Roller Coaster Ride

Bitter cold

2012-02-01T22:09:00.003-05:00

It is cold.

There is almost nothing else to say...

the snow finally stopped falling after days of this fine mist. I could not imagine how what looked like a wet snow, very fine snow, could accumulate to the amount that it did.

But now that the snow has stopped, the cold air has set in. We wake up to mornings, with the wind chill factor biting at our cheeks, at -26 this morning...

We are in the tough stretch right now. The air is freezing, the daylight is short, and the roads are not the best to be driving on...

Ah, well, at least there is a chili cook-off fundraiser this weekend, the middle schoolers will watch Gone with the Wind, and I will join them, and of course, there is always cuddling next to the fireplace!

Happy winter, from the frozen North!

Here is one of my favorite houses here:

Buried in

2012-01-28T00:07:00.003-05:00

Wow, this is how I remember winters from when I was a child.

A lot of snow, piled up to my knees....

Check out my last post to see the first photo of this chair on my back patio to see how much snow has fallen!

The funny thing my children noticed, though, is that since the children walk to school here, it is right on our village camp, there are not any "snow days"!

Good thing my refrigerator is stocked!

Bella is interesting in this weather...she like to play in it for awhile, but then her paws must get really cold because she barks to come in.

A different type of fun for us, but still fun all along!

Snowflakes

2012-01-26T04:52:00.002-05:00

Ohhh, it's a good day here if you like the snow!

The flakes are falling. Even though they are fine and seem like just twinkles in the air, they are accumulating on the ground.

The weather forecast is calling for much more snow to fall throughout the weekend.

Perfect days to for me to snuggle in near the fire and watch some amazing tennis from the Australian Open!

I love the purity of the white snow and how fresh it makes the ground look.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Christshenya

2012-01-19T23:45:00.005-05:00

Here in Atyrau, my friends and I are always up for an adventure. It is hard to find much to do besides exercise, cook and get together with friends.

(not that any of these activities are bad, but any sort of city wide festivities, outside of our village, are not the norm).

So when an opportunity to walk on a frozen river to get to the site of Christshenya came up,

we all jumped on it.

Christshenya is the Russian Orthodox celebration where the water in the river is blessed 12 days after the Russian Orthodox Christmas. Believers follow a procession from the church to the river where the priest says his prayers,

and blesses the water.

The most hardy of the believers then submerge themselves three times for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Their sins are absolved and they begin the year anew.

They had a scuba diver ready in case tragedy struck...aka...someone lets go of the ladder and falls underneath the ice.

Musical entertainment provided by the man with an accordion.

Changing room...(term used lightly!)

Those that can not fathom jumping into a frozen river in extremely cold air with only their undies on can collect the blessed, holy water and keep it in their homes until the following year, using it medicinally, to drink or however they choose.

We walked from our village down the frozen river. The ice is strange to walk on, half of me feeling secure, but yet feeling a little nervous in case I were to fall through!

It makes beautiful bubbles right underneath the surface.

The sunrise was beautiful behind this lone ice fisherman.

It was definitely a not-to-miss opportunity here in frozen Atyrau!

Happy 2012

2011-12-31T16:19:00.002-05:00

What a vacation this has been!

We've enjoyed the Florida sunshine, our family in Pennsylvania and back to the sunshine for a few more days before head back to Atyrau.

I hope that everyone has a peaceful, healthy, and Happy New Year for 2012.

May we all find our own happiness in our corners of the world!

Ballerina Girl

Hacked, sacked but enjoying the season!

2011-12-19T07:44:00.005-05:00

The trip went smoothly. No major delays, fairly easy airports to manuever...so no airport stories...

BUT, of course there is a story!

Let's go in the order of the title of this post:

Hacked:

My email was hacked while we were in our overnight layover. Most everyone on my email list received the following email. My notes are in red, while theirs are in black:

Hi,
Greetings to you,(never would I put these words) I urgently need your financial assistance of about 1200pounds.(why wouldn't I contact someone personally if I so desperately needed money?!) i had a quick trip to UK(luckily, most people knew which way I was flying, not through the UK) and Unfortunately i was robbed on my way to the hotel,all my personal possession including my wallet was taken from me. Right now I'm stuck here in Manchester and unable to Get back home. Kindly let me know if you can be of help? i have been to the embassy but they are ready to help me with a temporary passport which i can use to travel back home.(contradiction from the last sentence...I'm stuck in Machester and unable to get home, yet in this sentence, it states the embassy is giving me a temporary passport to use to get home?!)
i will appreciate any amount you can afford to help me with.I made inquiries and have been told i can only receive money via western union or money gram. i will like you to act fast on this and let me know if i should send you my details so you can send me the money. i await your reply.(terrible grammar, not my style, hehehe)

So, this was not the most pleasant way to start the trip, but hey, with a long converation with a yahoo representative, a few changes here and there and all seems to be fine now. It is a shame that these hackers do not use their intelligence more wisely and for the betterment of society!

Sacked:

Well, just your usual time change jet lag. Lack of sleep, waking up at odd hours of the morning or night, going to sleep much earlier than we usually do.

At least we are in our beautiful house, enjoying the weather and relaxing to the fullest!

Enjoying the season:

It has been so much fun to have my own home to decorate again. Here are some of my favorite decorations that I put up this year:

Hoping that you are all enjoying this festive holiday season.

Expat curveball: Learning from mistakes

2011-12-12T03:49:00.002-05:00

Last year, we made one big, huge $3,500 mistake at Christmas time...

here's how it happened:

Leaving Atyrau, Kazakhstan always tends to be nerve racking. You aren't sure if the planes are on time, and boy oh boy, were they ever late in December 2010!

The plane we were supposed to depart Atyrau on was scheduled to leave at 9:30 am. The connecting flight was at 1:30 to London...where we were going to take our children to a show, or maybe to ride the London Eye...or whatever fun, holiday event the evening would provide.

The next morning our flight to NY and the Pittsburgh was set.

Well, the night before our flight leaving Atyrau, a friend called and asked if I had seen the internet for Air Astana...the flight was already delayed by 2 hours...from the previous night!

So, I still hoped for the best, thinking oh, two hours is still plenty of time to make our flight.

Then the morning came, and the flight was delayed even longer...but it still, left us with an hour to make our flight.

Side note #1:

I am ok with running through airports. I do not care about the stares one receives while running...I most likely do not know who is laughing or gawking at me, nor will probably ever see them again.

As the morning wore on, it became quite obvious that we would not make our 1:30 connection. So, I call a popular US airline that had the rest of our connecting flights. Unfortunately, when I book online with the local airline, that's where the buck stops. So no one was responsible for the change fees and change of fare that I was charged except for me!

Side note #2:

This was only about $2,900.

So, I bit the bullet, what else could I do? I changed the connections to London to the 4:30 flight. Surely we would make that, right?

Well, one would think so, but one would be wrong when dealing with this airline!

The morning turned into past lunchtime. We were finally called to the airport for our flight to depart at 3:30, landing at local time with one hour to spare. Again, perfect...see side note #1. An hour is plenty of time to make a connection.

Well, there we sat on the runway...over an hour more...

we landed at 4:15. By the time we taxied and I ran to the connections desk, the flight to London was lost. So what does a travel weary yet determined expat do?

Spend quite a large sum of international roaming call money, to call once again, our airline....

change the tickets for only the cost of the change fee...a mere $600.

Total:$3500

We arrived into London around midnight, found the hotel, slept a short, few hours, and got up the next morning to leave for the US. Now, at first, the next airline claimed we didn't have tickets, but you can imagine how there was no way I was letting them claim this....

let's just say me, a supervisor and a few choice words got us onto a flight. I'm not even sure it was the same flight I booked the prior evening, but on we flew.

But what lessons does one learn from these experiences?

Book a hotel room to stay overnight, and continue the journey the next day.

As I look outside my window right now, with my flight looming tomorrow morning, and the snowflakes falling, skies a cloudy, misty mix of snow and moisture...

yea, I feel good about the lessons I learned.

Hotel is booked and waiting for us, no matter what time we arrive!

(as long as we arrive tomorrow...there is another tale from Atyrau of a friend whose plane did not take off for over 36 hours!)

Festivities

2011-12-07T03:53:00.004-05:00

It was a crazy week....

We had caroling around the neighborhood, a Christmas party with white elephant gift exchange and Santa for our children, a holiday play, and then a cookie swap!

Here are my cookies, pizzelles and Russian balls (how appropriate, right?!) that I took to the swap:

...and here is Bella enjoying the crumbs!

Now onto packing and getting ready to return to our home and families for the holidays!

Merry, merry...

pass the cheer

6 more days

till we will be there!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T01:07:00.003-05:00

A day for family

Though our extended family is far away

We wish for you

to enjoy the day

Turkey and dumplings, pizzelles and pies

it makes my mouth water

and even a tear in my eyes

I look forward to the coming month even more

because we will be together

to share the joys of Christmas

and hopefully some snowy weather!

Happy Thanksgiving to our family

We are thankful to have you all in our lives

and hold each and every one of you close to our hearts

The house story

2011-11-20T03:43:00.002-05:00

I wake up one Sunday morning to an email in my inbox from our house contractor/caretaker with a subject line that reads:

Someone crashes through your gate

Yes...our house became famous in a high speed police chase.

It is a very sad story, and our gate is the smallest detail, but nevertheless, it still involved our house.

The whole story is that a man was speeding on the road from Key West northward. A policeman on motorcycle started chasing him. The man, ingesting cocaine, drives down a street, (yes, our street,) to the end and crashes through our gate, down our boat ramp and into the Gulf of Mexico!

He was rescued, taken to a hospital for all the drugs he swallowed, and arrested there.

The car was his ex girlfriend's, mother of his child, and missing since a few days before this incident. Sadly, he led police to her body and is now charged with her murder.

There you go...so sad that this had to happen to this lady...

but at least our gate, and the Gulf of Mexico, stopped him from getting away

Winter is here

2011-11-18T02:54:00.000-05:00

We had our first snow a few weeks ago.

It was so pretty watching the big flakes fall. It was a little warmer as usual when it first is snowing...so Bella and I were able to go out comfortably, (instead of freezing), protect my camera

and get a few shots of the beauty.

We are really on a countdown..

3 weeks, 4 days and we leave for our house!

Oh there is a whole house story to tell...

that can be a weekend post, something for you all to look forward to this weekend!

Making pasta

2011-11-14T03:31:00.003-05:00

If you remember from last Christmas, my best present was my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer.

Well, we have been using it to the max...

Now we are making our own pasta!

It is fairly easy, just a little time consuming. but hey, here on camp there isn't much to do, so we have plenty of time.

First you start by making the dough

then roll it out with the roller attachment

hang it to dry

then switch to various cutter attachments:

this is our fettucini:

and here is our ravioli

So fun, and so yummy!

Busy. busy, busy...

2011-11-06T23:49:00.003-05:00

The time has flown by. I have not had a chance to write and update...

basically here is how it has been:

1. Organizing a Halloween Carnival Fundraiser

Our middle school children came up with the idea of having a fundraiser for Halloween. The children all paired up and set games for the children to play, with prizes to win, while I set up the decorations, with a lot of help from both the parents and students.

It was a great success that seemed to be enjoyed by all who came.

Here are a few photos:

2. Christmas play practice

Once again, and with much joy, I am helping out with the middle school Christmas play. It takes up only about an hour a day, three times a week. It is a lot of fun to see the children in their roles, and try to help them be the best actors they can be!

This year we are doing "Christmas in July"

It is a cute play about the new year's calendar getting all messed up when the person taking over drops the calendar, and the days become scattered. Very cute!

3. The weather has certainly changed for the colder. We have had really cold winds even though the sun still shines. Last night there was a light dusting of snow...

Winter is here and has come on quickly!

Ok...so it doesn't seem like too much, but between these events, exercising every day, fixing meals, walking Bella, our dog...

oh yea...I forgot...

Bella was attacked by another dog here on our camp. It was not a pretty picture, and truthfully, I thought the other dog was going to bite her throat. Luckily, she didn't, and someone came to help pull the other dog off Bella. She has a few, minor scratches, but it was scary. I am very upset at the owner because she is very lackadaisical when it comes to the safety with her dog. It is a delicate situation because it is strongly suggested to not bring animals here (for other reasons), but this makes it even more difficult because I do not want to upset that delicate line of being able to bring them in.

Anyways...

between all this and that, really just daily life, my blog has been neglected!

I will try to post more often, but the reality is that it may not be as often as my readers like.

