Here she is in all of her Glory

Miss Gracie May
Here is what you have been waiting for! We think she is going through an awkward stage right now. We have a bit of puppy envy going on with my MIL's puppy(see below) being here, and well.... her little girl looks like one of the cutest puppies I have ever seen. they don't even look like the same breed, much less from the same litter.
We are certain that our little miss will grow into her cuteness. She is very friendly, and VERY CURIOUS, and seems very calm for a puppy. She has had a very good first day. No accidents at all!! However she REFUSES to walk on leash. That is going to have to change.
We are happy dog owners again!! Enjoy the scoop of sweet.





This one has been named......peekaboo. I didn't have any part in the naming of that cute baby.

The birthday celebration just keeps going

The Place: Cafe Pacific(very she'she', and very good)
Who: Some of my dearest friends
When: Today
Why: To Celebrate my "oldness"
The Result: SIMPLY AMAZING

Here I am modeling one of my favorite presents!! In the last few months I have been complaining that my eyesight is not what it use to be, and that I need to go to the eye doctor to see if I need glasses...yes I do need some specs, I can't see to read for godsakes, and I really don't need anyone but me to tell me that tidbit. But my friend "K"(dark hair next to me) was so kind to tell me not to waste money on expensive prescription glasses, but to just go to Target and buy 20 pairs of the $1 glasses and stash them everywhere. Well let me tell you that the pair she searched all over town for in her mission of funniness, was not the $1 aisle at Target, these pink rhinestone beauties are from Neiman's....what a gift and what a friend(by the way she is older than me, and has more experience in needing the glasses than I have.....maybe just 3 months more experience -LOL) Anyway, how cute are these? Love them, and they came in a REALLY neat case. It was accompanied by a candle that smells like white cake....could I ask for anything else?

The only semi downside to the lunch at the fancy schmancy place was the waiter "Ed" great waiter, very patient with a group of six gaggling women who couldn't make up their minds. He was very entertaining until he decided to share with us how his girlfriend is in from England for a month, and he has not had 8 continuous hours of sleep since she arrived....Ed, dude, TMI, now go get the birthday girl her dessert. eeeeeewwww yuck!

He did do a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday though.

Thanks Ed, you made the lunch very entertaining.I just want to tell you all that I am so lucky to have the circle of friends that I do. Some of these girls I have known for 20 years, and some for just a smiggen of that. But regardless of the time I have known them, I am so blessed to call them friend, and know that they would all be there in a time of celebration, or a time of need. Don't know what I would do without my girlfriends.
I had such a wonderful day my friends, thank you for welcoming me into the 40's club. But be reminded to half of that table who will be 40 next year.....paybacks are a b!*tch, and I will be there to welcome you to the club with open arms:)

Thank you,
The 40 year old soon to be mother(okay, to a 16 year old from China, but hey no need to split hairs here)

Well the week has come to a close, and I am feeling the pressure of the summer being almost over, and school starting one month from Monday. We are still waiting to hear when our exchange student will arrive. We did just find out that our good friends are hosting another teenager from Chongqing.....so that is really awesome news.
But I feel like I have so much to do to get ready for her arrival.

I have an extremely busy weekend ahead. Tomorrow all of my lovey girlfriends are planning a (belated) 40th birthday lunch for me at an undisclosed location. Just hoping that there is white cake involved.

Sunday is Connor's 20th birthday(hello, how did that little 4 year old become 20?)

We are also going to pick up our new puppy in Oklahoma. Promise there will be pictures to follow that trip. We are picking up my MIL's puppy too, as she decided that the 5 dogs(yes I said 5) that she already has are not enough, and that she needed one more so she bought Gracie's sister. So we will actually be coming home with two little scoops of sweet.
I have bought the clicker, the puppy mats, the BIG bottle of Natures Miracle, a new bed with her name embroidered on it, her new collar(with her name embroidered on it too) a new pink leash, I have read Puppies for Dummies once and now I am re-reading it and taking notes this time. I still need to spray down the crate, and put it together.....and then I would say we are as ready as we are ever going to be for our newest family member.

Mr D is so excited he can barely stand it!!

Puppy Breath here we come.

I have been very busy with my business lately. Working on lots of orders, ordering lots of merchandise, and working hard on my website. So keep checking it out, and see all the new items coming in almost weekly now. If you are needing a secret pal gift, go check it out as I have a program to help you out with your gift, keeping it a secret, and saving you a little $$$$$.

