You're Welcome...

This is actually how I fold my fitted sheets and I learned a long time ago, but I came across this video today that I thought I'd share.

Go to Annie Blog and learn something for today!

25 Random Facts About Me...

My Aunt Steph tagged me on Facebook for this, so I thought I'd post it on here, too.



Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. If I could live during any other time period, I would love to live during the 1700's or 1800's. It has always fascinated me. I absolutely LOVE walking through historical homes, like Mount Vernon and Monticello and imagining what it was like. Stephen and I are watching the John Adams miniseries right now and (I think) it is really well done. I think I would've made a good Abigail Adams.


2. The end of my nose pops. Yes, it sure does. If you push in just the right spot, you can feel it pop! No, it doesn't hurt.


3. I hate jello. I mean really hate it. It makes me gag, just thinking about it. Ugh.


4. I don't make the bed in the morning (usually because my husband is still in it), but I have to make it before I get in it at night.


5. I would like to take private tennis lessons. I grew up playing tennis in the summers and I'm helping with tennis after school two days a week, but I am not good. I want to be good at it. And I think to have a tennis player's fit body would be neat-o.


6. On that note, I also think it'd be fun to pick up the violin again and be really good. I would play at church and for weddings, if anyone wanted me to.


7. Most of you know this, since most of you are family members, but I used to be a cheerleader in high school. Captain, actually! G-O-O-O-O-O-O EAGLES!


8. I cannot wait to be a mom. I know, I know...surprise, surprise. But seriously.


9. I really like to cook. I look forward to the day when I have a nice, big, gourmet kitchen with lots of gadgets and appliances and space to work on. I want to learn to make really complicated things. And I want to be the mom who makes the world's best chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.


10. I never thought I could love someone as much as I love my Huzz. I love him more and more each day. It makes me emotional, just typing about it.


11. I think it'd be neat if a lot of people read this blog. But I don't really expect it because it's not that thrilling, is it? Haha!


12. I most despise waking up in the morning. Especially when it's dark outside. I don't mind it when I can sleep as long as I'd like and then slowly emerge from the bed and leisurely make Huzz and I some pancakes. THAT is the way to wake up!


13. I wish I saw my cousins more. I grew up with them, but we don't see each other as much anymore, since we became adults and have our own lives to be busy with. I miss them.


14. I like Creamy Roobois tea. I am not much of a tea drinker. I like coffee much more, but when we moved here, coffee became a thing of the past. I discovered Creamy Roobois tea and it is delightful. I highly recommend it. It's herbal, decaffeinated, and good for you. And it doesn't need any sugar, honey, or milk to taste nice. It's from South Africa.


15. I have 181 friends on Facebook. I think it's so great to reconnect with people you haven't in so many years. I am friends with some people that I went to kindergarten with, but haven't seen them since!


16. I have 29 cousins.


17. I have been this height since I was twelve years old.


18. I don't wear heels. I hate them. They make me angry. The only heels I will agree to wear are my Nine West boots. Well, mine aren't exactly like those, but they're about the same heel height. Mine are square toed, so they don't pinch, and the leather has stretched to my feet, so they fit just perfectly. I love them.


19. I am laid back, but I worry a lot. I worry when things are up in the air. I know this is an area He is working on in me to trust Him more. But it's hard!


20. I never had braces or a retainer and I don't have any cavities still. Knock on wood.


21. I have never eaten so many tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beets, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots in my life until we moved to the big K. Those are just about the only veggies you can get here.


22. I had seven bridesmaids in our wedding! It was a large and in charge wedding party! And it was SO MUCH FUN.


23. I wasn't in a sorority in college, but I did live in a house with 6 other girls. There were some pretty fun times! One of my favorite memories is the time we threw a HUGE party with a keg...of root beer. We had so many random people showing up, asking where the keg was. Imagine their surprise when they realized what it was!


24. My hair is naturally pretty curly. People tell me all the time how jealous they are, but what they don't understand is that it's not Julia Roberts-type curly. It's more like Richard Simmons-type curly. Just kidding. It's not that bad. But it's straight in the front and super curly in the back! It's like a mullet, in the curly sense.


25. We are moving like it's going out of style! We are moving to our third apartment in 7 months on Saturday.

I'm supposed to tag TWENTY-FIVE people, but I don't know that many people in the blog world, so I'll tag all that I know.

I tag: Alexis, Jessie, Emily, Kate, Becky, Diane, Brie, Heather, Jennifer, Angie, Megan, Melanie, Amy, Becky K, Josie, Cowboy

Tag...I'm It!

