Success!

Our look and see trip to Miami was a success:

Emily was an angel the whole trip; she did not complain once during the 11 hour flight to Miami sitting on our lap as no baby basket was provided to us (5 babies in total on the flight!); she came along when we visited houses the entire day, eating, sleeping and looking curiously at everything with no complaint; she started sleeping nights 7 hours in a row during our trip, which is a very big improvement; she slept in her little baby basket the entire flight on the return.

The house; we found a house close to our dream house. It has everything we wanted, i.e. a bedroom for us, a bedroom for Emily, a bedroom for guests, an office, a pool. Everything is new and done with very good taste by the owner's ex husband who is an architect. We're moving in December 9th. I'm pretty sure I'll feel as if I were acting in a Hollywood movie living in such a house for two years.

We were very busy the entire trip and were unfortunately not able to relax and enjoy the wonderful Biltmore facilities or the beach, but truly, que demande de plus le peuple?

Look and see trip

We're on our look and see trip in Miami. We have one week to find our future home. One week to enjoy the fabulous hotel we're staying at. Too bad I caught a cold cause the pool is simply magnificent...

the weekend

It was a lovely weekend.

Baltic weekend

We are leaving to the baltic sea tomorrow for the weekend. It's our last getaway romantic weekend just the two of us before she arrives. And M's present for my upcoming birthday. So we're heading up North to the baltic sea, where we've rented a cute little flat in an old farm house, and where we plan to discover beautiful spots like Wismar, Lübeck, and the coast in general. With a little help from the weather, we might even enjoy walks on the beach. With a big help from our Little One, who's decided to lay upside down already, I might be able to walk more than 10 minutes without pains. At any rate, rain or shine, pains or no pains, I plan to enjoy this weekend!

back to reality

We are finally back from Miami. We returned with a bit of a suntan, lots of jetlag, a bigger and rounder pregnant belly, a whole bag full of adorable baby clothes we bought and lovely presents we got at the surprise baby shower for our little girl, and many extra kilos in our own suitcases. M caught my sister's flu, meaning we had to postpone our return flight to the 18th. He's never sick, but when he is, he gets the whole nine yards!

The vacation however was great. Spending time with my family felt wonderful. We shopped till we dropped with my mother, dined to our heart's and stomach's contempt with my father and his wife, and did a few excursions all together on the weekends such as renting a boat for a day. The return to reality is being quite hard, with the jetlag, the temperature change, etc. but thankfully M was prescribed sick days till the end of the week, so we can slowly readapt together to our normal german life. Don't know if it's all the vitamins I'm taking to fight M's virus, or if she's also jetlagged, but our little girl is doing aerobics in my stomach these days. Let's see if we can get rid of it - it being the jetlag, although getting rid of the aerobics would please me as well - before Nat comes to visit this weekend...

Miami vacation

The long awaited February 5th is finally almost here. Tomorrow morning we'll be off to Miami for a 10 day family/shopping sprea/relaxing beach vacation. I have to admit I am bit nervous about the long trip and the possible complications it could have on the baby and I, but I also know that everything should work out fine. It is after all the best moment to travel. I'll wear those horribly tight stockings that prevent thrombosis as ordered by my gynecologist, and follow her advice to move/walk often and drink lots of water during the flight.

I am certainly looking forward to being there, and have no doubt I will enjoy every second of this last-vacation-before-the-baby-is-here. See you when we get back!

Summer holidays

As Rancho Chico has been demolished and is no longer an option, we decided to spend an active and cultural vacation this year. And we certainly did a lot and saw a lot. We spent a few days in Switzerland, then drove down to Tuscany, where we had rented an apartment from an adorable old italian couple in lost crossroads Poggio Cuculo. M did not know the region, so my mother and I showed him Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, and the lovely villages of the chiantigiana. We also drove down to Umbria and discovered beautiful places such as Assisi and Perugia. M and I then took the train down to Rome, where we spent 6 days walking the city under Ferragosto circumstances: no Romans, thousands of tourists, and 80% of its restaurants and shops closed. However, Rome still won me over again, and made of M one of its biggest fans. A long weekend at the Dottore's flat in the nearby future is already planned! All in all a wonderful vacation, although I have to say I miss our usual two weeks of relaxing and sunbathing in our lost haven in the south of Spain...

