a plaksey life

gobble, gobble

2011-11-24T05:08:00.000-05:00

happy turkey day!! and why "happy turkey"? because we are having ham for dinner =)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

some lessons i am learning...

2011-11-05T00:13:00.000-04:00

****

smokey hot lips...

2011-10-21T17:15:00.000-04:00

reason #304 why i love portland; discovering the amazing foods it has to offer! yes, portland IS weird and we're proud of it! and that pride shows in our food. i mean, of course we would be the ones to think of bacon on doughnuts & put salmon on pizza. so, finding all of these amazing places are addicting. of course, the downside is smaller wallets and wider hips. but, it's worth the sacrifice. another place we decided to try was "hot lips pizza".

they have wickedly good pizza. but what they're known for is...

their homemade, natural, locally grown and bottled SODA! now, i am not a pop fan. but, this stuff was

ah-ma-zing!!

and, as you can see, i was not the only one loving on them. i even found out they will fill up a growler full of soda for 8 bucks...yep, i'm there.

not so good were the skies driving home. at this point, we had some major forest fires going on near us. as we drove over the columbia river, we saw the smoke hovering above us. yeah, kinda' an icky way to end a happy day, but at least our bellies were full.

my type of market...

2011-10-13T23:28:00.000-04:00

i admit it...i am obsessed with farmers markets. there...i said it.

i, seriously, cannot get enough. i tried to make it there as often as i could for their fresh and local fruits and veggies.

but, let's be honest, they have amazing goodies too!

the farmers at this table said they got a little bored after setting up. as a child of the 80's, i gave them much respect for this...

YELL OOOOOOO!!! go ducks!!...

these are some of THEE best cookies i ever had!! the salty chocolate cookies were a-ma-zing...

shhhhhhh! baby sleeping...

lori doing her impersonation of "squidward"...i'm so glad i'm not the only child-adult i know!

so, now that it's october, the farmers markets are starting to close up shop. where in the world will i go now on saturday mornings for fresh eggplant? or green beans?...or peanut butter creamy crunch cookies?

things you don't see everyday...

2011-09-25T22:41:00.000-04:00

"yeah, i really don't need this seat anymore..."

either this is the stupidest spider attaching its' home against a bottle of chemicals made to kill it...or that is the bravest insect i have ever seen!

shucking corn, i pulled back some husks and saw this... who knew corn could have babies?

i've seen some rotten fruit do some nasty crap...but i have never seen one implode before!

how did this water drop land and make this shape? it's as cute as a button! ha!...get it?...fine, don't laugh.

i'm just full of wisdom...

2011-09-18T06:31:00.001-04:00

so, as soon as our dental insurance kicked in, i made an appointment with a local dentist because i had all 4, yes all 4 of my wisdom teeth that needed to be taken out. it got to the point where i couldn't bite down without making a hole in my cheek.

yeah, fun times!

i counted down the days! i couldn't wait. it was like Christmas morning for me.

i think the worst part was the numbing up...i really hate that feeling. that and the sound of the tooth being ripped out.

that. was. creepy.

and this was me, just after getting them pulled, mouth full of cotton.

the cool part was, they let me KEEP MY TEETH!! they are so awesome to look at. i made everyone in the office look at them, like a proud mama with her babies. the bad part? a few weeks after they came out, my one gum was swollen and hurting. when i was trying to flush whatever that was in there that was causing the pain, i saw this fly out...

yep, that would be a piece of a tooth!! a piece of tooth that was stuck in my gum for weeks. yep. just my luck.

but, at least i don't bite holes in my cheeks anymore.

ahoy, matey!

2011-09-03T04:02:00.001-04:00

ever leave a place and think to yourself (or say out loud),

"*sigh* can we please go back there soon?"

this was black butte, oregon, an amazing resort illya and i went to with my mom and step father (or, as i like to call him "step daddy wayne") for 4 amazing days. we did many activities, including introducing my mom and illya to the very zen activity that is canoeing.

now, i haven't done this IN YEARS! but, it all came back to me the minute my paddle hit the water. once i gave him a few tips, illya did very well...

my mom, not so much...you could hear her screaming from the other side of the lake,

"wayne!! we're about to hit the shore! what do i do?!"

why is it that, in these situations, my mothers panic makes my laugh?

as we got out of the boat, illya said,

"i'm ready to go canoeing again!"

...amen!

laughed so hard, i need to tinkle!...

2011-08-18T00:58:00.003-04:00

okay, this bathroom cracked me up so much that i used my phone to take pictures of it. i'm tempted to do the same in my bathroom...i don't think the apartment managers would like it as much as i would, though...

the sterling silver lining...

2011-08-05T02:00:00.001-04:00

traveling to utah for a funeral of a family member who was too young to leave us is never easy.

but, if we learned anything from his short life here on earth, it is to treasure the beauty around us...

...he taught us to enjoy our friends...

...and family...

...but, most of all, he showed us how important it is to find humor in every situation!

we love you, ster fry! thanks for being such an amazing example to us all.

2 lips...

2011-07-16T02:14:00.002-04:00

summer here in the northwest has been pretty gloomy.
so, i was looking back and playing with pictures from trips to two local tulip farms to cheer me up and add a punch of color on these grey days.

the 4th...

2011-07-13T01:27:00.001-04:00

illya, after 5 mintues of being on bethany's boat: "i wanna' boat."

bethany: "you know what's better than having your own boat? having a friend that has their own boat!"

aye, aye, captain! truer words have never been said!!

camping on the river? boating with friends? watching fireworks from the water?

best 4th ever!!

even hank was enjoying the wind in his hair

here's chelsea and illya in their patriotic shorts

(God bless america!)

after "extreme tubing", we were all so tuckered out...

when nightfall finally came, it was time for the show...

seriously...best.4th.ever!

there are no words...

