happily holidays

May you all have a most joyous and wonderful holiday season.

Love to you and yours.

B and the B family

Tamales in the mf'ing white house

I was watching the HGTV White House Xmas Special (yes, I am THAT gay) and the designers were complimenting Mz. Bush on her selection of red, white, and blue for the white house decorations and I'm thinking could a first lady BE any more lazy?

She merely had to flop her gin-soaked head to one side, look at a flag and slur "Red, white, and blue." The garland was festooned with silver eagles. Silver Eagles! WTF? That's not Christmasy. On Christmas Eve they have their Texas traditional tamales. Tamales! The Bushes aren't Texan or Mexican, but I'm guessing the WH chefs balked at pigs in a blanket.

Then today I saw on CNN they were showing Laura next to Michelle Obama and it just made me so happy all over again to know that we'll have a talented gorgeous un-Joker like lady in the White House... and you can bet she won't be picking red, white and blue and tamales next year.

Get ready to deeeeyance!

On Moooondays I never go to work!

My basement was partially flooded this morning, I got a speeding ticket on the way into work, my son is acting like Bruce Lee hitting all of his classmates, I'm on antibiotics for my sinus infection, and I have a paper cut on my finger that hurts every time I type the letter "a" ow.

How's your day going???!

greatful

Things upon which I bestow thanks:

my husband's hug after the first snooze button hit
my son's laugh when it gets out of control and he can't stop
pop-tarts
Hugh Jackman
the Ting-Tings, Mates of State, Jack Johnson, Lisa Loeb's kid's music
crayons
sarah connor chronicles
Randy getting voted out on Survivor
a president who inspires
Wall-E
Costa Rica
Paul Rudd
christmas lights
cinnamon hazelnut coffee
having a job
the day after thanksgiving when all the work is done and you can just relax
locoroco
the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Fish Murder

I've been setting up a tropical fish tank and along the way I've learned some valuable lessons.

Do not put Gourami and little tetras in the same tank. In the space of a day and a half all five of my cute little guys have disappeared. I'm now looking at this large silvery murderer happily swimming around my beautiful tank. I've never wished death upon a fish before but now I'm rethinking my fish position.

Mom, I've got something to tell you

beep beep

Long-distance message

Haven't been feeling too bloggy of late. With the final nail going in the coffin of the Vietnam adoptions, it's left me a bit bereft? bereaved? bewitched?

This blah will no doubt go away once the holidays start kicking in. It appears that we will be remaining a trio. This is good and bad. I'm still processing all the ramifications.

So, something will return at a later date. Perhaps it will be a much fluffier content to keep myself out of the doldrums.

Much peace to you and yours

Remember to vote!

Obamanos!

Action Alert!

Been busy at work and home but wanted to remind everyone to get out there and support Barack!

If you have the time, volunteer.

If you have the money, donate.

and above all VOTE! The stakes couldn't be higher, our economy, our lives, our future at stake.

Barack the vote!

Ta

going on vacation my friends, be back in a week or so! I'll have a drink for all of you.

The most important meal of the day

Most days I have cereal for breakfast here at work so I pick up my bowl and look at the bottom and think hmm that's curious it looks like honey. So I dip my finger in and taste it. Gak! What is that? It tastes kind of bitter so what do I do? I think I'll just swallow (no jokes plz). HOLY MOTHER it freakin burns! Then I realize it's dishwashing soap that I put in the bowl but forget to wash out yesterday afternoon.

Now I've got this chemical burn in my throat that is wafting up into my nostrils. This is a foul, foul taste and smell. I get up to go to the bathroom and then a wave of nausea hits me. I look around quickly weighing my vomiting options, trash can seems like the idea. I start to retch but fortunately nothing comes up. I cough/stagger to the bathroom and start sucking in water and spitting it out and gargling trying to get this taste out of my mouth.

So, now I sit here with what feels like a burn in the back of my throat, constantly having to clear throat and swallowing....

and I've got a headache. Fortunately the office is mostly empty now and I'll pretend like nothing happened.

How was your morning?

We've been trying to teach the E-man different ways to express himself when he gets frustrated. Our current favorite is for him to hold one hand up and say "Aye Carumba!" It hasn't exactly worked yet but it's fun watching him practice "Aye Carumba!"

Also I've been working on laser beam eyes where we squint and then blast each other a la Cyclops.

