Sleep Walking and Talking

I know that for a good part of my life, I have been an active sleeper. When I was younger I was told stories of times that I was found eating ice cream while asleep (was I asleep or just hungry?), walking up and down the stairs, preparing for soccer practice, and having long chats with my dad in the morning. Then my sleep walking went into a bit of a dormant phase. I seemed to keep pretty quiet through college and no one ever mentioned me wandering around at all hours or chatting about nonsense in my sleep.

This has drastically changed in the last 2 years. What else has changed? Oh yes, I got married and changed countries. I think this means I can blame Paul...

In case you haven't been around to enjoy some of the insane stories of my sleepwalking, let me summarize some of my best moments:

1) Paul woke me from sleeping on the couch (such a bad idea, never wake a sleeping tiger). He told me it was time to go to bed and boy was I grumpy. When I got to the bedroom I started yelling at him because he hadn't vacuumed the bed. He tried to play along and gently suggested I brush my teeth. I angrily responded that I couldn't do that. And why not, you ask? Because my toothbrush was busy. I think I eventually went to sleep with a very grumpy face, and the next morning couldn't remember a thing.

2) While sleeping in a hotel room in Ireland, my friends decided I should change rooms for the night. They came in, apologized, and took me to a different room. I apparently responded, "No problem, just get me to a bed." The next morning was very confusing when I couldn't remember why I was somewhere else. 

3) While sleeping at a hotel for my friend Tiffany's bachelorette party before her wedding, I let myself out of one hotel room, use the key card to access the elevator, went to our other room, took one chip from a bad, said "shhhh, sorry", then found my way back to my room. What the heck was I doing?

4) More recently, I was sleeping in bed and in my dream thought I saw an "ember". This "ember" turned out to be a light on our radio. I thought it might turn into a fire! I got myself out of bed and headed to the other side of the room. I turned on all the main lights to the room, waking myself (and Paul) in the process. I was standing there in complete shock and Paul yelled a few inappropriate phrases. I have to tell you it is really jarring to wake up standing up.

5) Finally (and this isn't just one instance) I talk in my sleep pretty much all time. Any time Paul comes to bed after I've been asleep for a while. We have long conversations, sometimes nonsensical. Sometimes he thinks I'm awake, and who can blame him? My eyes are wide open and I'm an active participant in these discussions. Then, I get to hear all about it the next day. I tell him to stop talking to me when I'm asleep, and he tells me to stop having my eyes open and looking awake. Touché.

Anyone else have this weird, never ending, sleep movement? Most the time I think it's hilarious, but sometimes I wonder if I'm missing out on a lot of great sleep. Who knows what adventures tonight might bring!

Family in the Fall

Well hello there blog, it's been a while. I know that every time I write on here I think, "I need to do this more often!" But then a month passes and I get busy and, well, you know how life is, right? So just about two weeks ago, I had a lovely visit with my family. Six of my favorite people flew all the way to Switzerland to visit me! It was such a trip to arrive in Zurich, not exhausted at all, and be able to see the people I loved. We grabbed some sandwiches, caught the next train out, and drank wine and ate chocolate the whole way home. Once I got them to the hotel, they even stayed out with Paul and I for a drink! And the adventures had not even begun! Little did they know how much fun they could have with me. This is just a little summary and picture show of our time together...

Day 1 (Friday night): Train home and drinks in the hotel pub.

Day 2 (Saturday): Late start, wander around Lausanne, viewing the old cathedral, lake front (Ouchy), dinner at Cafe de Grancy.

 
 

 


 
 
 

Day 3 (Sunday): Interlaken and Gimmelwald, shopping, mountain views, gondola ride, italian restaurant and margaritas. 

Day 4 (Monday): Cheese and Chocolate day - Gruyere factory, Gruyere Ville to Callier and back home again. Dinner at our favorite pizza place. 

 

 
 

Day 5 (Tuesday): Tour of CERN and to the airport! It turns out I didn't take any pictures here, but we had a great time! What a lovely visit, perfect weather, and amazing company. Come back soon!

PS: Sorry if the pictures are in weird places, they look good when I edit then go all over the place!

