Habitat-ing

Jeff and I are both off this week and we debated about what to do since we're #1 - broke and #2 - broke. So we decided to spend a couple days volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. Jeff has wanted to do it for a while and I am all for trying to build a better community so it was a good opportunity to take care o' business. Today was our first day and we got up super early, threw on some old yucky clothes, packed the pb&j's and hammers and sped off.

We spent the day putting up siding on one of the houses. It's amazing how long it actually takes to put up a little bit of siding. It was fun though and we met some pretty neat folks.

So what the picture is upside down?!?

I even got to wear a little nail apron to hold my tape measurer, nails, hammer, pencil (you know the square-ey one that carpenters use) and siding cutter gadget.

I was afraid of Jeff being on these big ole ladders...if you know his ladder history then you know why my heart skips a beat every time he climbs up on one. But he was loving it so I kept my sweet mouth shut.

We are back again tomorrow and it is supposed to pour down rain. They told us that all action proceeds as normal unless it lightnings or tornadoes (yes it's a verb) so we will pack the ponchos and head out at daybreak. What a spring break!

Baby Fever

I have some hard core baby fever this week. It seems like everyone I know has wee ones. I am so grateful that I have babies with chubby cheeks that I can pinch and can still hear baby coos and see gassy smiles but, is it wrong of me to really, really want one of my own?!? When our little Lily Faith comes home she is going to be spoiled absolutely rotten and I am going to soak up every second. I am not going to miss one minute of baby lovey-ness when I finally get the chance. After so many years of dreaming about being a mommy, I think it's about time that this happens already :). Pretty please with a cherry on top.

I Love People...

...but some times they suck. And to memorialize that sentiment I bring you a couple of quotes from David Sedaris who I will be fortunate enough to see live with my dear bro in a few weeks...

“I haven't got the slightest idea how to change people, but still I keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out.”


“Maybe I'll learn a trade. I've considered taxidermy. I always thought it was a shame you couldn't do that on people.”

Hee hee. That dude is fu-hu-unny.

Ode to the lizard in my window

You frolicked in the sun while it was cold outside.

Your presence in our house made my hubby tongue-tied.

Emerging in the day and hiding out at night.

A reptile, bug eater, quite a sight.

Google says you live for 3 years

So why, now, was your passing so near?

Such a sleek, fast, pretty green mover.

Sorry I had to suck you up in my Hoover.

P.S. I didn't kill the lizard. It lived a full life in our window and died of natural causes some time this week.

Perspective

Last week I had a couple of interesting clinical days that made me ponder a few things. Before I started nursing school, I really had no clue what health care was about. In reality, I learn more every day about what it is like to care for a patient, their family and their health care experience...and I know that I will forever be learning and molding my skills and ability. Taking care of a patient/client is so much more than being able to interpret their lab work and knowing the side effects of their medications. It is about talking, showing kind eyes, encouraging without providing false hope, wrapping your literal and figurative arm around someone who is ill and their spouse, parent, child and cushioning them from the blow of a sometimes unexpected and never welcome experience. I am learning this. It isn't always easy to translate a nurturing instinct into caring for someone whom you have never met. But it is possible and I feel it happening more and more with every experience with which I am faced.

In this whole nursing school experience, I learn from so many places...from my instructors, from the nurses and doctors in the clinical setting, from my peers, my books, but mostly I learn from those I am caring for. And my lessons aren't all about nursing. Last week I learned about life and perspective, hope and inspiration, courage, optimism and tenacity. I met someone who could only teach me with smiles through pain, "tomorrows" and "next years" without knowing if they would come to be and overwhelming gratitude for every breath and every moment. These lessons are the most valuable of not just my nursing school experience but, also, of my life. I don't know if my "teacher" last week knows these lessons that I took away from our time. I do know that, in this adventure, I have the potential every day to meet people who will inspire me. So when I feel down, when I am immersed in my pity parties and grump fests, I will try to remember the perspective of a very special person who I met last week and smile through pain, talk about tomorrow and next year and be grateful for each breath and each moment. If he can do it, I can do it...right?

Drumroll please...

The number of months we have been waiting since our paperwork was logged in in China is now exactly the same number of years that I have been on this planet....

Happy 33rd Month-A-Versary to us!!

Freaky Plastic People

Not since this guy has a marketing campaign freaked me out like this. Old Navy (sorry Bran!) has these weird mannequins that have smiley evil joker looking faces that stare RIGHT-AT-Me every time I walk in to the store. Granted, they have some cute clothes on but I kinda walk away from the plastic people and toward the clothes sans mannequins just to minimize the freaky factor.

Missing the lost hour

This Daylight Savings mess is killing me I tell you. Of course, in my leisurely life I usually don't wake up till 7 or 8 and I had to get up at 5 this morning...which we all know is REALLY 4 am due to that weird person who thought up daylight savings. Who would have ever thought of messing around with our clocks like that? I'm sure it was some big ego man.

