Need to polish some jewelry? Put toothpaste on it!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  Shhhhh! Do you need to polish up some of your silver jewelry but don't a) know how b) don't want to go buy special jewelry cleaner or c) both?  Just put some toothpaste on it. Scrub scrub scrub and Voila!
                                                                                                 Before

                                                                                                   After
As you see in the picture I used a q-tip, but the best option is an old toothbrush since it's the easiest to scrub with.  I've also used a washcloth, paper towel, and pretty much anything you can scrub with. Amazing. Easy. Cheap. Super Secret.

Guest Post: "There’s an App for That"

-- The following is a guest post from our secret lady friend who chooses to remain 

anonymous until a baby kangaroo is officially put into her mama pouch --

We are currently on Month 2 of our Journey to Procreate, now that Flo has decided to pay a visit and I can more accurately gauge my cycle length (and thus my most fertile days). This time around I’m armed with the knowledge of an even greater arsenal of scary pregnancy articles and, most importantly, a better app. My mom thinks I should just relax and let this happen naturally,  but there are but a few things one can control during this process, and knowing that I’m doing everything possible to achieve success on my end is very relaxing. So there. And dammit if I’m not going to be the Valedictorian of Pregnancy.

So this app. A reader of this very blog contacted my Lady Bits buddy Anna to suggest it to me. It’s called, “My Days,” and lets you chart all manner of lady data, from the dates and level of your menstruation to the consistency of your cervical mucous (in my opinion one of the most disgusting phrases on this Earth), from your weight and temperature to the days you make sweet, sweet love (this you mark with a little heart, which is adorbs).

It even lets you graph your weight and basal body temperature. Science! The reason you’d want to do this, by the by, is that your basal body temperature will be a sustained degree or two higher once your egg drops, and you’ll probably put on a couple post-implantation. Fun fact: my normal body temperature runs a cool 97 degrees on average, and this morning I was a frigid 95.6. Am I even alive?

While I wait for the sparkles in my eyes to manifest in human form, I’m keeping myself busy by revisiting all manner of pregnancy blogs I’ve become acquainted with over the years:

• I spent great gobs of time that I should have been working at one of my first post-college gigs following Jeff Ruby’s blog Push on Chicago Magazine’s website. He wrote a riveting, no-holds-barred exposé of his wife’s first pregnancy and taught me what a mucus plug was.
• I started following Dooce, one of the original mommy bloggers, a year later, and read about her pregnancy with her second daughter in real time after devouring her account of her bout with post-partum depression after having her first.
• More recently, I’ve been following the blog of a friend of a friend of a friend who gave birth only last week. She's hilarious—her pregnancy posts are tagged “My Body is a Wonderland”—and her truthy scribbles actually helped me decide for certain that it was time to create life.

Do you have any require reading or app-ing you think pre-pregians should get into? Share in the comments below!

Surprise party birthday recipes

If you haven't organized a surprise party for a loved one yet, DO IT. I don't care if you're throwing it for a 5-year old or a 105-year old. Everybody loves it. The sneaking around, the lies, the flood of emotion. You gotta do it!

Here was Tom's magical moment. Thanks to Rachael's (shirtless) BF for the footage!

I made a bunch of eats for the party. Here are photos and recipes!

Cherry lime cupcakes:

Ingredients

for the cupcakes -
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1.5 limes {about 2 tbsp juice}
1/2 cup buttermilk

for the frosting -
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup pitted sweet cherries
1 lb powdered sugar
additional cherries for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and lightly spray the liners with nonstick cooking spray.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and continue beating until well combined. Add the lime juice and mix well.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and lime zest. Add the butter and sugar, then drizzle in the buttermilk. Keep beating until batter is smooth.

Scoop out batter into prepared cupcake tins. Fill each tin 3/4″ of the way full then bake for 30 minutes until cupcakes are golden. Remove cupcakes from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat the butter in a stand mixer until it softens. Add the pitted cherries (these can be roughly chopped or just halved) and the powdered sugar and keep beating for another 6-8 minutes until very fluffy. The cherries will naturally break up during this process.

Frost cupcakes and top each with a whole cherry.

