Mo In London

The Travel Blog

2007-10-23T21:13:00.000+01:00

www.muzandmo.blogspot.com

London......... I will miss you

2007-10-23T09:17:00.000+01:00

Ok - finally - my last London post.

I went to London for the first time when I was 16 - I remember it being huge & amazing & overwhelming ... I just loved it!!!

Then I came back - to do a semester abroad for my junior year of University in 1999. We arrived in September and had SUCH a great time studying in such an amazing city. Then on Thanksgiving (Nov 24th, 1999) we went out in Leicester Square. We went to a night club called 'The Zoo Bar' and I met a tall VERY blonde Australian guy named Zac. After I left London in December we kept in touch via email and snail mail (I even got an awesome mix tape from him)! Then he came to see me for a week after visiting Sydney in February 2000 - and that was it. I knew I was in Love with him. We decided from then on to be exclusive.

He came to see me about once a month for the weekend - for over 2 years!!! He went to a million job interviews & tried so hard to move over, but it just didn't happen. So once I finished University I took a visa opportunity I had to come to the UK. My family and friends were totally freaked out that I was moving over 3000 miles away to live with a guy I saw so little of up to then. But I know - he was the one. And you know what - I knew that I could always just buy a plane ticket IF I was wrong. So I packed up two giant suitcases and I was off.

He found us a great flat in Putney and we shared with our friend Richard. London is just SO SO expensive - that we decided that 'flatmates' were the way to go. We had a huge room to ourselves and our own 'ensuite' shower room which was a bonus!

The first year - was tough! I loved him to bits, but I was very lonely for my family and friends, and it was just hard living somewhere where I only had ONE friend - him. But I held on. My first job was at a company in Central London which was nice. Pints at lunch time was a new experience for me!!! But I loved it, and I made some friends, and I slowly got used to all the accents!

I also got into a routine of calling home - whenever I felt like it. It was good to connect with my Mom and Grandma and whoever I felt like chatting to. Murray and I went from strength to strength and we became best friends. We travelled a TON (every bank holiday really - which was at least 4 trips to mainland Europe every year). And we explored our city.

We went to tons of concerts - something we both love to do - and we enjoyed a ton of great venues around London. We saw some amazing Ameican bands in tiny venues including Dave Matthews, Madonna (that was amazing!!!), Beastie Boys, etc etc.

We experienced a TON of the tourist sites.... and we hosted friends & family when they came to see us.

We went to the Men's & Women's finals at Wimbledon.

We made some great friends - friends from around the world and from the UK - and got to know some of our English family much better as well. We also gained an amazing god child, and made friends that we'll have for life.

We fell in Love with the city from the gorgeous parks to the amazing array of restaurants to the historical sites and the great melting pot of different cultures all living in one place.

Gosh I just could go on & on.

I love London.

I lived in London for 5 years and 11 months. I now have a British passport, I met the love of my life in London, and it was the first big city I have ever lived in.

I will miss it terribly. I will miss our friends & family, but I will also miss the little things. I'll miss being able to hop on the tube to go shopping in Covent Garden. I will miss being able to walk through Kensington gardens on a warm summer day. I will miss the cute little tennis courts in Putney. I will miss our Wednesday night movies & Nandos. I will miss our favourite Italian place Il Mascalzone. I will miss picnics with Eva and Abby. I will miss our very special Saturdays getting to know Abby. I will miss our American friends, our South African friends, our work friends, etc. I will miss being able to go to t.v. show tapings for free just for the heck of it. I will miss my reading time on the tube. I will miss the silly trashy gossip magazines. I will miss British tv shows. I will miss South West London places like Richmond in the summer, Putney riverside, Parsons Green and Pimms in the park, etc.

But despite all this my 5 years and 11 months in London will always always have a very special place in my heart. I'm glad I took the risk, and I'm glad I was able to live in such an amazing city.

I will ALWAYS love London

Last London post soon soon soon.....

2007-10-21T23:36:00.000+01:00

I have been thinking about what to write for my last London post.... will get my thoughts together soon so I can finish this blog off and officially start the travel blog. But not today. Today we're busy recieving our shipment of boxes that we sent 14 weeks ago from London - I really hope everything is there! And another beautiful day in Sydney - it's due to be 30 c (90f) today - and it's only Spring - nice! Oh and I got some cute new board shorts that will be awesome for the trip:)

In Australia

2007-10-19T09:02:00.000+01:00

We're here - we're exhausted - but we're here in Australia. It's due to be 35c (100f) on Sunday - OH MY GOSH.
Bought some super cute board shorts today - Murray too - so now we're ALL set for travel clothes.
Too tired to do my last London post yet - soon - I promise! :)

Off to Oz.........

2007-10-17T15:00:00.000+01:00

We have had a WONDERFUL time in Minnesota - but now today we're off to Australia.

I will post my 'last London post' on here soon, and then will get started up on the new travel blog - starting with all our great MN photos:)

The Final London Weekend

2007-10-12T14:38:00.000+01:00

September 28th 2007 - the last day of workMurray and I went out to toast being unemployed with a bottle of champagne we had been saving for AGES!

We went to our FAVOURITE place in Putney - Il Mascalzone. We had the meal we ALWAYS have cause it is so so so good! Carbonara pasta and Fantasia Pizza (with pepperoni, mushrooms & artichokes - with the home made chili sauce to top it off - yummmm!).

Murray & I with that 'we don't have jobs' glow :)

September 29th 2007 - The Night out with Friends & Family to say Goodbye

Me & Niece Lorraine - gosh I'll miss her! She's fun and sweet and such a good friend!

Me with my first good girlfriend in London - Heather!

Me & Sue - we used to work together - but stayed in touch & had lots of fun shopping days out in central London!

My favourite girls - Lorraine & Heather

Me with our flat mate & friend Kirsty

Muray with some of his work buddies - from left Dave, Paul & Tom

Murray's work friend Aneta on the left & her sister

Lisa & Richard

Murray went a bit overboard on the photos..... I THINK some people got annoyed..... (lol)

Our good American friends Brad & Jeanne

Murray surprising the guys with his scary chipmunk face

Lorraine, Heather & Me - on the dance floor!

Shake it shake it shake it!

The bad thing about this photo is you can't see my gorgeous leopard print shoes :(

Shots for the boys

Sue & Me

Lorraine - I hate her & her gorgeous spotless skin :)

Jason uses his Carolina charm, her face shows the level of success

Me & Jeanne

Murray, Heather & Jason - SOMEONE must have said something funny?

Sad faces - I will miss Lorraine & She WILL miss me ( I demand it) just kidding :)

Niece & Uncle - also friends

Heather & Jason performed their classic dance floor routine for us!

They even demonstrated their highly skilled precision dancing.... do not attempt this at home! Only for professionals!

SUCH a fantastic night! It was great to see our friends & family and go out in style! We had a brilliant time:)

Sunday September 30th - Saying Goodbye to Abby & Eva

We gave Abby a little fairy princess outfit - she liked the crown :)

Working on the bubbles! She spilled almost all of the bubble liquid - but still had a great time

Oh look I found Mama's sunglasses in her bag!

Me, Abby & Eva - working on sock monkeys at the pub!

Abby loved the stuffing - until she got excited and put her whole face in the pile - with her mouth open - and got it stuck all over her tongue!

Oh gosh, it was so hard to say goodbye to Abby & Eva. Eva is such a good friend, and we love Abby to bits! But I know we'll see them again - for sure - and hopefully not to far from now!

Wales - August 2007

2007-10-12T05:22:00.001+01:00

Gorgeous bridge as we crossed over into Wales!

A lovely breakfast at our B&B

They had a cute but very overweight dog (we saw a lot of obese labs in Wales - so odd!)
We decided to go for a hike & Pen y Fan was recommended to us at the visitors centre

It was a tough hike

We had to stop & take breaks!

But the scenery was GORGEOUS!

Lots of rolling hills
so we hiked some more
Then we realised after looking at our guidebook that oh - Pen y Fan is the highest peak in the Breacon Beacons national park!
but Murray liked the view
So did this sheep!
Just hangin out in Wales
Murray & I and oh wow check out that view! Stunning!
If you wanna go - it's that way - but it took us FOUR HOURS! Ouch (thank goodness for our excellent hiking boots) !!
On the way back Murray popped out of the car to take a photo

The castle right by our B&B - well, ruins of a castle
On our last day we went out to see a stunning castle - the sheep had overtaken the surrounding area though.... (poo avoidance was difficult)
Carreg Cennen Castle

Stunning views

It even had a even had a natural cave below the castle that they used to store provisions in. Murray turned the torch (flashlight) off, I screamed, then I took this photo. It was fun, not.
We stopped on the way home at a food fair in Abergavenny

Warning Vegetarians - gross photo below

They even had a whole pig roast - ewwwww

Hard to blog while petting the dog

2007-10-09T15:08:00.000+01:00

Minnie (our family dog) will not leave me alone while I'm trying to type here! She is pretty lonely since my sisters Mandie and Mariah moved out. I like spoiling her with attention though - while we're here at least:) We had a MASSIVE shopping day yesterday at a great camping store called REI. We bought tons of clothing (hiking trousers, socks, tops, etc) sleeping sacks (so no matter where we are sleeping we can be in out own clean silk sheets - AND they have pouches for our pillows which is SO nice), and of course a head lamp (we had to buy one IN Africa cause we found out they were so so necessary - so now we have 2)! It was an expensive day, but SO much cheaper than if we had bought everything in London! I'm so glad we waited. Today Murray is at the office with my Dad and brother, while us girl's have a spa day (yay facial & haircut)!!

Now, back to preparing for my phone interview tomorrow (for a magazine specializing in the planning software I used on my last project). Ahhh I am nervous - can't wait to get it OVER with! Then I will officially be unemployed with NO work left to do:)

No time for blogging!

2007-10-08T19:08:00.000+01:00

I have a ton of pics to post - but NO TIME!
We had a great few days with family, and then 2 days up in Brainerd seeing Mike & Beth and their gorgeous baby Tommy. We're just about to head off now to go to a camping store to look for clothing for the trip. Will TRY to get some pictures up tonight - not only do we have Wales & Leaving Night & Abby/Eva photos - but also baby Tommy photos now too! Lots to do!

In Minnesota......

2007-10-04T15:12:00.000+01:00

We made it.
We ended up having 6 suitcases - definitely could have been just 5 - but the 23 kg per bag weight restriction was a problem! The guy who checked us in was laughing because all 6 bags weighed 22.6 kg! Didn't surprise us since we had spent the past two days packing, weighting, and repacking until all the suitcases were under 23!! Luckily he only charged us for 1 extra bag rather than 2 (since we said we'd leave some in MN) - so that worked out well. The flights were long and uncomfortable as usual, but not bad. We're here now - the weather in MN is beautiful today (for this time of the year). I don't have a whole lot of time to blog right now, but will try and get pictures up soon from our leaving night and of course Wales!!

Rain, Packing, Family & Friends

2007-10-01T15:12:00.000+01:00

Our second to last day in London...... and wow it's already 3pm?
We have got a lot done today - but there is still tons to do.

Over the weekend -

Friday - had a gorgeous bottle of champagne we had been saving for ages at our most favourite Italian place MasCalzone with out usual order or pizza and carbonara pasta.

Saturday - busy day organising, selling stuff, running errands and then a Fantastic night out with friends and family in central London to say goodbye. Sad to say goodbye to such a great group of people, but it was a really fun night (pics to follow soon)

Sunday - caught up with Eva & Abby and made sock puppets at the pub (that was fun)! And managed to catch up with niece Lorraine. Fun day - nice to see them - teary goodbyes though:(

Today - 2 more shots (ouch my left arm hurts!!), sold out TV (yay!!), and we're working on cleaning the flat and getting packed up (did a little but geez there is still a LOT to do)! Now, must get back to it! Will try and write a nice long post tomorrow with pics!

147 weeks - WOW

2007-09-28T09:55:00.000+01:00

Today is my last day at work.

After 147 working weeks at this job, it's time to move on. I knew from the day they hired me three years ago that 28 September 2007 would be my finish date. But wow - it's here - it's really here - so strange. This is the longest I have ever been at one job so it feels strange to leave now!

I'm getting all teary about leaving London. I'll miss the great people at work, but I won't miss the commute. I brought in a box of Krispy Kremes for my friends at work today, and they all LOVED them (me too)!

I'll do my final 'leaving London' post on this blog on Tuesday - my last official day in the UK.

As a wise friend said to me today

'It is always better to miss the place when leaving rather than looking forward to closing that chapter of your life, isn't it?'

SO so so true!

By the way :

We had an amazing Sri Lankan dinner last night! We went to the restaurant owned by the woman who is replacing Murray at work. She picked out everything (thank goodness since I didn't even recognise most of the words on the menu) and really was SO SO good! Lots of interesting & yummy food.

Tonight - we'll crack open the nice bottle of champagne that we have been saving for ages to celebrate / toast our last day of work in the UK being over. *sob*

2 days 2 days 2 days

2007-09-27T09:00:00.000+01:00

2 more days of work to go.

I turned in my final document draft to my boss last night - and I'm now anxiously awaiting his arrival this morning. I HOPE it's OK and there aren't too many changes that I need to make. It is 47 pages so far with TONS of attachments. It's actually too big to email now - oops! I will have to burn a few copies to disks.

I had a terrible commute today. Missed my early bus (had to run back home cause I forgot my tube pass) and then I stood on Putney Bridge waiting for another bus for AGES! It felt like hours, as my hands and face went numb, but was really about 15 minutes. It is COLD HERE! Definitely Autumn now. Around 10c (50f) this morning and boy could I feel it - burrrrrrrrrr.

We had a lovely evening out with our friend and ex flat mate Debs last night. We saw an awful awful movie (I now pronounce you Chuck & Larry) - don't see it! It was just so terrible, I was really disappointed. But we had lots of lovely popcorn and candy and then went out for a fab burger at GBK (gourmet burger kitchen). We'll miss her!!! She's a lovely friend:)

Now, back to work. I have a bunch of little things to finish off today, and I need to read through my draft again and jazz it up a bit:)

And just cause this is SUCH a nice photo I am going to post it! (Thanks for sending it to me Heather!)

Me, Murray, Heather & Jason by the White Cliffs of Dover

Busy Busy

2007-09-26T08:34:00.000+01:00

I have a lot of work to complete today, so I'll make this quick.

I sold our bed last night - whooo hoooo! It was the last big thing left that we needed to sell, so I'm glad that's over & done with! The girl came with cash and I talked her into just taking the base!! So we have a mattress to sleep on until Sunday - and we fly out Wednesday - and our flat mate will move out over the weekend so we can have that bed in the mean time - perfect!

Now - back to work! MUST finish my final document draft TODAY!

Cheers Joni!

2007-09-25T14:15:00.001+01:00

PISCES
February 19-March 20
Daily Overview: September 25, 2007

Even though some other folks in your life are just stumbling around, you find yourself on sure footing. It's the perfect day to try totally new projects or move out in new directions with your life.

MANY thanks to Joni for this uplifting horoscope - now THIS is what I need today! :)

Stress stress and my arm HURTS!

2007-09-25T11:13:00.000+01:00

Last night we went for our 5th vaccination.

The doctor was in a HUGE rush (um I know it's the end of your day Mr. Doctor - but I'd appreciate if you didn't rip the needle out of the packet in a frantic manner).

So he quickly loaded up and gave Murray his shot, then I watched as he wrote it down in Murray's vaccination booklet - then I noticed he was writing in the Rabies section....

I said 'hold on - what shot did you give him?'

'Rabies'

'You were supposed to give him HEB B!!!!!'

'Oh was I - oops - oh it'll be fine'

Hmmmmmmmmm

The rabies and Hep B shots are timed for each series of shots. So for rabies you get the first one on 'day 0' the second one on 'day 7' and the third one on 'day 28.'

I worked all the timings out with the nurse ages ago and booked us in on the correct dates for all of the shots. But she's on holiday now - so we had to see the doctor instead.

And he was in such a rush he didn't read his notes properly - and gave Murray the WRONG ONE!

I was NOT Happy.

He assured me it was fine. But I really don't think he knew for sure. After all HE had just asked ME when we were supposed to get a Heb B booster (which I did know cause the nurse told me). *sigh* So Murray got 2 shots last night - I got one (the correct one)!

I called NHS direct today - which is a free helpline you can call for information. A nurse took my details and my query and called me back later on with info. Thankfully it IS ok that he had that shot a week too soon. She said that it states in their system that you can have the third shot on day 21 OR day 28 - so it's fine. I just wanted to know for sure! Because what if cause of that mess up he wasn't then fully protected? ESPECIALLY since this was for rabies!! Because even WITH these 3 injections - it only means we have up to 24 hours to get to a hospital if we get bit by an animal with rabies - without it you could die!!! I am happy to hear he IS protected after all though, so now I don't have to worry. Although of course we will try and avoid all animals in countries where they still have rabies anyway.

*sigh*

Only a few shots to go now - 3 for me - 2 for Murray - fun fun fun.

I also spoke to the post office this morning, since I still have not heard anything back about the refund I applied for 6 weeks ago. They lost a package I sent to a friend in Minnesota 11 weeks ago:( The guy said 'oh that's funny, they have approved your refund, but they haven't cut you a check or sent you a letter.' Turns out they didn't approve the full amount either - simply because of laziness!! (they can only approve up to a certain amount themselves - anything higher they have to go to a manager). I said to the guy 'I am leaving the country a week from tomorrow, so can we please get this sorted out today?' Luckily he was nice, and said he'd speak to his manager and have a check for the full refund and compensation in the mail to me today. Let's just hope THAT piece of mail does make it to me - they are striking again next week I think.

