Emily M. DeArdo

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7 Quick Takes

Seven Quick Takes--Sinuses & Stats

7 Quick Takes, essays, family, health, knitting, booksEmily DeArdo2 Comments
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Hey everyone! Welcome to fall. (AKA, the return of hockey season!)

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On the blog this past week, I wrote a piece that I think is pretty important, and if you haven’t read it, here it is: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.

If you’ve been a reader here for any length of time, you know that I take the idea that “everyone has worth” seriously. This is because I have been frequently told that because my genetic code is messed up, my life is “too hard”.

Life is hard for everyone. Everyone will suffer. Everyone will die. I wrote a book about this, for Pete’s sake.

Yet some people think we can control suffering. We can control unhappiness.

We can’t.

So whenever the ugly head of eugenics rears its face, I try to play whack-a-mole with it and beat it down into the dust where it belongs. This piece is my latest Whack-A-Mole entry, but with the caveat of a really, really grim statistics at the beginning.

95% of children with CF are aborted in utero.

Anyway, read the piece to get all the sad facts and see exactly how I feel about this. :)

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Happy news, yes? :) How about some Patty?

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Also in HUGE news, I’m an auntie to a little girl! I have a niece coming! Her name is Madeleine Grace and she will arrive in the world in January and I am so excitedddd. (She is my sister and her husband’s little girl)

This is the first grandchild for my parents, so obviously we are all really excited.

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I’m having sinus surgery in December! My ENT had a CT of my sinuses taken and apparently there is lots of “mucus and junk” hanging out in my ethmoid sinuses (which are really cool, btw), so he’s going to go in, get the crap out, and then flush in lots of antibiotic stuff to keep things happy!

This is all part of CF. The mucus that’s really think and causes so many issues in my lungs also causes issues in other places, mostly the sinuses, the pancreas, and the reproductive tract (most men with CF are sterile—not sure if it’s all, but most are.) For me, my transplant took care of about 98% of my CF issues—but not my sinuses. Fortunately I have really good sinuses (I had a friend who needed sinus surgery every nine months) but it’s been about 10 years since I had a clean out and that means I’m overdue. So, December! Surgery! Yay!

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Dad and I are reading the Cormorant Strike series and we love them. I just started watching the TV series. Have you read these? I’m not super into mysteries/crime, but I love these. And I mean it helps that they’re ghost written—it’s actually JK Rowling who write them. :) So as a massive Harry fan, that helps. (I didn’t like her first adult novel, btw. So that’s why I was slow to pick these up. But these are good.)

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Knitting? I finished the Beatrice Shawl, and I’ve got four colors for a mystery KAL.

Beatrice shawl on the mats

Beatrice shawl on the mats

The KAL is a 6 week thing, and I have five of the clues so far, so I joined late, but I’m really chomping at the bit to get started. I just needed some more size 4 needles, so once those arrive I can dive in!

Seven Quick Takes No. 126

7 Quick Takes, family, travelEmily DeArdoComment

I. 

Until the election, I'm doing 30 Days of Beauty. It's a series where I post images, book and movie recommendations, and music to serve as a bit of peace and loveliness in the crazy. They're not very long, but hopefully you enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed putting them together!

II. 

Makeup recommendation time (this is where all the guys scroll down!): Best mascara I've ever tried is Maybelline's Last Stiletto. Seriously. Try it. Works just as well as Lancome's Definicils and better than any Bobbi Brown I've tried. Needed to share this with y'all. 

III. 

I am going to Houston on Sunday! My sister's birthday is on Monday and she wanted me to come visit her, so I am complying. I'll be there for a few days. 

The extra-fun part is that my sister shares a birthday with two of our cousins, one of which also lives in Houston. So it's gonna be one big party. Yay!

(I do love birthdays. So much.)

IV. 

On Tuesday we're going to the beach. Here's how that conversation went:
Mel: So we'll go to the beach on Tuesday.
Me: Guess I won't need to pack my sweater, then....

It's going to 90 when I'm there. The beach in October? That just seems wrong. 

Oh well! Better than not being on the beach, right? 

V. 

I haven't been to Houston in about five years, so I'm excited to go back. I also get to meet my sister's boyfriend, whom I haven't met yet. Hopefully I don't scare him away. :-P 

VI. 

The TSA agents really do not help women. I mean, seriously. ONE little bag to carry on of toiletries? This, and my meds, is why I have to check baggage. Seriously. I need more than one little baggie, TSA people. 

(First world problem, I know. At least I'm flying Southwest and my checked bag is free.) 

VII. 

Hockey season has begun and my heart is happy. Hockey season always makes me happy. Except when/if my teams are tanking. I don't want that to happen. That's not happy. 

 

Seven Quick Takes No. 87: Happy birthday, Bryan!

7 Quick Takes, familyEmily DeArdo1 Comment

I. 

Today, my brother turns 30! So in his honor, he's getting my 7QT this week. 

II. 

80s stripes, y'all! 

80s stripes, y'all! 

Bryan is what teachers call a "good kid." He isn't mean or snappy, he gets along well with just about anyone, and can make friends anywhere. I remember when he was in high school, and my family and I were in line at Tim Horton's. A girl came up to us and said, "Excuse me, but are you Bryan's family?" She sounded like she was talking about the Pope, and then proceeded to talk about how great my brother was. We probably all looked at her a bit askance--it's not that Bryan wasn't great, but that we had no idea who this person was. This happens a lot. Bryan's very friendly, and going places with him can be like going places with a mayor. There's always someone who knows him. 

III. 

Halloween in the 90s. 

Halloween in the 90s. 

III. 

Bryan loves sports, but especially football, which makes sense, since he's now a Steelers sportswriter. It's hard to believe, but there was a time when our dad despaired of him ever liking football. Ha. Ha. Those days are gone. Bryan can tell you everything about every single Super Bowl, including the weather at kickoff. He once explained to me football defensive schemes at a restaurant using napkins and peanuts. And his knowledge isn't just about football--he can speak, intelligently, about baseball, hockey, basketball (he does love some Cavaliers basketball), and other sports.

He cut his journalistic teeth on our high school paper and at OSU, writing for the Lantern, and covering the football Buckeyes for the college sports radio network. He also used to dress like Jim Tressel, with a sweater vest, when he went to the press conferences or covered games. It was great.  

IV. 

He doesn't just talk about sports; he plays them. In his life he's played football and soccer, and ran cross country in both high school and college. He loves to run, which, I'm going to tell you, I don't understand, but he's good at it. He's run in the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, New York (including the one that was cancelled because of Sandy), and Boston Marathons. I think he could've gone to the Olympics, but he disagrees with me, and I guess he'd know--but I think he could have. He's a coach for our high school's cross country team now. 

V. 

Yeah, that's Bryan bawling his head off.....

Yeah, that's Bryan bawling his head off.....

He's great with kids--kids love him, and he loves them. He was a substitute teacher for awhile, and the kids just loved his classes, but he's also great with babies, toddlers, and small fry. 

VI. 

VII.

In addition to all that, he's a great brother. He's a good listener, an excellent clothes shopper (really, he likes to go shopping!), and has given me IV meds a time or two, which is also awesome. The day he was born, I said I wanted a sister, and I got one a few years later--but I'm really glad I have my brother.