My Many Roles as a Adoptive & Foster Mom

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

Today has been nuts, two physical therapy session, both in different directions and both quite a drive, pre-school and tonight dance class. I swear I've been spending more time in the car than at home. But at least she smiles through it all, so it makes it worth while.

Don't Get Mad...

2009-03-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

Just Get Even or Turn off the cell phone you let them borrow over 5 months ago. I've realized over the last few months I have become extremly bitter over some extended family issues. This last week, weekend and today was the last draw. So just a few minutes ago, after 3 weeks of no contact and just having to relay messages through family members telling them they needed to get their own phone because they were costing me over $100 extra a month and refusing to help, I had my phone suspended. Maybe now we will finally be able to get on with our lives.

1st week of Pre-School

2009-03-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

Well I had been meaning to post this sooner but it's just been one thing after another. K was suppose to start school on Monday but she was sick, so I took her to the doctor and he said wait another week (after the week we had already waited) and if she's not better I'll give her an antibiotic. Eeerrr!! It would have been different if I had ran in there the day after she started getting sick, I had already waited a week, she wasn't better, so don't you think you should treat her? So instead I get to call him tomorrow and say she isn't any better, now give me the freakin' prescription. So K's first day of pre-school was on Tuesday. I'm thankful that everyday they give a summary of what they did in class because whenever I ask K anything about school, she won't tell any of us anything about her school day. Which unlike I guess most Mom's I wasn't upset, weepy or anything at the thought of her going to pre-school, dropping her off or walking her to class. Instead it was the realization, that up until now I pretty much know everything that she did in her life. And unlike most children who want to tell you everything when you pick them up from class, K isn't going to be that way, so I will never know anything more that what is on the summary hanging up outside the classroom. Which that is what makes me sad.

K walking into school

K's first art project from school

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

2009-02-28T15:41:00.000-08:00

Today is my Baby Girl's 3 rd Birthday, it's hard to believe that she's 3 and that we have been a family now for 2 1/2 years. Since last Saturday was her Birthday party, we have spent a low key today at home. Her Uncle called and sang Happy Birthday to her and so did Great-Great and YeYe. Her Godmother has emailed K at least 3 times now. K opened up presents right after breakfast this morning. And what a breakfast K ate, she had 3 eggs, 3 donut holes and a glass of milk, I couldn't believe how much she ate. I'm about to order Birthday dinner, K decided that she wanted to eat out, so we convinced her since the weather is bad that we would order out and bring it home to eat. So she's super excited about the idea. So Happy 3rd Birthday Baby Girl, Momma loves you so very much!

It's been awhile

2009-02-25T20:35:00.000-08:00

Well things here are down right nuts. We celebrated K's 3rd Birthday last Saturday even though her birthday isn't until this Saturday the 28th. For her real birthday we are just planning a small family celebration like we have done in years past. We have been busy with dance classes, getting ready for pre-school, and a new brace from Shriner's. I was layed-off again at the beginning of February and am still upset about the whole thing. I have a job interview tomorrow so keeping my fingers crossed, I've been on 3 job interviews in the last 2 weeks and so far nothing. Otherwise extended family issues have taken up alot of time up in our life but I'm ready to cut the last remaining strings that are connecting me to the issue and just get back to my life and it's constant roller coaster. K is the closest one to the teacher and the only one with dark hair of course

We're In

2009-02-17T10:04:00.000-08:00

Whoo Hoo!! Thank goodness the interview is over. My sweet daughter, who is usually calm, sweet and polite decided to have a bad day today. The downside it got even worse during the interview for Pre-school . I know that she was just overly tired because she decided to wake up at 4am asking for breakfast and when I told her it was too early for breakfast she wanted dinner. So needless to say that by the time the interview rolled around she had already been up for 6 hours, had our exit meeting this morning with our Service coordinator for Physical therapy and she also had her Physical therapy session. Luckily the Interviewer took it all in stide and my sweet Daughter got into the highly private, very elite, very expensive, way out of my budget, excellent educational and overally amazing Pre-School. She gets to start school on March 2nd and we are just so freakin' excited!!

Stain

2009-02-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

Well I couldn't think of a better titled post than this because that is why I'm upstairs right now pouring over K's closet trying to find another "right" outfit for her pre-school interview tomorrow. I totally freaked out when I discovered on the "right" outfit there was this big ole' stain on the front which you just can't have. I mean really nicely dressed with this big ole' yellow stain on the front, I don't think so. So I'm down to two more "right" outfits. Still not happy with either of them but nothing I can do now because I already tired getting the stain out and it's not coming out without a fight or a good soakin in some oxi-clean. So now just to narrow down my choice of outfit and then make sure it stays clean till 10am tomorrow morning. I really just don't know how I'm going to get any sleep at all.

1st Dance Class

2009-02-10T18:17:00.001-08:00

Tonight K had her First Dance class. She did so very well even though she was a little nervous at first but I would be too walking into a class with about 10 other high pitch screaming running around little girls. She is the shortest in her class by almost a foot. Couldn't take any picture during class but did take a few before and after to commerate the day.

Free Breakfast & Some Skates

2009-02-03T17:11:00.000-08:00

Well we braved the crowds after K's physical therapy and got our free Grand Slam breakfast from Denny's. I guess we were all super hungry because we almost ate everything except the pancakes, which we took home and are having them for dinner. After that needed to get some ribbon to finish an order, so headed 2 towns over to my new favorite craft place, there ribbon is so cheap that no matter where I have looked, I can't get ribbon this cheap, so I'm thrilled because it's will really bring my overhead down. Otherwise K got a pair of In-line Skates today for her up-coming Birthday (can't believe she'll be 3 on Feb.28th) from a friend of mine. So we had to try them out as soon as she got them. She was a little unsteady and nervous at first but then got the hang of them and was skating all around the front room.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

2009-01-29T06:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday to mmeeee

Happy Birthday to me

Can't believe it's my 33rd Birthday today. This past year had flown by. No big plans for today except spending it with my girl and my Mom.

Otherwise here are a few pictures from yesterday of us playing outside in the snow. All K kept saying she wanted to do was make a snowman, well the snow wasn't really right for snowman making so we used a box and packed it so it would stay together. I think it turned out really well.

Otherwise we spent the time sledding down our small hill in the backyard. It was tons of fun.

Snow, Ice, Sleet....Go Away

2009-01-27T15:19:00.000-08:00

Well it started snowing yesterday before noon, then last night it turned into ice, then sleet, then snow and all day today it's been sleet and about 10 min. ago it started snowing again. This weather is suppose to continue till tomorrow evening. I am so disappointed, because of the weather they canceled K's first ever dance class. So as long as next Tuesday's weather holds out, that will be K's first dance class. She's so excited not because of the ballet part of it but because she's going to learn how to tap. She loves to wear her tap shoes around the house. I was so lucky because I got 2 brand new pairs off of Craigslist for Free and they fit so well on both her feet even with her brace on. Free stuff is so awesome. Too bad I wasn't able to find her some ballet shoes on there. Guess I'm finally going to have to buy her some, that was suppose to be today's adventure before dance class was to go to the local dance boutique and plunk down a good chunk of money for some ballet shoes, ok so it was going to under $20 but if you know me, you know I love to find a bargain so paying full price takes the fun out of shopping.

New Years Dinner

2009-01-26T17:20:00.000-08:00

Well we spent our afternoon making our New Year's dinner. On the menu was Crab Rolls, Crab Ragoon, Bun Cha and BBQ Pork Buns. We made everything that I served and I was so very proud at how well it all turned out. K loved helping make everything. So without further adio, our dinner....

Our Horoscope for 2009 Year of the Ox

2009-01-26T11:28:00.001-08:00

Here is My Horoscope for 2009, looks like it will actually be a good year I mean read the first line, that's got to be a great sign right!!

Rabbit Overview
The past year may have provided the Rabbit with many challenges and difficult situations, but this year will be a relief. The Rabbit has a very favorable outlook this year. Though it is not part of your usual plan, you may find that being assertive and bold will allow you to achieve unforeseen success. Your attraction to the finer life may lead you to living it. Personal relations are of great value to the Rabbit and will be emphasized throughout the year. Put your best foot forward in the year of the Ox and you will reap many benefits and rewards.
Rabbit Rating
67% (7 favorable and 5 neutral months)
Rabbit Career
This year is one of change. Though the Rabbit is not prone to taking risks, you may benefit greatly from taking bold new steps in finding the career you desire. Complacency in your current job could lead you to such actions. September and October are two months that are favorable for a change. You may want to seek a position that allows you to utilize your social skills and your abilities to relate to people on a personal level. Set your sights high and you will get what you want in this highly favorable year.
Rabbit Relationships
The Rabbit's family and friends will be a source of great pleasure for the you this year. They will offer support, encouragement and will be the wellspring for meaningful and enjoyable times. Personal relations are held in high regard and could be taken to a new level. Rabbits seeking new friends or romance should make an added effort to go out more and come in contact with others-you will be well rewarded for your efforts.
Rabbit Health
The Rabbit should not encounter any major health issues this year, but you may want to take precautions during certain times of the year. The Rabbit's sensitive constitution may leave you vulnerable to colds and flu during the winter months. You may want to get a flu shot during this time and make sure that you get plenty of rest to avoid any setbacks
Rabbit Wealth
The Rabbit should enjoy a new level of wealth. If you are inspired to make a career change, this will prove to be a successful venture financially. You will be particularly pleased with some of your purchases this year, as many could relate to redecorating or changing the appeal of your home. Beware of any risky investments and continue to do the things that accumulate your level of savings.

Here is my Mom's Horoscope for 2009. I mean look at her's a complete opposite of what mine is!!
Goat Overview
This may not be as favorable as a year that you desire. Coming off the year of the Rat, you may be seeking relief from the difficult year. Don't let up now. The Goat is artistic in nature and you may have difficulties finding a way to express your creative passions. It will take an extra effort to rely on the help of others to make it through these times, but if you keep a steady focus on your goals and display painstaking efforts, you will be pleased to see the fruits of your labor arrive next year. Don't fret, as you may learn a lot about yourself in the process. You may learn that you are more versatile, as well as resourceful, than you ever imagined.
Goat Rating
32% (5 neutral and 7 unfavorable months)
Goat Career
Career prospects are fair this year for the Goat. It is wise to take a conservative approach to your work this year. Stay focused on what you are accomplishing, the end result. Projects and goals may not mature until the early part of next year and this could create a sense of frustration and pessimism if you allow it. Break your year down to short term goals and focusing on accomplishing them. This will detract from the patience it will take from your long term situation. Have faith in your skills and don't let anyone deter you from your path.
Goat Relationships
The Goat may find solace in your family relations this year, as they will offer you the support you need to see through challenging situations. You may also see a lot of new faces in your life, as you are prone to meet new people this year. Relationships fare well for you, but you may have to be a little more outgoing than you are used to being, in order to see your relationship progress to a higher level. The single Goat may be blessed to have several suitors this year.
Goat Health
If you don't make some changes in your routine, you may experience health issues this year. Watch what you eat, as this will go a long way towards living a healthier life. Be patient, as you may experience an illness in the winter months that zaps your energy for a longer period of time than you desire. Make sure that you get plenty of rest to counter these possibilities.
Goat Wealth
Finances could be an issue this year. You may find that even with your conservative efforts, you are coming up short on your budget. If you manage your spending and plan your finances, you will make it through the year. You may have to wait until next year to see the fruits of your labor, as it promises to be more profitable than this year.

Here is my Baby Brother's horoscope for 2009. So his is ok, not good but not bad. Thank goodness!
Ox Overview
The Ox can do well this year through steady progress. There may be a number of experiences that will provide great joy for the Ox. One area, in particular, is the Ox's personal life. You may see an addition to the family. You will be surrounded by those who care. Look for the early summer months to attend many social occasions, providing many new faces in your social circle. One area of focus is to be open to the advice of others, as you tend to keep your issues to yourself. Overall, your own year can be one that you will look back on with pride and a genuine sense of achievement.
Ox Rating
52% (3 favorable 5 neutral and 4 unfavorable months)
Ox Career
In 2009, the Oxen will be given many opportunities to further your plans and goals, as well as consolidate your position. Steady progress is the position where the Ox is most comfortable and that is where you will find yourself this year. You will also have a chance to impress and gain support from those around you. This is a good year to enhance your skills and add to your repertoire with added training or study. You will be satisfied in knowing that anything you do this year will repay you in this year and the years to come. The months of May, late August and September may mark a change in your career.
Ox Relationships
2009 will be a year of personal happiness. For the single Ox, there may be a chance to engage in new and meaningful friendships, romance, and possibly even marriage. Others will take comfort in their domestic and social lives. Being an Ox year, this is one that will provide enjoyment for you as long as you allow it. Beware of your strong will and do not allow any minor disagreements to escalate and put a damper on a fine year. May is a month that will highly favor a chance meeting or a heightened level in a relationship.
Ox Health
Health matters don't seem to be too much of a concern for the Ox this year, as you are good at implementing some sort of physical activity into your routine. The Ox's discipline does well to carry over into your health. It never hurts to find ways to improve in this area, so don't discount anything that will improve the quality of your life. Even though there may not be any large issues, stress can be a surmounting factor to be aware.
Ox Wealth
The Ox could enjoy an improvement financially, but you may face a number of large expenses over the year. To maneuver your budget through the year of the Ox, exercise care and sensible spending. It would be wise to seek professional advice when it comes to any speculative ventures or risky investments that create some sense of doubt.

And Finally K's horoscope for 2009, so 99% of it didn't relate to anything for a small child. But still didn't want to leave her out.
2009 will present the Dog with a number of challenges. Your patience will certainly be tested in more than one instance. You may not necessarily gain the notoriety you desire in your career, but certain advancement opportunities will surface throughout the year. You will find comfort with your family and solidify bonds that are necessary for your well being. You may have issues juggling your family life with your work schedule, but you will make great strides in both areas by the end of the year.
Dog Rating
52% (5 favorable, 4 neutral and 3 unfavorable months)
Dog Career
Your work will play a large role in the year of the Ox. You may find yourself working long hours to achieve a promotion or to further your pursuits. Though you may only see minor results this year from your hard work, your ethics do not go unnoticed. Later in the year, you may be offered a step in the right direction, which will flourish sometime next year. Stay focused and be willing to listen to the advice of others and you should have a promising year with your work.
Dog Relationships
Domestically, the Dog can achieve new levels in a relationship this year. People who know you think highly of you, as you are a well respected individual for your work ethics and your devotion to the ones you love. Be open to communication, as you may, at times, be unwilling to change your views even when your partner has a valid point. If you can work on this issue, then you will find your relations with family members and friends very gratifying this year.
Dog Health
Your strong work ethics leave you working long hours, sometimes denying the warning signs of the effects on your health. Take the proper breaks and give yourself the time to recuperate from your busy work schedule or you may be out longer than you desire. You are instinctively a very active person and exercise is not something that you need to remind yourself to do.
Dog Wealth
Financially, you may not achieve the results you seek, but you are well on your way. Keep your spending within your budget, even though there may be items that you desire to purchase to enrich your home. The time will come to make the changes, just focus on the basics for now. There may be a change for the better towards the end of the year, so be patient and exercise care when it comes to spending

Watching the Inaguration

2009-01-20T17:55:00.000-08:00

Asian New Year Party

2009-01-18T14:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we attended an Asian New Year party in the next town over. We were very excited to be invited. K had so much fun playing and making friends with the other children while Mommy had fun getting to talk with other adults. They also had several craft tables set up so we had lots of fun making crafts. I don't think I've ever had so much glitter glue on me at one time :) They ordered Chinese food from a local resturant, it was ok. K ate almost a whole order of Shrimp LoMein by herself. We are looking forward to the next get together.

