Finding the Joy

One thing I've determined since moving back to the US is that I need to find the joy in life.

It is too easy for me to become complacent, to let every day be the same, to just "get by". 

I'm calling BS on that!

How am I finding the joy lately?
- We are getting a puppy! Her name will likely be Luci, and she gets to come live with us July 22 (when she will be 8 weeks old). The whole family is incredibly excited!!
- I am training for a marathon! Running is therapy for me, thanks to my BFF Melissa. :)

Those are today's highlights. There are more, which I will save for another day.

Here's Luci's 4-week self ...

 

How Time Flies ...

Do you ever feel as if the world is spinning past you ... as if weeks or months or years are moving faster than ever before? I don't know if it's a result of getting "older" or if it's just life. Either way, I'm not liking it much.

I cannot believe that we have been back in America for nearly 4 years. 4 YEARS. It's unfathomable.

Somedays it feels like we never lived in France. Those days are sad. I miss France. I miss my friends there. I miss the lifestyle. I miss the village.

However, I absolutley love many things about being in California. My family is here. Many of my dearest friends are here. The weather is unbelievable. Basically, we live in paradise.

So why am I in such a funk?

I hope that if I start blogging again ... at least a few words a day ... life will seem optimistic again.

I'm normally not a whiner, and I don't like the feeling! Here's to cheering up! :)

Enfin! Notre Nouvelle Maison!

Parce que mon français est horrible, je vais laisser des photos parler pour moi!
Because my French is horrible, I'm going to let the pictures do the talking for me.

Nous manquons tous de vous en France terriblement! En avril prochain, nous serons là pour le mariage de Sophie!
We miss all of our French friends terribly! In April, we will be there for our Sophie's wedding!

Rencontrez Rick et Malin, nos constructeurs. Rick est le frère de Mark (et si vous vous souvenez, Mark est marié à la sœur de Mike). Rick et Malin sont spectaculaires!
Meet Rick & Malin, our contractors. Rick is the brother of Mark (and if you remember, Mark is married to Mike's sister). Rick & Malin are spectacular!

Premier étape: lignes de peinture pour marquer notre nouvelle fondation.
Stage One: painting lines to mark our new foundation.

J'ai pris ces photos debout sur ​​notre balcon arrière, en regardant sur ​​le côté droit de notre arrière-cour.
I took these pictures standing on our back porch, looking toward the right side of our back yard.


C'est salle de Josey, qui va devenir la salle à manger. Elle se déplace dans ma chambre lorsque cela est fini.
That is Josey's bedroom, which will become the dining room. She will move into my bedroom when this is finished.


Deuxième étape: La Fondation
Stage Two: The Foundation


Mike a fait beaucoup de creuser!
Mike did a LOT of digging!


Troisième étape: L'encadrement
Stage Three: The Framing

Rick et Malin même travailler sous une pluie battante.
Rick & Malin even work in the pouring rain.


Les murs sont en place, donc il n'y aura plus picutres bientôt. Je vais essayer de me rappeler pour prendre des photos de la façade de la maison, trop, mais cela va changer bientôt.

The walls are up, so I will have new pictures soon. I will try to remember to take pictures of the front of the house, too, but that will change soon.

Gros bisous!!

My 42nd Birthday!

En Français . . .

Je m'excuse auprès de tous mes amis français. Je sais que je vous dois beaucoup de mises à jour sur notre nouvelle vie en Amérique - avec des images.

Pour l'instant, voici quelques photos de ma fête d'anniversaire cette année.Notre merveilleux ami Danny nous a emmenés à San Luis réservoir, où nous avons roulé son jet ski génial pour 4 heures d'affilée. Nous ne s'arrêta que parce que nous avons manqué de gaz. Il a été un de mes meilleurs anniversaires jamais!
Vous me manquez tous beaucoup! Nous ne pouvons pas attendre pour revenir en France.

Gros bisous!!

In English . . .

I apologize to all of my French friends. I know that I owe you a lot of updates about our life back in America - complete with pictures.
For now, here are some pictures of my birthday celebration this year. Our wonderful friend Danny took us to San Luis Reservoir, where we rode his awesome jet ski for 4 hours straight. We only stopped because we ran out of gas. It was one of my best birthdays ever!

I miss you all so much. We can't wait to come back to France!

Love to all!!

Bastille Day

We missed Bastille Day (le quatorze juillet) our first two Julys in France, but we caught the festivities this year!

Bastille Day is technically on July 14. However, to maximize the viewing pleasure of the fireworks around l'etang, each of the villages on l'etang celebrates a different night. So, it all started in Bouzigues on July 13 (followed by Balaruc July 14, Meze July 15, etc.).

The Bouziguads (both by birth and by general acceptance) gathered in front of the mairie (town hall) at 9:30 pm. Everyone received a French flag, and each child received a lantern (a paper lantern on a bamboo pole with a candle inside - obviously OSHA does not exist in Bouzigues!).


When it finally got dark around 10:30, the parade through the village began.


We ended in front of the port where the fireworks show dazzled us!

For us, it was very magical. Before the village festivities began, we ate dinner at Sophie's where we met Hamza (Sophie's fiance) and Jessica (Sophie's best friend) and Milan (Jessica's son and Sophie's godson). It was very fun, and we were thrilled to finally meet Hamza, Jessica & Milan!

At the festivities, we got to hang out with Debb, Reed, their granddaughters, and we got to see all of our other French friends!

It was almost like Bouzigues was having a going-away celebration for the Billats. How cool is that?!

Sabrina, Cyrielle, Laurent, Axel, Logane, and Jordan joined us for the fireworks, too.

A perfect end to our last summer in Bouzigues. We are very, very lucky people.

Love to all!!

Our Last Fun Day in France

We were lucky enough to spend our last day of fun in France with Debbie, Reed, and their granddaughters - Sophie & Isabelle.

We spent the day in one of our favorite places in France - Roquebrun.

Thank you, so much, Debb & Reed for helping us out the last week (not to mention all the countless other times!). Summer evenings in your garden are priceless memories.

Love to all!!

I'll let the pictures do the talking for me this time...

Sophie


Max
Josey


Isabelle
Random Fun . . .

Merci a Sophie!

Although it has a taken me several weeks to post this, it is not due to a lack of desire!

I want to thank Sophie, from the bottom of my heart, for making our last year in Bouzigues so much fun.

My regular readers know who Sophie is. She is our young friend (now more like the little sister I never had) who spent time with us each week. She took us fun places, she cooked us amazing food, she taught us all about life in the village of Bouzigues, she entertained us with stories, she helped us learn more French . . . She is the best!

Chère Sophie,
Je tu remercie beaucoup pour faire partie de notre famille. Tu nous manquez terriblement. S'il te plaît viens nous rendre visite bientôt. Tu peux rester aussi longtemps que tu souhaites!
Le plus gros bisous dans le monde!

Our last week in Bouzigues, we finally got to meet Sophie's entourage! Her fiancé, Hamza, her fabulous parents Gerard and Helene, and her best friend, Jessica. We hope to see them all again for a visit next summer.

Love to all!!