On Change

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, "Nothing endures but change," and he was so right. There are many big changes afoot around here.

Two women in my mommy group are pregnant again!

The seasons are changing from summer to fall.

Our beloved neighbors are moving.

Coco is becoming more of a toddler and less of a baby.

J and I are no longer "new parents" anymore.

I am becoming tired of the international travel that goes along with living abroad.

I wish things didn't have to change right now, because I love the way they are. But they're changing. I'm excited to see my two friends families growing again so soon, but it also intimidates me because I can't even imagine being pregnant right now. 

Even though it's ridiculously hot, I love summer and I don't want it to end and give way to cold, dark winter days. Not yet! 

Losing our neighbors is going to be the most awful change I've experienced in ages. We see them daily and spend lots of time together. They're more than friends, they're like family and now they're going to be much further away. It was so incredible this past year. When we came home from the hospital, they gave us so much emotional support, answered questions, offered shoulders to cry on and fed us. A lot. We would go upstairs in our slippers for dinner with our swaddled newborn! Our children have grown together this past year and I am just so sad to see it come to an end. But, change endures. 

Watching our little baby grow into a little girl is so fascinating, amazing and wonderful. But it's bittersweet. Sometimes, when she's just finished nursing and fallen asleep in my arms, I look at her wispy curls and rosy face and I wish she could stay little forever. Not really, of course. I want her to walk and talk and share what she's thinking about with us. But I try to capture those moments so that I can hold onto them forever because life is so impossibly sweet with a baby. It's just so hard to let it go. 

Now that my body has mostly returned to normal and I'm not pregnant or caring for a newborn, I feel like I've crossed over the threshold from "new parent" to plain old "parent." It's the same for J. We're no longer the newbies in the game of parenthood. We are just part of the club and it's a little hard to leave the novelty and newness behind for this usual status quo.  

The reality of living abroad with a young family has finally settled in now that we are nearly eleven months on since Coco's birth. I need to book a ticket to go back to the States to see family with Coco soon, but for some reason I keep putting it off. It's hard to decide about Christmas, and if I go at another time, it's hard to be away from J for a long time. It's such a long trip that anything less than three weeks is too short, but being away from J and our home for a month is a terribly long time! 

So for the last five minutes of today, I just want to hold onto things the way they are. Tomorrow, I think I'll be ready to forge a path into the change ahead, but for now I'm not quite ready.

Hot Air Lanterns

Have you ever flown a hot air lantern? They are so breathtaking and magical! Today was Swiss National Day and we celebrated by going down to the lake where we grilled on the grass and watched fireworks. Just as night began to fall, some people next to us released three hot air lanterns. It was awe inspiring and absolutely beautiful.

Today also marks our two year anniversary of living in Zurich. We are so happy to be here. :) Happy birthday, Switzerland!

Bedtime Story: Counting Kisses

Since turning the six-month mark, our days seem to revolve around Coco's sleep schedule. She needs an hour long nap around 10 am and a two hour nap around 2 pm. Then, she goes to bed between 7 and 7:30. If we get the bedtime routine started too late, it means she's awake for another few hours and then everyone is tired and grumpy the following day. No thanks! She used to go to bed really easily, but now that she is so much more aware of everything going on around her, she really needs to wind down before bed. So we've started reading one or two books every night and I love it. It's unbelievably wonderful to snuggle up with my little bundle and read her calming, sweet stories every evening. 

We have lots of good bedtime books, but my favorites are all from a list that the Baby Center sent me. Do you get their emails? I had their pregnancy App on my iPhone and now I have the baby development App. Both are rad and I highly recommend! 

Perhaps the sweetest book of all is "Counting Kisses" by Karen Katz. The book leads mommy and baby through a series of kisses working backward from "ten kisses on tiny little toes", to "one last kiss on baby's tired head." It's as sweet as sweet can be and what makes it even sweeter is that my little baby girl giggles all the way through. Swoon! Honestly, it's the best! While I'm holding Coco and giving her kisses and reading her a sweet story before bed, I feel so completely contented and fulfilled. This life of being a mommy and having a family is what I have always wanted. All those years of playing with my dolls and taking care of them, I was dreaming of this: a comfortable well-kept home, crisp inviting sheets, a sweet chubby baby nursing in my arms, a soft nightlight's glow, counting kisses before we turn out the light. I am so grateful to have this wonderful life with J, in our beautiful home with our precious little bundle to love and watch grow. Every night at Coco's bedtime, we count kisses and I thank my lucky stars. 

