A Second Honeymoon

I'm fairly well exhausted, so this blog won't have my typical long-winded flair, but I wanted my girls to see what an awesome time daddy and I have been having this week (despite the fact that I may or may not have been on my death bed) :)  To set the stage for this part of the grand story, I should start by saying that 6 months ago Shannon and I received the news that we would have to travel to France TOGETHER for WORK! After getting over the initial shock and panic over what to do with our CHILDREN, we decided it would be the perfect opportunity for a second honeymoon.  So now the time has arrived.  We are in Paris, and Grandma-ma (and at times Grandma Gup) is watching the children.

The week began with two days in Paris at the Concorde La Fayette in the Palais de Congress with 3100 of our fellow Michelin employees from 70 (yes I said SEVENTY) different countries.  It was an awesome experience filled with some very inspiring messages from the top leaders of the company.  I will go into more detail later, but I can say that I left the forum in tears and firmly believing that I can SAVE THE WORLD (and I mean literally and I don't mean by making tires) while working for a tire company! Here's to hoping that is all possible!

During the forum, I had the wonderful opportunity to catch up with some of my old friends from stage in 2011 as well as various coworkers from all over the world and to meet some NEW coworkers from places far outside of my normal sphere of exchange (like Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates).  We also did a lot of exploring the city at night.

See Shannon and I at the Arc de Triomphe

 The view of our hotel from the Eiffel tower (yes I walked all that way THREE TIMES)

The Eiffel Tower as seen from the street on approach.

The Arc de Triomphe as seen from the top of the Eiffel tower (there are like 570 steps to get just to the second level of the Eiffel tower and we walked THEM all)

Shannon and I at the top of the Eiffel Tower!

Dinner at an AWESOME morrocan restaurant with Shannon's boss Brad and a coworker Britton.

The view of the Eiffel Tower from our hotel room on the 24th floor of the concorde La Fayette (yes we walked there THREE times)

Our AWESOME room in the Villa Mazarine at the other end of the Champs Elysees for the remainder of the week

Paris Marathon on Sunday (some of our coworkers ran in it)

Can you believe that guy ran a marathon with an Eiffel Tower on his head????

Sacree Coeur

view of the city from sacree coeur

Me and Mona :)

Some very intricate frogs made circa 2000 BC!

 Pyramid inverse

me being silly

 Shannon and I in front of the louvre

Bridge of locks....you profress your love by attaching a lock and throwing the key into the river Seine

Notre Dame Cathedral

Our new favorite restaurant Don Giovani

Thats all for now

A Social Experiment with Children

OK, so I realize I haven't blogged in like a YEAR.   A lot has happened.....with work, family, school, etc. I gained back most of the weight I lost last year (I blame it on a legitimate THYROID DISEASE), and I don't have time to exercise a lot (other than zumba on the XBOX occasionally), but I DID maintain my new healthy cooking.  All in all, not so bad for the end result of a life changing event.
In any case, this blog will be about my amazing night with my two lovely girls (nevermind the abandoned track to college shape).  It will be long, but I promise it has a good ending.

I will start by admitting that this has been one of THE most difficult weeks I have had in years.  Believe me, there have been worse....but this one was high on the list.   I started out at an ultimate LOW, but managed to work out of it and end up with one of the most POSITIVE and ENRICHING weeks of my life.  The experience was on par with my month-long adventure in France.  Seriously, it was awsome in the end.

Some appropriate quotes for the week.  Without going into details....this about sums it up!

The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days when out of dejection and despair you feel rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future accomplishments.
Gustave Flaubert

Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.
Napoleon Hill

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill

Its never too late to be what you might have been - George Elliot

I am too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful, and too determined to be defeated

it is not necessary to be hopeful in order to try, nor to be successful in order to persevere - William I, Prince of Orange (William the Silent)

"Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world." -- Jane Addams

“A mature person is one who is does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably” Eleanor Roosevelt

But, to the point.  After an exhausting week, Shannon and I arrived at daycare to find our 6 and 8 year old sitting in the "baby room".  They had been sent there by the afterschool teacher following an altercation that had come to blows.  Since they could not be mature enough to resolve their differences, they were not allowed to stay with "the big kids"  Additionally, the director of the daycare (GO JAMIE!!!!) informed them that on monday when they returned to school, they would only be allowed to play with EACH OTHER and not with ANY OTHER CHILDREN for the day.  This punishment was agreed upon with Shannon and I prior to this incident (we have been having some issues with not getting along with each other).

