We're BA-ACK....

Wow. Ok so Poland really IS on the other side of the world, because that is one long trip. By the 3rd flight, I wasn't quite sure what city I was in anymore, or where I was going.

We're a bit tired, but had a lot of fun. This trip was mostly dedicated to family, and showing Andrew the northern/Baltic Sea coastal region of Poland. We'll have to save the great places like Warsaw and Krakow for next trip, there just wasn't time. Ten days in Poland mostly equals a whole lot of food and beer. And ice cream. Because it's totally dietarily (is that a word??) appropriate to eat this twice a day:

or this:

And maybe next time, I should think twice, before eating something like this:

That jar on the right? That's bacon fat, with little bits of bacon, garlic, onion,pepper, salt and God knows what else in it. And it's so good, and SO EVIL. Because seriously. WHO EATS STRAIGHT LARD? Not normal people. I've never been normal anyways.

Blogging From The Motherland

We arrived in Poland tired fromthe long and sleepless trip, but happy to see the family. And Good weather! Pictures to follow...

Leaving on a Jet Plane... but still in Houston

Quick visit with my cousin Asia and her cutie kids.

My Uncle's Dog Bora. I will steal her.

My cousins Michal and Maciek, and My Uncle Rafal, grilling something AWESOME.

Baptism by Beer.

The Clan. And Some Flying Dutchmen Folk.

Target Practice. Our family had a competition. I lost horribly.

Our Lady of Perpetual Indecision

A religious haven and support group for maximer women.

I will have you know I have made TWO wedding decisions this week (not without much nagging and whining and overall carrying-on like a 3 year old being deprived of it's candy, CANDY, GIVE ME CANDY NOW.)

1) The Wedding Cake. Of sorts.

I can't tell you how much I had to gather mine and thine will in order to actually get something that I wanted, and not let someone convince me to do something else. Thanks to all thine supportive wills. It only took me 3 trips to make this decision. This is PROGRESS, people.

2) The Bridesmaids Dresses.

These ladies, the glorious women in my life, succumbed to the decision to all wear the exact same dress in the exact same color. I didn't dream it could be so simple. I am still considering mammoth Kentucky-Derby-Style hats as part of the ensemble, but we'll save that for later. You know, for when I've run out of things to torture them with.

Name This Dessert

Those who know me, know that since I have known Andrew, I have become quite lazy in the kitchen. This is mostly due to the fact that Andrew enjoys cooking, and has taken over the kitchen, Nazi-invasion-style. I am not one to argue with this, mostly because cooking on a daily basis doesn't appeal to me a whole lot. I like to entertain for guests with food; that kind of cooking I like. But the kind where you have to plan 3 meals a day, every day, with some sort of nutritional balance is not exciting to me. I'm a horrible excuse for a woman.

Last night we had a couple friends over for dinner, and as usual, Andrew got to preparing the appropriate menu, 4 days ahead. That one, he's a planner. Don't you dare veer from the plan. Andrew prepared beef fillets in a balsamic reduction with parmesan risotto. I made the salad! That's what I have become good at as of late; the task of chopping and washing vegetables. The salad was a bleu cheese & pear salad, with a pear vinaigrette. See! I CAN BE FANCY TOO.

I think by the time I realized I needed to prepare dessert, I had exhausted all my energies on the laborious task of salad-making, so we can safely say that it wasn't quite as "made from scratch" as the rest of the meal. Berries are so yummy right now and in season so I put it together, and this is what it ended up looking like:

I have a theory that adding a mint leaf to any dessert makes it look fancy. This could be completely in my head. I used vanilla pudding, blackberries and raspberries, white chocolate chips, cubed-up pound cake (yeah Sarah Lee!), whipped cream, and a blackberry rum sauce to make a berry trifle of sorts. It was tasty, and I would make it again given how easy it was, so I need a clever name for this creation. Any ideas?

Weight Gain, Lost Sanity.

Last week while on the elliptical machine, I read an article (do you know how hard it is to read bouncing up and down like that? it totally gave me a headache) about Valerie (the chick that used to be married to Eddie Van Halen) and how she agreed to be a new spokesperson for Jenny Craig. Her reasoning was that the only way to guarantee that she would stick to a diet/healthy eating plan was to instill the fear of looming paparazzi upon her.

I can just see it in the section of People Magazine (The Paper), in the section where they try to convince you that celebrities are like people too! Really! They drop off drycleaning! And consume food! Right.

"Here we caught Valerie Bertinelli, spokeswoman for Jenny Craig, chowing down on fettucine alfredo (*gasp*) at LA hotspot FattiesEatHere."

The trials and tribulations of the rich and famous. I feel for them. I really do. I know I don't want my picture snapped for the world to read when I am in a moment of weakness, downing Swiss Cake Rolls like I need massive amounts of perservatives to sustain consciousness.

So part Operation LetsRefocusInOrderToUnwind is a renewed enthusiasm for working out. I had my first session with a personal trainer last week, andI have to admit, I was painfully satisfied. It's a totally different ballgame when you have someone staring down at you, counting each individual rep, making sure each one is done with precision. I was hurting, but in a good way. I'm hoping this enthusiasm lasts long enough to make a dent in my physique. If not, I might have to phone my local paparazzi.