Christmas Couple

I just love this photo of Mike and I. We are holding two beautfiul bird ornaments from Aunt Sue. The birds will be a favorite :)

Holiday Photos

Luckily we beat the snow and made it to Chicago this year. We had a lovely visit and had a Very Merry Christmas. Enjoy the photos!

Mike and God daughter, Abby. Isn't she too cute?

Simba and boo - all clean from their first visit to the PetSMART grooming department. They really like the candycane chew!

Mike W., Jill, Mike S. and Tara. Mike and Jill hosted the annual Family Christmas Party

this year AND did a fabulous job.

Kyle and Mike (Godson and Godfather)

Cassidy, Jessica and Kyle

More Thanksgiving Photos

The Family.........

I snagged some awesome photos from Katie's Facebook.....

Brother Larry and Tara at the homestead

Tara, Mr. Hanky and Larry at

South Park Pottery in Fairplay

Another Year & More Waiting.....

Englemann Spruce Christmas Tree: Decorated with old time family favorites

Larry and Katie at our house for Thanksgiving weekend.....me and Mike and on right

We can't believe a year has come and gone since we were logged in. Time has truly flown by! Yet, it is difficult to think the wait continues to grow. It seems each month that goes by the wait becomes longer by several days or longer. We recall thinking that we would be matched by now and making preparations to travel to China...now it looks like we'll travel in 2009. If we are lucky!

As you may have read in a previous post, we are adopting domestically during the extended wait. This too has been a little disappointing, as we thought we would have a child before the holidays. Yet, we've been fortunate to have been matched a couple of times, but we've had to say "no". The first time was difficult, but our social worker has been very supportive. Linda - you are the best! We must put the safety our our Chinese child first and he/she is already part of our family. We know there is a good domestic match out there...until then...we wait.

Spooky Night

I hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween!

Mike carved the pumpkin on the left. You can tell he has much more talent compared to mine on the right!

Now that Halloween is over......here come the Christmas commericals!!!! I think I've seen five in just the past 8 minutes of watching TV.

In other news....we are starting to receive information on children. Now it is just a matter of being chosen and and choosing a match. We'll keep everyone posted :)

There is always next year....

There is always next year....boo hoo for the Cubs. As a result of the Cubs being swept, I've decided to root for our local team, the Rockies.

Putting aside baseball, the weather is setting cold here in South Park. I'm sitting by the wood burning stove in the leather recliner watching the Gambler V and snow lightly falling outside our window. I just love fall. It's my favorite time of year. Even though the leaves are 90% off the trees, we still have one Aspen tree half full of gold leaves outside our living room window. It's so pretty. I doubt the leaves will be there tomorrow after weather coming in.

The only updates I have for the Chinese adoption is that the wait increases everytime we receive word. If we travel to China before 2009, we'll feel very lucky :)

Our paper work has been sent off to various agencies for our domestic adoption... and all we do now is wait (which we have a lot of practice!). Hopefully we'll be matched with a child by November and have him/her/them in our home before 2008.

Go Cubs go....Go Cubs go....Hey Chicago whatcha say, Cubs are gonna WIN today!!!

There is hope for all you Cub fans out there!!! Mike is taking off Tuesday to catch the Wed game in AZ with my brother. Should be a blast. Also looks like there is a chance the Cubs will be playing the Rockies....how cool would that be????

And then there were more....

I haven't posted for some time, but there is a good excuse!! We are preparing for a second adoption! We have decided to adopt domestic during the long wait for our baby from China. Mike and I have decided to adopt 1 - 2 children between the ages 5 - 12. We will keep the blog updated as we get closer. It looks like it might be as soon as Thanksgiving!

Photos: Left - a fabulous experience hiking Mt. Elbert (highest peak in CO) with the club's Triple Play Wilderness backpacking team. Me and Boo Dog on the right.