New Stroller and Shriner's

2009-01-15T13:17:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we were so excited because our new stroller arrived!! It took the manufacturer quite awhile to send it to us since we won this back in November but it was all worth the wait. And Laurie was so sweet in all she did to make sure we received it! They also because of all the trouble sent us an extra box with a few toys inside it (Thanks to Laurie). We had a blast playing with the little steering wheel driving toy last night.

Today K had her appointment at Shriner's. It was amazing the difference from this appointment to our last because of her maturity level and just think she's not even 3 yet. She had to get X-rays because we are noticing a big difference after her last growth spurt that her legs did not grow the same. They said that this will probably be a problem all her life with a noticeable difference between them (not what I wanted to hear). It was so funny when she was getting her x-ray because they had the camera basically on the ground trying to get the x-ray and then they told her to stand really still because they are about to take the pictures, K goes "CHEESE" really loud. I thought I was going to fall over laughing. Otherwise she never cried at all, she was such a big girl about the whole thing. She did get a little nervous and asked to hold my hand but that was it. Even the Nurse and our main Doctor commented that she never even allows them in the room without dissolving into a crying, screaming mess, they were so excited with this new change also. Our last stops was of course the shop, she has to have a new brace made and this time they are building in a slight wedge in hopes to stop the callous on the outside of her foot and to hold her foot and leg in a better position in her brace. My Baby Brother is home, so we are using a gift certificate we got for Christmas and going out to eat, so gotta go

Pre-schools

2009-01-12T12:41:00.000-08:00

Well for the last 3 months we have been looking really hard at pre-schools for K. We went to quite a few that I just wasn't thrilled about and a few that my Mom and I walked out of and said hell no! Today I was finally able to see what I had considered my top choice for a pre-school. I have heard that they are very inventive in their teaching and ahead of the curve. I had meet them before at a local festival where they were hosting an art project booth for children and I was very impressed by them then. I have to say during our visit today my opinions did not change. The funniest part was when they asked about my child's age and I said she would be 3 at the end of February and then they looked around me and saw K standing there and goes "You can't mean that this is the 3 yr old". I laughed and go, "yep that's her." We visited the two 3 year old classrooms, I did find it interesting that the ones that were only their for Preschool for all was in one classroom while the other classroom were tuition based Preschool students. The explained to us that it was because Preschool for all was only 1/2 day, while the tuition preschool was for all day and this way it caused less confusion. I was concerned at first but by watching both classes there was no difference in their teaching methods or what the children were learning. I guess one other thing I really liked was they didn't even look down on me or my Mom and we were dressed like slobs today with our hair slicked back (hey it's freezing here and super windy). Plus they didn't even assume that she was adopted and it wasn't until I was explaining how some of her paperwork is in her English name and some is still in her Vietnamese name did all of a sudden they go "oh is she adopted?". I'm so excited that we have Preschool for all in our state because that enabled everyone to have a chance to send their children to whatever preschool they wanted no matter what the cost. I mean heck even when I was making $70,000 plus a year, I wouldn't have been able to afford to send K to this preschool (it costs more a year than what Baby Brother is paying in total for grad school). They also said because of K having a special need that there was a good chance she would qualify for all day preschool through Preschool for all. Whoo Hoo that would even be better! As for K, I think she will be a perfect fit in this school, she was so excited to see the other children and really wanted to go and play with them. I was also so excited to see other Asian children in the classes there. So everything should be set but they have to make sure a spot stays open till March 1st, we have some paperwork to fill out, a home visit and finally waiting till K turns 3. I'm praying that everything falls into place because I really believe deep down that this is where K is suppose to go to school at. Otherwise I wouldn't have walked out of there with that this is where we are suppose to be feelings that I didn't have at any other of the preschools.

Also for those friends and family who have access to K's private journal it's finally updated except for Christmas day (because we ended up losing like 400+ pictures from that day and I'm waiting for copies from some family members).

Everyday I'm more amazed by her

2009-01-10T15:06:00.000-08:00

Look what K did today, she wrote her first word, "WOW". She had been helping me write Thank You notes and on the opposite side she would draw our friends or family a picture to go along with their Thank yous for their Christmas present and when she was explaining this one she goes "spider with tongue and the word "wow". I then took a second look and there it was. My daughter is so smart

7 Days

2009-01-07T20:40:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it's already 7 days into the new year. And so far the New Year SUCKS! I really believed that 2008 was going to be different and I guess in so many ways it was but I really thought that by the end we would be living Happily Ever After instead of being sucked back into the depths of unknown.
Last year I said too many good-byes and not enough hello's. I cried to many times to count. I felt lost more times then I ever felt any kind of direction. I wondered too many times, how much more can I take, home much more can I handle and why do you think I can handle so much.
So now that it's 2009, what do I do? Write out more resolutions that won't happen or finally say enough is enough. Should I follow the advice of a fellow blogger who decided not to control anything in her life for 2009 and just see where the path God has chosen lead her or being the control freak I am, do I try to control my own destiny? What a fine line to choose from, so in the hopes of making my life better, I'm going to try my best to let go, see where life takes me and the path God has chosen for me, remember to say more Hello's than good-bye's, remember my friends who I've neglected so much the last year and try not to worry so much. So let the adventure begin.....

Happy New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T13:54:00.000-08:00

So I'm totally down in the dumps about the job but if I can't depend on it then I've got to look for one that is going to provide some security, ok so I know no job out there is secure but I can't live in limbo. Otherwise spending tonight with my family, well at least some of them, Baby Brother is going out with his girlfriend to celebrate. We'll probably stay up and watch the ball drop and then go to bed. Yep, I know fun filled evening for this single Mom.

A little ray of light has been that quite a few of our friends have received referrals from China in the past 2 days, so please go over there and offer them some Congratulations
Sara at http://lanechinaadoption.blogspot.com/
Kelli at http://www.kelliinportland.blogspot.com/
Lisa at http://lucyin09.blogspot.com/

Just When You Think....

2008-12-30T11:54:00.000-08:00

life is going good, something like today happens. The job I've been counting on isn't looking so good, seems the bad economy has hit the businesses we deal with hard and so that means no money coming in, which in turn means no money to pay me. So we are praying here that the economy gets better really quickly!

Bah Humbug, Sort of....

2008-12-25T20:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I'll just say it...our Christmas was pretty much ruined by 2 people. Instead of sticking to the plans and celebrating Christmas with us, having Christmas breakfast with us or even Christmas dinner with us, they decided to lie to us all freakin' morning and afternoon until they decided to finally show up at 430pm. So basically because we were under the assumption they would be opening gifts with us, I made K wait to open the rest of her gifts from Santa, Us and her Great-Grandparents because they stressed to me how much they wanted to be here to watch her open them. So instead by the time she opened gifts she was totally burned out, she was tired of waiting and basically she had almost a melt down. And then they were pissed because she didn't want to open their 1 gift, well hell she didn't want to open almost any gifts at that point. I am just so upset, I should of just let her open her gifts, I should have put my daughter first instead of thinking about their feelings. I am so through with this crap. I mean if it would have been her grandson then things would have been completely different, she wouldn't have made him wait to open his gifts. I am just so pissed off and upset, because number 1 they did this and number 2 I didn't just tell them to f*** off and let my daughter enjoy opening her Christmas presents this morning when she was so super excited to open them and instead made her wait all freakin' day. So I hope everyone elses holiday was great, I'm just so thankful I don't have to deal with them for another freakin' year!!
Ok, so I've cooled down just a little bit while uploading pictures. Overall K had a great Christmas Morning, she loved her doll house from Santa. My Baby Brother and K had a great time playing with each other. And things were really good with my Mom. So really if I reflect only on my family, things were really great and Christmas wasn't a total bust, we had fun together, it was just the added stress of extended family and their intentional lying that upset me.

K's visit with Santa

2008-12-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

While participating at a local craft fair (if you could call it even that). They also had Santa set up so kids could sit on Santa's lap and get pictures taken/or take your own. K was amazed by Santa but actually spoke to him unlike years past (1st year dissolved into tears upon her first meeting and last year just wouldn't talk to him at all). When he asked her what she would like, she said some toys and when he asked her what kind of toys, some nice toys. It just made me smile. Otherwise for what the craft fair turned out to be (not even 14 vendors) it really surprised me that we made any money at all. It was a far cry from even our normal 1 day craft fair totals but alot better than we expected. So all in all a good day.

I think I'm going crazy?

2008-12-04T20:38:00.001-08:00

Ok so right now I'm working 5 days a week on overnights (10p till sometime after 6am), 2-3 days a week I'm working my daytime job. Of course we still are running our online business and doing quite a few art festivals on the weekends. I don't think I sleep more than 2-3 hours a day. And I just realized after all this that I thought my 171-H had expired and I was ok with that because I was just going to renew C's adoption under the I-800 but instead my 171-H doesn't expire until January, so for the month of December, along with working like a crazy women, our weekend art festivals selling our wares, trying to spend quality time with K, all our Christmas parties and festivites, I'm now going to be running around trying to get all the paperwork together so I can resubmit my 171-H since I won't have to pay since I get a 3rd extension on it. I guess like everything else with C's adoption it has just fallen into place and so far my faith hasn't failed me concerning my Little C's adoption and I'm thinking there is no way it's going to fail me now.

Also I got hurt at work tuesday night, a giant box was dropped on my head. I still have the headache and blurry vision. Luckily didn't have to get stitches or anything like that. Once I got home on Wednesday morning within 2 hrs of stepping in the door I come down the the flu or some virus. I was so sick yesterday and today, I'm feeling 100 times better than yesterday but still not even close to 100%, heck not even close to 70%. Also over the Thanksgiving holiday, my best and oldest friend came to visit and meet K for the first time. We have know each other since 7th grade, we stayed at each others houses almost every weekend and once we were able to drive we were together every moment of every weekend cruzing up and down the river getting ourselves into all kinds of trouble. He moved away 7 years ago, the big reason was to get away from his family but he had also meet what he thought was his true love. Which I knew from the beginning it wasn't but whatever, I was supportive because I loved him. They didn't even last 2 years but until this year he has never been able to bring himself back here and be strong enough to survive his family. I'm am so thankful that he was this year and that we got to spend all that time just hanging out. You look at the picture we took of us and K together and you think what a happy little family they make but alas even though we love each other that deeply and trust me the goodbye was a Hallmark moment it would never work out. I just can't believe how much I miss him already.

So here are a few pics from November, I've really been lacking in downloading and updating but I know everyone understands that I'm basically a warm-blooded zombie like I seem to be every holiday season.

K playing in the pit

K's first experience with a gumball machine

K was getting super fussy or having a temper tantrum, so I ran some warm water in the sink and let her play in it, next thing I know she has sat down in the sink and was splashing water everywhere.

mashing potatoes on Thanksgivinglaughing outside after getting home from braving the stores on Black Friday and we didn't buy a single thing either

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T21:17:00.001-08:00

We had a really good Thanksgiving. My Baby Brother was home from school the last 3 days so he and K enjoyed some quality time. It was again another heart wrenching good-bye between them when it was time for him to leave for Grad school today. We were also amazed when K's Great-Grandma and YeYe showed up. He was released from the hospital on Tuesday and got the go ahead from all the doctors that he could travel. I just want to Thank everyone for their prayers because I really believe they helped. They have concluded that it wasn't a stroke (Thank you Lord!) but a very severe virus that attacked his central nervous system which cut off oxygen to his brain. This is actually a virus that is making it's rounds but is affecting everyone totally different. I do know the 2 most common signs is that you will have a severe headache and are super nauseated and beyond that is when everything is different. I'm pretty sure the same virus that attacked him, attacked me last week just I wasn't only nauseated but sick, heck my stomach and shoulder muscles still hurt.

Otherwise I'm disappointed by the Black Friday Ads. I really was expecting some great deals, I mean don't get me wrong, they are pretty good but I expected spectacular since the economy sucks. But honestly I'm done with my Christmas shopping except maybe a few very little things for stockings. I actually finished my shopping Wednesday night by buying my last gift for my bosses Daughter. K decided that she would love this gift and so that is what we got her. Lucky for me it was in the Toys R Us ad at half off the regular price plus with the extra discount I got, I paid hardly nothing. I mean it's the thought that counts anyway. So Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A Few Prayers Please

2008-11-23T14:51:00.000-08:00

K's YeYe (aka my Grandpa or K's Great-Grandpa) had a stroke on Thursday. Please keep him and my Grandma in your prayers that he will continue to get better and that she will keep up her strength.

Another Upward Swing

2008-11-19T07:16:00.000-08:00

Wow, things here are really starting to turn around. I was suppose to have a Hearing today about my unemployment. The company who layed me off was being real jerks. They fought my initial claim and after I won that one, they filed their appeal which was being held today. The appeal was suppose to start at 9a and around 910a I got a call from the Judge who said that she hadn't heard from the company and she was giving them 5 more minutes and if she didn't hear from them she was denying their claim and dropping the appeal. Well it's now almost 1030a, I emailed the Judge and am waiting a response back to make sure I can go about my day but if they haven't called by now, I'm pretty sure she's dismissed their appeal. Whoo Hoo, Little Guys 1, Big Bad Company 0!

A Typical Tuesday NOT!

2008-11-18T18:50:00.000-08:00

Well lets see, I got a second job, it's seasonal but at least it's some extra money. My other job is going well, it's only part time but it's steady work and I really enjoy it. Plus eventually I'll get to work at home 90% of the time. I mean how awesome is that. The deal originally was that I was going to be able to go full time in January as long as we got this bigger contract we were expecting, well last week we found out that they were only giving us half of what we expected. But my boss talked to me on Monday and said if I want too, she still wants to take me full time in January. So it was a happy but scary moment since this company is not even 3 months old yet and of course with the economy, it's a leap of faith that I'm going to take because my life had been in a downward spiral and finally except for the few things going on with my little C's adoption from China, our lives are starting on an upward swing. I truly have to believe that things are just going to get better from this day forward because somehow no matter how hard we have fallen in the past, we have always dusted ourselves off and survived.

