In exactly 12 hours, I will be on a plane for the first leg of our European holiday! I can't believe that it's here already. So much preparation and research - and it seemed almost like the trip was never going to come. Great thing is, we're on our way. Sad thing is, techincally, we won't get to Belgrade until Friday. That's a lot of travel time. Not looking forward to that part. Hopefully, I'll be able to sleep a little on the plane. I usually can't - which is why the 'entertainment' preparation is so important to me.
My bed is a complete mess. All my clothes and all the extra goodies we have to bring are piled in stacks. I haven't brought out the suitcase yet, only because Monte is still here, and I don't want him to get too depressed. He's going to stay with my grandmother while we're gone - and I'm just waiting for my hubby to get home from work so we can take him over there. I know Monte gets sad when I start packing - and he probably already knows what I'm doing. Good thing is that he's the kind of cat who is happy to see us when we come back. He doesn't hold a grudge. I've heard stories of pets who were so mad when their family came back that they ignored them for a week. That would be heart breaking for me.
So, I think we're basically set. I have all the passports, necessary currency, the plane tickets, my entertainment for the plane... Good thing I took today off from work, because it literally took me all day to pack. Sad. I hate packing.
My husband is still working - poor thing. He's been sick too. He still needs to come home and pack. I hate that he's always so busy. Not about the fact that he's not home with me, but that he has to put in so many hours and all that stress. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about his line of business, so I can't help him.
So folks, this is it for now. Hoping that the snow has stopped in Belgrade, that there are no more protests in Paris, and that I'll be able to cram in everything I want to see in London!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Oh great...
I was just reading CNN.com and riots have broken out in Paris - AGAIN. Not to be selfish, but when the last riots broke out a few months ago, I was worried about it affecting my trip. And now it's happening again.
Ok, I admit it. It is for selfish reasons. I've waited my whole life for this trip, and now I have to worry about riots??? Riots! Come on! And it's not a small protest in an area we can just avoid. We're talking 500,000 people from across the country - angry people - marching through Paris. Cars are being set on fire, stones thrown at people, a McDonald's was attacked. It's an angry mob - and we'll be in the heart of it by next Tuesday.
We start our trip in Belgrade, and then one night in London, so HOPEFULLY, all this anger will have subsided by the time our train arrives in Paris. I don't speak French that well, so it makes it more scary to be in that situation.
I'm not going to speak on what the people are rioting about, but in my very humble opinion, violence gets you nowhere. What does setting a car on fire have to do with anything? I mean, really? Attacking a McDonalds? What is that supposed to mean? I don't understand.
Anyway, yes, for selfish reasons, I hope all is peacefull again by the time we get there. It's my very first trip to Paris. I can't imagine all those beautiful areas that I've been researching for so many months to be closed off by mobs of angry people. It's just wrong!!!
Ok, I admit it. It is for selfish reasons. I've waited my whole life for this trip, and now I have to worry about riots??? Riots! Come on! And it's not a small protest in an area we can just avoid. We're talking 500,000 people from across the country - angry people - marching through Paris. Cars are being set on fire, stones thrown at people, a McDonald's was attacked. It's an angry mob - and we'll be in the heart of it by next Tuesday.
We start our trip in Belgrade, and then one night in London, so HOPEFULLY, all this anger will have subsided by the time our train arrives in Paris. I don't speak French that well, so it makes it more scary to be in that situation.
I'm not going to speak on what the people are rioting about, but in my very humble opinion, violence gets you nowhere. What does setting a car on fire have to do with anything? I mean, really? Attacking a McDonalds? What is that supposed to mean? I don't understand.
Anyway, yes, for selfish reasons, I hope all is peacefull again by the time we get there. It's my very first trip to Paris. I can't imagine all those beautiful areas that I've been researching for so many months to be closed off by mobs of angry people. It's just wrong!!!
Monday, March 13, 2006
Christmas in March
A few years ago, a friend of mind gave me a set of mini lip gloss tubes from Bobbi Brown. They're really cute and perfect for throwing into a small purse, or just having it in your pocket. Yes, I have dry lips, and this stuff just lasts forever. I rarely have to reapply - unless I'm eating.
I squeezed out the last bit of gloss from my last tube the other day, and went into a panic. Luckily, I was able to find another set on Ebay. It came today - I'm so happy. I wanted to have these for the trip. I don't wear much lipstick, and these lip tints give just the right amount of color.
