Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Snow Day

This morning we put trust in Andy's hands as we got in the Vectra and headed down to Geneva for a snow day in the city. Although we've flown in and out of the airport and we'd hit up L'Escalade in December, Andy and I had yet to bop around this beautiful town in the daylight. Apparently it only snows in Geneva two-ish times a year so we were super lucky to get the weather we did.

Along the way, we...

Had a snowball fight.
Caught up on some reading.
Helped Evan make his first snowman.
Enjoyed the scenery.
And saw the Jet d'Eau.

It was a snowy, blustery and perfect day. Thanks for the outing, husbands.

on to the next one...

Friday, January 27, 2012

LNA Wildcard Race

It's been a quiet week 'round these parts as we recovered from the birthday weekend, subsequent sniffles that resulted from said celebration and the fact that the boys have been hard at work in the gym preparing for their final regular season match. The winner of this match will secure a spot in the Swiss League playoffs. The loser...won't.

The opponent: Nafels
The issue: The last three match-ups have gone to five but have had less than desirable outcomes
The (ONLY) solution: KICK. THEIR. SWISS-GERMAN. BUTTS! (preferrably in three)

The match is at 17:00 local time tomorrow (meaning 8 a.m. west coast and 10 a.m. middle coast time) for all you die-hard fans interested in staring intently at the miniature video on your computer screen while tallying points on a piece of paper next to you because the Swiss don't know what "Live Score" is.

In all seriousness, the LUC guys have worked way too hard to have their season come to such an abrupt end. Send all positive thoughts, prayers and winning vibes our way.

ALLEZ LUC!!!

on to the next one...

Monday, January 23, 2012

Birthday Weekend of Life

Another birthday has come and gone. While I'm not exactly happy to be past the mid-point of my twenties, I did find "I'm old" to be a convenient excuse when asked why we were leaving "so early" from the bar Saturday night (in my defense, it was nearly 3 a.m. and my Santa Clara college experience prevented me from learning how to stay up much past the 2 a.m. bar close).

Friday morning I woke up to homemade banana pancakes and presents, including some new clothing items and some CHF coins sent all the way from the USA (weird but appreciated, mommy!). That night we went to dinner with the Stewarts before continuing the party with Shawn and the Patchell kids for cake and ice cream. Sage wins the rock star award for preparing her Swiss specialty cake with - what else - Nutella frosting.

Happy Birthday from the states.
Sage's creation - so tasty!
Awkward - standard.
Per usual, things got a little crazy.

Because one cake just wasn't enough - and because I have an incredibly loving and culinarily (it's that a word?) talented husband - we celebrated again when we got home from Celebration One with Andy's cake.

Andy's creation, with a little help from Betty Crocker in the frosting department.
Harry was a spectacular helper.

The boys had their last home match of the regular season on Saturday. I met a friend for a glass of pre-game wine before heading to cheer on LUC. The guys won in three and we quickly found ourselves back home preparing for the night's festivities.

They kind of smoked 'em.
The best looking volleyball team around.

We had a slew of friends over for snacks, a Space Jam viewing and one or twelve two drinks before hitting the town. I failed in the picture taking department but Timi came through in the clutch with some amazing documentation.

 Harry's newest accessory.
 Husbands.
 Me and T.
The start of our evening at Buzz thanks to Richie. While there were many other pictures, I reserve the right not to embarrass myself any further.

Such a fun weekend. Thanks to all for celebrating with me!

on to the next one...

Thursday, January 19, 2012

26

It's not just the number of miles I hope to run during the first marathon I complete (knock on wood) sometime in 2012, but the number of years I turn in just a few more minutes.

25 was a doozy. In the last calendar year I...
- Packed up the San Francisco apartment I worked so hard to get
- Quit my dream job
- Took a huge leap of faith and headed to Russia for nearly a month on the first (of many) volleyball adventures with Andy. Along the way, I learned more about Andy and myself than I ever thought was humanly possible in just 25 days.
- Packed up and moved to Orange County
- Planned and executed (and might I add, nearly flawlessly) KAWOL
- Packed up and moved the majority of our life (and shiny, beautiful wedding gifts) into storage
- Tended to the most perfect miniature human being in the whole world, Ellie Anne Dranka
- Packed up and moved halfway across the world to reunite with my husband (still kind of weird to say that) in Switzerland
- Stepped completely out of my comfort zone by meeting new people, exploring new cities and learning to live the Euro life

While it's safe to say my 25th year had it's unfair fair share of ups and downs, I'm a better person because of it. I've rediscovered my love and passion for God, fallen head-over-heels in love all over again with my husband, family and friends (okay fine, you too Harry Winston), and have learned too many? so many valuable lessons.

So cheers to you, 26May this next year bring the very best of happiness, health and less of a hangover than this night did...


LMK Mexican Fiesta a la 2010.

on to the next one...

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

When the cat's away, the mouse will play...

...right? Maybe not.

Tuesday morning, the boys hit the road for a three day road trip to compete in a CEV match. Initially, these three days off had me overflowing with excitement at all traveling and adventuring I would do in their absence - a quick trip up to Paris, a jaunt over to Milan for the day. In reality, my time the last day and a half has been spent catching up on reading and emails, taking down and stowing our Christmas decorations and cleaning up around the frat house.

Feeling a little stir-crazy yesterday and wanting to enjoy the (finally!) gorgeous weather, Harry and I spent our afternoon down at the lake, relaxing and taking in the sunshine.


You'd think after three months I'd be used this scenery and stop asking, "Do we seriously live here?" eight times a day. There are things about this season I'd change if I could and that are far from ideal but who am I to complain? We live in the most beautiful place in the world. I mean, Ben the Bachelor does propose at the end of this season overlooking the Matterhorn in Zermatt, Switzerland. If only we'd known when Ben and his lady friend would be in town, we could have arranged for a double date. Your loss, Ben F.

on to the next one...

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Bon Voyage and Au revoir!

After a restful night of sleep quick nap last night this morning, we bid 'au revoir' to my mom and Martin. But before they left...

Thursday and much of Friday took Marty away on business in Zurich so Evan, Andy, ma mère and I bopped around Montreux and Lausanne. Highlights include jumping into the Cathedral for a quick warm up, noshing on some Holy Cow! burgers downtown and taking Harry Winston to watch the boys play at practice.

 La Rochelle - parfaite!
View of the lake from my parents' apartment.

After a long day at the Disney research facility on Friday, Martin was back in time to join us for a late dinner at Pinte Besson, the oldest restaurant in Lausanne which is said to have opened it's doors in 1780. The boys had their fair share of meat (and bibs to prove it) while mom and I focused more on the task at hand - the two bottles of local wine at the table.


It was so fun to have the Ms here in Switzerland with us and we are so thankful for everything they've done for us this past week. It was sad to see them go but we know our time here is ticking away and we'll be back in the states before we know it!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Evian les Bains

"How about a trip across the lake for lunch in France?" says Martin.

Today Rochelle, Martin and the Heimero family boarded a boat at Port D'Ouchy (ha ha) and headed south for France. The boat ride was lovely and the town was simply charming. We enjoyed bouncing about Evian - yes, where the water comes from - and exploring a new city.


I'm hoping my next trip across the lake has everything something to do with the amazing spas and baths that Evian les Bains is known for - hint, hint.

on to the next one...