Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra Ra Ra

Happy new year peeps! I've been on blogging hiatus, dealing with the holidays and coping with the thought that we will still have to wait ANOTHER YEAR before we get our little Tiger. I'm done wallowing, so I'm back....

Here's what's happened in the past few months.
1. decorated the house for Christmas
2. had Christmas
3. Clemson lost the bowl game
4. Family visited for New Year's
5. Family went home

Don't you feel enlightened now?

Derek left today for his first fishing tournament of the year at Lake Okeechobee, FL. I went shopping. Had some success. Got some new sneaks to just wear around (not run in). Got a new outfit, a new bra, a new exercise bra, and some makeup. I know it's too exciting, right?

Derek and I are also starting tomorrow our "boot camp" until Good Friday. Essentially, we are going to follow the Abs Diet and add weight training and core exercises to our cardio packed workouts. My goal is to lose the last nagging 20 lbs that I'm carrying. Derek wants to lose at least 30. I think our work is cut out for us.

I leave you with a before and almost after picture of me. The before is from Summer of 2005. The almost after is from early December.

Almost done...

with our new family room! Tomorrow the plumber will be here, and Wednesday the carpet is being put down!! I can't wait! We are now staining and finishing some new furniture for the room, and I hope the carpet layers will move the sofa down from upstairs (I plan to throw $40 at them to entice them into doing it- Derek said he'd pay more not to have to do it!)I hope to have the room semi-put together by Thanksgiving. I love decorating and arranging furniture, so I am sure this weekend I will be in HOG HEAVEN!! I will most certainly take pictures for all of you out there in cyber land! The pool table should be moved from my mom's house on Black Friday and we are getting Clemson ORANGE felt on it. Should be gawdy, but what can I say? We love our TIGERS!

Referrals for October were late getting here- they came the first week of November. The CCAA referred babies to families whose dossiers were logged in 8-10-05 through 8-25-05. We've still got a way to go before they will even get close to us! (3-27-06)

BTW, I completed my duathlon in 3 hours, 19 minutes, and 41 seconds. That was Running 8K (4.99 miles), biking 26 miles, and running 5K (3.1 miles). My next even is a half marathon in February. I plan to do either the Tybee Island Half or the Hilton Head Half. Tybee is 2-3 and HH is 2-10. It will just depend on which weekend is better for us. My goal there is to complete it in less than 2:45.

I have now lost about 51-52 lbs. Still have about 15-18 to go. Hope to be there by next spring sometime!

Something Fun!

Saw this on www.blackdogrunning.blogspot.com and thought it was pretty cool. Who do I look like? I'm ok with all these choices!!!

Referrals

Referrals were received yesterday for families logged in 7/23/05 through 8/9/05. That means this month there were 18 days included in the referrals. That is an improvement, but not where we'd like it to be. So, you are asking, what does that mean for us?

Well, in a nutshell, it means this:
Best Case Scenario: If they refer the balance of August 2005 in October and then start referring FULL MONTHS (something they haven't done in a year) then we would receive our referral in MAY 2007 and would likely travel in late June or July 2007.
Worst Case Scenario: If they continue referring 1/2 of a month at a time, we would receive our referral in December 2007 and would likely travel in February or March 2008.
Most Likely: Since I do not believe that we are looking at either one of these predictions, I'll give my prediction as most likely. Based on what I've seen so far, I think we will get our referral around August or September 2007 and will travel Late October - December 2007.

When we started this process in October of 2005, we were told that the wait was about 6 months. We had visions of having our daughter home for Christmas this year. Now, I will be thrilled if she's home for Christmas 2007. Why so long? Everyone asks me this, and really, I don't have a good answer. I've heard about everything under the sun, but I believe the slowdown is because of several factors.
1. Not as many babies are being abandoned (this is a good thing!)
2. A lot of families in the Russia program switched to China when the Russian Gov. put a halt on their adoptions. Also, many new families have been drawn to China because of it's stability. Consequently, there was a huge increase in the number of families logged in over the past year as compared to other years.
3. The baby scandal in the Hunan Province basically shut down non-special needs adoptions from that province for 4.5 months. Since roughly 25% of the babies adopted internationally have historically come from Hunan, this made a huge impact. More families, less babies = longer wait
4. China is doing what it can to encourage domestic adoption in China. Once again, this is a good thing...

