What's with this crazy Indiana weather? It was 87 degrees today...I'm not kidding. Even though it is nearly 10 pm, it is still 81 degrees. I refuse to turn the AC on yet. I should at least hold out until May 1st, but this is crazy. It was freezing just a few days ago. Oh well.

It's been a while since my last post, I'm so sorry my devoted 3 readers. It felt like the week dragged on last week, but I guess it really didn't or I would have been more diligent about updating my blog.

Thanks to Tony and Marshall, I now have a garden! I'm being optimistic, but soon I will have a garden. Marshall was nice to lend his truck to Tony and Tony was a doll for letting me borrow the "Master" tiller. Actually, I didn't really borrow it. Tony tilled up the section of yard I had requested. It was really a site to behold. We didn't hit any limestone (miracle) and the tree branches were chewed up by the tiller without any problem. I now have a 12x8 feet patch of land that I can plant some fruits and vegetables. I am so excited!!! The baby wait hasn't really bothered me too much lately because I have been able to keep busy with other things. It will be good for me to hand a garden to tend to every day. It's also another way of marking time. Each sprout that comes up is showing the continual march of time. It used to bother me how quickly things passed. The good things and the bad. Right now it's not bothering me so much! I'm sure I will think differently once MayLing is home and the time slips away much sooner.

The 100 Good Wish Quilt swap has begun with my LID group (log in date). I received my first swatch on Thursday and I received 2 more today. How exciting! I need to get busy and send my squares out and start sending letters to friends requesting their participation. That will be so exciting to have everyone on board and sharing the experience with them.

I spent all day Saturday in my yard. No kidding. I've learned that my yard is a pain in the ass to mow. The front was pretty easy, but the back? As soon as I have some extra cash flow I am going to work on creating a paradise in the back yard. A paradise that doesn't require mowing. Walking paths, flowers, small ornamental trees...you name it, I'm going to utilize it. I am so burned! My shoulders are still beet red. Surprisingly it doesn't hurt, just kind of itchy.

For more info on Bai Jia Bei quilt, please see www.originalquilts.com and www.bugfabric.com. It's just too much fun!!

I'm waiting for you, Baby Girl!

Hope Springs Eternal

Yesterday while at Lowe's purging my fresh pay check (it was actually less than $5.00) on garden tools, I picked up a couple of packets of seeds for my garden. I didn't get around to tilling the ground last night (it got late and I still wasn't done) and I didn't do it tonight because it got dark and stormed. So, I decided to pop the cantaloupe seeds into the the little peat moss cups I had bought 6 weeks ago. At the time, I thought I was recovered from pneumonia (didn't realize it was just the feel good steroids coursing through my system) so I went to Lowe's and bought these little peat cups and some Columbine flowers and Chinese lanterns. I knew it would be a while before it would warm up enough to plant, but I really needed to see signs of life. I planted both seeds in the cups that afternoon and in the coming weeks really enjoyed the sprouts that popped out of the cups. Only one problem...the Chinese lanterns didn't sprout. Not a one. Germination time was listed at 20-30 days and I had surpassed that long ago. I gave up on them and decided to push the cantaloupe seeds in the peat cups tonight. I got a little surprise though. Finally, after 6 weeks of nothing, I saw signs of life from some of the Chinese lantern cups. Maybe there is hope after all. All it took was time.

Peace

I have had such a sense of peace about the ever lengthening wait for MayLing. It's bizarre considering all the Debbie Downer's on the yahoo China chat groups that are prophesying a 2-3 year wait. It could actually stretch to 2 years, but I really doubt it. Something tells me there is going to be a speed up in the next few months and that we will be pleasantly surprised. The other night as I was getting ready for bed I felt this overwhelming sense of thankfulness and I was even glad for the wait. I'm glad the CCAA takes the time to knit our families together in such a way that we blend together. I'm not saying everyone's meeting goes off without a hitch, but every parent I have talked to so far has said that their child was the perfect one for their family. It's good to know.

The CCAA website has been down all weekend. The last time it was down this long (that I recall) was in February when they were loading all new referrals onto the system. I hope that we receive word tomorrow that there are new referrals. Referral day always feel like a little gift.

I have been LANDSCAPING. I'm not kidding. When I was in Daviess County last week I mentioned to one of the staff members at the hospital that I just had to buy a plant before heading home. She recommended a GREAT nursery to me. They had the best selection of trees and plants I have ever seen! I feel bad writing that since I should support our local family owned nurseries, but ours need to suck it up and do like the one in Jasper. Not only did they have Japanese Maples, they had different kinds of Japanese maples. All the maples were full and lush looking. I couldn't stop at buying a tree. I also bought a barberry bush (I've been wanting one for quite a while) and a golden cypress bush. I had seen the cypress at a church in town and have been trying to find one ever since. I finally found one at this nursery. I also bought some more Irish Moss to fill in between the stones in my walk way and 2 Lily of the Valley plants. I just love their fragrance...it's my favorite. Well, it's my second favorite. Peonies have always been my #1.

