Fingerpainted Impressions

Just found really cool (and cheap!) earrings on Etsy:

and 

Aww!! :)

Etsy is an amazing collection of hand-made..everything!

Love this too:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/47796591/hobo-chic-batik?ref=cat2_gallery_40

SO! After an entire month of not being able to post, I am back…I actually got two weeks off work from the 13th to the 27th of Sept! BUT I wouldn’t count that as a vacation at all, since I pretty much had to work from home in order to have the bulletin ready to post by the time I got back on the job, plus the tutoring! Kyle and I decided to get away to the Black Sea for a couple days, but we could only squeeze out three, since at the last moment I got an offer from the Council of Europe about a translation of a huge IDP human rights-related report…92 pages, well about 70-odd pages of pure Georgian text..into English, which is a way better option that vice versa, so I took it up of course because at this point I can’t afford to miss such opportunities….

So work aside, Kyle and I went to Kobuleti for three days by train! The train ride was pretty much ok, and the train itself was bearable.. except for the creepy old guy we got in our room…but oh well :)

I hadn’t been to Kobuleti for about 6 or 7 years and it was so good to see the sea again! It was absolutely gorgeous! Especially on the first day, when the weather was amazing! We went swimming (or, in my case, dog paddling) which was also great! In the end it turned out I burned my face REALLY bad since the dermatologist ordered me to put some brown-looking oily crap on my face when I sleep..I wash it off in the morning, but apparently some particles still remain and the burn was exactly on the outlines of the ointment…not cool at all..also, I made it worse by going to the beach the next day as well and getting salt water on my face…ow..ended up sitting with a couple of wet tissues on my cheeks….anyway, the room we were staying at was really great! Small and cozy with a shower that I wish we had at home! Also, we had home-made meals three times a day (2 times to be exact, since we didn’t have the time to eat so much!) and those were delicious!

On the second day we went to Batumi to see the city. It was a lot more “modernized” since the last time I saw it so we enjoyed a long walk through the boulevard and the seaside, took a ride on a huge panoramic wheel overlooking the entire city and took some breathtaking pics from there…wanted to see the “dancing fountains” but apparently the show comes on at 10:00 pm, which was too late since we had to take a bus back while it was still available :) Also, couldn’t do without a taste of the local specialty - the Adjarian khachapuri (fatty as hell, but yom!) Then walked around some more until dark, then headed for the bus, on the way to which Kyle got “robbed” by some drunk guy standing right behind him, so of course I noticed and grabbed whatever he had pulled out of Kyle’s backpack from his hand..turned out to be a yellow piece of paper with some unneeded notes on it…should have let him have it

So we headed home and spent the next day at the beach collecting rocks :) It was quite cloudy and looked like a storm was on the way, but the water was exceptionally warm and foamy…had to head  back to Tbilisi that night, so we said our goodbyes to the nice people that hosted us, telling them we hoped to come back (which we do) and headed for the station (we got a ride there from our newly found friends, for which we were most grateful). This time, the train ride seemed a lot shorter for some reason, I slept through most of it, and we had two sweet old sharing the room with us…:) Got back home early in the morning and went straight to sleep….definitely too short of a vacation but it was definitely pleasant to get away from the capital for a little while, especially with the Hubby! :)

Soo then I set out to work on the horrifying translation, and also was due to get back on the job the coming Monday :( I called my tutoring kids to let them know I wouldn’t be able to see them for about two weeks since working on the report, going to the actual work, and tutoring would be a physically impossible feat…I am not a superwoman..so I spent the next two weeks slaving over the translation, finishing at 1:30 am and waking up at 7-something to go to work, where I had to sleep in the bathroom sometimes…..anyway, after two weeks of almost continuous 24-hour work, I was finally done! The report itself was actually interesting and dealing with something I’d worked with at the UN..IDP human rights issues in collective centers, new settlements, and returnee villages…very familiar, but just ridiculously long…When I was done with it, I couldn’t fathom the thought 

Also got a call from the president’s administration regarding another translation job, so Kyle and I went over there for an “interview”..had to go through all these security measures, although it was very funny how they let Kyle go through a) without a pass; b) with his pick in his hair; c) with a pocket knife in his backpack… So turned out they needed a translator for their website articles (understandably so, since the English translations on the Georgian websites are so horrendous that they usually need a translation themselves) So they sent me a test article, which I could only manage to do 2-3 days later since I was so caught up with everything else…aand I’m still waiting on the answer..

