Thursday Roundup

Listening: trams, taxis and the dreaded washing machine. Ahhhh, home.
Eating: Have been bitchin' in the kitchen all afternoon after finally going grocery shopping. Farfalle pasta salad, which will be lunch from here til eternity, and spicy thai noodles with carrots and peanuts for dins. Delish. Also planned on making peanut butter banana oatmeal breakfast bars, but then I got sleepy, so I decided, mehhh. 
Feeling: Like I would enjoy another cookie, and also, this:

Loving: The fabulousness that was the Korean Symphony Orchestra, which we went to see last night at the Rudolfinum. They were incredibly impressive, given that half of them looked to be about 8 years old... 
Hating: That all our little expat buddies are leaving. Whyyyyyyyyyy?! But will try to be positive, so instead am going to just look at it as me gaining all these fantastic new vacation destinations. That the streets of Prague are not conducive to my collection of high heels (they just look so saddddd sitting there all unused most of the time.) And all of the stupid shortcuts that this laptop has built into it. Windows 7, if you continue to close windows and disable my keyboard and reboot without me knowing why, you can suck it. 
Wanting: A weekend full of sunshine.
Needing: A tan. 
Thinking: That summer's going by way too quickly, it's almost August and I'm not prepared - SLOW DOWN!
Planning: Subtle ways to slip my new student a copy of my resume. ("Today we're going to do a lesson on CV writing!") 


In his valiant efforts to make me into a much better version of myself, Donut offered to give me Driving School Sunday. This began on the driving range at Letnany. I fear there's no WPGA championship in my future, though I am excited about the wardrobe possibilities. I do love a good visor. I look forward to going back and getting my ball to move more than the average 7 and a half inches it did last weekend. Also, I like that it's at a municipal airport, so there are enough amateur pilots taking off and landing to take some of the focus off my terrible game. 


This was followed by a trip to IKEA (ohmmmm), and then part two of driving Sunday... in the vehicle. My experience with driving a stick shift up until this point was one disastrous lesson with my mom on a tiny one way street in England, and playing the part of happy passenger/musical accompaniment beside someone who actually knows what they are doing. All this was about to change. 


I had half-heartedly said "Yeah, sure, I'll learn one day, in a big empty parking lot where there's nothing I can hit." That day was Sunday. That parking lot was a side road with an alarming number of cars for a Sunday. Off we went. Then off we went again, because we stalled after about two feet. And then again. And again, and again. And then magically we are on a fairly busy road, while I'm having an internal panic attack that we are about to die because I can't manage to work both my legs simultaneously while also trying to move around a little stick. We pull of the road and into a neighborhood, where I proceed to blindly ignore all traffic laws until stalling out one final time and saying, "I'm done, time for a drink." 


Overall impressions of driving school Sunday: 

• Golf - when can we go again? When can I buy a visor and pastel plaid??
• IKEA - come on. There's meatballs, and containers. That's all I need to make me happy.
• Behind the wheel - if Donut cares to continue with the ruin of his vehicle, I will try. But I think it's best if someone finds me a video game or something first, for the sake of the car, the road-bound citizens of the Czech Republic, and our relationship. 
• Donut is an excellent and incredibly patient teacher. I think he missed his calling, though I would hardly advise him to switch careers. :)

You Learn Something New Every Day...

Last Monday, it was how to roll sushi. So, as promised, here are the fruits of our labor...

Please excuse me playing around with the filters. We ended up making 11 rolls. I'm pretty sure I ate about 7 of them single-handedly. 

Felt very intellectual (and if I'm being honest, a little smug) as Donut and I went to go see a showing of The Doors: When You're Strange last night. Think Dad would be proud.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have more things to craft, and more beer to drink. Ciao! 

Thursday Throwdown

I realize that I update this far too irregularly, so this is my attempt to change that. After spotting Tina Azmuz's occasional update on, where else - Pinterest, I thought - I can do that. And so, I shall. Just slightly modified.

