Posted on August 19, 2009
Demetrye came home last night after a work-out and told me a story that had my toes curled from laughing.
For those of you who do not know, my husband is a realtor in Longview, WA [and a great one at that 
]. He was born and raised in the great U.S. of A, and there is not “foreign” bone in him, except for his ancestry. Ironically, his mother gave him a Russian name, although the name “Demetrye” originated from a Greek name—Demetrius. We, Russians, made it ours over a thousand years ago, when the entire country accepted Christianity and was baptized. At the time of baptism, since Christianity was brought from Greece, every Russian was given a Greek name. In fact my name, Elena, is Greek in its origin as well.
As you can imagine, having a Russian name AND being married into a Russian/Ukrainian family causes a lot of confusion when it comes to Demetrye, especially for those who have never seen him face to face. It is quite funny that his first name throws people off and they completely fail to notice that his last name is as English as they come.
A few days ago, Demetrye was making a phone call to schedule a viewing appointment for his client in Vancouver, WA. When he finally got a hold of the selling realtor, she tried speaking Russian to him. He told her that he did not understand or speak Russian, however it did not immediately register with her and he had to explain that he is not Russian, but African American, and only his first name is Russian.
Yesterday he gets home and tells me: “You won’t believe what happened to me today…” and proceeds to tell me that he was trying to schedule another appointment, also in Vancouver, WA, for a client of his, and had to speak with the owner to arrange the time for viewing the house. The owner of the house was not available, so Demetrye left him a message. Shortly after, the guy calls him back, and barely allows Demetrye to say “Hello”, before going off on a 2 minute, all Russian rant. I can just imagine Demetrye trying to interrupt him to tell him that he does not understand him, which he did, but he finally had to give up and listen… until the man, Victor, ran out of words. Demetrye, with a sigh of relief, told Victor that he does not speak Russian. “Ty ne govorish po Russki?” Victor exclaims (which means: “You don’t speak Russian?”) Well, Demetrye knew that much, so he had to, once again, tell yet another person, twice in the same week: “I am not Russian. I do not speak Russian. My first name is Russian, but I am African American. I am, however, married to a Russian woman.”
My poor guy, he had me rolling when he was retelling the story—he can be very dramatic. I think that he needs to record this tagline on his answering machine to avoid any further confusion. The funny part is, even those Russians who meet him face to face, seeing that he is in fact not Russian (hello!), once he introduces himself, ask him the same question: “Do you speak Russian?”
Demetrye, babe, you make me laugh, and for that I thank you! You do know that your name was a sign for me that we are meant to be together… (joking, of course).
I wish everyone a wonderful day!
Posted on August 17, 2009
I am SOOOOOOOO excited! I keep checking my e-mail… for tracking updates. The days don’t seem to be passing fast enough, until it happens… *sigh*
Are you wondering what IT is?
It is a brand, spanking new PC! My dinosaur of 5 years is getting slower. The dream machine—MAC—was way out of my budget. After searching, researching, and annoying as many IT people with questions as I possibly could, I settled on a Dell. I have gotten the latest and the greatest in their XPS line—XPS 435—lots of memory, lots of speed, and a 24″ inch monitor. Being on Twitter paid off—I found a special deal that saved me hundreds [yes, hundreds!] of dollars.
The images on my PC and back-up systems are getting so happy! They will finally be processed and shown to the world. Oh, I cannot wait to show off all the cool pictures from the last few shoots. Yeah!
I am also excited because most of my available dates for September sessions have been booked—all of my clients are rocking and I cannot wait to work with them.
There is still time to get in on the Summer special (check out my Specials Page on this site).
In a couple of days I will be blogging from my new family member : )
What should I name him/her? Suggestions?
Posted on August 13, 2009
Last night Demetrye and I had to drive out to Portland, OR for an appointment. We normally use this kind of days as an opportunity to go out on a date. Yesterday turned out to be great. After a quick dinner at Panera Bread we headed over to a movie theatre to see Julie and Julia.
I have been looking forward to seeing the movie ever since I saw previews a month or so ago. All I can tell you is that the actors delivered one of their best performances. Except for a couple of foul words and one quick semi-racy scene, I truly enjoyed the movie.
I am not going to give away the entire plot, but the movie is based two true-life stories—one of Julia Childs, the great American cook, and another of Julie Powell, a NY based government employee with a boring dead-end job. Julie was provoked by jealously to start doing something different in her life—blogging! At her husband’s urging she decided to blog about her experience, trying to cook every recipe from Julia Child’s book—a project that took 8 years to complete—in one year! With a little bit of drama and more humor, the actors kept me tied deeply to my seat not wanting to miss anything.
The movie is not your typical Hollywood story—there is not blood, gore, loose women or Cinderella stories. It depicts everyday struggles of life of two ordinary women who were able to achieve extraordinary results by pursuing their passions.
If you get a chance to get out this weekend, this movie is a must see. [It is almost family friendly 
].
Enjoy the rest of the day!
Posted on August 11, 2009
Quick shout-out to my twin siblings: Luba and Vladimir—they are celebrating their 30+ today. We all grew up together. 
Vladimir (2nd from the left, bottom row) was the early bird and got married at the age of 20. He is now a proud Dad of 4 sons and a tiny baby girl.
Luba (4th from the left, bottom row) married slightly over two years ago and now is a loving Mom to a gorgeous baby girl, whom we all love.
They both are truly blessed with their spouses and their children and we all are happy for them.
May God give you:
For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile,
For every care a promise and a blessing in each trial,
For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share,
For every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer.
~Irish Blessing
