Kung Hei Fat Choy! - Happy New year!

FCC-South Florida celebrated Chinese New Year (The Year of the Dog)at Miss Yip's on South Beach. It was a night of great friends, awesome food, dragon dancers and fireworks. Here is a slideshow of some of the fun.

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Ok...let's try this again.

The link on the post below had not been updated until today so click on Mia P to see our good friends new baby daughter, Mia.

News Flash!! Our friends have a new baby girl and we are next!!!

Yesterday was so exciting; our wonderful friends Shannon and Alan along with their son Ryan received the referral for their new daughter Mia. Please click on the following link to see her absolutely beautiful face - Mia P

Shannon and Alan have been on a rollercoaster as they were told that they were next over a month ago only to be disappointed. Well, obviously Miss Mia was not ready for them yet and now they have all found each other. It is a rather fatalistic way of looking at things but once you enter into this leap of faith you will understand what I mean. Mia is as young as they get in Chinese adoption. She is only six (6) months old and she is described as a deep sleeper, active, likes music, a little obstinate among a host of other glowing superlatives. Her parents, brother and grandparents are so in love. I was with them for a part of the day yesterday and it felt truly special to experience such joy with them. Our Katie and their Mia will play side by side and will hopefully form the same kind of friendship that their mothers have. Marc and Alan are even buddies now and play golf quite a bit :)

To add even more excitement to the equation is the fact that we are next barring any unforeseen monkey wrenches...LOL. We are so excited!! In about one month from now our Katie Starr will be revealed to those that long for her so deeply.

Stay tuned......

I'm It!!

I got cyber tagged by my Mei Dreams sister Monica to do this...ok I will bite..LOL

What were you doing ten years ago?
I was married unhappily to my ex-husband and going into business for myself. I also began a quest to lose 75 lbs, which I did 14 months later and have kept it off (except for that nagging 10 – 15 ponds I struggle with constantly for the past 9 years.

What were you doing one year ago?
We started our paperchase at the end of January. It’s all a blur now…LOL

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Fritos and Onion Dip – avoid most of the time
2. Ice Cream - Ditto
3. Cookies (Ditto again)
4. Nuts
5. Fruit if I am watching my weight which is most of the time.

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Be a stay at home Mom
2. Travel
3. Move to a bigger house
4. Secure my future
5. Whatever I want..LOL

Five bad habits:
1. Procrastination
2. Not putting things away as soon as I look at or read them.
3. Forgetting to call people back
4. Taking on too much in my life
5. People Pleasing

Five things I like doing:
1. Spending the day with Marc
2. Spending time with Justin, my son
3. Computer
4. Movies
5. Reading

Five things I would never wear, buy, or get new again:
1. Micro mini skirt
2. Super high heels
3. Colored panty hose
4. Carpet for the house
5. Leggings

Five favorite toys/games:
1. My computer
2. Catchphrase
3. Playing with Buddy and Gabby (our dogs)
4. Charades
5. Rummycube

Here's the deal; remove the blog in the TOP SPOT from the following list and then add YOUR BLOG to the bottom spot.

http://www.rileysgirl.blogspot.com/
http://www.journeytokatie.blogspot.com/

Then select FIVE PEOPLE to TAG!

Mary-Mia
Stacey
Lisa
Barbara
Toby

If you don't want to be tagged just let me know. But for now you're it!

What Was Your New Years Resolution?

Each year many of us, myself included make promises to ourselves about the
area(s) in our lives that we would like to improve upon. This year was no different. My new years resolution this year was to take one small part of my house each day and organize it. I feel the need to nest and purge our home of extraneous items (junk) that we no longer need. So far...so good. I have taken a small step each day; even if it is nothing more than a drawer or one shelve in a closet I am going to make slow but steady progress. Then I am going to have one heck of a garage sale where people can pay me money for my junk. I have a garage sale once a year anyway and have for the past 20 some odd years. I get the regulars that come every year to see what I have to offer as well as new faces looking to hondle with me. That is a Yiddish term for negotiate :)

So, tell me friends; yes you the friends that I know are reading my blog frequently as my counter is moving up in leaps and bounds; please comment and tell me about your New Years Resolution. For those of you who are not attempting to improve yourself in 2006; well I would like to hear from you as well.

