Alright fine. I admit it. I'm getting excited. I know I shouldn't, there are definitely no warranties when dealing with China, but I am letting myself have some hope. Today I looked up flights on Cathay Pacific and looked at the difference between business class and economy. I also looked up some hotels in Guangzhou and day dreamed about what I would pack for the trip.
I also fancied up my blog a bit. Nice, huh?
Why am I doing this, I could be as far as 5 months away, even more possibly. Oh well, it feels good, I'm going to go with it. :)

Goodbye February!

Wow!
China matched 5 more days and got through February 28, 2006. Since there are only 28 days in February that means we are finally done with that stinking month!! (and no, it wasn't a leap year. I checked!) Next batch of referrals will start with March 1st. And Graham and I are March 10th. I don't know how many days they'll match, but I'm hoping for 5. Well, I'm actually hoping for 10, but that won't happen, so 5 days is a pretty safe number to hope for.
It's weird that they are finally in our month. After 2 years and 10 months of waiting, they are finally into March 2006.
OK, here I go getting my hopes up again, you'd think I'd learn, but I think I can say that we will get our referral within 4 months!

A Christmas Time Pity Party

I was thinking today that this will be the last Christmas without our Mia. But then I thought back. We did our home study in 2004 and at Christmas time we were just waiting for our social worker to write up the report and send it into USCIS. That Christmas wasn't bad because we hadn't been waiting long and we knew it would be our last Christmas without Mia. Then it was Christmas of 2005, well, we were a little bummed, but we were sure we'd get Mia that year and this would be the last Christmas without our daughter. Do you see where I'm going with this? I'm sure you do. Then came Christmas of 2006, 2007 and now 2008. It was an OK day, but I was kinda weepy. I told Graham this will be the last Christmas of this roller coaster! Next year we will either have Mia as part of our family or we will have dropped out of the adoption. So now I'm going to self medicate with Christmas cookies and fudge.
Merry Christmas everyone!

I'm going to go to the gym tomorrow for the first time since my knee surgery. It's still swollen and hurts some, but I really want to try! I'm going to take it slow and easy. If all I can do is 10 minutes on the bike, then that's fine. And if I feel any pain then I'm stopping! Graham said he'd go with me for moral support. I'm really excited, but I'm nervous too. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!

Vacation

Ahhh, the start of my two week school vacation! I so needed this break!
Also, we should be hearing rumors soon about the next batch. This will really start feeling real when we get out of February.
Oh, and I almost adopted a puppy at the pound the other day.
This baby better get here quick!
:)

6 more days

The CCAA matched six more days. That means we are 15 calender days away from being matched. If China matches 5 days a month then we would have our referral in 3 months. But if they do some two or three day matches in there it will take much longer. So lets just say we're somewhere around 3-8 months away. Hopefully.

waiting

Still waiting to see how many referrals China makes this month. Hopefully we'll hear something this week.

I decided I wanted to walk around a bit and see how I do. So Graham and I went to Costco to picked up a few things and it went well. I was slow on my crutches, and it's throbbing now that I'm home, but it doesn't hurt nearly as much as I thought. Of course that could be because the I got the bejesus scared out of me and that fear is overriding any pain I have. OK, so we got back to the car and Graham unloaded our stuff and then before he took the cart back he grabbed a handful of dog treats and threw them on the ground. About .0056 seconds later at least 20 ravens swooped down to fight over the food. These aren't blackbirds or crows, these are huge ravens. Well I was sitting in the passenger side and all of a sudden I hear whoomp, and standing on the hood of our car was one of those huge ravens looking at me! It got right up to the front windshield then started walking back and forth from the drivers side to my side, but it was staring at me the entire time. I felt like he was a mob boss and if I valued my windshield wipers I better pay up. And, like the mob, these birds don't scare easy. Saying "Shoo" or "get" or knocking on the windshield and saying "goawaygoawaygoawaygoaway" doesn't scare them at all. So I folded to the pressure, I grabbed a handful of dog treats and opened the door a crack and throw them onto the ground. Again, there was a feeding frenzy, but Graham was back by that time and we drove away before that raven could come and intimidate me again.
Alright, I'm a big sissy and now I can add one more animal that lives in Alaska that I'm afraid of. Here's the list so far:

• bears (goes without saying)
• moose
• whales
• porpoises
• seals
• walruses
• sea lions
• porcupine
• otters
• wolves
• bald eagles
• ravens
• people from Wasilla (just kidding)

no rumors yet

It's getting close to the time that we start hearing rumors about the next set of referrals from China. Hopefully this week we'll hear something. Thinking about referrals reminded me why I had knee surgery in the first place. I wanted to have enough time between the operation and our trip to China so that my knee would be back 100%. I was doing it for Mia, and that made me feel a little better.

