Onyx

Hi everyone, 

Most of you have heard that Onyx is very ill.  In fact, this may be her last night among us.  Onyx is our 7 year old Pug.  She got sick last Friday and has been in kidney failure since then.  We are really broken up about this.  

Apparently, she ate or licked something toxic - presumably anti-freeze.  Her kidneys stopped working and she hasn't eaten or drank anything (on her own) since then.  She has really deteriorated over the past five days.  We have brought her home for the past two nights because she was sleeping better here and was seeming to get better during the evenings - so we thought being home was giving her strength.  Maybe it was denial - probably - because her levels show that the negative effects are increasing exponentially.  

The vet has allowed us to bring her home for one final visit tonight, but tomorrow we have to make the decision about what to do.  We don't want her to suffer any more - and the tests are showing that she is moving in the wrong direction.  She is really trying to be strong and comfort us - as always - she is wagging her tail when she sees us crying too much and seems to be alert, even as her body is shutting down.   She is really a fighter - and she has given 'em hell  this time - but I don't see a miracle on the horizon. 

We just wanted to let you know what was going on.  We really don't know how we will survive without our little puglet.  She has brought so much joy to our lives...

Happy Cancerversary to Me

Hi My Peeps,

This week was my 14 year anniversary of kicking bone cancer's butt!  :-)  Pretty cool huh?  So I decided that for next year's anniversary, I am going to do a triathlon or a 10K race with my siblings and I am totally stoked about that!  We have 1 full year to train - so I know we will be able to do it!

In other news, Cyn, Carine and I went to the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Grand Palais.  It was tres cool!  Check out some pics of the exhibit being put together here:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/mar/17/paris-andy-warhol-grand-palais?picture=344694057

That's really all I wanted to tell you today.  I LOVE YOU!  

Lola

Happy Birthday Austin!!!!

This message is for one of my 3 favorite nephew's!!!!!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR STINO

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

We love you Austin and wish we could be with you today!  Please have fun and eat a big ole piece of cake for Auntie Lola :-)

Okay - here's Prague

Hi Everyone!

We are back from Prague now - and trying to get some rest before I have to get back to work.  Cyn posted all of the pics on her facebook - but I will put a few here too.  

We started out the first day by having lunch with my old friend Martin.  He was in Moscow with me in 2007.  He was nice enough to take us to the new traditional Czech lunch of Pizza / Pasta.  He joked about how Prague was getting more and more international food - but he was totally right!  Everywhere we went it was Pasta/Pizza, Chinese Food, KFC/Starbucks/McD's and Ice Cream!  We did manage to find some authentic Czech food and definitely a lot of Czech beer!  

After that, we went to Wencelas Square and walked towards the River.  This is where we first noticed the architecture in Prague is so unique!  There are tons of random statues on most of the buildings.  Sometimes there are also pictures of Mary, Jesus and other people whose faces I don't recognize so easily!  The statues are larger than life sized - and really creepy at night.  You almost expect them to come to life when you are on the cobble stone streets in the evening!  

We stumbled across a classical music concert - which was great.  Only Czech composers - so it was very patriotic!  

Then we had dinner in front of the Astronomical Clock.  This clock is really interesting - but can also be a let down.  On the hour a little skeleton (aka Death) turns over an hourglass, then the disciples march across the windows at the top.  The bell rings the hour and it's over.  After 

sunset, nothing actually happens, but the crowds gather anyway - and are let down until sunrise.  It was really funny to watch over dinner and beer.  

So then we made our way back to our hotel and slept until we woke up.  My favorite thing to do on vacation!  The second day, we spent the majority of our time at the Prague Castle.  St. Vitus church was my favorite part about the castle - you know - you've seen one castle, you've seen them all!  The church was really cool to me.  When you walk in, you see beautiful stained glass, there is a little door with 7 locks on it that guard the crown jewels.  The guidebooks say that the president lives there today, but we were really surprised by the lack of high level security... so we aren't convinced that he actually lives there today.  

We ended up at a tourist trap for dinner that night - it took us nearly 4 hours to manage to get 2 beers for Cyn and 1 for me and Carine, plus little appetizer dishes.  Then the waiter forced a 15% service fee on top of our bill.  IT WAS AWFUL - but - we were warned by the natives not to go to places like that!  We have to learn the hard way!

The next day - our final day - was our favorite day.  We spent the morning in the Jewish neighborhood visiting Synagogs, Holocaust Memorials and the Old Jewish Cemetery.  It was very emotional - and an amazing experience.  We were not allowed to take photos at most of those places, but our friend Carine managed to snip a few without being caught.  I will try to snag those from her to show you what it was like.  

