Is it bad that I almost peed my pants laughing at this?Happy Friday!
* Borrowed from funnyjunk.com
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday Funny
Is it bad that I almost peed my pants laughing at this?Happy Friday!
* Borrowed from funnyjunk.com
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
A birthday, some snow and a lotta loot
Today is the first birthday of PIPO's little PIPA. Happy Birthday Claire! Your mommy will soon be on her way to bring you home. Maybe finally meeting you will be mommy's birthday present since hers is next month. Hurry up TA! :)
This is what greeted me when I opened the back door this morning to let Griffey out to "handle his business". I decided right then and there that I wasn't going to work. Not only did we get about 10 inches of snow.... but see those icicles? We got snow, then ice, then more snow.
It was treacherous out there. The 10 yr old girl from across the street has been shoveling for me this winter. It's a worthwhile investment. I hate shoveling snow. Of course, she's really only had to do it twice so far. Which isn't bad considering we're already nearly done with January.
So I went back to bed for a couple hours and then spent the rest of the day in my jammies. It was the kind of day I love. I got a couple things done around the house but mostly was just supremely lazy. It was heavenly.
Remember how I said I've been shopping for Mia too much lately? Well, I went through a long dry spell for awhile when I didn't buy anything. So I guess if you average it all out over the last 3 years it's not that bad. Plus I rationalize by saying that it's better to purchase these things now when I have the money to spend instead of trying to do so later when daycare and diapers are added to my monthly budget. Right? Work with me here, people. Okay, let's just face it. The truth is.... what the hell else is there to do when you're gonna wait 4 or more years for your child? LOL!
So with no apologies here are some of my latest finds. Well, this first one I can't take credit for. Angela sent me the link. I blame her. I mean, she had to know there was no way I could resist pink and green penguin clothes. These are from Janie& Jack. They were on sale but I still don't normally spend this much on clothes. However... they just screamed my name. Wouldn't you agree? I bought the sweater in size 2T and the shirt and sweater coat in a 5. Planning ahead, y'all. So some day you'll see my Mia in these outfits.
*I swiped the pics from the website cuz I was too lazy to pull the ones I now own out of the storage containers they're packed away in.
Do I even have to explain why I love these boots so much? They're fake uggs but look just like the real thing. And they're HOT PINK! They're on sale for $15 bucks at Sweet Soles online store. I got them in a 2 yr old size to wear with the first penguin sweater above. Can you just imagine how cute my girl will be in a little denim skirt, that sweater, some funky tights and these rockin' boots?!
The other shoes I saw on this blog and fell head over heels in love with. But being the thrifty shopper that I am, I found them with an even better price at the Morgan and Milo website. Sorry Christy.... but I paid $18. Score!! They're out of stock now but there are some other cute shoes there at reasonable prices. They seem to be really well made and are even more adorable in person. You can get them at Sweet Soles, too. Just not as cheap. LOL!
I blame this next purchase totally on my hairdresser. See.... it's like this. She moved to a new salon which is inside the mall. In order to get to her, I have to walk thru the children's department. These were hanging on the rack right out in the aisle. If I hadn't had a hair appointment that day and if she hadn't switched to a mall salon, I never even would've seen these. So it's all her fault. LOL! Do I even need to explain why I bought the ensemble? My poor daughter isn't gonna realize that they even make clothes in any other colors until she's about 3. Do you think it could be emotionally damaging to a child if the majority of their wardrobe is pink and green? Just a hypothetical... I don't really know anyone like that. LOL!
This last one is a biggie. My family all went in and bought the big yellow FP dollhouse for Tatum for Christmas '07. Fully furnished, of course. I remember how much fun I had putting it together and arranging all the furniture. (Uhhhmm... I mean, how much fun SHE had.) I knew I'd get one for Mia someday. So when I started seeing pics of this new one floating around on other blogs my heart skipped a beat. I tried to talk myself out of it. I tried to tell myself that I'd get one for Mia when she was a little older and would appreciate it more. But the fact is, this one might not even be around in 3 or 4 more years. It's pretty hard to find Tatum's yellow dollhouse even just a year later. And I wanted THIS EXACT ONE cuz I happen to like the color. LOL! It will match her room perfectly. And it's so freakin' adorable!
So I took the plunge. I may start picking up furniture for it here or there if I find it on sale. But for now, it's still in the box, put away in the basement, where it will remain until Christmas or a birthday at about age 3. Unless she's very mature for her age... then maybe when she's 2. LOL!
I got it on Ebay for a pretty decent price plus free shipping. While I was there I decided to window shop some dollhouse furniture. I found that you can buy tons of stuff for these things on Ebay. Including different people. While the mom and dad family with their twin babies that come with the house are cute and all..... they don't represent us. Since I want Mia to know that there are all different kinds of families and each one is acceptable and okay, I decided to get another set to reflect our family. An auburn haired mom with a Chinese daughter. Except my kid turned out to be gigantic in proportion to me. I mean, look at those feet! LOL! Now I just need to find a plastic miniature Pomeranian dog and we'll be all set.