This is also the point where I wonder if households with moms do these sorts of things.

Hello, hello dear little blog. So sorry you've been neglected but I have been thinking about you. Sadly I've been wrapped in not much but reality TV.... So You Think You Can Dance, Project Runway, I'm even brave enough to admit.... I Survived a Japanese Game Show. / hangs head in shame for penance

Summer is ending, the vegetables are growing, the boy is dancing and the flowers are blooming.

Life is good.

mwah

Swing Swang Swung

Last weekend, I was at a playground with E and there were 3 girls playing, I think they said their ages were 5, 6, and 8 and no parent was around. E was in the bucket swing and the 5 year old asked the 6 year old to put her in the other bucket swing (keep in mind, she's a big five like a littel Jennifer Hudson and I was a bit worried about whole idea.) Five did the swing thing for a while and then asked me to get her out. Eh, I thought ok, the whole situation was a bit odd but alright. I grab her under her arms and puuuuuuuulll. She's stuck. Her thighs won't come out of the leg openings. I pull again telling her you need to hold the swing. She's doing the kid thing of going sort of limp which is the opposite of helpful when removing a small adult from a child swing. At this point, I'm like "why are you in this baby swing? You really need to reconsider this next time."

After four tries of yanking on her, the 8yo runs over to get the mother..... who has been sitting in her car eating all this time just watching me stretch her daughter. As she strolls over five immediately begins to lie. "6yo wanted to put me in the swing but I didn't want to go." I pick up E and quickly leave the scene of the crime.

What goes up, must come down

This is my blog post to say that I don't have anything to blog. Fascinating, no?

The whole vietnam thing is a giant hot mess. It's up, it's down, it's up, it's down. I hope, I despair and scour sites for fresh news. I've even contacted different agencies to see if they can please take me. I'm clean and reasonably happy. I'd make a great dad. Honest. I have a reference.

Every time I think I've processed it and moved on there will be a little glimmer of hope.

On the bright side if it doesn't work out our financial picture will be lookin up and yes I will buy my way into happiness.

Bugaboo Bangaa

So, I'm in the car the other day getting my groove on to Duffy's Warwick Avenue and singing

"I’m leaving you for the last time baby
You think you’re loving,
But you don’t love me"


and then I hear from the backseat "Daddy, you don't love me." So then I have to go into this detailed explanation about how this is just a song and it doesn't mean anything and that I'll always love him. Problem is you can't make it too big of a deal even though it zinged right through my heart.

Gah! I forgot about the little tape recorder. I can't listen to kid's music all the time. E's developed quite the repetoire, he likes Duffy, the Ting Tings, M.I.A... which is a problem. I've learned not to tell him the name of some songs because then he'll hound me into submission. He adores Duffy's "Mercy" and the Ting Tings' "DJ" song. M.I.A. is great fun but just try sussing out the bad words, it's enough to give you a M.I.A.graine. Also the questions are fun, "Daddy, what's a bamboo bangaa?" "Someone who hits bamboo!"

The next day we're playing in the yard and E's whacking away at a tree saying "I'm a bamboo bangaa!"

Ideas for McCain's next speech:

"My Favorite Talkies!"

"Fuel-efficiency standards for Trolley Cars"

"I take the blue pills on Wednesdays"

"Indecent Bloomers"

and finally

"Get Off My Lawn"

Don't touch anything!

The scene: average dirty public restroom
The objective: use the restroom with three-year-old
The dialogue:

"Don't touch that!"

"Why?"

"Because it's dirty."

"Why?"

"Because lots of people use this bathroom and not everybody washes their hands. Don't look under there!"

"Echo! Echoooooo! EEEECHHHHOOOOOOOOO"

"E, can you be quiet please."

"Why?"

"Because you're being really loud."

"What's this?"

"Oh my god! I don't know, give me one second and don't put your thumb in your mouth."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know what you just picked up."

"What's he doing?" / looking under stall divider

"He's p eeing."

"I wanna see."

"The man wants privacy."

"What's he doing?"

"He's p eeing."

"No, he's p ooping."

"Whatever. Just leave him alone."

"Why?"

"I said DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING and stop looking under the wall."

"Hello!"

"E Stop it!"

/ mad dash to wash hands and get out of bathroom before we're seen

Sneezey

So, you're suffering from allergies and the pollens are attacking your respiratory system every day, every hour, what feels like every minute. How could it be worse?

