Voices Carry

Apparently, you can pick out the Americans in Europe by the level of our voices, how much we laugh, how friendly we are, and by the size coffees we drink. Americans are loud. Or maybe it is just me? I know I am loud. I am okay with this. Swiss are not.

I met my new friend today for coffee and shopping. Michele is also American. She is also loud. WE GET ALONG GREAT!! See I can even type loudly. First the coffee. Because 3 cups just doesn't do it in the morning. Well another one doesn't either. The cups here are small, like espresso sized. So I ordered two each for us. When I told the barista 4 cups please, she asked me three separate times if she heard correctly. Yes, 4 cups please.

See how small they are? Each is like a swallow. Please! Yes, we need four! Well, we sat down and preceded to have a lively conversation. We were having loads of fun, laughing and talking and laughing. We scared away 4 people. They looked at us several times. Did they think this would quiet us down? We were in an open air cafe. Please, think again men! This is not a new experience for me though. On occasion I have helped, okay so I was helped since I did the most talking, in restaurants, to annoy people enough by talking and laughing to make them move. But today records were broken.

Then a walk through the Swiss Home Depot called Jumbo. It probably would have helped others if we made a list. But what fun is that? You have to exclaim over a Star Wars lamp. And you have to shout across an aisle when you found something the other needs. I think we also scared a few people away in the there too. But, again, we were having fun. Hey girls like Home Depot too you know! Then Athleticum. After giggling over the name we went shopping for snow shoe raquets. We found some, and a few other things. No abuelo, I did not buy any shoes! After that was Aldi. Up and down the aisles checking things out and, again, having fun. What is not fun about shopping with a friend? Two of the best things in the world. Plus we found great wine that was cheap. Did you know Aldi does not take credit card? We found that out at the checkout as we were paying. And everyone behind us, as well as the cashier, was staring at us. I think we were the only two people smiling in the whole place. When I said hello to the cashier she gave me a look like I was insane. She just met me. How did she figure it out so fast? Scrounging for money at the bottom of our purses, because hey, we are not giving up that wine, we had eyes rolled at us. And the next girl in line practically kicked us out of the lane. Michele went to pick up one of our bags and was stepped in front of. Um, scuse me! We are just trying to get our stuff. Jeez.

Out the door laughing all the way, Ho, Ho, Ho! We made it to our car with an old man passing us grumbling. He was mocking our laughing. We might have been shushed as well. In the parking lot. Not positive on that though.

Then to the Swiss Costco, Aligro. This place is awesome! I took Michele around. We laughed over trying to push the trolley without running into people. They are rear wheel drive or some such thing. It is not easy to navigate. Again, the looks. Then to the cheeses where there are wheels and wheels of cheese. More fun. Then to the wine section. There were samples. Need I say more?

We had a total blast today. Hopefully we put a smile on just one other person's face. And who cares if voices carry. We weren't swearing (where anyone else could hear us) or being mean. We were having fun. Come on! Life is short. Might as well make the most of it and laugh as much as you can. Especially at yourself....

Oh and I forgot about the guy in the car next to us. We were in the turn lane, talking again animatedly. The guy next to us was staring at us. Michele, in an aside, mentioned it. I turned, looked at him, smiled and waved. He was not sure what to do. He looked a bit confounded. Hopefully he will at least smile when he thinks of us later.

Eat It

In honor of my son who loves parodies. This one's for you shmoo!

The holidays have come and gone. It is sad really. It is already the last part of January. Where did the beginning of 2016 go? For goodness sakes Spring will be here before you know it. And it can't come soon enough. I moved to Switzerland to get away from snow and cold. Living in Minnesota you are guaranteed both. Well, I skied for the second time in my life last week. I now know one of the advantages of marrying a man from a Caribbean island. Sun and sand will be wanted with frequency. Which is why we are already planning our next Christmas in a tropical setting. But I digress. A lot.

