La Dernier Blog dans Paris

Salut everyone. It is Tuesday, May 6th at 9:18 a.m. This will be my last blog writing as a resident in Bougival, France!

I just woke up and the sun is shining, blue clouds and warm outside. I am upstairs in Ashley's house and Beatrice is on the phone next to me, and I get to hear a nice French conversation :) It is a really strange feeling knowing this is my last day here, and that tomorrow I am going to be flying home to the States. I'm not sure how to feel at the moment. I'm just going to go on with my day and not "think" too much about it. My plan is to get ready and go to the Bougival Boulangerie and Tabac one last time to order a pastry and cafe creme, and then say goodbye to the nice people that work there. They've known who I am all year so I want to tell them I'm leaving and goodbye. Then I will be getting on the train to Paris for a last time where I will go to Willi's Wine Bar one last time. There is a small gift I need to pick up, and I'd like to take a photo of the outside as a souvenir. Then I will probably get directly back to St. Lazare for the my last train ride back into Bougival. I'm then going to ride with Ashley to St. Germain and go to the Vatin's new house to meet Jessica, the new au pair. I will go with her to pick up the kids from school and then spend the rest of the afternoon and evening playing with them and having dinner with the family. I think it will be really nice and we'll do a small gift exchange. I will do my best to keep my cool and not cry too much! I am going to try to just let it all hit me tomorrow morning on the way to the airport or something. Virginie and the kids will take me to the airport to see me off, where I know I will probably break down...BUT thats just how I am...I always cry at goodbyes.

Paris has been the greatest experience of my life so far. When the idea came up to find a job to move here, I never expected that it would all fall into place like it did and that I'd actually find a great family right outside Paris and spend 10 amazing months here. It's been a rollercoaster ride of emotions and lessons learned and excitement and adventure and loneliness and growing and culture shock and new stories to tell....

I am going to miss the Eiffel tower the most. I am going to miss the sounds of the train and the woman's automated voice announcements: " ce train est a destination de St. Nom la Breteche" and "prochaine arrette: Bougival"...haha. I'm going to miss the cafes and St. Michel. I will miss walking along the Seine and taking photos, and going to the Louvre. I will REALLY MISS the beautiful architecture all around me, not just in Paris but everywhere I've been so far in Europe. I will miss my few good friends I've made here, especially Ashley and Ashleigh, my au pair friends. Most of all I will miss the children, Ines, Tiphaine and Matthieu. I will miss the sounds of their voices and their smiles when they get excited. "Regarde, Laura, gaarrrdeee...." (I will give everyone back home an audio example of Matt's cute little voice)

Thank you to everyone for supporting me during my time in Paris. Thanks for all the cards and letters and gifts and care packages and phone calls and emails and messages online. I will never forget all the great details of my life I had here in Paris. Paris will forever be a part of me until the day I die. I will think of it every day. I'm sure it may be hard for me for the first couple months to get used to the idea that I can't just go into the city to play. But I have every intention on returning to France every few years, or 5 years, whatever it will be. My French language skills have improved immensely, even though I cant say I'm 100 percent fluent, thats alright. I will find ways to use my French in the States. Each time I return to Paris I will feel like its a home away from home and I won't forget much at all about the city.

Well, this is it. So long from Paris. Wish me a safe flight home. I will see all of you very very soon.

A bientot. A la prochaine fois. Gros Bisous.

~ Laura

Beautiful Spring!

The weather has been fantastic the last 3 days! It's been really nice to wear spring dresses and sandals and frolick through the city. Hehe. :)

I saw new things this weekend: Jardin des Plantes and Giverny! Both were fabulously full of flowers :) Monet's garden and water lillies were just spactacular and I'm so glad I decided to spend the 28 Euro and do it! I'll never forget how perfect the weather was and everything was in bloom! I took lots of photos!

I'm nervous at how much it will cost me later to print off A LOT of photos from my computer so that I can document my year here. But I really want to do it right and have albums and scrapbooks of this time here.

Today I'm packing up my things from the apartment in Paris and I'll be spending my last 2 nights in Bougival at Ashley's apartment. I will come back into the city once or twice to pick up some last minute items, but otherwise my time here is pretty much over. :( It's surreal and I think I'm still not realizing the reality.....my emotions come and go. Tomorrow when I have my real last day and see the kids, then it'll hit hard I think. Yesterday I went by Nico's apartment to leave a letter and my contact information...I hope he gets it soon or that someone in his family checks his mail. I just don't know what's going on so that's hard......I need to be patient and think positively.

Parisian-ing it up for my last few days

Hi everyone. It's Friday afternoon and I'm hanging out in the apartment near St. Sulpice (not far from St. Germain des Pres) in the heart of Paris. Mom left this morning to go back to Sacramento. We had a really nice week together. I got to see Chatearoux and Brassioux, where she lived for 4 years as a teenager on an American Base and attended high school. It was really fun to be the "1st child" to go there! I drove her and her friends around the town and base and tagged along for tours and yummy lunches and dinners!

Yesterday mom and I tried to get some "business" done in Paris but EVERYTHING was closed for the French holiday similar to Labor Day....so instead we went to Bougival and she helped me finalize my packing to come home. That was a huge help and a big relief to just get it done.

I'm going to go to Giverny tomorrow with some of my au-pair friends and see where Monet painted the water lillies and Japanese gardens, bridges, etc. The weather is supposed to get to the 70s and be sunny!

It's feeling really strange and surreal that these are my last few days in Paris (for awhile). But I'm also feeling excitement about going home. Monday and Tuesday are my last days and they'll be kind of hard I imagine....just bittersweet. It'll be nice to spend my last night with the family for dinner and playing with the kids.