Now, back to work, I have a ton to do.

It's my LAST Monday at work!

2007-09-24T08:39:00.000+01:00

I was woken up this morning by howling wind banging on our windows at 5:30am. I put a pillow on top of my head, but that didn't really help, so of course now I'm exhausted. It's raining cats & dogs today - totally miserable - but a good day to be inside and working.

My horoscope today said:
Are you actually sure what you're doing? You're running around like a headless poultry item, but are you directing your efforts in the right place? Hadn't you better check before you exhaust yourself?

Eeeeeeeek that freaked me out - it IS sort of what I was thinking today though on the way in. I think I'm going to focus on my big final project today and worry about the little details later. I think if I work hard today & tomorrow I can at least finish this part! only 5 days to go - wow time flies!!

We watched the final 2 episodes of the Sopranos last night. OH MY GOSH - now I can see why people in America were upset at the ending. Um ya - I didn't like it either. It was a great show - I'm gonna miss it:)

Saturday we caught up with Murray's half brother Graham, his wife Kerry and their children Justin & Lorraine. We went to a pub to watch England play rugby in the World Cup and then went out to a Spanish tapas dinner nearby.

from left: Kerry, Graham, Justin, Murray, Me & Lorraine

Kerry, Graham & Justin with the paella

It was a nice afternoon - lovely to see them and nice to be able to say goodbye to them in person before we leave the UK :)

Sunday Heather & Jason picked us up in their rental car !

Jason did very well considering it was only the second time he had driven in the UK!

We went to Canterbury!
The Canterbury Cathedral was GORGEOUS! And HUGE!
Stunning stained glass
Gorgeous

It really was like 2 Cathedral's in one - massive!
And a lovely outdoor courtyard

We also stopped by Canterbury Castle - it reminded me of a pile of rocks around a sandbox. That's what it was really - oh well, worth a 5 minute visit.
Then some ice cream - yummmm (shame Murray's flake smelled like old socks - ewww)

(p.s. for my American readers - a flake is the chocolate stick coming out of the vanilla cone - they are usually nice - and don't normally smell like feet)

On the way back to the car we heard & saw this group of old ladies posing for pictures with a big burly biker - CUTE!
The gate leaving Cantebury Then we quickly drove over to Dover to check out the view of France - This pic is Jason, Heather & I checking out the view (yes we really COULD see France- pretty cool!)
The White Cliffs of Dover
Murray (with his lego hair) & I & the white Cliffs

Just in case you missed it - Beware of the Cliff Edge

FRIDAY ! ! ! ! !

2007-09-21T09:02:00.000+01:00

I had a good day at work yesterday, got a lot done, but I still have a LOT left to do.

Started packing our suitcases. I THINK we have a strategy now, but it would help if United could give me the SAME story every time I call to check on prices on overweight or excess baggage. (will call them again later today to see if they tell me the same story.......)

Apparently our stuff has arrived in Sydney and is with customs now, should make for perfect timing as we'll be in Australia in just over 4 weeks (and we get 4 weeks free storage - how perfect is THAT?)

And it's almost the weekend - we're seeing family and friend - and that makes me happy :)

Almost Friday?

2007-09-20T08:20:00.001+01:00

Oh gosh I had a terrible day yesterday.

The 2 hour commute

Then I had a HUGE list of things to get done, but got tied up working with a computer programme that would NOT cooperate! I spoke to my knowledgeable friend Sue, and her suggestions were great but still didn't help me sort out the problem. Someone here suggested a guy in our office in Birmingham, but I informed them that I actually trained that guy last year. IT had no idea, and I couldn't call the support desk in the UK for the programme cause our company's technical support contract has expired. *SIGH*

I did eventually find a temporary fix, but it took up most of my day which was VERY frustrating. I thought of something I could do to fix it this morning, but it's not ideal. Will see how it goes as I have a LOT of other things to get on with today.......

And also the office REEKED of some sort of industrial cleaning solution yesterday. We never did figure out where it came from, but it left us all light headed and not feeling great (we work in a basement - so opening a window was not an option).

Then I got home and realised I had forgotten my keys. Murray thankfully was only half an hour away, so I got out my book to read. Then I had to back up into our (thankfully) covered door way as it started to rain....

By the time he got back I was nearly in tears - what a BAD day!

I know - big picture - that we have over 400 days of no work coming up. But, that doesn't negate the fact that I do still have a TON of work to complete in the next 7 days. I don't want to turn in a half finished manual when I leave - I want it to be complete and quality.

Oh well - will work hard today and work late if necessary.

Last night we did the first practice pack of our trip backpack. I can't quite believe we'll be living out of the bag for SEVEN MONTHS! Wow. So just about everything fit - barely. The boots fill the entire bottom of the bag (we won't be wearing them all the time - so need to make sure we leave room for them) and thanks to our brilliant packing cubes we were able to fit in enough clothing for both of us. Nice. Tonight - we will start packing out suitcases with books, paperwork, misc. stuff, other clothing, etc. I KNOW we have 2 weeks to do that - but it's not just the packing that's worrying us - it's making sure that we can fit all of our stuff into 4 suitcases that worries me. I do NOT want to check another bag (it's darn expensive) so we need to plan and pack carefully.

Now - back to work - I have TONS to do.

Oh and p.s. I think today will be a good day - already started out on a great note when I paid for a small Chai latte at Starbucks and the lady gave me a large instead! I gave her a 'huh?' face and she said - oh yes this is small (they must be out of small cups or something). Ok - whatever you say - more yummy Chai for ME!

Stooooooopid commute

2007-09-19T09:54:00.000+01:00

Gosh darn it!

My commute this morning went from 1 hour to 2 hours, simply because the 7am bus never showed. I am SO annoyed and will SO not miss that!

Last night had some yummy Chinese takeaway with Heather & Jason, and managed to sell a few more random things (not to them, to some odd English guy who stopped by the pick the stuff up).

Today - work work work like mad again - AHHHH I have SO much to do:(

Tonight - first attempt at packing the backpack (here's hoping our boots won't fill half of the bag).

Oh and we fly out TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY! I'm excited and sad all at the same time!

Feels Like Autumn

2007-09-18T11:19:00.000+01:00

Nothing to report.

I'm madly trying to sell all the stuff we need to get rid of before we go (would be nice to get rid of everything this week)!

I'm busy busy busy at work trying to get as much as possible done this week so I'm don't stress next week.

And it's COLD today!!! This morning I was FREEZING waiting for the bus - time to bring out the Autumn jacket tomorrow! I had a wet head this morning (running late as usual....) and my hair got all crispy it was so cold! Burrrrr and my hands are nearly numb while typing this. Fun fun fun

And that's about it! Now - back to work:)

Monday Monday - 2 weeks to go!

2007-09-17T10:51:00.000+01:00

Wow I can't believe I only have 10 days left of work - ekkkk! I have SO much to do, so I'm busy busy from here til the end pretty much! Trying to get as much as possible completed this week so I'm not totally stressed next week.

Wales was great! Not that far (about 3 hours driving - would have been less if the London traffic wasn't so bad). We went hiking, saw a castle, and went to a food fest. LOVELY place - gorgeous rolling hills, nice people, and great fresh air! We had a really nice time (other than our the fact that the bed at our B&B felt like it was made of concrete which meant neither of us slept very well), but other than that it was a fabulous weekend (pics to follow soon).

Now:
* only 10 days left of work (YAY!)
* 16 days left in London - the thought of that makes us sad :(
* LOTS of packing to be done/planned
and LOTS of friends & family to catch up with on our 2 final weekends - WOW time has flown!

Welsh Friday

2007-09-14T09:01:00.000+01:00

Random Thoughts.....

*I am sad that the weather was so bad this summer - I usually LOVE London summers:( This one has been a huge disappointment, but I suppose it makes me less sad about leaving

*I am really tired and REALLY looking forward to sleeping in this weekend. Tonight we are driving to Wales and will be back Sunday night YAY!

*I miss my dog Minnie (well family & friends too of COURSE) but I am also looking forward to seeing Minnie and giving her a cuddle (although Murray hates when I end up smelling like dog from petting her - ha ha).

*I don't usually post email forwards on my blog - but I thought this one was really touching & wanted to share......

The Purpose of a Dog - from a 4 yr. old's perspective
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience. The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him.

Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four- year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

*Isn't that SO sweet

* Also - last night I went back to look at some shoes I tried on two weeks ago. I try not to buy things on impulse anymore because I often have buyers regret once I get home. However, these shoes, they were made for me. I love them and they love me:)

(Also I do realise we need to fit everything we own into suitcases in 2 1/2 weeks time - so I haven't really bought anything in months - thus I am justfying this one purchase) I will consider it my last London purchase - to remember the city by:)

So last night I went back and asked to try them on in my size. The sales guy brought them out and I slipped them on and them modelled them in front of the mirror. First, with jeans - yup they looked great. Then I rolled up my jeans to my knees to see how they would look with a skirt or dress.
The sales guy came over and said 'What are you planning on wearing them with.'
Me 'A simple black dress'
Guy 'Oh that would look great, and with what hand bag'
Me 'I have not idea actually, I hadn't really thought of it'
Guy 'Oh well....'
Me - interrupting him 'Look, it's OK - you don't have to sell them to me. I came here 2 weeks ago and fell in love with them. I don't need them, but I love them, so I will buy them.'
Guy 'You have been dreaming about them haven't you?'
Me 'Ha ha - yes!'

I thought that was funny:) I would post a picture - but you will see pics of them when I wear them with my black dress exactly 2 weeks from tomorrow! But I will tell you - they are not practical but GORGEOUS!

More sad 'see ya laters'

2007-09-13T12:07:00.000+01:00

I thought these photos deserved their own post!

Last weekend we went to Windsor and spent the afternoon with Eva & Abby. It may have been our last afternoon with them before we go.... (although we're still hopeful that we'll see them one more time at the end of the month....).

Looking at these photos is making me really teary. Eva has become a great friend, and I will miss her LOADS. She is a wonderful Mother, a really lovely person and a good friend. Abby means more to me than I can express - I love her like she was my own. Abby and Eva have become family to us - we don't have many family members over in the UK - and you know after all these years I feel like they will be part of our lives now forever.

Abby was already having trouble remembering our names (we haven't seen her in awhile now that they live further away) - she called us 'him and her' a few times, but then her eyes sparkled when we reminded her - no it's 'Moooreeey and Neek.' She is SO sweet, and funny, and well mannered and gorgeous. Ok - trying not to cry here - gosh I'm gonna miss them......

But i DO KNOW - for sure - that this isn't goodbye - it's see you later. I know we'll see them again - and hopefully it won't be too long from now:)

New & Old - Windsor Castle is right in the village

Me, Abby & Eva walking along the waterfront

There were TONS of swans around

Ohhhhhh look swans!
Cheeky smile
Can you tell she HATES smoked salmon? Ha ha - gosh that is a happy face:) She picked out all of the salmon to eat & kept the bread for the ducks & swans!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh sweet :) Murray & Abby
Showing us her 'sad face'
and her 'angry face' - ha ha I think this is adoreable!
My goodness she is gorgeous

Abby and I feeding the swans
Abby & Me :)
Ready, Steady, GO! (she was yelling this over & over) - you can tell by my face that wow she is heavy now! Windsor Castle courtyard
Part of the fortress walls - they were shaped this way so soldiers could shoot arrows out at intruders, but also arrows could not get back in.
Such a lovely castle - shame they didn't let us take photos inside - SO many interesting & gorgeous things! It's a great tour:)
Murray as a guard
Me in an entranceway

Check out the top of this lamp - it's a crown!

Still within the castle walls - gorgeous gardens (this is where the moat used to be).

Adventure Film Fest

2007-09-13T10:06:00.000+01:00

Last night we went to the Adventure Film Festival. Every year they do a week of adventure movies at the local theatre. Last night's theme was 'sports adventure.' There was a series of films with all sorts of amazing adventures.
Ocean Men – a movie about 2 of the world’s top freedivers’ world record attempts. (wow they are some amazing guys - they can hold their breath for up to 8 minutes - one guy used weights and got down hundreds of feet deep - really amazing!)
Quest – insane big wave surf action. (eh - that was ok - we saw a similar show on the discover channel - I do admire the guys who have the guts to get out and face those massive waves though).
Snow Kayaker – kayaks at 60mph??? On snow!!! (OH MY GOSH - that was the most insane thing I have ever seen - can you imagine barreling down a MASSIVE mountain in a kayak with just a paddle to try and 'slow down' - ummm ya that's not going to happen - made me feel sick to the stomach just to watch! the very last shot was of a guy coming off the edge of the edge of a high cliff - and ended up going straight down into a snow drift - you couldn't even see the end of the his kayak he was so deep !!!)
2nd B.A.S.E – Buildings, Antennae, Spans, Earth, they jump off the lot. (I just don't understand Base jumping - scares the heck out of me - those people are CRAZY!)
91 words for snow – latest and greatest snowboard action. (Cool movie - based around a professional snowboarder & showing lots of amazing snowboarding action).
Coast to Coast – trans-African microlighting journey. (THIS one was my favourite. It was the story of two friends who flew microlights around Africa. It was about their journey - the amazing views and taking the locals for their first every flight .... so so touching!)

Wednesday I Guess (13 working days to go!)

2007-09-12T08:20:00.000+01:00

I REALLY meant to go to the gym last night.
I packed my backpack up with gym clothes, socks, toiletries, water bottle, gym card, locker key, etc and brought it with me to work. Then on the way home I remembered - I forgot my trainers (tennis shoes)!! Oops! I only had flip flops on - so couldn't really go in those! By the time I got home I was too lazy to get back on a bus to the gym.

So instead I took a nice bubble bath, did some crocheting and watched a very moving TV programme called 9/11: Ground Zero Underworld. It was the story of the people who searched for months and months to recover victims of the twin tower attacks 6 years ago. It was very moving. Many of the people who were searching had friends and family who were missing after the attacks, and amazingly 60% of the victims were identified and matched using DNA techniques - which is a testament to those who spent every day searching for over 6 months. Sad - very sad - I can't believe it has been 6 years - wow.

Aussie Aussie Aussie - Oy Oy Oy

2007-09-11T08:41:00.000+01:00

I forgot to say - I GOT MY AUSTRALIAN VISA IN MY PASSPORT!

The Australian embassy returned my UK passport with my Australian permanent residency visa - whooooo hoooooo! Now I just have it stamped when we enter the country at the end of October - and that's it!!! SO exciting to be done with this LONG process:) Thanks again to the family and friends who helped with my application!!!

WOW I cannot believe we only have 22 days until we leave London - that actually makes me kinda panicky!!

We're on top of everything - kinda - but we still have a ton left to do.....

Last night we had the second set of 2 shots - one in each arm - ouch ouch ouch

It really hurt this time! I think maybe it's cause I knew what was coming & tensed a bit:(

Only 4 shots to go!

My lovely American friends who live in London - from left

Jeanne, Libby, Jackie, Teresa & Me

(just missing out Melissa who took the photo & Seyi who had to leave early - bummer!)

Monday Monday

2007-09-10T10:27:00.000+01:00

Oh you gotta love Mondays. I woke up an early late (for some reason my alarm didn't go off!!!) then rushed for the bus and got here over an hour late *sigh.*

BUT it was a fabulous weekend:)

Friday night I went out in Kensington to cool piano bar called - Piano. It is a TINY place tucked in above a building just across the street from Kensington High Street tube station. We found our table (it's so small ALL of them were reserved) and had some very fancy drinks & a lovely meal. The evening was 'leaving drinks' for me and our friend Teresa (who is also moving to Sydney soon). It was a VERY loud bar - as there is a live pianist who plays very popular songs - so of course people love to sing along! But it was a good place for 7 loud Americans to meet up:) They surprised us with GORGEOUS gifts - oh wow! They are such lovely girls, and the gifts were just TOO MUCH - so so lovely:) Gosh I'm going to miss them! It has been SO nice to have fellow American friends in London. Not only do we have the USA in common, but they are also such lovely ladies, and good friends. I do hope I can catch up with them all some time in the future somewhere in the world - you never know!

Oh and .... I am SO SO SO SO SO jealous ........

As if seeing the beastie Boys Wed and Thursday night in concert wasn't enough. Murray and his friend Cameron were walking through Soho along Old Compton Street towards the bus stop home on Friday night - and he ran into MCA and Ad Rock!!! Tells them that there shows were awesome and then parted ways......!!! " They were keeping a low profile and didn't want anyone to recognise them.... (was that because they were with 20 year old girls??? ha ha - man I wish I HAD SEEN THEM TOO - bummer)

Over the weekend we also had a great catch up with Abby & Eva (lots of great pictures to follow soon!)

And we had a lovely afternoon with Murray's cousin Pat.

We decided to go to the Tower Bridge Exhibition, as none of us had done that tour before!

View from the top of the tower - how amazing is that!

Looking up one of the towers .... with fake men 'working' - odd!
Old old picture of Tower Bridge
You could clearly see the HMS Belfast
Pat, Murray & I in front of one of the old steam engines they used to power the opening of the bridge
Murray sticking his head in the oven!
Some sort of engine gadget.... I can't seem to remember the technical details now
but I do remember it was quite advanced engineering for when they put it in!

More engine stuff...

Oh oh I remember what these are - the accelerators - they stored up compressed water and were used as backup energy as needed
Murray and I with our two blank faced children !
It's such a pretty bridge!
Pat, Murray & I
Tower Bridge (you can see the building they call 'the gherkin' in the background too!)
Then Pat treated us to a GORGEOUS lunch at a The Butlers Wharf Chop House - which has stunning views of Tower Bridge
Yummy yummy dessert
The Butlers Wharf area is SO cute!
This was our view from the restaurant - nice huh?
There was some sort of boat race going on - we couldn't figure out what it was for! There was boats of all sizes - with 2 to 20+ men in each! Lots of people were in costume as well - it was quite fun to watch:)

It was such a lovely afternoon - GREAT to see Pat, and fun to tour a tourist site I have been meaning to see for YEARS! I highly recommend it!

