The Past Week...

Raise your hand if you are terrible at updates... *raises hand*

I am just awful at updating my blog, answering emails, returning phone calls, etc. It's not that I'm too busy, 9 times out of 10 "I just don't feel like it" So when I got online tonight, I hadn't updated my blog in a week, I had 5 unanswered emails and 3 Facebook messages. I'm becoming the kind of friend that usually annoys me. So I told myself that tonight I was not allowed to watch last night's Glee or play Farmville until everyone was answered. To make it easier on myself, I have some chocolate to keep me company, but still....blahhhhh

The long weekend was great...on Thursday Amanda came to visit and stayed til dinner. It was great to see another American and discuss things going on back home. Plus I was able to pick her brain a little about things to see while Brandi is here. She and her husband have travelled quite a bit while here and she was able to give me some great information! And the kids just loved seeing her! She's actually going back to the US before me, so hopefully she gets a chance to come back one more time before she leaves for America.

Saturday was amazing...there was a "bread show" going on in Schaffhausen, along with a jazz festival and a motorcycle rally. I met my friend Andrew downtown (the one that scared off the Albanian stalker back during German class) and we had a great afternoon-eating wayyy too much bread, listening to jazz, looking at motorcycles and-of course-day drinking. Day drinking isn't as taboo in Europe as it is in America and it was beuatiful day to stare out at the Rhine river and drink pink sparkling wine. Or several mugs of beer if you are too manly to drink something pink. I was home by about 5 and was intending to go back downtown in the evening, but watched a Leonardo DiCaprio movie instead. He is just too cute....Bar Raefeli is one lucky girl.

Sunday was pretty quiet, and Liano came home from Dad's with some stomach virus, so Monday and Tuesday were pretty low-key as well. Yesterday I helped Stephanie put up a shade umbrella in the backyard-such work! It wasn't too heavy, but was like 8 feet high so it was crazy awkward. I'm sure we looked rediculous trying to put it up. In the end, Stephanie stood on a chair holding the top of the umbrella as high as she could while I fed the end of it into the base. Then she puttered around the yard doing this and that while I tried (unsuccessfully) to teach Liano how to catch a ball.

Today we all went to an indoor playland called Berrolino-which the kids absolutely loved. Stephanie worked on her computer and I chased the kids around. We jumped on trapolines, climbed around inside the giant playplace, played in a ball pit, the kids drove bumper cars and we just ran around. There were a lot of school kids there, but it wasn't really much of a problem. Though, at one point, I noticed one boy was running around like crazy, pushing kids, knocking them down, etc. I wouldn't have gotten involved, but she shoved Alessio at one point and he tripped and fell. So I had one of those "Did you just mess with my kid? Oh HELL NO" moments.... I followed Liano up into the playplace and when the kid came running up behind us, I stuck my arm out and "accidently" clotheslined him. He fell right over, I smirked and he slowed way down the rest of the day. Absolutely inappropriate, but whatever.

The rest of the week should be allright...with Stephanie here and kids on some holiday weekend I'm working half days tomorrow and Friday (at least I think Friday too) and then I have Saturday off. I'm techinically working on Sunday, but I'm not too sure how that'll work out as Stephanie will be here and Carlo will come to visit the kids in the afternoon. Maybe I'll get up with them so Stephanie can sleep...or maybe I'll just get them ready for bed. Or maybe it will be one of those awkward days where I'm not really sure what I should be doing, so I just slink around the house telling the boys to get their hands/shirts/toys out of their mouths and not to yell or hit each other.

And, of course, Tuesday Brandi will FINALLY be here!! So excited! We have a lot of really cool stuff planned. Plus, it will be nice to just have someone here who "knows" me. Can't wait to show her Switzerland and gossip about all the crazy peeps in Gaylord.

Allright, before I move onto those emails, one more thing....not sure if she still reads this or not, but I want to send a huge congratulations to my friend, Joan, who had her first baby the other day-a happy healthy baby girl-Lyla June!! =) I may not want kids, but when other people have them, it is SO exciting!

Emails, Facebook, Farmville, Glee....Ready, Set, GO!!!

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Ahhh...Cinco de Mayo. Mexican independence.

More importantly, Cinco de Mayo is EASILY my favorite (drinking) holiday. Bottles of Corona, shots of tequilla, massive magaritas....what's not to love? And, unlike my other favorite drinking holiday (St. Patrick's Day) it's usually warm enough to enjoy said libations outside. Plus, Mexican food rocks.

