Good Morning Everyone!

Sorry there was no post yesterday. I have been battling this cold the last couple of days which has not been fun. It figures that for my last week of freedom I would get sick for the first time since we have been here.

Today I am going to try to make it to the farmers market this morning and then to the grocery store in the afternoon. The snow is all gone and we are back to normal Athens weather for this time of year.

On Tuesday when I was talking to my mom on the phone we had another earthquake which was very small but still a very creepy feeling. I am starting to worry that all of these small earthquakes are building up for a much larger one.

Tomorrow I am going to clean the house and get all of my chores done so I can enjoy the weekend. This Sunday is our 1st wedding Anniversary! I cannot believe it has been a year. So much has happened to us this year but it really flew by. Well need to get dress!

Love from Athens...

P.S. Happy Birthday Megan B!!

Hey everyone!

Well today we woke up to a winter wonderland in Athens. Last night before we went to bed we had a rain and snow mix but this morning when we woke up there was snow on the ground in Athens. From what we have been told it rarely snows here maybe once every ten years. This morning Vicki and I went up on the mountain to run and it was beautiful with all of the snow. We took a bunch of pictures and I will get them on the blog by tomorrow.

I am really tired today so I am going to spend the afternoon relaxing on the couch. I have been fighting a cold and sore throat which is great considering I start work next week.

LOST starts again on Thursday and I can't wait. Of course we wont be able to watch until Friday after we record it on the Slingbox. We have been having trouble we the Slingbox so hopefully David can figure it out before Thursday. Can't wait!

Good Morning!

Hope you all had a great weekend. David and I had a pretty busy weekend. On Friday night we went to a friends house for a dinner party in honor of some Scottish Poet. Not something that David and I would normally attend but it was a good friend and it was actually a great dinner with excellent conversation. On Saturday we slept in and then ran some errands around town. Saturday night we went out to dinner with another couple. On Sunday I went to a baby shower in the afternoon. I do not really like baby showers just because it brings up the question of when I am going to have a baby and there are a few embassy spouses who really like to play that game. They did a nice job with this one though and it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. I really like the woman who is having the baby so that helps too.

Today I went to the Embassy and found out that I will be starting work a week from today. So I only have one more week of freedom! After the embassy I went to the grocery store and this afternoon Vicki and I are going to IKEA which is always an adventure. Today we started running in the morning so I could get used to it before I have to start working next week.

Well I hope everyone had a great weekend. Love from Athens...

Hey Everyone! Hope you are all have a good day! This morning was the farmers market which I also enjoy. Vicki and I ran afterwards and I was sucking today. We really had a hard run yesterday and my body was still severely tired from that. Today we also back two pumpkin pies. Vicki is trying to make me into a baker. I now know how to make pie crust from scratch which is not an easy task.

This evening David and I have a function for young diplomats this evening so I am getting ready to run out the door to meet him at the Embassy. I should say David has a function and I just like to go for the food and drink! :) Unfortunately today the "Hellenic-Cuban Association of Friendship" has scheduled a demonstration for this evening as well right in front of our Embassy. This is not out of the ordinary I would say we average at least 3-4 demonstrations a week in front of the Embassy. Often times it is very hard to understand why they are protesting in front of our Embassy and not there own government but we deal. Anyway I have to leave and get down to the Embassy before the protest or I may get stuck in the protest or not let into the Embassy both would not be too fun.

Well I hope you all have a great day! Love from Athens...

Hello everyone! Yesterday was a fun filled day of cleaning the house. I did a deep down clean and the weather was wonderful yesterday so I had the windows open it had to be in the mid 60s. Vicki and I had a great run in the afternoon with another Pilates session after.

Today I am at the Embassy for Greek class. This afternoon all I have planned is a run and that is it. I have a very boring life. :) I am ready to start working. I have to admit I was starting to like having all of this free time but now I am starting to have trouble filling the time and that is no good. I have no idea when I will start working. As far as I can tell I am about half way through the paperwork process. It was so much easier when I was still a federal employee to navigate all the paperwork. David told me last night that he likes that I am at home and that he has a clean house and dinner on the table at night. I keep reminding him that when I worked the same was true. Like I could live in a messy house! I know he is excited about having another paycheck coming in each month though! I am excited about more internet shopping!

Well I need to walk over to the other building so I can start class. Hope you are all having a great week. I understand from the news that you guys are getting some pretty cold weather in the Midwest. We will be thinking about you here in the Mediterranean!

Love from Athens....

Meteora

I hope everyone had a great MLK weekend. David had Monday off so we decided to get out of Athens and take a trip for the long weekend. We went to Meteora which is about 4 hours north of Athens. As you will see in the pictures below it is truly an amazing place. There are these huge rock formations which jet out of the ground. No one really knows how they were formed. It is believed that there was once a lake in the area which slowly receded and when it did the soft rock and soil was pulled away and all that was left was these huge rock pliers. Many years ago Greek Orthodox monks founded numerous monasteries on many of the pliers. David and I visited three of the monasteries and there are pictures below.

