Can You Keep a Secret?

I am not actually asking...it is the title of the book I have just read from Sophie Kinsella. A friend of mine lent it to me a few months ago, and she told me it was really good. I took it even though I never really read novels. The books I read are usually textbooks or books about birth and pregnancy, although I have been reading French books lately, to make sure I keep in touch with my native language.

I have to tell you that I really enjoyed Can you Keep a Secret! It's simple, I couldn't put it down, and kept giggling as I was reading. Husby probably thought I was crazy, and I had to explain what I was laughing about THIS time!

Anyway, if you have some free time (I didn't know I had free time until this book fell in my hands), feel like reading a light hearted, funny book, I recommend this one.

The Power of Textbooks

They are pretty amazing indeed. EVERYTIME I start reading a chapter of one of my textbooks, a thousand things come to my mind that I absolutely have to do (ok reading blogs or checking out the Midwifery Today forums are not really a must, be I suddenly feel as if i really HAD TO DO IT RIGHT NOW.)

It is very useful, you should try it. Pick up a boring old textbook, start reading it, and you'll realize instantly that your brain will start brainstorming things that you might have thought about doing otherwise!

3 Wishes

I was listening to the radio this morning and they were talking about a show that apparently grants 3 wishes to the people in a village. It made me wonder what I would wish for if I had the chance to have my wishes granted.

I could wish for some things that I know are not resonable and couldn't be granted. These would be:
- To see my dad one last time to be able to hold him in my arms really hard, tell him that he can go in peace and that I'll be strong. That he will be in my thoughts always, and that he will be terribly missed.
- Make sure that all my family (including Husby's) will be around for a long time.
- Make all sure that all the children in the world have something to eat/drink, and a safe place to live at.
- Live close to my family so I could see them often, and close to the in-laws so nobody is left out.
Did I say 3?...I could totally keep going

Now let's be realistic. Things that could really be granted.

Have you ever thought about it? I mean REALLY thought about it. It is not any easy thing to come up with.

I guess the only thing that somebody could give me that would help me and the ones I love, would be a big bundle of money. I could have said that I would like a nice house for Husby and I, or to send my brother from France here, so we can spend some time together, helping my in-laws out moneywise would be great, but it all comes down to money.

I feel really shallow all of a sudden! But when you think about it, how can a person (not an angel, or a genie that comes out of a lamp) help out? Nobody can help me find some cool women who have a lot of things in common with me and would become my friends (it might sound weird, but I haven't found one really good friend since I have been in this country),or do any of the things that i mentionned earlier.

If you have stumbled on this blog, and would like to share what your 3 wishes would be, feel free. I am interested in reading what other people would wish for.

I can't reject the Ho!

To receive a bachelor degree at my school, a student needs to take 2 statistics courses: QMM 240 and QMM 241. I took QMM 240 with a terrible professor. I did not learn one thing, and yet, ended up with a 3.7. How did I do that? No....I didn't cheat...I didn't need to cheat. That professor made the midterm AND the final take homes! It is a great thing for my overall GPA, but I was really scared of taking QMM 241 with anyone else...and I am really glad that I did.

Since the beginning of the semester I have been amazed at how easily I understand what is happening in class. I got my 1st lab test back yesterday and scored a 4.0! Professors really make a big difference on how interesting or terribly boring a topic can be. I think that it is really a big problem that some teachers are so bad at teaching, or don't have the patience to explain properly to students who need a little more help, and just ruin it for these students, when in fact, with the right professor, these students could have maybe even majored in that topic.

I hope that I'll be able to brag about my good grades in QMM 241 until the end of the semester, but for now, I am really happy, and I am surprised in how interested I am in Statistics.

Oktoberfest.....in September!

I managed to drag Husby to Frankenmuth this week-end because they were celebrating the Oktoberfest...what? You didn't know that Oktober means September in German??? Well for those ignorant people just like me, the Oktoberfest this year apparently begins September 17th, and ends on October 3rd. So we went to Frankenmuth, which is a little more than an hour away from where we live, and we decided to bring Louna with us.

I feel terrible right now because you are probably wondering who is that Louna that she took to Frankenmuth? And you should already know her. Louna is my dog, and I really need to introduce her to the Internet, but I would like to do it with a picture, because I think that it would be more appropriate.

One thing, however that I will tell you about my Louna is that she doesn't enjoy too much going in the car...in fact, if she could talk, I think that she would say that she just plain hates it. She hates it so much that she managed to throw up a couple of times in my car...that was just lovely. It was funny because a lot of people came by us to ask if they could pet her, which was really cute (I am sure that you can't wait to see her pictures now!)

As for Frankenmuth? Well the city in itself is really cute. I really enjoyed it. There are a lot of little stores that sell fudge, and other useless objects. There is a big wooden bridge that is pretty cool and a lot of little river like decorative rivers...

