November pretty much RULES

You guys, so much has happened since I posted last.

Chronologically:

* I went to the midnight showing of NEW MOON.  Squee!!  LOVED. IT.  So so much better than the first one.  I love director Chris Weitz and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg for keeping it so close to the book.  I want to go see it again.  Wanna come with me??

* I gave blood for the first time.  It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, but I had a horrible headache later that evening – probably caused by dehydration.  You know, from the PINT of BLOOD that they drew from my BODY!!  Eeek!  No, really though, I’m glad I did it and I will do it again this spring.

* STEPHANIE, BRANDON, AND TRAVIS ARRIVED!!!

We collected them from the airport on Saturday morning and I very nearly peed myself I was so happy to see my Roommate.  And the other two as well

The weekend was filled with lots of walking and sightseeing – some typical, some local.  We discovered some brilliant stalls/markets in Camden, trudged through Westminster in the rain (is there any other way?!), walked through Knightsbridge (including a browse through Harrod’s), and went to ‘Winter Wonderland‘ in Hyde Park.

...Uhhh...?

In that photo, they’re looking at the creepiest laughing Santa any of us had ever seen.  I won’t even post it here; you’ll have nightmares.

 

Complete with fake snow!

[caption id="attachment_869" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Flat Stanley accompanied us"][/caption]
Flat Stanley has joined us on our adventures.  (My friend from back home, Mel, sent him to me for her class project.  I can’t wait to get it all ready to send back to her!  I helped out another teacher-friend, Dave, with a Flat Stanley project a couple years ago.  It’s so fun; I hope the kids enjoy it.)

 

 

Stanley shops in style

As I went back to work on Monday, they were troopers and true tourists – Tower of London, Globe Theatre, Westminster Abbey, Oxford Street, etc etc.  And they even successfully navigated their way back home today when the train went down due to a tree across the track!!

 

Tomorrow we’re off to Amsterdam for two days!  Can’t wait.  None of us have ever been there (well, Ush has, but he’s staying home – he has a course for work that he couldn’t reschedule!) and we’re looking forward to it!

Work will be tough on Friday!

Buppy’s Version of Heaven

Hey, what’s that in my laundry basket?  Is that my new furry shirt?  Faux of course.  All the rage this season.

Hang on a minute… That’s not a shirt and its certainly not faux!!

It’s a puppycakes!

What are you doing in there, Buppy*?  Is it nice and cozy??

I got an email from Ush while I was at work.

So, I had Bups on my lap while I was on the computer, but he was too heavy – really hurting my back.  So I have put him in the laundry basket – and he’s gone to sleep! Of course I immediately replied with squeals and giddiness and OMGTAKEPICTURES!!!  To which he responded, I’ve already taken about 10. He LOVES it! And he’s not even chewing underwear or anything!**

For our little puppycakes, sleeping in a bin of dirty laundry is better than any bed, couch, or cushion.

He’s special and we love him.

* Or Boopy, pronounced with the ‘u’ or ‘oo’ sound like that in book.  I think, in a roundabout way, that’s how he got that nickname.  Shnookums Bookums became Books became Bups became Buppy.

** You can just barely see it in the bottom right of the second photo – where he has tried to pull a pair of undies through the vents in the basket.  Sick little monster.

Stuff and things

Whoops! I didn’t realise I’d been so quiet all week…

To be honest, I am so looking forward to the events of the next few days that I can hardly concentrate on much else!

First things first, THIS OF COURSE:

In other words, New Moon premiere!! Squeee!!

And secondly, three of my favourite Midwesterners will be arriving this weekend!  British Airways moved their flights from Friday to Saturday, which gives me an extra day pre-arrival to do important things like sleep in (if I’m able to sleep after all of the New Moon squee!-ing), do some last minute cleaning/organising, and go to the blood drive at a local church.

