Saturday, September 14, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 4-7-1998 and 4-8-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

This is the last entry for my Ukraine journals!!!

4-7-1998

Chelle and I went to the Sony store before class. She got a Beatles Love Songs cd. I love buying cd's over here. They are really cheap. Then we had class after we got home. Dad went to the S's after class. Chelle and Marmie stayed in the flat and I went to watch a movie at R's. We watched Three Men and A Little Lady. I've seen that movie many times but I still like it. I went home and J came over to "barter" with Dad. He brought this candy to trade. It looked like gravel and tasted like a decayed rat! It was awful. I have never in my life seen Dad spit something out but that candy sure didn't stay in his mouth. J and R are crazy about the stuff but I don't see how they even stand it.

4-8-1998

We met Shawna at the bizaar. We got some eggs to color for the holiday. Then we went to the market and Shawna bought some Winnie the Pooh egg covers. R came over to dye eggs with us. Most of the eggs cracked but we used them anyway. The Winnie the Pooh covers were adorable and the other eggs were neat. I made a Star Trek egg that turned out really good. I took a picture of it so I hope it turns out ok. R made a Looney Toones egg that was really neat. There were four towels all on top of each other to protect the table but the eggs were so hot that the made white spots on it anyway. It was really bad but it was also very hilarious. We went to Garmatna for services tonight. We got out of the metro and R, J, and I stopped at a kiosk. Well when we walked up the stairs there was a bus there. We took off running but didn't make it. So us three had to walk. It was fun though.

I'm kind of sad this is over. It has been so fun reading through these journals and remembering the days we were in Ukraine. I wish I could go back and experience it as an adult. I was so unimpressed with everything back then. Sigh. Teenagers.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 4-5-1998 and 4-6-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

4-5-1998

We went to Garmatna today. Before that we went to McDonald's for lunch. Jeremy and Shawna met us and R there. Chelley has tonsilitis. We walked all the way from the metro to Garmatna and I had to take off my coat and walk in my t-shirt because it was so hot. We have had pretty nice weather this past week. After services R and I went to Gedro Park. We rode a spinny ride first and then the cages. We were watching these girls do them and they couldn't even get halfway up. We decided that if their pants weren't so tight they might have been able to move. We got it over about the 6th time. We were on it for about 10 minutes and it just drained my strength. I collapsed on R and I have some nasty bruises from that. :-)

4-6-1998

Marmie, Chelle, D , R, and Shawna and I all went souvenir shopping. We went to a bunch of places but I didn't buy anything until St. Andrews Street. We ate lunch at McDonals and then went to St. Andrews. I bought a ring and earring set for myself and a necklace to go with them. Then I got a bunch of other stuff for friends and teachers. Then D, Shawna, Marmie, and I went to the bizaar while R and Chelle went to Deskemeer. When we got home Jeremy was there. He had gotten sick and just came there instead of going home. Shawna made us pizza for supper.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 4-3-1998 and 4-4-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

4-3-1998

We met Shawna today and ate at McDonalds and then went to the bizaar. Chelle and I didn't stay at the bizaar though. We went home and I started on my homework finally. I got one lesson done in science and one in history. So I only have 2 in science and three in history to go. I thought I made a good dent in the homework situation. We are studying World War 2 in history. That is on of my favorite subjects so I was happy that it was interesting. R and D came over to play games later that night. It was really fun. We played grouch and Phase 10.

4-4-1998

We had a Ladies Day for Left Bank/Darnitza at our flat today. Helen brought three girls and 1 other girl was there. We all had class together. There were Helen and Shawna that taught. Then there were girls named Julia, Tonya, Dasha, and Kate. R was also there. We learned some really cute songs and taught some others to the Ukranian girls. They were all about 12-13 years old. After the Ladies Day we all went to the C's for games and snacks...the Ns at least. It was a great night. We played Family Fued: Kids against adults. Then we all sang a bunch of songs together. It's great singing in only one language and not hearing the Russian.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 4-1-1998 and 4-2-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

4-1-1998

K1's birthday is today. She is 36 years old. The babies still haven't come. R, J, Chelley, and I all went skiing again. This time we dragged Shawna along instead of D like on Monday. I stopped a lot better today. I fell a lot still but did better than I did on Monday. My skiis were messed up bad. The boots kept coming undone and the skis fell off a lot. It was bad but fun. I fell really bad and hurt both of my knees but that was toward the end of the day so it wasn't like I quit at the beginning. It was so fun anyway. We went home for about two hours and then left for church services. D, R, Marmie, and Chelle all went early to stop at K2's and so I went with J. We walked from the metro to the building.

