So I’ve managed to go from nanny to mistress in just a few short months. What on earth do I mean by that? Am I implying that I intend to sleep with your husband? Don’t be silly! You can have him, I assure you. I’m talking more along the lines [...]

It’s not some dude I met the other day. It’s what I do now. Yes, yes, I am gainfully employed once again. Can I get an amen?
I don’t know how society women do it, seriously. I am just not a pampered woman of leisure. I can see why these women [...]

I know I’m a lucky somebody. I have been around enough families to know that I ended up with a great one. I hope I never become ungrateful and lose sight of that, either. Then again, we’re Ohioans through and through. Just try to get too big for your britches around [...]

It’s no secret that I love animals of all sorts. I’ve yet to come across one for which I haven’t been able to find a place in my heart. Mumsy has a photo of me at about age 10 at the zoo with a twenty-five foot albino python wrapped around my neck. [...]

Even from afar, when reading the news back home, there was an amusing trend that manifested itself: eight times out of ten, the most outlandish of news stories came out of my home state. I fly my weirdo flag pretty high and I’ll be the first to admit I hail from a state full [...]

I think it’s fair to say that I have seen and experienced a variety of ways to live. I have always been one who just wasn’t content to stay put or keep things as they were. I come by my gypsy blood honestly as well as that itch I get to pack it [...]

Being out in the country is some kind of wonderful for me about now. I didn’t grow up out here. My parents bought this spread long after I flew the coop for big city livin’ in Baltimore, Maryland. Coming “home”, (because let’s face it, home is where the people you love are), [...]

Monday morning, I made my way to the airport on precious little sleep. Thoughts of home had butterflies breeding in my tummy. No sooner than I took my seat on the airport shuttle did I crash out entirely.
I suddenly awoke, luckily, just as we were crossing the bridge over the Bosphorus; that hypnotic [...]

Insomnia happens to the best of us. It’s a part of life for most of us. It’s what you DO with your insomnia that defines you. I felt compelled to share some of the things I did last night/this morning. If you are sharp, you will not expect to see the [...]

For the purposes of not kissing-and-telling (I have learned a little about the importance of discretion in my day), I am going to be using a thinly-veiled analogy for the purpose of this entry. You may have to use your brain a little more than usual to unlock the code, but I have faith [...]

I’m hip now, but there were some differences in the department of hygiene that took some getting used to here in Turkey.
I arrived fully prepared to face the Turkish toilet, as I had been much warned of its odious presence. To be perfectly frank, I don’t get what the big deal is [...]

Hired help is big business here in Istanbul. Who you have working for you says as much about you as what kind of car you drive, where you summer, and where you send your kids to school. There is a definite hierarchical paradigm, as well, which I have become privvy to, not by [...]

I wish I were an easy-going free spirit in the kitchen. Sadly, I must admit, I am not. For some reason, I have become extremely methodical and controlled in that domain of my home. Could it be an allegorical statement about seeking to have some sort of hold in a life where [...]

It’s that time again, folks. I have sifted through some of the more amusing key phrases via Google that have led readers to my blog and have analyzed them for your edification.
I would first like to thank whomever runs the Asian girl porn site for linking our blogs. Surely those who peruse your [...]

Things have really started to look up for babies around here in recent years. Well, well-to-do babies, that is. Burberry Kids has opened stores as well as boutiques that sell Little Marc (Jacobs) and even Armani for little ones. Those fancy all-terrain strollers that look like they could be patrolling on the [...]

I swear I didn’t go to bed drunk. I also wasn’t coming down from any hallucinogen. I was on the cusp of REM sleep, however, when the Boyfriend decided to have an apocalyptic coughing fit, which may have been the culprit. I had myself one bat sh*t crazy dream and I felt [...]

I have mused here in the past about my favorite Turkish beverage, ayran. It’s not something exotic. It’s essentially just plain yogurt that’s been salted and watered down to a drinkable consistency. It’s no different than a salty lassi which I enjoyed on many a visit to Indian restaurants back home, in [...]

I’ve been thinking a lot recently; a luxury some people, sadly, may never know. I was musing most recently about how much the intervention of the internet has changed relationships. I have friends that I have never even met, so how’s that grab ya’? I am not just talking about people who [...]

We live down the road from the Hal, which is essentially Bond Street for produce here in Istanbul. The Hal is a big compound that receives fruits and veggies from all over Turkey. These goods will be evaluated, their prices fixed and later they will be sold to manavs (open-air fruit and veggie [...]

Even after having been here in Turkey for nearly for five years now, I have still not gotten used to one particular thing: ones weight as public casual conversation fodder. The thing is, I know that commenting on a person’s weight is quite normal and socially acceptable here, I just can’t seem to get [...]

It’s not something that I often share very openly, but Turkey is not so far off from being considered a third world country, for many reasons.
I spend quite a lot of energy lauding my adopted homeland with positive accolades about its people, its culture, and its cuisine. I have found myself in the position [...]

The people I am closest to know that I am not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. I was never shy about sharing my reasons, either. I had the same complaints as so many others. I didn’t like the fact that it seemed to be a commercialized holiday perpetuated by florists and [...]

Having a Turkish boyfriend in Turkey is mostly a blessing, in my opinion. There are so many situations, mostly bureaucratic, that I have not been forced to endure because I have had the benefit of a built-in negotiator. For the most part, having the wisdom of a native at ones disposal in a [...]

Is it just me, or is cinema pretty much dead at the moment? I am a cinemaphile. I watch me a whole lotta’ movies. Due to the fact that I live in Turkey (piracy, ahoy!), I sometimes even see movies before they are released in the theatres here. I tell you [...]

I’m no money market whiz kid; and that’s an understatement. I pretty much know two things about money; how to make it and how to make it go away, usually quick fast and in a hurry. So it was no surprise when I was caught with my proverbial pants down recently at a [...]

Cooking in a foreign country is always an adventure. I can remember my early visits to the grocery store as a newly planted expat here. Befuddled is the appropriate word. Turkish grocery stores seemed very limited to me then. Where were the frozen foods, the canned goods, the microwave meals? [...]

Dear window washers,
It has come to my attention that you find me much of interest. It’s called power walking. It is a form of [...]

Apologies for the hiatus from the blogosphere. Just got back from a visit home for the holidays. Upon reflection, something occured to me which made me very smiley, indeed: my heart has more than one home and it suits me just fine.
We started our trip back with a weekend in New York [...]

I am convinced that for an American, being a nanny in Turkey is one of the hardest roads you could choose to plow. Especially if you were raised by a totally fun, kick-ass liberal mother like Mumsy. One of the reasons my employers simultaneously love and fear me is because of how laid [...]

1) I am intensely sentimental. I am amazed at how easily I can turn on the waterworks; and it only gets worse the older I get. I have a huge hope chest in my parents’ basement filled with precious memorabilia I can’t bear to part with. I am known for writing long, rambly [...]