Grace's Goodness

“Mini Cabbages”

2012-01-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

Where have brussel sprouts been all my life?? Have you eaten them lately? Oh my goodness. I used to think they were little balls of despair. Maybe my adult palate has matured. I don’t know but they….are….amazing!!

Kevin was the first one to suggest them. But only the fresh ones, frozen are gross. I jumped on it because he HATES vegetables. It’s always a fight. Well, He wanted them steamed with a little lemon juice. I still thought they looked/smelled weird so I opted out. He kind of forgot about them and they got lost in the vegetable bin abyss. I’d seen them there and thought it would be time to throw them out. However, these little guys were still going strong. When I saw the nutritionist, she said it was important for me to eat my vegetables and as they were the only ones in the house, I nervously pulled them out of the fridge. The fresh ones look cuter, so maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad. I fried them in a teeny bit Herbs de Provence flavored oil and seasoned them with some Peri-Peri. (It’s a grinder mix that we found. It’s fabulous but sadly only sold in South Africa. Thank goodness for the internet!) After they browned a bit, I added some lemon juice. It was heaven! Oh my gosh, they were seriously amazing! I never remember to take pictures of things but they looked pretty much like this picture I stole from Google. Try 'em out... they're delish!

Offended...

2012-01-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

*Warning* This post may or may not be filled with word-vomit.

What I'm about to say may offend some people...of that, I am sorry. I've had some stuff on my mind which I wanted to share. I am so grateful for people who have been open and honest on their blogs and who have helped me see things in a different light.
Ya dum-dum!
We all go through different trials in life. Sometimes we may look at someone who is confiding in us and have that thought creep up, "Um...that's really not that bad, friend..." However, what may be difficult for one person may not be difficult for another. And because we may not understand why someone is having a hard time, we may say dumb things.
May I share some of my favorites:
"When are you going to have kids?" (Harmless enough, right?)
"Are you pregnant yet?" (Ok, hold your horses)
"You've gained weight, are you pregnant?" (Can I punch you in the face?)
Probably my ultimate favorite:
"When are you going to quit being selfish and have babies?" (Smile, nod, and run away)
I can't say how many times I've heard things like this and, especially during my low points, it tore me up inside. I couldn't believe how insensitive and nosy people were. I hated going out. I hated people. I was angry with myself, angry with people, angry with God. But what does that do to you? It breaks you down. As I've gotten come to terms with what has been dealt to me, I've come to realize that people aren't out to get me and sometimes people with good intentions say dumb things. Is that their fault? No. But I also have a right to feel and express my feelings.
To be or not to be...
I have this amazing friend, one of my best, who found out she was pregnant....and with twins. She was worried about telling me because she didn't want to hurt my feelings. We talked about it the other day and I was amazed by how loving and sensitive she was about my situation. I felt bad that she didn't feel like she could shout it from the mountain tops. It's not her fault I can't have kids. However, it really did mean a lot that she wanted to make sure I was ok. I was grateful that we could be honest with each other, that I could tell her that it was hard to hear at first, and that she didn't get upset with me for expressing my feelings. I am so excited for her! She is an amazing mother with the cute little girl she has now. These twins are so lucky to have her and I'm so excited to be able to have new babies close that I can hold :)
In talking with her and thinking about it since, it has helped me understand the difference between being offeneded and feeling emotion. Someone who can't have children can chose to be offended when someone who is pregnant complains about pregnancy syptoms. They can go off on how insensitive that person is or how "I would give anything to have morning sickness". They can choose to be bitter and turn their nose at every baby bump. Or, you can give yourself the right to feel sad and then let it go. I recently found out my nephew's wife is pregnant. Did it suck? Yes. I bawled like a baby. Not only did I feel old but I am going to become a great-aunt before I get to be a mother. But I chose to let go, to get it out of my system and be done with it. Can I tell you something? It was so refreshing. I didn't let the anger stay and destroy me.
I guess what I wanted to say with all this is,
1. Let yourself feel. You have that right. Give yourself a moment but don't let it consume you. Life will suck and it will bring you and others around you down.
2. People say dumb things. Most of the time, it's not meant to be rude.
3. It's ok to be honest. Maybe that person has no idea that what they said can be hurtful. Talk about things and listen. It's ok to cry. That doesn't make you a weak person. Be honest with yourself and your emotions.
3. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Things happen for a reason, I truly believe that. Don't wait to be happy. Be happy now. If you can't do it by yourself, ask for help. That's what family, church leaders, friends, doctors, counselors and the Lord are for. It's ok to not have all the answers.

On that note, happy Sabbath!!

January-Health

2012-01-06T07:34:00.001-08:00

Those of you who really know me know I’m kind of a goofball. I think that’s why I enjoy working at a Junior High. Well, here’s a random fact about me. I always have to have a plan. Pretty much, I can’t function without a plan. If I don’t have a schedule or routine for the day, I don’t accomplish anything. I need a month plan, year plan, a 5-year plan and so on. However, I LOVE an adventure. My favorite thing to do is visit the unknown. When I was in France, my absolute favorite past-time was to take the metro, get off at a random stop, and just wander. It became my new passion. I love discovering new, unfamiliar places. With that said, I’m so excited for a new year. It’s like a clean slate, a fresh start! I’m excited for what adventures this year will hold and new things to discover. However, I need to have something to work toward or else I don’t think I will fully be able to take advantage of this new year.

This past year was…hard. There were some awesome things that happened. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary! Yahoo! We bought our first home and I have loved making it our own. We had our first little garden and it was a little intense. Haha! We had the blessing of going to Guatemala in December. It was wonderful to see friends and family. I had always wanted to show Kevin the places where I’d served my mission and was so happy that he loved it, too. We were able to go to the Xela temple dedication and even do a session. It was beautiful.

I’ve been really frustrated with the symptoms of PCOS. I’ve been researching and trying different diets, supplements, and medications but nothing has really been able to help as I have hoped. I get so frustrated about the migraines, nausea, dizziness and weight gain that I haven’t been the best person to live with. My poor husband is a real trooper!

I’ve decided that this year needs to be the year for change. We’ve decided against fertility treatments and/or adoption until I get my symptoms more under control. I want to be as healthy as I can before we bring a little one into our home. With that said, we’ve decided to make monthly goals as individuals and as a couple. I’ve decided that January is the month for health. I’ve gone to see a nutritionist who has given me an eating and exercise plan. She was really great. I’m grateful that she made me see weight-loss in a different light. She said that because it’s so difficult to loose weight with PCOS, I may never reach my goal weight. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t be healthier. She wanted me to disassociate my success with weight –loss but instead find success in reaching goals and becoming healthier. It’s frustrating to hear and yes, tears were shed, but it’s a start. The goals aren’t overwhelming but they are challenging. I’m excited to get the ball rolling and get better this year. If anyone has advice on how they’ve dealt with PCOS, it would be greatly appreciated!

Life is for learning...

2011-12-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

I never realized how many people deal with infertility. I'm no rocket scientist but I don't really consider myself a complete idiot, either. However, I kind of thought having a baby would kind of be a piece of cake. Not because I'm better than anyone else but the joke was always, "I'm brown, I'll probably have babies like rabbits!" After getting sick and doing more research on PCOS and infertility, I've learned that there are many, many couples struggling with infertility. After I'd passed thru many phases of denial and anger, I've come to truly appreciate those who have been so open with their pain and struggle. It's a comfort that there are people out there who really know what I am feeling and share ways to cope. As much as people try to be sensitive and give words of "comfort", it's not the same. Not that I don't appreciate people trying to be sensitive, because I do, it's just different. I've come a long way, I feel. I hated being angry all the time: angry with myself, angry with God, angry with couples who got pregnant so quickly, angry with everyone. The anger was easier to deal with the pain. The pain of feeling inadequate, of feeling like I couldn't fulfill my role as a woman, the pain of feeling like I was letting my husband and family down. I feel very blessed that I've had so many people to lean on. It's getting better... I'm getting better. I still get upset with myself that I can't just be completely happy for those who get pregnant and share their joy. I hate that there is still a sting. But, life is for learning. I'm now grateful for that which I have learned in this journey. I can't say that I always have been or looked at it as a "learning experience", but I'm still learning. I have a long way to go.
I found this on a blog of a couple who is also struggling with infertility. I haven't reached this point yet, of feeling this way, but I really hope that as we continue on until that day when we will somehow have a little one bless our home, it's great motivation to have "joy in the journey".

"There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be better.

I will be better not because of genetics, or money or because I have read more books but because I have struggled and toiled for this child.

I have longed and waited. I have cried and prayed.

I have endured and planned over and over again.

Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams.

I will notice everything about my child.

I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life.

I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream.

My dream will be crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friends will not see.

Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love.

I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better aunt, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain.

I know disillusionment as I have been betrayed by my own body. I have been tried by fire and hell many never face, yet given time, I stood tall.

I have prevailed.

I have succeeded.

I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort.

I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs.

I listen.

And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely.

I have learned the immense power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard.

I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes.

I have learned to appreciate life.

Yes, I will be a wonderful mother."

-unknown

It's almost turkey day!!

2011-11-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

I can’t believe how fast time is flying! I’d like to press pause for a bit, just to catch my breath.

I’m super excited for my family who is living it up in Guatemala! My parents, two brothers and their families flew down for the Quetzaltenango, Guatemala temple open house. I’ve been messaging my brother back and forth (Oh the joys of technology!) and he told me there were over 15,000 people who visited the temple in one day! How awesome is that? I’m kind of jealous that they are all together having fun but am so grateful and excited to go with my other half. I’ve wanted to take Kevin down to Guate to see the places that I fell in love with. It’s our first trip out of the country together and definitely not the last.

I’ve really been trying to reduce my stress lately. The more I’ve read about it, the more I see how stress is and has affected my health. One thing that has helped me out is to write a list of goals for the month, week and day. It may sound like a lot but I’ve noticed that when I take a few minutes each day to plan, things go a lot smoother and I actually have more time to do the things I want/need to do. We’ve been taking time each family night to make plans for the week.

Another thing that has helped to relieve some stress is our new “command” station. I’ve put up a calendar and some white boards on our pantry door. The calendar has all of the events for the week/month. We have a white board for our weekly menu (which I still need to catch up on) and one for each of us. I need down time after work so I don’t do any house work until after my 45 min of down time. Kevin likes to come in and just list things off for me to do. He does that so he won’t forget and I just get frustrated. Now, if he needs me to do something, he writes it down on the white board. And as for his white board, I write what I need him to do. I can’t touch his jobs once they are on the white board. He has all week to finish them and then has un-interrupted game time on Saturday. It may seem complicated but really, it does relieve a lot of stress from me.

How do you do to relieve stress?

Some Yummies and an Update

2011-11-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

It’s been a while, I know, but life hasn’t been too exciting. Life has been great, yes, but nothing much to report.

I’ve been trying to get my health issues under control. I was on Metformin to regulate my blood sugar but wanted to see if I could control it naturally. I’ve been trying to cut out sugar and am grateful that I get migraines if I eat too much. I’m not grateful for the pain but that my body is telling me what it can take and what it can’t. I’ve been feeling off so I’m back on a smaller dose of Metformin. I’ve been trying to eat healthier and even thou this blasted weight doesn’t want to come off, I feel better and have less “low’s”. I wanted to share two yummies that I’ve made recently.

Turkey Wrap

-Turkey tenderloin strips

-Taco seasoning

-Low carb, whole-wheat tortilla

-Ripe Avocado

-Lemon pepper

Cut turkey into bite-size pieces, cook with taco seasoning. While it’s cooking, smash up an avocado and season with lemon pepper. Spread a hearty amount on tortilla and enjoy!

Choc-Banana Ice Cream

-Frozen Banana(I bought a whole bunch of bananas, cut them up , put them in a freezer bag and threw them in the freezer)

-Almond Milk (I used vanilla flavored, unsweetened almond milk. I’ve cut dairy milk out because of the sugars)

-A handful of sugar-free chocolate chips (they’re kind of hard to find. Wal-Mart has them sometimes and I usually stock up when they do)

Throw everything into the blender, pulse and enjoy!

As some of you may know, they will be dedicating the Quetzaltenango, Guatemala temple in December. My awesome sister-in-law, who works for Delta, has given us some of her buddy passes to fly down to see the temple! Sweet!! I’m super OCD about random things, traveling being one of them, and found out about a month ago that I needed to reapply for a passport because my name changed…say what?? I was lucky to get a new on in less than two weeks but that was after paying an arm and a leg to make sure it was expedited. Oh geez! We were going to spend Christmas in Guatemala because there is nothing like a Latin Christmas! However, because we are flying stand-by, the planes are filling up and it doesn’t look good. Instead, we’ve decided to go for the actual dedication on Dec. 11. I’m really excited!! It’s been three whole years since I have visited Guate and am so happy to show my other half the people and places I feel in love with.

I can’t believe it’s November, the month of gratitude. We really should be grateful all year ‘round but I’m truly grateful for these two months of holidays and a greater sense of gratitude and giving. Yes, life is hard sometimes. But it’s when we look at the good that we’ve been giving and all that we’ve learned thru the difficult times, it makes life a little sweeter J

To sleep, or not to sleep....

2011-08-28T00:19:00.000-07:00

It's officially 1:01 am and.... I can't sleep. It's kind of ironic. Why, you ask? The Hubs has some issues with snoring.

(No, I have not pulled a Michael Jackson. You try finding a pic of a mixed race couple dealing with snoring...)

He's tried an oxygen mask, which helped for a few hours but eventually took it off in his sleep. He's had some surgeries on his nose and tongue to help but basically... the Dr.'s were liars. So now we have a schedule of who will move to the extra bed or futon or floor (it really depends on how tired we are and which is closer) when hiss snoring gets too bad. Hubs had drill this weekend which meant I would be able to enjoy some nice, long, snore-less nights.

Wrong.

I can't sleep!! I've tried tv, reading, resting in the dark, counting sheep, counting rain drops (there's a nice, night-time storm), singing lullabies in my head, tickling my own face! Ugh.... I used to be an independent woman who would do what I want when I wanted! And.... now I can't sleep with out my snuggle buddy.

What are some of your sleepy-time techniques???

We've finally taken the leap....

2011-07-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

and bought a house!!

Yep, we're officially grown-ups now. We close on the 26th and start moving in the next day. This is the only picture I could find and PROMISE to post pictures once we get in. It's not much of a "looker" to some but we absolutely love it. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, awesome kitchen with island, freakin-sweet laundry room and an awesome garden. Seriously, here's the list of the deliciousness we get: raspberries, grapes, strawberries, beans, corn, 2 kinds of potatoes, radishes, 5 kinds of peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, sunflowers (for yummy seeds), pumpkins, zucchini, squash, 2 pear trees, a peach tree and an herb garden. We'll definitely be making lots and lots of salsa!

I'm so excited to get in there and start decorating. I've always dreamed of decorating a home and have acquired quite a big collection through the years.

In other news:

-Kevin is officially on his way to Gambia, Africa! I was totally cool until he called me from the airport. He'll only be gone for 2 weeks and will make it just in time for the closing on the house. He will be going to translate for a conference. He's really bummed that his hotel is about a 5 min. walk to the beach. Lame!!

-To help make things better, I got a temporary position at a vitamin company I used to work for. It's for exactly 10 days! I get to call health food stores about a recall. Not very exciting but at least I'll have something to keep me busy and my mind of of my absentee hubs. I'm very grateful for this and that my parents are close and are so willing to watch Miss Els.