Welcome 2006!! The Year that we receive Katie Starr

Just after I posted last time we received word that the next batch of referrals were mailed. Unfortunately, this group only included up until the 4/25 LID. This left our good friends Shannon, Alan and Ryan out as they have a 4/27 LID. Very upsetting for them to say the least. We were very sad as well, as the process seems to be going at a snails pace and all we can do is think of Katie Starr living in less than optimal conditions. For the first time the tears just flowed. Thankfully we have a good support system around us to bolster us back up during this wait. Let me tell you; adoption is not for the faint of heart. The wait is much more difficult that being pregnant. You have nothing tangible to hold on to and it truly feels like it will never happen.

The following is what it stated on the CCAA website.

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office in May 2005.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before April 25, 2005.

So that brings us to the fact that it is a new year and we are determined to remain optimistic and hope for a late February referral. That being said it really still is up in the air and I have learned that you cannot plan your life; it gets planned for you and you just have to go with the flow.

I tried to out run it but it caught up to me!

This is a picture of me these days. The only part of the pic that is not accurate is that this woman's hair is not red :)

Life has been so hectic leading up to the holidays. I tend to be an overachiever this time of year. I think that between the fact that almost everyone in my office is sick and that as usual I overdid it; I came down with quite a bad cold. I did all my normal voodoo to ward it off including using my new favorite product - Airborne - but alas it still got me. This bug was just too potent to be kept down. Marc always says that when I get sick that I never get into the bed like a good patient but that I try to out run it. This one has me running a little bit slower than usual.

Our Chanukah/Christmas celebration was excellent even with the cold. We had a great time and of course ate way too much. My mom makes me my fav cake in the whole wide world - her ice box cake. I always get the leftovers and then eat it for breakfast for the next couple of days. Justin has to leave to go back to school tomorrow as he has a job up there and he has to work. We will miss him terribly.

No news on this next batch of referrals yet. We should hear something in the next week or so. If nothing new happens between now and 2006 this will be my last post of the year. The coming year should bring us many blessings indeed; two of which will be Justin graduating from College and a daughter and sister in our family with the addition of Katie Starr. Oh what a year it will be!

I hope that all of you attain all that you desire in the year to come and that you have good health to enjoy your good fortune. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It was a very nice weekend

I had a truly lovely weekend. On Saturday, Marc's cousin Brittany was Bat Mitvah'd so we attended the service in the morning and then partied in the evening. Marc entertained at the event. Most of his cousin's want him to entertain at their children's parties. He loves to do it as he adores his family. I sat with all of the cousins and had a really good time talking and dancing with them. I even got to meet a couple of relatives that I had not met before. I enjoyed the evening immensely!

Today was my good friend Shannon's shower. She is a wonderful person and I finally got an opportunity to meet her awesome family. They were so warm and welcoming and truly make you feel a part of the family. A couple of other new friends from our adoption support group were there and it was wonderful talking to them as well. At the end of the gift opening portion of the shower, Shannon took the opportunity to thank and acknowledge many family and friends that are significant in her life. Well let me tell you there was not a dry eye in the house so the tissue was being passed around fast and furious. I was already a mess when she started and when she spoke about our friendship and the friendship that our daughters will share I lost it....All I have to say is that there is good crying and bad crying and that fell into the good category. Shannon and family...I love you guys!

The referrals came out through the 4/14 LID last week. Shannon and Allen are next as they are 4/27 and then we are in the following group. We have much to look forward to in the next 2-3 months.

News Flash - Hurricane Season ends in 5 Hours and 15 minutes (but who's counting?)

I am very happy to report that we are almost to the official end of Hurricane Season. I am making that statement while Tropical Storm Epsilon is spinning out in the central Atlantic. Thankfully they say it will never hit land...Whew!!

On the adoption front we just got word from our agency that they will be receiving referrals within 2 weeks for 60 families that will end with 4/14 LID. This means that we will probably not get our referral until February. On the bright side; the CCAA is reporting that all of May which we are in has been reviewed and is just waiting to be matched. I guess Katie Starr's pictures are creeping closer to ours. We can't wait for the day that we finally see her beautiful face and prepare to welcome her into our lives forever.

Hurricane Season is following me!

It's true...Marc and I went on our annual Disc Jockey Cruise before Thanksgiving. This one went to the Western Caribbean. It had two scheduled port stops (Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica). Unfortunately Tropical Storm Gamma followed us (do I sound paranoid?) to Jamaica and we were not able to dock because the seas were too rough. Then we spent the next day and a half trying to sail to a calmer area. Needless to say that there were a lot of sick people. Thankfully Marc and I have great sea legs and were not sick. We still had a great time. How could we not have one since we were with a group of 100 people.

