Totally Cute!!

Here is the photo that they showed on TV the other night. Meg, her new daughter and the nanny!

Saturday Shopping

There's nothing like Saturday Shopping! I am totally procrastinating. I have so much that needs to be done in my home but I just don't feel like doing any of it. It's the end of January and it looks and feels like spring outside. It's amazing. So, I went for a walk in the park and a bit of shopping. I found just a couple of cute things. My budget won't allow me to indulge in everything I see but these couple of things...I couldn't resist. I don't dare post my true opinion on some of my yahoo groups cause many, and I mean many, are opposed to my first purchase. They are "Baby Bratz Twins"!! I just think they are so cute! I know, I know, but this is MY blog and I am posting about stuff I love! They are just so adorable.

So for those of you that are rolling your eyes, maybe my second purchase will make up for the first. She is the Chinese New Year Barbie. I love it just as much. She is very beautiful. This is one of those items that will obviously not be a play toy. Shopping was good! Now I guess I better go do some cleaning! Yuk.

AHH Girls & January DTCers

Hi to all my fellow AHH Girls and January DTCers! I am so excited to be DTC this month. I am glad that you had the chance to visit my blog. I am hoping my blog gets more "exciting" the closer I get to my referral! Lately it been all about the shopping. I better stop. I am almost done with my nursery. It's going to be awesome and I will post more photos as soon as it's done.

Anyway, there are some things that you should check out on my blog.

1. Vote on my daughter's nickname poll. (off to the right)

2. Post to my visitors MAP. (off to the right)

3. If you are brave, check out my things to do while waiting link. (off to the right)

Yeah, I guess that I should have just said that all this stuff is off to the right. oh well. :)

Feel free to add to my list or comment wherever you want.

I tend to put a lot of information that I have gathered from others on my post!

Enjoy!

Did you hear?

Meg Ryan adopts a little Girl from China!

Meg Ryan will be adopting a baby Girl from China. Reports are that Meg had spent a long time trying to adopt and heard that she had been approved late last year. The adoption is scheduled to take place at an American consulate in China.

Fortune Cookies

I have been collecting my fortunes from my Chinese dinners for the past month. Looks like I've been on a lucky streak!

Header

This is how I did it:
Created an image for header,
Uploaded to a post,
Saved post as draft,
copied html from photo,
went to template and plugged in html see below...

just past the line that says div id="header"
is a place for your html for the uploaded header,
place html in and should work.

My Books are Here!

Well I just got two new books and they are cute!

Brown Envelope

Well, Friday the 13th was good for more than just DTC...I received the mysterious Brown Envelope! Although I can't remember if I am allowed to open it?

The "Brown Envelope" is from the US Consulate General Guangzhou, it is a letter and paper work stating that INS has notified the American Consulate in Guangzhou that have you have been approved to adopt an orphan from overseas. In other words they are authorized to process your child's case as soon as the adoption is finalized in Guangzhou. That is in a nut shell, they also send forms to fill out. Not everyone will receive the "Brown Envelope" and I am not sure how it is decided who gets them or who doesn't. I do know that if you do not receive one that the agency will provide all of the information at the time of your referral.

Nursery Closet

So, my only job this weekend was to finish one of the closets in the Nursery. Custom Shelving. I chose to use the type that has adjustable shelves. Anyway, this is the larger of the two closets and I have designated this to be the toy closet. I only put in the few clothes that I had cause it made for a cuter picture! My goal is to simplify toy storage for my daughter-to-be. There are two bins that roll out (old Ikea) and if she's lazy, can just throw all of her toys in these bins and roll back into the closet. The lower shelf, I put in three cubes that are designated for books. As for the other shelves, I will probably have clear bins or white crates for other stuff. This is the plan. But if she is anything like me...even this simple solution will create chaos. I ripped the closet doors off cause I want to be like "Clean Sweep" and it really does give me more room. I put up sheers like I did on the large window. I also have hooks for the ties at two heights. This way I can open the sheers a little or a lot or just leave them completely shut! What do you think?

YIPPEE!!!

Well, Today is good. It's Friday the 13th with a full moon (100%) and I still managed to be DTC and I got my ever mysterious Brown Envelope. I can't believe it!! It's like a weight has been lifted. Too bad it was only the weight on my shoulders. LOL. Time to celebrate!

Dossier Photos

I think I have to rescan these...they came out a little funky looking when really, they are crystal clear. Anyway...

Yes, I think I have too many. My agency can pull out what they want! All I can say is that I am glad that this photo thing is over!!! I only wished that I had taken them when all the seasonal plants outside weren't dead!

1st Nursery Photos!