Surgery Update

So I had the big knee surgery last Thursday. Everyone at the hospital was great! My biggest decision was did I want a spinal or to be put under. While talking about the options with my anesthesiologist, he mentioned that if I had a spinal I could watch the operation on the closed circuit TV. Well that did it, General Anesthesia it is. I did not want to watch my own surgery. Who would?? I guess some people.
They found two loose bone chips the size of molars under my patella. They thought there was just one, but there were two. They let me take them home in a jar.
Well, I woke up without a problem, no nausea. The nurse told me that I was given a lot of pain killers, so I won't feel too much pain, but to keep up on the medication. Keep ahead of the pain. Even set an alarm so I could take the pills in the middle of the night. She also said to take my pain meds with food or I'd get sick. Easy directions which I totally ignored. Because I'm brilliant! By Friday night I was in so much pain I was throwing up. By Saturday I realized I really did need to take my meds with food.
So now things are a little more under control. My knee hurts, but it's not nearly as bad as when I injured it. I need crutches to get anywhere and there are time I move it wrong and yell out in pain. Which brings me to my dogs. Well, dog. My Tessa, my herding dog is extremely concerned. Everytime I yelp in pain she's right there by my side. She doesn't know what my crutches are and she's not sure she trusts them. She follows me everywhere. Even in the middle of the night and she's dead asleep, I'll go to the bathroom and the next think I know she's coming through the door to check on me. She is also checking my breath. She does this when I'm sick with a cold or the flu. She puts her little nose by my mouth and sniffs my breath when I breath out. She'll do this for about 30 seconds to a minute then walk away. I'm not sure what she does with that information, but it's interesting. She also smells the bandages over my knee and whines. She's such a sweet concerned little dog.
Fred on the other hand, well, I don't think he's noticed anything different.
He's so pretty.
I'm out of school until after Thanksgiving and then hopefully I'll be good enough to go back to work. I'll be on crutches, but it'll be nice to get off this couch and see my co-workers and students!
Oh, and Graham has been beyond wonderful. He's gotten me everything I need and has been supportive and sweet. He's been almost as good as Tess.
:P

I'm back

I made it through surgery. I"ll post all the gory details later.

Pre-op

I just got back from my pre-op appointment. It went surprisingly well. Things have changed a lot in the last 20 years since my first surgery.
First, I talked with a really nice nurse who told me that I'll get my own room with a TV and I'll be wrapped in warm towels and can listen to my iPod or bring DVDs if I want. I'll have that same room the whole time I'm there, before and after the operation. The nurse said sometimes things run late and this way I'll be comfortable and preoccupied so I'm not too nervous. But if I am too nervous, they have many wonderful drugs that will put me at ease. Those were the words I wanted to hear.
Wow, I don't have cable or any broadcast TV at home, I'm kinda exited about that part.
Second, I may not even have to have P/T which is great news. Last time I had to go through 6 months of Physical Therapy hell.
So good news all around.
I'm starting to relax a little.

Just keep rubbing

Now I understand why people tip their massage therapist. I always wondered why they did that. I mean, I wouldn't tip my dentist or my doctor after he gave me a flu shot. Why would you tip someone after causing you so much pain?
I just had my first relaxing massage. Now I get it.
I have scoliosis and it causes pain and burning in my shoulders and neck. I have a prescription from the doctor to get therapeutic massage to help with pain management. And it does help, but the massages hurt like hell. The therapists use their elbows and the heels of their hands with all their weight behind it. I'll often make a little whimper or say "Ow, that pressure's a little hard" and I'm often told to "just breath through the pain". But the next day the burning and pain is gone and I can turn my neck again. That makes it worth it.
But I have my surgery Thursday and I decided to get a relaxing spa-like massage and Oh My God!! First of all, I paid for it myself, I didn't bill my insurance for it. And it just felt so good. She worked on my feet and hands and back, neck, head. I almost fell asleep. I didn't want to get up off the table when it was over. I don't know how I'm going to go back to my other massages after this.
And yes, I tipped. I tipped well!

knee surgery in three days...

...aaaand let the stress eating begin.

I want lights!!

It's so dark and gloomy in Juneau. Even though technically the sun is up here more than Fairbanks or Nome, it feels much much darker with all the mountains and clouds and gloom. So I want a tree full of colorful lights in our living room! And tomorrow we're putting up the Christmas tree! Plus, when I'm recovering from knee surgery it will be pretty to look at! And don't tell me it's too early. I DON'T CARE!!

