2009...Bring it On!

Cool photo, eh? This is a pic of the Times Square ball drop 1907! When I saw it, it reminded me that this has been happening for decades - over 100 years in fact... Which means everything that is going on today - globally, nationally, locally, even within my own family and friends - is temporary. Upset about something? This too shall pass. Life goes on. C'est la vie, Carpe diem...etc., etc. It is comforting in many ways...

The truth is, we have the power to determine our tomorrows. With our thoughts, our intention, and our faith. One of my favorite quotes is: Thoughts become things - choose the good ones! So rather than make any "resolutions" per se this year, I am going to choose positive thoughts and positive outcomes, and stick with them, regardless of outside influences and other people's input. We don't always know how our dreams will become a reality. Many times, the harder we try to "control" a situation - either by acting, or simply worrying about it - the more negative energy we actually send out into the universe around us - therefore deterring what we actually WANT as an outcome.

Four years ago I could not have guessed Steve and Killer would bring such amazing joy to my family and my everyday life, or that I would be waiting for the referral of my child from China. One year ago, I could only hope that that we would be welcoming our first African American President into office, and I couldn't have imagined that I would be living in Spokane, or working for an adoption agency, or living in such a lovely house on a park (in 60 inches of snow!) Some parts of my life now are things I dreamed about for many years...others I could not have foreseen in my wildest dreams - and that, my friends...is life.

Here's to more dreams coming true in 2009. Cheers to everyone!

Holiday Rewind

Steve and I had a wonderful, quiet, snowy Christmas. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday as well! Christmas Eve we went to dinner at Anthony's on Spokane Falls. It was so beautiful. It was snowing hard and by the time we made it home, there was another four inches on the ground!

Christmas Day we headed over to Lake Coeur d'Alene to enjoy a Christmas buffet at the resort. It was AMAZING and so beautiful over there. Of course the family seated next to of us was an older couple with their Chinese daughter...about six years old. She was adorable, all dressed up for Christmas and in her new snowboots. On the way back to Spokane - yes - it started snowing - AGAIN. Apparently yesterday's snowfall officially broke the record for the most snowfall in the month of December...ever. We've rec'd over 46 inches of snow in the last two weeks. THAT is crazy, and is definitely a record for me - even having lived in Iowa and Colorado...I've never seen this much snow!

Anyway, here are some pix from our holiday - enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Some more pictures...

Yesterday we got about 5 more inches of snow. Just enough to high-center the Subaru again as Steve backed out of the driveway. Thankfully, our neighbors Bob and Linda were out with their snowblower, and offered to let Steve borrow it to clear our driveway a bit. Hooray for nice neighbors! I watched from the sunroom as Steve had a little bit too much fun with the snowblower:

The neighbors also said we could borrow it anytime we need it - YAY! Because it looks like we may be needing it quite a bit this winter if this past week has been any indication...

So we were happily out of our driveway and on our way about town. Once we are out of our driveway and our alley, we are good to go. The city has done an AMAZING job of clearing the streets (even the side streets) very quickly and thoroughly each time it snows. The 21 inches we got in Denver a couple years ago made some side streets impassable for weeks...and boy were people upset with the Mayor and the city. So I was very pleased to see that Spokane was really on top of it...especially when they are not used to this type of heavy snowfall all at once like this!

All bundled up and ready to get out of the house!

Beauty and the Beast

Aaaaah - 30 inches of snow...first, the beauty...

...and then the BEAST... (...wish us luck digging out Steve's car!)

Finally!

The snow has stopped (for now - we are expecting another six inches or so on Sunday!) The view out of my home office to the backyard is striking to say the least:

I would like to take a photo out the front of the house, but unfortunately, our front door is frozen shut! LOL. Slight exaggeration...we CAN open it...it just takes a lot of muscle and is difficult to get shut again. So we are leaving it shut. Our outdoor holiday lights are also on 24/7 as they (and the electrical outlet) are buried. Good times. It is very pretty, and I am thankful I don't have to commute. Someone semi-cleared our alley at some point yesterday, and while the snow tracks are still deep, we are able to get the Subaru in and out of our driveway now. No doubt about a "white Christmas" around here. With temps in the single digits and teens expected for the next week (along with additional snow showers), this snow isn't going anywhere for awhile!