*

I’m strangely looking forward to that last one.. I’ve never given blood before but have been wanting to for awhile, and was even more motivated to do so when I learned that stores of my blood type are the second lowest here in the UK.  So they need me!  Fact: My Grandma Moss has given over 15 gallons (GALLONS) of blood in her life. How amazing is that?!  One of many reasons she is awesome.  Anyway.  I do really want to do it, but I’m nervous, so Ush is coming with me to hold my hand.  Well, the hand that isn’t squeezing a little ball in order to pump blood out of my veins! (Yiiiikes!)

*

Movember update:

This is a ridiculously poor photo and doesn’t accurately capture what he really looks like in full moustache mode…  But he DOES look a bit like a Mexican revolutionary, doesn’t he?!

While I’m not a fan of the mo, I was forced to admit that it doesn’t look as horrible as I thought it would.

I’m still looking forward to 1st December, of course, when it goes bye bye.  But I was pleasantly surprised to realise I can indeed survive the next two weeks!

In the meantime, you can donate here.

Happy anniversary, Dee-dot!

I’ve loved all of the Google headers over the past week, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street.

The BBC traveled to Sesame Street to do an exclusive interview with some of the Street’s favourites (including outtakes!)  The whole thing kept me permanently grinning!  What a fantastic show…

It’s made me really miss my brother, actually.

It reminds me of when we’d wake up at the butt crack of dawn (as kids do), go into the living room, lay down on the floor in front of the tv with our massive headphones on (genius idea on my parents’ part!), and watch Sesame Street, Mr Rogers, etc.

When we were little (I think it was both of us.. maybe it was only me?), before we could pronounce it properly, we called Sesame Street “dee-dot”.

We also called grapes “beeps”.  It took a neighbor friend of ours years before he could say Alex (my bro) – instead calling him Ackett.  ‘Animals’ was another tough one – it was always “aminals.”

Alex called me “Ottie” (AH-dee) for who knows how long until he could say Stephanie, and about 10 years later, my cousin Chelsea called me the same thing!

What words did you have a hard time pronouncing as a kid?

Because one can never overdose on the cute

Ush bought me this camera months ago, and this weekend I finally dug out the cables and installed the software “required” to pull the photos off the camera and onto the computer.  (I say “required” because the software isn’t actually necessary at all.  But I installed it just in case, seeing as the label basically said DON’T PLUG IN THE CAMERA WITHOUT INSTALLING THIS SOFTWARE OR YOUR COMPUTER AND YOUR CAMERA WILL DIE SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATHS.  I’m paraphrasing of course, but that was the gist.)

Anyway! Aren’t you the lucky ones?!  Project Zinnias yesterday, and today:  Random Shots Of My Puppies Because They’re So Cute And I Love Them!

Flower-tastic

When I was home this summer, my mom gave me a little packet of seeds to bring back with me.  Zinnias.  She said they’re easy to grow and maintain, they last a season, and they yield pretty flowers.

So I was excited!  I decided to document the process.

Day 1: Seeds planted

Day 13: Up they come!

Day 25: Boom!

At this point, it was clear they were ready to move on.  Ush and I did plant them in the ground, but the next morning we found them nearly ravaged by (presumably) slugs, so I quickly moved them again to a safer place.

I also planted a few seeds in here and they sprung up fast:

I was ridiculously excited when the first flower started to pop…

And, for some strange reason, I hadn’t expected all of the other colours and shapes that followed!

I’ve enjoyed them and will definitely plant lots more next spring.

the sun will come out tomorrow

You guys, it’s almost laughable, but I feel GREAT today!

Yesterday’s so very low mood is such a distant memory, almost as if it didn’t even happen!! (cue Fleetwood Mac, “Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone!”)

After I wrote that post, the evening plodded along pretty much as usual.  Ush and I decided to forgo our usual Friday night takeaway and had leftover chilli instead (which was, by the way, the best chilli I’ve ever made.  I make it differently every single time, but this particular recipe is a keeper! The secret is using the canned kidney beans that come in a chili sauce. WOW so good!!  Thanks to my best work friend for that recommendation!)

Anyway – I did some laundry, cried again for no reason, we watched some TV, watched the dogs play with some of their new toys that I had bought earlier, played a new game on the DS that Ush bought, and eventually went to bed.

