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