In any case, because sentences had already been given and long talks had already occurred, there was no need to dispense further punishment.  Incident forgotten....on to the next crisis.  What about dinner????  Mommy gave the girls two choices.  Either:

1.  BOTH girls choose a restaurant that they BOTH agree on and BOTH girls promise to TRY THEIR BEST not to fight.  If any altercations occur during dinner we will leave IMMEDIATELY, even if we are not finished eating.

2.  We order pizza and eat at home because we cannot control ourselves in public and need to recover from the stress of the day (and week).

The girls UNANIMOUSLY chose PIZZA INN and agreed that they would not fight.  Daddy wasn't feeling well, so we all agreed that mommy and the girls would TRY to enjoy an evening out and daddy could rest at home.

WE CAN DO THIS GIRLS!!!

Part of their disputes are related to respect for personal property.  It is very difficult to respect someone else's property when you believe that IT BELONGS TO YOU.  As it turns out, we have no less than 10 stuffed black labs (referred to as "Shelby dogs" after our beloved deceased pet).  They are everywhere, but they are not clearly marked as to WHOSE it WHOSE.  WE know because some are missing tags, or ears, or have different eyes, or a red bow.  Mommy can't keep up with these things, so  it results in serious arguments.  We decide before we leave the house for dinner that when we get home.....we will collect ALL the Shelby dogs and put them in a pile, and we will AGREE on WHOM each one belongs to, and mommy will CLEARLY mark them all with names so no future arguments can be had about the subject.  BUT we will STOP TALKING about Shelby dogs until we get home.  Everyone agrees and we leave in the car :)

On the way to pizza in we have some lovely discussions and listen to music and everyone is pleasant.  We talk about how last night went (mommy was at a work function until 10pm).  Apparently the evening started off similarly....but McKinley had some kind of melt down and daddy refused to be seen in public with her.  They all ended up having peanut butter sandwhiches and cereal for dinner and everyone was angry.  By the end of the night (so I was told from a children's perspective), everyone appologized and an agreement was reached and all was well with the world.  Apparently a pact of some kind was made whereby if someone loses their temper.....once they regain their composure and decide to appologize.....it is a new rule that we ALWAYS forgive.  Mommy listened to this all and agreed to become part of "the pact".  

Dinner was pleasant.  McKinley and Madison were SWEET to EACH OTHER, to the server, to the cashier, to the cook in the back (to whom we put in a special request for loaded potato pizza and a taco pizza).  

At the end of dinner, mommy makes a proposal.  Since they have been so VERY good at dinner....we will go to Best Buy (not Toys R US) and look around.  Each girl can have $5 to spend on anything they like (THAT IS LESS THAN $5) as a reward for being SO NICE TO EVERYONE.  Mommy also gives an added food for thought.  If the girls find an item that they BOTH AGREE on, mommy will buy it (regardless of the cost).  They can either each have $5 to spend....or they can pick something to share without a budget.  CHOICES CHOICES.

On the way to Best Buy, Madison (the 6 year old future MATH GENIUS) remembers that she has $13 in her piggie bank at home.  McKinley has only change and cant remember how many cents.  Madison announces that she wants to go home a retrieve her money.  Mommy agrees that (to save time on the trip), she will LOAN Madison $13 and that she can pay it back when we arrive at home.  Madison now announces that she has $18!! (yes she did the math herself).  How sad though, McKinley still has only $5.  WITHOUT any persuasion by her older sister (yes Madison really is this thoughtful), Madison says she will give McKinley her $5....and then McKinley will have $10 and she will have $13.  That is almost fair.....but then she reconsiders and decides she doesn't want to give away ALL of her reward.  She will give half.  Yes, she is a math genius, but she doesn't do well with change yet.....so after some thinking....she decides she will give McKinley $3 and she will keep $2 (it adds up to $5 after all).  Now McKinley has $8 and she has $15 (yes, again she did the math and explained this all to me).  Everyone is happy!

