Pregnancy & Chocolate

Ok, after a long hiatus, I'm back. What has torn me away from the computer for so long?  Not much, just the usual love/hate relationship with the computer world and lack of energy at the time of day when I would actually have the opportunity to sit here and type away.  Maybe I should blog at night around 2am, when I am usually wide awake, eating a bowl of cereal.

We've officially entered what we call "staycation".  This is the time of year when we are relatively free of the usual farm obligations. Instead of going away on a vacation we stay around home, leisurely milking the cow and taking trips up to Berkshire South Community Center, visiting friends, etc.  Some of my personal highlights of the last 2 months have been: making 2 little quilts with 30s reproduction fabrics for the silent auction at Bea's school, making her a waldorf  doll (a new baby of her own) for Christmas, seeing Coleman Barks read Rumi at Kripalu and simply having lots of family time with Dan and Bea. 

Chocolate, as well as an ever growing list of things I mean to mention here, has brought me back to the blog. (Also thanks Sarah M. for blog inspiration!)  Although this story isn't that recent - it was reported on last April - I recently heard about it on The Health Show on WAMC.  Reuters reported that a Yale study showed that women who ate 5 or more servings of dark chocolate a week in their last trimester were 40 % less likely to develop preeclampsia that women who ate only one serving.  

Preeclampsia can be a serious complication in pregnancy and is indicated by high blood pressure, protein in the urine and edema. Theobromine, found especailly in dark chocolate, has been shown to lower blood pressure and dilate blood vessels. Yahoo! as I sit here I'm enjoying a cup of hot cocoa a la Patches!  Here is the link to the health show story to hear more: Pregnant? Mangaire the Chocolate!