Two things about this video.
Number one: In this video I'm 13 weeks pregnant, so no judging my little pooch belly I have!
Number two: Mom & Dad: You are forbidden to watch this video because it will ruin the surprise for when you come visit me this month. No peeking...promise?
Ok, now you can proceed.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
I might have to change the name of this blog
Well, hello! Welcome back. :) So, things are pretty good here because in just a few short days, 3 to be exact, my oldest, best friend, Stephanie and her handsome fella are coming to visit us here in France! I am just so thrilled to be able to show them around here and give them a look into my life for the past year plus. I think we will really be able to show them a good time and make it worth their long voyage. We have a couple days planned for going to Barcelona, which none of us have ever been to, so that is exciting. Also, just a few days after they head home, my parents are coming for a two week visit. Last year when they came we rented a big car and did a lot of road tripping all around France. So, this year in the spirit of saving money and gas, we are sticking much closer to home, in the South of France. I think we're going to stay in a gite, or B&B for a couple nights in the South Alps. We'll take a couple nice day trips too, to St. Tropez and some other beautiful little ancient villages. My parents love to hike as much as possible when they go on vacation, hence why I never visited any large cities on any vacation as a child. I still have yet to see my nation's capitol or Boston! They are super excited to come and I just can't wait to have momma's home cookin' brought Trans-Atlantic. The kitchen is semi-clean and waiting for you, mom!
So, in other big, life changing news, we have an exciting announcement. As if me announcing I was pregnant in last week's post wasn't enough! We are moving back to the States!! (And now you are finally understanding my strange title of this blog entry. See, if we move, I cannot keep my blog title of Ma Vie En Provence, because that would be false advertising and I can't handle any lawsuits at the moment.) So, I have to come up with a new title...any ideas? Seriously!
Yes, we talked long and hard about this one move for a while. We like France to visit for a vacation, but I think for living we just feel it's not for us. That's one of many reasons for the move back home. Other reasons include things like: I'd like to have this baby in a place where the nurse catching it can fully understand what I screaming about (ha, ha) and so that we can both be closer to our families. Actually, we will be moving back to my hometown of Sarasota, Florida. (And no, I'm not renaming this blog to: My Life in Sarasota...ugg) This is a great thing to move back there, and Ill tell you why. First off, my parents live there and second, so do Yann's parents, well, for 6 months out of the year. They very intelligently escape back to North France for the brutal FL summers. We are finally in the home stretch for obtaining Yann's U.S. visa and hopefully he can find a job without too much time passing by. This makes us a little scared of course, to have a baby on the way and to be job hunting in a horrible economy, but I think we won't know until we try. So, we are kind of taking a leap of faith. And it feels weird, as an American, to say I'm a bit nervous about moving back to my own country, but this time I am bringing back with me a couple extra 'souvenirs', so to speak. Baby and husband! But I have all positive thoughts about this move and just pray for us that all falls into place.
I think I will feel a lot happier and more comfortable giving birth in my ol' town, with all the familiar faces I know and love. Plus, then my friends will have no sound excuse not to come visit me in FL. After all, a plane ticket to Florida is a lot cheaper that one to France.
So, in other big, life changing news, we have an exciting announcement. As if me announcing I was pregnant in last week's post wasn't enough! We are moving back to the States!! (And now you are finally understanding my strange title of this blog entry. See, if we move, I cannot keep my blog title of Ma Vie En Provence, because that would be false advertising and I can't handle any lawsuits at the moment.) So, I have to come up with a new title...any ideas? Seriously!
