Harbachs

Forgetful Mommy

2011-05-26T02:12:00.007-05:00

I hate when I pull a stupid parent moment. This morning I dropped my sad, tearful Livia off at school then headed on my brisk walk to get Mya and Celine to school. While walking I noticed a little girl headed in the other direction with a see through backpack. In her backpack was a lunch. Wait a second... You can't bring a lunch to school (you either eat school lunch or you get picked up and eat at home then get brought back). It immediately hit me. OH MY GOODNESS!!! "Mya, is it Livia's school field trip today???" Ummm... "Yea, Mom, I think it is". This is an all day field trip from 8:30-5:30. You know, the kind of field trip where you pack a backpack with a lunch, sun screen, hat etc... I didn't even bring my bag and phone, so no money and no communication. Just my metro pass. I ran to the metro as fast as I could, ran up the stairs and had to wait 4 minutes for the metro. It felt like 4 hours. The Metro was jammed packed but their was no way I was not getting on that train, so I shoved my way in the crowd packed like sardines and waited so impatiently for my stop and ran home, up 5 flights of stairs and busted in the door and yelled.... "Jeff!!!!! Is it Livia's school field trip today?!?!?! Wiping the sleep from his eyes because he stayed up until 2am working on a school paper, he said "Let's check. Yep, it is." I bursted into tears, ran to the kitchen and started making her a lunch and packing a backpack for her while Jeff called the school. He was told that it was too late and not to worry about it because they were about to leave. Because of my uncontrollable crying he grabbed the bag and ran out the door to see if he could make it on time. In the meantime I cried and prayed on the couch while my 22 month old little Eva told me it would be ok and rubbed my face. Jeff called a few minutes later and told me he barely made it and was able to wave goodbye to her as they rode off on the bus.

We usually have our computer remind us of all of our events, but Jeff turned off the calendar reminders because of a school presentation and forgot to turn it back on so we totally forgot. I seriously felt like the worst Mom ever in that moment. She didn't even want to go to school and was crying this morning and I just sent her to school and didn't tell her about her field trip or send her with anything. I'm happy she got her bag and I'm happy Jeff picked up a few things at the store last night because it made it easy for me to throw a lunch together. I hope she has a good time on her field trip.

Ugh, this parenting thing never seems to get easier!

L'aperitif

2011-05-22T06:17:00.009-05:00

Just after getting home from a long day at the MBAT with Jeff and the girls (which HEC won!!) our downstairs neighbor came up to invite us to have an "l'aperitif" with them (a "l'aperitif" in France is a small get together with drinks and light finger foods). Although we were a bit tired, we were thankful for the invite and we wanted to get to know them better (and we were very curious to attend our first l'aperitif), so we said yes. It was really cute and fairly formal. When we walked in we noticed that their apartment was spotless even with having two children. The kids were ready for bed, and somehow they were able to play with our 3 oldest girls pretty quietly...amazing. We shared some very brief small chat and then were invited to sit on their sofa. The husband sat in a chair to our left and the wife sat in a chair to our right. It felt as if we were being surrounded! They offered us drinks (and were surprised with the non-alcoholic requests) and also brought out a tray of cute little finger foods. There were 4 items: cherry tomato with feta cheese on a toothpick, cantaloupe, crackers, and a thin meat (I think salami). We were given toothpicks, and about every 3-4 minutes the husband dutifully rose and served us from the tray. We're not sure if he did this out of a kind of protocol or just because we weren't taking the food ourselves. It was formal, but very cute.

Now, it wouldn't be a good story without a little action, right? Well, leave it up to me to provide the action. I'm not exactly sure how this happened, but mid-sentence I made a gesture with my hand that was holding my drink and ended up spilling my Coke all over my leg and all over their sofa! Great move Christa! The kids were in the other room, so I couldn't even blame it on one of my children, which I probably would have done... Ha ha! After that I was too nervous to actually take a drink, so I just gripped the glass with all my strength for the rest of the night to ensure no more spills. Maybe next time I should bring my own sippy cup!!

Fun night overall, despite my clumsiness!

Jeff's Press Release

2011-05-20T11:01:00.002-05:00

Angel network hires McCombs student

Austin Business Journal - by Christopher Calnan, Staff Writer

Date: Friday, May 20, 2011, 7:28am CDT

The Central Texas Angel Network has enlisted its first full-time employee to handle the day-to-day duties of managing its growing roster of investors.

Nevada native Jeff Harbach is scheduled to assume his duties at the Austin-based angel investor group in August. He will replace Executive Director Randall Crowder, who plans to focus on local investment firm TEXO Ventures, where he is managing partner, while taking an advisory role at CTAN.

The move to a full-time employee coordinating CTAN’s activities is the latest in a series of indicators that the popularity of angel investing is surging in Central Texas. Such growth is a positive development for local entrepreneurs seeking investment in early-stage companies and investors who want to be involved in Austin’s startup community.

CTAN, which was founded in 2006, reports having about 70 member investors. Crowder managed the angel group while completing his MBA at the University of Texas http://www.bizjournals.com/ - bizWatch-infoPopup’ McCombs School of Business.

Harbach, who is also a McCombs School student, is in France completing his MBA at HEC Paris, one of Europe’s highly regarded business schools. He plans to build on what has already been created at CTAN instead of making any major changes.

“We want to strengthen the [executive director] position for entrepreneurs to get advice and investments,” Harbach said.

CTAN invested 60 percent more during 2010 than during 2009, the angel network reported in January. The increase came one year after the group tripled its annual investments.

During 2010, the angel group invested $5.7 million in 15 companies compared with $3.5 million invested in 12 companies the prior year. As a result, the amount of capital CTAN annually invests more than quintupled during a two-year period.

Life sciences continued to be the largest sector for investment, attracting 19 percent of the capital that CTAN invested in 2010, according to CTAN officials.

Most of the group’s investors are busy with their own ventures, CTAN Chairman Jamie Rhodes said. As a result, a full-time employee is important to coordinate the funding process when investors consider the viability of startup companies.

“We’ve got to keep them organized and focused on the due diligence,” he said. “It’s difficult to carve out enough time to study plans and then sign checks.”

Austin attorney Pete Winstead, who helped established CTAN five years ago, didn’t anticipate the organization’s rapid growth. The group was formed to create jobs by filling the capital gap that existed for new companies not large enough to collect venture capital.

“There was this huge vacuum for what had been one of Austin’s strengths — entrepreneurship,” said Winstead, a founding shareholder at Winstead PC. “It has turned out to be really, really good.”

