Day by Day

trying to find my way

Kaitlin — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:12:56 +0000

I am trying to find a way to establish myself in this gargantuan virtual world that we seem to live and search by every day. When I started blogging two years ago, it was primarily for my own purposes and so that I didn’t have to mass e-mail everyone in my family… which was nice in Europe. But – now I’m trying to find a place here and still can’t figure out what I want to say with my words or what I feel like I should be writing about. How do you know?

Unfortunately I spent the bulk of my day after work this morning eating lunch with my boyfriend and then napping… blast getting up at 4:30 am after only four hours of sleep! Note to self – do not drive home late after a whole day in the sun and a stressful family dinner when you have to work in the morning!

However – we did have some fantastic roles for lunch with a terrific filet mignon that I found in the store… had to cook it and my boyfriend is working during the dinner hour, so it made a nice lunch for us. I found this recipe in the latest issue of Taste of Home magazine. The roles are as follows:

Parmesan Knots

1 tube refridgerated buttermilk biscuits

1/4 c canola oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp parsley flakes

3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Cut the biscuits into thirds. Roll each one into a 3 in. rope and tie into a knot, tuck in the ends. Place 2 in apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 8-10 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; add the warm knots and gently toss to coat with the seasonings.

**NOTE – I ended up being out of oregano AND parsley flakes, so I used a teaspoon of Italian Herb Seasoning instead and it was fine. When I make these again, I would only put a 1/2 tsp. of the herbs in, otherwise they come out a bit strong.

Other than my recipe testing, I’m engaged once more in a delightful chick novel which I’m going to dive right back into… clouds are coming back to Portland.

Fall is upon us. Happy reading!

Starting off

Kaitlin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:18:44 +0000

Since moving downtown, I have had more visitors in this month than in two years of living up near my college neighborhood of three years. Downtown Portland has a lot to offer, the sights, streets and places of interest in the city that attract visitors here every year. My favorite place in Portland however, happens to be a special restaurant nestled in the Pearl District called Andina.

I’ve been to Andina twice in the past week now, because having someone new come to Portland is just too good of an opportunity to pass up to showcase the fine talent and finesse of the chefs that this nuovo Peruvian restaurant. Starting out with a nice glass of red sangria, or a sachsehyuaman (also known as the “sexy woman”) will get any diner set on the right track to enjoying their evening at Andina.

My personal favorite happens to be the diver scallop with soy brown butter sauce and crispy onions set atop… one bite and I’m speechless for at least two minutes. I recently took my brother there on a visit for some tapas, and our conversation died quickly as he tasted his first bites of food and went somewhat silent.

All in all, there are many wonderful places to wine and dine around the Portland area, and I hope to cover some of them from my own perspective. This just happens to be on the top of my list since I was there last night.

the end

Kaitlin — Wed, 16 May 2007 05:27:00 +0000

I meant to write my last “Europe” blog while I was still in Europe, but I ran out of time and didn’t had very little internet access for my last week there. My last day in Salzburg flew by and it was pouring outside so I wasn’t able to do the things that I wanted to do – see the city again and go to my favorite places.

Now I’m trying to adjust back to life in America, and getting used to not being with my friends that I’ve lived with for the past few months. I already can’t wait to get back to Europe and visit the places that I didn’t make it to this year, and also visit my lovely Salzburg. I miss it so much already.

Thanks for reading everyone! It’s good to be home.

Finland

Kaitlin — Wed, 16 May 2007 04:50:46 +0000

My last trip of the year was really incredible… busy and jam-packed, but very fun. I met so many relatives and learned so much about the Sundsten family history. It was nice to finally meet Lena after a couple of years of e-mails and letters – in person was a nice change.

