Happy Monday! Happy indeed! Boldog vagyok (I'm happy). Just printed an article off Yahoo! News about how to increase your overall happiness. Something to ponder after Thanksgiving. Guess it all falls in the same category - Be Happy! Be Thankful! Can you tell that the sun is shining today here in the otherwise wrist-slitting, grey setting of Pilisvörösvár (say that three times fast). Should add that it's only this time of year that is so crummy, or maybe just from November to March. Anyway, hope you had a good holiday weekend, if you had one. I definitely gained at least four pounds since Thursday, ate more than I could imagine in my wildest dreams. Had big turkey dinners with friends on Thursday and Saturday, and cooked big meals for just us on Friday and Sunday. Feeling it bigtime in my jeans today, will attempt to walk a few times this week and lay off the junkfood (as I sit here typing this whilst eating candy corn).

Went to teach my little Magyarlings this morning. We are working on Jingle Bells for the Christmas program. Think the little ones (Keira's group) will just chime in for the chorus, and the two bigger groups will only sing one or two verses. Did you know that there are actually four verses of the original 'Jingle Bells', written by James Pieront in 1857. There's some yuleful-useful information for you. I also tried to read them 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' this morning, but it was mostly lost on them. Lots of funky old school phrases in there, 'threw open the sash', 'his coursers they came'. I couldn't try to translate in English, let alone Hungarian.

I'm headed to Vienna tomorrow for a bit of holiday shopping. Not much to get really, just a couple of things for Bill. He's not easy to buy for, as he will only wear clothes that he picks out for himself and he isn't desirous (big word action) of much. Me, I could give you a list of 1,000 things right off the top of my head. I already got my Christmas present though, may have mentioned it in passing, in the form of car repairs. Had to take it back in a second time last week after the oil pan debacle to replace something on the motor, which was also damaged in my little mishap. Total cost at the end of the day for my doofusness was $800. Don't you just hate that? I know, I should be happy that nobody was hurt, and that we have the money to pay for it (i.e. thankful), but I always just end up thinking about all the things I could have bought with that money.

Bill's board meeting was scheduled in New York for Dec.6th and has, as of this morning, been moved to Copenhagen. This would be great news for him travelwise, except that one of us now has to fly to the US for a weekend to pick up all the Christmas loot that I ordered for the kids in anticipation of him being there next week. Oops. There goes all the moolah I saved buying the stuff in the US rather than here. Another plan foiled. No worries, it will be good to go and see his dad for a couple days. His condition hasn't changed much at all since they brought him home from the hospital last week, still has the feeding tube and is really depressed. His poor mom is ready to lose it, I can't imagine how people can take care of their sick spouses like this for years on end. Not saying that I couldn't - for better or worse, ya know - but it takes a huge toll. I saw my Nana do it forever with my Grandfather, it's just what you do.

So, my other big project this morning was to work on my to-do list for the next couple of weeks. Yikes - holiday baking, Christmas cards, decorating, shopping, meal-planning, etc.. I absolutely LOVE the holidays, just wish the countdown to lift-off wasn't so daunting. And then we will rush through the actual day trying to get organized to leave for our ski trip to Slovakia on the 26th. Think we will do part of our Christmas on the 24th this year. Celebrate with the Hungarians, who open their presents and have the big dinner on Christmas Eve. Again, slow it down and try to find happiness in all the mayhem. Did I mention, totally unrelated, that I got to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade last Thursday? What a treat. That's how I find happiness in small things, that just made my day. On another unrelated topic, just downloaded James Taylor's new Christmas album from iTunes - FABULOUS, as expected. Check it out. Also downloaded 'The Wonder Pets', which is my very, very, favorite thing to come from Nickelodeon in a long time. Not sure who likes it more, me or Keira.

Ok, now that I have gone on and on about all the things I need to do, I should probably spend the last hour of my free time today doing something productive. Have a happy day. xo.

This posting was started on Monday, finished on Thursday. Another crazy week here, need about 12 more hours in my day.

Hi guys. Monday afternoon here. Have been trying to be productive today, just taking a break. Leaving to pick up the boys in a half hour so I won't be here long. My day started out like every other Monday, with my voice raised and my patience absolutely gone by the time I got the boys out the door for school. Why does every morning have to be a friggin' battle? Better question - how the hell am I going to survive another fifteen years of this business? I mean, how difficult is it to get up, get dressed, brush the teeth/hair, and put a pair of shoes on? Have tried everything with them - waking up earlier, waking up later, rewarding them, punishing them, letting them be late, etc.. Morning continues - my car is in the shop (lovely accident last Wednesday between a rock and my oil pan), my other car (the duck) doesn't start because I'm still flooding it most of the time, my hair looks like I stuck my finger in an electrical outlet (make that three outlets), and I have no mobile phone because I left it at a friends over the weekend. Thus begins the typical Monday for me.