Second Beastie Boys gig

2007-09-07T09:01:00.000+01:00

- this time in a venue the size of your living room! Yes - we rock! And so does ...........

Adrock
& MCA
& Mike D (on left with the wild curly hair)

Also it was their drummer's birthday so they got him a cake!

(the big scary guy on the leftin the hat with a beard)

Nobody can do it like Mix Master can COME ON!

Mix Master Mike came to the front of the stage to do an AWESOME version of what cha' want

I get so funny with the money that i flaunt..
3 MC's ( I LOVE this graphic - I want it on a t-shirt!!!)
Adrock was quite chatty - he's my FAVOURITE B-Boy

I must say I think that was one of the best concerts I have been to - EVER! Apparently it was a 'instrumental gig' - because their new album is all instrumental. Interesting! But they also worked in a lot of older instrumental songs with the new ones, some old punky rap, and some classics like Sabotage & Pass the Mike. AND they played for over two hours!! Much longer than last night.

The venue was AWESOME - I hadn't ever been there before - the Round House in Camden. It's quite small - just feels like a barn inside! Has a LOVELY cafe near the entrance (the brie & veggie quesadilla tasted like heaven). We were only 7 people back from the stage and had plenty of room to stand without being squished. We did have crazy dancer guy in front of us (I don't know WHAT he was on but wow that dancing was insane - lots of flailing arms). And we managed to miss out on the few beer showers thank goodness (when people get excited and just throw their whole beer in the air and it comes down like a rain shower on the crowd). Adrock was chatty & in a great mood, MCA was a bit moody & quiet, Mike D was in top form rapping a bunch of REALLY old songs (Egg Raid on Mojo, Heart Attack Man, etc). It was fabulous. Our friend Cameron came along and we had a great time jamming to the bboys. What a fantastic last gig in London for both of us.

A few minutes into the first song I was thinking ....'wow we're so close I can actually SEE their faces - this is so cool' then Murray turned to me and said 'wow we can see their faces.' Ahhhh we really ARE made for each other :)

Beastie Boys Roooooooooooooooooock

2007-09-06T13:47:00.000+01:00

Last night we went to see the Beastie Boys at Brixton

We got there an hour before the doors opened and there was barely anyone in line.... VERY surprising!
Me, Murray & Heather busting a move like the bboys in our new t-shirts
Like the shirts? WE DO! (although a girl spilled an entire glass of wine down my hair & back later that night....)
Murray, Lorraine & I at our prime view spot

The MMM stage is for Mix Master Mike (he rocks)

This is kinda hard to see - but a few guys dressed up in boiler suits & hardhats like the bboys in their intergalactic video
Mike D, MCA & Adrock - still rockin' in their 40's!
The stage was cool too!
Check out that CROWD!!! Wow they were a rowdy bunch too - I'm so glad we were up on a side bit where we could lean against a banister & watch comfortably. This WHOLE section started moshing when the song Sabotage came on - looked scary! We had one nutter who tried to push Heather over late into the show. When he got pushed back he then decided to throw his beer on us - nice. The people down below us thought WE were throwing beer so started yelling at us. Ummm we didn't even HAVE drinks at that point - hello! And then those rowdy (i.e. really drunk) guys pushed into the girl behind me and she spilled her whole glass of wine on my hair and shirt and some went down to the people below us. Again, they though WE did it - so they started throwing beer up on us. Sound like fun? Ha ha - oh well - the concert was awesome. The BBoys still REALLY rock! They played a LOT of old stuff, some new stuff, love love LOVED it! So much so that we're going to see them at another venue tonight!!

Only bad thing is it was our last concert at Brixton :( and Jason couldn't come :( and it was our last concert out with Heather! :( :( :( bummer

(glad Lorraine could make it though!!)

Just Wednesday

2007-09-05T10:30:00.000+01:00

Today - I am working from home again (tube is still VERY delayed) - but I am getting a LOT of work done which is brilliant.

I discovered that I was born on National Crown Roast Of Pork Day, interesting. What Bizarre Holiday does your birthday fall on?

And I'm loving this gorgeous photo that my Dad sent of the sunrise over the lake last weekend - WOW how pretty is THAT! Can't wait to get to Minnesota to see everyone!!

Nightmare Tuesday

2007-09-04T10:17:00.000+01:00

*SIGH*
what a nightmare morning it has been

The tube (underground) workers are striking. It started at 5pm last night, so getting home took a LONG time. Luckily the line I need to get home was still up and running though - so at least i COULD get home. So this morning we get our bus as usual to the station - and then we see the gates are CLOSED at the station!!! That line is supposed to be open - even during the strike - but it's not! OH MY GOSH. So we go upstairs to the bus station and there are HUNDREDS of people trying to figure out how to get to work - oh dear! It took me 2 1/2 hours to get home WITH the tube running last night. So when I saw those huge crowds I decided to just come home. I went over to wait for a bus and a woman actually stuck her arm out and pushed me at one point - I couldn't believe it! So I pushed past her as she huffed and puffed - how rude! Took me awhile to get back home, and I'm now logged in to work from home. Not so bad, I suppose I'll actually get a ton done as it's nice and quite here.

My arms HURT though :( :(
We both got out first two injections last night in preparation for our travels - we have to go back every week now (for the next 4 weeks) for the rest of the series - a total of 8 shots in all:( Man it is SORE as well.

RUSSIA - Moscow & St. Petersburg

2007-09-03T10:14:00.000+01:00

Finally! Our pictures :)

(this is a VERY long post - but I just wanted to get it all in one!)

St. Basil's Cathedral - viewed through the Resurrection Gate

GUM - large shopping centre on the left (1000+ shops) and St. Basil's on the right - all right on Red Square

The other side of Red Square - you can just see the Kremlin peeking over the wall
Me in the Red Square with the Historical Museum behind me
Murray (in the red t-shirt) in front of the Lobnoe Mesto, the platform from which the tsar spoke
The Minin and Pozharskiy statue (2 heroes from the Time of Troubles - in 1612 they led their army to victory when they drove the Poles out of the Kremlin). It's now situated right in front of St. Basil's (it was originally in the middle of the Red Square)
Murray and I in front of St. Basil's Cathedral
There was some sort of protest march going on

Murray with Lenin & Tsar Nicholas II lookalikes
Guards protecting the eternal flame (when they changed shifts they'd march off like this)- does not look like an energy efficient march to me!
On guard
Murray in his kickin' shirt with St. Basil's

The streets are SO wide in central Moscow! (we were shocked to see roads 8 lanes wide in the centre of the city!)
Cathedral of Assumption - in the Kremlin
Crosses on the wall of the Kremlin
The Tsar Bell - the largest in the world (weighs over 200 tonnes!).

The broken off piece weights 11.5 tonnes as well!

The dome of a massive shopping centre that is pretty much underground the Red Square
The dome viewed from below
View from our river cruise - from left you can see the Trinity Tower, the Great Kremlin Palace and Ivan the Great's Bell Tower.

MASSIVE statue of Peter the Great

another view from the Moskva river - passing by the Kremlin
Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer - stunning
Stalin actually blew up this Cathedral in 1931 (he was going to build a massive gothic palace - but never got around to it....) the rebuilding of the Cathedral started in 1995
Graveyard of Fallen Monuments - a collection of sculptures removed from around Moscow at the end of the Soviet Era (the park was really intersting!! tons to see)

Some fish egg flavoured crisps (chips) ewwww they smelled and tasted AWFUL!
Lamborghini store in central Moscow - nice!
There were Stalinist-Gothic skyscrapers all over the city!!! (this one houses Moscow State University) - I thought they looked like the buidling in Ghost Busters!

A shadowed view of the GUM and St. Basil's (thank goodness we got most of our pictures the first day since the second day was so overcast!)

....................................................................................................

Russian Food!

We actually found it REALLY hard to find a restaurant that served local food! So here are some pics from the one Russian meal we had in Moscow - had to at least try SOME of the local food!!

We tried both of the local drinks - Kvas (on left - a sweet mildly alcoholic drink made from Barley & Rye) and Mors (on right - a sweetened cranberry juice made by boiling fruit with sugar and water. (Murray preferred the Kvas - I liked the Mors)!

With a nice beer as well!
One of the most famous Russian foods - Borscht. A beetroot soup made with meat and served with sour cream and dill (it also seemed to have cabbage in it - quite nice actually)!
I liked the Borscht - finished my whole bowl!
Yummy - apparently it is a peasant dish which varies with the availability of ingredients
Garlic Bread (apparently...... more like burnt stale bread with garlic bits on it - NOT nice)!

Yummy pancakes parcels filled with mushrooms with cheese sauce - SO nice!!!
Some sort of cabbage pastry - but the dough tasted like a soft pretzel - I didn't like it
YUMMY pancakes! how cute is it too!
Chicken skew & yummy mashed potatoes with dill

Lovely berry dessert!

....................................................................................................
The Moscow Subway

The subway systems was a tourist site in itself - WOW gorgeous - they really went all out when decorating it!

Decoration in one of the subway stations

We eventually figured out how to get around by looking for symbols and counting the number of stops (just click on this photo for a larger view - WOW confusing!!)

Can you believe this is underground in a subway station? SO pretty!

Looks more like a palace!
Me in front of a massive station on the outskirts of the city
After days and days of walking we used the VERY long escalators to rest
Stunning
And it was CHEAP! Around 65 cents in USD (35 pence) per journey (about a quarter of what a single journey would be in London).

....................................................................................................
The overnight train to St. Petersburg

We rushed around looking for the train to take us to St. Petersburg and made it JUST in time.

We were a bit worried when we came in and found seats not beds!!! Luckily Murray found a handy little latch and the beds folded down - LOVELY!

And some nice Russian beer to help us sleep!

The train was very nice and the beds were comfy - BUT we didn't get much sleep! The train left at midnight and we were so excited we were up for awhile looking out the window, finding the restroom, figuring out how to get the beds set up, just enjoying having our own cabin on a train, etc.

....................................................................................................
St. Petersburg

We arrived into St. Petersburg at 8pm on Monday morning and WOW were we exhausted! We slept on the train, but it was interrupted sleep due to the rocking of the train, and stopping at stations woke us up quite alot (and that was after 2 days on intense 12+ hour days of walking - so needless to say our feet were aching and we were both very TIRED!!)

When we arrived in St. Petersburg we didn't even know what station we were at. The sign didn't exactly clear things up for us!!

So we headed for the underground (subway) system and Murray took this photo.

Ten seconds later a guy jumped over the barriers and came up to Murray to say something angrily in Russian. Murray said 'sorry, English' and the guy did a HUGE eye roll and motioned for us to go to the side. We were FREAKING out (inside) and I thought that he was going to ask to see our passports which would require a bribe to get them back (we saw a lot of people get checked randomly in the Moscow subway system - thus why you are required to carry them at all times). So I took them out and showed them to him but he waved them away and shook his head no.

The then he had Murray sign this - and he pointed to a sign with a camera on it which had a line through it (that we hadn't noticed). Ohhhhhhhhhh no photos allowed (why - I do not know - it's not even nice like Moscow's system)! So he fined us (ended up only being only £4 thank goodness - can totally live with that)! We were so freaked out by the whole drama though that we left the station and went back to have some coffee and breakfast before going back to try again. (i just blacked out our surname on the ticket)

We finally decided to try walking as we were pretty much in central St. Petersburg

Apparently they even like Australian beer in Russia!

Me in front of the Church of Spilt Blood (also known as the Resurrection Church)

It is known as the Church of Spilled Blood because it was built on the spot where on 1 March 1881 Tsar Alexander II was assasinated.

It was REALLY stunning up close - much prettier than St. Basils.

Then we walked over to Petrogradskaya to see Peter and Paul's Fortress. (this is the entrance to the fortress called St. Peter's gate - the emblem is of St. George and the dragon).

Stunning view looking back on the Cathedral (St. Petersburg was very 'European' looking - we thought it looked a lot like a Scandanavian city)
view of the Baroque Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul from across the Bolshaya Neva river

Inside the fortress there was a display on medieval torture methods - so we went to check it out (Murray posing in his shoe covers next to a mask they made people wear for punishment for minor crimes to embasrass them in the community).
There was a LOT of shocking and sickening displays - this one was one of the worst (the actual saw was on display as well). They would hang a person upside down so the blood rushed to their head and kept them alive longer then would cut..... ewwww.
Pretty St. Petersburg

Statue on top the the General Staff Buildling in Palace Square

Me in front of The Hermitage

St. Isaac's Cathedral (one of the world's largest cathedrals)
There are 48 huge columns which weight 114 tonnes each
We climbed up to the top......
.....for an amazing view
It was a LONG walk back down though!

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

overall - Russia rocked! We had an amazing time, saw some stunning sights and had a brilliant time:)

Crabby Mo - TGIF

2007-08-31T09:25:00.000+01:00

SO I left work 2 hours early yesterday and made it to the queue (British for line) by 5pm. Murray arrived about an hour later, and we waited and waited. I had got us a booking for free tickets to the taping of a great show here called Friday Night Project. The taping was at the ITV studios, and since we have been turned away before (they ALWAYS overbook to make sure they can fill the studio, and once it's full it's full) I knew it was important to get there early. (we have also seen a few tapings there - Charlotte Church was a highlight!). However I underestimated how popular this show is. When I got there there was already TONS of people in line! But I was hopeful (as eventually there was TONS of people behind us too). So we waited, and waited, and waited - and 2 1/2 hours later we were at the front of the line. Then the guy came out and said the studio was full. I admit it - there were a few tears. Partly because I really wanted to see the show, partly because I had been standing in the cold in sandals for nearly 3 hours for NOTHING. :(

Oh well - what can you do? So we got on the train and went back to Putney for some lovely pizza at our old favourite Il Mascalzone. Our favourite waiter was there and shook Murray's hand as we entered. The service was fabulous as always, the food was great, and Murray brought my ring back from the work safe all pretty & sparkly. So, not a complete wasted evening:)

Ahhhh one GREAT thing about this weekend too - I am sending my passport off to the Australian embassy tomorrow to get my residency visa put it in YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't WAIT for this process to finally be complete:)

Almost Friday!

2007-08-30T08:37:00.000+01:00

Ok, we're not going to get photos sorted until next week! I just didn't realise how many picture Murray had taken (silly me)! They are all on his little external hard drive - so we need to sit down and upload them all, sort through them, and THEN I can post them - will post by next Monday at the latest I promise!

SO, in lieu of picture - a Russia story for you.

One of the sites to see in Moscow is Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square. Is it just me? Until I read through our guide book I had NO idea that Lenin's embalmed body was on display (and has been there since 1924!!!!)- ewwwwwwww! So our first day in Moscow we went to red Square to check out St. Basil's Cathedral and do the tour! By the time we headed back to go to Lenin's Mausoleum we realized it was closed for the day - oops! Apparently it's only open til 1pm! So the next day we headed straight to Red Square again - and at about 12:30 we walked down to get in line. BUT oh dear - the line was already closed! They had guards who sectioned off the line and when we when up and said 'Lenin' he barked back 'No - Closed' and shooed us away. OH DEAR! Then thankfully, a man came up to us and said 'My friends, you have come to late to get in! But you can still get in if you hire me as your guide.' Turned out he would do it for cheap - so we agreed. Then he looked at the cranky guards, then back at us and said 'we must run up to the other entrance NOW.' Ok - so we ran BACK through to the other entrance and it was all good - the guards let us through - whew that was close! He checked our bag for us (after shouting at me 'hey lady don't you want to go in - hurry up!) but hey there was NO way I was checking our bag with our passports in it!!! You have to check your bags cause NO cameras are allowed inside, not even camera phones. SO I quickly got our passports out and then we proceeded through the checkpoint and metal detectors.

We finally got in and then slowly walked around the glass case containing Lenin's body. Ummm ewwww - it was gross and made me feel kinda sick to my stomach. I can't believe they actually have him on display - our guidebook says it was done against his wishes as well - nice. But we saw him - briefly (looked like a wax model if you ask me) and I hope I never see something like that again - bleh.

But otherwise - Moscow was AMAZING! Wow there are so many great sites to see - gorgeous Cathedrals, really nice shopping centres, and SO much history! St. Petersburg was lovely, but felt a lot more 'European.' Looking forward to posting the photos!!!! :)

Things I learned from this trip:

1. Eyewitness guide books rock! I already knew that, but WOW we would have been lost without it! They have GREAT pictures & maps to help you get around, but also really helpful advice like how much cabs should cost, etc etc.

2. We just can NOT walk 10 hours a day when we go to South America! Oh my gosh I am STILL knackered! We'll have to pace our selves a LOT more on our big trip (since we'll be gone for so long)! Granted we'll probably never go back to Russia and we had SUCH limited time, so had to fit a lot in - but South/Central America SHOULD be more leisurely - or at least not at the crazy pace of last weekend!

3. Even if you have a comfy bed and sleeping pills, it's hard to sleep on a moving train!

Wednesday - YAY

2007-08-29T09:43:00.000+01:00

No pictures yet, will try and get them organised tonight if I don't pass out by 9pm.
SO tired!!!

Last night on the bus ride home the pages started going all swirly and I could barely read them, VERY overtired! So I got home, did TONS of laundry, and went to bed - lovely.

