November 6, 2017

CONCEIVING CHILDREN: PROCESS AND CHOICE

I wrote this journal for one of my college classes at SLCC but I thought I would add it to the blog as well for memories. Enjoy! 




For this essay I chose to research on Infertility, according to the book, infertility is the inability to achieve pregnancy after at least 1 years of regular sexual relations without birth control or the ability to carry a pregnancy to a live birth. For this topic, I thought it would be interesting to research more about it online due to so many of close friends that have experienced infertility. Initially I thought it was all the same, but there are different types of infertility. Primary infertility is defined as a woman has never conceived even though she wants to and has had regular sexual relations in the past 12 months, while Secondary Infertility is when the woman has previously conceived but is currently unable to do so even though and has had sexual relations in the past 12 months. 

While researching more about what causes infertility as well as who is affected by it; I came across a few National Surveys: 1 in 8 couples (or 12% married women) have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy. While 7.4 million women, or 11.9% of women have never received any infertility services in their lifetime. Also, approximately 10 to 15% of couples in the United States are infertile. (Department of Health and Human Services, USA)

What I have also found out is that many cases of infertility are treatable. It does depend on what the diagnosis is, as it can vary case by case. In certain couples it could only be one of them that has this issue, or it could be a combination of factors such a low sperm count, ovulation disorder, blocked fallopian tubes, endometriosis, PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome), and combination infertility. Another interesting fact is that of all the couples diagnosed with infertility, 15% are diagnosed with unexplained infertility. (Natural Fertility Info, 2017)

Even though infertility is a sensitive topic to talk about there are a lot of options out there for couples that after being diagnosed still can’t conceive. For example, IVF or In Vitro Fertilization treatments, artificial insemination, donor sperm, donor eggs, surrogacy, and reproductive Surgery. Unfortunately, the treatments above can cost a lot for the couple wanting to conceive. I found that there are non-profit organizations that will rally for this good cause and donate the money to a deserving couple in the beginning process of treatments.

In conclusion, being diagnosed with infertility can be devastating for someone; but I’m happy to have found a lot of research online on the subject. There is no better time than now to educate others about this and how to get help.


Works Cited
Knox, D., & Milstein, S. (2017). Human Sexuality: Making Informed Decisions (5th ed.) [with Salt Lake Community College supplement]. Redding, CA: BVT Publishing.

October 12, 2017

Man on the street interview on contraception


I wrote this journal for my human sexuality class at SLCC but I thought I would add it to the blog as well for memories. Enjoy! 




For this essay I decided to interview other fellow students, family members, and friends. It was very interesting to find out the results to some of the questions I asked. The following questions are what I chose to use:

·       What do you know about Plan-B?
·       When it comes to contraception’s, what methods are you familiar with?
·       Would you get a sterilization if you were done having children?


For the first question I found out that about 60% people of the people I asked knew exactly what I was talking about, while the other 40% were actually about how the pill worked. There was a person that asked me if it was 3 birth controls put together in one. Someone else told me that they weren’t sure how to use it and if it had an expiration date from when the sexual intercourse happened. A surprisingly discovery was that about 75% of the people I interviewed didn’t know they could buy Plan-B at their local drug stores.

For the second question things got a little interesting. There was a gender difference when it came to answering this. The women asked this question talked about birth control, condoms, and abstinence. While the men discussed the “pull out” method. A lot of them said that if the woman is on birth control then they should be safe, after I mentioned STD’s they started to get concerned. I talked about how important it was for them to take to their partners about it and make sure to wear protection.

The last question was the most heated of all topics due to disagreement between both genders. Ladies didn’t feel like it was fair for them to tie their tubes, some of them felt like it wasn’t as safe as a men getting a vasectomy and that they shouldn’t go through all that pain. While the men surprisingly agreed with it their answers saying that they would for sure get it done with children was not a plan. Some of them were afraid about all the pain and losing their manhood.

Overall this was a great experience, I think that a lot of people are afraid to talk about certain topics nowadays. They are usually either embarrassed or afraid of sounding naïve. It always goes back to STD’s they are afraid of getting it and talking about it. The book also mentions the female condom and how they are now approved by the FDA, where to buy it, and how to use it. (pg. 300. 2017). I found this very interesting because not a lot of women know about this option. Out of the 15 people I interviewed only one person mentioned it. There needs to be more awareness everywhere when it comes to contraception.


