I've just finished cooking up a veritable STORM, and feel inclined to share this good news with the world. After dining with my good friend Anne Kalos last night, and eating some delicious food she prepared, I felt inspired to do my own cooking. So I actually did it! I made tofu and veggie stir fry with peanut sauce, and a vegetable cheese frittata.
Well, the stir fry was mildly successful- I forgot to add the vinegar to the peanut sauce, and I think that made it a little bit on the salty/oily side. But it tasted good, and there are LEFTOVERS. And you know what that means people- lunch tomorrow, easily reheatable in the staffroom microwave. The fritata just came out of the oven, and it LOOKS perfect. I haven't tasted it yet, I'm saving it for breakfast- and I just hope that it tastes as good as it looks.
I will admit, I feel quite proud of myself. And here's the part that really surprises me and makes me feel like maybe there IS hope for my domesticity- I actually ENJOYED the cooking process! It was extremely relaxing and slightly therapeutic to spend two hours chopping and slicing and dicing and frying and mixing and baking. To those of you who know me well, you know I've never been much of a cook. My most impressive meals were egg scrambles or microwaved veggie burgers stuck between a couple pieces of toast. So I feel like this is a milestone in my life...I enjoyed cooking something! And it's not like I was even doing it to impress someone else who was coming over to eat- I did it just because I wanted to.
I'm uncharacteristically excited about my culinary adventures.
Well, it's been quite awhile since I updated, let's see what I have to say. I need to just sift through all the rubble and come up with the most important things.
I went to London, which was a great choice and a fantastic trip. I stayed for five (and a half) days, and really fell in love with the place while I was there. I'd been once before when I was studying in Salzburg, but I only stayed for three days so I didn't get to see everything I wanted to. This time, I really got to do some amazing exploring...and shopping! Boy, did I shop. Books, clothes, books, coffee...what a fantastic city. I saw TWO musicals, spent hours in the British library, haunted multiple coffee shops, visited a couple of castles, strolled through a few perfectly manicured gardens, saw a movie (English movies are few and far between in Dresden), met some funny boys and girls at my hostel, ate lots of Cadbury products, and bought some non-H and M clothing.
I can't wait to go back. I think I'd be quite happy living there actually- who's up for a London flat share?
About two weeks after the Great Britain Experience, TWENTY other people and I headed off to Stockholm for a long weekend. My friend Roy planned the whole thing for us- it's the easiest trip I've gone on since fall/spring tours back in the Salzburg days. Sadly, there was no meal allowance on this trip (which actually should have been called the booze allowance), but really all we had to do was follow Roy's directions, sit back, and enjoy the ride. He booked our flights, our transportation to and from the airport, our hostel, and managed to find us two restaurants that served us DELICIOUS dinners.
Highlights of this trip included our three hour tour (really) around the archipelago of Stockholm (who knew the city was spread out over several islands?) and a visit to the ICE BAR. The name really says it all- EVERYTHING is made out of ice. The chairs, the tables, the bar, the walls, the shot glasses. Before we went in, a big burly Swedish bouncer literally threw heavy fur capes over our heads, and then shoved us in the door. I was a bit skeptical about the necessity of such a ridiculous piece of outerwear, but it turned out to be a necessary addition to my jeans and t-shirt. That place was CHILLY. I loved every minute of it though- I just couldn't get over the novelty of the icy-ness.
We also stayed on a bostel- boat/hostel. Sleeping on the boat was pretty hilarious, especially when waters got a little rough while I was trying to take a shower. Combine the rocking of the boat with the slippery shower floor- yowza, things came close to getting very ugly. Luckily, I have cat like reflexes and balance....also luckily, no one else was in the shower room at the time to see me being pitched through my shower curtain and almost falling flat on my face.
And now, there are only 8.5 days left in the school year. 8.5 days left in my first year of teaching, a year that I thought would NEVER END. I have many conflicting feelings on this past year, to be shared at a later date- it's a long post in itself, and it seems to be way past my bedtime.
It's balls to the wall for all of this week, squeezing in as much teaching as I can before all those pesky year end assessments are due. Wish me luck.