I can't quite believe that we only have 35 days to go in London. I'm excited to see my family and then Murray's family & our friends. And I'm excited to go travelling! But I'm kinda sad to be leaving London, a city I love and our friends and family here. It's tough! We leave exactly 5 weeks from today - and gosh I feel like we still have SO much to do - SO many people to see before we hop on a plane to Minnesota and leave London behind. Wow - I just can't quite get my head around it yet - wow.

Ahhh back to the land of sensible shoes!

2007-08-28T11:03:00.000+01:00

We're Back!

Whew - my heels, ankles, knees, calves, thighs etc etc are KILLING me today!
(oh and in regards to the post title - Russian women love their heels - WOW. We saw TONS of women out seeing the tourist sites - in HUGE heels - my feet were killing me in my Pumas! It was shocking! Mini skirt and huge heels are not my idea of holiday clothing:)

We walked and walked and walked - but WOW what a great weekend:)

The flights were long - or felt like it at least. We flew to Frankfurt (1 1/2 hours) and then BARELY made our next flight to Moscow because of delays out of London. Wow that was CLOSE (we RAN and only JUST made it!!!) - then flew the final 2 1/2 hours on to Moscow.

OH MY GOSH the queue (line) at Moscow airport for customs - wow - just wow. I have never seen such insane chaos in my LIFE! (it was even worse than the crowd of people and no signs in Zimbabwe)! There were no lines really - but sort of 'group lines.' However the locals thought nothing of just walking past all of us who had been standing there for AGES and going straight to the front!

When finally got almost to the front a Russian lady from the line over decided to join our line and stuck her shoulder in front me of me. Ummmm NO! I put my shoulder in front of her, and then wedged myself in behind the American couple in front of us so she couldn't push in front - CHEEKY! When we finally got to the front and we were up next, a lady from the next line RAN up to customs control before we could step forward!!! So once she was done I ran for the counter with Murray before someone ELSE could cut in front. Wow. So that was our introduction to the push to the front of wait in line for hours Russian way or queueing.

We got a cab into the city and our cab driver FINALLY found the hotel (drama!) and then tried to cheat us out of our change. Thankfully Murray sat it out til the guy ' oh - found some change.' The hotel was quite nice - but it was straight to bed for us - even though we had gone ahead 3 hours in time zones, we were still exhausted! Seeing St. Basil's lit up on our drive to the hotel though was SOOOOOOOOOO cool!

I'll go through all the details & stories later this week once we get photos uploaded. But in summary - it was great! Probably the most challenging trip we have ever taken (the Cyrillic alphabet is SO confusing!!) but it was such an amazing experience:)

Zdravstvuite

2007-08-24T08:32:00.000+01:00

Apparently that means HELLO in Russian (pronounced: Strav_stveetia).

Now I just need to try & remember that!

We're packed & ready to go! We managed to fit everything into 2 backpacks so we don't have to check bags (YAY)!

Passports - check
Flight paper tickets (WHY all tickets aren't electronic now I do now know!) - check
Hotel confirmation - check
Train tickets - check
Ring in safe - check (just in case! don't wanna attract any extra attention - but OUCH it hurt to take it off - feels WEIRD not to have it on)!

AND we're off to Moscow this afternoon!!!!

We arrive at 10:30pm tonight (we have to go via Frankfurt & there is a 3 hour time difference).
Then we have all day Saturday & Sunday in Moscow to explore! Sunday night at midnight we are catching an overnight train to St. Petersburg which arrives at 8:30am Monday morning. I'm SUPER excited about the train! Neither of us has done an overnight train journey before - and we splurged and got a private cabin for just the two of us - ekkk I'm EXCITED!

SO we'll be back in London Monday night! This is our belated second anniversary trip - since we didn't go anywhere in May. GOSH I'm excited!!!!!

Oh and today is my 400th blog post - WOW - kinda cool :)

Oh - and a great quote I came across yesterday about travel...........

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
Mark Twain

Almost FRIDAY!

2007-08-23T11:09:00.000+01:00

WOW I am cold today! My hands are like icicles!

Last night we went and saw the Bourne Ultimatum with Lorraine. It was nice to see her and a very good action packed movie!

Nothing else new really - just have to pack tonight for Russia!!! WHOO HOOO

I'm excited as this is our belated second anniversary trip! And I'm excited to see Moscow and St. Petersburg, and I'm excited that we are going to go on an overnight train trip in our own little cabin! !!!

COLD

2007-08-22T08:57:00.000+01:00

Burrrrrrrr I am COLD today! Back to long sleeve shirts and close toed shoes! Oh well
I hear it's nice in Moscow! I hope that weather holds out!

Last night I suddenly remembered that our plane tickets for Friday are paper tickets and ummmm where are they? So we did a frantic search of the flat (praying they didn't get thrown away in the move) and whew we found them!

My trip to the dentist went well. The hygienist wasn't as mean as last time - she even said 'I can see improvement.' Must be my new electric toothbrush:) At one point she did poke a very sensitive spot a number of times and eventually I had to put my hand up and say 'ouch that really hurts.' Then she was a bit more careful! When I went to leave she said 'ok see you in 6 months' and WOW was I happy to say 'oh no I'm leaving the country, so won't be back here ever.' She then replied 'well for your condition you should go every 6 months, so find a hygienist in your new country.' My condition? Huh? Whatever.

Thank GOODNESS I had no cavities. I had my fingers crossed the entire time while the dentist poked around. He's from Sydney and moving back next year - so he said 'maybe I'll see you around.' Ha! That would be weird! One more thing checked off the to do list though - so that felt good! Now - we just need to pack for Russia!

A lovely Autumn morning

2007-08-21T11:41:00.000+01:00

Ahhhhh darn you blogger! I just wrote a long post and it deleted it!!! So now I have to start over again:(

Ok – SO

It’s cold here – feels like autumn (makes me happy at least to see the forecast for Moscow – HOT!!! Whooo hoooo). I really can't believe this is AUGUST! :(

Now, back to the weekend review!

Firstly, a cute story from the baby shower on Saturday. We knew that one of the pregnant ladies (Jackie) would be going home on public transport. So we packed up all of her gifts and a box full of cake and cookies for her and put it into the granny cart I had brought along! I hauled my stuff to Libby’s house in it cause I had more than I could carry! However since I’m leaving soon I won’t need it anymore, so thought it could at least help Jackie get her stash of pressies home. We packed it up and tied the basket the gifts were in to the top (wouldn’t fit inside) and then tied her ‘congrats it’s a boy’ balloon to the handle! I got this cart last year - I remember it was Halloween cause I bought a bunch of pumpkins then realised it was more than I could carry!!! So I FINALLY broke down and got myself a granny cart (a little cart with wheels so you can pull around your shopping). Anyhow, Jackie was thrilled that I was giving her the cart – apparently she has wanted one for awhile!!! And I guess even her husband came around to it once he saw how well it handles corners – ha ha:)

A picture of the granny cart with the basket attached on top!

SO, back to the weekend.

Saturday I got home from the shower at about 7pm and then rushed to get ready to go into central London with Murray. We were going out to have leaving drinks with our friends Jenny and Stuart. They are moving back to California (where Jenny is from) soon! Their other photography friend Dan was there as well with his lovely girlfriend. We had a nice night chatting and dancing and ended up getting the night bus home at 1am!

Jenny, Murray & Dan

Sunday we had a nice sleep in (YAY) and then went into central London again to meet up with our friends Jeanne and Brad for lunch! We went to a new Mexican restaurant in Covent Garden called Wahaca. Nice food, good prices, and unique atmosphere (and a very friendly waiter!) I quite liked it!

After lunch we all wandered down to check out the Cabinet War Rooms & Churchill Museum. WOW it was excellent!!! It was interested to actually see the rooms where Churchill and his advisors lived and worked in during WW2. But also, the Churchill museum was fantastic!!! It was really unique – touch screen displays, sensors that started films when you stepped on them, LOADS of memorabilia, etc. My only criticism would be that it would have been less confusing if they had laid out a path for you to follow since there is so much to see! We were in the museum for about an hour and a half and only saw about half of it – bummer! But was definitely worth the trip (fun to be a tourist in your own city sometimes)!!

WOW what a GREAT weekend :)

2007-08-20T09:15:00.000+01:00

The weekend went by SO quickly - I can't believe it's actually Monday already! It was SO SO fun though - so many great memories:)

Friday night I went to see Prince at the new O2 stadium in the docklands (it's in the building which used to be the 'millennium dome.')

We went for dinner before hand at Chilis (and American restaurant) at Canary Wharf. The food was just ok - but it was still fun to go there. The Andrea, Teresa, Jackie & I headed over to the stadium. We had PERFECT timing - got there just as the main show was about to start. I was quite pleased with our seats as well - we had a great view! The show was fabulous - as expected - he sure is a showman! I got one cute video on my mobile - will try to get that uploaded to youtube later this week! One highlight was when he brought a bunch of girls to the stage to dance and one started singing - the we realised it was actually Julia Styles singing! So that was cool:) Overall - a great concert - really enjoyed it!

Saturday I got up EARLY (6 am!!!) (and hey - that IS early when you go to bed at 1am after rushing home from a concert)! I got up early in order to work on my crafty project - corsages! Saturday was the day of the baby shower a group of us decided to throw for some American friends who live in London. Ok yes - I admit it - we all met through the internet. But we also have become good friends in real life, and I was thrilled to be able to be part of throwing this party for two of them to celebrate their pregnancies! SO anyway, corsages. I took floriculture classes back in high school, so thought I could probably still remember how to do them! I went to the florist near us the week before and got ribbon, so I could make the bows ahead of time. Then the morning of the party I assembled the greens, flowers, and fillers flowers along with my fancy bows to make corsages! They (in my opinion) turned out SO nice - I CANNOT believe I forgot to take a photo of them *sigh* oh well. So keep an eye out in the photos below. The ones for the two pregnant ladies whom the shower was for were large creamy pink roses, with cream bows that had baby charms in them. I also made corsages for Andrea's Mom and Mother-in-law which were pink roses with pink roses. Then there were two more corsages for two other friends who attended who recently told us about their pregnancies (Teresa & Abby) - their corsages were a lovely white flower with a purple accent flower. SO pics of JUST the corsages - but you can see them in some of the photos below!

The party was a BLAST! It was fun to be able to celebrate with everyone :)

(click on the photo to see a larger version)

The lovely Libby hosted the shower at her flat:)

The cake (yummy red velvet cake that we ordered from a nice London bakery!), the punch (bowl and yummy punch courtesy of Teresa) and the gorgeous pram cookies (hand made by Jeanne)!

the sign for Andrea

the cake - up close!
sign for Jackie

The cookies - how CUTE are they? They tasted lovely too!

The pregnant ladies - Jackie & Andrea (please note the corsages as well:)

The group! (from left)
Back row: Jessica, Andrea, Caitlin, Liane, Lauren, Joanna, Christina
Middle Row: Jackie, Me, Lane, Abby, Teresa
Front Row: Jeanne, Libby

Andrea's Mom flew over from the states to surprise her - we were ALL in tears when they saw each other:)

SO nice that she could make it:)
The pregnant ladies getting ready to chop up the yummy cake!

Present time!
The baskets full of presents for Jackie & Andrea
Lots of pressies!
Christina, Teresa, Jessica
Abby, Lane, Lauren
Me & Heather

One of the things we decided to do was decorate plain onesies for each of the girls - each one had a theme and we provided puffy paint

The above pic is of one of the 'international themed' onesie (or as they call them here - babygro)
Libby working on her onesie decoration

One of the 'best wishes' onesies

Teresa, Jackie, Heather & Jessica

Liane, Lauren, Caitlin & Joanna
(from left) Andrea's Mom, Mother-in-law, Sister-in-law & Andrea

The layout for lunch!

More yummy food! (thanks again to everyone who brought stuff)!
Our cute themed plates & napkins!

Libby, Jeanne and me! (busy busy in the kitchen)!
Me, Andrea & Heather
Jeanne's gorgeous crafty project - she made cookies with cute little labels for everyone!

One of the labels

Everyone got one as they left- as a Thank You for coming to the party!

I will post about what we did yesterday in tomorrow's post since this one is already SO long!

And a BIG thank you to Jeanne for the photos (my battery died so nearly all of these are from her)!

Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999 !!!

2007-08-17T08:18:00.000+01:00

or - maybe 2007.

Going to see PRINCE tonight!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOO HOOOO I can't wait!

I'm going with three pregnant ladies, so I don't think there will be much 'partying like 1999' ha ha, but I can't wait!

I hear the show is fabulous (he's doing 21 nights at the stadium, so I know some people who have already been)! I imagine it will be better than the last time I saw him in Wisconsin, years ago, with my sister-in-law Helen. He made us wait SO long that we got cold and damp (we were sitting on grass) and it was a bit miserable really!

I am also quite excited that tonight we are meeting at the only Chili's restaurant in London!!! I have been there twice before - ahhhh American comfort food - gotta love it:)

This is going to be a GREAT weekend (now if it just doesn't rain)! The forecast is calling for light showers but I really really really hope they are wrong (or it just rains in the morning then clears up)!

Tomorrow I'm helping out with a baby shower for two American friends who live in London. I can't talk about any of the details yet (cause most of it's a surprise for the ladies too)! But I'll take lots of pictures and post them on Monday!

Cross your fingers for me that my crafty project for the shower turns out well - gosh I hope so!

This day is going quickly!

2007-08-16T12:12:00.000+01:00

Wow it's already lunch time - nice!

Last night we got back to our weekly Wednesday routine - gym, Nandos and then a half price movie (Wednesday is 2 ticket for the price of 1 night).

The gym was good - did some cardio which felt great. Nandos (Portuguese chicken place) was lovely as usual, and we saw Rush Hour 3 which was quite funny.

I was just a bit surprised and shocked by the people sitting next to us. They brought their 2 or 3 ? year old son with them to the movie. He was obviously too young for an adult movie (had his hands over his ears in the beginning because it was too loud). ALSO there is a lot of graphic material, violence and adult content in the movie. I turned with my mouth hanging open in shock when their child started clapping and cheering for the characters in the movie as they shot and stabbed people. Is it just me? I don't think a child that young should be exposed to that kind of violence - disgusting.

But anyhow, it was a lovely night:) I also finished reading The Constant Princess - it was quite an interesting story to read after reading The Other Boleyn. It is the story of Queen Katherine - who was married to Henry the 8th (who eventually left her for a Boleyn girl). VERY interesting! I'm on to a lighter book now (I need a little break from historical fiction). I'm reading 'Water for Elephants' - very good so far!

Friday?

2007-08-15T09:00:00.001+01:00

Oh no, only Wednesday.

It's been a good week so far though.

I'm slowly getting used to this new office.

Good things:
*We have hot water for tea! (I have been in England long enough now that I NEED my morning tea!)
*It's kinda nice to have access to a locker room (where I change into my safety gear every morning) - nice to be able to freshen up after work! (Also I'm happy for the locker room cause there is NO way I would consider wearing my huge boots and yellow vest on the tube!!!)
*It's a much quieter office now that it's only our company in here (expect for when they are running tests - then it's so loud I can't even hear myself think!)
*As of today we do actually have hand soap in the bathroom (the lady I sit by brought some in and I took it down there). We are HOPING it won't get stolen since the lady's loo has a key code lock on it (that only the women on site have) so not many people use it!

Bad things:
*My hard hat ruins my hair!
*The bathrooms are SO far away - and I hate having to put on a hard hat, steel toed boots and yellow vest every time I need to go!
*There's no sink to wash my coffee cup in
*They keep changing the routes we can walk through - thus I keep having to find new ways to our little basement office!

But - I will live! It's not all that bad - and I do only have 31 working days to go!!!!

I didn't go to the gym last night - but had a good excuse. Firstly, my body was SO sore (I think my body was in shock after not exercising for so long) and secondly - I had to figure out where we were going to go in Wales. We have decided to do a weekend in Wales in September - just because. Because it's not actually that far from London (a couple hours drive) and I only went once when I was 16 (and can't really remember that at all?) and Murray has never been. So while Murray cooked us a VERY yummy dinner I got out the guidebooks I borrowed from the library last weekend and worked on deciding where to go. And - success! We have decided on an area and we booked a SUPER cute B&B to stay in (it even has a view of a castle - how cool is THAT)!

oh AND
HAPPY HAPPY Birthday to my sister Megan who turns 22 today :)

CONGRATS STEVE & SELINA!

2007-08-14T11:41:00.000+01:00

Just sending out a big CONGRATULATIONS to our good friends Steve and Selina in Australia.

Their second baby Clara was born today ! She weighs 9 pounds 3 ounces !

Can't wait to meet her in October!!!!!

:)

Abbey Road - our recreation - 2007

2007-08-14T08:32:00.000+01:00

FINALLY - the photo! Here is (from left) Lance, Stuart, Steve and Murray - recreating the Abbey Road album cover photo (I'm the photographer)!

It was SUCH fun to do - Shelly was the spotter - telling me when I had to get out of the middle of the road because cars were coming. Don't you think it turned out well? Check out the original pic here.

I didn't get up to too much last night. FINALLY made it back to the gym! I did a body pump class which was exhausting - but fun! Gosh I could feel how weak I have become by slacking for a few weeks! But I'm back on the band wagon now - going again tonight!

We also watched the newest episode of Courtney Cox's new show 'DIRT' last night. We REALLY like her in that role - so convincing that you actually forget that she is Monica!

It's a bit of a miserable day today - rain rain rain. However, that's fine with me - I hope it rains like crazy all week and is SUNNY and gorgeous on the weekend!!

