Enjoying it while I can

So I've just finished week four of my internship at Pasta Place (not it's real name, duh. Though that would be a good name if you ask me.) I have to say I got really lucky finding this internship and the lab tech who runs the lab all by herself is a real gem. It's much in thanks to her that things are going well, but I'd also like to hope that I'm becoming a bit more confident in my abilities, too. Let's hope! Anyway, the lab tech is just two years older than me, very chatty and no nonsense and quite willing to answer my questions. She's let me do pretty much all aspects of the job. Though they are some things that you need to do rather quickly, and as she does have more experience, in the interest of time on our busier days, she does those parts. She's also got a little girl two years older than Juliette so we have lots to chat about in that department.

The first day I was really floored to find out that my hours were basically 8 to 3. That's because the 25-minute lunch break counts as your official work day breaks and so isn't deducted. And it's a 35-hour work week in France so that's 7 hours a day, people. I was like, what?! I get to go home and piddle about then pick up Juliette from school when it lets out?! But before I get my hopes up, I know not all microbiology jobs would necessarily be like this, plus I have to admit that this lady has been doing it for ten years and is highly efficient at it.

Another plus: free lasagnas! At lunch we can taste the products but, mind you, it is officially to make sure they are of good quality and not going bad, because we generally test them just at their "best before" date. I particularly like the cannelonis. And I can buy them really cheap if I want because sometimes they have extras that don't quite fit on the pallet.

But what do I actually do during this internship, you might ask? Well, we take all the finished products and also the ingredients and we test them to make sure they meet the microbiology requirements. Some microbes are to be expected in things like cheese and meat, but of course you don't want lots of E. coli or Salmonella showing up, so those are rather sensitive ones to look out for. So we take samples and grind them up and put them in Petri dishes and put them in the incubator to see what pops up. In a nutshell, that is.

I've got three more weeks, during one of which my little sister will be visiting! Yeah! I'm glad I'll have a little less on my mind during her visit. I've been jotting down some notes cause I will have a report to write on my internship. And I've been half-heartedly reviewing from time to time because I know when I get back to school (dreading it!) it will be intense, with lots of exams coming up. That's why I say I'm enjoying it while it lasts. Unfortunately, like my pal Crystal once wrote (way back when?), I'm just too aware of what's around the corner sometimes to really revel in the moment. But I'm trying. This internship period has truly been like a vacation for me. Less studying, more time with Juliette and even relaxing in front of the telly with Remi. The last four months of my studies will be mega-intense, unfortunately...

But until then, let me concentrate on the fun to come with my sis, a breath of fresh air from my homeland! And here's a little picture I like to call "Bib head."

Three and a half

It seems like just yesterday I was writing about Juliette hitting the eighteen month mark. And look at her now! As a parent, you just can't say it enough: time goes fast. Too fast.

Her three and a half year-old self can be very delightful. Last night we spent about half an hour asking each other back and forth if the other had eaten such and such non-food, like towels, paper, telephones. She loved answering, no, that's disgusting! Such small things can make a pre-schooler happy. I love it when I say good night to her and she keeps rattling on about things she's done that day. I look down and see her animated face talking about things semi-coherently and I still marvel that we now carry on fairly normal conversations.

School has made her more chatty in French, that's for sure. When she plays with her dinette set she'll speak in French like the cafeteria ladies, offering us more sauce or water. She also goes into French mode when she talks to her baby dolls, and this is no doubt because she's imitating the day care workers for her Wednesday day care. And at school she already has her little beau, whom we'll just call M. I swear she does that little shy eyes, turning coyly on her feet thing when she says goodbye to him at the end of the school day. But apparently little boy A is also her good friend and a boy in the class above her has declared she is his "amoureuse" or girlfriend. Things are complicated in pre-school.

She's starting to pronounce the "h" like a pro now. About a year ago she'd say, that's MameeLin's "'ouse" but now she can say "house". I think it's practicing saying "yo ho ho" from Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Thank goodness we can get some of the Disney cartoons in English with our Internet TV. Handy Manny, The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the pirate kids are part of her (and our) Saturday and Sunday morning routine.

Yes, she's a bit of a tv junkie, and I wish she weren't so addicted at times. She doesn't watch it all the time, and we try to do some non-TV things like painting (which she really loves) or coloring or blocks together everyday. But she'll often ask to watch her Strawberry Shortcake dvd in the evening. And I often say yes and get dinner started while she watches that and plays at the same time.

The budding artist.

