Holiday Card Time

My favorites:

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/top-ten-moments-christmas-card-5x7-flat


http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog/?p=4376

Two Things

1.) We sent the preliminary application for our adoption to the agency. They have 60 days to review it and then will call us about whether they will let us go with thier agency or not.

2.) Love this!
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor/kids/index.asp?cds2Pid=35583

Disney

Walt Disney World is full of magic! They are serious about it and I bought right into it gleefully.

We have picked an agency

Sam and I have decided that we are going to use The Methodist Mission Home as our adoption agency. Really it came down to we liked what we saw in person. They seemed pretty straight forward, which was refreshing. Also, the gal in charge of domestic adoptions answers my questions right away on email, even if they make no sense.

We have to fill out an initial application to see if we can move forward to the actual contractual stuff. The initial application takes about 60 days to assess. We are planning to fill this out once we get back from out Fl trip (extend stay at World Disney World after Sharis' conference ends)One of the things we have to do is give them a family picture. We wanted to do one with the dogs, but mostly it went awry. Evidently dogs don't sit still for pictures, hate flashes are generally looked too big or kujo-like in the finished picture. If you know our heelers they are very cute and friendly. Any kid would *heart* them. Anyway, we have decided to send a separate picture of just Sam and I and a separate picture of the dogs looking at treats. Hopefully, this will work out well.

raining crazily

It's raining horizontal. My dogs are living it up inside. I am drenched because I went home to let them outside to go to the bathroom. The dogs immediately got drenched, so I am sure the house smells like wet dog. Sweet!. The wind is gusting, so even though I had a raincoat, umbrella and rain boots I am soaked. Luckily my hair is naturally curly and actually looks good.

babies

I see babies everywhere and I really want one.

Agencies

Sam and I have narrowed it down to two agencies:


http://www.mmhome.org/


http://www.lsss.org/

We are looking at domestic adoption, perferably a wee baby. I know folks that were adopted from MMH back in the day (70s) and a couple that adopted a baby from LSS. So I know that both are good. I feel comfortable with both agencies. One "fits" with us better, but we will be on a "waitlist" for the waitlist. (kinda crazy) The other we could start showing our profile in Jan 2011. Do I go with one that will get us showing quicker or one that feels more right? Oh, the decisions. Sam's vote.. MMH. We went to an info. meeting and he liked their straight forwardness. Also, he thought they seemed more about the families; meaning all of us: birthparents, adoptive parents and kid.

Deep Thoughts

"There is only one good reason to adopt, just as there is only one good reason to bear a child: Your desire to be a parent is greater than your fear."
-----You Can Adopt: An Adoptive Families Guide

stroms and contacts

Two things:

#1: So did y'all experience the storm with high winds on Wed night? Evidently there were 65 to 85 mile an hour winds. In fact the wind ripped a tree from our backyard and threw it into the adjourning neighbors fence. Luckily our neighbors were once in APO, which I advised briefly. Rock and roll.
After the storm when trees were all jacked upall over Oxbow and debris was all over the street and no electricity I decided grandma might be in trouble. So I ventured out to find her. Sam pointed out she survived the dust bowl and depression and regular twister activity in KS and she was probably fine. When I arrived she was kicking it on the front porch talking about how everything smelled so fresh and new. She was totally fine. In fact she drove through the storm coming home from choir practice. Hard core.

#2: I met a women on the internet through one of the adoption forums I joined and she is adopting and is from San Antonio. She is more organized than me and has been to some local agency orientations already. She liked Gladney as well and is attending their orientation soon. She is looking at the ABC program, too. I am excited to have this person to talk to through this journey.

Inspirations

Sandra: I "borrowed" this issue from the dentist office and read it and then became very inspired by her story and also her baby is super cute. Love him....
http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20364464_20364639,00.html

Rooms: This is a dreamy room. Maybe one day if I have a little girl...
http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/nursery-tours/nursery-tour-josephines-lovely-lost-and-found-031082

