Fab Thursday...

Hey Peeps! It's Thursday...and I'm not going to get to my blog tomorrow...and I don't think I have 5 fabulous things...not because the week hasn't been fabulous, but because I've been working. That being said...I'll share what's been happening.

The kids and I have 62 days until we fly home to New York! 62!! I can't wait! I know it's time for us to head back as my patience for things, people, Poland...well, it's practically non-existent. I'm just ready to head back to 'Murica for a little breather.

The boys and I had a "date" for the middle school play at ASW this week. It was a fun afternoon watching the show and talking with them. They make me laugh!

And, we're gearing up for a few big weeks of travel. We area heading out on a 9 day cruise from Barcelona to Venice for spring break. My kids have never been on a cruise and are very excited. I spent last weekend booking tours for each of the ports - and have to say I dealt with some truly responsive tour folks. Quick replies to my emails, easy deposits and they all had great reviews on TripAdvisor so I'm hoping for the best.

After we get back from the cruise, Blaine and I area heading to Paris - WITHOUT KIDS! Woohoo! He has a work conference and I'm going because...it's PARIS. I'm not planning a lot while we're there - hoping to grab dinner with friends one night, perhaps a food tour, and maybe a museum or two. We'll be heading back there in October with the kids and my parents - so all of the big stuff can wait.

Last, but not least...we planned a long weekend in Madrid for the end of May as a family. So I also booked all of that stuff - tapas and flamenco show tour, bullfight, CrossFit Regionals for one day...should be a good time in España!

And, of course, there is work. It's going well. I've been working a lot of hours in anticipation of the upcoming travel and my boss just asked me yesterday to let her know when I "officially" want to start working full-time and she will make it happen. I think I'll sit on this for a while....

All right...that's all I've got. I'm shutting down the blog until after spring break. I shall return with a full report on our cruise!!

Fab 5 Thursday...

Hey peeps! I'm back...at least for this week! I've got a few moments and thought I'd crank out a Fab 5 - on a Thursday! It won't be a particularly spectacular Fab 5, but a Fab 5, nonetheless.

So let's get after it!

1. Caleb & Basketball. We spent last Friday - Saturday in Katowice, Poland watching Caleb play basketball. As the weekend finished up, and the boys ended up winning two games and losing 4, and I could not have been more proud of him. This was a big weekend for him to step out of his comfort zone. You see, he had to try out for this team...and all the boys on this team speak Polish - which Caleb does not. He has one teammate who speaks English, too, but you could see that he spent most of the weekend speaking Polish with the other boys - naturally. And, the boys had to sleep at the school - with about 150 other boys from around Poland - and it was really loud - which Caleb doesn't do well with. (We received a couple of texts saying that the sleeping arrangements weren't much fun!) But, when we got in  the car Sunday after a tough loss and we asked the question: Would you do it again? We received a, "Most definitely! I played ball with some really talented kids." And that was all I needed to hear! That and "I'm really good with my Polish numbers" - because when you would sub in and out you had to say which number you were guarding!

2. Work. Work is going well. I enjoy it. I feel useful. A lot of my on the job training has been, "Hey! I need this! Here's an old version. Can you do something like it?" And, I figure it out. I've put together 6 campaigns this week from the template design to copy to pictures...and I'm pretty proud of them. It's been challenging working with IT (located in India), but my IT contact is a champ - and I know she's got a plate full of work, too! (And, she's new like me!) I repeatedly thank her for her patience, as I see that I've missed a link or that something isn't quite working properly...and via Skype we try and figure it out. And the experience I'm gaining is invaluable.

3. My happy place. We had some gorgeous weather earlier in the week...sunshine and 70's. Blaine has pulled out the patio furniture and it was so nice to sit outside in the sun with my laptop. This may soon be my new office.

4. The countdown. Yes, the countdown is on until we head home to the States for summer. I know that every year around this time I find myself with a strong desire to go home. And, hearing that friends from Malaysia are heading back to the States (permanently) and friends from here in Warsaw are heading back (permanently), my longing to be there is even greater. I have to admit that there is a twinge of jealousy each time I hear that someone is moving back. But, I will thoroughly enjoy my time there this summer and definitely not take it for granted.

5. Naps. I don't often get to take a nap, but today (as soon as this blog is finished) that is what I'm going to do. I'm still fighting a cold and I'm finished with work for the day and I'm going to curl up under a blanket and, hopefully, fall asleep.

Okay folks! We've got soccer, baseball, basketball, birthday parties, volunteer work and who knows what else on the agenda this weekend! Hope you have a fun weekend planned, too! Enjoy!

Athens...

Hey All! Sorry for the delay in getting a blog on Athens up! But, twenty hours of work has quickly turned into 30 hours of work,  plus they've asked me to make-up hours when I travel - so April and May are packed! It's good as it makes the time until we head back to the States go by really quickly! But, it doesn't leave a lot of time for my own blog...

So...I think I'll do Athens mainly by pictures! Let's just say that Athens was about friends, food, and sightseeing!

At the hotel where our friendly bartender, Bill, always took good care of us!

Then to see some sights! And some pigeons!

And then it rained - so drinks were in order!

The view from our hotel breakfast room was amazing!

Saturday started off with a food tour! First stop - Greek street snack of koulouri! Round sesame covered bread! 

Then loukamades! Deliciously light donuts covered in honey!

Off to view the market!

And try sesame candy with cocoa

Traditional Greek dish with potatoes, artichokes, carrots, dill, and lemon - and wine!

To the herb shop

And then to sample Greek pies - spanokopita and a sweet custard pie

To a small speciality grocery store where everything came from Lesvos

And a final stop for souvlaki

A little shopping on the way home allowed me to purchase this handmade leather bag.

And then to the hop-on-hop-off bus

Dinner at Greco's Project

Sunday was time for the Acropolis - which was amazing beyond words

Dinner Sunday night included some girls dancing on the tables to traditional Greek music

And Monday brought one last trip for loukamades and coffee.

So there you have it! Friends, food and sightseeing - the perfect long weekend getaway!