awesome & awkward

[a lap full of puppies aka my dream]

awesome:

• for as long as i can remember, my mom has sent me interesting articles for me to read. one article in particular spoke about a woman named hanna zavorotnya from chernobyl. have you heard of her? after the nuclear disaster at chernobyl, an entire city of residents had been immediately removed and relocated to other cities, and countries, leaving their former lives behind. a small group of rouge babushkas decided enough was enough, and they wanted their homeland. so, they moved back. one individual in particular of note is hanna...and don't forget, chernobyl is still under quarantine for being a radioactive hot zone. yet hanna lives there happily, drinking contaminated water, eating the vegetables grown in radioactive soil, and making polluted sausage from her pigs living in this environment. hanna is 83. as strange as her, and the other babushkas, case is, it really shows you how much contentment and a sense of home really do effect people. if you haven't heard of her, give her story a read. it really is fascinating, and gave me quite a bit to chew on when it comes to seeking your own happiness. 

awkward:

• not too long ago, our nephew got to go to his first book fair. we were so excited for him since book fair day was our favorite in elementary school. so, T gave him some extra money to bring with him in case he wanted more than one book. ...or at least, he tried to. our nephew's eyes lit up, then quickly looked concerned when he told us he only wanted one book, pig the pug. we kept trying to tell him he'd never been to a book fair, and may want something else, or he could use it for anything else. but, our very willful nephew was certain he would only want one book. so, he spent the rest of the dinner trying to give T his money back. not quite the cute uncle gesture T had in mind. 
• a few weeks back, T woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of me narrating aloud while "baking". i suppose i was trying to bake bread because i was also kneading his head. to get me to fall back asleep, T typically shushes me, or tells me to go to sleep. but, when he did it this time, i kept up kneading and narrating...quietly. 

[bestie date snacks]

[sunset backyard lounging]

[dinner date with my girl, jana]