This is what greeted me when I opened the back door this morning to let Griffey out to "handle his business". I decided right then and there that I wasn't going to work. Not only did we get about 10 inches of snow.... but see those icicles? We got snow, then ice, then more snow.
It was treacherous out there. The 10 yr old girl from across the street has been shoveling for me this winter. It's a worthwhile investment. I hate shoveling snow. Of course, she's really only had to do it twice so far. Which isn't bad considering we're already nearly done with January.
So I went back to bed for a couple hours and then spent the rest of the day in my jammies. It was the kind of day I love. I got a couple things done around the house but mostly was just supremely lazy. It was heavenly.Remember how I said I've been shopping for Mia too much lately? Well, I went through a long dry spell for awhile when I didn't buy anything. So I guess if you average it all out over the last 3 years it's not that bad. Plus I rationalize by saying that it's better to purchase these things now when I have the money to spend instead of trying to do so later when daycare and diapers are added to my monthly budget. Right? Work with me here, people. Okay, let's just face it. The truth is.... what the hell else is there to do when you're gonna wait 4 or more years for your child? LOL!
So with no apologies here are some of my latest finds. Well, this first one I can't take credit for. Angela sent me the link. I blame her. I mean, she had to know there was no way I could resist pink and green penguin clothes. These are from Janie& Jack. They were on sale but I still don't normally spend this much on clothes. However... they just screamed my name. Wouldn't you agree? I bought the sweater in size 2T and the shirt and sweater coat in a 5. Planning ahead, y'all. So some day you'll see my Mia in these outfits.
*I swiped the pics from the website cuz I was too lazy to pull the ones I now own out of the storage containers they're packed away in.
Do I even have to explain why I love these boots so much? They're fake uggs but look just like the real thing. And they're HOT PINK! They're on sale for $15 bucks at Sweet Soles online store. I got them in a 2 yr old size to wear with the first penguin sweater above. Can you just imagine how cute my girl will be in a little denim skirt, that sweater, some funky tights and these rockin' boots?!
The other shoes I saw on this blog and fell head over heels in love with. But being the thrifty shopper that I am, I found them with an even better price at the Morgan and Milo website. Sorry Christy.... but I paid $18. Score!! They're out of stock now but there are some other cute shoes there at reasonable prices. They seem to be really well made and are even more adorable in person. You can get them at Sweet Soles, too. Just not as cheap. LOL!I blame this next purchase totally on my hairdresser. See.... it's like this. She moved to a new salon which is inside the mall. In order to get to her, I have to walk thru the children's department. These were hanging on the rack right out in the aisle. If I hadn't had a hair appointment that day and if she hadn't switched to a mall salon, I never even would've seen these. So it's all her fault. LOL! Do I even need to explain why I bought the ensemble? My poor daughter isn't gonna realize that they even make clothes in any other colors until she's about 3. Do you think it could be emotionally damaging to a child if the majority of their wardrobe is pink and green? Just a hypothetical... I don't really know anyone like that. LOL!
This last one is a biggie. My family all went in and bought the big yellow FP dollhouse for Tatum for Christmas '07. Fully furnished, of course. I remember how much fun I had putting it together and arranging all the furniture. (Uhhhmm... I mean, how much fun SHE had.) I knew I'd get one for Mia someday. So when I started seeing pics of this new one floating around on other blogs my heart skipped a beat. I tried to talk myself out of it. I tried to tell myself that I'd get one for Mia when she was a little older and would appreciate it more. But the fact is, this one might not even be around in 3 or 4 more years. It's pretty hard to find Tatum's yellow dollhouse even just a year later. And I wanted THIS EXACT ONE cuz I happen to like the color. LOL! It will match her room perfectly. And it's so freakin' adorable!So I took the plunge. I may start picking up furniture for it here or there if I find it on sale. But for now, it's still in the box, put away in the basement, where it will remain until Christmas or a birthday at about age 3. Unless she's very mature for her age... then maybe when she's 2. LOL!I got it on Ebay for a pretty decent price plus free shipping. While I was there I decided to window shop some dollhouse furniture. I found that you can buy tons of stuff for these things on Ebay. Including different people. While the mom and dad family with their twin babies that come with the house are cute and all..... they don't represent us. Since I want Mia to know that there are all different kinds of families and each one is acceptable and okay, I decided to get another set to reflect our family. An auburn haired mom with a Chinese daughter. Except my kid turned out to be gigantic in proportion to me. I mean, look at those feet! LOL! Now I just need to find a plastic miniature Pomeranian dog and we'll be all set.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Tattoos & Cute Kids... (but not in the same sentence)
Guess who got a new tattoo today......
Nope. Not me. This was our birthday present to my sister. My mom, my brother and I all chipped in for a tattoo. Sounds kind of trailer park, doesn't it? Well, Carla did have a double wide when she lived in Texas.... so I guess it's appropriate. LOL!
Look familiar? Well it should.
She was a little surprised when I got this one which represented HER children. Because she'd been wanting one for the same reason. So I told her she could copy mine. They're slightly different but basically the same concept. Except she put it right above her ankle. She didn't think putting it on her arm would look professional. Apparently, the Catholic hospital she works in has some kind of rule about visible piercings and tattoos. Imagine that! But as you can see... I don't care about that issue. LOL! Mine's probably covered 90% of the time when I'm working anyway. Not intentionally but just because of the jackets I usually wear to conceal my gun. Woo hoo.... tattoos, guns and double wide trailers. This IS a good post.
