Happy New Year ~ Καλή Xρονιά

Happy New Year, Καλή χρονιά...

This holiday season has been extremely busy for me and I have so many photos I've taken of the things that the kids have enjoyed, I think I'll just start with yesterday...New Year's Eve. Our children don't wait for Santa Claus to arrive on Christmas eve, instead they anticipate the arrival of Agios Vassilis on New Year's eve. What's really great about where we live is that each year, a small town nearby, the town of  Nea Michaniona, holds an extra special  event for the local children. Agios Vassilis arrives on a boat bearing gifts for all of the children eagerly waiting. We've only attended this event once so far, in 2009, since last year we didn't know what time it started and arrived an hour late. This year, a friend of mine that lives there provided me with the correct time that Agios Vassilis was expected and we were early- which meant that we had plenty of time to indulge in the cotton candy that was being sold. 

Alexandra waits for her cotton candy, with her money in hand. Funny thing is that she walked off with the cotton candy without paying in the end. I didn't notice as I was working with Foti and his cotton candy, I think it's amazing how fast kids manage to get sticky. The vendor kindly pointed out that she owed him money, so I made sure that she paid him. 

The kids are always amazed when they watch the cotton candy being made. 

Foti takes his cotton candy seriously. 

They were so thrilled. Did you  notice that Alexandra's cotton candy is almost bigger than she is? 

(...and that this post is almost turning into one about cotton candy?) 

Just as they finished their fun with the cotton candy and washed their hands, Agios Vassilis could be seen off in the distance, waving red flares.  Definitely exciting. 

Young scouts row the boat the brings Agios Vassilis to the shore. 

The children are so excited to see him. 

A glimpse of Agios Vassilis handing out gifts. 

After our visit, we went home to bake White Chip Chocolate Cookies so that we had something  leave out for Agios Vassilis. Iza helped me bake this batch and was very proud to pose for a photo, since she  measured  the ingredients and rolled most of the dough into balls before they went in the oven.

So Agios Vassilis has come and gone, my children are quietly enjoying their new gifts while I sip on my coffee and put together this post.  I don't make resolutions, so I don't have one. What I do have is hope that 2011 will be a great one, a year to remember.

I wish all of you a Happy New Year!
Καλή Xρονιά!

Ten things that make me happy...

 My friend, Christie,  at My Comfy Escape has tagged me to list my Ten things that make me happy. She tagged me well over a month ago, but it seems that everything I do is late these days. Well, let's just say later than my usual late self, I'm always late. I was born almost a month later than my mother's  given due date so I have a great excuse. And then I married a Greek... so any chance of me being on time anywhere was lost. Although, I have to brag about arriving almost 1/2 hour early to a baptism recently. We didn't know what to do with ourselves, we walked at a casual pace and stood around waiting for the baptism to begin, definitely out of our element.

