Comme la vie est fantastique en France and other parts too!
I started this blog in 2006 as a way to stay in touch with friends and family while I was living and working as an English Language Assistant in Nantes, France.
Since then, I've become a bit of a "blogger", sharing my adventures on the town, exploring new areas by bike, and any other random details that come along.
Working, being silly, calling Jodie when I'm lost, yummy dinners outside with a bottle of wine, text message junkie, reader, sister, auntie, donkey-loving fool.
Forgot to mention yesterday that as I was doing my first couple of laps, I realized, as I was turning my head to breathe, that I had a perfect view of the stars- which were still out. I even caught a glimpse of the big dipper! It's odd to have the pool so well lit up and then look up to a sky of darkness. Very cool, and not spooky in the slightest (as in nighttime ocean swimming).
The bad news that I didn't report is that I had to leave my bike in the shop for a week b/c they were out of one of the tires that I need. Can't wait to have a spankin' new front and rear tires and be good to go!
Went out in S.F. on Sat. night w/ Jodie and her friend Manali who was visiting from NY. Good times!
Monday Morning Swim:
*200 w/u *200 swim on +15, 100 kick *200 swim on +10, 100 kick *200 swim on +5, 100 kick repeat *200 swim on +5, 100 kick Total = 2,300m
Not too much to report from the weekend. Stayed in on Fri. Spent Sat. at the barn. Out in S.F. on Sat. night. Oh, and the Cloern Circus came over (that would be Jed, Holly & Co.), so I got to see the kiddos. Mia was crackin' me up dancing to The Pussycat Dolls looking at herself in my mirrored closets. That kid is too much! Sunday was spent out at the barn w/ Jodie then hittin up the couch to watch one of the worst movies ever (Jo- you really know how to pick 'em. It was almost as good as Stomp the Yard). I swear the cast must have all lost a bet to actually go through w/ the production of the film (Jumper... don't know if any of you have seen it).
I leave this Thurs. morning for WI; I haven't been there sicne I was maybe 11 or 12, so it will be fun to see everyone. Other than that, I am super excited for Halloween. Dun dun dun! Can't wait, and it's only a little over a month away. Whoo hoo.
Not sure where the bad biking karma is coming from, but I got ANOTHER flat tire (my 2nd in 3 weeks) on my ride in today. Thankfully, it was just off of Middlefield and Willow about a 5 min. walk from Anne's house, so I called her to see if I could get a ride up the hill (as in Sand Hill) with her. Unfortunately, the flat was caused by a nail sticking right out of my (brand new) rear tire. I had planned on going in to the shop to get a new front tire this weekend (It has well over 1,500 miles on it and has some spots that are worn down which possibly led to my last flat). Now it looks like I'll be purchasing 2 new tires and tubes. Aye aye aye.
In other top story news dun dun dun...
I saw Maroon 5 on Wed. night at Shoreline. Liesl & Jeanette's friend works there, and passed on 6 free VIP tickets. Whoo hoo! The night was kicked off w/ Augustana (which we missed) followed by an amazing Maroon 5 performance (they did a version of Chris Isack's "Wicked Game" and a little shout out to The Police w/ "Roxanne") and finished off w/ The Counting Crows. Needless to say this had me getting home way past my bedtime, and we even had a little scare w/ my car being locked behind the closed gate at Vive Sol where we'd had dinner. Luckily, that all worked out in the end.
Nothing else to report other than I've got some serious heartburn goin' on. Can you get that from an egg McMuffin? Curious...
*200 w/u *10x100 free on +10 *4x50 kick *4x15 sprint *40m EZ *4x50 for time Total = 1,700 (really? what a disappointment)
We were a little late getting in the gate this morning and then had to set up lane lines, which even with a good 15+ ppl helping, still takes a while. Then someone was gabbing a bit so we didn't really get a fast start. Add to that the fact that there were 7 of us in one lane and we had moved down to the last lane so the side of the wall is slanted and you can't really tell if the stripe that divides the lane in 2 is in the middle or not which had me either running into the wall (optical illusion much?) or whacking my wrist on the lane line. Then I basically got told to get out of the way by one person and when I tried to move, I got ran down by another- ahh! Safe to say, not the best swim ever. Oh well, Friday's always another chance to get it right.