MyJobChart.com

2011-05-19T09:39:00.001-05:00

Jeff and I have used many different tactics to try and keep our girls on task, clean, tidy, etc. Often times we settle on a series of Job Chart spreadsheets that Jeff has compiled over the years. They work really well and do a great job motivating the girls. The problem is that it takes so much time each day to check off their charts and assign verify their points (our way of rewarding them). I'm sure many of you have gone through similar struggles, right??

Well, we just recently found an online version of what we've been doing for years that makes this whole process much easier. It is MyJobChart.com. It is great! You can create a family profile and give each child their own login (with their own picture), their own assignments, and their own point system. When they finish their tasks they get points, and they can save these points or spend them based on what they want as their reward. It is a great tool for teaching work, savings, tithing, etc. And the best thing is that each kid can login to their account, verify their own tasks, and even send us messages that get emailed to us. So it is very exciting for them and saves the family time. I love when I find things to make (my life) a Mom's life run a bid smoother. The girls are liking it too. They feel so responsible and they love to leave us notes.

Baguette

2011-05-17T04:44:00.000-05:00

The baguette has it's own food group here in France, and fittingly it has become a staple for us at mealtime (or snack time, or anytime really). We have eaten so many baguettes that we have now become picky with where to buy them, which is the Parisian way. Everyone has their favorite baguette shop. Sure you can pick up a baguette just about anywhere, but not all baguettes are created equally. Jeff and I prefer it to be a little bit crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, while the girls prefere the softer buttered baguette. Some are definitely more fresh than others, so we set out to find our favorite baguette shop.

This has been one of the nice things about actually living here. We have started to recognize the same people in the neighborhood when we're walking along the streets. We've made friends with shop owners, and we've received tips on places to try for just about everything. We've found that it's definitely worth the walk when you find the right bakeries, cafes, cheese shops, etc. My friend Emily also gave us the good advice to pay attention in the mornings, at lunch time, and especially when people are on their way home from work and see which places are crowded and have lines. That will tell you who has the best goods. Sounds simple to me, and sure enough I think she's right. We've narrowed in on a couple of shops we like, but we're constantly searching and trying new bakeries...and LOVING it!

Music Solo

2011-05-16T14:13:00.008-05:00

While putting the dishes away tonight Celine came to me and told me she had a tummy ache. This was nothing new, as she has been telling me that she had a tummy ache all week. I gave her hugs and kisses and told her it would be ok and to head back to bed. She then turns to me and says:

"Mom, I have music tomorrow at school and I just don't want to go! I'm going to get all sweaty again and my face will turn red!"

Music? Thats sounds like fun to me.

"Well, last week the music teacher was asking me a bunch of stuff in French. I couldn't understand what she was saying, so I just kept saying yes. When I went back to class my teacher told me that I agreed to sing a Snow White solo in english to the class!!!"

It took every ounce of self restraint I could muster to keep myself composed. But I quickly learned that I don't have much self restraint. I couldn't help it! Tears were starting to stream down my face from trying to hold in my laughter. I don't know if it was the way she told me (so cute and innocent) or just knowing Celine's personality (of all our children for this to happen to, it happens to the my most shy child), but it was hilarious!! No wonder why she has had a tummy ache all week. She's thinking they are going to make her sing a solo in music class!! My tummy would hurt too!!!!

I love you my sweet sweet Celine!

Perfect Father's Day Gift

2011-05-10T02:18:00.001-05:00

Looking for the perfect Father's Day present? Well...

My mom retired three years ago from a successful career, but instead of sitting in the rocking chair, she decided to follow her dreams of becoming an author. Her first book, My Dad is Forever, was published in 2010. She just completed her second book (not released yet) with Disney artist, Jared Beckstand, and is presently working on a suspense novel. In the fall of 2010 she started a writer's blog: onefineday11.blogspot.com that's filled with short stories of humorous antics about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Her fun personality and quick wit shines through her work and she has captivated quite a following.

She recently flew to Idaho for a radio show where she was invited to promote the release of her new book, My Dad Is Forever, by Linda Sumner Urza. One week after the show aired, the radio announcer called and invited her back for an encore. He said that he'd never had so many responses from the radio audience and the phone calls were still coming in! You would think that she spent the entire hour talking about the success of her book, but not my Mom ~ she encouraged people to follow their dreams! "There is a dream in everyone! No matter where you are in life, follow that dream today and it will become the reality of a bright tomorrow."

Mom, I am inspired by your constant desires to improve the world around you and your tenacious zest for excellence. You make life look so easy, peasy, lemon squeezy (as Livia would say)!

These next couple months my Mom and her publishing company are getting ready for a big push for Father's Day. If you haven't read My Dad is Forever, you won't be disappointed... It's a must read! Very tender book and I am so proud of my Mom and want to support her and her dream. You can find links to the books here:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

A million bucks

2011-05-06T11:57:00.010-05:00

While we were at David and Lourdes's home getting ready for a night out with just the parents, Celine overheard a conversation Jeff and I were having. She heard me say "Man, Lourdes looks like a million bucks!" Once I was ready for the night, Celine remembered the conversation and told me proudly "Mommy, you look like a million bucks!" I thanked her for being so sweet.

The next morning we were finishing breakfast and I told everyone that we need to hurry and get ready so that we could leave. Celine proudly told me again, "Mommy, you look like a thousand bucks!" Wow, I can go down hill pretty quickly. Jeff said "Wow, I knew mornings were rough, but that's a serious drop in your stock price". Well, I'm feeling pretty special right now.

Pull yourself together

2011-04-26T03:29:00.015-05:00

Jeff started school today. We were all excited for him. Celine even told him he needed to wear something nice for his first day. Ha! He did look nice might I add.

Today I told the girls we were going to relax, sleep in, and rest our feet from all the walking around Paris we’ve been doing and finish up all of our library books because we will be returning most of them tomorrow. We did just that. We stayed in our pjs and read in blankets all day. You know where I’m going with this, right. Why is it that every time you decide to take a day to relax and look a mess that someone pays you a surprise visit! Yep, my neighbors came over to introduce themselves, and I looked, well, a mess. They couldn’t have come the other 6 days a week that I painstakingly get all my girls and myself ready (plus clean the apartment)! Of course not, because then I would never learn humility, right!? Ugh!!

