Update from London

It has been a while since I have had had the time to sit down and write a blog. I have been so busy since I returned from the US. My time here with my Mom and Joanne was absolutely amazing. We had so much fun together. They kept me very busy! I needed to take a vacation from their vacation! So this weekend I didn't do much of anything. =) I can't explain how much it meant to me to have them come out here to visit. To see the excitement on my Mom's face is something that I will never forget. It was such a special week for me. I feel so lucky to have such an amazing Mom...and even luckier to have such a close friendship with her. Mom I love you so much....and I miss you tons!

I have been really busy with work as well. It is actually really nice, and I am enjoying all of the projects that I am working on. But it has been long days and will continue to be that way until the Christmas break. Cisco is shutting down all of their offices globally for 2 weeks and forcing us to take PTO. So everyone is trying to get their last minute projects completed...which means the studio is completely booked from now until Dec 18th. I am looking forward to my time off...especially because that will be when Michael is here...10 more days!!! It will be nice for us to have a full 2 weeks together without work.

I am really looking forward to our trip to Paris, but it still seems weird that I will not be home for Christmas. Yesterday was a hard day for me, because it was the first day, since I have been back, that I really didn't have much to do....so I had time to feel lonely =( Plus it was the day that my Family, Jessica and Terry got together to make our Christmas cookies. These are the times that I miss home the most. But on the bright side of things....I will be home in less then 8 weeks.

Today I went out with my friend Anna for the last time. She is moving back to Finland next Saturday =( We were trying to get tickets to go to a football match here, but we couldn't find any games locally that were cheap. Apparently the only local teams are in the Premier league (which is the top league) and tickets to their games are hard to get and very expensive. So we decided to go to a pub and watch a game there instead. It was fun, and we saw a really good match. She has been a great friend and I'm sure that we will keep in touch, but I am really sad that she is leaving.

So that's about it....I miss you all so much.

XOXOXO

Weekend in London

OUR WEEKEND IN LONDON

We had a wonderful weekend in London. Although the weather wasn’t the greatest…we didn’t let it stop us. On Saturday we got up early and went down to Leiscer Square to buy theatre tickets. If you buy them the same day you can get some really good deals. We decided to see Blood Brothers, which is a British musical about Twin brothers separated at birth. It has been running for 27 years here. It had been recommended to me by a couple people, but non of us had ever heard anything about it. The production was absolutely amazing, we all really enjoyed it. After we bought the tickets we waked through the parks, starting at St James park and Buckingham Palace and ending in Kensington Park at the Princess Dianna memorial. It was freezing that day, but we had so much fun walking around the parks. They had a Christmas set up in Hyde park with a skating rink and lots of little rides for the kids. We then walked back to Piccadilly Circus for dinner and then went off to the Theatre. It was a really long day, but it was so much fun. We were all exhausted by the time we got back to my flat. Mom liked London so much that she decided not to go to Paris. They decided that they would rather stay here and see more of London. I was really excited because it gives me more time with them! =) On Sunday we slept in and relaxed at my flat in the morning. It was poring down rain in the morning, so it was nice to stay inside in our PJs and relax. It rained off an on all day, but in London you can’t let that stop you from going out. So in the afternoon we went down to Richmond and walked around the little shops there. I wanted to show Mom and Joanne the area around where I live, so that they could get a feel for my town. They really liked the downtown Richmond area…Mom said that she approved of me living here. After Richmond we took the train down to Westminster Abbey for the Sunday evening Organ Recital. On our walk to Westminster we saw Big Ben and the Parliament…it was absolutely gorgeous at night. We got to the church early and Joanne mad friends with an older chap named Rob who took us around and gave us a nice little tour. It was kind of eerie walking through the dark halls in the dark and rain with tombs and grave stones all through out the halls. But it was amazing to see how long ago the tombs dated back to. Rob said that there were grave sites that dated back to the 13th century. After we walked around the church we went in for the recital. Every Sunday evening they feature an accomplished organ player who gives a 30 minute recital before the Evening Service. I can’t describe the feeling you get when you sit in the Westminster Abbey and the echoes of the organ ring through the Church. It was breath taking. We didn’t stay for the service because Mom didn’t want me to be out too late since I had to work in the morning….At least that was the excuse that she gave!!! =) I let her use me as an excuse!

