Airplane Food Is Still Disgusting

 I am back from Paris!

I went with my daughter. We booked a trip with EF Tours through a school. This means that we always had transportation and an expert guide so I didn't get us lost. And trust me, I would have. 

How EF Tours works is, you fly and are supposed to sleep on the plane. This is because as soon as you touch down, your tour begins. There's no rest. If you didn't get enough sleep on the plane, oh well. I rarely get sleep on the plane because, well, ECONOMY. I try but it just does not happen. I can never get comfortable. So yes, I was tired. Natalie didn't sleep much either. But. When we saw this magnificent view on the top of the Galeries Lafayette, we perked up. (The Coke sans sucre helped as well. They did not have Diet Coke there.) 

Anyhow, back to the plane. We were served a meal, and holy crap, ew.

That was supposed to be chicken and rice. The rice had a weird texture. The middle thing was a quinoa salad. Quinoa terrifies me to begin with. The roll was stale. And the cheesecake brownie had a strange aftertaste. Plus, I'm pretty sure I got a splinter from the fork.

But back to the trip. We landed, grabbed our bags, and went to the Galeries Lafayette, which is basically a mall. Only beautiful. Not dirty and dank. I mean, look:

The French know how to shop. 

Was I half asleep when we were there. Yes. But I was still able to appreciate the area. 

They had a FAO Schwartz inside with a JELLYCAT FACTORY. Natalie went crazy but the thing about Jellycats are that they are expensive. So we did not get one? No. Did we coo over many of them? Yes.

Natalie did stumble across the giant piano and I told her to be like Tom Hanks in Big. She was like, "What?" and I realized, crap, I need to show her that movie. 

On the bus we drove past the stores I will never be able to afford. Like Louis Vuitton. There was even a line to get in so I guess a lot of people are doing better than I am, financially. Mind you, I did contemplate splurging and getting a passport cover because surely something so small could be, what? $150 at the most? Plus they personalize it for free. I checked the site and it was THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY DOLLARS! 

Our guide took us to the Latin Quarter, and I was reminded of one of my fave resorts in Walt Disney World: Port Orleans French Quarter. 

Natalie freaked out because she saw a jazz club and a La La Land sign. Like seriously, the French people were staring at this American squealing and jumping up and down in front of a jazz club. I think I caught one saying something like "Americans are crazy." I mean, yes. 

We also went inside the famous Shakespeare And Company bookstore. I got the Madeline book and they stamped it with their official store stamp. It smelled AMAZING inside. I love the smell of books. Sadly, there is no pictures or filming inside. And there are workers making sure you do not. Another lady was trying and suddenly this worker was at her side going, "No, no, no." Complete with a finger wag.

We were led to some other fabulous spots. At this point my eyes were burning due to lack of sleep, but I told my body to keep moving. THIS WAS PARIS!

We did get to bed early. I think we crashed around 9. 

But Paris is absolutely gorgeous. Natalie loved the stylish Parisians. 

Have you ever made it to Paris?

Hey, It's Okay: Going To Paris Edition

I got this idea from Glamour magazine. You can link up any day of the week. All you have to do is make a list of what you're okay about. Simple! Please do not link up a post that has nothing to do with Hey, It's Okay. It's rude and I'll delete the link.

HEY, IT'S OKAY....

 .....to be going to Paris on Thursday! We are going with EF Tours again. We have traveled with them before and they've always made sure we didn't get lost. 

....to be excited that we get to go to Disneyland Paris. I was there years ago when it first opened. It was known as Euro Disney then. 

.....to also be going to Versailles, the Louvre, and other famous Paris landmarks. Be sure to follow my Instagram. I always post stories there. 

.....to not be excited about the airplane ride. With all the issues with airplanes these days, I do worry, but I also do not want to live my life in fear. 

.....to hate packing. I have a pile of crap that I want to bring on my floor. Now I need to get it all in the suitcase. And I need to be sure my daughter packs. She loves to wait until the last minute. We are using our Trolley Strap to keep the bag strapped to the suitcase since we always overpack. Oops. But now I can remain hands free, so it's something. 

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Tommy Turns 23 At Texas Roadhouse

I can hardly believe that my son turned 23 on Sunday. I'll always picture him as a little towheaded boy. 

He truly is the best kid. We grew up together since I had him so young. He taught me to use my voice. When I realized he had autism, I knew I couldn't remain quiet & shy. I had to stick up for my son, and stick up I did. 

I cannot begin to tell you how terrifying it is to realize something is going on with your child that you cannot easily fix. But I read many books, talked to many doctors, and we figured out a plan to help Tommy thrive. 

Throughout everything, he always remained a respectful and kind human being. Teachers would tell me they wish there were more students like Tommy. I raised him to be respectful. 

I also raised him to have an imagination. I told him yes, good grades were important, but if there was no imagination, it wasn't worth it. 

He has an Associate's Degree in Video Cinematography. Next year he'll have a Bachelor's Degree in Film & Media. He has a beautiful imagination. 

One of his favorite spots to eat is Texas Roadhouse, so we went there to celebrate. Many rolls were consumed. 

He doesn't like a lot of icing, so he requested a chocolate bundt cake for his birthday. 

He said he enjoyed his birthday. I'm always happy when I can see him. 

I hope one day he'll be able to find a job in the movie business. He certainly is talented and driven enough. I always love to see what he creates.