I will do my best...

Happy Winter!

A stroll through the village

2011-10-16T11:38:00.004-04:00

The weather was so beautiful the other day that Bella and I went for a stroll, camera in hand.

The path felt like it was lit by the sun bouncing off the trees and houses.

This is a beautiful time of year, and one that I have missed since being in tropical locations before we landed here in Atyrau, just about one year ago.

The colors are turning, bringing the beautiful Autumn reds and yellows:

The seed pods make a calm, rustling noise as the cool breezes rush through them.

Bella was surprisingly patient while I took my photos, but then again, she had fun with this cat that was frightened of her

The last of the roses are finishing up their blooms

and the butterflies are drinking their last sweet nectar before the cold winds and icy snowflakes begin to drop....

I hope Autumn lasts a little longer!

Nature's beauty

2011-10-05T23:32:00.002-04:00

There have been some beautiful, sunny days here in Atyrau recently. The weather is certainly turning colder quite quickly. We have been lucky to have such sun around...though the last few days have been gray and dreary with dampness and rain in the air. The colder, winter months are upon us, knocking at the door.

Over the weekend I was able to capture a few pictures of creatures enjoying the last of the sunshine before the winter sets in.

I'm full of surprises

2011-10-02T00:48:00.003-04:00

This time I surprised my niece, my Goddaughter.

She was graduating from law school, and I decided to go to it.

Long story is that we have been a big support for her throughout her three years, and even before that, deciding whether or not to even go to law school. I have always felt that I missed a lot with my nieces, my big brother's girls. I have always been very close to them.

So, when the email came that ended with...

"Love you, miss you, especially next weekend"....referring to her graduation weekend, I sprang into action!

I had been looking for an opportunity to get away from Atyrau, seeing as we are not going away during fall break, which is when the children have off a week from school. Most families leave the camp and get out during these breaks. The school has them every 8 weeks....but this year, we are saving up vacation days for my husband to spend with us at Christmas, and staying in town. So when that email came...I jumped at the chance!

I am so lucky to have such a supportive husband. He was the first one to say, why don't you go?! I couldn't say no now!

So, off I went, through Amsterdam, to Detroit, Michigan, and on to Auburn Hills, Michigan, which is where my niece graduated from Cooley Law School.

The autumn colors were just starting to show, which is one of my favorite times to be in the US.

I got there a day earlier than the rest of my family, seeing as I had much to do. I had to get papers notarized for our upcoming remodel/addition to our house, My gray hair was badly calling to be covered up, my nails were in desperate need to be painted....

and of course, I had to do some shopping to fill our cupboards in Atyrau with all our favorite treats from the US.

So there I was, driving around the rolling hills and green grasses of Auburn Hills.

Once Saturday came, I waited to surprise them all. First, there was the graduate, her sister with her adorable 8 month old baby, that I couldn't wait to see again, my Sister in law, who is the only one who knew I was coming (well, I had to get directions and hotel info from somebody!), and my niece's boyfriend. Since my SIL knew, she was texting me as to where they were on their drive. When she let me know that they were pulling in to the parking lot, I made sure to be sitting with my back to the open windows.

My nieces saw me first...and the surprised look on their faces was precious. The one that was graduating said...

You know, I looked in the window and thought, hhmmm, that girl looks like my Aunt. Then I realized it was you! We all had tears in our eyes and the hugs were warm and wonderful!

Next up, my dad, mom, sister and her son. So, the nieces went to pick up my brother at the airport while I waited, again. They were letting me know where the next batch of family was because they were texting them, and then texting back to me. So, again, I knew when they were pulling into the parking lot. My dad walks in, and I was sitting on a couch. He looked towards me, then took a double take, fixed his glasses, bent forward and said, Oh my gosh, BG, what are you doing here?! It was another wonderful moment.

I sneaked out, walking behind him, to surprise my mom and sister while they were still outside in the car. My sister yelled into the phone conversation she was having, Oh my gosh, BG is here, and my mom jumped out of the car and wrapped me in her arms.

I didn't get to surprise my brother in person. My SIL had mistakenly mentioned, while talking to him on the phone while he was waiting for his flight to Detroit, that they had brought their bags into my room while waiting for their rooms to be ready. It was so cute...she put her hand over her mouth and we all just laughed at the surprise she had given away. He was still quite shocked, just not in person.

It was one of the sweetest moments to be able to do this. I am so happy that I was able to be a part of my family in this very special moment.

Congratulations to my niece!

Tuesday's Photoshop

2011-09-14T01:48:00.004-04:00

It seems like the group I am going out with for learning about our cameras and photo taking keep picking Tuesday.

So here are my favorites from our excursion yesterday to a local graveyard.

Kinda eerie I know.

Imagine walking around on a mish mash of graves...no nice straight rows, some without markers, some kinda above ground and covered in dirt, others deeper and more what we come to know like a graveyard.

The ones with this star symbolize they were part of the communist party...

Ten years and still fresh

2011-09-11T12:12:00.004-04:00

I would like to pay my respects to all of those lost on

September 11, 2001.

It has changed all of our lives, forever.

I was walking outside of our house in Texas, ready to take my son to his Mother's Day out program. Neighbors were huddled in the street, calling out to me to join them. I was a little late already, but I still went over to their group. They were all talking about something inconceivable..

I asked innocently, What are you talking about?

They explained to me what happened. I missed the live coverage, but of course, saw the replays. My husband was sent home from his tall tower in downtown...everyone afraid that it could happen in their city. Ours was a city rich from oil, and in their minds, a possible target.

What we all didn't realize, is that we would forever feel like a target. It lessons with time...and of course, I do not live in fear of being a target. But my life and how I look at my fellow passengers on a plane, is certainly changed.

Let me say, I do not judge people. I try not to stereotype. I am quite tolerant of different cultures and religions.

It just is a sad reality that we live in a world where we have a guard up...

even if there isn't anything we can do about it.

So, I cried through the reading of the names today, and I watched those that are still suffering.

I thank God that it didn't affect my friends or family directly, as much as it has so many others, yet it still affects every one of us...

in every nation, in every religion, in every walk of life.

War on humanity is what needs to be stopped, in my opinion. We need to respect others.

It seems so simple, but then power and superiority gets in the way.

May all those that perished rest in peace.

God Bless America

and every nation

Comfortable

2011-09-08T05:11:00.004-04:00

This is my new word.

It describes how I am feeling here in Atyrau. And it makes me happy.

When we first arrived and through most of the year until we left in June, I felt unsettled here. There were good days and there were bad days...as usual in any place really. For me though, it felt unsettling. I felt like there wasn't anything that interested me here...or was it that I was looking for too much outside of myself, and not enough inside of me.

This year (and yes, my "years" right now run on school years-August-August), I feel different.

Atyrau is a good place for me to be right now, to find me, to define me, to find what is interesting to me. There is a lot of time to do all this discovering here!

So, what is it I have been up to?

Well, I have been trying to enjoy the beautiful Autumn weather we are having right now.

I'm trying to spend a lot of time outdoors...either biking, walking Bella, or just sitting in our beautiful back patio.

The flowers have been blooming beautifully for us. Check out these sunflowers?!

They are massive!

They make me smile every morning.

I have been catching up where I left off last year with my Italian lessons. Yes, Italian lessons in Kazakhstan. I could learn Russian or Kazakh, and maybe it would be beneficial while I live here, but I get by. The locals and I have a great hand language going on, as well as a few words in each of our respective languages. So, I get by.

And I learn my favorite language that I have been wanting to learn for years, Italian.

My husband calls me the Italian Princess....well, I was actually the Italian Junior Honoree from the Italian Heritage Society of Pittsburgh, a few years back, when I was 17.

I have a scroll with my name on it to prove it, hahaha!

I have been learning it through the widely used computer programs found today.

Va bene..

I have started to learn more about how to use my camera, and what all those knobs and buttons mean. Usually I was randomly turning and pressing them, and now, I'm actually learning why I did that, and which way I might want to try next time!

It is still a long work in progress, but fun to try.

So, that's what's been happening in my world in Atyrau. I'm really enjoying life right now.

It feels good to be comfortable!

The daily routine begins...

2011-08-28T23:58:00.003-04:00

Here we are at the beginning of another school year. Last Monday was the first day of school...filled with the promises, energy and hope for a great new learning experience.

My daughter was the most excited because she gets to join middle school...even though she is only in the 5th grade.

Here in Atyrau, since the class sizes are quite small and there is a limited number of teacher visas, the grades are combined. 5th is combined with 6th...therefore jetting her into middle school a year earlier than in most US schools.

Her eyes were wide with excitement, and she has loved it all...well, at least for the first week!

We have a new head of school who is brining a lot of new energy and excitement that was badly needed from what I saw last year.

The first days of school always remind me how precious time is, and how quickly it passes. This past summer flew by on the Key West breezes. I miss the relaxation of our home, but I framed it for us to remember those lazy days while we are here in Atyrau.

We have already booked the Christmas tickets and have the weeks marked on the calendar, counting backwards until we leave with tomorrow bringing week 15 :)

The weather is gorgeous here right now. The days still have the warmth of the sunshine but the air is crisp. The seasons are so true here. The summer was very hot, now in fall, we are warm and cool at the same time, winter is frigid and spring is a gorgeous explosion of color with the warming air to de-thaw everything it touches...(including me!)

I am hoping fall lasts for a long time...I'm not ready for the cold and snow yet.

Enjoy your week!

Saturday

2011-08-22T11:40:00.002-04:00

Then came Saturday...

(sorry it took me so long to finally get to Saturday....see previous post if you are lost!)

We had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to make our flight to pick up the children.

Now, normally that would have been hard....and it was for about 30 seconds, and then we both realized what we were going to do. We got up, took showers, finished the last minute packing items, and off we were. I think we were both so excited to become a complete family again!

We took the flight...(hurry up!), split between getting the suitcases (me) and renting the car (my husband) and getting on our way. Our split system worked great seeing as by the time I got the suitcases and made the trek to the rental car counter, he was signing on the dotted line and off we went. The drive took about an hour and a half. (hurry up!)

Of course the scenery was beautiful, Switzerland always is, but we seemed to almost not even notice. We were more looking at which car was going to get in our way (hurry up!) and how we could pass them!

Then we got to camp, and there they were, sitting watching a movie. Our cool, collected son waved and said hi. Our daughter's eyes grew about 3 times their size, a huge smile crossed her face and she gave her friend a hug and was in our arms in no time flat! The feeling was mutual from both of us to both of them. It felt so good to be back with them, hearing all their stories...

even our son talked quite a bit about his adventure. They both learned a lot...kept busy and had us entertained during the drive to Zurich, where we were spending the night.

What a great feeling...our children with us, the scenery, which we finally saw again beautiful, the air crisp, the raspberries we bought at the local store so sweet...ah, in our heaven!

And they both thanked us for letting them go to this camp...

and asked if could they go back next year.

Can you see the smile on our faces?

London calling...

2011-08-10T06:41:00.005-04:00

What a whirlwind of a week it was...

First part:

my husband and I jetted off to London...where I took in the sights, sounds, smells and crowds of this great city.

I tend to like big cities. I like that I can walk around feeling anonymous and no one is looking or caring what I have on, what shape my face is, the funny language that I speak. This is what usually happens in the different countries I live in, but not London. There are people visiting and living in this city from all corners of the Earth.

(I always found this a quant phrase, going back to when the world was flat!)

I love to walk...and London is the perfect city to walk in. I like the craziness of the mid-day lunch crowd and the bits and pieces of conversations that you overhear. Then again, the Underground of this city is fabulous and easy to understand as well. I like the combination of the two.

I did hurt my foot, unfortunately. I do not know how it happened. One minute I am walking through the beautiful St. James park,

and the next minute, the side of my foot is starting to throb. I figured it best to see the doctor in a big city, as opposed to the SOS clinic they have in Atyrau. She seemed to think it was nothing more than a sprain/strain, no need for an x-ray in her opinion....

but a week later, swollen foot, serious pain when I walk more than 2 feet continuously, I'm starting to worry. I may have to give in and have it x-rayed here in Atyrau.

Of course this didn't stop me from touring St. Paul's Cathedral,

the main church for the Church of England.

I learned a bit while listening to the audio tour...some interesting tidbits on the people buried there, the reasons for certain structures in the church...

Strolled through Covent Garden...quite a flurry of excitement amidst the shops, restaurants and bars. The pub is the place to be after work obviously.

