My favorite, food.

So here it is. A whole blog about food.

First things first, let it be known that I love food. I love cooking it and I love eating it. Thank god for my wonderful Italian genes. Sometimes when I can't sleep, I dream about recipes like what to make for dinner tomorrow using whatever randomness is hanging about in the refrigerator and pantry. I think the best utilization of the bare minimal to date was the dusty can of white cannellini beans thrown into some random pasta, with some leftover fresh spinach that was about to be on it's last legs. Toss with butter, fresh garlic,
a little olive oil and some fresh grated cheese....ideally it would be fresh grated but in this case, I opted for the parmesan in the green plastic shaker thingy and sprinkled it quite generously while all of the flavors were meshing over medium low heat. It's a shame I didn't have some delicious prosciutto on hand.
Other times, when I'm day dreaming at night, I fill that insatiable urge in my belly with a varietal of nourishment. No, it's not the typical late-night cravings of heading to the drive-thru and hitting up the dollar menu for an array of extremely high trans fat foods, that were bathed in day old oil, with pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun. I mull over steamed mussels, or a delicious hunk of salmon with a walnut crust, butternut squash, a bathtub full of gravy, or that squid's ink paella we tried in Barcelona. Who knew that squids ink was a delicacy? I also ruminate over the crepes and waffles that the Belgians are known for, dusted to perfection with powdered sugar and whatever fresh fruit to accompany it.

It's no suprise with my dual passion for food and travel, that I am the third book into my
travels alongside Frances Mayes, who penned Under the Tuscan Sun during the first years she had bought the old villa in Tuscany. In Bella Tuscany, she took us on an amazing tour of Italia, never leaving out the delicous meals consumed, recipes, stories from a Southern childhood, home renovation and gardening. It made me laugh. It made me cry. But most of all, it made me hungry. Today I've started A Year in the World, where Frances continues her journey of breathing life in a foreign country in France, Portugal, Spain, Greece and North Africa. I can't wait!

I've also been reading a fellow AOL Journal, Trickle of Semi-Consciousness by Belfast Cowboy, another member who left due to the "incident" and has found comfort in his blogging elsewhere. I must say, reading his past entries make time fly by here at the office, and it's a challenge to not laugh and give myself away.

"Marissa, are you blogging again? What is so funny?"

I'll tell you what's so funny. Cowboy's former career as a jug-bander. And I hear they did a doozy of a version of "My Eggs Don't Taste the Same Without you" in which he croons, "My heart's in a-shambles, I can't eat my scrambles."

Back to the immediate subject at hand, or at tummy, whilst on the topic of the wonder that is food, I must make mention of a place that never disappoints. La Petit Maison, the little house, is a FANTASTIC French restaurant here in Waterville. While I've never had the pleasure of dining in France per se, dining in The Little House is always an exceptional treat. With a bottle of wine, we order for an appetizer oysters
or gazpacho or a warm mushroom salad with endive which is INCREDIBLE. For the main course I always find myself torn between the bouillabaise riviera with saffron (ping!), salmon with caviar and a champagne sauce, filet mignon with a blueberry and bourbon reduction, or something off the specials menu which can range from rabbit to duck to bull testicles (dubbed 'sweet bread,' I don't think so). Travis is slightly more adventurous than me in this sense, because I will not touch a fork to a rabbit or a duck, although I hear both are magnifique. On the side of each dish comes a small couscous salad, scalloped potatoes, and mashed beets. (Remember that bathtub full of gravy? Scratch that. Make it a tub full of mashed beets.) Dessert too, is sheer perfection. An array of sorbets, custards, creme brulee`, gateau (cake) are presented with a carmelized sugar cage. Yes, a cage. A sugary sweet net of unrequited goodness. Needless to say, the price of all of this makes our visits rare, but equally more enjoyable each time we sign the guestbook on the way out, our bellies full and our hearts light.

So. When I'm in bed on the night before christmas, you can be sure that I actually am having visions of sugar plums dancing over my head. Actually its probably something more like beets doing dance moves to Gloria Estafan's "Turn the Beat Around."
 

goings-on.

