Practical Thanks

I'm thankful that I actually like working out. I still would even if I didn't, but enjoying it sure helps!

Unzipped

I'm thankful for yet another funny episode at work (some of the previous ones included me having chocolate stains on my butt, me ending up being bare legged at work and wearing plastic bags). It took me 5 (FIVE!!) hours to realize why my booties felt so loose all of a sudden - turns out, I forgot to zip them before leaving for work and have been walking around the office in undone shoes for more than half a working day. I'm thankful for it, because when I noticed it made me laugh and lifted my mood instantly. I'm still giggling!

P.S. Zipped shoes feel so good on my feet... I think I'm thankful for the feeling of zipped shoes too then!

Body Modification

Thinking of it now, I'm thankful I'd gone through the phase of being into getting body piercings when I was still a teen. It would be much harder to pull off some of the "looks" now taking into consideration my office job. Nevermind that it's illegal to get those if your under 18 without your parent's permission, I actually think it was wise of me to be done and over with it back then.

Maxi

I was wearing a maxi dress today, and each time I had to lift or hold it with my hand or even both my hands to help me go up or down the stairs I just felt so feminine, so graceful... Lately I've just been increasingly appreciative of simpler little things like that.

Highlight of Yesterday

Just imagine the situation: we're sitting there on one of the Red Square's cafe's summer terrace/patio, having our lovely breakfast, talking, people watching... Yet another group of tourists passes us by, this time Asian tourists (I never found out what country exactly they were from). Then, all of a sudden they stop, and at least 5 of them pull out their cameras and start taking pictures of us from all angles, giving us the thumbs up and screaming "Beautiful!! Beautiful!!" in broken English - and it lasted for at least a minute or two! This was very unexpected and a little weird, but very funny and kind of flattering nonetheless, and I am definately thankful for the laughs! This was the first time I truly felt like a celebrity out on the town, ha ha!

No Dripping

It's funny, but I am thankful for how fast hair gets dry after washing in summer!!

P.S. I updated the berry post with a picture, because such beauty deserves to be seen.

How I Ended Up Being Bare Legged at Work

How thankful am I that we don't really have a dress code at my workplace! Otherwise I would have probably been jobless by now.

The story is as follows: I get dressed in the morning, wearing a skirt and a shirt. The skirt is short but not too short... Until you walk in it. So halfway to the metro I notice it looks like I'm just wearing two shirts - the skirt kept getting up and up until it almost went missing. Not cool. I rush back home to change and as I don't have time to completely rethink my look, I just reach for the shorts that are similar in style and color to that unfortunate skirt. Not really a problem until halfway to the metro I realize those shorts are much shorter than I thought. Ugh. No time to go back.

So, I am definately thankful for not having a dress code at work, because even having showed up bearing so much leg I still have a job. Will think better about experimenting with new clothes when getting ready for work next time for sure!

Bottles of Joy

I've been really into nail polishes lately, meaning I've been falling for the most unexpected colors AND hunting them down till I got them. Weird and kind of unusual for me, but I can't not to be thankful for the joy the whole thing brings me. Yes to mint colored toes! Yes to cobalt blue nails!.. Now, onto the next little bottle of joy...

Tan

As I've been terribly missing being tanned for a few weeks now, I want to say thanks for tan and for being able to acquire one fast and easily... Now where's the sun??

Ink Me

I am thankful I was stubborn enough and went for my foot tattoo even though practically everyone was skeptical about the design, including my tattoo artist. The drawing is my own - I found it in my old notebook from when I was 14 or so and decided I wanted the weird thingy permanently inked on me. So glad I didn't feel it was rude to be giving the tattoo girl a hard time about its exact placement too, huh. After all, four years later it's still my most favorite tattoo and the one I get asked about the most - if it somehow got erased I would go and get it done again and again and again.

Local

I never really saw it myself until I saw this set of pictures - seated in a very traditional Russian setting I look especially non-Russian. A lot of times when I travel people take me for a local, and I must admit I've always considered it a good thing and loved all the funny encounters! Once in Paris a girl came up to me complimenting my shoes, which I didn't understand until I disappointed her with my lack of French language skills... In Italy I easily go for an Italian and in Spain I look fairly Spanish, within a group of British I am British too, out and about with someone from the States I seem perfectly American... And I could never get bored of this! I am thankful I can travel to places that are new yet feel so at home and 'familiar' to locals, and I am thankful I can pass for a tourist when hanging out with friends from abroad here in Moscow... Priceless!..

Big Hair

Freshly washed and blow dried big hair inspires me. This is kind of weird but I'm thankful - I would never refuse some inspiration!..

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Okay now, usually I wouldn't do this within this blog, since the purpose of it is pretty clear, but being all filled up with gratitude and gladness over the following, I'm giving in! So, absolutely amazing baked goodies artist (because this describes her best) Ms. Humble of Not So Humble Pie has presented me with an award and tagged me to share 10 things about myself. Let me tell you, being one of the 10 chosen bloggers out of 1462 Humble followers feels so special! I so not expected to see my name there.

