No Sleep Till Brooklyn

I am taking a little break from blogging, I just don't have the time right now.

We are moving to Brooklyn in less than a week, so that involves packing, cleaning, tossing, scheduling and every moment of my spare time. 

Well, not every moment, we are also getting our homestudy updated. I just scheduled the social worker to come 4 DAYS after we move. I'll be serving her coffee out of a cardboard box. Good thing this is our third home visit,  I am not even worried about it.

Homestudy day also happens to be the day that I turn 4-0. I am starting this decade with big plans.

Sing it with me, "No Sleep Till Brooklyn"...

The Beastie Boys are so awesome.

I'll talk to you guys again when I am on the other side. My hubby refers to this move everyday as "the other side." The other side of what? I don't know. I'll let you know when I find out.

Full Speed Ahead

We never do anything easy the way, it's only the 9th day of January and I have so many things going on that my head is spinning.

First, we are in full packing mode. We are hoping to move next weekend, but we haven't found an apartment yet. We thought we found one, but the lease was questionable so we passed. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, but that's how you do things in NYC. Apartments go so fast that you really can't start looking until you are ready to move. Hopefully we will find something in Brooklyn on Sunday. We have until the end of the month to move. No pressure here.

We're packing, looking for an apartment AND my family will be in town visiting this weekend. I can't wait to see everyone and get some cuddle time with my niece and nephew. I warned them, they will be surrounded by boxes. Good thing I work well under time constraints because we are losing two prime packing days. We love you!

I also thought this is a good time to start the renewal process of our adoption homestudy. It's the new year, fresh start, why not? Ummm, because of things mentioned above. But I figured before we packed it, I could make copies of all of our documents, ask for our reference letters and get this moving. The way I see it, the social worker can start on the paperwork while we move, we'll unpack really fast and have her over for a visit. The hubby thinks I have lost my mind. This will be our third homestudy, so no sweat. I guess I want to enter my 40s (in three weeks) with the groundwork laid for a good start to a new decade. Or I have completely lost it.

Full speed ahead...

Onward to 2014

2013 was a tough year for us, but we made it through. We are a little weary, have been a touch withdrawn and have been waiting for the days to tick off the calendar. But we made it through. I don't know why we think with a flip of the calendar the new year will be a fresh start, but you have to hope, right? I am definitely hitting the reset button.

Last year at this time, I was bursting at the seams with hope and proclaimed that it would be our year. I had no idea. For Marlon and I, it was probably the hardest year of our lives. I know plenty of people have had tougher times than us, so I am thankful for a few bright spots - the birth of my niece, Renee', extra time with my mom and grandma (who have been battling that dreaded "C" word), good jobs, a roof over our heads and friends and family that love us. I have gained more insight about adoption and the nature of people. I have learned that I can get knocked down and pick myself up again, again, again.

We are making changes, hitting milestones and turning this ship around in 2014. We're moving to Brooklyn in a few weeks. It will be nice to have some new scenery. I will celebrate entering a new decade in February. I say good riddance to my 30s. Marlon and I will be happily married for 20 YEARS in March! He's my everything. Twenty years of marriage deserves a prize, so we are taking a trip to Scotland and Iceland. This trip has given us something to look forward to and kept our minds occupied during those rough days in 2013. Our home study will be renewed as soon as we move and will continue to pursue this adoption journey. We'll actively look for a match instead of waiting for an agency to find a situation for us. If you hear of anything, call us! So, big things for us in 2014!

It's another year, a year full of possibilities. I am not going to say that this will be our year. I am just going to say I hope that it's a little better than last year. Thanks for hanging in there with us. Happy New Year to all of you.