Yes, we talked long and hard about this one move for a while. We like France to visit for a vacation, but I think for living we just feel it's not for us. That's one of many reasons for the move back home. Other reasons include things like: I'd like to have this baby in a place where the nurse catching it can fully understand what I screaming about (ha, ha) and so that we can both be closer to our families. Actually, we will be moving back to my hometown of Sarasota, Florida. (And no, I'm not renaming this blog to: My Life in Sarasota...ugg) This is a great thing to move back there, and Ill tell you why. First off, my parents live there and second, so do Yann's parents, well, for 6 months out of the year. They very intelligently escape back to North France for the brutal FL summers. We are finally in the home stretch for obtaining Yann's U.S. visa and hopefully he can find a job without too much time passing by. This makes us a little scared of course, to have a baby on the way and to be job hunting in a horrible economy, but I think we won't know until we try. So, we are kind of taking a leap of faith. And it feels weird, as an American, to say I'm a bit nervous about moving back to my own country, but this time I am bringing back with me a couple extra 'souvenirs', so to speak. Baby and husband! But I have all positive thoughts about this move and just pray for us that all falls into place.
I think I will feel a lot happier and more comfortable giving birth in my ol' town, with all the familiar faces I know and love. Plus, then my friends will have no sound excuse not to come visit me in FL. After all, a plane ticket to Florida is a lot cheaper that one to France.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
One year of marriage and...
One year of marriage today! I still can't believe how much my life has changed since that fateful night at S.K.O.B (Siesta Key Oyster Bar!) in October 2007. It hasn't actually been that long since I've been with Yann, considering that I married him 6 months after I met him. But everyday of this past year has been a confirmation of the best decision I've ever made in my life. This guy I married has a heart of gold. Truly, he's The Guy for me and I'm so happy to have the first milestone of marriage under our belts. I know we have a lot more of these April 22nd's in our lifetime. I loved our 'first' marriage here in Marseille. (I refer to it as the first because this first wedding was in a courtroom in France with only Yann's parents and his best friend in attendance. The 'second' wedding was on Dec. 27th, 2008 at a church in Sarasota, FL) Both weddings were great in different ways.
The first wedding was so casual, so carefree. There was something so liberating about going to a courtroom and having some random French dude marry us in a five minute 'ceremony'. I highly recommend this if you want to get hitched with zero stress or planning. I didn't even buy any new clothes for the occasion; just threw on some white pants and a white shirt. Our rings were purchased 2 weeks prior; they were having a sale at this really cheesy jewelry store in the mall...buy one wedding band and get the other at 30% off. We had eachother's names inscribed on the inside of the rings and they cost us about 120 euros for the two! Luckily, Yann's parents remembered to bring a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of chilled champagne. We went out for pizza and beers before. It was a crazy windy day, so my hair is flying around my face in all the pictures, but his dad managed to snap a couple keepers.
It was on a weekday, so after toasting with the champagne, his friend, JC, went back to work and Yann's parents headed back home. Yann and I, newly married, went to the Asian supply store and bought things to make a sushi feast. We celebrated at our apartment that night by getting in sweatpants and eating sushi on the couch and watching movies. It's crazy to me the fuss people make about planning a wedding; all the money and time spent to create this extravagant day. You know, to each, his own, but for me that day one year ago was the perfect wedding day. The whole day cost about 100 euros, but the feeling in my heart that day was priceless. I think when you hardly plan a wedding and keep it tiny and simple, it forces the couple to focus on the actual marriage, rather than all the other millions of details floating around. There was just us, and 3 other people to witness this union on that beautiful, windy day in Marseille, France.
And now, after a year, our lives are about to change in another huge way...
I am about 12 weeks pregnant and we're going to become parents sometime around November 5th!!
So, there you have it. I never thought my life could change so much in a short time, but sometimes miracles happen.
We couldn't be happier to share this news and we just feel blessed to have this new life to love and care for.
Of course, I'll keep you updated on everything!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Our trip to Paimpol
So, we got back a few days ago from Paimpol, which is in Brittany, France, to visit Yann's parents. The weather in this area is always hit or miss this time of year, due to its' geography. It's the kind of place, much like Seattle or Portland, where when the sun is out and the weather is warm, it's the most beautiful place on earth. But if you go during bad weather you just resign yourself to staying on the couch all day with a good book. So, we got pretty lucky because we had more sun than rain, and it really was beautiful when the clouds cleared.
