A Knock at Night

OK - I just have to post this. It is now 1:28 am and an hour and a half ago there was a frantic knock at my door. I opened and the lady from downstairs (directly under my apartment) was furious. She said that I am making too much noise - that I am dropping things and dragging things. And she is sick and I have no consideration. And last night I was disturbing her at 1:00 am. I was stunned. I was actually sitting on my bed with folders, papers and books all over fixing up my class data book which is being collected tomorrow. I was in no way dropping or dragging things. She just didn't believe me. Now I am afraid to even tip-toe around. And I am asking myself what am I going to do when the baby comes home?

Now I know how Rachel and Monica felt!

Baby's First Gifts

Tonight I went to dinner with some friends and my cousin. I got a few gifts for the baby - a diaper bag. It is very nice - pink and brown and comes with a changing pad. That was from my friends Dawn and Tracey - both moms. The doll is adorable. It is anatomically correct which is unusual for a doll made from cloth. I love it. Then the last item is a cute Brooklyn hooded zip up sweatshirt. These things are very cool and much appreciated.

Sychronized Shopping

Tonight I experienced my first real/planned synchronized shopping trip. I live in NY and my best friend lives in Florida. Most of the time we just chat on the phone or email important things to each other. Since we are both teachers we do plan little vacations here and there and our friendship is as close as it was when we were living in the same country & state. (Before she moved to Florida I had moved to Trinidad for 2 years.) I came back and she left NY for FL about a month or two later.


OK, OK, back to the shopping. I guess we had always envisioned being around for important things in each other's lives such as baby shopping. So tonight she went to Target in Daytona and I went to Target on Long Island (with my sister in law and toddler niece) and we


co-registered for baby items. We made sure we were in the same sections and looking at the same items. It was fun - until our cell phone batteries started dying. Next time I will power up with more than just stuffed shells for dinner.

A Sad Day

Some of you know of Hargewoin Teferra and others do not. You can read about her by clicking on her name or here. She was one of the first people in Ethiopia to start taking in orphans. I had already decided to adopt from Ethiopia when I read the book written about her by Melissa Fay Greene (There is No Me Without You), but that book really gave me a huge insight about the AIDS epidemic and how unfair this world really is.

Hargewoin died today. I do not know how. I do not know what will happen to the children in her care. I just hope someone will continue the work she did. So sad.

Construction Day ???

I am losing track of the days, but I have picked out cabinets, hardware and the bathroom is getting tiled. Take a peek.

Luck O the American

Today I just feel very lucky - well, more like blessed because the bible says that every good and perfect gift is from above. I have been doing my report cards for a few hours now and I just needed to take another break (sometimes I have to take a break from my breaks to do my work :) to think about all the good things that are happening right now. I finally got the baby referral. I waited soooooo long. I am thrilled that it is a girl (although I may have been writing the same thing if it was a boy) and she is so young. Then there is the condo. I am living very close to where I wanted to and I can afford it (that alone is a blessing). This apartment is big enough for a baby's room to be built. When I first started looking at places I thought that I would have to live in the living room and give the baby the bedroom so being able to build a room is BIG. My brother's friend is my contractor so I can feel confident that he has the keys to my place and comes and goes when I am at work. I am not even disturbed by the noise. He is helping me make selections and the work is moving along. I never really thought I would be renovating a place - but here I am. I get to pick everything that I want - the way I want it. It is a lot to think about, but it is fun and it is a good feeling to know I can do it.

Construction Day Three: The Floor

Today is the preview of the flooring. I selected slate. I really wanted everything to be natural. I like the look. I hope it isn't too dark. I asked my contractor to use the more colorful tiles from the boxes. I just hope the bumpiness doesn't get on my nerves, but if it does at least I have no one to blame but myself.

The living room is still covered in dust and a total wreck.

And tomorrow I pick bathroom tiles. :)

Not Much New

I don't have much new to report, but I did get a comment from a friend that I put too much writing in the blog. I kind of like it since it gives me a little outlet, but I will be sure to do more photos with captions for those of you who like to skim.

