Just a quick update before I eat dinner, run a few errands and finally collapse later tonight.
We received a FedEx package today from our agency to hand deliver to the Moscow office on Monday. I’m not sure if the 2 envelopes inside are dossiers, court documents or something else but if they’re yours, they made it to our house safely! Back in January, Beth & Nick stuffed our dossier into their carry-on and we were so grateful. Especially after the DHL snafu with Susan & Randy’s dossier a few weeks earlier. I’m glad we’ve been given the opportunity to help our fellow CSS families by delivering whatever is in the envelopes!
Speaking of Susan & Randy, they are going through yet another very difficult time with paperwork, bureaucratic red tape, and total nonsense in general. They really, really need prayers and support, and I ask each person reading this to lift them and their son Artem (who NEEDS to come home) up in prayer over the coming days.
For my fellow adoptive families who want to create a special photo album of their trips to Russia (or the country their child is in), check out Blurb. A co-worker recently used Blurb to create an album of their ski trip and I just have to say it is beautiful!! It seems like if you have a lot of photos and want to share hard copies with a lot of people, Blurb may be more economical than having your photos printed at a camera place (and definitely cheaper than printing yourself). This is a great way to share your journey/memories with friends, family members and of course, your child as he/she grows up! We will be creating albums for our family members.
Also for my fellow adoptive families, check out Celebrating Adoption if you haven't already. This is a national group of photographers who donate their time to helping adoptive families celebrate their adoption through portraits. You’ll have to check the photographers in your area (there’s a list on the site) but my understanding is that many waive their sitting fee (or whatever it’s called) and give discounts on the pictures you select. The photographers in my area are all very impressive and we will definitely be making an appointment with one of them once Baby C is home.
I actually picked up our translated Who Loves Baby photo albums and thank you cards yesterday. "L" surprised me by also translating a typical Russian menu for me, with food items written in Russian on the left and English on the right. I LOVE this! If anyone would like a copy please email me or leave a comment & I'll forward it to you. I think this is going to be great to have if we happen to find ourselves at a restaurant that doesn't have English menus.
That’s it for now. There’s lots more to share and post but I’ll have to do that later.
Prayers for our Children
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Translation & Tips
We just returned home from meeting with a friend-of-a-friend, "L", who volunteered to translate our Who Loves Baby album and the thank you cards we picked up for our driver and translator. (We're going to place their $$ in the cards.) We sat at Starbucks with her for about 1.5 hours and she gave us some great tips for our trip.
"L" took everything home with her and I'm picking it all up Friday morning. We bought two albums, originally thinking we would keep one here for Baby C to have once he or she is home in case something happens to the one we leave at the orphanage. However, since we're not sure if there will be 1 or 2 Baby C's, we asked "L" to translate both, just in case we are referred twins or siblings and both albums stay in Moscow! If that's the case, we'll re-create them in between our trips.
Oh, and sometime before Sunday I'm going to pick up some blank note cards to leave with Baby C's caregivers to write notes if they have any memories or well wishes they'd like us to share as Baby C grows up. "L" offered to translate these cards as well once we return home.
"L" is actually from Azerbijain and has lived in the US for 14 years. Amongst other things, we asked her if she had any suggestions for gifts on our next trip. Here are 2 tips for traveling families: She said that Big Red gum is actually a HUGE hit in Russia, as cinnamon gum is not available anywhere. She also told us that many men appreciate receiving baseball caps since none are sold in Russia. Finally, she said that any type of "American gift" would be greatly appreciated.
Other tips she gave us were: RUN across the street if you absolutely need to cross! And go with a crowd since there is safety in numbers. That part of the conversation was actually quite funny. Apparently, and we already knew this, traffic laws are rarely/never observed and drivers think pedistrians should do the yielding.
Food recommendations - She also told us to try kebaps (kebabs), bleeniy (blinis), borsch (beet soup), katlyeti pakeeyefskee (chicken kiev), and pelemini (dumplings). Good news for me - she said that you really can't go wrong with any type of dessert or pastry! YUM!