Works Cited
Knox, D., & Milstein, S. (2017). Human Sexuality: Making Informed Decisions (5th ed.) [with Salt Lake Community College supplement]. Redding, CA: BVT Publishing.

October 11, 2017

The Promise Land | My journey to America

United States

Ah, every immigrant dream is: To come to the promised land. To live the American dream. Have a white picket fence. Go to college. Get a 9 to 5 job. Make money.  Become an American Citizen and be able to vote in the election. * Which are all things that I have personally been able to accomplish.

How do I fit into all of these things? well, I should start by telling you part one of my stories:

I was born in São Paulo, Brasil... Which is one of the biggest cities in Brazil. It constantly reminds me of New York City. The tall buildings. Businesses everywhere. Hard-working people. Subway Stations. Traffic. Taxis everywhere. A beautiful park in the middle of the city (much like Central Park). 

My childhood was amazing! My parents made sure of it. They were hardworking middle-upper class people who always-always made sure my sister and I had everything we needed. Ballet? Judo? Swimming? Gymnastics? You got it! We did it all and then some. My sister and I both attended a private school in our town and the experience as well as the memories we made in that school is was just everything. 

Utah Hogle Zoo - 1998

We traveled a lot. We had family all over Brasil so weekends were meant for beach trips or going down south to the countryside. One of my favorite memories was visiting my Italian great-great-grandma. She lived on this beautiful farm with every fruit tree you could think of. My cousins and I would climb up the apple trees and pick fresh apples. She lived in Minas Gerais which is a city known for its cheese. Great-great grandma Angelina had the longest most beautiful white hair that went down to her waist. She would stand on her porch and brush it out and smile at us! 

My grandparents were my everything!

From my mother’s side: grandma Lia (who I named my daughter after). She was the tiniest little thing. We would spend Sundays at her house and she would bake us the most delicious cakes and make the yummiest foods. My mom reminded me of something I had forgotten: my grandma Lia used to bake a cake every day of the week on Sundays. So that there was always cake for an afternoon tea or coffee time. I think that I get my passion for baking from her! Now, my grandpa, Gerald was this tall Italian guy with the most beautiful blue eyes. He was quiet but funny and guess what? He loved to work out just like we do! It was always so fun to visit with him and talk about weight lifting!

From my fathers' side: grandma Mada is where I get all my creative side from. She is an amazing artist, she crafts, she does yoga, and just always on the go! When my sister and I were little we took painting classes and when my grandma came up to visit us a few years back we took her to a painting class here. It was such a fun experience. She loved it! When she crafts she is resourceful and uses magazines and glue to completely up-cycled her furniture. My grandpa Giba is a man of little words. The sweetest guy! He is from the south of Brazil in Rio Grande Do Sul where they are known for this drink called chimarrão or mate as it is called in here. I distinctly remember drinking this with him when I was little.

So yeah, you could say that my life in Brazil was amazing and we didn’t have to leave the country to “get away” and to have a better life. My mama had just worked so hard giving us what we wanted and did an amazing job at keeping us humble because throughout my childhood I never ever bragged to anyone about having money and being better than them. Quite the contrary, I had friends from all walks of life.

When I was 10 years old my parents, sister, and I came up to the United States and spent a month doing all the tourist things you can think of. Our Aunt Fatima and uncle Gary lived up here in Utah at the time. We started in California by going to Disneyland, Universal Studios, San Diego. Then went through Zion National park, Camped at Capitol Reef, then went up to Utah and spent the 4th of July at a park watching fireworks and eating American Junk food. The rest of the month was spent shopping around (Park City) and eating at restaurants we had never heard of (sizzlers at the time) One of my favorites stops was the Hard Rock Cafe. 

After spending a month here we missed home and went back to our lives in Brazil, but as the years went by, moving to the USA was always on the back of my mom's mind. After all, two of her sisters lived here. My grandparents were constantly up here visiting so it made sense that we would eventually end up here. 