Taco dip:

Ingredients

8oz hummus (I used Sabra Chipotle Hummus)
6oz plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon salt-free taco seasoning
1/4 cup salsa

Toppings:
chopped tomato
sliced black olives
shredded cheddar cheese
shredded lettuce
diced avocado

Instructions

Spread hummus on the bottom of a deep plate. Mix taco seasoning with Greek yogurt then spread on top of hummus. Dallop salsa on top followed by remaining toppings. Serve with tortilla chips and sliced/chopped fresh veggies.

Crockpot chicken tacos:

Ingredients

chicken breasts
jar salsa
can black beans, drained
frozen corn

taco seasoning or......

1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp cumin
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt to taste
cracked pepper

Instructions

STEP 1: Add everything except the rice, cheese, and cilantro to the slow cooker along with 1/4 cup of water (for good measure). Give everything a good stir and make sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.

STEP 2: Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hrs.

STEP 3: After 8 hours of cooking, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker. Stir with a fork to shred the chicken (it should be super tender and will shred easily). 

Mexican oven fries:

Ingredients

2 small russet potatoes
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry potatoes then cut into quarters. Cut each quarter into two or three 1″ wedges then place into a bowl. Add oil, salt, and pepper, toss to coat, then place onto a foil-lined, nonstick-sprayed baking sheet and roast for 35 minutes, flipping half way through. Remove potatoes then sprinkle 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese on top of hot potatoes and then serve.

Guest post: "Rocket Go Boom, but Still an Empty Womb"

-- The following is a guest post from our secret lady friend who chooses to remain 

anonymous until a baby kangaroo is officially put into her mama pouch --

Every month when Flo showed up I had a ritual of triumphantly telling or texting my husband, “Not pregnant!” and he would usually respond with some form of, “Atta girl!” At one point I reflected that someday soon I would have the opposite reaction upon learning that my oven had stayed un-bunned.

Reader, today is that day.

I’ve read ad naseum about pregnancy symptoms—the lower back pain, the swollen and tender bosom, the nipples of unusual color and size, the tendency to hork when encountered with the odors of things like persimmon and beef jerky, odors that used to be so pleasing—and I have none. I’d also long thought that if I was preg I would dream vivid prophecies of my unborn child. Last night I dreamed of dragons. I was fairly certain I wasn’t Khaleesi, but to be more sure I took this quiz on The Bump.

It’s very similar to those quizzes you used to take in YM or Seventeen that tell you if you’re a good friend or if you’re totally stressin’ or if maybe you’re a bit of a sloot, in that there is a very obvious right answer. I forced myself to stay truthful, and got the following result:

“Well, you’re probably not pregnant, but there’s only one way to find out. Hormonal shifts and an increase in blood volume usually cause a woman’s body to change pretty early on in pregnancy, bringing on (annoying) symptoms like nausea, frequent peeing and fatigue. But since you’re not experiencing many of these symptoms, it doesn’t really sound like you’re pregnant.”

The quiz suggested I confirm their totally scientific results with a test, so after a brief consult with Doctor Google I headed to Walgreens to get a three-pack of First Response tests (on sale!), which can be accurate up to six days before your missed period. I stick-peed this morning, when the pregnancy hormone would be most concentrated. After one minute, I was probably not pregnant. After two, it was pretty durn sure I wasn’t pregnant. Minute three rolled around and I was definitely not pregnant.

I allowed myself a few minutes to spiral. “You definitely miscalculated your ovulation. What were you thinking? Obviously you don’t have a 28-day cycle. Way to be dumb, DumbFace.” “Maybe you don’t even ovulate anymore because you were born with only 60 eggs and the last one dropped years ago. Maybe you’re going through menopause. Is this bathroom just really hot or are you HOT FLASHING??” “This is the first milestone on a road that leads to fertility treatments and soon you’ll have sextuplets and you’ll have to buy a new house and you’ll have to become a YouTube sensation so you can go on Ellen to try to get free diapers.”

Then I thought, “Maybe it’s for the best. Your dinner last night was white cheddar popcorn and a s’mores blizzard. If there had been a child in there you would have reduced its IQ by at least half a point.” And also, “Stop being dramatic. Make offerings to a few different fertility gods to cover your bases and just keep trying.”

