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The GREAT Debate!

[ 2 ] February 26, 2010

About a month ago I posted to my blog and stated that I was going to have some “mommy topics” from time to time. I think it’s a good thing. I am going to try to do at least one a month! This next topic is probably one of the most serious ones I will put up. I contemplated this for a while. But then I got speaking with a friend and decided YES I NEED to post this… Even if I change just ONE mind, it’s worth it. So the topic… Circumcision!

Recently a friend of ours, his wife, my husband and I had a conversation about circumcision. The friend has three kids, two boys and a girl. We have two kids, one boy and one girl. When I was pregnant with my son I did a TON of research on Circumcision. I found very little to support the fact that it is a HUGE hygiene risk to keep my son intact (uncircumcised). I found little had to do with Religion as it once was a Jewish thing, but not so much anymore. I found MOST people doing it are AMERICANS! Other countries rarely preform the routine. But what really had me thinking was a conversation that we had with our friend about it. He did NOT circumcise his sons. I asked him why. Without ANY embarrassment or hesitation he replied “I am circumcised and when I have a full erection it hurts.” WHAT?!?! I was NOT going to do something to my son that is UN-DOABLE and have him suffer in the future. Of course I asked my friend questions and he answered, every last question. He knew that my son was about to be born and he could change ONE person. My husband and I had talked about it but never really decided anything. Here’s a video from Momversation to watch:

Is Circumcision Wrong?

So having watched that video, does anyone have any thoughts? Truthfully we decided NOT to circumcise. If my son wants to be circumcised (a body altering experience) he can chose to do so later when he’s older. I guess the part about circumcision that really annoys me is the reasons people chose to DO it. Hygiene (myth), because dad is, because most people are (myth), uneducated decisions. The truth is the rate of baby boys being circumcised is FALLING. Here’s a yearly chart. The average in tact rate in 2006 was 43.9%. Since then it was reported by Parents Magazine that it’s closer to 55% now. As for hygiene, I would honestly hope that one could TEACH their child how to bath and clean. If not you probably shouldn’t have children. The risk of STD’s does decrease, however, once again this can be easily solved by talking to your children about STD’s and the risks of unprotected sex. If you can’t do that then again, you probably shouldn’t have children. I can see the whole, look like dad, however, we were not as aware of things back then as we are now. Bottom line for me, Circumcision is an elective surgery. I would never but my newborn through and elective surgery, I wouldn’t circumcise my girl so why should my boy be … and to top that off, that’s the way he’s born and if it wasn’t supposed to be that way, then God wouldn’t have created males with the foreskin.

Please feel free to comment or not, with your thoughts!

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What Is With Shipping eBayers?!!!

[ 1 ] February 26, 2010

Imported from One Scrappy Mom

I am seriously annoyed as I look at my eBay history. When I win an auction I always pay within 2 hours. I usually pay RIGHT away, but there have been times, I’ve won things and was gone, so I waited till I was home to get on PayPal and pay. I realize not everyone is like this, and that is fine, however, if I pay SHIP MY ITEM!!! I seem to wait forever for my packages. When they arrive I notice one of two things. Either the seller waited almost a week AFTER I paid to ship or they ship Media Mail. For those of you not aware, Media Mail according to the United States Postal Service is: Media Mail® service is a cost efficient way to mail books, sound recordings, recorded video tapes, printed music, and recorded computer-readable media (such as CDs, DVDs, and diskettes). Media Mail can not contain advertising except for incidental announcements of books. The maximum weight for Media Mail is 70 lbs. Sometimes it’s BOTH! When I order a wall decor, candle, cell phone accessories, pet toys and accessories these are NOT Media Mail. I am down right annoyed. I am annoyed so much that the last 2 “power sellers” that did this to me, I turned them in to the Post Office locally. I am sick of being charged $10 to ship and they use Media Mail (illegally) and it costs them $1.00. Not to mention Media Mail is a low VERY LOW priority on the mail scale. Media Mail can take up to 15 days to deliver!! So now they waited 5-7 days after I pay and are using a 15 day mailing service. All for the convient over charged shipping rate of $10.00. Now I don’t mind when sellers up the shipping $1-$2 to cover the listing fees. I get it. Hell, they can profit $6 on the shipping, and use priority mail flat rate envelopes for less then $4… I wouldn’t even complain!! Profit if you will, but at least use Priority Mail and ship TIMELY!!!

Then there is feedback. Let me tell you how much THIS annoys me. After I get my item, they conviently time it about 2 weeks after they mail, they email me and ask me to leave feedback. However, they haven’t left feedback for me. Why? Well because then if I leave neutral or negative feedback explaining how they SUCKED AT SHIPPING they will retaliate instead of being honest and saying “fastest payer ever”. So I’ve resorted to emailing THOSE people back and saying “Sorry, I do not leave feedback in cases where it hasn’t been left for me when I am the buyer. Thank you.” I never hear from them again!! Why would they leave feedback KNOWING they SUCKED and I am going to be honest!!

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve met some AMAZING sellers on eBay. Ones that I continue to buy from, but there are always bad apples that ruin it for everyone. *sigh* Can someone please explain to me what people are thinking? I’ve sold on eBay and I strive to ship the SAME DAY they pay and ONLY use Priority Mail. I just don’t understand!!