So, let's get to this list. I have just recently listed 10 things that make me happy for an award that I received -  so I'll add photos to this post to make it a bit different.

~~~

1. My friends & family ~~ VITAL to my being and appreciated more than I can express in mere words...the unconditional love and support that I receive daily makes me thrive. The emails... phone messages & texts and blog comments --I'm always eager to see who has checked in.  I'm surrounded by so much love & support, I can only say "Thank YOU"...all of you!! You're always on the top of my list!

One of my favorite photos of Christie & I. Yes, it was really funny...

2. Chocolate.  I think this one is self explanatory if there are chocoholics like myself reading this.

My chocolaty-chocolate birthday cake.

3. Photography. I've been inspired by so many photographers past & present. Some of my favorites include Gordon Parks .

and Ansel Adams.

                                                

4. Music. I love almost all genres of music. Music is life, I can't imagine a day without music.

Music is what feelings sound like. ~Author unknown

5. Coffee. What kind of coffee do I like? Most of it. Although I'd give anything for a Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha (grande) I'm very happy with my own cappuccino. My cappuccino maker was away for about a month and I was lost without it. And, I love frappé. I have at least one frappé per day ...shaken not 

blended. Oh and Γλυκό με γάλα παρακαλώ ...(Sweet with milk please...)

(Alexandra sneaks a sip of my cappuccino, the kids already love coffee too...shhhh!) 

6. Art. Having said that I'll introduce you to a budding artist, my Izabella. Not a day passes that she doesn't create.

7. Food/Cooking. I love exploring new cuisine and trying new recipes. I also enjoy letting my kids help me in the kitchen. I find that letting them help prepare a meal ensures that they'll eat what we're making, most of the time. 

                   

Yes...I made everything in these photos...

8. The spa.  Recently spoiled by a whole afternoon at  the spa courtesy of one of my bests friends (wink, wink)-that would be the one who tagged me for this list. 

 

9. Flowers/gardening- I find gardening therapeutic although I'm overwhelmed by the amount of work that it takes to maintain our garden these days. 

 A rose & my garden a month ago...doesn't look so well kept now...

10. Our pets. (well, most of the time...) 

Tarzan & Alexandra

Myself & Gigi

"Torlitza" & Iza

Tarzan again...with Lobo

Thank you for tagging me Christie! 

I miss you!  :)

Just Another Dog Day for Gigi

Anyone that doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog. ~ Franklin P. Jones

Gigi had a bath yesterday and yes, I tasted soap! Afterward, I took photos because I think that she's absolutely adorable when she's wet, although she treats me as if I've somehow betrayed her or hurt her feelings. She doesn't enjoy baths at all!  I thought that this particular photo was funny.

Have a nice week!

Καλή εβδομάδα!

Related Links:

Dog Days for Gigi

Gigi's Christmas

Gigi Sniffs Out a Hummingbird Hawk- moth

Gigi's Reveal

May Day Bundt

This year we held a May Day BBQ at our house. There were many guests that were invited by a friend of ours, in fact, we'd never met the extra guests. As it is customary to gift the host/hostess with a dessert- we received a few that day. One of desserts, in particular, made me laugh. A woman that has never been to my home presented me with a covered silver platter and said, "This is for you, thank you for opening your home". Naturally, I thanked her and lifted the cover as my friend C stood by my side. To my surprise, there was a beautiful, yellow bundt cake sprinkled with powdered sugar under the lid...and it was already missing a big slice. I casually brought it into the house while our first time guest found a cozy chair near the spit where the lamb was roasting. I told C to close the door and we just giggled and giggled-and took a picture. I have proof, Greeks do know what a bundt cake is, they make them all of the time...and some of them are so delicious that they have to eat a slice before they bring it to the party!





Now here's a clip from one of my favorite scenes from the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I couldn't help but think of this scene as we were giggling.






Have a great week everyone!

Fifteen minutes of fame?

Do you remember a post back in October that discussed my husband and his double? My friend Phivos Nicholaides worked hard at putting together a great post about my husband, his resemblance to Costa Caramanlis and some of his/our experiences as a result of his likeness. We all had a fun reading it and most of you agreed that my husband's resemblance to Mr. Caramanlis was "uncanny".  It seems that someone from the TV station ANT 1 read Phivos' post and was interested in my husband's likeness to the prime minister as well.  Kosta will be on the morning show 6 με 10 Μαζί  tomorrow morning...around 7:30am! 

If you are in Greece and happen to be up that early check it out! I know that ANT 1 is available by satellite outside of Greece also, so if you have it and watch the show, enjoy! 

Related Links:

My Husband and his "double"

Costa Caramanlis double! 

A special THANK YOU to Phivos! Thank you for all of your hard work and most of all, for your friendship! 

New Year's Eve...

Adjusting to the holiday schedule in Greece was  a little easier this year. First of all, we weren't sick during the holidays this year...last year was miserable and it took a lot of effort to try to make things enjoyable. Next, our children have been in school for their second year and have assimilated to the local customs. One of the customs here is that Santa -aka -Agios Vasilis doesn't visit children until New Year's Eve. That's ok though since our children receive gifts from family and friends on Christmas and then Agios Vasilis comes brings more gifts on New Year's Eve.