I hope everyone had an awesome 4th. I know I'm a liiiitle behind but we had a lot going on. We went to Vegas for a grandparent 50th wedding anniversary. It was fun to see that side of Kevin's family again. We didn't get to enjoy much of Vegas but it wasn't one of my "bucket list" places to visit so, it's all good. We did drive on the strip and found a fabulous French bakery. It was a little taste of heaven. We left the same day and made it back to the Nielsen home in Glenwood around 4 am! It's ok, we slept until 3 pm... hahaha! The rest of the weekend was spent with the rest of the Nielsen gang for some family reunion camping. I'm not much of an outdoorsy person but it was fun to spend time with everyone.

Well, probably won't have much to report until after the move... yay!

My Lover, My Help Meet, My Best Friend

2011-06-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is going to be a mushy post… deal with it J This goes out to my wonderful Hubs, especially after a beautiful, special moment we had last night.

Boo Boo,

How grateful I am for you in my life. You’ve been my rock through this year of sickness and grief. You’ve held me when I was hurting, emotionally and physically. You’ve comforted when was in need of comfort and cried with me. You’ve made me laugh when I was mad. (Ohh, do I HATE when you flash your silly smile that makes frown turn upside down…. Ok, maybe I love it….). You melted my heart when we were joking and laughing non-stop and took a break to tell me I was your best friend. You’ve stayed up massaging restless legs and even slept on the couch so I could have a good nights rest. You have no idea how much those acts of love have meant to me. You’ve been so understanding when I shop because I’m depressed.

Thank you for not getting upset and judging me for the dirty dishes, messy house and for not cleaning your toilet. Thank you for using a soft, soothing voice when things escalate. Thank you for understanding when I need quality time and putting your other girlfriend (your phone) away. Thank you for telling me I’m beautiful when I feel like a fat, ugly cow. Thank you for being a MAN, for being faithful to your wife (and puppy) during the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I love you and am so excited to spend eternity with you!

Besos mi Cielo

Ketchup? No, CATCH up!

2011-04-25T13:16:00.001-07:00

As I’m trying to catch up on my blog post, I am interrupted by a little man blowing kisses and telling me he loves me. My husband? No, one of the students with downs. I have been sitting at a desk trying to keep busy for more than half the day. I’m helping out with testing and it is b-o-r-ing!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! It was such a pretty day. I want to add some pictures of the rest of our Easter goodness so I’ll leave that for another post.

I was talking to a super awesome friend of mine about some consignment shops I had found. I love how that’s the new “in” place to shop at. I have a love for shopping and we’ve been trying to cut back in some places to be able to afford a house sooner than later, so I’ve made it my unwritten rule to shop only at these places:

• Target- I try to stick to only the clearance section. You’ll be surprised what you find. I get everything from clothes, jewelry, shoes, home décor and craft ideas there.

• Ross- I’m in love with Ross!!! I get most of my diva shoes here. Here there are no rules. Any size goes because it can all be fixed with a belt. Love that dress but it’s too big? Put a belt on it. Just can’t leave that tank top? But a cardi over it! Dress too short, put leggings or skinny jeans underneath! I get lots of my kitchen needs, frames, and bedroom stuff there. Kevin finds some nice stuff there, too.

• The D.I.- You have to be patient here. I’ve noticed that you can’t just walk in and expect to find everything you’re looking for. If you take your time, tho, you can find some real gems. Some of my favorite skirts are from the D.I. I found a gorgeous black lace skirt that fit like a glove. I get most of my dishes for cake plates here, as well as wreaths to refurbish.

• T.J. Maxx is a good place to find home décor. You can sometimes find clothes but I find that they are too expensive.

• Plato’s closet is a great place for women’s clothes.

• Consignment shops- I’m kind of picky but have found some that are awesome. There’s one in Ogden that has AMAZING pieces, lots of antique pieces. I found a pair of antique, brass candelabra’s for $20 and plan on spray painting them red. Also, I got my very first window at the same consignment shop. I’ve been seeing them in homes used as a menu board, picture frame, etc. I’ve wanted one but people tend to see them for too much. I found a great big, 8-pane, turquoise window. It’s beautiful and it was a great price!

Don’t be afraid to look around and be sure to have some time to do so. Try things on that you wouldn’t normally. I never thought I would like a maxi dress but Kevin told me to get one. (I’ve gotten to the point where I can tell if something will fit without trying it on) There’s nothing like coming out and having your husband tell you like you look like a Greek goddess! It doesn’t hurt that they’re like wearing pajamas, too!

Oh yeah, but every time you buy something, you have to donate something. I’m a little behind on that one… ha!

School’s almost out which means I am, too. Have a wonderful day and try some thrifting!

Rock for Scott Benefit!

2011-04-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

I really love my job. I’ve been here less than a year and am amazed by how awesome these people are and what they are willing to do for each other.

Our head custodian, Scott Fairborn, has recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. To give you a little background on him, he was diagnosed with cancer over a year ago, fought it, and was in remission. For his one year check up, however, they found that it had come back and he only has months to live. I am so grateful for the time that I have had with him. He would come in every morning to ask what he could do for us. He never complained. Even with all this horrible news, he has the best attitude and is still so willing to give service to others. When asked about how he could still have such a great attitude during all of this, he said that he wanted to give the example to his kids. That way, when they were going thru hard times, they could ask themselves what their Dad would have done. He’s just the greatest.

Well, the reason for this post is to announce a benefit that we are having at Roy Junior High on May 6th!! There will be music, a spaghetti dinner, silent auction and a garage/rummage sale. The school is welcoming any kind of donation for the silent auction and garage sale. If you’re in the area, please stop by! It’s going to be a fun night for an awesome cause. If you’d like anymore information about how to help, where it will be, or how to donate, please feel free to contact me at chapinga621@gmail.com.

Baby, you’re a FIREWORK!!

2011-03-23T12:45:00.001-07:00

I love working with teenagers, call me crazy, I know! I don’t claim to be the teenage whisperer but I seem to have a knack. I tell people that I act their age, that’s why they like me.  One thing I love is being able to gain their confidence and hearing about their stories. It’s kind of like what Forest Gump says, “… you never know what you’re gonna get.”

I have the great privilege of working with some amazing young men and women. Some of them are immature “doo-dah’s”, as we lovingly call them in class, but they have still managed to find a special place in me.

There’s this one kid who is so quite and defiant if he doesn’t know you. Well, we’ve hit it off and now I can’t get him to shut up! He’s trying to figure out my first name and it’s gone from “Gloria” to “Commissioner Gordon” (…Funny story to come at a later time).

My number of adopted children has now risen to five. I seriously think I’m going to loose it when my 9th graders leave…

Anyway, I had a really special experience today. There’s a student who has grown to be really dear to my heart. Their parents are in two different countries, they’re living with a single sibling, they just got evicted from their house, and are basically raising themselves. Despite all this, they have raised their grades in one quarter from a .17 to a 3.5. They were having a rough time today and I spent about a half and hour after class talking to them, listening to their story. It was so sad yet I felt so much happiness for the choices they were making. They want a better life and know that they have to work for it. That’s exactly what they’re doing. I was amazed by how strong they are and what an inspiration they are. I felt so much gratitude for the love of my parents and their never-ending support and encouragement. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t have to go thru those trials when I was a teen. I was playing with Barbies and upset that I was over-weight. They’re not LDS but the thought came to mind of telling them how great their worth is, how strong they are and how great they’re doing, despite the trials.

I feel truly blessed to work with these wonderful people. They’re goofy and get distracted but we don’t know what they go thru everyday. This experience reminded me that instead of judging, we should love and speak kindly. You don’t know how much it can help someone’s day.

On that note, I hope all of you have a wonderful day and SMILE! It makes the world a better place.

Sooooo lucky!!

2011-03-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful weekend! We just loved the beautiful weather. I wish I could say we spent time at a park or went walking together. No… we cleaned our tiny home! It’s gotten seriously out of control since I haven’t been feeling well and it felt wonderful to get some stuff done. I’m in love with Scentsy so between some clean rooms and yummy smells… it’s delicious.

Squeaky clean

If you hate washing guy’s bathrooms, please raise your hands….

Yeah, it’s DISGUSTING! Now come on guys, it’s a big bowl. Can’t you at least get most of it in the bowl and not on the side, seat, floor, etc.? To give a little more explanation, Kevin and I have a teeny, tiny bathroom in our room. We’re both kind of divas so there is stuff everywhere. It’s drives Kev-o crazy. Well, I’ve been waiting for a certain someone to come back and clean his bathroom but, alas, he’s forgotten where we live and that I was very unwilling to clean up any bodily fluids that didn’t belong to my own husband. (TMI??) Kevin made a deal with me. He’s clean our bathroom when I found a place for all of my stuff. However, I refused to use the other bathroom until it was cleaned. We were in a rut. Thank goodness that once the cleaning bug gets started, I can’t stop! I put on some narsty clothes, rolled up my sleeves, put on some gloves and gagged my way to a clean bathroom. (Kevin thinks it’s absolutely hilarious that I gag while cleaning the bathroom….meanie…) Let’s just say I now have a large, girlified bathroom all to myself. No more tinkle-sprinkle to clean up!

I….love…crockpots

I’ve been trying to experiment more with a crockpot because, hello, what’s better than putting frozen chicken in a pot at night and waking up to delicious smells in the morning? (Lazy or efficient?? You decide…) Anyway, on Friday, I put some (4) frozen chicken breasts in the pot with some black beans and that turned out great. We had waaay too much chicken so I decided to make my rendition of southwestern chicken soup. It was FABULOUS! There was too much chicken to really make it a soup but it was great anyway since I have to each a lot of protein all the time. We had it as soup, on nachos, and are going to try the mix in enchiladas. Hey, I’m all about making life simpler.

Boring, maybe to some…. But there’s nothing that makes me love Kevin more than seeing him next to me doing the nitty-gritty, dirty stuff. That mixed with cuddle time and getting spoiled by the Hubs makes for a fabulous weekend.

Happy week!

Happy New Week!

2011-03-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

Well, another week has come and gone. This has been a rough/good month so far. My dear Hubs had a screw put into his foot to give him an arch. They originally told him he'd be able to walk on it the day after surgery but he was having a lot of pain. We went in later that week to get the bandages off and they said the screw had come out! We had to go back in and he's been doing better now. He has to stay completely off of it for at least 10 days. We're praying for a quick recovery.

On a happier note, Kevin had his birthday!! I took him to a Real SL game on Tuesday and they won 4:1! I found the deal from one of those Goupon e-mails. It was a great night, a little cold, but we were happy to cheering for some futbol....GOOOOOOAL!

He wanted to go shooting for his birthday. My brother came a long and we enjoyed shooting his 9mm and the M4. I stink and shot the hostage most of the time (on the targets) but it was fun. Kevin thinks it's hot :) We stopped at Vintage cupcakes in Ogden and later had some tacos from the taco carts. There was a deal from LivingSocial for some movie tickets. After a short birthday snuggle and nap, we had a light soup and salad dinner before going to see the Adjustment Bureau. I had heard some bad reviews about it but I really liked it. Definitely blu-ray worthy.

Hope you had a happy birthday, my Love. Te amo con todo mi corazon!

That's all I have for this week. Have a great day!

Some RANDOM pics for your enjoyment :)

This is a pic from when I was still trying to figure out what was wrong with me. No joke, one minute I was awake watching t.v. with Kevin, the next minute I was out.

Same night! Like "mother" like "puppy"!

She either sleeps on us or burrows into the covers at night.

This is what I get to go home to every night. Please excuse the hoochie in the background...

And this is what HE gets! :)

Out cute little bedroom. The white is lame but that's what you get when you're renting.

More of the "love shack"... I mean... bedroom

Yay for long weekends!!

2011-02-18T09:03:00.000-08:00

Well, I’m ready to get rid of this last post so I’m going to talk about Valentine’s Day! I never really cared about it but Kevin has completely made it a “spoil Grace” day. He’s so good to me!

People were complaining that it was on a Monday but I loved it because the Hubs has Monday’s off. He took me to work with Miss Eli and even packed my lunch. That afternoon when he came to pick me up, He brought this beautiful flower bouquet with lilies, roses, and gerbera daisies (We had those at our wedding.) We’ve also made it a tradition to have red velvet cake on any special day, another wedding day memory. Kevin went to Target to get one because they make these delicious mini red velvet cakes. He asked if they could make it in the shape of a heart. They said they already came round so my dear husband carved the cake into a heart. Cute, huh?! Then we went to Red Lobster for some king crab legs and lobster pizza. To top off the day, he had one of my favorite rings sized down.

In short, it was a lovely day!!

Other news…

-I’m super tired of eating every 2 hours but I’ve lost 3 lbs. already!

-The Hubs is having foot surgery next week. My two options: 1. Learn how to drive his car so he can take mine or 2. Take him to work every morning. Um… I love my sleep

-Kevin’s cousin moved out and we are now turning his room into a food storage/man cave. I’m kind of nervous about that...

-I….HATE….snow…..

The end :)

I think I’m ready to talk about it now…

2011-02-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

This is on a more serious note.

To many of you, I’ve been a huge flake or I’ve just fallen off the face of the earth. I apologize and I promise I have a good explanation. I’ve been sick to a while (or months) and have been visiting doctors to see what the problem has been. No, I’m not pregnant and am very tired of being asked that question month after month. So…after many, many pokes and tests, they have come to the conclusion that I have Polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS. Along with that, I also have a high-resistance to insulin and hypoglycemia. They’re not sure which caused which, kind of like the whole “chicken or the egg” debate. Anyway, this whole big package causes things like extreme fatigue, weight gain, trouble losing weight, depression, infertility, nausea and all kinds of other exciting things. (Total sarcasm there, ladies…)

I’m not putting this out there to get sympathy or special treatment from anyone. I don’t like being put in the spotlight like that. But, honestly, I’m tired of the questions every month and I want you all to know that I still care about you and cherish your friendship. I’ve just either been sleeping, neglecting my home or been a homebody. I’ve started on some medication and will hopefully start on insulin meds soon to get my insulin more stable. We hope that will help me have more energy so I can start losing some of this blasted weight and start popping out some little Kevin and Gracie’s.

Just another one of life’s learning experiences and a chance to grow.

Thanks for listening and have a lovely day!

Yes, I AM An Adult…

2011-01-11T11:57:00.000-08:00

I have this sweater that I picked up in France. We’re BFF’s. Sadly, there is a large hole in the armpit and ~~my mom~~ I ~~have been too lazy~~ haven’t had time to sew it back up. There is a student that always makes me laugh hysterically and I may or may not have wet my pants a little during class. Remember, don’t judge.

Anyway, today was no different. We were on one of our tirades and she would get off a subject to do her work. So I did what any sane person would do in that situation….lifted my arm to show her my large armpit hole. It worked like a charm. Well, as time went on, she needed some help with math so I did my best to act like I knew what was going on. She happened to burp and, with my big mouth, told her that was disgusting. She looked at me with a straight face and said, “At least I’m not the one with a hole in my armpit.”

Touche!

She held the straight face for about 2.5 seconds before turning bright red, cracking up and apologizing profusely. I was rolling by now and told her she wouldn’t be getting anymore math help from me.

Rude….

“You’re the Luckiest Man Alive!!”

2011-01-11T11:56:00.001-08:00

Yes, I did blatantly tell my husband that he is the luckiest man alive. I have no shame.

“Why am I the luckiest man alive this time” asked the Hubs

“What other wifey would enjoy making their own luchador and then trade laundry time to kick your butt at Xbox??”

“GP….” said the Hubs (that translates to “good point”)

Of course it was.

Just Another Manic Monday!