*Looking back through these, it seems that J and I did quite a few things together. Hm.

4-2-1998

This morning we went to the bazarr. Marmie bought a bunch of bus tickets and some other stuff. Chelle and Dad went somewhere to get his picture taken for the Bible School. I went with Jeremy to their flat to get some hamburger and he bought me some Kinder Surprise Eggs. I love those eggs. They are so good. We then sang Farmer Joe all the way back to our flat. We sang at our flat to and annoyed Chelle to death. It was quite fun. Jeremy and Shawna stayed there while Chelle and I went to R's to watch "That Thing You Do". I love that movie. It is really good.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 3-30-1998 and 3-31-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

3-30-1998

Chelley and I went snow skiing today. I had so much fun and I have the bruises to prove it. We had to wait about 15 minutes there until it opened. So R and I were sledding for that 15. I have never been snow skiing so this was an adventure. I stopped while standing twice only. All the other times I fell. We had bought McDonalds before we went and ate it at noon. The C's went also. I never went to the very top of the hill because of how steep it was. I didn't use the pull rope either. It was faster to walk for me and I didn't like how much the rope jerked. Skiing is so fun! I hope to go again before we leave.

3-31-1998

We had class today. Before class we worked on our Job papers. We all went to the S's for dinner. We took stuff to make up. We had chicken spagehtti and fruit salad. Marmie also made cinnamon rolls for dessert. K1 ate them all. Ha Ha. K2 is huge! I hope she has the twins before we leave. I want pictures of them in the bibs I made. I hope the bibs look cute. They still don't know what the twins are. At first they though they were both girls but now are not sure. Oh well. I played with the kids all night. We went and saved the Princess. We all dressed up and had a good ol' time. S was a doctor. A was Superman. C was a cowgirl and I was a Hollywood Movie Star. LOL.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 3-28-1998 and 3-29-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

3-28-1998

We threw K2 a baby shower today. It was quite rude of K1 to bring her in 2 hours late. I was very not happy. Then he tried to blame it all on her. The nerve! I finished the 2nd baby bid yesterday night. I was relieved to get that out of the way. They both turned out so cute. K2 really liked them. K2 was very pleased about the whole thing. It didn't seem to bother any of the Ukranians at the shower that K1 was so late getting K2 there. They don't value time like we do though.

*It is true that the Ukrainian culture is not so concerned with punctuality (or it was true at that time). I think I could have worded that nicer. Also, I do not remember the circumstances behind the Ss being late so who knows what really happened.

3-29-1998

Chelley and I went to Darnitza alone. Mom and Dad went to Garmatna. K1 wanted us to "encourage" the girls at Darnitza/Left Bank. We also met Pasha today. He's really nice. Alex is really cute for being a Ukrainian. A little scrawny but ok besides. Anyway, we were waiting for Julia to come back from the bathroom and all of the sudden K1 starts calling us "Lousy Girls"! We didn't talk to Julia fast enough for him. He is such a PIG! When we got back to our apartment we had the C's over for dinner. Mom cooked a huge meal that was so good! We had Chicken Spagetti. Then for dessert there were fresh-baked cinnamon rolls. After eating we all played fictionary. It was a riot. Then we all wrote C.

*C was in the state at college during this trip.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 3-26-1998 and 3-27-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

3-26-1998

We had to get up early today to get ready for another class. 4 hours is just a little to long of a class in my book. Jeremy and Shawna were here for lunch. One thing I am sure of is that Jeremy hasn't lost his appetite. :) Chelle went with them to spend the night there. YEAH! So I invited R to spend the night here. We gave each other quizzes out of our zines and then we stayed up and talked. We also were being silly. We went down to the kiosk at the end of our street and bought a bunch of junk to snack on all night. Then we gave each other makeovers and took pictures of ourselves. It was a riot! We stayed up till about 1:30.