We arrive at Best Buy.....and as soon as we walk in the door, McKinley lays eyes on the $30 "electronic voice recognition journal" she has always wanted.  Immediately she begins to negotiate with Madison about their options.  Madison (realizing that her sister wants this journal to increase her own privacy factor) knows that this item is NOT something they can share...and she quickly declares "NO DEAL" and starts to look for something within her $15 budget.  She immediately finds a $3.99 Clemson (ugh) key chain.  Moments later, we arrive at the $5 and under movie bin and she picks up the $4.99 "Where the WILD things are" movie.  OK, she has spent $9.....that means she still has money left right?  Yes she did this math, but mommy had to help her figure out that she had $6 left.  GREAT!  Next we decide to go to the "ART DEPARTMENT"......we are referring to the isle of office supplies :)   Madison is an artist.   Here she finds that she can EITHER afford 3 packs of post-it notes....OR she can buy 1 deck of playing cards and 1 pack of post-it notes.....yes she figured this out herself.  In the end she has 1 Clemson key chain, 1 movie, 1 pack of post-it notes and 1 deck of playing cards and she is JUST at her $15 budget (we'll say over by $.21 cents but seriously this is amazing work for a 6 year old)!!!!

Meanwhile, McKinley is still clutching her $30 journal and has REFUSED to look at anything else.

On to the gaming department.   Here we see on display the "Just Dance 3 - Greatest Hits" for the XBOX 360 KINECT.   Mommy really wants this game.  Madison decides to try, but her tiny body and hands have trouble navigating the menus of the game.  Along comes awsome Best Buy dude to help her.  Very patiently, he helps her to accomplish selecting the song "Hey Ya" to dance to (mommy LOVE LOVES this song).  When the dancing begins, along comes Best Buy dude #2 to join in the fun.   The three are joyously dancing their hearts away (Madison is pretty good).   McKinley is laying on the floor still clutching the journal, but by the end of the song....she at least participates in the hand motions.

Madison proposes that she would be willing to put back all of her treasures in order to buy this game if McKinley agrees!   McKinley DOES NOT.....  Madison says "OK, I will keep my things"  She is OK with either option.....it's up to McKinley.

Next we arrive at the PS2 display and Madison picks up the glowing magic wand controller.  AWSOME....this is a magic game.  She uses her wand to casts spells left and right.  Unfortunately....this game is a little complicated.  As it turns out....for one player....you must use TWO controllers.  One controller to make the character walk around the magic land, and one that functions as a magic wand. Madison (she is only 6) is not skilled enough to WALK and CAST....so McKinley offers to help.   Now they are working as a team and McKinley does the walking and Madison does the spell casting.  They had to agree on where to go and what to cast spells on.  MIRACULOUS!

After a while, a boy comes along to play the XBOX.  He starts dancing to an old MC Hammer song, which draws our attention.  We all go watch him (he is REALLY good).  McKinley is too shy to join him, but Madison dances on the sidelines.

After the song, the girls return to the PS2....but DARN....another child has come to play.  A small girl (about 3) is holding the walking controller....but she cannot figure it out.  McKinley gives her some instructions from the sidelines....and in no time....she is exploring magic land.  But, of course, she cant walk AND cast spells.....so Madison picks up the magic wand and offers to help.  Soon.....they are playing merrily with Madison casting spells, the young girl walking, and McKinley coaching from the sidelines (I am so proud of the older child for resisting the urge to YANK the controller out of the 3-year olds hands to show her how it is done).  As a team, they figure out how to earn a SHIELD!  Now they can walk, cast spells, and defend themselves from enemies!   The only problem is that the walking controller also controls the shield.  The 3 year cannot figure out how to walk AND hold up the shield.  The other complication is that they cannot cast spells when the shield is up.  AS A TEAM, they must figure out how to defeat the enemy by taking turns using the shield and casting spells.  McKinley did a VERY GOOD job coaching the team!  SUCCESS.

Now mommy is tired and ready to go, but we have a problem.  McKinley is STILL clutching the $30 journal and her budget is only $8.   Mommy informs everyone that we will be checking out in 10 minutes.  It is time to make choices.  McKinley rushes to the front of the store to look at the IPHONES.  WE are making progress here :) :) :)    In 5 minutes, we are at the checkout lane....exploring the eye catching items.  McKinley CANNOT find anything for less than $8.   GEEZ.  $8 cant buy ANYTHING :)

Sadly, we check out with two movies (1 for mommy), 1 key chain, 1 post-it note, and 1 deck of cards......McKinley is empty handed.  The world is NOT fair....MOMMY IS MEAN.  It is time to be angry at the world.   Early today, McKinley informed mommy that she had a terrible meltdown yesterday with daddy.  She admitted she was very ashamed of her behavior and that she could have controlled herself.  She wished she had done a better job.  Tonight, she had a hard time......but it doesn't turn into a meltdown.

