Istanbuldayim!

I arrived in Istanbul, safe and sound, despite what I imagined and even after I made out a mental will. I'm sorry Iberia Airlines, but I will never fly with you again. It was like the third world of airplanes. 

We didn't have our own tv. We had to pay for booze. Pay. Money. And we didn't have our own tv! Come on. I must say, however, that it was mildly flattering the way you all assumed I was Spanish, but the eyerolls after I couldn't understand you were unexpected. Who are you? French? 

I arrived in Istanbul, rushed to the visa line (make me a Turkish citizen already!!) and when I looked over at the passport control line, my heart sank. It was SO long. Then I spotted my father. "Go all the way over to the right," he said. I'm thinking I was going to go through the Turkish passport line, which I sometimes do, but ohh no. I went through the line designated for soldiers and the handicapped. I shouldn't even call it a line because there wasn't one. Amazing. I guess my dad has a certain charm that I was unaware of. 

Overall, so far the trip has been great. As usual. I guess that is in large part to starting the vacation like this:

The French Lose Again.

I was doing my morning news reading rounds when I fell upon this article.  It talks about a study that Expedia did, interviewing hotels from all over to see who were the best/worst tourists. 

It's no surprise the French came out in last place. They are "rude" even in their own country. But there were a few things that I thought were interesting/funny:

1) The Japanese. Of course they were number one on the list because they have taken over the world! They are everywhere, and we all know it. If they didn't get number one they would probably have some explaining to do to someone back home.

2) Second are the British. Really? Why?

3) Canadians came in third. I hope they are not talking about the ones from Quebec because they are worse than the French.

4) USA. Really? We came after Sweden? Do the "Swedenese" really even go anywhere? Bull. We (Americans) got voted worst dressed. What is this? A high school mock election? Not only did we get worst dressed (eye roll), we got loudest, least tidy and the worst complainers (no argument there.) 

Oh. At least we got "top marks for generosity, as the biggest spenders and tippers." No shocker there. That's probably where all the complaining comes from. No one else in the world is selfish enough to expect a 20% tip as the waiters/waitresses/helpers/etc. are here.

Ah, but American tourists got most likely to try a new language! That's cool...except they would never try to actually say it properly making them look even more ridiculous. No offense. 

The last sentence was really the best part of the article. "France's rivals (rivals! ha!) for the world's 'worst tourist' tag, Spaniards and Greeks, came near the bottom of the pack in almost every category." They mentioned nothing about Turkish tourists. That's probably because Turkey is so beautiful no one ever travels outside the country. Go Turks!!

Airbus? More like Ocean Floor Bus.

I'll just take a moment to say hello again! It's been a long time, I know. I have been extremely busy this summer laying out, playing Wii, seeing friends...I apologize for the agony I have caused you as you wait for my next blog. I thought about writing something funny, but no. There is something I must share with you (and it's serious.) 

What's up with Airbus? Huh? I'm supposed to fly in two weeks. Chicago->Madrid via Iberia Airlines (proud owner of Airbus planes). To be honest, I am a bit frightened. Sure sure, I have been flying Turkish Airlines for God knows how long, and yes they use Airbus...but Turkish pilots are brilliant, flawless....and probably good looking. It is true that my soon-to-be Spanish pilots are probably gorgeous as well, but are they capable of flying an Airbus for 8 hours? Most of which will be over an ocean? 

American Airlines Airbus A300. November 12, 2001. 265 people died.

Air France Airbus A330. May 31, 2009. 228 people died. 

JUST TODAY!! Yemenia Airlines Airbus 310. 153 people on board. One survivor (so far). Apparently, you have to be five years old to survive an Airbus crash. FIVE! I'm almost 25! I should just go ahead and start living life as if I were told I had two weeks left to live. Super Smash Brothers here I come...

Taco Puffs!

I recently bought my first cookbook. Not really thinking I would ever open it's pages, I am surprised that it has become something that Kyle and I like doing together (cooking, I mean, not just opening it's pages.) So, last night we made Taco Puffs, and a salad that I didn't like, but Kyle loved. I'll share the Taco Puffs recipe because it's fun and fattening and, well, salads are boring.

So, all you need is this:

1 pound of ground beef (I used Turkey...just as good.) 

