east coast, west coast

I may be becoming a West Coast hippie. I don't know how to explain it. But it's happening. I think the influence of my coworker Julie and my good friend Sarah are to blame. Both are West Coasters, and one might even say hippies. Or at least New Age-y. For instance, during our games period, we normally do stretches at the beginning, to practice names of the body parts. On Friday, Julie brought some in crazy mystic crap from her belly-dance class, and I just laughed and rolled my eyes. Because I am from the East Coast, and cynical. And yet, somehow, Sarah talked me into doing a crazy diet (not a New Year's resolution, not to lose weight, but to purify and balance everything out). Learning of the restrictions of the diet, I really thought I would last an hour. Maximum. 1. No sugar. 2. Nothing with yeast (bread and all its relatives) 3. Nothing fermented (alcohol, vinager, etc) 4. Nothing aged or that could have mold (cheese, peanuts) I just rounded the two week bend, and I've been eating a lot of beans and brown rice. And nuts. The goal is one month, and then to see how long I can actually go without having sugar-deprived delusions (I'm already having dreams in which I can't eat anything). I haven't even cheated, really. I've astounded myself. Being creative in the kitchen helps a lot. I made a great recipe with chicken and smoked paprika (Roast Chicken Breasts with Garbanzo Beans, Tomatoes, and Smoked Paprika). Surprisingly easy, since I really don't know what to do with chicken, former vegetarian and all (the first whiff of my counter coastal leanings). And on Friday, I found yeast-free, sugar-free spelt cookies (GASP!!). The excitement was nearly palpable in the health food store, where I was hanging out with Spanish hippies (a different breed althogether). But East Coasters, don't worry. I'm still showering, and I haven't shown any desire to do yoga. There's still hope.

looooong overdue...sicily

What did you do in Sicily? Where did you go? Ah, questions. 1. Ate and be surrounded by beauty. 2. Trapani, Marsala, and Eriche. Where are those places? Ask RyanAir, which flies to Trapani. My friend Sarah called me about two months ago, saying, I found an amazing deal on a flight for the long weekend. Where to? Trapani...where is Trapani? It's located on the western coast of Sicily, about two hours west of Palermo. It's more of an industrial fishing town, rather than a tourist destination. Especially in the winter. We were turning heads, based only on the fact that we were not Italian and had somehow managed to get there. It was raining when we got there, so everything was cloudy. Did I mention it was dark, and we had the world's worst map? Luckily, a nice Italian man was willing to gesture us in the right direction, to another Italian who didn't speak English, but at least he was a police officer. After confusing us with Eastern European sex workers and witnessing some sketchy dealings (can you say Mafia?), he helped us find our way, and we got to our, ehem, very romantic hostal. Since we got there late and this is a small town, we went to a pretty touristy place, but of course had a lovely conversation and ended up getting some free fried pizza dough filled with ricotta. FOR FREE. Overall, great day. The next morning, we ate some pizza bread for breakfast (are you seeing the theme??), and headed to Marsala. As in, Marsala wine. And yes, we had some. And some incredible pasta, homemade, with sausage and deliciousness. Oh my. All this decadence called for a walk, all around the town and near the Mediterranean, which has never looked better. On our third day, we ended up going to Eriche, a touristy, but incredibly beautiful town in the mountains (or on top of a hill? It's difficult to say). We really just soaked up the beauty of place...and had a pastry war, between two rival shops. We were the winners, really. The prize was an upset stomach, and much moaning about being gluttons. A little forethought says that eating four (ok, six) pastries between two people is not a good idea. Clearly not a part of our vacation equation. After resting up, we ventured out for a light meal, and the next day, we went back to Madrid. But not before grabbing some gelato. Damn straight.

the new year.

So...I took December off. There's no excuse for that kind of deliquence, especially when for half of the month I was on vacation. I had little to say, quite honestly. For about half of January as well. So much pressure, a blog! Anyway, I decided on a few things, as a new way to start the new year (like a week ago...I'm a little behind!). This is my ridiculous and completely unnecessary list of resolutions:
1. Use all the pages in my passport and have to get new ones, before it expires in six years.
2. Blog at least every three days (already broken, boo yah)
3. Read "Very Important Books"

I have not added anything stressful to my list, because no one wants to start the new year like that. You're asking for trouble, setting yourself up for defeat and disappointment and never being able to look your dog in the eye again. So. I started my year off light-heartedly. But also seriously (notice the "Very Important Books" one). I'm lacking a clear-cut definition of "Very Important Books," though (I hope that you're saying "Very Important Books" slowly, in deep voice, with a fake British accent...in your head. Or out loud. However you want to play that). So far, I've come up with Don Quixote, Cien Años de Soledad, Ulysses, the works of Shakespeare, and probably Twilight. If you have any suggestions to help me sort this out, I would greatly appreciate it. GOOD NIGHT!