Meme from a wonderful mother

I’ve been tagged by Stefanie at Ni Hao Y’all with this meme, which she thought might distract me from the tragedies of the China quake. A good thought, and I think I’ll take her up on it!

Favorite person (outside family)? I can’t possibly pick just one! In fact, I have a large and ever-expanding pool of favorite people these days, for which I am very thankful!

Favorite food? I think I always say “Lemongrass shrimp”, which is a Vietnamese dish and, yes, probably my favorite. So let me think of something different this time...ummm...Thai green curry. The really, atomically hot kind that clears your lungs and sinuses and makes you feel instantly healthier and more worldly!

Quirks about you? I aspire to Stefanie’s signing with her hands while watching TV...someday I’d like to be able to sign that well. Sign language is my new favorite thing. But my quirks are less graceful...here are a few: I hate carnival rides. Chocolate is the first thing I put in my mouth when I wake up in the morning. I always fall asleep on my right side. I sleep with my dog under the covers, curled against my legs.

How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less? OK, I asked him. It’s late, he just got home from work, and he’s playing with my dog, Sam, so his words were: “The mother of my Sam”.
He also said “Stinkybananaface”... Don’t ask!

Any regrets in life? No, because every choice that I made, every experience that I had, good or bad, beautiful or ugly, difficult or joyful, led me to where I am today...and where I am today is the best place I could possibly imagine being in life. So I would have to say that, although it wasn’t always a smooth road, I am VERY grateful for every step that lead me to where I am right now.

Favorite Charity/ Cause? Naturally, China is very much on my mind at this stage of my life. There are many, many good charities to help the children in China’s social welfare system. Because we’re adopting through the Special Needs program, it’s a particular cause of mine. I myself like to help sponsor surgeries for children with urgent medical needs.
As for causes, I’d always have to mention environmental stewardship —alternative forms of energy, recycling (on all levels), reducing toxins in our environment, and protecting the earth’s ecosystems.

Favorite Blog recently? This is a tough one, because I have so many favorites, but as far as recent discoveries go, I’d have to say Persisting Stars, because it’s so vibrant, heartfelt, and full of a deep and abiding love of life (and because the photography is so, so beautiful!): http://persistingstars.blogspot.com/

Something you can’t get enough of? My dog Sam’s whiskery kisses. My husband’s random and unsolicited hugs and neck-bites. Daydreams of our daughter.

Worst job you’ve ever had? Hmmmmmm... you know, I’ve actually liked most of my jobs. I’ve been lucky that way. I guess I’d say hostessing in a busy restaurant in NYC in my 20s. I was particularly ill-suited to hostessing. Fortunately it didn’t last long.

What job would you pay NOT to have? Anything in the service industry. I’ve done my time. Anyone who has NOT worked in the service industry would never believe how rude people are to waitresses. It’s appalling.

If you could be a fly on the wall, where? In my daughter’s wing of the Xuzhou SWI, Jiangsu province, China. I am longing for a peek into her life right now. I am counting the days until we see updated photos of her!

Favorite Bible verse right now? Because I’m studying China at the moment, its writings and its culture and its philosophers, I’m going to replace this question for the time being with a few words from Lao Tzu, which I find particularly appropriate to the plight of the China quake’s many victims:
Only simple and quiet words will ripen of themselves.
For a whirlwind does not last a whole morning,
Nor does a sudden shower last a whole day.
Who is their author? Heaven-and-earth!
Meditating on those words, my "simple and quiet words" are these: I grieve for all the mothers who have lost children, and I pray that their storm will pass quickly, allowing the healing to begin.

Guilty Pleasure? Shopping for baby things! It’s dreadful and I have to stop, because I don’t believe in having too much “stuff”. I don’t want her to have toys coming out her ears. I want the things she has to be precious and meaningful, unique and beautifully-made.

Got any confessions? Since getting our referral, I have spent too much on Etsy!! ;)

If you HAD to spend $1,000 on YOURSELF, how would you spend it?
This is a tough one because right now I don’t want to spend on myself, I want to spend on QiuQiu! There have not been many times in my life when I couldn’t think of some way to pamper myself, but at this point I can only think of what she hasn’t had in life, and how much I want to give her.
OK, if I HAD to spend it on me, I’d fly to Alabama to visit my sister-in-law (and QiuQiu's Godmother) and her family and go to the beach! I haven’t set my toes in sand or seen an ocean sunset for ages!

Favorite thing about your house? Oooh! So many things! My absolute favorite right now is QiuQiu’s nursery. I also love the beautiful wood floors and the exotic rugs, the glass doors that open from our bedroom onto the back patio, and the morning light through the windows of the mud room.

Least favorite thing about your house? We have some old wiring that is less than ideal. Also, the back yard, which is a project that has yet to come to fruition.

One thing you are bad at? Housekeeping. I’m working on it.

One thing you’re good at? I’m physically strong. And I’m pretty good at most things creative.

If you could change something about your circumstances, what?
I would feel more at ease if we could increase our income a bit, going into parenthood. We're working on that, too.

Who would you like to meet someday? Easy: Our daughter! I’m hoping that goal isn’t too distant at this point!

What makes you feel sexy? Camping in the desert.

Who is your real life hero? My mother, hands down. She is brave, uncomplaining, constant, loving, adventurous, generous to all and sundry, a tremendously hard worker, a lover of culture, and a person of great and abiding virtue (and she will probably laugh at me for saying that, but it’s true.) She is also my role model in motherhood.

What is the hardest part of your job? Unfortunately, the hardest part is trying not to be constantly distracted by the computer, which is just five feet from my work table. Maybe I should put the computer in another room. Hah! Never gonna happen!

When are you most relaxed? Riding bikes with my husband on his days off.

What stresses you out? Anything that requires organization. Like bills, adoption paperwork, keeping my calendar up to date. I live in constant fear of my own scatterbrainedness. Is that a word?

What can you not live without? My own strength of mind.

Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? I haven’t read it, but I think most of us bloggers are well aware of our affliction, ha-ha! But in another sense, blogging for me has lead me to many irreplaceable and endlessly supportive friendships, from which I have learned a great deal and through which I have grown tremendously as a person. That aspect of blogging has very little to do with narcissism.

Why do you blog? Many reasons. I started this blog as a record of our adoption process that our daughter would someday be able to read (if she’s interested) and that I will be able to revisit as she grows. I don’t journal, never have, so this is really my journal. Also, I hope to demystify Special Needs adoption for anyone who might be thinking about it, and in fact, as a journalist, I’d someday like to write articles and maybe a book about our adoption process. So in a way this blog serves as my memory-jogger as I compose what I’d like to write.