It's a bird...it's a plane...it"s...THE SUN!

Spring finally "sprung" in Spokane this past weekend. For the first time in over six months, we had temps in the 60's. It seemed like everyone was out in the park - kids, joggers, dogs...we even saw some high school kids with a small bonfire and guitars down by the duck pond! I had forgotten what the sun looks like, so needless to say, I was startled by the glowing orb I noticed in the sky Saturday morning:

For those who aren't aware, we live in a wooded area, near a city park. Looking straight up from our front porch, the view is this:

Our house sat empty last Sept& Oct, so the yard never received a good fall raking, and by the time we moved in at the end of November, it was already snowing...four months (and six feet of melted snow) later...we have a yard full of leaves, twigs, and pine needles galore...so Steve and I decided that this would be the weekend that we tackle the yard! We bought a special "pine needle rake" (seen at right) at the local hardware store and went to work.

Steve did most of the raking. He raked...and raked...and raked...the needles and other debris into small piles around the yard, which I then helped him shovel into sacks. THIRTEEN sacks later...we were done! Well, almost done...we still have a few piles on the side of the house to clear out...but the frontyard and backyard look great! You can see in this photo that our neighbor raked his yard last weekend and his grass is already starting to green-up...so we are hoping ours will do a quick turnaround as well. Steve likened the raking to "combing Mother Earth's hair". I liked that analogy...

After we finished the clean-up, we headed down to the convention center to the Spokane Home & Garden Show. Conveniently, they had all sorts of demonstrations of outdoor furniture, including swings, hammocks, and the like, which we enjoyed "trying out" - as well as a woman who was demonstrating foot and back massage devices. Lovely! Most of the crowd was older retirees...but we had fun dreaming about homes with hot tubs, backyard waterfalls and outdoor stone fireplaces. We spied one caucasion couple with a Chinese daughter - about 2 yrs old - who seemed VERY irritated that her parents had dragged her to such a boring place on sunny Sunday afternoon. We watched her climb in and out of her stroller about 50 times while her parents chatted with a flooring specialist...she was a cutie!

After the H&G show, we headed over to the carwash to get my Subaru polished up. I finally got the windshield replaced this week. It's like a brand new car again. So overall, a great and productive weekend - now let's see how the coming week goes...have a great week!

Traveling with Megan...and Big Bird

My good friend Megan flew out from Denver on Saturday and spent the past three days in Spokane checking out our lovely new town and hanging out with me. Megan and I worked together at the pediatric hospital in Denver. Though we have both moved on since then (figuratively and literally) we are still very close. It was great to have a girlfriend to just chill and chat with...especially because I really don't know any women in this town yet. We visited all sorts of restaurants and watched movies - and overall laughed A LOT! Here is a photo from our trip over to Coeur d'Alene on Sunday:
Megan also brought me a little gift that she spied at on a recent trip to a discount department store - a DVD!

She, Steve and I had a good time watching this video from the 80's vault - and it will be something fun to share with Lia someday - although watching the video, you can tell that China has changed a LOT since this filmed! The video is still available in DVD format from Amazon.com. I went on Amazon today to check, and saw the following video review from the "little girl" who befriends Big Bird and shows him around China...she may have been six or seven years old when it was filmed in the mid-80s:

By Lisa Ou (Hong Kong)

I am so delighted to see this movie finally in DVD. Feel very proud as I played the role Xiao Foo 24 years ago. Few interesting things I would like to share with people who love this movie:
- Xiao Foo didn't understand a single word of English when acting. I am local Chinese and do not start a second language until age of 9. All script was recited by memories.
- We filmed the movie in 3 cities: Beijing(the Great Wall, animal sculpture), Guilin(the Glass Chessboard, headless buffalo),Suzhou(the story teller). These are still the most beautiful tourist highlights of China.
- We had harsh time when filming the Great Wall, cause it was always packed with tourists. We eventually filmed it at 4:00am in the morning.
- China has changed a lot since then. We no longer dressed like the crowd in the movie. Major cities are well developed.
- Xiao Foo never acted in any movies after that. She grew up in Beijing, attended universities in Canada, now working for a top US investment bank in Hong Kong.
- Xiao Foo lost contact with Big Bird, Barkley and the Crew right after the movie. But to her, this movie is always the most precious memory.

