21 Months and 21 Minutes

Today is our 21 Month LID "Anniversary"...steadily creeping toward the 2 Year Mark.

Yesterday was Valentines Day. It was a day that Cupid decided to shoot U-S-C-I-S in the heart - and we felt the love.


Bracing ourselves for a long-ass wait to get re-fingerprinted (we were there for hours last time), jzboy and I both took the day off and enjoyed a leisurely and decadent breakfast (at this place) before getting in line. We dragged our feet a little but eventually arrived at the insititution with reading/writing/listening materials in our pockets.

Immediately we were greeted by the comedian receptionist guy who looked at us suspiciously. "You two look like US Citizens", he demurred. We explained. He nodded. We were given numbers #500 & 501 then waved through to the next level.


Thankfully the federal workers swapped out the cloying Celine Dion in Concert vid for something with Steve Martin. The new selection was an english version with, of course, english subtitles. After about 10 minutes, we were asked to sit in line with our backs to the screen. Ah well...I guess we could still listen.


It must have been Cupids Arrow because the Biometrics team was all smiles, wearing Valentinesy beads and had a gentle touch when pressing hands to fingerprinting screens. Maybe it was a little romantic in a way. I'll have to think on that. But whatever it was, it moved me to writing some glowing feedback for the group before I decended the 2nd floor workspace. Livescanning was just a walk in the park this go around and for that I was very grateful.

We were out of there in 21 minutes and off to enjoy the rest of our Valentines Day just the way we wanted.


Thanks Cupid.

Goodnight Old Girl

We love you so dearly, Cleo, and only hope that you are with your lifepartner, Sam, snuggling in the sun right now. For hours and hours and hours...and hours. Your bliss is our hope.

Our tears remind us of how much love you brought to our lives. And, how much we loved you.

xo

Love Letter

Took me a little longer than usual, but I finally got around to writing up all of my thank you notes for so many great Christmas gifts that were sent our way.


Back in the day, I would get those puppies written and into the mail before the New Year. Yes, I was teased for it - but that was just my way. Not this year, though. This year I needed some extra time post-holiday to gather up my energy before I could write my notes. Perhaps I needed a little extra time before I could actually feel truly grateful. Time for the haze of disappointment and anger about another holiday spent childless to lift.

Know what I mean?

Our families have been really great to us and have continued to bestow upon us some excellent books, $$ toward the "baby fund", enough quilt fabric for 10 Bai Jia Beis and countless trinkets for the child that they ((too)) look forward to meeting someday. This wait is hard on all of us - family & dear friends alike - and that is something I have to remind myself of during these periods of self absorption. Check out this killer Girl Scout doll that BabyZ's most-excellent Auntie gave us for XMas:


She can't wait for her neice to meet our family, I just know that is true.

Long time readers of this ol' buttercup blog know that music is very important to me. It is important to all of us, but a lot of times it functions as a lifeline for me. I want to thank my Walternatives bud for trading cd mixes with me almost monthly last year. Thanks to her I now know the difference between Nancy Griffith and Patty Griffin. Making Pies, baby!


Atomic Mama introduced me to the lovely and amazing Nouvelle Vague 80's mixes as well as the killer bits and pieces of DJ Shinky. Jessi - oh my bud, Jessi - has sent so many mixes. Now that is a lady who loves her some new music! Thanks, Jessi, for telling me all about Cat Power, the Shins & Kelley Deal 6000 (now I know why they sound so 80's - Breeders! Pixies!! I was right!!) Fliss, another bloggity gal noticed my "Soundtrack for a Waiting Mother & sent us a couple of cds full poignant tunes that she thought would be good additions to the list. All of this music means so much. Thank you, thank you!!

Ok, now back to the handicrafts. Kimi, a local waiting parent, who has her own online sewing patterns shop called New Conceptions, gave us these very swanky shoes as a baby "comin' around the corner when she comes" kind of gift.


