Sad Day

RIP, Frankie Manning.

Go Ahead...Make My Day

Okay!

Go here. Please note the author. Then read the 3rd comment. Go ahead. I'll wait.


Did you go? Did you witness the awesomeness?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?

Ok - if you didn't click then I'll paraphrase: I wrote a kick ass review (if I do say so myself) of a Must Read book. The AUTHOR HERSELF visited my blog and LEFT A COMMENT. And not a "Lady, you totally suck. How could you butcher my work like that?" Comment.

It says this: "Emily, thanks for a thoughtful and well-argued review! LTC"

I want to FRAME IT. Some people frame their first dollar. I'm framing my first positive (albeit one-line) review from a person whose published works I reviewed.

This gives me hope that in the summer when I start churning through my advanced copies. (I have a hook up. It's ok to be jealous.)

So that's my day.

What we've been doing wrong

who knew?

Hm...

So I was going through my old blogs so that I could capture images to put on my portfolio on the embritadesign.com site and I realized something. I used to cuss in my blogs. Not a lot, but with about the same frequency that I do in my daily life...and it's worse now that my people interation has shrunk and has no professional basis.

At one point I realized I have relatives reading - the Elders of the Family, if you will. And so, as happens when I'm in their company, I temper my language.

But that - while being me - isn't really accurate. It's out of respect (mostly for my Grandfather) but it still feels unnatural.

And so, with that in mind, I'm going to stop tempering my language. The voice of this blog will return to the days of its youth. Which will be awesome.

And hey, I don't cuss as much as Salinger, and he's an American Classic.

Nursery 1.0

Can be found Here.

ch-ch-ch-changes

1st off, we got what might be the Cutest Bunch of Carrots Ever in our farm box today. Seriously:

Do I have freakishly large man-hands? Yes. But they're not that big. The carrots are just tiny.

2nd...I persuaded my lovely family to completely jump the gun with me and I am now the proud owner of a gifted (from my lovely family) second-hand stroller.

It will be perfect for strolling up and down Lincoln while we shop and eat and meander. It will be perfect for going on picnics, but NOT for actual hiking on the local trails. The only thing that will work there is one of these:

(not my husband, baby, or backpack. Image from here. Actual carrier will likely be purchased from craigslist.)

3rd: we encountered a snag with the agency we had been talking to about adopting. A major Red Flag. Backstory: you are allowed to specify race and in some instances gender. Steve and I talked about it and decided that our family and friends are colorful enough that regardless of race there would be a loving, stable adult in our lives to provide a "looks like me" role model. Because - to be frank - the only person who's going to understand the race-specific angst that comes with being a person is someone of that specific race.

However, one of the perks of adopting is that you can choose your gender. I feel strongly enough about wanting a daughter that we decided this is the way to go, since that agency we were talking to allowed it. For an extra $5800. If we had specified a boy it would have been the same price. If we have specified a race on top of gender it would have been an additional $5800.

Like with a car, every option adds to the price tag.

We're not buying a car. We're adopting a child.

In addition to that horrifying business practice, there are a lot of allusions to hidden fees in the contract, which means that what starts out already expensive becomes prohibitive by the time they're finished with you.

So we opted out, giving them the very real reasoning that Steve has to have gum surgery this summer, and I might have to have a procedure or two myself (no need for details unless it happens) and we'd rather wait until those are over and done with before we bring a child into our home.

This weekend we're looking at two other agencies, both of whom are very up front about their pricing, and are highly rated with the BBB. I'm not sure if we'll be able to specify gender, but if not, then that just means that the universe decided we need a boy. I'm ok with that.

Happy Friday!

The First Big Phone Call

We were on the phone for an hour and a half this morning. There is so much to process. I'm digesting and when I can present it coherently, I will loop you in.

For right now, though, I'm sharing my first ever purchase for our child:


It's a first printing, if you can believe it. I found it at a lovely little used bookstore here. It's fabulous on many levels:

1) It's Eloise, who is timeless and wonderful.
2) She's in Paris, where will plan on living for a little while at some point.
3) We're adopting a GIRL.

Happy Wednesday!