The injustice of it all is all those years I went to ridiculous lengths to stay barren. At one point with my first boyfriend I was using three forms of birth control! Three! Ridiculous. After watching all these documentaries it seems truly impossible to get knocked up. Even if the stars align and the rocket goes boom within the 2-3 day period when magic can happen, it STILL might not work! How are all these unwanted pregnancies even happening?! Seriously! Tell me your secrets, Teen Mom!

Also, maybe you should try using three forms of birth control.

Let's get Knotty!

Lady Bit Anna W. sent us a link to these fun new hairstyles to try, http://www.elle.com/beauty/hair/easy-updos-braided-brooch-step-one#slide-1 Go ahead, check them out. Back? ok good. Well I went ahead and tried the "Knotted Updo."

As you can tell from my change in shirt, I tried it a few times.  I love the look of it, it's a great change from my go to french braid, but I think it would work better on hair that has some texture.  Mine had a hard time staying put!  Conclusion: definitely a "day two" hair style. I bet it would be amazing in curly/wavy hair!  Someday I'll try the "Embellished Top Knot." What do you think? Is that one too out there?

Guest post from a (possibly?) pregnant Lady Bit

-- The following is a guest post from our secret lady friend who chooses to remain 

anonymous until a baby kangaroo is officially put into her mama pouch --

Right now I am being held hostage by something that may or may not be true. Namely, I may or may not be currently pregnant. This means I may or may not be damaging the development of a teeny tiny speck of life that may or may not exist with every gulp of alcohol I drink and every whiff of smoke or pollution I inhale and every schmear of unpasteurized cheese I consume.

 The exhausting part is that, due to the widely held three-month rule of secrecy, I can’t tell most people why I’m acting differently. Why I have to say, “That sushi looks delicious, truly madly deeply delicious, but I’m going to have to pass.” Why I’m ordering ginger ale in small glasses and pretending (unconvincingly) that it’s scotch.

 My husband and I decided at the end of June that we wanted to start trying for a spawnling. I was nearing the end of my last pack of birth control, and the timing seemed good with both of us in secure jobs and in a financial place where we felt like we could bankroll a child. I scheduled an appointment with my regular lady doc to get her blessing, and she told me that Hubs and I should have sex every other day until we’re sick of each other for the next year. If, by that point, nothing was happening we could then start discussing infertility treatment.

I got an app to tell me when I was going to be most “ripe,” to be totally disgusting about it, and made sure that we were doing the business on the proscribed schedule (Lady Doc told me not to do it more often than every other day so that his swimmers would be at peak strength). I forced my husband to abstain from alcohol during this period along with me—over the July 4 holiday no less—partly because I read online that he should and mostly because I wanted to see how far he would go for our unborn child.

The one exception I made was the night that the conception may or may not have taken place, and I was at an event where a glass of wine was included in the price of admission so I felt like I had to drink at least half of it in order to get my money’s worth. I had watched a pregnancy documentary starring Courtney Cox earlier that day, so I knew that if everything had gone according to plan, cells were only just beginning to divide into a raspberry the size of a pen tip and burrow into my uterine lining. There wouldn’t be a brain to destroy for another few weeks, if, you know, there would be a brain at all. I thought of it as my last hurrah.

Now, all I can do is wait. Assuming I have a regular cycle, I’d be getting my period this Thursday. The thing is, I never had a regular period before going on the pill all those years ago, so maybe I really have a 32-day cycle or a 46-day cycle. My mom assured me that she had the same irregularity issue, and yet still managed to get pregnant, “every time your father gave me that special look after holding a baby at a party.” She recommended that I smell pregnant mothers and their children to try to stir up a hormone soup in my brain. Seriously. What???

This is the advice I have to rely on because she’s one of the only people in my Circle of Trust who has given birth.

I’m a talker. I like telling everyone everything always; it’s somewhat of a family trait. And it’s K-I-L-L-I-N-G me to not be able to talk about this to anyone. I want to talk about how weird it is to be trying to get knocked up after a full decade of actively and fervently making sure that didn’t happen. I want to talk about the “Another one bites the dust…” angst I’m sure to get from some of my gal pals who will view this development as an end to Life As We Know It. I want to talk about all the confusing information out there (try reading this article without going cross-eyed).

