I Love Paris: Part Deux

 Trying to make the most of our trip, we pushed aside our jet lag after settling into our apartment on Saturday, and went out for an afternoon of sightseeing.

 

 First we located the Marriott where Adam's conference was located, and then we walked back through the 14th Arrondissement towards the Montparnasse Tower, which we were also able to see through our living room window.  On our way to the tower, we wandered through the peaceful Montparnasse Cemetery.  

The next morning (Monday), we woke up early, and Adam took off for his conference.  I walked the short distance to the Luxembourg Gardens, where I spent some time exploring and reading before I headed back to the flat to wait for my sister's arrival from London!

Monday morning selfie in front of the Palace of Luxembourg.

Montparnasse Tower from the Luxembourg Gardens

A peek at the Eiffel Tower from the Luxembourg Gardens

Getting settled in Paris

Bonjour! It's been almost a month since we've returned to The Good Life, and the post-vacation hangover has been real.  Last time we were in Europe, Paris was the place I was least excited to be in, but I wanted to experience it.  Since leaving it behind, I have thought of returning constantly, and this time around, I truly fell in Love (I can already hear my mom getting excited) with La Ville-Lumière, The City of Lights.

Plane selfie (and photobomb!) at LNK.

We flew out on a Friday afternoon from Lincoln.  We love our little airport and always spend the extra $$ for the convenience.  As always, we arranged to fly through Chicago so we could get our beloved Garrett's.

Chicago Mix

After 2 more flights: ORD-FRA and FRA-CDG, we were finally in Paris.  This time around we stayed in the 14th arrondissement near Montparnasse Tower and the Jardin du Luxembourg (Garden of Luxembourg).  I neglected to take a picture of our building, but our flat was beautiful, and if you are ever in Paris, we would highly recommend it!  The flat was insanely affordable, and if you love food, it's the place for you.  Find out more about it here.

View from our windows, looking left

View to the right

 I really could have stayed here forever.  The big, bright picture windows and the classic Parisian rooftops views were what got me.  And the food.  But more on that later.... :)

April Blogging Challenge Wrap Up

I'm still a bit behind, but here are the last three prompts from the April Blogging Challenge. 

28:  Share a favorite childhood memory
 There are far too many to count.  I have so many fond memories.  At the top of my list, though, is  driving to Toronto each summer to spend 2 weeks with my Dad's mom, Popo, my Uncle Mark & Aunty Judy, and cousins Andrew & Matthew.  The car trips were long, but my sister(s) and I found tons of ways to amuse ourselves from writing notes in different voices, to counting the number of Dodge Neons we would see on the way (obviously our dream car).  Toronto often was ahead of Lincoln, and I remember clear as day seeing McFlurry's a year before they came to Nebraska.

Other favorite memories include:
Going to the bookmobile and participating in the summer reading program with the library.
Obviously my card was always maxed out.  Karen, "the bookmobile lady," even came to my wedding reception.  I miss those days. 
Walking to "the pig farm" down the gravel road, and throwing stones into the creek.
Bicycle skid marks
Playing house outside and using various plant material to make "salad" and "soup."

29.  Write a letter to your readers
Dear  Readers,

Thank you for joining me on my blogging journey.  I hope you enjoy my entries!  I love all sorts of things, so bear with me and my lack of focus.  Again, thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read my poorly written posts.  :)

Always,
Liz

30.  Tell us 3 random facts about you
I'm a pretty open book, but here are some things you might not already know about me.
1) I didn't like Paris much the first time we went, but after getting home, I missed it all the time.  I feel the same way about Budapest.
2) I have severe abandonment issues.
3) I prefer dogs to cats, but I do love my cat.

This brings me to the end of the challenge.  I have enjoyed going about it in my own way, and I hope it was fun for you all to read too!  Stay tuned for updates from Paris and Valencia....EEEEEE!!!! :)

My Worst Traits and My Favorite Blogs

I'm still behind in the April Blogging Challenge, but while I'm waiting for some laundry do finish up in the dryer, I'm going to try to get caught up. 

Day 23: What are your top three worst traits?

1) I'm a major control freak.  I'm not great at delegating; I usually think I can do things better myself.  This is something I have been working on for a long time, as trying to do everything usually leads to me being completely overwhelmed and consequently, a nervous breakdown.  I just have a hard time trusting that others can do what I do.  Funnily enough, this is a problem for me at home.  When it comes to work, I have no real issues with letting go anymore!

