One of the things that I had forgotten about Seattle is what a total disregard the people here have for the weather, especially in comparison to the people in Grenoble. It’s overcast and cloudy here with more than occasional sprinkles, and 51 degrees, but I have seen quite a few people wearing shorts.* The kids are going to love it; Eddy is going to suffer.

*not to mention that nearly nobody is wearing a coat- usually just sweatshirts and/or vests.

November, 2011 was a big month for us, which is why I’m writing about it 3 months later…and with the goal of helping us to remember what changes this month held for us, ten years down the road.

Eddy and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary November 24, 2011 and the beginning of the month marked eleven years since we had met. I remember meeting him and feeling like I already knew him- even though there were times I hardly understood him! He likes to joke sometimes that since meeting me, and even before we had kids, he had to make a concerted effort to clean up his language, as I didn’t always understand what was slang and/or appropriate to use in front of others!

I turned 37 in November. I have a hard time remembering how old I am (which makes Eddy laugh), but it’s true. And 37 seems like it’s going to be a good year: new job, new city, new house (maybe?), new car, and so on and so forth. More importantly, I’ve always been happy being the age that I am, but this year just seems to be especially right.

So the other big event of November 2011 is that I started my fantastic, new, better-than-winning-the-lottery job on November 15. I went to Paris to sign my contract, worked from home for two weeks (often in a daze of “Is this really happening to me?”) and left for a first big trip to Seattle at the end of the month. Three months in, I still can’t believe it. I mean, really. Microsoft? And then I think “Wow, Microsoft!”

All in all, November was a good month.

This is what happens when the four year old gets ahold of the iPhone. Actually- who am I kidding? She could probably reprogram it!

Definitely a first world moment: photos taken on an iPhone of a Skype chat with my kids in France and me in the US.

Modern technology is wonderful, I have to admit. Being gone from my kids is certainly made easier by things like being able to chat with them on Skype, or talk over the phone at the drop of a hat. But it’s moments like this that being away from them really, really hard to bear. (Click for larger image.)

Here’s what my commute looked like yesterday morning. Cell phone cameras do not do it justice (nor, I have to admit, does speeding down the highway while trying to take the picture.)

This is what I have a husband for.

On the way home from school Jonah, Owen and Julia talked about their favorite episodes from Friends.

“Remember when they ate the cheesecake off the floor?”

There’s a reason I’ve kept this cat for 17 1/2 years.

(Her mother still holds the title for Best Cat Ever.)

While visiting Cousin Joelle, the kids got up close and personal with nature.