Trip of a Lifetime

This past summer I had a the opportunity to travel to Europe and work for a company that does business with my Dad's business. So in June I packed by bags and headed off, by myself, to Switzerland. Needless to say I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

I'm a nerd and think I'm funny.

Did I mention that I went there alone. And that I only speak English, not German or French. When I got to Zurich I was exhausted because I only slept for an hour on the plane. The first thing I had to do was get a train ticket and take the train to Basel, where I would be living and working. This was difficult for me. 1. I had never taken a train, ever 2. I am American and don't know the phrase "Pack Light!" So me and my big hot pink suitcase, hiking backpack and purse and trying to go up and down escalators. Not fun for me, but I'm sure entertaining for the Swiss. Once I got to Basel I was going to be picked up by the lady that I was renting an "apartment" from. Little did I know that she didn't speak any English, and like I said earlier, I don't speak German. So it was an interesting phone call from the most complex phone booth, ever. I then began to feel so alone and HOT! I was sweating like crazy. Again, I'm American and prefer to be in air-conditioning, which is scarce over there. I called my mom and started sobbing, out of exhaustion and feeling alone. (Don't worry, this story gets better and happier) When Mrs. Grandy finds me at the train station and takes me to my new home, I am surprised to find out that "apartment" in Swiss means room.

Literally a one bedroom "apartment"

But the upside of this "apartment" was the view...

Room with a view!

I could see France from my window. I lived in this little village that was on the border or Switzerland and France. Every day on my walk to the bus station I walked by a pasture of sheep. It was very storybook needless to say.

During my time there I got to know one of my co-workers very well. Her name is Sina and I would have been lost and lonely without her! She had traveled to America when she was in high school and was a foreign exchange student, so she knew exactly how it felt to be all alone in a different country. Sina would take me to her Turkish classes, her families house, and showed me around Basel and Germany.

Sina and I in Lucerne

Sina and I laughed a lot and now have many inside jokes. In addition to taking a trip to Lucerne and a few trips to her parents house in the Black Forest in Germany, we also went to a Norah Jones concert in Germany! It was AWESOME!!

The talented Norah Jones

I worked for 4 weeks at SenTec AG. Then during my last week of work my bff Vicky came over and I got to show her around where I had been living. We explored downtown Basel and got to celebrate the Swiss national holiday. Then, Sina took us to her parents house in the Black Forest and her parents arranged for the three of us to fly in a small private plane over the Black Forest! THIS WAS THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER DONE!!

Yay! She's here!

No big deal! This is our private plane! :)

This was my last weekend in Switzerland. Then Vicky and I were off to PARIS! I was so excited about this trip. We packed our bags and boarded the train (that was really late). Again, the whole not packing light thing was an issue. We didn't know what car to board, and there was a train guy yelling at us to hurry so we just got on the closest one. Which ended up being the car on the opposite end of where we needed to be. So we slowly started making out way with our luggage to the other side of the train. Our first day there we just took it easy and went to McDonald's to get free wifi. Good ol' Micky D's!! Then the next day we began our Paris Adventure! We went to the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Versailles and took a night tour of the city. Paris is so fun and we had such a good time together. I'm so glad that we got to travel part of Europe together.

Bonjour! Beautiful day to explore Paris!

The main palace at Versailles

Oh la la! The Moulin Rouge

I hope that one day I am able to travel back to Europe. It was such a great experience and I made so many great memories with great friends!

Happy Reading!

Best Dad In the World!

Okay, so I know many say this, but I HAVE THE BEST DAD IN THE WORLD!! Some might say, "Meghan, what makes your dad great?" Well....here's why: not only is he loving and so supportive of who I am and what I do but he is getting me a:

PUPPY!!! 

AHHHHH!!! Okay, let me just say that I have wanted a puppy my ENTIRE life. Every time when my parents would call me out of my room for anything growing up I would wish and pray that they would have a puppy for me. Well, my dad finally cracked and we will soon have a new addition to the family! I might be a little premature on blogging about this since we don't know what color she will be or exactly when we can bring her home, but I'm just so darn excited I can't help myself! haha

My little baby will be a British Labrador Retriever (they are smaller than standard labs) and her name will be Millie. We have pretty much decided on a breeder and are just waiting to get the process going. The breeder has two litters that will be born this month and will be ready to come home sometime in May. AHHH! I just can't believe that my dad is getting me a puppy! No words can explain my excitement and how grateful to my dad I am. He is such a loving person and he treats me like a princess. SUCH AN AWESOME DAD!

I know that May is still a ways away, and I'm sure my family/friends are going to be so annoyed by how much I talk about my Millie girl until then, but this is so huge and such a blessing. I've already found a super cute collar that I want to get her, Mimi Green Collars , my faves are 'Apple', 'Bridget' and 'Caroline'. Let me know what you think. Millie could be black, fox, or yellow, just depending on the litter.

Once I get pictures of Millie (well once she is born, that is) I will post them! I cannot wait to get her, hurry up May!! Oh, and did I mention that my dad also surprised me with my favorite Girl Scout Cookies, Samoas? See, he's great!

Happy Reading!

Good Times, Good Friends

Photo taken by the talented Melissa Howell

Well this weekend was Mardi Gras and this was the first year I went to Soulard for the parade. It was freezing cold and wet outside, but it was so much FUN! I went with a few of my sorority sisters and we stayed for the first hour of the parade. We stood in front of the crowd for most of the time we were there but when we were walking back to the MetroLink we got more beads walking back than we did standing and waiting for the floats. Even though I was cold the rest of the day it was well worth it! I had fun with my sisters and got a TON of beads (but don't worry I didn't earn them, just caught them! haha!)

Later that night I went to Satchmo's Bar and Grill in Chesterfield and listened to this up and coming country music artist. His name is Johnny Henry and man is he talented! He was accompanied by Rob Boyle and Kady and Andrea. It was such a fun night and there were SO many people. Check out the  Johnny Henry Official Site and see if you can come to any shows.

To end the weekend I went to watch Erin compete in her Gymnastics meet. She did such a good job!

Good weekend, but back to reality tomorrow and cleaning all day. But at least I like doing that kind of stuff and I can't wait to get my house organized!!

Sour Lemons!

For the past eight weeks I have been taking an Economics for Educators course. THANK THE LORD IT IS OVER!!! This class was so hard and there was too much work for an eight week class. For our final project we had to either read a book and write a report or create a children's book and short video to explain at least five concepts of economics for kids. I decided to be creative and create a book and film. It is really cheesy but I got an A! ha My sweet friend, Lindsey, helped me film it and then I edited on my wonderful MacBook. Hope you enjoy the video and get a good laugh out of it!

My First Blog Post EVER!

Okay, so this could end up being really lame, and I might not get any followers but I thought I would give this Blog thing a try. I like reading other peoples blogs and have been wanting a place where I can rant or rave about things.

What you can expect to see on my blog:
Fun projects I've done for school
New products I've found
Make-up tips or products that I LOVE
Books I've read
Places I've been

So hopefully this will be interesting to someone, or I will at lest be entertained by what I post! :)
Feel free to leave comments or request what you want me to blog or research about! Oh, and please click on the "follow" button of the right.

Happy Reading!!

~Meg