07.16.09
Dog in a sling
In Asher’s sling, that is. 
I tried my hand at a bit of sling-making this week. I must say, I’m just a little bit proud of myself. I found EASY directions on the Internet, bought the material, sewed it up, attached the ring, and VOILA! Instant sling! It actually only took me about 10 minutes to make and cost all of $15. My problem with the “store-bought” slings is, ahem…my top half. I couldn’t find one that would comfortably accomodate the girls AND a baby. LOL Plus, anything on the Internet was $60 and up. So, I conjured my inner Martha Stewart and saved myself a bunch of money and got a comfy sling to boot. My 18 pound Chiweenie, Chili, had no complaints, so Asher should like it too :)
06.07.09
A little hope
Well, it seems there just might be a little light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. Our agency reported Friday that they believe the courts have completed the investigation in Ethiopia. There has been no “official” announcement yet, but we’re hopeful that it will happen soon. The next step (hopefully) will be getting our court date rescheduled. I have no illusions that this will happen in time for the court closure in August. Also, there’s no telling what new procedures the courts will put in place because of this investigation. Hopefully, it won’t be anything that prolongs our wait even more! The orphanage that Asher is from is one of the facilities the investigation has been focusing on. I am cautiously optimistic. I refuse to get my hopes up again at this point. The day I celebrate will be the day we pass court and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s OURS!
I was so happy to get new pics of Asher this past week from my friend Sherry who was in ET picking up her little cutie. Thanks Sherry!! Asher is getting so big. He turned 7 months old May 26. I don’t know what they’re feeding him at the HOH, but little man isn’t so little anymore! He’s rockin’ the double chin too. I feel like I’m missing so much of his growing. I have drawers and a closet full of clothes that he’ll probably never get to wear. It makes me sad, but as long as he comes home, I could care less about the clothes!
Owen and I took a much-needed mini vacation to North Carolina this week. We rented a cabin in the mountains near the Nantahala River. It was nice to relax and enjoy the beauty of the Smoky Mountains. I see why they’re called the Smoky Mountains…they were shrouded in mist the entire time. We had reservations to go whitewater rafting, but it was chilly and raining, so we cancelled and drove to Asheville, NC instead. Cute, artsy little town. Now it’s back to reality!
05.29.09
Waiting…
I thought our waiting was going to be at an end on May 25. That would have been the day we met Asher for the first time. This past weekend was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I was truly thinking I had a handle on it, but when the weekend rolled around, I just lost it. Again. I’m so tired of feeling like this. I have moments of such despair. I’m not the easiest person to comfort under normal circumstances (ask Owen!), but this is just so beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s emotionally and physically draining. There are times when I just don’t know what to do with all the anger and sadness I’m feeling.
No earth-shattering news from Ethiopia. There has been some movement in the on-going investigation. According to our agency, the courts have lifted the ban on abandoned baby cases from some of the government-run orphanages, but have expanded the investigation into other parts of Ethiopia. Our agency seems encouraged by this. For me, the jury is still out.
Owen did his best to distract me last weekend. We spent Saturday out and about. He took me to my favorite restaurant for lunch…Pappadeaux’s! Seafood almost always cheers me up. Monday we drove up to Helen, GA, a cheesy, touristy recreation of an alpine village in North Georgia. Love it! We had our fill of German sausage, sauerkraut and beer. After lunch, we hiked up to the Anna Ruby Falls. A lot of other people had the same idea. The trail was pretty crowded, but it was such a nice day, and everything was so green!
Today officially begins my vacation. I really, really need it right now. Owen and I booked a cabin in the North Carolina mountains for four days next week. We’re looking forward to the solitude and just spending time together. We’ve got some fun things planned too. Whitewater rafting, exploring the Smoky Mountains, a little gambling at the casino, hiking. It’s going to be a fun four days!
I’ll leave you with some pics from last weekend at Anna Ruby Falls. So beautiful!
04.29.09
Long overdue update (long post)
Wow! I didn’t realize just how long it had been since I last updated the blog. In some ways, I guess that’s a good thing. It means I’ve been keeping busy and not obsessing on bringing the little guy home. Believe me, it’s easy to obsess if you let yourself. It has been 3 long months since our referral. We still have a month to go…possibly longer.
Our court date is scheduled for May 8 (that’s 4 days sooner than I last reported). It seems that there are a total of 14 families scheduled for court on May 8. Our Visa appointment at the US Embassy was supposed to be May 28. I got an email yesterday from our agency stating that the Embassy will only hear 10 cases per day per agency, which means at least 4 families are going to be shit out of luck! What that means is those 4 families are going to get later Visa appointments, either June 11 or June 25. The Embassy is now only hearing cases every 2 weeks. Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper last night. We probably won’t know when OUR Visa appointment will be until after/if we pass court. At this point, it’s all just so frustrating. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry sometimes.
One of the most frustrating things about this whole mess, other than we STILL DON’T HAVE OUR SON, is I can’t really confirm travel arrangements yet. The email I got 2 weeks ago said we would more than likely have our Visa appointment on May 28, so I went ahead and booked our airline tickets and accomodations in ET. Now there’s a possibility that I’ll have to change everything. Gggrrrrr! There’s also the possibility that we won’t get to travel with the two families I’ve become close to during all this. We have made all our travel arrangements together…even taken over almost an entire guest house in ET!! lol I would be devastated if we didn’t get to travel with them.
