QuALTing

I've given in. I'm making a 100 good wishes quilt. What changed my mind? Why, the ALTs of course...talk of funky fabrics and ground rules ruling out babyish, hard core girlie and commercial characters sucked me in. And you know what? So glad I joined the quilt cult...check out some of these fabrics - they are fun, funky and beautiful. They're going to make a fabulous quilt that our child will find use for beyond babyhood. Thank you to all of the ALTs who've sent very creative and loving wishes our way - we will treasure them always. As for family and friends, you all need to get on the ball - we've only received one quilt square and wish from your group. I've never quilted before, don't own a sewing machine and have no idea what I'm in for, so I need these fabric squares and wishes soon so I can start planning. And no worries - I have a sew savy friend willing to help.

10 Months LID

We've made it into the double digits - our dossier has now been logged in at the China Center for Adoption Affairs for 10 months.

Mardi Gras

Laissez le bon temps rouler!

Tuesday had a great time at our little Mardi Gras shindig last weekend - and so did everyone else. We had vegetarian jambalaya, hurricanes, king cake and lots of great conversation. It was my first try at jambalaya and I must say it rocked. It was so refershing to see everyone come out of hibernation. Bring on Spring!

And yes, Tuesday kept her collar and beads on all night - she's quite the party dog.

Kung Hay Fat Choy!

Wishing you all health and happiness in the year of the Boar!

The year of the Boar: is one of benevolence, one with a lot of 'feel good factor', one of "abundance" and a good year for business. Life in this year will be lived to the fullest and although there will be uncertainty it will be minimal. It is a rich year with impetuous acts, but care is recommended with any matters concerning money. The Boar is the symbol for great courage and integrity.

If referrals stay at their current pace, then it's probable that our child will be born in the year of the Boar or Pig. Here's what one site says about people born in Boar years:

Chivalrous and gallant, people born in the year of the boar are always flying the white banner of purity. Whatever their ambition, they do what they must with all the strength they have, for their strength is an inner strength that no one can overcome. There is neither left nor right nor retreat when a boar person sets out to do something. He has tremendous fortitude and
great honesty.

Boar people don't make many friends, but when they do, they make friends for life, and anyone having a boar-year-born person as a friend is indeed fortunate. Boar people don't talk much, but when they finally say something, they let it all come out at one time, and there is no shutting them up until they have finished. Like monkey people, they have a great thirst for knowledge. They study a great deal and on the surface are generally well informed. However, if their knowledge is probed, it will be discovered that what they knows is limited. The Japanese saying is that such a person is broad in front but has a narrow back.

Boar people are quite short-tempered, yet they have quarreling or arguments. They are affectionate and kind to their loved ones. They are shy and if they encounter any problems, they will not ask for outside help but will seek solutions to their problems by themselves. Boar people are advised not to get into lawsuits, for, being impulsive and hones, they will lose the suit to someone who is unscrupulous.

Mandarin Monday

I'm finding Mandarin class to be a lot of fun, especially the cultural tidbits he adds in here and there. In this week's class we each received a Chinese name - basically the teacher took characters that sound similar to our names - and we used brushes and paint to try our hand at creating our characters a la calligraphy. It was rather meditative after a while and I'm thinking I need a Buddha Board. We also drilled numbers and practiced saying them and translating into English.

So I leave you with 0-10 in pinyin: ling, yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, ba, jiu, shi
And just for fun, 1101: yiqianlingershiyi
And, finally for you lottery players out there 1 million: yiyi

Zai Jian!

Here's a Thought...

If referrals continue at the current rate there's a very good possibility our future child has been conceived.

Early Spring!!!

As I look at the single digit temperature on the thermometer and feel the blow zero wind chills I'm thrilled to announce that the one and only, the authentic Punxsutawney Phil, the prognosticating groundhog has finally and for only the 15th time in recorded history predicted an early spring! Happy Groundhog Day to all!

January Stork Alert

Congratulations to all families with LIDs between September 28 and October 13, 2005! Your referrals are here! Let the fun begin!

CCAA has also announced that they've completed review of dossiers logged in through March 22, 2006.

This means there are 6 months and one week of LIDs in line for referral ahead of our LID of April 20, 2006...and it means that our dossier is likely in CCAA's review room - right now they're looking at our homestudy, our photos, our financial statement, our physical forms, etc. Cool, huh?

Mandarin Mondays

Ni hao! I started Mandarin class at the local community college last week on Monday nights. It's a fun class and already the teacher is trying to talk me into his Chinese cooking class so I can prepare good Chinese food for our baby - including congee (rice porridge commonly fed to children in China). I don't think I can swing two class nights a week, so I might have to wait until next session, but I do love to cook!

So far we've learned basic greetings and numbers - he says I have good pronunciation so far - I make a lot of little phonetic notes, which helps.

In China there are hundreds of dialects spoken. Mandarin is one of them and it is the official dialect of the country, therefore everyone learns it (even if they don't use it much in their local town or province). Regardless of dialect, the characters used for writing mean the same thing, so the character for apple in Mandarin is the same as the character for apple in Cantonese.

My goal is to be proficient in basic travel Mandarin and to be able to say some basic things to our baby when we're in China. Even if her orphanage uses a different dialect, Mandarin will sound less strange to her than English and may offer some comfort during her transition to our family. It will take a while to reach that goal. For now I'll be excited to go to Chinatown and have someone understand me when I say "hello" or "thank you" or "where's the bathroom" in Mandarin...speaking of Chinatown, I think it's time for a dim sum brunch soon....mmmmmmm.

