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Blini

Yesterday, Spencer and I made blini (Russian pancakes). He had looked up a recipe on the internet. He and Luke followed the recipe carefully, while Kim and I watched. But, the Russian friends we have don't actually use a recipe and I had my suspicions about how authentic the internet source was... the initial batter was too runny and the pancakes came out gummy. They should be more like a crepe. Spencer asked for help so I made a few adjustments. After adding more flour and some baking soda, baking powder, and more vegetable oil... we finally had a recipe that worked. I think Lena would have been proud!

Our modified recipe is this:
2 eggs
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt. Sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder into the bowl, and stir in along with the milk. Mix until smooth and well blended. The batter should be thinner than pancake batter but not runny like water.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium high heat. Lightly oil the pan. My friend Lena coats the pan with bacon fat and that gives it a unique flavor... but, vegetable oil works too! Pour about 2 tablespoons of the batter, or as much as desired, into the pan. Tilt the pan in a circular motion to spread the batter out evenly and thinly. When bubbles appear, slide a spatula carefully under the blini. Flip, and cook for about 1 minute on the other side, or until lightly browned.

Remove blini to a plate. Put a little butter on top, and continue to stack the blini on top of each other. To serve, spread with desired filling, then fold in half, and in half again to form a triangle...or you can roll it up and enjoy.

how NOT to catch a plane

Russian Policeman Starts Bomb Hoax to Save Boss From Missing Plane
MosNews.com







A Russian policeman has been jailed for phoning an airport with a bomb warning to help acquaintances of his boss make their flight, the Reuters news agency reports quoting an article in the Friday issue of Russian daily Kommersant.

A senior police officer, who was seeing off two businessmen in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg in February last year, told his subordinate to fix the problem when they failed to board the plane on time.

The assistant phoned the airport and said he had received a message about explosives and weapons on board the plane. The aircraft with 40 passengers on board turned around in mid-air to return to Yekaterinburg.

The police officer and his subordinate were sentenced to 21 months in prison each, the paper reported.Witnesses cited by Kommersant said the businessmen had been drinking in the airport.

at night at the movies

We took the kids to the movies last night and they all enjoyed seeing Night At the Museum. It was fun to hear them laugh. I am not a Ben Stiller fan so I didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else did. I did like Robin Williams... he is one of my favorites.

Spencer gave me not one but two e-cards for Women's Day so he scored major points!

The Ultimate Blog Party is winding down but I truly do appreciate everyone who was able to stop by. I noticed that there are over 900 blogs listed on the party site and I know I have not made it to most of them yet!

I am writing this early because we have a big day and night planned for tomorrow. Two of the kids are skipping school to spend the day with us and we have Celebrate Recovery to attend! <== Click on the highlighted words and go to the ministry link when you get there!

International Women's Day

I got an email from our friend Olya. It was great to hear from her and to feel connected to our Russian friends.

Today is International Women's Day and is a major holiday in Russia. It seems strange that people are not wishing me "Happy Women's Day". They don't celebrate Mother's Day there as we do in America. Women's Day celebrates all women... not just those who are mothers.

Flowers, candy and wishes of happiness, joy, peace and success are given to each female in your life!

all things Texas!

Spencer and I saw this in a Stuckey's on the way down here. We went back out to the car to get the camera. In Krasnodar we were treated by some friends to cornbread made in the shape of Texas so when we saw this it reminded us of Robert and Ann right away!

meetings, meetings

it feels like all we are doing is this!

We are back with our friends in Tom Bean. The drive into North Dallas for our meetings was not bad... going there it was less than an hour in the car. We watched Dreamgirls at the hotel last night and that was a real treat! We also were taken to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I had not eaten there in at least three years. We had lunch at a little Italian place and I had an Italian sausage Caesar salad and Tom had a crab cake salad... very tasty! We enjoyed going out to eat with Louie he has great taste in restaurants!

if it's Monday

We must be in Dallas! Don't know if we will see much of the city. We have meetings to attend all afternoon and evening. And tomorrow will be the same.

