Good News and Bad News

Well I figure I'll start with the bad news (which isn't too bad so don't be worried) so that I can end on a brighter note:

BAD NEWS
First of all, I fell sick with some sort of a nasty cold between the hours of waking up and going to bed yesterday. I felt absolutely fine in the morning, and even until midday. Then, around the afternoon I thought I was having my possible first allergic reaction ever to plants / springtime flowers because of the tickling in my nose. By evening I realized it was surely a cold as my throat grew steadily more sore and my nose began to run. I took an anti-histamine before bed (unfortunately I don't have any that are supposed to help you sleep) and it did basically nothing. I spent the entire night awake blowing my nose and trying not to swallow, and I think I successfully kept David up all night as well. I feel a little bit better this morning just because I am not trying to sleep anymore - I spent much of last night very frustrated - and I drank some hot tea and took a hot shower to clear out my system. Plus I am back on the anti-histamines. I am sure I am going to be tired today, but we'll hope my body whips this thing into shape and I get through it quickly. The bad news linked to this cold is that David and I also will not be going on our planned hike today - I am not even going to test breathing with hard exercise!

Next, I was looking into the language ability tests that I have to take upon my return from France into to do my student teaching, and the two tests are going to cost me between $300 and $400! (I am not sure yet if I have to pay the "something expedited result fee" yet, perhaps that is optional, in which case it is $300... but wither way that is really expensive to take two tests, and as it is David and I will have just spent waaayy too much money, with no income, while abroad. I am unhappy about the test cost and as far as I can tell there is no scholarship or waiver offered. So bad news number two.

GOOD NEWS
My mom arrives in Europe today so we can all hope that her travels go smoothly this time! I should be hearing from her in about an hour when she arrives in Frankfurt, though I will still not see her for another 3 days since she will be in Italy first. Either way I am really excited for our vacation which is the good news linked to this topic. I AM ON VACATION! woot! I have a one-week break from school that started yesterday afternoon and I am ready to enjoy it! (Especially if I can get rid of this annoying cold!)

The huge presentation that I have to do for my Techniques de Vente is nearly completed!!! I worked really hard on it this past week and all I have left to do is the addition of "animations" so that certain items appear or disappear appropriately. Not too much... so yeah I am really proud of myself because I wanted to be as free as possible to enjoy my vacation, especially since my mom managed to come out and visit me again! On the backfire-side of things however, I got my business classes' exam schedule and I have my exam for Introduction to Buying and the Supply Chain on Monday (the day after break) at 8:00am!! LAME! Since I just found out about this I will have to spend at least a decent amount of my spare time this vacation cramming that information in. It is hugely important that I pass all my business courses because I should be receiving very valuable transfer credit for them back at Miami. Luckily we have a few long train rides that should do the trick!

The rest of today, since I am sick and cannot go hiking, I will spend doing the complete cleaning makeover that our apartment needs before mom comes and we go on vacation. On today's list is: dishes, laundry (in the sink and at a laundromat to do the sheets), floor mopping, bathroom cleaning, shower drain maintenance, desk/schoolwork organization, preliminary packing for the trip, and planning of the items to be sent home with mom to Colorado. I do not know if I have mentioned this before but mom has worked it out that she is bringing two suitcases to Europe (one inside the other) and will be returning to the US with two individual suitcases so that David and I could send some of our stuff back now. It will help us fit everything that we want back in our two returning suitcases, and two duffels, for our trip back home. Sounds like fun! Also I am buying Karen's Christmas/Birthday present today!

Well, all that productivity is bottled up until David wakes up, which I think he should be doing quite soon, though in his defense he got no sleep thanks to my nose blowing and restlessness.  I will keep you updated with our fun vacation happenings and pictures!

PS: We are just a little over 2 1/2 months away from coming home!