It's amazing how much she's starting to understand and yet what still eludes her. We saw a homeless man teetering dangerously close to the canal the other day and the firemen were trying to get him to come with them. It's been sub-freezing for two weeks now, I should mention. I explained to Juliette that they were going to take him to a warm place and give him soup and a bed. She repeated that but made sure to add he wasn't coming to our house. Then later she said maybe the man was sad because he wanted his mommy. I wondered if there was some truth to what she said.

She loves her books that are from the Juliette series, about a pre-schooler with an uncanny resemblance to our little girl. Currently she's obsessed with the one where Juliette (the character) is a bad girl and has to go to the corner. Juliette (mine) can "read" the book pretty much by herself because she's memorized the actions. She also likes nursery rhymes and songs and as always, Elmo!




Tantrums do still happen and they can be doozies. How many times these past two weeks has she wanted to go the park on the way home and I've had to say no, 'cause it was freezing. She can go balistic on me at times like this. Or when I dare to mix her paint for her on the plate and she wanted to do it. Sharing is still not her thing.

And for the Juju fans, here she is chatting and singing a variety of tunes...p.s. I love how she says she's doing "stuff" at the beginning of the video.

So this school year of mine has made me less available for my Juju, but I'm still enjoying seeing how she grows from three to four years old. And trying to hang on to every sweet moment, of course!

My favorite things

Ever notice how you get a warm feeling just talking about the things you like? It's an affirmation of yourself, too. I like, therefore I am. So make your own list and think it over when you're feeling blue (à la the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music). Turn over those objects mentally in your head for a little boost.

So here's my list, non-exhaustive, mind you...

Tea parties and all that goes with them.

And while we're on the subject of tea, I do love my delicate tea cups I bought in Bruges years ago that are such a warm burnt orange and rimmed with gold.


Muscari or grape hyacinth flowers. Adorably elegant with those little blue flowers.


Girlfriends! Need I say more? Here you see Caro, Marine and Karine, dear work pals.

My lime green dish-washing gloves. They make me feel invincible when I plunge into grimy water. Washing dishes is a little more bearable with these babies.


Winter days that give you hope that there will be sun around the corner. Or that give you an excuse to stay inside and be cozy.


Picking up my muffin from school at the official end of the school day. I can do that for the next few weeks because my hours at the internship are shorter than when I'm in class.


I could go on, but maybe I'll save that for another post. In the meantime, I think I'll spread the joy of favorite things by tagging Crystal, Amber and Jessamyn to make their own lists, if they so desire. And, you, dear readers, I'd love to hear what's on your list, too.

Life is about tests

(... in the style of a Meredith Grey voiceover*.)

Sometimes (pregnant pause), life is about tests.

There are the tests you know you are taking, that you can prepare for. These last two weeks I had quite a few of those. In statistics, micro and cell biology, and environmental management. They are tests in the literal sense of the word. They evoke cramming and late nights or early mornings and stress. And relief when they are finished. Afterwards you get a grade that makes you smile or wince and has some kind of effect on your future. Or not. Or not as much as you thought, when you look back years later.

Then there are tests we all take, students or not, every day. But they are trickier because in fact they aren't official and there's no one egging you on to do well. Except yourself, or your conscience. Like driving. Do I switch gears now, do I let that other driver in, do I proceed into the intersection now or a few seconds later? A multitude of small decisions that may seem small but could have major, lasting effects on our lives and those of others. Who's to say these "tests" aren't more important than the written ones that we make notecards for? They are, in fact, more important. But we don't always see it that way at the time.

And even more subtle but perhaps the trickiest of all are those moments when others test us- test our conscience or patience. Like when Juliette woke up way too early from her nap on an afternoon when I really needed to study for an official test. And I found myself getting irritated despite my efforts to smile and be sweet and cuddly to her while she rotated around my study corner. We are tested, we are pushed, and we must rise above our irritation and prioritize (child over homework). And sometimes we fail and we grumble and rumble and we regret it. And we hope we'll do better next time.

Maybe the real test in life is just that: deciding which tests are really important to pass and which ones we can forget about. And that's something you won't learn in any school book.

*As far as TV voiceovers go, Grey's Anatomy is not so bad. Slightly sappy but rather insightful. It comes in number two on my official voiceover ranking.

Desperate Housewives gets third place. I always feel like I'm having a children's book read to me. Enough already with the heavily emphasized "yes..." or "indeed" before every other statement. But sometimes trite stuff rings true.

But my all-time favorite voice-over sequence was from Glee when Wil and Coach Sue have a fight in their voiceover. TV genius!

Homebody vacation

First things first, a little holiday video for the Juju fans.

