xc and the Nth I'm back post

If I had a euro for every "I'm back" post, I'd be rich. This is the Nth I'm back post but I know it's not going to be the last.

I wanted my blog to have a theme...photo blog? food blog? a no theme blog? And I've been racking my brains finding that theme that I never had the time nor the motivation to actually continue blogging. It's such a hassle to download photos, post process and upload them that I stop at taking the photo part.

It's also hard looking for interesting topics to blog about...or maybe there are lots of interesting topics but I don't find them interesting...or I'm just plain too lazy or brain fried to write a decent paragraph describing that interesting topic and end up babbling about something else (like now).

Also, I haven't had time to use my laptop the past few weeks. G's laptop crashed, like really crashed and won't start anymore so he's been using, sometimes hogging, mine.

Anyhoos, this is an I'm back post so let's cut the long rambling story short: I'm back.

Things I'll be posting in the next few days:

- 3 new food experiments (which were all successes)
- 2 more weekend getaways
- a couple more rambling thoughts here and there.

But first I have to pry my laptop out of G's hands!! Or just put a password on it, that should work too.


Ad taleur!


peace, love & lotsa motivation,
xc

xc and the 2 week recap - sort of

I have been too busy to blog lately. Well, busy/lazy. It's apero season and we've been out almost every night. Work has been quite hectic too.

I got G a really cool and practical gift for his birthday and I'm envious. Now he doesn't have to wait for the bus (oh, wait, that never happens!) to go to work or walk the 20 minutes from the train station to work (which, most often that not, happens!). We took turns riding it from the store to the apartment and it was just sweet to see him all excited to try it out. Although my heart skipped a beat whenever a car would pass him on the street...

I also had (finally!!) my medical exam which is mandatory before getting my residence card. Apparently the French government wants to make sure that foreigners don't bring in the plague. I also had to take a civics seminar to "learn" more about how the government works, what our rights are, etc. I was surprised that I actually liked the seminars. They were very interesting and I met different people from all over the world. It was like I was back in school again, except this time I was the cool girl. If the people from the prefecture do their jobs right, I should be getting the card in about a month. But so far, they have never been good in keeping dates.

Last Saturday, we went to visit Vernon and Giverny and Claude Monet's house there. We wanted to rent bikes but they were ridiculously expensive that we ended up just walking from Vernon to Giverny (5 kms) which wasn't bad at all. We passed by the hike path, saw lots of flowers and beautiful gardens and it was assez sympa as the French would say. Spent the whole day under the sun. G obviously ended up pink as a shrimp and I didn't even darken up a shade. I'll try to blog about that trip when I'm not too busy/lazy anymore.

Tomorrow we will drive up to Britanny to visit the in-laws and spend some time on the beach. It doesn't compare to our beaches back home but well, beggars can't be choosers. It's also the Fete de la Musique this weekend and there are a lot of concerts scheduled in Paris. But the beach is the beach, and besides, there will be concerts in St. Malo as well. My bag is packed, camera almost charged. I can't wait to get out of this city.

This has been one hell of a long week.

I can't believe tomorrow is still a work day. Gah!
And now, a break, for some quality time with the husband.



peace, love & anti-burnout pills,
xc

xc and the pre-anniversaire

I don't remember who's idea the Pourri family pre-anniversaire was but I like it! It started with Pourri Le Blond's birthday in March. The night before his birthday, we all went out for drinks because one of our friends couldn't make it the next day for the real birthday treat. We ended up finishing the bar's sangria supply, took a taxi to a karaoke bar in Pigalle, made fun of people singing out of tune, and struggled to take a taxi home at 4 in the morning on a Friday dreading the 2 hour sleep before having to get up for work.

For Le Vieux Pourri's pre-anniversaire, we had brunch at home that extended to dinner, that extended to a drinking session at some bar in St. Germain. This time though we went home with the last metro, 1 am Monday morning. I was getting used to being knackered before going to work the next day.

A few days ago, it was Le Pourri's turn to get a year older. Although we didn't drink much this time around, it was as fun as the others. Well, they drank and I kept to my Coke. But we had super yummy barbecued magret de canard in Le Vieux Pourri's garden with Le Pourri, Pourri Aile and the apprentice Pourri. Pourri Le Blond was nowhere to be seen...maybe that's also why we didn't get all plastered that night.

We had beautiful magret, expertly barbecued by Pourri Aile, sun dried tomato pasta by Pourri, yummy Ponch (according to them) by Vieux Pourri and yummy cake expertly mixed by the apprentice pourri.

