Q:Why do I love living in the Alps?
A:I get to spend my lunch break skiing in powder. A couple hours and I am back down the mountain refreshed and ready to work.
Q: Why am I so excited for January 2009?
A: Stories like this won't be in the news or quotes like..."I can press when there needs to be pressed; I can hold hands when there needs to be -- hold hands." --George W. Bush, on how he can contribute to the Middle East peace process, Washington, D.C., Jan. 4, 2008.
Thursday, 17 January 2008
Monday, 14 January 2008
weekend update
Quick update: We had our anniversary dinner at newly renovated, Le Bistro in Chamonix. Menu decouverte - truffes. 4 courses, black truffles in everyone. Need I say more? It was delicious. DEE-LICIOUS.
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...
Saturday: Leisurely grocery shopping at the organic grocery store. I love walking in to the place because it smells like PCC or Whole Foods. I feel right at home.
Back home, I puttered around inside as it continued to snow outside. I read and napped and waited until the very last minute to make a lemon cake for our post volleyball buffet. Despite the time crunch and thanks to some rapid cooling on the window sill in the chilly weather, it was glazed and ready when it was time to leave. (and was very well received, I am happy to report.)
First volleyball match after the break, we were sluggish! We won the first two games but were down 22-16 in the third. I rattled off about 7 serves and tied it up. We finished it 26-24 and I got to end it on on a big kill from the back row. Lots of fun.
Sunday: I helped out at the World Cup Skier Cross competition. It was a gorgeous day with fresh new snow and beautiful sunshine. If you aren't familiar with such a competition, it's essentially 4 skiers go down a course with lots of big jumps as fast as they can and whomever crosses the finish line first wins, or the top 2 move on to the next round depending where they are in the competition. To distinguish between the skiers they must wear colored pinnies or dossards. There was a shortage of dossards so my job was to collect them from the skiers at the finish of the race and then take the ski-lift up to the start of the race and hand them off and then ski down and repeat. It turned out we had enough people helping that you could take your time and hang out and watch a fair amount of the race. I took advantage of the sunshine and hung out at the top of the race. And in a show of extreme vanity, I placed myself right behind the gates where the skiers start so that I would be on Eurosport.
The final race finished and they made it through the day with only one dislocated shoulder and one broken nose. It's tends to be a pretty dangerous sport. They last time I helped out with this someone broke a leg and was airlifted off the mountain. I felt so bad for the girl that dislocated her shoulder she was still wearing her dossard and the woman in charge of getting the pinnies kept asking her for hers, if she could help her take it off, I mean literally in her face. The poor girl didn't even have her arm back in the socket when the woman kept asking for her pinnie. The doctor's finally convinced her to lay-off and from that point on she was helpful and held the girl's hand while they were trying to put her arm back in place. I was there when the guy came through with a broken nose, his pinnie was blood covered. I'm surprised she didn't harass him. Get out a little Javel and try to scrub it down. I asked his team doctor if the guy wanted a ride down on a snowmobile since I heard the injured skiing saying he really wanted to move as little as possible. He said, "Hell no, he's a cowboy. He's fine." I hope the french didn't hear that between Dubya and this guy it's no wonder they think everyone is from Texas and likes to rope and ride.
Finished up the evening by bundling up and and watching the freestyle half-pipe competition with Alex. I had on my big down mittens and ski pants and parka. Definitely sacrificed style for comfort and warmth. Thank goodness I did. It was fun and there were a lot of people that turned out to watch the event. We rounded out the evening with some mexican food or you know as close as you can get here. All in all, a great weekend.
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...
Saturday: Leisurely grocery shopping at the organic grocery store. I love walking in to the place because it smells like PCC or Whole Foods. I feel right at home.
Back home, I puttered around inside as it continued to snow outside. I read and napped and waited until the very last minute to make a lemon cake for our post volleyball buffet. Despite the time crunch and thanks to some rapid cooling on the window sill in the chilly weather, it was glazed and ready when it was time to leave. (and was very well received, I am happy to report.)
First volleyball match after the break, we were sluggish! We won the first two games but were down 22-16 in the third. I rattled off about 7 serves and tied it up. We finished it 26-24 and I got to end it on on a big kill from the back row. Lots of fun.
Sunday: I helped out at the World Cup Skier Cross competition. It was a gorgeous day with fresh new snow and beautiful sunshine. If you aren't familiar with such a competition, it's essentially 4 skiers go down a course with lots of big jumps as fast as they can and whomever crosses the finish line first wins, or the top 2 move on to the next round depending where they are in the competition. To distinguish between the skiers they must wear colored pinnies or dossards. There was a shortage of dossards so my job was to collect them from the skiers at the finish of the race and then take the ski-lift up to the start of the race and hand them off and then ski down and repeat. It turned out we had enough people helping that you could take your time and hang out and watch a fair amount of the race. I took advantage of the sunshine and hung out at the top of the race. And in a show of extreme vanity, I placed myself right behind the gates where the skiers start so that I would be on Eurosport.