Okay, off for now........going out with the girls tonight later.

p.s. no news on my friend, Nico...... I'm trying to get info, but not having luck. I hope that no news is good news for now....it's frustrating because I don't have other people's contact information, such as his family or a friend.....so I'm just praying they'll check his cell phone and get back to me with news. Thinking positive!!!

Sunny in Paris!

Hi everyone. I'm here in Paris, staying at an apartment near St. Sulpice, with my mom's high school friends that are here on vacation. The apartment is really great! It's big and has fun paint and furniture and great character. Today it is probably 70 degrees and clear sunny skies! It is fabulous.

Today I did the cruise along the Seine for one hour. It was perfect weather and I am so happy I did it because it's great to see all the major sites from the water!
I went on my own because mom's 4 friends went off to see things I've already done...so I ventured out in the sun on my own and took lots of pictures from the boat!

Everyone is officially moved out of the house in Bougival, as of yesterday. So all my belongings are in Ashley's apartment in Bougival...so for the next 12 days I'll be going back and forth a lot between there and Paris.

Mom arrives on Sunday afternoon.....we go to Chatearoux for 2 nights.
I'll have one last family dinner with the Vatins in their new house and play with the kids...then they'll take me to the airport to say goodbye the next morning :(

ok off for a nap!

and the tears begin......

Today was my last day of work with the 3 little French munchkins......... I wasn't too emotional at all during the day and didn't think about it much, until the end of their school day......when we left the school for the last time together, and then went to poney lessons for the last time........and giving them their last bath and making their last dinner was when it all hit me.I have grown so attached to them, as a big sister and also like a mother.....I've done everything for these children that a mother does, day in and day out for 10 months.so, tonight in Paris, I'm a little sad and melancholy........I love them with a big piece of my heart.Luckily I didn't have to say goodbye........yet.I'll see them in 2 weeks...surprise them at school to play one last time, and then I'll be having one more family dinner with them and the parents the night before my flight, and they'll take me to the airport as well........anyways, just filling in those who care to know........being an au pair has really meant making new family members that I'll always be grateful for, no matter how crazy the rollercoaster is....

Miss Ines

Last Days of Work....

Tonight I gave the kids the last bathtime and made the last dinner that I'll ever do for them. :( I haven't been too emotional about any of it this week, but now I'm starting to think about it. I took photos and more video today...... I don't ever want to forget them, and I'm doing my best to document enough so that I can always go back and look at how it was.

Tomorrow I'll do the regular routine one last time...it will be hard even leaving their school at the end of the day...I like a lot of the mothers and their teachers, and especially all the little French children that know me. We are going to have a little party in Tiph's English class...I made 2 apple tarts tonight for the kids. I will videotape in there too.
And then I'll do the last poney lesson with them......even though I wasn't a big fan of that, I'll have fun with it tomorrow.

I've talked to the kids about it being my last day, and they understand I think. They know I'm "content" and that I'm going home to my family and friends. They also know that we'll see each other again in 2 weeks after their April vacation...and we'll have a last big family dinner, and exchange little gifts. Then Virginie will bring the kids with us to the airport to say goodbye.

Oh my gosh........ I'm going to cry. :( I will miss them, and especially their little voices. Even sitting in my studio I can always hear Matt's little voice..."Papa, qu'est-ce que tu fais? Papa. Papa." hehe, he's so cute.

ooooooooookay gotta stop typing so I don't get too emotional yet.

wish me luck! i still have time left in Paris to play and have fun, so no goodbyes yet!

It was a fine time in Ireland, and that's a fine car park over there

Hello hello...... long time, no blog, I know. Life has been fun and busy lately. My parents (Dad and Carolyn) spent a week in Paris and they had fun seeing all the big sites and museums. We spent the weekend together seeing some fun neighborhoods and shopping, and one night we went to Willi's Wine Bar (fantastic again!) and a couple cafes on The Champs Elysees! It was fun to have dinners together and plenty of wine.

After the fiasco of being bag-less for a couple days thanks to British Airways, they finally got all their luggage and we trekked on to Ireland! From the start it was a great time. Each of our taxi drivers had fun stories to tell (and sometimes the accent was strong enough that it was hard to understand their English)! After checking into the hotel room we walked down the block and had a yummy (and big) Irish lunch (lots of meats, bread, seafood, and soup) + Guinness beer...mmmm
Our hotel was in the Temple Bar area which was perfect because it was so cute, lots of colors, and lots of pubs! Dublin was pretty much 2 days of pub crawling, drinking plenty of Guinness as well as Irish whiskey. The first night we went to see the film U23D, one of their concerts in 3D. IT was amazing and felt like we were right in the front row! We saw the elementary school that Bono and The Edge went to in Dublin as little boys, plus we had a drink in The Clarence Hotel, which they both own. Being in Dublin was really fun since I'm such a big U2 fan!
Saturday night we met some cool Irish guys just a few years older than me in the pub next to our hotel, so that turned into a night of Guinness and funny, random stories.

Dublin was very relaxed and cool. I liked the people and the atmosphere a lot. It was full of young people and was kind of more my speed than the young life in Paris. I'd definitely go back there.

The other 2 days of our trip were in the countryside of Ireland, starting in Killarney and then doing The Ring of KErry. Kerry is a country in Ireland, and covers a lot of the country, so we really covered a lot of territory. We started out on a train to Cork and went to the Blarney Castle where we kissed the Blarney Stone and now have the gift of eloquence :) It was a little scary doing that because of the heights, but it was fun and we have great pictures to show for it.
We also went to Cove, a cute, colorful, quaint little town right on the water. It was actually the last calling port for the Titanic just days before it hit the iceberg. It was really interesting to be there and see the docks and the port and visualize the scene. There was a beautiful cathedral up on a hill and the view was spectacular! We ended the day with a stop in a museum devoted to The Titanic, The Luscitania, and the story of the Irish immigration. That night we stayed in a nice bed and breakfast and I slept like a baby :)

On Sunday we took a bus tour of the Ring of Kerry. Words can not describe how beautiful and different it was in the country of Ireland! wow!! It was so green, lots of small rolling hills, and sheep everywhere! Everyone's cameras were constantly on! The houses were all fairly new and the architecture was really neat. They had pretty colors and some were really big. Every now and then there were little old cottages, but mostly the houses were new. We stopped at a village of little old cottage type houses just to see how it looked a long time ago when there wasnt electricity and the houses were the size of a small bedroom.

