Johnny's Gargantuan Rolling Meme of Doom

Meme of Doooommmmm

1) Read the meme that was dumped* assigned to you. Answer the questions.
2) Add TWO new questions to the list. Answer those questions.
3) Dump* Forward this onto the next victim* blogger (and list their name and link to their blog).
4) This series will conclude when we get 50 questions - so yes, it’s 25 bloggers in the chain.
5) Please make sure that the next victim in the “link” doesn’t have a password protected blog.
[Optional 6] Update the links so people can follow along (this is similar to the method I used in the Why China series).
[Optional 7] When you see an update, down the chain, update your own page with the new questions and answers.
[Optional 8] Copy these micromanaging instructions into the top of your meme post.

* these should be crossed through - I don't know how to do it.

1. What secret/surprising/personal goal (that is realistically achievable within the next 15 years) would you like to fulfill?

I am not a runner, but I want to be. I’ve wanted to be on some small level for some time now. It just seems like the quickest, easiest way to stay in shape and keep the 20 lbs that I’ve been playing with most of my adult life, at bay. However, I’ve never seemed to want it badly enough to do the work it takes to become one. So, I guess my goal would be to run…I’d say a marathon, but that seems too daunting. So, I think I’ll start with a goal of a 5K – I should be able to do than in the next 15 years, Huh?

2. Can you list an event in which you made a last minute decision or guess that significantly changed the path of your life?

I’m a rather spontaneous person and can’t think of a single life-changing event spawned by a snap decision. I make a lot of them.

3. What is one unrealistic goal (but your total secret dream) that you would love to come true, but are pretty sure it won’t ever happen?

I’m totally sure this would never happen unless someone develops voice transplants, but my unrealistic dream is to be a rock star on stage at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Red Rocks is an amazing natural amphitheater in the Denver area with amazing acoustics and an incredible vibe. They’ve recently opened a museum there and it’s awe inspiring to see all the acts that have performed there. It’s my favorite venue – ever.
I have learned some rhythm from my years in band, but unfortunately am tone deaf (not that that stops me from singing). So, the likelihood of this dream happening is slim to nil. But, if it were…I’d love to be a performer in the fashion of say… Bonnie Raitt, or Patti Griffin. Love those women!


4. Who has had the most influence on your life and what did they teach you?

The obvious answer is my parents, however a more accurate answer
Was given by someone earlier in the meme... Books. It boggles my mind how much I’ve learned from reading, how authors have influenced my thinking, broadened my horizons. I’ve learned more from the vast number of books I’ve read over my life - about my internal world as well as the external world - than any one individual could ever teach.

5. You are on a deserted island. You are stranded with someone from any point in time for 2 months (they are coming to rescue you but are busy right now). Other then family/friends/naval engineers, who is it?

I’m going purely for the carnal here, people. George Clooney. And, if it turns out he can’t cook or hunt or fish or build us a shelter, then we will die of laughter as well as exposure cause he’s got a keen wit to go along with those looks.

6. Name and describe 3 things on your mind lately. Is there any particular reason why you’re thinking about a particular thing?

1. Are there really jobs that people love to get up and go to each morning? If so,please name them.
2. Why can’t I sleep anymore? I used to be able to sleep anywhere, anytime – seriously, just ask my sister. Now, I wake between 2-3 am and am up for a few hours only to drift off in time to be startled awake by the clock jangling.
3. How will I ever accomplish raising a well-adjusted daughter? How?

7. If you could go back to one moment in time and change it, what would the moment be and what would you change it from and to?

I would definitely change the fact that I wasn’t at my dad’s side when he passed away. HUGE regret. Each time before when he had been rushed to the hospital I would come home in time to find him improving and he would greet me with a warm smile (I miss that smile). This time I decided to wait. He always got better before….

8. What is your biggest pet peeve and is there anything that you can do or not do to stop other people from doing it?

A huge pet peeve for me is people telling me “As soon as you quit looking, you’ll find someone” (meaning a husband). People, I’ve tried it.. I’ve looked, I’ve not looked… so far nada! So, unless you know someone, let’s not talk about it.
But, seriously, if you know someone…

9. Who has been the most influential teacher in your life and why did he or she have such an impact on you? Have you sent them a note?