My husband and I noted how you do not often see people hanging out on street corners surrounding the nearest bar in the US. I know that there are happy hours and people do congregate, but it seems different in London. The vibe is very energetic and outside!

Maybe we have lucked out and had sunshine every time we have visited London...well, one day of some rain this trip, but not the gloomy skies I always heard about!

We ate at some nice restaurants..a tapas bar with yummy Spanish treats and wine, an Italian fish restaurant where we were entertained by an Italian couple from Puglia that my husband works with, the local Starbuck's for breakfast ;)

It was fun and exciting.

and then came part two: Saturday....

Empty nesting...

2011-08-01T00:56:00.005-04:00

It is a strange couple of words...empty nest.

It is so often used for couples whose children have "left the nest".

What I have always found in the bird world, though, is that the Momma and/or Pappa bird is exactly trying to do that with their little ones. They do feed them and grow them strong, but with the purpose that they can thrive on their own and fly.

So, that is the opportunity we have given our children for two weeks. They must fly on their own.

They have been in a camp in Switzerland, while I returned to Atyrau to be with my husband. It has been a strange mix of emotions for me. I have had my son take school trips before, but never the both of them at the same time.

It was hard to see them going to the different stations to check in for the first day of camp...they had the registration desk, the bank, the health desk, the French language desk for our son and the activities desk for our daughter. They seemed so strong and capable, which made me feel very proud. My daughter got her room assigned, and with a kiss and hug, up the elevator she went to unpack and settle in. My son took a little longer because he had an on-the-spot French chat to gauge where they would place him. He is always the one to sort of shoo me out the door though. Once his room was assigned he waved and said see ya!

Then there I was...on my own. without my two little ones needing me. I spent the night in a hotel close by and kept checking out on the balcony, hoping to see a sort of "Sound of Music" group of children, that of course would include my own, traipsing through the beautiful hills that surround this area of Switzerland.

The next day I arose, and still no sounds of any children..and weighing heavy on my heart, all the children lost to the maniac in Oslo, Norway.

The trip home started well, got to Istanbul, spent the evening in the hotel and was on my way the next morning to be with my husband...er, wait a minute...there I was, of course paying for my overweight baggage, when the phone rings. Now I normally would not have answered it, except that I looked at the number displayed for some reason, and noticed the country code was Switzerland! Uh-oh...did I make a mistake? Did someone get hurt?

No, it was just my daughter, missing me. It was hard to be strong for her because I missed her just as much. I wanted, in a way, to run to her and hold her. But I knew she would be fine as the days wore on, and that she would have fun. My husband and I hope that she, and our son, grow from this experience of being away.

That is our job...to get them ready to fly out of the nest.

Oh, and my empty nesting home? It has been a wonderful week and I only expect it to get better. I marvel at how my husband and I have overcome many things in our lives, and we still find the magic that binds us together.

We leave for London tomorrow...a business trip for him, that I get to tag along on because I'm empty nesting. We go for the children on Saturday, which will be another high point in my two weeks, where we fill our nest again, to help them continue to grow. It goes so quickly, so we cherish every moment that we have, even if that means letting them go, sometimes ;)

Lost

2011-07-18T13:20:00.003-04:00

I have been lost in the blog world. I have read some of your blogs, randomly here and there.

My desire to write has not been strong.

How quickly time passes.

We traveled to see family and my Mom ended up in the hospital. She does not have very good lungs from years of smoking, and therefore, any little cold sets her in a downward spiral. She and my Dad missed their cruise with my Sister and their trip to visit me here in our Key West home.

Luckily, thanks to many prayers, she has improved greatly. she is now home and continuing to improve every day. We bought them an Ipad 2 so that I can see them on Skype. It has been great to see them and communicate with them while seeing them! I was teasing my Dad that he is now a techie...YES! It is going to be such a blessing to see them while we are in Atyrau!

My new grand niece is just the most adorable little girl you ever could imagine. She is very smart, and of course, quite beautiful! She has dark blue eyes and fine light brown hair, chubby everywhere like a cherub angel! She is quite determined and has a good set of lungs on her! It was hard to say "see you soon" to someone so small. But again, we got them to set up Skype on their computer, so we can see them at least on the video!

We visited Sea World in Orlando. That was a fun day. We got to "pet" stingrays and dolphins. There were good animal shows. I have always loved the sea and it's animals. Sometimes people say that it is cruel to keep them like that, but I do believe that it is a good way to study these elusive animals and learn from them. I have always dreamed of being a trainer in Sea World, but my life took a different path. I still wish sometimes that I could have had it both ways...but then I most likely would not have met my incredible husband and had the beautiful family that I have!

So these have been my days...coming to the time we have to leave our paradise...

more from the other side of the world later!

Enjoying

2011-06-22T08:21:00.002-04:00

We are now visiting our family and especially a beautiful new baby!

My niece had her first baby in February. She is four months now and we are taking her all in, as much as possible!

It has been really special to spend these days with my family and get to know a whole new world and see my niece in a whole new role. She is a wonderful Mother and I look forward to watching her, her husband and child continue to grow.

I have been a bit absent, but sometimes I just find myself enjoying life and not the computer. I enjoy reading all of your blogs, but please excuse my absence of sharing my world.

I will return with pictures and more stories soon!

Back again, home sweet home

2011-06-08T08:57:00.003-04:00

We had a long journey, but we made it safely and are now enjoying our beautiful home again.

We stayed in a great hotel right in the Zurich airport. Check out this cool floor to ceiling wine...well, wine holder, for lack of a better word.

The weather has been beautiful with the sun kissing our cheeks and the air keeping us cool.

We had a couple visit us already that we knew in Maracaibo, Venezuela. They happened to be in the US visiting some other friends. they stayed with us for two days, which was a great way to share our house with them.

This week, we are waiting for some furniture deliveries from our storage of goods from Rio being held in Houston and outdoor furniture we purchased from Restoration Hardware.

Ah...eating my favorite cereal, Special K, with fresh fruits has been wonderful.

Check out this cute car we rented. It is a Kia Soul...in orange, love that for the summery days here in Key West!

This has been a random thoughts being put in any order post but...

Life is good...it is nice to be back!

Countdown

2011-06-02T06:05:00.003-04:00

Today (Thursday) is the last day of school...half a day ending with water balloon tossing and ice cream.

We leave tomorrow morning on our journey to our house.

It will take us 4 airports and planes, a total of almost 31 hours, plus one rental car and 3 hour drive....

I can't wait!

See you all on the other side of the world.

But before I leave, check out these photos of my Amaryllis and other plants, and a few scenes from Atyrau:

I feel like Pigpen

2011-05-26T12:48:00.004-04:00

The weather has turned into a beautiful, hot spring/summer. The sun is shining brightly almost every day. And the days are long here...

the sun rises before 6 am and sets after 9 pm!

The peonies are blooming right now and their fragrance is intoxicating. Sometimes I just stop by the bush and smell the air...except when I feel like this:

Why do I feel like Pigpen? Well, the bugs are swarming around me! My daughter went on a walk with me tonight to get Bella some exercise...but she ran home half way because the little gnats and mosquitos are horrible right now.

The company was spraying twice a day, but supposedly the spray was toxic chemicals that have been banned in the US and the UK, except for agricultural use.

Well...when I swam this morning I felt like I was breathing them in with every breath..

when I walked this evening they were literally like the picture above...

when we sit by the pool to supervise the children they are landing on us..

our faces, arms eyes, ears...

counting the days until Key West

Catching up...

2011-05-19T02:27:00.003-04:00

Feels like ages since I've written here!

I have been busy with enjoying the beautiful weather we are having in Atyrau.

The sun is warm and so bright, while the air remains just a bit cool and crisp.

It is perfect weather for swimming in the newly opened outdoor pool...

and of course, trying to capture the breath that Spring breathes into the trees and flowers.

We have the mini triathlon for our children through their school this coming weekend.

We are also on a countdown to summer break...just two more weeks!

I have been learning how to make bread

using the best Christmas present: a Kitchenaid stand mixer. It is the machine to have in the kitchen, in my opinion! Thanks to my husband who believed in me and my cooking! We are going to try to make homemade pasta once our pasta set arrives for the mixer!

(ok, my husband bought me a beautiful pair of earrings spontaneously while we were getting a watch repaired at Christmas also...I'm not sure which I truly like better :) He spoils me!)

Hopefully once we are settled again in our home in Key West, I will have more time to blog...

can't wait to get there and enjoy the new additions:

(more photos coming once I am there!)

until then, I will try to write as often as I have time for!

Hope you are all enjoying your own sunshine :)

That's what friends are for...

2011-05-07T02:11:00.002-04:00

Friends are such a wonderful part of our lives.

Yesterday a friend of mine from our time in Rio called me on Skype...

for those of you unfamiliar with Skype, this is a fabulous program that keeps us that live so far away in foreign countries connected to our family and friends in other parts of the world.

You sign up on your computer, and it is free for the most part. If you connect computer to computer, the calls are completely free. On computers, we can also see each other with either the built in camera or the attached camera too!

We also have a dedicated phone number that has the same area code as where our families are in the US. This phone number costs, but at a minimal charge per yea. Iit saves us way more money than if we had to actually dial direct from a place like Kazakhstan!

Ok, so my point of this post was not about Skype, but rather about friends...

so this friend called me on Skype. We stay in touch but have not called each other in a while. She now lives back in Houston.

She and I have a unique friendship in that we really find the right words to help each other through certain situations. She helped me so much yesterday with a few struggles that I am having with living in a fish bowl brings that I feel renewed living here today.

We talked about how when you make friends overseas, we make them quicker. I believe the reasoning for this is because you never know when someone could prove to be a really good friend, and that they may leave quicker than you hoped. So we delve into our friendships at a rather quick pace overseas to get to know each other. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. What matters most to me is how true they are. I really do not like superficial, on the surface friendships. As I get older, I just feel like I have no time for them. I mean, obviously there are people that I see on camp that I am friendly with, but not hang out with all the time. Those are fine too...life needs them. The true friendships are the ones I crave, though.

Thanks my friend, you know who you are. I am so thankful that you skyped me last night, and that we had the conversation that we did. I look forward to visiting with you sometime soon!

You can't pick your family, but you can pick your friends...and I picked well when I found you!

#7 Amsterdam, the final trip post

2011-05-04T12:47:00.006-04:00

It seems as if these posts have gone on longer than I expected...

I know some of my followers may be bored with my travels, but there is so much of the world that interests me. I find the places that we travel so interesting. I want to share that with all of you, and hope that this comes across in my posts...not just me babbling about another place!

Therefore, this will be my last post on our European trip. Our last stop was Amsterdam.

This is my 3rd time to Amsterdam, and I have always thoroughly enjoyed it.

The people are a diverse mix of cultures. The native Dutch have always been so friendly and helpful, such as the lady that heard us speaking in English while walking through a shopping center. She suggested to us to go to the top floor restaurant, even if we do not care to eat...just for the view...and wow, what a view! The rooftops, canals and architecture are so interesting. (some of these pics are not from the rooftop view from the restaurant, which by the way, we did eat in! It was delicious!)

There is always a beat to the streets of Amsterdam. I feel as if everyone is always on permanent vacation...as they stroll along the cobbled streets and walk, arms linked taking in all the sights. Boy, there certainly are sights (and smells) in Amsterdam...those of which we didn't partake in this trip since our children were with us... Sometimes you just can't help walking past some of the more...hhmmm, shall we say extreme storefronts with hhhmmm...interesting smells wafting out onto the sidewalks! I enjoyed all the bicycles and how eco-friendly the city is...though there are cars parked in every sidewalk inch available. I read that there is actually a worry with how many bikes traverse the roads due to pedestrian and car accidents with them!

My daughter and I visited the Anne Frank House. This is the house where Anne and her family, as well as another family, hid from the Nazis. This is a compelling place that draws me into the whole tragedy so immensely. I cry every time I see the rooms, which Anne's Father, Otto, the only survivor of her family, wanted it. He asked that they be left as the Nazis left them...bare. There are scaled models of the rooms with the furniture as her Father remembered them so that you get a feel of how they lived. But they are bare...which gives me an eerie feeling walking through. You can almost hear the voices that had to be so quiet at certain times of the day...and the black out curtains that made such an impression on my daughter.

It is always good to see our past and try to learn from the horrible mistakes, tough as it is to take. I am proud of our daughter for wanting to learn about Anne and her story. I do not have pictures not only because they ask you not to take them, but also out of respect for the family. I would feel wrong trying to depict it here...it is a place to experience only in person.

We stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast, The Posthoorn, run by a French man. He took over the business a year earlier when his corporate job got to be too much and his wife and 3 children needed more room. The room was large, bright and comfortable. The breakfasts were always fresh and delivered when we asked. The basket pictured below had the freshest baked breads. I think for Amsterdam, a B&B is the best way to go! For us, The Posthoorn fit the bill perfectly!

My favorite day was traveling to The Keukenhof Gardens. This is where the amazing tulip fields are located, outside of Amsterdam. I had a field day (pardon the pun) with the beautiful flowers just starting to bloom. We were there just a few days after the opening so the flowers were not fully out, but spring had definitely sprung! The hothouse was filled with more types of tulips than I even knew existed...it was so colorful and exotic. It was a wonderful day for me and the family enjoyed it too!

Enjoy the pictures, and thank you for joining me on re-living our family's journey through parts of Europe!

#6 Paris and my love/hate relationship with it

2011-04-26T05:31:00.006-04:00

Paris....

the city of lights, the city of love

I have visited Paris quite a few times, and this time sealed the deal for my relationship with it.

It truly is an amazing city with grandeur, history, beauty and love...

but I can't get myself to ever want to be there again once I have visited. I know you are asking why, but it is just my feeling of forever being a stranger. And I know "stranger"...I have lived in and visited many countries in this world, and I always feel like a stranger, a visitor...or better yet, someone that does not belong in Paris.

The Louvre is wonderful and stimulating for the eye and hearty discussion ensued after my children visited for the first time. My daughter was not sure she was comfortable calling naked bodies art, and she voiced her dislikes like a true critic! Both of our children surprised my husband and I when they truly enjoyed searching the map and finding the path to our next statue or painting that one of us wanted to see. We ended up wandering amongst all the amazing (and not so amazing) halls for about 3 hours! This was much more than I expected and pleased me to no end to give our children this opportunity.

The Eiffel Tower was another highlight. Luckily the lines were bearable in the morning when we went and the view from the top is always spectacular.

The Arc de Triomphe had a special event that involved what looked like military and dignitaries involved, so we only passed and admired the Arc while continuing our walk down the Champs de Elysee.

The stores had their eye candy concept cars,

brand names and fancy clothes, but we found the restaurant where my children tried escargot! My son liked it and my daughter, who never eats fish, actually took up the courage to try it. She declared it was alright with a little jump in her seat to help it go down her throat...precious moment for my husband and I!

The beautiful buildings, lovely streets to walk, the Tuileries to stroll and have lunch...it all really makes for a romantic, lovely city to visit.

But for me, I just feel like a stranger in the crowd...in the throng of many other strangers...

I can not complain too much though...because I always seem to go back!

#5 The rest of the days in Switzerland

2011-04-21T04:04:00.009-04:00

We spent the night at the same place our son was for camp. They happened to be the only school there...all 9 students and two teachers, at the time, so there was plenty of room. This camp holds up to 180 students at its peak time. My children will go there for summer camp this year also!

The views the camp rooms had out their windows was spectacular...mountains capped in snow, valleys turning green with spring.

After breakfast we started out again as a whole family. It felt good to have our son back with us, though it was a special time to be with just our daughter also. Our son is not one to give many details, but throughout the rest of the trip, he kept coming up with little bits and pieces of what happened on his trip, so that's when I know it made an impression and that it was good!

Our first stop was to go to Interlaken. The roads were windy up and down the mountains, with beautiful villages along the way. As we arrived in Interlaken, the sun was shining and the hotel was perfect.

Above is the view from our hotel room...just so pretty, isn't it?!

We strolled around the cute, quaint streets while looking in shop windows and admiring the scenery all the while. The snow had melted down in the valleys, but there was still quite a bit up the mountains. We took a train ride up to Grindewald First and strolled there amongst the skiers, snowboarders, shops and restaurants. We went to one of the mountain top stops on the cable car and had a beautiful lunch with the sun shining brightly but still snow all around!

The next day, though we didn't want to leave, we had reservations for 2 nights in Luzern. So, off we loaded the car again, and drove through the winding roads of Switzerland, looking for our next location. Funny thing is...when we got there, I had booked the room for 2 nights...but the wrong 2 nights! They seemed a bit upset, but relaxed when I said, in my so relaxed vacation mood voice... Well, if you need to charge me, that's fine. Just let me know if our room is still available and we can stay in it until Saturday! They relaxed a little...and even gave us an upgraded room with a river view! Wow, I need to remember to stay calm a little more!

Here is our hotel

and a few views of The Chapel Bridge from our room.

Luzern was pretty, and a much bigger city than Interlaken. It was bustling with workers and what seemed like mostly locals, though there were quite a few hotels, so I'm sure there must have been some tourists mixed in. We decided to go to another mountain top experience and rode a train and ski lift up to Mount Titlis.

The snow was deep and seemed a little more solid here than at Grindewald, and there were, again, a load of skiers and snowboarders trying to cram their last days of winter bliss into their schedules! Check out this guy with a baby on his back! I used to walk with our son in a backpack like this...but skiing down a huge mountain? Wow, impressive!

One of the funny highlights I have from Luzern was a place called La Spaghetteria. Now, my daughter spotted this Italian restaurant right outside our hotel. I thought, well...the name is a bit off, but by the time our stomachs were grumbling and evening was upon us, we said, why not, let's give it a try! Well...

it turned out to be a small family run business that had the best gnocchi pesto, minestrone soup, rucula salad with delicious parmesan cheese slices, lamb, panna cotta, etc...

The parents were from Italy and Portugal, the daughter was one of the waitresses...

and we ended up going there both nights in Luzern! It was such a find, and we are all so happy that our daughter spotted the sign for it, and trusted her!

so, after three days together as a family, driving around for a total of 7 days,

we headed to Zurich to drop off the car, and start on our train journeys.

Coming next, Paris!

#4 On the way to pick up our son in Leysin, Switzerland

2011-04-16T23:30:00.006-04:00

We left Genoa after taking a few rooftop pictures from our hotel on this sunny, glorious day.

Once again, the magnificent views of the Alps, the roadside towns and churches and the green pastures surrounded us.

We stopped at a lake town called Lago Maggiore for lunch.

It was definitely low season seeing as the first restaurant we stopped at was not even open for another few days; and the town square we found had only a few locals lunching with us. I loved the little stores with these spices and Pinnochio's!

They even had a tea named after my Father :)

Once again, I can not stress enough the beauty of every turn we drove around. We were very lucky to have such beautiful weather, also!

As we climbed the mountain road, which is sometimes closed to traffic because of weather related issues, we found ourselves at the tippy top of the peaks of the Alps. The air was so fresh, crisp and clean. This was a nice refresher from the smoky, pollution filled smells we have around our camp in Atyrau! The snow was glistening....

and check out these ski tracks?! They either hiked up this mountain to ski down, or they were dropped from a helicopter and then started their descent. Either way, it was quite impressive!

As we reached our next stop in picking up our son at his camp, (and spending the night there), we felt like the luckiest people to have this opportunity to be surrounded by pure, natural beauty and how lucky these people were to live amongst it every day of their lives!

Funny google maps driving notes:

We took our driving directions from google maps, and at one point it said, board train?

What, board train with a car?! Yup...that was what we were supposed to do. This is where we started climbing the mountain road that is often closed due to weather conditions. So, for those that need to take their car to the other side of the mountain during these times, they have "car" trains...kinda like a ferry where you can take your car across a river!

We were so glad we didn't follow the directions!

#3 Monaco and Genoa

2011-04-12T06:22:00.005-04:00

The drive from Nice to Monaco was especially pretty. The sun was shining brightly and there were so many people out enjoying it. This was a Sunday, so we were able to catch glimpses of people at their leisure.

Every turn seemed to hold a new beautiful building, a pretty sea view and dramatic hills.

We got to Monte Carlo, Monaco around lunchtime, which is exactly how my husband planned it!

The winding streets held one beautiful house or building after another. The streets were impeccably clean for the residents and casual visitors.

Around every corner exuded money. The casual BMW passing by seemed like a commoner's car next to the Ferrari's, Lamborghini's

and yes, even a Rolls Royce convertible! (drove by too fast to get a good picture :(~ )

My husband knew from that point on that he was in car heaven and now wants a small apartment there, hahaha!

We had a beautiful lunch outside on the malecon overlooking the yachts and the sea. There was a race happening and once again, people enjoying the beautiful sunny weather.

After we strolled around a little we headed (reluctantly) on to our next stop overnight, to Genoa, Italy. My favorite stomping grounds....

I love Italy... the language, the passionate people and the amazing food!

I was able to find a great bargain on a 5 star hotel and we lived in luxury for the night. There were L'Occitane products in the beautiful bathroom, soft down comforter on the king sized bed and a pretty view.

Again, we were there for only a night, but the next day, we took our time leaving...we strolled around the streets, enjoyed the busy Monday morning and stream of people, and bought some delicious cheese and salami for our home in Atyrau. (yes, we carried it with us for the rest of our trip! That is what we crazy expats do on our vacations!)

Thanks for following along on our journey...it really was an amazing adventure!

There is much more to tell so keep checking back ~

#2, Drive to Marseille and Genoa

2011-04-07T07:40:00.006-04:00

After we left Istanbul, we flew to Geneva, Switzerland, rented a car and drove the first day to Marseille, France.

How about these views of the Alps from the plane?

On the way there, it was recommended to us to stop at Gorges du Fier.

(remember to click on the italicized words to reach the site on the web!)

This was a beautiful stop for us. It was just my daughter, husband and I, since our son was still at his camp. The rain was coming down when we landed in Geneva. Luckily, by the time we made it to the Gorge, the sun was shining brightly. We were ready to explore!

Here, can you see faces in the rocks?

There was a footbridge built so that we could enjoy the rushing sounds of the water and the natural beauty of Mother Nature.

We left after exploring for a little while, to continue our drive to Marseille, France. It was only a stop over for the night. We found the hotel and went looking for dinner. The city itself felt a little gritty to me. It was not as beautiful as I expected, though in all fairness, we didn't explore it that much.

Next day came and we were on the part of the drive that my husband was waiting for...along the Southern coast of France and Italy...passing through, Nice, Cannes, Monaco, San Remo and finally arriving to Genoa, Italy.

Let's just say that this drive delivered! It was so beautiful in so many ways.

The seaside resorts, the roadside scenery...and even a little reminder of home!

The aqueducts

The bridges and tunnels....once you cross into Italy, it seemed like that was the route. You went from a bridge into a tunnel, onto an incredibly high bridge, into a tunnel, etc...and every one had it's own name. That may not seem like a lot, but we must have passed over 20(+/-) bridges and through just as many tunnels!

This was me most of the drive for 3 days...taking pictures instead of telling my husband which little arrow to follow :)

I will do a separate post on Monaco...it deserves it!

For now, enjoy these pictures!

Trip Report #1, Istanbul

2011-04-05T05:02:00.007-04:00

First of all, let me say what a wonderful trip we had and that we all enjoyed to the fullest!

Europe is an amazing place where you cross borders, change languages and experience different cultures in the blink of a right turn signal and a drive off a ramp. I love the easy going freedom of this type of travel. Throughout our journey we traveled by planes, trains and automobiles :)

As you recall, my son left on a Wednesday for his school trip to Switzerland. My husband, daughter and I left on Friday for Istanbul. We stayed overnight, more to not miss connecting flights than to really visit Istanbul, but nonetheless, we took the opportunity to show our daughter a little taste of Istanbul.

We stayed in a lovely small hotel steps away from the Blue Mosque. This mosque is the only one that has 6 minarets. It was explained to us by a gentleman that followed us around the whole mosque explaining things, that the Sultan wanted gold minarets. In their language, gold and six are two extremely similar words, and the architect understood six. The sultan was extremely upset over this, though there was not much anyone could do about it since it was already built. Wikipedia has a different version in it's explanation, including that there is another mosque with 6 minarets!

(click on the italicized words to see their version)

Blue Mosque

I have to say that I find certain parts of different religions very intriguing. I like to learn little bits and pieces of them. For example, here is a piece of the carpet that the Muslims pray on in the Blue Mosque. I never knew that the pattern on the carpet was for a purpose besides to look pretty! It is meant to help you know where your feet, knees, hands and head are meant to go in a typical Muslim prayer.

