It happened again...

So I got 'Tagged' by my dear sister Sara. So if you're totally bored outta your mind by this post then blame it on her. You can even leave mean comments on her blog: garates.blogspot.com

At least this one is different from my last. You must list 6 random 'quirks' about yourself. Also, you must list the rules (as I just did) and name 6 other victims that must follow suit.

So here it goes:

#1: I like plain, weird food combinations. For instance, I love taking white rice and adding either something like mangos, or tomatoes. That's it. I could eat a vat of the stuff.

#2: I can write backwards. Like, not only would I write right to left, but the letters would be backwards as well. If you flip the paper over you can read it and it'll look like 'normal'. Does that make sense? I discovered I had that talent one night during OT Survey II (or a class like that) and I hate to admit it - but I was bored. I would write hymns backwards. Call me crazy, but it was kind of fun.

#3: I have a secret fantasy of wanting to be a back up dancer in a music video. I don't think this needs further explanation.

#4: I love to listen to songs on 'repeat'. I go through 'kicks' where I really get into certain songs. About a year ago, my song of choice was 'Poison' by Alice Cooper. I couldn't get enough of it. So I made a CD that played Poison twice, and then a few songs by Def Leppard, and then Poison again. When asked why Poison was on there so much, I responded with, 'I like that song'. (and as a little hint, when played on 'repeat', at certain points you got to hear Poison 3 times in a row!!!) Right now I like Leona Lewis and I can run all my errands during the course of about 3 songs. So I just play the same ones over and over. If we're driving anywhere for a decent period of time, Bob won't let me listen to certain CD's more than one time through, no 'repeats'.

#5: I cry really easily in movies. I remember babysitting the first time I saw The Little Mermaid and I started crying at the end. (don't knock it - if you didn't tear up when Ariel hugged her father and whispered, 'I love you daddy' then your heart is made of stone!) It's also not the coolest when you can't stop crying in E.T. while watching it with the entire 8th grade class. In college after watching Message in a Bottle, I couldn't stop crying for 10 minutes after the credits ended. If I tried to talk about it, then I'd start sobbing again. Same goes for a TV version of Phantom of the Opera. I think this was around highschool, and I remember afterwards just going into the bathroom and letting myself 'ugly cry' for a little while. I got a migrain after crying from My Girl, and ask Sara how I was after Becoming Jane or even Brother Bear.

And I don't limit myself to movies. I can cry in books too. Most notably: The Notebook and Jane Eyre. Bob will just look at me and say, 'you're kidding me, right?'

#6: I love what Sara and I refer to as 'factory work'. I love doing things with my hands over and over again. Stuffing envelopes? I'm your girl. Data entry? Sign me up. I can cut, fold, tie, wrap, - you name it! I'll do it! So the next time you find yourself needing to stuff and address 5000 invitations, just call me up! And don't forget Christmas time... I'll wrap all your presents too. Just make sure you have bowl of rice and mangos for me.

And for those of you just dying to know, here's the next six I've tagged!
Cousin Elizabeth - you need to update your blog anyway
Kim - Since Big Boy is gone - you gotta have some time to kill, right?
Aunt Pat - since you just found your blog's password again, I'm not taking any more excuses!
Nancy - sorry friend - but I just gotta do it
Doreen - don't pretend you didn't read this
Heather - yes, I'm talking to you. Stop sewing and list your quirks!

It's OFFICIAL!!!

Today Claire is forever a LESIW!!! For those who didn't know (I didn't tell very many people) today was the court date to finalize Claire's adoption. I wouldn't say that I 'stressed' over this during the wait, but I have to admit, it is SUCH a great feeling knowing that it's all over. Nothing can change this, Claire is FOREVER my daughter. She's 'felt' like my daughter since day 1, but now it's just legal and binding. Gotta love it.

Funny thing - our adoption hearing was the FIRST for our judge - EVER! I think he was more nervous than we were.

The bailiff took all these nice pictures for us. But to you, they would have been really boring. Just photos of us sitting at the table signing the forms - can you see Claire checking out the paper? She was REALLY good during the whole process.

