Happy birthday!

A little birdy told me that it was Catherine's birthday today!

Go wish her a happy birthday!

What are you waiting for? Go on...vamoose!

Weird...***UPDATE***

A few weeks ago (maybe longer) I registered for an account on Facebook just for the hell of it. I've heard of the site and wanted to see what all the buzz was about. To be honest, it's probably a site meant for people about 15 years younger than I am, but I was freaked out by all the people that I know on it.

I searched for a friend of mine who I had known from public school, but for one reason or another we lost contact and she's there. So are a bunch of other people I went public school/junior high/high school. It's really freaky to see how they've turned out...some of them I haven't seen in 25 years and now they have their picture posted with a couple kids. I haven't yet gathered the 'courage' to send them a message...it would just seem so odd if I did.

Have any of you tried contacting old school friends through it? If so, what has the response been like?

***Just to answer a few questions and post some more thoughts...

Donna, I've been on Classmates but I didn't register under my real name...just to see what it was about. I didn't get much out of that, but was surprised by how many people were there from my past.

Nic, I registered on Facebook under my married name, and even though Josh and I were high school sweethearts...nobody would know to look under his name. At least I don't think so. Plus there's no picture of me. I was considering changing the profile to my maiden name to see how many people are 'looking' for me, but I haven't decided yet. I still haven't decided if I want to continue using it. :)***

Soccer and stuff

Tonight Josh and I went to see my nephew Z play his first game of the soccer season. Not only did he ALMOST score a goal, but in the second half of the game he was the goalie and didn't let anyone score on him...not bad for a six year old! Though when he was the goalie, he was more interested in the sand at his feet than the ball that was coming towards him.

He looked SO cute in his uniform. At one point one of his friends from school came to the game and Z up and walked over to him, in the middle of the game, and yelled 'HEY! Wanna come to my place after the game?' Very cute. :)

Sitting next to us on the sidelines was a cute little Chinese girl, about three years old who had a snack of three Oreo cookies in a Ziploc bag. She pulled one out, examined it closely, put it back, took out cookie #2 which didn't meet her exacting standards and in it went. The third one was JUST RIGHT and proceeded to use the Cookie Monster method of cookie eating, that of splitting the cookie in half and licking vigourously.

Later on, she tried to get her mom's attention by yelling in her ear 'mom'...'mom'...'MOM' and when that didn't work, she screamed 'HEY!' to which her mom promptly paid attention to her. She was SO damn cute that my heart ached.

I just read on the rumour site that referrals might only go to the 7th of November. Blah.

I was hoping those early rumours of somewhere on the north end of the 15th would come true, but it doesn't look that way now. At this rate, they won't finish 2005 until the end of the year. I wish I had a better idea of when we would get a referral than 'sometime in 2009...we hope.' At least I have a few days away with friends to look forward to this weekend...oh, and some shoppy goodness. ;)

What's wrong with this picture?!

Over the past six months or so, I've gotten really into watching The Sopranos, to the point that I watch it every night at 11:00...without fail on Telelatino. It's also on at 9:00pm on A&E, but we're usually watching something else. :P

I don't much care for the extreme violence in the show, and I will leave the room when it's too much. With that in mind, I'm probably going to buy the series when it's over...unless one of you has a copy I could keep borrow. Actually I might poke Josh into buying it for me for my birthday...but don't tell him that. ;)

Now with that in mind, yesterday Josh came home for lunch and we sat on the couch and started channel surfing. He flipped to A & E and noticed that they were showing The Sopranos at lunch time. We just looked at each other and thought 'WOO! We can watch it now, we don't have to stay up late.' That minute of excitement was quickly squashed (at the next commercial break) when we thought 'Hey, there could be little kiddies watching this show.' Not only was the show on just at lunch time, they were doing a Sopranos marathon all day.

Now I'm not one for censorship, but I'm sorry, that show should not be on at a time when little kids could be watching it. I remember when I was young and I used to come home from public school for lunch, the most amount of violence I would see would be Bam-Bam hitting Barney or Fred with his club. That's not quite the same thing as watching Ritchie getting blown away by Janice on The Sopranos.

In A&Es defense, they took out all the swearing and nudity, but they kept in every single second of blood, gore and violence. There's something seriously wrong when a kid can watch that. Yes, I know that in today's 500+ channel universe there are a lot more disturbing things that can be seen, but geez, things like this shouldn't be on at such a time.

3-2-1...SUSHI!

Last night Kathy and Joel, Michelle and Mark, Josh and I went out for dinner. Not just ANY dinner...an all-you-can-eat sushi extravaganza!