2011-01-10T18:56:00.000-08:00

Why I love my job (+ other Manic Monday Moments)...

1. I was told I'd be the adoptive mother of a 14 yr-old. Apparently, her mother loves her tiny pom more and I'm her only alternative.
2. The hubs not only packed my lunch, which consisted of couscous, wild boar and 18 month-old cheddar, but he also stopped by to visit.
3. A student walked in while I was pressing my large, dangly earrings to my cheeks. I thought it was hilarious and laughed even harder when the kid looked at me like I'd really lost it. Yes, I'm more immature than a 7th grader...
4. Received tips on how to cover a cold sore. I was surprised to learn that I would look better with a huge band aid stuck to my face. Then the same teenager offered me her chapstick so my cold sore wouldn't be so crackly. I felt loved
5. I was slammed in the face by a flying arm but was saved by the tootsie pop I was chomping on.
6. I'm being paid to re-learn math
7. I was mistaken for a student.... again....
8. Endless supply of movie popcorn and diet Dr. Pepper
9. I have now been dubbed Mrs. Scarfie
10. While looking at large grapes with a student, I made the comment that they were the size of my eyeballs. She then proceeded to ask if I wanted to see her eyeballs while opening them as much as she could with her fingers.

I LOVE it!!

How was your Manic Monday??

I'm waaaaaaaaaaay behind!

2010-12-09T12:41:00.001-08:00

Yeah

TOTALLY missed out on November

I blame it on marriage and blog stalking….in that order. Let me explain. I don’t know what the deal is with marriage but I’ve noticed that you get fat and tired after you’re married. So, I’m now too fat and tired to do anything but lay in bed (or on the couch, on the floor, on Kevin, etc) and blog stalk. I’ve found so many cute ideas to spice up my tiny abode but and still searching for the energy to do them. Please let me know if you’ve found some extra and remember… sharing is caring!

More random stuff- I’ve decided that I prefer blogs with lots of pictures. Only problem for me is 1, I always forget my camera and 2, I take horrible pictures. That’s the next thing I’m going to work one once I finally start writing on the blog more.

I guess the real reason I’m finally updating this is because it’s almost CHRISTMAS!! Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday in this world. I love the lights, the smell of Christmas trees, giving/getting gifts, yummy food, everything!

We put our Christmas tree up and, if I do say so myself, is b-e-a-utiful! I originally didn’t think we’d be able to get a tree and was a little bummed because real trees are my favorite. But Kevin was dead set on getting one. I was surprised by how expensive they were. We finally bound a 4 ft beauty and it’s plopped down in our living room. It was an awesome feeling putting all the ornaments I’d been collecting for years on MY FAMILY’S 1st Christmas tree. Kevin’s definitely indulged my inner little girl by purchasing Christmas classics like “Rudolph” and “Frosty the Snowman” and playing Christmas music everyday. We went to Temple Square for Family Home Evening and had a fun time looking at lights. Kevin had to point out every tree with red lights.  They did something a little different this year and had luminaries that were cut out with Christmas words in different languages. It was amazing. I’m sad that we didn’t have a camera but its Kevin’s excuse to go again.

Well, I have some pictures of our little place for thanksgiving and will take some pictures with all the Christmas decorations. My homework for tonight while Kevin’s at class (in our living room….)

That’s all for now! Sorry I’m so scattered.

Catching up!

2010-10-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

Kevin was on my case for not blogging about recent events. He doesn't quite get my love of blog stalking but sure is quick to remind me to update ours :)

We've been talking about going on a hike since the beginning of summer but... life happens. Finally, a couple weeks ago, we finally went on the hike! I'm glad we waited because it was a PERFECT fall day. The weather was amazing, the trees were changing color... it was great. We got a little lost but it was nice to spend even more time together (cheeeeeezy! haha!)

He said I had to crop out the high socks :) I don't know if you can see it but he collected a walking stick, berries, and wild mint during the hike and faithfully held on to them all 4 hrs of the hike.

Pretty!

The waterfall

hiking love

"I'm the king of the world!"

Beautiful sunset at the end of the hike

This is where we hiked!

The end :)

Diary of a shopaholic....

2010-09-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

Shopping is my drug....horrible, I know. It's been my vice since the very beginning when jelly shoes were my passion. My mom used to get my eye off things by telling me, "We'll get that someday." It worked until I figured out that someday never happened. Once I got something in my head, I would save and save to purchase the beloved piece. There is nothing like being welcomed by scented candles at Anthropologie, touching soft leather bags, or trying on that beautiful silk dress with lace detailing because trying it on doesn't mean you have to buy it...
*Sigh*
My friends are scared to go with me because I can justify buying anything.Well, as many of you may know, most newlyweds don't have free reign to spend (or waste, as some may think) money on guilty pleasures.
So...my new favorite past time has become....dah, dah, dah: on-line window shopping. I freaked Kevin out one day because he saw a whole list of things in my virtual shopping cart. That's the beautiful thing about on-line window shopping. I usually add everything I could ever want in this lifetime and am then turned off by the ridiculous total. Then, I wait for things to go on sale to buy them one by one and eventually forget. They then tend to go out of stock and my wallet (or Kevin's bank account) is saved once again.
Why the random post? Because I caught myself checking my shopping cart yet again....
May you strive to indulge in one guilty pleasure this week. I know I will :)

It's....ALIIIIIIIIVE!!!!

2010-09-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still here. I think the more time I spent away, the more embarassed I got and kind of gave up on writing. But, alas... I'm back for more.

Is it weird that I was blog stalking myself? Ha! I was reading over past entries and, not gonna lie, was mildly depressed by the lack of adventure in my life. It sometimes feels like the most exciting thing that happens in a day is that I get to squeeze in a show from Hulu.

To give everyone a little update on what's new with the Nielsens (hey, that's kind of a catchy title), here's what's happened in the past 4+ months!

-We moved into our own place! We're now living in Layton, UT because it was kind of the half-way point for our jobs. It's not the nicest place, nor the most ghetto, but it's OUR place, which brings me great joy. I even have a place which I have dubbed "the craft room", where I find refuge from the boys. (Oh yeah, Kevin's cousin is living with us)

-We both have jobs! (or "yobs" as Kevin calls it) I got a 6-hr position at Roy Jr. High and absolutely love it. I work in the office and it's so much fun and get my people-fix greeting people and chatting it up with students. I also randomly applied for an ESL position at Lincoln Elementary in Layton and landed the job, too! I now spend 3.9 hrs there helping the kids and teaching adult ESL classes. It's very tiring but so much fun. Kevin was working kind of as a language programs manager but recently (just this week) accepted another position with the army to do Spanish intel work. (I may need to correct that) He was reluctant to leave the guys he was working with but this is something he's wanted to do and will give him experience for what he wants to do after his time in the army. I'm happy to see him happy

-We received a calling! We're now the den parents in our branch, working with cubs scouts....haha! I've never worked in scouts before but am happy to be involved.

Well, I've come to the conculsion that my blog posts are waaaaay too long so I'm going to leave it at that and try to update it more frequently.

Have a great night!

More insignificant rantings on the World Wide Web (plus some other shtuff)

2010-03-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

All right, I need to remind myself what makes me happy:

Dates with Kev-o, Laughing, Family, Revelation, Eli, Traveling, Dancing, True friend, Sociology, Chocolate, Butterflies, Reading non-fiction, Shoes, Chasing pigs, Hugs, Anthropologie, Wrestling, Shopping, Exploring, Eyebrow waxing, Climbing up hills/stairs, Humanitarian Aid, Good food, Butt warmers, the color red, Flowers, Babies, Snuggling, Goals, Surprises!

What makes you happy???

Whew… that made me feel better just trying to think about stuff. I learned a lot of wonderful things on my mission but one lesson that has helped me time and time again is that there isALWAYS a light at the end of the tunnel. I know that trials make us stronger. I know they are a part of life. I know they help shape us into the person that the Lord knows we have the potential to be. That doesn’t always make them easier, though. Another thing I know is that as the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is so great that they always shower us with tender mercies.

Today, for example, was a rough day. Just when I was about done, two sweet sisters at church came up, gave me a tight squeeze and offered their love.

Oh the tender mercies of the Lord!

I’m really grateful for general conference this weekend. As I’ve grown, I’ve been blessed to have all the general conferences written for me. What? You didn’t know that all the talks were written for me? Ok, not really… but as I’ve grown I’ve learned that as we prepare ourselves, general conference is another opportunity to receive personal revelation. My suggestion- have a pen and paper close. If you ask, you will receive.

Festival of Colors

I LOVED my major- Sociology. It never discouraged me when I’d tell people what I was studying and the most frequent answer was, “Oh… Now, what is that? What can you do with it??” Well, I’m still trying to figure out that latter.

I love observing people, their differences and similarities. I love culture. It’s the spice of life. Seeking and finding it make my heart smile. Well, about 4 years ago I was in a Society of Religion class where we had to do a project on different religions from a very open-minded point of view. Our teacher invited the class to attend the Festival of Colors at the Krishna temple in Spanish Fork, Utah but I was unable to attend. I’ve always had an itch to go and was so excited when my adopted sister, Clarissa (we were separated in heaven) invited me to go.

It’s an amazing Spring celebration with thousands of people (no joke) dancing around, singing, throwing colored chalk in the air and hugging total strangers. J I had a blast!! You should check out some pictures of the event online. There is a point in the celebration where everyone gathers together and throws chalk up in the air at the same time. They said that last year you could see the chalk cloud from 10 miles away. It was intense being in the cloud and I’m grateful we were on the outskirts of the group but it was still an awesome experience. Don’t want to miss out next year!

Well, I think I’m prepared for another week. The kids I watch have spring break so that means that I do to. To celebrate spring, Easter, general conference and spring break, I’m taking a trip to Texas! I’m ready for a few days of snuggling with my hubs J

I hope everyone has a great Easter week and remembers the true meaning. It’s not about chocolate, jellybeans and Easter bunnies. Remember the great Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ and his wonderful Resurrection.

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

Alma 7:11-13

Much love to you all!

-Grace

Full body shot... a plethora of colors

This is me wondering how I'm going to get the chalk out of my teeth, nose, ears, eyes, hair, etc.

The temple in the background. Perfect day for a spring celebration!

Transitions, Texas and Nanny Goodness

2010-02-20T14:31:00.000-08:00

Transitions

It’s a Saturday afternoon and I have done… nothing. No really, I’m embarrassed by how lazy I have been today. I’ve been collecting all of these wood projects to do for the home I will someday have because that’s what Utah wives do, right? Well, have I started anything?? No...

Let’s just say I’m trying to transition to life as a married-yet-single woman. I’ve considered keeping a journal to air the thoughts that are overcrowding my head but I’ve never been that good at the pen and paper thing. So, after much thought on whether or not to change this from a “my random thought” blog to a new Nielsen blog, well, I’ve decided against it. Plus, Kevin doesn’t even look at this thing so it will allow me to praise his good deeds without his head getting bigger. J Love the man!

I’m sorry to say that my insignificant rantings and uneventful daily life happenings will continue to fill the pages of this blog.

On that note….

Don’t Mess with Texas!

I recently had the opportunity to visit Kevin in Texas! It was really good to see him. We stayed in most of the time… come on, we’re still newlyweds… but we did have the opportunity to visit a friend of his, Matt, who lives about 3 hours away from San Angelo at another base. (That was a really long sentence) He was super nice and it was fun to see more of Texas and spend time with him and his wife.

I got there on Friday and after a wonderful reunion, we had to get up bright and early on Friday to go with Matt who made the 3-hour trip solo. I slept most of the way there but woke up long enough to decide on some Mexican for lunch. His wife had to go to work so I was left with the boys. They dropped me off so they could do some Valentine’s Day shopping. I was having a ball window-shopping when I thought it would be nice to check in on my hubby. To my disappointment, my phone wasn’t working. For some reason, as a Target associate told me, told me that AT&T was randomly loosing service. I had a handful of people offer me their phone to call Kevin and even some people who offered to drive me to wherever I needed. The lame thing was that Kevin also has AT&T and couldn’t be reached either. Here I was at Target in a city I didn’t know the name of without any way to contact my husband. So… I waited and hoped that my prince charming would read my mind and find me. As my heart was beginning to race, I see a familiar Lacoste beanie quickly making it’s way to the entrance and was enveloped in a big bear hug. He’s a sweetheart.

After I was lost for a while, we ate some amazing wings. I’m usually not a fan of wings but I couldn’t stop stuffing my face. We ended the night with a werewolf movie. I think Kevin secretly likes to take me to scary movies so I grab on to his large muscles. He gave me some pre-Valentine’s goodies including the movie, Julie and Julia, a stuffed monkey, and…some other stuff… but left something special for Sunday. Unfortunately, Matt’s wife got really sick and spent a chuck of Sunday in the hospital. It was nice to spend some quality time with Kevin. He finished up his Valentine’s gifts with a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of vibrant orange lilies and roses. He likes to spoil me. We ended the night with a delicious dinner of deer steaks, black beans and handmade tortillas.

We made our way back to the Goodfellow on Monday in a little Cessna! I’ve never been in a plane so small. There was a strong head wind so it took us a little longer to get back. I get motion sickness and did a darn good job at holding my stomach the whole way there. Overall, it was a really fun experience!

Kevin had to go back to school on Tuesday but it was great to wake up in his arms one more day. It was hard to say goodbye that afternoon but he should be coming home soon for a break. It made it a little easier. As much as it stinks to have him away, I’m glad we made the plunge and got married when we did. It’s easier to have him gone when I know he’s mine J

The Nanny Diaries

It wasn’t my life dream do be a nanny. I thought a college degree would help me out a little more. Even though it’s not really what I had expected to be doing with myself career wise, I have so much fun doing it. Kids are a handful but hilarious!

Right now I’m working with a family of 4 kids but I really only have to work with 3. I’m with them 3 days a week. In the morning, I get the kids up and ready for the day. The two older boys go to school and I stay at home with the two little girls, ages 3 and 15 months. We have a lot of fun playing house, reading books, and playing tag. We pick up their brother from Kindergarten at around noon and rush through lunch. The girls go down for their nap, which is a nice break, and I have one-on-one time with my little bud. It’s actually really nice because he likes to talk. We’ve had some really cute conversations.

I was looking for another job to keep me busy on the days that I wasn’t working and feel blessed that another family came up! The family that I work for was talking about how things were going between us to a friend and she asked if I was interested in taking another day. I met her on Friday and she has three adorable little kids, ages 7, 4 and 9 mos. It’s going to be busy but I’m glad I can get experience for the babies I hope to have someday.

Well, I think I’m going to be productive today and finish my laundry.

Much love!

Little bit of this... little bit of that....

2010-02-05T22:46:00.000-08:00

I just got off Skype with my amazing hubby and thought I'd write some stuff now that they are fresh on my mind. Plus, I have some news that I'm pretty excited about.

#1 Why I have the cutest husband ever:

Ok, I've officially turned into one of those wives that I used to make fun of... you know, one of those who tries to justify why SHE has the best husband? Yes, I do give you permission to giggle.

Well, I'm not going to claim that my husband is perfect but he's dang good! For the whole time that we've been dating, I can probably count on one hand the days that Kevin has not called. Now that he's in TX, he calls every morning to wish me a wonderful day and tell me he loves me.

I've said this before but Kevin holds our date night very sacred when he's here.... usually every Friday. Anyway, as we got together to Skype with him tonight I noticed that he fixed his hair and got all dressed up for me because it's a date night.

He's so wonderful. He's so patient and loving and I'm so lucky to have him in my life!