3-27-1998

We went to the Eunice bizzarre today. It's the biggest one in the city. We got a whole bunch of diapers for K2 and the twins. K2 sent a list for us and it was quite long. We had to get two cars coming back and it was hard to get two at the same time. Shawna stayed and ate lunch with us. Then Shawna, Marmie (my mother), and I all went to Deskemeer to buy Shane some PEZ dispensers. Then we went to the Ss to eat there. Marmie took food and we cooked it and everything. It was really good.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 3-24-1998 and 3-25-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

3-24-1998

We met Shawna today at the hotel and she exchanged some money. Then we all went to the bizzarre together. After we ate at McDonalds we had a class at the flat. Sasha Z is the only student so Father made us take his class. It's 4 hours long and I about fell asleep. Then we went to the Cs to play games with the girls. R and J went to play basketball. We played Grouch. That game is a riot with D. We always have so much fun when we are at the Cs.

*Apparently I was mad at Dad on this day. I can tell because I called him "Father".

3-25-1998

I went with D and R to go see a snow skiing place. We went to Crashadek metro stop and switched lines there. Then we walked about 2 miles to see it. It was a very crude place. There was only one hill and the ski lodge was more like a shack. Hopefully we will go skiing next week. After that I went with R snow sledding. We went to Darnitsia and sledded there. I finally found my roll-up sled that I left last year. I was very happy about that. We went to Garmantna tonight.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 3-22-1998 and 3-23-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

3-22-1998

We went to Left Bank today. R and J went with us. Their pews are all three seats wide so R, I, and J sat together. I got to see a lot of people that I haven't seen since the second trip. It was pretty nice. The first 2 hours were in Russian so I didn't understand anything. I hate that! I wish we could just have a universal language so everyone could communicate with everyone else. That probably wouldn't work anyway. Well at least the actual class was in English. Dad taught that and Arteome translated for him. K2 is huge! It was like she grew in the 2 days we hadn't seen her. It was really funny looking. Maria came up to J when the break was on and started saying how glad she is to see him and all this junk. Since I was sitting beside his she started talking to me also. Then she asked us when we were going to get "together". Apparently other people see straight through me. I just wish those feelings aren't one sided only... I got the first cross stitch bib for K2 done. It is so cute! Now I have 5 days to get the other one done.... I hope I can do it.

*K2 was pregnant with twins at the time so she very well could have grown in 2 days. Also, I just wanted to clarify that J is happily married as am I. My sister thinks it is inappropriate for me to post things like that when he is not the one I'm married to. I post it because it is what I wrote.

3-23-1998

I worked on the cross-stitch for K2 until 4:45. J came by to pick me up. We went to McDonalds and then we took all the food we got to the S's and we babysat for K1 and K2. R was there as usual. She spends so much time with those brats. I couldn't stand them like she does. Anyway, J played the computer most of the night while I watched TV and R played with the kdis. A was banned from the computer half way through the night because he went "number 2" in his pants. So for the rest of the night he screamed and threw a huge tantrum. Then we all went home together. R and J and I made complete fools of ourselves walking home. We were all singing and being rowdy. It was a riot.

*Ugh. I so wish I had not written all of that stuff about the children. It is kind of a wonder I wanted children at all since I apparently hated them. :(

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The Mis-Use of Photoshop

Please don't be deceived by my title for this post.

I like to photoshop my pictures and I like most photoshopped pictures.

I like to brighten my pictures and that is about how far my photoshopping goes, but I do like family portraits with sparkling eyes and blurred backgrounds.

I'm not totally against photoshopping.

I am against photoshopping something in to something it isn't.

For example:
Pinned from here
Doesn't this drink look amazeballs??? Chloe Jo loves the color pink...and hot pink is even better. Not to mention the fact that it is called a "Barbie Drink." I knew I had to make this for her.

The results? Not so amazeballs.


Seriously? I made this drink (the non-alcoholic version) 3 times. I measured 3 times. While it is yummy...it is sooooo not hot pink...or really even pink at all. More of a dull orange. So very disappointing.

I commented on the post this recipe came from and didn't get a reply even though the site has several new posts from today up.

I hate it when people change something to look like something else and then advertise it as such. It is extremely irritating and, quite frankly, rude.

Looking back, I admit I shouldn't have been duped by this pin. There really is no way the colors of the ingredients would make a hot pink drink. As somewhat of an artist, I should have known this.

It is still frustrating.

I don't understand why people make things in to something they are not. It's okay that the drink is a dull orange. It really is. It is a yummy drink, just not a yummy, hot pink drink.

