PutYourFlareOn

Ça tourne, ça tourne...

Living in a foreign country...

After you live abroad for a while you start to realize it really isn't that big of a deal if you know every word in the foreign language you are speaking.  I remember my French teacher in high school saying to us that it isn't always important to know the all the words but to be able to explain yourself clearly (Merci, M. Brown!) . I can attest that I use this piece of advice everyday.

I headed to Go Sports today in search of a podometer.  Even in English I didn't know the word was for this thing. Why? No idea. Anyway,  I walked around with the sales guy from Go Sports explaining what I was looking for. It's a thing that counts your steps, you attach it.... blah, blah, blah....  And after searching the entire store he finally found one for me.  With a huge sigh of annoyance he handed it over and then he pursed his lips and looked at me kind sideways and asked how I could speak French so well but didn't know the word for a podometer? I just smiled. And then he added, now you know the word and you can ask for it directly without giving me dissertation on what a podometer does*. Ah, Mr. Brown... you would be so proud of me.

*please note that even if I knew the word, I'd still get the annoying sigh from the sales guy. I annoy them, they annoy me, this is French customer service at its best!

I used to be so focused...

I'm sitting here drinking my morning coffee. Yogurt and clementines for breakfast. I am making an effort to lose some of the extra poundage. Eating better and eating less will definitely help but I need to get outside and pound the pavement and sweat to make a real difference.

But I sit here. Still in my jammies. Maximilien is dressed. Playing with contents from my husband's bordel drawer and singing me a song. He's in a good mood. It would be just fine for us to go out and get in the stroller and go for a run. But I am still sitting here. In my jammies. Not moving.

Where did my motivation go? Why have I become so freakin' lazy? I just keep putting it off. Procrastination. Oh, how I hate you right now.

If you have a faint heart you may want to stop reading right now....

I got dressed to illustrate my point. Meet Le Muffin Maximus. Front view, clothed, it's not that bad. The jeans are new. Straight leg from the Gap. I love them. Legs feel great to me. Could do some toning of the inner thighs but don't we all need to do that. Again, jogging will get that done for me in no time. Please note the uber cute baby. He is utterly amused with Mama's muffin. He blows zerberts on it. Which is not as amusing for me.

Behold Le Muffin Maximus. When I showed it to my sister she said that running will get rid of it. "It's not supposed to be there" , and she pointed to it. Le Muffin Maximus.  Note my unamused face. And yes, I have crazy bed head.

So, I am putting it all out there for everyone on the Internets to see. I hope this will be the motivation for me to get off my ass and get out there and run. Now just waiting for the baby to wake up from his morning nap. I'm off to change into my work out clothes. Muffin Maximus, you are on my list. My shit list. I am going to kick your ass.

Listening to the radio tonight got me thinking...

I have to say that French radio is crappy. I was scanning for something to listen to and stopped on a station called Sky Rock.  They were playing a decent song and then they play Britney Spears. I spun the dial and as I did, Julien asks who was singing? I told him it was Britney and  it's that song where she sings about drowning in her life and she's overwhelmed, the one where Stephen Dorff pulls her out of the bathtub. Yes, I have seen the video. It is played on Morning Live on M6 sometimes. Anyway, Julien asks if she'll be the next one to go. I responded I wasn't sure but wouldn't be surprised. I thought about who I was surprised was gone was Heath Ledger. I'm not into too much celebrities and their lives but I really liked Heath Ledger's movies. 10 Things I Hate About You is one of my favorite movies of all times. The soundtrack to the movie is on my iPod. Such a tragic thing to lose your life at such a young age.

So much to blog about and I have no clue where to start...

It's nearly midnight and I should get to bed. I have been neglecting my blog and my camera. I really want to blog and shoot photos but time is precious at our house these days. We are working on an important project that takes up all of our time in the evenings. My baby is becoming a toddler and I am constantly on the move trying to keep up with him. Time. There just isn't enough of it. 

As soon as things become more clear and concrete, I will be back.

