More New Years Eve Photos

Only shot I got of Notre Dame since the line was so long

 

Daunting view down the stairs you climb to the top of the Arc de Triumph.  Over 250.

Eiffel Tower from Arc de Triumph

 

Champs Elysee from Arc

 

Grave of the unknown soldier and eternal flame.  The flame has only gone out twice, once by a Mexican peeing on it and once by Austrailans roasting sausage over it.

 

Blurry photo of the both of us at Montmatre on NYE

 

 

 

Bonne Annee...Kinda: New Years Eve

Warning, This post contains a lot of ranting about the incompetency of Paris.

Well, how to begin...my New Year in Paris was...unexpected.  I knew there would be a crap ton of people, I knew things would probably close early, I knew lines would be crazy, but figured I could pass them up with my Pass Education for the most part like in Versailles.  What I wasn't expecting was how much all these thing I knew would happen would annoy me to no end.  Oh and that friggin Pass Education doesn't let you cut lines, super lame.  Especially since we bought Matt the Paris pass just so we could cut lines.  I learned that no matter how much I prepare myself for utter chaos, doesn't mean I will be able to tolerate it.  I also learned that when I comes to New Years, I'm staying at home where it's warm and dry and watching other people freeze their asses off as the ball drops in New York. 

Dec 31st: New Years Eve

We decided to start the day off a bit late since Matt wasn't feeling good, and we had already gone to bed at like 10:30 the night before.  We got up around 10am and then took our time getting ready and went to the store for breakfast stuff (yay pain au chocolate and OJ, Matt's favorite).  We wanted to take a guided tour of Notre Dame our Free Europe Tour guide had told us about.  It said they were on Mondays at 12:30 so we hit the metro around 11:30 to get there in time.  Once we got there we were first horrified at how long the line was to get into the church alone.  Thankfully I later found out it goes very quickly so no big.  But then we found out our tour guide was wrong and the tours were not on Monday at all, but on Wednesdays at 2:00 (1st irksome thing of the day)  We ended deciding to skip going to the top of Notre Dame since the line was so long.  Maybe a good thing, because we would have been more pissed to find out once we got inside the cathedral, the line for the tower was actually on the other side outside the church.  And this line I also later found out was just as long as the second, only it moved at a snails pace.  So maybe avoiding that was a good thing. 

Instead we went to the Arc de Triumph to see the view from there since it was in Matt's Paris Pass.  Once we got there we were excited to finally get to skip a ticket line, yay!....Not so yay.  Matt got to skip but for some stupid reason I had to go wait in line just to get a free ticket with my Pass Education.  I only had to wait about 15 mins, but I was still baffled at how troublesome and just pointless the French have to make some things.  I understand they may want to keep track of how many free pass they give away, but why not instead just have someone, I don't know, take tally at the entrance?  Very simple, makes sense, gets the same job done but makes people happy.  But oh no, we can't have that.  Making things simple is just not the French way.  Thing must always be complex and full of silly rules.  (2nd irksome thing of the day)

Anyway, I wait, we go up, see the view for all of 10 mins (totally not worth 9.50 euros, btw).  Then we decide to get lunch before going to the Organgerie Museum (not about Oranges, it has impressionist art, mainly Monet's Water Lillies).  I wanted Matt to try Quick since I actually like it a bit more than McDonald's, at least in France.  First off in Paris they have the name completely wrong.  It is no Quick.  It is quite non-quick actually.  How about instead we call it Slow, Very Slow.  Because that's what it was.  I really want to know why Paris restaurants are jam packed at all hours.  we had lunch at about 2:30 and there was still a hoard of people in the place.  I placed our order on the cool kiosks they have to hopefully makes things faster.  Nope, they have no clue what they are doing when fill orders.  McDonald's would wipe the floor with these people.  You would think they would fill orders in the order they get them right?  Nope.  They just do whatevs, a sandwich here, a drink here, some fries here, all at a slow very French pace.  Then the woman filling orders as the gaul to get huffy when people are pissed it was taking so long.  I ended up waiting for about 30 mins in line for 2 sandwiches, drinks and fries.  Redic.  Then my sandwich ended up being cold and she gave us no ketchup so the burger wasn't as good as usual.  I spent most the meal eating in anger and ranting, which a French woman overheard and then asked if we were American.  Yes French Lady, I am American, and today I am embodying a stereotype of them by complaining about how much things suck and how much better we do it in the US...BECAUSE WE DO.  When it comes to customer service and getting shit done, we reign supreme above France.  Deal with it. (3rd irksome thing of the day)

