The most depressing day of the year?

Ok, so here's what I was not doing this past weekend, but it's still a nice picture to look at anyway. A year ago, we were in Mexico, staying in a suite with a view of the beach, we had a hammock on our balcony, and these were my feet. It was January, it was in the 80's, and it was pre-adoption. Coming up on February 2nd is our one year mark of this journey, but it all seems to have gone pretty fast.
Instead of being in Mexico today, I am at home. It is 12 degrees outside with a light snow. Russ and I spent Saturday night at the Leid Lodge in picturesque, small-town, Nebraska (it was my new thing for the week). It was lovely: a lot of timber and fireplaces, that whole log cabin feel. Being January, it was very cold outside with a lot of snow on the ground. Over dinner, I sort of pretended that we were some place much further away instead of 45 minutes from home. Hey, it isn't Mexico, but I had to be somewhere, I guess. I think we just needed a little time away to do something different, but to also escape the everyday realities around here. Maybe everyone needs that from time to time. Today I went to a meeting at work (my old job, not the new one) and was asked no less than 5 times about our adoption process, all within a span of only a few minutes. On my own, I can deal with being childless and trying to process an international adoption that feels like it is taking 100 years. It's just when I am bombarded with questions about it and the answer is always the same that it starts to bug me. The bright outlook that I started the day with is lessened somehow. I know. I shouldn't let it get to me. And people are only asking because they care. I simply want, one of these days, to have a different answer. I want the answer to be that, yes, I do know something! Am I harping on this? I do know that I have some friends that have heard me speak of this enough. They now approach me tentatively, with a pained look on their face, almost a grimace, perhaps. Then, they slowly come out with "is it OK if I ask....?" I know they do not want to offend. I don't think there are many people who do. It's just hard sometimes, that's all.
P.S. This is a downer post! Maybe, it should just be disregarded after reading, or maybe it fits: I heard on the news that today was considered by researchers to be The Most Depressing Day of the Year. Well, tomorrow is a new day....

Trying something new

These days, I'm quite aware of the post-holiday letdown. January probably isn't anyone's favorite month, really. By the time January 10th has rolled around, we are all well into the cold days and gray skies. Our Christmas decorations are down and I've already lost track of what my New Year's resolutions were. The beginning of this new year has promised to be a little difficult for us. I'm not complaining, just stating that it's hard to know what and how long we are waiting anymore. Today's count since DTC: 62 days. Not too bad.
This week has actually gone quite fast with some new and interesting things happening. I believe it is actually a good start to 2008. After I recovered from my New Year's Day flu (literally, the flu, not a hangover as it may sound), I did try to get some new ideas into my head. I have decided that, in 2008, I would like to start trying new things. This isn't a New Year's resolution, it's more like re-shaping my way of thinking. I really would like to start trying new things that might be challenging, fun, or even scary. The point is that it is new. And I'm going to try at least one new thing/activity every week. Do I sound idealistic? I don't care. I may drop this whole idea by mid-February, but for now, it's kind of fun to come up with new ideas. They don't even have to be big, just something to illicit that sense of newness instead of the feeling of same-old. I'm not sure what each week will bring, but I envision some future plans that could include skydiving and maybe Tae Kwon Do lessons?
Last week, we started off in a simple way. Instead of our usual dinner fare, Russ and I, along with my sister, travelled to small-town Nebraska to visit a steakhouse. Small towns can have some of the best food/atmosphere at times and we usually don't even recognize it. Actually, the place we visited really wasn't up there with being the best food or atmosphere, but it wasn't too bad. The food was great and the steaks were huge. And, my sister and I were both picturing the stare-down from the town's old farmers and residents who were lined up at the bar when we walked in the door. Yet, no such thing happened. It was just a nice time and a small road trip.
Monday, when I arrived home from school, there was a large box sitting in my living room. It was a Christmas gift that had come in the mail from my friend Kris! The thought is great in itself, but what was inside was even better. A Mr. Beer brewery kit! I'm so excited to even try, as I've always wondered about how to make beer or wine. Well, now I will be able to try, and that will be my new thing for the week (or longer, depending on the length of fermentation.)
So, we're off to a good start of the year. If anyone has any good ideas that I can pencil in as a future week's activity, feel free to let me know (note that Russ, my web-designer, has added our emails to the site). While we await paperwork, phone calls, or any news of our Caleb Wu, we'll do the best we can with the time we have now.