Feet, standing, on the darker red circular shapes, knees, when kneeling on the bluish circle with the X shape, hands on the open flower with the empty circle and head on the center flower:

There is a Muslim rule that says one must be clean to pray...so this is a special fountain where the Imam (similar to a priest) can wash their feet

Of course, our lovely guide led us to his family's carpet and pottery store. Of course you are not obligated to buy, but truthfully, this man's store had some lovely carpets and stunning pottery. We did not buy anything as it would have been too much to carry on our 2 week journey, but I could see stopping back here the next time we are in Istanbul! (we usually use Istanbul as our connection on our flights). We wandered around the lovely smaller market and were amused by this store of hats.

There were beautiful scarves everywhere and we bargained for two for myself and my daughter. We love our pashminas, and have a wonderful memory of our little stopover in Istanbul.

My daughter found us a wonderful restaurant. The owner had lived in the US for a few years and we all had a lovely conversation. There I had a delicious dish that was similar to a stew with vegetables and meat...it came out flaming!

Everywhere you can find these beautiful mosaic lights, of which we bought two. When my husband and I stopped in Istanbul previously on a cruise, we had also bought one of these. I guess when you have 3 or more of one item it start a collection?! They are all so colorful, and I even think it would be fun to have them like in this picture above a dining room table, or even above an island in the kitchen..(hint to my hubby!)

There is so much more to tell about our trip, but this post would get very long if I tried to fit it all into one. So keep watching for further updates!

It also then will give me time to remove some photos from my computer...

I took over 1,000 photos in two weeks, YIKES!

Here are some last views from our hotel:

Spring just starting to arrive:

Hagia Sophia

Ready, set...go!!

2011-03-15T02:10:00.002-04:00

My son is packed and ready to go. We leave tomorrow at 6 am for the airport and then off he goes...

my boy, venturing out on his own.

Though he has done this before with his school in Brasil, somehow this feels different. He has to fly on two planes, then take a bus for 2 hours, to reach their destination.

It sounds like so much fun once they get there though...check out this itinerary:

torchwalk, living with nature and climbing, trek to valley,

visit to Montreux and Chateau de Chillon, visit to Zermatt with glacier study, ice skating, fondue tasting, snowshoeing...

can they cram anything else in?! I think it sounds like such a great adventure and I hope that he tells us about it...usually he is more the quiet type.

Click on the bold, italicized words to check out those spots! They look the best!

All said and done though, it is hard to watch him go. I can only pray that he is safe, in the hands of God, and that the flights, all of our flights, land safely.

And as we pack for this trip, I am already starting the planning stages of the summer trips. It is hard to figure out all of these flight schedules and the prices are soaring. Well, I guess I better be on the lookout for those special offers...

(what special offers you ask, well, one can only hope!)

Atyrau is, unfortunately, not a place to "hang out" for the summer. So, we just bite the bullet and try to find the best prices out there!

I am not sure how much, if any, I will be posting while we are away. Take care everyone...

and see you when we return!

Preparations

2011-03-11T23:09:00.002-05:00

It is finally here..

well, almost!

I have been waiting for our trip to Europe. this stretch from the time we returned from Christmas break, to this next break, is 11 weeks. Most other breaks, besides the long summer break, is about 8 weeks.

So, I have been planning our trip to Europe since, oh...about the end of January, and it is almost here! We leave next Friday.

My son is going on a middle school trip to Switzerland on Wednesday. I think these types of trips for children, where there is some degree if responsibility and learning how to cope without your parents always on top of everything, is so beneficial. I believe they help build confidence and reliability on yourself. He will get to tour the United Nations in Geneva, as well as hike up Mount Zermatt. He will be staying in a secure and beautiful setting...and we are thinking of coming back here for a summer camp for both children.

My husband, daughter and I are leaving a few days later, and exploring around some first. Before we pick him up, we will drive around the southern coast of France, past Monaco and Nice, on our way from Marseille to Genova, Italy. Then we drive over the Alps to arrive at his camp. We continue on spending a night or two in Interlaken and Luzern. We will drop off the car in Zurich and enjoy a few days in Paris and Amsterdam.

It should be a whirlwind tour, but I am so excited. I will have much to post about upon my return. I will take a lot of photos I am sure so get ready for some long posts!

Hope you all enjoy the weekend~

My latest exercise craze

2011-03-09T05:10:00.002-05:00

So, I am used to being active.

In Maracaibo it was easy because everyone loves to dance, do aerobics, step, swim, play tennis, etc...

I was in the best shape there since my dancing days.

Then came Brasil and well...I slacked off some. Though the gyms were beautiful and new, the classes they offered were boringly slow for me, the pool was only allowed to be used for free swims one hour a day (which happened to be the hours I picked my children up from school) and they were incredibly expensive. So, I still played tennis, swam occasionally at the outdoor pool (when it wasn't raining, or cold, or crowded), and my level of fitness dropped some.

Now to the present day here in Atyrau. The camp has a good facility with tennis courts and swimming pool, a gym with dance floor. I still play tennis and do a little bit of weights with the ladies, but now I have found

I love the songs, the movement and the fun that Zumba brings to exercise.

Try it out at a location near you...or buy the DVD set and enjoy it at your own pace.

The fun of dancing for exercise though, in my opinion, is to share it with your friends!

Enjoy :)

It's a small world after all

2011-03-07T06:43:00.003-05:00

For those familiar with the Disney ride that accompanies my title, you can imagine the song I am singing in my head after reading this post.

Case #1

When I first arrived here, and a few ladies were told that I liked to play tennis, I was invited to play doubles. I walked into the court, anxious to meet new ladies, and lo and behold...

there is a lady there that I knew when we lived in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

She is Venezuelan, and was transferred to Malaysia when I first started living in Maracaibo. Our paths crossed a few times on her visits home, but I never imagined living in the same place as her again.

Case #2

We were invited to a Scottish Society Burns Night. It is a chance to dress fancy and go to an event...something that does not happen very often here in Atyrau, I am told. So why not...

we arrive at the event and I saw a lady that looked familiar, but really only gave it a shrug and figured she looked like someone. I saw her closer to me a few minutes later, and the nagging feeling that I knew her crept into my head. Her husband was next to her by then, and once I saw him, I thought, I need to go up to them. I walk over and she says, Ballerina Girl? Oh my gosh, I can't believe you are here in Atyrau!

Funny thing is that I couldn't recall her name...you may ask now, why is that funny?

Well, she has the same name as my daughter and she lived a few floors below us in Maracaibo!

Her and her husband are Dutch, and I'm not sure where they went after Maracaibo...but once again, never expected to see them here.

Case #3

Sunday, my friend from Case #1 calls me to play tennis outside of our camp, in a sports club here. I jumped at the chance seeing as I have not been there, it is a nice to leave camp and be with other people every once in awhile, and it was on a clay court...which I much prefer to the hard courts. I asked who was all playing and she mentioned one lady I didn't know and another that I knew....

yep, in Maraciabo! I could not believe it really. This girl played tennis a lot in our club there, and we knew her fairly well. We also played Mah Jongg together. They are also Dutch and left for Dubai when they moved out of Venezuela. I told Case #1 girl to not let on who they were picking up this morning.

So, when they came for me, I had my big coat and a hat on. I opened the van door and she said hello and went to introduce herself until I took off my hat. She could not believe her eyes...

A lot of expats say that the oil world is small, and it is true. The funny thing about these stories though is that these families are not with the same company as my family. I find it to be even more of a coincidence that we would all end up here in Atyrau.

I feel like I am riding on the Disney boat singing the song....

My review of Black Swan

2011-03-02T12:07:00.002-05:00

Black Swan...

the dancer movie...the psycho drama...

the best actress award for Natalie Portman

Well, I guess that I have a little bit of insight into this movie. For those of you that haven't figured it out from my "name" or read about it from a previous post yet, I was a ballet dancer. I danced professionally until I was 4 months pregnant with my son.

I enjoyed this movie. There were parts that were so over the top that I was really laughing out loud at them, but overall, I thought they made a different type of psychodrama.

They gave us the Hollywood extreme of how obsessed a dancer can become with her role.

Though I have never known anyone to drug a fellow dancer, nor pull feathers out of their skin,

I did relate to the intensity of a dancer when depicting her role...especially as the infamous

white swan/black swan duel role.

I personally did not dance this role, but I watched my friends dance it and have to become the opposite personalities that it requires.

I also watched as fellow dancers portrayed a particular role in a ballet that they would cry when their character died...or would really laugh out loud on stage...

(or maybe that was me, laughing at some silly joke someone told me when the peasant girls, aka-me, were in the corner supposedly giggling about the cute Romeo or whatever character! hahaha...this actually happened and my director once told me that she could hear me laughing from the audience...oops!)

I also watched fellow dancers be...well, let's just say, not so nice to another dancer that got the role they wanted. I hated when the casting went up on the board...I would always wander over after people left so that they wouldn't see the possible disappointment in my face because I hadn't gotten a role.

I have heard of dancers getting involved with their directors...though never experienced it with my company.

So, in a general sense, I thought they did a good job...taking it to the Hollywood extreme, but the underlying theme and the way they portrayed it was good. I never go to a movie and watch it because of the Oscars. You expect too much and are usually disappointed, which is how many of the women that I watched it with here felt. They thought it was terrible and horrible story line and blah, blah, blah...

they never asked me for some insight though! Oh well, their loss!

I did speak afterwards to two of my closer friends about it...and they liked the insight that I gave them about the

"life of a dancer"

and now you have my thoughts too...

let me know what you thought!

Weekend review

2011-02-27T22:06:00.002-05:00

It was one of those weekends that I just so enjoy.

The dance "was fun". He said he didn't dance, and he was awfully smug and proud of that fact, hahaha! I prodded a little more, but there really wasn't much. (at least not at this point in the weekend yet!)

Saturday came and my husband and I cooked together and laughed, talked...the easy going, relaxed atmosphere of this place is really nice sometimes. There really isn't much to do unless you find something to do...like go and play tennis, swim, grocery shop... but outside distractions and running around? There really isn't much. So you get the chance to reconnect with your self, your family... I like this a lot.

Sometimes also, we say no...for example, there was a Mardi Gras party on Saturday evening. We said no. We wanted to take a step back, breathe and relax and enjoy the solitude of each other...

ok, well, we had 5 kids come over for homemade pizzas and 3 friends of our son sleep over.

Still, it was such a fun evening!

I learned that they got all the Italian girls go and ask my son, plead with him to dance...and he still said no! I think he just likes to be different. As long as fun was had by all, what more can we ask, right?!

Sunday we did some more of the same...

I am really looking forward to spring break coming up! I will fill you in on the details later...

oh, and my review of Black Swan!

It should be a busy week...

The Dance

2011-02-24T22:51:00.002-05:00

Tonight my 12 year old son is going to his first middle school dance.

There is another international school here that sometimes likes to mix in with our kids...

granted there are no more than 10 going from our school, probably less, but that's ok, at least they are getting the experience!

When I asked my son what he thought he might wear (I know, silly question for a boy, right?!)

he said he was thinking of his suit.

Yes, that would be my 12 going on 30 year old son.

I love it!

Then I asked if he was going to dance.

Nope, I'm just going to stand by the snack bar.

Suit wearing, snacking boy is going to a dance...

I should tip one of the other kids to let me know what he actually does :)

MAcro Ice Designs

2011-02-16T22:03:00.004-05:00

As promised, here are the photos that I took on Wednesday. Every once in a while, the weather is so cold, and the air is moist with rain/snow, that it freezes overnight and gives us a beautiful

Ice Palace. This only lasts for a while, because, even though it is still bitterly cold outside, once the sun comes out, the ice begins to melt off the branches and fences.

So enjoy these photos...

Here are a few not with the macro lens...and boy, let me tell you, I tried to not change lenses too often, because I have to take my gloves off to change them, and my fingers were freezing in these temperatures!

Winter Wonderland

2011-02-16T00:55:00.001-05:00

Wow, the days have been beautiful here.

Yesterday, the snow fell and fell...big flakes, flurries, sun in between.

I was walking around the camp, ready to take pictures, when I saw a friend that was going outside the camp to take more photos. Three of us went for an hour and a half...really long to be in the cold, but I got some great pictures from the excursion!

This is the Muslim Mosque across the street from our houses:

Here is Makhambet Square, which honors the two men who fought for over 200 years to gain independence for Kazakhstan:

Here is the Russian Orthodox Church

These are a few of the scenes we saw along the way

Enjoy the photo tour and come back tomorrow for the macro ice shots from this morning!

(I just didn't want to post too many because I know some of you do not like long posts!)

Appreciation

2011-02-14T07:20:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day

to all of my friends and family that make my life richer for having you all in it.