We spent a pretty quiet Thanksgiving with both sets of folks and Justin. Unfortunately, Marc's Uncle was sick again and had to be hospitalized the day after so we have spent the last few days tending to him.

Finally, on the breaking news front: Note*** this is not for the squeamish*** I get a frantic call from Justin last night. You see he works part time at the Hat Shack. They custom embroider hats there and Justin was doing just that when he made a false move and the needle went straight through his finger. He had someone at the store remove it from his finger. I called his girlfriend Judy and told her frantically what had happened. She ran over there and brought him to the emergency room. Thankfully, when the needle went in it was diverted by the bone instead of chipping it or breaking it. He had a hole clear through his finger. Of course I was a wreck all evening waiting to hear that the doctor had attended to him in the emergency room. As my people say....OH VEY!!

I know, I know...It's been awhile!

Hi All:

I know that it has been quite awhile since I last posted but it is with good reason. Hurricane Wilma gave us quite a spanking. I have lived in Florida for 33 years and I have never felt as scared through a storm as I did the morning it hit us. Thankfully we did not sustain any structural damage to the house. We lost trees and screens from our patio. The screen enclosure for the patio also needs to be re-bolted to the house. Our neighborhood was impassable for 2 days due to trees blocking all of roads leading out. 98% of the population of the tri-county area in South Florida was without power and now almost two weeks later about 20% is still without it. We had our power out for five days and phones out a little longer. The financial hit was large as well. Marc had two weeks of gigs cancelled and my real estate business is at a standstill. The properties that were pending to close all need to be re-inspected and appraised before the banks will close them and no new deals are being done because the last things on most peoples minds is real estate and who can blame them. There are a great many people who have lost their homes and their jobs so we feel truly grateful that we are in the position that we are in.

On a positive note...Last weekend we went up to Orlando to meet Justin and his girlfriend Judy for his 21st birthday. Judy also turned 21 the same week. We took my parents up with us and we had a wonderful time to say the least! The picture at the top of the post was taken in The Magic Kingdom at Disney World. Judy is a big Mickey Fan so we waited on line to give her a chance to take a pic with Mickey. The company was great and it was also wonderful to get outta Dodge as they say (South Florida). It also turned out to be perfect timing because we left the area when there were 3-5 hour waits to get gas if you could find an open station and when we got home the lines were gone.

It was so wonderful to see Justin and he looks wonderful and very happy. What more could a mother want!

Another Hurricane Looming and NO Answers in Adoption Land

Wilma is looming and will this hurricane season ever end?!? She has been looming for days and every day she perplexes the experts. We are expecting a visit from her in the next 2-3 days. We are all prepared as usual and waiting to be house bound again..ugh!

On the adoption front...nothing new. It is eerily quiet on the boards that I follow and so we still do not know if we have a chance to be up at bat after this round of referrals is sent out. I will say it again; hopefully we will hear something at the beginning of the week.

Next weekend we are going up to meet Justin in Orlando to celebrate his birthday with him the day before the big event. You see, Justin is a Halloween baby and I always called him my treat. My parents are coming up with us and Justin and his girlfriend Judy are meeting us. I cannot believe my son is going to be 21 years old. I know it sounds so cliche but where did the time go? I hope the next 21 years do not fly by the same way but with Katie on the way I am sure it will... Sigh....

Adoption Land

This week should be an interesting one in adoption land. Adoption land is the world of online discussion groups that I seem to live in these days searching for any rumor that I can regarding the next cutoff date for referrals. I think that our agency must be getting bombarded with questions that they cannot answer as we get e-mails from them just about daily basically saying the same thing; which is that they are waiting for further information from China. To us it sounds like blah blah blah. Writing us these e-mails that tell us nothing comes under the category of the best defense is a good offense.

This week should bring us that much desired info. If the cutoff for this month is after the 17th of April then our referral should come in the next batch around the first week of December. I hope to be able to report some positive news this week.

On a lighter note: I was part of a three person web site construction crew for our Adoption DTC Group. After a great deal of work along with two other wonderful women we finally finished our web site a couple of weeks ago. If you would like to view it here is the link Meidreams2005. I hope that you take the time to view it and learn a little about our wonderful group of adoptive families and Chinese Adoption.

