My Little Man, My Best Buddy

As a lot of you know, I am a bulldog mama. 

I call Diesel "my little man." It's a nickname that caught on a while back, and it was actually Dan's nickname as a young boy.

I've snapped some amazing pictures of him this week that were too cute not to share. 

Dan is leaving for a couple of days and I'm so happy that I have this little nugget to keep me company! A lot of people ask me why I don't travel with Dan for his road game, and to that I say, "There is nothing that I want to see in Ukraine." Fact. Sorry Ukraine, the truth hurts. I live in the capital city, so packing up and going to a crappier city and staying in God awful hotels isn't appealing in the slightest. In addition, I wouldn't board Diesel in a dog hotel here. We've been blessed to have phenomenal care for him when we lived in Spain and Poland, but I wouldn't even consider placing him somewhere here unless it was absolutely necessary. 

Loves his water bottles

Nap time

Home game ready :)

Loving on his lovie

More pictures here

April 7th

April 7th..... the day I was supposed to land in San Francisco at 12:20pm. 

I would have exited customs at 1pm, approximately, and Mom and Dad would have been there patiently waiting at international arrivals. I would have take Diesel of his leash and he would run to see his Grandparents. 

 The four of us would've been at Chipotle (or In-N-Out, hadn't decided) by 1:45pm.

Diesel would be panting wildly in his kennel while I babbled on and on about my long flight and how different the scenery is, "Six lane highway, oh man!"

I'd comment on the gorgeous weather and my Dad would tell me how skinny I was, and then proceed to tell me all the wonderful meals he had made the week prior to my arrival. 

It's my most favorite routine in the world.

So, I might not be home, but at least Mad Men has returned!! Oh yaaaaa baby!!!

Don Draper in all his glory

Choices (Again)

I wrote this a few weeks ago and never pressed publish. But, today I am. Add your thoughts in the comments below:

Life is about making decisions. We make them daily, hourly, and even by the minute... all day, every day. 

You can choose whether you want to comb your hair, brush your teeth or put your make up on.

You can choose how much effort to put in at work, in your relationships with others, or how you treat yourself.

You can choose to eat out, dine in, or not eat at all.

You can choose to be happy, or you can choose to be a miserable SOB. 

The choice is yours.

Today I'm choosing to not be A-hole. 

I'll be honest, often times it's a daily struggle not to feel sorry for myself.  Pathetic, right? Well, yes and no. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself...?  It hits me most when I'm alone for four days here in Ukraine, a location that wasn't exactly at the top of my bucketlist of places to see before I die.  I miss California, my parents and my friends. I'm forced to live vicariously through others in many facets, and that's just the way it is. That's just the way it is. That's just the way it is.

And BECAUSE that's just the way it is, I must remind myself to count what I have, not what I don't have.... like, all the time. I refuse to feel sorry for myself because I'm blessed beyond measure! This is a little mantra I will have to repeat to myself for many more weeks, whenever that little devil appears on my shoulder in an attempt to kick me while I'm down.

Source

Today I read in bed this morning and listened to the rain, and it was so nice. I'm healthy and I'm fit, something I NEVER take for granted. I had an amazing afternoon with my phenomenal husband laughing, eating, philosophizing and napping. He makes me thankful every single day. 

One month and counting until I'm home in the glorious US of A.

I'm counting my blessing, not my misfortunes because life has been so very good to me.

Our New Home: Kiev, Part 3

Recap: We had 24 hours to pack our entire life up and leave Dnepropetrovsk, and then we had take a bizarre 8 hour road trip to our new home. 

I know a lot of Basketball WAGs who have had this kind of thing happen, but it's never happened to us in the seven years we've been overseas. It was a very stressful and trying time, and I'm so thankful the move is over and we are all settled! 

If you saw the photo of our elevator in my last post, you'd understand why I was terrified to enter the building. Once we rode up the death trap (that still breaks once a week), we found our apartment to be quite small, yet cozy and comfortable. It's nothing like our last (amazing!) apartment, but it's in such a wonderful location we couldn't be happier.  

