Hello Rancho Cucamonga!

Along with blogstalking and blogwriting, I am addicted to my blog stats. Being sort of an analyst type person at work, I am constantly reviewing data, cutting it different ways and trying to glean some sense from the raw numbers. Yesterday I got 122 hits. Not sure why. I didn't post yesterday, and it doesn't seem that anyone linked to me, or any one person spent the day on my site. I had visits from 43 different cities in 7 countries. Here are my favorites:

• Rancho Cucamonga, California
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
• Apopka, Florida
• Colombia, South America (Hi John! Bring beautiful Gabriela home soon!)
• Columbia, Maryland (Wonder if I could adopt any frat boys from there?)
• Bronx, New York (Shout out to my neighbors in the Boogie Down)
• Brooklyn, New York (you guys too)

But the weird thing is I only got like one comment yesterday! What's up with that? Don't they speak english in Rancho Cucamonga? Drop a girl a note, won'tcha? I have often heard people say that they feel stupid leaving comments because they don't have anything witty to say. Really it's just an acknowledgement that you stopped by. Not leaving a comment is kind of like, walking up to a group of your friends, standing there listening but not saying anything, then walking away when you've heard enough! Wouldn't that be weird? Not that I am not guilty of it myself...but I try to say something if I've spent the time reading the entire post.

So let me ask you something...how do you manage your blog reading? Do you use bloglines or something similar? Do you keep a list in your "favorites" and then visit every site each day (or however often you sit down to read them). Do you use your own website (or someone else's) to link to your favorite blogs? I started to use bloglines, but I don't love it. You lose the "personality" of the author. So take this opportunity to delurk and introduce yourself. It's okay if your not a blogger, not adopting or whatever. It's nice to know who's out there!

And speaking of who's out there...I finally met Jen! We met for dinner and a drink here in NYC and it was really fun. My husband asked me how the food was, and I honestly don't even remember because we were gabbing so much. We have SO much in common, and it was so amusing to keep saying, Holy Crap, we're going to be parents! It's so great to talk to someone who "gets it". Okay, so she did harass me about my lack of preparation but I won't hold it against her ;) Thanks Jen for a great time, and I hope we can do that again sometime soon.

Well hope everyone has a great weekend. It seems like there is a big flurry of activity out there in adoption blogland...so happy for those who have recieved referrals, are close or have brought their children home! Makes me so anxious for my own referral!!

Thanks to all of you on your kind words about my crappy work week and the compliments on the crib. Work has been slightly better. Off to Birmingham Alabama for a few days next week for a conference. That wasn't one of the cities on my stats, so I dont think I'll be seeing any more bloggers, but I am looking forward to some serious BBQ!

Work Bad, Shopping & TV Good

I feel like I don't post enough, but I don't really have anything very interesting to say. Work has been absolutely craptastic. Friday was one of those days where when I finally got home, I collapsed into a sobbing heap. Even Ms Bad Ass Executive has days when she just can't take anymore shit. Suffice it to say that after spending an entire day trying to resolve a particular issue with a particularly obnoxious chauvinist colleague in a professional and constructive manner, my boss tells me that our President is thinking of making some very bad decisions that may affect me in a most dissatisfactory way. And with a new baby on the way, and me being the sole breadwinner when that happens, I'm a little on edge about it. After a hot shower and a decent night's sleep things were better. DH was very supportive about the whole thing, and we had a great day today. We went out for breakfast at our favorite diner, and then....we bought a crib! Finally! It only took us about 2 hours in the store. It's the Majestic Curved Top Crib from Munire. We bought the crib and a hutch thingie that's not in this picture.

After that we did some running around, including going to my favorite yarn store. Oh and we bought the most gorgeous mermaids today. They are going around the house somewhere and if we do end up with a girl, they will probably find their way into her room. I'll post pics of them next time.

I had to take two round trip flights this week, once to Buffalo, NY and once to West Palm Beach, Florida. I couldn't help but thinking what the flight would be like with our new baby. On one leg of my journey a couple sat next to me with a baby I guessed to be about 6 months old. Of course I thought "Oh great a crying baby". Turns out the baby was fine, the parents were annoying as hell. Tell me, when I finally become a mom, will I act like I am the only human on earth who has a cute baby? Please tell me I won't. This man was talking absurd baby talk non-stop and at the top of his lungs (Yes! You are my little Hulk baby, aren't you?! Yes you ARE!). I could hear him above my JetBlue television blasting in my ear phones. Honestly. The child does not yet have the capability of speech, please stop talking to her like she is going to answer you. Right before another flight, a very annoying woman would not get off her cell phone, even after the flight attendant told her to turn it off. During the third phone call, she left an extended voicemail message for her neighbor wishing her a happy holiday (I assume Rosh Hashanah), said I love you four hundred times, then put her young daughter on the phone that did the same thing. And get this, they were going on a FOUR DAY TRIP. You would have thought they were leaving for a year the way they were saying goodbyes. The young daughter whined and complained LOUDLY the entire trip and her parents ignored her.