After lunch I made the terrible decision of walking down the Champs Elysee instead of taking the metro to the museum and was accosted by crowds of people which I was already too pissed off with to deal with.  It took about 30 mins just to cross about 6 blocks.  Once at the museum I was at last happy to see the guy at the first line would let me through the fast lane with my Pass Education, just for getting in the museum.  I guess they actually monitor how many people go in to make sure to doesn't get crowded since there were people waiting behind a rope.  That I'm cool with and understand.  Don't need people so squished in you risk hitting a painting.  However I was not cool with the snooty French hag in the museum ordering we to get in line for my free ticket, refusing to say a word of English to me.  I tried saying the guy up front said I could get through with just this but she barked back, no I'm telling you you have to get in line like everyone else.  I tried explaining again but then just finally yelled " will someone please just speak English to me?!"  I  was tired of translating crap and never understand half of what I hear and just wanted someone to talk to me.  To this the woman replied as I walked away (in French of course)  This is France you're not in the United States anymore, to which I turned around and replied in English a phrase everyone knows "Blah Blah Blah!"  I really wanted to say it's snobby French bitches like you that gives the rest of the country a bad name.  That and I really wanted to push her down the stairs she was standing by, but I refrained.  I got my friggin free ticket, and Matt waited for me once again, there by defeating half the purpose of his Paris Pass, and gave the woman a death stair as I passed her again, still refraining from pushing her.  (4th irksome thing of the day)  Oh, and nothing was in English in the museum and I was too annoyed to read in French, fml

By this time I had had it and was fed up with Paris.  I couldn't even enjoy the art in the place, thought the Monet Water Lillies were cool.  Much bigger than I pictured.  I felt like the whole day had been a waste and it was all due to my terrible temper (but also due to the stupid rules.  Gotta blame the French somehow, right?).  It was already about 4:30 so we just decided to call it a day before I killed someone.  Thankfully we had a nice plan for dinner which ended up working out.  We bought a nice roasted chicken and some potatoes, then a king cake and ice cream for dessert.  Plus I also had the Christmas wine I bought back in Orleans at the Food and Wine expo.  We ate in our hotel after I had a nap to cool down.  I think the stress what getting to my immune system because my light cold I got from Matt started to feel worse.  We ate dinner and watched Doctor Who, and wore little paper crown hats as we ate king cake.  The chicken and potatoes were amazing, I must learn the secret behind the French roasted chicken.  Even the Foyer in Orleans makes an amazing one so they've gotta put crack in it or something.  Slowly the even started to get better.  We were so comfy after dinner we almost didn't want to go out for New Years to see what was up.  But my stubbornness to do something different this year over took me and we went out...in the rain...and cold...bad idea. 

Fun crown hats came with our Gallette du Roi

Wonderful dessert and Doctor Who

 

Matt got the little guy in the cake, he looks so happy about almost choking on it

We left around 10:30.  My one umbrella I had was shot so we pretty much got soaked.  I wanted to go to Montmatre since I read the view was best from there and you could see the whole city.  you might be able to, if there were everyone else in the way of your view.  We hiked all the steps to the top by Sacre Coeur, then spent about 20 mins just trying to find a good stop.  Pretty much every decent spot I could see was taken and none of them had a view of the Eiffel Tower.  Too many trees or stands left over from the Christmas market where in the way.  We ended up opting for a tight place on the steps going up to the church, which wasn't too bad.  no one could see much so we were all in the same boat, then some in a boat filled mostly with booze.  It was actually quite hard to tell when midnight actually happened.  People kept going in random uproars and I just ended up going by my watch.  which was probably a bit off.  I prefer the count down ball in NYC.  Finally we just said happy New Year and had our New Years kiss. 





