weather is "better"

this is the only time of the year that the weather here is "better" than it is in Chicago...normal winter weather here resides between a low of mid 30s to highs of mid 40s...but actually right now and for the next few days, its actually in the low 50s...so its not bad at all...light jacket weather...no need for gloves or a scarf...and its never really that windy here either...i thought it would be windier, but much less windy than chi-town i've noticed...

the 'you know you've been with someone a long time when...' story.

quick story from our t-day in paris...

we got this museum pass, which allowed us to cut lines and skip admission at the majority of the sites in paris. we packed in as many sites as we could in the 2 days. on the 1st night of using the pass, our last stop was at the arc de triumph. we climbed and descended so many damn steps that day...the louvre, notre dame, and finally all the way to the top of the arc de triumph. it was evening by the time we got there, so we knew we'd get a perfect view of the eiffel tower and the beautiful scenery in paris such as this view:

From Paris!...part un

anyways, before we could get to the good stuff like this view, nature called. luckily in this location, they had restrooms at the top, next to each other . we split up, and of course, in all ladies rooms, there's a line. (why is this, btw?) so i'm waiting in line, behind this older woman, for the 2 stalls available. i never look anyone in the face when in the ladies room because that's just plain embarrassing for all involved. so i'm staring aimlessly around the restroom when all of a sudden...i hear this urgent sounding pfffffffft in a kind of crescendo, followed by a sound that sounded like a period. it was one of those 'i've been waiting a long time to let this one out' farts; like you could tell the owner was relieved to release. i thought in my head, 'was it the lady in front of me?', as i was all prepared to back away from the inevitable stench...however, in my aimless gaze, i started to look up at the ceiling. at the same time i was thinking, 'that fart sounded familiar...' and then i spotted it. the wall between the mens and ladies room did not reach to the ceiling, and i put 2 and 2 together and realized. 'omg, that was archie.'

when i saw archie, i asked, 'did you fart in there??' his first reaction? 'noooo' and shook his head. then he broke out in a proud smile and said, "you guys could hear that couldn't you. i could tell because i could hear you guys in the ladies room."

and that's how you know you've been with someone for a long time.

if you're interested, here are the full suite of pics from our t-day in paris:
DSLR pictures:
Album 1:
http://picasaweb.google.com/princessmyra/ParisPartUn?authkey=OxTshkjGSfU#
Album 2:
http://picasaweb.google.com/princessmyra/ParisPartDeux?authkey=5vDgHHO0WzI#

Point and Shoot pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/princessmyra/ParisWithOurPointShootCamera?authkey=6h6aMQFfJhM#

enjoy!

fancy schmancy pictures...

so, m and i went to the national portrait gallery for the first time...its in one of those trafalgar square buildings...anyways, we went there to see the special Annie Leibovitz exhibit...if you are breathing and are not blind, then you have seen her stuff somewhere...she pictures people like ansel adams pictures landscapes...anyways, the stuff was interesting i guess because she has basically taken pics of the most famous and powerful people in the world over the last 15 or so years...it took less than an hour to see the exhibit as it was just a few photographs in about six rooms...funny how expensive london is...we spent more at this mini exhibit than we did to see the entire louvre in paris...anyways, the rest of the national portrait gallery appears to be free...but we were not interested...enough culture for one day...

anyways, i watched the movie Elf when we got home...absolutely hilarious...and great christmas movie...

But I won't hesitate no more...

I've been spendin' way too long checkin' my tongue in the mirror
and bendin' over backwards just to try to see it clearer
But my breath fogged up the glass
and so I drew a new face and I laughed
I guess what I'd be sayin' is there ain't no better reason
to rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons
it's what we aim to do
our name is our virtue..........

Well open up your mind and see like me
open up your plans and damn you're free
look into your heart and you will find that the sky is yours

great song...find it...listen to it...live it...

"So I pushed it back in..."

Ok...i won't incriminate the players in this little story...but you know who you are...anyways, i just had to post this e-mail because it is freakin' hilarious...absolutely classic and needs to be archived forever in blog-lore...some background - I heard the story first from the Misses of this couple and I wasn't really listening to the story too intently the first time and misrepresented much of it to the Mister... ...so, the Mister shot me an e-mail and told me the full story...enjoy...

"OMG! we were at a party...Korean BBQ place and then we were on our way to a bar..all very close to home by the way...I told her like twice..I really have to take a dump...we need to stop home pronto! So on the way out she starts offering to shuttle people to the bar...I was like WHAT? what are you doing? She was like oops I forgot..So I was a bit bitter and snapped at her. Plus we were going to transport a married couple that I had not even talked to that night at dinner...Hang on a sec - "have to stop home to drop a deuce...hope you don't mind"...so I pushed it back in...drove these people...sweating...dude is making small talk with me...and I have a turd the size of my forearm trying to make its way out! So went to the bar...was there for an hour or so...then we cut out early...and I shot the final torpedo! That is how it happened..."

There is someone I hate...

and her name rhymes with Smelody!

Back from Pear-ree...random story...

So, we are back...we'll hopefully post more blogs later...but here is a random story...we went to this one off-the-beaten path cafe that a friend over here recommended...had to literally climb the highest hill in Paris to get there (those who have visited should have an idea of where it is)...anyways, this place is known for hot chocolate and crepes (although every single cafe in paris is apparently known for this, so we couldn't really tell the difference anyway...it all tastes the same to us as you can't really mess it up!)...

Anyways, this place was rather unique in that they let all their visitors post random things on the walls and such...here is a picture of the wall where we put our note on...can you see it?

So, I was scanning the wall where i was sitting and I came across this wonderful picture below...it sure looks like the long lost older brother of someone we know very well...the great thing is, when i looked closer at the picture, the guy's name is Matteo! and he is from italy!!! great! It gets better...M had a family wedding picture of Tonino in her purse, which was very very random...anyways, I put the pictures next to each other and snapped it...that is Mama Tonino in between her two sons...