Workout lessons with Shaniqua

10:03 pm

"Kristine!!! We need to workout!"

"Hi Rachel. its ten oclock!"

"Think Buff Bride! We're coming over!!"

Ok...so these two brutally buff women were flexing in front of my elevator when i stepped off, with a little audience around them, watching these two odd looking girls flex while waiting for me.

"WE ARRRE GOOING TO PAAUMP YOU AUUUP!!!" *SIGH* and my buff bride workouts begin...

Lesson #1 (shared with us by the "no-name workout girl assistant")

Work your arms out with a weight machine. make sure to heave in and out in short breaths.

Lesson # 2 (shared by Shaniqua)

choose a weight thats sufficient for your personal use. Too heavy a weight won't get you anywhere. Make sure to breath regularly very big breaths.

Lesson #4 Find a dreadmill that works. test it out and do a little dance while on it.

Lesson # 5 Drink Plenty of Water

Lesson #6 have a friend go through the pain of working out with you. that way you can sing and run together at the same time.

Lesson # 7 Bring an ipod to help PAUMP YOU AUP.

Lesson # 8 Cheer yourself on. Whatever you do. Feel good about yourself and your accomplishments. Remember you're a winner and you can look and feel just as good as Shaniqua

side note: don't break any of the equipment you use. Shaniqua's a good example for that.

Lesson #9 - look how buff i look after this incredible workout. i would recommend it to anyone who may be getting married in the near future!

WII wonderfulness

my latest purchase is my Wii and three games. I gotta say...itz addicting. good thing its my senior year and itz a light semester...its been sooo fun. ilene and i grew up having video games in the house, and even tho we were two girls at home, we could whoop any boy in video games back in the day. here we are now at 21 and 24, and still enjoying video games!:) curretly we're trying to beat Super Mario Galaxy, and i'm doing workouts on Dance DAnce REvolution 2, and when friends come over Mario Party 8. itz actually been so much fun, but slightly distracting;) just slightly. lol. 

heres the day we bought it. we got some yummy snacks and mango juice to celebrate...we used to eat these snacks when we were little and playing video games;)

Ilene doing some dancing

this is what we look like...what a wii can do to you. we're definitely addicted

oh well...its so fun when friends come over;)

a few of the many engagement pics...

I'm not going to put up alot of these pics...because i'm saving most of them for save the date cards to send out.:) but here are a few of the pics.
 

Fall break in Florida!

Florida was freaking amazing. here are the things we did:

Friday: Flew into Tampa and Tio, Stephanie's Uncle, picked us up and took us to his restaurant for some yummy food. went to bed about 2:30 am.


Saturday: slept in some and then went to Adventure Island water park! whoo! so fun!!! we hung out there for the afternoon and then came home and showered to changed into nicer clothes. we went downtown and saw a cool cinderella ball carriage and an upside down building that looked like a diamond. throughout this whole deal, its nice and hot outside and at night a nice breeze.

Heres a pic of us saturday morning on our way to Adventure Island! of course, it had to be starbucks:)

Sunday: drove out to St. Petersburg beach to the hotel resort, Don Cesar. it was so fun having such fun facilities with a hot tub, two pools, white sand, blue water, and people waiting on us to give us towels, virgin drinks, and available to take our pictures. that night, we went out to olive garden, where we "celebrated" Rachel's non existent birthday. the restaurant staff gleefully sang to her while clapping their hands loudly, and rachel looking extremely stunned and confused. after that, we went back up to our hotel room, changed, and got right back into the hot water of the hot tub while looking up at the stars. got back home and watched high school musical!:)

Here we are at the Don Cesar, enjoying the pool by the beach!

Sun bathing on the white sands and getting tan!

our Virgin diaquiris and other beach drinks:)

synchronized swimming.



another pool pic after our synchronized swimming:)

more sun bathing and taking naps in the hot sun

group pic in the pool:)

hot tub at nite under the stars

sing along with cheetah girls on disney channel

Monday: spent the day shopping at the International Plaza mall and then eating another yummy mexican lunch. after that we came home, changed into prettified clothes, and went out to Carabba's for Steph's bday. (we didnt know it was for her bday, it was a surprise from her uncle:)) She turns 20 next thursday! the party changed at the end of dinner into a surprise Bachelorette party for me!!! yay. we went bowling in our prettified clothing and the shoes added a nice touch to it. :)

trying on dresses at the mall. this one was the most unique. the dress had so much extra fabric, i could slide through it and peek through the other side!

playing in the kids play place.

last meal at Uncle Tio's restaurant.

dressed up and ready to go!!:)

our shoes look so hot with our outfits

my first bachelorette party!

before the evening began

taken by a security guard that wants to go to moody!

celebrating our special gal, stephanie's, birthday!

me with my pink bowling ball.

she decorated my head.

so it was an absolutely lovely weekend. loved hanging with the girls. it was hard to come back to chilly chicago, but i was blessed with the time i did get with them in the warmth of tampa! i gotta say i'm blessed with these girls. i love them so dearly and i'm gonna miss steph and jenna when they leave next sem. more memories to make. we had some really great memory making moment in florida...hahaha, some i'll next forget.

They're growing so fast...

