35 things...

I made a list like this before on my previous blog...it's funny how things can change in a relatively short time...here is my updated 35 things I would like to do before I turn 35 (...and I realize I only have 1 year and 8 months to do it...WTF? ....my heart just lurched! ;) ).

I am keeping this list simple and (hopefully) easily achievable....my 40 before 40 list is going to have some crazy wishes in it, but this one, this one I am going to keep achievable (I need to feel accomplished damn it! ;) )

:: live in Switzerland (or Germany)

:: have finished ONE knitting project (see? I really am keeping things simple)

:: be pregnant or have had another babe (still on the fence sometimes...but he's been really well  behaved lately ;) )

:: have gone to an outside theatre or movie (a la orange cinema)

:: pursued/taken a course or attended a birth (other then my own!) for my doula studies

:: stayed overnight in the mountains somewhere

:: get to know more people and have a fun dinner party (we are hermits...seriously....that and lazy at night)

:: go to a fancy restaurant in Switzerland and eat fondu (can you tell that in my mind we are living in Switzerland?) 

:: start going swimming regularly (I don't now, but I do enjoy swimming for fun, plus, it seems like the only kind of exercise I don't hate)

:: own my bicycle and go cycling as a family (again, another form of exercise I don't despise)

:: have a basket and saddle(?) bags on the said bike...ooooh....and maybe orange in colour! 

:: take a cooking class with Justin

:: go to a knitting meet up....or something along those lines...

:: attend a Squam workshop retreat...I had one booked last year, but had to cancel...I was heartbroken...but I firmly believe in things happening for a reason...I do believe a retreat is in my future :)

:: will have lost that last pesky 10lbs (well, I guess that all depends on #3 ;) )

:: have a part time job over in Europe (wherever we end up)

:: make a homemade costume for Felix (be it for Halloween or Fasnacht)

:: potty train my 2.5 year old (this seems like a BIG feat right now)

:: go swimming in lake Zurich

:: create a wall of photos in our apartment

Found this image on pinterest and LOVE it!

:: be living in our own space again...

:: create the most amazing room for Felix EVER! 

:: have our things shipped over from the storage unit to Europe (this all really depends on #1 coming true...as does most of this list actually...)

which brings me to the next point...

:: keep dreaming big and take each day hour by hour 

:: pursue my photography more...

:: spend more time as a family

:: spend more time hugging said family

:: spend more time kissing Justin...what an easy thing to not do enough of once life takes over...

:: watch the Godfather movies...I really want to see what all the hype is about...

:: visit Paris with Justin (oooh la la!)

:: visit Germany 

:: visit Gruyere and eat my weight in cheese!!!

:: visit cookie heaven!

Some from the old list that I still want to achieve...

:: make the perfect macaron (or buy it and eat it while looking at Swiss mountains ;) )

:: own a pair of high heel shoes....and possibly learn how to walk in them 

There...you see? Some points are frivolous...some are important...and some are just plain me.

What would be on your list? 

* I had a really hard time coming up with 35 things, because honestly, right now, our list is tiny (in a way)....we want to live in Europe, in our own place, with our own things, together, happy and healthy under one roof.....lets throw a view of the mountains in there just in case someone is paying attention ;).

 

Thinking of Autumn weather...

...yup....already....and loving every second of it!

This photo was taken last Autumn at the zoo...Felix took full advantage of his Halloween costume that year (why only wear it one day?!)

Heading to a small town fair tomorrow morning...hopefully this year Felix wont be scared of the rides and the loud noises (last year was a *bit* of a fail ;) ). This weekend weather forecast looks as if Autumn weather has come a bit early and is here to stay...which I am quite pleased about...bring on the knits and ridiculous layering!

Happy weekend to you and yours!

*A grateful thank you to the lovely Swiss Lark for the inspiration on how to make a circle photo crop (always wanted to make one!)....I don't have photoshop so I used this also helpful site instead to give me the step by step for the free picmonkey site (which I use regularly).

Why not Germany?

Both photos of Germany I decided to post have markets in them...can you tell I'm a *bit* food obsessed?