Now Josh and I go out for sushi fairly regularly, but last night's restaurant blew all the other restaurants away by a mile. I've seen Kathy rave about a place called Sushi Mountain on her blog, and I kept trying to weasel an invite get together with them for a while...dropping hints here and there, but I guess they weren't strong enough. ;)

As we drove along the 401 to get to the restaurant, we were passed by someone towing a boat called the "Summer Sausage". Josh and I looked at each other and broke down in giggles...what a name!

We got to the restaurant for 7:00 and we sat around and talked about a bunch of things while we waited for Michelle and Mark to arrive. They got to the restaurant around 7:30...and it was time to get our 'grub' on.

We ordered a bunch of different appetizers and rolls off the menu (most of which I've forgotten the names of...but not the tastes). The food was better than Kathy mentioned, and I'm not one to rave about food, but WOW. The sushi was so good that Josh had an out of body experience and conversed with Jimi Hendrix. ;)

The waiter actually ended up forgetting about one of the sushi rolls, which is probably for the best because if you don't finish everything you order (even though it's an all-you-can-eat restaurant), they charge you for what you don't finish.

We ended up talking for so long after the meal that we didn't realize we were the last ones left in there. We actually ended up leaving at 10:10...20 minutes before they closed for the evening.

It was a great evening out with some really fantastic people who I consider close friends. It's really amazing how the adoption process and 'blogland' has helped us form such strong bonds.

Can't wait for the BBQ, Kathy! ;)

Next time I'm going to the vet...

As I haven't heard from the rheumatologist since I had my test done (last Tuesday), I called him today. Truth be told though, I've called him a few times, but I hadn't heard anything about the results. Today I called again and I spoke to the secretary.

My first question, of course, was about the results. The secretary said that the doctor reviewed the results and that everything was 'normal'. Umm, bullshit?

If everything is 'normal' then why am I in pain? Why am I eating Tylenol 3s like Tic Tacs?

But I digress, I asked her when I could see the doctor again and she said, 'well, usually we don't make appointments for six weeks after your first appointment'. I said, 'well I'm in pain'. She said she would call me on Monday and get me in to see him (possibly) sometime next week. I asked if they had any openings Monday afternoon and she said yes.

If I don't hear from her Monday morning, I'll be sitting in the waiting room, without an appointment, (waiting impatiently) on Monday afternoon.

Bimbo the Clown in his Birthday Suit... *

I was reading the news today, and aside from some really depressing news, I heard about this. For those of you who grew up in Toronto (and surrounding area) in the 60s and 70s, you should remember Uncle Bobby. I remember my brother (AKA Ugly) used to watch it all the time growing up...though I don't know if he'd actually admit it. ;)

Sadly, I have to say that I only vaguely remember the show. The one thing that sticks out in my mind is "Bimbo the Birthday Clown", which might explain my warped sense of humour. Bimbo was a cardboard cut-out and Uncle Bobby would always announce children's birthdays while standing beside him. I *think* there was a song that went along with it, but it's been too many years since I last heard it and I no longer recall what it was...

(By the way, if you look at "7 o'clock" on that photo, you'll see a little picture of Bimbo.)

*I wonder what kind of searches I'm going to get based on the title of THIS post...

Hoppy the bow-legged postman...

I was exchanging emails this morning with Heather and she asked in passing if I had gotten a Mother's Day card in the mail and if I was upset with her since she hadn't heard from me in a while. I asked her 'umm, what Mother's Day card?'. She told me she sent it the Wednesday before Mother's Day and others that she had sent it to had received it. I went on to say that 'if I was mad at you, I'd let you know. I don't keep that bottled up.' :)

I went on to tell her about Hoppy the bow-legged postman, and promised her that I would detail Hoppy's adventures today...

So, we have this postman who delivers the mail to our apartment building who only delivers the mail when he feels like it. We pretty much only receive mail every other day.

Anyways, a couple of weeks ago I met Hoppy in the elevator as he was lugging his bag, and we were talking. You see, Hoppy hurt his foot...he said it wasn't bad, and yes, I should be compassionate about his injury as I've been hobbled lately myself...but I'm a bit annoyed by it.

He uses the elevator to deliver the mail between the floors. All our previous mailmen/women have used the stairs, and it actually gets done A LOT faster. As there are only 6 units on each floor, and only two elevators, so it gets a bit tiresome when he's sitting there waiting for the elevator for each floor to deliver it. He basically ties up one elevator (on the days he bothers to deliver) for a minimum of 30-45 minutes...and G-d forbid that someone is moving the day he decides to deliver the mail, but that's besides the point.