Mass mob of people out that night

 

                                                 Matt at Sacre Coeur after midnight

Everyone seemed to have brought their own champagne.  We just had little horns we bought at the store.  There actually were little things of fireworks around the city we could see and a few random ones up where we were by random people.  The Eiffel Tower doesn't do much more than it's normal twinkling light show from what I heard.  All in all I was a bit unspectacular if you just for got about the fact you were in Paris.  If it were any other city everyone would have considered it tres lame.  Though maybe it was a super magical night to those who were just drunk enough to vaguely remember it.  We stayed after midnight for about 20 mins to let the hoards go down a little.  Sadly the drunk people must walk slow because we caught up to all them in the metro and it took about 5 trains before we could actually get one.  Once we literally crammed ourselves into the metro car, I finally learned what it must feel like to be clothes in a suite case, getting pushed back and forth, back and forth.

While waiting for the train is when I really started to feel the cold coming on even more.  My legs were aching and I couldn't get warm even though we were out of the rain.  I felt soaked to the bone even though I knew my coat wasn't that wet.  The overall crappy feeling that comes with the start of a cold washed over me.  Once we finally got back to the hotel I just jumped into bed and tried to warm up, which seemed to take forever.  I took NyQuil and Matt made me some tea and, God love him, he rubbed my feet to make them warmer.  I feel asleep around 2am and sadly the feeling of crapiness didn't end there. 

Vin Chaud (French)

I tried this delicious drink for the first time when I was in Amsterdam.  There it is called gluhwein, and it is also a popular winter drink in France, and really most of Europe.  Traditionally it's made of red wine, but you can also do it with white wine, apple cider, or apple juice for those who prefer no alcohol.  Even if you don't like wine a whole lot you might like this since you add various fruits and spices to the drink.  My recipe is a variation of one from Ina Garten from the Food Network.

I found the original recipe had too much apple cider in it and sweetened it just a little too much.  If you don't want to buy all the spices separately you can also use a premixed mulling spice mix.  You might just need to still add the star anise and juniper berries.  Most just heat this drink up in a pot, but you could also do it in a crock pot to keep it warm for a party. Just don't let it come to a full boil or the alcohol will start to cook off. There are many ways to make this yummy hot treat, so feel free to add or take away whatever things you think you might like.  Maybe experiment with different fruit or add some juices.  Some recipes even like to put slivered almonds in their wine.  If you find a new combo you like, please share it in the comments section so we can all try it : )

Vin Chaud (Hot Spiced Wine, aka Mulled Wine)

750 ml sweet red wine (1 bottle, Cabernet Sauvignon is good)
2 cups apple cider or juice
1/4 cup honey

Juice and zest of 1 orange
2 cinnamon sticks
3 star anise
4 whole cloves
1 Tablespoon juniper berries
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1/3 cup cognac (optional)  
                                                                                  
Mix all ingredients in a large pot. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over a medium heat. Do not allow the wine to boil or else the alcohol will cook out of the wine. The mulled wine is hot enough when the sugar has dissolved. If desired, add the Cognac to the saucepan when the sugar has dissolved and ladle the mulled wine through a tea strainer (or colander) into punch cups, mugs or other serving dish.

Note:  If you want you can also do something fun for putting cloves in the wine.  Take a small orange or clementine and then stick the orange skin with a knife and poke the end of the clove into the hole so the bulb part is showing.  You can have fun with it and make designs or just do them randomly.  Some people even like to wrap ribbon around the orange and use them as ornaments.

Raclette (French)

Raclette! (aka, awesome cheesy French goodness)

Traditional Raclette meal

OMG, I just discovered something delicious in France.  It's called Raclette (pronounced Rack-let) and it is kind of my new obsession.  It's a well known, but not too often eaten dish in France which consists of a special cheese called Raclette (hence the name) which is normally made in Switzerland, but also in France and apparently Michigan as well, go figure.  You also eat various meat cold cuts and cooked potatoes with it.  To make it you need to have a special grill, shown below.  They can be a bit pricey though.  I've seen ones in France just at a super market for about 49-75 euros a pop.  you might be able to find one for cheaper on eBay or Amazon though.  You have the top part with has a heating coil under the metal top so you can grill things on the big top part and then you place your cheese or meat in the little dished with handles and melt the cheese or cook the meat.  You can also place the potatoes on the top grill area to keep them warm. 

Raclette grill, with boiled potatoes on the top and Raclette
cheese melting below

This dish is something that all French people at least know about and most people have a Raclette grill, especially in places where they do a lot of skiing since it is a favorite thing to eat after a full day in the slopes.  But most families won't eat it all the time in the winter, maybe a few times a year only.  It is a winter dish, so you will not really see this eaten during hot months, as well as the cheese for it might not be as available in the summer. It's very hearty and keeps you full for a long time.  I felt like I needed to be rolled out the door the first time I ate it. 