Since we have enjoyed dry 70 degree days now for several in a row, I took a chance at using Turf Builder on my yard. I'm rather skeptical since my yard is such a nightmare, but it doesn't hurt to try. After watering my weeds, I used the little spreader and prayed for the best. Please, God, let me have grass! I've also decided I can't live another summer without a garden. Yep, this is the same girl that used to threaten to cement the yard and paint it green (of course, this was before I actually had a yard). I really need to have the tree removed from the side yard before any decent garden can begin, but I think I will go ahead and prepare the dirt. Here's a list of what Miss Greedy wants: strawberries, roma tomatoes, yellow and red peppers, sweet corn, onions, rhubarb, green beans, garlic, honeydew and cantaloupe, and I'm sure if I have enough time even more will come to mind. I just think this would be a great activity to share with MayLing. Hopefully she will grow to appreciate growing your own vegetables. Now I just need to learn how to can my own food. It would also be nice to have some fruit trees. I do have an apple tree, but the apples produced last year didn't look so appetising. Maybe this year will be a surprise. Once I have my yard landscaped and a garden put in, I will post pictures on here. Heck, if I get some grass growing, I might just post those photos also!

Chain Saw Party, yeah!

I am planning on having a chain saw party on May 5th. The highlight of the day will actually be the wood chipper that I am renting for the day, but it does not sound nearly as nice to say Wood Chipper Party. On Sunday, Lucas will filling in for Matt (the pastor) and his focus was on weeds. I am sure the emphasis was on the weeds (sins) in our life, but to be honest, once he started showing pictures of the weeds in his yard, my mind was off and running. I was so agitated and excited to get out of there that I don't think I even greeted my friends before leaving. I called Michael from the road to find out if he could mow while I trimmed the hedge. It really wasn't as simple as that. I had to call Genese to borrow her electric hedger, then I called Sherry to see if I could borrow their loppers, and after I got home I realized that my extension cord was waaaayyyy tooooo short. I then called Tony to see if I could borrow his. I finally got the hedge trimmed and I think for a first timer, it doesn't look too bad. A shout out to Michael for trimming the top of the mess....I would have had to stand on a ladder to trim the top. I was so excited that I began lopping off all the low growing branches on my trees and then I turned to picking up walnuts. I have a very large walnut tree only 25 feet from my house. Last summer it dropped large walnuts on the house at all hours of the day and night and there were times when I would wake up thinking we were under attack while I was being bombed by walnuts. I realize that many people believe walnuts are prized trees, but those people don't have walnuts. Both of my neighbors have walnut trees and I share a second walnut tree with a neighbor, but evidently those are all "male" trees that keeping getting my girl knocked up. My neighbors are not plagued by walnuts. I am. Although $$ is tight, I am seriously thinking of setting aside a portion of my tax refund or work bonus for the removal of this tree. It is gorgeous and I will miss the shade, but I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY LONGER. Back on subject...the wood chipper...I will take before and after pictures of the brush/dead tree pile to show people what I am talking about. It is a danger zone down there and I should see a reduction in mosquitoes and in critters once this nasty mess is cleared out. I think my yard has potential, but it will likely be a few years before I see my efforts pay off. I am planning on spreading Turf Builder on it tomorrow after the rain in the hopes that it will kill my weeds (~75% of my yard).

A special thank you to Denise who kept me smiling this afternoon. Denise works for Spirit 95 Radio station and they had some commercials that needed to be recorded. I was so happy she thought to ask me and even happier that she was so gentle with me when I kept screwing up the same business name over and over and over again. I don't know how she stays so focused and accurate all the time. Denise, it was a lot of fun, thank you.

I spoke to my new boss yesterday about my salary. I recently learned that I am making $10-15K less than other liaisons in the company with less education, less experience, and less responsibilities. He told me today he is going to discuss it with our regional director face-to-face later this week. Considering I am the ONLY liaison right now, it is really in the company's best interest to equal the paying field. I was further embarrassed to learn I was making less than liaisons from nursing homes in my community. Since we are a for-profit hospital, they can pay more competitively. It's no wonder we have had problems with liaison retention within the company, especially on the local level. Hopefully they will clear this up soon and I won't have to worry each penny away. Send prayers this way if you can.

Crazy Indiana Weather

This weather is crazy! It rained all day--cold, wet, dark--icky. At 4 pm it cleared up. At 5 pm we had hail stones and bent trees. It cleared again and was sunny. At 6 pm the second round started--more hail stones. It was sunny in one part of the sky and dark in the other. I don't know if you can see it, but in the second photo there is a double rainbow. I guess April is in like a lion, hopefully out like a lamb.

