AliThinks

On Est Chez Nous

As Allan has written, we are back in Lexington. And as he mentioned, we will head out shopping shortly. The Christmas shopping is all done, but my daughter has only two pairs of jeans that fit, and one of those has both of them have about as many holes as a nice chunk of gruyère.

The rest of the clothing the kids need can wait until after the holidays. My ex and I have a sort of tacit agreement that I will purchase certain things here, as they are much cheaper than in France. It's something I'd do when we were still married: stock up on staples during trips to the US.

I'm not looking forward to the shopping. I am looking forward to coming back here and hunkering down for the afternoon. It's good to be home.

UPDATE: We had a successful mission this morning, and after lunch C. and I went out AGAIN. And, oh my Flying Spaghetti Monster, we went to the mall. It was...crowded. We got out of there as fast as we could, then scored some nice leather boots for 75% off at a shoe warehouse in a another part of town. I still can't believe we braved the mall. On a Saturday afternoon. Before Christmas.

Live-Blogging The Returns

Greetings from Buffalo Wild Wings, where the Lexington chapter of Drinking Liberally is meeting for wings and election returns. And beer. There are 11 of us here, the place is packed with sports fans, and it's loud. My jetlag wants to take over my brain, but I'm fighting it.

We just got seated, and they haven't changed the TV channel for us yet we're watching MSNBC, but so far it looks as if Lexington has a new mayor (which is a good thing) and that Sick Rantorum (of my home state) will not be was not re-elected. Woo-hoo!

More news as it happens. Not that this is breaking or anything.

8:47 pm: Rock on, Pennsylvania! Rock on, Ohio!

8:51 pm: Quote from Elle: "Rick Santorum's going down like Mark Foley on a page."

8:59 pm: Time to close the laptop for a bit. Our group has expanded and the tables are small. Plus the wangs are on their way.

9:36 pm: We've consumed our wings and other bar-type food. Yum. Wet naps have been passed around, Robert's mango margarita has been sampled, and we've got our eyes on MSNBC and Fox News (I know. Can you believe it?). Tennessee has a Democrat for a governor. The Allen-Webb race in Virginia is still too close to call. Fox news seems to be insinuating that Santorum would have won if CBS hadn't called it for Casey. Yeah, right.

9:53 pm: I need to pee.

9:54 pm: "Thanks for sharing, Ali!"

10:01 pm: Santorum concedes!

11:41 pm: We're home now. Back to a steady internet connection and power supply. At this point, the House has gone to the Democrats. I've had quite a bit of Bass Ale—hello, 23-ounce drafts!—so I think I'll stop here. I don't have anything to add to the results. I will say that it was great to be out with the Lexington Drinking Liberally group this evening. And I'm pleased with the results of the election so far.

About Me

I asked you to ask me some questions. Here are my answers. Thank you, all of you, for reading and caring. I've divided the questions into somewhat fuzzy categories. It made sense to me; I hope it does to you, too. Enjoy!

Oh, and I will link to this entry on my About page.

PERSONAL

Does it bother you when people spell your name the wrong way?
Yes! But it happens less and less these days. For the record, it's ALISON.

What is a day in the life of Ali like?
I exist. I create. I love.

Here’s a difficult one that you don't need to answer. How do you cope on a day to day basis not being with your kids?
I just do it. Sometimes it hits me hard, and I ache. Mostly I try to look at this time as a gift of freedom; some day, the kids will live with me, and my life will change again.

So what besides weird questions gives you the heebeejeebees?
Creepy-crawlies. Jell-O. Heights.

Do you have hairy toes?

Pleased As Punch

This past week I left my camera alone. I just didn't feel like taking any photos. This changed today when we went to Third Street Stuff for coffee. I spent some time editing my brother's thesis. When I had finished ten pages (and my coffee), I got up, stretched, grabbed my camera, and took about 60 photos.

I don't know if it was the bright colors at Third Street or if I was just ready to "see" again. You can view my photoset here. Allan's is here.

I Just Did Something Really Weird.

I wrote my son a letter.

In French.

He asked me to write in French so that he could understand it. Now the kid's eight years old, and can speak English. But like many smart kids, he's pretty lazy, and he says he can't read English. I suspect he can, but that it's an effort for him.

The other day we spoke on the phone, and I said I was going to write him a letter. He said Mom, can you please write in French?" I said I would. So I did. I gave in.

I think when the kids are here this summer, T. and I will practice reading English.

Not Fully (Re)Adjusted

Yesterday someone asked me how I was settling in to life back in the United States. I replied that I was fine, and that I liked it here. My interlocutor (gawd, I love using my French vocabulary in English!) said that Kentucky was a nice place to live.

It is.

What's weird is that it's like I never left the States. I really do feel at home here. Kentucky reminds me of Pennsylvania a lot. Was there some 13-year wrinkle in time?

Nah. I've been away. I get little glimpses of my absence here and there, but today it became evident when we were at the farmer's market downtown. Allan got a good chuckle when I asked if I could choose my own fruit. See, in most markets in France, you're not supposed to touch the produce. The vendor handles it all; you are allowed to point at the specific fruits and vegetables you might want, but mostly you just trust the vendor to make the right decision.

So I gave Allan my best Gallic moue, and proceeded to fondle the Georgia peaches.