6 years on...

Dear Indiana,
    
     I know you haven't heard from me for a while, and I am sorry for that.  I think I needed some time to finally come to terms with our emotional break-up.  Six years is a long time and I think I am finally ready to talk about it. 
     Listen.  We were both young.  You, having joined the Union in 1816, were a new state by all intents and purposes.  I was 25, and you are still not even 200 years old...so you can understand the lure of a much older suitor like Italy.  I mean, our modern ways were pretty much invented here - what's not to like? 
Having said that though, amore, I must say that there are so many things that I do miss about being with you.  And it is during the month of May every year that I get extremely emotional....

I miss your springtime.  

I miss Indianapolis...

 ...especially in May.

I miss your southern hills.

 Hell, I even miss Terre Haute...

Your covered bridges... 

4-H Fairs...

Strassenfest...

And so much more.  But throughout our relationship you were not the perfect partner...You have your down sides as well...

-16 in the winter?  Give me a break!!

Tornadoes.  Hate.

Smoking in Bars. Super hate.

Only now after 6 years can I truly tell you how I feel, my dear Indiana.  

I love you and I always will. 
No matter if I am with you or somewhere else.

You will always be my home...where my family and part of my heart reside.

Take care of those who I love most who are still within your borders.

I may not come back very often, but know that when I do it is always with my arms wide open...ready to embrace all that you are and all that you mean to me.  

And probably to eat an elephant ear.  

Or two.

Hugs and Kisses.  See you soon.

xoxo sjkh

I Grandi Problemi...

When I was in middle school, I joined a club called "Future Problem Solvers of America".

(Yeah, I have no idea how I came out of adolescence this cool either...)

We had to brainstorm solutions for many different problems and sticky situations.  I cannot remember all of them, but I do recall that old problem about the truck which will not fit under the overpass...it was 6th grade, we weren't solving any nuclear fusion problems, just simple stuff.  

I really enjoyed the club; probably because I was nerdy but more likely to be that there was a boy in the club I thought was cute too....

Now, fast forward to 2011.  

Wife.  Mum.  Homeowner. 

These titles bring with them a whole crop of problems which cannot be simply solved by letting the air out of someones tires (but I would certainly try if it was a last resort...).

Finances.  Daycares.  General upkeep of property.  

These are problems and issues that my fellow Americans have been facing since the word problem was created.

But there was no club at good old JMS for Future Problem Solvers of Americans-Living-In-Italy.  Damn.

And very obviously there was no club here in Italy called "Futuro Risolutori di Problemi di Italia"...how do I know this?  Well.  YOU try to come here and get things done.  There is a magical thing that happens when an Italian is faced with a tough decision or a problem.  

They completely freak out.

Observe...

A self-styled flow chart mapping the Italian thought process when faced with a problem...

In essence, a wall is built and there is no way to break it down.  

And while I am beating my head against a wall thinking about how easy it is to get things done in the USA...

If you want to blow it up and hang it on your wall, I do not blame you...it's a thing of beauty...

I completely lose it.  

There are days it is wonderful to love in such a beautiful place, where the weather is lovely, the food is amazing, and the quality of life is unmatched...

But for every beautiful day, there is a day full of other Italians who are constantly trying to break my balls about something.  Charging outlandish prices for simple jobs, never showing up to an appointment, showing up 45 minutes late to a meeting, asking for another copy of a document they already have because they want one (the SAME one) a bit more recent than two months ago.  

Va. Fan. Cu. Lo.

Seriously.  Bite me.

Then after all the bitching and moaning, the head beating and hair pulling.  This lovely creature wakes up...

...and tells me some lovely story about ducks, caca and tickling.  And all is set right again.

 
Until next time...keep calm and carry on...

xoxo sjkh

Some serious life lemons...

At this point I should be sitting my tanned bottom in front of this computer writing really A-hole-ish things about how wonderful Formentera is and how everyone in the world should drop everything they are doing right now and go there.

But alas...my white legs are crossed in front of me thinking about the sporadic shit storm that has been the last week or so of my life. 

