Birthday Shout out

Dear Blog readers: Today's birthday shout out is a very special one for me. 13 years ago, this young lady (oh..... she's not a little girl anymore) joined our family and changed us forever. I feel like it was yesterday. I still remember that night my sister went to the hospital. I was hoping that the baby wouldn't come until after midnight so that it would be a Halloween baby. I also remember (very, very clearly) the day she came home.. but most importantly, that night. My sister, my mom and I were all in the living room, taking turns on trying to rock her back to sleep. I will never forget that night. It also prepared me for future motherhood. So, this goes to my pumpkin girl.

HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY MIKAELA!!!

click on collage for a larger view

For the first full year of her life, I was Mom #2. While my sister and her (now ex) husband went to work or out of town for art shows, I stayed home to babysit Mika. Oh.. let me mention I was 18 years old and a freshman at the University of Utah. While other girls my age were going to dances or parties, I stayed home and danced and partied with my little baby. I took her to church, to the store, to the park, & to the mall. I was there for all of her first moments: walking, eating solids, first sour gummy worm and first words.. (kinda). In fact, it was Mika who started calling me Yaya. (because she couldn't say Sonia yet) After the first year, my sister moved to Arizona and I moved to Provo. It wasn't until years later that when we were both back in Texas, I was fully reunited with my Pumpkin girl. Watching her grow up has been so much fun.

I am so proud of her and all of her accomplishments she made at a young age. She definitely has a lot of my characteristics, a lot of her mother's but she is most like her dad. (even down to the hair!- see collage for a picture of him) I can't believe she's 13 and in Jr. High. She plays the Clarinet in band (like her mom and me), she's on the Cross Country team and this year she's trying out for Basketball! (again... just like her Dad!- but it also could have been all those nights we had to watch B-ball because it was the only TV in the house)

Mikaela came in 14th out of 170 at her last meet.

Mika-bella,

I still can't figure out who told said you could grow up so fast! You're already taller than me so stop growing! Stay little forever please! When you were born, I made a promise to you to always take care of you and give you anything you want. Even thought I'm not living close to you anymore doesn't mean that's changed. I will still do what I can to take care of you.. So.... if anyone messes with you... I will fly back just to beat them up for you!!! :)

We hope you come visit us soon and I want you to remember that when you get a little older, I expect you to come stay with us for the summers.

We love you and miss you soo much.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Yaya & Carlo

I received this from the W/W family. I laughed so much that I cried. Of course it stars the Birthday girl and her family.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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Pregnancy: Americans vs. Italians

As I enter the 4th month of my journey, I am becoming more curious about the differences between pregnancies. What sparked my curiosity was reading “What to expect when you’re expecting”. This book is the pregnant woman’s guide to everything she needs to know... and more. As I read, I find myself skipping a lot of the information that doesn’t pertain to my or my pregnancy.

From doctor’s visits to weight gain, everything in Italy is completely different than the U.S. pregnancy. So in preparation for this post, I spoke to the Italian ladies who I teach as well as a teacher at my school (who is an American) to get the Italian version. I also posted some questions to Facebook for my American friends so that I could compare the two. The results were actually quite fascinating.

First let’s start with weight. According to ALL of the books I’ve read so far, as well as the American College of OB/GYN, the average woman should gain about 25-35 pounds (11-16 kilograms). Of course, that will vary if the woman is overweight, obese, or underweight. So, depending on you and your doctor, your target weight could be anywhere from 10-40 pounds (4.5-18 kilograms).

This news is quite shocking to the Italian mind! My doctor and I discussed my target weight at my last appointment. We talked about my pre-baby weight loss and the fact that my body was used to carrying 20 lbs more than what I am. Therefore as long as I don’t go over 20 lbs I was ok but my goal is 15 lbs (almost 7 kilograms).

With the responses I received from the Americans, 70% of my friends were within the 25-35 lbs guidelines ad 30% went over. For their 2nd pregnancy, 60% weighed less than their 1st & 40% gained more and for the 3rd pregnancy 70% weighed less than the 1st & 2nd pregnancies and 30% weighed more than the 2nd but less than the 1st. While processing this information, I couldn’t help but think of the Italian ladies who were shocked at these numbers. They really couldn’t believe that someone would gain 60lbs (27 kilograms) for 1 child. [more than 1 person gave this answer to one of my questions] Both sides, were the same when it came to the 1st trimester. Some only gained a few pounds while other lost weight. When they questioned why someone would gain so much weight for 1 baby, my only response was, “Because they are eating for two.”

