Back in the USA

miss me?
I've been traveling like a mad woman but so glad to be home.  So much news - good & bad.

Let's start out with the good: shopping in Paris.  oo la la. 
I extended my business trip to spend last weekend in Paris so I could shop.  Solo shopping is a very serious sport, ladies, and I did some SERIOUS damage the old credit cards.  Started with dropping $1000 on lingerie at Galleries Lafay.ette and then it went downhill from there. :)  For the first time in my life, I could walk into any store & try on anything I wanted.  So that's what I did.  The big department stores, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, Saint Germain de Pres, etc.   I had such a blast!!!  I'm sure I'll get quite the lecture from the hubs when the bills roll in but I'm chalking this excursion up to "why not?"  How many times will I have this opportunity to shop spring fashions in Paris while I look (& feel) this fabulous??  Plus I turn 40 next month & this bit of craziness is my gift to myself.  Why? Because I can.  Besides, I don't think the hubs will complain one bit about oodles of sexy, new lingerie.  Actually, he liked everything I got.  I was in the mood for "pretty" (as opposed to "business-y") and ended up with many, many dresses.  Plus a pair of bright cobalt blue, tight, crop pants.  oooo, it is fun to be a girl.

More good news:  I feel like I've got a good adjustment now.  I can eat just about anything but only a few bites of it.  Hunger control without the acid reflux.  All in all, good balance.  Even though I was in Canada all last week & Paris the week before,  I still weighed in at 148.4lbs this weekend.  pretty pleased about that especially after the quantities of macarons, chocolate & croissants I consumed.  I did find the best macaron shop EVER - truly orgasmic.  Forget Laduree & go to Pierre Herme.  so damn good.

Last bit of good news: I have never been hit on as much as I've been hit on in the last two weeks.  I'm finding it very amusing.  Here's my best story....Galleries Lafay.ette has almost an entire floor dedicated to lingerie. me-ow.  I am a champion shopper so I circle the floor once to decide what I want to try on & then circle back around a time or two to pick out merchandise.  So there I am with my arms completely loaded down with lacy & racy unmentionables when a guy approaches me & launches into this big, long speech...in French.  He was probably early- to mid-thirties and kinda cute in that useless, curly brown mop-top, skinny academic kind of way.  PhD student in literature, if I had to guess.  He looked very earnest & it sounded like he had rehearsed this speech in his head for awhile before mustering up the nerve to approach me but his timing was waaaaaay off.  All those bras were getting heavy!  Plus it was just hard to maintain a straight face while looking at him over a fistful of panties.  I have no idea what he was saying so when he stopped for a breath, I just gave a shrug, small smile & asked "English?"  nope.  he did tell me that I was very beautiful - which I thought was very sweet.  so entertaining!!! and so good for the ego :)

Now for the bad news.....while I was in Paris, the kid was in surgery.  That's not the bad part.  There were some unintended consequences of the surgery & she ended up in the ER last Monday due to dehydration.  I returned from Paris late Sunday night, spent most of Monday evening in the ER, caught a few hours of sleep & repacked my suitcase before returning to the hospital Tuesday morning & then headed out to Toronto on Tuesday afternoon.   The kid eventually went home but now she has a feeding tube.  ugh!  total stress, my friends.

more bad: Canada was a clusterf*ck
the trip last week was such a mess.  The local guy in Toronto rearranged the schedule & my session ended up getting the boot.  so, I flew up there for nothing.  Next day in Montreal, he put me back on the agenda but there was a big student protest so most people couldn't make it into the event.  By Friday, I was well & truly ready to come home but 15min before I'm supposed to board my flight Air Canada goes on strike & they cancel dozens of flights.  it was sheer madness!!!! ugh. ugh. ugh.

Trust me, I'm SO glad to be home.  As of now, no trips planned until the middle of June.  Happy to be back into my regular routine.....went for a long bike ride on Saturday, 6mile run yesterday, kickbox & chisel tonight.  Weekly meals have been planned out & groceries bought.    ahhh, the comforts of home.


cheers,
chloe