I know it will all be worth the wait when we have our daughter in our arms. And I've been doing good with the wait so far. We have 6 months of waiting under our belts so far, and they've gone by relatively fast. My biggest problem right now is that it is hard for me to see the end to this wait because it is unknown. If I knew for sure our wait would be over in exactly one year, I could deal with that. It's the not knowing that's driving me crazy. I feel foolish buying baby clothes and setting up a nursery not knowing when we'll have a baby girl to put in it, yet I long to do it because it makes me still feel like an expectant mom. Does that make any sense whatsoever?

I'll most likely be 35 when we get our daughter. That's the same age my mom was when she had me. Of course, she got pregnant after one month of trying and after being married less than 2 years. We've been married over 11 years and have been trying for over 4. My patience is running out and I'm sprouting gray hairs left and right.

To all my sisters in waiting, be strong. It will happen. Eventually. Right?

I'm such a slacker

I haven't written, I haven't posted pictures, I haven't done squat.

I'm sorry- this is about to be fixed. I got a new camera and I'm itchin to use it. Hopefully this weekend I'll get all caught up.

Let's see, what's new with us?
1. Finished our screened in porch. Started on the addition.
2. I completed my first triathlon on 8-20. Now training for a duathlon on 10-28.
3. I've now lost right at about 50 lbs total. Size 10s are starting to be loose on me!
4. I'm planning a surprise bday party for my mom. Shhhhh it's a surprise- don't tell her if you see her.
5. Work is busy for both of us.
6. Clemson Football, baby! Woo Hoo!!

Ta Da!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the pool! It officially was finished on Saturday. We have lots of landscaping to do, as it is just a big mud hole right now, but we are so in love!!! YAAAA!!! We are pool owners!!!

I also want to send a big thank you to my CCAI Feb/Mar DTC Secret Pal for the awesome July gift. We so love the beach and it was a box of beach goodies! A pail and shovel, baby sunscreen, a pink and white beach hat, a beach ball, a flip flop note pad and a couple of sand toys. I know we will get a lot of use out of those goodies!!! What could be better than the 4th of July at the beach with our little Tiger?

7 Things....

Looks like I've been tagged by Jackie Rochester of the CCAI yahoo group.... Here are my 7 things...

7 Things I would like to do before I die
1. Retire
2. See the USA in an RV on a summer long trip!
3. See my Tigers play in another National Championship Football Game!
4. See my child (ren) achieve their dreams
5. Complete a half iron man triathlon
6. Be a size 6 (frivalous I know)
7. Watch my husband win a professional bass tournament :)

7 Things I can do
1. Run a marathon (woohoo!)
2. Sew
3. Most any home improvment project
4. Read Fast
5. Cook
6. Water ski and snow ski
7. Know exactly what Derek is thinking on most things...

7 Things I can't do
1. SING (Derek is probably nodding his head yes to this- I'm awful, but I love to do it!)
2. Turn down M&Ms (my favority candy!)
3. Get up early on my own
4. Dance (ummm, not well anyway)
5. Wait patiently
6. Leave a zit alone
7. Eat seafood (ok, theoretically I can do this, I just won't)

7 Things that attracted me to Derek
1. His open friendliness to everyone (he makes everyone feel like a friend fast!)
2. His smile
3. His confidence
4. His muscles (ha ha, this was probably actually #1)
5. His baby blue eyes!
6. His thoughtfulness
7. His intelligence!

7 Things I say most often
1. GO TIGERS!
2. Whatever
3. Anyway
4. Good morning (afternoon), this is Suzanne (on my work phone)
5. I love you (to my sweet baboo, Derek)
6. DUH!
7. Cool!

7 Books I love
1. Little Women
2. All of Catherine Anderson's books (yes I love Romance novels!)
3. The Velveteen Rabbit
4. All of Diana Palmer's books (more in the romance field)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird
6. There's a Monster at the End of this Book (by Grover)
7. 2006 Clemson Football Media Guide (ha ha, had to stick something else about Clemson in here)

7 Movies I love
1. The American President
2. Sabrina (the remake, not the original)
3. A Christmas Story (You'll shoot your eye out kid!)
4. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
5. Old School
6. Sweet Home Alabama
7. Pretty Woman

News on the pool front and more...