I know I should cut him some slack, really I do, but I LIKE getting my mail. Besides, his job is to deliver the mail...everyday, not just on the days he feels like it.

Weekend fun!

Josh and I went to see Spiderman 3. It was good, but the ending was crap. It was way too sappy. I was kind of hoping for something...more. There were too many villains, Nic, you were right on the money there. It was also a little too predictable. I have to admit, however, that the Symbiote was pretty freaking cool and the visual effects were mind blowing. It was helli-lame when they showed the 'evil' Peter Parker as having bangs, but the goody-two-shoes Peter Parker as having his hair to the side. Couldn't they have done ANYTHING other than that?! Feh.

When I got home, I got an email from Dolores inviting Josh and I out for breakfast the following morning. It was last minute and all, but we gladly went. Not only were Dolores and Shawn there, but so were Lisa, Craig, and K and Tracey, Mike, and M.

Both kids had a blast and seemed to get along really well. After brunch, while most of the adults were standing around and talking, Josh and K had an in-depth conversation about medieval history. Apparently K told Josh that she's doing a unit on that topic and she has to do a project about weaponry. Josh told her a few things to look up, and she said that she would go home and 'Google it'. Ahhh, how things have changed since WE were in school. ;)

Dolores, Shawn, Josh and I then decided to go for a little walk around the mall looking for charm bracelets in vain. We went into People's Jewellers to look for a specific bracelet, but couldn't find it. The saleslady told Dolores that that particular one was 'old' or 'old fashioned' and they didn't sell it anymore. Umm, it was in the stores not too long ago, but whatever. I'll eventually find the charm bracelet I'm looking for. C'est la vie.

Actually, while we were walking through the mall, we found two little kids (probably about four years old or so) lying on the floor. At first it looked like they were wrestling...but upon further inspection, they were umm, what can only be described as 'writhing' on top of one another in a, err, strong embrace moving up and down on one another. We all turned to look at one another and did a quick double take...and I think we all had the same look of 'are they doing what we think they're doing!?' We looked back again and just shook our heads and walked away.

Benefits...

I was perusing the paper this morning and found an interesting article that was printed all about adoption and adoption benefits.

When "Little Maple" comes home, I'm planning on being a SAHM. In a way I'm very lucky to be able to stay at home with our child. It's not my intention to knock working moms or single moms, everyone's situation is different.

I thought it would be interesting to see what my 'readers' felt about this topic so I've added a new poll. All the results are anonymous, but if you would like to comment below, feel free. I'm curious what everyone's plans are for when their child(ren) are home with them. If you could all take a couple minutes to vote, I'd appreciate it.

New poll...

I've taken down my old poll about blogrolls and how you all feel about them. I have to say, I was interested in the results and they turned out much differently than I thought.

Out of the 79 votes tallied, 27% (21 votes) came in for people who thought that anonymous blogrolls were great, 34% (27 votes) were for people who didn't really care one way or the other, and the remainder 39% (31 votes) were from people who were pretty much against the whole idea of anonymous blogrolls.

Since I found this poll so interesting, I've decided to add a new poll to the blog which will be up shortly. Thanks for voting!

Crap...tagged again...

I think I'm going to have to start finding a better place to hide so I don't get tagged so often. ;)

Anyways, Michelle tagged me this time. Apparently I have to come up with 8 little known facts about me. Hmmm, here goes...

1. Josh and I are high school sweethearts. As the song goes, I was sixteen...going on seventeen when we met. We met WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back in 1988 right after I broke up with a previous boyfriend. I passed by Josh as he was working at a store in the Promenade Mall and he used the ever-so-slick pick up line of, "So, I heard you broke up with (ex-boyfriend), wanna go out for coffee?"

I turned him down, since I was already out with my mom and grandma, but we ended up going out for dinner and a comedy show a couple of weeks later. As he "gallantly" jumped over a puddle in the parking lot on the evening of our first date, he ended up splashing my favourite pink corduroy skirt (hey, it was 1988) with mud...

2. Shortly after I turned 17, I didn't have my driver's license (nor did I have my learner's permit) yet, but Josh wanted to give me driving lessons. We went out in his mother's car and I drove around the parking lot. It was all going so well...until...I mixed up the gas pedal and the brake and crashed his mom's car.

Umm, oops?

$1,800 in damage later...I worked all summer that year paying it off. To this day, I still don't have my license, but I'm going to have to get it eventually.

