Summer "Break"

Technically, I have the summer off, but it's already feeling like an incredibly short summer. I've been spending this week packing up my apartment - and I'm convinced that no single person needs as much stuff or as much boxed food as I've accumulated over the past 2 1/2 years. What did I ever think I was going to do with a half a dozen cans of pineapple or an entire cupboard of Hamburger Helper? And speaking of excess, why did I ever start a snobby yarn stash? You can't just sell off a bunch of 100% wool yarn for a dollar a ball at a garage sale...which might be why I have three rubbermaid totes full of the stuff. *sigh*

I've also revisited the joy of booking airline tickets. I was raised to hunt out bargains, which makes ticket buying an insanely long process: checking travel sites, checking the airlines' sites, weighing the option of leaving at 6 am for $100 less than leaving at 10 AM, etc. It's all good though - I've got both my ticket for PFO (summer training in Mississippi) and SINGAPORE! Feels fabulous - I am incredibly, incredibly blessed.

Name, Birthdate, Etc.

Yesterday night I received a new mountain of paperwork to fill out: boxes to fill in, photos to acquire, copies to make. I don't mind it, but I wish I had a huge chunk of time just to do it all. I feel like I'm trying to cram a whole lot of things all into a space ot time they can't quite fit inside. Or, they can't all fit in there comfortably anyway. Despite this, I still pile in other "non-essential" activities: writing letters, knitting socks, making hour long drives to see family on my days off.

Feels sort of like college.

Moving Out, On, Forward...

I got my move-out confirmation letter from my apartment manager today - more and more things are happening that make the transition and move to Singapore and a new job/ministry more and more real. Our next schedule draft at the hospital has me abruptly disappear halfway through the work days. Magazines I've failed to renew have stopped coming. My shopping lists are shorter: what do I need another three rolls of paper towels or five pounds of flour for?

The task of deciding which items to take with, leave behind for later, and give away is becoming more immediate. I'm beginning to realize just how much stuff I have: yards of fabric, piles of papers, cupboards of food, lotion, and dishes. It's a little like a chore, a little like a fun project.

If I ever ask you if you need anything, respond honestly. I might have it, and I'm probably more than willing to part with it.

Recent Failures and Successes

One of my current projects (I have a lot) has been to find a veggie burger recipe that equals or surpasses the frozen burgers in the store. My only attempt prior to the one below involved lentils and is not worth repeating. This one sounded promising: plenty of shredded potato, carrot, and zuchinni - I even photographed the whole process in preparation to share it with everyone.


This is the only picture I'll actually share - if you want a veggie PANCAKE recipe, this one will work. It tastes okay, but it's not particularly satisfying on a bun. I've found another recipe and plan to test it out later this week.

A recent success was this Super Delicious Cake! My sister Jess made a Serbian cake for Easter last year (complete with The Best Frosting Ever), but I'd say mine is a possible contender. Thank you, Taste of Home magazine. This is their Chocolate Strawberry Celebration Cake (with poorly drizzled ganache...but it was oh, so good) from the January 2010 issue.


I've also started cutting pieces for my second quilt. This has actually been a work in progress for over a year: I've been writing on all of the fabric since March 2009. I love the colors, but I've decided to add some blue pieces...which means more writing, ironing, and cutting before I can actually piece the thing.

I'm a List Lady...

Warning: This entry contains nothing of much importance/significance.

This is where I work when I'm not at work. I have a table and desk, and yet I always seem to end up on the floor by the coffee table. I have no good explanation other than the fact that I did the majority of my reading/homework/art projects on the floor as a kid.

Quite some time ago, I came to the conclusion that I'm definitely a list person: I make lists of things to do, things to buy, things I'm thankful for, etc. If you've ever seen my extreme grocery/coupon/sale list, you know I take it to unecessary levels (I wonder what sort of label a psychiatrist would give me...). I even list things I've already done just so I can have the satisfaction of marking them off.

Today's my day off, and there's plenty of things I have to do/acquire, which once again "necessitates" a list. Write letters, pick up vacation photos, backlog entries in this poor neglected blog...it goes on. Lately, these lists seem to be getting longer - is it a sign of a life more full, or just more busy? : )

Wednesday: Paris is Better With a Friend!

