A sobering fact for the day

There are 23 counties in SD that offer Labor and Delivery services-that's 23 out of 66. Check out this handy dandy little map. Click on it to biggify and or visit http://www.sdsafebirth.org/ for more info. That is a sobering image, is it not? Now, the geographer in me must be fair and compare this with a population map.

Click on this one to biggify too.

Obviously we DO have a correlation here. Birthin' facilities are reserved for population centers. The majority of our population can safely drive an hour or less to encounter trained staff to assist with their birth. But what about all the people who can't? Sure they're a minority, but doesn't the need for medical treatment and safety apply equally to all people? I'd like to know how many people in these counties without services DO birth at home? How many people need to drive more than an hour to reach delivery services?

Maybe this is why...

Maybe this is why I keep getting the dry heaves. THIS is what I have to look forward to. This is me, in ALL MY GLORY, two days before giving birth to Lizzie.

Fizzies!

Well, I tried the ginger ale! It doesn't look so yummy from here, does it? The ginger in there was mashed with my Pampered Chef garlic masher, and I added lime zest. There's honey drizzled over the whole thing, but what are those green leaves in there? Lemon Balm! After growing it for about 4 years and admiring the smell, I finally actually used it in something! If you've never had lemon balm, I would describe it as a lemony Pledge smell, minus all the nasty chemicals. It's a light and lovely lemon scent-not sharp like the real thing, just very homey and relaxing. As a relatively mild herb, it's safe for pregnancy and is used most for relaxation-especially those with stress related stomach troubles. It was a GREAT addition!

Just after this picture was taken, I added approximately 2 cups of boiling water and allowed it to steep. Oh LA! It is GOOD! It took me awhile to figure out the proportions for the final concentrate. Our recipe doesn't say anything, but I've decided I prefer it a bit weaker than I originally made it. If you are using a short tumbler, I'd say you need approximately an inch of concentrate to a full glass of seltzer. I also didn't add enough honey-but that's what you get for not measuring!

For me, this is guilt free soda. I don't mind drinking honey-I don't feel so bad about my body processing something that is a much more natural material than nasty old white sugar. Plus, there's still much LESS sweetener in this than in a real soda. Last but not least, there's no caffeine! So, I get a break from plain water AND get something fizzy-which is what I love and miss most about soda. Two thumbs up from me!

I dunno if it does anything for my nausea, but today wasn't so bad...

I got a 7

Think you have a decent grasp of dining etiquette? What about international etiquette?

http://www.fekids.com/img/kln/flash/DontGrossOutTheWorld.swf

Real Ginger Ale

2 tablespoons fresh ginger grated
2 lemon rinds
honey to taste
1 cup boiling water
1 quart seltzer
Put the ginger and lemon rinds in a small bowl with the honey. Pour in
boiling water, just enough to cover. Let steep for 5 minutes. Strain and chill. When ready to serve, add seltzer.

Sounds damn yummy! I can't wait to try it, but thought I might as well share the wealth. Perhaps it will stop my dry heaves. Remember when your parents plied you with ginger ale when you were sick? I wonder if that was just to keep you hydrated, or if there were once health benefits to the ginger? If I weren't so damn lazy, I'd look it up. Discuss amongst yourselves.