No further development on the condo or the baby. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to post pictures of the floor in the kitchen. I selected slate.

The Rally

OK - Well, I have been SUPER busy. Work is busy as usual, but then I had to get the information from the international adoption doctor, go to the Union Rally in Manhattan and still do some other little things like call my cousins, aunt and uncle to tell them about the baby.

Anyway, I went to my first rally tonight. Our Chapter Leader at work organized for a bunch of us to go to City Hall to rally against budget cuts and for getting our fair share of any $ coming to the city. After we went to a bar and some people had a few drinks. I stuck with my Coke! After the rally three of us had planned to go to an Ghenet for Ethiopian food. While I was there the doctor called me and gave me the evaluation for the baby. I will call the agency tomorrow and tell them. So much is happening.

Good News

Ok, today was the day I have been waiting for. My agency called and told me that I have a baby girl - 4 months old. This is the beginning of the hard wait. I have to wait for the court case to be heard in Ethiopia. It can be from 2-6 months. I will keep you "posted."

Construction Day Two

The wall is out. I am LOVIN' it! The posts will be removed and a breakfast bar will go in the middle.

Construction: Day One

Today was day one. I left for work and this was what I came home to. They say that things have to get worse before they get better. That is the wall that is coming out. On the other side is the living room. The bags are all full of the cabinets and other garbage. I am really looking forward to the finished product. Right now I have to pick out some floor tiles. Any suggestions? I want natural stone of some kind.

Snow Day

Thanks for the cool thoughts. I am enjoying the first snow day that NYC Schools have had in the past 5 years.

Send Snowy Thoughts

Here's to hoping we will have a snow day tomorrow - may be wishful thinking as we haven't had a snow day in NYC in YEARS. Some say 5 years.

The Weekend

I am happy to report a great weekend. I LOVE having my own place again. I guess I have felt displaced for a while. I lived in NY for years teaching and then made a move to Trinidad, WI in 2004. I came back unexpectadely in 2006 and had to find a job again (which in retrospect wasn't hard at all). However, I stayed to be supportive of my family after my dad's death and so rather than get my own place right away I kind of bounced between a rented room close to work and my mom's house over an hour away. After doing that for over a year it was time to get a place where the baby (to be adopted soon) and I could stay during the week and enjoy time when I am not working after school. I am very close to the neighborhood I was in before I moved to TT. Anyway, back to the weekend. Friday afternoon I was surprised to get a call from my cousin who is in NY from LA. She wanted a ride to my mom's so I met her at a subway station and we drove together. I did my laundry and cleaned out my car and did a few other things. In the morning I went back to Queens and then Manhattan to meet my friend and her 5 year old daughter who was visiting from NJ. We met and had lunch before going to my place to wait for the couch (I had a 2-7 pm window to wait). Thankfully, they came early and we were able to sit and relax, watch movies and play Wii. So, this weekend sort of made me feel that I have my place back in the world. For one thing - when we were having lunch one of the families from the church I attended when I was in the neighborhood stopped me to say hello. That was really nice. Another thing was today when I realized that we may not have school tomorrow due to the predicted 10" of snow I was able to call my colleague to borrow a book that I left at school (not thinking about a possible snow day) since I need it to prepare a lesson plan for my final project due Tuesday (final session of a graduate class). It was a nice feeling to know that I have a few connections. Two other times I was shopping and saw teachers I work with. I was just really happy to have a place of my own to invite my friends. Also - I am just happy to have friends. It was hard socially to move back from Trinidad. I have so many friends there. Most of my friends are spread out all over the country or world. On a day to day basis I am pretty much on my own. I live for vacations. I can't wait to be finished with all my extra classes so I can feel eased up so I can revamp my social life.

Here are a few of the pics I took with my phone at the New York Aquarium today. In June I joined as a member of the New York Wildlife Conservation thing which gives a year of passes into all 5 NYC zoos - NY Aquarium, Bronz Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and Queens Wildlife Center. It was really nice there today - hardly anyone (cause who really goes to the aqarium in the winter). It was peaceful and easy to get a close look at the animals. Plus, we didnt' have to worry about losing the kid!