In my opinion, most Americans see pregnancy as a way to finally eat anything they desire, where as Italians (maybe most Europeans) see food as energy. My mother-in-law always tells me that I’m “eating for two” when she give me more food after I say “stop, that’s enough”. I keep telling her, “I’m eating for me, the 2nd person is only the size of (insert appropriate size)” Of course, I need my energy so, I will eat what I need to, but I don’t want to overdo it and add more weight than needed. (that’s the Italian way of thinking) My doctor has told me that I really should only gain the baby weight meaning, Baby, placenta & amniotic fluid...... and that’s it!

I spoke to the American girl who teaches English at the school I work at. She is expecting her first child in December. She has only gained 12 kilos (25lbs) and her doctor told her that she has gained too much! Her mother-in-law even told her she was “huge”. I assure you, Jenny is not huge! She’s all belly and that’s it! To me, she looks small. As for the other Italians, they all gained 10 kilograms (22lbs) or less. One lady I talked to gained 16 kilograms (35lbs)... but she was had TWINS!

When it comes to cravings, Americans give in to everything their hearts desire. One of my questions to my friends was “What did you crave and did you give in?” Everyone answered that, “YES!” they gave in all of the time to their cravings. Everything from watermelon, pickles, apples, crackers, salad, Mexican & Italian foods. If they wanted it, they ate it. I asked this same question to the Italians and their response...... “I didn’t crave anything.” As I asked this question again, I got the same answer. I wondered how that was possible and I still haven’t quite figured it out.

I have come to this conclusion, as Americans, we feel obligated to give in because we’re expecting and therefore we have the right to indulge in our desires.(all of these books tell you it’s ok “as long as you don’t overdo it”) Italians feel obligated to continue to their lifestyle of eating regardless of their status. Americans eat a lot of processed foods. Canned, frozen, ready made & fast foods... it’s a staple of the American way, filled with added salt, fat and other ingredients you can’t pronounce. Italians eat fresh foods grown by local farmers, use fresh ingredients while making that homemade tomato sauce for their pasta. So, they are able to eat that gelato for desert if they want. Not to mention, Americans rely on their cars to get them where they need to go. Italians rely on their legs,feet and public transportation. So, they get that added exercise to help balance out the food intake and weight gain.

I’ll say this again, I’m in my 4th month..... and I haven’t gained any weight yet. You might think that I’m still too early in my pregnancy to add that much weight, but let me show & tell you what I’ve been eating... (especially this past weekend).

I’ve been craving American/Tex-Mex foods: Ranch & Blue Cheese dressing, Quesadillas, Eggs & Potatoes, Eggs & Sausage, Biscuits & Sausage Gravy, Cornbread & Chili, Ham sandwiches, and finally.... Cheeseburgers. I can honestly tell you that I’ve eaten all of the above except for the Blue Cheese dressing. In addition, I’ve also had pizza, gelato, focaccia, more gelato and endless cups of Hot Chocolate made with Nutella.

2 weeks ago, we had a cold front, so I made Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

this past Friday, it was still a little chilly, so I made Cornbread & Chili for lunch

Then on Friday night, we had dinner at Mamma Adelasia's. The first course was Minestra

and the second course was Arrosto with mashed potatoes, & roasted bell peppers

(arrosto is turkey breast, egg & creamed spinach rolled up and roasted in the oven)

Saturday, I was treated to breakfast in bed!

Peach juice, water, butter cookies, a croissant filled with Nutella and another filled with Apricot jam

I happily ate the breakfast my husband prepared for me and enjoyed the view from my bed

For lunch, I ate more Cornbread & Chili.

For dinner, we met my new friend (and blog reader) Jill and her boyfriend Florent for pizza

By Sunday, we toned down the food by eating pasta for lunch and gelato for dinner. Then I got hungry again so, I had a slice of Focaccia before going back home.

So, dear blog reader, there you have it! We shall wait and see what the next few weeks will look like and how much weight I will gain by the 5th month.

