How long is this tunnel??!?

This evening I sat down and filled out some more of our adoption paperwork...this is the second batch...the little bit that we have to do for the state of Illinois - well, not LITTLE, but smaller than the HUGE (read: think of how much paperwork would kill you and then back it off a little bit) amount we have to do for our agency. I do really well for a while and then I get to questions that shouldn't be tricky...but are. Take for instance the question that asks our total household income. Sounds easy right? Well TODAY ours is a whole lot less than it was LAST WEEK. (Cause my temp job is done...on the market again, hopefully something comes up soon) I hope it goes back up, but what number should I use for now? I don't want to risk putting too little and having them say "Nope, not enough" but I don't want to lie. Then there is the question that asks if both parents are working outside the home what our plans for childcare? Well, right now I'm home, but that might change soon...and honestly we were going to cross the bridge of childcare when we got to it. We've talked about it, but who knows when and where we'll get a baby and plans and situations change. I would love to be able to stay home with our kids, but depending on where we're stationed, that might not be a feasible reality.

We've also had to document the hours we've spent reading adoption related articles, watching adoption related videos, attending adoption classes, etc. You know what?? I've spent A TON of time learning about adoption...and I only know a flake off a chip off a corner of the knowledge block. Adoption is one complicated beast. A beautiful, wonderful, miracle of a beast, but a beast none the less.

I know each of these little steps helps us to get a little closer, and I do see the light at the end of the tunnel, but seriously...HOW LONG IS THIS FREAKING TUNNEL??!?

Looking Ahead

Nathan and I had quite the discussion driving home from New Years Eve. I was asking him about resolutions and wondered what his were going to be. He told me he doesn't think we need one day to make us want to be better. I agree about not needing a specific day, but hey...why not, right?? Jan 1st is a good a time as any to choose to improve yourself.

Last year I said this:

"I still feel like if you don't set the goals, you might just be complacent with the current version of you...never wanting to get better."

I still agree. There are many things about myself that I am happy with and yet others that I would like to change. In that spirit, here are my resolutions, a.k.a. Holly Improvement Plan 2010. :)

- Finally (may I repeat...FINALLY) get all of our stuff done to get our adoption homestudy approved
- Lose some weight
- Do something nice for someone everyday
- Be better at remembering birthdays
- Get and stay organized

So what about you? Any of you have resolutions?

Looking Back

I made some resolutions and I want to stand publicly "accountable" for how I did. So here's the rundown:

Do something nice for someone everyday - If I was going for 365 days out of 365 I failed...but the overall effect of this goal was good for me. I didn't try to do big, grandeose things every day, sometimes I would just make the extra effort to smile at strangers or give more sincere compliments...or let Nathan watch his show, etc. I didn't remember to do it every day, but I did remember more days than I forgot.

Read a new book each month - I love to read, so this one was simple.

Take a photography class - I took a couple basic classes in Logan before we moved. I wanted to take something way more in depth, but I did take at least those so I guess that counts. I can hopefully find a class to take this year.

Do everything we need to do to get our end of adoption all set up - We hit a few road blocks on the way to this one. We didn't get our end all done, but we're well on our way.

Go back to church - It took us until October to get there...better late than never.

Read the BOM & DnC again by year end - Not even close.

Learn at least one solo/concerto on piano - I didn't learn a complete one, but I think I played the piano more in 2009 than 2008 so that's good.

Learn at least one solo/concerto on flute - I didn't even get a piece of music bought...but I pulled my flute out a couple times and played through some old music I have laying around.

Do 100 scrapbook pages - I don't know if I got 100, but I probably got 50.

Be better at remembering everyone's birthdays - Total fail, unless you're on Facebook.

Do one thing a month that scares me - To be honest I totally forgot about this one. Looking back I did do some things this year that made me reach outside my comfort zone: moving to a new city, taking the train downtown by myself for the first time, working a job in a totally new line of work.

Be more grateful - I tried to look at the things/people I felt like I took for granted and imagined how my life would be without them.

Grades:

B - Do something nice for someone everyday

A+ - Read a new book each month

B - Take a photography class

C - Do everything we need to do to get our end of adoption all set up

A - Go back to church

F - Read the BOM & DnC again by year end

C - Learn at least one solo/concerto on piano

D - Learn at least one solo/concerto on flute

C - Do 100 scrapbook pages

D- - Be better at remembering everyone's birthdays

C - Do one thing a month that scares me

B - Be more grateful

New Years Eve

We spent our New Years Eve with some friends. We decided to have a seafood fest and steer clear of the crowds. I debated on if I should post pictures of the fabulous food we ate...cause I didn't want you sending me emails cussing me out when you lick your screens. Seriously.

Ok, fine, I'll show them to you. I am not to be held responsible for any excess drool-age on your end. Read on only if you are prepared, and have a napkin or a shirt sleeve handy.

First off: Bacon wrapped shrimp.
I found the recipe and Nathan prepped and cooked them.

Next: Bacon wrapped scallops.

Main course: Fresh from Newport, Rhode Island lobster.

Stuffed and prepared by Bruce. He and Sara were in Newport for Christmas (I'm wicked jealous) and they brought back some lobsters. They were stuffed with roasted red peppers and scallops. Mmmm...

For dessert: Stage one was melted chocolate goodness that I didn't get a pic of.
Stage two was this fantastic apple tart made by Davina. She served it with Creme Brulee ice cream from Ben & Jerry's. (Ok, now I'm drooling)

After dinner, we attempted some RockBand and played a game of Scene It.

Bruce 'tried' the guitar.

Sara liked the champagne.

Nathan loves Joel and Davina's dog Petie...and Petie loves Nathan.

Joel and Davina...the Rock Band professionals:

Their cat, Red, got into the liquor cabinet and passed out early.

Call of the search party

...eh, who am I kidding. Don't roll your eyes at me!

I have not been around blog land for almost a month...a MONTH. We've been busy, and I have this weird thing about safety. You see, back around the time of my last post (Dec 8) we set up plans to go to The Beehive State for Christmas. I was busy planning, etc and I didn't exactly want to announce to all of cyberspace that we would be away from our house for a week (read: vacant urban apartment guarded by a scardy cat...feel free to plunder). I do have things to share, but I am on a bit of a seafood hangover today and my brain is running in slow motion (probably because of the amount of butter I consumed yesterday) and I am struggling to get sentences strung together. Hopefully I'll have better luck tomorrow.

John Lennon

I went through a bit of a phase in high school...a bit of a HIPPIE phase. I loved (and still do) the Beatles. 29 years ago today John Lennon was shot, I can't help but wonder what music the world lost out on because of that loss.

RIP John Lennon

Pick-me-up

I haven't been feeling myself lately and I really needed a pick me up. Enter this video.



Hope it brings a smile to your face...if it doesn't you should look in the mirror and see if this is what you see:

29, 30

29: Laughter - My SIL Janus shared this one with me...watch it. It is a quick 40 seconds and I promise you'll laugh.




30: Visiting Teachers - I had my VT come tonight. First time in almost 2.5 years. It feels good to know someone is aware of my existence and would notice if I disappeared. :)