So, my latest obsession is the new show, Army Wives. Kinda like Desperate Housewives goes to Ft. Bragg.
Yes, some of it's kinda Hollywood. But most of my life wouldn't make interesting TV. I'm sure they have to jazz it up and create some unrealistic situations or no one would watch. There are some inaccuracies, to be sure. There're some sloppy uniforms and more than a little "Pizza Delivery! (our slang for bad beret wear).
But some of the situations are amazingly true-to-life. Buying items for deployment checklists, without even knowing what the stuff is. Having life stop at 1700 for retreat. Jody's. Having to be a single mom while still being married. The camaraderie that comes from a shared experience of being married to a Soldier, even if you've never met the person. I love how they show the interaction of Soldier and spouse and that this is an occupation that is shared as a couple, whether the spouse works outside the home or not.
I'm interested to see if anyone who's not affiliated with the military is watching and enjoying this. A lot of my Army spouse friends are consumed with discussing this each Monday morning.
When we first began the process of adopting from China, the wait from log in to being matched was about 8 months. The most recent set of matches waited over 20 months and the wait continues to grow. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!!! Those of you who know me are aware that my shopping obsession is shoes. (and now the whole blogisphere knows too!)
Yikes! Our fingerprints have expired. Now, I watch CSI and on that show, they can find the bad guys from fingerprints that are years old. So I know fingerprints don't really expire. I believe that it only our background check that has expired. However, USCIS background checks seem to be triggered by the act of taking fingerprints. We have plenty of time to get them updated when we renew our 797c. It does seem to me that they could just rerun the background check with our fingerprints that they now have on file. But I'm often accused of unreasonably expecting governmental agencies to behave logically. 
Here are my Phoenix flowers. No, not flowers from Arizona, but flowers that rose from the ashes. I left my gerber daisies in their pot outside all winter long, through three pretty hard freezes (for Georgia, at least). This Spring when I went to replant the pot - lo and behold - I found new growth. This is what they look like today!
July 10 marked the eleven month anniversary of the date our dossier was logged in by the CCAA in China. It's remarkable how this time has flown. We're spending our time preparing to be parents. We've read some remarkable books and watched some wonderful videos. We're planning a few trips as a couple without children. In short, we're trying to enjoy the journey and not just rush to the end. 
On July 5, referrals arrived for those logged in through November 14, 2005. A whole week of LIDs this month. Who'd have expected that a week would seem like a lot. Only 260 log-in dates ahead of us. 