1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs

Trying to learn the language

Since moving to Italy, I've been trying really hard to learn Italian. I've been studying on my own but after a while, I just get so tired and BORED! For 6 months, we didn't have a TV so, I couldn't watch the news or any programs. I did, however, watch a lot of stuff on YouTube. Now that we finally have a TV, I can watch the news or cartoons... whichever I'm in the mood for. I love being able to watch something that I am familiar with to figure out if I know what they are saying.

For example: Every morning at 8:45am, I know Happy Days is on.

It has helped a bit. I can understand a lot of what is being said but I still have a hard time. One thing that Carlo has teased me about is my "YouTube Make up lesson". You see one day, I was on You Tube and I kept clicking on a lot of different videos. I came across one that I thought was kinda fun. It was a makeup tutorial in Italian. I sat there and watched it and I didn't understand a single word. I watched some of the other videos and didn't understand anything. So, the next day, I sat in front of my computer with a dictionary and kept trying to find these words that I didn't know. Slowly, I started to understand a few words and started spending money... on Makeup! I love to wear makeup but was never really sure of how to wear certain things.

And now... thanks to Clio, not only am I learning Italian but also learning fun makeup tricks. In fact, the lady who runs the bakery downstairs usually compliments my look.

These are the 2 looks I use most often:

With the bicolor- I like to use Purple/Blue, Pink/Purple & Green/Turquoise

For the hot summer- I don't use the gold glitter. The shades I use are a little darker so, for summer I used a turquoise eyeliner, and for fall, I use a dark yellow in the corer of the eye and a soft black eyeliner. (which by the way... Carlo actually likes this look because it's "more natural")

*Clio is an Italian who attended Make-up Designory in NYC and now works as a Make-up Artist. She wrote a book,has a huge following on YouTube (with over 25,000 subscribers) & has been a guest on an Italian show regarding beauty and Make-up. (all this.. I learned by watching her videos)

Birthday Shout out

I can't believe it's already OCTOBER!! It seems like this year is just flying by so quickly. This month, we have 2 birthdays.. coming from the same family!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!

Chris is my sister's husband. He became an "official" part of the family in the period I call "the 6 months of madness".** Looking at the pictures, you can tell Chris is a fun guy!

The Whiterock/Watkins Clan

Chris,

Happy Birthday! It's too bad we can't be there to celebrate with you. We hope that you will be able to come back to Italy and visit!

xoxoxoxo

Yaya & Carlo

**The 6 months of madness was from December 2006 to May 2007. In this time- Julie & Chris got married in December, Pepe & Lizzy got married in March, & me & Carlo got married in May. It was a very busy time for our family!

****Photo Disclaimer****

I usually like having a picture where the "birthday person" is actually looking at a camera. However when I asked for pictures for the Shout out... this is what I got.

Polpette!- with pictures of course!

The more I learn about Italian cooking, the more I wonder how these people stay so slim! I'm not talking about stuff you eat at Olive Garden or Spaghetti Warehouse. That's Italian-American food. I'm talking about the real deal.

As an American, I always thought Italian food was loaded with creamy sauces, loaded with garlic, and lots and lot of parmesan cheese. I was surprised to learn... that none of the above are true! One of my fondest memories of Texas is going out to eat with Carlo. We went to an Italian restaurant in Arlington and when we ordered our food, the waitress asked Carlo if he wanted Chicken on his pasta. The look on his face was AWESOME... when he turned to her and said... "I'm from Italy, we don't eat Chicken with pasta." I wanted to laugh but I didn't want to the waitress to feel bad. When she came back with our drinks she asked, "Are you really from Italy?"

Since moving here, I've learned what is and isn't appropriate and what is just considered 'schifo' (disgusting).

So now.... I give you.... POLPETTE! (Meatballs) Yes, I've made meatballs before but I always burn mine and they never come out very good, but now

we have

the real deal!

Let me say this first....THESE ARE NOT TO BE EATEN WITH YOUR SPAGHETTI!!!

You say: "What?" I say: "Yes.... that's correct". Spaghetti and meatballs are not eaten together. They are 2 separate dishes! You forget... Italians eat in Courses.

First Course: Pasta/Risotto/Minestra (soup)

Second Course: Meat-Beef/Chicken/Fish

---Side Dishes: Veggies/Potatoes/ etc.....

Fruit: whatever is in season

Dessert: gelato or crostata in our house!