After 2 weeks spent in Italy eating la buona pasta and drinking wine every day, we are on a strict diet since our return home. A two week diet, which should enable us to lose the few kilos overweight, and look as good as the day we met. That's right, it's not because we're married that we don't want to look good for each other! So we're trying the Max Planck diet. Today's our 4th day.... 10 days to go! The hardest thing on this diet is the lack of any spices for me... without mentioning the lack of sleep. I toss and turn every night and all night long since Sunday. But being able to reach my ideal weight of 50 kg in just 2 weeks is definitely worth the suffering.

The secret of the Spaniards

I am back from my one-week-family-holiday with my mother and grandmother. All the efforts we made spoiling and taking care of Yaya were absolutely worth it. She was in heaven and enjoyed this week like a little girl on a rollercoaster ride!

As for the island, it was a big discovery, with its turquese fresh waters, virgin beaches, small houses, and charming ports. "The secret of the Spaniards" as Uma b.'s mother put it; "don't pass it on."

We certainly loved it, despite its unfriendly and inhospitable inhabitants, and will probably go back next Summer; my mother is already talking about renting a house for a month, which will be a big improvement from the hotel we stayed in, with its all you can eat buffet, and bingo animators dignes des Bronzés. So, if house it is, ¡me apunto! Hopefully M. will also come along this time around...

Daydreaming

I am still daydreaming. About our perfect wedding. About our fabulous honeymoon in paradise...

Long due

I have been pondering about writing a new post for days now. I know it's long due. I should have written about my trip to the south of Germany. I should have told you how I very much liked Nürnberg and the bavarian countryside; how Munich was a bit of a disappointment, maybe because we only spent there a few hours, but also because I had high expectations.

The truth is I have been procrastinating about what to write next. The endless and frustrating decision making of our honeymoon? My neverending and disencouraging job search? The wedding organization? Nothing sounds appealing. Haven't I already written about all that a gazillion times?

No. Today, instead of writing a long due post, I am heading to the gym and will start at last the long due getting-in-shape-to-look-beautiful-for-my-wedding process.

Resolution

I had many resolutions when I left Madrid and moved to Germany. One of them was to take advantage of being up here to visit the neighboring countries and regions. Copenhaguen, Budapest, Amsterdam (where Uma b. and I had said we would meet but of course never did), Bavaria, Dresden, Berlin, and many more. The reality is that I haven't seen much in the past year, except for Berlin and our neighbor cities of Hamburg and Bremen.

But I am doing something about it this weekend: M and I are driving down to Bavaria today. We plan to visit Nuernberg (and seeing some friends of M), Munich, Fulda, Wuerzenburg, and many other charming bavarian villages. It will be a short 4 day trip, but we'll definitely make the most out of it. Ich freue mich wahnsinnig!

L'Art de la Beauté

Last week was all about solving our welcome get-together for our guests on the eve of our wedding day. All is now set, location, catering, and all other details.

This week is about finding a solution for my make-up for the big day. I obviously need to look my best, and therefore need to find someone who will make me look naturally beautiful. I considered the obvious solution of doing it with the hairdresser in the village itself. However, I stumbled on an article and found out that Shu Uemura has opened a Beauty School in Paris, l'Art de la Beauté, to teach us women how to do our make-up for our wedding day, adapted to our face shape, eye/skin/hair color, and of course wedding dress and party. This concept already exists in Japan apparently. I'd learn how to do my make-up (something I wanted to do forever), I'd spend a weekend in Paris with my mother (who immediately agreed to meet me there), I'd do the course with Nat, I'd be away from Hannover just when M has his bachelor party (did I mention the boys are going to Amsterdam?), and of course I'd solve the make-up issue for the wedding. Wow. Don't think it work out any better actually.

