Amber Abroad

Prepping for Thailand

2012-02-06T19:10:00.001Z

So close, yet so far. Just a few more work days to make it through, before we leave for Thailand on Friday. I can't wait. We have had a recent cold snap here, which makes me even more eager for the beach and high 80's temps. It even snowed on Friday night, which is a pretty rare phenomenon. It was very pretty and picturesque when it was coming down. It was some of the best snowball making snow I've seen in ages. Stewart took full advantage of that. His friend, Jason, had come down for the weekend and they spent a fair amount of time throwing snowballs off the balcony. Earlier in the evening, we went to a warm and cozy local pub, complete with a couple of cats snoozing in the arm chairs. We tramped through the snow and went to dinner at Lombok in Herne Hill. It was a really good Thai/Indonesian place. We had some curries, learned how to say "Thank you" in Thai (khawp khun), and got some recommendations on what to do and where to go from Jay. This was my second Thai meal of the week. I went out with coworkers on Tuesday evening. Stewart and I tend to have curry a lot anyways, but I like to think I was really getting myself in the mood for the trip. Being holed up in a warm restaurant watching the snow come down outside reminded me of living in Chicago. In a good way. The melting slush the following day also reminded me of Chicago. In a bad way. No, it was actually nice to have one snow day of the year. Things tend to fall apart at the lightest dusting of snow here, though, so hopefully by the time we get back in late February, the cold snap will be well over and we will be on our way to spring.

What a week

2012-01-29T21:58:00.001Z

This wasn't the best week ever. It was all kicking off at work and we got burgled on Wednesday. My laptop was taken, with all my pictures and music on it. I had backed up most of my pictures, but not my music. Sigh. I went on a search for a new laptop yesterday afternoon and didn't have much luck. I ended up getting a new one this afternoon. I'm pleased with it so far. Once I was back online, I used the afternoon to make some changes to the look and format of my blog. I'm trying to make it a bit more sophisticated. I'm not quite finished yet, but let me know what you think of how it is coming along.

Weekend Wrap-up

2012-01-22T23:00:00.002Z

Why do the weekends come and go so quickly? I made pretty good use of mine. On Saturday morning I ran with a running group for the first time in London. I loved my experience of training for the Chicago marathon with CARA. I still have a great affection for all my fellow "turtles" in my pace group and fond memories of all our post-run breakfasts. I've always meant to find a group to run with but never quite found the motivation. Leslie found a group as part of her marathon training and invited me to come along. I didn't make it the last few weeks because of being sick, but resolved to go out and do my twelve mile run with them this weekend. I was a little worried because it is a 4 hour+ marathon group, whereas I fall more in to the 5 hour+ category. I was afraid I would hold everyone back. There was a significant portion of the group that left us in their dust, but I kept up well with my small group bringing up the rear. I ran 11:15-11:30 minute miles and felt good throughout. I think running with the group helped me to push my pace a bit. The route was nice. We ran on a wooded path along the Thames. It was a bit muddy, but it had a calm, peaceful feel to it. Lots of runners, walkers, and dog walkers. After running I did some cleaning around the house and then we had Leslie over for dinner. Stewart made Shephard's Pie. It was a laid back night. We ended up watching the series premiere of Suits which is new to us, probably old news to everyone back home.

I was supposed to go to the gym and cross train today, but I woke up a little late and my legs felt pretty stiff. I did end up doing lots of walking around central London this afternoon, mostly while searching for a pub. We went to the Natural History Museum and checked out the exhibition on Scott's Last Expedition. Stewart and I alternate picking an activity/outing/event to do together every month. Kind of like a dedicated date night type thing. It was my month to choose. It took me awhile to choose this time. I had been wanting to go to the Natural History Museum as it is one of the few major museums in London that I hadn't been to yet. I heard about the Scott exhibition and thought it would be interesting. For those unfamiliar it's about Captain Robert Falcon Scott's last Expedition to Antartica in 1910-1913. It is the 100 year anniversary of him reaching the South Pole then tragically dying trying to get back to camp. The display had lots of artifacts and scientific discoveries from the expedition's time in Antartica. It was interesting. I didn't know the story before. We also checked out the mammal and dinosaur rooms in the museum. Afterwards we searched for a pub that Stewart had been to years before that apparently doesn't exist anymore, and then ended up in different pub we've been to several times. I had fish and chips and cider. I love Sunday afternoons at the pub.

This evening we finished watching the first season of Downton Abbey. I love that show! I'm going to have to get the second season to catch up on the episodes we missed at the beginning of the season.

I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be for the start of the work week. I downloaded The Night Circus to start reading on the tube this week. I'd seen it mentioned before, but never really knew what it was about. After reading the synopsis this evening, I'm really excited to start reading it. I have challenged myself to read 52 books this year, and right now I'm a book ahead of schedule. I think I'm going to try to do some blogging about what I'm reading as I go along.

Home is where the heart is

2012-01-16T22:31:00.001Z

My new favorite accessory is this necklace that was a Christmas present from my sister.

The heart is over Guthrie. I can keep "home" close to heart whenever I wear it. One of my coworkers asked if it was a meat cleaver, but another correctly identified it as Oklahoma.

"Home" remains something that preoccupies my thoughts. You might remember that last year I picked "home" as my word to focus on throughout the year and do a monthly scrapbook prompt based on the word. I let things get on top of me and didn't follow through with it. It was definitely in my thoughts throughout the year, though. "Home" was at the forefront of my mind in September when Stewart and I moved in together, and in October when we visited Oklahoma. Now with the expiration of my visa looming in October 2012, my mind constantly ricochets between all the places I know as home- Oklahoma, Chicago, London- and some others that I haven't even discovered yet.

www.hmm?.com

2012-01-10T17:29:00.000Z

I still wasn't feeling 100% today, so I took the day off to try to rest and get back on track. Much of the day was spent on the internet, the usual culprits: Facebook, Gmail, Pinterest, as well as just researching stuff for future life plans. I also signed up for Goodreads, where you rate books you've read, get recommendations, and link up with friends, and RunningAhead, a site where you log and keep track of your workouts. I've noticed through FB and blog connections an abundance of End of the Year/Beginning of the Year "What I've Done" and "What I Will Do". I've done a few myself. I definitely think reviewing and reflecting, and making goals is helpful. I just had a moment of pause, though, wondering between all the "pinning", surfing, logging, blogging, counting, and cataloguing-how much actual living is going on? I guess it is something just to be mindful of, making sure our real life is as rich as our virtual one.

Comfy, Cozy

2012-01-07T19:22:00.000Z

Regular readers have probably picked up on the fact that I am a fan of comfy, cozy days inside. Despite my globetrotting ways, I'm really a homebody at heart. This was one such day, although it was brought on by a cold that it still not going away, which lessens the pleasure. I woke up yesterday morning with a throat ache, stuffy head, and runny nose. The symptoms have continued with the addition of weakness and body ache today. I was supposed to run 11 miles this morning, but I couldn't bear the idea of running outside in the (mildly) cold weather, and I didn't think my legs would carry me through the whole way. So I've stayed in with hopes that I'll recover enough to do my run tomorrow. Part of me feels it's a waste that I haven't been outdoors and seen the light of day, while another part is happy to have spent the day wearing my fluffy robe, whilst wrapped in my blanket on the couch with toilet paper for my nose close at hand. Although it hasn't really been an unproductive day. I managed to clean the house through my sniffles this morning. I continue to be amazed at how I now feel compelled to clean the house every weekend. This is new to me. I don't think I've lived in filth or anything all these years, but definitely never cleaned so regularly or thoroughly. Stewart has done the cleaning for the last few weeks, which has been awesome, so I figured it was my turn today, sick or not. After cleaning it was my favorite Saturday lunch, Moroccan Chicken Soup from Sainsbury's. It is amazing! I highly recommend it. It's a good sick day lunch, too. I used the rest of the afternoon to talk to my mom, update my CV and purchase tickets for the Eurostar to Paris in April. I love ticking through my to-do list. This evening I had some hot chocolate and we settled down to watch the DVD of the first season of Downton Abbey. It was one of my Christmas gifts to Stewart. Watching Season 1 really helps to make more sense out of Season 2. Stewart is making chicken casserole for dinner which fits in with the comfort theme. I think while I wait for it to cook and wait for Stewart to get back from swimming, I'm going to finish reading my book for the week while curled on the couch. I'll go outside tomorrow.

Ten on Tuesday New Year Resolutions

2012-01-03T22:59:00.001Z

I started the new year out pretty well this evening. I had slept in and missed my run this morning, so I did a quick run when I got home from work. It really helped to have the new running shoes that I bought yesterday. I felt really light and fast. I did a 5k in 35 minutes. If I could shave 2 minutes off of that, I'd be happy. After the gym, I came home and cooked salmon and potatoes. We're trying to have healthier dinners this year. We did a good job of planning our meals ahead this week, and did the shopping on the weekend instead of going to the store every evening. I had made dinner, eaten, taken the Christmas tree down, done a load of laundry, and taken a shower. I'm feeling pretty motivated.

I haven't really set any hard and fast New Year resolutions, but I do have several things I've been thinking about doing and focusing on in 2012.

1. Paris Marathon- I'm signed up for the Paris marathon on April 15th. I've been doing pretty well with my training so far. My goal is to keep up running in the mornings, do my long runs, and add some classes and cross-training to support my training.

2. No TV nights- I'm going to try to have two nights a week without television. This will give me more time to focus my energy on other activities like cooking, job search, scrapbooking, classes at the gym, blogging, reading.

3. Do something about my job-My visa is up in October 2012. I've got to start making some decisions about where I go from here, what I want to be doing, what inspires me, what I want from my career, etc. I have a myriad of ideas floating around-look for a new job, study something, stick it out and make the most of it where I am, go home, stay here. The scarily accurate tarot card reading I had on New Year's Eve was mostly about my job. He identified right away that I felt "restricted and frustrated" in my job. He sensed that I was considering doing some kind of studying. The main theme of the reading is that I should make a decision either way so I can move forward. It was quite a positive reading and indicated that I was coming into a time of ambition and success. He said I have the ability to achieve in what I want to do if I trust myself. I expect that this will be a major area of focus in my life this year.

4. Cook more-This is my tried and true resolution. I break it out every year. This year I definitely kept it, as I cook way more now that I live with Stewart. I even did a Thanksgiving meal! We have several cookbooks now and I want to continue to try new recipes, build my confidence, and host some dinner parties which I really enjoy.

5. Plan meals and shop on the weekends- This is such a simple little thing it doesn't really deserve a whole resolution, but it's something that just makes life easier and more organized and helps us to be healthy.

6. See more of England- I've done quite a bit of traveling in Europe, but there is so much of England I've yet to see. Liverpool, Manchester, Yorkshire, the Cotswolds, Cornwall are all still foreign to me. I want to do several weekend getaways to experience it all.

7. Be creative- I was a crafty and creative person once upon a time. This is on my list every year, but I really do want to reconnect with it this year be it through scrapbooking, photography, art or drawing classes, writing classes, music lessons. I really do need to make this a priority.

8. Travel- As I mentioned in yesterday's blog I still have a lot of destinations I would like to visit.

9. Volunteer- It is weirdly hard to volunteer here. There are few opportunities and the whole application/selection process is arduous and drawn out. However, I would like to find something I'm really interested in committing my time to. I've been thinking of something along the lines of running a group for girls at a local community agency, as it is something I would like to do in my job but never seems to quite fit in my role.

10. Appreciate London-I want to do more, see more, and explore more around town.

Year in Review

2012-01-02T23:33:00.002Z

Trying to get all my New Year type blogs in before they become old news. Somehow I feel like my deadline is before I go back to work tomorrow, so I'm staying up a little late to blog.

I'm not going to try to do a full review of the year, but I did want to take a moment to look back on my travels.

I started out the year by going to Morocco with Leslie and Mari. We spent a week bargaining and bartering in souks from Casablanca to Fez to Marrakech. I loved our room and rooftop terrace in Fez, the square in Marrakech was an amazing sight to see, I still dream of the heavenly massage at the hammam/spa treatment, and our day trip to the Atlas mountains, singing in the car with our driver, Jason, was an unforgettable experience. I was a bit worn out of being hassled for money by the end of the trip and had some words with both a monkey owner and a shoe shine vendor. However, with time to look back and reflect, I can see and appreciate what a unique experience it was and how fun it was to be there with Leslie and Mari.

After coming back from Morocco, we immediately set off for a weekend in Dublin. I had too much fun on our first night out and ended up spending most of the next day in bed. But as everyone has said to me, that's a pretty fitting trip to Dublin. Luckily, Dublin is a pretty small town, so I was able to cover most of it the next day. I'd like to explore Ireland a bit more, but would be more likely to go to the countryside than back to Dublin.

In March, I went to Paris to run the half-marathon with Leslie, Mark and Elaine. We checked out Versailles and stayed in a flat in the Montmarte area. I really like that area and it was nice to feel like a local. I'll be going back to Paris for the full marathon this April and will be staying in the exact same flat. It will feel like home!

In April, Stewart and I took the Eurostar to Brussels for a quick weekend trip. We ate a lot of Chocolate and had a lot of waffles. We took a day trip to Bruges which was completely picturesque.

May was the Prague Marathon. I absolutely failed in my training, but still came along for the trip with Mark and Elaine. I really, really liked Prague. I don't think I ever actually did a blog about it, which is a shame, because it was a beautiful, charming, friendly town. I loved the main square with the famous clock and the Charles Bridge. I ran the first 6 miles of the marathon which gave me a chance to see some of the sights. It was perfect weather the whole time we were there and I did quite a lot of sitting in the sun and sipping wine. The beer garden was raucous good fun, and Elaine and I did some quirky sightseeing like to the Communist museum. A really good trip.

June was a week long trip to Greece. The picture that comes to mind when I think of Greece is limpid blue water. We had to travel by boat to pretty much every beach we went to, but it made them feel like secret hidden coves. Santorini was a blue and white picture postcard. I've done a pretty thorough blog about Greece, so I won't say more, but I definitely enjoyed it.

Stewart and I spent a week in Mallorca in August. It was just absolutely laid back and relaxing. Our hotel was literally across the road from the beach. The water wasn't quite as blue and clear as Greece, but the beach was sandier and nicer. We took a trip into Palma, and went to Soller by an old-fashioned tram. It was a lovely little town. Some of the highlights of the week had to be going to one of the cheesy English bars where they had nightly acts like Elvis and Abba. The Elvis impersonator was leg (as in legendary). Such a good time. Then we came home to riots!

I went home in October! Most of you reading this blog happened to be there for most of the highlights so I won't go into much detail. All I'll say is that it was so great to be around my family. I absolutely love them, and the trip topped both me and Stewart's favorite things from this year list.

I've sadly been deprived of going abroad in November and December;) I'm saving my days for our trip to Thailand in February. We've booked hotels in Bangkok and Koh Samui and planning is well under way. I can't wait.

I did a quick list the other day of destinations that are still on my list, which made me realize I still have plenty of reason to renew my visa come October. Here are some of the places on my go-to list:

Scandinavia
Germany! (This is a big one. I can't believe I haven't been there yet, and will definitely remedy that this year)
Austria
Switzerland
Go back to Spain-probably Madrid this time
Go back to Italy?
Also up for more exotic locations like India, Russia, or China. We shall see what opportunities arise.

Okay, I've got to get some sleep, so I'll save my New Year Resolutions blog for tomorrow, perhaps in Ten on Tuesday format.

Christmas

2012-01-02T22:31:00.000Z

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone so quickly. The build up is always so long, and then it's over in a flash. I spent Christmas in Suffolk again this year with Stewart's family. I was just looking back at my posts from last year and it seems that I didn't blog my first English Christmas. This year was pretty similar to last year. We took the train up on Christmas Eve. This year Leslie came up with us and spent the weekend. There were engineering works on the train, so Stewart's dad was nice enough to come pick us up at Stansted. We got to the house in the early evening, and then went to the Christmas Eve carol service. The village church is just next to their house. The bell tower part of the church is 1000 years old. It's a small gathering, but everyone seems to know each other, which is nice. Most of the carols that we sing are the same traditional ones that we would sing in America, although there are a few different ones, and the tune they sing to "O little town of Bethlehem" is totally different and threw me off a bit. After the service we had some biscuits and warm apple cider. I was really excited about the apple cider and had several cups. You can't normally find it over here. Stewart's family thought it was disgusting, but I definitely preferred it to the mulled wine we had last year.

On Christmas morning, Stewart and his dad and brothers took the dogs for a walk. I considered going for a run, but my knee was feeling a bit sore from running 9 miles on Friday so I skipped it. Once Stewart's sister arrived (she just moved in to her own house with her boyfriend), we started opening the presents. There are always tons of presents under the tree, many of which are for the dogs. Stewart's family does this thing where on the tags they say the presents are from different random celebrities and stuff which adds to the fun. I got one present from Nigella Lawson this year. It was an apron since I'm also a cooking goddess:) I got lots of nice presents and Santa (Stewart) was very generous this year. I got a lovely coat and really nice bag. Between 8 people opening presents and keeping the dogs from carrying away and chewing said presents, the gift opening took quite awhile. Afterwards we had the traditional Christmas dinner of turkey, roast potatoes, vegetables, and the Christmas pudding. A really nice tradition that is different from home is that you get a "table present" at your place at the table. And of course you do the Christmas crackers before you eat, and get to wear a crown through dinner.

We were running late on dinner so we had to record the Queen's Speech and watch it afterwards. Every Christmas at 3pm, the Queen comes on telly and talks about the year and some of the special projects the Royals have been involved in. Afterwards, its nap time. We basically lounged around the house. I called family and wished everyone a Merry Christmas. The evening was spent attempting to play a Family Feud type board game and watching Christmas specials of Strictly Come Dancing and Downton Abbey. It was a really nice, cozy, comfortable day.

Leslie and I got up and ran three miles on Boxing Day, which was a pretty good accomplishment. Afterwards we met up with Stewart's friend, Jason, at his local pub and had a long afternoon/evening of merriment (i.e. drinking). It's always fun to hang out with Jay, and it was a nice way to spend Boxing Day.

The next morning we went over and saw Zoe's new house, had a roast beef lunch, and then it was time to head home. I was so regretting working those three days between Christmas and New Year, but in the end they were mostly quiet and not too bad. It was another lovely Christmas. I'm really lucky to have a very welcoming family to spend Christmas with in the UK. It makes it easier to be away from home. I didn't take many pictures this year, but here are the ones I did take.

It's a Wonderful Life

2011-12-18T23:25:00.002Z

I took advantage of a quiet, low-key Saturday for my annual viewing of It's a Wonderful Life. I was once again assured that it is not only the best Christmas film ever, but the best movie of all time. I know just about every line and sincerely love every single scene. I cried and laughed, as you do, through the final scenes of George running through the town wishing everyone and everything "Merry Christmas" and all his friends and family pulling together to make him "the richest man in town". Oh, look, I'm welling up again now. And as any good movie should, it prompted me to think and reflect on the wonders of my own life. This Christmas season has been particularly wonderful. Each weekend from Thanksgiving until today has been delightful. Don't get me wrong, the work week is still a struggle. If I'm to take a lesson from It's a Wonderful Life, I must be touching people's lives and doing some kind of good at work, but it sure doesn't feel like it. But never mind that, the weekends have been so full that they've carried me through the week.

I've already written about Thanksgiving and the first Christmas-y weekend in December when we went to the Winchester Christmas market. That got the holiday season off to a good start. I also got my Christmas cards sent off early which made me feel good, and it has been nice to receive Christmas cards from friends and family the last few weeks. Just a cultural observation, Americans are much more in to the personalized picture Christmas cards than the English. I think it's pretty much standard at home, but not so much here.

Last weekend Stewart and I went up to Suffolk to have dinner with his good friend, Dan, and his partner, Debbie. They went seriously Masterchef on us and made some amazing food. It was a really nice night of good food, wine, music, conversation, and laughter. We had to rush back to London the next day for Leslie's Christmas gathering. We were slightly delayed by a dog emergency and trip to the vet (long story), but we got there just in time for dinner to be served. She made a delicious lamb roast and some really good sides. Her new flat was decorated for Christmas and the group was really friendly and festive. Stewart and I were a little tired from being out late the night before and the train ride, but still had a really good time.

After having a busy few weekends, I was looking forward to just relaxing this weekend. I started out Saturday by running 8 miles. It was a massive struggle, but I made it through. It was my first official week of marathon training so I was determined to do the full mileage. When I got home, Stewart had cleaned the flat and done a couple loads of laundry. It was heaven! We settled down that afternoon with hot chocolate in snowmen mugs and M&S maple leaf biscuits to watch It's a Wonderful Life. Perfection. That evening Stewart made Shepherd's Pie and we watched a bit of Harry Potter. It was exactly the lazy Saturday I was hoping for, besides running 8 miles I guess.

I had thought Sunday was going to be a repeat of Saturday, but on Friday night Stewart surprised me with plans to go have lunch and see White Christmas at a the Firmdale Hotel in Covent Garden. It was pretty posh. We started with drinks at the bar and saw one famous person. Or at least famous to Stewart. It was a girl that used to be on Hollyoaks and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. The celebrity sightings didn't stop there. When we sat down to lunch, we happened to be seated one table over from Jeff Goldblum. It was really cool. He was having lunch with some sort of theatre/agent type guy. I was totally eavesdropping the whole time. They were talking about what plays and movies they'd seen, who had been in them, if they were good or not, etc. Also happy to report that Jeff has been dating a Canadian girl for about four months and seems to be really happy. Only one person came up to him and did the whole "love your work" thing. He was very gracious. When he got up to leave, he nearly left his coat. Stewart touched his arm as he walked past and reminded him to get his coat. It was all very exciting! After lunch of french onion soup, turkey, and Christmas pudding, we went down to the screening room to watch White Christmas. It was Christmas movie classics galore this weekend! I loved it!

