My week in summary...

Rise and shine each and every day
Work
Teach (Mon&Tues night, then worked late Thursday night)
Make dinner
Eat dinner
Prep for classes/grade papers/think about exercising (note, I just thought about it...sigh...next week will be better)
Sleep

Can we say BORING! I have nothing to blog about. I even fell asleep during Grey's Anatomy last night!

Now it's onto the weekend. Yeehaw! Nephew Jackson is hangin' with me this afternoon and tonight, should be fun. My personal landscaper (aka someone special) is power raking my yard and fertilizing tomorrow morning. We may even get around to re-barking the front flower bed. My yard, have I mentioned that I am a person who wants a beautiful yard, but lacks the motivation to weed regularly? Plus, I am missing what one might call a green thumb.

It's suppose to be 70 degree tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!

As for my major purchases...you bet I'll be posting pics, it's going to be another week or so for the first and the second will be closer to sometime in May. Sorry to leave y'all hanging, but I'm going to wait and share when I have photos. :-)

AND, I'm shouting a hello to to local friend and new blogger Kelli!

Have a great weekend!

T minus 3 and counting

Three more weeks of teaching and then life will be back to normal (meaning working just one job instead of two!) Hallelujah! As a SERIOUS newbie in the teaching world, I’m sure I’ve learned more this semester than my students…mostly of what not to do! I’m also planning to give myself a break this summer and hold of on my graduate studies. I’ll start that little project back up in the fall. Oh how I wish I was a full-time instructor…I’d be looking forward to my summer off. Oh well, someday.

In other news…there are a couple of major purchases in the works and they are not for the baby, they are for her mom! :-)

Ladybug!

I was out shooting a photo of our student body president today and a ladybug landed on my pant leg. I know I know, the whole ladybug thing is kinda cheesy...but it's suppose to represent good luck in the China adoption world and with a 30 month wait (gulp) rumor floating around, we need all the luck we can get.

So, come on ladybug bring us some good news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Starfish

I came across this poem early on in the paperchase. It's another one of my favorites.

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"

"The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach, and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one."

-- Author Unknown

And yes, I know I will make a difference in this little one's life....but it is she, who will make all the difference in mine. Oh, I can't wait.

One year ago today...

I walked into my local hospital, with my agency’s newspaper advertisement in one hand and a pen/notepad in the other. I wasn’t too sure what to expect, I was nervous, and I was alone. As I think back, I know now that this was the day my life changed forever.

It all started in November 2004. I had watched an Oprah episode on China adoption. Lisa Ling was the guest and I believe she was promoting the National Geographic DVD “China’s Lost Girls”. I remember watching the episode, talking about it with my sister, Lexi, and storing it in the back of my mind thinking if I don’t have children by the time I’m 35, this might be an option for me. I was 30 at the time.

Fast forward to around September 2005. My mom and I were visiting and she mentioned that our friend Sandy, from church, was getting ready to go to China and bring her baby home. What baby? I didn’t know Sandy was adopting? So, I followed Sandy’s journey to China via internet. I was mesmerized and truly moved. Following Sandy’s journey is what really started the ball rolling. Sandy was 30 something, single (at the time), and wanting to be a mother. I was 30 something, single, and wanting to be a mother. The possibility of international adoption became very real. A few months later, I had the opportunity to ask Sandy & her family some questions relating to her adoption at a “tea party” my Mom hosted for the ladies of our two families (and nephew Jackson). Later, I thought, Why am I waiting until the age of 35? Why not now? I then started researching adoption seriously, but I didn’t tell anyone. After researching, I found an agency willing to accept me as a client, but not until May 2007 (as in next month!).

About that time, my mom popped over one Sunday morning as she was heading out of town. She had saved a newspaper advertisement announcing an adoption seminar at our local hospital. She said, “Why don’t you go and just see what it’s about, maybe you’ll meet some people who are adopting”. I didn’t really want to go. Why? I already had a plan! I had an agency picked out and a timeline of when I would start this process, but I suppose curiosity got the best of me and I attended the seminar on April 17, 2006.

When I arrived, there were around 40 couples in the room. Some were waiting families; others were there to learn about adoption. We watched a video, then my agency representative explained the process, and we listened to a family who had been there, done that. During the Q&A, I asked two questions: Does your agency accept single applicants and, Do you have any single openings at this time? Kathy, the agency representative, responded, Yes, we accept single applicants. Why don’t you see me after and we’ll visit. Kathy explained that the day prior one of her singles had withdrawn from the program. She hadn’t advertised the coveted spot via internet yet and was hoping a local family would fill it.