The knock on the door came as a surprise. I scrambled to clean my very small apartment, take a glance in the mirror and cover Eva with a blanket (she took off her diaper and was running around naked…of course). Then, after a couple of minutes of scrambling I run to the door (let me add that we live in an apartment building and you can hear EVERYTHING that goes on in an apartment from outside the apartment. I also know from experience that when Eva blesses us with her HIGH pitched scream that you can hear her 3 floors down. Nice! So, I know they heard my scrambling.) I started to try and open the door, but I couldn’t figure it out. Jeff locked the door from the outside when he left for school and the only way for me to unlock “The Vault” was to find the key. Great! Where the heck is the key! “Ummm. HOLD ON…” I said while I went looking for the key (they’ve probably been waiting 2-3 minutes now). I finally found the key, and after all that I finally met my upstairs neighbor.

Monsieur Lenoire lives right above us, and he is the manager of the building. He is in his mid 60's and he has the sweetest demeanor ever. He works on French movie sets as a “sound man”. He is semi-retired and only does 1-2 movies a year, which means he’s gone for 2-4 months a year working and then has the rest of the time off. He came down to let me know that he would be traveling for work soon and would be gone. He said "I'm so sorry, but I will be traveling to movie set. I will be gone for 2 months. I only work one movie a year and this is time for me to work,” in is darling French accent. He told me that his wife would be home later tonight and he would like to introduce us.

That was so nice of him to stop by and I would love to meet his wife. I most definitely will clean up first!!

Lundi de Pâques (Easter Monday)

2011-04-25T23:54:00.002-05:00

In France the Easter Holiday includes the Monday after Easter (or Lundi de Pâques). Children don't have school, and it is a day to spend with families. There are many different activities going on around Paris, so we decided to check some of them out.

The first event we went to was the Chocolate Festival (or the Celebration of Chocolate). It was held in this cute little shopping village on the Right Bank. They had free chocolate fondue and a free class for the kids where they "were taught about the joys of chocolate" (in reality, they just decorated chocolate, but still fun!). The girls had a great time, and Jeff and I loved checking out the shops in this little village.

Afterwards we went out to Parc Floral in Vincennes, which is a large park just to the east of Paris. They had a new attraction at this park that allowed the kids (and families) to walk amongst the trees on wooden bridges they built to connect the forest in a large network of "treehouses". So fun, except for the fact that we showed up too late to do this because we had so much fun at the chocolate festival. Still, the park was gorgeous and we're going to try and make it back another time.

This candy shop in Bercy Village was a little girl's heaven.

Chocolate dipped fruit

And if you look closely at my white (or not so white anymore) shirt, you'll see I have a nice big chocolate stain. Thanks Eva!

Eva and I hung out and took pictures while the girls were off decorating chocolate for an Easter activity with Dad. I loved the old brick walls and wooden doors in this village. Perfect backgrounds for a photo shoot!

Thanks to their Daddy they were supper happy all day. Turns out they needed to register for the decorating, but because Jeff is persistent and patient, he waited long enough for them to find an opening and allow all three girls to participate. They loved the chocolate decorating.

Mya was the smart one and took off her white cardigan so she didn't end up a chocolate mess like me. We then headed over to Parc Floral and we were amazed at how beautiful it was. I would love to go again before I leave Paris. Check out the Chateau Vincennes below!

Can you find all 4 girls?

Easter

2011-04-25T01:43:00.011-05:00

We were excited to celebrate Easter this year in Paris. We had a great time going into all the shops and checking out all their Easter candy. Last year, much to the disappointment of the girls, I wrote the Easter Bunny a letter telling him we really didn't want candy or chocolate that year (I thought this was brilliant). So, the sweet Easter Bunny left money in the eggs instead of candy. Great! No cavities and the girls have money to save and spend. Right? Wrong! This year, the girls made it very clear that I was not to write the same letter again! They wanted candy and chocolate! Celine said "Mom, please don't write the Easter Bunny and tell him we don't want candy this year, BECAUSE WE DO." So, we had a chocolate/candy extravaganza...

I got some fun colored candy and ribbon at our neighborhood market. I was hoping to get some fabric and jars but Easter is on a budget this year, so we used whatever we had at the apartment.

Eva held on to her cup with a death grip! I really didn't want her to eat any of it due to her just getting over being a bit sick and having a fever, but I let her eat some anyway.

Chocolate bunnies, chocolate gift pack and chocolate eggs. We ate a ton of chocolate!!! We were ALL surprised when the chocolate gift pack had a toy game hidden in the chocolate. Each girl got a different toy game and it kept us entertained for hours.

Can't go wrong with crepe's for breakfast... teacup style..

We had originally planned to have a picnic in Versailles, but with Eva just getting over being sick we decided to picnic around the corner from our apartment...at the Eiffel Tower. What could be better than beautiful weather and an Easter picnic at the Champs de Mars!

We ate sandwiches, chips, strawberries and bananas with Nutella (more chocolate).

Any spare time we've had lately has been spent reading. And reading at the park is one of our favorite pass times. They each have a book that they are reading and then I have a book I've been read to them (so fun to experience the book with them!). We are just finishing up Jennifer Murdley's Toad. Celeste, the librarian, (who is super helpful) picks out her favorite books for us to read. And so far we have been very pleased.

Yep, more candy. I'm sure she'll have a fever relapse tomorrow. But it's Easter... right!? And look at that smile. How could I resist! She almost had me fooled that she even had a fever at all.

We have watched Tangled so many times since we've been here that of course the girls would put flowers in their hair.

Fun day!

(PS...please, no comments about my white legs!)

Paris-sites

2011-04-22T02:44:00.003-05:00

I was chatting with my Mom this morning telling her that Eva hasn't been feeling very well and was running a low grade fever for the past couple of days. I was also mentioning that I was glad I brought my medicine cabinet from home so I didn't have to worry about running to the pharmacy to get her some medicine. My Mom listened to what I had to say and then cutely responded "Yes, sounds serious. I think you should bring her to me. I believe she is suffering from a small case of 'Paris-sites'. And the cure for having Paris-sites is Grammy!"

Of course my Mom would have something witty and cleaver to say. Love you Mom! You make me smile!

