The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said...

This is the post that I've been dreading for quite some time.  I don't like dealing with confrontations and this is a major one.  But, as the lyrics from Alice in Wonderland state, "The time has come...".  

So, to all of my friends and family scattered from Ukraine to Oklahoma, I have to face the facts and let you know that my Peace Corps service is ending.  Officially, it ended on Monday {June 11, 2012}.  It's been a long time a'coming and when people recently asked me whether I'd be going back or not, I usually tried to skirt around the issue.  

My time in Ukraine was wonderful and something that I will cherish forever.  There were three things I really wanted to accomplish when I joined the Peace Corps: learn a new language, be immersed in a totally different culture, and travel.  I'm fairly happy with the fact that I can basically check those three items off my bucket list {although the travel part will never be done!}.  But it's still bittersweet.  There are days that I've been here in the states and wish I were still in Ukraine.  Those are the bad days, when I miss the more simplistic life of a Peace Corps Volunteer.  But I've had a lot of good days since I've been here in Oklahoma.  

I never could have dreamt that this chain of events would happen.  Getting sick in February...which was really mono but we didn't know it...and then getting pneumonia while recovering from mono.  It wasn't fun, but couldn't be avoided {no matter how much antibacterial hand sanitizer I used!}.  

I am still recovering from mono.  The recovery period can be months {and some people say it takes a full year...fingers crossed that that is not my case}.  The past two weeks-ish have been better.  I was finally given the go-ahead to start working out and jogged for the first time since January.  Granted, I lasted all of seven minutes at a v e r y slow pace, but ya gotta start somewhere :) it also made my body hurt in ways that I had forgotten because I've been so inactive for the past 5 months.  Five months.  Of being sick.  Let that settle in for a minute...

Since COS'ing {Close of Service, in Peace Corps lingo}, I have to make one more minor adjustment.  Upon arriving in Oklahoma, it's been hard for me to say where "home" was.  I really have just avoided saying "home" in general since being in OK {typical Lydia style}.  When I lived in Ukraine, I called Kirovograd my home. I was from Oklahoma, but K-grad was my home.  At one point during my service, I had a few Ukrainians comment to me that I called Ukraine home.  I totally didn't see the weirdness of this.  And I still don't.  I had every intention of spending my two year service in Ukraine...so why wouldn't it be my home?  But now, I have to change that and start calling Oklahoma home. 

I'm not sure what the next few months will hold.  Still resting.  Helping my parents move to a different house in Norman.  Doing design stuff for the new house. 

I'm kind of in a funk right now and don't know what else to post in this entry...so I'm going to go ahead and hit publish.  Perhaps more thoughts will come tomorrow :)  but for today, that's all I've got.

Surprise! Look who came to visit...

That's right, folks!  Mom and Pops graced Ukraine with their wonderful presence.  It was fabulous. Simply fab.

Their trip started off in Germany visiting some friends from our Alabama days.  Those friends now live in the picturesque, mountain town of Garmisch, Germany.

one of the views from their house...not too shabby, eh?

Soooo pretty.

After a few days in Germany, they came  to Ukraine and we were reunited for the first time in just over a year :) I ended up surprising them at the airport, which was a welcomed surprise because they didn't have any grieven {Ukrainian currency} yet and would need some to pay for a taxi.  I am still recovering from pneumonia and maybe mono as well {a whole 'nother story in and of itself}, so most of their trip, I sat around a lot of the time and let them do the exploring.  My energy levels are nowhere near where they used to be, but I'll talk about illnesses in a different post.  I'll let the pictures do the talking today.

One of the entire reasons for them coming--Ukrainian pysanka eggs {click here if you don't know what they are}.  Mom was in heaven when she saw this giant one in K-grad.

Visit to the host fam's home in Oster. 

Mom, Pops, Andrei, Gala, and Christy

Pops was most shocked at the amount of dishes I wash by hand on a daily basis. 

Mom got to go in the root cellar at the host fam's house.  I was never allowed to go down there because it was too cold...guess that rule doesn't apply to moms? :)

Pops was most excited to go to the post office in Oster and mail post cards.  I was less than thrilled on that dreary, cold day.

We didn't take much luggage to Oster.  Important things that were left behind when we needed them: gloves.  Mom and I shared a pair of mittens while walking around Oster on the coldest day of the trip.

