Tag, Tag, 33 Questions Tag

Hello Ladies,

Lately I've been on a tag kick. Must be my deep desire about talking about myself poking through. I saw this tag over at When Life Hands You Lipstick, and lovely Esther tagged anyone who wants to do it.  Originally this tag was called 32 Questions Tag, but she counted them and there are 33. So I refuse to call it 32 Questions lol, and instead I will singlehandedly rename it to 33 Questions Tag!

1. Is it cute when guys kiss you on your forehead? As long as it's my husband, the rest of guys can stay away. Oh and my dad of course, but he usually kisses me on my cheeks. 
2. A big poofy dress or a short party dress? I wore the ultimate puffy dress to my wedding, so since I got it out of my system I prefer short party dresses now. In red :)
3. Are diamonds a girl's best friend? Nope. I don't really care for a diamonds. I wear 17 of them on my finger though but only because my husband didn't want to order a custom made engagement/wedding ring from my jewelry teacher. How dare he? Maybe one day I'll get it, and without any diamonds. 
4. Is your hair up or down today? Down, because it's short and there is no way I can put it up!
5. Do you straighten your hair? Yes, few times during the month when I don't feel lazy. Honestly, it is straight naturally so there is not much to straighten.
6. Favorite mascara? The one that makes my lashes look dark, long, full, and not clumped. I like No7 Exceptional Definition, but lately I've been using Covergirl LashBlast Fusion. 
7. Do you get your nails done? Yes.. I used to, up until last week. See, I got my nails done with Kylua Gel Nails (I might be spelling it wrong), and loved it. Natural, doesn't damage my nails, lasts forever. Unfortunately it looks like I've become one of those rare 2% of people (according to my friend who does my nails) who can't wear gel nails because gel doesn't stick. For past 2 times I got them done, gel popped off in less than a week. I'm devastated, but there is nothing I can do :( 
8. Small or large purses? Large! Preferably Harajuku Lovers.
9. Jeans or sweats? OMG you will NEVER, EVER catch me in sweats. I don't even own any!!!! They just look so sloppy, I can't stand it. So Jeans all the way!
10. Do you wear clothes/shoes/jewelry that's uncomfortable? Yeah.... because my motto "beauty requires sacrifices" makes me do it. But I don't do it too often, as I don't want to mess up my feet and also don't want to hurt myself. For clothes, I wear kimono all the time. I'm so used to it now, that I feel comfortable in them most of the time. :)
11. Do you text message a lot? Yes, I HATE calling. Texting is my preferred way of communication.
12. Whats your favorite color? Red. And browns. 
13. Heels or flats? Heels, although I'm very conscious of how damaging they are to our feet. I try to wear them only some days during the week, and most of the time I wear kitten heels or flats. I think kitten heels are a fair compromise (probably still damaging....)
14. Would you ever leave the house without makeup on? Yes, do it at least once a week. Because I believe I'm fabulous even without makeup :). And every time I do, and try to buy alcohol I get carded. Guess no makeup makes me look younger? ;P I even had one cashier guy tell me "You know you HAVE TO BE 18 to buy alcohol?".
15. Walmart or Target? Waitrose or Sainsbury. I miss Walmart AND Target though.
16. Do you think lip gloss is the best!? I'm not much into wearing lip products period.
17. Do you own any big sunglasses? Nope. Maybe one day I'll get off my lazy behind and get me prescription sunglasses, then I'll own some. 
18. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? 2 hours, that includes waking up, having coffee and breakfast, makeup, getting dressed and having a dose of internet before going out.
19. Gold or silver? Silver. I can work with silver and make jewelry. :)
20. Do you like to wear dresses? Yes, nice bright cotton summery dresses!
21. In the last 48 hours have you hung out with a guy? My husband :)
22. Do you like to hold hands? Oh YES!
23. What do you notice when you first meet a guy? His eyes.
24. Do you like making eye contact? Yup, especially if someone stares at me, I'll stare right back at them! 
25. Would you kill for chocolate? Erm... NO. 
26. On a scale from 1-10 how fun is shopping? Depends on what I shop for. Most of the times it's 10, but then I got to BQ (or Home Depot) and it turns into -10.
27. Do you yell a lot? No. One time I yelled at my husband when I was upset, and it felt so liberating. I should do it more often.
28. Do you wear sweatpants/pajamas to school/work? OH HELL NO!
29. Have you ever dressed unlike yourself to impress a guy? Not that I can remember.
30. What makeup could you not live without? Really, I could live without all makeup but I think the items I should NOT live without are mascara, eyebrow powder and under eye concealer.
31. Do you fall in love easily? I get obsessive crushes easily, usually when I meet new people. It doesn't happen as often now that I'm married and I don't meet many people lol, but it used to be that I'll be obsessed with someone for a couple of days to couple of weeks, but then the feeling will be gone and I'm back to normal. And no, I didn't stalk them lol. I would just talk to that person, trying to learn about them, and once I get my 'fill', I move on. 
32. Do you have cramps? I'm one of the lucky ones that get very slight cramps on the first day, one Motrin and I'm golden.
33. Do you think you have the bestest friend ever? I have bestest friends. Not all of them live near me, but even so I know they still will be there for me no matter what. 

