Too Tired

to post anything.

We didn't get home until 11pm, so there wasn't anytime to download pictures before heading to bed to get up for work this morning. Today is the last day of NaBloMoPo, so I needed to post something, right.

Enjoy the serenity of the babbling brook.

It's Over

Today we head back home. I'm gonna miss all the wonderful views we had on this trip. I hope my pictures will do it justice. I'll write a relay recap later in the week.

This is our finish line-TODAY

A view from Seaside, Oregon's "Turn-A-Round"

Click here
When the page comes up click on CONTROL THE AQUARIUM CAM at the bottom of the page
let it load
Click on START CONTROL icon at bottom right
let it load
Click on the drop down menu SELECT CAMERA PRESETS at the bottom
Click on TURN-A-ROUND (1st choice)
you can press the arrows at the bottom and the right of the frame to move the camera

You can witness the finish line festivities first "sight." It should be an all day affair. My team is expected to finish around 5:50 PDT (7:50 CDT).

Gorgeous Site

Mt Hood reflected in Trillium Lake

(NOTE: I didn't take this picture)

We'll be starting our relay soon.

I'm Off

to Portland, Oregon then on to Mt. Hood.

(PDT is 2 hours behind CDT)
Tim and I will be participating in the Ho0d to C0ast Relay this weekend. Our team begins the relay at 2:15pm PDT Friday, August 28th. There are 3 "sections" of the race with 12 legs per "section." Tim is the 5th runner in each "section" and I am the 6th runner in each "section." My first leg is 7.42 miles and rated hard for challenging uphills and gradual downhills yet when I look at the leg elevation is doesn't look too bad to me except one hill. I'm estimated to start around 6:00pm PDT Friday, August 28th. My second leg is 4.15 miles and rated hard for gradual hills on paved roads with no van assistance. This leg looks harder than the first to me since it's basically uphill for 4.15 miles. I'm estimated to start this leg around 3:45am PDT Saturday, August 29th. My last leg is 5.23 miles and rated moderate for a challenging uphill and steep downhill. From mile 1.8 - 2.5 is going to be tough. It's a really steep uphill and it's followed by a really steep downhill. The uphill won't be as bad as the downhill since the uphill only lasts 0.7 miles yet the elevation climb is from 610(ish) feet to 750(ish) feet. The downhill is from mile 2.5 - 3.7. That's 1.2 miles of downhill from 750(ish) feet to 390(ish) feet. YIKES!!! That goodness this is the last leg. My quads wouldn't make another leg after this one. Based on this info I would rate this leg a hard or harder. I'm estimated to start this leg at 12:32pm PDT Saturday, August 29th. Our team is estimated to finish at 5:45pm PDT Saturday, August 29th. 27 hours 34 minutes 24 seconds to complete 197 miles.

I WILL take pictures and post them next week sometime.

Adoption News

Click on the title for the full articles. I just highlighted some things in each with my own comments added in purple.


Adoption of children by foreigners the last resort: draft law

Adoption of children by domestic families should be given priority and that by foreigners treated as a last resort, according to a draft law released at a meeting in Hanoi Friday.


The draft is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee early next month.

The policy aims to ensure that the children are raised in an environment most conducive to their integration into mainstream society. Not sure I completely agree with this statement. Being adopted whether domestic or international doesn't impede integration into society.

The draft law lengthens the time available for finding domestic families to adopt orphans and other needy children from 30 to 90 days before they are put up for adoption by foreign families.

Even for adoption by domestic families, local departments of justice and the ministry would be in charge of selecting children and introducing them to families, he added. Not quite sure how this is going to prevent corruption. The article stated that the Ministry of Justice would be the sole agency to put children up for adoption by foreigners yet it says the above. Who's to say agencies can't pay off the local justice & ministry departs to only select healthy children for their families.
Source: VNA

*********************************************

Draft bill favours local adoption for children(22-08-2009)
HA NOI — The adoption of Vietnamese orphans by foreigners will only be permitted after all attempts to place them with a local family have failed, states the draft child adoption bill prepared by the Ministry of Justice.

Specifically, the bill requires an in-country search to be conducted simultaneously at the communal, provincial and central levels for 90 days. This replaces the previous regulation that required a only a 30-day search at the provincial level.