When Is Your Next Vacation?

I read a quote the other day, that no matter what I do, I cannot get out of my head:

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.”

This struck me specifically because this year is even busier than the last, and if you knew me last year, you would know I was already VERY busy. How could I find even more things to do? I tell myself it's in my nature. My parents are doers. They find it difficult to sit around doing nothing. They are "retired" (HAH), which means they are among the busiest people I know. Dad volunteers most of his time to AYSO, building their websites and training new recruits and Mom is busy helping other people, quilting, and planning upcoming trips. This is just the tip of the iceberg for them. And then I think, will my life always be this busy? Am I destined for a life jam packed of commitments?

Part of it is my own fault, I will admit that. It is not just destiny. I have a problem with doing nothing. What do normal people do when they're not working? Sure I have plenty of hobbies, and I definitely indulge in those. I leave time for drawing and music and baking during the week and on the weekends, but I can't do it all day. I love to travel, but I also love to sleep in my own bed and follow a routine. And yet, as much as I absolutely love teaching (and I am not lying here, I LOVE teaching), I always look forward to the next holiday. I count the weeks, then the days, then the hours. I daydream about the mornings I can lay in bed and relax, not stressed about the next lesson, the things to grade, the objectives for each students, monitoring student progress, updating my website.... the list goes on and on. I think about teaching all the time - when I wake up, on the bus, between class, in classes, during lunch, while running, before bed. It seems like my job is absolutely never ending. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, but then when I read a quote like the one above, I think to myself, why do I feel the need to escape? Why is it that every Sunday evening I have a pit of dread in the bottom of my stomach. I know what's coming. And every second it creeps closer and I get more and more anxious. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? It's MONDAY. The first day of a long work week, of more stress and exhaustion and work work work. And then I count. 11 more days until the next holiday. Now 10 days and 23 hours...

Then I ask myself, why have I set up a life where I am always wondering when the next vacation is, or just holding out for the weekend? Why have I put myself in a position where I dread Sunday evenings because they turn into Monday? But then I also think, I'm not alone, am I? Most people enjoy their free time more than their work time. Even when you enjoy your work, you must enjoy your time off more, because it's YOUR time, and no one else's. But you can't spend all your time sleeping in and doing whatever you want. If you do, (and this really applies to me), you'd be bored, broke, and floating around life aimlessly. You need a balance, don't you? Between the stress and the free. You can't have happiness if you have never known sadness. So maybe I need the work, to appreciate the free time even more. I remember back when I was looking for a job in Switzerland and I was going crazy. I hated staying home all day, and I longed to have a real teaching job. Well the grass is always greener, isn't it? A little bit of work, a little bit of rest, it's just finding the good balance. I guess I haven't quite gotten there yet, when the prospect of working just a little bit harder means saving a bit more for our future. Tricky tricky. How do you handle this dilemma? Work more now, enjoy more later? Balance now and deal with it later? I just don't know.

   

What have I learned in this post? I am still thinking, when is my next vacation? Just over 9 days away. Am I counting? You bet I am! But I will still go in to school tomorrow and try to live in the moment, teach the best I can, and work my way one day closer to the weekend. That's life, isn't it? Has anyone really found a way to live everyday of their life in a way that they never need an escape? Or is it always just a little too much work, a little too much play?

And the Seasons, They Go Round and Round

From when I first graduated from Miami University, I moved every year for three years (Switzerland, Denver, Switzerland). After all that moving around, I have finally settled somewhere for 2 (going on three) years in a row. There are a few things I've noticed about being in the same place for more than year. The biggest thing I've noticed is that you look forward to the seasonal things that happen in your area. You also can see the seasons change. As we move from summer into fall, many of the restaurants and stalls near the lake shut down. Not long after that all the fountains turn off. Then the cold really sets in and there are all sorts of great things. Time for hot chocolate and snuggles and skiing. Here are just a few things on my list for the next few months.

October - changing leaves, absolutely beautiful! Parents visiting and school half term


November - Marathon time! Not too hot, not too cold, perfect weather for running


December - Christmas market, snowboarding, visiting family


January - hot air balloon in Chateaux D'oex


February - Ski week half term


The list goes on...

