is it bad that I don't want this year to end?

This year was so wonderful that I think I am in denial about it almost being over. It truly flew by and now it is just a few hours away from 2011 and I am so going to be optimistic and think it will rival 2010. We shall see.

I learned much about myself, my family history and what its like in far away lands. I would not trade any of the experiences that I had for anything. Highlights: sitting on the rocky beach watching the surfers in peru, watching the picturesque scenery of the north and south island roll by in NZ, falling for a gazillion-aire and ending up on a yacht in cannes, having tea with dwaeber in Zurich when she was expecting others, hanging with kristen in southern portugal, being with the girls at the ritz in ireland, every second of the time I was in the Czech Republic, beer gardens and tour in munich, houseboat rainstorm in stockholm, new hope kids in siem reap, angkor wat...I am a very lucky lady.

I have started looking into hostels/hotels/places for me and Kendall to stay on our European tour. After hours of reading reviews and having to pick up my jaw from the floor at the crazy high prices, I am not any further than I was. I know it will all work out and come together but wowzers -I guess there is something to be said about tour groups where I didn't have to worry about any of this. Its been a great few days hanging with the Drenning-Bickley clan, hanging around GP in coffee shops and scoping for hispters with Bridget (who as it turns out is my neighbor - yay!), watching MD play ECU with the whole Keefe crew, celebrating being in the same part of the world with the Waeber girls and spending time in Baltimore doing some night shifts with Miss Thing. I have no clue how moms function. After the first night I was so tired and looked like I had been hit by a truck. Absolutely adore every minute that I am able to spend with Makenna. She is so sweet and snuggly. She makes the cutest little faces where her forehead wrinkles and little sounds...can hardly wait to hold her again soon.

To all of the wonderfulness that this past year has held, and all of the fabulousness that will be in 2011

" May every sunrise hold more promise, and every sunset hold more peace."

a very merry Christmas

Christmas festivities are coming to an end after all of the running and hustle and bustle and merriness of it all. I can hardly believe it. This was a different year for me with not shopping and buying presents and trying to stay out of the stores. But you know what? It was just as good. Its not the gifts and the sales and it was really important for me to try to stick to it. I was moved by the service we attended last night and overwhelmed by the spirit of Christmas - and the miracles that surround us. I often forget to sit back for more than a minute and reflect. If I did, I would marvel at all of the people in my life...at how we are enter-twined. We had a great celebration last night at the Willoughby's with friends and family. Definitely missed those that were not there this year (Kara, Brian, Makenna, Lynn, Dick, etc.) We must be getting old because when the clock struck midnight and it was officially Christmas day, we were pretty much all tired out, cleaned up and getting ready for bed. This morning, we went over to mom's to do our Christmas with her and Kevin. I think the cards were a hit and it is now hard to imagine life without him in it. I received some love offerings :) - clever! and we had breakfast before Kendall and I headed back to the main campus. I headed to Frederick in the afternoon and it was a great day spent with Kenny, the boys, Grandma and Grandad Keefe, Tiffany, Chris, Dad, Joanne and Kristen. We dined like kings and queens and watched the kids open gifts. There was ping pong tournaments going on -- something that dad is amazing at and I want to be able to do better! The day flew by...and now somehow it is almost the day after Christmas. I am thinking about all of the people that I met this year spread all over the world - and of course the kids in Southeast Asia. I am warm and full and in the company of people that I love - what more can I possibly ask for?

nurse Kelly

well...I think we have figured out that I would not make the best nurse or anything really in the medical field. Not sure how they do it. I like the helping and consoling piece of it but not anything else. I also really don't like to see anyone in pain - least of all people that are so close to me. It makes me want to cry.

The first real snowfall of the season started the other morning. It was beautiful and makes me just want to be in front of a fire with hot chocolate. The reality is it makes traffic an absolute nightmare and makes for having to clear, shovel, scrape -uhhhh. Not sure if I am ready for this...makes me wonder how I could leave my mild sf winters for this frigidness. I must be adjusting okay though because the other day I thought it was warm and really it was a balmy 30.

Christmas is one week from today. It was be a different one for me this year with no gift giving which part of me will really miss but I am working on my letters and hoping to instead embrace the real meaning of Christmas. I have everything that I need. I am blessed in countless ways.

this is it!

"The one where Kara goes into labor"

Wow. I am still so speechless and overwhelmed with emotion. What a few days it was been.

In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, I would like to think that I did what I could but I must admit that I had never been with someone so close to birth on my own and had no idea what to expect. We had a great dinner in Eldersburg, watched some of the Ravens Monday night football game and went to sleep around 11 pm. Only neither one of us really slept a wink. Kara was having bad cramping that we thought was false labor and turned out to be early labor! I felt helpless watching her struggle through every few minutes. We tiptoed down to the basement to google contractions and how do you know when you are in labor? and the like. Around 1 am after a few hours of the pain and uncertainty, Kara called her doctor who told her that it sounded like she would be seeing her before her appointment on Tuesday afternoon because the baby could be here by then :) We got really excited and tried to reach Brian to share the news that today could be Makenna's birthday! Only no such luck and so after spending some time wrapped up in the living room in front of the fire where Kara was pacing and trying different stretching positions, we bundled and decided to head down to Canton. It was freezing outside and I was nervous. We got down there pretty quickly but you could tell that she was feeling it. Brian was sleeping in the living room and Kar woke him to tell him what was going on. He couldn't believe it. By this point it was close to 3:30 am...right after Kara stepped out of the shower, her water broke. We actually heard it which was pretty crazy. Brian and I both looked at each other like - uhhhhh - not what? This is it! The real deal! Our little Makenna who we have been wanting to meet for so long will soon be making her way into the world. After making sure they had everything, they left for the hospital. I tried laying on the couch but was too tired to sleep. Brian texted me about an hour later saying K was 9.5 cm - WHAT?! I could not believe it. Just a few hours later with mom, dad, Joanne, Kristen and I sitting in the waiting room outside of Labor and Delivery...we heard a lullaby being played. She has arrived! Born on Tuesday, December 14th, 2010 weighing just over 8 lbs and about 20 1/2 inches long is pure bliss...my niece - Makenna Lee Humes

somewhere near milestone 4

grrrrrrrrrr...too many days have gone by again. I want to write about NY and everything else that is going on but first --->

I don't think I have yet to mention the career coaching that I have been receiving in the past month or so. First of all, is it weird that whenever I write/type career coach I always do career couch first? Hmmmmmm.

So I am all in on this rather intense program. Or rather I am not all in but I am "toes in" and I am supposed to be waist deep at this point. It involves a lot of research, reading, exercises, soul searching, networking, conversations with strangers, conference calls, hearing about other peoples career paths and accomplishments and last but not least milestones. I am supposed to be at the beginning stages of milestone 4. Truth be told, I am struggling with milestone 1. I thought all of this time off would lead to some clarity and once I was ready I would jump right back in ...but it is not quite like that. Instead, I get anxious when I have to go to these sessions and am just a little bit scared of my coach. She is nice enough but called me hostile on our first call. Really? I can think of a lot of other words people might use to describe me and that is certainly not one of them! So the next time you hear from me, I should have quite the marketing plan and perfect resume together and be ready to get out there and conquer the world. We will see how it all actually plays out :) I don't want to sound ungrateful. I am thankful to have these resources and am finding parts of it beneficial. It's actually making me think that maybe I could be a career coach :)

Yesterday instead of attending the networking meeting that I was supposed to, Carter and I went to the B + O Train station in Baltimore. It was pretty cool. He has a great time riding the train, watching the models, checking out the cars, etc. He cracked me up many times - like when he told me to close the door of the bathroom and when he beat me to it and ate the cheerio straight off of the floor at chipolte. But it was truly a great day! He zonked out in the car on the way home and Aunt Kelly was pretty exhausted herself after running after a 2 year old for a few hours....

the happenings

I have been wanting to write for days and yet only now do I have a few minutes to actually sit down and do it. I know that sounds crazy considering I am not working, I am not raising children, I am not planning a wedding or grand event or going to school. But I sure have been doing a lot of running around lately - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

In a nutshell, Thanksgiving was great. Love being surrounded by so many wonderful people over mouth watering food and feeling so full of love and happiness. Black Friday I could not even fathom going near a mall especially since I decided that I am not really buying gifts this year. Kara and I did head down to the Cope acoustic show in Annapolis. It was great - love his new stuff and got to see him after the show to give him his Laos patch:

"I've been to Paris. I've been to Rome. I've never been to Laos but I'll lie and say I've gone"

Saturday we did the Choy family Thanksgiving which was a lot of fun - all 23 of us. And now the week has flown by... I got to spend an afternoon with Rosie and Porter, lunch with Susan and crew, celebrate Suzy's birthday with her and Kara, go through the seemingly endless number of boxes in the basement, etc. And somehow - it is December...and I am excited to hit the road tomorrow for New York for the weekend.