Ladies of Lady Bits, will you let me talk to you?

"Neapolitan" Style Margherita Pizza!

There's not a whole lot in this world I like more than Neapolitan style pizza.  The bubbly crust, the melted rounds of Mozzarella. Oh my goodness my mouth is watering already.  My favorite spot in Minnesota for this treat is at Punch Pizza (if you haven't been there, stop what you are doing and go! go right now!) If you can't make it there, or like me are trying to save some money, then try this version at home. I came up with this quick "homemade" version by using things I had on had and needed to use up. Plain Tandoori Naan from Trader Joes for the crust, tomatoes from the farmer's market, basil from my basil plant and Mozzarella rounds I had leftover from a Caprese salad I made earlier in the week.

 

Ingredients:

Trader Joe's Tandoori Naan (in the frozen food section)

Tomato- sliced

Fresh basil 

Fresh mozzarella ball, cut in rounds

garlic- thinly sliced

olive oil

salt and pepper

red pepper flakes (optional)

Set oven to 400 degrees, Drizzle a little olive oil on frozen naan and heat in the oven on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 30-45 seconds, just to warm it up a little.

Take out of oven and place slices of tomatoes and garlic on top of the naan. 

Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper on top of the tomatoes

Layer Mozarella on top

Place basil leaves on top of the Mozzarella

Drizzle a little more olive oil and top with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes (if using)

Turn oven to "broil" and place pizzas on the middle rack for about 10-15 mins.  

Watch carefully and take out when the cheese is bubbling and starting to brown.

I ate two of these little pizzas and liked them so much I made them again 2 days later!

Enjoy!

Happy 5th of July: Sweet Cherry Plum Pie!

I don't know about you, but I normally get inspired to make an amazing Fourth of July dessert when it's too late. Every year I think it will be different - I'll plan ahead, find the perfect recipe and have a fun excuse to make a fun dessert like a berry flag cake, or strawberry sparkle cake. Instead something always comes up and without fail I miss an opportunity to make my dream Fourth of July dessert. So if you're like me and didn't get your baking fill this holiday, here's a perfect recipe that's as American as a dessert can be but is perfect for any summer occasion. I actually made this in London, when it was 60 degrees, so really it's the right dessert for whenever you crave some cherry plum pie! 

Sweet Cherry Plum Pie

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen 

Crust 

**This dough recipe is technically double the amount you need. I used one half of this recipe for the entire pie, but you could use all of it and make a top crust instead of a lattice pie 

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups unsalted very cold butter

3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk 

Pie Filling

4 cups pitted fresh cherries (2 1/2 pounds) 

1-2 plums cut up into pieces

4 tablespoons of cornstarch (or flour)

2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar (the amount depends on how sweet your cherries are. I only used 1/2 cup and could have used a bit more)

1/8 teaspoon salt

Juice of half a lemon

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

1 egg

To make the pie crust

Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in the bottom of a large wide bowl. If you have a pastry blender, cut up the butter in small pieces and use the pastry blender to work the butter into the flour until the butter is the size of tiny peas. Or a nifty trick is using a grater to grate the cold butter into the flour. This will make the butter into small pieces and once you mix the grated butter into the flour you should have the right consistency. If not, use your fingers to break up the butter into smaller pieces in the flour. Gently stir in 3/4 cup buttermilk with a rubber spatula, mixing it until it makes a mass. Then use your hands to knead the dough a few times into a ball. If the dough isn't sticking together add more buttermilk one tablespoon at a time until it kneads to form a ball. Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap and flatten until it forms a disc. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour or up to two days. 

To make the pie 

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2) Stir together the cherries, plums, cornstarch, sugar, salt and lemon gently together in a large bowl. 

3) Roll out the pie crust on a floured surface. Place the rolled out dough gently into a 10 inch pie pan and trim the edges so that there is at least half an inch overhang. 

4) Spoon filling into the pie crust and discard the rest of the pooled liquid left in the bowl.

5) Place the bits of cold butter on the top of the filling. 

6) If you are making a full crust top pie, place the other round on top of the pie, leaving a 1 inch overhang. Fold the overhang over the bottom crust and seal it either decoratively or with a fork to crimp the edges. Cut small vents into the top of the crust for the steam to escape. 

