I'm looking out the window at the gray sky and drinking my typical morning cup of Earl Gray, wearing a sweater and jeans (it's Friday) and thinking about the weekend. We are driving to Salisbury and staying the night tomorrow then driving back past Stonehenge on Sunday. I am sure it will be a lovely weekend. This will actually be my last weekend of traveling here in the UK. I still have Athens and Vienna but this is the last time to drive a distance and stay overnight here. It's hard to believe only 7 more weeks. I keep thinking more and more about my new life when I get home and it still seems so unreal and dreamlike. It's just so hard to image that I can't even comprehend it. When I think about being married and being a wife to Jamie I picture a little house with a white picket fence, Jamie coming home and me wearing an apron over my cute little A-line skirt and sweater set and giving him a martini with his slippers, paper and cigar. Then I realize that it will be absolutely nothing like that and that is where the dreaminess comes in. What an amazing year. Yeah the work part has been less than wonderful but the traveling and the people I have met have been fantastic. I am sure that when I do get back this past year will become the dream.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAZEL!!!! (Jamie's Grandma)

I got an email today from the realtor that we met with a couple months ago. She is keeping in contact with us for when the prices ever get to a half decent level and we can think of buying a house. Anyways, she commented that she saw our engagement announcement in the Valley Sun last weekend!! How exciting!! I haven't even seen it yet but I know my mom saved me a copy to see when I get home. My Aunt Sue had put it in the paper for us. Did any of you see it last weekend? Jamie's mom is also doing one in their hometown of Sarasota, Florida. The more these things happen, the more real the wedding feels.

This one is for Mike and Reed. The weather was amazing yesterday. That crispy kind of cold where when you stand in the sun you are nice and warm. It wasn't windy and the sky was that perfect color of blue with some white fluffy clouds thrown in. Just beaurtiful.

Derrick and Alisha are in Paris today. They didn't go into London at all yesterday so were able to join Michael, Sean and I for Pool at lunch. Alisha likes to watch so Derrick and I teamed up against Michael and Sean. We won 4 games to 2!!! I love winning!

OK, I have kept quiet long enough but I saw something this morning that just screams out the need for me to say something! MEN SHOULD NOT BE WEARING PINK SHIRTS!!! Enough already! They don't wear pink shirts in LA (unless they are gay of course and then that is fine.) But straight men don't wear pink shirts. I got here and it was a bit of a culture shock. I thought wow it would eb terrible to be a single girl here as all the men are gay, but then I found out that pink is just a cool color for men to wear. Well I disagree with this entirely. I can maybe understand a pink tie at a wedding to match the brides colors but that is as far as it goes. I was walking to work this morning, minding my own business and along walks a guy with a pink striped shirt (multiple pink stripe, no other color) and the icing on the cake a pink silk tie with flowers! Now tell me, does this sound "manly" to you?

A nice weekend of not doing too much. On Saturday we went to the market and then hurried back because we were starving. We went to Doughmasters (they loved it!!) and then did a little boots shopping for Alisha. Saturday night we saw Star Wars over at Sean's. Sean wimped out about midnight and we didn't watch the third. Oh well, it is just about the Ewoks. Yesterday we spent a leisurely day about the house, Alisha treated us by making breakfast AND dinner. It was fantastic!!! Oh you are wondering why we didn't go out. I'm sure you can guess,... the weather. Massive wind and rain.. But it was a lovely weekend overall.

WOW, the wind is really picking up. Mike and Reed you must really be missing it right now... if not, picture me having Doughmaster.... now you do you miss it?

This weekend has a good lineup. STAR WARS NIGHT!!! Woo-hoo. Big night at Sean's with all 3 Star Wars and a projector. What more could you ask for? I figure I will then take Derrick and Alisha somewhere on Sunday in the car, that should entertain them.

Enjoy your weekend and the sunshine if you have it.

8 more weeks.....

It's a beautiful day for Derrick and Alisha. Bright and sunny and not supposed to rain. They had a nice lazy day yesterday, slept in and went to the market. So today is their big first day in London! Woo-hoo! Hopefully they will be able to do the open top bus tour and see all the sights before the next big rain.

We did Il Ponte last night (Mike, Alisha had the lasagna and loved it!) then we did the quick circle of Croydon that I take everyone on and walked through Murder Park.

With all of my complaining about rain... I have heard that you all have had a bit as well. Katherine sent this to me and it made me laugh.

