1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before? The Rhodie Run - 12k fun run
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Yes and No. I did buy a house and am working to make it a palace, but I'm still not a regular exerciser.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? no - next year is the year.
4. Did anyone close to you die? no, thank goodness
5. What countries did you visit? Canada... you may think "boring," but it's a hip place.
6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? Courage!
7. What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Apparently, none. I can't remember a single date that stands out.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I was nominated as teacher of the year - something I'm not sure I'll qualify for this year - but it was big ego boost.
9. What was your biggest failure? being organized at work. I feel so guilty for not being on top of things all the time.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? carpal tunnel came back with a vengence, but 8 weeks of therapy helped tremendously. However, I think knitting is out for me.
11. What was the best thing you bought? my house!
12. Whose behavior merits celebration? a student who seemed to have actually done some maturing before he totally screwed up his life.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and upset? emmm... skip
14. Where did most of your money go? house, adoption and school
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? duh.
16. What song will always remind you of 2006? Dear Mr. President, by Pink
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: Happier or sadder? happier - I'm more settled and not looking around for something to ground me.
ii. thinner or fatter? sadly, fatter (if that's even possible)
iii. richer or poorer? surprisingly, richer. Even with all the expenses I've had, I've really been working on not wasting money on shopping or aimless road trips
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? hiking, writing
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? watching tv
20. How did you spend Christmas? at my father's house. it was pretty typical, but this year I had no expectations. No "perfect christmas" ideal.
22. Did you fall in love in 2006? no.
23. How many one-night stands? no, dammit
24. What was your favorite TV program? Heros
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? no. it takes up time I don't really have
26. What was the best book you read? A Million Little Pieces... I know it was exposed as a fraud, but the Barbar scene is still burned into my mind.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? I really like 70's music.
28. What did you want and get? a house, power tools and a purpose
30. What was your favorite film of this year? hard to say... I'm not really into movies
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? a friend and I drove to see the seals on the Oregon coast. I fed them and they were sooooo cute! I turned 37
32.What's one thing that would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? making the decision to adopt a child and not really caring what everyone else thought!
33. How do you feel about your fashion sense for 2006? If I had any, I might have some feelings about it
34. What kept you sane? friends
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Hugh Jackman. mmmmm...
36. What political issue stirred you the most? the war and Darfur
37. Who did you miss? my best friends
38. Who was the best new person you met? saddest answer yet... no one.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006:
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "Cause it's a bittersweet symphany" and "something's gotta give me butterflies, something's gotta make me feel alive"

Home Visit

Well, I finished scrubbing and banned the dog for half the day (damn dog hair!) - but everything went swimmingly. There was no checking under beds or in the fridge.... after all that moving of furniture. I'm hoping that the report will be finished by the end of the coming week, so I can file the immigration stuff. I've heard that it's running about 4 weeks for approvals in WA. :(

One of the questions I was asked was how I planned on dealing with the extended wait. I had to laugh... the only thing on my mind is getting everything done before April 1st. After that, I may be able to breathe again.

Reading between the lines

You know how some people over analyze comments that other people make, truly beliving that there exists some hidden message? That would be me today...

Wednesday's meeting with the SW went fairly good. It was a lot shorter than I thought it would be and it ended with us exchanging photos of our dogs. However, she also said "you don't have to do a super cleaning for the home visit, how you live is much better... but everyone cleans like crazy." Ok... so does that mean I should be cleaning like a crazy person, toothbrush at the ready? Or that she's tired of seeing houses that look there's an autoclave hidden somewhere.

And since I just got home wednesday afternoon with guests, who stayed for the rest of the day, I only have today and tomorrow morning. So, today I painted. And rearranged the furniture. Yup, I am completely crazy, but there are good reasons. First, I only have this week to do household fixer-uppers (school next week!) and the furniture is a tad old (the falling off back is less viewable against the wall).

Oh yes, I've had a pot off coffee and three biscotti today. Should I have food in the house? What does an empty fridge say?

Over the River and thru the woods...

While driving over the pass on Thursday, the SW finally called me! Thank goodness I'd driven over early to miss the weather. I can't imagine how I would have avoided all the wrecked cars, snow and talked on the phone (there are always wrecked cars if it snows on the passes - people turn to idiots at the first flake).