Just another day at the office, having no other choice but to listen to this god-forsaken country "music." at least the radio station has been better about changing it up a bit. i heard a new song today, well it was new to me. It actually made me laugh out loud, prompting my co-worker Jenn to inquire as to what was making me giggle..."Did he just say, 'she's rockin' the beer gut'?"
She confirmed this to be true.
Wow.
I must admit that this lyric has made all of my insecurities surrounding my drinking paunch fade, as it sounds as though maybe it's not such a bad thing, and perhaps it is viewed as a highest form of honor or a mark of Buddha in some faraway land, like Alcoholpulco or New Drinkingland. I should see the bulge that rests atop my beltloop symbolically, that I have enough to drink.
And I am lucky for that.
Or am I?
But as for new music on the country radio station, there isn't much. In fact, I'd say nearly half of the songs played on there were originally belonging to someone else. Like All4One's "I can love you like that" or Edwin McCain's "I'll Be" or anything by Kelly Clarkson. To my suprise, Darius Rucker, formerly of Hootie & the Blowfish fame, has just released his first country album. Didn't see that coming. Who's next?

On another note, it's a slightly dismal day here and all I want to is to crawl in my bed and be all cozy and sleepy warm, listening to the rain outside my windows. But instead, I sit here, typing away andd wishing the next 3 and half hours away, which is something I greatly dislike to do.

My wedding planning has temporarily halted. We set a date, and it seems still a little
too far to start ordering favors, tables and chairs, and all that jazz. But I have to say, I think our $5000 budget will go a long way. It will hopefully include our honeymoon expenses, plane tickets and resort in Turquoise Bay, Honduras! I've already planned for the flowers...my downstairs neighbor and I will be planting them in the spring, hundreds of zinnias in all colors, fuscia, oranges, yellows, whites...they will be included as bouquets in my centerpieces, in various vases, pots, lemonade pitchers, mason jars, wine bottles...a mishmash that throws uniformity to the wind.
Did I mention the date is September 4, 2009? That will be the day that Travis and I exchange our written vows in front of immediate family and the closest of friends, on the coast of Winter Harbor, ME. We've arrangedthis with the owners of the B&B and they are having a lobster bake for the party in their backyard...it should be wonderfully splendid. Two days later, the sixth, will be our reception hopefully in his mom's backyard, back in NY. That's also the day of my parents 35th wedding anniversary.

I'm also in this hyphenation contemplation. Shall I be Marissa Olivera? Marissa Fiorentino-Olivera? Or just plain old Marissa Fiorentino? I feel attached to my last name. How will people know I am still a Fiorentino? I love it when people ask me if I am related to or know so and so.

Having all this excess time throughout my day, in front of the computer, I began reading some of the old blogs that still remain, that I once loved, and still do. Anyone recall The C-Cup Chronicles? They still make me laugh out loud, cry, and warm my heart...Then there was TwoScoopsofCrazy, always hilarious. And of course, Jennifer from Random Ramblings. I wonder what her and Walter, the wonderpup, have been busying themselves with. I'm sure she also still "idoling along."
We didn't lose everyone to the move, afterall, Mike and Kathleen and myself are still ever-present. I never found my blogspot to be as homey and comfy as it is here.
Whatever happened to those Weekend Assignments from Mr. Scalzi anyway? Did he run out of questions and scenarios to present to the eager bloggers? Or did he just get a new job?

Until next time, keep on rockin' those beer guts!

Dum Dum Da Dum...

Since I suprisingly have alot of extra time when I finish my workload here, I've been the queen of googling wedding ideas, with the occasional game of Freecell or Sudoku to spice things up. How amazing it is to get paid to do these things.

Last night, Travis and I asked his parents if we could have our wedding reception in their backyard. I don't think it would've been as big as a surprise as it was, considering they haven't even asked us if we've set a date yet. Which we haven't. Next August is looking to be it, though, mainly because I want to steer as far as possible from the possibility of being rained out! Not that that's any indication of whatever inclement weather happens to arise in this crazy area...

Take the other night for example. It was one of those warm nights and right before a storm was due to hit...the wind blowing right through our curtains and cooling the stickiness of the day, dually curing our swamp-ass. I reveled in the fact that this was one of my favorite parts of summer...

