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Of all the places I decided to live, who knew.  Geneva is tied for second place for best places to live in the world.  Not bad, not bad all….except when you look at this link:

http://www.citymayors.com/economics/expensive_cities2.html

Yeah ouchy!!  Number 7 for most expensive places to live in the world.  For those of you who know me, I am one of the cheapest people you will find.  Even so, it is surprising to notice how quick the sicker shock goes away even for a cheapo.  But watch out America for when I return.  The land of the free has taken on a whole different meaning for me since living here and in more ways than one.

Sorry for my absence…yet again.  Life is really starting to pick up around here now that summer is here.  Wow, it’s June already.  I do believe that means I am half way done…but that is only half way done with my contract with the family.  We shall see whether or not it means half way done with my time here….all in good time, all in good time.

Be well.

Just so you know, my absence has been intentional although I do feel bad that I haven’t updated all of you. No worries, I am alive. I survived a weekend with friends at a chalet in Seytroux, France (first time snowshoeing….awesome), a bout with the flu (spent the night hugging the toilet…puked 10 times), a night of babysitting at the family’s chalet in Villars, Switzerland (read to the kids in French and they understood! and then fell asleep with one on either side of me snuggled in….I am not that much of a girly girl, but it was pretty dang cute), an escapade in Barcelona, Spain for 5 days which included a birthday bash celebrating my 23 years of life (I danced all night long), and even a trip to Chamonix, France where Mont Blanc resides (enjoyed a 360 degree panorama of the French, Italian, and Swiss Alps….simply amazing). In due time I will post photos and such, but for now I am going to enjoy the sun that decided to make a rare appearance most of this week!!! I think sun is the best way to recover from the little funk I’ve been in. Two days ago I took off for a 3 hour walk, got lost in the countryside and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I am really starting to like Geneva…I think it is about time, don’t you!? Perhaps I will take my new bike out for a spin today….

Side note: Just got done cleaning the bathroom. Victoria (age 3) is on this big girl kick….I can do it myself type deal. Well she thought she could wipe her own bottom today…..NOT TRUE!!!! As I would say it here, “caca partout” (pronounced: ka-ka par-two). That means poop everywhere. You just have to laugh at somethings.

The journey here continues….

These random videos certainly cheer me up despite my own foolishness.  Please enjoy and feel free to laugh until you cry because I know I certainly did.  

I think this lady is serious.  I can see her now on one of those infomercials selling these one-of-a-kind sprinklers.

And of course this one.  It is another favorite of mine.  This may not be your type of humor, but I find it quite amusing.

I will fill you all in on my winter wonderland vacation in due time, but I need to download my pictures first.  The views were simply incredible, and words alone will not do it justice.  

Merry Christmas and Happy 2009!

Well since the American celebration of Christmas has been a bit absent over here, I thought I would bring it on over.  The kids, Asia (pronounced Ah-sha) the previous Au Pair, and I made cookies.  It was awesome, a bit trying on the patience perhaps as the kids licked the tubes of frosting (blah!) and got flour everywhere!, but awesome.  Let the creativity begin!!!  

One of these is not like the other, one of these just doesn`t belong. Nothing says Christmas quite like a Christmas mushroom!...I guess.

Here`s a little French lesson for you. Star = Étoile (pronounced "a" - twall...I think...maybe...at least that`s what I have been saying...no funny looks directed my way yet)

Got a few crazy shapes there, but they still look good.

Asia (she is so fun) and the kiddos.

Decorating like champs. Yeah, they are pretty dang cute.

One would nearly think it were Valentine`s Day over here. Do not be fooled. They were the only colors I could find at the store. Apparently the ol` Pillsbury dough boy (who-ho!) frosting and food coloring doesn`t exist over here.

Some of the first finished products up close.

Only a mere 6 days left until Christmas.  Crazy that it doesn`t feel like it.  Not sure if I will have internet access over the break as I will be leaving for the family`s mountain chalet on Tuesday.  Apparently there is an unusual amount of snow in the mountains this year.  Emmanuelle said I must have brought the SoDak weather with me.  I said you are welcome.  

By the way, this family is big into skiing…like really into it.  We`re talking, let`s go skiing around 15 times in a season big into it.  Hmmm…I`m going to say that I am going to be dead and/or tired once all this mountain chalet time in Gryon and St. Mortiz is done.  The other night the fam and I talked about it, and I am now of the opinion that Terry Peak in the Black Hills is child`s play next to the Swiss Alps.  Here`s a little math for ya.  