Ouch

Yep, it turned out that China matched two days.
But let's move on to more cheery things, like the knee surgery I'm having next week! I tired to back out of it a couple of weeks ago. I told Graham, "I'm just not comfortable doing this, I'm calling it off." He talked me out of it and now I'm stuck getting this stupid surgery. It's next Thursday and I took Friday off. I was hoping to go back to work on Monday, but I took it the next two days off in case I need them. I plan to get lots of movies and magazines to keep me entertained! There might be some ice cream involved as well.
I've been doing really good working out and watching what I eat. I've lost weight and have gotten stronger, so hopefully my recovery time will be fast.
Arrgh I don't want to do this!!

Two Days

China matched two days. There's no way we'll get our baby in the spring. Maybe summer or fall. Maybe.

Still waiting...

Really, China, take your time. No rush. Don't tell us how many days you've matched until you are good and ready to.
I'll be here.
Not going insane.

Arrrg

I want to know how many days they've matched and how much closer to March we are!! This is driving me crazy! I think I liked it better when I was numb.

No news

No new news, just waiting to see what happens. There is a rumor that China might be matching and referrals usually come pretty soon after that. But only one agency has reported it, so it's still just rumor. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky this month??

My side hurts

Ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha gasp gasp ha ha ha ha ha haha haha ha ha ha ha ha Bwaaa haaa haha ha ha ha gasp gasp hee hee ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha *gasp*, So, you want to hear the most recent rumor?? My March LID chat room says that the next batch will be 15 days. Ya RIGHT! Like THAT'S going to happen. It's like the punchline to a joke. Oh my *giggle* I mean it's just so *hee hee* hilarious! *giggle giggle* ha ha *snort* Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha *snort* ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha

Meme

I stole this from my friend Deb...

Favorites
1. Favorite color: Orange
2. Favorite candy: Twix
3. Favorite fragrance: baking bread (OK, not really. My favorite smell is cigarette smoke. Oh man I miss smoking.)
4. Favorite food: Pizza
5. Favorite holiday: Thanksgiving
6. Favorite season: Winter
7. Favorite store: The used book store
Whats
1. What was the last thing you had to drink? Raspberry Diet Snapple Iced Tea
2. What time did you go to bed? Same time I always do, 9 pm
3. What is the first thing you thought this morning? I want pancakes
4. What are you wearing? PJ bottoms, t-shirt, flannel shirt, slippers
5. What was the last thing you said out loud? “I think I’m getting a cold.”
6. What are you looking forward to the most? Our referral
Haves
1. Have you ever kissed anyone on a dare? Yep, in 8th grade.
2. Have you ever been arrested? No.
3. Have you ever made someone so mad they broke something? Not that I know of.
4. Have you ever had your heart broken? No, not really
5. Have you ever driven without a license? No. I never even sat behind the wheel until my first day in driver’s ed. My mom wouldn’t even let me back out of the driveway.
Dos
1. Do you have trust issues? I don’t think so.
2. Do you have any tattoos? No, I’ve thought about it, but don’t know what I’d get.
3. Do you hate being alone? No, in fact I really enjoy being alone!
4. Do you wear your seat belt? Yes, all the time.
Hows
1. How many pillows do you have on your bed? 6
2. How long does it take you to shower?
I only take baths, and I take looong baths every night. I can sit in the tub and read for an hour.
3. How do you feel when someone kisses you on the forehead? Kinda annoyed, I mean I'm not 10
Whos
1. Who was the last person to see you cry? Graham. I’ve been very emotional the past few days.
2. Who was the last person you hugged? Graham
Has
1. Has anyone ever licked your face? Fred and Tess give me doggy kisses all the time :)

6 more days matched

The CCAA matched 6 more days. That's pretty good. So they are now up to February 15th, 2006. We're March 10, 2006. So we are 23 days away. If they continue to do 6 days a month, we would get out match in January or February. Now things could change at any time and I could easily have to wait 6-8 more months, but I'm thinking positive today.

Here we go again...

The CCAA mailed something yesterday. People are pretty sure they are referrals. If that's true then we should find out tomorrow how many days were matched this month. We're on February 9, 2006 right now. There have been rumors that there will be only one day matched and rumors that maybe more than 6 days will be matched.
Keep your fingers crossed!

