I'm back! Sorry Mom...

so my mom gave me a hard time tonight about not blogging lately, so here i am...

i'll give a brief update of what we've been up to.

since mom and dad didn't come for christmas, we decided to get out of town wherever our marriott points would take us. we ended up in monaco for four nights, then switzerlad for two. monaco was lovely. beautiful weather, even more beautiful yachts. we brought the girls of course, and one of the highlights of the trip was the constant search for our fork (used to feed the girls their wet food). the maid took it on day one. it was returned on day two, and the entire hotel (which was practically empty) was in on the search. it was AGAIN taken on day three. completely my fault, as i should have known to HIDE it from the maid, and is still missing to this day... incidentally, the maids there also organized the books on my nightstand by size. it was a bit too much. we had great italian food, spent a fabulous day in nice, and lost and won fifty euros in the monte carlo casino. switzerland was lovely and cold. fondue, skiing, and a little shopping for a fondue pot for mom. a consolation gift, if you will...

my friend (and cousin sarah) arrived on new year's day and we spent a fabulous evening here with a few friends and more than a few bottles of prosecco. we managed to piss off the neighbors shooting off fireworks from our balcony, but she couldn't do anything as this is perfectly legal. fireworks are sold in grocery stores (and other places) for exactly two days, and EVERYONE shoots them off. it's a country of pyromaniacs, and my husband is right at home with that...

went to brussels with sarah and her boyfriend and found the coolest bar ever. seriously. ever. anyone who comes to visit and wants to go to brussels will be taken there. drank about 3 glasses of strawberry wine, which i have to figure out how to make. visited the waterstone's english bookstore and came home with a bag full of books as usual. thank god for waterstone's, as the book selection here is awful.

sunday was our 6 year anniversary, and the start of a new anniversary. next year we'll be marking january 11 with a celebration of 7 years of marriage and 1 year since the first time we went naked in public. yes folks, you heard me right. for a brief period of time on sunday i joined the nudists on the top floor of the thermal baths at baden-baden. it was odd, and i saw a lot of things i could have done without seeing. sadly, i discovered i am a looker. it's hard to avert your eyes, i'm telling you. but i dropped the towel in the sauna and briefly let the freezing cold air outside hit where freezing cold air should never hit. bravo! my mom is very proud of me. not that my mom is a nudist, but we'll say that i didn't inherit my modesty from her!

anyway, that's the latest. mom, i'll try to be better now. here's a photo of me in my badass retro bathing cap that i sadly bought on the way OUT. somehow i think had it been the only thing i had on, being naked would have been easier. a fabulous hat would do that, i think...