Concrete is being poured for our pool today! I hope this means we will be swimming this weekend! I will post pics as soon as the worker bees are done.

No new news on the adoption front. Rumor is that the July referrals will be for June 30th - July 13th 2005 Log in dates. Our adoption agency is still predicting a 12-14 month wait, others are going out to 18 months.

It will happen when it is supposed to. But all this waiting makes me wonder if our little tiger will be an only child....

More time before the referral gives me more time to work out and become a red hot mama. This is how I would love to look.... although I don't think it's in my gene pool... and I don't have blond hair... and I'm not this tall...and I don't have a red bike...and I don't have this tan... it IS something to work towards...

Motivation

What is motivation? Is it desire? Is it will? Is it something that someone gives you, or is it deep down inside of you?

For me, my motivation is deep down inside of me. Ever since I was a child, I have never been content to sit back and watch. If it's something that interests me, I want to DO it. Sure, I have my lazy streaks, but my parents instilled in me at a very young age that life is full of nothing but possibilities. Anything I want is within my grasp if I want it bad enough and if I am willing to work for it.

I want a family. All the wanting in the world isn't going to make me magically get pregnant, but we're making it happen through adoption.

I want to be healthy and fit, so I am making it happen through diet and exercise. (Actually I want to be a red hot mama, but this is a PG rated site)

I want to be a happy person, so everyday I choose to be happy and not let the little things in life get me down. After all, is it really important in the grand scheme of things? Most of the time that answer is "no."

Everyone has the ability to achieve their dreams, you just have to decide "How bad do you want it?" Are you willing to put it ahead of other things? Most people are not willing to do this. They may dream of one day doing something really special, but yet in their day to day life they don't do anything to MAKE it happen. Well folks, it isn't going to happen on its own. And no one will hand it to you on a silver platter (and if they did it wouldn't mean anything to you).

I challenge everyone to start making their dreams come true. This doesn't have to be your millionaire dreams. If you want to own your own business, start making it happen. If you want to go back to school for a different career, go back to school. If you want to get in shape, start working out. If you want a better relationship with someone, make the first move. If you don't try you'll never get what you truly want.

Ok, I've been philosophical enough for now.

It is now officially 57 days until CLEMSON FOOTBALL starts!

Epiphany

I want all my friends to know I've had an epiphany. One of Oprah's "AHA" moments.

I have figured out that to lose weight, I have to pretty much dedicate my life to it. That means eating right 6 days out of 7, working out like a freak, and constantly thinking about it. I can't let up, not at all, because letting up leads me down a slippery slope.

I'm not kidding. Once I get to my desired weight, I can relax and just let the routine of it all take over, but for now I have to be a diligent, dedicated, crazy person. An example of this is that my husband is at the Kenny Chesney concert right now. Friends of ours had an extra ticket, and even though I am the big country music lover, I let Derek take it. Why? Well, the primary reason was I didn't want to miss a workout. Isn't that anal and crazy? Well it is. But I know that for me, staying dedicated means I can't stop. Stopping once makes it ok to stop the next time, and then before you know it, I'll only be working out once per week.

I am still in training. This time it is a triathlon. The Greenville Tri is on August 20th (my 34th birthday) and it is a 400 m swim, a 15 mile bike ride, and a 5K run.

Here is my weekly training schedule.... assume AM means before work at about 6-7AM. PM means evening, or after work.
Monday AM- 25 minutes of Swimming (typically do about 1150 meters, or 46 laps in a 25 meter pool)
Monday PM- Biking (typically do about 9 miles)
Tuesday AM- Running (3 miles)
Tuesday PM- weight training (starting next week)
Wednesday AM- swimming again same as Monday
Wednesday PM- biking again same as Monday
Thursday AM- Running (3 miles)
Thursday PM- Weight training
Friday- off, rest day
Saturday- AM, LONG BIKE (15-20 miles) and LONG RUN (5 miles +)
Sunday- off, rest day.