"L" took everything home with her and I'm picking it all up Friday morning. We bought two albums, originally thinking we would keep one here for Baby C to have once he or she is home in case something happens to the one we leave at the orphanage. However, since we're not sure if there will be 1 or 2 Baby C's, we asked "L" to translate both, just in case we are referred twins or siblings and both albums stay in Moscow! If that's the case, we'll re-create them in between our trips.
Oh, and sometime before Sunday I'm going to pick up some blank note cards to leave with Baby C's caregivers to write notes if they have any memories or well wishes they'd like us to share as Baby C grows up. "L" offered to translate these cards as well once we return home.
"L" is actually from Azerbijain and has lived in the US for 14 years. Amongst other things, we asked her if she had any suggestions for gifts on our next trip. Here are 2 tips for traveling families: She said that Big Red gum is actually a HUGE hit in Russia, as cinnamon gum is not available anywhere. She also told us that many men appreciate receiving baseball caps since none are sold in Russia. Finally, she said that any type of "American gift" would be greatly appreciated.
Other tips she gave us were: RUN across the street if you absolutely need to cross! And go with a crowd since there is safety in numbers. That part of the conversation was actually quite funny. Apparently, and we already knew this, traffic laws are rarely/never observed and drivers think pedistrians should do the yielding.
Food recommendations - She also told us to try kebaps (kebabs), bleeniy (blinis), borsch (beet soup), katlyeti pakeeyefskee (chicken kiev), and pelemini (dumplings). Good news for me - she said that you really can't go wrong with any type of dessert or pastry! YUM!
Captain Poopy Pants
You know who you are! Mustache Man & I are so happy you’re here, with your lovely wife and your two adorable kids! Capt. Poopy Pants, a.k.a. “J”, a.k.a. “my little chickadee” by his mom, is a wonderful, amazing friend of mine who I miss very much. He & I reconnected recently – yay!
J, I just had to let you know how often Mustache Man & I think about you, all of our great times together, and the many, many practical jokes. Fun times, J, fun times: the great popcorn hunt, the blue “foreign” M&M/dreidel, when you got Mustache Man thrown off the paintball field, driving away from the paintball field w/ your back doors wide open, my telling Ben you didn’t want to talk to him, sneaking Victor & Victoria into your office, flipping your fork over the banister at the Italian restaurant by our office and having it land in Boggs’ plate in front of Mike N., scraping the entire passenger side of your car down the stone wall in our driveway, eating sugar cane in Louisiana, insects the size of passenger planes in Louisiana... I could go on & on but just know that we both miss you and our door is always open to you & your family.
For anyone reading this who may have lost touch with friends I highly encourage you to take the first step, as J did, to reconnect. True friends are hard to come by and difficult to keep. Don’t let those relationships ever slip away! J, I apologize for not keeping in touch but I promise to now. THANK YOU for your words of encouragement! They mean so much!
Oh, I am soooo gonna pay for this post! Heehee
K & Mustache Man
J, I just had to let you know how often Mustache Man & I think about you, all of our great times together, and the many, many practical jokes. Fun times, J, fun times: the great popcorn hunt, the blue “foreign” M&M/dreidel, when you got Mustache Man thrown off the paintball field, driving away from the paintball field w/ your back doors wide open, my telling Ben you didn’t want to talk to him, sneaking Victor & Victoria into your office, flipping your fork over the banister at the Italian restaurant by our office and having it land in Boggs’ plate in front of Mike N., scraping the entire passenger side of your car down the stone wall in our driveway, eating sugar cane in Louisiana, insects the size of passenger planes in Louisiana... I could go on & on but just know that we both miss you and our door is always open to you & your family.
For anyone reading this who may have lost touch with friends I highly encourage you to take the first step, as J did, to reconnect. True friends are hard to come by and difficult to keep. Don’t let those relationships ever slip away! J, I apologize for not keeping in touch but I promise to now. THANK YOU for your words of encouragement! They mean so much!