Anyway...on to something more meaty. I have had multiple different types of clinicals this semester and, so far, I have really only determined areas that I DON'T want to work in...not found something that I loved yet. I had pediatrics. I am too much of a worry wart for that one. I had some serious Psych stuff. I am too paranoid myself for that one. I have had a little oncology. My patient rejected me. SO...now what?? Maybe I should sleep for a few days so that I can clear my head. :)

EKG - LMNOP

This is what we're studying in nursing school right now - EKG interpretation. It's hard to really realize that each little bump and spike and the correlating little boxes on the graph-type paper can actually tell you an enormous amount of information about someone. I am finding it pretty interesting to try and interpret these funny things. Fortunately Jeff can read them basically with his eyes closed.

This afternoon I am actually going to sit in a telemetry monitoring room for a few hours and try to interpret what's going on with people's hearts. If you have ever been in a hospital with a bunch of sticky things on your chest attached to wires, attached to a box that you had to carry with you, often in the pocket of your awkward hospital gown, then you may know about telemetry. That little box sends your continuous EKG pattern to a special room in the hospital where someone stares at it on a TV screen, waiting for it to do something funny. If the bumps or spikes don't behave as they should then they call the nurse taking care of you or just go ahead and send the crash team to shock you if need be. Kinda scary. But also kinda neat, huh?

My Butterfly

My sweet baby girl,

One day you will be born into this world. It's scary here some times and I worry that this world won't be good enough for you. I promise that I will protect you from electric sockets, mean people and sharp table corners. You will cry and I will hold you and sing you lullabies.

One day you will be a toddler. I worry that you may get sick or that there will be mean people who cross your path. I promise that I will protect you from unkind words and icky germs. You will cry and I will hold you and rub your head and tell you that everything will be ok.

One day you will be a child. I worry that you will feel insecure, that you won't see the gifts inside of you. I promise that I will be your biggest fan and protect you from sadness. You will cry and I will hold you and remind you of how special you are.

One day you will be a teenager. I am worried that someone will break your heart, that you will want to grow up and not be my baby anymore. I promise that I will be here to encourage you through heartache, to teach you all I know about life and let go just enough. You will cry and I will hold you, wipe away your tears and listen to your dreams.

One day you will be a woman. It's scary here and some times I am worried that this world will not be good enough for you. I promise to prepare you for what lies ahead and to show you how beautiful it can be. You will cry and I will hold you and smile. You are my butterfly. I can't wait to see you soar.

Love,

Your Mommy

Horrible Flashback

I had to go to the dentist yesterday and had a couple of teeth worked on. That horrible bruxism is really affecting my poor teeth. Anyway...the dentist decided to empty all of her numby medicine into my cheek and face. I swear, I was numb from my chin to the middle of my scalp for at least 6 hours. It sucked. Of course I was thankful I didn't feel all the drilling and grinding away of my teeth but still...I am a little sensitive about having a dead face.

Me yesterday trying to smile:

Me in 1994 with Bell's Palsy and my loving sister mocking me:

Eventually last night the feeling came back but not after I had had a mini panic attack.

Brain Rotting Television

The television is really a star in our household. One of Jeff's most noticeable traits is just how completely and utterly zoned out he gets when the television is on. He is really unreachable. I could really stand on my head dressed like Abby from NCIS and he wouldn't even see me when the TV is on. (I still love you honey) Although it really doesn't take any special show to make him enter the TV trance, there are a few shows that I think are just brain rotters but I watch them anyway.
The Bachelor: Jason edition : We have not watched this all season but watched the finale last night along with the "After the Final Rose" special. I was completely mesmerized. This dude is one confused puppy.
The City: Jeff doesn't watch this one but I LOVE it. I have to DVR it on Monday nights so I can watch it during my "alone time". There is just something fascinating about young rich people who have neat-o jobs, hottie boyfriends and go partying every night. They could leave out the eating disorders and cheating partners though.
Sober House: Not my favorite but it entertains me nonetheless. This is a bunch of has-beens who have some substance abuse issues. It happens to be on my TV right this moment and I just heard some reference to Swing-Fest. Trash. Gotta love it.

You're the One That I Want...Oooh ooh ooh honey

What child of the 80's does not remember sitting in her bedroom with her brand new boombox, listening to pop music while serenading to her care bear or cabbage patch doll? Am I really the only one? Well? So I have issues, sue me. But really, I have always loved Olivia Newton-John...even her early country music. Seeing her in concert this weekend was a once in a lifetime experience for me. The concert was fantastic and, of course, she still looks gorgeous. We had TERRIFIC seats...6th row just off center. She sang songs from both Xanadu (my favorite) and Grease along with some oldies and newer selections. Jeff loved it also and was the self-appointed photographer/videographer for the event.

One thing I noticed is that I was probably the youngest person in the audience. And I had the cutest shoes ;).

