rebonjour

Hello again! Remember me??

I can't believe what time of year it is! And that I have been blogging for over a year now. And more importantly, been in Paris for almost a year now. This week holds so many significant milestones that its incredible to sit down and think about all that I have gone through, all that has happened to me, all the ways I have had to change or adjust, the things I have learned, in the past year.

This past Saturday, one year ago, I was walking across the stage at the University of North Texas receiving my diploma!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, I have my appointment to (hopefully) receive my new visa so I can continue to live and work here for another year.

And Wednesday signifies one year ago that I boarded the Continental flight to Paris to move here.

And Thursday is my official ONE YEAR anniversary of living in Paris.

So much happened this time last year, so many changes, and here I am one year later and able to sit back and look back on all that happened and not have a single regret. I can honestly say that when I was younger, I never would have imagined myself here, doing what I am doing now, at the age I am now. I never would have thought that at 24 years old I'd be living in Paris as a nanny. But here I am! Voila! C'est moi et c'est ma vie! incroyable!

So beyond all that is going to happen, let me catch you up on all that HAS happened in the past few weeks since I haven't been around.

First off, I wanted to say a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Brother-in-law WILEY!!!! Sorry I missed your party again (not sure I've ever been around for your birthday since you became part of the family, we'll have to change that sometime soon) but I hope you had a great day and I thought about you!!! I miss you and my sister so much!!!

And happy birthday today to SARAH!!!!! I hope you have a great day and i wish I was there with you to celebrate!!! I miss you so much and can't wait to be back with you at Christmas to meet Holden!

So, where have I been since I last blogged? BUSY!

I came back from Romania, lived in my apartment for 1 week and then lived in another couple's apartment for a week, house and dog sitting. Sorry, I forgot to take  a picture of their super cute small puppy dog so you won't see what he looks like, but trust me, he was cutttttee!!!

Two weeks after I returned from Romania, the family I am working for and I left on a two week vacation to the south-west of France. It was a really incredible time! But I do have to admit that I am so very happy to be back in my bed, in my favorite city, surrounded by a lot of my friends.

We first traveled to Bordeaux where a friend of the family they we were to vacation with the first week, his family has a weekend home there. We stayed two nights in this really incredible home that was build many many years ago and has been in their family equally as long. It was a really old home, but equally as beautiful. The property was magnificent. And it was in the middle of "wine country" so there were vineyards everywhere you looked. It was also so very peaceful to be out in the middle of nowhere with nothing but nature and good views in every direction. Also, let me tell you, the drive to Bordeaux is a beautiful one as well. If you head south of Paris, just outside of the Paris are all these farms for sunflowers, corn, and vineyards for wine and there are rolling hills in every direction. Its a sight to be seen! Also, one thing I really enjoy about the long drive south is that in France, as opposed to America, there are not McDonalds, Starbucks, and gas stations at every small town. There are actually almost no places to stop on the side of the high way and where there are it is one gas station and one restaurant. Thats it. The other option for stopping are "rest breaks" on the side of the road. We have those in the States as well but I don't recall stopping at those very often for a potty break or a rest. But here in France because those are the only options, everyone stops at rest breaks and has picnics. It made road tripping this time a very different experience from any road trip I've ever been on in the US.

Well, sorry to stop at the beginning but I was gone for two weeks and there is so much that happened in the two weeks so I'll leave it to be picked up back on in another post.

I am so happy to be back in Paris where I have internet and phone capabilities so I can keep in touch better (maybe) with everyone. I miss you all as I always say but it really is true! And hopefully after tomorrow's meeting and getting a few more things squared away I can finally look into booking my plane ticket to Texas for Christmas. woo hoo!!!

Hope y'all are enjoying the last few days before school starts. miss you. love you. mean it.

love, moi