Hmmm this is tough for some reason. The most influential teacher I would have to say was in my first round of grad school. This professor really influenced my thinking about myself, my actions, others, the world around me. The problem is that he’s a fairly arrogant man, so no I didn’t send a note. I guess teachers don’t have to have their own act totally together to teach you something.

10. What three things do you regret not learning to do?

1. I wish I had stuck with piano.
2. I regret not learning a second language. (I’ve tried. My old synapses make it a little challenging)
3. a martial art

11. What is your biggest fear?

Something happening to me like falling in the tub or falling down the stairs… and no one finding me for days.

12. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I’d like to take better care of myself.

13. What is the answer to life, the universe, everything?

Love

14. If you knew, beforehand, that the wait for your child from China would take this long and drastic a time frame, would you still go through with it or would you choose another country.

I chose China fairly spontaneously. I often go by my gut and it “felt” right. There is a large agency here in town, I met the people there and they are amazing folks. There is a cultural center where my daughter can learn about her birth country and it’s customs, traditions, be engaged with other families who have adopted from China as well. I chose China because of the resources available to me. So, even though the wait stinks, I would chose China again.

15. What is one food that most people like that you do not like at all?

Ketchup (do condiments count)

16. Name one place in the world you would love to spend at least one month visiting? Is there anywhere on earth that is so repulsive to you that there is no amount of money that could convince you to visit it?

There are still so many places that I want to see. I don’t know where I would want to spend an entire month. Of the places I’ve been, I think the south of France – there really is something about the light there. But, wherever it may be I would need my loved ones around me.

17. What book have you just finished reading and why did you pick it up? Would you recommend it to others?

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
It was the monthly book club selection (OK, I read it this past summer – I’ve been out of the mood to read). It was a fabulous book- in the SciFi section, which I usually steer clear of, but I found this book very engaging. Set in the future, it involved the Jesuits taking a trip to a recently discovered solar system. Don’t let my feeble description dissuade you, read it.

18. Share a relatively quick and easy recipe for Fall. One pot/dish recipes given extra credit.

Open a can of “Cattle Drive” chicken chili. Heat through. Add a dollop of sour cream, or sprinkle on some cheese. Eat with a piece of bread.

19. Would you rather be financially well off, but unhappy, or a happy person who is always in need of money?

No contest. Rich and unhappy! …just kidding, the other of course.

20. What is the most comforting sound in the world to you and why?
The sound of water, whether it comes from the waves of the ocean, a rushing river, or the water filling my bathtub, water soothes my jangled nerves.

21. What is your all time favorite book? If you aren’t a reader, what is your favorite movie? And why?

I absolutely cannot pick one favorite book.

Ok… I love to read, normally, I’ve just been in a mood lately and haven’t been. I’ve ignored my book group, ignored the stack at my bedside table, instead.. I’ve been knitting.

22. Share one of your most cherished childhood memories.

My favorite childhood memories are of moments, not big events. They all have the common theme of being surrounded by family, safety, warmth, home. We played games a lot as a kid, board games, cards.. Every Saturday evening we would go to my cousin’s house or they would come to ours (as I remember it anyway). They were usually similar evenings with the parents in one room playing pinochle, the kids in another watching Carol Burnette and then getting into some sort of mischief. It’s the simple, common memories I cherish.

23. What are you paranoid about?

I think I’m giving this fear a little too much power right now, but failing as a mother. I’m afraid I’m really going to mess her up (I mean I’m sure I’ll mess her up some, but I’m afraid I’ll mess her up Huge).

24. What trait of yours do you MOST hope your children will carry on?

Kindness.

25. What’s your guilty pleasure?

Tonight… eating some of the Halloween candy the night before Halloween.

26. What would you buy if you had a thousand dollars to spend n yourself? The only catch is that it has to be a totally selfish purchase, just for you. No paying bills or buying a year’s supply of wet wipes.