3. When I got my pictures taken for the security check for the adoption dossier by the Commissionaires, they didn't give me a chance to take my coat off. They just told me to sit down and they would be with me in a second. I paid for the photo, filled out the paperwork and BAM they took the photo without warning. I look like a total idiot wearing a heavy winter coat in that picture. Oh well...just as long as the CCAA doesn't judge me by THAT picture, I should be ok. ;)

4. At our wedding, Josh and I had a bagpiper pipe us in as we were officially introduced as husband and wife. We wanted to keep that as a surprise to our guests, but the bagpiper had to inflate the pipes, so while everyone was enjoying their drinks before the dinner, all they heard what can only be described as cat torture was a loud squeaking and shrieking coming from upstairs in the synagogue.

5. After I sent Kathy a recent gift of Fun Dip, I had to go back to the store and buy some for myself to remember what it tasted like.

When my mom went to a hairdresser in that same plaza (about 25+ years ago), she used to buy me Fun Dip all the time to shut me up keep me amused while she got her hair done.

6. When I had my wisdom teeth out years ago, Josh, his mom and my mom went with me to the appointment. When I woke up, though I don't recall this, apparently I kept asking for his dad. He wasn't there, but he came by and made sure he was there when I was completely awake.

I had a migraine after the surgery, big shock, and he noticed that the sliding door in the den didn't shut completely. He stood there, while I lay in the fold out bed, opening the door and slamming it, in order to 'fix' it. My mom and Josh's mom ran in and asked him "what the *&$#" he was doing. Even though I was in pain, I couldn't help but laugh, it's something he'd SO do. :)

7. Our cat, Deuce, was named because we got him for our second wedding anniversary. (Deuce is Latin for two.) Originally we wanted two other cats...Quincy for our fifth anniversary and Josh wanted another one for our eighth and he wanted to name it Octopussy. Since Deuce is a bit psycho (or can be at times), we didn't end up getting the other cats.

8. I've got my certification as a teacher, but I work as a medical secretary...go figure.

Now I have to figure out who to tag next...bah, if you're reading this, you're IT!

Tag?! (FREAKING LONG)

Thanks Sam for tagging me. Now I have to think of ways to get you back for this...

FOODOLOGY

1. What is your salad dressing of choice? Ranch, are there any other kinds? *drool*

2. What is your favourite fast food restaurant? Well it's not really 'fast food' but I'd definitely go with Tim Hortons. There's nothing better than an iced cappucino on a hot summer's day...not that it even has to be hot out to have one. ;)

3. What is your favourite sit-down restaurant? Definitely Queen of Sheba. We took Nic and Tim there a few months ago and I swear this place has the best Ethiopian food...ever!

4. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? It depends on the service. If it's really good, then I'd say 20% or more. If it's bad, I've been known to just ask for change and walk out. Sorry to anyone in the service industry, but if I'm not a happy camper, they're not a happy camper. :)

5. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Does dessert count? Anything chocolate-y.

6. What is your favourite type of gum? Like Sam I've also got TMJ, but I live on the wild side and chew it anyways. I'd have to say Juicy Fruit is my fave, but I'll also go in for Bazooka. :)

TECHNOLOGY

1. What is your wallpaper on your computer? I used to have Deuce's picture as my wallpaper, but for some reason we got rid of that. Right now it's just bland blue circles...YAWN!

2. How many televisions are in your house? 1.

3. How do you listen to music? With my ears.

BIOLOGY

1. What is your best feature? My eyes. If Josh were answering though, it would probably be something else...but my brother reads this, so I'll keep it PG. HI UGLY!

2. Have you ever had anything removed from your body? My tonsils, but nothing 'exotic'.

3. Which one of your five senses do you think is the keenest? I'd probably say my eyesight, though if you ask me on a day when I have a migraine I'd have to say hearing. I get hyperacuity when I have a migraine, it's really freaky. I can hear a clock tick in the next room or a mouse fart from 100 yards.

4. When was the last time you had a cavity? Probably a year or two ago.

5. What is the heaviest item you lifted last? Probably the table that Nic and I lifted at the Pickle Barrel last weekend. ;)

6. Have you ever been knocked unconscious? Nope.

BULLSHITOLOGY (Why is everyone afraid to spell that out?) :P

1. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Yup.

2. Is love for real? Absolutely. If it's not, then what have I been doing for the past 18 years? :)

3. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I'll get back to you on that...

4. What colour do you think looks best on you? Probably red...but a deep red.

5. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? Hmm...what do you mean by 'non-food'?