{top photo by Amy Sinisterra}

Have you ever had your heart broken?

Lately I've been thinking a lot about when Coco gets older. Most of it is exciting, but I dread the things she'll have to go through that aren't fun or enjoyable. When I was 20, I fell completely head over heels in love with a guy named Peter and then he completely broke my heart. It literally ached inside my chest and I was so utterly crushed by the whole experience that I lost ten pounds. It was the most profound sadness I had felt as an adult.

During that time, I was babysitting regularly for an alumnus of my sorority in Eugene. One day when I was leaving to go home, she could see how sad I was and asked what was the matter. I explained the situation in one sentence (it really doesn't take more than that, does it? ;) and she said the kindest two things to me. First she said with true conviction, "I know you're going to find someone just perfect and you will be so happy." I believed her. Then she went on to say something that really surprised me: "I'd never relive my twenties, no matter what you gave me I'd never go through all that again." I remembered those words often throughout my twenties (which are thankfully over!) and I was glad through the entire confusing, questioning, searching decade to have some reassurance that I wasn't undervaluing one of my life's golden ages. 

Have you seen the movie The Wackness? It's a sweet movie in a lot of ways. And Josh Peck is so handsome! I guess it's true that everybody has to have their heart broken sometime, isn't it? 

{photo from here}

How to Follow Your Bliss

Oddly enough, when I became a mother, I felt freer and more creatively untethered than I've ever felt in my whole life. Yes, my whole life! This came as a great surprise to me, because on many levels - financially, physically and professionally spring to mind - motherhood is supposed to be the most limiting time in a woman's life. Well...that is what society would have us believe, anyway. 

I just ordered a copy of Martha Beck's book Finding Your Way in a Wild New World and I can't wait for it to arrive! (I've actually tracked it twice already to see when it will be here. ;)

In an interview with Elle magazine, Beck describes the ways in which we've abandoned our natural instincts in favor of social pressures and expectations, for example to have a successful career or to marry. She entreats readers to go back to their true self, whatever that may be. I feel like I mostly know who that is for myself, but I could use a little help getting past societal expectation in order to fully get there. I'm so very ready to put her method into practice. 

Do you have dreams or ideas on the back burner? What's keeping you from going after them? 

Our Birth Story

I can hardly believe that Coco is six months old today, but it's true! So it's about time I shared our birth story.

I went into labor the morning of September 28th. I woke up with a familiar feeling. It was exactly like the first day of my period. Exactly! I was having mild contractions every six to ten minutes. They felt exactly like temporary menstrual cramps and I didn't find them painful. I had a doctor's appointment anyway, so I  headed her way on the tram. I felt peaceful and calm like I was wrapped in a big piece of gauze. I didn't like being around other people so I sat in a secluded seat on the trams and bus. But by the time I arrived in my doctor's office, the contractions had stopped.

Dr. Manneh did an exam and told me that I was dilated to one centimeter. Then she did a stretch and sweep, which really hurt! She followed that up with a quick ultrasound which revealed that my placenta had called it quits and was developing calcium deposits, and that the amniotic fluid levels were low. Prognosis: the baby had to be born by the evening of October 1st.

Looking back, I should have just gone about my life in a relaxed state, because four days is a long time and the labor probably would have progressed just fine on its own. But, I had read too many books and was convinced that the entire healthcare institution was out to ruin my birth experience through induction, intervention and caesarean section, so I went into a bit of a tizzy and started doing everything I could to get things moving along. I took an hour long walk, then I met J and we went for lunch where I ate spicy food. After that we had sex, took a long nap and topped the day off with a brisk 11- mile hike. Yes. Eleven miles at a vigorous pace up a steep hill at 40 weeks, 4 days pregnant!

