New Year's Resolutions

Christmas is already over so I need to start thinking about the New Year. Unfortunately New Year's is not only about partying the night before and having a killer hangover the next day but about making resolutions for the year to come. Like most people who make New Year's Resolutions, I rarely stick to the ones I make. But I'm really going to try this year. Honest.

So drum roll please...my New Year's Resolutions for 2009 are:

1. Exercise regularly

2. Read more books (and spend less time on the internet!)

and

3. Work on my artistic side (Writing and drawing/painting)

These are all self explanatory but I want to explain a bit more in depth.
1. I've been meaning to do a sport at least 2 times per week. I began salsa dancing and I realized that when I night was over, my legs were sore but it felt good. I stopped playing sports in high school and became lazy. Getting back in shape and have a physical activity to do every week is something that I NEED to do. So I might start going to a gym because at least inside, its heated and I really don't like the cold. One of my excuses for not going running or biking outside is that it's too cold out.

2. This is really self explanatory. Frankly I spend too much time on the internet and not enough time reading. It hurts my eyes and usely I don't really look at anything interesting anyway.

3. And lastly, I want to do more writing and drawing. I used to write often in college and now I only write for this blog. Drawing I also enjoy but I don't do it often. I need to substitute the internet and TV for these activities. They stimulate the mind more

So there you have it! The same three things that I want to start doing every year but just can't seem to get around to doing them. I just don't have enough time in between my working 12 hours per week and babysitting and going online.. It just won't be possible. No really, this year I'm going to try. Wish me luck and good luck on all of your New Year's Resolutions!

Buon Natale!

Merry Christmas everyone!

We're back from Rome and we had a wonderful time! Beautiful weather, no lines, it was the perfect week to visit Rome. Here are a few pictures from our trip:

The Colosseum at Night

The Pantheon


St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican

Trevi Fountain

The Roman Forum

Inside the Colosseum

The Colosseum and The Arc of Constantine

Outside the Colosseum

The Sistine Chapel Ceiling

And last but not lest, a giant Christmas Tree!

The Countdown to Rome!

This Christmas is going to be different from past ones.
One reason is that this will be the first Christmas ever that I haven't spent with my family. Because of my constant fiancial issues and that of my parent's, it wasn't really possible to come home this year without putting another $600 on my credit card. I don't want to deal with that later on. So I decided to do a mini-voyage au lieu de coming home. Of course I'm very upset about not spending Christmas with my family but due to other reasons I'm also a little relieved.

So, Christophe and I decided to do a little trip to Rome for a few days before Christmas. We found a great deal through EasyJet.Com. We booked a trip from December 21st-24th, including flight and hotel stay at a 3-star hotel for only 200€!! Probably 1/3 of the price of a ticket back to the US.

It's not Christmas at home that I look forward to every year but I guess Rome isn't too bad either.

I can't wait!

Sunday in Freiburg and Colmar!

Hi everyone! Yesterday Christophe and I spent the day at two Christmas Markets. The first in Freiburg, Germany and the second in Colmar! Since we are so close to the German border we decided to take a trip to Freiburg since I've never been there. The Christmas Market wasn't exceptionnal but I thought the city was beautiful so I took as many pictures as possible. It was fun being in Germany for a few hours. The streets of Freiburg all have this strange canal-ish system on the edge of the roads. It's really cool looking.

Since we finished the Freiburg Christmas market early, we decided to go to Colmar which was only a half hour away. Much more impressive! The decorations were beautiful and it was twice as big! Here are my pictures.

The Christmas Season Has Officially Begun!

The first thing I saw before I turned on the lights of my apartment tonight was this:

This crazy house and their flashing Christmas lights! Ahhh! Is it just me or is this going a little too far? I'm all for a few lights around a bush or two or outlining your house with lights but really..this is just too much. I don't even need to decorate my own apartment with this scene outside of my window. They already did it for me.

But in keeping with the theme of the post..Christmas time, here are some pictures of the Besançon Christmas Market happening all month long.This year they have a Quebec theme which explains the weird sentence.

Like any Christmas Marché (Market) in France you can buy a variety of foods and gifts including spiced, hot wine; churros, gaufres, marrons chauds ( chestnuts). Gifts including clothing, house hold objects, hand made toys, wine and regional foods. Besançon is known for not having one of the better Christmas markets. In the region, Montbéliard is the winner. It's about 10 times the size of the Besançon market and has so much more to offer.

This weekend I might be doing a day-trip to Freiburg, Germany to see their Christmas Market. I love Christmas time!