Shirt: just cute and I love narwhals...
http://shanalogic.com/item.php?item_id=2901

new plan

So Sam and I have decided not to adopt from Ethiopia. The travel rules have changed and Sam can not get enough time off to travel and be home (while earning income.) So we are looking at domestic adoption. In the begining, I think we were afraid of this choice, thinking it would be too complicated and worried about birthparents changing thier minds, etc. I think as we read more we realized that open adoption is a good thing and that we can move forward even if folks should change thier mind. I realize knowing your birthfamily could be a positive thing as far as idenity development. I guess Sam and I are just more open now. Seeing a friend's adoption and how sucessful it was is also encouraging to us. So we are now on a new journey to adopt from this program through Gladney:

http://adoptionsbygladney.com/html/abc/index.php

Hair

Today someone thought my hair was naturally red. Cool.

people are good

http://www.giveallforlove.com/

*hearts*

I've re-discovered the public library and am in love. Last time I had a library card was easily 10 years or more. A LOT has changed. Self check out is awesome! Anyway, I *heart* you library.

http://www.mysapl.org/location.aspx?id=igo

Changing lives

These people are cool:

http://thepeppereater.wordpress.com/

Ethiopian blogs I like

Sam and I are looking into adopting from Ethiopia. These are some of the blogs I have been reading on the expereince:


http://aroundtheworldand2kids.wordpress.com/

http://happysagers.blogspot.com/

http://endsofthenile.wordpress.com/

cute kid

Follow the link to the bottom to see the very excited girl with books. I just love her joy. This is genrally a cool blog, too.

http://karenrussell.typepad.com/my_lifejust_not_on_the_ro/2009/08/library-cards.html

trains

The Brackenridge train is still fun even when you are 35!

Waiting Child Webinar

So Sam and I attended a Waiting Child webinar on Tuesday evening. After going through it we decided it was not for us. This means the plans for China are officially over. (Waiting Children are kids with special needs or healthy kids over six.)
Ethopia is looking to be the best bet as international adoption requirements become stricter and stricter. The adoption process moves quickly, so we need to save the money up front. My estimate is that it will take 2 and a half years. This includes saving the money and then the waiting. We are also able to request an infant and travel once. We are now looking at two agencies Gladney in Dallas and Great Wall in Austin for the adoption. Both seems organized and cool. One has 4 years expereince the other just started Ethopia adoptions. Both have been doing other types of adoption for decades. So at this point its wait and save....

I love this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdpQ8B1j3Vo&feature=player_embedded#

Awesome

http://www.weezer.com/raditude/

The Oscars

Get Ready....

http://oscar.go.com/nominations/nominees

Adoption agencies

So it turns out that Holt is not accepting an application for Korea unless you have adopted through them before, have Korean heritage,or will take a special needs kid.

It also turns out that if you take a special needs kid from China you can go over there in a year and a half versus the 4 years for the regular adoption. Evidently, special needs in China are things small or fixable in the US. I still would want an infant so we will see what the waiting child list is like. Sam and I have signed up for a webinar next week through this group http://www.gwca.org/wc_webinar

If we go with Ethiopia this agency looks promising: http://adoptionsbygladney.com/html/ethiopia/index.php
They are in Dallas.

Really?

Overheard from student up front regarding add forms:

"You mean I have to do this all by myself?"

Yes, that is what being an adult means, especially when you wait until the last mintue and end up doing add forms.

Rain Boots

These boots are entirely cute and fun!

http://www.dsw.com/dsw_shoes/catalog/product.jsp?index=1&sort=&category=dsw10cat70019&prodId=189856&brand=

Sweet Maggie

Narrowing Things Down...

So far Ethipoia and Korea are looking promising for adoptions:
http://www.holtinternational.org/ethiopia/

http://www.holtinternational.org/korea/


I think I need to make a chart with all the countries and then mark things off according to our preference and what the countries offer. This might helps make things seem less overwhleming.

China is a 4 year wait

So Sam and I attended a webinar on adoption from China what we found is that the wait is 4 years...so we are beginning to re-think things. I kinda had my heart set on China, so it has been hard for me to turn this corner, Maybe it is for the best. Not even sure I want to pass on China, but the idea of 4 years seems so long. Of course if I have to wait 2 and a half years for Africa is two more years for China that big a deal? (1 year to save $ 1 and a half to get kid) I will be 41 with my first (probably only child) if I go with China and 37 if I don't. Does that matter? These are all questions I need to think on. Sam is all for going to Ethiopia or really anywhere. He is kinda thinking China is ridiculous now with all their rules. He did point out that things are ever changing with countries and who knows what could happen by July or in a years time. I am pretty luck that Sam is flexible because a lot of men are not. Still not really sure where I am going or what I am doing. I kinda always thought I would go with China and had never looked at other places until now.

waiting to start

So we are going to have to wait on starting the application for the adoption. Evidently, there is now a net worth requirement. Sam and I currently do not meet it. We should by July.