Monday, Noisy Monday

2007-08-13T09:10:00.000+01:00

We had a VERY relaxing weekend which was nice:) Murray was still feeling a bit weak, so we decided to just take it easy. We spent most of Saturday at Wandsworth park just relaxing in the sun with our lovely picnic. It felt GREAT to get some sun - gosh I have missed that bit yellow ball! I got a bit over excited though, and only put sunblock on my face and shoulders - oops! Burnt my back, my legs and my forearms. Oh well - won't do that again! I just forgot !!

Sunday afternoon we went over to our ex-flat mate's house (Debs). She made us a LOVELY lunch and we chatted for hours.

This little rascal kept hopping up on the table trying to steal food - he was fearless!

Murray also tried out Debs' fancy food massager machine - left your feet all tingly after the 15 minute cycle - SO SO nice!

And now - it's Monday - again!

We have moved offices, I'm looking forward to finding out where the bathrooms are though - ekkk! No more tea for me this morning until I do!

It's dusty and noisy down here :( But oh well - only 35 working days to go! I work on a construction site - but for the last 3 years us 'office people' have been in temporary buildings next to the site. For all those years I only had to put on my safety gear when I went onto the building site itself. But now I'm IN the building - in a temporary office in the basement! So this morning I had to go to the ladies locker room and change into my hard hat, steel toed boots, yellow vest, gloves and glasses. Fun fun fun. It's not as bad as I thought it would be though. I found the room ok this morning (it's a bit of a maze to get down here!) and they had the network up by 8:30, so not too bad:) I don't think I'll bother doing my hair tomorrow though - the hard hat kinda ruined it! I'm just glad I can take my hard hat & stuff off when I get to my desk - just need to remember to bring desk slipper tomorrow!

Oh and BIG happy birthday wishes today to my Grandma Sally who turns 87 today!!! :)

Friday, Glorious FRIDAY!

2007-08-10T09:16:00.000+01:00

Ok so I am in a GREAT GREAT GREAT mood.................

because...........

Murray found my sunnies!!!!!!!! He was up in Richard's room yesterday chatting, and noticed my sunnies, ON THE FLOOR! Apparently I left them on the kitchen table, and Richard thought they were his (huh?) and took them up to his room! Well whatever - I'm SO SO SO happy to have them back:) Whooo hooo

Last night we were asked for input on the project our flatmate is working on. She works on documentaries for the BBC as an assistant producer, but decided she also wanted to do a project on her own. It's about mental illness. Apparently 90% of people who are diagnosed with mental illness are taken care of by the local government mental health services, but what happens to the other 10%? That's the question of this doco. It's based around a Putney regular she calls 'The Walking Man.' He walks around through Putney & the south west every single day - I have seen him quite a few times. He speaks to no one and won't make eye contact and just walks and walks. He seems quite lonely, the whole situation is quite sad really. She interviews people who see him every day, other mentally ill people in the community (such as the woman who pretends she is blind because she is lonely - even though she compliments people on what they are wearing!!) and she interviews mental health professionals asking why these people aren't receiving the help they need. It was just a 10 minute 'taster' that she has prepared to try and get funding to do a full hour show, or even a series. But we both thought it was really well done, interesting, and definitely something I would watch on tv. Lots of characters I recognised from the area too - almost all of them are harmless - but they definitely do need more help than they are receiving.

The lady who got in my face in Hammersmith last week was even in the show! Last week I saw her turning in circles outside the station yelling 'help me, help me, someone just help me.' I saw lots of people stop and try to help - but she won't take any money or food and just keeps yelling the same thing. She's obviously NOT hurt, just has some mental issues. I walked by her and sort of smiled like - can I do something to help. She came up to me and yelled - in my face - 'don't smile at me, HELP me.' I quickly moved on into Starbucks as she was making me nervous. I know NOW she's harmless, but you can never really be sure you know? Anyhow, we gave our input and they edited some stuff a bit differently, then we watched it again. I think it's a very well done documentary, fingers crossed she gets the funding she needs to get it on television!

Looking forward to another warm weekend. The forecast is 24c (78f) tomorrow and SUNNY! I'm SO glad to hear that, because after last weekends gorgeous weather the weather people were saying that was it - that we'd just have rain for the rest of the summer now. Guess they were wrong! Imagine that? Ha ha

YAY for Friday - YAY for the weekend

Only bad thing today? I am presently packing up my desk. We're moving to a new office on Monday which does NOT sound nice:( I don't wanna move.................... oh well - it's only for 7 more weeks!

Oh and - Murray is doing better. His throat is still REALLY sore, and he can't really leave the house, but he seems to be improving day by day. I hope he feels good on Monday when he has to go back to the office! Last night we were sharing some praline ice cream (I was eating the pralines and he has the ice cream). He gave me the spoon heaped with praelines, then after I ate it he said 'Oh, that was the praline I spit out yesterday cause I couldn't eat it.' NICE! Ha ha - oh well, it was still nice:)

No blog

2007-08-09T13:31:00.000+01:00

Sorry - just to quickly say - no blog today

I'm busy busy at work and have to leave a little early to go see the 'travel nurse' at the gp's office to discuss what needs to be done before we leave.

Just thought I would 'check in' as I know there are a few people who worry when I don't do my daily post :)

Only Wednesday

2007-08-08T08:45:00.000+01:00

WHY does this week feel so LONG?

I have nothing much to say - other than what I have been reading.

I have started reading Philippa Gregory books again. I read 'The Other Boleyn Girl' ages ago and LOVED it! I have been meaning to start on another one of her other books for awhile, after a friend recommended them. So earlier this week I finished 'The Virgin's Lover' and today I started on 'The Constant Princess.' I really lover her writing, and although it's historical fiction, I love reading what it was like in the days of Kings and Queens in Europe - fascinating!

I just reserved 'The Queen's Fool' and 'The Boleyn Inheritance' from the library as well - good thing I have a long commute!

Oh and today is 8/8 - that's kinda cool. Or not, I guess. Will be even cooler next year - 8/8/08!

Anyhow, back to work!

Toooooooooooosay

2007-08-07T08:31:00.000+01:00

Tired Tired

7 Weeks and 3 1/2 days left of work

And I lost my sun glasses :( :(

I'm SURE I had them on my commute home on Friday. Couldn't find them Saturday morning - they must have fallen off of my head on the walk home or something? Shoot.
I'm still hoping they will turn up - and just are misplaced somewhere. I know it's unlikely since we have searched the flat top to bottom, and they weren't on my desk when I came back on Monday. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed:(

So today I brought the cute tortoise shell pattern sunnies I got in Australia, but they are too tight on my big head and hurt after awhile. *sigh* Is it Friday yet?

Oh one cute story though.

Coming home on the tube from Kensington on Sunday there was a nice Australian family sitting near me. Mom, Dad, Grandma & Grandpa & a little girl who was about 9/10 months old?? She was getting upset because she was hot (the tube was BOILING! felt like a sauna). When the train stopped & there was no air flow it was HOT! They stripped her down to her diaper (sorry I still cannot say the word nappy - still sounds odd to me) but she was still miserable. She started being a bit noisy & turning quite red so her Dad took her up to one of the little windows at the end of the carriage and stuck his head out along with her to try & get some air (while the train was stopped). He turned to me and apologised for her being noisy - saying she was also very jet lagged. Then I remembered - I had a fan in my bag - that free one I got from lastminute.com last week! So I got it out and gave it to the Dad. He sat down and started fanning her & it helps SO much - she calmed and cooled down a bit, then became much more interested in trying to grab the fan. Just the other day I was thinking 'why am I carrying this around - I'm never going to use it.' Kinda nice that it got put to good use:)

Monday Monday

2007-08-06T11:34:00.001+01:00

It was a nice weekend - went much too quickly as usual though.

Caught up with some friends on Saturday at a lovely park in Wimbledon for their 'leaving picnic.' What a gorgeous day - shame Murray was stuck at home:( His throat is still quite sore, and he's not supposed to go out in crowds due to risk of infection:(

It's a bummer with the timing - because yesterday was the nicest day of the year so far! It got up to 30 Celsius (78 Fahrenheit)! Just gorgeous!

Yesterday I caught up with some friends in the morning, then another friend in the afternoon. Sue (who I used to work with) and I went in the afternoon do the Kensington Palace tour. It's something I have been meaning to do for AGES so it was nice to finally go! I must say though - I was a bit disappointed. They advertise the tour as 'all about Diana' and a display of her dresses - so I was expecting to see rooms full of her gowns. They had 6! The rest of the Diana display was videos and photos - nice - but nothing I haven't seen on tv 100 times. The rest of the tour was interesting, but not what I was expecting. They had clothing on display from the 18 and early 1900's and a good little commentary 'phone' that you carried around to hear about all the displays. But really - £10 for that? What a rip off. Oh well - I'm still glad I went - and the views of the park from the windows in the palace - WOW!

Afterwards we had some fancy & very lovely tea & cake and then did a bit oh shopping - well, looking:)

Last night (after the new episode of Smallville) we watched Imagining Argentina starring Antonio Banderas and Emma Thompson. Quite a good movie - interesting story!

Looking forward to a busy week!

TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-08-03T08:46:00.000+01:00

Whew I'm SO glad it's Friday!

I had to leave work a little bit early yesterday to go and meet with my accountant. That was fun - as expected - not. Of course I laid out my spreadsheets and said 'this is what I was told on the phone by someone else in your department, is this correct.' No, no and no - add this tax, that tax, oh and this fee and that fee - oh ok that's correct now. *sigh*
Oh well, at least it's all sorted now!

I hurried home after the meeting last night to spend a relaxing evening with Murray. We watched the movie 'Little Children' (wow, great movie, Kate Winslet is SUCH an amazing actress) and had a very early night. Tonight - same plan.

The weather has FINALLY improved - about darn time since it is officially August now! It has been in mid 20's Celsius (low 80's Fahrenheit) which is just perfect, for the past few days. And that's the forecast for the weekend as well!

AND.......

TWO MONTHS TWO MONTHS TWO MONTHS (sorry - had to *yell* a bit cause I'm excited)

Today is officially 2 months until we leave (we fly out 3 October) - ekkkk that means we only have 9 weekends left in London.... and this weekend and next are shot since Murray can't be in crowded places - so 7 weekends to do ALL of the London things we still wanna do... AHHH the pressure!

Oh and...... more bridge updates. Sounds like everyone we know is ok - thank goodness. We have friends who live near the bridge, and family and friends who travel over it EVERY day. So I really thank God that they are all ok, and I pray for those poor families who lost people in this tragedy.

Almost Friday

2007-08-02T10:36:00.001+01:00

Last night I caught up for a drink with two ladies (Aileen & Suze) who I worked with at my FIRST job in London - nearly 6 years ago - WOW! It was nice to see them & chat & hear what they have been up to.

I also spoke to family and friends yesterday, and have come to a conclusion about why I was so upset at the hospital. Now don't get me wrong, it was a great hospital. Private hospital, private nice room with private en suite bathroom and new flat screen tv with cable! The nurses were lovely, the doctor and anesthesiologist were great. The thing is - I expected - updates - to know what was going on! ? !

Ok I know now that you can't go into the recovery room, but I though they could at least let me KNOW when he was in there and out of the operating theatre. Especially since they were saying it could be anywhere from half an hour to a couple of hours. When I asked they didn't brush me off, but pretty much just told me no - that it wasn't possible. The nurse said 'it will only be about half an hour.' Ummm that's not the point - I just wanted to be kept informed you know? I thought maybe I was being ridiculous or something since they all seemed to look at me like 'huh? what are you talking about?' But now, after talking to my Mom and my aunt I know that that IS acceptable. That when my cousin had surgery the doctor came out right afterwards to let the family know how it went. They knew when he was out & when he was in recovery, etc etc.

OH well. I am putting it down to a cultural difference. I'm thinking maybe because the British are more reserved, that having an American asking so many questions was out of the ordinary for them. But you know what - overall it was still a positive experience.

The only REAL complaint that I can make is that they were OH SO slow with the jelly (which I call jell-o). When he first got out he just sipped on water (and even that was very painful). Then he felt like maybe something cold would be soothing. So they brought him some lemon sorbet. We knew that he shouldn't be having anything acidic, but he decided to try a little bit. Bad bad bad idea. Called the nurse in and asked if she could bring jelly instead, that the lemon was too painful. She said sure - left - and never came back! About 2 hours later the night nurse came in to introduce herself & we asked about the jelly - again. She finally did find some for him and came back about half an hour later (does it really take that long to find jelly???). It was the perfect snack for a sore throat though - finally!

And now.......... some hospital pictures

The hand - ouch

Ahhhh dry toast :( In the old days it used to be ice cream for the patient! Now they recommend you have toast to help get rid of some of the gunk on the wound... fun fun.

HOWEVER, I am happy to report that the patient is doing amazingly well! He is up and about and feeling pretty darn good! He's back to eating fairly normally (but just no acidic or dry rough food), and hasn't really spent any time in bed other than the first day back home, for a little rest. He's back to work from home today (can't really leave the house due to risk of infection) but he's feeling good! I'm so happy that he has come around so quickly:)

I have been reading up on the net today about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. I haven't heard from my family yet, so I am assuming that no news is good news. I will give them a call this morning, but since none of them work downtown anymore, it's unlikely that anyone would have been travelling that way. Gosh I hope so - will call them soon just to check. MN friends who read this blog - please leave me a comment as well so I know you & your family are ok - THANKS!

UPDATE:
I spoke to my Mom and everyone is ok. My Dad had crossed that bridge on his way to the airport, and my aunt (thankfully) left work early so they both missed the collapse. Thank God for that.

Ok Morning

2007-08-01T08:14:00.000+01:00

Well, I got sent home by my boss yesterday.

Two hours travelling in to the office (*sigh*) and then I was here about an hour when I just broke down. I had a big splotch of white gum all over the back of my black trousers (who DOES that - leave gum on a bus seat - geez)! So I had MANY people telling me about it, tried to get it out with a suggested use of hair spray - that didn't work. I handed back the hairspray to a lady at work then just broke down. Just over tired, stressed about Murray being home alone when I should have been there taking care of him, etc etc. The boss took one look at me crying and said 'I'm sending you home right now, that's an order.' So I travelled another 2 hours home, and I was glad to do so. (gosh I am SICK of this commute)!

I stopped on the way home and signed up for a Blockbuster account (as we have just shipped ALL of our dvds - great timing ha?). I got him a stack of dvds, and stopped and picked up some additional food he had requested on the way home.

He's doing ok! We spent the evening relaxing in front of the tv, and eating soft non-acidic food, and went VERY early to bed (we both needed it)! Oh and the movie School for Scoundrels - actually VERY funny! The pain killers seem to be doing the trick and he seems to be handling the pain really well. He's very drowsy from the medicine though, and of course his throat does still hurt quite a lot. And can I just say - cola flavoured iced lollies? Ewwww - he loves them though!

So - back to work now! Fun fun - not. Wish I could take the week off to take care of him, but some one's gotta bring home the bacon - ha ha:) I'm sure he'll be ok at home on his own, and I'll take orders today for anything else he wants me to pick up on the way home. Amazing how much better you feel after a good night's sleep and a starbucks Chai latte though!

Tonsils - Gone

2007-07-31T13:33:00.000+01:00

Well I won't get into too much detail. But suffice to say - the tonsils are gone - and the surgeon said it was definitely NOT done in vain - they were very bad!

Yesterday I got home early and we travelled to the hospital together. Got checked in, shown his room, met the doctor, filled out some forms, etc, etc - all good. Then the next part happened so fast I didn't know what to do. Ok - firstly - I have never really been in a hospital before - well not to see someone who's had surgery at least - so I didn't really know what to expect. They rolled in his bed to take him down to the anesthesiologist - and then before I could kiss him or just say a word of 'good luck' he was gone - in an elevator - to the basement!!! I just stood in his room shocked and burst into tears. Tried to sit down and read something, but couldn't really see.

So I called my Mom and got some much needed reassurance. Then I called my friend Beth and chatted. It helped so much to keep my mind off of what was going on. I just hated not KNOWING! I asked if I could go down to recovery, no, so I asked can you TELL me when he's in recovery at least, no. OK - so I will just sit here then. I guess they all just consider it to be so routine & easy - but um - this is the person who means everything to me OK! I wanna know!

I was SO relieved when they wheeled him back in. At first he had his eyes closed and that started to make me nervous! Then the nurse patted his hand and he looked at me & grabbed my hand & all was ok. So he's super sore and drugged up, but he's home now - I'm glad about that.

The best part - he told me that while he was in the recovery room he called one of the nurses over to tell her something. He told her that he was able to feel and hear everything during the surgery - but that he couldn't move to tell someone! She freaked out and grabbed the other nurse to hear what he was saying!!! He then told them how he heard the surgeons discussing golf - ha ha - just kidding. Thank goodness they laughed:) That's when I knew he'd be ok. I just don't know anyone else who would joke like that after surgery!!! Ha ha - especially when it's so hard to talk after having stuff cut out of your throat!

So I'm hoping to leave work soon and do a bit of work from home so I can bring him food & drink as needed. Fingers crossed the boss is ok with that!

Spider Pig, Spider Pig, Does whatever a spider pig does

2007-07-30T09:00:00.000+01:00

Yes, we went and saw the Simpson movie on Saturday. Now we cannot stop singing that darn super pig song - pretty funny though! We also stocked up on post tonsil surgery food for Murray on Saturday (jello, iced lollies, soft fruit, etc etc). Murray is having his tonsils removed today - please cross your fingers, say a little prayer, or whatever it is that you do for him. I am leaving work soon to go to the hospital with him, and I really hope all goes well.

Sunday morning we got picked up at 6am and we headed up to North London with friends to recreate the Abbey Road album cover photo taken 38 years ago.