I think that Auntie Kimi gave us these back in August?? Sorry to be sharing so late, but damn! the corner is just so far in the distance these days. Somehow I lost track of the cuteness. Pause for a moment, tho...can you believe that she made these shoes herself?? Her-own-Damn-SELF?? Sweet!

Another near and dear bud, Jules, has sent some very special things to us that she has thoughtfully embroidered with her rad-ass, self proclaimed Big White Machine. We love them. The love onesie:


...and the Rockstar outfit:


Thank you Jules! Please go visit her shop called pinkpolkadotz.com and see all of the excellent things that she can do with that Big White Machine.

All of this love in such a scattered post can only lead to the randomness of how close that I've become with my LID Secret Pal, Jen. Random only b/c we met online via our agency LID Yahoo group as complete strangers who would never have met otherwise - We are family now. She and her hubs just got back from Ethiopia with their daughter, Amara, about a month ago. Jzboy and felt so fortunate to hang with the happy family last weekend. Here is the newest member of our circle, Ms. Amara:


Isn't Jen GLOWING??

What a sweet little peach Amara is. Jen roasted up some Ethiopian coffee beans for us to enjoy and sent us along our merry (and very BUZZED) way after sipping the delicious french pressed liquor. Amazing. The baby, the new family...and the roasty-toasty beans. Sweet.

Ok, moving right along. So out of the blue this past week we got a call from the infamous Atomic Mama. She & her hubs were planning a crazy roadtrip & wanted to know if they could drop by? Uhhhh, yeah! Batten down the hatches and pull out the Dim Sum, y'all...the queen is coming to town!


Oh how I wish these guys lived closer. We miss them already.

AMama made the most spectacular blanket for our baby2be. I think that she has been paying attention to one of my many color affairs - Pink and Red. The best. And, cherries! Sweetness in the most unique, styling, fun & quirky way - a lot like the designer herself. You tha' bomb, yo.


Thank you to dear ol' DSue - for burning me a copy of Kitchen Confidential onto cd. Anthony Bourdain RULES, most definitely. What a MAN. I actually looked forward to getting in the car each morning to hear the next installment in spite of my long commute. Your gift truly propellelled me through the December morning blahs. You rock, my friend. Thank you.


Ok, I think that I've gone on long enough. This is the lengthiest post I've written in some time. It needed to be done - I needed to remind myself of those thankful places in my life. They are there. They are here. They come in strange packages and from far away places sometimes. Oddly enough, they even come through the computer occasionally.

I know that I was very specific with my thanks above, but what I really wanted was to say outloud and to whomever is reading how grateful I am for your presence. Please accept my thanks for all of the much needed laughs, the surprising inspirations, the empathy, the motivation to keep on keepin' on, the shout-outs, the LOVE...and the support as I branch out into other endeavors (etsy & all that).

Maybe it is a bit late, but my words of thanks are so real and true. Big Ol' LOVE to y'all.

Oh yeah, and Happy New Year.

xo

Want to Win A Prize????

If you find yourself a Gambling Type - go check out this link to a Voting Promo within Etsy. No purchase is necessary - alls ya gots ta do is vote. Consider it practice for the upcoming primaries...

The California Crafter's Club of Etsy (CCCOE) has asked for members to make an item for their Etsy Shop that was inspired by the topic of "Science". My entry was Paige:


...the bespectacled Wild Carrot that dreams of Library Science.

The unique (& very cool) thing about this contest is that the Voters are the ones that are up for prizes. Lucky voters, you are, because these excellent prizes were made by a very cool woman who uses vintage LP vinyl in amazing ways!

Click here to view all 27 entries in one place at quirkynberkeley's blog. All voting needs to be done on the etsy link at the top, but it is easy to see the widely varying entries...inspired by Marine Biology, Phrenology, Astronomy & Wild Veggies all at once.

Go, scope it out. You might win a prize!! Polls are open til' midnight, February 8th.

