Here I am, back in France and boy, am I jetlagged. I used to think this flying over the Atlantic thing was so cool; I loved saying I lived the jetsetting lifestyle. Now, I can safely say I'm totally over it! We were considering taking a trip to the States in late July, but once you see how expensive the tickets are per trip, it makes you think twice. The flight was pretty turbulent the whole way and I thought I would be getting to be a calmer traveler but i think actually I am becoming a more nervous flyer! But the person next to next made me feel better when she fell asleep on my shoulder. She was a cute 4 year old. She fell asleep in the middle of a big coloring art project with little smiley face stickers stuck to each of her fingers.
So, after unpacking my 2 suitcases, weighing 50 lbs. each, I realized that I have no idea when my next trip to the States will be. That feels kind of funny. I really love where we live in France and I love our new apartment, but I have to say there is no place like home. I felt pretty happy when I was back home in Sarasota, the only thing missing was my husband and the cat. We are getting closer to having Yann's green card, so we cannot even think of moving back to the States before that. Also, with the economy being as bad as it is, I feel like it would be scary for Yann to quit his job here and move to a country that is experiencing some of the highest unemployment in many years. Last year we were thinking we would move to the States in May 09, well, then things changed and we were saying August 09. Well, looks like that is being pushed back again. As it stands now, it looks like we should be moving back in January 2010. That seems like so far away from now! Yes, as you can tell I'm a little homesick for my country!
When I get overwhelmed with it, I just think about how lucky I am to be living abroad in a country like France. I mean, come on; it's not so bad. We have free health care here, so no paying medical insurance every month. It's a first world country, with many things such as groceries, shopping, and driving being basically the same as the States. Plus, when else will I have the opportunity to learn a language by living in the country? So, it's all good really. But I think once we do move back to the US I will really appreciate and never take for granted being able to live close to family and friends. To just be able to open your mouth and speak fluently and the people around you will understand. It's the simple things that I have learned to appreciate about my own country by living here in France. I don't know if I ever would have come to that realization, if I had never spent two years away from it. And that is my thought for the day!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Recap of Ladies Weekend '09
So, here I am about half way through my U.S. visit. It's going by so fast! In one way, I wish I could slow time down and enjoy being in this fabulous country, but on the other hand I am missing my hubby lots. Also, when I left France the weather in our area was rainy, cloudy, freezing cold, and windy. Basically, Florida is the complete opposite: sunny, hot, and tan friendly. And I am loving every minute of it. But, Yann says that the weather has been steadily improving every day there, and he even went kitesurfing for the first time of the season today.
Now, going back to the beginning of my trip here, I was pretty crazy because I volunteered to host a girls weekend at my parents cabin one day after arriving in the States. I knew I would be feeling jetlagged, however I thought it wouldn't be so bad. It wasn't too bad once I arrived in North Carolina, but the 10 hour drive there alone was not so fun. I ate lots of horrible fast food on the way and drank copious amounts of caffine. Everyone met up at my parents cabin last Thursday evening and we had so much to catch up on. So many great and big things have happened in all of our lives since we had last seen eachother. I was the party pooper who went off to bed at 10:30pm! Well, actually it was me and Adri, Nan's baby. We were roomies for the weekend.
Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with us for the entire weekend and we only got out to hike once. I really had hoped I could take the dogs hiking the whole time, but no such luck for us. Bella, Heather's 4 year old, found some mica stone on our small walk and we brought it back the cabin and pounded it up and made organic glitter! This was a good, and messy, rainy day project. But I think we all were more than happy to lounge around in our pj's all day and cook and talk. We kept the fire going in the fireplace all weekend and had the heat turned up, so even though it was miserable outside, inside we had a nice cozy time.
It was so great to see all them in one place! I think it needs to be a yearly tradition. And then, on the way back from N.C. I stopped for 2 nights in Atlanta to see my old friend Katie. Of course, the rain continued on and on there too. We did some mani/pedi action, shopping, and eating out, which was all fine with me. Katie took Monday off work and played hooky with me; we even treated ourselves to an indulgent massage.
I was pretty tired after all that visiting, so I was happy to come back to old Sarasota for some family time. Tonight my parents and I went out to dinner with my parents in law. Our fathers are basically in love with each other. Simply put, they are soul brothers; born in 2 different countries and brought back together through fate. They manage to communicate perfectly, despite the language barrier. They are really something else to watch. Crazy antics, people. Example? Tonight, at the restaurant, they made up this crazy thing where they cut the cork from the wine bottle in half and they each wrote their initials on the bottom of the cork. They exchanged cork halves and vowed, with much laughter and toasting, to unite the 2 pieces again, at their next meeting. See what I mean? They are leaving tomorrow for France and all my parents can talk about now is how much they will miss the Gehans.
