The Home Stretch

School is almost done for the semester and so far I still feel like I have conflicting feelings about my Italian. I have been using my tutor for about a month and half now, and he is absolutely fabulous. I don’t think I could say anything negative about him. Being home with just my dad has been a real trial of my true patience because despite loving my dad, we are beyond polar opposites in about every aspect of our daily lives. He is very quick to temper and has a short fuse, me on the other hand, I try to avoid conflict and yelling. When someone raises their voice, I lower mine. Moreover, we just are like a cat and a dog trying to live in the same house unsupervised, being that my mom is literally the glue that keeps the house together… I can’t wait for her to return. 

I leave for my trip in less than 23 days and I am beyond excited to be going back to Italy again! I will arrive in Bologna with my friend and his adorable mother who I am jealous of and want her as my mom. I will leave the day after Christmas and arrive on the 27th. I have to download a bunch of movies and things to keep me occupied during the flight. Any recommendations? I would love to know if Baby is on iTunes as I bingewatched that in like a two day time frame. 

Ricette: Pappardelle with wild mushrooms 🍝 

3/4 pound/350 g porcini mushrooms (fresh)

2 shallots

1 clove of garlic

1 small bunch of flat-leaf parsley

Leaves of 1 sprig of rosemary

A few leaves of fresh sage

4 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 pound/350 g canned diced tomatoes

3/4 cup dry white wine

Fine sea salt to taste

Black pepper (freshly ground) to taste

Optional: 1/4 cup heavy cream (see below)

1 pound/400 g pappardelle (ideally fresh rather than dried)

Optional: freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

Clean the mushrooms, brushing the dirt away from the stems, and separate the caps from the stems; dice the stems and slice the caps, keeping them separate.

Mince the shallots, garlic, and herbs and sauté them for about 3-4 minutes in 4 tablespoons of oil in a large pot. Add the diced stems, cook 1 more minute, and then add the tomatoes and 1/2 cup of the wine. Season with a little salt and black pepper and simmer the mixture over a very gentle flame for 30 minutes. Add a little more wine and a splash of water (or the liquid the mushrooms steeped in if you are using dried mushrooms), and the sliced caps.

Continue simmering the sauce over a gentle flame until the pasta is ready. Depending upon how much moisture the mushrooms contain, you may need to add more liquid — another splash of wine and a little hot water, or if you’d rather 1/4 cup of heavy cream, and if need be, a little water.

In the meantime, bring pasta water to a boil, salt it, and cook the pappardelle. Drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce; then serve with grated cheese for those who want it.

Music🎶

Playinwitme-KYLE 

Without Me- Halsey

Now Playing

TV/NETFLIX 📺

“BABY”  (WATCH IN ITALIAN!) 

“THE GOOD DOCTOR”

Things I loved in November: 

1. The Goodnotes 4 app: Great for studying for school or all you people trying to go paperless. 
2. “The Good Doctor” and “Baby”, they are AMAZING… you should watch! 
3. HOLIDAY SEASON! 

Post Thanksgiving Food Coma

With 2 of the 5 holidays done for the season, I am ready to quit eating…. but to be honest I don’t know how that will be possible with my upcoming trip in less than a month. I am so excited to be going back to Italy again. I will be arriving to Bologna and then I will go to my friends house from there. I will be spending New Years eve there and in typical Italian style…. be served so much food that I will be contemplating faking a headache just to get out of the amount of food that I will be up against. I can tell you now that in this battle of California vs. Italian Food culture, I will lose. For the past two years I have been lucky enough to spend not only New Years, but also Christmas. This last one my niece has banned me from going to Italy again during Christmas time, but I am allowed to go the day after apparently. Go figure…

After a week of no school or work I am ready to be going back, after a certain point I start to go stir crazy. I am definitely ready to be going back to work to see the kids after a week of being stuck in the house due to the smoke and then heavy rains.

Le Ricette: Turkey Udon Soup 🍜

1 Serving:

*100 grams cooked turkey meat (dark or white)

*250 grams broth of your choice

*10 grams soy sauce

*3 grams sesame oil

*75 grams broccoli florets

*5 snow peas

*10 grams corn kernels

*1 large garlic clove minced

*1 green onion sliced thinly, separate green and white part

*Cilantro for garnish

*15 grams thinly sliced carrots

*5 grams mushrooms

*5 grams spinach

*100 grams udon noodles

1. Bring stock to a boil in a pot, add in oil and soy sauce, the turkey meat, white part of the green onion, and garlic.
2. While broth is coming to a boil prep veggies.
3. Once stock is boiling add noodles, broccoli, mushrooms, snow peas, and carrots.
4. Cook for 4 mins.
5. Then add in your serving bowl, the spinach, corn, green onion tops, and cilantro.
6. After the 4 mins is up, check veggies for desired tenderness, (if you want them softer cook for an extra 1-2 mins) and ladle hot soup over the garnishes.
7. You can also add sriracha(or any other Chile sauce), hoisin sauce, soy sauce (my sister does this), a soft boiled egg… the possibilities are endless!
8. Enjoy.

