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Things have been a little quiet around here lately, yeah?  Word on the street is that I’m finally gainfully employed again! And yes, I’ve been slacking a little lot on blogging. So without further ado, I’m checking an item off my 101 Things in 1,001 Days list!

Being unemployed was a great chance to catch up on some of my life list items and goals. Part of my unemployment strategy’s daily routine (after my daily job search and before my daily gardening and laying in the sun) was to practice my Spanish. While Rosetta Stone is pretty awesome software, I found quite a few free options to use too, including Live Mocha. Practicing my Spanish everyday was a great way to brush up on my high school Spanish, since I’ve only used it briefly in my travels through Panama, Spain and Costa Rica. (photo: taniaedu)

OK, I may have gone a little overboard on the Hemingway. After I finished the first five unread classics (including A Moveable Feast, that got me on the Hemingway bandwagon in the first place), I checked out three more! So yes, to recap… 4 of the 10 were Hemingway, and after For Whom The Bell Tolls, I was thoroughly depressed with war stories.

I really liked The Alchemist. I wouldn’t call it a life changer, but I very much enjoyed the “create your own destiny”, “follow your dreams”, and “live in the present” fable. It’s also full of good quotes! :)

The 2nd five classics:

1. The Old Man and The Sea (Hemingway)
2. A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway)
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls (Hemingway)
4. The Alchemist (Paul Coelho)
5. The Invisible Man by (HG Wells)

The 1st five: Animal Farm (George Orwell), 100 Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez), Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand), A Moveable Feast (Ernest Hemingway), Slapstick or Lonesome No More (Kurt Vonnegut)

What have you been reading lately?

My latest cupcake obsession has been Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting from my dear friend, Martha. They’re super quick and especially awesome if you have over-ripe bananas that you need to use up… way tastier than banana bread.

The first time I made them, I made 24 mini cupcakes — which was good, but 6 massive cupcakes are way more fun. Plus, with only 6 you get to say “mmmm…. I just ate a third of a stick of butter! mmm…” every time you eat a cupcake!

What have you been cooking lately?

This is a guest post by Bing from Life in the Left Lane. We’re swapping guest posts via Twenty-Something Bloggers. So without further ado, here are 10 reasons to love Germany.

1. Great Beer. Germany, specifically Bavaria, is home to some of the best beer I have ever tasted.  It goes down smooth, even if it is served room temperature.  Each type of beer has its own special glass to be served in, and pouring a beer with good head is practically an art.  Plus, I don’t feel like I get the hangovers I get when I drink American beer — maybe it has something to do with the lack of preservatives in it…
2. The mixture of old and new. No matter what city you travel to, large or small, Germany has a beautiful mix of 100-year-old buildings and modern establishments.  I love how you can explore churches that were built in the 1400′s then head next door to a newer restaurant for lunch.  Since America has only been established for a few hundred years, I feel like we don’t have all the rich history and ancient structures like they do in Germany.
3. Amazing bread. There is something about the bread in Germany that is to die for.  Whether you get rolls or baguettes, the outside is golden brown and crispy, and the inside is soft and fluffy.  I have not been able to find anything close to this in the States.  It’s good, but not nearly as tasty as German bread.
4. Döner kebabs. Quite possibly the best late-night, drunk food ever!  Döners are Turkish sandwiches featuring thinly shaved meat (beef, lamb or turkey) that is piled into special bread pocket and topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and a special sauce.  They are amazing!  In my college town they had a kebab restaurant, but it’s not quite the same as the ones you find in Germany.
5. Awesome public transportation. I love how you can get around Germany without a car.  No matter the size of the town or city, there is some form of public transportation for you to take.  I am especially fond of the train system.  I have NEVER taken a train to travel extended distances in America.  I feel like it’s frowned upon to do so.  In Germany, everyone takes trains to travel within the country or throughout Europe, and they are very nice and comfortable.
6. Proximity to other countries. I love how when you live in Germany, you have the opportunity to travel to a variety of other nations for not a lot of money.  There are a number of airlines that offer super cheap flights or you can buy a Euro-rail pass and just explore.  Sometimes it boggles my mind that a flight to LA from Atlanta can cost almost $500 but in Germany you can luck out and get a flight for much less than 100 euros.
7. Interesting deli meat and cheese. My favorite deli meat in Germany is bologna-like and has mushroom slices inside.  It is so good, but unfortunately you can’t find it in the States – so sad.  You can also get this Gouda-like cheese with smoked ham pieces inside of it.  Paired with the mushroom meat and a fresh roll, it’s the best way to start the day.
8. Laid back lifestyle. Most of the people that I met in Germany were much more open-minded and live a laid back life.  The legal drinking age for beer is 16 and for liquor 18, and the laws concerning it are not nearly as strict as they are here.  I have never been carded when in Germany, but I am nearly 27 and still get carded when I buy alcohol in most places in the US.  Drinking alcohol is considered a way of life over there.  In America, specifically the South, people look down on drinking and act like it’s the biggest sin in the world to drink a beer with dinner.
9. Working to live and not living to work. Employees receive 5 weeks or more of vacation each year, and a lot more paid holidays.  People are expected to take lunch hours.  If you want to have a beer with lunch, no one thinks twice about it.  I feel like people are much more able to put their families first as opposed to here where companies expect you to give everything you have for your job, and don’t care if you have time left over to spend with the people you love.
10. Being multilingual. Most people you meet in Germany can speak more than one language, and especially our generation, are fluent English speakers.  Some of them are able to even speak a third language, and people are proud of their skill.  Children begin learning languages at an early age and continue to do so throughout their schooling.  I wish America put more emphasis on children learning foreign languages in school.

So, those are some of my 10 favorite things that make me happy about Germany!  If you’ve been there before, is there anything that makes you smile when you think about Germany?

Germany is definitely on my list still (next time I’m leaving the airport)! Now go check out my potty humor guest post, Toilets of the World!

Yay for orzo! Since I’ve had a seemingly endless supply of cherry tomatoes from my garden, this has been my go-to recipe for a quick (15 minutes!) lunch. I love how fresh this recipe is — and the feta makes it a good mix of tangy and sweet. It’s also really scalable (and for whatever reason, seems to be pasta-hater approved!). Although, seriously? Who hates pasta?!? :(

Cherry Tomato & Feta Orzo with Dill – {for 1!}

Ingredients

• 1 TB olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 2 TB fresh dill (or 1 tsp of dried dill)
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest (orange or lime zest works too!)
• 1 cup of golden and/or regular cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup orzo
• 1/2 cup feta cheese (2-3 ounces)

Directions:

1. Start boiling water for pasta.
2. Mix together oil, salt, pepper, and chopped dill (dried dill works fine too) in a medium bowl.
3. Cut tomatoes in half and add to the oil mixture.
4. Cook orzo in pasta water as directed, usually about 8 minutes.
5. Drain orzo and mix with the tomato and dill.
6. Crumble feta cheese into the orzo and tomato and mix
7. Eat!

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You can also add random ingredients to this one fairly easily, such as: 1/4 English cucumber, chopped; 1/8 red onion, chopped; substituting 1/2 TB oil for balsamic vinegar etc.