Sick

My gastroenteritis became official late last night. I thus had to cancel my job interview and stay home today. Thankfully, the Berlin based company was understanding and has postponed my appointment to March 2nd. Plenty of time to get better, and fly to Switzerland as planned in order to help my mother with her move. The weather could not be more adapted to the circumstances: it's snowing non-stop.

New year new outlook

It has been way too long since my last post, but what can I say: did not have the time nor the desire to write until today. Simply because I did not know where to start, as so many things have happened in the last month. So in as few words as possible: my Cuban trip was good but Cuba itself highly disappointing since my last visit, I spent Christmas in Switzerland and the equation lack of snow+ holiday crowd made skiing hard impossible to enjoy. Yup, that's all I want to say about it for now. Because my brain is slightly drunk with new everythings (ideas, names, people, projects, passwords, responsibilities, and I could go and on for paragraphs) as I sit in my office on my second day of work. I think am pretty sure I will love my new job.

PS: Happy New Year 2007!!!!!

Unexpected lastminute family trip

I cannot believe it. I probably won't believe it till I'm there. The whole thing happened so unexpectedly and so fast, my stepmother suddenly telling my mother to join them (my father and her) during our family wedding dinner, M immediately whispering to me that I should go with ("enjoy it for both of us since I can unfortunately not come along"), looking for lastminute tickets online, getting our touristcards...

It is happening though. I am flying to Havana Cuba with my mother on Sunday, meeting my stepmother and father there, as well as my brother who is "living" there for a couple of months; we'll spend 8 days there during the Film Festival, rediscovering Havana (for the second time for me), showing it to my mother who's never been there, living the soon-to-disappear Havana from Castro, watching artsy independant films, and as Hemingway said, drinking "my mojito in la Bodeguita, my daiquiri in el Floridita!"

I don't know what good I have done to deserve this. But I feel truly blessed.

Off

Off we are! Miami here we come! See you when we return on the 13th. Bu'bye!

Escape

The Fall colors might still be here, but the grey rainy cold winter seems to have unfortunalety already arrived. I am not ready for it. I'm escaping it by surfing the webpages of the various shops we'll soon be visiting physically. Preselecting the various items of clothing I might buy -after a convincing fitting session that is- already has me in sunny warm Miami, where we will be flying on Friday to spend our annual one week vacation. Steve Madden, Abercrombie&Fitch, Anthropolgie, Arden B., Gap, Victoria's Secret, Bloomingdales, Macy's, Banana Republic, Ross, and so many more. Well well, time to continue my webpreselectionshopping!

My life in bullet points

Did I mention that:

-the very simple self-designed invitations are printed and going out this week?

-I had a very good job interview last Friday and that I will most probably start working before the end of the year?

-I am leaving to Paris in 2 days to spend a girls' long weekend with Beanie and Nat?

-life is simply great? =)

On the road

I leave to Switzerland today. Of course I will spend quality time with my mother, grandmother, and childhood friends; but the actual purpose of my trip is driving around Switzerland, visiting hotels and restaurants all over the country in order to find THE place for our wedding party. Wish me luck!

107 hours

M and I used to have what you call a long-distance relationship for two and half years, seeing each other on average twice a month. It was very hard. Letting him go after a wonderful long weekend together felt devastating. Each time. We indulged in hour long telephone conversations each night, or several times per day, spending a fortune on phone bills and airplane tickets. When we moved in together, I was actually really nervous and a bit worried that it would be a bit hard at times. It wasn't. Everything immediately felt natural and comfy. Home is where he is. And so Hannover is now my home.

Except that he is not here with me these days, as he was sent on a very important business trip. He left yesterday and is now so far away that I can hear the distance over the phone connection. And I feel as if half of me was missing. Lazy, vulnerable, and a bit sad. Especially when I count the hours till next Sunday morning, when I'll pick him up from the airport. 107 hours to go.