Happy New Year!

After we got back from our trip I decided to give myself a break from blogging, with the intention of starting up again in the new year. So, here it is the new year, and here I am, at the keyboard. I almost didn't get a post out today (it's almost 8pm as I write) because my laptop has been hijacked by Jerry. His laptop won't play Star Craft, but mine will. So, until we figure out the problem his PC is having connecting to the internet (a problem which nearly caused me to chuck the stupid thing out the window today), he'll be using mine. A lot.

So anyway, this is just a brief post to let you know I'm still alive and that I haven't let the blog go completely. I'm going to change my focus a bit, though--not that I've had much of a focus for the last couple years. Still, I'm making some changes and I'll be documenting them on this blog. They aren't mind blowing changes, but put together I expect them to do a lot to help me take full advantage of the freedom I have in my life since I adopted the principles of unschooling as a lifestyle.

I won't spoil the fun by telling you everything now (mainly because Warren and I are supposed to be watching a movie together!) but I'll give you a sneak peek of some of the changes that are going down.

1. I've hired a professional organizer to help me get my house in order. (Yippee!) I know it sounds crazy because I'm perfectly capable of organizing my own house. In fact, I'm really good at organizing. But have I done it? Nope. We've lived in this house for ten years and I've said I'm going to get the place in order at least 25 times, but I never finish. I get too overwhelmed. I want to get to a point where I can stand in my living room and say to myself, "It's done." And I'll know where to find everything we own and if it's something we don't need or use it won't be in our house at all. I've worked with the organizer for six hours so far (and done many more hours of work on my own) and I can already see tremendous progress. Before/after pictures will be coming your way very soon!
2. I'm working on forming some new habits. The smallest and most likely to have a positive effect on my life is to not put off anything that takes less than 60 seconds to complete. I've been doing it (mostly) for a couple weeks. You would not believe the amount of times in a day I start to put off tasks that literally take 5 seconds to complete! But, I've been pretty good at following through on my goal. We'll see if I can keep it up.

Anyway, those are just a couple things that are changing. Obviously one big change that's beyond my control is the fact that our beautiful dog, Patsy, is no longer with us. And I guess we'll be getting another dog soon because Jerry says he's too sad without one. So, before too long (maybe even tomorrow) we'll have a new family member that will be peeing and pooping and chewing and generally wreaking havoc on our lives. I know he or she will also bring love and cuddles and kisses and may even fill some of the empty space we've been left with, but I guess I'm not quite ready to think about that yet. I don't want any old (or young) dog. I want Patsy. I know--I'm being melodramatic. Sorry. I'll stop.


Anyway, as far as the rest of the family goes, Jerry is doing his usual thing: WoW, XBox, Star Craft, building Gundam models, reading manga, watching movies and anime, and talking to friends online. Warren is still working on Pirates 4, and expects the next four months to be really busy with lots of six and seven day weeks at work and verrrrry loooong hours. He did get the week between Christmas and New Year's off, though, and we've been savoring every minute of our time together knowing we won't be seeing much of one another once Monday comes around.

So, that's about it for now. More on the exciting new adventure that will be 2011 tomorrow!

Paris

I'm not going in order. I'm starting with Paris because they're the most recent pictures I've uploaded to iPhoto. So, first, let me say that we stayed in the same studio apartment that we stayed in last summer when we did our house swap and it was perfect. (You can see it and even rent it here!) Both Jerry and I loved going back to a familiar neighborhood and the apartment has wireless internet and television now, so it was better than ever. (We watched One Piece in French!)

We were kind of tired from our activities in Greece and since we had just been to Paris the previous year, I didn't feel obligated to see too many museums and do touristy things, which was great. We went to Musee d'Orsay on our first full day in Paris, just because I love that museum and even though Jerry didn't especially want to go, I wanted him to see it. I don't usually make him come to museums with me, but he was up for it and we didn't stay too long, so it worked out well. After the museum we went to FNAC, which is kind of like Best Buy, and Jerry played Guitar Hero. We've been finding lots of ways to incorporate Guitar Hero into the trip even though we didn't bring the PS3 with us! And we've both been good about doing things the other person wants to do. (Museum for me. Guitar Hero for Jerry!) It works out really well. Plus, now that he's older he doesn't always have to go with me. When I went out on Saturday night for Nuit Blanche (a single night of art installations in buildings and public places throughout Paris) Jerry stayed at the apartment and played WoW with a friend from home.

The highlights of our time in Paris (and the real reason for going there) were our visits spent with friends. We spent an afternoon with Etienne's family and we went to Dominique and Alain's (the owner's of the apartment) for dinner one night as well. After that, our next favorite time spent in Paris was at the Musee des Arts et Metier (we went there last year, too) where they had a super cool hands-on history of video games exhibit. It was pure awesome. And as that happens to be my favorite museum in Paris (followed closely by the Musee de la Magie) we both had a great time.