Now the most amazing thing that happened today. My very Best and Closest Friend who I've know for 7 years now, never met face to face, emailed each other almost daily, who is K's Godmother and we talk about things that we talk with no one else about because there is no sense of judgement or fear that we would gossip behind each other's back because we live so far away. We talked today on the phone for the first time. How weird is that, to know someone for 7 years but never really heard their voice or their laugh (unless it was in the background of a video we sent each other of our kids). K also got to talk to her on the phone, she was going to sing her Happy Birthday but had other thoughts and then decided to hardly talk to her. Which is typical K, she has to be in the mood to talk on the phone. Our conversation was really about nothing, the weather, her kids birthday parties, things about K and just random thoughts that came to mind. But more than anything, it was so nice to finally be able to make the more human connection opposed to the intimate connection that we have with our words. I know today's call won't be the last especially because I want K to be able to have a strong connection with her Godmother. So a big Happy Birthday to K's Godmother and most of all to my Friend.

Prayers, School and This and Thats

2008-11-14T20:03:00.000-08:00

Well today I spent over 3 1/2 hours in traffic and then had to sit through the class my new boss sent me too. It was actually a pretty easy class or at least it was while I was in the classroom. But who knows, it maybe a whole different world once I have to use what I learned in a real world setting. I also have another class next Thursday which I'm looking forward too. What I'm not looking forward to is that this class even without traffic is over 2 hrs away, across the river and out in the middle of nowwhere. I ended up not having lunch because there is no fast food or even resturants anywhere near this place because it's smack dab in the middle of the rich and famous neighborhood where all the professional baseball, football and hockey players, rap stars (I know of at least 2 that live there) and countless other rich people. I guess having a MickeyD's down the street from them would hurt their property value or something. So I guess I'll have to remember to bring myself some food next Thursday so I don't starve.

Otherwise K in the last few weeks has really been expressing her feelings. I hear sentences like "I miss __" "I'm sad because ___" or "I'm happy Mommy because ___". What breaks your heart is when she says that she is sad because she puckers out that lower lip and gets those big puppy dog eyes and it just breaks your heart. She told me yesterday this I'm sad Mommy and when I asked her why? she said because my baby sister is still in China. It took everything I had to hold it together especially with everything that has happened since Wednesday concerning my adoption from China.

So this is where the prayers come in, I get a letter from my Social worker that came directly from the head of Children & Family Services. It says that because my homestudy is 13 months old, that I must get a new one by December 15th. Ok, I'm thinking I've paid my damn homestudy agency enough over the last 4 years it shouldn't cost me anything or at least very, very little. Well they want to charge me over $2300.00 to update. This is the part that pisses me off is if I don't get this update by December 15th that they will close my file from China and I will NEVER be allowed to adopt from there if I live in this State. Actually let me put this more clearly is that I can still travel to China, adopt my little girl but I won't be able to come home because the State I live in requires that they give their approval before INS is allowed to give their approval. So basically I'll be able to adopt from China but never bring her home. What kind of crap is that?? What sucks is if my agency was in the same state I was in or even if I lived in a different state I wouldn't be going through this. My states regulations suck. I told my Mom after the year we have had I don't know how we will come up with that kind of money in such a short amount of time. I also said if I have to, I will move to another state so I can get a new homestudy and INS approval because I have not went through the hell I did with my agency fighting tooth and nail to even get my paperwork sent over to China and Logged in to not be able to bring home my future daughter and K's future baby sister. I have dreamed about my daughter from China for over 15 years and you can bet there is nothing going to stop me from bringing her home. So I'm not one to ask for a hand out because I've always done everything on my own and have always survived no matter what so this is hard for me to say I added a "ChipIn" to my sidebar in hopes that I can raise enough money to get the updated homestudy, otherwise if I don't raise enough money in time, it will be used to help me move to another state so I will be able to continue my adoption, drastic yes but if it has to come to that, then as I said I will do anything to bring my daughter home.

Election, We Won and Catching Up

2008-11-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

Since Sunday, I have felt just exhausted. Not sure if I'm trying to come down with something, which may or may not have been caught from my boss's daughter. But that's ok, I love that little girl anyway and as long as K doesn't get sick, then were good.

I am so super excited that we won the Chicco Trevi Twin Stroller!!! YAH!! I stayed up until the polls ended to see who won since the race was so close. K would be in the lead one moment and then losing the next. It was nerve wracking. But I really have to thank all our family, friends, friends of friends, all my military buddies that I made while living in Germany, our blog friends, our yahoo groups we belong too and of course my Baby Brother's college campus buddies, graduate school buddies and Fraternity for helping K pull off her victory. This stroller has been on my wish list for so long and never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would own one since this would have been a luxury purchase. And we just don't have the extra money for that kind of purchase.

Otherwise someone has been stealing our firewood! Wonder whoo? Of course its my evil next door neighbors. I guess they think I'm stupid or something and I wouldn't have noticed all the knocked down weeds and tree branches leading to my wood pile. And the large V shape of wood taken from my nicely stacked even wood pile. So we have spent the last 2 days moving all of it up next to the house since that is our heating fuel. And you know I probably wouldn't have been so bent out of shape about it, if they didn't have piles and piles of wood of their own. Plus if I thought they were poor and freezing (which right now it's in the 80's), I wouldn't be so angry but heck they just bought a brand new boat, brand new dune buggy, plus they just spent over $7000 on a swingset for their kids, they sure aren't hurting. So it's a real shame they have to steal from people who are struggling.

So onto pictures which is why everyone is here, not to listen to my ramblings

This is K on Monday picking up pine cones to burn this winter

K with her Election Hairbows, so she could wear all of them I made her, she had 3 pigtails. Of course since we didn't want to show any partisan favoritism, I made a Republican, Democrat and Vote bottlecap center. And of course Kitty Cat had to have a bow too. Also my Mom took this picture this morning after I was already at work? Wonder what it is??? K sneezed her oatmeal all over her mirror this morning.

And here are a few pictures that I took before dinner tonight, it was so warm and beautiful outside. I was suppose to be working since I have a deadline for tomorrow on a big project but decided it could wait....guess I should be working on it instead of blogging right now.

Please Vote for K

2008-11-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

K is a finalist in a Halloween Photo Contest and we need your vote. So please follow the link and go vote for my Little Bo Peep http://www.goodhappenings.com/?page_id=487

Remember Voting ends November 4th, ELECTION DAY :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2008-10-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

AHHHHHHHH!!! I just wrote this huge long post and lost it all. F*#&%(#@&@ Blogger! Guess I'll write it some other time. I leave you with one picture from today. K was on a local TV show this afternoon and won 1st prize for her costume, a $50 gift certificate. WHOO HOO!

Grandma fixing K's hat - K and the local TV co-Hostess

Pictures From our Halloween Festivites

2008-10-29T16:05:00.000-07:00

Well I'm so behind in getting these pictures posted and stuff updated. I've worked to many hours at my part time job this week, so that means I don't work until next Monday. Trying to find some Trick or Treat activities to do tomorrow with K since it's the 30th but so far nothing down here in our area, may have to drive further North towards her Great-Grandma and Cousins houses. We have a jam packed 31st with 3 different Trick or Trunks near our house in the evening and Trick or Treat at Toys R Us in the afternoon. I love this time of year and I'm really going to miss it after Friday.

Trick or Treat on the Square which was on Friday

K and this baby Clown had so much fun together

K was Dumbo while Trick or Treating at the Zoo on Saturday

Giving the Raccoon a High Five

After Trick or Treating at the Zoo we headed over to the Science Center for some fun on Saturday

On Sunday, we went to our Secret Pal's Church for their Trick or Trunk and Halloween festivities, we had a blast and her Hubby and K were buddies the whole night

Trick or Treat on Main Street

2008-10-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun tonight and we have so many more Trick or Treat events planned for the weekend and into next week. I just love this time of year! I'm too tired to download the camera so pictures will have to wait. Tomorrow is Trick or Treat at the Zoo and a Fall Festival at one of the local churches.

Pumpkin Lunch

2008-10-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Well it's been awhile since I made K a Bento lunch. This was actually yesterday's lunch since Grandma took care of todays since Momma was at work. It's a Grilled Cheese Pumpkin sandwich with chocolate eyes and nose and orange fruit jello (K called it a pumpkin patch) with a Kitty Cat animal cracker walking through it.

A Miracle

2008-10-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

"When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need."

This quote was given to me by a co-worker almost 8 years ago, during a very dark time in my life. It has hung above my computer since then and has made several moves. Amazingly it has never gotten lost. There have been things going on in my private life that I haven't talked about and still won't in a public forum but what I can tell you that today through the Grace of God, I witnessed a Miracle. I saw that there is still good people in this world who are willing to help, who are able to look beyond numbers and see a face and give people a chance at redemption. Today I saw that Miracle unfold before me and it has changed my life forever.

Halloween Fall Festival

2008-10-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed over to the next town, ok it's not even 2 miles down the road from us to attend their fall festival. They had advertised it as an affordable way to have family fun and dinner where nothing cost over a $1.00. HA! HA!HA! Needless to say I didn't expect steak but I did expect the hot dogs would only cost a $1.00, instead they were $2.00 and if you needed a drink they started at $3.00. Needless to say we ended up splitting a hot dog and bowl of chili between the 3 of us. The rides I expected to be $1.00 a piece, nope you had a buy a bracelet for $10.00 (the cheapest way) or pay per ride, which none of them was under $3.50 in cost. So we didn't ride any rides. They did have some games that only cost 25 cents a piece to play, so K got to play $2.00 worth. But our main reason to go was because we love to dress up for Halloween and they were having a Halloween Costume contest. Amazingly we were able to pull together and make K's complete Halloween costume together in about 3 hours. I also figured out that it cost in total less than $5.00 to make the entire thing. Here's why, we got all the taffeta and satin material at an estate sale which cost $2.00 a bag, the lace on her hat was from a church rummage sale that was $1.00 a bag, the pink part of her hat that helped hold up the cardboard was a foam visor which I paid 50 cents for. The stuffed lamb was a gift, her shepard's hook was a cane that was left in our very 1st house and it's just moved everytime we have moved, the ribbon I covered it with only cost 25 cents a row. So that brings our grand total to $3.75. Grandma also dressed up like a lamb, which was so adorable. Well even though I have to say that K and Grandma had the best costumes there, they ended up losing to a girl in a sweatshirt because it was a popularity contest opposed to actual judging. If we would have know that we would have brought more people along to cheer for us so we could of won. But they were happy with their Honorable Mention and the tons of people including the Director of the Festival who said we should have won.

What an Honor!

2008-10-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

I have won quite a few awards with this photo (pictured above), which I titled "In Memory" but the greatest one came today......

I'm being inducted into the 2008 Class of International Photographers Society Hall of Fame

this is also the same Society I have won 3 previous awards with in 2001, '04 and '07. The '01 and '04 awards, they gave me an all expense paid trip to the awards ceremony. Too bad that's not going to happen this year :( I've already talked to them. Since I can't afford the trip, I decided I will just submit a video tape of me accepting this honor. But still this is so freakin cool!

Never Argue with a 2 1/2 yr old

2008-10-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

You'll never win an argument with a 2 1/2 yr old because in the end all they will do is leave you laughing. Case in point today, my daughter insists in calling our space shuttle magnet an airplane. It was a really silly of me to argue with her but it drives me crazy to think she is identifying something wrong. So it went like this...

K: Momma look airplane
M: No, that's the space shuttle.
K: No, it's an airplane
M: No sweetie, it's a space shuttle or rocket ship
K: Rocket Ship? Nope it's an airplane
M: No it's a rocket ship (since obviously she understood that word). It goes into space to look for aliens (she is really into aliens).
K: Aliens on airplane
M: No Aliens fly rocket ships
K: (leaves room) Grandma, airplane.
G: No I think Momma called it a rocket ship or space shuttle
K: No, Airplane! (comes back into see me) Momma this is airplane (making sure to show me the magnet)
M: No it's a space shuttle
K: airplane
M: space shuttle
K airplane
M: rocket ship
K: rocket ship
AH HA, Reverse psychology!! Doesn't always work on someone so young.
K: FINE! It's a rocket ship
She then starts to walk in other room, stops and turns around and puts the magnet up to her ear like a phone. And then I hear this pretend conversation
"Hi YeYe this K. Momma say rocket ship has aliens. Mmhmm. Yeah. I know. Momma wrong it airplane. Mmhmm. Ok. ByeBye. Love you."
At this point I'm laughing so hard. I can't believe she pretends to tell on me to her Great-Grandpa. You just got to love her.

What have we been up to?

2008-09-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

1. working on folk art items for the show which is next weekend
2. playing with K
3. K's first pony ride
4. visit with Great-Grandma
5. 2hr drive to attend a visitation of a man I didn't know
6. hugging someone who carried a burden of guilt for over 5 years and watching that burden lift from her after we talked
7. realizing how much time has passed by and how I barely know my Little Cousin's anymore
8. realizing yet again how angry my Uncle makes me
9. realizing yet again how frustrating my Grandparents can be, especially driving up to the visitation of a man they do not know and wasting the money because they didn't think we would represent the family well enough.
10. trying to arrange services so K can start therapeutic riding
11. realizing my life is not leading in the direction I want it too and realizing I need a life makeover
12. pondering if C's adoption is really going to happen from China
13. staying off the computer not for lack of time but just not enough energy to get on
14. praying for K's godmother who had a relapse and wishing I could be there to help

15. Trying to create meals with only the food we have in the house, it's been a great and really fun challenge

Our blown out window, if you look out the window, you can see all the flooding

K laying on the floor, actually she is protesting since I was working on some stuff and not giving her my full undivided attention

Dinner tonight, Enchilada Pie, all the ingredents only cost me $5.29. I need to have a show, how to feed a family of 4 on only $30.00 a week or less.

K pretending to be a Kangaroo, she is trying to jump

2008-09-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

I decided to try this since it was on my friend, Sara's blog I have always been an Independent when it comes to voting but have also leaned a little more towards the democratic side but per this it says I'm more republican. It all has to do with the questions they asked because I'm totally on opposite sides of the spectrum on alot of these issues that they mentioned.

Your Vote Score: 56% Republican, 44% Democrat

You are truly an independent voter, and you don't fit well with either party.

Maybe you should choose one issue to vote on - or look into third parties!

