Una gita quando ero adolescente (A trip when a I was a teenager)

February 4, 2009 at 11:54 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Quando ero più giovane, nella scuola media, ho fatto una bella vacanza, a Disney World. Era un premio per i buoni voti. Quasi cento studenti ci sono andati. La gita è cominciato a Lexington, Kentucky, quasi il cinque giugno, ed era lunga (siamo andati in pullman). Era la seconda volta che stavo andato a Disney World, ma ero impaziente di ci andare perché la prima volta sono andato, mi sono divertito molto! Sulla questa gita, siamo andati al due nuovi parchi, Epcot e Thunder Bay. Quando siamo arrivati, siamo cominciati a Thunder Bay, un parco con le piscine di onda. Era qui dove mi sono rotto (quasi) il mio dito del piede, perché mi sono battutolo nel fondale della piscine mentre suonavo. Ho avuto bisogno di una sedia a rotelle per due o tre giorni perché non ho potuto camminare! Comunque, questo non era male, perché potrei cominciare alla testa delle linee per le montagne russe. I miei amici mi hanno preso in giro, ma erano solo gelosi perché ho potuto prendere le montagne russe prima di loro! Il resto della gita è successo bene; mi sono divertito molto e nient’altro è avvenuto fino a la gita a case nostre. La gira a case nostre era male—mi sono malato dopo aver mangiato a Fazoli’s! Immagina! Ho mangiato gli spaghetti, ma non sono andati d’accordo con me! Povero me! Allora, tutta la gita era divertente benché ha sembrato sempre ammalarmi sulla questa gita.


When I was younger, in middle school, I took a wonderful vacation, to Disney World. It was a reward for good goods. About 100 students went. The trip began in Lexington, Kentucky, around June 5 and it took a long time (we took a bus). It was the second time I had  been to Disney World, but I was excited to go there because the first time I went, I had a lot of fun. On this trip, we went to two new parks, Epcot and Thunder Bay. When we arrived, we began at Thunder Bay, a park with wave pools. It was here where I almost broke my toe by hitting it against the bottom of a pool while I was swimming. I needed a wheel chair for two or three days because I couldn’t walk! However, this wasn’t a bad thing because I could go to the front of the lines for the roller coasters. My friends made fun of me, but they were just jealouse because I could take the roller costers before them. The rest of the trip went well; I had a lot of fun and nothing else happened until the the trip home. The trip home was bad–I got sick after eatiing at Fazoli’s! Imagine! I ate spaghetti, but it didn’t agree with me! Poor Me! Anyway, the whole trip was fun, even though I always seemed to be ill on this trip.

25 cose di me

January 31, 2009 at 3:20 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

C’è un meme sul facebook, chiamato “25 random things about me.” Ho scritto ancora, ma in inglese. Perchè è un po’ difficile, ho pensato che proverei le scrivere qui… in italiano!

1. Studiavo tre lingue
2. Ma, non parlo bene qualsiasi
3. (Quest’è facile…) Studio italiano perchè mia moglie ed io andremo in Italia maggio prossimo.
4. Canto
5. Imparavo suonore il violincello nella scuola media, ma non suonavo da allore tanti anni fa.
6. Però, posso leggere la musica bene. Lo aiutami quando sto imparando un nuovo opere di musica.
7. Perchè posso leggere la musica bene, posso cantare da vista bene.
8. Comunque, non ho il tono perfetto. Di solito, ho bisogno di sentire la musica quando canto, a meno che so molto bene l’opera e l’ho practicato molto
9. Ero sempre catolico, ma non cominciavo practicare la mia fede fina a avevo 20 anni.
10. Andavo in Europa una volta.
11. Ma, ci andrò due volte più quest’anno!
12. Amo cucinare.
13. Davverro, mi piacere fare il pane. Penso ch’è una remedia dell’anima.
14. Non mi piacciano i film seriosi (non voglio pensare quando mi sono divertito). Per questa raggione, mi piacciano i film cartoni e Disney.
15. Ma, avevo visto i film seriosi qualche volte. Il scorso weekend, ho visto “Magnolia.” Questo weekend, probabilmente vedrò “Fight Club” (Kyle ha deto che devo vederlo subito, preferabile ieri.)
16. La artiglieria della Seconda Guerra di Mondiale non mi importa. Ma, sono curioso delle raggioni sociali-economici per questa guerra.
17. Sono troppo curioso dei re e delle regine di Europa, dal Rinascimento all’eta industriale, particularmente dei re e delle regine inglesi.
18. Non ho scritto niente dal mio lavoro. Sono un commercialista per l’Università dell’Indiana, nel departemento d’imposte.
19. Nel futuro, vorrei lavorare nell’organazione “non-profit.” So che tipo del “non-profit” vorrei lavorare. Allora, ho bisogno di trovare un’opportunità.
20. Mi piace molti tipi delle musica. Ricentemente, avevo ascoltato R&B/Hip-Hop (grazie di Pandora!), ma penso che la mia artista preferita è Alison Kraus.
21. Ho visto un concerto di Alison Krauss nel 2002 (con mia zia, Chris!). Era un buon mostrato, e lei vederei di nuova.
22. Anche, ho visto un concerto di un gruppo che Alison Kraus ha scoperto, si chiama “Nickel Creek.” Mi sono divertito questo concerto, e era tutti le cose un concerto dovrebbe essere: in un bar, con 300 persone strane, ascoltando musica bella. Chiaramente, non ho qualsiai preferenze ;)
23. Ho il migliore cane nel mondiale. Si chiama Layla, e è un misto di beagle e labrador nero. Le ho trovato nel canile municipale. Mi piacciano i canili municipali.
24. Sto insegnando Layla i commandi italiani. Sa “Parla,” “Vieni qui,” e “Il tuo piede.”
25. Non mi piace addormentarsi presto, o alzarsi tardi. Ma, in oltre, non mi piace fare i pisolini. Quest’è un problema :( Sono sempre stanco

