Monday, July 31, 2006

9 months 'paper' pregnant

SO, I've been LID for exactly 9 months today!! WOW. Some days it seems to go so slow. Others, I can't believe it has been 9 whole months now!

Have only heard minimum information about referrals for July.

Bought some great Batik fabric yesterday and some blue fabric with poodles and some black fabric with purses on it... some pink flannel with little paw prints on it. Fun stuff.

I need to run.
I need to sew.
I need to paint. This one will win out, of course! I can't wait 'til this family room is done!!

Peace.

PS. I closed on my house 4 years ago TODAY!! What a day! I did get the brown wall's first coat painted... woohoo. Getting there, slowly but surely!

PPS. In honor of my relentless painting and the 2 anniversaries... here is an updated pic with the FIRST coat of brown. You can only see part of it...

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Saturday, July 29, 2006

2 down, 2 to go

Paint, Paint, Paint... this family room job is quite big. I've gotten 2 walls completely done and 2 partial done... Here is what it looks like in progress.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Oh, Oh, OH.... I heard that folks are starting to get their referrals today and Monday!! I'm SO excited!! I am wondering what the date goes through, and will definitely keep my eye on that... (my LID is 10/31/05, so I've still got time, but I'd like to keep an eye on what the trends are currently... plus, it is fun to see others get their referrals!!!)

Oh, and just for fun... here is a pic of the frog purse. :D

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Off to painting I go... no rest for the weary! ha. Update... I attempted to go ahead an paint the long red wall... but the rollers I bought are different than the ones I used before and I HATE it. Ugh. So... I need to work on some trim tonight before bed, but I can't finish painting until tomorrow. YAWN. Probably best.... lol.

Peace.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Feeling Froggy?

I've been anxiously awaiting news of referrals this week. I guess that they might not come until next week, since the week is pretty much over. I keep wondering what that means... if they are going to only go through July 13 (which is what I've heard, but other dates, too) or later. What does this mean for me? I have no idea.

Work has continued to be stressful. I'm trying to deal with it. I'm afraid I'm not doing a great job at that, though. Got a migraine last night and into today. Not good. I've got painting to do still.

I have continued to paint and sew this week. The tan I chose for the family room is lighter than I wanted. So, I'm not sure if I'll keep it or go get a darker one. My latest purse creation is green with Frogs all over it. I think it is quite cool. There are two options for this one... sis might steal (i mean, take) it, lol, or she'll sell it. I have a feeling one of her book board friends will love it. :) I also made two purses with US flags all over them this week. And I've cut out two DOG purses this week. Those are going to be fun.

Peace.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Pooh and Skirts

Ok. Now, I do realize that other people have more important things to do that to tell me how cute my purses(bags) are... but I thought for sure that someone would tell me they liked Pooh... or the skirt purses. (besides my sis and my friends joe and kat, of course!! LOL) I realize that selling them online is next to nil, but I don't just post pics for that. I truly enjoy making them and since I live alone, it is hard to get the CATS to tell me they are great! *wink*

I'm not impatient or anything. Ever. (ok, now that's the biggest lie ever! LOL)

Oh, and now if you do say something nice... hm, well, is it because I asked? Oh well. It was just a thought! I was, apparently, too pleased with myself over the POOH bag. ;-)

I'm having another one of those days... this work change is just messing with me. I think it might be because the adoption stuff is SO darned unpredictable (read: timeline) and I thought work would be consistent, not-changing for the time being. HA. Wrong. It really sucks when you actually like your boss and they leave. :( booh.

Oh... and it seems to me that I seem to read quite a few adoption blogs lately where people are going through a tough time like me... is it just us in the adoption world? Or do other bloggers have this problem, too?! I know we are particularly stressed about when, when, when will those referrals come... and I'm not even nearly as freaked out about the timeline as some folks are! (ok, I don't think I am. ha)

On the agenda today: RUN. PAINT. SEW. In that order. Let's see how that goes. Maybe I should come back and list 7 more happy thoughts like I did the other day, too.

Peace.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Are you sick of me yet?