Should You Vote Republican or Democrat?

BOA Club

2008-09-06T20:48:00.001-07:00

Wow, oh, Wow!!! Well my Cousin did come through with the tickets. I cannot even begin to tell you how awesome our night was. It was so great to pretend that we were super rich and could actually afford to buy these tickets, which cost $115 a piece. The other thing that was awesome was there was no hassles that we only had 2 tickets (one for me and Mom) and K didn't have one (she is 2 yrs old or younger and gets in to the stadium for free but we weren't sure how things would be when it's an exclusive area). They even gave her a drink cup and the special bracelet that said we belonged to this particular club. It was so cool because we saw parts of the Stadium that unless yo have access to BOA you don't get to see it. Plus all the attendants were so nice, they opened doors, wiped off your seats, etc. Sorry I just keep repeating myself because we had so much fun.

New Creations

2008-09-06T00:40:00.001-07:00

Well this week, other than waiting to hear about callbacks from jobs, I also worked on hair bows since we were accepted into a local folk art show to sell our wares. The competition for the shows around here are rough to get a spot and we were lucky when they choose us as 1st time people.
So I've been toying around with lots of different methods of hair bows and I made these, Minnie Mouse Ear bows. I think they are adorable but I guess my question is, would you buy these? I mean seriously I don't want to waste my time if there is no market for them, so please let me know what you think!

Oh yeah, please disregard all the crap in the background, we are using our front room as our craft area so the place is an absolute mess. Otherwise, we initially thought we would visit Great-Grandma this weekend and have lunch/dinner together and attend the Festival of Nations. Then the plans changed to just having dinner with her since we have so much crap to do in the morning tomorrow. But then I got a call this evening from one of my long-lost Cousins and in some weird kindness act, he offered to give me 2 tickets to tomorrow nights baseball game, not only that but they are luxury box seats with all you can eat and drink privileges. So we will see how this pans out tomorrow. We have to meet up with him to get the tickets, so I hope this works out because how freakin cool is this going to be.

Labor Day

2008-09-01T21:05:00.001-07:00

Well this weekend we spent working on stuff for a craft festival. I feel like I made no progress at all on building up my inventory for my bows. I mean I got alot done but I guess not as much as I had hoped to do. Otherwise we didn't do much of anything else the entire weekend, we ducked our heads outside for a few minutes here and there but it was too hot to be outside. The whole month of September for us is suppose to be hotter than any other month this year. Which honestly makes you think more and more about global warming and going entirely green. We have done really good about cutting our energy costs this year and especially this summer. We have been keeping the thermostat at 80 and using fans to circulate the air and keep us cool, which resulted in cutting our energy use by 75% from last year (we had our thermostat at 76 last year) at the same time. It's amazing what those few degrees on the thermostat can do, I mean yeah it's a little hot but at least the air conditioner isn't running 24/7.

Well here are 2 pictures from last week, I haven't downloaded my camera from the weekend, not that I took many pictures. I've really been slacking in that department.

Last Weekends Road Trip to Tennessee

2008-08-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well basically when we left for on our Road trip we only had enough money for gas. So we packed food and water and my amazing, don't always get along with Aunt was paying for our hotel room. So we basically drove straight through but stopped at a rest stop in Tennessee to have lunch, cold mac-n-cheese and jello. We picked up some brochures and decided some we would have plenty of time to kill before the party and didn't want to be put to work when we got there decorating and cooking, so we went to the Parthenon in Centennial park. We walked around and explored for over an hour and then decided it was time to head over to Cousin J's birthday party. When we arrived, they still weren't done decorating, so of course we still ended up helping and doing alot of the setting up. Finally it was 5pm and no one was there, their guests didn't start showing up until 530-6pm. So that gave J and K lots of time to play together. They actually played pretty well, he didn't bully K around but he did grab toys away from her alot of the time but it was 100% better than it was last year about this same time. Right after the guests got there she let J get in the pool instead of playing the games, having cake or even opening presents. They didn't even blow out candles till 730pm and then played games at 8pm. Which I was really bummed because they didn't let all the little kids take a whack at the pinata before the bigger kids did, so K didn't even get a turn. I finally had to beg my Cousin M to open J's presents or at least our presents at 930pm at night because I was ready to head back to the hotel. She was put off about it but hell I didn't drive all this way to not see his face when he opened our gifts. I still couldn't believe that she didn't even care if people saw J open his gifts or at least have them opened so people could see what he got. So we got to the hotel and it was almost 11pm. My Aunt ended up staying at our hotel room until almost 1am and amazingly K was awake still at 1am (which was 4 1/2 hrs past her bedtime). But I just couldn't make K go to bed when I knew my Aunt was paying for our room and they never see each other. Also J is 6 months older than K and is also almost a Foot Taller than her too.

K and J playing in his new sandbox

Cousin M and Cousin J writing with Chalk on their house

The kids playing with glow sticks when it got darkThe next morning, we still got up bright and early. My Aunt joined us for complimentary breakfast and we continued to visit. It was a nice relaxing morning. We then headed out to my Uncle's house (about an hour outside town). He was a little miffed with us because we haven't seen him in so long but after talking he finally realized it wasn't because we didn't want to see him, it was because of everything bad that has happened in our life. After awhile K warmed up to him (he's a gruff mountain man type but has a heart of gold). Our visit was way too short! Finally it was time to head home because of course Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa decided to plan a surprise visit on us and we had to be home for them.

Aunt and K practicing a cheer in the hotel lot

Uncle and K looking into the birdhouse

Otherwise if you want to read about the rest of our week, check out the post below

Thank Goodness it's Thursday

2008-08-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well lets see Tuesday didn't get any better, it stayed the horrific Monday that it was disguised as. I went back at 1pm for the Interview which really turned out to be 1 1/2 hours of testing. There was another Candidate there, so they sat us across from each other, I guess to intimidate each other. Well about 5 minutes after 1pm, the tester comes in and goes I'm waiting for another person, do you mind waiting a few minutes for her to show up. Ok, at this point I am furious because just this morning, I wasn't even 5 minutes late and you told me to come back at 1pm and this B*tch it getting to be almost 15 minutes late. So I said a few things to the tester because my thought at this point was "hell what do I have to lose!" Well she stumbled over her words and the other Candidate just sat there stunned that I would say anything at all and loose my chance at this job. Well the other Candidate never showed up, so finally they started the testing. Well I have to say that these tests were some of the hardest I've ever taken and when they were finally over and done with, I walked outside and called home and said "You know it's sad when the test you think you did the best on was the Math test and you know I suck at math". So I came home and just felt crappy the rest of the day. I tried getting some stuff done on the computer after K had went to sleep but by 1030pm, I was exhausted, I tried to head downstairs to bed but couldn't make it down the stairs, so I fell asleep in the chair. I woke up the next morning in utter pain and my whole body was swelled up, my feet, hands, arms, legs, face, etc. I couldn't barely move. About half-way through the day I told my Mom that if I had health insurance that I would have her take me to the ER because something wasn't right. So instead when K was taking her nap, I laid down also, I wish it would have helped but it really didn't. Well about 4pm last night I get a call from the Company that I tested at yesterday for an interview today!!! Yep, I was shocked and then worried because how awful I felt. This morning I woke up still feeling awful but better than yesterday, the swelling is mostly gone but I'm still in lots of pain. The interview went great, I took a tour of the plant and they basically told me if they didn't hire me into this position that they had 3 other positions that they would more than likely offer me. So I felt really good walking out of there. It pays way better than any job I've had in the last 22 months and the reason they are hiring is because the work is getting to be too much for one person to handle, so it's almost 100% they won't be laying off anytime soon. So please keep me in your prayers that I get a job at this company.
Otherwise I still have to update pictures from this past weekend of our road trip to Tennessee. Hopefully I'll get that done today.

Tuesday disguised as a Monday

2008-08-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Well when I sat down to write this it was a little after 9am, now it's 11am. Today so far is the day from hell or a Tuesday disguised as a Monday. Lets see I had a job interview today, called the lady and told her I was running just a few minutes late, actually ran 2 minutes late and the lady smugly told me I had to come back at 1pm to do the interview. I wasted almost a 1/2 a tank of gas to hear her say this. If I didn't need the damn job, I would of said some choice words and not have come back but of course I can't do that so I have to take the abuse inflicted. Of course my Mom and I get into it before I even left this morning, what about, everything and anything. Then my computer printer decided to die at about 3am when I was trying to print off the last of the application stuff I needed and of course my Mom's printer is out of ink and we don't have any extra ink cartridges lying around. Of course I don't have any money to buy new ink cartridges so I try to download the crap I need onto a disk so I can go to the library and try printing it, of course my disk drive decides to crash too. Oh and don't even get my started about what happened at 1am this morning but of course my life is in a downhill spiral anyway so why should anyone care anyway. I wish I could turn back the clock to midnight and start the day over. Wow it's only 1120am, wonder how worse today can get!

Forever Family Day and Road Trip

2008-08-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well today was great, we ate pizza from Little Casear's and spent quality family time. We played, did craft projects and just had fun. We also spent part of our time packing for an unplanned, throw caution to the wind road trip. We are headed to a 3rd Birthday party being held for Cousin J. Cousin J is referenced from last Labor day when he was being a big bully to K. Well we are hoping this time it goes much better since he is older. Plus we are making a side trip to see my Uncle (who I haven't seen since 2005). So I'm pretty excited that he is going to meet K for the first time, especially since he's been pretty ill. So I'll have no internet access, so I'll see everyone on Monday.

HAPPY 2nd FAMILY DAY!!!!

2008-08-21T22:20:00.001-07:00

Well according to my clock it's 1221am, so that means it is August 22nd. Two years ago today, I spent the day wandering around the Municipal park in HCMC, both my Mom and I had pretty much decided there was no way we were going to have a G&R that week. We had been in Vietnam at that point for 20 days and I have to say at that point we were both so sick that we just wanted to get on the next plane with K and go home but we were stuck. Then about 5 minutes before 4pm we got the call saying we needed to be in the hotel lobby at 415pm. You should of seen us rushing around trying to get ready, trying to get K ready and pack the diaper bag. We were two crazy women. We got ready in record time and had 5 minutes to spare. We were then whisked off to the Ministry of Justice building where the orphanage director was waiting to sign the paperwork to make K officially mine. So right around 5pm we signed all the necessary paperwork (4 copies each), signed the book and it was over. We were officially a Family in the eyes of the Vietnamese government.

That night we celebrated with pizza from Al Fresco's. Last year we celebrated with a quiet evening at home and of course homemade pizza. This year we will continue the tradition, not sure were we will be getting the pizza from or any other plans we have but we will be together as a family and that's all that matters.

K and I at the Municipal Park in HCMC

The matching Jade bracelet my Mom got us to celebrate the day

CONGRATULATIONS

2008-08-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

I just want to send CONGRATULATIONS out to two of my friends who became Mommies and Daddies today

Big Congratulations to Cindy and Adam on your new daughter from China and also a big Congratulations to Amy, Greg and Big Brother Samuel who welcomed their new son to the world at 215pm through Domestic adoption

Trip to Grad School and Recouping

2008-08-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

Well the trip up to Grad school wasn't bad, I spent the entire trip behind my Baby Brother watching to make sure none of his stuff flew out of the truck. I spent most of my time watching the car's passing us shocked at how much crap we loaded into an F-10 pick-up truck. I have to say it was pretty amazing that we fit a couch, entertainment center, large full size desk, 5 dining room chairs, a dining room table, a blue overstuffed chair, blue beanbag chair and finally his coffee table in the bed of truck that measured 5'x4'. The rest of my time was spent watching this ant crawl back and forth across the windshield and my friendly neighborhood car spider (I have done previous battles with this spider trying to kill him) catching the ant and trying to kill him but the ant somehow getting loose. It became very comical but that could have been from the serious lack of sleep, the long road trip and the 44 oz Cherry coke. Once we got there and he picked up his keys we had everything moved into his apartment in under 2 hours. We then set up his furniture where he wanted it and then started to unpack before we headed off to the book store in a quest to get him cable and broadband service. Needless to say 1 1/2 hours later we walked out carrying the cable box and modem in a bag made of recyclable plastic bottles. It was really cool. We then walked the 7 blocks back to the car and drove back to the apartment. When we got there, my Mom, K and his Girlfriend just arrived. Needless to say I've got a lot more grumbling to do about his girlfriend. She is so bent out of shape because Baby Brother is leaving her and going off to Grad school. They have had so many fights in the last few weeks and I talked to him today and I know they had another fight after we left last night and all it is doing is stressing him out more. Honestly I'm not sure if it's going to last and after everything that has happened and the rude, hurtful, mean things she has said to me in the last week, I won't be broken up about it if it happens because honestly, my Baby Brother needs a Women not some Girl who's acting like she's still in High School. So off my soap box, almost. Otherwise the move went smoothly and my Brother was super appreciative of everything we did especially since every time we turned around his girlfriend would complain about how tired she was and would plop down and not do any work. So he knew if we hadn't stayed behind there was no way his apartment would have been unpacked and looking like a million dollars. Now the killer of the trip was when we were getting ready to leave. All of a sudden it hits K that something isn't right because her Uncle wasn't getting in the car with us and we were telling her next time they would see each other. Next thing I know K starts tearing up, won't say good-bye and just keeps saying over and over again "no, no, don't leave, no" Of course it breaks my Baby Brother's heart that K doesn't want him to go and she just doesn't understand the totally affect this is going to have on her life. Next thing I know we are all a crying mess except his Girlfriend who actually gets really snotty and acts like a total bitch. I won't even go further into her actions at this point but if I would have been on my game I would have said "Look he loves his niece way more than you and he is going to miss her a heck of a lot more than you". Finally we got K calmed down enough that she does tell him good-bye and gives him kisses but all day today she spent asking about her Uncle and when was he coming home. Even with him coming home to visit, it's going to be a long 2 years.

The truck packed and ready to go

This is what I stared at for hours on end

K standing in front of the fountain before we left

Baby Brother and K acting silly

Where does time go?

2008-08-18T21:56:00.001-07:00

I swear I am losing large chunks of time. I can't believe that today is already Monday and that tomorrow we move my Baby Brother to his 1st apartment so he can go to Grad School. Seems like yesterday he was just that annoying little brother who drove me crazy, Oh wait he still drives me crazy and yep, he can get pretty annoying (LOL). We spent the last few days helping him pack, repack and pack some more. Both he and I will leave early in the morning driving 2 cars with the bulk of the load and then since his girlfriend has a job interview and she just has to go up there (hmm, can't put what I really think so, grumble, grumble, grumble), my Mom, K and her will leave sometime after noon and they will basically have his clothes and odds & ends. I'm hoping that this goes fast and honestly the way we work together, I'm hoping that almost everything is done in 2-3 hours. Well I leave you with a few pictures over the last few days, I really, really need to get to bed since it's already midnight.

we went to see what we could find in the garden, was a little disappointed when we only got a handful of tomatoes.