CCAA updated

The CCAA has updated their website, but the updates aren't all that fabulous. They have only sent referrals for those logged in on October 25th and 26th, 2005. Over 4 weeks has passed and only 2 days were added. I am not bitter and I don't think they are being lazy. I really think they are overwhelmed with the number of dossiers they received at that time. For some reason everyone decided to apply in the fall of 2005 and it has slowed down the process.
Here's the update:
-They have completed the review of dossiers submitted by March 31, 2006 (for those
eagle-eyes out there, you might notice that date is unchanged from last month).
-They have placed/referred children to parents with a log in date of October 26, 2005. For the second month in a row my agency, FTIA, has not received any referrals. Their next log in dates are October 27th and November 8th. Hopefully next month will bring better news.

People that know I am adopting always ask me how old my daughter is going to be. Although we ask for a specific age range, China is ultimately the one that decides how old our children will be. Last night I dreamed that I had a referral in hand and it was for a 20 month old! I was so sad that I had already missed so much of my daughter's life. At least it beats the dream last week that I was 5 months pregnant!

Easter

I've spent the evenings after work sitting on the couch for the last 3 weeks. Finally, yesterday afternoon I began to feel a bit better. The better I felt the more productive I became. By afternoon I had balanced my check book and paid off all the bills due this month...yep, it's only April 8th, but I think I'm done for the month (except for my license plate tax, had to save that one for another pay check!). I also set up a monthly budget plan designed by another adoptive parent. I am probably over due for that, but I want to know if there are any other places I can save money. This should point me in the right direction.
I washed my sheets and all the blankets on my bed (including one pillow). Then I went to the store and using my handy-dandy Kroger coupons managed to save $20 on groceries! Whoo-ah.
I managed to prepare not just sticky buns, but pineapple upside down cake before going out to a movie.
This morning I had to get up early for our annual Easter Egg hunt that was held at Sarah's house this year. Next year, I hope it will be at mine. I can hope that MayLing is home by then, but I really don't know. I managed to squeeze in a nice nap while visiting with the fam and got home in enough time to do all my cooking for the week: meatloaf, black and white vegetarian chili, spicy vegetable soup AND chicken and veggie burrito wraps. Yep, all in a few hours. When I got sick I had no food in the house and the first few days were really bad. I can't afford for that to happen when I have a child so I am trying to make food and freeze it for those times when things are lean, I'm tired or just don't feel good. Unfortunately, I've been sampling my own goods all evening and I'm so stuffed I really have a good reason for not being able to take a deep breath.

I've included a couple photos of my niece, Saige. Is she cute or what?

I don't think I'm in Kansas Anymore

I captured these two photos on Tuesday afternoon before the big storm rolled in. The day started nice...about 80 degrees and clear until about 3. Then it got really dark and then the lightening, thunder and hail began. Oh, and did I mention the 40 degree temperature drop? Yeah, we had that too. On Wednesday and today we have had snow flurries. SNOW FLURRIES. It's April. In southern Indiana. Aren't we past this yet?

Last weekend I went to Sam's Club. To be honest there is really nothing that a single girl needs at Sam's Club but Tony and Fil felt that any expecting parent really needs a membership so that was my gift for Christmas. It is a great gift since they have a lot of things, but I rarely buy grocery store type items. Well, I bought a box of 155 trash bags! At the time I thought, by the time I get through all these bags, MayLing will be home. No kidding. I only go through 1, maybe 2 bags a week so she might actually have been home for a while by the time I get through them all.

No referrals yet from the CCAA this month, but most people are expecting them by tomorrow or Monday at the latest. It's always exciting to see the kids and parents matched.

No April Fool's Joke

I have learned my lesson! I was feeling so good last week that I really began to push myself. In fact, I felt so good Wednesday that it was almost as if I had never been sick, so what did I do? I went to the gym and walked a fast 2 miles around the track. I just felt so good. The next day, the good stopped and the gasping began once again. If that wasn't dumb enough, I spent nearly 3 hours in the yard yesterday because my crazy 68 year-old neighbor wanted to help me with my yard. I say crazy because I see her up on ladders cutting down large tree limbs. The lady is fearless! I love having her as a neighbor, but even I couldn't keep up with her yesterday. As soon as we finished I laid down on the couch and fell right to sleep. So, I am back to taking it easy.

I finished the book I was working on last week, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Oh, I loved it! It made me weep (normally not a good thing with a book, but these were good tears). I started on another book, Will the Boat Sink the Water and I am really looking forward to digging into it. Since I have been couch bound most evenings, I have been crocheting up a storm. I bought some yarn for a friend's baby afghan, but I don't like the color. I think I will go ahead and finish it and take it to the orphanage. Kristen, if you read this, I am very particular about my baby afghans so it may take me a while to settle on a color for Cate, but I promise you will have it long before our babies come home!

It has been so pretty here! And I love watching my trees bloom. I will try to remember and take some photos of Spring before it is over. I just wish I could get out there and plant some flowers. This will likely be my last summer as a free woman so I am trying to get everything done before MayLing comes home!