We spent my first day in Helsinki, walking around to see the big tourist attractions. There was one downfall though; it was Sunday, so everything was closed and there were no people around. The city looked almost deserted. That evening we took the train to Turku, which is where Lena goes to university. I spent the next four days there struggling with the fact that I don’t speak Finnish or Swedish and couldn’t really communicate well with anyone except Lena. I celebrated Vappen with the students – a big celebration for the first of May. Lena’s flatmates had some guests as well, and we all had a dinner together. It was a lot of fun. On Wednesday Lena and I went on a picnic cruise through the Archilpelago – it was absolutely beautiful.

On Thursday we headed up to Jakobstad to see Kurt and Gun, Lena’s parents. I spent the rest of the weekend there and met lots of relatives, saw the countryside, and talked a lot. It was so fun to actually meet my relatives! We spent all of Saturday touring around Nykarleby and the surrounding area, seeing the summer cottages and the old farm. We also made stops at all of the family houses, so that I could have a short visit with as many people as possible. As part of my Finland experience, I even watched part of the Eurovision Song Contest on tv one night – it was quite the event. Finland was the host this year so people were pretty excited about it.

On my last day Lena and I went back to Helsinki and attempted a museum, but all of the museums were closed. I just happened to be in the city on the two days that you shouldn’t be a tourist in Helsinki!

It was a great trip. I still can’t believe that I made it all the way up there while I was over in Europe.

breathing a sigh of relief

Kaitlin — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 14:55:07 +0000

Finals are over!!!!!!!!!! Finally!!!!

Ok enough of that – but I’m finished with my tests, I’m officially done with school in Salzburg Austria. The next two days are going to be fun and sad and hard, then I go to Finland. Can’t wait, vacation then back to the states and working. Tonight our group is going to the Augustiner, which has a huge beer garden. The monks there still brew the beer. It’s a lot of fun and a great place to take large groups. Fr. John is going and so is Frau Strobl, but I think FJ really doesn’t want to. I’m sure he’ll live, but he’s been complaining about it all day.

I’m going to enjoy the next couple weeks, I can guarantee that.

Springtime in Salzburg…and almost time to come home

Kaitlin — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 15:10:33 +0000

The weather has been spectacular. It’s making me wish that I was staying here for the summer so that I can take advantage of the big community pool they have and the lake district. I went out to the Koennigsee on Sunday afternoon last weekend with Dave and it was absolutely beautiful. Reminded me a little bit of Hallstaat, but with more tourists.

Last weekend my friend Tori and I went up to Germany with Dave (a Salzburg friend of ours) and his rugby team for a tournament on an American military base. We had a great time as their cheering section, sitting out in the sun all day, and having Dr. Pepper and root beer for the first time in 8 months. There was a bbq and the team was a riot… very fun to talk to in between games. Tori and I had a great time with all of them.

This week has been filled with studying, worrying about tests, unsuccessfully trying to catch up on some sleep, etc etc. I’m very nervous about finals this semester and I don’t think that the end results this time around will be as good as they were in the fall. My trip to Finland is coming up though, and I can’t wait! A week and a half with Lena, traveling around and seeing where she lives… I’m very excited.

On another note, I will be landing in Seattle at approximately 7:40 pm on May 9th. I definitely have mixed emotions about it at this point and I think that my anxiety over finals is taking over the sadness of leaving Austria at the moment. I’m sure that I’ll be a wreck on my last night… good luck to the people that I’ll be hanging out with.

I realize this is a little long… love to all. I can’t wait to see everyone. I’m so excited to be going to California and also that I get to see the Cloningers in May. Cheers.

last days of classes…

Kaitlin — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:14:28 +0000

First things first… I went to Barcelona for easter weekend. it was fun, just walked around a lot and saw some things. Met some interesting people for sure. It was surprising how much of my Spanish i remembered (even though they speak Catalan) while I was there – I could understand what people were saying to me for the most part. It was nice to know that I haven’t forgotten everything I learned in my high school spanish classes. Anyway, we went to the Cathedral of Barcelona for Easter mass, that was spectacular. It was a nice service and afterwards I went out for a lunch with Tori and Dani. We were all feeling a bit strange without having the usual family brunch, egg thing, and the dinner with family. Didn’t miss my flight home this time either! It must have been an Easter miracle.

