The list..confused style

Me avoiding responsibility..it's really fun, you should try it.


At least I'm taking my kiddos with me while I'm avoiding.


Growing too fast!!


Ahh Silas:)


10. I'm having a bit of a hard time adjusting back to domestic life. Yes the kiddos are getting fed, but really that is about it. I keep flitting from minor project to minor project..avoiding housework at any cost and wondering what it is that I actually do. I suppose it does not help that it is summer time and I really don't have to be anywhere at any certain time..it's kinda rough being a world traveler who is not really a world traveler..does that make sense?

9. I do have more Paris pic's to go through..but I'm kinda sick of looking at them..really.

8. I'm having a bit of writers block.

7. Can you tell I'm crabby?

6. We have the most amazing cherry tree in our back yard and it has the biggest deepest red cherries you have ever seen on it. I've picked at least 10 pounds of cherries off of that tree so far..yes the kiddos are very regular right now:)

5. We lost the house we have had an offer on for over 5 months..the bank decided to foreclose on it instead of taking our offer..jerks.

4. Still no place to live, looking at moving to a new rental to cut down on costs, all by the end of the month.

3. I'm kinda past the point in my life that I'm going to act like I'm NOT excited about going to the Shin-Dig this weekend..What is the Shin-Dig Amber? You might be asking yourself right now..Well dear reader..Add 1 part redneck, 1 part logging show (think log shimmy and chain saw races), 1 part trying to relive your glory days and about 5 parts really cheap beer and that my friends is the Shin-Dig Weekend and if you are not from Sky Valley then you could not EVEN begin to appreciate its..um uniqueness:)

2. I should be packing right now.

1. Zach started his new position this past Monday. It is going to be like the old days, meaning Amber never sees her husband. I'm a little sad about this, but I guess it was not all bad..distance does make the heart grow fonder..maybe that is why we had 4 kids:)

Hope you are all enjoying your summer!!

About that..

It seems that when I was in Paris I looked like a tourist..shocking I know. Do you think it could have been my wide open mouth, gawking? The ever present camera around my neck? The fact that I don't look fabulously Parisian? Maybe all these things combined secured my position as gawking tourist, it also secured me as a target. My fifth day in Paris while at Le Louvre, I had the unfortunate experience of having my wallet stolen right out of my zipped up purse. When they tell you that these guys are fast, it really is not an understatement. By the time I had realized what had happened the man with the kelly green t-shirt was long gone, leaving me stunned and a little hacked off...fast forward a few days.

I'm walking (strolling really) along the Seine early one morning on my way to a Brocante (french flea market). Even this far into my trip I'm still visually overstimulated by this city, yes I'm gawking.

As I'm walking/gawking a well dress women walking toward me stops me and asks me something in French, I quickly reply,

"Oh sorry, English?"

"Is this yours Madam?"

She brandishes a very nice gold wedding band.

"No! Not mine."

As I quickly start to walk off, she reaches for my hand and puts the gold band in it.

"You keep it Madam, I'm divorced and will not ever wear it."

"No No!!" I protest. "You keep it, you found it, I do not want it."

All the while she is still holding my hands and I'm starting to feel uncomfortable, I'm sure my voice is about 50 octaves higher than normal and I'm undoubtedly making a bit of a scene.

"No it is a blessing to you." As she turns and walks away.

I turn and walk away quickly with the ring in my hand, thinking I just need to get out of there..I take about 3 strides..then hear...

"Pardon? Madam?"

I stop, turn around and she says..

"Do you have any coin or change for that ring? Just enough for a Coke?"

Then it all hits me..

My wallet being stolen by the man in the kelly green t-shirt, this women who had just felt my hands to check for a wedding ring, hoping to get close enough to find a wallet or any loose article of worth was now realizing that she could not let that gold band go and not get anything for it..she had not just found it. All at once my frustration about being the naive victim came rushing out.

"NO! NO! NO!" I shout at her.

She looks shocked.

I then take the heavy gold band and chuck it at her..hard.

So hard it bounced right off of her ample boobies and fell to the concrete.

"NO!!" I shouted once again just for added drama (hey I'm in France after all).

I turned heel and walked. Feeling a little bit empowered and a little bit victim all at the same time.

Next time I'm getting a money belt.

**Jess posted a very sweet post about our very sweet time together in AZ, you can thank her for this story making it to my blog**

The List..Paris Style

Here are my top ten things about Paris. It was kinda hard to narrow it down to ten. I'm sorry about my lack of posts..it's hard to concentrate on posting when I'm not at home:) I will be posting more very soon.

10. I'm so in love with the Parisian lifestyle. I wish that Americans could learn to enjoy life like that. I think we would be a happier nation if we could just learn to take really long lunches and ban Juicy Couture sweats forever.