Fortunately we also made it to the coastline (rivers and bays) and saw beautiful aqua blue water and tall cliffs. There were islands far out in the water too. The scene was gorgeous. The weather was usually fairly sunny with some clouds, but the wind was just awful, making it really cold!

All in all, it was a great vacation and I was really happy to do it with Dad and Carolyn! I would love to return to Ireland one day. There were bumps on the road with transportation and luggage, but it all ended up okay. We also had a very entertaining tour guide on Saturday that we had to try our best at to keep from laughing out loud (but I failed at that) :)

Well, I'd write more but its been a long day and I'm a little sleepy. I will write again soon to update on whats going on in Paris! And pictures soon!

South of France and my parents!

Sorry for the late blog....last week I spent 3 days on the Mediterranean in the South of France! It was amazing and I am determined to return during the summer season, hopefully within the next couple years. I spent the nights in a great hostel in Nice and fortunately made some good friends, both girls that were also travelling alone, so we did site-seeing together. My favorite was the beach in Nice! Wow the view was spectacular and the water was so beautiful....aqua blue and green, like Hawaii. I sat on the beach for a couple hours and had a bright cocktail to drink! Then I called my parents and sister to rub it in! Haha.
I also went to Monaco and saw the Monte Carlo casino, a village called Eze with a gorgeous view of the sea, Cannes, and Antibes (filled with massive, beautiful, expensive yachts)!!

I took lots of pics!

Tomorrow night my Dad and Carolyn arrive! Their hotel is near Notre Dame, in the St. Michel area, a great neighborhood. We'll have fun each day, and then the 3 of us fly to Ireland next Thursday! We will start in Dublin and then go to the countryside of Kilarny. I am soooo excited!
All is well, and the family here is starting to pack and prepare for their move to St. Germain en Laye. My work is officially done on April 18th, but I will be in the house until the 24th, and then have fun and play lots before I fly out on May 7th!
It is a bittersweet feeling, but I am excited to see everyone again back home in Idaho and California!

I will try to write more in a couple days before Ireland! bisous

Boyz II Men in Paris!

Last night was such a great night! I saw Boyz II Men at le Zenith arena in Paris with my friend Ashley. We had pretty good seats (and it was a very small, intimate place). They were SOOO GREAT! They seriously sounded so amazing. I'm sure they are close to 40 years old...and even after not having new music out in almost 10 years they sounded in top form. They looked so cute too in these nice suits and white button up shirts. My favorite is Shawn of course! They came out starting with "Motown Philly...Boyz II Men"...I was so excited! Then they did "On Bended Knee", and then they broke out into Motown oldies! They have a new c.d. out right now called "Hitsville U.S.A" which covers old Motown songs.....so last night they sang "Tracks of My Tears", "Just My Imagination" and "Money...That's What I Want"...they even danced behind the mics like the Temptations used to do. It was so much fun to watch and sing along. Then they did more of their own hits..."End of the Road, I'll Make Love to You, Four Seasons, Mama, Water Runs Dry"............OMG.......it was so great. I did not sit down one time, I was up on my feet dancing and singing........along with the rest of the crowd.

Anyways.......it was pretty awesome and Ashley and I had a fun time......including drinks afterward. She took some pics and video, so I'll try to get those soon.

Meanwhile I'm busy planning my return to the States, mentally organizing and packing, planning some little trips before I leave Europe, and chasing around munchkins............ok gotta go!

A Weekend of Training (TGV and Eurostar)!

This is my 100th post! cool!

It's Monday and I don't work until 4pm...yippee! I got home late last night from a weekend in London. It was really great.
But first...
Friday I went to Bordeaux on the TGV...about 4 hours...1st CLASS! My bosses sent me so all expense paid! It was really relaxing and nice to read, sleep, etc. THEN I waited in the train station for 2 hours...had myself a nice lunch and wine...then the kids' grandma came and dropped off the 2 little munchkins...so Tiphaine, Matt, and I got BACK on the train...to return to Paris! So I spent all day in the train...and thankfully there were 2 little girls sitting right in front of us, so they all played together, making it less 'work' for me to entertain the kids...it was a little challenging to keep the kids calm, quiet, etc...but we got up a couple times to use the restroom and buy drinks at the 'bar'...so that was okay. Don't worry, just fruit juice!

Saturday morning Ashley and I met at the station at 6 a.m. and made our way to Gare du Nord...where we caught the train to London! It was a bit chilly, and cloudy...and drizzled off and on. But we had fun taking the "orginal red bus tour" around the city. We saw Big Ben, Westminister Abbey, The London Eye, Trafalgar Square, The London Tower, London Bridge, and Buckingham Palace. I had fun taking pictures!
Later that night I met up with my two Delta Gamma sisters, Ashley and Breanne. We got ready for the night and then went to a great little Mexican restaurant in Leicester square. After great food and 2 pitchers of margaritas, we were ready for the club! We were on the guest list into a cool place called "ChinaWhite" in Picadilly square. The club was all decorated and styled in an Asian theme, and there were two separate areas with techno-type music and then hip-hop. It was SO MUCH FUN to be in a place that had good music and dancing (my type) and to be with some of my friends and dance.

