Category Archives: Gratitude Friday

Gratitude Friday: An Amazing US Trip

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Post by Lauren

This post was easy. We are very grateful for an amazing three weeks in the USA. We were able to fit so much in, and in all, I think we saw easily over 100 friends and family members. Below is a pictorial recap:

WASHINGTON, DC
We stayed the night with great friends after landing at Dulles at 4pm. Conveniently they live 5 minutes away from the airport and a Mexican restaurant. Two amazing things when you are jet-lagged. We enjoyed an evening with them and had a 7am flight to:

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

I was able to participate in our annual Casserole Christmas. This holiday was born when there was a group of us Southern gals working together who discovered that Isabella usually didn’t have casseroles for Thanksgiving and Christmas, mainly fresher Californian type foods. We wanted to showcase our heart-heavy casseroles for her, so this event was born with about 6 or 7 of us. As you can see, there are a few Casserole-lovers in the making. One is a 2nd child, one a 3rd and another a 4th child – can you believe it?

I was able to participate in our annual Casserole Christmas. This holiday was born when there was a group of us Southern gals working together who discovered that Isabella usually didn’t have casseroles for Thanksgiving and Christmas, mainly fresher Californian type foods. We wanted to showcase our heart-heavy casseroles for her, so this event was born with about 6 or 7 of us. As you can see, there are a few Casserole-lovers in the making. One is a 2nd child, one a 3rd and another a 4th child - can you believe it?

We also hosted Pizza Night. Since we had limited time in Charlotte, we thought it was the only way we could see such a volume of friends with most working. We just ordered some food into our empty house in Charlotte. We wish we could have spent more time talking to everyone but are thankful that those who were able to joined us, did!

We also hosted Pizza Night. Since we had limited time in Charlotte, we thought it was the only way we could see such a volume of friends with most working. We just ordered some food into our empty house in Charlotte. We wish we could have spent more time talking to everyone but are thankful that those who were able to joined us, did!

APPOMATTOX, VIRGINIA

We were so fortunate C & J were in town (for the previous Thursday night Hokie Game) with their new little bundle of joy. They brought her over after we arrived for playtime and Mom, Annette and I fought over who played with her.

 

We had the pleasure of visiting with all but one of my aunts/uncles in Appomattox (don’t worry, we got to see them later!). Mom had also arranged to have my stepsisters and their families join us for a Thankgiving brunch. What a full time of fun!

 

CINCINNATI & COLUMBUS, OHIO

We continued onto Cincinnati. We stayed with Andres for a night in his cozy Victorian. We went out for sushi and then onto The Lackman, a really cool bar in downtown Cinci. I am sad I didn’t take a photo except for this one of Gabe and Maude on the sofa. But, I made up for it in Columbus where we got some shots of N & L’s adorable girls. We learned that a 2 year old can operate an iPad better than I can. It helps that she is above the curve, but still….I have some catching up to do.

 

MENDON, OHIO

In Gabe’s hometown, we had 3 Thanksgivings, a birthday, and an engagement to celebrate. We had absolutely beautiful Ohio weather. We were excited to have my Mom & Buster join us for the final Thanksgiving.

 

ATLANTA

Gabe worked in Atlanta but during the evenings we were able to visit friends and family. We were able to meet Baby S finally. I also got to meet Baby CA as I didn’t get to see her before we departed for Switzerland. We celebrated my cousins wife’s birthday with them at their home. Also, I got to have an all day date with a dear friend for some catch up time and as a bonus, we picked up her cute twins at daycare.

NEXT, WE SEPARATED. GABE WENT TO PHILLY AND NEW YORK TO VISIT FRIENDS & FOR GUYS TRIP. I RETURNED TO CHARLOTTE TO CELEBRATE A BDAY AND VT GAME.

Next, we separated. Gabe went to Philly and NYC to visit friends and for his annual guys trip.  I returned to Charlotte to celebrate a birthday and VT game.

Whew, what a great time! We are thankful that everything went smoothly. All the flights were relatively on time and we lost no bags (checking 4 each time!). We are also very thankful we got to see so many people and we didn’t get sick. I was a little paranoid about getting some sort of cold when I had a full schedule of meeting infants.

We are truly blessed.

We are going to rest this weekend to catch up from all the fun! Bon weekend, everyone!

Gratitude Friday: Art

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Post by Lauren

This Friday, I am grateful that the winter market I am participating in is tomorrow – – that means, I’m almost done! I have been working hard on getting original paintings, handmade jewelry and greeting cards ready for my little “Designs by Lauren” booth.

Getting ready for the exhibit this Fall has been a great way to practice creativity. Regardless if I sell anything or not, I am glad for the experience and time that I have had to explore my favorite hobby. It’s always been a dream of mine to have more time for being creative in whatever form it takes and now I have it.

So thus, I am also very thankful for our ex-pat situation and my awesome husband’s support. He’s the reason why I get to have this chance so again I have found another reason to be grateful for him :). It’s not hard.

I wanted to share some of the paintings as its a good recap of some of the great places we’ve had the opportunity to travel

*Note: sorry that when we converted to wordpress, the links are not working.

