gone baby, GONE!

Ok so the family left to ski in Switzerland and I must say these have been some of the best days of my life. They're good people and all but I really needed time away from them just to do my own thing. Take now for instance: I'm sitting in my underwear, drinking the liquid version of myself (hot chocolate, duh) and occasionally getting up to dance when a good song comes on. When they left, I ran through the house screaming, mostly out of joy but also just because I could. So much of the time I have to be quiet for fear of waking anyone up and it feels AMAZING just being able to do as I please and having no worries.

This week was quite fabulous. I've been looking forward to vacation so much that even despite some annoyances, I remained in the highest spirits. A few weeks ago I'd been worried about some relationships I had in the US and how they were going sour. Then I came to my senses and realized that I don't need that kind of stress in my life and that being here was the best thing for me since I am what's most important. I refuse to appease others selfish desires and wishes to hinder my own happiness. It's my parade so don't try and rain on it, thankssssssssss! The more time I spend here, the more I appreciate the true relationships I do have with people I still keep in touch with. If you ever want to test your own relationships with people, try moving to a different country for a year and see who's still got your back while you're there and when you get back.

Thursday night I had the pleasure of spending the night with Jaime, who left for London then home on Friday, and another cool ass au pair we met named Ri from London. We started out at Jaime's house, drinking bottles of wine and getting to know each other better. Then we drunkenly ventured out in Haarlem where we insisted on taking shots of tequila, and I threw back some more red wine. As usual, I feel fine when we're at the bar but my inebriation doesn't make itself apparent until the ride home. I fell off my bike at least twice and each time I had to give myself a pep-talk before I'd actually get up. As if that wasn't enough, I fell AGAIN when I got in the house! I tripped over stuff in the hallway and made so much noise that Thomas awoke, thinking it was one of the kids.

My life is so fucking stupid.

Thankfully, the family left Friday afternoon around noonish because I sincerely doubt I would've survived a normal Friday. My body was extremely sore and I really think I bruised a rib (it hurt so much, I thought it was broken) but I feel much better now. I spent much of Friday recuperating before going to Ri's house for dinner. We had an awesome time, drinking wine and exchanging stories. I then went home where Remy soon joined me and we watched a movie. Saturday, I made it to the gym (go me!) then hung out at Remy's, saying and doing the usual inappropriate things around his family.

**Sidenote: Rihanna's new song, "Rehab" is on and I will admit that I got a little hot & bothered when I saw my baby Justin, but overall the video is wack! She's half-naked throughout the entire thing but Justin is damn near dressed for winter... where are the shirtless shots?! She's wearing this cool eye veil thingy which I like but the song sucks so NEXT. Ohhhh! Now Kid Cudi's "Day and NIght" is on (the remixed version) and I love that song and video!**

I spent my first night alone in the house last night and it was actually kind of scary! I kept hearing all sorts of noises and imagining myself having to bust a cap in someone's ass if they tried to rob the place. I woke up this morning and visited Jaime's host family on my way to the gym. Tonight I plan to get my buzz on and wake up whenever I feel like it tomorrow!! I'm helping Remy's mom make Christmas dinner tomorrow and before I know it, it'll be time to leave for Paris on Saturday!!!!!!!

It's time now for me to get cleaned up.. thankfully, I will be in a car tonight and not on my bike! I know now not to drink and get behind my handle bars. Ok, dooi dooi!!!

happy holidays, indeed!

Okay so in just FOUR WEEKS, I will have 2 weeks sans crying babies, poo-filled diapers, and 7:30 AM wake-up calls!!!!!!! Words cannot describe my excitement! Initially, I thought I'd be having quite a lonely holiday season since everyone I know here will be on vacation or going back to the states. Going home crossed my mind as well but I really have no desire to pass up on 2 weeks of quality travel time. My friend who was to visit from the US can't make it so I thought I'd have to travel alone maar, that is not the case! After contemplating going to Rome, Egypt, Prague, I managed to not only sucker my Dutch friend into traveling with me to PARIS, but he agreed to drive there (it's about 5 hours away)!!! Not only will I not have to deal with the damn train Nazis and see the countryside, but I can pass the time listening to music, napping comfortably and saving the 200+ euro it probably would've cost me for train tickets. I will probably spend said euro on getting Lisa a boyfriend. I also looked into some hostels and for the +/- 7 days that we stay, I won't have to spend more than 125 euro!!!

In addition, my pair-daddy Thomas, offered to give me 150 euro to go towards my travel! Since Paris isn't going to cost me much I'm toying with the idea of spending the 21st-24th in Barcelona, Spain. I looked up ticket and hostels and found a deal that would only cost me about 180 euro! I have not yet been able to sucker anyone into going with me but I think I'd be okay with traveling on my own. The hostel I looked at offers cool day trips and I'm social enough to make new friends along the way. When we stayed in our hostel in Belgium, we met an 18/19 year old Australian girl traveling by herself. If she can do it at that young age, I can do it as well. I really hope I don't get roofied/raped/mugged/killed or some combination of the 4.. that would really put a damper on things. I'm not certain if Barcelona will happen for sure because I may go with my sister when she gets here but it's cool to have options.

In other news, the kids are doing great. This past weekend was very relaxing.. I babysat on Friday night then did nothing Saturday night, but had my first scooter experience. It totally reminded me of Lloyd and Harry from Dumb & Dumber minus the peeing. Here are some pictures from last weekend, when we tried out that new place, Bitter Zoet as well as pictures of my little babies:










I don't even know this man! Please explain why he's hugging me so?!

I met Sinterklaas yesterday and he's a lot thinner than Santa. It also snowed yesterday and this morning (thankfully it didn't stick) which reminded me of good ol' Connecticut. Now the sun's ablazing and I'm contemplating going for a run but given Mother Nature's erratic moods and the fact that my break times are always compromised, it probably won't happen.

UPDATE: Mother Nature wasn't her usual cunty self and it's actually still gorgeous out. I need to stop having a conscience and stop putting others first because it's obviously not working in my favor. I was gonna go for a run on my break from 12:30-2:30 but around 12:50, Eline tells me Pim had a doctor's appointment and even though she offered to take Niek with her, I could tell it'd be a hassle and the poor thing was exhausted from Little Gyming it this morning. She came back around 1:50 but that would've only left me 40 minutes and I didn't want to have to rush. She said it'd be fine if I went around 3 after she picked up the kids which was fine by me. ButTijn and Lara both bring home a friend to play with and of course they wake up Pim and Niek when they get home. Pim and Niek are crying as I head for the door and I find myself feeling bad. So bad that I offer to take Niek for a walk to calm him down. He must've still been tired because he didn't wanna walk on his own and insisted I carry him. He didn't want to be in the house (not that I can blame him) so we got lost together in Heemstede. I figured I could go after our walk but Eline offered to drop off the kids that aren't hers so no running for me. It's so frustrating.

Dec. 20th needs to hurry up and get here. Au revoir!