2011-01-18T23:43:00.007-05:00

so, i tried to log into my blogger account and i actually sat there dumbfounded...i couldn't remember my password! how sad is that?! that shows that it has been far too long.

a lot has happened the last couple of months since i've been on here. one of the things is that we moved....again!! (i know, naomi, nothing comes even close to how many times you have packed up your car with boxes and kids!) i am in love with our apartment. it's almost where we want it to be. now we have to work on our garage (it looks like a natural disaster hit it!).

the other thing is, I'M 30!! yep, goodbye 20's and hello the big 3-0. wow! life does go by fast. i'm, actually, excited for my 30's. i think this is going to be a decade for change and learning who i really am.

i have SOOO many pictures to show you all. but, not this time. i'm going to make you wait even longer (i know you are all on pins and needles just wanting to see what's been going on with the plaskey family). but, i will show you what we are addicted to....

our friends showed us these youtube videos... you don't even know how addicting these songs are!!

original "hide your kids"

the remake of "hide your kids"

and illya's favorite...

original "back it up"

(this lady is crazy!!)

the remake of "back it up"

here is my obsession. it's a website where they have tons of these blunt cards. illya and i were crying because we were laughing so hard at them. here's some goodies....

the great summer recap (or "let the picture fest begin!")

2010-09-14T15:48:00.001-04:00

well, you wanted it so you're getting it...okay, i know none of you asked for this. but, hey!

no one asks for a cold either

so, think of this post as the once a year pain in the butt you all just have to push through. at least this one is done a lot sooner than a sinus infection...

and, on that note...

camping!

illya never went camping before he came to the u.s. and once being introduced to it, he's been in love with it ever since. for me, we did a lot of camping growing up as a family

(mainly because it was the cheapest vacation our parents could go on with us. which, i know it's true because now that they are older and have money, both my parents refuse to go anywhere near a tent!)

this summer, between working hard and living on a budget, we still were able to squeeze in several camping trips.

our first trip was a wet one! we tried lighting a fire and was poured out. so we went to bed early, hoping to sleep out the rain. by the time we woke up, our sight looked like this...

...one giant mud puddle. we decided to salvage the rest of the weekend by picking up camp (literally! we were too lazy to take down the tent, so we each took a side and carried it down the road) and re-camped at a drier sight.

it still rained off and on, but it was nothing us north westerners couldn't handle...

...well, except for lucy. she preferred her camping experience in the dry and warm car.

but, it was all worth it for these amazing views at the beach

parades!

one of the things i missed the most the last two summers working with apx is the starlight and grand floral parade in portland. my favorite is the grand floral because we wake up super early (3am this year) to get a good spot, sleep on the side walks like bums and eat like crap while watching the sun come up over this beautiful city of ours.

this year, it was just illya, my mom and i. and we had a blast! we walked down to starbucks to pump ourselves with caffeine and then we walked down to one of THEE BEST donut shops ever

voodoo donuts

oh, man, i love this place! they have awesome cereal donuts (yep, it literally is donuts with captain crunch and coco puffs on top), one named "the memphis mafia", a fried cinnamon/sugar/banana donut with peanut butter and chocolate frosting

(or, as i like to call it "gain 5 pounds in 5 minutes" donut)

and, one of my favorites, the bacon maple donut! ...

...don't "ew" until you try it! it's, seriously, like a pancake with syrup and bacon breakfast all wrapped up in one!

once we were charged up by our lattes and our pants were undone to make room for the donuts, the parade stared. here my wonderful marmy is posing with some japanese dancers.

(as you can see, we are fans of u of o in our house. go ducks!)

and, yes, that is what you think it is...male impersonators of reba and cher...only in portland

(man, i love this city!)

4th of july!

we did another camping trip, this time outside seaside oregon, so we could be there for one of thee most amazing firework shows ever! this is another childhood memory i have and i love to be able to share it with illya.

apart of the fun is just waiting for nightfall. again, you sit,

play,

shop

and pig out

(do you see a pattern here when it comes to doing events with my family? a lot of food, people!...a lot)

the day was almost perfect except for one small detail...it was freakin' freezing!! it literally didn't get above 60 degrees the whole day. and, as you can see on my face below, i wasn't too happy about the lack of sun!...

but, all in all, we had a blast

(and don't let the picture fool ya'. i really do love kids!)

"sand in the city"

every summer, our city brings in truck loads of sand to our square and has professional sand sculptors create scenes there in the heart of portland. all the money for entrance goes to charity. and it's so worth it!

you could say it's sand-freakin'-tastic...yep, i went there.

well, there's just a taste of our summer. thanks for taking a stroll with us.

let's hope you don't have to do the same when fall is over!

illya makes it BIG (or "i'd like to thank the little people...")

2010-08-25T00:43:00.006-04:00

a few months back, illya was asked to be an extra on a tv show that films here in portland, "leverage". it's one of our favorite shows to watch together, so illya was pretty excited when he got the call.

he went through wardrobe,

did hours of sitting,

ate lunch with the cast

and had to do several takes until the director was happy with all the options he had to pick from for the editing process. all of this for about 3 seconds of air time.

ah, the life of a tv star!

(yep, that's my husbands big head!)

congrats, illya! glad you had so much fun experiencing the background life of tv filming...now don't forget to thank your wife first when you give your speech after receiving your emmy!

the latest happenings...

