Ankle and other stories

So, it's been 5 days since I've not had the bootie, and I've been in sneakers. While it aches quite a lot I don't have much of a limp any more - yippee! I think....it's getting better! Get the flags out, let's have a par-teh:) I'm really really hoping that it will continue to get better. If the aching would go away I'd be in heaven.

My only bad thing is that I'm wearing sneakers around at work - never before have I felt that I need to stick a post-it note on my toes with a "doctor's orders" sign. I keep getting those eye rolling looks of disgust, but feel very silly saying "the doctor told me to do this". I will probably give in and go get proper lace up shoes - I know, I'll look like Mary Poppins, but hey you gotta do what ya gotta do.

I'm also excited - for the first time in 10 days I dared get on the scales....and I'm below where I was when i went to England. Not at my lowest this year by 2lb, but still - I lost it! Anyway, more of that on the other blog.

Oh yeah, and we love our green sofa so much we bought another one to go with it. It'll look better than those leather chairs. They are soooo bedroom chairs. It's not the nicest sofa to look at in the pictures....but trust me when I say this - from a sitting down and relaxing perspective it's freaking awesome. So excited about that.

Talking of sofas, remember last week when I told you that Trev spilt a hot chocolate all over the sofa? Well, we tried cleaning it, that didn't work - so we took the cushions (and my down throw) over to our fabulous cleaner across the street. I'm not saying it was a cheap trip, but they got the pillows clean - they look great. It took them 4 days, but it's all good. Now, had Trev told me that the down throw alone was going to cost $80 I would have tossed it - esp as I think I only paid a max of about $20 for it. Oh well....not much i can do now.

On the ebay/craigslist project i've been pretty successful. I sold the last cream chair and ottoman at the weekend, have sold a number of printer cartridges, cables, picture frames etc so very happy. Still have a lot to go, but our usual plan is to either give it away or toss it. Here's the total money made so far:

$375 Sofa
$125 Chair & Ottoman
$125 Chair & Ottoman
$325 Washer & Dryer
$150 2 IKEA Red Chairs
$30 Printer cartridges
$15 IKEA frames
$10 Cable
$15 Cable

Total: $1170. Not bad eh?

I still have the fridge to go as a big ticket item, then I've lots of other smaller stuff that's either on ebay or craigslist (or both).

Last thing - the rhubarb. Leaps and bounds. We water it every night - we now have 6 new stalks. Yippee!

Rhubarb progress

I'm soooooo excited - check out the rhubarb. After less than two weeks we have four new stalks. So while some of them the original stalks died we have new ones.

I can't wait to eat our home grown rhubarb. If this goes well I may just have to grow green (runner) beans.

How cool is this?

Frying our brains...

Check this out. Thanks Nikki for sending this one over. Quite scary when you think about it. Might have to try it out for myself though:)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5odhh_pop-corn-telephone-portable-microon

When I'm 63...

....I want to look like this:) Not gonna happen, but I can dream....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1035786/Why-Helen-Mirren-sexy-sixties-role-model-growing-old-gracefully.html

Bye bye bootie....but

Had another appointment at the ankle doctor yesterday to get the results of my MRI I had last weekend. The good news is that I didn't break anything, the bad news is that I tore a few ligaments. So my ATF (Anterior talofibular) and some other "..bular" was torn and now it's trying to heal - and there's scar tissue.

The deal is that I wear trainers (ie sneakers) for a month keeping the ankle wrapped. I minimize walking and sitting/standing (apparently that aggravates it) as much as possible. If that doesn't work then I need surgery to repair it.....aaaaggghhhhh

So, no spin classes, no squats when working out with Billy, and I have to walk really really slowly. It sucks.

I go back on August 7th, right before I leave for England for the results. So, I'm looking after myself - I'm not moving too much and hoping against hope I don't need surgery. Wish me luck!

Flipping Budget can sit and swivel!

Knew it!

I always thought that women have a more positive outlook than men - here's an article that proves it!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1035579/Women-happier-men-better-quality-life-older-study-finds.html

New one word meme

This one is from Penny...so here goesNew one-word MEME
This is definitely a challenge to try-- You can only type
One Word!
Not as easy as you might think. Now copy or forward, change
the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one
word answers.
You can only type one word. Send it to 7 people including
the person that sent it to you:


1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair? blond
4. Your mother? home
5. Your father? home
6. Your favorite thing? ipod
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your dream/goal? security
9. The room you're in? office
10. Your hobby? gym
11. Your fear? health
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? beach
13. Where were you last night? bed
14. What you're not? thin
15. Muffins? ok
16. One of your wish list items? marathon
17. Where you grew up? England
18. The last thing you did? eat
19. What are you wearing? pants/twinset
20. Your TV? fabulous!
21. Your pets? none
22. Your computer? Thinkpad
23. Your life? good
24. Your mood? excited
25. Missing someone? Always
26. Your car? Pontiac G6 Convertible (as of this evening!)
27 Something you're not wearing? socks
28. Favorite store? overstock.com
29 Your Summer? quick
30. Love someone? yes
31. Your favorite color? blue
32. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
33. Last time you cried? month ago
34. Who will resend this? Errrr....Carrieanne

New car

We bought a new car.....I can't believe we did this - the saving grace is the payment is $200 cheaper than the Lexus and it's sooooo cute. We literally sat in this car yesterday and knew within about 30 seconds this was the one for us. We even went and looked at other....and nothing compares.

http://wwww23.pontiac.com/g6-convertible/


What amazed me is that it's a convertible - you'd never know with the roof up. We're giving up a lot of space in the trunk but that's just tough. We also don't have GPS - we have to use onstar....no idea what that's like but we'll figure it out.

Soooooooo excited!

Play along

Thanks Carrieanne for sending this. Here are my answers.

Hit forward and place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not. Answer the 30 questions at the end and send it to your friends (including me).

(X) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
() Watched someone die
() Gone to Canada
() Gone to Mexico
(X) Gone to Florida
(X) Gone on a plane
() Jumped out of a plane
(x ) Been on a Helicopter
(X) Gotten lost
(X) Gone on the opposite side of the country
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Played cops and robber
() Recently colored with crayons
(X) Sang Karaoke
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only?
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
( ) Made prank phone calls
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x ) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Gotten kissed under the mistletoe
() Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone Skiing
( ) Gone skinny dipping outdoors
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Gone to a drive-in movie

I want to know more about you....

1. Any nickname? In the old days, Fred - nothing recently (that I know if!)
2. Mother's name? Ruth
3. Favorite drink? Surfer on Acid
4. Tattoo? 0
5. Body Piercings? Yes, 2
6. How much do you love your job? A lot - most of the time
7. Birthplace? Hemel Hempstead, England
8. Favorite vacation spot? Heron Island, Australia (check it out www.heronisland.com)
9. Ever been to Africa? No
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Yes
11. Ever been on TV? Yes
12. Ever steal any traffic sign? No
13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? Today 4 door, tomorrow 2 door
15. Favorite salad dressing? Asian Sesame
16. Favorite pie? Apple and Blackberry
17. Favorite number? 7
18. Favorite movie? Rocky Horror
19. Favorite holiday? Christmas
20. Favorite dessert? Rhubarb crumble and custard
21. Favorite food? Sausages
22. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
23. What do you do to relax? Gym - it works out all the stress, then you feel great!
24. Favorite toothpaste? Sensodyne
25. Favorite smell? Fresh cut grass

28. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Thinner, thinking about retirement
29. Furthest place you will send this message? England
30. Who will respond to this the fastest? Penny

Venti hot chocolate no whip...

