The Crab Chronicles

Early Christmas Shopping

One nice thing about having a flexible work schedule is being able to leave work early and run errands and get some things done.

 

I left work yesterday around lunchtime and went to the Russian food store that’s near here. I bought a bag of pilmeni and two chicken pierogies. I also bought a Russian cookie that was on sale, a wafer cookie iced with chocolate. I thought it was in individual cookies, but it turned out you had to cut it. Tasty.

 

I came home and put the food away, then headed back out. First stop was the car wash. I hate driving a dirty car, and mine was badly in need of a wash.

 

I left there and went to Goodwill, with the vague notion of seeing if they had an DVDs on sale. I get some great bargains there on DVDs. I like to wander around there. To my happy surprise, I was able to knock out some Christmas shopping. I found a beautiful brown leather overnight bag for Alesia, and two cute sweaters for a friend of mine. The sweaters were Eddie Bauer and looked brand new. They were $4 each. I also got a book and some tins for Christmas goodies, an ornament, a decorative bowl, and something for Mother – all for $24. Can’t beat Goodwill. Everything I got was like new or new, and good quality, too.

 

I left there and went to Sports Authority. Deceptive gits. They had big tables in front of the store with shoes on them and big signs that said Clearance. I looked through the shoes. They were all between $50 and $100! I asked a salesperson if they were marked down beyond what was on the tag and she said only  $10 less than the tag. Ridiculous! Made me so mad. I did find Michael a new tennis racquet on sale, though. It was marked down from $214 to $79. That and a videogame will be all he gets from me, and I will explain why. I am trying to keep it under $100 per person.

 

The rest of the day was spent in socializing. Michael’s friend Colton came over, and we picked up our usual sandwiches from Jersey Mike’s. Alesia had a date.

 

I do have a confession to make. We got the last Harry Potter book in the mail and we are almost ready to read it. I couldn’t wait, though. While Mike and Colton watched the Chipmunks movie, I read ahead. I couldn’t help it. I was dying to know what happened. It’s the best one yet, IMHO. I am sort of disgusted with myself for getting all caught up in the Harry Potter mania, but so be it.

 

I am glad I was able to knock out some of the Christmas shopping before next week when all hell breaks loose. I hate shopping in crowds.

Oh Happy Day

I had some news this afternoon that made me very happy. It concerns a little girl in Michael’s orphanage that I met almost 3 years ago when I adopted Michael. She was just adorable, and I wished I could have adopted her. Now she is getting a family!!

 

When I came home I learned there was a family in Colorado that wanted to adopt her, but she wasn’t available for legal reasons. Now, that hurdle is cleared and the little girl is about to get a fantastic family. Her new mom has become a dear cyber-friend, and I read her blog every day. Cindy L is so thrilled to finally get “the call” all international adoptive parents dream about - the one saying buy the plane tickets and come on, it’s time to make the adoption happen. I have been praying for Cindy, and God answers all prayers, in his time.

 

Please say a prayer that Cindy and her family will have safe and easy trips to Petropavlovsk to adopt their little girls – A has a sister, now in the same orphanage.

 

Here are some of the kids from Mike's group, who came to hug him goodbye as we left the orphanage. A is one of the girls.

 

 

Alesia hears just fine but she doesn’t always understand. This was brought home to me yet again tonight in a funny way. Just before we started watching our movie, Mother said something to Alesia about her clothes, and Alesia replied something to the effect of what’s fashionable now is the 80’s grungy look.

 

I said “Nope, Sweetie, in the 80’s it was the preppy look.”

 

She looked puzzled. “The puppy look?!” she countered.

 

I laughed. “Preppy, not puppy.”

 

Wouldn’t it have been cute if we had looked like puppies, though?!

More Rants and Raves from the Major Weirdo

As I've said before, many times, I am a Major Weirdo. Proud to be one. I relish my weirdness. I revel in it. I LIVE to embarrass my kids with my weirdness. It's my newest hobby. How dadgum boring would the world be if it weren't for weirdos.

I signed up for Napster so I could buy music, and now I can't think of anything to buy. Suddenly, every song I've ever grooved to on the radio has been wiped clean from my memory, and I stare at the Napster Search button and cannot recall a single good song.