We'll discuss the dietary issues of Italian later (because it's a good topic), but for now, let's get back to the POLPETTE!!

Here's a list of ingredients:

Polpette:

1- big crusty roll

1/2 kilo (1 pound) of ground beef (the more expensive, the better)

2 eggs

3-pinches of fresh chopped parsley

1- big pinch of salt

flour

grated parmesan cheese (not the gross kind you find in the aisles- i'm talking about the ones you find in the specialty cheese sections)

for sauce (if you like)

olive oil

1/4 onion

350 g (about 24oz) Tomato Sauce

You need 1 big crusty roll. (at least 2 days old)

soak it in some water so it gets nice and wet



Once it's completely soaked, squeeze all of that water out until it's one pile of mushy bread.

Next, add your hamburger meat



then, eggs, parsley, salt, & flour



then add grated parmesan cheese- amount.... as much as you want! (maybe about 1/3 cup)



Mix all ingredients together (with clean hands of course) making sure the bread is well incorporated and there are no big chunks of bread left.



On a plate- (or paper bag like i did) spread flour. Roll each meatball to size and then roll in flour, then lightly patting each one.
(you don't want to coat the meatball in too much flour but just lightly)



For the sauce: saute onions in oil on a low flame. (just enough oil to cover bottom of pot)



Add tomato sauce into pot and big to slow boil and stirring constantly. Once it is at a slow boil, transfer to a big pot or large skillet and put back on low flame and cover with lid.



In a separate skillet, heat olive oil on low flame. (not too much to completely cover the meatballs but a little more than just the bottom of the skillet) Once you oil is hot, add polpette.



Constantly turn the polpette so they are cooking evenly and not getting burned. Once they are starting to turn golden brown (on all sides), transfer the meatballs into the skillet with the sauce and cover with lid.



Continue until all of the meatballs are cooked in the skillet with sauce. **If you can't fit all of the meatballs in the skillet with the sauce, then continue to fry until done. DO NOT over crowd the skillet so that you can stir the meatballs and sauce to prevent burning** Let meatballs simmer on low flame for about 20-30 minutes.

Carlo and I ate our with french fries because... well, it's good! So, I peeled and washed about 4 potatoes and sliced them.

Using the same skillet (after washing it) I added my Olive oil and set the flame to medium-medium low. Then proceeded to fry!



Each time I put a new batch in the bowl, I made sure to salt them immediately.



Here's Carlo's plate. As we waited for the french fries, we ate most of the fried meatballs that did not fit in the skillet but left some so that I could take a picture!



So there you go! I loved it when my mother-in-law made them and now.... I can make them whenever I want!! (thanks to Carlo of course, for asking his mom to show me how to make them)


Buon Appetito!

Journal writing

I've never been any good at keeping a journal. I would write for a few days, forget to write for about a month.. maybe two and then try to start up again. I would always do it on New Years Day and try to make a resolution to keep a journal.. but, IT NEVER WORKS.

That is... until I found Moleskine! Well, here's how it actually played out. Carlo's cousin Elisa uses a Moleskine agenda to keep track of stuff. I have also not been very good with planners or agendas but for some reason, I really liked her Moleskine agenda because it looked so neat and organized.

A few days before we left back for Texas, Elisa gave me a Moleskine agenda of my own as a gift. I have loved it from day one and have not used any thing else. While using this, I also realized what a great journal it made.

Not necessarily to write down my day or goals... because again... I'm not good at that, but just for the everyday things.

Not only did I write down all of the plans we had during our trip, but I started keeping souvenirs to add into my book. So, for the picture above, there's a train ticket to Aosta, a napkin from Fiorio, business cards from La Reginella Pizzeria and the chocolate shop in Aosta that makes awesome hot chocolate and also a pass-a-long card from the Sister Missionaries in Torino 1st ward.... oh yeah.. and a bracelet that Carlo bought for me in Milan from those guys who sell them at Piazza del Duomo.

Not to mention, the famous Crostata recipe I got from Carlo's mom. I stapled it to the pages from the day I learned it. Now, when I make it, I just turn to that page and I have it handy and not to mention when I travel, I can pass it along to anyone else who wants it!

Remember when Carlo and I went to Hawaii?! Well, all of that is also documented in my Moleskine with ticket stubs, post cards and flight information.

