Judith's Visit (keeping busy)

Judith's visit was exactly what I needed this weekend. Not that I feel particularly better, but it was really good to be with someone who know's me well, can give good advice, keep me busy, have a good time, and, bonus, kind of explain to me what I'm supposed to be reading for Emory. I started reading it and, after reading the introduction, understood less than when I started (seems to be a theme with me this week).

Her visit was also good since she got me to eat regularly for the first time all week. I took her to Ginette and Marcel's for tartines when she first got in and the back the next day for a dessert and tea/coffee. Seriously, if any of you visit me, Ginette and Marcel's is the first place we will go. We also checked out Avignon's Christmas market, drank vin chaud, talked a lot, and took a few walks around the city. She even treated me to dinner at Chez Ripert, a really typical French restaurant in town. Like I said, exactly what I needed.

Avignon's Christmas market is now in full swing.
Sadly I'm a) poor and b) done with most of my xmas shopping!
Judith checking out some "Santons" de provence. People here in the South of France collect them much in the way Americans make Dickens Christmas villages.



Yummy vin chaud and a treat (a small piece of pistachio bark from a nearby artisan's booth)

And, since I blog, photos of my dinner at Chez Ripert. Let's just say I got some odd looks while making these photos happen!

Entrée (which in France means 'appetizer'):
Foie Gras with spiced bread and fig chutney
Plat (main dish):
Magret de canard (duck) with mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans and mushrooms
Me, wearing a new dress J convinced me to buy that day, with my delish food
Dessert:
Poached pear with chocolate sauce and whipped cream
Obligatory after dinner (decaf) coffee
A shared bottle of delicious local wine and a funky water carafe
A photo of a drawing in the menu. For such a traditional restaurant with delicious food, I always find it funny that their menus are handwritten in the little notebooks my French kids use in class. Apparently other French people think the same thing, since (in this photo) someone has taken to writing lines in the back of the menu (the most typical punishment for French primary students)
Dinner was perfect and we spent a few hours just eating and listening to that evening's musician singing French standards (and on breaks random American songs over the radio). Like with my 36 points of beer, I tracked this whole meal too (as best as I could). I used most of my weekly points, but it was so worth it.



We also checked out Ginette and Marcel's for an afternoon "goûter" i.e. snack. I got a yummy raspberry tarte and a tea (also tracked) and Judith and I chatted a bit about everything. It's kind of embarrassing to cry (lightly) in a restaurant, but it's getting better. Plus, at least I looked good, right? I may or may not have bought the same sweater dress in tan as well...





Sadly, we both had to get back on our way Monday AM and she left to go spend the rest of the week up in Paris with the snow and ice. :( I wish she could have stayed longer, but I hope to see her when I'm home in less than TWO weeks and again when she's back in Paris in June. Again, the goal for the moment is just to stay busy!

Last night one of my British friends hosted a Mince Pie/Mulled Wine Christmas Party at her flat, so that was fabulous. More on that and today's run later! :)

Drown my sorrows? : My first run in with the new beer ProPoint values!

As mentioned in the last post, Friday was a hard day. I learned Thursday that my friend Judith was actually not getting into town Friday as I'd planned (she bought her train ticket for the wrong day), leaving me with probably the worst thing you can give a depressed person: an entire day of free, alone time. As soon as I learned J wasn't getting in as planned, I not only planned my run, but I also texted ALL my friends who hadn't left for the weekend, begging them to take me out. In the end, we got a decent group of about 7 total and, as my British friends would say, we got "merry."





We also went and listened to a free concert given by Seb (I teach in his girlfriend's class and babysit their kids). The concert was great. Seb sings what the French called "chansons à texte," which means his songs are more poetic and tell stories when he sings. Here's a link to one of his songs on MySpace. Since he sang in French (obviously), it was really nice that he tells stories and sings relatively slowly because I was able to understand and appreciate his songs. Only downside was that I had to PEE and eventually had to sneak out... The "sneaking" bit was ineffective since I kicked over someone's glass beer glass and broke it (loudly) on my way out... Oops.