And guess what! It was my first time to see and to eat fresh almonds. I still prefer the grilled salted ones though the fresh ones are yummy too. I wasn't able to get photos of the other food because they got devoured as soon as they hit the plates.


Happy pre-anniversaire Pourri!! Here's to many more!



peace & luv,
Madame Pourri

xc and the eye drops

I'm writing this post today because I wasn't allowed to work with a computer yesterday.

I've been having problems with my eyes ever since I arrived here. In winter, whenever I went out, my eyes would tear up. I thought it was because of the cold air blowing directly to my eyes. But spring came, and it still continued to occur. I may have helped the irritation by rubbing it every once in a while (read: most of the time). It mostly felt like I had sand in my eyes.

Then yesterday morning I was having trouble opening my eyes. Oh no!!!

So I had to go to the doctor and tell her what was bothering me. But since she was not an ophthalmologist and didn't have the equipment, she couldn't do more than give me prescription drops, give me the contact details of an ophthalmologist, and tell me to not to forget to blink when working with the computer, and to rest my eyes for the day. Ha!

I could have figured that out for myself except that I wasn't sure if Visine was available here.

I called up the ophthalmologist's office to get an appointment. It's crazy how they don't accept more patients here...are they afraid of making more money?? I think it's way easier to see a doctor in Manila that it is here. It also helps that your mom is a nurse and has a regular list of doctors up her sleeve.

But anyway, I was able to get a rendez-vous... 2 weeks from now. I guess I'd just have to deal with using these eye drops for 2 weeks before getting a real diagnosis.

The good news is that G went out and bought me a spanking new pair of shades!! Yay!!



** I just read that this might be the dry eye syndrome and is more common in women...

when the lacrimal glands work overtime to try to compensate for inadequate production of the mucus or oily layer. But the resulting tears do not adhere well to the eye surface, and it remains dry.

peace, luv & no more tears,
xc

xc and colorstrology

You know those "What Color Are You?" quizzes on Facebook? Pantone's Colorstrology is sort of like that except that you don't have to answer annoying questions. Plus it's soooo pretty. I love love love the colors and I especially my color which is Adriatic blue although I'm not so sure about the 'strology' part of it. Grand, Sensitive, and Daring??

It says:

Sensitive yet courageous, you are a force to be reckoned. People find you entertaining and quick-witted. There may be a tendency for you to juggle and get stuck doing two things at once. Whether you live in two different places or you feel torn between two romantic partners, it is important for you to know how to channel your energy in one direction. Wearing, meditating or surrounding yourself with Adriatic Blue helps you focus and make decisions that are truthful and beneficial for you.

Okay, so the getting stuck doing two things at once might be true...but anyhoos...the point is I love this color.

So does this mean we have to repaint our flat in this color now so I can focus and make decisions that are truthful and benficial for me?

Je ne suis pas contre!


peace & luv,
xc

xc and the extreme friday

It's another sunny day and the Parisians are out and about. The Place des Vosges looked like a sea of people at a music festival. G, who is on holiday, picked me up from work. We bought a couple of macarons chez Gerard Mulot (I still think La Duree is better) and ate them under the sun at the park just behind Musee Carnavalet. We walked along the Seine from Bastille to Ile Saint Louis. We wanted to get some gelato at Berthillon but the line outside was uber long so we just kept on walking until Notre Dame and got the metro at Ile de la Cite.

It was a pleasure finally being able to do little walks like that specially after a long day at work. Although I didn't appreciate it that much in the end because even though I wore my new fab find sandals, after walking for hours in pave-d roads, I obviously ended up having sore feet.

But all's well that ends well. For dinner G made a lovely salad and I of course made a lovelier dessert!! (G's surely going to say 'dis-donc!!', but whatever). I had a nice end-of-Friday Friday.

This weekend, if the weather stays as nice as today we'll surely go on a picnic somewhere. If not, we're surely going to spend the entire weekend in bed...and I'm not against that either.

espresso extreme


extreme...praline covered vanilla ice cream with a meringue in the center

peace, luv, & a happy weekend,
xc

xc and the search for humex

As I said on the last post, I have developed rashes on my hands due to excessive drinking. The urge to scratch it was too much that I immediately had to buy antihistamine to counter the effects of the allergy. I don't want to end up with nasty hands. Plus G wouldn't let me hold his hands anymore if that happens.