I hearby give you all permission to hunt me down and smack me up side the head if I ever behave like that. I'm serious. I have to fly to Alabama in two weeks. Please people, behave yourselves.

In other news, is Thursday television the best ever OR WHAT??? The Office was so freaking GOOD I was dying. She didn't marry him!! Woo Hoo! And she pretty much told him she felt the same way the night of the kiss. Love. That. Show. Gray's was pretty good too. Poor Izzy. And McDreamy's smile makes my toes curl. I have always been a sucker for a killer smile. How did she not jump his bones after he told her he was in love with her?? Screw Mr. Vet Hoo-ah whatshisface. I watched ER after that, which was quite dramatic. While I still enjoy it, I think it won't be able to keep up with Gray's.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Wish me luck at work next week. I wish I could knit for a living or something....

Oh No She Di'int

So let's see...what to write about when you are just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring....Well, no one needs any lists on what to bring to Colombia, so I'll just have to improvise here. Okay, here's a kind of funny inane story.

Last weekend my husband and I were running errands and we passed this brand new Super Stop & Shop grocery store. We've been meaning to try it out, since we travel kind of far to our usual grocery store because, well, we are picky about the quality of produce and service, cleanliness, etc. We hoped this one would work out so we wouldn't have to travel so far. Ahh........no.

Upon entering the store, I go right to the deli line and pick a number from the little machine thingy. I walk over to my husband who was talking to an old friend who happened to be there. After a time, I walk back to the counter (I wasn't that far away) and the guy says "Oh, we aren't taking tickets, you have to get on line". NOW YOU TELL ME. So I lost a few spots, but whatever, I get on line, and try not to give the woman on line who CLEARLY SAW ME take the ticket, a dirty look. There are two people behind the counter. A young guy, who is clearly in no rush to service the 10 people on line in any expeditious manner. An older woman, who is shuffling around, sweeping and grumbling. After a time, the woman leaves the department. Twenty minutes later I am STILL on line, but now I am number two. The aforementioned woman comes back into the department, extremely disgruntled, saying things like "This place is crazy. Why I gotta still be here. I'm sposed to be gone already. I'm leavin at 7 no matta WHAT...blah blah blah." I turn to my husband and say, you KNOW she is going to wait on me now. Sure enough, as she's griping, she is putting on plastic gloves. "CAN I HELP WHO'S NEXT' she screams practically in my face...a face I might add, that had very few teeth. I give her my order and she turns to get the meat out of the case. Would you believe Miss Nasty Thing, in one fell swoop motion, did a big old SWIPE of her gloved hand across her nasty face, wiped her sniffly nose and scratched her head. UGH!!! I just said "You know what, forget it!!" and walked away. Almost half an hour and no order! We got a few necessities and left the store. That night I emailed a letter to the store, and the next day the store manager called to apologize. He said "As you can see we are having some challenges hiring the right people" Well I'll say!! So back to good old King Kullen who never fails us. I think I will write them a letter and tell them how great they are.

So that's all I got. Work is very busy. We are coming up on budget season here, so I've got to try and get it done soon so I am not working from Colombia. I mean, just in case, you know.

OH wait, I have some exciting news. In two weeks I am going to meet Miss Jennifer up close and in personal!! I am very excited to meet her. NYC watch out!! I figure she needs some kind of ally during her trip to see her family. I'm here for ya girl.

And lastly, The Office season premiere is coming!!! I know they are going to torture poor Jim this season, I hope my heart can take it. Now excuse me while I watch last seasons finale again, which is on TV right now.

Reflections on the Day

Today we attended a social event for our agency. I'll give you highlights, since I am too tired to be all that witty right now.

1. A referral was assigned today to the couple who was next up in the process. The way they did it was very cool. A little girl came out holding a bunch of pink balloons including one that said "It's a girl". Then another older child (adopted as a baby from Colombia) read a letter "from" the baby. It basically said, My name is xxxx and I was born on April xxxx. And my parents are...." And after a heart stopping pause they said the couples names. It was a great thrill for them and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. The picture was adorable.

2. I won a big basket of hair care products (KMS, Redken & Kiwi) in a raffle. I was very exicited. I don't even know how to use half the stuff I got (Blow silk? Sounds personal).

3. We got a thank you card from Arturo, the founder's husband who we entertained last month. He can't wait to see us in Bogota. We can't wait to see him either.

4. We got our official acceptance letter from the orphanage hand delivered. Now we just wait for THE CALL. We have NO idea how long this will take. The couple who got the referral today waited two months from their acceptance letter. The couple that is next up should get their referral tomorrow (there is a fundraising event and a referral is usually given there) which will be about 2 months for them too. We are next up after that. That would mean around November for us. Unless our agency doesn't get anymore referrals this year (they usually only get two in the fall) which means it wouldn't be until next year. I wouldn't mind so much except Christmas is in the middle there, and I would really like to know if we will get the baby before or after. Oh well.