Anyway, proceeded to borrow the babysitter's car and head down to Keira's nursery school/kindergarten, where I am teaching English every Monday morning. That turned my morning around and made me feel like I was actually accomplishing something. Interesting that I so rarely feel that with my own children. Hmmmm. The kids at the school are hilarious, three groups of them ranging from two to six years old. We are singing the classics (the Hokey Pokey is their favorite - not sure if that actually constitutes a classic or not), learning colors, numbers, animals, etc.. and they are surprisingly getting something out of it. I'm not a trained teacher, not trained in much actually, but I enjoy it. Came home, succeeded in getting the duck started, cleaned out the office, installed my new scanner, copied some recipes, made a shopping list, caught up on a few emails, downloaded the OSU vs. Michigan game to my iPod, and am now on a roll. For those of you who caught the game Saturday or know how it ended up, please don't tell me. I have been avoiding the TV, internet, telephone, etc. . since Saturday so that I can sit down tonight and watch the game with anticipation as to who will pull it off. Go Bucks!!! And go iTunes!! Just watched the first five minutes of the coverage and got goose bumps. Very exciting. Geez I hope they win/won. We had planned a great day of football watching at my friend Erika's yesterday, without realizing that the game wouldn't be available for download until late last night. Nevertheless, I downloaded the 1973 OSU-Michigan game, which came as part of the iTunes package or 'season pass', and we watched that. Too funny. The video quality was exactly what it would have been in 1973, not to mention the hair-dos (don'ts). Will be incredibly happy to sit down and watch the real deal tonight.

What else to report since my last entry. The weekend was terribly uneventful, although we did find Marshmallow fluff and other delicacies on a shopping trip to our local (30 km away) gourmet grocer, Culinaris. Bill went in search of baking supplies for his Turkey Day treats and I went looking for something to spice up my dinner repertoire. He found most things he needs for his Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie and Ginger Pumpkin Tart, crystallized ginger and all, and I found lots of yummy ingredients for my new take on Thai and Indian cooking. Actually, most of my efforts involve pastes and things that are pre-made and ready to go - just add chicken. Am going to try a kooky green curry thing tonight though, which contains fish sauce, lime leaves, and other things new to my kitchen. Let you know how it turns out. Hey, I can even post the recipe. Great idea for yet another blog. In other accomplishments, I have made almost half of my Christmas cards. Not a small undertaking, as each one takes me 45 minutes to an hour to make. Not sure that I will get them all done before Bill's leaves for the US on the 5th, so for those of you stateside, if you don't get a handmade one, it means I don't like you quite as much as my other friends. Just kidding. Will make a mental note of who got screwed in the card department and send you a lovely valentine. OK, need to close for now so I can do the school run. Then off to get my little Liam some new trousers. Can't find anything that fits him, everything is too small in the waist or too long in the legs. Will finishing this mind-bogglingly interesting diatribe when I get back. xoxo.

And three days later.....Happy Thanksgiving. Sorry, just never got back to finishing my last post. Have a whopping ten minutes to chat then need to hop in the shower and put the finishing touches on my Turkey Day contributions. We are picking the kids up from school/nursery and then headed to our close friends' place to spend the evening gorging ourselves on the usual. I made Grand Marnier cranberry sauce, mash potatoes (transporting in the crock pot - super idea, thanks Mom), and the tried and true green bean casserole. I can even buy Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup here now. No luck with the Durkee fried onions in a can, but I made my own and they are pretty darn close. Bill has been standing in the kitchen in his underwear all day baking. Not sure what that is about, but he is definitely liberated somehow without clothes on and I can watch the stress leave his body as he becomes one with the baked goods. Reading back on that, many of you will just think it's plain weird, but it is truly the one place he finds peace at the moment. Anyway, now that I've scared everyone off - he is done with his desserts as well and we are ready to eat. Hope everyone has a fantastic day and a few minutes to ponder the things they are thankful for. I sure have alot, wish someone could just stand next to me and remind regularly. Will look forward to hearing from lots of you over the holidays. Will also be sending an email in the next few days to try and get everyone's snail mail address, I am determined to send Christmas cards this year. Try to get back and chat a bit more over the weekend. For those of you headed out into the kooky dark morning tomorrow to get the shopping started, I'm so jealous. Really, I love that chaos. Ok, gotta run. xoxo.