We ended up in another bar afterwards and had a pretty good time. They all kept me constantly supplied with beer and, for the most part, kept my mind off things, so that was good. In the end, I entered the 2.5L I'd consumed (I'd say goal of getting very drunk was accomplished) and this was my dinner:


Yes, it was unhealthy to drink my dinner and WOW did beer go up in points. But at least I got out there. I'm very lucky to have made such good friends here in such a short amount of time (probably because I'm not shy). I may have woken up feeling just as sad as the day before but with the added bonus of a huge headache, but it was worth it to get out of the apartment for a bit.

Also: small victory = I tracked everything and am staying within my points for the week.

I know I'm blogging less about exercise at the moment and am not sure when I'll be more upbeat... but stick with me, I'm working on it I promise. Just trying to take it day by day. Chin up.

Next post: amazing French foodie pics and Judith's visit

Don't want to "gâcher mon régime"

I was great all day yesterday at school. I woke up early after more sleep than I'd had the night before, made a cup of tea, and proceeded to dress nicely and put on make-up in an effort to make myself appear much better than I felt. It worked for awhile, which is good. Sylvie, the director of La Passerelle (the school I teach at on Thursdays) informed me that this means I need to take a "French Lover" (she said those words in English, btw). We'll see. Just the thought currently makes me want to throw up.

Anyway, the kids were really great. Somehow having an entire school worth of children flock to you, say "Hello!" and hug you kind of helps. We made pumpkin pies with one of my classes (photos to come later) and I had an exceptionally excellent Thursday lunch with the teachers. I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned Thursday lunch, but everyone chips in 10€ and the husband of one of the teachers makes a gourmet meal. This week, Jean-Yves made sauerkraut (since he's from Alsace) and apple pie and, although I still have next to no appetite, I did enjoy it... even if I didn't finish my already small slice of pie. Sauerkraut is a big dish in Cincinnati so it was a comforting meal, since I'd give anything to be home right now. Here are a few photos I managed to take of the meal with my cell phone:

Jean-Yves making some final preparations... That's a lot of food.
The big platter for this week. Don't worry there were 12 of us and plenty of leftovers.

So far, I'm finding that being home alone is the worst. I feel very much like the person Dane Cook describes in this video. It's one of my favorite Dane Cook clips and it managed to make me smile a bit today. I'm lucky I have so many people who are willing to put up with me right now, I'm sure I'm rather tiring to deal with.

I stepped on the scale this morning and am apparently 2 kilos down from the last time I measured (perhaps a week or 2 ago?). I wish I could say it was the new plan, but I have a feeling the reason I'm finding the new plan so easy has more to do with the fact that I'm not hungry. Though, I do love me these bananas. Like I said, I refuse to let how sad and hurt I am "gâcher mon régime (diet)" and all my hard work. Gâcher is a great verb, by the way. It means "to waste, ruin, spoil, or throw away." For example, here a common expression with it is "gâcher sa vie" meaning to ruin one's life. I won't be melodramatic and say my life is ruined because that's not the case, but I do like the verb and don't want to ruin all my hard work by stuffing my face with pizza and ice cream. That'd just make me feel worse.

In an effort to make myself feel better, I'm trying to do the opposite and today, I woke up and suited up for my first run since November 5th (which is coincidentally Jon's birthday now that I think about it). Not important. What is important is that I got out there in the freezing cold (it was -2ºC/28ºF) and did my best.

Here I am (blurry) after my run. I had kept on my gloves, ear thing, turtle neck, jacket etc the whole time and my arms and my butt were FREEZING. Any ideas on what to do?

It was only a 3 mile run and I stopped 4 times for water and to get my heart rate to come down since it was frequently up around 184, which is really high for me. Not a super fast pace, but I got out of the house and did it and for that I'm proud.

My friend Judith (the professor I worked with in Paris) is coming into town tomorrow, so I'm really looking forward to seeing her. It'll be really comforting since she knows both of us, she and I are really close, AND she's also kind of a sister/mentor/mom figure sometimes and I really would love a family-hug. She got confused and I thought she was getting here today since she bought the wrong train tickets. Oops! When I figured out I'd have the whole day to myself, I really panicked (I'm not doing so well alone right now), but Kyle, Helen, and some other friends have pulled through and have been around and will be making me go out tonight so I am far from Facebook etc. Whew. Again, really lucky to have such a great group of family and friends.