How could we have missed this? (add a lot of hand smacking head gestures and incredulous looks at each other)

This was the beginning of our conversation about plan B...which comes up often...we are natural worriers (well, I am, at least). Our plan B was to stay in town, get our own place of course (I am starting to go insane...not anything that my mom is doing in particular, we are just desperate for our OWN space again and our OWN things that we love), bring our things to Ontario from the storage unit in New Brunswick and continue working and then try again next year....and the year after and....well, you get the point. We are worried about the fact that most international schools in Switzerland want a minimum two years of teaching experience. Justin will have just graduated...he does have almost a year in class experience as a special needs assistant teacher, two other degrees (psychology & counseling), a year volunteer mentoring, and a Swiss wife (me! YAY! I count for something! ;) ) that hopefully will all be considered pluses. 

So, in case he gets no job offers due to having no actual in class experience as a teacher's college graduate yet, we are always prepared for plan B. To gain those two years experience while trying not to go insane and still live our lives in non-limbo and then try again. 

So the usual conversation started about plan B....I was having a particular "woe is me" day and declared that I do not want to live another two years in limbo here in town (nothing in particular wrong with this town at all....it is actually cute and I love my job that I have right in town actually)...I just constantly feel like I am waiting for something (Europe!). I basically declared our plan B to be crap....a poor compensation for what we really want. The idea I threw on the table was to widen our net for Justin teaching internationally. We toyed with that idea before...but the fact that we have Felix makes us a bit weary about it...we just want him to have a somewhat stable life, and we really do not know enough about living in such foreign to us places with a toddler. Japan, Dubai, Ireland (Ireland? apparently the Irish do not speak English) came to our minds among many other places.

Then came Germany.

How could we have missed this?

So simple!

Such a good plan B.

It would not feel like a step back, more so sideways. The awesome thing would be that Justin would still be learning the language (as he is learning high German as a base for Switzerland right now). We would still be in Europe. It is gorgeous there, I have some family there, I have been there before and feel familiar with the culture...and I freakin' LOVE Pumuckl!
The minimum teaching experience does not seem to be such an issue for the international schools we looked up in Germany, which bodes well for us and they also seem to have more openings as well. Fingers crossed if Switzerland does not work out this year, that we can get the teaching experience in Germany for a couple of years (and love it there!).

So now, added to the list of schools Justin is applying to in Switzerland in November, there has now been added a list of schools in Germany. 

Moral of the story....plans can change...and sometimes when you *think* you have looked at all the options, a brand new one can pop up! (that our tiny tunnel vision minds apparently completely forgot about)...

ps...Did I mention the Christmas markets????? *Heavenly*

Smooth-ie Sailing....

We have been on a smoothie train as of late, and LOVING the ride! ;) 

This is my go-to flavour...

I use a big handful of spinach (you can't taste it!!!), a banana for creaminess, low fat vanilla yogurt for sweetness, whole grain oats for making me feel more full, frozen strawberries, blueberries, and orange juice to make the smoothie less thick (and sweetness). It is an awesome energy boost and makes you feel full (and healthy!). Sometimes we also add flax seeds (good source of omega-3 fats and fiber. Flax seeds have anti-inflammatory properties, promote bone health and help protect against heart disease, cancer and diabetes) or wheat germ (rich in B vitamins, essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamin E and fiber). Both are pretty much undetectable in the smoothies we make, but totally boost the health content to maximum. We have just been totally inspired by the lovely Julia over on YouTube and her Summer Fitness Vlogs. You can find lots of other smoothie recipe ideas in those videos. She loves to add ginger to her smoothies...I have yet to try that....I want to, but I am a little scared! ;) 

Felix is off daycare for the next two weeks starting Monday so lots of activity planning is happening at the moment (more than usual). I have sold my size two cloth diaper lot :( He isn't potty trained yet (getting there, another goal for the next two weeks), but he doesn't like wearing them anymore :( Oh well, one less thing I have to worry about getting sold before we move next Summer! Suitcase real estate is going to be a very precious commodity next Summer (we only get 3 suitcases total and each a small carry on...anything after that I believe is over $200!!! each!!!).

Wishing you an amazing weekend!