Especially to my husband, you are the light of my life, my best friend, and the person that I can not live without. Thank you for always being there for me, for spoiling me and for sharing with me on such great adventures!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A new life begins

2011-02-11T23:02:00.003-05:00

This title is what my daughter said when she saw the first picture of my new niece. It gave me the shivers to hear her say this. It is such a precious gift that we receive when a new child is born into this world.

Her and the new Mom, my niece, are doing very well. She is healthy and oh so tiny...only 6 lbs 1 oz! My kids were almost a full 2 lbs more than her at birth!

She is beautiful and I am longing to return to see her and hold her in my arms...

I am now a Great Aunt!

How cool is that title!

Is it an internal clock?

2011-02-10T01:58:00.003-05:00

Life sometimes has such a routine that I believe our bodies respond whether we want them to or not. It seems that in the early morning hours, between 4 and 4:30 am, Bella wakes up to go outside for her business. My body has been programmed now to wake up with her.

I eventually fall back to sleep.

Here is where my fascination then lies....she knows when it is time to wake up...

somewhere between 6:45 and 7 am.

Now, it is not that she has to go outside again...she doesn't. She just comes over, before the alarm sounds and wakes me up with her cold nose and wet kisses!

If you are wondering how the unpacking is going...

well, it is just about finished. I will post after unpacking pictures soon...once I find 10 minutes to take the photos and actually download them. I have been working really hard to get all the boxes unpacked and the "stuff" put all in its proper place. I have been hoovering like crazy...picking up all the lint and dust that comes with all the boxes. My townhouse neighbor gave me her sweeper! I am so excited to have an upright that works again...especially since the stairs and top floor are all carpets. I have decided that I prefer a house without wall to wall carpets, but has strategically placed area rugs. Anyways, it is certainly nice to have an old fashioned Hoover sweeper to suck up all that hair, dust and dirt!

and last but certainly not least...

my niece is in labor! She will have her precious child soon...

May God watch over the both of them through labor and bring us our little one soon :)

Well, I still love 'em

2011-02-06T22:08:00.003-05:00

My Steelers lost.

I still love them and support them....

because that's what the Steelers Nation does.

Here we go...

2011-02-06T11:45:00.002-05:00

Steelers, here we go...

Let's go win the Superbowl!

As you all get to enjoy (if you like) the festivities of Superbowl Sunday, I am winding down my day, getting ready for a little nap before our game.

So with dreams of a Black and Gold 7th victory, I will say good night and see you at 4:30 am Atyrau time....

for

The Steelers vs. The Packers!

GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!

When it rains it pours!

2011-01-31T08:27:00.004-05:00

I was trying to think of something to write today...you know, to start the week off with a new post.

Something inspirational, or something funny...

something serious or some photos..

Well, sometimes it just falls into your lap!

My shipment from Rio is finally coming tomorrow!

Well, tomorrow, my time...that would be Tuesday around lunch time...middle of the night for most of you in the USA.

I am having some walls painted today. I was not really expecting to have the shipment without any notice. (not that I am complaining! It just would have been nice to have some forewarning so that I could have painted a little earlier!)

But seriously, I do not care about wet walls or unfinished paint...

what I care about is that my "stuff" is finally here. My carpets, my kitchenware, our photo books, the kids games and toys, dolls, sheets and comforters, scrapbooking items to fill my time, paintings for my walls...

ah, I could go on and on, but let's just stop here. I will be back in a few days, once the chaos slows down a little...

Can you see my smile?

Poor Sammy

2011-01-28T04:24:00.002-05:00

Who is Sammy?

Well, Sammy is my friend's big, black labrador.

Sammy was sick a couple of weeks ago. He started making a few wee's in the house overnight, which my friend said he has never done since he was a puppy. He wasn't eating too well either. They were concerned that something was wrong and called the local "veterinarian".

Quotation marks are there because a "vet" here is dodgy to put it mildly. They generally are afraid of dogs here because the Soviets used them for interrogations.

(or at least that's what someone told me!)

He gave Sammy some shots for what he believed was a bladder infection. Makes some sense actually... until Sammy started wobbling and not seeming right. It was maybe the high doses of medication the "vet" gave him.

Well, he started to perk up after the meds wore off, but then a big lump formed where the injections were given.

So, I accompanied my friend to another "veterinarian". Small little "Shop", where they sold a few leashes, a few toys and what seemed to be medications for various afflictions. These boxes at least had pictures of cats and dogs on them!

So, the "vet" was not there. She was working...huh? Isn't this her shop? Where the heck was she working?

Well, the assistant started talking to us in Russian. My friend understands a little, but this lady was rolling a mile a minute. She kept looking at us like we understood. We did get that we had to put a compression bandage on it...but of what, we had no clue.

My friend called the help desk of our company and passed the phone over...

What was outcome?

Cabbage. Yes, a compression bandage with cabbage.

Do I need to say more?

Update

2011-01-23T22:29:00.006-05:00

I have been a bit absent this past week...no posts since last Monday?

Wow, where did that time go?

Well, it has been a fun week here. Last Sunday my husband and I went out onto the

Ural River...and walked on water! It was a little strange and a bit eery to be walking on a river.

You could see the thickness of the ice right through the top layer.

These were some cool bubble looking patches:

Here is one of the holes left by an ice fisherman. It amazes me how in this cold they can just sit there and fish!

Then, came the snow! My kids were so happy when they woke up Monday morning to a few inches of snow on the ground, and more flurries falling. Overall, my opinion is that we got about 6 inches...it seems like a lot! The kids have been ice skating and building snow forts. They have tried sledding down their little snow mounds...

such fun for them who have never really lived in snow.

Here are a couple shots of the falling flakes and Bella enjoying the snow:

and of course, last but certainly not least...

PITTSBURGH STEELERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

They just finished off their season with a home field win against the NY Jets.

Congratulations Steelers, and now:

Stairway to Seven!

Asian Winter Olympics

2011-01-17T07:27:00.005-05:00

Today my family and a few of our friends families walked down the street to our husbands offices to see the carrying of the torch for the

2011 Asian Winter Olympics.

They will be played from January 30th- Feb 6th.

They are being held this year here in Almaty and Astana, Kazakhstan.

They have most of the usual winter sports, but one that I didn't know. It is called Bandy, which seems to be a version of hockey only played with a ball in place of a puck.

Click on the links above if you are interested in finding out more about the games or bandy.

Here are some photos from the day:

Here we come

2011-01-15T20:10:00.003-05:00

Alarm set: 2:20 am

TV turned on: Thank you slingbox

First half: Uh-oh, but always keep the faith

Second: YES...I knew you could do it...

and as my Dad always says to me:

We had them right where we wanted them!

Steelers: 31

Ravens: 24

Onto the next round of the playoffs :)

The Maid Chronicle

2011-01-12T07:27:00.002-05:00

My friend and fellow blogger, Gabriela, had a similar post some time ago...

sorry if I copied your title Gabs, but I thought that I would finally put in my two cents about my maids.

First there was Venezuela:

1. The first maid was found soon after arriving because of various social functions that I had to attend, and could not leave my 4 and 1 1/2 year old. She lasted a week.

One week....why?

The first time that I left my 1 1/2 year old daughter, she cried the whole entire time that I was away...which was only an hour and a half! The lady was bouncing her up and down as she was screaming in a fit when I got back home. Needless to say, I did not let her alone with them again, and she knew that by the time Friday came, that her services were no longer needed.

Really, it was quite easy to let her go, she understood, and even mentioned how she just couldn't take care of my little girl.

Mind you, my girl was (and still is) the easiest going, calm little one around!

2. The next maid seemed wonderful. And truthfully, she was for the first year or so that we had her. She came highly recommended from a lady who worked in the US Embassy, and even traveled with this lady when she took an assignment in Moldova. I got this maid when she returned from there, and felt so lucky!

She took to my little girl and my son right away. I felt comfortable leaving them with her. She cleaned, ironed and did most things very well. As time rolled on, she moved in with us, with her then 13 year old daughter. It was like having a built in big sister/babysitter.

They were fun to have around. We bought a little extra food for them and they generally stayed out of our business when the evenings came around, unless we all wanted to hang out together and chat or watch tv with the kids, etc...

Well, after about the 2nd year, she started slacking off around the house a bit. The she started to get picky about what gifts I was going to bring for them when I traveled to the US. Well, I should have listened to my ever wise husband and let her go then and there...but it was too hard. I was very accustomed to her and her daughter in my house. The kids were extremely comfortable with them, which made it easy to do things outside of the house. Then the guilty feelings set in also. I couldn't imagine who she would get a job with, seeing as very few expats were coming in to Venezuela then because of certain aspects of the company.

Well, by the time we left, I knew that I had made the wrong decision in keeping her. She wanted everything from me and gave nothing in return in the end. She criticized the gifts that I gave her, she didn't clean very well and they both had an attitude towards me that made me extremely uncomfortable (which is hard when they are in MY house!).

It was not the best good-bye, though we have spoken since then, and the coldness has worn off through the years.

Next we have Brasil:

1. I only had one maid in Brasil...

and yes, I should have let her go along the way also.

Once again, she came recommended from an acquaintance. She worked hard in the beginning and always had a smile on her face. She sometimes sang around the house and generally took good care of the house. She was wonderful with my animals. I left her with the animals instead of a kennel a few times when we traveled. She was sweet with the kids, too.

So what went wrong? Well, she just didn't clean very well. I am not a good task master. I do not like to always have to tell people what they need to be doing. I couldn't understnad why things were not clean...where the time went and still by the end of a long day, the house was still not clean. She started showing up late and leaving early. Again, ever wise husband said, find another lady...and me, feeling guilty for this sweet, smiling friend that I just couldn't deny helping out.

That's what it is sometimes...you feel so much for these people. they are there, working and trying to scrape by on the money we give them. I feel like I am helping them so much when I pay them, and they have the biggest smiles on their face. You know that you are helping them put food on their table.

But in the end, they need to do their job also.

She stayed with us through the end, and even took Coal, our dog that couldn't make the trip to Atyrau. She stayed smiling and was always a help with the animals. We parted on good terms, even if my house wasn't always the cleanest.

Come to the here and now: Kazakhstan:

1. Well, I have been here since the end of October. I hired a maid within a few weeks of arriving, and I have let her go.

Yes, I made the decision on my own that she was not living up to her end of the bargain

(read: lazy, not really cleaning, not sure she liked the animals nor took care of them too well the 4 weeks we were away, etc...). I was not going to get a relationship going any longer if I knew that I was not happy with her services...and remember, I do not even have any of my belongings yet! Imagine when my furniture and knick-knacks get here! What then?!

If she could not keep my animals happy, that was a big downer also. We plan on traveling quite a bit while we are here, and there are not any kennels. I need someone to love my Bella and Tiger close to how I do.

So, I am proud of myself. I finally was able to separate myself from a maid, and really not feel too awful about it. Cold? No, just a good boss of a job that is now mine, but at least it is how I like it!

The realities of Jet lag....

2011-01-08T11:48:00.002-05:00

When one travels over 3 time zones, 4 days, and the dehydration that comes with flying...

how do you know "if" you are jet lagged?

You fall asleep after 3 minutes in a bathtub!

This is what happened to my son tonight.

We have traveled since Tuesday evening from Key West, arrived Friday evening to Atyrau, with ontime flights for the most part this time around.

We even spent a night in a hotel for a layover which helps a lot...

still, jet lag through all these time zones is a hard one to overcome, and tonight,

my son went in for a bath and fell asleep after 3 minutes...

snoring away!

At least we are back in our home without extra airline fees!

Happy Anniversary

2011-01-04T10:21:00.002-05:00

I want to wish my husband a Happy 14th Anniversary.

You and I have so much excitement, adventure and pure love for one another.

I hope that our life continues to move forward as it has these past 14 years.

I love you and I love us!

My new Macro

2011-01-03T15:29:00.005-05:00

My husband surprised me with a new macro lens that I have been wanting for my camera.

Here are some first shots that I took...

I love this lens! I enjoy looking at objects closely and trying to capture what I find fascinating.

Hope that you all had a festive New Year's Eve and that 2011 brings us all much happiness!

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T16:45:00.002-05:00

I would like to wish you and your families a wonderful 2011!

From our piece of paradise

Happy New Year!!

58 and sunny

2010-12-27T12:44:00.002-05:00

We are here!

We arrived without much hassle (finally no airport story!) to our house in Key West.

As you may recall, we were making some improvements to the lower level of our house by taking out some storage units and apartment. Well, it is finished, and we love it!