6. Have you ever saved someone's life? Unfortunately not.

7. Has someone ever saved yours? Fortunately not.

DAREOLOGY

1. Would you walk naked for a half a mile down a public street for $100,000? Sure, but I might blind some people...

2. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? Umm, yeah.

3. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? Did my insurance agency put you up to these questions?!

4. Would you never blog again for $50,000? No. I'm doing this blog for our daughter...well maybe not this post in particular, but I want her to have a record of what we did while we waited for her...so I won't stop and you can't make me. :)

5. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? Is anyone even still reading this far?

6. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000? I wouldn't, but Josh would...hell, he'd do it for free!

7. Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000? Yes, I barely watch any as it is.

DUMBOLOGY

1. What is in your left pocket? This won't come as any surprise to Heather but I'm wearing my housecoat and I have nothing in my pocket.

2. Is Napolean Dynamite actually a good movie? I haven't seen it, nor do I have any inclination to.

3. Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house? Yes.

4. Do you sit or stand in the shower? Umm if you sit in the shower, it's called 'a bath'.

5. Could you live with a roommate? Are you offering?

6. How many pairs of flip-flops do you own? None.

7. Last time you had a run-in with the cops? When I was doing my paperchase and had to do fingerprinting/background check.

8. What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid...

9. Last friend you talked to? Nic about four times tonight.

10. Last person you called? Nic.

RANDOMOLOGY

1. First place you went this morning? Bathroom.

2. What can you not wait to do? Hold my daughter for the first time...duh.

3. What's the last movie you saw? I saw Batman on t.v. today, does that count?

Now I get to pick five people to torture do this as well...

1. Heather because with her sore wrists, she really needs to spend an hour writing up her own.

2. Michelle

3. Dolores

4. Kathy

5. Cari

Holy upset, Batman!

I just finished watching American Idol and wow, what an upset. As usual, I won't say who was kicked off, but I'm shocked that they were. This person could sing the telephone book and still sound good. Oh well, the finale is next week and it *should* be good.

A bit of an update on yesterday's post that I forgot to mention. Josh knew that I was taking the rest of the day off work after the scans, so at lunch time he came home with a couple bunches of flowers to pick up my spirits. What a sweetie!

I didn't imbibe tonight, I've been taking T3s like pop rocks lately so I can't drink just yet. I'm sure if I tried I'd be yelling at the fish/praying to the porcelain god/having a technicolour yawn a little sick. Let's hope I feel better so I can indulge a little over the long weekend. (For the non-Canadian readers, this weekend is our long weekend...woo!)

What not to do when you have a migraine...

As I mentioned last night, I went for a bone scan this morning. Fun wow. Don't you wish you could be me?

I got to the hospital with my MIL, hobbling down the hallway and got to the X-ray department. Fortunately, they took me right away and did the preliminary X-ray. Then I got to have an injection of Thalium, I highly recommend it...it's all the rage, all the cool kids are getting it.

After the injection I was sent on my way to go and drink and come back two and a half hours later. Well, let me clarify that, non-alcoholic drinks, that is. I think they should make it a requirement to have at least one alcoholic drink during the procedure, at least it would have made the time go by much quicker.

So I had my requisite two bottles of water and V8 (just because I couldn't drink any more water without feeling ill). I never realized how incredibly salty V8 is, or at least it seemed that way to my palette.

After that, I went back to the imaging department and got strapped in (literally) for the bone scan. The tech had me lie on the table and because I'm tall, my head, neck and upper part of my back had to lay on the metal part of the machine. She tried to make me comfortable by putting a pillow under me, but I still wasn't.

My body was strapped to the table and my arms were strapped to my sides and she started up the machine. I had to lie like that for a not-so good half hour. After she was done with the full body scan she had to do another two scans of my ankles.

When she was done, I got off the table and looked at the scans on her screen. It was pretty neat to see me on a screen like that.

I know that techs aren't allowed to give results of the scan, but I asked her anyways. She told me that she thinks it might be arthritis, but can't confirm it until the radiologist looks at it.

Yay for me.

I was told that I needed to drink 'more than usual' (again, non-alcoholic) today, I'm sure that's done so I wash out the Thalium. If you see something glowing in north Toronto tonight, that's not lightning, that would be me...

Busy...busy...busy...

Tonight Josh and I went to a Children's Bridge 'parent chat'. While we're not Little Maple's parents...yet, we still wanted to go out and see what these are about. I'm glad we did. Not only did we get a chance to see Michelle and Mark and Paula again, but I also had the opportunity to meet Senja as well!