Flipping drink..... well, it was only a matter of time before the new sofa got christened. A shame it was with a kick ass, full hot chocolate!

Poor Trev fell asleep holding his drink of choice! We'll be taking the cushions to the cleaners tomorrow - I tried to clean them, but it's not worked so well.

Things for sale

We've had a blitz today - I have buckets of stuff up for sale on both ebay and craigslist

- arm chair and ottoman (last one!)
- dining room table and chairs (this has been hard to shift)
- Nintendo Gamecube and 2 controllers (no games)
- Bose wireless thingy for rear speakers
- Bose speaker stands (we now have ours on the wall)
- Playstation 2 controller
- Printer cartridges
- Cables, cables, cables (Trev had a spending spree...and we didn't use any of them)
- IKEA picture frames
- My Philips VOIP phone - we just don't use it, I have a headset for Skype
- Wireless converter for a PC (found it, totally unused....)
- refridgerator

And that's just for starters - can you believe that? It's soooo theraputic to chuck stuff away.

Trip to Melissa's

Last weekend for July 4th we went to Glastonbury, Connecticut to stay with Melissa. She has two beautiful dogs - Lily and Maggie. We didn't do too much for the weekend -hung out, shopped (of course!) and ate a lot. Check out the pics of the dogs - Lily is the black one, Maggie the other - the last one was Melissa and Trev digging up the rhubarb!

Belated Pictures

So...I did promise ages ago pictures of the apartment in all its glory. Now, bear in mind that there are no pictures on the wall or many ornaments yet, but I'm working on that.
There are loads here in no particular order - you can check out the new green sofa (same as the old, just darker and soooooooooo comfortable - it may look crappy, but it makes up for it in comfort!) and all the other furniture changes, the new kitchen and there's a pic of the new washer/dryer in our tiny laundry room.
It's soooo exciting. I'm now focusing on cushions, pictures, art and stuff. Oh yeah, and rearranging the kitchen now all the crystal is out of the cupboard and in the new cabinet!

The keys to your life

The Keys to Your Life

Anything good in your life comes from you having the strength to make good decisions. You know how to assess a situation before you leap into action. Anything bad in your life comes from sinking to the level of those around you. Remember to lift people up, and refuse to participate in anything petty.

The Keys To Your Life

A.A.A.D.D.

I received this from my friend Nikki and I had to share - this is sooooooo ME!

A.A.A.D.D. - KNOW THE SYMPTOMS.....PLEASE READ!
------------------------------------------------------------
Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder.
Somehow I feel better, even though I have it!!
------------------------------------------------------------

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
Put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
And notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back
On the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think,
Since I'm going to be near the mailbox
When I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,
And see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
So I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks,
But first I need to push the Coke aside
So that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Coke is getting warm,
And I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke,
A vase of flowers on the counter
Catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Coke on the counter and
Discover my reading glasses that
I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk,
But first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,
Fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
But I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
So I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs,
But first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,
But quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,
Get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to
Remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

The car isn't washed

The bills aren't paid

There is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter

The flowers don't have enough water,

There is still only 1 check in my check book,

I can't find the remote,

I can't find my glasses,

And I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day,
And I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem,
And I'll try to get some help for it,
But first I'll check my e-mail....

Ankle Update

On Monday, I brought my doctor's appointment forward to today as it was hurting. The shot really didn't do too much good and my foot has ached a lot in the last few days. I was not in the best frame of mind today. Not really sure why - it started when I bit a chunk out of my cheek at lunch and it went downhill from there. My doctor's appointment was at 3pm. By the time I got there I was definitely "Mrs Grumpy Head" (as Tim would say!). My foot was aching etc etc. Anyway, initially the doc has put me back in a cast for 2 weeks and then if it wasn't better to have an MRI scan. Given this whole debacle is not my fault, I asked him to bring that forward. So....my MRI is on Saturday. That will tell me if this is just time or if there's something more serious going on.

Hopefully it's the first....

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is one of my favourite fruits. It annoys me that it's a) expensive and b) crappy when I buy it. While I was in England I really enjoyed having it straight out of Dad's garden (yummy!) and also being able to buy it as a yogurt flavour.

While at Melissa's this weekend for the holidays I mentioned that I wanted to grow some rhubarb in a pot on our balcony. How it was when she said that there was some in her garden. So...check out my new project. I'm hoping it'll fill the pot over the next year.

I'm soooooo excited!

Dragon's Den

New TV program from the UK is going to be available next week on BBC America. It's called Dragon's Den. Basically it's a bunch of investors (think millionaires) who interview inventors. It's the inventor's job to convince the investors to invest. I've watched it a lot when I've been in the UK and it's great.

http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/323/index.jsp

So, if you get BBC America - give it shot.

Ankle Update

I went to the docs again today and I'm off exercise again. He put me in plaster, told me to wear my big ass bootie but not before he snuck in a kick ass shot of cortizone. Owwwweeeeeeee. He says that it should work miracles so here's hoping.

I'm writing this rather than going to my super spin class on a Thursday night with Carla. Hopefully though, when I visit the doc next Thursday he'll let me go then.

Welcome to Harry

My cousin Emily had her baby this week - Harry arrived in quick time (30mins start to finish!!). I'm looking forward to meeting him - the pic is of Chloe, Jack and Harry. How cute they look!

On other news, I'm happier - rather than the 7lb I put on while in England, it's down to 4lb - I had a really good healthy day yesterday so am feeling a little more positive. I also worked out with Billy so I had my ass whooped - I didn't realize how much I miss exercise when I'm not home. I really have to find a way to motivate myself to exercise when I'm away from home - I can do it, I know I can.

I added links to my blog of all my favourite ones....including my self-analyzing BS of diet and exercise. Happy reading!

Home again

I made it. I'm home. I was so torn to come back when Mum's not 100%, but Dad and Tim are there and the doc is Ok with progress, although it's not perfect. I've decided to call every day i can, rather than rely on email or instant messaging. It's much better to hear people's voices, right?


I did manage to get on the scales this morning. All I can say is that I'm embarrassed and fat. So much so, that i'm taking a leaf out of Penny and I'm starting a whole new blog dedicated to my fight against fat. Check it out at http://britchik96fitness.blogspot.com/. I'm going to post both my exercise regime and also what I eat. I've committed with my friend Debbie that we're going to lose 10lb before I head back to the UK in mid-August. So, happy reading!

My ankle hurts still - but i did get to a spin class last night. I didn't realize how much I missed it - it was nice to chat with Carla (the instructor), and hear a few "welcome backs" from some friends at the gym.

I'm so happy to be back home. Trev went out and got some balloons which was soooo cute. I'm taking next Monday on vacation and I'm going to spend some time making my home, home again. Yeeeeeha!

Mixed emotion

It's been a funny old week. You'd think that being by myself a lot that I would have had more time to blog and keep up to date with all the comings and goings of being here in England. I just looked and realized I'd totally failed. Anyway, here's the precis of the week.