9. Speaking of fashion..OOHH you can't even believe how beautiful the Parisians are! And I'm not saying that in the American sense (meaning bottle blonde, fake tata's and botoxed lips) No, real beauty and an amazing knack for pulling off fashion feats we could NEVER get away with. Especially living where I live..a place where Ed Hardy is high fashion. I will tell you this though, it did inspire me to try a little harder to be unique and not follow the heard. So if you see me in some crazy french get-up..don't be surprised:)

8. Daily market shopping. Since they all live in teensy-tiny apartments they cannot run to Costco every two weeks and stock up on groceries. Instead they shop for food daily, it is a beautiful thing, and even more beautiful are the markets...so fresh, so alive. Do you know they don't refrigerate anything? When you buy a fresh chicken it has been killed that day and plunked down on the counter (skinned but head and feet still attached) and left there for you to buy. Funny thing is I never got sick one time and I ate it all..yum.

7. Food..First off..the French eat so rich and do not spare on the carbs one bit (think croissants and baguettes) BUT they are all still tiny. My thoughts on this are..portion control (ooh novel concept) and exercise. Parisians walk EVERYWHERE and they have to walk far, and the women walk in Christian Louboutin heels on cobble stone paved streets and still look fab (no tripping).
They take such pride in their food, it is a part of everything they do, and it's all so wonderfully fresh and presented beautifully. Roast chicken is not just roast chicken..it's french roasted chicken and it tastes like heaven.

6. Driving..it's like nothing you have ever seen before!! It's so out of control crazy, I'm pretty sure I would never drive here if I lived here. Scooters, bicycles and cars all driving way too fast and running lights along with a million pedestrians going in all different directions speaking all different languages, it really is a site to behold..from the sidewalk.

5. The people were so nice to me. I'm sure that the french got there rude stereotype for a reason, but I never saw it. A nice smile and being polite helps:)

4. Cafe's..a place to see and be seen. It is very much a part of the Parisian culture and I LOVE THEM!! Do you know that in France a waiter will not give you your check until you ask him for it? They think it is rude and pushy to put the check down in front of you. You can sit for hours and nurse a coffee..and many people do:)

3. Architecture...the buildings themselves are works of art. When Parisians build they want it to look good..no strip malls.

2. Age...In the Louvre I snuck a little touch of a actual Roman statue that was dated 32 A.D.?? Seriously crazy.

1. Art...I will have to do a whole post devoted just to this subject alone. I can now see why so many great artist and works of art came out of Paris. Even the most inartistic person could not help but want to pick up a brush after spending time in this city. It is simply amazing. To see the places that Monet and Renior created and to also see these works of art in person resonated so deeply to me, really I can't quite describe it.

Just Photo's

I know it's been forever..but maybe if you guys would comment..I would be inspired to post..come on already!!

Through my lens

First Impressions

Wow what can I say? Taking a break on my third morning waking up in Grand Paris! It was raining this morning so our plans were changed a touch..at least I'm sitting inside listening to it rain in Paris:)

It really is amazing how much you can fit into 3 days in Paris.

Yesterday I remarked to our driver that it would take 10 years to see all of this city and he replied..,"No it takes a lifetime, maybe longer"

Oh what true words! I think the one of the things that resonates with me the most is the age of this city..this country. America is just a babe. Did you know that the building of Notre Dame started in 1160!! Yesterday I went to the remains of a Roman coliseum. I mean this is a place where gladiators actually fought..where Christians were martyred..such history. It's amazing to me that I can say I've walked on streets where Marie Antoinette walked, Nazi's marched and US armies liberated..it seems like too much to take in.

More to come:)

The List..scary style

Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb. Winston Churchill


Ooh I soo love this boy:)

So here are my top ten FEARS of traveling to Paris..the question is..can you handle it???

10. Ok I kinda lied..#10 is really something I'm NOT scared of and I feel like I need to get it off of my chest.. I'm NOT afraid to fly, I'm not afraid of crashing either (does it sound like I'm trying to convince myself??)..I figure if it's my time to go then it's my time to go..I'm not wasting any precious time worrying about it..

9. Eating offal, which is..
"1: the waste or by-product of a process: as a: trimmings of a hide b: the by-products of milling used especially for stock feeds c: the viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal removed in dressing"...yuck.

8. Getting my stuff stolen..more importantly my camera.

7. Looking too American, I have been practicing my European look..this is how it goes..I come out in a new outfit and say, "sooo how European does this look?" Zach barely looks up from the movie/computer/guitar and says.."well you look more European than you did 10 minutes ago." Thanks Hon.

6. I'm bringing my laptop, but I'm super nervous that for some reason it wont work..or something..that would mean I would be without a computer for 10 whole days!! OMWORD!!

5. Something happening to my kiddos while I'm gone:(

4. My stupid dog being too much of a burden for the person who ends up watching her.

3. I'm leaving my Grandma's wedding band that I wear as my wedding band at home..that is just how scared I am of loosing it..and don't worry I will be wear some sort of a wedding band while I'm in Paris..or at least thats what I'm telling Zach:)

2. Umm the only word I know in french right now is croissant..nice.

1. And mostly I'm scared I will not EVER want to come home!!!

Ok peeps..this is my last post from America!! Please stay tuned for some AWESOME Paris posts..you can also ask to be my friend on Facebook (search for Amber Sallee Strehle) if you want to see all my pics or search for Tres Birds on Flickr..I'm hoping to be able to update often!
Woohoo..here I go!!!