Just a typical photo session in my household in Ukraine:
I’m not really sure why I’m in curlers. I’m not even going out. We do have live crayfish at the house, and the cat broke a crystal honeypot trying to escape from them. So maybe the curlers are there for the sense of solemn occasion. Or maybe to commemorate the fact that I ZOMG have new hair again! Back to blond, it would seem. They understand blond here, in Ukraine. In fact, they start screaming and flapping their arms at you if you try to go darker.
Right now, there is drama because my brother refused to consume the sandwiches pictured. I’m not really sure how to defuse the situation, to be honest. Walking around looking ridiculous doesn’t seem to be helping.
I feel bad for the live crayfish because they are, apparently, fated to become cooked crayfish once the resident crayfish expert, Uncle Vasya, is due to arrive. I console myself with thinking that once I am dead, many creatures will feast on my body. My brother, to go by this picture, looks perfectly capable, for example.
And we succeed for a second. Well, aside from the curlers.
Uncle Vasya almost here. Getting rid of curlers and trying to function as family unit in 3…2…1…
… Aw, what the hell. Here are the crayfish with a suspiciously Ukrainian-themed plastic bag:
Isn’t this like a great little mini-horror film going on in our kitchen sink?
Natalia A. 
This is a great thing to enjoy while in Kiev! We used to fish for, and eat, crayfish every weekend in the summer.
(My brothers tho, would not allow me within two meters of them with curlers. What a cool kid bro you have. Welcome back to blonde! I’m wearing more white, as you encouraged)
Lovely pictures. Seeing them here makes me understand more and more why you have a hard time in the Middle East. You are just way too beautiful and eccentric for people in conservative societies to handle. Not all of them, obviously. But the overwhelming majority.
(Or maybe that’s my bitterness speaking, bad day today, take it all with a huge grain of salt)
Yummy! Crayfish are delicious. Where I live we call the crawfish or crawdads, or sometimes mudbugs. But whatever you call them, they are good to eat.
mmm crawdads, do y’all cook them spicy?
I love this post! 🙂
haha, this brings back our trip to new orleans. when we put dead crawfish on our fingers……bc it was AWESOME.
I was originally going to say something about this on your birthday pictures post, but refrained because it was your birthday afterall. But looking at this now, with apologies about being a “party-pooper” and so on, I have to ask:
Do you really think that having your breasts displayed on the internet like that is serving a feminist cause? Are you even slightly worried about the possible repercussions of these photos for other women?
((((screams)))) People EAT those?
I love that door–how old is it? I find myself more interested in that cool door than what is going on in the photos…
TabbyCat: Do you really think that having your breasts displayed on the internet like that is serving a feminist cause?
Holy shit, I must have missed Natalia’s BOOBS!!
(((searches photos for Natalia’s boobs)))
Wait, you mean the ones COVERED UP with a fucking SHIRT? It’s SUMMER in the northern hemisphere, what the hell is she supposed to do, wear a cast-iron vest?
Too bad we can’t just TAKE IT ALL OFF the way the guys do, huh?
That’s the true feminist way! 🙂
What Daisy said, both comments actually and I would add a plug for Jordan Matter’s Uncovered collection (it’s on the web but I suck at imbeding links) which always struck me as both feminine and feminist. Now for something completely different, it looks like a black hole or something is forming to the left of your head in the first couple of pictures.
@TabbyCat — “Do you really think that having your breasts displayed … like that is serving a feminist cause? Are you even slightly worried about the possible repercussions of these photos for other women?”
TC: I assume you mean Natalia’s photos could unintentionally reinforce the inequality which arises (according to feminists) from men’s unjustified power over women.
But men’s unjustified power arises from men’s behavior rather than women’s behavior.
So it’s men’s behavior that should be your target.
Even if Natalia ‘covers herself,’ men will still have the same unjustified (according to feminists) power over all women. External controls over women like Natalia don’t undermine men’s power over all women.
Instead of changing Natalia, change men.
your mom looks a bit like Renegade Evolution. that makes me happy.
and you and your brother are always cute together.
tabbycat – spoken like a true right-wing conservative. do you know how silly you sound?
Wow, my breasts are displayed? Where?
Oh, like, it looks like I have them? I guess you got me there.
Ah, your Mum is beautiful :). Hope you had a nice birthday :).
Aww, poor crayfish. I always feel horrible for them, hanging around waiting to die, but then they’re not tasty to me so meh. (I’m anti- boiling alive but otherwise eat up!)
Your family looks awesome, love the photos.
P.S. The fact that anyone could look at these pictures and even think of how you’re “showing off your breasts” shows a very sad view of the female body IMO. It’s OK! You too can dress comfortably and not think about whether other people are sexualising you!
I never noticed the boobs. I was too busy thinking your brother was kinda cute and being amazed (yet again) at how blue you eyes are. I wonder what’s wrong with Tabby’s mind that all she noticed were your (covered up and not exactly OUT THERE not DD) boobs? Poor thing.
OK, maybe the word “displayed” is wrong here. I apologize. I just still can’t get get used to the contrast between most of what you write and what you look and act like. When I read your writing on Natalia Estemirova’s murder (to give an example) I picture someone with a tough outer shell, older than I am, woman who wears business suits to meetings and wouldn’t post a picture of herself online that shows that she is going braless. I don’t picture someone who has this very different, sensual blond image. Maybe that’s my own prejudice and something I need to work on.
Your bro is huge now! And hugely gorgeous! I’m guessing he takes after mom and you take after dad.
P.S. Yeah, Tabby, there are things you need to work on.
P.P.S. You look terrific as a blond but I think you’re also one of those lucky bitches who looks good with almost any hair color.
😉
Holy shit, Galla is right, me and your mom sorta do look alike! Then again, you know us eastern european chicks ALL look the same…
‘cept I look horrible as a blonde.
Ummmm creyfish, scary yet tasty!
Your household looks like a lot of fun.
As for the whole boobs thing….um yeah, Natalia is a woman, she HAS THOSE.
If you haven’t tried crawfish, you should. They are really good. What did you end up doing with them any way?
Eating them, of course.