Our Girl Grace

The rumor roller coaster is now boarding!! Warning : this ride may be hazardous to your health!! If you choose to get on, buckle up!!!
The latest rumor is stating they have matched referrals to those families with an LID of 12-27-05 and they may have gone even further into December. Several US agencies are expecting referrals. That would  be 8 days worth of referrals!!Music to our ears, and even louder music if they got through all of December 2006. Come on CCAA let’s get into 2006! So hang for another wild ride!!!!!

I found these cute ladybug pieces at the Gap, I haven’t purchased them yet. Waiting and watching to see if they go on sale. Gotta love a sale!

Isn’t the swim suit just the cutest thing in pink and green. I think Grace will have to have it! I love it!!

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — In observance of the Chinese New Year, the U.S. Postal Service will debut a new stamp series for the 12 different animals in the Chinese calendar. The series will continue through 2019. The first 41-cent stamp in the series is for the Year of the Rat, which begins Feb. 7, 2008 and ends Jan. 25, 2009 and will be dedicated tomorrow in an 11 a.m.. The rat is the first of 12 animals associated with the Chinese calendar. According to legend, the animals raced across a river to determine their order in the cycle. The rat crossed by riding on the back of the ox, jumping ahead at the last minute to win the race. “The start of the Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday of the year for more than 25 percent of the people in the world.” said Katherine C. Tobin, member of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, who will dedicate the stamp. “It is a time of great celebration and reflection for many millions of Americans, including our nation’s oldest Chinese-American community here in San Francisco.” Joining Tobin at the event will be Sidney Chan, president of the board of directors of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce; Claudine Cheng, former president of the Organization of Chinese Americans, Inc.; stamp designer Kam Mak; and Leung’s White Crane Kung Fu Association, which will perform a traditional White Crane Lion Dance.

People born in the year of a particular animal are said to share characteristics with that animal. Those born during the Year of the Rat are said to be adaptable, clever, ambitious and industrious. Persons born within the following date ranges can be said to have been born in the “Year of the Rat”: Feb. 18,1912 – Feb. 5, 1913 Feb. 5, 1924 – Jan. 24, 1925 Jan. 24, 1936 – Feb. 10, 1937 Feb. 10, 1948 – January 28, 1949 Jan. 28, 1960 – Feb. 14, 1961 Feb. 15, 1972 – Feb. 2, 1973 Feb. 2, 1984 – Feb. 19, 1985 Feb. 19, 1996 – Feb. 6, 1997 Famous Rats include Antonio Banderas, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Claude Monet, Doris Day, David Duchovny, George Washington, Hugh Grant, Donna Summer, Prince Charles, Samuel L. Jackson, Sean Penn, and Olivia Newton-John.

Art director Ethel Kessler worked on the new series with Chinese-American illustrator Kam Mak, an artist who grew up in New York City’s Chinatown and who now lives in Brooklyn. They decided to focus on common ways the Chinese New Year holiday is celebrated. To commemorate the Year of the Rat, they chose festive lanterns — in red, for luck — which are common decorations at such celebrations, where they are frequently hung in rows. Kessler’s design also incorporates elements from the previous series of stamps, using Clarence Lee’s intricate paper-cut design of a rat and the Chinese character — drawn in grass-style calligraphy by Lau Bun — for “Rat.”

The Celebrating Lunar New Year stamp sheet is available for purchase in Post Offices, on usps.com, and by calling 1-800-STAMP-24 starting tomorrow.

That’s it folks…no more box. The CCAA changed their website and posted this in place of the familiar box we all look forward to seeing change! No explanation given, no notice, just gone……..