Right - Mike added our bridge to the front of the home. Way cool! I can't wait to plant a bunch of wildflowers under the bridge for next summer. Note the sunflower - my pride a joy :)

Arizona

I was in Tucson this past week for a drug free community grant grant training. We were able to take two youth with us for the youth institute training. Very worth the time. I think I learned more working with the teens than I would've with just listening to adults speaking. Pictured is the gang L-R: Jane, Me, Lacey and Samantha. The training was at a beautiful J.W. Marriott Spa/Resort. Too bad we weren't able to spend more time at the spa/pool area :) Next time!

My brother and his longtime girlfriend moved to Phoenix this past week as well. My dad picked me up Thursday evening for a long time needed visit with everyone. Larry is going to be a student at Thunderbird College - looks like someone will finally receive a masters in our family after all! Way to go Larry, we are so proud of you! I don't have a photo of us...sorry mom..I forgot.

In other news: 1 1/2 weeks ago the Boys & Girls Club backpacking team almost made the summit of Mt. Elbert. Mt. Elbert is the highest Mt. in Colorado. We were so close, but weather came in and we had an hour late start. Maybe next year we'll bag it. Hopefully I'll be able to post a photo soon. It's on my phone and my phone is currently MIA. Mike's sister and her family also came for a visit. Jill and her husband, also Mike, have three wonderful kids. It was a fabulous visit and it looks like there might be a future geologist in the group. Rocks R Fun! Again - photos missing :(

Pets R Family 2

Aren't these handsome dogs and one pretty kitty? Besides an occasional hampster, hermit crab and more hamsters, I never really grew up with pets. I got my first cat in my mid twenties and got Macea in 2000. Mike brought the two "boys" into the relationship. The dogs took me fast and I love them both. Simba, our yellow lab, is almost 12. Macea, the princess cat, is around 9 or 10 and Boo, Black Lab, just turned 8. Despite becoming older pets, all are doing really well. Simba looks still looks young and has that puppy spirit. Macea is slowing down a hair, but still loves to chase her shadows....and makes really weird noises when she looks at a corner. Funny cat. Boo, still going strong. (some of you may laugh at this if you have seen our utility door). He is a very solid dog and loves to go on hikes. He'll be hiking his second 14er, Mt. Elbert - the highest peak in Colorado, this week. Go Boo!

We're back

We bought a laptop this past weekend and I'm now able to post again *smile*. Our out of date computer just won't let me upload or even save on blogger anymore - this is why it's been so long since our last post. It feels good to be back!

A lot has happened since April. We moved into our new home at the end of April. We still have a few things to do with the house, but plan to finish them in stages. The picture on the right shows the outside of our home. We just love it and feel very cozy.

Mike opened a log furniture store in Buena Vista. Over time it has proven to be a positive move. He's been wanting to do this for some time now and this summer was the right timing. I'm so proud of him!

I also want to thank our SB for all the wonderful gifts they sent. The SB gift exchange was experiencing a transition stage, so several of us were lucky to have our SB revealed. John and Julie from our DTC group made a fantastic match. Thank you both again so much! The left posted photo shows one of the gifts they sent in April.

We also would like to thank all the family and friends who have sent us the beautiful fabric for the 100 wishes quilt. I hope to start on it soon, but we still need 40(something) more.

Our small South Park community has experienced two more losses. It has been very tragic. An outstanding, loving and caring person, Rama, lost her life in early July due to an auto accident. We will miss her dearly. I will miss her positive outlook on life and working with her on a professional level as well. Jason, a wonderful and active young local, recently lost his life due to the hanta virus. He was such a hardworking and well loved young man. The community is left in disbelief with these two recent deaths. It is a reminder to us all that life is so precious and to appreciate each day.

On a more positive note...although we still stand in line to wait to adopt with the many many other parents, we did receive our group #. We are #359 and I believe they are on #305/6. How exciting. It still doesn't give us a time frame, but at least it is good news :)

We had the pleasure of having our first home guests last month. Mike's parents, George and Bonnie, came to visit. It was so nice to have them. We also look forward to seeing Mike's sister's family and my father in the next couple of weeks.