We hit 3 yard sales on Saturday, we got everything pictured for $1.50. There was 42 pieces of ribbon and each was 1-2 yards and was rescued from a former cheerleader who was getting rid of it. Also very excited because the boots actually fit over K's brace, which is super rare when it comes to any footwear. Then of course the things K picked out, the Hello Kitty purse, Little people dinosaur and what I've been calling Ninja Fighting Cat (if anyone can identify who he is, we would love to know).
The mountain of boxes from the garage, it really wasn't that bad but K shot this picture from her very short sitting down vantage point, so that's why it looks like a mountain. and finally a picture K took of Kitty Cat and if you look closely her toes are in the bottom right hand corner. K told me, "Mommy look, toes and KittyKitty", then she just started laughing hysterically.

Day out with Great-Grandma

2008-08-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Well today we spent the day with K's Great-Grandma. This is the same one I've talked about before in quite a few posts, including the Christmas miracle. Well she contacted my Brother a few weeks ago (totally out of character for her) and wanted to get together with him before he left for school. So today was the day for us to have some fun. First we had to drive over an hour north to go and pick her up. We took K with us and I got some awesome shots from around what is remaining of the family farm. It's so sad to see what has become of the place, to see buildings that meant so much to my Grandfather because of the family history behind them just removed with no traces that they were ever there except for pictures I took to document them. Well Grandma tells me that she is tearing down the big barn. I love this barn, it has so much character and charm to it and it breaks my heart that in a few months there will be nothing left of this building that my Great-Great Grandpa, Great-Grandpa, Grandpa and his 2 Brother built with their own hands. Yep, I'm a sentimental fool and I'm damn proud of it. I asked my Grandma to save me a few boards from it, not sure what I'll do with it but both my Brother and I agreed that we wanted a piece of our family history since we have nothing left other than memories and pictures of my Grandfather. I just hope she keeps her promise and actually saves us some of the wood. Otherwise I have to say we had so much fun together. Like old times we use to have together when we would have our girls day out and go Christmas shopping. We had so much fun acting goofy, playing games and just quality time together. After our day of fun, we then dropped K and my Mom off at home before taking Grandma back home. We were sort of quiet on the way home but once we got to her house, she didn't want us to leave, she seemed so very lonely. Now I have to say as we sat there and made small talk about a variety of issues, the issues we have had over the years just seemed like a bad dream. But once we were in the car and headed home, I had so many mixed feelings, I mean this is the same evil women who signed the paperwork that denied reasonable pain meds and any type of food/drink/fluid to my Grandfather while he was dying. So instead of being peaceful when he passed away, he was in agony and on top of it, he was severely dehydrated because unless he could pick up the glass and put it to his lips, the nurses wasn't allowed to even wet his lips. I mean that was just inhuman. But then I think there had to be a reason she signed that paperwork, I mean I really can't say it's because she's EVIL and leave it at that in my heart. I just don't know, I want to love this women, I want this connection to this side of my family, I want this connection to the past, I guess more importantly to what she meant to my Grandfather. But on the other hand she has caused so much pain, so much hatred and is partially to blame for splitting this family into a billion pieces. I just don't know?

A Trip to the Zoo - Big Picture Post

2008-08-13T21:10:00.000-07:00

Well today we decided to head over to the Zoo since my Baby Brother is leaving early next week for grad school, plus we didn't want to miss the special Dinosaur exhibit that ends September 1st and honestly it was a great escape from reality for a few hours. We got up super early so we could get over to the zoo in time to get into the Dinosaur and Children's Zoo for free. I was really surprised that K was freaked out about the Dinosaurs but I could see why because they were really life like, there mouths opened and closed, their eyes looked around and they had eye lids that blinked and they actually moved their bodies too, like they could gobble her up and made sort of growling sounds. K had more fun over at the Children's zoo and at the rest of the exhibits. She got to pet goats, guinea pigs and a snake. She got face to face with a baby leopard who was almost the same size as her and she kept calling him Baby Jaguar (of course from Dora's Cousin, Diego). We went to Penguin and Puffin coast and she got splashed by penguins and then we headed over to the Tiger exhibit and got to see the 5 new Tiger cubs and the Momma Tiger. They were so adorable and K loved watching them, they ran, swam and attacked each other, it was so freakin' cute. We also went into the Butterfly house and it was amazing, I have never seen so many butterflies in my life and they were gorgeous. K had the same butterfly land on her cup and stroller tray close to 8 times. Of course none of us was ready and didn't get a picture of it. I also had a large purple and black butterfly land on my shoulder, of course my Mom, Baby Brother and his girlfriend were further up the path and didn't hear me yell so they could get a picture for me, so I tried to take a picture of me and the butterfly by holding my camera at arms length but it didn't turn out, so I'm bummed out about that because it was such an amazing moment. We had such a good time and even though there were some issues with Baby Brother's girlfriend (don't even get me started on that girl!) we didn't let her spoil our fun and my Brother didn't let it spoil his fun either (thank goodness)!!

Looking at a little dinosaur, he didn't look that threatening because he didn't have long point teeth and didn't move!

K hanging on to her Uncle for dear life, this dinosaur sprayed water out of his mouth, she totally freaked out when she got hit by the water, like she was the wicked witch in Wizard Oz and was melting away

Mommy and K checking out the dinosaurs

K loved petting and brushing the goats

the real Tarantula in the children's zoo, K spent so much time just looking and looking at him

Another exhibit showing strange insect food people eat (as many of you know I'm a pretty big fan of chocolate chip cricket cookies and stir fried mealy worms and no I'm not kidding, they are really good but I just don't think I can eat a tarantula or bugs on my pizza)

K trying to figure out where we should go next

K loved getting to see the turtles and after she got done looking at them, I asked her if she was still going to eat turtle when she goes to China and she looked at me and goes, K eat turtle and snake in China. Guess even though she thought they were a cool animal, they still looked tasty.

K and Uncle watching the penguins and getting splashed by the ones in the water

the super cute baby tigers, I've got some amazing movies of them

K with a poisonous frog, they had 4 of them but this one was my favorite

2008-08-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to find some articles about the Vietnamese athletes that are participating in the Olympics but haven't had much luck but I did find these two.

Vietnamese Athletes Competing in the 2008 Olympics

2008-08-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

found on Sports Illustrated
Vietnam Athletes
Do, Thi Ngan Thuong - Gymnastics
Doan, Kien Quoc - Table Tennis
Hoang, Anh Tuan - Weightlifting
Le, Ngoc Nguyen - Badminton
Nguyen, Dinh cong - Track and Field
Nguyen, Huu Viet - Swimming
Nguyen, Manh Tuong - Shooting
Nguyen, Thi Hoai Thu - Taekwondo
Nguyen, Thi Thiet - Weightlifting
Nguyen, Tien Minh - Badminton
Nguyen, van Hung - Taekwondo
Tran, Thi Ngoc Truc - Taekwondo
Vu, Thi Huong - Track and Field

Vietnamese Athletes Ready to Take on Olympics

2008-08-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

(07-08-2008)
HA NOI — Though the Vietnamese sports delegation has not set a goal for the number of medals the nation will take home at the Beijing Olympics 2008, which begins tomorrow, athletes have still outlined their own goals for the events.
Hoang Anh Tuan, who left Viet Nam a bit earlier to get familiar with the environment in Beijing, recorded results that were better than the 19 other weightlifters participating in the men’s 56kg category.
However, in order to take home a medal in his category, Tuan, who took gold in the same category at the Good Luck Beijing 2008 tournament in China last January, must lift around 295kg total in both snatch and clean and jerk categories.
Tuan won two gold medals in the men’s 56kg at the Asian Weightlifting Championships, held in Kanazawa, Japan in April, and a silver medal at the Asia Games Doha in Qatar two years ago.
Team members Nguyen Van Hung, Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu and Tran Thi Ngoc Truc are making final preparations for their event at the National Sports Training Centre 2 in HCM City after returning from a training trip in South Korea.
The three-member Vietnamese taekwondo team has set a goal to win three medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing this month by gaining two wins to secure places in the semi-finals.
Bad-minton to the bone
As the latest draw, Vietnamese top badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh, who was ranked 21st by the World Badminton Federation, was expected to rank in the top 16 in the Beijing event.
Minh was exempted from competing in the first round, and he will play against rivals Indonesian Hidayat and Indonesian Wong Choong Hanin in the second rounds.
In women’s weightlifting, Nguyen Thi Thiet will have a chance to gain a medal if she lifts a total of 230kg in the women’s 63kg, a level which she has actually reached during her Olympic training sessions.
We will overcome
There are also goals for swimmer Nguyen Huu Viet, track and field athletes Nguyen Dinh Cuong and Vu Thi Huong and shooter Nguyen Manh Tuong.
Concretely, Viet must overcome the time of 1.03:72 in the men’s 100m breast stroke. At the 24th Southeast Asian Games in Thailand last December, Viet won the gold medal with the time of 1.03.73.
Asian silver medallist Vu Thi Huong will have to record a sprint time of 11.42 seconds. Meanwhile, 1 minute 05 seconds is the time to beat for Asian bronze medallist Cuong.
In the men’s 50m free pistol, Tuong will need to reach 555-560 points to rank in the top 15. If he restores his old national record of 563 points, he will be able to rank in the top eight.
Meanwhile, in the wushu event – which will not be presented in the official competition programme – the golden hopes have been put on the shoulders of Luong Thi Hoa, Vu Tra My, Vu Thuy Linh and Nguyen Huy Thanh.
The 52-member team, including 21 athletes, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday and will compete in nine events including taekwondo, weightlifting, badminton, table tennis, gymnastics, shooting, track and field and wushu.
President of the Vietnam National Olympics Committee Nguyen Danh Thai said that the taekwondo artists would go to Beijing on August 15 to compete on August 18, while the other athletes that were now in Beijing were fit and determined to bring glory to the nation.
The team held a light training session right after they arrived at the Olympic Village.They were scheduled to meet State President Nguyen Minh Triet at the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing today, and to hold a ceremony to raise the national flag at the Olympic Village on Saturday. — VNS

Beijing Olympic Ceremonies

2008-08-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

We are so excited that the Olympics have started. We had so much fun watching the Opening ceremonies and thinking ahead of our trip to China (sometime in Aug 2010 per the latest rumors) to meet C. K has really enjoyed watching the shows on China and we have talked about her getting a sister from China and how she is from Vietnam. Not sure how deeply she grasp the conversation we have but she does understand what a sister is but now everyday she asks me if today she "go China for sista an eat snake, pig, tutle". So everyday I explain to her that "No today is not the day we go to China so she can meet her sister and eat snake, pig and turtle." We watched a few shows that showed the different foods that are eaten in China and it made a really big impression on K. So she states with much determination that she will eat Snake, Turtle and Pig when she is in China just like the guys on TV did. She has also asked me, my Mom and Uncle if we will join her. I of course said yes, if my baby is brave enough to eat it, then I will surely join her, her Uncle said if he makes the trip he too will eat whatever wild animal she wants to eat. My Mom, she was a resounding "NO". I on the other hand look forward to trying fried starfish. Also in honor of the Olympics, I made some awesome bows, that K is holding in one of the pictures.

2 Years Ago Today....Meeting K for the 1st Time

2008-08-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

Two year ago today, I sat in a muggy restaurant in the hotel eating breakfast trying to keep calm because we were going to leave the hotel around 10am to finally meet K. We left about 10 minutes before 10am and as we rode out to the orphanage we made small talk with the facilitator but I was concentrating more on what was outside my window, so that way when K is old enough I can tell her all about what the community and trip was like out to the orphanage. When we arrived, we were greeted by the security guard and within minutes we were heading towards the infant room. I remember turning back to my Mom and making sure she was taking pictures and taping this event. We took our shoes off and stepped inside the room, all I can remember was the Nannies tending to the babies and hearing hungry babies crying. And then I remember our facilitator say K's name and one of the Nannies heading over to a crib. She picked up this tiny baby who didn't look more than a month old and I thought there was a mistake, this wasn't my daughter who was suppose to be almost 6 months old. But when the Nanny was about 5 feet from me, she flipped her around and there was that little face that I had memorized from the few pictures I had. Finally after all the heartbreaks and disappointments my family endured there was my daughter that we had all been praying for. And even though I asked my Mom as we made the walk to the room if she was taping and taking pictures, she got caught up in the moment and the first picture I have is after they had already handed K to me. We spent almost 3 hours with her that day, she was running a super high fever and was super sick. Because of that we got to take her outside the hot, muggy infant room for awhile to try and cool her down. She was so bright and alert and just took everything in. Finally we had to leave, we were suppose to go back that afternoon but with her being so sick we decided to let her rest, since she had already had such a big day meeting us for the first time.

Today we spent together, we played playdough, colored and cuddled together and watched Over the Hedge (the movie I watched like 40 times on the plane ride to Vietnam).
Wow I can't believe it's been 2 years, look how little she was!

Weekend Pictures and Blog Award

2008-08-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well we had such a great weekend, we did really well Friday night with the garage sale but Saturday was a flop, there was hardly no one there, so that really sucked. On Sunday it was the ball game and we had a blast. We had great seats, section 136, so that meant box seats that are like $75.00 a ticket regularly, I paid $10 for them. We had such an awesome time, during the game I let K take picture and they turned out really good. I keep trying to figure out how to get her one of those kid digital cameras for Christmas but I just can't spend that kind of money on one when we have bills to pay. Maybe I'll luck out and find one at a yard sale really cheap? Otherwise today and Monday it was super hot, like 125 degrees or hotter kind of hot. So we have been spending most of our time inside.