This was the first monastery that we visited Ayia Triada. This monastery was featured in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.

All of the monasteries have cable cars similar to this one that is used to bring up supplies otherwise they would have to haul them up hundreds of steps like the ones below.

David climbing up the stairs.

Us at the top of the Ayia Triada which had a spectacular view.

David pretending to fall off the cliff.

Me as we walked back down.

This was the second monastery we visited called Megalo Meteora. This was my favorite one.

This is the sign outside of Megalo Meteora and each monastery has a similar one that outlines the rules and regulations for the monastery in different languages. No shorts allowed, women have to be in skirts to their knee and you have to cover your shoulders. I read about this in the guide book before we came so I just brought a wrap and tied it around my wast for each one over my jeans. The monasteries also provide long skirts you can wear while you are visiting over your clothes.

When I first took this picture I just thought it was a pretty setting but upon further inspection I noticed that behind the door was a room full of bones. Yes kind of creepy and yes they are real.

Closer view of the bones.

Pictures of the inside of the monastery


This is the very cute guest house that we stayed at.


Relaxing on our balcony with some local wine

Our room had a fireplace which was great because it was cold. David loved it!

View of the sunrise from our balcony on Monday morning.

View with the mountains in the distance.

View of rock formations

Great shot of one of the monasteries. This really shows how amazing they are and how difficult it must have been to built them.

View of the Varlaam Monastery which was the last one we visited before we headed back to Athens on Monday morning. Megalo Meteora is in the background too.

Us on top of the Varaam Monastery




This is a picture of the battlefield of Thermopylae. If you are not familiar with the battle you are probably familiar with the movie "300." Well this is the historic battlefield were it all took place many many years ago. It is between Athens and Meteora and we stopped on our way back to Athens.

Not too much going on today (no big surprise there :)). Slept in this morning until 9:00 and then worked on some ironing and cleaned the house up a little. Took the trash and the recycling out. Very exciting day! Vicki and I did our six mile run today and my butt was dragging big time. It is absolutely beautiful here today it is in the high 60s and is bright and sunny. We have a wonderful view of the sea from our house and up on the mountain during our run.

Last night I started my formal Pilates lessons with Vicki. She charges 20 euro an hour and is worth every penny. I am already starting to feel taller. I am going to train with her twice a week for an hour each session. I am trying to build my core strength back up.

I am holding a luncheon for a few women on Friday at my house. Trying to figure out what we should have for lunch and what I would like everyone to bring.

Hope you are all having a great week!

Love ya

Lauren

Hey Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Friday night David and I went to the store once he got home! It is amazing here but when you go to the store in the evening here the shelves are almost bare. I guess they do not stock the shelves throughout the day because they were out of everyone when we got there.

Saturday Vicki came over and helped me make David a Chocolate Cream Pie which turned out great. Dinner went really well on Saturday night. Dan, Stacy, Vicki and Jason came over for dinner. Vicki and I had gone to the meat market on Friday to pick up some steak and a beef tenderloin. The steak was for dinner on Saturday night I had planned to put it in a pasta dish. Well much to my surprise once I started to cook the "steak" on Saturday night I realized it was actually pork. Vicki and I had a good laugh about it and the pasta actually turned out great! At the meat market Vicki and I had just said steak and evidently that is pork here in Greece instead of beef. Live and learn.

Sunday we had a very relaxed day. I read a book from start to finish and David watched a bunch of football. We were very sad about the Colts and especially the Cowboys losses which David stayed up until the early hours of the morning to watch. We are now cheering for the Packers (Erin I figured you would approve).

Have a great week everyone! Love from Athens...

Hey Everyone! Another beautiful day here in Athens. This morning Vicki and I went to the Embassy in the morning and then tried out a new meat market by the Embassy. It was a little intimidating I have to say. Vicki and I are both looking for Beef Tenderloin which is not readily available here. The people in the meat market were very nice and helpful. We each got a beef tenderloin and I also picked up two strip steaks. I have not been happy with the steak I have gotten in the grocery store previously so I am interested to see how this turns out.

I have decided to make a pasta dish for dinner with beef and arugula on Saturday when we have people coming over.

Vicki and I had a nice run yesterday up on the mountain. I am thinking about taking today off because I still have not cleaned my house. Yesterday I did clean the bathrooms but I still have the fun task of dusting, vacuuming and mopping before David gets home. I also need to run to the store tonight once David gets home with the car.

Big and exciting day ahead of me :)!

Have a great weekend! Love from Athens.....