So, I was going to put pictures up for you, but it turns out that the hotel's internet connection runs at a glacial pace, so I'm going to have to do it another day when I'm not at the hotel. Sorry about that. More details to come soon!

Hello From London!

My friend, Terri, says she misses my posts and I know Sheri isn't on Facebook, so I'm going to write a quick post. I've been feeling kind of removed from friends and family anyway, so maybe blogging will help. We're having a really great time. Our week with the Waynforth family in Norfolk couldn't possibly have been any better. Our time in Greece was amazing (as was the food!) and we loved going back to Paris (to the same studio we stayed in last summer) and seeing Etienne and finally meeting the people we swapped houses with last year. I have lots of details to share, but this is just a quickie post so I'm saving details for later.

We did have some really sad news from home. Our most wonderful dog, Patsy, died.

It was totally unexpected and happened very quickly. My dad and my brothers dog, Rocko, were with her, so at least she wasn't alone. I feel really awful about it. I have to keep reminding myself that healthy dogs don't die of sadness because I feel like she died because we left her. But, I know that's not really true. Jerry was, of course, really upset. But he was so thoughtful and kept hugging me and telling me it would be okay. I was so worried about how he would react and he seemed just as worried about my reaction. He's getting so grown up...

We've canceled our trip to Spain (we were supposed to leave tomorrow), so we're in London until next week when we go back to Norfolk for a few days, then we're in London again until October 20 when we go to Switzerland for 5 days to visit Patrizia and Alexandra (they're the ones who stayed with us last summer). At the end of the month Lynn is coming down to London with her daughter, Milly, so I'll get to meet a fellow unschooler and blogger which will be awesome. Then we head home on November 1.

I've taken loads of pictures and will put a few on the blog soon. Here in London we've been venturing out of the hotel only for very short trips because I've been sick (so annoying!) so I don't have a ton of energy. But I feel a recovery coming soon (I've been saying that for days, though). Anyway, in spite of the sad news, things are fine and we're enjoying being in new places and meeting new (and old) friends.

So, that's my quickie post. Hopefully there will be a longie soon.

Friend Me!

 I just wanted to say that Jerry and I have arrived in England and are staying with the Waynforth family in Norfolk. We're having a great time, but I'm not sure I'll be posting much on the blog. I am putting pictures on Facebook, though, so please friend me on Facebook (Colleen Paeff) if you want to follow along with our European Adventure!

I Did it!

I bought our plane tickets to Greece! I know I said we were going, but as long as it was just a thought I kept thinking I might decide not to go because of the cost and because Warren won't be there, which makes the whole idea seem incredibly frivolous and self-indulgent. But, today I bought plane tickets (London to Athens and Crete to Paris--I'm still working on the Athens to Crete part) so there's no turning back now!! I have butterflies in my stomach I'm so excited. We're going to Greece!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

This could be me!

The Ever Changing Plan

When I bought our tickets to London, I was pretty sure Warren would already be there. After all, he was scheduled to leave Sept. 6 and Jerry and I would be coming more than a week later on Sept. 14 (our 19th wedding anniversary!). But you can guess what happened, right?

Yep, we're going to beat him to London--by about five days. But, since flexibility is the name of the game in the film business (that and a willingness to work every minute of every day from pre-production until the film hits theaters) we're accustomed to making last minute changes. Still, it makes it hard to plan. Especially since Warren told me the editor he's working with doesn't even want to go to London. Now I'm afraid the editor will convince the director that the post-production crew should stay in Los Angeles and Warren won't be going to London at all!

Either way, Jerry and I are going, though. Warren says we should still go and have fun no matter where he ends up (of course, there's the small matter of the house sitter who is planning on living here for 7 weeks--Warren could have a roommate if he stays). So, that's what we'll do. Jerry and I will go and have a great time. And by the look of our calendar it's going to be absolutely amazing! And, it won't even be that big of a problem if Warren doesn't go, because we won't really be spending too much time in London anyway. After all, we've got places to go and people to see!

We're going to start off by visiting the Wayforths (that's a new plan now that Warren won't be in London when we arrive--thank you Schuyler!). Then, once Warren gets there (hopefully on the 19th) we'll spend about a week in London with Warren before going to Greece for our Percy Jackson/Greek Mythology Tour Extravaganza. That's not a real tour. I just made it up. But, we're focusing on Greek mythology and are going to try to see the sites related to the myths in the books, so that's what I'm calling it. I'm still working out the details of that trip, but hope to have it all planned and booked in the next day or two. The following week we'll be back in London where Lynn and Milly will come for a visit. Yippee! It's going to be so fun to meet them and to explore London together.