I KNOW I should be in bed... I'm exhausted... BUT. I just HAD to show you all the purse I made tonight. Ok. I'm nuts. I admit it. You're bored. I'm sure of it. But isn't it just the funnest summer fabric?

Peace.

Skirt Purse

Inside SkirtPurse

Referral rumors

So... my agency says there is currently a 12-14 month wait to referrals. If it comes like they say currently, I won't get a referral until early next year (or closer to 15 months)... amazing. Right now, the rumors say that the current batch will be approx 13 more days of July 2005... and we don't know when that will be. Some say, it will be this week. Some say because of the move of the CCAA that it won't be until August.

I thought that the CCAA moved early this year, hence the slowdown back then. It is a bit confusing.

Meanwhile, I got two big bags of stuff from a family from church (bless their hearts) and have got to get started on the baby's room. And pick a name. And save more money. And, and, and...

I've been thinking I won't get a referral until the end of this year at least, but who knows! If it happens earlier... well, let's not think about that until we get this next batch of referrals, eh? Not that I don't want it to happen earlier, I just want to be prepared and right now I don't feel like I am. At the same time, I feel bad for people who have been hoping they'd get their referrals NOW.

Peace.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Sew...

I did more sewing this weekend, finally! I embellished four or five purses that needed something extra and I made a baby bag! :D It turned out SO cute, if I do say so myself! :) It is Winnie the Pooh print and I'm toying with keeping it myself... hehe, but my sister is going to take pics and list it for me. (if it doesn't sell, I'm keeping it) But it would make someone a great baby bag! I made it with 2 diaper pockets on the inside and 3 bottle size pockets on the inside. And 1 bottle, 1 diaper and 1 extra pocket on the outside. It is bigger than a purse and has batting to make it thicker and more sturdy than the spring purses** I've been making lately (not quite quilted, but along those lines.) Very cool (in my not-so-unbiased opinion!) :) If you are interested, please go to the HobbyHungry on Ebay link on the right or see the pics below and go to the link from there. :D

**The Spring purses I make don't have batting, but since I make everything out of cotton, they seem to hold up pretty well, anyway. I use mine for months at a time... whereas, sis, is spoiled and she switches every month or so!! haha. I haven't "bought" a purse in over a year now and get lots of compliments on them... but see below... they are hard to sell online for some reason. But I still share here 'cause it is something I'm doing toward the adoption....

She also listed those two LADYBUG purses, that I've mentioned before (sorry, if you are tired of hearing about these in particular... they are cute, and we've been toying with using them ourselves!) It is quite easy to love each one of them and want to keep them! HAHA. ;-) (my sis being the biggest culprit, i mean fan, hehe.) But I'm trying to find ways to make a little extra money, and this seems like a good outlet for me. My sister is a great seller and she's sold quite a few of my purses to friends and co-workers and friends of friends, and so forth... They are just so hard to show online. Oh, and I've also listed below the Angel Toile purse that I embellished today! What a difference some beads make.

Any and all proceeds go toward the trip to China. (quite nervous, but still very excited about all this...) I even had a family at church bring me two giant bags of baby stuff today!!! WOOHOO! I have so many great friends. Really. I do.

Anyway, this weekend made me feel a bit better. We didn't go see my cousin for her birthday, but neither of us were feeling 100% and I've just been exhausted this week. I think we both just needed some down time. And, I, personally, needed to get back to the things I love to get me out of my funk this week. So, thank you all again for putting up with my rantings... and Aunt Gay Gay, if you do see this HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! We'll make it up to you... might even have a purse with your name on it! :D

Oh, and I'm STILL working on the family room, but have made some good progress and tomorrow that is the main goal.... the carpet guy is going to kill me if I don't get a move on! LOL.

Peace.







Saturday, July 22, 2006

So encouraging...

You all are very encouraging and I thank you for putting up with my ranting this week! ;) I'm feeling better (so far, ha)... and I hope it continues!

One of the ladies at church is going to bring me some baby stuff tomorrow and I'm way excited about that! It is also my cousin's 50th birthday! Wow, how time flies!

I wonder if referrals will come this week.....?

Peace.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

This... well,

This has been a tough week. I'm not sure why exactly. There are lots of little things eating at me this week. (I'll not bore you with another man rant.)

