Countdown

NINE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!

This one is from my all time favorite Genesis album - Three Sides Live.

Should you happen to drive past me in my car over the next nine days - yes, this is what is blasting out of the speakers.

Dudes - you may think that I'm a complete dork for all of this - but, DAMN! am I in seventh heaven with anticipation right now.

Swear. To. God.

Booty-licious

Thanks so much to our dear friend, Jenni/Black Dog Running, for her thoughtfully chosen Baby CyberShower gifts! Thanks, Jenni! Thank you so much....

Girl, you spoiled us rotten!!!! (And, I'm not just talking about the Gummi Bear Goodness)

Here is Iris in the freshly opened box. She always loves to help when there is red tissue paper involved. Doesn't it look like she's ready for someone to read her the story??


This is also a pic of the Scholastic Book about Imperial China as told by Ms. Frizzle that Auntie Jenni enclosed. Very cute. Very fun!

Here is a nicely re-packaged shot of the entire goodness enclosed in this very large box:


Two amazing soft books - one that has a wee teddy bear that can be moved from page to page. Very sweet. A very cute doggy rattle that will always remind us of our friends and the Furbabies that they love (Murphy & Boomer, of course). There is also a plaster foot/tootsie mold project bit, two (TWO!) bags of original Gummi Bears, some Choco-chocolate bandaids and a very nice red brocade purse. Baby Gurl will def love to play with that after she starts collecting her first coin-money and library cards!

Did I already mention the Gummi Bears??

Thank you sooo much, Auntie Jenni. You Rock!

XO, the Z Family

Mountainous Paradise*

*Can you see the the pics, now?*


Very early the morning following our Portland Blog-Bud Weekend Gathering, my old friend B scooped Jzboy and I up and took us to her family cabin at the base of Mt. Hood. She'd been coaxing me to visit for years and years.

Why?

Why did I not take her up on it until now?

I have no idea. What I do know (for sure) is that this will not be the last time our toes grace the rustic, douglas fir scented, icy rivered, peace-filled goodness that is Rhododendron, OR.

I had no idea that my dear friend's long-loved family heirloom was a Steiner Log Cabin! Lovely, cozy AND historically special...for family and architects alike.

Sweet.


This picture is so my mother can drool:


Here is the view from the deck:


Un-frickin-believeable.

We spent a gorgeous day on Mt Hood. What a lady.



Yes, I am wearing the backpack. It was COLD! The pack kept me warm. I later traded with Jzboy when we were going uphill well after lunch. Talk about a workout. But a beautiful one - exercise should always be this killer. The altitude gave us the extra edge on the aerobic aspect of our trudging.


Can you believe this blue sky? Beautiful, refreshing, azure.


It was a long hike down to the valley and back. As the miles wore on, the camera stayed in its holster. It was better that way.

Perfect way to end this glorious day?

Cribbage & cold beer with dear friend B (right)...beside cozy wee cabin's lovely fireplace! Yes, it was chilly enough for a fire! Jzboy snoozed.

Heaven.

Shan wai you shan

Beyond this mountain, there is always another.

Millicent/DifferentDirt gave me this quote which became a mantra for me as we hiked Mt Hood in Oregon. Of course, for me, the message directly relates to the adoption process that has dominated my thoughts for a long, long time. It is a reminder that once we hit the peak, reach our goal and (finally) become a family of three - we will likely sit on that Life's Summit with a similar view as above. One that is hazy, perilous, demanding...and extraordinarily beautiful.




(Picture above is of Mt. Whitney as viewed from Mt. Hood in Oregon 9/10/07)

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

Buttercup Cap made while on vacation.

Cyber Friends Made Real

Heart Shaped Stepping Stones - led Jzboy and I to a much needed restorative gathering of adoptive parents last week. In Portland of all places! The opportunity made for a very good reason to go to one of our favorite areas on the planet, visit other friends/family while there and continue North to our final destination. Seattle!