We love living in the center of the capital, it's truly a one of a kind experience. Kiev is five times larger than Dnepropetrovsk (over 2.8 million people) and the people are much friendlier and more educated. I can't believe the number of people who speak English, and it still blows me away that people actually smile in the streets too. 

We are less than 10 minutes from a wonderful grocery store, the post office, great restaurants, a pet store and a sensational yoga studio (more on that later). 

Here are a few pictures of our place (need to take more) and neighbourhood: 

Unpacking our belongings in the kitchen 

Hallway to the master bedroom 

Diesel's corner! 

View from our living room 

Our neighborhood 

Hope everyone have a safe a wonderful weekend!!

More pictures of Kiev to come.... 

RoadTrip (but not as cool as the movie), Part 2

The Move, Part 2...

So, where did we leave off? 
Yes, we had less than 24 hours to pack our entire life into a van and move 8 hours across the country:

Our last picture in the pint sized elevator 

In the van finally and it was packed to the brim!! We were on the road for 7.5 hours and only took one break at Mc Donalds.... hardcore.  

VIDEO: Headed through Amish-ville....?

Our trip summed up in a 6 second VINE video

Lovely road conditions that limited our speed significantly

Diesel was begging to sit on the seat with Dan the entire trip

We saw the most lovely sunset, but this picture doesn't do it justice

After seven and a half hours, we made it to Kiev and our new apartment. We were so happy to finally arrive, but no so happy when we entered our lobby:

What happened next? 

Coming Soon: Part 3, Our New City!!!

Serious Craziness..... Part 1

So there is a famous quote that goes something like, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

Well for us, life is what happens right under our nose, but it's still super unpredictable, hectic and exciting.

We got traded to a new club in Kiev, Ukraine! We were very excited with the news, but the thought of starting all over so late in the season was a bit daunting.

Perspective (Last week someone asked me on 

Instagram where Ukraine was... really?)

Because we have a dog, we couldn't take the 45 minute flight from Dnipro to Kiev (there is some strange rule about flying dogs within the country, but in and out is fine). 

Dan and I were out to lunch on Tuesday and we got a phone call from Dnipro at 3pm. "You leaving tomorrow at 8 am. A van will take you by car to Kiev. Ok?"

Ummm, no. Not OK.

We were given less than 17 hrs to pack everything we own. Luckily we pushed our departure back a few hours, but it was still incredibly exhausting, physically and emotionally. 

You never realize how many odds and ends you collect! 

We had 7 bags in total (and that's not counting boxes!)

Guest room packing madness 

Cleaning out the cupboards 

Last family snap shot with my loves

Coming soon: The Move, Part 2...

*Snap My Fingers*

I'm sitting in a cafe called Double Decker in the Ukraine. Yes! I'm in the Ukraine. I find myself forgetting that I live here, believe it or not. Every now and then I will find that I'm in a haze, mechanically walking through the streets, the grocery store, wherever it might be and realize.... Whoa. I'm a really long way from home.

Without sounding like a complete and utter nerd, it's days like this that I wish I had magic powers. Not the generic "I wish I could fly" rookie stuff. I wish I could teleport (so ya, about not sounding like a nerd, way too late for that.... oh well). 

Initially I would snap my fingers and teleport to the following places: Cambodia, the Sphinx, Bora Bora, the Maldives, and Alaska. Snap *Gone* Snap *Back*   Coolest. Power. Ever. 