The past two years, I filled up on delicious chicken nachos at Horn's Bar on Mackinac Island and then tossed back tequilla like nobody's business. Then I stumbled around downtown, speaking Spanish and eventually finding my way to the Gatehouse to dance my ass off. Finished the night with a large Piña  Colada at Seabiscuit.

~LOVE LOVE LOVE~

Well, this year I spent the day with the kiddles, and while there was dancing and some Spanish, there was no nachos and definitely no tequilla. Sad face, I know.

I made tacos for lunch, which I was super excited about. The soft shells I bought were terrible though...super inflexible. Because of this, the kids weren't able to pick them up and eat them as normal. Still though, they seemed to enjoy them. And my Spanish nonsense throughout the day.
I have the next FOUR days off, so maybe I'll scoot on downtown one afternoon and toss a couple shots back for old time's sake. I'll let you know how that works out....

What I do know is that I am already going through Mackinac withdrawls. While spending the summer in Europe is cool and all, I LOVE summer on the Island and am super sad I didn't/couldn't go back. The job at the hotel was awful, but I love absolutely everything else. Everyone is starting to go back up there and I am super bummed. Hopefully I make it back to Michigan in time to spend a weekend up there with everyone before the season ends.

I'm sure my liver is grateful we aren't going back though. HAHAHAHA

In other news, I decided to drop the math class and pick up nutrition this fall. I figured I's much rather ease my way back into college than run face first into the wall that is algebraic equations. I think the semester will be a cakewalk.....and I'm shooting for a 3.8 GPA. Even if it mean deactivating the Facebook or moving to the library. Time to be serious, Alyssa.

Allright, well, it's nearly midnight, so I better get ready for bed. Cross your fingers that the weather improves so I can go have some adventures (and go running!) during my long weekend.

Oh, and PS,
It was brought to my attention that an expression I used in the last post wasn't exactly "politically correct".  Actually, it was apparently, "super offensive". Ummm....let me remind you, this is MY blog...MY thoughts put into MY words. If you don't like it-don't read it. Simple as that. Because I am not very ladylike. And I am definitely not perfect. I curse. when I write. I talk about drinking and depression and occasionally allude to previous drug use. I make inappropriate comments about anatomy I don't actually possess. Deal with it or don't read it. Thanks a million.

TGIF

TGIF...that about sums it up, huh? The kids have been on school vacation, so we've been hanging out all week, and I am more than ready for my day off tomorrow. I mean, I love hanging out with them (obviously, or I wouldn't be here) but 5 days in a row is exhausting.

I will say this though, to the people who said I wasn't responsible enough to have my own dog (DAD), if I can manage 2 preschoolers, I can definitely handle a dog. I mean, I feed them, make sure they drink enough water, discipline them, clean up after them, take them for walks and play with them. Plus, unlike a puppy, I also have to teach them how to get dressed on their own, proper sentence structure and how to count. Plus, children need things like manners and morality. So that's it, when I get home I'm getting a puppy. (As soon as it's in the budget anyway)

Wednesday was fun--Stephanie took the kids and me to an animal/attractions park about an hour from here. We saw bears, deer, a warthog, miniature ponies and goats. Plus there were other animals we didn't see. We went on a train ride though the park and the kids got to ride go carts and mechanical horses. There was also a huge playground and a couple of those giant bubble trampolines. (my favorite) Plus, one of those giant slides you go down on a potato sack, which the kids LOVED. I think they would've played on that all day if we had let them. Which, thank God, we didn't. 5 flights of stairs for >30 seconds of slide time is NOT my idea of a good time. But that trampoline......I could've jumped on that thing all day.....

I was planning to take the kids on a boat ride down the Rhine either yesterday or today, but, well, I didn't. I developed a weird itchy rash all over my arms of unknown origin over the past few days amd my dad thought it might be a sun allergy, so he suggested I stay inside for a day to see if it went away. I was so upset when he suggested I might be allergic to sunlight. I mean, I am an absolute sun goddess. I could spend an entire just laying in the sun, reading a book or listening to my ipod. I don't think it  was the sun though, as yesterday was the worst day and I didn't go outside at all. I mean, it itched so bad that I was literally in tears. I finally made some oatmeal and put that all over it to calm the itch. Which definitely helped, but was super gross.