Hope you are all doing well. Not too much going on. Yesterday Vicki and I had another good run and then a great Pilates session. Today I got up and when to the farmers market with Vicki, Stacy and Colin. The farmers market is my favorite part of the week. It is wonderful part of Greek cultural.

I have been working on scheduling a trip for David and I over President's weekend in February. I am trying to book a long weekend in Switzerland but until booking trips at home nothing is easy here in Europe. Europeans use travel agents way more than we do in the US and you can tell by the lack of useful knowledge on the Internet.

Well I need to get some chores done around the house. Hope you are all well.

Love from Athens....

Hey Everyone! Hope you are all having a good morning. Not too much to write today. I am at the Embassy now trying to finish up all of my paperwork for me new job. The paperwork is never ending in the federal government.

Didn't do too much last night. I was exhausted after our run so after dinner I just hung out on the couch and then made it to bed at a reasonable hour. Going to take the day off from running today. I need to give my body a chance to recuperate a little. I need to clean up around the house and get is better organized. We are having Dan, Stacy, Vicki and Jason over for dinner on Saturday night and I have no idea what I am going to make. So I have some work ahead of me. Vicki and Stacy are both really good cooks so I don't want to disappoint.

Another pretty day here in Athens. It should make it up into the 60s again today.

Sorry to have such a short post today....Love from Athens...

Hey Everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend! As I write this I am trying to remember what David and I did this weekend. Saturday we slept in as usual and then took care of some stuff around the house. Vicki and I went on a short run which was ended very abruptly when we came within inches of getting attacked by a very scary dog. I know I have told you all before about the stray dogs in Athens most of which are very nice but this one was not. We think he was trying to protect another hurt dog from us who was farther up the trial because he really wanted us to turn around and not go any further.

On Saturday night David took me out to eat at an Italian restaurant for dinner. We got there at 8:00 and were the only ones in the restaurant. No one else showed up until around 9:30.

Sunday morning we were woken up with a little excitement. At 7:15 there was a 6.5 earthquake about 75 km away from Athens and we felt it in Athens. News reports said that it was felt in Italy too. I woke up and felt the house moving from side to side. I have never been in an earthquake so it was a little scary for me. David didn't even wake up until I yelled at him that we were having an earthquake. The news reports said that it lasted for 40 seconds but it didn't feel that long. Greece has the most earthquakes of any European country believe it or not.

Today I went to the Embassy to attempt to hand in more paperwork for my new job. I still have more to take care of. This afternoon Vicki and I went up the mountain and went for a 6 mile run. I have never run six miles before in my life and certainly not when more than 50% of the run is up hill. It is good to being getting back in shape and thank goodness I have someone to help me along the way.

It was sunny and 60 in Athens today!

Love from Athens....

Good Morning! Well not too much going on today. Vicki and I are heading down to the farmers market this morning and then going to try and do a big grocery shopping trip at Carrefore after that. We will see if it is open today. Then we should be able to get a run in in the afternoon.

Yesterday we took a 1.5 hour hike up on the mountain and it was so clear. Absolutely amazing views of Athens and the sea. The weather was in the 50s yesterday and sunny and I would except the same for today. I hope you are all surviving all of that snow I know the Midwest is just getting pounded this winter.

Oh our webcam finally came in the mail yesterday and I signed up for Skype too so if anyone has the means and wants to chat let me know!

Love from Athens.....

Job!!!!

Hey everyone! I have GREAT news--I was offered a job on Monday! The Thursday before Christmas I interviewed for a job in the Defense Attache Office at the Embassy for a Admin position and on Monday they called and offered me the job! It is part time which is what I am looking for and it is a Defense Department job which is an added bonus. No idea when I will start because nothing happens quickly in the government but I should know more next week once people get caught up from being away for the holidays.

David and I had a pretty low keep New Years Eve. We went to a party held by a couple we know who are incredibly nice. The husband works with David as an Econ Officer and they have a 13 month old girl who is adorable. They were previously stationed in Russia so they are loving Athens. It was not like any previous New Years Eve party I have every attended. When we arrived they were all sitting on couches discussing the utility of books. David and I are slowly getting accustomed to the culture of the State Department and the party was a reminder that we still have a long way to go. All of the neighborhoods in Athens set off fireworks at 12:00 so we went up on there roof and had a great view. We were also reminded how close we are to the Middle East has several Athenians also discharged a few weapons to ring in the new year!

Today I tried to go to Carrefore for a big grocery run and it was closed. I called Vicki to ask her what the deal was and she said that she had also tried to go with the same result. Who knows must be another Greek holiday that we are unaware of. Well need to finish up a few things before my run.

Happy New Year! I hope 2008 is feel with joy, happiness and if we can get our act together another Republican in the White House (I am sure not all of you agree but that is just too bad! :))

Love from Athens.....