All in all, I would say it was a great first "European" vacation for us minus the Chevy Chase experiences of passing the same landmark when I was the navigator!  "Look Kids - Big Ben"  

Here is a cute video of a drunken Cyn to send you off!  Love to you all :-)  Lola

   

Prague Tomorrow

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick message to let you know that we will be on our first "official" French holiday tomorrow!  There have been many - but this is the first time we will go out of town for one!  We are going to Prague!  I have a friend that we will visit and one of our other (American) friends will join us.  I will try to update with pictures when we get back on Saturday! This will be Cyn's first trip outside of France - so she's pretty excited!

Thanks for your messages after my last post!  I miss you Lee B and I wish we could skype sometime soon.  Cyn's macbook has a camera installed, so if we can talk, you will be able to see us!

Love you guys!

Lola

What ever happened to Lorraine and Cindy's blog?

You would think, with all the freaking rain I complain about, that I would have LOADS of time to sit and blog to you about all of our daily adventures.  You know, to tell you the truth, I would think that too!  But for some reason, blogging is a lot like writing in a journal - and therefore, my commitment is sporadic!  It doesn't mean that I don't love and miss you - because I really really do!

So - I should probably tell you a little about Beijing and Boston.  Keep in mind it will be the super short version, but I will include pics - so don't be sad!  Beijing was a very cool experience.  I know this is going to sound - un PC - but being surrounded by so many Asian people was the strangest thing.  I mean, we have all known lots of Asian people, but it is not usual, in our Western cultures, for them to be the majority!  It was really cool.  And there were millions of

 people - every time we went out to explore the city.  That was also a different experience.  Paris is crowded - but nothing like this! 

So - I got there the weekend before my program started and I met up with some of my participants.  We went sight seeing and had some really cool experiences!  We started out by going to the Tower of Heaven.  The coolest part about this place was that people were spontaneously creating music everywhere!  There were bands that were playing traditional Chinese music and there were little choirs all over the place.  As you walked into the park, you were just overwhelmed by the sounds!  People were also dancing everywhere.  I really loved that.  The band above was my favorite!  They had this little old guy playing the symbols and he was the cutest thing ever.

We went up to the tower after enjoying the music

So - after that we tried to meet up with some of the others for dinner.  We had a hard time finding a restaurant that could accommodate a large group, so we ate in the alley (from the first picture at the beginning of this blog).  Now that was an adventure!  I won't lie to you, I was worried all the time about what I was eating.  I didn't want to offend my pets!  But I am pretty sure all I ate was either beef or chicken - with noodles and rice.  It was nice - and I didn't ever have to go to the hospital (like in Turkey)!  

The next day, we met up with more people and went sight seeing and shopping.  I bought pearls and jade and cucci sunglasses and a dulge and gabanna bag.  (notice that the miss-spellings are definitely on purpose)!  It was great.  I got to see the Summer Palace.  That was probably my favorite, even though it snowed.  It was truly beautiful and relaxing!  

My most relaxing experience came later in the journey, when we signed up for 2 hour massages, that cost less than 20 US Dollars!  It was GREAT!  Much more relaxing than my Turkish Bath experience!  They gave us little silk pajamas to wear - so there was no nudity involved - thank God!  :-) I promise my participants that what happens in the program stays there - so I can't post all my pictures because I want to protect my word!  But there are some cute pics with all of us in PJs that I can show you in person when you visit!

We also got to see the Forbidden City and of course, The Great Wall.  What an amazing job I have huh? 

 

So, I will leave you on that note!  I will try to get better - but I make no promises!  :-)  I love you guys and miss you so much.  Don't forget to SKYPE - Love Lola

Mmmm mmmm good!

Hey my peeps!

I just wanted to take a second to brag about Cyn. You all know that my greatest dream, and greatest nightmare, if for Cyn to begin to enjoy cooking. I love to eat and have wanted Cyn to take an interest in the art of cooking but fear that if she's too good - I will come home a lot fatter than when I left.

Well - my dreams are coming true! Cyn made the BEST Eggplant Parmesan I have ever tasted this weekend. I mean - really - the best!!!!! It is so cheesy and the crust is so perfect....urgh.... I will dream of this forever! Hopefully I will be able to walk off the calories - we'll see! And to top it all off - she made an apple crisp that she served with ice cream and whipped cream. FROM SCRATCH PEOPLE - all of this came from raw ingredients that she found at her favorite grocery. No convenience food here :-) WOW

Speaking of convenience food though, today we found a place with American groceries. http://www.thanksgivingparis.com/ It's great - we can get Kraft Mac n Cheese; Betty Crocker Cake mix; Pop Tarts and EVEN PROGRESSO BLACK BEANS!!!!! We are really celebrating the last bit. We have been on a mad search for black beans since December and it's finally paid off!