Whew. I'm tired now. That's about 6.5 hours of training per week. But I can see all these changes in how my body looks and performs and I love it. I can't wait until I am more muscle than fat! I am going to be one of those women. You know, the ones that make you want to say "Grrrrr"

You know what, I am ok with that....

OK NOW I AM MAD

I have no idea where my pictures are and why they didn't upload. Hmmm. I think I am going to have to start using an image hosting service.

I'll just have to try this again later this weekend. Sorry for the promise of pictures only to fail to show them....

I'm just baiting you for later! I've got 5 or 6 I wanted to load... You'll see them soon enough....


OH!! BY THE WAY, Derek found a new job! YAY! He starts on Monday, so we won't miss a single paycheck. This job is with WABCO (westinghouse air brake company) and he will be a buyer for one of their teams- I think the mass transit pneumatic brake team. He's making more money, but will have about half the vacation he had before. I think he is really disappointed about that because it will impact his fishing tournaments, but he's being a good sport about it.

I hate to say it, but it's almost a good thing we've got this long wait for a referral. Maybe he will qualify for Family medical leave when we go to China. He will qualify for that next July. That way he won't have to use vacation to travel.... good thing too since he won't have that much!

The Marathon

Ok ok ok, I've heard enough crap about not writing about the marathon, so I will. Mom, Judy, and I all had a great time visiting San Diego. It truly is a beautiful city, and I would love to go back sometime and really get the full experience. 4 days including travel and the marathon is just not enough.

Lynn (my running friend) and I were in corral 21. Your corral number was how you got lined up for the start. There were 1000 people per corral and there were 22 corrals. You are assigned your corral based on your expected finish time. As you can see, we were back with the walkers. The indignity of it!! It took us about 15 minutes to cross the starting line. Keep in mind your official "chip time" is based on when YOU cross the start and the finish and all the clocks in the pictures I will post show the gun time. You have to subtract those 15 minutes from the gun time to get my approximate chip time. I say this because I finished in 6 hours, 30 minutes, and 30 seconds. My goal, which I thought I would never meet, was to finish in 6.5 hours. I was THRILLED beyond belief to meet that goal (I'm going to forgive the extra 30 seconds, I had to stop and pee at mile 5, so I think that's reasonable.) What I especially loved was crossing the finish line after passing a dude from corral 15. HA!! GIRLS RULE!!

Did I hit the wall? Yes. Did I hit it at mile 20? No. I actually hit it at mile 23. See, in all of our training runs, we would go 2 miles further than the time before. My longest was 20. I was ok for 20, I was ok for 22. 23, however, about did me in. I stopped and walked from mile 23.5 to mile 25. Once I saw the mile marker for 25, I decided to have a strong finish so I kicked it in gear and actually had a pretty decent last mile. The joy of finishing and the adrenalin helped me to eek out what was probably about a 12 minute mile. As I crossed the finish, I held my Tiger Rag up. ORANGE NATION, baby!!!

Everyone keeps asking me if I will ever do another. Right now, the answer is I don't think so. I do think I will do half marathons- I felt great at mile 13!! I think half marys give you all the satisfaction (ok half the satisfaction) and none of the pain!

I've tried adding pictures, but this is all that took. BAH HUMBUG!!!

So much has happened

So much has happened. I've tried to update my blog about 3 times but each time blogger went down. So, this is a quickie- I'll update more thoroughly later.

First let me say thank you to my secret pals. The gifts have been awesome and I feel so guilty that I haven't been able to acknowledge them yet. But I do have a good excuse.

1. First of all, the legal action with my father's brother is now over and done. We settled after almost 4 years of "legal disagreements" and he has bought my mom and I out of the farm. I cannot begin to tell you how we thought we'd never see the day we'd be free of him. But it's finally happened.
2. My grandmother's house sold. I spent the week of memorial day helping my mom and my aunt pack it all up. We were very happy that it sold to a nice family, but sad to leave it. The packing up wasn't a problem but everyone in our small family has established homes, so we have lots of things and no one to use them. Fortunately we left a good bit for the family who bought the house as they didn't have a house before and could use a lot of the things!
3. I had my marathon. Finished in 6 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. Will post more about that in a bit...
4. Derek found out he's lost his job effective June 30th. Apparently when the textile mills that buy spare parts shut down, that affected his job(textile spare parts business). Go figure. So now we are searching for the "right" position for him.
5. Derek's mom fell on Tuesday after Memorial Day. Scraped up her arms pretty bad. Didn't break anything, thank goodness. But, that evening was spent cleaning her up and getting her wounds addressed. Anytime a diabetic has a wound you really have to be careful. I won't get into the specifics of what happened, but it was in the bathroom and I had to help her, not Derek. I totally feel prepared for motherhood now. I am so glad she's ok. The fall ended up being a good thing in disguise, because now she will let me help her bathe, and I know that will help her feel better on a daily basis.

