Hello, Monday.

For the first time since I was probably in high school, I have President’s Day off! It’s like, the only thing I had to look forward to this month, so I’m embracing it the best I can in this pandemic life. Movie night with my pod-mate kicked it off, and ended it by doing an overnight trip to Mom’s for Valentine’s with tacos and peanut butter cake.  It’s a sad state of affairs when a 20 minutes drive to stay at my mom’s house becomes an exciting getaway prospect, but here we are.  I ended up not bring Crawley, which I do feel slightly bad about, but he hates it so much and it’s so stressful for all of us that it was better that he just stay home along.

In five years, I think he has been home alone at night less than five times, so it was a big deal for me to leave him. I’m going to pay for it with extreme clinginess the rest of the week, I’m sure, but I say it’s desperate times. And you’ve got another picture of Crawley because I’m not really taking pictures of much else these days, but my phone is full of cat photos galore.

Even if you don’t have today off, I hope you at least had a chance to breathe.  I’m getting my exercise, taking my vitamins and staying hydrated, which is the best I can do.  Fat Tuesday is coming at us all tomorrow and, after living in NOLA for four years, I do state emphatically that it is a holiday for all, whether or not your religion includes it.  Here’s a quick round up of my favorite things to eat-celebrate. So laissez le bon temps rouler!

What does the internet say today? Let’s take a look:

Bhutan is already the happiest place on Earth, and in the last year, they have had ONE COVID death. One. TOTAL.  And it was just last month. Here’s their success story, which gave me a quick pause to think maybe how we all should be towards each other.  Community over individuality, wins every time.

My friends and I joke about living the Golden Girls life when we’re all old, and still single. Apparently, this is starting now, and in those younger than you’d think. Dorm life forever.

In memoriam: real pants.

Oh, Chicago and its dibs.  At least those pants are going to good use.

A Lunar New Year rap.

Couldn’t we all use a panda hug?

My mom won an award (literally) for packing the best lunches. They were never boring, always well-balanced and delicious, and while I never ended up bring dahl or cabbage rolls for lunch, I still got picked on for them.  I can still hear Ryan Pompi saying, “Chrissy Barua’s eating soap!” in response to seeing my cottage cheese. As much as I longed for plain jane sandwiches, airhead and chips ahoy at the time, I’m forever grateful for what Mom packed us.  Anyway, all this is to say that I thought this was an interesting read: The Limits of the Lunchbox Moment.

I remember when I was a kid, flying was a huge deal, and we always dressed in church clothes when we flew. A far cry from the plaid PJ pants that we see in the terminals today, but a dress code for the skies does still exist, and I support it.

Norway versus Will Farrell. 

Have a good week!

Hello, Sunday.

What a week, what a week. Having Monday off was a joy, but then it seemed like all the rest of my to-dos were crammed into the remaining four days, muddied my inauguration, and by Friday I still felt behind. Oh well, I guess we’ve all got all the time in the world to get caught up, right?

I’ve hit the pandemic wall and I oscillate between being okay with the light, however faint, that we’re seeing at the end of this tunnel and full on despair of the monotony of everyday.  

My Jordan trip that I had rescheduled from last year for this March was officially cancelled, and that probably added to it. However, because of that, I decided to step back into the original intent of the blog and rather than cooking the world as a whole again, I’m cooking all the countries I’ve visited, airports only not-included.  I’ve been to twenty-seven countries, so this should keep me occupied for a while.  It means that my cooking juju is back and I’m excited to travel, albeit virtually through my kitchen. My goal this go-round is to try and pick less obvious, more obscure, perhaps micro-regional dishes for some of these places, in part because after 8 years and 600+ recipes, I’ve likely made all the obvious ones!

I’m doing this task in no particular order, and really going on what sounds good for that week. I did consciously decide to start with Canada since it actually was the first other country I’d ever visited, likely in the first few weeks of my life since my grandparents lived right across the river that separates Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ontario.  So, to Canada we go!

As I mentioned, this week got away from me, but I was able squirrel away a few gems. See below for your coffee companions:

 The seditionists and everyone else…a picture of coexistence.

Perhaps more likely now that many of us are working remotely:  find the place you love…and move there.

Oh, NOLA and Mardi Gras. ‘Rona ain’t stopping you.

The pandemic and the global economy.  Not surprising.

The Cookie Monster is real!

Do I need to make this Almond Joy cake? Yes or yes.

Anyone out there know a single, younger version of Doug Emhoff? Hit me up. Swoon.

I was ALWAYS a coffee shop studier: college, grad school, law school…and I love working from one. Here’s why!

That’s all I’ve got for you today. Have a good week!

Hello, Sunday.

Hello, 2021!

I hope you enjoyed your weekend and are ready to face all that the new year holds for us. What is that? I don’t know! None of us do, which is why my word for this year is SURPRISE.

Rather than set resolutions, my friends and I each pick a word to help us guide our thoughts and actions in the upcoming year.  Last year, my word was SOAR, and well…yeah.  This year, I set zero expectations that anything that I think will happen will go to plan, but I’m ready to be pleasantly surprised by whatever does.  I do actually like surprises (most of the time) so for me, this word is about hope and faith rather than about a deep foreboding.  

To be honest, in looking at last year’s board, I didn’t do too badly with it. While I didn’t get to go on any of the international adventures I had planned, I did get a new job, spent a lot of time at the lake, out on the tennis court, and outside on the trails. All which did, in the end, help me get through 2020 in the plus column, which I realize is much more than a lot of people can say.  

Do you do a word of the year? What do you hope for this year? Let’s start this one with a little fun:

wishing: i had some fun plans in store for the next few months now that the holidays are over.

hoping: that 2021 is better than 2020!

thinking: (shhhh….I didn’t think Bridgerton was very good…)

praying: for all of us

planning: for trips waaaay into 2021 and maybe a road trip or two before then!

dreaming: weird dreams, the fantasy mixed with reality kind.

eating: all the veggies, please

drinking: hot chocolate! baby, it’s still cold outside.

watching: Grantchester, because I can’t help but love a period crime drama.

wearing: loving this basic shirt – so cozy!

Let’s do our best, okay?