Taken by my daughter Summer 2010, but something I hope to see...
It's on my bucket list!
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Saturday, July 31, 2010
And the "Eagle" has Landed!!! (or at least called...)
I couldn't sleep last night... Marissa (age 5) had a fever throughout most of the day, and was finally asleep. I had sat through (endured, really...) the newest Cats and Dogs movie (more about that one later), and wasn't sleepy. Couldn't sleep, actually. My eyes were tired and burning, but something in my brain wouldn't let me sleep.
I still hadn't heard from Rey (my European-bound 16yo). BUT! It's a good thing I didn't go to sleep, as I wouldn't have heard the phone ring at 3:03am (my time-PST)! I was catching up on my shows (see sidebar... I'm a self-proclaimed addict) and the landline rang! OMG! You've got to be kidding! Yes... it did!
And it was my lovely daughter, that left for Europe on Monday morning. She apologized for not calling sooner. But I knew she was safe and was having a good time. She had just gotten off the night train from Florence (or Assisi... I don't really know, but somewhere in Italy!) and was in Paris. The boys in the tour had already gotten their rooms, and the girls were waiting (I guess "ladies first" isn't in their etiquette...) for theirs.
But she took a minute (3 actually) and gave me a ring. I can breathe, now. I already knew from a post of a chaperone that they were ok, but I really wanted to hear it myself. I consider myself lucky.
Other parents are still waiting for calls. They have only seen their kids post on Facebook that they are ok and/or having a good time. They all have international calling cards and some even have international cell phones. But... those parents are still waiting. I'm sorry that they are. There's something about hearing your child's voice on the other end of the line, knowing they took the time and let you know how they are. It's as close as face-to-face as you can get, without actually getting there. I'm glad she called me, and wish the same for the other parents.
When I heard her voice, all I could think of was the cliche line, "The Eagle has landed..." It fits here. First, her school mascot is the Eagle. AND! her favorite animal is... what? THE EAGLE! AND it happens to represent our country, as well. How totally appropriate on a whole lot of levels. (*snicker* I thought it was cute... anyway...)
As for the fever of Miss Marissa... it's gone today, but yesterday was low-grade for most of it. She still wanted to go to the movies... ick! I usually enjoy kid movies, but this one? Ugh! (The first one was rather cute...) The first one was MUCH better. Marissa had a good time and laughed in all the right places, but me... I couldn't help but see how fake some of the cats and dogs looked. Be consistent, people! It's not just kids you are trying to please; it's the parents, too! And the villain cat of the movie just reminded me too much of "Grandma Wrinkles" from The Real Housewives of New Jersey (sorry, Dina Manzo!) and creeped me out. Hopefully, that movie will end up in streaming format from Netflix, so I won't have to buy it.
Tonight I'm going to bed much earlier. We've been out and about for a good portion of the day (hubs didn't tell me we were gonna be hitting Ontario Mills!), and my feet are now killing me, as I wasn't prepared and wore flip-flops. Time to hit it! Night...
I still hadn't heard from Rey (my European-bound 16yo). BUT! It's a good thing I didn't go to sleep, as I wouldn't have heard the phone ring at 3:03am (my time-PST)! I was catching up on my shows (see sidebar... I'm a self-proclaimed addict) and the landline rang! OMG! You've got to be kidding! Yes... it did!
And it was my lovely daughter, that left for Europe on Monday morning. She apologized for not calling sooner. But I knew she was safe and was having a good time. She had just gotten off the night train from Florence (or Assisi... I don't really know, but somewhere in Italy!) and was in Paris. The boys in the tour had already gotten their rooms, and the girls were waiting (I guess "ladies first" isn't in their etiquette...) for theirs.
But she took a minute (3 actually) and gave me a ring. I can breathe, now. I already knew from a post of a chaperone that they were ok, but I really wanted to hear it myself. I consider myself lucky.
Other parents are still waiting for calls. They have only seen their kids post on Facebook that they are ok and/or having a good time. They all have international calling cards and some even have international cell phones. But... those parents are still waiting. I'm sorry that they are. There's something about hearing your child's voice on the other end of the line, knowing they took the time and let you know how they are. It's as close as face-to-face as you can get, without actually getting there. I'm glad she called me, and wish the same for the other parents.