I'm really excited because I'm flying down to San Angelo, TX to see him next week. I leave Friday morning and come back Tuesday night. I was super bummed to miss another Valentine's day with him and am glad that it fell on his President's Day break.

#2 News!

Drum roll please......

I have a job! I'm not going to be earning the big bucks anytime soon but at least I like what I do. I found a job as a nanny for a family in Lehi. Today was my first day and the kids had the day off so I had all 4. They range from 15 mos. to 8 years old. They are really cute. The 2 youngest are little girls and they are just adorable. I was worried that the baby was going to freak out when she woke up and didn't see her mom. She transitioned just great and wanted to be by me the whole time. The little 3 yr. old did my hair. I don't know what it is with little girls and trying to "fix" my hair. Should I be worried? :)

It's only 3 days a week but it's something for now.

Tomorrow is Time Our For Women in Ogden, UT. Kristen and I will be driving up bright and early for that... yay!! (so NOT a morning person)

Well, it may not be all that exciting trying to persuade you as to why I have the best husband ever or my part-time nanny job but they are little things that make me smile so I thought I'd share. Have a great day, everyone and don't forget to count your blessings!

Finally... some pics!

2010-01-30T21:48:00.000-08:00

Kevin and I have known each other for quite a while. I though it would be fun to post some pics throughout our dating and courtship.

This was the first day I met Kevin- Dec 19, 2006. I had been home from my mission for 3 days and decided to get my groove on at a Spanish Branch Christmas party. That is... until I got there and realized I was scared of boys. Kevin, however, wouldn't let me leave and won me with his smooth Latin grooves. :)

2nd Christmas together, first time in Glenwood :)

Dec '07

This picture was in the paper the day Kevin left for Afghanistan. His family was such a wonderful support to me. I'm very grateful to have them in my life.

Feb. '08

My visit home from France when Kevin returned from Afghanistan

March '09

Not the best picture but cute story. Kevin is very adamant about having a weekly date, which I think is great. On this particular date, he took me for a drive up Provo canyon to look at the changing leaves because many of them were red and that is my FAVORITE color. He's a sweetheart!

Real SL game against Chivas, Mexico

Army ball

The ring! My man's got skills... he picked it out all by himself!

Dec. 19, 2009

Kevin's favorite

One of my favorite engagement pictures.

Jan 16th!! The day I married the love of my life!

New Year... bring on the next phase, please!

2010-01-29T16:19:00.000-08:00

I have some news.... I'm got hitched! My hubby's a stud, what can I say? We officially tied the knot on Jan 16, 2010. (No excuses on not knowing how many years we've been married...)

It was a beautiful, COLD Saturday afternoon. The excitement started the thursday before when all of my family and friends started coming. All four of my big brothers, some sisters-in-law, two nephews came out as well as an aunt from Virginia and an aunt and uncle from Guatemala. My amazing roommates from college also flew out to support me.

On Friday, we had a family dinner where Kevin got to meet all of my brothers. He had never met Alex or Fred, my two older brothers. He was a little intimidated, despite what he say. :) It was also new for him to be called Uncle K (He is now the proud uncle of 15 nephews and nieces). We enjoyed large quantities of Paella.

Later that night he went out with the boys to the movies and I made my way down to SLC to have a girls night. My wonderful ex-roomies established a "secret society" (a.k.a. the BRC) in college that was quite coveted. We had a much overdue reunion where they showered me with naughty gifts. It was hilarious and so much fun! We didn't end up going to bed until almost 3.

The next morning, I'm not gonna lie, I did have a case of pre-wedding jitters. I was ready by 10 and the wedding wasn't until 2 pm. I had to be there at 1 pm but still.... One of my good friends did my hair and then she rode with me to the temple. She took me out for frozen yogurt right before to calm my nerves. :)

The sealing was beautiful! It was so great to have a room full of family and loved ones. It was crazy cold outside for the pictures but the ones I've seen from friends and family turned out pretty good. Kevin wanted me to wear something from Guatemala to show my roots and he did a great job picking out a shawl for me that I had picked up in Guatemala. We later went to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for a dinner that was FABULOUS! They really did a great job. My wonderful and talented friend, Crystal, did the flowers and set up. Let me tell you... it was WAY more than I ever dreamed of. I really just gave her my colors and a list of flowers that I liked and she created it all on her own. The day couldn't have been more perfect. Jorge, a friend of ours, even surprised us by playing Amazing Grace on his bagpipe while wearing a quilt! It was a very special treat. After loading our loot into cars, we made our way to the Anniversary Inn in Salt Lake City to spend our honeymoon, or mini-moon as Kevin called it. He had to leave for a class in Texas for 10 weeks and left six days after our wedding, which is why we didn't go anywhere more exotic. ;) We both have a passion for travel and wanted to get away but will have to save that for later.

Now, I am living in Saratoga Springs, UT with a friend of ours, the Devito's. They let Kevin rent a room after he got back from Afghanistan and have agreed to let me stay. I've been trying to turn our little room into a mini-home by adding a women's touch. I should've taken a before picture to make the after picture a little more impressive. (haha!) It was definitely a bachelor pad....

It's been pretty intense. Thank goodness for Skype! He's always been really good about daily conversations, which is a blessing for me, and hasn't missed a day yet. I'll hopefully be able to go down President's Day weekend (which also happens to include V-day) and I'm very excited. I miss my cute husband so much.

Although getting rid of the "de Leon" and adding the "Nielsen" has been quite a trip, I have no job and my husband is gone... I'm very happy to be sealed to the love of my life. I know that this is the beginning of something great and I couldn't have a more wonderful person at my side. He's a great support to me and is so loving. I'm a very lucky girl.

I still need to get the pictures from the photographer but I'll if I can snag a few pictures from family to post.

Happiness

2009-12-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

I never thought life could be so good....

So, I have some happy news. I'm going to tie the know with one amazing guy in about a month! I know... crazy!

Kevin and I have been in each other's lives for quite a long time (3 years on Dec. 22). We've been talking seriously about marriage for a few months and couldn't set a date because of some army stuff. Well, I found out last saturday that he'll be leaving either Jan. 22 or Feb. 5 for a class in Texas and that I could set the date whenever! I had been talking with a great friend of mine the night before and she randomly chose Jan. 16 as we were making wedding plans together. It just happened to be a saturday. I decided to run with it. It's been a week now and the wedding is all planned. It's been crazy but awesome. I am SO happy! For some reason, "happy" doesn't seem like the right word. Anyway, there's lots going on right now but... I thought this was blog-worthy :)

Umm.... let's see... some fun facts:

- I still don't have a ring but I have a temple date and time set

- Getting married in the Oquirrh Mountain temple

- Colors are red with an accent of lime green

- One of my cakes will be a funfetti cake with rainbow chip frosting in the middle

-We will be having a reception when Kevin gets back from his class

We're taking our engagement pictures on Tuesday so I'll try to post them asap!

No, I'm not dead.

2009-09-22T00:34:00.000-07:00

It's late and I couldn't sleep....

I'm grateful that I have a brother who keeps me in line with the whole blog thing. Now that I'm back in the super exciting state of Utah, I didn't think that my every-day-life tales would be as exciting as daily adventures in Europe. At least they're not for me. Anyway, I'm glad that at least my family finds it somewhat enjoyable to see what their littl sister is up to next. Oh the joys of family!

Well, I've had some people ask so I will answer your question- Yes, I AM back in the states. I have a couple things that are worth mentioning.

News #1
I finally found a job that I'm in love with! This is good because it's the first job I've actually liked the whole time I've lived in Utah. I'm working at an elementary school near my house. I help out with the ESL students, make all attendance calls and translate. I work with 3 kindergarten groups, a third grade class and my very own group of first graders. I get paid to color and sing with little kids.... so much fun! They are so adorable and make my day. It's only part-time but I'm living at home so I guess it's ok.

News #2
I have had a new addition to the family. I wish I could upload pictures but it takes 2 years with this ghetto internet. Her name is Eli and she's an adorable apricot toy poodle. I was really nervous at first because my parents are not pet friendly at all. Kevin and I were kind of plotting behind my parents back and my dad caught on. I figured they couldn't really say anything when she was finally here (fingers crossed) so I would "surprise" them with her. I broke down with my mom and she took the news fairly well. I finally picked one I liked and my mom took a mini road trip up to Logan with me to get her. I wish I could've taken a picture when my dad saw her. He wasn't too happy until she cuddled up to him and fell asleep on his chest. She's sure been a handful but she really had been a fun addition to the house. My mom has been kind enough to watch her while I'm at work. She LOVES my mom and listens to her better than me! Right now she's 3.4 lbs and should only gain another 5 lbs or so. I told "the boy" that I didn't want a big dog. I had too many bad experiences with dogs in Guatemala. Anyway, we love Miss Eli and are very happy that she is with us. She loves to play and thinks she's the queen of the house :)

Other than that, I've been trying to adjust to life in the states again. I have a spoiled palete and it seems like there is n-o-t-h-i-n-g to do in Utah but it is good to be with family and friends. Honestly, I prefer living in Europe but the states are growing on me again. I'm finally found some meat and cheese I like and some of my favorite chocolate cookies from France! You can live off of meat, stinky cheese and cookies...right?? I starting to get the travel bug again and may need to take a mini trip before I go crazy but hopefully there will be some new and exciting things in this next chapter of life.

Ok, if I don't go to bed soon, I will be a bear tomorrow (it happens when I don't sleep, ask my fam). Much love!

-Grace

Au revoir Paris! Je t'aime...

2009-07-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

Schools out and we’re now enjoying the sun in the south of France! I am in love with Paris but the south has a special something as well that just makes you happy and relaxed to be here.

We had many exciting events to wrap up the end of the school year. I had the opportunity to go on a riverboat cruise on the Seine (June 19). Instead of paying for a party, the school where I took French classes paid for us to go. It was something I wanted to do before leaving Paris. I’m glad it was free and that I wasn’t by myself. It was definitely much more fun. I learned some neat things about Paris and the view was beautiful! The rest of the day was pretty crazy because there were visitors at the house in preparation for “the wedding”. Michel’s daughter said good-bye to her fiancé and we enjoyed Russian caviar and champagne to celebrate. Well, since I don’t drink, I really enjoyed the caviar.

The next day was like a fairytale. I’m not a big fan of weddings. I actually think they’re pretty boring. What’s even worse is when a family member gets married and they make you stand in a stupid line greeting people you don’t know. It’s been a while but the memories are still painful. ☺ Anyway…

Well, I think this was different because I didn’t have to be a part of it. I was in charge of getting the little princess all ready. When we were done, we watched the makeup artist, hair stylist, camera people and photographers from upstairs. It must have been a funny sight seeing us peering through the banister.

I was very interested to see a French wedding. First, they went to City Hall to get married. The family and close friends were there. It was pretty quick, only about 20 min. Afterwards, everyone went out to lunch expect Erin and I. She was in desperate need of a nap. I’m the designated “face tickler”, which calms me so both of us usually end up taking a nap. When we woke up, the bride had changed into a gorgeous wedding gown and was taking pictures. We went to a church in town, had a nice ceremony and they even rang the bells when the happy couple walked out.

Afterwards, we drove about 45 min to the reception place. It was an old chateau that they turned into a country club. We spent the night and I had a fabulous room with the kids. It was seriously the biggest/nicest room I have ever stayed in. We got the kids dressed and went down for drinks. I got bored and played with the kids while everyone else drank their bubbly and listened to the band. At around 10 pm, the dinner started. I was dead by 11:30 and was happy that they asked me to go up to the room and watch some babies. Most of them were dead before the fireworks went off at midnight. I eventually fell asleep with them. I have no idea when their parents came to pick them up. I work up at almost 4 to finally find the boys in the room, turned off the lights and was out for good.

The next day was a wedding brunch at the club. The whole group serenaded me for my birthday as we enjoyed croissants and stinky cheese. We were dead by the end. I had to be the entertainment on the ride home because Marie hadn’t slept the night before. After we got home, I had a special birthday Skype date with a certain someone and even got to see some other wonderful friends. (gotta love the internet) I received an awesome birthday present the day after... a beautiful new niece, Aubrey Marie! She's got lots of dark hair and the cutest little dimple.

The next week was crazy with the new nanny coming, soldes and a “surprise” good-bye party. I hate good-byes. They’re awkward and make me sad. I’m an emotional person and Marie bet 10 euros that I would cry. I was doing well until the very end. I’m truly going to miss this family. They’ve been so wonderful to me and I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had with them. This is definitely not where I saw myself at 25 but I’m happy it happened.

We're now in the South and I have a pretty sweet tan after 4 days. Today was officially my last day of work. It was weird. I was talking to Irene (the lucky girl who gets to take my place) and I’ve realized that this is the most stability I’ve had in my life for a while. Ever since I left home I’ve had constant change: roommates, classes, areas and companions on the mission, graduation, and jobs. I’m sure it will be an adjustment but I’m excited (ok, and a little nervous ☺) to see what happens next.

Well, I'll be off to Nice tomorrow to try and catch some of the Tour de France. The next time I write will probably when I'm back in the states, still trying to figure out what I'm going to do with myself.

Much Love!

Hello, Good-bye, and a mini Dr.Phil

2009-06-02T03:48:00.000-07:00

I don’t think I’m ready yet…

The pressure’s on. With 6 weeks left, there is a question that keeps coming up-

“What are you doing after France?”

I would like to publically answer the question by telling all of you… I don’t know. Of course I’ve thought about it and there are plans but nothing set in stone at this point, anything can change. Don’t worry. I promise not to run away with the circus or live in a van down by the river and I really want to avoid having to practice "do you want fries with that?" For now, I’m going to enjoy the rest of my time in this wonderful country and with the family.

Relationship advice from a 6 yr old

Erin told me yesterday that I’m silly because I laugh everyday! I told her it’s her fault because she’s so hilarious. Seriously, I don’t know where this kid comes up with half the stuff she says. This is a conversation from earlier this week during bath time.

*Let me tell you beforehand that Erin is in love with Kevin. She spoke to him a couple of times on Skype when he was in Afghanistan but other than that, she doesn’t know him. She talks about him all the time, draws pictures for him and gives me makeovers that “Kevin will love”. Enjoy!

(We had been talking about our favorite colors)

Erin: What’s Kevin’s favorite color?

Grace: Hmm….

E: I bet I know what it is. I bet it’s brown because you’re brown and he loves you.

G: Oh yeah?

E: Yep. When you get married are you going to wear a white dress?

G: Probably

E: I think you should wear a purple one. Or a red one… Are you going to marry Kevin? You love him.

G: I don’t know. We’ll see

E: Does he want to marry you?

G: Maybe…

E: Well…. Have you asked him if he wants to marry you?

G: (laughing) uh….

E: (she puts her hand on my arm, not even kidding) You’re scared aren’t you.

G: (still laughing)…

E: Don’t be scared! He loves you. Just ask him. He’ll say yes. Then you’ll get married and kiss on the mouth. I know you kiss him on the mouth. I’ve seen pictures.

G: (about-to-wet-my-pants laughter)…

E: What? It’s true!

G: Yep, you’re right.

The conversation is then interrupted by Erin singing the Happy Birthday song in English. I swear…never a dull moment!

It’s OFFICIAL!!

I’ve been trying to think of some fun things to do before I go back home and enter “real life” again…so…..

I bought a ticket to Egypt.

Yeah…it still hasn’t fully hit me yet. It’s always been a dream of mine. I’m really excited about the tour, which has all the highlights without leaving me broke. Actually, the price of the place ticket and the tour is about the same as a flight from SLC to Cairo.

July 8^th- Arrive in Cairo and Nile Dinner Cruise.