I think I managed to get two hours of sleep before the contractions became really strong. I labored on my own for a little while. Then I called my mom for a bit. Finally, at 3 am when the contractions were 5 minutes apart and so strong I couldn't talk during them, I called Nicole, our doula, to come over. She stayed with me and we let J sleep until about 7. All throughout I was moving around, pretty upbeat and coping well. After J woke up and the sun came out, I was getting tired. I took a shower and managed through all of the contractions on my own thanks to the best labor tip I had: blowing raspberries. I felt like a horse, but it worked! They were coming quite close together by this point. I got dressed and Nicole blew my hair dry for me. Then the contractions seemed to be right on top of each other with only a minute in between. I started crying. Labor was so much more painful than I ever imagined it would be. Let me say that again: Labor was so much more painful than I ever imagined it would be. It was all lower back labor. I could feel nothing in the front at all, but in my lower back was the worst agony I've ever experienced. Nicole called and spoke with the midwives at the hospital. She was sure I was going into transition. I knew I wasn't. In fact, I was pretty sure it wasn't even working, but I was no longer comfortable. I was afraid of the pain and I wanted to go to the hospital. So we went.

After we checked in, the midwife did an internal exam and I was only at 2 centimeters. I would have cried, but I was way too exhausted for that. She hooked me up to the monitor and said that the contractions were good and strong and that we wanted three like that in every ten minute period. I was so disheartened. Somehow I knew it wasn't progressing or working properly. 

After six more hours of labor, the midwife finally called the doctor in. I was still at 2 centimeters and there was something about the positioning of the baby that wasn't quite right. 

"We're going nowhere" I whispered to her when she arrived. I was so exhausted I could barely talk. As they whisked me out of the bath and into another room for an ultrasound, I saw the elevator I had arrived in. I actually thought to myself for that brief moment that I didn't need a baby anymore, that I could just go home and go to bed!  

The ultrasound showed that the baby was stuck in the birth canal and coming down ear first. This meant that the head was not in contact with the cervix. Every. Single. Contraction had been wasted. I thought the doctor would surely say I had to have a caesarean and at that point, and I would have said, "Yes! This must end!"

But she didn't.

She said we had a new plan: an epidural, Oxytocin and Buscopan. "Yes!" I practically shouted and I was off down the hall to the birthing room for my epidural. J and Nicole had to leave the room for the epidural. It was just me, the anesthesiologist, her assistant and the midwife. It was not easy to stay still during the epidural insertion, even with the drugs they had given me to slow the contractions. The assistant and midwife were amazing and held my hands while they helped me through it. Soon it was in, and working, and I have never, ever in my 32 years experienced relief like that. Thank God for that epidural!

Dr. Manneh explained that I would sleep on my right side for 20 minutes, then my left side for 20 minutes and so on to see if we could get the baby to straighten out. Just before she left me to sleep, she held my hand and said, "Be optimistic." I felt so defeated, but something about the way she said it, I found a little ounce of strength left somewhere inside of myself. I took it to heart and promptly fell asleep. It was absolute heaven.

Soon the midwife checked me and smiled and told me the baby had straightened out and was in position! She helped rotate me to the other side and the next time she checked me she saw that my water had broken and I was ready to start pushing. It was hard to believe.

I pushed for about 40 minutes. Dr. Manneh held one leg, Nicole the other. J held my hand and helped me lean into the pushes during contractions. Between contractions, I breathed. Slowly. Deeply. Sending as much oxygen and love as I could to my baby as it wiggled and squirmed and made its way down the birth canal. We were all intensely focused. And so filled with joy! When the head crowned, I got to reach down and feel it. There was so much hair and it was all a bit surreal. When the head was half way born, I could see it just sticking out with the bones all overlapped. It was so sci-fi! Once the head was out, we waited for the next contraction. I was really in a pushing groove and it was almost a surprise when voila! The baby was born and right there in front of me. Oh what a relief! It was 10:21pm September 29th.

The midwife began to wipe the baby clean and Dr. Manneh said gently, "Nein. Auf die Mama," and she placed the sweetest little bundle of joy right on my chest. I could see the baby's little tongue vibrating wildly inside that darling, tiny, crying-so-loudly mouth! Ooohhhhh!