10 things about me, in no particular order:

1) I was growing up knowing I wold be a singer until at 14 I realized I had absolutely no skills whatsoever. It hurt back then, I'm over it now.
2) I'm very practical and rational when it comes to falling in love and love has never been blind to me.
3) One of the nicknames given to me by the boys back in school was something in the lines of 'Miss Cold-Blooded Tranquility'... Tough, eh?
4) I like English more than Russian.
5) I don't like talking in the morning and would rather have my early breakfast in silence.
6) I'm a very physical person, touch is extremely important to me.
7) I love to learn but I don't like to study. Go figure.
8) I've had the same cell phone number ever since I got my first cell phone. Talk about being loyal!
9) I hate it when people are jealous of me, reasonably or not.
10) I'm honestly a very thankful person.

In turn, I need to tag 10 other people, but like I always add in such cases, do it only if you feel like doing it! Here's your award, guys:

Arty
Caylee
Graham (I) Haynes
Gropius
Jeune_Premier
Leah
Michael Rivers
Rachel
Sam Ezra
Shannon Eileen

Dear Body Pt. II

Dear Body, I love you and I am thankful for you. I am thankful the body image issues are now in the past and I am thankful you've been on my side ever since I decided to become healthier, more toned and much slimmer. I am thankful you're always on my side when I seem to be getting off track, and I am thankful you are always there to help me get back on track. Ever since I was little I knew one day I'd have you and now I am thankful you are mine. And I am thankful I'm always on your side too.

Underneath My Clothes

I'm declaring my love and appreciation for lingerie! Love shopping for it, love wearing it, love taking it off, love having something really fancy underneath a simpler outfit, love making men go 'wow'... And I should stop now before it's gotten too personal, ha. LOVE beautiful lingerie, who's with me?

Time

I'm thankful that time follows its own pace. If you let it be, it's not going to fly or go by too slowly. There are really no such things as "better time" and "best years of your life" - the best time is right now, and it's entirely up to you to make sure each year of your existence is worth being called the best. I appreciate my current age and my current youth, I'm not taken aback by the fact that time will pass and that I will age. I appreciate the changes time brings, and I even love my mimic wrinkles. As long as it's natural, it's okay.

Leggy

Having been thankful for my my face, my hair, my arms and my height already, I feel I need to give thanks for my legs too. I didn't always feel thankful for them though: even though my legs are naturally straight and are just the perfect size for my body, I remember I didn't like my thighs because they seemed too big, and my calfs because they seemed too thin. But seeing what I didn't like and being me, I got down to working out and improving the good I already had. Some 10 years later I'm thankful for what they look like, I love my legs!

Friend Request

Oh friend requests, we all get enough of you in these tech days!..

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I certainly don't mind people to be "friends" with me, it's flattering at the very least. What I don't like is getting a completely random one: I have no idea who you are, I've never even heard your name, don't know where you came from and what brings you to my profile, and on top of all, you don't even bither to provide at least some sort of a clue as to what it's all about... Now why would I want you as a friend?

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My Facebook account is a personal thing, and I would decline a request like that not because I'm such a bitch, but because I'm not going for the number of "friends" on my list, but rather care about the "quality" and prefer to know who my contacts are.

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This was the reason I decided to "hide" my last name on here, at some point there were just too much to decline. But, a while ago when I got the request pictured above, I took a minute to think of a way to turn this the expirience into a thankful one in dedication to this blog. With that being said, I'm honestly thankful for the attention I get on the web, even if it's just because you like my picture, ha.

Love Your Hair

Speaking of hair, I want to confess that I'm thankful for mine. I'm not going to say anything new if I mention how so many women (and well, some men too) are not satisfied with the way their hair is - whoever has it straight wants it wavy/curly, whoever has fabulous curls wants to straighten them... I'm not against changing it or experimenting with it, but what I do think is right it's that we need to appreciate our natural hair too. I love my hair. It's not too straight, not too wavy, and it can be a mess sometimes, but it's easy to style - I can get any look I want. I'm thankful for how fast my hair grows out too. I can cut it and rock a bob look and in a year have a medium-to-long cut... and have fabulously long tresses in two. Appreciate your hair, people! Appreciate the lack of it too! Someone might just be wishing to have it exactly like you do.

Boost Iron

No matter how much I try to modify my diet I still can't get enough of some particular nutrients someone my size needs, so I'm taking food supplements. The lack of some of the minerals or vitamins in my system is not noticeable to an average man and I don't feel it that much, but there's this certain element the lack of which drives me crazy... Not so much during the warmer seasons, but the minute the cold strikes I start getting lots of annoying allergic and irritating reactions, both looks and health-wise. I'm talking about iron here! And I'm genuinely thankful to my iron supplement for helping me survive last year's winter and so looking forward to it helping me deal with the cold this year too!..

My Height

I'm not too tall, but I've never had any issues with my height. On the contrary, I always loved it and was always thankful for being just a tiny bit taller than 5'3. I honestly think it's perfect for a woman - I'm not too short, and I can wear absolutely any type of high heels any time of the day and to anywhere and not worry about being taller than 90% of the men I meet on my way. My height works perfectly for me!