July 9^th- Pyramids of Giza, the interior of one of the pyramids, the Sphinx, a camel ride, Sakkara and the city of Memphis. Night on train to Luxor

July 10^th- Valley of the Kings, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon, Karnak and Luxor Temples. Night on train to Cairo

July 11^th- Egyptian Museum (including the Mummy room!!) Citadel of Saladin, Mosque of Muhammad Ali, the Hanging Church, the Jewish Synagogue of Ben Ezra, Khan el-Khalili (shopping!) and a Sound and Light Laser show at the Pyramids of Giza.

July 12^th- fly back to Paris and soak up as much as I can before going back to the states.

Before Egypt, I’m meeting up with a cousin in Monaco. She’s studying in Italy so we thought it would be a nice meeting place. I’m really excited to catch up with her!

Much love to all!

Now THAT'S what I call a real manicure...

2009-05-26T11:27:00.001-07:00

From left to right:

1. a mountain

2. an E made with dots (for Erin)

3. Eiffel Tower

4. heart

5. heart shaped face with hair

This was done AFTER I gave myself a french manicure. I got in trouble to taking off her original designs. She love me.... :)

Some pics!

2009-05-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

We're so funny, we know!

In front of Buckingham Palace with my crazy kids!

The view of Big Ben from the London Eye. So cool!

I couldn't help it. Follow me Gorgeous people!

It apparently smelled nasty
This is where we saw the Lion King. It really was amazing.

By the London Eye

Big Ben!

Old school bus

In front of the London Bridge.... so hot, I know

"Wait, that was English, right???"

2009-05-24T10:58:00.001-07:00

Yes, the title is a direct comment made by me at Starbucks. For those of you who didn’t know, I went to London with the family this past week! I’ve gotten so used to hearing French and finally understanding it, that it took me a bit to get used to hearing English again. It was a tiring but great few days. It was the first time the kids have ever been so Marie and Michel really wanted to hit all the tourist sites. After about a day of sightseeing, the kids were done and would much rather play video games in the hotel but I was happy to have an all-expense-paid “business trip”.

We left Wednesday morning on the Eurostar. Three hours later and we were there! Our hotel was located right by Piccadilly Circus. It was the first time the kids had ever been there so we hit all the tourist sights. The first day, we went to Buckingham Palace. We walked through Waterloo and took a moment to break out in song and dance, which horrified the boys. We met up with Michel later that day and went to see the Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in Covent Garden. It was an amazing musical. I don’t know who was more excited, the kids or me!

The next day we hopped on a bus tour and hit Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We stopped at the London Eye. It’s HUGE! I’m not a fan of heights but it was really neat to see all of London. The kids were tired of sightseeing so we decided to take a “break” at Hamleys. It’s a toy store. Not just any toy store… the biggest toy store I’ve ever seen in my life. I think there were 5 levels. You walk in and there are toys flying at your head, demonstrations of magic pens and little toy pigs oinking their way across the floor. I’m serious! The kids were in heaven. Erin was so funny to watch because she would run from one thing to the next and couldn’t find the words to say what she wanted. I was surprised we made it out in one piece AND without the whole store in boxes. Marie and I were able to run away for an hour to Fortnum & Mason. They sell everything from beautiful china to fine wine. The main floor, however, is filled with tea, coffee, biscuits, jams and chocolate. I went crazy with the tea and biscuits. The English don’t mess around with their tea.

Whew… I know I really should space things out better so I don’t have a monster of a post. Things will be calmer now until the wedding… of Michel’s daughter, that is. It’s kind of a big deal so we just refer to it as “the wedding”.

Hope you all have a wonderful week! Life is wonderful. Enjoy every minute to the fullest.

Much love to all

Time keeps on slippin...

2009-05-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

I really can't believe that I have about 2 more months left in France! Marie and I were talking about it and we can't believe how fast time has flown by. Enjoy every minute!

There's so much to tell but at the same time... not really. Here are the highlights:

- I went home in March. It was really fun to get a little vacation from work and see some people.

- My stomach can't handle American food anymore :(

- I had a fun reunion with Kevin

- I went to the south with the family. They invited two other families which brought the grand total to 9 little ones running around!

- Rode on a boat and got super sick.

- Visited Saint Tropez for the first time and it's beautiful.

- The boys and Marie celebrated their birthdays. LOTS of lychee cake!

- Planning a trip to London with the family in 10 days!

- Danced on a table for the first time at a Greek restaurant

- Saw the Eiffel Tower at night

- Heard the midnight bells at Notre Dame

- Discovered a new chocolate store that I'm in love with.

- Saw the new Egyptian exhibit at the Louvre

That's about it. If I think of anything else or if your interested in hearing the details on something, let me know. I've been a slacker for a while...

The birds...

2009-04-08T07:14:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while and this is going to be a random post. There's much more to come, don't worry. I still have to tell everyone about Mt. Blanc, getting a tan while lounging in the snow, and my trip to the U.S. of A. It's coming... I promise.

When my dad would see a big group of birds he would always say in a deep voice, "the birds..." in reference to Hitchcock's movie. As I got older, I tried to spice up the infamous quote by trying to say it before he did. I don't think he noticed then. Well dad, now you know. It got to the point where every time I saw birds, it would come out.

Well, Marie is terrified of birds. I was washing dishes the other night while Marie was closing up. Everything was fine until I hear her screaming. She runs in but I can't understand because she's talking way too fast. All I understood was "scared". Michel follows her into the gym. There's a window in the kitchen that looks into the gym. I hear these crazy noises with long arms swinging in front of the window. It freaked ME out! Poor bird... It was pretty darn funny and I couldn't wash anymore because I was laughing so hard.

The next day, I come down for work and Marie is hiding in a corner. Another bird invaded the house. He was a cute little guy and scared silly so I went after him. I got him in a corner and he froze. It was so sad! I thought I hurt him until I took him outside and he flew as fast as his little wings could go.

Marie and I have decided that the birds have it in for us. They're plotting their revenge... mwa-ha-ha-ha!

School's out.. let's have some fun!

2009-02-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

The kids are growing up

This weekend was pretty chill because no one was home! I had one boy go party hopping. He has 2 sleepovers. The other one is in love and bought his "girl" a beautiful heart necklace with his own money.... the kid's 9! He got all shy and blushed when he talked about her. It was pretty cute. Marie was sad because her babies aren't babies anymore. It has been so fun to see how the kids have grown these last few months. It's crazy how times flies! I'm grateful that I've had the opportunity to be a part of their family.

V-Day Lovin'

I love the "butterflies in the stomach" feeling and am happy to have someone in my life that still does that to me. Saturday was wonderful because I began my day with a Valentine's Day phone call. It may have been a simple gesture but the fact that he indulges my love of commercialized holidays (as Marie calls them) while he's so far away meant a lot to me.

I was able to go back to Versailles later that afternoon. I really love walking around and watching life. It's been so nasty and cold outside but seems to be sunny every time I'm in Versailles. I tell Marie that the city loves me :)

Breaking up is hard to do

I think I already mentioned this but there is a section of downtown Versailles that used to be a jail. It's now full of antique shops. The last time I was there, I found an antique jewelry store and absolutely fell in love with a ring. Oh yeah, I'm a huge ring fan. I went in to try it on because, hey, it doesn't cost anything to try stuff on. The guy working there was really cool about it. He let me admire it for a while. It was ridiculously large on my little hands but was so beautiful I didn't want to let it go... until he told me the price. "Only 6,000 Euros," the man behind the counter said (don't forget to add the thick French accent, it adds to the story). Wait, what???? ONLY??? I took a few more minutes to say "au revoir" to my new friend, slipped it off, and thanked him for his time. It was wonderful while it lasted...

The joys of Young Single Adult dances

I LOVE to dance... I mean, absolutely love it. I love dancing with friends, with Kevin, or even in the privacy of my own room. (Not at all embarrassed to admit that) Well, there was a dance for all the single adults to mix and mingle with the hope that some good would come out of it... aka, marriage. However, it seems like when you're not looking for something, awkward moments follow you... have you ever had that happen? Anyway, at least I got to see the French version of the electric slide and do some public hip-shakin' for the first time in almost a year. Woot!

Falling, I mean, Skiing in the Alps

The kids are out on holidays for the next two weeks. We are heading to the French Alps for some skiing! I'm really excited to see the mountains again. I've never been skiing so I still don't know how I feel about having my feet strapped to two skinny boards and being pushed down a mountain. I know it's not really like that but for someone as uncoordinated as I am... it's a little scary. Yes, Dad, I will take lots of pictures. I'm not gonna lie, I look forward to making a real snowman.

Well, I hope everyone has a great week. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next with the holidays and then.... drum roll please... I will be taking a vacation of my own! I'll be flying back home for 2 weeks and couldn't be more excited.

Much love to all

Time to get my hair did..

2009-02-11T07:11:00.000-08:00

I really think it's time to get a haircut because Erin has been "styling" my hair every night. It's very relaxing... well, at least when she doesn't pull my hair out. The last picture is my favorite. She put flowers in my skull... er... I mean hair and made some bling for me to wear. I have to wear the necklace every night. She stands there for a while to check out her work and then lets me go when it's, as she puts, "so beautiful"! (ps- I hate looking AT cameras hence the sideways glance)

Happy 2009!

2009-01-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

Wow, another year has come and gone. It's crazy how fast time flies. I've already been in France for 6 months. 2008 was great and I'm excited to see what will happen in '09. Happy New Year everyone!

I've slacked off for a bit. I though I could get by with the pictures for Christmas but my parents (eh... dad) have been pressing for some news. There's so much to tell!

So this is Christmas

The Hochberg’s were so wonderful and treated me as one of the family. I had a great time and am really excited to create new Christmas traditions from all the different experiences I’ve had these past few years.

Monday was a pretty relaxed day. We went out to lunch with Michel and the kids. Afterwards, Marie had to pick some stuff up for Christmas dinner. We went to a small shopping center that had beautiful specialty shops. There was a store full of different kinds of olive oil, it was amazing! I’m definitely going back. (PS- France has huge sales twice a year and the first one is on Jan. 7^th. Wish me luck)

Well, Wednesday started as any other day. That afternoon, I helped Marie make the Christmas meal. They usually have a traditional dinner, which, I’ve heard, is a roast. Oh yeah, and seafood (It’s the fancy thing to have). Marie wanted to do something different this year. Petite entrées have recently become popular. I was really excited to make the food with Marie because I learn better by actually doing. We didn’t make all of this but here’s what was on the menu:

-Mini sandwiches made of Norwegian bread (it was like a firm pancake), smoked salmon, and a Greek spread made of cream, cucumbers and spices. We layered it, wrapped it in plastic wrap, chilled and cut into bite-size pieces. So simple, yet delicious!

-Small glasses (like thin shot glasses) filled with a mayo-based dipping sauce, topped with a lobster and apple curry salad.

-Prunes wrapped in bacon

-Mini quiche

-Fried scallops

-Mozzarella balls with cherry tomatoes dipped in pesto sauce

-A salmon, scallop and leek mold with baby shrimp

-Potato soup decorated with black truffle olive oil and marinated black truffles.

-Shrimp marinated in a citrus sauce, served with sticky rice and mango chutney

-Fois gras, which is duck liver pâté, made into a mold with figs in the middle

-For dessert, a cake of raspberry-flavored macaroons in the shape of ladyfingers, filled with white chocolate mousse and raspberries. It was decorated with strawberries, blackberries and chocolate fans.

Around 7, everyone went to get dressed up. I thought it was nice to get all fancy for Christmas. I got a new dress, wore my red heels and had red nails to match… yeah, I was pretty smokin’. Ha ha! J When I came back down, the lights were dimmed and candles were lit everywhere. Marie’s family came, as well as Michel’s ex-wife, his daughter, her fiancée and their baby.

We really just hung out and ate until around 10, when the kids went into the cinema to wait for Santa Clause. It was fun to see them run out and attack their Christmas presents. They were so excited. I love Christmas with little kids! After they were done and settled, it was time for the adults. Michel was getting impatient :) For the rest of the night, we ate more and relaxed. I went to bed late and enjoyed my bed until late on Christmas day. Even though I didn't have to work, I spent a chunk of my time with the family. It was fun to play with the kids and have leftovers.

"It's still moving..."

New Years was a new experience as well. I've heard that what you do New Years Eve is what you'll be doing for the rest of the year. Well, I worked and ate seafood. Can't complain there!

Marie's not a big fan of New Years and didn't want to do anything big. A couple friends of Michel came over for a seafood feast! I tried to put pictures up but, yet again, it didn't work. We had raw oysters and clams, two different types of snails and shrimp. I had a hard time watching the oysters flinch but it wasn't too bad. I really liked some tiny black snails and stuffed my face! Marie made a Lychee cake (it's an asian fruit) that was delicious and super easy. I'll be sure to put that one in my french cookbook.

Michel's friend spoke spanish and was happy to practice. It was his New Years gift to me, to begin '09 speaking spanish. I waited up with them until midnight, gave everyone their bisou and went to bed! Nothing too exciting but it was fun to be in '09 before everyone in the states.

Getting lost in Versailles

I was excited to go back to Versailles on Saturday. I was kind of bummed that it's gotten so cold or else I would've gone back to the Petit Trianon at the Chateau de Versailles, which was Marie Antoinette's favorite place. There are beautiful gardens and great places to sit and read. Kevin teases me that I like it so much because I grew up a "princess" (the only girl and baby of the family) and secretly want my own Petiet Trianon. Ha ha!

It was kind of last minute so I didn't have a ticket. Everyone else wanted to get inside because of the cold so the line was forever long. I decided to check out the city. I walked around with my lunch and a beautiful church, a farmer's market, an old library, and, or course, little shops. It was nice to walk around and dash into a shop when I couldn't feel my fingers anymore. I will definitely miss my exploration walks.

Adios... I mean, au revoir...

Cambios, transfers, it's all the same. As a missionary, sooner or later, it's inevitable. I was sad to find out today that my old Family Home Evening "sister", who is now a missionary in my ward, will be changing areas. It was great to see her again and am happy for the time I've had with her. She is an amazing missionary and will be a blessing to wherever she goes. To celebrate, we are going to play and eat tomorrow. We're supposed to go to Vincennes and will have some more great pictures that I probably won't be able to share.... sad. I'll figure something out.

Well, the year has been great so far (all 4 days of it...) and there's much to look forward to. I finally bought a ticket home and am excited to see friends and family, especially someone special who will soon be returning from Afghanistan. I'll be happy to have him home again. I hope everyone is happy and well.

Much Love

Some Christmas pics...

2008-12-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

This is all for now. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more up soon.

Christmas decorations

The tree, pre-presents. They bring the presents out Christmas Eve. The kids hide in the cinema while "Santa" comes.

Christmas decorations!

Italian Nativity from Murano Island

French creche

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

2008-12-21T10:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day is almost here! How is everyone holding up?? I hear there is crazy snow … sure don’t miss that! Well, hope everyone enjoys the wonderful Christmas spirit. There’s not much to tell this week but I’m excited to share all the French Christmas details next week.

“The British are coming, the British are coming!!”

That was a translated quote by Erin. Yes, we were invaded this week. Michel and Marie had a friend visit with his whole family. They were wonderful and it was a nice change to have a full house. My kids were so excited to have live-in friends. The heavy English accent took me a little bit to get used to….

The week was definitely livelier but more laid back at the same time. Besides running around with 7 kids, there were loads of Christmas parties to attend. With three kids and all the different activities, I was pretty much driving around all week.

