So it had been a while since I had received any of these wedding e-mails and I assumed that she had corrected her e-mail address with all the concerned parties. But last evening, I received the final invoice for her wedding/reception venue. This told me two things: First, she’s getting married this weekend (Congrats!); Second, the similarity in our names does not translate into a similarity in our financial situations. She is spending over $32,000 just on her venue and reception. So, yeah, this includes all the food, but what about all the other wedding accoutrements like flowers, the dress, photography, etc? Unbelievable.

The funny thing is, upon closer inspection of the invoice, I realized that my entire wedding cost approximately the same amount as the service charge of this wedding. Granted, I got married in a small park in rural Indiana rather than a fancy venue in New York City, but seven and a half years later, I think it all turned out okay.

Before we go, however, there will be the last minute arrangement of the bid list, wherein we seal our fate. So by the time we get back from R&R, Shawn should officially have his next assignment and we can start preparing. Because even though it will be ridiculously early, I know I will not be able to stop myself.

Today I discovered something that may be the key to my survival of the next 14 months in Kyiv - a bakery that has good cinnamon rolls. Real cinnamon rolls, not some Ukrainian attempt at cinnamon rolls. And it’s only two blocks from our apartment! I miss good pastries, particularly donuts, so much - I have a horrible sweet tooth. I think I know where I’ll be nearly every morning from now on…

Finally, a couple of photos for you. Laika recently celebrated her 10 month birthday. Neither Shawn nor I felt like awkwardly picking up all 50 pounds of her, so we forced her to sit and pose instead. And Shawn surprised me with a fancy Valentine’s dinner last week at the Hyatt. Very tasty and I got to dress up for the occasion. This is very exciting for someone who normally sits around in jeans covered in dried rawhide and dog slobber. And he also gifted me with some beautiful roses.

So, yes, there’s the pushing. But there’s also scowling. People scowl here for no reason other than the fact that it’s what you do. As a Midwesterner, who grew up learning to be kind to everyone, it’s quite off-putting. However, I learned quickly that if I tried to smile at someone, I was only going to get an even bigger scowl back. So now I scowl. I’m developing a wrinkly spot between my eyebrows.

And what’s the one positive thing that could come out of going native? I could improve my Russian speaking skills. Unfortunately, the pushing, scowling, and general unpleasantness of my daily encounters has led me to stop using Russian at all. Improving my speaking skills seems like so much work for almost no positive outcome. So I’ve been reduced to pointing and stuttering most of the time.

Well, at least I’m still leaving the house. That’s something, right?