By the way congrats to all of the June families who just came out of review.

Man the review room has put it into high gear. We are just around the corner from having our dossier reviewed. That is at least be a baby step in the right direction, and we will feel a bit of relief when we have moved out of review, and go back to waiting some more.

Now maybe the matching room should take note, and put it into gear as well!!

Well hope you all have something fun planned this weekend.

I will see you on the flip side of non-dog owner to New puppy owner.

Now go on and check out my store, I have some really cute things , and even more REALLY cute things coming next week.

Peace Out:)

Rapunzel I say

Okay, I will be the first to say that I can't believe that I am exposing my back (my arms look like vienna sausages at the top)-this is when you are glad that you don't have a big following. So look beyond the body attached to this mane.
I decided to start growing my hair out last year as we were finishing up our dossier. I had decided that it would be easier to have a ponytail in China, and I thought it would be awesome to use it as a benchmark of the time passing, with the plan to cut and donate my hair here when we return from China. You must have 10 inches from one end of a pony tail to the other.
This may turn into the story of Rapunzel before it all ends.
I normally keep my hair cut to my chin in a bob, and I actually really like that cut with my long facial structure, but I can't tell you how much I love being able to just put my hair in a clip or a pony. Piece of cake, and I don't have to wash my hair everyday(it is long and people it is thick, so let me tell you that blowing drying this mop takes a long time, so I love not having to wash it everyday...not complaining, just don't like having to spend 30 min blowing it out)
I am pretty sure that by the time we get back from China it will be more than half way down my back, so I guess I will have the option to still keep it relatively long and still donate at least 10 inches.
So I will take another picture in about 6 months and we will compare.
I may have enough for everyone to donate:)

Glamour at 30,000 feet

I was a flight attendant for 16 years for a major commercial carrier. I flew 10 of those 16 out of NYC. It was an amazing experience that I actually feel very blessed to have had. For a small Midwestern girl who never walked on a plane until she was 19....well I must say that I have seen the world, I have met people that I never thought in a million years I would meet. I have had the best of times, and the worst of times abroad an airplane. I met my husband, and some of the best friends that I have ever had on board an airplane. My children walk onto an airplane like they get into a car. I can't believe I got this lucky to have this job. But I must admit that there have been moments that I thought what in the hell am I doing here? The day the man spoke into the airvent as though he were ordering at Sonic was one of those days:)
But I find it my job now to try and make all of you the best passengers you can be. Most important rule of thumb. Give the f/a's your magazines and you will have a friend for life!

But this list is to just share with you in a nutshell what our job is really like....it is not so glamorous. As a passenger you should be able to still relate. If you have done any of these.....all I can say is never do them again.....you are who we talk about in the galley!

YOU MIGHT BE A FLT ATTENDANT IF...

1. You never unpack

2. You look to the ceiling when your doorbell goes off

3. You wish you had jet engines mounted in your bedroom so you could fall asleep faster

4. You don't ever write a full city name anymore(bugs your non airline friends) DTW MCO FCO BOM

5. You get excited over certain types of ice

6. You curse every "Bose headset wearing moron"--yes the electronic device announcement means you

7. You know how to look fresh in 5 day old clothes

8. No matter how many times you clean out your suitcase you still find ancient hidden treasures in there

9. You HATE boarding

10. You LOVE deplaning

11. Turbulence is not caused by clouds but caused by the initial movement of all beverage carts

12. You can't believe you've never been in a hotel van accident

13. You loathe your CEO

14. Businessmen on cell phones rank up there with the CEO

15. You remember the passengers with great manners(that's sad) .....we don't get many! Please and Thank you go a very long way!

16. You LOVE the Nicoderm commercial(if you have not seen it go to www,youtube.com and search it)

17. You can't remember when UM's ( UNACCOMPANIED MINORS) actually became bigger than you , ou also can't believe how young the children are that parents put on the plane by themselves.

18. You love foreigners because they can't adequately complain in English

19. You despise foreigners because they can't communicate effectively

20. You secretly cheer when another flight attendant has to deal with the medical emergency

21. You HATE on board duty free

22. You can't stand the frequent flyer who says"I fly more than you..." NO YOU DON"T!

23. You hate seeing passengers at your layover hotel

24. #$K drink cup & tray stackers ...I promise we can do it just fine without you stacking them...they always fall, and spill everywhere.

