Hi, hello, yaddah yaddah yaddah

Just saying hi...nothing to report. It's cold, there were snow flurries, Guinness is now eating regular food again after his dental, the workouts continue, I've discovered I love Facebook, we have our second Russian class tomorrow night, I'm making headway with the Cyrillic alphabet, the laundry's caught up, Brian brewed beer, yaddah yaddah yaddah.

Hope all's well in your worlds!

Oh, and my online friend, Kim, gave me a lemonade award. I'll write more about it later this week! Thanks, Kim!

My boys

My two boy loves, Brian and Guinness, are now both on the floor sleeping. Brian is snoring, with his arm around Guinness, who is out like a light after his traumatic day at the vet having a dental done and a strange lumpy non-malignant thing (that is the formal, medical term) removed from his chest.

I'm so incredibly, over-the-moon relieved that Guinness is OK after his dental. I was dreading it. My boy is 10 and his teeth have always been bad, but he came through with flying colors. He is SO dopey (even more than usual!) tonight and I'm so glad he's home. It was such a nice night at home after days (yes, days) of me fretting about the dental.

So I had two martinis. So I just typed martinos. Relief ensues. All is right with the world. Literally.

That funky Cyrillic alphabet

Our first Russian class is under our belts. Man, those people have a funky alphabet! We need to work this week on understanding the letters and the sounds they make, and then reading words and combining those sounds and beginning to learn nouns. It's an interesting class (at a local community college) with some interesting characters, but it's nice because it's continuing education so there's not PRESSURE or TESTS. The instructor - who worked for the government doing translation and anti-terrorism work with Russian and Arabic specialties - asked me if I knew a word and I just laughed and said, "Pass!" Most of her Pentagon office was destroyed in the horrible events of 9/11 and her husband said, "That's it - we're OUTTA here."

I have to take Guinness to have a dental today and while I trust our vet totally, dentals and having him go under scare the S.&.I.T. out of me. Positive thoughts everyone. I cannot WAIT until it's this evening, I have him tucked at home and I can update that he came through with flying colors.

Until then...

No real news

Starting a new week, along with you all. One day down!

Thoughts into the void, part 2

And, just when you think you're all alone, a friend offers a much-needed shoulder and helps you talk it out a bit. Thanks, friend.

Thoughts into the void

I'm frustrated today. Life's challenges are kicking my #*( and hurting my heart.

From Missouri to Moscow

Our documents SHOULD be out of the state of Missouri now on their way to Moscow. Our consultant reported yesterday that she was dropping them at the shipping facility on her way home from work. I plan to follow up with her today to understand exactly where they are going and what happens next. I THINK they are going to the adoption agency office in Moscow for them to determine a region assignment for us, when we do more region-specific paperwork.

But, I'm not sure if I THINK this because it's true or because I've dreamed it up, so I'm getting clarification.

I'm so happy the documents aren't sitting on a desk in Missouri (and I REFUSE to focus on the fact that they've been there for almost a month - having arrived there 19DEC! I keep reminding myself that the holidays in the middle had everything totally shut down.).

Workouts continue; tried yoga last night and am going to add that and/or pilates (need to do research) in one night a week. Wednesdays are work-out days off as we start a Russian class next week and the other 5 days will be cardio and weight training.

It's Friday - but I work at the toy store tomorrow afternoon and noon to 5 on Sunday, so I'm looking forward to about 6 p.m. on Sunday when I can relax!

Whew! Our docs AREN'T lost!

Those who know me know that I'm a worrier. I fret. I angst. Yes, I just used angst as a verb instead of a noun. Because I do it. I blame it on my mother, who is also a worrier, fretter, angster, but I blame it on her genes being passed to me (why couldn't I get the tiny feet genes?) rather than me learning the behavior from her, because I really don't remember knowing she was a worrier. It's not like the whole environmental learning thing happened, you know what I mean? I think it's just the way we're wired.

I'm also creative. Put a worrier and a creator together and you can get some pretty sophisticated fantasies brewing!

When I couldn't get in touch with our adoption consultant to touch base on our Russia registration paperwork a number of scenarios ran through my head.

• Our lovely notarized and apostilled documents were laying at the bottom of the ocean (Atlantic? Arctic?) in a global delivery truck on its back with the wheels slowly turning with the current
• Our adoption agency had burned down and our lovely notarized and apostilled documents were laying in a pile of ashes. A good stiff St. Louis breeze stirs them and sends them into the Mighty Mo.
• Somehow in the receipt of our lovely notarized and aspostilled documents our agency took a real, hard look at the Shriners on paper and said, "What were we THINKING? We don't want to help these folks adopt! Move them to the 'We need to tell them the bad news list!'

You get the picture.

Using my former reporter skills of repeated phone messages (and then checking with the front desk at the adoption agency to make sure that our consultant had not, God forbid, been hit by the proverbial bus), I finally (finally!) received an update from said consultant, who was very apologetic for having not responded to me sooner. Seems she was managing a document emergency - not ours, thankfully! Today's update was that one of our agency documents has to be redone and re-apostilled, but this will be done tomorrow and our paperwork should...I repeat, should...be on its way to Russia this time tomorrow.

She promised she'd update me tomorrow afternoon. If she doesn't I'm certain a whole new batch of stories will ensue. Left to my on devices, who knows what I will come up with!

Trying to not be frustrated...

I am trying really hard to not get frustrated because I'm so curious where our paperwork stands but I don't know! I emailed our consultant on Friday and didn't hear from her and then followed back up today and didn't hear again. I'm sure she's busy doing legitimate adoption "stuff" for others, but I'm so insanely curious about if our registration paperwork has made its way to Russia or if it's still sitting in Missouri. Fingers crossed that I get a great update tomorrow!

Dossier update

Our adoption agency contacted us today to say that everything is on track with our paperwork! Our consultant reviewed what we submitted (for about the third time!) and sent a few documents that they have to prepare on our behalf to the Missouri Secretary of State to be apostilled. Then our dossier will go through one more review and then go to Russia! We're excited to then hear to what region we've been assigned (and then do MORE paperwork!). Not a huge update, but it's positive news, so I thought I'd share!