Will Clean for Kisses

I have so much to do. Packing…but first unpacking. Wow. I'm still not undone from France yet, and my kitty is yowling outside my door to be in. I want him here, I really do, but I don't want piss on my stuff. As it's everywhere and messy, he has a tendency to pee.

I need to clean this out, now. Tomorrow, I want to get off work on time (no more overtime!) and get my closet cleaned. Then maybe my (still?) clean laundry. After that, I can take a break. So. I have a plan. It's public. I'm going to do it.

Or no kitty kisses for me.

News Flash

I have a lot to say, but not many words to use. My French partner and I (the one I was living with, and came with me to live hear for a month?) have parted ways sooner than expected. While it hurts for me not to be able to fulfill the role I expected to fill, I know that this is better for everyone involved.

She can get more of what she wants out of the experience, and I can sink back into my familiar routine, knowing that I had an amazing time in France.

In other news, I went to a party last night at a friend's place, and due to scheduling, stayed the night. As such, we spent the day together, going to lunch at this little place in his town, then to a movie in the 'city' we live close-ish to. The Campaign. Not my type of humour, but it was okay. Started a half hour late, though, for whatever reason…that was odd.

Also, I'm going back to work tomorrow, and jumping right in with a nine hour shift. I'm ready to use my newfound experiences to enjoy my nest two weeks before I move!

Speaking of which, I really do need to pack my stuff up….

At Long Last

Well…here I am. After a month in Franc—of which I have no photos available for you yet—I'm back. The thing is, I leave tomorrow for a week in Vernon, and for at least part, if not all, of that, I will be completely without computer/internet access. I'll journal while I'm there to keep things fresh for us, but until I get back, in a week, there won't be any more posts.

What did I do in France? I visited Lascaux II, Brantome, Biarritz, the Dune du Pilat, Arcachon,  Bordeaux, Saint Astier, and Mont de Marson. A few other places, too, that I can't remember the name of….

My favourite was probably the Dune—largest in Europe, it's quite a walk to get up, but it's amazing once you do. The sheer expanse of sand…!!

Are there any questions you have about my trip? What would you like to hear about most?

Finality

The final post, before I leave for a month. I'll be back…but right now, one of my favourite songs. It always reminds me of the Encounters With Canada crowd, and I think of them every time I hear/sing it. I'd like to believe I'm taking a bit of them with me. Plus, from a band I listened to in my childhood….

Also, for documentation's sake, here's a 'Before' photo, so we can compare the (potential) difference in a month:

Between me and the vast internet, I'm not one hundred percent sure I'm ready to leave. I guess it's too late to turn back now….

Wish me luck. I hope my camera, journal and mind is filled with France to share with you when we next speak. (Is this my version of 'Have a good life?!')

Blueberry French Toast

(I forgot to post this last night…so I'll do it now!)

For breakfast today, I made French toast, trying to get in the continental feeling.

I made the recipe to serve one, so it's nice and easy to make.

1 large egg

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon Stevia (natural sugar alternative; equals about 8x sugar; two teaspoons worth)

pinch of salt

2-3 slices bread (slightly old is better)

butter/oil for frying pan

preserves (I used blueberry (yum), but anything else would work. I want to try with pumpkin!)

Beat first five ingredients in a shallow bowl until mixed fluidly. Soak bread in it, making sure to put both sides down into the mixture.

Heat butter in a frying pan/skillet, and slowly heat each side of the bread until it's golden-brown.

Transfer the toast to a plate, drizzle hot butter over it. Top with generous scoops of preserves.

First bite…mmmm!

To Do For France

It is literally a week until I leave for France. I leave at 0540, Friday the twenty-ninth of June. Holy freaking cats, that's soon. Here's what I have to do before:

• Contact my exchange family
• Clean my room
• Find space for my partner
• Gut my closets and wardrobe(s)
• Be ruthless
• Take undesirables to Thrift Store
• Purchase and load MP3 player with Zumba songs to choreograph
• Scholarship/Awards/Transcript/Residence forms filled out and mailed.
• WRITE MATH DIPLOMA
• 'Bonding Time' with my mother
• Grocery shop for the needed snacks 
• Rehearse my (trite) French phrases
• Make bed ready for return
• FINISH SCHOOL PROJECTS
• Two FAS (Fashion) modules
• One Art piece
• SLEEP
• Transition to Parision time
• Apron for my 'Mommy'

Well? Any strategies…?!