So while Raclette is pretty self explanatory, for those of you who need a recipe for everything, here is my Raclette recipe written out.  I would say just get as much as you think you will need for each person.  I person can usually each about 6-8 oz of cheese, plus the same amount of meat then a few small sized potatoes.  Enjoy!

Traditional French Raclette

Various types of Raclette cheese per person; natural, pepper, or my favorite, smoked raclette.
Various types of cold cut meats like cured ham, pastrami, salami, plain white ham, etc.
Baked or boil new potatoes (I like to bake mine with some seasoned salt on the outside)
Gherkin sweet pickles (called cornichons in French)
Salt and pepper to taste


Setting the table: Set the table up with all the ingredients all pre-cut and sliced. Make sure your Raclette is cut into pieces not too big for your little cheese grilling trays on the grill. cut the slices about 1/4 of an inch thick.  Place the grill in the middle and turn it on to preheat while everyone takes their seat.  Once the tray is heated place the cooked potatoes on top to keep warm.  If you don't have much room on your dinning table, keep half the ingredients in the kitchen or on a near by table and top up the ingredients when they run low.

At the grill: Take a slice of cheese and place onto a pan and place under the grill to melt and bubble a little. In the meantime take a hot potato from the top of the grill and cut it into small pieces with your knife. Take the pan with the melted cheese and give it a shake to loosen the cheese and pour over your potato. Grind some pepper and salt over it if you like. Eat your cheesy potatoes while you prepare the next pan with some more cheese and place it back under grill to allow to melt while you are eating. In the meantime enjoy the company you have, sip your favourite drink or nibble on the array of food on the table, like the pickles and cold cuts of meat.  You can also grill the meats in the same was as the cheese.

Scraping cheese out of pan: The pans are usually non-stick and your melted creation will normal slide out after a little shake but if the cheese you are using gets stuck scrape it out with wooden Raclette spatulas that are included with good raclette grills. Or you can use a piece of bread.

Note: It's best to do several small batches of melting cheese instead of one big one because as the the cheese cools it hardens again.  You can heat another piece of cheese as you eat your ready batch of cheese and potatoes. 

Serve with: Salad, and French bread







How Things Work in France: Health Care

I'm going to start some posts about how things generally work in France, at least from what I have experienced. My first one is all about health care.

First thing, health insurance.  In France part of the taxes people pay goes to social security and I'm not talking about what you get to the government when you retire.   The 2001 Social Security Funding Act, set the rates for health insurance covering the statutory health care plan at 5.25% on earned income, capital and winnings from gambling and at 3.95% on benefits (pensions and allowances). Social security pays for every persons health care, up to 70% in most cases.  In some cases like with certain medicines, hospital stays, and some specializes doctors like for glasses and stuff they only cover maybe a little over half the costs or not at all.  And one nice thing is that France doesn't require you to see a GP before seeing a specialist.  You can go straight to a heart doctor or whatever if you feel you need them.  But like in the US specialist cost more so be prepared.

 

In the case of things that are not covered people can get what is called a Mutuelle, which is like extra coverage, usually covering up to 100% for medical costs. For all teachers in France they get their Mutuelle through a company called MGEN. Mutuelle is not required, but it's only 110 euros for the 7 month stay for assistants (which is suppose to be a special deal, usually that is the cost for 4 months) and it would be very nice if I had to go to the hospital or other doctors. However the bad thing about French health care is they expect you to pay out of pocket first, like for doctor visits, and then they reimburse you later which, like with everything in France, can take a looooong time. Here are some ideas of how much health care costs in France and how much you get back just from social security insurance. Then Mutuelle covers the rest in most cases.  Another good thing is all the basic visit fees are fixed so they are the same no matter where you go. 

