Tagged

Both of these blog games are just for fun.
First, the flickr photo set game, outlined below:

Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search, using only the first page, choose your favorite image, copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker (3 columns, 4 rows).

The questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you attend?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10.What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your Flickr name.

If you haven't done it yet, I tag you!

Italia- Day 4, Part 2 and Day 5 Palazzo Bandino

We arrived at the agriturismo around 4 pm. It is a family-owned winery and inn near the town of Chianciano Terme a spa town in southeastern Tuscany. Known for its mineral waters that are touted to cure liver problems, the town also offers close access to the hill towns of Siena, Montepulciano, and others. We went up to our two bedroom apartment overlooking the pool and the hills of Tuscany and immediately went...to the pool. It really felt good to just swim for an hour and lay by the pool in the late afternoon sun before showering and changing for dinner. They offered a full dinner with wine courses for only 20 euro (about $30 pp) and it was delicious! The next morning we drove into the little town and breakfasted on a balcony. Then we drove to Siena to explore. We had giant calzone (me) and pizzas (the guys) for lunch, and then spent the late afternoon exploring Montepulciano, known for its vino nobile. We had some wine and a cheese flight at a local cafe, made reservations for dinner the following evening at osteria aquacheta, and went home to look at the stars.

So many posts...so little time

I have so many blog posts brewing in my mind but I have things to do! so, gee, blogging will have to take a backseat for a bit.
Here are some of the reasons I have no time for blogging (in backwards chronological order)

*I'm going to the beach today! Meeting friends at Zuma Beach - the last time I went there was july 2, 2006 I think or sometime around there

*Before I go to the beach I'm going to the Lake Shrine Meditation garden at the very end of Sunset Blvd. right before you get to the coast (This has been on my to-do list since 2005!)

*I had jury duty yesterday

*I shopped til I dropped in Old Town Pasadena on Wednesday

*I had to go move classrooms on Tues.

*my parents were visiting Fri. 18 to Tues. 22 (I already have three items on the to-do list for your next visit!! That's one of the planned posts!)

*Every night I have been hanging out on facebook instead of blogging...I found more friends from high school and had fun chats with 3 or 4 girls from the past including an artist muse yogini (shout-out C!), a USC junior, and a college co-conspirator turned amazing mommy (hope to see you this fall J!)

I will try to catch up on posts this weekend...I know I'm only on day 5 of Italy- so many great pix to share. Have a great Friday everyone!

Italy -Day 4 (Part 1, Orvieto)

Our fourth day in Italy coincided with the 4th of July holiday. We set off toward Tuscany, passing fields of sunflowers and hay bales. On the way, we stopped in Orvieto for lunch and exploring. Orvieto is in Umbria, set on top of the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff (according to Wikipedia). We took the funicular to the top and enjoyed exploring the twisty streets looking for a lunch stop. We turned up a side street and passed a place called "La Pergola". It was late enough, and we were hungry enough, that we decided to stop. The pressure was on, you see, because this constituted our first sit-down meal in Italy where we were responsible for selecting the place and the meal itself. The guys had read so many websites and information about eating in Italy that it was tough to commit to our first restaurant. We were led inside to an interior garden under a tented roof. D. selected a pasta dish and Tico Joe and I both selected the "gnocchi a la nostra". It was so good, it nearly melted in your mouth! Imagine my surprise and delight when, perusing the 2000 edition of Lonely Planet Italy that night before bed; on page 598 under the heading Orvieto: Places to Eat I read the following:

"Orvieto tends to be a little expensive on the food front, but you can't go wrong at the Trattoria La Pergola (Via dei Magoni 9a). A fine meal in the back garden will cost about L30,000- try the ombrichelli or the melt-in-your-mouth gnocchi al modo nostro."

Let's see.

Trattoria La Pergola (check)
back garden (check)
melt in your mouth gnocchi (check)

I guess we had nothing to worry about.

Italia-Day 3

At Europcar, no this is not our rental!:)

Into the woods

the only inhabitants of Falvaterra

the view from Falvaterra

Sabrina and Gianni-this is where we ate dinner each night in Latina-it's one long table!

