We finally got our cookbooks in after a long wait for the order. Tons of you have already ordered one and I thank you so much. To make things a little easier, I created a paypal button that will allow you to pay online if you prefer and you can choose from various shipping. If you are local to me or Michael or my mom, then choose local pickup which is just the $12.00 for the cookbook. If you need it mailed to you and are ok with standard mail, choose the "media" option in the drop down. If you would like it faster, then pick the priority mail option.
I will try and ship them out at least once a week (possibly more!) and appreciate you guys not only wanting to purchase one, but all of those that helped make the cookbook come together with your awesome recipes. I have 210 to sell so please help me spread the word!! :) I hear these make great gifts :P
Peace, Love, & Recipes Galore!
Misty
Friday, January 18, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Drum Roll Please.....
We are officially a WAITING FAMILY!!! (Cue applause, fireworks, drums, anything that makes celebration noise) It happened on January 3rd! What a way to start off the new year huh? It came in a little email and it was crazy how much that little impact did for us that day. I am not sure how to even write about it, because I can't really put the feelings into words. I know there is still a long road ahead of us, but we have already chipped 2 days off that long road. Everyday we get 1 day closer to our family happening. But I need a few of those days too. I haven't been as productive as I would like to be around here getting Cupcake's room painted and setup, so that will definitely keep us busy for a while. We have a paint scheme to do, crown molding to put up, and get a light for the room. Then we can start setting up furniture and other things. So hopefully that is going to make the time go by fairly quickly.
I started praying for our birthmother a while back, but have stepped that up to about twice a day now. She is out there somewhere. And her health and well-being is so important. I know our agency will take of her if she goes in early and allows them to make sure she is getting everything she needs, which I pray she does. I also can't help but try to visualize what she will be like when we meet her. I pray that I keep it together and not cry or something to make her feel pressured or awkward! I hope she wants pictures and letters, but if she doesn't then we will respect that too. I just want her to always be assured that we are doing everything within our power to make this baby happy and top priority and to let her be happy/comfortable with her decision.
I have had a lot of questions about open adoption and how that could work, so I thought I would talk a little about that too since that is about to be such a big part of my life. It can look so different depending on the situation. But today 100% closed adoptions aren't common. Which I think is a good thing. I want my kids to know they have birthparents and be able to connect with them if they want too. If nothing else, medical history is critical. A friend of mine who is adopted said that is the one thing she hates about her adoption. Her adoption took place over 40 years ago and it was closed tighter than tight and she knows nothing of her medical history. How much would that stink if you could never fill out that stuff at just your annual physical or when you change doctors? But beyond just the factual need-to-know things, birthparents are a part of the whole story that adoptees need to know about and connect with on several levels. So openess can range from us sending photos/letters to the agency who then sends it to her...all the way to us actually exchanging numbers and visits. I think that's one of those things that you think you know what you want, say nothing more than contact through the agency, then you get to know each other and trust is built and it grows into something more. And of course, you do what is the best and healthiest for the baby. That is what is most important. So long story short, I am not sure what our openess will look like. I think it will change and grow as we go through the process.
I just want to do what is best for my kids and I think that is to know all of their family. I think it is good for them to understand adoption isn't out not wanting the baby or whatever, but out of love. Birthparents have to have a pretty big love for a baby to make an adoption plan. They have to carry this little baby for 9 months and then look at them, hold them, cuddle them, and then hand them over to another family that will see all their firsts, dry their tears, and teach them how to grow. You have to be a pretty strong parent to do that don't you think? I mean you put that baby before yourself and give them a life you want for them but for whatever reason cannot give them. I am not sure I would be strong enough to do what they are doing. I guess after sitting back and thinking about all this, it just really opened my heart to open adoption. I mean I think they should always be able to know they made a good decision and they are still a big part of the child's life. I just sort of think of them as heroes. They make unselfish decisions that have to break their hearts into a million pieces, but they stay strong. They make dreams happen for families and they shape families into larger versions that what some will ever have. They completely destroy the term "unwanted pregnancy," because through the power of adoption no pregnancy is ever unwanted. Adoption surpasses the boundaries that medical technology and nature set for us. I guess some would describe it as magic, while most would describe it as seeing God's hand at work. Babies are always described as miracles....and how big is a miracle that a couple who can't have a baby, meets up with their baby through adoption.