I got tagged again. By my friend, Megan - neat little chica from high school. She's a few years younger than me, but we became friends mostly through choir-type deals. And probably through all the time we spent at basketball games, volleyball games, and really....anything. She is stinkin' hilarious and I miss her!

So, apparently, I need to blog about 7 random facts about myself...

1. I really love to knit...yes, Megan, it's true! I recently finished a tiny little pink cardigan for Stephen's boss' baby who will be born in December. It's the cutest thing, ever. Now, I'm working on booties. I have knitted many things: scarves, afghans, other baby sweaters, baby blankets, and now booties. Bootie! (You know you wanted to say it.)

2. I am susceptible to kidney stones. It is the worst, ever. And yes, it is the worst pain, ever. One of my nurses once told me she's had stones and given birth and stones is way worse. One day, I'll give you my own opinion on that one. So, I'm not supposed to drink soda, coffee, or anything with caffeine, really. #1 - I need my diet coke each day. #2 - I try to restrain myself from coffee, but sometimes, a girl just needs a good cup o' joe. Plus, I'm supposed to drink lots of cranberry juice, which I absolutely cannot stand. However, it's been over two years since I had any stones, so I'm doing good...so far! (I've had them 3 times, though.) Oh, and I found some delightful caffeine free herbal tea here, called Creamy Roobois. Yum.
3. I miss Febreze and Swiffer. Like, a lot. I don't love to clean, but Febreze is such a nice way to make a room feel clean and refreshed. Especially if you open up the windows on a nice, spring day and spray it on your duvet cover. Loveliness. And since I don't like to clean, Swiffer makes cleaning the floors easy and does a great job.
4. I really like taking pictures, but I am not that great at it yet. I'd really like to get a digital point and shoot. Since I'm no Ansel Adams, a basic-type camera would be good, but it has to take good pictures. I need all the help I can get.
5. I love to read. I've made it a point during the last couple of years to read each night before I go to bed. Stephen will testify that he finds me with the book fallen on my face or my chest and me passed out cold. But, it's a nice way to fall asleep. I just finished The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. Gotta be honest: kinda weird.
6. I really like my head being scratched.
7. When I hear music, I "play" it on my legs or the table or the steering wheel - like I'm playing the piano for it. I'm a nerd.

Okay, so there are way more random things about me, but those are the ones that came to mind. And now, I tag: My cousin Jessie, Kate, Angie, Josie, Melanie, Becky B., and Jennifer.

29

** Even though the date above says the 6th, it was the 7th here in the big K. Stephen's birthday is on the 7th.

I've been having fun the last couple of days, slightly harrassing my husband because today is his birthday.

He is 29.

It's not really this birthday that I'm giving him a hard time about. It's next year's. Ha-ha!

Just kidding. But seriously, I am going to have to throw a serious 30th birthday party next year.
Now, the real point of today's entry is my tribute to my husband. Did you know...

• I knew within the first week of us dating that we would get married.
• Stephen is my best friend.
• Stephen always dirties a plate to make his sandwich in the morning.
• We call each other "baby" - gross, I know.
• I am a crier and Stephen is the best hugger.
• When he played basketball in high school, he was number 24.

"SINK IT 2, SINK IT 4, SINK IT NUMBER 24!" Yes, I cheered for him.

• He loves it when I cook for him.
• He completely gave up watching sports when we moved to the big K.
• He is working hard to learn Russian - more power to him.
• When his temper flares up, he gets really loud. I get annoyed.
• He is really good at math. Like really good.
• He keeps me informed about politics and the Market.
• His smile melts me.
• The power went out over the weekend for 6 hours. We talked and talked and talked to each other.
• He makes me feel like I matter more than anyone ever has.
• He convinced me to move halfway around the world.

Stephen, you are who I waited for for sooooooo long. I am so thrilled and excited that we get to spend the rest of our lives together. So, I will be there when you turn 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and even 100! And I will try to harrass you with each passing decade. Because I love you. And that's what loving wives do.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Apple City

Almaty, formerly known as Alma-Alta is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 1.5 million people. It used to be the capital of the big K, from 1929 to 1998. In 1998, they moved the capital to Astana, which is up north, more centrally located in the country.

The word "Almaty" actually translates to mean "rich with apple", as Kazakhstan seems to be the birthplace of the apple.

