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.