Whew. Crazy couple of weeks. Will post more on the secret pal presents and on the marathon later. I've got pictures to post, folks, so stay tuned!

Moving forward...

I think we've made the decision to move forward with the addition. But we will also be adding a pool. I love to swim and a pool is something Derek and I have always wanted. I taught swimming lessons when I was in college, so I will begin teaching our daughter as soon as we're home!

I am pretty excited about this. We are going pool shopping(looking) this weekend since that will have to happen before the addition because of the configuration of our backyard and proposed new room. We hope we will be able to enjoy our pool to be before the end of summer. It will just be a small pool, we don't have enough room for something big, but I am still pretty excited about it all.

It's also interesting to note that Derek and I agreed about all this pretty quickly. That just reinforces to me that we should do it. Obviously it's something we both value and would both enjoy.

Mom and Aunt Judy are coming home to SC tomorrow. We'll have a week before we leave for San Diego. They are also trying to finalize the sale of my Grandmother's house. So much going on right now! When it rains, it pours!

That's about it for today. Isn't that enough?

The Object of my Affection

Ta Da!! Here it is, the new bike! It's a 2005 Trek 1000c, which basically means it's a "comfort" road bike. What makes it a "Comfort" bike is that it's very similar to the women's design, but also has brakes on top of the handlebar. I do like that. I thought I wanted the women's specific design, but this was so similar and it had the added appeal of the extra brakes, a slightly more upright riding position, and a slightly smaller price tag, since this was left over from 2005. I figure I need all the comfort I can get since I am doing the triathlons to get fit and have a workout goal, not to actually win! (But I will be pushing myself to get faster and set personal records, I just live in the real world and know that I'm not going to be competing to actually win.)

I got it on Saturday after my 12 mile run, which I did for the most part in the rain, starting at 6:30 AM. Does that make me hard core? LOL!

I rode for about 5 miles on Saturday but had to stop. My nether region needs to toughen up a bit. Even with padded shorts and an extra cushy seat, my butt hurt! Oh well, I suppose in time I'll get used to it.

I bought this from the Great Escape here in Greenville. The assistant manger personally fit me and set up this bad boy to my exact specifications and needs. I was very happy with the service... the assistant manager is actually someone I dated right before I met Derek! Obviously there were no hard feelings, and I am happy to know that he's doing well and getting married to a cutie pie in about a month. I wish them both well.

Derek had a tournament on Saturday. Caught 2 fish, but didn't hit the mother load. Derek wishes he had had more time to scout the lake before the tournament. His next tournament is June 21st. He'll be on that lake scouting it out before that tournament I'm sure!

The marathon is 2 weeks from today. I'm a bit nervous but just because I don't want to be last! I am sure that's normal. All this extra exercising I am doing (swimming, biking, running) is paying off. I lost 3 lbs this week according to my weigh in at weight watchers today. Woo hoo! That makes a girl very happy.

Spent the afternoon working in the yard. Derek and I are considering an addition to our home. We have always wanted a rec room/den that we can move the computer to and put Dad's pool table in- but the thought of moving any time soon is something we both don't want to ponder. Maybe we'll just add on the room we need and want. I know one thing. I don't want to not do it because we think we'll be moving into a bigger house in a few years. Time has a way of sneaking up on you and I don't want 10 years from now to look back on everything and think "I wish we had done that..."

Know what I mean? Heck, it's only money. LOL!!!!

Just a quickie!

Nothing to post in the way of the adoption (except I've got the crib now and just need to paint it!- that really hit home when I saw it in the garage- Kev and Jennifer dropped it off while we were in VA)........