Weather Update...

Yes, it is still snowing. It's been snowing for about 36 hours straight now, and we have somewhere around 30 inches on the ground where we live. This afternoon Steve had to climb out the window of our second floor and knock the snow off the flat roof above our sunroom:

I dug a small path in the backyard for the dogs, so they could have somewhere to potty...it's really annoying because everytime we shovel, it gets covered back up again within an hour or so. For a better perspective on what we are up against, here is a photo of Luna walking the path:

In this photo there is about 2 inches of fresh snow on the path, and about 18 inches on either side of her...Killer darts in and out of the house so quick it is impossible to catch a photo of him! Luna actually seems to enjoy it for about 5 minutes or so - then she wants back in.

Cancel that last post...it can stop now...

Okay, it's officially reached "ridiculous" snow amounts now. Two feet in my backyard. This reminds me of December 2006 in Colorado. Ugh. Apparently, this is a new record for snowfall in a 24 hour period in Spokane. Of course. Lovely.

Don't get me wrong, it's very pretty. I can appreciate that. But when I was trying to help Steve dig out the Subaru at 5 am this morning, (to no avail - his boss had to come get him) - it was pretty ugly. Also, both of our little dogs need a "plot" shoveled for them to do their business. Two feet of snow is horrifying for them. Luna only stands about 18 inches tall, and poor little Killer is only 10 or 12 inches tall. To them, this is an avalanche!

This is the view of our backyard/alley area. Yikes.

The entire city is shut down. Even cities like Spokane and Denver have to shut down when there is THIS much snow. The plows can't keep up.

...oh, and by the way...it's still snowing!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

Well, the weather outside is frightful,

but Julie's mood is just delightful.

I've got no place to go...(except my home office!)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!



Well doesn't show signs of stopping,

and Steve's taken the Subaru shopping,

the dogs hate going outside to "go"

Oh well - let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Cookie Time!

Yesterday I was craving some favorite Christmas cookies from my childhood. I tried describing them to Steve and he wasn't familiar with what I was talking about. So off to Google I went. You can always depend on good 'ole Betty Crocker online for these types of things...

Do these ring a bell with any of you?

I cheated a little bit and bought a huge lump of sugar cookie dough from the grocery store deli. Got home, divided it in half and added the color and flavoring...it still took about two hours to roll and twist them all out!

I made enough to take a few to our next door neighbors, and for Steve to take a big batch of them to work for his staff today - and still have quite a few for us the next couple of weeks. It truly was so domestic of me. I was proud of myself!

Brrrrrr...

Tonight
Dec 13

Snow Shower / Wind

5° F

20 months...

...since my log in date for Lia...

Decorating and Shopping

This weekend Steve and I started to get "our holiday on" around the house...

On Saturday we continued unpacking and organizing the house. Then we went out and got a Christmas tree - a 6 ft Noble Fir that looks and smells AMAZING:

We also got a wreath to hang on the (inside) of the front porch, and put up a few white lights out front. It looks very simple and cute I think:

I also cooked a turkey dinner on Saturday. Complete with greenbean casserole, cranberry jelly, and the rest of the fixins. Since we had Thanksgiving at my mom's the day before our move, we didn't get to partake in leftovers, and we were both craving it. So we did a smallish turkey, stovetop stuffing, etc. and it was still pretty darned good!