Laptop-less

I enjoy surfing the web too much. Way too much. And I have the DT's. I have been without my laptop now for over a week. Granted we also have a desktop and Jeff has ownership of Dad's hand-me-down laptop but still...anyone who is an avid surfer extraordinaire like me needs their own laptop with the favorites, bookmarks, picture files, the keys that are indented with their very own fingertips.

Anyway, I digress. I am awaiting delivery of a new power cord because mine is frayed to bits. Jeff tried taping it, soldering it (thanks Jason for my spelling correction) all for naught. It is dead. Moment of silence, please.

Since I can't surf the web, blog comfortably or work on clinical paperwork I might as well go out of town, right?!? So tomorrow Olivia Newton-John awaits Jeff and I in MS. Wish me foofy hair and leg-warmers. Tata for now. :)

Shopping Cart Klepto

Obviously I don't have much going on lately because I am about to blog about another Wal-Mart incident. Seriously sad, isn't it? So this week I was shopping as usual and loaded a few things into my cart - some veggies, bread, yarn, yada yada. I don't know how many people do this but often when I am in Wal-Mart, I leave my cart at the end of a crowded aisle when I only need one thing in said aisle because the huges masses of people prevent me from maneuvering my cart without seriously wanting to ram someone head on. So I parked my cart at the end of the shampoo aisle...innocently going to grab some Herbal Essences and return toot-sweet to continue my shopping adventure. When I returned to my cart, shampoo in hand, I found a glassy eyed woman steering it away from me. What do I do? Did I say, "Excuse me, I believe you have my cart."? That would have been the reaction that would make the most sense, right? Well...no I didn't. I proceeded to follow the woman with my cart up and down 3 aisles of Wal-Mart until she left it to go look at something and then I snuck behind her and stole my cart back. The strange thing is that I passed right by her with said cart and she didn't even give me an awkward glance. Instead, she maintained the glassy eyed visage.
You know what the real stinker is? Out of the 30 check-out lines at the Super Wal-Mart, she chose to get in line right behind me to pay for her goods. But were they really her goods or had she stolen someone else's cart too?? Hmmm....

Nascar, Nursing School and 25 Things

I took a little bloggy vacation. I actually made a post then quickly took it down cause it was very pity party like and I never get good feedback on those kind of rants so I thought I would spare all 3 people who follow me. Suffice it to say I have been way way down in the dumps these past few days. It's hard to find a blog topic when your head is stuffed underneath a pillow, right?!?

So...I will return to one of my favorite topics...Jeff and his goofiness. He was all a-grin this past weekend cause his favorite past-time has returned to television. Strange how one person's joy is another person's eye-rolling extravaganza.

No mas Sundays of sports free bliss in this household. Poop.

On another topic, I am really on the countdown to nursing school graduation now...not so much excited (although it is there) as so, so ready to get back to work. Although school is mostly enough to keep me occupied, it doesn't bring in any bucks...and my hair needs a new do. So there is now less than 6 months on the nursing school countdown. The last official day of school should be August 7th. Dude sweet.

And finally...since I spent a long time writing it, I am going to post my "25 Random Things" here. It was a Facebook thing but it is blog-worthy too.