Even more disgusting though, was Stephanie's suggestion...she told me to smear cream cheese up and down my arms and leave it on for about an hour. There is something in the cheese that cools and calms the itch, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Thankfully, it's starting to go away and it doesn't really itch anymore.
So today I was going to take the kids on that boat ride, and then it was supposed to rain. They were super bummed when I told them we couldn't go this morning, but I quickly distracted them by offering to make pizza for lunch. I think they were more excited about that than they were about the boat ride. LoL We had cheese pizza and salad for lunch and then took a walk downtown. I was hoping we could take a later boat, but I forgot like everything (sunglasses, water bottles, snacks) so  we just tooled around downtown for a bit before coming home and having ice cream bars.

Now the kids are running around in the backyard with dandilions tucked behind their ears (don't ask) and I'm going to do a little cleaning before dinner at six. Kind of annoying that it didn't actually rain today.

I have tomorrow off, but everything is closed because it's some kind of holiday in Switzerland. I'll probably take my book down to the river if it's nice. (Right now they're predicting a high of 62 and some  showers. I work again Sunday because Stephanie has a fligh (and I have to work almost everyday between May 1 and Brandi's arrival so I don't have to use "vacation time" while she is here) but the kids will spend the afternoon with their dad, so I can paint my nails and shave my legs and whatever. :)

Again, TGIF friends. Have a great weekend!

LOVELOVELOVE

If you can't see the full image. click on the box to open a new window (youtube) and ENJOY!
((If this doesn't just make your day, you are probably a lost cause))

entry #19 (for lack of a better title)

Allright, as there was no trip to Portugal this week (I still hate you, Eyjafjallajokull ) my schedule saw a pretty big overhaul and my week saw daily trips to the playground. 

The kids are on vacation from school/playgroup and Stephanie is on vacation from work, so I worked half days all week, which is AWESOME. I wake up at 11AM, check my Facebook/email/Perez/TFLN and then join the kids and Stephanie for lunch. And THEN my day begins! Loves it!

So, like I said, the kids and I made daily trips to the playground. We went to the one by the river a couple times and one day we decided to go over to the Munot. The night I ran to the Munot, I took the most random roundabout way possible, so Stephanie gave me a shorter way that would be much easier. Well, it would've been much easier if I had paid full attention to her. Instead, I got us completely lost in some neighborhood, nearly got us killed my a garbage truck and had to ask for directions. When we finally got there, the kids didn't even want to play. Grrrr....

I got the invitation to my 5 year class reunion the other day. (Well, not really an invitation, a Facebook message that said, "Hey, we might do this. Who's interested?") I'm so happy I'm in Europe, so I don't have to decide whether or not to go--the decision is made for me. I am here and therefore, I cannot be there.  I mean, out of the 28 other people I graduated with; I'd only really want to talk to maybe 10 of them. I'd only make conversation with the others out of politeness. And then there's the 3-5 that I wouldn't even bother with.
I was talking with someone I graduated with and she was all, "You know, I think you imagine how bad high school was. People liked you-you forget that." Honestly, at this point, I don't care who likes me and who doesn't. I wasted too much time trying to fit into the St Mary's mold growing up and now they can all S my non-existant D if you know what I mean.

(True, UV Blue and Tylenol PM were the catalyst that put me in the ICU, but the feelings that sprung that self-destructive behavior didn't appear overnight.)

Anyway, whoa, we're getting a little too serious here. I don't know who all is reading this anymore, so let's step back a bit. Someday I plan to publish a book that connects the assholes that made fun of my Power Rangers backpack when I was 8 to the "Paris Hilton" I was at 19. My rocky road to recovery and finally, the day I stand atop a mountain and give everyone the finger. (That last one hasn't actually happened yet. Watch for my picture in the Gaylord Herald Times when it does...)

Not much else to comment on....the kids are on vacation again next week, so we'll see what I can come up with to keep them occupied....

OH! I almost forgot, lots of birthdays coming up....(well, 3) So, happy birthday to Emily Westphal today. Happy Birthday to my favorite cousin of rhyming name (Melissa) on the the 28th and.........

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY TO MY MOMMY!!!