Le Canzone 🎶

“Here” Alessia Cara (Lucian Remix) 🇺🇸

“Mi Faccio i film” Baby K🇮🇹

Facciamo una pausa…

Life Update☀️

Allora, questo post sarà corto, perché non so scrivere bene in italiano. Lo sto imparando da un anno, quindi devo provare a migliorare il mio livello di italiano. Perciò se sei un(a) italiano(a) nativo(a)… Sopportami, con questi errori in questo post. Tra poche settimane ci sarà la Festa del Thanksgiving (il terzo giovedì di Novembre di ogni anno…), dopodiché cominceranno le festività di Natale. Per tale ragione la mamma starà sempre in cucina e i bambini a lavoro staranno facendo tante cose per Natale e Capodanno. Ed io? Cosa starò facendo? Starò lavorando e studiando per gli esami. AH! Ho un nuovo tutor di italiano. L’ho trovato su Craiglist (abbastanza inquietante, lo so…, ma lui non è uno psicopatico per fortuna/fortunatamente). Ho lezione le domeniche alle 9.00 di mattina. È nato nella mia regione preferita dell’Italia: l’Emilia-Romagna (però la mia città preferita non è Bologna; la mia città preferita è Modena, hahahaha)! È difficile per me e indovinare la sua età, perché il suo livello d’inglese è simile al mio, e sa tante cose circa l’economia, culture diverse, e non si è sorpreso quando gli ho detto che volevo cambiare gli hardware del vecchio iPhone 6 della mia mamma. Penso che lui abbia… Bo… fra i 32 e 35 anni? Non lo so, ma la cosa più importante è che lui sia un insegnante fantastico! Lui è molto figo. 😎

Durante l’estate ho comprato la fotocamera del mio capo di stage ed è una fotocamera bellissima! È una Canon 5d Mark II e alcuni giorni fa ho ricevuto la lente da 24-105 mm. Purtroppo devo aspettare che il lettore di schede CF arrivi da Amazon. Poi ti potrò mandare tante foto.

 

Le Ricette: I Pancake Americani 🥞

195 gr farina
15 gr levito
3 gr sale
15-20 gr zuccchero (in base al livello di dolcezza che ti piace)
420 latte
1 uovo
50 gr burro (fuso)

1. Mescolare la farina, levito, sale, e zucchero in una ciotola. E pio in un’altra ciotola mescolare il latte, burro, e l’uovo.
2. Aggiungi gli ingredienti umidi agli ingredienti secchi.
3.Cuocere su una padella a fuoco medio-alto. (Entrambi i lati dovrebbero essere marrone medio.)

(Opzionale: Dopo aver aggiunto la pastella nella padella, puoi cospargere un po ‘di gocce di cioccolato, dei mirtilli, oppure se vuoi su ogni pancake) ♥️ 

 

Il Tivù/Netflix 📺

Cosa sto guardando sul Netflix e tivù in questo momento?

• The Good Doctor
• Bodyguard (doppiato in l’italiano)
• The Break (doppiato in l’italiano)
• Le forêt (doppiato in l’italiano)
• La Mante (doppiato in l’italiano)

Le Canzone 🎶

“La Vie En Rose” – Jason Lux e Nieka Moss 

“Love You Anymore” – Michael Bublé

“I Feel It Coming” Sax Cover – Andre Schnura

 

 

7 THINGS ABOUT ME

1. I am “adopted”.

First off, let me say this- I don’t know much, if anything, at all about my birth parents. I was put into legal guardianship right at birth to the people who I call my parents. Now, I say “adopted” because it is way easier than to spend the time explaining legal guardianship to others and why my parents chose that versus the typical adoption route. (That will be coming up later…) However, if you are curious about the differences in adoption compared to legal guardianship you can click the link here!

2. I have had three major surgeries.

I was born three weeks premature, and just like many other preemies, I had suffered some health issues. One of them was Coarctation, which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC for short) is a congenital heart defect in which a part of my heart, (the aorta), is narrower than usual. The narrowing of the aorta blocked normal blood flow to the rest of my body; but to fix it doctors performed corrective surgery right after I was born, thus far having no other issues!!!