While I was uploading the tattoo stuff, I found some cute kid pics that I'd left on my camera. So for your viewing pleasure I give you....sweet baby Tess looking very serious.
Travis and Tanner putting together the Indiana*Jones*Legos set I got Travis for Christmas.
And Teagan just being his mischievous cute dimpled-smile little self.
Tatum was at ballet class that night but we couldn't do a T's photo spread without a pic of her, too. So I grabbed this one I took a few weeks ago. She adores her baby sister. For now. LOL! Jump over to my sister's blog for some majorly adorable pics of the girls she posted today.
Peace out, y'all. Enjoy your weekend!Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Good And The Bad
The amazingly optimistic early rumors of the next batch of referrals getting through 20+ days was sadly, totally and completely, friggin' wrong. As usual. I didn't really believe it in my head.... but my heart skipped a beat and let my mind wander to thoughts of "I could get my referral in '09 instead of 2010".
Stupid thoughts. Cuz not only isn't it going to happen but now the CCAA has me teetering on the edge of not even seeing my baby in 2010 with this sorry ass 2 day batch. I mean, 2 days? Seriously?! From what I hear, March 1st and 2nd aren't even remarkably big days. I expected the possibility of a 1 or 2 day batch for some of those March dates later in the month that are said to be HUGE. But this? No.... I didn't see that one coming and it took some of the wind out of my newly billowing again sails.
I'm especially sad for some of my March friends who are so close to a referral they can taste it. I won't mention any names...(LOL) but one in particular has been somewhat of a mess lately. I knew she was in full blown freak out mode when I called last week.... during the good rumors mind you.... and she broke down in tears. As soon as I saw RQ yesterday morning and the sad news reported there, I texted her. (Cuz I'm all hip like that now with the texting thing.) Next thing you know, before anyone could really think about it, a plane ticket was purchased so that I could personally get her drunk. Hey... a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?
Then another bloggy gal pal close to her referral decided she needed to get drunk, too. So in a completely spontaneous move, she also bought a plane ticket. Which is amazing cuz this girl don't do nothing without a well thought out plan. But she threw caution to the wind and went for it. I'm hearing you roar, girl! But apparently there's a limit on spontaneity when you have to plan around work, kids, husbands, dogs, ticket prices, availability, etc. So we won't be getting all liquored up for a few weeks, unfortunately.
Speaking of referrals..... seeing women who I consider friends, so close to referral or getting their beautiful referral pics or bringing their babies home ..... people whose blogs I've followed for the last nearly 3 yrs... has reignited the hope in my heart. The hope that I might actually get a baby in the end of this crazy process. It's created countless moments of daydreaming about what my daughter will look like, how old will she be, what will her personality be like, how old will her cousins be by the time she comes home, and picturing how stinkin cute she's gonna look in those new boots I just bought her. LOL! But that hope and those dreams have been both good AND bad.
Good because I'm starting to actually think about this adoption again. I've been sort of detached from it for awhile now. That excitement I felt when I was paperchasing and newly logged in is starting to resurface. The motivation to prepare for Mia's arrival is back. I've started to clear out the nursery. It's my next big decorating project. I've decided on bedding and will finally get some of that fabric I bought 3 yrs ago out so it can be transformed into crib bumpers and dust ruffles and window treatments and stuff. That's gonna be fun! I realized I probably need to start looking into my childcare options this summer since so many places have waiting lists. I even cleaned out the linen closet and organized it last weekend. I guess I'm nesting a bit.
But bad because it's awakened the shopping monster that has lain mostly dormant for a year or more. And whoever invented E*bay and online shopping is either a genius or a monster. I haven't decided which. Cuz I love how convenient it is to just get things with the click of a button and they magically appear a few days later on my doorstep. But I hate when the credit card bill comes and I realize how much shopping I've actually done. LOL!
I'm okay though. I've been socking money away for 3 years. The adoption fees and travel expenses are already there. And it looks like I've got another 18 mths or so to keep socking it away. So I might as well enjoy myself a bit after busting my arse working 2 jobs for 3+ yrs. Do you hear me rationalizing my purchases a bit? LOL! My recent shopping may even require it's own post soon. I've gotten some majorly cool stuff and it's made me very happy. So maybe this should go more in the good category. :P
That hope is also kinda bad cuz I still have a long way to go in this. I'm afraid if I get too excited my heart will be hurt again when my referral keeps getting pushed further and further away. It's such complete irony that I can be closer to a referral than I've ever been and still further away as I've ever been. Does that make sense? Like being stuck on a treadmill. I just keep running but I don't ever get anywhere.
Well, at least I'm getting drunk next month. On a beach. With my girlfriends. So life is good.
