The Golden Ticket and Ode to Truffle Salt

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Today I hold in my hand the international adoption golden ticket.  Some call it the 171-H, but that sounds so sterile.  

I received my immigration clearance to lawfully bring a child into the country. 

Wow. 

In my excitement of receiving this VERY important document, I knocked over my jar of truffle salt on the kitchen counter, which I had (irresponsibly) left unsealed.  

Truffle salt is my all-time favorite food item.  It's an amazing blend of truffle bits and salt (duh.) which when combined with mundane foods like corn, potatoes, or, oh--any old boring, midwestern thing-- will blow your freaking mind.  AND, it costs about $25-$30 for a small container.   

My excited carelessness tonight just cost me about 15-bucks.  

And, I don't even care.  Because the US government thinks I am cool enough to adopt a kid from Ethiopia.   

Self-preservation

When I have nervous energy, I cook.  

Now that I am in a process which creates the most nervous energy I have ever had, I am cooking for the year.  

My dear friend Tata went with me to pick apples today.  I say dear friend because after looking outside and seeing hail, then looking in my pleading, puppy dog eyes-- she still went.  She even made me a breakfast of pumpkin pancakes before we left.  See, I told you--dear friend.

We trudged through the Indiana mud and picked our apples, rewarding ourselves with a yummy pumpkin donut. 

At one of those road-side stands along the way home, they had end-of-the-season tomatoes on sale.   So, of course I stocked up.  In the quickly approaching dreary Chicago winter, when I decide to make some pasta sauce or soup, these are the tomatoes I want.  Not those ugly, barely-blushing tomatoes we are so blessed with in February.  

I haven't canned much, but there is something so rewarding about working hard now and reaping the benefits on a cold night after work when a bowl of tomato soup will really hit the spot.  It also just occurred to me that the applesauce I'm working on now might be enjoyed by Little B in the coming year?  Wow. 

So, I am self-preserving by self preserving. 

 It's so worth it when you hear that click.

Tomato Invasion

Welcome, Fall.

It was a great summer, but I am ready to welcome my favorite of all of the seasons. So far, enjoying lots of fall-ish things-- a beautiful hike, admiring changing leaves, eating apple and pumpkin everything, a fall wedding, and of course the Fall Festival in my hometown.It's been a while since I have been back, but the Fall Festival is pretty much THE event of the fall in E-town. The longest running street fair (only second to Mardi Gras), one can eat fried twinkies, brain sandwiches, frog legs, walking tacos, something called pig lickers (what?!)... just name a gross food, and you will find it at the 88th Annual West Side Nut Club Fall Festival. Yep, this age-old tradition is put on by a "nut club".

As a child, I was forced to participate in the "pet parades" and you can tell how much I enjoyed this from the look on my face. Yes, that's me... Smurfette.    

This year, though I was able to answer the important question: Corndog or pronto pup? Most definitely, the pronto pups have my heart.   Who? Vegetarian? What?  Where?! 

Just in case this "fine dining" is not your bag, you can always participate in Amateur Night or Mullet Hunt. Prizes are awarded for the best mullet caught on camera. (I hear there are extra points for wife-beater T's and home-made tattoos!) I even won a prize at a VERY PETA-friendly game where Oscar the Mouse is let loose on a spinning table and crawls into a hole.  Ahhh... it was good to be home.

In adopto-news, I am moving right along...  now #4 on the boy list and #11 on the girl list.  The courts are due to open this week, so hopefully we will get some good news soon for some of my buddies waiting for court dates.

Happy Fall!

What to do while you're waiting...

Well, now that I am officially on the wait list (and awaiting some news from my agency re: the "singles" issue), I am already tired of waiting.

So, what am I doing?  No, not the schoolwork piling up and making me guilty.   No, not reading the pile of attachment/adoption books on my nightstand.  No, not organizing my apartment.

I am spending the majority of my time online, researching VERY important topics like "Why Are Tortilla Chips So Damn Good?"  

Seriously, though... why are they SO good?   I swear if I ever move from Chicago, I will need a weekly shipment of my fave green-bag chips.    

If I were you, I would expect this kind of random post for a while as I obsess, wait, and spend WAY too many hours online.

(Ethiopian) New Year's Resolutions

For those of you who weren't aware... we just rang in 2002 Ethiopia-style yesterday.  That's right, Sept. 11 is Ethiopian New Year and their calendar is exactly 7 years behind ours.  

As with any new year, of course I have been reflecting on the past year and the MASSIVE amounts of change that have happened.  New job, started school (AGAIN!), and of course, starting the process of adoption.   It's been a big year and the coming year is sure to be an even bigger one.  

I went out to Abyssinia for dinner last night to celebrate with R & N and some other friends, old and new-- a good time was had by all.  It IS new years after all!  One friend made a comment...  this time next year, there will probably be two babes sitting at the table with us.   Exciting and true.   

I started out my new year by trying to get on track...  started by roasting some beans straight from Ethio in honor of the holiday, hit the books early this AM, and then started cleaning the apartment.   But to be honest, it's only 2pm and I'm already tired by my ambitious start to a new year.  :)

Cheers and happy new year!

Sad news and RAD news

The sad news...

I have this piece of pottery.  It's from Ethiopia.  It's the SECOND piece of the same pottery because I broke the first one.   That's right... I've carried the SAME piece of pottery not once, but TWICE back from Ethiopia.   The first one chipped on the ride home.  When I found out that I would return to Ethiopia this Spring, I was ecstatic because I knew I could replace this beautiful piece of art.  So, again, I carried this breakable bowl wrapped up like a little baby in my carry-on bag.  It's one of my favorite things....

Last night, in my sleepy-eyed clumsiness, I knocked it off the coffee table and into lots of pieces.   So sad....

The rad news... 

Today I officially joined the WAITLIST!!!  So, the next time I go to Ethiopia, I will return with TWO pieces of precious cargo. 

I joined today at #5 for a baby boy and #12 for a baby girl.   (I have a hunch it will be a boy, don't you?!)

I feel so official now!

Home Study Approved!

Got the word today that exactly 3 weeks after submitting my homestudy, it has been approved by the Illinois DCFS international coordinator.  

Soooo...  my local case worker will now send to my international case worker (who has already seen and approved it),  and then..... WAIT LIST. 

Probably by next week??!