Word

I am taking Ali's lead and doing a word for the year. My word is growth.

http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2009/12/my-one-little-word-story.html

cool blog

This blog is cool. I like the idea she came up with.

http://laurakurz.typepad.com/365_days_to_30365_people_/

365 Days photo project fail

So Sam and I got sick with bronchitis and it literally took a month or more to recover. So I did not take a picture everyday, because I just felt bad or was puking. I was thinking of calling off the 365 pictures a day project. However, folks seemed like they did not want that to happen. One person's suggestion was to just extend it a month to make up for the month I lost. Another idea was to do a collage of what is happening now in my life and not really follow a daily timeline, but more of a highlights for the month. I like this idea. So I might approach this project very differently starting now.

even more 365

even more 365
Originally uploaded by sharis1974

Ok here is the rest that i have uploaded:

March 9: view of my office at work
March 10: Ruben's saved my car and money. go here.
March 11: finally it rains!
march 12: Sam eats with Dad and chats
March 13: Supernatural is a good show
march 14: new kitchen tile
march 15: Moonlight path is back at Bath & Body and its my fav
march 16: bought a swimsuit and Life is Good gear. Its my fav.
March 17: Kat and I at Stamp Club
March 18: SA finally re cycles!
march 19: mailed off passport
march 20: El Chaparell for Book Club
march 21: my scrap room. Notice its clean!
March 22: sweet Alex sleeps with his hands in the air
march 23: Buster sleeps in our yard. He lives across the street
march 24: my fav cabinet
march 25: got this chair in Ecuador
march 26: toby has awesome hair
march 27: I love reading NY Times at work
march 28: its spring. China berry trees in back yard
March 29: kat holds wee Alex
march 30: our backyard
March 31: grape leaf spotted. We planted these ourselves
April 1: new tile in bathroom
April 2: another random cat in our front yard napping

more 365

more 365
Originally uploaded by sharis1974

Hi folks ok here are some of the 365 pictures for feb and March...more to come....

Jan 31: Cappicino Blasts are the best
Feb1: new software for the Mac
Feb 2: Mom and i watch The Closer
Feb 3: MAC Hello Kitty premerie with Daniel Kitty
Feb 4: Jeff, Sam and I at Thai Taste
Feb 5: making blocks for Sara's shower
Feb 6: I was sick boo
Feb 7: Sara's baby shower
Feb 8: oops gotta find that one
Feb9: doing laundry
Feb 10: stamps for $7
Feb 11: Thin Mints yummm
Feb 12: Moonsun, Sam and I eat Koren food
Feb 13: My leg hurts to move so brace time
Feb 14: sam and me happy v day
Feb 15: new tile in boxes
Feb 16: wallace
Feb 17: tea bag holder I made at Stamp club
Feb 18: simple scrapbooks magazine
Feb: 19: Friendly Forest cool scrapbook line
Feb 20: our fireplace mantle. Jaguar from Oaxaca
Feb 21: my groomed eyebrows
Feb22: Oscars!
Feb 23: Oaxacan pots
Feb 24: our piano
Feb 25: The Majestic ticket box. we saw David Copperfield
Feb 26: Our living room
Feb 27: My nesting dolls I got in Russia
Feb 28: Sam with Wallace
march 1: painting mt nails
March 2: a hello kitty motorcycle!
March 3: Heroes is an awesome show
March 4: cool flowers at UTSA
March 5: Kat wrapped up Toby in a super cute towel
March 6: Freebirds yum
March 7: deciding on blinds for scraproom
march 8: Sara and new baby Alex

Recycling

I found that i really love recycling. Recently in our neighborhood, we switched to the new recycling program that the city is beginning to apply to all neighborhoods. We got two 96 gallon trash cans from the city. One is brown for everyday trash in a trash bag and the the other is blue for recycling. They even gave us a smaller blue container for our kitchen. Basically, I love sorting the trash into recyclable and not recyclable. It is very satisfying for me. Maybe its my secret anal side. Who knows? It's fascinating to see all that you can really recycle. I found that a lot of my trash can be recycled and the blue bin is often fuller than the brown. Yea.

themes

A theme with this 365 project is that I like food and movies/TV. These seem to be events that show up again and again.