While in Portland we got to hang with Kelli/Sprout, Beeb/Moonbeam, Millicent/DifferentDirt, Walternatives (incl. Goob) and FDChief + his fam. Good times! Really good times. The unspoken understanding that we all have of each other (via a year++ of blogging & posting yahoowise), the normalizing of emotions surrounding our mutual China adoption experience, the inside jokes, the nurturing via food and drink...it was all priceless.

We also got to experience the joyful anticipation in sending off a few from the posse: FDChief and Millicent. They are both in China (as I type!) meeting their daughters for the first time. Now that's pretty f'ing special!

Here are some of us in Millicent/Floyd's rebuilt home. You may have read about it on their blog. A devastating fire really took out the back of their house. Lemme tell you, it was extremely cool to see all the amazing work that has been done to restore their 1899 beauty! Man.

*photo removed by author*

(from right: Beeb, Kelli, Moi & Millicent)

Whenever you hang out with Auntie-Types, you know there are going to be presents! (Some presents were unwrapped by the TSA and re-wrapped at Auntie Kelli's!)


Of course, Iris had to sniff everything! Does she think that she can hide behind the toy giraffe??

Check out all the glorious goodies! Auntie Millie gave me some fun BDay goodies - a Chinese phrase calendar & a "Stuff on Your Cat" book (hil-flippin-larious). How about stuff "with" your cat? That could be the title of this picture. Tante Walternatives gave us some gorgeous handmade stationery (the pic does NOT do it justice) it is beautiful. And, thoughtful. Special. Auntie Beeb gave buttercup a very sweet patchworky giraffe that we LOVE & shared a story about how she had her own giraffe stuffed animal as a child. Awww! Thanks, Auntie Beeb!

So, one of these things is not like the others, right?? You may be wondering about the flippin' schweet tennies in the middle of the goodie pile?? Those are from Auntie Kelli - swag from her work. Lucky me fits into the sample size! Woot! Thanks Easter Bunny!!! I mean, Auntie K!

Ok. It is clear to me now, this trip post is going to be far too long as one piece. Stay tuned for part 2 when I talk about Mt Hood, Tacoma and Seattle!

I don't want to scrimp on the details....(isn't scrimp a great word?)

Man! Was this a great vacation! I didn't realize how badly I needed one until I was on it.....

HomeSweetHome

We're back from our week-long visit to the Pacific Northwest. It was a really, really excellent trip full of friends (new & old), family, mountains, chillaxin', romance and food!

As always (thankgoodness) it is even more excellent to be home.

More later. XO

If That's What You're Into

I think that we've finally recovered from our Laborious Labor Day camping trip last weekend. The poem scribbled below was inspired by the Flight of the Concords tune "If You're Into It"...something silly that hovered about the campsite and became a mascot of sorts all weekend long. Quite similar to the clinging aroma of our neighbors bacon grease doused campfire smoke. Well, maybe funnier than that.

Definitely.

Somehow the Flight of the Concords kept us connected and sane amidst hot temps, crowded bathrooms, unexpected allergies and the little red bugs that seemed to be mating all over the ground/tent/picnic table/undergarments. Please look at the clip below and consider following this randomly funny show on HBO. Random and...just so perfectly what I'm "into".

IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE INTO

Pedicure ruined on your toes
Missing all your weekend TV shows
Pounding tent spikes way-down low
Nice Camp Host - we call him Joe
Will we do this again? Shoot, I really don't know....

Dusty dirty shoes
Ankles black and blue
Un-a-ble to go Poo
Do you think that would be something you'd be in-to?

Standing in line to pee
Brushing teeth so everyone can see-ee
Picking bugs from your teeth
Pitching tent in big ol' tree-ees
Scabby, bug-bitten knees
All our food grazed on by Meat Bees

Me and You
In the woods
Aren't you in-to the Mood
To hang out with all of our crew
Plus a good friend..we call him...Stew
Isn't that something you'd be in-to?

Isn't the Toy Piano the best part?

With just FOUR days matched this month - couldn't we all use a laugh about now?