So off I went in search of the nearest pharmacy. I was also stupid enough to be wearing really high heels and the paved streets of Le Marais are not high heel friendly...at all! After reaching the first closed pharmacy I started to become worried. Only then did I realize that holiday means closed pharmacies and that also meant more walking in search for the pharmacie de garde. There should always be at least 1 open pharmacy in the area. But with my heels it was going to be a challenge.

Luckily I passed by a store with those cutie gladiator sandals on sale. Long story short I came out of the shoe store with a new spring to my step...ready to face the challenge of finding that pharmacy.

After a few blocks I found one just beside the Monoprix. Success! But all they had was Humex and it was not anti-drowsiness or however you call it. But I was desperate. I didn't want to spend my entire break searching for stupid antihistamine. Although I should have because after taking the meds I really really wanted to lie down and sleep.

But the good news is that I am allergy itching free. It even looks like the rashes are becoming thinner. I should have listened to my mom when she told me to always have antihistamine in my purse.

How did she know I'd need it sooner than later?? Did she secretly think that her daughter is a drunkard?? Or maybe she just knows me too well...



peace and luv,
xc

xc and the allergy

About 3 years ago I found out that I was allergic to San Mig light...we were in a remote island in Mindoro so no doctors nor pharmacies. I thought I was allergic to the detergent they used for the sheets but it turned out that it was because we had nightly meetings with Mr. San Miguel.

So I never drank San Miguel light again...ever. I switched to Red Horse (yeah, baby!) and stuck with the ever trusty Mr. Jose Cuervo and I never got allergies since. Except for that time in Ariege when I finished off a bottle of tequila in 4 days...by myself. The others were drinking vodka caramel (not a fan) and G and L polished off the rum making 'Ti Ponches. It was odd because I didn't drink beer and I thought it was because of the caramel used in the vodka.

And then it happened. Sunday, I felt them on my hands, the familiar and unwanted stiffness. I looked and there they were, little red rashes starting to form on my palm and fingers. I immediately looked back on Saturday night (or what I remember of it). Sure we finished a bottle of tequila, a bottle and a half of rum, I had champagne and 2 glasses of wine...but no beer...no caramel nor vodka. But why? Luckily the red rashes remained insignificant. They didn't even itch so I thought it was just a fluke. No need to rush to the pharmacy and ask for antihistamine this time.

But last night, we spent another fun evening with glasses of mojitos in our hands. Went home at 5am despite the fact that I have work today (it's a French holiday but the stock markets are open). G vomiting miserable just behind the Rennes bus stop...well, you get the picture. It was another hammered night in the town.

And so here I am typing with small blister-y type things on my hands. I know, it sounds icky but it's really not. Just think of it as a rash gone bad. Okay, that's still icky. But it's actually not. And as I was typing and reading what I was typing (duh!) I found it! I had a Eureka! moment.

I am not allergic to beer!!! The break out happens when I end up drunk as hell!!! At the beach, in Ariege, the previous nights!!! All drunk as hell.

Now I realize that I can drink whatever I want just not as much as I want to though. How cool is that????

I should congratulate myself but I think I need to go to the pharmacy now to get that antihistamine after all.


peace and luv,
xc


(I still can't get over my discovery!!! Thanks to blogging I don't need to go to an allergologist anymore!)



(Still not getting over it, it's huge, like HUGE!)

xc and the rare sunny day

What a beautiful sunny day. It finally feels like spring.
Too bad I'm stuck in an office the whole day.

Although I was sorely tempted to sit on the grass and have lunch at the Place des Vosges. But there were just too many people and it's just so loser-y to do a picnic alone.

After a very long and horrid winter I feel like I need to catch every single ray of sunlight I get these days. It's nearly summer and I still see people wear boots while I go to work in flip-flops. Okay maybe that argument doesn't count because I pulled out the trusty Havaianas the minute I felt the slightest tinge of heat come through the nasty wintery clouds.

Plus everyone has been posting beach pictures on Facebook and I am soooo jealous! We went to the beach for the May 1 weekend but we were facing the English channel, so duh! No swimming nor sunbathing on the beach took place. I tanned doing garden work at L's house.

My body clock also keeps forgetting that they have 4 seasons here. The inner xc has been shouting "Ultimate Summer Getaway" since March. Gah!

In fairness, they say it's really odd that it's still cold and rainy in May. But if today's weather keeps it up, we'll soon see more and more Parisians half naked in public parks. Hooray! And I can finally stock away my bulky jackets and coats and say hello to fabulous summer dresses.

At least for the next 4 months or so...





peace and luv,
xc

xc and the first year

yummy flowers with cotton bulbs (i don't know how it's called)

Guess who turned 1 today???