Why the Rain Rocks - Part Deux

GREEN Hills to gaze at on the way to work...for a limited time only.




And cozy fires at home after an hour long commute through a rush hour downpour:

Wax on Wax Hoff

Really, you've got to try "Waxing Hoff" - click here if you are up for the challenge.

It is a game of skill.

Rad Ass Radish

Uh-oh. There she goes again...with her veggies.

Am I becoming, like, The Veggie Lady? Hmmm, maybe I'm ok with that...?


My latest is a spicy little root, Randall, the Rad Ass Radish.

Please click here to visit Randall at my Etsy Boutique and see his full portfolio of pictures + cheeky bio.

All I can say is thanks to some cancelled plans, a bit of rainy weather and my recent love of all things red - radishes are appearing out of thin air up in here.

Well, maybe just two.

Hope that your weekend is equally colorful, vibrant, fun and relaxing.

xo

I'm calling her Jan

Here is our newest family member. Quite photogenic, wouldn't you agree??

Haha. I've had my ol' Kenmore for a good 10 years and really didn't think that I needed anything more than that. So I kinda shrugged him off when Jzboy said he wanted to give me a new machine for Christmas. Then we browsed a few Sew & Vac shops and a couple Janome/Babylock dealers. Didn't take me long to change my attitude. Jzboy did a lot of the research - because there are some serious techie points to consider. I fell in love with this Janome after getting a very good demo, a promise of lessons for the life of the machine and that was that. Those lessons are certainly going to come in handy as I have NO IDEA what to do with 14 feet!

Christmas gift + a full liquidation of the Jade fund x limitless creative opportunities = Priceless Distraction for Waiting IA Mother2Be

Steppin' it up a notch...or 20.

Riddle Me This

What has the largest arm of its kind, the accuracy and control of a racehorse, 14 fully functional feet, speaks 10 different languages and purrs like a kitten?

Today

This is how I feel about it today.


Maybe I'll feel differently tomorrow.

Walk on the Wild Side

Unveiling my very first....Wild Blueberry! Her name is Indigo.


You all realize that I'm mowing through the baby name list that I've kept for...hmmm...I think 15 odd years. So this is what I decided today: Because there is very little, if nothing, that I can do about all the bad news floating around our IA cyber community - I'm gonna take the blues and make blueberries. Rationalizes all the time spent on this project as well as the zoning-out diversion that they've provided...reruns of The Office helped, too.

A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Click here to see more pictures of Indigo. I'll be adding more blueberries over the next few days...so stop by my etsy boutique for updates.

Wordless Wednesday....

Why the Rain Rocks

It is our rainy season here in California & I couldn't be happier. Right now we've got this cool weather system going through dumping a boat-load of rain and treating us to some very rarely heard Thunder & Lightening! We've been very lucky & haven't lost power or experienced anything more than finding a few shingles on the ground. So far the storming has been great and here are some reasons why:

1. It's amusing to watch the cats respond to booming thunder by doing that skootchy walk low to the ground.

2. Drinking homemade lattes & finishing up the last of the Christmas cookies.

3. Time spent communing with the TV - Rainy Day Movies (we saw the Outsiders) & nail-biting football games (we were rooting for the Steelers).

Better luck next year.

4. Good excuse to put off the yardwork one more weekend...combined with hopeful prayers that this rain will make up for my poor gardening ethic over the past few months.

5. The all day dark skies give permission (& inspiration) for napping, crafting, reading, relaxing.....

6. Time to finally make my annual New Years Hoppin' John blackeyed peas. Btw, is it still lucky if you imbibe 4-5 days after the 1st?



7. Holiday Decor is Packed - yesssssss!!

8. We can keep a close eye on our sick cat, Cleo. (Anyone out there in cyberland have experience treating a pet for Diabetes?)


This picture was taken before Cleo got sick - now all Iris seems to want to do is bite her on the back & (maybe?) kill her? You know how cats sense when another is sick? Its weird and, yes, Cleo is safely quarantined.