Fritters and France and Friends(?!), Oh My!

I'm in the middle of cooking this recipe (oddly enough, I'm doing it almost word-for-word, which is really weird for me!), and thinking about my exchange. If you didn't know, I'm going to france at the end of this month (the twenty-ninth), and will have almost no chances to blog while I'm there. The company I'm going with strongly advises against brining my computer. I'll get into that another day, though.

Anyway, I bring my exchange partner back for August (we'll call her JR for the sake of argument), and I'm sort of worried about what she'll think of us here. From all accounts, French mothers are the cooks, laundresses, housekeepers. (I was told not to panic if my clothes disappeared, it probably means that Mom JR has taken them to clean…!)

Here, though, I cook, if anyone does. I do most of my own laundry (when it's not sitting in a heap, waiting to be folded). I don't rely on my mother for everything….

What spurred this on, though, was the thought of my 'cooking clothes.' Anyone would say they strongly resemble 'workout clothes'…probably because they're the same. When I'm cooking, I'm usually choreographing, too. I dance my way through chopping, mixing and baking; all with loud (generally latin and/or Zumba) music blasting. I'm sure I look a fright—chop-chop-shimmy-bounce-bounce-slice-pour-twirl!

So, if you walked in on that, what would your first response be?

Blessings

I get to do so much tomorrow…OSEF meeting, watch my brother's football game, check my sewing machine (and maybe purchase it?), watch a movie with friends….

I am damn blessed.

Filing

I got all my information for the Family File ready today, now all that's left is my mother's portion and the doctor. I'm getting so exited!! I've never answered so many questions about myself in a row!

Another filing matter…I really need to do my taxes this weekend…!

Passport Panic

So I had a scare tonight—I was solidly convinced I'd lost my passport. I turned my room, under-bed and trunk apart…then I finally found it in the middle of my lega box, tucked between two envelopes. Whew! I'd looked there before, of course, but I remembered after the fact that, at one of the UK airports I was in last year, they stuck baggage tags to my passport…resulting in a lovely sticky residue. I'm scared to try a remover—what if it wrecks the document…?!

Oh well. At least now I know exactly where it is, and can use it to get to France this summer!

On another note, my first Uni class starts tomorrow…I'm alternately terrified and thrilled. Wheeeee!

What A Rush!

This weekend has been both hectic and oddly relaxed. Actually, I suppose the hectic started Thursday—I found out I'm eligible for a French exchange this summer, and I desperately want to go. I'd be spending July with a family in France, then someone in that family, my exchange partner, would come back to Canada with me in August. Wow. 

It's fairly expensive, for eight weeks, but wouldn't it be worth it? It's about four thousand dollars, plus spending money…and I'd be taking a sever loss of pay. So really, the financial cost is huuuuuge. Almost, if not more, than next year's tuition.

Speaking of tuition…Friday, I got a letter from my second choice school, saying they've offered me early/conditional acceptance to the program! Then Saturday (…yesterday!) I checked online for my first choice's decision, to see if they'd started processing my application.

Guess what?

Early Acceptance, baby!

Oh sweet mother of toasters. This is fabulous! The only things missing in my application are A) my final transcripts, which will be sent in June; and B) an application/ approval for residence. (At this school, any first-year under twenty-one is required to live in res. Fine with me!)

So wait, what does this mean? It means next year, I don't have to go to my third-choice school and stay out here in Asscrack, Alberta. (My school is is Lower Back, Alberta—slightly less stinky!) And while this means I am unable to go to my true fist choice, U of Stirling, I'm okay with that. I doubt I'd be able to handle the distance right away, anyway. And the price…one hundred thousand for my Undergrad degree. I'll go there for a Master's in a few years.

Now that that's all out of the way…I've been baking! My pudding for Book Club went well, and the author we had visit wants to read my stuff for when she does her Writer in Residence in March. Very exciting. 

As for today, I'm in the middle of baking right now!

The recipe is taking a lot longer to cook than expected, but that's normal for this elevation. I'm making White Chocolate-Orange-Cranberry Blondies. 

YUM.

Well, I suppose I should head off, make sure these goodies are all right. I'm so excited to eat one!

What's your favourite winter baking? Can you make it yourself or does it come from another's kitchen?