I'll tell ya. You pull a muscle on a particularly violent sneeze and now every time you sneeze it feels like someone is poking you in the side with a screwdriver. Hooray! We're experiencing a big rainstorm now that will hopefully clear the air out. I'm trying Claritin now to see if it will have some effect on my sneezing spasms.

........

Call me crazy but I'm thinking that we might wait Vietnam out to see if some miracle might happen. The chances are miniscule but there is a chance. In some ways it's easier to delay making a decision too. Maybe the universe will provide, maybe it won't.

All the love that you long for eludes you

It's been a strange week. I found myself in mourning, feeling like I'd lost a child. It's completely irrational I know but it was like a slam in the chest. Why do things have to be sooo difficult sometimes? My mind is weary from thinking about the options, and the countries, and the laws, and the finances. How bizarre that surrogacy seems like an easy choice now. My ipod randomly offers up Kirsty MacColl's "You Just haven't Earned it Yet Baby."

You just havent earned it yet, baby
You just havent earned it, son
You just havent earned it yet, baby
You must suffer and cry for a longer time

and it's oddly comforting. I can move past this and start anew. Hope glimmers a bit, there is backchannel talk about a possible renegotiation but I'm cautious. I have a fabulous life now, a wonderful partner and an amazing son who will be turning 3 this weekend and this is where I'm needed in the here and now.

The cake is ordered and I've bought the party supplies, the guests (all of them) have all said they're coming. I'm leaving work early today to take the cupcakes into school to have a little party and then we celebrate again with friends and family.

I will stop and look around and take in all the love and joy that a noisy fun house can entail.

Happy Birthday my little man!

Normally I'd post an update here, but it's too much right now. Sometimes you hear news that just flips your world:

From the US Embassy in Hanoi:

On April 25, the Government of Vietnam announced that it will allow adoption to be completed in cases where prospective adoptive parents have been matched with a child and received an official referral prior to September 1, 2008. It further stated that in accordance with Vietnamese law, the DIA will suspend the acceptance of new dossiers on July 1, 2008. On September 1, 2008 any dossier that has not received a referral will be closed and returned to the Adoption Service Provider. In view of the processing time required in Vietnam from placement to the Giving and Receiving Ceremony, an adoption process begun now cannot be completed before the current Agreement expires.

That's it. That's all it takes. Sometimes words can hit you physically, like a punch in the chest...

never everland

I sometimes read a discussion group with people who are considering parenthood. It's an interesting window back into a time I can scarcely connect with any more. My life seems split into two pieces now: one with child and one long ago.

One of the most striking things about the pre- or maybe not at all parents is how they speak in absolutes. "I'll never take my child to Disneyland." or "I can never give up my reading time."

I grin and chuckle to myself. How strange to be so sure of anything. What I've learned from being in a relationship for near 10 years now and having this little adorable id come into my life is that nothing is concrete. Even something as simple as food preferences are fluid. You don't like broccoli today but in a month maybe so! I'll never buy Disney products and then there I am with a set of Mickey Mouse underwear because I can't deny that big grin. Here I am kicking a soccer ball and looking up leagues for the summer. I hate sports.

It's liberating though. We can box ourselves in with these conditions and once you let go you realize just how much fun you can have with a couple puppets on a rainy afternoon.

reality bites

So, was that the most shocking American Idol result ever or what? I'll miss Michael Johns. He may be the best singer they've ever had on the show. I've already downloaded several of his singles and they're all fantastic. So, I'll be waiting for his album, it will be fabulous as well.


and for those of you who are Dancing with the Stars fans I leave you with this clip:

Whistle while you wurk

I'm coding! I've decided to input all my error messages that will appear in the fuuutuuuure in all caps because the whole upper case, lower case things takes waaay too many keystrokes.

Now all my error messages will be all SHOUTY! First time I get one I'll be like whoa, what's with the yelling and then I'll remember and be like oh yeah, I was lazy.

Place your bets!

We're on our way! We're now DTV! Dossier to Vietnam. Rolling those dice and hoping for the best.

/ sitting by phone

/waiting

hmm, nothing yet.

Any second now I'm sure......

: )

San Diego - Legoland sucks

Travelling with a toddler is always interesting. It's like trying to juggle and spin the plates at the same time. Drop a ball or fail to get that plate going and things crash... loudly. Overall though he was an excellent little traveller. I bow down before the portable DVD player, oh keeper of entertainment and sanity.