Today we went downtown and saw the movie, "Four Christmases". It's gotten mixed reviews, but I love Vince Vaughn, and I thought it was a cute, lighthearted holiday movie. It made us laugh out loud a few times. What else can you ask for? Afterwards, we walked around the Riverfront Mall. We ducked into Gymboree because this fall they've had a lot of "Scottie" themed girls clothes, so I was hoping for a sale...and I found one! I love the clothes with little black Scotties, because they look so much like my black mini schnauzer, Luna. So with Lia in mind, Steve picked out one outfit:

And then I picked out one too:

Steve also bought me a little Scottie watch they had on sale. Of course, it's meant for little girls, but it fit my wrist and is so cute:

So the most amazing part of this venture was when we went up to the checkout. The salesgirl asked if we realized we'd purchased items in several different sizes...and I said, yes, we are adopting and we're not sure what size she will be (so we are covering all bases!). The girl said, "I was adopted! 28 years ago...see? Adopted kids turn out OK!" and I laughed and agreed with her, telling her yes, in fact I work for an adoption agency and see great families made thru adoption all the time. So she asked which agency I worked for. When I told her, her eyes lit up! SHE WAS ADOPTED THRU THE AGENCY I WORK FOR - 28 YEARS AGO! How cool is that? So then she says she and her husband are anxious to adopt their next child, and are looking at Africa, so I told her about our Ethiopia program and how quickly it is moving right now, etc. She asked for my card and I told her I'd be happy to answer any questions... What a cool encounter. It just goes to prove, family recruitment can happy anywhere...even Gymboree!

In the Studio

Yesterday I had the chance to visit the studio where Steve works and check out his digs. It's weird to think he's been working there for over a month already, when I feel like this whole move is still so new. This pic is not the best since I took it with my phone. But it was fun to see where he's been getting his "deejay" on every morning. :)

We went to P.F. Chang's for dinner last night. I was SOOOOO happy to have my favorite Kung Pao Chicken! I guess there is a PF Chang's in Seattle (actually Bellevue) but we never got over there to visit. In Denver I used to eat at Pei Wei (PF Chang's fast food arm) all the time, and I LOVED their Kung Pao. So I was ecstatic to find a PF Chang's 10 minutes from our house here. YAY! Now if they'd only start putting Pei Wei's out here in the Northwest, I'd be happy...

Speaking of restaurants...Washington state is getting it's first Chik-Fil-A! WAAAAAHHOOOO. Sadly, it's going to be in Bellingham, up in the northwest corner of the state near the Canadian border. Bummer. Not exactly a quick commute from Spokane. I can only *hope* that this means more Chik-Fil-A's to come...and that they are starting in the smaller, college towns...Spokane would be great for a 2nd location (hint,hint...)

That's all the news for now...

Moved in...sort of...

Well, we made it to Spokane on Friday. A little bit later than planned, but all in one piece. Turns out the weather gods decided that Thanksgiving would be the perfect time to bless Spokane with it's first snowfall of the season...so surprise, surprise...we arrived to about 2-3 inches of snow on the ground Friday night. As you can imagine, this made for a somewhat sloppy, slushy move-in. The guys FINALLY had the truck unloaded around midnight on Friday. LONG DAY.

I've posted pix previously of the front of the house, but wanted to show you the back as well. As you can see, it is very cute, with a lovely sunroom (a.k.a. my new office!) off the back. So far, I absolutely LOVE this house. I've never felt so "at home" so soon after moving into a place. It just has a coziness about it that none of my other places have had.

The dogs are settling in to their new digs. Luna is busy sniffing every inch of the new house, top to bottom (as only a schnauzer can!). Killer is already determining which areas (once organized) will be the best for chasing his toys.

Tonight Steve and I will put together my new desk and hopefully get me a little more set up in my home office. Today, the home office consists of my laptop, and my lap! LOL.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This year I am thankful for lots of things... I am thankful for the past eight months of getting to live in Seattle near my family, for the first time in 13 years. I'm thankful that (after lots of health scares in 2008) my family - particularly my dad, my grandma, and my sister - all are doing well. I'm thankful that while many people have been laid off or lost their jobs this year, Steve has been able to get back to doing what he loves full-time, and I am able to continue doing what I love on a more flexible schedule. I am thankful that the Universe has provided us with the ability to take advantage of these opportunities in a place that will allow us to live less expensively, yet maintain our quality of life and still be within driving distance to my family.