Talk about pure magic. I've never experienced anything like it in my life. Tiny nose, tiny fingers, tiny ears, all so sweet and complete, just like that. I looked at Dr. Manneh, finally, and asked, "Well is it a girl or a boy?!" She just said, "Look!" 

I lifted up the slimy umbilical cord and was blown away to see it was a girl! I had wanted a girl so badly all throughout the pregnancy. I'm glad we waited to find out because it honestly took the full nine months for me to finally be happy with the idea of a boy. I know I would have been just as happy to have a baby boy. But, there she was, my baby girl! 

I didn't shed one tear and neither did J. The only way I can explain it is that we were beyond tears, in a state of total euphoria. Nothing could be so awesome as giving birth and meeting that tiny person for the first time.

Resolve

I've never been very good at resolutions. I tend to take on too grand of ideas and then it's disappointing when they of course don't work out. One year my grandiose idea involved joining a gym (how original!) and one evening post-swim a man remarked in the steam room that he couldn't wait for February because by then all the New Year's resolution people would have quit coming regularly and the gym wouldn't be so crowded. How sad that he was totally talking about me. I was hardly going at all by March. That is embarrassing! But really, what was I thinking? I don't work out! :)

So, this year I've taken on a whole new approach. Something small, manageable, realistic and attainable. Becoming a mother has changed my perspective on all things. I have come to know (and accept!) that the house cannot be perfectly tidy and clean at all times. I know that if I don't give myself at least twice the time I think I need I will be hideously late. I've realized that I can only do so much and that prioritizing is the only way unless I want to be miserable. 

My 2012 resolution reflects all of this. I feel proud in a miniature way! I have resolved to floss everysingleday of 2012. 

Did you know that you can get Cupcake Floss? It tastes like frosting! I might just have to try it out one of these 366 days. (And this really made me laugh!)

Naturally, I have other resolutions I'd like to see happen in my life. For example, figuring out an effective laundry schedule, finding a way to blog on a regular basis, maximizing my time with Coco, reducing clutter, making more meals from bulk foods, organizing everything in my life. Eeeek! Talk about overwhelming. That's why I'm going to give the flossing a whirl for now. Maybe I can get to a few of those Herculean ideas later. 

Do you typically make a new year's resolution? Do you tend to stick to them? What's your secret - will power or reasonable resolution? I'd love to hear about it and how it works for you!

A Whole New Life

With Thanksgiving approaching, J and I have been thinking a lot about how thankful we are for our life together and marveling at how different it is compared to one year ago. In the space of one year, we are living in a new apartment in the city, J has a new job that makes him genuinely happy and we are parents! Omgosh, that is a serious amount of change in one year. I can safely say I've never had more to be thankful for.

I never intended for Folio Rose to be much about my personal life. Once I was pregnant I even considered starting a second blog, but I don't have the time to write two blogs and I just neglected this one! Now that we've welcomed our beautiful daughter into the world, I want to share about our life with her here. So that is exactly what I'm going to do! 

Vacation

Folio Rose has been on vacation for the past week, but I'll get back to posting tomorrow when things slow down a bit. I'm at home in the brilliant USA having the absolute best time being surrounded by friends and family and enjoying dining out at all my favorite restaurants. I needed a good dose of that!

The beautiful Sam at Navarre in NE Portland.

Zells in SE Portland. One of J's and my favorites.

Speaking of the lovely J, he is having the time of his life riding his bike through France along country roads through lavender fields and camping next to moat surrounded castles in Provence. He tells me his French is getting very good!

J's beloved Bleriot. Note the tent on the back.

A tree-lined street in Provence.

We are each having our own respective good times, but we agree that we miss each other terribly.

Darling reader, have you and your other half ever vacationed separately? Did it make for an extra emotional, lovey and meaningful reunion? Or would you never do it again?

Safe Haven

For centuries Switzerland has been known as a neutral place. It was a good place to be during the first half of the 20th century when Europe was war torn and embroiled in conflict. And for me, it's a good place to be now because it gives me a lot of distance and a chance at protecting my life and my marriage from my some completely toxic and utterly poisonous people. 

