the doma diaries.

Remember I told you my parents bought a new house?  It's over 40 years old and in an older neighborhood with actual, tall TREES in the neighborhood.  Every house looks different.  And it's 3/4 of a mile away from Chick-Fil-A {okay, so that's more for me than my parents...}.  

 Here she is in all her glory.  

Since she is over 40 years old, she's in dire need of some TLC.  The kitchen still had the original appliances, olive green countertops, and a very awkward brick column in the middle of the room.  So, we're going to be doing some major renovation work...and I'm going to start a new series on my blog about the reno process.  That's where the title of the blog comes in...

The Doma Diaries

Doma is a Russian word {дома} for house or home.  My dad will probably correct me on that because I forget which word it actually is.  Work officially began on Monday {June 25} with the tear-out process.  But, prior to that, Mom and I had actually started painting my dad's study, along with ripping out the carpet in there.  The yard is horribly overgrown...but has lots of potential.  The whole house needs a lot of elbow grease, but I'm excited to see how she'll look in the end.  And, I get to assist with design stuff...which finally gives me something to do during the day.

I'll give you a tour tomorrow, but for now it's back to cleaning my closet.  I didn't realize quite how many pairs of jeans I own...but let's say it's an embarrassing amount {15}.  No more jean shopping sprees for Lydia any time soon.

Happy weekend :)

Two month mark of being home in 'homa...'

Two months ago, I left Kiev on a very early flight, eventually heading for Oklahoma City {Kiev-->Paris-->Atlanta-->OKC}.  I was being medically evacuated by Peace Corps so that I could recover from having mono.  Because mono can take months {and months} to recover from, I wasn't able to make it back to Ukraine in the 45 day allotment they give you for medical evacuation.  On June 11, 2012, I was medically separated from the Peace Corps and am now a RPCV {Returned Peace Corps Volunteer}. I'm still getting better from having had mono.  Most days now I have a decent amount of energy...but I'm still easily sleeping 10-11 hours at night.  

So, what have I been doing since being home in Oklahoma?  Enjoying a few of these...

Nothing beats an Oklahoma sunset.  

I received my two 50-pound bags from Ukraine.  Surprisingly all in one piece and pretty much unharmed!  Kudos to Dan and Vicki for packing those things...

I am in the process of washing everything that was in those suitcases...mostly winter things that had only gotten one season's use during my first real winter {ever} in Ukraine.  There are days that I'm here and forget about the use of a dryer...and the fact that if something is dirty, I don't have to wait 3 days for it to dry if I wash it. 

Also during my two month span of being home, my parents have purchased a new home here in Norman.  So random and such odd timing...but the perfect one came on the market and we all love it.  That's probably what a lot of blog posts in the future will be aimed towards :)  More about that later.  But, demo work has finally begun this week.  The kitchen is 40 years old...and in need of some major TLC.  

More about kitchen projects soon...and don't worry, I didn't lift a hand in there.  

I got my teeth cleaned for the first time in over a year today.  No cavities!  So, I celebrated with Chick-Fil-A breakfast because I'm usually not up in time to enjoy their breakfast menu...love me some chicken-minis :)  I'm almost done with all of the Peace Corps paperwork for closing out my service...I will be so happy to be done with the mounds of paperwork they send you.  And medical and dental stuff you have to do as well.  

I miss blogging, and hope to start doing it more.  It's really therapeutic for me...but I haven't been in the mood the past few weeks. And, because I never replied to all of the emails and text messages and sweet words people said to me after my last blog post, thank you all :) I plan on responding to them, but it still may take me some time.  

And, because I probably won't end up blogging tomorrow, I need to wish Mr. Matthew Schlegel a very happy birthday :)  We've traveled many a mile together...from Mexico to Canada and beyond.  Hope you have a wonderful day Schlegel!

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.

Way-Back-Wednesday #26: Happy birthday, Nora

Hello blog world :)  I've been MIA for the past month.  Sorry about that.  There are lots of reasons why, and I have been avoiding blogging to avoid having to deal with questions.  BUT, since Way-Back-Wednesday fell on one of my dear friends birthdays, it was too good an opportunity to pass up NOT to post some old school pics.  I hope to start blogging again tomorrow....with a long explanatory post. For now though, it's time to wish Miss Nora Hall a wonderful happy birthday :)

Meet Nora.  

I don't remember when I actually met Nora...sometime freshman or sophomore year of high school.  My guess is that it would have been at church.  And ever since then...we've done a lot together :)

if you need help remember the outfit I'm wearing, you can go to this post

There are so many things to comment on in this picture of Semi-Formal from sophomore year.  I'll just let y'all decide...