My mom is one of the hardest working women in know. Not only was she working a 9-5 at one of Brazil’s biggest banks (ITAÚ) as a business administrator, but she was also going to college full time at night to earn her bachelor's degree. To this day I still don’t know how she did it all and graduated with an A average! My sister and I used to make a list of snacks we were craving and put It on the fridge door. It was like magic because we would wake up the next day and all of our favorite things filled the fridge and pantry! 

Salt Lake City-2002

After my mom graduated college was when she decided to talk to my sister and me about moving to Utah and getting the whole school experience here. It was hard at first because we had so many friendships in Brazil that were going to miss. But I love the fact that we had the opportunity of trying something new. Even if it meant traveling to a foreign land and actually living there and not just doing tourist things.

Part 2 coming soon... 



October 6, 2017

Movie Review : TheStray " Red Carper Premier"

Disclosure: Nina Talks has received tickets for this awesome event & is being compensated. All opinions are my own. 
the stray movie premier
{Red carpet pictures, Michael Cassidy & Sarah Lancaster signing autographs}
Earlier this week we got to attend a premiere screening of "The Stray" This is such a wonderful and uplifting movie to take your family to see. It is a true story about how a stray dog found a family and changed each of their lives forever.
Both of my kids loved the movie especially "Pluto" the puppy. (if you take children younger than 5 years old make sure they understand about what's happening before they go, or they might cry a little).
I'll be the first to admit that this movie had me in a roller-coaster of emotions. I'm a sucker for movies with a good storyline and puppies. The best part about this movie is that it is based on a true story. Having the whole cast there watching the movie with us, and then at the end finding out that the real-life characters were there as well made it so special. You could tell that Mitch Davis (writer-Director) poured his heart and soul into this movie and that it was a family affair.
We got to meet the cast afterward (even Pluto) the kids were so excited about it! Sarah Lancaster (Chuck, Saved by the Bell: The New Class) & Michael Cassidy (Argo, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice) have the best chemistry on screen. While we were in line to get our autographs, Lia looked at him and said: Hey! You're the dad from the movie!
Guess what? The Stray comes out today! Check and see if it's available at your local theaters:  http://thestray.movie/tickets/

July 11, 2017

6 Healthy & Delicious Smoothie Recipes!

Are you always on the go? 

Do you sometimes forget to eat breakfast? 

Don't worry; I've got you!

Breakfast is considered one of the most important meals of the day. It provides your body the essential nutrients to keep your energy level up throughout the day. 

Nutrients are the substances in foods that are required to support body function and maintain health. Such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein. Try adding at least 1 cup of fruit to your diet daily. 

Here are 6 Healthy & Delicious Smoothie Recipes:

*Click on each link to check out the recipes and these awesome bloggers blogs!

1. Orange Banana Smoothie






xo, 
Karina

It's finally here! It's Amazon Prime Day!

Prime Day 2017 - 30 Hours of Deals (Affilitate link)

It's finally here! It's Amazon Prime Day! 

If you are an Amazon lover like me, you've probably been waiting for this day. I have Prime so today is one of my favorite days to shop on Amazon. Think of it as a Black Friday for us Prime members.  To be able to participate on all this awesomeness you must be a member! Here are the benefits that you get for a yearly membership of $99.00 :
  • Unlimited one day delivery on millions of items
  • Access to thousands of movies and TV shows with Prime Video
  • Two million songs with ad-free streaming on Prime Music
  • A massive archive of books, magazines and comics with Prime Reading
  • Exclusive discounts and memberships to online video game streaming site Twitch
  • Unlimited photo storage
  • Early bird access to limited time Lightning Deals

    Nina Talks Favorites: 

  • Echo Dot (2nd Generation) - Black $34.99
  • All-New Fire 7 Tablet with Alexa, 7" Display, 8 GB, Black - $29.99
  • Instant Pot DUO80 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker, 8 Quart/1200W - $89.99
  • Simple Modern Summit Water Bottle 2 Pack - Powder Coated Double-Walled Flask $29.99 
  • HIG Outdoor Camping Hammock - Double Parachute Lightweight $15.99
  • Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0, Silver (STDR2000101) $59.99
    