I finally found some songs by Michael Buble. His version of "Cry Me A River," is pretty impressive, but not as impressive as Barbra. That girl gave it some drama, some topspin. Buble is talented, but too young. He won't cry a river, just maybe a thermos-full is all I could envision. Plus, I can't help but get tickled every time I say "boob-lay." It's the inner child in me, the inner adolescent that wants to giggle every time I hear it. It sounds like some naughty toy. Plus, his voice quality is such that he sounds like Barry Manilow's love child, doesn't he?? Has Barry heard Michael Buble??

 
Here he is, the Buble boy... Looks like a young Johnny Cash, sounds like Barry Manilow. Hmmmm...

I was HORRIFIED BEYOND BELIEF to see that some magazine voted JOHNNY DEPP as the Sexiest Man alive. HUH?!?! Were they smoking crack?! He just looks nasty to me, like he hasn't had a bath or shaved or had a haircut in months.. Looks like he needs to be scrubbed down with a wire brush and hosed off before I would let him come near me. If I saw him walking down the street, I'd scoot out of his way. Now, I will admit he cleans up OK. He is also a great actor. He's nearly as old as I am, and yes, us old hags can still be incredibly sexy (cough cough) but Depp as THE SEXIEST man walking?! I think not.

 

I have had my cell phone for 5 years and I do NOT want another. Ever. I want to have a cell phone other people see and snicker at. My kids snicker every time I pull out the little antenna on it. They roll their eyes when I tell them I will NOT text. Ever. I had my first cell phone for so many years, the last person I showed it to thought it was a toy phone. It was HUGE. It had a long cord where I plugged it into the car cigarette lighter. I didn't care. I only replaced after 9/11 because Mom wanted me to have a phone I could throw in my purse AND it would still work without being plugged into the cigarette lighter. Picky picky.   

I am playing Springsteen's classic song Pink Cadillac for the kids. They don't appreciate his genius. Alesia likes to laugh at me when I'm groovin.' She came in, took one look at me and said "You got a WORM in your butt, Mom?!" Laugh kid. Go ahead. One day you'll be groovin' despite your arhuritis and your kids will laugh at you and YOU WON"T CARE - if I raised you right...

 "Riding in the back, oozin' down the street..." Genius. "Honey I just wonder what it feels like in the back of your PINK CADILLAC?!" They don't know what's good. Youth is wasted on the young. "My LOVE is bigger than a Honda. It's bigger than a Subaru... We can park it out in back and have a party in your Pink Cadillac." I love the way he sings PANK CADILLAC..... I grew up mostly in East Tennessee where everyone said pank.

I've had kind of a crappy day, but Bruce cheered me up.

Here's a good video version of it:

 

When he first started singing I was thinking Bruce was looking a little long in the tooth, a bit like Robert DeNiro. By the end of the song you know what? I am htinking HE should've been voted Sexiest Man Alive. Who do I contact about that?!!!

Models and Soccer

I got to work yesterday, and one of my colleagues told me one of my tires was going flat. I kept watching it, and it got flatter and flatter as the morning progressed. I finally left and got some air in it at Quik Trip, then took it to the Chevron station. Bottom line, I needed 4 new tires. Ouch. My car is 10 years old and has not had new tires in more than 5 years, so it was time.

 

I talked to a photographer who lives 5 minutes from my house, and he came over and met with us about doing professional photos of Alesia. I am going to try and get her some work as a model. He felt like she would be able to get that kind of work. He complimented her on her looks, but also talked to her about what it takes to be a model. You have to be mentally tough and have the right attitude. He has experience helping young models, and has also worked with models. He was extremely nice. Alesia didn’t dissolve into giggles or act too shy, which was a relief.

 

I don’t think Alesia can make a living as a model. I was just thinking she might make some extra money for college. I told her she wouldn’t be allowed to just blow her modeling money, but would need to put it in the bank. I will be going with her to shoots and making sure the money gets banked.

 

 

Michael had a tryout for a local soccer team last night. He had already had a tennis lesson and was tired. He got out on the lighted soccer field with the other 13 and 14 year olds and just looked tiny. Some of those boys were 6 feet tall. I was anxious, watching him. He plays well, but not as well as these boys. I don’t think it’s the team for him, but perhaps the coach knows of another team he could join. He was very down after the practice. I told him 2 sports may just be too much for him anyway. Poor kid. He loves soccer. 