Sunday I ventured back to Buckingham Palace to get a better view and be right there in the front by the black and gold gates. It was really pretty! It was kind of surreal to be standing there....with the guards in front of the palace. There was a pretty rainbow in the sky...so I got some neat photos. I met a nice girl from New Zealand that was also by herself, so we started chatting.
Then I went to Notting Hill, and I OFFICIALLY LOVE IT AND WANT TO LIVE THERE WHEN I'M WEALTHY! It was soooo adorable. I loved the neighborhood. There were adorable little colorful houses...cute little cars...and then bigger, cream colored houses that were so English looking. Some of it reminded me of San Francisco too. There was a great market street on Portobello Road. GREAT little shops and markets...antiques, funky clothes, shoes, jewelry, coffee and tea houses. People were all around walking and shopping. I tried to find the "Travelbook Shop" from the movie, Notting Hill, but no luck. (I know it was there somewhere, but I must have overlooked it). Walking around the area I could definitely see the movie in my head...so now I want to watch it again!
If I ever go back to London (which I know I will one day) I will want to go back to Notting Hill.

By the end of Notting Hill my feet were tired so I headed to the train station to relax for about 90 minutes before my train back to Paris.

So now I'm here....looking at the calendar and realizing how few work weeks I have left. I have quite a bit of free time as well so I'll be planning something else (whether in Paris, or elsewhere). I can't wait to see my Dad and Carolyn!
Knowing that I'm coming home in 2 months makes work a little bit easier....no need for frustration or feeling tired...it's all about staying positive with everyone and making the most of my remaining time here!

Back to Basics (blonde)

Today was great.
I had a hair appointment in Paris. I'm starting the process of going back to blonde. So today was a "ballyage" day...a.k.a. highlights. I am pleased with it considering there's not many ways to get around that awkwad in-between period....it'll take a few times before I'm back to blonde completely, but so far so good.

I had a lunch date with Nico :) He was only in town for the afternoon before seeing his family in Corsica...so we had lunch and a movie. He makes me laugh and is pretty dang cute...so it was nice. We talked a lot and updated each other on life (since it's only every couple months we see each other). FYI, he's an 'interest' and that is all.........he travels too much and is rarely in Paris, but we will stay in touch and spend time together when possible...even in the States because he travels there every month!

I booked my free train ticket back to London for this Saturday! It's Ashley's birthday, and so we're going for one night, and are staying with my DG friend Ashley who is studying there. Our other DG sister is coming for spring break, so we're all hanging out this weekend in London! Free train ride, free lodging.........plus a dance club Sat. night + sight seeing!!! Yay!!


P.S. a new development: I am returning home to the States on May 14th !!

Les Miserables

Was f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s!!!!!

I can't describe it in words, and I hope most of you already know the actual play/story.........SO I'm not going to actually write about it. But seeing it in London was amazing. The actors and their voices were incredible. It was clearly the best of the best out of all the times I've seen Les Mis.

My seat was PERFECT (theater wasn't very big anyway).

I had a great time and am so thrilled I made the wise decision to spend the pounds and go!

Quiet After the Family Leaves

Hi everyone. Sorry it's been so long since my last post, but my family was here for about 12 days! Aaron arrived on my birthday, the morning of the 16th, and we took the train an hour away to Tours, where we did some white wine tasting in Vouvray, and ended up 'hitch hikin' in the wine country along a road with old stone walls and little chateaus. We had some great sauerkraut for dinner, and the next morning did a mini tour of old Tours...which was really cool! Aaron and I spent a couple days site-seeing in Paris, and once he knew how to use the metro and get around on his own, he ventured off into the city when I had to work. He also came with me into St. Germain to pick the kids up for school, so that was neat to have someone see where I work and what I do.

The rest of the family (Mom, Harry, Megan and Andy) arrived on the 21st. I had Tiphaine and Matt with me and we met them at the hotel. It was really cute to have them with us at the cafe (they ordered apple juice) and then we walked all the way up the Champs Elysees. Matt was mainly interested in skipping the cracks on the pavement and trying to pick up loose pavement from the Champs Elysees. Tiphaine and Megan got along great, and it was actually quite nice to have all those extra hands to help me with the kids! The day before Aaron and I had taken all 3 into the city to ice skate. It was fun, but a real challenge...although I think it's good for the kids to see what big city is like in Paris and to experience more culture than Bougival and their school can offer.

I then had about 5 days free from work, so we did a LOT of site-seeing, and I got to see in the inside of Versailles for the first time! It was gorgeous, but almost too"gawdy", all decked out in gold...but it was great to see the Hall of Mirrors. Friday night we had a big French dinner and red wine at Willi's Wine Bar (my favorite hang out spot). A few of us even purchased some of their art posters, so I'm excited to have that in my home in the future.

Saturday night we went to the Paris St. Germain vs. Monaco soccer match at the Park des Princes in Paris! It was REALLY COOL to see that, even though it ended in a tie. It was a great experience to be in that environment of crazy fans in a big stadium.

Monday night we had a dinner with the family at the house in Bougival. It was really nice to all sit around and visit and for my family to meet the parents. We ate "raclette" which is like cheese fondue, on top of a baked potatoe with ham.

Well, there are more fun details and if I think of them and have time to write more, I will! I have to go for now......but soon I'll write about my Les Miserables day in LONDON!!! IT WAS FANTASTIC!

La famille!!

My mom and everyone else arrives in 2 hours! I've had a great time so far with Aaron, so the next 6 days are going to just be as exciting. I can't wait to see my sister, Harry, Andy and MOM! It's weird.... it's been 7 months!

We've had fun, adventures, and yesterday was a real event taking the 3 kids into Paris. Today I'll have Matt and Tiphaine in the city to meet everyone at the hotel, then the Eiffel tower.