Many violations


Another new stipulation in the bill states that the legal authority to put children up for foreign adoption lies with the Ministry of Justice, not nursing establishments as is currently the case.

According to reports from 49 departments of justice nationwide there were 100 cases of violations connected with adoptions during the 2004-09 period. I don't see these numbers to be as "huge" a deal as the US' report on how corrupt VN was in their adoption practices. 100 cases in 5½ years (closed in Sept 08 to US currently still open to other countries) to who knows how many agencies (40 something US agencies). That # seems relatively small to me.

The bill is scheduled for proposal to the National Assembly in October at its sixth session.

According to the Ministry of Justice, from 2003 to the end of June 2009, nearly 20,000 Vietnamese children have been adopted, including 6,000 by foreigners. According to these numbers domestic adoption is already the priority in VN, so why the stimpulations?

Viet Nam has signed adoption agreements with Italy, France, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Ireland, Sweden and the US, and is preparing to join the 1993 Hague Convention. Not sure whether "signed" is present or past tense. Meaning, VN has recently signed agreements with these countries or they have signed agreements in the past. Because VN does not, to my knowledge, have a signed agreement with the US. That agreement was allowed to expire last year hence, the closure on September 1, 2008. They had thought they would sign a temporary agreement, but last I knew that wasn't going to happen. Did all of these countries also allow their agreements to expire with VN? I know Ireland let their agreement expire May 1st of this year and they aren't listed as a country with whom VN has "signed" an agreement.


Source: VNS


I was sent links to these articles via my agencies VN chat room which says they were posted by the chat room moderator Sunday evening. I have yet to hear anything more from my agencies VN coordinator.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

This is how I caught the puppies Sunday night.

Running, Climbing, Manual Labor

That is what I did this weekend among other things.

I ran 12 miles with my running group on Saturday morning and then went over to a fellow participants house from brunch. She was SO nice to invite the whole group over. When I got home I mowed the front yard while Tim trimmed the whole yard and then he mowed the back. We spent some time with our neighbors across the street then went over to the park and did some rock wall climbing. The park just a half mile from us has the tallest (50') outdoor climbing wall in the Midwest with many different skill levels of climbing. Once a month from April-October they have a open climb Saturday where anyone can come and enjoy the wall. The rest of the time it is available for rental for scout troops (9+), corporate retreats or team building retreats. It was a blast and inexpensive.


On Sunday I went to meet my friend Trish for a 55 miles bike ride, but the biking gods were telling Trish that it was not her day to ride. I was a little late and when I had arrived Trish was working on fixing a flat and had been for quite a while. She was pretty frustrated, so I jumped in to help her out. It was kind of like the blind leading the blind since I really don't know how to change a tire I've only watched people do it, but Trish does know how. Anyway, 30 minutes later we get it changed. It really doesn't take that long, but we were having issues getting the tire off the wheel to get the tube out and then getting the tube in proved to be just a difficult yet getting the tires back on was dang near impossible. So, on with the ride just after a potty break and then.....POW!! Yep, the tired blew simply sitting next to the car. So much for the ride, guess we'll run. OK, by me. Trish and I ran 8 miles with Wonder Dog Pete then called it a day.

After I got home my dad came over and we started on our deck project. Tim had to work at the running store until 3p, so he joined us after that. My dad and I knocked out the edging and laying/leveling the dirt then Tim laid the weed netting stuff while my dad and I went to get the rock. Tim and my dad shovel adn wheeled rock back to me and I spread and leveled. Here are the before and after pix. It looks pretty good if I do say so myself except for the fact that it does look like it snowed under our deck.

No more muddy paws. YEA!

Dog Funnies

Polly Want A Cracker?

"No Thank You. Tim's ear looks much more appetizing."

We were at a pet store getting doggie treats and this parrot eyed Tim, so Tim walked over to it and s/he climbed right on Tim's arm and worked it's way up to Tim's shoulder.

Weekend Plans

Could have gone to the lake this weekend since one of my uncles from TX is in town. Instead decided that I needed torture. Running some obscene amount of miles tomorrow, well, not obscene to me or other mentally deranged runners, but to "normal" people. Then I'm going to ride an crazy amount of miles on Sunday. Again, crazy to others not me and my other slightly unbalanced friends.