More news to come soon.....

Happy Easter

EASTER DANCE

Mike's Coming Home Tomorrow!!!

Mike comes back tomorrow. I can't wait for him to come home! I missed him so much.

Since he's been gone, I've pretty much buried myself in work all weekend. Saturday night I did some spring cleaning at the club until almost mid-night....pretty crazy. At least it got done. I've been wanting to organize our awful storage/outdoor gear room ever since we moved into a new building this past Sept, but never really had the extra 10 hours to do so.

Yesterday I took a few hours to go to the hot springs with a friend. I just love the hot springs. This is one of my favorite things to do when the temperature is around 35 - 55. Cottonwood Hot Springs is only a 20 minute drive....how lucky we are! I can't wait until my October goal!!!

Speaking of goals, I did great this past month in not drinking coffee. I get a 94%, which is very successful! I did drink two cups of coffee at the beginning of the month because I forgot my goal. Since then, I've had ZERO!!!! and I still haven't had a cup. I thought for sure on April 1st, I would buy a nice cup of steamy hazelnut latte....soon. I've already been out to eat once....because once again I didn't look to see what my goals were until today.....this lateness is going to have to stop :) Does buying a cup of coffee count as eating out????? Humm.......to me liquid really isn't food.

Baby Dreams

I had a dream last night that the Chinese adoption process changed and babies were brought to the US instead of parents traveling to China. The wait time also sped up to about a year instead of two years. Fast forward in the dream.......... we met our baby for the first time at some random hotel near an airport. We were handed a cute chubby girl with a really round face and thick lashes. She was so beautiful and was just learning to walk. She was happy, laughing and smiling all the time. Right before I woke up, Mike and I were laying in bed watching her sleep. This is the first dream I've had about the adoption. I've had many dreams in the past about having a biological child, but never our adoptive child. Because I dream often and have very vivid dreams, it makes me happy to finally see our child in my dreams.

Late Thank Yous..

I want to post a quick thank you to our Secret Buddy. We received a gift a couple of weeks ago. They sent the CUTEST ladybug nightlight. I know our little one will truly enjoy it someday.

Also thank you to Bonnie/George, Linda K. and Linda J. for the beautiful squishes. We just love all the fabrics and thoughtfulness that went into each one. Our squishes have reached 31...almost a 1/3 of the way there!

4 months...

I just realized that we missed our 4 month mark by 5 days. I just can't believe it. Time is flying by!!!! Yippeeeeeee

Updates...

Tonight we are just relaxing watching the Festival Express...a movie made in 2003 about the 1970 train ride shows with Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and other company.

I'm proud of myself because I'm reaching this month's goal easily. I've only had two cups of coffee, which were at the beginning of the month because I forgot what my goals were - duh! It's been easy because I only started drinking coffee a few times a week about 1 - 2 months ago. Hey, I'm saving about $5.00 - $9.00 a week!

My hubby is taking off this Friday to fly back to Chicago. It will be the first time that he's been away from home w/o me. Until now, it's always been me. I'm so glad he's taking some time off. He has some down time with the house and could sure use a break. I haven't been able to help him like the last two homes....it might have something to do with a 45 - 60 hour work week :( I miss not being able to help him, but know that I'm contributing by being able to live off of my income.

I have much more to post and will do so later this week when I have more time.

Favorite Commercial Series

We just love the cavemen Geico commericals. Just came across one I haven't seen yet. Our favorite is the airport one.

Beautiful Blue

Today the weather was so amazing. It hasn't been this nice since late Oct/early Nov. The temperature was near 50 degrees and the kids were able to play outside at the club today. Who wouldn't love a game of football and bouchi ball. It was great to see blue skies all day and not a cloud in the sky. Today really put a perk in the week and reminds me of how much I love living in the mountains.