Just one more week to make it through until Christmas. I wish I could spend it with my family, but it will be nice to be with Stewart's family again this year. Leslie will be joining us, too. I'm feeling very blessed and lucky to have wonderful experiences and people in my life. Remember no man is a failure who has friends. Merry Christmas!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

2011-12-05T22:19:00.001Z

The holiday season is in full swing. In a move that astonished even myself, I got my Christmas cards sent out the week after Thanksgiving. I normally don't even manage to send out cards, so this was quite an accomplishment. We spent the weekend doing quite Christmas-y things. On Saturday, we took the train to Winchester for their Christmas market. Way back in August, I had dreams of going to Germany for one of the traditional Christmas markets. However, I procrastinated and the timing for annual leave and things didn't work out. So we found one in England instead. Winchester was a nice town. We got there around lunch time and every restaurant and pub was packed with Christmas shoppers. We finally found a pub with a free table and had a good burger for lunch. Then we headed to the actual Christmas market which is held in the Cathedral close. It was your traditional German type Christmas market. There were a good number of stalls. Mostly jewelry, art, bath stuffs, and crafty items. Both Stewart and I got quite a few items crossed off our Christmas list. I partook of the mulled wine and mulled cider to really get myself in the holiday mood. That evening I talked to my mom and family who were in Houston having the family Christmas get together/birthday party for my grandma.

On Sunday, I had a bit of a lie-in before doing my 10k run at the gym. My only goal and mission for the day was to get a Christmas tree. We'd debated the virtues between a real or fake tree. My heart says real, but the practical side of me thought it would be better to go fake. Stewart campaigned for real. I didn't decide until the actual moment of purchase. We walked up to our local B&Q in Tulse Hill (which I can safely say is a part of London I've no desire to see again anytime soon). Along the route we came across several real tree lots. I stopped and considered at each one. Real trees generally look nicer, and definitely have more character and romance to them, but they were fairly expensive. And I was worried that it would dry out and die before Christmas rolled around. I didn't fancy having to constantly sweep up needles. So in the end, we got a nice 6ft artificial tree for £20. I also picked up some baubles and lights to add to the ornaments that I've been collecting from different cities I visit. I wasn't happy with the lights once I got them on the tree. There weren't enough and they were too bright and glaring. I went ahead and decorated the rest of it, then found some different lights and more ornaments at M&S tonight. Now it's perfect.

Tomorrow night is my work Christmas do. We are going for dinner at a restaurant in Islington. This weekend we are having dinner with some of Stewart's friends, then going to a Christmas gathering at Leslie's. I love this time of the year, and I'm enjoying all the festivities leading up to Christmas.

Such a good weekend

2011-11-29T22:17:00.001Z

I got busy around Thanksgiving and dropped off in my daily thankful posts, but after this weekend I am feeling abundantly happy and thankful. It was one of the best weekends I've had in awhile. On Friday evening, Stewart's friend Jason arrived in London, turkey in hand. I'd been anxiously awaiting the turkey which had been staying in the freezer at Stewart's parent's house. It was all thawed out and ready to be cooked the following day. We ate at an Eritrean restaurant down the road from us. I love their food and they have the most amazing coffee. I went to bed a little anxious about the whole turkey cooking process yet to come, but excited to get everything under way.

I woke up around 5:30am on Saturday totally wired and thinking over my plan for the day. I got up for a bit around 6:30am and contemplated going for my run at that time. I decided that was taking it a step too far and went back to bed until around 8am. Then I went to the gym and smashed my own personal five mile Turkey Trot. I could really tell the impact of faithfully doing my mid-week runs. I ran a little faster than I had been and overall felt like it was a really easy run. After running for about an hour, I went home to get started on the turkey.

I got a little daunted at this point. It was painfully obvious that I had never cooked a turkey and was quite unsure of what I was doing. Luckily, the turkey came with instructions and Jay was able to give me some guidance. I had looked up a recipe for a mixture to smear on the Turkey. I prepared that and Stewart helped me spread it under the skin and stuff. Once that was done, I stuck it in the oven for four hours. Stewart and Jay took the beef (our supplemental beef in case we ran short on turkey) over to Leslie's house as she had graciously volunteered the use of her oven. I got on with prepping and preparing the rest of the dishes. I did pretty well, although I had to scrap the deviled eggs in order to save time and stress. Luckily, I had more time to finish things up as people arrived a little later than planned.

It was so great catching up with everyone and being able to host such a great group of people at my house. As people arrived, everyone just jumped right in to introducing themselves to each other and striking up conversation. It made my job as a host pretty easy. I tried to focus on rotating everyone's side dishes through the oven. We had some amazing food-sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, green bean casserole, all the Thanksgiving essentials. I got A LOT of help in the final preparation stage. Jay was a champion, Stewart ran to the store for me and mashed the potatoes, Mark saved the gravy and later ran to the store for me, Leslie and Elaine helped with clean up. It was a group effort. Everyone ate until they were stuffed, and all the food turned out great. I was particularly proud of my first attempt at a turkey. It was juicy, moist, pretty much cooked to perfection, if I do say so myself. We capped the night off with a round of Taboo, my absolute favorite board game. My skills are not as great as they were when Shylia and I used to dominate on a team together, but it was still a lot of fun. Leslie, Stewart, and Ashley's team were the winners in the end. Everyone started to head home around 8pm or so. Those of us left watched X Factor for a bit, then decided to take advantage of the London nightlife and hit the town. We met Leslie at a pub near her flat. I can't say I remember a lot about this part of the night (I had a lot of port while playing Taboo), but I remember a lot of talking and laughing and I'm confident a good time was had by all.

I thought I was going to be down for the count all day Sunday, but I actually had a miraculous recovery. We went for breakfast at a place in Brixton Village. I know I've gone on before about how much I love the place, but it is really true. There are so many selections of places to eat and shop, and it has such a good atmosphere. It was fun showing Jay around our little piece of Brixton. After that we headed in to central London to go to the Churchill War Rooms. Sometimes I kind of forget to be amazed that I actually live in London. Coming out of the tube stop with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben rising before you is a pretty good reminder. We spent a few hours at the Churchill War Rooms which is a museum of the underground Cabinet War Rooms where key leaders planned and fought WWII. It was really interesting. Lots of things, like the Map Room, were left pretty much just as they were when everyone up and left the offices the day after the war was won. Part of the museum is devoted to Winston Churchill's life. After soaking up all that history, we went to the pub for a few pints.

That evening we made one more stop on our food journey through Brixton. We went to a noodle/sushi place up the road from us. This is the second time that I've had sushi since moving to Brixton. Prior to that I hadn't had any since moving to the UK. This place was definitely superior to the restaurant a few weeks ago. I had some really good Philadelphia Rolls. I will definitely be going back for sushi there. It was definitely a great food weekend. In fact, it was pretty much a perfect weekend in all respects. It was really nice to have Jay down and I could see how much Stewart enjoyed having him around. Thanksgiving was a hit and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. My spirits were so high after the weekend that I really didn't even mind going into work on Monday. I guess my final thought about thankfulness is just how blessed I am to be surrounded by generous, warm, and loving people, both my family and the friends I have made and added to my life over the years. Each part of this Thanksgiving dinner experience brought that to light and I am extremely grateful.

Balance

2011-11-23T22:13:00.001Z

Whew, I just finished doing my online shop for the last of the Thanksgiving groceries. I'll pick it all up from Waitrose on Friday. I thought getting it all ordered for collection would be easiest, but it was actually quite a chore to go through everything online. I don't feel like being on the computer much longer so this will be a short one.

Today I'm thankful for balance in my life. It's something I'm always striving to achieve more of as you have seen through my recent posts about connecting with things and activities that I find fulfilling. I am feeling that I'm creating more balance in my life lately. After my last job in Chicago, it was really important to me that most of my evenings were free. I have days in my current role where I have evening visits, but nothing to the extent of my old job. I've been able to leave by five every day this week. This gives me the possibility to do social things in the evening. Granted lately I'm generally just coming home, but I enjoy that as well. And I have time to experiment with some cooking. Actually getting up and running in the morning gets my physical activity in for the day and keeps me from feeling guilty about not going to the gym at night. My commute to and from work gives me the chance to do about an hour and a half of reading a day. The chance to make reading, which is something I love, a part of my daily routine has been really uplifting. Blogging daily this month (although I've missed a few days) has brought an element of creativity and expression to my life. There are still things I want to tweak and add and adjust, but I am finding ways to bring things into my life that round it out and make me feel good.

Health Matters

2011-11-22T22:10:00.001Z

I've got a little bit of a cold today, which just makes me more thoughtful about how lucky I am to be healthy most of the time. So today I'm thankful for my good health and the health of my family members. I'm able to be active and do things like run and train for a marathon. I'm feeling really focused and committed to my fitness goals right now, even getting up to run before work. Brooke's freak accident that injured her back last month made me conscious of how quickly things can change. We are all thankful that her injury wasn't any worse and that her recovery is going so well. My grandparents had some difficulties with their health this year, having overlapping hospital stays at one point. I'm grateful that they are recovering. My mom had breast cancer several years ago, but she made it through that experience and is doing fantastic. All in all we are a pretty healthy family and I'm thankful for it.

Thanksgiving Week

2011-11-21T22:13:00.001Z

I can't believe it is already the week of Thanksgiving. November is going fast. I know I need to follow up on my theme of writing about finding inspiration and direction in my career, but I thought I would put a hold on that for this week. In honor of the Pilgrims and the Indians, I'm going to do a daily thankful post. One interesting point is that it's not often as an American that you get to describe and teach people the reason for Thanksgiving. Living in another country gives rise to plenty of opportunities for that. It's kind of cool to share some wisdom about a tradition that is so ingrained in our national culture.

Today I'm thankful for a warm and happy home. I LOVE having a place of my own again after living in someone else's house for several years. I feel more comfortable and relaxed. I've really enjoyed decorating the place and making it more homelike by putting up pictures over the last week. It's a nice spacious place, with a nice big balcony that we can use during the summer. I've even gotten used to the train going by every 15 minutes. The flat is a place to host and entertain friends, like this weekend for Thanksgiving, and just to chill and relax during the week. It's in a convenient location, and close to Leslie in Clapham. I'm also really thankful to have someone to share my home with, even if it doubles my laundry quotient for the week;)

Weekend in Brixton

2011-11-20T22:52:00.001Z

On Friday night I met Stewart near Liverpool Street to get the made to order suit that was supposed to be his birthday present in August, and then had dinner at a good Italian place in Covent Garden. Other than that I didn't venture out of Brixton this weekend. I stayed committed to my training routine, running 5 miles on Saturday and doing some cross training at the gym today. I love that my gym is just a five minute walk away. I go to the Brixton Recreation Centre. I really like it. It's not posh like the gyms I belonged to in Chicago, but it does the trick. There are always plenty of treadmills, a good selection of weight machines, and it has a big pool. I haven't done many of the classes, but the spinning class on Sunday mornings is good. The staff is pretty friendly there as well. I left my phone there on Saturday and one of the girls was quite nice and helpful when I went back later to try to track it down. (I did find it). I also love walking through the market to get to the centre. There is always a farmer's market on Sunday just outside the centre. And there's an arts and crafts type market on Saturdays. This week it was a retro themed market. Lots of vintage clothes and quirky items. Then of course there is always the shops and restaurants going on in Brixton Village. It's always packed in there and even if I'm not stopping to eat, I like the lively vibe just walking through. I spent a lot of time this weekend preparing for next weekend's Thanksgiving dinner. Stewart and I went to Tesco on Saturday to pick up the food and drink that we could get early. I'll get the rest on Friday. I also did some decorating around the house. I finally printed out a bunch of pictures and put them in frames that had been empty. I noticed that I became totally engrossed in picking out which picture worked best with which frame, cutting them to size, and finding the perfect place to put them around the house. I realized again how much I enjoy tactile/creative activities. I think we've got pretty much everything under control for next Saturday. I'm excited to have everyone over, but also slightly nervous about pulling it all off. I googled "how to cook a turkey" earlier, so I'm halfway there. I just hope it turns out well and everyone has a good time.

This sounds familiar

2011-11-17T23:10:00.001Z

I don't think I'm exactly a Millennial, but several things in this article resonated with me. Thanks to my friend, Sarah, for posting.

Why Millennial Women Are Burning Out at Work by Age 30

Inspiration

2011-11-16T21:04:00.001Z

I still can't really go ahead and do the next step in the Oprah worksheet. You need a partner for it and Stewart isn't here tonight. Just doing the first exercise and reading the stories about people who have discovered their passion and found a way to bring it into their life inspired me and got some ideas flowing. Most of the stories are about people who rekindle a love from childhood (horses, dancing, playing piano) or find a new interest or talent (quilting, cheese making, puzzles) in adulthood. Most of the people keep their day job, but devote their free time to the activities they love. I feel like I need to do more, but maybe if I did things on the evenings and weekends it would make the difference during the week. These are some of the things (work related and pleasure related) that I started brainstorming after I read the article:

Open a scrapbook store
Open a book store
Scrapbook therapy
Life story work
Narrative Therapy
Art therapy
scrapbook projects with kids
after-school program
volunteer projects with kids
Learn Spanish
Travel to foreign places
Hosting dinner parties
Cooking
Volunteering
Running

Step 1: Find Your Passion

2011-11-15T18:47:00.001Z

Today was an alright day. For one thing I was busy going from meeting to meeting and having a session in the afternoon. I like being busy. It gives me less time to ruminate. I can ruminate myself into a funk if given the chance. I finished writing an assessment, which is always a relief. So those were the things that I noticed that I liked today. I had a joint session with the unit clinician. Our whole way of working is within a unit, so cases and tasks are shared between the unit members. There are lots of benefits to everyone knowing the cases, sharing ideas, being able to fill in for others. But I do miss just having my own cases, being able to plan out what I want to do with them, build more consistent relationships, and basically do my own thing. I've been reading one of my systemic books on the way to and from work. I felt really excited and motivated when I took the course, and reading more about it is recapturing some of that enthusiasm.

In the airport on the way back to London in October, I picked up the latest Oprah issue. The main focus of the magazine was about finding your calling. It seemed like just what I needed for my current attitude. I used to read Oprah all the time in college. Then I got a bit too cool for it and thought it was kind of cheesy. I was wrong. I love the focus on finding inspiration and making positive changes. Just reading it gave me a bit of hope. How are people managing with Oprah being off the air? :) Anyways, the issue has a 4-step programme for finding your true calling. Who knew it was that easy? The first exercise is to brainstorm your passions. It gives you 10 questions to answer and then you go through and rank your top five. These are the questions:

1. When I was a kid, I dreamed of... I had trouble narrowing it down to one answer. I came up with a) being a doctor that sings and draws for her patients and b) owning a horse.

2. I can't pass up a movie or book about... historical family mysteries set in old-fashioned English estates

3. If I played hooky from work for a week, I'd spend the time... traveling

4. Most people don't know this about me, but I really enjoy... dancing

5. I am the go-to person when my friends need help with... book recommendations ( I really struggled to think of something for this one)

6. If I could star in my own how-to TV show, it would be about... scrapbooking

7. If I were to make a homemade gift, it would involve... photographs

8. I've tried it only once or twice, but I really enjoy... hosting dinner parties

9. The closest I come to a runner's high is when I'm.... running and thinking about doing therapy with families

10. If I won first prize in a talent show, it would be for... writing

Doing the exercise did help me to reconnect with some of the moments when I've felt most alive and gave me ideas about a range of possibilities to incorporate these things into my life. I haven't really been able to move on to the next step yet because I hate to cut down the list to five. I'll try to do that for the next step tomorrow.

Where's my passion gone?

2011-11-14T22:08:00.001Z

That's a question I've been asking myself for awhile now about work. Maybe I'm asking too much of my job. I could probably count on one hand the people I know who really fully enjoy their job on a daily basis. I can count on one finger the person I know who absolutely lives for her job (my mom). I know there will always be an aspect in the very nature of "going to work" that makes it a bit of a drag sometimes. But I still can't give up on the idea of doing something that I enjoy, learn from, find meaningful, get a sense of accomplishment from, and even look forward to. I want to spend the rest of the week blogging about the parts of my job that I enjoy, the things and activities that inspire and excite me, my strengths, and my hopes and goals for the future (all with some help from the Find Your Calling article in the last Oprah magazine).

The X Factor

2011-11-12T20:47:00.001Z

Daily blogging seems to be conducive to detailing how UK pop culture has seeped into my everyday life. Saturday nights are X Factor nights. Again, this is something I'm late to the bandwagon on. I haven't watched the past two years. Everyone says that this season is boring and the contestants are rubbish compared to past years, but I find it entertaining. I like that it's sort of an event in itself. We usually make dinner and then have a chill night in watching it. It's perfect for autumn/winter nights when you can't be bothered to go out. The contestants become national celebrities and are in the tabloid news the rest of the week. The big news this week is that one of the guys dropped out because he had gone off the rails and was doing a bunch of coke and stuff. He was horrible. I'm so glad he's gone. I haven't really decided who my favorite is yet. I really disliked Kitty at first, but she's grown on me and I think she's probably one of the best singers. I'm also leaning towards the girl group, Little Mix. They seem sweet. I'm going to go get back to the show now.

On a side note, Christmas commercials are already in full swing here. Is it like that at home?

The Only Way is Essex

2011-11-11T22:50:00.001Z

The Only Way is Essex...truer words were never spoken. I'm a little late to the TOWIE train. I didn't start watching it until this season (the third), and now it is already over. I'm watching the finale now. In the previous episode, in typical Essex fashion, there was a massive row between Mark, Lauren G., and Sam. Now in this episode everyone has to process and rehash the drama. The show is kind of the UK version of The Hills, half real, mostly fake. It's so much better and more life like than the flat, boring Made in Chelsea, which is the other half soap opera, half reality show. That's probably because Essex people are infinitely more entertaining than the posh people on Made in Chelsea. I don't know exactly how to explain Essex. The message at the beginning of the show should give you a clue, "This programme contains flash cars, big watches, and false boobs. The tans you see might be fake, but the people are all real". They can't really get through a sentence without using at least one of the following phrases: "It's like...", "Alright", "D'you know what I mean?", "Innit", "Fit"and "Shut up!". It is awesome. Here's a clip to give you an idea.

The Only Way is Essex

Evening Relaxation

2011-11-10T22:29:00.001Z

I spend the majority of my evenings on my couch watching television and intermittently checking things online. I'm pretty content with this, especially as Stewart is there doing the same. Sometimes I feel like I should take more advantage of London and be more active at night, but home seems too inviting, particularly as the weather is getting colder. I am using the time at home to cook a lot more than I have before. And I don't feel too lazy for vegging on the couch since I'm getting up and running in the morning pretty regularly. Stewart is at his parent's house for the night so I've been on my own tonight. I spent the evening watching Glee online and doing some internet research on random stuff (jobs, holidays, etc). I'll also probably stay up later than 10:30, which is rare these days. Stewart likes to get to bed real early and I've gotten in to that pattern. Tomorrow is supposed to be running day at 6:30am, though, so I better get to bed soon. It will be a real test to see if I get up with no one else here to hold me accountable.

Family History

2011-11-09T21:37:00.002Z

After two years living in England, I'm finally trying to do some research into my family ancestry. I don't know a lot about my ethnicity or cultural background. It's a hodge podge of nationalities, like most Americans. I've heard that my last name is English. I believe someone did some research on my grandpa's family years back and traced the family back to England. I think my aunt has looked into it as well, so I've enlisted her help to let me know any names or details. It would be cool to track my ancestors back to a city in England and go and visit while I'm here. If any family members have any clues to point me in the right direction, let me know.

Turkey Hunt 2011

2011-11-07T22:28:00.001Z

I volunteered to host an Americans in London Thanksgiving celebration at my flat this year. The guest count is at about 13 right now. It's a bit of a challenge, given that I have no idea how to cook a turkey and I'm still not entirely sure that my oven is big enough to hold one. However, I wanted to test my new found cooking skills. I am finding that I really enjoy hosting dinner parties, and Thanksgiving is kind of the ultimate food gathering. I think it will be really nice to spend the time with my circle of friends at my house. The think I hadn't counted on was the difficulty in tracking down a turkey. You can't just go into your local WalMart superstore and pick one up. Most of the grocery stores only have orders available for Christmas turkeys. Stewart's mom has been very helpful in making suggestions of where to look and helping to make enquiries. I've found a few options at either local butchers or online delivery places, but they come at a price. It looks like a 15 pound turkey will be about £70-80. That's about $128, which seems absolutely crazy to me. It looks like that will be the best option, though. Just hope it fits in the oven once I get it home!

Weekend in the country

2011-11-06T22:58:00.001Z

We spent the weekend at Stewart's parent's house in Suffolk. It was so nice to have a weekend in the fresh air, out of London. Living in the city can feel like hard work sometimes, as I was reminded when we were caught up in horrible traffic on the bus when we got back this evening and a mob of people on the tube. All of Stewart's siblings were home for the weekend, his mom cooked and made multiple cakes as usual, we went to the village Bonfire night for fireworks, and took a long walk in a nearby forest with about 15 Vizsla dogs. A lovely autumn weekend.

The village does an annual bonfire and fireworks show. The fireworks were really good! They went on for about thirty minutes. Stewart's dad helped set them off. I took a ton of pictures but only one or two turned out decent.