I tag anyone who feels like doing some revealing! :) Looking forward to reading your answers. 


~ Lyuba

My Alphabet

Lately I've seen a lot of bloggers do this tag so I wanted to do my own version. 


A. Age: 25. DAAAAAAAAANG I'm a quarter of the century.

B. Bed size. American Queen, which means I can't buy cute British bed sheets :(

C. Chore you hate: Cleaning in general. I will do dishes, laundry or even clean the bathrooms all day but general cleaning leaves me at a stupor. I'm such a bad stay at home wife LOL.

D. Day: Saturday, because a lot of events happen then. 

E. Essential start to your day: A cup of coffee, or I will be a fire breathing grumpy dragon with the biggest headache ever.

F. Favourite colour: Red

G. Gold or Silver: Silver, but I generally don't wear jewelry much. 

H. Height: 165 or 5'4"... just shy of minimum height for becoming a model.

I. Instruments: Jewelry bench and everything that comes with it, pastels and paper. I really need to get back into art.

J. Job title: Domestic Engineer, Grumpy Housewife, Full Time Student, Unwillingly Unemployed, Self-Appointed Organizer of Anything... you name it and it will probably be true.

K. Kids: Mittens and Echo :) :) :)

L. Live: In the middle of nowhere with pig farms. Oh you wanted a name? Sorry, it's Lakenheath, UK.

M. Mum’s name: Nadezhda.

N. Nicknames: Lyuba, Lyubochka, Lyubashka. I can keep going since I'm Ukrainian and my name has a whole bunch of variations lol.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Not for me, but I stayed with a friend when he was in a hospital since he didn't have any family and I felt someone needed to be there for him.

P. Pet peeve: It kinda comes with the territory, but I don't like when people ask me where I'm from... I don't get it as much now since in UK people first hear my American accent and only then my Ukrainian accent. But after 10 years of literally every other person asking me how I got to US, it got a BIT old and I started saying stuff from swimming to being a mail order bride. I also don't like NON-responsible people.

Q. Quote from a movie: After I started hanging out with my future husband, I noticed that I started quoting movies a LOT, so I couldn't possibly narrow it down to just one.

R. Right or left handed: Right handed.

S. Siblings: One younger brother.

T. Time you wake up: Lately it's been around 8-8:30, but really any time whenever Echo comes over to 'advocate' for her morning num-nums.

U. Underwear: Victoria Secret Lacie thongs, or any other brand which looks similar.

V. Vegetables you dislike: Onions.

W. What makes you run late: Not giving myself enough time to put makeup on of course!

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth and lower back.

