Good Times with Friends

Sunday morning the gang was together for our last day together for this trip. Kathy and Joel hosted us for a great brunch. For almost a year now Kathy has been trying to convince us that she doesn't cook. Well, that myth was broken as she and Joel created a great feast forMark and Michelle, Doris and Dan and myself. Other than 1 brief incident of the fire alarm going off (where Doris and I sprung into action and began feverishly fanning...the intercom!) all was well. Breakfast was a delicious spread of pastry wrapped brie and cranberries, muffin tops, toast and pancakes. I introduced them to one of my favourite combos and it quickly became a favourite of a few. I like peanutbutter and syrup on my pancakes. Yummy!!!

One thing that was quite funny was when Doris cooked some yummy Smores to add to the breakfast combo. Maybe not a 'normal' brunch addition but they were a wonderful addition!

Joel and Kathy were both quite surprised when the timer went off on the stove. Who knew the stove had a timer?

Here she displays her 'timer' that she normally uses.

All too soon it was time for Doris and Dan to begin their long drive home. Where had the weekend gone? We could have sat there for hours more just spending time together and enjoying one another's company. Adoption may have brought us together but it's our friendship is oh so much deeper than that now!

Love you guys! Looking forward to the next time we're together.

Weekend Fun with Friends!

Doris and Dan were in town for the weekend so that was an inviation for fun with friends!

Friday night I headed to the other side of the city and joined in with the fun at Michelle and Mark's. We had a relaxing evening together, a wonderful BBQ dinner and eventually called it a night...early the next morning. We were falling asleep downstairs but nobody wanted to miss a moment together.

Saturday Morning Mark's sister (Hi Jenn!!) and her adorable little ones came over for a visit. It's always neat to meet the families of friends. Saturday afternoon the girls did some running around and then headed to the mall where Kathy met us for some shopping fun!

Before Kathy arrived Michelle and I tried our best to be personal shopping assistants for Doris but unfortunately she didn't find anything. Doris is taller than Michelle and I and although Michelle attempted to model this top for Doris we think it was just not happening. :o)

This picture has a great story behind it! As is often the case, the line to the ladies washroom snaked out the door and down the hall. When we got there Doris wasn't about to wait in the line. When the men's cleared out she quickly snuck into one of the stalls! Kathy stood guard. As Doris is ummm...taking care of business...this little old many makes his way into the washroom. Kathy, being the faithful guard yells out, 'Incoming Doris!!' (By this time I'm laughing so hard I can hardly breathe!) Moments later Doris is out the door and this was the result. Ah yes...memories!!

Check out this chocolate bar!!! I tell you, this 10lb. chocolate bar from William-Sonoma would get us through any small referral batch that is thrown our way!

After shopping we were on our way to the Waiting Mommies dinner. I'll post more about that later...

Arthur: Binky Gets a Baby Sister

Tomorrow (Friday's) Arthur show airs a new 2 part series, 'Binky Gets a Baby Sister.' Binky's family adopts a baby sister from China.

I haven't seen this yet but have read good reviews about it in a couple of places. It's said to be very accurate and the writers did their homework before writing.

It will be one I'll be recording and putting aside for safe keeping.

The Very Best Cure!

Do you remember yesterday when I mentioned having a tough time with the small LID referral batch? I shed a few tears and my friend Deb was there to catch them.

Fast forward to last night when I was at the grocery store picking up a couple of things. My cell phone rang and Deb asked, 'Where are you and when will you be home?' I laughed and said, 'I'm at the grocery store picking up a couple of treats to send to some of the gals from church who have just moved away to college and are missing home and, I'll be home in a few minutes.' Her response, 'Great. See you in a few minutes' and that's it...she was gone! I laughed, finished packing my groceries and headed home realizing that my house was in a complete shambles because of the painting. Oh well, she'd understand!

Anyway, look what my amazing friend made as a 'pick me up!' Isn't it great?!!!

My wonderful friend who had a ton to do the day after returning from a summer at the cottage, took time to make this beautiful bouquet of love. Ok, ok, it's a bouquet of chocolate but honestly, in my love languages chocolate is right up there!

THANKS DEB!!! I love you and am so happy you're home so that we can share our morning chats again!

I Tried...I Really Did!

But, I just couldn't resist playing with the numbers. Hey, the fact that I survived 21 whole hours before doing this has to say something. (Yes, it says my Internet access at home is still not working so I didn't have a way to get to the numbers I needed! :o)

After a few tears this morning (thanks for the shoulder Deb) I'm back on track and feeling better today about the 4 day Referral Batch. One of my favourite adoption sites to help me through the wait is the Rumor Queen (RQ). It's not everyone's cup of tea but I appreciate what she has to offer.

This morning I went to the most recent RQ LID poll. What this poll showed was that in the August Referral Batch of November 15-21,2005 - 120 people who had voted in the poll were included in those referrals. In September's Referral Batch of November 22-25, 2005 - 134 people who had voted in the poll were included in those referrals. Based on the poll, there were just a lot of files logged in those 4 days so they were not able to cover as many calendar days but still covered as many files.

This made me feel better for 2 reasons:
a) The batches seem to be fairly consistent with the number of referrals included
b) If this number stays the same in this next batch, based on the above poll I am very confident that the next batch will take us into December 2005. Merry Christmas!

Sorry folks who had LID's in November 2005 but this gal will be very, very happy to see the tail end of November and happily move forward into the month of December!

Even though I do these calculations, I'm still not brave enough to recalculate my anticipated referral month. Now that would just be depressing and I know my limits! Not-even-going-to-try...at least for this moment!