Can you get pregnant from swimming in a pool?

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . July 30, 2009 . 1:23PM

A Polish woman is suing an Egyptian hotel because she says her 13-year old daughter got pregnant while swimming in its sperm-infested waters.

Whoops.

Someone is in trouuuuuubleeeeeeee.

I can’t figure out if it’s because she should be scared that she has poor intellectual genes or that she is now the proud winner of a hard life at the age of 13 years for an ill-informed decision made by her hormones. Either way, she’s got her mom, smart or not, wrapped around her finger.

Sweetie, if swimming in a pool could get you pregnant, women everywhere would be using that excuse like WOAH.

I feel bad for the girl, who may honestly believe it’s true now. Yes, it’s a naive thought, but I try to see the best in people. WE KNOW something takes place to get someone pregnant. At 13, and in another, less-sexualized country, we don’t know how much SHE knows.

I DON’T feel bad for her mom, who is clearly an idiot.

I DON’T feel bad for the lawyer who is going to get smacked for a frivolous lawsuit.

Am I wrong that I’m just incredibly thankful that this story, for once, took place outside of the United States?

Tiny Bubbles and sensitive skin problems

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . May 21, 2009 . 3:43PM

I love tiny bubbles. Probably not the ones you are thinking about, however. No, mine are in the tub. Unfortunately, like any good bubble addict, I had to give mine up.

It started when I went to the dermatologist and she diagnosed me with…sensitive skin. Duh! I’m sorry, that wasn’t very ladylike, but really. You can’t really tell from my author picture, which my friend Natalie says makes me look like an Oompa Loompa, but I make pale look pale in comparison.

In my life, I’ve had few nicknames. I hate any of the ones that refer to Jack and Jill or putting my name with a bean near it (unless it’s been pre-approved by me). On some websites, I’m referred to as a “pale porcelain goddess” when discussing what color of makeup I should wear. A friend from right about the time before I got married called me “china doll” because my skin is light and I look like I’m porcelain. Someone else called me Lucy, but that’s another story for another time and has nothing to do with this post.

So, to say that I knew my skin would be sensitive due to its hue was an understatement. What I didn’t know was that her prescription for me would take away my bubbles. This was serious. Not serious in a terminal illness kind of way. Please. I’m a sensitive person behind that sensitive skin. No, merely an inconvenient kind of way. I live with boys. Boys who appreciate a good smelling girl. One of the ways I achieve that is with my Philosophy 3-in-1 scents. Man, do I love those things, and my boys often comment on how nice I smell. I don’t know how to cope without that self-esteem boost.

Now, I’m down to using Aveeno body wash for sensitive skin. It does its thing, I think. It doesn’t strip my skin, so I don’t have that super clean feeling, but my body isn’t flaking like a snake shedding it’s skin. It has no scent, however, so I suppose I’ll have to rely on perfume. I feel like a petulant child and it’s making me unhappy with my body makeup only because I really like the way Philosophy smells. It’s immature, but it’s a sad, sad state of affairs….

Without the bubbles.

It’s a life change, to be sure. If you still have your bubbles, enjoy them and remember that there are people in the world, not just in 3rd world countries, who do without bubbles! Be thankful for your capability to bathe in bubbles! Revel in your bubble bathing abilities and be confident that you will come out of your bath smelling great!

Rage against the machine…kind of — more like rage against the airlines

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . April 28, 2009 . 2:20AM

The older I get, the more I find myself being stingy about spending my money on fees that I think are stupid. Unless you can tell me how the fee is 100% necessary, I think you should foot the bill for your own operating costs and suck it up. This applies to the nickels and dimes I get charged on my phone bill, electricity, internet and misc other bills every month.

This has led to almost a fanatic obsession with the online website The Consumerist. It not only informs me of anything shady that is going down, it gives me a healthy dose of anger and “holding the man down” mentality. I like it.

I was looking for a nice anger rush when I saw this post. It includes this quote:

Speaking to analysts during US Airways Group Inc.’s earnings call last week, president Scott Kirby said that airline clearly has made a lot of money by charging for checked bags.

But that doesn’t mean that Southwest isn’t benefiting from not charging the fees, he said.

“It’s possible that Southwest receives a very small market share from a number of carriers,” Kirby said.

Yep, that did it.

I don’t fly often, but I’m fixin’ to start. For those of you that don’t live in the South, that means I’m preparing myself to begin. I have to attend several conferences in the next year and this will require copious amounts of travel. I pack fairly light, but I know for sure that I am absolutely not paying for my bags. I’m just not. I already pay far too much for the convenience of going places and then get “fee’d” out the wazoo.

So, what I’m telling US Airways and all those other punks who think they are getting my cash and can charge me extra for stuff that they should be providing as part of what I’m already paying for: Forget it. I’ll take my business elsewhere and I’m not the only one. I will drive before I’ll pay you my money because I think that business ethics count. Some things are just the cost of doing business.

In the South, people say you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. And, Honey, you sure did miss the point.