Our new home is coming along. The drywall guy started to hang the drywall today. Once that's complete and the walls are painted, the cabinets will be installed and the floor will go in. We will be in heaven soon. I can't wait. I just love the smell and feel of a new home.

We're eager to move out of the rental. It has been a warm (not really) place to stay, but is getting on our nerves. If we have water, it is rusty sometimes and the house smells funny upstairs. The previous renters had dogs that peed on the green shag carpet. It's pretty gross. So gross that if anything is on the carpet near the pee spots it soaks up the urine smell. Yuck!

Our new home will be welcomed way beyond our imaginations.......until then, we eat, work, eat, sleep and try to spend the weekends away from the rental!

Unexpected Snow and Confessions...

I couldn't sleep this morning...too much on my mind. I peeked out the little A Frame rental window in the bedroom this morning to find a light dusting of snow. This has come very unexpected because the weather should be sunny this week and in the 40's - 50's. Hopefully it will clear and warm up :)

As I review my goals for the month of Feb....I didn't do so hot. I failed. After calculating my flossing, I stand at 41% for the month. A little shameful??? Yes, but onward for March. Actually, I forgot to check and see what my March goals were until today....COFFEE....I've already had coffee twice...bummer. Hopefully it will only be two :) Have no clue what this is about? Scroll to the bottom of the blog.

This one is for you Carlee

Our small community lost a 15 year old female teen Monday night. She was struck by a semi and pronounced dead at the scene. It is such a tragedy. Our hearts and thoughts go out to the family and friends that surrounded her life. I knew her, but not well. Carlee started to take private etiquette lessons from me a couple of years ago, but didn't continue. Yet, I was fortunate enough to get a glimpse of her thoughts and eagerness to become a poised young lady. She will always have a special place in my heart.

I could go on and get into some deep thoughts, but I think this is enough. Just want to dedicate this entry to Carlee.

MANY PHOTOS BELOW

Several posts below contain photos the past couple of months!!! I'm so happy I took some time at work today to catch up. Don't tell my boss (hee hee).

Family Photos

This photo was taken during my trip to Florida for my Grandfather, Ernie's, Birthday. L - R. Ernie, myself and my cousin Paul. Paul and I were representing all the grand kids from the youngest (Paul) to the oldest (me). Ernie was so happy to be with his two sons, daughter and two grandchildren. Doesn't he look fabulous?

This is one of the famous turtles that live in the pond behind Ernie's house. They get fed every night :)

What beautiful women! I'm so glad I come from good genes. I just love generation photos. They should be taken every time a family gets together. L-R. Me, Grandmother - Agnes, and Mother - Catherine. I just realized that my mom and I have the same tilt to our heads. Genetics???

Squish Photos

These are a few of the squishes we've have received from our DTC yahoo group. Aren't the fabrics beautiful? We have many various colors that the quilt will be very cheerful and bright. Every wish (card in photos) has been personal and heart warming too. I can't wait to get started on it this summer! Thank you everyone for taking the time and sending such wonderful squishes!

If anyone is interested in sending a squish for our child's traditional Chinese quilt, (we need 100) please read the 100 Good Wishes Quilt posted in January. You can find the link on the left hand side of our blog.

Happy Heads, Hands and Feet

Our DTC yahoo group has a secret buddy gift exchange. This month's theme was Happy Heads, Hands and Feet. My wonderful S.B. surprised us with 10 of the cutest finger puppets we've ever seen and 2 Dr. Seuss books about Hands and Feet. I just love these fun AND educational gifts. My sister, Alexa, and sister in-law, Jill, know from experience that learning toys have been a popular gift theme with Mike and I for our nieces and nephews. Our S.B. also included a traditional Chinese New Year Good Luck Money Envelope. This is the year of the GOLDEN pig, this special golden year only comes around every 60 years. In the envelope is a dollar bill. The bill begins with the serial number 8888. Eight is considered the luckiest number of all. As you can imagine anything with the number 8 can sometimes be a rare find in China. Maybe our lucky money will bring us good fortune this year :) That would be nice because Mike is thinking about opening a log furniture store since he has been making and selling log furniture for a few years now.