They still try though. 

If you have anyone in your life that land, sea and mountains can't block out due to the beauty and wonderful of a little modern invention called Gmail, I've got a trick for you! Go into Mail Settings, then click on Filters. Click on Create a New Filter. Then enter the email address of the person you would like to block. From there, you can check little boxes to create directions for Gmail to follow every single time an email is received from that individual. It's fabulous!

After the rather unpleasant experience of seeing a certain individual's name appear in my inbox this morning, I skipped reading the email and I set up a little filter instead. Any time I receive email from her, Gmail knows to do the following: Skip the Inbox and DELETE! It felt so good I set up an identical filter for another related person. Switzerland may have been the fortress of days gone by, but let's face it, nowadays we need an electronic fortress. 

Darling reader, do you, or have you ever had, a relationship that was so toxic you simply had to cut the person out of your life completely? How did you do it? 

{photo from here}

Home, Sweet Home!

Last weekend we went to measure our new apartment and afterward, while sitting lakeside, I found myself experiencing immeasurable delight. J said that of course I felt that way because we're moving into what is really going to feel like our first home. And I must confess, I think he is right! We have moved every year (at least once!) since we have known each other. That's eight years of U-Hauls, new apartments, getting settled, dismantling, and doing it again. This time we know we'll be staying put for three years. What a delightful feeling, indeed.

J in the kitchen, which is being updated this week!!

Living room with incredible hardwoods.

Living room from other side. Woodburning stove!

Bedroom with amazing parquet floor.

Second bedroom (and the current tenant finishing up packing!)

I'm really looking forward to the process of getting settled and creating a space we can call home. Next up, some pictures of the adorable neighborhood!

Anniversary Week

This week J and I are celebrating our third marriage anniversary. First, a few pics from our rehearsal.

We are going out for dinner tomorrow night to exchange gifts. This year's gift is leather. We both can't wait to give each other our gift!!

Tomorrow some wedding pics. All photos by Amy Sinisterra Photography. 

Snail Mail is for Lovers

photo from www.usps.com

How gorgeous are these stamps? I love sending letters, but here in Switzerland, at 1,90 CHF ($2.25) per letter to America, it's so much cheaper to call! What a sad truth. I hate to see the art of letter writing disappearing into oblivion, but perhaps these fabulous stamps will help letter writing make a come back! They are Forever stamps and I'm more than a little tempted to buy up a bunch and tuck them away for future letter sending.

I'm dreaming of sending letters today. Love letters to J, heartfelt letters about my life in Switzerland to good friends, witty letters to pals. 

When was the last time you sent a handwritten letter? When was the last time you received a handwritten letter? Who did you write to or who was it from? Did you receive a reply?

Traffic Jam

I probably have the most beautiful 15-minute-walk "commute" in the world. But like regular commutes, it has its drawbacks. Every once in a while, I'll be a little late to work due to running into these folks. It's okay. They make up for the setback in cuteness.

New Home

We could not be happier about our new apartment in Seefeld. It is definitively the most desirable neighborhood in Zürich and utterly impossible to get into - especially at an affordable price. One evening we were riding the bus to a party at a friend's house and I got to thinking about how I'd like to live in the city. As nice as Adliswil is, it's a suburb and I just don't do suburbs! I'm a city girl, through and through. I looked up at J and said, "You know what will happen? Someone we know will be moving and then we'll take over their apartment and it will just work out that way and we'll get an amazing place."

Less than three weeks later we got an urgent call at 10 pm from some friends. Their neighbor was moving and if we wanted to get this place we had to act fast. We viewed the apartment the following evening and got the application in the mail the following day. Things fell effortlessly into place from there.

I was a little shocked to discover the total non-existence of equal opportunity housing policies here in Switzerland and extremely shocked to see people's reactions. At work and among friends, we got everything from sincere congratulations - you'd think we'd just completed our doctorate - to jealousy and whispering of the not-so-subtle variety. Waiting to hear back about an apartment you really, really want is hard enough, but having to endure remarks like, "An affordable apartment in Seefeld? Do you even have a chance? What makes you think they would they choose you?" is horrible. You might be asking yourself right now, how does one respond to that? I'll tell you. With a confident smile and an enthusiastic "It's not advertised! Our friends recommended us. They've been in the building for six years. Isn't it great?!" Oh, it's fabulous, darling!