This picture is a precursor to the video below.  This is what my friends and I did in high school...we had dance parties at each others houses.  You think I'm joking...

but I'm not.

Rose, Jace, Anna, Amy, Lydia, Nora

Row, row, row your boat...

Nora, Rose, Lydia, Anna

North vs. High football. Amy, Lydia, Nora

Just hanging out in Seattle on the Space Needle

Anna, Nora, Lydia

Mission trip to Camden, NJ

Tayler, Gracie, Lydia, Nora

Mexico one year...note my shirt and Nora's bandana

Mexico the next year...note my shirt and Nora's bandana. 

Niagara Falls.  NBD.

Hanging out in Toronto

Brycey, Nora, Pirtle, Lydia

Mount Rushmore

Tayler, Kendall, Lydia, Nora

Club 69er--aka TLC.  

Just another fun time in a McFarlin mini-bus.

Glacier National Park in Canada

painting in Montana

Dress-up time with Nora and Rosebud

When I came back to the states, Nora was one of the people that I surprised.  I scheduled a "Skype date" with her even though we wouldn't really be skyping.  Instead, I rang her doorbell just as she was supposed to be signing on to Skype.  After many persistent knocks and doorbell rings {while she was sneaking around the house trying to see who was at her door}, she finally answered :)  Nora, I hope your birthday is filled with lots of fun times and laughs.  Love you dearly :)

Way-Back-Wednesday #25: Happy Wedding Week, Kyle & Bayley!

It's my favorite post of the week day--Wednesday!  I wish every blog post were about old and awkward pictures.  Today's is no exception :) Get ready for some really old and super embarrassing pictures.  But first, you've gotta have a little background.

Meet Kyle and Bayley

*picture stolen from Facebook*

I met Kyle {the groom} when I moved to Norman 11 years ago.  He's a year older than me, and although we went to different high schools, we became good friends at church.  Summer of 2002, we traveled to Los Angeles on a mission trip.  Kyle and one of his best friends, Brandon, sat by me while I used a CALLING CARD {way before the days of cell phones} to talk to my parents during the trip.  Pretty sure our friendship was solidified after that.  

During my sophomore year of high school, I took Kyle to our winter semi-formal at Norman North.  This is where the super embarrassing pictures come into play.  And it involves a funny side story with my PC friends in Ukraine.

Side story: At some point over the last few months, my friends and I {in Ukraine} were discussing the evolution of clothes.  Kym and I got to talking about our old prom dresses...and eventually I described the dress {if you can call it that?} that you'll see below.  This was during the time that showing your belly was uber popular.  So, for the record, I thought this outfit was incredibly cool at the time.  But, now, I realize how really embarrassing it is.  

the top of the outfit...not too bad!

There it is, in all of its glory!  Sheer overlay, pants, and black lace.  I can't imagine what Kyle's parents thought of my outfit.  

best of buds--Brandon and Kyle

obligatory picture with the parents

Wally (who happens to be my dentist!), Lydia, Kyle, and Cathy (who happened to be my boss for 6 years!)

So now that those pics are out of the way, we'll start with some other goodies of Kyle.  Don't worry Bayley, yours are coming too :)

Kyle and Darren--ballers.

some youth event...Kyle is in the back left doing one of his infamous dance moves.  

Kyle's mad dance skills.  Hope I get to see this in person again at the wedding...

totally in his element!

going to see Tim McGraw

Darren, Amy, Nora, Kyle, Jacey, Lydia

Wonderful memories after Timmy...a flat tire in the parking garage!

Harry Potter?  Or Steve Urkel?  

Kyle, Darren, David, Bennett

hanging out in Seattle--2005

After high school, Kyle and I both headed to OU.  We would see each other occasionally, sometimes through studio classes in the College of Architecture.  After a few years though...he began to come around more.  That is, once he met Bayley :)

Bayley, now an architecture grad from OU, and I met during the good ol' days of studio.  We happened to be in a class together that involved combining my interior design class with her architecture class.  After that, our paths crossed every day.

Lydia and Bayley {with Robert in the background, who actually introduced Kyle and Bayley}

Winter White Out--Bayley, Lydia, Drew

Lydia, Bayley, Drew, Beth

Bayley and one of her best friends, Drew

I know I'm being long-winded, but their engagement story is one of the sweetest things ever.  Bear with me. 

I can't remember all the details, but the pictures speak wonders. According to a Japanese legend, whoever folds 1000 paper cranes is granted a wish.  So, Kyle got to folding...

and folding...

and folding...

His wish?  For Bayley to marry him. 

Pretty magical, isn't it? 

So happy for the both of y'all :)  Happy Wedding Week!  And just because this is one of the best engagement shots ever...

Kyle & Bayley--May 19, 2012