2010-08-17T13:34:00.006-04:00

yes, this time last year, i was posting several times a month on our blog. this time last year, we were doing activities almost everyday that deserved a shout out with some posted pictures. this time last year, i was tan, buff and well rested....

well, that was last year!

life has gotten busy for the plakseys. since february, i have been working as a private duty care giver for the elderly (or, as my sister so lovely calls me,"the granny nanny".) this summer, i have been doing 40-50+ hours a week. for the last several weeks (and for another month-month and a half) i am living 24 hours a day, 4 days a week with an elderly man with dementia while his daughter (his day to day caregiver) is on the east coast. this man is a doll! you know how some babies are so cute because they look like old men? well, this great grandpa looks like a baby, right down to the barely there hair! he is also funny as hell! one day, while we were talking at the breakfast table, he looks over at me and asks,"say...didn't we fool around on an airplane once?" (i mentioned he has dementia, right?). i put my pointer finger on my chin, squinted my eyes and answered,"i don't know...hard to say...i've fooled around with many men in my day.....you do look familiar, though...you could've been one of them." this earned me a chuckle and a wink from him.

as much as i am loving being with this man (mainly because he goes to bed at 8pm and wakes up at noon ready for breakfast!), i am missing my home terribly. now, illya and i are not ones to shout out our love for one another for everyone to hear. PDA is something those crazy teenagers do! our public affections for one another include punching each other in the arms or, playfully calling each other "retard" or "dork" (don't mock! it works for us!). we keep our gentle, sweet sides for just us to see. but, i do have to say that i am missing him terribly. this last week, i only had 2 days off, one of which, he had to work overtime. thank heavens for text messaging!

as i stated, illya has a job!! we really thought and prayed about what to do this summer. our answer was for him to go to school and work here. well, the idea of summer school was squashed, thanks to our idiotic government and their greencard process, which allows us to get government loans for school (long story, but they said we were in the wrong, we said they were in the wrong. several months later, we got a letter in the mail with them telling us they were in the wrong. *sigh* morons!). he also has been looking for a full time job. but, with portlands job market being so horrible right now, it has been tougher than we thought! after months and months of not finding anything, we decided that maybe it's time to look at jobs in other states. so, we applied for some positions in texas and colorado. the very next day, illya got a call saying they needed some help at a printing company 10 minutes down the road from us. go figure! he is loving the work, and it seems as if they are really loving him. we are hoping he'll get hired on after his 3 month temp position. it is a great, fair company that treats their employees with respect (something that is new to us! =) if and when he gets hired on, we both will be looking into school.

illya has also been busy with his photography as well. not only is he getting new clients, but he has a lot of returning ones as well. we are excited that people are being able to see his talent and put it to good use. we also heard from someone who saw his work at the winery and wants to have him show his art at the newberg public center. not only that, but she wants to see if he is interested in teaching classes there for people who want to learn more about photography. i really hope this happens. i really think he'd be great at it.

with all of this, we are still trying to squeeze in time with family and friends and social events. this next weekend, we are volunteering at a bbq fest, and the weekend after that, i am doing the portland to coast relay. i'm so nervous and so excited for this! i'll let you know what happens with that (if i survive it).

well, i hear my elderly man waking up at the crack of 11:30am, so i must go! hope to post pics of this summers events soon!

barely alive and kinda' kicking~

sarah and illya

my husband is so talented part 3...

2010-06-22T00:32:00.008-04:00

my husband is just so freakin' amazing! he was asked to be june's "local artist of the month" at
anne amie vineyards
they are choosing painters/sketchers/photographers who are from the portland area and selling their work. i am super excited for illya to be apart of this experience.
can i just shout it from the rooftops how awesome my hubby is one more time?? oh, let's be honest, this won't be the last time i talk about his talents. i'm so glad people are seeing you gift, my illusha!

(check out his photo website or blog for more breathtaking shots)

belated tulip farm

2010-06-08T14:55:00.002-04:00

i know, i know, it's been waaay too long. i've been busy working nonstop, so everything has been put on the back burner, including our blog. so, before i head to bed to catch up on some sleep, i wanted to share our pictures of the canby tulip festival...

illya and i took our friends heather, lindsay and her baby "chops". we had such a blast! it was a perfect day with great friends.
i truly love this place and i am so glad we didn't miss it this year.

the big 3-Ohhhhhh....

2010-04-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

well, my dear, the time has come. the moment you've been dreading. i hate to say this (not really), but it has happened. you are now, officially 30! wow...you're old. i still can't believe we are now hitting this milestone. be happy to know that you don't look a day over 35 =). thank you so much for everything you do for me. i really hope your day is a great one. oh, and, even though i tease you for your age, i really do hate that you are getting older...because you're taking me with you and i don't like it!!!

it has sprung...

2010-04-20T00:01:00.006-04:00

it's spring! yay!...

...it's spring. boooooo!

i'm officially dying here. i'm going to go OD on nyquil now...
someone wake me when it hits summer.

~ sarah =(

lesson learned...

2010-04-13T22:52:00.003-04:00

call it "karma", call it "the universe", call it "The Almighty"...whatever you believe in, It seems to get a thrill out of throwing us life lessons. and, if we don't heed to these lessons, it will inject these lessons into our lives over and over until we finally realize how to do things the right way.

i am one of those slow people who never get it the first time around...or second...or fifth. it takes about 10 times of getting a huge, atomic wedgie for me until i can smack my palm to my forehead and mutter,"duh! i get it now."

one lesson i have yet to learn? procrastinating is bad.

when we took in our blazer to get the oil changed, we were told that it needed a new water pump soon. total cost for part and repair; $450 big ones...yeeeeeaaaah, we're going to wait on that one. thanks.

with illya not working, us planning on him going to school soon, and money coming back to us from our taxes, we decided to use the return money to fix it and protect our little savings account by not having it dipped into. that sounded very adult-like, right? i thought suze orman would be proud. so, we forgot about it (for now) and moved on.

awhile back, our blazer had a rock spit at its' windshield, which caused a tiny ding to form. a few days later, that small, quarter-sized ding spread its' wings and created a spiderweb-like orb, circling our entire windshield. great! thank goodness for 100 buck deductibles! oh, and yes, now we're REALLY going to put off that new, shiny $450 water pump.