I have been feeling a bit restless. I don't like any of the same songs that are on the radio. Nothing on tv interests me. I feel like my attention span is shorter. I have only been home for 2 weeks but I feel like I am ready for something else. Enter: Carole. We have spoken several times this week and she told me some interesting things that I am being open to...stay tuned. Also, Kendall and I are headed to Europe! Hoping to book flights tonight and really cannot wait to go back overseas with a cute little ginger :)

'Most people don't know there are angels whose only job is to make sure you don't get too comfortable & fall asleep & miss your life'

culture shock

I have been back in the states now for just over one week - and in so many ways it is as if I have never left. But I did. And honestly, this past trip was probably the most eye-opening and significant in my understanding of the world. I didn't quite know why I was thankful to have pretty much whatever I wanted so easily accessible but why it also bothered me. Why me and not the beautiful people that I came in contact with in Southeast Asia? Don't get me wrong...I so appreciate having western toilets, being able to read menus and traveling on roads where I am not having to hang on for dear life. But something has been nagging at me. I called my grandmother to let her know that I was home safely and looking forward to seeing her over Thanksgiving and she solved my little issue: culture shock. "I always found I was in a bit of culture shock after returning home from my Asian trips," she told me and then I knew that is what I have been going through. We have so much stuff, have so many options, don't need to worry about clean drinking water or malnutrition. I am thankful for all of the blessings in my life but also sad that not everyone has all of the things that I do. It is hard for me to think of buying Christmas gifts or making a Christmas list when I would rather be sending money to families in need. I guess you could say that I am still adjusting to the ways of the western world. Regardless of how much time goes by, I hope to always remember what I saw, how I felt and how I was touched.

Paige's wedding weekend

Wow. What a truly wonderful weekend! Paige was such a beautiful bride, Joe made a great groom and it was so fabulous to be surrounded by so many people that came out to celebrate their special day.

I started getting super excited last week - Friday I met Kim and Kristen - so great to see them! I love it when last minute things work out and Friday was just that kinda day so once they dropped me in Canton, I had a cup of coffee with Jeannine, Casey and Suzy. Nice to see their smiling faces, quickly catch up on my travels and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday plans. Spent the afternoon with Kara and Brian - their house is starting to be baby stuff filled and I love it! Of course, Kara looks great and it is just about one more month until her due date... soon it was time to get ready and then head down to Ellicott City for the rehearsal dinner. Such fun! It was nice to meet Joe's family and see everyone all dressed up and excited for the big day. I had written a little something that I read to the bride and groom and was glad that I did. The wine was flowing (kind of). Kendall and I watched old movies for a while once we got home - she was the cutest thing!

Saturday was a beautiful day. Ken and I headed down to meet Kristen at Bridal headquarters aka suite 520. Thank goodness for her! She certainly took care of all of the details - the day would not have gone as smoothly as it did without her. We were a bit stressed due to this random tennis conference that had invaded the ballroom and was keeping things interesting for us. The next few hours flew by...make up was done, rooms were checked into, family started arriving, Willie's tux didn't fit, Brian didn't have a tie, detours were made on the way to pick up some "necessary items" + and before I knew it, it was almost go time. All 9 of the bridesmaids looked great and when Paige put her dress on, I could not help but tear up. She was glowing...we surrounded her and headed down the halls to get her married! They did great - I loved seeing Joe when he saw her. They were both smiling so big. I wasn't in the ideal spot to take photos ...but we weren't really encouraged to take them as it turns out. The kiss that P was so nervous about was perfect. Cocktail hour was in full swing by the time we joined. I looked around to a sea of faces - some that I hadn't seen in a very long time but knew me as a little girl. Of course the reception flew by! Little G was hilarious and owning the dance floor. It was such a fun night. Randomness like you couldn't even make up at the end and the celebration spilling over to the hotel bar once all was said and done...yesterday I was utterly exhausted and spent most of the day on the couch looking through photos and rehashing the events of the previous day. Congratulations to the Delenicks! :)

jet lag at its finest

Honestly, part of me always thought that jet lag was just something that people complained about. Then I was wide awake at 3:30 am this morning and have totally changed my mind. Its real and its fairly exhausting and my alarm hasn't even thought about going off yet. I have a feeling that I will crash hard this afternoon but until then...

I wanted to be blogging a lot more from Southeast Asia. I was religious about writing in my journal and filled almost 40 pages in the too short time that I was there, so at least that is something. There were so many highlights and each day was vastly different from the next that it is hard for me to name what my favorite was or try to explain it all in a few sentences.

I can tell you this: I have never been to anywhere as remote as the little 1,000 people island of Don Deng where we stayed in Laos. I have never known such wonderment as the day we spent in Angkor Wat - one of the wonders of the world. I have never met as many selfless people as the ones at New Hope Cambodia. I never knew that you could bond with so many little souls without even being able to speak the same language but just want to soak up their smiles each and every day. We were lucky. Our group was great - 14 of us from all over (Australia, Germany, England, Finland, Canada, Italy, etc.)

And now I am back to being surrounded by familiar things and absolutely covered in mosquito bites from my very last night in Bangkok when my bag complete with deet was packed. Not going to lie, yesterday was a long day and I barely slept for 30 minutes of the 18 hours. But it was absolutely worth it! I miss noodles for breakfast and saying sabidi and all of the majesty that I saw in three countries in 3 life-changing weeks.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” –Jawaharial Nehru

A day that I will never forget (Cambodia)

I really had no idea what to expect going into this project. Wasn't sure what I would see and if I would be able to handle it, wasn't sure if I should coat myself with DEET or sun cream, wasn't sure if I would really use the work gloves that dad got me from home depot when I spent more than people here earn in one month at Target...then the past few hours happened.
We took tuk tuks down pot hole filled roads to arrive at New Hope. What an amazing place. Immediately we were greeted by Ron- an Australian who gave it all up sight unseen to do what he does and help all of the kids. I was able to sit in on a classroom for the first little bit. Big smiles, wide eyes and so much love is how I would describe the kids that stood up and bowed to us and chanted how are you when we walked in. Some of them just stared at me. Some didn't say a word but ran up and gave me the biggest hug. Some showed me their work book with their lesson for the day (it was big J, little j day). Right away, I felt full. I didn't know what to say or do but hoped that I could make them smile. Some asked my name and how old I was. I was called "teacher" and certainly had a respect for theirs that stood up in front of them all and tried to get them to focus on their letters and numbers. After class was recess and the kids were playing in the common area with jump ropes and hula hoops. It was great to see the joy and hear the laughter even though you know that they have so little at home. One of the girls had her much younger sister with her who couldn't have been more than 2 years old. Ron said that used to be a huge problem and distration and so they started a pre-K classroom. The kids didn't have anyone to look after them and so it fell on to the older siblings shoulders...we watched the younger class listen to a story being read, sing the wheels on the bus, etc. After saying goodbye, we moved next door where Ron explained about the NGO which was founded by a Cambodian and has grown in just a few years to teach over 550 children. We then went over to the health clinic that is also a part of the project. They help to educate many on HIV and so many other things. There are doctors and nurses mostly from Europe that volunteer to be there which blows my mind. In October, they saw just about 900 patients. The "Western doctor" was so admirable and extremely good looking! We tuk tuked over to see the site we would be demolishing after lunch. Words cannot even describe what conditions these poor people are living in. A well is shared by 30-40 families. Their homes are little one room shacks...and yet the kids are so happy, so adorable and so loving. I loved looking into their eyes and being close to them. We gloved and masked up and helped to demolish home in a swamp where a family of 7 was living. The rest of the week, we will work to build a proper cement house for them on the farm. I got to hold one of the youngest girls on my lap as we drove them over to the halfway house where women and children are for many, horrible reasons. The bamboo, wood and tin were torn apart and her sister had been wandering around crying earlier...I didn't put two and two together as to why. I gave stickers to the children (thanks to Val for the awesome idea!). They loved them and bowed. It was hard to leave them there. I will never forget the light in their eyes, the laughter and hope. I want to help in ways that I cannot even wrap my head around at the moment.
http://www.newhopecambodia.com/

Hong Kong - wow!

I am very impressed and loving Hong Kong more than I expected. It has been a great first few days in Asia and I don't have much time because Karen and I are getting ready to head out but I wanted to check in quickly and try to put some of this down -or out in the electronic world.
I arrived Thursday night after my not too bad but definitely long flight from Chicago - 4 movies, 3 meals, only about 30 pages read and was able to spread out and sleep for a bit thankfully. I have never seen so many people in my life! There are about 7 million people that live in Hong Kong and they are everywhere all of the time. The MTR (metro) is the cleanest, fastest and most efficient subway system that I have ever been on. It's very modern and surrounded by the harbor. There are tall buildings everywhere and parks scattered so that you can get a break from the constant swarm of people. The food, the shopping, the sights all make me do a double take as I try to soak it all in. Yesterday was such a fun day of exploring and pretty much trying every mode of transportation possible. I headed over to the Big Buddha in Tung Cheung and was among the first people which was awesome. I am missing my good camera even only a few days in but hoping to capture everything as best as I can. I met a super cool guy from Canada who became my travel buddy the rest of the day - we had a blast! Had a vegetarian lunch together and then the gondala down the mountain and the train to Hong Kong Central where we explored markets and temples and he introduced me to cocktail buns, bubble tea and dragon fruit. Karen and I ventured into SoHo last night for an amazing medditeranean dinner and glasses of wine. I have never seen so many people out. Bars were spilling into the streets - people from all over the world, all walks of life, all ages throwing down on a Friday night. There is an energy here that is contagious. I love that dad was born here and Bubi and Agong spent many years here...okay, have to finish getting ready and set out to see what the day holds!

family weekend and leaving on a jet plane

The weekend has come and gone and after much planning and preparing by so many of us, I must admit, it was pretty marvelous. I spent the night on "the campus" Friday night with Kendall. Chrissy, Lisa and I went to happy hour which was a bit like stepping back in time. I was not as productive as I wanted to be and had been totally sucked in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...Saturday was gorgeous. The perfect fall day - sunny, with crunchy leaves on the ground and colored trees lining the streets. I received some fabulous news on the way to the club...absolutely love when wonderful things happen to fabulous people. Somehow even though we were all coming from a million different directions a bunch of us got there to set up right at the same time. The baby clothes line was hung, pictures were set up, the guest of honor arrived, mimosas were served and viola! the shower was in full swing. Kara was glowing and received so many wonderful things for baby Makenna. I loved being surrounded by so many loving, strong and amazing women. I actually didn't want to leave - even after the last game was played and people started getting on the road. We lingered out front for some time (okay, maybe some photos were taken) The next day we went to the O mansion in DC for tea with Morgan. I had no idea what to expect but it was actually very cool. There are over 32 secret doors and 100 rooms in the mansion and before you wander through checking everything out and scavenger hunting, you are served tea in the tea room and can pile your plate high with pastries. All in all a great weekend.

