Cruising for Zoila

The show Flipping Out on Bravo is one of my favorites. It was off the air last year, but is back now- I had forgotten how amusing Jeff Lewis (OCD, mean, sarcastic house-flipper) can be. Maybe it takes more than one clip to appreciate it, but I thought I'd share anyway! :)

Not meant to be

I had a different adoption entry in my mind, but something else came up. I know a girl who knew a girl who is pregnant. Adoption was talked about. So I gave her our adoption profile to give to the young couple about a week ago. She finally was able to get a hold of them yesterday (I believe). At which point they had just chosen an adoptive family. Just. When the situation first came up I wasn't very hopeful because it sounded like it was just the parents that wanted them to make an adoption plan. But the more I learned, which wasn't too much, but it sounded like the birth parents were leaning toward adoption also. So what did I do? I got my hopes up. Of course. The girl is only 3 or 4 months along, so I would have never thought they would already choose a family. This is the rollercoaster of adoption. Hopes rise, hopes crash. Over and over. We cling to any little thing that could become something. Even if we try not to, it stays on our mind.

I trust and know that God has our baby, and we will adopt the child who meant to be ours. But this morning I'm crying just a little.

I've said it before and I'll say it again

Birth mother's are incredible. The pain they go through is beyond imaginable. The feelings of literally giving up your baby, and then the doubt and the worry after the baby is gone. The grief...I cannot imagine. I sometimes watch Adoption Stories on Discovery Health. I like to see how every situation is different. But every time I watch a birth mother spend her last minutes with her baby and then handing her away...I just lose it. The pain is so real. Every night I pray- I wish for you to also- for birth mothers. That God gives them the strength to make the decision that is right for them. That once they make that decision, they continue to have strength to get through what they decide. I wish abortion never happened, but I pray for those mother's also. I cannot imagine what they must be feeling to terminate a pregnancy- the fear, the pain, the sadness. To all birth mother's who chose not to raise their babies because they believe and/or know that the baby deserves a better life: Thank you, and may God always give you strength and peace in your decision.

P.S. Please do NOT make this a political post. I will delete any comment made negatively about abortion.

For my love, Davin

The Winner is....

CONGRATULATIONS Sue!!!!
Just one question, just which Sue are you? Eek, I don't know who my winner is! Just shoot me an email, okay? (lorz.kangas@gmail.com) and give me an address of where to send this bag!


I just wanted to say this giveaway was so much fun!!! About twenty (yes, 2-0) people entered, some with more than one entry! I love the prize, I love the game, and I'm already thinking about my next one! Thanks everyone for participating! :)

Reminder- GIVEAWAY

Just a reminder that this giveaway ends tomorrow night- get your entry in!!!

Hi

That's all.

Curiousity and the Cross-dresser

Because everyone (including myself) is sick of hearing about my sleep issues.

So, the other day I was at work. I saw a man walk in and thought nothing of it because husbands/boyfriends/etc. always are in our store. However, after awhile I noticed he was filling up his arms with clothes. So I walked up to him and said (all cheerfully), "So, are you here with someone or are you shopping for someone?" To which this large man, wearing guy jeans, a casual tee, and a Red Sox baseball hat said, "Just for me!" Oops. My immediate response, "Fantastic! Let me get you a fitting room started!" So I did. Piles and piles of skirts, dresses, and all else dressy. I had put him in the back-up dressing room as we don't normally allow men in our dressing rooms, so I was sure to check up on him often. Both so that he knew he wasn't neglected away from the main dressing rooms, but also because....dare I say it?...I was wanting him to show off his clothes!!! Don't gasp, you know you would be curious also! And it's not that I haven't seen cross-dressers before, but, dude, a fashion show? That would be just plain awesome. Alas, he never came out with the clothes on. However, he did leave with a long, flared denim skirt. He put two things on hold that "he LOVES and HAS to have" (as he said in a very manly, not at all flare voice). One was a red dress coat (agreed, it is gorgeous), and the other was a denim vest to go with the skirt.

So, Matt didn't give me a fashion show, as I was secretly hoping, but you can bet I tried to imagine him with a long denim skirt, with a brick red dress coat over it! :)

ETA: I cross-dress sometimes myself. You know, men's jeans and a men's t-shirt. Even boy short panties. I'm stylish that way.

Tired Grrr

Slept, oh, a couple hours last night. Don't get me wrong, I am still thankful for the 7 hours the night before, but I couldn't hope, wish, pray it would happen two nights. But of course not.