Y. Yummy food you make: White Chicken Chili.

Z. Zoo: Only been to one in San Diego.

I tag anyone who wants to do this tag and who haven't done it yet. :)

~ Lyuba

15 Random Facts Tag

Hey everyone,

I've seen this tag going around several blogs, but after seeing it on FunnyFace Beauty I decided that I should do it too. Because I love reading those random facts from  other bloggers, so I'm sure someone will find this interesting.

1. I am addicted... no OBSESSED with kimono. I wear it fairly regularly, and always look for opportunities to wear kimono more often. You can check out my Strawberry Kimono blog, devoted to.. yup KIMONO! Because of kimono I already have friends in many countries, and it definitely helped me a lot when I moved to UK because I already knew several people, and after meeting them in person we became even better friends. I can only imagine what will happen if we ever get stationed in Japan..... ;P

2. Aside from kimono, I'm also in love with all kinds of funky and fun shoes. Irregular Choice would be my all time favorite brand. In fact, just yesterday I bought myself 3 pairs of their shoes on sale, and 1 pair off eBay. Bad, bad Lyuba! My new favorite thing is to wear western shoes with kimono. ;P At some point I had more kimono shoes (zori, geta) than western, but now I'm all caught up and western shoes definitely win. 

3. I love reading and always bring a book with me anywhere I go. Currently my collection consists of Russian, Ukrainian (although they are harder to come by) and English books and I tend to read either fantasy or women/cultural studies or history books. And I don't like sci fi. My all time favorite book is Tarzan, I own the complete series in Russian and currently collecting Grosseet&Dunlap early prints in English. It's a lot of fun to read those books when they were originally published, some words are rarely used now or have a completely different meaning! "He ejaculated his words" is just one of those examples that make me GIGGLE like crazy every time I read it.

4. I'm extremely comfortable with my body. It all happened after I decided to cosplay Red Sonja at San Diego Comic Con 2006. Until then I was very self conscious about my body, thinking I was getting fat and doing all kinds of stupid diets (yes, now I realize how stupid it was and don't have those thoughts any more). After SDCC I realized that hey, I actually LIKE myself the way I am stopped obsessing over things that were not true (like me being fat) and started appreciate what was given to me by parents. My latest costume is Jungle Girl, although I hated the way my wig looked so I went with my natural hair. I haven't posted these photos anywhere yet, so I guess you can say my readers are getting a sort of preview.

Image credit

5. I took photos with a real alligator. Yup, I am pretty proud of it even if the day was kinda ugly and photos did not turn out as well as I wanted them to. But at the same time, how many of you can say that you sat on an alligator, walked away alive and had photos to prove it? ;P You can also see me riding one in this video.Photos and videos were taken at the Alligator Alley in Alabama, which is an alligator farm and rescue. Really cool place, next time I'm visiting in the States I will make sure to visit it again.

6. I have two cats, Mittens and Echo, and they are my "babies". I call them "my little kitties" and anyone who knows me knows that I am a crazy married cat lady and will not shut up about my kitties ;P But they are my very first cats, so I think I'm allowed to cherish and love them right? I'm very happy that I have them, especially when my husband goes deployed I still know that there is someone waiting for me at home. And yes, they do greet me at the door every day and Echo (spotted bengal) even plays fetch with me :) :) :) Oh no, crazy cat lady mode had started! ;P

7. I rarely have a bad hair day, but I have bad eyebrows day quite often. The thing is, my eyebrows are so LIGHT that you can barely see them and I have to fill them in every single day. Sometimes it turns out, sometimes it doesn't. Needless to say, this is one aspect of makeup that I'm looking forward to the least.