Tomorrow my Asian adventure begins! I am amazingly calm even though I am a bit nervous about all of the logistics and not knowing the first thing about the language or even about where I am going (no travel books or partner - yikes!) I don't think I could have possibly made any more Target runs, my bag is looking like a pharmacy so hopefully I am prepared for any little ailment that might come my way. And so, this might be my last posting for the month of October which is soon coming to an end. But more to come in a few weeks about a far-away land...bon voyage

I have a confession to make

okay maybe a few ...

I think I have a crush on almost every baseball player I am seeing on tv at the moment

I am so not the shower/party planner that I would like to think that I am

I am scared about navigating Asia on my own (at times)

I feel like I should be much more productive than I am

It has been years since I have baked anything

I do some things that would drive me semi-crazy if others did them

I drive slow

I like making plans last minute

I tend to ignore things and hope they will go away

I sometimes feel so loved and lucky that I could cry

I have been in a little bit of a funk lately - that is probably one of the reasons why I have not been blogging as much. I don't know exactly why or what has been going on but think it is a combination of a few things. I think it is tough for me to think about what is after my upcoming trip. I think I have been a bit all over the place lately. Thankfully, I have so many peeps that care and listen and helped me feel like myself again.

Last week was book club - it is such a great group of girls! We started the afternoon off by having our own mini-Oktoberfest on the roof drinking Aventinus and soaking up the perfect fall day. Earlier this week, Kendall and I went by to visit David's twins. They are in one word: adorable! Smiley and snuggly and precious. The next night was Kevin's surprise 60th birthday party at BareBones which ended up with me and Val singing You're So Vain -it has been quite some time since I have done kareoke. Really such a fun night and great to have everyone together - hard to even imagine all of the celebrations that we will have within the next year. Fun weekend ahead at the spa, shower for Kara, tea with Morgan, etc. Now I am trying to imagine what Hong Kong will be like - I will be there next week!

random thoughts on a plane headed east

I haven’t been too good about adding states to my list. I believe I am only about half way there and it has been a while since there has been a new one added to the list.

Yesterday I took BART out to the east bay to spend time with the Bradley’s. But first I ventured down to the Haight - one of the most original places that I have ever been. Always interested people watching. A guy asked me to spare change for coffee -I appreciated the fact that he was honest (at least I got the feeling that he was) and really what makes him and his life different than mine. How is it that he is sitting on the street and I am on my way to dress shop for Paige’s big day? I gave him the coffee that I was almost finished with. I am sure a half caf nonfat almond latte was not what he was expecting but hopefully he enjoyed it anyway. I wanted to make a stop at Ambiance to see if I could find something for a November wedding. Found a great deal - under $30 and tried not to miss too much going a little crazy there like I used to every so often.

Uncle Bud is doing much better than he was. He wants to get back on the golf course which he should be able to do next week. Hopefully they will get the chance to come out to the east coast in the next few months or so. Last night Christina, Julia and I watched the Giants play off game in North Beach with many other baseball fans. It is funny to me how into sports people get. I love the excitement and energy at games but can’t imagine having my mood determined by whether a team wins or loses or spending an arm and leg on tickets - I think I am in the minority though.

Lately I have been trying to reach out more. Hoping that I am not imposing but not wanting to miss opportunities to see people that make me happy and that I connect with.

Missing holidays this year. As it turns out, I have not been in the US to celebrate the following: Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July and I suppose the trend will continue by being in Hong Kong and flying to Bangkok on October 31st.

I can listen to a song that I love over and over again without getting tired of it. Whether it be Bad Romance, Wish You Were Here or my latest and greatest: Home. Home is whenever I am with you - love that line!

“That was then, this is now.” Fox Sports bartender, Eddie @ PHX airport who left NY in 1958 and has not been back since. He paid $10 to see the Brooklyn Dodgers play in the world series back in the day and said now you cannot even park at a sporting event for the same price.

the more things change...

the more that they stay the same. I have seen this so clearly several times the past year

1) when I moved back to the east coast this past spring

2) when I returned to the states after 2 + amazing months in Europe

3) when I spent a few days back in sf after being gone for 6 months

But according to something that I recently read, it is not things that change, but us. Or in this case, Me. Have I been changing in ways that I have not noticed?

My weekend kicked off with a very much delayed flight. Sitting on the runway trying to kill time, I started talking to the girl sitting in the aisle to my window seat. She mentioned that her and her husband may soon be moving to san francisco. I tried to give her as much advice and guidance and things to see and do and of course my favorite places to eat. I could not even remember that names of many which almost made me crazy but I suppose when I have been trying to emerge myself in a new place that is what happens. Barted to downtown once arriving in SF and then went on a bit of a scavenger hunt to pick up the keys to muni out to the Richmond before throwing myself together and meeting Jennie in Hayes Valley for dinner. We had not seen each other since glorious France. It was good to catch up and enjoy glasses of red wine. The past two days have been filled with running around the city catching up with people, noshing on delciousness, watching a good bit of sports and washing it all down with cocktails. Christina and I covered a good bit of ground yesterday and today and in some ways it feels like I have never left. And yet, there are things that I notice are not the same whether it is the signs on the bus, the people or the storefronts. The city will always have such a special place in my heart and is some place that I hope to come back to often -- and not feel like I have to cram everything into just a few days.

blu, zagat and asia

I love seeing my friends be moms - they are so good at it that it makes me proud. Hearing Carter and Morgan say aunt Kelly melts my heart. We have a date to go to the pumpkin patch next week :)

I simply cannot wait for my Makenna Lee to arrive in a few short months and to see Kara and Brian as parents. I know they will be wonderful and marvel at how loved this little girl already is even though she has not yet made her debut into the world. Baby blu, you are already my heart’s delight.

I must admit that I am obsessed with Zagat. I have made it a personal goal to get to as many of the restaurants in the 2011 Washington, Baltimore, Annapolis guide that I can and happily check off the places that I sample. I pour through the pages reading reviews, comparing spots and planning out my next destination. This past weekend it was Poste, Matchbox and Blacksalt - I need a less expensive addiction.

Right now I am above the clouds watching the sun get ready to set. It is a beautiful sight to be seen. Orange light is reflecting off the blanket of puffy white for as far as the eye can see.

This week I am heading to San Francisco. It will be my first visit back to the west coast since moving this spring and I wonder how it will feel to be back. I guess I will find out soon enough.

It seems that my dream of going to Asia may come true in just a few weeks. I heard about this travel company this weekend and have been doing some research. They have an amazing trip in early November that starts in Bangkok and is of Cambodia and Laos and includes volunteer work which I think would be awesome. It is currently on hold for me thanks to my travel agent :) I am hoping to get to Hong Kong a few days before to czech out that part of my roots and stay with Karen.

My life is unwritten pages that are ready to be filled...although the pages that have been started are pretty good!

travel, food and photography

Three things that I love. Last night Kara, Suzy and I had dinner and this is the title S suggested for a new blog of mine. All I am passionate about. We were holed up in this amazing Canton spot that I had not been to before. It was so nice to have the Streeper Street roommates reunited - it had been too long and so much to celebrate, catch up on and be thankful for.

Which comes first the chicken or the egg? This is something that I have been thinking about a lot as it relates to me and my situation. Not sure yet what my thoughts are on it.

Only on a random Tuesday afternoon in Frederick can you be shopping with your dad at Costco and run into your high school boyfriend that happens to be there with his mom. That is what happened to me the other day and I could not get over it. It had probably been 8 years or so since I had seen Tom - time goes by so quickly. It's funny how you can at one point in your life know someone so well and then fast forward a few years and there is this familiarity but distance and you wonder if it all happened in a different life and how much each of you have changed.

Today was a pouring down rain, stay in bed kind of day. I got to spend the afternoon with Jaime, Craig, Jackson and Nolan and am now attempting to actually make dinner (in between fits of reaching out to people that I haven't seen in a while, reading snipets of this month's book club book that is so strange but I am trying to stick out and watching a movie with my sisterroommate) . It has been forever since I have actually cooked and it is something that I miss and hope to do more of.

