First of all…. I’m with Rachael. I think they have grossly underestimated my addiction problems…. try this for fun:

64%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Online Dating

Second, I just heard that Joel Siegel died. I was overwhelmed with a strange sadness. Not sure why. I enjoyed his movie reviews and humor, but it’s not like I knew him or made a huge effort to catch his tv appearances. I think it was the clip ABC was showing of an interview he did about his son. This man found out he had cancer the same day his wife found out she was pregnant. When he later found out that there was little chance of survival, he decided to write a book for his son. It’s called Lessons for Dylan and is just that - as many life lessons as he could fit in one book. The things he wanted his son to know. Sad, but a Father’s love story. Frank and I watched the clip tonight and we both agreed that the story was just awful, without saying a word to each other. It made me think about what life lessons I would choose to tell my (future) kids. Would I tell them about my mistakes, as well as my accomplisments? I don’t mean to be morbid, but it’s a good way to evaluate yourself and the road you are currently taking.

Finally, and on a much lighter note, I have a line up of adoption posts coming. Do any of you get ideas for your blog and make a draft, so you remember to blog about it later? Maybe that should have been a question on that blog addiction quiz….

Rachael tagged me to list my Top Ten Things About Summer. Sorry it took so long to get to it. For those of you who don’t like these fun little tagged things, bare with me - I will return to adoption related posts next time. I have to say Summer is not my favorite season. It never was in Michigan and it definately is not my favorite here in Grand Cayman. (Especially since it feels like we’ve been stuck in summer for over a year now!) However, living here gives me a unique perspective and so I will list my favorite things about summer, based on Michigan summers. Here goes, in no particular order…

- Flip Flops - I love all the colors and designs. They’re comfy and easy to put on and kick off. The possibilities are endless and they are cheap to buy. I never feel guilty purchasing a bunch of them when you can get them for like $6 a pair.

- Sprinklers - Okay so I haven’t ran through a sprinkler in awhile, but they are so much fun! I loved them as a child. I could spend all day running through one. Remember how good that cold water felt on a hot summer day?!

- Tubing - I grew up going to my family’s cottage on a small inland lake in nothern Michigan. One of the best things about going up there was tubing behind the speed boat. We’d hook up 2 or 3 tubes and go flying in circles trying not to bounce off into the water. It was especially fun when my Dad rode on one next to me. He used to try crazy tricks, like jumping from his tube to mine while the boat was going ahead of us.

- Camp Fires - I love the smell of a campfire, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs. I could stare at a camp fire for hours and poke my stick - that still drives my Mother crazy even as an adult.

- Planting Flowers - Something I learned to love with Frank’s Mom. She is a natural gardener and it really takes some talent to keep a garden growing. I hope I can have a nice, well maintained garden when Frank and I settle in a home somewhere.

- Ice Cream & Popsicles - I hate the feeling of it melting on your hands and face, but I sure love the cool, delicious taste! Nothing beats a frozen treat in summer time!

- Watermelon - I actually really hate the texture of watermelon in my mouth, but I love cutting them. My Grandma used to make those watermelon baskets with fresh fruit inside. I used to love to help her. But, most of all, I love to watch Frank and my Dad eat enormous peices of watermelon that seem too big to be conquered. Somehow they always manage to fit it all in their bellies.

- Kids on Bikes - When I was a child, I’d play on my bike with my friends on our street all day long. My Mom used to have to turn on the porch light to get me to come inside. What happened to that these days? Now parents are scared of kidnappers and traffic or kids would rather be inside playing video games. I love the sentiments that come to my mind when I see kids riding around on their bikes outside.

- Library Books - Summer time reminds me of going to the library as a child, too. We lived on a dead end road, one street from our town’s public library. I used to ride my bike over and sit in the cool air conditioning reading and reading and reading. I loved the travel books - looking at pictures of places that seemed world’s away and I loved the “choose your own adventure” books - where you made a decision and it would say to turn to this page or another depending on what you chose. Do they still make those? Even now, as an adult, I look forward to reading the summer, fun, trashy books that you (normally) find time to read.

- Fishing - Another up north thing. I actually chose this more for Frank than myself. There is nothing like floating in an old fishing boat, relaxing with your bobber floating. I normally would be reading one of those trashy summer books at the same time But, the excitement on Frank’s face when his bobber sinks under and the fun of fighting a fish to get it in the boat. Don’t forget the best part of all - the cheesy pictures where they hold their fish out in front of them to make it look as large as possible.

For fun - some of my least favorite things….. sweating, family reunions, nice weather makes working more difficult - there is always something else you could be enjoying - and humidity - bad hair days!