And then our house got struck by lightning! I was TERRIFIED. The kicker is Travis and I were just talking about how silly we are to have not gotten renters insurance yet, seeing as how it's like $1 (not really, but pretty damn close) and that I work at an insurance agency. Not only was it the loudest, brightest, most horrifying storm I've ever experienced, that shook the ground and house like a bomb had hit, but it ended up striking the siding and taking a large chunk out of the foundation as well. With one fell swoop, our TV was no longer and my car wouldn't start the next morning.

All I could think of was the antiquated electricity that runs through our outlets...and boy, OUTlets they are---the thick plastic-coated wires that come out of the floor to attach it to the silver metal box in which we plug things. My hair crimps at the thought.

But back to wedding stuffs. I have to say, of all things in my life, this is the only thing that I am totally sure of. Nothing I've experienced in my 23 years compares to the companionship and intimacy that I have shared with my love. I feel lucky, and surprised that I've found it at all. Like any other two, we have those inevitable moments where we grind each others' gears or cannot accept the fact that the other never makes the bed/buys too much furniture...I bet you can't guess who the latter is.

Loosely, our plan for the marital union is as follows. Intimate ceremony in Winter Harbor, Maine in the backyard of a beautiful B&B we stayed in last summer, right on the coast. Reception back here at home a few days later, in his mom's expansive backyard under a tent, with Brooks BBQ (DELICIOUS!) cooking chicken and ribs at a pit within safe distance...

We also have been researching how to register for your honeymoon, which I think is a splendid notion. Instead of registering for china and crystal stemware that we'll NEVER use, we'll opt for a bottle of champagne for the happy couple as we toast our love in some tropical location. Or chocolate covered strawberries. Or a couple's massage.

This is fun. Such a challenge to create our idea of a perfect union on a budget... it forces me to get creative. I'm sure this will undoubtedly bring his mother and I closer, unless of course she turns into mother-in-law-of-the-brideZILLA.

But until then, I've got colors, flowers, desserts to choose...for me, and my chosen one.

this country is bad for my health

So, I've just been adjusting to being a full-timer here at the insurance company,
waking up at 7:45, hitting snooze til I can hit snooze no more, getting here at 9
and leaving at 5. It leaves me little time for myself, seeing as how I can barely
stay awake after 11 pm these days.

My day at work entails drinking too much caffeine,taking/making payments,
processing homeowner/car insurance applications, renewals, reinstatments,
cancellations, etc...and after all that fun is done, it's just me and Freecell
and this forsaken country music. There's one in particular I feel I can actually
relate to...in the typical southern drawl, and this one is more of a drawl than a
twang

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMEEEE I WANNA GO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMME

Every time that song comes on, roughly twice a day, I just want to tell the man,
I concur.

But not ALL of the country tunage is bad on the ever-popular local country radio
station (ever-popular here in Waterville, that is) there is one, count 'em one,
song that I enjoy. It's called "Johnny and June," referring to the Cash's
of course, and the singer chick says "When you go, I wanna go too."
Brings a twitter to my ticker.

Other than that, I feel on the upswing at the moment, healthwise. I don't believe
I've mentioned at all here what's been going on, but it started about 3 months ago
in Ireland when I had severe pains in my abdomen and lower right side. All signs
pointed to appendicitis, especially when I bent over to tie my shoes and almost
doubled over in pain. Doctors, surgery and a hospital stay confirmed it to be
endometriosis, oh joy.
If being cut open and hospitalized for the first time wasn't enough,on the exact day
I was journeying home to the states, a different kind of pain prevented me from eating celebratory dinner with our parents and friends...yadda yadda yadda, cut to today and here I sit with pernicious anemia, inability to absorb B12 and Iron, main symptom being gastritis--inflammation of the stomach lining.

I haven't felt well enough in the tummy area to be keeping up with all m'beer drinking,
and my pants don't fit. *sigh*
All the medical terminology aside, I hate feeling unwell enough to do things. I'm tired and
alot of days I'm in pain from either gastritis or endometriosis, which has chronic lower back pain and tummy pain. But, I am glad we've figured all this out whileI still have insurance.
This is where I face another one of life's ironies, working in an insurance company that doesn't offer insurance to their employees. At least in Ireland, my surgery was FREE!

