January 2, 2012

• Hello Again!

  Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve updated, but I haven’t had my computer really out since after Poland.  We got back from Poland on a Monday, then I worked Tuesday and Wednesday, and then was off the Thursday before Christmas through today.  That entire time, I pretty much stayed away from the computer (though I did have my iPhone), and just relaxed!  Let me tell you, it was definitely needed!  And now, I’m sitting on the bed in my hotel room, doing some work, and decided that I would pop on over here to write an update!

  Christmas was fabulous.  I love that we spend the entire day, just us and the cat.  Our little family.  We both called our parents and chatted for a bit, but overall it was just us.  No arguments, no stress, just Jamie and me, relaxing and having a great holiday.  Definitely something that I want to continue once we move back to the States.  Christmas was good…we spoiled each other a bit…oh well.  Jamie definitely did a good job buying me things without having a list from me…he got me a lovely black pear earring and necklace set, a Martha Stewart cookbook (I love Martha), a violin book of Glee songs (I’m such a sucker for Glee), running gear, and a few other odds and ends.  But, where he really pulled through?  He imported a 24-pack of Diet Mountain Dew for me!  That man is amazing…I love him so much!  I bought him a button down and tie for work, some Purdue workout clothes, hiking poles, and a few other things.  We didn’t go as overboard as we have in years prior, but that was mostly because our big gift to each other was a week in Switzerland.

  We left for Switzerland the day after Christmas.  We packed the night before, then drug everything out to the car, and packed up the cat.  Lily came with us!  She was so good in the car (9 hour drive) and did great at the apartment we rented.  This was the first time we took her on vacation with us, but she did so well and I think she would have rather been with us than home alone for a week (we have a cat sitter pop in and feed her every day and scoop the litter, but Lily is so skittish around strangers that she wouldn’t have played with the sitter or anything).  It was a hard decision on whether or not to bring her, but I think we made the right decision when we brought her along.

  Switzerland was beautiful.  Gorgeous mountains covered in snow…picturesque little towns…overall fantastic.  We spent the week doing all sorts of outdoor activities…skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, hiking, etc.  Had some awesome times outside, and ate some amazing Swiss food.  Had fondue and my favorite dish, a Rostii (basically, a giant hashbrown covered in cheese, ham, and whatever else you want…bliss).  Above all that, we just relaxed and spent time together without work intruding.  It was SO nice!  I love those special times with Jamie, where it’s just us and we’re not bothered by work.  We talked a lot about the future after this assignment (which will be for another post), and watched some movies we’d downloaded.  We basically just slothed around in the evenings…which was the best thing for us.

  We got home yesterday from Switzerland, and today I flew to England for work.  I’ll be here through Thursday, and then on Saturday I’m meeting a group of expat women in Amsterdam for lunch!  We’ve hung out several times before, so it’ll be nice to see everyone and have “girl time.”  After that, it’s back to the work grindstone, but luckily we have no weekend plans for this month.  We’re starting to put together our travel plans for 2012, and have a few trips booked (the Olympics in August and Plitvice Lakes, Croatia in September) but we need to make arrangements for a few more coming up.  Not sure where we’re going to go yet, so that’s the first step.  I’ll definitely keep you updated on where we decide to go and when. 

  I have photos from Poland and Switzerland, but not on my work computer (which is what I’m currently using).  Once I’m home this weekend, I’ll try to update with photos so that you can see some of what we saw while we were there.  Both trips were really good, though for different reasons.  I’m so thankful that we have the opportunity to travel like this while we live here…it has definitely been an experience of a lifetime!

  Hope you all had a wonderful, happy and safe New Year’s Eve!  I plan on doing a post on what I expect out of 2012, but that will need to wait for another day.  I’m currently working on forecasting for my job, so that needs to be finished up tonight.  I’ll try to write more this week, including a post on my job, since a few of you asked what I do in one of my other posts. 

  Sending you all lots of love!

  XOXOXO,
  K.

  • 3:16 pm
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