Mondays are always fun. The last remnants of that glorious weekend feeling are wearing off (well, not so much in my case – my calves and hiney are still sore from all those walks I took!), and the reality of a new week is setting in which means there are several tasks that need to be done.
Groceries need to be restocked. You know, essentials. Like chocolate for instance.
Don’t judge me.
I also picked up some of this Verveine tea at my professor’s recommendation. Apparently it helps with stomach aches…and lady problems. Now you know why I bought so much chocolate…
I highly recommend this tea if you can find it. She mentioned that we don’t use it in the U.S. as a natural remedy for cramps and stomach aches as much as they do in France, but that we should hop on board because it works wonders. I don’t know about all that, but it was really delicious and I found it to be very soothing.
Leftovers. That’s the other thing about Monday. The fridge is full of all the things you made over the weekend, or in my case all the things I bought at the market on Sunday. Normally I’d put up a fight and avoid the leftovers, but these I ate with delight.
I’m going to make it my life’s work to figure out what the heck is in these artichokes. There’s a lot of creamy-cheesy-herby-garlicy goodness, that’s for sure. I’ll find a recipe if it kills me! But of course, I’ll share the recipe with you first Wink
The artichoke bliss came with leftover peppers and onions (eaten cold…seriously, it’s delicious. You must make these. Now.) some steamed broccoli, Mary’s GF Crakers sent courtesy of Mom and Dad back home, and some rotisserie chicken.
And of course, it wouldn’t be Monday if you didn’t wake up to a pile of laundry that was threatening to grow legs and walk out the door…
Laundry in Paris is always an adventure. I packed my duffel with nearly every garment I have in Paris and took the walk of shame to the laundromat.
I emerged two hours and 17 euros later with fresh socks and undies for the rest of the week
Speaking of dirty laundry, I figured the best way to answer the Ask Me Anything questions would be with a “10 Things About Me You Never Wanted To Know But Are Going To Find Out Anyway List.” So here you have it…Installment One.
1. My very favorite food in the whole entire world is…Apples. Give me a crisp Pink Lady, Jazz, or Fuji apple and I’m a happy camper. I’m also an expert apple-picker-outer. What can I say – It’s a gift.
2. My biggest pet peeve is chewing/smacking or any noise associated with it. Seriously. Can’t handle it. I feel kind of bad about this one, and I’ve tried to get over it and just ignore it. But I can’ttttttttttttttttttttttttt.
3. Someone asked what I like to do to wind down every night after a long day. Hmmm…I’ve never really thought about it. I guess I have a really bad habit of drinking a cup of half-caf coffee after dinner. It’s like my “It’s the end of the day so you can finally sit down” treat. Probably not the healthiest thing to have at the end of the day, but I’ve been doing it for – forever. I find it comforting.
4. I also got a hypothetical question “If you could only have one makeup product for the rest of your life, what would it be?” I’d have to go with mascara.
5. Favorite childhood cereal – Cheerios. I used to call them “ho ho’s.” Don’t know why. But I used to beg for “ho ho’s” all the time.
Pretty darn cute, if I don’t say so myself.
6. I’ve only ever broken one bone – my nose when I was in 8th grade. Freak cheerleading accident. You don’t want to know.
7. I’m a Finance major and will graduate this December. I was scheduled to graduate this May, but instead took the opportunity to live in Paris for the semester. Not a bad trade off! I have no idea what I want to do after. I just know that I don’t want to sit at a desk! I’m fairly certain I’m going to head to culinary school. I think I’d be interested in personal chef work. I’d love to do something with photography too. We shall see!
8. I don’t count calories. Used to be a slave to those stupid numbers. I could probably tell you the calorie count for just about any food out there, but I’ve worked really hard to get rid of those voices when I’m making my own food choices. I also don’t weigh myself. In fact, I’ve asked my family to hide the scale from me. I don’t think they got it at first, but they obliged and I think it’s made such a huge difference for me. I’m not a number, and you aren’t either.
9. I do not have a boyfriend at the moment. Although, I am in the market for what they call a “dictionnaire” here. Basically that’s slang for an English speaker with a French speaking boyfriend. What!? It’s for educational purposes!
10. I was a gymnast for a really long time… click here for some more tales on that.
And there you have it.
