Catch up

Hello all!! sorry that it has taken me so long to fill you in on our life for the past 2 weeks. I have just recently started working the night shift at the hospital. For those that are unaware of the time frame, that would be 7:00 pm to 7:00 am.  So the idea is that the night before you work, you try to stay up as long as you can so you can sleep most of the day the following day, because at 7:00 pm the shift starts. Well, for those that know me, I don't sleep late, I don't sleep during the day..( maybe a nap at 3:00 pm... that's when I feel sleepy) , and I am not a night person... when I get sleepy, it's all over. 

So, I digress,  The past two weeks have been busy and fun.. so let me update "ya". 

Alors.... (  This is how every French person starts a story...it means so...  the word sounds like " A lu" phonetically )

So, alors.... Two weeks ago Francois and I had a pretty quiet weekend,  Francois was  to play in a tennis tournament at I'On ( our new tennis club we joined, yeah!!)  and I was working 11am to 11pm shift to slowly progress into night shift. On Friday,  Francois was supposed to have a match, but the rain delayed the match until Saturday. I was happy because I was stuck at the hospital until 2 am preparing my patient for a trip back to the operating room.  

Sometimes patients returning from open heart surgery have the possibility of " blowing a graft", and the nurse can usually tell this happens when the patient starts bleeding more than usual. This was the case for this patient.. But all is well, she made it back, got fixed, and is all better .. 

Saturday was a better day, Francois was able to start one of his matches, however he only made it through one set, --- the rain came.  We made it a lazy day  and met our friends out for dinner that night.  Francois' Citadel friend Will Dieter, his wife Lauren and Will's brother Tuck Dieter met us for Dinner at an Oyster Bar in downtown Charleston. I had my first oyster shooter...mmm

Cooper's Big Day

Today was great. We started our day at I'On Tennis club hoping the weather would hold up for Francois' first tennis tournament in two years.  Francois was only able to get one set in, which he won 6-0, but then the rain came.... 

After we grabbed some goodies for lunch at I'On, we headed back home to regroup and decide what to do for the rest of the day. I have been frequenting the GGRLC (Grateful Goldens Rescue of the Low Country) and had seen an activity called the Daniel Island Park Day, and the GGRLC was going to bring some of their puppies, so .... nonetheless... we packed up and headed over to Park Day, and Cooper joined us. ( just a side note, if you visit the website, it has a story of 30 puppies that they have been saved from a puppy mill; the GGRLC have rescued them, are in good care and are looking for homes. I had the joy of seeing the fantastic pups, and I'm considering ?? ( I know my mom  is shaking her head at this moment to that thought... DEBBIE...) 

When we arrived,  we visited the live petting zoo area, where we fed a turtle, and Cooper wanted to feed on the turtle... I never knew Cooper liked turtles so much. I must have turned him on to them when I buried him in the sand and sculpted him into a turtle... see the resemblance ??

Cooper had the best time sloshing in the mud and taking in all the sights. I had to restrain him around the pony ride, I am pretty sure he wanted to play. 

We had a chance to stop by the basset hound rescue tent as well, I was looking for Wormy's family... no baby Worms. If you don't know my parents had a miniature basset hound that we call worm.. I bet that is a relief, right?. 

After we visited all the tents, we started to walk back to the car, and then it happened. Cooper was offered his first ride in a golf cart.. it was glorious. I tried to capture the moment on my iPhone. 

Missing France

I was looking through some pictures and saw a ton of photos from my various trips to France to visit Francois' folks. I thought I would share some fun times with you all and take you through my "time machine" ... changing it up a little.. 

This video was taken during one of Gonzague's cute moments at the dinner table. I thought this was classic France. You have the kids playing music with bread baguette on a large jar of Nutella, while passing crepes, hilarious.  One of my favorite places in France, is the dinner table. I learn most of my French here.  Another favorite activity at the dinner table is the following picture:

CHEESE!!  ( enough said!!)

Another great moment was when I was joking with Gregoire, I was doing a second story puppet show for him... I'm pretty sure he was not convinced that there were really horses in his bedroom. iIm not that good. 

The Happy Cow Weekend

This past weekend, I was able to travel to Greenville and see my friends that I spent four years of my life with. Friday night I arrived in Greenville at Kendra's house where I was able to catch up on recent news, current training programs, and just life in general. We went to bed early because Kendra was going for a 20 mile run the next day and I was going to "try" to hang on to a 60 mile bike ride to the Happy Cow Creamery. 

The next morning Beth and I met at Whole Foods to meet about 30 other cyclists to make this journey to the what I will refer to as the Happy Cow.  We all started off on the bike ride, we dropped the slower cyclists and slimmed our group down to a fantastic group of 10. We pushed, pulled, sprinted, and somehow made it to the Happy Cow.