Well - that's about it for now. I promised Jano I would post some pics but I seem to be having a technical problem. I will try to post some on FB later tonight - so check it out there. I will post the pictures of our apartment and some other random junk!

Love You,

Lola & Cyn

We're back... at least for a minute

Hi everyone!
We are back home in Paris from our Olivia Cruise. What an amazing experience it was. We got to see our two best friends tie the knot. That was awesome. Spent time with the sibs - and then spent time on a boat full of lesbians in the Bahamas! What a nice vacation!!!! :-)

We are happy to be home now and ready to get settled back into a routine for a couple of weeks. My next trip is to Beijing, China in on March 26th. It's really cool that I get to see the world, but I am getting a little weary of the travel.

Today the weather is beautiful in Paris. We walked from our house to the Arc de Triomphe - then down the Champs Elyses and over to the Louvre. It was a long walk, but the sun was shinning and I didn't have to wear a coat. That is definitely an improvement. All in all we have had a very nice and relaxed weekend. Friday we had a very special dinner with my good friend "Sophie". We had French McDonald's and a bottle of wine! It was really fun and felt a little like home.

I wanted to take a minute to tell you about my favorite French dessert - since Cyn was nice enough to buy some for me when I was easing back into work last week. You guys know how much I love Macaroons right? Well the name of my favorite dessert caused me to try this beautiful french dessert called the Macaron. OMG people - this is the best thing my lips have ever tasted. I could eat buckets of these. They are not coconut - for those of you cringing out there. They are a little crispy, yet soft and delicate pastry. They come in all different colors and flavors. On the inside they have just a twinge of a filling - more like the middle of a sandwich. OMG - they are amazing. When you visit, I will make sure you get to try them! Here is a brief introduction. http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/10/introduction-to-french-macarons.html

One last thing before I go - our dog sitter is amazing. (As she should be for the price we are paying!) I thought you might like to read the message she sent to us while we were on vacation. It's really sweet and cute too! I will paste it below.

We love you and can't wait to see you. It is time to start planning vacations for 2009 - it's getting warm and pretty here. Who will be our first visitors????

Love you,
Lola and Cyn


Here's the message:

Hi Cynthia,

I hope you're well. I hope you're travel is very At home, evrything is ok with your two nice dogs. We enjoy going walking outside and We spend many funny times playing with toys. Onix is really funny. She come with a toy near me and "propose" me to play with her. I'm a robber and she defend er toy. Tonight for the first time Oliv took a toy (the turtle) and play alone with a toy. She seems less sad than at the beginning. Time after time she seems more happy to be with me. I am as soft as I can with her. No abrupt movements, but many sweet caresses.

The first day Oliv didn't want to eat. Bu yesterday and today it has been better She ate all her food yesterday (in several times) and nearly all today. It's not easy because Onix always want to eat. So when I give them food, I immediately spend time with Onix playing or speaking in another room. Like this Oliv can take time to eat alone. I observed she prefer me not to look at her when she eat. So I respect her way to do. It's the same when we go outside. To do "her work" she prefer to be quiet. That's why we take time and go in quiet places.

At night Onix snores like a man, so they don't sleep in my room, but they sleep in the room just near. The door is not close so I can hear if they need something. Onix prefer to sleep on the sofa rolled up in a cover. She seems enjoying sleeping :-). Oliv sleep on her bed.

As you can see, everyhing is ok. I put her gouts in eyes twice a day. She allows me to do this without problem.

Don't hesitate to send me a mail if you want to have some more news. You can call me too. I'll try to keep my cell phone with me. We are going to walk in wood this weekend. That will be great. Sundae we are oing to with Gabriella and other dogs. I'm really happy to your two very kinddogs at home. That really changes my life pleasantly.

Hope to read from you soon,
Bérangère

Two more words - Turkish Hospital

Hi everyone,
I spent the night in a turkish hospital last night - it was no fun but it's better than a turkish prison I guess. I seems that I got a touch of food poisoning. What a mess. Funny thing is that I ate what everyone else did and I'm the only one who was hit. I had to find the American hospital and leave my participants on their own today. Something sweet - the hotel staff brought me a flower arrangement and the people in the hospital were just amazingly sweet.

I'm still feeling a little sick - but not as bad as 20 hours ago.

Can't wait to get home now....