The Beatles.... or not (from left to right)

Steve as Ringo, Murray as John Lennon, Stuart as Paul McCartney, and Lance as George

In front of the studio (check out that kickin' white suit!)

Murray (sorry, John) and I crossing Abbey Road

This hair do kinda freaks me out!

It was a fun morning! We felt a bit like tourists, but you know it was a fun memory for all of - and we got a great keepsake photo! Highlights include a bus stopping right by Murray as he was changing on the street into his white suit. There were also a few tourists who had come to take photos of the Abbey Road Stuios who managened to stand in the way of our photo while staring at us. And me standing in the middle of the road to snap the photos before cars came along - fun time!

The final photo we got of the 4 boys looks EXCELLENT!!! (I took it) However the file is so big I was not able to post it today - stay tuned - I'll post it soon:)

TGIF !!

2007-07-27T08:47:00.000+01:00

Oh my gosh I could not be more glad that it's Friday. I'm SO tired and need a sleep in and some time to relax!

Last night we went over to our friend Sonali's house (she works with Murray). She made us a fantastic Indian meal - we still felt full this morning!

Me & Sonali

Sonali & Steve with the Iranian Rice (VERY nice)! You cook the rice about 3/4 through and then take it out & drain it. Then you put some oil back in the pan and lay down pieces of pita bread. You put the rice on top of that, and let it cook on a low heat until the rice is done. (adding a bit of water along the way as needed). The pita ends up crunchy and gives the rice a lovely taste!

Sonali and her tree (the boys kept teasing her about having a tree in the house - I love it though - so pretty & green!)

Sonali & Murray after the meal. Murray had to take his belt off & untuck his shirt. The food was THAT good!

Thursday - Blah Day

2007-07-26T09:07:00.000+01:00

I'm feeling a bit down today. This weather is getting to me. It's not awful or anything - about 20c (70f) every day - and not as much rain now. But this is supposed to be summer!!! I want it to be in the 80's (25ish) - warm & lovely so we can sit in the park and relax and let the sun cheer us up! I miss summer:(

So I'm not really sure what's going on with the postal strike. The paper this morning said it will actually only be two 24 hour strikes spread out so that there is disruption for two weeks. However, they will keep all the offices open and will still try and deliver mail, etc. Hmmmm. So we may still get mail, it may just be slow.

Had a bit of a bad 24 hours - I suppose that's why I'm crabby today. I forgot my tube pass in my desk, so had to pay cash for my journeys home last night & in this morning. WOW it's expensive to pay that way - especially when I have already pre-paid travel for a month. SO I wrote out my claim form today to get that money back, still annoying though. And this morning to try and cheer myself up I popped into Starbucks for a Chai Latte. As I was coming down the stairs to the platform I saw that my train was about to depart. SO I booked it down the platform and jumped on to the first set of open doors JUST as they were closing. So the doors banged into me and caused me to spill a bit of my tea on myself and the floor - nice. Thank goodness I was wearing a black jacket.

Well - the good news. Looking forward to a yummy home made Indian meal tonight at a friend's house and tomorrow is Friday. Can't be too down I guess! Oh and when I left starbucks this morning I got a free paper fan - pretty! I don't know what they were handing them out for - but the girls were dressed in flamenco dresses - and I like my litttle fan. Not that it's actually warm enough to need it! Ahhhh I just opened it & it says 'i'm a lastmintue.com fan' on it - cute - I like it.

I HATE Royal Mail !!

2007-07-25T09:44:00.000+01:00

My vent for this sorta overcast Wednesday. I am beginning to really hate Royal Mail. I sent a package 7 working days ago to my friend with a home made gift for her new baby and some cute clothing - and it seems to have disappeared! Royal Mail does have record of selling the label to me (I paid extra for tracking and signed delivery!!) but it doesn't seem to have been scanned since. They are trying to tell me this CAN happen due to human error. However every time I call they exclaim 'oh, that's strange' so I know this isn't normal. I'm thinking the package was stolen from the post office or fell off a truck somewhere. All I know for sure is that it has not arrived in the states, and I can't can't a refund until 25 working days have passed *SIGH*. THIS is why I paid EXTRA for tracking and signed delivery - because I didn't want it to go missing!!!!

On top of that today the Industrial Action starts - they are going on strike for TWO WEEKS!!!! According to their website there still will be SOME limited service - but I'm not really sure what that means!

I really hope that package turns up, but after having had 2 packages I sent to Australia go missing forever into mail limbo, I am not very hopeful:(

Last night Murray startled me at midnight by yelling at me to quickly get dressed as he thought the fire alarm downstairs was going off. So we jumped up and went to race out of the flat, but when he stuck his head out the window we realised it was actually just a car alarm. It just happened that at that same time the chick in the flat downstairs had a shouting match with her drunk boyfriend (we think). Nice. So - I'm tired today. Oh well - already mid week right?

Oh and I saw something that made me chuckle a bit this morning. There has been a spate of fridge thefts at work lately - I had a yogurt go missing last week! So a guy showed me this morning how he tries to deter people from stealing his milk - he wrote POISON on the side - ha ha! I wonder if it works?

Oh and - it's still not summer here - it's August NEXT WEEK and it's still around 20c (70f) every day and rainy. Where is our darn summer darn it? This is my last London summer - and I want one like the past 5 - warm & lovely - picnics on the weekend - relaxing by the river with a glass of Pimms. But this darn rain & not warm enough for summer weather is getting me down. So COME OUT SUN (((stomping my feet))). Let's hope that works:)

Pictures!

2007-07-24T09:11:00.000+01:00

Well it's sunny today - I can't quite believe it. This has been my weirdest London summer yet. Yes, it usually rains a bit around Wimbledon time - but for it to continue into late July? This is VERY unusual. It's supposed to get to a high of 22c (74f) today - then continue to rain for the rest of the week. Fun fun. And our roof is still leaking, and I just don't care anymore. It only seems to leak when the rain comes down really hard though, and the rain lately has been steady but not hard lately which is good. Who knows if they will ever fix the roof. I'm just glad it's not my flat, as the ceiling is rotting away before our eyes!

And now - some weekend pictures !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our to Lunch (from Left) Niece Lorraine, Nephew Justin, Murray & I

The infamous cheesy fries from The Eagle Bar Diner - wow I could eat some of those right now - yummy..............!

A nice view of Putney Bridge

Abby sitting with Helen & showing off her pink cake
Funny girl

Wow - I LOVE this photo - she looks so gorgeous - modeling her new hat (and hair clips) from Helen. She decided it was best to wear all three hair clips AND the hat at the same time- cute:)

Brother & Sister
Helen & I by the Thames

Murray, Helen & I on Parsons Green relaxing in the sun

The Thames viewed from Putney Bridge

Great Weekend!

2007-07-23T09:33:00.000+01:00

Gosh we did so much this weekend I'm having trouble remembering everything!

Friday night we surprised our niece Lorraine (she didn't know her auntie Helen was in town). OH MY GOSH it was great! We got to the restaurant early and Helen hid in the corner of the booth. Murray and I said Hello to her, and then Helen popped her head out and said Hello. Lorraine screamed, threw her hand bag on the floor, ran away, then ran back and screamed again. Ha ha - fabulous surprise!

We had a great dinner at the Eagle Bar Diner. WOW their cheesy fries are to die for - YUMM! The burgers are good - but to be honest - not better than GBK. Then we went to see The Sound of Music in the west end. It was GREAT! I loved the girl who played Maria - she was fab. The stage was sensational and the kids were oh so cute! The only things I missed.... the puppet show with the goats - wish they would have kept that in, and it was annoying that Liesel talked with such a baby voice. However, still a fabulous show - loved it! I have NEVER EVER seen a stage like that - wow! Stunning!

Saturday Helen met up early with Lorraine for some shopping, and even arranged for her brother Justin to come in to London to surprise Helen as well! Murray and I met the three of them later that afternoon for a lovely lunch at our favourite Italian place in Soho Pulcinella's. Very nice lunch with massive pizzas! It was nice to see Justin as well!!! After lunch we all walked down to the National Portrait Gallery to see the 4 Corners exhibition which brought together Londoners from the 4 corners of the city. Each group expressed their cultural heritage through different means of art - it was very good! We also popped over to see BP Portrait Award 2007 - wow their were some stunning painted portraits on display!!! We loved the painting that won - it was huge and really striking! I also liked the one that won the Young Artist Award - looked SO much like a photo rather than a painting - amazing!

That evening we decided to take it easy, as we were all exhausted. So Lorraine, Helen and I went back to the flat to relax with popcorn and a good 80's flick - Mystic Pizza. When Murray got back (he had gone out on his own in the POURING rain for a bit of shopping) we decided to make a lasagna and watch Smoking Aces. Hmmm if you haven't seen it - don't bother. It was just full of TOO much information - and SO SO violent.

Sunday.... we got a great surprise - Eva and Abby came by! In the morning we popped over to Carluccio's for some pastries and coffee, and walked home via the park. Then Eva & Abby popped by to say Hello and meet Helen. Abby LOVED her gifts from Helen, and I was so so touched that they came up - it really meant ALOT to us. A joy to see Abby as usual - she's so sweet, and I was pleased that Helen got to finally meet the lovely Eva.

After they had to head home we decided to walk to the movies. We stopped on the way in at the White Horse pub in Parsons Green and got a jug of Pimms and took it to the park for some chatting. It was actually an ok day - not your normal hot July day - but warm enough to sit comfortably in the sun. We went to the movies to see Transformers - you know, it was actually pretty good! I'm sure if Steven Spielberg hadn't been involved it would have been oozing with cheese. But because the special effects were so amazing, and the movie didn't take itself to seriously (they played up some of the cheesy moments) overall I thought it was pretty good (and VERY loud)!! After a lovely Nandos dinner (gotta love that Portuguese chicken!) we went home to pack. Lovely Helen offered to take some stuff back with her for us, so Murray spent a few hours bubble wrapping & getting things ready for her bags. SO nice of her to help us with that!

Sad to see her go today though! We had SUCH a lovely time - so much so that the time just flew by! Lots of great memories though:)

I will try and get some pictures from the weekend posted tomorrow............

The view down our street yesterday morning

G'Day Mate

2007-07-20T14:59:00.000+01:00

OK so I don't have the accent - but I can still work on the lingo because...........

I GOT IT!!!!

My Australian Permanent Residency visa was granted today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will wait until we're back from Russia to have it put in my passport, just to make sure we don't cut THAT visa too close. But there's not rush - I just have to have it in my passport before we leave the UK in October!

HOORAY! I dropped off my application at the London embassy on 26 February with LOTS of supporting documents. I never did have an interview, which I think is quite unusual - but then I DID provide LOADS of paperwork proof of our relationship. Part of the process is that you have to have a medical exam and x-rays.... strange I never had to do that for my UK visas! Luckily they don't deny you entry because of gangly limbs and fat toes - lucky me! Then I had to get police background checks from every country I have lived in in the past 10 years - which was the UK and the USA. The UK one I got back in 4 weeks. The USA one.......... 18 weeks!!! THAT is why this visa took so darn long! Oh well - it's done now:)

I'll get my visa in my passport in early September, then in October, and when I enter Australia they stamp it, THAT is when I am officially a legal resident! This visa allows me to live and work in Australia, and if I live there for 4 years consecutive I can apply for citizenship. Would be my third - which would be kinda cool! Of course I would NEVER EVER give up my USA citizenship - luckily the UK and Australia are both cool with you having joint citizenship. But that doesn't really matter right now - all that matters is that I will legally be able to work and live there straight away - no more paperwork - WHOOO HOOOO.

!!! TGIF !!!

2007-07-20T09:36:00.000+01:00

It's a miserable day today - rainy & dark & gloomy outside. But it's Friday so I AM in a good mood:)

I have not heard back from the Australian embassy yet - but I'm still crossing my fingers & my toes & maybe my hair that I will hear back from them today!

Royal Mail is giving me a headache this morning *sigh* I sent a package recently and apparently they 'can't find it' in their system. And yes this time I DID pay the ridiculous fees for tracking, and insurance, and signed delivery. If they lost it I am going to be furious! Fingers crossed that it just got scanned wrong somewhere along the way!!!!!

Tonight we are surprising our niece Lorraine (this still feels weird for me to say - I feel like I should say 'Murray's niece' although she IS my niece now too). She still doesn't know her auntie Helen is in town (yes Lorraine - this confirms that you do NOT read my blog - but that's ok)! So we're meeting her at Eagle Bar Diner for some yummy food before going to see the Sound of Music on stage. I'm really looking forward to the whole evening - I love that restaurant (they serve some 'American' food and their cheesy fries are to die for!) and I have been wanting to see this show on stage for ages - can't wait!

The rest of the weekend - we'll just hang out with Lorraine a bit more, maybe go see the Transformers movie which starts today? I think - and spend some more quality time with Helen before she has to leave on Monday. It's strange - I'm so used to her being here now that it'll feel weird when she leaves! We have had SUCH a wonderful time though - looking forward to another great weekend:)

Oh and that photo is of 'Dil and Muz' at the bike ride last Sunday:) Cute pic!

Almost the weekend! But no tea :( :(

2007-07-19T09:26:00.000+01:00

Good day yesterday.

I got a lot of work done.

Came home to a lovely gift from my very thoughtful sister-in-law (I think I actually said out loud - to myself - wow she can read my mind).

Got some laundry done.

And had a long chat with good friend Beth about babies and family and just life. I got off the phone call with a big smile on my face. I miss her SO much - but those kind of phone calls are just wonderful - nice to know you're still good friends even though you have lived thousands of miles away from one another for years. And nice to know we can still blab for an hour and a half with no awkward silences. Miss ya Bethy:)

And today - the horror of it - I forgot my desk key. All the way into work this morning I was dreaming about buying some milk from the canteen and mixing in the lovely chai latte drink mix Helen brought me from Australia and enjoying a cuppa at my desk. But I forgot my desk key:( DARN IT! This always seems to happen when I switch bags. I packed my gym bag for tonight because Helen and Murray are off to the theatre to see 'We Will Rock You' and I figured I should be productive and maybe go exercise for a bit. I checked and double checked my purse (or hand bag as it's known here) to make sure that I had everything - because I always seem to forget something. However I forgot to check the pocket where a little tiny key was resting. So now, no chai today, no green tea, and 7 hours and 29 minutes to go - major bummer:(

Oh and one more bit of good news - PLEASE CROSS YOUR FINGERS for me!!!! I spoke to the Australian embassy this morning. Apparently my case worker is on holiday, so someone else called me back to say they did receive my police check. She also said that she will go through my file today, and if indeed that was the last piece of paperwork they were missing and everything else is in order she will make her decision today or tomorrow !!! She said she'll let me know via email, then I can drop my passport off in person, get the visa put in it, then I'm DONE! Fingers Crossed !!!!!!!

Wednesday Already?

2007-07-18T09:37:00.000+01:00

I guess time flies when you are having fun! I can't believe it's already Wednesday!

We had a great dinner out at our old favourite MasCalzone - love that place! Had a nice dinner with our friend Steve. And yes we ordered the same thing we ALWAYS do! You know how you find something you like and every time you try something new it's just NOT as good? Well that's why we always order the Fantasia Pizza (artichokes, pepperoni, mushrooms) and the Carbonara - yumm.

I added a little count down to my template (see the 'dancing girl' to the right). Wow - time is flying - ekkk and we still have SO much to do!

Oh AND very exciting - this morning my USA (FBI) background check was delivered to the Australian embassy! My case worked said he'd make his decision (on whether to grant me a permanent residency visa) within 10 working days once he had that last piece of paperwork - so fingers crossed it happens SOON! Will be nice to have that drama checked off my 'to do' list as well (since I applied in MARCH)!

I had the time of my LIFE !!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-07-17T08:21:00.000+01:00

I had to use that post title - cause last night we saw Dirty Dancing!!!! And now I cannot stop singing that song........... And I NEVER felt this was before.... and I swear.... it's the TRUTH... and I owe it all to you...... (ok I will stop now)

But first - some weekend pics

Helen and I ready for some Saturday shopping (check out all the boxes ready for shipping in the back - eeeeeeeeeek!)

Helen with the exotic eggs display at Whole Foods

Me with our fabulous salads at Whole Foods.... Yummmmm

Helen, Me and Murray - at Gaucho's for her birthday dinner

The birthday girl

What our living room looked like yesterday (with one random packer guy)

All of our clothing vacuum packed up ready for boxing and shipping (we're hoping this will mean nothing will get damp or mold - fingers crossed)!

A guy in the bike race Murray did on Sunday - how cute is this dog!
He even had a little seat belt on to keep him safe
And a hot corvette down at the Putney riverside

SO the packing / shipping is done! We had it all ready to go, so the shipping guys just had to box it all up (we were not allowed to pack it ourselves due to insurance reasons). When I came home last night it felt like a different flat - so empty! I think this is actually the first time it has really hit me - we really ARE leaving London - wow! But I'm so glad we shipped now! We have kept enough clothing, footwear, etc to last us the next 3 months - and now I feel like we can focus on our other tasks - it's nice to have that big shipping worry behind us. Our stuff should arrive in Australia 8-12 weeks from now and they will store it until we're there in October to arrange delivery to our garage. However, no rest for the weary, now we just need to start hacking away at the rest of our trip 'to do' list - there is still a LOT to do!

Last night Helen and I went with Heather and Andrea and had a great girl's night out. We started with some of the best Mexican food you'll find in London at Cafe Pacifico in Covent Garden. I had a yummy chimichanga - nice! Then we walked down to the theatre (and I DID manage to keep it a secret from Helen which was fun)! She was excited when she saw what we were going to see (and I was SO excited too)!