Terry`s Black Diamond = Gryon`s and St. Mortiz`s Bunny Hill = Misha`s deer in the headlights look 

Fortunately, I have done a bit of skiing/boarding in Colorado.  Olivier (the dad) said that would be a little more comparable to the Alps.  (The following is to be read with both excitement and fear.)  Ahhhhhhhhhhh!   This is going to be fun…I think…I hope…we`ll see.  I will let you know if I break something.  Fortunately, I am covered under their accident insurance!  :)

Also, I haven`t decided if I am going to conquer the skiing or boarding during my time here.  I know I will have ample opportunity to do both, but I want to get stellar (maybe that is too strong of a word) perhaps decent at one of them.  If you have an opinion and care to weigh in, please let me know.

Merry 19th of December!  (It`s got a nice ring to it, doesn`t it!?)

Minutes before the tragic tofu/fondue “incident”, I got a call from my brother Sean (current location: China) via Skype.  (I guess there was a little good that happened that day after all.)  For those of you unaware of this marvelous feature, do yourself a favor and check it out at skype.com.  It basically allows you to talk to people for FREE (that is an important word thus I will capitalize it) as long as both parties are signed in at the same time.  Whether near or far, it only costs you what you pay for the internet.  With so many free Wi-Fi (or as they say here, “Wee-Fee”) hot spots around, you have no excuse.  My user name is misha.creager if you feel like chatting.

Back to the story…  So Sean calls me and sure enough, the kiddos come bounding around the corner wondering why their strange Au Pair is talking to the computer in her gibberish language of hers.  Who do they find, but another strange American with seemingly captivating facial hair.  Insert picture of said American here: 

Viola!

and maybe here...

...and here. (Sorry Sean, they are just too good. When I get the video feature, I am sure you will retaliate on your blog. By the way, if people are interested in the adventures of Sean in China, take a peaksy at srcgxs.wordpress.com)

And back to the story…  So the kids are amazed at this interaction even if they don`t understand what is being said.  As they stare, suddenly one of them blurts out, “Monsieur Moustache!” and points to the screen.  Oh my goodness, were Sean and I laughing.  It kind of makes me sad when I finally do understand what they say and it is hilarious.  Makes me wonder what other sound bites I am missing.  Reminds me of the Kids Say the Darnest Things show.  Anyways, Sean then transformed into quite the entertainer.  My favorite was the Sesame Street remake of the martians.  Little did he know that I had the camera (complete with video feature) handy.  Yep, yep, yep!  I think I may share some of the goodness when I can figure out this website.

Since we are speaking of moushaches, might I add that Misha pulled the paparazzi card at Antoine`s Christamas program and yes…it is true…I “nonchalantly” got a picture of the true Monsieur Reverse Moustache!!!!!  (I gotta think of a better name for him.  Thoughts anyone?)  Unfortunately it was not in its full glory that night for the grainy photo.  It has been cold here so I am not sure what made him want to trim it but, nonetheless, here it is.  Wonder what he would think if he knew his facial hair was being blogged about…hmmmm… 

Oh it makes me smile.

I went out the other night to an amazing, amazing concert (this is the good part).  The only thing is that before I finally made it to the concert I ended up having to order a 14 dollar plate of tofu on a full stomach….!?  I know it doesn`t really make sense, but I am going to call the whole thing a learning experience.  More on the concert in a later entry.  It was too good not to share.

When I got home I forgot to refrigerate my leftovers.  Not a big deal…right!?  Well the next day I ate them for lunch and then later with a semi-queazy stomach I indulged in the Swiss tradition of cheese fondue.  Not a good choice.  Ended the night puking…a lot.  I will leave it at that for those of you with sensitive stomachs.  I slept the entire day yesterday (Friday) and made one of the hardest treks of my life to go pick up Victoria from school.  I looked like I had just gotten run over by a car.  I am sure I looked amusing next to Victoria who was dressed up as Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) for the escalade  celebration at school.  Still hurting today and feeling light headed.  

What I learned.  Revenge sucks when you are on the receiving end and the idea of tofu repulses me now.

(Address has been removed for security.  Please email me for it instead!)

Yep, still having problems with the pictures. Anyways, this is the apt building I live in. It`s quite a nice shade of pink isn`t it!?