Bragging Rights

This post? This post is going to be about my cholesterol. Why? Because my cholesterol Kicks Ass that's why!
Last weekend Graham and I went to a health fair at our "mall" so I could get my blood pressure checked (because my blood pressure does not kick ass). And they also did a cholesterol test.
You want your fasting cholesterol to be below 150. Mine is 64.
Triglycerides you want below 125. Mine are 72.
My HDL was not as great. Women want theirs to be above 55 and mine is 52.
Total blood cholesterol should be less than 200. My total is 131! Woo Hoo.
I called my mom to brag.
"It's probably because I'm a vegetarian" I said.
"Don't be so smug." She answered. "Your grandma's numbers were amazingly low even in her 90's. And mine are low and I am definitely not a vegetarian. You just inherited good cholesterol genes."
Well, I'd rather have inherited the size 4 genes, but this is good too.
Oh, and my blood pressure that I was worried about. It was 110/80. Not so bad. I guess all my working out and eating right for my knee surgery has paid off a bit!

I miss that place

This was an article in the Fairbanks News-Miner. It made a bunch of other newspapers, even the New York Times. My connection? I taught in Venetie for over five years. Nathan was one of my students in preschool and kindergarten.
Sigh...

Venetie man uses chain saw to steal tobacco
By Chris Freiberg
Published Thursday, September 18, 2008

FAIRBANKS -- A Venetie man is accused of using a chain saw to break into the village’s store and stealing thousands of dollars worth of tobacco and candy.
Nathan Jones Henry, 19, has been charged with second-degree burglary and second-degree theft, both felonies.
A manager called Alaska State Troopers on Monday morning after discovering that the items were missing and finding a 3-foot hole in one side of the log building that had apparently been cut by a chain saw.
A short time later, the manager spotted two cases of cigarettes outside Henry’s home. When Henry was questioned about them, he claimed to have no knowledge of how they got there.
A man accompanying the manager located two more crates of cigarettes as well as candy and chewing tobacco in a back room of the home.
When questioned by a trooper, Henry at first said he was sleeping and didn’t know how the items got there, but he later admitted to taking them, according to a criminal complaint filed in court. He also told the trooper that some items he left next to the store had been taken by someone else while he was transporting other items to his house.
The cigarettes alone were valued at more than $2,400. Prices are typically higher in villages off the road system, and a pack of cigarettes goes for more than $8 in Venetie, a small community of about 200 people north of Fairbanks.

Dog tales

We have a history of bad luck with trimming our dogs nails. Actually it's only Tess that has no more patience with us. Graham cut her to her quick twice and if we even think about trimming her nails she runs for the hills. We've tried giving her treats and trying to trim just one nail. We've tried sneaking up on her while she's asleep and trimming just one nail. We've tried tough love and holding her down while we try to just trim one nail. She has out smarted us ever time. So I was thrilled when I found this. I emailed Graham right away.
This is his response:

Is it anything other than perfectly silent? Will she be able to see it? Does it smell strange? Will we act in a strange manner, like we're trying to hide something when walking up to her? If it yes to any of those questions, Tess will gladly rip our throats out.

So since it's not an invisible magic nail trimmer, I guess we can't get it.
Oh, and I wanted to add; Tess would never rip our throats out. She's not a violent dog. She's much more likely to smother us in our sleep.

Here's another dog anecdote from my husband. I was so glad I wasn't there:

So Fred, my 10-almost 11 year old husky just treed a bear. Of course, I don't think he even saw the dang thing, just sniffing the ground trying to figure out where a strange scent was coming from. He probably got to within a couple of feet. My younger dog just back from getting a tennis ball, went up to within feet feet of the bear and just sort of stared. Sort of a "don't even think about chasing my ball "type of stare. She then shook her head a bit to jangle the bells on her collar and that started the bear up the tree a couple of more inches. No barking, no growling, and most importantly--no eating of the dog owner involved. Won't be going to the Dredge Lake trail area for our walks for a bit; don't want the pesky things figuring out how much of a coward the dogs actually are. And maybe treed was to strong a word, more like it was standing up with paws on the trunk ready to bolt, climb, or consume depending on what happened next. Guess calling the dogs back and continuing down the trail was the right thing to do.

Get it out of my head!

So does anyone else remember this TV show? This show that my brother watched because he liked it and I just watched in horror.

Chico the Rainmaker

It's about a shrunken disembodied head that is driven around in a front bike basket by some kids with whom he fights crime.
Nobody?
Just me then.
Great.

$3,269

You know where you shouldn't be the day after you get the Permanent Fund Dividend? After every person in Alaska gets $3,269? Well, I'll tell you. You absolutely should not be at Costco or Fred Meyers. It was an absolute mad house! I think I'm going to have to take a nap to recover.