Here are pics from our weekend. Hope you enjoy!

Friday Morning - Just arrived into London waiting for the Bus to my flat.


Friday Night at Picadilly Circus

Picadilly Circus - Christmas lights in the street

I told Mom to do a funny pose...and she told me to pucker up!!! We were laughing so hard we couldn't pucker...and almost wet our pants!

In the Tube station...acting silly!

Saturday - Our journey through the Parks....

Waiting for the Tube

This is a Militery building in St James Park. We watched the changing of the guards.

Buckingham Palace

The gates at Buckingham

Green Park

A weird looking bird in Green Park.

Hyde Park - Christmas Fair

Crossing the Bridge to Kensington Park

Joanne and Mom and the Princess Dianna Memorial

Sunday - Richmond....This is my neighborhood


Sunday Evening - Big Ben and Westminster Abbey

The Parliment

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Back to London

My first blog since being back in the UK.

It was really hard for me to leave home, but once I got here I felt better. It will never feel like home here…but it felt familiar and good to be back. I miss everyone so much already, but I am now feeling like I don’t have a lot of time left here, so I am trying to make the best of being here instead of focusing on all that I miss about home. I think it is easier because my Mom and Joanne are here this next week and then Michael comes 3 weeks after that. So I won’t be alone the whole time! =)

Work has been really busy, I have been assigned several new projects, a couple really fun creative projects. So I am looking forward to working on those. It is nice to get back into the routine here. I really love working here…it is going to be hard to leave.

My birthday in London has been wonderful! This morning I picked my Mom and Joanne up from the airport. It was cold and drizzling…it was great welcoming weather for them! It is suppose to snow on Sunday…so they are in for a treat! I’m not sure they realize how much it means to me to have them come out here to visit me. I am really looking forward to having them here. It would have been very difficult to be here alone for my b-day and Thanksgiving.

When I got to work they had a little party for me…they even bought me some Gluten Free, Lactose free cakes…they tasted pretty good too! It was so sweet of them to do that for me.

This is me with my cake

This is Dawn

Marcus with his doughnut (they didn't eat my glueten free cakes)

This is Tom

Mel and Simon feeding Dom.

This is Stuart presending to pose with Miro who was out on vacation. Stuart and Miro are our engineers and you usually don't find one without the other.

After work I came home and Mom, Joanne and I went out to Picadilly Circus for dinner. We walked around for a bit to take in the London night life and then went to a steak restaurant for dinner. It was such a wonderful day. Thank you to everyone for the calls, cards and gifts, I really appreciate everyones thoughtfulness. You have all made this a birthday that I will never forget!

I will update with more pictures later...my camera is charging right now!

I will continue to fill you in on my adventures this week with Mom and Joanne, I’m sure we will have loads of funny stories to share!

Love You all!

Weekend: Ships, BBQ and NFL!

Man…what a busy week it has been! This is my first chance to blog about my weekend (on my Lunch break!). On Saturday I took the train to Southampton which is about an 1 ½ train ride south of London. I wish I would have gone out there earlier in the day so that I had more time at the docks. There is a fairy that takes you to the Isles of Write and they have some tours you can do over there, but I wanted to work out in the morning, so by the time I got out there it was already half past 1pm. So I wasn’t able to take the fairy. But I went to the Maritime Museum which has exhibits of the Titanic and other famous ships that sailed from the Southampton ports. The Titanic exhibit was so interesting, I learned a lot. One of the most astounding statistics that I found was that out of the 2,206 people on board; 202 First class passengers saved (out of 322), 115 second class passengers saved (out of 277), 176 third class passengers saved (out of 709), 100% of the First class children were saved, but only 30% of the Third Class children were saved. Blows my mind how much class is a determining factor. On the Train to Southampton

The ports

Maritime Museum

Model of the Titanic

Sunday I went with my friend Elissa to Bodean’s, which is an American BBQ restaurant, to watch the NFL football game. It was so much fun, the Chelsea UK football game had just ended (and the stadium was right down the street from the restaurant) so there were a lot of Chelsea fans in the restaurant after the game. There were two older gentlemen sitting next to us, who had just come from the game. They were giving us a briefing of all the different UK football leagues and teaching us the rules of rugby and we were explaining to them American Football. They were quit impressed with our knowledge of sports. They said that women in the UK do not get involved in sports that much. They said they might attend games, but they have little knowledge of the sport or the teams.