Bon appetit!

a museum like no other

Today I did something that I have been wanting to do for quite some time. Christina and I left the sun and store-lined streets of Annapolis for DC and went to the Holocaust Museum. On our way we learned that it is one of the top 5 museums to see in Washington. I must say: I was captivated, moved and amazed from the moment we entered until hours later when we left. I just cannot imagine - there are no words to describe what these poor people endured for no reason at all. It makes me sick and sad. When we walked off the elevators and into the top floor exhibit, there was a photo of a man that was skin and bones and the look on his face was of such despair and I immediately welled up. There was much on Hitler and how he came to be in power. I learned more about the book burning and events that I recently heard of while in Berlin. It all fascinated me. There was one part with the survivors speaking about what it was like to live in the concentration camps, how they were separated from their families, the death marches and horrible things that they saw and were forced to take part in. I drifted through each exhibit surrounded by so many other people that wanted to be there and learn more. There was one room filled with shoes...a room of photos from floor to ceiling, a sample train car where a hundred people were jammed like it was no big deal. There were so many bodies burned, so many lives wasted, so much sadness and pain, so much disease - all so unnecessary. I was mad at the American government who would not take in more refugees that were trying so hard to get away from the horribleness that was happening in Europe. One of the last things that we saw was a video with survivors that spoke of their experiences. A lady spoke of how she wanted future generations to learn from this, how she moved on but never could forget or forgive. It was amazing to see some good that came out of such horribleness. Another lady spoke of seeing a beautiful flower during one of the marches and being reminded that there is beauty in life. And a couple told their story - he a solider in WW II, she a 68 pound Jewish woman that thought he was God after he came to tell her and others that they were liberated. It was all so emotional and something I think that everyone needs to do and see. Yes it is painful at times but it was a huge part of history and something that you hope would never in a million years happen again.

siroky dul, czech republic july 13

I woke up to the sounds of farm animals. Not always sure where I am for a moment and then quickly realize...staying with my extended family in a village where my grandma's family is from. When I went downstairs Anna, Alena and Jitka were all smiles and wanting to know if my bandaged thigh was any better - scalding tea burn in Ireland that was tended to the night before. We had breakfast (green tea, fresh rolls, ham, cheese, cut up fruit and bits of wedding cake that is made when someone in the village marries). We set off for Litomysl - the mom told me to leave my wash - sweet! It was already in the 90s and sticky hot. We walked the grounds of the monastery and castle - gorgeous - clean and unique areas with a spot in the "shadow" for cold drinks. We walked through town and then headed down the road...we were the only car on the road as we sped past fields as far as the eye could see. Soon we reached Politchka the largest town in the area. We had lunch at a cafe that had a funky feel and could have been anywhere on the west coast of California only I couldn't understand the menu or the waitress :) thank goodness for my cousins! The potato pancakes with bleu cheese were great - so much of the food here is pork or potato based. 406 crowns for the 3 of us which is the equivalent of about $20 - how I love it here! We walked through the park seeking out shadows which is what Jitka calls the shade and I think is so cute, saw the schools the girls went to (they went to different ones because you are able to choose based on what your interests and the specialties of each are). There was a bridge that led us into the stone town in search of a pharmacy for burn gel where Jitka explained what my deal was and what we were in search of - success! I saw the cinema, church, specialty stores and then we hit the market before heading back to the village. Anna and Pavel were waiting for us with picture set out and we looked through many before sitting down to a traditional Czech dinner - pork, sauerkraut and potatoes (see what I mean?) After dinner the 5 of us took a walk through "town". It was absolutely perfect outside - starting to cool off and I loved getting a feel for just how close everything is and how centered and simple. Its a world where you know every car that drives by: very far from what I am used to. We first walked to the cemetery where Adolf, his parents and recently his wife (Jitka's Bubi) were all buried. The grave was still fresh and her name had not yet been inscribed. The flys and bugs were buzzing around us so after tending to the grave (which I must admit, I had never done or seen done before), we left the somber site, passed a huge thatched roof and fields of rye. Really it was like a country scene from a movie. We walked up the hill to 150 cows (they did not moo and made fabulous photos), saw the new bus stop and then walked through the tall grass and across the stream to the church where Anna's parents are buried. We headed down the hill passing the school where the parents were classmates and first met and the lone pub which Pavel is a fan of. I will forever associate Czech beer with chocolate ice cream because that is what I have had on more that one occasion :) The dad told me that it is good to eat so much so that when the next famine comes the fat people will be okay but the skinny people might not survive - so unlike American thinking! He also told me that he wants me to go home heavier so that my parents know that they took good care of me while I was on the road - he really cracks me up. Last night I also saw the two pigs that live out back for the short term. We sat outside for a bit in the garden ...it is peaceful and colorful and so beautiful out there. I asked about the plum brandy Bubi had written about and Pavel went to open a bottle. The next thing I knew 5 shots were being poured and we were saying nazdravi = cheers! I am surrounded by people I have only known a few days but who I love and make me feel so happy and looked after. Roots are amazing things!

barcelona, spain june 12

Thank goodness Kristen and I found each other relatively easily at the airport. It was great to see her Thursday morning. We hopped on the aeroport shuttle and headed into town. La Ramblas is one of the main pedestrians streets in barcelona and our hostel was right on it -or so we thought. So we looked out for #75 surrounded by crowds of people and dressed up street performers and random stands like pet ones. We buzzed Casa Juan per the instructions we found online and stored our luggage with the guy we basically woke up. Kris and I decided on a cute tapas place -ordered a bottle of house blanc vino - just under 10 E-woo hoo - this was a welcome change from Switzerland and its sky high prices! The food was good - chorizo, olives, octupus, and fish balls -we caught up on the past few weeks (this consisted mostly of boy stuff) and then we went back to officially check in. As it turns out we were at a different place since we had a room en suite. After sticking around to hear the dos and donts and being given a very handy mcdonalds map, we walked down closer toward the water + Christopher Colon statue. Our room had two balconies and was a pretty good size with wood beams and red walls. They keys were tricky which made us a bit nervous. We took a nap and then got ready for our first night out. We found the most impressive market I have ever been to! Crazy amounts of fresh fruit, vibrant colors, juices - it was pretty amazing - I didn't know where to look first. We had kiwi juice (yum!) and went in search of Palau de la Musica that my cousin had emailed me about. The tours for that same day were sold out and so we bought tickets to that nights performance and then hopped in a cab to get to La Sagrada Famalia Cathedral. Opted for the audio tour and learned much about about Gaudi and the still under construction but breathtaking cathedral. The outside looked like a winter wonderland castle - there are still about 200 people a day that work on it. As part of the tour that was under the building there was a timeline and there we found out that we happened to be visiting on the anniversary of Gaudi's death -6/1o/1926 - how strange! Turns out he was killed by a street car - Kristen guessed right. It closed at 8 pm, we stayed as long as we were able to taking pictures and soaking it all in and then headed down to the square with enough time to have cappacino in a tall glass with empanadas at Alcur Cafe right across from the music place - I was a fan! We took our seats and for the next hour and a half listened to the beautiful sounds of Manuel Gonzalez's guitar. He is so talented and captivating. People were coughing which was distracting but I very much enjoyed the performance. Kristen fell asleep during the first half which was pretty funny. The last song was like jaws/the pink panther/the Beatles, etc. it was very cool. We went to a crepe place right across the street and split a ham, cheese and asparagus crepe and a coconut and nutella crepe...I tried Estrella which is the local popular beer. What a good find this place was. Outside our hostel windows you could hear everything- it was so loud so sleep was disrupted by people yelling at all hours and the sounds of glass trucks.

avignon, france - june 3

Bonjour!

I keep singing Babylon and subbing our new town -Avignon. We arrived yesterday afternoon after riding the first class train from Marsielle. Viola! Here we are ...at the wrong station so we had to hop on a local bus to get to centre. Only the bus driver did not speak any English. So telling him where we needed to be dropped proved challenging. Ended up at the wrong hotel and having to lug our stuff 500 meters to the right hotel that is practically on top of the train station. We were hot, hungry and pretty exhausted. The hotel (Ibis) is minimal but good and clean + free internet! Jennie and I threw ourselves together and ventured into the town surrounded by stone walls - similar to Dubrovnik (where I was this time last year!) - beautiful and old and picturesque. After several circles and turns we found the off the beaten path plaza crillon and finally sat down to have dinner. The staff was not so friendly and it took forever. The wind was blowing like crazy - I had a salad with shrimp tempura, lamb with couscous and tiramisu - delish. We walked down to the bridge to see the river and take photos and then back to our hotel to check email, sip tea and hit the hay.

The train station drama continued this morning ...we finally went to the bus station and decided to visit the Venice of France > Isle-sur-la-sorgue on a whim. 40 minutes later we were dropped in the most precious town - cool, clear water runs throughout complete with old, mossy waterwheels. We walked down winding cobblestone streets and took in our surroundings. Unfortunately, we missed the famous market but were able to grab a thing of sweet nectarines. We put our feet in the rushing water and watching the ducks try to paddle against the current. Lunch consisted of the cheesiest pizza I have ever had which we split and probably pissed our server off as a result. The town is built around an old church and we had a bit of time before it opened so I ventured into a pharmacy. You haven't lived until you have tried to explain what ails you in a foreign pharmacy - needless to say she thought that I had lower back pain! The church was breathtaking! It was extremely ornate with so much to look at every which way-Notre Dam de Anges - no photos allowed. After we found Le Caveau de la Tour de L'isle which was Rick recommended and so we sat outside sipping glasses of wine and eating yummy cheese that happened to be in the shape of ear plugs- what a day. The guy that waited on us was super nice which really makes a difference considering that Jennie was scolded earlier for sitting in a leather chair earlier in the day. The last bus was at 4 pm or so, we quickly drank up , paid and ran to where we hoped the bus would pick us up. I am starting to mime the french language which isn't good but gets me by. Thankfully the bus rolled up about 10 minutes later. Once we got back we dropped our stuff and were off to rent bikes within the walls. It was fun but stressful to zip around the cars and people - oi vey! We discovered a park on the other side and took turns sitting with the bikes while the other would explore. I totally relaxed and felt like I am exactly in the place where I am supposed to be at this very moment. After J returned, it was my turn. The views were stunning - the bridge, the alps, the greenery in the foreground and stone and orange rooftops in the background. I snapped many photos - it was beautiful. We rode our bikes back generated smirks at the two crazy americans. For dinner we chose this bustling outdoor spot - salad, gaspacho, thick bread and the most delicious blueberry tart. It literally melted in my mouth...back at our home away from home Jennie called for a wake up call that had us in stitches. She did a good job of trying to speak the language but between me laughing and no one being able to understand us she just switched to plain old English. I sent an email to the fam - it has almost been one week. I was delighted to find a return email from Spencer (my dashing yachtsmen who I met in Cannes). Needless to say I was too keyed up to sleep...! Tomorrow we are back to Nice for more rocky beaches and whatever else is in store.