the next day, with our new window in tow, i headed to work. while waiting at the light to get onto the freeway on ramp, i smelt a smell that could burn a hole into your nostrils. you know what i'm talking about; that hot, burnt hair, burnt rubber smell. now, knowing our state watches over the toxins that come from cars and enters our earths atmosphere, i was a little perturbed to inhale such fumes. i thought to myself,"okay, which jalopy in front of my should not be on the road?!" looking for a beat up, car held up by duct tape, and not seeing one, i let it go and saw the light turned green. i then moved my foot from the brake to the gas and heard a loud clanky, clunky, grinding noise. again, the slow person that i am (we've been over that i'm slow, right?), i looked ahead of me to try and see if i could find whatever punk, teenagers engine was making such an atrocious noise. it was then and only then that i felt my car spasm and i realized,"crap. it's me. it's my car."

so, fast forward a tow truck ride, a tearful call to a mother, and $500 dollars later, i learned many lessons...

a) never put off til tomorrow what you can afford to fix today

b) it doesn't matter how cool and calm you are in a horrible situation, the minute you hear your mommy's voice on the phone, you bawl like someone receiving an oscar!

c) aaa WILL extend a lapsed membership over the phone and send out a tow truck pronto, but will charge you a hidden "same day usage fee"...you have been warned.

d) with all the crap things that can happen within a matter of hours, God will make sure you are covered.

having this happen on a day my flatmate is on spring break so she can drop me off and pick me up from work was amazing timing. having this happen when we actually had the money to cover the cost (unlike a few months ago when we would've been up the creek) was so comforting. and, having the mechanic misquote us the price, going from 450 down to 350 was a miracle (seriously, who does that?!).

so, thank you, Lord, i get it now. my lesson HAS been learned. and, i am grateful for the many silver linings we had in our little experience. i just beg You...can my next lesson not involve my poor car?

the day after the big day...

2010-03-23T23:36:00.005-04:00

the night following my moms wedding, we had a big spaghetti feed at my aunts house. it was great to reconnect with people i haven't seen in months or even years!

here is "pig", my cousins beautiful baby boy. i think his grandpa kinda' likes him...

my aunt from provo has worked with the orphanages of haiti for years. when the earthquake hit them in january, she did everything she could to help out. that included, flying over to make sure her friends and loved ones were safe, as it showed here in all of these newspaper articles.

some of her friends that help run one of the orphanages there were having a hard time. to help with their stress, my aunt offered to take their 3 daughters back home to utah until things calmed down there. i was so blessed to meet these 3 young ladies...and, as you can tell, my 2 nieces grew to love them very quickly, too.

we maybe loud and sarcastic...

...but we are family...

...and that's all that matters.

Jump for joy

2010-03-09T22:55:00.001-05:00

This weeks subject for Iheart faces is 'Jump for Joy'.I pick the engagement picture of friends of mine...

the big day....

2010-03-09T00:22:00.005-05:00

like i have said before on here, my mom and her fiance were planning on getting married. and, on february 14th, it happened...

the ceremony was beautifully done. many people were there to witness it as well
(there was standing room only!)

my mother was able to have 4 of her 12 siblings there with her on her big day
...and, yes, i said 12 siblings!

my nephew, keegan, was very proud to walk his grandma down the aisle. here, he's even prouder to announce that he was
the first to congratulate them as husband and wife.

congratulations, mom and wayne.
i'm glad you two found your valentine.

seattle lovin'...

2010-02-24T17:43:00.015-05:00

so sorry all! life has been happening at full speed, so the blog was on hold for awhile. but, now that i have a spare 5 minutes, i thought,
"i could take a shower, or update the ol' blog."
...you see what i chose
(i'm sure there'll be time to shower in a week or two)!
these pictures should've been posted a long time ago, but it's all about catching up, people.

we took a quick trip up to one of my favorite cities in the u.s....

oh, seattle, i adore thee...
while up there, we crammed as many activities as possible. we went to two, count'em, two zoos...

...stopped off at one of my favorite donut shops ever!...

(worth every calorie...)
...and, what trip to seattle is complete without stopping off at pike place market?

seriously, i just love the beauty of this place

...don't worry, my love. i will be back soon.

village people...

2010-02-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

i now have a new favorite place in ukraine. it's a national park called
Pyrohovo Village
("the museum of folk architecture").
they call it an "open air museum" because it literally is acres upon acres of orgininal structures from ukrainian villages.

in the 70's they decided to go all over ukraine "collecting" churches, houses, school houses, windmills, etc. they were able to take them apart, ship them to this park, and reconstruct them. over 200 structures in all, and all of them hundreds of years old.

our good friend, natasha, came along with her 4 year old son, seva.

we seriously walked for hours and hours and i never got bored at what i saw...

this church was our favorite! tall, lean and lime green!

they even had "villagers" walking around the park, dressed in traditional ukrainian attire.

Pyrohovo, thanks for showing me all you had. i can't wait to see you again.

thanks nat!

2010-01-29T11:09:00.003-05:00

what could this cute bundle be? and, could it get any cuter??...

apparently, yes it can!!

this cute apron is a giveaway that i found through my friends blog.
if you want a chance to win it, go here to optimistic obsessions
(side note: to be honest, i don't want ANY of you to win. i want it all to myself! but, if i do a post telling you all about it, then that gives me better chances to win. so, let me post this and then none of you enter the drawing. agreed? *sigh* thanks!)

bridal showers brings wedding flowers...

2010-01-26T20:46:00.003-05:00

this last saturday was my mothers bridal shower.
yes, my little girl is getting married!

my marm's upcoming wedding is on valentines day, so her sweet flatmate, jeanine, through her a wonderful shower at the phoenix grand hotel. it's also the place where my mom and wayne will be getting married.

we all had a blast that night. there was a ton of presents...

...amazing food...

...hilarious games...