7) If you are making a lattice top pie, roll out the leftover dough and cut it into strips. Place over the pie in a lattice design with 1/2 an inch overhang over the edges. Use a fork to crimp the lattice pieces with the bottom crust. 

8) Whisk egg gently to make an egg wash. Brush the egg wash over the pie crust. 

9) Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

10) Let the pie cool on a rack before eating. 

Bookshelf it!

I live in a pretty small apartment with a pretty big guy and a pretty sassy cat. As we accumulate more and more stuff, our apartment gets smaller and smaller, but I've found that one thing helps more than anything else in every room of our apartment. BOOKSHELVES. They're not just for books anymore. Check this.

Shoes! This bookshelf is right in the doorway of my apartment. Tom gets the bottom four for his shoes, I get the top four for my shoes, hats, mittens, umbrella, etc. Before I put this in our doorway, our shoes spilled out into the hallway, living room, and front porch room. It was madness I tell you.
Shoe! Madness!

Office supplies! I use this bookshelf next to my desk to house my ukulele, binders, extra old computers, and every kind of electronic chord known to man. This one is kind of obvious, but it made a huge difference to my work area. And it helped separate me from fricking Nerf-land over there.

 

TUPPERWARE! Ok this isn't technically a bookshelf, but I am sort of a tupperware fiend and they all fit nicely here in this shelf under the window. And I keep my canvass grocery bags underneath that stool in the corner. Before this stool, they could not be contained. 

DISHES! When I realized I could store cups, tea supplies, cereal, AND
recycling in one bookshelf, it was a happy day. A happy day indeed. 

CLOTHES! The bookshelf to the right is filled with my t-shirts, socks, pants, and unmentionables. Before this I tried to shove them into my tiny closet and into these small drawers to the left. Nuh uh, girl. It did not work.

And, of course, BOOKS! But you know that anyway. I arranged these three cascading shelves so they nest right underneath the bar table in my hallway. Out of the way, and so much prettier to look at than a white wall.

Also here's just a tip. I really needed small containers to separate my makeup into, and my favorite thing to use is both sides of a travel soap container. They're shallow and durable AND really cheap. Yay.

Ok thanks for diving into the wonderful world of bookshelves with me!

Vagina Talk: Standing With Wendy!

**Update: In the end, Governor Perry called a second special session and HB2 was signed into law on July 18th. However the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, ACLU and Whole Women's Health announced on September 27th that they are filing a lawsuit against the bill. Read all the details here! 

As part of my MPH program, all students have to complete a practicum and I am spending my summer working in Austin, Texas. This week I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to witness a historic, inspirational and important event.

On Tuesday June 25th, Texas State Senator Wendy Davis started a 13 hour filibuster to prevent SB 5 from passing during the Texas Legislature's Special Session. SB 5 is one of the most restrictive pieces of anti-choice legislation in the country, and would have dramatic repercussions on the state of reproductive rights in Texas. If passed, SB 5 would have banned abortions after 20 weeks, placed numerous regulations on abortion clinics causing 42 out of the 47 abortion clinics in Texas to close, effectively banned telemedicine abortions, and had no exceptions for victims of rape and incest.   Friday, the threat of SB 5 resulted in an incredible "Citizens Filibuster" in the Texas State House, where over 700 Texans delayed the vote until 3:40 am with hours of moving and powerful testimony. With midnight on Tuesday marking the end of the Special Session, Texas Senator Wendy Davis continued this heroic attempt to prevent the passage of SB 5 by starting a 13 hour filibuster at 11:18 am.

The Senate Gallery

When I finished work on Tuesday, I headed down to the Capitol to stand with Wendy Davis and support the fight for reproductive rights in Texas. Sitting in the gallery and listening to Wendy Davis' testimony was inspiring. By that point it was 5:30 pm and Wendy Davis had been filibusterting for six hours, with just under seven to go. While I was there her filibuster included testimony from Texas women on how this law would effect them; discussion of the harmful impact SB 5 would have on seeking emergency medical care for ectopic pregnancies and evidence from Texas ACOG regarding their opposition to the bill. She clearly explained the terrible impacts SB 5 would have on Texas women and passionately argued against the supporters of this bill that sought to drastically infringe on the reproductive rights of Texans.