Uh-huh. I've been a missus for a year now. How fast time flies. It still feels like yesterday, rushing papers to various government agencies, the infamous pamamanhikan, the rainy Palawan days with G's family, Tata M's accident in El Nido, and the rainy ceremony. It's been a year!!

I can't say that everything has been easy but it's definitely worth it. We are still getting used to each other's tics and weird rituals (note to self: never steal G's toilet time again). I get frustrated when G strews his socks all over the apartment and I get back at him by hiding them under his pillow...and he gets back at me by hiding more under mine. I still get kilig and giggle like a school girl when G makes pa-cute. It sounds so cheesy and I end up doing things I never imagined myself doing.

And to celebrate, we didn't exchange super mega expensive gifts but we shared the moment with close friends, had a wonderful time, and partied all night!! Okay, maybe we partied too much and I ended up spending most of today in bed and my old alcohol allergies decided it was a great time to visit me once again.

Also, they said the first anniversary is represented by cotton. So the girls gave me a lovely bouquet with the cotton plant in it. It also had lilies in them which coincidentally were the flowers in my bridal bouquet. But after some research, it turns out that cotton is actually for the 2nd year and the first year is symbolized by Paper!!

So I guess the real gift should be the paper the bouquet was wrapped in. But I'll keep the flowers anyway just because they're adorable.



peace & lots of anniversary luv,
xc

xc, the fire, and the labor day weekend

I know it's supposed to be spring already but it's been raining ugly since Monday (I heard it's been raining in Manila too..mwaha!). It has been cold too...and there I was storing most of my bulky clothes and pulling out my favorite summer dresses. Hopefully the weather cooperates with us this weekend. Oh how I *heart* long weekends.

The whole group will go to L's house in Brittany. Apparently there's a micro climate there where it's nice and sunny while the rest of Brittany is dreary. We have to get supplies here since supermarkets will be closed tomorrow for Labor Day. We'll be leaving tonight along with most Parisians itching to make most of the 3-day weekend (orange alert on the autoroute) to endure a 4 hour drive up north. Boo for the traffic but yay for big cars and good company while in traffic.

Speed baked creamcheese brownies last night to bring for the trip. We never find Philly cream cheese in normal supermarkets here so I used one of those St. Moret type fromage a tartiner stuff. The cheesecake mix turned out a bit runny thus not forming the marble swirls on top of the chocolate mix but it still tastes like cheesecake...so, yummy! G thinks it's too sticky...I say it's fudgy! No more brownies for G tonight, I decided.

In other more interesting news...

There was a fire in our office building yesterday!!! The second one in a month.

The alarm sounded but I thought it was only a drill so I didn't reallly care and went back to work (the last time there was a fire there was no alarm...just a funny burnt smell and there were suddenly hunky firemen at the reception area). But this time it was real and they asked all of us to evacuate the building (I was all alone at the office). The fire started at the basement parking but the smoke already reached the 7th floor (where we were). So while the firemen and policement cordonned off the building and checked everything out, there was already a huge crowd gathering around. Ey, we are on the Champs Elysees after all.

And instead of just standing there waiting, I of course went window shopping. By the time I got back, they were already letting people back in the building. Catastrophie averted. Back to work!

So there. Am I glad we will be moving offices next week! New adventures at the Place de Vosges!




And now I'll just wait until the clock strikes 6pm and I'm off to a happy long (but not long enough) weekend!


peace & luv,
xc

xc and the late spring post

Hooray for spring!!!

Okay it's been a month since spring started and I'm only posting now. Why? Because with spring comes energy and energy means not wasting precious sunlight cooped up at home tinkering with the laptop. So for the past weeks, we have been having wine and cheese parties, brunches, and dinners with friends on the balcony. Spring = life! Not only life for plants but also for the winter-zombie-d Parisians.

Speaking of plants, this is the real reason I'm posting. Our flowers are growing!!!

About 3 weeks ago, we planted some Gladioli (? what's the plural for Gladiolus ? ) bulbs on the balcony. G was uber excited to see small stubs pushing through the dirt. And now they look like this:

Awesome!! I've never grown flowers before so I'm really excited to have them at home. Apparently it grows up to a meter or so. Well, we didn't know what it was when we got the bulbs. We just picked up the cheapest bunch! But they also say that these are really nice summer bouquet flowers so that's really cool...only if G allows me to pluck them. He really takes good care of them, makes sure they have enough water, there's not much wind, etc.

I'll post pictures of the flowers once they bloom. Exciting!

peace, luv, & happy gardening,
xc