Teatopia

Tea from SA

I am one happy girl! Look what Valkyrie from South Africa sent me? She even thoughtfully left them in the shopping bag so I'd know where to go when I visit. They all sound so wonderful and I'm not sure which to try first!

My joy at receiving this nice package actually gave me an idea for an international trade/swap! I sent Valkyrie some Reese's Cups, something she can't get there, and she sent me something I couldn't buy here. Wouldn't it be cool to swap things from your country and get other things in return?

Bouquet of Herbs

I made this little vase (actually, it's an empty frappaccino bottle-- creative, huh?) of herbs for a friend who had surgery. I cut stems of herbs from my garden: rosemary, lavender, lemon balm, mint, and cilantro blossoms. I also added a few flowers and made a little tag.

Shogun

We went to Shogun tonight for my sister's b-day. I love watching them cook and do all the fancy tricks. The food was awesome! In this picture, the chef built a volcano by stacking rings of onions and then pouring oil into the hole at the top. Then, he held up a lighter and the steam pushed the oil out in spurts, making it look like an errupting volcano!

I was hoping to go swimming tonight to work off some of the calories, but it's storming, so not a chance. I went last night though and it felt great. I have had a lot on my mind lately and swimming is just so exhilarating!

Happy Birthday Meggie!

Happy 22nd b-day to my sister, Meggie! Please stop by her blog and leave some b-day wishes!

Tonight we'll be eating at Shogun, one of those really cool Japanese restaurants where they cook the food at your table. I'll be sure to post pics!

Hannah's Hummus

I received a few requests for the hummus recipe, so here goes! Sorry I didn't take photos!

1 14.5 oz can garbanzo beans
the juice of one lemon
1 small clove of garlic (peeled but left whole)
1 1/2 tbsp. tahini (look in health section of grocery store)
1 tsp. Greek oregano
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to desired consistancy

I combined the garbanzos, garlic, lemon, tahini, and oregeno and pulsed them together in the food processor until fairly ground. Then I streamed in the oilive oil while continuing to pulse until I felt it was creamy enough. Then I added salt and pepper to taste and pulsed a bit more. I left mine a litle bit chunky, but you can smooth it out by added more olive oil!

Touring Bag

I'm going to need something more than a purse to carry around stuff on our trip, and by stuff I mean cash, traveler's checks, ID, camera, camcorder, chapstick, sunscreen, bug repellent, map, etc. After gypsies tried to mug me in Rome, I was thankful that I was carrying a zipped bag, so I want something that zips, like this one. Although they are handy, too many outside pockets are not practical when traveling because someone can easily unzip them when you aren't looking, so this bag is both cute and practical!

Cuties

I saw these cuties at the Carrot Box.

My First Day of Summer

Well, my summer is off to a good start. Today I:

*was at home when James came for lunch. I made Greek salad and fruit salad for us.

*ran errands with my mom

*had coffee and bought a book at my favorite used book store down town

*did yoga for about 10 minutes and almost fell asleep. It was too relaxing! Then I swtiched to belly dancing instead! LOL!

*ran to Target for some things we needed

*made a healthy dinner of pita pockets with homemade hummus and fresh veggies

Foreign Film Buff

As most of you know, I am a total foreign film buff. I love 'em!!! James, on the other hand, is not quite as fond of them. However, now that it's summer, I'll have time to watch them on my own. Any recommendations? What foreign films have you seen and enjoyed?

Sunnier Skies

Ok, so tonight you are hearing from a much more positive Hannah. :-) Today and tomorrow we have post-planning and today I got a LOT done. My wonderful friend B re-arranged my whole room today and it looks great! I got another computer and the cable outlet was blocked by furniture, so he designed an entire new plan for my room and moved it all. Then, we went to lunch where B was completely enthralled with our Mexican waiter, who he thinks is also gay. He assures me he has great gaydar, so tomorrow we'll probably be back at the same place so he can admire him some more.

Then I had my last class tonight where I had to give a big presentation, but it feels great to be done. I am almost in summer mode. I'm stil holding myself back because it ain't over untill 4:00 tomorrow, but summer is almost here. :-)

Update: James and I talked last night and decided that yes, we will aim to move to Charlotte when he finishes his master's. YES!!!

It's Happening . . . Again

I woke up this morning totally hating where I live-- not my house, but the town. Hell, let's face it, the whole state practically (although I LOVE Atlanta!). I dreamed last night that we got some new shopping centers here with neat, trendy stores, and most importantly, a Starbucks. There were also more ethnic restaurants too. :-) (I'm sure this came from the fact that we went for Korean last night-- one of the ONLY ethnic restaurants here!). Even more depressing, James doesn't seem to be in a hurry to get OUT! I know he needs to finish his master's and that's totally fine. But then, we are SO GONE!