What else came today? My new camera! Ok, it's OUR new camera, but you know I take 99% of the pictures in this family - to it's basically mine. Heh, heh... It's an Olympus Stylus 800. We have the Olympus D-380 - and I love that camera. But as technology advances, the 2.0 megapixels don't compare to the 8.0 megapixels of this newer model. It's fantastic. I've already charged up the battery and have been taking test shots all night. We don't have a memory card yet, so I've just been taking pictures and deleting them. I think I can store about 10 - 30 photos on the camera itself, depending on the quality setting. Anyway, here's a picture of my new electronic baby:
And here's a recent picture of my main baby, Monte. Yes, he's back to his old tricks. Found his way to the back of the drawer. Took me 10 minutes to get him out of there. Silly kitty. He's been doing very well. He just went through a phase of pulling out all his favorite toys from his basket and batting them around the living room. He just started the "everyone needs to wake up at 5am to pay attention to me" phase. Yeah, we're not too pleased with this one. But he goes through it every few months. Zzzz...
I squeezed out the last bit of gloss from my last tube the other day, and went into a panic. Luckily, I was able to find another set on Ebay. It came today - I'm so happy. I wanted to have these for the trip. I don't wear much lipstick, and these lip tints give just the right amount of color.
What else came today? My new camera! Ok, it's OUR new camera, but you know I take 99% of the pictures in this family - to it's basically mine. Heh, heh... It's an Olympus Stylus 800. We have the Olympus D-380 - and I love that camera. But as technology advances, the 2.0 megapixels don't compare to the 8.0 megapixels of this newer model. It's fantastic. I've already charged up the battery and have been taking test shots all night. We don't have a memory card yet, so I've just been taking pictures and deleting them. I think I can store about 10 - 30 photos on the camera itself, depending on the quality setting. Anyway, here's a picture of my new electronic baby:
And here's a recent picture of my main baby, Monte. Yes, he's back to his old tricks. Found his way to the back of the drawer. Took me 10 minutes to get him out of there. Silly kitty. He's been doing very well. He just went through a phase of pulling out all his favorite toys from his basket and batting them around the living room. He just started the "everyone needs to wake up at 5am to pay attention to me" phase. Yeah, we're not too pleased with this one. But he goes through it every few months. Zzzz...
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Getting ready
Only 12 more days until we take off to Europe! I can't believe it. To think I've always said that we have to celebrate our 10 year (together) anniversary with a trip to Paris and London, and it's really time to go! I don't understand how 10 years can fly by so quickly!
Today, we did a lot of running around and doing some last minute shopping for our trip - picking up a few other items along the way. We went to Burlington Coat Factory. Funny thing about this place? They have more of everything else rather than coats. Anyway, I found two awesome jackets - bought both of them for under $100! SCORE! One is a very cute pink snowboarding jacket. No, I do not snowboard, but it's a very nice and warm jacket that is perfect for the chilly days. I'm trying to exercise more and walk home from work - so, I'll need the warmer jacket.
The second is a lighter jacket for the trip. I don't know how to describe it, but it's mid-thigh length, water resistant with a hood. It's black with beige lining - I like it because when you turn up the sleeves, you see the beige - so it's not just black all over. It works with jeans, or a nice dress for dinner. Best of all, it's thin enough for me to stuff into my backpack when necessary.
We then stopped by Pier 1 and found the bookcase that we've been looking for. It's one of those coveted pieces for that one 'spot' in the home that needed something. Now, all my cookbooks are neatly lined up. They had been sitting in a box since we moved into this condo last July. Now, Jamie Oliver, Betty Crocker, and Giada DiLaurentis are all at my fingertips.
Our place is a complete mess, so it's a good thing I did our three loads of laundry tonight. I'm going to be busy just tidying up. All my clothes from the week are in a pile next to my bed. It's quite sad. I can't go on this trip knowing the house is a mess - I hate coming home to a disaster. I need it clean.
Still have to get some good walking shoes, and then some Euros and Pounds from the bank. Last time I went to Europe, I was 10 - I didn't have to worry about these kinds of details. I'm just lucky I remember I have to do it. I guess I should make a list. ARGH!
On top of everything else, it was announced that the first round of folks from my floor at work are to be packed and moved on March 23. That's the day I leave for Europe. The second, and last, round will go on April 6. I'll be back a day before that, so I'll pop into the office to say my goodbyes. I don't want to though. It's going to be sad. I hate goodbyes. I've made some good friends, and I know we'll keep in touch, but it won't be the same. So much going on these days...
Today, we did a lot of running around and doing some last minute shopping for our trip - picking up a few other items along the way. We went to Burlington Coat Factory. Funny thing about this place? They have more of everything else rather than coats. Anyway, I found two awesome jackets - bought both of them for under $100! SCORE! One is a very cute pink snowboarding jacket. No, I do not snowboard, but it's a very nice and warm jacket that is perfect for the chilly days. I'm trying to exercise more and walk home from work - so, I'll need the warmer jacket.