MIA

Hello! I know I have been missing from here as of late....but good news! I bought myself a new camera (YAY!) which I know will inspire me to post more (I hate posting without nice photos). We have a really nice big Canon camera with lots of cool lenses etc...but honestly...I do not like taking it out and about with us...especially now that we have Felix. It is just too bulky and hard to take a quick no-fuss photo with....I just really wanted a small camera that I could grab and go with and take everyday photos with. I still plan on using the big Canon...and I feel very lucky to have it, but I would rather take it out on a special trip that I really want to take amazing photos on...without worry that it would get damaged etc... I bought this cute little thing and I think it will be perfect for everyday use. We definitely noticed a decline in photo taking the last 6 months or so, and it was definitely due to us not wanting to shlep around the large camera. I am predicting LOTS of photos and post in the very near future here.

We have been busy with everyday life here....still working away at getting Justin's CV ready for Switzerland. School starts in mid-August for him, so he is getting everything in order before that starts. I believe he has 40 plus schools that he will be applying to (that mesh with our educational philosophies etc). All in all...exciting! Strawberry picking (almost 20 lbs!!!) was on our agenda last weekend....lots of trips to the zoo (we have a membership that has been such a good investment!), lots of animal crossing playing in the rainy evenings, lots of daydreaming about Switzerland when morale hits low (and always).....hmmmmm....what else? We spent an AMAZING day in Toronto last month...lots of window shopping....an incredible Italian lunch at Terronis' (I am drooling just thinking about it)...it was a lovely day....just the two of us, which is rare, so it was very special.

What else? Right now I am feeling really inspired by these Summer Fit videos....I LOVE her videos about everyday life in Switzerland etc... I hope to get into her makeup stuff too....get a little more girlie ;) (maybe not a crazy amount...it's just not me, but a little bit).

Anything that has been inspiring you this Summer? What have you been up to?

Happy thoughts....

The last couple of weeks here have been filled with sniffles, coughing and tissues...

...but we are all on the mend now...and enjoying the lovely Spring/Summer weather! :)

I scored a tricycle for $8 dollars on my walk home from work yesterday for Felix which made me (and him) quite happy. It might be a bit "beat up" and pink & purple in colour (which he actually LOVES) but it made our two year old very happy indeed! 

It has been a bit hard figuring out how to still have a life here so to speak while we are waiting for Switzerland. We might be here only for one more year (if all goes as planned), most of our things are in storage in another province, so we don't want to collect too many items the year that we are here. We already have enough to bring over with us via the plane ride....we don't want to add to it. That being said, we still want to have a regular life here...Felix has been into tricycles a lot lately (at daycare and whenever we go to a shop that carries them we end up hanging out in that section for a good half hour). I have been keeping an eye out for a used one for him. That way, if it needs to be left behind, it will not have set us back, money wise, too much.

Mother's day was spent at the Toronto zoo....

...The jellyfish were a big hit! :)

My birthday was lovely...I had a treasure hunt with clues waiting for me when I woke up that day. The trail led me to a treasure trove of different things...a can of coke (he knows me too well), then a pile of candy (hidden in a lampshade no less!), and finally the end treasure was a print out of my favourite game...assuring me that I will be getting a copy the day that it is released (June 9th). He pre-ordered it for me! This magical game is called "Animal Crossing: New Leaf" by the way....and it is awesome. I have literally been waiting years for this to come out...

I met my good friends, Miku & Akira (a married couple), from Japan through this game series. I played the game with them through the Wii version of Animal Crossing (the last game in the series). It was the first version where you could exchange friend codes with anyone in the world and play in each others town together. You could also communicate with each other while playing. It was so much fun and we became fast friends, and have been ever since. This is another reason I am so looking forward to this game coming out....so we can play together again! :) They have had their copies since November 2012! The perks of living in Japan ;). I can't wait to see their towns and all that they have created with the game. 

...and end geeky gaming talk.... *blushes* ....

Anything you have been looking forward to lately?

The quiet moments...

Wishing all you all a very lovely mother's day weekend...enjoy the quiet moments (if there are any? ;) ) and take it all in.