Dear BU,
Grey and dreary autumn greetings from Budapest. Been awhile. Well on our way to Turkey Day. And Christmas just around the corner. Riley and Liam have both already compiled their lists and made Christmas cards for the big guy, talk about being prepared. It's PSPs on both their lists this year, hope Santa has been socking away the cash. Remember when you were little and you were happy to have some oranges and nuts in your stocking? Just kidding, I was pretty spoiled myself, but come on. Seems like every year it gets more and more extravagant. Keira has completely tuned into the program this year as well (she'll be three in January). Like a lightbulb was turned on, she has told me EVERY SINGLE TIME that the commercial comes on for the Pony Princess Castle (Can I just say GAG!) that she wants that from Ho-Ho. She then proceeded to inform me on Monday that she wants to call him and tell him. Trying to figure out how we might manage that one. Friend of mine who has been chased and accosted by some crazy cult here in Budapest told me yesterday that apparently you can actually talk to Jesus via email. Maybe Ho-Ho has the same ISP.

So, news from Budapest since we (I) last chatted. I arrived back from the US last Friday after more than two weeks in Maryland trying to help out with Bill's dad, who has been in and out of the hospital for almost two months with an incredibly nasty case of Pancreatitis. He is in the hospital as we speak, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Good days and bad, but mostly bad. The doctors have now said that they will most likely have to open him up to get a better picture of what the heck's going on, they are just stumped at the moment.

Liam went with me to Maryland, and got to go trick-or-treating for the first time ever, very exciting stuff. I let him go by himself with his big cousin Mickey, who's 11, so he thought he was all that and a bag of chips. They were gone for two and a half hours and came back with ten pounds of candy each. Had to bring it back in the carryon to make sure it made it. Halloween here was a bust, as Keira had the chicken pox (see very funny photos on my other page, 'McGann Family Photos'), but we are hoping to put something together later in the month and have a belated party for the boys' friends like we usually do. Think I will scale it down a bit and limit it to ten kids, gets way out of hand otherwise. Keira has recovered for the most part, just a few spots remaining, and went back to her kindergarten this morning. They will have a St. Martin's Day celebration this afternoon at 4:00, where the kids all light up the lanterns that they've made and parade around the schoolyard singing a bunch of kooky German songs (it's actually a German/Hungarian nursery school). Should be a blast :)

Friday morning 10:30am here and Bill just arrived back home after several failed attempts at driving into the city to work this morning. Must be a traffic debacle somewhere, as he spoke to several colleagues who all said the city was gridlocked everywhere. So he's 'working' from home, which is a relative term these days. He is trying to stay motivated and get through the next two months (he's officially done on Dec.22nd), have no idea how he's doing that. They have hired an American guy to come on board as the new reporting guru, or whatever you want to call him. All I have to say is good friggin' luck. Bill continues to explore opportunities on both sides of the pond but is very upfront with everyone in telling them that he fully intends to have a couple months of down time before jumping back into the soup. I continue to go back and forth daily with my thoughts on where we should be in the world, but as I've mentioned, it really boils down to where he finds the right job. I love being here so very much, and yet in so many ways I feel the need on a daily basis to scream my head off. I'm a raging lunatic anyway, so I would probably be that way on any continent. Stopped taking my 'crazy pills' last month (as Riley calls them, they are a very mild anti-depressant) and have surprisingly found that life without them is ok. Have taken them since just after Liam was born and never stopped, just out of habit. Am I oversharing again? Can hear my mom now, 'Why do you need to tell the whole world that kind of stuff'? :) Well, why not? Love me or don't, what you get is what I ramble on about.

Anyone have grand plans for the weekend? We are talking red-carpet excitement over here. Planning to catch up on some laundry, change a few light bulbs, do a big grocery shop. I know, hard to remain calm when pondering the glamour of it all. Actually, after my bout with the flu Mon/Tues this week, I am totally geeked to just be home and getting something accomplished. Still in the throws of my inner-struggle with Christmas cards, and was thinking that maybe I could be really organized and get them started before the month of December. Any thoughts on the subject? I really hate doing them. Haven't, actually, in a couple years, but there is this guilty thing that always sits there, eating away at my holiday spirit. And the confict continues....

Well, speaking of accomplishing something, should probably go get a shower and do something useful. Like catching up on my Hollywood gossip :) All I can say is, thank the good Lord that Britney finally called it quits with that slug of a slimeball Kevin Federline. Words can express my relief. I really am, as they say, 'deep as a puddle', but I do love my 'Rag Mags'. Am upset to hear about Reese and Ryan, thought they had a chance. I know, I know...Kerry, get a life. Will sign off for now. Have a great weekend. xoxo.