The swim felt so good today that I stayed in for that extra set of 500 stroke/free (getting out of the pool 15 min. later than usual, but it was worth it). All I have to say is "thank God for pool covers. bbbrrrrr).
I had a relaxing weekend of "catch up" (My suit case from Seattle finally got unpacked- yesterday! and dresses from Vegas hung where they belong). Life is back in order.
I spent Friday night at Jodie's new place in San Ramon. Would you believe that there is a chier of traffic at 8PM on 680? It was ridiculous, and at one point, I wondered what I could possibly be thinking sitting in traffic that alternated b/t 55mph and a complete stop. The lanes of red brake and tail lights that stretched (literally) for miles ahead were crazy. But I made it, and finally saw Wedding Crashers. Don't hate me- but I honestly didn't think it was that funny, especially w/ all the hype that surrounded it.
Anyways...
Sat. was spent at the barn w/ Liesl. She has done such a good job w/ Pokey, and Pokey has been a saint, making me a proud mamma :-) We were out w/ them for a good 2.5 hours. Both ponies were nice and tuckered on our way back, and since it was sill pretty warm, we hosed them off before putting them away. Sun. was another day mostly spent at the barn; it was a treat to not be rushed, and take the time to do some extra chores out there and visit w/ everyone in and around the Block Barn.
Oh, and I am currently watchless which is killing- KILLING - me. One of the plastic links on my new white watch broke earlier in the week, so I was wearing my Polar watch. Then, the strap on that one just fell off at the movies last night. I tried using the light from my cell to look for it- w/ no luck. I told myself I'd check again as we exited, but I forgot! I don't know how I'm going to make it until I get one of them repaired. I might be sporting a sweet $5 one from Wallgreens to hold me over.
That's all for now. Here's to enjoying what's left of the summer.
I finally feel like I'm coming back to life after an extremely fun-filled, even if sleep deprived, weekend.
I guess I got a little something in me, b/c I decided I wanted to take a trip up to Seattle. I checked various sites on Wed. night but couldn't find anything promising, and just when I'd given up, accepting that it just didn't look like it was going to happen, I found a steel of a deal- too good to pass up- on Thurs., so I headed home after work to do dinner with my Dad (Mom spent the entire week w/ Jed and Holly helping them out in their first week with Gavin). Well, before dinner I had to get a replacement gas cap. Oh yeah, and before I even got home, I had to change the flat tire that I found upon leaving the office. Man, was that a bit disappointing. It felt like 100 friggin degrees outside, and here I was in my rayon dress and pink gladiator sandals, bike tire b/t legs, fingers all greased up, trying to get the outer shell of the tire off- which I am happy to report- I did! I'm not sure exactly what the problem was. I took the whole tire apart, used my handy dandy pocket rocket pump (get your minds out of the gutter, that's really what it's called!) to fill it back up and check for holes. I didn't see or feel any and began to think that maybe the heat had something to do w/ my deflated tube. So, I put the same one back together and planned to head home; I made it, but lost air along the way, so I'm thinking I've got a slow leak. From there, my Dad and I headed to a belated B-day dinner for me after getting a replacement gas cap (I lost mine after attempting, and failing, to fill up on Wed. evening- doh!). Dinner was yummy; we went to a new Italian place in Newark, and it was nice to just hang out and chat.
Friday was one of the busiest days in a long time at work, and before I knew it, it was 4:30 PM and time for me to head out. I had some time to kill since my flight wasn't until 8:50 PM, so I headed to Stanford to walk around before heading to the airport. BTW, I don't know how many of you have flown w/ Virgin, but it's quite the experience. I felt like I was in a disco, not on a plane. Once again, I timed the boarding just right, so there was no waiting in line for me. The planes are new and pretty roomy w/ leather seats, purple and red lighting, and monitors that you can watch movies/TV, listen to music ect. on. Me, I crashed even before the plane took off and had to be woken up by the flight attendant after landing.