Well, this is super short because I have to get ready for the day....if I don't blog again for another few days its because of all the excitement and plans.

Thanks everyone for birthday wishes and gifts! I'll write more soon!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone back home! I hope you all have a good day. Unfortunately here in France it's not really celebrated....and if it is, it's just for "adult lovers", so I was told. So the kids have never done anything special for today. The parents even looked at me strangely when I asked if we could make cards and buy treats. So that was odd and disappointing. But thanks to my dad and Carolyn, I had fun heart stickers for all the kids to wear on their shirts today. And Ashley bought them little heart suckers....so we celebrated a little bit at lunch time.

The sun is shining and I'm trying to do last minute preparations for my family visit! Yesterday I also purchased a train ticket to London! I am going for the day on Feb 27th to see "Les Miserables" and I'm SOOO excited! Because I want to travel more before leaving Europe, I decided London was not at the top of my priority list, so I'm going over and back in one day on the chunnel....so maybe I'll see a site or two, but the main point is to see my favorite musical, Les Mis! It's a dream to see it in London too. I'll go the same day my family leaves Paris...so it works out nicely!

Thanks to everone that has sent me cards in the mail this week....and Aunt Judy, I got your packages! I am opening everything on Friday night I think....so thanks in advance! Saturday I'm waking up early to meet Aaron at the airport and then we're going to Tours for the weekend. It'll be a memorable birthday and I'm so glad to have my brother here. I am really looking forward to the next 2 weeks.
(thanks mom, Harry, dad and Carolyn for the birthday money as well!)
I love you all and am so grateful to have such great support while I'm here!!)

Big kiss from Paris........the city of love, is it? No Valentine for me here....but that's alright. :)

Pretty in Paris

Hi fellow stalkers. ; ) I know it's been awhile...but that's just how it goes. Let me first say HOW PRETTY the weather has been the last week. CROSS YOUR FINGERS it lasts for my family's visit! It has been in the 50's (sometimes warm, sometimes cooler) with clear sunny blue skies. It really makes Paris and my mood go up in the beautiful factor. Haha. I love it. So I'm thinking positively that it will stick around at least another 10 days! Say your prayers.

All is fine here. The same work life....going to class, driving the kids a lot, playing new games and singing songs, dealing with temper tantrums and disobeying from time to time....but generally everything is good. Tiphaine fell down yesterday on the pavement and really sliced open her chin. It was not a pretty sight, but thankfully there were lots of moms around to help with First-Aid kits. Matt is still behaving the best of the 3 I think lately....although he still has his "terrible 3" moments. Ines and I are playing the piano more together...she has successfuly learned and memorized 'Mary...", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," and the Middle C scale! We play "do re mi" sometimes too. Last week I made the girls little blue "tutu's" with toole Virginie bought. They turned out cute...it was a trial run, so maybe we'll do it again with 2 colors. They are really cute though. Last weekend I babysat 2 nights in a row until 2 a.m. So....needless to say I was extra sleepy on Sunday. Saturday I walked around the Seine, took photos and bought myself (and gifts) cheap artwork....it's everywhere, and the paintings are really pretty, so I'm excited to now have a little collection that I can eventually frame and hang in my "Paris/European" room that I will have one day in an apartment or house.

My brother Aaron arrives on Saturday morning!!! I am so excited to have family here. Virginie and I will meet him at the airport, and then the 2 of us are headed off to the train station, where we'll get a train to Tours. We are staying one night and wine tasting for my birthday! We will go to Vouvray probably and walk from wine cellar/vineyard to another. It's been a lot of fun planning the itinerary for my family....Mom, Harry, Andy, and Megan will arrive next Thursday...so I have 12 days of visitors! Thankfully I have a good amount of time off work, and the days I have the kids I can take them with me to Paris. yep, Virginie told me I can take them with me, Aaron, and everyone else to join in on the Paris activities (just 2 days that I have them)...so that'll work out nice.

I also am planning my last 5 months here (OMG, 5?!??! goes by so fast)...and carefully planning my days off that I can squeeze in some travelling. SO I will update everyone when I have fun info about my upcoming trips!

Hold on to your boots!

Hi everyone. Another week in Bougival town....did lots of driving and fending off the heavy winds this week in Paris. I only went into the city once on Thursday....saw a movie. The weather is not pleasant enough right now to walk around outside and be adventurous. Today I took the kids to poney lessons and forgot to bring Tiph's riding boots...but thankfully enough she happened to be wearing her rain boots (galoshes) so she wore those during her lesson. Too bad they weren't tight enough and as she rode the poney the boots kept falling off her little feet. She was crying and looked so sad, so I felt really bad.....but she was a strong little girl and made it through. Then we went home and I gave her a hot bath because her feet were cold.

Thanks to my friend Ruthie back home I have a new activity to do with the girls...make ballerina tutu's! Yep! Virginie bought the toole and elastic yesterday so either this weekend or next week we'll make fun tutu's for them to play in. Matthieu has been a good little boy lately....and Ines is smart and feisty. Haha.

No big plans this weekend, except Sunday is the first one of the month so maybe I'll go to a museum or two for free! hoping for nicer weather so I can workout or something. My brother arrives in 2 weeks, on my birthday!! yay!! Can't believe it's almost Feb 16th~ I'm excited for 12 days of family visits.....we have some fun stuff planned.

Ok, i'm off to bed.... bonne journee to everyone back home. I miss you all

Sunny Days...keeping the clouds away!

Hi, so its Saturday evening here and I'm up at the house babysitting for the evening. I anticipate hearing Matt and Tiph scampering about upstairs when they are supposed to be falling asleep. Tonight is actually the first night of babysitting in quite awhile...since before Christmas. So I plan to call a couple friends and maybe watch a movie until I fall asleep.