On Sunday we went to the "Viz Wiz". Stewart's parents have three Hungarian Vizslas. They LOVE their dogs. They get together with other owners in the area once a month and the dogs have a chance to go on a walk and play together. They are very energetic and excitable dogs so they love it. It was crazy to see this big group of dogs that all look basically just like each other, running around and galavanting. It was good fun and the forest was beautiful. Lots of fall colors. A good time was had by all, especially the dogs.

This is Cracker performing her trick of sitting in the chair in the kitchen. Stewart loved in and encouraged her to do it every chance he got.

Mile by Mile

2011-11-05T16:07:00.000Z

I'm working on getting myself back into shape mile by mile. I ran 4 miles this morning at a pace of about 12-13 minutes per mile. Still slow, but better than what I was doing a few weeks ago. I've signed up for the Paris marathon in April. I've got 23 weeks from today to get into marathon shape. I haven't done hardly any running since the Paris half-marathon last March. Since I am so out of shape, I know I have to be serious about keeping to a training schedule. I have actually been managing to get up and run in the mornings at least a few times a week. I still give myself too much of a choice in the mornings, and so, sometimes end up going back to bed. I feel much more committed to training than I did for the Prague marathon last year in which I ended up only running 6 miles just to say that I participated. I feel pretty confident that I'll finish this one.

Okay, I have to go get ready for Bonfire night celebrations.

Greece

2011-11-04T22:57:00.000Z

I made moussaka for dinner tonight. It was pretty good, but nowhere near as tasty as the best moussaka I've ever eaten, which happened to be in Santorini. This made me remember that I never did do a blog post about my trip to Greece in June. Leslie and I spent a few days in Athens, then island hopped to Santorini and Paros. Although we were in Athens at the time of the protests over the summer, we didn't see much sign of it. In fact there wasn't really a feeling of unsettlement. Most people seemed to be pretty happy and going about their business. It seems like things have reached a pretty dire point now, though. I guess I did my part as a tourist to prop up the economy. I won't try to remember back to go into all the details of the trip, but here's the story through pictures.

First thing to note, Greece is old.

We were warned to get to the Acropolis early. We went first thing in the morning, and it was already crawling with tourists.

It was amazing to see the Parthenon in person.

On our second day we traveled about an hour outside of Athens to Cape Sounion. There are ruins of the Temple of Poseidon and a beach that we spent the day at.

One of the many beautiful sunsets we experienced in Greece.

Santorini is picture postcard perfect.

Santorini is supposed to have the most beautiful sunset in the world. It was pretty. It was made somewhat less romantic by the absolute hoardes of tourists crowding each other to get the best view.

Taking the boat to one of the beaches in Santorini.

Going to the beach in Paros.

What I've Been Reading

2011-11-03T23:40:00.000Z

Pretty much everyone knows that I've always loved to read. As a child, I always had my nose in a book. Little House on the Prairie, The Babysitter's Club, Anne of Green Gables, Nancy Drew. You name it, I read it. As an adult, I go through different stages of how much I read. The combination of my Kindle and my longer commute has resulted in a major reading spell. I read about five books during my holiday in Mallorca in August, and since then I've probably averaged a book a week. I just did a count on my kindle and it looks like the count is about 14 books in the last two and a half months. Most of my holiday reading ended up having WWII as a theme. The first had pre-war Italy (Last Train from Liguria) and Mussolini as the backdrop, the next was Franco in Spain (Winter in Madrid), and to round out my dictators, I followed up with two set in Hitler's Germany (Alone in Berlin and The Song Before it is Sung). I have kind of continued with the war time theme, but have discovered a new specific genre that I can't get enough of. I guess it's a type of historical fiction. The setting is generally a stately manor somewhere in England during either WWI or WWII. The story usually centers on a present day family member retracing their ancestor's history to figure out some family mystery, or some slight variation of the theme. There is invariably a handsome, sensitive guy that they manage to discover through their search, as well. They may border on cheesy romances, but I absolutely love them. My favorites were by Kate Morton. I'm trying to get myself to do some more serious reading, but now all the spots on my recommended books are filled with these types of selections, and I just can't pass them up.

Burn Out

2011-11-02T23:10:00.001Z

Last year my November blog was a daily meditation on gratitude. It was a good exercise. It made me identify and appreciate the positives in my life, both big and small. I'm sure it was good for my overall mind set and well-being. Today I feel compelled to write about negative thoughts and feelings. I'm torn as to whether there is some value in acknowledging and reflecting on those feelings to move forward, or if I should again look past the negative to find the positive. Maybe I'll just try to do a bit of both.

"Burn out" is well known to go hand in hand with working as a social worker. Feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, hopeless, and helpless are all classic hallmarks of burn out, and it's not hard to see how working in the field might contribute to those feelings. Still, I never really thought I would experience it. Social work was supposed to be my passion. But if I'm really honest with myself, I'm burned out. I feel like I'm constantly exposed to negativity and feel burdened by other people's problems. I rarely experience the uplifting feeling that I am actually making a difference or affecting meaningful change. I do work within a supportive unit. I feel like everyone is really committed to the clients and the work, which is nice. After a really difficult summer, I've felt that things were stabilising and getting better at work recently. But today I feel just as stuck as some of my clients. I usually still enjoy meeting with the kids and families I work with, but there is a larger sense of a lack of fulfillment. I think it goes back to they type of role I do here, and that it is not really true to the kind of social worker that I want to be. But there have been times lately that I've questioned whether or not it is right (and healthy) for me to continue as a social worker in general. However, just thinking or writing that statement feels like a betrayal of myself and my career in some ways.

On the other hand, there are many positive aspects that this job has allowed me to experience including financial stability and the chance to travel. My positive thing to be thankful for today, is that I booked our flights to Thailand in February! I've been wanting to go for ages and I'm so excited that it is actually happening. A beach holiday in February with lots of interesting cultural aspects and amazing food. What could be better? Not much.

Daily

2011-11-01T22:53:00.002Z

Last year I challenged myself to blog every day in November. I decided to make my daily posts about being thankful. I managed to pull it off and enjoyed making time to write. I'm going to set myself the same challenge this year, although I'm not going to restrict myself to a theme. Given that it is the Thanksgiving season, I'm sure there will be some posts of that nature. I also want to do some writing and thinking about my "passion" as I continue to think about what I want to do in regards to my job and what brings meaning to my life. I've got very little time to write tonight, so I just wanted to publicize my sister's new blog, Brokeback Brooke. I'm so proud of her!

Home

2011-10-30T17:21:00.001Z

Trips home are few and far between for me. I was eagerly anticipating this latest trip even more than when I went back last December. A combination of homesickness and utter frustration with work left me longing for an escape. We had planned the trip to coincide with my birthday and OU/Texas weekend. Fall is my favorite time of year, but it's just not quite the same here without the football. OU/Texas has become a big family gathering. The last time I was able to go down for it was 2006, so it was definitely time. I think Stewart was looking forward to the trip almost as much as me. I'm convinced he has a secret love of Texas, stemming from a fascination with Dallas. I try to ignore the fact that he identifies JR as his favorite character. We flew directly into Dallas. Spent a few days staying with my aunt and uncle in McKinney. Drove up to Oklahoma for a few days, then came back to McKinney for OU/Texas. It truly was a great trip. I was reminded again of how warm, funny, caring, crazy, generous, hilarious, and overall awesome my family is. I was really happy for Stewart to be able to meet everyone, and for them to meet him. He did really well considering it was pretty much day after day of meeting new family members. He even got a new nickname-Stewie! It was a lovely week and I was sad to see it end so soon. Here are a few of the highlights:

The Weather: Although it was "fall", it was actually just a little bit cooler than our summer holiday in Mallorca. It was in the mid-80's most of the time we were there, which made it nice for wearing skirts and dresses. This was actually a big relief in temperatures for them as Oklahoma and Texas suffered a major heatwave and drought this summer, between something like 50-70 days over 100 degrees. Everyone we talked to had a story to tell us about the impact of the heat and how they had managed through it. I don't think I would have been able to stand it.

Driving: This started as a lowlight to the trip. We had massive difficulties with our rental car situation. It was mysteriously cancelled and it looked for awhile like we were going to be stranded at DFW. Stewart ended up having to pay again to rent a car, although it was supposed to be included in the package with the flights. He had reserved a convertible, but because of the difficulties we ended up with a Ford Fusion. Not exactly what he had been dreaming of, but it turned out to be a pretty nice car actually. Besides those issues it was nice to have the freedom of driving where/when we wanted to go. It was nice to be back on the open roads and highways of the US, not a roundabout in sight. My drivers license was stolen and I think it has now expired anyways, but I did a bit of driving around Guthrie. It felt a bit weird at first after two years of not driving. Stewart enjoyed the drive from Texas to Oklahoma a little too much and a little too fast, which made me none too happy. It was nice to see the scenery through his eyes though. It is a pretty area, even more so when it's not so brown and dead.

Stewart was also fascinated with the size of our cars/trucks.

Texas State Fair: We didn't really plan on going to the Cotton Bowl for the game, so I took Stewart down to experience the fair earlier in the week. We somehow missed out on the corndogs, much to my family's chagrin, but we had other fair type foods. Stewart didn't partake of any of the fried items, but I had some fried pumpkin pie. I'm still slightly regretting that I didn't try the fried butter. We checked out car shows, massive livestock, the petting zoo, and an awesome dog show. The animals were definitely my favorite part. Especially the horses.

The food: It was hard work to choose where to eat from the abundance of eating establishments. I tried to make sure we covered a good sampling of all the available fast food restaurants and food genres. I made sure we had Sonic, as that's somewhat of a unique experience. We got the friendliest customer service ever at Arby's (bordering on scary). We had Tex/Mex in Dallas. The best burger of the trip was at a place called Square Burger in downtown McKinney. We ate at a good steak place in Guthrie. We experienced a typical country cafe in Guthrie with my grandpa. Everyone there knew his name. I had biscuits and gravy for breakfast and tried to get Stewart to try them. He continued to stubbornly refuse. He doesn't know what he's missing out on. We had an awesome dinner with Matt and Shylia at Mickey Mantle's. I'd never actually experienced the food there. So good! We also had tons of good food at my aunt's house, as always. Matt (and Shylia) topped the week off with some delicious tacos on Saturday night after the game. We came back to London several pounds heavier.

Square Burger

Mickey Mantle's

Chef Matt

Shooting: I'm generally not a fan of guns, but shooting a gun while he was in Texas was at the top of Stewart's list. My uncle took us out and gave us some lessons with handguns earlier in the week, then the whole group got together for shooting after the game on Saturday. It was kind of scary, but admittedly fun.

Southfork Ranch: This was a special request from Stewart. I had no idea the place where they filmed the outside shots of Dallas was so close to my aunt's house. It was only about a 30 minute drive. We took pics outside but declined the tour.

Nellie: Stewart was super excited to meet my dad's Great Dane.

Friday night out: We did the traditional Friday night out for OU/Texas. This time with Brooke, as she's now hit 21. We went to the West End. It wasn't quite as crowded and rowdy as I remember it being, but it gave Stewart a good sense of what the weekend is all about.

The Game: We all got up early Saturday morning, donned our OU gear (even Stewart), had mimosas and breakfast pizza, and got ready to cheer on the Sooners! We had snacks and drinks throughout the game, and added a little extra competition to the game through a football pool for prizes at the end of each quarter. We beat Texas, which always makes for a happy day.

My birthday: It was my 32nd birthday on Thursday October 6th. It was nice to be home for it for the first time in years. We had a birthday celebration at my dad's on Thursday and Saturday night after the game.

Seeing friends and family: Obviously the biggest highlight was just seeing everyone and visiting with them. It was really nice to have Steven and Allison come by Saturday after the game and get to see Jack. Allison even got Stewart some welcome to Oklahoma presents!

Thanks to everyone who was part of the week for making it such a great time and contributing to some great memories!

Sorting Things Out

2011-10-23T22:38:00.000+01:00

I've managed to accomplish a load of things this weekend. I've been keeping a running To Do list, and this weekend I smashed through it. Some of them were small things, but it helps me feel on top of things and clear-headed. All in all I:

-Ran 3 miles
-Did three loads of laundry
-Did the dishes (several times)
-Swept
-Mopped
-Ordered contacts
-Ordered a book to plan our Thailand trip
-Sent out invites to host Thanksgiving
-Called the bank and changed my address and sorted out my online banking
-Reordered my Halloween costume (which my workplace helpfully refused to accept when I had it delivered there last week)
-Did an online course for 10 Continuing Education Units
-made lasagna for the first time
-bought lightbulbs to replace one that has burned out
-exchanged my birthday boots for a bigger size
-booked accommodation for the Paris marathon in April

It wasn't all chores and tasks this weekend. On Friday night I went to a Meetup Group event at the National Gallery. We participated in a brief tour that highlights four or five paintings in the collection. I've been once before. It's really interesting to hear the history and background of the painting, and to have details pointed out that you would never notice or know what they meant. Afterwards I met Stewart for dinner in our neighborhood. I had sushi for the first time in ages. Saturday was laid back and the highlight of the day was my new favorite weekend activity: staying in to watch X Factor. I don't know why I've gotten so into it this year, but I love it. We just watched the result show and I was sorry to see one of my favorites, Sami, sent home. I think she was the right choice between her and crazy Kitty, but Frankie definitely should have been the one to go tonight. (Sorry Americans, this is irrelevant to you). This afternoon we went in to Central London to look for suits and switch out my boots. We happened to go into a posh cafe, and had a nice afternoon tea complete with finger sandwiches and scones. Now I'm enjoying another guilty pleasure, The Only Way is Essex.

Stewart thinks that relating my weekend chores is going to make for a boring blog, and I guess it is, but I feel a real sense of satisfaction in ticking through that list. It's a good thing I got so much done before today, as I got news this morning that my little sister is in the hospital with a back injury in Oklahoma. My thoughts are definitely with her and the rest of my family. I feel fairly distracted, but I know she's in good hands as my other sister is a physical therapist and seriously knows her stuff. Okay, well another sinkful of dishes awaits (they are never-ending!), so I better go see to that and try to get ready to tackle the work week.

Holidays and riots and moving, oh my!

2011-08-21T12:33:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy few weeks, folks. I won't have internet access in the new flat for a few weeks yet, so I'm trying to catch up on some blogging while we are at Stewart's parent's house.

I started August off with a trip to Mallorca. That's an island that is part of Spain. I was SO ready for this holiday. Work had been really stressful and difficult and I couldn't wait to get away. Stewart had planned a holiday that was virtually free of sightseeing and consisted mostly of endless days laying on the beach. Normally I like a bit of culture and history in my trips, but I was actually quite content just to have a laid back, beachy holiday. We spent pretty much every day at the beach although we made a trip in to Palma and Soller, which were both really charming and lovely towns. It was hot and I got a nice tan, although Stewart was always carefully monitoring sunscreen application and dousing me in large doses of aftersun lotion:) I finished about five books while we were there. I haven't been able to upload pictures. Once I do, I'll try to do a blog about it. In fact, I've realized that I never blogged about Prague in May or Greece in June, so I'll probably try to put together a Summer Holiday blog soon.

The last few days in Mallorca we started seeing the news about the riots in London. It was bizarre to see pictures of London streets burning. It seemed like it had to be some other country. On Monday morning, we woke to hear about the riots spreading to Brixton. That was awesome, since that's where we are moving to. It soon became clear that virtually no part of London was exempt, though. We got back into London late Monday evening. We made some calls and tried to figure out if anything was going on in Hackney. Nobody seemed to have heard anything too bad, so I started the journey back home. I made it to the tube stop in Finsbury Park, then went to take the bus the rest of the way. There were signs on the bus stop saying that all buses into Hackney were cancelled due to the disturbances, assaults on bus drivers, etc. Great. I ended up having to take a £20 cab ride home. I didn't see any actually rioting or looting, but I did see large groups of guys standing around on the high streets looking menacing. There was a very creepy feeling in the air. Once I got home my flatmate told me that it had been pretty crazy in our neighborhood. A street nearby had been closed off and there were several burning cars on it. A nearby housing estate had been one of the main scenes in the evening when apparently 300 youths took it over and had like a three hour stand off with police. I started watching all the news online and saw that it had all kicked off that evening in Hackney with looting and skirmishes with police in broad daylight. It seemed to spread from neighborhood to neighborhood the rest of the evening. By the time I was watching that night there were major fires going on in Croydon, Clapham, and more. When we had been on the train home from the airport we'd gotten some announcements about issues in those areas. When the train doors opened at Croydon, I had definitely smelled smoke in the air. It was pretty crazy stuff. I expected Hackney to be in shambles when I went to work the next morning, but everything was actually pretty much cleaned up. Of course, the office was abuzz with all the events of the previous day. Apparently they had been evacuated from the building at 4:30pm, directly into the beginnings of the riot. On Tuesday at about 1pm, there was a sudden commotion in the building and a feeling of rising panic. We were sent home in a very sudden, unorganized manner. I don't think anything actually ended up happening in Hackney that day. There was a very eerie and unsettled feeling on the street, in contrast to the beautiful, sunny skies. I checked out the news and nothing too bad seemed to be going on, so I took the opportunity to travel to south London and pick up the keys for the new flat. Unfortunately, by the time I got there the estate agent, as well as all other shops and businesses in the area had been closed down. Only McDonald's was open. Trust them to remain open even in the face of dangerous looters. All across London things seemed to be shutting up shop. There was an overall feeling of tension and anxiety. Luckily, I was able to stay over at Leslie's rather than going all the way back to Hackney. This was the night that the government and police really got serious and upped the police force on the street by about 10,000. That seemed to dissuade people and they were able to keep things under control that night. Afterwards things seemed to go back to normal pretty quickly, although there has still been an increased police presence. I had a feeling that once they were able to stop it at least one night they would stop the momentum and the group mob mentality and get things under control. Now there's the aftermath of trying to round up the culprits and give them their punishment. The prisons are pretty much filled up now. I heard one of the youth offending team workers talking about the shock kids are getting at getting custodial sentences for their involvement. I'm usually more sympathetic about those kind of things, but I think they deserve it in this case. I think most of them probably got caught up in the excitement of everyone else doing it and a chance at some free stuff, but there are consequences for that and they may just have to learn it the hard way.

Once I felt secure enough to carry large amounts of personal belongings in public without fear of having them taken off me, I started moving my stuff down to Brixton. I did a taxi trip last Friday with the majority of my stuff, then finished up on Sunday. It is SO nice to have my own place and feel completely comfortable in my surroundings. I can decorate however I want, arrange things the way I want, clean as little or as much as I want. The flat is right next to the train, which somehow I missed during the viewing. The trains are quite loud and quite frequent but I'm getting used to it. The neighborhood has a reputation as being not so nice (see riots above, as well as its reputation from riots there in the 80's). I really like it, though. It is very bustling and lively. There is a market right next to us. It kind of makes it feel like you are in the Caribbean or Africa when you step out the door. As part of the market, there are also all kinds of trendy different restaurants and cafes. I love it! I think it is quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of London. Last weekend I had a crepe on Friday night, Thai on Saturday, and Pakistani street food on Sunday. I'm going to have to eat my way around it for the next 12 months. I definitely have a longer commute, but so far it isn't bothering me too much. I only have to get up about 30 minutes earlier. I'm getting a lot of reading done on the tube, which is a perk. I finished two books this week. Stewart hasn't moved in yet since his lease on his flat isn't up until early September. The whole moving in together thing feels a little anti-climactic at this point, but he'll get there eventually. I feel a little lonely occasionally, which is weird because I'm not really any more on my own than I was mostly staying in my room at my old flat. Thankfully, I have a tv now, so that helps and I can make up on almost two years of lost time watching television! Turns out it's still mostly Friends reruns. It's glorious, though. I'm getting close to getting everything unpacked, decorated, and settled. I'm looking forward to having a housewarming party and showing the place off. Everyone will just have to be prepared to speak loudly over the train noise.

Take a deep breath and blog...

2011-07-20T19:58:00.000+01:00

I feel like I've been in a state of suspended animation lately. I've done a lot of waiting, anticipating, or dreading, but limited living. I anxiously anticipated my holiday to Greece in mid-June. While I enjoyed it (blog to follow), I spent far too much time dreading the end and having to come back to work and flatmate drama. I've spent a significant chunk of time anxiously awaiting my move to a new flat. I've been waiting to hear back about my job application at work, then dreading the interview, then worrying about the outcome of it (didn't get it). Now I'm counting down the days til my next holiday in Mallorca. Hoping for cases to be closed or transferred. Dreaming that all will be better once I'm in the new flat and life will resume as normal. I'm on hold.

I don't want to make a habit of wishing my life away. Moving here was about experiencing and savoring the opportunity. As I am reminded by frequent comments from my family such as "Do you ever work?", I have a pretty good set up in a lot of ways. I do have a lot of holiday time and close proximity to the ultimate travel destination. It must look to some like I have a jet-setting lifestyle. Maybe living in it now makes me too close to truly appreciate how lucky I am. My daily experience is not so much the glamour of Europe as the typical grind of work and responsibility that we all encounter from Oklahoma to London. And sometimes its about the grinding of my teeth during sleepless, anxious nights.

Which brings me to the triumphant return of my old nemesis: Worry. Apparently I was such a worrywart when I was little that my mom was sure I would give myself an ulcer by age 10. I'm not sure what I worried about? School? Family? Everything? I think over the years my worry dulled or I managed to beat it into submission. Maybe it morphed into a more sophisticated form: Perfectionism. Either way, I feel like I did build up a different kind of persona. One of calm, laid back, anxiety free coping. I think I was particularly known for this during my days at JCFS. Although we had a stressful job, I didn't get too rattled and other clinicians expressed feeling a sense of calm around me. I could do with a dose of that now.