Gratitude Friday: A taste of Thanksgiving

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Post by Lauren

This Friday, I am grateful for the chance to have a little taste of Thanksgiving in Geneva. The cooking group that I am in organized a potluck at A.L.’s beautiful home.

It was lovely to share a Thanksgiving meal with women of many different cultures, including Holland, Canada, Switzerland, Rwanda, Germany, Qatar, Japan, Australia and the US.

Our gracious host brought back Thanksgiving plates, napkins and other goodies from her last trip to the US, so everyone could appropriately experience the typical decoration.

We had such a beautiful assortment of everyone’s favorite treats to share with the group, both savory and sweet.

 

 

Since there are many reasons why Thanksgiving is difficult here in Geneva, I was just so grateful for a nice day spent sharing our American tradition with wonderful women.

Top Reasons why celebrating Thanksgiving is more difficult in Switzerland:
1-They don’t celebrate the holiday at all here, making it impossible to get supplies. At least for Halloween, some factions of the French participate in this holiday, so they do sell limited costumes at a few stores for the ex-pats and French
2-It is nearly impossible to find a whole turkey. They do sell “dinde” here (turkey in French), but it is only in parts….a tenderloin, legs, little chops. So, you have to find a place to custom order it. And if you find one:
3- It’s guaranteed he’ll already be without skin, making it difficult to seal in the flavor
4-You will pay at least $180-200 USD for a small turkey. He is guaranteed to be free- range, organic, etc. since the other types of birds don’t exist here, but a big ouch to the wallet!
5-A whole turkey will likely not fit in your oven. Remember, all Swiss appliances are tiny. It’s like living in a dollhouse. Luckily, our host measured and determined that the whole one wouldn’t fit in her oven, so she just got an assortment of tenderloins and legs to cook so we could have a taste of turkey.
6-On the same note of our oven being the size of a US microwave, so you have a hard time getting side dishes cooked and re-heated at once.
7-No power settings or defrost settings on a microwave. So my typical way of softening butter is out the window!
8-No shortcuts like boxed stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc. And no fried onions in a can for green bean casserole. Everything must be from absolute scratch.
9-You can find canned pumpkin here at the American store, but its 8 dollars a can. Whoa!
10-Luckily our host had a beautiful spacious apartment. But this is atypical here, so a US sized Thanksgiving might have a difficult time fitting into a traditional Geneva flat.

Bon weekend, everyone!

Gratitude Friday: Autumn in Switzerland

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Post by Lauren

This Friday, I just wanted to express my gratitude for Autumn in Switzerland. Since our house hunting fell in Winter and our move in Spring, Fall is the last season that I have yet to see. It was worth the wait…..

 

Bon weekend, everyone!

 

Gratitute Friday: Painting en plein air

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Post by Lauren

It’s been a great week…..I got to paint 3 times outdoors in the last 8 or so days. I am very thankful for the burst of beautiful weather before we head into winter here in Switzerland.

The first time, I painted on the right bank, and had a glorious view of Mt. Blanc. You have to look really hard at the above photo, but you can see the snowy white mountain range almost disguised by the clouds. Here was the result:

The second time, I did the left bank in the financial district. This little guy kept hanging out after I shared a part of my baguette.

The third time A met me. It was the best time for three reasons. One, I had company. Two, she brought wine. Three, some Americans tried to buy her painting on the spot. An interesting time!

Bon weekend, everyone!

Gratitude Friday: Having a Place

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Post by Lauren

This Friday, I am grateful for having a home, and the fact that I have never had to worry about having a place to sleep. I would include a “warm place to sleep” in this designation, but we don’t actually have that guaranteed anymore in our current apartment since our heat hasn’t been fully turned on yet by the regie 🙂

Kidding aside, I used to volunteer frequently at The Samaritan House back in Charlotte, cooking meals for and playing games with the guests. The organization was for homeless who were recovering from a hospital stay or had a serious medical condition. Traditional shelters, while good, were not an adequate place for this type of individual needing rest and recuperation. Samaritan House allowed them to live in a family-like setting for up to a month and also provided assistance for housing & jobs upon recovery.

In acclimation training, when I mentioned this and my intention on seeking similar opportunities in Geneva, our trainer commented, “good luck with that”.

When I first arrived, I did find it difficult to find places to give back. Most what I consider “real” volunteer opportunities have the pre-requisite of speaking decent French. I can’t check that box yet. Did you read Wednesday’s post?

The women’s club always has a need for people, and I have been helping with welcoming people and doing pro-bono marketing and PR. It’s a great organization. But, as a sole outlet, it lacked what I got out of my time at Samaritan House.

I phrase this exactly this way because without question, I get more out of volunteering with those in need, exceedingly more than the time or money that I put into it. It provides a paradigm shift for what problems actually are. When you see those give such gratitude for simple gestures like a meal or a conversation, it makes you realize how joyful you need to be with your own situation. I don’t know about you, but I need a healthy dose of that often.