...and great friends...

congratulations
mom and wayne.
we are all so happy for you two. and i'm glad you enjoyed your night of fun...

...i know i did!

sviatohirski

2010-01-21T03:54:00.003-05:00

sviatohirski is a monastery, and a 3 hour drive from mama's front door. i have been to ukraine several times now and have yet to see this amazing, historical sight. i told illya this trip,
"come rain or shine, we are going to the sviatohirski monastery!"
... instead, we got snow.

(first picture borrowed from the website)

sviatohirski is rich in history, which dates back to the 16th century, where the monastery originated on the banks of the river. when the ukrainians and the mongolians were fighting for the land, the monks made the decision to move their home and church 393 ft up the mountain for safety (wise move!).

they carved caves to live and worship right into the side of the cliff. they made st. nickolas cathedral on the top of the mountain, where, to this day, it remains and has this amazing view around itself....

we were able to travel the man made, chalk caves
(for a price, of course)
to see just how the monks lived all those many years ago. just imagine;
miles of narrow tunnels and many windowless rooms, all seen by just the light your candle.
interesting, exciting, and claustrophobic all in one! i think the part that got to illya was when our tour guide monk, pointed to a dark cavern and stated in russian,
"...Eto tam gde poxoroneny monaxi..."
("...and here is where the monks were buried...")
yes, at that point, we BOTH were ready to leave the caves!

we exited at the very top of the mountain and then enjoyed the hour long trek back down the mountain. the views were amazing all around us. we saw more churches along the way...

...and even saw some farm land, dusted with snow. here, our friend, artyom, wanted to use me in the picture as his "wife"...

...and then it was illya's turn...
(yep, he's single, ladies!)

sviatohirski isn't just a "museum" of historical facts. it's an actual, running monastery for the monks and it's followers to this day.

but, that hasn't always been the case. back in soviet times, this orthodox church
(like so many other churches),
were taken over, shut down and horrendously turned into such things as movie houses, "spas" & even a place for storage.

it wasn't until late 2000 that it was restored and sanctified again to run as a working church, like the holy assumption cathedral here...

and, as you can see, after its' devastating history, it still is breathtaking...

p.s. if you are wondering to yourself, "why is sarah wearing pants AND a skirt? is that a ukrainian fashion?" my answer is, no! i have not stepped back into the 90's with that whole layered look thing. here, women have to wear skirts & also keep their heads covered out of respect... hey, i don't make the rules! i just follow them.

he strikes again...

2010-01-19T14:04:00.000-05:00

can i just say how awesome my husband is? i know he thinks his talents are amateur. and, i know i'm "just the wife" telling him that he has an ability most people dream of ...but, what do i know? i'm biased. so, i'm very happy when things happen that show him he can't deny just how great he is. months ago, illya got an email from someone who was putting an lds book together about temple endowments. she found a picture illya had taken during one of our trips down to utah of the slc temple. she asked if they could use it. illya told her yes, not thinking anything would happen with it (since illya has gotten emails like this before and nothing has come of them). but, both of us were surprised when we were told the book was finished and was out on shelves...

seriously, illya, you are amazing.

(click here for the amazon link)

sneak peek

2010-01-17T03:36:00.017-05:00

yeah, i know...shame on me. it's been for-ev-er since i posted anything. for this, i will be punished. i'll write sentences, 100x!

i will be a better blogger

i will be a better blogger
i will be a better blogger
i will be a better blogger

i will be a better blogger

okay, that's enough for now. i have been trying to edit the THOUSANDS of pictures we have taken the last several months. i'm still doing the ukraine pics...which we went to in october...yep, i know, i'm behind. but, here's a sneak peek for all of you who have been extremely patient!

proud as punch...

2009-12-02T02:44:00.004-05:00

i always knew my husband was talented. and, when we found out this last summer that the smithsonian had recognized his talents by picking one of his pictures as their picture of the day, he finally knew it, too. so, you could imagine how thrilled i was when i found out that the smithsonian had picked yet another picture of his!!

(click on the picture below for the link)

after seeing this, he then showed me some of the finished pictures he did of our friends little girl. they are simply beautiful of a beautiful baby.

you never stop amazing me, my dear.

you knew it was coming....

2009-11-26T14:22:00.003-05:00

Happy TURKEY Day, Everyone!!!

SYTYCD

2009-11-25T13:25:00.007-05:00

for a part of my birthday present to myself, i went with my sister, misty, and roommate/ friend, jenn, so to see
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE
in concert!
let me tell ya', my throat still is sore from all the screaming we did!

it was awesome to see our favorites from this last season, like kapono, jason, janette (my favorite girl) and brandon, the TRUE winner for me!
they did a TON of dances that we loved watching this last season, like
the awesome cha cha routine...
the "breast cancer dance"...
the "necklace dance"...
the zombie routine...
the "addiction dance"
(still gives me chills!)...
the adorable "butt dance"...
and the groovy disco!
they also had several group dances, like
the "one singular sensation" dance...
and that hot, steamy night club routine!
yawza!...
...and that adorable super hero dance for the 3 final girls...
they even had some new routines, made just for the tour.
this one made fun of the horrible russian routine jeanine & philip did.
this time around, it was stupendous!
...and the grand finale dance was a nod to the 70's...as you can see from the smiles on our faces, we had so much fun!

thank you, girls, for enjoying my birthday present to myself with me!
see ya' next tour!

Sarah's first tattoo

2009-11-22T18:14:00.004-05:00

For her birthday, Sarah really wanted a tattoo. So, we went to go see our now, new friend, Rocky, were he designed her a shooting star cluster on her foot. Thanks, Jenn, for holding her hand while I took the pictures (even though, I think you held her hand tighter than she was holding yours!). Happy birthday, my love! You are my cute one! ~ Illya

29...

2009-11-17T01:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Sarah

martushevs come for a visit...