I've essentially been leading my unit at work since my CSW switched to a new team. In a lot of ways I've enjoyed having more autonomy, creativity, and decision making ability. But it also comes will a lot more responsibility, particularly as we are one person down on the team. I have been much busier, worked later, sacrificied more personal time. And being in the frontlines of child protection ups the ante on the stress. There is a lot riding on our work. This has been slowly building on me. That coupled with the disappointment and embarrassment of not getting the job I'm essentially doing now and the stress of a particularly frustrating and demanding case put me in an absolute tizzy last night.

I just could not sleep for worrying. This is an old habit that is happening more and more lately. I nod off for about an hour but then start having dreams or something about the situations I am worried about. Once I am awake, my mind just will not let go of it and the worry multiplies and spreads to other subjects and areas of my life. I grind my teeth and flip and flop in a state of half-consciousness. It ranges from annoying to distressing. Last night it reached distressing.

I think in the end, not getting the job will mean that I avoid a lot of stress and may be happier in the long run. It's hard to fully embrace that now, though. I need to find a way, whatever role I am in, to relax and stress less. I just take it hard when I am honestly doing my best to help someone and they seem to feel that I am purposefully trying to ruin their lives. I feel like that is a lot of what I deal with here because of the nature of the system and the entitlements and support people expect. I feel like a banker half the time instead of a social worker. That's not what I got in this for. There are those bright, shining moments, though, when I do connect with a family and feel my work is valuable. They are not so few and far between, really, when I take the time to acknowledge them. Oh, I just realized I need to take the time to excavate my own unique outcomes in my problem-saturated work story. That's a little bit of narrative therapy for you.

If I'm to find the unique outcome or lesson in the whole job interview process, I would say it would have to be recognizing that I have a very supportive boyfriend. He helped me prepare and practice, attempted to calm my nerves, comforted me after I crashed and burned in the interview, comforted me again when I found out I didn't get it, was appropriately indignant at the injustice of it all, and didn't kick me out of bed during my worry fest last night. He always tries to calm me down and ease my fears. I know I must be absolutely driving him nuts because I have been by turns moody, mopey, whiney, and whingey over the past few months. I appreciate his patience and hope to get back to my old self soon.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-06-14T22:27:00.000+01:00

1. I had a study day off from work to finish writing my paper for the systemic course. It's due tomorrow. I left it to the last minute, but as of 9pm it was all printed and ready to go, so not so bad overall. I hope it's good enough. It feels good to have it done. It's sort of been hanging over my head since January. Now just one more stressful thing to get through at work on Thursday, and then it's pretty much time for my holiday.

2. I haven't had much time to make a mental itinerary for Greece. Acropolis will be a must-do in Athens, most of the island time will be spent beaching. We've gotten some helpful suggestions from friends so I'm sure it will all come together.

3. Speaking of holidays, I'm trying to plan a trip back for OU/Texas. My original plan was for Stewart and I to fly to New York for a few days, spend my birthday there, then go down to Dallas. Turns out flights from New York to Dallas are ridiculously expensive, though. Chicago is bad, too. We might just end up flying directly to Dallas. I wish oil prices would sort themselves out so I could fly home for cheaper!

4. I'm feeling pretty positive about work at the moment. I've got lots of ideas flowing about possible interventions with families. We have a few cases that seem really stuck, but rather than feeling hopeless about it, I'm feeling motivated.

5. Last weekend was one year since we went to Paris. I surprised Stewart with a kind of anniversary outing on Saturday. He knew we were doing something, but I wouldn't tell him what it was or why. I texted him to meet me at the train station he had met me at on this weekend last year, and not to be late this time! Once he got there I had more clues to lead him in the right direction. Like "Take the Picadilly Line to the stop where flowers grow" (Covent Garden), "Turn right on the street of monarchs" (King Street). I think he thought it all was a little weird, but had fun. I've always had a fantasy of someone doing some kind of romantic gesture like that for me. I figured I could wait around for it, or I could just plan it myself which would probably be just as fun. We ended up at this really nice French restaurant in Covent Garden, Clos Maggiore. The food was really good, the service was friendly, and the atmosphere and decor were very romantic. While we were at dinner he mentioned his fear that we were going to a show of some sort when he realized we were going to Covent Garden. Little did he know, there were more clues to come post-dinner! We went to see Chicago. He wasn't thrilled initially, but he admitted it was better than he thought it would be. The music and dancing were great, especially the group numbers. I've still got the songs in my head several days later. It was a nice night. And I got to wear a new dress and my new shoes! They were painfully cute.

6. I'm getting really antsy to move in September. I feel I might actually be persuaded to move south. It seems you can get a lot nicer places for less money, and it would be nice to live close to other friends, like Leslie. The journey to work will not be fun, but I might be willing to make the trade off. I called about a few properties this morning since I was off work and was told, kind of rudely, that it was too early for me to be looking. Sorry! I'm just excited!

7. I've gotten word that my grandpa is doing much better and is out of the hospital.

8. I ran a mile yesterday and two today. It's not much, but hopefully I'm getting back on track a bit. That is until I go to Greece for a week, of course.

9. Happy early Father's Day to my dad and grandfathers.

10. After all the heavy reading and writing for my paper, I feel like a nice, easy fiction read. It's really too late to start reading a book tonight, but I think I am going to see what I can find on the kindle.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-06-07T23:05:00.000+01:00

1. I'm reading this book, When God was a Rabbit, that I totally love. It's sort of whimsically tragic. It's set in England and I'm noticing how all the locations and certain particularly English words are second nature to me. I know exactly what they are talking about.

2. I got my three books on systemic therapy and narrative therapy in the post today. I ordered them to help me write my final paper due for my systemic course next week. I think I've found narrative therapy to be the approach that's grabbed me the most and that I use most frequently in sessions. I have a long ways to go on writing my paper and little time left. I'm hoping to get a few study days off next week to finish it, but we are a thin on the ground at work so cover may be an issue.

3. Since we've been down one member of our unit, I've had more visits to do. In lots of ways it makes me happier and more fulfilled, but it does result in more evening appointments. So far it's manageable, but it does leave me feeling either too tired or too hungry once I get home to feel motivated to exercise. I've revived my old dream of getting up in the mornings to exercise, but it hasn't happened. I have never been able to do it, except when I was signed up for early morning boot camp in Chicago. If anyone has any tricks or tips to becoming an early morning exerciser, I would really appreciate suggestions.

4. I found a motivational source through Facebook this weekend. I thought this guys story about running and losing 130 pounds was really inspirational. Still not inspirational enough to get me out of bed in the morning, though.

5. Needless to say my 4 Weeks to a Bikini Body project lost steam pretty quickly. I don't care, at least I'm going to Greece! I've got about a week and a half to go. We will be in Athens for three days, Santorini for two, and Paros for two. The islands look absolutely gorgeous. I'm so excited and it will be a nice break after a busy couple of weeks at work and finishing my paper for class. Maybe I'll get motivated to do the Bikini Bod program for Mallorca in August. Woo hoo for two week long beach holidays in the summer! I don't know how I ever managed with my limited vacation days in the US. Actually, I was really lucky and had a generous amount of days off (plus Jewish holidays) but I never came close to taking all my leave. It's a weird American mindset that I'm happy to have left behind.

6. This weekend is the Trooping of the Colour. It's the celebration of the Queen's birthday, which is actually in April. It involves a whole parade/procession thing from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade. I'd like to go down and see it. It should be a lot easier to get a spot on the Mall than the Royal Wedding.

7. I should really stay home and work on my paper on Saturday morning, particularly since I won't be able to work on it in the afternoon/evening. Stewart and I have plans that evening. I won't tell him what we are doing. It's a surprise. Hopefully, I'm not building it up a bit too much with the whole surprise element. I think it will be fun. I'll give the recap next week.

8. I just paused between numbers 7 and 8 to go get a drink of water. It suddenly occurred to me how much I miss ice. Water is just not so refreshing straight out of the tap, only mildly cold. I think it was when we were in Belgium that there happened to be ice in the water at one of the restaurants. It took me a second to realize why I was enjoying the water so much, and then it dawned on me. The ice!

9. I was thinking earlier that I can't believe it has been two years since I spent my summer in Oklahoma, between leaving Chicago and moving to London. It doesn't seem possible that it was two years ago. It makes me realize how quick the next two will go. It was such a weird time warp to be back in Oklahoma, living at my mom's, not working, just lazing about and enjoying the days. I can conjure up at any time exactly what it feels like to be in Oklahoma in the summertime. The heat, the stickiness, the smell of cut grass, the growing orchestra of various insect noises as evening sets in. Sometimes I have this weird feeling that part of me always remains there, living some faint parallel life.

10. It appears that I was not lucky enought to score any tickets to the Olympics. I'm not really surprised given that I signed up for the most popular events at the cheapest ticket prices. They will have another sale period so there will still be an option to get tickets to the reject events. I want to go to something just to participate in the experience.

Bonus: My grandpa has had some health difficulties and been in and out of the hospital the last few weeks. I'm thinking about you, Grandpa! Get well soon!

Home

2011-05-26T23:31:00.000+01:00

I'm a little wired from my trapeze class, so I thought I'd channel that energy into a blog before bed. Some of you may remember that at the beginning of the year I picked a word to think about and create a scrapbook project on each month. My word was "Home". Well, I haven't been doing so hot. I have been thinking and reflecting on what home is for me and what I want it to be in the future, but I haven't kept up with the projects. In fact, I got so far behind at one point that I wasn't even reading the emails sent out at the beginning of each month about what kind of project to do. Turns out that in March I was supposed to schedule some type of activity or event in relation to my word. I discovered this in early May. Oops. I resolved that I would make up for last time and plan something in May. I decided to have a dinner party. It would give me a chance to try out a Jamie Oliver recipe and spend time with some of the people who have made London feel like home. Cooking, time with friends, inviting people to my house all seemed to fit with the "home" theme. Not everyone that I invited (at the last minute, as always) was able to come, so I almost thought about postponing. But I had the scrapbook to think of! And I realized that I could actually attempt to cook a meal more than once a year, so I could have another larger party later. My friends Mark and Elaine came over, and brought a delicious pineapple upside down cake for dessert. It was Mark's specialty. I made Swedish-style fishcakes, roasted baby new potatoes and fresh zingy salsa out of the Jamie Oliver 30 minute meal cookbook. It took roughly two hours to make. I was greatly assisted by Stewart in the shopping, preparing, and hosting of the meal. He kept me pretty calm when my cooking anxieties started to flare up. It all turned out pretty well. The salsa was definitely the best part of the meal. And it was nearly all prepared with help from my brand spanking new food processor, bought especially for the occasion. It was a lovely night of good food, good conversation, good friends, and good music (courtesy of my flatmate's record collection). It felt like home.

She flies through the air with the greatest of ease...

2011-05-22T19:34:00.000+01:00

Okay, maybe not quite, but I'm getting there. I had my first flying trapeze lesson on Thursday. I bought three classes from Groupon a few months ago on a whim. It just sounded like something different and exciting. As the lessons approached, I began to think of them as a metaphor for taking a leap of faith and an opportunity to build my confidence and trust myself. I didn't really know what to expect when I finally arrived at a warehouse like space in a remote part of London just off the Thames. I hadn't thought much about what the activity would actually entail. I'd been thinking more about the novelty of it. I started to get nervous when I saw the platform and heard other classmembers talking about their previous experience. They all said it was wonderful and thrilling, but also recounted the fears they had encountered, particularly taking that first plunge off the platform. The class was pretty rapid fire. The instructor gave a quick description of how things worked and then we got right into it. Somehow I'd thought we'd start at ground level. Perhaps familiarizing ourselves with the bar, learning some kind of technique. Circus 101 type of stuff. Instead, I was climbing up the 4 meter platform (probably best that I don't have a concept of how high that actually is) and strapping myself into the spotter position. I guess it gives you less chance to contemplate what you are about to do and have second thoughts. The other two girls in the group had done lessons before and were old pros. The first girl made it look totally easy. I was asked if I wanted to go second. I didn't really want to go second, but I agreed in order to avoid looking scared or concerned. I was going to have to go eventually, so I might as well seize the moment. I had thought I might have some trouble getting myself to actually leave the platform. I am the girl who spent hours, no days, trying to learn to dive. My body does not want me to fall head-first into anything, and it found ways to keep me rooted to the side of the pool. I was also horrible at those trust-building fall off the table backwards activities they'd always get us to do at Student Council events. I knew in my heart even then that was a massive Health and Safety issue. Surprisingly, I didn't have the same problem with trapeze. Blind ignorance and my inner resolve not to look like a sissy in front of my peers helped me jump off the platform right on the instructor's count. I can't really explain what it felt like. I can tell you that I let out an involuntary scream if that gives you an idea. I suppose it felt like falling, at least at first. And then you experience a giddy relief that you haven't actually fallen, but are swinging through the air, which gave me a case of the giggles. I mostly hung there while the instructor tried to guide me in employing the proper leg pumping technique to keep the swing going. My hands felt like they were going to slip the whole time, and when my arms really began to get tired you drop to the mat on the count of three, which takes another trusting release. I was quite shaky as I climbed back up the ladder. I felt like the rattling was resounding throughout the gym, and giving away my nerves. I felt anxious and proud at the same time. I'd actually done it! My next turn came up pretty quickly, since there were only three in the class. I felt pretty confident and again left the platform without hesitation. However, I must have been a little too gung-ho and did something wrong. I was on the bar for one second and then fell. It wasn't a straight fall down, though. It was more like it whipped me forward to the end of the mats. It didn't hurt, and of course I was hooked in and attached to the instructor who stopped my speed. I didn't feel too freaked out. I think that was the outcome I'd actually been expecting more than the successful first run. I think it was actually kind of a bad fall, though, according to what the instructor said later. At the time, I just picked myself up and got back on the platform. The real difficulty came when it was time for my next turn. That fall was in my mind, and my old "stay firmly planted on the ground" demons came back to haunt me. The instructor counted to three probably about ten times. It was only when it was pointed out that my spotters were struggling because they could only hold the bar in place for so long without their arms giving out, that I was able to go. I guess my compassion won over my fear. In truth, I wanted to quit. Just skip this turn, but my pride wouldn't let me, so I jumped. The next few turns went this way. Starts and stops and repeated countdowns from the instructor, but I managed to go in the end each time. The instructor was supportive and encouraging, and so was another girl in the class. I began to get the rhythm of the swing pattern down, although most of the time I was still kind of just hanging, "getting used to my new environment", as the instructor said. I liked that idea, and feel sure there is a therapeutic metaphor in there that I can use for work and myself. I had a triumph on my last turn. I was able to once again go right on cue, and got a cheer from the other classmembers for it. I'd conquered my fear. Or at least vanquished it for the moment.

I left with blisters developing on my hands, some anxious tension in my stomach, a slightly dazed feeling, and a sense of accomplishment. I don't think I'm about to run away to join the circus, but I'm looking forward to what next week's class will bring. I also wanted to thank everyone who made nice comments about my writing after my last blog. Maybe writing classes will be my next activity. Slightly less dangerous, but no less challenging.

The Wilder Life

2011-05-19T02:13:00.000+01:00

I was having a restless, anxious, can't sleep night. After flipping and flopping for a good hour, I got up, grabbed my kindle, and treated myself to The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie. And now I'm very happy. So happy, that I feel compelled to tell you about it at 1:30 in the morning. I'd heard about this book a few weeks ago. The author (Wendy McClure) was basically as obsessed, if not more, as I was as a child with Little House on the Prairie and Laura Ingalls Wilder. She writes a book where she travels around and goes to all the places Laura lived and does the things Laura did. I was going to buy it the other day but balked at the £10 price tag. I decided it would be worth it to put my mind at ease tonight, and I was not wrong. I love it. I'm reminded of all the nostalgia I somehow had as a child for a long-gone era I never actually experienced. The author had the same fascination with Laura as me. I think if I have any internal working model, it's based on Laura Ingalls Wilder. I wanted to be cheeky and brave and headstrong. Spirited, but good hearted. Different to both goody-two-shoes Mary and evil Nellie Olsen. I've thought more than once that my habit of moving to new and exciting places is quite Ingalls-like. The book is really funny, and as an added bonus the author grew up in Oak Park and lives in Chicago. I've already come across references to the Double Door and using lawn furniture to stake out your parking spot in the winter. This delights me. And it's the kind of good, enjoyable writing that makes me think, "I can write. Why don't I write?" All things seem possible when you're in the mindset of determined, adventurous Laura Ingalls Wilder. I like that. I miss that about myself. I need a little Laura in my life.

Happiness

2011-05-12T20:07:00.000+01:00

I found this link on Abbey's blog and wanted to share. It's about creating our own happiness. I really liked the message. It fits in with some of the social constructionist ideas of how we create social worlds that we are studying in the systemic course. I really identified with this quote:

"I believe this is something all of us can do: Try to be happy within the context of the life we are actually living. Happiness is not a situation to be longed for or a convergence of lucky happenstance. Through the power of our own minds, we can help ourselves."

I know that I am prone to looking for happiness outside of myself. A more fulfilling job, the next adventure, moving across the country, moving OUT of the country. I feel myself experiencing the same pull these days. However, like someone at work said the other day when describing a similar tendency in herself, "You can change the house, but the furniture inside kinda stays the same." I'm trying to get myself to stay still, enjoy the small moments, and create happiness no matter the situation.

I had plenty of opportunities for this over the weekend. But I guess it would be hard not to be happy when on holiday in sunny Prague. It was an awesome weekend. I loved the city. It had such pretty, unique and varied architecture. It was warm and sunny, and I spent many an afternoon soaking in the sun whilst sipping wine or beer, lost in my own thoughts. I'll have to put a blog up soon. I came back rested and refreshed and ready to face work. Wednesday was the first day in weeks that I didn't have a lump in my chest while walking to work. Unfortunately, I got some tragic news as soon as I got to work which stunned me and knocked me right out of my good mood. However, it is another lesson to savor the moments of happiness whenever you can.

Just Thursday

2011-05-05T19:13:00.000+01:00

I'm feeling better about life today. I've been feeling pretty dark and down about work lately, so I wanted to seize the moment and celebrate feeling lighter and brighter. A day and a half out of the office on training has probably helped. Being on the verge of Friday never hurts. Although I am a bit out of practice on this whole "working on Fridays" thing:) Heading to Prague on Saturday for four days is a welcome distraction. I think the main reason for my change in attitude was meeting up with a colleague today. When we talked a few weeks ago, she was also struggling with work related stuff. However, she's gotten support, made a plan, and taken action to move in a new direction. Her optimism and good mood must have worn off on me. I'm feeling better about taking the next step at work. I still have some fears and doubts, but I know that as my college spanish professor said long ago, "You don't lack the ability, you lack the confidence". This has continued to be a theme in my life that I have battled, but never completely conquered. (I think the focus on externalization and problem metaphors in my systemic course yesterday is taking over!). I feel a renewed energy to focus on developing confidence in all areas of my life. To that end, I finally scheduled my Flying Trapeze lessons! The first one will be May 19th. I think it is perfect timing to endeavor on a physical activity that will make me face fears and take a risk, while I try to do the same with my job and my mental and emotional state. (Stop laughing, Stewart, this is serious stuff! ;) ) Also, speaking of Spanish, I bought another groupon for a six month online course in Spanish. I know that I am most happy and stimulated when engaing in new hobbies and activities, be it scrapbooking, art lessons, guitar lessons, training for marathons, travel, etc. I want to make sure I'm balancing my life with those things, and not just getting bogged down with work. For tonight, it feels like its working.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-05-03T23:41:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I'm not even sure where to start!

1. We have come to the end of our glorious April Bank Holiday extravaganza. It was good while it lasted. We have been doubly lucky to have some of the best weather I've experienced in England, definitely this early in the year. Easter weekend was seriously warm. We spent the weekend in Suffolk. On Saturday, we went to the beach with Stewart's friends, Dan and Debbie, and their adorable two year old son, Jasper. Easter Sunday was a full day. I wore a cute, flowery new dress, as one must on Easter. I pressured Stewart into going to church in the morning;) Luckily it is about a two minute walk from his parent's house, so we didn't have far to go. Later in the afternoon, Leslie came up to spend Easter with us. Stewart gave us the grand tour of Bury St. Edmunds. We had a nice lunch, lounged in the Abbey Gardens (picture below), and had a pint in a local pub. Afterwards we met up with Stewart's friend, Kevin, and had a drink in the garden. Then we all went back to Stewart's parents' for the highlight of my weekend: the Easter egg hunt. I felt my old competitive spirit coming back. My mom, aunt, and grandparents always tell the story of my over zealousness during Easter egg hunts as a child. Afterwards we had a really nice Easter dinner. It was a great weekend and really nice that Leslie came along.

2. After a wonderful weekend, we had to go back to work. It was a struggle. I know I'm horribly spoiled by lots of things about work, such as the numerous Bank Holidays and annual leave, but I still find it difficult to be really excited, happy, or fulfilled with the actual work. I'm trying to find solutions and make changes that might make it better. Luckily, we only had to go for three days and then it was....

3. The Royal Wedding! I was pretty excited about the wedding, but not excited enough to camp out. That meant that by the time I got down there at 7:30am, the access to the palace and procession route were already blocked off. I ended up watching it on the big screen in Green Park. That was fine by me, as I got to watch it as it was happening with the electricity of the crowd, and knowing I was still close to where it was all happening. I am one for big, romantic events, so I'm not ashamed to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved all the tradition, pageantry, pomp and circumstance. I thought her dress was really lovely. I also feel like beyond the fairytale their relationship has real substance and longevity, so more power to them. It was definitely an event and a day I'll always remember.

