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.