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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Austrian Meet-Up

Austriaflag I thought that I should write about something else but food for once so here it goes. :) This past Monday I went to an Austrian meet-up in NYC. I had stumbled upon a link on the Austrian consulate in New York website and signed up to be notified of any meet-ups in the area. Not too much later I received an email for the next meet-up. I had no idea there were so many Austrians in NYC. It was definitely interesting to meet all these different people, hear their reasons for why they are here (relationships, family, jobs,...) and just chat. There were all sorts of different people, some coming over for love, some working for the UN, one guy a "struggling" actor ( http://www.dirt-nyc.com/), etc. etc. The meet-up took place at the Wharf Bar on the East Side in NYC. Apparently these meet-ups happen about once a month so I am looking forward to the next one.

Besides that not much else going on. I was off from work yesterday but didn't really accomplish anything. I still want to de-clutter my dresser/closet and organize the kitchen cabinets. Maybe I will have a better chance this weekend. I am working 1/2 a day on Saturday and am off Sunday. So we will see.

Mail update. No letter have gone out since my last update. :( Received letters from/still owe replies to: Barbara/Austria and Tiffany/OK.

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Sunday, January 27, 2008

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread ... yummm

Chocolatechipbananabread_2 This blog seems to be turning into some sort of culinary project :) Today's task was to make banana bread. I have been wanting to make it for a while as I hadn't made it in ages. So today I finally got around to it. It really is easy. You just mix all the ingredients together, pour it into a loaf pan, put it into the oven, wait 50-60 min and voila you're done. Super easy and delicious. :)

Other than that I haven't been up to all that much. This week at work wasn't too eventful which is good. I am hoping that it will last for a little while longer. I could get used to it. ;)
I have been meaning to get a lot of stuff done over the weekend but somehow I didn't really get around to much at all. I have been wanting to organize my dresser and closet plus some of the cabinets in the kitchen need a desperate make-over/organizing spree too. I am off on Tuesday so hopefully I'll get something accomplished then. We will see.
Been reading a lot more, answering my emails in a timely fashion and cleaned out/organized my desk at work the other day. So I have been accomplishing some things anyway. :)

Mail update. Since my last update a letter has gone out to: Tiffany/OK. Tomorrow a letter is going out to: Jessica/DE. Received letters from/still owe replies to: Barbara/Austria and Tiffany/OK.

Posted by Hanna at 06:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Broccoli Cheese Soup to warm up a cold winter day

BroccolicheddarYes I decided to make soup. Broccoli cheese soup to be exact. I had bought a hand blender this past week and wanted to try it out today so I found a pretty low-fat recipe for broccoli cheese soup and went to work. It actually came out pretty yummy I have to say and I am happy with the results. It tasted a lot "fresher" than some of the broccoli cheese soups I have had from cans or in chain restaurants. I guess the difference is that I know exactly what I put into it which was pretty much just broccoli, an onion, 2 garlic cloves, shredded cheddar cheese, milk, chicken broth and some salt/pepper/dash of hot sauce to taste.

Not too much else new really. This week wasn't too hectic, just the usual work stuff I suppose. Was really short-handed on Friday but we got through it like we always do.
The most exciting news I have is that we booked our flights to Hamburg for April -- yay :) We leave on Monday, April 21 and come back on Tuesday, April 29. We are also planning on spending the weekend after my friend's wedding in Copenhagen which will be exciting.

Mail update. Since my last update letters have gone out to: Steff/ME, Celia/MA and Michelle/Canada. Tomorrow letters are going out to: Lotte/Denmark and Charles/TN. Received letters from/still owe replies to: Barbara/Austria and Tiffany/OK.

Posted by Hanna at 08:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Snowy Monday

Snow_2 Here's a picture from our snowy backyard from yesterday morning. It actually didn't snow all that much (only about 3 inches) but it was the kind of snow that sticks to everything so it looked really pretty. They cancelled school even though the roads were actually fine.

Not much else new really since the weekend. Been preparing for Martin Luther King Day (next Monday) at work. All the school holidays tend to be somewhat of a hassle, figuring out everybody's schedule, etc.

Today I was spending some time researching info about Hamburg (Germany) and Copenhagen (Denmark). We are flying to Hamburg for a wedding at the end of April and are also planning to go to Copenhagen while we are there. I am excited to be visiting two new cities so soon. Yay. :)

Mail update. A letter went out yesterday to: Jetta/Finland. Received letters from/still owe replies to: Lotte/Denmark, Steff/ME, Charles/TN, Celia/MA, Barbara/Austria and Michelle/Canada.

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Sunday, January 13, 2008

Back to the daily grind

Catbook3 So we are back in CT and everything is back to the normal every-day stuff. Holidays are over, vacation is over. In a way that's nice since it means that we have more time for other stuff besides preparing for the holidays or vacation but at the same time the beginning of January also always feels like a little bit of a let-down to me after all the excitement of the holidays.

I shouldn't make this sound all negative though. I am in a weird mood today but the past few days I have actually felt very positive. There is something exciting about January as well. It's a start of a brand new year, the chance for a new beginning. I have stopped making New Year's resolutions because I never seem to follow through with them but I do have a few plans for 2008 that I hope to follow through with: De-clutter my closet/bedroom/livingroom/kitchen, read more, excercise more, take a class (maybe a language or a cooking class), cook more at home,.... the list goes on. We will see how it goes.

They are forecasting a major snowstorm for tonight/tomorrow which will make work hell tomorrow. They are saying anywhere between 6 and 10 inches. I hate when we get a lot of snow. It's always a major hassle.

Mail update. Letters went out this past Tuesday (1/8) to: Alex/Germany and Natalia/Poland (re-write). Received letters from/still owe replies to: Lotte/Denmark, Steff/ME, Charles/TN, Celia/MA, Barbara/Austria, Michelle/Canada and Jetta/Finland.

Posted by Hanna at 01:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Florida update

Southermostkey_west Here I am again, really quick, from Florida. New Year's Eve was really great. We had a really nice dinner at an Italian restaurant and the weather was so nice we were able to sit outside. Even after midnight it was still so warm. We sat right next to the ocean and could see the yachts go by. :)

New Year's Day we took it easy for the most part. Mike and I walked along the boardwalk here in Hollywood Beach, bought a new bikini for myself and then went swimming in the ocean again.

Yesterday the weather cooled down quite a bit so no more swimming in the ocean (at least for right now). We took a daytrip to Key West which was a lot of fun. It's neat to be driving through the keys. Walked around Key West and to the southernmost point in the US. Spent the day, bought some souvenirs, had keylime pie and then made our way back to Hollywood, FL.

Today we went to Ft. Lauderdale to an antique car museum and a historical house. Afterwards had a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory which was absolutely yummy but VERY filling. I think I am going to be skipping dinner tonight. :) After we got back to the hotel I wrote my postcards so I can mail those tomorrow.

Mail update. Letters went out on Wednesday to: Alison/UK, Celia/MA, Carmen/Malta, Tiffany/OK and Caroline/Scotland. Received letters from/still owe replies to: Michelle/Canada, Alex/Germany and Jetta/Finland. Also still owe a re-write to Natalia/Poland.

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