Well, enough moaning and groaning. I know I have no control over this. I never have. You would think by now I would quit fighting it. Guess it’s just not in my nature to give in.
On to better news…my good friend Angie and her husband, Joe, are in Ethiopia right now picking up their son, Silas!! Angie and I have known each other since we both started in the Vietnam program way back when. We’ve cheered each other on and cheered each other up many times throughout this process. It is so great to see her dream finally coming true! She and Joe are also going to take pictures of our little guy for us while they’re there. Hopefully, they’ll get to give him a little lovin’ too. We can’t wait to see his little face and find out how he’s doing!
Now for some pictures…
I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned the little guy’s name here on the blog. We’ve decided to call him Asher. My Mom made these awesome letters to go over the crib. She did such a great job! She also motivated/nagged me into painting the nursery finally. It turned out beautiful! Thanks Mom!
The next picture was a little reward to myself for being smoke-free for almost 3 months! I still can’t believe I kicked a 25 year habit without actually killing someone. Yay me!
We’ve had 2 of the 4 baby showers planned for us so far. Baby shower #1 was a small affair thrown by some friends that weren’t going to be at shower #2.
What great friends we have!
Shower #2 was the big affair that my Mom and best friend, Tiffiny, planned. Party planner, caterer, gourmet cake…you name it, my Mom did it! She had a blast doing it too! She was soooo good at doing it that the party planner offered her a job! LOL Our shower rocked Mom!
Do you think Asher got enough stuff?
Trying to organize it all.
Two more showers to go! I really don’t know where I’m going to put it all. I have the bestest family and friends! Thanks for being there guys and showering us with love and support!
01.08.09
Next on the menu
I found Teff flour at Harry’s Market, so I will be attempting to make injera in the near future. I’ve been looking for recipes online. Most of them have the teff mixed with other types of flours…wheat, buckwheat, self-rising, etc. I found a more “authentic” sounding recipe using just teff, water and salt. It seems the trick to making it is the fermentation process, which may take up to 3 days. I guess I’ll be making small batches until I get it right.
01.06.09
Butterflies…
in my stomach everytime my cell phone rings at work. Yep, that’s me since yesterday. I called our case worker at our adoption agency today because I had some questions about our fingerprints expiring in March. I left a message for her, and when she called me back (even though I knew she was returning my call), my stomach did a nose-dive. I can just imagine how I’m going to feel when I answer her next call. The next call should be “The Call”. We are #33 on the overall waiting list, but we’re #4 on the list for those requesting a boy or either gender (which we did). Hopefully, we have a month like last month (16 referrals) and not November. Referrals were pretty scarce in November.
Owen and I finally bought the rest of the nursery furniture this past weekend. Since someone gave us the crib, I’ve been looking around for furniture that matches the cherry finish. I finally found the perfect match at The Baby Depot in Burlington Coat Factory of all places. We bought a 5-drawer dresser and a 2-drawer changing table. They look like they came with the crib. The nursery is actually starting to look like a baby is supposed to be in it. Next on the list is painting, which I’m soooo not looking forward to.
Here are some pics from our trip to Charleston a couple of weeks ago to visit Owen’s sister and her family.
Lunch at The Blossom
Andy, Diane, Amanda and Ron
Owen at the College of Charleston where Andy is a Freshman
Diane, Amanda, Owen and Me
We spent the weekend watching movies, hanging out in Downtown Charleston, lunch at The Blossom, coffee at the appropriately named Kudu Coffee House (named after the African Kudu – a species of African antelope), and just hanging out with some of our favorite people.
Here are some pics from Christmas at my Mom and Dad’s.
Owen and Me
Mom and Dad (aka Grandpa and Grandma)
Hayley (our niece) and her boyfriend, Cody
My sister, Christi, and her husband Tommy
Bill and Austin (nephews) anxious to open presents
This Saturday I’m taking a digital photography class at the Photography Center of Atlanta with my Mom. The class was my birthday gift from my Mom and Dad. I’m really looking forward to it. So far, I’ve only used my new camera on the auto mode with disappointing results. Wish me luck!
11.23.08
We have a winner
My first attempt at making the Ethiopian Berbere spice mix turned out better than I expected. I was a little conservative with the cayenne pepper this time because I really wanted to be able to eat the stuff. It was spicy but I probably could have stood a little more heat. One tip for anyone trying this at home…when you’re roasting the spices, don’t let them start to smoke and then take a deep breath when you’re near the pan. I made that mistake and nearly choked to death as I inhaled cayenne and paprika fumes!
Once I had the spice mix made, I decided to go ahead and try the Doro Wat (spicy chicken stew) recipe. It was fabulous! The only thing I omitted/substituted in the recipe was the spiced butter (niter kebbeh). I just used plain unsalted butter. I served it over brown rice last night, and we ate leftovers today over Israeli couscous. Both were good but I think the injera is essential to get the full Ethiopian flavor and effect. That will be the next recipe I try but I’ll have to order the teff flour from Amazon. I don’t think substitutions will work well with injera.