Jesse was there on time to meet and greet me, and it was so good to see her. Thanks cherie, for the late night airport p/u!! We headed to her place for some quality catching up over a bottle or Rose (really? was that really supposed to be Rose?!) that she'd brought back from Angers. Well, it tasted more like a cold, light port- not quite what we were looking for. We're not sure what that was all about, but perhaps it was due to the fact that it was from 2003... so down the drain it went. I'm pretty sure that I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
Sat. we were up fairly early, but it felt like we'd slept in forever. By noon we were on our way, boat in tow, to Lake Sammamish. I don't think either of us were prepared for the task that lay ahead- - - launching the boat. I do have to give Jesse major credit for even attempting to do this, and thankfully, there were no incidents. It just took us a looooooooong time. I think we saw about 10+ other people get their boats in/out of the water in the time it took us. In all fairness, though, we did it TWICE. Yep. The first time, we forgot to plug the hole at the back and it started to fill (at a surprisingly rapid rate) with water! So, we had to take it back out, let it drain, plug it, and start all over. Once that was done she tells me, "Ok, so you'll just drive the boat to the middle of the lake, and I'll call you once I take the truck to my grandma's". Uuum, what? I wasn't quite sure what I'd signed up for, but I was pretty sure it didn't entail totaling her family's awesome Charlie's Angles inspired boat- which is exactly what I feared might happen if I were left in charge, captain of this vessel, unsupervised. Much to my surprise, I successfully navigated my way across the lake and right up to the dock where Jesse and Robin were waiting (so I may have done this at 5 mph, but it was a success nevertheless).
So the day was pretty much spent, out on the boat, cruisingaround, taking in the breathtaking scenery, sipping on tall cans of Modelo Especial, eating chips and salsa, and taking dips in the un-freezing lake. The weather was perfect, and I don't know what more we could have asked for.
By 7, I was at Andrea's eating her famous yummy salad, sipping on my favorite drink ever- the Dirty Shirly (thank you Liesl), and getting ready for a night of debauchery and dancing. We kicked off at Amber in Belltownhttp://www.amberseattle.com/ (and even had an A-Rod sighting). I got to see Jesse again since she was there as well celebrating a friend's birthday. A drink or two later & we were on our way to shake our thangs.
So the thing about this club, Belltown Billiards, is that I guess it has a bit of a reputation among the locals. Being from out of town, I wouldn't really know, except that it gets bashed on quite a bit, being called the 'meat market' etc. and people kind of laughed at me when I told them that's where we were going. All I know is that I've been there 3 times and had a blast on each occasion! Good DJ, booze, and good company- how can you go wrong with that? Any place that brings back dance moves such as the running man is alright with me (thank you BD for the repeat performance, I'd heard so much about it!!).
We were out until about 4 AM and Andrea had me up at 9:30- yes as in 9:30 AM. Parents! They just don't know how to sleep the morning away. Headed out to do a little bit of shopping but most of the stores weren't even open (and we're talking by 10 AM here people). That would definitely be a factor to consider before moving there- that and the fact that you can't get hard alcohol after 8 PM. Weird. Where are their priorities? Anyways... it's such a beautiful city, surrounded by water and greenery. I'm not sure where the 2nd mall was that Andrea took me to, but it was so charming and cute- outdoors, cute new/modern buildings, and beautifully landscaped.
I guess I've been extremely lucky with the weather on the trips that I've take to "rainy WA", not that I'm complaining, but I don't know if I've experienced the true Seattle. So, Sunday afternoon another friend that I'd met on my first trip, came to play tourist w/ me since Andrea has failed miserably in this task (haha just kidding you know I love you and you've taken me to the most important places- clubs and malls). Still, I really wanted to see the infamous (flying) Fish Market on Pike Street, go to the 1st Starbucks etc... so we headed there to enjoy a leisurely Sunday afternoon. I can't believe that they have this market daily. Spectacular bouquets of flowers were almost aromatic enough to cancel out the fish smell, scrumptious-looking cheeses, local fresh fruits were some of the treats you could find. It made me miss hitting up the market on Saturdays in France. BD- how can you not take advantage of this?!