Thin Mints!

I love Thin Mints. My husband and I have gone through 4 boxes this Girl SCout season alone. Hmmmmm

Jan 17 to Jan 21

Jan 17 to Jan 21
Originally uploaded by sharis1974

Ok so I forgot a week, so here it is:
Jan 17: We read a lot! Here is our bookshelves in the "dining" room
Jan 18: Today i played with my make up. Here is a sample
Jan 19: I met up with my friend Reshmey, whom I had not seen in years
Jan 20: Obama is our new president. Today was his inauguration
Jan 21: Today I mostly watched TV. Cold Case is a favorite

Jan 22 to Jan 30 2009

Jan 22 to Jan 30 2009
Originally uploaded by sharis1974

Jan 22: Going shopping at Michael's craft store
Jan 23: This is my favorite lamp in the house
Jan 24: I made these invitations for Sara's baby shower
Jan 25: Sara, Kat and I get together once a month to scrapbook
Jan 26: We went to mom's for The Closer premerie and she made us pork chops
Jan 27: It so cold today we decide to have a fire
Jan 28: We had rootbeer floats tonight
Jan 29: At The Rack they has Kid Robot bags on sale!
Jan 30: Looking at my computer for ideas on how to do this 365 project

jan 12 to 16

My creation
Originally uploaded by sharis1974

So my original intention was to post a picture everyday and then comment on it, but it seems like the pictures are coming in groups. So here is another collage (starting in top LH corner going Left to right):
Jan 12: We eat out quite a bit. Today it was Chinese food. We love this place. Look how much food there is
Jan 13: One of my hobbies is scrapbooking. I am currently trying to organize my scraproom. This is a picture of some of my creative tools and my scrap carrier
Jan 14: Sam and I like the Great Cthulu stories by Lovecraft. We also like games. He found this game that incorporated the Cthulu mythos. We are excited to play it.
Jan 15: I spontaneously decided to go hang out with Kat. Jacky , Kat and I talked into the night! It was a really good time. Here we are taking a picture with Toby ready for bed
Jan 16: I joined this stamp club. We meet once a month to make cards. I am really enjoying it. Here some cards we made tonight

Jan 2009 so far

Jan 2009 so far
Originally uploaded by sharis1974

So I decided I am going to take a picture every day for a year. The collage is Jan 2 through today. Jan 1 is in Dad's camera. I will post it once he sends it. So just a quick note on each (start top row in LH corner) :
Jan. 2: Steve is in town. I am always glad when my siblings are back in town and we can hang out together like old times.
Jan 3: We visit Kat's kid, Toby. Super cute and he loves to read and show us his various toys and loves kid jazz
Jan 4: This is a movie theatre. One of our favorite things to do is watch movies. We will watch them anywhere, even in different countries.
Jan 5: I go to get my Remicade treatment. They drip the medicine in through an IV. It is for my JRA
Jan 6: Mom, Dad and Steve helped me clean put the garage. These are some of the boxes that we put on the curb for pick up, yet it rained. So here are my wet boxes that the recycling folks did not take!
Jan 7: Steve's last night. We went to get ice cream.This is another favorite activity.
Jan 8: They now have a Starbucks on campus. Yes I am there frequently.
Jan 9: I work in the freshmen advising center and we advise freshmen during orientation on their first semester classes. This is the bucket of my files and papers I drag to orientation.
Jan 10: This is our dog Jack soaking up sunshine after being in the garage. Our dogs are going through heart worm treatments, so we have to keep them in the garage when we are not here.
Jan 11: Sam and I go to breakfast at least once during the weekend. It is our little breakfast tradition. Today we went to IHOP.

Construction is everywhere

What is not cool is when folks decide to do construction on a study day assuming no is working during those days. We are working...and its loud ):

Christmas gifts

I was looking at various websites getting ideas for Christmas gifts, when I came across a neat idea. Some one suggested you get the following for someone:

Something to read
Smothing they need
Something they want
Something to wear

Ren.Fair

Sam and I drove up to Houston to spend the weekend with Von. We went to the Rennisance Fair. The first thing Von and I always do is go get our faces painted.