This is Elissa

I tried to take a picture of the TV!

Elissa found a couple of other Pubs that play American sports, so we are going to check those out when I get back to the UK. She wanted more of a bar atmosphere…but I was quit happy with the sit down chill atmosphere….she is definitely more of a partier than I am, but then again…I think most people are…except maybe Erica!! =) I don’t think I will ever find another friend like Erica! We are just too much alike…She is the BEST! But it is definitely nice to have some people here to go out with.

Change of Subject….

It is freakin COLD here. On Monday it was -2celcius and then yesterday it snowed when I was in Central London. Nothing stuck to the ground, but it was snowing non the less. I tried to take a picture, but you can’t really see it. They said on the news this morning that this is the first time since 1934 that it has snowed in October. They said that they are expecting a colder than normal winter…GREAT!!!! I don’t know what I am going to do when I get back from PV. I am going to go from 35celicus (95F) to Freezing!!! They were laughing at me at work, because I had on 4 layers yesterday when we were at lunch (a long sleeve shirt, a button up shit, a sweater –or jumper as they call it here, and then a coat) Simon, had on a short sleeve work polo type shirt…he had a jacket too but wasn’t wearing it. They were all telling me that they couldn’t wait to see how many layers I would have in December and January! Hopefully I will start to get use to it!!! But for now…I am freezing my bum off! =)
This is my picture of the Snow! Didn't really come out!

Well…3 more days till I am HOME. And if you didn’t already know..I am so Excited! =) I can not wait to see everyone. Mom, I am really looking forward to our day together….Becca, I can’t wait for you B-day dinner and to give you a great big hug…Gina I can’t wait to give you a big hug too and just hang out at the house with you….Roomie, I can’t wait to chill at the house and chit chat with you…Gianna, I can’t wait to pick you up and give you the biggest kiss ( I will wait till you recognize me so you don’t scream!) Curtis, I can’t wait to share traveling stories….Erica, I can’t wait to talk to you in person and catch up on all that is going on…And Michael I can’t wait to have you in my arms, to be able to see you in person and not over a web cam, to wake up next you and all that other good stuff.

I Love you All!

Change of Plans!

Update on my trip back home:

Becca has scheduled her brain surgery for Monday November 3rd, so please pray for her and send positive thoughts! We are all praying for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery. This has been a tough couple of months for Becca and she is really looking forward to putting this past her and moving on. So please keep her in your thoughts!

I was able to get approval from my work to change my flight back home to November 1st so that I can be home for the surgery. Which means, I will be home in 9 days! Yes...I am counting down! We are in single digits now! WooHoo!!! I know it sounds so bad that I am excited about this, under these circumstances...but I really am anxious to come home.

I finally received the rest of my stuff from home...UPS sucks! It was such a pain trying to send my stuff over here. But it is here now and all unpacked! I also got my Internet hooked up this week, so everything is finally falling into place. It only took 5 weeks! I can't image having to do this with out the help of the relocation company. They have been so helpful throughout this process, but even with their help it has been a pain. I met a girl from Santa Cruz that is here for 6 months on a temp work permit, and she said that it took her almost 2 months to get everything settled. Not sure what is up with the UK, or if that is how it would be relocating to any country. But anyways, it feels good to have everything sorted.

I have a fun weekend planned. Tomorrow I am meeting up with the girl that I met from Santa Cruz for dinner, then on Saturday I think that I am going to take a trip to Southampton (if it isn't raining too bad), I want to check out the Titanic Memorial. There are a couple other tours that look interesting there too, so I thought I would go exploring! Then on Sunday it is NFL time! The Chargers and Saints are in London playing football, (the tickets were 100 pounds, about $200, so I couldn't justify buying a ticket) so instead I am going with a couple friends to an American Pub for American BBQ and American Football!!!! I can't wait! I found this Pub and I am so excited because they play American sports all the time. They post their schedule on-line so you can see what games they are playing. I am so excited...I will be able to see NFL and NBA games! Hopefully the food is good. I think this might be a common spot for Michael and I when he comes out to visit!