A stereo system. I have a cheapo boom boxish sort of thing. Of which I recently broke the CD changer – there’s a Dianna Krall CD stuck in there and now it won’t close or play. Maybe I’ll make this a reward for achieving the goal mentioned in #1.

27. Help me update my iPod...name your favorite artists, and then your favorite song that they perform.

Bad Company – Bad company, Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion, Styx – Can’t Find my Way Home, Eagles – Peaceful Easy Feeling, Black Magic Woman – Santana
I’m feeling a bit nostalgic lately

28. What is your favorite charity?

I give to my church, American Heart Association, Susan Komen Breast Cancer Research, a medical mission group to Cambodia, and Half the Sky.

29. In The Shadow of the Wind, there is a beautiful passage that says “few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart.” Do you think this is true, and if so what is your “first” book and why.

The first large novel I read was Watership Down by Richard Adams. I think I was 10 or 11 and I read it on a road trip to visit family in North Carolina. This was my first foray out of typical children’s literature and honestly can’t remember the story, but I do remember that it gave me the first glimpse of layers of meaning and depth of story. I was so excited to read that the 2 day car trip flew and was almost disappointed to arrive at G’ma Fannie’s.

30. What is your favorite wilderness hike and why? (You knew I was going to ask this-if you aren’t a hiker, you can modify it to drive by landscapes or whatever speaks to you.)

I’m not a backcountry hiker – I’ve done it, and enjoyed it, but not likely to plan it. I do like day hikes and one of my favorites is Herman Gulch Trail. It’s beautiful in the spring, easy to get to. Yes, it’s well traveled, but my main reason for it being my favorite is it received 4 wags (the highest rating) in “Canine Colorado”. And Leo and Lannie love it. They can run off-leash, there’s a running stream along the entire trail for their drinking pleasure, the wildflowers are gorgeous, and the mountain lake (Herman Lake) at the top is beautiful.


31. What were/are your nicknames? Do you like them?

I've had very few:
1. Beeb - started by either my uncle or my dad - not sure which. I like it. 2.Shorty - my dad called me this - not sure why I'm 5/7" - not exactly short???? 3.Babs - HATE it
4. Bobwire - that caused my claws to come out when I was a kid. Seriously, I'd try to mess you up if you called me that.

32. What was your first concert?.. Your most recent?

My first was Molly Hatchett at the Ice Chalet in the next town over - at 16 it was a big deal. It was a bigger deal because we didn't tell our parents where we were going. I guess we were Flirtin' with Disaster.

The most recent was Amos Lee and the Subdudes at the Botanic Gardens. Amos Lee can sing to me anytime, anywhere!



The Chain:

Johnny(1,2) -> Our Journey to China (3,4)-> 3D’s Adoption Journey (5,6)->Waiting for Pumpkin (7,8)->Two Kayaks (9,10)->Watch Our Family Grow (11,12)-> Our Journey to Little Maple and Back (13,14)-> American Family (15,16)-> Chicago Mama (17,18)-> The Further Adventures of Spacemom (19,20)-> Mrs. Figby (21,22)-> Mortimer’s Mom (23,24)-> Mimiboo (25, 26) -> Sopapilla (27, 28)->Jiangli (29, 30)->Beeb (31,32)-> FD Chief

Ahhh.. The monkey is off my back. I put the final stitches on the MS3 last night. Can I get a woo and a big 'ol hoo! Now all that's left is blocking, but that will wait until the weekend and then the photoshoot.
Befor blocking the stole, however, I will do my assigned meme "Johnny's meme of DOOOOOOOOOOOM". Coming soon...

Snipbits (phrase courtesy of walternatives)

Snipbits is a sniglet created by the amazing Goober over at Walternatives (now password protected). I think it's a blending of snippets and tidbits... I like it.