Sorry…

I’ve been trying to post pictures of Christmas but with no luck. The only one that did upload was of the kitchen Christmas bling. I’m sad because that’s not even the coolest picture. I also wanted to post my… wait for it… very first nativity! Ok, I’ve had nativities before but these are my first nice ones. I bought one that’s a traditional French crèche (I had to throw my limited French in there). I also found one that’s from an island close to Venice. I love to see how different they are all over the world. My Dad would pick some up on his travels to Central and South America. I’m excited to contribute some from Europe.

New Life

For the past four years, my Christmas has been very different. I have, however, learned something special from each one. I think this Christmas has taught me the beauty of new life. I was able to visit a sister today who had a baby two weeks ago. He’s doing well, growing and is beautiful. We all sat around watching the cute little faces he pulled and laughing at his noises. I think babies bring such a special spirit. They are so pure, untainted by the world. He is a new life.

After church, there was another baptism! Talk about a white Christmas for the ward. In the Book of Mormon, it says, “all people must be born again; yea, born of God” (Mosiah 27:25-26). By following the first principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ, this sister has been born again. She is a new life.

This is the season that we celebrate the birth of Christ. However, without all that he accomplished in his life, would we be celebrating his birth? Through Christ, we can also have new life. Through Christ, we can repent. Through Christ, we can have eternal life and everlasting joy.

I hope everyone has a very, merry Christmas!

Much Love,

Grace

A little bit of this... a little bit of that...

2008-12-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

Bonjour a tous!

Another cold week has come and gone. We didn’t have any more sick people, which I am very grateful for!

-Decorating!

We finally decorated the Christmas tree!! It’s one of my favorite things to do. I’m the last one at home and my dad and I have gotten into the routine of decorating the tree together. He has some mad light-stringing skills. I remember he would even wait for me to come home from college to do it together. Well, Marie put the lights on the real tree downstairs and I was in charge of putting together a fake tree upstairs for the kids. Those things are deadly! It was fun to have the kids yelling and jumping with excitement. I haven’t had kids around to decorate in…. wow, I can’t even remember the last time. Marie really goes all out and this year’s color is red. The internet comes and goes in my room so I’ll have to post pictures later this week of the jolly Christmas goodness.

-Who falls up the stairs???

I really look up to those people who can get up super early in the morning to get some exercise in before a busy day. I, however, am not a morning person. On the mission, I learned many time saving strategies and will do anything to get a few more minutes of sleep. Because of this, I have tried to make my commute to school part of my exercise regime by running up and down the stairs instead of taking the escalators, and walking instead of taking the bus. Yeah, I don’t look so hot when I get to school but at least I’m awake and feel better. Anyway, I have to get into my zone… it usually helps if I’m listening to Latin music. Well, the other day, I was in the zone. I had already walked up the hill to the station, up two sets of stairs and was on my third (which should really count as two because it’s twice as big as the others) I had almost made it to the top when… the ground starting come closer and closer. Yes, I feel up the stairs. I didn’t face-plant it or anything but I did do the awkward, “jump-right-back-up-dust-yourself-off-and-look around” move. I fell right next to a guy who asked me about 10 seconds AFTER I got up if I was ok. I pretty much giggled to myself the rest of the way to school and had people staring at me like I was one of the crazies. I had a nice, fatty bruise on my shin that served as a reminder of my lack of grace and lead to more episodes of giggling. My pain also brought me joy which I wanted to share with you…wish I had a video of that one!

-Pardon!

I went into downtown Paris this week to find some macaroons. (Laduree- they are amazing!) I went into Gallaries Lafayette, where I thought I had found them last time, and was met by hundreds of crazy shoppers! I had repressed memories of black Friday coming back. There were crazy people grabbing for scarves, brochures, purses, and chocolates. Others were trying to ram through the madness with arms full of shopping bags. I was being thrown around and getting dirty looks from everyone. In France, if you get bummed into, you must say, “Pardon”. It’s kind of like saying; “I’m sorry I was in your way and made it so you had to push me over.” I felt like a broken record saying “pardon” to half the people in the there. I finally gave into the rush and was eventually pushed to the exit. I have officially banned shopping until next year…

-TEF

This week at school we had the TEF test. It’s to evaluate your progress. However, it is meant for the upper levels. Our teacher flat out told us the test would be very difficult, we probably wouldn’t understand most of it, but since it wouldn’t count for anything… we might as well try. There were many things I didn’t understand but I was pleasantly surprised to have progressed a little. This is the last week before the break. I like the breaks because my French seems to progress more. We’re having a Christmas party at school that I have been volunteered to salsa dance for… wait, what? Nothing says Christmas more than salsa dancing. I don’t even know how to salsa dance. We, two other girls in the class and I, are supposed to dance with a Colombian priest. I’m trying to trade that for some Christmas carols sing-a-longs. I’ll let you know how that goes.

-To be or not to be… an author

One evening at dinner, Michel had an epiphany- I need to write a book. “You can write about the crazy things we French do. People like that kind of stuff… even our people!” I told him about the blog, which he was really excited about, but thought that it was too personal. He thinks I need to write to a broader audience because I’m really French. (According to Michel and Marie, I’m French because I’ve tried and liked snails, and I like Camembert.) Hey, I thought it would was a fun to o to share with my posterity.

-Searching Singles... and a baptism

I know that single's wards are important to help young people meet but after four years of parading around and competition, I needed a break from them. I had been receiving emails all this week about something happening today but they were all in French. As I arrived, I was informed that today was a special young single adult sunday. We had all three meetings with just the young adults and would have special activities all day. As tempting as that was... I snuck away early (I know, I know) because our ward had a baptism! Come on, you have to support baptisms! It was a wonderful meeting and they gave the new sister time to bear her testimony. She was so incredibly happy as she bore her sweet, powerful testimony. Due to the baptism, I’m going to “missionize” for a second... seeing her made me so happy and reminded me of the joy that comes with sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I was always so amazed to see how lives were changed. It's truly a blessing to be an instrument in the hands of God. A great Christmas gift can be to share the gospel with someone. Missionary work is hard sometimes but don’t forget- “…the field is white already to harvest” (DyC 4:4)

I hope everyone has a wonderful week and has fun getting ready for Christmas! Love you

*Oh yeah, the answer to the riddle from last week…. Es pera! (It’s a pear.)

Happy December

2008-12-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! How are you? Another week down and it sure was a stressful one. There was a lot going on so it’s another week lacking adventures. Sorry guys!

I went into work on Monday afternoon and was surprised to find Michel there. I found out later that he was in some serious pain. A doctor made a house call (not gonna lie, it was neat to see him there with his black bag) and said that Michel needed to go to the hospital. Marie took him and by the time he was admitted, it was midnight. He was in the hospital for a few days on antibiotics and morphine so life was pretty good for him. Marie was at the hospital as much as possible so I was able to get some nice bonding time in with the kids. Michel is now home, much better and awaiting surgery.

Both Marie and I had to drive to pick up 7 kids on Friday! Ryan had a sleepover and Marie helps out some other moms with their kids. I got the “multi-lingual” car. One kid was from Mexico and immediately asked me, “ Usted habla espanol?” He was excited to show his Spanish skills. He had a fun time asking me riddles. Here’s one, it only works in Spanish though…sorry.
Blanco adentro, verde afuera, te dire la respuesta pero espera… que es?

Anyway, I had the Spanish speaker, Erin’s ex-boyfriend,who speaks French and Erin, who speaks English. Erin thinks it’s hilarious when I speak Spanish and would ask me to translate after everything I said. The ex heard her speaking English and asked if I taught her English. This is what she said, “No, I practice with her. The English is in my head.” She’s so cute.

Erin had a dance recital on Saturday. It was packed! It started with really little ones and it was neat to see how they progressed. It was kind of a combination of gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and dance. Michel loves to make videos and post them on YouTube so I’ll let ya’ll know the address once it’s up. It was pretty long and Ryan looked like he wanted to poke his eyes out by the end. Cameron had a swim meet later that night but Marie didn’t want to torture the kids so I stayed home with them. After the meet, the adults went to a dinner party and I got another addition… Elliot! He’s adorable. He’s Michel’s 16-month-old grandson. When I got here, he was crawling and bald. He now runs around, had beautiful blonde curls and 6 teeth! We’re friends. Well, after the kids were all in bed, I eventually passed out on the couch.

Today was a wonderful, relaxing Sabbath day. There’s nothing like shaved legs and painted toes to help you relax. J Next week is the young single adult Sunday and we have a musical number. I’m impressed by how many wonderful singers there are in the ward. Mo-Tab’s got some competition!

I’m going to treat myself to a Christmas fair this week. I hear there is a place with tons of Christmas stuff lined up! I promise to take pictures if there’s anything good. Also, the sister we visit teach just had her baby and I’m excited to meet him!

Love you all! Hope you have a wonderful week.

Finally up to date...

2008-11-30T14:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm trying out the blogging world... we'll see what happens!

First, I'd like to give a shout out to my Viejito who celebrated his, what, 18th birthday this week??? Happy Birthday, Dad!

This week was VERY cold. It snowed last Sunday! I think 18 months on the hot, Guatemalan coast messed me up somehow because I really can't stand the cold anymore. Plus, it's not like Utah-cold. It's wet, chills-you-to-the-core cold. I had to invest in warmer gloves and a hat. And, of course, this is the week that all the buttons on my coat decide to fall off.

The kids were all sick... sad, I know! They were (well, most of them) pretty good sports about it. Ryan survived on chocolate pudding. They are, thankfully, all better now!

I had some funny moments this week that I'd like to share.

Funny moment #1:

I am a "movie/t.v. show quoter". I think the top ones right now are "Nacho Libre" and "The Office". Not only do I quote them but movie quotes will pop into mind randomly. I promise, this is relevant. For the while there, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was the story of my life and quoted on a regular basis. The other day, Marie brought home some little cakes that a friend gave her. I asked what they were. I should have been more specific, like what flavor they were or what type of cake. Marie holds them up, stares and then declares, with her French accent, "It's a CAKE!" If any of you have seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", there is a similar scene. Anyway, it made me giggle and Marie just shook her head and laughed. Yeah for movie quotes!

Funny moment #2:

I have grown up getting love-beatings from the men in my life. I have 4 awesome older brothers and 9 nephews, most of whom are now taller than me, who love to wrestle.... and they are so wonderful to include me. Even Kevin can hold his own. I'm not gonna lie, I really miss my wrestling matches with the boys. This week, however, I got my trash kicked by a little French girl! I usually play with Erin before dinner. I'm SUPER ticklish and Erin discovered that not too long ago. She jumped from the couch onto my back and somehow pinned me face first on the ground. I was laughing so hard I couldn't breath. She finally got up all concerned and asked if I was ok. Once she realized I was just laughing, she started all over again! It made me think of all my boys, how much I miss and love you!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving dinner is one of my favorites. Can't beat those leftovers! The best thing about Thanksgiving, though, is being with those you love and remembering the things which you have been blessed with. I wasn't able to be with my family and friends but I think that helped me be even more grateful to have wonderful people in my life to miss. I am grateful for the gospel; for that true knowledge, light and guidance. I am grateful for love. I am grateful for all those people who sacrifice their lives for good. I am grateful for learning experiences which help us grow. I found this quote by John F. Kennedy that I would like to share,

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

I guess I'll close with that... show gratitude. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Much love- Grace

Noticias de Madrid!

2008-11-30T13:34:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I hope all is well. The weekend in Madrid, Spain kind of threw off my groove.

The week was a little crazy, getting ready for the trip. It was totally worth it, though. It was wonderful to visit the temple and a new country. Plus, it was nice to finally hear a language I understand. Ha ha! I flew out Friday and came back Monday afternoon. I stayed at the temple hostel. It's also a Missionary Training Center. It was really fun seeing all the eager young missionaries studying and with the new missionary glow.

The first day I was there, I went exploring on the Metro. I LOVE the public transportation here in Europe! Someone asked me for help and I answered in French... oh geez! I found this café that I heard is over a hundred years old, La Chocolateria San Ginez, where I had chocolate and churros. It's in a beautiful alley by La Iglesia San Ginez. It was nice to sit and watch people (it's really not as creepy as it sounds, I promise) and listen to musicians playing in the plaza. There are plazas all over Madrid. On the other side of the plaza, there's a place that I saw on the travel channel, el Museo de Jamon (the Ham Museum). They have amazing ham in Spain and this place was classic! As you walk in, you see tons of pig legs hanging from the ceiling. You basically push your way in at the bar, pick your leg and they shave some off. Great tapas. That night, I was able to visit the temple. It's beautiful!

I went to the temple Saturday morning. Afterwards, I decided to check out what I had found on the internet of places to see, stuff to buy! I found a tea shop with hundreds of different types of tea. Marie's gotten me hooked on a nightly tea ritual. I've really enjoyed my finds. As I was looking for a shop, I found an horchateria. It's one of my favorite drinks which is basically rice milk with cinnamon and sugar. I was told that it's from Valencia, Spain. I tried these things called fartons, which are like sweet, spongy bread sticks. You dip it in the horchata and enjoy! The lady there was super nice with my endless questions. J She also let me try some stuff called leche merengada. She told me it's milk, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Good times. I went back to the temple later that night and then went to bed early. It was wonderful.

Sunday was a very relaxing day. On my way to church, some elders informed me that there was stake conference. The new temple president and his wife spoke and they seem like a wonderful couple. They have such a strong spirit and a great love for each other, the gospel and the temple. I decided to just walk through Madrid and was really glad that I did. Everyone was out! It was a beautiful sunny day and I got some really great pictures. I probably hit four big plazas. I went back to the hostel later that night and ran into some sisters who were giving tours of the temple. They told me that every Sunday night, the missionaries at the MTC sing hymns before a weekly fireside. It brought back good memories of the MTC (Called to Serve, baby!) and I was able to speak to the temple president's wife. She is the cutest! I went into the chapel for the fireside and ran into one of my old roommates who is serving a mission in Madrid! Sisters rock! It was fun to catch up and talk of the other girls who lived with us. We were a house of 12 but surprisingly free of drama. I stayed there the semester before I served a mission. There were some girls who had served missions and were wonderful examples, other who were preparing for missions and were also a great strength. Gotta love the roomies!

Overall, Madrid was really fun and a wonderful break.

This week has pretty much been the same as others. The family is speaking to me more and more in French, which has been helping a lot. We had a fun dinner with the single adults tonight. I found out that a group is going to Switzerland over New Years. I hope I'll be able to take time off. Christmas preparations have begun here and the decorations are lovely. Christmas is one of my favorite times. I think one of my best Christmas memories was on my mission. It was a humble Christmas with a tropical tree branch that a member lovingly gave us to decorate. No real shopping, just giving service and preaching the gospel. Gifts are fun but I think for the first time I realized what Christmas really should be all about.

Well, have a Happy Thanksgiving. We are all so blessed. Love you all and have a fabulous week!

Love-Grace

Holidays in Nimes and Puget!

2008-11-30T13:26:00.000-08:00

Hello Family and friends!

How is everyone? I hope everyone is staying warm a

s the cold weather comes. I

want to hear all about your clever Halloween costumes so I can steal your ideas in years

to come. :)

I know, I've been lame. Things have been a little crazy with the holidays, or so they are ca

lled. Every two months, the kids have about a 10-day break from school. Before the break, Cameron's class went to a circus school in close to Bordeaux. We went down with the whole family to check it out. It was so cute

to see all these 9-10 year olds doing their circus tricks.