9. Playing with new Christmas Gifts that got lost under the tree...like my 24-Pack of Ultra Fine Point Sharpies and Bend the Rules Sewing book!

10. Did I mention crafting????? I finally finished my third (& final?) Wild Carrot....Paige.


I hadn't planned on giving her glasses, but was inspired to do so after signing up for an Etsy contest. The topic for the challenge is "Science" & Paige is a clever, smart little carrot that dreams of going to UCBerkeley to study Information & Library Science. You wouldn't believe all the cool stuff that has been submitted so far - there are some very interesting and talented folks on Etsy.

Click here for more pictures of Paige at my Etsy Boutique

Anyway, it felt like a Project Runway-esque activity and anyone that knows me knows that I love a good, old fashioned contest/game. I'll definitely post when it is time to vote, so you can see all of the entries! Til' then, it is back to catching up around the house & around bloggersville...while we brace for the next round of storming.

XO

Rusty's Got a Sister!

And, I've named her Ginger.

Click here for more detailed pictures of Ginger at my Etsy Boutique

There may be one more Wild Carrot in the works...but now I've got Wild Blueberries on my mind. (Cue maniacal laughter) Yes, I have officially gone mad. The good thing is that I'm mostly ok with that & I'm having fun.

Happy New Year, ya'll.

XO

Its Still Wednesday

(Late, but Wordless None-tha-Less)

Only B/C I Haven't Heard It Yet Today...the Waitresses

Long Live the 80's. Big Hair. Big Lights. Big Time.

Hope that the holiday met your expectations. XO

Mister Heat Blister

Guess What's Onnnnn Toooo-Night????

Here's to a happy, healthy and groovy holiday to everyone.

XO - wzgirl

Gasp!

Go over and visit Cuteable.com...

(click here)

...to see what took my breath away this morning.

Yay! I think that this is just what I needed this morning. Like an early Christmas gift.

Thanks, Cuteable! XO

My First Doll!

It has been a while in coming - but my first doll has made the transition from the drawing board in my head to reality!



I'm calling it a Wild Carrot that goes by the name of Rusty (after the band Rusted Root). There are more on the way, if only I didn't have to do the old 9 to 5 thing - sewing and playing around with color is sooo much more fun.

Here's a link to Rusty's home on Etsy - and if you'd like to see more pictures!

Yay!

Feuerzangenbowle

I thought that I'd gotten the best White Elephant gift evah a good few years ago when I scored this album:


It remains one of my all time fave cds & is frequently played as background music for social gatherings. I was willing to accept whatever crappy gift I might get in the future b/c I felt that I'd gotten my end-all/be-all gift and that was probably my quota for this lifetime as far as the Dirty Santa game was concerned. Fine.

Last night, however, lucky ol' me actually ended up with an extremely cool White Elephant gift that may outdo the Beastie Boys - we will have to see. First impressions, though, are high on the cool/unique/intriguing factor!

Here's a pic of the gift:


And, here is what is inside:


It is all the ingredients for a real-live-authentic Feuerzangenbowle. Aka - German Burnt Punch, Crambambuli...or "Flaming Fire Tongs Punch". A blazing spirited beverage which was made famous by a 1940's German movie called Die Feuerzangenbowle. Apparantly the show is all about a man who imbibed a bit too much of the firey drink, dressed up as a student and goes back to school at the urging of his drinking buddies.

Gotta love a good German Comedy....one that has (according to University of Google) inspired a cult following all over Europe. Have you see this one, Dad?

Anyway, sounds pretty cool doesn't it? Some of the key ingredients include fresh, organic oranges & lemons, cloves, juniper berries, a bay leaf and cinnamon sticks. Some of these:


Sugar Loaves....

And some of this:


Super, duper strong Rum (at least 54% alcohol). Whoa. Plus you add wine to that! Prost!

