Believe it or not...

I am almost embarrassed to write a post considering it's been SO long since I last did this.  I have no excuse other than...laziness, apathy, etc.  Life has been hectic and blogging just got lost in the shuffle.  So, here's a quick run down on my life over the past 6+ months.

I am still in Romania!  After a busy ending to the last school year I had a brief period of time where I thought (hoped) that I would receive a job offer with the Peace Corps in Washington DC.  Unfortunately, that did not happen. Fortunately, I was able to keep my job at Lauder-Reut.  Although I was disappointed...the thought of moving home to DC was very appealing...I am very happy to remain in Romania and teach at such a great school with amazing teachers and students!

I had planned a visit home this summer.  Unfortunately, that did not happen.  I have been in the process of creating my own business over here...sort of like an LCC back home.  I've been meeting with lawyers and accountants to get it all worked out, and a trip home would have slowed the process down.  Doing this helps my school as their taxes on my employment are extremely high.  With this they save money and I (should) end up making a substantial amount more than I did last year.  Time will tell.  It's been a bit of a pain, working through all the Romanian bureaucracy, but it all worked out and as of a few weeks ago BRW Learning Center was officially created!  Go figure!  

In the midst of all this work I was able to sneak in a vacation to London with Stephen and our nephew Matt!  What a wonderful time that was!  We rented an apartment and were there for 9 days.  We saw just about everything one can see in London as well as Oxford, Bath and Stonehenge.  Matt was a true pleasure to travel with.  He's headed off to college at UK and I hope we got him off to a good start.  

When I got home from London my friend Michelle, who lives in France, contacted me and said she wanted to visit!  So, she came down and we had a wonderful time putzing around București.  Found an amazing hotel/spa right in the city and ended up spending 5 days there...we never wanted to leave!

By the time she left is was just about time to start school again.  Where did the summer go?  I'm in week two of planning and the kids arrive next Monday (the 15th).  I will be teaching the following classes this year:  Kindergarten Medium, Kindergarten Big, Preparatory, First and Second.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  It should be a bit easier this year as I have a lot of lessons and resources from last year.  I am excited to see all my kids from last year!  Not so excited for all the work ahead of me, though!  

I've also been doing some adult English tutoring.  I started in August, as I had a lot of free time.  Now, with school starting, I'm doing it four evenings of the week.  I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with it, as school is pretty time consuming.  Hopefully it will work out as it's nice to work with adults too!

I'm planning a visit home over the holidays this year, so hopefully will be able to see lots of you then.  I think, since Stephen will be home as well, we can talk Mom into throwing one of her famous holiday parties!!!

Although I continue to miss family and friends back home I am very happy here in Romania.  I have good friends, a good job, and feel very much at home.

Here are some photos of the life I've created over here!  As always...I count myself lucky to have you as family and/or friends!  :)