Stupid thoughts. Cuz not only isn't it going to happen but now the CCAA has me teetering on the edge of not even seeing my baby in 2010 with this sorry ass 2 day batch. I mean, 2 days? Seriously?! From what I hear, March 1st and 2nd aren't even remarkably big days. I expected the possibility of a 1 or 2 day batch for some of those March dates later in the month that are said to be HUGE. But this? No.... I didn't see that one coming and it took some of the wind out of my newly billowing again sails.
I'm especially sad for some of my March friends who are so close to a referral they can taste it. I won't mention any names...(LOL) but one in particular has been somewhat of a mess lately. I knew she was in full blown freak out mode when I called last week.... during the good rumors mind you.... and she broke down in tears. As soon as I saw RQ yesterday morning and the sad news reported there, I texted her. (Cuz I'm all hip like that now with the texting thing.) Next thing you know, before anyone could really think about it, a plane ticket was purchased so that I could personally get her drunk. Hey... a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?
Then another bloggy gal pal close to her referral decided she needed to get drunk, too. So in a completely spontaneous move, she also bought a plane ticket. Which is amazing cuz this girl don't do nothing without a well thought out plan. But she threw caution to the wind and went for it. I'm hearing you roar, girl! But apparently there's a limit on spontaneity when you have to plan around work, kids, husbands, dogs, ticket prices, availability, etc. So we won't be getting all liquored up for a few weeks, unfortunately.Speaking of referrals..... seeing women who I consider friends, so close to referral or getting their beautiful referral pics or bringing their babies home ..... people whose blogs I've followed for the last nearly 3 yrs... has reignited the hope in my heart. The hope that I might actually get a baby in the end of this crazy process. It's created countless moments of daydreaming about what my daughter will look like, how old will she be, what will her personality be like, how old will her cousins be by the time she comes home, and picturing how stinkin cute she's gonna look in those new boots I just bought her. LOL! But that hope and those dreams have been both good AND bad.
Good because I'm starting to actually think about this adoption again. I've been sort of detached from it for awhile now. That excitement I felt when I was paperchasing and newly logged in is starting to resurface. The motivation to prepare for Mia's arrival is back. I've started to clear out the nursery. It's my next big decorating project. I've decided on bedding and will finally get some of that fabric I bought 3 yrs ago out so it can be transformed into crib bumpers and dust ruffles and window treatments and stuff. That's gonna be fun! I realized I probably need to start looking into my childcare options this summer since so many places have waiting lists. I even cleaned out the linen closet and organized it last weekend. I guess I'm nesting a bit.
But bad because it's awakened the shopping monster that has lain mostly dormant for a year or more. And whoever invented E*bay and online shopping is either a genius or a monster. I haven't decided which. Cuz I love how convenient it is to just get things with the click of a button and they magically appear a few days later on my doorstep. But I hate when the credit card bill comes and I realize how much shopping I've actually done. LOL!
I'm okay though. I've been socking money away for 3 years. The adoption fees and travel expenses are already there. And it looks like I've got another 18 mths or so to keep socking it away. So I might as well enjoy myself a bit after busting my arse working 2 jobs for 3+ yrs. Do you hear me rationalizing my purchases a bit? LOL! My recent shopping may even require it's own post soon. I've gotten some majorly cool stuff and it's made me very happy. So maybe this should go more in the good category. :P
That hope is also kinda bad cuz I still have a long way to go in this. I'm afraid if I get too excited my heart will be hurt again when my referral keeps getting pushed further and further away. It's such complete irony that I can be closer to a referral than I've ever been and still further away as I've ever been. Does that make sense? Like being stuck on a treadmill. I just keep running but I don't ever get anywhere.
Well, at least I'm getting drunk next month. On a beach. With my girlfriends. So life is good.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
And Then They Danced...
Somewhere deep in my heart I must be a hopeless romantic....
cuz I loved this beautiful moment.
Happy Inauguration Day!
I couldn't let the day pass without acknowledging that a new president was sworn in. The 44th president to be exact. It's a moment that will go down in our nation's history. I'm glad I was around to witness it.... thanks to the magic of my DVR. I hope the next 4 years bring some positive changes to the country. We shall see. It was nice to feel the energy today though.... even if it was just through my TV screen.PS. Can I just say how adorable the first daughters are? And that from what I've seen so far..... I really like Michelle?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
It's The 14th
You know what that means. Time to mark another month off the wait for my baby. Check out the cool collage (the secretly hip even though she doesn't think so) Tonguu Momma posted today. She and I are LID sisters. Well, we're actually a day apart. But if the CCAA does this right, they'll refer June 13th and 14th in the same batch. That's our plan anyway. And then our agencies will travel to China at the same time, too. Hey... stranger things have happened. It's not too far out of the realm of possibility. We'll just have to wait and see.So on to Idol... let's discuss. I'm thinking I like the new judge. She's fiesty. I like that. But I thought it was a little mean for her to make fun of the pink cowboy hat wearing 16 yr old who was her biggest fan. Hopefully now she realizes that everything she does and says is being taped and could potentially be shown to millions of viewers. Cuz although her remarks after the girl left the room weren't intended for her to hear, I'm sure they were once it was televised. So I'm thinking she just lost her biggest fan. LOL!