SO..... my show review of Dirty Dancing in the West End

The Audience: surprisingly mostly locals - I suppose because it's quite a new show (less than a year i think) the tickets are still quite hard to get - so not too many tourists there. However, the crowd did get quite rowdy which was strange in a theatre! Everyone whistled and clapped when the first song started up, when Johnny stripped down to his boxers, when the final dance commenced, etc. Kinda fun I guess! Although I did end up shushing the child behind us who was old enough to know better than talking during the show - or at least her Mother should have told her to be quiet. I don't pay to go to the theatre to listen to a child asking her Mom 'oh is that real water, oh but they aren't getting wet.' As far as I am concerned - if they cannot sit quietly for an hour - please just bring them to a matinee! They got the point after I finally turned around with my finger over my mouth and shushed them - so rude! And please - someone help me - let's start a petition to ban the selling of sweets in wrappers at theatres. Oh my gosh - if you are

going to eat a candy that is really loud to unwrap - please do it before the show starts!

The set: Wow - cool set! The stage was smaller than what I expected - but it was also very very clever. They had all sorts of things that popped up and down, and cool screens they projected on (they did the water scene really well actually - I was super impressed).

The cast:

Baby - was great! I was surprised to find out at intermission that she is actually the understudy! She had the look (cute & small, big nose, curly hair - which was probably a wig but looked great). Her accent was spot on, and I liked her acting and dancing! She played it just like Jennifer Gray!

Johnny - the biggest disappointment of the show really! Don't get me wrong - he is an AMAZING dancer!! Great body, kinda freaky hair (kinda looked like a poofy wig or something...), but his accent - oh my goodness. I actually think I gasped after he said his first line. I was trying to portray what I thought his accent sounded like to a work colleague this morning - and you know what - it sounds like if I tried to talk like Barry White. Very deep - fakey sounding. I had heard that his accent wasn't good and that he slipped a lot into his native accent - Australian. But I must say I think I only heard that once or twice! However, it just sounded too put on - like he was trying to hard to sound like Patrick Swayze. I think - maybe - being American I may be a bit more sensitive to the accents? I dunno - but it was bad - however he more than made up for it by dancing like a star! (I did put my head in my hands when he said 'No one puts baby in a corner' though - oh dear it sounded silly)

Vivian - oh dear. I think 'she' was actually a man. Stunning woman - but really big & tall and her voice was SO low it was frightening. I didn't like how she made a parody of the character in the movie - she way overplayed it.

Lisa (baby's sister) - I must say it really bothered me that she was a blonde in the stage show (she has dark black hair in the movie). It made it confusing cause from a distance it was hard to distinguish her from some of the rest of the cast. I liked her though - her hula song was great!

Penny - WOW great WOW. Amazing freakin body - wow. She was a fantastic dancer, looked JUST like Penny from the movie (tall & super skinny). Her dancing was great - accent was ok - and I liked her long (you could tell it was her own - not a wig) blonde hair. Fabulous darling!

The parents - they were ok. I didn't really like the Mom's accent (sounded awfully fake east coast - she over did it) but she was really beautiful and played the role well. And the Dad was very handsome & did a good job.

The story: Well they only added one scene to the first acting (a campfire scene). It seemed REALLY out of place and weird - and I didn't like the song - and why the picture of Martin Luther King? Huh? I didn't like that at ALL - should be cut from the show if you ask me! The second half - they added a few funny things as well..... But the biggest issue - they CHANGED the story ??? I didn't like the change they made (won't totally give it away in case anyone's going to see the show). But I don't understand why it was necessary? Like we were saying afterwards, the show was nearly 3 hours long - they totally could have cut all those weird little additions and just followed the whole story from the movie! And also - surely 99% of the audience was like me - who has seen the movie hundreds of times..... it really was not necessary to explain every little thing.

The music: I liked what they did with the music. Some of the music was just the orchestra - with dancers and no singing. Some of the music was the orchestra along with two live singers who you could see on stage (that was unusual - but I liked it)! The male had a very strong voice (Helen and I agreed he could totally be an Elvis impersonator)! And thankfully for some of the songs they just played the soundtrack. When the pounding bass for Hungry Eyes came on I think nearly everyone in the theatre cheered a little bit!

Overall: LOVED IT! It was a fun experience. I loved the dancing, loved that they followed most of the movie and I LOVE the music - I would definitely recommend it! And it was great to see it with three good friends:)

GOOD MORNING!

2007-07-16T09:13:00.000+01:00

I'm in a great mood - what a fantastic weekend!

Saturday it was fun to get up and wish the birthday girl Helen Happy Birthday in person!

Murray had some packing tasks to do, so Helen and I ran a few errands and then headed into Kensington. We did a bit of shopping (I FINALLY found a pair of cute low heeled sandals YAY!) and then we stopped by Whole Foods for a shop and lunch. That store is so great - love it! We both got fabulous salads and went up to the seating area to enjoy them - a really lovely afternoon. Then we headed back to the flat to get ready and travel with Murray to Gaucho's restaurant in Richmond. We all had gorgeous steaks (because it is an Argentinian steak restaurant) with lovely fresh veggies and yummy sauces - all with a lovely view of the Thames river! Dessert was heavenly as well - I had flan with berries, Murray had churros with chocolate dipping sauce, and Helen had a yummy chocolate mouse cake. A great end to a fun birthday day!
Sunday Helen and I hit the gym so early that there were only 3 people in the entire place! We did some cardio and weights and then finished with some core exercises. Felt good at the time, and OH OH OH and I sore today! Big shock to my body since I haven't done much in the past few weeks due to packing duties!

We then spent the rest of the day organising and cleaning and packing in preparation for the movers coming today! Murray also rode in a 26 mile charity bike ride for Leukemia research on Sunday with some friends. He came home happy but exhausted - sounds like it was an excellent bike ride around the London!

We were up late last night finishing our packing.... last minute panic! I think we're ready now though! The guys come today and pack everything up and then we get billed tomorrow. It should be on a ship for Sydney soon and hopefully will all arrive there (in one piece!) before we arrive in October!

Oh and also my FBI check FINALLY came back!!!! I have been waiting EIGHTEEN WEEKS for my USA background check which I need for my Australian residency visa. They require a background check from every country you have lived in in the past ten years. So I applied for my UK and USA checks back in March when I turned in my visa application. The UK one came back in about 4 weeks - 18 weeks for the USA one *sigh*. It FINALLY arrived on Friday!!! I am SO excited & happy! So now I send it on to the Australian embassy in London and they say they will make their decision within 2 weeks - hooray!

Also - here is the link to Beth & Mike's new blog - The Rhode Family - with pictures of gorgeous little Tommy who was born on Friday the 13th - a good luck sign for sure!

Tonight - I am surprising Helen with night out to celebrate her b-day..... I can NOT wait! SO looking forward to it!

It's a BOY!

2007-07-13T18:50:00.000+01:00

CONGRATS to our good friends Mike & Beth !!!

Their baby Thomas Steven was born early this morning weighing in at a massive 9 pounds 15 ounces.

SO SO happy for you guys :)

The secret is out...... HELEN is here in London!

2007-07-13T09:04:00.000+01:00

SO I have kept this surprise for.............. 4 months i think? ( must be a new record for me)!

HELEN (my sister-in-law) IS HERE - IN LONDON !!

She called me months ago, saying she was thinking of coming and wanted to surprise Murray!
I agreed straight away and we set the plans in motion.

She arrived yesterday morning and I met her at the airport to give her my keys to our flat.
I said goodbye as she went off to a different train - and then got a phone call from Murray ??

He said I had somehow dialed his number (HOW? I'm not sure - it was in my bag!) and he overheard me talking to Helen, telling her how to get to the shopping centre from our flat! Darn technology let us down:( I am really disappointed that that happened.... I feel so bad for ruining the surprise:( But I didn't do it on purpose - stupid phone!

SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT

I have kept this surprise for MONTHS and now with only 6 hours til the surprise THIS happens?

*SIGH*

I told him I was in a meeting and had to go, he said 'can you hear me' and I replied 'No I can't hear you' hmmmm that was a bit of a blonde moment - then I 'lost signal' i.e. hung up.

He's great at getting secrets out of me, so I knew I had to get off the phone.

He heard her voice and me giving her directions in OUR area, so he pretty much knew what was happening - I couldn't think of a good lie to cover it up!

So I avoided his phone calls and emails all day, and just sent him a quick message saying I was in an all day meeting and would call him later on.

She travelled to his work in the afternoon and he was still surprised!!!! I guess he convinced himself that he had misheard the conversation cause he's so overtired! YAY! She's here for about 10 days - 1 full week & 2 weekends AND her b-day is tomorrow - so should be fun!

I haven't seen her for over a year and a half - so will be a nice catch up! We have lots of fun things planned - so looking forward to a fun weekend and upcoming week!

Late Blog Today

2007-07-12T16:20:00.001+01:00

Because I have a big secret.... and didn't want to give it away.... will post about it tomorrow!

YAY a title!

2007-07-11T09:02:00.000+01:00

I went to dinner last night at Ping Pong with our friend Debs. Wow - we ordered WAY WAY too much food. I let her do the ordering because I have no idea what to get when it comes to Dim Sum. She did a great job - got lots of yummy stuff - but just way way way too much! Argh I'm still feeling a bit sick/full today - oops! Oh well - it was yummy. The best part of that place is - the tea. She ordered a Jasmine tea for after the meal. They brought out a large glass that had a ball of something in the bottom - looks like a ball of tea or grass or something. Then the waiter poured in hot water directly onto the little ball and it started expanding. Eventually it started opening up like a flower - oh it was a flower! Then petals/ leaves I don't know what they are called opened and floated up the glass. Really beautiful - and it takes yummy - I guess that's what you call REAL Jasmine tea! (I found the picture on the right on their website).

I'm SO tired today! I hope this day goes quickly - have lots to get done tonight and I badly need some more sleep! Not a good thing to be feeling already at 9am I suppose - oh well!

Oh and a BIG THANKS shout out to auntie Joni - thanks SO much for the salad dressings & the book. Just so everyone knows - other than missing my family and friends - the hardest part of living in London is the lack of salad dressing selection!!! I can't WAIT to have my salad today with Catalina dressing - whooooo hooooo! :)

2007-07-10T12:44:00.000+01:00

It's Tuesday - and um why isn't blogger letting me title my posts anymore - strange....

Nothing much to say. Out to dinner with a friend tonight (gotta love Nandos - Portuguese chicken - yumm)!

Last night we watched the first episode of Courtney Cox's new show DIRT. It was ok, actually I thought it was a bit slow and boring. Like Murray said - I wonder if it'll be the next 'Joey' (Joey from friends' spin off that got cancelled cause it was rubbish).

I'm in a great mood today though! The sun is out (kinda) and it's a good week:)

2007-07-09T10:33:00.001+01:00

Live Earth - my review

First, before the concert we went to GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen) to eat a nice big meal in preparation for 9 hours of sitting (this is what Murray calls the 'Muz Burger). Chicken, camembert, avocado (underneath the chicken) & topping - YUMM!

Our view - 65,000 people there I believe! (check out the 3 guys in suits our on the end of the stage - it's the BEASTIE BOYS!!!!)

Genesis - opps we got there late and missed them:( I heard they were not that great though.

Razorlight - Ummm why was the lead singer wearing a woman's shirt? But the music was ok.
Snow Patrol - excellent band - too bad they were only allowed to play a few songs - they rock!

Damien Rice & David Gray - they played out at the end of the stage together - WOW shame they didn't play a few more songs - they were great!

Kasabian - OH nah nah nah nah nah - I am still singing that song - LOVE them - they ROCK!!Paolo Nutini - I'm starting to wonder if he is a hunchback - the man cannot stand up straight! But his singing is excellent

Black Eyed Peas - ummmm OK - they weren't bad - but I wasn't thrilled

John Legend - bathroom break time for me - I wasn't really bothered

Duran Duran - they were good - but um WHERE WAS JUSTIN???!!!??? I was REALLY disappointed that Justin Timberlake did not make his rumoured appearance with them:( Shame on you Justin for teasing us like that and then not showing :(

Red Hot Chili Peppers - They Rock! Don't know why Anthony cut his hair though:( I would have liked to have heard a few more tunes!

Bloc Party - OH MY GOSH they are so amazing!!! LOVE Bloc Party !!!!!!! The people around us were staring at us, I guess not many people know this band, but Murray and I were standing up and clapping and cheering and singing along!

The lead singer of Bloc Party - Kele Okereke AMAZING drummer - Matt Tong

Corinne Bailey Rae - Boring

Keane - Wow he has a great voice - and how come I never noticed before that they are a guitar-less band? Interesting! And they do have a GREAT sound!

Shakira (video link from Hamburg) - she has lost so much weight that she didn't have much to shake like she usually does - but I do like that song Hips Don't Lie!

Metalica - Surprisingly good! Even though the lead singer has a long grey beard (why?) he still sounds the same as he did in the 90's - I was impressed!

Spinal Tap - HUH? I have never seen the movie - but oh my they were boring & silly.

James Blunt - he's ok - but I'm getting sick of his songs - WAY too overplayed

Keith Urban & Alicia Keys (via video link from USA) - weird combo - not a great song either

Beastie Boys - ROCK!!!!!!!!!!! I love the B-Boys - they did a great job - even though the mikes kept cutting out!!! They sang my favourite song - What Cha' Want and a few other classics like 'Sabotage' and others - loved it!

Mix Master Mike doing his magic

Pussycat Dolls - HUH? WHAT? Why were they even there? Really? And in with the headliners at the end of the show??? They did a lot of drop squats and wore tiny clothes - that is their 'talent' - I'm not impressed

Foo Fighters - WOW WOW WOW - best band of the night by far! They had an amazing set and the lead singer is so dynamic - LOVED THEM!!!

Madonna - Wow is she muscly! I enjoyed her version of La Isla Bonita - but 3 songs wasn't enough - would have liked at least 2 more.

It was fun to see the refurbished Wembley Stadium as well!

OVERALL - great concert! I'm so glad we had seats - even though we were there for 9 hours, it was comfortable and because each band only played a few songs it kept it interesting. I also liked the ads they showed between bands - about how each person can make a difference. This isn't about politics or whatever, it's about knowing that you can still do your part for the environment - whether you believe in global warming or not. I for one will continue to try and cut down on plastic bags and try and remember to bring my own reusable bag to the grocery store !!

Me enjoying the concert

Wembley from above (not our photo obviously)

Yesterday - we went to Richmond to see some Polo.

Murray stamping down some divots

Check out all those hoof marks!

(click on a photo to view it in a larger format)

We really enjoyed going see Polo (my first time)! The announcer was hilarious (Oh goodness what are they doing - looks like they are herding cats) ha ha. He really made the afternoon interesting - but also the players were SO skilled and the horses so athletic - interesting sport!

Then we decided to hike (well - walk) to test our our new boots (does this photo look posed?)

We walked from Kew Bridge to Putney - just over 6 miles!

Me with our guide book

Hammersmith Bridge

I even carried the VERY heavy camera backpack for a bit - not too bad thanks to the waist strap!

A rower on the river Thames with Putney in the background - just lovely!

7 - 7 - 7

2007-07-06T08:52:00.000+01:00

Interesting - tomorrow is 7 of July 2007 (7-7-7).

AND tomorrow is the Live Earth concert - I am SO thrilled that we are able to attend the London show - it's gonna be MASSIVE!

The show starts at 1:30 pm and is due to finish around 10:30 pm (which makes me happy cause then we can get the tube home.... IF it doesn't run super late - fingers crossed)!

The running order is:

Genesis
Razorlight
Snow Patrol
Damien Rice
David Gray
Kasabian
Paolo Nutini
Black Eyed Peas
John Legend
Duran Duran (+ rumour of surprise appearance by Justin Timberlake!!)
Snoop Dogg (videolink from Hamburg)
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Bloc Party
Corinne Bailey Rae
Keane
Shakira (videolink from Hamburg)
Metalica
Spinal Tap
James Blunt
Keith Urban & Alicia Keys
Beastie Boys
Baaba Maal
Pussycat Dools
Foo Fighters
Madonna
Terra Naomi

EKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK I'm excited! AND the rain is supposed to go away for the weekend - can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday? No, Thursday

2007-07-05T09:38:00.000+01:00

I'm SO tired today? Why? I don't know? I got to bed at a decent time, but I feel exhausted today.

Last night we went and say Die Hard 4 - and I must admit - it was MUCH better than I expected it to be! Bruce is getting a bit old to be an action hero, but they played on that in the movie which made it more believable. Not bad for an action movie!

Oh and I keep forgetting to talk about the Vilhelm Moberg books. On Friday I finished the final book in the four part series about Swedish emigrants who moved to Minnesota. WOW what a great series. I found it fascinating to read about what it was like to be settler in Minnesota in the 1850's and what their lives was like. Also through the four books I got to really like the characters and ended up sobbing on the bus while reading the ending.

Can't wait for the Live Earth concert on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW if our tickets would just arrive! I was glad to see an email this morning from ticket master letting me know they sent them out today- nothing like leaving it to the last minute!!!

Rain rain rain - and HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!!!

2007-07-04T09:08:00.000+01:00

SO it's 4th of July today - Independence Day.

I do wish I was in Minnesota today - going to the big family picnic and enjoying the sun on the boat! Oh well - I will work and go to a movie instead. Glad to be with the man I love - but I'd love to be able to transport myself back to the states for just today!

The roofers are due to come in today to fix our ceiling and roof tiles. Just hope the weather holds out for them. We can't wait to get rid of our buckets and strings! It's getting worse EVERY day!