4. On Saturday, Leslie and I took a day trip to Oxford. It is really just impossibly pretty and charming in some spots. We took one of the open bus tours so we got lots of historical background on the different colleges. There were lots of stories about Alice in Wonderland, as the real Alice was the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church College. We took a tour of Christ Church and the cathedral. Apparently the dining hall was used to film scenes for the Harry Potter movies. We had lunch at a popular pub called The Kings Arms, also known as "Oxford's 39th college". :) We had a pint at the Eagle and Child pub where C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien and other writers met to read and discuss their work. It was another sunny, beautiful day.

5. I took a day to sleep in, relax, and catch up on Sunday. I ran three miles and did three loads of laundry. I finally tried to catch up on my One Little Word project for the year. I finished the page for January. So that means I am majorly behind. I hadn't even looked at the prompts for the other months because I felt discouraged. Turns out I was supposed to take pictures that represent my word in February, plan some type of activity in March. Oops. I am feeling more inspired now, so I will just have to amend things and get it done now. I did enjoy getting wrapped up in doing the first page. It is so soothing and engrossing. I wish I could do that for a living, or at least bring it in to my job somehow.

6. I woke up Monday morning to the news about Osama bin Laden. I got the news from reading my Facebook posts. I went from confusion to shock to excitement. I found a website streaming MSNBC live and proceeded to watch that most of the day. I definitely felt emotional and a sense of pride. I don't know that I necessarily would have been one of the people out waving the flag, but I can understand the outpouring of emotion. Yeah, we shouldn't celebrate someone's death, but this guy, come on? I know its all about perspective. The people celebrating 9/11 in those videos (if thats accurate) probably felt just as justified as we do now because of the perceived wrongs inflicted on them by America. And I'm not denying we've done a lot of bad stuff. But I have to think there is a difference between one criminal mastermind terrorist and 3000 innocent people. I'm glad people can be so ethical and compassionate, I just don't know that I'm totally there on this one. I can totally accept those criticisms and comments from Americans, but it really bothers me coming from people here. I basically want to tell them to mind their own business because they don't know anything about it. I guess I'm a little sensitive.

7. I booked a trip to Greece for June. A few days in Athens, then on to a couple of the islands. Is it June yet?

8. Stewart and I booked a trip to Mallorca for August. We were supposed to go to Chicago, but the tickets were just way too expensive. I'm excited to go to Mallorca, but really disappointed about Chicago. I'd gotten my heart set on going to a Cubs game, running along the lake, going to a street festival, eating as much pizza, hot dogs, and steak as we could handle. Not to mention seeing old friends and showing Stewart the sights. I think I have some growing homesickness that might have been quelled by a trip, but I guess I'll just have to wait. A year. Sigh. But there I go again being a spoiled brat. Like Stewart said, if you would have told me a few years ago when I was pulling double shifts at Joe's and working 7 days a week that I'd have week long holidays in Greece and Mallorca in one summer, I'd have died of happiness.

9. I have to do my presentation on an article in my systemic course tomorrow. I don't feel nervous yet. I'm not sure if I'm totally ready. I've prepared a couple of pages of notes and have some activities planned, so I should be alright. I just don't know exactly what I'm going to say and if the information has sunk in enough to have a good command of it. I don't want to end up just reading off my notes. Hopefully I'll be able to wing it.

10. I had several opportunities to talk to my mom, sisters, and grandma over the weekend. My sisters did the OKC Memorial Half-Marathon on Sunday. Very proud of them. I knew I'd convert them to the running cult eventually. Although they are actually surpassing me in their times. Oh my gosh, that reminds me, I'm going to Prague on Saturday. I keep forgetting! I guess because I am not actually going to run the marathon. It is the first time I've ever signed up for a race and not completed it. I feel bad about it, but at least I'm going to Prague.

Brussels and Bruges

2011-04-16T20:52:00.000+01:00

My latest weekend excursion was to Belgium. I was so ready for a Friday off and a weekend away after some of the headaches I had at work that week. It was such an easy and relaxed trip. Traveling by the Eurostar is so much better than flying. It's a quick bus ride to St. Pancras, you only need to be there about 30 minutes before your departure time, then two and a half hours later you're in Belgium. Our hotel was in a really central location, just a few minutes walk from the Grand Place, which is the main square.

We've been known to stay farther out for a cheaper rate, or in my case to stay at a cheap hostel to be in a more central location. This time we managed to find a nice place (Marriott) for a decent rate right smack dab in the middle of the city. It was so convenient. The whole weekend was sunny and warm. Although I got carried away and wore a sundress on Saturday and ended up having to make an emergency tights purchase. Brussels is a small city, with not a ton of cultural type stuff to see. We did a lot of leisurely strolling and stopping to have coffee or a drink or a waffle or an ice cream.

There were chocolate shops a plenty.

We went to an admittedly lame chocolate museum, but at least we got some free samples.

We also fit in an art museum and a cathedral.

It was kinda like Paris, in that people speak French, the food is similar, and there is the same kind of laid back, luxuriating lifestyle. However, it's smaller, not as perfectly perfect and pretty, and people are more friendly and open.

Bruges was charming and picturesque. You'd feel like you stepped into the 15th century or something, if not for all the high street shops.

We made our rounds of the cathedrals. Michelangelo's Madonna and Child is in one of the cathedrals. That was really cool.

Chocolate, diamonds, and lace shops were around every corner. There were lots of cute Easter themed chocolates like bunnies, eggs, and ducks. I liked all the cobbled streets, quirky buildings, bridges, and canals. Stewart got lots of practice taking my picture in front of each.

After a long day in Bruges, I was pretty tired and pretty full from a late lunch. So tired and so full, that I didn't even feel like going out that night in Brussels. That has to be a first for me. We ended up just getting room service and staying in and watching a bad American romantic comedy. It was actually nice to just have a relaxed night and not feel like I had to constantly be "seeing everything". Stewart must be rubbing off on me.

Sunday was lovely and sunny. After our morning waffle and trip to Stewart's favorite cafe, we spent most of the day exploring the Sablon neighborhood. It seemed to be the chic, posh part of Brussels. There was a fancy antiques market outside the church.

Stewart found a Mercedes store/museum to look around.

There was a beautiful garden and lots of cute bars and restaurants.

There was also randomly a ton of people walking their dogs about. We had a nice long lunch/early dinner of really good steak, then it was about time to head to the train station.

We had an exciting moment when we were checking out of the hotel. There was this American guy checking in that I vaguely recognized. There seemed to be like staff from a conference of something greeting him. I eavesdropped and figured out they were talking about films. I started thinking he looked like the guy who directed the Thriller video. Sure enough two people in the lobby brought him a picture of Michael Jackson in Thriller to sign. I googled it when I got home and figured out it was John Landis. Turns out he's directed all kinds of stuff, like The Blues Brothers. Who knew?

So it was another wonderful trip. It makes it easier to survive work, when this is my reward. I'm looking forward to Prague in May. My supervisor made a comment that it seems like I travel in Europe more than Europeans, which is good, as that was the whole point in coming here.

Saturday Randomness

2011-04-16T18:16:00.000+01:00

I've been absolutely rubbish at blogging lately. I might try to do a few posts tonight to catch up. I thought I'd do a Ten on Tuesday-esque post for Saturday.

1. I've been pretty much perfectly happy all day today. It's so easy to be happy on the weekend when the sun is shining.

2. I had occasion to be on the District line today, which reminded me that I REALLY need to go to the dentist. I don't know why, but I always feel like the District line smells like the dentist's office. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't been to the dentist in two years. I've got to get on top of that.

3. I like going to posh parts of town, because the charity shops are way better. I was sort of looking for an Easter dress and possibly some shoes. I didn't find anything but it is still fun to look.

4. I did find a book that Stewart has been wanting to read and bought it for him. The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson. It's about traveling through small-town America. I wasn't supposed to start reading it before him, but I kinda did. I was laughing out loud on the tube, which always happens when I read a Bill Bryson book.

5. I also started another really good book. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It's about the woman whose cervical cancer cells became the first cells that lived and multiplied in a labratory. They're called HeLa cells. From the author's website: "She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more." It's really interesting.

6. I checked out this cool antique/retro furniture shop this afternoon. I wish that stuff wasn't so expensive. And that I had somewhere to put it.

7. I will pretty much eat Thai food every chance I get. I had some particularly good Thai for lunch today. A delightfully refreshing Thai Iced Tea and a spicy and flavorful chicken and pumpkin red curry. I so want to go to Thailand. I'm thinking it should be my holiday destination for next January or February.

8. I finally picked up a new web cam. My mom will be happy to see me again on Skype calls.

9. Happy Belated Birthday, Shylia! Your present is still sitting on my bedroom floor, but it has made it in to the mailing package, so we are halfway there. Hint, hint: It's from Belgium.

10. I'm meeting Elaine and Leslie to watch the London marathon tomorrow. I've booked my trip to Prague in May, but I've given up on doing the marathon. I still want to try to do it as a half. Actually, that's not true, at this point, I'd really rather just go and watch. Stewart says he'll buy me some new shoes if I follow through with doing the half, though, so that may motivate me.

11. I've been living for April since the beginning of the year, and now it is here! It's the month of Bank Holidays! We have four work days next week then we have Friday and the following Monday off for Easter. We work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, then get Friday off for the Royal Wedding. Then the following Monday is the first May Bank Holiday. Two four day weekends in a row! Then I have May 9 and 10 off for Prague. Bliss.

12. I've started watching Masterchef episodes on iPlayer. There's less drama than Top Chef and I don't think the challenges are quite as good, but the food is still amazing. I also like that the contestants here are really amateurs, like house wives and construction workers, instead of people who already seem to own their own restaurants and work as head chefs and stuff.

13. Stewart and I are planning a trip to Chicago for June, although we really need to get on it and book our plane tickets before they get even more expensive. I'm really excited to go back and would love to see as many people as possible. If any Oklahomans wanted to drive or fly up to meet us and spend some time in Chi-town, that would be cool.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-22T21:10:00.000Z

1. I finally had a good run this evening! I have been struggling to make myself run during the week. As a result, I've been running at a snail's pace during my long runs. I planned to do 16 this weekend, but only managed to do 9. It was a nice day today, so this evening I made myself go out for my first real spring run. I did about three miles and seemed to be back up to my normal pace.

2. I guess the nice weather has prompted me to do a bit of spring cleaning. I tidied up my room yesterday, which had been in quite a state. My next project is to go through all my clothes and take anything I haven't worn in the past year to the charity shop.

3. I'm currently pondering whether or not to watch Avatar tonight, or if that would be a waste of my life. I'm leaning towards the latter.

4. I picked up five movies for five pounds at Blockbuster the other day. It was a good deal, but the pickings were kind of slim, which is how I ended up renting Avatar.

5. My main reason for going to Blockbuster was to rent The Boy in Striped Pyjamas. We watched a clip of it in my systemic course last week and it made me want to watch the rest of the movie. Stewart and I watched it over the weekend. It was good, but has to rank as one of the saddest movies ever. Actually, it's something beyond sad although I can't quite name the emotion right now.

6. I have my first essay due for my systemic course next week. I know what I'm going to write about but, of course, haven't started yet. It feels like college again.

7. I am really annoyed with Amazon.com right now. My mom got me a gift card for Valentine's Day. I applied it to my account and thought that the books I had purchased on my kindle were coming out of that account. However, I noticed a charge for Amazon on my bank statement. It turns out that if the gift card was purchased from amazon.com, you can only use it on that site. However, since I am in the UK, the site I use is amazon.co.uk. They are saying that I can't transfer the funds to that site. I can't quite figure out if there is a way to buy ebooks off the US site from within the UK. If anyone knows, please help me out.

8. Speaking of books, I'm currently reading Remains of the Day. It's not good. I'm really not getting what's supposed to be so special about it. I can't wait to finish it.

9. Did you see the moon this weekend? It really was huge. I was in Suffolk, so I think I had a really clear, unpolluted view of it. When I got back to London on Sunday night it didn't look near as impressive.

10. I'm taking a day of TOIL on Friday! Work hasn't been too crazy this week, but it is always nice to have a day off.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-15T23:05:00.000Z

1. I've been majorly slacking on the blog. Sorry. I've been feeling kinda grumpy and unmotivated lately. I'll try to keep the complaining to a minimum.

2. On a positive note, I successfully completed the Paris half-marathon two weekends ago. I was quite slow, but finished with no pain or major difficulties. It was nice spending the weekend with Elaine, Mark, and Leslie. Elaine and I ran the race, while Mark and Leslie cheered us on. Paris was good, as always. We stayed in Montmarte and explored a few neighborhoods that I hadn't been to before. We also took a trip out to Versailles, which was pretty much the definition of opulent. The day after the run we had a leisurely day checking out the Jardin de Luxembourg and having a long lunch with wine. Ah, Paris. Here we are relaxing at the garden.

Me with the mini-Statue of Liberty

3. So the Prague Marathon is supposed to be next on my list in May. Remember the lack of motivation I mentioned earlier? I have totally fallen off the wagon with my training. Particularly my runs during the week. I still really want to go to Prague, but I'm feeling pretty anxious about the run.

4. It's not just total laziness that has messed with my running schedule. Stewart came back from India with typhoid. He spent the last two weeks in hospital. So a few of my evenings were spent travelling there to visit him. He was pretty bad off for awhile, but he has been discharged now and is at home recovering.

5. Stewart brought me some really cute gifts back from India, mostly elephant themed. My favorite is a little, red ceramic elephant. It has very wise and knowing eyes:)

6. Okay, so elephants just reminded me of the circus, which reminded me that I bought flying trapeze lessons through Groupon a few weeks ago! I'm super excited, although I haven't scheduled the classes yet. I know it's kinda weird, but it just sounded really fun and different. I think the part of it that appealed to me was the idea of taking a risk and flinging yourself from one bar to another. I've been thinking a lot about my hesitancy to take risks in certain areas of my life, and thought it would be a good challenge.

7. I found Season 5 of Friday Night Lights online and quickly sped through it in the last two weekends. I love that show. The music, the stories, the characters, the football. All perfect. It will definitely go down as one of my all time favorite television shows. (Others, for the record, would include Little House on the Prairie, Buffy, and Everwood)

8. Now for the glass half empty part of the blog. I'm having another flare up of my midlife crisis in which I worry about what I want to do and where I want to be. As I was strolling through Jardin de Luxembourg in Paris, I had a sudden, discomforting thought that I might never really be content and happy. Ironically, I thought this because I was feeling quite content and happy at the moment. My conundrum is that now that I've known the joys of trips to Paris on the weekend, etc., I don't know how I can go back to not having that at my fingertips. However, having that benefit means being a long distance from friends, family, country. I suppose I should just shut up and have the best of both worlds, enjoy myself to the fullest while I'm here and go home when I'm ready. The problem comes when I feel dissatisfied with my job, which makes me think about going home earlier than I really want to, and then I get angsty and confused.

9. Luckily my favorite part of work is on tomorrow, which is my training course. It usually gives me a shot in the arm, so I'm hoping that will be the case tomorrow.

10. Where has the evening gone? It's already time to go to bed. I may try to find a new book on my Kindle before I call it a night. I just finished My Last Duchess. It was pretty fluffy, but that is kind of what I've needed with work being so hectic and difficult. It was about an American millionaire heiress marrying an English Duke and coming to live here. Speaking of weddings, the Royal Wedding is just over a month away!

Dublin

2011-02-16T21:06:00.001Z

So what do you do after you get back from a weeklong tour of Morocco? Head for Dublin the very next day, of course. Well, that was our itinerary, anyway. We got back to London at about 11pm-ish I think, got back to Leslie's at around 1am after a detour to get a kebab, I went to sleep around 2am, got up at 5am, and it was back to Gatwick we went.

Leslie and Mari stayed at the beautiful and posh Weston Hotel. I stayed at the hostel around the corner. What can I say? I'm cheap. My hostel was very nice and functional, and for reasons unforeseen at the time I would end up spending most of my time at the Weston anyways.

While Leslie and Mari rested, I went for a walk around town to get a feel for Dublin. It's a small town so you can cover quite a lot of it in a short time. I spent most of my time on Grafton Street which is a main shopping street. My initial impressions were that Dublin seemed like a friendly, clean, compact, cute city. I enjoyed hearing the Irish accent, but was surprised by the lack of ginger folks.

I wandered around Trinity College and went to the exhibit of The Book of Kells, which as far as I understand is a really old illustrated Celtic bible.

I met back up with the girls for dinner and drinks. Emphasis on drinks. When in Dublin... We went to a couple of pubs and a club. I'll spare you all the gory details, but by the end of the night I was not in a good way. Leslie and Mari were kind enough to put me up in their hotel room and there I stayed until the following afternoon. I was so mad at myself for wasting good sightseeing time. Mari ventured out to do some shopping and brought back this magical chocolate muffin that must have had healing powers, because I finally recovered, just in time to go out for another night. This time, however, I stuck to Diet Coke all night long. We went to the Temple Bar area. There are loads of bars and clubs. We had a traditional Irish dinner, then did a little pub crawl in the area. The whole area had a very party like atmosphere. People were sort of spilling out of the bars into the streets. It reminded me a bit of Clark Street in Chicago. My favorite place was Temple Bar. They had live music playing and it was absolutely packed.

One of my first glasses of red wine on Friday night. Should have stopped there.

Sadly, I had to say goodbye to Mari that night as she was leaving early Sunday morning to go back to the States. I had so much fun getting to know her and hopefully she will come visit London again soon.

The next morning I was on a mission to make up for lost time. I got up pretty early and went to see St. Patrick's Cathedral.

It was pretty cool because I was there just before a church service was about to start and the boy's chorus was rehearsing while I was looking around. It gave it a bit more atmosphere. Honestly, I'm starting to feel a bit like you've seen one cathedral, you've seen them all. But the fact that it was St. Patrick's of St. Patrick's Day made it interesting. Afterwards I walked some more and came across Christ Church Cathedral. I really liked the architecture and look of this cathedral. It seemed a little different than usual.

After that it was time to go meet Leslie and head to the airport. It was short and sweet trip. I'm sure I may have occasion to go back again sometime. I think I'd really like to go back and do more of the countryside of Ireland. The Dublin trip was a nice way to cap off a long holiday. I like having a vacation at the beginning of the year. It's a good way to start things off. Now I am caught up on all my travel blogging. Of course, I can't wait for the next trip to blog about. I'm back to Paris in a few weeks for the half-marathon. Third trip to Paris in less than a year. I am spoiled.

Morocco: Marrakech

2011-02-14T21:59:00.000Z

We did a lot in Marrakech so it warrants its own post. Marrakech was definitely my favorite part of the trip. I think you could get most of the Moroccan experience, just by visiting Marrakech. It was a mix of old and new. It is certainly more touristy and sophisticated. Because it is more touristy, you again had to be aware of falling into tourist traps and getting scammed. But somehow it seemed to have a more friendly vibe to it. Maybe I had just gotten more used to the whole game by that time. Although I did get quite annoyed with a certain shoe shine guy and monkey handler who charged us an exorbitant amount to take a picture with a monkey. Another good thing about Marrakech was the variety in activities. Although we still spent plenty of time in the souks we also went to an amazing bath/spa, went hiking in the Atlas mountains, and visited some of the museums and ancient buildings in the city. Here's a picture tour of our time in Marrakech.

We went to a posh spa for a traditional hammam (bath) and massage. The hammam was the scrub down of a lifetime. Basically you go into this room and a Moroccan lady comes in and lathers you up with a special type of clay or mud or something, leaves you to get nice and steamy, then comes back and thoroughly scrubs every inch of your body, and throws buckets of warm water on you to rinse you off. So fresh and so clean. Then they take you for your massage. Easily the best massage I've ever had. It was a full hour, if not more. Every body part got special attention from the tip of my toes to the top of my head. I could literally feel all the stress and tension flowing out of my head. Amazing. Then they take you to lounge around for awhile and have biscuits and mint tea. Heaven. I would go back to Marrakech just for this experience.

Djemaa el Fna is the main square in Marrakech. It is an absolute carnival atmosphere. There are all types of perfomers, snake charmers, monkeys, street food vendors, and more. You have to be careful of what you take a picture of because people will run up to you to charge you for it. This is where I had the run in with the monkey wrangler. At least I got a cute picture out of it.

Me and Marco

Delicious street food

Overlooking the square at night

Ourika Valley

On our second day in Marrakech we got a little outdoorsy. We took a tour out to the Ourika Valley and did some hiking in the Atlas Mountains up to see a waterfall. On the way out to the valley, we stopped to check off one of our must-do items: ride a camel. I think we totally overpaid for that one, too, but oh well, it was worth it. Perhaps the best aspect of the trip was our new found friend and car driver, Jason. Actually his name was Jamel, but as soon as we got in the car he renamed us with Moroccan names, Aisha, Fatima, and Mariama, so we returned the favor. He didn't speak a lot of English, but we communicated through the universal language of music. He had a seemingly endless supply and variety of songs on his Mp3 player. French, African, Moroccan, Berber, Turkish, Egyptian. You name it, he had it. He had us doing sing alongs as we drove through the valley and even went and made us all CD's of the songs to take home with us. We were such good friends by the end of the day, he offered to take us to the airport the next day.

Ironically, the camels had the same names our driver had given us: Fatima and Aisha!

Wobbly bridge. We're not scared!

Sightseeing

Our last day we spent some time visiting a museum, a palace, and an old university. As Stewart can tell you, I live for this type of stuff on trips, so I was pretty excited. The intricate craftsmanship on the walls and ceilings particularly of the Ben Yousseff Madrassa (old university), was amazing!

Randomness

Some of the funnest times were just having interactions and laughs with the locals. This was one of those times. I can't even really say what happened here. It came after spending nearly a couple of hours bargaining, drinking tea, and listening to the Shisha song. Enjoy, as we did.