Work - crazy. While I was here the plan was to take at least a week's vacation, but that hasn't happened at all. Many reasons for it - I keep telling myself that I'll take more time in August. I think it's been OK and I don't think that I've suffered too much - however it would have been nice to have more rest time.

Mum - she's recovering slowly. While it can be frustrating for her, i think she's coming on really well now she's home. Today she made her first journey out to Tim's and we had a barbeque which was lovely - I'm hoping we'll get to a restaurant tomorrow, but we'll see how she is. Her knee bends pretty well and she's practicing walking without a limp. I'm sure that when I go home she'll hear my voice in her head telling her to "walk straight", "don't limp", "bend your knee", "don't cross your legs" - but it's all good. I think it's awesome and by the time I'm back in August she'll be ready for a shopping trip to Braintree.

Dad - so, we weren't planning on Dad being sick, but we had a bit of a scare this week. He had previously been told he'd had an aortic aneurysm and he was waiting for an appointment with the doctor. Well, on Wednesday he got a call from the hospital to go and visit the consultant on Friday morning. The thing to realize here with British healthcare is that for that to happen it's a real shock...usually everything happens over a few months. Quite a scary thought. Anyway, he and I looked on the internet and came up with questions ready for the doctor. So, without labouring the point here, he's got another scan in 6 months to see if it's grown - it's currently at 3.5cm, surgery is when it gets to 5.5cm. The scan to figure out how fast it's growing. Apart from smoking there's nothing he can do to prevent it, make it better or harm it - and given he doesn't smoke it's a case of wait and see.

My ankle. I'm getting worried as it's not getting better. I've tried wearing the bootie, not the bootie - but the fact of the matter is it still hurts. I go to the docs on Thursday so hopefully I'll get some guidance then.

I have really mixed emotions now. I leave to go home on Tuesday. I'm excited to see Trev and all the work done on the apartment but I'll miss seeing everyone so regularly. It's been really nice spending more than a few hurried days with everyone. That said, I'm looking forward to resuming my exercise regime - before I get back to England in August my friend Debbie and I are going to lose 10lb. wish me luck

Return to Cedar Rapids

My ol' home town has made the front page of nytimes.com - check out the video.

If you do a search for "residents return to cedar rapids" you'll find the video. How very very sad.

Betty - still thinking of you as you clean up your house! Hope all is going as well as expected.

Wow

Had a really quiet weekend - I haven't spent a whole lot of time working (maybe an hour...not bad for me!) but have hung out with Tim (watching him play Call of Duty 4...oh joyfulness) and got some administrative stuff sorted on my laptop (you know, like reviewing your favourites list that's 3 years old...I swear, I think about 50% were invalid) and watched the patient.

Mum's doing OK and while her knee is sore she's in good spirits and getting around OK. I think the funniest is the toilet....the door is wedged open with the frame that's over the toilet....which is pretty funny if she's caught short...hahahah. Oh well, we all know being in hospital and recovery strips you of dignity...this is just more proof. Her first doc's appointment is tomorrow and we'll hear if the symptoms she's experiencing right now are normal. Watch this space.

Tim bought himself a gas barbeque... upgrading from the charcoal one from two weeks ago. It's pretty flipping smart....I just wish I could export it:) Totally overkill, especially as i could probably pay half the price....but even so, very very cool.

As Mum couldn't travel we went round there for a barbie. We've definitely mastered the art of marinading food...and cooking it so it tastes fantastic. That and salad is actually pretty healthy. We took the meat, salad etc round to Mum and Dad and then for dessert we had home grown rhubarb. I love rhubarb...and it's so hard to find great fresh rhubarb so I'm on the hunt for seeds etc and I'll grow it myself!

Mum and Dad managed to surprise both Tim and I tonight. I think we were speechless. They gave us a gift each which was wonderful - and totally unnecessary. However, thank you. We love you too.

Back to work tomorrow.....not really in the mood, but hey that's what pays the bills. Happy Monday for tomorrow to everyone!

The 7 Deadly Sins Quiz

Thank Dory for this one! Interesting....

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	Low
Sloth:	Medium
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	Medium
Pride:	Medium

The Seven Deadly Sins Quiz on 4degreez.com

Home at last!

Good news! Mum's home. As of 7.45pm this evening she was settled in her recliner and glad to be home. The best bit? She'd lost 10lb in weight...now how is THAT for a welcome home present! I need some of that - because I'm certain i've put on 10lb since I've been here.

So now recuperation begins. It's going to be tricky, because it's easy to leave the sticks behind, or forgot you shouldn't lift a lot of stuff. As I've said loads of times I'm going to be a pain in her arse...but it's all for the best - right?

Between Dad and I the nursing starts - we can take turns...just so we get a break. I think it's great. I'm so happy.

The first doc's appointment is on Monday so by then I'll know how long I need to stay to assist.

So happy! Yeah!

Cedar Rapids Flood 08

We lived in Cedar Rapids IA for 7 years and we're familiar with all of the downtown places that are flooded like crazy. It's like a home town - I still can't believe that it made UK news.

Check out my friend Dory's blog, with her very own pics of the disaster. http://42wallabywaysydney.blogspot.com/2008/06/cedar-rapids-flood-08.html

Most of my friends escaped, except for one - Darren and Betty. Please think of them while they get their stuff cleared away.

Gotta have 'em

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1026716/Can-pair-50-pants-REALLY-reduce-waistline-forever.html

What can I say? A pair of pants that shrinks your butt.....you have to give it a go, right? Also, if you order outside of the UK, you're excempt from tax so it's 17.5% less.....I'll let you know if they work!

Mum - update

So, 2 weeks after Mum's knee replacement, she's still in the hospital. She's seen at least 2 sets of women come in for the same surgery and go home after 4 days. While she's been OK in herself the past few days, it's very frustrating not recovering as quickly as everyone else. That said, the doctors and nursing staff are attentive, it's a lovely ward, and they're making sure Mum is doing all the exercises etc as she should. We were told yesterday that by Sunday night she must be able to move her knee 60 degrees. Yesterday she'd got it to about 50 and it was very painful, but she's hoping it'll be better today. If this exercise doesn't work then it looks like it'll be more surgery next week.

They have this cool machine thing that you put your leg in, and it pushes it back and forth slowly - something that just a few years ago a physiotherapist would have to do. Technology is pretty advanced which is great. Everything is just taking a lot longer than planned.

I've been here 2 weeks, and the plan was for me to assist with Mum at home. As that's not happened I'm going to be staying longer than planned. I have got 2 work days in London Mon/Tues but then I'm going to return. I'm hoping by then we'll have more news and I'll know when I'll be going back home.

I always complain about the health service in England, but I have to say it's been great. In the US, they would have sent you home to recover as they keep you in the hospital as little as you can. It's been refreshing that they're Ok having Mum hang out waiting to get fixed - that is AWESOME.

Poor Trev, he's home alone. This is the longest time I think we've ever ever been apart - and feels like forever. It's likely to be another 2 weeks at least (1 week for Mum to have the surgery, 2nd week for me to help at home) so he's being wonderfully patient. What a gem:)

I'll post more updates as I get them, but for the weekend we're in a holding pattern.

Briefly, on my ankle - it's started to hurt like crap again. I'm sure I overdid it, but it's been over a month now. It sucks. And now I have a lump on the bone in the middle of my foot - and that definitely wasn't there before. Hopefully it's nothing serious. I'd go to a doctor here, but it'd take 3 months to get an xray.