I happened to be the next single person who crossed her path.

When Kathy asked me if I wanted the spot, I started to cry. As Oprah would say, It was the UGLY cry. I remember apologizing left and right, embarrassed that I had lost it and sure all the happy couples in the room thought I was an IDIOT…but whatever. I had a spot with an agency! Looking back, that moment was worthy of the UGLY cry. As many of you know, China recently closed the door to singles beginning May 2007.

I walked out of the seminar with a big fat notebook of adoption paperwork and a new plan. My life changed forever.

Virgina Tech....

I haven't had much time to read the news today and I'm teaching tonight, so it'll be a little while before I get home and watch CNN. The little bit of information I do know is horrid and I can't imagine what else will transpire as the facts start to come together.

What I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around is this:

Cited from this article

Asked why the campus, which has more than 26,000 students, was not shut down after the first shooting, Flinchum responded that police determined "it was an isolated event to that building and the decision was made not to cancel classes at that time."

Steger added, "We had some reason to believe the shooter had left campus."

What's even worse, I'm not sure the school I work at would have done anything differently. There doesn't seem to be any emergency procedures in place, or if there are...they haven't trickled down past the VP's and such...

I asked my colleagues today. What would you do if something like this happened? What are we suppose to do if this was happening in another building? How would we be informed?

No one knew the answer...

My thoughts are with the community in Blacksburg, VA and the families who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy.

Weekend Plans

Hmmmm, the funk didn't last so long this month. I wonder if I'm getting used to it or if Spring is helping out a bit. I think the latter is the culprit. :-)

As I type this, my sister is running home to feed the baby and then we are meeting up for a quick trip to JCPenny. Apparently, there is a big big sale and we want to go hit up the baby department! She was there earlier and called to say "they have the cutest toddler pink camo pants Sara!", "but I didn't get them for you...do think they will still be in style in a couple of years?". Probably not, but thanks for thinking of me sis. Now, hurry up and feed the babe so we can run over there and find something cute that won't be out of style in two years!

I leave you with a pic of my nephew Jackson hunting easter eggs at my mom's house last weekend. I love this pic because he had found a pair of my brother's old cowboy boots and would not take them off!

Enjoy your weekend!!

Conversation

I worked late last night, board meeting night. My board consists of staff, faculty, and alumni. After adjournment, a few of us were lingering around and chatting…

Board Member 1: “Hey Sara, are you getting close to getting your baby?”

Me: “No, not really, still waiting, it’s going to be awhile”

Board Member 2: “Wow, how long do you have to wait? It seems like it’s been a long time”

Me: “Yes, almost a year into the process already and I have at least another year to go”

Board Member 2: “Whoa, that’s a REALLY long gestation period”

Me: “Tell me about it”

Board Member 2: “Isn’t there an animal that has a 2 year gestation period?”

Board Member 3 and a microbiology instructor enters the conversation after hearing us speaking about animals and gestation periods: “Elephants have a two year gestation period!”

Me: “As does China adoption”

Everyone laughed and out the door we went.

Guess I learned something new last night.

China adoption is comparable to a pregnant elephant.

Who knew?

4......4......4......4......4......4

4 months down....a bazillion to go! :-)

Eeeeeek!

At 5:45 this morning, I woke up to the noise of my cat Satchi running around and playing. I thought she was playing with one of my hair ties as they seem to be her favorite toys these days. Yeah, not so much. As I got up and started my morning routine I looked over and noticed she wasn’t messing around with one of my hair ties she was playing with a dead mouse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, there are two things in this world that really freak me out.

COCKROACHES and thank god I do not live in an area where cockroaches are a popular pest!

And

MICE

Sweet lord, I almost lost it right then and there.

So, it was 5:45a.m. and I was freaking the hell out because there is a dead mouse in my bedroom doorway while Satchi just romped around having a grand ol’ time with it. Ewwwwwwwww!

Well, what’s a single girl without a man in her house to do? I did what any strong, independent, single woman would do. I hopped over the mouse, swore at the cat, felt like things were crawling all over me and headed out to the garage to find the dustpan and broom. I then swept the damn thing up, shrieked a little bit, and deposited it into the kitchen garbage can. I almost left it there (remember I was freaking out), but then decided it would be best out in the garage, so I carefully (while swearing and shrieking some more) took the garbage bag out of the can and threw it out the door.

I then called someone special and freaked out a little bit more because there was a mouse in my house and I had to deal with it all by myself!

Crisis over.

