Obsession: Octopus

Octopus, those friendly and mythic sea creatures have always been a favorite animal of mine. In fact I think of a lot of marine life is awesome, things ranging from beluga whales to manta rays, but my favorite marine animal is the octopus.

[personal photo, rocky point!]

Luckily for me, the rest of the world seems to think they are pretty cool.
So today, a brief round up of octopus and the trinkets that are in their image!

First, fulfill your need to know more about the octopus and its elusive underwater lifestyle on Wikipedia: Octopus. (hey! I can cite that as long as this isn't a research paper, calm down.)
Then see if you can watch live octopus video at the Hatfield Marine Science Center's Octocam!
(I'm particularly excited for that one.)

In need of some octopus accoutrements?
Find yourself an Awesome Gold Octopus Necklace, or the slinky black Octopoda, or have the sweet Baby Octopus Necklace dangle from your neck.

Not so much for the jewelry? Oh, there's more my friends.

Clothes to reveal your love for the octopus? (And my friends who love bicycling, you're welcome!)

Maybe a bag or a nice purse?

Or I'm a fan of home decor...

And, voila! None of these people asked me to feature their items, I merely chose cute things as I browsed Etsy. :)

So I hope you enjoy, and perhaps have a desire to at least check out a real live octopus, if not wear a replica around your neck.

Before I go, french phrase of the day!
Today's phrase is ça va? Which means "How is it going?" Or "Doing alright?" Though directly translated it literally means "It goes?"
This one has a fun letter with a tail, called a c cedille, and is pronounced very simply: sah-vah?

Until next time!

A France! - Say Whaaat?

Hello again!

Today my entry will be on sounds in France. Though it seems as though certain things wouldn't be affected by language or related to language, already in my few days here I have noticed a difference.

In the US, in general we all use the same words to signify certain sounds. Those of you who paid attention in English in high school will remember that these are called Onomatopeia. (Side note: I spelled that right on the first try!)
Some common examples are "Achoo" for a sneeze, "WaaaaAAaaaa" for the siren of a police car or firetruck, or "Boom!" for an explosion. I will admit the written version of the siren is rather weak. My apologies.

I was suprised to learn that in France, these sounds are not the same! I think since I am in the house with a baby around, I might be more exposed to it, but here are the ones I have heard so far:

"Atchoum!" for, as you might imagine, a sneeze. And when someone sneezes here, they actually enunciate the M!
"Paaaaaam, pooohhhn" for the siren. This one makes sense because the siren actually sounds like that here. I will perform this sound at your request when I am back.
"Boum" is nearly the same as its English counterpart, but they really pronounce the "U". Little Achile being the typical boy, says this very often. He crashes his toy trucks together and says it over and over, "Boum! Bada bada bouuum!"



Your french phrase for the day is: à tes souhaits!
à tes souhaits is the french equivalent of "Bless you!" and I have been saying it alot! There is a lot of pollen out now that the summer has arrived. This is pronounced like: ah tay'soo-ay. But you say it very quickly!
Won't you look smart, blessing people en français?

Til next time,
Stephanie

A France!: Some History

Bonjour mes amis!

Today I think it is pertinent to give you a little background of my trip. I probably should have thought of this a week ago, but you know what it's like before you leave on a trip -- crazy! So here's the deal:

When I was about three, my parents opened up our home to a young french exchange student, Christelle. She lived with us for the summer and had a wonderful time. We all kept in touch over email, and actually visited her once after taking a family bus tour of Europe. Fast forward to today, a few months ago, I asked Christelle if (being a french minor and general lover of france) I could come and visit her for a month to become fluent in the language and just be in france. She said "Mais, oui!" and the planning began.

After saving all of my paychecks for a few months, I bought my plane ticket and just two days ago, I arrived at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. After taking the TGV (which is the european speed train: Train de Grande Vitesse) I settled into Christelle's apartment in the city and soon met her husband Yann and their sweet bébé, Achile.

Though Christelle works in Grenoble, her husband Yann works and they live in the nearby city of Voiron. Both cities are full of old buildings and more history than you could imagine! So for today, only some photos of the cities. I don't want to fill you with too much information in one day.





Oh, and here's a bonus! Everyday that I post in France I will share a french word or phrase with you.
So for today, le petite dejeuner. Le petit dejeuner means breakfast and is pronounced like: luh p'teet day-zhu-nay.

C'est bon, non?
Until tomorrow!
Stephanie

Bonjour à France!