E, ho avuto bisogno di cercare nel dizionario forse 4 volte. Allora, ho bisogno di qualcun controllare il mio grammatico :-\

E tu, che tipo sei?

January 17, 2009 at 11:13 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Per la mia classe d’italiano, devo scrivere un diario ogni settimana. Questa settimana, il soggetto è “E tu, che tipo sei?” Potremmo scriverci, usando i aggetivi abbiamo imparato scorsa settimana. Segue il mio risposte alla domanda “E tu, che tipo sei?”

___

Sono Hal, un’uomo chi ha ventisette anni. Lavoro per l’Università d’Indiana. Ho una moglie, si chiama Stacie, e un cane, si chiama Layal. Il mio lavoro per l’università è come un commercialista, specificamente mel departemento dell’imposte.

Sono alto, quasi, a cinque piede e undici pollici. Sono robusto, ma provo digrassare :) I miei lineamenti sono…

  • ho i capelli marrone, con un po’ grigi!
  • ho gli occhi marrone, e
  • ho la pelle olivastra (un po’).

Credi che sono espansivo e estroverso. Anche, sono intellegente–italiano è la mia lingua terza! (Ho studiato francese nel liceo, e tedesco nell’ultima semestre dell’università). Studio italio perchè mia moglie ed io andremo in Italia maggio prossimo. Noi andremo a Roma, a Venezia, ed a Sorrento. Siamo ecitati per Roma, perchè visiteremo la Città del Vaticano (siamo catolici). Mia moglie ha voluto sempre di visitare Venezia. Abbiamo scegliato Sorrento perchè è piu piccolo di Napoli, e forse meno di turistico.

Ho tanti hobby–cucinare, cantare, leggere, vedere i film, andara alle feste… Non ho un film preferito, ma mi piacciono tanti: “Lord of the Rings,” “Elizabeth,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” e qualquiasi di Disney (non voglio di pensare molte quando mi sono divertito!) Ascolto alla musica spesso–mi piacciono Alison Krauss, Nickel Creek, Ben Folds, R&B, Soul, e Hip Hop.

Sono di Lexington, Kentucky. Ho un padre, si chiama Bernie. Lui ha una moglie (sua seconda), si chiama Lynda Mia madre è morta nel 2002, dal cancro. Ho solo una nonna, si chiama Patty. Lei è la madre della mia mamma Mio suocero si chiama Don, lui è avvocato. Mia suocera si chiama Paula; lei è in pensione. Mia moglie ha due fratelli e una sorella. I due fratelli si chiamano Donnie e Stephen. La sorella si chiama Jennie. Loro sempre le sono giovane.

Quest’è io, insomme.

In inglese:

We have to write a diary every week for my Italian class. This week, the topic is “What are you?” We should write about ourselves, using the adjectives we’ve learned in the last week. This is my entry.

___

I’m Hal, a 27 year old man. I work for Indiana University. I have a wife, named Stacie, and a dog, named Layla. I work as a CPA in the tax department at Indiana University.