If we get a chance we may go to a movie... we have not been to a theatre to see a movie in English for 2 years! We saw things like Madagascar, The Island, and Chronicles of Narnia in Russian. So to watch in English will be a major treat!

Tom Bean

Wow! It has been great to see our friends again.

They have another dog. Last time we were here they had Skip and Angel. Now they have added Sparky... he was homeless and they took him in. Tom, Paul, Hailey and I were hanging out in the family room watching the Food Network after church and we had all the dogs at our feet or angling for a seat on the couch!

The service today was great. It was overwhelming to sing worship songs in English. I think I cried more than I sang! We are still having difficulty making decisions in stores. We went with Paul after church to pick up some food for lunch... just deciding on side dishes for the fried chicken was draining.

We are going back to church for a prayer meeting. Kim, a nurse, has to work this week so we only saw her at church this morning for a short while. Tyler and Spencer went to the youth meeting after the first service while Luke and Hailey attended the second service while we shopped for lunch.

We met with most of the elders at church this morning and got the chance to speak with a couple who adopted two boys from Russia. They are now a family of seven!

We are driving into Dallas for some meetings tomorrow and Spencer is planning to hang out here in Tom Bean while we are gone.

Amarillo News

We spent the night in Amarillo and now we are on the way to Tom Bean. It was a quick drive here to Texas and we are so excited about seeing our friends!

The drive was mostly uneventful... Spencer and I took a few pictures. When we got to the Texas border it looked like a storm was coming through. The winds were very high and we had thoughts that a tornado may have been nearby.

Ultimate Blog Party

How could I forget the big party???


I am setting a place at the table just for you... so don't be late!















Have questions like "why Russia?" ask away! I blog about our daily life in Russia, our trials with learning this language, and the work we do here. I write for our family, friends and supporters. I am glad that you have chosen to stop by. Please take your shoes off and enjoy some Russian hospitality... each time we have been to a Russian home for a visit out comes the photo album.

Our two years in Russia have taught us the importance of gift giving... if you are going to a Russian home for dinner the most popular gifts are flowers and candy! Make sure you take an odd number of flowers... even numbers are for funerals.

Take care and come again!

Alida

on the road again!

We are leaving for Dallas this morning. This will be our first trip without Nathan. It seems strange to leave him behind.

Stops in Texas include Tom Bean, Sherman and Dallas. It will be great to see old friends and meet new ones. I remember seeing an old ad about getting to Tucumcari by nightfall. I asked Tom if we would make it that far. He says that since it is only a few hours away it won't be a problem. Actually, I think the goal is Amarillo so that we make it to Tom Bean the next day!


I hope that we find internet access along the way... if not, Spencer and I will start going through withdrawal.

Enjoying the view

Spencer and I have been enjoying the walking path not far from where we are staying. It is very peaceful. Yesterday, we walked during our errands but didn't take an "official" walk and I realized this morning how much I missed it.

We started walking 5 times a week before we left Russia. It is helping me to feel better which is a good thing. Spencer is a great cheerleader. He is very encouraging and keeps me from quitting or giving up too soon!

We plan to keep up our walks all throughout our time here in the states... so if you want to join us just let me know. We would love to see your favorite walking trail!

keeping in touch

I have written before about the joy of email. Today I was excited to hear from Zhenya. She oversees the Women's Department at the BLTC. It was great to hear from her and feel connected to the women there in Krasnodar while we are away for a bit. It is interesting that while in Russia, Zhenya and I communicate in Russian. My Juno account won't accept Russian letters so I have to write in English... thankfully, Zhenya is fluent in English!

Please pray for the upcoming session in April... I know that the women who will attend are going to be blessed and will bond even more with one another.

Spencer and I went out to find a "pay as you go" phone. We found several at Walmart and then started thinking of how we could have a cell phone here in the states and still say money. We decided to check out buying a SIM card for my Russian cell phone. As long as you have an "unlocked" cell phone it should work anywhere you travel. At Cingular the SIM card was free and all I had to pay for was the minutes.

