Zero or Nuala?

Did you know? Apparently Nuala in Czech means zero. Like in the number. Or lack of number. Seriously when you count it's nula, jeden, dva, tri.....

I'm not so good at coming up with new upset/worried faces

Is there an upside to this? I mean being known as zero. Well kinda. Everyone understands my name. I say Nuala and then they look at me a little funny, like stupid English speaking person doesn't realize I asked for her name and then I go, Nuala like zero. And I get a sly smile every time. Even with people smirking over the accidental czech translation of my name at least it's not being butchered and is recognizable. Even G Unit's started using my name for reservations cause zero is easier to get than Garren.

Will the level of meanings my Irish Gaelic name has ever end? I sure as hell hope not.

Virtual Coffee

Another week, another post. I'm feeling a little uninspired today. All week I've been thinking about what I would say today when we met for coffee but I've got nothing. Okay maybe not nothing, but nothing entertaining. Not really.

The big news is that Kept Man is a officially a Kept Man no longer. G Unit has made the move back to the daily grind. Two days strong and he's going back for thirds tomorrow. This past weekend was spent getting the house and ourselves organized as we knew that no one would be around with tons of time on their hands to clean and cook. I think we've done ok so far and feel as if we are both putting the effort in to do things around the house. Mostly me really since before I did not bother at all cause well...he was home all day. {sheepish grin}

As for the drama that is the Moroccan Embassy in case any of you were wondering, G Unit got an unofficial, "Well if you can't get it, but can prove you tried, with countries like Morocco we understand..." So it's no longer dire to get this piece of paper from Morocco. Thank the gods. Hopefully this is our last interaction with Moroccan bureaucracy. fingers crossed 

Besides that I'm back on the Weight Watchers wagon. Some of my work pants are beginning to feel uncomfortably tight. Apparently eating dumplings, schnitzel and strudel to your heart's content isn't good for your waist line. Oh and let's not forget the fried cheese. Apparently that's not calorie free either. Go figure. The Farmer's Market here in Prague officially opened the location near our apartment last weekend.

View towards our Apartment from market

There's not much in the way of vegetables yet, but we should start seeing something in the next few weeks that will help us eat a bit healthier. That and G Unit not having all day to make home made tamales or lasagna. {sob} In the meantime we're making do with grocery store veggies and trying to eat better (read eat less cheese).

Ratatouille tonight!

Farmer's Market fish from last week - Healthy except for the fact that we covered it in broken beurre blanc sauce - Fail

My new resolution didn't stop me from buying this awesome smoked cheese from Slovakia called Ostiepok at the Farmer's market

Mmmm cheese

It's so yummy when you heat it up in a pan and let it get all soft and gooey and then place it on some fresh bread....num. My idea of heaven involves non stop food (read cheese and carbohydrates) with no repercussions. 

And on that note I will leave you with a memento (laugh) from St. Patrick's Day. Green teeth. And me finishing a book...in bed. A party animal I am.

Thanks for joining me for coffee today. I hope your past week has at least been as relaxing as mine if more interesting. Head over to Amy's for more virtual coffee.

Monday Motivational

Jade at Tasting Grace (who many of you may know) has been doing a weekly Monday Motivational. The idea is to set a word, image or thought as the intention for the week. I thought I'd join in.

POSITIVE

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference - Winston Churchill

It's amazing how easy it is to fall into a recurring negative loop at work. Something is always wrong, something is always frustrating, someone has always messed something up that needs to be fixed, the guests ask too many questions, every phone call is meant to interrupt you from your very important work. (wait, what?) It's a never ending cycle that just builds on itself.

This week I've decided to realize that these things are not important and maintain a positive attitude so that things that don't really matter do not affect my overall outlook. I'm going to be happy, happy, happy damn-it.

Happy Day

"Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words" - Platus

I don't know if I can think of a better way to celebrate my mom's birthday. I just wish I was with her to help drink the wine! Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you know how much I love you. You're amazing. Enjoy your day.

Hugs and Kisses,
Nuala

PS A little something is on it's way in the mail, but as always I'm late with the sending (because I roll like that).

Cup o' Joe

...or maybe a cup of tea. It's about 8pm in Prague and I don't think caffeine would be the best choice at this point

If we were really meeting up for coffee, I would ask how your week was and what is new with you. I'd like to hear how your life is going before I get into what's up around here. There are a lot of changes going on in this household. As I type Kept Man is finally hanging a bar that we got from Ikea back in October for extra pot and pan storage as well as a chalkboard for the kitchen. We'll probably only doodle on the chalkboard but at least it will be something on our big white walls.