Getting the house ready

Sam and I want to start the adoption application in the new year. We have been fixing up our house to get ready for the home study visit. Our house looks fine, but it is older and some things could be improved. The beginning of these journeys has been a new couch and an entertainment center. We also want to fix our leaning fence, re-tile the bathroom, get gutters in the back and create a decent patio. So, yea, it will take some time. Below are pictures of the couch and entertainment center:

http://www.ashleyfurniture.com/Showroom/Showroom.aspx?PageId=Showroom&CategoryID=1&ItemNo=1420238&SetDomTab=1&SeriesNo=14202&CollectionId=&style=&PageNumber=1&IsClicked=1&CatPageNumber=10


http://www.ashleyfurniture.com/Showroom/Showroom.aspx?PageId=Showroom&CategoryID=9&ItemNo=W570-21&SetDomTab=1&SeriesNo=W570&CollectionId=&style=&PageNumber=1&IsClicked=1&CatPageNumber=3

Obama!

Oh Yes We Did!

Toby

Toby is one!

Boo

My favorite scrapbook designer is not going to be doing her scrapbook line Love,Elsie anymore. Tear.

http://www.abeautifulmess.typepad.com/

Can't wait

For our anniversary Sam and I are going here:

http://www.blairhouseinn.com/

It is going to be great fun, eats, and relaxation!

Books are cool

I am reading this book China Ghosts by Jeff Gammage. It's about his journey adopting a little girl from China. Its cool because they used the same agency that Sam and I are going to use. It is all from the Dad's point of view and I am enjoying that. Also, the guy is a reporter so he can write well.

pain

Today my hands hurt. I think it is the arthritsis. Sometimes it spreads to other parts of the body and that mostly sucks. Le sigh.

Dr. Who

Sam and I spent all Sunday watching Season 2 of the Dr. Who series and eating pizza just becaue we could. (:

cheap movies

The Hollywood Video near my house is going out of business. My parents held the record for most videos rented ever at that particular store. Now that the store is closing their record will fade. Single tear.
On the plus side Hollywood Video was selling videos and furnishing cheap. I got the movie Tadpole for $1.00

Cool quote

Pam had this quote on her blog and I really like it:

"The fruit of silence is prayer
the fruit of prayer is faith
the fruit of faith is love
the fruit of love is service
the fruit of service is peace."
-Mother Teresa

Guayasamin

Sometimes when I am sitting alone the images of Guayasamin's work pop into my head. It's something I will never forget. It was one of my favorite parts of Ecuador.

http://www.guayasamin.com/pages_ing/index.html

Once

I finally saw the movie Once. What a wonderful movie! The ending really struck me and I cried and cried.

Random Facts

I was reading some scrapbook blogs and a lot of folks are listing seven random facts about themselves. So here are mine:

1. I have had Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis since I was 9 months old.
2. My first word was okra. (I did not talk until I was almost 3 and carried my okra everywhere.)
3. I love tote bags of all kinds. I have many of them. Ok, really I like all bags. They don't have to be totes.
4. I love to travel. I have been to 14 countries so far.
5. I love llamas. I don't know why, I just do. They have super long eyelashes, which is cool.
6. I love the sun, even though I have very fair skin. Basically, I wear sunblock at all times.
7. My husband and I want to adopt from China

oaxaca mexico

oaxaca mexico
Originally uploaded by sharis1974

Found this tool from another blog that makes mosaics out of your pictures. Here is one of our trip to Oaxaca.

New Dog

Look at the cutness!

Someone that Sam's mom knows had found a blue heeler puppy that needed a home. We already had Jack. (blue heeler) Blue heelers are very social animals and do better in pairs. So we adopted the blue heeler puppy. He is about 6 months old. We named him Wallace.

Little Miss Trouble

Look at this awesome coin purse I just got. They had wallets, makeup/pencil cases and coin purses all with the Little Miss characters on them. They are on sale at Mervyn's. Sam and I walked in to buy him a belt and then I walked out with a coin purse(:

Mr. Moore

I just met a student today that knows "Mr. Moore." Mr. Moore is my friend Sean that I have known since elementary school. Sean now works at Health Careers High School as a teacher. Life has come full circle. Again.