Oh, I am soooo gonna pay for this post! Heehee
K & Mustache Man
Saturday, March 8, 2008
More off the To Do List
Visa’s (tourist, not credit card) – Received from the NY Consulate on Thurs., March 6. Yay! I’m slightly concerned though because they left my middle initial off of it even though it’s on my passport and the Visa application we submitted. Our agency doesn’t think this will be a problem. I certainly hope they’re right!
“New Money” - Picked up from bank on Wed., March 5. We need this to pay our driver, translator, 8 dr. medical, IA doctor, yadda, yadda, yadda. Again, slight concern here because there are a few bills that have creases in the middle. None, however, have any weird stamps or writing on them so I’m really hoping they’ll all be accepted. There was chatter on the FRUA board at some point about people ironing their $$ to make it more crisp and to get rid of the creases. Ummm…I’m a little scared to actually try this myself. Norm is terrified at the thought of me ironing anything, much less money. I’m a bit of a clutz and with my luck, it would only end in catastrophe. Any suggestions or thoughts about the creases? Am I thinking about this too much or might I have problems once in Russia? The creases aren’t terrible but are noticeable.
Camcorder – Bought today! Quickly realized two things: how technically challenged Norm & I are…and how much reading instructions actually helps. Heehee! We’ll probably post a test video in a few days just to make sure we know what we’re doing BEFORE we get to Russia!
Groceries – Bought today! Thanks to Ana’s Notes on Trip 1, we bought tuna, Easy Mac, individual soup packs, coffee singles, granola bars, shout wipes, and a few other things. I didn’t get everything I wanted, but this is a great start.
Who Loves Baby translation – I’m meeting our volunteer translator at Starbucks Tuesday evening, with our albums and thank you cards in hand. She is also VERY familiar with Moscow and is going to give me tips about the areas our 2 apartments are in.
Pen Pal Letter – Written today! My church sponsors an orphanage in Sierra Leone, Africa, called the Child Rescue Center or CRC, and I belong to the Pen Pal Ministry. Every few months I write to an amazing and beautiful 14 year old girl named Alfreda, whose parents were killed in Sierra Leone’s civil war. She knows that Norm & I do not have children (yet) and has told me that she and her friends pray daily for God to bless and entrust us with the care of one of His children. I had the honor of writing Alfreda tonight and telling her that prayers are indeed answered, as Norm & I are traveling in 7 days to meet our child! I know she will be thrilled.
FBI Fingerprints Notarized! We actually had the prints taken back in January and received the clearance from the FBI in February. Somehow we overlooked getting them notarized & apostilled. Oops! No biggie since we don’t need them for the first trip, but we will for the 2nd/3rd. So, we had them notarized yesterday and one of us will drive down to Richmond for apostilling so we can hand carry them to Moscow.
Trip 1 Payment to CSS – another oversight! Notice a theme here? A small payment (relatively speaking) was due when we were told about our trip 1 dates…and I never sent it in! Doh! I did mail it Wednesday of last week and K. confirmed they received it Friday. Phew!!
Oh, and I also bought an English-Russian translation book today and have been having fun studying up on new phrases and words. Fun stuff! (seriously!)
After church tomorrow I get to engage in more retail therapy – I mean errand running – which every adoptive parent is subjected – I mean entitled – to!
Paka!
Kar
“New Money” - Picked up from bank on Wed., March 5. We need this to pay our driver, translator, 8 dr. medical, IA doctor, yadda, yadda, yadda. Again, slight concern here because there are a few bills that have creases in the middle. None, however, have any weird stamps or writing on them so I’m really hoping they’ll all be accepted. There was chatter on the FRUA board at some point about people ironing their $$ to make it more crisp and to get rid of the creases. Ummm…I’m a little scared to actually try this myself. Norm is terrified at the thought of me ironing anything, much less money. I’m a bit of a clutz and with my luck, it would only end in catastrophe. Any suggestions or thoughts about the creases? Am I thinking about this too much or might I have problems once in Russia? The creases aren’t terrible but are noticeable.
Camcorder – Bought today! Quickly realized two things: how technically challenged Norm & I are…and how much reading instructions actually helps. Heehee! We’ll probably post a test video in a few days just to make sure we know what we’re doing BEFORE we get to Russia!
