Healthy Fat Giveaway

So, in my quest towards Real Food, otherwise known as SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) food, I've been investigating healthy fats. I have moved almost entirely away from all vegetable oils and margarine. For us, it's cold expeller-pressed olive oil and butter from grass-fed cows all the way, baby.

Something that I have wanted to try though is frying in beef tallow. Did you know that beef tallow (rendered fat from cows) can be a healthy fat? If you get your meat or tallow from happy cows raised in a healthy environment, the fat is good-for-you! Per U.S. Wellness Meats' blog, one of the reasons to switch to grass-fed beef is that it is high in omega 3s (the "essential fatty acid") and CLA (an anti-carcinogen shown, among other things, to increase lean body mass, prevent arteriosclerosis and slow or halt diabetes).

Right now, Kelly the Kitchen Kop, a Real Food blogger, is hosting a giveaway of a tub of healthy beef tallow from U.S. Wellness Meats. The 36-pound tub is normally sold for almost a hundred bucks, but you could get it for free to make all sorts of deliciousness. Go on over, start reading and enter the giveaway today!

HA!

Everyone I know must read this. NOW. It made me spit out my drink and most of my internal organs with laughter.

Then, come back here and tell me your thoughts on: a) how it absolutely stinks that Glee was not on this week, b) this week's episode of Top Chef, and c) my inability to keep off any of the weight I lose.

Donor Insemination Research Project

H/t to Somewhat Ordinary (she has a private blog) for the idea.

Recently, Mel posted in the LFCA about a donor insemination research project. In case you missed the blurb, I'll repost it here.

This is "a research project examining the way in which the Internet is used to facilitate donor insemination; to negotiate access to donor sperm, to establish kinship ties or as a support network, for example. The experiences of anyone invested in sperm donation are sought: this could be women/couples who have been recipients of donor sperm, children from donor sperm or the sperm donors themselves."

I recently contacted the researcher and she told me that she would be looking to start the research soon, but wanted to make sure that she had enough participants.

If you have used or are using donor insemination to help build your family, I encourage all of you to please contact the researcher here. I'm hoping that we can get a large number of DI bloggers to participate.

It Was Negative

I went in for my beta at 8:30 AM. I did not receive a call until 3:30 PM. They made me wait all fucking day for this.

All these symptoms and it means absolutely nothing. I really thought this was it. It was all for nothing.

Giant289Pig

Please forgive me for interrupting the current programming with a surprise part 3 of our four hundred thousand, seven hundred and ninety two part series...

People Who Hate Me

So, I had to reset a password. The site sent me a temporary password to log in with. Yeah. The title above is my temporary password. They don't even know me and they're calling me a giant pig. Effers.
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In other news, I commented at:

The Pitter-Patter (on her BFN)
The Baby Chase (on her pregnancy after IF)
On (In)fertile Ground (on being lapped)
Local Nourishment (on an awesome reusable grocery bag)
Into the Light Again (asking a question about knitting)

I returned a comment to:
Grace by Inches (aka Girl, Esq. who I know IRL!!) (on making good choices for herself)

Slog Going

Add cons.tip.ati.on to the list of symptoms at 11-12 dpiui (days past the IUI). Ugh. Was laid up last night on the couch with cramps from it, even though I ate an apple and spent all of Glee and Top Chef sipping water.

I'm meeting my mom today for lunch, and we usually go to this restaurant with fabulous veggie burgers. Seriously, they are the best veggie burgers EVER! I'm hoping that the beans in them will help. I'm also counting on the french fries for awesomeness.

Been following the basic routine today of being nauseated except when I'm eating. To paraphrase Sam the Blue Eagle, I'm a weirdo.
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Here's where I've commented today:

Three Is a Magic Number (on Top Chef and organic gardening)
The Privileged Infertile (on her recent weight loss. Go Alison!)
The Pioneer Woman (on some awesome Pac Man jewelry)
I Never Thought It Made Sense Anyway (on the fact that she is a strong, awesome woman)
Banking On It (on side effects from Pr.ome.triu.m)

I returned a comment to:
The Desire of My Heart (on depression and MF results)
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Edited to add: the title of this post should be "Slow Going," but apparently, I can't type. Is that another symptom?

Disc 27!!

Warning: This post is going to be all over the place.

Coming down the home stretch for the end of this two week wait. My beta is scheduled for Monday morning. I've been feeling increasingly dizzy over the past three days and the amount of nausea that I have has also increased. There's also intermittent breast tenderness in there too (though definitely not as much before I miscarried).

I went to acupuncture and yoga yesterday. I think the acupuncture helped the dizziness. We were doing guided imagery in yoga though, and at one point, my teacher started talking about the ocean and a lotus blossom floating in the waves. Nausea City, people. Of course, then, for absolutely no reason, I started thinking about fried chicken and the nausea subsided. Darn, now I want fried chicken!
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This post's title refers to the fact that after a long, hard slog, I have finally made it to the last disc in my audiobook on the Korean War, The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam. DISC 27, baby!

I am a history buff, but generally concentrate on much earlier periods in Europe -- pretty much anywhere from the Middle Ages through the late 19th century. In my high school history class, we never got past the early stages of World War II, so I've always felt lacking in knowledge of the 1950s - 1970s.

David Halberstam's The Coldest Winter came highly recommended as a good study of the reasons for and actions during The Korean War. I genuinely enjoyed the book, but don't think it translates very well as an audiobook. Halberstam makes frequent digressions to talk about the personal histories of the main figures and this makes the reader lose place and confuse context.

I would like to give huge marks to the narrator, Scott Brick, who has a great, clear voice and speaks with just the right amount of feeling.
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So far, so good. John Dear is doing good at his new job. He's been getting up and out the door early to get to work on time, and he's determined to pull his fair share of the household responsibilities.

There are a few kinks that we need to work out, but I think that everything is going well (knock on wood).
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Today marks the start of IComLeaveWe for October. This comes at the perfect time to distract myself from the 2ww.

Here's where I've commented today:

One Day Two Day (it was her birthday! three weeks ago. whoops.)
Kitchen Stewardship (in response to an anti-abortion post)
Ship Full of Pirates (on her lemon curd recipe)
Not the Jet Set (on her baking mix recipe)
Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free (on her pumpkin dog biscuits recipe)

I returned a comment from:
Who Shot My Stork? (on the one day I happened to be productive)