I know that I made a reference to the "life handing you lemons" thing last week, so in light of that, I will start with the shitty business...

That's right Fonzie.  Thumbs WAY down to the following...

Pre-vacation illness: We all get it.  It is like our body winds down to the point of death any time we even think about holidays.  And our fam has not been very well these past few weeks anyway.  I got a killer sinus infection, baby was up and down with fever, hubby generally cold-ish since March. But nothing. NOTHING. was stopping us from getting on that plane.  Except....

Italian Airport Workers Strike: Yep.  Thank you baggage handlers and airport staff of Bologna airport.  The plague was not going to stop the Harts from taking their FIRST beach vacation EVER...but you certainly did.  All flights grounded for 4 hours from 10 am on Friday.  When was our flight due to leave you ask??? 10:10.  Cancelled.  No flights until Sunday.

Missing our friends' wedding: No need for explanation, it just plain old sucks.  But we did receieve a rather interesting picture of the bride sitting on the toilet in her wedding gown...personally I would have preferred the paella, but that is what we got. 

Full blown ear infections:  My child is satan when she is ill.

Broken water pipes:  And here is the kicker.  We don't know whether it is in A) the super difficult place under the terrace that would require tearing up a chunk of the tile or B) the super difficult place that would require tearing up our steps or C) any other place that would require tearing apart the garden that we have spent over a year working on which prompted the need of the beach vacation that we did not get...

So that is my vent.

Those things can all get bent along with all the other general shittiness that happens day to day around here.

But it is important to realise that even though we have rough times, we are very lucky in so many other ways.  Things may not ever be perfect, but we have perfection that is around us in many other forms...

I agree Chuck Norris.  Thumbs up for the good things in life...

Making Lemonade:  Life handed us a ginormous lemon and we made some seriously good lemonade.  Where do you go when you have been defeated by Italians?  That magical place where everything is clean, organised, and people queue up for things....AUSTRIA.  Bless you Austria.  You made me feel like a new woman.  Even though the vacation was not without its little problems, we had an amazingly lovely time.

Family Hotels: This being our very first family vacation, we somehow managed to find ourselves in the best best best family run hotel in all of Austria...if not Europe.  The owners of Flair Hotel am Worthersee were the most accomodating and helpful couple.  Having three boys they understand what a family hotel really needs.  And choosing the half-board option was wonderful.  Martina is an AMAZING cook.  Laurent is an AMAZING host. I seriously cannot sing the praises of this place enough.  I recommend this place to anyone with kids or even without...the setting is lovely....

Dinner on the terrace

Beer. Beer. Beer.

Brand new hotel pool...

Yay for swimming!

Playground for little ones!

And this view...LOVELY.

Petting zoos: Yay for animals (not caged as in a zoo...), they make a grumpy 19 month old happy any day of the week!

 










The amazing Worthersee and city of Velden: Ten minutes into town from the hotel.  Bike paths clearly marked and cars which stop at zebra crossings?!  Immaculate playgrounds.  Ducks to feed.  Fountains to splash in.  Takeaway noodles and sushi in the park.  Seriously.  Heaven.

 

Lots of laughs: 

 And ICE CREAM!!!!

So although the lemons were plenty, the lemonade was delicious.  So were the noodles...

 

Pose-tastic.

xoxoxo sjkh

Flair Hotel am Worthersee -  www.flairhotel.at
Tier Park Rosegg - www.rosegg.at
City of Velden - www.velden.co.at

When life hands you lemons....

Well maybe not so much life...

My dearest student and adopted Zia Alessandra spoils me way too much.  

As her husband's family lives in Puglia (the heel of the boot) she often brings gifts of amazing olive oil, fresh honey, and lemons...

But the lemons which come from her in-laws family "farm" as it were are unlike any lemons you have ever tasted before.  Big, juicy and a bit sweet...nothing short of amazing. 

I became addicted to lemons at some point in my life - somewhere between Lemon Jolly Ranchers and Sour Patch kids I am sure - and Alessandra has been feeding my habit ever since.  