Lola

I have two words for ya - TURKISH BATH

I have finally found the one true cultural difference people ---- it's nudity. I'm not talking about nudity on TV or film - I'm talking about your personal nudity in a group of people - some strangers, some not.

What is your gut reaction to that thought? In case you wondered.... mine is PANIC!!!!!! Not the little scared butterflies - I mean paralyzing fight or flight kind of response that has caused knots the size of my fist to manifest inside my neck and shoulder area... Hope I can sleep tonight.

It's short and sweet tonight - more later! 2 more days of Turkey and then I'm home sweet home!

Lovin You - Lola

It's been a long time.... too long.... I know!

Merhaba everyone, (hello in Turkish)


I know it's been a long time since you've heard from me. Sorry about that! Things are going well though so no news is good news!


There must be lots of topics for me to write about...I know that I have said "oh - I need to blog about that" hundreds of times in the last month. I'll start with the most recent and try to work my way back...


So, I am writing you from Istanbul, Turkey today and have to confess that Istanbul is an amazing city. I had to leave Cyn on Valentine's night to make it here. I got in around midnight and you won't believe the terrible reception that met me. In Turkey, you buy your visa at a small window and then go through the passport line. The visa was no problem, but at the passport window the guy was an unbelievable jerk. This guy was definitley not Turkish - and I will spare his country and not tell you where I am most certain that he hailed from! When he looked at my passport he said "Mrs. Townsend, what kind of work do you do?" I said "I'm a Director for a Training Program at Schneider Electric." to which he responded " are you sure,
because you look like a housewife" I was really in shock. Then he continued to insult me. He took my passport and said "this picture doesn't look like you" I said "really?" and then he said "yes you look older and fatter" I am not kidding folks - that is what he said to me at midnight on valentine's day! It was so awful that I could only think - he's joking - no one would be like this - but then he just stamped my passport and said good bye. He was the biggest jerk ever!!!!


Things quickly got better - I walked out of the customs area and there was a guy with a sign with my name on it. He took my bags and whisked me away from that horrible place. I arrived at the hotel and everything was fine - I went to bed and awoke to a better day.


I met up with a small group on the 15th of February and we went downtown to do some exploring and find some lunch. We went to a mosque that used to be a Christian church called the Hagia Sofia. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-hagia-sophia.htm After that we went to this beautiful underground facility called the Byzantine Cisterns - this was a really magical place. You can hear water all around you along with some nice classical music, the lights are red so it has an eerie glow. You walk through this maze of a well and then end up seeing two Medusa heads at the end of the walk way. It's diffcult to explain - but I would highly recommend a visit to this site. http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Istanbul/Sights/Sultanahmet/Yerebatan.html Then we had a nice lunch as a group. The food was delicious and ended with some turkish coffee (very strong and very sweet) and some local young people who invited us to dance with them, in the traditional Turkish way (in a circle - sometimes holding hands, sometimes holding pinkies!) It was great fun and a nice way to get to know eachother before the session began. We are going on a cultural tour tomorrow, so I hope to have some good information to share after that too!

Well, I better get to lunch, but wanted to give you a small update. We will see some of you very soon and I expect to write more this week - so hopefully it won't be such a long break!

Love you and miss you!!!

Lorraine

HR in Paris vs. US

Hey folks - A quick question for you - Jano said she has posted comments but I never got them. Is anyone else having the same problem? I got Janet's post - but not Jannette's. Odd....

So let me tell you about the French lesson I had the other day at lunch. I have a very wonderful colleague who sits right behind me at work. She is probably my closest friend here. So - she asked me to lunch the other day and I was delighted to join her. (In my office, there is a huge restaurant and it's the only place you can eat during the day. There are no other break rooms or places to warm up food - so you really MUST go to lunch every single day with people - not just a quick bite alone at your desk).

So - my friend (who wishes to remain anonymous...so I will call her Sophie) and I join some other HR people and get down to our usual girl gossip. Sophie is busy describing the situation faced by a girl that she knows at work. This girl's boss makes her do lots and lots of work, but never gives her any credit - unless it fails. You know the type. So as Sophie was describing this horrible situation she said "You know - it's just like she is his <>" At this point, I almost spit my food into her face. I am sure that I misunderstood. Everyone stopped to see if I was okay because my face turned red and my eyes were watering. I choked out - "what did you say she was?" And Sophie said "I said she is his His <>" OMG - WTF - I can't believe my ears. I am sitting at a table full of HR people and they are casually using the N word? Is it normal? Is this an acceptable word in France???? HOLY CRAP!!!!!! I know - Lee you must be imagining my face and spitting your coffee onto your computer right now! LOL!!!! My other friend tried to explain... "No Lorraine it's not the same as in the US - it means that she is his slave" OMG - REALLY - THAT IS THE SAME THING! I mean you just can't imagine my reaction. They kept explaining and it kept getting worse. It was probably the funniest cultural moment to watch as an observer. WOW - I think that's all I can say about that. Sophie is an amazing HR person - it's just different!