travel section

Yesterday I D2ed it down to Dupont Circle to meet Jenn and her new baby Olivia for lunch. Thanks to facebook I had recently discovered that within the past year Jenn had had a baby and moved from Beverly Hills back to the area - we are on the same cross country move path apparently. Beforehand, I wandered into this very cool book store where I easily could have spent hours. There was a whole section dedicated to travel writing! I picked up every book - marveling at the topics. Oh wait a minute, you mean there has already been a book written about a woman who quit her corporate america job in search of herself? Figures. Well perhaps I can shift my focus to meeting my extended and embracive family and the reunion that took place this past July - something like that has been done before too. Maybe, I can write about all of the crazies that happened to me while on the road - from tea burns in Ireland to the pharmacy translations in France - dozens of these exist as well. The entire section enticed me and annoyed me at the same time. But mostly I was glad to know that if I do something like this, there will be a home for it on a shelf in a eclectic DC bookstore.

The shower went well - thank goodness. The food was good, Paige received some great gifts and the poem was a hit! This past weekend I also got to have dinner night at the Miller-Reese's who I missed so much. And spend some time at the hospital with Jay, Craig and Nolan! He slept soundly in my arms for over an hour and I loved every second of it.

Right now I am sitting on a starbucks rooftop (this is a first for me). It is hard for me to believe that not that long ago starbucks was part of my morning ritual in sf and now I only go once in a blue moon. I much prefer the local coffee places but my sb gift card lured me in - well, that and the roof top.

I had almost forgotten how much I truly love September. The warm sunny days and perfect evenings suck me in and I just want to spend as much time as I can outside.

Last year at this time we were living the Italian lifestyle on the Amalfi coast - ahhhhh - how I am anxious to pack up my backpack again and discover a new part of the world.

"Collect experiences, not things"

lady ga, princess p and baby nolan

I got to see Lady Gaga perform at the verizon center in DC earlier this week. I was wowed and in awe and loving every second of her performance. She is crazy and can be a little out there but how I love every song she belts and how ridiculously talented she is. In a world where much is masked and computerized, it is refreshing to hear her sing while playing a piano. We were lucky enough to have floor "seats" and were close enough to the stage to feel tremendously lucky. The costumes both onstage and off were noteworthy and something that I will not soon forgot.

For the last 24 hours or so, I have switched into pure party planning mode. Tomorrow is Paige's shower and there has been much running around and prepping for the big event. I wish that I was better at planning, organizing and stuff like this in general. It will be great to get everyone together, eat, drink and be merry.

Nolan joined the world today! I am so looking forward to meeting him and seeing Jaime this weekend. What a sweetie I know he will be...

the city that never sleeps

Spent Labor Day weekend 2010 in NYC hanging with people that I love, consuming as much delicious food as I possibly could, playing tourist on 3 double decker buses and laying out in Central Park. I realize I have not labored very hard this year but was thankful for the long weekend and appreciate all of those that have/do and how hard I have worked up until this year :) The bus ride to the big apple was quite horrible - I won't even go into it but be thankful that you were not on that bus (stick with megabus people and not other random lines!)

I loved being surrounded by so many different languages and could probably spend all day and night people watching. It is a much different scene than any other city I have been to and yet each time I go I fall a little more in love with it. If only the rent wasn't sky high...we found out that there are more people that live in Brooklyn than Manhattan which is hard for me to believe. Mer asked me to be in her wedding which I am thrilled about! Of course I don't necessarily know where I will be next week but I know that April 30, 2011 I will be in ny in a black dress with my dancing shoes on.

what's next

I think about what is next often. I am asked what comes after this blissful time when I am not tied to a job, a mortgage, really anything that I need to answer to or binds me to a place. The most truthful answer is that I don't know. I hope that it involves another trip or two to see more amazing sights, meet intriguing people and relish in this amazing world that we live but we will see if that is in the cards. I am putting it out there. I still have this restlessness in me to experience more and feeling that after being on several different continents this year it is just not time for it to all be over. I knew that this was true when Kristen and I went to see Eat, Pray, Love a few weeks ago and as soon as they showed Italy - I started crying. How I miss far away places with hearty plates of goodness, cobblestone streets, not knowing what to expect but loving every minute of life far away.

The angel cards and I have been reunited! It is a wonderful reunion where I am receiving daily messages to trust my angels.

There is a long list of things that I need to do - letters that I need to write, lists that I need to make, loose ends to tie, resumes that need updating...it seems almost never-ending.

Yesterday morning Joanne and I headed up to the basketball courts at 5:50 am to partake in her boot camp class which has left me feeling parts of my body today that I forgot existed!

a war hero

Tuesday I was blown away as I sat in Joanne's office surrounded by a room full of strangers minus my two moms and Kevin. Kevin spoke to the class of interns about his time in the military and lessons learned. I knew that whatever he was going to say would be powerful and well received. I had no idea how much it would effect me. He spoke of being lost and found, of being a man of 19 and being a world away from home, of being shot and of how unpopular the Vietnam war in which he served was among the Americans. It broke my heart to hear how after he had been in the hospital and had numerous surgeries, he was then spat on when he returned home. I cannot imagine all of the hardships endured by the veterans of this country. I sometimes feel like the sister in The Secret Lives of Bees that feels everyones pain/sorrow and becomes absolutely overcome by emotion and cannot stop crying. I was moved and did not feel worthy to be in the presence of a man that had laid down his life so unselfishly and responsibly to fight for his country. That does not feel untitled to anything. That is proud and would never consider himself a hero of any type. And yet every single person in that room, from the man next to me that was practically sobbing when Kevin recounted details of his service to the heads of the program would indeed call him that as would so many others. I hope to show my gratefulness in ways that I have not done in the past. I want to say thank you and I am sorry.

nanny diaries

Wow. I really am not sure how parents do it. I am exhausted, worn down and haven't even had the chance to shower today. Arrived to casa morgan e carter last night and had no idea what I was in for. Cutest kids ever for sure. This morning started with syrup with a side of waffles and playing texting with miss morgan. We soon headed out (picture me driving a mini van and punky brewster playing on the dvd player) for whatever the day was going to hold. The library was first - I was most definitely the one that people were probably glaring at like shhhhhhhhhh. But the kids had a great time picking out books and dvds and then doing the self check out (mad skills like their aunt). We then headed to Wheaton Regional for a carousel ride and train ride followed by some playground time. (note to self, when you tell a two year old to wait right there while you take his older sister down the slide first, he is not inclined to listen hence the petrified look on his face as he comes barreling down right after you). Intentions were Five Guys but ended up at McDonald's instead. Nap time was so not happening this afternoon after C finagled his way out of his diaper while in his crib and I stood there like - why don't they ever teach you in school what to do in a situation like this. I had visions of having to call the police department after the door to Morgans room was locked with both kids inside and me panicky on the outside. Before I knew it and after our version of kareoke that I will again be partaking in tomorrow since it was a big hit, it was time for dinner. I could have jumped up and down when M said she wanted something as simple as pasta - love her. C was done by the time we sat down to eat but my timing with cooking has never been a strong suit. Bath time went over fairly well and now I am thinking of all that somehow didn't get done today and taking full advantage of watching the lady gaga special that I know would never fly when there are interesting shows like spongebob on...Happy to report that both kids went down for the night pretty easily since they were exhausted. I just love how he puts his head on my shoulder and how she fell asleep laying against me on the couch. Makes everything all worth it. They are my headstrong, super sweet peeps and we are almost all ready to do it again tomorrow - but first...much needed sleep....

what I learned from my time in Europe

Just a few things that I discovered along the way...

-People all over the world are friendly, will go out of their way for a stranger and want you to love their country

-Why not is often a good response

-I can live without a cell phone, my mac and tv for months and feel like I am a better person because of it

-Nothing feels like a shower

-American music is listened to everywhere

-Do not hold a cup of hot tea between your legs (especially in a moving vehicle)

-Planes get you there faster but you miss the scenery and hours of reflection provided by trains

-There is nothing like family - regardless of how you are related or how long you have known each other

-Coffee is meant to be enjoyed slowly savoring each sip while sitting (no take away)

-Czech beer is unlike any other (in fact, non-alcoholic czech beer tastes better than any american beer according to my cousin)

-Shoes should not be worn on yachts

-Amazing people will fly all over and buy $$ tickets to travel with me - I am a lucky girl

-Euros, francs and kronas go quickly!

-The world is a huge playground that I have only scratched the surface of

-I am not above miming to communicate

-Sometimes hotels, food and views are worth splurging on

-Driving on the other side of the road is not horribly difficult (especially when it is 4 am and there are no other cars on the road)

-there is a difference between the Queen's English and the English we speak

-Ask how much things such as brunch at the Ritz and beers in Italia are before partaking

-there are all kinds of things you can do with potatoes (even on the same plate 4 different ways!)

