Set Sail

So the blog has taken a backseat- or quite literally it was thrown out the window for awhile.
As we were prepping for our move back home- we got a curve ball- amazing work opportunity (in England) for Chris that literally came in after we shipped our stuff back. ( 3 days after the ship left England-)
It is probably good I did not blog during that period or you would sense RAGE and ANGER about the timing of the events. I was very hung up on the fact that my iphone 4 was waiting for me at my sister's house ( don't even get me started about not seeing my sister on a weekly basis ). Even now I can't quite laugh at the situation as it was a good thing we were in a hotel so I couldn't throw the tv at my husband's head. We eventually made the decision to stay together ( I swear I wasn't under duress)- we felt that if we could limit our moves this would be the way to do it while having a great work opportunity for Chris. (Btw I literally consumed all the Hidden Valley Ranch and Salsa in the runup to our move back home and am now kicking myself)

So where are we now- kind of back where we started in a rental corporate townhouse with none of our stuff ( because it seems our stuff had to arrive in TX go through customs and set sail again)-the positive side is we have friends now so we have borrowed clothes, toys, etc. We spent a month in MI and TX and yes I hit Nordstroms, Pei Wei (3x), 7-11, Target, Red Robin, Tex Mex, the movies ( oh I miss my butter popcorn and icy fountain gallon drink with ice. The kids are fine for them- their little world will be consistent back to the same school and same play friends .


Other news had my first of 2 English weddings- observations a lot of hats and feathery combs sported by the ladies. ( I tried one and it looked so stupid on me that I could not wear it)2) best man speeches are WAY over the top- all I can write is nothing is sacred in that roast. 3) the Brits just plain drink a lot more (probably an added effect since there were Kiwis and Australians there)

Over It

It seems Chris and I have a short term memory because every time we move we say the same things- I hate moving let's never do it again. The sorting, the organizing, the dumping , all of it we hate. Well we are back at it for the perhaps the 5 th time in last decade ( please note their will be no cute we've moved cards- I am SO over it- I will be lucky to send am email with our address on it.)

A weekend full of world cup disappointments- seriously the England game was a joke at least USA showed up to play Ghana. Selfishly would have liked England to win as our remaining social calender would have been more fun

Photo from happier times of Wimbledon- somehow champagne and strawberries ( and watching Roddick) make everything better

Reasons Not to blog

1. World Cup- hello USA and England glad we have moved from being face to face and now I can comfortably cheer for Donovan and Dempsey!!!!

2.Wimbledon- yes I got to go and watch Roddick and eat strawberries and cream and drink champagne and Pimms and take pictures and buy coffee cups with cute little tennis racquets.


3. Moving- oh yeah forget the movers are coming and we are Disorganized

Stefan and Damon

Coffee- on third cup before noon.....

Chris is out of town- had a friend over who came bearing thai food ( awesome friend who drove 20 min to get it- I told u nothing is close by)- so we talked we ate and we drank ( I did mention I have 40 bottles of wine to consume before we leave England; and yes I am planning to add booze to the teacher gift -if I were a teacher I would like that)

Anyhow- we decide to watch Vampire Diaries- ( note I dvr this show and normally watch at 2 pm before school pickup- always nice to check out Stefan and Damon before the school run). Needless to stay we got so freaked out she had to sleep over- which if we werent the scarediest 30 somethings would be fine- but we kept hearing sounds- that yes we set the alarm and then set off the motion detectors by checking the house for intruders. ( note my kids slept thru the whole commotion) So literally we got 5 hours of sleep. Woke up to very well rested kids who were very curious why mommys friends slept over and why I had to make coffee before getting them cereal:)

Recap

So its been a while-nothing new except move details overwhelming me ( a bit dramatic) but seriously would like to wake up with the move details done. (yes- on one footstool I found 5 different moving company stickers)
I thought I was so organized and it seems that giving notice to early for house services just means you have to call 5 days before the move again. (so really no point in doing the initial setup)

Had a great trip to Cyprus- full of family, sun, sea, and Greek food. We had our moments: when you eat dinner at 9pm and expect kids to stay up that late and then function in a civilized manner- all does not go well. ( I think one dinner CJ played his leapster for 2 hours straight). Little man has lost his 2 front teeth and thinking the more he loses the more pocket $ he gains. We created a little stir at the school when CJ presented his show n tell project- A GIANT "Go USA beat England" world cup poster. It seems that by the end of the presentation- 5 kids decided to cheer for USA instead of England. Yes- we are looking for an upset. I'm headed to a World Cup party tomorrow night and I would love the underdogs to steal the show.

Baby girl had her dance recital last weekend. The teacher was a little over zealous and required the 4 year olds to have a dress rehearsal that lasted 4 hours (the song they "danced" to was 1 1/2 min long the cute "Enchanted song - "Whistle while u work"). In typical British fashion- parents aren't allowed to stay for the rehearsal and were told to collect child at the stage door 4 hours later. (just weird) Show was cute- the baby ballerinas stared at the audience and moved about 1/2 way thru the number. Chris and I got a little teary eyed that our baby was old enough to be in a recital. Have I mentioned time is moving at warp speed. It hit us- savor these moments because they go by QUICK.

Have entered the strange parallel universe of Limbo stage ( working on the move but still in England)- am trying to spend as much time with our friends here. Weird feeling to think in some cases- we are going to be an 18 hour plane ride away ( Cape Town, SA is not close). Speaking of parallel universes -loved the Fringe season 2 finale. It rocked- full of "alias" like moments.

Lost

Benefits of waking up at 4:50 am to watch the finale is both Chris and I were in a dream like state so we actually liked the finale. ( and yes we know that when England said we were watching live with the US they meant live with California- but alas beggers can't be choosers).

I cried A LOT- thought Jin and Sun and Sawyers scenes delivered. ( I am sure Chris liked Kate's scenes as well) I liked the ending- yes it left some huge holes but I got to see some old characters reunited so it worked for me. ( sidenote: completely forgot that hottie from Vampire Diaries was Shannon's brother on Lost). I liked jack and friends together in their afterlife. Still loving JJ and can't wait to Fall 2010 when his new show about ex CIA agents who have dayjobs as caterers premieres.


Signing off we had 80 degree weather which of course caused a heat index for this country but have kids who unfortunately think summer is around the corner but have 7 weeks of school left:)

Westlife

So Friday headed to Ireland's version (westlife) of New Kids On the Block- a few differences these guys could actually sing and they were smart to know their original songs are crap and play a ton of covers ( Billy Joel, Barry Manilow). Concert was so much fun- with a great group of couples who I will completely miss and had some ice cold margaritas waiting for me at the concert ( I still have an issue that I cant taste tequila). I would SO like to take these folks in my luggage back with me. So yes- nostalgia has hit our house- I know my blog has sometimes served as a bitch list of things I hate (reminder, weather, healthcare, government style, narrow roads and no drive thru starbucks in a 15 mile radius) here but like all things somewhere along the line I made great friends with some amazing girls. A lot of us are on our way out- one couple leaves for New Zealand next month, then we head home, and then another couple leave for South Africa in the late fall. So yes, no regrets about our adventure in England, have met some friends for life who I hope I will cross paths again in our lifetime.