 

Act	Fee	% reimbursed	Patient charge
Generalist consultation	23 €	70%	6,60 €
Specialist consultation	25 €	70%	7,50 €
Psychiatrist consultation	37 €	70%	11,10 €
Cardiologist consultation	49 €	70%	14,17 €
Filling a cavity	19,28 € – 48,20 €	70%	5,78 € – 14,46 €
Root canal	93,99 €	70%	28,20 €
Teeth cleaning	28,92 €	70%	8,68 €
Prescription Medicine	variable	35 – 100%	variable
30 Advil 200 mg	2,51 €	60%	1,00 €

Veggie Tempura

I try to make a non meat meal at least once a week and this is always a favorite.  It may not be the healthiest vegetarian meal, but it sure is tasty.  You can also fry up some shrimp tempura or other white fish if you really can't do without meat at ever meal.  Make sure to watch the veggies closely because some of them can burn pretty quick.  And if you want to serve all your fried veggies at one time instead of in batches, have you oven warm at about 200 degrees and place the fried goods on a cookie sheet as they get done and place them in the oven to keep warm. 

 

Veggie Tempura

 

1/2 cup Premade Tempura batter mix, like Kikomon

1/3 cup ice cold water

Oil

Various veggies like onion, carrots, sweet potato, green beans, mushrooms, etc.

 

Prepare veggies in advance for frying by cutting into bit sized pieces.  Mix batter mix and water together right before you are ready to dip veggies to fry.  Place batter bowl in another bowl with ice in it.  In small batches, batter and fry veggies.  Make sure to put veggies in hot oil 1 piece at a time to help keep them from sticking together.  Remove from oil when golden brown and place on a paper towel to drain.

 

Serve with: Tempura Dipping Sauce, Edemame, Miso Soup or other Japanese favorites

 

 

Grilled Potatoes

I love making these anytime I grill something.  They are super easy, but super tasty.  You can change up the seasoning for the potatoes depending on what you like.  If you try a new seasoning that tastes great, please leave a comment and let me know so I can try it : )

Grilled Potatoes

1 lb potatoes, peeled, sliced

1 tsp steak seasoning, divided

1 Tbl butter, divided

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Spray a large piece of tin foil with non stick spray.  place half of the sliced potatoes on one side of the tin foil.  Top with half of the seasoning, half of the butter, and salt and pepper.  Make another layer of potatoes and top with the rest of the seasoning and butter.  Fold over the tin foil and crimp the sides making a foil pouch.  place the pouch over medium grill heat (about 375 degrees).  Grill for about 30-45 minutes until potatoes are tender. 

 

Chess Bars

These are super yummy and a good alternative if you know someone (crazy) who doesn't like chocolate.  They have a nice fudgy texture like a brownie.  I actually like them more cold than warm just out of the oven. 


Chess Bars

1 pkg yellow cake mix

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

3 eggs

1 pkg (16 oz) powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened.

Pre heat oven to 350º F.  Mix together cake mix, butter, and 1 egg.  Mixture will be like dough. Press into bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.  Mix together powered sugar, vanilla and 2 eggs until smooth.  Mix in cream cheese.  Pour over cake mixture. Bake for about 45 mins, or until golden brown on top. 

 

                         

Bulgogi Beef

This is one of my favorite things to eat, period.  It is a Korean BBQ beef dish (can also be made with pork) that is so easy to make.  Though I suppose that because I use an premade marinade.  If I did it all from scratch this might be a different story.  Once again, you can find any kind of Bulgogi BBQ marinade and the thinly sliced beef in any Asian grocery store.  The veggies you can add are optional, if you want a little change in texture.  I usually make mine without any extra veggies.  Just make sure to not cook the carrots in the beef too long or it will change the taste a bit. 



Bulgogi Beef

1 lb thin sliced beef rib eye (bulgogi style beef)

1/2 cup premade Bulgogi BBQ marinade

Onion, carrot, other stir fry veggies (optional)

 

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and marinade for a few hours.  Heat a non stick skillet on med high heat and stir fry beef and onions until beef is fully cooked.

 

Serve with: Steamed White Rice, Miso Soup (instant is fine), and Edemame. 