I think that is so cool - it's like a "behind-the-scenes" look into "Big Bird in China"!

Hey - while I'm here, I also want to give a shout out to my (not-so) Secret Pal, Marcy, who is in China RIGHT NOW with her new daughter Neely. They met Neely on Monday, and it sounds like things are going really well. I am very excited for Marcy and her family...she has been a supportive friend and confidant to me over the past two years, and I wish her the very best!

Oregon Coast Trip Photos

...and we even took a short video on the beach:

A Little Break...

Steve and I are headed to the Coast this weekend in celebration of his birthday (and well-deserved break from work...the guy has been going 100 mph since he started his new job in October!)

Cameras packed, dogs in tow...we'll catch you on the flipside of the weekend! :)

People...when given a chance...smile, skip, and dance.

They create, play, and laugh. They care, share, and love.

And the ones who don't, haven't yet realized that chances are something you give yourself!

Love,

The Universe

Spokanthrax!

This week Steve and I finally came down with the bug that has been running circles around Spokane (and I believe the entire U.S.) the last few weeks...a flu-like disease locals here have lovingly termed "Spokanthrax". The good news is, unlike Anthrax, you are a lot less likely to die from this bug...you just FEEL like you are going to die for a few days!

A look at our kitchen counter the past few days says it all:

Steve has been avoiding numerous "sickos" at his office ever since we got back from San Diego, and has been fighting off the cold by chugging extra Vitamin C and Airborne - but he finally succombed to it Tuesday. He actually went to urgent care, as his voice is critical to his work...spending over 90 minutes in a waiting room with a dozen other hacking and coughing folks, just to get some prescription-strength cough medicine. My downfall quickly followed, but I took the Nyquil/Dayquil route and slept for most of the past three days. This morning, we finally both feel as if we have turned a corner and will in fact, live...hooray! Thankfully, we were able get through this prior to next weekend - which is Steve's birthday weekend - when we actually have some fun things planned...

In other news, I am keeping close tabs on my friends Kris and Amy, who will both meet their darling daughters in China within the next few hours!

Welcome Piper!

I'm am thrilled to announce the birth of my friend Beth's daughter, Piper Camille, born today - "Friday the 13th" of March.

Beth is one of my best buddies from Iowa. She and I worked at the insurance company together for four years - and have stood by each other's side through brutal break-ups, new relationships, and now...the journey into motherhood.

I am so excited for her. She is going to be a wonderful parent!

23 Months

Time flies when you're snowed in for the winter! (not). We did receive several inches of new snow yesterday and it is sunny, yet crazy cold outside today. I am SO ready for Spring!

Okay, so today marks the 23rd month since my log in date for Lia. If the original timelines (18-24 months) had stayed true, I would've been getting close to a baby match about now...but alas, things happen in their own time, when the timing is right, and who am I to try to "control" things? So the rollercoaster ride continues...how long you ask?

There continue to be semi-reliable rumors of an increase in referrals toward the end of 2009. But there is still over a year's worth of log in dates to be matched before they get to mine...and they've only made it through four months of log in dates since I started the process. By now I've heard everything from "late 2010" to "somewhere around 2016" as possible scenarios. People continue to drop out of the program, and/or switch to other adoption programs every month, but with upwards of 30,000 families logged in for China during 2006-07, there are still a lot of matches to get through - first come, first served. So all I can do is let go of it and know it WILL happen...eventually...and try to keep myself as healthy and financially secure as possible for when the time comes.

As I've said since the beginning. I truly do believe that the RIGHT child will be matched to me at the RIGHT time - whenever that is. Unfortunately, that doesn't make it any easier when it seems everyone around you is getting pregnant or adopting and their children may be entering middle school by the time you meet yours! Although, on a positive note - I guess from a babysitting perspective, I will have lots of options. :)