I'm neglectful, but will try to do a catch up of the week.
1. My hair...it's gone... I chopped it off. It was several inches below my shoulders, now right there. The back at collar length and slightly longer in front. A big change for me as I haven' has short hair in a long time. all I can say is 'it
will grow"

2. The 16th marked for me 17 months of LID. It's been a pretty interesting ride and for some reason I've come to some acceptance of the wait. I think it may be the sheer terror of bringing her home and all that that means that causes the wait to seem not-so-bad. This long wait has given me too much time to think of all the negative consequences of being a mom... will I mess it up, mess her up... will I think the absolute disruption of my quiet life worth it? Will I have the energy for it? ... So many questions, so many fears. But, then I think of the options... bailing on adopting and continuing my quiet life - BORING! Selling everything I have a traveling the world - Lonely! I guess I'll stay in line and work on decluttering my house before she arrives.
3. Decluttering is a huge job over here at moonbeam's place. My parents' hobby was antiquing...which is think was a front for their passion for hoarding. Regardless, I've ended up with way too many boxes and "things". It's been difficult to think of sorting through these things because I've become so emotionally attached to anything they once thought lovely or intriguing, or humorous. To let it go is difficult. However, I have to make some space or my house will become "that" house where there are only pathways from the bed to bath to refrigerator (I'd never block the refrigerator!). I'm in the contemplation stage right now, because most of the boxes are filled with "collectibles. they have some monetary value so giving them to the good will feels wrong.... This will be a big journey for me as I figure out what to do.. wish me luck, and any advice on tackling it is welcome.

4. On to more pleasant things. Yesterday my "village" celebrated the 1st birthday of the adorable Samantha. She has been home since May and is really a jewel! What a bundle of energy (watching her did nothing to calm my fears of having enough energy). We went for dim sum - it was fabulous.
































































5. I had to get home after lunch and shopping at the Asian market to winterize my swamp cooler and my sprinkler system because even though it was 83 degrees yesterday and I was complaining because the AC in my car decided to quit working, today I woke to this...


















6. I am still plugging away on the Mystery Stole 3 (MS3). This was a fun way to get me to knit lace. First you had to join the yahoo group, then each week she would send a "clue" which was about 50 or so rows of the pattern. In theory you would finish that clue each week and start the next clue when it was available. After clue 5 she revealed the theme of the stole is Swan Lake. The stole is knit asymmetrically with the portion I have left to knit being the wing of the swan. Personally I think it's a beautiful pattern. Some of the people had a difficult time with the stole being asymmetrical.
I happen to be a bit slow (the last of 7 clues was given in august). These photos are of my project so far, I just finished clue 5. (don't look too close because there are plenty of misstakes to be found) Soon I'll be done and be able to move onto other projects.



I've temporarily (I hope) misplaced the ball band so not sure about the yarn. I do know that it's a lace-weight merino. the needles Addi turbo lace needles size 4.

weight loss by osmosis

Don't you think there's something wrong with sitting on the couch watching the Biggest L0ser while munching on these?

It reminds me of the times I sit and watch my exercise videos.

Success with my strategy so far... nada!

Weekend highlights

I was awakened early Friday morning to the news that my co-worker had her baby early that morning... 5.5 wks early. 4 pounds, 14 ounces. Mom and babe are doing well although the little tiny thing will have to stay in the hospital for a while until she gains some wait and can suck, swallow, and breath - what a job!
I took a photo of her tiny little foot that she like to keep outside the blanket...awww so cute. Her little foot was only slightly bigger than my thumb. She's tiny!


















As noted by Kitt, Lannie thinks she can fly - and does a darn good job of it. Friday I got up, called my friend, then she and I and our pack of poodles went to doggie disneyland. They always have such a good time.

I miss my dad

You may have noticed that I've changed my moniker to Beeb. I like it. It reminds me of my dad. That was his nickname for me and I rarely hear it anymore except for occasionally from my Uncle Herb.
Today would be my dad's 74th birthday I wish he was here to celebrate. Unfortunatly he suffered from diabetes, heart disease, a stroke and after 10 hard, amazing, tenacious years, he succumbed to his illness in 2002. I miss him still. Sometimes it seems like yesterday that I heard him laugh - other times it feel like a lifetime.















