Things I Like #15

Ebelskivers (eh-bull-skeev-ers)

These are Nordic pancakes, traditionally served at Christmas, but delicious year-round. Apparently people in those icy northern countries don't eat them for breakfast like Americans do, but as a dessert. Weird. Obvi they are a breakfast food! Anyway, they're sometimes filled with jam or chocolate, and sometimes they are just dough balls that you dip in jam or chocolate or syrup or whatever pleases you, really. My uncle makes them every Christmas morning, and my cousins and I eat them like they're filled with crack instead of raspberry preserves. They're a pain to make because it's a bitch to flip them in their little griddles (although the below photo from Williams Sonoma shows an excellent technique with chopsticks that I will have to suggest to my uncle the next time I see him), and the first few batches usually burn or don't cook all the way, but damn, if they aren't totally worth it! Seriously, you can eat like 40 of these. One year we had a contest to see how many we could eat before feeling like we'd barf. One cousin made the unfortunate mistake of washing them down with sparkling cider, and the combination of several dozen jelly-filled ebelskivers with the sweetly carbonated beverage was disastrous. We got in trouble and were banished to the day-light basement until dinner.

Somewhere Out There...

I get to visit Seattle next weekend, and just thinking about it makes me feel all itchy (in a good way) about seeing Roommate. I CAN'T WAIT. Here are some reasons why I'm so amped:

Eliza Thornberry

We were such babies!

This is a pretty perfect depiction of our RoomateLove

Things you find out about someone after living w/them for 3.5 yrs: tucks pants into socks

Patron saint of our abodes. Libations must be made!

Craft time=happy time

And if I was a songwriter, here's what I'd write about our separation:

Coraggio

Teammates, I was super coraggiosa last night. I went to an Italian language conversation group for the first time. It was scary and fantastico! It's led by an old Neapolitan broad named Lucia who has the big hair, flowy dark clothes, and kick ass jewelry that many Italian women of 50+ years rock like its their uniform.

There were mostly olds in attendance; a 50-ish woman who bitched about health care in English (but who did speak good Italian), and a similarly aged man who knew like, 10 words and 2 verbs, and literally got up to leave the group because he was getting a phone call from his mamma. BUT there was also a 70-ish year old man and his wifey who were bona fide Italiani. They were super duper. Amazing clothes, funny, lots of attitude, gave me life advice, encouraged me to try a very detailed recipe for some sort of pesto, told me I was young and adorable...Does it get much better than that? I want to adopt them!

Speaking of people I want to join my family...

My favorite group member: 30-ish hottie who is a farmer (Christmas trees). He told me in Italian how he helps build sets for his little town's high school theater program and that he is good with his hands. MARRY ME. We talked in Italian for like, 30 minutes, which is longer than I can usually hold a conversation with a male in English. We totally bonded. I will be attending this gruppo again, if you had any doubt.

But srsly, I'm pretty proud of myself for going, because it's scary to A) go into a totally unknown situation by yourself, and B) speak a foreign language with strangers. I'm a much more adventurous and brave person when I travel, and I felt like last night was something I'd be bold enough to do as a traveler, but not in my regular life; it felt good to push myself toward the fearlessness that I know I'm capable of having. I like my TravelLara persona. And within 2 minutes of joining the group I realized that I've missed speaking Italian and using the part of my brain that retains fabulous words such as calcolatrice (calculator), amaca (hammock), and pouf imbottito (bean bag chair).

Lucia told me to come back again, and she also encouraged me to come to a different Italian language group that meets at some lady's house. They serve food in that group, so I'm already warming to the idea of attending.

Happy Bday, Prezzies!

Printable coloring page I found on the Crayola website

Dear Presidents Washington & Lincoln,

Thank you for being born and cultivating extra-special qualities so that you'd one day become Leaders of the Free World and whatnot, because without you two lovely gents, my weekend wouldn't have been quite as fun.

Friday

Family members descend upon Portland for Grandpa's birthday

Lasagna and red wine at aunt and uncle's abode

OLYMPICS MADNESS with family

Saturday

All day cousin madness includes breakfast, present shopping for grandpa, Olympics watching, spaghetti sauce making, drinking

Spaghetti dinner

Yahtzee. I totally pwn one of my aunts

Cousin teaches me how to use a Kindle. I decide that if the device wasn't totally massacring my intended career field, I would like to buy one

Drinking

Cake, ice cream, presents

OLYMPICS MADNESS with family

Sunday

Really lazy morning

Parents give me Valentine's Day cards, some candy, and heart-printed boxers

K and E and I have a massive Valentine's Day lady-day: mimosas, chick flicks, mini-quiches, dark chocolate M&Ms, popcorn, tortilla chips and guac, etc. We laze around E's apt. in mimosa-induced sleepiness all afternoon

K & I speaker-phone call M in NYC to hear about her scandalous love life. Act like 13 year olds on a three way call

Left-overs dinner with grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins

Wii sports tournament

OLYMPICS MADNESS. I fall in love with this male ice skater

Monday

Brunch at my fave place EVER with the entire family because it's my grandpa's actual bday

AT&T store to look at iPhones because my 2 year contract is up

Eat Valentine's Day candy

Play outside because it's BEAUTIFUL WEATHER

Give puppies a bath

Watch Westminster Dog Show