One-mittened Lydia, outside of the gymnasia school where I taught during training.

dinner in K-grad with some of my fellow k-gradders.  

Angie, her mom Dorothy {who also happened to be in town for Easter!}, Mom, Lydia, Vicki, Dan, Pops, and Phil

this picture deserves a post in and of itself.  Photo credit goes to mom. See if you can find something that doesn't belong...

doing pysanky eggs at my office

obligatory pic with the map in my office, and counterpart, Olena

the kittens were born while my parents were here too.  

SO SO SO cute.

Easter meal at Olena's

"The Frost's Take Ukraine"--could be a book.

Pops needed a pic of me with my OU wall art.  

This is what I did most of the trip.  Rest.  

on their last night of the trip, Mom trimmed my hair...this was the first time I've had it cut {other than me chopping off my bangs} in over a year.  

good job, Mom!

Obviously, there's lots more to elaborate on, but this gives you a good overview of their stay :)  they arrived back in Oklahoma last night safe and sound.  Gotta get to work now...toodles!

One last thing...we got to watch some of the kids from my work practice in their dance class.  They are amazing.

#40.

I could have you guess what the number stands for as the title of today's post.  Debating about whether I should do that or not.  But, I'm impatient and want to go ahead and share with you.

That's the number of books I've read since I came to Ukraine almost one year ago exactly (official year anniversary is Thursday!).  In somewhat chronological order, they are:

1. Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone, by JK Rowling  
2. HP & the Chamber of Secrets, by JK Rowling
3. HP & the Prisoner of Azkaban, by JK Rowling
4. HP & the Goblet of Fire, by JK Rowling
5. HP & the Order of the Phoenix, by JK Rowling
6. HP & the Half-Blood Prince, by JK Rowling
7. HP & the Deathly Hallows, by JK Rowling
8. Safe Haven, by Nicholas Sparks
9. The Scarlet Thread, by Francine Rivers
10. Lost in Shangri-La, by Mitchell Zuckoff 
11. The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone
12. 35 Miles from Shore, by Emilio Corsetti
13. Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen
14. Choosing to See, by Mary Beth Chapman
15. Heaven is for Real, by Todd Burpo
16. 13 Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson
17. Come Back to Me, by Melissa Foster 
18. High School Football--the Temptation, by Paul Swearingen
19. My Horizontal Life, by Chelsea Handler
20. At All Costs, by John Gilstrap
21. Blindsight, by Chris Colin
22. Dangerous Grounds, by Shelli Stevens 
23. Unsinkable: A Young Woman's Courageous Battle on the High Seas, by Abby Sunderland 
24. The Sum of My Parts, by James Sanford
25. Wife by Wednesday, by Catherine Bybee
26. Flat-Out Love, by Jessica Park
27. All She Ever Wanted, by Barbara Freethy
28. Thunder Dog, by Michael Hingson
29. Half-Assed, by Jennette Fulda
30. The Path Home, by Caedem Marquez
31. Life From Scratch, by Melissa Ford
32. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
33. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
34. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
35. Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
36. Chasing Harry Winston, by Lauren Weisberger (one of two real books, not Kindle editions)
37. Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer (still need to read the others in the series)
38. Breakfast at Tiffany's, by Truman Capote
39. Marley and Me, by John Grogan (the other real book, not Kindle edition)
40. Unfinished Business, by Nora Roberts 

I tend to buy books on the Kindle that are either on sale (there is a monthly list of 100 books that go on sale, and also a book a day that are usually $1 or less) and strike my interest, or find books that others are talking about and I want to know what all the hype is.  Of course, I love good chick lit (Nicholas Sparks, eat your heart out), but I also enjoy stories of survival and edge-of-your-seat page turners.  I've also found that since being in Ukraine and becoming a vegetarian, I've downloaded books about eating healthier and the way food affects our bodies.  I have some cookbooks downloaded on my Kindle too but I don't think those count as actual reads for my list :)  Let's not forget that my reading would be dwindling if it weren't for my wonderful gift of a Kindle by the Crow fam.  I love it so so much and tell all of the new PC peeps to bring one over here.  Top 3 items I brought with me.  

Sidenote:  I need to make a public apology for forgetting Mitchell's birthday.  However, in my defense, his birthday fell on the day that I was traveling from Kiev to K-grad and was so exhausted and crabby that I just needed to get home.  I didn't even check email that day.  So, HAPPY {late} BIRTHDAY MITCHY POO :)

I started Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Foer, a week or so ago when I was in the hospital.  But, it's a weird read and I wanted something light and airy, so I switched to the Nora Roberts book (the first one I've ever read by her).   