My mission here today though is to warn parents of small childern about the dangers of Legoland. Do not go! The wait was 45 minutes to an hour for each ride. There were no quick lines. Everything was an hour including the wait for lunch. I repeat stay away from Legoland. The miniature cities were fantastic but really was it worth the price of admission, probably not. Also after waiting an hour at the last ride of the day the evil woman decided that E wasn't tall enough to ride this ride, this despite the fact that he'd been riding these same height requirement rides all day long.

Sea World San Diego was incredible though. The park was well run and all the exhibits were quick to see and get out. Shows were on time and entertaining too.

Now, to go abroad. I just wish the dollar was worth more than the toilet paper on the airplanes.

sigh

Pictures to come!


Have a great weekend all!

Update

San Diego was marvelous. The weather was perfect... 75 and sunny every single day. It's the kind of place that you get home from and immediately start looking at real estate prices.

Sea World was phenomenal, LegoLand was surpisingly frustrating, more to come...

Here comes the son, do de doo doo

So in a few short days we'll be boarding a plane for our first cross-country trip. I'm excited and nervous for all of us. It's going to great to get out of town and experience some sun with the son.

I've packed the toys, and books, games, and movies. I think we're about as prepared as we can be.

Wish us luck and happy equinox to you!

Ciao, chow

I'm in the classic office space where the cubes face one other individual. I'm fluxing between positions and right now I'm in a sort of holding cel until my new space opens. What's all this about? Well, my office mate never eats. This normally would be a good thing, there's nothing worse than a noisy office eater... however...

I've become horribly self-aware of my own eating. I get to work at an ungodly hour and forgo breakfast until mid-morning. So, I sit here eating my oatmeal and he's over there Terminator-like in his unhealthy non-eating, work-focused attitude.

I have my pre-workout snack and he's still not eating, clacking away at his assignments. After gym, I'll eat lunch at my desk and still, I've observed no eating. I try to hold off but I have to snack around 3ish and nothing still. He's probably eating, I hope, something while I'm working out. It would really make me feel better if he'd just wait until I got back so I wouldn't feel all this food guilt.

How can he be so selfish?

paper pregnant

We just got our last document from the government (the I-600a approval, I 797? I forget.) Anyway, just a few more steps, notarize, authenticate, embassy approval and then dossier to Vietnam. Soon, I'll be paper pregnant!

No one knows what's going to happen exactly. I just want to get the paperwork in so I can relax and stop my mental checklist. First time around we waited literally three days to get a referral so this will be a much different experience.

Aaah, patience, we're about to become good friends again.

Frosty the mud puddle

We're getting up in the 50's again today and 60's later this week. It's all rather surreal. I don't think I've gone this long without some sort of snow before. We've had a few piddling inch or so but it's always been gone in a matter of days. I fear this may be the new pattern for our area.

I want to build a snowman and show E how to make a snow angel. I had to get some keys made yesterday and I saw all the sleds stacked up along the side of the hardware store. I realize it's a luxury when I wake up and think oooh it's cold, it must be in the 20s, considering the arctic blasts some friends are receiving.


Oh no, watch us get a freak storm right before our flight.

I take it back. No snow the rest of the season.

Weekend

Busy week here as I've started my new job. Also, we've finalized our vacation plans! Details to come.

If you have any keeping a toddler happy on an airplane tips I'd love to hear them.

Happy weekend everybody.

Friendly Skies

We got E a fisher-price airplane for Christmas. It's one of those Little People planes with various people going on vacation and a little pilot to fly the big plastic jet. He's really enjoyed it, putting all the people in and sending them to parties. He loves the parties.

He'll say the various phrases the plane cheerily spouts like "Ready for take-off!" and "Welcome aboard!" Well, one day he was walking around spouting something unusual. I asked him, "where did you get that?" He says "from the airplane."

I hunt down the plane and cycle through... listening carefully. Finally, I hear the culprit. "E, it says enjoy your flight, not enjoy your butt."

Not so sunny

Shocking story out of Miami as a mother falls ill and a Florida hospital refuses visitation for her partner and her children:

OLYMPIA — Four months ago, Lacey resident Janice Langbehn, her partner Lisa Pond and their children Katie, David and Danielle, ages 10 to 13, were set for a relaxing cruise from Miami to the Bahamas.