Groceries – Bought today! Thanks to Ana’s Notes on Trip 1, we bought tuna, Easy Mac, individual soup packs, coffee singles, granola bars, shout wipes, and a few other things. I didn’t get everything I wanted, but this is a great start.
Who Loves Baby translation – I’m meeting our volunteer translator at Starbucks Tuesday evening, with our albums and thank you cards in hand. She is also VERY familiar with Moscow and is going to give me tips about the areas our 2 apartments are in.
Pen Pal Letter – Written today! My church sponsors an orphanage in Sierra Leone, Africa, called the Child Rescue Center or CRC, and I belong to the Pen Pal Ministry. Every few months I write to an amazing and beautiful 14 year old girl named Alfreda, whose parents were killed in Sierra Leone’s civil war. She knows that Norm & I do not have children (yet) and has told me that she and her friends pray daily for God to bless and entrust us with the care of one of His children. I had the honor of writing Alfreda tonight and telling her that prayers are indeed answered, as Norm & I are traveling in 7 days to meet our child! I know she will be thrilled.
FBI Fingerprints Notarized! We actually had the prints taken back in January and received the clearance from the FBI in February. Somehow we overlooked getting them notarized & apostilled. Oops! No biggie since we don’t need them for the first trip, but we will for the 2nd/3rd. So, we had them notarized yesterday and one of us will drive down to Richmond for apostilling so we can hand carry them to Moscow.
Trip 1 Payment to CSS – another oversight! Notice a theme here? A small payment (relatively speaking) was due when we were told about our trip 1 dates…and I never sent it in! Doh! I did mail it Wednesday of last week and K. confirmed they received it Friday. Phew!!
Oh, and I also bought an English-Russian translation book today and have been having fun studying up on new phrases and words. Fun stuff! (seriously!)
After church tomorrow I get to engage in more retail therapy – I mean errand running – which every adoptive parent is subjected – I mean entitled – to!
Paka!
Kar
Friday, March 7, 2008
Comfort Zones
*Disclaimer - you might wanna grab a cup of coffee. This is a long one!*
I may have mentioned once or twice in previous posts that I’m a bit uncomfortable with the location of our 2nd apartment in Moscow. If you didn’t get that vibe, you must have been reading someone else’s blog! I don’t think I’ve been very subtle about my nervousness. Childish may be a more appropriate term…kinda like Danica Patrick stomping her feet at Michigan. My fellow race fans know what I’m referring to here! (Interesting side note, Danica & I are pretty much the same size but that’s about the only thing we have in common.)
I digress…sorry. I had one of those “A-HA” moments where I realized everything was going to be okay. I found myself thinking about times where I experienced either physical or emotional discomfort, or both. I’ll only share two for now because I don’t want to bore you to tears on this lovely Friday evening.
For our 5th anniversary we decided we would take a “real” vacation. We were going to start on Saturday by kayaking a 9 mile portion of the James River, and Sunday head up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire for a week of camping. I’ve been canoeing and white water rafting plenty, but never kayaking. We’re huge outdoor enthusiasts, so it would have been the perfect week for us…if only we’d been able to make it past Saturday. We each had our own kayak, which meant I was responsible for getting myself down that river all on my own. 9 miles is a heck of a long way to paddle if you’ve never done it before! (Oh yeah, and also if you’re feeling slightly lazy.) That, however, was not the issue. While we did remember to lather up with sunscreen prior to stepping foot into our OPEN kayaks, we failed to remember that we needed to reapply it throughout the day. ESPECIALLY to our feet, ankles and shins since they were continuously doused with water for 9 miles/4 hours – courtesy of the open kayaks and my obvious lack of paddling skills! The damage we did to the tops of our feet, ankles and shins wasn’t obvious until we pulled into our driveway Saturday evening…and couldn’t walk to our front door. Literally. Could not walk. The pain we both woke up to Sunday morning was excruciating, and it didn’t relent Monday - Friday. Finally the following Saturday we were mobile enough to make it from our couch to our garage, but that was about it. I will be shocked if sometime later in life we don’t end up with skin cancer on our ankles from this oversight. So, while our plans for our 5th anniversary were slightly thwarted and I was very disappointed at the beginning of the week, we actually were able to find some humor in our situation towards the end of the ordeal. We spent “quality” time together, made each other laugh, realized how pathetic we were, supported each other and sympathized with each other. Here we are, 8 years later, and I can admit that the week wasn’t so bad (if you don’t count our physical pain) but it certainly wasn’t how we originally envisioned spending our 5th anniversary.
