Being a Frenchie

In an attempt to conserve my French so Jeff can't understand my children  I can continue to learn and adore everything French, I've been doing random things in French lately. Reading Le Figaro, reading my high school grammar book (It's so much more fun when you don't have to do it!), watching movies in French, listening to French radio. French radio is funny. About half the songs they play are in English, but they're songs I've never heard before! Or they're weird songs like Hotel California. I think if you're not succeeding in the US, you should send your CD's over to France and they'll be instant hits.

Do you know what I want for Christmas? The Harry Potter series in French. That would be sweet. :) I tried to find them on the Nook, but alas.... Barnes and Noble isn't very nice to us Frenchies. :( And yes, I'm already thinking about Christmas. I've been working on Christmas presents all summer, so it's on my mind. And I've been trying not to get too excited to hang out with my fellow Hawks women and make French food for the family and play with my nieces and nephews.

This evening I'm making French onion soup while listening to France Bleu Basse-Normandie and wishing I could have a break from life. My cousin is in Vienna right now and I'm so jealous. Not only does she look like she's having a blast (which I'm pretty sure Kiersten always has, wherever she is) but she's having a blast in Europe amid grand castles and beautiful cathedrals, scattered between aromatic bakeries and bustling markets. Sigh.... Someday Corie, Kathryn and I (and whatever other sisters-in-law we've accumulated by then) should go on a trip to Europe. That would be the most fun in the world! I can only imagine how much I'd love that. I don't know about them...but I think that would be a blast.

Can I just say that this French onion soup smells absolutely amazing? Maybe because I'm starving, but I think it smells divine. And I only use the word "divine" if it smells really, really, really, really, really good. And this smells French bistro good. I owe that in part to the fresh herbs from my garden. :) (Which is actually struggling at the moment... I think I need to learn how to prune a bit better.)

In other news, the women's volleyball team is doing well! This is their best start since 2006! Go Cougars! It's so much fun to do PR for a team that's doing well.

Sigh... It's a pity all we have is Mexican blend Costco cheese. This meal is deserving of a good Gruyere.