Breakfast of Champions

And, procrastinators, I'd add.

The above picture shows the amazing breakfast Nathan treated us to the morning Jeanne flew out, back to the East Coast. Making Saturday breakfast just happens to be a new tradition in the Nathan and Masha household. Lucky us! Homemade apple-oatmeal muffins, cheese omelet, Canadian bacon, and hash browns - what more could you ask for.

I actually just finished my own breakfast today. I made my famous pancakes, but this time made sour milk with some Italian lemon juice. The pancakes came out very puffy as well as had a noticeable lemon undertone. I am/was happy!

If I could only get the motivation to start cleaning my place, get to the grocery store, and to exercise....

Slow but steady, the turtle beat the hare. Now for one step forward towards the closet with the vacuum...

May showers bring June visitors and sunshine galore

Nathan, Masha, Jeanne and I take a breather near the Bedrich Smetana statute, looking out over the Vltava river.

A particular highlight of their visit: playing the card game "Up the River" at Riegrovy Sady beer garden one Friday night. I must give credit where credit is due. Nathan won to my competitive dismay, rubbing my nose in the ground (not literally, of course). Fun was certainly had by all - even me!

What else? I was successful in turning Nathan, Masha (perhaps?) and Jeanne (I think?) on to soccer during the 2008 Euro Cup. After agreeing to a friendly brotherly-sisterly wager, I was swept up in the barrage of games. Nearly every night a game. It was crazy. Finish work, head home or to the beer garden, watch soccer, go to bed, get up and do it all over again - what a routine! I actually had a minor withdrawal after the Spaniards beat the Germans in the final.

The tournament was pretty outstanding from this lay woman's perspective! As for me, I was pulling for Michael Ballach, Lukas Podolski, and Schweinsteigger - the Kanzlerin's team. German TV carried more than one glimpse of Germany's Angela Merkel up in the stands. But sadly, Germany in the end just did not have what it took to overcome Spain. They were just too darn much. It was still quite the ride for this adopted Germany fan! Yes, I'm a convert.

Oh, and yes, I ended up losing to my brother Mark. A little lesson I learned: when you have a bet - even a friendly one - you get so caught up in wanting your chosen team to win that it sucks some of the simple joy and pleasure out of watching a good game. Hmmm...

Proof of Life

Yes, I am alive. And, I'm still writing... after a long respite. What can I tell you? This past month I had three visitors (Jeanne, Nathan & Masha) and am expecting two VIP guests in less than two weeks (mom and dad). I also just got back from a long weekend in Trieste, Italy, on the northern Adriatic coast. In addition to beer gardens, I have to say I love the cheap airlines flying all over Europe. SkyEurope carried me to Trieste in one hour for $125 roundtrip. You can't beat that.

Trieste is an Italian port town with a strong Austro-Hungarian flare. It was the perfect getaway - Italian seafood, sunshine and Adriatic, Roman ruins, and Maximilian's (Hapsburg) castle, Miramare, with amazing views of the sea. And, I went grocery shopping!! I returned to Prague with parmagianna and adiago cheeses, pumpkin and spinach gnocchi, wrinkled olives, and thick hot chocolate packages. Despite the fact not an ounce of Italian blood flows through my veins, I do share the Italians' passion for food. I can hardly wait to break out the pumpkin gnocchi!!! Don't you wish you were here?