Impulse buy

I'll be the first to admit it...I am an impulsive buyer. If I see something I like, I will buy it on the spot. I'm not the type to walk around the mall, looking at other stores, seeing what else is out there, only to go back to the first store and get what I originally wanted to buy in the first place! This lesson for me was learned at an early age, and it has molded my shopping habits ever since! I was about 9, and I wanted my mom to buy me these "totally awesome" jeans with paint splattered on them. In neon colors, mind you! So I asked my mom to get them and she said, "Jodi, this is the first store we've been to. Let's shop around and we can come back and get them later if you don't find anything else you like better." So I grudgingly agreed, and couldn't get those jeans off my mind as we shopped elsewhere. Finally we head back to that store, and the jeans in my size were sold! I was so upset! So...lesson learned. Buy it when you see it.

Which brings me to last night. I was browsing on Ebay, looking at new baby crib bedding just for fun. And I saw this:

And a close up:

And I fell in love. My house is decorated in earth tones, and my style is definitely traditional. So...I am now the proud owner of crib bedding!

SNOWpacolypse 2010

We have been buried under two feet of snow. My county has declared a state of emergency. Now tell me this...why can't this have happened during the work week? I could have had a freebie day off! But NO...stupid snow has to wait until the weekend. Boo!

I have still cried only once so far this month! Just thought you might like to know that! Oh and the Fun Fact for today...I drink a glass of chocolate milk every morning. I have since I was in like, kindergarten. Or maybe even before that.

We braved the start of SNOWmageddon 2010 last night to meet up with our friends for dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was yummy! I had my favorite, fettucini alfredo. Only this place made the sauce with peas, ham and mushrooms. I've never had it made like that before, and I liked it! I had a giant piece of super fattening chocolate layer cake drizzled with raspberry sauce for dessert. Sorry Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred...anyhow, our neighbors/friends just happened to be sitting right behind us, having dinner with another couple (also neighbors/ friends). And lo and behold, I could hear from their conversation that one of them is preggo with #2. Blah...that makes three pregnant neighbors/friends that will be having babies soon. Blah blah blah. I hate infertility. I wish it could just be that easy for me...and only take nine months. Three to five years for us...it's enough to make me want to hit up the wine in a box! (Which I actually do have in the fridge...hang on, I'm going to get a glass...)

Okay, Sangria and I are back. So I mentioned that we have two feet of snow? Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure:


My handsome hubby digging us out so we could go to the Chinese Buffet for lunch (we are dedicated fans!)




A chronological progression of me placing my cat in the snow. Hey...she's never been out in the snow before, so I figured I'd see how she liked it! Um...she didn't like it...Don't be mad at me, she was only out there for 2 minutes tops!!! Then I brought her in and dried her off.

Me: 3 February: 1

That is the score from the month of February to date, as measured in tears. I've only cried one day so far! So far, so good! Yay me!

Not much going on...I went shopping the other day and bought some onesies and a cute pair of pajammie jammie jams. See?


I'm trying to stick with gender neutral items. With the expectation of having such a long wait (insert sad face here) I have plenty of time to stock up on a wardrobe! And I'm going to enjoy doing it! I originally said that I'd buy one thing a month, but hey, it's February, and shopping cheers me up, so I'm going for it! :)

In other news, please send a prayer up for my friend Holly. She has been matched with a birthmom for several months, and baby boy was born yesterday! I am praying hard that the birthmom goes through with her adoption plan so that Holly can finally realize her dream of becoming a mommy.

Okay, February Fun Fact time: I am addicted to cute, patterned socks. I have so many that I have to have two sock drawers. I have cute striped socks, polka dots, flowers, butterflies, pairs for every holiday, and of course argyle, and many more! So tell me...what are you secretly addicted to?

Boo Punxsutawney Phil!!!

I am so bummed...that darn groundhog saw his shadow today, predicting 6 more weeks of winter! Granted, Phil only has a 39% success rate, so I'm hoping he's wrong. I'm tired of winter and snow...I'm so ready for pedis and cute peep-toe shoes and flip flops! Did ya'll know that Punxsutawney Phil resides a mere 30 minutes from me? My friends and I attended the big Groundhog Day festivities one year when I was in college...it was fun, and I'm glad I went once!

