Our Family
Andrew
Charity
Avinelle Lynn
Eloise Ann
Recent Blogs
Central Asian Food Series: Shashlik
Oh my, this is by far one of my favorite things to eat here in Almaty. It’s typically pretty cheap. BUT, just need to make sure you have enough time to wait for them to grill (basically barbecue) it. Most restaurants that serve it will have a special outdoor grilling area just for shashlik. This Read more about Central Asian Food Series: Shashlik[…]
Central Asian Food Series: Plov
Ok, I have talked here and there about different types of Central Asian food but there is so many different kinds that I decided to do a Food Series for the blog over the next few weeks! I am starting with the traditional dish from Uzbekistan called “Plov” (pronounced PloughV).The word plov (also known as pilaf) derives Read more about Central Asian Food Series: Plov[…]
Childhood Books and Stuffed Animals
While the above picture depicts some children’s books and stuffed animals, our girls have THREE TIMES this amount! We have implemented the “switching out” method where we take blankets, some toys, puzzles, coloring books, stuffed animals and books and store them away in 3 containers and swap them out weekly. This is a great method Read more about Childhood Books and Stuffed Animals[…]
Grimy Little Hands
This blog isn’t necessarily about living in Kazakhstan, but Mom of littles unite from any place around the world, haha ✊🏻!! So in the above picture can you see the little tiny fingerprints? This is the door to our back porch. I have a housekeeper that comes once a week to help me clean (amazing Read more about Grimy Little Hands[…]
Gifts
I have touched on this one a little before talking about Birthdays and the Money post. So gift wrapping- like in the pic above I don’t think I have EVER seen tissue paper and hardly ribbons used. It’s totally fine for the gift to be seen (sometimes I tape the top together hah). I’ve rarely Read more about Gifts[…]
What shopping is like
Well Andrew does most of our household shopping. (Since I don’t drive it’s easier for him to do it) First of all, the shopping carts do waver, lol. It’s like all 4 wheels sway everywhere. Actually most countries have shopping carts that do this. They have crazy big bulk sections (I remember bulk sections more Read more about What shopping is like[…]
Runglish
It’s been fun learning Russian (mostly challenging!), and it’s been funny having Avinelle mix her words up in English and Russian to what is I call “Runglish”. Like she says english words with the accent on the wrong place such as “bAnana”. Also, after we first got here and said the Russian word for where Read more about Runglish[…]
The Kazakh Flag
Ever wondered what this beautiful “Elsa” blue flag (as Avi would put it) means?? It was created in 1992. The blue and gold are preserved (minus red) from the Soviet times. The sun represents life and energy. It is also a symbol of wealth and abundance. The sun’s rays are a symbol of the steppe’s Read more about The Kazakh Flag[…]
Sooooo Fit
There is quite a few gyms here. We see runners, cyclists, and even fitness classes. I tried to join a gym but there isn’t a YMCA type place that offers childcare so that was a no go. It’s actually not terribly expensive to take fitness classes or join gyms. (for the most part) I even Read more about Sooooo Fit[…]
No “Supersize”
This oatmeal is one of the most ginormous bags I have seen to be able to buy in “bulk” here. 5 kilograms is about 11 pounds. We have noticed typically when buying things in stores you can’t buy large “bulk” of just about anything. There are a couple of stores where you can buy Read more about No “Supersize”[…]