Topics covered included: interim/dual adoptions, lifebooks, sleep issues, bonding and attachment, among others...it was quite the full evening to cover all that in two hours.

I'm really happy that I was able to meet Senja. I've only been following her blog for a couple of weeks, but I love her writing style. As the A-mom of twins, she shoots from the hip and talks of how life REALLY is. It's not always rainbows and sunshine...and it's good to hear.

It seems that at some point this evening I passed 14,000 hits on the blog. Woo. I'm not really sure why, but people seem to have buggered off. I'm not getting nearly as many hits as I used to. Not that I'm writing this blog for the adulation, but it IS nice to know that people are reading...

I think I should probably try to get a good night's sleep tonight. Tomorrow I get to spend a few hours at the hospital while I get a bone scan done on my ankle. It's STILL bugging me after all this time. My G.P. still thinks it's a sprained ankle, even though I didn't do anything to it, nor was there any swelling or bruising...I just woke up one morning in January with pain and it hasn't gone away since. Also, the rheumatologist is stumped, so off I go for the scan. Grah!

By the way, thanks for all the comments and emails about yesterday's post. I was just feeling down and needed to vent...

Today the wait seems longer...

So, today is Mother's Day. I have kind of mixed feelings that our 8 month LIDiversary fell today, for a couple reasons.

The first, being obvious that it's yet another Mother's Day and all I have to 'show' for it is waiting. We won't have "Little Maple" home for next year and who knows if she'll be here in 2009. I know I shouldn't sound so glib, and I KNOW this will happen eventually, but it's just how I'm feeling today, and damn it, I'm entitled to feel like it.

The second, which I haven't mentioned before and this is where things get a bit 'private' is that when Josh and I started our journey to parenthood over 9 years ago, we were hoping to make some kind of announcement on Mother's Day that year.

No, I wasn't pregnant, but we were trying and I was hoping to have something to say.

Not only was it not to be, but when we were over at my in-laws that evening, we got a call from the nursing home that my (maternal) grandmother had been rushed to the hospital. By the time we got to the hospital she had already passed.

My grandmother, who Josh and I were very close to, never got to hear anything of what we were planning.

She'll never get to meet "Little Maple". She'll never get to see her or hear her voice.

Of course, the same can be said for my father, but I already discussed that back in March...and today I'm thinking of my grandmother.

Dinner with friends

For the past month or so, the Toronto (and surrounding area) 'waiting mommies' have been planning a blowout bash to get together and have dinner. They had been getting together a few times in the past, but I think this was the fourth gathering so far. Well, it seems that the group got a lot larger lately and we've even started a Yahoo group, thanks to Catherine and (I believe) Michelle.

Well tonight we all went out for dinner...all 25 of us.

Nic came over to our place this afternoon (after a very full day which included convocation ceremonies) and spent a couple hours with Josh and I before the dinner. We shmoozed about her little guy, who I swear keeps getting cuter...and I saw new pictures tonight. That boy is just deliciously cute!

She was stopped at the border on her way in. She was asked if she was bringing in any gifts, and without thinking she said 'no', having forgotten about the wrapped gift that was sitting next to her for the 'waiting mommies' dinner. Oops.

We then headed over to the mall, which is normally a 10 minute drive from where I live, but as all Torontonians know, there are two seasons here...winter and construction. The main road to get to the mall was closed for repairs. Woo! So the drive ended up taking close to 45 minutes. Nic wasn't a happy camper, since she had already driven about 3 hours to get here...and then to get stuck in traffic on top of that. Blah.

We got to the restaurant about 15 minutes late and I think we were the last to arrive. Everyone was seated, but we wanted to sit with our 'clique', so Nic and I started doing a bit of furniture rearranging and moved one of the tables over.

It was really great getting to meet (and reconnect) with everyone over dinner. As nice as the dinner was, I think the group was unfortunately a bit too big for the venue. We had two large oblong tables set up, and I didn't get a chance to talk to everyone. Well, perhaps it's a bit of a misnomer to say that it was too big. It's more like I didn't have enough time to make the 'rounds' and get to know everyone...but there's always next time!

The ironic thing is, I've mentioned on here before how I've only met one couple from our travel group, well one of the 'waiting mommies' at tonight's dinner is in my group! It was really great meeting S...finally.

Along with all the 'waiting mommies' were three little ones who joined us as well. One of the little girls had just started walking yesterday and she was walking up a storm at the restaurant. SO cute!