1. I know that writing this will take me hours and I have a million other things to do but I am gonna do it anyway.
2. I played the viola when I was in the 6th grade. I loved it and remember vividly holding a "concert" for my family at my grandmother's house in Orlando and playing Oh Susanna.
3. I am a horrible communicator. Some of that comes from my aversion to talking on the phone. Text messaging and e-mail are my friends. My horrible communication does not correlate at all to how much I love my friends and family...it's just a flaw in my otherwise perfect personality (ha ha!).
4. I actually did wear leg-warmers over my jeans for the entire year that I was in 4th grade. I also had kinda feathered hair and LOVED Olivia Newton-John. Thus, I am going to see her in concert on Feb. 28th and will continue my obsession by doing the "Physical" dance from my 6th row seat.
5. I worked in non-profit for 10 years. I liked having a job with a heart but I ALWAYS wanted to work in health care. SO...I left it all behind and am almost finished with nursing school. This is one dream that I am proud to have pursued.
6. I am a picture fanatic. I carry my digital camera in my purse and document EVERYTHING with a picture. I also do lots of self-pictures (solo and group) to memorialize occasions. My family has reflexive eye rolling every time I reach into my purse.
7. I love to read and write poetry. I started writing when I was a wee kid and still enjoy it when something inspires me. I find that it really is the best way to express myself. My favorite modern day poet is Maya Angelou.
8. I am insanely close to my family. My parents and siblings are really my best friends. We talk to each other at least once a day and they are always the first people I want to call when I'm happy, sad or just peeved. I am so extremely lucky.
9. I complain about my husband. Who doesn't, right?!? That doesn't mean that I don't count the minutes until he gets home every night.
10. I am a closet foodie. Well...maybe not so closet. I love food, love trying new restaurants, am always on the lookout for new, healthy (low point) snacks. I have Birmingham and Atlanta restaurant review websites saved in my favorites and I check them often to see if there is some place new I should be visiting to feed this obsession. One of the most recent places I've tried was LottaFrutta in Atlanta...I highly recommend it for a "hole in the wall" treat.
11. I taught myself to knit and crochet via YouTube. My great grandmother taught me a basic chain stitch in crochet when I was like 6 but I never made it further. Since my YouTube lessons in December, I have knitted a scarf and crocheted a baby afghan, skinny scarf and 3 hats. It has become my stress reliever so high stress = hats for everyone :).
12. I hate sports. I know...hate is a strong word. As unpopular as it is here in Alabama, I don't like college football but I make myself suffer through just to placate my husband. I really, really wanna like it but I just can't. I even try wearing the attire, ask questions to try to understand it better and search the cable guide for the SEC teams. It doesn't help. I also hate Nascar. I hate golf. I hate basketball. I hate baseball. I like to watch the Olympics but that is only every 2-4 years, right?
13. I have a closet full of professional clothes that I KNOW I will never wear again. I haven't worked in an office in over a year but I haven't cleaned out my closet yet "just in case". I am happy that my future holds lots of scrub-wearing and sneakers but I just can't let it go quite yet.
14. I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers. Over 2 years, I lost 199.6 lbs and made my goal. I constantly struggle with my weight and right now have about 20 lbs (well...maybe 25) to lose but I am extremely proud of myself nonetheless. If given the chance to tell someone about Weight Watchers and my story, I seize the moment.
15. I am bossy. For some people this is aquired over time but I was truthfully born bossy. My parents have a tape of us kids when I was about 4 and I was bossing my siblings and talking over them even then. I hate to hear that tape but I know I am STILL that way. My excuse is that I can't control it...it is written in my genes.
16. I am a coffee addict. One of my "heavens" is my Dad's coffee station with his Keurig, Tassimo and cappucino maker with every flavor of coffee and creamer within arms reach. I could spend $100 a week at Starbucks on skinny caramel lattes in the winter and caramel frappucino lights in the summer.
17. I DVR Judge Judy and Divorce Court for my husband every day. Watching these mindless shows at the end of a long work day is his guilty pleasure and I love to see him laugh out loud when Judge Judy chews out some clueless defendant.
18. I blog, therefore I am. I am also trying to figure out Twitter. Jeff says I put myself "out there" too much but I just say WHATEVER. If you don't like it, don't read it, right?!?
19. Some times I zone out. I know I'm doing this when Jeff taps me and says, "Whatcha thinking?". My answer is mostly that I'm thinking about one of four things...being somewhere warm with the sun shining on me, what I'm going to fix for dinner, school and what I need to be studying or my baby girl in China and when I will hold her.
20. Jeff and I decided to adopt a child from China 1,203 days ago. This decision has defined my life since that moment.
21. I sing in the car. Some times I am singing folksy songs with the Indigo Girls, rapping with Jay-Z or head banging with Linkin Park. If you pass me on the road, just ignore my party please. 22. Sometimes I go to the greeting card aisle at Wal-Mart and just read the cards. So - I have too much time on my hands. I just like to read them...sue me.
23. I want to be a perpetual student. Really, I want to continue my education and become a nurse practitioner specializing in some kind of critical care area or oncology. I believe, fully in my heart, that this career is part of my purpose.
24. I can't sit through an entire movie. If I go to the movie theater, I have to take a self-imposed intermission. I just can't manage to sit still long enough to enjoy a whole 2-3 hour movie.
25. I am a dreamer. Always have been, always will be.

Sorry no blog lately....

Maybe tomorrow.

"The BIRD" is NOT for 2 year olds

Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart...not my favorite place but I go just for the cheap groceries and yarn to support my new habit. Anyway, I was in the 40 person long line sighing my life away and there was a woman with her little girl in front of me. Of course when we reached the little part of the line where the candy lines the aisle on both sides (which I say is a marketing strategy just to drive parents to drink) the little girl started crying for a ring pop or that candy that you squeeze from a tube. The mother told her no but the little girl's resolve got stronger. She HAD to have that teeth rotting paraphernalia and would not take no for an answer. Finally the mom had had enough and said with absolute conviction, "NO!". What I saw next defied nature. This little one who had to use vowel filled jumbles of jabber to communicate as she wasn't yet forming complete sentences with complete words jabbed out her pint sized arm, bent her wrist toward the sky and extended her middle finger at her mother, neatly making sure all of the surrounding fingers were in their resting positions.

