Non adoption-related, but exciting nonetheless!

My Jeff Gordon meet-and-greet photos finally arrived - woo-hoo!! Here is the one of me with Jeffie - forgive the fact that I have stupid cheesy grin on my face (can you tell how excited I was?) or my lovely double-chin (ugh) - it was a once in a lifetime deal!

My dad with Jeffie - this picture either makes my dad look like a giant, or Jeffie really, really short. The truth is somewhere in between.

The "man" himself. It was a truly awesome experience to get to meet my favorite NASCAR driver ever! He was so nice and down-to-earth that you would never guess that he just made the Forbes Fortune 100 (or some hoity-toity list like that) recently. He is truly one of the greatest race car drivers ever and this was an experience I will NEVER forget!

Thanks for letting me share!

Yep - I'm back!

So I have been super, super bad about posting anything on the blog for a while. Yes, this should tell you that there really isn't too much going on to tell about - sadly enough. The GOOD news is that the paperwork is done - well, round one of the paper chase anyway. All paperwork has been completed and sent on to Ohio, who in turn will be sending on to Russia. The thought makes me both extremely excited and extremely nervous all at the same time. Am I ready for this? How long will it take? What exactly are the next steps? A year from now, will this all be a distant memory and the start of a brand-new, ultimate thrill ride known as motherhood? (Yes, I know - a bit dramatic. Can't help it - it's been a while since I've blogged after all!)

It is truly a bittersweet time. While Russian adoption is what has been pulling at my heartstrings and deep down feels like the absolute path for me - what I was destined to do - I was still holding hope alive that a domestic adoption opportunity would pan out through the friend-of-a-friend network. I stopped pressing for updates. I stopped keeping it in the front of my mind. Sure, it could still happen. I have been reassured every which way from Sunday by a couple of people (some of whom I kinda trust, others who I trust with my every fiber of being) that they are keeping me in mind if they should hear about any opportunity at all. Knowing my luck the options will all present themselves at the same time and I will truly have to make the most difficult decision of my life... and that thought truly terrifies me, while being absolutely wonderful at the same time. Heck - I can't even make a decision right now as to how I feel - imagine being presented these options all at the same time - I'd be a WRECK!

I'll try to keep more current and not let days and weeks pass with no options. Truth be told I have missed blogging. While I'm not entirely sure anyone outside of a handful of people actually read it (you know who you are, and I love you for it!) it helps me to process what's going on, and get through the times nothing is going on. Who woulda thunk? :)

NASCAR weekend!!!

So, while I'm waiting for news (any news whatsoever!) on what the status of my adoption paperwork is, I figured I'd have a little fun and what better way to do that than at a NASCAR race? Yes, I'm a HUGE NASCAR fan.... did I say HUGE? Every year my parents, my best friend and her husband, and I spend two weekends tailgating and enjoying all the race festivities at Chicagoland Speedway. This year was by far one of the best in that not only did we have an awesome time tailgating, but I also got to meet JEFF GORDON - my absolute favorite driver.

No, I don't have any stories of how witty I was when I saw him, nor did I swoon or faint at the mere presence of him. I'm waiting to get the official photographer's pictures in (another wait - seriously, is that the theme of 2009 or what???) and when I do hopefully one will be good enough to post here, but just getting to go on stage with him, shake his hand and get his autograph, let alone posing for a picture with him, made my year. It was awesome. It was fantastic. It was... well, you get the point.

And now.... we shall wait.

Something positive!

So, in reviewing my last several posts it has dawned on me that I have been just too utterly grouchy and negative for my own good, so I thought I would post something warm and fuzzy and positive.

Hmmm.... not sure I have too much warm and fuzzy going on right now, but I do have to say that everything that has gone on this last year or so has shown me how truly fortunate I am to have such wonderful friends and family. Even during my recluse moments, my grouchy periods, and massive pity parties my closest friends and my family never gave up on me, turned their back on me, or smacked me around (although there were times I KNOW I deserved it!). I have such a fantastic support system in place that I am truly in awe sometimes and ever so grateful for everything I have.

So - to my wonderfully fantastic and truly awesome support system out there (and c'mon, you know who you are) - I LOVE YOU!!! :)

That which does not kill you...

... is supposed to make you stronger, right? I've tried believing that for a while now, but I'm pretty sure at this point that it will in fact just make you tired... and grouchy.... and really, really impatient!

So, my little story last left off with me waiting to hear back from my social worker about the missing documents and confirmation that yes, they were in fact sent. I gave them some slack with the 4th of July holiday and all but now here we are at noon on Monday (I started this process middle of last week mind you) and I still have not heard back. Not from my social worker. Not from the director. Not from my agency who said they would follow-up on my behalf. Nobody. And quite frankly, for all the time and money I have invested in these two particular agencies so far (not to mention emotions!), this level of service is unacceptable. Yep - all my years in customer service are coming back to me - and I'm not enjoying being on the "customer" side of things.

It probably also doesn't help that during a 4th of July party I attended a friend of mine (well, a friend of a friend really) mentioned, while we were discussing the adoption process, that she knew of someone who's daughter is pregnant and not planning on keeping the baby. This, then of course spiked the conversation of how she would talk to her for me to let her know that she knew of someone who could adopt the baby if she hadn't made plans already, and she would let me know what happened. I have already been through this exact scenario once to a disastrous outcome, and while I am trying NOT to get my hopes up that this could work out, in the back of my mind I keep praying that this becomes not only a viable option, but reality.

It'd be really nice if everyone kept their fingers crossed that the adoption process, whichever route it takes, because I'm really working on NOT having this waiting, and unknowing, game, kill me....

Is it too much to ask for?

Competence, that is. So, my home study was completed AND notarized on May 14. Yep, that's right MAY 14. Since then I have been badgering my home study agency to get my documents down to the Secretary of State for their apostille, then over to Ohio so we can get moving (toldja I was impatient!). I received a call Monday evening from my coordinator letting me know that they finally received my home study documents BUT....

Yes, I said "but." The "but" is that the agency forgot TWO vital documents, so now I'm in the process of haranguing them to get them over to Ohio ASAP. This in and of itself is beyond frustrating, but the response I received from the director was even more so in that a) it was ambiguous and b) it barely even offered an apology! I paid them HOW MUCH to take care of this? I completely understand human error and oversight, but this is ridiculous. As professionals it should have been understood that the copy of the agency license was required. It isn't rocket science. It isn't even high school chemistry class - its basic.

Ugh. I have been grouchy lately - grouchy with drama at work that seems to be never ending, grouchy with the economy and government in general (don't get me started!) and grouchy with the snails-pace this process is creeping along at. I keep thinking it can only get better, and hoping that all the frustrations are taking place now in the process so the rest of it can be relatively smooth-sailing, but we'll see. I try to face each day with a positive attitude and do what I can to make life easier for everyone around me. Not sure I'm accomplishing that, but I certainly try....

... and wait.