More later...

Catching up

Can you believe I've been in England 11 days already? Time has flown by. Mum is doing better, although still in hospital. For a while it looked like she'd need additional surgery, but we're hoping that's now not the case. She's spent the past 4 days in a splint but now she's back on the exercise machine. By tonight she'd got to 35 degrees - she has to get to 90 before they'll let her home. I'm so glad I'm here to help - although I may have to delay my return as the whole point of my trip was to be of assistance when she was home. We'll see...I don't have to make that decision quite yet.

On the dieting and food front it's been a disaster. No matter what I try and do, Dad and Tim just eat such huge quantities.....and while it's not their fault at all when i choose something bad in a restaurant, it's so difficult not to. A lot of the meals that I order or food that I buy i cannot get at home....so i feed I need to overdose on it while I'm back.

Exercise is even worse than dieting. I've done a total of 20 pushups. That's not a lot at all. I have resolution every day that I'll at least do 100 sit ups, some crunches, balance and a few yoga poses. Yeah,.....right.

My ankle is still sore. I tried one day where I didn't wear the big bootee and while I was walking OK it's been very sore ever since then. I'm hoping that it'll get better soon - especially after the kick ass stilletoes i bought myself today:)

Not much else to report. Work has been crazy - and while I know they're OK with me being in England and working from home, it's been very stressful at times. I've found that while, in principle, they're OK - there have been crisis almost every day. The worst one was on Saturday when i was asked by my boss when I was going to get her a report. I replied and said Monday morning her time thinking that I could do it Monday morning UK time and be done. I wouldn't have minded but she waited until 2pm UK time to email on Sunday afternoon telling me she expected it that day. Hmmmmprf. usually I'm OK - but it's really irritated me this week.

Tim has bought a barbeque grill - so we've spent a lot of time grilling out. Yummo - it's so healthy too. The only problem is the bad stuff i eat after that....) Oh well, I'm on holiday, right?

Happy Anniversary Darling

It's our 11th wedding anniversary today. In some ways time has gone by so quickly, in others it feels like a lifetime (in a good way, of course!!). It's the first anniversary we've spent apart - it was a hard decision, but given that Mum is sick it seemed that we had no choice. I left a card and even arranged for flowers to be delivered, cute eh? Not sure the favour has been returned, so I guess it's "out of sight, out of mind!".

Mum is still in hospital and will be so for a few more days. I'm managing to get lots of work done in the mean time so I can help when she finally gets home.

Seen lots of friends this week too - and it's been total glutony on the food front....

Old people

I'll say this now - this is not politically correct in anyway, but quite frankly I don't care right this minute.

I'm in England. Maybe that's it. I've had a great time the last few days visiting Mum* and hanging out with Tim, Dad and friends. Today though I ventured out to the local supermarket. I know from experience this can be traumatic to me but at 11am on a Thursday it was incredible.

A bit of background. When I was little, I was always told to respect elders, be polite, give up my seat on a train/bus etc and generally behave well. I still do this today and will always give up a seat etc if the situation needs it. Today in the shop I was blown away by the disgusting, arrogant, rude and downright pissyness of the old people. I'm not talking just ignoring you - I'm talking about smashing into people, physically pushing you out of the way etc etc. They were soooooooooooooooo rude. When I was a child, if I had acted like that I would have been told off and made to apologize. Rightly so I might add. I couldn't believe it - from the moment I walked in the store it started, and didn't end until I drove out.

Here's one situation. We're in the grocery isle, it's a little crowded as a little old lady is taking ages decided what potatoes she wants (!). That's OK, there was myself, and then 2 ladies with young children queued behind her. I kid you not, a married old couple come from behind, push the 2 year olds out of the way, smash their cart into mine and the ladies with kids and walk on out. Can you believe that? OMG - i went nuts. In my true American way I said "EXCUSE ME! DON'T MIND ME!" Ignored. What great role models this couple were to the young kids right there. NOT. The ladies looked at me and we all decided we clearly didn't have enough lines on our faces to warrant some respect. I'm 40 for pete's sake, not a 10 year old.

Another reason why I don't like England. Mum, Dad - if I EVER catch you behaving like that be sure you'll be "told off". LOL.

* and BTW, she's doing OK, still in quite a bit of pain, but managed to walk to the bathroom and back. Hope she'll be home from hospital by the weekend.

Sex and the City - review

So one of the first things I did when I got to England was go and see the Sex and the City movie. It's great - I really enjoyed it and while it was 2.5 hours long the time flew by. It was funny, sad, moving all at the same time. It really was like taking out a DVD and watching 5 episodes back to back. I think they did a really good job - and I wasn't disappointed. So, if you were wondering whether to go and see it - do so, it's worth it. I was going to wait for the DVD to come out as I didn't want to put Trev through seeing a chick flick - although when I told him how good it was he now wants to go and see it. I think it's really for all the gorgeous women....but he'd never admit to that:)

Mum's doing well too after her knee replacement. While she's in pain, she's making progress every day. She should be out of hospital towards the end of the week, so I'm working as much as I can before that so that i can then stay with her during the day.

My ankle survived the trip to England - the flight attendants were great. I had managed to get a seat on the front row so I had loads of room, but they brought me several pillows to rest my foot, I didn't have to put my stuff overhead as you usually do - they strapped it into the spare seat next to me. I'm not usually a good patient, but they made you feel like you needed to be. Definitely looking to get the same treatment on the way home!

You'll notice my weightloss tracker went up a few pounds. Over the past couple of months I've been bad - I rely on exercise to equalize my weight and I've not really been following rigidly any diet. It's worse now I'm in England as there's all that fabulous bad food to choose from. I'm mentally preparing to start again and in earnest. I'm going to give up chocolate again and see if that helps.

Sold it

I've done pretty well with selling things on craigslist. While I didn't make a fortune, it's better than a kick in the teeth!

Washer/dryer $325
2 IKEA chairs $150
Sofa and ottomans $375

I have the refridgerator and dining set to go - that's my project when I get back.

Almost one-word MEME

Thanks Penny for this.

NAME? Philippa
Four Letter Word? Crap
VEHICLE: Lexus RX330
RESTAURANT: Baipo (Ipswich, England), Sushi Lounge (NJ), Aoki (NY)

CITY: Hoboken
BOY NAME: Thomas (completely and utterly random here)
GIRL NAME: Lucy (again, random)
OCCUPATION: Program Manager
SOMETHING YOU WEAR: Gym kit

FOOD: Yorkshire Pudding
SOMETHING FOUND IN BATHROOM: Scales
REASON FOR BEING LATE : I'm not usually late
SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: Trevvvvvvooooorrrrrrr

Craziness

Usually I'm relatively supportive of call centers that have their first line calls taken from India and while it gets frustrating sometimes I've never had the bad experience that I've heard so much about.


Until today. Oh good grief. Beside myself I was....


If you remember back a few weeks I said that I'd spent a load of points on our credit cards. One of the things I'd purchased was a handbag (in a beigy tan colour to go with my summer sandals). It arrived in black rather than brown. I called the helpdesk at the weekend and they said that someone would contact me to return and replace it. I then got a phone call yesterday asking me to call them and tell them if I wanted to return the item and get my points back (yes please....as it was much smaller than I thought it would be). That's when the fun started. I told them they could pick it up tomorrow (Fri) as I was home all day but if they couldn't do that I wouldn't be home until the 18th.