Needless to say, my eyes got huge, my mouth dropped and the mother stopped focusing on her temper tantrum having toddler and looked straight at me. I could read her eyes. She was humiliated and her desperate eyes were telling me that there were older siblings or a misbehaving daddy at home that were to blame for this incident. I felt bad for her and puzzled by her at the same time. I'm not out to judge a parent because I know, although I am not yet a mother, how extremely difficult it can be to raise a child right. But the bird...at 2 years old or less?!? All I can say is that this little girl is a smart one with a lot of dexterity. BUT...the only bird she should be thinking about is this one...
'Nuff said.

Adoption Forecast: February

Referrals for this month came out a little while ago but no one was really sure how dismal they really were. If you remember last month's post ( http://nicolesdoodlings.blogspot.com/2008/12/adoption-forecast-january.html ) I talked a little about how horrendous the LIDs in March, 2006 are. There are more parents in waiting logged in in March than any other month in recorded history of Chinese adoption. This coupled with the slowing adoption process equals some forecasts of 12-18 months for China to finish the month and move on to those logged in in April. They are pretty much on track with that this month, referring only 2 days of LIDs, March 1 & 2, 2006.

• We now have 104 LIDs ahead of ours, June 14, 2006.
• We lost a couple weeks (19 days to be exact) this month with our new estimated date of referral being July 28, 2010. If forecasts for March are correct then we could lose this amount of time each month, pushing our date of referral exponentially further out.
• The average rate of referrals is now 5.6 days of LIDs per calendar month. 104 LIDs ahead of us/average of 5.6 days = 18.6 more months of waiting.

Our little jar kinda looks like it is getting more full instead of more empty. Also, this month the CCAA had a while off for Chinese New Year so referrals will probably not be here until some time in March. Deep breath, deep breath...patience.

So....I was stressed out this week

And of course my new stressed out activity is crocheting. I'm not too great at it but I am experimenting and really am actually loving it. My objective was to make some cute things for my baby girl but now I have also become a hat making fool. Of course I made a cute little hat/skinny scarf duo that I have bestowed upon my Penny doll (that my Grandma B made out of panty hose like 25 years ago) until our Lily Faith can wear it. It is cute and fuzzy and yummy.

And Brandee modeling her new pimp hat...blue of course to bring out her eyes.

And Leslie doing the blossom thing with her purple and green combo.

Stay tuned for a crochet fashion show near you.

He's a joker, a toker, a fast backstroker

I'm sure the whole world knows by now about Michael Phelps and his reefer incident. I am sad cause I had a little boy crush on him when he was in the Olympics -- > http://nicolesdoodlings.blogspot.com/2008/08/olympic-excitement.html . I am sure he wasn't in possession of any doobies in the swimming pool.

P.S. I have to give credit for our local sportscaster, Mikey Baby for the quippy rhym that entitles this post.

My Uncooperative Subject

I crocheted Jeff another hat tonight...a more hip and funky one that I think is super cute in a manly way. He is not a very cooperative model for my new "art"...in other words, he HATES when I take pictures. I had to chase him up the stairs to try to get a shot of him with the hat on.

Of course he was trying his best to push my arm away without realizing that it makes the pictures come out oh-so-much-more attractive. hee hee.

Can you even see the hat?

Well...I think it's cute anyway.

And it was fun to try to take his goofy picture.

Happy Year of the Ox!

Monday isn't just another Monday this week...it's Chinese New Year! Bring on the Year of the Ox. According to the internet, the Year of the Ox is "dependable, calm and modest". I'm not sure how that translates in to our adoption but let's hope it ends up being more dependable than modest. I hope everyone starts this Year of the Ox off with a bang. Happy New Year!!

28 Seconds

We have now had some of the most memorable 28 seconds of our lifetimes.



"We gather together because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord." - President Barack Obama

The Shred and the Hat

I am still trying to do the 30 Day Shred...as many days as my poor knees can handle it. This weekend Jeff agreed to try it with me...so now we are Mr. and Mrs. Shredder.

I am also still working on the knitting/crocheting hobby and decided to take on a baby hat with the leftover yarn from the afghan that I finished. So the whole sizing thing didn't work out too well for me.

Can't you hear it, "Honey...this hat is NOT gonna fit our baby." ?? Hee hee.

But it will fit Nicole...Jeff says I'm trying to bring some Blossom back. What do you think?

Music I Love

There are a few musicians and types of music that I really get in to. I have been lucky enough to see lots of my favorites in concert. For example...I went to the most amazing Linkin Park concert ever with Dad at a small venue in London, Jeff and I went to see Justin Timberlake and Pink in Nashville and had rockin seats, I have been up close and personal with The Last Goodnight here in B'ham a few times, Jeff and I saw Brian McKnight at the Alabama Theatre last year, and I saw the Indigo Girls at Chastain Park (one of the most fantastic venues of all time) in Atlanta with Brandee and Leslie this summer. And on the Indigo Girls note, Amy Ray, one member of the duo, came to Workplay on Friday night and, of course, we all had to go and watch her croon. She really is super talented and sings raw, meaningful and poetic lyrics (in line with the Indigo Girls who are the most amazing poets through their song writing).

