I have some sad news...after that whole build up about my bank account not working, lazy me did not go to my bank on monday morning (out of pure laziness, its not that close...) and so I just decided I really didn't NEED money either. Well, I decided to try it it out on Tuesday and see if things had magically changed and VOILA! they had. Look at that kind of magic. Patience paid off for once!! I went to an ATM to get out some money and I had no troubles. And just like that my story that seemed so interesting was not at all. The French banking system semi-redeemed themselves in fixing their own mistakes without me having to go fight them (and I'd win, hello, I'm American). So sorry guys that my story had a less than interesting ending. But it ended well for me.... drama less and with money in my hand. yipee.
Right now I am a friends apartment baking banana bread. I hope it turns out as I kind of combined 2 recipes and didn't use any measuring cups yet "guestimated" everything. Thats the story of my life, but now that I have measuring cups I should actually use them to get better results when I bake, huh. It should be done in about 15 minutes and its already starting to make the apartment smell divine.
I have come the realization that this country has caused me to become a vegetarian. This a funny thing for someone such as myself who comes from Texas, the country much less the state where meat is a staple in our diet. In Texas it is not uncommon to eat meat at every meal: breakfast, lunch and dinner. We even find ways to put meat in our afternoon snacks and we also created (or Taco Bell created) 4th meal where meat is usually involved there as well. There are vegetarians in Texas and no, it is not uncommon to find someone who does not eat meat there, but we are bred from birth to eat meat. Lots of it. And to enjoy it. And then I moved to France. I would say that vegetarianism is not a French thing. Actually, its quite the contrary. But, their way of eating is completely different....and their costs of eating are completely different as well. First of all, meat is usually only eaten at one time each day. In my experience, it is usually at lunch time therefore they eat less heavy dinners. But let me emphasize, I have yet to meet a French family that eats meat more than once a day. Also, the price of meat here is astronomical. Ok, thats a lie. But for people like me who live on a very minimal budget, meat is just not something I'm willing to splurge on anymore. And oddly enough, I am ok with that. Now when I search google for recipes or Pintrest for ideas, I find myself searching for vegetarian options of my favorite meals. So what did I cook yesterday for lunch? None other than vegetarian spaghetti. And I can honestly say I didn't miss the meat. I actually have hamburger meat in my fridge and I was planning to make regular meat filled spaghetti but then I had a change of tastes and decided to incorporate all the veggies that were being neglected in the bottom portion of my fridge and I think I liked it better.
So, there you have it. I am a slight vegetarian. Not because of preferences of lifestyles or trying to be healthier. Quite the contrary. It's because I've learned a different style of living thats has rubbed off on me and learning to cut costs where I can so I don't have to in other areas. If you had asked me if I'd ever cut meat of my diet, a few years ago, I would've laughed in your face at the thought of taking it out of one of my meals. But now I have to find ways to incorporate it if I have a sudden urge to buy it. My, how life changes without your approval! :-)
Oh, and if anyone cares to know....my banana bread which was a formed from 2 recipes without any measuring cups, just came out of the oven and is fantastic. 1 point for me!
Well, I'm off to enjoy this lovely Friday afternoon (and work). Hope you all have a great weekend!
Ciao!
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