-cheers on the bottom of a glass not to pass the plague

-I can still pass as a student

-As Americans we are lucky for many reasons: we can go wherever we want, vote for whoever we want, etc. but we lack the traditions, history and culture of other countries

-A simple life is appealing

-Patience and positivity go a long way

-Everyone has a story

-I am comfortable not knowing what is being said around me

-Everything happens for a reason

-As a country, we have much to learn

-Thank you sounds similar in many languages. Tone says a lot

-Never judge a book by its cover

vagabonding

I've been giving some serious thought to another trip in the next few months. Right now Asia is top of mind. Bubi thinks I should go to China - and that pretty much sealed the deal. I know someone that recently moved to Hong Kong and have friends of friends in China. I know nothing about their currency, language or customs but feel that I am ready to dive in head first. I have not yet looked into flights or anything having to do with pricing for that matter as I know it will scare me but I do find myself dreaming about my next adventure.

Vagabonding is a book that spoke to me from a library shelf and I just started reading. The concept is enticing and overwhelming but I want to find out more and see what I can learn. An uncommon guide to the art of long-term world travel - sign me up!

'Research your own experiences for the truth...Absorb what is useful...Add what is specifically your own...The creating individual is more than any style or system' Bruce Lee

the eastern shore

This morning I was brought back to another time and place - it was 12 years ago and just before the shore was filled with people, I pulled down 142nd street in Ocean City and plopped myself on the beach. Feet in sand, book in hand, the sounds and smells the same as it was a dozen years ago when I was an OCMD local and life was simpler. It wasn't long that I sat there absorbing all that was going on around me and zoning out at the same time- but it was glorious. I wished that I had more time and hope to plan a few days down there before fall. I am so glad that Kendall got to experience a summer in oc - what great friends I made and memories I have of nights out, sun-filled days and never being bored for three summers when things weren't necessarily perfect but they were pretty fantastic. Of course there was also smelling like a mixture of crabs, old bay and grease and no air-conditioning but I would do it all over again if given the chance.

Today was Bobbie's service. It was wonderful to see everyone and my heart goes out to their whole family. It still doesn't feel real.

After the burial we drove by the University which I have not done for years. It was a strange feeling like not much time had gone by and yet it was ten years ago that I graduated. There are things that I miss about eastern shore living but I think at the end of the day - I am a city girl at heart. At least for now :)

lost and found

There are people that come and go in life that make an impact - regardless of when you saw them last. Yesterday the world lost one of those people. Bobbie was a unique and vivacious soul who always spoke her mind and made you feel at home. I will never forget how wonderful she was to me in all the summers that I spent in Salisbury and while I was in college. I was intrigued with her ever since I can remember - and she is responsible for some people that are so dear to me - Lynn, David and Jamie. I will always remember her frankness and sense of humor. We are headed down to the eastern shore on Sunday to attend her service on Monday. I was emotional this morning emailing with Jame feeling their loss and being brought back to the place that I was years ago when Mom-mom died. Grieving is such a hard thing to do and holes that are left from those that have departed are never quite filled.

I was thrilled last week to receive an email from Tara (a good friend from college that I had lost touch with these past few years). Thanks to Linked In she was able to track me down and seeing her name in my inbox made me so happy. We exchanged a few emails trying to catch each other up on the past 5 years or so and met this afternoon! Of course she hasn't changed at all - circumstances have for both of us and we tried to cram as much into a few hours as we could. We are in two totally different places in our lives but are very much alike in some ways. I am so glad that we reconnected and look forward to the next time we get together.

'there came a moment in the middle of the song when she suddenly felt every heartbeat in the room & after that she never forgot she was part of something much bigger'

my need to write

I have received several journals as gifts lately. I have had a number of conversations with people that are much wiser than I am and whose opinions and words mean much to me. It is all pointing in the same direction - I need to write. I should write. And yet this huge desire and the gift of time that I now have to indulge also overwhelms and scares me. After all, what in the world would I write about? I have many stories and thoughts bottled up and truly do not know where to start. I want to write children’s books and I want to write about my life. I want to write love stories and about finding oneself. I want to write short stories and I want to write a novel. I want to write about those that I know well and about strangers. I don’t know where to start and who will listen. I love pouring my heart out in my journal (93 pages written while I was in Europe!) but sometimes I feel like I have nothing good to write about in my blog. How can a writer have nothing to write about? To not know what to say? That doesn’t make any sense to me.

I am adjusting to being back - not sure if I am adjusting well or just going through motions that make it seem like I am settling into my new east coast living. I am surprised how much I miss my traveling lifestyle. I don’t think that is my last trip this year - at least I hope that it is not but unfortunately, I need to look at my finances and see what is realistic and what I can actually afford. I have a strong desire to go to Asia and continue my Eat, Roots, Love trip - we will see how it all shakes out and what is in the cards for me these next few weeks/months. I never realized that I say we’ll see as often as I apparently do until Kristen pointed it out somewhere between Spain and Portugal and now I am much more conscious of it. Of course I also noticed how much my dad says it when we were on our cruise - I guess that is where I get it from.

Congrats to Mom and Kevin!

Big news: Mom and Kevin are engaged! I flew back from my European adventure on Thursday - it was an all day affair mostly because there was a 4 hour delay from Newark to Dulles - so close but so far. Dad picked me up and we went over to Tiffany’s where Joanne, Kristen, Tiffany, Chris, Kevin, Ryan, Morgan and Carter were. It was so good to see everyone! I was tired but excited to be around my people. Friday I was pretty much a waste of space - so out of it. Woke up way too early, had breakfast with Dad and uploaded all of my photos (not exactly sure how many but my guess is about 2,000). I went to have a much needed pedicure and then mom and Kendall picked me up and we went to Chrissy’s to have lunch and catch up. Then I learned that Kevin had designed a ring for mom and it was going to soon be ready. I crashed early that night and mom and I ran errands the next morning before I headed down to DC to see Kristen. Zach’s birthday party was at his grandparents house in Silver Spring yesterday afternoon. I was the first one of our crew there and it was great to see VZD and meet some of the other side of the family. Mom and Kevin came in with Kendall a little while later and were bursting with happiness. I could tell that something was up :) After greeting everyone, mom showed us girls the ring...it is stunning. Then Kevin told Kara and I the story of how he wanted to do it on Friday night but the jeweler wouldn’t have it ready until Saturday. He pulled a letter out that he wrote to mom and had given her earlier that day and read it to us - he started crying when he read it, we started getting teary eyed. How exciting and wonderful for them! I love how our family is growing. The rest of the day was great - and right now Brian, Kara, Mom, Chrissy, Kendall, Lulu and I are all piled in the car on our way down to the Outer Banks for a few days of sun, sand, bbq and good times. I am so happy!

my last day of european holiday...

It has been a great past week -Jen and I drank radlers at beer halls, had our fair share of wursts, went on the beer challenge that was super fun and toured the castle that inspired the one in Disney World. Berlin is a beautiful city where much is centered around the river and we found ourselves there often. We did a 4 hour walking tour and learned much about the history and horribleness of Hitler's reign. Stockholm was rainy but fun! We stayed at this hostel on a boat that was literally one of the smallest rooms that I have ever entered and how we fit both of us and our stuff in there is beyond me...Gothenburg is an undiscovered gem. Every single person has asked us why we are here - it is pretty funny. Why wouldn't we want to be here? It is a cafe centered town and you can ferry to islands. Today we are off to Copenhagen - and then tomorrow back home. It is almost over - every wonderful, interesting and unique minute of the last 60 + days. I woke up two hours before the alarm this morning just thinking of all that has happenend, all that I have learned, all that I am anxious to do when I get home...the next time I pack my back pack it will be to send it over the atlantic ocean full of dirty clothes and memories. Ciao for now...more to come with hundreds of photos!

munich - i have arrived!

Woke up this morning in my home away from home (Jitka´s flat in Prague 4) after 9 unreal days in the Czech Republic. We walked miles, saw many cathedrals and castles, mastered the tram system, sat in gardens people watching, met up with more relatives and friends and hours flew by. I am already looking forward to my next visit with my Czech family whenever and wherever that might be. Jitka soaked up the American magazines that I had stopping to ask questions every so often. I have no clue what I would have done without her. We had our last breakfast together before heading to the train station...I boarded the Prague train to Munich and about 6 hours later stepped off into the sunshine. I easily found my hotel and will be here on my own just for the night (free internet and coffee so look out!) before meeting Jen tomorrow morning at our hostel that is only a block or so from here. Then - flashpackers reunite - let the games begin! Luckily, English seems to be widely spoken here -whew.
Val sent me an email yesterday asking what I had learned in my travels. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about this and have started a list - I hope to watch it grow as the trip continues.
Hard to believe that in a week and a half or so, I will be back in the states - able to understand the conversations around me and not having to convert currency which lets face it - I dont do very well anyway - ha.
Okay - off to do some exploring and drinking of the so called rattler thing and consuming of some kind of wurst or another. Cheers!

an amazing village

Little did I know that after arriving Saturday afternoon into Prague after a whirlwind meeting in Heathrow, I would be traveling to Siroky Dul. Jitka met me at the airport. Her father and sister were at her flat and we soon got on the road traveling to the town about two and a half hours away. It is a small village with less than 400 people. Very few speak English which would have been incredibly difficult but thanks to Jitka we were able to all communicate just fine! They never stop feeding me. In fact, Pavel said that he wants me to go home heavier so that my family knows they took good care of me while I was here. He also said that the heavier the person the more chance that they will survive the next famine and so I must eat, eat, eat...and that I did. I will forever associate choclate ice cream with Czech beer because that is what I had on more than one occasion! I could not believe the family luncheon that was put together in my honor on Sunday. 23 + relatives came over to house #36 to meet their American relative! We had a question and answer session and tried to stay cool in the sticky heat. I felt so much love from the minute I walked through the door. I am not sure why I have waited until now to visit the CR but I can tell you that I will be back in the next few years. In fact, the only time I have cried during my time here was when I was saying good-bye to Anna and she told me that she would remember me forever. I asked Jitka to tell her she is my Czech mommy and my heart was crazy full.

hello from ireland!