Each time I asked a question the guy said "I hope you don't mind, but I need to put you on hold". This happened 4 or 5 times. To precis, they wanted me to stay home on the 19th to wait for UPS to turn up to pick up the package. Of course, being out of the office for over 2 weeks, that's not feasible. I offered to take the package to work, they said no. In the end he escalated to an American lady - he must have told her I was pissed because she was quite ratty on the phone. I wasn't particularly annoyed - I just couldn't do what he was asking. She said that he wasn't asking me to do that - he was. Oh well - I've told them I'll leave the package in the building - it's down to the UPS guy to figure out how to get in. I also told them they better not complain if I'm not there when they arrive. Man, what a pain in the rear.

On a better note, my ankle seems to be calming down again, although very tender. Not looking forward to the flight to England - but hopefully a couple of Tylenol PM's and I'll be out for the count! Here's hoping!

Owwwiiiiieeeeeeee

So, I've got used to my bootie thing for my ankle, and all was going along ok. I've realized that I need to use an ankle strap at night so that I don't hurt myself, my only problem is now the shower. Stepping over the bath used to be so easy - and while I move gingerly, it's manageable.

This morning when getting ready for work, I managed easily to get in the shower. Getting out, I managed to do a minor twisty thing of about 2 inches.....and the biggest shooting pain when up my leg and now my ankle is throbbing like crazy. Obviously this is more serious than I thought.

I did talk to the car hire adjudicator again yesterday and they're going to follow up. They asked loads of crazy questions like "what type of shoes were you wearing", "what were you doing", "how far did you fall", "where did you land" - and on that last question my initial response was "on my ass......" but realizing she actually meant the road. I'm sending her the pics I took, and she's told me to keep all my receipts.

On a more positive note - I still love the fact that Jose, our builder, has made our water pressure so brilliant. It's AWESOME.

Phew! 2

I forgot something in yesterday's chapter and verse:

8) Allergies. I have a cough, I've always had it for about 10 weeks a year. Doctor's have looked and tested and have found nothing wrong. Now, this Allergist believes that I'm violently allergic to dust mites. We've nuked the bed and it's now lovely microfiber encasings for the box spring, mattress, duvet and pillows (to the tune of nearly $600 I might add - ouch!). Last week if you remember i had 2 creams for the rashes, an inhaler and then 2 pills (one of the pills left me soooo tired). I felt like a walking pharmacy. Anyway, when I saw him on Friday we talked for a while - first, he started talking to me about allergy injections to try and fix it. I'd heard of them but knew nothing so I asked the question - did you know that you have injections weekly for 7 months and then have to go on maintenance mode for ever? For a cough that lasts a few weeks a year? Seemed a bit overkill to me - so I told him that. Then, he said to scrap all the other meds I was on and to take a nasal spray. At least it's only 1 thing. I'm to call him Tuesday to tell him if it's working or not. All I know is the damn thing tastes like wet grass - and that's not nice at all. Oh well, about a month from now the cough will disappear anyway:)

Phew!

We're in our apartment - yeah! Very excited about that - so much has gone on since the last post. Had an impromptu evening with our neighbour last night - it was funny, although not so funny when i had to get up early this morning for the cleaners:) Hey ho - we had fun, and I was fine by 9 (after a triple shot of coffee!). So, go get a cuppa, take a breath and get ready for a long ol' read. I'll take one thing at a time.

1) One of the things that's annoyed me since we moved into this apartment was the water pressure in the shower. It was crap - and when I had long hair it'd take an age to get all the suds out. Well, Friday morning when I took a shower there was a very loud scream of excitement - it is awesome. Now, of course, I don't want the crappy shower head - so I'm on the lookout for one:)

2) Furniture. We spent most of yesterday putting together the sofa table and 2 end tables - they look AWESOME. I have to say that I think www.overstock.com is fabulous. It's always great quality stuff and it's really easy to put together, even if it takes a little bit of time. The ottoman in the living room is also cool - it's got so much space underneath that it'll hide a multitude of sin:) One of the things I've tried to do is find furniture that has drawers and places to put things as we have so little closet space. All I have to do now is decide what to put in what drawers (weird, huh?). The other cool thing is that the website has now released a china cabinet that will fit very nicely where I was going to put the audio cabinet - seriously, seriously considering adding it as to complete the set.

3) Building work. The floors are done, cabinets built, backsplash is on (even though it's not the colour I want), walls painted etc etc. Still got to do the bathrooms and have the TV mounted on the wall and get the bathrooms sorted out. The little bathroom is easy - it's already painted and the ceiling fixed, we just need to have the floor ripped up and the plain white tiles laid. That'll be cool.

4) Selling items. Not done bad here - craigslist is awesome. I've sold my Ikea chairs and washer/dryer. Still got the fridge, sofas and dining set to go. Working on that.

5) Appliances. New stuff got delivered today. Who knew we had a gas dryer - I always thought it was electric. Well...after we removed the old one (not an easy task and at least 2 wrenches had to be purchased!) we found out that it was actually gas. That was great - except I ordered an electric dryer - so, we had to send it back. The new one arrives on Friday - the day I leave for England. The fridge though looks great - except for the fact that the water dispenser doesn't work. They couldn't get it to work when they installed it and gave me some flannel about needing to leave the water to chill for 24 hours before it'd work - I fell for it. However, 3 nano seconds after the elevator shuts Trev pipes up "it's not going to work!". Brilliant. The ice is working fine, although it's not coming out of the dispenser. I tried calling, but they're shut until Monday - I'll call then. Hopefully they'll be able to arrange for delivery of a new one at the same time as the dryer.

6) Home organization. So through all the clearing up yesterday we went through our closet of crap as well as the closet in the spare room - we've had a huge reorg that took ages, but we have lots more room. You know that Skymall magazine that's always in the back seat of the plane? Well, when we were delayed getting back from Denver I spent a good hour going through that magazine and found something I had to have - usually I always feel like that, take the magazine home then decide I don't need it anyway. As it turned out I really wanted this and ordered it - it's blinking brilliant. All it is is a waterproof, breathable bag that houses all the cushions for our outdoor chairs. Apart of the fact that it's mustard yellow (not my first choice, of course) it sits at the end of the balcony and easily takes all 10 cushions. It's guaranteed not to leak. It also gives us oooodles of space in our one and only closet in the living room. I feel such a sucker for buying it after I saw it on the plane, but hell - it's great. The other thing I want to do is bring up my piano - we've got a spot for it in the spare room. Before i do that I need to get hold of a restorer as from all the floods last year, it's got damaged. That will give us a lot of room in the basement storage unit. The electric piano will still be stored there - but at least one of them can come into our home.

7) My ankle. I'm out of the cast (hurrah!) but now I have this big ugly boot to put on and I have to wear it for at least 2-3 weeks. That means when I head to England that I will have to take it with me. I thought having the cast was bad, but this thing is far worse. Not only is it huge and clunky, but it's heavy. It's like walking around with an additional 5lb. The other thing is that I need to be VERY careful is when I'm walking around without it - while I have athletic tape to brace my ankle it's very easy to overdo it. I'm taking it easy and getitng used to the fact that I'll have to wear flats for my 2 weeks in England.