The other two surgeries were for Hydrocephalus. Which, when I was nine months old I wasn’t reaching the “major milestones” of a typical nine-month baby should be doing (crawling, sitting upright, using a pincer grasp, etc etc). My mom was very observant and was watching me closely as I started to gow (I also came home on an oxygen tank which had about 25 yards (23 meters) of tubing so I could crawl around the house… sidenote: this probably contributed to my asthma, which in my opinion is the worst of all my health issues) and finally decided enough was enough and took me to a doctor. They diagnosed me and performed brain surgery on me and placed a VP Shunt in me. Which until 11 years old, worked perfectly well, due to my mom being very careful and reminding me not to hurt myself. (Fun fact: They usually last 2 years max…) Then, the headaches started coming and when we went to my neurologist in the capital, they told my mom I needed another surgery. Blissfully unaware me didn’t really care too much about it though because my mom always made the appointments to see my neurologist fun (about every 3 to 6 months). They performed an Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy which hasn’t caused any issues since then. The doctors don’t know the cause of my Hydrocephalus and suspect it may be due to the grade 4 brain bleed (stroke) that I had suffered right after birth.

3. I come from a large family.

I have three older brothers and two older sisters, one of which whom are adopted, and two younger siblings who are adopted as well. That meant that growing up in my household was usually full of lots of faces given at any point in time. My mother’s side of the family is considerably large as well. It was run by “The Four Queens” who were my grandmother, and her sisters Mary, Alice, and Florence. I also had some uncles as well named Charlie and Budd. By far though, my mom’s side of the family was highly matriarchal. Which is extremely atypical in the average American household. Regardless, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

4. My feet have touched 8 different countries across continents

My parents instilled in me the love of traveling at a very young age. I don’t remember not yearning to travel the world, learn about new cultures, or actively choosing to ease drop on foreigners’ conversations just to hear the different sounds of their native tongue, that of which vastly contrasted from my Anglo-Saxon ears and mouth. I can remember being eight years old walking around in San Francisco on Pier 39 with my family surrounded by a multitude of different languages and thinking how amazing it was that they spoke another language that wasn’t remotely similar to my American English.

A lot of my out of the country trips (excluding Hawaii since it’s still a state but not on the mainland) as a child were mainly to the Caribbean as my parents absolutely adore the heat and the crystalline waters of the Islands that we unluckily have the misfortune to not have access here in Northern California. The rest have been within these past two years when I have gone to Europe alone.

5. Sto imparlando l’italiano (I am learning Italian)

Ho iniziato l’italian la scorso Agosto all’università (Santa Rosa Junior College). I would like to become sufficient in Italian so I could work there and eventually move there. I love the language, food, culture, and people there! I especially love the region of Emilia-Romagna.

6. I have an unhealthy addiction to Coffee and Netflix

Lots of people love coffee and lots of people love Netflix, but if I had to log the amount of time that I have spent on Netflix paired with the amount of coffee drinking on a daily basis, I should be a couch potato with heart palpitations (Ignore the fact that I was born with a heart defect…) I am also a little bit of a coffee snob. My favorite drink is a Macchiato(NOT THE ONE FROM STARBUCKS!!! Unless you get an espresso macchiato)

7. I am an Introvert

That, unfortunately, means that I have a lower threshold for stimulation than extroverts, which is essentially any of these equations:

Me + Walk in Forrest or Netflix or Coffee Shop or book = Normal Person + Clubbing

To further simplify that, it means that any of those would satisfy my need to be happy. It also means that I lose my “social energy” quicker than an extrovert and can get a social hangover. (I currently have one now, to be honest… field trip to SF plus Field Day all in one week is A LOT) Therefore, to recover I’m relaxing in my room, writing this post and later, I’ll probably watch Italian Netflix.  Click here if you wanna know more!

 

Summer Beginnings

Summer is almost here! The tan lines, warmth, and longer nights are definately welcome after all the craziness of work and school. Today I found a new coffee shop that is quite unique, though my version of a cappuccino and their’s differ significantly. What they gave me wasn’t bad at all, it was quite nice but without question was not a cappuccino. My friend Andre told me today that I will have to wait for “un caffé come si deve” which roughly translates into “A coffee as it should be”.