1.My boss is leaving as of next week.

2.I'm moving to 'the other half' of our test team in the next month (it isn't nearly as good as the half i'm on now).

3.Ok, so the man thing has still got me down.

4.I don't know who my new boss will be, or what the outcome of my boss leaving is (this is beyond just the fact that he is leaving... that part is bothering me because he hired me and we get along and that his hard to come by. Plus he likes my work. Now, I've got to prove myself all over again!!)

5.I'm having one of those weeks where I don't feel so attractive.

6.I'm starting to freak out that if I feel this bad working overtime right now and being stressed out, how will I handle having a baby (by myself)?

7.Do I have cooties or something? I mean, seriously.

Ok... in order to combat the 7 bad thoughts... let's think of 7 good ones, shall we?

1.I am healthy. I need to run! (did i mention that running is a miracle drug?)

2.I am a damn good tester. (let's hope i can prove that to my next boss... or better yet, let them hire ME as the boss....not much chance there, but i can dream)

3.God has blessed me through this journey, so far, toward this adoption...

4.I got an "On the Spot Award" today, which was way cool.

5.Have I mentioned my love of Chocolate?!

6.My nephew told me today he LOVED my house... :D Way to a girl's heart.

7.I have a great life (and I don't have to mow my lawn today), different and all...

Peace.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Giving up

I'm grumpy today. Maybe it is because I overslept. Maybe it is because I had a very busy weekend and I'm still not done with the room that is going to be recarpeted**. Maybe it is because men suck. I don't know. Maybe it is because it seems like every time I go out with someone for some reason it doesn't seem to work out at all. I'm just pretty well fed up with it all today. This is maybe the 2nd time in my life that I've felt this way about giving up on ever meeting someone and having a relationship, but that is where I am right now.

(Oh, and don't get me wrong, I had a great time hanging out with my nephew this weekend. I think I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.)

So, people ask me why I'm adopting, and adopting alone. Why not wait for a MAN? UGH. Yeah right.... My answer...

Men. Who. Needs. Them. Really?! Seriously, if there is a single man out there who even knows what a relationship is about and who isn't freaking terrified of commitment or getting close to someone, I'd like to know it. I just don't think such a man exists anymore.

God, I'm crabby. Sorry.

**So, I have so much to do to get ready for the baby. I'm not quite half-way finished with my family room (re-doing due to cat and sanitation back-up issues), but am going to be thrilled when it is done. I got part of one wall painted yesterday, half the carpet pulled up so far (I WILL get the 2nd half of it pulled up tonight to go out with the garbage).... and half the baseboards Kilz'd yesterday.

Here again, wouldn't it be divine to have a man around who could actually do some of this for/with me? Good heavens it is a lot of work. BUT NO. No man around to help. For example, what the hell do I do with the tack strips? Can I pull them up and the carpet people will put new ones down? Or will they freak if I do this? Yes, I need to call them... but if I don't pull them up, then what if the wood retains the cat pee smell and the cats go back to that spot even though I've done EVERYTHING possible to get rid of it? (Ok, so, I might not let them in the room again without me, but it could happen and this being as much work as it is... I want to do everything in my power to prevent it happening again.)

And, you know, as usual, I WILL get this done. It will get done 99% alone. And a lot of times I'm ok with that (even though it doesn't sound that way right now)... sometimes I'll have a friend or my sis come help a little... but it can be depressing. Ok, enough of all that.

I think I need to re-focus. Maybe after the referrals this month... maybe in the next week? I'll have a *slightly* (ha) better idea when my referral might come and I might actually start working on the baby's room!!! Got to get focussed on that. It seems like it is so far off... and in the next instant is seems like it is way too close and I'm going to hyperventilate!! LOL.

As always, THIS TOO SHALL PASS. Right? Right... (until then, can I crawl back into bed?)