On that note, I need to go read some of the stuff I want to read to prepare for my grad school interviews. I reaaaaaaaally want to get into Emory still. Though, a nap does sound quite nice.

Back from Auburn, Off to Paris!

Whew! It's been forever since I've read anyone's blogs (hope you're all doing FABULOUSLY) or even been able to think about opening mine. Auburn was AMAZING (and really tiring). We got so much work accomplished that I'm jealous that a renter is moving into the house and not us! We were SO lucky to have all the help we had from Jon's family and our friends. We DEFINITELY couldn't have done it without them!

List of things accomplished:
1. Stick built an entire fence (augured holes and all!) and two gates
2. Tore down a shed on the back of the house and replaced it with more decking and siding
3. Set up feet for the new free-standing deck in the backyard (to be completed in December 2010)
4. Finished building Jon's retaining wall by hand moving 6,000 lbs of cap blocks (multiple times) and using a bobcat to move 10 tons of stone and 12 tons of Alabama red clay
5. Repainted the kitchen and all of the floorboards in the kitchen/hall/living room white
6. Painted the windows in the loft (with the use of a REALLY tall extension ladder... scary) and the kitchen
7. Painted trim on doors and caulked them (I am the caulk MASTER now)
8. Installed the door and it's hardware up in the closet (Wendy—Jon's mom—and I tried to drill the holes in the door and to route out the place for the latches and managed to epically screw it up... thankfully one of our guy friends helped fix it!)
9. Put blinds up on the loft windows (again with the epically tall ladder)
10. Put new numbers on the house
11. Redid the front flower bed and put scallops in the back one
12. Replaced some of the cedar siding in the back of the house
13. Replaced all of the off-white outlets and switches with whites... This is deceptively difficult. But hey now I can install 3-way switches!
14. Ordered a new bay window to be installed and new carpet for the stairs and upstairs
15. Capped off the old laundry pipes and covered the whole in sheet rock to create a closet/alcove... Had to take up the floor, prime/paint the walls, repaint the floorboards and put it all back down again
16. Repainted the loft and the big wall in the stair well (I'm now a pro with scary ladders)
17. Painted and caulked all of the exterior windows
18. Jon's mom came back after we left to help empty out the house (bye bye terrible sleeper sofa!) and clean... She also replaced all of the kitchen knobs and steamed the cabinets!

Here are a few photos of our epic two weeks of work:









That said, we also had a great time with our friends for the Fourth of July when we had a great day of grilling and drinking and spending time together:






We also went out to the Amsterdam Cafe one night for a classy double date with friends:


Each couple matched... We're just awesome like that!
I also got peddies with Jon's mom and sister... I'd never had one before... let's just say I'm a convert now!


Finally, I did manage to go on one run... I only went once because of what I learned during this 5-miler... When the sun is up in Alabama in the summer, you do not go running. That said, I would have either had to go prior to 8am (but we were exhausted and needed sleep) or in the evening, at which time we were either still working or too exhausted from all that working. I'm going to have to restart at week 1 or 2 for the half training, I think. Sadly, this'll have to wait until tomorrow since I walked off and left my carry-on at home (more on that in a different post) and thus don't have my running shoes until one of my students (who was awesome and stopped by to pick it up) will be here. Odd thing though... Although I admit to not tracking, I managed to gain around 4 pounds while we were there! I'm kind of miffed about this seeing as we had 15-hours of active working around the house everyday! Hopefully I'll be able to see some results walking around Paris all the time!

I swear I don't think I've ever been this sweaty... Here I am taking a brief water/bathroom break in Auburn's Alumni Center
Here are a few photos from my run around Auburn's BEAUTIFUL campus. I need to get an actual tour from one of my lovely friends, or, you know, Jon, the next time we're in town.


