27 Random Things About Me

June 3rd is my birthday, so I decided to do something different here on the blog and share 27 fun things about me. 
Why 27? You figure it out:). IMG_9548 (401x500)

1. I was born in a Christian family and made the decision to have my own personal relationship with God when I was 14. Being a Christian has defined every aspect of my life. It is awesome to walk through life with God, in moments of joy and through heartbreak too.

2. My parents are really young. I am the oldest of six. I will never take my family for granted. My parents are my heroes and great examples. My siblings are my best friends. We have so much fun together.

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3. I absolutely adore my husband. He is my best friend and my soul mate. IMG_1905 (333x500)

4. I have been told that I am an “old soul” and I agree. I love old movies like “Little House on the Prairie”, “Road to Avonlea”, etc.

5. Introvert. I enjoy having “alone time” and being alone energizes me.

6. Type A personality. I’m very determined and like getting things done. “Proceed” should be my middle name. I like to be organized.

7. I spent my 21st birthday and 1st wedding anniversary in the ICU.

8. Went to Haiti, Ukraine and Russia on mission trips. I love to travel and dream of going all around the world someday.

9. Attempted to adopt 2 children from Russia. Adopting has been my dream since I was a teenager.

10. Favorite food: Savory – potatoes (Potato Pancakes, Potato Bacon Pie, Potato Chicken Casserole). Sweets – simple things like Plum Coffee Cake, Blueberry Muffins, Gusinie Lapki. Favorite Cake – Medovik.

11. Registered Nurse. I’ve worked on Oncology and Telemetry Units.

Right now I have a very interesting job. I work as a Nurse in the Transfer Center, which means I facilitate transfers from one hospital to another, if a patient needs it. Example: Patient has a brain hemorrhage, but the hospital doesn’t have a neurosurgeon. They call me, I call the neurosurgeon that is on call at the other hospital, connect the specialist with the ER or other requesting physician, they decide if the patient needs to be transferred. I also make sure that the receiving hospital has available beds to accept the patient, etc. It’s a really cool job and I have really awesome co-workers.

12. During Nursing School, I worked nights on a Pediatric Unit. I absolutely loved it.

13. I love to read and would rather spend money on books than clothes. The library and the bookstore are my favorite places to hang out.

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14. Even though I am an introvert and can “seem” quiet and shy, I enjoy public speaking.

15. I sang in a band.

16. Don’t like to bake. Ha! That’s usually a surprise for most people, since I bake so much and do all sorts of fancy desserts.

Nope. Baking frustrates me.

17. I taught Sunday School for a few years.

18. I’m not a fashion diva. My fashion style is functional and classic. I like to be in style and have cute clothes, but I believe that one purse that goes with everything is sufficient and if I have one black skirt I don’t need another:). My makeup is very natural looking too.

19. I shared a room with my sister, Elina, for 19 years.

20. My husband and I don’t have any credit cards and the only debt we ever plan on having is a mortgage, and hopefully not too long. We started listening to Dave Ramsey a few years ago, went through Financial Peace University and it changed our life in an incredible way.

21. My favorite date night – relaxing at home.

22. Curious and adventurous. I like trying new things. I’ve made homemade puff pastry, homemade bagels, homemade ginger ale, etc. I even went parachuting.

23. Favorite kitchen tool – sharp knife.

24. I spent most of my childhood outdoors. My parents own 100 acres of land and my siblings and I spent all our free time exploring, building forts, hiking, swimming, sledding, etc. Every spring we planted a huge garden. I didn’t even mind weeding. I dream of having a garden of my own someday.

25. In my opinion, the expression “I’m bored” should be banned. How is it possible to be bored? There are a million things to do.

26. Until I was 18, I always had long hair. One day, I chopped off 13 inches and have kept it pretty short ever since.

27. My dream is to be a mother.

 

77 Comments

  • Liliya

    Happy Birthday Olga! Today is my son’s 8 birthday so now i will remember yours. Thank you very much for this awsome blog and all recepies and tips. Want to wish you a really happy birthday!!! Hope all your dreams come true and prayers answered. God bless you sweetheart!!!