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Still Searching

[ 0 ] February 25, 2010

I want to take a moment to remind my readers that as we reflect on the days past and present, to keep your hearts open. Tonight my kids have spent some time in their rooms with the doors shut, this is not something that we usually allow in our house. We like to have open hearts and open communication. However, tonight they wanted this time and asked their dad if it was okay. They were making cards for me. Tomorrow is my birthday. As I thought on it, I couldn’t help but think of Susan. There is still no information and she is still missing. I thought about her sons. They will never get to have a moment like my kids had. They may have made things they are hoping to give to their mom. As much as this made me sad, I felt like we need to keep searching for an answer. Friends, Family, Bloggers, PLEASE take a look again at this postand the poster below. If you have ANY information, PLEASE contact the appropriate parties. Even if you wish to remain anonymous. Someone has answers and the family is desperately trying to find out what happen. Something, anything, they need/deserve to know.

I want to thank ALL my readers for taking the time to read this post and look at the face. This face & story will be familiar to someone and that someone will come forward with answers. Answers the family is so desperatly seeking!

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Recoving & Not From An Addiction!

[ 2 ] February 25, 2010

I had my muscle biopsy on Tuesday. They took a 2″x2″ part from my left thigh. It was not a fun experience but I must say that this biopsy went WAY better then my liver biopsy. In short, that procedure was a nightmare. I was at the local Bellin Hospital, but the nurse was a bitch, they didn’t control my pain, and I begged to leave! Actually I didn’t beg, I demanded and then they agreed, I left and sent a nasty email the next day to the hospital coordinator. No reply, no shock! This time I was worried because I was going to a UW Hospital and if you’ve ever been to one, you know they are a MAD HOUSE!! They are clinics and a hospital all in one, they have students and staff and it’s like the BIGGEST place of medical personnel EVER! So to say that I was treated BETTER there, then I was at the local hospital which is like 1/8 of the size is just well… weird to me! Honestly, you’d think a smaller facility would be more personal then a large “your just a number” place. However, I was treated SO amazing at the UW Hospital that I could not even believe it. It was sort of surreal. First, I explained my desire to not use a full anesthesia because I end up sick for days after. The anesthesiologist was great in understanding and then explaining my options. She decided that it would be best for me to be “out of it” with some meds but conscience. I would not remember the procedure but wouldn’t get that sick feeling after. And they would numb the area on my leg because some people are more alert then others. I agreed this would be a good option. I didn’t get sick afterwards and I didn’t remember anything besides being brought into the OR. The nurse that put the IV in… I explained that my veins are small and I am not found of needles so I would appreciate only being “poked” once. They got the smallest needle and he did it, in JUST one try. He was so nice and amazing and UNDERSTANDING. Upon waking, within 20 minutes the nurse asked if I’d like something to eat or drink and it was delivered within MINUTES! The nurse was there every 5-10 minutes, not 45-60 minutes. They explained everything to me. They did NOT release me with a prescription, they faxed it directly to the pharmacy so I could get it on my way home. Even though I had a 3 hour drive there and a 3 hour drive back, it was by FAR the best experience I could have asked for, considering the situation. The next day the nurse called, she was so sweet. She also wasn’t convinced my pain was being managed by what I was telling her. She told me she would call me back on that. I NEVER said my pain was BAD or that the medicine wasn’t working, but I was answering her questions and said that I did have a burning feeling. She called me back within 45 minutes and said, changed medicines, we think this will work better. She also had some other suggestions to help me out. I couldn’t believe it. I am still kind of in shock over the whole way they treated me so GREAT.

Having said all that, I am home and recovering. My husband has been AMAZING the last 3 days and helping with everything around the house. In fact, I haven’t really moved off the recliner. He’s had me resting and treating me like a QUEEN. He’s so super amazing, it reminds me why I fell in love all over again.

I can not wait until next week when I can head back to the gym. I am changing from my Quick Trim pills to athermogenic fat burner. I stopped seeing results with Quick Trim and I am not going to continue spending money on something that has “stopped” working. I am hoping that I can lose this extra weight before summer. I just NEED to do it. My husband has again been supportive and being he is into the gym and supplements, he’s spent ALOT of time researching different things for me and he’s helping me along. Even though he says I do not need to worry about it, I do. It’s a personal thing for me.

I scrapped my ADSR 5 Challenge 6 layout today. Here’s a peak:

This layout was a HUGE challenge… just because they only allowed 4 of this and 4 of that and no more. I am not typically a person to use so many types but only 4 or 4 might be too many. It was a challenge, which is what it was supposed to be, but I a, okay with the final layout. I will be making a few changes to make it “me” and then I will be adding this to my printed book, because it is a good idea!

I also managed to scrap a layout using Bella Gypsy goodies that are coming SOON to Elemental Scraps. I love being on their CT. What a fun bunch of girls and what an AWESOME set of designers Lena and Tabitha are!! One of their new kits is called Blue Skies & Mud Pies… How cute huh? Here’s my page with it:

I’ve linked them both to my DSTGallery in case you’d like to leave me a comment there! I am so glad to be back scrapping again and it feels amazing! It’s been so nice and stress free! Even the ADSR challenges!! Okay bloggers, I will be back tomorrow with more! My meds are starting to kick in and it’s time for a girl to hit the pillow!!

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