Thursday, October 29, 2015

Fab 5 Friday...

So who's ready for Halloween? I know we are. The house is decked out, pumpkins have been carved, there is plenty of candy and my kids have costumes (which they recycled from previous years - since no one here has seen them before). We are once again living in a neighborhood/compound that is the hotspot for trick-or-treating and Saturday night will bring on two hours of not stop kiddos at the door.

And, I won't be sad when it's over. This is definitely not my favorite holiday. And, while I love the fact that we currently live someplace that actually makes it feel like fall, I'm ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas - my two favorite holidays.

I've found a place that will deliver a turkey in time for American Thanksgiving (here in Poland turkeys are popular at Christmas - so not as plentiful in November). Just waiting to make sure we'll actually be here on the Thursday as Blaine has a business deal going which may require us to leave a little earlier for our weekend in Dresden. (The kids do not have school on Thanksgiving or Black Friday.) But, if we're here it will be turkey and mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce and all the good stuff that makes up a traditional Thanksgiving.

I'm also wondering at what point I can put up my Christmas decorations. If I knew no one would stop by my house in the next few weeks, and think that I had lost my mind, I would put them up now.  I even made Blaine take a quick run to Ikea on Saturday just so I could purchase a few more holiday decorations. Afterall, a fire and my house decorated for Christmas are amongst my favorite things in the world.

And, it doesn't help that we set our clocks back last weekend (a week ahead of the good, ol' USA) and that it's dark by 5 p.m. and will continue to get darker earlier each day until December 21st. (We've been told that our kids will be walking home from school in the dark in December. I'm not quite sure I believe this, but will take pictures if it is dark at 3:35 p.m.) The early darkness just brings out my hermit ways...

Anyways...I know I can't decorate for Christmas on Sunday - as tempting as it may be - but you can be sure I won't be waiting until December either.

Alas, you are here for the Fab 5, not to listen to me carry on about my excitement for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that's what I shall give you this week.

1. Home Ownership. Yahoo! Join me in celebrating the closing of our lake house in New York. I am so glad that this is done and we will have a lovely place to go back to in June. I've already started looking at flights and hope to arrive June 16th with the kiddos.

Our realtor sent us these photos - taken yesterday.



2. CrossFit Christmas. A big shoutout to WodTalk and the amazing sponsors who supported the 2015 Media Team. This is one of the best parts of writing for WOD Talk and being on the media team - the swag box. My box arrived in Poland this week! Some great products in this year's box!


3. My First Polish Conversation. So, I rarely try my Polish out with anyone (besides my teacher) except for the standard please, thank you, hello, goodbye and my use of numbers to order things from the butcher or at the farmers market. But, on Tuesday I had a chance to have a short little conversation - which I completely understood and was able to respond to properly - in full sentences -  at the children's hospital. So yes, while my conversation was with a 6 year old girl - it was fully understandable on both sides and I left feeling pretty stoked. (The children's hospital is where I volunteer with a small group and do crafts with sick children on several of the floors there.) She asked me quite frankly why I was speaking English, where I was from and why I didn't speak more Polish. I answered her and then the conversation quickly turned to the passing of the red glitter glue and the more important task of making her mask. I may have to limit my Polish conversations to the level of a 6 year old while I'm here, but I'm okay with that.

4. London. I finished putting the final touches on our trip to London after Christmas. We are now booked to see 4 shows (Elf the Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, A Christmas Carol and The Lion King), along with a tour of the Harry Potter studio (which means I have about 8 weeks to watch all of the movies) and a food tour of the London East End. And of course, throw in all the other attractions we want to see while there and I'm expecting a jam packed holiday. 


5. Messages. I received two messages in the past week from dear friends. Now, these are not friends I hear from regularly, but it does not diminish their importance in my life. I can't thank them enough for taking the time to reach out and say hello. 


So that's the Fab 5 for this week. For the month of November I've decided that the Fab 5 will be dedicated to five things I am thankful for that week. And nothing is off limits. Whether it is big or small, it stands a good chance of making the Thankful 5.

Enjoy the weekend!!!





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