BD had the forethought to bring along some clubs (which is funny b/c I had a brief moment where I though about packing my putter), but as it turned out we didn't make it to the range. A shame too cuz I would have liked the opportunity to practice. Another time. As it turned out, we went to this neat little tapas bar in Belltown and had- surprise- tapas and drinks w/ Andrea. She's the 20 question queen and I'm always amazed at the stuff that you'll learn about someone once she gets to working on them (o;
So now it's back to another week. I babysat for Oliver and Max on Mon. night. They are just so cute, so I enjoy whatever time I spend with them. Liesl and I plan to take the horses out for another ride on Wed. and hopefully I'll get my tire situation squared away so that I can ride in to work on Thurs.
I'm spent from all the typing. Over and out and lots of hugs to you all!
Wednesday Morning Swim: *500 warm up *400 on cruise *300 pull on +10*4x25m sprint kick *200 pull on +5*4x15m sprint kick*100 pull on +0 *4x10m sprint kick *4x50s w/ the last 15m fast *50 for time, 50 easy, repeat twice Total = 2,200 m
The bike rides this week have been awesome, even in the heat. On Tues., I took Liesl out to the barn with me, and we hit up the trails for an evening sunset- which turned into a moonlit ride. Both ponies were angles, and aside from the 8 hours I’d spent at work that day, I completely felt like I was on vacation! Not a bad day- starting it off w/ a bike ride on a warm summer morning and ending it with a trial ride out in the hills in 82 degree weather at 8PM!
And boy did it feel good.Nothing beats a great morning swim with a well rested body.Nothing.I would have liked to stay in and finish the set (should have been 400 pull/400 kick, 400 pull/300 kick, 400 pull/200 kick, 400 pull/100 kick), but I am too slow and need to be out of the water no later than 6:35 if I want to eat breakfast.Hey!I’ve got priorities here (o;
It was a scorcher of a day. quick dips in the lake were just not sufficing and since we are such daredevils, we thought it would be a good idea to rent a jet ski. I have jet skied before, once in Hawaii. (technically, i rode on the back of it while my brother tore around corners and took on waves like nothing while i clutched on for dear life, but experience is experience) Since Jeanette is a bit of a weenie when it comes to extreme sports and Elizabeth is so trusting in my skills, i was voted driver. I’m not goanna lie, i was a bit confused when were getting our 2 minute debriefing on where you can and cannot go. "When you get to the red booie then you can use the throttle, and then you take a left at the white booie and then you stay to the right side of the lake, don’t go out too far, we have a red roof and thats the best way to find your way back." (p.s., there were like 10 white and red booie's, did i mention that I’m blonde, too?) so we struggled out to the jet ski because they make you launch out of the lake, but they put them in a place were there is like a volcanic rock bed. We get on our supercharged ski and this guy who has probably seen his share of retarded girls has to deal with us. And I am still confused about which booie to go around and when to used the throttle and where I can go (can you tell that maybe I shouldn’t have been driving?) he kinda looks at weird and sends us on our way. Ok, I don’t know how many people have ever driven a jet ski, but its not easy, especially when the safety of two other people is concerned. i would throttle and then the we would all scream. I had to idea where to go because they just let you roam free in the lake so I’m trying to avoid the other jet skiers who apparently know what they are doing because they are whizzing by us at a startling rate. And trying to turn this thing is a bitch, they told us to speed into the turns instead of going slow but speeding into a turn just doesn’t sound right. So I cautiously take turns and struggle to steer because I don’t think that jet skis are equipped with power steering. Finally, after about 10 mins of floundering around I finally get the hang of it so I start going faster and attempting to take the wakes. at this point, our bathing suit bottoms have ridden up our behinds and we're banging into each other because like a teenage driver, I’m very start and stop with this whole throttle thing. But we are having a blast. So I get comfortable enough with my driving abilities and decided to really take us for a ride. I punch the throttle and off we go...whizzing on the lake, wind in our faces, looking like pros and as I get the jet ski up to a speed of 45, I turn to the girls and shriek "oh my gosh, we are going 45!" in the instant I say that, we catch a wake a fly off the jet ski in three different directions. I think we all took it up the nose and all lost our bottoms for a split second...but we all resurface and just bust up laughing. The jet ski monitor comes over and asks if we are ok, but we can’t even stop laughing long enough to talk. I finally tell him that we are ok and apologize for being reckless but he just smiles and says, I don’t care, it was hilarious...I have seen two people fly off, but never three! So, we swim to the jet ski that is now 20 yards away from us and at that point decide to head in before I kill us. Elizabeth then tells the guy that helped us get on the jet ski "I hope you wipe that seat down, my butt was all over that seat." Just one more laugh to add to the insanity that was our jet ski experience.
