First I came across Giggle today, then I discovered this store, Romp… and then I went to my fave local spot, Mod Mama. (More on that tomorrow!) Funny thing is, I wasn’t scouring the internet looking for them. I love when that happens. And a business errand put me right down the street from Mod Mama, so how could I not stop in and see all the lovely items?! But I digress - back to Romp. How delicious are these bookends, this domarino game, these wooden animals, and these egglings are adorable.

OK, so I’m slammed with work right now (a good thing) which doesn’t leave me much time for blogging (a bad thing) but when I came across this store, I just had to post it. Mostly, it’s eye candy for me, but there’s some really unique & cool things there… and how could I not post about a store named Giggle? It makes me just giggle hearing it’s name! Enjoy.

Some of you might recall me posting about a fellow blogger’s fight to get her child insured. (And I directed you to their site here.) Well, I’m happy to report that Channel 5’s I-Team in St. Louis has picked up the story. You can find the written article here, and the video coverage here. Please click through those links, watch the video, read the story, and *comment!* (Please, please, please?) If we all band together to fight this inequity, just imagine what could happen.

Doug called our placement agency today and spoke with the Director of the Korea Program. She told him that everything was in order with our papers and they would be sent in the packet that goes over to Korea on September 1st!! Yay!! (Happy Dance!)

She also told him that referrals are averaging between 5 and 7 months right now, and travel calls are coming in as soon as 3 months after the acceptance of the referral… which means there is actually a chance that we’ll be in Korea for our wedding anniversary or my birthday. (Not to mention we could receive a referral around the time of Doug’s birthday.) What a gift that will be!

Now before everyone goes and gets all excited… it could also change in a heartbeat and referrals could be taking up to 8 to 10 months again. So no counting chickens! [wink]

But a little celebration will be taking place on September 1st in this house!

So it’s been one whole week since I sent off our I-600A approval (the I-797C) to the placement agency. When I did that I asked to know when they thought they would get to our papers. (We’re basically in line with the agency to get our papers organized to send over to SWS in Korea.) I then followed up with a voicemail last Friday. Still no response. I know that they are all very, very busy… but I think I’m getting frustrated. Do I call again tomorrow? Do I give it more time? I’m fine if the answer is “we’re still not up to you” but I just want to know where we stand. I’m thinking our papers will be going sometime in September now… or should I say I *hope*?! (Remember, our home studay was complete by March, and we originally expected our papers to go in JUNE, but we had all sorts of delays) I think I’m really tired of waiting to wait… I really just want to be “officially” waiting. Sigh.

Being a designer, I love cards. I have boxes upon boxes of cards in my office. I’m always thinking about sending people cards to thank them, to congratulate them, to wish them a happy birthday. My problem is actually getting them in the mail. They sit, addressed, on my desk for weeks - sometimes even months. (Yes, that is embarrassing to admit) Well, no more - cardstore.com to the rescue! They offer quality, printed cards with a personal touch. It’s simple: I just pick a card, add a photo or two if I wish, write my message, then *they* print and send as many as I like - wherever I like! For $2.99 or less, depending on quantity. And unlike hippopost.com, the font sizes are adjustable - as is the font style and color. The one thing I haven’t figured out is if I can do this in advance and schedule my ship date. For example, at the beginning of the month, can I do everyone’s cards, and have them ship as appropriate? Holiday cards, announcements, birthday cards, thank you cards - you name it, it seems to be on there. How have I not found this until now!?

Here’s a few of my favorite designs - from baby announcements to more general cards:

(See, I told you I had some fun things to post about!)

What do you get when you combine 300,000 LEGO blocks, 4,500 mini figurines, and a whole lot of creativity? You get a LEGO replica of the Olympic Village!

Check these out - aren’t they cool?!