Softey Tuup

The other night Sam called me a softey tuup. It was cute. It just a simple combiantion of soft and tuup....softey tuup. Its going to be my new word.
(PS the words soft and tuups or tuup are made up terms of endearment that our family uses. Tuup was made up by Steve. Soft is just a word where we changed the meaning. usage: You are such a tuup! You softey!)

right brain/ left brain

You Are 25% Left Brained, 75% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

If I were a candy heart I would say:

Your Candy Heart Says "Hug Me"

A total sweetheart, you always have a lot of love to give out. Your heart is open to where ever love takes you! Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a surprise romantic evening that you've planned out Your flirting style: lots of listening and talking What turns you off: fighting and conflict Why you're hot: you're fearless about falling in love

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Laffey Taffey

Joke found on Laffey Taffey:

Question: What does a bee sit on?

Answer: His bee-hind!

I don't know why, but this just cracked me up.

Mr. Bento

Sam bought us these Japenese style lunch boxes that stack inside each other. He has been making lunches for us these past couple of days. The whole reason for this is that we need to eat healthier and not eat our lunch out. Anyway, the other day he cut my grilled cheese into a heart. Sooo cute!

http://www.zojirushi.com/ourproducts/lunchjars/sl_jae.html

Now I Get It

When people use to tell me about all the things that they were doing to their house and the projects they worked on over the weekend, I never really got it and it sounded boring. Now I get it. Its the joy of your own home and the fact that its yours to fix anyway you want.

Observation

On our street there are three families with little kids. One day I hope to be one of those families.

Cool website

This is a very cool website! www.goodreads.com

We are moved in!

So folks we are officially moved into the new house. The Labor Day weekend will mostly be us unpacking all the boxes in our garage. It's nice to be moved in and just hanging out. I found out that one of my former students that was in VOICES is living next door. In fact, one of the former VOICES officers had just moved out. It turns out that my new neighbor works at UTSA, too. So I will need to email her and say hi. Life comes full circle.

Super Hero powers

Your Superpower Should Be Mind Reading

You are brilliant, insightful, and intuitive. You understand people better than they would like to be understood. Highly sensitive, you are good at putting together seemingly irrelevant details. You figure out what's going on before anyone knows that anything is going on! Why you would be a good superhero: You don't care what people think, and you'd do whatever needed to be done Your biggest problem as a superhero: Feeling even more isolated than you do now

What Should Your Superpower Be?

Rain...Lots o Rain

It has pretty much been raining here non-stop. Dramatic thunder and lightening showers and quick steady afternoon showers. However it comes, it has just been raining a lot. I get excited when I see a peek of sun; only to have a giant grey cloud cover it up an hour later. With the rain, comes a refreshing cool that is highly unusual for a South Texas July, so in that sense its awesome.

fun quiz

You Belong in Barcelona

When it comes to Europe, you don't want to decide between culture and fun. You want art by day and a big party by night. Barcelona is ideal for you. You can check out some Picasso, eat some tapas, take a siesta, and then dance all night!

What European City Do You Belong In?

I really did love Barcelona!

We found a house!

We officially own a house now. It is in Oxbow. The same neighborhood as my Aunt and Grandma. Grandma has recruited me for the Neighborhood Association. I guess it is kinda small and they are looking for people so I would not mind volunteering. It could be cool and you get to see the issues going on like rezoning, graffiti, and possible flood planes. Anyway, it sounds cool. So we will probably not really move in until after my brother's wedding in August. Sam and I sometimes go over there and just stand in it because we are so excited. It has 3 bedrooms, a two car garage and a fireplace. I will send pictures as soon as I upload them.

Travels and Adventures

So mom and Dad are in Africa. They got there minus the bags. Mom is actually going to a conference and Dad is coming..well...because Mom's conference is in Africa. Need I say more? I always wanted to go to Africa. I will go one day. I don't know when, but one day.

Sam and I are once again looking for houses. We are waiting to see if they will accept our offer. So this could be our house:


http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=78249&ml=3&mnp=16&mxp=17&bd=4&bth=4&typ=1&sid=
11b74710d5b1491092c31e025ca40f4b&lid=1084133479&
lsn=3&srcnt=18#Photo

I know you should not fall in love with houses because this whole house buying business is fickle, as Sam and I have experienced first hand. I am emotional and I can't help it. I love this house! Ahhhh. so hopefully we can get it.