Note: I'm typing this entry over a week after the events, so it's not as fabulously spontaneous and fresh as my earlier vacation entries. Oh, snap. That's what happens when I don't turn on my computer.

Wednesday started off bright and positive - a good night of sleep does that for me! My hostel was pretty noisy at night (typical of hostels, I guess - people moving their things, talking, and turning on the lights at all hours), so being the oh, so clever person that I am, I took some benadryl.

It worked fabulously. There could have been a jackhammer outside and I probably would have slept through it. I love the sleep-inducing effects anti-histamines have on me, but it means I usually have to suffer through my random allergy symptoms during the day if I want to be able to drive.

Gladly, I had no issues with allergies while abroad.

ANYWAY. After yet another hostel breakfast of cocoa crispies, orange juice, and bread with jam, I pulled my massive quantities of luggage next door to the Holiday Inn to meet up with the lovely Maria and her mom.

Let me tell you, it was pretty fabulous to have an entire sofa sleeper all to myself. Kudos to Maria's dad for setting us up with a hotel for a few nights!

It was a pretty lovely day: Maria and I ventured off to Musee d'Orsay - and what's not to love about Impressionist art? The museum isn't nearly as overwhelming as the Louvre, and you feel like you can take your time a little more. Definitely enjoyed it!

Musee d'Orsay: A converted train station that houses Monet, Renior, Degas...a lovely way to spend part of the day!

After that, we headed to Notre Dame and then Sainte-Chapelle. Notre Dame is impressive - I saw it on my walking tour, and on Wednesday Maria and I went inside. Sainte-Chapelle is smaller, but the windows are definitely worth paying to see. It was actually sunny outside when we went in, and the stained glass is amazing. Beautiful. It's not something to be missed.

Yours truely in front of Notre Dame.

Following this, we headed to Shakespeare & Co. - an English bookstore in the Latin quarter. If you're a fan of kitschy bookshops, be sure to stop by this place. Although I absolutely love books, there are so many other little things to love about this place: the typewriter, the entire room (complete with books-not-for-sale) devoted to reading, and especially the wall covered in notes from visitors from all over the world. The more I visit bookstores like this, the less and less I like chain bookstores.

The day finished off with dinner - onion soup (sooo good!) and something akin to a hamburger with extra tasty sauce. Mmm.

Tuesday: Sopping Wet Walking Tour (and Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower!)

Today started off with another tasty hostel breakfast (cereal, juice, bread & jam) and a quick jaunt to the store for batteries. Yay for a camera that works! I took pictures today, but don't plan on posting any tonight...it's already late so I'm going to try to keep this short.

The touristy portion of the day started off with a 4 hour long walking tour offered by New Europe. Fun times! Tour Guide Matt was knowledgable and very perky/spunky and wedged in enough Paris trivia to create an entire column of questions in Jeopardy. We popped by all the major landmarks - didn't actually go inside anywhere, but it was a fabulous introduction to everything and made for some good photo-ops. I'd recommend it! All the tour guides work on tips alone, but they make it a really interesting/fun time.

The only downside of the tour was the weather - rainy and windy on and off. At one point I was pretty well soaked, but gladly I am not wicked enough to melt.

Following the tour, two other girls from the hostel and I made our way to the Arc de Triomphe. The tunnel is kind of fun in it's own way, the stairs are a work-out, and the view from the top is pretty terrific.

It doesn't compare with the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower though. If you're going to do Paris, you must do the Eiffel Tower - and if you're going to do the Eiffel Tower, you must go all the way to the top. Cold and windy, yes - but still pretty amazing. We went after dark and the lights were pretty fabulous. It was also fun to pick out some of the monuments/buildings we saw earlier in the day.

I'm beginning to understand why Paris is known so well as a city for romance - factor in a bunch of love-y dove-y art (Cupid and Psyche, The Kiss, etc), breath-taking cathedrals, astounding views - and heaps of couples enjoying it all - and everything kind of falls into place.

I forgot to mention the deliciousness that is a crepe. YUM.

For the record, nothing particularly disastrous happened to me today. : )