Ultra Chaotic Water Catastrophe 2004

The rumors have finally come true.
LAist isn't proud or happy or even mildly entertained by the death-water that began to pour down over the greater Los Angeles area earlier this week, but the events of last night have elevated the problem into a full blown catastrophe -- filling streets with moist liquid that has turned into puddles, streams and in some very unfortunate areas, really big puddles.

Bringing the freeways to (in some places) a 40-45 mph stand-still, droplets of moistness fell down all across the southland, causing some to retreat back inside where the acid-like liquid could not affect gelled hair-styles and button-down t-shirts. Some, hovering under awnings and inside doorways in downtown Hollywood expressed their horror at what was going on --

"Oh my god, what is this?"

"I can't believe it. I just can't believe it."

"How are we going to get home!?"

"Maybe we should stay at a hotel."

"I, I just don't know what to say."

LAist would like to stress to the citizens of Los Angeles that the worst is not over yet. Predictions that the moist-liquid drops may continue to fall today and tomorrow should not be taken lightly. The Ultra Chaotic Water Catastrophe 2004 (copyright 2004, LAist.com) is not called the ultra chaotic water catastrophe 2004 because we like how it rolls off the tongue. It is called the ultra chaotic water catastrophe 2004 because what we're experiencing here is chaotic, it is a catastrophe and it involves some kind of ultra water substance that is crawling its way into our lives without any sign of stopping.

LAist would also, in the name of safety, like to provide readers with a special checklist that may just save your life.

1. Find or buy a coat. This will protect you from the evil drops of acid.
2. Turning the wheel of your car quickly to the left or right while driving full speed in the pouring rain may possibly cause an accident. Be careful!
3. Some stores may carry an object called an "umbrella." This will cover your head and protect you from the demonspawn that is called "rain."
4. Contrary to popular belief -- the current catastrophe we're experiencing has not been caused by Al Qaida. Terror levels will remain as they were prior to the event in question.

We hope LAist has been able to help you through this tough time. Know that we are working with local authorities to keep everyone safe and sound.

YAY! Derrick and Alisha are here!



They got in around 1am and we talked til about 2:30.... I am a little tired.. but it was worth it! I can't wait til tonight, if they get back from going into town early enough we will go to Il Ponte for dinner.

Well today marks 4 months until the wedding! WOW, only 4 months... hard to believe this is my last bit of living completely by myself, especially since I have never even had a roommate, it is hard to imagine living with someone for the rest of my life startinf in 4 short months! I am soooo looking forward to it though!

A bit of a milestone has been reached, my mother has bought her official "mother-of-the-bride" dress. My grandma bought hers too... all these things add up and I just keep getting more and more excited. Jamie bought our plane tickets to Hawaii for the honeymoon and tickets to Florida after Christmas to go to his parents. They are throwing us and Jamie's brother (he gets married in August) an engagement party on New Years Day. I am really looking forward to the whole week out there. We may even go to DisneyWorld!

Well 8.5 more weeks.... but who's counting?

Sooooo sorry I am a day late. I stayed home sick yesterday. I guess the jetlag hit me pretty bad and then not sleeping well over the weekend just got to me. I had a sore throat and decided to just call in. It seemed to do the trick! I slept most the day and woke up fine this morning.

Just checked my brothers flight and it left 3 minutes early!!! They get here at about 10PM which means they'll get to my flat around midnight....

Had a great time in Budapest, it was of course, a unique adventure! Here is a pic



I went with Farrah and a sorority friend of hers named Jennifer (who was fantastic by the way!, you always worry about travelling with people you don't know and it is so nice when they turn out well!) Well Jennifer had planned ahead and had a car waiting for us at the airport. We asked him where the atm was and he waited for Farrah and I to get some cash. I had checked the exchange rate before we left and it was about $1 for 200 hungary F's. On the Atm I went for the highest, trying to be quick, knowing it would be about $150 or so... Well it was 150,000 F's so I figured that was about $75 and would be fine... well the stupid atm wouldn't give me the money!!! So I tried 100,000 and that finally worked. Farrah asked what I got and tried it and it wouldn't give her 100,000 so she had to get 50,000. All was well and we went to our hotel (which was pretty posh!) I slept like crap and then we woke up. We booked a bus tour to take us around the city. It was completely pouring rain so we thought this would be a good way to get a feel of everything and check out what we wanted to see more of. Well the tour wasn't as good as we hoped due to the rain. The windows were all fogged up so we could barely see anything!!! Oh well... we saw enough. We then went to an ATM and Jennifer took out money, we asked how much she got and it was something like 10,000. Well I found that confusing, wasn't that only about $5??? OH NO!!! I had taken out $500!!!!! What a stupid idiot!!!!! Well that ended up being a big stupid joke of the weekend. Luckily I was able to pay for the room and a couple of meals and was able to use up the cash so I didn't have to add to my stupidity by having to change money in!