I am sure that I was a sight yesterday morning at the Reus airport in Spain trying to get my back pack to weigh 15 kgs or less! Do they realize how hard that is? Luckily, I had hours (about 6) to take things out and put them in my carry on. Friday was very much a travel day. Dad and I walked off the ship before 7 am - hopped in a cab and before we knew it I was on the bus to Reus. Flew to Dublin (of course the flight was delayed, Europe really doesn't do ontime air travel I have learned) and met this very nice family on the way. They were so nice in fact that they insisted on dropping me at my hostel in the city so that I wouldn't have to take a bus and then cab after an already long travel day. On the way, they told me all about Dublin and pointed out sights we were passing - they even parked the car and walked in with me to make sure the place was okay - they were my irish angels!
I dropped my stuff at the Avalon House Room 118 Bed A, quickly put on make-up and was out the door in the early evening. It had just rained. People were out and about starting their weekends. Pubs and Cathedrals = that is what Ireland does, was my angel's quote - and she was right! Heaps of pubs around every corner. It was hard to decide which one to try! Finally decided on a cafe where I had mussels and chips and then headed over to the Hairy Lemon. Beers were 6 euro which I could not believe and the Ghana/ Uraguay world cup game was on so it was cool to watch it surrounded by people with very cool accents.
I'd like to think that I can handle pretty much anything for a few hours...and maybe I can but the whole sleeping in the same room as strangers is just weird. I bought ear plugs as I precaution but didn't end up using them and was conscious of every little noise. (I also slept with my jewelry on and the purse at my feet. My camera and other random things were in a locker) I don't think I slept and was very anxious to get out of there and meet up with Christina. I tip toed out of the room around 6:30 am, went down to check email, get coffee and soon after I see this tiny red car creeping along- yay! Even from the back seat, I can say that driving on the wrong side of the road seems to be very tricky. To top it off, the roads are very narrow and without any lines so there were times we were on the curb or in the trees - ha!
I cannot even begin to describe the wonderfulness that is our hotel. We got such a good packaged deal at the Ritz. Our room has a mountain view and honestly just keeps going - it is bigger than most SF apartments and the lights and curtains are on a touch screen which I have yet to master. There is a flat screen in the bathroom, a foyer, sitting room, ridiculous number of closets - we are very happy girls! We unpacked and then went upstairs for a mimosa filled breakfast marveling at how unreal this place is and how there is no where else we would rather be. Not a bad spot to spend July 4th weekend.

Blogging from the Med

Although I miss my mac something crazy and am used to having my phone as an extension of myself, it is refreshing and a nice change to not have either. Certainly it makes things more challenging, sometimes difficult and very much old school – but there are worse things for sure. I’ve watched little to no tv in the past month –haven’t seen the news, have no idea what is going on in Hollywood (does it really matter that much?) The cruise is coming to an end in the next few days. Yesterday we were in Athens where we and thousands of others explored the Acropolis. It was sweltering and crowded but once we finally got to the top, it was worth it. I only remember bits and pieces of being there as a teenager (how I sometimes wish that my memory was better). We took this 5 euro white train touristy hop on hop off tour after and managed to avoid the rain as a result but watched as others ran for cover. By the time it was over, the rain had stopped and we were craving Greek cuisine. Came upon this authentic restaurant just off a main shopping street where the guy took us under his wing and showed us all of their specialty dishes –forget about it. We had the most delicious plate fulls of rice-meat balls in an egg/lemon sauce with fava beans and some kind of specialty dish of beef with potatoes, feta, peppers, tomatoes = such deliciousness! I hate to admit this but I have gotten completely used to the spoiled cruise lifestyle. Everyone calls me ma’am and wants to make sure that my day is as good as it could be. I love sleeping to the rocking of the ship. I love that there are so many options all of the time. I love that my bed is made when I get back from breakfast. I love running into the people that we have met in the past week and a half including the Australian family with 5 kids that have adorable accents. I love that I need nothing but my sea pass card and my fully charged camera when I leave the room. I love the bartender remembers dad because he was his first customer on this cruise. I love Rahim our amazing front desk guy that spent 30 + minutes with us this morning helping to figure out how in the world I am getting to Reus airport on Friday and has given me $40 of internet credit. I love that there is a robe waiting for me when I get out of the shower and that Tatiana says she can hear the smile in my voice when I am coming down the hall. Don’t get me wrong, there are things that aren’t always perfect – but why focus on those when there is so much good?
Tomorrow we are in Naples -our last port of call. Dad and I have decided to ferry to Capri a spot that neither of us have been to but both want to explore. I am so looking forward to it! Ciao ciao for now.

Perfect middle trip

It’s been about three and a half weeks since I started my European holiday. Sometimes I just pretend that I am in college and on summer break and yet in a way, it is much better than that. I definitely feel that I am appreciating all of this more now than I would have then. The whole connecting with my roots thing is something that I am enjoying more now as well – speaking of, I heard from Jitka (my cousin in Prague) and will be spending July 9 – 15th or so with her in the Czech Republic after leaving Ireland.
Spain and Portugal were beautiful – Kristen and I stayed in Barcelona, Seville, Lagos, Salema and Lisbon. Highlights were definitely Sevilla (but so not the bull fight where neither of us actually realized that we were getting into and left early) and the Algarve Coast/Southern Portugal. I flew from Lisbon to Barcelona to meet up with Dad.
Now we are settling in on our cruise – day 3 – and loving it so far. It has already been the perfect itinerary for the middle of my trip. I have gotten to unpack for the first time and yesterday I even took two showers! The food is plentiful and pretty good and I must admit that it is pretty nice to be back at the gym. We spent yesterday in Villefranche and it was an ideal day spent on the beach, shopping, exploring, taking photos and sampling their boxed wine to wash down a crepe J
Day 5 -Italy has come and gone/ We did Pisa in the first day. The tower was cool and funny to see people taking all kids of crazy photos – our selves included of course. We came upon a bustling Italian café after and stopped inside for a red house wine, pasta dishes and bread with local olive oil. I stopped for gelato and a bit of shopping on our way back.
Day 6 -Yesterday we did Roma! Believe it or not, it has been about 15 years since I have been there and I was happy to be back. It was a process to get to the actual city from where we docked but worth it. Dad and I did the Spanish steps, the Trivi fountain and the Collesium all in just a few hours. The weather was perfect – the sky a perfect back drop for all of the photos that we took.
Day 7 – Santorini – probably my favorite destination thus far. The Greek Islands are like the most beautiful post card you can imagine with white washed buildings every which way. We became familiar with the local buses and ventured into Oia, Fira and Kamari where we sampled local, ridiculous food and soaked in our surroundings.
Day 8 – Turkey! We joined a tour for the first few hours that took us to Virgin Mary’s house where I saw the house she lived in her last few years and drank out of the love, health and money fountains (bring it!). The ruins in Ephesus were something not to be missed and I was glad to see the library, theater and very first advertisement! Dad didn’t encourage me to buy a genuine fake watch but we did pick up a few souvenirs before sitting by the water and enjoying Epes half liters where the waiter wouldn’t tell us how much they were until after we had a few – ahhhh….Europe!
Now we are back on the ship having recently inhaled two dinners (sushi and veggies followed by a magic performance and then pasta while watching the sunset). Bernie is in the house – ha. And I have been reading Bubi’s autobiography and learning so much about her childhood and my roots. Life is grand.

not what I expected...

so I thought that Iwould be roughing it over here quite a bit - eating fresh fruit from markets for lunch, hiking up a storm, staying in places that are a bit questionable. Not so much. Instead, I have stayed at some of the coolest spots imagineable. Case in point - our awesome hotel in Seville - it was music themed, gorgeous tile throughout and in a perfect location. We thought that we were completely and totally spoiled until we checked into our hotel in Lagos. After a 4 + hour bus ride from Seville (which thanks to my ipod and book went by really quickly!), we grabbed the only cab in sight and headed to the Vila Gale Lagos. Behold this sprawling, practically brand new resort with an amazing pool. We were practically drooling when we checked and Kristen actually upgraded us to a sea view room. The town is adorable - glossy ceramic floors, the people are so friendly and just want to make sure that you are loving portugal the country that they are so proud of and happy with, the food is delish - fresh fish, olives, red table wine for under ten euro. Most of the morning we spent at the pool. This afternoon we headed to the marina and went sailing for a few hours. We did a little tour of the grotto which was very cool to see up close and often took the shape of different animals and pointed out by our hard to understand driver. For me, the trip is two and a half weeks in and I cannot believe all that I have seen and done - four plus countries, amazing culture, and perhaps most disturbing -a bull fight in Seville

What Switzerland is like...