Obviously we will never rule out potentially having our own one day through a miracle. In fact, we hope all those "as soon as this girl I knew adopted, she got pregnant" stories that we have heard over the past year are true and it happens to us. But our desire to parent far outweighs our desire to give birth. That is not an easy point to get to throughout this process if you have tried to conceive on your own, but I can say when you get there, it feels pretty awesome. Finally being able to say I am going to be a mommy and know it's going to stick is a little overwhelming. I mean like you want to cry, laugh, turn a cartwheel, and then sorta freak-out all at the same time. Pretty cool...even though I can't really turn a cartwheel anymore...possibly ever could...I cheered & danced, but wasn't exactly the cheer queen or anything haha!
So I had promised reviews of recipes and workouts and that will come, but I figured I should share this post first. Now I need to get off of here and make my way towards the painting project I have waiting. Pray that I keep the paint on the walls!
Thank you guys for all the prayers and good thoughts that made this process go smoothly. And thank you in advance for the prayers that this will move quick and we will have our Cupcake (or probably a little Stinkbug) home soon. With that...I guess it's also probably time to clean!
Peace, Love, & New Year-Healthy You Fat Free Cake!
Misty
I started praying for our birthmother a while back, but have stepped that up to about twice a day now. She is out there somewhere. And her health and well-being is so important. I know our agency will take of her if she goes in early and allows them to make sure she is getting everything she needs, which I pray she does. I also can't help but try to visualize what she will be like when we meet her. I pray that I keep it together and not cry or something to make her feel pressured or awkward! I hope she wants pictures and letters, but if she doesn't then we will respect that too. I just want her to always be assured that we are doing everything within our power to make this baby happy and top priority and to let her be happy/comfortable with her decision.
I have had a lot of questions about open adoption and how that could work, so I thought I would talk a little about that too since that is about to be such a big part of my life. It can look so different depending on the situation. But today 100% closed adoptions aren't common. Which I think is a good thing. I want my kids to know they have birthparents and be able to connect with them if they want too. If nothing else, medical history is critical. A friend of mine who is adopted said that is the one thing she hates about her adoption. Her adoption took place over 40 years ago and it was closed tighter than tight and she knows nothing of her medical history. How much would that stink if you could never fill out that stuff at just your annual physical or when you change doctors? But beyond just the factual need-to-know things, birthparents are a part of the whole story that adoptees need to know about and connect with on several levels. So openess can range from us sending photos/letters to the agency who then sends it to her...all the way to us actually exchanging numbers and visits. I think that's one of those things that you think you know what you want, say nothing more than contact through the agency, then you get to know each other and trust is built and it grows into something more. And of course, you do what is the best and healthiest for the baby. That is what is most important. So long story short, I am not sure what our openess will look like. I think it will change and grow as we go through the process.
I just want to do what is best for my kids and I think that is to know all of their family. I think it is good for them to understand adoption isn't out not wanting the baby or whatever, but out of love. Birthparents have to have a pretty big love for a baby to make an adoption plan. They have to carry this little baby for 9 months and then look at them, hold them, cuddle them, and then hand them over to another family that will see all their firsts, dry their tears, and teach them how to grow. You have to be a pretty strong parent to do that don't you think? I mean you put that baby before yourself and give them a life you want for them but for whatever reason cannot give them. I am not sure I would be strong enough to do what they are doing. I guess after sitting back and thinking about all this, it just really opened my heart to open adoption. I mean I think they should always be able to know they made a good decision and they are still a big part of the child's life. I just sort of think of them as heroes. They make unselfish decisions that have to break their hearts into a million pieces, but they stay strong. They make dreams happen for families and they shape families into larger versions that what some will ever have. They completely destroy the term "unwanted pregnancy," because through the power of adoption no pregnancy is ever unwanted. Adoption surpasses the boundaries that medical technology and nature set for us. I guess some would describe it as magic, while most would describe it as seeing God's hand at work. Babies are always described as miracles....and how big is a miracle that a couple who can't have a baby, meets up with their baby through adoption.