Last night, Vova popped up online and updated me on how the orphanage is doing. He always sends new pictures and tells me how the kids are doing. I love hearing about them, and i love seeing Vova and his family. They are so precious to me. Vova's like the coolest guy in Ukraine and his family is so amazing. His kids are so fun and his wife is an absolute sweetheart. I love seeing them on skype and seeing his kids, Lia, Evelena, and Salomia, and his wife Tanya. I miss them. But i love that i get to see them on skype. I asked him what they wanted for christmas from me, and he said, "I want to see you and your boy in Ukraine." oh oh oh, how i wish it were so.

anywayz, heres are a few pics of some of the kids.

Zhanichka

July 2007 and July 2008

October 2008
Picture taken by Vova P.

My sweet sweet girl, Zhana. I can still see her running to me the first day I went to the orphanage this year. She was wearing her blue sweater and her white hat. She called out to me, "Kristina, Kristina!" and her little arms reached out for me to pick her up. I threw my arms around her, embracing her tininess. She wouldn't leave my side, she fought for the seat next to me, every morning her sweet grin melted my heart as she called out my name and ran to me.
One memory i have with her is putting her to bed one evening, with nine little ones running around full of energy, even though it was bedtime. Zhana was all ready for bed, in facy, she was sitting on the ladder that led to the bunk above her. She fell though, and her back hit the bottom rung, and she cried. She cried for her mama, but her mama was no where close.
after getting her ice for her back, i cradled her in my arms and placed her in her bed. She sniffled softly and snuggled her face in her pillow. I remember looking at her and tearing up as i sang quietly to her the one worship song i knew in russian. i brushed her hair out of her eyes, and her big blueish green eyes looked at me, still with some tears in them from her fall. then her eyes kinda fluttered, and i just sang to her til she fell asleep. I miss her...she was two when i first met her but she's getting to be such a big girl. She's no longer shy and scared. she's outgoing and fun and loving. she loves to cuddle and loves to be held.

Lenka

summer 2008

October 2008

Lena is nine years old. She is by far, the sweetest most wonderful 9 year old ever. She's so independent, so willing to help, so defensive of her friends and stuff. lol;) She will stand up to any big boy that tries to mess with her or and of her buddies, and she'll wag her little fist at them and threaten to beat them up. haha, i caught her swinging at someone this past summer, and then ran away giggling. She's so cute. She loves hugs. She loves riding bikes. She loves helping with chores, and trying to make me happy. I love her. I miss her. I wish I could give her the love and attention she needs. my heart aches to see this little girl...She's getting to be so grown up too!

Anton, Vlada, and Sasha
summer 08

Vlada and Sasha...october 2008:)

Aren't they just precious? these are two of the happiest little girls ever. they're sisters, and they have an older sister at the orphanage as well, who is 9. They are soooo sweet and sooo cuddly. Vlada always giggles, and Sasha always looks after her. they love hugs and kisses, and playing and running, and being lifted up like an airplane...lol. they make me smile just looking at them.


anywayz, i need to hit the sheets cuz i'm sick with the flu...but i just wanted to share a little piece of my heart thats still at the orphanage. keep these kids in your prayer please...

I'm a "commuter student"

Soooo...missions conference is usually pretty crazy. twelve sessions in like three and a half days, and craziness in between. its actually alot of fun, but not really any free time like people expect, because we don't have classes next week.

But I...am a commuter student. which means, i don't have to go to twelve sessions, nor do i have to attend the required stuff. Its because usually, commuters aren't around during those things and some live far out and can't come in as often for those sessions.

"Kristine, don't you live closer than Dryer?" (the guys dorm on campus)

"Heck YES i do!!!!"

Steph pointed out i only have a block more to walk then they have to get to the sessions. psh...its harder than that....i have to cross a whole street too!

not only that, but i don't have classes on Fridays, so i don't have to go to any of the sessions at all on Friday...:-D hehe. I like to say its just hard for us commuters to get on campus. Lol. I LOVE this off campus living thing for Senior year...no too many people get it this good;). I live a couple blocks from school, with my best friend and sister, gorgeous view from the thirtieth floor, and i still get the full moody life experience while being apart of it as well.

I'm am so freakin pumped about next week...no classes, not too many sessions, and then Florida baby! with warm and friends and beaches....its gonna be heavenly.

Special "planning"

This....is Jenna Bell. Well, just Jenna...i just added the bell sometime last year cuz of some Tinker bell reason...not quite sure, i don't really remember. Anyways...

Last week, I was in this gal's room and was happily surprised with an open planner sitting on her desk, and lo and behold, Jenna was no where to be found!
"Grand," I thought. so i found a pen, and proceeded to fill her planner with a bunch of plans...that all revolved around ME!:) So for each day of the week, for about 2 and a half weeks worth (up until the time we leave for Florida), with something like, "Think about Kristine today" or "Facebook Kristine" or "Visit Kristine in the gameroom and give her cookies!" It was all in good fun and cuz i wanted to make her smile.

It backfired though, and now...she makes me smile every day cuz she totally is following her planner with all the notes i put in it!!!! it makes me laugh each time she does with her messages, or her visits, and with her hugs. Today, she came up and gave me a huge hug during chapel...i wrote it down for October 7th;). It was great.

I'm really excited about the Florida trip and that she'll be there! I love my jennabell times, cuz its always so real and open and refreshing. we dont even have to do anything special, we just go on walks or rollerblading trips or things like that. I love this kiddo so much and can't wait for Florida with her! Just thought I'd share a highlight of each part of my day. haha:)

Study/swim/and beach/rollerblading date!