After I exhausted all the sight seeing, I'd get down to business and utilize the power for it's true and intended purpose. If I had this extraordinary gift, I'd snap my fingers and:

• Surprise my Mom and Dad at breakfast and give them both the biggest hug ever. I might even cook them something, but let's be honest, I'd probably request Mom's famous pancakes!
• Meet my godson (!!) and zip to Keri's house whenever she was feeling overwhelmed and needed a minute to herself to grab a quick shower or a bite to eat.
• I'd surprise Rachel at her study-spot-cafe and help her study for her nursing exam. And I wouldn't leave before telling her how proud I am of her and how much I believe in her. 
• Pop over to Leah's house on a Friday night for a sleepover and then take her bridal gown shopping on Saturday after grabbing chai lattes and a macaroon, or two. 
• Snap! I would be in Sacramento, California and eat fourth meal with Erica at 2am and have a 90's movie marathon. The next day we'd grab lunch with my sweet Grandma.
• When Dan was at training, SNAP, I'd go to the park and play with Jenny and Carson in Spain and then we would grab some wine and tapas before I needed to get back and start dinner. 
• Go to Konrad and Regina's wedding in Oldenburg, Germany!!
• Visit Chelsie in Portland, Oregon for a quick drink at a funky microbrewery on her lunch hour. 

Since there is no teleporting in my foreseeable future, I can only smile at the thought of being able to do something so incredibly awesome..... 

Crappy day? Not anymore....

Do you know what this is?

Probably something you take for granted in America. I know I sure did.

I remember the days I would pop into a public restroom without a care in the world, in America that is. I've never been one of those people that refuses to use toilets outside of their homes. I don't care if I'm travelling by train, car, plane or bus..... doing my business is a must! (Sounds vaguely like a Dr Suess book, minus doing business with a fox in socks...)

(I took a close up because I wanted to translate it, but I can't do it on google without a Russian keyboard. 
Will need to ask my friends who speak Russian tomorrow... TBD)

The following images were snapped by me last week in a restaurant toilet here in Dnipropetrovsk, and I have never, ever been happier to see a seat cover!! 

Now this is probably when you, dear reader, are thinking: How pathetic, who cares about a seat cover? And to you I say, I GET IT! It's true that hanging high is a viable option and there is also the DIY seat cover wherein you use half a roll of toilet paper in a attempt to create a safe barrier between said porcelain and derriere.  However, dear reader, did you know that a lot of bathrooms here in the Ukraine do not even provide you with toilet paper, let alone a seat to sit on?  Usually there is a bowl, if you are lucky, other wise you are left to face this, AKA my nemesis:

So ya.....

This is a toilet at my husband's gym where he plays games once a week. 

Do you see a toilet paper roll? Do you have "napkins" in your purse right this minute? (Check, do you?) These are all precautions I have to take whenever I leave the house now. I always travel with a Charmin travel size toilet paper roll, extra napkins, and Wet Ones disinfectant hands wipes.

Next year I will buy one of these if we sign another contract in Eastern Europe!! 

Go Girl

 

The one with the rogue bird.....

I went to get my hair done and, simply put, it was amazing.

I felt "normal" like I lived in a 1st world county with paved roads and drive through Walgreens. I closed my eyes as she scrubbed my abused hair, conditioned it, and she even avoided getting water in my ears.

I pretty much died and gone to heaven.

I said I wanted the split ends cut only, and I prayed she would just follow the preexisting lines my fav hairstylist gave me four months ago in California. 

I watched as she meticulously separated my hair into sections and trimmed 1/4 of an inch off the ends. Whoa, this could be great, I thought while suppressing the grin that had creepily stared to spread across my face.

It was then, in this moment of bliss, that I felt tiny devil claws sink into my skull....

"WHAT THE HELL!"

A rogue bird landed on my head and was squawking like mad!! Well, in my eyes it was a rogue bird, but the hair stylist quickly assured me that it was only "Paulo." I wanted to say that "it's only Paulo"

made me only shit my pants a little. It freaked me out and it was disgusting, but I immediately started laughing out loud because I had an epiphany: This is my LIFE. Yes, I live in THE Ukraine....  

Paulo was a swinger and jumped around from 

clientele to employees with ease

Finished result 

A day in the life of an American in Ukraine

Cruel Joke via Email

While riffling through old emails, I came across this gem today:

Really? Really GROUPON?

I'm pretty sure I would do unspeakable things to have a 15 oz fro yo (favor of my choosing).... 

If only!!!