I'm trying to get some sort of theme going on this blog... and I realize that I am so inconsistent! But Mondays are good for some reflection, and for looking at the week ahead. It is also a great time to count your blessings and be grateful for everything you've got! This is what I am thankful for on this sunny Monday afternoon... (Somebody, please remind me to write a post next Monday. Thank you. )

Healthy kids. We have all been sick a lot here in France (new germs, new viruses, weakened immune systems... blah blah blah), so I am, especially, grateful everyday that we are healthy. It sounds almost cliché, but life is so much easier  and happier when no one in the household is sick!

The sun and warmer weather. Finally! This promised sunny-warm-south-of-france weather is here! Ahhhh... I feel like I can breathe deeper. I am in fact a spoiled California girl, who needs the sun 360 days a year (with five rainy days or so to keep things in perspective). 

This weekend. Due to the much improved weather we went on a hike, had a bbq at a friends' house, spent half of the day at the beach AND washed our car. That is one fantastic weekend in my book. Don't be jealous those living cold and rainy places. Come visit us. 

Flea markets. They are amazing here. It is pretty much one of the favorite French pastimes. Obviously, it has become one of our favorite things to do as well. So every weekend (usually on Sundays, but sometimes Saturday AND Sunday) we pile the kids into the car, promise them that they can buy whatever they want for 2 euros (!!!) and off we go to find the next treasure. We don't go purely for materialistic reasons....It is also a great geography lesson, because we always end up in a different little town. There are no signs where the market will be... just somewhere in the center of town. So you drive around looking for a lot of cars parked in some plaza somewhere in the middle of a town until you find it. Exciting stuff, I know. Oh yeah.. and it's also a French lesson for me. Or at least we pretend it is. 

Audio books My new obsession! I always complain how I never have enough time to read books, but no more excuses. I listen to them on my phone through the audible.com app. It's so easy, I am a little embarrassed I haven't done this earlier. I could have "read" through so many books when my kids where babies! I might be a bit late to the game, but I am on a roll. So far I have "read"  'Talking as Fast as I Can' by Lauren Graham which is hilarious. She is a wise woman with my sense of humor. I am half way done with Amy Schumer's book "The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo" - super rated R, so I can't listen to it around the kids, but very entertaining. "The Magnolia Story" by Chip and Joanna Gaines was a great and inspiring one. And the latest endeavor is "The Magic of Thinking Big" by David Schwartz. It is highly recommended by many (successful) people, and even though  a bit dated, so far so good. Watch out world! With all these tips on how to dream big, I will be the next president. Maybe even the president of a parent teacher association and not just the Backstreet Boys fan club. 

With love and adventure,
​Indraja

We love Sundays... and we, especially, love Sundays at the beach.... and we love them even more if we are there with friends! All of that happened today! So, here are some pictures to make sure we remember the beautiful Carnon Plage, the sun, the boats and the crabs.