I have lost now a total of 30.8 lbs!! Woo hoo! Only 30-35 more to go, I'm almost half way there....

Got my 20 miler under my belt on Saturday. The weather was perfect and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Didn't really get fatigued bad until mile 16 or 17, but it wasn't too much. Went to Wally World after and walked around hanging on the buggy. By the time I was done shopping, my legs felt great! I even went to the nursery and bought flowers to plant afterwards. Don't know where THAT energy came from. Nevertheless, by 9:30 PM I was out like a light!

Our finish time for 20 miles was like 5 hours, 22 minutes. That included our walk breaks and water stops. We'll be doing good to finish under the 7 hour recommended max. But hey, I'd rather be slow to finish than quick to quit. That's my moto!

I think I've picked out my bike, will be going to the bike store this weekend. I wanted to get it before the marathon so that I could start up training on it when I get home. I plan to compete in my first sprint triathlon on my birthday (Aug. 20th). It will be a 400 m swim, 12 mile bike ride, and 3.1 mile run. I'm excited to be doing something other than running so that I will get a better full body workout. Who knew I would like doing this stuff? It actually is pretty fun, once you feel empowered to do it!

That's all for now! Thanks for reading....

Uncle Jim

Last Tuesday my Uncle Jim passed away. He had been sick with Esophogeal (sp?) cancer and had been bravely fighting it for about 5 years. My aunt and uncle live in Gainesville, VA, and my mom had traveled up the previous Thursday for a "roast" their church was having in Jim's honor. They called it Jimboree and Judy 2. Jim was loved by everyone who knew him and this roast was their opportunity to share their love. Jim put on a brave face and did his best to enjoy the event, but he was very sick and suffering greatly. Monday brought a trip to the doctor, who told him that everything that could be done had been done. My uncle accepted the news well, and passed on early the next morning. I think he chose that time because he knew my aunt was not alone, my mother was still there. He had just spent a lovely weekend with the family, and had an opportunity to see everyone. He was suffering, and God decided it was time to bring him home.

While we all grieve, we do not do so without hope, because as Believers we know we will see Jim again. He will meet us at the Gates of Heaven and will try to sell us aluminum siding for our home (a running joke with him).

Jim was a very loving and generous man. When I write generous, that word seems inadequate to describe how he was. Jim gave without hesitation, and he did so all the time. Jim was a true servant of God. If there ever was a person who embodied the servant spirit, it was Jim. That saying, to whom much is given, much is expected, is exactly how Jim lived his life. He gave to his family, his church, his community, and even strangers, although, they weren't strangers for long.

My family is very small. My mom has one sister and my father has one brother. My father's brother never married and we really don't have a relationship with him. My mother's sister's family was the extent of our family when I was growing up. I remember thinking that I hoped my parents made provisions for me to be raised by my aunt and uncle if anything happened to them. Jim was such a good daddy, and my aunt a mother; if I couldn't have my parents, they were the next best ones.

I love them dearly, and will miss Jim tremendously. I doubt he's missing us, though. His rewards in Heaven were immediate and plentiful, and I know my father and grandfather were waiting on him to arrive. I am sure there was an issue that still needed to be argued. They all loved that.

At the end of Jim's memorial service, the organist played "Take Me Out To The Ball Game." That was a perfect ending. I am sure Jim had a big ole smile on his face.

Jim was a retired FBI agent. I think it's fitting to say, "Mission accomplished, Settle. It's time to go Home now."

What a week!!

Today is Sunday, and I must say I am glad this week is about over! I was sick with a stomach bug Monday, Tuesday, and recovering Wed and Thursday. I really have not had any interest in food until Friday. That is sooo not like me. And on top of that, I only lost .2 LB. Where is the justice????

I did manage to hydrate myself enough to get my 18 miler in on Saturday. Let me tell you this, it was a breeze compared to the 14 I had to do LAST Sunday. I never quite realized how much the heat can take it out of you, but last Sunday it was in the mid 80s. My running friend and I struggled to get our 14 in. Actually we started struggling at mile #6 and through sheer will and determination we made it through 14. This week was much different. The temp was in the 60s and we rocked!!! We were both dead tired (no pun intended) when we got done, but there was never a question of "Can we do it" like there was last week. I am beginning to think we just might make it through the marathon, which is 5 weeks from today. That's only 35 days away. YIKES!