Sorry this video is sideways...I thought I would get a better picture if I turned the camera on it's side and it turns out that I don't know how to flip it the right way. Although I was in a strange and funky mood Friday, I still managed to soak up some great music.

Pretty Knots

I have now completed an entire crochet project...this Sweet Pea afghan for our wee one. She will be very warm so she can go ahead and come home now, right?!?
I like the colors and I'm thinking I may use them to do the nursery. We have been thinking about painting the walls yellow but now maybe a light green...hmmmm. What do you think?

What the freak is a plank jack?

I am still doing Jillian's 30 Day Shred (see here --> http://nicolesdoodlings.blogspot.com/2009/01/im-shredding.html ) and today I moved up to Level 2 of the 3 that are on the DVD. I have done Level 1 7 times now (I had to take a couple days off cause I was sick) and I felt pretty comfortable with it. The initial impending death feeling was going away. Well...it came back today. Level 2 is full of plank variations...the plank jack, plank obliques, walking push-ups with a plank...yada yada. I had to do the girly version of all the moves and still wimped out at the end. It was evil.

I am really not losing too much weight even doing Weight Watchers and extra cardio with my Shred but I will monitor my measurements and stick to it...eventually the weight will have to come off, right?!?

Here is an example of a plank jack with an oblique twist...this woman rocks.

Dream

You know how dreams sometimes only stick with you for the moments after you first wake up? I JUST had a flashback of one of mine from last night and I feel like I have to document it before it leaves me. I dreamed that I was in a room full of people with their kids (I don't know if it was a birthday party, gymboree, something like that) and I had my baby girl sitting on my lap. I could feel her hair on my face and remember looking at the back of her head, with my arms wrapped around her waist and thinking, "This is my daughter...my daughter...". She had bows in her hair and I remember kissing the top of her head. She had raven silky hair. It was so real.

Even after being awake for a little while, I still remember the feeling I had holding my little girl in my dream. That empty part of me that always aches for her was full. While it is just a dream now, I know some day I will feel that again and it won't go away when I'm awake. I'd like to think maybe someone gave me that dream to keep me hopeful.

4th Semester!

I started the 4th semester of my 5 semester nursing program last Thursday. This semester promises to be a variety of clinical experiences and some pretty tough course content. Every semester I think, "This is gonna be an easy one." and then I am proven wrong. I am absolutely not gonna say that this time.

The real excitement of this being 4th semester is that I only have one more to go after this. In less than 7 months I will be a nurse... a new woman with a new career and a new focus. I can't wait! Mark your calendars...next semester ends on August 7th.

As a side note, I was going to put a good nurse-ey picture on this post but my google image search has led me to another question....why are all the on-line images of nurses porno costumes and big breasted women with pigtails and white paper hats?? Maybe I don't really know what I'm getting myself in to...

Take Me to XANADU!

Jeff doesn't quite know it yet but he is taking me to see my childhood idol, Olivia Newton-John in concert next month. If you knew me when I was 8 then you would know that I TOTALLY wore leg warmers over my jeans for like 3 straight years. I would listen to Olivia croon on my brand new boom-box and I know I watched Xanadu at least 75 times before I was 12. I had it bad. So, needless to say, I am stoked to go to this concert and will be white girl dancing with the best of 'em. I think I just might leave my leg warmers at home, though.

What I Can Teach Myself on YouTube

I have been wanting to learn to knit for a while. I have even bought those books that claim to teach it to dummies...you know which ones I'm talking about. I guess I must be dumber than a dummy cause I can't make out the stinkin pictures for anything. So I had this GENIUS idea to search for videos on YouTube and, guess what?!?, there are a ton of them! During this break from school I did a lot, including learn to knit (just the basics) and crochet.

See here my first cast on on top of my laptop as I was watching the video on double cast on.

And my very first granny square that I crocheted this weekend. I think I like crocheting better than knitting.

And here is Elmo wearing a little scarf that I knitted with the basic garter stitich. I made it with boucle yarn so it would cover up some of my oopses.

I am proud of myself...and looking forward to making some baby stuffs for my little one. At least I can do something for her/him while this wait drags on. :)

I'm Shredding

I am really trying hard to get myself into a "healthy" frame of mind and searched message boards to find some good at home workouts so I can complement my gym days and Wii Fit addiction. This one was definitely at the top of many people's lists so I ordered it and did Day 1 yesterday. It royally kicked my butt.

It is just a 20 minute a day workout and you would think, "No biggie, I can do that without breaking a sweat." NO WAY! Jeff and I went to the gym and I did 60 minutes of cardio in the morning and did this yesterday afternoon. There are 3 levels which get more intense as you progress but each is a series of 3 circuits which combine strength training, cardio and abs. I am obviously on level 1 and am going to stay there for 10 days before progressing. I do have some weight to lose but don't consider myself a couch potato or new to exercise so I am really surprised by the toughness of this workout.

