Sunday, February 1, 2015

top three [02.01.15]

can't stop won't stop with these boots: one | two | three

medicine

  • Locked-in syndrome, or pseudocoma, happens when there is a lesion in the brainstem. Basically, the person has a stroke, goes into a coma for a few weeks, and then slowly regains consciousness, but can't physically move anything except possibly a bit of eye movement, so the patient still seems like they are in a coma when in fact they are fully conscious. Doesn't that sound completely horrible? A journalist and editor of French Elle named Jean-Dominique Bauby actually had this after suffering from a stroke and he ended up writing a whole book with only his eyes. He ended up dying two days after it was published. 
  • Oxytocin is a hormone that is released from your pituitary gland that has two big functions - uterine contractions during birth, and milk letdown during breast feeding. Interestingly, our bodies can be conditioned to the sight, sound, or smell of a baby to have milk let down happen. Kind of an unfortunate response if you aren't ready to breastfeed the second you see a baby...
  • In 2000, the measles were eliminated from the US. I don't fully understand why we are currently putting ourselves, and especially our infants (who can't be fully vaccinated yet) at risk for diseases that are preventable. I once read a quote that people who are afraid of vaccinations giving their children autism are more afraid of having an autistic child than their child dying of a preventable disease, and that really stuck with me. I don't mean to step on any toes here, but I spend day in and day out learning about these horrible diseases that happen when one isn't vaccinated, and I just don't understand how anyone could put their children at risk of getting these diseases when there are very real, and very safe, vaccines out there. 

on the internet

spotted
  • Besides the Chanel-like shoes, Target has been killing it lately with accessories. This tote would be a great addition to your closet (the reversible red makes me all *heart eyes*), while this watch is veerrrrrry  similar to this $1000+ version
  • How pretty is this top? I would need to do at least a million push-ups before I felt comfortable in a sleeveless top, but it may be worth it. 
  • Thoughts on this dress as a "wear to a wedding" dress? The back is so beautiful. 

on franish
  • on the blog: january's budget, and all the ladies who linked up!
  • on instagram: snowy mornings call for warm scarves, hot coffee, and cuddly dogs
  • on facebook: a throwback of 3 years of layering - upgrade or downgrade?

personal
  • I hit a diet milestone this week by finally putting another hole in my belt. Although I've lost close to 15 pounds, I haven't changed dress sizes. The downside of being 5'9'' (besides that most jeans are too short) is that you need to lose quite a bit of weight to change dress sizes, but it did feel great to tighten up the belt a bit. 
  • My exam last monday went really really well - I was in the top 10%! Now if only this endocrine exam tomorrow would go that well....
  • Baer and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary the other day. He's grown about 40 pounds, still has feet too big for his body, and I love him more every day.