Lies/Misconceptions

about snow.

1. It always looks like a winter wonderland.

FALSE. Snow dies. It doesn't just roll over and give up either. It dies a slow, painful, incredibly murky death. The type of demise that is not snow boot appropriate. This is a case for wellies, rain boots to the knee. That seems to be the only option to protect your toes from black slush that has covered the streets and practically everything else. You might as well wear a poncho too. Drivers are so excited that they can go faster than five miles an hour and they are taking full advantage. Speeding down the road they are able to send the slush flying over unsuspecting bystanders in tsunami like waves. Not only are your toes slush covered, but you have mud splatters straight up your back and front. Like a winterized Jackson Pollock painting. Expect worth way less money.

Woolly Mammoth in Serbia

So the other day one of those urban legend evidence videos popped up. Slightly notable because it involved a Woolly Mammoth and Serbia. Well, it did involve Serbia. Most news sources have quietly corrected their articles to reflect actual geography. Not this one: http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981100672


If you're not interested in reading the actual article let me give you the highlights. The title is:

Theories on Woolly Mammoth Caught on Video in Serbia

Super. Now let's get some clarification about the location of said Woolly Mammoth:  

Could it really be the giant elephant-like creature? Probably not, but people have plenty of theories about the footage which was "caught by a government-employed engineer last summer in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug region of Siberia."

Say what?! That Serbian video tape was taken in Siberia? Mind blown. In case you're missing the ridiculousness of this post please refer back to this post that clarifies the locations of both Serbia and Siberia.

Things I've learned....

about snow.

1. You will always underestimate the depth of the snow and it will more than likely be higher than your boot tops.
2. No snow is more dangerous than piles of snow. I've seen countless people slip and slide on marble that is free of snow and icy streets that have no snow on them.
3. Traffic rules do, for the first time, apply. You always wait for the cross walk because you don't know how far you or oncoming traffic will slide before coming to a stop. Which brings us to number 4.
4. No one moves fast in snow. Walking in snow is like walking in semi wet sand. You couldn't move fast if your life depended on it. If you did you'd end up on your back as people slowly stepped over you.
5. If your bus or tram is late, always walk. You'll be warmer with the movement than you would be pacing at the station and you can probably meet it at the next stop. If they're actually running.
6. Layers are key. With layers, it isn't even that cold. These aren't Mississippi layers either, these are "so hot I'm going to pass out before I get out of the foyer of my apartment" layers. The danger lies in hidden snow that attaches itself to your layers. This is fine outside, as soon as you get anywhere warm it will make its icy presence known as it delves under your layers.
7. While no snow is bad, residual snow in your boot treads is even worse. Always stomp your feet in snow free areas so that you won't be prone to sliding as you walk indoors or across streets.
8. Stilettos are okay as long as they are attached to boots. These boots must reach your knees or higher. When walking down snow covered stairs, you should turn you foot sideways and spear your stiletto into the snow and ice before placing your weight down on the rest of your foot. This will ensure that you don't slide right off the stair.
9. When clearing the snow off your car it is essential to have a hand held brush and dust pan, that way you don't scratch your car when scraping the ice off. Danger: do not ask children under 16 to clear your car. They will scrape the foot or so off of the top down onto the sides. The top of your car will be clear, but there will be four foot walls of snow on either side effectively blocking your doors.
10. If you're going to walk your dog, you should put him in as many sweaters as will fit under his winter water proof coat.

This is just 10 things, just wait. There will be plenty more I'm sure.

Look what finally made it to Belgrade...

So a few days ago it started to snow, it has yet to stop. In fact, I don't think its supposed to stop till thursday. South Serbia has been suffering for much longer and they are truly struggling. Belgrade is just getting a taste so far.

Lola watching the snow fall. She kept putting her paws on the window to try and catch the flakes. (Who knew snow actually fell in flakes?!) That lantern behind her is because the day/night before we lost power and had to resort to old school lighting methods.

The view from my window last night.

And this morning. People were out and about like usual, it just took some time to uncover their cars first.

These were taking as I was walking to catch the bus to Fellowship. This is the parking lot. Most of the cars that hadn't been moved had snow up past the tires.

You can see the sidewalk with tramped down snow and then those random footprints on the side from the adventurous kids.

I'm sure this guy thought I was stalking him. This is at the light waiting to cross the street. You had to step over the piles of snow onto the street which was ice in most places, with a little snow covering. You also couldn't step out in front of cars like normal because you didn't know how far they'd slide before coming to a stop.