Finally, Luna and I are thankful to be back together with Steve and Killer after two weeks, and looking forward to going back to Spokane WITH them this weekend!

Wishing everyone a relaxing, happy and healthy holiday!

Sad

The news of the terrorist attacks in India today makes me very sad. My heart goes out to all the people in India and the families of those killed and held hostage in the attacks.

Having spent such a wonderful evening celebrating the culture of India just last Saturday night, I am especially saddened by today's news. I know this news is also worrisome for people who are in process to adopt a child from India. We have seen so many beautiful Indian children placed into loving adoptive homes, it again brings these sad, global events even closer to home. Please pray for the people of India and the children living in orphanages there.

I am the firestarter....

Okay...not really...

But I did have a hand in hiring the AWESOME fire dancers who opened the live auction at our fundraiser last night!

The agency I work for happens to employ a young woman who dances with (and swallows) fire on the side to make extra money (how's that for a moonlighting career?) She and her fire dance partner gave a great (and safe) performance - no lighting the Hilton ballroom on fire thankfully. Of course we had done a walk thru with fire marshall and the hotel staff prior to the event, so it was all cool.

The theme of the evening was India...aaaaah, the life of an event planner...just when I think I've done it all...I book people to throw fire around in front of my organization's biggest donors!

The event was a great success, particularly considering the current economy. I believe we raised close to $300k last night, which is terrific, and will allow us to continue (and perhaps even expand?) some of our humanitarian aid work on behalf of children in the U.S. and abroad.

My sister Tracy joined me for the event (since Steve was in Spokane). It was a lot of fun. We were seated with the CEO and my VP, so I was a little concerned that if things went off track at any point, I would be expected clean up the mess (or put out any "fires" - LOL - in this case!). But thankfully everything went off without a hitch - HOORAY!

By the way, thanks for all the well wishes from earlier in the week. I finally started feeling better on Friday - thankfully, just in time to gear up for the busy weekend. Now that we've successfully jumped that hurdle, I can really start concentrating on the next chapter of my life and career...the move to Spokane later this week and getting my home office put together and organized. I am so excited to see Steve on Wednesday and finally get to leave WITH him when he leaves town the next time. I'm also anxious to get settled into the new house. I promise more pictures to come! :)

My New Bedtime Partner...

It's sad, but true. With Steve already in Spokane, and me still here in Seattle prepping for my work's big fundraiser this weekend...(not to mention getting all the loose ends tied up in order to move next week!) is it really shocking that I started feeling like cr@p this week?

I don't have a head cold...it's not the flu (I had my flu shot a month ago!) Nope - it's all chest congestion...and brutal coughing. BLAH. So Nyquil (and Dayquil too!) to the rescue. And tea w/honey. And chicken soup. The past 3-4 days have been tough. Today I presented a 1.5 hour webinar and nearly lost my voice altogether. Good times.

Not.

I keep telling myself I just need to make it thru the next five days... Sunday I can sleep. Monday and Tuesday I can focus on pulling together the office elements I will need to work from home in Spokane. Wednesday Steve will be back. Thursday is Thanksgiving with my family. Friday is moving day - everything will come together. Nope, no stress here. The Universe will provide.

...just as long as it doesn't "provide" any more viruses.

19 Months...

...wishing for Lia...

Pretty in Pink

A couple of weekends ago, my family got together for a "bowling day" at a local bowling alley. My Uncle Dave (who has Down syndrome and lives w/my parents) is an AVID bowler...he goes bowling almost every Saturday with a group of disabled adults - and they always have a blast - so my cousin KC and I decided that for our October get-together, rather than sit around and chat and eat (as usual), we would try an "activity" and go bowling together...and THEN eat (of course!). :)

Anyway - long intro aside - here is a pic of me and my grandma from bowling day:

Grandma just finished up chemo in September and is doing well! She said she hadn't been bowling in "at least 40 years!"...bless her heart for coming to the loud and obnoxious bowling alley where the rock music was pumping and her thirtysomething-year-old grandchildren were acting super GOOFY. It was a really fun day!