Listening: If you don't count the parade of drunk girls underneath my window screaming "Woop Woop, Woop Woop" right now, then it's a rotation of Some Nights by fun. and all things Cheryl Cole.
Eating: Just had dinner with Peej, Kimi & her absolutely lovely friend Amy at Ambiente, full of wine, yummy pasta, and too much dramatic shenanigans for such a lovely summer. This is also a veggie only week, to counteract the previously mentioned month of US and boredom eating.
Feeling: Ecstasy that it's not currently raining. Sadness that some men boys don't realize how blessed they are, because my girls are fantastic catches who anyone would be lucky to have. For shammmme. In the words of the ever-wise Allison, "Move on and move up!" However, seems to be a global problem.
Loving: A good old fashioned porch party. Long overdue, and missing a couple key players, but splitting an excellent bottle of Chilean CabSauv with Peej on our balcony is a fabulous way to wind down an evening, which shall be repeated often.
Hating: This horrendous excuse for a summer that the Czech Republic has been trying to pass off this past week. July should equal sunshine, beer gardens, and swimming, not rain and coats. Blehhhhhh.
Wanting: A sewing machine, so I can make all the fabulous clothes and pillows I see on Pinterest. And curtains. I want some curtains. Which I would sew, on my sewing machine, if only I had one.
Needing: See above. And a new job. Workin' on it!
Thinking: Am turning into my mother. First it was the sewing machine. Then it was the manic need to clean before the cleaning lady comes. This is fine with me, because if I turn out like my mom, I'll be in good form indeed. :)
Planning: On how to squish all my furniture into Tandrew's room when they move out, so Peej and I can continue our porch parties without traipsing through a stranger's room. And how I'm going to take over the world, obviously.

Donut taught me how to roll sushi on Monday... think I'm something of a natural. ;) Pics to follow... eventually!

Disco Fries & Drunken Watermelons

Paul John and I spent a lovely three weeks back in NJ, soaking up as much sunshine, pool time and diner food as possible. It was, in the words of Nikki, devinnnnne. Here's a round-up of why going home is fabulous...

• Swiss Air is delightful. They give you yummy chocolates and ice cream, lots of leg room and all the free Swiss wine you could ask for (which, in case you're wondering, is a lot).
• Some things never change. My friends back at home are always going to be the best, most amazing group of people on the planet, who are fantastic flip cup players but could really do with a bit of practice when it comes to pong. My family is always going to be crazy wonderful, zany, and if you ask Greg, a bunch of cheaters. The diner will always make disco fries that taste like they were cooked up in heaven. And Tucker will remain the most cuddly adorable little critter that ever roamed the earth. 
• A pool is never more than 20 steps away. There's an ocean. 'Nuff said.
• I can wear heels without fear of cracking my ankle in half by collapsing into a tram line or through the cracks in the cobblestones. 
• Fist pumping is a totally accepted form of dance. 
• Beach sangria will always be delicious, especially to wash down a KC bagel and Dunkin coffee. 
• No one looks at you with disdain if you run errands in your sweats. 
• You can understand everything! (though sometimes, you don't want to...)
• Michael's fulfills every Pinterest ambition I've acquired since moving here. This contributed largely to my additional suitcase going home.
• As did my trips to A&P. I can fit about five of my local Billas inside one A&P. Eggos, I will miss you tremendously. 
• Two words: Free. Water.
• Watching two of your besties do something as grown up as get married is a wonderful thing. Congratulations again to the new Mr. & Mrs. Dempsey... love you both!

And here are a few reasons why such a long vacation is not necessarily the best thing...

• All of those previously mentioned Eggos and bagels take a toll. Vacation eating is fine, vacation eating for three weeks while operating under the taste buds of Buddy the Elf is not. 
• A certain Donut was very, very far away for a very, very long time. 
• You eventually have to turn around and go back, and it's just as hard as it was the first time around. I crammed as much into my suitcases as possible, but sadly, there was not enough room to fit everyone else along too. I'm incredibly lucky to have such amazing people on both sides of the Atlantic, but it certainly makes saying goodbye very difficult. (Paul John, I apologize again for the sporadic bouts of tears you had to witness throughout our flights home.) 

A wonderful trip back, and I cannot wait to see everyone again. I want lots of visitors this year!