Sacre Coeur and Arch de Triumph

2011-04-22T01:37:00.006-05:00

All by myself

2011-04-20T01:33:00.005-05:00

Well, I did it... I made the 1:10 minute trek out to Disneyland. I rode the Metro, switched to the train, made it in and out of security gates, and walked up and down stairs with 4 kids, a stroller and bags... ALL BY MYSELF! This seriously was a HUGE breakthrough for me because I tend to get very nervous and overanalyze everything. I was mostly unsure about taking all the correct trains and navigating the switches, but I was also nervous about all the stairs we had to go up and down with Eva in her stroller. We have been teaching our girls about Metro rules, safety, and protocols during our time here. Before we left I reiterated some of our discussions and made sure they knew that it would only be me this time on the trip and that they had to stay close. I also went over all the safely tips with the girls and how important it was that they did everything I asked...when I asked. Celine and Livia held on to each side of the stroller and Mya walked in front of me so I could keep an eye on her. Mya really is blossoming as a young lady, and she has been a huge help as of late. She not only helped me carry the stroller up and down stairs, but she was great with navigating the Metro stations and lines. Because she's done it with Jeff so many times she really feels like she has the hang of it. She would help me with the stroller and then turn around and help us figure out where we needed to go.

The girls were amazing, and I was especially grateful for Mya's help. I couldn't have done it without her muscles and her navigation skills. We met up with Jeff later that day and also the Halls (the family with the 3 girls the same ages as Mya, Celine, and Livia). It made it so much fun for the girls to have them there, and they knew the park so well that we just followed them everywhere...from ride to ride to ride. It was great!

Parisian Lifestyle

2011-04-16T04:50:00.005-05:00

The more I learn about the culture in Paris (and in France really), the more I'm starting to fall in love with the Parisian lifestyle. In America we are always in such a rush to get to that next important thing. We pack our lunch and most of the time eat quickly at our desk so we can move on with the day. The Parisians think this is blasphemy, and it's really true that they shut down at meal times to enjoy their food, their family and friends, and the experience of eating. I love the line that the French use..."Americans view food as fuel to put in their machine to make it go. The French view meal time as an experience to be savored with good company." Our friend Mike was telling us that under no circumstances would he bring his lunch to work with him. He would be ridiculed and ostracized. Also, eating at your desk in Paris is out of the question! Instead, you take a break for lunch and eat with your coworkers. We do this in the states a bit too, right? Not like here. Here offices will often shut down for 2 hours for lunch (12-2pm) while the employees site outside at the cafes, enjoy the weather and their food, and watch people walk by. It is people watching at its best! Mike works in La Defense, which is the business sector of Paris with all the skyscrapers. He said 2 hour lunches are a bit rare there, but the average is about an hour or so for lunch with another 15-30 minutes for coffee afterwards (or hot chocolate if you're LDS). He also says that he mainly eats in the cafeteria and that the food is amazing.

Another important note about eating at restaurants here is that they don't gorge you with food. You get a healthy portion of food, and you savor and finish every bite. No take home bags here, and why in the world would you bring the food home anyway? You eat at the restaurant where the experience is! So interesting. I'm not sure if I've ever gone to a restaurant and not taken something home that I didn't finish. Tisk tisk on me.

In the business world here you are done between 5-6pm. You will be gently nudged home around 6pm if you haven't left yet, and you will be kicked out of the office by 8pm. Mike told us about a project one of his coworkers was working on. It was behind schedule and he wanted to stay late to work on it. He had to get special permission from his superiors to stay past 8pm, and they were insistent that they did not expect him to stay that late but that he could if he wanted to. So, you work AT work, and once you leave you're basically done. Sign me up!

I know different jobs require more or less for the individual, but I would love to adapt this culture into my life. I want to slow down and take time to enjoy life...and especially enjoy the food! Thank you Paris!!

Essential books while in Paris

2011-04-16T04:24:00.004-05:00

I found a wonderful book today at The American Library in Paris called Paris in a Basket. This book was my favorite find at the library today. I'm seriously so excited about this book!!! Everything you need to know about the Parisian markets, food and the people. We've already been obsessed with all the markets while we've been here and we are on a search for our favorite market. I can't wait to go to the organic market in the 6th arrondissement.

Bloom Where You Are Planted is another fantastic book. Unfortunately you can't get it on line. I mentioned this book in my earlier post regarding Helpful Paris Information. It is published by the Women of the American Church in Paris. I am so glad Jeff went and picked this book up the first couple days we were hear in Paris. It has saved us on a number of occasions. For example... All the power went out in our apartment. I couldn't figure how to get it back on and we were just about to leave so I left a flashlight by the door and when we got home Jeff was smart enough to check the book and sure enough it told him exactly what to do. It was simple! If we didn't have the book we probably would have been out of power for a good while until someone came to help.

The American Library in Paris

2011-04-15T23:14:00.002-05:00

My exciting find for the day...The American Library in Paris! I know what you are thinking... Why spend time in an American Library when you can be exploring Paris? Well, we have been doing a ton of exploring. Jeff has drug us everywhere and we (us girls) are getting tired. So we took the kids to the library today and I could see the smiles on the kids faces. It was a place of comfort for them. Celine had a huge grin on her face and when I asked her why she was smiling her reply was. "I'm just so happy to be here. They speak English and I can read all the books I want. I want to come back all the time."

The library is about a 10-15 minute walk from our apartment and we walk right past the Eiffel Tower to get there. I have a feeling we'll be at the library at least twice a week if not more.

Eva fell in the box of toys and couldn't get out.

Happy girls

Notre Dame

2011-04-15T02:16:00.005-05:00

Here's a couple of pictures from our visit to the historic Notre Dame...

Bot-Celine

2011-04-14T06:12:00.003-05:00

This is a very old picture that I meant to post a long time ago. I thought about just deleting it, but I just had to post it because it makes me laugh every time I see it. Celine made a robot head for fun one day at the house. She was really excited about it...so much so that she started watching TV and forgot she had it on. When I walked in and noticed her staring at the TV, oblivious to the oatmeal box on her head, I just had to take a picture.

Disneyland Paris

2011-04-11T23:18:00.004-05:00

For the girl's birthdays we decided to surprise them with Disneyland tickets. Our friend John Hall, who lives in Paris, introduced us to an awesome French website...vente-privee.com. They were having a special on Disneyland Paris annual passes just before we left, so we decided to buy them. We bought discounted annual passes for Jeff, Mya, and I, and with those passes Celine, Livia, and Eva got annual passes for free! What a great deal! We would have spent more going to Disneyland twice than we did on annual passes for the family! I don’t know who was more excited, me or the girls? Having season passes means less stress for me. I don’t have to worry about showing up when they open, making sure we hit every ride the girls want to go on, and staying until it closes. It takes us about an hour train ride to Disneyland, and the train lets out literally at the front doors of Disneyland. The girls don't mind the trip because they bring a book and read the entire time. Our passes arrived on Friday (that was the only bummer...we had to wait for them to arrive in the mail so we couldn't actually use them when we were staying out at Disneyland last week!), so we decided today was our day! We had a great time and we are planning on meeting the Halls out there again on Saturday (we love the Halls, and they have girls the same ages as Mya, Celine, and Livia so we're excited to hang out with them).