 

 

An Americans Guide to Handling Snow: Dec 7th

It seriously just snowed like 1 inch and everyone is in a panic. In France they don't really get much snow except in the north or mountains, so they don't clear roads or sidewalks, don't put down salt, everyone drives like 3 miles per hour, but then they hit the gas too hard when they first start and spin out.  My advice to the French for how to handle snow...DON'T PANIC

Top Tips for Handling Snow, No Matter How Little

1. Anticipate: If it looks like there could be snow start preparing.  residence should put some salt down on the side walk in front of their houses.  this is especially needed for people who live in the city so the city doesn't have to spend as much time in residential area and can focus on public places like shopping areas and squares.  I'm sure everyone in France could buy 1 lb of salt and have it last for a few years. 
2. After The Fall: Once again, residence should clear whatever snow wasn't taken care of by the salt with a simple shovel, or in some cases a sturdy broom would do I'm sure.  And once again this leaves more ti,e for the city to focus on shoveling roads. 
3. ACTUALLY SHOVEL THE ROAD.  Even if it snows only 1 inch, that's all it takes to have small fender benders which causes traffic problems, which makes people even more cautious, and then we have a vicious cycle.  Many say that its a waste of money to have all the stuff to take care of snow just once or twice a year.  But I say if it keeps even just a few dozen people from falling and hurting themselves or having car accidents, it's well worth it.  I can not even begin to guess how much money Orleans spends on this like putting out flowers in the parks and public areas.  Yes it is very pretty to have nice looking parks, but I think I would rather them spend a little less on pretty stuff and invest in some snow safety measures. 
4. Drive with caution, but not too much.  I literally saw someone moving about 3 miles an hour when there was tons of space in front of them.  Yet when they come to a stop they stopped too quick and would slid or when they start back up they hit the gas really hard and spin out.  Easy does it people.  Don't be in a hurry, but don't keep 20 feet between you and the next car. 
5. Above all... Don't Panic!  I promise a few inches of snow is not going to end the world.  Just be safe, but down salt, shovel side walks, and don't panic while driving.  You know it should snow at least once a year so you might as well get use to it. 

Just think, in places like Canada it's probably already snowed like 3 feet.  Stop being a bunch of pansies already.  If your French brother and sisters in Quebec can handle it all the time, you can handle it once or twice a year. 

Chicken Tikka BBQ

This is one of my favorite things to grill out.  I love Indian food but some people think exotic food are hard to make.  This recipe is so easy anyone can do it.  If you prefer more or less spicy food, you can either use more of less of the spice mix.  You can find the spice mix at pretty much any Indian or sometimes Asian food store. 

Chicken Tikka BBQ

 

1/2 pkg Shan brand spice mix for Chicken Tikka BBQ

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 Tbl ginger paste               

1 Tbl garlic paste

1/4 cup lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together in a re sealable plastic bag.  Marinade for a few hours or even better, over night.  Grill on medium heat (about 350) until chicken is fully cooked, about 6 mins per side.   

Serve with: Indian Seasoned Rice, Yogurt Sauce, and Naan Bread (store bought is fine) 

The Dress

All the info on my dress and plans for other accessories and stuff for the big day.  I'll update this one post instead of rewriting new ones when things get added.

       

Maggie Settero "Gwen"

Me

Pretty much the first thing I actually got done was getting my wedding dress, since I wanted that done before I left for France.  It's a Maggie Sottero called "Gwen".  A lot of people seem surprised that I found it so soon, but I wanted to get one before I left for France so that would be one less big thing to think about an I would have plenty of time to get alterations done.  After it came back from France early I kinda wish I had waited but, coulda, woulda, shoulda, you know.  My plan of action was to not even look at any other dresses when I got home to keep from feeling like I chose the wrong thing.  Anytime I saw a pretty dress I just told myself it probably costs and arm and a leg (which was probably true).

with a lace up back and corset, a must
 have for me since I was loosing weight

 I always thought I would get one of the huge ball gown type dresses with layers and layers.  But after I got to thinking about how much moving I would do besides going down the isle I realized less is more in this case.  I like this dress because it gives me the support of a big poofy dress with the corset top, but the lightness of all those little skimpy dresses people are wearing as well since there is only satin on the bottom (which also makes bathroom breaks easier :P).  Mine is also bright white instead of the champagne color shown.