Besides cosmetic changes on our walls, Kept Man is getting a change of status. As of Monday he will no longer be a Kept Man. That's right, he's going back to the world of 9 to 5! What will I call him now? Maybe I'll go back to the old standby of G Unit.

Disregarding the fact that I have to come up with a new nickname, I'm so happy for that Kept Man has been offered this opportunity. The past two years bouncing between Morocco and Czech Republic has been a bit frustrating for him. I know the idea of having almost two years off traipsing around Europe and North Africa sounds fun but after a while I get the impression it's a bit boring. In case you're internally screaming, "What is the job Nuala!?", he'll be working for a huge company doing customer service. It's not glamours but it's steady work with interaction with others and it means we'll be able to save a lot more money while we're here in the Czech Republic. Plus he gets his own cubie. No more sitting at home twiddling his thumbs. Or making me dinner. Yep, I'm already going through withdrawals.

With all these new exciting work happenings it was inevitable that Morocco's bureaucracy would crash the party as if it wanted to give us a final parting gift. This new job wants a criminal background check from Morocco since we lived there in the past year. I think I can honestly voice the opinion that Morocco is the most frustrating and stupid bureaucracy ever.

For comparison Kept Man already got the background check for the Czech Republic. He went to the post office, presented his passport and told them what he wanted. One business day later it was available to pick up. All for the low low price of 50 CZK (approximately $2.50). In the meantime emails have been sent to the Moroccan Embassy with limited useless information given in response. Finally I called the Moroccan Embassy today to try to get some help on how we can get this stupid piece of paper that says that Kept Man has no criminal record in Morocco. I was basically told that that the Embassy could not help us and we would have to go to Morocco. I mean REALLY?! Why is it so hard to do this? Why does this become an international incident? Why is Moroccan civil service so f'd up? What is wrong with having a form to fill out a standard fee to pay and instructions on how to do it? Why is everything a huge hassle? It is unbelievable. Those of you in the States, thank your lucky stars for the DMV. It is a pantheon of order and helpfulness. Those of you in Czech Republic who think the Czech Republic is difficult, go to Morocco, then we can talk.

We're trying to go through the Moroccan Embassy in the US now. Maybe they will be more helpful. HR seems content that we are still trying to get this piece of paper and Kept Man is scheduled to start Monday even without Morocco and their "Kept Man is not a criminal" documentation. Keep your fingers crossed that it all works out.

So my week in a nutshell - Job for Kept Man (yeah!) - No more chef at home for me (boo!) - Morocco sucks! - Czech Republic is awesome! - Kept Man still starts on Monday (yeah!)

Thanks for the tea time and a sympathetic ear. I appreciate you listening to me rant and rave about things out of my control. And celebrating Kept Man's new job with me. Next week we'll learn if I can remember how to cook! I'm also hoping to get some pictures to share with you from the Farmer's Market here that is along the river and near our house. Let's hope for blue skies. And maybe I'll have a story about going to an Irish pub for St. Patty's Day. Big plans, that's my middle name. Have a great week!

I'm a Degenerate

....so says Kept Man as I hold his beer on the metro as we head home because he's too embarrassed to hold an open container of booze on public transportation. It's his Puritan American side coming out. Did I mention that it's 12:30pm and he's tipsy?

We were returning from the Farmer's Market in Galerie Fenix at the metro stop Vysocanska. Some friends invited us to join them as they know we were interested in accessing local products. And Kept Man and Karel decided that 10am would be the best time to try the local beer being sold. The label on this particular beer 'was for men' and would probably 'not be allowed in the States'. Protestant sensibilities and all. I kept my hand over the label as we rode the metro home stealing a few sips here and there. While I didn't mind holding the open container the label was a little to likely to catch someone's attention.

All and all it was a fun morning. We managed to procure some fresh trout, bacon, sausages, smoked cheese, butter, pasta, wine and of course beer.

Along the way Kept Man learned some dirty Czech words and phrases and we had some laughs. Not a bad way to start the weekend.  

Sun! Oh the joys!

Spring is around the corner.

It was down right temperate today. A high of 54 F! The sun is staying out later and later every evening. Everyone is out and even the dogs are happy. I saw at least 5 dogs playing in the park today and when I was waiting for my tram this evening I saw a little shitzu prancing along the cobblestones like he was dancing looking as happy as Larry.

It's a amazing what a little sunshine does to everyone's mood.