Showers

Well my brother is getting married and this weekend we are having a shower for he and his wife to be. It is going to be at Dave and Busters and should be really fun. I am excited for Steve and Claire and thier adventures together. I really like Claire.
The shower is a moment to be with the siblings again this month! We were together a couple of weekends ago for our cousin's high school graduation. I love it when we are all together and can hang out. Of course, when we all leave to go our sepereate ways, I really miss them. I don't think I realized how much I would miss my siblings until we all starting living in different cities. However, I am glad that we all make time to see each other regularly.

New Job

So May 7, I start a new job in Academic Advising. Specifically, I will be advising Freshmen. I am excited to embark on this new adventure. I also found out I know a lot of people that work in the office through various endeavors in my life. Of course, I will miss my students in Student Activities. I really enjoy interacting with them and watching them grow into wonderful human beings. I have been there for essentially seven years in the same position, so I have a lot of memories in that place.

Book Club

Just wanted to share that I joined a book club recently and it completly rocks. I had wanted to be part of one for a while, but just had not found one that worked until now. I have met new, interesting, intellegent people that I really enjoy hanging out with. It is just refreshing to meet new and interesteing people. I am glad I found them.
Today we talked about Wicked. Kelly made a gingerbread house with the Wicked Witch of the East's feet underneath it. It rocked.

Scrapbook Design Team

Evidently, scrapbook stores and scrapbook clubs have design team members that rotate. You send in pages or altered items for people to see and be inspired from, write articles for newsletters, give advice to other scrappers, create scrapbook challenges, etc. Anyway, I belong to the Kit n Kaboodles Scrapbook Club and decided to apply to be on their design team. I should know by next week.

http://www.knkclub.com/

comment section now works

The comments are now working on my blog. Test it out to make sure. Send a comment today.

Cutest Kid ever!

Today was the Kickoff for Latino Heritage month. A Folklorico group came out. Before they started dancing, their was this little guy dancing to the rhythm on the stage.
So cute!

WTF

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,20349534-952,00.htmlhttp://beta.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifIrwin


THE Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, is dead. He was killed in a freak accident in Cairns, police sources said. It appeared that he was killed by a sting-ray barb that went through his chest, Queensland Police Inspector Russell Rhodes said.

Reflect on this....

Driving by St.George Maronite Catholic Church, thier church kiosk that you can see from the road read:

" Do the math, count your blessings"

Scrapbook Convention

Well Saturday Sara and I jetted downtown to the Great American Scrapbook Convention at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. There was booth after booth of merchandise and yes Sara and I brought home stuff. To get on the show floor was $7. The workshops you paid for individually. They went into depth about various techniques. You could also go to crops in the evening until midnight. Sara and I just walked around the show room floor. Just for going to the convention we got a free scrapbook magazine subscription. We also discovered a new scrapbook place in San Antonio we had not gone to by the airport. I got a supply tote and Sara bought a wheel tote like the one I got for Christmas. It was actually a folded cart, so it can be used for more than just scrapbook. I found two vendors I really liked Rusy Pickle
and My Mind's Eye. Rusty pickle was run by all guys so I don't what the means but it was refreshing. That right guys you can scrap, too. I also got a pink shirt that says "Live. Love.Scrap" on the front. I think that pretty much sums it up. I got this awesome circus paper from Rustry Pickle. (Steve all I am saying is buttons!) Overall, the day rocked.

Interesting note: There were two other conventions going on in the generally vicinity of the scrapping area. They were the Towing Convention, as in tow trucks and then the Entreprenial Bootcamp for Christian Families. Yea the people watching alone for those two groups was priceless. The fact that they had to mix and mingle to get to thier rooms was classic. You couldn't have two more different groups.

www.greatamericanscrapbook.com
www.homepage.mac.com/rustypickle/
www.mymindseye.com/

more oaxaca

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Oaxaca

So the family just got back from Oaxaca, Mexico. It was awesome! The whole family went: Mom, Dad, Steve, Von, Neal, Aunt Neat, Grandma, Uncle Robert, Aunt Debbie, Sam and I.
Oaxaca was beautiful the climate was temperate, so not too hot or cold. It rained some, but it was more like showers.
We saw ruins and we got to go to different villages. Each village had its own craft that the whole done more or less was skilled in. The techniques have been handed down through generations. Each place was new and intersting and beautiful. It just made me think what am I creating in my life? How can I see my world more creatively?
The place we stayed was Villa Maria. Maria was awesome and helpful and everyone there was so nice. In fact, everyone in Oaxaca is nice and happy it just gave me a good vibe.
Oaxaca is made up of different indigenous groups each with there own cultures and ways of living. I loved learning about Mitla and Monte Alban and the socities that once lived there.
I pretty much immediately fell in love with Oaxaca City and I know I will be back.
More picture at lifewiththeslocums.shutterfly.com