House Photos

Here are some photos of our new home. The lot is so beautiful. It's full of great trees, character and during the winter we have great views. Hopefully it will be completed in April. As you can see, the exterior is almost finished. We're thinking about adding a walkway/bridge from the down slope to the porch. The log railing along the porch still needs to be added as well. The wood shop and future master bedroom is located on the right side where the two windows are located. The great room is in the middle of the house and the two bedrooms, baths, and office are on the left side.

Mike is making the cabinets (he's just so talented!). The photo on the left shows part of the under cabinets in the bar area. I've never had custom cabinets before and Mike is so good about working in everything I would like :) I'm soooo lucky!

3 months LID

Everytime we see the month flip it puts big smiles on our faces. It also happens to be a special day. Mike's father, George, is celebrating his birthday today too. These past 2 months have flown by. We can't believe it's already been three months! Yes, we still have a long to time go, but three down feels great baby!

My car is in the dumps. It's been at the car shop for over a week now. Things take a long time to get fixed up here. It was suppose to be ready today, but wasn't of course. Tomorrow I'm getting a ride with a friend early so I'll have an hour to try and post some photos. I'm e-mailing myself several, so be sure to tune in soon.

We also received our third secret buddy gift - hopefully I can get some photos up and show the details.

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! This is the Golden year of the Pig which only comes around every 60 years. All those born this year are considered extra lucky and easy going. Although Chinese New Year is in our thoughts, Mike and I really aren't going to celebrate. I was able to catch an early glimpse of the New Year while in DC China Town last week. Pretty cool place!

My first trip to DC was quite interesting. I didn't have much time to site see, but was able to take a night tour of the city my last night. Part of the sites were having an electric black out. So, I was unable to see the Lincoln Memorial and a few others. Otherwise, I enjoyed seeing our nations capital.

On the flight to DC we were on the same plane as Senator Salazar. It was neat to see him in person. It was surprising to see that he was seated in the middle of the plane like everyone else. I wanted to meet him, but many people had the same idea. He's quite the down to earth Senator and am pleased with what he has done. He'll always have my vote!

Ruby

Mike and I came up with another name that we both really like, Ruby. It goes well with our last name, Skubella, and represents the color red. Red is a very important color in China. It also reminds us of our favorite character in Cold Mountain. It isn't official because we want to see a photo of our child before we settle on a name. Now to think about boy names.....

I have many photos I would love to post, but our computer STILL won't let me upload anything on blogspot. It's weird because I can upload on other websites. Hopefully, I'll have time at the end of the month to take some time from work to post some photos from the club.

I'm off to the east coast for the week. It will be my first time in Washington DC. Most of my time will be spent at a conference so there won't be much sightseeing. I'll post again in a week - until then.....

Squishes

What is a squish? A square of fabric and a written wish for the traditional 100 good wishes quilt. Don't you just love that word? It sounds so cozy. We received more squishes from our DTC group this past week. Our favorite is the blue and orange coi fish fabric. Mike loves coi fish and even has one tattooed on his arm. A few families also sent some cool vintage looking fabric. All the wishes and fabric will all have a warm place in our child's heart. Thank you DTC group families for making our child's quilt so special.

Bears & Ring

The Super Bowl was a bit disappointing. The Bears did well during the first 15 seconds of the game, then things seemed to go down hill. At least they were able to play and Mike was in his glory for 60 seconds or so -

A couple of weeks ago I lost my wedding ring. I was looking through several large trash bags full of jewelry and toys that were donated to the club. It was never found in any of the toy bags or on the 4H Fairbarn, the place I was diving into bags of toys. Of course I've been sad, but it didn't really hit me until last night. I can't believe it's gone. It makes me so so so sad. I'm known to lose things, but this is the first time in a long time that I've lost something that means so much to me. My mom was able to send a ring she bought for me twenty some years ago. It also has a sapphire and is very very nice. Still, I hope my wedding ring shows up some how.