Mommy proposes one more stop.  Best Buy was out of Just Dance games....and mommy really wants one.   We will go to target and see if they have it.   McKinley has one more chance to spend her $8.

At target we are successful to find the game!!!!!   Mommy gives McKinley 20 minutes in the toy department to spend her $8.  Madison has no money left, so she starts to look for something she thinks McKinley would like.  She gives McKinley several reasonable options that are under $8.   McKinley doesn't NEED any help....:)

After putting a couple of items on her maybe list (that ARE under $8), she encounters a delima. Its pretty hard to add and pick more than one item to arrive at $8.  She will focus on 1 item....and try to pick something for exactly $8.  She doesn't want to loose any of her money and she isn't a big saver :)
Finally, she spies what she wants.   A Lalipaloosi (spelling) doll.....but ALAS....it is $9.89.   BUMMER.   She asks very nicely if she can borrow $2.  Since she has been so good, mommy agrees to GIVE her $2 more.  Ever the negotiator and bargainer....Madison declares that she was JUST as good.  Can she have $2 as well???  Of course.   Madison promptly finds an item for $1.99 and McKinley picks up her doll.  We leave the store happy (each child with her own shopping bag of course....bless the MOMMY cashier).

On the way home.....mommy announces that the girls have succeeded to behave for the ENTIRE night.  Madison ask if it is morning already?????   OK, so they had not had a SINGLE argument since we left the house.  Madison points out that we aren't home yet, but she knows they can make it.  Won't daddy be so proud if they can run into the house and tell him that they didn't even fight ONCE for the entire EVENING (not night.....lets be clear here).   On the way home, we sing and dance and no one fights and everyone is happy.  All is well with the world.   When we get home....the girls joyously inform daddy of their success.  McKinley tells dad that mommy even loaned her $2 for being so good.  AND, we all stayed within our budget for the evening (well at least the kids did)! 

WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!

We end the night by playing "Just Dance 3".  Of course, for mommy, we HAVE to dance to "Hey ya" again. Then we settle down to watch Madison's movie and we all fall asleep before its over.

BTW.....I highly recommend "Where the wild things are".  The movie (not the animation).  The little boy reminds me A LOT of Madison.  One of the monsters reminds me A LOT of McKinley :).   And I can totally relate to this movie.  In a way......it really parallels my week!

Home Sweet Home

So I have been waiting to make this post for a long time!  Remember when I left, I told Shannon I wanted to lose a couple of pounds in France?  Do you recall his response?  I think it sounded something like a gut-wrenching laugh.  That seemed like a reasonable response to me, particularly once I arrived and realized I would be spending a month drinking wine and eating luxurious meals every day!  As soon as my feet landed in France, I gave up all hope of coming back shy of some junk in the trunk.  Instead, I decided to have a GREAT time, eat some GREAT food, and experience as MUCH as I could in the four weeks I was there.

Before torturing you with a ton of ranting about what happened next, I figured I would lure you in with some interesting pictures of what the family and I have gotten into since I have been home:

 We have gone on several bike riding excursions.  I have discovered that I LOVE trail riding and the rest of the family does as well.

Madison in particular could be a future BMX champion.  The nice thing about riding bike at the Biltmore is that the trail ends at the WINERY!

Of course the kids are more excited about the farm yard.  Madison LOVES her goat pals.

This is our Halloween getup.  It was pretty cold.  I dont know what I am supposed to be....except WARM!

This is a poor stray beagle that wandered into our yard a couple of weekends ago.  He spent a few hours hanging out with the girls.  They asked me "hypothetically.....if we DIDN'T already have a dog, and a dog without a collar came into our yard.....could we KEEP HIM????"  I had to keep an eye on Sunshine for a few days after that.....they looked a little like they were contemplating turning the hypothetical into reality.

And here we are visiting Santa.  McKinley asked for a DS and a bed for her American girl doll.  Madison asked for a purple teddy bear.  As usually, there lists are TOTALLY not equal in price.

BACK TO WHAT HAPPENED IN FRANCE......

