Whew.

I'm back!

Right now I'm at Chalet Wildhorn, in Anzère. Same place I came with my friends this past October. And it is so beautiful right now. There is a thick blanket of snow covering everything, and it is sunny and pretty warm. I'm out on my balcony, enjoying the sunshine, and a little peace and quiet. There are 24 of us here this time, and 11 are skiing, 11 are sledding, and me and one other girl are chilling at the chalet. Why am I not participating in a snow activity in this snowy paradise? Well, I don't want to. Honestly, I'm worn out. The last month has been absolutely wonderful, but I am in need of a little alone time and zero physical activity.

And I still haven't recovered any photos. I'm so heartbroken. Pictures of Manchester, Dublin, and Bern. There might be some hope, but I'm not crossing my fingers. Oh well. Just photos, right? At least I didn't lose my passport. On to my adventures.

I had an absolute blast in the UK with my family. Aunt Peggy and Uncle John absolutely spoiled me rotten. Seriously. I barely did anything... just slept and relaxed. I did get a haircut, just a trim, which Aunt Peggy took care of, as a Christmas gift. It was soooo nice being with my family, and seeing old photos, and eating old family recipes (like Nana's butter balls and nutbread angel food cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting). I also had Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese, Parmesan Goldfish crackers, root beer, Doritos, Lucky Charms, Oreo's, and other American junk food. It was wonderful. Super wonderful. It was just so nice to spend Christmas with family, and be in a house that was immediately comfortable and recognizable. The UK is such a smash-up of America and Europe, I decided. And I liked it.

I had the BEST time in Ireland. Yes, seeing Dan was the best part of the whole vacation, but it was so so so fun to be with Dave, Jason, and Rabin, and to meet all of Lawrence's friends from when he lived there. I got to see his office, the kitchen he built, and the building where he lived. I also just loved Dublin. We saw soooo much - the Guinness factory (awesome! another life goal accomplished), Newgrange (a tomb 1000 years older than the pyramids, take that, Egypt!), Powerscourt, Glendalough, Trim Castle, etc. It was so beautiful. I can't wait to go back. It's definitely a place where I could see myself living. The New Year's party we went to was great too - we missed midnight, because everyone was too busy making drinks and talking and laughing. I popped the champagne at about 11:50, and after a glass or two (or three) I asked the hostess, "what time is it?" She quick looked at her watch, blanched, and starting counting down... "10, 9, 8, 7..." It was 12:02. So very Irish. Loved it.

Dan and I made a quick stopover in Manchester for a night, and then headed back to Switzerland, where we spent nearly two wonderful weeks together. I was working most of the time, but it was nice just to do normal, everyday things with him. The kids absolutely loved him, despite the language barrier, and had a blast playing with him and making music. Dan and I also got to do quite a bit, despite my working a lot. We visited the Château de Chillon, which was incredible, and spent a weekend in Bern, which was gorgeous, but very, very cold, and took a day trip to Gruyères, and visited the Château there. Gruyères is incredibly beautiful and looks like a postcard. I would post pictures but... you know. So do a google image search and we'll call it a day.

Anyway, Dan left Thursday, and it pretty much broke my heart. Luckily, I was working, so I didn't have to worry about moping alone, cause as soon as I got back into the house, the kids were all over me, demanding things and asking questions. And since it was a beautiful day, I opened the back door to the deck, and let the dog out for a few minutes.

And then the stupid dog escaped.

Which, really, was a good thing, cause it got my mind off of Dan's departure, and got me outside with a pocket full of treats, searching for a pure white dog in a field of snow. The dog came back, thankfully, but I'm never letting her outside again without her electronic collar (which I didn't put on cause I couldn't find).

Anyway, I'm kinda tired, and I think I'm going to cook a little something, in the great big kitchen in our chalet. I'm probably going to make some more frosting for the cake I made yesterday. Mmmm.....

Schedule for today and tomorrow - relaxation! Yea! Not that I don't miss Dan (a whole bunch), but I definitely need some alone time/recharge my batteries time.

à plus tard!