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!

10 things I miss most about Home

#10 Soda…The soda here tastes so funny. Good thing I don’t drink a lot of it. But I was so excited because they had Diet Cherry Coke in the breakroom, so I had one…that will be the first and last one I have in the UK…it was nasty!!!! Didn’t taste anything like the Cherry coke at home!

#9 Salad Dressing…It has been 4 weeks and I have yet to have a decent salad dressing here. I think that I am going to give up on the salad thing here.

#8 My Car…I actually like walking and taking the tube more than I thought…but it is quit inconvenient when I just need one little thing from the store. I wish I could just hop in my car and go to the store, instead it is about a 45 minute trip for one item. It also inconvenient to always be stuck to a time table. I can’t just pick up and leave work when I am finished…I have to make sure that I finish by 5:55 to catch the 6pm shuttle to catch the 6:26 tube to get to the gym by 7pm for my Boxing class..etc.

#7 My Gym…Although I love my boxing classes that I am taking on Mon and Wed evenings, the rest of the gym is not the greatest. It is very small, so in the evening when it is crowded it can be very Stinky and hard to find a spot to lift!

#6 TV...British TV is not the most entertaining content. It is like really bad soap operas 24/7. Good thing they show American shows! I just bought freeview…which is a set top box that allows you to get about 30-40 additional channels…and they play Law and Order…so I can’t wait to get that hooked up.

#5 American Sports…I am so sick of soccer. I just cannot get into it. I have tried to watch it…but it just doesn’t compare to Football! Rugby is interesting to watch…there is a Rugby field behind my flat, so it is fun to watch the games on the weekends. Better to watch in person I think then on TV.

#4 My Bed…the mattress in my flat is so hard…it is so hard to get comfortable!

#3 Measuring cups…Ok we all know I am not the best cook…combine that with no measuring cups and all directions in weight…and we get a disaster!!! There will not be any elaborate cooking done while I am here. I think Thanksgiving dinner is going to be a challenge!!!! Mom and Joanne…We might have to eat out!

#2 Outlets in the Bathroom…Not sure why, but there are no outlets in the bathroom and the only mirror in my Flat is in the bathroom, so getting ready in the morning is somewhat challenging. I blow dry my hair in the bedroom and heat up my curling iron in another outlet in the room then try to curl my hair in the bathroom real fast (without the curling iron plugged in) before the iron cools down.


And the #1 Think I miss the most…

Picture says it all….My Washer & Dryer!!!
Next time you don’t feel like doing laundry, think about what I go through doing laundry and it will make you feel 10 times better. My Washer is about 1/8th of the size of my unit at home. Laundry that would take about 2 hours at home took me a week here. I had to do 5 loads. And because I have a combo washer/dryer I can not put in a new load in the washer while my washed clothes are drying. But I don’t even know why they call it a dryer…because it doesn’t dry your clothes…it should be called a damper…because everything comes out damp!!! So I have to hang my clothes up around the flat to dry. But due to the Cold Wet weather here it takes about 3 days for your clothes to completely dry! Such a pain…but the good thing is there is a dry cleaning store down the street and they pick up and deliver. So I am going to send my bedding linens and towels along with my dry cleaning to them and let them do it…I can only image how long I would be without a comforter if I tried washing it myself…provided it would even fit in my machine!

So those are the Things I miss most about Home…obviously all of you are missed much more!

Love Ya

Update…

Update on Becca....

I am so happy and relieved to report the results of all the tests that Becca has been through the last couple weeks. Although there is still a long road to full recovery, it is a great feeling to know what is causing her pain and a huge relief to know that it is not cancer.

I’m sure most of you know by now….but if you don’t here is the update straight from Becca….