The Oktoberfest event was in a tent. We could hear the music as we parked, it sounded pretty cool. Then we saw the inside of the tent...the crowd very much reminded me of those little village's party nights that we find in the deep France (and tiny villages around the world) : A bunch of old people sitting, looking at the band, and enjoying their food....not the kind of crowd that I usually hang out with! Not that I have anything against 80 year old people, but... yes I do.
So we went back home. I really liked it though, and I would definitely go back next year, although probably not for the Oktoberfest.

Baby sister is growing older

Today is my baby's sister birthday!

She is turning 20. That doesn't make me any younger. She is not a teenager anymore! I remember the day she was born! I went to see her at the hospital and when my mom changed her diaper i became all confused by seeing the umbilical cord's stump, and thought that the adults were mistaken and we, in fact, had a new little boy in the family, not a girl!
She is now a young woman. She lives in her own apartment in downtown Montreal.

We only have five years difference, and yet our lives have been significantly different. We didn't go to the same primary school, Middle School, High School, or College. She has lived in one house and 2 apartments with my mom that I have never know as my own. I just realized that she was only 13 when I left home. Even with all these years that we haven't been living together, we are still really close. I really wish that we could see each other more often though...

I can't wait to share the happiness of motherhood with her (actually I CAN wait, I would not want her to become pregnant right now...she has time!) To see how she'll be with my babies, and to see her beautiful little children. We have so much to live ahead of us...I hope that I'll be able to be present for her most precious moments.

I love her sooooo much. She is ma bichette, my baby sister.
I love you L.

Traveling Bug

Yesterday I was working on that blog:

My whole family (on my mom's side) has been bitten by the traveling bug.

We are originally from France. My grand parents moved to Montreal, Canada a little more than 20 years ago, with their two younger children (my aunt M and uncle G). The three other children did not follow. One aunt (S) had already moved to London, England where she had met her husband. My other aunt (Va) stayed in Paris where she still is, and my mom, who had moved to the south of France, recently moved to Montreal, Canada too, to be closer to my grand-parents, and my sister went with her.

Recently, my uncle G, who has lived in Montreal, Canada for most of his life, has been sent to Burundi, Africa by the UN. My brother, even though he still lives in France, has spent a few months in Italy. My grandma's sister (also French, really??) lives in Washigton, D.C with her husband who happens to be Libanese... as you can see, we can't stay in place.

So I guess it was not too surprising when I left France to come to the United States as an au pair about five years ago, and met Husby who is Argentinian.

Now Husby, who has lived in this country for about 14 years has an itch. Since he bought the motorcycle he has been dreaming about traveling. We first thought about going all the way down to South America on the motorcycle, or a car. We also have thought about joining the Peace Corps or a similar organization to be able to travel and help others as well.

So I wrote that yesterday and became really excited about the Peace Corps. I started reseaching, and found out that we can't join the Peace Corps because...I am not a citizen. I am a resident, but not a citizen...

When we first started talking about travelling, I thought about asking for donations!! Of course it might sound a little crazy as in WHY WOULD I GIVE MONEY TO A COUPLE OF HEALTHY YOUNG PEOPLE FOR THEM TO TRAVEL?? I am aware that it would probably not bring in too much money...so I thought about donating something like 10% of what we receive back for a cause that we would choose, as an incentive.

Anyway, as you can see we really want to do something crazy. Helping others would be a great plus, but we don't know how to go about it...

Baby and Motorcycle

I am going to start with a news that I just learned a few minutes ago and that is bitter sweet. One of my co-workers wo used to live aroung here and has moved away is pregnant. She was trying to become pregnant before she left, and she told me that she is about 12 weeks along. The even cooler part, is that she has found a midwife in her area, and that she is planning a homebirth!! That was the sweet part.

The bitter part is that she was a salaried employee (can I say that?) and my boss decided last month to change her to commissions only, because there is not much going on in her area. She is really tight with money, and even though her husband has his own practice, it doesn't seem to be doing too well. I sent her some good vibes, and I really hope that her situation will get better; she is truly an amazing woman.

Otherwise, I went on the motorcycle with Husby this week-end and it was really cool!! He had been begging me for months about buying one and I finally broke down about a month ago. The first couple of times I went on it were really scary, I think that one just needs to get used to it. But I have to admit that the ride we took on Friday night was quite fun! I hesitate to say that we went 130 mph on the highway, because I might wake up some people who are going to tell me that it's just a stupid, dangerous, immature or whatever you want to call it, and I am aware of it. I do think though that Husby is responsible, and I know that he doesn't do that if there is traffic.

School has started!

The craziness of school combined with work has started. I hope that I will be able to handle it this semester. I am taking 4 classes and working full time. I think that the 2 MIS classes will be interesting, the QMM (statistics) probably hard, and the management class...well we'll see.

I have been shedding a few tears the last couple of days while looking at the updates of what is happening in New Orleans. It is unbelievable. I was looking at a video of the President who was saying: "What I see when I look at a the disaster, is the new city that we will build, because we will prevail, we will spend enough money, and soon people will be travelling here again." That's interesting that we don't see the same thing, I see people dying, hungry, thirsty, sick, angry, while he sees a future city...