Obviously we will never rule out potentially having our own one day through a miracle. In fact, we hope all those "as soon as this girl I knew adopted, she got pregnant" stories that we have heard over the past year are true and it happens to us. But our desire to parent far outweighs our desire to give birth. That is not an easy point to get to throughout this process if you have tried to conceive on your own, but I can say when you get there, it feels pretty awesome. Finally being able to say I am going to be a mommy and know it's going to stick is a little overwhelming. I mean like you want to cry, laugh, turn a cartwheel, and then sorta freak-out all at the same time. Pretty cool...even though I can't really turn a cartwheel anymore...possibly ever could...I cheered & danced, but wasn't exactly the cheer queen or anything haha!
So I had promised reviews of recipes and workouts and that will come, but I figured I should share this post first. Now I need to get off of here and make my way towards the painting project I have waiting. Pray that I keep the paint on the walls!
Thank you guys for all the prayers and good thoughts that made this process go smoothly. And thank you in advance for the prayers that this will move quick and we will have our Cupcake (or probably a little Stinkbug) home soon. With that...I guess it's also probably time to clean!
Peace, Love, & New Year-Healthy You Fat Free Cake!
Misty
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Bye Bye 2012 - Hello 2013!!
Looking back on 2012 this morning as I watch a Dance Moms marathon (don't judge me - I know you watch Swamp People and Duck Dynasty!). 2012 was a year. It was up, it was down, it was a mess. It started off so horribly with the loss of my Heidi (our beautiful Australian Shepherd). I have cried many tears throughout the year over her and how much I still blame myself over her being gone. In fact, the ASPCA has tried to have me jump off the roof with all the abused dog and cat commercials that I have viewed while off of work. But the one thing all the loss has done is brought us closer to the furry little peanuts we have in Hef and Coco. They have become 9 times more spoiled, and as I look at the 30 toys spread around the room where they were playing last night, it makes me smile.
A big up for 2012 was our trip back to Miami. I LOVE MIAMI!! If you know me, you know Florida is my home. Well not really, but I want it to be. Beaches, water, warm weather, and where I can sport the glass slippers of the south all year long! (Flip flops in case you didn't know) But this year Miami brought beautiful weather and Wrestlemania. I met CM Punk for the first time and was absolutely a giddy nut job during it. (I apologize Punk...I will try and be better next time!) But Miami was amazing. I miss it and the Cuban food already and can't wait to go back again one day.
Pulling into Miami in our Mecedes SUV (yeah....that's what happens when Enterprise accidentally double rents a regular car and you get there last....they upgrade you to the big kids car!! Whoop Whoop!) was when I got the call from my RE saying they could bump my appointment up a week. Little did I know moving that appt up would start a rocky road. I experienced the joy and elation of being pregnant because of this office and doctor. As much as the loss rocked the very foundation I stand on, I am happy to have had a chance to experience that piece of life. To know and understand what it was like, even if for only what seemed like seconds, was an amazing feeling.
The losses took me to the lowest spot I have ever been in, but I was pulled back out and headed back on the road to watch what I love, wrestling. Those 2 hours shows do wonders for a girl that had been through what I had been through. And while you laugh at it being wrestling, wrestling is my thing, but think of yours. What do you love doing or attending more than anything? It's about the feeling and the comfort you get from doing it. So that's why it was so special.
Along this road we were accepted into our adoption agency. This was not just an awesome experience, but also awesome because it reconnected me with some awesome friends, Lori & Steve, who will bringing sweet Davis home from Korea in 2013!! (cue Fireworks & awesomeness now!!) Adoption was a scary thng to dive off into, because even with research, I had no idea I knew people going through it. I was so thrilled to have a buddy to ask questions to and to learn about how different adoption journeys can be. International and Domestic are different, but the emotions are the same. We are both dying to meet our family that is out there waiting for us! We also did the adoption walk together in Nashville. It was pretty awesome to see all the people around you that adoption has impacted. It was an amazing experience.