I think it's neat that Stephen and I were living in "The Big Apple" and now we're living here! We must have some weird subconscious obsession with wanting to live in cities that have "apple" in their nicknames.

And apples are Stephen's favorite fruit. At least in his lunch.
Okay, so about the pictures you are looking at: The one above showcases the Soviet-style apartment buildings that most of the Kazakhs live in. Notice how long that apartment building is? It goes on forever! It is one continuous building that is probably about 3 typical city blocks long. I think these apartments usually rent for about $300-500 per month. Cheap, right? Just don't forget that you get what you pay for!

I took all of these pictures from our apartment windows, so I'm blocked by the surrounding apartment towers, but you can see the Tien Shen Mountains in between the buildings above. It is also very smoggy in this picture, but on a clear day, they are absolutely gorgeous.

Notice the smog in the other pictures. You can see it on the horizon. Although the city itself is kept reasonably clean of garbage on the streets and in the parks and stuff, the pollution is pretty bad. They use mostly coal for power and everyone drives a car! Cars, cars, everywhere! Gas is relatively inexpensive here, as it is subsidized by the government. Stephen says it's about $2.30/gallon. There are long gas lines all the time during the day and the gas stations close after dark.

Plus, the roads here are (in my opinion) ridiculously designed. No turn lanes. Usually can't turn left, so you end up having to drive about twice as far as needed, simply because you can't cross the double line in the middle of the road. Although the drivers are insane here, one thing they won't do is cross that line. I'm guessing if they're caught, it's a mean fine.

Stephen especially enjoys the policemen's excessively tall hats. The angle in this picture hardly does it justice, though. It was the only photo I could find up close enough. The police here are known for pulling people over, simply to get some money from them. This is the main reason we will not be driving ourselves here. We'd rather our money go towards a driver who will keep us safe! We have been blessed, in that our driver hasn't been pulled over with us inside yet. I don't doubt it will happen, though! Since our driver is a local, his license plate is white, but if we were to buy a car and drive, the license plate would be yellow, which screams, "We are foreigners. We have money. Pull us over."

Tagged

A friend of mine from high school, Brie, tagged me on this on her blog. How can I not fill it out, myself?

A One-Word Meme (which is really more like a one-phrase meme):

1. You’re feeling: nervous, excited, anticipatory (not sure if that's a word; if not, it is now)
2. To your left: side table with photo coasters and picture of Gramma and Grampy
3. On your mind: I should really get out of my pj's
4. Last meal included: jalapeno hummus and pita chips - not very healthy, but DELISH!
5. You sometimes find it hard to: not know what's coming
6. The weather: 75 and sunny! I wish it would stay this way for the weekend!
7. Something you have a collection of: I like Willow Tree figurines. And I collect books like crazy.
8. A smell that cheers you up: Lilacs
9. A smell that can ruin your mood: Old Smokey's cigarette smoke in the hallway (Old Smokey is our neighbor across the way - yes, we have fondly nicknamed her)
10. How long since you last shaved: Yesterday - Stephen was complaining I was "spikey"
11. The current state of your hair: Recently chopped. I decided yesterday that I really miss my long hair
12. The largest item on your desk/workspace (not computer): The piles of papers. Stephen and I are a bad combo with making piles. But let's be honest...he's especially bad.
13. Your skill with chopsticks: I'd say average to proficient. Eating sushi and dim sum a lot has helped
14. Which section you head for first in a bookstore: New paperback releases
15. Something you’re craving: A cuddle with my dog, Riley
16. Your general thoughts on the presidential race: Well, I normally do not care for politics. However, my husband is very interested in it and is very opinionated, so I have learned how to talk about it and it's kind of fun that I actually know what's going on. It's an interesting race and looks like it will continue to be.
17. How many times have you been hospitalized this year: I haven't, thank goodness. I was afraid I was going to have to go for stitches the other night, though. Me vs. a broken wine glass: wine glass won
18. Favorite place to go for a quiet moment: Well, a quiet moment is hard to come by in the city, but Central Park can surprise you! However, I love the top of a mountain, on my snowboard.
19. You’ve always secretly thought you’d be a good: mommy. nurse. But I'm not sure I'm smart enough to do well in all the science classes.
20. Something that freaks you out a little: Weird meats that people eat: like dog, horse, cat, etc.
21. Something you’ve eaten too much of lately: Just eating out - but it's the lifestyle here
22. You have never: Streaked (in public!)
23. You never want to: Eat horse meat
    

Now - I will tag Jennifer, Megan, Angie