It's a very green area, due to all the water, so there are tons of farms in Brittany. It's actually the best artichoke growing area in France and they also raise lots of dairy cows. It's also the birth place of crepes, so we were eating lots and lots of those as snacks. Yann's mom runs the Museum of the Sea, which is directly opposite their front door; she has the shortest commute known to man. They were opening for the summer season when we were there and their exhibit this spring is vintage trans-atlantic cruise posters, which are so cool and too bad they wern't for sale! I went to check the lobster traps with Yann and his dad one day and they dressed me up like I was going fishing in Antarctica in an ice storm. You can have a laugh below at the pictures of me in the red suit. But I will say, I stayed warm and dry the whole time and once you're out on the water it can be very chilly. Of course, Yann and his dad were in t-shirts and shorts. So, we caught about 6 lobsters that day, so we had lobster for lunch AND dinner. These lobsters, called homar in French, are the best lobsters in the world. They are deep blue/black in color and have very large pinching claws. For my photo op, Yann had to tell me the correct way to handle them, so you don't lose a finger. And their meat is delish. We were making lobster salad, lobster tartare, and my fav: just cooked basic with melted butter for dipping. We also indulged in tons of fresh caught scallops. Talk about eating locally; I think you can't get any better than catching it yourself and cookin' it up.
My favorite day of the trip was the last day when we took a short ferry ride over to the Isle of Brehat, which is just offshore from Paimpol. The island is just beautiful. That is all I can seem to say about it! We just hit it on the perfect day: tons of sunshine, a slight sea breeze, and not a lot of tourists. I imagine during the summer, there are probably too many tourists to really have the place to yourself. But that is why we went in early April; we don't like tons of dorky tourists around us! So, the island was inhabited a long, long time ago. Not sure how old it is, but the chapel's cemetery had some grave stones from the early 1800's. I would say about 90% of the houses on the island are super old, from around the early 1700's, or more likely earlier. There are just a few newly constructed houses there, but the architecture of the new blends in well with the old. The really old houses are all made out of stone and have moss growing on their walls. Some of the residents are year round, but I think a lot of the owners of the homes just come for the spring and summer. It is probably pretty quiet and dead around there in the winter!
The best thing about the island is that there are no cars, only old foot paths. So, you either rent bikes or walk, which is what we did and the island is small enough so you can walk the entire thing in one day. I was so tired at the end of the day that Yann had to pull me to the ferry landing. We walked to some cliffs overlooking the ocean and had a picnic and then we just cruised around checking out the gardens and petting the cows in the fields. All the flowers are starting to bloom now so there was lots of colors everywhere and as you can see from the pics, the sky was an outrageous blue color.
So, we're back to Aix now and Yann is off to work. His dad sent us home with a giant suitcase of frozen lobsters and fish. I think they thought we were weird at the security check at the airport. Now our freezer is stuffed and waiting for our guests. First my great friend Stephanie and her guy and then my parents in mid-May. Until the next time...xo
It's a very green area, due to all the water, so there are tons of farms in Brittany. It's actually the best artichoke growing area in France and they also raise lots of dairy cows. It's also the birth place of crepes, so we were eating lots and lots of those as snacks. Yann's mom runs the Museum of the Sea, which is directly opposite their front door; she has the shortest commute known to man. They were opening for the summer season when we were there and their exhibit this spring is vintage trans-atlantic cruise posters, which are so cool and too bad they wern't for sale! I went to check the lobster traps with Yann and his dad one day and they dressed me up like I was going fishing in Antarctica in an ice storm. You can have a laugh below at the pictures of me in the red suit. But I will say, I stayed warm and dry the whole time and once you're out on the water it can be very chilly. Of course, Yann and his dad were in t-shirts and shorts. So, we caught about 6 lobsters that day, so we had lobster for lunch AND dinner. These lobsters, called homar in French, are the best lobsters in the world. They are deep blue/black in color and have very large pinching claws. For my photo op, Yann had to tell me the correct way to handle them, so you don't lose a finger. And their meat is delish. We were making lobster salad, lobster tartare, and my fav: just cooked basic with melted butter for dipping. We also indulged in tons of fresh caught scallops. Talk about eating locally; I think you can't get any better than catching it yourself and cookin' it up.