8) Diet and Exercise. I did really well in fall last year - lost 17lb and got into the groove. For whatever reason, it's sucked this year. I know I lose weight if I follow the diet - the problem is, I've just found too many times that I'll cheat "just a little bit". I've really got to get back on the straight and narrow. Exercise is OK although all I'm oding right now is working out with Billy. I can't get much cardio done at all. Hopefully though I'll be able to spin when i get back in the middle of June.

Ok, I just ordered dinner, it'll arrive shortly. Need to shower before we head out to see Indiana Jones. Hmmmmm.....Harrison Ford.

My ankle

I get to go to the doc tomorrow afternoon - hopefully it'll be mended enough that I don't need a cast. It's still very sore, but I can at least wiggle my toes without grimacing - that's progress, right?

The car hire company actually called me today - lots of excuses about the note we left being water damaged so they couldn't read the phone number etc etc, but they did find my reservation and called. They have logged a complaint number - when I called to confirm my phone number and address etc they said that an adjuster would be calling me in 3 days. That sounds serious....which I guess it is given i've got a) proof and b) a sore blinking ankle.

Let's hope this gets fixed soon.

Saving money

Here's an article that made me chuckle:) I don't think it's supposed to but it did. Everyone I know has money trouble - not that we all spend more than we make, but there's always the "what we're supposed to do" vs. the "I could be dead tomorrow" mentality. I shift constantly between the two. I'm always paranoid about frequent visits to the coffee shop, but I've dropped craploads of money for a washer, dryer, refrigerator, sofa, leather chairs, ottoman, entertainment center, decorating in the past few months - and now we're on a roll, Trev is getting in on the game deciding he wants to revamp the spare room with new office furniture, a fancy sofabed (getting rid of the actual bed that gets used rarely) etc etc. it never stops.

So, the question is do I believe in these rules?

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/105041/Ways-to-

What colour heart do you have?

Your Heart Is Blue

Love is a doing word for you. You know it's love when you treat each other well. You are a giving lover, but you don't give too much. You expect something in return. Your flirting style: Friendly Your lucky first date: Lunch at an outdoor cafe Your dream lover: Is both generous and selfish What you bring to relationships: Loyalty

What Color Heart Do You Have?

What colour heart do you have?

Your Heart Is Blue

Love is a doing word for you. You know it's love when you treat each other well. You are a giving lover, but you don't give too much. You expect something in return. Your flirting style: Friendly Your lucky first date: Lunch at an outdoor cafe Your dream lover: Is both generous and selfish What you bring to relationships: Loyalty

What Color Heart Do You Have?

Progress

The furniture is in the apartment, albeit VERY dusty and "new paint smell". The living room is fabulous and our new sofa and chairs will look awesome. I can't wait. That said, the TV isn't on the wall, they haven't wired the speakers into the ceiling like we asked and they've put all the old furniture back - when we explicitly told them to put the new stuff together. Hmmmpf.

There are many things that I'm also not happy with. Here goes

- the quality of the woodwork is not up to par (thanks Dad here for teaching me the beauty of painting and how it should look). While they can fix some, I can feel a project coming on for Dad and I next time my parents visit!!
- the living room stuff above.
- in the master closet they took a big chunk out of my newly finished floor while putting back stuff.
- master bedroom needs a 2nd coat on the walls
- they got paint on my expensive blinds
- the closets aren't painted in the 2nd bed and living room
- they didn't paint the elevator to match the walls in the living room

And then there's loads of other stuff. They're nowhere near finished so now they're working on the kitchen and little bathroom.

On the good side, I posted stuff on craigslist and in a few hours have responses so I think I've sold the dining room set and the IKEA chairs already. yeah!

I think I'll be in the UK before they're finished. I'll take pics soon.

The spending hasn't stopped

So, the weekend started and we bought a washer, dryer and refrigerator. That was bad enough. Then, I needed to buy the waste disposal for the kitchen work that was going on. Tonight, I had to order all the allergy stuff for the bed that the doctor prescribed - a casing for the box spring, mattress, 4 pillows, duvet.

Our new leather chairs arrived, along with the ottoman today - it's taking up all the space in the hallway downstairs.

I've put my stuff that needs selling on craigslist - so hopefully we'll recoup some of the money from that.

Expensive weekend

So, our apartment is still not ready - but it looks AWESOME. We should be moved in by the middle of the week which is great. They just need to finish a few things then they can get the furniture in.

Nick and Jackie got back from their 2 week trip so we're all roommates again - it's like a huge dose of deja vu when they were living with us. Good job we get on well:)

Anyway, Nick has this friends and family site where you can get huge discounts on washers, dryers, refrigerators etc - so as I really really really wanted a side by side fridge we took a look. Then, having used their washer and dryer which are huge compared to ours I had a look for them too. We got about a 40% discount overall which is great. I'll be putting our sofas, red chairs, washer/dryer unit and fridge up on ebay and/or craigslist - as I need to recoup some of the money.

The other thing I did was cash in all our points on the credit cards - on one, I got some cool stuff like a new handbag and got Trev a $100 Starbucks card (as he uses it so much!!) as well as $150 Target cards but then I also cashed in for real cash on the other one. That'll help with all this stuff we're buying.

Back to work tomorrow...

My foot still hurts, and it's getting bluer by the minute. We've decided, before hiring a lawyer, that we should given the car hire firm the benefit of the doubt before we bring in the big guns. So, this week we're contacting the car hire firm, checking that the manager at the local office received the letter Trev wrote on the day of the accident. If they did and did nothing, we'll contact head office. If that gets us nowhere then we'll hire a lawyer - in talking to colleagues there's big bucks in this. Watch this space for more news:)

My right foot

Budget had better watch out. Good news is that I didn't break anything, the bad news is that I'm in a cast for at least a week.

He took several xrays and I didn't have breaks - which is awesome. However, my ankle is so sore and swollen he can't manipulate it to see if I've torn anything. So....I'm in this cast until next Thursday. Hopefully by then it'll feel better. Right now it hurts like crap because it's set in a single position. I've never had a cast before...so this is a first.

On the allergy side, i got tested for hours this morning. Apparently I'm violently allergic to dust mites, a lot of tree and grass. Hey ho - so now I have to buy lots of allergenic mattress pads and stuff. Oh yeah for me.

Scare of my life

So, as you know, we're staying at our neighbours place this week while our decorating gets finished. They're on vacation, so we're on our own. Last night I met up for drinks and dinner with a colleague was visiting from Germany.

I got home about 9.30pm.... when I travel I have my Bose headphones and loud music and can't hear a thing.

I put the key in the lock.....and the door wouldn't open. A little worried I figured the builder must have been in during the day. I was in the process of trying the second lock (that I hadn't used) and the door flew open!

Apparently Nick's sister had decided to turn up to do laundry and bake cookies. It was 9.45pm by this time. Who bakes cookies at that time of night?

I nearly had a heart attack. Anyway, they left eventually. Mind you, it made me want my own place back.

On a totally different topic, for amusement, read this article....it's very funny. It's a list of advice from 1943 for men hiring women:)
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1166042.ece

A short meme - updated

Thanks Penny for this one...