Most Awesome Thing Of the Day:
After dinner we come home and Rascal is very, very happy to see us 3 and is looking just a touch guilty. We head into the kitchen and notice an empty, plastic 12 count box of mini-croissants lying on the floor. Rascal has devoured them and has left no crumb behind. We gently scold him, knowing that all that greasy butter in ones' tummy is almost punishment enough. We all go upstairs and prepare for bed; I pull back my sheets and to my surprise, I find a half chewed croissant stashed under my pillow. At first, I think, "Wow, that dog is smart! He heard us coming into the house mid-chew and hid the thing under here!" My parents are amazed, too. Then, a few minutes later as my father climbs into bed, he too, discovers a croissant under his pillow! This one is fully intact. After dying of laughter for a while, we change our theory of the situation. We now believe that our dog has placed the croissants there as peace offerings, to aide in the forgiveness process of eating our breakfast for tomorrow. Now, that is one smart dog.
Tomorrow is Boat-n-Beach day. It also may be Heather Gets to Buy a Sewing Machine day, because Yann asked what I wanted for our one year wedding anniversary! April 22nd. It actually is going to be a combo Valentines Day/Anniversary present. I love the holiday combo gift, don't you?
Take care until next time!
Now, going back to the beginning of my trip here, I was pretty crazy because I volunteered to host a girls weekend at my parents cabin one day after arriving in the States. I knew I would be feeling jetlagged, however I thought it wouldn't be so bad. It wasn't too bad once I arrived in North Carolina, but the 10 hour drive there alone was not so fun. I ate lots of horrible fast food on the way and drank copious amounts of caffine. Everyone met up at my parents cabin last Thursday evening and we had so much to catch up on. So many great and big things have happened in all of our lives since we had last seen eachother. I was the party pooper who went off to bed at 10:30pm! Well, actually it was me and Adri, Nan's baby. We were roomies for the weekend.
Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with us for the entire weekend and we only got out to hike once. I really had hoped I could take the dogs hiking the whole time, but no such luck for us. Bella, Heather's 4 year old, found some mica stone on our small walk and we brought it back the cabin and pounded it up and made organic glitter! This was a good, and messy, rainy day project. But I think we all were more than happy to lounge around in our pj's all day and cook and talk. We kept the fire going in the fireplace all weekend and had the heat turned up, so even though it was miserable outside, inside we had a nice cozy time.
It was so great to see all them in one place! I think it needs to be a yearly tradition. And then, on the way back from N.C. I stopped for 2 nights in Atlanta to see my old friend Katie. Of course, the rain continued on and on there too. We did some mani/pedi action, shopping, and eating out, which was all fine with me. Katie took Monday off work and played hooky with me; we even treated ourselves to an indulgent massage.
I was pretty tired after all that visiting, so I was happy to come back to old Sarasota for some family time. Tonight my parents and I went out to dinner with my parents in law. Our fathers are basically in love with each other. Simply put, they are soul brothers; born in 2 different countries and brought back together through fate. They manage to communicate perfectly, despite the language barrier. They are really something else to watch. Crazy antics, people. Example? Tonight, at the restaurant, they made up this crazy thing where they cut the cork from the wine bottle in half and they each wrote their initials on the bottom of the cork. They exchanged cork halves and vowed, with much laughter and toasting, to unite the 2 pieces again, at their next meeting. See what I mean? They are leaving tomorrow for France and all my parents can talk about now is how much they will miss the Gehans.
Most Awesome Thing Of the Day:
After dinner we come home and Rascal is very, very happy to see us 3 and is looking just a touch guilty. We head into the kitchen and notice an empty, plastic 12 count box of mini-croissants lying on the floor. Rascal has devoured them and has left no crumb behind. We gently scold him, knowing that all that greasy butter in ones' tummy is almost punishment enough. We all go upstairs and prepare for bed; I pull back my sheets and to my surprise, I find a half chewed croissant stashed under my pillow. At first, I think, "Wow, that dog is smart! He heard us coming into the house mid-chew and hid the thing under here!" My parents are amazed, too. Then, a few minutes later as my father climbs into bed, he too, discovers a croissant under his pillow! This one is fully intact. After dying of laughter for a while, we change our theory of the situation. We now believe that our dog has placed the croissants there as peace offerings, to aide in the forgiveness process of eating our breakfast for tomorrow. Now, that is one smart dog.
Tomorrow is Boat-n-Beach day. It also may be Heather Gets to Buy a Sewing Machine day, because Yann asked what I wanted for our one year wedding anniversary! April 22nd. It actually is going to be a combo Valentines Day/Anniversary present. I love the holiday combo gift, don't you?