We had a lovely lunch with a mushroom soup (the menu said "just the way you like it!") It was outstanding! We expected a cream of mushroom but this was more like a minestrone or something with mushrooms in it and wow was it good! The rest of the meal was pretty good too. We then wandered around in the shops and stuff and then had dinner back at the hotel.

On Sunday we got up early and went to the Szechenyi Baths. Budapest is well know for its natural, hot mineral springs and they have many public baths built around them. Well Farrah had told me to pack a bathing suit and wouldn't you know it... I forgot it in the hotel! So Jennifer and I rented them.. (propably the weirdest thing I have ever rented, and I thought bowling shoes were bad!) It wasn't too bad and it was definately worth it! A great experience! It was pouring rain and the baths (massive pools) were outside so we were in these hot baths with cold rain. Absolutely beautiful!

We then had lunch with a friend of Jennifers that is living there and then did a tour of the Opera house. It was very beatiful. It makes me really look forward to seeing the one in Vienna. Farrah and I were talking about trying to get opera tickets for Vienna.... hmmm. we'll see.

The best part of the whole trip was after pouring rain all weekend, the sun came out on our drive to the airport.

So packing this morning I had to make a decision on to bring thermals or not to bring thermals. It is a hard decision, it is almost like you are giving up if you bring them. You are giving up seeing the sun and feeling its warmth, you are acknowledging that it will be cold and grey and dark during your trip. It is a tough decision, it is like the loss of optimism.

I did not bring thermals!!!! I will be optimistic! I believe in the sun!! I believe it will send warmth down through the clouds no matter how grey they are!!!

Hope you have a great weekend! I'm off to Budapest to be an optimist!

It is absolutely pouring rain. I was walking to work peering out from under the umbrella and noticed that the leaves are starting to fall. The sad thing is that they are just turning yellow and brown and falling, there isn't any red or orange. I've seen a bit like on the drive to Heathrow 2 weeks ago but here in Croydon everything just seems to die an ugly death. Figures.

I didn't make it to the gym last night, maybe tonight? I got caught up in updating and finalizing our guest list for the wedding. Let me just say how hard that is!!! I can understand how people have 200 person weddings, you don't realize how many people you know until you try to narrow down a guest list to 60 people!

It is soooo beautiful today. It feels like home. It's one of those days where the sky is blue and there are whispy white clouds and the ground is wet from the rain overnight. It is not too cold so a jacket is nice... wow just beautiful.

Well I was able to get our Engagement Photos on ofoto!! Since I got all of the negatives, there are even a few more pics than before (some pretty bad ones of me too!)

Hoping to go to the gym tonight, I slept pretty badly last night and I think it was partially due to restlessness since I haven't been to the gym in a while. Need to go work out that restlessness!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANCY DETERS!!!!!!

Brrrrr.... umbrella, jacket, scarf and gloves this morning... and the real kicker... I could see my breath!!!!

Well I am back! It was a great trip home. Busy as usual but I like it like that. One of the best things was doing our gift registry! That is so much fun!!! I don't think that Jamie liked it as much as I did but he was a good sport about it. He got to carry around the laser gun and scan the barcodes. I think that helped make it a little more bearable.

I was able to confirm my final date here, I will be leaving on December 17th, so 10 more weeks. It should go by really fast with the people I have coming to visit and the travel plans. I'll be home before I know it! That is if I don't freeze to death in the meantime....

Giggle, giggle, I am excited to go home today. I got down to the lobby and realized I still had my slippers on! I guess I was in a hurry to get to work so I could hurry up and leave!!!

Stephen and Yoshi came over last night and I made them slop and my mom's famous bananas with peanut butter and mayonaisse! They were very concerned about the bananas and thought that I was joking about them. They were very surprised they actually liked them!!! They both even had seconds!!!

Well no more blog for a week! Sing with me... I'm leaving on a jet plane! Don't know when I'll be back again!!! (Well actually I do but the song just goes so well!)