The filibuster was also pure political theater. It was appalling to see the lengths at which the opposition tried to end the filibuster. I was in the chamber when Wendy Davis received her first point of order for ungermaneness for talking about Roe v. Wade, as well as the debacle surrounding the back brace. Listening to the Senators describe other filibusters and the parliamentary rules, it was clear that the  opposition was grasping for any chance they could to undermine the filibuster and move forward with the bill. But there were also a lot of encouraging examples of camaraderie and support between the Senate Democrats as they worked to contest each point of order, and finally stall the filibuster when the third point of order was sustained.

Wendy Davis in action! 

Apart from Wendy Davis, my favorite thing about the filibuster was seeing the reproductive rights community in the halls of the Texas Capitol. There were hundreds of men and women in orange, mothers showing their children the importance of being politically engaged, and people of all ages standing with Wendy. And it wasn't only Texans. Over 160,000 people all over the nation were watching the live stream and organizations from across the country sent food to the Capitol that volunteers passed out to the people lining the halls.  By 8:30 pm the line to get into the gallery was four stories high, the energy was intense and the passion was palpable.

Thankfully, SB 5 did not pass during this Special Session. In response to this, Lieutenant Dewhurst blamed "an unruly mob," but really, it was anything but that. The people who went to the Capitol on Tuesday were a passionate, organized and inspiring community pushing back and showing the power of civic engagement, solidarity and togetherness. Yes, they were angry but they have a right to be. All across the country state laws are chipping away at our reproductive rights and yet these laws do nothing to prevent unintended pregnancies but only seek to jeopardize access to necessary health care.

Governor Perry has already called another Special Session and in many ways the passage of some sort of abortion restriction bill seems inevitable. However, Wendy Davis' filibuster is still an extremely successful and important occurrence. At first glance, it shows that in many ways one person, like Wendy Davis, can make a difference. But more importantly, it shows that when a community comes together to stand for the things they believe in great things can happen. It was a privilege to be in Texas to witness this on Tuesday, but I also know things like this are possible all over the country and because of that, I am extremely grateful and proud to be a part of this amazing reproductive justice community.

By 8:30 pm the line to get into the gallery was four stories high (fourth story not pictured)

Ask A Lady Bit: Vagina Talk!

As I said in our first Lady Bits post, I am obsessed with reproductive and sexual health. It's what I love to read about, learn about and I've been lucky enough to work at a reproductive and sexual health clinic where I got to talk about these things all day. It's gotten to the point where no topic is taboo but rather a common occurrence in everyday conversation with my friends. And you know what I realized? A lot of us have the same questions, worries or stories, but nobody realizes this because there's no space to talk about it. Instead we're left wondering and googling, which can lead to a lot of mystery and worrying. But that's not how it should be! Instead we should all enjoy the chance to talk openly, ask questions and enjoy the comfort in knowing that there are a lot of other people out there thinking and wondering about the same things.

So Lady Bits friends, I present to you Vagina Talk*, a safe space to talk about reproductive and sexual health in a straight forward and supportive way. I'll be sharing news, stories and answering your questions related to all things reproductive and sexual health. Let's get started!

*while this is called Vagina Talk, this will be a space to discuss all body parts and sexual health matters related to all genders. I just really like the word vagina.

Photo credit: 4000 Years For Choice

Question: My period is late... when should I take a pregnancy test? 

Late periods are never fun and can be super stressful. If you're concerned you might be pregnant, taking a pregnancy test will test for the pregnancy hormone hCG in your urine. If you're taking a home pregnancy test, you should take it first thing in the morning since that's when your urine is most concentrated. When home pregnancy tests are accurate can vary on the brand but in general, most pregnancy test brands are accurate one week after a missed period. If you don't want to take a test at home, pregnancy tests at clinics can be accurate as early as 10 days after your last unprotected intercourse. Need a clinic? Use this awesome clinic finder!

If you take a pregnancy test and it's negative, know that stress, life changes or even increased exercise can alter your cycle. But if you still haven't gotten your period and are feeling pregnancy symptoms, you should take another pregnancy test one week after your last one just to make sure. Since every body and cycle is different, for some people the levels of hCG may be too low to be detected by a test during the first few days after a missed period. If you still haven't gotten your period for three months, make an appointment with a doctor to check out what's going on.