Bonjour mes amis!

For the next month, all of my posts will be coming to you from across the pond. Lucky me, I get to spend a full month with a close (and very generous) family friend, her husband and their super sweet bébé! My posts will be mostly the same, but with more photos of the city and the various frenchie things I encounter.

It should be noted that the keyboard here is different. Many of the symbols do not require the shift key, and the q and a are switched among other things.

No photos for this first post, I haven't taken many nor have I had the chance to download them.

All in all, it is very exciting, and I hope by the end of the month I will have you all convinced to come to France right away!

à bientot!

Regular Reading

As an English major (who recently made the Dean's List! Sorry, gotta toot your own horn once in a while) I am most definitely a reader. Books, magazines, and with the advent of blogs, I'm hooked. In that case, I thought I would share my (recently organized) list of regular reading links.

So, I'll drop a link here, and then give you a quick blurb about why it's a good read. They are sort of ranked by frequency of posting. You may notice I also updated my links on the right there, so you can click them even after this post is long gone. Here goes nothin'!

Young House Love: John and Sherry's blog is very well written, gives great money saving ideas and tips on home decorating that you can use even if you are living in a dorm. Plus, their new baby is ADORABLE.

Melissa Jill Photography: I'm a lover of great photography, and I came upon this blogger while trolling the 'net for some beauties. Not only is she a fantastic photographer (and a great writer), but she uses her blog as a platform to aid in Autism research and awareness.

Geek In Heels: Probably the funniest blog on my list. Jenny writes with a smart hand and enough sarcasm and wit (and geeky content!) to make anyone laugh. I love the writing, and especially her honesty and willingness to share her faith.

Steph Barber: The blog of a friend from school, Steph is a talented and improving photographer. I love reading about her recent shoots, and especially her posts of recent design projects, like invitations and other paper products.

In Color Order: Though this blog is a recent find, I'm sure it will stay on the list. Covered in delicious photos of quilts and pretty pyrex, I love the hands on approach to crafting here.

A Cup of Jo: Certainly well known in the blog world, Joanna Goddard's blog is always full of handy links to some of the neatest things on the internet, plus she's just adorable.

Stephanie Fay Blog: Another photography blogger (now you believe me that I'm obsessed!) who repeatedly posts images of people who just glow. Quite the writer, too!

Well, that about covers it. Minus the random blog I get sucked into about once a week.
Am I the only person who feels compelled to read EVERY POST the person has ever written when you find a good blog? Hm.

Graduation Optimism

Today, just a few thoughts for those graduating from high school (and those who have, and those who will).

My friends:

This is only the beginning.
Graduating from high school and starting college is an opportunity that will only happen once in your life. That doesn't mean you have just one chance to get it right. It means this is an experience and an environment unlike any other, so use it! Where else are so many bright and intelligent and curious minds gathered all in one place? College is a place where you can really make a difference, and all you have to do is try. With all those people in one place, you are bound to find someone with something in common.

This is only the beginning.
It's a cliché to say that you make your closest and best friends in college, but that doesn't mean your first friend is going to be the best and closest. In such a large community, you can meet a new person every day. Ten new people every day! So, do it. Colleges are unique in this respect as well -- very few other places can claim the diversity of ideas, races, causes and beliefs as a college campus. Befriend the girl sitting next to you in your Chemistry 101, or the guy in your group in Anthropology 221. You never know where that friendship could lead.

This is only the beginning.
Though it’s a little frightening, just consider it: the friendships and connections you make here could last for the rest of your life. What if the guy in Anthropology is your future husband or the girl in Chemistry your first boss? In that case, doesn't it make sense to be yourself and be truly honest with the people you meet? In high school people may act differently to fit in, or refrain from sharing what they really think to avoid arguments. But college doesn't do that. College is an arena where you can be exactly the person you have always been on the inside and your beliefs (while they may spark discussion) are always welcome.

This is only the beginning.
Your beliefs should be a big part of your experiences after graduation. Though they say that many people lose their faith in college, the number of people who decide to follow the plans God has for them is impressive. In college and really, anywhere you go after high school, you have a choice to make about your impact. That choice comes down to "Do I say yes, and change the world with God?" or "Do I say no, and let my life go on as it is?" College is a chance to shake things up in your life and in the world. When it comes down to it, it’s the only choice that really matters. What opportunity are you going to take?

This is it.
This is your time.
This is only the beginning.