I am happy to say

that I have survived my first holiday! We left on a Sunday for Nimes on the "fast train". It was like riding first-class on a

plane. I slept the whole way and we almost missed our stop! In Nimes, we stayed with Delphine. She and Marie have been friends since college. They are so different but so fun to watch together. Delphine hates Paris and lives in the country. It was definitely a change from Paris but nice. We went bowling and on the way there, Marie and I commented on how far everything was from the home. It was so funny because after, Delphine told Marie that she was driving really fast to show us how close everything was. Ok, It was more funny in the moment.

Delphine was REALLY excited to practice her english. She has 3 kids, 2 of whom are the same age as Erin and Ryan. Delphine has a 2 year old girl, Olga, who is a spitfire! She was being naughty, playing with a knife, so Marie took it away and got her off the counter. She started screaming and told her mom that Marie tried to cut her with the knife! She sure knows how to hold her own. But she's adorable which makes it really hard to keep a straight face when she's showing attitude. I was excited to have nice, hot weather but we were disappointed. It rained almost the whole time. We thought we'd have better luck when we went to Puget but the rain followed. We did have a chance to go outside a couple days in the afternoon. The kids tried to teach me to ride a bike! Cam tried to teach me on his bike but Erin took over when he didn't have any luck. The only thing is I had to use her bike. I looked like one of those circus clowns on the tiny bikes with their knees to their ears! It was so funny. She has training wheels so we had success and she was very proud of herself.

We flew back home on Tuesday and the boys had a sleepover with 3 of their friends... 5 rowdy boys! Mom, I don't know how you did 4. They are like vacuums when they eat! Anyway, they had a blast.

I was happy to have a normal day on Thursday. It seemed as if the break was good for everyone is class. We got two new girls, one is from Argentina and the other is Venezuelan. I'm still struggling with speaking. Michel says I need to have courage and just speak! "Once you start," he says, "you'll get it. Quit being scared!" Gotta love him! I noticed that the break really did help. I'm able to understand more. It sometimes takes a minute or two to register but I'm doing better. I've tried to speak but it seems like I have a problem getting the words from my brain to my mouth. I'm blessed to be somewhat immersed in the language.

I took a day for myself on Friday. It was cold, rainy and windy but I figured I'm not going to be here forever so I might as well go out. I decided to go back to Montmartre (I'm in love with that town) and met two ladies from New York and one from Australia. Yes, as Marie says, I am the ultimate American in Paris. :) I can't keep my mouth shut! Marie thinks I should be a tour guide to earn some extra cash. We went up to the Sacre Couer and decided to check out the Moulin Rouge. None of us had gone so we asked our way down. The dangerous thing about France is that there are adorable little shops EVERYWHERE! It's not a good place to go if you love to shop. (I don't know anyone like that...) We almost missed the Moulin Rouge. It's really not that exciting. About the only cool part is that there is a red windmill, and that's only because my favorite color is red. Overall, it was a fun day.

I've decided to run away and will be going to Madrid, Spain this weekend! The Relief Society president is from Spain and has really hooked me up. I'll be staying at the hostel which is only about 9 euros a night. She has a good friend who happens to be in town that weekend will a whole bunch of single adults. They have some stuff planned and have invited me along. I'm really excited!

Anyway, sorry to neglect everyone. I send my love and am really excited to share my adventures in Spain with you all next week!

Love- Grace

Still an American in Paris

2008-11-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

Bonjour! How is everyone? I need to give a quick shout out to all the October birthdays…. Happy Birthday!

This week was pretty full of adventures. I’m trying to get as much outdoor stuff in as I can because it’s starting to get cold. And let’s face it… Latino’s don’t like the cold.

Monday morning, I really didn’t do anything that exciting… I checked out the outlet mall. J It’s close to Disneyland. It’s the designer outlet and the set up reminds me a lot of Park City. The prices were still ridiculous but it was fun trying on outrageous clothes that I would never wear. After work, I rushed to Disneyland for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Adventure with some people I’ve met here. It was a night full of cowboys and Indians, real buffalos, and some good country cookin’! Ok, the food wasn’t that great but the show was really fun.

The next day, I decided to look for Place de la Concorde (which can NOT be seen from the Opera House, if anyone was wondering.. ha ha!) It’s basically a square that I read still looks the way it did in the 1700s. There used to be a guillotine in the middle of the square, which was been replaced by the Obelisk of Luxor. It was a gift from the viceroy of Egypt. Here is some cool info- it once marked the entrance of the Amon temple at Luxor, is more than 3,300 years old and is decorated with hieroglyphics portraying the reigns of the pharaohs Ramses II and Ramses III. Sweet! I decided to take a walk up the Champs –Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe. I picked a really good day to go because not only was it beautiful, but France is celebrating 100 years of it’s aviation industry with an exhibition along the Champs-Elysees. (Dad and Bradley…. I thought of you…)

Wednesday was my day as a “soccer mom”. Cameron hurt his ankle at school the day before so Marie took him to the see a doctor, who sent him to the hospital for x-rays, then back to the doctor for a prescription. I had to drive everyone around to tennis, gymnastics and karate in my dream car- the Volvo SUV for 7, baby! It’s really not the best car to drive in Paris, though.

The kids have really been helping me with my French. I was practicing out loud the other day while Ryan was attacking a castle and he stopped suddenly, corrected my pronunciation, and immediately continued the battle. It was really cute. Erin gets jealous when someone else tries to help me. She taught me how to count from 1-39. We couldn’t remember how to say 40. Every bath, I read Erin books in English. I read my first French book and… she actually understood! Whoot! Not fluent yet but it’s coming along.

Michel had a work dinner party Friday night, which are always at the house. Harmony, his daughter, is friends with one of Nicolas Sarkozy’s (the French President) personal chefs. They usually hire him to come cook. I got some leftovers. I tried pigeon for the first time… not my favorite but it was neat to try. He also made a salty flan out of mushrooms. That was really good.

Saturday was crazy with all the rental guys at the house. Oh yeah, Marie rented tables, chairs, china, glasses and silverware for the event. It’s nice because they bring it, you set it up, pack up the dirty stuff, and they come and get it. Harmony, Antionne (her finacee) and Eliott (their baby) spent the night and it was fun to have time with Eliott. We’re pretty much bff. He does the cute baby snuggle.

Today was a good day! The morning started off great and fast Sundays are my favorite in France. I think I’ve said this before but there are no awkward pauses during testimony meeting here. There is a guy in the ward who just returned from a mission in Haiti. His family was celebrating his anniversary and invited all the single adults. (they don’t separate the single adults into the young and old here… they also don’t call bishops “bishops”… they call them Bro. or by their first name. Sorry, random thought) Anyway, I rode over with another girl from the ward. I realized that the French are like Latinos in punctuality… there is none. They said to come around four. We got there at five. We were pretty much the first ones. We played games before crepes. Funny story- there was kind of a crepe buffet set up with delicious things to stuff your crepe with. I decided to try lemon juice with sugar. The sugar was stuck so I shook it a little more to get some out. The top came off and all the sugar fell onto my crepe and the table. Yeah, I try to live up to my name and be graceful every chance that I get! Anyway, everyone was really great and tried to include me in the activities. There’s one guy who refuses to speak to me in English. “On my mission, ” he said, “when I trained a new Elder, I would speak only French. They either thanked me or cried first and thanked me after. You are allowed to cry if you want…” Ha ha! I didn’t cry, I promise.

Well my friends and family, I hope you all have a wonderful week. All those in Utah.. stay warm!

Much love- Grace

General Conference and more...

2008-11-30T13:14:00.000-08:00

Bonjour mes amies! I honestly don't know if I said that right…. Ha ha! I hope everyone has had a fabulous week and was able to enjoy the blessing of hearing General Conference.

I was looking for something exciting to do on Monday and Kevin told me about the Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera House. (Anyone heard of Phantom of the Opera??? Yeah!) I decided to check it out, see if I could find it. I didn't really know where to look but after I got out of the metro station, I saw a group of people gathered in front of a beautiful building and found an older couple who spoke English. They told me I had found the place and just in time, too! It was just about to open. I was glad I didn't have to tackle the lines. I found these cute little ladies from Australia who kept me company during my visit. It is …. AMAZING! It's truly over the top. It's basically decorated in red and gold with intricate designs everywhere. I made me want to dance around and sing songs from the Phantom of the Opera. There is a HUGE (8 floors) store, Galleries Lafayette, right by the Opera House that I decided to check out. It's kind of like Macy's but with all these designer brands. I was there for a while but was too overwhelmed by how big it was, I needed a break! I know, it's got to be intense for ME to stop window-shopping! J .

I finally started class! It's nice because there are only 6 of us. The girls are from all over the world- South Africa, Thailand, China, Poland and Mexico. We are only allowed to speak French so… I don't talk much. It's tiring sometimes because there isn't really a formal outline. We kind of get a "bucket of French" poured on us for two hours a day, three days a week. It's nice because it's really the only time I get to hear a French person speaking slowly enough for me to understand. I got in trouble for being too timid! Ha ha!

Thursday, after school, Jhoanna, the girl from Mexico, decided to join me to visit the Catacombs of Paris. It was creepy but so neat! You climb down a spiral staircase deep under the streets. My head almost touched the ceiling in some places so you know how crammed it was down there! This is the official website and invite you to check it out if you'd like to learn more about it and see some cool pictures. It's very dark down there so mine didn't turn out that well.

http://www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/english.htm

Marie and Michel received a gift certificate for their 10-year wedding anniversary to have a chef come and cook for a small party. He came with his assistant on Saturday and it was like having a cooking show in your kitchen… very neat.

Today was interesting and definitely a spiritual feast. While the men watched the Priesthood Session at 11 am, the sisters were downstairs watching the Relief Society Conference. I met a girl from the states who is here working. She and a friend invited me to lunch. (My advice to everyone- Open your mouth! Talk to people! You never know what can happen). We had some food from Senegal. The main dish was kind of like a Mexican mole made with peanut butter. I'm a fan. They also had the center of a root mashed up and wrapped in banana leaves. It's complicated to explain and I don't know the name but it was surprisingly good. At 2pm, they showed the afternoon session and the Sunday morning session at 6pm. It was nice to hang out at church all day. Afterwards, I came home and watched the Sunday night session from 10pm-midnight! I'm so grateful for modern technology!

Conference was amazing! It truly is a great blessings to have the opportunity all over the world to hear inspired words for our day. I loved what Pte. Monson said at the end of the Sunday morning session (I think it was...). Have joy in the journey... NOW! We really do need to live in the here and now to make sweet memories for the future. Be grateful! We are so blessed!

As always, it's wonderful to hear from all of you! Have a wonderful week!

Love-Grace

Yep, more exploring!

2008-11-30T13:09:00.000-08:00

Hello! How is everyone? I can’t believe September is almost over. This year has been flying by.

This week I was winding down, getting ready for school and all that jazz! Last Sunday, I had dinner with a Peruvian family. It was wonderful! I didn’t realize how much I missed the Latino culture…and food, of course. I think it’s physically impossible to visit a Latin’s house without eating or drinking something.

Monday was my cleaning day. Not so much fun but it’s a necessary evil.

I was excited to visit the Musee d’Orsay on Tuesday. I didn’t know this before but it used to be a train station. It’s a really neat museum with beautiful sculptures and paintings. It was so neat to see Monet’s real signature! I finished up there and had time to do some more sightseeing. I found my way to the Tuileries Garden and chilled there for a while and then realized that the Louvre was right in front of me! I had no idea! A map probably would’ve been helpful but I like to get lost. I think you find the neatest things that way. I stopped by the Louvre again but it’s closed on Tuesdays. I went down some more street and ended up finding hidden streets with really unique shops- a shop that was kind of like an antique designer store with Dior from the 1920’s, a shop that sold ancient Egyptian relics for ridiculous prices, a music box store and a store which sold old war pins.

Thursday was the orientation at school. To tell you the truth… it was really lame. First, I was told it would be in French and English. It wasn’t. For over an hour, we were told about clubs and little snippets about the school. The lady was talking so fast. At one point she came up to me and asked me how to say something in Spanish. I kind of just looked at her. She asked me if I spoke Spanish and I told her I could help her only when I understand what she’s actually saying. She just kind of laughed and went on. Then we got a mini-tour of the town and she left us on the streets. I started talking to someone who was speaking English and we decided to take a walk. She’s from California and is here working as well. Yeah for “girl-talk”! We found the International University and walked around the grounds. We met a guy from Hawaii that told us a little more about the University. They really don’t ask for transcripts and it’s only 1000 E a semester, but they cut costs on other things such as toilet seats. I had my first experience with co-ed bathrooms… not a fan!

I had visiting teaching again on Friday. Her name is Sara. I guess Loli has been visiting her for the past 2 years, but she is moving to the South to get married once her fiancée gets back from his mission in a month. Loli had to go to Montmartre and asked if I wanted to tag along. We went close to the Sacre Coeur. Kevin told me I needed to ride a little train up to the top “for the experience”, so… I enjoyed the experience. I bought some art! It’s more contemporary but I love the bright colors (yes, I’m Latin). We had lunch and took some fun pictures. I even found some new shops to explore! Dangerous, I know.

Marie had a dinner party to go to so I watched the kids along with 4 other little ones. They had fun watching movies but I was beat by the time Marie and the rest of the parents got home. It was not fun on Saturday because Erin was so tired. She was laughing one minute, crying the next, and wanting to cuddle after that. We did build some awesome Kapla forts.

I was excited to get my Sunday nap today but was too busy! After church, I met with my home teachers. Then, my visiting teachers invited me to their home for lunch/dinner. I followed them in my car and got lost. I thought the GPS would help but everything is in French. Um… yeah, not helpful! When the French get together for a meal, it lasts for hours. Four hours later, I went home to drop off the car and walk to another home. Some of the single adults were getting together to have real churros and chocolate. I had a great time eating, taking crazy pictures, and playing games.

Now, I’m ready for bed and looking forward to my first week of school! I start on Tuesday at 9am, which means I have to leave at 8. I am NOT a morning person…

Hope everyone had a great week!