Early Voting...

Okay, so this wasn't *QUITE* the scene at the King County Election Office this morning at 9 a.m., but it's a fairly decent representation...

Since Steve was back over in Seattle this weekend (where we are both registered to vote) and today was his only opportunity, we headed over to the election office to get it overwith... We got there at 8:55 a.m. - five minutes prior to when they were going to open (supposedly). Apparently, we weren't the only ones with voting on the agenda for Saturday morning. The parking lot was already full, and "organized chaos" was in full effect.

I'm happy to report, that after nearly two full hours in a variety of different lines, we made it through, cast our paper ballots, had them dated stamped and deposited them into the locked ballot box. Please Universe...let them COUNT!

In other news - looks like our house in Seattle is officially RENTED - yeeeehaw! Our landlord called and told us to pull the ads off Craigslist because she has a deposit in hand for Dec. 1. YAY!

Halloween was quiet for us last night. We had dinner out at one of our fave Italian joints, so we missed the majority of trick or treaters...by the time we got home at 7:30, it was tapering off.

Fall Colors

Steve is already living out of our new house in Spokane - complete with an air mattress, a blanket, a towel, a beanbag chair and his laptop...what more does one need really? LOL.

Yesterday he took our dog Killer for a walk in the park across the street. He called to tell me how beautiful the trees look right now, and then sent me some photos to prove it! These three photos of our house were taken from the park across the street. AWESOME:


I am SO jealous! When I look at these pictures, I want to be over there NOW. But alas, I have work commitments for the next four weeks. Ugh. I suppose by the time I get over there (after Thanksgiving) the lovely colors will be gone and it will be snow season. Oh well. In the meantime I am still trying to get our place in Seattle rented. We signed a 14-month lease in April, so we need to find someone to take over as of Dec. 1. We've shown it to several folks who seemed very interested, but the landlord is being very picky...someone was supposed to come by tonight and stood me up. In the meantime, I have to keep the place in super clean "show" ready condition, which is really annoying -especially when people don't have the courtesy to show up! Aaargh.

Again? Seriously?

Where have I been? I know…not much blogging going on lately. The adoption wait continues (of course). But in the meantime, some crazy things have been going on which I must fill you in on…

About three months ago, Steve was offered a terrific job over in Spokane, WA (about four hours east of Seattle). At the time, we didn’t really consider it, because we JUST got to Seattle in March – and moving AGAIN was not high on our list of priorities…

For those who have been following my blog since the very beginning, you guys know that I have moved three times just since I started the China adoption process! I am so SICK of moving. One of key decisions in making the move to Seattle last spring was that my family is here, and I was offered the opportunity to work in communications for an adoption agency – so moving again was not really something we were considering at all – until…

They started “woo’ing” us…BIG TIME. Flying us back and forth to visit Spokane, buying us meals at fancy restaurants, increasing the salary and benefits they were willing to provide…and finally - us seeing the (much) lower cost of living over there, and realizing that we could actually AFFORD for me to stay home with Lia (when she arrives) and not work 40 hours/week. Some very attractive incentives indeed!

So – long story short – we were “woo’d”. We are moving. Again. Luckily we had never completely unpacked the house from our move in the spring, so it won’t be a huge hassle to do it again. And the company Steve is going to be working for will pay to pack and move us, so there is little preparation we have to do. I am a little bit bummed that I will be further from my family again, but four hours away isn’t too bad (when compared with the 22 hours it was to Denver!) The biggest bummer is that Steve starts over there next week. But I am committed fulltime to my job in Seattle until Thanksgiving. So we will be doing the “long distance” thing for a few weeks.

On the bright side, it looks like my employer is going to allow me to telecommute 20 hrs/week from Spokane and continue managing their marketing and advertising campaigns. So I am excited about that! Once again, I’m glad I didn’t throw down the money to update my adoption homestudy with our last move. At this point, I am just going to wait until I am a lot closer to referral to take that step.

