Out Of Review!

I'm a few days late in reporting this. Most of bloggerville is already aware seeing as how my e-mail blew up the night the box changed on the CCAA website. So thanks to all of you who sent congratulation wishes for me. I shed a few tears of relief that night.

But for my family and friends who may not understand, let me explain. This is a big step in the adoption process. My dossier has been sitting on a shelf in China since it was logged in on June 14, 2006. Just sitting there collecting dust. My agency reviewed it themselves before it was sent. They were confident that it said what the CCAA wanted it to say. But you really just never know with them.....

So prospective adoptive parents (or PAP's for short....and no, I don't mean the kind that require stirrups or Connie) sweat it out waiting for our dossiers to make it through the Review Room, which is where the dossier goes after they pull it from the shelf and dust it off a little.

The Review Room is where they go over it with a fine tooth comb. Making sure every "t" is crossed and every "i" is dotted. If there's a problem with something or the CCAA has a question, this is where it comes to light. Then you get pulled until the problem is fixed. Which can delay the process even longer. Because the CCAA doesn't necessarily put you back in the spot you were at in line. They may just stuff you in wherever they happen to be whenever you resolve the problem, which is by now further back in the line. This is not good news to PAP's who've already been waiting a long time just to get to this step. And who'll probably wait at least twice as long for a referral as we were told by our agencies when we started this process. Yep...the wait really sucks. But what can ya do, right?

So the good news for me is that I'm out of review with no questions!! Woo Hoo! Which means that China must think I'm okay after all. Thank goodness they reviewed me before that Blogger Bash video went up. I don't think the jello shot pics were ones I would've chosen for my dossier. LOL! It's such a huge relief to not have this hanging over my head anymore. The adoption is starting to feel real for me again. Like maybe China really will give me a kid at the end of all this.

Bodacious Blogger Bash '07

Here it is. What you've been waiting for. Enjoy a bit of our amazing weekend thanks to the creativity of our own Mrs Florida. Oh and the blow up doll... well that's Colleen who was there in spirit. She couldn't make it. But she had a good excuse seeing as how she was on her way home from China with her beautiful new daughter, Hannah.

I love my homegirls! And I miss them sooooo much...... but I know you guys are sick of hearing that.

Wow! What a weekend....

How do you sum up such an incredible time? I had the most fun I've had in a good long while. (And that was even without the margaritas. LOL!) There are similarities and differences amongst us all. But the one very strong common bond is our adoptions of Chinese daughters. I never could've imagined that my daughter would lead me to so many wonderful things in my life even before she was here. I'm forever grateful to her for that. And so thankful that I was lead down this path to her in the first place. My heart is so full.

I've never ever felt more at home with anyone as I did with this group of women. I've never been in an environment more open, loving and understanding. It's so hard to explain unless you were there to feel it. There was no drama, no catfights, no jealousy. That's hard to achieve with any group of women period. But when there are so many in a house together for several days.... Let's just be honest here, ladies. You know what I'm talking about. I've spent long weekends with large groups of girlfriends many times and before the end there is always something. There was none of that here.

Many of us are very different in our personalities, backgrounds, religions, etc. But there was just this wonderful sense of being allowed to be whoever you are with no judgement. I have never felt more comfortable and accepted. Ever. It sounds so mushy and sappy but it's all true. The weekend was magical. It really was.

There was laughter and tears. Serious, let your guard down and open yourself up to feeling vulnerable kind of talks. And raunchy, hilarious conversations too. Shared hopes and dreams. Similar experiences of pain and heart break. Everything was on the table at one point or another. No topic was off limits. But it was all okay. There was always someone to say "me too". And just this amazing sense of complete understanding. Even if we didn't share the same point of view, there was no judgement, no argument, no trying to convince the other person that you were right. Just loving acceptance. Pure and simple. The experience was amazing. I'm so glad I was allowed to be a part of it.

The trip was absolutely perfect. Just one big slumber party. Staying up late. Sitting around in our jammies sans make-up with bed heads drinking coffee every morning. No schedule. No activities planned. Just relaxation. All we did was hang out all weekend but there was never one second of boredom because we were together. And it was the most fun!

I have more to say about each of these amazing, beautiful women but it'll have to wait for another day. And stay tuned for the video that our sweet Tracy is putting together. For now, I'll share a new pic. You may have seen the one floating around of the whole group. So as to not bore you with it again, here's another. This one is the slumber party crew that spent all weekend together. The local gals were only able to join us for the afternoon on Saturday so they're not in this one.

I miss my girls.

So Worth It!

Cooler full of jello shots = about $25

The biggest bottle of tequila in the store = $37

Two tanks of gas to Georgia & back = $100

The BEST bloggy babe bash

in the history of womankind =

PRICELESS!

I miss my homegirls already.

Stay tuned. More later. I need sleep

Georgia On My Mind....

See ya on the flip side peeps! Be back on Monday....

if I survive the girls weekend.

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

Within the next 3 months I'll be spending some time in each of these contraptions while I travel the world. Okay... maybe just travel around North America a little bit. I've decided to spend some money, burn up that use-it-before-the-end-of-the-year-or-lose-it vacation time, and have some fun! So I'm taking a few trips.

The first one is coming up in a couple of days. Me and my pal, Connie, are taking a road trip down south to visit some of the coolest blogger babes in the world. Who might that be? I guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out. I'm sure there'll be blogs lighting up from Canada to Mexico reporting the craziness that is sure to occur. It'll be the biggest, baddest, most bodacious, bloggy babe bash evah! There are blogger babes all over the country (and even one in Canada) packing their bags as I speak heading to party central for the weekend. I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am!! Only 2 more sleeps!

The second one is in September. I'll be spending a week laying on a beach in Mexico at an all inclusive resort. ALL inclusive. As in alcohol too. Woo hoo! I'm going with 2 other single mom friends (from our Single Adoptive Moms Group), their toddler daughters, and one grandma. You have no idea how much I need to do this. There are many margaritas waiting for me there. And maybe a really hot cabana boy.....

The third is scheduled for October. My BFF and I are heading to NYC for a long weekend. She's celebrating a very important decade birthday. (Not 20 or 30. But rhymes with the name Morty. LOL!) I love NYC! It's one of my favorite destinations. We plan on taking in the sights, catching a show, doing a little shoppy, and just re-connecting with each other. We haven't had a lot of time lately with our busy lives to just hang out together. So we get to devote several days to total and complete chick bonding with no interruptions. There's nothing better than girlfriends!

I'm really looking forward to all of this travel. I haven't taken a real vacation in a few years. I decided I need to get some of this out of my system before I have to settle down and be somebody's mom. And I decided to stop making excuses about why it should wait.

No more "I don't want to burn up my vacation days". Cuz truth is, I'm maxed out on carry over days and have to get rid of some.

No more "I don't want to spend the money". Cuz I worked my ass off for it! And I've got another year+ to pay off the second half of the adoption debt. I was responsible enough to pay off half already. So I'm taking a little break and spending some on ME!

No more "I can't wear a bathing suit until I lose some weight". Cuz lord knows I've been dragging my feet on this one so how much more time will I waste? Didn't I learn that time is not guaranteed? I need to get out there and enjoy life and all it has to offer...even if my ass is bigger than I'd prefer. Who really cares anyway? Nobody's worried about this but me so Let.It.Go.Krista.

Plus I freakin' deserve it!! So off I go to see the world...........
or at least just a little bit of it.