I can scarcely count the ways this move is going to be wonderful, but definitely near the top of the list is decor. I have missed the vintage charm of our beautiful apartments in Portland more than I can say and our new place has serious charm: Original parquet floors from 1865, a wood burning stove from the same era, tall old windows with deep window sills, wainscoting! Elements such as those deserve decor that is warm, a tad modern to off-set the historical feel and cozy. Here's what I've got in mind.

photos from ikea.com and pendelton-usa.com

With the exception of the striped wool throw, which J and I saw in Sunset Magazine and immediately became completely obsessed with, all of the furniture and decor come from IKEA. The coveted striped throw is from Oregon's own Pendelton Woolen Mills. And did I mention it's 100% pure Merino? {swoon!}

When brainstorming what's important to us in a living room, we both agreed that cozy is paramount, hence the high pile wool rug, the Pendelton throws and the comfy couch where you can really snuggle up. It's also extremely important to us that our television not be the focus of the room. In fact, we don't even want it to be visible, so the cupboard will keep it tucked away and out of sight when we are not watching a movie rental from iTunes. In order to add a little warmth to the top of the cabinet, I envision the blue pitcher vase on top and a stack of books. I just love an artfully selected stack of books. To keep things from being too drab or plain, the red lamp gives a punch of color! Finally, the sofa table with its gooey golden glow will keep the sofa away from the wall and create depth and dimension in the room without the couch feeling like it's just out in the middle of the room on its own. I think it's going to be delightful!

What are your top priorities when decorating? What does your ideal living room look and feel like? What sort of "living" does your living room cater to?

Vision Boards

I thought the movie, "The Secret" was a crock. Some of the basic principles were good - positive attracts positive, negative attracts negative. But, unlike "What the Bleep Do We Know?" I found that "The Secret" focused mainly on attracting money and things and that is not all that inspiring.

Recently, I decided to give my goals definition and intention and thought I would make a vision board. In "The Secret" the vision boards are mainly composed of photos of gigantic houses, diamond rings that resemble flashlights and Hawaiian beach scenes. How do you represent "Organized, peaceful home" with a photo on a board? 

Because our lives are so visual, I still wanted to give the vision board a try. I think that having a picture collage reminder of the things I'm working toward and desire will not only keep my mood positive, but also focused on the path and on track. Making a vision board is easier said than done!

In the end, one of the best ways I've found to attract more positivity is through gratitude. Taking a few minutes at the beginning or end of the day to recall five things I'm grateful for is surprisingly powerful. What are you feeling thankful for? Make it a great day!

Craving Home

I've been pretty homesick lately. Here are a few of the things that I crave, want, need and hate living without.

Mail Order 

I love getting things in the mail. Especially packages filled with clothes from J.Crew, stationery from Minted, frivolous lovelies from Kate Spade, lovely smelling geranium cleaning products from Mrs. Meyer's, kitchen gadgets and makeup from Macy's, and the list goes on and on. Best of all, when in America, these things come with manageable US price tags instead of prohibitively outrageous Swiss ones! 

Whole Foods

photo from wholefoods.com

It's such a treat to walk into Whole Foods and buy super fresh produce that doesn't go bad within 12 hours. I love the Panko Bread Crumbs in a little can. Organic stuff that is affordable! Essential oils, Bach Flower Remedies, local meats. I do miss Whole Foods, even if they are corporate. 

My Kitchen Appliances

photo from kitchenmixersreview.com

It's tough to bake a cake or make cookies without my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer that J and I got from my mom at my bridal shower. Other coveted items? Food processor and crock pot. I am not going to re-buy these things here. Mostly because I can't re-buy these things here. Do you know that a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer is more than $600 in Switzerland?  See for yourself. Ouch!

Top Loading Washers

photo from maytag.com

I know that front loading washers are more efficient, but I don't like them. After having a front loader for the past six months I firmly believe that top loaders get clothes cleaner (faster) and make fewer holes in them. 