In the meantime, here is a pic of the adorable little house we will be renting in Spokane (for $500 less per month than our house in Seattle!) It sits right across the street from a city park. How cool is that? It will be a VERY different environment than living a ½ mile from the runway at SeaTac Airport – that’s for sure!

For Everyone Waiting...

This YouTube video was posted by a family waiting to bring home their baby from Ethiopia...very sweet!

18 months...Wishing for Lia

Super-incredibly FAST is the general order of the Universe, Julie.

And just knowing this about the "general order" makes stuff happen super-incredibly FAST.

One sense of self is on its way,

Love, The Universe

Two Years

Tonight Steve and I celebrated two years since we met. Why does time seem to fly in some ways, and then D-R-A-G in others (i.e. adoption)?

Life is so strange.

I talked to an past professional acquaintance of mine (from Denver) today. I asked him how things were going...and he said, "every day when I wake up and I'm alive and my wife and kids are alive, and it is a great day!" And I know he was serious, because when I met this person at Children's Hospital - he wasn't sure his child WOULD be alive at the end of the day (happy to report his child is doing well now...) But hearing statements like that really put life - and all it's challenges - into perspective.

I haven't blogged much lately. Not because there's not a lot going on...quite the opposite...but because I'm trying to find a way to wrap my head around everything that's going on.

Back to the posting at hand... Steve and I went out to McCormick & Schmick's Harborside (on Lake Union) for dinner tonight. It was awesome. I had the Northwest Salmon and Halibut saute - complete with blackberries, raspberries, asparagus and wild mushrooms. Steve had the sea scallops...delicious! We are both trying to eat healthier, so we skipped dessert (even though the options looked amazing).

Catching up from the past week

Not a lot of exciting news to report this week. I'm work a lot and trying hard not to let it take over my life right now. Steve and I took a brief trip over to Spokane this weekend. It's a quick, 40-minute flight from Seattle. We spent one night over there and then came back to Seattle last night. With my past work experience in government affairs, I was intrigued to see Republican candidate for Governor of Washington, Dino Rossi checking in for our flight on Friday night. I was REALLY hoping he would get seated next to me so I could ask him some questions, but alas, he was seated in First Class (shocker!) Darn - I could've had some fun with that...

So anyway - a few pix from Spokane - first, a VERY cool piece of art/playground equipment they have installed at their downtown's Riverfront Park (the handle of the wagon is a slide - cool!):


We had lunch at the resort on Lake Coeur D'Alene (about 30 miles east of Spokane in Idaho). It was a beautiful 75 degree autumn day, and the lake was sparkling. On the way back into Washington, we checked out the Liberty Lake area, and saw these three deer hanging out in someone's front lawn, under their apple tree munching on fallen apples. Almost a cliche eastern Washington photo - but so beautiful!


...and back to LAST weekend's trip to the coast. I posted all the gorgeous sunset and beach photos last week. So here are some of the silly ones I also took along the way. First of all, I was absolutely giddy to see this picture collage at the mall in Aberdeen. Apparently, Tom Cruise visited Aberdeen in May of 2006 for the opening of one of the Mission Impossible movies. Unsure what the connection was, but they STILL have an entire wall dedicated to the occasion. LOL - I love stuff like this:

Clearly, it was (and still is) one of the biggest things to happen in Aberdeen in recent years...probably since Nirvana went big in the 90s (Kurt Cobain was from Aberdeen)...


We also found it funny that a Mexican restaurant in Aberdeen was willing to SELL their handmade, paper drink menus to any willing patron for the super value price of $5.00:



One last thing - for those of you who remember, my dad had a heart attack back in January of this year...today he walked in a 5k breast cancer event at Alki Beach, supporting my sister, Tracy. Check out Tracy's blog for more info and photos - GO DAD!

Vacation Pix

We had a terrific trip to Washington's "Cranberry Coast". It's hard to be back. Lots of stories to tell, but little energy to tell them - so for now, some pix from the past four days: