Feet First

Last Weekend I went up to NYC to meet Radik and then we took the train to Jersey to see Rich, Chrislynn and the munchkins. Rich and Chrislynn are SO cute I love them so much. The next day was moving day for them (I love my older brother, not only is he so freakin' hilarious, he has such a big big heart and his wife, my older sis, Chrislynn is so good to him and their children and so patient and calm all the time. I had been so homesick lately so it was a much needed quick little visit with them) and when the truck arrived I was able to play with lil' Richie and Sophia in the park. Those two are so sweet to each other. In the picture below of Sophia smiling, she has a few little brown dots on her cheek. They are from a very chocolaty chip cookie kiss from lil' Richie. ;-) Those two crack me up. Later on in the day Radik went back to the city to work and while Rich and Chrislynn were running errands, I was able to watch Madagascar with the little ones. I could not stop looking at Sophia's cute feet! They are SO cute! So, I've always hated feet, YUCK! I think Anson's were the first and only feet I ever really loved. ;-) I still look at them (a whopping size 12 now) and love them so much. Radik's are pretty cute too (which is a really REALLY really big deal for me to even say that) but now Sophia's are also getting to me. They ARE SO CUTE!!!!!!! Proof of her cute tootsies are in the following pics. You'll also see Chrislynn's new super cute carpet/rug that I love. ;-) That night I ended up taking the train back to NYC but to make a long story short plans suddenly changed and I ended up staying the night in Rockaway, NY with some old and new friends. I had been trying to figure out what to do about work and school and this magical little Ocean Front in NY really helped me find clarity. Well, it got me started then a few dozen bawl fests with Mom, Rich and Radik and some soul searching and then the clarity came. ;-) With the inspiration I had been so lucky to find last weekend, I am starting to realize how close to perfection my life really is (well, I have a LONG way to go but it is pretty dang close) and I should be counting my blessings and realizing how lucky I am. Monday came and went and then things (as they always seem to do) just started to fall into place. I've decided to start this new change/chapter with my feet firm on the ground (there were a few options I was considering that were in the clouds). I was able to get into an EMT certification program that I've had my eye on and I am SO SO very excited for this!!! Classes are Mondays and Wednesdays! I've been reading so much trying to catch up and I can't put the book down! I'm so excited! It's only just started but I'm feeling really good about it!

Girl in the Mirror

Chrislynn Tagged me awhile ago & I saw the below "Who Am I?" on cute Merrilee's blog a while ago too and have been meaning to post mine and then count it for my tag. ;-)

WHO AM I?
I now tag: Mom, Bree & Carrol!!!!!!
Here's how:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.
The Questions:
1. What is your first name? (Ruth)
2. What is your favorite food? (Mmm Avocados)
3. What high school did you go to? (Burley HS)
4. What is your favorite color? (Purple)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (Hmm...)
6. Favorite drink? (Arizona Green Tea, it's such my guilty pleasure)
7. Dream vacation? (Greek Islands)
8. Favorite dessert? (Creme Brulee)
9. What you want to be when you grow up? (Wonder Woman)
10. What do you love most in life? (LOVE)
11. One Word to describe you. (Fickle)
12. Your favorite animal. (Orangutan)
13. Biggest fear. (Water)

It's been such a great summer but ever since I came back from visiting home it's been so hard to focus on work and now school is just around the corner. I'm wondering if I'm really making the difference in the world that I've always dreamed of... I'm thinking it's time for me to make a change and it seems that something or somewhere else is calling. Maybe it's homeward bound or maybe it's somewhere even farther away? Or is it just indigestion? I just wish the whole financial responsibility thing wouldn't get in my way. We shall see. If anyone knows of any work opportunities closer to B-town let me know. I miss family so much.

Yesterday was Michelle's Birthday. We took the day off of work and Radik and one of his friends came into town and the four of us spent the day at Six Flags. Poor Radik got SO sick. He found out earlier in the summer that he gets sea sick. Well now I'm thinking it's motion sickness in general. He was so great & positive about everything but I'm sure it was a miserable day for him. It kept getting worse. He was even having trouble keeping food down in the evening. Once we called Nurse Sayda and got him medicine he was able to sleep and got feeling better.

Visits From Friends

This week one of my closest friends Aly came back into town for a few days. It was SO good seeing her, having much needed girl talk and catching up! I miss her SO much!

Last weekend my friend Vasya and his girlfriend Olesya came down for a visit. We went out on the town, found some brand new rentAbikes to play on and did some sightseeing. Poor Vasya is still recovering from his broken leg but he was a trooper.

Mmmmm Whole WHEAT Dinner Rolls

Here's the recipe Mom gave me for the Whole WHEAT Dinner Rolls (I made some more this weekend per Michelle's request):

• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 2-1/4 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups whole WHEAT flour
• 3-1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the shortening, eggs, sugar, salt and whole WHEAT flour; beat until smooth. Add enough all-purpose flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; kneed until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Divide into four portions; shape each into 12 balls. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 11-15 minutes or until browned. Brush with butter. Yield: 4 dozen.
I've been making 12 rolls from the above though...
I've been loving reading some of the recipes others have posted so.... hint, hint Leslie!!! Get your blog up and running so I can start using yours!!! ;-)

Pleasant Surpize from an old friend!