%@#*&

Crap.
I have to have knee surgery. Again.
20 years ago when I was 19, I was in a bar dancing with a guy. We got a little silly and he dipped me. I fell to the floor like a stone. At first people thought I was kidding, then my friend took my head and looked at my face and said,
"Crap, she's not kidding!"
I had to be carried to my friend's car. Then we had to quickly stop at White Hen to get some gum. Hey, we were 19, we thought we could totally snow the ER doctor that our breath didn't smell like beer. No no, that's just the new Trident flavor there.
Then we got to the ER. They treated us like a couple of drunken teenagers. We waited and waited. Pretty soon my foot started to hurt. I took my shoe off and realized it was swollen. When I got into the exam room for the Dr. to look at me, I finally saw my knee. It was huge! I couldn't even put my jeans back on because my knee was so big. Luckily my friend had an extra skirt in her car (don't ask) so I just had to go home without a shoe.
I was told I dislocated my knee and it wasn't going back in right. Thank God I was drunk because the way that doctor was wrenching my knee back and forth, I almost passed out.
But I figured I'd be fine. No, I couldn't walk on it and needed crutches and couldn't find any shoes or pants to fit because of the swelling, but I'd be OK.
The next day after the bone doctor got a look at my X-rays I got a call. I would not be OK. I needed surgery. The very next day.
Crap.
It was the worst pain I had even been in. My leg was black and blue from my hip to my toes. I ended up on crutches for three months and physical therapy for six. I have had swelling and pain ever since. But I never got it checked out because I never wanted to be in that much pain again.
But my doctor told me that if something was really wrong, it's better get it fixed now than wait until I'm 60. So I went to the bone and joint clinic. An X-ray and an MRI show that I have a rather large bone chip floating around my patella causing me much pain and locking up my knee at times. Apparently I needed surgery to remove it.
While I was hyperventilating my husband scheduled the surgery November 20th. I should be off the crutches in 6-8 weeks. This way if we were really going to get our baby this spring I should be completely recovered.
I DO NOT want to do this. I'd rather be in pain for the rest of my life. The swelling isn't that bad. I'll deal with it when I'm 60.
Crap.

I Promise

OK, this is the only Sarah Palin thing I'll put on my blog because I don't want to make my friend Anna's head explode.

But it's pretty funny:

Is McCain Palin's Bitch?

Holy Cow!

Or as my kids in the village would say "Holy Cats!"
They actually did it. China matched nine whole days. So they are now matched through January 9, 2006. As my friend pointed out, I am now 29 days away from my LID date (March 10, 2006). So, 29 days. If every month they match 5 more days then we'd get our referral in...um, 6 months, right? 5x6=30. I am doing the math right, aren't I. What am I thinking? There's probably some special Chinese math where you have to add a 0 to the end of your answer so it would really be 60 months.
But if I'm right, then we'd get referred around Feb/March.
Holy Cats!

Huh??

So, I was not expecting any referrals this month because of the Olympics. Really, I was OK with that. In fact at one time the rumor was that there may not be any matches for two months. I was expecting and prepared for that.
Now I hear that China is sending out matches this month and it's matched up to February 9, 2006 (remember, I'm March 10, 2006). So they may have matched 9 days!
We should find out if this rumor is true by tomorrow or Wednesday.
Now, do you hear that, that little something in my post? Do you know what that is? It's hope, trying to squeak through the doom and gloom of my adoption experience, and it's very very dangerous. As soon as it shows up things turn south fast.
So I totally expect this rumor to be false and we won't get any referrals until October and then they will be for only two days.
So there! Take that, stupid hope.

I hear Deaf people

I start school tomorrow and while getting ready I remembered a conversation I had with someone during the last school year.
It was a friend of a friend, we didn't know each other and were making small talk.
She asked me what I do and I told her I taught Deaf kids. She gave me a funny look and asked how I did that. I told her I went to the schools that have Deaf kids and work with them and their teachers. She had this incredulous look on her face and said
"You teach kids that are dead??"
Believe it or not this is not the first time a person has made this mistake, so I wasn't too shocked.
"No," I said "I teach kids who can't hear. They are Deaf."
"Oh!!" she said while turning red.
At least she didn't ask me if I could read Braille.
(and yes, that happens a lot. Way more then the dead thing)

Here we go again...

Well, summer's over and I start back to school this Wednesday. This week is only for the teachers and the kids start next Tuesday.
I don't mind going back to school so much, but, well, I thought we'd have our kiddo by now. It's the milestones that get you. Another Christmas without our daughter, another start of the school year and don't get me started on Mother's Day.
But I think 2009 is going to be our year.
Hopefully this time next year I'll be blogging about trying to find childcare and looking forward to going back to work to be able to talk to grownups again. And is I do complain or whine, you have my permission to give me a dope slap up the side of my head!
:)

Fewer kids available for adoption by foreigners??

