Crazy Little Thing Called Life: american girl

The original plan was for me to go home last Saturday, but life happens and things change and now I'm still in France. It is, of course, a disappointment for me as I was really excited to get home, but I will get back to the people and places I love soon enough. Until then, I need to remain positive! And, I'm doing that by savoring the little things that are making me happy right now! :)

1. a homemade candlelit lunch for one with tabouli salad, ratatouille, and peppery tortilla chips

2. creating a little home gym for myself now that my insanely overpriced gym membership has ended (the gym was also disturbingly dusty)

3. the wonderful and luxe gift my guy gave me for no reason at all (well, I'm reason enough, aren't I?!!) - Guerlain face creams made with this amazing orchid that lives for something like 160 years so it fights anti-aging (but I'm still not sure if he was hinting that I'm getting wrinkles!? lol)

4. my amazing perfume that makes me smell and feel feminine and chic

5. uummmm socialized medicine!!! upon my last visit to the pharmacy, the lady bagged my stockpile of meds and said, "bonne journée," and I stood there dumbfounded and said, "c'est totalement gratuit? incroyable!" Then, I neatly arranged my treasures in a mason jar.


6. my not so beautiful but delicious first attempt at vegan cinnamon apple muffins (the trick - more applesauce, less vegan butter for a moist, yet healthy treat!) sorry, I know the word moist creeps a lot of people out. oops there I go again with it.

7. (not pictured because I'm not into that whole taking pictures of myself thing) something making me super happy: I had to buy new jeans and belts because my hard work is paying off!! :)

One thing not making me happy : this craptastic weather. I swear the ratio of crappy days to beautiful days here is not in favor of the latter. Boo! But, hiding out inside and listening to Ingrid Michaelson's soothing songs on repeat is a nice dose of wonderful.

This day has me thinking a lot about home. The Internet is buzzing with a re-United America. Whether Democratic, Republican, or drinking tea with Sarah Palin, there are proud Americans joining together to rejoice today. However, no matter how happy the whole world is about killing a man who is responsible for the murders of thousands and thousands of people, there comes with that some sense of unrest. There is the question of what to expect of al-Qaeda in the future. And, unfortunately, I wish it weren't the case, but I don't think that killing the leader of these horribly misguided people is killing their beliefs. We can only hope and pray that it will weaken them enough to wear them down.

I am proud to be an American and not just today. There is so much more in this world for me to see, but I know that I will always love where I am from. The United States is vast and has so many places to see and things to do. Take a drive down the East coast from Maine to Florida. Visit Boston. Go to Fenway. Go to Plymouth Plantation. Walk the Freedom Trail. Go to Cape Cod and Nantucket. Stop and see the mansions in Rhode Island. Keep traveling South and visit NYC, the Big Apple. Spend your 4th of July at Coney Island's hot dog eating contest. Visit the beaches of NJ. Go to Delaware and watch the horses running wild. Go to Camden Yards. Visit historic Philadelphia. Visit our nation's capital. Laugh at all of the South of the Border signs and stop there, too! Go to JRs (but leave your gun outside). Go to Charleston and ATL. Go to Cape Canaveral, Disney World, Miami and the Keys. Drive West via Rt 66 and visit New Orleans and Nashville. Or take the trip up North via 80. Visit Penn State where the atmosphere will blow your mind on a football weekend. Oh, and go see Niagara Falls. Take a trip to Notre Dame and chant Rudy, Rudy! Go see Chicago, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, and visit Minneapolis and see the Mall of America! Go to Yosemite. Ski in California, Utah, and Colorado. Go fishing off the coast of Washington. Go to Seattle. Visit Portland. Drink wine in Napa. See the Golden Gate Bridge. Have fun at Disneyland. Visit Hollywood and the beaches of California. Go see the most amazing sight - the Grand Canyon. Go to Vegas and get a hangover! Go to Four Corners and stand in 4 states at once. And, definitely, take hula lessons and go to a Luau in Hawaii!

My point is... the United States has so much to offer. Sure, there are so many places outside the USA worth seeing, but we should be lucky we don't need a visa or a passport to visit the many amazing places we have right within our own 50 United States.