In other news my friend, Farrah awarded me the Brilliant Blog Award. So here is how this thing works: 1st I have to answer a little questionnaire thingy which is all about me. Then I have to choose 7 bloggers who I feel are BRILLIANT (see list below) and I give them the award.They will post their own answers to the questionnaire on their own blog and they will choose 7 more recipients.And so it goes! Here is the questionnaire

A. Attached or single? Single
B. Best friend? Too many to name
C. Cake or pie? Pie
D. Day of choice? Friday
E. Essential item? Credit Card
F. Favorite color? Blue
G. Gummy bears or worms? Sorry, it's all about the frogs
H. Hometown? Moro
I. Indulgence? Maui Onion and Garlic Macadamia nuts
J. January or July? January
K. Kids? 1 and waiting for 1
L. Life isn’t complete without? my family
M. Marriage date? N/A
N. Number of brothers & sisters? 1 Brother, 1 Half Sister (long story)
O. Oranges or apples? Oranges
P. Phobias? Failing and Losing everything
Q. Quotes? Sometime on the way to a dream you get lost and find a better one
R. Reasons to smile? my daughter
S. Season of choice? Fall
T. Tag seven peeps! (see below)
U. Unknown fact about me? I lived and worked in Germany
V. Vegetable? squash
W. Worst habits? cursing
X. X-ray or ultrasound? x-ray
Y. Your favorite food? Seafood
Z. Zodiac sign? Aquarius

I give the Brilliant Blog Award to
1. Sara (my awesome friend and blog designer)
2. Cindy (my long lost sister I never had who should receive her referral for her daughter aka my niece at anytime)
3. Nesha (with her ooh-so cute little boy also from Vietnam)

I would give it to more people but most of my other super close sister like friends who I think are brilliant have already been given the award, so I'll just leave it with my 3 picks.

2 Years Ago Today

2008-08-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today, I had just finished packing the last of our stuff, it was about 130am. I couldn't sleep at all, a thousand things kept running through my head along with an overwhelming sense of fear and panic. Finally, I fell asleep but it hadn't even been an hour before my alarm went off and it was time to go. I woke up drenched in sweat, I kept thinking that at any moment the adoption agency would call me and tell me there was yet another delay. That this long awaited moment wasn't going to come true. I think I spent the next 45 minutes getting sick, my stomach was turning this way and that way. Then finally the van was loaded and we were on our way. At every corner we turned, my thought raced back over the last year, it replayed every bad thing that had happened and again fear over took me. I was so scared that maybe the two bad adoption agencies would act on their word and harm K, or even worse yet act on their other threat to stop the adoption because I questioned their ethics! My new adoption agency assured me that, K was safe and I had nothing to worry about but still those feelings loomed. And then before I knew it we were at the train station, we said our good-byes to my brother and for some reason I had such a sense of doom that I wondered if this was going to be the last time I would see him. As we crossed the river and I memorized everything I could. For some reason I felt an urgency that I needed to remember these things because it was the last time I would see them. We arrived at airport and made the long trek to the check-in desk and then onto our flight to Atlanta. They served breakfast but I couldn't eat it, my stomach was still in knots. We arrived in Atlanta and made a mad dash to get to Korean Air in the International terminal. For everyone who has been there, you know it's not easy since you have to board the train and on top of it all they were having train troubles that day. We rushed up to the desk and checked-in. I know we must have looked strange in the sea of Asians waiting to board because we were the only Caucasians heading to Seoul. Still my stomach was in knots and I kept waiting for that phone call saying...Oh, sorry everything was canceled you need to head home. But as it was finally time to board the flight, I looked at the phone one last time, said about a thousand prayers and then turned the phone off and boarded the plane. Our adventure was just about to begin.

Now two years later, after all the hell we went through it's amazing to remember the feelings and adventure my Mom and I felt. To be able to remember the day so vividly, that it felt like it just happened. Things sure have changed in two years but today we are going to the baseball game, I have had these tickets purchased since the beginning of the season. So we will celebrate together that two years ago today, Grandma and Momma stepped on the plane and started their month long adventure to finally meet K and bring her home.

Garage Sale Weekend

2008-08-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

We are participating in a 70+ vendor yard sale being held at our local convention center. Only reason I'm home right now is K and I came back for the last load of stuff. So once we get back there, we are there till 9pm tonight and then gotta be back there at 630am tomorrow till noon. Then we've got the evening to rest before Sunday, which is Build-A-Bear giveaway at the Ball Stadium. Whoo Hoo! Too bad they seem to plan the Build-A-Bear giveaway on the hottest weekend of the year. It's suppose to be about 118 that day. Gotta get going

Weekend thru Tuesday

2008-07-29T21:12:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we had our adoption playgroup. There was a new family but basically it seems that none of the families who are there previously ever come back, which is just a bummer, so it's not like we really get to know people because it's always a rotating set of parents and kids, except us and the 2 people who host it J & G and their kids. Which is really a disappointment. Then that evening we had picked up 3-D glasses at Wal-Mart (weeks earlier for K just to play with) and since nothing else was good on we decided to watch Hannah Montana's Best of Both Worlds Tour in 3-D. It was sort of a disappointment but we just had fun making fun of each other wearing the 3-D glasses. On Sunday we picked more veggies from the garden. K and I then cooked Squash Puff and Tarragon Butter Tilapia. It was so freakin' good! Monday and Tuesday were sort of lazy days since it's so freakin' hot outside. Nothing like 98 degrees heat with a heat index that makes it 109 outside, along with poor air quality. So basically you walk outside and can't breathe at all. So we have spent our time playing with play dough, working on projects, getting ready for the yard sale we are participating in this weekend and just being together all the time.

5 years

2008-07-27T19:46:00.001-07:00

Well this post was suppose to be this heart-felt tribute to my Grandfather but I got pulled away before I could write it. So here it is, a little late but better late than never. It has been 5 years since my Grandpa passed away and today would have been his birthday. I can't tell you how much I miss him, everything about him from his wisdom and amazing knowledge of the stock market to his country humor and his life experiences. I mean how many men can say they left their dream of playing Major League Baseball and headed back home because Farming was a better living back then. Or how many men can say they went quail hunting with Dizzy and Daffy Dean along with other members of the famous Gashouse gang? I have so many stories that swirl around my head and so many things I try to remember so I can make sure to pass along what a treasure my Grandfather was to my daughter and my future children, nieces and nephews. My Brother and I were so lucky that even though my parents were divorced my Mom made a point of fostering a relationship with my Grandparents. And once I was able to drive, we visited them all the time, I swear that sometimes we visited them every weekend. I am so thankful that we were able to have the time and the relationship we had with my Grandpa, that I have so many videos and pictures and memories that are still so vivid and will never be forgotten. I love you Grandpa, Happy Birthday!

Need Your Help

2008-07-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

I really need your guys help....well actually my Uncle needs your help. He entered one of his art designs in a contest and now needs people to vote for it, so please spread the word and vote for his design called Hold Fast . I know it sucks that you have to create an account to vote but it would be awesome if he could win.

Funk

2008-07-25T12:32:00.001-07:00

Well I think I was in a funk pretty much all week, not sure why other than I just was. Worked on my fall bows this week and finished up 2 large custom bow orders from some local women who like my work. Have had a migraine for the past 2 days primarily caused from the stupid weather that can't make up it's mind and stress. Went yard saleing this morning in search of stuff for my Brother's new apartment. Last week, went to an estate sale and it was fill a paper bag for a $1.00, you wouldn't believe how many awesome pyrex glass dishes and really nice used frying pans I stuffed in that bag. Luckily he doesn't need all of it, so that means I got some new frying pans, which I have been needing for years since my current ones either don't have a handle or they are really loose or the teflon is coming off and it's not safe to cook in them because of the chemicals. I wish I could convey better how really excited I am for new used pans!! Otherwise K and I have had some fun this week, we spent some time in the veggie garden and was excited to find we had some yellowneck squash ready for picking. Then today, K had her first experience with play dough. She wasn't too sure what to make of it but once she realized what we could do with it, she went to town. I actually got her to go down for a nap without any fuss at all because I told her when she wakes up she can play with it some more. She was so excited and actually went into the bedroom by herself and then came back out and told me "time for nap".

picking some yellow neck squash

Our veggies

K's play dough "car" that she made

UGH!

2008-07-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

So frustrated, I've been trying to update our private family blog and of course I can't get any pictures posted from this weekend and there is some of the funniest pictures that I want to share. Instead, I decided to hop over here and see if I can post a few pics on here and do an update. Well guess I'll have to try in the morning since I won't have a car (I'll get to that late in the post). The Birthday/Good-Bye party went really well, it turned out to be a small affair which was really, really nice, we had 13 people here. And basically those 13 people are really the people who are always there for us and know they would do anything for us they could. K had so much fun getting to play with her friend, S and cousins, M&M. They played so hard and she was wiped our and wanted to head to bed early last night. Then today we had an 80th Birthday/75th Birthday/55th Wedding Anniversary party for my Grandpa's Sister, C and Brother-in-Law, B. Well of course this is my step-family and we just aren't warmly received at all times. It's helped sort of having K because in their eyes she is the token Adopted-Asian child that I saved from the Communists and that's how they sort of treat it or at least it feels that way. So needless to say these are people we only have contact with maybe 2 or 3 times a year depending on who's getting married, baby showers, etc or if they remember to invite us but usually they leave us off in invite list. Well I'm just frustrated today because of how a handful of people acted, it just made me mad and I know there's nothing I can do about it but still I just wanted to say to a few of them, "what is wrong with you? what did I do to you to make you treat me like I'm white trash?" But instead I just clinched my mouth and made small talk trying to be pleasant because I know saying anything won't help at all. Once we got home, Uncle N was going to his friends houses and about 10 minutes after he left, he calls and asks for Mom and of course I make a smart-a$$ remark about did he crash. Well luckily he didn't crash but the car broke down and of course these repair costs are going to drain us. So N is going to take the van tomorrow, leaving us without a car. Fun, Fun, Fun. Oh and to top it all off, my back is still killing me from being rear-ended, still hurts really bad between the shoulder blades.

K playing in her wading pool on Friday

K and S eating lunch together on Saturday

I turned to the side and I look back and K has her fork and is digging into the top of Uncle N's birthday cake. All I could do was laugh and cut her a slice of cake

A picture of my Aunt C and Uncle B. Aunt C is 16 years old in the picture, so that means Uncle B was 20-21 years old. It was interesting finding that out because I always thought they meet and got married after he returned home from service but instead it was through high school & the service they dated each other.

Family Frustrations

2008-07-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

Well spent today working on stuff around the house, we didn't get as much done as we had planned but that seems lately like the norm. My Mom had her doctor's appt for her knee and they want to do surgery. They wanted to do the surgery right away, so sometime next week my Mom's knee is getting cut on. Which just adds to the stress we already have! Otherwise, since we are trying to get stuff done outside on the back porch, K gets to spend her afternoon playing in her wading pool. This way my Mom doesn't have to worry about her wandering around and getting hurt while stuff gets done. She is confined to one space and quite content to play in the wading pool all afternoon. In other news, we ran out of work tonight and they didn't want us to start on any new projects, so I was home by 10pm, which really sucks because my paycheck is gonna be hardly nothing because of the week I've had. Well got to head to bed, having a big going away party for my Brother this weekend and tomorrow I have to make phone calls because supposedly there was quite a few family members who didn't get their invitation by mail/email or personal phone call invite. So now gotta call them to make sure they know they are invited and that this isn't some kind of conspiracy against them. UGH!! My family frustrates me so much. Oh and a few side notes, I only have one rule in my house for my guests and that they are told specifically not to answer my phone. Now my Gram (aka Grandma), is allowed to answer it only if she reads the caller id and it's either one of my aunts/uncles or someone she called's name pops up on the screen. Well my Grandpa today really ticked me off, it seems that he didn't bother to read the caller id or he purposely picked up the phone because he saw her name when my other Grandma called, then he acts really stupid with her, when she asks to talk to me and I was at work. Needless to say there's alot more drama to it but after my Mom told me everything that happened, I just shook my head and said, that's it, no more of this family crap, I'm sick and tired of all of it. So as I said before I'm going to be spending my morning trying to make amends because of stupid petty crap.

She reminds me of a mad scientist in this picture with her hands grasped

Preparing to give me a plate of raw fish, guess the sushi she ate yesterday rubbed off on her imagination

Random Stuff

2008-07-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well lets see yesterday was a horrible day, on the way to work I was rear-ended. Didn't do any damage to the van, Thank God!! but did hurt my back (really the pain is between my shoulder blades) . I was 20 minutes late to work and they decided to be nasty and since I called off yesterday and was late, they decided to suspend me for a day, effers!!. I was so ticked off when I left but was glad to get home to some tylenol for my back. Today my Grandparents wanted to take us out for lunch, so we went and ate at Grand Buffet VII. We haven't every ate there but it was really good food. K ate so much stuff but her favorite was the Chicken Balls and of course the ice cream for dessert. Well gotta head to work, not looking forward to working in a 95 + degree warehouse tonight.

helping water the new bush that Great-Gram brought us

Can't believe it's Monday

2008-07-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

What a day today was. Left way early enough for my interview at "SC" and I really thought I would have at least a good 20 minutes to spare, nope with traffic and road construction got there with 5 minutes to spare, then had to find a parking space and climb 2 flights of stairs (note to self, start running upstairs more often for times like these). But got there before 2pm and that's all that mattered. So when I arrived, they gave me a huge folder of paperwork to complete, which would have been nice if they would have warned me ahead of time because I didn't bring anything except my driver's license and cell phone. I also ended up having to take 3 different tests, would have been nice to know because I could have brushed up on my construction math skills, which I haven't used in say at least 10 years. And still with all this, I wow'd them with my interview and do you wonder why I can say that because that is what the comment was to me, well to be exact it was "Your credentials, your pose, heck everything about you just WOW's us". The one thing that really stuck out in my mind was when they asked me the question "What inspires you?" and of course without hesitation I said "my Family". It actually shocked them and said it was the first time in a very, very long time they heard someone say that because most people say Money. Which I really thought was an interesting, I mean I love money but it doesn't inspire me, my family inspires me and I want to make more money to give them a better life. So basically when I walked out, they said I will need to meet with the Owner and the Owner's daughter (who were stuck on a jobsite). I told him I totally flubbed up my Math tests, told him it's been quite awhile since I really even had to use any sort of complicated math and he still was like "that's ok". We still really want to hire you. My thought is I'm not too sure you will want to hire me if you see my 3 math tests scores :) But anyway even if I don't get hired it did give me a boost of self-confidence that I have been lacking for quite awhile and a drive to keep looking for that job I deserve and not just settle with the one I've got.

I have to say this whole job interview with this company, "SC" has been like a dream, I mean I didn't even apply for this job, I applied for a job in their warehouse over 6 months ago and all of a sudden I get a phone interview for a different position, totally wow that guy and he says I'll be calling you for an interview. Really didn't think that would happen. He calls me on Friday and wants me to come in asap, so go to the interview today and come out with them going we really want to hire you, you wow'd us. It just blows my mind.

In other news, K's Great-Grandparents are in for the week again. And they started spoiling her right away. K ate 5 of G-Gramp's cookies and then G-Gram gave her root beer soda. I just pray she sleeps all night! Otherwise since my interview ran so late, I didn't make it into work. They will probably be ticked off but they will get over it. I mean if there weren't rumors of them changing our work hours to 14 hr shifts, 5 days a week with possible weekends because they are going to lay-off some people (yep the company who hasn't laid anyone off in the history of the company is going to do this) then I would have tried harder to get to work. So I think staying for the interviews at "SC", actually honestly I felt deep down that I was suppose to be there interviewing, like something divine had stepped in and I sure wasn't going to disobey the feelings I was having. So I truly believe I was in the right place at the right time for once in my life, which there are only a few times in your life that this happens and this was one of them. So much more going on that I want to blog about but need to get to bed because K has Physical Therapy in the morning.