On Thursday of that week (Oct. 8) we fly to Biarritz where we will be picked up by the family of a Spanish girl (she's Jerry's age) who is coming to live with us next year. That's right! We're getting another "exchange" student of sorts. She has to finish this year of school in Spain because it's the law, but then she's coming to live with us in L.A. for a while. I'm so looking forward to it! We're going to stay with her family from the 8th-12th and they're taking us to Pamplona and San Sebastian and some other wonderful places in Spain. This is really exciting because it just came about in the last few days, so it's really unexpected. I love Homelink!

We'll fly back to London on Jerry's 15th birthday and celebrate that evening with Warren. Then the following day we'll go back to the Wayforths for a few days where Simon and Linnea have offered to host a birthday party for Jerry. It's going to be such a special birthday for him.

So, we stay with the Waynforths until the weekend, head back to London and then on Monday fly to Baden Baden where we will take the train to Ettlingen (near the Black Forest) to stay two nights with a German family who stayed with us a couple weeks ago. From there we take the train to Bern, Switzerland to stay with Patricia and Alexandra (they were with us during the summer), then we go to Paris to see Etienne and his family and we'll also see the family we swapped houses with last summer. I expect we'll go back to London around Oct. 27, then we celebrate my birthday with Warren on the 30th and Jerry and I fly home two days later, November 1. Actually, we fly to San Francisco, then we pick Patsy up at my mom and dad's, then we drive home. Oh, and sometime before we leave we need to make it up to Whitby (in North Yorkshire) to visit the woman who saved Jerry's life (literally) the last time we were in England. I figure we owe her a dinner.

So there you have it. That's the European Adventure as it stands today. And then, (as if all of that excitement wasn't enough!) we have an extra special guest coming from Canada on November 11. I'm looking forward to a very girlie weekend of going to museums and drinking wine and talking and eating and having all kinds of fun.

So that's what the next couple months will look like for us. The funny thing is, I've been under the impression that we had a few weeks to get ready before we leave, but I realized a couple days ago that we leave to take Patsy to my mom's a week from Saturday! I only have 10 days left! So, I've gone into high gear and am making arrangements, booking flights, deciding on luggage, filling my iPod with music, buying dog food (which is killing me because it's new prescription stuff that costs an arm and a leg) and getting the house ready for our house sitter--or Warren's roommate (we won't know for another week or so which one he'll be).

Thankfully, all of that leaves very little time for me to feel sorry for myself. So no more whiny posts! Hooray!

Who is Teaching Who Here?!

Last week Jerry changed servers on WoW so he could play with his friend Michelle. But she doesn't play as often as Jerry, so he's been really bummed about his decision to switch. The change cost $25 and now he's thinking about changing back to his old server (which will cost another $25). We were talking about making the change while we walked Patsy last week...


Me: But if you change back it's like throwing $50 out the window.


Jerry: No it isn't. It's spending $50 on something that I really want.


Me: Oh. You're right. I guess that's a better way to look at it.


So, that was lesson number one. For me. But school wasn't over. There was more to learn...


I was feeling especially blah that day. (I know. It's getting old, right?) Usually I keep my mouth shut when I feel this way because I tend to regret the things that come out of it. But, Jerry asked. So, I told him I was still struggling with figuring out what to do with myself now that he doesn't really need me around during the day. I told him it was kind of depressing to be alone while he's sleeping and that I'm tired of making so many plans that don't include him.

Then I said: You know what, though. I shouldn't even be talking about this right now. It's coming out like you should be changing something and that's not what I mean. It's just me. I'm having trouble adjusting.

Jerry said: No. It's OK. I tell you about my problems all the time. You should be able to tell me yours.

Me: Yeah. I guess. I just don't want you to think I'm criticizing you.

Jerry: I can handle a little criticism now and then. I mean, people I consider my friends have told me they think I'm lifeless. And I'm fine with it.

Me: It doesn't bother you that they think that?

Jerry: No because I'm doing what makes me happy. Why should it matter what they think?

Me: You're right. It shouldn't matter to you as long as you enjoy what you're doing. That's really great.

Jerry: I think a lot of people either live in the past or in the future, but I just live in the moment. I don't think too much about the other stuff--maybe I should.

Me: A lot of people work their whole lives to live more in the moment and still find it difficult! I don't think you need to change. Buddhists believe in living in the moment. Maybe you're a Buddhist and you didn't even know it!

Jerry: I'm a big fat guy with no shirt?

Me: Buddhist not Buddha.

Jerry: I know. I'm kidding.

Jerry is my hero.