You may have noticed that the other template is gone and I'm back to one of the 'standard' blogger templates. This is because I switched over to the new Blogger. So far, I like most of its features, although I miss that template! :/
However, they promise greater tweaking ability with the templates, so maybe I'll be able to pull something even better out of the magic hat. ;) Stay tuned!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
Today Has Been a Good Day
No reason in particular... things have just gone well.
Starting with the fact that I actually *felt* like getting up and out of bed this morning when the alarm rang at 7... I haven't *felt* like getting up in the mornings in who-knows-HOW-long (probably because I haven't been getting enough sleep... story of my life!)!!! So, that was a good start to the day.
Then, everything seemed to go not only in a timely fashion, but AHEAD of schedule! That was a first! So, I actually finished up lunch with the kids by 12:30 pm and they were down for naps before 1... that was at least 30 minutes ahead of the usual time. So then I started a letter, wrote a few e-mails, went to the post office... all by 2 pm, which is when my 'free time' is usually just beginning. So, instead of using free time until 4 pm, like I usually do, I went downstairs to iron about 3:20. The plus to that was that I actually got all the ironing caught up (something that rarely happens!) and things went very tranquilly, with goûter, etc. It helped that the younger boys had piano and flute lessons today, because with fewer people (i.e. children) under foot, more is able to be accomplished. I even got an extra 45 minutes of 'free time' between 5:15 and 6, because of being ahead of schedule. Sure, there were things that could've been done, but Mme S. offered me the extra time and I couldn't refuse. ;)
Now, though, I'm just as tired as on any other night. Not much energy left!
But at least the day STARTED OUT with more energy than usual. That's something in itself.
Starting with the fact that I actually *felt* like getting up and out of bed this morning when the alarm rang at 7... I haven't *felt* like getting up in the mornings in who-knows-HOW-long (probably because I haven't been getting enough sleep... story of my life!)!!! So, that was a good start to the day.
Then, everything seemed to go not only in a timely fashion, but AHEAD of schedule! That was a first! So, I actually finished up lunch with the kids by 12:30 pm and they were down for naps before 1... that was at least 30 minutes ahead of the usual time. So then I started a letter, wrote a few e-mails, went to the post office... all by 2 pm, which is when my 'free time' is usually just beginning. So, instead of using free time until 4 pm, like I usually do, I went downstairs to iron about 3:20. The plus to that was that I actually got all the ironing caught up (something that rarely happens!) and things went very tranquilly, with goûter, etc. It helped that the younger boys had piano and flute lessons today, because with fewer people (i.e. children) under foot, more is able to be accomplished. I even got an extra 45 minutes of 'free time' between 5:15 and 6, because of being ahead of schedule. Sure, there were things that could've been done, but Mme S. offered me the extra time and I couldn't refuse. ;)
Now, though, I'm just as tired as on any other night. Not much energy left!
But at least the day STARTED OUT with more energy than usual. That's something in itself.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
The Year in Review
I saw this idea on another blog and thought I'd steal it. They suggested taking the first post of every month in the past year and from each 'first post of the month,' take the last sentence. Apparently, in this way, one can get a cross-section of the year. I don't know how informative mine will be! You can be the judge of that...
January
Well! it's back to cleaning and organizing and all that good stuff. :D God bless!
February
She couldn't have said it better, had she tried. :)
March
Step by step we CAN restore society!
April
I wish you all the best of this brand new month! God bless~
May
But speaking of lessons learned, I'm supposed to be learning my history for the quiz day after tomorrow! ;) So it's adieu for now... God bless!
June
And now my coach is about to turn back into a pumpkin, so I must be off! I hope to be back with you sooner than later... God bless!
July
Here's a picture from Friday, of Mom, Rose and I at St. Joseph's Shrine, and I'm on my way to bed! :D
'Night!
August
This is it for now.... thank you for visiting my blog! :)
September
I've just updated my year-in-France blog, so if you'd like to see pictures of Cluny and an old chateau in the south of France and stuff like that, head on over to An American in Paris! :D See you there! :)
October (This one isn't actually my FIRST post of the month, because the first post of the month was only a graphic...)