Peace.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Yikes, it is HOT

So, bright idea me goes out and cuts the grass during the hottest part of the day today! Eek. It is hot out there! It didn't seem soooo bad until I came in and now I'm just wiped. Sheesh. My neighbors even commented that maybe I should wait. HA. Me, wait? God love 'em. My grass was about 10 feet tall (ok, slight exaggeration) and it just had to be done. So. It. Is. Done. :)

I'm getting ready to watch 'Betwitched' on my mini-dvd player here in my office as my nephew watches tv upstairs. :)

Stay cool cats.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

2 other movies... or 4 hehe

I forgot to mention FOUR other movies I LOVE... lest you all think I'm a total blonde in my choices, haha.

Rear Window - Alfred Hitchcock 1954 version
Breakfast at Tiffany's

While You Were Sleeping and
Two Weeks Notice

Perhaps this doesn't help my cause, after all! LOL

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

As promised...

I've been tagged and I'm tagging HobbyHungry, Trip to Emily, Mortimer's Mom, Alyzabeth An, and Journey to Kavanna! :)

7 Things I'd like to do before I die.
1. Be a mommy.
2. Go to Europe again.
3. Get the house organized! ha
4. Get a dog.
5. Go on another mission trip.
6. Learn to speak another language.
7. Run marathons in all 50 states.

7 things I cannot do (or do well?)
1. Play volleyball.
2. Run a boston qualifying time.
3. Cook like my sister and her hubby.
4. Understand narrowminded people.
5. Be patient when I'm hungry or tired. (or at all? ha)
6. Seem to finish a quilt for myself (I do for others)
7. Move heavy furniture (and I need to be able to!)

7 things I can do
1. Run marathons
2. Quilt and sew
3. Curl my toes (which freaks out my BIL, cause my sis can too)
4. Pick good color combinations for things (like purses and quilts)
5. Garage sale (though my sis seems to have the knack like my aunt in finding deals!)
6. Sing (hopefully not too off key! ha)
7. Encourage others (when I try)


7 things that attracted me to my Husband
1. uh,
2. i'm
3. not
4. married,
5. enough
6. said
7. !!

7 things I say often
1. Apparently
2. Whatever!
3. Did you get that list together yet?! :) (to my sis re: garage sales)
4. Venti Carmel Mocha and a Grande Chai Tea, please...
5. Chicken Saag #5 and Chicken Saag #4 and an extra rice
6. I'm running X race this weekend (to the question of what are you running this weekend, Melissa? from my coworkers)
7. Still waiting (to the question of when am I expecting my little one)


7 Books I Love
1. The Bible
2. Atlas Shrugged (love/hate, anyway)
3. Kite Runner
4. Memoirs of a Geisha
5. Marathon and Beyond (ok, it is technically a magazine)
6. Grapes of Wrath
7. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night

7 Movies I Love
1. The Cutting Edge
2. Clueless
3. The Replacements
4. The Hoosiers
5. Save the Last Dance
6. Blue Crush
7. Legally Blonde

Working on the house

Besides going out of town this past weekend (spur of the moment trip to Colorado), I've been trying to get my family room re-carpeted. I've got part of the carpet up and most of the furniture out. I need to get the rest of the carpet up, paint, and then have them come put the new carpet in. I hope to get this done soon. No fun.

Next duty, start on the baby's room. It is a mess, and I need to get it started. Guess it is good that I am getting some stuff done before the baby comes, but it isn't the easiest thing. Guess that's what you get when you own a house, huh?!

Oh, and I'm keeping my nephew all weekend this weekend. Perhaps I'll find out how it is to have a kid in the house while trying to get things done. (That is, if we don't just stay at his house.) ha. Of course, I might take him to the acquarium and to get ice cream instead. :) hehe.

I need to respond to a tag, too. I will do that. :)

Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Ladybug purse

Monday, July 3, 2006

4th of July weekend

Happy 4th of July everyone! Very thankful to live in the good ol' USA!!

Tonight I got to hang out with a friend's little baby boy. He is a cutie... fell asleep on me. I have been starting to panic about how having a baby will be (been paper-pregnant for 8 months now, eek), and this was a nice feeling tonight. Helped calm my nerves a little.

I've been cutting out more purses. Pretty excited about that. I will likely start sewing on them tomorrow. Frog purses, butterfly purses and two different ones to honor the 4th of July- stars and stripes patterns. Fun. :)