The Godfather

Mr. SoS convinced me to watch The Godfather last night. I thought it would be a typical boy movie, all action scenes and no dialog but I was wrong...it was good! It was weird to see Al Pacino and Diane Keaton so young and I didn't even know that Don Corleone was played by Marlan Brando until I searched for this graphic. Plus, there so many famous lines that I have heard but never knew they were from this movie. It's like the Napoleon Dynamite of back in the day...

Road tripping to Duluth

On Friday Mr. & Mrs Sensible of Shoe returned to the "air conditioned" city for our Cooperative Meetings with Tasha and then Paul at the agency. When we arrived, Tasha gave us the sweetest homemade Thank You card because she wants to say thanks for what we are doing for her baby girl. Awe!!! Inside were three ultrasound photos so we saw the first photos of our daughter, Smellington!! I was so psyched to get these!! Our meeting went well...seems like we are all on the same page. Tasha wants us very involved in the birth and hospital care so that is yet another a wonderful gift from her to us. Next we met Paul for the first time and found out a bit more about him. I won't write much out of respect for his privacy but he has had a hard life and even though he is older, he not ready to parent a child. He shared some old photos and newspaper clippings that are important to him to give to the baby. We are going to start a scrapbook with photos and info about her birth family so she always know where she came from (and will understand why she was born with a permed mullet and wearing super short 70's shorts and striped tube socks). Because this is an open adoption, she will have ongoing contact with her birth family in the form of 2 visits a year plus photos and letters. We feel comfortable with and in fact encourage it because we don't want there to be any mystery about how she came to be with us and how much everybody loved her and wanted the best for her.

Water cooler gossip

There must be a really strange magnetic pull right outside my office door because the two most bizarre comments ever made to me about adoption took place in the same spot by two different idiots gents. First, the union carpenter, Gene , was grilling me about adoption and stated “You gotta have your own kids. You're so young! Why don’t you have your own? You need to experience giving birth!”. He then went on to tell me all about his wife being pregnant way back when disco was the rage and how much fun she had. Really... I wonder what Mrs. Gene would say? And today, I was working with a student from Liberia (I am giving him some leeway due to our cultural differences) and he hears I may be going on maternity leave and says “Why you not have a baby…you're young, you should have baby, not adopt” "Why adopt? You have problem?” and then he launches into a story about his sister who has “problem”. Turns out he actually just gave her one of his kids, no questions asked, since he already had so many! He also wanted to know when I was leaving for China because "Americans love babies from China". I’m sure he is bummed we are just getting a boring Duluth baby. After he left, we had to laugh. By we I mean my entire office suite who heard everything. I would be offended by these comments but in reality, I pretty much tuned out after they both I insisted I am so young. Oh, go on!!!

Speaking of shoes...

My mom just told me that the ladies at her work gave her something to give the baby...these Robeez shoes! I like how this works.

The chosen people

I love the Saint Paul Jewish Community Center! I call it the JCC, my friend/spinning teacher Jodi calls it the J. In any case, it is perfect because there are so many older people, you can't help but feel like the most buff person in the place. Okay, there are not just old people but certainly many more than you find at Bally's or Lifetime. I started going here because of the Deep Water Aerobics classes which work really for my lame foot. Over time I started using the fitness center for weights, then I tried a spinning class and now I am also doing their Bodysculpt class. I have yet to partake of one of their cultural activities but I think we all remember 2006, the year I dedicated to reading books about the Holocaust so I know something about Jewish people and their recent struggles. In college my husband took a Judaism class that he loved so much he often talked about converting. I actually attend one of his classes just to hear this professor, Richard Simon Hansen, whom Jake adored. But my main point of this post is that for just $35/month ( actaully $15 after U of M Fitness rewards benefits) you too could have a curvy bdonkadonk like mine coutresy of the JCC's impressive Fitness Center. The End.

My dog is clean, the world is right!

After re-reading volumes A-J of the Encyclopedia Britannica yesterday (I am actually updating them since they were published in 1995), I gave my dog a bath. See kibbles on sink I used to bribe her into the tub. She hates it but it was needed.

Today after work Hil came over to borrow my skis. Jake suggested she try on a ski boot to get familiar with it, all 5 buckles. Hil got them on fine but she could NOT get the boot off. Jake & I both had visions of of the ER and power saws. After the pulling Hil off the couch via her boot, I thought of getting some EVOO to help slide the boot off. When Jake finally realized the 5th buckle was latched, the boot flew off. Dumb & dumber!

Chinese New Year

Happy 2008! We made it another year! This will be the year we become parents, learn what sleep deprivation is all about and truly become grown-ups.

Last night we had a lively evening with the Hos and McIntyre's in the Mc’s new home complete with gourmet kitchen. After delicious apps, Andy & Pat prepared an authentic Chinese Hot Pot dinner with lamb, beef, chicken and shrimp, fish balls, tofu, bean sprouts, bok choy and on and on. The conversation was great, as always, and we were stuffed! I don't think anyone made any New Year’s Resolutions but I think mine should be to clear the up the misconceptions about myself that I am some sort of vapid twit. Yes, I happen to know A LOT about pop culture (thank you, Perez) and have seen every season of ANTM (thank you TiVo) but my passion for knowledge extends far beyond the TV room into the world of books, medical and sociological research, and scholarly pursuits. In 2008, I will revamp my image, perhaps starting with some fake librarian glasses and a messy bun, so that everyone knows my brain power is not limited to Project Runway (Lord, please do not let Christian get kicked off) or The Office (when will they show Jim & Pam doing it, PG -13 style?) but rather is entrenched in the hallows of academic pursuit and the development of intellectualism everywhere.