Cruise

We went on a cruise a month ago. It was excellent. Paul and I together, bez (Ukrainian word meaning without, that is way cooler that the French 'sans') children for 9 days. Excellent company, excellent food, excellent locations.

Day 1 -driving. My husband is still cool, and funny.

Day 2 - went to church with some friends in Ft. Lauderdale to their half Haitian, creole speaking ward. Perfect start to an exotic vacation. Disembark on the cruise.

Day 3 - Day at sea. Boring.

Day 4 - Cayman Islands - snorkeling, sting ray swimming, star fish exploring.

Day 5 - Roatan, Honduras - playing with animals, tour of Roatan, beach swimming.

The twins were soooo cute.

Day 6 - Belize - cave tubing - couldn't take pictures, no water camera. Really fun.

Day 7 - Cozumel, Mexico - Mayan ruins of Tuluum

Our tour guide was showing us around. Very interesting. Educating us about the Mayan people. He told us about some of the carvings. One of a God upside down, signifying God coming down from heaven. Interesting...

I spotted a guide wearing a shirt with the words, "Mosiah tours", and sure enough he was an LDS tour guide. He gave us the Mormon version. You can see on this temple, 3 carvings. 1 signifies God the Father, 2 - Jesus, coming down from heaven, 3 - Holy Ghost, empty space.

He showed us a carving, stela, found at a different site, Izapa, which looks remarkably like Lehi's Tree of Life vision. Though, not all LDS scholars agree.

I liked it so much, I bought a replica.

We wore our swimming suits just about constantly.

This day was no exception, because the ruins are right on a cliff on the beach. The water was incredible, all week.

It was my favorite day.

Day 8 - Day at sea. REALLY boring.

Day 9 - Driving home. We super missed our kids. Hardee's Thickburgers helped take the pain away.

Super Update for a Super Long Blog Hiatus

A few things have happened:

1. I am three months pregnant. Not 6. Just wait till I am six months pregnant and see how big I get. You know how I do.

I was telling Paul at dinner that I probably won't be able to do any cool excursions on the cruise because people never let pregnant ladies do anything cool. Axel said, "Mom, maybe they won't even know you're pregnant, they'll just think you ate a lot of food." That's what I'm hoping for.

2. Said pregnancy necessitated 3rd bedroom, which necessitated move, which happened three weeks ago. Our new house is more than a dream come true.

3. Said move was expensive and unexpected which means we cancelled our trip to Ukraine and are now going for a much less expensive but still very exciting cruise to the Caribbean... in a week.

4. Landlord made me uninstall beautiful shelves I put in. Really!!

5. Paul and I turned 30 and are now real bona fide respectable adults.

6. I got a cell phone, and actually LOVE it.

6. Major, super major flooding happened in Nashville. Our basement got a foot,

which we were ok with considering many people in Nashville had a river running through their house. Literally. This was the entrance to my friend's neighborhood. They were on an island for a while.

It's crazy to recognize most of the places in the youtube video below. It really was a crazy day. And is was Paul's birthday.

I am really proud of my city. There are good people here. I think everyone has shown their true colors through this experience. Countless stories have surfaced about people risking their lives to save someone, usually elderly or disabled, who was stuck in their flooding house.

We did a lot of clean-up. Actually Paul did. I usually was at home with the kids and other people's kids, or making dinner for a family. But there was one day that Paul stayed at home so I could go work. And the destruction was amazing. This street was totally under water. A street I've been on many times. Every house is gutted, no one lives there. Hopefully those people can get FEMA assistance.

I see HVAC systems, drywall, insulation, toilets, kitchen cabinets, furniture in front of homes on almost every street I drive down. I think it'll take a while for the city to clear it all out. Meanwhile, it reminds us that there is still a lot of helping we can do.

On my birthday, I took a few hours off flood relief and finished a bag i started about 2 years ago. Thankfully I still think it's cute.

And I added a big pocket on the back that I wasn't planning on adding 2 years ago. Now I'm ready for the cruise.

I am really craving vegetables, mostly in the form of soup. (My craving for meat thankfully ended a little over a month ago.) I've made roasted red bell pepper soup, borscht, creole tomato soup, carrot dahl soup, carrot-ginger-apple soup, red onion and apple soup with curry, gazpacho, but the latest soup, was a mix of two soups, black bean and butternut squash. Because I was getting back into the blogging spirit, I took a picture of it.

The black bean soup has a lot of bite, and the butternut squash is incredibly buttery, sweet, and creamy (though it has no butter or sugar in it), they are 1+1=3. Ok on their own, but together it feels like a fiesta and facial all at the same time. Just what I need. Not however what Lucy needs. Her diapers the past month have been atrocious.

On that note, I leave you, hopefully not for a month.

The piano

Lets remember where we started from.

Paint smeared, scuffed, uneven stain, drippy finish.

Old, chipped, yellowed keys. Faded blacks.

Veneer chipping off in places.

And now......

Ісус воскрес!

In Ukraine there is a lovely traditions that on Easter, instead of greeting people with, "hello", you exclaim, "Jesus Resurrected!" And the people answer back, "He Truly Resurrected!" It was hands down my favorite day in Ukraine. It's bigger than Christmas. People celebrate for days.

I feel to exclaim today that Christ is alive. I feel the joy of it in my heart.

We ate a delicious and way too big dinner with my Russian friend today. We had all my favorite Ukrainian foods: borscht, sourdough rye bread, cheese blintzes, mashed potato crepes, cabbage rolls, potato salad, deviled eggs, torte, and hibiscus tea. I was too busy eating to take pictures but it was delicious. I did take a picture of the Paska - the traditional Easter bread. It's the first time I made it and my husband and kids love it, so I think it turned out.

I am also including this funny and nothing-to-do-with-Easter video of Maggie. She wanted me to take a movie of her dancing, but actually ended up just spinning. I laugh till I cry every time.

Just relaxing

Maggie and I ate fresh-out-of-the-oven bread with blackberry jam out in the cheerful sunlight.

I love jam faces.

My little seedlings are doing nicely. Hopefully they'll make beautiful flowers and vegetables.

I have to guard them from Lucy. This is one of the lucky sunflowers I saved from her leaf plucking tirade.

I finished the yellow table. And it did pick me up.

June Cleaver, may I borrow your pearls?

A friend of mine is turning 30 and really wants a 50's style apron. This is my latest project.

These pockets were sooo fun to make.

Ruffle at the neck.

The best part is, it was free. I'm finally using up some of the fabric my mom bought about the time I was born! I have nightmares that in 20 years I'll still have the fabric I have now. Patiently waiting to be sewn into something, while new little bits of fabric continuously grow around it. Always growing, never diminishing. Yet another way I'm like my mother.

Family pics

Abbie Rufener took this. Look at my husband. Yeow!