Sunny Weeks...

ok, well, sunny week.
it's been sunny all this week so far.  and i started wearing my flip flops.

it's refreshing, i think, to be able to let the toes feel the wind.

it's still a little bit wet outside though, and i still have to be careful exactly where i step, but all in all, it's lots of fun. 

so today what made it particularly fun was that the lady that cleans the halls in the apartment building was in an argument with another tenant.  like pretty much, she was just finding something to complain about.  and then the second lady saw my feet and kind of yelled, "she's barefooted!". to which the cleaning lady calmly replied, well, she went out in the car, never missing a beat with her cleaning.

later, when i came back, the poor cleaning lady was ranting about the other lady.

ah life.

in other news, i went to a large store i'd never been to before.  that has been my day.  now i'm attempting to be motivated to do some more planning stuff.

Other Family Dinners

So the fun part with this particular family dinner is just that it was different.

normally what happens is i cook, he comes over, we chat, then we watch a movie in russian. (and hopefully i've previewed it before hand so there are no surprises). 

this time, our lights went out shortly after we finished dinner.  

both roommates were home, which normally doesn't happen, so we all sat in the kitchen with candles and had a very comical "romantic" evening.  we chatted.  played a bit on the computer, which still had batteries.

then after that, the lights came back on, and i just wanted to have a somewhat girly night.  so that's what we did.  i put makeup on him, straightened his hair, and gave him a half manicure.  we laughed so much.  and even though it might seem weird to most people, we had a great time, one of the best times we've had together recently.  

so we felt it worthy of a picture. 

Photography Course

This year, we had our annual Photography Seminar for Vasil'kiv.  It consisted of 4 students from the Trade School--two boys, and two girls.  They got to play around with 2 Nikons (d50/d300) and a Sony, and a Fugifilm.  They learned the basics of ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture, and then Perspective.  They then practiced putting these things all into practice, by taking pictures in and around our base, as well as in the city.  Of the 4 students, 3 of them would like to continue learning more about photography.  

On the whole, this, meaning especially this weekend, has been my favorite seminar in the past 3 years we've been doing this. 

The above picture i took while the kids were taking pictures.  i ignored most of whatever was taught (mind you, i have a very simple point and shoot with no options to play with), and then edited it a bit to make it more fun, and got it to a point that i liked.  but this picture just captures the weekend for me...the kids, no matter who it was, were all about taking pictures, like they'd seen the light, and were now excited to capture snapshots of life in a permanence they'd never known before.

Spring in 10 Days!

yesterday, the weather being deceivingly beautiful, i was walking around the center of kyiv in not quite enough clothing.  i stopped at a little stand that sold gloves, hats, scarves, and bought a pair of gloves.  i know, late in the winter, but still, the hands were so cold, and i had forgotten my other pair.

the man there told me there was 10 more days of colder weather, and then spring would come.

i had to laugh because earlier that day, we had more snow, and the almost bare pavement turned once again from snow to slush to ice to snow on ice, making it a bit more treacherous. 

on the flip side,
Last night we had a bit of fun.
lance, sasha, and i were walking home from mc donalds where we had a very healthy family dinner.  when one rather scrawny looking boy kind of started trash talking us...first americans, then sasha, then lance as "4-eyes".  lance told me and sasha to just walk ahead, which we did, all the while looking back.  and at first, the kid was pushing up against lance, trying to get him to fight.  and then, after awhile, they were hugging and having a great ol' conversation about who knows what.  by the end of it all, the boy came back up to me and sasha and apologized for his rude comments, and gave lance one of the bottles of beer which he'd been carrying.    we all parted amicably, lance with a new best friend.

Forever Winter

Now that it's snowing again...
i blame helmut.
i think he prayed for snow.

it's ok.  it's going to stop some day.
i just don't know when.

so, that being said, no running, and no time for running.

the snow does look pretty in the sun.

however, just because there is sun out, it doesn't mean the weather is warm.
i remember once when some poor southern californian had to find that out the hard way...

anyway, happy international women's day.
we should celebrate women every day. 

Day 2 Running

you know the flailing arms and dance moves you pull when walking over ice?
really slippery ice?  and not just the type that you can run and then slide on because it's smooth like glass.  but glassy ice that has polished over peoples' shoe imprints when the ice was but a slushy, snowy mess?

that's what i went running on today.  well, not completely.  i walked on those.  for the most part, the sidewalks are cleared.  but there are a few places that the sun doesn't really hit, which means: ice patches.

so, i'm running along, running along, running along.  slipping on black ice, running along.  and then i see a patch of dangerous ice ahead.  it looks like it might have some snow left on it, meaning, grippable, by shoes standards.

and each time, i go from a nicely paced jog into the arm-flailing dance that would put michael jackson to shame (if he were still alive). 

but so far i haven't fallen...yet...

Sun

Today was incredibly sunny, and I was inspired by a friend to go running outside.
So i ran.
my feet ache right now, but the rest of me feels wonderful.
the roads around here seem to be fairly clear of snow, however the sidewalks are full of either deceivingly deep puddles of icy water or super-slick, bumpy ice. 
it's officially spring here in ukraine.
new season. although the sun isn't supposed to last long.
new president. we'll see what he does.
new aches and pains. but they will fade.

all in all, life is pretty good.
i also was reminded, even just a few minutes ago...i'm an answer to someone's prayer.  and you are, too.