I’m tall, sort of, at 5′11″. I’m “fluffy,” but I’m trying to lose weight. My features are…

  • I have brown hair, with a little grey.
  • I have brown eyes.
  • I have olive skin, sort of.

I think that I’m outgoing and extroverted. Also, I’m intellegent–Italian is my third language! (I took French in high school, and German the last semester of college). I’m studying Italian because my wife and I are going to Italy next May. We’re going to Rome, Venice, and Sorrento. We’re excited for Rome because we’re going to Vatican City (we’re Catholic). My wife has always wanted to go to Venice. We chose Sorrento because it’s smaller than Naples, and perhaps not as touristy.

I have many hobbies–cooking, singing, reading, watching movies, going to parties… I don’t have a favorite movie, but I like many: “Lord of the Rings,” “Elizabeth,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” and any Disney film (I don’t want to think when I’m being entertained). I often listen to music–I like Alison Krauss, Nickel Creek, Ben Folds, R&B, Soul, and Hip Hop.

I’m from Lexington, Kentucky. I have a father, named Bernie. He has a wife (his second) named Lynda. My mom died in 2002 from cancer. I have only one grandmother, named Patty. She’s my mom’s mom. My father-in-law is Don; he’s a lawyer. My mother-in-law is Paula; she’s retired. My wife has two brothers and a sister. The two brothers are Donnie and Stephen. The sister is Jennie. They’re all younger than her.

That’s me, in a nutshell.

Christmas Ornaments

January 5, 2009 at 12:49 am | In off-topic | 1 Comment

Stacie and I love to travel, and take whatever opportunities we have to do so. In fact, we’re traveling several times this year so we can get some wanderlust satisfied before we grow up and do the family thing.

We don’t really like to buy a lot of useless souvenirs along the way–our memories and our pictures should be sufficient, right? But, one thing we do try to do is get a Christmas ornament for each place we visit.

While I was taking down our tree tonight, I found several that are particularly meaningful to us, and I thought I would share :)

Cruise 2005

This was our first ornament, from the family cruise Stacie and I went on in 2005, right after we were engaged. Nothing too spectacular about this, just a gold plated thing for the “Carnival Glory.” We went to St. Thomas, St. Martin, and the Bahamas on that cruise.


Alaska

This one is from our Honeymoon. We took a cruise to Alaska, and we liked this ornament because it shows all the places we went (Juneau, Skagway, and Hoonah). We also went to Seattle, but we have no ornament from there :(

The next several are from the same trip. The year after we got married, we had the opportunity to go to Europe with the high school where Stacie taught. It was a 10 day tour around central Europe, to Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, and Munich. We didn’t get an ornament from every city, but we did get one from three of them:

Budapest

Apparently, central Europeans decorate with these little eggs. We found this guy in the big market in Budapest, and it was one of the least expensive things I’ve ever purchased–ignoring the fact that I accidentally withdrew $400 in Hungarian currency for 1 1/2 days of travel there!


Prague

We picked this up in Prague. This is the Church of Our Lady of Tyn, a mainstay in the Prague skyline.


Bavaria

This is the Bavarian crest. I fell in love with Munich when we were there and would go back in a heartbeat if I could. There was just something about the city that I can’t really put my finger on, but it has called me back since. I even bought a stein that says “Gott ist mit du in Bayern” (God is with you in Bavaria). Wish this ornament said that.


Pretzel

And, who can go to Germany without eating a pretzel? Also picked up in Bavaria.


Pickle

The last of the Europe 2007 ornaments: The pickle ornament. We bought one for Stacie’s dad after seeing it (he loves pickles) and reading the “legend.” We thought it was such a cool idea that we bought one for ourselves. Label us tourists now :) But, it’s a nice idea, and is a welcome addition to the tree.


Saint Louis Arch

This guy really doesn’t qualify as an ornament, but it’s how we used it. Stacie and I went to the St. Louis Arch for the first time in October. Keeping with the “Let’s buy an ornament when we go somewhere” theme, we looked in the gift shop for an ornament there. They wanted something like $25 for one of the official ornaments. So, Stacie said “let’s just get a key chain for $5.95 and use it like an ornament.” And, so we did.


Jizzy Christmas

This one didn’t really come because of travel, but was a gift from Stacie’s college roommate, Sarah. One day, we were pondering if the “zz” always made a sound like “pizza.” Someone brought up this word (which I’m not going to post, lest I get lecherous people coming to look at my blog), which morphed in Jizzy, a catch-all adjective. Kind of like “smurfy,” but cool to a 22-year-old mind..