25. You hate when drinkers start calling you by name(don't buddy up to me loser) We will still cut you off, and we will still say that will be $5

26. You long for the days when it was easy to rig the hotel TV for free movies

27. You want to smack the nail clipping ,finger nail polishing, perfume spraying, nose picking, snoring morons (oh I mean passengers)

28. You do not want passengers talking to you while nonreving(when we fly on our passes) It is why we put our ipods on people!!

29. You travel in uniform for the liquids creams and gel exemption

30. If passengers can't find the flush button on the toilet---they should stay in there till they do!!!!!!!!

31. No I don't have a pen (you can borrow)

32. You are excited to find a can of different soda that is not supposed to be on your airline

33. You never imagined you could pass gas all the way across the Atlantic(jet belly my friends)

34. You get tired of telling people what you have to drink and showing them how to use the traytable!

35. You LOVE to sleep more than you love Rome!

36. You hate early morning departures---Who in the hell HAS to fly at 6 am ?

37. You wish your manager actually WAS a f/a at one point in there life

38. You can't believe your senior f/a is in their 80's-(doesn't matter what airline - they all have them) Retire already!

39. You try not to go the bathroom on the plane but you sure can catch a good nap in there

40. You hate that passengers think they can hear you without taking off there headsets

41. You wish bassinets were never invented

42. You are glad there are no hidden cameras in the galley

43. Your friends truly don't get the commuting part---"so you have to fly when and your trip starts where?? "

44. YES, "Remain seated for the duration of our flight" DOES mean YOU

45. There is one person at the airline you can't stand to fly with(sorry I have more than 1)

46. You can't figure out why your manager is not held accountable for the same things you are ie....why is fine that she can't drive to JFK because of the snowstorm, but she can't figure out why I can't fly there??

47. Your jumpseat partner knows more about you than your spouse or life partner

48. You know every departure time and arrival of every airline that flies to your home city...we commute people, we know these things.

49. We really mean it when we say we want to depart or land as much as you do!!

50. You want to announce over the p.a system that we really don't give a rats ass if you bring your seat forward for landing, but it is our job to do so, so we do it:)

Please also remember that our day did not start when yours did, it does not end when yours does. Don't be offended if we don't act thrilled out of our minds that you are going to Disney or Hawaii for the first time.....it is just another day on the airplane going to some random city as far as we are concerned. Our smiles wore off 10 hours ago. Our average day is 12-13 hours on the airplane, and most crew commute now, so most of us have only a 16 hour day if we are lucky!We really do want to be nice to you, but don't forget that we are in the transportation industry, the objective is to get from point A to Point B safely, and we really do try to do it with a smile on our face.

****as an added note our student(Shiyu-aka Amy) just called from Chongqing. She played a very short song for us on the piano, and told us her visa interview is this week, and that she promises to do well on it. She is scheduled to arrive Aug 18th. Her mom also got on the phone to say "Hello, how you, and we are fine" So cute!! We can't wait for her to get her.***

300 down, hopefully not 600 to go!

There is nothing left to say here. If only I knew 300 days ago what I know now!

Meggie is in the house!

Megan Josephine

June 7, 2007

3 lbs 8 oz
13 1/2 inches

Is home sleeping in her beautiful princess room. She came home yesterday to much fanfare after 5 weeks and 1 day in the NICU. She is doing great, and growing at a very rapid pace. She now weighs in at a hearty 5.5 lbs and is now 18 1/2 inches long.

Jack and Katie seem to be adjusting well to their new housemate. Jack has been a big help, and well Katie just thinks that they have added a new American Girl to the line....her name is Meggie. Katie also seems to think the breast pump is REALLY neat, and I guess she thinks breast milk taste pretty good too, as she finished off Meggie's bottle yesterday after it was put down-oooops.

By the way she still has red hair...mommy says it is strawberry blonde.....Aunt J says it's RED!

Welcome Home Meggie, we waited a long time for you, and it was worth every second of waiting.

All those that feel strange, raise your hand

Someone had a meme on their blog that named 6 weird things about them.

That same day someone else emailed me to say how very weird(maybe it was strange) I was.

So decided that I would just go ahead and share a few "weird" or "strange" facts about myself.

I have so many that I am going to do 10 for you just to add to the strangness.