The final race finished and they made it through the day with only one dislocated shoulder and one broken nose. It's tends to be a pretty dangerous sport. They last time I helped out with this someone broke a leg and was airlifted off the mountain. I felt so bad for the girl that dislocated her shoulder she was still wearing her dossard and the woman in charge of getting the pinnies kept asking her for hers, if she could help her take it off, I mean literally in her face. The poor girl didn't even have her arm back in the socket when the woman kept asking for her pinnie. The doctor's finally convinced her to lay-off and from that point on she was helpful and held the girl's hand while they were trying to put her arm back in place. I was there when the guy came through with a broken nose, his pinnie was blood covered. I'm surprised she didn't harass him. Get out a little Javel and try to scrub it down. I asked his team doctor if the guy wanted a ride down on a snowmobile since I heard the injured skiing saying he really wanted to move as little as possible. He said, "Hell no, he's a cowboy. He's fine." I hope the french didn't hear that between Dubya and this guy it's no wonder they think everyone is from Texas and likes to rope and ride.
Finished up the evening by bundling up and and watching the freestyle half-pipe competition with Alex. I had on my big down mittens and ski pants and parka. Definitely sacrificed style for comfort and warmth. Thank goodness I did. It was fun and there were a lot of people that turned out to watch the event. We rounded out the evening with some mexican food or you know as close as you can get here. All in all, a great weekend.
Sunday, 6 January 2008
le 6 janvier
You are so much fun to be with, Alex. I love you even more than I did this day one year ago. I remember being so proud of you and of us and how wonderful it felt to announce in front of everyone that this was for real, forever. You amaze me with your thoughtfulness and your kindness. You make me laugh like no one else. This first year was wild. It was fun, a learning experience for both of us and it went by in a flash. Some of the best moments were spent just you and I hanging out and enjoying being together. No matter the country, the language, the day or the week, I love being with you. Thank you for making me your wife. Thank you for making this life, this adventure such a beautiful experience. Je t'aime mon poisson.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
in the year 2000...
It’s nice to have 2008 stretching out in front of me. There’s so much to be done so much potential. I hope to be a bit more interesting, a bit more controversial in my blogging this year. Sometimes I get bogged down by thinking about who is reading and that tends to hinder what I write. I have held back a bit and I think this year I am going to let go to expression, give myself a little more space to make mistakes and be more open to others. Sometimes I find myself internalizing much more than I should and it’s time to share the wealth. And the owl? I don’t know, I made it. I like it. Bring on the New Year!Saturday, 22 December 2007
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
baby, it's cold outside
We got about 50 centimeters of snow over the past 24 hours. Our Christmas tree is up and decorated. I'm listening to Dean Martin, Perry Como, Bing Crosby and a little Eartha Kitt. It feels like the holidays are here. I can practically smell the molasses crinkles. I can't wait for a little christmas vacation. I have a fair amount of projects that I'm looking forward to working on and just stepping away from my computer and taking a break from all work responsibilities and baking some sugar cookies.In other news, the win streak for volleyball continues. I am having an absolute blast playing. The girls are great and it's just silly fun to hang out with all of them. We take a break for the holidays so I'm going to have to find some other sport to keep me going and active...hmmm, skiing? Well, twist my arm.
Friday, 23 November 2007
a very happy tonksgiving
I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. Mine was delightful. Alex and I went out to lunch at a local restaurant, le Husky. We had the plat du jour, homemade hachis parmentier which seriously, I can't believe I haven't had this more often. Ground beef, gravy covered with mashed potatoes and a side salad, what else does a girl (see potato addict) need? Funny you ask, a poire belle helene for dessert to finish it off. mmmm, bliss in a big parfait glass. I absolutely love pears and chocolate and vanilla ice cream and whipping cream doesn't hurt either. This thanksgiving meant finishing up some long-awaited projects around the house. My office space is now back at the table instead of crouching over the coffee table and sitting on a cushion in a 2 meter by 2 meter space. It's heavenly and the walls are freshly painted and the windows are awaiting new curtains. Anyway, Thanksgiving was fun. I didn't make a big dinner and it was kind of a relief. But I got to talk with my family and it sounded like they had a huge meal. I missed my mom's pie though. Anyway for this Thanksgiving or I should say, Tonksgiving, my favorite part was dancing in the kitchen and singing Paul Simon with Alex....I got a nikon camera, i love to take a photograph... so momma don't take my kodachrome away....
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