Salut mes amis, spring is in the air! I always get excited when I check my iPhone and see a sunny forecast for the entire week because pretty much all winter it was rain, rain and more rain. All that sunniness brightened up my week quite literally last week, and despite a few windy days with clouds, the sun seemed to be here to stay. Will it continue? I can hope. What else is going on?
Let’s get to today’s Monday Mishmash!
Monday Mishmash 3/21/16
Randomness
-
- I told you about my flu from hell that started Feb. 28 that had me knocked out for a week. Up until pretty much this past Friday, I still wasn’t 100%. At the bus stop Dagny and I always pass on our walks, I saw an ad for Bion3, a vitamin supplement that has a special “Restore” formulation. I succumbed to the marketing hoping something would fix me. Being low on energy 3 weeks after having the flu is definitely not normal for me so I was desperate. And maybe it’s a conincidence but after taking it for 3 days, I do feel pretty much 100%.
- Tom and I went to Paris for the March 5 Straight No Chaser show. It was a quick trip and I was still kind of sick so we didn’t do much other than go to the concert. Not familiar with Straight No Chaser? They’re an all-male a cappella group from the USA that first got together in college but then went separate ways for years until a YouTube video caught the attention of a record label exec. They’re an a cappella group like I said, but not the stuffy, boring kind. They do covers of pop songs complete with beatboxing, jokes and dance moves and the shows are FUN! Why’d we go? I used to work with one of the members back in NYC (at the time I had no clue he was a singer!) and have kept in touch with him over the years, so after checking out their tour dates, we decided to make the trip to Paris. Totally worth it! Here’s a fun video we took at the show. If you get the chance to see Straight No Chaser, go!
- We’re heading to the coast for Easter with Tom’s parents. We don’t really have family in the area and figured why not rent a little place for a few days and explore. In France, employees have Easter Monday off so it’s a long weekend for Tom. I’ll report back if it’s blog worthy. 😉
- Anyone a fan of Aqua Cycling or AquaDynamic (or water workouts in general)? Never tried any of them! In France, water-based fitness activities tend to be really popular (more so than in the US, I find) and my gym has a pool except I’ve never ventured into one of the classes. Off to Intersport to buy a publicly appropriate swimsuit. My glasses might get a little annoying in the pool but I figure if I’m paying for a membership that includes the pool, why not try it out?
- Remember my post a few weeks ago about lunch boxes not being a cultural phenomenon in France? Well, I was out grocery shopping at LeClerc today and I was so happy to see these guys! First time I’ve ever seen something that resembles a lunch box in France!
- Lillian, a Canadian in Paris who blogs over at The Smalls Abroad, did a roundup post recently and I really liked this one on French quirks.
Tom-ism of the week
I think I need to start a new column. As you know, my husband Tom is French and speaks English really, really well (thanks to my help, duh!). So it’s only normal to tease him when he makes a funny mistake.
Let it be known that this is all in good fun — I’d never make fun of someone who was clearly struggling with a language. That’s just not cool. But because Tom speaks English pretty much like I do, I had to bust on him for this Tom-ism of the week:
We were watching TV and Tom wanted to reference something said by a woman with red hair. He confused “a ginger” with “a redhead” and said, “Yeah, but if you listen to what that gingerhead was saying…” Hahahha. Love him.
The reusable lunch boxes/bags make sense in such an eco-friendly place as France. Gingerhead! I love it! I think it should be a regularly used word. Cute! 🙂
I think so too!
I am/was a red head and often I was called a ginger head…….
Re Aqua aerobicis. I trained as an instructor (more years ago than I like to admit) and it was great fun and very beneficial. Well for the class it was, much more difficult for me as I was working on land most of the time so they could see what to do!. Try it out, I think combining water and land work outs is a great idea; I was also a trained aerobics instructor as well. Diane
Did a confused French guy call you a gingerhead? Maybe you know my husband haha.
Very cool that you taught aqua aerobics (and regular). It looks like fun! I think the whole rigmarole of changing into a swimsuit has put me off this long but I’m giving it a try tomorrow!
I hope you enjoyed it.
My neighbors have an aqua bike that they throw into the shallow end of the pool to work out in the summer when it’s so hot you’re afraid to do much of anything. Aqua biking is very popular at the big gym where my kid goes, but I haven’t done it myself.
Re glasses: I have prescription goggles. They help a lot, since I can’t find the edge of even our small pool without them.
I think lunch boxes aren’t big here because kids (and workers) either eat at home or at the cantine, but rarely do people pack a lunch.
If you recall Gilligan’s Island, Ginger the movie star was a redhead.
Right but not a gingerhead!
I think if I ever picked up swimming I’d definitely go for the rx goggles like you. Luckily, for fitness classes in the pool, my head stays above the water! Have a wonderful week!
Thanks for the SNC recommendation: fantastic voices, fun and seemingly down-to-earth guys you’d want to meet in the pub for a chat and a sing-along. Pity it’s too late to go and see them in Dublin tomorrow. Curious to know which one is your friend now :-P!!
Thanks for the mention Diane 🙂 I can’t believe I missed it earlier. And lunch boxes in France! omg that’s quite something. I’m happy spring is here! We’ve had such a lovely day full of sunshine. Hope it’s here to stay.
You’re very welcome! Love your posts! Glad you had some nice weather. Was cloudy here and then weird heavy rain for 10 min and then sun like 5 times in a row.