The same guy...but here you can see where they had cleared the sidewalks and just pushed the snow over to the side. Which was great until you needed to reach the street and had to stomp through the piles of displaced sidewalk snow. 

The parking lot to street exits were mostly snow. They weren't nearly as clear as the streets themselves.

A little snow bug.

Jen you were totally right. The best part is that the parents pull their kids around on sleds. So you'll see these parents hauling a sled behind them with what you assume to be a child on it. You can't really tell because the snow suit obscures all features.

You could tell which cars hadn't been moved for a while.

The Orthodox temple behind the bus stop.

The mostly clear streets.

For all you Southerners I hope you enjoy living vicariously through my snow photos. It is a really weird experience for a Mississippi girl.

And Abbey you are totally invited to my birthday party!!

First Annual Team Belgrade Flea Market Christmas

Team Belgrade consists of two wonderful families, three kids each...and me. Most of you may be wondering what exactly my Christmas (Protestant not Orthodox) looked like. I actually spent Christmas Eve and morning with the Israels. After opening presents with them I went home and skyped with my family. Bam, Christmas in two time zones. Christmas Day was an adventure I'll recount in the next post. This one is dedicated to our Team Extravaganza.

Christmas Eve we all met at the flea market. We've already discussed how much I love the flea market! We had drawn names at dinner the night before and we were tasked with getting our person a gift. The catch was that the gift had to be 500 dinar or less. Which is about 7 dollars. I had selected Kyle, the youngest Israel child and Connor (my shopping buddy) had picked his mom. So off we went, it was surprisingly difficult. There was just too much to choose from. Most of it was over my limit as well. Finally we found the perfect gifts and met back up with the group. There was a lot of speculation and attempts to cheat and see what was in everyone's bags. We all headed home to wrap gifts and then reconvened at the Steven's household. After some goading from the children we sat down to exchange gifts. This is what transpired:

The gifts. If only you could hear the excitement.

Kyleigh had my name. I got a sled (which will really come in handy now), kinder eggs (my favorite!) and two pairs of socks. It should be known that I almost never wear matching socks. I don't tend to match them and wear whatever two I pick up first. Michaela, the youngest Stevens girl, does not appreciate this. SO Kyleigh safety pinned the socks into mismatched pairs before she wrapped them. Such a super girl right there.

I got Kyle this ridiculous pillow. At first he didn't like it, then he saw how everybody else thought it was wonderful and he did a quick 180. He told me he was going to sleep on it that night. It has a cute Bear and Rabbit playing soccer (which Kyle loves, the soccer...no idea about the animals). The cyrillic writing is nonsense. We think its a chinese attempt at cyrillic.

Connor got that nifty tie that he's wearing and he got his mom that denim printed apron with a bear smelling flowers. Kyleigh (racing by) got that awesome animal print vest.

That is how Connor normally looks.

There was a lot of confusion and explaining of why we chose gifts.

Everyone was also touched by the magic pillow in some way.

Oh yea. We also talked about the meaning of Christmas. Because we love Jesus more than silly flea market presents.

I'm thinking I might have to have a flea market scavenger hunt for my birthday. People will have to find and take photos of toilets, tires, cell phone cases, pirated movies, nikes, Hungarian candy, Serbian flag underwear, kitchen utensils, bed sheets, rabbits, etc. I'm going to keep developing this thought in my brain.

A little Cole and Lola...

Lola wearing her pink cape. We had to try it on before the Christmas photos.

Cole refused to wear his Sherlock Holmes' hat.

Then one day Lola got trapped in a shopping bag. Not pictured: Cole trapped in a pastry bag and falling off the kitchen table.

When the city heat came on we had to open the windows a little bit. Only a little so the cats didn't fall from the fourth story. This is how they looked every night.

Cole had his boy parts removed just in time for the Christmas photo.

It was a sad time for him. I had to literally strap him into that collar. He's wearing a yarn vest in order to keep it on his fat head.

Sometimes I find them laying around like this. This is their equivalent of playing dead. 

Cole also likes to sleep on top of his shelf and knock off things that upset him. He's almost too fat now, every time he jumps the shelf rocks dangerously. Only a matter of time before I have a photo of that destruction.

I fully accept my crazy cat lady label. It makes sense because both of my cats are neurotic. However, people like coming over...I think they like my cats more than me. I can deal with that.