When I heard her voice, all I could think of was the cliche line, "The Eagle has landed..." It fits here. First, her school mascot is the Eagle. AND! her favorite animal is... what? THE EAGLE! AND it happens to represent our country, as well. How totally appropriate on a whole lot of levels. (*snicker* I thought it was cute... anyway...)
As for the fever of Miss Marissa... it's gone today, but yesterday was low-grade for most of it. She still wanted to go to the movies... ick! I usually enjoy kid movies, but this one? Ugh! (The first one was rather cute...) The first one was MUCH better. Marissa had a good time and laughed in all the right places, but me... I couldn't help but see how fake some of the cats and dogs looked. Be consistent, people! It's not just kids you are trying to please; it's the parents, too! And the villain cat of the movie just reminded me too much of "Grandma Wrinkles" from The Real Housewives of New Jersey (sorry, Dina Manzo!) and creeped me out. Hopefully, that movie will end up in streaming format from Netflix, so I won't have to buy it.
Tonight I'm going to bed much earlier. We've been out and about for a good portion of the day (hubs didn't tell me we were gonna be hitting Ontario Mills!), and my feet are now killing me, as I wasn't prepared and wore flip-flops. Time to hit it! Night...
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thinking of Sending Your Kid to Europe?
Just make sure you have all the answers and the glitches ironed out... BEFORE he or she leaves. This has been a whirlwind week.
Rey got off to Europe. Yes, there were glitches... like a lot of them. Things just never seemed to go as planned, even when you are dealing with a "professional" group like EF Tours. Changes were constantly made. Questions still remained unanswered. AND... Rey left at 6am Monday morning... Have I heard from her? Uh... no. But, I'm not blaming her, I'm blaming the stupid-a$$ calling cards that seem to be failing to work. They are a "little tricky". And we only know they are safe and busy and having a good time from a teacher/chaperone who left a message on the parent board. Eeek! Oh well... it would've been nice, but again, not possible.
The hugest problem? We found out less than 2 weeks ago that MORE money was needed. What? Yes, everything was already paid for, and they asked for MORE. Apparently, even with all of the professionals involved, the Eiffel Tower was NOT included in their educational tour. Um... yeah... This trip has been planned for well over a year. You'd think that SOMEONE... ANYONE... would have realized and/or offered to add this to the tour.
The trip is for Italy (Rome, Florence, Assisi), France (Paris), and England (London). The Vatican City was automatically included. (Like, duh...) And they offered other mini tours that were optional, most of them got knocked down, because there weren't enough takers.
But... the Eiffel Tower was not offered. Most of us would assume it was included, because, well... It should have been. Who (that is/might be a tourist) would go to Paris for the first time (and possible the only time in their lives) and NOT see the Eiffel Tower? Uh... I don't see any hands raised. That's right! Because we would all go. Afterall, this is an "educational" tour. And what's not educational and enriched with history about the Eiffel Tower? Exactly! It is full of history. It is a monument.
So my point being... Hello, EF Tours! How the heck did this slip past your radar. You people are supposed to be fluent in all things educational-tours.
And a little "other" note... a blanket email to the parents of the kids safe arrival would've been nice...
There were other glitches, and probably still will be. But I sincerely hope my daughter and all of her tour companions are having a GREAT time. I also hope that the "professionals" at EF Tours have learned a little something... to actually go over the whole trip itinerary prior to signing up a group!
Rey got off to Europe. Yes, there were glitches... like a lot of them. Things just never seemed to go as planned, even when you are dealing with a "professional" group like EF Tours. Changes were constantly made. Questions still remained unanswered. AND... Rey left at 6am Monday morning... Have I heard from her? Uh... no. But, I'm not blaming her, I'm blaming the stupid-a$$ calling cards that seem to be failing to work. They are a "little tricky". And we only know they are safe and busy and having a good time from a teacher/chaperone who left a message on the parent board. Eeek! Oh well... it would've been nice, but again, not possible.