Morocco: Casablanca and Fes

2011-02-14T20:08:00.000Z

Amazingly, it has already been a month since I got back from Morocco. It's high time I did a blog with some of the highlights from the trip. It was a girl's trip-me, Leslie, and her longtime friend, Mari. Three Chicago girls living it up in North Africa. Well, as much as you can live it up in a mostly alcohol free, Muslim country. I spent the week before the trip fretting about packing a wardrobe that would cover me up and be appropriately modest. We left on 6th of January. It was a really good time for a holiday, in that I'd barely gotten back from Christmas/New Year and it was time to go again. And going to a warm location allowed us to escape the dreary London winter. It was warm and sunny every day in Morocco. Not so hot that you could get away with shorts, not that you could anyways with the aforementioned dress code, but I did wear capris a few days, and got plenty of use out of my sunglasses. We did a several stop tour of Morocco. Flew into Marrakech, immediately took a train to Casablanca for a night, then went on to Fes for a few nights, and back to Marrakech for the remainder of the trip. Mari had a hook-up for the hotels, so we were treated to nice hotel rooms along the way, which was a change for this hostel girl:) It was a good travel group-lots of laughs and no drama. Morocco itself was quite an experience. It was definitely my most foreign of travels so far. I guess the best thing to do is a quick run down of our time in each city.

Casablanca

It wasn't like the movie. Casablanca was a big, bustling, crowded city. It didn't have much of the old world charm that we would find in Fes and Marrakech. Although, there are plenty of Rick's Cafes around the city, we didn't make it to one. Morocco in general is all about the haggle and bargaining, but I found Casablanca to have a harder edge to it. It felt like you had to constantly be on guard against people ripping you off. We had an infamous crepe incident at one seaside cafe. I ordered one crepe. He brought out a plate with two smallish crepes. I didn't think much of it, and proceeded to eat both. He then wanted to charge me for two. I gently suggested to him that I had only ordered one, so the fact that he had given me two was prettty much his problem. One amazing sight in Casablanca was the mosque. I think it is the third largest mosque in the world. It does allow non-Muslim visitors in, but we missed the visiting times so we just got to see it from the outside, but it was still impressive.

Me at the hotel

Fes

The Blue Gate

Fes was much more what I had envisioned Morocco to be like. It is one of the oldest and largest medieval cities in the world. It is one of Morocco's four "Imperial Cities". Fes el Bali is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its medina, the larger of the two medinas of Fes, is believed to be the world's largest contiguous car-free urban area. The University of Al-Karaouine, founded in AD 859, is the oldest continuously functioning university in the world. (All this info is according to wikipedia). I loved the place where we stayed. It was a bit intimidating when we arrived the first night. There was a large square in front of it where a bunch of boys and men were hanging out. Plus we were on guard for people trying to scam us. The guy at our hotel tried to carry Leslie's bag for her, but she had a death grip on it and refused. It turned out that guy and the other staff were really nice. He was pretty cute, too. Mari started calling him her "Sweet cous cous". Not to his face, of course. Anyways it was this huge place with all kinds of winding staircases to get places. The room was really warmly decorated with authentic Fes craftsmanship. And there was an amazing roof top terrace where we had breakfast every morning and took tea in the evenings.

Fes was all about the ancient medina and the souks within. In fact, a lot of the focus of traveling in Morocco is on shopping and negotiating with the shopowners. I enjoyed the atmosphere in the souks, but got a little burnt out after awhile as I'm just not that much of a shopper. The fun part, though, is having interactions with the shopkeepers and making friends with them. Luckily, Mari was very good at that and kept it entertaining. The salesman there are also really funny, chatty, and savvy about where you're from. Particularly in Marrakech. Once they figured out we were from London, they would shout out things like "Cheap like Primark!" to try to get us to come in their shop. They also have lots of rhyming sayings like "No money, no funny, no honey". My favorite was a guy who was trying to be our guide when we walked into the medina at Fes. I kept telling him we didn't need a guide. He was like, "No problem, no problem. We don't push like George Bush". Hilarious.

The tanneries. It smelled really bad.

Mari takes over the shoe shop

The second day in Fes we went to a different part of town, one of the highlights was the Jewish cemetery, then went back to the medina for more shopping and eating.

One of the best meals of the trip: Lamb and Prune Tagine

Ten on Tuesday

2011-02-08T18:15:00.000Z

1. I'm so happy to be home by 5pm today, I just had to blog about it. Last night I had a long, late visit up north so I didn't get home until 10pm. I've gotten very spoiled by my 9-5 schedule that I had at the hospital. I'm adjusting to the pace and crisis oriented nature of my new role. It's very similar to what it was like working in SOC. Although, my caseload didn't tend to be that chaotic and crisis-filled, which I'm going to go ahead and attribute to my mad social work skills. They keep saying that the last few weeks in my new team have been particularly crazy and things will calm down a bit. I'm realizing that I like the work and interactions with the clients, just like in SOC, and am a bit dubious about the schedule, just like in SOC.

2. Another thing I'm finding is that my mind is much more stimulated and engaged by the families and problems I'm working with now. I'm also thinking about all the systemic ideas I'm learning on the course and applying them to my families. This is all good, except that I'm already noticing how much harder it is to get to sleep at night and have a good night's sleep. The emotional nature of the work also contributes to that. I've always had difficulty sleeping and it got really bad towards the end of my time in SOC. Ever since I came to England, I've been able to sleep so much better. Although I'm excited about work and learning new things, I don't want to get back into insomniac mode.

3. I ran 10 miles on Saturday very handily. That amazingly puts me on track for marathon training, although I continue to flake on a lot of my mid-week runs. I'm feeling much more confident for the Paris Half at the beginning of March.

4. I got a printer on Saturday to aid in my scrapbook projects. I got a really good deal on it and a bunch of extra ink thrown in for free. I also picked up some scrapbooking supplies on Sunday so I'm hoping to get going on some pages.

5. Stewart goes to India tomorrow for the rest of February. He's been working really hard and is in dire need of a holiday. He's already started rubbing it in that he'll be lounging on a beach for the next few weeks. I'll miss him, especially when I'm all alone on Valentine's Day;), but it will be a nice break for him.

6. I was really jealous of all the snow day posts on Facebook last week. I did think it was funny how quickly it went from excitement to annoyance.

7. We booked a weekend trip to Brussels for the first week of April. We'll take the Eurostar there, and may do a day trip to Bruges if we have time. I truly cannot wait for April. I'll have one full work week after getting back from Belgium then we are off the next Friday and following Monday for Easter. Then we're off Friday the 29th for the Royal Wedding and the following Monday for the first May Bank Holiday. Can we just skip March?

8. I read a good book over the weekend on my Kindle. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters. It's about life in London just after and during the war. I'm getting really interested in reading about that time period. Which also reminds me that we saw The King's Speech a few weeks ago and it was really good. I think for my next read I might look for something non-fiction about the East End during the war.

9. So I didn't watch the Super Bowl. Apparently, Green Bay won. Not excited about that. I was on FB just as it was starting and it was funny to watch the real-time comments pop up about Christina Aguilera. So what words did she get wrong? I guess I'm going to go have to watch a clip on YouTube.

10. I was at an absolute cultural loss today. I tried to use a comparison to Leave it to Beaver. All I got were blank looks of total confusion. How do you not know Leave it to Beaver?!? I thought it was universal, apparently not.

One Little Word

2011-01-24T22:10:00.000Z

I signed up to do this scrapbooking class through Ali Edwards. (I got the idea from Abbey's blog). The idea is to pick one word on which to focus, reflect, muse, meditate, action, and generally familiarize yourself with for 2011. I was really attracted to recognizing a word that was on your mind for whatever reason and being thoughtful and purposeful about it's meaning in your life over the next year. I liked the possibility that bringing the word into your consciousness, might bring what it represents into your life in a more real way or even a way you had not expected. I was less sure about the whole scrapbooking part of it. The idea of the class is to do something creative each month to bring the focus back to your word and to create a more visible representation of your experience with the word over the year. I like all this. However, the lady is one of these uber-crafty, over perfect scrapbooker types. I find it kind of intimidating and discouraging to try to replicate the project. Plus I still don't really have the necessary scrapbook supplies here. And creativity on a schedule is kinda hard for me. Witness the December Daily scrapbook which came off the same site that I wanted to do. I printed the pages, took the pictures (although not for every day), and got no further. So, yeah, I'm not sure how I'm going to get on with the scrapbooking. It's the end of the month and I haven't done the page yet if that gives you a clue. Nevertheless, I do really like the idea behind the project and think it could be a really good and helpful thing for me. So I want to stick with it, even if it is just through occasional blog posts updating what I've been thinking about my word.

So with no further ado, my word for the year is HOME. I couldn't really get away from it. It's something I've already been thinking about all the time. I felt myself inwardly wanting to revolt against it, but simultaneously knowing it was the perfect fit. Funnily enough, a year or two ago my word would have most surely been something like TRAVEL or EXPERIENCE or ADVENTURE. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the pond. Before anyone starts to think I'm ready to pack my bags and take the next flight out of Heathrow, let me further explain. I don't think this is necessarily about me wanting to go home, meaning Oklahoma or Chicago or the United States in general. I don't generally consider myself that homesick. It's more about figuring out what/where/who home is for me and what home means to me. I remember reading an Oprah article way back about what people considered home, above and beyond four walls and a roof. I've talked several times here about being unsure about staying in London or going "home" or making somewhere else my home. I guess I'm hoping to get some clarity around that by picking this word. I think part of the issue is that I'm very adaptable and have been able to make three places my home-Oklahoma, Chicago, and London. I feel very connected and established in all three. There are people, places, and things that I love in all. I think I feel at home in all places, but never completely content. I always seem to be seeking something more. I guess part of the attraction to HOME is a desire to be somewhat more settled. I just feel like other people have it more figured out than me sometimes. They seem to know who, what, and where they want to be. Don't get me wrong, I've very grateful for my lifestyle, all the places I've been and will go, people I've met, and experiences I've had. But there is also a pull to be grounded. I'd like the whole marriage, kids, and home ownership thing, too, in the not so distant future. HOME. It's a lovely, warm, comforting word. I'm looking forward to embracing it in the new year and seeing where it takes me.

By the way, I just have to note that Stewart thinks it is so utterly American to use a reflective scrapbooking project to try and determine your life's path;) I guess that's an example of how "home" is always carried in us in one way or another.

First Day

2011-01-24T21:16:00.000Z

I started my new job at work today. It was strange going to the main building, rather than our little portacabin behind the hospital. It's a massive building that kinda looks like an airport terminal. Pretty much all the services for the council are housed there, so there is a stream of workers heading there in the morning and out in the evening. Everything is more formal. You have to keep your laptop locked to the desk and put away in your locker at the end of the day. There are no personal items at your desk. It is nice to be in the midst of the rest of the service. It could get a bit lonely at the hospital. Everyone was very welcoming. I got an introduction to my unit and a few case assignments. I got a core assessment right off the bat. I was hoping to move away from those, but I guess they are inescapable. Hopefully there won't be so many. I'm really ready to get in there and do some work with the families. I can tell it will take awhile to adjust to the different purpose/goal of the team and the style of this unit. I'd gotten comfortable with the flow of the work and the dynamics of my previous unit. But change is good and I'm very excited about the work.

Not enough hours in the day

2011-01-22T18:27:00.000Z

I'm having that feeling today of not having nearly enough time to do all the things I want to do on a regular basis. Running, reading, blogging, cooking, scrapbooking, studying, meeting up with friends, pubbing, clubbing, interneting, sightseeing, enjoying London. How do people fit it all in? I'm amazed (and slightly annoyed) by these people who seem to be able to do all things, usually on top of parenting. Maybe it's because their kids wake them up earlier in the morning. I guess I've done pretty good today. Running-check, blogging-check, and about to attempt cooking. Shopping and a movie with Stewart tomorrow. A very nice weekend all around. Somehow I just feel this desire to squeeze MORE into my life. Still not totally ready to trade in my lie-ins, though:)

New Beginnings

2011-01-19T19:14:00.000Z

I had my first session for my systemic family therapy course today. I'm feeling really excited about it. We are supposed to turn in a journal at the end of the course with our reflections following each session. I figured my blog would be as good a place as any to record my thoughts.

It felt really mentally stimulating to be back in a learning setting. I'm ready to jump right into the reading and I think it will be really beneficial for my practice. I hope the reading and other course assignments don't become too overwhelming after the initial excitement wears off and I have to balance out study time with work time. It's a perfect time to be starting the course because I am moving to a new team next week. It's a very similar program to the work I did in SOC. I will be doing a lot more direct work with families and have a chance to put the systemic concepts into practice. It feels like things are converging at just the right time. While I had feelings of excitement about new ideas, learning, and ways or working during the first session, I also had a sense of familiarity and affirmation. These are the same theories, concepts, techniques that I studied in school and applied in my work in Chicago. I've struggled with how to adapt my experience and skills to my role here as it is not technically defined as "clinical". I've felt a bit left behind as I've thought about former coworkers progressing in their work at home. However, I came to Hackney to really focus on learning a systemic approach and feeling confident in applying it. We have definitely used it in our unit and I've done a lot of good work with families, but I think participating in the course will really solidify things for me and my new role will enable me to get a lot of experience. I did think during the session today about how I have been studying, thinking, talking about the same things for nearly 12 years, i.e. homeostasis, micro, mezzo, and macro systems, different theories of family therapy, etc. I think I tend to feel like some magic training course or program is going to bring it all together make me into a fully formed, expert practitioner, when in reality I have the necessary skills and knowledge. I just need to build my confidence and own the role. I'm hoping this course will help me do this. It definitely gave me a shot in the arm as far as thinking about my professional development and my future in Hackney and the UK.

I'm Alive!

2011-01-01T22:56:00.000Z

I'm far too tired right now to put up much of a post, but I had to do a quick note for the new year. 1-1-11. After an amazing November on the blogging front, I was absolute rubbish in December. Between my trip to Oklahoma and back, and the Christmas holiday, time just seemed to slip away from me. I'll try to get some pictures up and at least a brief recap of the month. It finished off well with a pretty low-key New Year's Eve. A nice steak dinner, followed by Leslie, Stewart, and I ringing in the new year with about four other people in a pretty empty pub. I actually preferred that to being in a crowd of people. We had a nice night, and then Stewart helpfully invited himself for dinner at Leslie's today. She very graciously obliged and made us some delicious food. It was a lazy day. I'll get motivated and on the new year's resolutions tomorrow. I feel like I haven't really made a firm commitment to any resolutions, which is not good given we're at the end of Day One, but here's what I'm basically thinking: Cook more (my eternal new year's resolution) and get up at a decent hour. Getting up earlier would open up all kinds of opportunities for working out in the morning, which would help me be healthier and fitter in the new year. I also want to try to bring more creativity into my life. I'm slowly trying to get back on the scrapbook wagon. I'm hoping the new team that I appear to be moving to at work will allow for more creative work with families. That's basically it. I don't want to get bogged down with too many goals. Oh, two specific things are complete the Paris Half-marathon in March and the Prague marathon in May. There's other things I want to reflect on and bring into 2011, but I'll save that for a later blog post. Right now I'm going to go eat my black eyed peas for the year and struggle to stay up for the bowl game. Go Sooners!

Practically Packed

2010-12-01T19:08:00.000Z

I guess I am still in the daily blogging mode. Also, I am procrastinating. I really need to finish (start) an overdue assessment before I leave. It turns out that an undesirable work task is an excellent motivator for packing. I'm basically all packed up with a day to spare! I just have to add my toiletries/makeup, etc. I have a ton of room left in my suitcase which makes me think I am forgetting something. It will leave plenty of room to bring things back. Like, I don't know, maybe an electric blanket. My room is so cold! Actually, as long as I'm under my duvet I'm fine, it's the arctic air outside the blanket that is the problem. My nose is currently running and my fingers are frozen. We turn the heating on in the evenings, but my little radiator doesn't seem to do the trick. Hoping for milder temps in Oklahoma. For now, I'll try to think warm thoughts. Like Morocco in January! That's my next trip. It's bound to be warmer there! Okay, I should really go do some writing. Urgghh. One more day of work!

Thankful-November 30

2010-11-30T23:16:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...the first snow. I woke up this morning to a flurry of snowflakes. It was pretty until I had to walk in it to work. It became pretty again as soon as I was inside my office. I love watching the snow fall. This morning brought back many memories of trudging through the snow in Chicago. It made me miss it. Although I can't say I really miss the freezing temperatures and endless winter in Chicago. It was a nice way to end November and begin December. This is the last day of my daily blogging challenge. I'm proud to say that I managed a post for every day, although sometimes a few days late. I liked doing it and may try to do it again, although probably not about a specific theme because that was really hard. Anyways, although I enjoyed the snow I'm also looking forward to 50-60 degree days in Oklahoma next week.

Thankful-November 29

2010-11-29T21:20:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...Darling Row. I went and got my hair cut in Tower Hamlets tonight. Still deciding how much I like it. I think it's cute but I'll probably need to style it myself to feel comfortable with it. Anyways, that's beside the point. The bus stop I get off at for my salon is called Darling Row. It must be my favorite bus stop street name I've found so far in London. Nutter Lane in Wanstead would be a close second. I love the sort of old fashioned, quaint names for streets and places in London. Lordship Lane, Seven Sisters Road, Shepherdess Walk. Those are just a few in my vicinity off the top of my head. I find that I just can't help but feel happy when alighting at Darling Row. Hope the haircut still brings a smile to my face tomorrow.

Thankful-November 28

2010-11-28T17:42:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...the unexpected. I didn't manage to stay up to watch the Bedlam game, but woke up this morning to good news. Way to go, Sooners! I hadn't really had an expectation either way about how it would go. I knew OSU was doing well this year so I was fully prepared to possibly lose and deal with it. Happily, it was a positive outcome! It sounds like I missed a crazy one! Looking forward to another Big 12 Championship game!

Thankful-November 27

2010-11-28T17:35:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...warmth. One of the things we assess parents for is their "emotional warmth" towards their children. At our Thanksgiving celebration yesterday evening, I was noticing all the "warmth" in the room. Welcoming hosts, the sharing of food and stories, laughter, appreciation. I guess its not surprising given it was mostly a room full of social workers. Still it is a group of people from generally disparate backgrounds that have found similarities and formed friendships through the coincidence of being at the same place at the same time. And the warmth was extended to a British friend of the hosts' children and his mother, a newly arrived American social worker who is working for a different burrough, and to my English boyfriend. I'm thankful for these warm relationships.

Thankful-November 26

2010-11-26T19:03:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...simplicity. I have an amazingly simple and drama-free life. Thank goodness. I just met with a client who is dealing with all kinds of emotional turmoil, violence, and huge decisions to make, all while pregnant with an EDD of tomorrow. I really feel for her and feel thankful for my simple life. There are no guarantees it will stay that way, and I'm sure when I eventually have kids, etc. it will inevitably be more complicated, hopefully in a good way. For now I'll enjoy that the biggest decision I have to make tonight is what to eat for dinner.

Thankful-Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T18:53:00.000Z

Okay, so I missed blogging on the actual big day because I was too busy celebrating the thankfulness. Dinner was fun, although the food was terrible. Sports Cafe should probably not be your first choice for Thanksgiving meals:) The turkey tasted like it was from a can. There was football on, though, and good company. We had far too many drinks to balance out the bad food. I'm looking forward to actual homecooked goodness at our meal tomorrow. I need to go start cooking now, just have to get some energy and motivation from somewhere. We went around the table last night to say things we were thankful for. I found that I've almost overdosed on thankfulness after my blogging challenge. I wasn't sure what to say. I feel like I've covered so much. I may be repeating but I'm thankful for my outstandingly supportive family, friends both near and far, new and old, my boyfriend, my health, my memories, my hopes. And I'm thankful for this most American of holidays-gluttonous, positive, sentimental, slightly historically inaccurate-that gives us the opportunity to count our blessings and express our gratitude.

Thankful-November 24

2010-11-24T20:19:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for... . I seem to be really struggling to think of something tonight. Kind of in a weird mood. Maybe it's the whole holiday homesickness thing. Time seems to be ticking away so slowly. I guess because I am weirdly anxious for the holiday tomorrow, even though I will be working, and also I missed my evening run which has given me more time at home. I have been doing really well with exercising almost every day, but I planned to have a day off so I could do my shopping for the Thanksgiving meal this Saturday. I'm thankful that's all done and I managed to get most of the ingredients I need. I'm looking forward to cooking on Friday night and getting it all together. I'm doing broccoli, cheese, rice casserole, a sweet potato/apple casserole, and deviled eggs. I hope I can carry it all somehow on public transport. Although time is going by slowly tonight, I was just looking through some of my pictures and feeling slightly freaked out by how time is flying! It seems like it was just August! So I guess tonight I'm thankful for time. We always say we don't have enough of it, particularly at work. I know I'm guilty of wasting a ton of time in the evenings, mostly aimlessly on the internet. I'm always hoping to use it better either to exercise or scrapbook or read or try to cook. I'm thankful for time together with friends. I'm thankful for how time can bring reflection and healing. I'm thankful for the expanse of time ahead of us to make plans, enjoy, achieve, grow, and love.