I do like the dress I got, but I didn't fall head over heals for it like they always say you will.  I actually hated dress shopping because it was so much pressure to choose something.  Either by the sales people or by the others who are with you because they either want you to hurry and choose something so they don't have to go with you again or because they say everything looks great.  I almost wonder if I chose this dress because it was the first one I found in my price range that actually had most of what I wanted in a dress.  It has the corset waist (most important), all white, with some lace, and not too much bead work on it. 

close up of corset lace with ruching

I think the main reason I'm a little sad I went with it is a "paid full price" on a dress is that is about 3 years old and was used as a sample dress.  It was going originally for $598 and that's what we paid for it, but with alterations and a steam cleaning included.  From what I've heard alteration can cost almost as much as the dress, but this one might not need as much so I'm not sure how much I'm saving.  I think at least $100 just for the hem line alone.  I'm not sure if they can bring up the waist in the corset a bit since I'm sure it's made to fit a normal height person and I'm a bit petite. I just always think back to another dress I tried on at Davids Bridal that I liked too, but it was way to much.  I hate how they make you fall in love with a dress that you can't afford. And I have seem Say Yes to the Dress way too many times to fall for that, but sometime I wish I had.  Or at least waited to see if it went on sale.  The dress I chose didn't seem to be going anywhere.  But once again I wasn't even going to be here in January so once again, coulda, woulda, shoulda. 

Welcoming Winter: Nov 30th - Dec 2nd

Friday, November 30th, 2012

I don't know what it was, but Friday it took all the power I had to get my butt up and go teach. Fridays are always the worst. I usually have 4 classes with an awkward 3 hour break in between. One a month I get lucky and only have 2 classes, but then other time, like next week, I'm going to have 5 classes all day. Shoot me now. Thankfully the week after I somehow only have 9 hours. I'm not quite sure how I got that lucky without having to cancel any classes. This whole week I only had 9 as well, but that was because 1 of my classes switched to being only every other week and I had to cancel my Tuesday classes to go to the OFii medical appointment.

I think maybe I have been having trouble getting motivated about teaching because I feel like the stuff I'm doing is silly and the kids don't care about. I just spent the last 2 weeks doing thanksgiving stuff and now that the holiday is over, I'm not sure what to do. I feel like most of my lessons I've made are random and not related at all to what the kids are learning or at least something they would like. I think I'm going to try and start doing more things based on what the teachers are doing in their classes. It will kind of suck since I will have to make more lessons and only get to the use the same one a couple times. But maybe doing things they have already had a little practice in will make the class go better as well.

I just did a song analyses class with my 2nd year students and it went ok. We did the Bruno Mars song Billionaire, which they liked. I did however learn that my lyric fill in the blank sheet was too hard for intermediate students. I told them they were my guinea pigs so I thanked them for helping me out and that I would make the next one less difficult. I thought it was interresting that they could understand Bruno Mars' part perfectly well and even could understand phrases, but when the part with Travie McCoy started they could barely understand single words and defiantly not phrases. I guess it's because Travie's part is more like fast talking than singing. But now I know what to fix and hopefully next time it will go better. We had to spend the whole class just filling in the blanks and having them re listen to the words multiple times. I think I'll use my current work sheets for advanced kids and then edit a different one for intermediate with only 1 or 2 words for each blank. This is why I like doing the same lesson many times. I really helps you find what works best for most students and then you can edit it accordingly. If I were going to make a lesson in this song for beginners I think I would have to stick to single words and also give them a word bank.

My Friday night was pretty tame. I knew there wouldn't be many people for dinner at the canteen so I just went out and got a kebab. I tried a new place on Rue Jeanne d'Arc called Mac Doner (I think they were going for a play in words for that name). It was OK, but so far my favorite place has been one on Rue de Bourgogne, I think it's called Funny Boys or something. After dinner I went out this Ibai for a drink with some people he works with. I think his French is getting better than mine, at least his determination to speak only French with his friends is better than mine. I had a hard time understanding everything, I think mostly because it was a little noisy and I can never understand people when there is a lot of background noise. Plus some people speaking English came in a bit later and my brain had trouble focusing on French when it kept hearing English in the back ground. But any practice is better than none. I just need to keep on trying. Maybe I should be like this one guy in my study abroad program and just refuse to speak English with people. I would ask him something in English, but he would always reply in French. I've tried it and it's hard, but not impossible. Hopefully after I move in to my new place on Monday, my host mom won't know English and I have to speak French. That would be awesome.

