Ohhh, I love you long time!

Hey how was that for a hiatus?
It was a good one!
Adam and I went on vacation. We spent a week on a houseboat in the middle of the Shushawp lakes. It was rainy, and a little chilly; but a vacation nonetheless. We had great fun with our friends and there was some drama; but it was with some of the other people on the boat.
The drive up to BC from California was long and the drive home seemed longer. I borrowed a couple books on tape from the library thereby increasing my geek quotient ten fold at least. We listened to a Jean Auel book and on the way home the Da Vinci Code, which I was most disappointed with. I found the information it gave to be highly interesting, but the plot was dumb, the whole looking all over for the grail was lame. Why would the grandfather send his granddaughter all over? Why wouldn't he just direct her to her grandmother in the first place? There was no need for the granddaughter to find the grail, as the grandmother explains the new keepers are already getting in place. Surly the grandfather would have known this since he was the leader of the bloody group. I think that if the author would have just tweaked the plot a little more, or had a little more back story as to why he wanted his granddaughter to have the grail it would have made more sense.
Sigh. Perhaps I am far to analytical. Also I'm sorry if I've ruined the plot for anyone. (The ending of the book ruined it for me, so I'm just sharin' the love.)
Anyhow now we're home, and we're getting ready for an onslaught of visitors starting in August. Adam and I need to sort out the spare room and buy some furniture. We're going to get a new couch and a dresser for the spare room. I think we're going to get an old one from some second hand store and refinish it. I loathe having a house that reeks too much of Ikea that I need some more original pieces. As it is already our bedroom dressers are all Ikea, the shelves in the house are all Ikea and the couch will be Ikea. I need some me!
Well that should sum it all up.
ciao!

T minus 12 minutes.

So technically I should be on my treadmill sweating away getting all warmed up for my trainer. I should. However my blog calls to me.
I have all of these posts planned to write, one about fraud, one about credit counselling, one about Kyle Brandt and also the usual drivel. But I only have 10 minutes, so I will talk about my house.
My house is a disaster. How can 2 adults and 22 pounds of pet make so much of a mess? Why do I hate cleaning so much? I am a wife, shouldn't I love it? Did I forget to take the housecleaning pill? Damn I knew I was forgetting something the day I said "I take you Adam...".
We're getting ready to go on vacation to BC. We leave Thursday after Adam gets off work and we're going to drive until we're bleary eyed, then we will sleep and drive until we get there on Friday. I'm not looking forward to the driving. Although I am a Berkan in name now, I have not yet assimilated the love of the open road. The Harker in me pukes and gets grumpy. It's going to be a fun ride!
So today I must pack! I am packing for the dog, who requires a crazy amount of stuff. I also am packing various gifts for various children I need to see while I'm there. Also I need to pack clothes for me and Mr. Berkan. If left to his own resources he would be really stinky after 2 days on the boat. I don't like sleeping with the stinky man, I like the Kenneth Cole* version of that man. I'm also a cleaning maniac today. I want to take everything off of our counters and give them an extra good scrub to ensure no little ants come and infest our house. They've been the bain of my existence for the past while and I don't want to come home to find them everywhere. I am hesitant to get ant bait because of the small beastie we have who eats everything. I think one very expensive vet bill a year is good, and we're one past our limit already this year.
So that's me lately.
Oh yes I must remember to pack vats of sunscreen. I've declared that I won't get burnt on this trip, but now I'm worried. Adam and I went to a festival on Sunday and I was in the sun for 3 hours and managed to get burnt, and I was wearing properly applied 70 SFP. So I guess I should reapply every 2 hours. I wonder what the long term affects of sunscreen is?
Well I have one minute.

* it's his cologne

Oh, Fun Project!

Karen over at chookooloonks had a really fabulous idea to start a journal written by various bloggers. The premise is that each blogger would each complete a page in whatever manner they want, be it art, prose or macaroni art as Karen wittily suggested. After the blogger was done then he or she would mail it to the next recipient who would do their thing then forward it on. Finally when it reached everyone who was interested, it would be sent back to Karen, who is going to dismantle it, frame the individual pages and sell them, donating the revenue to charity.
I think it's such an amazing idea. I already have a plan of what I'm going to do. I'll keep it mostly a secret, but there's going to be a Deadra original poem and lots of colour! Since I'm 22nd on the list, I expect it will take some time to get to me, but that also means I'll get to see the 21 pieces before me.
So when I get it I'll tell you all about it.
Oh and did I mention how excited I am to do this? And what a great idea it is? I really love that it will benefit a charity and in a way unite a lot of strangers.

Decisions (edited)

I haven't made it a secret that Adam and I really want to have a baby. So along with our discussions on timing, names and nursery options we've also discussed other more hippy topics. Like co-sleeping, babywearing, breastfeeding and circumcision. For the record I am pro on the first three and vehemently oppose circumcision.
Did you know that when the doctor circumcises a baby, the baby is strapped down onto a board? Then when the doctor starts he has to rip the foreskin off of the baby's penis! The foreskin is attached to the baby like your fingernail is attached to your fingernail bed. It's not until the child is older does it start to detach.
Like reading up on what kind of a stroller I want, I've also researched circumcisions, and I'm glad I'm not a boy! I've read a lot of the arguments that parents give as to why they get them. My favourites are: It's cleaner. So I wonder if the parents have ever heard of soap, and how it's used. Furthermore the majority of the men in the world aren't circumcised and they're still clean. Another argument is that a circumcised male is more protected against AIDS. To which I reply-- condoms. (I've read both sides of this argument, so say it increases the odds and other say it doesn't)
Anyhow here's a website about circumcision and some of the techniques used. Look at the pictures (they're gory, be warned) and then if you're a woman be thankful you are, if you're going to have kids, vow never to do that to your baby boy, and if you're a man who has been circumcised, I'm truly sorry. Finally if you're an uncircumcised man, count yourself lucky!


Edited to add...
Jenny, I know that you did not want to be controversial, and I'm glad that you left a comment. It's nice to read an honest, educated comment. I understand that doctors are gentle and not tearing away at a baby. Ripping was a bad verb for me to use. This whole rant was the product of people just not understanding what really happens when they agree to a circumcision, or agreeing to one without even thinking of the other option.
I was going to add a little anecdote and didn't, but here it is.
When I was in England I worked for a Jewish family and the mother explained to me in hushed tones that her son was a little different "down there". She went on to explain that she didn't want me to be shocked and that although she didn't really practice her religion she wanted to make sure her son went to the private Jewish schools in the area. She seemed, to me, a little ashamed that she had to have her son circumcised. I explained to her that it's quite common in Canada and assured her that I had seen a circumcised penis; she was relieved, telling me that it wasn't as common in the UK. I didn't think much of it then, but I had just moved to England and was still reeling that I was actually there. Later I thought about it and learning that it's not widely done in England made the UK seem so much more prosh to me. Fast forward to now, when I really need to consider it, and reading what I have, I've developed strong opinions. I also wanted to have a link to that website 'cause I am sure that there will be people who would question me on my decision.

Now, is it okay or is it not okay to pierce a baby girl's ears before she can decide for herself?