Then came time for pictures, but as everyone knows and understands/appreciates, I don't want my picture taken and put on a blog. Sorry folks, but you won't be finding my mug on here anytime soon...well, never. Since I was the only one who opted out of photos, I was designated to be the official photographer for the night. First there was one camera...then two...then nine. ACK! It was getting a bit silly, so it was decided that we would have one 'official' picture and then everyone would just email it to everyone else. Phew! ;)

There was also a gift exchange this evening as well. I opted out of that as well. Not because I'm anti-social or cheap, but for the simple reason that we're not buying or doing anything for "Little Maple" prior to her referral. (Long time readers of the blog will know that.) I did, however, get three very nice gifts. I got a picture frame from Kathy that had little maple leaves on it. TOO cute! I also got a box of tea and a fortune cookie from Jill. Also, I got a ladybug shaped lunchbox (which I've dared Josh to take to work), from someone...sorry my memory fails me right now, but I'm sure when Catherine reads this, she'll fill in the missing name. ;)

I'm really happy that I came to this dinner and that Nic was able to join us. I'm looking forward to getting together with this amazing group of women again...soon!

By the way, for those that are celebrating it, I want to wish you all a Happy Mother's Day. While the wait may seem neverending at this point in time, we WILL get there...tonight was proof of that.

Congratulations!

I've been sitting on shpilkas for the past week, until I got the ok from Nic and Tim to let you all know that THEY HAVE A SON! They got their referral last week from Vietnam and have a 6 week old son who they hope to get in July or August. Josh and I are SO incredibly happy for both of them, they'll make great parents to Z.

Sorry people, but no pics for you...you'll have to get them from Nic and she's not giving any away...so pffffft. You'll just have to take my word for it that their boy is GORGEOUS.

Another round of congratulations for Spitgirl who FINALLY finished her thesis. (I'd give her blog address, but well, I don't know if she wants it public...so meh.) Now she can concentrate on her wedding!

For Connie...

I saw this and immediately thought of you...have fun. ;)

Does this sound kosher?

I got a call from our realtor today and he told me that the house (that we almost bought) was sold. Not only was it sold but it went for $10,000 above our offer price. Add to that, the new owners foolishly went ahead and bought it without a home inspection. Good luck...

I've got a question for all of you, in case you might know...

When we put our deposit down with a certified cheque, he told us on Thursday that we wouldn't get our money back until Monday. When I called him on Monday he told me that he never promised to get it back that day...but we would get it back. We finally got it back this evening.

I asked him why it took a day extra and he said that they have to deposit it and then write a new cheque. Does this sound kosher? Does anyone have any experience with putting an offer down on a house and then (for whatever reason) you back out...how long did it take you to get your cheque back? He also said that if we wrote a personal cheque it would have taken 3-4 weeks to get the money back. It just sounds a bit fishy to me.

Then when I got home from work today I got my Visa bill and the bank is charging me an annual fee of $120. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY DOLLARS! I'm going to call the bank tomorrow and have the fee dropped...I have an account that doesn't charge me for fees, so I was kind of taken aback when I opened the envelope and read that. Geez. The only reason I have this Visa card at all is because you collect (travel) points which I'm hoping to use for whenever we get to China...

Blatherings

The CCAA finally updated their site tonight. I was hoping they would update the review room at the same time.

I'm still holding on to the faint hope that we'll be through the review room by the time our one year LIDiversary rolls around. Oh how I wish (as we all do) that there would be a speed-up. I can't stand going to the 'rumour site' (which I'll never mention by name here since we all know what it is) and seeing people post who obviously have their head firmly stuck...in the sand and talk about how there's going to be a speed-up 'right around the corner'. It's been talked about ad nauseum for months on end. If it was going to happen, don't you think we'd see an inkling of it by now?

Best case scenario 2005 will be finished sometime in September...or as late as December this year. I remember when our dossier first went over to China, I was talking to Nic and I waxed poetically that we'd be seeing our referrals at some point this year. HA!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not down or depressed about the wait...it is what it is. There's no point whining about it, at least I know this WILL happen...sometime...I hope.

Signs...?

Since it was a lovely day today, Josh and I decided on the spur of the moment to go to Niagara Falls. We tried, in vain, to get Nic and Tim to join us, but since it was last minute they couldn't meet us. On the upside though, I'll be seeing her on Saturday. Woo!