The school system here sucks, and this is my lively hood. We are ranked like #49 out of 50 states, which is pretty bad. What was I thinking moving here? Ok, so I wanted to be close to my parents and I still do, but I also can't stand it here. I have the day ahead of me (well, most of it) and nothing I realy want to do. Someone come kidnap me please! You can take me anywhere and I'll even PAY you!

More Info: James has a year and a half I think and then we're hoping to move to Charlotte, NC. My family wants to go too, so we'll all move together like we did down here.

Bubble Tea

Last night I made bubble tea from a kit, but I used colored tapioca pearls I bought in Atlanta. It was good and reminded me of our time in Korea.

How Should I Feel?

The last ring on my chain link countdown

I just said goodbye to my kids. I have finished my first year of teaching. I should feel some sense of accomplishment-- relief that my first year is done and it went well, but I feel nothing. This is such a "Hannah" way to feel-- completely numb, but probably inside there is a sea of emotions hidden, scared to come out! Probably, at some point in the next day or so, something little will happen and I'll burst into tears, not necessarily because I am sad per se, but because whenever anything causes intense emotions, whether they be happy or sad, I cry. It'll be interesting to see what small thing opens the flood gates.

Pita Pockets

Last night I made these pita pockets full of fresh veggies.

I cut the bread in half and opened up each half. I spread hummus inside and put in a leaf of hydroponic lettuce. Next, I filled it with a fresh salad (this was my favorite part!)

Ingredients: chopped English cucumber, tomato, avocado, purple onion and chopped herbs from my garden: parsley, dill, and cilantro. Then I squeezed fresh lemon juice on top and addded salt and pepper. I spooned some of the salad in and added sprouts. Very healthy and fresh.

BTW, update: went to USPS and paid $7.65 and it'll be there in a week!

Travel Journal

At the recommendation of GFF, I ordered this travel journal from Anthropolgie. I love the way it looks-- reminds me of the beach, which is quite appropriate for Capetown. What do you think?

International Shipping

I went tonight to FedEx to mail Valkyrie some Reese's cups to satisfy her cravings and because she is so sweet (she's mailing me some tea from South Africa). Anyway, FedEx wanted to charge me $64 to ship a small package. I raised my eyebrows and repeated the price and he said "yep." Ok, so don't worry Valkyrie, I am sending them tomorrow, but I could use some help from ya'll as to where to go to ship my little package. I know many of you have friends abroad, whether it's through the teaswap or blogging. What company do you use? USPS? DHL? UPS? Something else I am not thinking of? I just know that I CAN get it cheaper and thought $64 was a rip-off.

So NOT Off to a Good Start!

Ok, so it is not even 11:00 and it seems as if everything has gone wrong. Ok, so maybe it really has!

As you can imagine, the last week of school is crazy anyway, but half my team is out sick and subs are hard to find this week. No one is crazy enough, or stupid enough, to try and handle these kids the last week! One sub, bless her heart, barely speaks English and she looks terrified. The other sub didn't show, so we are having to divide up the kids among those of us who are here. Oh, and we had an awards ceremony this morning, which changed the schedule around completely, so I have no planning~ not even a one minute break ALL DAY! And I got my period this morning (another joy). I have awful cramps.

And we are scheduled to eat lunch 2 1/2 hours late and I am already hundgry!

I left the house earlier than usual and rushed to get here because the absent teachers (3 total) would not be here to present their awards, so the rest of us had to divide them up. As I was at a stoplight, my car shut off. I turned on my flashers, ready to scream and cry, and tried to re-start my car. Finally, it turned back on. Victoria is usually very good to me (yes, my car has a name). I hope it was just a fluke-- maybe I was idling too low or something? My car isn't old and we take good care of it.

I will be so happy to have this day behind me. I am thinking good thoughts of summer~ of South Africa and sleeping in!

Strawberry Salad with Gorgonzola Dressing

In my attempt to get healthier and, ahem, hopefully lose 10 pounds before we go to Africa in 8 weeks (is this too little time?), I made a healthy and rather unusual salad, at least I thought so. I found the recipe for this dressing in Vegetarian Times.

Gorgonzola Dressing:

1/2 cup fat free yogurt

1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

I made a bed of hydroponic lettuce and topped it with fresh strawberries. Then, I drizzled the gorgonzola dressing on top of the strawberries. I suppose you could add other ingredients, but I kept it simple.

Mediterannean Pizza

On my quest to get healthier, I made a nice little pizza tonight. First I sauteed some spinach leaves in garlic and a little olive oil. I spread it on pita bread. I topped it with feta cheese and cooked red onion and baked it until the cheese melted. It was scrumdidlyumptious!