I was so delighted when a friend at the women’s club mentioned her church cooks and serves lunches for a women’s shelter here in Geneva, Café Care. I had my first visit this week and am so grateful for the timing of the experience. I won’t go into the details, but sometimes life in a foreign country can get you down, and it was one of those weeks.

Café Care

We served the lunch, so sat down a few minutes after everyone had started eating, finding spots amongst the twenty women attending that day. As I unfolded my napkin, the girl in front of me looked up and said to me with kind eyes, “bon appétit, madame”.

Just what I needed.

Bon week-end everyone!

Gratitude Friday: Swiss Water

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Post by Lauren

One of my favorite things about Switzerland is the abundance of free yummy water.

Whether you are in an urban area, a small town, or the middle of the countryside, you are sure to find a babbling spout, as can be seen below. You can easily fill your bottle up no matter where you are.

In the US we have things like this but you wouldn’t dare drink out of it. However, here is is 100% safe and super tasty. I have been told the water supply is monitored three times a day to monitor for any abnormalities. From the swissworld site, they quote:

The drinking water that comes out of Swiss taps is as pure as bottled mineral water – and 500 times cheaper.

In a country where everything is expensive, I am grateful for this natural perk.

Bon weekend, everyone!

 

Gratitude Friday: Finally! A Phone!

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Post by Lauren

If you ever told US me that I’d be able to live four months without a cell phone, I wouldn’t have believed it.

But, yes, I made it 4 months. Many of you know the story, but for those catching up, you have to be a Swiss resident to get a phone contract.

My first two days I didn’t carry it around as I was afraid I’d hurt it. But, now it goes with me where I go.

Here is why I am grateful for a phone:

-Hands down, its the TPG app that is my favorite thing about iPhone ownership. I can check the bus and tram schedule continually. I love love love this feature. I don’t care if I don’t get another app…this one fulfills me!

-It’s nice to be able to have a communication device when meeting up with friends so if they miss the bus, or something changes. Otherwise, we had to do it old school. Show up at the planned time and if they don’t show, try to guess what happened to them and try to react like you’d think they would.

-It’s nice to have a phone # to give people, like repairmen, delivery people, etc.

-You can now call me! So, let me know if you want my digits…..

Here is why I am grateful I had 4 months sans phone:
-I have felt really free not being tied to a communication device. Working in Corporate America, I had my blackberry at the hip and I feel like it developed a little bit of ADD as a result….checking messages, multi-tasking, and being in constant contact.

-I missed my stop on the tram because I was taking this photo of the really large cello riding along playing music for the passengers. Whoops!

Bon weekend!

 

Gratitude Friday: An Ode to Italy

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Post by Lauren

Oh, Italia. How can I thank you?

Your were the first place I landed when I started traveling seriously as an adult. How you enveloped me with your charms, your perfect chaos, and your mounds of decadent pastas.

I fell in love with your crooked streets, your stonework, your landscapes, where every scene made me want to rush back and start painting…. but I could never quite capture the perfection of Italian life on canvas.

I admired your people….their pace and zeal for life. How they could communicate anything with the waving of their hands. The lingering meals. Their passion for your land and the beautiful goods they could craft out of the soil. Wine. Olive Oil. Porcini. Meats. I wanted to be Italian.

When Eat, Pray, Love was written I read the Eat chapter four times. Having been through a rough period on my own, I understood how your and your beauty could bring healing and inspiration and most importantly, gratitude.

One summer, I couldn’t find anyone to come visit you. So, I traveled by myself to experience more of you….to cook…to paint…to grow and to attempt to learn to smell the roses….or was it wine and olive oil?

That trip, I soaked up your words and upon arriving home, hired an Italian tutor and attempted to learn my first foreign language. I never achieved my end goal of living in in your countryside, despite how much I dreamed.

The dolca vita……how much sweeter my life is with memories of you.

This week, I am grateful to share you with my Mom, my aunt, and a group of special people from Virginia. Also, Gabe joins me for the weekend for his first venture to your soil and so I can’t wait to share you with him too.

P.S. – I still haven’t given up my dream of living in your hills!



Gratitude Friday: Peace and Healing

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Post by Lauren

September is always a reflective time for me. As an American, the anniversary of 9/11 is always one that pulls at the emotional heartstrings and leaves one saddened and in awe of what was lost that day. The people that perished, families broken, and the mental effects on those who survived are always on my mind.

The news coverage of 9/11 and United 93 can be hard to watch as the date falls within three days of the anniversary of my father’s flight that crashed in 1994. So, needless to say, its not an easy month emotionally.

With that being said, this Friday, I wanted to give gratitude for peace and healing. Bad things happen in life. We aren’t promised that life is fair or easy. But, as humans we are blessed with the ability to heal both physically and emotionally. Time heals hearts. Gratitude, love and peace also have healing tendencies on our minds and bodies.

And so this week, I am thankful for these positive forces that we as humans are blessed with, these things that comfort us in bad times. It is part of what gives us comfort. Its part of what allows us to forgive and eventually heal.

Without that, we’d be lost. We’d stay angry and resentful of what is gone, instead of reflecting on gratitude and love for our experiences for what precious time we were given.

Bon weekend, everyone.