I've have insomnia for as long as I can remember. It goes in cycles of sorts. I can go many month getting 8-plus hours of sleep. Sometimes I get frustrated during those times also because even though I get that amound of sleep, I wake up a minimum of 2 times a night- usually it's three or four. This isn't healthy sleep. I'm not getting that deep sleep that allows our body to completely rest. Right now it's been about three weeks of insomnia. And what it does to the mind- MAN!- it's takes it toll. If you have insomnia, or even not, you can probably understand just how important sleep is for our mental health. And physical health. I've lost my appetite (seriously), every muscle in my body is tense, and my face is swelled up mad. I got a massage yesterday- she couldn't get beyond the surface of the rocks of muscles. And I don't mean I'm buff- just tight. Well, not tight in a good way, tight in a tense way.

-YAWN- I know this is my third post in a row about sleep. I should apologize, but this my life, thus my blog. I do have a better entry in mind, but I'm too tired to put in in words. I'm going to sleep now. Ha.

Happy *sigh*

I just slept for 7 hours straight. Seven HOURS. I was so happy when I woke up at 7:30 this morning that there was no way I could fall back to sleep. Happy, happy, happy! Take that, stupid body- the mind has conquered this battle of the war! HA!

Oh, happy *sigh*.

Grrr!

I have battles with myself often- not so much since my *crazy* days, but they come up from time to time. Sometimes Mind vs Mind, sometimes Body vs Body. The latest:

Mind VS. Body, Round 2,021.

I can't sleep lately. My body seems to think 4 hours of total sleep is adequate. Which often means cycles of 30-60 minutes sleeping, followed by at least 2 hours of full awakeness. My mind, on the other hand, knows that just isn't enough sleep, especially in crazy short cycles. The problem is my body is kind of laid-back and cocky, and thinks it's funny to win the battle. My mind...well, my mind has a really bitchy temper. It's a lose-lose. Thus the Grrr!

Giveaway- Best bag EVER

I won this bag from Punkyseed a couple months ago. It is AWESOME! I'm all about using reusable bags. The problem is they get left in my car and I forget about them until I'm checking out. But this beauty- this fits in my purse. And, for the record, I don't have a bottomless-yell-to-hear-your-echo purse; or as Davin calls them- a war bag. :P Not that I'm against war bags- I fully intend on having one when I have a baby. But for now I have my cute cross-body, flat*ish* Fossil purse. And the bag rolls up (easily, may I add- I don't have endless patience), and slides perfectly in one of the phone pockets for easy access. And the bag is STRONG. I had 3 two-liters of soda, a one-liter of water, and a few big bags of candy in it the other day and it held no problem. All the goodies were for my "me" night. Kidding. They were for the fam. Not that I wouldn't eat two big bags of tootsie rolls on my own. And, last, but probably most importantly, it's super cute!!!

So, you want one? You know you do! Leave a comment telling me which design you like best for one entry. To find your design visit http://www.envirosax.com/. You may choose from the Graphics, Kids, or Green Grocers series. (5-1 not valid for this giveaway- sorry). ***For a second entry, post a link to this post on your blog or on facebook.

Since it's summer and everyone is busy on vacation and getting ready for school, I'm giving this giveaway two weeks before I randomly draw a winner. The giveaway closes at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009. Good luck! :)

Oh, by the way, this bag is my every-store bag. Book stores, check. Target, check, check. Grocery store, triple check. You WILL get a ton of use out of it! :)

Thank you, Charlie

So, as some of you may know, yesterday I sent out almost 300 emails to principals and school administrators around the state. I started at about 9 a.m. and finished around 9 p.m. Other than some yoga, a shower, and eating a couple meals, that's all I did yesterday. My eyes were burning by the time I shut down my computer. And I knew it was a 'risk' sending to principals because they probably get many emails, but I figured they were the ones who could forward it on to their staff. Anyway, I went to bed exhausted and feeling a little defeated because I wasn't sure sending the emails was going to lead anywhere.

Then my phone rang about half an hour ago. It was a 218 number, so it made me go, "huh". I answered and the caller said, "Hi, Laura. This is Charlie from Greenway High School. I just got your email and felt compelled to give you call". !!! He said he definitely noticed the email because it was sent directly to him and not a secretary (and also because it was from a Kan***- there are A LOT in the Iron Range). :) We chatted for about five minutes, and he said he is sending on the email along with a note that he had personally spoke to me and would encourage anyone to be in touch with us if they hear of an adoption situation.

Oh, yeah, it was worth those 12 hours and 300 emails. Thank you, Charlie from Greenway High School. :)

On the search for...

...a vellia recipe. Yeah, yeah, I probably spelled that wrong, but you know what I'm talking about. :D But I don't really want the St. John's recipe that serves hundreds- just a single batch would be good! Thanks in advance to anyone who has the recipe! :)

House with attitude!

Before...

After!