I decided not to be nauseous for the entire day, so no tea cups for me.

Note to self... Don't go in a maze if any of your children need to go the bathroom. We couldn't seem to find our way out. You should have seen poor little Celine's face every time we hit a dead end. We finally made it to the restroom with no accidents.

We stopped in to eat at Videopolis. They have a huge screen playing cartoons for the kids. It was nice to warm up, eat and watch a cartoon. Definitely entertained the the girls.

Another cool thing about the annual passes is that we get all sorts of discounts with them. For example, everywhere in the park we eat we get 10% off! Also, we can get day passes for friends for 10% off. So, which one of my friends is coming first!?!?

Funny for the Day!

2011-04-11T09:31:00.004-05:00

Sunday with our new friend

2011-04-11T01:04:00.007-05:00

Aren’t Sundays GREAT! We sure love them in our family. It is just so nice to have break from the normal hustle and bustle of the world. Our morning started off with a Metro ride and a short walk to get to church (about 50 minutes total trip). It was great to be at church and to meet our new ward family! I know I’ve said it before, but I just love the Gospel! Wherever you go in the world you have an immediate family. I was also so glad to meet people who spoke English. There were a bunch of American families (called expats…I just learned that one) in the ward. One of the families we met was the Binghams. They have a couple girls close to the same ages as our girls. I chatted with Emily for awhile after Church while the girls played. Their family is here while her husband is on a business assignment for 2 years. They are most recently from Virginia, and they are super sweet. I’m sure we’ll see more of them.

We also met Cassi Lee. Cassi is a 19-year old from Chicago who is here on a modeling contract. She lives with 7 other models and none of them speak English. I can’t imagine being in her situation with no family and really no one to talk to. It just seems so brave to me. We invited Cassi to hang out with us for the day, and we were glad that she accepted. Before heading home Jeff wanted to walk by this well-known open-air market to see if it was any good (Marche Richard Lenoir). This was my first Parisian market experience. They had all kinds of stuff, including meat. I have a hard time thinking they are selling meat out in the open. That can’t be sanitary! As I was walking checking out what they were selling I heard Cassi say “Ummm…Don’t step on that.” “What?” was my reply. And guess what happened next? Yep… I stepped on guts from some unidentified animal or fish. Seriously…gross!! It was hard enough just to look at everything and now I’ve just stepped in it. Yuck! We had a moment of grossness and then just laughed it off. As our stomachs were starting to grumble we decided to head home. We cooked up our first meal in our new apartment (spaghetti with fresh broccoli, baguettes and cheese from the market). Cassi ate with us and shared our Sunday family night with us. It was great to have her here, and I’m pretty sure it was nice for her to spend some time with a family.

At the market with our new friend Cassi

Our apartment

2011-04-10T16:41:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken from the Metro just below our apartment. We are on the 5th floor (the lower of the two levels with a full balcony and all those plants...isn't it cute!). We are really happy to be so close to the Metro line. It's great for us to travel around Paris, and it's also connected to the line that takes Jeff to school (it's a straight shot out to Versailles). I didn't know how I would feel about living across the street from the Metro, but the more we go out sightseeing the more I love where I live. It's so convenient. Plus it's great for people watching!

We were waiting for the Metro and thought this was a good example of how close we are. It's literally right across the street. Here is my model showing you where our apartment is.

Our mailbox

Our lobby door buzzer.

I can't believe how many locks our front door has. It has 2 locks that you can lock manually and one you turn with a key and it locks at the top and bottom. NO one is getting in. Why didn't I have a door like this when I lived in Vegas?

Hallway from the front door looking towards the kitchen.

This is the same hallway looking towards the bathrooms and bedrooms.

Livia's room (we need to get a crib and then Eva will stay in here too).

Mya and Celines room

Master bedroom

Tiny bathroom with shower and sink in the Master bedroom

Looking at the family area.

Dinning area

They have a great selection of French books, English books and Cd's. We listened to the Beatles the first night in our apartment while we unpacked.

La Petite Chocolatiere

2011-04-10T10:28:00.004-05:00

Paris is full of wonderful little shops. Here's one that might become our favorite...La Petite Chocolatiere. It's just down the street from our apartment.

Dressing Room Surprise

2011-04-10T09:16:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was our first full day in Paris so we decided to go out exploring a bit. We decided to wander into the 16th arrondissement to a shopping center called Passy Place. We found a GAP there, and so we did a little shopping. I insisted that Jeff get himself another pair of jeans, so he had one of the fashionable GAP dudes help him with his outfits. I wanted to see what he was trying on, so we journeyed into the dressing room with him. I turned the corner to walk down the hallway of dressing rooms and immediately realized that dressing rooms in Paris are a little more, shall we say, open. There, at the end of the hallway, looking into the 3 tilted mirrors was an older lady in her underwear! I thought… is Jeff in the women’s dressing room?? But no! We were in a shared dressing room and apparently she didn’t care for her own room and wanted to see herself in the 3 mirrors. Maybe the French don’t care much for privacy? I didn’t mind but the girls kept snickering and Mya kept looking at me and saying “weird”.

Eiffel Tower

2011-04-10T02:39:00.000-05:00

Another daily stroll around Paris.

If the baguette isn't fattening enough, try the hot dogs! Now THAT is a hot dog! Two hot dogs in one yummy bun grilled with cheese on top.

Bribery worked

2011-04-10T01:44:00.000-05:00

Poor Livia has been battling with some pretty bad allergies and I have to put medicated eyedrops in her eyes 3 times a day. She really doesn't like it, so we did what most parents would do... We bribed her to let me flush her eyes. What did she get in return? A trip to the park and the patisserie (pastry shop) to pick out a treat. That did the trick.

Her left eye was completely swollen shut before we put in the medicine.

Enjoying the park.

Officially Parisians!!!

2011-04-10T00:10:00.004-05:00

Well, we’re here! I can’t believe I live in PARIS!!!!

Just as the missionaries were walking out the door, our intercom rang downstairs. Jeff arranged for the previous renter to come over and give us tips on the apartment. Her name is Sandrine and she brought her daughter Capucine (isn’t that a gorgeous name!). She was very lovely and extremely helpful.