I am also going to meet some of my running buddies out on Saturday to see a movie and have a light dinner. Sunday afternoon my dad is coming over to help us with our yard project. Of course, unless Tim can find someone to cover for him from 3-5 it will be my dad and me. I don't really like manual labor. I'm not a girly girl, but I don't like getting dirt under my nails.

Have a good weekend.

Who's Screwing Who Now?

Granted, that title sounds like a soap opera lead in, but it really pertains to adoption and that fact that the US governments actions regarding "exposing" the "horrible" truths about Vietnamese adoption practices has effected other countries as well.

This article was published Tuesday, August 18, 2009, in The Irish Times and on IrishTimes.com.

Officials from Vietnam invited to talks on adoption-Kitty Holland
THE OFFICE of the Minister for Children has invited officials from Vietnam to Ireland in September in an effort to move talks forward on the resumption of an adoption agreement between the two countries.

Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews, who visited Vietnam in late June, said there had been good progress in his talks with officials then but as yet there remained no date in sight for the resumption of an agreement between the two countries.

The State’s five-year bilateral agreement with Vietnam on adoption expired on May 1st this year, leaving more than 200 couples, who had applied to adopt from the country, in limbo until a new agreement is signed.

The previous agreement was allowed to lapse due to international concerns about the adoption process in Vietnam, voiced primarily in a US government report published last year.
During his visit earlier in the summer, Mr Andrews asked officials to consider allowing 20 Irish couples, whose applications had been fully processed by the Department of International Adoptions in Hanoi by May 1st, to be facilitated in their adoptions.

This request was acceded to by the Hanoi government and those 20 couples will be allowed to travel and adopt.

A spokeswoman for the Minister said yesterday this had been a “gesture” by the Vietnamese government.

She agreed there was controversy as to why a higher number of couples were not included in the request but stressed the 20 couples’ applications had been fully processed by May 1st.

“We have been advising people that we cannot guarantee anything but it is our intention to conclude an agreement as soon as we possibly can.”

Asked what was causing the delays, she said: “It’s very complicated.”

She said both states were intent on ratifying the Hague Convention on International Adoptions and at the same time, both countries were in the process of changing their adoption legislation “substantially”.

“So we are trying to get an agreement which bridges the two existing legal regimes and the two pending legal regimes. It’s a negotiation with a foreign government and they have a very different legal system to that which we have.

“The difficulty is we don’t want to add to the frustration couples have and at the same time it is important that the best interests of children are protected.”

Asked whether the 200-plus couples who have applied for adoption from Vietnam should consider other countries, she said she could not direct people, but added: “It would be understandable if people did.

“We have issued an invitation to Vietnamese officials to come here in September but it may not be possible to hold meetings then. It is hoped we can.”

What to Write

I have no idea. There isn't much going. I'm debating on whether to run a race this weekend. I want to yet I don't. Sleeping in seems like a better idea.

Tim and I do have a meeting at a possible rehearsal dinner locale tomorrow and I have a call into the caterer to set up an appointment with them as well. I'll let you know how that all goes.

Review

The wedding that I went to this past weekend was interesting. It was Catholic and lasted one hour 10 minutes. It wasn't bad just different than any of the other Catholic weddings I have been to. I have never seen the bride & groom offer a gift to The Virgin*Mary nor have I seen communion given to the entire church during the ceremony. Again, it wasn't bad, just different. The reception was very cramped. I got there 30 minutes after the start and Tim was already there with some of his friends yet they didn't think to save any seats, so I didn't have a place to sit and eat. I waited until most everyone had eaten then found a seat to finally eat. The cake was cut early and then hidden. By the time I found it Tim and his friends wanted to leave, so no wedding cake for me. The crazy part is that the reception hall wasn't that big, so I don't know why it was so hard to find the cake. Maybe because there were so many people crammed into this space that they were blocking my view of the cake. It wasn't a bad wedding & reception. It did give me knowledge of what I do not want to happen at mine.

Finally

As advertised, I FINALLY have a video to post of Tim & Lulu's duet. The more they "perform" the more pathetic Lulu sounds. It's quite hilarious. Hope you enjoy.

Oh the early mornings

are killing me.

Yes, it was another early start to the day. After staying out somewhat late last night making sure two "boys" stayed sober enough to not puke on my floors I was up at 5:45a. Why you ask? Well, let me tell you.

