Saturday, September 11, 2010

If Home is Where the Heart is...

Mine is NOT in Sweden.

Welcome back to bloggyland...me! I've missed you all stopping in and missed reading your posts on a regular basis. And I've missed writing. But not as much as I miss what I left behind yesterday...


And you can't imagine the reunion between our son and his nanny. The way his face lit up when her beaming face appeared at the door to our apartment a mere 5 minutes after we arrived. Even without seeing his face, I know you can sense his sheer glee.

To be surrounded by love for a full 3 weeks. It reawakened, recharged and sustained us. It was the food our souls have been craving. My son's dearest Baka and her granddaughter, our truest friends C and N, our adopted family the B's and my long lost Russian sister D...The warmth and hospitality shown to us can never be repaid.


 To be fulfilled in mind, body and spirit the way we have been for the past 3 weeks has been so uplifting and inspirational and motivational. Our dear friends, our 2nd family, not only opened their hearts to us but their kitchens. And there is NO kitchen on earth quite like the Montenegrin one, whether on a rooftop terrace, a secluded beach, a rustic mountaintop or a quaint apartment.

Surely there can't be more. Oh, but there is. Now add the backdrop. Where turquoise sea meets Tolkien-like mountains, ancient villages and rock-bottomed beaches lay together basking in 35 degrees and seemingly perpetual sunshine. That is Montenegro.

And all the lovely moments in between...

We don't know where the remainder of 2010 will take us but thanks to three weeks of bliss (I'm not counting the few days each of us battled the 24-hour stomach flu), we have the strength to continue and a newfound clarity and purpose.

Yes, I made it up to Mon's! We had a wonderful morning chit-chatting in her mountaintop retreat while the kiddies wrestled and the men walked around exploring IN the clouds. It was serene and heart-warming and just so easy watching her in her element, whipping up delicious food and emptying her mind. It was like a year and a half hadn't passed and we were just catching up. I felt genuine happiness in that home.



My one regret was not being able to visit Den and Steve up at Camp Full Monte :-(. With the illnesses plaguing us and them and the time eventually running short, our trip up to their labour of love for some good food, laughs and serenity was denied. But there is always a next time. And there WILL be.

Now for the moment some of you may have been waiting for. No, I did not forget the journey I was on leading up to this momentous trip. My weight loss journey. Well friends, I did it! I went from 73.5 to 70.5 and despite a little up and down throughout the trip (I couldn't deny myself EVERYTHING..you see the food!), I reached my goal and was so damn proud of myself. This is me on Day #5 of our trip. My hubby promises there was no photoshopping...LOL! But I do believe the lighting and the pose worked in my favour. And two days ago, I fit into my skinny jeans! Wahoooo! I have been a bit naughty the past few days but nothing felt as good as I did those few weeks so that will be my motivation to continue. Drum roll please....




So that's it and that's all. I hope to provide another few posts on some details of our trip but this should satiate your appetite and mine.

Lots of love, Jenn xoxo