I did my Day 2 this morning and still worked up a major sweat. Push ups are part of the strength training and I have to do the girly kind cause I am a wimp. I also had to switch from using my 8lb hand weights (the smallest ones I have) to using 1 liter water bottles cause I nearly collapsed yesterday.

I am counting on Jillian to get me motivated. Will keep you posted. :)

Adoption Forecast: January

Referrals came out a little early this month. Since Chinese New Year falls around a referral period, we will most likely have 2 sets of referrals that will be at odd times and then we will have a LONG wait in between referral batches. So, even though we are still in December, technically this is considered the January batch. Referrals this time have gone through February 28, 2006, finishing out the month of February.

I haven't posted about this yet but I have known for a while that March, 2006 is a monster month. There are a LOT more adoptive parents logged in during the month of March than in any month in the recent past. This means that it will most likely take A LOT longer to get through March than it has the other recent months. There is speculation that it could take a full year or longer (the entire year of 2009) to finish out March, 2006. I hope and pray that this speculation is wrong but only time will tell.

Now on to our stats:

• According to http://www.chinaadoptionforecast.com/, there are now 106 days of LIDs before ours (June 14, 2006).
• There were 364 days of LIDs ahead of us on the day that we were logged in (6/14/06). That month 13 days of LIDs were referred. This month (a pretty typical one), there were 5 days referred. The average number of referral days per month now is 6.1 LIDs per month.
• Our estimated referral date is now July 9, 2010. You can see how this compares to last month here --> http://nicolesdoodlings.blogspot.com/2008/12/adoption-forecast-december.html . We have actually gotten about 8 days closer but I'm not sure if this might be because of the kooky timing of referrals or not.
• 106 days of LIDs ahead of us/average of 6.1 LIDs referred each month = 17.4 months of waiting.

I have removed five little pebbles from our WAIT JAR so that only 106 remain...does it look like the stash is getting any smaller?

Blogger Block

I know I haven't posted in a while...even Jeff noticed. I am suffering from a full-on blogger block. It's not that I don't have anything to post about. On the contrary, the last couple of weeks of break have been great and I plan to post about:

• The rest of my trip in Virginia (with lots of Skinny Dip, working out at the uber-YMCA and just all-around soaking up my parents)
• My return drive back along with a bang-up stop at Trader Joe's for yummy foods and Jeff's cleaning of the entire house while I was gone
• Fantastic Christmas with Jeff, Jason, Brandee and Leslie
• Jason's quirky and extremely neat experiment with Miracle Fruit and his establishment of Ba*key Now!Wow! with accompanying spirit fingers and appropriately timed sigh in it's introduction
• My awesome Wii Fit (thanks Dad and Mom!!) which I am currently addicted to and using every day although it is mean to me
• My upcoming 4th semester of nursing school (which begins on Jan. 8th)
• My completion of New Moon, the second book in the Twilight series, and my own personal review and perspective on the upcoming movie continuation
• My friend Lee and her husband, Vinay, welcoming their first little baby boy
• And more...

I am not absolutely sure why I have bloggy block when I have so much material to work with. Maybe it's PMS. Maybe it's just the anticipation of a new year and all that this one will hold. For sure, it has to do with a little bit of an aching heart facing another holiday season without my baby. It hurts my insides and kinda numbs me some times. We don't have a Christmas tree, no lights or Santa visits, no advent calendar with daily chocolate removal, no "Twas the night before Christmas" or Rudolph cartoons, no cookie baking or wish lists, no NORAD Santa stalking, no staying up all night on Christmas Eve or toys to put together, no school parties with the kids, no tinsel to stop up the vacuum cleaner.

Anyway...I am having a pity party again. And today it makes me want to not answer my phone, lock my door, stay in my pajamas and eat lots and lots of ice cream. It will pass and happy blogging will return cause I know I have so much and so many people to be thankful for...but for now I am giving myself a pass to be a bummer.

Trip to Virginia...Day 1

I am driving my folks nuts with the camera but I have to document as many moments as possible for those of you who can't be here to party on with us.

Road Trip!

Here is a pictorial masterpiece of my super long road trip yesterday. Click the little icon in the lower left corner of the screen for captions. Ha ha ha.