2) I have some obsessive/compulsive traits that I am working on.  For example, I used to have to re-read the entire page (or sometimes chapter) if I thought I skipped a word.  I meticulously keep a written log of all the books I have read.  Only this past year have I been able to stop feeling guilty for not reading every. single. page. of a book....including the title page, bibliographies, dedication, about the author page, etc.  This goes back to me being a control freak and learning to let go.  I'm getting better, I promise!

3)  I have a real lack of motivation.  I am guilty of sitting on the couch with the intention of watching ONE episode of a show and 4 hours later, wondering what am I still doing here?  We gave up cable about a year ago but pay $8 a month each for Netflix and Hulu Plus.  Binge watching TV has always been our favorite way to watch shows.  I'm thinking back to my junior year of college when I skipped so much class to powerhouse through Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill, of course with a little Taste of China takeout.  My apologies to those who are now craving $4.50 lunch specials, lemon chicken, and the best egg rolls ever.  Anyways, I find working with children to be Exhausting, so I give myself a pass for lounging on the couch every night.  I will surely miss these days when/if I become a parent!

Day 24: Share your blog with us and let us know why you started blogging

If you're here, you know how to find my blog.  I started this, mostly because I love food.  People are always asking me for recipes and reviews or recommendations for restaurants.  It's also a good way for me to remember exactly what I thought of places and dishes.

Day 25: What is one of the best presents you’ve ever received?

For my birthday last year, my sister, Amy, made me a coupon booklet of fun things for us to do together.  I love it, and I need to cash in some of those coupons.

Day 26:  Tell us things you’ve learned about life that school didn’t teach you.

Life is about being happy, not necessarily the smartest, most athletic, most well-rounded human being.  It's about finding what and who you love and prioritizing! 

Day 27: What are your favorite 5 blogs, other than mine of course, that you follow?

In no particular order:
The Londoner - I enjoy looking at this girl's travel, food, and fashion pictures. :)
The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle - Cookie decorating is a newish hobby of mine, and this blog has the best ones!
smitten kitchen -  This is my go-to blog for delicious recipes.  Sometimes I follow them as is, and sometimes I tweak them.  My fave brownie recipe can be found here.
Young House Love - I love their DIY projects!
Amy Takes (a suburb of) Atlanta - My little sister is heading to Atlanta for the summer to work with students going on mission trips.  I can't wait to read about her adventure!

Thanks for reading, and I'm all caught up now.  Hooray!  I guess it's back to laundry and packing.  Have a great Sunday evening!

Love, Beauty, Babies, & The Future

Ok, so the fact that I'm leaving for vacation in less than a week (EEK!) has totally been on my mind and work was exhausting (our cook was on vacation, so I spent the week cooking for 90ish children...it was an adventure), so the blog got moved to a back burner.  I'm feeling more (and less?) in control and organized right now, plus, I just needed a break, so here comes a 5-day challenge blog dump.

Day 18: Tell me about your first love. (Age, how did you meet, how long were you together)

My first love was and still is, my husband!  We officially met the first day I moved to Lincoln in August of 2003, but truth be told, I already knew who he was.  I (and most of my high school) was involved in FBLA, Future Business Leaders of America.  In April each year, a state conference was held in Omaha where we took tests to qualify for the National Leadership Conference and attended seminars.  Oh, and we got to skip 2 days of school and stay overnight in Omaha (the dream)!  I first attended in 2000, as a sophomore, and I did really well, even winning the Business Math competition which enabled me to travel to Orlando, FL in the summer to compete nationally.  I noticed there was this guy, Adam, who basically won every. single. event.  What a nerd.  My friends and I for the next 2 years of high school were annoyed by his dominance, and (I'm not proud of this) when he didn't win "Mr. Future Business Leader" our senior year, we gave the winner a standing ovation.  Yikes.  Rude. 

So when I moved into the dorm room I shared with my high school best friend, and we went searching for boys to play pitch with, we were less than thrilled to find out that Adam was living in a room almost directly above us.  We were even less thrilled when he actually agreed to play cards with us.  Adam later told me he could "sense the hostility," but had zero idea who we were.  He also admitted that during our junior year at the conference, up on stage he was thinking something along the lines of  oh shoot, there's an Asian up here...well I've lost. At the same time, I, who made a conscious effort to stand on the opposite side of the stage was thinking, Ugh, that Adam kid is up here.  I really hope I beat him.  Of course I got 8th or something, and Adam won.  Typical.



