the awful waffle.

my sister and i spent the day shopping for supplies for our latest valentine craft.

after surviving the rain we decided to treat ourselves to a treat. 

last summer my kindred spirit and i discovered the awful waffle on a bike ride.

since then, they have relocated and let me just say it is one of the cutest places to get waffles

 (or crepes as i prefer). 

i decided to try speculoos 

instead of my normal nutella.

i think i have a new favorite.

(note to future self: on the next snowy day, take my significant other so the two of us can sit by the fireplace, eat a crepe and snuggle... because all you need is love).

possibly the funniest video of all time.

one year ago january used to be 60 degrees....

not 6 degrees like this year happens to be....

so we decided to go camping. it was too cold to roast marshmallows so we did whats second best:

chubby bunny.

i think this video deserves an academy award, but that's just me.

(side note... around 1 minute 20 seconds is when it gets real good).

remember that one time i lived in ukraine?

i was just looking through some old pictures when i came across these...
about 3 and a half years ago i once upon a time decided that i was in need of an adventure.
so i packed up my bags and headed off to the faraway country of ukraine.
did i speak russian? no.
ukrainian? no.
how i got around for 5 months is still a mystery to me.
if it weren't for my trusty dictionary i think i would still be lost in the metro system.
i began my love for teaching in ukraine.
i taught kindergarten for 3 hours a day in english and was left the rest of the day to explore.
i lived with a family who was much more poor than i was.
well i guess in a literal sense.
i slept on a chair for 5 months, which beat the alternative of the concrete floor.
for a month we didn't have hot water or electricity.
after coming home after a long day of walking in the frigid cold, only to take a shower in ice cold water happens to not be on the list of things that i miss.
however the family who hosted me reaches the top of the list.
they were far from poor in spirit.
they taught me that you don't need anything but family to be happy.
they were the happiest people i have ever been blessed to meet.
i plan on a return visit to steal my favorite child Stopa.

while i was there i also was blessed to travel to 5 other countries.
ever since i read the devils arithmetic in the fifth grade i have had a secret obsession with the holocaust. i have always wanted to go to auschwitz.
let me just say for the record it changed my life. i could go on probably forever about my experiences there, although i think some things are better left unsaid. i was fortunate to eat gyros in austria (and sing sound of music songs at the top of my lungs), sign my name on the beatles wall in prague, and eat real hungarian goolash in hungary. wow. take me back.

after looking through my photos i discovered a couple things:
1. i was so fat when i came home from my visit...seriously nutella will do that to you.
2. i need to visit europe again. luckily i am this summer with a boy who will be my life long travel partner. paris. here. we. come.