The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Tea for Toux

I am in a bit of a small panic at the moment, as we fly in one week, have a revolving "to do" list that still seems to have a lot on it (although we did manage to cross a lot off it this weekend), and I seem to have come down with bronchitis, of all things. A bride-to-be with the bronchite. Holy merde, this is not good. Friday night, we were doing some necessary cleaning behind where the washing machine sits, and the dust plume was so bad it had us both coughing the rest of the night. The next day, I felt all day like I had a cold coming on, so I took appropriate measures with cough syrup for the toux sec (dry cough), Zicam, and lots of tea and rest. Yesterday I was still coughing and clearly something was up, but it felt like a normal cold-cough, and I switched from the dry-cough syrup to an expectorant to try and break up whatever was going on in there. And last night we went out to La Défense to catch a little of the free jazz concert. So I didn't really feel all that horrible, just a... Read more →

Crunch

We are about to enter the Crunch Zone, my friends. Tomorrow marks just 10 days until we fly to New Jersey and two weeks until the wedding. Most of the major stuff is done. I know I keep saying this but as the day gets closer, it becomes all about the minutiae. Like picking out a shirt and tie (which Georges still needs to do), nailing down the final details with the caterer (that one's on MY list), and of course the most critically important thing of all: wondering if I should phone the drug store where I used to work to ask the cosmetics lady if she can get me a fresh bottle of a particular shade of nail polish, because the one I've got is perfect but it's nearly empty and drying up. Hey, this stuff matters, you know. As much as I've tried to get everything ready in advance (I only just NOW got off the phone with the limo company that will be picking us up at the airport -- AND I just realized we didn't book the airport shuttle to get us to CDG and back again here in Paris. [sigh]), there are some things... Read more →

For the LAST TIME, he's NOT into you if...

About once a week (more if I'm really bored), I like to look through my blog stats to see who's linking here. What is the most interesting about the stats is that they show me the search words or phrases people are typing into Google (or whatever search engine they're using) that end up leading them here. And here's what I just figured out, much to my chagrin: the greatest number of visitors (a whopping 20-25%!) who find me by searching on words other than my own blog name are women who are trying to figure out if some guy is "into them" or not. They end up here, a post I wrote in April 2007 and which now seems to show up THIRD (out of 486 million) on the Google list for "Is he into me?" Go figure. I wrote that post on the heels of the realization that the Australian guy I'd been dating had gone missing without so much as a G'day. His last words to me were: "I'm looking forward to seeing you when you when you get back to Paris" before he was about to move back to Australia; we both wanted to get together... Read more →

Girly shoes

I promised a photo of my wedding shoes and finally got around to it this week after getting a LONG overdue pedicure. So cute, n'est-ce pas? (I mean the shoes... not my feet.) And did I mention, I bought these in Cannes? I never thought I'd get married wearing shoes I found on the French Riviera. (Georges got a beautiful pair of new shoes in the same store, too.) Just a touch of glam on the one day we get to feel like celebrities. Even though there will be no red carpet. Read more →

They won't sing and dance for me, but...

... I know my friends and family love me THIS MUCH: Best Wedding Toast Ever!!!! (Amy's Song) - video powered by Metacafe Even if they don't write, choreograph and perform an entire musical theatre number at our wedding. (And if any of them are reading this, I don't expect it. Just show up, and maybe hum softly to yourselves when I sing La Vie en Rose for Georges.) But seriously, how amazing was this wedding toast? This made me laugh and cry at the same time. Even better than THIS. Read more →

Check

For some reason (maybe it's the summer weather and TOO HOT METRO ride home earlier today) I'm feeling too tired to do much in the way of any kind of creative writing today. Except to say that in the downhill run to the wedding, everything in my life is about a myriad of tiny details I get to check off of one list or another. This week so far, we can cross off: A doctor's appointment for me (just a check-up to get some RX refills before the summer vacation months) and I'm in great health, thank you. Georges got a really fantastic haircut And he took his new suit pants to the tailor (how is it that alterations for men's clothing are always so much cheaper than for women? Just 6€ to hem the new pants AND get another pair repaired!) Manicure/pedicure, part 1 of 2 (my nails and feet were so neglected I knew that doing them the day before the wedding would never be enough, so now I've got a good head-start on ring-worthy hands and feet I will not be embarrassed to slip into my pretty silver sandals on The Day) Letters (in French) we needed... Read more →

A little night music

Just so you know I'm not totally obsessed with the upcoming wedding (except to say it's TWO WEEKS from TOMORROW that we fly!), I thought I'd talk about la Fête de la Musique, an annual two-day event where you can find live music out on the streets of Paris in pretty much every quartier. Last night, Georges and I took the Little Guy over to the Abbesses area of Montmartre, where we knew there would be a lot going on. Did I say "a lot"? That's an understatement: it was like one giant neighborhood block party, celebrating the first day of summer. Many of the restaurants had put out extra tables on the sidewalks, and in some of the squares there were barbecues grilling sausages (we had some spicy ones that tasted like pure wasabi so I don't know what spice was in there, but WOW! did my sinuses clear up!) and there were little stands everywhere selling beer and even crêpes. With a small child in tow, we of course started and ended our evening early (home well before dark) but the Little Guy had the best seat in the house when he rode on his Papa's shoulders during... Read more →

La Seine sereine

Stepmothering for the Uninitiated

Let me start this post by stating: I am no novice when it comes to being around and caring for children of all ages, from birth through college. I started babysitting for a neighbor's infant son when I was 13. My sister trusted me with the overnight care of both her children when they were tiny babies, and many times after that over the years. My best friend has four kids (count them: FOUR) and I'm one of the few people she could call (well, before I left the country, that is) who would babysit all four of them without batting an eyelash. So a rookie, I'm not. Still, I am learning there is a marked difference between taking care of someone else's kids for a few hours or even a couple of days, and actually LIVING with kids. There are things no one thinks to tell you about how children behave on a daily basis, that I am now learning the hard way. Things that sometimes make me sigh a lot during the day. Like when boys forget to put the toilet seat down afterward... or worse yet when they forget to put it UP beforehand. Like when a... Read more →

What Not to Wear (to your wedding)

While I really, truly admire the kind of creativity and ingenuity it takes to design and make a wedding dress out of TOILET PAPER... I'm thinking this probably isn't the best choice a bride-to-be could make for her actual wedding dress. Nervousness making you perspire? Toss the bouquet a little too strenuously? Dancing a little too energetically at the reception? All recipes for disaster if you're wearing a paper dress. Besides... do you really want a flushable wedding dress? Read more →