Today was good, and simple. The sun was out; and no clouds! It was about 51 degrees or so, so not bad at all. I was happy to have the sun out and not freezing temperature. I woke up early and showered, then went shopping with my boss. She invited me last night to go with her and Inès, and a friend, to an outlet mall. Sounds silly, BUT the outlet mall was on SALE too because of all the Paris sales going on, so the prices were great. One store had 70 percent discount!! It was cool to do something new and different for a few hours, and have a free ride. I came upstairs this afternoon to do some ironing and watch Matthieu voluntarily for an hour while the parents had a meeting. Then I went into Paris for a couple hours to get to a pharmacy and just window shop. Now I'm back here to babysit. So, today was mellow with some family time. I didn't mind. Tomorrow I plan to sleep in, and exercise, and then I am not sure what else I will do.

I am getting excited to see my family next month!! I will start planning their "itinerary" for the 12 days of overlapped visits! I also am starting to plan my return flight home, as well as a travel week and a few travel weekends around Europe before I leave. Time really is going faster than I thought. It is exciting to think about the future and make some decisions. Or at least come up with ideas to begin. Things are really good with work. I even heard through the grapevine that Virginie told a friend that she is really happy with everything at home and the work I'm doing and seeing my relationship with the children and the positive attitude, all good things since Christmas break. So I am starting to put things into perspective and enjoy and appreciate these last 6 months here with the family. I can't let silly things (like the few pounds I've gained since being here) put me in a crummy mood and affect my daily happiness.

Ok, off to call some friends. Bonne journee!

Classic Heath clips.....sorry I'm focusing on this tonight

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=7550630
clip from awards show...watch through the finish, funny clip of Heath

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=24326911
Heath as the new Joker in the upcoming Batman movie....he's unrecognizeable...can't wait!

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=23073046
classic moment from "10 Things" , Heath singing on the stadium bleachers


and finally....a tribute to the Heath man

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=26743042

he was so adorable, je suis tres triste ce soir a cause de la mort de Heath. C'est pas juste et j'espere qu'il repose bien. La plus importante...que c'est sa fille sera bien sans lui.

more info

http://www.trent.blogspot.com/

This guy does a celebrity online blog, and I liked how he reported and talked about Heath today.

Take a look, if you're interested.

And I quote him because it's the same way I feel "I'm still having a hard time believing that Heath Ledger has died. It's very strange for me to be this affected by the death of someone I've never met but it's all I've been able to think about every since hearing the news. ..........I'm not sure why I'm so affected by his passing ... but it really does weigh on my mind still. I hope he rests in eternal peace ... my thoughts and prayers are with his family"

on set of "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" : movie he was currently filming

The day from my year in France when my favorite actor died....

I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair.

I hate the way you drive my car, I hate it when you stare.

I hate your big dumb combat boots and the way you read my mind.

I hate you so much it makes me sick,it even makes me rhyme.

I hate the way you’re always right, I hate it when you lie.

I hate it when you make me laugh,even worse when you make me cry.

I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call.

But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you, not even close…not even a little bit… not even at all.

~poem from "10 Things I Hate About You"

I woke up this morning to get ready for work, checked my email, saw Heath Ledger's photo online but ignored it. After clicking out of my email I saw the headline: Heath Ledger Dead at 28. I was in shock. Couldn't believe it. Still can't. I could barely read the article before clicking out of it and tearing up. I tried not checking the internet all day because I knew how upset it'd make me. Finally tonight I read everything and watched the videos from The Today show...and started bawling (after my Dad called). I'm just really sad. It's so unfair that someone so young and a GOOD person (assuming what everyone says is true), can die just like that. I am still in shock. I've loved this actor since "10 Things" came out...who is this hot Australian with those dimples and great hair?!? And ever since then he's made great films...The Patriot, A Knight's Tale, Four Feathers, Monster's Ball, The Brother's Grimm, Casanova, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (AKA Oscar nom), Candy, and just finished filming as Joker in the new Batman movie..........

I'm only writing all this for my own personal journal that I will look back at in years to follow...as the day in France when my favorite young male actor died. Maybe it's like how people felt when River Phoenix died.......and it's like how I would feel if Gwen died (although that'd be a REAL DARK DAY in my world!). Anyways...I'm sad for his ex-girlfriend and mother of his 2 year old daughter, and his family. Waiting to hear the autopsy results will be torture. I know he didn't do it on purpose so I'm so sad that this happened. I just can't imagine NOT seeing his gorgeous face on new movie posters and being excited to see his next movie.

I am going to watch a film tonight on iTunes....this is me...... stunned... :(

Besides this, today was a good day. I actually took the 3 kids to see their great grandfather in his nursing/assisted living home....and chatted for awhile with an elderly woman from London. She broke out in random song a few times. It was amusing, and she was very nice. Scared the kids a bit, but we laughed about it.

'm going to finish my homework and start my tribute to Heath via film.

Lazy Weekend......

Hello there. It's Sunday morning and I'm just getting ready for the day. I'm heading into Paris to meet a girl from my French class. We have a difficult assignment to do and so we're going to work on it together at the lounge in Starbucks. The weather is getting a bit warmer, but still gloomy...so it's easier to do the homework inside. And who wouldn't want a latte? Yesterday I had a very lazy day. I slept in and then woke up Ashley to go for a walk with me. We just walked down to the bottom of Bougival and back up the hill. It was good just to get outside, but then we both went back to our places and I spent the rest of the day cleaning a bit and organizing, watching "Blades of Glory" and episodes of Prison Break, emailing and working on some plans for when my brother Aaron comes. He will arrive on Feb 16th, my birthday! So we might be brave (since he'll just be getting off a long flight) and get a train somewhere to have an overnight trip outside of Paris and do some wine tasting and cheese eating! He really wants to see a soccer match but we're hoping to catch one the next weekend in Paris. So I'm thinking we could go back to Tours (where I stopped with Ms. Brown), and we could wine taste in Vouvray, just 10 minutes away...there are lots of vineyards in the Loire Valley, as well as chateaus...but I think with our time frame our best bet is to drink lots of wine, then return to Paris the next day!
So we'll see what we can come up with.