We had my husband's family visit for the holidays. Roughly 3 weeks of 7 extra people, give or take a few, in the house. Now many of you will think I am crazy for not putting them up in hotels. Why? I have 9 months of vacation a year (while boys are in school). 3 weeks where I actually have to do something is no big deal. Plus I like my in-laws; we get along great. I don't have to cook if I don't want to because they will eat sandwiches like any good red-blooded American, they help me clean, they go to the store if I need it, easy peasy. And boy, did we need to go to the store! I have two teenage boys. They eat a lot. But I don't think I was prepared with how much 7 adults, 2 teen boys, AND two children under 10 actually would eat. So I decided to total up all of the food that we cooked and ate and generally devoured over the holidays. I think I could have fed a small country. These are rough estimates, mostly conservative in nature. Hey, sandbagging is fine, especially on the price you paid for a really cute pair of shoes. The veggie totals are on point though.

Bread: 60 loaves. Empirial star ship sized loaves. Not the local bulk cruisers mind you. I talking about the big corellian ship sized loaves.

Cereal: 8 boxes of Cheerios, 4 of Nestle Fitness, 2 Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

As a reminder of pounds to kilos, 2.2 US pounds per kilo.

Meat: 10 kilos of beef, 8 kilos of deli turkey, 10 kilos of chicken, 5 kilos of deli ham, 4 kilos of bacon, and a 7.5 kilo fresh pork leg - lechon, various dried sausages.

Cheese: 6 kilos of cheddar, edam, mozzerella in total. Not including the fondue we ate at the Christmas market. If you add that, maybe 12 kilos.

Mayo: 8 small jars - about 8 cups. Not by me though. I hate mayo, unless it is Hellman's Mayo parm chicken. That is awesome!

Pizza: 15 large

Rice: 6 kilos

Coffee: 4 kilos

Veggies: 4 heads broccoli, 1 head cauliflower, 4 eggplants.

Now this is not all we ate, but that is the majority. I think one night we had pasta. But these are Cubans, If it is going to be carbs, it better be rice! (So says my husband.) And I am not including desserts because then you will know what our New Year's resolutions were. Yes, there were that many.

Were there leftovers? Yes, but those were eaten too. Nothing went to waste. I have not seen my credit card bill yet. Not sure I want to. Would I do it all again? Most definitely. I come from a large family. The more the merrier. So I left the temp bed set up if anyone wants to visit. You at least will know you will eat well.

Just Lose It

Happy New Year everybody!

In honor of all resolutions everywhere, I post Eminem's Just Lose It. Because, let's face it, if you are like me that is exactly what you need to do. Personally I thought it was just five or six pounds. But after last night, I think it is now closer to ten. You could always have a bet like my husband and FIL, pounds off my May. That is a way to go. Of course last night I was plying my FIL with sweets. Hey, that is a $100 bet. I wanna win! I mean I want my husband to win. Or you could go detox. Or you could get your butt off the couch and walk those cookies off your hips like I PLAN to do. Not saying at the moment how often that will happen, though. Always leave your options open! And as I write this my MIL and FIL are out walking and my hubby and eldest son are going for a run. I'm just going to finish my coffee with my feet up and laptop on my... um lap - and type.

I have been remiss in my exercise regimen over the Fall even though I was living the vida loca. It just wasn't on the trails. And then my Hans broke, my FitBit. Just totally fell apart. Design needs work because I did not wear it in the shower; did not overly sweat with it (I don't sweat, I sparkle); nor did I do a mudder butter thingymagig. I would eat a nutter butter though. Those are heaven. Unless you are allergic to nuts, then they are evil incarnate. And which is probably part of the reason I need to lose some quid. And those who know me know I do not run. Like ever. (Thank you Taylor Swift for that phrasing. Because like we never like said that in the 80's, like ever.)

So now I have a new FitBit, and his name is Franz. https://youtu.be/GAalP0jeqV4 Hopefully he will last longer than a year because it might take that long for me to fit back into my regular day jeans. No, I did not bet anyone. I am not crazy. I would rather give my money to DSW than to someone else because they had better willpower than me. Just saying.

So friends, be prepared to be inundated with requests to be motivational coaches. To the trails it is! In like two weeks-ish.