Chipotle

This is probably my favorite food on the planet, and it's definitely my most missed food now that I'm in Switzerland. I am crazy for Chipotle's crispy barbacoa tacos with green tomatillo salsa, cheese, sour cream and lots of lettuce. And I always get a side of those delectable black beans, rice tossed with lime juice and finely chopped cilantro and roasted vegetables. Heaven in a little basket.

It's true that the grass is always greener! Living abroad really helps me to appreciate home like never before. I think that this time around will do it for me and when I return, I'll be happy and content to settle in and put down roots once and for all. Until then, I have learned a lot about Mexican cooking. Be on the lookout for a post about that soon!

Zurich Writer's Workshop

The operative word here, of course, is writer.  I like to think of myself as a writer and yet all I tend to write is this blog.  Last year in Portland, my friend Joy decided to start a writers' group.  I joined the group, went to the first meeting on a dark Fall night, and then, because I was so unbelievably busy, never attended the group again.  My plate wasn't full in Portland; it was overflowing.  As a result, nothing got the full attention it needed.  Not my teaching job, not the apartment building J and I managed, certainly not my marriage, not my social life and definitely not my hobbies.  I was constantly frazzled and forgetting things.  It genuinely bothered me that I was so busy I couldn't think straight and didn't have time to devote to the hobbies and people who bring me the most joy in life.  Even though it meant moving away from my wonderful friends, a huge factor in my decision to come to Zurich was my resolve to make writing a central focus in my life. I knew that moving here would mean my life was slower, less busy and simpler. In some ways that has turned out to be correct.  In others, not so much. But let's just say that lately I've been gathering plenty of writing material in my experiences at work.  

Remembering why I moved here is important right now.  

So here I am.  I have more time than I had in Portland, plenty of writing material, no idea how to get started and what should come along, but the first ever Zurich Writer's Workshop!  Coincidence?  I think not.  I will be delving into non-fiction/memoir work with author Susan Jane Gilman and eleven other fellow writers for an entire weekend October 1-3.  I was just emailed my homework assignments to complete before the workshop and I've never been so excited to get started.  I hope it will be a weekend of inspiration, good nuts and bolts to keep myself writing once it's over, and really good fondue.  Yes, we'll finish off the weekend with a literary fondue dinner including readings from the instructors.  How delightful!

What hobby do you make a priority in your life and how do you do it?!

Beach Day on Lake Zurich

Just in the nick of time, summer decided to show itself!  Last weekend was the final weekend of summer before school started.  It was invigorating to have three days of sun, heat and delightfully warm evenings.  

Saturday we went to the Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen.  For those of us who don't speak German, that means Tiefenbrunnen Beach.

It was fabulous.  There are showers, grassy areas to put your beach towel, lockers, steps going down into the lake, floating docks, a restaurant and not one reason not to stay all day.  You can even rent an umbrella!  

The view overhead

View to the left

View straight ahead

What day to the beach would be complete without a little picnic?  The already hardboiled "Pique-nique" eggs available at the store are a such a glittery and shiny gold they make me feel like I'm in Willy Wonka's factory.  Yay.

I read many long New Yorker articles and watched the clouds change shape in the sky during my day at the beach. It was just what the doctor ordered following the most stressful summer of waiting for work permits, moving, visa applications and all that madness. 

Letting Go {Moving Forward}

I become very attached to the space I live in.  Sadly for me, the time has come to let go of this incredible apartment.  It's not easy.  

When we left our last apartment to come to this one, it was literally a gut wrenching experience for me.  It made me sick to dismantle that home and move out of that space.  This time around won't be quite so dramatic, partly because I've had ample time to prepare mentally and partly because I am very excited about our new life in Switzerland.  But still.  

When we left the Olympic in Northwest, I made it bearable by cleaning the apartment from top to bottom and taking photos so I could remember it just like that.  The funny thing is, I didn't really miss it at all once I was gone.  These are the photos I took.  I do remember it just like that.

So, I plan to do the same thing here.  Tonight I'll get the place all cleaned up, take photos and remember it just like that.  Hopefully, though it seems ridiculously impossible, I won't miss it at all!