We tore down walls, put in pavers and finished off the ceilings with fans.

We still have a fence and gate to install, which we are hoping to have finished soon, but for now, this is such an improvement. It is so pretty!

I hope that everyone enjoyed their holiday. We certainly had a good gathering with our families.

Looking forward to the new year ahead of us...while still enjoying these last few days of 2010.

I'm ready early!

2010-12-22T20:37:00.004-05:00

Wow, for the first time in many years, I am bought, wrapped and ready to go for Christmas!

There are a couple that MUST wait for Christmas Eve for various reasons...

but really, other than those few, I am ready!

I am so happy to be finished. It means that now I have all of tomorrow to spend as my family and I want! We do not have to run around for anything (except to pick up a watch I had to have repaired) , think of any other presents....nothing.

Just relaxing with my husband, children and family...

(thank you to my husband for finding my Mom's present...it was the hardest and last present that I had to buy this year!)

oh, and go to the Steelers game again!

Yippee!!!

I hope that you are having a blissful holiday season!

Pittsburgh times ten!

2010-12-19T22:18:00.003-05:00

We had a Pittsburgh bonanza this afternoon!

My husband and I bought 2 tickets to see the Steeler game...

(yes, on top of the ones we had bought months ago for this upcoming Thursday!)

We had so much fun and had a true Pittsburgh feast...

Primanti's Bros. sandwiches, snowy flurries for the game, and my Steelers!

We lost, but that's ok...I was there! and it was GREAT!

Let's hope Thursday's night game has a better final score...

but the fun will be even greater because we will be sitting with family!

Go Steelers!

Airport Story #2 and #3

2010-12-15T13:12:00.004-05:00

We did not make the flight...

not even close.

Ok here is how it played out:

the flight was supposed to leave Atyrau at 9:30.

We had a connection in Istanbul to London at 1:10.

When I realized we would not make the connection I got on the phone to make the inevitable change. We switched to a flight at 4:40...

for the measly fare of over $2,700.

Well, we missed that connection by 14 minutes. Yes, we were delayed in Atyrau for 7 hours. The flight left Atyrau at 4:30 and arrived in Istanbul at 4:40 (due to time change differences, these are all times local to the landing city). By the time I got to the transfer desk, they informed me that British Airways left 14 minutes before. Now, I am not sure why they didn't check for incoming passengers, seeing as we already had our boarding passes...plus, I know of at least 2 more people expecting to go on that flight.

Anyways, got on the phone again, mind you, with roaming charges on a cell phone (can't wait to see that bill, NOT). They were nice ladies that were helping us luckily. They switched us to a Turkish Airways flight, costing somewhere close to $1,000. We got into London at 10:30 at night...so no Lion King, no Eye...

just a hotel, midnight snack of cookies and ice cream and to sleep for barely 5 hours to wake up for the next flight.

Woke up for breakfast at 5...and woke up is relative, seeing as I woke up every half hour through the night anyways. Had breakfast and went to Heathrow Airport. Fairly calm sailing until...

the attendant could not find the flight for us to NY. So, we went to the ticketing desk for help. They claim that when the flights were being switched, they transferred us to a British Airways flight to NY around the same time. Once again, they were nice ladies and helped us get back onto our original flight to NY on American Airlines. Relatively simple right?

Well, seemed so...until we went to collect our bags in NY (you have to collect your bags when entering the 1st US city from an International destination...even if they are checked through to your final destination)....no bags.

So, we mosey on over to the luggage desk, and they inform us that the bags are still in London, waiting for a flight to Chicago that will get them in there at 9:30 in the evening. Then at this point, they will send them on to Pittsburgh...

seriously people, this has not been the best trip for me.

Now, my family is incredibly calm and understanding, but I am not that calm.

I am looking forward to getting to Pittsburgh and relaxing, but then, I guess I have to do some early Christmas shopping, (or quick laundry), until our bags arrive.

'tis the season

Airport Story #1

2010-12-13T23:02:00.003-05:00

You knew it was coming:

the start of the Christmas travel season...

and my airport stories.

I decided to number this one, because I have this feeling that there may be more than one!

We were set to leave today, Tuesday at 9:30 am. We were connecting in Istanbul and then onto London. We had lovely plans to spend the evening in London riding the London Eye

and then off to watch The Lion King musical. Then our travels would continue the following morning through JFK and finally into Pittsburgh.

Well, as of going to sleep last night, (Monday), the flight was already delayed, but only by a couple of hours, still allowing us time to make the connection. Unfortunately, when I woke up this morning to check on the estimated departure, it is delayed even further.

We will miss our connection to London.

There is another flight leaving Istanbul later, but I fear that we may miss that one also. Let's try to keep positive thoughts going so that we make that flight!

At least then we may still get to take the children on the Eye..

The Shutterfly Free 50

2010-12-10T22:45:00.003-05:00

Hello blogger friends and fans...

yes, it is that time of year again. The time when memories are cherished just a little more, warm feelings invade our thoughts and hearts, and hopefully, selflessness is a word that does not usually come in to my mind, but rather, the world becomes a bit more giving.

We all like to share our holidays with family and friends, and of course, sharing of ourselves through our blogs. So this year, I want to share with you my participation in a promotion by Shutterfly. For writing this post I am going to be able to receive 50 Christmas cards, for free!

This is not the first time that I use these cute cards that Shutterfly offers. I have used their Christmas cards for many years. I always seem to hear compliments from friends and family like...."Look how cute these cards are!" "We look forward to your card every year!"

Another favorite amongst our families are Shutterfly's calendars. Every year for Christmas we give each family member a calendar full of pictures from throughout our past year. Shutterfly is easy to use, so this calendar is as simple as uploading the pictures and finding the perfect arrangement for them. You also can personalize specific dates to reflect birthday, anniversaries and anything else you'd like to remember. Since we live so far away from our families, this is a perfect reminder of us each day when they look at our photos.

Shutterfly has also helped me in my gift giving...and not just for Christmas! My Mother and Mother in law have benefitted numerous times on Mother's Day. Shutterfly has helped me design photo mugs and even a cute purse with a photo of our children. Grandmas certainly LOVE that to carry around!

Well, Shutterfly has been there to help me! There are many more ideas for photo gifts also...

so take a look through their site, and find the perfect card, mug and gift that fits you and your family!

Thank you Shutterfly! Enjoy browsing friends!

Freeze

2010-12-10T09:40:00.000-05:00

The Ural River is starting to freeze!

I guess the weather is finally staying cool enough overnight that the freeze is setting in.

I hear that later in the winter season you can actually drive a car on this River!

Amazing, isn't it? I can't wait to have that photo opportunity!

Today's morning temp, when I took these pictures, was 19F, -7C

counting down

2010-12-09T07:20:00.002-05:00

I am in such a Merry mood...

I have been playing Christmas tunes and even doing some slight decorating

(all of my Christmas decorations are on their way here, so not much this year!)

with a few bits and pieces that I found at the local grocery store!

The kids had their first caroling and it was just slightly cold. Then they had their parties and Christmas concert. It is such a festive time of year, and I love it!

I think trees are one of my favorite images of Christmas...

Counting down until our travels

5 more days!

Different signs(not so wordless, though!)

2010-12-08T04:27:00.005-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

I can only understand this to mean:

No sardines or bottles for the next 35M

From what I understand from folks that have lived here for a little longer than we have, especially during the winter months, when there is a lot of ice and snow, cold temperatures, and they are still fishing and enjoying the Ural River...

there is a lot of discarding of Vodka bottles and sardine cans!

Should be interesting!

My morning wake up

2010-12-06T05:17:00.004-05:00

Seeing as we are 10 hours ahead of EST, I get to wake up a little early when my Steelers play an evening game.

I haven't posted about them much this year,

but last night's win was another great game between these two tough hitting football teams. I still have watched every game though I may not have enlightened you with the stats like I used to do!

My Steelers came out with the win and the lead in the AFC North:

Steelers 13

Baltimore Ravens 10

This was an important game, partially, it always is since Baltimore is in our division, but also because this year both teams were with 8 wins, 3 losses. This helped decide who is the leader going into the last few games before the playoffs.

I am excited also because we are going to the game on the 23rd against the Carolina Panthers.

It should be cold, and I am hoping for snow....I really want to be sitting in the stadium with snow flurries! I know, I am crazy right?! But that is Steeler football to me...

snowy, cold, rough and strong defense!

Go Steelers!

December 1st

2010-12-01T06:34:00.003-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

I so enjoy that song this time of year!

The air is getting chilly here. The days still have been incredibly warm, hovering around 54 degrees, unheard of for this time of year!

But today, my husband sent me a note of a winter weather advisory for an area fairly close to Atyrau! The night time wind chills are expected to drop well below zero and there is a chance of snow!

I am actually quite excited to experience this...even if it does mean the start of a long winter!

There are a few decorations going up around camp and around the city...I only have pictures of these blow up figures, but there are Christmas trees and lights hanging around, too.

We have caroling and Christmas concerts coming up this weekend...

exciting times are upon us;

including getting ready to leave for the US to spend Christmas with our families in a few weeks!

I love this time of year! ho, ho ho :)

So what is a camp anyways?

2010-11-25T04:04:00.004-05:00

Camp life...what I have been talking about this past month and how we are living....

Are you thinking that we have these super high tech tents set up for us? Maybe a commune type of house similar to a Big Brother house?

No...this is our "camp".

We all have a townhome with pretty fenced -in yards. There is a large field for the kids to run and play in, as well as a playground and outdoor swimming pool for the hot summer months.

Here are the indoor tennis courts and indoor swimming pool.

There is a clubhouse that has a restaurant open a few times a week, pool tables, and a reading/craft/tv area.

The kids can ride their bikes to school when the weather allows...which, so far, has mostly been sunny and really pretty despite the cool air!

This is the school gym, which is also used for events, like tonight's Thanksgiving dinner.

We will all gather here tonight and I will post the pictures tomorrow of it!

I am thankful for my family, our health and the wonderful opportunities that we have been

given and Blessed with this Thanksgiving Day!

Hope you are enjoying you Thanksgiving!

Intricacies of a camp life

2010-11-17T21:53:00.003-05:00

It is different living on a camp.

I usually like to give my whole self, but sometimes maybe that's not always the best thing to do.

Like any relationship/friendship that is just starting, sometimes you find awkward moments when you are not sure how much to give or how much to hold.

Here on a camp, where there about 75-80 families, some with kids, some without, it is even a little trickier. You think that you have found friends that are willing to learn about you and give some of their selves out also....

but then you just are not sure how far to go.

Your news is spread far and wide...good or bad, happy or sad.

I have found a nice group...but still, I am a little worried that I give too much too quickly. I am who I am, and I rarely hold anything back. I think I need to learn to do just that...not give too much, and not trust too quickly.

When you live any expat life, I think you learn that you really don't want to give all of yourself. At least not in the first days anyways. You know that there will be some people that make a difference in your life, and some that you can really do without. You learn and trust fairly quickly, because at any given moment, you or they may leave.

If you don't take a chance and trust your instincts. then you may feel very lonely.

I hope that I have made the right choices...only time will tell.

Two down and one to go...

2010-11-14T07:17:00.002-05:00

The animals arrived on schedule today.

It was quite interesting...

after 7 days of travel, and 4 weeks without me,

I'm not sure Bella even knew who was taking her out of her cage!

Once she got inside the house and actually listened and turned around to see, she started howling.

Then my daughter and I gave her a bath, and she was so calm. She doesn't like the water really anyways, but she still was a very good girl. She moaned a little while combing her...I took it as she was telling me all her woes from this past month.

Now, she seems content to be home, but still very new to the surroundings. It will take awhile for her to get used to it all.

And Tiger? She ran out of her cage, found the litter box, and has been hiding under covers and under the beds ever since this morning.

It is good to have them here. I missed them.

and now, this also means that my husband will be here in the equivalent of one hand...5 days.

We are all on the countdown, and wishing we could make time move a little quicker,

just this once :)

Dinner is served

2010-11-11T12:10:00.003-05:00

A lady here offered to hold cooking classes for the children.

On Monday, my daughter made smoothies. We had them for dinner that night and

they were yummy!

Tonight, my son made us dinner:

Stromboli

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

It was so good...

I may have a chef in the making!

The animals are on their way...

2010-11-09T22:00:00.003-05:00

Well, at least they have started their 7 day long journey.

Tiger

and Bella

flew on Monday to Sao Paulo, and spent the night in the kennel there. Tuesday, they supposedly left for Amsterdam, but I am getting conflicting reports on whether the plane left or not.