small world

So a while back my Dad told me this story about how he was walking in the neighborhood and ran into a guy who had moved back to Tnaglewood. Evidently he grew up in Tanglewood as a kid and then moved back as an adult. He moved in across the street from Natalie Lund's house. Anyway, the other day I went to the alumni association to pledge my money for lifetime membership and Jeanne at the front was the one that sold the house to the guy that grew up in Tanglewood. It turns out her family lived there for 27 years so I grew up just down the street from thier house. Crazy we were on the same street most of our lives.

Kinetic Sculptrue

My brother sent me this. Another cool link:

http://www.vectorpark.com/levers.html

birthdays and anniversaries

Well this weekend we all went to Olive Garden to eat dinner. We were celebrating that grandma is 80 years old and that mom and dad have been married for 39 years.

website

Well this is cool:

http://interact10ways.com/usa/information_interactive.htm

Adoption

So Sam and I have been thinking about adoption, specifically from China. It seems like recently I have been running into folks that have Chinese adoption connections. Evidently there are several families in San Antonio considering it. Well we found this place Great Wall and their International headquarters is in Austin. It seems like things are falling into place. I ordered a info. Guide and video and I cried through most of it. In Fact I began crying at the forward.

http://www.gwcadopt.org/

Nametags

This guy made a whole career out of wearing Nametags!

http://hellomynameisscott.com/default.aspx

We found our rings!

I found our wedding rings! They were in an old Nike shoebox.
Jeff, our roomate, is moving out so he began to move boxes from my office/the storage room and I am came into the room to see if I could move some stuff into the closet (we have a whole lot of random stuff sitting around our townhouse with no place to go)In the closet was the Nike shoe box.I decided to open it and there inside, in a tiny white box, were our wedding rings.

For those that don't know, the night before the wedding Sam and I were desperately looking for our wedding rings and never found them, so we had to get on th plane to Sctoalnd with fake wedding rings. We just now found them. In August, we will have been married a year.

new curtains

Sam and I used our wedding certificates to get new curtains. When people would come over we would sit at the dining/ kitchen table and play games. Sam's dog, Jack, would see us inside and bark and bark, so we would cover the windows with throws. We bought curtains once, but then Jack came in and promptly tore them down by getting tangled in them. So this time we bought side hooks that we could hook the curtains in when he comes inside. This why he will not get tangled in them. Anyway, I am just excited that now have pretty curtains.

We also ordered dining chairs over the internet. They will be delivered to our door. Yea! Our old dining chairs are from a previous dining table and are pretty much falling apart.

Housing woes

Well folks, Sam and I found a house after looking at just three and put an offer on it. As things progressed, we realized quotes that were given to us were not correct or crucial points were left out and not told to us until the last moment. For example, things like variable vs. fixed rate mortgages. Our glorious deal with Centex did not turn out to be all that glorious. So Sam and I pulled away from the negotiating table. What we found was that in reality we did not really have enough money to live where we want to live and be in the kind of house that we want to be in. So for the next two years, we are going to try and save half my salary and pay off those stubborn credit cards.

VIVA FIESTA!

It's Fiesta time in San Antonio! Let's get crazy!

http://www.fiesta-sa.org/

ASB

I work at UTSA. My students went on an Alternative Spring Break trip to New Oreans to help with hurricane relief projects. The trip changed lives. This is the gear they had to wear when "gutting" houses. More pictures on flikr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/airbs/

LOST

A good television show to watch is LOST. I went shopping for jeans Saturday, so while in Target I went toward the jeans and Sam went toward electronics and decided to get the first seson of LOST. ROCKS! Love it. Sibs...I know you have been watching it. I also got my parents sucked into it, too. MUHAAA!

Funky Fun!

Well here is a cool store:

http://www.gypsyville.com/

Peace Corps rules!

I got a Peace Corps brochure today. Evidently, there are tons of coupled retirees living it up in other countries. This one couple in their 80s had done 6 Peace Corps tours. Just thought that was cool.