The only highlight to my week were the quilt squares I received, the bib and book gift I received from Jan on the CCAI Feb/Mar DTC group, and the MAR2006 DTC Secret Pal gift I received. I loved all my gifts. The bib and book gift came first. Here's a picture:

Don't you just love the Tiger!!! I know our Little Tiger will love it. And she will love the Born to Shop bib. Like mother, like daughter. She will get that honestly!

The books are all super cute, especially the language book. I hope our daughter will be fluent in a foreign language. I only know a little french. Je parle francais un peu.

I hope I said that right!




And when I was feeling like Ralph Rotten, the postman brought me another present!! This really made me feel better- especially since my secret pal sent a pink bunny hoodie towel that I had been looking at myself. How's that for great minds??

Here is a picture:

Isn't this the sweetest thing? I can't wait until I have a little some-bunny to wrap up in this! Hopefully we won't have to go through another mother's day without our daughter or our referral at least!

Thank you secret pal, you ROCK! (that's suzanne speak for you are awesome!)

Karen Tagged me

6 Weird things about myself? I am pretty weird, so it will be hard to limit it to just 6, but I'll try to pick the weirdest of the weird traits.

1. I have freakishly short arms. Stand me next to someone my height, shoulder to shoulder, and my arms will be at least 4- 6" shorter than hers...
2. I am 5'4" and wear a size 10 tennis shoes. (dress shoes are 9 to 9.5) You would think with feet that big, I'd be a little taller. I inherited my mom's short stature and my dad's big feet. Gee thanks.
3. I love to pop zits and pick scabs. It doesn't matter if they are mine or Derek's. I'll chase him around if he's got a big 'un on his back!
4. I can't say the word ominous without first saying "omnious" Don't know why. You'd think someone with a master's degree could say ominous easily but I can't. Say it 6 times fast and you'll know what I mean.
5. I can't watch the Wizard of Oz because the witches and the flying monkeys are too scary to me. In fact, when I was a little girl, I made my mom cut all the pictures of witches out of my books because they were scary.
6. I love to sing, but I am sooooo bad. But that doesn't stop me. I'll sing and talk to myself in the car all the time, especially if someone in the car next to me gives me a "what in the world" look. I just don't car. To me, I sound like Faith Hill. To others, I sound like a shreiking cat (no insult to cats).

Ok, is that weird enough? I better tag 6 more people. Hmmmm. I guess I will tag
Lisa, Donna, Lindsey, Carmi and Doug, Kim, and Chrissie.
http://www.waitingforlaurenelizabeth.blogspot.com/
http://lindseysmeimei.blogspot.com/
http://journeytogracie.blogspot.com/
http://hendersonhomeonline.com/
http://www.estokjourney.blogspot.com/
http://www.journey2ourangel.blogspot.com/

BTW, these are not in any kind of order....

Tag on, friends!!

RETAIL THERAPY!!!

I had the best weekend and the worst weekend. Best for shopping, worst for marathon training (knee and hip problems- I'll be calling the dr tomorrow)

BUT about the shopping! Mom and I had so much fun! I bought the fabric to make the crib linens. I am sooooo excited about these. Remember that my room is a light mint green. The plaid is going to be the cribskirt, the pink, and the print (asian looking) will be the quilt and the bumper pads!!!
Don't cha just love it!!!













Ok, I've decided against using Ralph Lauren Allison for the twin bed. Instead I will use the pink check sheets that I bought to go with the Allison and a green matelasse. I have the pillow sham to the matelasse, I just need to find the coverlet...

This isn't all I've bought. I got books, secret pal stuff, 2 cute dresses etc. I am attaching pics of them all as well as some of the books I've already bought, etc. I can't stop myself!! It makes me happy to by our daughter things!

I had one more pic to post of a cute pink ladybug photo album that says love bug on it, but for some reason it wouldn't upload. Go figure. Must be a bug in it somewhere. LOL just kidding, sorry for the pun.

It's a work night, so it's off to bed I go now!