SOCIAL HEALTHCARE! SIGN ME UP!

On a much much much lighter note, my beloved Aimee Mann has a new CD called %^*&#Q(* Smilers! Picked it up yesterday, and can't wait to fall in love with it like I have the others. Also, she's doing a FREE (there's the word again!) concert in Albany in July...

Can't wait for the weekend. I have much to tend to. A great book, I am almost done with. My plants. My honey. Rewatching LOST season 3, you know, really important matters. And hopefully, in keeping with the last few days *knocks on wood* feeling well enough to get some much needed exercise.

I can't believe my voice is joining in the millions asking "Is it Friday yet?"

Also, I just noticed all of the different moods and didn't find one that fit my "feels like bugs are crawling all over me" present state of mind. Who should I talk to about that?

she works hard for the money

I know I haven't been consistent with my updates, but that's what happens when life happens.

I'd says it's good to be back in the states, but I'd be a liar. There's so much I miss about our time abroad, like our friends, being able to walk everywhere and not having to buy gas at an outrageous price, not having to participate in the "real world" in which responsibilities rest on my shoulders. My only responsibility in Dublin was to make dinner for Armando and the suitees, drink pints and see everything I possibly can while there.

Other than trying to restore our place back to the condition it was in when we left, I've just been looking for jobs and working on my resume, being a college graduate now...you'd think it'd be exciting to not have to write essays on whatever topic or prepare for tests and presentations, but I found myself doubting my ability to embrace change, even though, more times that not, change is a positive thing.

So, I found myself a real job. It's only my first day at a small car insurance company, but I can tell I'm going to like it here. It's quiet (except for the country music being piped in, GROAN) and self-paced and I don't have to worry any longer about peeing glitter, and not getting enough hours at the ol' craft store. Here I can just sit and work and sip my tea and earn money to pay off all of that college debt I've been accruing. Not to mention to save up for a wedding and honeymoon and maybe a new apartment.

I wish I could post some of our other photos from Amsterdam and Barcelona, but my laptop contratcted an e-std of some sort...

 

more to come.

i am so LOST

Okay, so the girl who hates mainstream television is completely obsessed. I think the title gives it away so I can't even insert Dancing with the Stars as a joke.




I think it's some kind of virtual crack...It makes me want to call in sick to life.

Is anyone else with me on this??

end of the march

So in honor of my last entry being exactly one month ago, here's what my last month was like. Sometime in early March, when Tracy was visiting us with her friend Kat, and we went to Howth, a little fishing town on the Dublin's dart line (album above). First we walked up to an old castle that was kind of renovated quite recently, but still a cool thing to see for free. After that we made lunch reservations for an hour later, walked along the piers that overlooked boats and sea lions on one side, and the lighthouse along the coast on the other.



We also celebrated my first, and probably last, St Paddy's Day. I'm not really one for spending an entire day and night drinking my face off! I did however start my day off with a screwdriver and a flask full of Jameson...followed by the parade, and a gin bucket. You may be wondering what a gin bucket is, as I was myself the first time I heard it. But it really is just a big ol' bucket of gin, with Sprite, tonic and lemons....and of course a nicely-sized cup to fill up. I suppose I do enjoy the occasional drinking off of faces, but I did call it an early night.

this picture says it all.

And pretty much a few days after that, we made our way to Scotland. It was gorgeous and frigid! It's awesome Travis has an old friend there with whom we stayed and who was also our tour guide around Glasgow, Ayr, Edinburgh and Stirling. Some highlights are definitely the herd of sheep crossing our path, walking down the Royal Mile, catching a glimpse of William Wallace's massive sword, seeing an old castle built into the side of a mountain and one along the jagged coastline with snow-capped mountains across the sea. It was a great five days, until the very last hour of the very last day. We went to the wrong airport. But let's not focus our attention on the negative aspects here. Then there was the hundred pound cab ride that dropped us off just in time for a delay. Yay.


      view of Glasgow from the Lighthouse museum