I know it was delayed, but have not figured out if it actually left yet!

I hope so, poor babies!

I would not want to be locked up in a cage while delays take place. The flight is already extremely long for them, around 10 hours I think!

They will then spend a night in Amsterdam, and fly on Thursday evening to

Almaty, Kazakhstan, arriving Friday morning.

Then they will have to spend two night in Almaty, not sure why exactly they can't fly on Saturday, but...they fly into Atyrau on Sunday morning...we hope.

Do you think they get frequent flier miles?

Book Review: Angels in My Hair

2010-11-07T22:20:00.002-05:00

I have to write to tell you all about a wonderful book by Lorna Byrne called:

"Angels in My Hair"

It is Lorna's personal story of her experiences with the Angels and God. I know some of you are doubting me already, but I loved this book.

It spoke to me personally, touching on a few subjects that are close to my heart.

I recommend it and hope that you can see after reading this book, that we all have our Angel with us, and we just need to talk to them to let them know that we believe.

Maybe if more of us talked with our Angel,listened to our Angel, we could learn about how to get along.

There is so much war and hurt in this world; so much wrongdoing from one human being against another....we need to figure out how to live in peace with one another, respecting each other, loving each other.

Air shipment and roses!

2010-11-05T09:09:00.002-04:00

Well it was an exciting day Wednesday to receive our air shipment.

This is the shipment that is sent along first, very small in size, that is supposed to contain some of your favorite things.

We packed a few favorite kitchen items, the cat toy (which made me laugh when it came bouncing out with it's balls on springy metal things), clothes, and of course, about a zillion stuffed dolls that my daughter put in!

It is nice to use our own plates again, and to feel just the little bit like the home is coming together. We will not have our other shipment for at least 2-4 months...so that will be a long time to wait for the comforts of home!

Me being the forever florist, I also packed a few vases into the shipment and good thinking on my part because for the 2nd week in a row I have received these from my wonderful husband! We only have 2 more weeks to be apart, and I hope it flies as quick as these past two weeks have!

November 1st

2010-11-01T12:01:00.002-04:00

Have you seen my cool, new weather widget to the right?

Did you notice what it says tonight?

Snow!

Yes, November 1st, and there is a little bit of wet snow falling. The kids screamed with delight!

It is probably a little too warm to stick, but it means that the promises of snow are forthcoming!

Happy November 1st...

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T02:11:00.002-04:00

It was certainly a fun filled evening here last night.

My kids got to go trick or treating, for real...house to house, pillow cases in hand and really receiving more sweets and treats than any dentist could be more thrilled about!

They then went and exchanged candy for silly bands and for other favorite candies, watched a Halloween movie and were so excited all the way back to the house!

So, whether you celebrated yesterday, or are getting ready for tonight, have a

Happy Spooky Halloween!

Sunrise

2010-10-28T23:36:00.002-04:00

The sunrise this morning was beautiful over the Ural River.

The sky appeared as if it was on fire!

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Tweaks

2010-10-28T09:01:00.002-04:00

I probably should think about changing my closet a little...

now, don't worry Honey, I am not going out and buying a whole new wardrobe, but...

black and tights/leggings are definitely the norm on the street.

I usually wear bright colors from living in Rio, but felt a bit awkward today, when I went out.

First of all, I should mention that I went out for the first time by myself today.

I called the driver company that works for us here, they came and picked me up, and took me to where I needed to go.

I was in my rose pink track suit...

boy, did I stick out like a sore thumb.

The good thing is that I did go to a new grocery store that I liked a lot. It reminded me of one in the US really...not as many choices or different products than the other stores here, but just bigger aisles and very clean.

Food is tricky, well...everything is tricky since this is the first foreign country that I have lived in where I do not understand the labels! I wish that I knew how to spell "salt" in Russian or Kazakh. I really prefer salted butter. There is an English type here but I can only find the "unsalted" variety!

Oh well...I will keep trying new things!

Lunch, the old fashioned way

2010-10-25T03:37:00.002-04:00

I remember when I was in grade school, my Grandma came to pick me up every Wednesday for lunch. We used to go to a really close restaurant called the Point View.

It is such a special memory that I still hold onto today.

Today, my children came home for lunch, as they will every day while we live here. It was nice to see them, hear about their day and their new friends, teachers and subjects. It was really good to see what they are actually eating for lunch.

Plus, since they ate fairly quickly, we got to finish our game of Yahtzee!

Change can be good...

Freedom

2010-10-23T02:32:00.002-04:00

It is a word that has much meaning in our lives and in our society...

for me and my family right now, it is the pure joy in my children's voices.

"Mom, she's here!"

"Mom, I'm going out for a walk to see who is out in the neighborhood so that we can play"

They had this when they were very young, but for the last 8 years, it has been a task to call and make a "date" with their little friends, find them a ride or drive them there ourselves, and then going back for them, or having someone pick up their child from our house.

Now, it seems like they are little birds that have just found their wings and

are already experts at flight!

It makes it so enjoyable to be here.

I'm here..and with internet and a working blog!! (and of course a few airport stories!)

2010-10-22T02:51:00.002-04:00

Yes, the blog works!

I guess that temporary residence we stayed in the last time we came didn't have the same set up as you can get personally.

So, the internet man came this morning, hooked me up, and here we are!

So, yesterday went fairly smoothly but there is always an airport story, right?!

Leaving Rio was challenging. We had to go from Rio-Sao Paulo-Amsterdam-Atyrau.

We needed to collect our bags in Sao Paulo, so that KLM could send them striaght through to Atyrau, since our connection was only 45 minutes in Amsterdam.

Well, the local Brasilian airline didn't want to do that. They said the travel agent didn't book the flight right and that they had to send the bags to Amsterdam.

Well, after much discussion with supervisors, my husband and the travel agent, they finally decided that they could do that. Luckily we made the plane on time, were able to pick up our bags in Sao Paulo and be on our way.

The flights were fairly non eventful. My kids (and me!) loved traveling in business class. It makes such a difference on the long haul flights. the flight from Sao Paulo to Amsterdam took 11 hours...and being able to lay your seat almost flat is amazing!

The 45 minute stop was not a problem as I was worried it would be. The gates were fairly close, and we made it without too much effort.

When we land in Atyrau, everything went smoothly with the passports and visas, but we were missing 4 out of 5 bags.

I guess the 45 minute layover wasn't enough for them! So, we had to wait in line (several people were missing their luggage actually) and fill out a form. We should get them on tonight's flight....but we shall see.

So here are a few photos of the house we have...

my daughter is still sleeping (it's almost noon here!), and my son is out playing nerf gun battles with some new friends...life should be good here. I'm excited...I just hope that the month without my husband goes by quickly!

So long, farewell...

2010-10-19T20:16:00.002-04:00

The house is packed, the boxes loaded and ready to move on...

just as I am. Tomorrow starts a long journey, a new adventure.

It is hard to say good bye twice, but I know that those that I really care about, I will see again, which is comforting.

So, me and the kids are off! My husband will join us in about a month....

the animals, well, that chapter still is to be written!

As I said before, I'm not sure if I can work out my blog in Atyrau; so if you don't hear from me for awhile, I promise to be back. I will work on it as soon as I have a chance!

As they say in Russian:

Dasvidania!!

In the middle of it all

2010-10-16T16:19:00.003-04:00

As promised...

here are a couple of shots of the packers doing their thing...

The first day seemed to go well, the second seemed slow...so that brought about their bringing 3 extra people on Friday! It went quicker, but to me, there is still a lot to go.

I realized how much "stuff" we had as I keep seeing them pack, and pack, and pack...

Friday they also loaded a truck with what they had inventoried so far...

It is a bit trickier because we have things going to 2 different spots...

most of the "stuff" inside of all the furniture is going with us to Atyrau; while the furniture itself, and a few bits and pieces that we want for the Key West house, is going to the US.

I think it should work out well...I guess I'll let you know in about 3 months.

Yep, that's the estimated time it takes to receive your goods...it's hard thinking of what to pack when you know you won't see any of it for a long time.

Mostly we took only what we think we will need...

you know those weight limitations on suitcases kill world travelers like us!

Anyways, they will finish up next Monday and Tuesday, and then the kids and I are off to our new adventure! My husband and animals will join us a little later...which will be hard, but hopefully the time will pass by quickly.

More to come on the move next week! Hope you are having a good weekend!

One amazing story and others

2010-10-13T06:53:00.003-04:00

Are you watching the rescue of the miners in Chile?

I find it amazing that they have been so successful in their mission.

May God bless them and their families and help them through the aftermath of their ordeal!

Every man that comes out brings tears to my eyes...

We start packing today...I will try to snap some pictures and report tonight.

A sad part of our transition is having to say good bye to our older dog Coal yesterday. He is going to a loving home with my maid. Coal really loves her and the reality of the situation is that it would have been a very difficult trip for him. Plus, being 10 years old and trying to deal with the harsh winters of Atyrau may have been too much for him. So we made the tough decision to leave him here. It was a teary farewell but one I feel is best for him, which should always be most important when caring for an animal.

(This is not the best photo, but it seems it is the only one I can find right now)

Done!

2010-10-10T15:13:00.003-04:00

You know, when I was at the hair dresser on Wednesday, it went too smoothly.

I went in and was out in about 3 hours, fairly normal.

I felt chicken that I didn't get my hair short right then and there...but now, I realize it was the better decision.

I went home, found the hair cut from that I wanted, with photo angles from front, side and back, and now felt more confident by Saturday.

So, I made the appointment right after one of my good friends here had her appointment.

She was scheduled for 3...me for 7. Except, where did I wake up today?

Right, Brasil...in the land of the perpetually late hair dresser.

My friend had to wait until 4, because he had her scheduled for 4. So I went to keep her company before my cut (secretly hoping he could cut mine while she was having hair coloring processed) but nope...one at time so he could take his time. Fair enough...

except that she didn't start her appointment until almost 5. So, I left and had dinner with my family and went back...

around 9 we finally started on my cut.

I was not worried in the least, so it must have been better for me to wait until I was really sure that was what I wanted. I really like it!! It feels different. I like to change my hair and it is really changed!

Here I am:

Houses, hair and hectic

2010-10-07T10:53:00.003-04:00

That pretty much sums up my life right now!

I had my hair done yesterday by my favorite hair dresser here.

There is always drama with him, but he gives a good cut.

The problem yesterday was me...not the time (for a change!)

Remember last time it took 6 hours? Well it only took 3 yesterday...and really, the first 1/2 hour we were chatting the whole time!

So, the debate yesterday was do I go for a complete change and cut it short. I mean SHORT!

Well, I chickened out...but he offered me a free cut if I decide to do it before I leave in a couple of weeks. I keep looking at photos of Michelle Williams new hair do...you can google it, and I think I'm going to do it!

See, my philosophy on hair is that it grows! When I was a dancer I couldn't cut my hair. I had to have it long...and well, ever since I stopped dancing 12 years ago,

I have always changed my hair.

I have had it short before and liked it....

I have had it long and liked it...

right now, I have had my hair long for quite some time. I know it looks pretty...

everyone tells me how pretty it is.

For me, it is not about pretty. Pretty comes from the inside, and I think I still "look pretty" with my hair short or long.

What I want is a change I think. I'm tired of blow drying it the same way every time.

I know short hair has a lot of upkeep, but I am ok with that.

Anyways, the decision isn't made yet...but it is certainly looking like a short do is in store for me! (and if I do it, I will take a picture and break my rule of no personal photos on my blog!)

My friend Carol asked about packing...

yes, it has started. I technically do not have to pack anything except my personal belongings.

I do need to start putting Post-it notes on where items are going though. Most of our belongings will come with us, but quite a bit of the big pieces are going to storage in the US.

The air shipment was packed on Monday. No food allowed, not even cat/dog food.

Uh-oh...looks like it will be some home cooked meals for the animals too!

It went smoothly though, and it should be on it's way to meet us there!

The sea shipment starts next week. Wish me luck with separating what goes where and making the gentleman understand all of it!

and finally...we found out which townhouse will be ours!

This was much anticipated news because there was a small debate going on.

(I will spare you the details!)

We are having a townhouse that overlooks the Ural River. I am very excited about this because it allows us some more privacy in our back yard. Plus, it is at the far end of the camp...which means I will feel like I can "get away" at least a little bit. Also, it will allow me some great pictures (I hope!) of the Ural River, especially once it freezes over completely!

Things are going well!!!