Here's a picture of my pop during the family beach vacation in 2002. This was the last time I ever saw my him. I wrote a little about it here last July.


Miss you much, Dad.



You may wonder why I don't write about my mom. Some things are still too painful...but someday. She was too amazing not to.

16 and grateful.

Yes, it's been a while.
We'll blame it on adoption fatigue.
Today marks 16 months of waiting in line - otherwise known as my 16 month LIDiversary. Glad to be in line, but simply fatigued.
That could partly be due to my long day of travel returning from a fabulous trip to the Pacific NW.
I want to give a quick thanks a bunch to my hosts, Kelli, Millicent, and FDCheif. And, a miss you to them and the other gatherers, as well.
I especially want to give a HUGE thanks to my dear friend Kitt who lovingly cared for the pooches while I was visitin'. She did a great job of keeping me informed with near daily postings of their adventures.
nuff for now - more to come

suggestions welcome....

So, I'm tired of my kitchen...
If you look at the post below...several down.. where I'm brazenly displaying my filthy kitchen...you'll see... It's tired... The baby blue laminate countertops must go - perhaps should have gone when I ripped the matching blue-flowered wallpaper down 7 years ago. Funny- I've lived with this for the last 7 years and have been fine with it. Recently, it's begun to drive me crazy.
So, in hopes of a "cheap" kitchen lift I decided to upgrade the appliances, paint the cabinets and get a new countertop. Here's where suggestions are welcome... I have a rhubarb colored accent wall with butter yellow on the other walls. what color should I paint the cabinets (keeping resale in mind) and what kind of countertops. I know granite is the popular choice, but I'm open to other options (think "cool", but perhaps less expensive than granite).
I will be living in chaos for a while.. The new fridge is being delivered Friday. It's going in a new spot - where the stove is. the stove will move to the refrigerator's old home. The "cheap" part of this went by the wayside, when I got the electricians bid for moving the outlets (electric range) and actually purchasing the stainless refrigerator and above the range microwave... YIKES!! I will be able to see the old wallpaper once the switch is made because the old fridge is such a HOSS, I couldn't move it to remove the wallpaper or paint behind it. Once I do that, I'm sure I'll have to give a new coat of paint to the entire kitchen. I'm also waiting just a bit to upgrade the stove and dishwasher so I'll have the old bisque ones for a while longer. It will be interesting...
So, come on ya'll. Help me out, get your creative interior design juices flowing, and give me some cabinet color & countertop suggestions... (Another thing to keep in mind is that the house was built in 1909 - too contemporary and it won't work - a nice eclectic blend of traditional and contemporary, now that's my style)


Oh, and if you're interested... I did end up frogging the lace scarf and starting over again - many times It's now going well and I am on clue #3 - where the rest of the group is on clue #5. slow but sure, my friends - remember the turtle!

To Frog, or not...

Yea,
I know. I said no new projects until I finished some UFO's. Well, that was way back last fall and I've yet to finish any of those UFOs. My knitting came to a screeching halt. So to freshen it up a little, I just started this:







I, along with 6700 other folks from around the globe, signed up for MS3 (the mystery stole knit-along #3).
It states in plain English that it's probably not the best pattern for beginning lace knitters, but you can't scare me! I bravely signed up even though I've never knit lace, knit with beads, or knit from a chart. It really isn't bad, you just take it one stitch at a time, the problem is that I'm not sure if it looks ok. It looks a little funky to me.
Others have theirs posted on their blogs and they have nice even stitches, well-defined lace..simply beautiful. Mine.. well, before I pinned it for the photos, a dirty handkerchief came to mind. Pinning it made the stitch definition a little better, but I'm just not sure... So, any lace knitters out there? Any suggestions? To frog or not to frog, that is the question. I'm wondering if my gauge is off. I'm using Addi turbo lace needles 3.25mm (US 3). Should I go up to a 4?

Any thoughts?

Good News!

Look Here
(look at the "Document processing section on the bottom right)
It's good news for a change!

Moonbeam, Your mama is China approved - May has made it through the review room!

