“I like to ride my bicycle; I like to ride my bike!”

Guess who got herself a new set of wheels?? (Well actually, hubster got it for me...)

Isn't she a beauty?!? So vintage! I love how high I sit on this bike, it is so easy on my back.

And the seat? VERY comfy! I did all my morning commuting on it. I can't wait to go on another ride. To me fall is the perfect time of year to ride bike. Do any of you enjoy bike riding?

On a side note...after a few nights with very little sleep I finished our portfolio!!! I don't think the pages are quite as sharp as the first one but for the little time I had I think it is decent. I might post some pics of it in the future but I'm just not as proud of this one as the last.

Well, that is all for now...I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

A Glitch in the Adoption Process...

In a previous post I mentioned that we were running into glitches with our portfolio. I didn't expand on the situation because I felt that complaining would be useless if this ended up being an non-issue.

Unfortunately, it isn't a non-issue. So now I feel the need to vent.

Hubster and I did our portfolio through picaboo, and online digital scrapbooking site.

Here is what we ended up with-

You get the idea...

I don't want to brag, but the entire thing looks pretty amazing. I poured my heart and soul into learning digital scrap booking this summer. I toyed with it and tweaked it until it was just right.

I proudly dropped two copies at our agency last week.

Then we got the call from our social worker.

She said that the agency requires us to have our portfolio in this-

So for the past week we've been researching our options and pleading with anyone who has the slightest expertise about digital scrapbooking and printing. But it simply can't be done. Our current portfolios pages will not fit into the presentation book our agency gave us.

So now we must re-do our entire portfolio.

I am not mad at our social worker. She told us that if she could she would let us submit our portfolio as is, but because of agency policy she can not allow us to do that.

I am a little upset with the lady who lead our adoption classes. I don't feel it was made clear that we had to use the presentation folder. They never once said they wouldn't except any other types of portfolio. And I had mentioned we were doing digital scrapbooking so I figured we were in the clear.

So now here we are. Home study complete, classes finished, paperwork turned in. But we wont be in the books for awhile because I need to re-do the portfolio.

It took me the entire summer to do the one we have currently, so lets hope I'm able to bust something out a little quicker this time.

I just feel disappointed because all we want is to be parents and now some mundane policy is making us jump through ridiculous hoops to get there.

When I'm Stressed I Create

At this point in the adoption process I would give anything to be in the waiting mode. Instead I've been wrapping up odds and ends for what seems like an eternity.

We are supposed to have everything submitted right now, our Home Study is complete and we passed with flying colors. But we are running into some glitches where our portfolio is concerned.

To top that off during my required physical it was found that I have a UTI. So now I have to spend 10 days on antibiotics and go in for re-testing before we can submit my medical information to the adoption agency.

All this crap kind of gave me a case of the blues...and as you all know, when I am stressed I create! So I made this necklace in an effort to get my mind off things...

I just adore the pendant that I used as a back drop. It is a Paua Shell which is the most colorful of the Abalone Shells. It is found along the coast of New Zealand and is truly lovely. I've sold 3 of them already so I'm guessing it'll be a popular one.

Well, that is all for now dearies. Hope all is well with you...try to make today a fantastic one!

Adoption Update

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we have our first adoption training seminar. We are required to complete 4 seminars total. We have one scheduled for this week, 2 for next, and one for the following week. Once we are done with this and we have our medical paperwork and portfolio complete we will be ready to schedule our home study!!!

I can hardly believe how quickly time is flying. It seems like just yesterday we received the call telling us we were accepted into the agency. I know that the hard part (the wait) is yet to come...but it will feel so amazing to have all adoption paperwork submitted and our home study complete.

I've been pretty busy and I haven't had a ton of time to work on our portfolio. Luckily I spent a couple days on it in the beginning of the summer so it's not like I haven't even started. Hopefully I'll find some time to plug away at that soon.

I will be sure to keep you all updated on how the seminars are going. This is such a busy and exciting time for us! Adoption is truly a blessing!

Digital Scrapbooking

Guess who is learning to digital scrapbook?!?

If you guessed me congrats!! You are the big winner!!

Ding Ding Ding!
My prize is the satisfaction you get from knowing you were right…lame, I know. ;-)

I’ve wanted to teach myself digital scrapbooking for quite some time. And now is the perfect time seeing as I have an adoption portfolio to create!

I spent a good part of my weekend going through digital photos (we have thousands, no lie) and trying to get organized. I figured that if I was able to organize our ridiculous amounts of pics and complete at least one or two pages I’d call it a successful weekend.

My grand total of pages completed this weekend….13!!!! Just let me bask in this accomplishment for one minute. 13 PAGES! WHOO HOO!!! Boy am I good.

Alright, the bragging portion of this post is now over. I hope you have deleted me from your news feed.

Here is a small sample of what I’ve done…I wasn’t able to save the full page because I have not purchased the entire book yet. So you only get a small sneak peek.

There is so much more I want to show, but I can’t until the book is done and I pay for it. I promise I will be sharing the finished product though!

Do any of you digital scrap book? I am loving it! This is going to be how I do our child’s baby book and all of our future photo albums.