But Pond, Langbehn’s partner for nearly 18 years, was stricken in Miami with a brain aneurysm and died. The family says the way they were treated by hospital staff compounded their shock and grief.

Langbehn, a social worker, said officials at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital did not recognize her or their jointly adopted children as part of Pond’s family. They were not allowed to be with her in the emergency room, and Langbehn’s authority to make decisions for Pond was not recognized.

“We never set out to change the world or change how others accept gay families,” Langbehn told the crowd at the Capital City Pride on Sunday. “We just wanted to be allowed to live equally and raise our children by giving them all the same opportunities their peers have.”




Read the full story below: I don't know that I'll be taking any trips to Florida any time soon. Lacey woman shares tale of denial at bedside of her dying partner

rawr

When the package says temporary tattoo... that means 2 or 3 days.

/ walking around with large orange tyrannosaurus rex on my hand

V-day

Had a really lovely Valentine's Day... well actually I feel like the celebration started weeks ago. E has started just randomly telling me "I love you, Daddy." It just melts me. He'll be playing along and just look up and say "I love you, Daddy." out of the blue. Wow. Valentine's was just a Thursday when you have that going on.

Also he's starting to sing songs while he's playing. You wonder how much your kids are paying attention when you play music or sing or whatnot and I'll catch him singing entire verses to songs. I've always been a big music fan, looking out for new stuff so I'm thrilled that he's catching the musical bug.

No news on the paperwork front. I'm waiting, waiting for the I-171 approval. While the wait is going on, I'm fearing that some of my older documents are getting past their prime.

Ay-yay-yay

I'm still waiting for my I-171 approval. Grrr it's frustrating. It's the last, very last piece that I need. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up.

I can't seem to focus on much else. I know it would still be early but I'm so anxious to get in line for our little one and I know there'll be a good long wait once we get the dossier in. Still, I'll be able to relax a little and focus on a couple other things that we need to take care of.

We're taking E to his first little concert this weekend. It should be interesting. He loves music and it's a kid-oriented show so I think we'll all have a smashing time.


It's really beautiful out and I'm stuck in this hermetically sealed office building. Oy.

More later, I'm off to obsessively read about Vietnam. It's very healthy!

One day in Iraq

I don't really like doing 2 youtubeish posts in a row but this vid is too powerful to let go. I've thought about this question many times:

Swan Dive Serenade

We could do with some levity around here so I want to introduce you to one of the best kept musical secrets. I don't recall how I stumbled across Swan Dive but this song "Circle" really helped pull me out of a difficult funk (long story best told later). It's full of joy and bounce and I keep coming back to this song year after year. It's definitely a throwback to a Bacharach kind of vibe and I dare you to stand still while this is playing. Better yet get up and dance with me. You'll find E and me dancing around the kitchen in our socks, better to get your glide on.

Happy Weekend my friends!

Process

So, like much of the Vietnam adoption community, I've been processing this latest salvo from the state dept. If you are in process you already know what it says but for the rest of you I'll summarize, No one knows what will happen after September when the current agreement between the US and Vietnam will expire. Cases in process will continue under the current rules but future cases are in limbooooooooo.

Well bite me.

We switched from Guatemala because the system was imploding. We had begun with an agency and it was raided. The children were confiscated and placed in various foster homes and and the nightmare begin and continues for the families. (The agency has since been vindicated but that won't be making the international news.)

So, after much research we found our new country and our new agency. My fingerprints are done and I'm waiting for my I-171 and then my dossier will get certified and blah blah and then submitted to the Vietnamese embassy. I'm all in. I have to think that the two countries will work this out. There is desire on both sides to help the children and the corruption doesn't seem nearly as pervasive as in Guatemala.

I think this will work out. Sometimes you have to jump off the diving board and commit..... now it's just waiting for that splash.

Subtle Subtitle.

I came across this Japanese potty training video. I think this is what my blog should be about, sharing Japanese potty training videos with hysterical subtitles. Are those squat toilets common in Japan? Be afraid.

Securing our borders

You can't walk into the USCIS office, you have to make an appointment. I set mine up for 10:30 and arrive 20 minutes early. I'm not familiar with the area nor was I sure where to find parking. I've brought my book (The Golden Compass, quite good actually) and my journal that I got myself for X-mas. Some 90 minutes go by before I get to approach the window to hand in my I-600a to the Helpful Customs Agent (HCA).

