Seven Quick Takes (no. 10)

Should the US impose a sugar tax? Denmark already taxes foods high in saturated fats (butter, milk, cheese, fat and oils). Will taxing these types of foods really make people healthier? I’m not so sure. There are so many problems with our food system. Just look at your local grocery store. There are endless aisles of convenience foods, produce imported from halfway across the world, bland meat, ice cream that should be called “air”cream… I could go on. At heart, there needs to be a fundamental shift in the way we view and experience food. I am a fan of real foods, especially those that are local and organic. That includes things like butter, milk, cheese…mmm cheese.

I take part in a group of mothers that gather about once a week to share and study books and scripture. Today the lovely lady leading the group ended the study by asking us to join her in singing some worship songs. I really enjoy music and there is the saying that goes “the one who sings prays twice” (St. Augustine). When I returned home I picked out one of my favorite church songs. This song was also sung at our wedding by a group of our friends. The lyrics are very powerful.

It would be nice to get a hair cut before the baby is born. It’s been at least six month, probably more, since my last hair cut. Something a little shorter, perhaps shoulder length, might be nice. I think I’ll aim to get it done this week.

This weekend we’ll be busy getting things together for the upcoming birth of our little one. I am 37 weeks pregnant now and can “officially” have a home birth. Of course, there are many factors that could result in a hospital birth but I’m fine with whatever happens.

I believe all women should have some basic knowledge of how their reproductive system works in order to protect their reproductive health. Over the last few years of teaching Natural Fertility Regulation I’ve noticed that some women disregard natural methods of fertility regulation because they believe that they would no longer be in control of their fertility. This couldn’t be more further from the truth. I think that so many women have put their trust in the experts that design and produce family planning options that they are often unaware of the effects these have on their bodies and the environment. And sometimes they don’t even work at all (contraceptive pill recalled in US)!

I have a package waiting for me at the post office. What could it be? I’m excited to find out!

I can’t believe that we’ll be starting Lent in a few weeks. We’ll be keeping things simple this year but I’ll share a few of our past traditions in the next weeks.