And what was up with the bikini chick? I don't like her. I hate when women feel they have to dumb themselves down to get noticed. Obviously her talent isn't enough if she felt she needed to let her ass hang out just to get attention. And it wasn't even the bikini that irritated me so much as the disrespectful attitude she had. I thought Kara was gonna come over the desk and put the smackdown on her. Honey... you're not that cute. Seriously. And I bet your mother was proud when you acted like a slut on national television with the whole "I'm gonna make out with you, Ryan, after I get my golden ticket" remark..... and then she did. Low class. I hope the judges make her cry during Hollywood week.
The guy that almost passed out made me laugh. Not for passing out. It was his weird singing. Funny stuff. I like the tattoed girl who sang "Barracuda" but those things in her ears made me cringe every time I looked at her. I really liked the blind guy. I hope he does well. There wasn't any stand out talent though. I didn't think anyway. Hopefully tonight's show will offer up something better.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
It's That Time Again
Time to indulge in one of my favorite guilty pleasures. The new season starts tonight at 8pm on F0X. Supposedly there will be some changes with the show.... including a fourth judge. Interesting. I intend to tune in and see how all this plays out. Don't forget to set your DVR's.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Dig Deep, Peeps!
I saw this mentioned on Doris' blog and felt compelled to share it here, too. This story just really stirred something in my heart. I hope it does the same for you.
Kennedy is the daughter of Doris' adoption coordinator. She was born in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China and adopted at the age of 6 mths old. She's the oldest of 3 sisters and 2 brothers. All adopted from China. Kennedy has received a very special invitation to go to China and celebrate with the Yangzhou Children's Social Welfare Institute. The SWI is celebrating 20 years of helping children find their families as well as completing their new children's building.
The week in China will be filled with wonderful activities, including a visit to the CCAA in Beijing, a tour of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Then she'll go to Yangzhou where she'll stay for 4 days. The party in Yangzhou would include a grand welcome ceremony for all of the children who were adopted from Yangzhou, a visit to the orphanage to learn about its development and a trip to the Canal Scenery Belt and Slender West Lake. She'll be able to enjoy the great cuisine of Yangzhou and meet some wonderful people from her hometown. She'll get to play with the waiting children in the orphanage and plant trees with them to represent their everlasting friendship. Kennedy will be an honored guest for the anniversary ceremony.
As a waiting mom, this story just touched my heart. To give Kennedy the experience of learning all these things about her birthplace, her culture and the place that cared for her before she came home to her family would be an unforgettable gift. To be able to show the CCAA and the SWI how their work effected this child's life and helped shape her into the amazing girl that I'm sure she is would be so incredibly satisfying. The whole idea just fills my heart.
Kennedy is fundraising to be able to take this trip. She has to raise $3300. She's off to a good start but she needs more help. All of us with a daughter from China would love for our own daughters to have this type of an opportunity when they're older, so let's make this dream come true for Kennedy. Go over to her blog and read more about her efforts. And while you're there, click on the donate button.
I did...... and realized it won't cost us Yanks as much since the donation is in Canadian dollars. LOL! Just another reason to give a little more. Especially since every dollar she raises over her goal will be donated back to the Yangzhou Children's Social Welfare Institute. Now go on... get over to Kennedy's place.
Kennedy is the daughter of Doris' adoption coordinator. She was born in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China and adopted at the age of 6 mths old. She's the oldest of 3 sisters and 2 brothers. All adopted from China. Kennedy has received a very special invitation to go to China and celebrate with the Yangzhou Children's Social Welfare Institute. The SWI is celebrating 20 years of helping children find their families as well as completing their new children's building.
The week in China will be filled with wonderful activities, including a visit to the CCAA in Beijing, a tour of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Then she'll go to Yangzhou where she'll stay for 4 days. The party in Yangzhou would include a grand welcome ceremony for all of the children who were adopted from Yangzhou, a visit to the orphanage to learn about its development and a trip to the Canal Scenery Belt and Slender West Lake. She'll be able to enjoy the great cuisine of Yangzhou and meet some wonderful people from her hometown. She'll get to play with the waiting children in the orphanage and plant trees with them to represent their everlasting friendship. Kennedy will be an honored guest for the anniversary ceremony.As a waiting mom, this story just touched my heart. To give Kennedy the experience of learning all these things about her birthplace, her culture and the place that cared for her before she came home to her family would be an unforgettable gift. To be able to show the CCAA and the SWI how their work effected this child's life and helped shape her into the amazing girl that I'm sure she is would be so incredibly satisfying. The whole idea just fills my heart.
Kennedy is fundraising to be able to take this trip. She has to raise $3300. She's off to a good start but she needs more help. All of us with a daughter from China would love for our own daughters to have this type of an opportunity when they're older, so let's make this dream come true for Kennedy. Go over to her blog and read more about her efforts. And while you're there, click on the donate button.