Adam is all the way to the left next to the 2 girls in red, and I'm in the white top and blue skirt at the opposite end of the stage.  You'll just have to take my word for it, since this is basically the worst picture ever.

We started hanging out, became friends, went to church together in his '79 Camaro, and soon after started dating in November.  Our first date was to the Starship 9 (*tear*) to see Pirates of the Caribbean for the millionth time, and have been together ever since.  We are coming up on our 7th wedding anniversary and will have been together 11 years this fall.  So that's my first love!

Day 19:What is your typical beauty routine like (favorite products, how much time do you spend)

 I don't do much, that's for sure.  The only makeup I wear is black eyeliner (my favorite), and if I'm feeling fancy, mascara and/or lipgloss.  I'm much more of a lip balm girl; I always have at least one floating in my bag.  My go to is Badger's Organic Lip Balm in Tangerine Breeze, but I also like the Eos Smooth Spheres.  In regards to my hair, I use Organix.  The Awapuhi Ginger smells the best, in my opinion, and I like to use coconut oil and/or olive oil to treat my ends occasionally.  I started oil pulling this year, but need to get back into it as I've been lax.  I'm pretty low key in regards to beauty!

20. Describe your perfect day

Adam, Beach, Bikini, Book(s), Booze, Food

21. Do you have kids; if yes tell us about them, if not do you plan to one day?

No babers for us yet, but we have talking about them since before we got married, and we are *almost* ready to give parenthood a try.  Adam would be fine with one or none, but I think I'd like two.  I had such fond memories of growing up with my siblings, that I don't want my future child to go it alone.  We will see!

22. What do you hope your life will be like in 3 years?

I hope we are settled.  I hope I'm happy.  I hope I'm a mom!

I'm not into quotes

Day 17:  Share something you’ve read that really spoke to you and why.

This particular topic is hard for me, because although I like to read, words don't really stick with me, even those from my favorite books.  I can't quote a single line from Little Women, and the only line I remember from Gone with the Wind is the closing line, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," which isn't something that really spoke to me, haha.  What do speak to me are feelings, since I'm a fairly super emotional person.

A couple months ago, I read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  Wow.  I loved this book, and I loved the way it played with my emotions.  I don't want to give anything away, but this book was an emotional roller coaster.  It also made me step back and evaluate my relationship with Adam and how thankful I am for it.  I have said it a million times over, and I will continue to say it, but I am so blessed to have found my life partner.  I am blessed to be in a marriage full of love and mutual respect.  So even though I'm not a quote person, I will never stop reading, because I love the ride.

Linked up with A Fresh Start on a Budget.

Things I've Learned from Mom

Day 16's prompt asks me to tell you what I've learned from my parents about being a parent.

Although I'm not a parent yet, I have learned loads of things (mostly from my mom) that I plan on using with my future children.  I think we've all turned out really well rounded, although my brother's outcome is TBD, haha, and I know I will be bombarding my  mom with questions when the time comes. 

As it stands, there are actually some things that I have been able to use in my classroom, namely, routine, routine, routine.  My mom was a stickler for routine growing up, and my babies definitely need their daily structure.  We do exercise a lot of flexibility, they are one, after-all, but if we stray too far from the norm, helllllooo, meltdown city! 

Secondly, I have learned how important reading is.  If the little ones want to sit and look at books all morning, that is fine by me.  My mom has always reiterated how crucial early exposure to books is to future language skills.  I have always loved reading, and I know my mom read stacks and stacks of books to me over and over.  Thank you so much, Mom!

The third most important thing I've learned is that children need independence!  My mom was not always looking over my shoulder, and I had the chance to choose my own activities much of the time.  I also try to exercise this in my classroom, because I do feel like children of today need space to learn and breathe on their own.  I'm obviously right there if they need me, but sometimes, I butt out so they can do their own thing. :)

In the future, I'd like to spend time nurturing my relationship with Adam first and foremost.  My parents weren't afraid to hire a sitter or tell us that we needed to play outside for an hour or two without interrupting them.  I think the transition into family life for us may be difficult, as we have been enjoying our childless life so far.  In fact, I'm off to a dinner date right now!  Happy reading. :)

Linked up with A Fresh Start on a Budget for Day 16 of the April Blogging Challenge.