Anyway, sorry for the super long post. In short, Alabama was wonderful and, despite being exhausted, we were really sad to leave everyone behind. Hopefully, next time we'll be able to have more "play" time with all of the friends and family (and perhaps catch a AU football game, eh?). Now, I'm already in Paris, after an exhausting 13-hour car trip from AU to Ohio and 15ish hours of plane travel... But, more on that and my future Parisian running adventures later! A bientôt!!! :)

This Weekend: Wine-Tasting, Oversleeping, and a new C25Ker

Busy weekend over in Cincinnati for this girl! Overall it was great seeing my family and friends, since I won't be able to go back to Cincy until I get back from Paris in August.

Friday: Jesse and I did a fair bit of shopping, hitting big at the semi-annual sale at VS and buying a lot of sale items at the Gap (a sweater and a polo), Forever 21 (tank tops, tee shirts, and a cute "going out" skirt), and a dress at J.Crew. We also just enjoyed hanging out together and browsing all the favorite stores. The best part of the J.Crew dress? Well, my dress from graduation is already getting a bit big... and when we were at J.Crew, I saw the same dress in cream and ended up getting it a size smaller! I was bummed that it was on sale for a lot less than I'd paid for it, but happy to be down a size! My friend Megan might take my grey dress, so I feel a bit better about spending the extra money.

The game was great--the Reds stomped the Indians 10-2. We had great seats...up top, right behind home plate:


Jon also found a new girlfriend at the game in the form of Jennifer's 2-year-old daughter Isabella:

See? Here he is, wooing her with his iphone and its lightsaber app
Saturday: Saturday started with a WW meeting and a weigh-in. I love my WW leader Lori in Cincinnati, so I always make sure to go to a meeting while I'm home. Plus, I had the bonus of being down 1.4 lbs!!! After spending time working on the car (while I was napping...), Jon and I met my mom and a couple of her friends up at the Dilly Deli for lunch and their weekly wine tasting (and to watch the sad US v. Ghana game). In honor of the game, the deli featured all US-produced wines. After the wine tasting, Jon and I treated ourselves to gourmet cupcakes from the Sweeterie, which is located above the Dilly Deli. I opted for my habitual favorite (Red Velvet) and Jon went for a chocolate marshmallow fluff creation.

Jon thought I was weird since I wanted to take photos of them...


We ended up eating the fabulous cupcakes in the car since Jon and I went to Best Buy to buy him a digital camera so that we can send mine off to be repaired. This way, if for some reason mine's not back in time, I'll have a camera I can borrow to take to Paris with me. Plus, we now have the added bonus of having a camera to take to Auburn with us! Jon maintains that this new camera is pink (he didn't have a choice since it was a return/refurb that was uber-marked down), but I'm sure it's really red. Silly man. :-P

Other than that, we just spent a chill evening at my mom's... I mowed the lawn and then we went out for dinner for some Cincinnati-style chili at Skyline. I was semi-blown away though when I came home and found out that a small 4-way and a coney totalled to 16 points!!! We'll see how the rest of the weekend's eating will influence the weigh in tonight!

Sunday: While lounging around the pool, Jon decided to play with his new toy and the dog at the same time, so we caught these fun photos of her in the backyard:


She leads a really tough life.

Aside from lounging around my mom's and completing my invigorating 6-miler, Jon and I joined some of my family for dinner at Montgomery Inn. I caved and ordered ribs and chicken with a baked sweet potato. We both overate, but we left the leftovers with my mom and proceeded to drink lots of water to make up for it. Thankfully, when I stepped on the scale this morning I was at the exact same place I was when I left Nelsonville on Wednesday. Still, we'll see what the scale says tonight.

Also, my former roomie (and one of my best friends) Katy decided to start doing C25K AND blog about it! I'm so glad she's started the program. Hopefully she and I will be able to run a 5k together before I leave for France again in October. She's planning on running in the Hocking Hills Indian Run, which is the same day as the Dayton Half... We'll see, especially since the Dayton Half has bumped up to being so expensive! Perhaps Jon and I will run a different half and then join Katy in Hocking Hills for a trail run.

Speaking of leaving for France in October... A lot of the other assistants in my académie have been getting their placements and contracts in the mail. I'm getting really frustrated with all this waiting! The anticipation is killing me! Hopefully my "arrête" will arrive tomorrow and I'll let you all know where I've been placed!

Also, kudos if you made it through this whole post... I'm so longwinded today! How was YOUR weekend?!