1. I absolutely loathe going to the grocery store. I really dislike everything about it. I don't like to touch the cart(love that they have the wipes for you now) I don't like trying to think about what I might like to cook or worse yet what I might not want to cook. My grocery was just remodeled, and now I have no idea where anything is, so I wonder around like a lost child, and then they ask you when you check out if you found everything okay....NO!!! I like to put all of my groceries in order in the cart, so that hopefully when they check them and then bag them they will be like items in the bag....that never works out. I really don't like carrying them into the house, and putting them away.....it clutters my pantry and refrigerator. But the main reason I don't like to do it, regardless of what I buy or how much I spend, it still never seems like we have anything to eat!! Maybe not strange, but stupid and I unfortunately I can't take the grocery off my check list.

2. Regardless of the time of year I have to sleep with the down comforter on the bed, and pulled up around me. Plus I must have socks on my feet when I get into bed. By morning the socks are gone and the comforter is at the bottom, but must have them in order for me to fall asleep.

3. I also must have complete silence and darkness to go to sleep. If I get up in the night to go to the bathroom, I can't turn on a light or have anyone talk to me, as that is FAR TO MUCH stimulation and I will never go back to sleep.

4. I can't mix my food. I don't really like it to touch. I have to eat one thing at a time. The only thing I would ever mix is mashed potatoes and corn. Well unless it is suppose to touch.

5. I am obsessed by my gas tank in my car. I don't like it to not be full. So if I have just filled up my car, and then the next day need to go out and do something.....I really think about whether I really need to go out, as it will use up my gas......I think I have mentioned a time or two that I suffer from severe OCD!!! The guy at our Costco gas station knows me by name!! This is a problem since gas is $3 a gallon.

6. I am very strange about smells. I think my house always smells good, as I have those mounted air fresheners that spray every 38 min. But I only like citrus or fresh linen as the scents. I have a particular candle that I have a love affair with....Seda France Japanese Quince. It makes me happy just writing its name down. I am very quick to smell, and very quick to judge a smell, and can't be exposed very long if I don't(read, makes me gag) like the smell. That is one reason why broccoli rarely if ever gets steamed in my house. This was always a problem when I was flying to really smelly places, and boy are there some smelly places in the world.

7. This is weird and seems to be a huge problem for me. I really have trouble deleting emails. I need to put them in files for keeping(don't know how to do that yet) but this problem has been exacerbated by the adoption, as any tidbit of info, or advice I get, I am certain I will need it, and so it just stays in my inbox. I too embarrassed to tell you how many emails I have in my box at the moment. This is a strange obsession and very weird behavior for me as I am not a pack rat and am extremely organized. But I just can't bring myself to delete much!!

8. I change the linens on my bed at least twice a week. The notion of dirty linens just makes my skin crawl. Heeby jeebies!! So then I must admit that I also have a linen fetish. My linen closet is filled with sheet sets and fresh towels. I love to buy both!! I prefer white linens!!

9. I forget I like certain foods. For example I never remember I like bananas until I make myself eat one. I go through phases where I will eat the same thing over and over again, and then one day I just decide that I don't like it anymore. Plus, I can't eat anything that is just wrong. Like buttered popcorn jelly bellies, and I won't even taste the V8 splash fruit juice, as it is suppose to be tomato juice not "fruity tasting juice" If there is any question that the milk might be too close to its expiration date I throw it away...this one drives Mr D crazy!!

10. I am dyslexic, I have worked on this since 2nd grade, and overall I don't find it a HUGE problem, but it definitely creeps back in at the least opportune times.

Hopefully this list has helped you feel better about any of your strange or weird qualities. If you are thinking this poor girl needs to see a therapist....you would be correct(but then I would disqualify as a parent in the eyes of the CCAA) I have actually cut the list down as I have gotten older. I already admitted that I have OCD issues, but at least they are not quite as serious as they were when I was in my 20's.

***by the way I also am not a morning person....AT ALL, but had a job for 16 years that required me to get up at 0'dark hundred! and I HATE to talk on the phone, but really struggle to end a phone call, even though I can't wait for it to end***

Let me know your weird or strange habits, qualities or eccentric behaviors. It might help me feel better about how strange I really seem on paper....I don't feel that strange:)

Lifes a beach

We are off to the beach for a week.

Wishing everyone a very happy and safe 4th of July!!!