Cooking like a big kid...

The past few years, I became quite the chef. I frequently posted my culinary creations on the blog. It was in a very small kitchen, with limited food resources that I successfully became this self-proclaimed chef. One would think, now that I am back in America, with a large kitchen, and ample food resources, my culinary creations would be multiplying, but surprisingly they are not. Ryan has become the grill master, and between his grilling skills and our desire to try out the new restaurants in the area, my cooking has been set aside. Last week, I decided I needed to get back in the kitchen, and actually make something. I took inspiration from our local Fresh Market, and their monthly inspirational meal. With my new kitchen, I couldn't help thinking to myself, "I'm cooking like a big kid."

Nothing says, "Welcome home, love, like a batch of chocolate chip cookies." And nothing makes you feel more like a big kid than using a KitchenAid mixer (thanks, Mom and Dad). 

No more tiny, Russian oven. I can actually use full size baking pans again!

Macy's a pretty big deal with her bed. She can monitor all activity in the kitchen, anxiously waiting for any floor clean up duties. 

Working on the salad for dinner.

I would say I was very successful with my Fresh Market meal.
Looks just as good as the picture.

I have been asked to post pictures of the house on the blog, but I am waiting for our sea shipment to arrive. I want to have more things on the walls before I start posting pictures. Plus, Ryan and I have been super busy building various pieces for the house. Everything is coming together very nicely, and our house is quickly becoming our home. Our sea shipment is scheduled to arrive in the port of New Orleans tomorrow (the 31st), hopefully customs does not take too long. If all goes well, we should have our sea shipment delivered next week!

Cutting it close...

I said I would continue the blog after moving to Louisiana, and I promise I will, but it seems I am slacking. I thought about the blog today, decided to check it out, and realized it has been almost a month since my last post! It seems like just a week ago I was typing a post, but I am wrong, I haven't blogged at all during the month of July, and I am cutting it close, but we can't let July feel left out.

Ryan and I have kept ourselves very busy. Since the last post, we have said goodbye to our good friends Tim and Kate, welcomed Ryan's family to our home, celebrated the Fourth of July with an amazing display of fireworks. We definitely tested the HOA regulations with our fireworks display, but no complaints were heard.

During the week Ryan's family was with us, we did a few home projects. The biggest involved assembling our patio furniture. We also experienced some of Louisiana's finest alligators during a swamp tour.

Hot dogs and marshmallows, they couldn't get enough.
We were told marshmallows look like turtle eggs, and alligators like turtle eggs.
 

Ryan loves working around the house. We decided not to hire a lawn service, and I said I would not mind mowing the lawn, but Ryan is having too much fun. Our lawn is a huge upgrade from the tiny, weed patch in Russia. Ryan has also become quite the carpenter, and I have become quite the designer. We are currently working on furniture for our guest bedroom. I am saving all pictures until the project is complete. I really enjoying designing the pieces, and I love Ryan's excitement each time I explain the new project. He accepts each new project as another reason to buy more tools (we may need to add on to our garage, or include a shed in our project line up).

My last post included my vehicle, Nola, but at the time I did not have any pictures of Ryan's Jeep. I would like to introduce Cajun. He is a super fun vehicle, and the perfect choice for Louisiana. It seems every weekend we take the top off, and it makes for a good transport vehicle for all our project materials.

Good thing the top comes off, otherwise we would not have been able to get our fire pit home.
Identify the problem, find the solution. 

Cajun also proved himself very useful when we decided to visit our local seafood market. We decided to purchase super fresh shrimp (already dead), and super fresh crab (still alive).

How can you identify a Midwesterner living in Louisiana?
Look for the girl holding a bag of shrimp out the window so the nasty juice doesn't drip inside the vehicle. 

Dinner, not friends for Macy.
Ryan handled the cooking, I stayed clear. 

If my lack of posts have not been proof enough, Ryan and I really are making the most of being back in the States. We are enjoying all our projects around the house. I have decided the best test for a marriage is telling the wife to design a project, handing the husband an assortment of power tools, and telling them to build the project together.

We love the opportunity to see family and friends more often. I mentioned earlier Ryan's family came to visit, and my parents are planning a trip in October. Ryan and I also hopped back on a plane last week, I know, I said I was done with flying after all the plane trips during our time in Russia, but my good friend Jessica was getting married. Ryan and I flew to Chicago, spent a couple days with family and friends, visited my family, and then Indianapolis for Jessica and Brian's wedding! I must admit, O'Hare is a much happier place when you are not trying to juggle 4 pieces of luggage by yourself. I could really get use to short, domestic flights, and not packing your life into pieces of luggage. I guess it's a good thing, because Ryan and I have sat down and planned a couple trips for the remainder of this year.

I was going to actually have a post without a picture of Macy, but I think she could sense it. She decided to do as much as she possibly could to bring attention to herself. Apparently she had an itch on her back, and since I was typing away, she decided to handle it. 

I failed to capture the picture when she paused, looked up at me with her "What?" look. 

You know you're a homeowner when...

I can't believe it has been two weeks since my last post. I guess we have been keeping ourselves really busy. We thought with a new build, we would not have to worry about anything, just move right in. What we (and when I say we, I mean I) failed to realize, a house needs a lot, especially a first house. Before Russia we were in an apartment, and while in Russia, we lived in a company provided and furnished apartment. This house, OUR house, is coming together nicely. It seems a Saturday and Sunday trip to Lowe's is becoming a tradition. You know you're a homeowner when the employees at Lowe's start recognizing you.

The past two weeks have been filled with deliveries, shopping, projects, installations, etc. etc. We received our air shipment last week!! I try to do as much as I can during the day, so when Ryan gets home from work, he does not have much to do. His projects have been completed on the weekends, and I try my best to stay out of the way.

