March High Five

Call me crazy, but I have signed on to do the 3 Day. It is in November and I have already started training. This is already starting to be a great experience. I have honestly been enjoying my weekend 6 mile training walks on the beach. If you would like to donate please visit my fundraising website: http://www.the3day.org/sandiego07/lisamehtlan

I bought a sewing machine. It is the Brother CS 6000T Computerized Sewing Machine. I have never had a desire to sew, but I want to make our 100 wishes quilt so I decided to learn. I don't know if it's the machine or I have the knack, but I LOVE SEWING! This machine kicks ass. 110 different stiches. I have been a sewing fool.

Try the new Pomegrante Passion. It will rock your world. Enough said.

I have had a pair of these Tweezerman tweezers for like 5 years now. I LOVE THESE TWEEZRS. One day they dissapeared. For two weeks I looked for them, no luck, they are MIA. So I went to Target and bought a cheapo pair to replace them. Nothing comes close to these tweezers. The next day I went out and purchased another pair of Tweezermans. My brows have not been happier. Oh, and two days later I found my lost Tweezermans.

Trader Joes Diner Macaroni and Cheese

If you have a Trader Joes in your area, run don't walk and throw as many boxes as you can in your cart. I stumbled across this tasty gem while perusing the frozen section. Originally, I got the mac and cheese for the boys to eat for easy fend-for-yourself dinners, but one night everyone in my family was gone so it was just me for dinner, so I popped this into the nuker and heated it up. Oh. My. God. This mac and cheese is to die for, really. You have to try it to believe it. So go ahead try it. I think it is like 1500 calories and 50 grams of fat per serving, but worth every bite.

Pipe Dreams and a Hoop Jumper

Me jumping through a hoop---------------->

It's Monday! I can hear the sounds of jack hammers, trucks, chainsaws, the smell of freshly cut lumber being delivered and set on the lawn, the plumber tackling the 55 year old pipes, the electrician installing the new can lights in my new master bedroom. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. Whaa? Awww MAN! It was a dream??? Yeah, a dream. No permit issued on Wednesday. Crap on a cracker.

I have come to the realization that I am a hoop jumper. With our adoption of the boys we jumped through several hoops, one really major hoop, in fact. With this adoption, LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of hoops. Now we are jumping through more hoops with the County to issue our building permit. Yes, folks we have to wait another two weeks to see if he changes that were made are approved and THEN we will get our building permit. I could write some really stinky things about the County but, I believe in karma so I will bite my tongue, because we REALLY need this permit to get started. Is life about hoop juming or is just me? My new motto is "Gimme a hoop and I'll jump it". I am the Evil Kenevil of hoop jumping.

Positive thoughts and good vibes needed!

Addition/Remodel before pictures

Trampoline gone, future home to our new great room

Sunroom gone, home to our new master bedroom

Tomorrow morning we have a meeting with the building department so see if our plans are up to snuff. We did our prelimenary and structural changes so in our architect and contractors' eyes they are good to go, lets just hope they are good to go in the eyes in the County. If he issues us our building permit tommorow we can start demolition on Monday. Can you believe I said MONDAY?!?!?!?! The design and permit process has been almost a 7 month process. Ay Dios Mijo. And to think just adding a bedroom for our new babygirl snowballed into a 773 square foot addition. At least she will have a smokin' hot kitchen to eat breakfast in.

BLAH

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

....one of my favorite Jack Johnson tunes, it's kinda been my mantra for the last few months. Speaking of Jack, I think I am going to stalk him when I am on the north shore. He is soooo easy on the eyes.

So, this is the room where our dossier in China sits. I think I see ours! It is the fourth row from the right, third shelf down, 12th dossier in the stack on the left. See it? Yeah, me neither. I really hope it's in that room. I hear they might be matching as we speak, come on...BIG BATCH, BIG BATCH!!!

The sisterhood of A-parents

My previous post got me thinking, got the emotional side of my brain riled up. When we adopted the boys almost 11 years ago there was no such thing as a yahoo group, an adoption community (or blogs for that matter) that I was a part of. We had a access to a support group, one for toddlers adopted from foster care, but I went to one meeting and quickly realized these people were very different from me, so I decided to forgo a 'support group' and relied on my friends and family for parenting advice and support. When our adoption coordinator from our agency suggested I sign up for the agency yahoo group, I had no idea what he was even talking about, but followed the link and it brought me to a whole new world of people in the same boat as we were. People that know the pain of paperwork, watching your savings account dwindle as you write check after check to government agencies and Livescan places, high fiving you when you get out of the review room, and most of all helping each other get through the wait. Ah, THE WAIT. As of right now we are told that we should expect a 24 month wait. I have no idea what to expect. I feel kinda lucky though, because we have the boys to keep us busy, the wait does not feel so excruciating. I really feel for my waiting first-time parent friends. I have been there. Though we didn't have to wait 2 years, only one, it still sucks nonetheless. The one good thing about this wait is that we are logged in a long time after most of the group I belong to. It is going to be so amazing as I watch these deserving couples receive their babies and begin a new chapter in their lives as a family of three (or four if they are lucky to be matched with twins!). So to all the waiting A-parents, hang in there, I am your biggest cheerleader.

