Keep Left, Look Right and Avoid Meat

When you're in Scotland the grass is always greener. Scotch isn't Scotch; it's whisky. Fries are known as chips. Chips are crisps. Cookies are biscuits. Trout tastes like salmon. Pounds are currency and not a thing on a scale. Looking right when crossing the street isn't just a suggestion. And, thank the Lord, diet coke does exist!

That's a long introduction to say I have been in Scotland since Monday. Mark is working on a 100 day project in Aberdeen, Scotland, and I decided I would accompany him on his 2nd trip.

Aberdeen is on the northeastern coast of Scotland. When I was growing up, I always pictured Scotland with its rolling hills but I never thought about the expansive beaches. Lucky for me, our hotel is just across the street from the beach. So while Mark is hard at work, I can walk across to stroll along the beach.

I am not going to say that Aberdeen has been the most exciting place to visit. I can guarantee the next time Mark says he is traveling to a small town in the UK I will likely say "have fun, see you when I see you" and will very happily stay home. However, I am glad I decided to come on this visit. If for nothing else, I have a new found respect for what Mark does for a living.

I always knew Mark was a hard worker; it was one of the first things that attracted me to him. But seeing what he has to do on a regular basis and how little time he gets to himself is crazy. When we arrived on Monday morning after traveling overnight, he showered and went straight to the office without lunch. In comparison, I ordered room service, showered and then slept for a few hours. Ahhh the life of a lady of leisure...

While Aberdeen isn't the most exciting place, it also isn't the best place to visit for two people who can't eat meat. For Lent this year I decided to give up meat. For a few weeks prior to Ash Wednesday I contemplated whether I should give up meat or chocolate and finally decided on meat. As the "nice" wife that I am, I told Mark if I was going to give up meat he should probably do the same because my rule with cooking is if I don't or won't eat it, I definitely won't cook it.

Last year for Lent I gave up Facebook which I thought would be difficult but it really wasn't bad at all. I actually ended up staying off of Facebook until my nephew was born in September because I liked it so much. Giving up Facebook was freeing, I recommend trying it for a few days or weeks if you haven't.

Let's just say that giving up meat has been MUCH more difficult. Last summer I was so sick of meat that I was practically pescetarian already so I foolishly thought this wouldn't be too big of a challenge. On the contrary, since giving up meat and being left with veggies and fish I have a new found love and craving for beef, chicken and pork...let's not forget my good friends duck, quail, rabbit and lamb. I can't believe I am saying this, but I have never craved a hamburger so much in my life!

I know this sacrifice is nothing compared to God's sacrifice but man it takes commitment, especially when room service "accidentally" delivers a chicken bacon club sandwich to your room when you ordered a tomato and cheese sandwich instead. Thank goodness my Mom drilled into me at an early age that God was always looking, I could have easily devoured that awesome looking club sandwich on a very empty stomach.

I will say that despite our Lenten diet we have had some good meals in Aberdeen (thanks Musa and The Sand Dollar Cafe). Our restrictions have forced us to try new things like seafood pot pie and veggie bean burgers from Burger King. As always, my favorite part of each meal is still dessert - preferably sticky toffee pudding!

Well I'm off to check my mercury levels. C'est la vie, y'all! Thanks for reading.

Defining My New Reality

It's starting to get real.

Last Monday was my final day working at the American Chemistry Council (ACC). As I mentioned in my previous post, I absolutely loved my job, bosses and coworkers. We always managed to have a lot of fun while staying busy. I am not ashamed to admit that I have cried on 4 separate occasions and more tears are likely to come in the weeks ahead.

Just before my final work day, I told one of my coworkers about my tears and he told me crying over leaving my job to move to Paris was like someone being sad because they are a Princess - it's just silly. I got the point and shut up. Thanks Ryan!

On Tuesday, we learned that Mark's work permit for France had been approved. His permit was supposed to take 6-8 weeks and it was approved within 3. Now we just have to wait on our long term visas which should take 2-4 weeks, then we are all set to move.

Some of you might wonder about Lilly. She is, of course, coming with us and has already learned to obey French dog commands. Thanks to another awesome coworker, I learned that Lilly needed to learn how to sit and stay in French. I always knew Lils was smart but she learned to asseids and reste very quickly. Thanks Marie!