“I actually have two different problems going on right now; a brain tumor and shoulder pain…Basically, I have been diagnosed with a brain tumor on the right frontal lobe of my brain. The good news is that the tumor is benign and is pretty small right now. The tumor needs to be removed because if it becomes too large, it will cause damage to my brain and could potentially become cancerous in the future. Therefore, I will definitely be undergoing brain surgery. My neurosurgeon feels confident that surgery will remove the entire tumor. If not, I may need radiation therapy as a follow up, but the surgeon feels confident that that won't be the case. Also, the surgery does not need to happen immediately, which I am really happy about. I am going to have another MRI and CT scan in March so the surgeon can determine the growth rate of the tumor, and then I will probably have the surgery over the summer, which is obviously good timing for me! Its scary to think about having brain surgery, but at least I'm not looking at cancer! In terms of my shoulder, I have a large degree of bone bruising and a large amount of swelling and fluid build up in the should joint, as well as the tissues surrounding the joint. I also have some small tears and abrasions in the rotator cuff and surrounding tissue. All of the swelling is putting pressure on the nerve networks in my shoulder region, which is causing the pain to radiate down my left arm. In terms of treatment, we are starting a series of cortisone shots to reduce the inflammation and I am currently taking morphine for pain management. If that does not work, I will probably need surgery to fix the tears and abrasions, which should permanently reduce the swelling and relieve the pressure on my nerve networks.”

Becca is one of the strongest women I know, so I am so confident that she will make it through all of this in flying colors. Her strenth, determination and positive attitude throughout this ordeeal has been truly inspirational.

Becca I love you so much. You continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. I can’t wait to see you in 4 weeks!!!

First bout of Rain

Raining Weekend


Picture from my front door of the rain.

This weekend was the first real rain that I have experienced here. But as the Brits say if you let the weather dictate what you do, you would never get anything done. So I braved the weather and explored the city. On Saturday I went down to the gym near my house and signed a membership. I did a short workout and then went to downtown Richmond to do some grocery shopping and pick up some small things that I needed for the house.

Pics from the Museums....

On Sunday I went down to Kensington Street where all of the museums are. I went to the Art museum and the Science Museum. They were both very interesting and a great place to spend a raining Sunday afternoon. After 4 hours at the museums I hopped on the tube and went to Regent street. I needed to get a gym bag and they have a huge sporting good store down there so I got a gym bag and then did some window shopping at all the high end stores that I can't afford in the US let alone in the UK! Burburry in the UK...uh...not on my salary!!! I can't even afford the GAP here!



Today I am working at home...or in a Starbucks down the street...because I don't have the Internet hooked up yet! I am getting my TV delivered today...finally...so I have to be home for the delivery. It is pretty cool here in the Starbucks, very lively, all the stay at home moms here with their kids, a couple business people working on their laptops and then the folks running in for coffee before they hop on the tube for work, school, etc. Kind of crazy to think that 5 years ago, I was selling $2000 vacuum cleaners door to door...and now I am sitting in a Coffee shop in London working for Cisco. I can remember walking up and down the streets of LA thinking, "I am so much better than this"...Although I knew I would find my way...I Never imaged this is where I would be.



It has been a great experience for me to be out here...I think that has helped me to realize a lot about myself and what I want. I knew that it was going to be hard to be away from Michael and my family, but everyday when I get up, I wish that Michael was here with me. I guess if you were single being out here alone would be a fun and exciting experience, but for me it is really lonely. My life is in the bay area...or rather my life is where the ones that I love are. Because I could pick up an go anywhere in the world (well almost anywhere) and as long as I had Michael, my family and my close friends...I would be the happiest person on earth.



Things and places, can always be nice, but their is no substance in Things. Substance, comfort and pure happiness comes from those who you share those things and places with.

Pics from Amsterdam

This is me doing the Tourist Pose in front of the I AmSterdam sign

I convinced Curtis to do it as well!!

This is Cutis' patio outside of his Hotel room...Very nice...but check out his view....

It's a Butt!!!

Not sure what this says!!! But the words in Dutch are crazy...how do you pronounce that?


This old guy was blasting some Dutch Rap music on his Bike through the park.



This is the canal along the hotel where Curtis was stying...I can't remember the name of it.

This is Becca's Dream store! A whole store with just Cheese!


Cheese, Cheese and more Cheese...All the cheese you can eat!

Watch out for the Bikers...everyone is on bikes...this is at the train station (instead of a parking lot for cars...they have a lot for bikes)


Hope you enjoy!

Love Ya.