So please, stop the misuse of photoshop for a better, truer picture.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 3-20-1998 and 3-21-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

3-20-1998

Marmie and I went with Shawna to Deskemeer today. It's a huge department store...huge for here at least. It's so different from how it was last year. We went to three floors of it and they were all stocked and full of merchandise. It is just so different. This country is getting up there with the big dogs now. Ha Ha. We went to K2's to play games. J and D walked with Marmie and I and Chelle. We played Phase 10 for a while but since it is so long we all decided to quit. Then D, Weaga, and J all started playing mind games where we had to figure out what they were doing. It was quite boring until Chelle and I decided to play the "What is it" game. They all were stumped until finally J figured it out. I worked on K2's present also today.

3-21-1998

Started out as a good day. I guess it ended ok also. R came over to make plans with me but that didn't work out. Shawna came to eat lunch with us. Dad was in a really bad mood. He is so irratable lately. Must be stress. I read or worked on that cross-stitch all day until about 4:00. We all went to McDonalds together and ate. I hate McDonalds. It wasn't even good here. I was hoping it would be really good because I am craving pizza....American pizza and I thought maybe that would be ok. Apparently not. Jeremy and Shawna then took Chelle and I to the Garmantna building to watch a movie. We watched Overboard. It was pretty good for having Goldie Hawn in it. When we were going up the escalator this guy asked Chelley for directions. Well she just looked at him like an idiot and he realized she was a foreigner. Then he asked where she is from in English. She said that she would rather not say. He then said "Is it a secret" and she said yes. Then he asked if we were spies. It was hilarious. We set him strait though.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 3-18-1998 and 3-19-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

3-18-1998

It's great to be back over here again. As always, I didn't have any jet lag. Everyone is mad at me for it. LOL. J/K. We went to the bizzarre to buy a bunch of junk. Marmie says that if we buy enough today for a while we won't have to come back for a big trip again. I hope we don't ahve to go a lot. The bizarre was...bizzarre as usual. These people are so rude. The push and shove and are just idiotic. I was about to yell at the Ukranian behind me but it wouldn't do any good because he wouldn't be able to understand me. The meat market wasn't as terrible as usual. It's usually really busy but it wasn't when we went. The smell was herendous (sp?). I hope I sleep a full night tonight. I know I probably will so I'm not all that worried about it. The bus drivers here are terrible! They must drink vodka all night then drive the bus in the morning. Weaga and I have an inside joke about that. We always crack up when we look at each other and the people around us give us these awful looks. If looks could kil....Garmatna is the same as always. Igor isn't that bad...Weaga just thinks that. I hate singing because it is so easy to mess up when there is Russian singing also.

*Marmie is a nickname my sister and I use for my mother. Weaga is a nickname I used for R.

3-19-1998

It was a slow day up until we went to Houm and Shawna's for supper. I started the twin's gift. K2 is so big! Of course with twins....I got a bunch of one of the babys on the bib done. It's a cute little cross stitch thing. We went to Houm and Shawna's flat at about 4:00. It's so cute inside. The previous owners left the furniture and things so they didn't have to buy any. The living room is hilarious! The wallpaper is this pretty Victorian print but of one wall there is this huge beach scene going on. Then the curtains were white with a bunch of fall leaves on them. It was hilarious looking. It's like a lot of good taste mingled in with Ukranian taste. LOL. Then going home Dad got lost and tried to blame it one us all. Enough said.

*Houm is a nickname I used to use for my brother, Jeremy.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Crazed

Sometimes I have really crazy dreams.

Last night was one of those crazy dream nights. I don't know if it was the fact that I went to sleep hearing firecrackers going off or that Russ and I had a fun conversation about what he would look like as a super hero.

This picture came out of that conversation:

Baha. I love that man, but he is a goober!

Anywho...

Last nights dream was cracked out! Luckily, I woke up this morning remembering most of it so you guys now get to read my dream and wonder about how sane I am.














A Very Psycho Killer
A Wal-Mart Manager


It was late one evening when I realized I needed to go get something from Wal-Mart. Usually I don't go out at night, but that night it was important. I headed to our local Wally World and parked as close to the doors and as close to a light as I could. I had my trusty taser with me so I was feeling pretty safe. I had been having some problems in the recent weeks with a man who would wait for me by my car, but I was undeterred. I went in the store, bought the items I needed, and headed to my car.