I’m looking forward to a 2-day work week and lots of referral news this week!!
11.22.08
Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice
Six referrals this week, 4 of which were girls. Woohoo! Things are moving along nicely except for court dates. Apparently, there are only two judges that handle adoption cases in Ethiopia and one of them is on maternity leave, so things seem to be getting pretty backed up over there. This is definitely not good news for families who have received their referrals and are waiting for court dates. There have also been a few families who didn’t pass court on their first try, which means a rescheduled court date and MORE waiting to bring their little ones home. There are so many unknowns in international adoption.
I got my new camera this week. I love, love, love it! Fortunately, it has an auto mode. I have absolutely no idea how to use the manual settings, so this is a good thing. I’m going to have fun learning.
I’m going to attempt to make my own Ethiopian Berbere spice mix today. I’ve scoured the internet looking for recipes. There are numerous versions and I have no idea which is the most authentic but I found one that uses all ground spices, so that’s the one I’m going to try. Most of the recipes recommend using whole spices but since I already have most of the ingredients in the ground form, I’ll go with this one:
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 4 to 6 tablespoons of a combination of ground cayenne pepper (red pepper, dried chile peppers, or red pepper flakes) and paprika
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
What you do
- In a heavy skillet over medium heat, toast the dried spices for a few minutes — stirring or shaking the skillet continuously to avoid scorching. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Mix cooled spices in a spice grinder or blender, or use a mortar and pestle. Store the berberé powder in a tightly-sealed container.
Anyone else tried this or a similar recipe?
11.17.08
Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails
Our agency received 6 referrals last week…all boys! Another boy referral came in today as well. Woohoo! It’s great to hear about all the ecstatically happy families!
Saturday night Owen and I met up with our local adoption friends at an Ethiopian restaurant in Atlanta. It was great to hang out with The Nichol’s, The Carley’s, and The Walker’s. Great conversation and good food. It doesn’t get much better than that. I can’t wait until we all have our little ones home.
I’m getting a little more used to the spiciness of Ethiopian food. I’m not much of a spicy food eating kinda girl but I actually enjoyed my meal. I tried the Ye Beg Wot (Key Wot), which is strips of lamb braised in the famous (or infamously hot) berbere sauce of Ethiopian cuisine. I also tried the Ye Beg Alicha, strips of lamb braised in a tumeric sauce with garlic and pepper. I think this one is my new favorite. Not spicy but very flavorful. We’re looking forward to trying more Ethiopian restaurants around town.
I’ve been researching cameras for the last couple of months. Angie really inspired me to give the digital SLR a go. Check out her blog and you’ll see why. Yesterday I finally made the big purchase. I ordered the Nikon D60 10.2 MP Digital SLR. I found the killer deal on Amazon. It includes the following:
Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens
A 4 GB SD memory card
USB card reader
Lens cleaning kit
Camera bag
An extra EN-EL9 rechargeable lithium replacement battery
A full-size 59″ tripod with case
An instructional DVD (which I’m definitely going to need!)
All of this for the price of what the camera alone retails for just about anywhere. I’m so excited. It should be here Wednesday. I can’t wait to learn how to use it.
10.31.08
More referrals
Our agency received 6 more referrals this week. Woohoo!! 3 boys and 3 girls ranging in age from 6 months to 6 years old. We’re moving on up.
Since Owen doesn’t do any blogging here, I thought I’d tell you a little about him. I snagged this from another blog.
1. He is sitting in front of the TV, what is he watching? Usually a Netflix movie with me, or Anthony Bordain’s No Reservations. He’s proud that he’s not a TV-watching, couch potato.
2. You are out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? He almost always gets honey mustard but each and every time we go out he ALWAYS asks the waiter what type of dressing they have.
3. Whats one food he doesn’t like? He’s not a big seafood fan
4. You go out to a bar, what does he order? Water
5. Where did he go to High School? A large high school in Southern California
6. What size shoe does he wear? 14 – He’s 6′4″ and no he never played basketball
7. If he were to collect anything, what would it be? He collects paper…birthday cards, letters, ticket stubs, school papers, etc. I am constantly on the look-out for little scraps of paper to throw out.
8. What is his favorite sandwich? Turkey, Provolone and honey mustard
9. What would he eat every day if he could? Pasta
10. What is his favorite cereal? Granola if/when he eats it at all
11. What would he never wear? Tighty whiteys
12. What is his favorite sports team? He’s not a big sports fan (thank goodness) but it would probably be a Los Angeles team if he did
13. Who will he vote for? Obama
14. Who is his best friend? Mike in Cali but it’s really me 
15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do? Smoke (and YES, I’m giving that up BEFORE the baby comes)
16. How many states has he lived in? 5 (same as me)
17. What is his heritage? German
18. You bake him a cake for his birthday, what kind of cake is it? He’s not into sweets but I used to bake him German Chocolate cakes for his birthday
19. Did he play sports in High School? Soccer
20. What could he spend hours doing? He can and does spend hours playing guitar.