Things became really exciting this year because we were invited to an event that took place at a local port. Agios Vasilis was due to arrive late in the afternoon! Izabella grabbed her list hoping that she would get to go over it with Mr. Vasilis...here's a picture of our little munchkins waiting for his arrival. We were told that he would arrive by boat which we thought was really cool. 

Izabella anxiously looks around and under a bridge to see if he's on his way...

She spots a small boat in the distance. Flares and noisemakers were used to signal his arrival.

Foti waves at Agios Vasilis.

Agios Vasilis and his crew.

He gave everyone a few gifts, kids were shoving and pushing to move up front so we  kept ours to the back so that they wouldn't be trampled. Serious crowd control issues...

We waited for the crowd to disperse so that our children had a chance to talk to him. Izabella was very suspicious. Shortly after I took this photo she tugged on my coat, wanting to tell me something. Here's what happened...

Iza- "Mom, mom...I have to tell you something."  She looked very concerned.

Me-" What honey? What's going on?" 

Iza-"It's about Santa...I think that he's fooled us!"

Me-"Why? What makes you think that?"

Iza-" Look at him! That doesn't look like Santa! I know what's happening!"

Me-"What's happening Iza? Tell me what you think is happening."

Now she looks at me very seriously and says, " It's not him. It's two elves, one standing on the other...I was held by two elves!"

I giggled and said, "maybe you're right, it doesn't look like him does it?" 

Honestly, I wanted to laugh so hard, but I had to contain myself. I couldn't wait for the opportunity to tell Kosta. Isn't that hilarious?  Anyway, back to the pictures. 

Me 

Kosta & Alexandra

Me & the kids again...they were watching other children play while we forced them to have their picture taken.

We had a wonderful time!

Sunday Celebration

These guys can make anyone smile...except for Alexandra! She was terrified of the clown on the stilts. Can't blame her, really.

Alexandra's Birthday

Well, our baby is now 2 years old and I can't believe it. Her birthday and name day landed on a Saturday this year so we had a party that evening. The weather wasn't bad. It was still hot but there was a very comfortable wind. It was definitely a wind, not a breeze. But anyway I had expected around thirty people to show up and only four did. A few weddings, an illness, a very pregnant woman and a couple on vacation were all very legitimate reasons for missing Alexandra's celebration. We had a great time nevertheless.

We had a great variety of foods. Here's the a picture of the table. I took it after we started to eat so things got a little messy.
I used my last can of gandules that I brought with me from home for this very special day. No celebration in my family would be complete without arroz con gandules-or as we refer to it as "the rice". It's missing a few key ingredients that I don't have available right now but it was still acceptable. I'm missing fresh cilantro and alcaparrado. Here's the pot of rice...

I need my husband to buy me new a caldero...the best Puerto Rican rice is always cooked in a caldero. I remember the calderos that belonged to all of my female relatives were always on the stove top...never taken from their position for family gatherings. The rice is in the kitchen...you know where to get it. Always. To this day, I can visit an aunt of mine and she doesn't serve us, she just says "there are plates on the counter and you know where the food is". I really miss that and I really miss my mom's rice-the rice of all rice. I never mentioned it, but last year my mom sent some of her rice home with Kosta and we were able to enjoy it here. She made it the night before he left and filled a gallon sized Ziploc bag...(double bagged) and we ate rice for two days. (Kosta traveled in the winter so heat wasn't an issue-the rice was safe)The kids were so excited and so was I.

Back to the party-

I also made guacamole...

This was the hit of the night! Everyone had their fair share and if I would have made more it would have been devoured. Even MIL loved it. We've turned her on to Mexican food so she's had this before and really enjoys it. This recipe was inspired by our trip to Puerto Vallarta when I was just 6 weeks pregnant with Izabella. The waiter at a local restaurant made the guacamole fresh at the table so I watched carefully as he assembled our order. Here's the recipe for Saturday's guacamole. (I change the recipe all of the time).

Saturday's guacamole

4 large ripe avocados

1 small onion-diced

1 small tomato-diced

1 lime

1 tsp dried cilantro

Salt to taste

Mash the avocados in a bowl using a fork. After you have a smooth/lumpy consistency add the onions and tomato. Mix to combine the ingredients. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice of the lime into the mixture. Add the salt. Add the cilantro. Mix and let stand for at least ten minutes.

That's it-it's that simple. But again, a handful of fresh cilantro(chopped) is preferred so if you have it use that instead of dried cilantro. It makes a world of difference.

After we ate there was an evening walk in our "woods". With nothing more than a flashlight and the light of my video camera we took a dark, almost scary walk through our olive trees. The kids loved it! I had fun too, I just didn't like pulling all of the burs from my skirt afterward. So, after our walk we cut the cake. As I was scooping ice cream onto a plate with the cake my koubara's daughter asked, " we get ice cream with our cake?" I said, " of course you do, it wouldn't be a birthday without ice cream & cake served on a plate together". In Greece, typically, ice cream is only eaten in the summer(which it technically is) and on its own. So, little Irene was thrilled to have both ice cream and cake on her plate. Her brother, Nick, was so thrilled he ate 2 servings of ice cream. Everyone had so much fun.