At the moment I am trying to get a history paper written that should have been finished long ago – of course I’m wishing that I would have staretd earlier. I’m defitely having some late nights here in the computer lab all by myself and it’s not that fun. Next week is our last week of class for spring semester. I can’t believe it. Where did the time go? I am so happy that I only have 2 classes left of everything after tomorrow. Finals are approaching and for some reason I feel like they won’t be a big deal… it could just be that I have this paper to get over and then I’ll start getting nervous.

That’s it for now, gotta get back to writing. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the spring. Today it was warm and so beautiful here. The trees all have blossoms on them and it reminds me of home.

up late tonight

Kaitlin — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:51:17 +0000

My organizational skills have gone downhill…. I forgot until this morning in Art History that I have a paper due tomorrow. Thank god I already had the rough draft done and I didn’t have to do that much work on it. that’s why I’m exercising my insomniac skills and I’m still awake – it’s almost 4 am! Anyway, only three weeks of class left, then finals week! then on April 29th I am heading to Finland to spend about a week and a half with Lena. Hopefully I’ll be flying home on the 9th or 10th of May. Every time I try calling the Salzburg Airport to schedule my flight they hang up on me. I’m very irritated about it. I might have to take the bus down there on Friday and do it that way if I’m not successful tomorrow.

I took most of the stuff off my wall on Saturday and as I was putting all the postcards and things away, I got all emotional and almost started crying about the empty walls and the room I’ll have to leave. I wasn’t this sad to leave my dorm room last year.

I’m coming home soon!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Kaitlin — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 23:15:48 +0000

I hit the bottom today. What bottom, and of what? I’m not sure, but I’m down there. Leanne and I went to Kildare, Ireland instead of Dublin this weekend for St. Patrick’s Day. Everyone else in the group went to Dublin but we have a friend from Salzburg who lives in Kildare and that was way more fun – basically we got to meet all of Tuohy’s family, friends, etc. His grandpa lives right next to the bog so we took his dog out for a walk and I sank into the mud and couldn’t get out. We had to wear high rain boots and Tuohy’s grandpa made me wear this really long coat and a hat because he thought I was going to get too cold. It was very fun. There were two other girls from Salzburg who came for the weekend, so it was fun to have the Austrians, the Americans, an the Irish all together for the holiday. We ate good Irish food and hung out with some friends of Tuohy’s on Friday.

On Saturday Tuohy and Hennessey took us girls to the parade in Clane. It was just like being at a parade in Yakima, everyone knew each other and everyone was so happy. It was very festive. Later that night, Tuohy’s band played at the pub in Kildare and they were fantastic. I had so much fun watching them and meeting all of his friends and family. He has four sisters and they were all there and you could tell how happy they were. The weekend was spectacular. I’m so glad that we went, and Leanne and I both agreed it was far better than staying in Dublin with the big group. It was so laid back and didn’t feel rushed – great memories.

wide awake and dreaming…?

Kaitlin — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 05:50:26 +0000

I woke up at 5 am this morning and was completely alert. I watched two episodes of Sex and the City to try and make myself tired again, but that didn’t help whatsoever. So… I now find myself sharing the computer lab with Fr. Art this morning… a little awkward. Maybe I have things on my mind – boys perhaps? school? life in general?

Fr. Art is meeting with everyone this week and he keeps asking about our ‘career path’, what we want to do, are we majoring in German, etc etc. I think it’s been sort of a wake up call that everyone has to get on track now that our fun year is almost over. I made my schedule for next year and I am so excited to be taking CST classes again. Plus I’m going to be finished every day by 1:30! Good planning…

I’m starving and I want some coffee but of course there is no Starbucks here that is open at 6:45 on a Saturday, so I can’t go anywhere, and Leanne won’t be awake forever. This is going to be a long day, I can tell.