Here Already

This is the last week of school for the kids. I have to go Monday and Tuesday of next week, but the end is certainly is sight. It's hard to believe that I am almost done my first year teaching. There are many things to do though to close out the year and I am drowning in paperwork!

I am so excited about my trip to South Africa I can't stand it. I have been dreaming about our trip almost every night! :-) I can't wait to buy Rooibos tea, some South African cooking magazines, and to go on safari! I feel so blessed to have this opportunity.

Getting Healthy

I probably looked like some kind of freak when I went grocery shopping today. Healthy, healthy, healthy . . . and no meat! I was a vegetarian for years and sometimes I revert back to it without even realizing. Being a vegetarian comes naturally to me-- I sometimes even have to concentrate on getting meat into my diet. Even as a baby, I spit my meat back out. I remember sitting at the dinner table as a little girl, long after everyone else had gotten up. I remember hearing, "Hannah, when you eat 3 bites of meat you can get up. You need your protein."

Anyway, after reading through a vegetarian magazine today, I found a bunch of fresh recipes and then went to the store for this week's groceries. I must've looked like a health nut. I bought organic milk (always do-- I once heard if you buy anything organic, buy organic milk), spinach leaves, butter lettuce, yogurt (flavored and plain), sprouts, a pineapple, an English cucumber, lemons and limes, a mango, strawberries, lite tofu, papaya juice, and an avocado. There will be many salads and healthy sandwiches this week. I will try to post some healthy summery recipes.

Check it Out!

My sister Meggie just started a really cute blog, Isle Palm. Please stop by and say hello! :-)

Dumpling Mold

We bought this today at Williams Sonoma. I am hoping it will make folding potstickers much easier! It could be used to make ravioli or empanadas too.

One Tiny Thing . . .

You may not know this about me . . .

Although I am and always have been a fairly conservative person, I have had my nose pierced for the past 5 years. It's not a big deal, but it's something I like about me. It's small and very tasteful, but I definitely don't want anything else.

Do any of you have any piercings or tattoos? Would you ever consider any?

Suggestions?

As I mentioned before, we are traveling to NYC a day early and spending the night before boarding our flight to Jo-burg the next evening. We arrive in NYC around 4:00 and will probably be in our hotel by 6:00 or so. Any ideas or suggestions for dinner? We want to eat somewhere fun in the city-- maybe even splurge on this one night in NYC. Has anyone been anywhere they'd recommend?

Mixed Feelings

Well, looks like I'll be in the same position again next year . . .
This is both good bad. Apparently, the person retiring had already told our principal he was retiring the week before I found out and someone was already lined up. See, we had already hired a history teacher for another job and the runner up was told that he could have the other history position available--the one I wanted but didn't ask for until the week after. My principal told me I found out a little late and it was going to be hard to move things around now when he had already made a committment to someone else. Whew! What a mouth full! Also, my closest friend Rebecca was moved to my team because our principal thinks we work well together and he wants us on the same team next year, meaning I'd have to stay.

I suppose I am ok with this. I desperately want World Cultures, but I know it's not personal. I just wish I had known sooner before he told someone else. I also wish he had told me that the chances were slim he'd find another slot for the guy he already hired. On the other hand, I like my current team and am thrilled Rebecca will be on my team next year. And most importantly, yours truly is thinking about a baby in the near future, so I'll probably only be teaching one more year anyway and when I come back, I want to find another position anyway. I'll make a fresh start then! :-)

Shrimp Pad Thai and a Movie

Can you believe that this Pad Thai only has 3 grams of fat per serving? I used lite tofu, scallions, bean sprouts, shrimp, noodles and flavoring (the fat came from the flavoring). I bought packaged sauce and it turned out really well. I garnished it with a little bit of crushed cashews, limes, and cilantro. Yum!

James and I are still unofficially on vacation. Since our family is still there (immediate and extended), we decided that we are also still on vacation this week, so we have something fun planned every day. Last night, after dinner, we went to see "Kingdom of Heaven". It was amazing!

Back to Reality

While most of my family is still at the beach, I am sitting here with 30 crazy 6th graders who think the school year was over yesterday! *sigh* Also, it's back to heathy food after my splurging this past weekend. Although I wasn't as bad as you may think. I ate salad for a few meals and you know that amazing dessert I posted about? I only ate half! Lunch was a chicken sandwich and a salad with lots of veggies. I'm trying, but man oh man, that Mint Mocha bottled Frappuccino is calling to me!

Dessert

After dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, we had dessert @ the Hard Rock Cafe. I got banana bread with a gooey peanut butter and chocolately center. Yum!

My New Obsession

I bought a whole case of these to bring back!

We're Here!