8. I refuse to learn how to drive a manual transmission car. It is one thing that I feel is very childish, yet  I do not want to give in. I like my automatic car, I enjoy driving with one foot, and I can wear kimono and drive in automatic. I doubt I will be able to do it in manual. But even if it was possible to wear kimono and drive a manual car, I still refuse to learn. Maybe it's because a lot (not all of course) of manual car drivers, including my husband, look down on automatic cars and it drives me crazy. So I'm making a PRO-automatic car stand lol.

9. Another thing that I refuse to do is listen to any American music. I'm not saying that I don't like it, or that it's bad, but you won't find it on my ipod. Of course, there are few exceptions, but they are so few that I don't think you can consider me hypocritical for it. I only listen to Russian, Ukrainian and occasionally Japanese music. Why? Because when I lived in Ukraine, about 80% of music played there was foreign, and about 90% of that foreign music was American. So now, after moving to US, I want to listen to MY OWN country's music, something I wasn't exposed to growing up and something I would like to be exposed to now. LOL my husband and I argue about this all the time, because he is refusing to accept my reasons saying that he listens to MY music, yet I refuse to listen to HIS music.

10. I am addicted to my phone, it's my link to life. I'm also addicted to texting, but sadly here in UK I don't have as many people to text to as I had in the States, and I miss it terribly. I can't wait to get an iPhone, and get that free texting application that would allow me to text my friends in the States for free :) :) :) Just couple more month, I can do it!

11. I am very particular about being called Ukrainian instead of Russian. And yes, I speak both languages, and speak primarily Russian, but that doesn't give anyone right to tell me that it makes me Russian. People in Brazil speak Portuguese, yet no one calls them Portuguese, they are called Brazilians. Just because Ukraine was under Russian rule for centuries, does not mean that Ukrainian is just a Russian dialect (yup, several people told me that). It just means that certain parts of Ukraine are still primarily Russian speaking, yet EVERYONE in Ukraine knows Ukrainian too. And can choose which language to speak. It is not unusual to see two friends talking, one will be speaking in Russian and another replying in Ukrainian. I choose Russian because my mom's side of family moved to Ukraine from Russia in 1970s, and primary language in my family is Russian. Also, the area of Ukraine where we're from is primarily Russian speaking. Yet when I had a choice of picking my nationality, because mom is Russian and dad is Ukrainian, I choose Ukrainian and I would like people who ask me where I'm from to respect that. Can you see it's a little bit of a sore subject for me?

12. I did not know how to cook until 2 years ago when I got married. I even used to think that maybe I'm a bad cook, but turned out it's not true. I'm a pretty good cook, I just never had a need to do it before marriage. :)

13. I can be pretty bitter about my status of a military wife and all the negative things it brings. Yes, there are some good thing but until we go to Japan I refuse to see them lol. It is not unusual to see me complaining about negative aspects, even if I knew pretty well ( but why no one warned me that it will be a lot worse than I imagined?) what I was getting myself into. But after complaining to my heart content I move on until the next 'down' period. 

14. I miss Barnes & Noble!!! It is my favorite American book store, and so far nothing in England quite compares to it. Yes, Waterstones is nice but where I live we only have a small one so it's not the same. Back in the States I used to go to BN almost every day, and write letters to friends or do homework. Or read manga. It was my home away from home, and I miss that a lot.

15. I love organizing things like trips or events. Back in the States I dragged my poor friends and husband around to all kinds of different festivals or conventions or fairs. Or other places that I could think of. I have a little bit harder time doing it in UK, mostly because I do not have many friends where I live, and all my other friends live too far away. But I still try. :) Kimono de Jack events are just one of the examples that I started in UK (although the idea originally came from Japan) and now my kimono friends are helping me with ideas and organization.

I don't have anyone specific to tag, so I'm just going to tag my readers :) I would like to read some random facts about you.

~ Lyuba

This or That Tag

Hello everyone, 

I saw this tag on two blogs today, and thought it was fun to do it myself. Plus I don't want to go to sleep yet, so I think it's a great excuse to write another post.