2009-10-18T17:18:00.009-04:00

our dear friends, charity and artyom, came up from utah to visit us and some family here in oregon. we hate having them down there
(let's be honest, they would rather be up here as well)
so we really look forward to the times when we get together. and we packed in as much as we could while they were in portland!!
here, we went to the oregon coast. sofia, their 3 year old, has been to the beach before. but, this was the first time she truly got into being in the sun, in the waves, and exploring tide pools.

not just the kids got into playing in the sand. here, my niece, caysen, ella (chair & artyoms youngest) and jenn enjoyed building sand castles.
i adore the martushev girls. i, truly, fell in love with these kids the moment i first held them. they feel like they are my own babies!
little ella loves to feel the vibrations on her cheek from someone humming. it makes her very sleepy to push her cheek on someones mouth and enjoy the motion...
...she was fast asleep soon after this picture was taken.

my niece, amaya, is not a fan of getting her picture taken by herself. but, i couldn't help getting shot after shot of her silliness.
i love this girl!
we also were able to hit up my dads company picnic. if you have never heard about it, it is amazing!!
rides, carnival foods, games...and did i mention it is all for free?
yeah, good times!
both the girls were really looking forward to the pony rides. we stood in line for 45 minutes, but it was worth it to see how much they loved it. they were on a horse high, i swear!

heather & geoff kahl came out for the picnic as well. as us girls were talking, the boys took off somewhere. a few minutes later, i look across the field and busted up laughing. here come our tough, strong men eating pink cotton candy. sexy.
sofia is not a big eater. but, she wasn't interested in her lunch at all, knowing there were rides to be ridden. we told her,
"sofe, you must eat your lunch or else no more rides!"
within 3 seconds, she had half her burger shoved into her mouth. i guess we should've been more specific with HOW to eat her lunch!
her younger sister, on the other hand, adores food. we had no problem getting her to eat. in fact, we couldn't shove it in fast enough for her...that's my girl!

i was amazed i was able to get a shot of jenn and amaya on "the hammer". if you look close enough, you can, literally, see the fear on their faces!!

finally, we visited multnomah falls in the columbia river gorge. this is a favorite spot of illya and i's so we were very happy when the matushevs asked if we wanted to go with them.

while we were there, we shared some frozen yogurt cones and one giant ice cream sandwich. ella had her eye on the cookie, so i indulged her and let her go to town on it. she was very happy with my gift until i had to take it away...

...yes, not so happy at all!

like i said, we love when our friends come up for a visit. and, we look forward to the time when they are able to move back to their true home...
can that be soon, please??
my baby girls need me!

random wonderings...

2009-10-06T14:19:00.002-04:00

ever wonder what would happen if you put a tomato and a pepper in a room with lit candles and a bottle of wine? you'd get this creation...a tomper? a pepto? (actually, it's just a tomato in the shape of a pepper.
but how did it get to this shape?!)

first off, who in the world decided that "bimbo" was a good name for a brand? what's next "whore bread"?
second, pretoasted bread?? are we really that lazy, people?

who's driving who here?...

i love the month of oktober...

2009-10-03T21:26:00.009-04:00

i was born in the u.s. and my ancestors are from ireland and hungary (my pinkie toes is native american). illya is from urkaine, with his ancestors being greek and polish.

but, once a year, we become very german...

man, do we love oktoberfest!!

mt angel is this amazing german town in oregon. and, for 3 days, it shows just how german it truly is!

of course, we go very hungry so we can enjoy the culinary greats such as bratwurst, corn on the cob...
...apple strudel...
...and, of course, german chocolate cake with melted butter sauce drizzled on top. yes, these are a few of my favorite things.
i love the feel of mt angel. i love how everyone gets into the oktoberfest spirit.
but, aside from the food, one of my favorite parts of mt angel is their german catholic church.
built in 1881, it is, simply stated, breathtaking.
so, oktoberfest, we will miss you terribly. here's a kiss goodbye until we see each other again (11 1/2 months and counting).

sea of pink...

2009-09-29T02:53:00.006-04:00

a few sundays ago, i was able to participate in "race for the cure" in portland. i've only done this once before, about 10 years ago. i was excited to do it again with my sister in law, melissa, who has done this for 11 yrs straight. but, this year was a first for the both of us...running the 5k. i was excited to see how well we both could do.

illya came to be our cheerleader
(thank you, honey, for waking up at the crack of dawn to be there for us)
if you wanted to, you could dedicate your run to the memory of someone or someone who has overcome breast cancer. melissa and i decided to run in the name of our aunt karol. over 20 years ago, she fought and beat breast cancer. just this last month, she had 14 lymph nodes removed and had a biopsy done on them...
..two days before the race, my aunts test results came back negative for cancer.
woo hoo!!
we are so proud of you for being a fighter!

the race went really well for us. i only had to slow down and walk a couple of times and just for a few minutes. i really wanted a good time! it was awesome to cross seeing i finished in 32.54...not bad for someone who just started jogging this summer! as you can see, melissa was happy with her time as well...

...yes, we were happy, but hot and sweaty!

the coolest part, for me, was watching the survivors cross the finish line. they had what they called "survivor lane" for them to finish in so everyone could honor those who had breast cancer and survived it. truly inspiring!
our friend, judy, found out for us that there was over 40,000 people at the race and portland raised 2.1 million dollars. way to go, city of roses!!

i was so glad we did it together and i can't wait to do it again next year. and, karol, i know you will be there, too, cheering us on.

"candid"

2009-09-22T03:56:00.004-04:00

i heart this website, "i heart faces"

this weeks contest is all about being candid. the picture i chose is one of my favorites. lucy was asleep under her favorite blanket. when she heard illya getting into food in the kitchen, she perked up and watched him through the blanket. i laughed and called her the mother teresa of dogs. i know the picture isn't the best (especially since it was done on my cellphone), but, like i said, it's a favorite of mine.

goodbye east coast...

