Year Recap

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I wouldn't.  2011 was a big year for me.  

Lets recap:

*I started working full time (for the first time!) in HR in Barcelona and I met lots of fun and interesting people from all around the world.

*Boyfriend left Spain in the spring and I lived with a few fun and interesting individuals..  My roommate Pokerface, for example, was a professional online poker player that would eat and sleep at all hours of the day.  The smell of marijuana and garlic wafting into my bedroom from the balcony at 4 AM was not fun, but it was quite the experience, nonetheless. 

Cagliari, Sardinia

*In the summer I quit my job early to spend some time traveling before leaving Europe.  I visited Sardinia, London, Bilbao, and San Sebastian.  I also took myself out to lots of memorable Spanish lunches while the rest of the world was out working.

Sylvia & I - my last night

*I left Spain in early August and it was hard.  I remember crying with Sylvia outside my taxi the morning I left and wondering if I was doing the right thing.  Cold feet at its finest. 

First night in Santo Domingo

*I moved to the Dominican Republic to be with boyfriend.  I improved my Spanish and changed my accent :D  

NYE 2010

In the DR our lifestyle is completely different - its been a difficult adjustment for me to say the least; the DR does not compare to Spain in any way, but although I often wonder "What if?" things had gone differently, I'm a firm believer in things happening for a reason.  I know that I'm exactly where I should be right now.

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Last year, boyfriend and I rang in the new year at a teeny tiny Italian restaurant in Barcelona that we loved so much, we went back for Valentine's Day. This year, we'll be celebrating the new year at a resort in Puerto Plata (the northern part of the island).  

I'm excited to start 2012; I just know that more big changes are coming my way.  

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Recipe of the Week: Avocado Pasta

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We almost always have avocados in the house and today we used our one and only extra ripe one in a non-traditional way.  I have seen this recipe all over Pinterest and its simplicity caught my eye.  It requires very few ingredients and very little cooking intelligence - my perfect match.

Ingredients for 2: 

1 extra ripe avocado

1/2 lemon squeezed + lemon zest

1 1/2 garlic cloves

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup fresh basil [important!]

2 tbsp EVOO 

2 servings of pasta

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1) Cook pasta.  Drain.

2) In a food processor or using your own old-fashioned hands, mix and mash all the other ingredients together (minus the lemon zest and black pepper) until its smooth and like a puree. 

3) Pour sauce over pasta and garnish with lemon zest and a touch of black pepper.  Voila!  Done in 15 minutes.  We added grated parmesan cheese.  Next time I'd love to add cherry tomatoes to the mix.

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Christmas at the Beach

This year was my first Christmas where the big party happened on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas day.  After working 10 hours on Saturday [exhausting], we headed to A's family's house for the big dinner and didn't leave until 2:30 in the morning!  Very unusual for me considering my normal Christmas celebration is over by 4:30 pm.  

That being said, Christmas day was used for sleeping in late and going out for a seafood sunset dinner on the beach in Boca Chica.  The weather was perfect for our 3 hour dinner (we didn't melt) and we {over}ate ceviche, lobster bisque, octopus, shrimp, lobster, mahi mahi, conch..  And had a rich slice of cheesecake to top it all off.  

Pictures from last night:

Now that Christmas is over, I'm so looking forward to New Years Eve.  

Bring on the weekend!

Act of Kindness

Yesterday morning a man had a seizure right in our parking lot.  It was 7:30 in the morning, he was alone, and he was face down and rolling his face back and forth, back and forth against the cement.  I don't know anything about epilepsy, but I was told that there was nothing we could do, just wait until it passed.  I was so worried that he was going to lose all his teeth, the way he was basically grinding his mouth into the ground, back and forth, back and forth, but we were told that it was better if he was face down and if we didn't move him, because he could choke on his own tongue.

After about 8 minutes he finally stopped siezing.  By that time people from the neighborhood had come over to see what was going on, and some mentioned that they had seen him do this before close by.  He simply wasn't taking his medicine, most likely because he cant afford it (its expensive and it was obvious that he wasn't a man with a lot of money).  When it finally passed, he looked scared and embarrassed as there was a group of people hovering around him talking about him as if he couldn't hear.

It saddens me so much that there is such a great divide between the rich and the poor here, and that this must happen to him all the time, simply because he can't afford his treatment.  Boyfriend would be shaking his head at me right now, saying that this happens all around the world, and not just here, but if you're not born into the right social class here, its very, very difficult to get ahead.  The man had tools with him that would hint that he works outside or in a garden, but I'm sure he's paid near to nothing.

After a few minutes, a woman from next store came outside and said to him, "Whats your name?  When you're ready to go I'm going to take you to the pharmacy and I'm going to buy you whatever medicine you need."  She waited for him and then held his hand and walked him all the way to the pharmacy.  It was the nicest act of kindness I've seen in a long time.

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A Merry Christmas Quiz

Christmas is in 5 days and I still haven't bought anything for my 76-year-old-whom-I've-never-met-Secret-Santa.  Eeeek.  Christmas quizzes have been all over the place so I thought I might as well take part!

{My grandma's pirate nutcracker}

Egg nog or hot chocolate?  Hot chocolate with extra whip cream.  Add hazelnut or peppermint and its even better!  I have never tried egg nog, it scares me. 

Does Santa wrap presents or sit them under the tree?  Both. 

Colored lights on tree/house or all white?  Colorful and obnoxious.

Do you hang mistletoe?  I have never actually seen mistletoe in real life, but have always wanted to hang it!

Favorite holiday dessert?  Pumpkin pie and my Aunt Costi's fruitcake.

Ho, Ho, Ho

Favorite holiday memory as a child?  Opening up my stocking on Christmas morning and finding all my favorite candy (or accessories as I got older) stuffed inside.  It was the only thing my brother and I could open before waiting for our parents to come downstairs.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?  Growing up we always opened one gift on Christmas Eve and the rest in our pajamas on Christmas morning.

Snow!  Love it or dread it?  Only love it for Christmas morning.  Loathe it the other 364 days of the year. 

What tops your tree?  Currently, nothing.  Usually, a big star.

Favorite holiday song?  All I Want for Christmas is You and Baby, its Cold Outside. 

Favorite holiday movie?  The Holiday and The Santa Clause.

Drew, Yaya, and I - age 5

Merry Christmas!