The second is a lighter jacket for the trip. I don't know how to describe it, but it's mid-thigh length, water resistant with a hood. It's black with beige lining - I like it because when you turn up the sleeves, you see the beige - so it's not just black all over. It works with jeans, or a nice dress for dinner. Best of all, it's thin enough for me to stuff into my backpack when necessary.
We then stopped by Pier 1 and found the bookcase that we've been looking for. It's one of those coveted pieces for that one 'spot' in the home that needed something. Now, all my cookbooks are neatly lined up. They had been sitting in a box since we moved into this condo last July. Now, Jamie Oliver, Betty Crocker, and Giada DiLaurentis are all at my fingertips.
Our place is a complete mess, so it's a good thing I did our three loads of laundry tonight. I'm going to be busy just tidying up. All my clothes from the week are in a pile next to my bed. It's quite sad. I can't go on this trip knowing the house is a mess - I hate coming home to a disaster. I need it clean.
Still have to get some good walking shoes, and then some Euros and Pounds from the bank. Last time I went to Europe, I was 10 - I didn't have to worry about these kinds of details. I'm just lucky I remember I have to do it. I guess I should make a list. ARGH!
On top of everything else, it was announced that the first round of folks from my floor at work are to be packed and moved on March 23. That's the day I leave for Europe. The second, and last, round will go on April 6. I'll be back a day before that, so I'll pop into the office to say my goodbyes. I don't want to though. It's going to be sad. I hate goodbyes. I've made some good friends, and I know we'll keep in touch, but it won't be the same. So much going on these days...
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Happy, Sad and uh oh...
Happy - because at dinner last night with my in-laws and one of my hubby's oldest friends, the friend announce that he was finally going to be a daddy!!! Not just a daddy - a daddy of TWINS! HA! I'm so happy for them - I believe they've been trying for a long time, and this is most welcome news. She's due in August, so we're going to have a couple of summer babies!
Sad - and this really doesn't have anything to do with me personally. Dana Reeve passed away. She was the wife of Christopher Reeve. I guess that family holds a special place in my heart because Christopher Reeve's Superman was supposed to be my first husband. Yep, I was 6 years old and I was madly in love with Superman. To this day, my image of the hero is Christopher Reeve in costume. I was devastated when he had his accident, and even more-so at the news of his death. No, I didn't go into depression or anything - it was just very sad to me. And now his widow is gone as well, leaving behind a 13 year old. Both parents gone within a few years. How can anyone not feel anything with that, even if you don't know the people. It's a sad story.
So, today, I've started my new regime to lose some weight AGAIN! I am not happy with the way I look and I really need to get some exercise in my life. With the news of his friend's babies, my hubby was saying last night how we both need to get health. Number one, for our future children (I was like, SAY WHAT?!) and then number two, how we live our lives now could make a huge difference in our health in our later years. I agree with part two... uh, I'm not ready for the children part. Don't know if I'll ever be ready. I'm too selfish right now. I feel like the things my husband and I are accomplishing now, we should have done a few years ago - but we couldn't afford to. So, I feel like we're playing catch up. And darn it all, his friend becoming a father has got the wheels turning in my own husband's head - I was afraid of that.
Sad - and this really doesn't have anything to do with me personally. Dana Reeve passed away. She was the wife of Christopher Reeve. I guess that family holds a special place in my heart because Christopher Reeve's Superman was supposed to be my first husband. Yep, I was 6 years old and I was madly in love with Superman. To this day, my image of the hero is Christopher Reeve in costume. I was devastated when he had his accident, and even more-so at the news of his death. No, I didn't go into depression or anything - it was just very sad to me. And now his widow is gone as well, leaving behind a 13 year old. Both parents gone within a few years. How can anyone not feel anything with that, even if you don't know the people. It's a sad story.
So, today, I've started my new regime to lose some weight AGAIN! I am not happy with the way I look and I really need to get some exercise in my life. With the news of his friend's babies, my hubby was saying last night how we both need to get health. Number one, for our future children (I was like, SAY WHAT?!) and then number two, how we live our lives now could make a huge difference in our health in our later years. I agree with part two... uh, I'm not ready for the children part. Don't know if I'll ever be ready. I'm too selfish right now. I feel like the things my husband and I are accomplishing now, we should have done a few years ago - but we couldn't afford to. So, I feel like we're playing catch up. And darn it all, his friend becoming a father has got the wheels turning in my own husband's head - I was afraid of that.
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