When I arrived at my car, the driver's side door was open. Every hair on my body stood up on end. I cautiously peered around to the driver's side and that crazy guy who had been creeping me was sitting in my seat, with his feet out of the car. By that time, it was too late for me to turn back. He had seen me and I had seen the small gun in his right hand.

"Hey pretty lady. Give me your purse and no one gets hurt."

I wasn't about to give him my purse without a fight. We struggled for a few seconds until I realized I was defeated. I handed over my purse, broke free of his grasp and ran back to the store for help.

I ran to the customer service desk to talk to a manager. I quickly told her what had happened and she told me to wait for her while she called the police. Her office was in a building that was next to Wal-Mart. She foolishly left the safe confines of Wal-Mart to go to her office.

I waited for what seemed like hours. My whole body was trembling. I was still very scared and very freaked out.

When I felt like I had waited long enough, I rose from my perch to find the manager. I peeked out of the doors to assess the safety of the parking lot. I didn't see anyone. The lights were all still working and if I ran, I could get to the manager's office within seconds. That's what I did, but I was not prepared for what was coming next.

I opened the door to the office. At first it seemed abandoned. Then I saw the hand on the floor. I walked around the desk to find the manager had been brutally stabbed several times. And then I heard the door creak.

The psycho killer was standing in front of the only way out of the office and he was holding a blood stained knife. I knew the only way I was going to survive was to fight. I lunged at the killer, going straight for his neck. He blocked my advance and swooped down on me with the knife, missing me by a hair. We struggled for several minutes. I finally was able to knock the killer on the ground. His knife skidded across the floor to rest in front of the door. I made a break for the unprotected door. I sped out of the office as fast as I could, stooping to pick up the knife as I made my way out.

I ran back into Wal-Mart where I found my husband, Russ, waiting for me. He had been watching TV when Anderson Cooper broke in with the breaking story of the Wal-Mart Killer. The manager must have had just enough time to put in a call to the police. I have never been so glad to see Russ as I was then. He was fine and in his hands was a blow torch. He was there to protect me.

We clumsily made our way through the store, looking for a different way out that would be undetected by the killer. We decided to split up. We knew we would have a better chance of getting away and I had the knife and he had his blow torch.

I walked into a room on the side of the store and gasped. I wanted to scream, but the sound wouldn't come out. Anderson Cooper was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Dylan McDermott was lying next to him, also in a pool of blood. I bent down to see if they were alive. I could barely feel their pulses, but I could hear their breath raking in and out. I couldn't tell how many times they had been stabbed, but I knew it was bad. I grabbed a cell phone and dialed 911. As the call was going through, the phone was viciously swiped out of my hand. It clattered across the floor. I turned around to see the killer with another knife. His had was gripped around the handle and it was in the air ready to give the death blow.

It only took me a second to respond. I buried my knife up to the handle in the killer's stomach. The killer gasped in pain and turned around. Russ had heard the commotion and came running. He had his blow torch poised and ready.

"No, Russ! I stabbed him. He can't do anything to us now!"

Russ lowered his blow torch and I turned around to check on Anderson and Dylan. That was a stupid mistake. The killer took one last lunge towards me and I felt his knife cut through my back. I fell to my knees in agony. I turned around in shock, just in time to see Russ blow torch the crazy killer's face. I couldn't breathe for the pain and I slumped the rest of the way to the floor.

The last thing I remember about that horrid night was hearing the sirens and seeing the emergency lights through the front windows of the store.

I woke up a day later in a hospital room. Russ was by my side and I was told had been since the incident. Anderson and Dylan were both recovering well, also.

I would have died that night if it hadn't have been for my husband. He came when I needed him, blow torch in hand.

The end.

It's okay to laugh now.

Craziest. Dream. Ever.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Fournager







So not loving how old my girl is looking lately!

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Kiev, Ukraine Journal - 3-16-1998 and 3-17-1998

*Disclaimer: Please remember that I wrote these when I was 15! I could be a snarky brat! I also am typing these journals exactly as I wrote them, bad spelling and all, except I have abbreviated names to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.

3-16-1998

*This entry begins our 1998 trip.