I did...... and realized it won't cost us Yanks as much since the donation is in Canadian dollars. LOL! Just another reason to give a little more. Especially since every dollar she raises over her goal will be donated back to the Yangzhou Children's Social Welfare Institute. Now go on... get over to Kennedy's place.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Doing Better
So we're a week into the new year. I decided I'm not making any real resolutions this go 'round. Lord knows I failed miserably at last year's. Johnny was right. I never should've announced them to the world. Maybe that was what set me up for failure.It's a little sad to look back on my blog post from this time last year. I was on fire with my enthusiasm and motivation. But somewhere along 2008.... it fizzled out. Again. And I'm still in the same place. Needing to lose the same weight and with a million house projects to do. Okay maybe not a million. But even though I accomplished some of the projects around the house, there's so much more I would've like to have completed.
Maybe I should make a big new year's resolution announcement to gain weight and procrastinate. I mean, I did the exact opposite of my plans last year. So maybe it's just reverse psychology. I'll say I'm going to gain as much weight as I can, lay on my arse and watch TV and not do a damn thing around the house...but instead the opposite will happen. Isn't that the way new year's resolutions work? LOL!
In reality, I'm only resolving to do one thing this year and it can be summed up in one simple word. Better. I plan to do better. That's my key phrase. I'm not going to say "I'll lose X amount of weight" or "I'll work out 5 times a week" or "I'll stop being late for work" or "I'll get this project done or that project done". Nope. No specifics. No set goals. Just do better.
Ahhh... I feel better already.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Christmas Re-cap
In classic procrastinator style, my Christmas post is coming a few days after the new year. Better late than never... that's my motto. So here goes.
I saw some of you posted about your Fish*r Price manger sets. I looked around online but those things are hard to come by. In my searching, I stumbled across this instead and quickly whipped out the credit card. If you push on Santa's head while he's sitting in his sleigh, it plays Christmas songs. I love it! I'll put this away with the Christmas decor and only get it out once a year. It'll be Mia's own little holiday decoration. Once she's home, how long do you think it'll take before I remove the batteries? LOL! Oh and because I'm a little anal about these kind of things... I took it upon myself to paint Rudolph's nose red with craft paint. Seriously.... I did. I mean, how can you have one reindeer depicted clearly in the lead of the sleigh and have it NOT be Rudolph? Everybody knows his nose his supposed to be red!
As is my holiday tradition with the T's, we had our annual "penguin pajama pics in front of the Christmas tree" photo shoot. This year we added Baby Tess. I got lucky and found a pair of semi-matching pj's for her. Next year we'll have to get new pj's, I think. The kids are growing out of these red ones we used last year.
Yes, Carla, for the sake of full disclosure, I swiped your pic. LOL! Cuz in spite of the 50,000 that we took with my camera.... most had issues. Either someone was looking the wrong way, had eyes closed, a stupid look on their face or it was blurry. It's gotten really difficult to make 5 kids sit still, look at the camera and smile. All At The Same Time. Nearly impossible actually. Especially when one is only 4 mths old. So this is the best we could come up with.
Here's a few pics of the family at my house on Christmas day opening presents. I love how the kids are all focused on this one present. We make everybody open one at a time, youngest to oldest. It's a test of their patience.
Future sister-in-law, Kristy, got an OSU Buck*eyes purse. Don't be hatin', Robin and Tracy! LOL!
Big Travis got money. His favorite thing. Here he's photo documenting it with a self portrait.
The pirate ship was a big hit. Even I wanted to play with it.
Santa brought the boys a new Wii. So Grandma bought them stuff to go with it.
Tatum got this pizza cutting thing. And Teagan got the other food cutting toy which was such a big hit with him at Maddy's birthday party.
Tess just hanging out with her daddy. She could've cared less about the presents. Maybe next year.
The kids were excited about the engagement announcement. But I think only because they can now call Braeden their cousin ... "officially" and "legally". LOL! They kept saying "So he's reeeee-ally our cousin now?". These two are only about 7 mths apart in age. They're in love with each other.
So that's about it for Christmas 2008. I wonder what changes will come by Christmas next year. And no... I don't think I'll have my kid home. (Although one can dream.) But I'll sure be getting a lot closer by then. :)
I saw some of you posted about your Fish*r Price manger sets. I looked around online but those things are hard to come by. In my searching, I stumbled across this instead and quickly whipped out the credit card. If you push on Santa's head while he's sitting in his sleigh, it plays Christmas songs. I love it! I'll put this away with the Christmas decor and only get it out once a year. It'll be Mia's own little holiday decoration. Once she's home, how long do you think it'll take before I remove the batteries? LOL! Oh and because I'm a little anal about these kind of things... I took it upon myself to paint Rudolph's nose red with craft paint. Seriously.... I did. I mean, how can you have one reindeer depicted clearly in the lead of the sleigh and have it NOT be Rudolph? Everybody knows his nose his supposed to be red!
As is my holiday tradition with the T's, we had our annual "penguin pajama pics in front of the Christmas tree" photo shoot. This year we added Baby Tess. I got lucky and found a pair of semi-matching pj's for her. Next year we'll have to get new pj's, I think. The kids are growing out of these red ones we used last year.
Yes, Carla, for the sake of full disclosure, I swiped your pic. LOL! Cuz in spite of the 50,000 that we took with my camera.... most had issues. Either someone was looking the wrong way, had eyes closed, a stupid look on their face or it was blurry. It's gotten really difficult to make 5 kids sit still, look at the camera and smile. All At The Same Time. Nearly impossible actually. Especially when one is only 4 mths old. So this is the best we could come up with.