Well I just got a phone call from Kirstin and she can't make it into Paris today....so now I'm on my own to figure out the homework and find something nice to do in the city today. Hmm...I think I'm still going to work on the homework in Paris and then venture out somewhere.

Things with work have been going really well lately. We're all staying positive and I'm not letting the kids' "moments" irritate me. My relationship with the kids and parents feels good right now and we're all communicating well. I actually will have to begin making plans for the end of the job...setting dates to finish, hopefully travel to a few more places, and then get my return flight home. I'm excited to start planning the next phase of my life. But more to come on that later when I know more!

And for the annoying news....I'm a victim of credit card fraud!! Someone, somehow, "used my credit card" to make a large purchase just 30 minutes after I had left the same store and made my smaller purchase. If that makes sense.....it's impossible that they could have used my credit card because I did not drop it or give it to anyone, and it is in my wallet right here, right now in my studio. BUT somehow a large purchase is now on my credit card....the woman's signature is on her receipt, but with my CC #. weird huh?!? It's been an eventful week trying to figure this out....and at this point all I can do is let the banks work it out and make sure to waive that amount on my account. Bummer. It's an annoying feeling knowing someone messed with my account and got a great free purchase on my behalf. I don't like feeling cheated and fooled.

Anyways....off to start my Sunday. Bonne journee!

Y & R in French?!

Hi everyone. It's Tuesday afternoon here and I'm off work for the afternoon. It is REALLY WINDY, with rain, so I'm unsure if I'm going into the city today or not. It'd be strictly a 'sales shopping' day because of the weather, but I don't even know if I want to venture out to the train station. There are trees falling over, etc. Tomorrow is supposed to be better so I may have to wait. I can't believe it, but my favorite soap opera is on t.v. right now..."The Young and the Restless"!! It's a really old episode, at least a couple years...and all in French, but I was quite excited to discover this. I'll have to remember the time and channel for the future.

Besides the weather, everything is going pretty well here. I've been sticking with my "stay positive" resolution and it's making my work environment much more pleasant. I've been having good, productive, smile filled conversations with Virginie the last 2 days, just stuff regarding the children, behavior, their teachers, ideas for activities,etc. Everyone seems to be in a pretty good mood so far. Virginie is open as well to hearing about some of the kids' behavior issues (nothing too serious, but worth discussing), and in the same convo we are talking about the funny and cute stuff. And I told her that Matthieu has been very good, probably the best behaved of the 3 the last two months or so. Anyways...the work still has plenty of challenges or frustrations, but I'm doing better at letting them go and remaining positive.

I went tanning this morning (in St. Germaine) and bought a conjugation book to aide me in my French. Assuming I stay inside today I think I will nap, iron the kids' clothes, do some organizing and do one of my workout DVDs. I'd like to partake in the massive sales all around Paris, so I'll be going to La Defense or St. Lazare area today or tomorrow. I hope this is a good time to look for some souvenir/gifts for people that I will take back home.

*funny story....I randomly think of fun songs or games or jokes, etc. from when I was a little girl, and teach them to the kids. Today at school I was outside waiting for Ines with Matt and Tiph. I picked Matt up and suddenly began this little thing my Dad did with us when we were little...I have no idea how it just came into my head, but it goes like this..."tick tock, tick tock, CUKOO CUKOO" and I swing Matt back and forth like a clock, then change directions for the 'cukoo cukoo'. Anyways it was funny to me because I remember how fast my dad would do it, and we'd giggle as our bodies would fly florward....Matt got a kick out of it and kept saying "encore! encore!"

American Breakfast

Hi everyone. It's Wednesday evening. Just thought I'd write about my day quick. I've had a good day, so I need to focus on that (i.e. new years resolutions) and write about it! Since today is Wednesday the kids' school is just in the morning, and the 2 little ones don't go usually. So Ines went to school in the morning and I stayed home and played with Tiphaine and Matthieu. Actually we were playing on Google Earth and I showed them my home (well, 1223 3rd St) and they loved seeing it go ALL THE WAY over the ocean across the U.S....and VOILA...there was the Snake River and Normal Hill Cemetary and Harris Field stadium....that was fun to look at. I forgot about it actually. After getting them dressed for the day we went to their 'gym'...they always have fun climbing all the equiptment and doing the obstacles, usually while I hold Matt's hand so he can cross the balance beam. Towards the end of gym I was sitting on a big bouncy cushion thing, next to a wall, and Matt was sitting on my lap....well I THOUGHT there was more cusion behind me and pulled back Matt to play with him and have him go over my head...sure enough there was nothing behind me except a big space between me and the concrete wall....needless to say both Matt and I fell back, feet over our heads....I think he was a little freaked out, but we were fine. Haha. When I sat up I saw the cute gym guy laughing at us.....OOPS! I did my best to make it look like it was on purpose.