Some of the other books that I plan on reading while I'm here in Ukraine:

1. Eating Animals, by Jonathan Foer
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larson 
3. The Girl who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larson
4. The Girl who Kicked the Hornets' nest, by Stieg Larson
5. New Moon, by Stephanie Meyer
6. Eclipse, by Stephanie Meyer
7. Breaking Dawn, by Stephanie Meyer 
8. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
9. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
10. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson 

I would like to read more classics that I've neglected to read my whole life...but we'll see if they ever happen :)  And some Bill Bryson books, because he's one heck of a funny author.  In fact, I may start reading a Bill Bryson book now.  My brother informed me he was currently reading one (Notes From a Small Island) and I can guess that it's a laugh out loud funny kind of book.  

Feeling better on the sick front as things go.  Went out yesterday for the first time and was exhausted by the time I lugged my groceries home.  So, looks like I'll be spending most of my week in my apartment reading and watching Desperate Housewives...per docs orders (the resting part, not the Desperate Housewives part).  Might treat myself to making queso to last me for the week :)  

Hope the McFarlin kiddos are enjoying themselves on the first day at their worksites.  Stay tuned for another great way-back-Wednesday post this week :)  Happy Monday!

happy Friday :)

Not much to report on this lazy Friday.  I went to bed super early last night (in Lydia terms at least--9:30ish I think!) and was actually able to sleep through the entire night without coughing once.  That's the first time in 2+ weeks that I haven't woken up to cough in the middle of the night.  I think I slept almost 12 hours last night which was much needed after yesterday's adventure to K-grad.

My landlady and her husband came by today to collect rent money and turn on my water.  I also asked the husband to fix my bathtub to where I could shower (it was a free standing tub and needed caulking around the walls).  Not only did he fix that but he also fixed my toilet which has been broken for a month or two I think.  Hooray! 

Also on today's agenda was a skype date with one of my lovely PCV friends:

biffster, Kymmy Gibbler (and a yet-to-be-showered Lydia)

Kym doesn't have good internet most of the time, so when she's in a place with wifi, she needs to take full advantage.  Makes me super thankful for my fast internet that I have all the time (I know, I know.  I'm quite spoiled).

The new group 43ers should have arrived at their host family's tonight for the first time.  I can remember that day like it was yesterday and not, in fact, almost a year ago.  I was so jet-lagged and so overwhelmed by finally being in Ukraine, all that I wanted to do was sleep.  I think I fell asleep around 8 or 9 pm that night too!  On the following day, I met with my cluster for the first time at my teacher's home and we all shared funny stories of getting situated in our new rooms that would be ours for the following three months.  I am super excited to share with y'all that I will be getting to help a cluster in this current group of newbies.  Peace Corps has this program called "adopt-a-cluster" that is geared towards getting a group of new PCVs to interact with a current PCV.  So, sometime in April, I will go to meet with my cluster (group of 5 trainees) and stay with them for a couple days answering questions about my life as a PCV and teaching a lesson or two for them as well.  Not sure who will be in my group of newbies but I think I should find out soon :)

Happy and safe travels to the McFarlin kiddos as they head down to south Texas tomorrow for the Spring Break mission trip.  Can't wait to see the pics and hear the stories of y'alls time there :)  Oh, how I wish I were getting on a mini-bus tomorrow and going with y'all!  But, I'll be in my apartment recouping :)  Happy Friday!

home sweet home :)

I'm finally back to my apartment in K-grad :)  It is great to be back.  There's not much else to say than I'm very glad to be home again!  Had blood work done this morning at PC and then went to lunch with Phil at a nice Italian restaurant in Kiev (he had to come get some paperwork done for the day). Our marshrutka ride home was one for the books...it started snowing on the way home and practically turned into a blizzard for a little while.  And, the road between K-grad and Kiev has gotten so bad that the pot holes span an entire lane.  This means that the driver is swerving back and forth for minutes on end.  After finally making it home, I was greeted with one of the sweetest care packages...but not from the states!  This care package came from my lovely and sweet site mates--Dan and Vicki :)

homemade cornbread, chili, chicken noodle soup, bread, butter, and a red pepper. 