Ok stepping into this after a little time off and lots to report:
First- congratulations to Josh and Marina on your new baby boy, Nicco.I love the name and can’t wait to meet him.We’ll be having a new baby in the family as well; I know Jed and Holly can’t wait- especially Holly.She did this whole pregnancy thing marathon style, but what else could you expect from a gangster?
Now, getting down to business.VEGAS (8/22-8/25)!It was spectacular, and I’m pretty sure everyone on the trip would agree.We all took different flights in.I flew out of SFO at 8:35, giving me some time to kill after work, so I hit up Stanford shopping center before heading to the airport. Hit up the bar there for a drinkey poo, and was literally the last one on the plane just as they were finishing boarding.Did I time that well, or what?
The flight’s quick- just over an hour.I met Andrea at the baggage claim, and 2 min. later Allyson was calling to say that she’d just landed.We had an interesting cab ride over to the Monte Carlo with an elderly gentleman who’d recently busted out of jail (ok he did his time and was released).He said that he was caught in FL in the 1980s with 1600 kgs SIXTEEN HUNDRED KILOS of cocaine, or as he calls it, co-ka-eena.He told us one time he swore that a Chihuahua was talking to him!Hahahaha.So we got to the hotel, checked in, and I was bombarded by JennyKathrynJodieKristiandabigassmargarita!Phew.We quickly got ready and headed out to see what we could find and eventually settled on Hard Candy where we danced the night away. The girls were up pretty early on Sat. which was a good thing b/c we needed to stake our claim in lounge chairs.The day was spent mostly in inner tubes floating in the never-ending river.Not a bad way to rest after a big night out!Kristi was hilarious and in rare form stating, “I think the sun made me drunk”.Eyah.It definitely wasn’t the daiquiri (o;
All in all it was a fantabulous trip, and considering that we were in the City of Sin, we conducted ourselves like angles.
Last week was kind of an odd once, since I was off on Monday and then was at a seminar to become a notary all day (literally, over ELEVEN hours) on Wed.So… if you need anything notarized, I’m your gal!
But I guess the biggest news is that Holly had a baby boy on Saturday morning.Little Gavin came in at 7 lbs 15 oz and 21”.He is absolutely precious.Both he and Holly are doing well; they came home from the hospital on Sun. night.I will post pictures soon.
Quick summary:
-Dinner at Thea one of my fav. restaurants on Wed.
-Drinks and girl talk with Liesl on Thurs.It’s been beautiful so we were able to sit out on the patio until 11 PM.
- Dinner at Nola on Fri.
-Gavin born on Sat.Nice long ride with Pokey.
-Sun. morning swim at Stanford, barn all afternoon, chores etc… on Sun.
-Dinner at Thea (again!Can you tell I like the place) on Sun.
-Mon. I picked up Kendall and took her to visit Jed and Holly and baby in the hospital.We had a Taco Bell picnic (classy!).Then Kendall and I went to hang out with my Mom and Mia until Jed, Holly, & Gavin came home.We had a nice dinner together over some Dom P.
Forgot to mention yesterday that as I was doing my first couple of laps, I realized, as I was turning my head to breathe, that I had a perfect view of the stars- which were still out. I even caught a glimpse of the big dipper! It's odd to have the pool so well lit up and then look up to a sky of darkness. Very cool, and not spooky in the slightest (as in nighttime ocean swimming).