When we went to Rome last summer, we stayed at the Borgo di Tragliata for the first portion of our trip and then switched to the Best Western Hotel Canada mid week. I was so excited to stay at the Borgo because the grounds fascinated me. Check out the link. This Inn is located in the countryside, probably about 45 minutes outside of the center of Rome. As beautiful as the buildings and grounds are, our stay was nearly intolerable at times. Like when we were awake or trying to fall asleep! Yeah, pretty much 24/7. The rooms had no A/C, no floor or ceiling fan, no radio, no TV, no clock. Nothing. It was well over 100 outside and with no fans/AC/cross ventilation in the rooms, it was absolutely sweltering. Taking showers almost made things worse because the bathroom didn’t have a vent for steam and we had a hard time regulating the heat of the water. Also, there were no vending machines, no ice machines, no soda or water available, no stores within walking distance. Again, nothing. Nada. Nyet. Only one employee spoke English, and thankfully she was extremely friendly & funny. She made sure we were taken care of as much as possible but in reality our lodging was, well, primitive and beyond basic! On the bright side, because there’s always a bright side, we were introduced to a side of Italian culture that we would never have had the privilege of experiencing had it not been for our stay at the Borgo. Our last night there we were invited to dinner with about 20 Italians, only 1 of whom spoke English & played translator for us. This dinner was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be totally immersed in another culture and it was fabulous. It was also Norm’s first experience with Espresso – the boy who has never even sipped coffee - and THAT is a story in its own right. Anyway, this dinner was definitely a highlight of the trip and made our sweltering room well worth the discomfort we endured.
When we booked our room at the Best Western Hotel Canada, we knew we would be away from touristy things, and slightly off the beaten path. We purposely chose this hotel because it was close to one of the outermost metro stops – so easy access to the heart of Rome - and also in the middle of a very cute, very Tuscany looking neighborhood. We wanted to see as much Italian culture as we could, and this hotel definitely allowed us to do that. It was great because we made friends with the guys at the pizza shop enroute to the metro, the guys at the trattoria’s we passed offered us gelato (yum!), and we really got to know the neighborhood well. It was truly amazing.
So my first point is this – I guess I can be classified as Type A when it comes to planning trips and when things don’t go as I plan, I get a little nutty. On the flip side though, the little surprises that came from having things NOT go my way introduced me to unexpected treasures and memories that will last a lifetime.
My 2nd point relates to our stay at the Best Western Canada. We purposely chose to stay away from touristy stuff because we wanted a true sense of Italian culture. We wanted to be on our own and explore to our heart’s content. By doing so we met some great people, became experts in reading Italian maps, enjoyed absolutely wonderful walks on beautiful Roman streets, and proved to ourselves that we could survive in a foreign country with limited language skills.
So what makes me think it will be any different in Moscow? Are we staying in an area I had originally planned? No. Does that mean it’s going to be miserable and unbearable? Again, no. It dawned on me today that I really shouldn’t think of our 2nd apartment as being any different from the Best Western Canada. Slightly off the beaten path but perhaps a step closer to the culture and lifestyle of my child and his/her birth family and caregivers.
I’ll leave you to ponder this entry and the opportunities that come our way when we step outside of our comfort zone. Thanks to the Discovery Channel and Man vs. Wild, I’m signing off for now because I need to hide for a little while. I have an eye phobia (which I may decide to share more about another day), and the main character in Man vs. Wild is enjoying a lovely meal of sheep eyes. And one just squirted when he bit into it. Lovely. I’m outta here.