  • Natalia

    So inspirational, I love to hear stories like yours. The fact that your family is close and you have so many siblings it’s great! Have a very Happy Birthday!

  • Anya

    Happy Birthday Olga you are so nice and pretty and pleasurable. I really enjoy to read all your post. Keep doing good job and may God bless You and your family.

  • Oksana

    Happy 27th Birthday Olga! You are truly an amazing and inspirational person. Your blog is a true blessing and through it I have become a better cook. A huge thank you! May God bless YOU richly, may your wishes come true and your prayers be heard. It’s nice to learn that we are the same age!

  • Anna

    Happy Birthday Olga! Reading your story has made me so appreciative of everything I have. You have shown that despite all the trials and tribulations, people still need to be thankful and praise God for what we have. Trusting God is hard because His plan seems so different than what we plan for ourselves. But, in learning about your story, I realize that people like you are truly blessed and completely understand the meaning of God’s grace and mercy. I want to thank you for sharing and giving us the opportunity to re-examine our lives and change our perspectives. May God continue to bless you abundantly and fulfill your dreams 🙂

  • Moms Dish

    Happy Birthday! I wish you that #27 will come true very soon for you. I really enjoyed reading about you.

  • Shirley

    Happy Birthday Olga……May God bless u and fulfill your dream to become a mother…. I am 100% sure that you will b a wonderful mother and inspire us because u r a wonderful person..wish I could meet u in person.

  • Lidiya

    Hi Olga. I really enjoy reading your posts. I feel like I got to know you more. Thank you so much for sharing=))) I wanted to ask you something. I really hope you don’t mind. I wanted to know how is everything going with the adoption journey, I know you guys were so close, but then Russia had a new law. How is everything now, are they still working on the papers?

  • Lidiya

    Happy Birthday Olga. I really hope that this year will be a wonderful year for you and your husband=) Blessings=)

  • Oksana

    Dear Olga, I want to say thank you for sharing your story with us. It opened my eyes and showed me how much I have to be thankful for. I prayed about you today and asked God to grant your family children. You are truly an inspiration to young women out there. May God give you strength when times get tough. Have a wonderful birthday and remember that there are people that are praying for your family. Happy Birthday dear!

  • Dina

    Happy Birthday Olga! You are truly an amazing woman, and I hope that your dream will come true soon! God bless you and thank you for this awesome blog.

  • Oksana

    Seems like you have very solid personality Olga, to which is much to up to!!! Happy Birthday 🙂 Oksana

  • Olga

    Happy Birthday Olga! Reading this post made me feel like we’re family even though we’ve never met before in person. Maybe cuz I am a nurse too. You’re one beautiful, intelligent and smart lady. May God bless you abundantly and grant you your most wanted wish!

  • Nataly

    Happy Birthday, dear Olga!!! I’m so thankful that I’ve found your blog and that it has so many useful, inspirational and encouraging posts!!! Thanks to you I started to experiment much more in the kitchen, planning and organizing has eased our lives!!!! I pray that God richly bless your family in everything and many many happy years to come!!!!!!

  • Galina O

    Happy Birthday Olga! You are an amazing woman and a great example of how women should be at all times! Keep up the good work!

  • Nina

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OLECHKA!!!!!!
    I hope you have very blessed birthday!!!!!
    Thank you for sharing your 27 things with us. It’s so sweet of you. If you really like somebody you will be love know more about this person. You are very multitalanted person beautiful in and out. You probably know where are your talents from. I wish you so many GOD’s blessings. May GOD bless you richly.
    I’m big fun of your blog. Thanks much for your tremendous work.
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU 🙂

  • Rita

    Happy bday Olga. May God bless you and everything you do in this life. I spend a lot of time reading your posts and getting new ideas. I am preying and cannot wait until you become a mom because we will be getting a lot of new recipes for kids:) Again, may God bless you richly.