Once she left we took a breath and checked out the apartment on our own. Moving in was the first time I saw our place, so I wanted to do a thorough walkthrough. It is lovely! It is an older and quaint little apartment (110 square meters, or about 1000 square feet, which is spacious by Parisian standards) with lots of character. I will post pictures soon.

I wanted to get settled and unpack but I also wanted to a double-check clean (Christa standards), so we headed out to find cleaning supplies. We stopped off at the park to let the kids play, went to some candy and chocolate shops and ended up at the Haagen Daz ice cream shop (as if we hadn’t had enough to eat). We needed ice cream though. It is our comfort food/treat. While at the ice cream shop we met a couple girls that go to the international school in the neighborhood. Each spoke at least 2 languages fluently, by most of them more than that. We got chatting with a lovely girl named Mathilda from Australia. Her parents are diplomats working in the Australian Embassy. She was very sweet and has lived in Paris for a couple of years now. She speaks fluent French and has offered to help us anyway she can (schools, tutoring, babysitting. etc.). That was a chance meeting, but I’m hoping to see more of her!

The girls with Capucine

Ring us...we're #32!

Naked Man

2011-04-08T23:12:00.004-05:00

I finally got the kids to bed after a long day of moving and exploring our new neighborhood. Because we don’t get Internet at the apartment yet, Jeff headed down to the bike shop to download emails. This left me time to fully take in my new surroundings. I was enjoying the peace and quiet of our apartment while sitting on our sofa and I decided to look out our window. I’m just fascinated with city life. I looked down and saw the Metro line in front of our apartment. I watched people get on the Metro and wondered where everyone was going. Then I looked up and across at the building directly in front of me and just watched and pondered about everyone’s lives. I felt like Joey and Chandler on Friends as they watched the people in the building across from them. I scanned the building and saw an old grandma watching TV, a lady and a man having dinner together, a guy just chilling on his balcony, another lady cleaning her kitchen, an old naked man on a ladder in his closet, a lady… Wait a second! An OLD NAKED MAN ON A LADDER IN HIS CLOSET!!! EWWW! I wanted to shout out the window… “NAKED MAN, WE CAN SEE YOU. YOUR BLINDS ARE OPEN!”

It just made me realize that I better shut my blinds while I’m naked on my ladder! Because if I can see them, then they can see me!

Welcome to the city!

Moving with the Missionaries

2011-04-08T13:51:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons). We are Christians, and as Christians we feel it is very important to serve others. Service in our Church is key to our beliefs. This is one of the reasons why you see young men (ages 19-25) serving two-year missions for the Church. During their mission they do a lot of teaching and a lot of service. We love the missionaries, and it turns out that we actually know a couple of the missionaries assigned to the Paris mission.

We know Elder Portwood – Jeff has had the opportunity to serve in many different leadership callings in the Church, and right now we are so lucky to have him serving in the Bishopric of the Young Single Adults Ward in Austin, Texas. It has been a great experience for him and for our family. The single adults have been wonderful examples to my girls. We’ve loved getting to know them and loved having them over to our home. One of our favorites in the ward is our friend Ivy Portwood. Ivy has been to Paris years ago, so before we left for France she came over to the house and had a Paris Night with our family. We made crepes, looked at all her favorite pictures, and even learned a little French. Lot's of fun! Her brother, Elder Portwood, is also serving here in Paris. We told her that we’d do our best to meet him, pass along a hug from her, and feed him.

We also know Sister Pearce – During one of his trips into the city, Jeff had the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the missionaries in the Visitor’s Center right next to the Church. To show how truly small this world is, as he was speaking with some of the sister missionaries he mentioned that he played tennis at BYU. One of the sisters asked if he knew Jordan Pearce, daughter of Brad Pearce who is now the Head Men’s Tennis Coach at BYU. Of course he did, and she said that they were MTC companions and that Sister Pearce is serving just a couple of hours north of Paris. Jeff actually got to speak with her on the phone for about 10 minutes, and we’re hoping that she’ll be able to attend Celine’s baptism!

During this same visit with the missionaries, Jeff spoke to the Zone Leader and asked for help with our move. We were fortunate enough to get permission, and we had 5 missionaries come help us move our luggage into the city. Guess who one of those missionaries was…Elder Portwood! Because he was serving in the area, Jeff requested his and his companion’s help, and sure enough, they came!

The missionaries arrived right on time. Jeff had to meet the gas company at the apartment between 7-9am to set everything up, so he took 2 big bags and headed into the city around 5:30am. The plan was to have him come back after the gas was turned on and help us all move. Well, the gas company showed up a bit late, so he was running late. The Elders needed to hurry so that they could make an afternoon appointment, so we decided to just meet Jeff at the Metro stop. Once I gave them the plan, the missionaries took the bags and left for the bus. I checked out of the Marriott and just missed the bus with them, so I had to catch the next bus. Yes, that’s right, I took a bus with 4 kids all by myself! I’m just glad I took the right bus and was able to find them at the Metro station!

You should have seen us. We made quite the scene with our army of missionaries carrying all of our stuff through the stations. It was quite the scene. We never could have done it ourselves though, and I am so grateful for those awesome missionaries that came to serve us. I am also grateful to know that no matter where we go in the world, we have members of the Church that will welcome us in and are excited to see us. It sure is a comforting feeling. So many of the Church members in Paris have already gone out of their way to help us and we have had a couple of offers for dinner. We are very grateful indeed!

Here are some pictures of our adventure…

Jeff with Ivy's brother, Elder Portwood

It was fun to chat with the missionaries, to hear about their experiences from their missions in France, and to get to know Elder Portwood. They were AWESOME and I know Jeff had a smile on his face knowing that we saved $200.

Helpful Paris Information

2011-04-08T03:54:00.000-05:00

We've spent a good amount of time learning about our new home. We've come across a bunch of really helpful resources that I would like to share. Most are websites relating to apartment searches, but I'll start with something put out by the American Church in Paris. This church does a really good job of helping Americans (and other expats) acclimate themselves to Paris. One of these resources is a housing/job/classifieds board that is posted twice a week at the Church. We heard about it many times before moving here, and Jeff checked it regularly during his trips to Paris. However, we found that most of the listings for apartments were for small studio or 1 bedroom flats...not families of 6!

An organization within the church called the Women of the American Church published a book called Bloom Where You're Planted - How to Live in France. The price is 20 euros and it is definitely worth the price. It is even better if you have the book BEFORE moving to Paris, but still a good book to have regardless.

