Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has a scary and spooky Halloween!!

Be safe and eat candy.

And try not to fall absolutely in love with my niece Stella.

I just want to squeeze that little ball of wool.

Magic Really Does Exist

Yesterday I got to experience something I had never experienced before.

The first snow of the season.

I felt like I just so happened to wake up in some movie scene.

After rising from bed with a big stretch, I looked outside the window and saw a single white fluff delicately floating down from the sky.

I thought it was a feather.  My mind wandered off into how that single feather could have gotten there...

....probably fell off a bird while it was flying...

....maybe that bird was getting chased by a big, black, scary crow....

....maybe that crow pecked the feather off as it was chasing this innocent white dove....

....maybe the bird was flying away from a plane...

....maybe the bird got hit by the plane and the feathers went flying everywhere!....

Yes, this is actually how my mind works.

I continued to peer out the window as my mind was running in circles and slowly I began to see more soft, white fluffs coming down.

As I thought to myself,

"Clearly the bird was hit by the plane with this many feathers coming down"

I realized it was snow.

Being the Southern California girl that I am, clearly my first conclusion was not, "Oh! Snow!" regardless of all the tell tale signs of freezing temperatures, snow jackets, and lots of hot coco.

When my blonde moment finally lapsed and my brilliant Berkeley brain realized that it was actually snow, I couldn't resist jumping up and down on the bed and squealing like a little girl.

Then a massive lightbulb switched on

"You idiot, GO OUTSIDE!"

So on with my stockings, leggings, and snow pants. I bundled myself up to go experience something new.  With my camera in hand I ran as fast as I could down the 10 flights of stairs and went screaming out the front door.  

Unfortunately, I didn't get to go diving into mounds of snow and make snow angels.  Instead, I sat on a little bench.  I sat and reveled in this white soft powder that is snow.  With my face up at the sky, little soft kisses landed on my nose.

It was magic.

Welcome To Russian Cribs

I moved into my apartment yesterday, otherwise referred to as a flat in every country other than the USA, and I am so excited to be out of that hotel and into my own space.

So I want to take you on a little tour of mi casa but I warn you, I basically live in a vault and your eyes might start hurting after seeing the amount of yellow in my digs.  You might assume they would choose warmer colors like rich browns or deep reds to try to counteract the arctic weather outside but instead, this previous owner opted for a pale sunshine yellow.

But in a way, I guess it's good because maybe I can just do it all my way and shnaz this place up a bit.

Anyways, as we step off the elevator we come to this door.  It requires a single key that unlocks two locks.

Make a quick left and we come to the vault.  This door requires three keys to unlock seven locks.

Voila....My Russian Crib

Standing at the entrance, from left to right

My bedroom

The second bedroom

TV room with surround sound BOOOYAH!

From the entrance, turn left and take the hallway to the kitchen.  On the way, we will make two quick stops.

First stop on the left down the hallway- Shower room and laundry room

Second stop on the left is the toilet.  

Exciting stuff.  I know.

Last stop- Kitchen.

Notice there is no dishwasher.  Matt is going to love this :)

I would show you the inside of my fridge but there is literally NOTHING in it.

Back to the entrance so we can check out the themed decor.

Now for where the magic happens!

That's how they introduce the bedroom on Cribs right?

My cozy bedroom

The View!  Doesn't really compare to my old view in Newport but it's a great perch for people watching.

The second bedroom with a killer futon.  Anyone interested in coming to visit?

The TV room with surround sound.  The flat screen is being delivered today!  Highlight of the evening most likely.

Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Now get outta my house!

We are finally back in Moscow after a very long road trip to St. Petersburg.

If you ever come to Russia, you must visit St. Petersburg.  It is gorgeous; full of old architecture and soft white light dimly shining from the countless bridges that frame the river which winds its way through town.  I am absolutely smitten.

I made some awesome strides this weekend with the team.  The girls are fantastic and so much fun and it's kind of nice not knowing what they are saying.  This way, if they hate me, I will never know it so I can just continue on being friendly.  With miraculous effort, I learned everyone's names, accent and all, which was not easy.

The best part of the entire weekend was when I found out that our trainer used to be a stripper!!!! YES! I said it.  A stripper.  Totally unassuming guy too.  I am going to try to make him dance for me.

I am so excited for this little golden nugget of information because you know what this means?  

A LOT MORE SURPRISES TO COME!

I'm guessing this is going to be an interesting season.

So I am not sure if I mentioned to you all that traveling in Russia is a tad bit different than traveling in America.  Planes are not the first choice of transportation.  Trains are.  And much to my surprise, I must admit that I am feeling particularly prone to picking the train over the plane as well.  

Check out our digs!

Those are beds you see and you have the freedom to walk around as you please.  

Seat belts?

No thank you.

On the two train rides we have taken thus far, we have departed around midnight and by the time we sleepily awake from our slumber, we have already arrived at our destination.

It's like time travel.

This is our super cool stadium.  I'm really excited to play our first match here.  Maybe I can get a better picture.

Now that we're home, we have three days off.  I think I am going to call my coach and beg him to take me to the men's game tonight so I don't have to sit in my hotel room.

Halloween isn't even here and they were playing "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" at our match tonight.  For some reason, this feels totally normal here.

St. Petersburg

I really wish I could have taken some more pictures of this place.  It was gorgeous!

Some girls from the team.  Thanks coach for the bunny ears.

Going deeper and deeper into the earth....or just down to the subway.

I can't wait until I have some free time to come back to St. Petersburg and explore.  It is such a pretty place...minus the constant rain.  Plus, this entire city is such a great location to people watch and we all know how much I love to do that.  

The range in fashion is absurd.   I saw people wearing cat ears and an entire fire red ensemble all the way to high fashion/cover of vogue amazing fur coats and stilettos.  And let me also state that Paris has failed in comparison to St. Petersburg if they were competing for the title of "City of Love."  Regardless of the weather, I have never seen so many couples outside canoodling, and smooching, and holding hands.  It makes me miss my mister.

I have been trying to waste time before my train ride to St. Petersburg tonight....

I know you are all so green with envy that I get to embark on such a cool adventure for a week

....and stumbled upon a blog with a post that held so true to my heart.  While reading my new favorite post, my entire childhood and my parents' voices kept flashing through my head.  It made me realize that what they tried to teach me was really valuable information and I now understand why they got so frustrated with me when I refused to listen.  I am fairly lucky (don't want them to get big heads since they both read this blog) to have had parents who wanted not only the best for me but for me to be able to be wise and caring and make well thought out decisions.  And to be completely honest, I think they did a pretty dang good job because these values that they instilled in me have been seriously helpful in avoiding some colossal stuff-ups.

I am far from perfect and I regularly screw up, so it is nice to stumble upon something that genuinely makes you want to be a better person.

It's a good guide to use to check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Rules To Live By

~Trust your gut, always.

~If it sounds too good to be true... it probably is.

~When someone shows you who they are: believe them.

~When we know better, we do better.

~People will forget what you said, but they'll never forget how you made them feel.

~The greatest relationship is the one you have with yourself because no matter what happens, you will always have to live with that person.

~Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing really are the same.

~Be grateful, always.

~Sometimes you have to take that chance and if you fail, learn from it and try again.

~If you work hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen.

Thank you Maribel from My Narcissism.  This is really great advice.