Project Thanks B-ham!

Okay, well this post was supposed to go up on March 16th, but we left for Miami before I could get it posted on here.  It's still good though and an excellent reminder for me. 

Do you remember this 30 Days of Thanks that took place during the month of November?  Bloggers were to list one thing each day that they were thankful for...big or small.  Well, that being said, yesterday marked the calendar for us being in Birmingham for one year.  Exactly one year ago, we moved to the city and moved into our house (where we spent the night with no heat...brrrr!  haha!).  This blog entry is my Project Thanks B-ham! that is similar to the 30 Days of Thanks, only I am listing all my 30 in one day as a reminder of the good and positive things about being in Birmingham.  Some days you just need a reminder, right?  Well, here goes (of course, in no particular order):

1) Our quirky old brick house - it certainly has character and it's our first home together.

2) Our good (and cute) neighborhood complete with some of the only sidewalks in the city of Hoover/Birmingham - haha - it's really nice to walk/run!


3)  All the festivals and activities.

 

At the Hot Air Balloon Festival

4) We have four beautiful seasons here. 

(This is the one I'm looking forward to the most - Spring + Summer)

5) Moss Rock Preserve is 2 miles from our house...waterfalls, boulders, creeks, great hiking, and scenic picnic spots.

That's where we picked all these wild blackberries!

Yum!  :-)

6) Great shopping!  Whole Foods, Fresh Market, AWESOME TJ Maxx and Ross, GREAT mall, World Market, Pottery Barn, Bed Bath & Beyond, Macy's, etc. even a Sak's 5th Ave (but I never go there)...all within 15 minutes.

 

7) Exploring a new area + finding local hotspots.  i.e. Maria's Mexican Restaurant.  Owned by a single mom...very authentic, hands down the best Mexican food ever.  Also looks like you stepped into the country of Mexico...seriously authentic, which we love.  Plus, they have $1.50 margaritas!  We go there often.

 

8) Sitting on our deck under giant Magnolia trees.

9) The view from our road overlooking the bluff.

10) Fireflies!


11) Awesome city-wide YMCAs.  They have sweet state-of-the-art facilities and crazy-awesome zumba, pilates, and yoga classes.  Also, there is a PYT studio that I have been going to for some dance lessons.  LOVE IT!

12) People coming to visit us.  This is one of my most favorite things!

Susan

Mama & Daddy

Bill & Lyuba

Alona & Dima (and Julia!) + Motzart

Natasha & Lyosha

Ira & David

Rachel & Whitney also came for a visit on the way to Tuscaloosa, Sergey Mil was with us for a few days while he had interviews in B-ham, and Melissa & Roy are frequent visitors from Huntsville!

Anyone else passing through the B-ham or want to come visit?  We would LOOOOVE to have you!  

13) Both having jobs - the reason we moved here in the first place (well, for Misha's anyway).


14) Improving our financial situation and making progress.  Thanks to biblical principals and Dave Ramsey!

15) Quite possibly one of the most important  - the growth of our marriage.  When you move to a place where you do not know a soul, you really develop this strong relationship and you really have to depend on one another.  It is hands down one of the best things about being here.

16) People being excited when you come back to town for a visit.

17) Having the opportunity to learn Russian here.

18) Meeting great people here such as Larissa (my Russian teacher) and her husband Vitaly.

19) Being able to visit cool places such as DC and Chicago through Misha's work.  

20) Having the opportunity to see the inner workings of a faith-based non-profit. Mixed feelings on that one.

21) Living in a city that has a downtown with tall buildings and hearing traffic updates on the radio.

22) Visiting different churches.

23) The creation of my Pesto Pizza happened here in B-ham.

 

24) There is an Aveda Institute here.  Love that my shampoo, cut, and style + hand massage + tip is only $20!

25) The Botanical Gardens & Birmingham Zoo

It started getting hard at this point!
 
26) Nice beer selection (this one is totally for Misha).

 

27) Visiting the Civil Rights Museum - get to see the "affected areas" and where it all went down.

28) I have an office with a huge floor-to-ceiling window where I get to watch wildlife.  Herons, turtles, snakes (ew), fish, nutria, otters, and beavers!