I’m pretty sure the mouse did not reside inside my home. Satchi is known to prowl around for things and there have been a couple of times she has deposited dead birds at the back door for me to see. I think she brought the little sucker in this past weekend. The weather was AWESOME and I was in and out, doing yard work, etc. and just left the sliding glass door open.

However, just in case I’m making someone special come over tonight and assess the situation. THEN, I’m cleaning and scrubbing and cleaning some more…ewwwwwww!!, the thought of the mouse is still freaking me out!

GROSS

Someone special mentioned on Tuesday night that he thought it smelled like something was dead in my house. I was like "what are you talking about? I don't smell anything..." Guess my sniffer isn't working so well.

Confusion

Friends and family...

I don't mean to freak you out with my down in the dumps about the wait posts each month. As you can see from my previous post, if you aren't in the midst of the adoption process you probably don't know what the heck I'm talking about. No worries! I'm in the process of drafting a post to try and explain it. Don't worry, everything will be fine. Someone once described the adoption process as a roller coaster ride...seems that it is. up down up down up down - and my emotions go right along with it. I really appreciate all of your support, listening to me ramble and reading my nonsense day to day. :-)

In other news...

My mom gave me this book for Easter. It tells the story of how one mother adopted her baby by adopting from China. I love it! So precious!





I can't get through it without crying and I can't wait to read it to munchkin! Thanks mom!

And...back to the funk I go...

It's official. The CCAA has updated their site...

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before October 26, 2005.

I was refusing to believe these rumours until I saw it for myself this morning.

TWO DAYS!! That's it! Two days of LID's matched this month.

Excuse me while I go hide under a rock.

Happy Easter!

I can't help it, must post this...

My friend Shelby sent this to me yesterday...I can't help but laugh even though we all know a** is a BAD WORD!

Thank you Easter Bunny!

And here's a couple of Easter presents I bought for my girl this past weekend...

Have a great weekend!

What the heck happened?

I guess the stork did get lost this month. :-(

I'm ready to see some babies! Hurry stork hurry!

China

My friend JC sent these pics, enjoy!

A record?

This must be some sort of record...I'm a posting fool today!

I want to shout out a big ol' congrats to my brother Dustin....

Fantastic!

Dustin just signed on as an account rep for a new up and coming health food sorbet. He is the New England territory representative (hope I got that right D)...

You can check out the product info here

Happy Birthday to my sister Ariana!

Weekend re-cap

Late last week, I attended a 3 day conference for work. I didn’t have computer access during the day and worked late a couple of days…so no blogging for me!

My weekend was rather uneventful.

Friday after work, I hung out with my sister and baby Thomas while my guy and her husband went “out” for awhile. Lexi and I proceeded to partay at her house w/ baby T.

I. am. so. kidding.

Let’s see, we visited, bounced the baby around, fed the baby, held the baby, and just gave the baby all sorts of love. Then, the baby projectile vomited to the point where Lexi had to change what she was wearing, what the baby was wearing, AND the boppy cover. Meanwhile, Aunt Sara stayed downstairs and scrubbed baby barf off the couch. At around 9:10p.m., I headed home for the evening and Lexi went to bed. Kids sure do change things don’t they? Thomas is still doing great as is his mother.

Saturday, I woke up with a bit of a headache and didn’t think much of it. I knew it wasn’t from the previous evenings festivities, how do I know? I’m pretty sure diet coke doesn’t give one a hangover. Add some rum, and it’s a different story right? I digress. Anyway, I went back to bed hoping my headache would go away. 3 ½ hours later, I woke up with what I think might have been my first migraine. My head hurt so bad that I thought I was going to be sick. I took more Advil and went back to bed. Finally, 6 or so Advil later, my headache was better and all of my grand plans for yard work were out the window. So, I headed over to my friend Jess’s house for dinner. After dinner I went home and cleaned up the garage and kitchen.

On Sunday, I went to Costco and Target and spent a bit of time (not enough) with my friend Shelby. I then went back out to Lexi’s for lunch and a quick visit w/ my mom and Mike. Speaking of which, my Mom and Mike just arrived back in NI after "wintering" down south. It's nice to have them home!

In other news….

This week is Spring Break, so I am not teaching this week. It's nice to have the break!

Rumor has it the stork is flying (or was and is now delayed..), which means referrals are on their way. I wonder how far the CCAA will match this month?? I love it, the calm before the storm. This is my favorite time of the month. It’s the time of the month where I am really optimistic that this wait will continue to move along at the same pace or better yet, speed up. We shall see.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!!