I ate out for dinner every night, and I almost never turned down the chance to indulge in a glass of wine and a tasty desert!  To give you an example, one of my FAVORITE meals was a dish called Truffade.  This is a dish composed of cheese and potatoes browned in a skillet and served with raw ham and salad.  I had this meal AT LEAST once a week.  I also enjoyed eating regularly at a moroccan restaurant that served VERY AWSOME couscous with myriad of meats and vegetables including a really tasty leg of lamb.  I ate all kinds of meats that aren't typically served in the States.  I enjoyed rabbit, duck, and lamb especially.  One of my travel companions and I also decided to perform a "tour of tiramisu" to find the BEST tiramisu in our travels.  I understand that tiramisu is NOT a french desert...but the French certainly know how to make it.  For this challenge, any time tiramisu was on the desert menu of a restaurant, it was OBLIGATORY to order it.  We ate quite a bit of this desert.  I think perhaps my companion would beg to differ (he preferred the STRONG liquor taste of the one served at Hotel Lyon), but I must say that Kentucky Fried Chicken had the BEST tiramisu I ate during the month.  Needless to say, KFC in France is VERY different than what you see in the US :)   During the month, I ate many different types of foods including moroccan, indian, vietnamese, french, german, italian, and middle-eastern.  I went to wine and cheese tastings, and I participated in many social events where TONS of food was served.  It is a wonder I didn't explode.  But now I'm going to give you the rest of the story.......

I wore a pedometer every day, and there wasn't a day that I didn't walk at LEAST 10,000 steps.  I walked to and from work every day, I walked to restaurants, I walked on the weekends, I walked at all hours of the day and night.  During those Saturday outings where we drove for hours to visit exciting places, we also walked and walked and WALKED.  During our Saturday trip to Lyon, I accumulated over 23,000 steps!  The Sunday hike on the first weekend also resulted in a day of over 20,000 steps.  There were at least 4 other days where I exceeded 20,000 steps.  Several of my companions started a before-work running club.  I gave in at least once and participated.  Also, since there were very few restaurants near the hotel, we frequently hauled it the 7,000 steps (one way) up to Place de Jaude to eat dinner.  Needless to say, a lot of physical activity was had during the month.

In addition, we observed that food in France is much more natural.  There are few processed foods.  Meals are always served with salad.  Food is prepared with natural ingredients and cooked in more healthy ways.  Meals also take much longer to consume!  It is mandatory that you will spend at least two hours at any restaurant you decide to eat at.  Meals are served in courses......and there is considerabe time between courses.  As a result, you consume your food much more slowly and engage in more conversation.

Perhaps as a result of all the walking, we all consumed MUCH MUCH more water than we normally would at home. Our hotel provided one complementary bottle of water in our mini fridge each day of our stay.  I consumed each and every one that was left for me!

Now we also had some other theories about why French people are thinner than Americans.  These theories included ideas like the following:
1.  Perhaps there is some kind of chemical present in the local cheeses that prevents the body from turning calories into fat.
2.  Perhaps the wine somehow causes you to burn more calories
3.  Perhaps everyone has intestinal parasites!

Over the course of the month it didn't really occur to me that my change in lifestyle was affecting my physical self.  I was aware that I didn't seem to be packing on the pounds despite my over-indulgence.  I just chocked it up to the fact that I was going going going so much that my pants weren't getting any tighter.  It didn't occur to me that I could be LOSING weight until the last week.

One morning, I realized I was running out of clothes.  I pulled out a grey button-up shirt that I would normally only wear under a suit top (it has been inappropriately tight for several years).  I didn't feel like wearing the suit top, but when I put the shirt on I realized I didn't need to.  It was LOOSE!  My arms were no longer tight in the sleeves and the buttons in the front were no longer in danger of popping off!  On the last day, I put on my size 10 jeans (my comfy jeans) to wear on the plane.  I opted not to wear the belt, because I didn't want to hassle with it in security.  I regretted that decision for the next 18 hours......and I came DANGEROUSLY close to having my pants fall down on several occasions as I tried to maneuver my luggage through the airport with both hands!  By the time I stepped off the plane on American soil, I began to wonder just how much weight I had lost.  To test this theory.....I ran straight for my closet when I got home...and I immediately put on my "skinny jeans".  These are the pants I LOVE but I couldn't bring on the trip with me because there was NO WAY I could even get them buttoned.   I slipped them on....buttoned them straight up.....and realized....THEY WERE LOOSE!