After getting Ines at school we dropped off some mail and I took a box of clothes to the homeless shelter box, then came home. I was in a cooking mood so I wanted to do something different for them (usually we play Restaurant on Wednesdays). So I looked through the cupboard and found Pancake mix that they make 'crepes' with....VOILA! Pancakes and eggs----American breakfast for a French lunch! I had fun making it...I think breakfast (at this moment in time, or at least right before I came here) is my favorite meal to make, and I'm pretty good at it. Thanks to my DAD pancakes are a favorite and he makes the best ones...and I come close to 2nd. And eggs, well those are simple---scrambled, DUH! The batter was a bit thin compared to what I'm used to, but that's because it was more like for crepes, and didn't call for eggs in the batter. But they tasted YUMMY, and obviously I ate lunch with the kids. Instead of syrup, we had options of butter, sugar, jam, and Nutella. The kids treated the pancakes just like crepes so they had butter and sugar sprinkled on top. I just had butter. And ketchup with my eggs. I was surprised because it's the first time they DIDN'T EAT KETCHUP (they eat it with everything...i.e. pasta, rice) but didn't have it with their eggs. And Tiphaine, who usually complains about eating an omelette, LOVED my eggs...all 3 kids ate everything on their plates, and each had 2 pancakes. I was pleased with my idea. There was a small plate leftover so I left it for Virginie. She seemed happy that I came up with a new menu for the kids!
Before getting off work for the afternoon I sat down at the piano and realized it can record a melody (because it's like a piano keyboard...) so I recorded 1/2 of "Heart and Soul" so that I can now play the duet at the same time...it's fun! Everyone was laughing and thought that was really cool I could do that. Virginie's grandfather was there and was quite impressed. Haha.

After getting off work I took a power nap and then put on warm clothes and ventured out for an aerobic walk down the hill and back up....a 25 minute jaunt in the chill air. It was perfect. And yesterday I got my heart rate up with my aerobics class, so I'm doing better! When I came home I continued with dancing to "I Got My Mind Set On You" (SAID!) by George Harrison, along with some pilates and dumbbells to funky and upbeat music.....I'm sure I looked like a fool but I have to do SOMETHING to semi-workout without having a gym to go to. And the cold weather isn't easy, but as long as it's about 50 degrees at least and not raining, I HAVE to make myself get out there!

Okay, now I'm off to make some dinner and watch another episode of Prison Break!
(www.movieforumz.com) --- perfect for all the college students and people like me who have to use the internet and laptop to watch movies and t.v.!

"Do you smoke? No? Then shut up!"

Quote is from a random crazy guy on the train....I was talking to the girls and he started yelling at me asking if I smoked and had cigarettes and when I timidly replied "no" he yelled at me to shut up! Haha.........it was funny and strange.....

So my Idaho girl friends left yesterday early in the morning. We had a really great weekend together (despite 2 of us feeling a little under the weather). I played tourist guide each day and they got a lot accomplished in 3 days! I also got to see something new, The Pantheon. It was INCREDIBLY GORGEOUS and so huge. The big point for me was seeing Victor Hugo's grave...he's the man, obviously. Friday night we went inside the Louvre (and for Free!), then made our way to Willy's Wine Bar (becoming a favorite place for me). The girls bought the wine for me to say thanks, and we had a great time finishing off 2 bottles and a plate of cheese. We met some cool American men that were there on business and just had fun conversations. Afterwards we made our way to the Eiffel tower so they could see it at night all lit up and twinkling! They were really happy about that. Saturday we slept in a bit then headed off to see more sites, including Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge at night. I can tell the girls really enjoyed their visit to Paris and were very grateful to have me to help them around and a free place to stay!

Yesterday I slept in quite a bit, then made my way back to the city. It was the 1st Sunday of the month so I headed to Musee Rodin and saw some great sculptures by Rodin, including "The Thinker". It was really cool to see. The museum is in his old house, a big mansion just near Les Invalides, in a great location. It was a bit cold outside so I walked just a little bit around the city and then got back home to get warm and clean my studio. Today I was back to work taking the kids to school and going to my stretching class. It feels kind of nice to get back into our schedule with everyone in school...

My New Years Resolutions:
Stay Happy
Stay Healthy
Stay Postitive
Have Fun

New Years Eve in Paris

Hi everyone. I'm sitting in my studio taking a little break before heading into Paris to meet my friends. I have 3 girls staying at the house with me from IDAHO! Erin Johnson, Stacey Sode, and Nicole...all just graduated from U of I and are travelling Europe for 25 days. They arrived 2 nights ago (after a big fiasco of "train-ing" and trying to find me) and will leave Sunday. It's been really nice to have friends to hang with and visit. I've had to work too, but now it's Friday and I have the whole afternoon and weekend to hang with them in the city! Unfortunately, I found out from the doctor yesterday that I have another sinus infection :( Yesterday I felt AWFUL, and Nicole had a bad sore throat so we both went to the doctor in Bougival and got antibiotics. But I'm feeling a bit better and rested today.

New Years Eve in Paris was wonderful. I saw the Nutcracker at the Opera Bastille and LOVED IT! I was sitting high up but right in the middle with a great view. As soon as the orchestra started the music I was so excited. The costumes and dancing were incredible and it was soo much fun to see the little mice and the young girls dancing at the Christmas party (because I danced these same roles as a little girl), so those were my favorite parts. The dancers who played Clara and the Prince were also amazing and I just had a great time. I'm so glad I went and it was a great way to spend the evening. After that I met up with a couple friends and we took a bottle of champagne to a bridge on the Seine, where TONS of people were gathering for midnight. Cars were honking their horns, everyone popped champagne and the boats all stopped on the Seine to see the Eiffel tower twinkle. It was so pretty. But unfortunately no major fireworks show, just some little ones from the Louvre. After that we walked to the Champs Elysees. The streets were blocked off from cars so it was packed of people. We were towards the end of the Champs Elysees, near Place de la Concorde, and looking all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe it was just a haze of people. It was pretty incredible. Everyone was just drinking and having a good time people watching.

The night kind of faded from that point, but that's okay. I had a really nice time and will always remember it.

Okay, off for a small nap and then on to meet the girls in the city. I think we're going to a wine bar tonight at Palais Royale.