Since I loved my first half ironman SO much (really, no joke, I loved it) I decided it would be a good idea to sign up for another one this year. At the time it seemed like a splendid idea. Now, I wish I had more sense. Not that our summer has been miserably hot, but it's been hot. Even when it's 85 degrees it has felt like it was 100. We've had a few days where it has been pushing 100, but for the most part we've had a nice summer. Regardless, it has seemed HOT and I have been completely unmotivated to train. As I've mentioned before, I'm not lacking in the running department. I think I have that one more than covered. I just need to do a few runs after rides and I'll be fine. EXCEPT. I need to ride.

That is the reason I was up early again this morning. I was supposed to do a 63 mile bike ride. Yes, you read that correctly. 63 miles. I only need to ride 56 for the race, but I thought I would be an over-achiever. Well, the ride didn't happen due to rain.

As I type this sitting on the couch watching Py$ch and feeling the pain of the 14 miles I ran yesterday the rain is starting to subside, so I may actually still be able to get a 2 hour ride in before it starts raining again. If not, then I think I may get on the trainer. ARG! When you need to ride you need to ride even when you'd rather lay on the couch a nap all day.

Up And At 'Em

That's me this morning.

After working until 2:30p yesterday, getting my hair highlighted, going to the grocery and dealing with three "boys" last night I'm up and not so raring to drive 30 minutes to run 14 miles and drive 30 minutes back home, but I'm doing it anyway because I HAVE TO.

Tim's best friend is in town for the wedding today and is staying at our house. Tim's other groomsman also came over last night. Me and the "boys." Woo Hoo!

Ever Have One of Those Day?

I'm having one today and it's only 9am.

It's actually been building. Work sucks. Not because of who I work with (only some days), but mostly the company we rep for. THEY SUCK! I love it when a bunch of pencil pushers make decision when they have NO IDEA what is happening in the "real world." That seems to be this company's SOP. I don't think they really think things through. They come up with new products, tell everyone about, get everyone excited, then tell them that they can't have it. WTF! That happened, again, just this last week. It's ridiculous. Then they didn't know what the left hand was doing from the right hand. The info that they gave was incorrect and then they blame us for "not hearing it correctly." Again, WTF! There were four people in my office alone that heard exactly what I heard. IDIOTS running the asylum for sure. They make decisions, implement them and never tell the field. Then it's another blame game. So and so should have sent something out, So and So should have done this or that. WHATEVER!!!! Get off your A$$ES and do your f-ing job correctly. My favorite is when all the implementation has taken place, three weeks AFTER the field has figured it out (on their own) and adapted, THEN they send out a field note telling you about the changes. WHO THE HELL CARES NOW!

I'd love to find another job, but I've been here for so long I have no idea what I'd even look for or where to look for it. It's not like jobs are landing in people's laps these days. Besides, I have too many things going on right now to even contemplate attempting to look for another job. With the wedding coming up I'd hate to start a new job and immediately take a vacation. Not fond of that tactic.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. I'm going to get my pretty on. Highlights in the hair tonight and then dress up day is tomorrow. We have a wedding to go to. Wedding at 2p, Reception at 6p. So pretty me up. LOL!

Look Pretty

Feel Pretty.

Have you heard that or some version of that? If you dress "up" and make yourself look good then it'll make you feel better. I got a pedicure tonight, went to dinner with some friends, dressed nicely and did my hair. Did it make me feel better? Yes.

This past weekend

Saturday after Tramp went to doggie heaven Tim wanted to keep my mind off it, so we went to the Tour of Kansas City bike race and he signed up for a Cat 5 race. Cat 5 is comprised of riders who have done less than 10 mass starts. This race was a 30 minute race. Basically they rode the 0.9 mile route for 30 minutes and tried to be the first across the line and to not get lapped by the leaders. Tim never got lapped. During these races they have PREM laps. This is where whoever crosses the line first wins a prize. It could be money or merchandise. Well, Tim barely missed winning the PREM lap yet wound up getting 2nd place overall.

Here's a picture of him leading a few laps.


Sunday Tim wanted to race again since he had done so well Saturday in his first ever biking road race, so we went and he raced. He got 7th or 8th overall in this race.

This picture looks like he's leading again, but he was 2nd at this point.

I'm glad that he was thinking of me and trying to keep my mind occupied, but once the activities were over I had my major meltdown.