  • Tanya

    Happy Birthday Olga! I started following your blog not too long ago and want to say thank you for sharing all the recipes and tips and for this blog post. I could not read your story (#7 ICU, surgery, baby) without tears in my eyes. You have been through alot, good that it was with God and family by your side. May God bless you and make #27 come true.

  • Luda Kilimnik

    Happy Birthday Olga! You are a wonderful person. I totally agree with you on #25. There IS so many things to do.
    I really do wish you become a mother soon. Its the greatest joy! God Bless you!

  • Tanya

    Happy Birthday! We have so many things in common… I hope your dream to be a mother comes true! Your Dad looks very familiar. What is your maiden name? if you don’t mind sharing.

  • Oksana

    Olga,
    I love that you don’t mind sharing things about yourself. It’s not just a cooking blog, it feels like you are in my kitchen helping along with the step by step pictures and instructions. I know about your longing to become a mother. I always knew I wanted a family since I was younger and so far have 3 children. It’s not easy at times, but satisfying, and God teaches us many things through the kids. I do pray for your family still, and hope that soon you will be able to be blessed with kids.
    We also listen to Dave Ramsey, he’s a funny guy, and his advice is pretty useful, being out of debt(besides the house) is a neat way to live.
    Happy 27th birthday. In our home we have this tradition to read the date of our birthdays from the Psalms, or the entire chapter of the Proverbs (since there are 31 Proverbs and up to 31 days in a month), like for you it would be Proverbs chapter 3. My Grandpa has always done that for us, now we do it at our home, its pretty encouraging, and sometimes a verse or two stands out for me, depending on what’s going on during that time for me. All of God’s Blessings on your home.

  • natalichka

    Happy birthday Olga! May God bless you, and make your dreams come true. 🙂
    And you taught Russian language too, remember? 🙂

  • irina

    It’s interesting to me how as we get older, we become more confident in who God created us to be and slowly we develop into that and just be ok with our own peronalities and not try to please others by conforming to their view of us… and still what’s more amazing is that God never leaves us alone to be who we are but to always grow. Might seem like a paradox but makes sense to me.

    Happy Birthday from a fellow “June birthday girl” who’s going to be 28! 🙂

  • Olessa

    Happy 27th birthday Olinka! May all your dreams be fulfilled and know that with God All Things are Possible! Never give up dreaming and hopefully soon you’ll be able to experience the joys Iof motherhood! Stay strong and take care! Thank you so very much for such a great “everything” blog!!!

  • Vita

    HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY Olga!!! Thanks for letting us know, and keeping us up to date 🙂 June is my favorite month cause my birthday is at the end of it 🙂 I am wishing you all God’s wonderful blessings! May God bless you, protect you, may He fulfill your dreams and desires of your heart and may He answer all your prayers! Wishing you a wonderful day and great year ahead!! I love love your blog!

  • Olga S.

    Olya,

    Happy Cake Day! A great post to share a few personal things that make you YOU! I am also a bookie, like to spend time alone and a Type A, like to cook, know that my family is my everything, and is #1, love my job as a real estate agent, with my husband 17 years ( and I am 35), a mom to 2 wonderful girls. And yes, my favorite relaxation place is at home! Such a pleasure to know others who are like me 🙂 Cpacibo!

  • elena

    Happy birthday Olga! I just want to wish you the very best on ur birthday 🙂 u r such a blessing to so many people through this blog. Ur recipes r all amazing, and i have learned alot from ur tips and recipes. U r a beautiful, intelligent and a Godly women. I am praying for Gods blessing on ur family. Best wishes to u r 🙂

  • Olya Drozd

    Even though we’ve never met, I feel like I know you & we share a lot in common! 🙂 I too cannot understand how one can be bored! And I really love how you see the good in life & keep going on, being a great persevering example, despite difficulties. Stay strong & beautiful on the inside & outside! I pray for you! Reading your story brought tears to my eyes, & was a great reminder of really being grateful for the things around us! God bless you! Happy 27th birthday!