This morning, I had an appointment at 9:30 to get waxed, after which I planned to run some errands and make my once-maybe-twice-a-year visit to Starbucks.. Toffee nut latte for the win!!  It was very tasty, but not something I’d have any sort of desire to partake in regularly. Hence the once maybe twice a year.  The best drink I’ve ever had there is the cinnamon dolce latte, and if they don’t have that, then there’s very little point.  I like tea and I can make that at home.

ANYWAY.  All that said, I did all my errands this morning in an inexplicably great mood, complete with smiling at strangers and everything.  Bought a new dog bed because Sadie shredded yet another one (This is the 3rd time we’ve had to replace one because of that little butthead!  Still, at least she’s destroying HER stuff and not mine!)  Went to Sainsbury’s for some milk and decided I’d get something for Ush to cheer him up (his back has been acting up again, really bad this time.. he’s going to try to get a referral to see a neurologist.. Looks like surgery may be an option to look at now.)  The bakery section was mouth-watering this morning, so I got some sesame seed bagels and some salmon, cream cheese, and lemon.  And it worked – he was very pleased!

So I think I feel a new Saturday morning ritual coming on!!

And did I mention I’m in a great mood?  Because I really am!  The sun is shining very bright (brightly? Which is grammatically correct here?), the dogs are basking in it, Ush is playing FIFA 10, and I am going to curl up with a book.

In summary: Yesterday, everything sucked and would never ever get better.  Today, everything is great and I couldn’t ask for more!  Funny how that works, eh?

To all you men, be glad you’re men, ok?  And be patient with the women in your lives – they can’t help it.

today was one of THOSE days

<whisper>also known as day three of my period</whisper>

Thankfully things began alright this morning.  The hair was cooperating, it’s Friday which means I could wear jeans to work, and I had a cute new top to wear for the first time.  These are all good things – otherwise I might have completely fallen apart before I’d even gotten started.

I don’t think I’ve felt so NOT in control of my emotions since I was in high school.  That’s like 10 years ago, people.  When I was a teenager. Eww.

But that’s how it was today… I was not in control of my feelings, my reactions, my ability to deal.

I would have been furious if I hadn’t been so busy trying to feel nothing at all… because if I let myself feel something, anything, I’d start to tear up.

And if I couldn’t stop the eyes welling up, I’d have to slink off to the bathroom to regroup.  I’d done that three times before noon.

My favourite work friend (who works in a far away part of the office, so it’s not his fault he didn’t notice sooner) caught on around 12:15 and asked if I was ok.

And, obviously, someone showing concern was another on the list of many things that made me well up.  So I tried to honestly and quickly to assuage his concerns and shut him up.

When lunchtime rolled around, I walked down the road to the pet store to buy some treats and toys for the pups.  This made me feel a teeny bit better, because I knew it’d make them really happy.  I went to the grocery store and decided I would not hold back:  I bought comfort food.  A sausage/bacon sandwich.  A bag of crisps.  A brownie.  I went back to the office and ate it all.  This made me feel much more noticeably better. (Ah, the magic of fat, salt, and sugar.)

The afternoon was much easier to get through than the morning.  Still, though, on the tube ride home with aforementioned buddy, I was feeling shattered. Weary from holding it in all day.

I stepped off the train, up the stairs, across the bridge, down the stairs on the other side, and across the dark parking lot towards the road leading up to the house.   And then I cried.  I got to the house and I was still crying.  Dogs jumping and crawling over each other to try to be closer to me.  Still crying but then laughing a little bit too.

And now I feel better.

Regardless, I’m glad today is almost over!

Play it the way that you feel it

Over the summer, when I was anticipating going to see Fleetwood Mac with my mom in Milwaukee, I wasn’t exactly composed or eloquent about it.  I really just can’t help myself!  Something about Her Most Fabulousness Miss Stephanie Nicks just makes me go all floopy.  (It could be a word.)