The hugest problem? We found out less than 2 weeks ago that MORE money was needed. What? Yes, everything was already paid for, and they asked for MORE. Apparently, even with all of the professionals involved, the Eiffel Tower was NOT included in their educational tour. Um... yeah... This trip has been planned for well over a year. You'd think that SOMEONE... ANYONE... would have realized and/or offered to add this to the tour.
The trip is for Italy (Rome, Florence, Assisi), France (Paris), and England (London). The Vatican City was automatically included. (Like, duh...) And they offered other mini tours that were optional, most of them got knocked down, because there weren't enough takers.
But... the Eiffel Tower was not offered. Most of us would assume it was included, because, well... It should have been. Who (that is/might be a tourist) would go to Paris for the first time (and possible the only time in their lives) and NOT see the Eiffel Tower? Uh... I don't see any hands raised. That's right! Because we would all go. Afterall, this is an "educational" tour. And what's not educational and enriched with history about the Eiffel Tower? Exactly! It is full of history. It is a monument.
So my point being... Hello, EF Tours! How the heck did this slip past your radar. You people are supposed to be fluent in all things educational-tours.
And a little "other" note... a blanket email to the parents of the kids safe arrival would've been nice...
There were other glitches, and probably still will be. But I sincerely hope my daughter and all of her tour companions are having a GREAT time. I also hope that the "professionals" at EF Tours have learned a little something... to actually go over the whole trip itinerary prior to signing up a group!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Letting Go (Rey's Fundraiser Weekend)
The yard sale went REALLY good. We had a $356 Saturday and a $131 Sunday, for a total of $487 Weekend. That is really fairly good. Most of it was de-cluttering my house and just getting rid of stuff.
I had some very difficult moments. I cried (seriously) when Marissa's stroller was loaded into someone's truck. This was a "Mommy" moment. She is grown-up enough to walk everywhere, and those places where she might get tired of walking (you know... D-land, Knott's, etc - like we go there a lot... lol!), we can just rent one at the park of our choice. It wasn't only that... This was a good-bye to a built in shopping cart (where the heck am I supposed to put my packages when Christmas shopping!?!) and an all-around carrier. I used it for many things. My fave? When going to one of the girls' tennis matches, it carried the cooler, chairs, sheets (for the ground) and Marissa's toys (to occupy her attention). *sigh* I guess I'll just have to get used to carrying stuff and making multiple trips to the car. 'Cause you know... I'm too cool (and much too young) to get a "Granny Cart" to put my wares in! But for the most part I cried because I realized. This was a little era of our life... gone... She is no longer a baby, even though I still refer to her as "the baby". *sniff, sniff* It still bothers me...
Have you ever seen the show "Hoarders" on A&E? Me, either. BUT, I have read articles and seen pictures. Those were enough to get me going through my stuff, because, well... I just didn't want to be One. Of. Those. People. You know... the one's who "need" the help. Heck! I can can help myself. But it was REALLY hard. As I was going through craft stuff and fabric (omg! no!), I held up un-started and un-finished projects (some that haven't been touched in over 10 years) and had to head-slap my other self and say, "GET REAL!" While I had the one self saying, "Some day..." the other self was ready to kick her ass. I'll admit, there were some items I picked up, held it up, held it in a different light, a different angle, and still wondered, "WTF did I get THIS for?" or "WHAT was I thinking?" I saw my tastes completely change.
The Stationary Bike? That was another, "Yeah... right..." item. It sits and doesn't get used. Wait. It did get used! We hung so many things on it at different times, it was multi-purposed. But alas, it didn't get used for its original purpose. Besides, we got a Wii... which DOES get used.
Going through my closet was the hardest thing I've ever done. I did it as quickly as possible. I did it quickly so I wouldn't give my one self a chance to grab it back from that discard pile (you know... the one that was growing at an alarming rate) that my other self had put there. Gone are my size 2 and 4's. Gone are those really cool Levi 501, straight legs that are perfectly worn out and faded and ripped at the knee that were so comfortable, they could be just as perfect as the pair of sweats I have on right now... but haven't fit me in 7 or so years... Those... I would like to have kept. And those... are what almost got grabbed back if my one self had bigger balls (or a smaller butt). Gone is stuff that was held on to that "might" come back in style, just like so many other things have from the past. (I so wish I had stashed away all those "Dittos" and awesome clothes from the 70's and 80's. We could've all made a fortune just selling them on e-Bay!) But maybe I would have worn them again... Yeah, right...