Well, off we go to Kiev. We left Tulsa at 1:30 to fly to Atlanta. Very uneventful flight it was. I like looking out the window at the ground on the plane. When we are above the clouds it's neat to watch them. It looks like a bunch of cotton strewn accross the sky. I am glad they didn't serve a dinner on the first flight. It would have cursed the whole trip. LOL. I read and listened to my walkman all the way to Atlanta. Atlanta's airport is the neatest. I remembered most of it from last year and I like it a lot. The posters and paintings on the walls are cool. I love the transportation. The airport has it's very own subway. I can't wait to get to Kiev. I am so excited. I hate airplane food. It is the #2 oxymoron in the world. LOL

*I wonder what the #1 oxymoron in the world is?

3-17-1998

That stupid stewardess lady! I was sleeping and she scared me waking me up. I didn't even touch the breakfast she put in front of me. A different one dropped yogurt all down Chelles clothes. LOL. The movie on the plane was so stupid. It was about the company called CRS and a huge birthday party. Vienna's airport is nice but all the smoke from cigarrettes makes me nausis. (However you spell that) We got into the waiting room to board the plane and I could already smell the Ukraine smell. Yuck. Then at Borispol the customs guy wanted to see all of our money. Dad argued with him about it and we didn't have to show him after all. I was glad. The ride to our flat was ok. K1 has this thing about insulting me, though. Jeremy, K1, S, and Anatole were at the airport to pick us up. K1 had made up a sign for us. (As a joke). We got to our flat around 3:00. Home Sweet Home. We had 5 extra trunks to take up to the flat...on the 6th floor. The elevator wouldn't be able to make it up all the way so a few of us went up in the elevator with a bunch of the luggage. The last of the luggage went up without me so stupid me decided to sprint up the stairs to see if I could make it before the elevator. I made it about 4 seconds after. Then we went and ate with D and R for supper.

*My brother, Jeremy and his wife, Shawna, live in Kiev for 7 months for a college project.

Friday, June 28, 2013

DIY Clipboard (Tutorial)

Sometimes, Chloe Jo has a very hard time sitting during Sunday morning worship services. I think she is old enough not to have a bag of things with her (although I do let her take one baby). In order to help her pay attention to the lesson, I decided to make her a clipboard to help her learn to take notes (more on that later).

What you will need:


A clear clipboard
paper
Modge Podge
A foam brush
A scraper
Ribbon


The first thing I did was trace the outline of the clipboard on the wrong side of the main paper. I then traced around the screws. I cut the paper just a hair smaller than the outline and cut the screw holes out with my exacto knife.


I cut CJ's name out with my Cricut and glued it on the paper how I wanted it.


I then put a layer of modge podge on the back of the clipboard and *very carefully* laid the scrapbook paper on the layer of modge podge.


I used my scraper (the one I have came with my wall decals, but you can use anything with a straight, hard edge) to scrape out the bubbles. Again, be very careful when doing this because the paper will tear easily.


I let the modge podge dry and gave it 2 more coats just to make sure it wouldn't come up.


I cute a few lengths of ribbon and tied it do the clip.


I printed a page for notes from here.


 I added a fun multi-colored pen to use.


While, this craft did turn out really good and I love the concept, Chloe Jo is just not ready for this. I only tried to get her to make tally marks in the blocks that said "Jesus" and "God" but she didn't get it. I realize that sometimes I push things that are not right for her yet so I have put this idea away for while. We will try again when she is a little older.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

My Recipe Box: Cornbread Waffles and Chili


Did you know you can make pretty much any bread type of food in the waffle maker?

I saw a picture of cornbread waffles on Pinterest and had to try it! I love this because it doesn't take near the amount of time as putting it in the oven. In 3 or 4 minutes, you have cornbread without turning on the oven. You can also do this with brownies (although, I have never tried it). Yum!

And what is better than cornbread and chili? Not much, that's what.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Enrolled

I'm trying to play catch-up! This summer...er, year...has been so crazy!

I can't believe Chloe Jo is 4 and that she is starting preschool in the fall! Back in April, we went to the school to enroll her!

Looking so big on the way!


I really wanted to get a picture in front of the school...she was not thrilled about that, though!


They had enrollment set up in the Primary school gym. There were several tables you had to go around to that collected different things. The first table took your basic information (name, address, emergency contacts, etc.), another table took your immunization records, another gave you information about lunches, etc. CJ was great at the first couple of tables, but the more we went around, the more overwhelmed she became. By the last table (where we met one of the preschool teachers) she was crying hysterically.


Yeah, this is going to be fun.