It is 12:15 am on Thursday, October 5 and there are now fewer than 63 HOURS until Lindsey's wedding!!
November
I hope to be back to relate a few of the highlights in the near future.
Until then, tout de bon!
December
Hope your Advents are off to a good start! God bless!
~Until the next time~
Kinda funny to see them all next to each other like that, when those things were written over a period of twelve months! :)
...It's always interesting to see how much can change in the space of a single year (this past year certainly brought some big changes, perhaps the biggest of which was my sister's marriage)!!!
So, this being my first post of the new Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven, I would like to wish you all a Very Happy New Year!! Or, to borrow the words of a friend of mine, I would like to wish you: "Bonne Année, bonne santé pour toute l'année!" (Somehow, the French just seems more eloquent, but it loses in translation.)
Here's to 2007! May it be a good year according to God's Holy Will!!
January
Well! it's back to cleaning and organizing and all that good stuff. :D God bless!
February
She couldn't have said it better, had she tried. :)
March
Step by step we CAN restore society!
April
I wish you all the best of this brand new month! God bless~
May
But speaking of lessons learned, I'm supposed to be learning my history for the quiz day after tomorrow! ;) So it's adieu for now... God bless!
June
And now my coach is about to turn back into a pumpkin, so I must be off! I hope to be back with you sooner than later... God bless!
July
Here's a picture from Friday, of Mom, Rose and I at St. Joseph's Shrine, and I'm on my way to bed! :D
'Night!
August
This is it for now.... thank you for visiting my blog! :)
September
I've just updated my year-in-France blog, so if you'd like to see pictures of Cluny and an old chateau in the south of France and stuff like that, head on over to An American in Paris! :D See you there! :)
October (This one isn't actually my FIRST post of the month, because the first post of the month was only a graphic...)
It is 12:15 am on Thursday, October 5 and there are now fewer than 63 HOURS until Lindsey's wedding!!
November
I hope to be back to relate a few of the highlights in the near future.
Until then, tout de bon!
December
Hope your Advents are off to a good start! God bless!
~Until the next time~
Kinda funny to see them all next to each other like that, when those things were written over a period of twelve months! :)
...It's always interesting to see how much can change in the space of a single year (this past year certainly brought some big changes, perhaps the biggest of which was my sister's marriage)!!!
So, this being my first post of the new Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven, I would like to wish you all a Very Happy New Year!! Or, to borrow the words of a friend of mine, I would like to wish you: "Bonne Année, bonne santé pour toute l'année!" (Somehow, the French just seems more eloquent, but it loses in translation.)
Here's to 2007! May it be a good year according to God's Holy Will!!
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Christmas Vacation!!
Well, we're off! (Almost! :)) We're finishing up on our packing and planning on leaving in about three hours... our train should be pulling out of the station in just under seven hours. And twelve hours from now, we'll be THERE!
So, I hope you all have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!!
I will be back. :)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
So, I hope you all have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!!
I will be back. :)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
Monday, December 18, 2006
Two Hundred!!
Wow!!
This is the 200th post on this blog!! Hard to believe...
And here's the current number of hits (that is, since the counter was 'installed' which wasn't until awhile after the blog was begun), just for kicks. :)
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned!
This is the 200th post on this blog!! Hard to believe...
And here's the current number of hits (that is, since the counter was 'installed' which wasn't until awhile after the blog was begun), just for kicks. :)
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Baby Photo Shoot
The baby girl (7 1/2 months) where I work is just TOO cute sometimes! In the last six weeks, her range of vocal, as well as facial, expressions has increased dramatically. (She has a belly-laugh-slash-baby-giggle that is adorable!) I sat her down the other evening and within a matter of minutes had snapped this series. Enjoy!
"You don't say!"
And the best one of them all...
*drumroll*
"You don't say!"
And the best one of them all...
*drumroll*
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
(Another) Happy Feast Day
Happy Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!!
This is usually a celebrated feast in my family... but right now, I feel about as far away from Mexican food, culture, and traditions as one can get!! Nonetheless, a very happy feast day to you all!