I hand in my application and say "The instructions say copies are ok. Can I give you a copy of my homestudy?"
"Your agency is supposed to send that in."
"But I have it right here, can't I just give it to you?"
"Usually they send it in."
"Well I can ask them to mail it to you if that's what you want."
"Let me check." / HCA leaves by a door in the back behind all the bank-teller like windows.....
"We can take it. Do you have an original?"
/ha ha I think! "Sure I brought an original too. Also here's my birth certificate."
"We can take a copy of that." / why is that copy ok? I have no idea.

We stare at each other.

"Anything else?" She has that why are you still here look.
"Don't I need to be fingerprinted?"
"Yeah, we need to set that up."

We stare.

"Can I do that here?"
"Yeah, we can set up that here if you want."
"Okay that would be great. It would save me another trip down here." I smile and pretend I'm walking along the boardwalk on Rehoboth Beach.

We stare at each other some more. I wonder how thick the glass is and if I hit it would it crack? It's a good thing the glass is there.

"Do I set it up here?"
"Yeah we'll do that for you."
"OK, that's great."
"You can pay for both the application and the fingerprinting together."
"Swell."

...

"You can have a seat."
"OK!" I chuckle a little trying for a ha ha, I'm such a goof.

I'm thinking I have no number, no receipt, I'm not sure what I'm waiting for. I scan the faces behind the windows. No one is looking for me. There's no activity....

Finally my name is called by HCA. "Here's your receipt take that with you to get your fingerprints."

...

"Is that here?"
"It's across the street."
"Does the building have a name?"
"It's in the Bank of America building."
"Do I walk in and talk to a guard?"
"Just walk in and it's on your left."
"Do I need an appointment?"
"Hold on, let me check." She steps back to confer with HCA2. "They take walk-ins on Monday."
"Great. Thanks so much for your help."

Making my exit, I see thankfully the building is indeed across the street and oh thank god there it is right when you walk in.... only... It's closed. Not a soul is inside. There is no contact number on the door either. I see a security guard in an office directly across.

"Um is that the fingerprinting office?"
"Yeah that's it. It's closed."
"Will it reopen after lunch maybe?"
"No it's closed every Monday."






/ head exploding

update

Hello all!

I'll be submitting my I-600a next week! Hopefully the approval will come 4 weeksish after that. The important thing is that paper is moving. I hate those still times when I'm waiting for someone else to finish something. I have one more document outstanding but at least I have other things that I can work on over the interim.

E's been fighting this cold all week so he's been waking up intermittenly coughing. He's fine during the day but the drainage really affects him. So, Daddy has not been getting a lot of sleep either. It's really wearing on me today. I'd put my head down on my desk right now if I thought I could get away with it.


Project Runway was terrible this week wasn't it? Still we have Rami. mrwor.

Just got word that the final draft of the homestudy was on its way to me.

/ hoping that all of my corrections were captured

/ eeeee

I dream of Vietnam. How much of it will prove to be real and how much is fantasy I don't know, but images come to me. I picture heat and palms and traffic. There are children selling, selling, selling and people honking and rushing with all kinds of goods stacked Suessian high on motorbikes. Papers swirl around me waiting for governmental stamps and ribbons of approval. I'm stopped by the deep, dark eyes of kids. Their's is a timeless, knowing gaze. Is he there? Is she this one?

I hate the waiting. I want to go the office and slam my homestudy on the desk and say "Here, take five freakin minutes and review this document."

I try to breathe in and think of Vietnam... Guatemala invades and morphs the countries into a rainforest mix. There's E waiting for me and there's a brother or sister, I can't see. It's all too distant and there's so many papers to go, so many offices to visit, so many miles to travel.

Right now, there's dinner, and bathtime, and play. The night will come, morning will rise and I'll make another call. Put on your happy voice and nudge things along, sooo sloooooowly

as a breeze hits the palm tree

and the insects sing

for you my little one

waiting so far away.

Iowon't

Hello all!

I'm back. Catching up on some work projects and getting back into the groove. We had a fabulous Christmas and week off. aaaah.

sidetopic rant:

Can I just say how sick I am of hearing about Iowa and its freaking primary. I really don't care what that solitary state has to decide. Why should that little select group have so much undue influence on the election. Move all the freakin primaries up to the same day and be done with it!

gah.

Anyway,

Glad to see you all again, B