And here we are, outside of the courthouse. (It was really windy - so cut us some slack) The entire 'hearing' took 7 minutes - and that was including our photo-op with the judge.

It's hard to believe that a little over 13 months ago our precious Claire came into our lives. We are so incredibly thankful to God for giving us our daughter. She has given us so much joy, and we can't wait to see what her future holds.

TAG! You're 'IT'

So a little while ago my friend Nancy 'tagged' me, and I've just been to lazy - I mean, busy - to fill the stuff out. I know I've been 'tagged' before by other bloggers but I didn't know what it meant. Now that I do, I'm playing by the rules. And for those of you who have played games with me, you know I never cheat. (I'm not kidding - I hate cheaters)

I'm not sure why I have to list things in quantities of 4, but I just quickly copied down the info from Nancy's blog - so here's to hoping I did this right!

4 Jobs I've Had
1. Landscaper: Sara got the joy of cleaning INSIDE the air-conditioned home of Mr. & Mrs. Tranter. Somehow I got to be the one digging up weeds in the front yard.
2. Waitress/Server: I've worked at The Buttercup Pantry, The Red Pony Cafe, Cafe Sarah's, The Green House Cafe, BJ's Brewery... and I'm thinking that's it.
3. Baskin-Robbins: You would think this was the best job on earth as you can eat ice cream all the time, but I found out that my favorite ice cream at the time had like 45 grams of fat per serving. And that was just before I quit. Bummer.
4. Sales: I sold shampoo. I LOVED it. And honestly, if the right position, with the right company became available, I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

4 Places I've Lived
1. Camino, Ca
2. Valencia, Ca
3. Ansonia, CT
4. Loomis, Ca

4 Shows I Watch on TV
1. American Idol (who doesn't - GO DAVID COOK!)
2. Dancing with the Stars (strangly addictive)
3. The Office (did you know that Angela is pregnant in real life, that's why they don't do full body shots of her??!?)
4. Step it Up and Dance (it's on Bravo- it's almost over - you've missed out on some GOOD tv)

4 Blogs I Read (if you see your name, then you've been TAGGED - I'll be checking your blogs to hold you accountable)
1. Sara Garate (she's been BEGGING me to list her name!)
2. Kimchee Kingdom (now you HAVE to update your blog Bren!)
3. Nicole Pickard (you KNOW you were hoping to see a 'shout out' from me)
4. Aunt Pat (I'm taking a risk here as I don't have your blog linked, but you're on Sara's... this is kind of an experiment to see if you read my blog!!!)

4 Favorite Foods
1. Tomatoes. Rule of thumb: if they don't come with it, order them - if they do, order more.
2. Rice. What can I say, I'm Asian.
3. Side dishes at Korean Restaurants. I'm not sure what the stuff is called, but there's some bean sprout stuff that I could eat BUCKETS of. Yes, LITERAL bucket sized portions. And then there's this 'pickled' type white radish (daikon?) stuff that is really good too!
4. Spagetti (with salt. Can you say 'get your bloat on'?!?!)

4 Places I'd Rather Be Right Now
1. In bed sleeping not having to wake up at any partical time in the morning so I could sleep all day if I wanted. I used to do that, and I LOVED it.
2. Standing in the middle of a store that is jammed packed with Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Tiffany jewelry (let's just upgrade that to diamonds - skip the silver - it's MY fantasy, right?!) and I just happen to have a credit card in my hand that has no 'limit' with my name on it.
3. Sitting on the couch cuddling with Claire. She doesn't do it often, but she's getting better! Usually if she's still half-way asleep when she gets up, I can get a good 5 minutes out of her.
4. At a Red Sox game in Fenway Park with Bob (but if we could do this during the day or early evening rather than just before midnight, that would be great.)

4 Things to Look Forward to This Year
1. Meeting Ryan Hunter Heym. He could be born by now... or still in process. Hang in there Krissie!
2. Girl's Trip to Vegas - in August
3. Working my booth at High Hill Ranch in the fall.
4. Hopefully some little vacation we'll take as a family this summer.

Whew! All done. I'm headed to bed.