So to change the subject to a more P.C. one - I have been re-familiarizing myself with my guitar since we have been here. I have learned how to play: Breakdown (Tom Petty); Some of Stairway to Heaven (Led); Creep (Radiohead); Doll Parts (Hole); Travelling Soldier (Dixie Chicks); Patients (GNR). Thanks for that present mom - it's the gift that has kept giving for the last 16 years! If any of you have a suggested song - please send it to me - I am really loving it and didn't realize how much I missed it. Louellen - I know you must have some ideas!

Well that will sum it up for tonight - we are about to go out and get some hot chocolate from the tabac! :-) I just wanted to write a quick note because I was thinking about how much I miss you. Today is Ashaley's birthday and in a week it will be Lee's. I hope you guys are having a good time and livin it up Texas style! Happy birthday Ash - I hope you see this message and that you are doing okay! I look forward to hearing from you all and please do let me know if you are sending comments through the post function and it's not working.

Love you!

Bonne Annee

New Year's Eve 2008 was very interesting! We went to a very nice little Italian restaurant that was close to our house. It's was eerie how empty the streets were at the typical Parisian dinner time (8pm). We snuck int0 the first restaurant we found that had a promising aroma. The restaurant was playing jazz greats all night - Louis, Ella, Billie. It was hard for me not to stay right there. The whole dining room had a nice rosie glow and was lit up by candles. There were red table cloths, red tapestries on the wall and red carpet. The proprietor was very anxious as he tried to keep the staff moving to accommodate the threat of a busy night. To his dismay, we didn't have reservations and for punishment, he nestled into a tiny table practically on top of these two old Italian women. It was lovely. When our supper was through, we walked towards the Arc de Triomphe and that is where we found the rest of Paris. The party had already begun. There were drunk people and stern cops everywhere.

We made our way to the metro because I wanted to bring in the New Year at the Tour Eiffel. The metro was free on NYE and people really took advantage of it. The train was packed as we made our way to the Bir-Hakim stop. When we got off - we couldn't believe our eyes. There were millions of people - most of them totally drunk off their butts. We pushed our way toward the lawn of the Eiffel Tower - and were greeted by the noise of individual fireworks that people brought with them. There were lots of Arabic people there who were celebrating the New Year, but making statements by chanting in circles and waving Palestinian flags. The air was charged with tension. Cindy was actually grabbed by one of them and he was drunkenly yelling at her. I pulled her away from him as she began to cuss him out - and we decided that the lawn was not the side for us. We got over to the street side with the carousel and crepe stands and did the count down there. It was rather uneventful. We were talking to a pair of Canadians and they joked that it must have been scaled down due to the economic crisis! So - it was over and we were contemplating how to get home. We went in one direction but, to no avail. The street was so packed that we couldn't make any progress at all. Another guy actually pulled my hair while we were in the crowd. It was crazy. So we decided to walk down to the next metro stop, but we didn't fare any better. This time people were pushing and shoving in the line so we got out as quickly as we could. We decided to walk. Luckily, Lee was near his computer and he Google guided us through the 16th arrondisment until we got to a metro stop that we recognized. (Thanks Lee B) We were happy to get home eventually.

Yesterday, we went to the Montmartre area of Paris. This area is known for strip clubs and all the fun that comes along with them. It's the "red light" district of Paris. We got to see the windmills of the Moulin Rouge. We also went to the Musee de l'erotisme http://www.musee-erotisme.com/fichiers/home.php?lang=en. Not for the faint of heart - Jano and Nikki - but check it out if you dare! Beside the museum is the Rebecca Rils sex supermarket. A huge toy shop that was really fun to visit!

Today we are paying for the adventure. It's so dang cold outside that no matter how you bundle up, you get the sniffles. Cindy sounds terrible and I have a little cough. Hopefully it will go away quickly because I finally get back to work tomorrow.

Just a couple of shout outs before I go. Jano - the peacocks! I was so happy to get that package - thank you s0 much - and thanks Lee Mee for sending it! Nicole and Sonia - we are searching for buttermilk but will have those made up very soon. Thank you! And Laurel - thanks for your message. You reminded us both that this is an adventure and we have to approach it as such. I really needed an attitude adjustment!

Love you guys and miss you!