My favorite day of the trip was the last day when we took a short ferry ride over to the Isle of Brehat, which is just offshore from Paimpol. The island is just beautiful. That is all I can seem to say about it! We just hit it on the perfect day: tons of sunshine, a slight sea breeze, and not a lot of tourists. I imagine during the summer, there are probably too many tourists to really have the place to yourself. But that is why we went in early April; we don't like tons of dorky tourists around us! So, the island was inhabited a long, long time ago. Not sure how old it is, but the chapel's cemetery had some grave stones from the early 1800's. I would say about 90% of the houses on the island are super old, from around the early 1700's, or more likely earlier. There are just a few newly constructed houses there, but the architecture of the new blends in well with the old. The really old houses are all made out of stone and have moss growing on their walls. Some of the residents are year round, but I think a lot of the owners of the homes just come for the spring and summer. It is probably pretty quiet and dead around there in the winter!
The best thing about the island is that there are no cars, only old foot paths. So, you either rent bikes or walk, which is what we did and the island is small enough so you can walk the entire thing in one day. I was so tired at the end of the day that Yann had to pull me to the ferry landing. We walked to some cliffs overlooking the ocean and had a picnic and then we just cruised around checking out the gardens and petting the cows in the fields. All the flowers are starting to bloom now so there was lots of colors everywhere and as you can see from the pics, the sky was an outrageous blue color.
So, we're back to Aix now and Yann is off to work. His dad sent us home with a giant suitcase of frozen lobsters and fish. I think they thought we were weird at the security check at the airport. Now our freezer is stuffed and waiting for our guests. First my great friend Stephanie and her guy and then my parents in mid-May. Until the next time...xo
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Bonjour April!
So, April is here and there are definite signs of spring all around here. Yann has been off work since I arrived back to France last week, so we've been spending lots of time together. Which is always nice, but the weather had been pure rain and clouds all the way until today. The day before he has to go back to work, of course! So, we had to take advantage of this great weather today and just forget about all the days last week we tried to go hiking in the rain!
Today we woke up and decided to go to this Salon des animaux thing, that we saw advertised on a poster in Aix. These are basically like small county fairs, but just with animals, no rides or games. Yann and I love visiting farms and seeing the animals. We get all excited, like kids, when we get the chance to feed a cow or hold a baby lamb. So, we have been to about 3 of these 'Salons'. The one today was about an hour away on these little country roads. It was a beautiful drive and much of it was along the shore of this huge lake. The exposition itself was not as impressive as the others I've been to here, because normally on a pretty day like today, they hold them outdoors on a farm. Today's was inside this big building and was just so-so. We got to hold some adorable but very expensive Belgium Shepard puppies and included in the ticket price was free food, but the real high point was the cat showcase. Remember the hairless cat of Dr. Evil in Austin Powers? Well, his little twin was there at this thing today and we had to touch it because it's skin looks so weird. We got told NOT to touch the hairless cat, because as we could plainly see it was a major prize winning specimen. It had about 50 First place ribbons hanging all over it's cage. It felt and looked totally bizarre.
After leaving that, we decided to stop off at this beautiful looking ancient village we had passed on our drive. The city is called Saint Chamas and it is right on the shore of this huge lake named Etang De Berre. What I love about France is that if you simply drive around the country side for a while and just let yourself become lost, you can find the most amazing little villages. They won't be listed in a Lonely Planet guide because they don't have anything major to attract tourists. They are just little, old, villages that people still are living and working in. It's just such a charming area around the South of France, because you see very ancient farmhouses still in use with horses grazing in the fields and people planting their garden beds for the season. I love so much the rural parts of France so much more than the big cities. I just feel like it's where you see the real France and meet just normal, nice people. So, we wondered up to the top of this town and took some pics using Yann's iphone. So, sorry about the quality. Here, at home, we have like 3 really nice cameras, but we never manage to remember them!! At the top of the town was a little grove of olive trees, that were very well cared for. I guess the people from the town all hike up there to take care of the trees. This made me want to see how olives are harvested and processed for oil and for eating. Yann and I are lovers of all kinds of olives, so I think it's a field trip we need to make some summer day. God knows there are plenty of olive farms around here; that is what they grow here: olives and wine.