Of course, there are more, the standard glass bulbs and some little trinkets we’ve received from family. But, these mean the most to us because of the memories attached to them. I hope you’ve enjoyed sharing in those memories with me!

Tag, you’re it, part 2

December 10, 2008 at 6:08 pm | In about me | Leave a Comment

There were some items in the list I posted before that said “I’ve done… this number of times.”

So, i thought I’d ID what those things actually were.

So:

20 states: Alaska, Washington, Arizona, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Hampsire, Virgina, West Virgina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida.

9 countries: Canada, the Bahamas, St. Maarten (Dutch), St. Martin (French), Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic

5/6 countries: Italy, Cayman Islands (British Territory), Cozumel (Mexico), Belize, Roatan (Honduras), and England (maybe).

10 musicals: Rent (4), Wicked (2), Phantom of the Opera, Aida, Movin’ Out, Miss Saigon, Little Shop of Horrors, Oliver, Chicago, Hairspray

Tag, you’re it!

December 10, 2008 at 4:06 pm | In about me | Leave a Comment

Someone tagged me in this meme on Facebook. The directions are….

Write 16 completely random things about yourself that people may or may not know about you, then tag 16 of your friends.

I’m only tagging people on Facebook. If you do this meme as a result of reading my blog, post a comment so I can see. If I tag you on Facebook, it’s because I don’t know much about you and I want to know more! :)

  1. At one time I wanted to be a professional cellist.
  2. Then, when I was in high school, I wanted to be a high school English teacher. However, I decided that since I only wanted to teach AP English, I probably shouldn’t go into that line of work. So, I married an English teacher instead :)
  3. I have taken 3 languages in my life (aside from English). They are: French, German, and Italian. My life reads like an opera student :-D I took French the longest, but I would say now I’m most fluent in Italian.
  4. I started singing when I was in college, with the choir where I went to church. I haven’t really stopped since.
  5. I once lost nearly 90 pounds. I’ve since gained 70 of it back :( (but, I’m working on it again)
  6. I have a profound love of all things technological.
  7. I’ve been to …(counting)… 20 states and 9 countries (I’m counting St. Maarten as 2, because half belongs to France, and half belongs to the Netherlands… and I’ve been on both halves).
  8. I’m going to …(counting, again)… at least 5 new countries next year, maybe 6 (if you count the Cayman Islands separate from Britain, and we go to England)
  9. I love to cook, and have a profound love of all things food.
  10. I like taking pictures, and I’m currently coveting a Canon Digital Rebal XS or XSi.
  11. I like kneading bread, rather than having the dough hook do it for me.
  12. I invented a cookie recipe earlier this year :)
  13. I have a little black dog, named Layla. She’s a beagle-lab mix, and the best pound find ever.
  14. I’ve been to …(counting)… 10 professional productions of Broadway musicals. Almost the most recent was when Stacie and I saw “Wicked” from the front row in Chicago. That was cool! I’ve seen “Rent” 4 times and could basically recite it from memory.
  15. My favorite holiday is actually Easter and the week preceeding it (cause, kids, there is no Christmas without Easter…)
  16. Stacie and I took an unconventional honeymoon–we went north, rather than south, choosing to spend some days in Seattle and take a weeklong cruise up the Alaskan panhandle and back.

Matteo Brucia Tutti

December 10, 2008 at 10:28 am | In funny, recipes | Leave a Comment

Back to the cooking theme:

So, I’m taking this Italian class to prepare for the two weeks next year when Stacie and I traverse the Atlantic for a vacation in Italy. In this class, we had to make a presentation on some cultural topic. The ladies I worked with and I chose Italian Food. Since we had 16 minutes to fill (there were four of us and we had to speak for four minutes each), we decided to put together a little skit about food.

We called it “Matteo Brucia Tutti,” because when we were learning about food, I asked for the verb that means “to burn.” Since then, our professor has always teased me about burning food.

Enjoy! I’ll edit this post later with a translation when I have a bit more time :)

An unforgetable weekend (Un week-end indimenticable)

November 23, 2008 at 2:02 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

This is my fourth writing assignment for my Italian class. An English translation will follow. (Quest’è la mia scrittura quarto, per la mia classe d’italiana. Una traduzione inglese segua.)