Finally, if your period is late, you have a negative pregnancy test and are on the pill, Nuva Ring or Patch, it's really important that you start your next pack/ring/patch when you're supposed to even if you haven't gotten your period! If you go longer than 7 days without your pill/ring/patch, you won't be completely protected and should use a back up method for a week. 

Do you have a question? Submit it to Lady Bits for Anna P. to answer! 
While Anna P. is experienced in providing evidence based, comprehensive and sex positive sexual and reproductive health education, Anna P. is not a medical practitioner and should only be used as a health education resource and not a substitute for medical care. If you need medical care, referrals to clinics and additional resources are located in each post. 

Strawberry Streusel Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is summer baking perfection. It combines a delicious streusel topped coffee cake, with one of my favorite summer fruits. It's moist, light, and just the right amount of sweetness. 

It's also pretty adaptable! I didn't have sour cream so greek yoghurt came to the rescue. I also decided to use half whole wheat flour and I could barely taste the difference. And hey, if you think it's better for you, you can eat more of it, right? 

The only thing I would change is the strawberries. I needed more! My strawberries cooked down really quickly so in the end the cake wasn't overflowing with strawberry compote like the original recipe. So next time I think I'll plan on at least a cup and a half of strawberries, or not cook them for as long. 

Strawberry Coffee Cake

Adapted from Joy The Baker 

Ingredients

1 cup sliced strawberries 

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch or all purpose flour

2 teaspoons water

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt 

8 oz. greek yoghurt (or sour cream)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel topping:

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 cup all purpose flour 

3 1/2 tablespoons sugar 

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2) To make the streusel topping: combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly

3) To make the strawberry filling: combine strawberries, 1/3 cup of sugar, cornstarch/flour and water in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sauce thickens and strawberries soften (about 5 minutes). 

4) Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 

5) Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

6) Add vanilla extract

7) Sift dry ingredients together

8) Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter in 3 parts alternating with the greek yoghurt in 2 parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. 

9) Beat just until combined

10) Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan.  

11) Spread the cooled strawberry mixture over the batter.  

12) Spoon the remaining batter onto the strawberries and spread evenly. 

13) Top with streusel topping and bake in the upper third of the oven.  

14) Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Strawberry cheesecake bites

The lady bits have been all over the recipes lately. Here's one more easy no-bake summer funtime treat for your mouth hole.

strawberry cheesecake bites!

What you need:

• A couple batches of strawberries 
• 8 oz package softened 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla 
• 3 graham crackers

First, remove all of the leafy green parts of the strawberries. You can just rip them right off.
Huzzah!

Then either take a strawberry huller or a paring knife and remove the stems from the strawberries, leaving holes. Kazaam!

Like this!
Wee!

Next, crush up 3-4 graham crackers and spread them out all nice-like on a plate.
Wham!

Whip up your cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. I used an electric hand mixer.
Zoom!

Put your mixture in a pastry bag or a ziplock and snip off one corner.
Woop!

Then fill each strawberry with the filling, dip the end in graham cracker crust, and pop them in the fridge. Goo!

When you arrange all the parts of this recipe they kind of make a face. See?

There you have it! Super easy. Fun to do. Wear an apron. Shiz might get messy.

Veggie Cashew Curry Oh My!

I love Indian food. So much.  Until I came upon this recipe that suggested adding Greek yogurt I could never quite figure out how to give it that tangy creamy kick that curry has when you go to a restaurant.  So I used that trick to create my own hearty vegetable curry recipe! This recipe is completely adaptable to what you have on hand.  For example, the recipe below is for the pictured curry, but I have also made this recipe to great success by adding onions, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, baby corn, cilantro garnish, chicken, and/or chickpeas.  The basic makeup is to make sure you saute whatever veggies/meat in a little bit of oil with lots of curry powder a touch of cumin and red pepper flakes.  The key ingredient is the yogurt mixture you stir in at the end.  The rest is up to you!

