A Short Break

I'm taking a
Short hiatus from blogging for about one more week. But I will return in full force with a cupcake recipe, a travel recap of Steamboat, CO and another post for the Costa Rica Series.

- Please excuse my typos while I post from my iphone, using BlogPress of course.

Un élève Lit

www.amazon.com

I was at the French Knot Quilt Shop, rounding up my second quilting lesson, when I looked down and saw this little bottle of soap. I read the package and saw that it said something about horses, and thought, why would a quilting shop sell horse soap? Maybe it's like that maine and tail stuff, that other people use on their hair?

Kauai, HI

Then I realized that the brand was French, and I had just read and understood my very first French word outside of Rosetta Stone and my French for Beginners book. It reminded me of the moment in Costa Rica when I started to count out money in Spanish.

Gold Beach, OR

And, to add to my amazement, that word was horse. If that is not a sign from the universe that someone should really get their act together on the whole buying me a pony thing, Husband, then I don't know what is.

Just in case you don't remember the several pictures I show you, Husband, every so often, you can use this horse montage to remind you of the times I forced you to ride horses with me.

Basalt, CO

In related news, the second French word I read and understood was chien, which means dog. I found it when I did a google image search for cheval, under a picture titled chien cheval, of an animal that looked like, you guessed it, a dog horse. Yikes.

Lap Swim

When I swam laps Tuesday morning, I felt like this:

http://www.zevs.net/unusual-swimming-animals/

This morning, when I woke up, I felt like this:

http://www.animaltalk.us/swimming-isnt-just-for-the-dogs/

Then I did a little bit of this:

http://www.orange-ct.info/aquatic.html

And a little bit of this:

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/fDpxr74q8-g/Olympic+Team+Trials+Swimming+Day+3

And eventually, I felt a little more like this, which is much more to my liking:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/white_tiger_swimming.php

Goal Check!

If this was progress report in Jr. High, I would have Cs in Diet and Fitness, As in Travel and Personal Development and a B in Reading and Writing. I'm glad I did this assessment because I didn't realize I was spending so much time at recess.

Travel

We haven't been to the lake house yet, but we have planned several vacations for the rest of the year.  

Steamboat Springs, Colorado for a couples ski trip in February...

That's a glacier! Whistler, BC

Costa Rica for a family Spring Break in March...

That's a rain forest! Monteverde, Costa Rica

Hawaii for the 4th of July to visit friends...

That's the pacific ocean! Hanalei Bay, Kauai

and a mother daughter trip to Italy in September.

That's my kitchen table! 

Considering that SFA, where I work, just instituted 4 furlough days, we may plan a few more vacations. It's going to be an exciting year!

Reading and Writing

I've definitely been reading on a regular basis, but not writing and submitting regularly. That seems to come in spurts. However, I did submit to several different journals, which was stepping out of my comfort zone.

Fitness 

I've decided NOT to run a second half marathon, at least not this year. My hip is showing signs of unhappiness; it seems like I won't be able to stay healthy and run a half marathon in two months. Let me tell you, an immense weight was lifted off my shoulders when I made this decision.

I am still aiming for the olympic triathlon in May, which only calls for a 6 mile run. I can handle that, and it gives me time to focus on swimming, which I love, and biking, which I only love when it's warm outside. Also focusing on core fitness and flexibility. 

Diet

I spent some time this weekend making and freezing meals for the week. Hopefully, that helps because I'm not doing very good with this goal at all. New plan is to take it week by week, cook and freeze on the weekends and focus on writing down what I eat. And as a result of my cheating, I gained a few pounds! I've already lost half of them by now though.

Personal Development (Ending on a good note)

Quilting classes have started. I should have my first quilt made by mid March. The vegetable garden hasn't been established yet, but the household plants are doing just fine. Laundry is actually kind of fun now with our new washer, dryer and laundry sorting bins.

I'm almost halfway through Rosetta Stone level 1 and "bootlegged" level 2 from my mom. We have plans to purchase Italian, but not until I finish French level 1. 

I guess this post is more for me than my readers (MOM). Did anyone else set goals for themselves? Are you keeping track of them? If so, how?

Je suis français ce matin

I'm drinking French coffee that my mom bought in Paris. I'm listening to French music, about to work on my French book for beginners and then get through a few Rosetta Stone lessons. It's a French morning.

Today's favorite french phrases? Ces't mon frère. It means he's my brother. I'm also enjoying Je suis un mèdecin or I'm a doctor.

I still like Tout le monde and le chaval court, meaning everybody and the horse runs.

Languages are so fun!