One of my favorite Christmas presents this year is this Anne Geddes Ladybug infant. She came in an egg. The little face is so perfect that it startled me a little when I first opened it.

too much shopping

As someone who truly loves shopping, it normally takes quite a bit to drive me to feel that I've shopped too long. Not today.

Einstein's at 9 a.m.
me: I'd like a dozen bagels, cinnamon raisin and sesame seed.
bagel guy: Will that be for here or to go?
me: hmmm. Although downing 13 bagels is tempting, I think I'll take them to go.
bagel guy: noticing the "you're an idiot" look on my face. You would be surprised by what people eat.
me: I'm sure.

Pier 1
I have a number of items, most things are on sale. Cashier is ringing up my order.
me: Did those cat food dishes come up on sale? (a gift for Sammy the Cat)
cashier girl: They should have.
me: Yes, but did they?
cashier girl: Well, I can't see any of the pricing until I complete the sale. So, after you pay, I can tell you how much they were.
me: my normally low tolerance for poor customer service is pretty much gone. That's just dumb.
cashier girl: That's the way we have to do it. If it is wrong, I'll reverse the transaction.
me: dumb, dumb dumb....

Danny's DRIVE THRU Carwash
I decide to do the quick and cheap $5 drive thru carwash. So, I go into the mini mart figuring I'll buy myself a gift card for car washes since they don't accept credit cards at the kiosk and I rarely have cash. After purchasing the $25 gift card:
cashier guy: Do you want to buy the $5 wash?
me: Well, I was going to pay at the wash.
cashier guy: Oh, you can't use the gift card at the wash, you have to pay here with it. You can only pay cash at the wash.
me: Since bringing the card into the mini mart to pay for the wash defeats the purpose of buying myself this card, I don't want it after all. I have $5 on me so I'll just go pay cash for this wash.
cashier guy: You have to pay for the $5 wash here. They will only take cash for the $8 wash at the kiosk.
me: What? That makes no sense.
cashier guy: Not my rules.
me: So, I can pay $8 cash but not $5 cash at the kiosk, am I understanding you correctly?
cashier guy: shrug
me: Then the only way to get a $5 wash is to park and pay inside the mini mart. You do realize that the whole reason people are willing to pay $5 for a spit shine is because they don't have to leave their car- thus the DRIVE THRU car wash. uugghh!!

I decided that was enough fun for one day.

One more Christmas

Well, just six more days to what I hope will be my last Christmas without my daughter. Of course, I have made this same wish for the past three Christmas' and yet, one more Christmas without my daughter. So, will 2006 be "the year"? Why ask me? I'm definitely not the right person to answer this since I thought 2003, then 2004 and then 2005 was "the year".

I actually entered into the international adoption arena believing that you do the paperwork, jump through the hoops, pay lots and lots of money and eventually, you get your baby. What could wrong? Ha! Right up until the moment my first adoption fell through (country closed down to international adoptions), I still believed this. After all, why would any government choose to have their children raised in an orphanage when they could have a forever family of their own. Seems like a no-brainer to me but, what do I know.

Now, if 2006 isn't "the year", I'll be sure to post my new address at the mental asylum. I'll respond to all mail as soon as they let me out of the straight jacket. But please, when you talk about me to your friends, I prefer crazy to nuts.

August Secret Pal Gifts

My August Secret Pal sent Ava these wonderful gifts. I love the ladybug blanket. I'll have to bring it along to China. A big thanks to my August Secret Pal.

Sammy enjoying the holiday decorations.

gurgle, gurgle...

... that's my stomach you're hearing. Day 2 of a stomach virus. As I lay around the house doing absolutely nothing, which is all I can handle when I feel nauseated, I keep thinking about all those parents in China, spending their first days with their daughters and horribly sick from eating/drinking something they shouldn't have. An all too common situation for adoptive parents traveling to China. From the different blogs I've been following, it seems that about half the parents end up sick at least part of the trip. I really am useless when my stomach is upset, this will not due. For those of you out there that have BTDT, any advice on not getting sick while in China is appreciated.