So it's Thursday and I've been dutifully ticking off things on my to-do list. Napping, check (though not every day). Baking, check, some sugar cookies with a super easy recipe from the Net. Light cleaning/organizing, check. A bit of the bookshelf and throwing out old magazines. Still not that energetic about complete apartment overhaul. Sleeping past six, er, not working out so well. Juliette seems to be an early bird, and has been for the past few months. We can't seem to sleep past six thirty around here. Is she conditioned to wake up knowing cartoons are on? Remind me to send hate mail to the TV channels. But, on the other hand, it does force me to get going. And generally I laze around eating breakfast, drinking tea and watching a bit of TV with Juju or checking my email. It's nice to look at the clock and realize I don't have anywhere to rush off to.

Remi's been working all week though getting some heating problems worked out at the greenhouse and taking advantage of the relatively mild weather to get ahead on things. Kind of a shame since this is my only week off till June. But to be honest it does give me time to get ahead on some home stuff and studying. And though I'm loving my time with Juju, who, incidentally, seems to be speaking more English this week, too much alone time makes me introspective. Only seeing the odd cashier or administrative person is not social enough for me. I've seen my Facebook checking increase sickeningly and my worries about school and life in general go up too. I guess it's normal that I'm taking stock of things half way into my studies. Luckily I'm doing ok grade-wise, but I find myself worrying about the future and finances, of course. And I think knowing my family is all together over in the US does kind of pull on me this time of year. Even though I've been able to vicariously live through their holiday plans via email and Skype, it's just not quite the same. Little sigh of homesickness!

Anyhoo, I'm sure I'll be wishing I could get back even the greyer moments of this week once I'm back in school and complaining of the workload! This break was needed, and I'm enjoying it.

Finally!

I've been waiting for this date for so long! A whole week off, after nearly four intense months of school, punctuated by just two days off in November. The only thing is I'm afraid I won't take advantage of my time, that it will go by too fast, that I won't be rested enough for all that's to come after my break...

Whoah, there horsies... let's take a deep breath and try to enjoy this week instead of fretting about the post-break work. I'd like to be that care-free kind of person. The only thing is I know we've got an exam coming up the week we get back then two more in the weeks after that. I'll have to do some studying but I must vow not to go overboard. Maybe I should make a to-do list with fun and relaxing stuff that I also need to do. So, here we go:

• take naps
• bake cookies
• play with Juliette
• take walks
• watch movies
• sleep past six a.m.
• get apartment organized (oops, that sounds a bit like work); let's change that to "light cleaning"
  
• call family and catch up on their fun holiday plans...

Yep, it's gonna be hard for me this year compared to last when I spent a glorious three weeks state-side. I keep getting that flood of holiday memories of all the fun things we did last year, imagining the tastes and sights and sounds of America. I'm missing home and homeland something awful but I guess I've got plenty of distractions here with school. And it does get a little easier to spend Christmas in France now that Juliette is here.

She's much more aware of the holiday season this year. She still doesn't like Santa. Apparently she cried when he came to her school last week. And same reaction when we saw him at the supermarket giving out candy. When I ask her what she wants him to bring her, she just says, "no". When I tell her to look at the TV cause Santa's on, she says "no".

She hasn't been hastling us too much about opening presents but she occasionally asks about them. For now she's more into the box (typical!) that aunt Jessy's presents came in, and popping the bubble wrap.

Catki likes it, too. Ooh, scary cat eyes.

Here she is answering questions about the tree and decorations:




So, merry Christmas to you, dear readers, and let's all try to get some rest this holiday season.

How NOT to make a gingerbread house

My first attempt at a gingerbread house was quickly abandoned as I realized the icing recipe I had used was way too liquidy. I didn't have much powdered sugar so I found a recipe that didn't call for much, and the result was not what I wanted.

I call it the Gingerbread Crack House. Remi calls it a bunker or ghetto.

So today I bought more powdered sugar and used a proper recipe:

320 g powdered sugar
2 egg whites
Mix till glossy.
Spoon into a ziploc and close. Cut small hole in a corner.

The results were better, but still not stellar. Even if all I had to get right was the icing since I was using some Speculoos gingerbread cookies that I'd bought. I ended up using a bit of a cardboard box to "glue" my cookies onto and make it more stable. Remi helped out and made a roof. Then it was the fun part, decorating and eating bits of icing and candy.


We have moved out of the ghetto and into a middle-class fixer-upper.

It is still nothing to compare to the stuff you can find on the Internet.

Like this version of the house from the animated film Up. That's amazing!

Martha Stewart I will never be. But I don't think she tried to make gingerbread houses with a three year-old and full-time studies. Maybe so, though, and she did run a successful business. Oh, and spend time in prison for insider trading. I guess I'll content myself with being me after all.