The “Bird’s Nest:

The “Water Cube”:

The display in Hong Kong:

[via Geekologie]

We had a wonderful weekend with my college roommates, L&J, and their hubbies, N&G … and little boy R! Little boy R is the son of L&N will be two at the end of this month. And what a good boy - and a blast to boot! (We’ll take one just like him please!) [wink] Seriously though, we had a wonderful time together (or at least I think we did…) We hit up the state beach in our town and had a great time. It was practically empty since the weather forecast of severe thunderstorms scared everyone away. (For the record there were only big white fluffy clouds in the sky and lots of sun.) We had a ton of room to play and splash. We buried Little Boy R in the sand, watched him rush the big waves, dig holes and ask for bucket after bucket of water. It’s amazing how a little one can get six adults wrapped around his finger, doing his beck and call. My favorite part was when he walked across the kitchen, took my hand, walked me back to the family room where his trucks were, and pulled me down with him, saying “Christine Play.” And, of course, I did! But like any good weekend of fun and sun - I’m exhausted. I have a bunch of fun things to post about though… maybe tomorrow.

In other news - a big congrats to Krista and Matt who are “officially” waiting! YAY! We hope to see you there soon! Can you tell I am typing with my fingers crossed?

[To those I know in the health care and health coverage fields, I apologize for the angry post about to follow. I know that this specific situation is beyond your control, and I believe that each one of you go above and beyond in your individual jobs. This is a situation much larger than any one of us, but I really feel that the system is broken and much in need of repair…]

Many of you who know me “in real life” have probably heard a rant or two about how strongly I dislike the medical care coverage systems in this country. While I adore my doctors, I am sick of the system and the confines they need to work within. I’m sick of the “processes and procedures” the insurance companies have in place to protect “us” when it’s clear they are looking out for themselves first and foremost. For this reason alone, I would like to see CHANGE in November.

Then, if you were unfortunate enough to ask me how the adoption process was going in early May, you probably heard me rant about getting a letter regarding coverage of an adopted child. (I apologize again for those who received that rant.) It still amazes me that they were unable to provide a simple document that stated what was very clearly outlined in their policy manual.

So imagine how I felt when I read on another adoption blog how their child was denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Denied coverage, not given coverage with exception to pre-existing conditions, because “they can’t rider those conditions on an adopted child.” These people took on her conditions prepared to pay for them themselves. Yet, their insurance company won’t even cover the well-baby visits? Because she’s adopted. If you know anyone who can help, or even just to lend your support, please visit their blog.

Have me completely in awe. Not to mention they have me staying up way past my bedtime! Even though I’ve been crazy this past weekend with work - I was able to watch a bunch of the events (love this whole thing happening in prime time.):

• The Opening Ceremony: Perhaps the most incredibly beautiful thing I have seen. (For the record, the award for that has been Cirque du Soleil up until this point) The artistry paired with the technology just blew me away. I’m not one for commemorative DVDs, but I may need to rethink that if there is one of the Opening Ceremony. I do wish that South and North Korea had been able to enter as one delegation though. That is the only thing I wish different.

It’s almost impossible to pick my “top 3″ moments, but if I *had* to choose it would be the drummers, the “moveable boxes,” and the “lighted dancers.” (Close runners-up were the globe and papyrus displays, as well as when the Chinese delegation entered led by Yao Ming and Lin Hao - the little Chinese earthquake survivor.) Anyone else have any favorite moments from the Ceremony?!

• The Competitions: I cannot get enough of the Olympic sports it seems. I’m watching events I would never watch normally… like woman’s weightlifting. But now I can actually tell you who medaled! Not only that, but I’m loving all the swimming and gymnastics. The gymnastics was a little hard to watch since it was a tough round for the ladies. The swimming competitions have been amazing though… I think I actually cheered loudest for South Korea’s Taehwan Park in the Men’s 400M Freestyle?

I’m happy to see how well *both* the United States and South Korea have been doing. I can’t wait for tonight’s coverage to begin! (I’m going to be one tired puppy after all these late nights though.)