DTC Second Gift Exchange

Last week we received a second Secret Buddy gift from our DTC group. The theme was 'Tubby Time'. Our buddy gave us the cutest frog towel and bath squirters. The green towel has a hood with the frog face on the corner of the hood. I actually saw one while I was in Florida and thought about getting it. So neat that our S.B. shares our taste!

Ladybug sighting: Mike just handed me a ladybug chocolate that his mom gave us for Christmas. I have a smile on my face :)

Updates.....

We've received so many squishes (quilt squares and wishes) from our DTC group exchange. Several of the fabrics have ladybugs, others are bright and cheerful, some have pretty Chinese prints and some relate to the families heritage or their wish. All the fabrics will make a beautiful quilt. Thank you everyone for adding your love and wishes to our child's quilt! I wish I could post some photos, but I'm still unable to post pictures from home.

My first monthly goal of drinking water is coming to an end. I'm going to give myself a B. I didn't drink my minimum of two nalgenes for a total of 6 days. I had set back days at the beginning of the month, during my trip to Florida, and yesterday. This gives me an 81% - assuming I drink two bottles tomorrow :) I'm not satisfied with my first goal because it was an easy one. At least a B is better than an F! We'll see how well I do next month this flossing. It's kind of a weird goal, but I really need to improve. Yes, I know I should floss everyday. It's a bad habit that I don't do. I'm lucky if I floss 1 - 2x's a week. Wish me luck!

Our black lab, boo, is recovering from a cut on his foot pad. He cut it Sunday at the new house. We think he somehow sliced it on ice or a nail. It's healing much better today. Mike is keeping Boo's foot wrapped in white gauze. Because Boo is black his white "sock" really looks cute :) We decided to call him white sock and club foot for now.

The new home is coming along well. The insulation was completed today and the siding is almost finished. Mike will start on the cabinets next week. I can't believe how fast things are going. If you finish a house in under a year out here, it's considered fast. So our five (or so) month building process is fast!

Fabulous Florida

My trip to sunny warm Florida was marvelous. My family is so much fun and Ernie's (Grandfather) Birthday was a blast. I was even able to see my cousin, Paul, whom I hadn't seen in over 20 some years! Hope to post photos later this week. The week also ended on two other wonderful notes. GO! BEARS!!! and GO! HILLARY!!! I was wishing for both and can't believe my dreams came true! I was able to catch the game at Atlanta Airport and share the experience with my hubby on the phone - he is estactic! Now if the Cubs can only show some meat this summer.....

FLORIDA

I'm leaving for Florida tomorrow. Can't wait. My grandfather, Ernie, is turning a young 85. It will be great to see the many family members that are traveling for the bash....not to mention a break from the bitter air!

100 Good Wishes Quilt

Dear family and friends:

Mike and I would like to continue a Chinese tradition with our adopted child. This tradition is called "Bai Jia Bei" or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. Family and friends each donate a piece of fabric and wish or blessing to the expecting mother. It is then sewn into quilt for her newborn. Positive thoughts and energy are given to the baby through the quilt and is handed down from generation to generation. The written wish will be added to a Wish Book so our child can match the person and wish to the fabric on the quilt. If you would like to participate in this wonderful tradition, please read the directions below. Please help us network in spreading the word to other family members and friends. 100 pieces of fabric is a lot to find!