I felt the same way anticipating my second Fleetwood Mac show, this time here in London, but found myself feeling the need to reign it in a bit more… It’s one thing making a fool of yourself in front of your mom – who once gave birth to you, diapered your poopy butt, watched the worst of your tantrums, etc etc etc and still loves you anyway.  It’s a whole ‘nother matter doing so in front of your husband, a colleague, and colleague’s wife who you have only just met!

After that first show, I posted a pretty comprehensive review of what was one of the best nights I’ve had in my 27-holy-crap-almost-28 years!

And I have to say, this time around was much the same!!!  Despite a few twats in the row behind us, The Mac most certainly did not disappoint!!!

The Evening Standard published a really great review and I generally agree wholeheartedly with Mr David Smyth, except that I’d give it 5 stars instead of just 4!

“How heartwarming it is when a band of a certain vintage recognises that another new album would be about as welcome as rheumatism and heads out to play everyone’s favourite songs with no ulterior motive.

“This time we said: ‘Let’s just go out and have fun,’” claimed guitarist Lindsey Buckingham as Fleetwood Mac’s Unleashed tour arrived in London for the first of three arena shows. There have been rumours of a new album and even of Sheryl Crow taking the place of the long-departed Christine McVie but perhaps they got bored waiting for inspiration and decided to remind themselves of their many finest moments.

With a set drawn largely from the classic Seventies album trilogy of Fleetwood Mac, Rumours and Tusk, there could be few complaints about song choices. Other bases were briefly covered with a solo composition each for Buckingham and co-vocalist Stevie Nicks, a nod to the band’s early hard-blues incarnation with Peter Green’s stormy Oh Well and even a gibbering Mick Fleetwood drum solo.

But the music that dominated was that written by Buckingham and Nicks when they were in the middle of an agonising relationship break-up. Dreams, Second Hand News and Go Your Own Way all summoned glorious melodies from a painful place.

Here the ex-couple arrived on stage arm in arm and embraced after Nicks had finished her ballad Sara. In his sixties, Buckingham has become more of a rock singer than he was, often barking his lines and offering a finger-bruising solo interpretation of Big Love.

Nicks remained instantly recognisable in floaty outfits that were only missing a maypole. In black here, if she had appeared on your doorstep this weekend you would have handed over all your sweets quick for fear of being egged. That reedy voice, though, remains a thing of witchcraft.

With Rumours still high on the list of the biggest-selling albums ever, the band can’t be journeying the globe again just for the money.

Furious drawn-out versions of Gold Dust Woman and World Turning demonstrated an undimmed passion for playing and suggested a simple truth: they still love these songs as much as the rest of us.”

Saturday night was their second of three London shows, and I’m just so SO glad that I went!

Our seats were right next to the stage, which was a bit odd, as we were mostly watching their profiles..  But it was all the more thrilling when they turned towards us, because we were also in the centre of the fourth row, only just above their eye level, and you guys, I’m not even kidding…. Stevie walked towards our section, arms raised and waving, and I swear she was looking at me and smiling!!!

I love Smyth’s line: ” That reedy voice, though, remains a thing of witchcraft.”  It’s true, you know… she is MAGIC!!!

Worse than beards

Apparently some guys at work are thinking about participating in Movember.

This grossed me out a bit, but I figured it was okay since most of them are in different parts of the office, so I wouldn’t regularly be faced with it.

(Don’t get me wrong – it’s a good cause and all.  But, with a few exceptions, I’m really not a fan of facial hair on anyone except my dad.)

I mentioned their plan to Ush, and he told me they may be doing it at his office too!!  Except with higher stakes – those men who don’t participate have to buy Nandos for the rest of them!!  He added that he was planning to grow a fu manchu.

Me:  “Oh Ushwin… Please, no!”

Him:  “Honey, I have to!  I don’t want to buy Nandos for 80 people!”

Me:  “Ok.. so you don’t want to have sex in November then?”

Ush:  *shocked and horrified silence*

Haha!  Now we wait.. I’ll personally write the cheque to whatever men’s health charity he wants, just please don’t grow a mo!!!