MAKEUP:

Blush or Bronzer: Blush. I'm too pale for bronzer, plus I'm kinda proud of my paleness :) And I don't know how to use bronzer properly, so I'll just stick to my blush.

Lip gloss or Lipstick: Lip balm. I'm not a big lipstick or lip gloss fan, but I am a lip balm crazy. I always have one at home, one in my purse (two actually), and one in my coat pocket that I wear to work.

Eye liner or Mascara: Mascara. My eyelashes are virtually invisible without mascara lol. 

 
Foundation or Concealer: Foundation. Especially after I discovered which method of application really works for me.

Neutral or Color Eyeshadow: Color all the way!!!!

Pressed or Loose Eyeshadows: I'm good with both, although I have to be in the mood to use loose. Mostly because I have so many un-opened ones and I don't really want to touch them yet due to lack of space.

Brushes or Sponges: Brushes. Never mastered the art of applying foundation with a sponge.

NAILS:

OPI or China Glaze: Neither. I love Sally Hansen Salon Manicure ones.

Long or Short: Long I guess. Or what looks long on my nails, since they are so small/short naturally.

Acrylic or Natural: Gel. I'm lucky enough to have a friend from Italy who does Kylia (don't remember how to spell correctly lol) gel nails, so I get them done about once a month.

Brights or Darks: Brights. With designs and everything.

Flower or No Flower: I prefer fruits :) Well actually I just love nail art in general.


BODY:

Perfume or Body Splash: I guess either lol, because I use them so rarely....
Lotion or Body Butter: Lotions, body butters are too rich for my skin.

Body Wash or Soap:Body was all the way!

 
Lush or Other Bath Company: Any company that smells great. Don't have a definite favorite.


FASHION:Jeans or Sweat Pants: Never, EVER, sweat pants. I don't even own any. So jeans all the way.

Long Sleeve or Short: Depends on the weather.

Dresses or Skirts: Dresses!!! :)

Stripes or Plaid: Vertical stripes, like on my kimono!
Flip Flops or Sandals: Flips flops get the same treatment as sweat pants, so sandals. Sadly it's too cold in UK for me to wear them. :(

Scarves or Hats: Hats!!!! I am not known as a crazy hat lady for nothing lol ;P

Studs or Dangly Earrings: Dangly.

Necklaces or Bracelets: Bracelets.

Heels or Flats: Heels, but I do wear flats a lot too. 

 
Cowboy Boots or Riding Boots: Cowboy haha, the only pair that I own and like.

Jacket or Hoodie: Jacket. I hate hoods with a passion, hoodies too.

Forever 21 or Charlotte Russe: I've never been to Forever 21 while in the States, and only briefly walked into one in Birmingham. So I can't decide :( :(

Abercombie or Hollister: So NOT my style lol.

Saks 5th or Nordstrom: Never been to any of those, so how about I say Debenhams?


HAIR:

Curly or Straight: Straight.

Bun or Ponytail: Ponytail.

Bobby Pins or Butterfly Clips: Probably bobby pins, but I don't really use either of those.

Hair Spray or Gel: Hairspray.

Long or Short: Short! Pixie cut that my husband is not letting me have :)

Light or Dark: Red, like Red Sonja red!

Side Swept or Full Bangs: Full bangs. And if only I knew how to style my hair better, I would be a happy camper completely.

Up or Down: Haha, down considering that's all I can do with my short hair.


RANDOM:

Rain or Shine: Shine. I could tolerate rain in Florida, but let's just say I HATE it now in UK.

Summer or Winter: Summer in UK. I would loved winter if it actually had some snow. But I live in a Lakenheath "bubble" as I like to call it, because no matter how much snow the rest of the country gets, we are always missing out on all the "fun". :(

Fall or Spring: Spring.

Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate.

East Coast or West Coast: Florida!!!!! I miss all my friends there :) West Coast is nice to visit, but I wasn't that impressed with it.