Don't judge me...

Ok,
I woke this morning, walked into the kitchen, and the carnage!! What were the poodles up to last night? I swear it's disgusting...look away if you must! Seriously this week got away from me in a big way. but thanks to this slightly cheesy, but effective site, I've discovered I can do anything 15 minutes at a time.
Just watch....

the timer is set











After 15 minutes I'm almost, but not quite finished.
Set timer for another 15 minutes...










Voila!!
This is a shiny kitchen including emptied and reloaded dishwasher, hand wased dishes that weren't dishwasher appropriate, scrubbed counter-top and sink, rugs airing out, floor swept and mopped. Quite a turn-around.
I can usually maintain this, but this week has gotten the better of me!










Next!.... It never ends

Moonbeam's Quilt

The quilt...

The yahoo groups were great, excellent as a matter of fact, at exchanging squares. Has anyone else found it a challenge to get them from the people who are in your life - in real life? I think I've received about 5 or 6 from the 50ish letters that were sent. I'll send another one soon, to give them a little encouragement.
I was home earlier in June and gave the fabric pieces that I have so far to my SIL, the amazing Tracy, who has graciously agreed to make the quilt top for me. Here is a picture of the patten she thinks would work well with the many different types of fabric - frankly, I'm a little blown away because it looks terribly complicated. (Click on the picture to see it a little better) What do you guys think?


















Here is a photo of a sample block that she made getting used to the technique. she's really amazing! Moonbeam and I will be so lucky to have this beautiful quilt!

Sunday Bake 3

This week (due to my expanding waistline and gloomy mood) I decided not to indulge my sweet tooth, but instead to make my standard breakfast. It’s easy, takes two minutes to heat up, and sticks with me easily until lunch.

Here it is:
MorningStar Farms sausage, egg whites, spinach and 2% cheese.
Throw together in a 9x13 pan, bake until browned (about 40 min).
I cut it into 8 sections and have one section each day with a piece of toast for the next 8 days (they freeze well)


















Mother's day is not my gig. It still makes me very sad and is a day I spend missing my mom. This year I tried to stay busy and weeded my flower beds. There is a nasty flora predator that grows thick in my yard that goes by the name of bindweed. Is anyone familiar? I hate the stuff, it's too deep to get all the roots without damaging my plants so I pull up as much of the roots as I can - which the master gardeners tell me that I'm just giving it a good pruning. anyway, it was a good way to spend mother's day this year, weeding... pulling out the crap and throwing it away. I know there's a metaphor for my life in this and a lesson to be learned. Since I'm not an eloquent writer, I'll leave it to you to put in your own words. We all have weeds...right?

Sunday Bake 1 & 2

Sundays have become "baking day". I've been in a crazy baking mood lately and my waistline is soon going to show it!
Last Sunday I tried a new recipe for chocolate chili cake that I got out of the newspaper. It calls for New Mexico chili, which I'm not sure exactly what that is, so I used regular chili powder instead... interesting flavor - the texture was great.
I took it to work to mixed reviews. I think the look is all chocolate which makes that first bite a little startling.




Today is raspberry streusel muffins. I got this recipe from a mile-high baking class. We were told to overfill the muffin cup for that bakery-made look. Too bad I don't have a scratch and sniff blog so you can get the full effect of the charred smell of flour, sugar, eggs, and raspberries spilling over the pan onto the heating element below. The house is filled with smoke, but I think the jelly-roll pan quickly placed under the muffin pan has saved a call to the fire department and hopefully saved the tray of muffins!












They came out more like flying saucers than muffins with a flat muffin top. They do taste good, but they don't look too pretty!




Here's the recipe - but realize it's adjusted for baking at altitude.

Streusel topping:
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c flour 1/2 t cinnamon
2 T cold butter
1/2 c walnuts (optional)

Muffins
4 c flour
1 c sugar
2 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
2 eggs
2 c buttermilk
2/3 c canola oil
1 1/3 c fresh or frozen raspberries

Make streusel topping: place ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until the mixture has a fine cumbly texture. Set aside

Preheat oven to 350

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a bow; set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk & oil.

