Ribbed...

I have a strained/pulled/irritated muscle on one or a couple of my left ribs. 

I cannot take in a full breath. 

I want to curl up in a ball and die every time I cough/sneeze/lay on my side. 

The Doc told me it's basically like having temporary arthritis. It should last 2-4 weeks. And is only treatable with Tylenol and if that doesn't work, a steroid of some sort. 

Laaaaaame. 

On a more positive note, I was given cough syrup with codeine so that I'm not in pain every night while coughing. 

It's been over a month since I first developed this sinus infection. 

I love my body. 

I love children. 

That's the end of my complaints. 

I'm just thankful it wasn't pneumonia or lung cancer. 

Praise be. 

Happy breathing. 

Loo Blues

You know it's going to be an awesome day when you wake up and drop your phone in the toilet. And a first generation iphone, which I have handled with great care (only dropped it once prior) until now. 

Needless to say I drove straight to the Apple store after school and bought a new one. But now I have no telly numbers. I think I'm just going to wait and see who loves me enough to call me. Yes, yes that's a grand plan. 

I then wanted something new, so I bought things to make an almost insalata caprese (Central Market was out of basil!!) with prosciutto. 

Now I am rarely a food "snob", but this is the first time I've tried to make caprese since eating it in Italy and it was NOT good. 

Tomatoes- I got the ones on the vine grown in Texas..... no flavor

I bought the big ole balls of mozarella sittin' in their juice..... no good. no flavor. the texture was, "eh".....

the olive oil was fresh and probably the only thing that saved it... and the prosciutto was also lacking because i didn't want to buy the 12 dollar pack. 

sheesh. 

please transport me to Castiglion Fiorentino pronto for some quality foods!

This day has been good. 

Runny Eyes

Congratulations Emmanuel!!!!!

This morning at the Austin Marathon, Em qualified for the prestigious Boston Marathon!!

He finished somewhere around 3:07 (3 hours and 7 minutes) and needed 3:10 to qualify... For those of you who don't know, this means he was doing a little over a seven minute mile....FOR TWENTY SIX MILES!

Emmanuel has been working his arse off to qualify for the Boston Marathon. He ran his first marathon only two years ago, and after finishing claimed "Next, I'm going to qualify for Boston!"

Well, you did it! Yay!

This goes to show that determination and freakishly hard work really do pay off. Em works for RunTex. He runs with a running group and has a coach who was a former Boston finisher and top ranked runner. He even fills up the water jugs around Town Lake for all you other Austin runners. 

Boston is full for this year, so he will be running in it in 2010. My mom is already making plans to go. If I am in the Peace Corps, I wont be able to make it unfortunately. 

Congrats Em!!!

As for me, I am at home with TWO pink eyes. Thank you children at school. (I'm assuming I got it from them) I'm trying to wait til Monday to go to the UT doctor and get the ole antibiotics. Waking up with goo-glued eyeballs= not fun. 

But at least they aren't swollen shut... yet. 

Drillin' Fun

I survived the dentist. 

The first cavities I've had in my life (4 tiny ones in my back teeth) filled with no problems. 

The doctor was really nice and the worst part was the water running down my throat while he drilled my teeth. 

I guess I'll have to take it easy on the sweets... Or brush a little more thoroughly. 

But the next time I get dental work done, perhaps I'll request some of these. 

Happy Brushing!

saan na ang manok?

I'm pretty sure that is how you spell/say "Where is the chicken?" in Tagalog. 

I'm really starting to hope I'll be sent to the Phillipines. I learned an awful lot about their culture and foods while dating Emmanuel. And he's about as Filipino as they come, living there until he was 8 or 9 and even experiencing a major earthquake. His dad participated in cock fights, his mom has tasted dog, and Em used to buy balut on the streets. He also fished on the beach with a string tied to his toe and climbed trees to catch giant spiders. 

Em is on the left :)

I woke up at 8 this morning. Crazy. I guess I'm starting to get used to this 6 am wake up thing. I took Emma to the vet, which turned out to be closed today for some reason. Instead of wasting my morning going back to sleep or doing school work, I decided to take a trip to MT Supermarket and the Phoenicia Bakery. And OH MY GAWD I made the most of my trips. Oh yes. It was a blast from the past.....Let me explain...

I know how to make a few Filipino dishes and bought the stuffs to make two of them. 

Giniling- a beef or pork dish that is basically ground meat, garlic, bean sprouts or potatoes (I like to use both), onion and soy sauce all cooked together in to a lovely mess and served over JASMINE rice. No other white rice will do. 