Take care until next time!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Our new `hood
How cute is that mailbox? How much do I want to take it in the middle of the night and bring it back to the States with me when we move?! No, that would be wrong of me! It just fits perfectly here, in front of my neighbour`s house, because it`s been there for probably the last 40 years. I can just appreciate it`s vintage-ness everyday when I walk by!
This pic is of the old church right in the village square. In fact, I never need to wear a watch again because if I need to know the time, I just can pop my head out f our bedroom window and see it! They still have Sunday mass here and of course the bells still chime every hour and half hour from 8am to about 10pm. And these chimes are not from any musical recording; they are the real thing and after 2 weeks here, they still scare the hell out of Mopsy cat everytime they dong. It`s so funny watching her freak out about the noise!
Here is the little alley way that goes to our place. No cars can drive on these little Impassee`s; Most of the village just parks in a parking lot and walks to their houses. There is a sign hanging there, it`s for the restaurant in our village, called La Table de Ventabren. I think they are opening soon, because the village is quiet during the winter and it is closed. I can`t wait to try their food; I`m hoping it`s good, because it is only about a 15 second walk from our apartment! There is only this one restaurant, a real estate office, and a bed & breakfast up here. No other commercial businesses are in the village, but you can drive down just 5 minutes to the boulangerie and grocery store. In fact, Yann just got back from the store, because he`s making crepes and he needed chocolate and whipped cream! Yum!
Here is the view from the parking lot for the village. It`s nice because after you park and walk to your place you can enjoy this pretty view on the way! The rest of the pics are just random from around Ventabren. Enjoy! I will take more on Monday and post some of the apartment, too. Have a great weekend!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
We moved, but still no internet!
Sorry! No posts that are too exciting for now! Well, I`m writing this from the closest McDonalds from our apartment. You know, you can always count on McDonalds to offer free internet connection without making any purchases! I`m lovin`it!
Anyways, things are going steady with moving into the new place. In France, when you rent a place, the renter has to furnish it with all the light fixtures that come out of the walls and ceilings. And since we didn`t want just a bare lightbulb hanging from our bedroom ceiling, we had to buy and install all these. Plus, you have to furnish your own dishwasher, fridge, clothes washer & dryer and stove! Luckily, we had all these from our old place, but bringing them up our tiny 600 year old, winding staircase was a difficult task. We had our good friend, Corey from Canada, to help us and he was so awesome to help out. We were so sore and tired from moving our whole place in 1 day flat! Thank you again, Corey!
We still have some more painting to do, so I can`t take ay pics yet, until it`s finished! So, be patient; I won`t forget to post them!
I`m excited to be going back to Sarasota, FL for 16 days for a vacation! Too bad Yann can`t come too, but he had to work. I arrive on March 10 and that first weekend I have a girls weekend planned at my parents cabin in the mountains in North Carolina. Then, I just relax with friends and family until I leave on March 26th.
Thankfully, I`m finally getting my French Card Of Long Stay!! I`s like a Green Card for the States, but it`s for Europe. it`s taken about a year for all that to happen. It`s so incredibly difficult to obtain a French visa, people! Even when you`re married to a French guy! Forget about living over here, if you`re not married to a European or are a student or are a millionaire, who doesn`t need to work while here! The best is to just come visit me and enjoy a nice trip to the South of France. My house is open!
Ok, talk to you soon from Florida!
Anyways, things are going steady with moving into the new place. In France, when you rent a place, the renter has to furnish it with all the light fixtures that come out of the walls and ceilings. And since we didn`t want just a bare lightbulb hanging from our bedroom ceiling, we had to buy and install all these. Plus, you have to furnish your own dishwasher, fridge, clothes washer & dryer and stove! Luckily, we had all these from our old place, but bringing them up our tiny 600 year old, winding staircase was a difficult task. We had our good friend, Corey from Canada, to help us and he was so awesome to help out. We were so sore and tired from moving our whole place in 1 day flat! Thank you again, Corey!
We still have some more painting to do, so I can`t take ay pics yet, until it`s finished! So, be patient; I won`t forget to post them!
I`m excited to be going back to Sarasota, FL for 16 days for a vacation! Too bad Yann can`t come too, but he had to work. I arrive on March 10 and that first weekend I have a girls weekend planned at my parents cabin in the mountains in North Carolina. Then, I just relax with friends and family until I leave on March 26th.
Thankfully, I`m finally getting my French Card Of Long Stay!! I`s like a Green Card for the States, but it`s for Europe. it`s taken about a year for all that to happen. It`s so incredibly difficult to obtain a French visa, people! Even when you`re married to a French guy! Forget about living over here, if you`re not married to a European or are a student or are a millionaire, who doesn`t need to work while here! The best is to just come visit me and enjoy a nice trip to the South of France. My house is open!
Ok, talk to you soon from Florida!
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