Archive for 2010
My Top 10 Realizations After Being “Home” for the First Time in Nearly Six Years
In my post An American Expat in Italy Goes “Home,” I mentioned that I’d be posting a list of observations, so without further ado, here it is with some photos of “home,” the Anthracite Coal Region in Pennsylvania, thrown in for good measure:
My Top 10 Realizations After Being “Home” for the First Time in Nearly Six Years
10. I don’t like what clothes dryers do to my clothes. They’re *great* for towels and such, but actual clothes? No thanks.
9. It’s really hard to find healthy meal choices in U.S. restaurants that aren’t salads (which, if you don’t watch, can be more fat- and calorie-laden than, say, the steak).
8. Starbucks coffee is OK. I don’t love it, and I don’t hate it, but I definitely don’t think it’s worth the price.
7. Kids grow. FAST. And tall.
6. Having friends that you can see after five or ten years and pick up a conversation like you’ve never left off? Yeah, that’s awesome.
5. Christmas really isn’t the same without my grandparents.
4. I’d get way less work done in the mornings if I could just flip on talk shows. Man they’re addictive. Especially Ellen.
3. People eat out and/or order in a lot more than what I’m used to, which is next to never…and also most food in restaurants tasted *uber* salty to me.
2. On a related note, I really need to learn to make Chinese food.
And the number one realization after being “home” for the first time in nearly six years:
1. I wish my two homes were physically *much* closer together.
Expats, what do you notice after being away from “home” for a while?
Love Thursday: Emma’s Pasta Roni
One of the best parts about being back in America was that I got to spend time not only with my childhood friends, but also with some of their children. You know, their mini-mes — the ones who look just as you remember your friend looking at that age.
What an amazing experience, especially when the last time I was home some of them didn’t even exist…and now they’re actual people!
My friend Nicole and her husband Nathan (high school sweethearts!) have two daughters, Emma (8 in a couple weeks) and Ava (4), and new baby boy Colton. All ridiculously adorable, I assure you, and at least one of them is a writer/blogger in the making….
Yes, I got a little note on my Facebook page the other day that Emma noticed this in her Pasta Roni:
And it was Thursday.
Don’t you just *love* it?
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
Attempted Goat Escape Foiled by Quick-Thinking Maaaa
In late-breaking news, we have received word that one Carmelina Fabio took advantage of a weakly latched gate to escape from her pen.
Just moments ago, Goat Maaaa Fabio entered the garden and found a seemingly confused goat just outside the pen staring back her; her paaaartners in crime, Pasqualina and Margherita, remained inside the pen…equally confused, it seemed.
“Maaaaaaaaaaa!” cried Carmelina as she darted in the opposite direction, possibly startled by Goat Maaaa’s canine companions.
But Goat Maaaa didn’t panic. She quickly secured the dogs’ leash to a tree, walked casually toward the pen making faint tsking noises, unlatched the gate, entered, and turned to find Carmelina right behind her.
And another goat escape has been foiled.
Can’t get enough goat? Check out my new favorite website, All Things Goat and follow on Twitter @AllThingsGoat.
And if you’d like to have a virtual goat of your own, download the iPhone/iPod app, iGoat! It’s rather hilaaaarious.
World Nutella Day 2010
**World Nutella Day Celebrates 5th Anniversary on February 5, 2011**
For those who don’t know, Nutella is more than just a “chocolaty hazelnut spread,” it is a way of life.
From childhood memories to oozing hot crepes, from breakfasts on vacation to free-spooning sessions on the couch, Nutella is prominent in the memories of many children and grown-up children in the world.
Three years ago we gave it its own holiday, and this year we’re continuing the tradition.
Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso (and Shelley from At Home in Rome, in spirit) solemnly declare Friday, February 5th “World Nutella Day 2010” – a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella.
It’s Easy!
Make a recipe using Nutella. Eat Nutella with a spoon. A big one. Make art with Nutella. Wax poetic about Nutella. Cuddle with Nutella. Strike a pose with Nutella. Re-live your first experience eating Nutella. Offer Nutella as a sacrifice. Have a Nutella-eating contest or a Nutella party!
- Do something, anything with Nutella. Make a recipe, take a picture of yourself eating it with a BIG spoon, make art, wax poetic, re-live your first experience eating Nutella. Have a Nutella-eating contest or even a Nutella party!
- Take pictures and/or upload a video then blog about it ON February 5th, 2010. In your blog post, include links to Ms. Adventures in Italy, Bleeding Espresso, and World Nutella Day as well as the World Nutella Day 2010 badge/button (below – right mouse click, Save image…). Please try to post ON FEBRUARY 5 so that we can create a true chocolaty hazelnut wave across the blogosphere on World Nutella Day!
- Email nutelladay [at] nutelladay [dot] com with the subject “Nutella Day Entry” and include:
- Your Name
- Your Blog’s Name
- Your Blog’s URL
- Your Post URL/Permalink
- One 150×150 pixel photo
Some other ways to participate:
- On Twitter, tweet your love for Nutella and include #nutelladay in your tweet! @NutellaDay will retweet some of the great ones!
- On Facebook, update your status to proclaim your love and link to www.nutelladay.com! And make sure you’re a fan of World Nutella Day Facebook Page on Facebook! We’ll be posting some special content that day to the FB Fan page, too.
- A handy guide on How to Host a World Nutella Day Party at Home!
We will post the round-up of all submissions on Monday, February 8, 2010, but in the meantime, please feel free to post this announcement on your blog to spread the word!
And if you want to use an organic or other type of Nutella substitute, go for it! It’s all about the chocolate and hazelnut love!
Check out the last three years of World Nutella Days for inspiration:
- World Nutella Day 2007 Part I and Part II
- World Nutella Day 2008 Part I and Part II
- World Nutella Day 2009 Part I and Part II
As well as:
- The Top 10 Signs You’re Addicted to Nutella
- Nutella Virgin? 50 Ways to Eat Nutella and Nutella Lover Types
Be sure to also add your photos to the Nutella Day Flickr Pool and your videos to the YouTube Nutella Day Station and for all the information you need, check out the World Nutella Day Press page, where you can also download the World Nutella Day 2010 press kit!
See you on the 5th!
Happy 3rd Birthday to ExpatWomen.com!
Today is the third birthday of the wonderfully informative ExpatWomen.com, a comprehensive, global website helping women living overseas.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend doing so.
ExpatWomen.com features the following:
- 1,000+ content pages
- 1,000+ expat women blogs
- 200+ readers’ stories
- Invaluable country resource pages
- Interviews with successful expat women
- Loads of motivational articles
- Inspirational blog and newsletter
- Ongoing contests
- Helpful information for finding items abroad as well as cheap flights “home”
- Much, much more!
And since it’s the site’s birthday, today is the perfect time to stop in, say hello, and have a look around.
P.S. Head over to wish a Happy 3rd Blogiversary to dear Robin’s My Melange as well!
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
