etc. Oh, so it's not just me!
Mood swings, PMS, irregular bleeding, cramps, and because associated with changes in hormonal levels in the body-- dysmennoreah. Psh! I don't have any mood swings! Ahaha. Anyway. Dysmenorreah is a beast, I can tell you; I figured out that I have that a few years ago. It stopped when I was on the pill (a common treatment for dysmenorreah because there's no ovulation), but when the pill was gone it all came back. Joy.
Bone loss. Okay... so my broken-leg hurting out of nowhere was ALSO related to this? You've gotta be kidding me.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Hail the Conquering Graduate!
Three cheers for my husband for graduating from college! Dylan has constantly impressed me with his diligence and dedication to his schoolwork; I'm so proud of him.
I'm so excited to display his diploma: a Humanities degree majoring in French Studies, with minors in both World Dance and Italian. WAY TO GO, BLUE EYES! Dylan collects chess sets, so to help celebrate his victory I bought him chess piece shaped cuff links.
I'm so excited to display his diploma: a Humanities degree majoring in French Studies, with minors in both World Dance and Italian. WAY TO GO, BLUE EYES! Dylan collects chess sets, so to help celebrate his victory I bought him chess piece shaped cuff links.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
My Favorite Things: Movie Soundtracks
I owe my love of music to my parents and older siblings who wrapped it around me from a very young age. Thanks you for your example. The marvel of your talents filled my young eyes with wonder and has greatly influenced my life. Film scores, in my opinion, are the true triumph of the symphonic world. I've been a passionate collector of them for many years, and they frequently make me cry, take my breath away, and make my heart beat faster. They can scare me too-- Jaws, anyone? I find in them more glory, beauty, and feeling than is available through any other source. I listen to them all the time! Just ask my husband-- he often mutters about how hardly anything on my iPod has words.
My father once complained that quality, refined music wasn't being written anymore. When I disagreed, he asked, "Yeah? When was the last time you heard a choral symphony?" My response was swift. "Last week. Superman Returns." The fact is that more symphonies are written today than ever before, and we owe that to the film industry. Isn't that wonderful? Finally something to love Hollywood for!
You all know I love movies, and you know a soundtrack can make or break my love for a film. Some movies use the score as a crutch, and some use it for their crowning achievement. Below are a few lists of what I consider "favorites". The following movie that I LOVE is a Janie-Thompson-esque medley of 16 movie themes that John Williams combined for an Oscars-tribute to musical scores. It's quite fun-- Daddy should especially like it. A bunch of movies he likes make the cut. My favorites too!
All-Time Hit List
Jurassic Park, Jumanji, Tuck Everlasting, Casper, Home Alone, Ever After, Little Women, Dances With Wolves, North & South, Cinema Paradiso, The Mission, Rudy, Beauty & the Beast/Pocahontas, Exodus, Patton, All of Ken Burn's documentary soundtracks, The Parent Trap, Last of the Mohicans, and October Sky.Latest Fascinations
Rachel Portman's Cider-House Rules and The Duchess.Ennio Morricone-- Once Upon a Time in America
My Top Composers
James Horner, John Barry, Alan Silvestri, Hans Zimmer, Alan Menken, Ennio Morricone, James Newton Howard, Thomas Newman, Patrick Doyle, Rachel Portman, Elmer Bernstein, and John Williams.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Hello, Jonathan Groff!
GLEE's latest "Hell-O" episode certainly made me say hellooooo. They cast Jonathan Groff (squee!) as Jesse St. James, a character who ends up at least temporarily as Rachel Berry's interest on the show. This was, I'm sure, a funny way of pleasing broadway fans who loved the two actors playing opposite each other in Spring Awakening-- not a good show, but Groff has the most incredible voice.
Personal request for Rachel Berry: If Jesse turns out to legitimately like you, take him instead of Finn. He's finitely more dreamy and a much better singer.
Anybody else like this guy on the show? I certainly fell for his tactics. I should have supervision while watching next weeks episode-- to remind me to breathe, of course. Hee hee.
Precious Lost
When we first started dating, I grumbled about needing a keychain and Dylan gave me the Eiffel Tower. It looked so lovely with my keys (even though I still hated Paris at the time). Since then, I've grown to love France and the idea of going there with him. Slowly I began to cherish the keychain. Whew, am I sappy.
It hath slipped from it's place on my keyring. *sigh* I could replace it, but it costs too darn much to have it shipped. Lost, lost! My precious is lost.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Eric Carle Makes Fabric Too
Look! It's just too perfect for a baby quilt.
baby quilt + book = coolest present ever.
baby quilt + book = coolest present ever.
Baby Showers
Fabulous "Baby Blues Set" on Modern Organic FabricsSo many of my friends are having baby showers. What I'd love to do is make baby quilts to give to them-- but I've only made one quilt before and I need practice. Suggestions?