I am Twittering. That is about all the time I have these days to post an update. So, keep an eye there if you are interested. If you Twitter, show me your tweets! :)

I could write more but sleep has caught a hold of me.

Running Redux

In an attempt to shed the ever present baby weight, I am bringing running back into my life again.  Now that Max has been out of my body for over nine months now and I think it's kinda silly of me to say that I am still carrying around baby weight. I've had nine months to lose the weight just as I had nine months to put it. I spend those first nine months of his life being pretty athletically lazy, I must admit. The extend of my exercising was taking Max for walks and these were very leisurely strolls of the parks around our apt. For me to lose weight, I have to break a major sweat. Hence, bringing the running back into my life again. When running was an important part of my life I looked and felt much better. To help me get back on the running track I bought myself a dandy new jogging stroller while I was home. I got myself fitted for some super comfy running shoes at the Running Store in Kansas City. I got a new all encompassing sports bra to keep my bosoms under control. Now I just need to kick the triple sickness I am dealing with right now and I'll hit the cobblestones of Paris running. My goal? I want to hit size 10. In the photo I linked above I am a size 8. That photo was taken 8 years ago. I don't want to set the bar too high. I have 4 pant sizes to lose and I am giving myself one year to do it right. And I am going to track my progress on my blog (see new category) so you must hold me accountable.  Now I just need to find my iPod sync cord and make myself a new play list for breaking in the new jogging stroller. Any song suggestions?

In sickness and in health...

This also goes for the role of mommy too.  We are almost a week into scream fest 2008 at our house. The nights are sleepless for Julien and I. My husband has a remarkable talent for going a long time without sleep. I wish I could do that. Instead, I go without sleep and that is when I get sick. After spending an unrested month in the US, I felt myself literally running on empty when we boarded the plane for France.  Little did I know that I would ended up with strep throat, a sinus infection and an ear infection* ALL AT THE SAME TIME. 

No freaking breaks for mama.

Yes, I am sobbing my story to the world. But all this is unfair. I am jetlag's bitch right now. Exhausted during the day and insomniac (partly due to Max's screaming) all night long.

There will inevitable be a blog break. again. There's so much I want to recap on my latest trip to the US. I want to post photos I've taken with my new camera. And there is some good news I want to share. But this will all have to wait until the sickness is gone and the sleep returns.

*This is the first time in my adult life I've had an ear infection and I can't put words to how painful it is.

Testing 1, 2, 4...

I mean 3.

This pretty much sums up the state of my mind right now. I can't count straight. I can't see straight. I am dead tired.

We got back from the United States on Sunday.  I was glad to be back in France. I missed our home. The US has become a place to visit for me now. I like it that way. 

So, back to my state of mind. I am tired. I am extended beyond my capacities.  I type this at 2:15am and my son is not asleep. Jet lag. Certainly. Stubbornness. Most definitely. But you say to yourself, "oh this will pass once he's over the jet lag". Let me tell you this: he has been doing this screaming at 2am for the past month. In central time zone and then the mountain time zone and now in 0 +1 or Paris/Amsterdam time zone at 2 am, the boy screams.  I just timed him with two interventions from mama, Max just screamed his head off for nearly three hours. Not crying. Not the wind down crying. Screaming. A scream so loud that it wakes my husband up and he is wearing ear plugs.

Our trip to the US? Almost a bust. I was so happy to see my family especially my aunt and uncle that came from far to meet Max. Christmas eve was wonderful. I loved seeing Max with his cousins who are the same age play together. They will have so much fun growing up together.

But right now another trip to the US is the furthest thing from my mind. Another trip anywhere just isn't even fathomable.  You know what else I've been thinking about? Not another child!*

Now it's been three hours after the scream fest started and I think I can go to bed. I hear my son hiccuping from crying and sucking his thumb. Perhaps sleep will envelope him and he will dream sweet baby dreams? More on our trip to the US soon...

Good night!

*Ask me again in a few months.