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Well, we'd been living in the US for a year, so I was being Mum. Making sure we had a home, was a 1950s wife with all the homely chores, and wishing I had a job. I think that being Mum for the 3 years i did it was instrumental in us all settling down in this country....without it, it would have been awful. The kids grew up into great adults...and, while it might be a tad modest for me, I'll give myself some credit here.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today- not in any particular order?
- Log into work and catch up with all the stuff I missed this afternoon being out at the docs
- Find a bathroom vanity for our master bath, so when the builder gets around to the bathroom we have it at home already - this is proving a challenge
- Pay off our escrow from the mortgage from 2006...just need to write a check
- Work...get ready for my one to one with my boss on Friday
- Work...finish the client reports I've been trying to do

3. Snacks I enjoy
- romaine lettuce, cucumber, grated carrot, crumbled Boursin cheese and an Asian dressing
- nuts (cashew, almond and walnut)
- cucumbers and celery with ranch dressing
- grapes
- 100 calorie Chessmen

4. Places I've lived
England:
Hemel Hempstead
Chinnor
High Wycombe (thanks for reminding me Mum!)
Stowmarket
Ipswich

USA:
Cedar Rapids, IA
St Louis, MO
New York City, NY (briefly)
Hoboken, NJ

5. Things I would do if I were a billionare:
- Make sure my family was debt free and comfortable
- Have a home/apartment on every continent (America, England, Australia, somewhere in Asia)
- Buy a few timeshares so we can all go on holiday
- Fund new inventions - but only the ones I think will make money:)
- Have an apartment overlooking Central Park
- Fund a homeless shelter or 2
- Get Mum the best medical services....and figure out how to fix the diabetes, tiredness, knees, hepatitus etc etc etc.
- Get Mum and Dad a personal trainer and dietician for a year.....and make sure they exercised and got healthy:)

More things you just need to know about me

So thanks to Mum and Emily here's another Meme...

Now, Here Is What You Are Supposed To Do...And Please Do Not Spoil The Fun! Hit Forward, Delete My Answers And Type In Your Answers. Then Send This To A Whole Bunch Of People That You Know...And Send It Back To Me So I Can See Your Answers, The Theory Is That You Will Learn A Lot Of Little Known Facts About Those You Know. Remember To Send It Back Please!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? – no idea, don’t think so (Mum?)

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? – last Saturday when I fell off the bus in Denver. It wasn’t for long, because then I got angry….but I did shed a few tears.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? - If I’m using a nice pen then yes

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? – don’t have one. If I had a choice, I’d never choose a sandwich.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? – 3 – Peter, Carrieanne and Rachel (technically step-kids, but as far as I’m concerned we’ve shared a lot over the years and we have jumping genes!!)
>>
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Of course

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Sometimes – mostly when I’m with my brother Tim

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Yes

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? A choice between Readybrek and Shreddies (both English cereal, I always bring a box back home with me when I visit)

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Not unless I have to

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes – both physically and emotionally

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Homemade rum and raisin (minus the raisin…I pick them out), or a caramel type ice cream.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their eyes

15. RED OR PINK? Red, every time

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My legs – and on the non-physical side, the fact that I have an opinion for everything

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I miss my family, and I see them often. I miss my Gran

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Yes, but they won’t (well, Penny will….as always)

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue gym pants, bare feet

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Organic tomato and red pepper soup, a slice of wholewheat bread, followed by a couple of cookies

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? CSI on the TV

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Royal blue

23. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SMELL? Homemade baking

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Trevor

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I love them both

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? I’d rather get a massage or work out thanks very much

27. HAIR COLOR? Reddy, blond

28. EYE COLOR? Blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes

Yes

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Sushi, or a full English roast dinner

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Baby Mama and Spiderman 3

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Definitely both

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Homemade chocolate cake

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Penny

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Everyone else

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Fitness and Shape magazines

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? My company’s new logo

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T. V. LAST NIGHT? CSI Miami

42. FAVORITE SOUND? Howling laughter

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Neither…..but I guess Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Melbourne, Australia

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Can multi-task up the wazoo

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Hemel Hempstead, England

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Everyone’s

Decorating progress

Before we went to Colorado, we agreed with our builder that he'd empty the apartment, redo the floors and also paint all the walls. Here are a couple of pics of the new floor and walls of the living room. One of the pics is natural light (the first one), the other is with a flash. The floor is much less red than it used to be and looks good - tomorrow they varnish/finish it (today was the sanding and staining). The wall colours - on the window wall we've gone for a poppy red for a bit of a change -and it goes really well. My only concern is that I chose that colour before I bought the sage green sofa - I'm worried it'll look like a Christmas Tree shop:) I may as well as wait until the sofa arrives to worry about it. Interestingly the beige colour on the walls looked fine with the old floors, but now may be a little pale....

I'm still hoping we'll be back in there by the weekend, but for now, I'm hanging out at our neighbours place.

Foot latest

So today I went for my chest xray - oh man, what a palava. I think I have a "screw me now" written on my head.

I get to the place, I get my butt on the seat and the fire alarm goes off. Stand around (on my sore ankle) for half hour, go back and then get the xtra. The radiologist said that I should get dressed and take a seat - which I did. After 30 mins I asked the receptionist what I was waiting for - she said the films. So I sat again. Then...when it got to 5pm (my appt was 2.45!!) she went and asked again. I was then told "I DONT' KNOW WHY YOU'RE WAITING, I TOLD YOU YOU COULD GO". I nearly flipped out, that's for sure. Anyhow.....

So here's a pic of my foot. It's hard to take a photo and get the full effect of the colourful bruise....so I will say now - this is a photo that's had a good dose of Picasa (google's free picture software...pretty good, although it's no photoshop!) so you can see the bruise. It goes all the way from the top of the ankle, to near the toes. It flipping hurts. I have to wait until Thursday before I get to see the doc. It feels weird as weird not to be exercising and at spin classes. Oh well....hopefully all will be well.

Billy's back

Yeeeeeehhhaaaaaaa! Trev and I both worked out with Billy yesterday. We found another gym where we can pay him directly - yippdidoo... of course, I ignored the fact my ankle hurts:)

Needless to say we're hurting like hell today. Gotta know a good trainer.

I feel soooo much better now he's back. I"m back on my diet too - he's always a good influence!

Feeling like a basket case...

Oh my....so I went to the doc. I went for 2 things - first my cough which is persisting and then to get my ankle checked out. Here's what I left with:

For my cough - apparently I have something wrong and my doc can't fix it so I have to go see someone else.
- appointment to get a chest xray (Tues)
- appointment with an allergist (Thurs)
- 2 prescriptions; 1 pills and 1 inhaler

For my ankle - he said that he can tell if it's just a bruise or something more serious. Suffice to say I hit the ceiling with a loud "aaaaggghhhhh". I've also been told not to work out - ha!
- appointment with a podiatrist (Thurs)

So, we'll see how we go.

I feel like I turned 40 and now have oodles of things wrong with me. I hope it sorts itself out.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...

Yep, that was me. I was getting out of the car-hire transit bus at Denver Airport and my shoe got caught under the loose lip. Now, I'm not a 92lb woman.....so imagine my ass cart-wheeling over and smacking my ankle against the edge of the bus and then landing with a thud on the ground between the bus and the path. I've sat with ice for ages and ages - and I even walked to the gym and did a workout so I'm guessing it's just bruised. I will go to the doc and make sure tomorrow.

