The irony of it all

My blog is named appropriately, because I love to take whatever opportunities come my way, and make even the little things into adventures. I'm all about meeting new people and discovering new things, whether in a foreign country or just down the street. I don't tend to sit still for long.

Unfortunately, I am often so busy planning and having my adventures, that I don't have time to write about them! And my hard drive is literally overflowing with pictures, so I don't even have room to add all the new ones. Lame, I know.

So instead, you get the random ramblings and reflections from the down time in between. Sorry... someday I'll fill you in on all the exciting stuff!

P.S. I'm an aunt again! My newest nephew Miles is a stud, and I can't wait to meet him. Now there's an adventure I look forward to: parenthood. For now, I leave it to Terrah and Tyler to master, then they can laugh at me when it's finally my turn ;) Yay for babies!!!

2009: International Year of the Wedding

So many of my friends have gotten married this year. That's pretty normal. I am 27, so my remaining single peers are of prime marrying age. I also belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so marriage and family are high priorities, and sex happens only after marriage. Every spring brings a new round of wedding announcements. However this year has been especially interesting in the nuptial realm. Recently, so many of my good friends who have been through a lot of life, are a little older, and truly deserve the incredible joy of beginning forever with the love of their lives, are the ones getting married.

I think that is awesome.

These are people who have spent years alone, trying to be happy and productive, but never dating and wondering why. These are people who have struggled with their faith, their health, and family issues. Some have been previously engaged, survived devastating break-ups, and learned to trust and love again.

I know everyone has hard times and everyone deserves to be happy in spite of them. But it is especially gratifying, happy and faith-building to see really wonderful people finally find someone who sees just how wonderful they are, and wants to love them forever too. It's awesome to see so many friends with a little 'life experience,' find their 'other half' and be joined with them eternally. The only thing that would make it happier, would be being there with them, but at least I have the photos:)

Honestly, on my hardest days, when life doesn't make sense and I feel alone or unwanted, hearing about these sweet love stories and seeing the beautiful pictures reminds me of what I'm working towards. They give me hope that someday it might work out for me too! That's what all the waiting, working, hoping, hurting, healing, and taking chances are for. The possibility of forever. Finding your 'partner in crime,' 'soul mate,' 'best friend,' and 'cohort.' It's being complete.
I am not in a place in my life for this for happen for me now (literally, I live in France!), but I know it will happen someday, and it will be sooooo worth it! In the meantime, I share in the happiness of my well-deserving friends. Congratulations and lots of love to you all!

Amy's lament

In a matter of 24 hours, I went from the peak of perfect health to dealing with the worst head cold ever. I could barely swallow cuz of the razor blades hacking at my throat, and I woke up every couple hours to spit so I could breath. Sorry, gross, but true. My head pounded and my body ached. And of course, all this settled in on my days off.
After a trip to the local pharmacie, I spent Saturday guzzling herbal tea, doping up on ibuprofen and decongestant, sneezing, fending off hot flashes and chills, experimenting with nasal spray, and coughing up nastiness. (for those of you that have lived with me, this is about 10 times worse than my regular flem-fest)
Although my throat has calmed, my head is still as blocked up as ever. I feel like Adelaide, from 'Guys and Dolls' and I don't think she's too far off. Maybe it's just the feeling I'm getting too old....
Maybe I need to eat more veggies.
Or maybe I'm just exhausted and my immune system has gone on strike.
I'm gonna go with the last one. Although I'm sure my legal single status isn't helping my cold - even if it's more than just psychosomatic symptoms! lol

This weekend The Paula Nelson Band played at a country saloon/club at Disneyland Paris. They stayed at my hotel. I made a new key and walked her to her room. She signed a free CD for me. They were so American, so chill, and so nice. It was like being back home in cowboy country and actually made me really happy. Who knew that I would miss all that??

So who is Paula Nelson, you ask? Don't worry, I didn't know either, and I'm the token American at the hotel.

Well, she is a country singer, a super nice lady, and just happens to be country legend Willie Nelson's daughter.

And I had to be working at Disneyland Paris to figure all that out. Yeehaw.

http://www.paulanelsonband.com/

All in a day's work

Today was a great day.
I got to go to church and drink in the love, testimony, gratitude, and spirit of God that filled the building. I got to catch up with friends I hadn’t seen in a while. I got to take the sacrament, ponder, pray and sing. And I got lots of hugs and bisous. Yay.

I went straight from church to work, which I started an hour later than normal – so that I could attend church. Because of this, I got a private briefing with my favorite manager. This is the second time just the 2 of us, and we talked for about a half hour – it could have lasted hours and I wouldn’t have complained! He is the most adorably charming French man I have ever met, and quite honestly makes me weak in the knees, in his own humble way. Moving on…

My very first check-in tonight was a Spanish family. Normally they can be a little impatient and disorganized and though I love them, they make me crazy sometimes! Plus, fresh off my days off, my Spanish comprehension was less than stellar. So I warned them about my “poco espanol,” laughed and smiled a lot, gave them all the goods, and survived the check-in. Then they gave me a 10€ tip. I was so confused. That is so not spanish, and besides that, I couldn’t even tell if they liked me! Apparently all the smiling and terribly pronounced, made up verbs are endearing. Muy bien!

For dinner I ate mixed vegetables and barley that were soooo yummy. I know it sounds goofy, but it made me happy. I got home, and actually had the food I was craving. And there are 3 types of ice cream in my freezer. Who wouldn’t be happy about that?!

2 of my favorite work friends just left on vacation, but tonight I got to visit with about a dozen other equally awesome people. Since I worked the mid shift, I got to see people from both the morning and evening shifts. I like getting a little taste of all the different work we do, and the people we cater to. If my job was in America, I could do it for years! Even on the slow nights it’s never boring. And I love my work peeps (almost all of them!). They make me laugh, and we have the most strange and interesting conversations. I want us all to move to Florida. That would so totally rock!

A little girl gave me a sketch of Mickey as a thank you on her way out. So sweet!
I also got a card full of guest compliments and a letter from my management saying that I have been mentioned 5 times now. I would’ve been nice to know when and by whom, but at least I know someone appreciates my efforts!

So yeah, it was a good day, even though I had to work on a Sunday. Can’t wait to see wait the rest of the week holds….

En francais, s'il vous plait!

So the french are pretty protective of their language. They even have something called the French Academy that basically polices the language. It doesn't make it in the dictionary unless they say so. They are especially weary of all the english words and slang sneeking into the daily french vocabulary. So to make it truly, officially french, they change the spelling.
Example: splatch and smatch. Yep, those are words in french, and they mean what they look like: splash and smash. But they are spelled differently and that makes it officially acceptable french. Or maybe it's just cuz they can't say the "sh" sound so they go for a "ch."
Hmmmm....