Here's a few pics of the family at my house on Christmas day opening presents. I love how the kids are all focused on this one present. We make everybody open one at a time, youngest to oldest. It's a test of their patience.
Future sister-in-law, Kristy, got an OSU Buck*eyes purse. Don't be hatin', Robin and Tracy! LOL!
Big Travis got money. His favorite thing. Here he's photo documenting it with a self portrait.
The pirate ship was a big hit. Even I wanted to play with it.
Santa brought the boys a new Wii. So Grandma bought them stuff to go with it.
Tatum got this pizza cutting thing. And Teagan got the other food cutting toy which was such a big hit with him at Maddy's birthday party.
Tess just hanging out with her daddy. She could've cared less about the presents. Maybe next year.
The kids were excited about the engagement announcement. But I think only because they can now call Braeden their cousin ... "officially" and "legally". LOL! They kept saying "So he's reeeee-ally our cousin now?". These two are only about 7 mths apart in age. They're in love with each other.
So that's about it for Christmas 2008. I wonder what changes will come by Christmas next year. And no... I don't think I'll have my kid home. (Although one can dream.) But I'll sure be getting a lot closer by then. :)
Saturday, January 03, 2009
The Real Deal
I've sufficiently recovered from my new year's eve hangover now and I wasn't going to get any more involved in this drama since the blog in question has now been deleted. But it's late and I can't sleep. And I feel like there's a point to be made here.
Some of you may have noticed some stuff floating around about a "fake blogger". Here's the real deal. I started following this particular blog. But the more I read, the more I realized that something just didn't seem right. I'm a detective by profession, after all. It's in my nature to be observant and intuitive. And suspicious when I get that kind of vibe. So I started digging around. Then I alerted some of my homegirls in order to get their opinions about what they thought. And they started digging. The more digging that was done, the more dishonesty we uncovered.
And it was really ridiculous things to be dishonest about. This person pulled images off the web and incorporated stories of her life around them. Now don't get me wrong. We ALL "borrow" web images sometimes to make a point or illustrate a story. But to "borrow" an image and say, for example, that it's your nursery, your front door, your parent's house, what you ate for Thanksgiving, the bruise you got on your leg, the pumpkins your family carved, the Christmas tree your cousin decorated for you, etc, etc. etc when the pics belong to other people or other websites is just .... I don't know.... a little strange, to say the least. And wrong.
This bothered me because other people were following this blog and buying into all of it when it was all so obviously untrue. People were "praying" for this blogger and offering her support. And it just upset me that they were being made fools of. I don't like to be lied to. Do you?
So some comments started being made on her blog basically calling her out on the dishonesty. So she turned off the anon comment option. And then set it to moderate all the comments when the accusations again came but this time with names attached. Then she put her blog "under construction" and re-worked it. She changed the template, profile pic and removed all of her archives. I was fine with that.
But then she posted that someone had threatened her through an e-mail even going so far as to quote her address to her. And that just pissed me off because it was a blatant lie. She said "it was scary stuff" and claimed it was the reason for removing her archives. But then she continued her blog with the same URL, same blog name, same profile name and even replaced her "fake" profile pic with one that appeared to be her AND her children. Now does that make sense to any one of you? Cuz it didn't to me. If someone directly threatened me AND knew where I lived.... I think I'd be shutting down my blog. That she thought any of us were stupid enough to believe this story was beyond me. It was a complete insult to the intelligence of anyone reading her blog.
At that point, I think many of us that were "on to her" felt like she had gone too far. Heather took it upon herself to start a blog basically "outing" this blogger. The basic point being that she was dishonest and that people needed to be aware of it so as to protect themselves from falling victim to it. There are many, many examples on this new blog proving that point. You can also go to G0ogle Reader and add www.carefulwisher.blogspot.com into your subscription. It'll show all of the archives even though she's now deleted the entire thing in an attempt to destroy the evidence so to speak. So judge for yourself.
Melissa...
yes this whole thing is "ridiculous" but no it's not "too much like high school". It was kind of ironic that you said "I never knew there was a Blog Police Squad who takes it upon themselves to rid the Blog World of evil!" since that IS what I do for a living. But I didn't call you evil. Those are your words.
I know that you feel like this is a witch hunt and I'm truly sorry for that. But it's not. It's just a group of caring people trying to protect other caring people. I can't speak for others... but I'm not out to personally hurt you in any way. This isn't some unwarranted personal attack on you. We don't even know "you". Although, I know you ARE being hurt by it. Again, I'm sorry for that.
I do, however, take deep offense to someone who so completely represents themselves as something they're not. I just couldn't, in good conscience, let you continue to deceive people within this blogging community that I like and respect. You've been so dishonest on your blog that I'm not even sure if you are "Melissa". At this point, it's hard to believe anything you say.
I'm not sure what the point of all of it was. Especially since you say you "would never do anything to intentionally hurt anyone". I hope you understand now that is exactly what you've done. In the China adoption community, we tend to get emotionally invested in each other's stories.... more so than most internet connections. So betrayal definitely damages that bond.