I may have mentioned once or twice in previous posts that I’m a bit uncomfortable with the location of our 2nd apartment in Moscow. If you didn’t get that vibe, you must have been reading someone else’s blog! I don’t think I’ve been very subtle about my nervousness. Childish may be a more appropriate term…kinda like Danica Patrick stomping her feet at Michigan. My fellow race fans know what I’m referring to here! (Interesting side note, Danica & I are pretty much the same size but that’s about the only thing we have in common.)
I digress…sorry. I had one of those “A-HA” moments where I realized everything was going to be okay. I found myself thinking about times where I experienced either physical or emotional discomfort, or both. I’ll only share two for now because I don’t want to bore you to tears on this lovely Friday evening.
For our 5th anniversary we decided we would take a “real” vacation. We were going to start on Saturday by kayaking a 9 mile portion of the James River, and Sunday head up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire for a week of camping. I’ve been canoeing and white water rafting plenty, but never kayaking. We’re huge outdoor enthusiasts, so it would have been the perfect week for us…if only we’d been able to make it past Saturday. We each had our own kayak, which meant I was responsible for getting myself down that river all on my own. 9 miles is a heck of a long way to paddle if you’ve never done it before! (Oh yeah, and also if you’re feeling slightly lazy.) That, however, was not the issue. While we did remember to lather up with sunscreen prior to stepping foot into our OPEN kayaks, we failed to remember that we needed to reapply it throughout the day. ESPECIALLY to our feet, ankles and shins since they were continuously doused with water for 9 miles/4 hours – courtesy of the open kayaks and my obvious lack of paddling skills! The damage we did to the tops of our feet, ankles and shins wasn’t obvious until we pulled into our driveway Saturday evening…and couldn’t walk to our front door. Literally. Could not walk. The pain we both woke up to Sunday morning was excruciating, and it didn’t relent Monday - Friday. Finally the following Saturday we were mobile enough to make it from our couch to our garage, but that was about it. I will be shocked if sometime later in life we don’t end up with skin cancer on our ankles from this oversight. So, while our plans for our 5th anniversary were slightly thwarted and I was very disappointed at the beginning of the week, we actually were able to find some humor in our situation towards the end of the ordeal. We spent “quality” time together, made each other laugh, realized how pathetic we were, supported each other and sympathized with each other. Here we are, 8 years later, and I can admit that the week wasn’t so bad (if you don’t count our physical pain) but it certainly wasn’t how we originally envisioned spending our 5th anniversary.
When we went to Rome last summer, we stayed at the Borgo di Tragliata for the first portion of our trip and then switched to the Best Western Hotel Canada mid week. I was so excited to stay at the Borgo because the grounds fascinated me. Check out the link. This Inn is located in the countryside, probably about 45 minutes outside of the center of Rome. As beautiful as the buildings and grounds are, our stay was nearly intolerable at times. Like when we were awake or trying to fall asleep! Yeah, pretty much 24/7. The rooms had no A/C, no floor or ceiling fan, no radio, no TV, no clock. Nothing. It was well over 100 outside and with no fans/AC/cross ventilation in the rooms, it was absolutely sweltering. Taking showers almost made things worse because the bathroom didn’t have a vent for steam and we had a hard time regulating the heat of the water. Also, there were no vending machines, no ice machines, no soda or water available, no stores within walking distance. Again, nothing. Nada. Nyet. Only one employee spoke English, and thankfully she was extremely friendly & funny. She made sure we were taken care of as much as possible but in reality our lodging was, well, primitive and beyond basic! On the bright side, because there’s always a bright side, we were introduced to a side of Italian culture that we would never have had the privilege of experiencing had it not been for our stay at the Borgo. Our last night there we were invited to dinner with about 20 Italians, only 1 of whom spoke English & played translator for us. This dinner was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be totally immersed in another culture and it was fabulous. It was also Norm’s first experience with Espresso – the boy who has never even sipped coffee - and THAT is a story in its own right. Anyway, this dinner was definitely a highlight of the trip and made our sweltering room well worth the discomfort we endured.