2009-09-21T14:52:00.007-04:00

goodbye beautiful history...

goodbye yummy cellulite making foods...goodbye museums...

goodbye metro (thank you for not jumping the tracks while i was riding you)...

goodbye historical monuments...

goodbye rockville town square (thanks for letting my dog use you as a toilet everyday)...

but, mostly, goodbye good friends...

illya, lucy and i have been home now for several weeks. but, with horrible internet, i haven't been able to post pictures. but, here we are! i miss the east coast already (illya doesn't). but, maryland treated us well while we were there. so, goodbye to the good, the bad, and the expensive of DC. you will be missed.

make new friends...

2009-09-02T13:09:00.012-04:00

illya and i got a chance to make a lot of friends in maryland. a couple friends we loved to hang with were hilary & brian. we decided to go to ocean city together, since neither one have been before.

...and, yes, we played in the sand like a bunch of kids.

the boys decided to take us girls to an area they had been working in, gettysburg. it was an a amazing city! first, we did a driving tour of one of the battlefields...

then we walked around town, looking at the amazing, old buildings...

...and shopped.
gettysburg is also known to be extremely haunted with ghosts from the battle.
they do nightly ghost tours. some of us were too chicken to try it
(myself being one of them!).
besides, we found a couple of ghosts ourselves...

the tour i refused to do was a haunted orphanage.
can you say HELL NO?!
waaay too creepy for this girl!

finally, we walked around the field were the civil war was fought. what amazing history!

thanks for the great time, stewarts! we had a blast
(get it? blast...cannon...oh, man, i kill myself!)

GO DUCKS!!!

2009-09-01T18:42:00.000-04:00

did someone order two 5 alarm burgers?

2009-08-22T18:30:00.009-04:00

so, there are pluses and minuses to living in a trendy shopping plaza, above stores and restaurants. this is one of the minuses...
first off, poor lucy had a rough day. it thundered and lightninged all day yesterday, which makes her jumpy and scared. but, when she finally started to calm down, we heard this ear splitting noise that could wake the dead
(literally, i heard my grandpa frank from his grave yell,"will someone shut that damn thing up!?"... his words, not mine).
i instantly knew (from previous experience),
"yay, our fire alarms are going off!"
which means, i get to harness and carry my now shaking dog down 4 flights of stairs while those "damn things"
(again, grandpa frank, not me)
blare in our ears. oh, and goody! it's still raining outside!
i met up with shannell and hilary, who had her dog with her as well. we soon discovered that the problem area was coming from "5 guys burgers" joint. lovely that the one restaurant, which is attached to our apartments, means the WHOLE complex is evacuated.
peachy.
soon enough, though, we were allowed to go back to our apartments, to which lucy couldn't have been more happy (i think she would've taken the alarms over the cold and rain of the outdoors).
now, all is well...not really.
i woke this morning and decided to work out before the day got too busy. but, i decided to work out at the other buildings gym (there's one in every apartment building), since they have more weight lifting machines in that gym.
so, i lifted, i sweated, i felt great.
i then walked outside and saw AND heard the alarms going off for, yet again, our building.
now, from the outside, it just sounds like a high pitched, beeping hum. again, not so once you enter the building. i instantly thought of lucy. i start taking the flights of stairs two at a time while people are coming down them. one man, who was walking his whippet, told me i needed to leave. i told him i needed to rescue my dog as well. as soon as i entered our apartment, lucy come out from her special hiding place (our walk-in closet), crawling towards me w/ her tail between her legs. i, again, threw on her harness and booked it for the stairs (yes, this would make it my 2nd work out for today).
and, again, i met up with shannell, hilary, and a very happy harley. while we were waiting and i was calming lucy, we noticed that, again, the firemen were all entering "5 guys".
so, after this long, drawn out post, all i have to say is this...
mr. 5 guys, whatever you put in your hot sauce, can you please calm it down?...
for lucy's sake.

so talented...

2009-08-21T15:37:00.005-04:00

illya was surfing the net today and discovered that one of his pictures was chosen for the smithsonian picture of the day! he could not believe that out of thousands that are submitted, his was chosen. i could believe it, though.
he's amazing w/ a camera!
here's a picture from the website
(click on the picture to see the full link).

congrats, illya! you're amazing!

celestial desserts...

2009-08-19T01:35:00.006-04:00

dantz and jess took me to this shop called "georgetown cupcakes",
a great and adorable bakery that makes nothing but gourmet cupcakes.

they have amazing flavors like lava fudge, chocolate ganache, lemon berry, chocolate hazelnut (on the left)...

...red velvet...

...and, the one i would give my first born for
(if i had one to give), coconut lime!

i was pleasantly surprised when i pulled back the wrapper and saw
green speaks of lime zest in the cake itself. it was heavenly!! i savored every bite!

...and illya did too.

so worth the 2.75 per cupcake. every crumb was eaten...

(don't worry, illya put this down and i ate the rest. i repeat, EVERY crumb was eaten!)

girls day out...

2009-08-12T15:06:00.009-04:00

our dear friend from our apartments, marla, decided to treat "her girls" to a little r&r for the day at sandy point park. what better way to spend a 90+ degree day then in the chesapeake bay?

me and mama marla. i adore this woman!

marla brought an array of food with her for lunch. but, we couldn't bbq anything until we got the coals lit. usually, a nice, strong breeze is needed on a gorgeous day at the park. but, when you're trying to light a mound of charcoal, the wind was not our friend!
so, i decided to try and block the wind with my towel...
we realized we needed dantzelle to help block it as well. but, after 20 minutes of trying, and
entertaining out neighbors with a show...

...lunch was on! and, as you can see,
it wasn't a minute too soon for jessica!

pasta salad, green salad, corn on the cob, chicken...

