Written by: Lea
Bon soir!!!
It has been a long time since our last post. We have thankfully been out of our transient living state for a month now. We were NOT sad to see the hotel go away, though it did suck that we didn't have internet for so long. But we settled into our new house and things are underway for our German Adventures!!
I had a mini-crisis when we first moved into our house. I'm not a fan of our landlord and kind of want to poke him with a sharp stick every time we see him. Fortunately, Elliott does not share my feelings so he did most of the dealings with him. My number one complaint was that in the 10 days he was living in this house prior to us moving in, he smoked like a chimeny in it. It was disgusting. We had to buy an air purifier and left it running for about a week just to clear out the smell. The first night we slept here (on a borrowed, slightly under-inflated air mattress) was miserable. We were using limp pillows and had left the windows open to air out the smell and it was freezing inside. I woke up in the middle of the night with chattering teeth and two cats that were desperately attempting to snuggle down under the covers to stay warm. Poor little guys. My eyes were bloodshot from the smoke and I wanted to cry.
The next night was just as bad. The heaters didn't seem to be working (though we later discovered it was because they were working overtime since the windows were all open) and the smell was still overpowering. It was like we were sharing our house with a demon for a roommate. Fortunately, the smell started to dissipate and the heaters seemed to work. Then came the fun with the showers. The first time I tried to take a shower it was lovely, but the house was so cold I thought limbs would fall off. The second time, the house was toasty warm but the hot water didn't work. Again, I thought limbs would fall off. Finally, we have gotten everything to work and our limbs are intact.
Things got crazy at work. I'm loving my job and Elliott has been working his ass off at the house fixing this and that. We spent a small fortune and several weekends at IKEA getting the house decorated like we wanted. Our household goods were delivered after some minor screaming matches between me and the moving company. It was hilarious. They brought in all 101 boxes through the second floor WINDOW!!! Seriously, a giant truck pulled up to our house and then pulled *up* to the 2nd story window. Never thought I'd see a couch and mattress come through my window, but okay! The movers unpacked for us, so it was all pretty quick. Elliott plans on posting pics of our house before and after the furniture was delivered... wait for it...
After that, we celebrated Christmas at a friend's house. Ashley and Eugene have become wonderful friends of ours and are so welcoming! They have the cutest 19 month old son that I've fallen in love with. The feeling is mutual and he has a bit of a crush on me as well. We call him my boyfriend...Elliott tries not to be jealous.
After Christmas we jetted off to Paris for New Years and just got back today!!! It was amazing. It's the first time either of us have been to Paris, so it was a great way to start our travel adventures. The food was amazing, the sights were unbelievable, and the only thing that surprised us was... the LACK OF FIREWORKS!!! Yeah, not really any pomp and circumstance. We sat outside the Eiffel Tower for 90 minutes and then all of a sudden it was 2011. Hmmm. Maybe the economy is so bad they're trying to save money?
Anyway, I know I should describe more about Paris, but I'm TIRED!! So that will be my (or Elliott's) next entry. Goodnight all!
And here is a link to my facebook Paris album. Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2098596&id=1173096770&l=a4c056ac40