When we booked our room at the Best Western Hotel Canada, we knew we would be away from touristy things, and slightly off the beaten path. We purposely chose this hotel because it was close to one of the outermost metro stops – so easy access to the heart of Rome - and also in the middle of a very cute, very Tuscany looking neighborhood. We wanted to see as much Italian culture as we could, and this hotel definitely allowed us to do that. It was great because we made friends with the guys at the pizza shop enroute to the metro, the guys at the trattoria’s we passed offered us gelato (yum!), and we really got to know the neighborhood well. It was truly amazing.
So my first point is this – I guess I can be classified as Type A when it comes to planning trips and when things don’t go as I plan, I get a little nutty. On the flip side though, the little surprises that came from having things NOT go my way introduced me to unexpected treasures and memories that will last a lifetime.
My 2nd point relates to our stay at the Best Western Canada. We purposely chose to stay away from touristy stuff because we wanted a true sense of Italian culture. We wanted to be on our own and explore to our heart’s content. By doing so we met some great people, became experts in reading Italian maps, enjoyed absolutely wonderful walks on beautiful Roman streets, and proved to ourselves that we could survive in a foreign country with limited language skills.
So what makes me think it will be any different in Moscow? Are we staying in an area I had originally planned? No. Does that mean it’s going to be miserable and unbearable? Again, no. It dawned on me today that I really shouldn’t think of our 2nd apartment as being any different from the Best Western Canada. Slightly off the beaten path but perhaps a step closer to the culture and lifestyle of my child and his/her birth family and caregivers.
I’ll leave you to ponder this entry and the opportunities that come our way when we step outside of our comfort zone. Thanks to the Discovery Channel and Man vs. Wild, I’m signing off for now because I need to hide for a little while. I have an eye phobia (which I may decide to share more about another day), and the main character in Man vs. Wild is enjoying a lovely meal of sheep eyes. And one just squirted when he bit into it. Lovely. I’m outta here.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Further evidence that I've lost it
If you were a can of gross/foul smelling/moist cat food, where would you hide...in the pantry to the left of the refrigerator, or in the small desk to the right of the fridge?
I kid you not, this evening I stood in front of that small desk for a good 3-4 minutes, with its miniscule drawer wide open, wondering why I couldn't find the cat food. Finally in a desparate attempt to get fed, Ivan (the Terrible) smacked me with his dagger claws and woke me from my trance, while screaming at the top of his little kitty lungs "Focus woman!"After their tummies were full and the cattitude gone, Ivan & Pogo decided to allow the paparazzi to snap a couple quick photos. Ivan is all black and Pogo has a bit of white on his chest. They're both 13 and we've had them since kittenhood. Oh, and apparently neither is impressed with the fact that I'm engrossed with the adoption/Baby C and not their food!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
New Found Appreciation
I have a new found appreciation for the families who only receive 1 week notice for their travel dates. How, how, how do you do all of this in a mere 7 days? It's insanity, craziness, scary, frustrating, nerve wracking, and oh yes, exhausting! My goodness...
Since my last post I've been dealing with a 2nd bout of the flu, 2 travel agents who don't return calls - thus "forcing" me to make my own flight and lodging arrangements (I really just wanted to see if they could get a better deal than we could), creating our 2 "Who Loves Baby" albums, buying luggage, trying to make some sort of sense out of the mess called a Russian Tourist Visa, getting invitation letters for said tourist Visas, arranging a person in Moscow to register said tourist Visas, getting money orders for said tourist Visas (can you say "ouch" for my wallet?), making lists of everything else we need to do and buy, making lists for the lists of everything else we need to do and buy, coming up with back up pet care in case our first plan falls through, trying to find out more about the Russian metro system since we're going to be pretty far from the center of Moscow and all the touristy stuff, praying that our flight on Aeroflot is both uneventful and safe, praying Aeroflot allows our new luggage to reach Moscow at the same time that we do, researching camcorders since we don't have one but would really like one, trying to track down "new" cash to carry over with us, interviewing international doctors via email to visit the orphanage with us, emailing a person in our community who volunteered to make cryllic labels for our "Who Loves Baby" albums so Baby C's caregivers know who all the people in the album are.....and lots, lots more. Oh, most importantly I found an international hairdryer at Wal-Mart today so that issue is taken care of as well!! Yay! (I MUST have a hairdryer if nothing else.)
