Steve's Birthday

Today was Steve's birthday. Yep - he's turning 29 (again!)...  :)

We went to see our Chiropractor/Nutritional coach on Friday. We've both kind of plateaued on the weight loss the past couple of weeks, so he encouraged us to "go nuts" for Steve's birthday. Cheat on the diet, have whatever we want, and then hit the diet hard again on Monday. He thinks that might "jumpstart" our metabolisms into burning mode once again...so we said OKAY!!! He actually told me the two words I've longed to hear from a doctor forever...which were "eat as much bread as you crave"! Whoo hooo...(twist my arm why don't ya?)

So we started out our Sunday morning at the Rockwood Bakery (do you hear the angels singing???) They have AMAZING baked goods. I love their scones. Unfortunately, they didn't have my absolute favorite - the marionberry scone, so I got the mixed berry, which was almost (but not quite) as delicious. I also had my first cup of coffee since Jan. 1 - an iced sugar-free vanilla latte...which I only drank half of, because immediately it made me start feeling woozy...all that caffiene and milk - whoa - overloading my sensitive digestive system!

Later on for lunch we went to a local establishment called Twigs. I had an amazing White Truffle Prosciutto pizza. It was a thin crust, with herbed garlic oil., prosciutto, scallions, provolone, mozzarella, and white truffle oil. OMG. So good. Cheese and bread...what more could I ask for in the perfect meal? We also split one of their signature toasted pecan caesar salads...delicious.

Then we decided to go see a movie. We had seen previews for "The Bounty Hunter" featuring Jen Aniston and Gerard Butler. We like both of them, and it looked like a funny premise - an bounty hunter who gets to track down his ex-wife and send her to jail...but sadly, it ended up being a snoozer. Poorly written and badly edited. The funniest scenes were definitely in the trailer. Bummer. Can we get those two hours of our lives back please?

But on to dinner - we visited Anthony's on Spokane Falls for their amazing Alaskan Sea Scallops. They are served with rice and steamed asparagus, which would actually be a fairly healthy meal on our diet - EXCEPT for the cup of creamy clam chowder and basket of warm sourdough bread they serve with it...uh, oh. WOW. I am STUFFED. As we sat near the window at Anthony's we could see the spring storm clouds gathering, and sure enough, it was pouring rain by the time we left the restaurant. Oh well, spring showers bring May flowers!

So didn't the doctor say "eat the bread"??? I think I followed his orders explicitly today. In one day I had a scone, pizza crust and sourdough bread - and now I am actually excited to get back on the diet again tomorrow...(whew!)...but most importantly:

Happy Birthday Steve!

35 Months

Today marks 35 months since my dossier was logged in (LID) in China...and tomorrow will mark 4 months that I've been logged in with the Waiting Child program at my agency. Children continue to be matched (a lot of little boys!) and I continue to wait my turn...so not much new to report in my world.

I was so pleased to see Sandra Bullock win the Oscar for Best Actress this week. "Blind Side" was definitely one of my favorite movies of the past year. If you have not seen this movie - GO. It's not a "chick flick" or a "football movie"...it's a movie for everyone. Between this movie, and the earthquake in Haiti, the agency where I work has seen more and more people opening their hearts to adoption in recent months. February was the biggest month for new applications that we've seen in almost a year (and it was a short month) - good news for children everywhere who are living without families!

My friend Bonnie is in China and has her little NiNi now. Our agency is trying to get them back to the U.S. as soon as possible so NiNi can get the heart surgery she so desperately needs. Please keep them in your prayers in the coming weeks.

Signs of Spring

Not a lot of news to report this week. After last year's 7+ FEET of snowfall, we have had a warmer than normal winter in Spokane this year. So much so in fact, that when I was out in the garden yesterday, I saw new growth starting to pop up in the perennial beds. Hooray! The weather folks are saying we can expect some temps into the 60s this week, so I am excited about that. Daytime temps have been in the 50s for several weeks now. I am ready for spring!

In dieting news, Steve and I are stilling working toward our goals. Month #2 has been easier. Less sugar/carb cravings for sure, and finding out what makes sense in terms of meal prep. Subw@y has still played a major role in our weekly diet, as has salmon, chicken, a variety of turkey products - many, many veggies - and rice. Steve has lost 20 lbs and I have lost 15 lbs total since January 1. I'm making it to my aqua sport class at the gym 2-3x/week, and trying to be more active in general. We were pleased to see that IH0P has added healthier options to their breakfast menu, allowing us to still enjoy the occasional brunch out for eggbeaters, turkey bacon and multi-grain blueberry pancakes...yummy!

My beloved blackberry cr@pped out on me last week. Not good when you rely on it as much as I do, particularly when you work remotely. So I sucked it up and got the new iphone on Friday. It's taking me some time to figure out the whole "touchscreen" typing thing, but I'm getting there. I believe I am one of the few people on earth that has never owned an ipod, so I was kind of excited to get my music loaded onto my phone this weekend as well.

