On Becoming a Mom | May 10th, 2015 Even though I stopped blogging over 2 years ago, I still check in on this space from time to time.  A few months ago I came across this post sitting in my drafts folder.  I wrote it about 2 months before Ramona was born and it was entertaining to see my thoughts reflecting the change that I was about to...

What France Taught Me | Mar 21st, 2013 On Tuesday afternoon we took a break from packing and went for one last walk down to the River Lez. We brought with us a small token to take part in a tradition that couples have been doing for years on the Pont des Artes in Paris and has recently started here in Montpellier - locking up our love for each...

Ramona Rose at 5 Months | Mar 10th, 2013 Sweet Ramona is 5 months old today. What a difference a few weeks makes. Ramona's first month of life was difficult, like it is for most newborns. Unbeknownst to me, our battle with evil, evil thrush had begun and our poor, Little Miss had her days and nights mixed up. By her second month of life, she...

Countdown: 2 Weeks | Mar 8th, 2013 On Monday I looked around our apartment, at the stacks of built but empty boxes, the piles of things we want to get rid of, and stacks of books and clothes that needed to be packed, and I started to freak out.  It all seemed really overwhelming.  Also, 2 strange men had been in my apartment for the last 5...

Countdown: 4 Weeks | Feb 22nd, 2013 Holy shit, we're moving in a month. For the last few weeks we've been stuck in this weird place where we know we're moving, but it's just a little too early to start packing things up.  However, we're starting to realize that we need to Start Doing Things.  And oh my, is there a lot to do.  We've...

A Day in Provence: Aix | Feb 18th, 2013 We've often heard that the best parts of Aix are outside the confines of the city, and I think this is probably true.  A year ago we may have visited the region to go wine tasting and have a fancy dinner out on the town, but those kinds of trips have been put on temporary hold.  Instead, we decided to...

Ramona Rose at 4 Months | Feb 10th, 2013 Four months.  Already.  I think I'll be using that word a lot.  I never knew time could move this swiftly. We have a very happy, smiley baby girl these days.  And quite the little chatterbox! She literally spends hours babbling ooh, ooh, agoo, agoo, gah, bbrrr, ahh!  One time she even sighed, Ohhh...

Countdown: 6 Weeks | Feb 8th, 2013 Thank you all for your well wishes!  It's really happening.  We really only have 6 weeks left until we move back to the U.S.  When I think about it in those terms, it feels overwhelming.  How will we pack up all of our stuff, tie up all our loose ends, and squeeze in a few more trips, in just 6 short...

Onward | Feb 6th, 2013 On a cold Ohio evening in November 2002, I signed an offer letter that put me on a path to where I am today.  The letter that I signed that early winter morning promised me to a city I knew very little about.  A city I'd never experienced.  A city that, for a small town Ohio girl, seemed as far away as...

Pont du Gard: Day and Night | Feb 4th, 2013 The Pont du Gard, located about 80 km from Montpellier, is a 3 tiered Roman aqueduct built in the 1st century A.D.  Since it was on our way home from Avignon, we decided to stop there and check it out.  It was getting to be late in the day and we arrived at dusk, which turned out to be a pretty cool time...