1. Chose a piece of 100% cotton fabric that you like or represents your wish. There is no color or theme. The more colorful the better. Your fabric can be new or used.
2. Cut your fabric into two 8 X 8 pieces (one for each side of the quilt). Prewash is not needed.
3. Include a small sample piece of fabric for your wish/blessing.
4. Write or type a wish onto a note card or card stock. The blessing can be a poem, quote or any words that have a special place in your heart. Don't forget to include a sample of the fabric mounted to your wish.
5. Please sign your wish and include your state, city and your relationship to our child.
6. All wishes and fabrics can be mailed to: Skubella's, PO BOX 754, Fairplay, CO 80440

Here are a few links of other quilts:

aquiltforsunshine.blogspot.com
http://www.cd2alicyn.com/web/do/site/folder?ID=144685&parent_id=144685
http://www.handsful.com/?page_id=46
If more than one person in your family would like to participate, each person may submit his/her own fabric and wish.

All fabric and wishes will be greatly appreciated for us to complete this unique and special gift.

I've been Tagged

Hopefully this post will go through. It seems that 3 out of 5 posts I write aren't able to publish from home....very frustrating! I was tagged by Dolores, so here goes my first attempt.....

A - Available or taken? Married to my best friend and loving hubby - Mike
B - Best Friend? Read line A
C - Cake or Pie? Depends. I don't care for cakey cakes. I love mud/Mississippi type pies!!
D - Drink of Choice? Water and Odwalla and Naked Juice drinks. Margaritas are always fun too!
E - Essential item? Water & TP. I've tried to use pine cones, snow and rocks - never feels good! I'd much rather pack out my TP any day!
F - Favorite Color? Green, blue, and most recently orange
G - Gummy bears or worms? Neither
H - Hometown? 2: Morton, IL (south of Peoria) and Lakeville, MI (west of Detroit)
I - Indulgence? Ice Cream! I love holiday flavors and almost any Ben & Jerry's
J - January or February? Jan. I like new beginnings.
K - Kid's names? Isabella Skubella. Just kidding! We'll pick when we see her/his photo. Although Mike likes the nickname "zoozoo" from the holiday classic 'It's A Wonderful Life'.
L - Life incomplete without? Happiness
M - Marriage date? 9-20-03
N - Number of siblings? Oldest of 4. Two beautiful younger sisters (Alexa and Ana). My youngest sibling is my awesome brother, Larry.
O - Oranges or apples? Usually oranges.
P - Phobias or Phears? Dry water wells.
Q - Favorite Quote? I have many
R - Reason to smile? Clear blue skies and above freezing temps.
S - Season? June - September
T - Tag 4 people? Mom, Bonnie, Rosie, anyone related to me.
U - Unknown fact about me? I've hiked half the Colorado Trail mostly solo.
V - Veggie I don't like? I can't think of one.
W - Worst habit? I stuggle with biting my nails. The past few years it's been off and on. Currently it's on.
X-Rays - My last one was three years ago before I had a root canal (not fun).
Y - Your favorite food? Avacado and Mexican
Z - Zodiac? Libra

Home Safe

After hearing the roads were closed last night, my friend and I were able to get a hotel room at the Hand Hotel in town. Super cute place! We made a trip to the store, then local restaurant. The restaurant is called the Barnside Inn. They have a Chinese menu and I ordered my regular meal of Shrimp Lo Mein and tea. The waitress, from China, knows my first name now. I guess I can be considered a regular now. Eating Chinese from a restaurant call the "Barnside Inn" doesn't sound too goo, but it actually is! After finishing our meal about 7:45pm, a couple came in telling everyone the highways were open again! What great news! Jean and I drove back to the B&B, turned in our keys and headed home. The road wasn't in the best condition, but the drifts were off the road and I felt comfortable driving at 40 - 45 mph. The house framers were able to make it home as well. I just can't image my husband spending the night with the framing crew - LOL. The rental is having well/water pump issues, so showers would've been out of the question for them.