 

 

I made a quiche for dinner and we ate after soccer, about 8:45, which is much later than I’d like. The quiche turned out well, though. I forgot to tell the kids my funny quiche story. Years ago, a book was published called Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche. Dad refused to eat it after that. So Mom and I called it cheese pie, and then he would eat it. LOL.

Falling Leaves and Snowflakes

I know it’s truly fall, because one of our neighbors called Alesia after school and asked if she could come help her rake up the leaves piled in her front yard. She is a widow, and Alesia was glad to help. The leaves are at their peak around here, but maybe they are turning the corner, because they are falling quickly now.

 

 

Michael was very proud of himself because he had all A’s and B’s on his report card. It’s sort of remarkable, given some tests he recently screwed up, but of course there are lots of ways to make good grades and he does well on his homework, with help.

 

Alesia did well too, but had C’s in Algebra and Chemistry. I asked her how she planned to pull those grades up and she looked embarrassed. “I hope you’re not so distracted by DN that you’re neglecting your grades,” said Mother. I looked at her, nodding. Alesia looked embarrassed. “NO!” she protested.

 

“Alesia, you need to get your grades up, OK, for college, right?” I reminded her.

She assured us she would work on those grades. She is close to a B in both classes.

 

 

I was SO excited to see the mail today. My friend Teresa Kelleher’s book arrived, Snowflakes: A Flurry of Adoption Stories. Michael’s story of his early life is in there, as well as a small piece I wrote. It’s a beautiful book, and filled with fascinating writing by both adopted children and adoptive parents and fmaily members. Most of the essays are not long. Anyone thinking of adopting a child should read the book. Adopted children past 5^th grade or so will enjoy it, too.

 

Michael re-read his essay thoughtfully. He wrote it more than a year ago. It recalls some painful memories from his time with his birthmom. I patted his back as he read. "You should be very proud, Michael. I am VERY proud of you, Sweetie."

Here you can see more about it, from Teresa’s website. You can order it from Amazon here. What a great Christmas gift!

 

 
 

America in Films

 

As anyone who has been reading The Crab Chronicles for any length of time knows, I am a movie fanatic. We watch a movie every night at my house, both new movies and the occasional classic.

Mother sent me to video above and I really enjoyed watching it. Mike watched it too, and he recognized a lot of the clips. I am making an effort to show the kids a lot of the classic movies I think they should see, for one reason to better understand American culture. If you sat an English-speaking non-American down and they watched every single one of these movies, they would have a good understanding of the American character. Ph.D. dissertation material in film studies, actually. I digress...

One thing I'd like to point out is Ingrid Bergman, in Casablanca. I have always thought my mother bore an uncanny resemblance to Ingrid Bergman, especially when they were both young...

 

Gotcha Day Recap

We had a great day yesterday, and Alesia's 5 year Gotcha Day went extremely well, I thought. She got to go shopping, eat ribs, and hang out with her BFF and boyfriend.

 

Alesia chose to have breakfast at Waffle House, and we had a good, filling breakfast there, as usual. Alesia ate a waffle, hash browns, sausage, and coffee. I can’t get her to stop drinking coffee, although telling her it stains her teeth might help, hmmmm..

 

It was a gorgeous day here yesterday, sunny and temps in the upper 60’s.

 

While Alesia had her second SAT prep class in the morning, I took Mike and his friend Colton to buy a basketball. There is a new basketball hoop right near the tennis courts now and they had a fun time shooting hoops, and playing a little tennis.  

 

We all had a quick lunch, then I picked up Elena and took the girls up to Discover Mills Mall to shop all afternoon. We went into the Books A Million, to re-stock Mother, but otherwise we didn’t do the mall crawl. That’s Alesia’s idea of great fun and my idea of hell.

 

We came back and rested a bit and almost immediately it was time to get the girls. I picked up DN, and he came with us to get the girls and eat an early dinner and Jim & Nick’s. Everyone ate well. I ordered a baked potato and got a ginormous spud as big as my head.  Scary. I ate most of it, though. Alesia ordered ribs. It's good that DN is seeing she is a girl who likes to EAT.

 

We came back and everyone watched a movie. Beforehand we had a photo op.

  

 

 

Five Year Ago

Exactly 5 years ago today, I was standing in a Russian courtroom adopting my daughter. The courtroom was scary. There was a huge cage where defendants usually sat. The judge kept asking me WHY I was adopting a 13 year old, in a tone that said she thought I was quite insane. The orphanage director, who was and is an awful woman, got a blistering lecture from the judge about not doing everything to get the kids at Topolevo adopted. I had a bad cold. None of it mattered.

