Sunday, July 29, 2007

WACAP's 30th Anniversary

This weekend WACAP celebrated their 30th anniversary with an open house on Friday and some special entertainment at their annual kid's day. I am excited that we live close enough that we can participate in some of these special events.

We decided to travel half way on Thursday after Mike got off work. We ended up taking a more scenic route through Leavenworth because Mike wanted to go to lunch at Weinerschnitzel in Everett on Friday. Yes we traveled 100 miles out of the way for a cheap hot dog and chili, but it made my husband happy. He has memories of eating there with his family when he was a child living in California.

To add to our adventure we decided to take our dog. He did very well on the whole trip but he did present a challenge when we got caught in traffic which made us so late that we weren't able to take him to my sister's before going to WACAP's open house. We ended up taking turns going in and taking the tour while the other person stayed in the car with the dog. Seeing the office was fantastic. It was great to put a face to all the people I have been communicating with over the phone and email.

They are very proud of what the do and are eager to share their accomplishments. One of my favorite parts is they have an area where they collect donations and then they have these giant bags that they put the donations in. When one of them travels to a foreign country they take one of these big bags to the orphanages. The person giving us the tour had just returned from Vietnam where she took one of these bags. She said that the most popular item was the underwear. It was something I hadn't really thought of, but I will now.

I also got to sit and talk with our coordinator. She said that the province that they are currently licensed in is very slow to process paperwork. She doesn't really know how long it will take them to get their first referral. I asked if she thought we would have a referral by Christmas and though she said it is possible she didn't think it was very likely. I was a little disappointed to hear this, but when we started this journey we were told it would be a year so I am still ok.

Saturday was their annual kid's day. It was a little different this year because of their anniversary. I have to admit I felt a little out of place because we didn't have any children, but the food was great and they had some wonderful entertainment. Hopefully next year we will attend with children in tow and be able to participate in more of the activities.

Monday, July 23, 2007

I can finally come out of hiding

Mike and I can not wait until we are a family with children, however I would be lying if I didn't acknowledge that there are some freedoms we enjoy that we will be giving up once our children are home. This weekend I exercised the freedom to become completely consumed. I spent all day Sunday reading the new Harry Potter book. I was so concerned that I might find out what happened before I had a chance to finish the book. I didn't read any blogs or turn on the t.v. for fear that I would encounter a spoiler. I am sad that the book is over, that there will be no more Harry Potter books to read but I am glad that I am now out of hiding. I was missing keeping up on the adoption blogs and the funny thing is there were no spoilers, I could have checked them all along.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

It is officially safe to eat my cooking

I will be teaching summer school in August, and it is a state law that since our school is over 50% free and reduced lunch we have to provide a snack. That is fine but it meant I had to get my food worker permit. I was lucky enough growing up to find jobs outside the food service industry. (Believe me you would not have wanted to have been served by me, I can guarantee I would have dropped something.) So this was my first time taking the test. I have to tell you though that it wasn't the hardest test I have ever taken. There were about 10 legitimate questions and the rest were "if you can't answer these I don't want you touching my food" questions. So now I have all the skills I need to pass out cheese sticks and crackers.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Vietnamese Restaurant Part 2

We went to the Vietnamese Restaurant last night for the second time. This time I ordered something similar to what I had last time minus the spring roll. It was very tasty. Mike ordered a dish that had chili chicken in it. I was worried it would be spicy but it wasn't, it actually tasted a little like sweet and sour chicken. They served both dishes with a sauce that had shredded carrots in it. I don't know what it is but it was too spicy for me so I left it off.

I have also been practicing using chop sticks. I don't know if forks will be an option when we go to Vietnam so I thought it would be good if I didn't look like a complete idiot. I'm getting pretty good at picking up the big stuff like the pieces of meat. I can do the noodles but my hand starts to cramp and get very tired. I keep saying that this should be my new diet, I would definitely eat less.