On Wednesday night I got a phone call from my cute CUTE cute friend Sarah telling me she was in town. Sarah makes me laugh so much seriously, she is such trip and I love this girl! We were able to catch up and made plans to meet up for a hot little second the next day. It's SO SO SO good to see good friends! I felt like seeing Sarah gave me some more fuel! Even if it was only for a quick visit. Oh my goodness, I was able to also meet her hubby Nate's parents quick SUCH cute cute people. Another treat was her little munchkin' Cooper! I had seen pics of Cooper but was finally able to hold him and see his cute face in person. Oh my is this little guy adorable! What am I saying he is not a little guy he is huge!!! I hope I have babies as healthy as him. Oh, he is SO cute!!! Thanks so much for calling Sarah. I'll say it again you are my role model! I love what an active, sassy, still as fun as she was when we were growing up Mom this chica is now!

Tart and Sweet, Fresh and Airy

I was going to make this short and sweet but was feeling a little long winded...
I can't believe how fast the summer is flying by. I took the Bolt Bus to NYC last Friday (www.boltbus.com). I've been driving up to NYC these past couple of trips because I had such an awful experience July 4th weekend with the cheap, cheap DC Chinatown to NYC Chinatown buses. But with the cost of gas prices and me getting so so sleepy at the wheel I thought I'd try the Bolt Bus this time, I heard such great things about it. I LOVE this bus. It was so organized, clean and friendly. The driver even lines everyone up South West Airlines style with A, B and C boarding lines. The driver was this super buff guy that was so friendly and started out saying hello on the intercom and asking the men to please keep his bathroom clean because there were ladies on board. So cute! Every time we stopped the driver would make an announcement. I know it's ridiculous the details I'm including but I had such a rotten experience last time and it was nice not to fight for a spot that I had already paid for and to be informed as to what exactly was going on. On the way back, we ended up taking the MVP bus which was also GREAT (www.mvpbus.com)! So, good good karma with the transportation. ;-) I didn't take any pictures on this trip. :-(
When I got off the bus Radik pulled up on a bike taxi and loaded my luggage. It was really romantic and some of the girls getting off the bus even walked by and let out sighs. At first I was so embarrassed and told him to PLEASE not make me get on the bike taxi (I had sworn I would never ride one of these thinking that whoever was pedaling wouldn't be able to pull me and pass out or something!) but he of course was persistent and while he drove me through the city around 2:00AM I was looking around feeling like I was a princess in a movie or having a dream. ;-)
Radik had to work on Saturday so I was able to spend some over due, quality time with my friend Tim. We had a Vietnamese lunch, shopped, walked around the city and he took me to my first visit to a Pinkberry, where I tried the fruit leeche for the first time. Not a fan of the leeche but a big fan of Pinkberry (www.pinkberry.com)! ;-) It was so nice to catch up with him and he gave me some great insight on things I had been stressing about. I told him I was very impressed and a little shocked with his wise advice, I'm so used to his cynical, sarcastic self which of course is very endearing. ;-) He then sarcastically tells me its because he had been reading the Book of Mormon. He's such a smart A. Tim is Jewish and can hardly ever talk to me without teasing me about being Mormon. ;-) He then ended up admitting it was probably from all the HG TV he had been watching. ;-) Sunday Radik and I went to an L.D.S. church that is fairly close to where he lives. It was such a special meeting and I felt so blessed to be there. It really was a great group of people. I hope to be able to go back soon! We also went for a long walk on Sunday, found a little vendor that was selling tamales YUM and ran into the filming of Law and Order's SUV. There really is SO much going on in NYC but I am always SO happy to be back in the gentleman of big cities: DC/Northern VA. On Monday I attempted to make a Russian meal that Radik likes. It didn't really turn out but I really had no idea what the heck I was making until I was done. I thought I was making a hot pocket type of beef meal and then I thought it was going to be a type of Ravioli. We finally came to the conclusion it was a kind of Russian tortellini. You can see in the picture the so wrong HUGE one I made first that Radik couldn't stop laughing at! I'm looking a little ragged in this pic from all the cooking from scratch. I don't know how my mom does it. I'm still trying to figure out how she has everything ready at one time too. I did make some homemade whole wheat rolls (Mom's recipe) that came out wonderful though!!! I'll post her recipe tomorrow they are delicious! We also took a quick trip to Ocean City! Since it was a spur of the moment trip Radik didn't have his trunks and I remembered I had some boy shorts I wear every now and then. They were big on him and he almost lost them a few times. Very sad that my shorts are big on my boyfriend. What can I say, these hips just don't lie. ;-) OC was SO much fun we took a ride on the board walk roller coaster and Radik screamed so much!!! I could barely breath I was laughing so hard. I'm hoping to go to Six Flags with him soon just so I can hear him scream on all the scary rides! ;-) We also spent some time at my favorite OC venue Secrets! School starts on the 25th :( I don't want the Summer to end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!