Spring Break Tuesday and Wednesday

I wish I could list a whole bunch of stuff here that I have accomplished over Spring Break-- but I can't. I have not done a single thing. I have simply relaxed, refreshed and renewed.

Tuesday I slept in. I took a shower. Meghan came and we went for a sushi lunch. I came home and watched two movies that I had recorded on the DVR. I did two loads of laundry. I made dinner. That is all I can report on Tuesday.

Today, I slept in. I ate eggo waffles and watched a movie I had on the DVR. It was about a girl named Carolina. I love that name for a little girl and this movie made me love it even more. I worked on an adoption profile to mail to a potentially interested party (more on this later). I watched tv. I did more laundry. I took a bath. I made dinner. That's all I have to report on today.

I know this may not sound like a fun and exciting Spring Break but for me it has been total bliss!!

Mr. D. is off with me for the rest of the week- so I am sure there are adventures to be had from this point forward. Stay tuned.

Spring Break Monday

Do you know what this is??
I have been the lucky recipient of an Amish Friendship Bread Starter. I have been caring for it for a few days now and will be able to bake with it on Friday. I have been doing some internet research on possible recipes and I think I am going to create a cinnamon strudel for our breakfast on Saturday. I have had starters before but It has been a while since I have had a sweet bread starter, so I am excited.

We have had some sprouting in the plant department. The basil (4 on the far left),and a little of the chives (next to the basil).
The Parsley is sprouting as well.
My plan was to plant my strawberry pot today, but it was cool here so I decided to keep them inside a little longer.

It was my first day off from work for Spring Break. I really did not accomplish much. I watched 2 movies. I did some internet research. I took a short nap. I went to the market. I did cook a tasty shrimp and feta pasta dinner. It was a very relaxing day. Tonight, I am going to work on my Spring Break to-do list so that the entire week is not wasted on doing nothing. Believe me, there are plenty of projects to work on!

Mrs. D. and the garden to be

It's starting to be the time of the year when my focus turns to my little garden. Last year was the first year I had a garden and we loved going on and harvesting the fresh herbs. Last weekend, Mr. D. and I went to Lowes and I decided that this year I would start my plants from seeds instead of buying already established plants. It saves a ton of money and I think it will be a fun little project. I purchased a few packs of seeds and this little window box greenhouse. Mr. D. noticed a cute little basket set with a few different things that we liked so we got that too. This year I am taking on tad bit more in the gardening arena. I must admit I am fairly excited about the idea of it. I like the idea of harvesting the bounty. I have had to do a lot of research already on the seeds I have and the items we are growing. We are growing:
Dill
Chives
Garlic
Onions
Potatoes
Basil
Oregano
Parsley
Strawberries

I was telling my friend Kate about the gardening situation and she brought me this little surprise.
It's is a strawberry pot for my strawberries. I am really excited about it and think that it is SO cute.

I must tell you that while we were at the store looking at the seeds I was reading them off to Mr. D. Do you want ... blah blah blah and he would say yes or no. I asked if he wanted

He laughed and said that he didn't believe I could grow a watermelon or a pumpkin. Personal challenge accepted. I have started my Watermelon seeds and it should be ready on Rylee's birthday. I will start my pumpkins this summer. We will see if I can do it or not.

kicking it old school

I opt out

In the last week, we have received not one but two phone books on our porch. The first arrived on Tuesday and it was white pages for our city. Today we received white pages for our county. In this day and age, I can not believe I am receiving unsolicited phone books. They both went straight to the recycle bin. In this go green world, why can I not opt out on receiving this? There just has to be a better way. For our household, it seems like such a waste of time, materials and effort. We do not keep or use the phone books. If we need a number, we go to the internet. We do not even have a house phone. While I was conditioning my hair tonight, I tried to think of people I know in my city and county that actually have a home phone. I was able to come up with 3. One of which I actually assumed that they did- but I don't know for sure. That's all- just complaining about deforestation and the unwanted phone books.

Sushi Sunday

I don't know why but yesterday the Mr. and I decided we could make our own sushi. We were flirting with the idea at Publix when the Publix sushi making lady came over and laughed at as. Well, that of course was like a personal challenge to Mr. D. and the next thing I know- making sushi became our mission in life. We bought a few ingredients and made the plan that tonight for dinner we would be eating sushi made by us. And we did. I set up a work area and began preparing the rice. This was actually a very lengthy process. I would say over an hour. While that was going on I prepared shrimp tempura, sliced avocado, and got everything ready. I set up my web cam.
We had made plans for Maggie and Shane to watch us make sushi. It was so fun! First I made a roll with cream cheese, avocado and shrimp tempura. I used too much rice, but I think that was the theme for the evening. I think there is a learning curve for getting the correct proportion of rice per roll. Anyway, Mr. D. made a roll next with shrimp tempura, spicy sauce, and salmon. My next roll I made had tempura, avocado, cream cheese and crab. Mr. D.'s next roll had spicy sauce, shrimp, crab and salmon. Here are our rolls.

My first sushi attempt
Mr. D.'s first sushi attempt


The sushi was good. I made way more than I could eat. I think the size of our rolls will get smaller with practice. This is definitely something we will do again.

declaration

I don't want to start all over.
I don't want to spend endless hours discussing the best ad placements.
I don't want to jump every time the phone rings.
I don't want to have to constantly carry my phone.
I don't want to over evaluate every extra cent I spend in comparison to how many ads I could have placed.
I don't want to attend another family gathering childless.
I don't want to feel like I am spinning my wheels.
I don't want to have an empty nursery.
I don't want to research adoption laws in the various states we advertise in.
I don't want to hear one more person say it happened for a reason.
I don't want to trade this necklace
for this one
I don't want to work on our adoption profile... again.
I don't want to not be able to trust any potential birth mothers who calls.
I don't want to wonder if I am doing all that I can do.
I don't want to be the people other people feel sorry for.


BUT I WILL!


I will because it wasn't our time and this wasn't our child.
I will because I know there is a child out there for us.
I will because I know how extremely happy we felt a month ago when we held that little one.
I will because I can't imagine our future without having a child or children in our lives.
I will because building our family is our top priority.
I will because I know this is the path we are meant to be on.
I will because somewhere there is someone who will be thankful to have found a family like us.

And so, we start again. We start looking for our birth mother. We search for the woman who is carrying the sweet little baby that we will love forever. We pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off. It doesn't mean that we aren't still sad about the events that transpired. It means that we can't go forward if we are always looking back. It's definitely time for us to go forward.