Now I need to go to Radio Shack and see about a converter to be able to plug in my phone charger... it has a European outlet!

Nathan can build

Nathan put together his new desk for his room! He said he wanted to do it all by himself and then wanted to know why I was not in there taking pictures because as he said "you love this kind of stuff" I do love to record our family milestones... I was just trying not to get in the way!

Watching the Oscars

Jennifer Hudson quote from her acceptance speech:

"Oh my God, I have to just take this moment in. I cannot believe this. Look what God can do. I didn't think I was going to win," Hudson said through tears of joy. "If my grandmother was here to see me now. She was my biggest inspiration."

To hear Jennifer give her speech was a highlight for me. I pray that she continually holds onto God as she has so far... her roots in the church and her faith run deep.

She can give a testimony to young women that is powerful. She didn't win American Idol like she wanted... yet two years later she is an Oscar winner! Only God knew that was part of the plan for her life. She kept on working and doing what she felt called to do. And though she did not get the accolades she wanted from American Idol her Oscar win leaves no doubt about the gifts God has given to this incredible sister in the Lord.

Let Jennifer's win inspire you to keep on going after a defeat or disappointment... you never know where it might lead!

interesting article

Court Rejects Russian Schoolgirls’ Lawsuit Against Darwin Theory


MosNews

A Russian court on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit brought by a 16-year-old student who said that being taught the theory of evolution in school violated her rights and insulted her religious beliefs, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Kirill Shreiber, whose daughter Maria’s complaint had prompted the suit in December, said he had expected the decision by the St. Petersburg’s Admiralty District Court, and promised to appeal the decision.

“Our task remains the same: to dethrone Darwin’s theory. People should not eternally believe in the complete nonsense of Darwinism,” Shreiber told The Associated Press. “Man is the result of God’s creation, and many scientists share this point of view.”

The court judge announced the verdict in a short hearing, and said an explanation for the ruling would be released later.

Maria Shreiber claimed the 10th-grade biology textbook used at the Cervantes Gymnasium was offensive to believers and that teachers should offer an alternative to Darwin’s famous theory. Her father told the AP that she dropped out of school at the beginning of January, after receiving low grades that he blamed on teachers who were prejudiced against her.

She now works in the Dominican Republic at a tourist company he declined to identify.

The suit was the first of its kind in Russia.

In the United States, several lawsuits have been filed challenging Charles Darwin’s theory that says humans descended from apes. Many anti-evolution groups have pushed an idea known as “intelligent design,” which states that living organisms are so complex they must have been created by some kind of higher force.

first impressions

Our first impressions being back in the states after two years in Russia:

*there are too many choices in the stores

*people are speaking a language we completely understand

*people give each other more personal space than we are used to... there were a lot of empty seats on the shuttle bus to the plane and people stood far apart.

*there are too many choices in the stores!


In Vienna at the airport we were able to purchase magazines and books in English. Then at the airport in D.C. there were two Borders Stores. There were two Starbucks.

The Passport control in D.C. was not any faster than in Moscow and only slightly more organized. The workers were just as sarcastic with people!

Walmart is huge... Borders and Starbucks are everywhere!

travel time

Tim picked us at 2:15am. Our flight left at 4:55am. We left Russia on February 22nd and we lost 14 hours as we traveled. We have been traveling for 28 hours... Tom says that this is the longest day of his life!

tickets are here!

Our tickets arrived by DHL yesterday. We are almost packed and ready to go. It is not easy to pack for four months. We know that we will be purchasing things in the states. But, planning what to wear in the cold and also in the heat of summer is tough. Gathering up school supplies so that we can study while we are gone is also a priority... part of the bulk in my suitcase is our lessons!

We have a 24 hour journey ahead of us:
Krasnodar to Vienna, Vienna to Washington D.C., Washington D.C to Albuquerque

Each of us hopes to pick up some reading material in Vienna. They have several stores where you can buy magazines and books in English.

Please pray for us on our journey back to the states and for Goar and Katya as they stay here and take care of our home!