Thursday, July 3 we took a taxi to the car rental place first thing, so we could drive out to find the remains of D's great-grandfather's birthplace. After traipsing throught the overgrown area for a while (well, I stayed in the car) and asking lots of neighbors, it was determined that there were no visible parts of the foundation of the homestead. We did meet some great people and a very cute motormouth kitten. At least we were able to see the lot and the street itself, in order to get a better idea of the view he might have had as a child. About 1:30, we drove into the mountain town of Falvaterra, a village of 600 inhabitants built into a crest of the Musoni mountains (yes, I googled this.) Everything was shut down at this time, and it was quite like walking through a ghost town as we explored the tiny winding lanes and tooks lots of photographs. From time to time, you could hear a tv droning or a signora talking on the telephone, but all in all it was quiet and empty. After unsuccessfully trying to find a place for lunch (everything shuts down between about 1:30-4:40), we stopped at the Latina grocery store for rations and had a makeshift picnic on the hotel bed, where I invented prosciutto lollipops (just wrap some prosciutto around the top of a breadstick and you're good to go) At six that evening Gianni came by and we followed him to the local hospital where his father was a patient so we could visit. Later we had a seafood dinner at their home, where D. was bowled over by the linguini with clam sauce. I will post a pic of the kitten and the clams soon. Here are some more shots of the day.

Artist Date

An "artist date" is a technique recommended in a book titled "The Artist's Way", by Julia Cameron. It is basically a retreat to find inspiration. It can last a day, an hour, or even less. Yesterday I took the Metrolink train from Newhall to Union Station and then the gold line metrorail out to South Pasadena to meet two teacher friends from my last school for lunch. After catching up for a couple of hours and eating our delicious salads (I chose a beet arugula salad with walnuts, green apples, and feta) from Mike & Anne's on Mission St., we took a group photo and went our separate ways around 1:30. I needed to catch the Gold LIne back to the train station at 4:01, so I had time to spare. Loving South Pasadena as I do, I took advantage of the time to walk the streets and enjoy the surroundings. South Pas is a very walkable little area, the train stop is right in the middle of the main drag (Mission St.) First, I meandered over to the public library. Inside, I made my way upstairs to the delightful Friends of the Library booksale, which is actually an entire well-organized room on the second floor. I found the following treasures:

The Inheritance of Loss ($2)
Eat Love Pray ($2) (Already read but longing for my own copy to highlight!)
The Birth of Venus ($2)
The Girlfriend's Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood ($1) (Hey this might just come in handy sometime...no news yet but I'll keep ya posted!)

Then, I walked back up to Mission St. and visited a craft shop, the local Bellini store (3-4 storefronts wide- let's just say there are LOTS of little ones in South Pas), and finally made my way to Buster's a local ice cream shop. I found an afternoon treat (delicious pumpkin chocolate chip bar) and sat down outside to read for a bit. Later, I found a shady spot under a tree at the train station and read some more. I am currently enjoying several middle grade novels (for research and enjoyment both). Yesterday, the selection was, The Wedding Planner's Daughter, by Coleen Murtagh Paratore. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read the two more books already out with the same character...Willa Havisham. Above are some pix from the artist date. (Oh yeah, the picture taking is what really makes it feel like an artist date)

Italia-Day 2

Latina train station

Cafe Mexico-Naples, Italy

la sfogliatella

Tico Joe and D. in the Basilica

Mt. Vesuvius in the background


everyone at dinner

On Wednesday, July 2 we got an early start from the hotel via taxi to head to the Latina train station, where we took a train to Napoli! After a quick stop at Cafe Mexico in Naples for cappucino and sfogliatella, a traditional, shell-shaped Italian pastry, we took a local train to Pompeii, our destination of the day. We had been warned that it was desert-hot there and there would be no shade; it was indeed a piping hot day under Mt. Vesuvius. D. and I were prepared with our "wicked" tops that are made to wick the sweat away from your body, and they really worked! The biggest thing that surprised us about Pompeii was the size of it- so big! The main drag, Via Dell' Abbondanza (Street of Abundance) seemed to be neverending. We enjoyed exploring the homes, laundry, cafes and other remains. That night, our return train was delayed so Gianni picked us up at the Latina train station at 9 pm and we went straight over to the house for dinner, a barbecue!