Some of the food was still WARM (ie, fresh out of the oven) when Dan brought it over.  I could barely wait 5 minutes to dig into the chili and cornbread.  I'm full and tired and ready to curl up in my own bed for the first time in almost a week!  So excited.

Much love,
Lydia

P.S.  My water is off at the moment.  Lovely surprise to come home to.  I think my landlady turned it off...but I don't know how to turn it back on.  Wah wah.  Let's hope she comes and turns it on tomorrow :)  toodles

from the {very} sick bed of Lydia...

Thought I'd write a quick update since I don't know what my internet sitch will be like the next few days. After a few days of being quite sick and my antibiotics not helping, I talked to the PC doc today and he instructed me I needed to go to a hospital here in k-grad to get a chest x-ray.  

The verdict?  Pneumonia.  

That was a word I didn't think I would add to my Russian vocabulary...

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty crappy days all around with my temperature being anywhere from 100-103.5 degrees. My fever finally broke sometime in the night last night and I felt a bit better today.  Still not great by any means, but definitely an improvement from Wednesday where I had just about reached my breaking point.  

Went to a private clinic here in K-grad with my counterpart today.  Got a chest x-ray and waited for a doctor to come read it. When the doc shows up, I call the PC doc and they discuss things via telephone, and then I hear what sounded like "new-mahn-ee-uh"...pretty much a cognate.  I looked at Olena (my counterpart) and said, "pneumonia?" Yep.  

Got an ultra-sound done on my lungs then to see if there is fluid in them...not sure what the verdict of that was.  But, it was decided that I'll be going to Kiev early in the morning so that the PC docs can see me and decide the course of treatment.  I'm just glad I finally know what I have.  

I have great sitemates who brought me food and flowers for Women's day (thank you Phil) and cleaned my apartment/made me eat something/packed my bag (thanks Dan and Vicki).  And my parents thank you too :)

Gotta go shower and rest for a while.  Taking a 4 am marshrutka to Kiev, so when all of you in America are going to sleep tonight, I'll be arriving in Kiev and finally on the road to recovery.  

Much love,

Lyd

It's meltingggggggg....

The snow that is.  Although in my head, I heard the the title of the blog more like how the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz would say it.  In fact, I even looked up the video for it just to give myself a good laugh.  

But really, the snow is melting...at an alarmlingly fast pace I might add.  This means that the water has nowhere to go, except to make larger and larger puddles lakes.  The view from my kitchen window went from this....

to this...in a a few days!

and from this...

to this!

 But, with the warmer weather (it's 36 degrees Fahrenheit right now), you know what that means?  

My old men playing dominos are back!

And just because it was meowing very loudly at me as I opened my kitchen window to take pics, one of my {obnoxious} neighborhood cats who thinks I might feed it.

Sorry kitty, not today.  

In other news, I've finished book 2 of the Hunger Games trilogy and am just over 50% done with book 3.  Holy cow, those books are something else.  I don't remember the last time I was that hooked on a book by page TWO.  Shall I finish book 3 today?  I think I've read for 4 or 5 hours today...but I really don't want to go out in the splash zone outside.  Happy Sunday :)

Valentine's Day kiddos

Excuse the past few days of skipped blogging.  I ended up having another round of sickness...though this one is hopefully almost over.  Tuesday, I taught all of my clubs like normal...and since I was sick two weeks ago for Valentine's Day, we celebrated Valentine's Day a week late!  I made a Valentine's Day powerpoint with random pics collected from searching google about things we do in the US for Valentine's Day.  Thanks to my parents and the Louy Fam, my kiddos had authentic Valentine's Day cards AND conversation hearts.  Words cannot explain how much my 3rd formers LOVED this candy.

Liza and Nastia

Margaret, Nastia, and Diana

Nikita and Andrei

Ivan and Yaroslav

The kids only ate a few of the hearts in class and I was confused when I asked them what they were doing with the rest of the candy?

"Taking it home to our families!"

I couldn't believe these kids were willing to share this candy with their brothers, sisters, and parents.  Definitely underestimated them :)

On Tuesday, I went home exhausted from teaching, but ready for the rest of my clubs on Wednesday.  However, no kids ending up coming to English clubs on Wednesday, which was good for me because that was when I started going downhill fast.  My throat hurt, my voice was giving me problems, and I felt nauseous alllll over again like before.  I went home Wednesday evening and fell asleep around 9 or 10 pm (way early for this night owl!).  I was supposed to play some English games with kids on Thursday morning at a school here in K-grad, but I called the teacher and informed her I had no voice to instruct games.  I slept all day Thursday.  Barely ate anything.  Friday was a bit better, but I called the PC doc just to update them on my illness, that is all still part of this viral infection.