So, now we are home and enjoying the afternoon. We cooked vegetable soup for lunch and now we are about to head up to the massive natural park above our village for some more R&R. The views up there are amazing; this time I will not forget my camera!! I think we are packing books and blankets too for some sunbathing time.
Yann leaves tomorrow but just for 3 days and when he comes back we are flying up to see his parents in Paimpol, France for five days. I love going up there because it means we get to be lazy because his parents always take such good care of us. They cook lots of yummy, fresh seafood that his dad catches locally. And his father promised me that he'd save some lobster for me! Don't hate me! :)
I hope you are enjoying your start of spring too!
Today we woke up and decided to go to this Salon des animaux thing, that we saw advertised on a poster in Aix. These are basically like small county fairs, but just with animals, no rides or games. Yann and I love visiting farms and seeing the animals. We get all excited, like kids, when we get the chance to feed a cow or hold a baby lamb. So, we have been to about 3 of these 'Salons'. The one today was about an hour away on these little country roads. It was a beautiful drive and much of it was along the shore of this huge lake. The exposition itself was not as impressive as the others I've been to here, because normally on a pretty day like today, they hold them outdoors on a farm. Today's was inside this big building and was just so-so. We got to hold some adorable but very expensive Belgium Shepard puppies and included in the ticket price was free food, but the real high point was the cat showcase. Remember the hairless cat of Dr. Evil in Austin Powers? Well, his little twin was there at this thing today and we had to touch it because it's skin looks so weird. We got told NOT to touch the hairless cat, because as we could plainly see it was a major prize winning specimen. It had about 50 First place ribbons hanging all over it's cage. It felt and looked totally bizarre.
After leaving that, we decided to stop off at this beautiful looking ancient village we had passed on our drive. The city is called Saint Chamas and it is right on the shore of this huge lake named Etang De Berre. What I love about France is that if you simply drive around the country side for a while and just let yourself become lost, you can find the most amazing little villages. They won't be listed in a Lonely Planet guide because they don't have anything major to attract tourists. They are just little, old, villages that people still are living and working in. It's just such a charming area around the South of France, because you see very ancient farmhouses still in use with horses grazing in the fields and people planting their garden beds for the season. I love so much the rural parts of France so much more than the big cities. I just feel like it's where you see the real France and meet just normal, nice people. So, we wondered up to the top of this town and took some pics using Yann's iphone. So, sorry about the quality. Here, at home, we have like 3 really nice cameras, but we never manage to remember them!! At the top of the town was a little grove of olive trees, that were very well cared for. I guess the people from the town all hike up there to take care of the trees. This made me want to see how olives are harvested and processed for oil and for eating. Yann and I are lovers of all kinds of olives, so I think it's a field trip we need to make some summer day. God knows there are plenty of olive farms around here; that is what they grow here: olives and wine.
So, now we are home and enjoying the afternoon. We cooked vegetable soup for lunch and now we are about to head up to the massive natural park above our village for some more R&R. The views up there are amazing; this time I will not forget my camera!! I think we are packing books and blankets too for some sunbathing time.
Yann leaves tomorrow but just for 3 days and when he comes back we are flying up to see his parents in Paimpol, France for five days. I love going up there because it means we get to be lazy because his parents always take such good care of us. They cook lots of yummy, fresh seafood that his dad catches locally. And his father promised me that he'd save some lobster for me! Don't hate me! :)
I hope you are enjoying your start of spring too!
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