When I get back, I have the first meeting on wednesday at a coffee shop. Then Friday is the big home visit. I've already got a mental list of things to do... take down the bamboo shades (cords are a child danger); fire extinguisher already purchased; floor scrubbing and kickplate check (I know she won't check, but dog-hair "tumbleweeds" have a habit of hiding under there and blow at the most inopportune moments), can't forget the bathroom ceiling (bad lighting or mold spots?); what to do about the couch? buy cheap fleece blankets and staple to back!; I wish I could mow the lawn... it grows all winter, but it's never dry enough to mow; Breathe on a regular basis.

Happy Christmas to all!

Walking to China

Although I am crafty, I needed a good stress-reliever. Something to do besides hit "reload" on my mail program. I joined the group "Walk to China", combining exercise, stress-relief and yet another thing to create on the web. Mostly because I really don't have enough to do... ha!


CommunityWalk Map - Walking to China

Since I'm waiting...

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Another post about waiting

I might as well get used to it, I'm going to waiting a long time for pretty much everything.

Right now I'm waiting on pins and needles for the sw to call me to make an appointment for the home visit. Amongst the factors in this wait are the impending holiday, a storm that closed everything last week and others who are also trying to get all their paperwork done at the same time as me. Although, I have to say that I think I take priority.... I mean, no one wants a longer wait, but at least they have the option! I'm on a deadline here!

Was that ranty enough?

And... what is up with the official announcement of rule changes? I know that the rule changes are all out, but there are still some questions I have (because it's really all about me) - like, will the changes only be put into place after May 1 for those who's LID is pre-May 1? Referrals? DTC? What happens if I spend all my money and then find out that it's all be for naught? I do not have the money to do this twice (at least not if I ever want to retire before 75). I'm just going along with a wing and prayer, right now, and hoping for the best.

Monday Morning Quarterback

Did the other shoe drop?

In the day's announcement of new regulations - further explanation, I noticed this...

For single's dossiers, agencies may only submit 8% of the total they submit each month until 5/1/07. Agencies may not submit 8% of their total 2006 dossiers.

My first thought was... what exactly does that mean? Has my agency handed out single spots based on ALL of 2007 numbers? Does this mean that some might loose their spots? Will there be some sort of rush to be among the first ones to get documentation in? Yikes!

Then I found this website - estimate your referral date - based on estimated LID date. It predicts a referral date of Oct. 14, 2009. I'll be 40 years old. My grandmother will have probably passed. Do I really want to wait that long? Do I have any alternatives? Would I even be doing this if I did? A year was fine with me; 18 months, not a problem; but 3 years? Will China even keep going for 3 years?

A person makes a life changing decision. It's planned for, worried about, dreamed about. And then fate comes to smack that person upside the head - not hard, but enough to shake things up and get a little blurry.

Another Checkmark on the List

I mailed in all my HS paperwork this week. It's amazing how many people I called to say "I/the agency have/hasn't received anything... when did you?... oh! it's still on your 'out' pile/buried under the car seat? Could you mail that out today?" conversations I had. One person had to re-do the entire reference because it was lost... Sheesh! At least it's done and I was feeling pretty good about that until yesterday.

The announcement. No more singles after May 1, 2007. It wasn't really that shocking (rumors have been flying for ages). It was more like a head-but to the stomach. I just sat in my classroom dumbfounded. I couldn't talk to anyone, students not being the best choice for this and everyone else working or out sick. Seriously, I couldn't figure out what to do. Does it affect me? Probably not... will I be putting myself into debt to get it done by that deadline? probably. but then I have a good year and half to dig myself out and save up for everything else. I've kinda resolved myself to debt at the moment and am comfortable with it.

But... and that's where I get the tickle of worry. Is there something else coming out? Will fees dramatically increase? Will the agency suddenly find something wrong with my application, because they're being extra careful? Will INS suddenly become backlogged with all the applications and take months to process my application causing me to miss the deadline? Is this a sign from God? Right, I have to stick with Plan A and proceed as if nothing has changed. I'm off to get Santa pictures of my dog and get a tree.

For those who heard a resounding door slam, I'm so sorry. I don't think there is anything else I can say...