I can speak pretty normally today, but am still trying to rest my vocal chords...doc's orders!  I managed to get all of my dirty laundry done today and have spent most of the day reading The Hunger Games book 2: Catching Fire.

Two of my sweet sitemates, Dan and Vicki, brought me homemade chicken noodle soup (that I'm saving to eat tomorrow!) and homemade cornbread (which I ate over half of today...).  Vicki asked the question, what have I been doing for 2 weeks of basically being in my apartment?  The answer: read and watch tv shows online.  I am now up to date on Glee, Modern Family, and the New Girl.  And, I'm on the second season of Desperate Housewives.  You could say I've had a little time on my hands.  :)

The weather has finally warmed up here...which means that all of the snow/ice is becoming giant {monstrous} puddles.  You know what that means...this girl will get to break out the pink rain boots soon! Unless it drops below freezing again...

I gave myself an hour-long manicure today.  I've never actually used all of the tools that came in my mani/pedi kit my sister-in-law got me...but I put them all to use today :)  and then used some of my LUSH cuticle cream that Kym got me for my birthday.  My hands felt like a million bucks!

Off to read more now.  Toodles :) and a shout-out to all of my McFarlin kiddos on the team-leader retreat!  Wish I were there with y'all :)

Ski Trip to Slavske {part 2}

The adorable ski village of Slavske combines the absolutely picturesque 360 views of the Carpathian mountains with the rustic elegance that is Ukraine.  I'll let these pictures do the talking...you can click on each picture to make it bigger.

kids on their way home from school

the very back of the pic has the big {BIG} mountain in it...think it's called Tristian?

the river that runs through Slavske--we drove over this in a jeep at one point.  

firewood

perfect icicles

I felt like this should be where the Weasley family lives...look at all of the front doors! But no stairs?!

the church in Slavske

the many layers of the frozen river

Don't see a tractor covered in snow too often in Oklahoma...

pristine snow

what are these?  My best guess was a chicken coop?

war monument

Maybe my post for tomorrow will actually include some ski pics :)  it's lightly snowing here in K-grad today.  Just a dusting, but it made me the trees look very pretty.  Since I was sick all last week, I'm doing my Valentine's lessons this week.  Candy hearts and Snoopy cards....here we come :)

Sick. Round 2.

A I lay here in bed (which has been my activity for the past 3-4 days), I thought I'd give y'all a quick update on my illness.  My viral infection came back with vengeance last night at 2 am.  I was actually feeling decent all day yesterday, thinking that I was on the up-mend.  I didn't take a nap yesterday (because I started reading Twilight and started watching Desperate Housewives Season 1)...and wasn't really tired in the middle of the day.  But, by 7 or 8 pm, I was spent.  I crawled in bed and passed out until 1 am.  I didn't really have a temp all day yesterday which was a plus.  But, at 1 am I woke up freezing and feeling sooo achy and gross. I ended up taking a bath for 2 hours.  Debated about calling the Peace Corps Medical Office at 3 or 4 am, and decided that I could survive until 6 or 7 am.  Tried to fall back asleep then...and wait until I could call the doc.  

The doc on duty this week (there are 5 PC doctors--all trained in Western Medicine and with as good English as I have...if not better.  Every week, a doctor is "on duty" and has the emergency cell phone that must get countless phone calls at all hours of the night...sucky part of the job I'd say.) is Dr. Yuriy. He's been helping me since Monday when I called them and said helppppppp I'm dying.  Not really, but you get the idea.  I might have a tendency to exaggerate things when I'm sick (my mom is probably laughing at that statement), but I guarantee you, I literally thought I needed to go to the hospital this morning.  I even texted Phil at 4 am and told him that I might need his help in the morning.  Being the good friend he is, he responded back within MINUTES.  Pretty sure my sitemates are better than yours... :) moving on.