We have arrived in a place where the palm trees are blowing and the sidewalks are made of seashells. Our house isn't quite ready, so the first stop was Magnolia & Ivy, a tearoom in a trendy gated shopping center. I had a glass of iced sweet summer pumpkin tea. Next was this fabulous capri salad and seafood pizza at Roberto's.

Record Drug Bust in My Old House!

The following is an excerpt from our local paper:

"Drug agents seized more than $37 million worth of drugs and more than $600,000 in cash Wednesday, the largest drug bust in Columbus history."

The odd thing is, they found the drugs at the house my parents moved from just a few months ago. My parents wondered why the house was grabbed so quickly, sight unseen. They were thrilled-- come to find out the people wanted it for a drug headquarters. And they told my parents they wanted to start a church in it! Ha! It seems strange to me that they wouldn't pick a cheaper house. This is a nice 4 bedroom home in an affluent neighborhood. My co-workers were talking today about the fact that it was a nice house in a good neighborhood for once and I said, "yes, I know. It was my home up until when I got married!"

Asian Food ABC Style

Tonight we ran errands to get ready for our trip this weekend, and we stopped by Atlanta Bread Company (ABC) for dinner. Yes, this is where I got my matcha drink yesterday. :-) I had an asian chicken salad sandwich-- chicken with a light peanut sauce, grapes, and scallions on sour dough bread and soup-- cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms in a coconut curry broth. If you have one near you, you must try these temporary items.

We are looking forward to our trip this weekend, but there is still much to do. James's final project for the semester was due today and he has a final exam tomorrow night (yes, on a Friday night of all times) and I had a late class this evening. I am worn out, but looking forward to some fun in the sun!

Today's Yummies

Just wanted to share some yummy things I enjoyed today. We had a family friend over for dinner tonight to show her what to do with our dogs this weekend, and I stopped by Atlanta Bread Company to pick up a loaf of asiago cheese bread. I noticed signs advertising some new asian items on their menu and this awesome matcha smoothie was one of them. It was really refreshing and it definitely had the vegetal green tea taste. Yum!

Then when I got home I made spaghetti, salad, garlic bread (with what I got from Atlanta Bread Co) and fudge brownies. I like to buy plain jarred sauce and then add to it. Tonight I sauteed onions, green peppers, garlic, and mushrooms together. When they were mostly soft, I added ground sirloin, fresh chopped basil, and the jarred sauce. It turned out well and it was pretty healthy with all the good veggies.

Keeping My Fingers Crossed!

I apologize for the vague entry yesterday. I can now say more because 1) I know my closest friend at work doesn't want it and 2) I have now formally requested it.

I put in a request for a position teaching about World Cultures for the International Baccalaureate Programme, which I currently teach English for and am attending training for this summer in Atlanta. My passion is learning about other cultures-- foreign films, cuisines, books, travel. I feel like the job is hand-tailored for me and the best thing is, I learned today that the team I would be on (in middle school we have 2 teams per grade) has been trying to get me for some time. They told me that they have had their eye on me so they are pushing for this new position too.

The only reason I wouldn't get it is because the team I am on now is not as strong as the one I would be going to and our team leader says I am needed where I currently am too. I feel very loved, but really, I need to do this for ME.

I know in the end that whatever God wants for me will be, but I am praying that this works out. I really think I'd feel at home in this position. I want to teach about other cultures so badly. I just hope if it doesn't work out that I can go back to being reasonably content with where I am.

Insomnia

I have felt stressed over the last week. The school year is coming to an end and things are hectic and I haven't seen James much recently and I guess my life is kind of out of balance. Some people at school are leaving, positions are shifting, and there's a chance I might get moved around a bit, but I don't want to say anything prematurely. My friend Rebecca and I were interested possibly in the same position and it was akward and I was so worried she was upset that I laid awake obsessing about it and feeling guilty until 5:30 am. We're talking totally awake-- I didn't even dose. It was the most frusterating feeling and then I felt like a nutcase for worrying so much. It's in my nature. If something it bothering me, I won't sleep until I feel some peace about it. I can't believe I am still up after an hour and a half of sleep.

When I got home tonight after class, James came home briefly for dinner and then I ran a hot bubble bath, grabbed this month's "Gourmet Magazine", made some tea, and tried to relax. By the way, I am in love with Aveda's tea, which I am off to post about on the teaswap blog.

I Almost Forgot!

I almost forgot to mention that we are going to Florida this coming weekend. It's my grandma's 80th birthday and tons of family members are coming. I think there will be close to 40 of us-- some I haven't seen in years and I can't wait! We are staying in a rented house with my parents and sister and other family members are staying in a few other houses and hotel rooms. James and I took off Monday, so it should be a nice 3 day weekend. For the first time ever, we are not bringing our dogs with us to Florida. A family friend is going to stay here and watch them. She is wonderful, but I still worry about leaving them. They are my heart.