Tomorrow is September 11th. As someone who works only a few blocks from ground zer0, I am not looking forward to going into work. To be honest, I will try to think of it as any other work day tomorrow, mostly so I don't get too nervous on the subway or on the street. I will try to take time to reflect on the day, probably later on when I am back home.

My story from that day is one of inconvenience...nothing in comparison to the things some people had to face.

On the radio that morning I heard a plane had hit the building. Thinking it was only a small plane that met an accidental end, I got on my normal commuter train into the city. Thanks to cell phones, we all quickly found out the truth. The train continued on into Penn Station. When we arrived, they evacuated the building. I walked with a group of people towards the 59th Str bridge with the intention of walking over into Queens. As we walked, a police officer stopped a city bus, ushered a group of people on, and let the bus go through the Midtown Tunnel. Once on the other side (we all applauded on the other side), I had no choice but to walk miles and miles to a working subway station. I took the subway to Jamaica station, and took a very crowded (but deadly silent) train back home. I left the house at 8 and didn't get home until 4. Because cell phone service was non existent, my family didn't know where I was until I got home. I didn't understand the impact of what happened until my husband ran up to me and hugged me when I got out of the car. I cried when I finally got to watch television and saw what happened. There are things I will never forget about that day. The crisp clean air and blue sky as I walked by a little park with children playing. The dead silence of the city streets as hundreds of people walked towards the various ways out. People silently standing at the open windows and doors of bars watching the television coverage or around cars listening to the radio. It was like a movie. The days after were surreal. We returned to our building 2 weeks later. Big trailers holding generators to supply electricity to the buildings. Huge cables snaking through the streets. Buildings covered in ash and soot. National guard manning the barricades surrounding subway exits, checking IDs to make sure you belonged downtown. Running my department out of the company board room because our other building was still unsafe.

Fortunately for me, I didn't know a single person who died that day. I heard lots of stories, and knew people who lost family and friends, but no one I knew personally. So it's a little easier for me. But I will take the time to give thanks for my good fortune, and to pray that the affected families continue to heal, and to just....remember.

It's raining and I have a head ache and...

Nothing going on with the adoption...we are waiting for official word from the orphanage about our paperwork. The review committee apparently meets twice a month, and we're not sure how the timing of the next meeting coincides with the arrival of our paperwork. We should hear in another week or so I would think.

We didn't buy a crib yet, but we are strongly leaning towards buying the Storkcraft crib I linked to in my last post. The frustrating part is that no one carries this line of cribs in stores. BRU, JCPenny and Walmart have them but you must order them sight unseen. Has anyone heard anything good or bad on these cribs? Epinions has two positive reviews but that's not much to go on.

The weekend was mostly drab and dreary...my mom and I did brave outlet shopping on Friday. Not sure what we were thinking on a rainy Friday right before the kids go back to school. I got a few things, and I even braved the Carter's outlet. What adorable stuff, I can't wait to go back once we get the referral. I did buy one gender neutral outfit there that I couldn't resist. So our child now has at least ONE thing to wear. Assuming the size is good, I bought 9 mos size just to be safe.

Not much else to say. I was recently tagged by Wavybrains for a meme (How do you pronounce that? mem or meem or what?), so here goes:

7 Things I Want to Do without Dying of Embarrassment
Get a pedicure
Eat lunch alone in a restaurant
Go to my GYN
Sing Karaoke
Speak in front of a large group
Get on a scale
Try on clothes in a dressing room with no curtain or doors

7 Things I Cannot Do in the Summer
I can't think of one single thing for this. I do everything in the summer, it's my favorite time of year.

7 Things I Can Do which are Meaningless Unless you are still in Junior High
Make sucky noises by sticking my palms together
Make a whistling noise with my tounge curled into a tube
Whistle really loud with two fingers (great at concerts and sporting events though)
Make a cootie catcher (that folded paper fortune teller thingie)
Do "Miss Mary Mack" really fast (and other assorted hand games)
Fling a bottle cap by snapping it
Do Cat's Cradle with string

7 Things Which Attracted Me to My House
It looks like my childhood home, same layout
It is 16 houses away from my parents
It is 10 houses away from the water (the other direction)
It has a private beach & marina (very small, but still nice)
It has a property owner's association, so we know alot of our neighbors
big backyard
It was a foreclosure so we got to customize alot of it (at the expense of our checkbook and our sanity, but who asked about that)

7 Things I Say Most Often When I am Crying
It's not fair
You're missing my point
I can't take this anymore
Why??
I don't understand
This totally sucks
F*&^(!!!

7 Children's Books I am Adding to My Own Collection
The Monster at the End of this Book
The Little Red Hen
Alexander and The horrible, terrible no good, very bad day
Guess how much I love you
Good night Moon
Curious George
Where the Wild Things Are
The Cat in the Hat

7 Children's Movies I Can Watch for the Bazillionth Time Without Wanting to Rip My Eyes from Their Sockets
Ice Age
Monsters, Inc
Aladdin
Wizard of Oz
Willie Wonka
Harry Potter
The Never Ending Story

Happy Humpday!