Want to be able to paint a picture of where I am for all of those not with me:

-the dandelion fuzzies float through the air

-there are ants all over much of the ground

-there are hills and cobblestone, winding streets

-there are fountains on more corners than there are not - where fresh, cool water flows and people gravitate

-no air-conditioning

-beautiful shutters

-it is so very clean and safe

-the buses run right on time

-people greet you by saying grezie or something similar and then easily switch to english when you say hello

-no one cuts grass because of the wild flowers

-vibrant greens everywhere

-the home have brown sloped roofs that I have never seen before but make me feel at home

It is a very cool part of the world. I found out yesterday that Tina Turner lives just down the road. Looks like I will be staying a bit longer, all trains headed in the direction of Barcelona are FULL, so I will be flying out of Basel bright and early tomorrow morning. There are worst places to be. It is hard for me already to say my favorite place - even with being in almost countries in two weeks, I can say they are all so unique and desirable for different reasons.

bells and trains

My bed in Switzerland is literally just a few feet away from this awesome clock tower that rings every 15 minutes -I love the bells and have gotten quite used to them in my just over two and a half days in Zurich. They are festive and European and welcoming. (Besides, I don't have to fumble to find my watch in the morning - just listen out for the chimes and then I know what time it is and usually it's time to get out of bed at that point).

Jen and I went on a boat cruise of Zurich Lake today and let me tell you it was so nice. Peaceful with postcard scenery everywhere we looked. The snow covered Alps were in the back ground and yet it was 80 + degrees and we were sunning ourselves on board hoping to soak up a little sun. The water was smooth as glass and the clouds looked like airplane writing. It was such a nice way to spend the afternoon. We returned to the neighboring town and had lunch outside before walking back. We stopped at the market and the bakery, showered, did laundry and were ready to open up some wine when Bill got home from work. It was nice to have dinner at home and just hang out - it rained just a bit - we were thankful that it held out until tonight. After dinner and some midget talk, I decided to look into how to best get to Barcelona and all I know at this point is this: it's not going to be easy. Not really sure why it has to be so complicated, only know that I need to be in Spain on Thursday morning. There is an over-night train that I am leaning toward taking although now it looks like it turns into a bus and is more than 12 hours ...so we shall see. I am going to head down to the train station in the morning and see what options I have. St Tropez - so close but so far...

roots and wings

Wow - what a day! Jen and I had a leisurely morning and then took the tram downtown to have Swiss sausages for lunch (in paper with a side of crazy hot dijon mustard and a hardish circle roll, bizarre that people don't eat them as a sandwich but I must do it as the locals do it and so - viola! PS - this is one of my favorite french sayings and I love it for its many uses and true meaning) We popped in and out of stores and churches and had coffee and chocolate by the river. Just before 4 pm, I hopped on the train for 4 minutes and got out in front of Doris Waeber's home. Apparently, we had gotten our wires crossed and she was expecting someone else - this was a bit awkward for the first 10 minutes or so as I stood there trying to explain who I was and how we are related. I loved being about to say I am Gary Waeber's granddaughter - it is has been way to long since I have identified myself that way and it was awesome. She had prepared quite the spread and so after giving me the tour of her place which is adorable and in such a great location, we sat down for tea and treats and to get to know each other. Tea was served on a tea cart. She was wearing red heels and was so sweet. It made me sad for a moment at how much has been lost between her generation (she is 91!) and mine. Doris then gave me the most amazing gift without even knowing it. She pulled out a photo album with Pop-pop's visit to Zurich in 1991 before he got sick and showed me photos that I had never seen before of him so happy and tan and standing in beautiful places in Switzerland. She then showed me this document that was produced by a historian and dates back to 1511 of our most distant relative and include the information on my grandfather, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents and so on! I could not believe my luck. What a treasure all of this was. And so Doris and I sat on the floor, pouring over these documents and photos and she told me stories that I didn't know about my people and all that they survived and I felt amazed and that I could actually see roots growing beneath the very ground that I was standing on. My great grandfather was a jumper and survived the great SF earthquake in his pajamas. He lost everything he had overnight in the Great Depression - his brother Fritz was Doris' father-in-law or something very close to that. We chatted and ate for hours. She skypes and has a mac - so we exchanged email addresses and plan to keep in touch. This was such a bonus to what I was expecting to get out of this trip and I am feeling so thankful that everything came together as beautifully and completely as it did. What a day!

helllooooooo from Zurich!

I am just over a week in to my trip and let me tell you, it has been truly fabulous! I feel blessed and lucky and am so freaking happy. Yesterday I arrived in Geneva Switzerland and trained to Zurich. I was truly exhausted after little sleep the night before and really could have slept the 3 hours but the greenest green I have ever seen and the super beautiful architecture beckoned my attention and so I watched the countryside roll by...
This afternoon I am meeting a fellow Waeber who has a special place in my heart because my grandfather came to visit her when I was in high school. I called her this morning and she answered and started speaking another language and I was nervous that we couldn't communicate and then she said - sorry - and spoke to me in English and invited me over today to have tea! So in about 4 hours I will arrive to her house which is apparently only a 5 minute tram ride from downtown. I cannot wait!
I am beyond thankful and very grateful to Suzy for putting me in touch with Jen while she was having her adorable little girl - Colleen. Jen and Bill have been amazing these past 24 hours - lending me their cell phone when I am out and about, letting me charge my ipod and my camera batteries, letting me make calls home, use their computer, do laundry...all of the things that I took for granted but after living out of this backpack for only 9 days am so appreciative for!
The South of France lived up to it's hype. The water was gorgeous, yachts filled the sea, the beaches were rocky and it was fairly expensive but so worth it. I have been loving croissants and bagguettes and pizzas and paella....hmmmmmmm...So the whole EAT part of my journey is definitely happening. Last Tuesday a portion of the LOVE section as well :) We will see what happens the rest of this journey.
I am feeling so blessed and like there is no where else in the world that I am supposed to be at this very moment but here - experiencing all of these cultures, surrounded by languages that I cannot understand, reflecting, clearing the clutter and living in the present. Life is grand!
Next up - plan to over-night train to Barcelona on Wednesday and meet up with Kristen in Barcelona on Thursday. Can't wait for our adventure~

I can't keep my west and east side straight

I have been doing my best to soak up my people since we got home from the beach. Here is the quick run down:

Wednesday night I stayed with Tiffany - loved seeing the kids faces when I walked in the door, Morgan and I spent the afternoon together which was load of fun and a learning experience!

Thursday I headed down to DC - my new home town - it was a gorgeous night and Kristen and I took the bus into Dupont, dined on amazing Greek food outside with a bottle of wine. I love the vibe of DC, the culture, the people. It will be cool to explore more once I get back from my summer holiday abroad!

Friday I met Jaime and Jackson for lunch, swing by to see Chrissy and Mom and then headed to Val's for the evening. It was great to just hang out with her, Dan and Zach - love having them just down the street! Friday night I stayed in Frederick -hardly slept because my mind was racing with all that I had not yet done. Saturday morning we went for an early morning walk, bought my euro rail pass and had breakfast. I headed to White Marsh to catch the megabus to NYC - this was a first and actually was not too bad. The bus was crowded and I didn't realize there was a bathroom on it so I did not hydrate myself well on the 3 + hour journey up to New York. Kelly was waiting at the drop off point and it was so great to see her! We grabbed lunch and putzed in some furniture stores before hopping on the subway and taking it up to the upper west side (I think, I am so bad with neighborhoods!) to see her new apartment. It is so cute and in an ideal location. For the first time ever, I could see myself living in the city after walking through neighborhoods on my own, becoming more familiar with the subway and of course, the plethora of food options - LOVE! We met up with Heather Saturday night for her birthday celebration - she didn't know that I was coming and it was so great to see her after too many months. Probably stayed out a bit too late at this cool hooka bar and definitely slept most of the morning away on Sunday. I met Maria and Jason at this amazing venezulan spot for brunch, got to hang with Meredith after, met with Brian in Central Park...it really was such a great weekend! And now I am trying to take deep breaths and prepare myself for the trip of a lifetime - 3 days from now I will be on the plane, heading over to France!

my grandmother, my hero

My grandma blows me away. I was lucky enough to spend part of the day with her yesterday and literally was in awe of how much she is doing to change peoples lives, how much she has accomplished, how modest she is and how way ahead of her times she really was. I think that my two month trip is kind of a big deal but I have not packed up my bags and traveled to Asia for months not knowing where I was going to stay and going into not necessarily safe areas. She has written a book about her most recent experience with the church and converting and it's release date is today! There are already people singing it's praises and a big write up on her talent. She calls people that she has met along the way regularly. One lady in particular who has alzheimer's disease and often forgets when they last talked and yet Bubi calls her every week and it is often the only call this woman receives. I love to hear stories of her growing up and of her experiences. She has a special place in her house dedicated to prayer and reflection. She traced her roots and wrote about it. She is putting me in touch with our Czech relatives that I am hopeful to connect with this summer. She doesn't realize what a big deal she really is at almost 85. Mom said that I get my sense of adventure and travel from her and that makes me proud.

bye bye anna maria island

Our week of walks on the beach, chasing the birds, family dinners, soaking up the rays and burying our feet in the sand has come to an end. It was sad to leave our beach house this morning. Luckily, I was able to fit in one more walk up and down the white sea shelled filled shore. It is not every day that you find a quaint little town tucked away on beautiful beaches where everyone says hello in the morning. Waking up and walking up the stairs to see Morgan and Carter all smiles eating breakfast never got old. I will miss hearing aunt Kelly on a regular basis and doing yoga on the beach with Morgan. Yesterday we went exploring a bit, ducked into little beach boutiques and took a walk up the pier. We wanted to do anything but get off the beach at dusk when the sun was almost setting and the tide was low. Everything is a little slower down here which I so appreciate. The renewal and photographs on the beach on Thursday was beautiful and so much fun.

It's hard to believe that in two weeks I will be in the South of France starting my two months abroad with many vacations fit into one. It will be interesting and such an experience! I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow and soaking up as much of everyone as I can before I head out for what is sure to be a trip that I will not soon forget.