These are the first Nursery Photos. This weekend I will be starting and completing ALL of the photos needed for my Dossier! This should be fun! (not) Anyway, I do really like the photo below, but as I am sure you all know... the photos are just never as beautiful as the rooms in person. It's impossible to tell, but I have a faux finish on the walls, it's Sky Blue and I colorwashed "China White" over top. Yeah, I know I'm a little silly but...I a better picture of my chandelier and enchanted tree.

Merry Christmas!

My Baby Pirate was a little trooper tonight. He posed for lots of pictures so that I could find one that we can use for our Christmas Cards. Hopefully next year he will be posing with Gigi. Anyway, Dora was her stand in this year! Aren't they just too cute together?!!!

Pains of Air Travel

The pains of air travel. Sometimes it starts as soon as you start taxiing down the runway. Muscle aches and limbs falling asleep, you all know what I mean. Well, I just came across “Flight Yoga”. I hear that the airlines are all encouraging this to their passengers. Interesting. JetBlue offers a colorful card that shows you different yoga techniques that you can do while on the plane. It’s called Crunch Fitness Inflight Yoga. Just click on the name and I will transport you to the .pdf that they have available for you to download. It’s kinda cool. Other info I found...

Finger Stretch. Clench your fist tightly with your fingers into your palms, then open your fingers wide, stretching them as far as they will go. Repeat several times.

Foot Flex. With your heel firmly on the floor, lift your toes up as far as possible and hold for several seconds. Repeat several times.

Shoulder Rotation. Raise shoulders up toward your ears and rotate them, back to front. Repeat several times, then reverse direction.

Neck Roll. Drop your chin to your chest, like your great uncle nodding off at the dining room table at Thanksgiving. Then slowly and carefully rotate your head clockwise several times. Change direction and do it again.

Ear Pain

Ways to alleviate that pain in the ear...try to suck candy while flying; If your ears block, pinch your nose and blow air gently into your nose (not mouth); take an antihistamine before you fly to reduce congestion; use a decongestant nasal spray before take-off and landing; try "Ear Planes" or a similar product to help regulate air pressure naturally.

General Info

Drink plenty of fluids (non-alcoholic) before and during your flight;
Wear loose clothes;
Get up to walk and stretch
Keep your feet on the floor and avoid crossing your legs or feet.

Bling!

I am all about the bling. Real or Faux, it doesn't matter to me. If the faux sparkles more than the real stuff - buy me the faux. I admired Sophie's sparkly bracelet so much, I decided to find one for Giorgia. I bought all of the letters so it can be Giorgia, Giorgi, or Gigi. I love it. I am still in the market for one with a nicer band but this find on Canal Street will hold me over!

Happy Holidays!

My tree is up and the presents are almost bought. Only a short time before it's Christmas Day again. I am wishing all of you a Happy Holiday and may this one be the last one you spend without your daughter or son that is waiting for you! :)

New York, New York

I just got back from spending the day in New York! It was too fun. A couple friends and I took off the day from work to spend the day here. My mission was to visit the Pearl River Mart. I had read about it and then saw Oprah's show where celebs were raving about their favor New York spot! Sarah Jessica Parkers favorite New York spot was, of course, the Pearl River Mart. Not that I am a huge fan, but this just clinched the deal...I had to go there. It is HUGE. They have everything that you could imagine. I loved it. Note: It is very overwhelming. There is just so much stuff, then I realized that there was a downstairs. I thought the first floor had lots of stuff...oh my. Luckily for me, I only bought a few little things. Click the picture for a link to their website.

We went to Rockefeller Center, Sax Fifth Avenue, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Chinatown, lots of shopping on Canal Street, Thai for lunch and an unsuccessful dessert at Seredipity. Oh well, maybe next time. What an exhausting, but fun day!

Pearl River Mart in NY

"Pearl River Mart is truly a New York institution. The sprawling loft space offers a huge selection of imported Chinese goods, along with ample room for the shopper’s imagination to run wild. Fuse two hemispheres of fashion with a Mao suit or a Cheong Sam; dabble in calligraphy or plan a Chinese wedding ceremony with an array of cultural crafts; enliven your living room with traditional wood furnishings. Finally, amid soaring papier-mâché lions and dangling bamboo birdcages, you can relax on their mezzanine-level tea bar while sipping premium Chinese Oolong."

I-797C vs. I-171H

I had a question from a fellow blogger... she received the I-171H and should she have gotten the I-797C. I called my agency and they said either one is fine. They are phasing out the I-171H and the new ones are the I-797C’s but it will take a while for the government to phase these out. No worries.

I-797C

Okay! I would have never guessed it! I was hoping for this around Christmas!!!