I was able to take in some yummy chocolate milk, FRESH! At the end of the ride , I was exhausted!! It was the hardest bike ride I have done so far. Being that I live in Charleston, I am like a fat kid picked last in gym when it comes to hills, because Charleston is FLAT.  In all it was an amazing ride, so beautiful!!

Later that day, Kendra , Beth and I met up to have some lunch...mmmmm starving! We grabbed a bite to eat and back home for some rest. I had to rest for my big night with Michael Buble!!

The concert begins!! Stacey Krall and I are dressed to impress . The open act was by Naturally7

If the link doesn't work you should look them up. They are a 7 partner group and they are an a cappella group that is AMAZING!

Then.... Michael came out. So classy and so charming. He gave an incredible performance, and next year I will be in the front row ( not the second!! the First) I recommend his show to anyone, even if you do not like his music... it's so entertaining. 

Needless to say, the weekend was fabulous and it made me miss Greenville and all the activities it has to offer. 

French Quarters

Francois' parents were here in Charleston, SC for the entire month of September. Their first week here was spent catching up, brushing up on some French, and shopping of course. Jean-Jacques and Isabelle spent most of their time by the pool or (piscine in French) and working out in our local gym. Francois and I unfortunately still had to work, but we spent every minute we could with his parents. I prepared fresh bread and attempted pain au chocolat... it was not as great as in a boulangerie

The next week, we traveled to the beach in Emerald Isle, NC.  We spent a relaxing weekend there and soaked up the sun. Isabelle felt a little sick for a couple of days, and we can only think that it was from a 2 hour walk on the beach that took it out of her. Francois and I left his parents at the beach to enjoy themselves and just relax for the rest of the week while we traveled back to Charleston to work. 

The following weekend, My parents came in town, and you can catch up on that weekend from the previous blog entry.   

Francois' parent traveled back to Charleston all by themselves and had no problems with directions. The last week here in the states they really wanted to spend most of this time with us. In the beginning of the week, Francois had sinus surgery unfortunately. I think it was great to have his parents here so they could stay home with him and make sure he gets all the recovery support he needed.  We helped Francois recover by taking it easy by watching countless movies every night, and continuously changing his nasal pad. 

Isabelle was able to do some shopping and get all kinds of goodies for the children back home.  Jean-Jacques continued to work out and read his books, I believe the final count was 6 books total. Together, one afternoon, I took Jean-Jacques  and Isabelle to the Library to look at different collections. We visited the Audubon collection, books from the 1600s and an ancient coin collection dating back to as late as 600 B.C. 

We finished the week with an amazing dinner at the Oak Steak House 

It was so hard to see his parents go because they were such a great help, made fantastic meals, and added a lot of personality to the house. Francois has been speaking with them almost everyday and has maybe talked them into coming down for his birthday in February... so we will see  :) 

 

Charleston Tour

As you know, my parents were in town this weekend to visit Francois and me. We played a little tennis on Saturday and also managed to take in the downtown market. 

Sunday was filled with an early 50 mile ride where we traveled along the country roads outside of Charleston, SC.  The ride was beautiful and very peaceful!! I 

CAREFULLY took these photos while I was riding my bike... I repeat CAREFULLY! ( What I really want to say is... I have never taken a photo moving at 18 mph while trying to work an iPhone camera!! SO talented !) 

After our bike ride... we emptied our storage unit and headed downtown for BRUNCH! I say this loudly, because I want it to reach the ears of those living in San Francisco.  We finally  BRUNCHED!! We never made it to the Post House, but we did have an AMAZING brunch at Magnolias. The grits are " to die for" !

After our brunch, we took in a carriage ride around Charleston. I have wanted to do this since we moved here. I feel that there is so much history here and the more I know of this area, the more I feel connected . The tour was nice and Larry, our horse, took us at a warp speed ( 0.5 mph)  around the south end of the Peninsula. 

The weekend was very relaxing and Francois and I always love company, especially when it's the parents. After my parents left, Francois' parents arrived literally 5 hours later to finish out the rest of their vacation in the states. 

I feel fall in the air and the cool northeastern breeze. 

The Goode Family Visits the LOW country ( Charleston, SC)

Francois and I enjoyed a tennis lesson at our ( maybe our) new country club I'On Club. The facility is SUPER nice and the tennis is great. My parents are in town this weekend and my Dad was able to take some great shots of us playing. Take a look.

 My Dad was able to get in on the action too!!!

My Mom played the role of spectator!! 

 

This might be the last time my Dad goes outside of the house, because before our tennis match, my Dad purchased an iPhone!! 

I was so excited to be the one to teach him how to use it!!  Big brother Ian is going to be put out of business of being the family tech genius! WATCH OUT! 

In all, it was a GOODE Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow, we are off to do Brunch at the Post House, take in a Charleston Carriage ride, and then empty a storage unit!!

Maybe Francois will be up to it.... hmmmmm?