                                                                        (on the 26th)

Allright, peace out babies....xoxo

Damn You, Eyjafjallajokull

The Icelandic language is crazy...how the H do you even pronounce that? I tried to sound it out, but I nearly  choked.

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, Eyjafjallajokull is the volcano in Iceland that is disrupting air travel across Europe (and around the world) and now it is affecting me. And I am most displeased.

We were supposed to leave for Lisbon tomorrow morning, but now our trip has been pushed back to (hopefully) next week, though probably much later than that. Swiss airspace has been closed since Friday afternoon and remains closed through at least 8AM tomorrow. And, even if airspace does open tomorrow, we were flying standby and would definitely not get seats on any of the first few flights out, as they are dreadfully overbooked.

Instead, the kids and I spent most of the afternoon down at the Rhine (it's like 75 today!) and I will have tomorrow off.
So angry right now. I wish Eyjafjallajokull was a person so I could punch them in the mouth.....

So Much Stuff....

Haha...I had to make a list before I wrote this entry, to make sure I didn't forget anything! I'm not really good at making segway between topics, so I apologize in advance if this seems to jump around a lot. There's just so much to talk about! (and it's all unrelated)

First of all, I have hit and surpassed 1500 page views! How cool is that? When I originally sat down to write this, I imagined that my family and close friends would read it and that would be about it. Now, I've had readers in Costa Rica, Russia, Canada and several other semmingly "random" places. That so many strangers take an interest in me and my writing is a HUGE compliment and motivation to write when I feel like there's really nothing to say/no one who actually cares.

I registered for classes Wednesday night...14 credits in all. I have a Literature class, Geography, US History and a (retake) Math class. Aside from the math class (which will cause my brian to implode-gaurenteed. Algebra is rediculous. Math is NUMBERS, not LETTERS) the semester should be a cakewalk. I could rock a Lit class in my sleep I aced Geography/History in high school. I'm actually kind of pumped to go back now, because I know that I can kick ass in the fall, my GPA will go back up and I'll be more than ready to transfer come the following fall. (I was thinking about transferring for winter semester, but financially I don't think this will work) If I end up back at SVSU, I just have to get through Chemistry & Human Anatomy & I'll be ready for nursing school. =) 
And, while talking about school, I need to send a big thank you to Allison (Porta) for her "inspirational speech" last night. I was being all whiney and emo about going back and she basically said, "school was shit before because you didn't know what you wanted so you were only there for the sake of being there, Now that you know you want to be a nurse, get in there and get it done."

EXCITEMENT! We're going to Portugal next week! The (potential) next nanny lives there and Stephanie wants to meet her, so we're taking the kids and flying to Lisbon for the night on Tuesday.  The kids have never flown before, so this will be quite the adventure for them. I'm just excited to meet my successor. Amanda, Rachel and I are all so different; it will be interesting to see what this girl is like. Plus, we're spending the afternoon at the second largest oceanairium in the world--awesome! All told, we'll actually be there less than 24 hours, but when I get back, I can say that I've been to Portugal and that's something most of you can't do, so I'll win. 24 hours or 2 weeks; I've been there and you haven't, so HA. LoL All jokes aside, I hope this girl is cool, so maybe I can go back and visit her during my 2 week vacation in July.

Speaking of flying, it is my understanding that lots of people in the States are absolutely freaking out about this volcano-saying you may not be able to go to Europe again for months and whatever. Okay, right now you cannot fly into/ out of England, Ireland, France or any of the Nordic countries, but not ALL of Europe is closed to air travel. Zurich airport is still sending/receiving flights, as are most of the other interior airports. Iceland is VERY far north and this erruption does not affect the entire European continent. So settle down, America.

Today is Liano's 4th birthday, so Happy Birthday to him. There was a party this afternoon with cake and presents. I was really surprised, they sing "Happy Birthday" in English. Even the kids great grandmother, who doesn't speak any English sings that song in English. As for gifts, he got a Playskool ultra-durable digital camera, a book about dinosaurs and a bunch of candy. I got him sidewalk chalk and bubbles. =) When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he told me a bear, but stuffed animal START at 20CHF for tiny little things and go up from there. Rediculous. Thanks, Coop/Manor, but I'm not really in mood to have my pocketbook raped today.

Finally, my countdowns. The kids count how many sleeps until something, so here we go...
-4 sleeps til Portugal
-31 sleeps until Brandi is here
-143 sleeps until I am in college again