As I watched everything go, I realized it all had a story. And believe it or not, I remembered that story. I remembered where everything came from (and sometimes how much it cost-so some of the items still had price tags on them... so what!). And so I weeded out and sold things. Lots. of. Things. $487 worth of Things. All for my darling daughter, Rey. I cried when I let go of a stroller. *sigh* I'll cry again in August, when I watch her go up the escalator to the boarding area. (Thank you 911 for taking the actual departure away from me!) And with mothers everywhere, we'll let them go...
I had some very difficult moments. I cried (seriously) when Marissa's stroller was loaded into someone's truck. This was a "Mommy" moment. She is grown-up enough to walk everywhere, and those places where she might get tired of walking (you know... D-land, Knott's, etc - like we go there a lot... lol!), we can just rent one at the park of our choice. It wasn't only that... This was a good-bye to a built in shopping cart (where the heck am I supposed to put my packages when Christmas shopping!?!) and an all-around carrier. I used it for many things. My fave? When going to one of the girls' tennis matches, it carried the cooler, chairs, sheets (for the ground) and Marissa's toys (to occupy her attention). *sigh* I guess I'll just have to get used to carrying stuff and making multiple trips to the car. 'Cause you know... I'm too cool (and much too young) to get a "Granny Cart" to put my wares in! But for the most part I cried because I realized. This was a little era of our life... gone... She is no longer a baby, even though I still refer to her as "the baby". *sniff, sniff* It still bothers me...
Have you ever seen the show "Hoarders" on A&E? Me, either. BUT, I have read articles and seen pictures. Those were enough to get me going through my stuff, because, well... I just didn't want to be One. Of. Those. People. You know... the one's who "need" the help. Heck! I can can help myself. But it was REALLY hard. As I was going through craft stuff and fabric (omg! no!), I held up un-started and un-finished projects (some that haven't been touched in over 10 years) and had to head-slap my other self and say, "GET REAL!" While I had the one self saying, "Some day..." the other self was ready to kick her ass. I'll admit, there were some items I picked up, held it up, held it in a different light, a different angle, and still wondered, "WTF did I get THIS for?" or "WHAT was I thinking?" I saw my tastes completely change.
The Stationary Bike? That was another, "Yeah... right..." item. It sits and doesn't get used. Wait. It did get used! We hung so many things on it at different times, it was multi-purposed. But alas, it didn't get used for its original purpose. Besides, we got a Wii... which DOES get used.
Going through my closet was the hardest thing I've ever done. I did it as quickly as possible. I did it quickly so I wouldn't give my one self a chance to grab it back from that discard pile (you know... the one that was growing at an alarming rate) that my other self had put there. Gone are my size 2 and 4's. Gone are those really cool Levi 501, straight legs that are perfectly worn out and faded and ripped at the knee that were so comfortable, they could be just as perfect as the pair of sweats I have on right now... but haven't fit me in 7 or so years... Those... I would like to have kept. And those... are what almost got grabbed back if my one self had bigger balls (or a smaller butt). Gone is stuff that was held on to that "might" come back in style, just like so many other things have from the past. (I so wish I had stashed away all those "Dittos" and awesome clothes from the 70's and 80's. We could've all made a fortune just selling them on e-Bay!) But maybe I would have worn them again... Yeah, right...
As I watched everything go, I realized it all had a story. And believe it or not, I remembered that story. I remembered where everything came from (and sometimes how much it cost-so some of the items still had price tags on them... so what!). And so I weeded out and sold things. Lots. of. Things. $487 worth of Things. All for my darling daughter, Rey. I cried when I let go of a stroller. *sigh* I'll cry again in August, when I watch her go up the escalator to the boarding area. (Thank you 911 for taking the actual departure away from me!) And with mothers everywhere, we'll let them go...
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