I want to also take a minute to plug a couple of the websites we used in our apartment search. This isn't a comprehensive list, but rather a list of the sites we used the most with some of our comments about the site:

Lodgis.com ($) – Good inventory with good, user-friendly search options. I liked the conversion tools and the ability to call agents by Skype. However, they require expensive deposits and agency fees.

ParisAttitude.com ($) – Good inventory, decent search options. Agents were nice but not very helpful. Not a very easy process with them, and again, expensive agency fees.

LeBonCoin.fr – Really cool site. French use this similar to Craigslist. Some agents still post their listings on here, but the site will let you know if a “pro” is listing the property or not.

Pap.fr – Another pretty good site. This is a bunch of listings by owners only. The positive is that you can find some good deals and properties to look at. The negatives are that few allow you to email them, even fewer show pictures, and even fewer owners speak English. I worked my way speaking with many of them, but in the end it was too much work to try to rent to someone that doesn’t speak French, so I never got very far with any of these owners.

Craigslist.fr – Very similar experience to using pap.fr, although a few more owners spoke English on these listings.

Science-accueil.org – This was a very helpful website with lots of resources for students and professors relocating to Paris. I spoke to about 4 owners here, but we weren’t able to make anything work (nothing big enough for the crazy American with 4 kids!).

Fusac.org – “The Multilingual Multicultural Marketplace”. I used this a bit, but it wasn’t as helpful as the other sites.

Marriott Village...We'll miss you!

2011-04-08T01:33:00.000-05:00

Phew! Jeff and I stayed up really late packing up all of our stuff and getting it ready to move to our apartment. I'm running on not much sleep, but here's a quick post of some of our fun memories at the Marriott's Village Ile-de-France Vacation Club Resort...

We Got the Apartment, and We’re Moving!

2011-04-08T00:02:00.000-05:00

I just got the phone call I was hoping for! Jeff is holding the keys to our new apartment!! After months of searching on the Internet, over a week of Jeff making the 2.5 hour round trip commute into Paris to look for apartments, and lots of prayers, we finally found a place to rent!! The actual rent is more expensive than what we were hoping to pay, but we’re very happy that we avoided agency fees. The fees are really expensive (often equivalent to one month’s rent), so we figure we came out about even with what we wanted to pay.

I must say, I am so excited to unpack my bags! Living here at the Marriott has been fun, but I’m ready to stop living out of our luggage and actually start experiencing Paris. I haven’t even been into the city yet!

Jeff also informed me that we will not be getting a car to take us into the city. Instead, we will be riding the train and the Metro! Yes…with ALL of our stuff!! When he told me this I gave him a look like “Are you kidding me?! We can’t take all of our luggage and our family on the Metro by ourselves!!” His response - "It's ok, I have it all figured out. The missionaries are coming to help with our bags. I am NOT spending $200 on a car when we already have bus and train passes."

Last week Jeff purchased month passes for the trains and metro since we’d be using them so much, and they were pricey. So, he was so excited to tell me that I have nothing to worry about and that he made it so easy that I had to go along with him. However, I was definitely thinking..."Mmmm, right honey. I’m thinking easy would have been renting a car and driving me into the city. That would have been the easy route." But I kept those thoughts to myself. I know we need to save money where we can, so I went along with it.

Wish me luck because this is definitely going to be interesting tomorrow!

Fun with Markers

2011-04-07T15:27:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when somehow markers are left within the reach of a 19 month old...

Doesn't she look so proud of herself, sitting there relaxing with her hands behind her head watching TV. Little stinker. Once I saw this I decided it was a day for the POOL!

Eva loves the pool, so it was a good way to get all that ink off of her skin. Here's a couple of pics of the family at the pool...

After splashing water on Daddy

Livia with her duck (thinking of you Mrs. Degilio!)

Now I need to focus on what to feed the girls. This is hard to do because Jeff just left to meet the apartment owner and sign on the apartment. As long as everything looks in order, he will be signing and delivering a large security deposit, so I’m anxious to hear word back from him.

Run along the French Countryside

2011-04-07T13:04:00.000-05:00

Went for a run around the beautiful French countryside this morning. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect and it was so gorgeous out. I didn’t hate or dread running today, and I was able to run for a long distance without getting tired. Maybe it was the stress of hoping we sign on an apartment soon that fueled me!

I only had my iPhone with me, and it doesn’t do the pictures justice. However, here's one of the road in the little town I was running in. Just around the bend is the countryside with lots of open fields and yellow flowers as far as you can see. I'll try to get a picture before we leave, but aren't the trees with the pink flowers lining the road just gorgeous...

Good News!

2011-04-06T17:30:00.000-05:00

I gave Jeff a haircut last night so that he would look his best for the meeting this morning with the owner of the Grenelle apartment. That was an experience. The voltage coming out of the outlets here is 220 volts (unlike the 110 volts that we have in the states). I turned my clippers on after plugging them in to the power converter, thinking that this should be good enough…right? Wrong!! It made the LOUDEST sound and they about jumped out of my hand! Phew! That was scary. Let’s just say he got a scissors only haircut.

We prayed as a family that the meeting would go well, Jeff would like the apartment, and the owner would like Jeff. To make sure things would go smoothly, Jeff wanted to bring someone that spoke fluent French. His friend at HEC had class, so Jeff reached out to the Bishop of the Paris Ward to see if he could recommend anyone. Jeff called who he recommended and met with him early this morning. They hit it off immediately, and it was great to have him there, as it made the owner feel much more comfortable.

So, I was on pins and needles waiting for that phone call. When it finally came Jeff told me that he was sitting on a bench next to the river looking up at the Eiffel Tower, and he was a 2-minute walk from the apartment. Hmmm, close to the Eiffel Tower eh…nice! He then told me that the lady said she liked him so much that she offered the apartment on the spot!! Wow! This was the same apartment that was already rented out just a couple of days ago! We decided that this was more than coincidence that this apartment opened up for us, so Jeff spent the rest of the day trying to work out turning on the gas, utilities, etc. If all goes well, we’ll be signing tomorrow!

So, good news for now! But, I’m holding my breath until we sign…

Hope

2011-04-05T17:14:00.000-05:00

After spending another day in Paris, Jeff not only came home without keys to an apartment for us, but he came home with zero promising prospects. Yesterday was his third day in Paris searching the city for an apartment. He is having a hard time getting people to call him back and respond to his emails, mainly because he is a foreigner, he doesn’t speak the language, and he’s trying to get an apartment for a family of 6 (we’ve had many turn us away once we told them how many children we have). It’s not that the French aren’t willing to rent to an American (although the 4 kids thing is a tough hurdle...I'm mean seriously, I can't imagine why they wouldn't want 4 kids under 10 years old in their apartment!), it’s just that it’s much easier to rent to French speakers, and because Paris apartments are in such high demand, they can turn us down and find another willing renter within hours. As you can imagine, last night I was feeling a bit stressed!