Sunday

2008-07-13T20:40:00.001-07:00

Can't believe it's been almost a week since I last blogged. Just been busy and tired and trying to find some family time. Spent today going through boxes from when we moved, there is just so much stuff but that's what happens when you combine 3 households. The thing is, that even though we made a huge dent in the mounds and mounds of boxes, we are not even close to being done. I go for a job interview tomorrow, they actually contacted me right before the 4th of July holiday and tomorrow I meet with the Owner of the company. Then right after I have the interview, I have to head into work, which I'm not looking forward too. There is just so much petty crap that goes on there and I'm just freakin' sick of it already. I sometimes wish I was lucky enough to be a Stay or Work at home Mom, I really miss getting to spend my days and nights with K. But there is no man on the horizon, well I take that back, there sort of is, but it's just casual chit chat, well actually it's trivia chat right now but even so, I wouldn't get serious for a guy just so I could be a stay at home mom, he really would have to be Mr. Right. As for K, she is doing well, just in the past two weeks she has gotten so much better with things, she can tell you what most colors are, can count to 10 (not always in the correct order), she can spell her name and a few other easy words, she recognizes most letters and she loves to sing, any toy that plays songs, she will listen to the once and then play them again and can sing the words to them. It's pretty amazing. Well I'm off to bed, it's almost 11p and that's way to late for all I have to get done tomorrow.

Swimming & Raining

2008-07-08T20:50:00.001-07:00

Well I'm still feeling yucky, my stomach was all over the place last night and today. K had PT this morning and things went well. They did work on a few Occupational therapy things because the Developmental therapist thinks she is having trouble doing things mid-line on her body. So our PT worked with K putting beads onto a string holding it in the middle of her body, of course K performs the task without any problems and the PT just looks at me and we both just shrug our shoulders. But either way we decided that we are still having the OT come out and do an evaluation just to be on the safe side. This afternoon K went outside and played in her wading pool before the heat thunderstorms moved in. The weather tonight has been just awful and it's suppose to be this way the rest of the week.

Monday's Yuck

2008-07-07T19:52:00.001-07:00

Well I'm at home with some sort of stomach virus. I hadn't been feeling good all day but decided to try and go to work, I was about halfway there when I got sick and it wasn't pretty. So I slowly made my way home, took a slew of drugs and curled up on the couch for a short time before K decided she wanted to go outside and swim. So I drug myself off the couch and into a chair outside, so she could have some fun. So she's now in bed and I can't sleep because my stomach is doing somersaults.

Lazy Sunday

2008-07-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well I should be downstairs doing my dishes and cleaning while K is taking her nap but instead I'm up here cruising the internet. We started this year trying to become more green in our daily life. I mean we have always recycled, even before it became cool and we are trying harder to conserve more energy and water around the house. Of course my vaccum cleaner blew up a few weeks ago, so I've been on a search for a new green one and I really love that this one Dirt Devil
it earned an energy star, who cool is that, it's the first vaccum ever to earn one. Too bad it's so freakin expensive.

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-04T18:47:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful July 4th filled with lots and lots of family time. We headed into the city to watch the 131st annual VP parade. We had so much fun watching the floats, giant balloons and bands. We also got to see Drake Bell, who is now known as a singer but before that he was in the Jerry Maguire movie and the Josh & Drake show on Nick. After the parade was over, we walked over to the park and spent some time there before heading to our car and onto home. Once home, I made/cooked pork steaks, baked beans, potato salad and root beer floats, you can't get anymore American than that menu! We spent some time playing football outside with my brother, mom, K and myself and spent the rest of the evening together. It was such a great day, even with the sunburn on my upper arms.

SIGNS

2008-07-01T11:39:00.001-07:00

As you can tell from most of my pictures, I try my best not to post a picture of my daughter looking at the camera because that way you really don't know what she looks like. I do this because her adoption was filled with threats, which I cannot go into for now. But these pictures I took yesterday were just too freakin funny not to post. While I was cooking lunch and before I headed off to work. I was watching K, she would walk behind my stove (where there is a storage area and then I would see her walk into the living room coffee table. She did this over and over and over. Finally I asked her what she was doing and showed me the water bottle. I said, Oh so your getting a drink and she tells me no, for Uncle. So after we were done cooking, K made sure to show me how she had the water bottles lined up all over the place. When Grandma came down to eat, K showed her also the water bottles. So then all my Mom and I could think was of the movie Signs with Mel Gibson, where the little girl leaves the water glasses all over and at the end of the movie the water kills the aliens. So after I had left for work, my Mom took K out to the garden and K walked up and down the corn. Hopefully we won't be seeing any crop circles out there.

Berry Picking

2008-06-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening, we went Mulberry picking in our sideyard. We have quite a few mulberry trees, they are quite tall so we don't get as many berries as we had wished for but we still got quite a few. K had so much fun picking them and once she realized how good they tasted, she went to town eating them, I think she ended up eating more than we picked.

Our Berry Stained hands

K holding the Mulberries and Uncle & Momma's berry stained hands

Playgroup and Story Time

2008-06-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

So, Saturday was our adoption playgroup that meets once a month. There were alot of new families that attended this time and K had lots of fun playing with the kids like ususal. I spent most of my time helping K get onto the playground because the steps start at her chest level, a good foot off the ground and there's no way for her to get up unless someone lifts her up there and then she has a blast. K also went down the 2 story high twisty slide. Once she realized she could do it on her own, she went down it at least 50 + plus times. Which totally amazed the other parents since most of their kids wouldn't even go down it. After playgroup we went to the Thomas the Train story time they were having at Toys R Us. They read stories, got to play with the big train sets, colored and got Thomas the Train trading cards. K also made her very first purchase, she bought Uncle N a birthday present since he's birthday is this coming week. She took her purchase up to the counter, paid with her dollar, got change back, dropped her change all over the floor, picked it up and then got her own bag and receipt. She was so proud of herself! As for today, K is crabby but I guess Momma is too. I told my Mom about my idea of adopting again from Vietnam, she looked at my like I was crazy, I showed her the picture of the child and I know the thought crossed her mind, even if it was for a split second, if there was anyway we could make this happen. And then both of us got back to reality knowing there is just know way. I know if this is suppose to happen that I'm not in control and I truly believe if this child is suppose to be in my family that God will reveal away for us to make it happen. Here are a few pictures from Friday and Saturday.

Adoption costs

2008-06-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

I just got some figures from the Adoption agency. It wouldn't be so bad but the flights and the in-country travel is what does you in. I know that when I went to get K in Vietnam that I didn't pay any where near $3000.00 in in-country travel and that was just in 2006 and we had to be in 2 major cities, this time I would fly into one city and that is where we would stay the whole time. I really want my Mom and K to travel with me again just in case I got sick like I did when I got K. If my Mom wouldn't have helped out when I had food poisoning, a bout of flu and some funky infection, there is no way K and I would have survived. So basically if I want this adoption to happen, I would need a miracle. Right now my heart is so discouraged and breaking because without some rich long-lost family member dying and leaving me a huge inheritance, I can't afford to adopt this child who captured my heart.

US visa $380.00
Flight - $ 5500.00
Vietnam entry visa $195
USCIS I-600 A $670
In Vietnam travel $5800
In country adoption related expenses $1500

GRAND TOTAL $13545.00 if my Mom, K and I would travel

US visa $380.00
Flight - $2500.00
Vietnam entry visa $65.00
USCIS I-600 A $670
In Vietnam travel $3000
In country adoption related expenses $1500

GRAND TOTAL $8115.00 if I would travel by myself

I think I maybe......

2008-06-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

I think I maybe crazy! With everything going on in my life that is wrong (and trust me my life is a wreck!), I'm suddenly entertaining the idea of going back to Vietnam to adopt again for a special needs adoption. It would be a race against the clock since my doisser would have to be in Vietnam by July 31st and I have no idea where I would get the money for travel and immigration costs (because it's a pre-identified child, the rest of the fees are waived because they want to find this child a home). But I have to say that when I saw this child's picture, I fell in love. I keep trying to convince myself that I'm nuts for even thinking that this could happen but then I think about that sweet child's face and my heartbreaks thinking that they won't be part of our family.

A few pictures

2008-06-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

I know ya'll just come here to see pictures but there is a post below this one with an update

200 Have or Have Nots

2008-06-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Started my new job on Monday, working my butt off but enjoying the work. There's no air conditioning in the warehouse so by the time I get off work I'm drenched, it's usually between 90-110 everyday in there. I love the people that I'm going to be managing, so that's a good thing and the work we do isn't hard. We package items and put together displays that go to stores like Sam's, Walmart, etc. Hopefully once we are in a routine I'll get back to blogging regularly again but these 10 hour plus days in extreme heat are getting to me. Plus it's been 6 months since I've been on a job where I'm on my feet for more than 10 hours straight so my body is trying to get use to it again.

I saw this on my friends blog and thought I would see how I would do, guess there's alot of things out there still left to do.

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something1
38. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

2008-06-22T11:59:00.001-07:00

It so hard to believe that it's been 2 years since we were Logged In to China. So much has changed in our lives, so much has happened to us and to our family. I sometimes question why our Journey to C has been so long, so hard but also such a sweet reminder that adoption is not for the faint of heart.

There are still questions that linger, like was the adoption agency really telling the truth about my paperwork? Especially since they lied about it being sent to China for over 5 1/2 months before it actually was. Did my paperwork really make it through the review room with no problems? Or did the fail to notify me? But over a year ago, I went to my favorite spot to pray, no it's not inside a church, its just a place that I have went over the years where I feel closer to God, I have went there whenever I needed God guidance or needed a serene place to think. So I stood there looking across the beauty of nature that was before me and I dropped to my knees and said God, if C's adoption is not going to happen then please crush my heart now into a billion pieces, otherwise please give me peace which I have not felt about C's adoption since I signed with my agency so I can make it through this wait without a constant doubt. And it was quite amazing but I felt a warm breeze blow over me and felt peace. I know that C's adoption will happen, even with all the people around me still very worried about the lies we have been told by our agency and their doubting it will every happen. But I know in my heart that C will come home, it maybe years from now but eventually I will be sitting by my phone and get the call and there will be the most precious baby girl that I have been waiting so very long for.

1 Day of Summer and playing with Tree Frogs

2008-06-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Today (aka June 20 and the 1st day of Summer). We had such a nice time playing outside and we found 2 little tree frogs. So Momma introduced K to frogs, she was a little scared of them but eventually she warmed up to them.

Quick Post

2008-06-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick post since I've just been exhausted all week for some reason but they say when one door closes, a window opens. Well that is how my life has been this week....
The job interview I went to on Monday, they called me Tuesday and as long as I pass my physical and agility tomorrow, I'll start my new job sometime next week!! WHOO HOO! Otherwise, I applied for a job with the Diocese and they called me for more information, which is a good sign. I mean really never in a million years would I have applied for the job at the Diocese but I really believe that something divine had to do with me actually taking the leap and applying. I mean I'm not someone who goes to church every Sunday and I know in the last few years there have been many times when I have cursed God's name because of all the trials I have had in my life. Even if I don't get the job that's ok because after applying for the job, I have really felt a peace about everything that I haven't known in a long time. Otherwise, my Grandparents or K's Great-Grandparents have watched K all this week. I know that Grandparents are for spoiling but my daughter has never had so much sweets and sugar in her life. Just today my Grandma tells me that K and her had chocolate cake after breakfast this morning. I didn't say a word, just hung my head down and shook it back and forth. I have lots of pictures to post and to tell about K's chance meeting with Fredbird but that will have to wait till later. Gonna grab a shower and head to bed.

Flag Day, Father's Day and another job bites the dust

2008-06-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

Well first off I'm just in a foul mood now. I was suppose to have a full week of training but I got a call for a job interview on Friday for Monday (today) at 1pm. So I called my work on Friday and told them that I need a half day on Monday and told them I had a funeral to attend. I wasn't lying because I do have a visitation tonight. Well I showed up at work this morning and they go, oh well we called your temp agency and told them to tell you not to come in. Well I knew right then and there that I was on the way out the door. So instead of driving all the way home and driving almost the same distant back to the job interview I hung out at the Walmart's magazine aisle. I read so many books on how to knit, that I think if I tried, I probably could knit. I called home and they said the temp agency had called. So I went to my job interview and I think it went really well, downside is they have no air conditioning in the warehouse but hey it's a job and only about 15 min from my house. So I get home and check voicemail and the message from the temp agency was, that the water company was not happy that I took a 1/2 day and that I am to return all my badges before I can pick up my paycheck. I really wanted to go F*** You because they have lied to me about so much stuff concerning this job, including pay, work hours and I can actually name a 100 other things that the lied about. So I'm writing a really nasty note to them and also filing a complaint with the BBB and Department of Employment about their activities. So on to better stuff

Saturday was Flag day and also the grand opening of my Cousin's funeral home. We had a nice time visiting with family and just enjoying the day. Then yesterday was Father's day, we enjoyed a nice lunch with my brother (aka K's godfather) and my Grandpa before everyone went their separate ways for the day.

Grand Opening of my Cousin's funeral home

K with her Great-Grandpa

K with her Uncle

Tired

2008-06-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

Too tired to blog, so just some pictures from the last few days....

K got her fingernails cut and then she decided she need to cut Grandma's fingernails. All I could think of was the stereotype of all Vietnamese people run or work in Nail Salons.

The other night on our way home from them picking Mommy at work, we stopped by the Lock & Dam and Museum that is right by my work. We had so much fun and can't wait to go back there. These are from this evening of us playing outside in the side yard, thank goodness the heat broke for a few hours but they are expecting bad thunderstorms and tornadoes again tonight

Kitty Cat Lunch

2008-06-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

Well K and I have been taking it easy today. K helped me make her lunch today, which was a grilled cheese sandwich that looked like a Kitty Cat and he was walking on grass (aka spinach leaves) and there were red flowers (aka strawberries). K devoured every last bit of it and right now she's taking her nap. So I'm trying to get stuff caught up, returned a few emails and phone calls and now just waiting for her to get up so we can play some more.