I got to try out my new boots I just bought with Sophie yesterday. I was happy to find they were extremely comfy and I could easily walk on the cobble stone street, where as with the others it killed by feet. I hate getting use to new shoes but these ones should be really great. I needed some new blanks ones anyway since my others i got a few years back are finally started to reach the end of their life. I can't wear them in the rain at all without getting soaked. These ones have fur on the inside, and actually have grips on the bottom so I won't fall on my ass this winter. Plus I got some awesome insoles from Foot Locker. They were pricey, but worth it. The best part was the shoes were only 27 euros. Even if they only last me for the rest of my trip they were worth it. I was convinced I could never find shoes for less than 50 euros, but Sophie knows where all the best deals are. We went to 3 different stores with great prices on Thursday. Probably all stuff from china, but Id rather get new boots ever couple years for less than have to spend over 150 euros and keep them for a long time. Styles change so much I figure it's best to get the cheaper stuff so you don't feel bad if you want something new 2 years later.

Saturday, December 1st, 2012


 It's hard to believe it already December. I've been hear for 2 months now. I'm a bit sad because it seems everyone had gone to Paris for the weekend. They have their Christmas market going on and the lights are up all around the city so people wanted to welcome the Christmas season I guess with a trip there. I was hoping to go with some friends but i couldn't find someone to stay with for free of couch surfer anything, and I didn't want to just do a day trip. Since Matt is coming soon I'm trying to pinch as many pennies as I can, at least until after I start getting some money from the Caf. Matt and I will be in Paris for New Years and I'm sure there will still be lights up so we should be ok. Plus we have a Christmas market in Orleans as well and they should turn the lights on today. I should be meeting Laura tomorrow to go check everything out. But for now today will be a very lazy day. So my dad pretty much just consisted of sleeping in until 11:30, staying in my PJs until 6pm and then finally getting my lazy butt dressed to go return some DVDs and get something from the grocery for dinner.

When I was at the grocery I started getting really excited about moving into my new place on Monday. I kept seeing so many things I could finally cook since I would have access to an awesome kitchen and not have to worry about my stuff being thrown out. I can't wait to make galettes, steak haché with frits, sautéed mushrooms, and of course do lots of baking. I have been obsessed with the idea of making french madeleines, which are these light little cookie/cake things in the shape of a shell. I found an awesome recipe that I want to make with Sophie for gluten free lemon madeleines with a lavender glaze (shown right). It sounds just like something you would see in a bakery in Avignon. I don't know why but I have really been into baking lately, more than regular cooking almost. I'm really excited to be getting a great kitchen, pictures soon to come. I will also be posting all my new French recipes i learn on this blog so be on the look out. I've already got a Moroccan Couscous recipe I need to post. Not truly french, but everyone knows how to make it here. My host parents in Avignon made it all the time. Hopefully my new "landlord" (she's really more like a host mom) will be able to show me how to cook some yummy french things. On my list of things I want to learn is Beouf bourgenone, bread (the real way, not with a machine) Coq au Vin, Duck Confit, Tartiflette, some kind of fricassee (usually with chicken I hear), creme brulee, and lots of other yummy desserts. I've also got a nice long list of things to make off of pintrest if I can. I also want to show my host mom how to make some southern dishes. I know my last host parents loved the tomato soup I made.

Sunday, December 2nd, 2012

So today was fairly eventful.  I went to this Christmas market at the expo center, but it wasn't too impressive.  i definantly preferred the food and wine expo more.  There were way more free samples.  This one didn't really have anything that interested me.  But mostly today was eventful because I ended up moving in to my new place today instead of tomorrow as planned.  My host mom said she had to work a lot tomorrow so today would better for her, plus she could help me bring my stuff over with her car.  I didn't have quite everything packed so I just took what I could and then I'll bring the rest tomorrow.  I'm living on the top floor in a nice little room.  I was hoping to get the full sized bed the my host mom had but she moved it from the room I'm currently in to the bigger room since she said it took up too much room.  She uses the other room as storage mostly, but if she decides to rent it I might ask her if I can have the bigger bed.  At the very least I hope she'll let Matt and I use it when he comes here.  I don't mind having a smaller bed for just me, but for the two of us it would be nice to sleep in the same one.  I actually get the bathroom to myself because the other girl she was renting to ended up moving out.  Other than that the wireless works well, and if for some reason it's not strong enough this is also a wired connection.  Plus the room stays super warm do to the awesome heater.  At first it took a bit for me to figure out, but now it's keeping my room nice and toasty.  If this house we just closer to the center it would be perfect.