So, a friend of mine posted the Mean Abs June workout on Facebook. I’ve decided to take the challenge. If anyone else wants to join me, which I believe a few of my twitter followers have said yes, please do. The more support the better. I have already printed out my workout. I am adjusting so that my workout starts the first of June which is on Saturday this year, not on Friday as the workout sheet shows.
This is definitely happening.
Bayswater in eclipse grey
My husband has signed the paperwork. We are actually getting the car from Germany to save a bit of money. So, in about 2 months time, which is perfect timing with our moving into our new home, I’ll be behind the wheel of my new car!
© Semi-Charmed Life
I apologize for this being a repeat for my twitter followers, but this deserved to be in a blog post.
I’m a HUGE Fresh Prince of Bel Air fan. I miss that show. It was one of my favorites and I think I can say, it’s one of my all time favorites. It’s pretty amazing to think about how long ago this show aired and where and today it’s known all around the world. It’s known so well, that most anyone can sing the theme song. I know I still can. If that show is on, I will watch it. It never gets old for me.
So, I’m pretty certain I will be getting a Mini Cooper S. I’m about 75% certain it will be a manual. Even though it is a little bit more “work” when driving, there is something addicting about that stick. Heh.
Now the real question becomes, what will it look like?!? I have pretty much settled on two options. I was originally planning on getting the lightening blue with stripes. But then I looked at one of the special editions, the Bayswater in an eclipse grey metallic. I’m kind of leaning towards the Bayswater edition because it is a limited edition and it has a special look to it. What say you?
We’ve started discussing getting me a car here since we will be staying for quite some time now. The possibilities are endless. Truth be told though, I’ve always had my eye on one car in particular, the Mini Cooper S. This desire is based purely on aesthetics. I can admit to this. Ever since the mini cooper made its appearance worldwide, I’ve been enamored by its look.
I went for a test drive today. Now, I have test driven the Mini before. A few years ago, back in 2009, when I was in the market to get a new car and I was still living in California. I was commuting many miles and my current car was starting to cost me a lot of money, both in gas and maintenance. In the end, I bought a hybrid vehicle which I still own today, but is being taken care of by my in laws back in the states. Truth be told, part of the reason why I never ended up buying a Mini was the poor customer service. Maybe its because they are on the same lot as BMW, but they were not very friendly helping me in my interest for a Mini and I found this to be true at several dealerships, not just the one I had a test drive with. They seemed to be highly under staffed with the sales men only having interest in pushing the BMW sales.
As experienced and written by a 30 something year old woman.
I spent five days in Leeds recently visiting a very good friend of mine. While in the White Rose shopping center, we walked by a Build A Bear shop. Usually, I just walk by, giving it a small glance. Being from the states, I was well aware of the existence of BAB. However, something caught my eye. As we passed by the shop, my eyes went directly to the bright eyed, rainbow haired horse in the window, my childhood laid out before me in BAB form. Right there, in splendid pink and blue cotton candy colors, were two My Little Ponies, ready for us to stuff and love. At that moment, my mind was decided. I would be back to that shop, with my friend, and we would have the BAB experience together. I had been into a BAB store dozens of times, but nothing called out to me to be stuffed and taken home. That is, not until that day.
We had two house viewings yesterday. We did end up keeping our appointment with the bigot. That appointment went very well, actually. The owner of the house was there as well and he was genuinely engaging in conversation, getting to know the both of us. The house itself was quaint and somewhat secluded. It had a nice sized yard with a gorgeous view. It was somewhat private because of the trees lining the property. The house was small, only one story with a basement/garage. It had this amazing bathroom with high ceilings and windows along the top to allow for natural light. It kind of made you wish the rest of the house was like that.
I have been an American citizen all my life, but I also happen to be a Swiss citizen as well. Being born into a Swiss family, automatically makes me as such. I have lived my entire life, up until 2011, in the states. It’s interesting that such a country, literally built by people migrating in from countries all over the world, could have such discrimination amongst its people. As a white, American though, I can easily say, that I have not been discriminated against within my own country.
Moving to Switzerland is a whole other story. Since I live in a German speaking region and don’t speak any German, the Swiss Germans would have no clue I am a citizen, even though french is a language spoken in other regions of the country. As far as they are concerned, I’m just a foreigner.
And sometimes I get treated as such.
We’ve been busy busy busy, looking at properties to rent. Friday, Craig got out of work early and we looked at two different rentals, as well as drove around to scope out future viewings.
We decided to look at one apartment. This was a special apartment we decided we wanted to see. It is a newer building built just a few years ago and had a lot of nice things about it. It was also built to be very eco friendly. It had a nice spacious kitchen with all new appliances and it’s own laundry room with washer and dryer. The apartment itself was quite large and had a total of three bedrooms and a large living room. I suppose one of the awesome features it had was central heating. Central heating is not a common thing here in Europe. In the end though, as nice as that apartment definitely was, for the same amount of money, we can rent a whole house. Just makes more sense to take a house over an apartment.
When my husband, Craig and I moved to Switzerland, we didn’t bother with too much of the materialistic things. We were told that this was a temporary move, that would most likely only last us two years. So, with this information, we haven’t bothered to acquire many things. Especially, useless things. Our home has the bare necessities. Even our apartment was chosen as , “this will be good for two years.”. To be honest, our apartment really isn’t that bad. The forest is my backyard and I’ve enjoyed easily going for walks with my dog in it. Our current apartment is on the roof, so we also have a very nice view. The river is just a short walk away.
Now that things have changed and our two year stay has turned into a, “you can stay here for the rest of your life” sort of deal, it is time to start making this place our home. (Though I’m pretty sure we won’t be living here for the rest of our lives, it is clear we won’t be going anywhere for quite a few years).
First and foremost, we have decided finding a new place to live would be ideal. Particularly, we thought living in a house instead of an apartment would suit us better. We very much enjoy not having to share our walls with a neighbor.
Semi-Charmed Life 