No news on the adoption front. The Chinese gov't offices typically shut down for a couple of weeks during the New Year festival and should be back to work this week. So hopefully my agency will be getting files on new children needing homes in the coming weeks. It could still be several months before I receive a referral, but I am ready to meet Lia whenever her file is presented to me! Meanwhile, I am praying for my friend Bonnie, who is leaving for China this week to go get her baby girl. Bonnie and I are with the same agency and both sent our dossiers to China the same month, so we have been on the same chatboards and gift exchange groups for several years now. Her daughter NiNi has a fairly serious heart issue and needs to get back to the U.S. asap for heart surgery - so please keep Bonnie and NiNi in your prayers this week! In fact, my agency has several families traveling to meet their little ones this week, so please keep them all in your thoughts and prayers over the next couple of weeks.

Valentine's Day & Happy Lunar New Year!

Today marks Valentine's Day, and also the beginning of the Lunar New Year festival in Asia. 2010 is the Year of the Tiger - Happy New Year! (Gong Hay Fat Choy!)

No big V-day plans this year...again, saving money for what I hope to be a BIG trip sometime in the coming year, so keeping things low-key. Also trying to avoid the food, candy and sweets that plague this holiday typically. Last year I was headed out to San Diego at this time (where I got to meet my 30-year crush - Rick Springfield - LOL).

In China, the Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday of the year. It is when families come together from near and far to celebrate and spend time with one another - much like our Christmas here in America. A friend of mine posted this YouTube video and I thought it was so happy and really captured the joy and celebration of this special holiday in China:

34 Months

Maybe I should start taking bets on how many months this is going to go - now that it seems there might actually be an end in sight? Will I reach 40 months before receiving a referral? Will I reach 40 years old before getting a referral? Who knows (only God at this point).

I was happy to receive a call from the Waiting Child Dept. at my agency last week. They were wanting to go over some of the special needs I had checked on my list and discuss my spectrum of "openness" to varying issues. They hinted to the fact that I may not wait as long as originally predicted due to my openness to certain issues. So hopefully that is a good sign. Of course, it all depends on what kinds of children they receive files on from China in the coming months. There are no guarantees...so until then, I continue to wait not-so-patiently...

I also realize there will be even more weeks and months of paperwork and waiting once I know who Lia is...and even more time will pass before I get to hold her in my arms...

...and I suspect that will be the hardest "wait" of all.

1800A APPROVAL!

YES!!! Friday I received my 1800A approval from the US Immigration Dept. (USCIS) - HOORAY! This is what the past 5 months of paperwork, fingerprinting appointments, homestudy addendums, (and $3k+ in fees!) was working toward.

As most of you know, the USCIS originally approved me to adopt from China in March 2007. But immigration approvals expire after a certain number of months, and mine expired in Sept. 2008. When we moved from Colorado to Washington in 2008, it meant we had to get a new homestudy done anyway, and my agency recommended that I wait until I was closer to a referral to get that done. So last summer when I decided to enter the Waiting Child program with my agency, I moved ahead with renewing the paperwork. So I now have re-approval from the US gov't to bring an orphaned Chinese child into the U.S. as an adopted citizen (at least until March 2011, when the paperwork will expire again!). So let's keep our fingers crossed that we get some good news this year!

Resolution Re-Cap

On January 1st, Steve and I embarked on a resolution to get healthy in 2010 in preparation for traveling, and getting Lia, and both of us living a long, long time!

Let's be honest, I was never a "skinny" girl. I've always kept a healthy amount of weight on my bones, and can easily dip over into that "overweight" category if I let things go for even a few weeks. Over the past 10 years I have done Weight Watchers, Slimfast, eDiets.com, CalorieKing.com - and countless other "plans" aimed at losing weight and getting healthy. I've done step aerobics, resistance training, jazzercise, yoga, speed walking, cross training, Curves, Taebo, and aqua aerobics at various times to varying degrees of committment. I typically lose about 20-30 lbs, and then fall off the wagon and slowly gain it all back.

So this year, with the goal of fitting comfortably into airplane seats on international flights, climbing the Great Wall, and carrying around a 20 lb. child - we restarted "the plan". This time, with help from a coach (our chiropractor, who is also a nutritional coach). In fact Steve is even broadcasting his weightloss plan publicly, recording "testimonial" radio ads for our coach. So this is good. Steve is being held accountable, which means he is less likely to cheat, which means I am much more likely to stay on track as well...and it hasn't been easy.

It's now been 30 days since we started our new routine. No soda (not even diet), no coffee, no sugar (except the occasional piece of dark chocolate to keep us sane), no red meat - very little bread, pasta, rice or potatoes - no creamy sauces or dressings - and of course nothing fried. Steve is using the treadmill at home, while I am hitting the gym for aqua sport class 3x/week. Isn't it supposed to be "habit" by now? "Lean and green" is not as easy as it sounds!

On the bright side, I am down 10 lbs...and Steve is down 15 lbs (men drop weight so much more quickly than women - NOT FAIR!) - in just 30 days. I'm also getting fewer headaches, fewer gut aches, and have had no heartburn in weeks. At this rate, we will hit our goal weights in four months...(just in time for summer!) Then our coach will help us start bringing some foods back into our meal plans. For now, we are finding 100 different ways to cook salmon and chicken breasts, and replacing ground turkey into many recipes. Trying to stay creative with a variety of veggies as well to keep things interesting. Luckily, we are eating six times a day, and most of those meals are nutrition shakes or bars supplied by our coach. I can't believe a low-fat turkey sub on whole wheat has become a treat - but is has!

One month down... :)