Enjoy your shopping day! Remember that this sale ends in 15 hours.
PS: Thank you for supporting the Nina Talks Blog! By making a purchase on Amazon today with the any of the links above, I'll make a few pennies. You're all the best!
xoxo,
Nina

June 12, 2017

10 of The Best Graffiti/Murals Art in Salt Lake City, Utah

One of the coolest things about living in Salt Lake City is the ART! We have so many local artists here. If you take a ride around town you are bound to run into one of these Graffiti walls. I love that they are always expressing their creativity for others to admire and enjoy. It sure makes it for an urban/edgy city! A cool thing about these graffiti walls is that there is a lot of respect between the artist community that once something is painted on a wall, they usually won't tag it. On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Daniel and I went on a mission to find our top favorites and to discover new ones as well! *Side note, he was such a trooper for driving around town with me looking for walls... Thank you, babe!

The Best Street Art Wall Murals in Salt Lake City:
  1. "Greek Gods" 100 Foot-wall on Stone Unlimited Building off of 3000 South and 300 West. The Graffiti Artist is known by SRIL around these parts. He was hired by the company to cover this wall because they were tired of getting it tagged by random graffiti. I follow him on Instagram, and his work is out of this World! Shae Petersen doesn't use stencils. He just lets his imagination run wild. While checking out his website, I discovered that he has a Mural Map! What? I need to hit up every single one of them!

2. Fice Gallery - 160 E 200 S. Right across the street from Bar-X. I took so many pictures while there and I still feel like I didn't get all the art. There is a little bit of everything! FICE is a premier sneaker and clothing Boutique. The owners wanted to highlight different artists from all over, thus creating this awesome gallery. Framed art changes often. I'm not exactly sure how often, but It is for sure worth heading out that way to check it out!




3. The Pie Hole Wall - 344 S State St. If you haven't been to that area in town yet, I suggest you to go soon! The Pie hole is such a yummy pizza place, then there is a taco place, and for those of you that like dive bars. You need to hit up the Jackalope Lounge. The coolest people own it and they will treat you right! There is some sweet art inside too!

4.  SLC Pepper - 250 S. 400 W.  (Note: There is a gate around this wall now, it wasn't like this before and you could walk right up to the mural. We took this picture through the gate). If you are a Beatles fan I bet you recognize this mural! It's a remake of the original Stg. Pepper album cover. Awesome right?
5. Sea Turtle - 3739 South 900 East (hidden in the same parking lot as Fat Cats. Just go all the way to the back of the parking lot to your left and you will find it). This wall is also by SRIL Art. He is not finished with it yet, but I used to live across the street from this and walked over here quite often. I can't wait to see the finished product!

6. Ice Haus - 7 E 4800 S, Murray. This Mural is right by my place.  If you haven't been to Ice Haus yet, I highly recommend it! They have the yummiest food! The murals are a little bit interesting. There is a cool "ice" glacier/mountains. Then a guy that looks like Bruce Lee. Next time I will do some martial arts move next to it!

7. Fear Factory - 666 W 800 S. Let me tell you a little bit about this area. Is a little sketch. To be honest with you, we stayed in the car to take this picture. Make sure to watch your surrounding while you are there. I still think is worth the drive out to check out the art! ( I might convince my boyfriend to come with me this Halloween).
8. "The Book Mural" - 222 S. Main Street. This was the hardest location to find! It's hidden in a back alley behind Goldman Sacks. We legit drove passed the alley 3 times.
9. Crank SLC - 749  State St. This is a mural on the side of the Urban Bike Shop named Crank SLC. I love the bike details on the roof! The cool thing about this mural is that it highlights all the local bikeways!
10. The State Room - 638 State Street. The State Room is a cool and intimate concert venue in Salt Lake. The Mural is on the side of the building as well. Love the Jazzy/Bluegrass feel of this mural!
BONUS Walls:
  1. Ave Maria - Right in the middle of FICE Gallery. You might miss it if you don't lookup. That's what happened to us!
  2. Coke Wall -  31 West 400 South (Green Pig Pub) You will also have to look up for this one as well!

I  know that there are still a few more around town. Do you have another favorite that I missed?
I hope you enjoy this list! I encourage you to get out there and explore your city!
Xo,
Nina