I was also blessed through adoption long before now. My amazing friends that are adopted have been incredible. Even though I knew they were adopted, I never knew their whole story. Two have been kind of enough to share and it is so awesome. I have enjoyed listening to their thoughts on the way their lives were shaped and also their thoughts on how adoption has changed over the last 30 years. If you have never talked to someone that was adopted, I think you should. You will be amazed at what all they have to say and how amazing the adoption process is. I can't say enough about how much I appreciate them sharing with me and beyond that, just the friendship they have always given me. True friends are so hard to come by and having their support for so many years and especially now, I just can't say thank you enough.
2012 ended not exactly how I wanted it too. I wanted to be officially approved/our profile being shown and that didn't happen. We are just one step away, but with holidays and vacations, etc. that step didn't happen. But that's ok. We celebrated like it was official and started on Cupcakes room. Christmas was all about Cupcake this year. Books, toys, bedding, strollers, and pack-n-plays now fill up my house and it seems so real that Cucpcake is on their way home. It's scary and exciting! Hopefully by this time next week we will be official and I can start being nervous about being shown to birth moms!
So what does 2013 hold? I pray for a year of excitement. I am happy to box up 2012 and put it away. It was hard year but it taught me a lot. But now I am ready to move forward into 2013, which I see as being a year of change and growth. I may be a mom before the year is over. Wow! My birthday is 28 days away and I already have my gift. I got tickets to wrestling. (Are you shocked?) But I am so excited about it! I am working on trying out new recipes to share with ya'll....something to keep the blog fun while we wait :) I have 82 days before I have to fit into a bridesmaid's dress. Operation Bridesmaid is already in full effect. Clean eats and glitter sweating in the gym. (Yeah I am so awesome I sweat glitter....yes it can happen!) Michael also decided to join the fun and wanted to try a new workout home DVD. You know we did Insanity and P90X. This go we will be trying TapoutXT. I will try and review it on here so you guys can see how good it is and if it delivers results. I am also going to try Amanda Latona's Miracle booty workout...since I have never known what a booty could look like. I know what hips look like for sure...just not booty. So if it truly leaves me with Booty-Booty-Rockin'-Everywhere (that was for you Casey-Hizzle!) then I will recommend it on here and show you the results. If it is a flop...well I will let you know that too.
So with black-eyed peas on the stove and turnip greens next up and potatoes in the crock pot, here is to 2013. I plan on spending today with the furry babies and Michael watching football and eating good food that I have been told is good luck. Honestly, I am not much of one who believes in luck (my favorite wrestler has a tattoo that says luck is for losers....any idea why I adore him?), but I eat it anyway. It's a tradition now more than anything. Luck isn't something I trust in. I trust in faith and taking the reigns and making things happen. I don't rely on luck...I rely on hard work and if you see something you want...you make it happen. So 2013 - watch out - I plan on making you the year that other years will envy. Let's rock it out :)
Watch for a recipe review for the potatoes in the crockpot, clean chicken chipotle soup and oatmeal bake soon.
Until then - Peace, Love, & Glitter!
Misty
A big up for 2012 was our trip back to Miami. I LOVE MIAMI!! If you know me, you know Florida is my home. Well not really, but I want it to be. Beaches, water, warm weather, and where I can sport the glass slippers of the south all year long! (Flip flops in case you didn't know) But this year Miami brought beautiful weather and Wrestlemania. I met CM Punk for the first time and was absolutely a giddy nut job during it. (I apologize Punk...I will try and be better next time!) But Miami was amazing. I miss it and the Cuban food already and can't wait to go back again one day.
Pulling into Miami in our Mecedes SUV (yeah....that's what happens when Enterprise accidentally double rents a regular car and you get there last....they upgrade you to the big kids car!! Whoop Whoop!) was when I got the call from my RE saying they could bump my appointment up a week. Little did I know moving that appt up would start a rocky road. I experienced the joy and elation of being pregnant because of this office and doctor. As much as the loss rocked the very foundation I stand on, I am happy to have had a chance to experience that piece of life. To know and understand what it was like, even if for only what seemed like seconds, was an amazing feeling.