I hope you're able to come to terms with all of this and learn from your mistakes. Integrity is everything. Especially in this "blogging" forum where we don't have the luxury of knowing each other in real life and judging mannerisms, body language, etc. All we have is our word.
And, Melissa, if you truly are on the road to an adoption from China, I hope you're able to look inside yourself and fix whatever it is that seems to be broken. Whatever it is that makes you need to invent a different life instead of sharing your real one. For your children's sake if nothing else. Again... it's hard to read a person's tone in the written word... but know that none of what I've directed to you is meant to be mean or hurtful. I just simply believe in honesty. I care about people. And I feel an obligation to stand up for what's right. I do,sincerely and genuinely, wish you the best on your journey.
Some of you may have noticed some stuff floating around about a "fake blogger". Here's the real deal. I started following this particular blog. But the more I read, the more I realized that something just didn't seem right. I'm a detective by profession, after all. It's in my nature to be observant and intuitive. And suspicious when I get that kind of vibe. So I started digging around. Then I alerted some of my homegirls in order to get their opinions about what they thought. And they started digging. The more digging that was done, the more dishonesty we uncovered.
And it was really ridiculous things to be dishonest about. This person pulled images off the web and incorporated stories of her life around them. Now don't get me wrong. We ALL "borrow" web images sometimes to make a point or illustrate a story. But to "borrow" an image and say, for example, that it's your nursery, your front door, your parent's house, what you ate for Thanksgiving, the bruise you got on your leg, the pumpkins your family carved, the Christmas tree your cousin decorated for you, etc, etc. etc when the pics belong to other people or other websites is just .... I don't know.... a little strange, to say the least. And wrong.
This bothered me because other people were following this blog and buying into all of it when it was all so obviously untrue. People were "praying" for this blogger and offering her support. And it just upset me that they were being made fools of. I don't like to be lied to. Do you?
So some comments started being made on her blog basically calling her out on the dishonesty. So she turned off the anon comment option. And then set it to moderate all the comments when the accusations again came but this time with names attached. Then she put her blog "under construction" and re-worked it. She changed the template, profile pic and removed all of her archives. I was fine with that.
But then she posted that someone had threatened her through an e-mail even going so far as to quote her address to her. And that just pissed me off because it was a blatant lie. She said "it was scary stuff" and claimed it was the reason for removing her archives. But then she continued her blog with the same URL, same blog name, same profile name and even replaced her "fake" profile pic with one that appeared to be her AND her children. Now does that make sense to any one of you? Cuz it didn't to me. If someone directly threatened me AND knew where I lived.... I think I'd be shutting down my blog. That she thought any of us were stupid enough to believe this story was beyond me. It was a complete insult to the intelligence of anyone reading her blog.
At that point, I think many of us that were "on to her" felt like she had gone too far. Heather took it upon herself to start a blog basically "outing" this blogger. The basic point being that she was dishonest and that people needed to be aware of it so as to protect themselves from falling victim to it. There are many, many examples on this new blog proving that point. You can also go to G0ogle Reader and add www.carefulwisher.blogspot.com into your subscription. It'll show all of the archives even though she's now deleted the entire thing in an attempt to destroy the evidence so to speak. So judge for yourself.
Melissa...
yes this whole thing is "ridiculous" but no it's not "too much like high school". It was kind of ironic that you said "I never knew there was a Blog Police Squad who takes it upon themselves to rid the Blog World of evil!" since that IS what I do for a living. But I didn't call you evil. Those are your words.
I know that you feel like this is a witch hunt and I'm truly sorry for that. But it's not. It's just a group of caring people trying to protect other caring people. I can't speak for others... but I'm not out to personally hurt you in any way. This isn't some unwarranted personal attack on you. We don't even know "you". Although, I know you ARE being hurt by it. Again, I'm sorry for that.
I do, however, take deep offense to someone who so completely represents themselves as something they're not. I just couldn't, in good conscience, let you continue to deceive people within this blogging community that I like and respect. You've been so dishonest on your blog that I'm not even sure if you are "Melissa". At this point, it's hard to believe anything you say.
I'm not sure what the point of all of it was. Especially since you say you "would never do anything to intentionally hurt anyone". I hope you understand now that is exactly what you've done. In the China adoption community, we tend to get emotionally invested in each other's stories.... more so than most internet connections. So betrayal definitely damages that bond.
I hope you're able to come to terms with all of this and learn from your mistakes. Integrity is everything. Especially in this "blogging" forum where we don't have the luxury of knowing each other in real life and judging mannerisms, body language, etc. All we have is our word.
And, Melissa, if you truly are on the road to an adoption from China, I hope you're able to look inside yourself and fix whatever it is that seems to be broken. Whatever it is that makes you need to invent a different life instead of sharing your real one. For your children's sake if nothing else. Again... it's hard to read a person's tone in the written word... but know that none of what I've directed to you is meant to be mean or hurtful. I just simply believe in honesty. I care about people. And I feel an obligation to stand up for what's right. I do,sincerely and genuinely, wish you the best on your journey.
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