  • Marina

    Happy Birthday dear Olga! Thank you for sharing your life with us. I love your blog, thank you for all the work you put into it. God bless your family and my all your wishes and prayers be answered.

  • Jessen

    Wow. You sound SO much like me in many ways – More than 10 of the things you stated above! And the funny thing is, June 3 of 81 is my Birthday too. Gemini’s Rock =)

  • Inna

    Happy late Birthday! May God bless you and may your wishes come true. Thank you for sharing all of the things about you, it feels like I know you better now. Also thank you for your blog and all of the recipes that you shared with us. Blessings.

  • Liliya

    Olga, happy belated birthday! My dream has always been to become a mother as well. Your time will come. I know it! 🙂

  • Luda

    Happy belated birthday!!!! U don’t look 27 at all!!! Must be in the good genes. Ur mother is soo young looking. She looks like a sister. U too brought tears to my eyes after reading ur story. God bless u in everything u do. Ur blog the inspirations u give to oh so many to cook!!!:) love ur blog and ur tips and recipes. God bless the adoption process. It’s an amazing thing to do!!!!

  • lena

    Happy birthday! I enjoy checking out your blog daily and look forward to trying many of your recipies! God Bless You And Hope You Will Be A Mother Soon!

  • Mariya

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLICHKA!! :)) You are such a sweet and beautiful girl!! May God richly bless you on your birthday and may all of your dreams come true! May He blesses you with many beautiful children and prospers you in each and every way! Thanks so much for the wonderful job you are doing here on this blog, you are such a hard working woman, and I absolutely adore your cooking/baking skills!!! Keep up the great work! Be blessed,
    – Mariya

  • Snow

    Olichka! Happy birthday dear! Thank you so much for all these great recipes. I have come a long way in cooking/baking because of you. May God bless you and your family and fulfill all your heart’s desires. I am praying for your adoption process; God knows whats best for you and He does everything for the good to those who love Him. Best wishes!
    Snow

  • inna

    Happy birthday Olga:)
    I enjoyed learning more about you and I hope your dream comes true. The Lord works in mysterious ways…
    Your blog is one of my favorites. I too am a nurse. I work in women services and surgicals. I am also an introvert and have a cookbook habit. I buy baking books off amazon.

  • Estera

    Thanks for sharing your list of 27 things about you, I’ve learned a lot about you 🙂

    Happy Belated birthday & may God bless you all the days of your life.

    Guess what ? I don’t like baking either, I don’t have the patience to BAKE anything but I LOVE cooking for an army if I have to 🙂 lol

  • lena

    Happy Be-lated Birthday! Wish you a lots of Gods blessings! A lot of things you said about yourself are things I would say about myself….:)

  • Vadim K

    Great post Olga, reading through it, I realize how you and Natasha are so much alike :). It would be great to meet you and Sergi some day :).

    • olgak7

      That would be awesome! You never know, it might happen sometime in the future. If you’re ever in Florida, you’re invited to stop by. Maybe we’ll attend a blogging conference together too:).

  • Oksana

    Hi Olga, you’ve had a busy June with the birthdays, anniversary and your latest post about traveling to Italy, how fun.
    I do have a question though, you mentioned that your favorite tool in the kitchen is a good sharp knife. I didn’t think of it that way, but that’s so true. I am always sharpening or having my husband sharpen knifes for me. I am on a mission to find a good Chef’s knife. Is there a favorite you have?

    • olgak7

      Hi Oksana,
      Yes, it really was a REALLY busy month!
      My favorite knives are iCook knives, from a company called Amway. My husband and I are distributors, but I honestly have never used better knives. I never recommend something unless I use it and love it myself. It really is my favorite kitchen tool. Many times when I cook in other people’s kitchen, I will bring along my own knife:).