Then the other day she walked through the door with a giant jug of the most fragrant olive oil and a giant bag of lemons (and roses, and hostas...)...che viziata!!

Taking stock of what I had on hand here at home, and the ever growing need to tame the great rosemary bush that lines the front fence, I found a lovely recipe for Rosemary Lemonade.

One and a half cups water

One and a half cups sugar

One and a half cups fresh squeezed lemon juice

Grated rind of one lemon

Two sprigs of Rosemary

Side note: If you haven't got an Alessi juicer, you are not living life to it's fullest.  It is BY FAR the most used kitchen gadget in my house!!  A very worthwhile buy!!

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. 

Boil the liquid three minutes. 

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, lemon rind and rosemary.

Love makin' - Lemon and Rosemary Style...

 Refrigerate at least one hour or until very cold. 

Strain the mixture into a storage container.

This makes a syrup which keeps in the fridge - add to plain water or sparkling water to taste.

Testimonials you say...?? 

"This is the best freaking lemonade I have ever drunk..." - H. Hart

A triumph!

xoxo sjkh

ps - Tomorrow the hubs, the baby and I are off to this place...

Gecko Beach Club - Formentera

                                                                                              ...that does NOT suck.
                                                                                                       

Guilty Pleasures...

When things get a bit rough round here (which they do every now and again) I am no different to anyone else on this planet in that I have my very own guilty pleasures I turn to.  

The other day I was trying to think of just one which I have held on to my entire life, but in fact my little pleasures have changed through the years just as much as I have.  

Factors like age, available funds, and loctaion certainly have so much to do with that...

High School

Uh oh...Spaghetti O's.  

Gross I know, but I still have fond memories of sharing them with many a friend.  Most likely would not be the culinary delight as I once thought it to be, so I shall leave this one in my teens... 

University

 Simply said. 

The Ballyhoo Tavern.

Best job I have ever had.  I truly loved every minute I spent there - and there were a lot.

Pageant Years

Heels.  

I loved the way I could feel in an amazing pair of them.  

Heels really made me feel as though all was right with the world when I was towering over girls and on par with the guys...

Post-Miss USA 

I have not stepped a foot into a McDonald's in nearly 13 years, but Taco Bell...they get me every time.  

If there was one here in Italy, I would have been in that drive thru every single night when I was pregnant!

Italy...first few months

I ate tonnnns of the stuff.  

No wonder I gained 20 pounds in the first 6 months.

Pre-Baby

Who am I kidding...Prosecco has made a rather smooth transition into Post-Baby as well...

Pregnancy

There is an old Italian wives tale that whatever a mamma craved in pregnancy came out in the form of a birthmark on the baby...called a "Voglia".  Liv has a red strawberry-shaped birthmark on her leg.  

Comes as no surprise, I ate at least an entire punnet a day!!

Which brings us finally to the present...

These two guys come from the Officina Profumo - Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella in Firenze. 

It is seriously the most wonderful place on earth.  

Take THAT Mickey Mouse.

The Tabacco Toscano products (there are not too many of them, the candle and the soap are what I get my fix off of) are the most comforting, rich and lovely scent you could ever want.  

The first candle I bought I held in my little paws and pretty much smelled it to its death.  

I take looong luxurious showers using the soap and wash my hands during the day so many times that I think I am starting to become OCD...but not about cleanliness, oh no, but about sniffing my hands.  

Weird huh?  Well, get yourself some of this gold, and you will understand.

Even better, get your butt to Firenze and experience the magic first hand.  It is the most amazing shop/museum.  I took my mother, auntie and cousin there not long ago and I fear that they now think I am mental.  I was like a kid in a candy shop.

Isn't it amazing how your tastes - food and otherwise tend to grow with you through the years?

  

Who would have ever thunk it that a little midwestern girly sucking down canned pasta, and dousing chicken tacos with Fire sauce would be crazy as a bag of hammers for luxury Italian soap and candles?

Certainly not me...

Post-shopping bliss - Mom and I in SMN...I shamelessly sniffed the bag all day.

So...fess up...what is your guiltiest pleasure???

xoxo sjkh