 
This is the youngest photo I have of Alesia. She was about 11 when it was made.  I have no baby pictures of her, and no information on her life before age 6 when she went into the orphanage.

 
These are some of the girls in Alesia's "gruppa" at the orphanage. This was made in May 2004. Now, one of the girls has been adopted, two of them are university students, and the others are on the streets. After 10 years, at age 16 or 17, the kids are released from the orphanage, and often they turn to crime and prostitution because there is nothing else for them. They have no life skills and nobody to help them. Many have mothers who are prostitutes.

  I like this shot because Alesia made it, with a little disposable camera I left with her. This is just outside the orphanage. The building is an apartment house. It was probably close to zero F and see how they are dressed? Typical.

 

This is a drawing Alesia made just before the adoption. Dig my cool black boots! Her English tutor helped her write the words in English. I love this drawing because it shows her dream of a family.

 
Here we are outside the courthouse. This is the first official photo of us as Mother and daughter. I was freezing! It was snowy. I was in a daze, but happy. I had to wait two more weeks for the adoption to be final before I could take Alesia home. Hard to believe how much she has changed, huh?!

 

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY, SWEETIE!!

 
 

Music From My Life

I have to admit that I am always behind when it comes to trends and technology. I always listen to the radio and think, wow, I wish I had that great song on my MP3. Then I promptly forget about it. I like some of everything except rap and heavy metal. Can’t get into those. I listen to oldies radio stations a lot, but every once in a great while I will be listening to adult contemporary and find a new band I like, for instance Snow Patrol.

 

Tonight I signed up for a Napster subscription. Songs aren’t free but they aren’t horribly expensive either. My big fear is that I will want a better MP3 player soon, and the ones I like are pricey. Took me forever to work up the courage to buy the little iPod shuffle I have now. I fear technology.

 

These are the songs I had some time to download from Napster already, although there are a lot more I want:

 

Lovely Day     by     Bill Withers   

Life In A Northern Town [LP Version]     by The Dream Academy    

You Get What You Give     by     The New Radicals    

Stir It Up [Single Version]     by     Patti LaBelle   

 

Stir It Up is such an energetic song, it just makes me happy to hear it. I defy anyone to listen to it and remain morose. Years ago I was a judge in a talent contest at the Tennessee Valley Fair and this little teenager did a great clogging routine to that song.

My musical taste is weird.

 

Certain songs provoke particular emotions in me. For instance, the New Radicals and Dream Academy songs take me right back to the 80’s when I was in college and grad school. I love 70’s R&B like The Spinners and the O’Jays because that takes me back to my childhood. I used to listen to the radio for hours. I was a misfit as a kid and music really helped fill the time.

 

I am trying to get my friend John to write a blog about music. He has always been such a music enthusiast, he puts me to shame. He should have been a music critic or a record promoter. He likes everything from Patsy Cline to Janis Joplin and Frank Sinatra. He used to make great mix tapes for me years ago, in Knoxville. Now nobody plays tapes any more.

 

I cannot believe it’s only two weeks until Thanksgiving! Weird…

This is the video for Life in a Northern Town - not crazy about it, but some of the shots are really nice.

 

 

Views of the Mountain

We had such nasty weather on Tuesday, that when we awoke yesterday there was pinestraw everywhere in our yard. Major raking needs to be done, but yesterday it was still too soggy and misty to do any of it. I probably have 10 lbs of pine straw in my front yard.

Mike went to Stone Mountain with his class, to study rocks. Stone Mountain is a huge piece of granite. He loves going there. He was disappointed they didn't get to climb all the way to the top. There's something very peaceful about being on the top of the mountain, where you can see the countryside for miles around. The shot below was made in April 08.

 

Mother said when she was in college and would be coming home on the weekends, as soon as she could see the mountain from the bus window, she knew she was close to home.

We watched an old movie last night that's one of my favorites, Adam's Rib, with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Alesia loved it, Mike tolerated it. It's fun to show the kids old movies, especially films that are witty and smart. One of the first shots is them in their room, and there are separate beds. I explained that in those days, married couples couldn't be shown in the same bed, but there had to be separate beds. "What?!" she exclaimed. "That's silly!" Yep. Movies have changed a lot over the years, not always for the better...