      • Oksana

        Thanks. I’ll be looking into that. I’ve heard of Amway before, but never iCook knifes. I’ll do some research on that. I wish I would remember to bring my own knife to my mom’s kitchen when I help cook there, hers always seem so dull, and give me quite a workout, even after sharpening them. Maybe I can give her a good knife for a gift, that would be a gift that keeps on giving(or cutting). Thanks again

  • Cy

    Dear,

    I just discovered your website yesterday while looking up Russian recipes. I am from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have been living in Michigan, US for the past 4 years, and absolutely LOVE Moscow and St. Petersburg. Recently my boyfriend and I started a journey into Thai (his favorite type of food) and Russian (my top favorite trip destination) cooking, and here we are, meeting each other!
    I printed over 30 recipes from your website today and I am SO excited to try them all! I am an avid baker, and have been pushing myself to learn how to cook, since one day I want to have a family and be able to cook healthy for them. I have a facebook page, in case you want to take a peak at the things I make.
    I loved reading about you, we have so much in common. I am also an introvert, love reading and libraries, strongly agree with you that “I am bored” should be abandoned (so many things to do!), dream of being a mother, love cream cheese, etc etc!
    Thank you for sharing these amazing and SO detailed recipes with us, and also bits of your life. You know, with so many recipe websites out there what really called my attention and my heart towards your was that every recipe has pictures and detailed instructions. My #1 kitchen muse is Deb (Smitten Kitchen), because she is all that, but you just got #2 now! 🙂
    <3 Have a wonderful day!

    • olgak7

      Hi Cy!
      I’m so touched to read your comment. Thanks for taking the time to write:). I am so glad to hear that you find the website useful. I’m thrilled that you like the step by step recipe approach. I’d love to hear what you think of the recipes once you try them:).

  • Olya

    Olga, just recently discovered your blog and was absolutely stunned first by your selections of recepies and blog organization, second… I never write on forums, but your personal story really surprized me, I guess there is definitely something in the name… I can relate to almost all 27 points of yours, never met anybody look some similar to myself. Anyway, it’s too late to say “Happy Birthday” now, but I still wish you abundant God’s blessing in your new role as a mother, enjoy every moment of it, it’s worth it!

    • olgak7

      Thank you, Olya! I appreciate that you took the time to write. I always think it’s so much fun to connect with people that we can relate to and have a lot in common with:).

  • Mariana

    Hi Olga,
    I am so exited i found your blog a few days ago. All your recipes look amazing; i already tried a few and my family and i loved them all. And what’s so cool about you is that besides being a great cook you are a godly woman and a loving wife, that’s so inspiring:)
    By the way, my birthday is also on June 3rd and i got married at around the same age as you did but i’m 2 years younger.
    May God bless you and your family abundantly and keep you strong in faith.

    • olgak7

      Thank you so much, Mariana! I am so humbled by your kind words. I really hope you’ll find this blog useful.
      I’m so pleased to meet someone else with the same birthday:). May God bless you and your family also.

  • WakaMama

    Olga,
    I just found you while looking for a fish recipe, which I will make tonight. We have much in common ethnically and cooking-wise- and my sister shares your birthday. God bless in your journey to grow your family – you and Sergi will be in my prayers. Keep the faith and keep cooking – it’s what our people do!

  • Alina RN

    Hi Olga! I see that you are holding a baby in your Christmas photo; but I cannot find any updates on your a couple on purpose blog. The last update I see was Jan 2013, almost a year ago! Please direct me to where I can read more about your story 🙂 Someone here mentioned that you blogged about going to Italy..I cant seem to find it. Thank you very much and your stories and cooking really inspire me! 🙂

  • Nadia

    Hi Olga! I found your blog as I was browsing through random pictures on Instagram! Love reading all your posts about your family and cooking! You’re in inspiration!!

    • olgak7

      Thank you, Tallya. Yes, God is so good to make my dream come true. I’ve often thought about this post and how my dream came true. I am fully enjoying every moment with my precious son.

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