Thankful-November 23

2010-11-23T20:49:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...surrogate families. I'm getting pretty antsy for Thanksgiving. I'm feeling a mixture of excitement and homesickness. It is always harder to be away from home on the holidays than I remember or expect. Thankfully, I have friends that form a "surrogate family". On Thursday I'm having dinner with an American friend and her husband. I'm sure it will be hard to work on the day, but at least I have something planned for the evening. On Saturday all the American social workers plus extended friends are getting together in Wanstead for a big dinner with all the traditional dishes. It won't quite be the same, but it will be good to celebrate with people I care about and be able to engage in familiar rituals. It will also be nice to share the tradition with Stewart. He says he's excited just to see how much we actually do eat. He's amazed by it;) Speaking of, I need to go make my shopping list! I'll be bringing the brocolli/cheese/rice casserole. Oh, I just realized I should make deviled eggs, too! That was always my family's contribution to dinner. Can't wait for the day!

Thankful-November 22

2010-11-22T21:26:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...plenty. I went on a little spending spree yesterday. Some was for gifts, some was for me. Nothing too extravagant, but it is nice to be able to do every once in a while. It made me think about how, really, I have everything I need. Family, friends, health, food, a home, a job, a reliable income, nice clothes. I couldn't ask for anything more. I'm not rich by any means, but I'm comfortable. I feel more financially secure than I have in the past when I was working seven days a week to make ends meet. I recognize that so many people are in that position these days or worse, with the added stress of providing for a family. I'm also really thankful for family that have helped me out when things have been tougher. Of course, I have my wants and wishes and longings (an iPhone would be nice, regular shopping trips to places other than Primark, endless travel, owning my own home), but when you get down to the things that really matter, my life is a veritable cornucopia.

Thankful-November 21

2010-11-21T22:05:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...weekends. This weekend I had the best of both worlds. A totally lazy, sleeping in, lay around the house and do nothing day on Saturday, and a busy, up early, hit the gym, do errands, and go shopping kind of day on Sunday. Plus, Sunday included time with the boyfriend and seeing Harry Potter. Although the boyfriend wasn't too happy about those two things coinciding;) I was able to wrap up most of my Christmas shopping today, and pick up a few things for myself. I tend to prefer the lazy weekends, but it was nice to be up and around and feel like I was accomplishing something. Either way, thank goodness, for that beautiful two day hiatus during the week!

Amsterdam-Saturday (and my daily Thankful post)

2010-11-20T18:20:00.000Z

It was a bit of a struggle to get up early on vacation, but Amsterdam was calling. Oh! I should also mention that we were on "baby watch" the whole weekend, getting regular text updates from Shylia about whether or not Allison had the baby yet. I turned my phone on Saturday morning to the happy news that he had arrived. Congrats again, Steven and Allison!

So Saturday morning was museum time. At least for me. We found a place to have breakfast, then went our separate ways so I could look at paintings until my hearts content and Stewart could read his paper to his hearts content. He had already seen one of the museums, and isn't the biggest museum fan in general. First up was the Rijksmuseum. It's the home of a bunch of Rembrandts, as well as paintings by Vermeer, Jan Steen, and Frans Hals. I'm no art expert, but I think I really like the Dutch painters. I've noticed in other museums I've been to lately, like the Louvre, I've gravitated towards their works. I like the lighting and the color and the realistic look to the people in the paintings. I think they are still doing renovation work and part of the museum must have been shut down. It looked huge from the outside but there were only about 15 or so rooms open. One of the main features was Rembrandt's The Night Watch. Sadly, the museums in Amsterdam did not allow pictures, so I can't share, but it was an enjoyable time perusing lots of masterpieces. I made it through the museum pretty quickly, then spent some time in the gift shop and taking pictures outside.

Next up was the Van Gogh museum. Again, no pictures were allowed:( It was designed in a really nice way so that it told the story of Van Gogh's life and the paintings were grouped according to that period of his life. They also incorparated paintings from some of his contemporaries that he was inspired by, or later inspired. It was really interesting to see his unique style in comparison to the other paintings. I hadn't realized that Van Gogh was only an active artist for about ten years. He kinda just decided he was going to be a painter without being sure if he had any talent or not. Then, of course, he had a tragic and tormented life and ended up killing himself. The museum was very crowded, which made it a bit hard to enjoy, but it was still interesting and impressive to see his works in person.

I met Stewart and we did sort of an ammended version of a "city walk". I had bought these City Walk cards that give you different routes to take and point out interesting sights along the way. We had selected several walks that we planned to do, but of course we didn't really have time. We ended up doing most of this one which was along the Prisengracht Canal. We started from around the Museumplein and headed towards the Anne Frank house. I took a lot of pictures along the way. Some of the things we saw were an old milk factory, the old city orphanage, and Cafe de Pieper, a 17 century brown cafe. We stopped in for a drink there. So cute. I think the neighborhood we were in was the Jordaan. It seemed pretty artsy, with lots of galleries along the way.

We eventually made it down to the Westerkerk (West Church) which is just outside the Anne Frank house. I just looked online and saw that Rembrandt was buried at the Westerkerk. We didn't make it in to the church. I'm not sure if you could even go in. There was a long line for the Anne Frank house so we got some lunch at a really cute (again) cafe, and then got in line. As we stood in line, the church bells rang and I started thinking about how Anne Frank would have heard those same bells on a daily basis when she was in hiding. I blogged about the experience of going to the house the other day, so I won't go over it all again. Needless to say it was an emotional experience. I almost cried in one part. I think Stewart was even a little touched. They had a really cool interactive bit at the end of the exhibit, designed to get people thinking and talking about different issues related to tolerance, prejudice, free speech and expression. Basically they would play a clip and describe some recent controversial event and then pose a yes or no question usually regarding whether or not you thought people should be able to express themselves in a certain way or there should be limits on it. You could vote yes or no and then it showed you the percentage of answers from current visitors and all visitors. It was pretty thought provoking and interesting to compare our answers.

It was dark by the time we left the Anne Frank house. One of the city walk cards had been in the neighborhood were Anne Frank actually lived. It had her house, her old school, the shop where she got her diary, an ice cream parlor she used to go to. I had really wanted to do that walk, but it was pretty far away and didn't really make sense to do in the dark. Instead, we headed back down to the center of the city again. We frequented about four more of the "brown cafes" and had some interesting conversations. If I remember correctly one conversation was about the royal family and another was about issues related to marriage, which seems very timely now that the royal wedding was announced! It's like we're psychic, sort of.

We took another quick stroll through the Red Light District. I was a bit less freaked out this time. Then had dinner at this amazing Thai place. We had to wait awhile to get a table, but it was so worth it. We walked to the train station, which was probably the prettiest train station I've ever seen, to try to figure out a way to get back to the hotel.

In the end, we took a taxi back to the hotel and quite possibly were involved in a drug deal. The taxi driver had to stop and pick something up from someone. I don't know, it was weird. And he was very apologetic. We made it back to the hotel, got up early the next morning, and headed home. It was short and sweet. I wish we could have stayed longer, and I would definitely go back. I think Amsterdam made it on to my list of favorite cities. The people were friendly and slightly quirky. The atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming. The city was beautiful and charming. I'd love to see it in the spring with the tulips in bloom. The lovely thing about my life right now, is that I have a real opportunity to return. It's just an hour away by plane and a few hours by train. I am constantly amazed that trips that at one point would have been once in a lifetime for me are now at my fingertips. I'm a lucky girl. And let's make that my "thankful" post for the day.

Amsterdam- Friday

2010-11-20T15:53:00.001Z

Canals, bicycles, cozy, old fashioned bars, and, yes, the infamous red light district. Just some of the iconic sights of Amsterdam that I took in last weekend. Amsterdam had recently shot up to the top of my "Go to" list, and it didn't disappoint. It was just a quick weekend trip, made even shorter by our flight being delayed on Friday morning, but in typical Amber fashion, we squeezed a lot of sightseeing in to our day and half there. I forgot to look at my 1,000 Things to See Before You Die book before the trip to give me tips on what to do there, but I was pleased to see when I checked it that of the 7 things it list for Amsterdam, I had seen 5.

We finally arrived after a bumpy flight on Friday at about 1:30 or so. Our hotel was fairly close to the airport, so we were able to take a bus there. We stayed at the Dutch Design Hotel Artemis. It was kind of chic and funky.

It was a bit far out, but the room was really nice, and there was a bus stop right outside that took you into the city in about 15 minutes. By the time we got down there we were starving! Stewart has been to Amsterdam several times, so we walked around an area he was familiar with and he pointed out some places he had been before. We ate a late lunch at a pizza place. I don't think I had any really traditional Dutch food while I was there, whatever that may be, but all the food we had was really good. We spent most of Friday evening just wandering around, checking out some of the canals, squares, and neighborhoods. The streets were decorated for Christmas which was really pretty.

There was tons of shopping throughout the city. There particularly seemed to be an overabundance of shoe shops. I also saw some wooden shoes, and to my great dismay am now realizing I didn't take a picture of them. There were also lots of cheese shops, light fixtures, and quirky home decoration stores.

I loved the architecture of the buildings. Everything had a really cozy, homey feeling to it. Especially the bars. They are called brown cafes for the dark wood panelling that has supposedly been darkened by years of smoking. They were cheerfully crowded and laid back. I think we had drinks at about four different places prior to dinner on Friday and Saturday night. As I was doing some research to write my blog, I discovered that there is apparently a Dutch word that captures this concept of "coziness" or "friendly welcome". Gezelligheid.

We slowly wandered our way down to the Red Light District. I was anxious to see what the fuss was all about. Stewart thought I would be freaked out. I thought I would be totally fine. Truthfully, I was a little freaked out. I think it would have been less weird to see the girls hanging out on the corner, smoking a cigarette like you expect prostitutes to be. The fact that they were all on display like window shopping was what made it weird. I didn't know where to look! I know they've got a union and they're like the healthiest prostitutes in the world and all that, still my verdict is: creepy. We also took in some of the wafting aroma of pot coming from the various "coffeeshops", but didn't go in, because I'm a good girl like that. It was definitely an interesting experience. In addition to marijuana, ladies of the night, and bicycles, Amsterdam seemed to have a plethora of Argentine steak houses. There was one on every corner. We got in on the trend and ate dinner at one. We headed back to the hotel and I collapsed into one of the most restful sleeps ever, after the long day of travel and getting about three hours of sleep the night before. It was a good thing I slept well, because we were up bright and early the next day to pack in the sightseeing. Saturday's blog to follow.

Thankful-November 19

2010-11-20T00:48:00.000Z

Tonight I am thankful for... nights at The Ship. What else could it be at this time of night? A quick after work drink inevitably turned into staying out til midnight and finishing the night at McDonalds. I love these opportunities to bond with coworkers. Particularly since I am a bit isolated over in the hospital team and these outings generally include people from the main building. Our go to place is The Ship in Hackney Central. I do enjoy the tradition of heading to the pub after work, although I suppose if you take it to excess it is a problem. I was really committed to getting up tomorrow morning to run, but that is yet to be determined at this stage. At least the McDonald's trip provided some sustenance. I also love that the McDonalds' attendees were two Americans, a Trinidadian, a Spaniard, and an Australian. Love London. Love my workmates. LOVE Fridays.

Thankful-November 18

2010-11-18T20:10:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...food. This is a bit of a no brainer, but definitely deserves a spot on the list. I love food. It's weird that I don't like cooking, because I sure do love eating. I've always been a healthy eater. My family loves to tell the story of how at Thanksgiving when I was just over a year, my food wasn't enough for me and I started grabbing handfuls off my mom's plate. I make no excuses for it. There is such pleasure in eating a delicious meal. I have two recent stand outs in mind. Stewart and I had some amazing Thai food in Amsterdam last Saturday. Thai food is always a favorite, but something about this one was beyond good. When I came back home on Sunday I stopped in for lunch at the organic cafe in my neighborhood. They do this meal deal where you can get one main + three salads. The mains are usually quiche, lasagna, mousaka and there are all kinds of different salads; wild rice, chick peas, greek salad, roasted vegetables, lentils, etc. On Sunday I got vegetarian curry. O.M.G. It was sooooo good! I've been back twice this week to see if they had it and I lucked out tonight. It was just as good as I remembered. I'm looking forward to doing a bunch of eating at two Thanksgiving meals next week. Let's just hope I don't start grabbing handfuls off of other people's plates this time;)

Thankful-November 17

2010-11-17T20:43:00.000Z

Today I'm thankful for...coworkers. I've been blessed to have some really good coworkers over the years. We had some really good times at JCFS and I became good friends with a lot of my coworkers there. Enjoying the people you work with makes all the difference, especially in a field that can be pretty emotionally draining. I'm lucky to have good relationships with my current coworkers, too. I really like my unit. We get along well, laugh a lot, and enjoy an occasional Friday night at the pub. My supervisor is real big on sports, so we've even started exercising together. We went to Boxercise class at the hospital tonight. I am hoping to move to a new department within the agency soon to switch things up, but I will definitely miss my unit and hope that I'm working with equally good people in my next placement.

Thankful-Ten on Tuesday

2010-11-16T21:10:00.000Z

Let's see if I can come up with ten things I'm thankful for...

1. Soup. It's been perfect soup weather, and it's basically what I've been existing on for the last few weeks. I tend to go for the Covent Garden soups, which are, in a word, delish. Some of my favorites have been Lebanese Lentil and Jerk Sweet Potato. I even made my own Chicken Tortilla soup a few weeks ago that was a success. Looking forward to a winter of soup consumption.

2. Countdown. I have a mere twelve work days, (9 if you take out days for training), to go before my trip back to Oklahoma!

3. Babies. Allison had her baby, Jack Cash, last Friday. I just saw on FB that my friends, Jennie and Gavin, had their baby today. Several clients have had beautiful, sweet babies lately. They do have a way of melting your heart. Almost makes a girl's biological clock start ticking;)

4. My hair straightener. Laugh at me if you want, but it is probably the most essential item I own. I don't go anywhere without it. It's lasted my about four years and was money well spent.

5. The holidays. Holiday decorations and lights are in full swing here. I'm hoping to go do some shopping this weekend and get the full experience. It looks like plans for Thanksgiving are coming together and Christmas will be here before you know it. I love this time of year!

6. Big events. I love big, grand, ceremonial events. The Olympics, elections, Inauguration, celebrity weddings, celebrity funerals. You name it, I'll watch all the coverage of it. I've hit the jackpot as there is going to be a royal wedding here next year!! Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement today. On top of that it will be the London Olympics in 2012. Pretty exciting!

7. Favorite songs. I downloaded several new running songs last night. Love these two in particular. I'm in Love and Stereo Love.

8. Harry Potter. Can't wait to see the new movie!

9. The Family. One of my favorite shows is coming back on. In fact I think I'm missing it right now. It's basically a simple, not trashy, reality show that follows the life of different families. Apparently, the family that is featured right now is from Hackney.

10. Development. I got accepted to the Systemic Family Therapy course at work. I think I had mentioned earlier that I was hoping to get on to the course. It should be really good for my training and development, and may open up some opportunities for the future of my career. I had a few unsettled days after I found out that I was accepted because I had to sign a contract to work a year in Hackney for every year of sponsored study. Even though I planned to still be here for that long anyways, I wasn't sure I wanted to be tied down to another year. After thinking about it and finding out what the cost would be if I have to pay it back, I decided it was worth it. It will start in January.

Thankful-November 15

2010-11-15T21:04:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...uncertainty. Okay, follow me on this one. I'm trying to be thankful for even the things that I actually really dislike. I'm hoping it will help me think about what they might add to my life and to have more patience with them. I have a lot of uncertainty in my life right now. Believe it or not, picking up your life and moving to a new country isn't necessarily conducive to feeling more settled. I am very happy with the move, but for all the great things that it has brought, it has also opened a can of worms in a way. Every day on my way to work I think about whether or not this particular role is really fulfilling me, is there something different I could be doing back home, is there something different I could be doing here, all the things I miss about home, all the things I would miss if I left London. I project myself way into the future, the end of my contract, the end of my visa, and try to decide what I want to do next. I attempt to weigh all the pros and cons. A million factors play into it, quality of life, my relationships here and at home, job satisfaction, family life, personal development, travel opportunities, money, commitment, familiarity, discovery. It sends my mind whirring. I wish I could just stay in the moment and not worry about it. It has been comforting lately to talk to several friends going through the same questioning process. I guess the questioning and the search and the ambition and the desire are the positive parts of the uncertainty. Without that, we would just be static and not move forward in our jobs, personal lives, whatever. The uncertainty gives us a place to consider, contemplate, dream, and evaluate. The discomfort it may bring pushes us to new realizations, new directions (hah, Glee!), or a deeper understanding of our selves. So for that, I'm thankful.

Thankful-November 14

2010-11-14T16:38:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for... a good book. When my flight was delayed on Friday, I bought a new book to keep me entertained. I went with The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. It is really engrossing and slightly creepy! I'm half-finished with it, even though I spent all day Friday and Saturday sightseeing. I have always loved reading. I pored over books as a child. (I think I have that to thank for my poor eyesight now;) I still love curling up with a good book. Especially one that pulls you in and you can hardly bear to put down. I started another good one before I left on my trip, another sort of haunted story/thriller. Now they will have to compete for which one I finish first! Luckily, it is rainy and miserable out today. The perfect time to wrap up in a blanket and read. And we'll probably be having quite a few of those days now that winter is here, so I'll get a lot of reading done.

Thankful-November 13

2010-11-14T16:26:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...remembrance. Today is Remembrance Day here, it was just Veteran's Day at home, and yesterday I visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. It was a touching and moving experience. It was strange to really be in the rooms they hid in and to picture them living there. I think the part that made it most realistic was seeing the marks on the wall where the family had kept track of the childrens' height. I could picture her mother or father standing in the doorframe where I was now standing, measuring and marking her growth. Seeing the pictures and posters of celebrities that she had cut out and posted on her bedroom wall had a similar effect. They had videos playing in each room, and one was an interview with Anne's best friend. She recounted her reunion with Anne over a fence when they discovered they were in adjoining concentration camps. She said that she thought Anne had given up hope because she believed all her family to be dead. She talked about the last time she saw her over the fence. That one really made me choke up and my eyes water a bit. I loved the book in school. I think I read it junior or senior year, just around the time that I was deciding that I wanted to be a social worker. I've always remembered one of the quotes from the book, "I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart." In some way it probably contributed to who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do with my life. I'm thankful for opportunities to remember and reflect on the lives, suffering and sacrifices of those that came before, to hopefully learn from it, and be inspired to make things better.

Thankful-November 12

2010-11-14T15:04:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...travel. I'm writing this in retrospect after returning from my trip to Amsterdam, but I think it still counts for blogging everyday. The actual "travel" part of going to Amsterdam was fairly difficult. Slept about three hours during the night, was up at 5:30am, got on the tube at 6am, it was an hour and a half on the tube to Heathrow, anxious the whole time that we would be late, checked in on time with no problems but the flight was delayed an hour, boarded the plane but had to wait almost another hour due to weather conditions, and really rocky flight and very bumpy landing which my motion sickness did not like. All that said, it was totally worth it. I love going to new places and getting a glimpse into life there, past and present. The opportunity for travel is one of the main reasons that I took the leap to move to London. I'm so grateful that I've been able to see so much in the past year and very aware that I am very lucky to have the chance. I'm also thankful for my travel partners that make the experience that much more enjoyable. I LOVED Amsterdam, but I will save that for another post!

Thankful-November 11

2010-11-11T07:14:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...follow-through. I always say I am going to get up early for one reason or another. To go to the gym or get in to work early. I rarely to never succeed in my plans. I did it today, though! Up and ready by 7am. If it just wasn't so rainy and gross outside it would be a little easier to make myself actually leave the house. Getting in early should allow me to get home early, hopefully run, shower, finish packing and get to Stewart's house at a reasonable hour. We'll be going to Amsterdam tomorrow morning so I won't be able to blog over the weekend. I'll do a blog for each day when I get back, though. That still counts right?

Thankful-November 10

2010-11-10T22:38:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...busy days. I am a million times happier with my job when I spend the majority of the day out of the office meeting with clients. Today was one of those days. I had a visit with a client who has had an extremely traumatic past, yet has an amazing amount of resilience. I got to see her adorable new baby. I ran into some of my favorite former clients while walking around town. Again, adorable baby. The middle part of the day was a bit of a downer. I went to the "Chief Executive's Road Show", where they told us they are going to have to find another 26 million to cut next year, on top of the 26 million they've already planned on cutting. At least they appear to be up front and honest about the difficulties and potential cuts. They are saying they will do everything possible to avoid cutting front line staff, but also saying the directorate needs to get significantly smaller and more streamlined, so we'll see. Afterwards I had another really good visit with a client. She was very appreciative of me and our help, even though I didn't feel I'd really done much. It made me take a moment to recognize that I am very good at forming relationships with clients. I don't always think about the things I do well at work, and tend to ruminate on areas where I feel like I need to improve. It also gave me a chance to reflect on the part of the job that I like the best which is the personal interactions and relationships. That's why I got into social work, and it gave me a boost to remember that and see it realized. After work I went to boxercise class, which was a good workout. Tonight I've made guacamole for our "learning lunch" tomorrow and mostly packed for my trip to Amsterdam this weekend. It's been a busy and full day!

Thankful-November 9

2010-11-09T23:40:00.001Z

Today I am thankful for...freebies! This one was inspired by my friend, Elaine. She won tickets to the cinema and invited me along. This was quite a treat since movie tickets here usually cost up to £12. We saw Unstoppable. Denzel Washington, cutie Chris Pine, and a runaway train! What more could you ask for?

A bonus thankful item for the day is feeling slightly more caught up at work. I finally finished two overdue assessments that were hanging over my head. Sure I have another one due this week and several next week, but for the moment I am feeling that I can breathe a bit more.

Thankful-November 8

2010-11-08T21:19:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...milestones. This is my 100th blog post! I hadn't really been paying much attention, but found it pretty exciting when I realized I'd hit 100. The number was definitely helped by this blogging everyday thing. Milestones give me something to aim for, something to judge progress by, and something to feel special about. I've really enjoyed sharing my stories over these post 100 posts and I hope you've enjoyed reading them.