Weekend

2008-06-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Friday went well at work. They already have me on the computers and doing actually work, yep it was only my 3rd day and I'm working my butt off. I asked them if they push most people like this and she goes no "your just exceptional at this". Sort of made me feel good but also bummed me out because in any other job that means "more work then everyone else just because we know you can handle it". Otherwise Friday night was the pre-sale to the yard sale we were participating in, needless to say there was no one there and then Saturday, well it didn't get any better! We at least made back what we paid for the space and just a little extra but I was hoping to at least break $100 and we didn't. Heck, we were actually one of the only people out of 30 families who actually made back what they paid for their space and a little extra, most people there didn't sell a single thing. So that made me feel a little better. At the end we had 2 families give us a whole bunch of shoes and size 2T winter & summer clothes for K. Most of the clothes they gave us were namebrand, TCP, Gymboree, Baby Nay, Landsend, etc. I was blown away that they just gave them to us but excited because they were such super cute brand new looking outfits. Otherwise I did get K's big Christmas present there. I'm still looking for a box big enough to put it in to pack it away until Christmas time, so in the mean time she's getting to play with it. So I officially have all of K's Christmas shopping done and it's only June. After the yard sale and a super unpleasant encounter with a really creepy rude guy and his non-pc language about K, I was never so thankful that K was asleep at the time and didn't wake up when I raised my voice at this guy. I mean I can handle adoption questions with the best of them but when you start saying derogatory raciest comments to my face about my child, that's when I draw the line. So after we unloaded all the unsold items at home, we headed to our Homestudies Family Picnic that they host every summer. We had a nice time, visited with our friends and made lots of new ones. K had so much fun playing with all the kids. On the other hand I was exhausted climbing all over the giant wooden playground with K, my muscles ached and it didn't help that it was 99 outside and that was in the evening when it was suppose to be cooler. As for today, we did laundry, played outside, moved K's playhouse and swing set into a shadier place in our yard and then watched Evan Almighty after UN came home. So I'm done with my work, so I'm headed to bed.

swinging on the swing

K kept playing peek a boo with me through the slats of the playground and it was so funny because all you would see where her bows.

climbing the playground to get to the slides

playing with the steering wheel

playing with the bubbles, she got so super messy and then get bubble solution in her eyes, it was a mess!

This picture is from today, I told her to smile for Mommy and this is what I get

Thursday

2008-06-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

Well today has been a day of ups and downs. Work was ok, the trainer ended up having me make callbacks to contractors, then when one of the contractors called the manager to make sure they really had a new person, named Me, she's like yeah but she shouldn't be making calls. Needless to say she came back and was really snappy towards me and the trainer but then started praising me, it was just plain weird! Otherwise we are having a huge problem with my training schedule because my work schedule is actually Wed-Sun, well she wants me to train for a full Mon-Fri shift which at this point I can't do because I don't have a babysitter for K on Mon & Tues. So she got all nasty with me and was like look I need you to be Mon-Fri either next week or the next otherwise I don't think this will work out. I didn't say it but I really wanted to say F*** you. If you expected me to be there Mon thru Fri then you should have told me that when you hired me, not that you will only work Wed-Sun. Otherwise we have been tossing around the possibility of moving, our top choices are Florida, Pennsylvania and Nevada. My Mom and I are still trying to figure out what are next steps are.

Otherwise K was so crazy before bed tonight she had Mommy, Grandma and UN laughing to hard we were crying. K was pretending to ride a horse and it was the most silliest thing you have ever seen. Otherwise we are having a yard sale tomorrow night and a picnic with our home study agency Sat. evening and Sunday, well just a day of rest I'm pretty sure. Oh yeah, I finally broke down last night and turned on the a/c. Still have it set to 79 but it has made such a difference in the house and luckily with it being set so high it isn't running 24/7 trying to cool the house.

K dancing around while watching baseball

K being super silly

Training

2008-06-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

It really wasn't all that bad, sat there for over 7 hrs reading a stupid manual that contained just a modpodge of information, none of it made any sense and it had no rhyme or reason where it fell into the book. It was the worst written training manual that I have ever seen. Otherwise I deal with insurance claims all day long, we are an insurance policy that people with water/sewers buy to cover the costs of repairs not covered by the actually water/waste water company. All the people there are super nice but it's a super long drive for the job I'm doing and for the pay. Otherwise I came home with an email waiting for me from another staffing company that wants me to start right away, so I'm going to call them tomorrow, if it's any closer to home plus it's better pay (they already told me how much it was), so maybe I won't be there for very long. Otherwise it's miserable hot today. K wore a sleeveless onesie to try and keep her cool, debating tonight if we are going to have to break down and turn on the A/C just to be able to sleep comfortably at night, otherwise I'm going to be exhausted at work just like I was today.

Mish Mash of Stuff

2008-06-03T20:42:00.001-07:00

Well I can't believe it's already Tuesday, I mean seriously where did my weekend and first two days of this week go? This weekend we attended my Cousin's baby shower. K amazingly warmed up to the unfamiliar family members super quick, I know that my Cousin's love K but they are never around, so that's why they are unfamiliar, they travel to make their living (sort of like carnival folk but not exactly) and even though they have houses, they live primarily in an RV. But K was in her element, she enjoyed her 2 baby cousins, J (baby shower honoree, 3 1/2 weeks old) & N (8 mos old) that we there and enjoyed her adult cousins and aunts. After the baby shower, we headed over to our SP house and enjoyed a wonderful visit with her hubby B, doggies and our SP, C. Sunday, well we spent it around the house and worked in the garden. Monday well we played and tried to get some order in our house since it's such a wreck. Today, well we had PT in the morning and then we cooked lunch, after lunch K wasn't feeling well (I think she got overheated because of this awful heat we are having and she was running and hopping around like a crazy women) so I took a nap with her, keeping a cold wash cloth on her head and the ceiling fan going, it cooled her down so she could rest. Right now we only have fans going in the house because it's cheaper than turning on the air conditioner, so it's not like I was trying to get her sick or something by having a/c and fans. Then after she got up from her nap, we watched Blue Clues with UN and then we cooked dinner together, fried chicken and green beans, mmm. We spent the evening together playing while UN and Grandma did stuff upstairs. Tomorrow I start the water company job, I'm just a little nervous about it but heck that's to be expected. So hopefully I'll have a full report tomorrow on how it went.

Playing a baby shower game

walking with her Aunt to the car

Putting plastic cover on the tomatoes to make sure bunnies don't eat them

TGIF

2008-05-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

Well we spent today running errands, lots of fun when gas is $4.19 a gallon around here. Went and took my drug test today for the water company job and I start there on Wednesday. Downside to this job is that UN's girlfriend's Mom works in the customer service center in the same office as I will. Thank goodness I will be in customer protection so I won't be working with her just in the same room, which is bad enough. I have issues with UN's girlfriend's Mom because she has said some really, really stupid things and even stupid things about UN which of course pisses me off because you don't pick on my baby brother. So I will grin and bear it because at least it means a paycheck while Mom and I gather our thoughts on our next moves. We are getting hit by a really, really bad storm right now with lots of tornado sitings but hey instead I'm sitting her blogging, how messed up is that. Thank goodness I loaded the pictures before hand because the tornado siren just went off, gotta go and take cover!

Wednesday?

2008-05-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am so screwed up since Monday was a holiday. So to answer Farrah's question about Fostering. Well the Social worker was suppose to call us the week of Mother's Day to come out for our last home visit. Not sure why she needs to do this since we are already licensed and just waiting for placement. Well of course she hasn't called. I have left 3 messages but to no avail, she hasn't returned them. I do have her supervisors phone number but I haven't pushed the issue since it's been so crazy around here with losing my job and all.

As for the job front, I am 99% for sure that I have a new job working for the Water Company, the hours and days suck and it's 45 minutes away but hey it's work and should be stable work, I mean everyone needs water right but heck I said that about the bank! Basically I walked into the interview today and they offered it to me within the first 30 seconds but I have a few tests to take before I can officially accept it, which that shouldn't be any problem at all, at least I hope. Plus it's at least work and I can always quit if I get offered something better, closer to home.

I did make K, bento for lunch today. I made a man out of noodles, then placed a slice of cheese on top with bacon eyes and a bbq sauce smile and some pineapple on the side. K loved it and devoured every bit of it. Also I don't think my octopus was that scary, Auntie Corey. I mean he did look a little pissed off but hey that's how Mommy was feeling at the time :) Maybe I need to make one and send it to Crappy Adoption Agency for you, maybe they would be scared of him! So here are today's pictures and some from Memorial Day, K is wearing the dress Auntie Corey gave her way before she even came home from Vietnam, it's a size 6 months but fits her perfectly.

Memorial Day with Kitty

It rained almost all day on Memorial Day but we were able to be outside for a short time.

K's Bento Lunch Today

K eating pineapple

I got a package from my friend Anik who is Logged In the same month us me for China, she sent us some awesome bibs for my little C. They have some of the cutest things in Canada.

K wanted to try one on, she loves to tell everyone that these were for her sista, C

K playing with her Amazing Animal farm. It was so cold today that I had to put a sweatsuit on K. I have packed away almost all our warmer clothes because I really can't believe it's in the 40's in May here and tomorrow it's suppose to be in the 80's. What Crazy weather!

Bento for Lunch

2008-05-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well I decided to try my hand at some Bento. So this is what a made K for lunch today, a hot dog octopus with cheese eyes and smile. I have some directions for some other hot dog creatures but I decided to try something easy first. I got the Bento box from the Dollar Store before Christmas and just thought it was a cute snack box, had no idea it was for Bento.

Yuck

2008-05-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Well that's all I can say about today, it has rained off and on all day and that just sucks. Things here are well, they are here, that's the best I can say. Money is beyond tight and it just seems things keep getting worse like we are falling in one of those caves that has no bottom or better yet one of those lakes that just keeps going and going and going. We have one of them near my house and people who have dived in it come out telling some amazing stories, I guess that's what we will do once we finally come out of this nightmare we are going through. Otherwise I have had a migrane for 3 days now and at least with meds it's dulling the pain for about an hour, that's why I can write this but I feel like my brain is going to explode. We are all stressed around here and trying to pretend we are not so K doesn't pick up on it but it's hard. Otherwise she seems to be doing ok other than having an off and on fever for the last 2 weeks. It will come out of no where last a few hours and then she's fine, it's really weird. Otherwise, I have learned how to make a few other bow types and so I have been having fun making them. All the bows you see in K's pictures below, I made. Well gotta get back to work, nothing like working your butt off on a Sunday night for hardly nothing.

Busy Weekend, Busy Week

2008-05-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

Well lets see, last thursday, the brakes went out on the van (couldn't stop at all, it was scary). So we took it to the shop and the repair guy (who is a total trustworthy guy) called us late on Thursday and gave us the dreadful bad news. Basically there was over $7000 worth of repairs needed to be done on the van. Which basically we had already knew about most of the repairs and we were just hoping the van would hold out just long enough for us to get back on our feet before having to get a new one. Well that didn't happen. So Friday we took UN to work and my Mom, K and I looked at cars. We ended up getting a really great deal (it cost us only $400 more than the repairs were going to be on the other van) on an awesome van and a great monthly payment. So we are the proud new owners of a used Ford Windstar. I have to say I've totally fell in love with this minivan. I mean I loved our old minivan but I really, really love this one. Then Saturday, we ended up participating in a huge yard sale that was being hosted by a local church. We did pretty good but there wasn't alot of people buying. On Sunday we finished planting the rest of our garden, so that way we will at least have something to eat this summer if it gets that bad. We have over 70 tomato plants and untold amounts of green beans, spinach, peas, zucchini, eggplant, butternut squash, peppers, sweet corn and pumpkins. And whatever we don't eat and use, we plan on setting up a little roadside veggie stand and selling it.

Otherwise I have a job interview tomorrow. I called and spoke with the HR women this morning and she hasn't even seen my resume and wants me to come in for an interview. I mean things like that don't happen, they always require looking at your resume first, so I'm shocked and excited because maybe this is a change in our luck plus for the first time in a really long time this feels like I'm in the right place at the right time....or at least I hope that's what I'm feeling and I'm not in some delusional state :) Otherwise K has been having fun playing outside, we get a few good hours before nap time and then by the time she wakes up, I'm usually heading out the door for work. She is talking up a storm and amazes me everyday by the new words and new songs that she can sing. Her favorite song to sing is that Dog commercial for some kind of flea/tick stuff and the Dog sings "Their ain't no bugs on me, their ain't no bugs on me, there may be bugs on some of you mugs but their ain't no bugs on me." It's hilarious listening to her sing it.

Feeling lost

2008-05-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

Sometimes on the way to a dream

you get lost and find a better one.

I found a magnet with this quote on it and bought it years ago. It just seemed to speak volumes about my life. There were so many dreams that I gave up right out of high school for what I thought was everlasting love and that just turned out to be a horrible nightmare, but if I had pursued those original dreams, I wouldn't be where I am now. Ok so right now isn't the greatest but leading up to this moment has been amazing. I can't tell you how many times I was heading towards one dream, when something better came along, sometimes I didn't realize it and other times I was humbled by it. One of those other dreams was if it hadn't been for me finally being able to start C's adoption from China, I would have never revisited the thought of adopting from Vietnam. Lucky for me, that dream came true and I adopted K and became her Mommy and that's is one amazing dream that wouldn't have came true if I hadn't gotten lost along the way. Maybe the feelings of being lost I've been having means I'm right where I need to be.

Job Stability, Now that's Funny

2008-05-14T19:23:00.001-07:00

Job -a post of employment; full-time or part-time position
Stability - continuance without change; permanence

Now that's a funny combination because in my world all it means lately is......

Layoffs - a period of enforced unemployment or inactivity

Do companies have no loyalty and why do they suck, hire someone for over a month and then lay them off (ok, they laid off 50+ people) because they decided that the work was going to be done strictly by automated machines, which is something they have known about for months, maybe years and rumors that I heard but really thought they were just rumors because why would they hire new employees if they were going to be closing soon. Wow I can't tell you how much this sucks!

I'll leave you with some pictures of K's first haircut that was done today and how short Grandma cut it and also a picture of Kitty Cat taken by K.

A Day Off

2008-05-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday after working 7 days a week, 16 hr days plus, for over a month, I took a day off. Yes I'm one of those employees that called in sick when I really wasn't all that sick. I do feel under the weather but not enough that I would miss work normally but I really needed a break to decompress. It was amazing to actually get a full nights sleep, to eat dinner with my daughter and watch the 10 o'clock news. I do have to say I'm feeling 100% better today than I have been and I know when I go back to work today that I'll be a better employee for it. Otherwise we are spending our day waiting for the Washer repair guy to show up and also trying to get our garden inbetween the rain showers. Can't wait for fresh summer veggies. Also spent the morning putting in job applications, since my Mom is losing her job that means she can be home with K during the day, plus daytime jobs just pay better. So I guess it's a good thing all around.