Ok, and that funky looking sheath-thing above the bottle of moonshine? That is an integral part of this entire process. It is called a "Feuerzange" and holds the "Zuckerhut" (or SugarLoaf) above the pot of punch while you douse it with the hooch and then light it afire.

Oh. My. God.

I found some great vids online of people engaging in the holiday Feuerzangenbowle - and it looks very cool. Especially if you like lighting stuff on fire...and then drinking it. Anyone know Deutsch?

(Contrary to the celebrants in this vid - you are NEVER supposed to pour the rum from the bottle onto the flame...ahem)

Stay tuned b/c you know that we are so going to blog this....now, who wants to come over????????

Alles Gute! Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

Sometimes Dreams Change

Anyone else get goosebumps?

And, maybe a teary eye?

Mexico Lindo

Ah....Mexico.


Mexico - Mexico - Mexico - Mexico.

Si, Mexico.


As a Californian, visiting Mexico feels a lot like being at home. The food, the language, the mellow vibe. I only ate fish and vegetables & I couldn't have been happier. We got a few nice souvenirs but the best one was the tan on our Sorry-Ass-Northern-Californian-Hides. We were in the sea as much as we were on the sand ~ and ~ as much as we were sipping frosty drinks in town post sunset. It was excellent. Muy Bueno, for sure.

Isla Mujeres was our destination. Same place we visited last November. Lovely wee island.


The sands are powdery white and the sun is all too kind this time of year. No sunburns, no blisters...no phone, no internet, no stress. LOTS o' Chillaxin'. Very nice combo.


The sunsets - ah, the sunsets. And, the beautiful blue agua. Gorgeous.

I'll save the food-love for another post, but suffice to say, it was wonderful.


This year we stayed close to the town center of Isla. Cheaper and quieter but still incredibly close to la playa. We found this sweet hotel called The Francis Arlene and scored with the top floor room. I couldn't help but refer to it as The Penthouse. Not only did it rock to reside without others above us - but we got the entire rooftop patio to ourselves the entire TIME! How flippin' cool is that? A nice benefit of being able to travel on the "shoulder" season, I think.


Last November we took a trip to the Yucatan to visit Chichen Itza - this year we embraced the beach and only boarded a bus to get to/from the airport. Good Call. It was nice to unpack our bags and hang on the island solamente.


The main reason we went to Isla Mujeres over Thanksgiving was because of a promise that Jzboy & I had made to each other. Last November we vowed that if we weren't back from China with our child by that time - we would return to the lovely island. Funny thing is that now we're thinking that an annual visit may just be essential for our souls.

Whatever may come...this is how we're feeling now. Now is good.

Be. Here. Now.


Our mantra, as much of a struggle as it feels at times, is how we'll try to focus. As my dear buddy, Barb (who happens to be a Shaman), says - we will strive to be "Grounded In The Present".

Easily (& Thankfully) Distracted

While on vacation I had all of these creative vibes going so by the time I got home, I was totally stoked to have a blissfully mellow weekend nearly alone with my Kenmore. Here's what I did:


I fell in love with this Matryoshka fabric because of the colors and the cute factor. To me, it was an excellent basis for a holiday project. A bit of sketching on the beach & I have an original design! Yay. I can't tell you how satisfying it is to create something with my own pattern...my own vision. Sweet.

Click here for more detail & pics....

So, that being said, I do have a doll pattern coming to life. She/He is slightly beyond rough draft & I'm really looking forward to some time to play around with fabrics/design soon. My goal is to have some for my Etsy shop in early 2008!

This Etsy thing has been a great distraction for me in the midst of the holiday season and considering all of the adoption referral/timelines uncertainty. When I'm busy, creatively engaged and positively distracted - I can cope. You can only spend so much time in Mexico or on the motorcycle to distance yourself from rumors and angst. This is my newfound elixir.

Thanks to everyone who has dropped by my shop and given me feedback...& sales!

xo