Thankful-November 7

2010-11-07T19:10:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...connections. The experience of living abroad would be so much more difficult without the benefit of Facebook, Skype, Gmail, blogging, etc. I still manage to feel pretty connected to my friends and family through all of these tools. And not just friends and family, but random acquaintances from high school and beyond:) On Friday, I chatted through gmail with a former JCFS workmate. Over the weekend I've caught up a bit with two college friends through a comment thread on Facebook. Today I was able to talk to Allison on Skype. I generally talk to my mom at least once a week on Skype. My sisters are regular commenters on my blog or FB status. As Allison and I were just discussing, I do miss the more immediate connection of texting which I generally don't do with anyone outside of England because I assume it is more expensive. And, of course, I miss actual face to face contact and being able to schedule a lunch date to catch up with friends. At least I've got the internet, though, and it helps me maintain those all important connections.

Thankful- November 6

2010-11-06T23:59:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for... OU football. I can hardly think of anything that has been such a constant in my life as OU football. My parents, aunt, uncle, and grandparents screaming at games in my grandparent's living room form some of my earliest memories. As I got older, I remember choosing to stay in and watch the game rather than playing outside. When I went to college, I could say I was a real "Sooner". Football was a priority in college. None of this sauntering in right before kick off expecting to get a seat. A real fan gets there hours before to stand in line to get in to the stadium, then happily waits another couple hours in the burning heat or biting cold for the game to start. Memories were made at OU/Texas at Rosie and Terry's and nail biting bowl games. As soon as a chill enters the air in the fall, my brain is triggered for college football. No matter where I've lived, I've made it a point to follow my team. I spent nearly every Saturday at Joe's on Weed Street in Chicago watching "my game". It's harder to follow in London, and I admit I've missed more games than I've watched. But tonight I'm up at 12am watching the game online. It's not just a pasttime, it's a part of my identity. Every year there is hope and triumph, anxiety and exhilaration, defeat and despair. I love it. And I'm thankful to be a Sooner.

Favorite Photo Friday

2010-11-05T22:54:00.000Z

My cousin happened to find one an old Halloween picture of me and Shylia and sent it to me. This was the hobo costume I was talking about. A bit of a strange choice for a toddler, and not that PC, but so cute.

Thankful-November 5

2010-11-05T20:43:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for... anticipation. Friday seems like the perfect day to think about anticipation. I look forward to the end of the week just about as soon as it begins. I should probably try to live in the moment more, but what would life be without having something to look forward to? Right now I'm looking forward to being in Amsterdam at this time next week and Oklahoma this time next month. My first time back in the States in over a year. I can hardly wait!

Thankful- November 4

2010-11-04T20:21:00.000Z

Today I am thankful for...hot showers. There is nothing better than a hot shower after a run. I was watching the news about Haiti earlier. Earthquakes, cholera, tropical storms, tent cities. What a disaster. Literally. It made me think of how lucky I am to live in a comfortable, warm, secure home with electricity, running water and the ability to take a hot shower whenever I want. Sounds spoiled, really, when you think of all they are dealing with in places like Haiti. At times I feel a pull to work in developing countries or places that have experienced some sort of natural disaster. I would undoubtedly miss the comforts of home, though. Who knows, I may still do it some day, so I better be particularly grateful for the hot showers now.

November 3

2010-11-03T23:57:00.000Z

Today I'm thankful for... sleep. I've been sitting here for awhile trying to think of what I should write about today. I was about to nod off, and suddenly sleep came to mind. I sleep so much better here than I did at home. I've always had difficulty getting to sleep. It always seemed to be worse when stressed or unhappy at work. Probably the last six months or so in Chicago I woke up almost every morning between 3 and 4am and struggled to go back to sleep. From the day that I arrived in London, sleep has miraculously come much easier. No more insomnia. I do occasionally have restless nights, which are generally connected to difficulties at work, but it is nothing like what I experienced before. I'm so grateful for this unexpected change. Nothing is more maddening than staring at the ceiling or flipping and flopping in bed for hours. I hope this trend continues.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-11-02T21:21:00.000Z

1. I'm feeling a little crabby this evening and had a little trouble thinking thankful thoughts. In the end I sought comfort in a cup of tea, and decided that today I am thankful for tea and biscuits. I was at a training today. There was tea/coffee and pastries waiting in the morning, a morning tea/coffee break, and tea/coffee and biscuits in the afternoon. I swear no one in this country will ever want for tea. I have become a tea convert. There is something very soothing about it. Perhaps mostly in the routine and regularity of it. So I'm sitting her sipping as I blog and feeling slightly more calm.

2. I ran again tonight. Three times around the park=three miles. Come to think of it, I'm thankful for having a nice park practically at my door step.

3. I'm using my little sister for running motivation. She has decided to run the OKC Half-Marathon so I'm thinking of her as my long-distance accountability partner to keep myself committed to my training.

4. I had somehow missed that one of my favorite music groups, The Weepies, released a new album at the end of August. I came across it last night on iTunes and bought it. I'm enjoying listening to the new songs. They're so happy and melodic and sincere and charming. They are pretty much guaranteed to put you in a better mood.

5. I feel pretty lame for not voting today. I should have figured out how to vote absentee. I know it's important and I do care, but it's one of those things I've lost track of a bit since being here. I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to the different races. I know there's the crazy lady in Delaware. Hope she and all the other Tea Partiers lose. Of course, I hope that the Democrats don't lose control of either the House or Senate, but it was pretty annoying that half of them were too chicken to do much while they were in control. Okay, so there were some big bills, but could've done more if not for all the moderates acting like they were Republicans anyways. See, I feel my blood pressure rising already. I think a little respite from politics has been good for me.

6. This Friday is Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night. It's the celebration of the failure of a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Remember, remember the 5th of November. That whole thing. It's celebrated with fireworks and bonfires. They've already started in my neighborhood. From what I can remember from last year the random firework setting goes on through about Christmas. Apparently the firefighters are going to strike on Bonfire Night so that should be interesting.

7. Oh, so I mentioned last week that I would be moving to a new team at work sometime soon. Turns out not so much. Basically, there was a lot of back and forth about people switching positions, so they decided everyone has to go through the official transfer window in December. Which isn't that long from now so it's not that big of a deal, but still a bit of a bummer.

8. I'm feeling a little stressed at work. I have several things overdue and I don't like that feeling. It doesn't help that I was in training all day today, have meetings all day tomorrow, and training on Thursday afternoon. I've got to try to go in early tomorrow to get some stuff done.

9. I'm thinking a lot about Allison and Baby Jack lately. He should be arriving soon! I hope my gifts for him arrive before he does. I'm excited to visit with them when I'm home in December.

10. Is it November 12th yet? Looking forward to our trip to Amsterdam. Stewart and I started making plans this weekend. We've got a lot to see in two days!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-01T22:34:00.000Z

I had an idea to challenge myself to blog every day in November. Since it is the month of Thanksgiving, I thought a good way to structure the daily blog was to focus on something I'm thankful for each day. Way back in the day I was good about doing that when I journaled at night. Very Oprah inspired. It will definitely be a struggle to get a blog in each day, but I will do my best.

Today I am thankful for... Motion.

I had a really good run at the gym tonight. My current playlist is really helping to fuel me through the run. I felt exhilerated tonight and almost like I was dancing instead of running. I don't often get that "runner's high" so it was a good feeling. It made me think about how lucky I am to have the healthy bones, muscles, nerves, neurons, etc. to enable me to run. Couple that with a little determination and craziness and you can run a marathon. I was also conscious of my movements when I got home. Making dinner, showering, drying my hair, running up and down the stairs to put in a load of laundry. All things that I take for granted, but could be quite cumbersome if I had a physical disability or limitation. I'm also thankful for motion in a more rhetorical sense. Feeling the sense of relief after finishing an assessment at work or the sense of accomplishment from helping a family make a significant change and move in a different direction. Looking forward to moving to a new role to develop professionally. The opportunities and experiences that come from moving to a new city and country. Okay, that was pretty deep. Don't expect that every day! In case anyone is interested here is my current playlist that's keeping me moving:

Bulletproof- La Roux
Sexy Chick- David Guetta/Akon
Run this Town- Jay-Z/Rihanna
Uprising- Muse
Outta Here-Esmee Denters
Grace Kelly-Mika
S.O.S-Jordin Sparks
Kids-MGMT
Lego- The Maccabees
Can't Get Enough-Infadels
Break Your Heart-Taio Cruz/Ludacris
Supermassive Black Hole-Muse
Just Dance-Lady GaGa
Uptown Girl-Billy Joel
Battlefield-Jordin Sparks
Fight for this Love-Cheryl Cole

Belated Birthday

2010-11-01T22:02:00.000Z

I was just reminded that I never did a blog to sum up my birthday celebrations in early October. I had three nights out to celebrate. Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures, which I think contributed to the lack of blogging. They were all good nights with good friends, though, and definitely deserve a recap.

Stewart and I went out to dinner the Saturday before my birthday. We started out at Gordon's Wine Bar, apparently the oldest wine bar in London. It definitely has an old feel to it. The walls are lined with old newspapers and its kind of like crawling through a cave in parts. The ceilings are REALLY low. It was a cool place. Really crowded. Then we tried to go eat at Wahaca, a Mexican restaurant that is supposed to be really good. It was closed for some strange reason so we went to another Mexican restaurant down the street in Covent Garden. It was pretty tasty and had good margaritas. Afterwards we went to a cocktail bar that makes really fancy and pretty cocktails. We were able to catch most of the OU/Texas game online that night. OU's win was the perfect birthday present.

My actual birthday started out rainy, but turned in to a beautiful day.

That evening Leslie, Elaine, and I went to a Lebanese restaurant called Yalla Yalla in SoHo. Another place I'd heard really good reviews about and was eager to try. The place is tiny so you have to get there really early to avoid the wait. The food was really good. Very similar to Turkish food. It was nice having a night to have some girl talk with two of the good friends I've made in London. We went to this amazing gelato place for dessert. I had three flavors squeezed into one cup. So good.

I organized a birthday drinks outing for the Saturday after my birthday. Unfortunately by the time I organized it several people already had plans to be out of town. There wasn't a huge turnout but everyone that did make it was much appreciated. The American social work couple, Shaunda and David, and Camille were there. Camille gave me a "Memories" picture frame to hold pictures of my adventures in London and Europe. In a strange coincidence, we have discovered that a good portion of the American social workers at Hackney are Libras. Shaunda's birthday was that night and Camille's was the next weekend. Another one of the girls shares my exact birthday and couldn't make it out because her mom was visiting for her birthday. A couple of my lovely neighbors came by. Stewart's friends, Jason and Kevin, came down from Suffolk for the occasion, which was really nice. I remember having a lot of good conversations and doing a little dancing. My memories of the last part of the night are a little hazy. The night went really fast and all of a sudden they were kicking us out of the bar. Me, Stewart, Jason and Kevin were the last ones standing. We briefly considered going down to Soho to find a place that was still open, but in the end we had a kebab instead, which is always the right decision. It was a small group, but a fun night.

Last year I had only been in London for a couple of weeks before my birthday. One of my coworkers very graciously invited me out to dinner with her husband. Camille and Kadeem also very sweetly got me some cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to me. It's heartening to think of how my circle has grown in the last year and how all the people that celebrated with me have added something to my life during my year in London. Looking forward to another great year with old friends and new.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T20:55:00.000Z

Leslie and I went out Saturday night to celebrate Halloween. We went to a party hosted by one of her friends at a bar near Picadilly Circus. It was a fun night, as Halloween typically is. Most of the attendees were Americans, since we do Halloween best. I went as a flapper, which had to be about the third time I've done that costume. I did have to explain to my English coworkers and English boyfriend a) what a flapper was and b) that you don't have to wear a scary costume for Halloween. Apparently, they are confused about that. Just to clarify, it can be any kind of "fancy dress" that you like. (Americans, that is what the English call dressing up in costumes. Wow, I feel like this blog is becoming quite polarizing. Sorry!) Too prove this fact, I started trying to think of all the different things I've been for Halloween over the years. This is what I could come up with, either from memory or pictures.

When I was really little I think I kind of alternated each year between a clown, cat, ghost, maybe a pumpkin when I was a baby. I think I was Casper the Friendly Ghost one year? Although that could have been either my cousin or my sister. I'm confusing their memories and experiences with my own. I think when I was around five or six, I was a witch. Shylia was a hobo and that has to go down as one of the cutest costumes ever. Perhaps the next year or so I was, not Rainbow Brite, but her horse, Starlight. I always did love horses. I distinctly remember being a Princess in 1st grade. I remember walking from Central to somewhere downtown in some kind of Halloween parade? I think I was a cheerleader in second grade. I was definitely a gypsy in third grade. That was a pretty good one. I think Shylia was a punk rock girl that year. I believe I was a witch in both fourth and fifth grade. In sixth grade I was clearly too old to trick or treat, but I didn't want to give it up. I think I borrowed one of Brooke's pacifiers and dressed up like a baby. How fittingly regressive. I pretty much had a long dry spell after that and didn't dress up again until college. Since then I've been a cowgirl several times, the aforementioned flapper, a newsboy, and a librarian. I've included some pictures of this year and years past. It's too bad I don't have any really old ones, but I can assure you I was quite adorable.

2010

2009

2007

2006

2005

Ten on Tuesday

2010-10-26T21:18:00.000+01:00

1. I am not feeling very motivated to do much of anything right now, but I'm making myself blog since it has been awhile. I think it is the cold weather. I am currently huddled under my duvet. It was rainy and gross today. I spent a large part of my day walking to and from visits, thus getting soaked. I made myself a cup of tea when I got home, climbed under the covers, and have hardly resurfaced the rest of the night. Hopefully tomorrow will be drier.

2. Speaking of cold, Stewart brought me a really cute reindeer scarf back from Tallinn. It has come in handy the last few days. And it's my favorite color, red! It would double for an OU scarf.

3. I had a great time with my mom last week. We walked all over London and Paris! It was fun to show her around and play tour guide. I also got to see somethings I hadn't seen yet like the inside of Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Tower of London, and the British Museum. She really enjoyed everything and it was good to have that time with her.

4. One of the things we did was go to a West End musical. Leslie also joined us. We saw Jersey Boys. It was so fun! Great songs. We were singing and clapping along by the end. It inspired me to go see more shows.

5. My favorite aspect of the trip may have been the eating! Not surprising, I know:) I loved picking out types of food that were new to my mom. We had Turkish, Mexican, Fish and Chips, Thai, French, Chinese, and Indian. Good thing we were doing all that walking!

6. There were strikes going on in France and we got a little taste of it. We went to the Louvre on Wednesday morning, but couldn't get in because the workers were blocking the entrances. My mom was none too pleased. She wanted to form a group to push through them. Luckily, they started letting people in around 11am, so we were able to spend a couple of hours there and see the biggies, like the Mona Lisa.

7. When I got back to work yesterday I found out that it looks like I will have the opportunity to change to a new team. I was looking for a bit of a change and new challenges after a year at the hospital, and expressed my interest in a different part of the service. Ask and you shall receive, I guess! I'm excited about it, but the details and timeline still seem a bit up in the air so I'm not getting too carried away yet.

8. I can't believe Halloween is this weekend! It totally snuck up on me. I have a party to go to, but no costume. I think I'm going to have to get creative and throw something together out of my wardrobe. That will be a challenge.

9. I'm planning my next trip. We are going to Amsterdam on November 12. It will just be a quick trip, back on Sunday. I've become really taken with Amsterdam lately and can't wait to see it in person. It seems very picturesque. It would probably be prettier in the spring or summer, but I didn't want to put off seeing it. I figure it will have the same charm in autumn.

10. For those Guthrie readers out there, I'm meeting up with Kit Nowlin this week. He is in London as part of his MBA program. We can reminisce about our band and StuCo days. That seems like a million years ago!

First UK Visitor

2010-10-14T23:10:00.000+01:00

Just over a year in, and someone is finally coming to visit me! My mom will get here tomorrow afternoon. I'm so excited, I'm having trouble going to sleep. I'm even getting a little emotional thinking about it. A year is a long time to go without seeing any of your family, not counting Skype calls. Having someone come over is great, but it also makes you think a bit more about what you've missed. Shylia's got a new job, drastically cut her hair and pratically regrown it by now, got a new car and new house I've never seen. I've missed seeing Allison during her pregnancy. My dad started building a new house. Amanda got married. My friend Sarah is engaged. Brooke ended a relationship and moved into a new apartment with college friends. My cousin got engaged. Since I last saw my mom she found out she had cancer, successfully went through surgery and treatment, lost her hair, started to regrow it. Basically, a lot happens in a year. Although I love being here, it is also hard to be away at times. It will be so nice to reconnect and actually be in the physical presence of a loved one. My mom is always fun loving and up for anything, so it will be a great week showing her around. Plus it will be her first time out of the country and we are going to Paris, too! Stewart thinks she's going to be like a kindergartener bouncing off the walls from the excitement. I don't think she'll be that hyper, but I know she will definitely enjoy seeing the sights and sharing part of my life here. It just occurred to me that it is kinda cool when the tables turn and you are the one exposing your parents to new experiences. As a child, she gave me the world and now I get to pay her back by showing her a bit more of it. See how sappy I'm getting! Come visit me and you'll get your own sentimental blog feature!

Ten on Tuesday

2010-10-05T23:00:00.000+01:00

1. I have been stung by wasps twice in the last week. Apparently there is a nest somewhere outside our house and they all come inside during the fall. I find a new wasp carcass in my room everyday. Luckily they don't hurt too bad when they sting and I'm not allergic or anything, but still kinda annoying.

2. I've been watching the first season of In Treatment through Lovefilm (the equivalent of Netflix). I love watching the dynamics between the patients and therapist. I should be finding out soon if I've been accepted into the Systemic Family Therapy course at work. I hope so.

3. So I know I just mentioned that I want to get into a course that will support the development of my clinical skills and career, but in other news, I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. You would think I would have this figured out since I'm nearly 31. Actually, I've known since I was in high school that I wanted to be a social worker, but over the last two years or so I've had these swings about exactly what direction I want to go in. Which of course, led me to the UK. I'm definitely happy living here, but still feel in flux about my job. I've been generally content in my role, unit, and department over the last year, but now I'm feeling an itch to do something a little different, maybe switch to one of the long-term teams instead of the access and assessment team. That makes sense that I would be ready for a new challenge. However, when I think long term (after I finish my contract here) the shifts and swings get more drastic. In one day I can go from thinking that I will stay here and maybe move up to the CSW position to thinking about doing a degree here, maybe in teaching to thinking "No, maybe I'll go home and think about teaching there" to thinking "Maybe I should do the teaching English thing in some exotic location" to thinking "No actually, I really want to be a school social worker, so I'll go back to Chicago and do that program" to thinking "Hmm, maybe it would be nice to live in Oklahoma, near family, and be able to buy a small home of my own" to thinking "Are you crazy? You have to stay here and be able to travel to Europe in two hours!" It's maddening! I don't know why I just can't settle.

4. All this thought about what to do with my life might be related to turning 31 tomorrow. I think it feels stranger than 30. I had prepared myself for 30, but I hadn't really considered "being in my 30's". I'm still getting used to the idea.

5. I had my first birthday celebration on Saturday. I went out for dinner and drinks with Stewart. We tried to go to Wahaca which is a Mexican restaurant I've heard a lot of good things about, but it was mysteriously closed. We went to a different Mexican restaurant that was pretty good. I'm meeting up with Leslie and Elaine tomorrow evening for Lebanese food, then having a birthday gathering on Saturday night at a place in Islington.

6. I found out last week that I didn't get in to the London marathon. I wasn't really surprised. They have a ton of entries so it is a lottery system, and really hard to get in. I still want to do a marathon in the spring. Probably Paris. They still had entries available when I looked the other day, but the only registration page I could find was all in French and I could not find a way to translate it! I'll have to get that sorted out.

7. I'm a little bummed that I am not running the Chicago marathon this weekend. It's on 10.10.10! How cool is that? I've been tracking some of my friends' progress through FB status updates and will be thinking of all the runners that day. Good luck guys!

8. I took last Thursday and Friday off work. I was supposed to go to Octoberfest in Munich but that didn't work out so I just took some days to relax and chill. On Thursday I went to Salisbury and took the bus from there to Stonehenge. Salisbury was a pretty little town, with a very nice cathedral.

Stonehenge was everything you expect Stonehenge to be...ancient, impressive, and mysterious.

I think what I was most struck by is that it is kind of right on the side of a highway. Like some people just drive by Stonehenge on their way to work and school every morning. It's like 4000 years old. That's a lot of history to have in your back yard.

9. I've been working a few late(ish) nights at work this week. I have been so spoiled by my 9-5 schedule. It has really taken me back to my SOC days, working all those evenings. I definitely miss things about that job, but I am so thankful for the schedule I am able to keep here. I still haven't figured out how I lucked into a social work job with such manageable hours. Your quality of life is so much better when you don't spend an hour+ in the car to and from work. Add that to my confusion about what to do in the future. I never, ever want to live farther away than a fifteen minute walk to work each morning. Don't know that I'll be able to find that in Chicago or Oklahoma.

10. I was able to catch most of OU/Texas online on Saturday night. Stewart watched a bit with me, then he fell asleep. Truthfully, I was falling asleep by the fourth quarter. It was about midnight here. But the important thing is that we won! I really miss going to the family gathering for OU/Texas weekend. I think 2006 was the last time I was there. I was busy running the marathon in '07 and '08 and last year I was here. I think I will definitely try to go back for it next year.