Popcorn Burns and Shocking School Supplies

I hated today. And for reasons that have nothing to do with the title of the post. Winter has come upon us with force and quickness. It snowed yesterday. Granted it was only for a few minutes and nothing stuck, but Thanksgiving hasn't even come and I am already shivering. Speaking of, enjoy the festivities and feasting for me. Today, not only was it cold, it rained. Two things I hate. Actually I don't mind rain if I am sweaty from running and just ending the workout. But that's about the only time. And I especially hate rain when I am wearing my glasses; cold, wet, and blind. I decided on my trip in Austria that I would stop wearing my contacts. My eye health is very important to me and I want to keep them and my vision. I wear my contacts only when I workout and I remove them immediately upon entering my apartment. I've adjusted and I don't mind them slipping off my nose every two and a half minutes. I can live with that if it keeps the whites of my eyes gleaming and youthful.

I arrived at the metro station early before collecting Zac from school. Instead of standing in the cold waiting, I decided to step into Monoprix and have a looky looky. Since the elementary student in me hasn't died yet, I did a beeline directly to the school supplies. On the endcap I noticed there were some new designs and they were all in English. If i haven't mentioned this before, I HATE IT. I want things in French. I live in France and I want French on everything. There is no mystery or coolness of stuff in English. I can't take English written stuff back to America and have people think I am cool. It much be in French. Then I could flaunt it and people would be like, "Oh what language is that?" and I would say casually, "Oh it's French." And they would act so interested and say, "Do you speak French?" And I would answer in the romantic tongue as if it were my native language. That's beside the point. The thing that really tripped me up about these school supplies was not the language, but that it was ALL Desperate Housewives products. Yes. I am not kidding. Can you imagine having your little first grader come home and say, "Hey Mom, Caroline and Emma have a folder and pencil bag that I want to get, can we go get it?", and you think "Oh, it couldn't hurt, let's go!" Then you realize what it is. And you know the material they speak of on that show, right? Well all of those things are actually quotes on the folders, pencils, etc. I have nothing more to say on the subject except that I am a little shocked.Now, the other thing I wanted to mention was how I can't shake my moronic tendencies. Not only do I do really odd things on accident, but I repeat them. Last year I was craving popcorn. I couldn't find microwavable popcorn anywhere, and even if I did it wouldn't do me any good since I don't have a microwave. So I do it the old-fashioned, renaissance woman way. I melt salted butter in a pan and pour in the kernels and let those babies pop. It was a success. Since I'm not the most proper gal I just eat it right out of the pot (only when I am alone). When I did this, the pot grazed my legs and sizzled the skin. It hurt. But I didn't think about it until the next day when I realized that it was a pretty severe burn. I have a scar now on my calf. A popcorn scar on my leg. It doesn't make me feel tough. And by now, it might go without saying that I did it again. Only this time not to my leg. AND this time, I was pouring my popcorn into a very fancy and chic plastic tupperware container. But when I poured it, the bottom of the pot clammered to my arm like a magnet. I have no idea how it happened. You know how the inside of your forearm has the most sensitive skin, yeah? That baby skin got sizzled. Here is the funny part, medication. I have no aloe vera. So I tried some lotion. No good. I washed it off knowing that the burn needed some vitamins and also to breathe a bit. I went to my refrigerator and looked at my veggies. I did some research and saw that tomatoes and zucchini have some great nutritional values as far as vitamins go. Cucumber would be best, but I was fresh out. And so I applied zucchini and tomato juices to my burn. It felt better. It looks nasty, but it feels alright. To be honest, it looks like a kiss from a sphere-face Pokemon character.And there are many more blog-worthy moments of the day but I think I'll keep them in my journal and in my head. Saving those for a book. I've been reading David Sedaris again and have come to the conclusion that I could be his female counterpart. I seem to have his same luck. We'll see.

Update Schmupdate

It's been awhile. There are times during the week when I think, "I need to write about that," and I don't. I must say that I do miss having this outlet to write. I had intentions of taking a break from this blog to allow time to write more, document more, reflect, etc. However, I haven't been as disciplined as I'd like. I am quite sure that once I find an external hard drive over Christmas, I will start back on here. Not as often as before, but at least weekly.

I have some great photos from my last holiday. I met up with Pellow in Venice and I ran in the marathon and it was amazing. I plan to sign up for another marathon in the Spring with my cousin, God-willing she's able to fly over. I think that might be the best vacation - in Europe with Cousin Kel. She brings out my craziness and my giggly side. And me with her.

Italy was breathtaking, Austria was just as amazing, only in a majestic way. I love the mountains. There is something that happens in my heart when I am there. The air, the view, the sounds. I love the mountains. It will always be a trip that I will remember for getting to know a good friend. Pellow rocks. I was able to clear enough space to make room for the photos from the trip.

Painter's Point - Konigsee (Germany) Vienna Opera house. Yes, where Mozart composed. Pellow and I saw the most beautiful ballet here.
I'm immature, this I know. But who can't laugh at this?
I love you Salzburg!A rooftop cafe overlooking Salzburg, Austria
La la la la la....
The Sound of Music house (from the back; they used a different house for the front)The Sound of Music gazebo

Last weekend I took a train to Geneva to see Jasmin. The family she works for was in Israel, so she and I had the house to ourselves. I didn't do much research on the city and I wish I had. If I did, I would have known that it's where John Calvin joined the Reformation and changed the world. I could write five blogs on how cool all of that was, but I'll spare you because I know my excitement isn't always transferable. I did go to the International Museum of the Reformation. I didn't go through as painstakingly as I wanted, but I plan to do more studying and research and take another weekend trip in the Spring to do it all over again.