Scrittura quattro: “Un week-end indimenticabile”

Era due e un mezzo anni fa, il 3 giugno 2006. Questo week-end, mi sono sposato a mia moglie, Stacie. A causa del matrimonio, io non ho lavorato il venerdì. Invece, mia zia ed io abbiamo fatto la spesa per una festa a casa mia quella sera. Ha fatto una festa per il resto della mia famiglia, chi non abbiamo invitato al ricevimento prima del matrimonio.

Dopo abbiamo fatto la spesa, sono uscito mentre mia zia preparava per la festa. Sono arrivato in chiesa alle sei, e abbiamo provato per il matrimonio. Poi, siamo andati alla sala da pranzo, dove mangiavamo e bevevamo tutta la sera.

Il giorno successivo, i miei amici ed io siamo andati a “Gameworks” e abbiamo mangiato e giocato i giochi prima di ci siamo vestito per il matrimonio. Alle tre, siamo andato a casa di genitori di mia moglie, e abbiamo preso le foto.La mia foto preferita è l’una che ho visto mia moglie per la volta prima. Era bella.

Dopo abbiamo preso le foto, siamo andati in chiesa. La chiesa cui ci siamo sposati si chiama “Sant’Agnese, ” ed era una chiesa bella. Ho cantato una canzone dopo la comunione, e le zie di mia moglie e le damigelle d’onore hanno pianto. Però, la sua mamma non ha potuto piangere, perché ha pensato le donne altre erano buffe. Infatti, gli ha riso!

Dopo la messa, siamo andati al ricevimento. Abbiamo invitato quasi 500 persone. Mangiavamo, ballavamo, e bevevamo per quattro ore, fino a mezzanotte e un mezzo. Avevo la più divertente quella sera.

Di domenica, abbiamo incontrato i nostri amici e abbiamo mangiato il pranzo a “La Rosa’s” (è una buona pizzeria in Kentucky settentrionale). Quella sera, abbiamo aperto i nostri regali. Tre giorni più tardi (di mercoledì), siamo usciti per la nostra luna di miele, una crociera in Alaska.


Writing Exercise 4: An unforgettable weekend

It was two and half years ago, on June 3, 2006. I married my wife, Stacie, this weekend. Because of the wedding, I didn’t work on Friday. Instead, my aunt and I went shopping for a party at my house that night, for the rest of my family who weren’t invited to the rehearsal dinner.

After we went shopping, I left while my aunt prepared for the party. I arrived at the church at 6, and we rehearsed for the wedding. Then, we went to the banquet hall where we ate and drank all night.

The next day, my groomsmen and I went to Gameworks, where we ate and played games before we got dressed for the wedding. At three, we went to my wife’s parent’s house to take pictures. My favorite picture is the one where I saw my wife for the first time. She was beautiful.

After we took pictures, we went to the church. The church where we were married is called “Saint Agnes,” and it was a beautiful church. I sang a song after communion, and my wife’s aunts and bridesmaids cried. However, her mom couldn’t cry because she thought the other women were funny. In fact, she laughed at them.

After mass, we went to the reception. We invited about 500 people. We ate, drank, and danced for four hours, until 12:30. I had the most fun that night.

On Sunday, we met our friends and ate lunch at LaRosa’s (it’s a good pizzeria in Northern Kentucky). That night, we opened our presents. Three days later, we left for our honeymoon, an Alaskan cruise.

Where have I been? (Dove ero visitato?)

November 21, 2008 at 9:17 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

I’m shocked (SHOCKED) that I’ve never been to Michigan! I’ve lived so close for years, and I’ve never been!

Sono sorpreso (TROPPO) che non sono mai visitato in Michigan! Ero abitato troppo vicino a per molti anni, e non sono mai visitato!


visited 21 states (42%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or try another Douwe Osinga project

Where all have you been?

(Dove eri visitato?)

Yum! Hummus Redux

November 20, 2008 at 11:39 pm | In recipes | Leave a Comment

I made some hummus tonight with real chickpeas. I mean those not from a can. Sure, I had to soak them over night and had to cook them to make sure they were soft, but let me tell you, it was worth it!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of dried chickpeas
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 4 small cloves of garlic
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Sort and wash your beans (they are beans after all).
  2. Cover them with 2-3 inches of water and put them in the fridge to soak over night.
  3. The next day, drain the beans and put them in a pot. Cover them with the chicken stock.
  4. Bring the stock to boil, then down to a simmer.
  5. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the beans are soft.
  6. Drain the beans and put them in a food processor
  7. Add the garlic.
  8. Turn on the food processor and drizzle the olive oil until the hummus has reached a smooth consistency.
  9. Season with salt and pepper.

Continue reading Yum! Hummus Redux…

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