A Decade Ago

OK, forget the bad perm (I never permed again!!), forget the ugly, ill-fitting jeans, forget the extra twenty-five pounds (alright, it was probably thirty!) I packed on while living there, forget those terrible white tennis shoes I had to buy on the air base in Ramstein, Germany....forget the fact that I NEVER wore make-up or did my hair much and let's just take a look at where I was a decade ago.

Do you have that one place in the world that no matter where you go or what you see, you just never tire of returning there? For me that place, as cliche as it may sound, is Paris. I don't know if I can explain in words just what the City of Lights means for me. I think it holds a lot of childhood dreams, it's the place of romance, it's the place of possibilities.

Ten years ago I boarded my first plane, yes my very first plane, and I flew to Paris. I was moving there. I was going to live there, I was going to speak the language, I was going to get out of Utah, I was going to explore every nook and cranny of Europe and I was going to do it for a whole year.

I left everything behind...three days after my 20th birthday, I just packed a bag and moved. My parents had never had a kid like me, they weren't sure what to do, but they trusted me and they let me leave the nest and fly....and from that one year, from that one year of making my big dream come true, I knew that no matter what I put my mind to, I could make it happen.

For me Paris was the catalyst to everything great I have since accomplished in my life.

So, I took out the old photo album, all weathered and worn and thought I would give you guys a little peak....

Again, sorry about the jeans, they really are bad! Also, the photos tend to be a bit fuzzy, if you click on them to enlarge a bit, they are better.

The Musee Rodin was one of my most favorite places to go and...well, you guessed it: think.
My best friend Holly came to spend the June month with me, this is us, almost exactly ten years ago to the date. We are over by St. Eustache (near Chatelet les Halles, for those of you who know the city). She now has been married for 9 years and has her fifth child on the way! What a decade can bring...
My first day in Italy, I had heard rumor that these little fountains along the road were safe to drink from, so I did. Right to my left was the place where Caesar was murdered...oh Brutus!!
This is the group of au pairs, Anna and Amber along with the sister of the family I nannied for. We stayed with her in Ramstein. Here we are eating fresh apple strudel after visiting the schloss at Heidelberg.
Anna and myself, along with our major crush, Tim. He was from Italy, his family owned olive groves in Pisa, he spoke fluent Italian, French, English and bits and pieces of other languages. Plus he was a fashionable 28 years old, a grown man to all of us then. He used to hang out with us quite often, I think because all four of us completely adored him....he was one of my very first major crushes! Thank goodness you always got to greet people in France with a kiss on both cheeks.
Holly, myself, Anna, and Amber taking in the view along the Seine. You can see the full 80s Rocker effect of my perm when you compare it to the picture below, which was pre-perm.
Our first midnight ferry to England, you can see the white cliffs of Dover just behind us....well, you can't because it was three o'clock in the morning, but they were there.
Emily and I taking the two boys (Andrew and Zachary) that I nannied to the Chateau Chantilly (as seen in James Bond). Chantilly is also the French word for whip cream, it is very fitting for this frothy, creamy palace. We flew kites quite often and took packed lunches everywhere we went!
How I would usually eat my baguettes! --OK, not really, I put them on a plate and added tomatoes and cheese like a good French girl should. This picture was just for dramatic emphasis on how much I LOVE baguettes!! Those extra pounds were WORTH it.
My forest, the French, they know how to use an apostrophe!!


AND THE BEST NEWS? I GET TO GO BACK IN NOVEMBER. HUZZAH!!!!