Mix the fruit into the flour mixture so that each piece is lightly coated with flour.

Pour the egg mixture into the flour and gently fold together. The batter should be lumpy but make sure the dry ingredients are throughly moistened. (don't overwork)

Spoon muffin batter into prepared muffin cups to the top of the cup. Sprinkle with streusel topping.

Bake 20-25 min or until the tops are golden brown.

allow to cool before removing from the muffin tins

makes 24 (12 in my case)

Garden tour

Another jaunt around the yard -I'm a little obsessed right now...
the lilacs are blooming and smell wonderful - they're just outside my front door.




































The bed near the street has many xeric plants - these are cotoneaster - a cute little shrub that gets little pink blossoms in the spring and red berries in the fall AND is evergreen. In the back is the greenery from tulips, a tuft of turkish veronica (purply-blue flowering groundcover), and a potentilla - applewood variety (small shrub with white flowers)

My attempt at veggies with elephant garlic as the only specimen so far.




















Leo with his hedgehog toy (sorry, Nic) running through my little backyard, chantacleer pear tree in the background. And, another Iris.




















The volunteer mint that's growing near my birdbath and a few hostas that are just coming up.
A closer, but blurry look at the potentilla.





















I love Spring!

help wanted

I'm having a little trouble placing text around photos...anyone know how to make it easier? Also, any tutorials on how to help my links list - it became a total mess after switching to "new blogger" Anyone?...anyone?... connie?...anyone?

Happy May Day

Having gotten the idea from Buttercup and in honor of May day I thought I'd post a few of the little spring gems that are just starting to bloom around here...


aahhhahahaha..... Just my luck! I try to post photos of some of the flowers in my yard and blogger suddenly won't let me upload any more photos! Hee hee of course they would let me post this one! I really do have others, not just weeds - although the weeds are mighty healthy right now! Cracks me up!!!

Happy May Day!














Update:
I guess blogger isn't going to give me a break - I finally can upload pictures, but they're sideways...oh well.
Here's an Iris that's now in full bloom...













some tiny species tulips....















What's growing in your garden?

Hope springs...

Hope deferred makes the heart sick.-Proverbs

That's the way I've been feeling about the wait lately - sick and hopeless. But then my friend received her referral... Yah hoo. A balm to the sting of only two days of referrals. Then we had a shower for Samantha and little cutie Carly was there. Oh, yummy little girls. renewed hope. This blasted wait in line really does bear incredible fruit.

check out the cuties....


Carly loves ice cream...
















I can't wait to sqeeze this little one...maybe in June!

11 months down... hmmmm

11 months and honestly I’m not sure what to say about it. I find myself shifting from thrilled that 11 months are behind me - meaning that many less in front of me, to crazy thoughts on how the wait may extend even longer than the now expected 24 months to, god forbid, 36 months (hopefully the later is just crazy wait anxiety and will not come to pass!)
Like everyone else waiting in line for CCAA to call our names, the 2 day referral period this month – going from 10/24-10/26 (for those few of you who read this who aren’t involved in the adoption process yourself this means that China matches babies to waiting families monthly on average. This month they only matched two days of LID – log-in dates – The lowest number in Chinese International Adoption history!!
This was a bitter pill. However.. Just after reading the e-mail informing me of the pitifully low number of referral days, I received an altogether different e-mail. One of my single adopty friends who is Chinese received her expedited referral. Oh happy day! Once I saw the referral photo of the most amazingly beautiful girl I’ve seen in some time, the sting was gone, hope renewed.
Yes I’ve been waiting 11 months of what I originally thought was a 10-12 month wait, and yes the referrals this month made me only two days closer to bringing my daughter home, but my friend’s referral made me smile, it gave me joy and it restored a little hope that although it won’t be soon, someday my daughter will be home.

Warning: get your kleenex

...then click on the link....

Families meeting their children in China

This is all I want.
This is why 2 days of referrals is so difficult
This feels further and further away