August Currently and Throwback Thursday: Teaching Abroad {Edition Two}

You get two posts for the price of one today people! A little August Currently and some Throwback Thursday....

First up - Currently...Thank you Farley for once again hosting such a fun linky! Es muy bien! {Sidenote: What fortuitous timing for me today to be so high on the linky list... that NEVER happens..Farley, I am using some big vocab words like the ones in that book you have..wink, wink}

Ahhh...as some of you know I am in Europe...why am I posting then you wonder? Well, because I am here for a while and I like just sitting in a cafe with an espresso, and watching the city life all around me. And don't worry... I have several posts lined up for you that were ready before I left...so I won't be doing too much blogging from here....well, I think.

Listening: To the sound of LIFE is all around me. And I guess this is also true in NYC, but there is something quintessentially European about the city life buzz that I can hear.... I love it!!

Loving: This new store I found called Tiger. Sadly, there aren't any stores in the US, because the first thing I did was google that! It is a Danish company store that is like Ikea meets Target meets Paper Source meets every other fun and cute store. Oh Tiger...please find your way into the U.S.

Check out these colorful papers pre cut into a pennant shape... and the giant pencil and pens.. and all the cute prints and that tray on the bottom right IS coming home with me. Actually a lot will be coming home from this store... I may even bring some to share with you!

Thinking: I should probably not be blogging and be spending time finding hotels and other slightly important things for the rest of our stay...and then the computer is being hidden away for the rest of our vacay.... We bought our plane tickets last Monday {I'm not a planner...can you tell?}... had my sister's wedding on Saturday...left out of San Fran {close to the wedding locale...but not to where we live} and arrived in Barcelona!
I have to do a quick side note: How cute is my sister? And the flower girl drinking WATER in a wine glass with me kills me...and the bustle picture is not your traditional one.. but I like it. And who is that rockin' band? Oh it's the Anteaters... as in my dad {on the right} and the grandpa of the flower girl {left} They rocked it in the 60's and have come back together for the weddings of their daughters..priceless.

Ok... so that was a tangent... let's focus....

The plan is Barcelona, Sitges...then to France to be in Aix-en-Provence on August 7th, which is our anniversary and Aix was where our wedding was. It will be our first time back since 2009...then Italy and then England {we have another wedding to attend there.} You see, my hubby is Euro...hence the wedding, etc...so when I say "I {heart} Europe" I really meant it.

Wanting: Another Kas... Um, it is my new delicious drink. Usually in Europe I am 100% an Orangina fan or perhaps a little peach iced tea that just has a different here taste than at home.....{and of course an espresso or wine here and there} But yesterday I discovered Kas... and then today went back and bought 2 at once. I'm addicted.

While we are on beverages... look what I saw today. Little wine juice boxes. Yes, wine in a box with a mini straw.

Needing: Nothing... life is good right now. Today was "Let's be FULL Tourists Today" and it was fab:

We {heart} Barcelona!!

Back to School Must Haves: Well this is hard because I am just NOT in that mind set and I don't go back until September 4.... but off the cuff, here's what I got.
1. Flair pens... obsessed... love them and it is a September treat to have a fresh set

2. I like to start the year with a few new fonts... why, well, because it seems to let me know the year I made something...like a time stamp. Plus it freshens life up. Don't get me wrong I have a few all time favorites that never seem to go away. Have no idea what they will be this year...KG Fonts usually comes through for me... and I'm liking that sketch business I see all over. Feel free to share with me any of your new favorites!

3. Last up...Colors! What do I mean....well, I start my year with a Color Unit {as well as names and getting to know each other}. I rely on the Frog Street press Color Song CD, my own Color Unit and I just saw sweet Miss Kindergarten has some Color Writing Sheets that I may have to get my hands on soon. Plus, I will be purchasing myself some colorful Euro clothes to kick off my year, too.. I mean, on Orange day I need a little orange in my life... and red, and blue, and you get the idea :)

OK... no more school talk for the time being :)

Now from Currently... to not so current at all....part 2 is a Throwback to 2004, but also with a Euro theme....

Throwback Thursday...Second Edition... Last Thursday I "launched" which may be too strong of a word to use... but I chose to start a Throwback Thursday recounting some of my adventures from when I taught abroad in England. It all started when I got a lot of feedback from this post where I am trying to bully everyone into teaching abroad.

Button credits: Scrappin Doodles, KG Fonts, Cara Carroll and Sonya Dehart

So I searched around to find some of my emails and website entries {yes, I had a website} to share with you.... Today's throwback is from October 3, 2004.

Hope this inspires you to possibly want to teach abroad... or just travel there....or just get a kick out of some of my events...  Here we go:

Hi All,

Well, I was not going to make this a weekly edition- but I have so much to tell. And as I see it, you have the choice to skim through should it be too much.

Anyway, let's discuss Friday: The day that S#1 (anonymous student named "Suspect #1") threw a rubber at me. For clarification, S#1 is the one who made the one eyed monster comment- and again, a rubber is an eraser.  He then proceeded to run out of the classroom, which isn't new for him. The rest of the class continue to be angels and I just can't get enough of their accents.

I decided Friday night not to make the venture to Cambridge for the weekend -I was too tired and had been made another offer. This offer included Ikea.  So, similar as to what I would do in the states (insert sarcasm here), Emily picked me up at 7:30am on Saturday and we made the 2 ½ hour drive to another country (Wales) to go shopping  at Ikea.  Then on the way home we stopped at Azda: Part of the Walmart family…. It was equally exciting.  I saw that same yellow happy face all over the store cutting prices and I stocked up on all types of  things.  Don't care too much for Walmart in the states, but over here  I have a whole different mentality.  Mainly since I don't have a car, the place is over 2 hours away, and there are no places like it to stock up on basic things, so basically I went crazy.

Saturday night I had a night on the town in Hereford.  I was celebrating this guy's 30th birthday- it was great.  Randomly enough, I was celebrating some other guy's 30th birthday the weekend before in Leicester where my friend Melissa lives.  We went to a rugby game where I was harassed by people wondering why in "American Football" guys wear pads, helmets, etc and in Rugby (which they claim is a more violent sport) the guys only have shorts on.  Hmm, I don't know and don't care.


So tomorrow is the big day- Starbucks opens in Hereford!!!!! At first my plan was to be the first one there, just to say I did.  I thought maybe my pound would go up on the wall like you sometimes see in a business… then I thought it would be too hard to hot glue a coin to the wall, and the idea works better with a bill.... in case you didn't know there is no money in a bill form until 5 pounds. I also decided it's kinda stormy and I will just get there when I get there, no need to rush.

Oh- many have asked if I have mowed the lawn yet. And yes I did. Emily helped me and we were able to fill three big trash bags with cut grass.  Then we had to sneak the bags of cut grass into the dumpster at school because the regular pick up does not allow grass unless it is in some special bag.  The problem is it already needs to be cut again and I just don't want to do it. I made a few offers to people I met out on Saturday night to see if any of them are interested - probably not the best venue to find a true gardener.

Lastly, last week at work was "Unusual Biscuit Week" in my honor. People brought in new cookies and odd British treats for me to try. It was fun, but secretly I think it was a plan to have me gain some weight.  I felt like Gretel as people handed me several cookies a day.

Take care everyone! Miss you!

Holy! Long post... these two puppies maybe weren't the best to pair together. Thanks for sticking through it. And check back next Thursday for another Throwback...it will be a solo post and not nearly as long. {I promise!} And Click HERE to move right along and read Edition three of the Throwback Thursday: Teaching Abroad stories!