The drive in was really easy, of course Josh does all the driving, so I just sat back and slept enjoyed the scenery. When we got there about two hours later, we pulled into the parking lot by Applebee's and saw the above sign. Josh and I let out a bit of a guffaw when we actually took the time to read it. I think Connie might enjoy it as well...especially since she's been posting 'risque' pictures lately. ;)

We went into the restaurant and I had the Asian chicken salad *drool* and Josh had the vegetarian pizza on a tortilla shell. I can't say that I'm much of a fan of his dish, but he enjoyed it and that's all that matters.

While we were eating lunch, I stared noticed out of the corner of my eye that the casino was just down the street. Surprisingly, Josh didn't raise a stink when I said I wanted to go in and gamble Little Maple's loonie/toonie fund try my luck at the machines.

As we walked into Casino Niagara we noticed a large crowd of people standing around and they seemed to be waiting for something. We walked over and saw that there was a group preparing to do a lion dance! How cool! Josh thought immediately that they were doing something because it's Asian Heritage month as the casino notoriously attracts a large number of Asian visitors. I jokingly said, that they were probably opening a new Chinese restaurant and this was the way they were planning on pulling in customers.

Well, we should have bet on that because I was right. The lion dance slowly moved towards the Golden Lotus restaurant and we tried to get in, but since it was opening day it was only for the employees and their families...as well as members of the media. It was fairly easy to spot the attendees for the opening, they were all wearing a jade lotus blossom pendant.

Since I was curious, we walked over to the restaurant and inquired about prices (for when they open to the public). The man standing outside the restaurant told us that it was both buffet style and they have a menu. That's all fine and good, but Josh asked him 'how much is it?' All the man replied was 'it's expensive'. Umm, ok. That's helpful. He told us to come back tomorrow when the restaurant was open to the public. We told him that we were heading home today and he said 'well then, you'll have to wait.' Goooooood customer service. :P

You'd think they would at least have a menu out so people can see what they offer...try to entice people to come in. Oh well, we still might try it when we go back again.

After the dance was done, Josh and I went our separate ways; he went for a walk, and I went into the casino. We decided that we were going to meet up an hour later...

Josh walked down to the Falls and around the ticky-tacky shops, got some exercise and enjoyed himself. For all the 'luck' I had...I should have gone for the walk instead. Perhaps by the next time I go to the casino, they'll have finished building the wing that could be built with the money I left there. :P

We then decided to go to Niagara on the Lake. It's always a favourite area of ours to visit. We like to go to the little town and walk up and down the main drag and in and out of all the little shoppes. Well, at least I do, Josh usually just moans and groans or sits on the bench until I'm finished shopping browsing for bargains.

When we went to park the car, we pulled up to a meter that was broken. Bonus for us, we didn't have to pay...When we looked at the meter, we both cracked up as it seemed to be calling out for HELP.

All in all, it was a really fun day out...

Mmm what I wouldn't give for a whacking stick...

I've been a little lax in reading and commenting on blogs lately, and I know I've got a few new lurkers here, so in honour of Cinco de Mayo, instead of shaking the lurker tree...since you can't whack this pinata (even though I know some of you would LOVE to...) you can leave me a comment instead. :P

May is Asian Heritage month!

Josh received an email at work that talks about May being Asian Heritage month as introduced by the Canadian government. There is a list of events that can be found here for major cities across Canada.

What a busy few days...

Well, I was hoping to tell you all some fantastic news today, but alas it was not to be...

Josh and I are still in the process of house-hunting and on Monday evening we put an offer on a house...and it was accepted! The offer was a bit more than we really wanted to go, but we were absolutely in love with the house. It probably wasn't the wisest thing to fall in love with it, but oh well.

Of course, it was all conditional based on a house inspection. The inspection happened today, but unfortunately there were major repairs needed to almost every part of the house. To say that we're disappointed is an understatement, but there will be others.

The inspector said that the house needed a new roof, new furnace and air conditioner, the attic had black mould...mmm sign me up, and that's just a few of the problems. He also noticed that one of the window frames was chewed on. Yes, you read that right...the frame was chewed on. He wasn't sure if it was a squirrel or a raccoon, but there were bite-sized chunks missing from it. Weird.

When Josh and I asked the inspector how long the furnace would last, he looked at his watch and said 'what time do you have?' Hmm, I think that was telling in and of itself. C'est la vie. Gotta love a home inspector with a good sense of humour...

When we were telling our realtor all the problems that the house had, he said that he could probably get them to lower the price about $2,500 to $6,000...That's great, the repairs that we were told about would have cost us anywhere from $11,000 to $15,000. Anyways, we backed out of the deal and we'll get our deposit back next week. *sigh*

Another month, another gratuitous shot of the loonie/toonie jar...