And actually, two days ago Pellow wrote to ask what I had planned for the weekend because she was thinking of taking the train into Paris on Saturday night, then leaving Sunday night for Barcelona. I love that spontaneity. I can't wait to see her again!

I've got a countdown to when I will be going home. My homesickness has been lingering for a while, so it's nice to see that time has been kind. I've got less than a month to go and one suitcase has been packed for a few weeks now. And my apartment looks no different. That says that I have accumulated way too much 'stuff'.

Once again I've hit an anti-social phase. This isn't new to me. I will blame it on a plethora of good books at my disposal and the fact that 80% of my closest friends have moved away, not to mention the weather. Each day seems colder than the last and it just seems easier to curl up on my bed and read under the light of my little lamp and glow of the little IKEA tea candles that I can't get enough of. During those times there is nothing more I'd rather be doing, except maybe drinking margaritas at Chuy's.

The family is doing well. Just last night my boss asked how my French was coming along. All I said was that I've lost motivation. She said "Would you like for Basile and I to start speaking to you in French?" I gulped, swallowed, and said "Yes." I shocked myself by that response. She then said, "Ben, nous commencons maintenant!" And now I am nervous.

The kids are the same. Barth is still getting into trouble, not cleaning his room, not making his bed, and coming home late. But he also still, at odd times, yells, "Connie...I love you!" and it always makes me smile, no matter how furious I am with him.

However, I am not sure if I've shared the new little discipline system that I came up with. I know how much these kids love their bank accounts. It's a great system they have. Their father keeps the books. He's a banker and he is their banker, as well. I thought, "Hmmm, what would motivate them to stay in line and do what they are told?" And that's when I came up with the spreadsheet now known as Au Revoir Mon Argent, Goodbye My Money. Isabelle and Basile LOVED it! Now here's how it works. There are five columns for ways to mess up and there are euro figures attached to each. Each time they get a mark, it's two euros, except profanity is five euros. The columns are Bed Made, Desk Clean, Tardiness, Profanity, and Other. The Other category is basically for Zac because he does all sorts of wrong things, like blatant disobedience, putting towels in the shower with him, hanging out with and distracting the tutor
while he's working with the other boys, and that list can go on. All that to say that Barth's row is full of marks. Zac is behind him. Balthazar is close to perfect.

All of Zac's pants are too small. They are all at his ankles. He doesn't see that they are too small but it kills me. He just got new ones in the summer. I'm shocked how much he's grown, but I just don't see it. Verena has grown too. She's not too far off from being my height. We've definitely bonded over the last few months and I love it. Never do we argue anymore. Balthazar is busy studying. He has actually moved downstairs into his own flat. There is some massive construction going on in the house. Zac and Verena have moved out of their rooms and are now living together in Balthazar's room. The ceilings are being lifted since the top floors have the exaggerated vaulted ceilings. All the windows in the roof are being changed out, and also will be electric. Then the entire flat will be painted. It all will be finished by next Fall. It's crazy. It's good that Balthazar has his own place. Studies have been brutal as he's preparing for university. He's applied at three universities in London and also at Science Po in Paris. It will be a weird year for Verena and Zac after the summer. Balthazar and I will both be gone.

I guess that is all the catch up that I needed to do.

I LOVE holidays!

So here I am in my hostel cafeteria sippin' on some coffee creamed with chocolate milk and spiffed up with some sugar. I've been reading a ton lately, but the highlight has been spending time with my new friend, Jennifer Pellow, and all the places that have dropped our jaw.

We started off in Venice. Yes, I ran in the marathon. Now don't think I'm a stud because I have a lack of motivation when it comes to anything, so my training was non-existant. I actually didn't expect to run more that six miles. I just wanted to check and see what a marathon was like. I was too scared that I would get injured and not be able to enjoy the rest of our vacation.

Our hotel in Venice was AMAZING. I loved this place and the people were so very kind. So I ran a half marathon before giving in to a knee problem that had began around mile five. I took the sweep bus back into Venice and ran to the finish. All in all (including the mile and a half sprint to catch the bus in the morning) I ran a total of about 16 to 17 miles. That in itself was a massive feat.

After spending three fantastic days in Venice, we caught an overnight train to Vienna. It's bigger than I thought and not nearly as mountainous. Then after a couple of days, we caught a train to Salzburg. Now, now, now THIS is my dream place. I love this city. We changed our plans and decided to stay here for two nights/three days. I could go on and on about the beauty. I am looking out the window now and can see mountains AND the fortress, which was shown on the Sound of Music. We are literally, directly, across the street from it.

We leave in a bit to go back to Vienna. We will stay one more night and I will board a place back to Paris and Jenn will hop on another train to Budapest. It's been one of the best weeks I've ever had. Lots of firsts, people.

Here's a fun one...I used a toilet that WAS a hole in the ground. Yes, Surprise. It was in Venice during my run, around mile 8. Emergency.

I've taken hundreds of photos and I cannot wait to edit them and share. Pray for some space on my computer to clear up. The sites have been breathtaking. Oh today we are going to Mozart's birthplace and residence. OH and I was IN the actual room that he performed in for the Queen of Austria when he was 6. I think this is amazing because I LOVE the movie Amadeus and this scene is in the film.

Alright, battery power is fading. Time for me to go. Thanks for reading!