IKEA, meatballs, and a little exploring

This past week has consisted of tooo many trips to IKEA and a few too many Sweedish meatballs.



We seem to have things in order in the apartment now after assembling furniture...





After all there was a little time for some fun...

Danielle and I hit up the Comedy Cellar in the West Village on Thursday Night and AHOP and I found a bit of time to walk through Times Square in the subzero temps last night.

New York, NY

So it's official. I've made the move to NYC. Within the last week I've moved, received a job offer, learned how to navigate the subway system- or so I think, had my first slice of New York style pizza, and pounded lots of pavement.

I'm excited about all the new changes (okay a little nervous too!). I start work on monday as a client services rep for NYC Office Suites. The company is a start-up and growing quickly so there is plenty of opportunity for professional growth.

Come Visit!

where in the world is the Republic of Georgia?

This year our family is hosting our third exchange student, Any (pronounced Annie). She hails from Tbilisi, Georgia- a small country located south of Russia. Part of the former USSR, Georgia is a fairly young country and most recently engaged in conflict with Russia in 2008. Any said her family wasn't really affected by the conflict. They just went and spent a few days in the countryside to ensure they were out of harms way.

For Christmas Any's mom sent her a few sweet treats:

churchxela, a caramelized nut treat (the long thing) and gozinayi, pecans in syrup (the squares on the plate)

iPhoto faces

Our family purchased the newest operating system for our Mac computers last week so I now have the newest iPhoto. The program now recognizes faces and groups like faces in albums so each person has their own album with pictures that they are in.




Cool, right?

this or that

One of my favorite parts about traveling is sampling the local cuisine. I think it's a shame when people travel 1/2 way around the world and eat at McDonald's and KFC.

In Colombia AHOP's family gave me a great taste of real Colombian food. Some of my favorite things we had were the soups. They were served with fresh avocado, fried plantains, and rice all on the side. While eating your soup you would take a scoop of one or all of the above and dip it into your soup. It was very refreshing! I was able to bring a couple seasoning packets for Sancocho and Ajiaco home but the directions are in Spanish so we may have to wait for a translator to make them!


I hadn't really thought about the food before I arrived in Hawaii. Once I settled in at my internship I was very surprised to find how much of an Asian influence there is in the islands and how it carries over into everything- including the food. Nearly everyone I worked with ate rice for every meal. They love spam, meat, terrisauce, eggs, and RICE! My supervisor sent me four packets of Hawaiian flavor packets once I arrived home after my internship.

Now, which one should I make first? I guess it will probably be something Hawaiian since the directions are in English...

a colombian bull fight

While in Colombia AHOP and I attended a bull fight. Honestly, I didn't think much about my decision to go to the fight or even have much time to think about going- we went the morning after I had arrived in Cali. I agreed to go, wanting to experience as much Colombian culture as possible.

In all my naiveness I wasn't aware what would happen at the end of the fight. I knew in the past I had heard that bulls and horses were injured during bull fights but I had never actually looked into what the final outcome of the fight was.

So all in all I was pretty surprised to find out what happened during the fight. It was gruesome at times but it was also unlike anything I have ever experienced- in a good way. I'm not saying I support the sport/tradition but It was cool to experience and learn about such an old Spanish tradition.



One of the six bulls ended up winning a rose.