If the paragraph above didn't make your eyes go all googley, you saw that we're flying on Aeroflot. Yeah...little scared about this I'll admit. At least it's a nonstop flight and was significantly cheaper than the other airlines. We got both our tickets for just a little more than the cost of one ticket on other airlines.
As far as lodging, we're renting 2 apartments from Peace Travel. Why 2? Well, we'll be in the first one for our first night only and then have to switch to the other for the rest of our stay. There is a convention of some sort in Moscow the week we'll be there so lodging was scarce. The first apartment we're staying in, the Double Decker, seems kinda cool and in a good area. I'm a little nervous about the 2nd one, the Loft Suite, only because it seems like it's in no man's land. Oh, and the decorator was apparently going for an Austin Power's look. Hmmm.....
That said, at least we'll be in the same country and region as our child! It could definitely be worse. We'll just have to make the best of it. I do like the balcony that the Loft has, and the park it overlooks seems very nice.
There is still a lot to do and I am just so grateful that we've been given a little extra time to take care of everything. For those waiting for travel dates, don't procrastinate when it comes to packing, making plans for you house, home & pets, etc. Once you get "the call" you're going to be a crazy person trying to mark everything off your list!
Since my last post I've been dealing with a 2nd bout of the flu, 2 travel agents who don't return calls - thus "forcing" me to make my own flight and lodging arrangements (I really just wanted to see if they could get a better deal than we could), creating our 2 "Who Loves Baby" albums, buying luggage, trying to make some sort of sense out of the mess called a Russian Tourist Visa, getting invitation letters for said tourist Visas, arranging a person in Moscow to register said tourist Visas, getting money orders for said tourist Visas (can you say "ouch" for my wallet?), making lists of everything else we need to do and buy, making lists for the lists of everything else we need to do and buy, coming up with back up pet care in case our first plan falls through, trying to find out more about the Russian metro system since we're going to be pretty far from the center of Moscow and all the touristy stuff, praying that our flight on Aeroflot is both uneventful and safe, praying Aeroflot allows our new luggage to reach Moscow at the same time that we do, researching camcorders since we don't have one but would really like one, trying to track down "new" cash to carry over with us, interviewing international doctors via email to visit the orphanage with us, emailing a person in our community who volunteered to make cryllic labels for our "Who Loves Baby" albums so Baby C's caregivers know who all the people in the album are.....and lots, lots more. Oh, most importantly I found an international hairdryer at Wal-Mart today so that issue is taken care of as well!! Yay! (I MUST have a hairdryer if nothing else.)
If the paragraph above didn't make your eyes go all googley, you saw that we're flying on Aeroflot. Yeah...little scared about this I'll admit. At least it's a nonstop flight and was significantly cheaper than the other airlines. We got both our tickets for just a little more than the cost of one ticket on other airlines.
As far as lodging, we're renting 2 apartments from Peace Travel. Why 2? Well, we'll be in the first one for our first night only and then have to switch to the other for the rest of our stay. There is a convention of some sort in Moscow the week we'll be there so lodging was scarce. The first apartment we're staying in, the Double Decker, seems kinda cool and in a good area. I'm a little nervous about the 2nd one, the Loft Suite, only because it seems like it's in no man's land. Oh, and the decorator was apparently going for an Austin Power's look. Hmmm.....
That said, at least we'll be in the same country and region as our child! It could definitely be worse. We'll just have to make the best of it. I do like the balcony that the Loft has, and the park it overlooks seems very nice.
There is still a lot to do and I am just so grateful that we've been given a little extra time to take care of everything. For those waiting for travel dates, don't procrastinate when it comes to packing, making plans for you house, home & pets, etc. Once you get "the call" you're going to be a crazy person trying to mark everything off your list!
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