This and that bullet style

Here are some quick bloggy bullets:

• I am DONE with my 3rd semester of nursing school as of today. Final grades haven't been posted but I am optimistic that this was a good semester for moi. Only 2 left until I am a nurse!!
• I am leaving mucho early in the morning to drive 750+ miles to see my parents. I'm weary about the drive but very much looking forward to spending a few days with my folks. It helps that they are fun people. Dad - I'm trying my best to leave "PMS Nicole" at home :).
• Speaking of home, I am making this trip solo so Jeff will be home living the bachelor life. Honey - if you're reading this you best behave yourself while I'm gone. Brandee has agreed to check in on him periodically over the next few days so he will still have a Ba*key looking after him - but, unlike me, she will not be taping Judge Judy for him every day :).
• I am planning to stop on the way for a brief visit with my great friend Lyly who is about to pop with Lyly, Jr any minute now. Seriously, she is due Dec. 25th and is still working 10 hour overnight shifts, 8 days in a row, on her feet, busy time at the hospital, smarty pants doctor. I haven't seen her in over a year but every time we get together it's as if no time has passed. She's one of the most awesome people I know.
• I am reading the second book in the Twilight series, New Moon. While I was supposed to be studying last night, I was reading about Bella and Edward and was traumatized (stop here if you don't want a spoiler) when Edward disappeared like 80 pages into the book. I kept thinking that if I read a little bit more he would come back but...120 pages later, still no Edward. Bummer. Gimme back the hottie vampire please.
• In less than 2 months we will have to start the process of updating our home study and immigration paperwork for the adoption. This is a royal sucker. I will be sure to gripe about all that it entails as we get ready for the undertaking.

I think that's about all the bullets I can come up with right now. I will be sure to post some pics once I get to Virginia. Later ;).

Adoption Forecast: December

Referrals are out for this month and they covered the period from February 18-23, 2006, knocking out just 6 days of LIDs. So here are our stats, according to http://www.chinaadoptionforecast.com/:

• There are 111 days of LIDs before ours, June 14, 2006.


• The new estimated date of our referrals is July 17, 2010. Last month (see here ---> http://nicolesdoodlings.blogspot.com/2008/11/adoption-forecast-november.html ) it was July 18th so we have improved by 1 day - woohoo!


• It is estimated that the CCAA (China agency that governs adoptions) issues referrals for approximately 5.3 days of LIDs (log in dates) per calendar month right now... 111 days of LIDs/average of 5.3 days = 20.9 more months of waiting. This has worsened from last month.


• We have now waited 38 months (as of today) since our decision to adopt and 30 months (as of Sunday) since our LID. We have gestated 3 otters (avg gestation 270-300 days), 2.5 zebras (avg gestation 365 days) and 1.5 Asian elephants (avg gestation 645 days). I am sure our baby will be much cuter than the above mentioned animals...however cute they may be.

I will end this forecast post with the Serenity prayer which my grandmother loved and is most appropriate for our situation.

"God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I can not change,

the courage to change the things I can

and the wisdom to know the difference."

Twilight

I admit it. I have indulged in a teeny bopper activity. I saw that the movie Twilight was coming out and vowed to read the book and then go see the flick. I finished the book in like 4 days (while I was studying ;)) and Jeff took me to see the movie yesterday. I have to say that the movie followed the book fairly closely but definitely did not develop the characters to near the extent of the book. It was overall a pretty good movie and book. I, like a million other 13 year old girls, think Edward Cullen is dreamy.

Tour of the beach gift shop

Our hotel at the beach had a pretty well stocked gift shop. We needed nail clippers and found them - check - but we also came across some other interesting things.... A "croc" key chain with the I heart Jeff Jibbitz

A parody on the "Life is Good" shirts...this one is for me...

This one for Brandee...inside joke...

And finally one for Dad because he absolutely loves when he calls some place and get the automated thingy telling him to press 1,2,3,4,5...

The Worst Thanksgiving Picture

This Thanksgiving Jeff and I were fortunate enough to spend the day with my parents, aunts and uncles, cousins and Grandpa in Orlando. There were several events/indulgences of this holiday...some awesome stuffing muffins by Mom, a tootsie roll binge, 2 trips to Einstein Bros. for bagels and coffee (yum-o), Tijuana Flats chips and salsa, my first deep fried turkey experience, lots of closed caption reading (on Grandpa's TV - that's his preferred method of TV watching), blowing up of air mattress X 2, political discussions instigated by Jeff (yes, he knows better), 11 hours of driving in traffic on the way home and, finally, some AWFUL pictures. I am giving this one the award for the absolute worst (partially because I don't want to post a picture of my big booty on my blog). Dad is in the middle of asking me why in the world I have to do a million self-pics and I am just plain being cheesy...and I now see that I have a major sleepy eye to go along with my pasty smile. In summary, it was a great Thanksgiving memorialized with some not-so-great but pretty funny pictures. Maybe I'll post some more of them later....NOT!

Bloggy Beach Break

Jeff and I are thinking about our baby girl...

At the beach!! I'll blog later...for now I'm gonna go kick my feet in the sand. Ta ta!

The Flat Iron Incident

No...it's not a movie. It's something that happened when I tried to beautify myself yesterday morning. Instead of grabbing a section of hair to de-frizz with my flat iron, I grabbed my earlobe. Can you say ouchy?? Here I am point to my ear...you can't see the boo-boo too well. Maybe you can see it better here....

Notice my Vanna-like way of pointing at my ear. Do you feel bad for me? I feel bad for myself...that's gonna leave a scar. ;)