Anyway, so that’s about it I guess! Super-long entry this time, makes up for all the missed month! 

Oh YA, and on a final note, I finally started my biking yesterday! Felt really good, so I plan to keep that on track from now on :) (I checked my calendar and I was shocked to find out that the last time I’d exercised was in June!) So yep..definitely time to get back on it! :)

Dammit, everything seems to be stopping me from exercising these days! Currently it’s the reflexology/dermatology treatments that I have to go through daily (yep.. the guy sticks needles in my fingers and I have to sit there motionless for at least 30 minutes!), which thoroughly messes up my entire day’s schedule… Losing that time at the doctor’s translates into me going way late to my tutoring and subsequently coming home around 9, exhausted and famished….Hopefully this won’t last too long…

But on the other hand, this is really not an excuse to be putting off the onset of my exercising regimen..it’s pretty mush just 30 minutes on the bike, plus about 15 with weights…I just need to PUSH myself to go ahead and start again, and once I do, I’ll be in motion for the rest :)

Another pro for the exercise is that it keeps the immune system going strong, which is exactly what I need right now, what with all the antibiotics and shit I have to take for the skin condition… 

I’m thoroughly pissed..at myself mostly though…

But on a lighter note, the weekend was ok..Went to this new Indian place with hubby and Emily on Sunday with high hopes that this wasn’t going to be insanely expensive like the last one we went to, and came out utterly disappointed - not about the prices as much (although I wouldn’t call it cheap either) but about the quality and taste of the food…Em and Kyle were mostly complaining about the bone-iness of the butter chicken, which is technically supposed to be boneLESS, and I was complaining about the lassi, which tasted exactly like matsoni…not too much of a novelty here..

Also, watched the new edition of “Karate Kid” (or Kung-Fu Kid, if the martial art in the movie is interpreted correctly) and it was actually not bad :) also watched Ice-Age 3, which was good, but obviously nothing like the first two..and watched something called “The Carriers” last night, which, to me, seemed extremely pointless and plot-less, even though there was meant to be a plot I assume….

Anyway! Found a couple of hilarious t-shirt designs on Snorg Tees (http://www.snorgtees.com/). Love em :D

 For those non-vegetarians! :D

HILARIOUS!!

Bummer….

That right!

:P And, my favorite:

Two minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven!

An Israeli-Palestinian peace deal within a year: is the US government being realistic?

• YES (12% - 47 votes)
• NO (80% - 303 votes)
• NOT SURE (8% - 30 votes)

(I bet those 47 people are Americans…)

Okaaaaaaaaay, haven’t been on here for a few days…and today is already the first of September! I can’t believe summer flew by so fast..

But since today is another first of the month, besides it being a payday (woohoo?) I’ve once again decided to make it the beginning of my bike-routine which I haven’t engaged in in several months…I am THE worst when it comes to consistency, so I will try to use the amazing stories people post here as inspiration.. (Along with the occasional glance at these high-end fitness websites, like sparkpeople [where the membership is actually and pleasantly free])

I’ve been seeing a little potbelly creep up on me, which really needs to be taken care of…Along with the muscle-toning that I’ve always dreamed about (so hello weights!)

Another goal for now is to get up on time and NOT be late for work, as I usually am 20 out of the 22 workdays a month. :(

In other news, tutoring started back up again, so there go my days of getting to go home after work..which reminds me, about time to pack up and head off to see my first eager student :D :D

Watched “Kick-Ass” with Kyle and it completely overturned my expectations! I thought it was going to be another idiotic sex-joke filled teenage comedy in the likes of “Superbad”, but nooo, it was actually a great movie with a nice plot! Would definitely recommend! 

And I just found out it was actually a comic book too :P (doh)

Also watched Shrek 2 and currently in the process of Shrek the Third, pretty good.. Especially Banderas’ impersonation of the Puss :D