Don't try this at home...Or in a restaurant!

Hello All:

We had our monthly FCC dinner and had a ball as you can see. Marc was up to his old tricks again - always entertaining the kiddos. They absolutely love him and I do too. This is Ryan Przelomski, our special friend with Marc mastering the art of silliness. This event was last Thursday. We also went to a "Gratulations" Party on Sunday for all of the new babies that have come home over this past year. The party and the name was chosen by Jia Trescott, a new big sister and adoptive daughter herself who wanted to welcome her little sister and all of the rest of the children. (How sweet is that?)This soiree was held on Hollywood Beach and all of the children and lots of adults enjoyed the sun, surf, food, conversation and of course the children. I have attached some more pictures from the dinner so enjoy!

Pictures from the FCC dinner

The children having a blast!


This was a tough picture to get; it was spontaneous combustion!

Some more pics from the dinner

Ryan concentrating (notice that tongue)
Molly at her first FCC dinner

More Pics

Meg and Family
Mom and Dad with new friends
Aimee and Cadence
Ryan mastered his new trick

Ally

What a nice surprise!!

Wow...we came home to find a package at the door from Marc's Aunt Shirley and Uncle Paul! Shirley knit by hand this blanket and poncho for Katie Starr! We were so excited; so what was our reaction? It was to post all about it on our blog. We posed Justin's 21 year old cabbage patch with the poncho relaxing on the blanket. I have also posted the card that she sent with it. I have not had the good fortune to meet Marc's Aunt and Uncle but I was so very touched by the thought that went into these beautiful gifts. Aunt Shirley and Uncle Paul......Thank you so very much!!

This woman can hang with the big dogs of shopping!

Yesterday Marc and I had dinner with our friends, Shannon and Alan. After dinner we were going to the airport to meet one of the newly adoptive moms in our FCC group with her new baby at the airport (more on that later). After dinner we went to their house and Shannon showed me around her home. When we got to her soon to be daughter Mia's room and she opened the closet door I was impressed and astonished at the amount of clothing that Mia already had. Well let me tell you, I had to call Marc into the room to show him, as we have been so conservative in buying clothing so far. You see, Shannon is a power shopper. The girl got Skillz as they say. She and some of the women that belong to our FCC group discuss sales around town quite frequently and I truly cannot hang because I am one of those shoppers that have to see the item in a beautiful display in order to purchase it at full price I might add. Shannon on the other hand can smell a sale a mile away and many of the items in Mia's closet were deeply discounted. One item from Old Navy was even 0.97. I was totally impressed but I would not to be out done. Today, Marc had to run into K-mart to get something for a show he is doing tonight and I told him that I was going to look in the baby section while he tracked down his item. Yes, I know, K-mart is known for it's blue light specials (does that date me?) but I strode purposefully over to the clearance rack and found this cute bathing suit. The tag read that it had been discounted to 6.00 with 25% additional off at the register; but guess what....It was $1.87. I was totally proud! So Shannon this ones for you girl and please pass this information about my bargain on to your mom who will be truly proud of me. :)

As I mentioned earlier we then went to the airport and met Anna and her new daughter Molly. She traveled with her mom as well. A group of us came with balloons and a sign to greet them. It was great to see Anna with her baby, who is an absolute doll. I hope to be able to post a couple of pictures in a few days.

We had a little bad news earlier this week in that the cut-off this month for referrals was much earlier in the month than we had hoped which means that it will probably take us longer than we thought to get news of our baby. I was super upset about this turn of events when we were finally getting so very close but I took a vow to myself to just take this one day at a time (as my hubby keeps telling me) and enjoy each day that that we have together. I will do just that.

Note to Justin: Hey Mr. J...I am sending up some mags to you including your Spin Magazine. Love you!

C'mon there can't be more than two more months of Hurricane Season Left and Yes, I am paper pregnant!! Ramblings of an Expectant Mom...

Just dodged another bullet with Hurricane Rita. OMG, if we keep getting hurricane warnings for the next 2 months then my already ample behind will look like this. I just asked Marc if it already did and he did his husbandly duty and said NO! Between hurricane season and my paper pregnancy it seems that I have obtained a license to eat. Unfortunately, people with no knowledge of my paper pregnancy do not know that I am expecting and think that I am getting fat for no reason. Does any of this make sense to you?

I just want to know am I alone with all of this or are any of my fellow adoptive moms going through this as well?