From China Daily

"Fewer Chinese children are available for adoption by foreigners because more affluent families at home have started adopting them, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) said on Tuesday."The number of Chinese couples applying to adopt children has risen substantially in recent years," said Wang Suying, a division chief of MCA's social welfare and social affairs department, which oversees adoption"

I wish this was true, I really do. I wish there weren't so many baby girls in need of homes.

But basically, this is crap.

However if this is the only article about Chinese adoptions that comes out during the Olympics, then I'm extremely grateful!

Um, I meant 38 days

Well, China surprised us an actually matched through January 31, 2006. This is not as much as it seems because the CCAA was closed from Jan 28-Feb 5 for Chinese New Year, so they didn't make any matches those days. Anyway, it's all complicated and confusing, but if your keeping count by days, and not matches (and I'm pretty much keeping count by days) this means China has to match 38 days before they get to me.

Now there are 41

It looks like China is making referrals up to January 28, 2006. I'm logged in on March 10, 2006. I had 43 days between where China has matched to my log in date. This month China matched 2 (two) more days, so now there are 41 days between me and referral. A two day match is really small, but since I didn't think they'd match at all I guess I should be happy. Just a reminder, when I was logged in with China on March 10, 2006, China was matching 15-20 days a month. If it were that rate now, I would be about three months away from a referral. But with a 2-5 day referral every month I'm between 9 to 21 months away.
On a happier note. I believe I have won my 4 month battle with our USCIS office!
A little history, USCIS was coming down to Juneau to do some fingerprinting and I had tried to get a appointment to update my fingerprints for a certain document I have to have for the adoption. If I could get it done in Juneau, then I could save the airfare that it would cost to get Graham and I up to Anchorage and have it done there. Airplane tickets and car rental could cost close to $800, so I really wanted to take advantage of them flying down to Juneau. I sent in the request and didn't hear back from them. I called and left messages, still no word. I started calling three times a day (usually in tears) begging them to call me back so I could get an appointment. Didn't hear a thing.
So we called our Senator's office and asked for help.
USCIS called back that afternoon.
However, when we went to get fingerprinted the agent in charge was not amused that we called the senator's office on him and made many rude and snarky comments. So when we didn't get the document back in a couple of weeks I thought it might be because we pissed him off. Weeks turned into months and about a month ago I started calling and leaving a message every week. Today was the last time. I was going to leave a message that said he had not returned our paperwork in a timely manner and had not called to say he needed any further information or why this was taking so long. If he didn't contact me by the end of the day I would take this up again with the governor's office and find out who his supervisor is so I could make a formal complaint.
However when I called today I actually got the agent in charge and he told me it went out in the mail yesterday and that I should have it by Monday. He didn't offer why it took so long and didn't apologise either. He just said if it wasn't there by Monday to call him back. I wanted to find out why he was being such a dick, but every sentence I formed in my head either started or ended with Motherfucker, so I just said I would look for it on Monday and hung up.
As angry as I get at China, I have to say I'm just as pissed if not more so at our government. Why, why, why do they have to make everything so hard?

Reflected glory

We hear a lot about celebrities coming to Juneau, but I haven't seen any yet. However I do have a good story. Harrison Ford, his wife Calista Flockhart and their son were in Juneau over the fourth of July. I know this because my neighbor is a guide and took them out on his boat! How cool is that? The marina called my neighbor up and said a couple wanted to go out on the 4th of July to whale watch and look at glaciers. He said, no, he wanted to spend the day with his family. They then told him that the people who wanted to go out with him was Harrison Ford and his family. He said well, let me call my wife. He called her and asked if he should, also, did she know who Harrison Ford was?? His wife was very excited and said he should (then she explained who he was, Han Solo, Indiana Jones!) So he did and he said they were really nice, polite and fun to take out!
I hear that Bill Gates comes into town a lot with his family because he can relax and doesn't get recognized. He wears Extra Tuffs and flannel and people just think he's a local. My friend works at a bookstore downtown and has sold him some books before. She said she didn't even notice him until he signed the credit card receipt. Then she looked and said there was no mistaking that it was him.
If I could run into anyone on the street it would be Jimmy Buffett! I wouldn't ask for a picture or autograph or anything, but it would be cool to see him up close!
Who have you or would you want to run into on the street?