...and grilled peppers, we were ready to eat!

but, we weren't just there to fill our tummies. we also waded in the water...

...and enjoyed some wildlife.

this couple was hysterical! they pulled their car up and tailgated the entire time we were there. as you can see from this womans leather tan she's got going on, this was not their first day of fun in the sun!
(don't they look like characters you'd see in a pixar movie?!)

we also took in the beauty of the bay...

...and the not so beautiful parts as well
(sorry, heidi! i had to share! =)
but, mostly, it was just so much fun to spend time with my girls...and what better way to spend quality time with the girls then by driving around in a
convertible beetle?

dantzelle, jessica, and especially marla,
thanks for such a wonderful day!......you guys are wack-a-doos, but i still
heart you to pieces!

NY, NY

2009-08-08T13:57:00.023-04:00

while melissa was still here in july, we decided to take a day and go up to new york.
we found it would be easy to drive to new jersey...

...and take the train straight into penn station.

penn station is just a few blocks away from... time square!!...
...and carnegie hall we also decided to take to take the staten island ferry to see... ...the statue of liberty we also saw the... i've always wanted to try gray's papaya hot dogs. and, guess what we stumbled upon while looking for the temple... score!! so worth the buck fifty!

we walked around for miles and miles and decided the subway was the way to go... we also found... ...central park... ...and the brooklynn bridge but, the coolest thing we stumbled upon was a movie being made with...
*drum roll*
STEVE CARELL and TINA FEY!!!
how cool was that to be able to see them on their movie set?!
watch out for "date night" coming in 2010. but, mostly, we were just able to see the beauty of the city...we, truly, heart NY!!

supporting my troops...

2009-08-01T21:11:00.004-04:00

i normally don't post birthdays for family members or friends, but i just had to give my big brother a birthday shout out. he's currently in georgia, and will be deployed later this month. we are worried for him, but we know he is happy to be doing something he believes in. michael, we may not see eye to eye on many issues, but i do love you and respect what you are standing for. thanks for your service and come home safe.
happy 35th birthday, BL!!

a touch of ukraine...

2009-07-30T04:31:00.010-04:00

it's been almost 2 years since illya has been back home to ukraine...

...but, i haven't been back in 4 years. i miss it terribly.
so, illya and i both have the goal of making it back there this fall or winter. yay!!

but, knowing that we are going is making me antsy. i wanna' go now! i miss my mama in law, i miss our friends, i really miss the food! i just miss the look and feel of ukraine.

so, i was happily surprised that one of the apx wives found a ukrainian church near our apartments and took us to see it (thanks, vicki!).

it's sad how happy it made me feel when we pulled in. i love the onion-shaped domes on the top of slavic churches.

it's also rare to see churches that speak and write in ukrainian. most churches in ukraine are russian speaking. so, i loved this church already.

we met 2 very nice ladies from the church who told us about another church right down the road that was built completely out of wood.
olga told us,
"it gives you the feel of the churches you would see in the carpathian mountains."

...and she was right. oh, it was huge and beautiful!!

i was on such a slavic high, that i came home and decided to make one of the dishes illyas mom taught me, fried garlic eggplant. it's so good on slices of a bouquet. it was my first time making it. i thought it turned out pretty dang good!...

...i think my mama would be proud.

great falls...x2

2009-07-24T18:37:00.013-04:00

we are doing so much here in DC. it's been great. but, because of that, we are way behind on our blog. so, stay with me here as we try to catch up. this post is a looong one since there's pictures of the two times i've been to great falls. the first was well over a month ago with illya and lucy. the second trip was just this last week with all the other wives out here. we girls are getting antsy and really wanting to go home. so, we're trying to stick together and get out more and praying that the rest of the time out here will fly by!

yes, lucy prances when she walks. just in the front, though. her back legs are bowlegged. we say that when she walks, she is princess in the front and butch in the back! =)

the potomac river divides maryland and virginia. here's a shot of the people on the virginia side. it's strange to think that exactly one year ago, illya and i were standing on that side, working and living in virginia.

they have a man made canal that runs on the side of the river. there, you can take boat rides just they way did a hundred years ago.

and now that we're caught up on those pictures, here's the pictures of me with the apx wives...

here are my girls! dantzelle, jessica and shannell...i adore them!

yes, among the beauty of great falls, there is also creepy, crawly creatures...

here's my friend, chase. i couldn't stop taking shots of him! he's such a cutey!

we all were sitting and munching on snacks. chase found his own spot to sit and eat some peaches. it happened to be the most awkward, painful looking opening on the rock, but he didn't seem to mind.

this little boy was fishing in the canal. i couldn't help but get a shot of him and his orange stripped boxers!

dantzelle, our well known photographer this summer. she does amazing work!

vicki and i were feeling left out since we don't have children and all the moms were getting pictures taken with their kids. so, we decided to borrow chase and get a "family" picture as well. i told her we made a cute looking lesbian couple! at least we have the picture for our next Christmas card! hehehe!

i love great falls park. i will truly miss it when we go back home. but, on the plus side, i just did two posts in one! one post down, twenty to go!

DC temple...

2009-07-23T02:05:00.008-04:00

before melissa left, we took her to see the DC temple. i must say, i am very biased when it comes to temples since i adore the one in portland. but, i do love the temple here. before you even arrive there, you can see it jetting out from the tree tops from the freeway.
it's an amazing sight.

i couldn't help getting a kissing shot with illya...

...and melissa! =)

melissa saw this tree opening and said,
"you know they made this tree grow like this just so newlyweds could get a picture under it."
...she then struck a pose. she cracks me up!

feet week (i heart faces)

2009-07-21T02:13:00.003-04:00

so, i found this website that celebrates all different types of photographers. they do weekly contests with different themes. this weeks them is "feet". i decided to throw my flip flops into the ring! here's our feet in the warm sands in ocean city. so, cross your fingers...and toes!