I heart my Band Geeks

The boys are in concert band at school. Conner plays trombone and Reed plays clarinet. Tonight they had a festival concert and they did great! It is so cute and funny to see them oh, so spiffy in their crisp white shirt, black tie, black dress pants and scraggly, shaggy surfer boy hair. It's a pretty funny sight because fifty percent of the boys in the band look exactly the same way. Other than the music, the best part was Conner's socks. He could only find one of his black dress socks (unbeknown st to me), so, Einstein, had the brilliant idea to wear one black dress sock and one white sock (the black socks are required, so at least one is better than none, right?). During the concert the only thing you could focus on was the solo white sock. Only my kid. But, honestly, I would not change these moments for the world. This is one of the many perks of being a parent. Children are funny, just too damn funny. I crack up daily at the things they say and do, and believe me they do many. Like the time when we were walking to our car in the school parking lot and Reed (I think he was in 3rd grade) was talking to his teacher about surfing and she asked him if he liked to go surfing with his dad and Reed says "Yes, we go surfing on the weekends but we couldn't go this weekend because my dad drank too much duh-geela (tequila) at his birthday party and he had the barfs". Um, yeah, did I mention he attended a very uptight Catholic School and his teacher was a nun? I did, however hear through the grapevine that she was known to throw back a pint or two of Guinness after the Epihany Program. I wonder if she ever got the barfs?

February High Five

Beach by Bobbi Brown

If you want to have a flashback to your childhood, spritz on a shot of this fragrance and you will be channeling your teens. It smells like Coppertone suntan lotion with a hint of citrus and vanilla notes. It's my favorite spring/summer scent.

Ahhhhhh.....PF Changs Lettuce Wraps, one of my favorite-est things on earth.

Arbonne NutriMinC® RE9 REpair, Corrective Eye Crème. Just started using this skincare line and I LOVE this eye cream. I have used eye creams in the past and they we so-so, but this stuff rocks out the fine lines and dark circles.

I need to make a shout out to the dude (I didn't get his name) that helped me today at Ikea. I am ordering my kitchen cabinets and he was very, very helpful and answered my stupid questions while trying to work the auto cad kitchen designer computer thing. I was totally clueless and he never once yelled at me (unlike the stupid guy from Norton/Symantec that yelled at me and then hung up because I could not understand his accent, JERK!).

OPI Kangarooby, a deep ruby red that looks fabulous on my freshly pedicured toes.

Alo-frigging-ha

Oh yeah baby! We are Hawaii bound..........................! Well, not until November, Thanksgiving week to be exact but still. I have something beside China to look forward to!!! Booked our trip today. We are going with my sister-in-law and her family plus Grandma Gold and Grandpa Talkslikeaduck. It's going to be a blast. We will spend 9 days in Oahu on the North Shore surfing, hiking, biking, surfing, kayaking, eating, surfing and deep sea fishing. Mahalo!

Greetings from Typhiod Island

It's sucky here on my island. While visiting here you will experience:

• Fever
• Sore throat
• Body aches
• Coughing
• Runny nose
• Sneezing attacks

So far only three have come down with it and the fourth is hanging in there. I am feeling a bit better and have been going into work despite hacking up a lung to all of my fellow officemates dismay. The show must go on.

Yesterday I got flipped off. It was great. I was taking the boys to school, quite early and yeah, I was driving half asleep, and my 'game' was a little off. I switch lanes and I accidentally cut off some guy in a cheesed out BMW. If I cut me off I'd be pissed to, but not to the extent of this guy. He flips me off. Not just flipping the bird, but a biting the lower lip, furrowed brow, evil in his eye flip off. He pulls up next to me yelling. I didn't look at him so that pissed him off even more. Geez, SOMEBODY was having a crappy morning. This got me thinking, what is it with the flip off? It's a finger, a middle one. What gives? I know there is a history behind the middle finger that I was told once but can't remember. How can one finger pack such a statement? I mean what was better that flipping your parent off behind their back when they said No You Can't Go To The Movies With Amy. (Darcy, our Social Worker, if you are reading this I REALLY did have a normal, great childhood). It just made you feel sooooo good! I can't remember the last time I flipped someone off. I'm sure it was Mark.

Whens the last time you flipped someone the bird?