So after this lengthy post, I will show you a picture or two.  I'm sure a lot of you will be saying...sure sure....you look like you.  But there are two things I will point out.  The first picture is one of me and the girls on a bike-riding trip at the Biltmore Estate a couple of weeks ago.  I am wearing LONG JOHNS under my jeans because it is cold.  Despite this....you can see my hips (if you look really hard) :)

The next picture is one McKinley took of me today at the same spot in my new XS smoking ridiculously-expensive-but-I-look-good-in-them Yoga pants!  I am proud to say that I am now at the same weight I was when I got pregnant with my FIRST child!  Woo hoo!  Now, honestly I do have a good 30 lbs to go before I would reach my college weight.  I'm not sure where those 30 lbs would come from, but I am not game to shoot for that (I might look like a wrinkly old stick if I went that far).  But I have been back for almost a month and have continued to exercise, eat well, and find ways to keep my stress level down and the weight seems agreeable to staying off.  I feel great and I look OK.  Shannon noticed IMMEDIATELY that I had lost weight (because he said my boobs were the first thing to hit him when he hugged me and apparently that is not typical).  Even people at work can tell.  

The best part of this whole thing is that I did it without even trying.  I didn't make any conscious effort to get in shape or lose any weight.  It just sort of happened.  The great part is I got past the hard part without even knowing it.  I came home in good shape and it was easy to continue....I've been cooking healthy and continuing to exercise!  With any luck (if I can keep it up), I might actually be able to feel comfortable in a bathing suit next summer!  Wish me luck!

The End

I know I'm already back, but before showing my next adventures, I have to show how this one ended.  My internet has been out since I got back, so this is my first chance to post.

So, on the last week, we relaxed a little after work with a nice bowling game!

Check out how fancy the FRENCH bowling alley is!!!!

Here are a couple of my stage mates.

Of course, there is always a clown in the bunch.

The night before the closing day, we had a party.  Each nationality was responsible for bringing drinks and food from their country.  The Americans brought McDonalds hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade rice crispy treats, oreo cookies, and Jack Daniels with Coke!  Here I am with some of my American pals.  By the way, the dress code for the party included jeans, a while shirt, and an "ACCESSORY"

There were some pretty cool accessories

We all had a great time

This is my chinese stage mate Junjie.  He braved the adventure to the Alps as well.

On the very last day, we had closing ceremonies at a farm!  Each country had to make a presentation about their culture and values.

See you didn't believe me, but I wasn't kidding.  It was a FARM!!

Our monitor groups also had to present the artwork they made together.  Our group made a dream catcher.

Here I am with my monitor group.  We really enjoyed getting to work together!  We will be fast friends for a long time!

Stage was a wonderful experience.  I learned a lot about myself, about working with people of different cultures, and about how to manage under high stress and tight deadlines.  Most of all, I learned a lot about the common values that are shared by everyone in the world and how to work best to bring them out of people!

Theraputic Weekend

Late Post from Oct 16

So, this week was unusually rough.  The training is getting very intense, I have a TON of work, I have gotten almost no sleep, I REALLY REALLY miss my family, and the daily grind of french life has become "normal."  The only thing keeping me upbeat this week was the thought of going to the MOUNTAINS.  It's amazing to think that just a few short hours away (440km) from the center of the earth (Clermont Ferrand) are JAGGED, SNOW COVERED mountains.  Today I was revitalized in so many ways.  I hope this trip will help sustain me for the last grueling week until I can return home!

Check out some of my adventures today:

Ahhhhh. The Alps!

This tree reminds me of the redwoods in California

Annecy is a beautiful place.....

I convinced three of my buddies to take this ridiculous day trip with me to Mont Blanc and back!

What a beautiful lake

Dont I look like I am enjoying myself?

Here I am calling my husband from the TOP OF MONT BLANC!!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhh......therapy.  I got to play in the snow!

This reminds me of "home"

I wanted to go out to the great outdoors, but you aren't allowed here without crampons and proper gear!

Going back down the mountain on the cable car.  There is parasailing everywhere.  Good thing my buddies and I didn't know that several weeks before, one flew into the cable....and the cable car was stranded for hours and the people had to come out one by one with a harness.......After we discovered this, I thought that would have been an AWSOME experience.....but my buddies didn't agree :)

Look at the lovely town of Chamonix below!

More pictures of the lake at Annecy

More pictures of the Alps!

Ahhhhhh.  That was great for me!  Ready for the LAST WEEK!