Here we are, September 23rd - the second official day of autumn. And even as I enjoy each day here - the running, the bike rides, hiking, camping, drinking, walking, and mostly working - I look forward to the next. I like that the seasons change, and that I know what's coming. I appreciate that there are a million things happening here in Switzerland, and there is always something to do. I look back on all my years in seasonless California, and I see that it is a lot harder to gage time. One day looks pretty much like the next, and the only thing that reminds you of the change is the slightly (very slightly) colder weather and the holidays. Here I change over my wardrobe twice per year. I pack up those summer things away and bring out my warm shirts and coats and socks. I start making soups the minute there is a chill in the air. I even bought butternut squash in anticipation of all the soups/stews I will soon be able to make! The season changes in Ohio were there, but I were so focused on working and studying that I barely noticed. It's such a nice little rhythm, with something good always just ahead.

Another New Year

Normal people think of the New Year as January 1st. They get excited for a fresh start and more new adventures. Teachers have their schedules a little different. For me, the first day of the new year is the first day of school. I think of years as school years (August-June) with July just known as vacation. When I talk to people about "Next Year", I often really just mean next school year. It's one of those things that I'm not sure I'll ever change unless I stop being a teacher.

So I have begun a new school year, my second full year at College Champittet. Being the overenthusiastic person that I am, I have said yes to every class that was offered to me. This means I am teaching (take a deep breath) first grade art, third grade English, science, history, and art, fourth grade English and art, fifth grade English, biology and geography. Oh, and in my free time? Teaching drama and gymnastics after school, and tutoring 4 children. Did I mention I was awarded the position of the head of the English primary department? Let's just add that to the list too.

In the run up to school, I had many little anxiety attacks, which l kept wondering how the HECK I was going to do everything. I sat up through the night trying to plan everything, and my 4 weeks that I was in Switzerland this summer I spent at school planning, copying, organizing, etc. The days before school were even more stressful as we had two teacher training days that were completely useless and completely in French. All I could do was make lists in my notebook of everything that needed to get done and sit there thinking of how behind I was.

Well now I've made it through the first full week of the new year and I can happily say that the anxiety attacks have slowed down. I haven't really started all my tutoring and activities, and the students haven't turned in any homework, but it's going well. To be honest, I actually forgot how much I really love teaching and how cool the kids I teach really are. I love every class I teach (except the 5A class, I could do without them). I'm still learning some names, but we are having a great time overall. I love that I am getting experience across the grades and subjects. I love the opportunity to take a leadership position in my school. I love being able to work with students outside of class time to help them become stronger in other parts of their life. I enjoy my time with the very international staff members who come from all corners of the world with all different perspectives. I still get frustrated in meetings that are all French and everyone is talking over each other and I can't understand anything. Oh well, you can't have everything.

So now Paul and I look forward to next year (school year that is), and we aren't sure what we want to do. Stay here another year and have a crazy, hectic year of more experience and stress? Go somewhere else and hope for my own classroom and a bit more calm? It's too early to tell now, but it's something to think about. Until then, I'm going to settle into a routine and hope I find a few free minutes to train for my marathon, finish my graduate course, make dinner, and sleep.

Holiday Update

Before you start this blog, let me say that I have NO IDEA why my pictures look like this. In the editor they look fine then POOF they are weird in the final. Sorry!


It's been a month since my last post, and I always mean to post more. Somehow, good intentions never last very long. Life always seems to get in the way. 


It is now fully and truly summer vacation for me. It first started with our flight to Edinburgh, where we were picked up from a pub and taken on the quick train to Glasgow by our lovely friend Ruth. The first morning was very interesting as we helped Stu take nearly a ton of their new floor board up 2 flights of stairs. Here are some visuals to help you see it...

 

How the boys felt at the end... I felt great!

We spent the next 2 days chatting, visiting beautiful places, being rained on, having some wine, and feeling at home. We miss them and we wish we all lived closer together (and we hope we will someday in the future)


.