Friday, December 08, 2006
More Observations on the French Way of Living
(Manners Edition)
Please bear in mind that these are generalities that I have observed and are by no means to be taken as statistics out of an etiquette book! :)
* In France, it is bad manners not to have both hands on the table (in direct contradiction to the American version of table etiquette)! Children are constantly reminded, "Met tes mains sur la table."
* On the other hand, it is NOT bad manners to put your elbows on the table. This is preferable to having your hands beneath the table, in your lap.
* In France, it is bad manners to put your portion of bread on your plate. It must be placed on the table next to your plate, except on very special or formal occasions when it is placed on a little bread plate provided for just that purpose.
* This portion of bread (and YUMMY bread it is too!) must be torn into bite-size pieces before being eaten. To bite directly off the piece of bread is considered eating like animals. (They have a point...)
* In France, it is bad manners to push food onto your fork or spoon with your knife. Knives are for cutting and that seems to be their sole purpose. The aforementioned (and ever-present) bread - in bite-size pieces, mind you! - must be used for the task.
* In France, one does not take a drink of any sort with their soup (first course). This seems to be very wrong. In some cases, glasses are not even put on the table until the soup has been cleared away.
* And when it comes to restaurants, do not tip your waiter (should you happen to be in restaurant in France, that is). The tip is factored into the total before you're billed and an additional tip is not expected.
Donc, voilà!
It's incredible how much can differ between two "first world," western countries!!
Please bear in mind that these are generalities that I have observed and are by no means to be taken as statistics out of an etiquette book! :)
* In France, it is bad manners not to have both hands on the table (in direct contradiction to the American version of table etiquette)! Children are constantly reminded, "Met tes mains sur la table."
* On the other hand, it is NOT bad manners to put your elbows on the table. This is preferable to having your hands beneath the table, in your lap.
* In France, it is bad manners to put your portion of bread on your plate. It must be placed on the table next to your plate, except on very special or formal occasions when it is placed on a little bread plate provided for just that purpose.
* This portion of bread (and YUMMY bread it is too!) must be torn into bite-size pieces before being eaten. To bite directly off the piece of bread is considered eating like animals. (They have a point...)
* In France, it is bad manners to push food onto your fork or spoon with your knife. Knives are for cutting and that seems to be their sole purpose. The aforementioned (and ever-present) bread - in bite-size pieces, mind you! - must be used for the task.
* In France, one does not take a drink of any sort with their soup (first course). This seems to be very wrong. In some cases, glasses are not even put on the table until the soup has been cleared away.
* And when it comes to restaurants, do not tip your waiter (should you happen to be in restaurant in France, that is). The tip is factored into the total before you're billed and an additional tip is not expected.
Donc, voilà!
It's incredible how much can differ between two "first world," western countries!!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Nearly Noel
20 days until my 21st Christmas! How the time does fly!
This year will be the first Christmas I've spent away from home... but, fortunately, I won't be entirely without family. Rose and I will be spending Christmas week in the Swiss Alps!! I bought the train tickets yesterday. We'll arrive there the evening of December 23rd. It'll be so nice to see snow again (it's been in the 50's around here). :)
I'm way behind on Christmas shopping (the little I'm able to do this year, what with very little time to go shopping and very little money to go shopping with) - as in, I've hardly started at all - but I have ideas! :)
And in the meantime, I'm trying to make a good Advent of it...
Hope your Advents are off to a good start! God bless!
~Until the next time~
This year will be the first Christmas I've spent away from home... but, fortunately, I won't be entirely without family. Rose and I will be spending Christmas week in the Swiss Alps!! I bought the train tickets yesterday. We'll arrive there the evening of December 23rd. It'll be so nice to see snow again (it's been in the 50's around here). :)
I'm way behind on Christmas shopping (the little I'm able to do this year, what with very little time to go shopping and very little money to go shopping with) - as in, I've hardly started at all - but I have ideas! :)
And in the meantime, I'm trying to make a good Advent of it...
Hope your Advents are off to a good start! God bless!
~Until the next time~
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