Pancit- one of the more popular dishes and one that even my mom likes to make (although Emmanuel says she makes "gringo" version.:) I bought the rice stick and pancit canton noodles at the market, which can be bought in huge bags for super cheap. I like it made simply with chicken, carrots and cabbage, but there are many variations of it which include peas, shrimp and hard boiled eggs. 

I also bought stuff to make chicken curry. I used to only order chicken yellow curry anytime I went to a Thai restaurant. But after perfecting the recipe at home, I haven't ordered it at a restaurant. I like to mix yellow and red curry paste for a bit spicier dish and I keep it simple with yellow onions, potatoes, and chicken. Served over the ole rice of course. Oi! I'm so excited to make this!!

I found some Filipino snacks that I've grown a hankerin' for every now and then. Clover chips and dried mangos. At one time we found the Filipino mangoes at Sam's in huge bags. I ate them til I was sick of them.... And had to take a break for a few years from them. Now I love them again. 

Ham and Cheese flavored... ha!

Next stop: Phoenicia Bakery. I didn't have anything in mind to buy except for Baklava. I had Baklava in many different varieties while in Eastern Europe and haven't really found a whole lot that I've liked in the States since. 

When I spotted the next couple gems on the shelf I nearly peed myself. I immediately called Shaela and sounded like a giddy screaming girl as I told her I had just found STOBI FLIPS!!!!

I then got off the phone, grabbed a few bags and tried to calm myself. But it wasn't long (one aisle later) before I was jumping for joy over HALVA!!!!!

Bah!

These are two things that were super popular in Macedonia and in the supermarkets everywhere. Stobi Flips are strangely light peanuty flavored chip thangs that are highly addictive. And Alva is just plain strange. But good. Stobi Flips are sold in all size bags and there was even a cheaper off brand that wasn't quite as good. Of course these were dirt cheap in Macedonia, but at 99 cents for a lil' bag, I'll have to watch myself. We would sometimes dip these in the Macedonian version of Nutella. Sooooo good. 

A while back I found Ajvar, another Macedonian speciality (only they make delicious homemade varieties out the wazzoo) and was psyched about that. Today at the bakery I found a similar eggplant spread that I just tried on toast and it was moy fantastico. 

Yarg!!!

I'm so excited about my finds. I'm a like a little kid on Christmas- I want to open everything up and eat it right now. 

Off I go to figure out what I want to start with!

Lameness

There is a new thing going around Facebook- people write a "note" with 25 things that people probably don't know about them. They then "tag" 25 friends in hopes that they will do the same. 

I was tagged. 

I wrote a note. 

I am publishing it there and here because I am lazy and tired and don't have the enthusiasm to write a real post right now. 

1. I threw up Chef Boyardee ravioli in junior high and haven’t eaten it since. 

2. I used to collect snails in a cardboard box. 

3. I tell people I have three boobs, and a lot of them believe it. 

4. My favorite flavor Starburst is lemon, but I do not typically care for lemon desserts

5. When I was younger I could eat half a pan of PARTY-sized Sam’s lasagna by myself

6. I once wrapped a birthday present in a watermelon. 

7. I am deathly afraid of swimming pool drains. 

8. I often cry when I see cute old people. Like old people slowly pushing grocery carts down the aisle. Or old people who shake while feeding themselves and bits of their food fall off their utensils. 

9. I try to keep a case of water in my car and give bottles to homeless people on the streets. 

10. I have a dead dried up frog (Paul Bunyan) hanging on my wall in a plastic bag in Odessa

11. I like eating cold macaroni and cheese

12. When I see a UPS truck drive by, I stick my thumb up for good luck

13. I put on sock shoe sock shoe 90% of the time (instead of sock sock shoe shoe like most everybody else)

14. I hate brushing my teeth and taking showers. (But still do them both regularly)

15. I have a soft spot for all foods FRIED or BAKED

16. I don’t like people to watch my mouth, such as when I’m drinking from their glass or taking a bite off of their fork.

17. I was in love with Michael Jackson as a youngn’….And mortified when my cousin informed me that he used to be black. 

18. I still remember in third grade when a boy who will remain unnamed told me “you stink” on the playground… That was the day I started wearing deodorant. 

19. I believe there is good in everyone- even convicted serial killers and baby murderers. 

20. In elementary school I had an imaginary friend named Michael who lived in the vents and had conversations with me during class and while on the toilet. 

21. My guilty pleasure food is movie theatre popcorn with butter. 

22. I secretly like my cat Emma. 

23. I cried today when I was told I had four tiny cavities in my back teeth. I’ve always been super proud of my cavity-free streak. 

24. I feel like a failure when I screw up baking a dessert and don’t like to tell people. 

25. I like looking at the backs of people’s ears. They look like fetuses.