As far as studying Italian, he has been my constant teacher with an unbelievable amount of patience and kindness. Allora, Andre… grazie mille per tutti che fai per me! I should make a post in Italian, because honestly I don’t have the best Italian. I will take the second level in the fall which will be nice and exciting! If you would like that please leave me a comment in the bottom below!

Coco has just joined me in the bed and is pawing at me desperately asking to be pet, she always wants attention at the most inconvenient times. I have to finish up a few more papers for school finals and I will be free for the summer!  

 

 

 

Konmari Method

Recently I have been on a cleaning binge…. me of all people. I am waiting on my desk to arrive from Ikea!!! I would like to start to have a more plant based and minimalist lifestyle. I am hoping that by tomorrow I will be able to have a completely clean room, as in nothing there!! I don’t know why all of a sudden I felt like I needed to get rid of all the stuff in my room, But I have and it is actually quite freeing!!

Also I have been on a health kick and have lost 15 pounds!! Ideally, I’d like to lose another 30 more, but we will see! With the exception of yesterday evening and today I have been eating 1,200 to 1,300 calories a day and walking four miles every Monday through Friday for work. Water has been my best friend so far throughout this journey. Speaking of water… I was quite confused when I went to Starbucks today with my friend Jacky. I got my usual order (a doppio espresso macchiato) and a sparkling water, but the water wasn’t on the receipt. Being me and totally clueless asked why my water wasn’t rung up for and checking three times that water wasn’t on there asked him and he said “No problem!” and proceeded to pretend to ring me up then use his employee numbers to comp the water. So with that nice little surprise and as well as splurging and buying my favorite perfume I had a wonderful day with Jacky! 🙂

Tomorrow we are supposed to work out but we’ll see if she is up for it or not… hmmm I can take a guess at which it will be.

A presto for now! :))

-Theresa

Non so se ho Bisogno di Dormire o una Terapia Endovenosa di Caffè…

Finals are killing me. I have one more week of school, before I am done, and ready for the semester to be over. I’ve been going nonstop with child care, work, and school for the past month, so a reprieve from everyday life will be welcomed with open arms. This weekend I’ll have a lot of things to finish up, some last minute shopping, cleaning my room and the rest of the house for the carpet cleaners, exams to study for, and my favorite thing in the world! Packing! 😀 This post unfortunately is a tad short because I need to go to finish my Italian study guide before hand.

Baci!

New Toys, Boune Idee, E Nouve Avventure

After an uneventful Thanksgiving break, I am more than delighted to be back at work for a few more weeks until I embark on a new short lived adventure for five weeks. As you read this I a typing it on my new found love. It’s the Brydge 9.7 in (26.6 cm) keyboard attachment for my iPad Pro, click here if you would like to buy it. The only thing is that there is a slight learning crurve to this keyboard. First off, it’s missing a trackpad. After not having a laptop for almost a year, is still is a bit of a disadvantage because I want to subcontiously reach for the track pad. Which should be a testiment of the quality of this keyboard. So, as of now I am more than exstatic about my new set up.

Tomorrow I will be heading to the Charles Shultz Museum with my students. Working for the most prestigious public school in my area has been such tremendous leap in my career. Not only is it a top notch school, but every one of the teachers there has been through the trainings and courses that I am going though now. They admire my drive, personality, and attitude. They give me hope that being a teacher was not that bad of an idea. I am thankful for the last school that I taught at though. I learned an uninmaginable wealth of knowledge that I couldn’t have attained through books at college or any book that I could have gotten my hands on.

My italian classes have been going far better than I have ever imagined, though I am quite annoying I guess as my teacher often has a slight eye roll when I raise my hand, selectively ignores me, or calls on my classmate behind me…poveretta. I have made a small group of friends in that class who, we have all become very a very close knit group together. I definately do wish that my school offered an Italian 2 course in the evenings for the next semester. Ideally I would like to move to Italy for work, as it’s so far my favorite place I have ever been to. As well as was my first solo trip.

Speaking of trips, tomorrow my best friend from college who now lives in Santa Rosa with her new boyfriend, will come and visit me. Having your best friend living in another city for the bulk of your friendship really puts a strain on your relationship because you can’t just pop in when one of you is havng a bad day and watch a movie together, have a mutual friend to mope around with, or in general lift your spirits. It’s more of “okay i’ll call you at xyz time, and I’ll come and visit you as soon as possible!” Which usualy happens very rarely. In the last year we saw eachother twice. To have her living in the same city as me is really a blessing in itself because to have your best friend live far away at the very least already stacking the odds against you. None the less, tomorrow should be full of busy but fun events.

Ciao a tutti!