What I was amazed at was a) the bus driver had no medical training AT ALL so was at a complete loss at what to do and b) no-one from the airport was even remotely interested in the fact that I was lying on the ground and couldn't get up.

After a while I limped through security etc etc and flew home.....

Anyway we took lots of pictures and will be contacting Budget car rental for compensation. Let's hope it's just a bruise.....!

Sofa update

So, I ordered the 3 seater green sofa, 2 leather chairs and a leather ottoman. Should look pretty damn cool I think!

Let's hope when we get home tomorrow that the floors and painting will look fabulous!

Green sofa

For those of you who knew us when we lived in Iowa, we had the most comfortable green sofas in the world. We had a big 3 seater then 2 loveseats, complemented with an ottoman. Man, it was comfy. When we first moved to the USA in 1996 I walked into the first cheap furniture store and bought these green sofas and a full bedroom suite (drawers, dressing table, big mirror, bed frame, bed) for about $1200. Cheap as crap, right?

When we left Iowa the sofas got split up. Carrieanne got the big one, and then Peter and Rach got one of the loveseats. Can't remember who got the ottoman. In St Louis we decided to go on a search for the same kind of thing, but newer. And that was our cream sofas. While they were cheap-ish they have never been as comfortable.

So this past week we've been in Colorado looking after Peter. He's still got the old green sofa - it's got rips, and it's totally knackered. However, it's still as comfy as ever. I started to pine for my green sofas all over again. It was compounded by going to see Sanya and Jeff. In their basement they had the EXACT green sofa - it just looked less lived in:) Even better, in their living room they had a leather version of the same thing. I didn't like the leather - I never have, it's just not cosy. I took a look at the manufacturing labels....just in case.

So.....

Yesterday, on a work day, we met one of Peter's professors for lunch (Vietnamese restaurant called "You and Mee" - the Pho (noodle soup) was awesome. I then spent the entire afternoon on the internet like a complete geek/nerd/a woman possessed looking for the damn sofa.

I found them. Yippeeeeeee. You just HAVE to love the internet. How did we survive before? I am amazed at how quickly I managed to find the sofa. I'm convinced I can sell my existing sofas on craigslist for at least $500, if not more, so I won't be out of money that much. And it's still relatively cheap - at $587 for the 3 seater sofa. I've also looked at all my points on my credit cards and I was surprised to see that if I convert the points to cash they'll give me $800. So, my sofa is free. Then also if I manage to sell the sofa on craigslist I'll be totally in the money!!

So....

Now the big question is whether to have a 3 seater and a loveseat (2 seater) 0r just a 3 seater and then get a complementary leather chair, or something similar. The big debate going on is when we have people to stay (which is quite often since we've been in NY), there would be a constant fight over getting the comfy seats - trust me, it happened when we lived in IA. I found some nice leather chairs on overstock.com (another favourite website of mine) that would go really well with the other furniture we bought and the ottoman I want. They look really comfortable - and we could put the 2nd one in our bedroom and pull it out when we needed to. We really don't need 2 sofas....but the question is why do I keep going back to wanting them.... the other thing is I really like having an ottoman - I always want to put my feet up when i sit down - I'm a short arse and my feet never hit the ground. This time though I want to go for a sturdy leather type ottoman where I can store crap underneath it (on my permanent quest for "places to put things" as we have storage space) - I found that on overstock.com too.

So, as you can see, rather than my mind being busy with lots of work stuff that I can do while being out of the office I'm totally obsessed by my green sofas. What's even weirder is that the ONLY colour this new one comes in is sage green.....which totally messes up with the wall I've just had painted poppy red:) My room'll look like a Christmas tree....so I guess I'm having that wall repainted to the paler colour.

OK, obsession rant over.....I'm off to buy all this stuff! Oh yeah, and put all the other stuff on craigslist:) I'm really hoping I end up no money out of pocket on this....now THAT would be cool.

On another note, Trev is now actively looking for a job - he's got a spiffy resume and he's talking with recruiters. The great thing is he's now only traveling Tues-Thurs so that he can interview and talk with peeps on a Mon or Fri. how cool is that? I really hope he finds something soon.

To terminate or not...

I've never had to make the choice (thankfully), but I've always been a believer in a woman's right to choose. Not that a woman should choose willy nilly, but if they were pregnant as a result of a rape, their life was in danger etc, I think there's reason to justify the decision.

That said, in England the legal limit for abortion is still at 24 weeks. Read the stories in this article - makes you think.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=564459&in_page_id=1879

Certainly, if babies can survive....that limit needs to be moved. A lot.

The smell of freshly cut grass

So the last few days here in Boulder have been beautiful - not humid, about 70 degrees, sunny. It's absolutely gorgeous. And today, they've cut the grass outside of Peter's house - a sign that summer is definitely here to stay - yeah!! Now, I know that most of the time we've been couped up in the house looking after son number 1 and his knee - he's at his first physio appointment as I write this so as I had a few minutes I thought I'd post what we've done since we've been here.

- went and saw Baby Mama - it's HYSTERICAL. Love that movie. I want to watch it again, but I think it's going to go down as one of my favourites. Everyone was so great in it - what a fun movie.
- we went to dinner at Frasca, a beautiful restaurant - the food was fantastic.
- after the surgery we stayed home (of course) - but it's given me a chance to cook some basic English home comforts. I made shepherds pie with minced turkey (rather than beef) - I thought it was pretty good.
- Peter's friend Bill then brought over a pot roast on Saturday and that was fabulous too.
- Peter was feeling better by yesterday (Sunday) so we went out to lunch for Vietnamese which was awesome followed by (in the evening) a bar of his and we had some more English fare - curry and chips, and sausage roll - favourite, favourite food. It was yummy.

Today Peter's not feeling so well. It's a combination of coming off the narcotic pain killers and the removal of that natural high you normally get after surgery. I'm sure after physio he's going to be wiped out - so tonight it's going to be toad in the hole* (more English comfort food) for dinner.

Toad in the whole is sausages baked with yorkshire pudding batter in the oven. The batter is basically pancake batter...but the English kind, not American. For the recipe see http://www.deliasmith.co.uk/recipes/toad-in-the-hole-with-roasted-onion-gravy,1030,RC.html - Delia Smith is an icon of British cooking.

In other news....we're training with Billy next Sunday. Very excited about that. He's got a new gym, right across the street from the old one so I'm able to still do my classes and then go train with him. It's certainly making me think about working out while I'm in Colorado - that's for damn sure.

OK back to work:)

Patient progress

Peter's surgery went well yesterday. He had his ACL replaced on his left knee. Now he's home recovering and all is well. The drugs are now wearing off so I'm expecting that it'll start to hurt a lot more - they have loaded us up with drugs so that's great - if he needs them they're here.

After the snow of the other day it's now beautiful again and quite warm. We sat outside for an hour this morning - and yes, I got sunburn....:) We broke out the factor 30, but it was a bit too late.

So now, we're in recovery mode. Rach arrives on Friday so we'll get to spend the evening together and then we go home Saturday.

Did I miss summer?

Is it May 1st today? Did I miss something? Check out the picture.....I'm in Boulder, CO - and it's snowing!

The temperature isn't too bad - about 50 degrees, but holy moly....it's snowing!