So, Dr. Yuriy was alert at 6:30 am this morning when I called him.  He told me it sounded like my viral infection was going to make a second go round today.  I've had a fever around 100 for most of the day.  I called my counterpart at 7 am and told her that I was feeling horrible again.  We had agreed the day before that my landlady would be coming to get my rent money today.  Olena said she'd come 15 minutes before my landlady should be here and that I could just lay in bed...which is exactly what I did.  

Phil brought me food and Sprite to drink...because I'm quite tired of drinking unending amounts of water.  Apparently, it was a foreign thing for Olena to hear that Americans drink Sprite to settle an upset stomach.  Apparently, the Ukrainian fix for that is kefir, which Wikipedia defines as "a probiotic fermented milk drink made with kefir grains."  I've accidently bought kefir once in Ukraine and will never buy it again.  I can't imagine drinking that stuff for pleasure, let alone when I feel like crap.  I had to laugh at this cultural difference though because Olena thought I was nuts for requesting she stop and get me a Sprite, and I thought she was equally nuts for telling me to drink the world's nastiest milk concoction.  

I'm over 60% done with Twilight now (purchased on Valentine's Day for the Amazon.com "deal of the day" for $2.99).  Let's just say I feel like a teenage girl as I wonder what will happen next, even though I've seen the movies. I started it yesterday and have yet to watch any movies or tv shows today.  You could say I'm a bit enveloped.  

Let's hope that this viral infection makes it final comeback today. I have barely turned on my comp the past few days, which shows you just how crappy I feel.  Toodles.

Chicken and Stars.

I've been in bed all day.  I've got a temp right now and am not feeling too hot.  The ski trip was a blast and I can't wait to post about it, but I simply don't have much energy right now.  About half of the group on the trip got sick after we were all headed home.  Total bummer after a great weekend of shooping down the mountain.  

Being sick in Ukraine is pretty much the only time I wish I were home in the states.  I want Chicken and Stars Campbell's soup like you have no idea. 

maybe my parents can stick in a few cans of soup when they come to Ukraine?

To prove to you how sick I am, let me do a little story-telling.  I got the sweetest package in the mail from the Louy family in Norman (with a fun gift from Tino too).  I went and picked it up at the post office yesterday after waiting for 2 hours at my apartment to try to feel good enough to go out.  By the time I had the package and was back home, I felt too bad to open it then.  I didn't end up opening it until today...and now I'm too tired to post a picture of the wonderful goodies that were inside.  More about that soon hopefully, but thank you David, Missy, Sarah, and Tino :)  it made my Valentine's day as nice as it could be considering the circumstances!

Maybe I'll watch a movie today in honor of Valentine's Day.  Hollywood certainly has lots to pick from...and in case you need a few options, here's a pretty cute clip of some :)

my personal faves: 

The Holiday

Hitch

Love Actually

Moulin Rouge

 Titanic

You've Got Mail

Brokeback Mountain

HP (duh)

Twilight (again, duh)

Forrest Gump

My Girl

Happy Valentine's Day :)

Walking on water...

Okay, so it's not really water.  It's ice.  But, you get the idea.  I finally captured a man on the solidly frozen river going ice-fishing!  I only had my iphone with me.  

If you click on the pic, you can make it larger...

School was back in session today (was it bad I was hoping for another snow day?). I felt like I was in high school again...waiting for "Norman Public Schools" to scroll across the bottom of the tv.  Incidentally, when schools here close, I think it's solely a word of mouth type thing.  Maybe a hand-written sign on the door.

Last week when schools were cancelled, Olena asked me if I wanted to go buy some hot dogs or cottage cheese for cheap.  I politely said no thank you (two things I hate...not to mention I couldn't buy hot dogs for my doggies because they freeze in my fridge).  After she was gone, I realized why she was asking me that {very odd} question.  School #4 (literally how schools are named here) sits right next door to my work.  Because the cafeteria had already purchased food for the week but they were having to cancel school, the food would be bad by Monday when school resumed.  Olena came back very excited to have hot dogs for her doggie and cottage cheese to accompany her blinchiki (crepe-like food).

The sun was shiny and made my walk to work quite pleasant.  I tested out my ski jacket for my upcoming ski trip at the end of this week!!!!!!!  Words can't explain how excited I am to shoop down the mountain.  You can guess what this weeks way-back-Wednesday post will be about... :)

Hope nobody had a case of the Monday's.  Toodles!

Words of the day:
on time--вовремя
during--во время


Is is just me or do those words look ridiculously similar?  It's all about accent marks in Russian.