Lilly also has a Senior Pet Relocation Counselor working with her on the big move. (Thanks GE!) I have really been impressed with Kerry at WorldCare Pet Transport. She has been awesome and is making Lilly's move much easier on us. Honestly, out of this whole move, Lilly flying below deck on a plane all alone for 7 hours is what worries me the most. She is my baby. I know she will be ok during the flight but I can't say the same for her mother - hello red wine!!

My first two weeks of not working have actually been a lot of fun. Mark and I were both concerned about how I would react to my new found freedom. On my first day of not working I decided to join a 2nd gym. I know that probably sounds crazy but I promise the two gyms offer different classes and environments. I am quickly becoming a spin class and body pump addict. I did try Zumba this week and let's just say this white girl STILL can't dance!! I laughed for an hour straight so that was fun!

Over the last week and a half I have had a lot of time to think and I realized that I need to learn how to define myself in my new reality. For so long I have let a job or where I'm from define me, now I get to let me define me! Exciting and scary at the same time.

C'est la vie y'all. Thanks for reading!

Old Sayings, New City

You know the old saying “We plan, God laughs,” well God made a plan and I can’t stop laughing…moving to Paris, really? What kind of joke is that?

The reason I think it's so funny is because one year ago I thought I finally had my life figured out for the next two years at least. I was starting a new job, a job that I REALLY wanted at a great company, working for a boss that I think is FABULOUS and Mark was finishing his last semester of business school with an awesome job lined up at GE. Our life was coming together nicely, I was happy in my new job and the days of only having one pay check were coming to an end…AHHHHH sweet sweet bliss!

Needless to say, that didn’t last long. Mark graduated from GWU and began his job at GE in June, based in DC! WOO HOO!! In July, I went on vacation to France and during that much needed break from reality Mark learned that his team at GE would begin traveling internationally to work on global projects with different GE business.  Great…but wait….he is going to be gone 5-6 weeks at a time. No biggie, I’m a strong, independent woman. I can handle living in DC alone just as long as I have my sweet pup Lilly Ears Dixon.

Funny thing is, Lilly and I are great together when Mark is around. I am Lilly’s cuddle buddy and Mark is her playmate. Well, when I have to be cuddle buddy, playmate and disciplinarian, things don’t mesh too well with Lils and me. We can make it about 2 weeks happy as clams but give us 6 weeks alone together and things start to unravel. I am not ashamed to admit it, Lilly and I get into fights. Mark recently came home and Lilly and I weren’t speaking to each other…she had pushed me too far!

Anyways…back to my story, Mark has been traveling non-stop for the last 7 months, he has been all over the world, Brazil, Turkey, Algeria, England, Italy, Dubai, Singapore, South Korea – in November he actually circumnavigated the world…I would probably hate him if I actually thought he was having fun doing all of this without me. After being apart so much and it feeling like SUCH a luxury to actually spend one weekend together, Mark and I decided that as much as I love my job, life is just too short to spend so much time apart. In December, I decided I would leave my job.  I say “I” because as I told Mark – and he agreed, if I am going to leave my job, it is going to be my decision and only my decision. We were going to move to Connecticut (which is where Mark was being relocated – GE’s corporate headquarters) and I would travel with him fulltime. I wasn’t too excited about the possibility but I was determined to make it work and THEN just before Christmas we were told that Mark was being relocated – not to Connecticut but to Europe…to which I cannot post my exact response but let’s just say it was something like this…holy &*$#!

So here we are, Mark and I are moving to Europe…to the City of Light – PARIS!

As I said, everyone tells you “We plan, God laughs,” but you rarely hear people talk about the other side of it all, I NEVER would have planned that I would be in a job that I love (too many people are never in a job they love), living in a great city, surrounded by wonderful friends and then God would have this plan that Mark and I would relocate to Paris and I would have to leave the life that I love to go live in one of the most glorious cities in the world. God is quite the comedian! Who would ever say no to moving to Paris and not having to work…you’d have to be crazy but so much of me is sad to move further away from my family, leave my job, my career and my friends but I have to keep my faith and know that God has a plan and he will keep me busy so I don’t get bored and drive Mark and Lilly crazy.

And on that note, this blog is going to be one of my new hobbies. I plan to write about our impending move and my fun adventures while visiting different locations around the city! Some days will undoubtedly be more entertaining than others depending on the amount of wine I have consumed while relaxing at a cozy café. 

I can't close this first post without giving a big shout out to my good friend and former work wife Audrey Anderson who named my blog. Thanks Audrey, you're awesome!!

So, through all of the craziness that will surely come my way during the next month or two, I just have to remember, c’est la vie (that's life) y’all!