On a side note:

Alright, some of you are probably thinking, jeepers Mish, you`ve already blogged more in 2 weeks than in the 2 months during your European tour.  Well, I don`t know what to say except that I am trying to write as much as I can now while the newness is still prevalent.  I have had troubles writing in my journal as of late, so here is my outlet.  Hope you don`t mind.  :)

I am pretty sure the blog will tapper off with time…maybe…we shall see…

Here are some photos of the event:

(Arg.  I have found this blog to be very upsetting when it comes to photos.  I know, I know.  It is probably not the computer or website but the operator instead.  Until I can figure out how to re-orient these photos on this sucker, please humor me and just crane your neck.)

Poster for the event. I really like those little guys.

Those cobblestone streets I mentioned. Definitely gets more uneven later on.

My friend Ashley who did a fabulous job running. I want me some numbers like that next year. (Seriously?, now the picture is going the other way!?! I now know how my mom feels like on the computer.)

The seriously loud canon that starts the various races. How does one get that job?

The line up. Nice touch with the football players.

I liked this guy. He was apart of a Jamaican sounding drum group? I dunno. I liked it.

Jumbo-tron. Never know who`s watching...

Don`t be fooled (like I was). This is not chocolate. Rather...I would describe it as a combo of A1, HP, and BBQ sauce along with tons of salt. A favorite of the Swiss. Not bad if you are expecting something overly salty. I think you would like this mom.

A kind gentleman dispensing another free item...

...hot wine! It is good. Reminds me of wassail.

And then comes the night race...complete with costumes!! Not a great picture but imagine with me loads of people dressed for Halloween running through the streets. That is what I am talking about. I think my favorite were the multiple troops of Smurfs. So much fun.

And of course the pyro in me loved this.

To top off the night, I went dancing…thus the taxi shoes story.  All in all, it was a good day.

Can`t get much better than a spontaneous morning dance with the kids.  I guess I didn`t get my fill this weekend; my shoes stopped me short of my weekly satisfaction.  So with music pumping from my facebook playlist with beauties like Float On by Modest Mouse (the favorite of the kids) and even that precious treasure from the past, I`m Blue by Eifel 65, the kids and I were dancing around the bedroom and loving it.  Victoria was spinning the whole time (how does she not get sick?) and Antoine was a crazy dance man/dinosaur on the bed.  (He loves his new dinosaur underwear and feels the necessity to act out each new one.  I think today was Velociraptor or something.)  To say the least it was a fun morning.  It just makes me smile…

Of the few purchases I have made here, the 20 dollar cab ride was probably the best.  Unfortunately, I was swayed by the fantastic European fashion here and decided to buy myself a nice pair of boots.  Well I wore them around the house for awhile, thought about it for awhile, and then deemed them a good purchase.  Last night I put them to the dancing test and they failed….miserably.  Past the 3 hour mark (with much more planned on dancing to go) they were worthless.  Hence, they will now be my taxi shoes.  Last night at about 4 o clock in the morning, you could have found me hobbling through the streets of Geneva in my knee high soccer socks complete with holes in the toes (everyone I passed got a real kick out of that).  I nearly tried to McGyver a pair of shoes out of cardboard (which I have done before), but my friend and I (who also had a similar aliment with her shoes) decided that the taxi driving by at that very moment was our ticket home.  20 dollars later and a good soak in hot water, my feet now feel…walkable.  I do have blisters, but they`re nothing compared to the gargantuan ones from Kilimanjaro which is a completely different and terribly painful story.  I guess I don`t have good luck in the shoe department.

Also, I am not only moving up in the world in fashion but also in electronics.  Drum roll please….  For those of you who are familiar with my phone in the States, you will love this.  For those unfamiliar, I`ll just say that names like ghetto, dinosaur, Zack Morris phone, etc. have been attached to it.  This probably gives you a pretty good picture of what I am talking about.  When I pull it out people say, “Hey!  I used to have that phone!….like when I was in high school.”  (Insert puzzled look.)  Or something along those lines.  I love it and if its battery didn`t die after 2 calls I would keep it for a lot longer.   I was sad to say goodbye to it, but I now am able to say Hello Moto (in that sweet voice the commercials use) to my new Razor phone.  Oh yeah flip phone baby!  Look how sleek and elegant it looks!  :)