Check out this video of my co-workers and I watching the beavers:

29) All the neighborhoods & houses are all different and unique in their own way - very eclectic.

and finally...

30) Learning that I don't want to stay here...I want to be closer to my friends and family!

Come on Spring!

So as I was looking at my blog today and I saw these wintry pictures from exactly one week ago...it was like a freak snow storm.  Now Spring is teasing me with BEAUTIFUL weather!  I hope that the snow from just one week ago was winter's last attempt at dominating the weather.  Come on Spring!  So anyway, I don't want to see anymore winter - including pics on this blog so I posted these images for inspiration.  These are things I'm looking forward to that will come along with warmer weather.  Maybe you are looking forward to these things too!

Everything blooms here in Birmingham in the Spring - Cherry Trees, Bradford Pears, Wisteria, Azaleas....

 

Daffodils have actually come up in our yard and are getting ready to bloom within the next few weeks!

Bring on the sunshine!

 Fresh fruits & veggies 

 

From our garden of course!

 

 

Need I say more about this pic?  ...and OH YEAH!  We are going to Miami in a few weeks to visit Natasha & Alexey!  Beach, here we come!

Summertime means getting to visit these places too!

 

 

 

 Yes!  We are going to Ukraine this summer!  I finally get to meet Misha's dad!  Maybe I'll get to use the Russian I have been learning.  :-))))

Snow Day

This is the view I had when I opened our front door this morning.  I can hardly believe this!  Although I am definitely ready for Spring, sunshine, and having a tan...this is kinda cool. Still had to go into work though. 

We got about 3-4 inches at our house.  We are up on the mountain, so we have higher elevation and more snow.  :-)

 

Birthday Blog Post

Want to know my favorite thing about my birthday?  It was this guy coming home!  :-)

 

He's been away for work for like two weeks!  He's in GA...jealous!!!

 

My other favorite part about my birthday?  All themessages from people, phone calls, text messages, and cards!  Those things make a person feel so special!  Thank you dearest friends and family...it means the world to me!

I started off my birthday by sleeping in....LOVE IT!  

 

Then went and got myon! 

Melissa & Roy (my cousin and her husband) called and said they were on their way back to Huntsville and coming through B-ham...so they treated me to a lovely little birthday lunch!  

FYI - I look like poo b/c I had been sweating it up at Zumba and there is no makeup involved.  Also, Misha is not in the picture b/c he was at the shooting range testing out his new rifle.  

We had a delicious lunch...Southern style!  Love me some fried okra, squash casserole, broccoli & rice, and turnip greens!

Oh yeah ~ there was a warm birthday brownie and vanilla ice cream involved.  Good thing I went to Zumba!

After spending some quality time with my Alabama fam, I went back to the house and began cooking for our Russian birthday party.  I LOVE love LOVE the Russian tradition for birthdays....it is expected that you give your own b-day party!  You don't have to have someone else do it for you!  There is this other couple that we hang out with (and they are Russian - no surprise there) and his birthday is coming up on Feb. 10th so we decided to have a joint birthday party!

The February birthday buds

 

His name is Oleg, by the way, and this is his wife Marina.  They are such a sweet couple

So we had the party at my Russian teacher's house.  I LOVE this little lady!  Her name is Larissa and she and her husband have just taken Misha and I under their wings.  It feels like we have known them for forever.  They make us feel at home away from home. 

Sweet gift that Marina hand-made for me!

Blowing out the candles (well, CANDLE b/c we are beyond the age to have one candle for every year!  Ha!)

Marina made this yummy cake from SCRATCH!  It's called a honey cake

Look at all those layers!  Now your really impressed about her making it from scratch, right?

Birthday party!

Birthday flowers!

Aren't they pretty?  They totally brighten any day!

Also, when I got back to work on Monday, my office peeps surprised me with chips & salsa (I love Mexican food) and homemade chocolate cupcakes with homemade frosting!  YUM!

They also decorated my office and gave me a very, very sweet card.  :-)

 

Isn't that nice?  Well, now I'm 26....like not in the young adult/college age crowd anymore.  That's 18-25, right?  YiKeS!   I'm going to go have a glass of wine!  ;-)