August 2, 2005

Three years ago my brother past away in Iraq. Like people say, life goes on. It happened in the middle of our paperchase for the adoption. Now we are all logged in and just waiting to be matched. I thought my three nephews and sister-in-law would never get over it. But they are on a month long RV trip through the mid-west and stopped to visit my mom and aunt and cousins. They had a great visit and were able to talk about my brother and the three boys asked tons of questions about their dad. It was a good visit for everyone, especially my mom. My father is doing OK. He lives alone and I think it still gets to him a lot, but he seems to be doing better too.
So like people say, it might suck sometimes, but life really does go on.

Retail Therapy

We've decided to get a flat screen HDTV television. Our little $30 tv we got at a garage sale three years ago just isn't doing it for us anymore. So my question to you is; should we go with plasma or LCD? We've researched and most of it says that it's a toss up. Plasma has the possibility of screen burn and LCD doesn't look as good from an angle, lots of talk about "deep blacks" blah blah blah .
We'll probably just go look at price and size and decide from there. But what do you think?

Not this month

Well, a new rumor out there says that China may not make any matches this month since it's so close to the start of the Olympics. We always knew they wouldn't make a match in August since it's during the Olympics, but that means we probably won't get another match until late September. Which would put us two months behind. So if it's true, and they don't do anything for those two months, then we may possible get matched in May 2009. That would be three years and two months of waiting since we logged in. I will be 41 and my husband will be 43.

rain rain rain

This is from the site Up in Alaska. And it's so true. I got my SAD light this weekend to see if it would help my blah mood. And actually, the fact that I had to get out my SAD light in July made me feel worse. I miss Fairbanks.

stuff

Well, China matched 5 more days, which is pretty small. If they stay at this rate we might get a referral in March 2009, which would make it officially 3 years since we logged in with China. Of course the Olympics are coming up in less than a month and I will be holding my breath the entire time hoping no one says anything stupid about the one child policy or how many baby girls are in the orphanages. We don't want to piss of China people! My baby is over there!
In other news, I had a friend from Nome visit. She was down here for a class and we met for dinner. We caught up on all the Nome gossip and it just made me want to jump on a plane and move back up there. I've never lived anywhere so beautiful and fun as Nome. Maybe, someday.
Oh, and I have a dog story; the weather has been nice (for here) so after summer school I take them to the beach where they can swim and chase balls. Oh, and try to attack and kill bald eagles, our national symbol. Yes, I'm so proud of my dogs. Well, they didn't really try to kill it. They like to run along the shore and chase seagulls, (an activity I wholeheartedly support because I hate seagulls) anyway, an eagle was on a rock by the shore and they went after it. Apparently bald eagles don't scare so easily. May have something to do with the five foot wing span and razor sharp talons and beak. It gave out that piercing shriek they make and both dogs stopped in their tracks. I guess they speak eagle because they seemed to understand what it was saying and decided to not bother him anymore. Whats worse is it's not the first time this has happened. My dogs are brilliant.

Nirvana

As of today, I am never eating non-fat sour cream again! I bought a container of real sour cream by accident and thought I was in heaven when I ate my burrito! I don't think I've had real sour cream for years!! It was soooo good! I wonder what other diet foods I'm eating that pale in comparison to the real thing. I started drinking diet pop (Tab) in the 6th grade so I could be like the cool high school girls on diets. I've not had a real soda ever since, that I can remember anyway. Maybe I should try some Dr. Pepper! WooHoo I live life on the edge.

Summer School

I had the last two weeks off, but now it's time to teach summer school. It's not too bad, 8:00-1:00 Mon-Fri for 5 weeks. It will keep me busy and help pay the bills.
Not too much going on in my life to blog about, unless you want to know that I'm working my way through the X-Files. I'm on season 5 now. Mmmmmm David Duchovny, I love you so much.

8-10 days matched

It looks like China matched between 8 and ten days this week, we'll know for sure tomorrow. I actually let myself feel a glimmer of hope (never a smart idea) and looked at some referral pictures of the newly matched babies. They were adorable and I felt sick. I will not be doing that again for a while.
On the upside, the man across the street from us is pulling up roots and stumps from his yard. He ties a chain from his truck to the stump, then drives his trunk until they come out of the ground. It's terribly exciting and all the neighbors have been out to watch him at some point during the day. When he gets a big root up we all cheer and clap.
I'm so easily entertained.

