Macaroni, or Pasta?

Ok, ok. So in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’ll let you out on a little secret. I’m Italian. My extended family tree boasts 198 people, 127 of which are blood related, all of which I can name, and have met. And have probably hung out with on more than one occasion. Seriously, this is a fifteen-year old  picture of my family:

family_tree1

I can add about 25 off the top of my head to this picture. So you can imagine.

So you think, because I can sputter 15 or so words of Italian and because I can speak to you in Italian-American made-up words my mother imparted on me, I would know the difference between macaroni and pasta. But I didn’t. So, today, for some unknown reason to me, I wondered, “Wait, what is the difference?” APPARENTLY there is a difference, but don’t tell Jeff because I think we argued this point, once.

Macaroni is defined as: “pasta in the form of narrow tubes.”

Pasta, however, is defined as: “dough formed into various shapes (e.g. spaghetti, lasagne), cooked as part of a dish or in boiling water and served with a savoury sauce.”

So there you go. Rest easy, folks. This girl does the research for you…So just so we’re clear:

MACARONI:

macaroniPASTA:

pasta

Here I am. Watch me climb.

This is a photo of me bouldering. (Which I love to do, in case you didn’t know.) That basically means you climb a rock wall (inside or outside) up to 10 feet high, but you’re not tied into a rope, so if you fall you fall onto a mat (or the ground.)

This is after I spent a long day climbing. But it was still pretty fun. Enjoy.

climbing

And I got to admit, you've got my attention…

Alright, I’m sorry. It’s been a busy week here in Admissions land, and I can’t seem to find a free second to update! I apologize. Here’s something shiny and pretty to look at while I continue to ignore my own life and focus on my job!

solar_eclipse

Did you know there was a solar eclipse? Look here…

25 Random Things.

Someone asked me to make a list of 25 random things about myself on Facebook. I figured I’d post it here, too, in case you were wondering…

1. I’ve been to China. I’ve been to the Olympics. It was wonderful.
2. I love lists more than anything. I make at least 2 lists a day. It keeps me sane.
3. Any band that you heard one hit from in the 90s is my fave. Third Eye Blind, Lifehouse, Gin Blossoms, Train, Sister Hazel, Better Than Ezra, Matchbox Twenty, etc., etc.
4. I’ve had stints of loving yoga, the elliptical machine, lifting, and Pilates. I love Billy Blanks, and I love kick boxing. However, despite all this, I always have a problem working out. But this year, I’ve decided if President Obama can work out every day, so can I.
5. I went to the Galapagos Islands once, and I loved every minute of it. I swam with sea lions, and with penguins. Wild ones.
6. Penguins are my favorite animal. Pandas are my sisters. We love the black and white together.
7. I love The New York Times and reading the news in general.
8. Crosswords are my love. I must start doing them more often.
9. Scrabble is my favorite board game. Sophomore year of college, when I went to Europe, I memorized all the acceptable 2 letter words. AA is one of them.
10. To go along with Lauren’s thinking, all my names have a double. JeNNie LyNN. And my confirmation name is MicheLLe.
11. I love hanging upside down from monkey bars. It’s great, and I’ve been able to do it since I was very small, and I hope to never NOT be able to hang upside down from monkey bars.
12. I love OnDemand, because I can watch programs about Hitler’s secret city under Berlin, and 17 minute NatGeo clips on the magnetic poles of the Earth and how they are reversing.
13. I love riding the train. I love fall colors, the ocean whizzing by, going through Gary, Indiana, and arriving at exciting places such as Chicago and New York City. I love train stations, too. Union Station with its gold benches, and Grand Central with its beautiful ceiling.
14. I bite my nails, which is a problem, but I can’t stand having any. They get in the way of cooking, cleaning, typing, playing piano, pushing buttons on my iPod, turning book pages…
15. I love reading. Love it. Mostly NatGeo, but also historical fiction, and recently the Twilight books, because sometimes you need a teen love story.
16. Speaking of reading: I dog ear. I make notes in the margins. How else am I supposed to remember what I loved? And I love reading other people’s books with notes in them. It is always exciting to know which part of a book someone else loved.
17. I organize my bookshelf by color. A friend had her books like that, and I saw them, and immediately knew that was the best way for me to organize my passion.
18. I love politics and history. I love presidents. I love world leaders; I love war novels, movies, and anything to do with cultures that are unlike my own. And I love to argue.
19. Photography is my creative outlet. I photography everything and nothing, and I love seeing other people’s pictures, and wondering what they were thinking and feeling when they took them.
20. I am an amoeba person, not a pie person.
21. I have crazy dreams a lot. Ask my sister. Or my BFF. Or Jeff. They happen all the time. Who knows why?
22. I like arts and crafts, knitting, sewing, and pretty much anything involving some glue, paper, crayons, and color.
23. I hate when people use “they’re” and “their” and “there” wrong. Same with “your” and “you’re.” C’mon, people. It really is easy to learn. I also detest Internet lingo. For this reason, I always type things out in text messages.
24. My favorite line of a song is, “Your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know you’re wrong.”
25. I am also always late.

All right, all right. It's true: We're going to Forks, WA!

That’s right. My friends B, C, J, K, and I are heading to Forks, Washington, for a vacation, Twilight style. We are going to enjoy ourselves in the place it rains the most to enjoy the vision of a one Edward Cullen–the sexiest vampire since Spike on Buffy–frolicking through the trees with a girl we all wish was us.

It’s a little pathetic, but we need a girl’s weekend, and I think this is the perfect place to go. Here’s the weekend’s recipe:

1 part seeing Kiki, who I miss already!

1 part shrieking over Edward Cullen

1 part staying in a cabin miles from Indian Territory and MAYBE telling scary stories

1 part a 4 hour road trip full of the Twilight soundtrack and the High School Musical soundtrack

1 part plane ride where we giggle continuously at our adventure which is beginning/ending

1 part time to RELAX.

= perfect weekend. 🙂

I am so excited I might pee my pants a little.

edward