Vegetable Cashew Curry:
ingredients:
3 small heads of brocolli; chopped
2 garlic cloves minced

1/2 bag of baby spinach leaves
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 baby cucumber, finely chopped and some thinly sliced (optional garnish)
1 can of cashew slices
1.5 cups plain greek yogurt
Juice from 1/2 a lime
1 can coconut milk
about 3-6 tablespoons curry powder
Pinch of cumin
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes
Rice

(All of this takes place in one large cooking pot, making this a one pot dish!) 
-Saute Brocolli in a little bit of oil and 1 tbls of curry powder stirring to coat.
-Add red bell pepper and garlic adding oil and curry powder as necessary, again to coat.
-Add mushrooms and spinach with a touch of oil, cumin and red pepper flakes.
-Once the spinach is beginning to wilt add the coconut milk and simmer.  It should be yellow in color.
- While your curry is simmering add half the can of cashews, lime juice, and yogurt to a food processor and mix.  It should have a thick consistency (like pancake batter) add more cashews/ yogurt to reach desired consistency.
- Add mix to the vegetable curry and stir to blend.
- Add most of the rest of the cashew slices to the curry and stir.
- Add chopped cucumber (if using)
- Serve in bowls over rice with extra cashews and sliced ribbons of cucumber.

Enjoy!

Summer in a Glass: Hibiscus Iced Tea + Hibiscus Vodka

It's officially mid-June and it's been cold and rainy. Summer should be here by now, but it isn't. So on a lazy Saturday afternoon, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

It looks like this outside, so I used this stuff to make this!

I love all things hibiscus -- my mom was born in Hawaii while my grandpa was stationed there and I traveled there a couple times as a kid. My grandma even grows amazing hibiscuses here in Minnesota, which is quite the labor of love.

I got into hibiscus iced tea on its own a few months ago, but I've been hankering to make it into a drink ever since I saw Giada do it. Enter: Absolut Hibiskus, a vodka flavored with hibiscus and pomegranate. Combined with The Republic of Tea's Natural Hibiscus Tea, Tazo Passion Tea (a blend flavored with hibiscus, orange peel, rose hips, and passion fruit), and a little squeeze of lemon juice, it's a perfect refreshing summer drink...even if it's not summery outside.

Here's how you make the tea:

Clockwise from the tea bags: Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, Step 4, and Step Oops.

Step 1: Get your teabags! The teas I used recommended 1 tea bag per 6-8 oz. of water and to double the number of tea bags for iced tea. I used 64 oz. of water, which means I should have used 16 tea bags...but those guys are expensive, so I cheated a little and used 8 of the Natural Hibiscus Tea and 6 of the Passion Tea.

Step 2: Boil 8 cups of water and get a pitcher ready.

Step 3: Once your water is boiling, dump all your tea bags into the bottom of the pitcher, and then dump the water on top of it. Steep for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the tea bags from just floating on the top.

If you are me and you forgot to take the paper tags off the Passion tea bags, go to Step Oops. If not, go to Step 4.

Step Oops: If you don't take off those paper tags, the boiling water disintegrates them and they muck up your tea. My quick solution was to grab an clean old t-shirt and drape it tightly over the pot I used to boil the water. I poured the water through the cloth into the pot to strain out all the paper pulp and tea bags. Bonus: straining also got rid of the usual tea bag debris. It wouldn't hurt to do this (with a cheesecloth) even if you don't make the paper mistake, as it resulted in a crystal clear and fancy cocktail worthy iced tea base. Pour back into the pitcher and cool in the fridge.

Step 4: Fish out the tea bags and put it in the fridge to cool.

You can use the cooled tea for the drink below, or you can drink it straight up like regular iced tea. It's very tasty with a little simple syrup stirred in, but I like it just as well plain.

Here's how you make the drink:

Left to right: Step 1, Step 2, Step 3.

Step 1: Fill a glass up with ice, then pour in hibiscus vodka to roughly that spot the arrow is pointing to.

Step 2: Fill it the rest of the way with the cooled hibiscus iced tea (again, you can add simple syrup if you want it a little sweeter).

Step 3: Squeeze in a little lemon juice and drop in a lemon wedge, and then stir it up! I like the lemon juice (lime would be good, too) because it takes away most of that boozy bite.

There you have it, HOT PINK summer in a glass. Just don't spill it on anything, because it is COLORFUL.