Italia-Day 1

Gianni on Sabrina's balcony overlooking the back side of Gianni's home

Billy

Lemons (from the tree in the yard)

everyone looking at the picture of when lightning struck the church at our wedding

handmade fettucine
*
*photo credits: Tico Joe, used with implied permission...:)
We took the new direct LAX-Roma flight overnight and arrived about 1 pm Italy time on Tuesday, July 1, 2008. We met up with Tico Joe right away and as soon as we got our luggage went out to find cousin Gianni. He drove us into his town of Latina, south of Rome. It is a suburban town of about 100,000 people. The Garden Hotel of Latina was a modern albergo with small but clean and very sufficient rooms. We quickly cleaned up while Gianni waited downstairs and then he drove us down the street to his home, a sizeable duplex townhome style place with brick walls and striped awnings on it's four balconies. At the door, we were met by his wife Paola, their 30-year-old daughter Sabrina, and Gianni's mother Laura, who is D's grandmother's first cousin. They fed us a late lunch and then we went back to the hotel for a while before returning to the house for the first of three amazing dinners they served. The first night, we ate handmade fettucine as the first course, with some delicious meat for second course and salad served last. Then, a beautiful plate of fruit was brought out, including apricots, watermelon, fresh green and pink figs, and cherries. Limoncello was served and after all of this, Joe and Gianni walked down the street for gelato (no, that might have been the second night, but you get the idea!) We were stuffed and happy!

Menu planning

After two glorious weeks of eating whatever I wanted in Italy, I am ready to do some healthy menu planning or at least planning for the rest of the summer. After all, I have time to shop, cook, and clean with no work pressures. So, yesterday D. and I cut coupons and menu-planned and went food shopping together. We haven't done this together in ages- it's usually him since he enjoys the whole cooking thing more. (I enjoy the eating thing.) But I'm determined to shift that and play "the good housewife" and see how it goes. It can't be that bad, right? Before, our chore division looked like this:

Me: laundry, dusting, vaccuuming, cat litter, garden (watering, weeding etc.), changing sheets etc.
D: grocery shopping, cooking (2-3 times per week), bill paying
both: coupons, cleaning up kitchen (should've been me only but I can be a procrastinator)

New division:
Me: laundry, dusting, vaccuuming, garden,changing sheets
D: bill paying, cat litter
both: coupons, shopping, cooking, and cleaning kitchen (with me in the lead this time!)

So far the weekly menu looks like this:

Sunday: handmade pasta in the new pasta maker purchased yesterday with parsley, garlic and olive oil, spinach, and skinny cow mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches (by D.)
Monday: tofu stir fry, jasmine rice, watermelon (by P.)
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: mango salsa w/tortilla chips and avocado dip, Asian thai pork salad (by P.)
Thursday: black beans and rice with turkey sausage (by P.)
Friday: backyard barbecue with visiting relatives: burgers, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, watermelon (by both)
Saturday: eat out with my visiting relatives
Sunday: Beet-Arugula Salad w/walnuts and feta, grilled chicken breast (by both)

So, how does the chore division work in your house?

Just Breathe

I have a new yoga home here in town. The studio is Just Breathe Yoga Center owned by Dani Ibarra, and it's just wonderful. Hoping to combat jetlag and get a jumpstart on the rest of my summer vakay, I signed up for their introductory special yesterday morning; ten days for $25. My first class was Jeff's 8 am Level 1/2 class on Saturday morning. Four of us showed up (probably since it's an early class) and enjoyed nearly an hour and a half of vinyasa. Lots of standing poses, lots of warrior 1 and 2. Today I opted for Dani's 9:30 a.m. mixed level flow class which was filled to the brim with between 12-15 people. She even had to step outside the front door at one point in order to assist someone whose mat was so close to the edge of the room. Dani exudes calm and is so knowledgeable about her craft. She offers adjustments and alternate asanas for students at varying levels. In addition, her welcoming manner and the peaceful environment she has created in the studio itself are so inviting. There was an 11 am meditation (offered the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month) but I couldn't stay for it today. There are 2-3 class offerings daily and I'm looking forward to checking out the rest of the schedule this week.