My plan is to get quilting books from the library (Alicia did that, and I thought she was amazing) and use simple patterns. I'd love to make a beehive-ish baby quilt with these:
"If I Could Work My Will,"
from Anthropologie
A simple cardigan and these dresses-- free,
All summer long I would wear them!
You'd see.
Beautiful Dreamer*
You never know what to expect while dreamingI have strange dreams. Last night one involved me transforming (through ancient magical incantations) into a renaissance-clad harem dancer for a reincarnated mummy's royal court. The mummy was Will Wheaton-- a kid who used to be on StarTrek that I saw on TV last night while babysitting my nephew.
Maybe if I didn't study ancient history and stayed away from old movies/scifi tv I wouldn't dream that a bunch of Phillipino business tycoons crashed my family's 4th of July BBQ to kidnap and present me to their mummified lord. Maybe. (No joke, that's how the dream started.)
Nah. Besides-- the mummy thing was so original. And being a harem dancer is a non-stressful occupation. Especially during REM sleep. :) Hahahahaha, my head is SO MESSED UP. Promise I'm not taking hallucinogens.
So help me if Greg Rawlings comments to say "a dream is a wish your heart makes" I will trip him at the PAC meeting tonight. That is all.
*does this remind anyone else of Mrs. Frazier? Because she used to sing that song over and over in our class.
Board Game Set
This library looks like the perfect setting for a movie involving a creepy board game. It's almost identical to the Alan Parrish home in Jumanji anyway-- and just think! You could literally say "Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench!"
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Famous Tupperware? Ah, Still Good.
The Dead Sea is a really fun place to be. The water's saltiness makes you so buoyant you can't even swim through it-- you can only float on it. A number of people I know say they'd never get in because they'd be afraid of tasting it, or that it would sting too much.
Do you see how happy she looks? It's my friends Emily (with the magazine), Maggie, and Karey. Do you see the huge grins slapped on their faces? That's because the Dead Sea is FUN! Not just a place to fear salt water getting into your eyes, but FUN.
Seriously! I've never had more fun in water in all of my life. I floated vertically, and even rolled from my back to my stomach to my back without ever getting my hair wet. SWEET.
Do you see how happy she looks? It's my friends Emily (with the magazine), Maggie, and Karey. Do you see the huge grins slapped on their faces? That's because the Dead Sea is FUN! Not just a place to fear salt water getting into your eyes, but FUN.
Seriously! I've never had more fun in water in all of my life. I floated vertically, and even rolled from my back to my stomach to my back without ever getting my hair wet. SWEET.
Wow. Not Easy.
This is not your ordinary room.
Mostly because of the colors: who has a black painted banister? I don't know who designed it, but they're imaginative. Who else but a creative mind could successfully envision pewter floral accent pillows + a red vase + cobalt* velvet couch + orange candlelight walls = every single feature striking, but not vulgar. Wow.
It certainly isn't cozy, either. Bring out the cocktail dresses! Architectural Digest eat your heart out, we're hosting a black tie event.
*Who in the world would find, let alone purchase, a blue-velvet couch?
Mostly because of the colors: who has a black painted banister? I don't know who designed it, but they're imaginative. Who else but a creative mind could successfully envision pewter floral accent pillows + a red vase + cobalt* velvet couch + orange candlelight walls = every single feature striking, but not vulgar. Wow.
It certainly isn't cozy, either. Bring out the cocktail dresses! Architectural Digest eat your heart out, we're hosting a black tie event.
*Who in the world would find, let alone purchase, a blue-velvet couch?
Visit a Library, Please!
2/3 of Americans have library cards! You'd better too, otherwise I'm sadly shaking my head in your direction. Libraries are high on the list of my favorite places.
The "Adult" Picture Books
Last week when Dylan & I went to the library I begged him to come with me to the "adult picture book section," but he gave me a shocked look and muttered something about porn in a library. Ha-ha-ha.
In all sincerity, I invite you to visit the picture-book section of your library (aka oversize), likely located in adult non-fiction. You'll find inside photographs of the Louvre and Valley of the Kings, architectural photographs of cathedrals, Cookbooks, diagrams of 18th century shipworks, knitting patterns, and even comic book encyclopedias. I highly recommend this book: Sacred Places of a Lifetime, by National Geographic.
Arthur spells: "A-A-R-D-V-A-R-K"
I love grammar. I'm pretty dang good at it, too. But this rule gives me grief. It's funny, since I get it right just by instinct, that I still don't understand the awkward concept. It's just so... aggravating.
*Okay, so I was way off on the Bundt reveal. You'll just have to wait a few more weeks. Trust me though-- I have the coolest Bundt pan. You're gonna love it.
*Okay, so I was way off on the Bundt reveal. You'll just have to wait a few more weeks. Trust me though-- I have the coolest Bundt pan. You're gonna love it.
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