Blogger Problems

I switched to the new Blogger and now cannot log in - ah, but I can log in to post comments on other people's Blogger blogs and then can access my blog indirectly that way. I've emailed Blogger for help - I've done everything they suggested in their "can't log in" help section to no avail. Hopefully it will be resolved soon. Stay tuned!

9 Months LID

Yes, our paper pregnancy has reached the point at which we'd be expecting any day now had we chosen the giving birth route. Unfortunately, this gestation period will be closer to that of an elephant with a good possibility of even surpassing that. We've also officially been in the adoption process for 2 years. We attended our first information meeting in January '05. Cheers!

December/January Stork Alert

Congratulations to families with LIDs between 9/9/05 and9/27/05 - your referrals are here!!!

This means there is about 7 months of Log In Dates ahead of ours (4/20/06). If referral rates stay the same - 2-3 months per LID month - then we are at least 14 months out from getting our referral.

Happy ALT Birthday!!!

8 Months LID

As of December 20 our dossier has been logged in in China for 8 months. Still looking like early 2008 for referral at this point in time.

China has issued some new guidelines for potential adoptive parents including BMI limit, income and net assets, health, etc. These apparently will apply to families logged in after May 1, 2007.

Abecederian Meme

I have several blog posts pent up in my brain, but due to just finishing up a class for work, getting rear ended and spending the last two evenings at the chiropractor trying to have the damage undone I just can't spit them out right now...weekend starts tomorrow evening, though so check back soon to hear about the death of my Borns, ChicALTgo, The Perfect Piece and more!

Until then, passed on from SBird:

A is for age: 37
B is for Beer: Yuengling
C is for Career: Safety
D is for my Dog’s Name: Tuesday
E is for Essential Item I Use Everyday: Dental floss. Yes, every day
F is for Favorite T.V. Show: varies, currently Scrubs
G is for Favorite Game: Cranium
H is for Hometown: smallish college town
I is for Instruments I Play: clarinet and took fiddle lessons and would like to again
J is for Favorite Juice: Fresh squeezed orange with lots of pulp
K is for Whose Butt I’d Like To Kick: No one, but would love to tell mean people where to go
L is for the Last Place I Ate: Home
M is for Marriage: 3 years
N is for my Name: Mary
O is for Overnight Hospital Stays: Zero
P is for People I was With Today: Husband, coworkers, chiroprator, massage therapist
Q is for Quote: Currently see title quote
R is for Biggest Regret: None. If I had done anything different I wouldn't be who I am or where I am today and I like the who and where of me, so no regrets.
S is for Sport: Scuba diving
T is for Time I Woke Up Today: 6
U is for Current Underwear: VS Body by Victoria
V is for Vegetable You Love: Onions, mushrooms, kale, yams, tomatoes, etc.
W is for Worst Habit: Procrastination
X is for X-rays I Have Had: Dental
Y is for Yummy Food You Ate Today: Vegan shitake miso veggie soup
Z is for Zodiac: Aries, Rooster

ChicALTgo!

It was a blind date. An art show and a nice dinner. Would we like each other? Would we find things to talk about? Would we laugh?

The answer is YES! A contingent of 9 ALTS converged on Chicago one weekend in December (I'm counting the 3 husbands as ALTs by association). We met at the One of a Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart - one of the group's gals and her husband were showing their beautiful work there. I'll never forget going up to the group and asking "are you all part of an online group meeting here tonight?" It sounded so incredibly stupid, but I felt instantly comfortable with these women hearing their knowing laugh.

After browsing the show we headed to Coco Pazzo for a lovely meal. The conversation flowed so easily...adoption talk, ALT talk, everything talk minus a lot of the fluff the ALT group was created to avoid. There was so much laughter and fun I didn't want it to end. It was hugs all around when we parted ways and I felt like I found some great new friends. It was in instant connection. Can't wait 'til the next get together!

November Stork Alert!

Congratulations to families with LIDs between August 26, 2005, and September 8, 2005 - your referrals are on the way!

Another small batch means we're still looking at early 2008 for our referral. And no, that's not a typo, that's an "8".

7 Months LID

I almost missed it - we are now 7 months into our official wait for our child. Just today there are some positive rumours, but they are just rumours so I don't put much stock in them. Time will tell. As of right now if things stay on the same schedule as far as referrals we are looking at early 2008 for our match.

Travel Training

We got our travel training video from our agency this week. At first I thought it kind of odd considering we won't be traveling to China anytime soon, but after watching realized it did give us some things to think about and plan for. The best part is that the video was a little reminder that we are still in this process. With the wait so long sometimes it seems like receiving our referral is too far away to even think about...

Dim Sum, Moon Cakes and Wolves, Oh My!

My family came to visit last weekend. They usually come in the summertime and while I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t show them our beautiful prairie garden and organic veggie abundance we had a great time.

We visited Brookfield Zoo – the best zoo in the country. If you are ever in the Chicagoland area, it’s definitely worth the visit and they are open every day of the year. Bring comfortable shoes…the zoo spans over 200 acres.

We did fondue for dinner – I love a good fondue meal and the social aspect it promotes. There’s no wolfing it down or hurry. It was very relaxing.

Saturday it was on to Chinatown for Dim Sum at the Phoenix and a stop at the Chinese bakery. I purchased 2 mini moon cakes to try – one with lotus paste and one with bean paste – both were awesome! We tried a variety of other goodies as well and everything was superb.

Of course the weekend was too short and we look forward to seeing everyone around the holidays. And hopefully they’ll visit in the summer next time and enjoy our little backyard urban oasis.