The losses took me to the lowest spot I have ever been in, but I was pulled back out and headed back on the road to watch what I love, wrestling. Those 2 hours shows do wonders for a girl that had been through what I had been through. And while you laugh at it being wrestling, wrestling is my thing, but think of yours. What do you love doing or attending more than anything? It's about the feeling and the comfort you get from doing it. So that's why it was so special.
Along this road we were accepted into our adoption agency. This was not just an awesome experience, but also awesome because it reconnected me with some awesome friends, Lori & Steve, who will bringing sweet Davis home from Korea in 2013!! (cue Fireworks & awesomeness now!!) Adoption was a scary thng to dive off into, because even with research, I had no idea I knew people going through it. I was so thrilled to have a buddy to ask questions to and to learn about how different adoption journeys can be. International and Domestic are different, but the emotions are the same. We are both dying to meet our family that is out there waiting for us! We also did the adoption walk together in Nashville. It was pretty awesome to see all the people around you that adoption has impacted. It was an amazing experience.
I was also blessed through adoption long before now. My amazing friends that are adopted have been incredible. Even though I knew they were adopted, I never knew their whole story. Two have been kind of enough to share and it is so awesome. I have enjoyed listening to their thoughts on the way their lives were shaped and also their thoughts on how adoption has changed over the last 30 years. If you have never talked to someone that was adopted, I think you should. You will be amazed at what all they have to say and how amazing the adoption process is. I can't say enough about how much I appreciate them sharing with me and beyond that, just the friendship they have always given me. True friends are so hard to come by and having their support for so many years and especially now, I just can't say thank you enough.
2012 ended not exactly how I wanted it too. I wanted to be officially approved/our profile being shown and that didn't happen. We are just one step away, but with holidays and vacations, etc. that step didn't happen. But that's ok. We celebrated like it was official and started on Cupcakes room. Christmas was all about Cupcake this year. Books, toys, bedding, strollers, and pack-n-plays now fill up my house and it seems so real that Cucpcake is on their way home. It's scary and exciting! Hopefully by this time next week we will be official and I can start being nervous about being shown to birth moms!
So what does 2013 hold? I pray for a year of excitement. I am happy to box up 2012 and put it away. It was hard year but it taught me a lot. But now I am ready to move forward into 2013, which I see as being a year of change and growth. I may be a mom before the year is over. Wow! My birthday is 28 days away and I already have my gift. I got tickets to wrestling. (Are you shocked?) But I am so excited about it! I am working on trying out new recipes to share with ya'll....something to keep the blog fun while we wait :) I have 82 days before I have to fit into a bridesmaid's dress. Operation Bridesmaid is already in full effect. Clean eats and glitter sweating in the gym. (Yeah I am so awesome I sweat glitter....yes it can happen!) Michael also decided to join the fun and wanted to try a new workout home DVD. You know we did Insanity and P90X. This go we will be trying TapoutXT. I will try and review it on here so you guys can see how good it is and if it delivers results. I am also going to try Amanda Latona's Miracle booty workout...since I have never known what a booty could look like. I know what hips look like for sure...just not booty. So if it truly leaves me with Booty-Booty-Rockin'-Everywhere (that was for you Casey-Hizzle!) then I will recommend it on here and show you the results. If it is a flop...well I will let you know that too.
So with black-eyed peas on the stove and turnip greens next up and potatoes in the crock pot, here is to 2013. I plan on spending today with the furry babies and Michael watching football and eating good food that I have been told is good luck. Honestly, I am not much of one who believes in luck (my favorite wrestler has a tattoo that says luck is for losers....any idea why I adore him?), but I eat it anyway. It's a tradition now more than anything. Luck isn't something I trust in. I trust in faith and taking the reigns and making things happen. I don't rely on luck...I rely on hard work and if you see something you want...you make it happen. So 2013 - watch out - I plan on making you the year that other years will envy. Let's rock it out :)
Watch for a recipe review for the potatoes in the crockpot, clean chicken chipotle soup and oatmeal bake soon.
Until then - Peace, Love, & Glitter!
Misty
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