More to come with pics of my weekend later....


Love you all so much!

9 Days...and counting!!!

Roller Blading in London

ROLLER BLADING THROUGH LONDON

My friend Anna and I rented roller blades and went on the Sunday Stroll. There is a group of people that meet up every Sunday for 2 hours of roller blading through Central London. It was so much fun...and we were lucky becuase the weather held up. (They don't go if it is raining) It is too bad that the weather is starting to get bad, becuase we probably won't have too many more rain free days!

So here are some pics from the day. I tried to keep my camera out, but after falling before we even got out of the park, I decided to put the camera away and concentrate on staying on my feet!

This is Anna, she is from Finland. She goes back home in December. =( She is my sparing partner in my boxing class.

Me and Anna getting ready for our skate!Fall is here. This is Hyde Park

I love you all and miss you guys so much...Only 2 more weeks!!!

Beautiful Weekend in London

It was an absolutely beautiful weekend here in London. The Sun was out and it reached the high 60’s, so I made the best of it and spent most of the weekend outside. Saturday I went for a great run through Old Deer park which is about a half a mile from my house. The trail runs along the Thames river into Kew Gardens. I ran about 6 miles total, it was gorgeous, but it would be really muddy in the rain, so I will only be able to do that run when it is nice out. After that I went to the gym and them I went down to downtown Richmond and did some shopping. Seems like I go shopping every weekend!!! But I think that I have finally gotten everything that I needed for the house…so hopefully no more spending money. I did get some clothes too! =) I am freezing at work, and since I haven’t received my clothes from home yet, I went and picked up a couple sweaters for work.

On Sunday I spent the day with my Co-worker Di and her husband. They are a really nice couple, and they took me on a tour through the London Parks. We met up at St James Park and walked to Buckingham Palace, then we through Hyde park, which is a great place for running, biking and roller blading, so I think I will go out there more on the weekends for runs and other activities. Every Sunday a group of Rollerbladers meet up and go for a skate through the London streets. They close down the streets on the route every weekend…I thought that was pretty amazing that they would do that. We watched them take off for their skate and then continued through the part…I think I will definitely have to rent some rollerblades and do that one Sunday!

Couldn't Resist...Poor guy...everyone walks up to them to take pictures..Must get old really fast.

Picture of all the people meeting up for Roller blading through London.


We also went to Kensington Park where they have the Princess Diana Memorial. It is a great Memorial…I think…but I guess there was a lot of controversy over it when it was first built. They spent over 5 million pounds (10 million dollars) on it, and it is very simple looking. You can see below. But is was so nice for families…the kids were having a ball playing in the water and sliding around. I thought that it was a great tribute to what Princess Diana stood for….Peace and Family. I couldn’t help but think, Gianna would love it there! We wouldn’t be able to get her out of the fountain. It is amazing how many times I said…I wish Becca and Gianna were here…or I can’t wait for my Mom to see this…or I wish Gina could come visit…We definitely need to take more family trips!!!

This is a Picture of the Memorial Fountain.

We then went to the courtyard at the Art Museum that I visited last weekend for Tea and Coffee and Gluten free pound cake!!! After that we walked through Harrods, which is a famous department store out here…all the high fashion shops and a really nice grocery store. It was really fun, Di and her Husband started a tradition with their children when they were young. When they went on family outings they would stop at a grocery store and every one got to choose one item that they wanted to eat for dinner. You could choose anything. Di said the first time they did it her daughter said…”even ice cream”…she was so excited that she could pick anything she wanted. So they have carried the tradition on with their friends, when they take them out. So, in the Harrods grocery store (outrageous prices…but lots of good food) we each picked something that we would eat that evening for dinner. Di got a Middle eastern desserts, her husband got some cheese, and I got a chicken, avocado and mango salad….AND GUESS WHAT!!!! It was soooo good…..I even liked the dressing!!!!!

To Be honest...I forget what this building is. I will have to ask Di and let you know later!

It was suck a wonderful day…it was so nice of them to show me around and spend the day with me. I had a lot of fun.

Love you All!

Cheers!