On another note: I decided to join the rest of the world and own a cell phone. Well, I had one for a few months in college, but the bill was so high after 5 phone calls it wasn't used again. They were too big anyay. I'm hoping not to use the new phone very much because the one at work drives me crazy! I wanted to wait few more years. Knowing that it might save my life, or our child's life, has my mind changed. Now that Sprint works in most places in Park County AND at our house (This is a first, believe me!), my husband and I dove in. Mike is very happy to say good-bye to his Verizon and hello to Sprint. We both have a Fusic by LG - so cute in pink - mine, not Mikes!

Stuck in Fairplay

The wind has been so bad today, that both highways to my house have been shut down! CDOT is trying their best to plow through, but the wind is sooo fast that they aren't making much progress. It's 5:30 and the highways might not even open tonight. I would much rather be home with my hubby. At least my friend is staying at a local B& B and if I'm stuck here, l'll be sharing a room with her because the hotels are full. My husband might have to turn our tiny one bedroom rental into an Inn for our new home framing crew because they all live in Fairplay! It seems like nobody can get home tonight. Bummer. I CAN load photos at work - yippee! Here is a "calm" photo of the highway earlier this morning.

Long Cold Winter

One of my favorite books as a child was 'Long Cold Winter' by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Reading about their struggles to get through one of the worst winters she experienced as a child will always stick with me. I recall her writing about the animals they lost, that they had to stay inside for days because it was too cold, and putting blankets on the walls so the snow wouldn't blow in their home. Although one of my previous jobs required me to live outside and deal with Colorado weather year round, I've never had to deal with what the pioneers had to experience. How lucky we are for advancements!

Some of you may be wondering what the new bunny ticker is for at the top of the blog. Mike and I belong to a wonderful adoption group on yahoo. The group consists of other families adopting from China. Several of their blogs are linked to our blog. These families all sent their Dossiers to China at about the same time so we are all going through similar adoption thoughts and experiences. The October06DTC group also has many different activities you can participate in. One of them is "walking" to China. We keep track of how many miles we walk, swim, run, snowshoe and workout. Twice a month we combine our miles and apply it towards the distance to China. It will be a lot of fun to see how fast we can make it to China.

Crazy Weather!

Due to the bad weather yesterday I was unable to go into work again. So - no photos. This is the forth time in less than a month that the weather has effected my transportation to Fairplay. I live about 30 miles south of Fairplay and must drive highway 285. This highway crosses some of the windiest sections in South Park. The weather out here has been just crazy! Wind, snow, more wind, more snow...it just hasn't stopped. Whoever predicted a mild first half of winter was a little off. (I mention this in my first or second post). To make this weather even more interesting, I got my car stuck twice! This past Monday, my car slipped into a ditch. The ditch was quite steep and I'm very thankful I wasn't going fast because my car may have flipped. Actually it felt really wierd going into the ditch. Besides loose items tumbling around in my car, it was like my Jeep was falling into a bed of marshmallows. The snow was very deep and my car landed on an angle, so I couldn't open my door. I had to climb up and out of the passenger front door. Besides a few scratches, my car and I were safe :) The seond incident happened yesterday. At first I thought I would be able to make it to work. LOL! From our house to pavement is about 4 miles. I could barely see the dirt road the entire way. As I approached highway 24, I couldn't stop the car and I slid onto the highway. Sure glad there wasn't a car coming! Then I realized I couldn't see ANYTHING beyond 100 feet due to the white out. This is when I did a U turn on the highway and headed home. I made it to the long driveway in front of the house. In the short time I had been gone, the wind had already covered my tracks, so I couldn't see the driveway. I ended up in the grassy meadow, stuck again! Luckily my hubby was home to save me :) Today we drove to Fairplay and Buena Vista. The roads are still icy in areas, but melting in others. His big truck with super winter tires did OK, but when we started to slip a few times, I definitely felt myself get tense. I don't think that feeling will go away for awhile!

Computer issues

For some reason I can't upload anything from my computer at home.....I've tried to post things twice now and have been unsuccessful. I'll try at work tomorrow.