FOODOLOGY
What is your salad dressing of choice? Catalina
What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Not big on fast food, closest thing would be Pizza Hut - love the crust
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? On Grand Cayman - Calypso Grill, Back home - Lucky’s Steakhouse
On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? 18%
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Qdoba Naked Chicken Queso Burritos
What is your favorite type of gum? Spearmint

TECHNOLOGY
What is your wallpaper on your computer? Pink background with the following quote: “Everytime I see your face, a get a feeling in a silly place, it starts in my toes, makes me crinkle my nose, where ever it goes I always know, that you make me smile, please stay for awhile…”
How many televisions are in your house? 2
How do you listen to music? Ipod or CDs in car, Itunes on computer

BIOLOGY
What’s your best feature? My husband says my eyes
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Does a hair cut count?
Which of your five senses do you think is keenest? Vision - I have to read powerpoints from the back of the room and tiny print in medical books
When was the last time you had a cavity? Maybe 5 years ago.
What is the heaviest item you lifted last? Moving in the new condo with Frank - we moved some HEAVY boxes
Have you ever been knocked unconscious? Nope.

BULL____OLOGY
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Absolutely not.
Is love for real? Yes.
If you could change your first name, what would you change it to? Hmm… I’ve always liked the name Merrill for a girl - my maiden name - Sometimes I miss signing it.
Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? No.
Have you ever saved someone’s life? Not yet, but I am in medical school…. so stay tuned….
Has someone ever saved yours? Don’t think so.

DAREOLOGY
Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000? No.
Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? Depends on who it was…
Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? Absolutely not.
Would you never blog again for $50,000? Yes, if I could still check family and friends’ blogs.
Would you pose nude in a magazine for $250,000? NO.
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000? No way.
Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000? Nope.

DUMBOLOGY
What is in your left pocket? Don’t have pockets right now - but normally, some cash.
Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie? I hated it.
Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house? Carpet upstairs, all tile on the first floor. Must be a tropical flood thing.
Do you sit or stand in the shower? Stand. Who sits besides elderly people?
Could you live with roommates? Not now. Been there - done that.
How many pairs of flip-flops do you own? Too many to count - I live on an island….
Last time you had a run-in with the cops? Never. Unless my Dad counts - he’s a cop.
What do you want to be when you grow up? I’m working on it….
Last friend you talked to? My Mom.
Last person you called? See above question.

RANDOMOLOGY
First place you went this morning? Shower.
What can you not wait to do? See my family - they are coming to visit 4th of July week.
What’s the last movie you saw? Pirates of the Caribbean 3

Nicknames have been mentioned a few times lately in bloggerland.

Rachael mentioned her nickname for Katya is Scrappy Doo because she is a tough, little girl. Also, it came up in Jen’s blog that a certain commenter did not appreciate her nickname for the Pineapple Princess. Personally, if I was Jen I would have told that commenter to kiss my you know what, but that got me thinking. When you named / are deciding on a name for your child, did you take into account the nicknames that would come along with it? Frank and I often find ourselves liking names and later discarding them simply because of the nicknames. For instance, the most common nickname with negative connotations has got to be Richard - Dick. (No offense to all the Dicks out there, but we are doing our best to avoid the obvious, potential issues with certain nicknames.)

Also, when you were a kid or with your children, did you have a nickname that was totally unrelated to your name? I was “Boo” to my family. Still am. This name was given to me before the hip hop culture decided to use it as a term of affection to biotches and hoes. During my visit home this Spring I had to tell my Nana to stop calling me “Boo” in public. She yelled it into the dressing rooms, quite an embarressing experience…. My Dad called me “Turkey,” because I was born on Thanksgiving Day. I was always his little turkey. My Mom often called me Rosebud. I’m not sure why. My best guess is that it came from her telling me my feet smelled like Rosebuds after I got out of a bath. Silly things Moms say to their children. I have no doubt whatsoever that I will be one of those silly Mom’s myself. I’m such a dork that I’ve already planned out a few nicknames I like for my potential kids. Who knows if I’ll use them, but I am certain my children will have nicknames.

So this blog is supposed to be about Adoption, right? I guess I should return to some of those topics, as I’ve deviated from them for awhile now. Before I do though, I have to thank you all for not teasing me about my hair pictures. When I was looking back over my hair cut post I realized how funny those extreme close ups look. I really was just trying to show you the color against a dark background - not trying to pose like a Sears Glamour shot.

Anyways, back to Adoption stuff.

While we were home Frank told everyone (and I mean everyone) we spent time with that we’re planning to adopt as soon as we move back to the States. He told them all about what he’s learned about Russian Adoption, the process, the children, etc. I couldn’t believe it. He actually has been reading our blog, some of yours and listening to me when I blabber on and on about all this stuff. He actually knew what he was talking about. (Not that my hubby isn’t smart… he really is…. but, I didn’t think he really knew that much about Russian Adoption.) He even told some of your stories to our friends and family. It made me feel good that he is excited and planning for this, too. The only thing that kind of bothered me is that we have both agreed we weren’t going to announce our official “start date” to people. We are planning to announce it in some sort of special way to our parents, first. Really though, that doesn’t matter…. what matters is that he is choosing to talk about it and learning about it on his own. He wants to share it with everyone we know because he is just as excited as I am about this! Adopting Olive is really going to happen and I’m not going to have to do all the work to get us there!

It’s exam time, so I will be back at the end of this week to discuss some actual adoption stuff. I know most of you don’t care about all the medical talk, but I got this cartoon from a friend and had to share. I think all women and moms might enjoy it. Wish me luck on exams! I’ll catch ya on the flip side!