Much love-Grace

Sept 1-7

2008-11-30T13:01:00.000-08:00

Hello! How’s everyone enjoying the transition to fall? I’ve heard it’s been getting colder in the states. My favorite is watching the leaves change colors. I hope everyone is happy and well.
I’m sitting here my favorite blanket, eating pain aux chocolat, thinking about this past week…. It was a great one! School starts in about a week and I wanted to hit as many places as I could.
On Monday I decided to check out the Arc de Triomphe. I found the route on my trusty train map and stopped at Alexandra, a cute little boulangerie close to the house, for some lunch before heading to the train station. (It’s a 15 min walk) The station that leads to the Arc de Triomphe is HUGE. I thought I was never going to find the exit. I finally found it and was tickled pink to step out and see the monument right in front! I couldn’t figure out how to actually get to it because there is a huge round about that you can’t really cross... crazy drivers/pedestrians don't really have right of way. I figured out afterwards that you have to take an underpass… guess I have to go back! I went crazy taking pictures (freaking tourist…) and then decided to head down the famous Champs-Elysees. It’s this huge street with crazy shops everywhere: Cartier, Dior, Zara and the biggest Louis Vuitton store in the world. (I’m not kidding, it seriously is) In my research, I found out that in ancient Greek Mythology, the Champs-Elysees is the place where heroes went after their death. Eternal shopping?? That’s what I’m talking about! ☺ I decided to turn at Louis Vuitton and wandered… again. I found an old fashion museum with some great gardens and statues. I decided to walk along the Seine and found a huge flame statue that had flowers and picture of Princess Diana. I found out it's a liberty flame which has turned into a monument for Princess Di. I was even stopped by a random guy trying to sell me a men’s gold wedding band he “found on the ground” for 2E. Sweet! I somehow ended up at the Eiffel Tower again. I’m not tired of seeing it yet so it was all good.
Tuesday- I wanted to check out the Sacre Coeur. It’s located in Montmartre, which is one of my new favorite places. I got there kind of early, which was great. There weren’t masses of people yet. It’s an uphill walk to the top and couldn’t have been a more beautiful day. It’s known as an “artists colony” and was the place of inspiration for many artists like Van Gogh and Picasso. I also read that Edith Piaf used to sing on these very streets. There is a square where all of the artists are, painting and displaying their work. It’s called Place du Tertre. It sucks you in! I probably spent almost an hour gawking at everything. I finally made my way up to the Sacre Coeur and… oh my goodness! It’s beautiful. I climbed the dome (300 steps, yeah!) and there is an incredible view. Pictures really don’t capture it fully. It’s the second highest viewpoint after the Eiffel Tower. After my climb back down, I found a little gelato shop and had the most delicious flavor-lemon meringue pie! There were quite a few Spanish speakers and it was nice to give directions like I actually knew what I was doing… ha ha! With the crowds coming in, I decided to make my way back down to the train station. It was still early and decided to check the shops. I was walking and something out of place caught my eye. It was a shop called “Tienda Equintla” which claimed to have authentic Guatemalan and Mexican trinkets. I decided to stop in to see how authentic is was… I had my doubts. I walked in and felt like I was in Guate again! (Except for the ridiculous European prices) There was a lady behind the desk who asked me where I was from- the brown skin and black hair give me away pretty quickly. She told me she was from Antigua, met her Frenchie there and decided to come back with him.
Notre Dame was my next stop. It’s a beautiful gothic cathedral. As beautiful as the outside is, the inside is even more so. There are statues everywhere, arches and stained-glass windows. It was great but a little overwhelming because there were sooo many people! Everyone was pushing and loud. Even if it is a tourist’s spot, it’s still a church. I wanted to climb the bell towers but the line was forever long. I made my way behind the cathedral to a park, found a swing, and just chillaxed. There’s an archaeological crypt with artifacts dating from the Roman to 19th century life, the largest structure of its type in the world. On my way home, I hit the Musee d’Orsay and bought a ticket for this coming week. FYI-it’s cheaper (if you’re under 30) and you don’t have to deal with the lines.
Friday was a visiting teaching appointment. I realized, again, how easy we have it in “the Mormon belt”. It took us over an hour to get there on the train. Windy is from Tennessee and moved here to be with her husband. They are expecting their first baby in December! I’m really missing all the babies that friends are having back home so it’ll be nice to have one close by. It was a really nice visit. Loli shared a message that I swear was unintentionally given for me! Church is true!!
Saturday was another Versailles day! I only went to Marie Antoinette’s home the last time I was there and was excited to finally enter the Chateau. With the ticket (buy all tickets in advance!!) I got access to the dorky headphones. I have to admit that it did make the experience more interesting. An artist, Jeff Koons, has his work on display throughout the Chateau. It’s very random, though. In one room with carved, gold ceilings here is a statue of Michael Jackson and his monkey, Bubbles. (I think that’s right) In the Hall of Mirrors, there is a huge sculpture of a bright blue balloon. During the summer, there is a water and baroque music show. As cool as the fountains may be, they are definitely 10x cooler with water. I bought my ticket and found a place to sit and wait for the show. It was worth it.
Church was good. I didn’t have anyone to translate during the classes but got the main idea… I think! I had a meeting with a member of the bishopric. You know, one of those, “Who are you, what have you been doing with your life?” kind. It was really nice. I’m having dinner with a Peruvian family tonight. Latinos know really know how to share the love… stuff your face!
Ok, I’m really done now! Love you all and have a great week!

Parisian wonders...

2008-11-30T12:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I’d like to start by saying that this was my first week of sightseeing in Paris so there’s a lot to tell.

On Monday, I decided to go see the Eiffel Tower. It was beautiful! Someone once told me that it’s one of the most romantic places… maybe you have to go with the right person. J It was still great. I had all morning to walk around. I walked over to the Trocadero and found the Museum of Architecture. There were replicas from early to modern French architecture, murals and statues. Afterwards, I decided to walk around and look for a café to eat lunch. Those are the best… cheap and good. I’m finally getting used to the trains which are super easy.

Tuesday was my language test. I start French classes the end of this month! Marie has been so cute helping me get ready for school, buying supplies and all. I’ll be in the beginner class (duh!) but was told that if I work hard and catch on, I may be able to move up a level. Both the lady who gave the test and I were surprised by how much I understood, nothing impressive but ok for someone who’s never taken a French class in her life. On one part of the test, I had to fill in the missing word to complete a sentence. It was weird to see French but have the answers come in Spanish or English. However, I’m determined to learn French!

Wednesday was crazy!!! The kids have every Wednesday off and have their friends over for snack. There were 10 hyper kids running around everywhere. Oh what I have to look forward to!

Thursday was just wrapping everything up. I got my temporary carte de sejour, opened my French bank account and got health insurance. I’m pretty much all set!

Friday was AMAZING!!! I’ve always wanted to go the Louvre and finally had an opportunity. I was so excited; I didn’t know what to do with myself. I looked on the internet the night before and found out there was a year pass that you could get if you were under 26. It was only 15E! It comes with a whole bunch of sweet deals, too. Anyway, I got my card and had to make my way outside to see the pyramid. I’ve always been a fan of Ancient Egyptian whatever. As I was outside staring in awe at everything, I saw this girl awkwardly trying to take a picture of herself. I asked if she needed help. We got to talking and I found out that she’s from Brasil, going to school in London and here on a weekend trip. She asked if I was going in and if I’d like to go around with her. It was nice to finally have some company. We started on the ground floor and made our way up to the Mona Lisa. Augh! It was so cool! Before I left, she asked if I wanted to get a bit to eat. It was nice to talk to someone about family, school, “girl-talk”, you know. She even asked about a “big Mormon church” which is close to her home in Brasil. She was referring to the temple. Before I left she invited me to visit her in London. I talked to Marie and she’s totally cool with me taking a long weekend to travel up there.

The boys had a sleepover so I was alone with Erin all day. We took our Saturday walk to buy bread and built towers… again. She used to help me but now she hands me the blocks and scribbles notes down when the tower falls, “That not good, Gwace” or “That’s perfect!” It’s hilarious! My favorite is “Gwace, come, come. Play avec me.” The little stinkers are starting to grow on me.

Today at church, I finally met the Relief Society President, Loli. She’s from Spain. She’s a spunky woman with a strong testimony and a huge heart. We will be visiting teaching companions! I didn’t have anyone translate for me today in Relief Society and was happy to understand a bit. However, you don’t need to understand the language to feel the spirit.

I love and miss you all. I truly feel blessed to have such a wonderful family and great friends. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Week 3!

2008-11-30T12:51:00.000-08:00

Heeeeeeey!

Wow... another crazy week is over! We are finally in Le Perreux which is about 15 min from Paris if traffic isn't bad.

On Monday we went to the beach. Michel's best friend, Didier, has a restaurant on the beach- Le Pavillion Noir. The food is amazing, of course, and I tried barracuda for the first time. Then, we spent a lazy day on the beach, part of which Didier owns. The kids and I made sandcastles in the beach, tanned a bit and played in the ocean.

The rest of the week was just packing and cleaning. They practically bring the whole house down (or so it seemed like) for the 2 months that they are at the summer home and have to drive it back up. Marie hates packing so this time is pretty stressful for her but I'm grateful that she continues to show patience as I learn to do everything the was she likes it.

We left Puget on Thursday and were able to relax on the 2 hour flight while the kids slept... nice. We got home late, went to a restaurant for dinner and to bed!

Friday was unpacking day and discovering the house. It's HUGE! Every room in the house is huge. I walked through the main house and thought it was beautiful and large but I didn't really see what all the fuss was about. That's until Marie started taking me into the other parts of the house... the gym, the theater, the other laundry room, my room, etc. Then there's the backyard with the deck, pool, tennis court, play area.... I'm still trying to get everything strait. After my first day of cleaning and trying to get everything in order... I've decided that having a small home sounds like a great idea.

The kids are getting ready for school. Yesterday was finally nice so the kids and I walked to the bakery, played tag, and I even got a free tennis lesson by Cameron, the oldest boy. He was cheering me on as I sloppily hit the ball and giving me encouragement as I ran after them like an idiot... it was hilarious! When there was a break, Marie asked if I wanted to drive to church again. She drove me there the day before to show me the way and I was pumped and determined to learn the way. As we walked to the car, Marie followed me to the passenger's side. We were talking for a bit and then I kind of looked at her, confused. "Grace... you're driving...", she says. For those of you who don't know this, I get very nervous driving cars that aren't mine and with other people. I end up making stupid mistakes, get more nervous, more mistakes... it's a vicious cycle. One thing that's really weird here is that those turning on from the right have the right of way. Weird, I know. However, I made it in one piece and was very happy to find my way again today.

The ward is wonderful! Everyone was so kind and helpful. There are two sets of Elders and a pair of sisters, one of which I was FHE sisters with at BYU-Idaho. Gotta love the 'Berg. They have seriously got the missionary flame going in the ward. It's great. There was someone to translate in all of the meetings. I even got sunday school and sacrament in Spanish! I already have visiting teachers... yeah, they're on the ball. Now... to enjoy the peace and quite!

I love you all and hope that everyone is happy, healthy and having a wonderful day! Thanks for your emails. I love hearing from you.

Love- Grace

August 11-17

2008-11-30T12:45:00.000-08:00

It was another crazy week here in Puget! Time flies when you're having fun…

This was my first week ALL ALONE!!! I was nervous but it all worked out great. Marie is a pro at the "nanny transition" and was a big help. She's very patient with me as I'm learning and is always making sure I'm ok. She and Michel make sure that the kids are respectful and listen to me, which I appreciate. The kids are very good, though. They have been very helpful as well.

On Monday, Erin wanted a bath. I was really nervous about a tantrum in French. She got in and everything was fine until it was time to wash her hair. She starting freaking out and was getting very impatient because I didn't understand a word she was saying. I firmly told her that she needed to calm down, be patient and help me understand so we could both be happy. She stared at me for a sec, put up her little hand and slowly said, "not yet". She just wanted another minute to play with her toys before she got out. Ever since then, we've been doing great and she's been helping me with my French. Her favorite is to help me with pronunciation. J It's hilarious but very cute!

Other than that, it's really just been playing games with the boys, pool time, or reading… so difficult, I know! Megan says to enjoy the chill time. We'll see how Paris is, in the "real world". We're going back on Thursday!

Megan's mom and sister came out to be with her and Marie has given me time off to play with them. We had a mix up on Thursday and I got stuck in Saint Rafael for the whole morning. It was nice to wander around. There is a beautiful church that I went in and admired. I even went shopping and bought a raspberry tart. I'm glad they understood my hand gestures.

One thing I already love about France is that the food. It's not about "eating to survive" but it more of an art. We went to dinner Friday night at a restaurant by the beach. We all ordered the gourmet menu that came with a little bit of everything. We started with a tiny little cup of cold tomato soup, followed by a green salad with fish on top of a puff pastry shell. The main dish was lamb with couscous, apricots, almonds and vegetables. We ended with an apricot tart. Everything was amazing… from the taste to the presentation!

We went to Aix-en-Provence on Saturday, which is a beautiful town of tall, pink homes. There is a huge fountain in the center of town. They also had a jewelry festival when we were there... it was wonderful!

Today…brace yourselves… was my first day driving in France! I was so scared! Plus, Michel already drove the Prius up to Paris and the only car left is a huge Volvo. (One that absolutely love but not built for the narrow European roads) I said a prayer and made it there in one piece. There was a family visiting from Germany. One of the daughters, Jasmin, speaks German, French and Spanish. It was nice to finally practice Spanish again! They invited me to go to Frejus with them after church. On our way there, Jasmin told me how she learned all the languages. She left Germany at 19 and became a nanny, once in France and once in Spain. Afterwards, she ended up working at the consulate in Spain. She met her husband, who is an Iranian from Algeria, in France! How cool is that? She was great and gave me all her info if I ever needed anything or wanted to revisit Europe and needed a place to stay.

I'm starting to feel more comfortable now, which makes me happy… have to live it up!! Love you all and talk to ya'll next week!

First week in France!

2008-11-30T12:25:00.000-08:00

I figured this would be easier because there are too many people to write and too much to tell! Don't worry…I'm sure it won't be this long every week.

I have now been in France for almost a week and it all still seems surreal. I don't know where the time has gone which makes me feel both happy and sad. I feel overwhelmed by all that I have seen and done. I haven't bawled myself to sleep yet so I think I'm doing well!

I left the states Monday morning and arrived in France the next day. I met Marie at the airport, we took care of some papers, and then went to the house to freshen up and sleep before catching another plane with Michel to Nice that evening. I didn't actually get to Puget until late Tuesday and was so tired that I fell right to sleep and was dead to world until late Wednesday!

Wednesay- My first "official" day of work was crazy! The youngest girl, Erin, doesn't speak English and can't seem to understand it when I tell her I don't speak/understand French, I REALLY don't! She goes off in the beautiful language anyway and I've learned to just smile and nod. J I pretty much was Megan's second shadow as she explained my "duties" (for all who have seen Nacho Libre, please add Spanish accent)

Thursday-My friend, Megan (who I am replacing), told me it was hot in Puget but I wasn't prepared for this kind of heat! I haven't sweat this much since I was in Guatemala. Everyone here stays in just their bathing suits all day. We went into town to get some better summer clothes. After we got home, we helped the kids with their dinner and got them ready for bed. Then, it was time for the adults to eat. They eat pretty late, usually after 9, sometimes as late as after 11. Marie is an amazing cook and I have enjoyed the culinary delights. Yes, mi Viejito, I have tried all different types of cheese, breads and meats in these past few days and haven't found one that I dislike. I promise to eat some for you, too!

Friday- We drove into Saint Rafael and took a 2 ½ hour train ride to Ventimiglia, Italy! I'm really grateful that I have Megan here with me because I don't think I'd have the guts right now to wander around since I don't know the language. We walked around the market for a few hours and it was a cultural wonderland! There were French, Italians, Germans, British, Americans, Africans, etc, crammed into a huge outside market buying and selling. It was a mixture of beautiful sounds and interesting smells… I loved it!

As many of you know, I LOVE to shop but I think I kept myself under control. They certainly know what woman like here in Europe and had an array of, as Kevin would call them, "things that make you feel like a woman". I've never seen so much perfume, jewelry, cashmere, or leather in my life. Of course, I had to indulge myself just a bit.

Saturday- It was a better but busier day. I started taking over more. It was ironing day and I'm pretty sure I'm going to become an ironing expert before the year is up. They iron EVERYTHING… even the sheets! When I was done, I went out to the pool and watched the kids play games.

Sunday- Megan gave a talk today and it was about the only thing I understood at church. Everyone was very nice, even with me staring back with a dumb look on my face as they tried to introduce themselves. It was a really small branch but they really have the "missionary fire"! Now, we are just chillaxin'… enjoying our day off.

I love you all and miss you. I hope everyone is doing well. I don't have much free time right now but I'll be sure to give an update every Sunday. If you have any questions, let me know!

Love-Gracie

Who knew...

2008-11-28T14:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I obviously haven't been here in a while and was pleasantly surprised to see that I had 3 comments! Sweet. Who knew people would actually check this thing out??

I'll have another monstrously large update on Sunday.

Have a good one!

Oh geez....

2008-07-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I've finally given in....