 

  






From there we took a train to Newcastle to visit both family and friends. My sister-in-law is looking radiant with 6 weeks to go before her due date, and my family there was welcoming as always. We got to reconnect with several of Paul's old friends and have nice chats - man I love speaking in English all the time!



And just in the snap of a finger it was time to go for our real, no work all rest, one week holiday. We joined our friends in Bristol where we packed up the car and headed out to Wales (to a little town I can't pronounce). No more than an hour later, after peek-a-boo with Elisabeth, my favorite little girl, we arrive in our 13th century cottage, and thus began my first real holiday in a long time.


But WAIT! I can hear you all yelling, what about all those trips we see you taking? Aren't THOSE holidays? And my response is pretty simple - it is very rare that I actually take an entire week of holiday that doesn't include family or working online. I am always putting in an hour or two a day, never really having a real rest. But at this lovely little cottage there was no internet and no phone service. So I was forced to (gasp) relax. And it was the most lovely recharge. I spent a ton of time reading napping, eating scones, hiking about, chatting with friends, snuggling with Elisabeth and doing whatever I wanted when I wanted. It was absolute heaven in a bottle. It was only 7 days, but the days seemed long and perfect with sunshine and warmth. I left that nice holiday home rested and ready for my next marathon of visits. Here are a bazillion pictures from our time -

 

I'm soooo responsible! (She wanted it!)

 
Chillin in the garden with some cider and Elisabeth, eating watches, playing with daddy and Auntie Liz, napping, what could be better?

Out to eat at a little restaurant on the river, such a happy smiling baby :)

  
 
 
Beautiful views, ice cream, and more napping (at least Elisabeth got to!)

 

Drinks at the pub that was 50 meters away. It had a gorgeous garden and Elisabeth liked napping in her stroller while the adults drank apple juice.

  

I spent 2 of the days hiking around these incredible paths that go through pastures, fields, across rivers and meadows, that seem to end abruptly with no warning only to have another one appear. It was a great adventure where I saw many little creatures - horses, peacocks, cows, birds, etc.

 

 

 
Our great friends Anna and Rob came for a BBQ and got some serious cuddle time

These are some cutie pictures I took of Elisabeth - who wouldn't want to steal her?

And Elisabeth's beautiful mum, Chloe :)

After a long hike, I refreshed myself with a cider :)

 

Look at her go! At the beginning of the week she was just beginning to scooch, by the end she could chase you to the kitchen. That's my girl!

I'm not hungry, the dog wanted it! (Such an innocent face...)

 

 

Views of our cottage and gardens - I forgot to take ones from the inside!

Sleeping peacefully on our ride back to Bristol

So we flew out of Bristol on Saturday night, and Sunday morning I was back at Geneva Airport on my way to LA. Everything went smoothly except forgetting my Kindle in the plane. I arrive with my mom carrying sunflowers and my dad, brother, and brother's gf waiting for me. It was very sweet and a good sight after 14+ hours of traveling. 

Now I've been in Torrance for a week, and as I expected the time just flew by. I got to spend a lot of time with family - like my little cousins who I love, my parents and my brother. I also go to see many close friends and catch up, hike, see movies, shop, etc. It is always a joy to come home and I am happy that I am able to visit so far away. 

Celebrating Kristen's 27th bday with tacos!

 
 


Birthday sushi and drinks out mean we had the place to ourselves! What did we do? Play SPEED DARTS! The best (and probably most dangerous) game out there :)

 

We got to visit my baby cousin Jonathan for his 13th birthday! He grew up so fast! We played big chess....

 

Grilled out on the new grill - it was delicious...

 

 

 
...and ate cake and made silly faces. I love my cousins!

 
 Now on to Disneyland! Chris maxed out his points and got to level seven on Astro blasters - I nearly did the same at level 6!

Family all together for a Matterhorn picture. We might take a real one in October!

 

  Cars land was GREAT!!

 

Hiking with dad and Kristen in PV - it was beautiful but really hot!

 

 

 

 

Spent the last 2 nights spending as much time as possible with everyone, but it is never enough!

Now to the next adventure - Chicago to see family, and Indiana for Tiffany's wedding. Another long flight, but I am ready. Bring it on!