Jeff spent today on email and Skype again contacting everyone he could to find an apartment, and for the first time, we feel like we may have some options! We had 3-4 write us back and request a rendezvous (appointment) to see the apartment, but the most promising one was an email we received about a previously unavailable apartment.

Jeff found this apartment on LeBonCoin.fr last Thursday during his first trip into the city. LeBonCoin.fr is a really cool website. It is in French, but Google Chrome does a pretty good job translating the pages. We like this site because apartments are listed by owners (meaning, no agency fees). This is huge because agency fees can be as much as a full months rent or more! Jeff responded to the listing on Thursday and didn’t hear back. He called on it later that day and the lady spoke very little English, but enough to say that the apartment is likely already taken. However, he liked the lady he spoke with, and for some reason felt good about the apartment. It was a bit out of our price range, but with zero agency fees we thought we could justify it. We watched it over the weekend, and continued to discuss it. On Sunday, Jeff felt impressed to get one of his friends (a guy graduating from HEC this semester who speaks very good French) to call the owner and speak to her. Jeff spoke to his friend on Monday morning, who said he’d call after class. Jeff then wrote the owner another email telling her that we’re still interested in her apartment.

Here’s where the story gets good. Jeff received an email midday from the owner saying the following:

Good morning Mr,

The appartment is not available, the rent is finish, I'm very sorry

Bie

Then about an hour later Jeff received a phone call from his friend telling him that he had a good conversation with the owner and that she would call him back soon to discuss. Shortly thereafter, Jeff received this email from the same lady:

Good morning,

You have thing i don't know what i want!!!

I give RV for you and your family to-day the 06 april to 9h the morning to the apartment

OK, i give your response thank you

Cordialement

G.Savouret

Not sure what all of that meant, but we got the part about meeting her tomorrow morning to see the apartment! For some reason we feel good about this one. Fingers crossed!!

Too Cute to Punish

2011-04-05T11:51:00.000-05:00

Jeff and I were up late last night talking about apartments and looking on the internet for the deal that we hadn’t found yet. After Livia had come downstairs multiple times when they were supposed to be in bed, she came down again and said:

Livia: “Mya wanted me to come downstairs and ask if you are going to come upstairs and if you could bring us a drink.”
Mom: “Livia, you need to go back upstairs and go to sleep. Don’t come down again, and remember, you don’t need to do everything Mya says.”
Livia: “Why not, it’s the nice thing to do?” in the cutest little voice EVER.

How can you get mad at that cute little response? Thank you Livia for lightening the mood that night and giving us reason to giggle.

Food Surprise

2011-04-04T16:55:00.000-05:00

Jeff is in Paris today to continue our apartment search. Because the Marriott has so much to offer for the kids, I decided that I wanted to stay here and enjoy all the amenities of the resort. We had a great day, and one of the highlights was dropping the 3 older girls off at the Kids Playzone while I went on a walk with Eva. Before I knew it, it was dinnertime and I needed to feed my hungry bunch. The last thing I wanted to eat was more pizza. The pizza is divine here, but I just was craving veggies or something healthy. I knew I needed to think of something fast, so I went to the small market located here in the Marriott. They have a small selection of food so I picked up a few items...bananas, bread, milk, yogurt, etc. Then I stopped at a small section of freezer foods. I saw a bag with what looked like mixed vegetables, meats (chicken), and rice. On the bag it said "Aux Fruits de Mer, Poisson et Poulet." Well, from my Rosetta Stone lessons I knew that poisson was fish and poulet was chicken. I’m not a fan of fish but how bad could it be, right?? I also saw on the bag that I just needed to cook it on the stove for 10-12 minutes. Perfect! A meal in a jiffy! We all sat down at the table and of course I got the “What is this?? I don’t really like fish.” I said "Oh, it will be fine girls. We're in another country and we need to branch out and try other foods. Besides, I don’t love fish either and I’m going to try it. Oh, and look, I see some chicken! Yumm Yumm… Don’t think about it and just shovel it in."

So we all started eating, and in unison we all stopped eating pretty fast. I usually don’t have any patience when it comes to my kids complaining about their food, but for once I was on board with them. Livia then said “Mom, is this chicken or fish? Because I don't think what I just ate was chicken." As I looked closer I seriously felt like I was staring at fish guts and a fish heart. I started to get a bit queasy, so I decided to translate some of the words off the bag on Google. What did I come up with you ask?? The normal chicken, rice, fish... and then I googled "extraits de poisson" which translated to fish extracts. AHHH! GROSS!!! We're done here. I couldn't bring myself to tell the girls what they just ate, but I quickly gathered up their plates and told them we were done with dinner. You should have seen the looks on their faces.

So what did we eat for dinner? Toast, bananas and yogurt. I think I’ll go to bed early with a tummy ache.

I would like to buy a hamburger

2011-04-04T15:13:00.000-05:00

I was sitting at the park today listening to all the children speak french. They all sounded so darling and I wanted to know what they were saying. I could only pick out a few words. I really wish I could learn the language faster. I find myself getting so frustrated when I'm trying to study my french with the Rosetta Stone CD's. I speak into the microphone and the program beeps and says I said it wrong. I tried saying it 20 different ways and it still beeped me! Ugh! Maybe if I stop laughing I would get it right. I just can't help but think of the movie Pink Panther. This is exactly how I feel...

I would like to buy a hamburger

Texans

2011-04-04T03:12:00.000-05:00

I realize this is odd timing for this post, but I don't think I ever updated everyone on our plans after France. A couple weeks ago Jeff accepted an offer to become the Executive Director of the Central Texas Angel Network (www.centraltexasangelnetwork.com). Not sure I'm the best person to describe what that actually means, but he'll basically be working with entrepreneurs and angel investors and helping to see that good entrepreneurs with good ideas get the money they need. Through this job he'll also be able to fulfill the requirement to become a Kauffman Fellow (www.kauffmanfellows.org), which he was selected for back in December. Most important, though, is that this means we get to stay in Austin! The girls and I are very excited to continue our lives in Texas. We've loved the weather, the outdoor activities, the quality of life, the schools, the barbeque, and the pride of Texas! So glad to be going back.

This means that those of you who haven't come to visit yet now have another opportunity!!!