I've lost Sunday -- Do You Know Where It Is??

Wow... what a trip so far. Rhonda and I left Detroit around 7:45pm on Saturday evening. After landing for a brief but WARM stopover in LA, we were onto Seoul, Korea. The longest flight of my life. The flight was 13 hours. And somehow we have misplaced Sunday. I'm sure it's around here somewhere, but not here, because it's 7:29am on Monday!! Korean Air is wonderful - even in coach they have the best amenities. However, instead of being icy cold like most long distance flights, our flights have been super warm.

We're in the Icheon International Airport - waiting for out next flight, and man, what a transition! Some people speak English, but not so well. In order for us to get food (and kill 4+ hrs) we had to go out of customs/immigration, which we weren't expecting! But alas, we survived.

Next stop - Vladivostok! And hoping to meet a little guy in the next day or so. I am filled with excitement, nerves and the unknown. Keep you posted later!!

S-A-T-U-R, D-A-Y, NIGHT!

It's almost here! Saturday night is the big night. Rhonda and I take off from Detroit around 7:30pm. With a 3 hour stop at LAX, we'll be off to Seoul after mid-night on Sunday. With the time-change/international date line, we'll arrive in Vladivostok at 2:20pm on MONDAY!

I'll check in from Vladivostok to update everyone! Thanks for your thoughts and well wishes.

New Presidential Candidate

There's an effort to elect an unknown random person as President... and it's someone we know! Watch this online video about the surprising new nominee:

http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=370617&altf=Bnz&altl=Sfqq

Let me know what you think!!

It's Fall, Do You Know Where Your Sugar Is?

If you live in the north, the answer could be.... CROSWELL, MICHIGAN!

I live in a small town about 4 miles from Lake Huron (hold your right hand up, palm up: just by your thumb knuckle is me!). Small towns have always fascinated me. One of the big factories in town is a (you guessed it!) SUGAR factory. Formerly known (ok, still is known as around here) as Pioneer Sugar, the Michigan Sugar Plant in Croswell, MI is up and running at full steam.

For those of you not in the know of sugar, in the north sugar is produced by sugar beets, not sugar cane. Giant brown potato looking things. Grown locally and then trucked to Croswell and dropped off to produce sugar.

With all that you'd think I lived in the sweetest smelling town in Michigan. Not so much. The odor is ODD. Very odd. Hard to describe, but it's not good. Worse on the days when the cloud cover is low.

So now you've had your sugar lesson for the week - you can go back to scouring the internet for other useless trivia and knowledge. And yes, I am trying to keep pre-occupied so the week goes fast!! Can't you tell?

Leavin, On a Jet Plane

Quick update!! After an exhausting, whirlwind of a trip to Chicago for work, I returned home late last night for a date with Obama & McCain. I quickly cleared my emails, only to hear the sound of a new email arriving shortly after I just emptied the mailbox. I have my travel dates!!

Rhonda and I will be heading out on 10/18 late in the evening with quick stops in LA and Seoul, Korea. The trip is so long that we won't arrive until mid-afternoon on Monday 10/20! Now that's some frequent flyer points!! I am so glad to have Rhonda going with me -- and huge thanks to Rhonda's husband Dave for helping make her part of the trip possible!

Double bonus during the trip is the Mike & Heidi Lee will be in Vlad at the same time! http://findingrfamilee.blogspot.com/ I've long stalked their blog and am so hoping we can meet up in Vlad. For my agency, Moscow is the "big region"; larger, so more families tend to go toward that region. It's wonderful to hear the stories of how they are able to meet up for dinner. I was hoping to share this with my partner in crime, Angie and her husband, Rick - but now I will hopefully get to meet Mike & Heidi!

Finally, one more small milestone to share. I received my FIRST registry present this week!! One more surprise waiting for me when I got home last night was a congrats present from my lifelong friend Pam. We met when I was around 4 years old!! Thanks Pam!!!

Again???

I got tagged again!! LOL

Just two days later - and before all my taggies were able to tag (tap, tap, tap), I was tagged again. This tag comes from Karyn (http://tiger-kar.blogspot.com/) a very funny new mom that I blog-stalked. I love reading about her adventures, she's honest and fun.

So you know the rules -- you get to hear 6 more random facts about me (yea, you!) and then I get to tag 6 more of you! Haha. So here goes....

1) While I have already mentioned that I am an only child, I actually have a VERY LARGE extended family. My mom is one of six kids, and my dad was one of seven. I have a bevy of cousins, all of which I know and for the most part see on a semi-regular basis. I feel VERY fortunate to have such a great, close family. We aren't without our issues and challenges, but we're family.
2) Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Notice I said ONE of -- I love them all, really! However, with my large family, we have a spectacular Thanksgiving tradition. Not only is my mom 1 of 6 kids, her father was 1 of 7 kids (all boys!), and ALL SEVEN families still get together each Thanksgiving. 5 of my Great-Uncles are alive and 4 live in this small town with me. Our gathering ranges from about 60-100 people. Big range, I know, but typically every other year it's "big" as people have multiple places they have to visit. And with those #s, as you'd imagine we have to rent a hall.
3) You probably know by know that I am a close relative to the CraziCatLady. No seriously, that's my aunt's email address. And the apple doesn't fall that far from the tree. What you don't know is that each of my kitties have their own Christmas stocking. Crazy, I know.
4) I have a sweet tooth that won't stop. It's my biggest weakness. Someone mentioned Cadbury Cream Eggs recently - YUM! But this time of year the BEST treat is: Brachs Candy Corn mixed at home with salted peanuts. Try it - you won't be sorry!
5) I am a serious picky eater. Combine this with the fact that I don't like my food to touch, I have bad food problems! On the list of no, no, nevers: seafood - if it can walk in the ocean, I am NOT eating it; salad - not sure what the issue is here, but I don't get it; most of the green veggies - I just do the basics, corn, carrots, potatoes, green beans and peas are ok.
6) I am fully hooked to fountain Diet Pepsi. But it has to be fountain. If I won the lottery, I'd put a Diet Pepsi only dispensing fountain machine in my house!!!

Ok, now on to my latest group of 6 victims:
1) Jenny: http://ouradoptionjourney-jennyandron.blogspot.com/
2) Lindsay: http://clmclaughlin.blogspot.com/
3) Danette: http://azlittlepatchofheaven.blogspot.com/
4) Sarah: http://ourrussianchildren.blogspot.com/
5) Becky: http://russianpeanut.blogspot.com/
6) Nancy - Her blog is on private right now - so no link :)

The rules are:
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2.Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random facts about yourself.
4.Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Good luck all!

Belated Birthday Present

Yup!!!! You guessed it! Today, of all days, I got the magic phone call!! It was a "perfect storm" of sorts with a lot of things leading up to "the call": my sadness last week, birthday this week and to top it all off I was away from home on a quick trip for work. Since suddenly (yesterday) this turned into an overnight trip, I did actually have my laptop with me. Lorien from my agency called and said the magic, wonderful words, followed up with some additional information on my computer.

More details to follow, but it looks like soon I will be off to meet a wonderful little boy!