I like it dark and quiet

About 3:00 this morning I had to go to the bathroom. When I got out in the hallway it might as well have been 9:00 in the morning for how bright it was outside. By the time I got back in the bedroom I was totally awake. I shut the door so it was just open a sliver, so the dogs can come in and wake us up in the morning, but then I saw that there was light coming through the sides of my garbage bags that I've taped to the windows to keep the light out. I went over and tore off some clear packing tape that I have on the dresser next to the window for just this reason. I lifted the curtain and the blinds and started taping here and there. All of a sudden I heard,
"Stop it."
Huh? Graham must of mumbled something. Then I heard it again,
"Stop It"
Well, I knew he was half asleep because he never just barks orders at me like that, but still, that was kinda snotty.
I was about to say something, but then decided not to. I didn't have very firm ground to stand on anyway since last time he was snoring like a chainsaw I was fully awake and sat up and said "For the Love of God, Stop Snoring or I'm going to Smother you To Death with your Pillow!!!"

Make it Stop!

It's been sunny here since Friday! And I don't mean "sunny" like most people in Juneau mean "sunny". Normally when people here say it's sunny out it means it's not, at this moment in time, raining. I remember my first year teaching here and overhearing a teacher tell her class to have a nice recess since it was sunny out. I looked outside and it was covered in clouds, not a blue speck of sky to see. I've also learned what a "sucker hole" is. It's when the sky is all cloudy and a then the clouds move a tiny bit and a little hole of blue sky peeks through and then someone (usually a tourist) says "Look! It's starting to clear up!" That's when you say "Sucker" Because it's never ever going to clear up, ever.
However, for the past three days it has not only been sunny, but hot (for here)! It's been above 70 and it's getting old. We can't take the dogs for a long walk because they overheat, however they do enjoy their swimming pool in their back yard. If I wanted all this sunshine and heat I would have stayed in Fairbanks. I have taped more garbage bags to my window so it will be dark enough for me to sleep, but really, how longer can this go on? Most people ask me about Alaska are curious about the dark winter. The winters I can handle fine, it's the constant sunshine that drives me totally nuts! That was one reason I liked Juneau, because even though we get a lot of light, it's not so bad when it's cloudy most of the time! OK, I'll take a couple more days of this then I'm putting a sprinkler up on the roof so it feels like like its raining again.

She's My Cherry Pie

What's that saying? "If I can't be a good example at least I can be a cautionary tale!" Well, I took my bike out for a ride the first time this spring and was totally rocking out to Vanilla Ice and White Snake, etc on my iPod. I was feeling great and when I got home that song "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere" came on so I decided to pick up the dog poop in the back yard while the song was playing. Well, if you find yourself in this same situation make sure you realize, just because you are being accompanied by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett in your head, doesn't mean anyone else can hear them. So when you sing:

"Pour me something tall and strong make it a Hurricane before I go insane it's only half past twelve, but I don't care it's five o'clock somewhere." no one else is hearing the guitars and back up singers. Also make sure you look around first so that you're not mortified when you see your neighbor laughing so hard his face was turning red.

Well, at least I wasn't singing "Cherry Pie" by Warrant.

On the offence?

So yesterday I was in a conversation and someone said “My house is like a Chinese Laundry!” Then they looked at me and said “Ooops, I’m, so sorry. Did I offend you?” I blinked a couple of times and said “Huh, what? Oh…OH, no. I mean, my house looks like a Chinese laundry too. Should I be offended?”
The back story on this is that Juneau had a big avalanche and it took out all our cheap hydro power. So now we are using very very very expensive diesel which will make our power bills 5 times higher, until they can get into the back country and fix the lines. This will take months. So we have all found out what takes the most electricity and it’s the fridge and the dryer. Hence the Chinese laundry comment. (Also hence our new refrigerator that's not 35 years old!)
What makes it worse is our snotty assed governor wouldn’t declare it a disaster, so we won’t get any financial help from the state. (I sorta kinda like our governor, even though she almost openly hates Juneau. Actually I think that’s why I kinda like her, before I moved here I openly hated Juneau too. Now I just openly hate downtown Juneau. The Valley ROCKS!)
So we are all a little on edge about the power thing. All the schools are running on half their lights. Some stores are closing early and when you go into Wal-Mart or Fred Meyers it’s so dark it’s spooky.
So anyway, I wasn’t offended by the comment, but I’m not Chinese. My invisible baby is, but she’s still a figment of my imagination, so she wasn’t offended either. Was that an offensive comment?? Please, do share your thoughts the two people who read my blog!

One more time

Ok, I'll give this another try. I took down my lost blog in a temper tantrum fit over our treatment from the USCIS. Yes, I'm that mature. Anyway, I'll try to be more Zen and keep people updated on how the stupid heads over at the USCIS are screwing with us. And I promise to be more positive when talking about the butt faces at CCAA who have basically slowed the China adoption to a stand still. And I will most definitely not write alcohol induced rants about stupid jerkwads who tell me to "Enjoy my time being childless while I still can."
Ya, I don't think I'll be sending a link of this blog to family...