We are loving Louisiana, and the house. Our friends are currently staying with us while they are preparing to move to the Netherlands, and Friday, Ryan's family arrives. I like having people in the house. Take this as your invitation to visit. :)

As always, what is a post without pictures. My camera is still packed away, so I still only have iPhone pictures to post.

Learning how to use sprinklers to water the sod.
Many broken nails from this homeowner duty, but, thankfully, there have been rainy days, saving me the hassle of watering the lawn. 

After the sod was placed, they were able to complete the fence and gates. Macy loves her backyard. 

I named him Gilbert. I found him while I was out in the garage, he was hanging out on the front of my car. 

At some point, he moved into the tire well area, and stayed here for many miles. From our house to the gym, from the gym back to our house, then from our house to our friend's house, where he finally decided to hop away. 

This giant of a T.V. was added to our house. Notice the picture is from a distance? I am afraid to touch it. Luckily, Ryan and his friend Tim mounted it above the fireplace, so it is safely out of the way.

I don't know what is Ryan's favorite, the T.V. or the grill.
Ryan has been enjoying both equally.
I am happy he is able to have some of the things we couldn't have in Russia. 

First pizza delivery.
My parent's live too far out of the city to have food delivered when I was growing up, so this is my first time having pizza delivered! 

Snuggles on the floor with Macy. She is adjusting to not being allowed on the furniture.
No need to worry, I bought her a very nice bed, and she has plenty of rugs to choose from. 

Grilling action shot. 

Macy at the vet office. She received a clean bill of health!

104. First triple digits. I think this was taken on June 19th.
 It's a bit warm, but I am not complaining. 

First carwash for Nola. 

This is Nola. She is an Infiniti QX50, and she is lovely. I love being able to drive myself everywhere.
I need to take a picture of Ryan's Jeep, we both love our vehicles. 

Macy loves working on her tan. 

What you never want to see your husband doing. Walking towards you with his hand closed. I started yelling for him to take it outside. 

Then he opened his hand and it was a teeny, tiny frog.
I still asked him to take it outside.
I will not elaborate on the bugs I have encountered. Nothing too bad, or too big, but I want my Mother to visit and I know she will never visit if I start posting pictures of bugs. :)

Macy loves riding in the Jeep. She has the entire back, and she chooses to stuff herself right behind Ryan's seat.

Life in Louisiana...

Life is busy, busy, busy in Louisiana. This is not going to be a very long post, just a quick check in. I am currently waiting for our new microwave to be delivered. Since I can't leave the house to run errands, I am taking a moment to check in. Buying a new house is a lot of work. Moving from Russia does not make it any easier. But all is well, we LOVE our new house.

My camera is nestled in its case somewhere. I am much too busy to pull out the camera to take photos, but I have snapped a few quick pictures on my iPhone. Not surprisingly, Macy is included in many of the photos. Macy LOVES the new house. She has become quite the guard dog. I never have to worry about being surprised by our builder, or a delivery truck.

Each day, our house becomes a bit more like home. It is a slow process, but Ryan and I are taking our time. It's our first house, and we want to make sure it is just how we want it to be.

For those who have not received the FaceTime tour, I will post more pictures of the house in the next few weeks. For now, my iPhone pictures:

Macy likes to nap with her head under our bed. 

Monitoring the squirrels in the backyard. 

The new foyer rug gets the Macy stamp of approval. 

Monitoring activity in the front yard. 

Our lawn is finally here!

Macy loves riding in the back of my car. She likes to stare at the car behind us at red lights.
More pictures of our vehicles to come. 

Such a pretty puppy in the window.
When Macy hears the garage door, she comes to check everything out. 

Our initiation to New Orleans.
A 4 mile bridge run over the Mississippi, in 90+ degrees. I really hate running, and the heat and humidity did not help, but I survived. 

I will try to be better about posting. We received notification that our air shipment has arrived in the States, and is processing through customs. Hopefully our sea shipment is close behind.

Next stop, America….

I know I only posted an hour or two ago, but I feel I should do a final post from Russia. Ryan and I are all checked in for our one way flight to America. We fly Moscow to Houston, then to New Orleans. And, I am very thankful I will be flying business, it will make this final, long flight so much nicer. Ryan and I will be able to toast our time in Russia together, with mimosas.  Considering what we are about do to, I am actually pretty calm. I must be saving all my happy dances for when my toes are on American soil.

A final blog post from Russia would not be complete without a few pictures. Some of the last pictures taken.

Last night in the apartment.

Last picture in Moscow. 

Taken before Macy left for her travels.  

The woman that came to get Macy from our apartment, took Macy for a final walk along the sea.
She sent us this picture. Macy is currently in Frankfurt awaiting her flight to Houston. Thursday she will be driven from Houston to our house.  

The next couple days will be very busy, travel, house closing, furniture deliveries, and starting our next adventure in Louisiana. Good bye Russia, it's been fun. Next stop, America!

Finally...

After three years of working on this project, I was finally able to see (in person) a portion of the work being done. Our last day in Novorossiysk, after the movers left, and after Macy was off to the airport, Ryan took me on a tour of the tank farm. I am very happy we were able to fit in a visit. Seeing the tank farm in person was incredible, the pictures do no justice for the massive size of the tanks, and magnitude of construction being done.

I thought the view of the mountains and hills was pretty. 

A good comparison, find the man walking on the base. 

The new tanks being built are brownish color (no paint yet), existing tanks are whitish. 

The machinery looks like toys in comparison to the base size of the tank.  The first new tank which will receive oil is on far left.