One of my favorite things to remember is when we first got to Italy. Everyday was a new adventure and I tried to document and blog without Internet as I went. I remember the day finally arrived when we did get Internet installed at home! You'll notice from the picture above that it was on the 28th of January and on the 29th I was going to "blog all day"...which I did!!! The 28th was also the day "Fred Mertz" came to check out our heater, which I also blogged about, as well as my first time going to a Turkish Bath with Elisa.

I loved that May was super busy for us! Having my brother and his wife visit us was great as well as our trips to Florence and Portofino. Anytime we go somewhere, I just make sure I keep something to put in my book.

It's been so fun to look back at my agenda and see all of the fun stuff I did and how busy I was. Especially from my trip to Texas. This Moleskine is my lifesaver. It has everything somewhat important to me. My list of things to do, places I've been, work schedules, travel plans, phone numbers etc...

With my agenda and this blog, I've learned a whole new way to keep a journal. It doesn't mean you must write down everything single detail in a book but something simple as what you did on June 26, 2009.. which was my mom's Colonoscopy with Dr. Franko at PDC, then shopping at NorthPark, and a stop at Bank of America. (I also included things like where we ate too!)

Now that I am expecting, I hope to be better at Journal writing and adding things like how I feel on each day or what I look like in the mirror. So far, I've written about my positive pregnancy test (which was Thursday, August 27) and appointments but hopefully I'll remember to add more emotional entries in my Moleskine.

Oh.. and speaking of pregnancy stuff....

thanks to the not-so-tech-savy people at Ospedale Martini, here's a fuzzy picture of our little meatball. It's not the best quality, but at least it's something.

Art in Milan

Yesterday, Carlo and I went to Milan for an Art Exhibition at the Palazzo Reale. We took the train from Porta Susa and less than 2 hours later we arrived in Milano Centrale. This was my 3rd trip to Milano and I managed to navigate us correctly through the Metro and into Piazza del Duomo.

The Palazzo Reale is located next to the Duomo and I've gotta say... Torino's Palazzo Reale is much more beautiful! (that's my personal opinion)

Since we couldn't take pictures, I bought some postcards of the painting I liked the most.

As usual, I packed a lunch for us and we ate at Piazza della Scala and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Carlo was able to meet with some friends of his while we rested and people watched. After enjoying our gelato from Grom, we spent some more time at Piazza del Duomo resting before getting back on the train.

I must also mention that I got us back to Milano Centrale with no problems at all! It was super duper easy!

Fall Cleaning

Now that fall has officially arrived (in terms of weather), I thought it was necessary to store all of my Spring/Summer close and bring out the Fall/Winter collection.

There's only one problem..... NOTHING fits me anymore! Well, I shouldn't say nothing, I have some sweaters I can wear.

I was really looking forward to bring out my Fall clothes so that I could have something new to wear. I am starting to get tired of wearing the same old things. So, as I opened the suitcase, I saw some familiar stuff (like my University of Utah sweater that is 13 years old but I refuse to part with it), some new stuff (4 pairs of jeans that I completely forgot about), and stuff I don't want anymore (a shirt that makes noise when I move... and it's not breathable material).

As I took out my clothes, I realized I should probably smell them first. Just as I thought.. they have to be washed all over again. I always wash my clothes before storing them and I always store them INSIDE the house (in a suitcase) and inside a closet or under my bed. But this time, they went in the basement and now.. they smell like my basement. So, one by one, each item went into 4 piles of clothes.

1- wash

2- store for Spring/Summer

3- throw away

4- donate

So, pile 1 is ready to wash. Pile 2 went back in the suitcases until Spring/Summer. (In pile 2 were also the 4 pairs of jeans that I WOULD have been able to wear if it weren't for the tiny meatball in my belly). Pile 3 were the 3 pairs of jeans that I have completely worn out in 1 years time. (seriously... there are holes in my jeans) and Pile 4 ended up being 2 Target bags full of clothes that some Italian will probably not wear because it's not Prada, D&G or Versace.

So now, here's what my side of the wardrobe looks like (keep in mind I haven't washed anything yet)

(not our actual IKEA wardrobe)

and here's Carlo's "year-round nothing changes for him" side of the wardrobe

(again, not our actual IKEA wardrobe)

Soon, those empty spaces will be filled with sweaters and prego clothes until next Spring, then I'll go through this all over again!