Last night we were madly working on our packing list. The movers come on the 16th to ship the majority of our stuff to Australia, so hopefully it'll all be there & ready for us when we arrive in October. It's just SO much work to get everything organised. I finished the spreadsheet of every dvd we own last night (over 500 ekkkk!) and worked on listing out the clothing and shoes I'm sending (not THAT many - I swear)!

Murray found this fancy dress wig & glasses & thought it went quite well with his mullet t-shirt:)

Last night it HAILED in South West London - In JULY - how bizarre is that! I didn't actually see it - but Murray saw some of the leftovers on the ground on his way home. I wonder how much Wimbledon will be delayed due to all this rain? It does usually rain at Wimbledon time, but not THIS much!

Oh and Ange & Chris - hope it's ok to post this picture you sent! This is Sarah wrapped up in a blanket I crocheted for her - isn't she soooooooooooooooooooooo cute!!!

Darn bus, train, etc etc

2007-07-03T09:41:00.000+01:00

My last 24 hours of public transport commuting have NOT been fun.

Last night the bus was taking FOREVER to get home - because of the rain everyone was driving extremely slow. Eventually our driver got a call from the station saying to drop us all off at the next stop and go back. So I had to walk 15 minutes home in the rain - thank goodness I had an umbrella! It was raining SO hard though - soaked my shoes!

Then this morning, I stood reading my book, waiting for the bus. There is school girl who also catches the same bus every morning - she was reading as well. I look up periodically to see if the bus is coming, as does she. I don't know - I figured at least one of us would spot it coming (as we always do). We both happened to look up just as it was flying by:( I looked at her and said 'oh shoot.' Then we both crossed the street to catch a bus to another bus instead, as that direct one only comes every half an hour. So I was late to work - bummer.

Sunny and Smoke Free !!!

2007-07-02T09:21:00.000+01:00

We had a lovely weekend!

Saturday we went to Chiswick to have lunch with Murray's cousin Pat. She has a gorgeous flat and SUCH a nice garden (I am SO jealous)! We had a fantastic lunch, and chatted for hours & hours!

That evening when we got home we had to pack pack pack - we have SO much to do before we ship our stuff to Australia (in 2 weeks)! Later that night we caught Madonna's movie Swept Away on TV. I remember hearing that it was bad.... but WOW it really is. Rubbish story line, terrible acting..... some of it was ok - but overall NOT a good movie (and I hated the ending).

Sunday Murray played golf, and I went to meet up with a couple American friends for coffee and chatting. It was really nice to catch up.

Sunday night we met friends at our favourite place (ok I admit it - we ate their Friday night too......) Il MasCalzone. They have SUCH a great staff there (all Italians) and the food is simple and yummy. Friday night we were asked if we wanted a smoking or non smoking table. But LAST night we all laughed as we saw the crowd of diners gathered on the sidewalk to get their nicotine fix. WHOO HOOO! So exciting that we won't have to deal with smoking in ANY enclosed space in London from now on (the ban came into effect yesterday).

FRIDAY !!!

2007-06-29T09:42:00.000+01:00

It's Friday

Henman is out of Wimbledon - which means there are no British players left in the men's or women's singles now - bummer.

Looking forward to the weekend - although it will be a busy one - we have a lot to get done.

And finally...... the nursery artist of the week

Abby's drawing of her & her Mom - I thought it was cute:)

Oh and my story of the morning. I was sitting on the tube this morning reading my paper & noticed a guy standing near a suitcase pulling on his hair and pacing back and forth. Everyone was giving him 'what's that's guy DOING?' looks. He finally stopped pacing and said loudly 'excues me, has anyone seen a laptop case.' Turns out he just had realised it was missing, and it had not only his passport & money, but also three years worth of work in the form of his PHD on his laptop. After everyone looked around & saying it wasn't anywhere to be seen, he remembered leaving it on the platform a few stops before. He jumped off at the next station and a few of us yelled 'good luck' after him - I hope someone turned it in and he got it back:)

Oh and

Our roof is still leaking

We were awoken at 5am this morning by the sickening sound of 'drip, drip, drip........'

As this rain doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon, I think we may try the method of tacking a piece of string to the hole in our ceiling - so at least the water won't loudly drip and wake us up. fun fun fun

Oh AND a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my cousin Jenny who turns 15 on Sunday :)

Thursday

2007-06-28T11:09:00.000+01:00

One day closer to Friday................... that is all I can think of to say today

:)

Wednesday

2007-06-27T08:54:00.000+01:00

Nothing to say today really. I'm still tired and found it really hard to get out of bed and to the bus in time this morning.

It's Wimbledon time again. The only time of the year that I read the sports page in the paper! It's a bummer than Andy Murray had to pull out of the competition, and once again all of Great Britain has put their hopes on Tim Henman. We watched a bit of the replay of Henman's first round match last night, go Tim - that was a tough win! I don't think he'll ever win Wimbledon, but I'll keep cheering for him anyway! I think the crowd support really does help him to play his absolute best, let's hope it can help him to the final rounds! It will be interesting to see who wins this year - I don't even know who's ranked at the top? Will it be a Federer year - again? Time will tell!

That's about it really - bring on Friday!

Jason Mrazmerised

2007-06-26T09:36:00.000+01:00

Brighton Concorde 2 - Sunday 24 June

The opening act - Two Spot Gobi

Adam King - the drummer

We were 3 people back from the stage!

Mr. Mraz (it was his 30th b-day the night before - kinda fun when he came on stage - the whole crowd starting singing Happy Birthday!)

Ian Sheridan - bass player

We were SO close to the stage!!!!!!!!!!!! They played lots of new stuff which was interesting!

Jason's great - but I gotta admit - we missed Toca!!

BrightOn is Right On

2007-06-25T10:18:00.000+01:00

Overall - a nice weekend.

Saturday I saw something upsetting though! While Murray was getting a hair cut I went down to the magazine store to pick up a gossip mag. When I came out there was a huge crowd on the sidewalk. A large sign above a pastry shop had fallen onto some people. I went to cross the road and get out of there, there was no need to stand around and gawk (like SO many people did! I just don't understand that)! I was glad to overhear that there were two doctors who had been nearby and were attending to the injured. It looked like a few other people were holding up the sign which they had pulled off of the people who were knocked down. It really shook me up, since the sign was MASSIVE and I felt so bad for those poor people. Plus, I had just walked under there a few moments before!! They shut down the whole street for most of the afternoon - which I have never seen done before. I was really glad to read this morning that no one was killed, what an awful freak accident though!!

Sunday afternoon we caught a train down to Brighton with Lorraine to meet up with Heather & Jason to see Jason Mraz in concert. He played at a tiny venue called Concorde 2. It was like a small ballroom - raised stage and only big enough for a few hundred people. We got there early enough that we ended up about 3 people back from the stage. The opening act Two Spot Gobi was excellent - they had a lot of enthusiasm and their songs were catchy! Mr. Mraz was fantastic - as usual - he's SO great live!!!! After the concert we ran up to the main road to try and catch a taxi back to the train station because we knew if we missed the next one we'd have a 45 minute wait ahead of us. We luckily made it there JUST in time. The train ride felt SO long though! We didn't end up getting back to the flat until just past 1:30am. Thus I am exhausted today!!! It was worth it though! Jason is right - Bright On (Brighton) is Right On ! Shame about the rain though - yuck!

Oh and thank goodness it's only 1 more week until London goes Smoke Free! Last night I had a girl standing behind me who was blowing her smoke right at the back of my head, so it would float around into my face - awful awful awful. And of course I smelt like an ash tray when I got home - can't wait until they are forced to do that outside - 6 days and counting!!!

TGIF!!!!!!

2007-06-22T10:23:00.000+01:00

Thank Goodness It's Friday!!!

Shame it's raining though!

I finally made it to the gym last night for Body Pump. It was ok - but I didn't like the songs he used - they were a bit 'early 90's' - not my cup of tea. But it was good to get back there & have a good workout.

Last night was the finale for this season of ER. And - WOW - drama - as usual! Left me in tears - but wow it was a great episode!

Oh and I forgot about the Lights out London thing - oops! But we were busy grabbing beef tacos on commercial breaks and watching ER.... oh well.

We also watched an episode of The Ghost Whisperer - that TV show starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. It really is a pretty good show! Scary & good twists!

Looking forward to Sunday!!! We're going down to Brighton with Lorraine to see Jason Mraz! It is supposed to be an acoustic show -and a small venue (i hope so)! Can't wait:)

Oh - and last night on the train I saw TONS of people in wellies (rain boots), huge backpacks, sleeping bags & pillows in plastic bags, and carrying large cases of beer..... can anyone guess where they were all going?

Oh and don't forget!

2007-06-21T13:13:00.000+01:00

Tonight is Lights Out London night

So I promise to turn off 'non essential lights & appliances' tonight between 9-10 pm, however that does not include the TV - because I still have to watch the new episode of ER!

All downhill from here

2007-06-21T10:14:00.000+01:00

SO apparently today is the first official day of Summer - and the longest day of the year. Sad to think that the days will only get shorter from here on out! I love summer though - I'm happy that it's warm enough now that I don't have to wear a jacket in the morning. But still cool enough that I'm not sweating like crazy on the stuffy tube. It's just perfect right now - warm - but not hot! (knock on wood)

Another beautiful day in London today - I just wish this weather would hold on for the weekend. The forecast at the moment though is rain & thunderstorms on Saturday and rain on Sunday:(

Last night we decided to take advantage of the 2 for 1 movie deal and went and saw 'Fantastic 4 - Rise of the Silver Surfer.' It was either that, or a horror, and I wasn't in the mood to see a movie about two people being tortured in a hotel room - yuck. And you know what, it wasn't all the bad! I think I'm getting used to getting dragged to these comic book based movies. The graphics were pretty cool, and the story was kinda nice, shame about Jessica Alba's hair though - blonde does NOT suit her!

We walked home along the river last night.... the rowers where EVERYWHERE! Kinda fun to see them rowing along while a man in a little boat behind yelled into a megaphone for them to 'speed up.' It looks very peaceful, rowing, but gosh are they muscly - must be a hard workout!

And some grad photos

2007-06-20T09:22:00.000+01:00

Just for fun.... a few family photos

My sisters Megan, Mandie & Mariah - our to dinner to celebrate Mandie's graduation!
'Baby' sister Mariah (on the left) with her friend at her high school graduation
Marish posing with her senior photo - that Murray took!
And just cause I like this photo 'model pose' ha ha- cute though!

AND congrats again - to you both - Murray and I are VERY proud of both of you:)

Other than that, just the usual boring day to day stuff here for me. Last night I was yet again feeling SO lazy and just couldn't to the gym - will try again tonight.... although I did forget to bring my hair brush today which is upsetting. Last night I set down my tube pass when I got to the station - then forgot about it - and when I remembered and went back it was gone. I was NOT happy as it's a monthly pass - so to lose it would be ALL bad! I asked at the counter, and no one had turned it in. So he gave me the phone number to call to report it lost, and I bought a one way ticket to get home. Just as I got through and was reporting how I lost it, a guy walked up - he had found it - YAY! Goodness knows where - but thank goodness! Then I just had to get that ticket I had bought refunded and whew - was able to avoid the drama of getting a new one.

Is it Friday yet?

I got nothin'

2007-06-19T12:00:00.000+01:00

After all those pictures yesterday - I just feel like I have nothing to say today!

Took it easy last night, we watched the movie 'Domino' with Keira Knightly. It was ok, but a bit 'try hard' - like it was trying to be the next Pulp Fiction - but just came across as a bit silly.

Beautiful day today in London - I hope this weather hangs on until the weekend!

TOO CUTE!

2007-06-18T13:07:00.000+01:00

I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to post the rest of these pictures - she's just TOO CUTE! SO, the story of the weekend is in the below post - and here are some more pics!

Abby modeling the braids I put in her hair
Posing next to a dinosaur head - kinda hard to see in the photo though..... she liked the skeletons, but didn't like the giant T-Rex that was animated & growling!
LOVED this one - a little dinosaur toy
Check out my spork!
She kept handing it back to me, asking for a fork - but they only had sporks!! So we made due:)
The fish she picked out for her headdress
Coloring is fun!
Taping on some decorations! she sure loves tape!
The finished product!
The iced lolly she picked out for the bus - yummy (I had a bite too - wow it WAS so so good)!
Play, play, play - this was a great park!
Check me out - I stole Neek's sunglasses!

Happy Feet

2007-06-18T09:07:00.000+01:00

Ahhhh what a lovely weekend:)
Eva called Friday night to say Abby wasn't feeling well, so we decided we would wait until Saturday morning to see how she was feeling, and if she needed to stay home I'd come to their place for the weekend.

However, by Saturday morning she was feeling much better. By the time she got to our place her fever was pretty much gone.

So we took it easy in the morning - doing some colouring and watching dvds....

(this is a tree by the way)

Later that afternoon her temp was gone, so we decided to pop out to do some errands. We walked by the kids place 'Eddie Katz' and she kept saying 'CATS CATS' so we popped in to play for a little bit.

The cheese pizza was delicious!

And the juice!

On the way home she got upset by the light rain hitting her face - so I gave her my umbrella.

How cute is this? Walking with her pink balloon trailing her

But at times she needed help holding the umbrella up

SO CUTE!!

Abby and Murray - thankfully the rain went away quickly!

On the way to do our errands we also came across a charity book sale and picked up a few cute Disney books - she was thrilled! We got home early afternoon, and just spent the rest of the day watching dvds (Happy Feet is so cute!), colouring, and just chilling out.

Sunday we decided to go see the dinosaurs at the Natural History museum. We were lucky that it turned out to also be family day on Exhibition road - so all of the museums down there had family activities. SO, after checking out the dinosaur display, we headed over to the Victoria and Albert museum to make masks! It was bizarre - they had tons of craft supplies for us - which we collected in a little plastic tub. Then we were told to just spread out on the floor to make our mask! However, this was in the middle of an actual display.... so we had people stepping over us to look at ancient tapestries behind the glass! So strange! Abby chose to make a fish headdress / mask - we had a good time putting it together! Afterwards she decided she wanted to go to the park. So we picked up a yummy ice cream, and got on the bus.

We went to Eel Brook common - which is near Fulham station. They have a great play park for kids her size. Big enough that she could go through it again and again and not get bored, but not set up too high that I had to be worried about her falling off and hurting herself. I sat and watched her while she played for a few hours - she really had a great time!

Afterwards we headed back onto another bus (upstairs of course - for the view!) and chilled out while eating some dinner and watching Alice in Wonderful (wow I haven't seen that movie in YEARS)!

Overall it was a really great weekend. It was SO lovely to spend time with her. I was impressed by her maturity, and as always loved all her cuddles:) She is so sweet - it was wonderful to spend some quality time with her!

More pictures to follow tomorrow ! (sorry these ones today are so blurry - they are just from my mobile phone - better ones to follow tomorrow:)

FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!

2007-06-15T09:25:00.000+01:00

Thank goodness it's Friday - I feel exhausted! And I'm not sure why!

Wishing a VERY Happy Fathers day to my Dad - as fathers day in the states is Sunday:)

This morning I finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Like his first book - The Kite Runner - this book was very hard to put down. Extremely well written, interesting story, great characters. I loved it and would highly recommend it - and the Kite Runner.

I'm VERY excited - as this weekend Abby is coming to stay!!!! She's coming early tomorrow morning, and Eva will pick her up Sunday night. Unfortunately it's supposed to rain all weekend - but I still have thought of lots of fun things to do!

Also - I found some old disks last night - so thought I'd go through them today & see what's on them. I came across this photo.............. SO NOT TRUE!!! ok, well - maybe :)

Friday YET???

2007-06-14T09:30:00.000+01:00

Last night I decided to try another new class at the gym - Dance Sculpt. The brochure described it as 'A dance class with a difference, if you enjoy the rhythm of the music you will enjoy Dance Sculpt. Sculpt your body through dance.'

I though hmmmm yes I like dance - sounds good - I'll give it a try! It was - just ok! However I do think I was being a bit over critical - because I used to attend some AMAZING 'dance' classes at my old gym... so that's sort of the level I was expecting for this one.

For the first half an hour we did what I'd call low to medium impact aerobics. It was ok - but honestly kinda boring. And she didn't tell us what the next exercise would be - so we had to just constantly watch her and try to quickly switch when she did. Normally in an aerobics class they yell out 'now leg lifts' or whatever so you know when to switch and to what.

During that half an hour of aerobics I starting thinking 'they call THIS a dance class??? this is just aerobics!' Then thankfully after we had hit the half hour mark, she started teaching us a routine. She ran through it REALLY quickly - so we were all a bit lost - but it was fun! Shame we only performed it and added to it for 15 minutes:( I really would have rather done 5-10 minutes warm-up aerobics - then mostly dancing!

The last 15 minutes of the class we did toning exercises and sit-ups and then of course stretching. Would I got again? Yes I think so - but not if I'm in the mood for a great workout (body pump & attack are much better for that) but if I'm sore from exercise the day before and want a bit of a stretch and low impact working out - yes I'd go again.

Some more Istanbul pics!

2007-06-13T09:13:00.000+01:00

Steve sent some more Istanbul pics (ONLY 2 months after the actual trip!)..... so here you go!

That's Murray, Anabela and I on the right at the Blue Mosque
Our horse cart ride
It was a LONG tiring walk uphill (but Murray looks quite excited!)

The Blue Mosque is SO stunning!
Welcome to my mosque!

I can't remember what this was called - but it's where men used to come to wash their feet before going into the mosque to pray.
Ahhhhhhhh I love this picture! Murray and I walking across the bridge in central Istanbul. (we're on the right)
This was a long tiring walk uphill too (Murray is looking a bit more tired here...)
Yes I am squinty eyed - but ohhhh the desserts were HEAVEN!
Captain Murray!