As you all know, tonight was our first meeting with Sherie at C.atholic C.harities. I was nervous about meeting her and having to spill our guts to a total stranger. But she seems very nice, and although it felt weird to talk about my childhood and family in such detail, it went fine. Matt was about 10 minutes late, he got stuck in a meeting at work, and I was worried that she'd be upset. But she seemed to take it all in stride. Tonight's session was all about me...and my childhood and growing up, my relationship with my parents, our holidays and traditions, how I was disciplined, etc, etc. Matt's turn to discuss these things will be at the next meeting, and I know he'll be dreading that. He remarked to me when we got home that it felt like talking to a therapist, haha! Unfortunately our next meeting isn't until the 23rd. :(

I am feeling discouraged though, as Sherie kept stressing that the wait is 3 - 5 years. Last year they had only one infant placement. I know they are a tiny agency, and I know that realistically we'll be waiting several years to get matched. It just makes me sad...she kept saying how there's no need for us to rush this process along because of the predicted waiting period. Boo. Sadness. :( Speaking of sadness, I cried last night. I really, really REALLY hate February.

On a better note, to try to keep my spirits up this month, I have decided to do Fun Fact February every time I post. These will just be stupid, random facts about moi! Today's Fun Fact February: I love all things argyle. I own way too many argyle shirts, and honestly, if I could find unisex argyle crib bedding, I would probably have to buy it... :)

TGItWeekend

Wow...WHAT a long week! Work has been sucky, but I won't get into that on here, just to say that I come home every day absolutely exhausted and stressed and have no energy to do anything except lay on the couch and read blogs and FB. Yes, I am throwing myself a pity party!

I'm so happy it's the weekend...and I'm trying to overcome my February-apprehension by looking forward to Valentine's Day weekend. That Friday night is girls night out with some friends, so yay! And of course we'll go out to din din for VDay (after bickering all day about how mean Matt is for NOT getting me a card, lol. This happens every year!) and the best part is I have that Monday off for President's Day! So it's a three day weekend, woo hoo!

And of course this Tuesday is the big meeting with Sherie, our adoption consultant. I'm looking forward to that also, so we can keep this process moving right along!

I *think* I'll do okay for most of February this year, as long as I try to remain upbeat and positive, and Matt is nicer to me than usual, lol. He knows how hard this month is, so I'm hoping he's on his best behavior. As February 27 approaches though, I might "lose it" a little. Or maybe this year will be different. Who knows?

So back to this weekend...last night we went to our favorite Chinese buffet (we adore Chinese food and go almost every week!)and today I am cleaning and laundering (Matt finally fixed my sweeper). I even put out my Valentine's Day decorations. Not very exciting, but at least I'm being productive even if I am in my robe! Speaking of my wonderful robe:

That's me from last weekend when my college friend Erin was here to visit...we always drink Boone's Farm wine? (if it can even be called that) to reminisce about our younger days! This was post-shower, pre-makeup and hair...scary I know!

I hope everyone else has a fabulous weekend. It's freezing here (around a whopping 10 degrees) so I'm staying inside!

One more week...then what?

Well, our first meeting with our adoption consultant is in one week! Yay! I hope this week goes by quickly! But along with hoping this week flies by, I also have a sense of trepidation. Because the end of this week brings the end of January.

I mentioned a bit in my last post how February is such a tough month for me. February is the month where everything went horribly wrong with my pregnancy, and it is the month where we ultimately lost our ^Angelia^. For the past two Februaries, I have spent it in a haze of misery, melancholy and depression. Some days the "what if's" were so strong, I couldn't even get out of bed.

I have a suspicion that although this February will still be hard, with 3 years under my belt since our loss, it won't be quite as bitter. I also have a suspicion that being hopeful about adoption will help to ease some of the anguish. But this is where I am torn...I want to look forward, to the hope and joy of adopting, but a part of me feels like February should be spent in the past, remembering my precious daughter. I don't want to feel like I am "replacing" her with my hope for another baby in the near future. It's almost like...February is ^Angelia^'s month, and should I just be thinking about her? Is it wrong to try to get through February by looking forward to being a mom to a different baby? Am I making any sense? I know I can find a balance of honoring my daughters memory and having hope for the future, but a part of me feels guilty about that...but maybe I'm just being irrational. I don't know!!!

For your tears...

Today I received a nice present in the mail...a handkerchief from Debby, who has a great blog called For Your Tears. Debby embroiders handkerchiefs for women who have lost a child.

This arrived at the perfect time, as February is fast approaching and it is an extremely emotional month for me. I love that the handkerchief she sent me is embroidered in purple...that's the color of the February birthstone.

Here is a picture of it! Sorry my phone is shadow-y...


Please check out Debby's blog!