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 packet of taco seasoning (I used the mild seasoning. Kyle wasn't to happy about that)

8 cheddar cheese slices (It called for two slices per puff, but I put one, and that was plenty)

2 things of refrigerated large flaky biscuits (meaning you need 16 biscuits) 

That's all you need! I actually LOVED it because it doesn't need salt or pepper, which is nice because I forget to add those ingredients when I cook. Oops. 

--Cook the beef, aka turkey, with the chopped onion until there is no more pinkage. Pink meat is bad meat. Drain. Add the packet of seasoning, and follow the directions on the back of the packet. 

--Take half the biscuits and flatten them out to about 4 in circles. Equally spread the meat across the 8 biscuits. Put a slice of cheddar cheese on top of the meat. (Kyle tore of the cheese a little so that it wasn't going over the edge of the biscuit. But you could also you shredded cheddar.) Now, flatten out the other 8 biscuits and place them on top of the ones with the meat. Pinch the edges together to make sure there are no openings. 

--Put the biscuits in a greased 1in deep pan, and bake for NO LONGER than 15 minutes at 400 degrees. (I put "NO LONGER" in all caps for a reason.)

Now you have a delicious dinner that is sure to take care of lunch tomorrow, and maybe even dinner the next night. I ate about half of one, and I was full. You can see in the picture how big they get...and that's about 3/4s of it. Kyle and I had them with the bean salad, chips and salsa and margaritas! Mmm! 

 

The Invisible Wall

I love memoirs. I love them so much, I usually don't care what they are about. I'll read them anyway. I have recently finished The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein. Harry, or 'arry, writes about his childhood in Lancashire, England before and shortly after WWI. There is an "invisible wall" that exists on his street, separating him and the other Jewish families from the Christians. It's a bit of a slow read at first, but as his character grows and his relationship to his surroundings grow, it quickly becomes one of the most interesting memoirs I have read in a long time. (We all know how much I LOVED Petal Pusher though. Read it!) 

Some fun facts that make this book even more interesting:

1) Bernstein wrote this novel when he was about 93 years old to help him get over the death of his wife. 

2) Even at his ripe old age, he published a sequel to this book (The Dream) and even published a third book! Man, he's old! 

3) He is one of the few people to live through two world wars, other smaller wars and a great depression and not focus his books around these events. For that, I respect you 'arry. 

USA Today said it "invites comparison to Angela's Ashes." This is not true. NOTHING is comparable to Angela's Ashes. But it is a great story about the bond of a poverty stricken family, and I recommend it to you all. 

On that note, I am looking to read a memoir even better than this. (Actually, preferably five memoirs) Any suggestions are welcome! 

I Graduated College, Now What?

Let me start off by saying that I haven't blogged in a while because, well, I was busy graduating from college. I also had to deal with some slight depression-like feelings of being old. What am I supposed to do with my life now? Why can't I come up with an answer to the common interview question, "where do you see yourself in five years?" Will I be married? Will I be living in D.C.? Will I be living in this country? Will I even have a job? I now have the ability to delay answering these questions for another year, because I was accepted into the CICS program at Ball State University. I was also offered a graduate assistantship at the Art Museum, where I will be putting my journalism degree to good use. Having a master's degree, though, is something that has never entered my mind before, and now it's happening. I guess Forrest Gump was wise when he said, "Life is like a bunch of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." 

 

- This is a picture of my mother and me at my college ceremony, taken right after I got my "degree". It was an awesome ceremony, really. Dean Lavery was great as always, as was Professor Bremen. And the slideshow they played, along with the Redemption Song by Bob Marley, was fun to watch. I loved it! It was a perfect day! I will never forget any of the experiences I had with my graduating class, and I hope none of you do either! 

XoXo

Coupon Queen

I like to save money. I enjoy getting the Sunday paper and sifting through coupons. But that is about the extent of my search for ways to spend less at the grocery store. This lady, however, is a coupon master. She should be. It took her 37 years to become a pro, according to this CNN video report. 

Grocery shopping with her would be like a love/hate relationship. Actually, grocery shopping with her might actually take as long as the average relationship lasts. But, for under $10 per cart load of groceries, she could sweep me off my feet any day. 

Could you imagine being the next person in line? Think about it.