Welcome to the Workend - Cocktail?

It came to me a few workends ago, that we have been robbed as a society (at least amongst my peers) of proper weekends.  I can not remember the last time (while not on vacation) when my husband and I both had a weekend off - completely off - to relax, catch up and just BE!  I am thinking it has been AT LEAST 17 years.  Okay, since we've only been married 7 years that may bit a b-i-t of an exaggeration, but it seems like that long.

Usually workends go something like this:

Friday
Pick up Maddie from school
Entertain Maddie after school
Cook dinner for Maddie
Cook dinner for us
Freak out about the amount of paperwork I didn't finish during the week
Collapse from exhaustion

Saturday
Wake up at the crack of dawn with Maddie
Realize that I am going to be late for work if I don't jump in the shower
Jump in the shower
Run out the door
Work
Work some more
Come home to the realization that dinner needs to be cooked and the weekend is almost over
Collapse from exhaustion

Sunday
Wake up at the crack of dawn with Maddie
Put on a 2 hour puppet show for her (okay these usually are fun)
Do 13 loads of laundry
Go grocery shopping
Clean the house
Finish up all of the paperwork that I didn't do during the week
Go into the gym to clean
Make dinner
Sit and wonder why tomorrow is Monday already...

In the past my weekends used to go:

Friday
Finish work with happy hour with friends
Order a pizza and watch a movie
Sleep

Saturday
Whatever - sometimes errands were involved, sometimes not
Meet up with friends for a night out or in
Sleep

Sunday
Sleep
Brunch
Catch up with emails
Watch crap TV or shop
Sleep

Okay - so all of my weekends of yesteryear did not play out just like that (their were roadtrips thrown in and even a couple of working days).  Many of the reasons my life has changed and brought about a lack of personal chill time, I am grateful for.  I have a wonderful business, I love most of the responsibility my work brings and adore my family (most of the time).  Sometimes I just lust after the bygone years of wasted and wonderful weekends.  This year I am going to try to get one weekend a month to shamefully throw away into the abyss - are you in?

Mole Hill Hell

Okay, so we just got back from the States on Friday and I stopped over to see our neighbors that night  because our pipes had frozen and we had no water.  While trading banter about the holidays, the weather, our water problems and the like, my neighbor lamented about the moles that had molested her back garden.  She pointed out the back window to show me the damage, but as there have recently been about 123 snow storms that have come through, I couldn't really see much more that a couple clods of dirt laying on top of the snow.

Side Note to Americans:  When one refers to one's back garden over here they mean their backyard - not necessarily a flower or vegetable garden.  Calling someone's back garden their 'yard' is kind of an insult I remember reading somewhere that it stemmed from the days when a yard was literally the amount of outdoor space you had if you were a lower classed city dweller.  Since I hate to make a statement that I can't back up I decided to do a bit of research on the subject.  Sadly, I can find nothing to support this 'theory' that I was taught somewhere.  Now that I think about it, it may have been in a pub and involved a few pints.  Anyways - people here do get a bit funny about the whole yard issue and from this point forward I shall call it the garden, but please do not confuse this with something planted in bedding.

So there I was listening to our neighbor's mole woes and feeling sorry for her.  Her husband loves his garden and is very proud of the fact that he maintains it faithfully, has a gorgeous lawn for their kids to play on and has created a nice little space in a new development on the edge of an old village. (He is also out of the country for the next 3 months and hasn't actually seen it yet).  The mole(s) had dug up 4 holes and had destroyed portions of their back GARDEN.  The next day I retold the woeful story to my husband who agreed that it was a shame and that our neighbor's husband would indeed be up in arms when he saw the mess.

A couple of nights ago I was taking out the garbage when lo and behold - I see a couple clods of dirt in our garden.  At this point it was still really covered in snow so it didn't look like too much.  Then the rain set it, the snow melted and our once snow covered back GARDEN was free of the white stuff.  Strangely it was also almost free of the green stuff  - as in GRASS.

23 mole hills in our back garden.    23!!!!!

I don't know if you have ever seen the destruction those little effers can reap, but let me tell you it is not pretty.  Our back garden is basically destroyed.  I am actually praying for more snow to cover it back up.  Several more holes pop up each day - what to do???

We got a tip from a friend who told us to bury glass bottles in the ground because the wind blows over them and makes a scary noise that they don't like and they will bugger off.   This is either scientifically sound and the person who told us will be my new messiah, OR he is just messing with us because he wants to see the crazy American burying glass bottles in her GARDEN.

Any thoughts on this before we land mine our grass with glass?

When She Gets Big

My 3 year old and I had a very serious conversation tonight over dinner about all of the things she is going to do when she gets bigger AND older.  I thought I would get them written out so that:

1. She has a set of clearly defined goals to work toward
2. I have something to embarrass her with later in life (when she gets big AND old)

Her is her list so far:

1. Drink Tea
2. Drive a Car
3. Drink Diet Coke
4. Make Dinner Herself
5. Open the Door by Herself
6. Be a Baby Again
7. Be a Puppy (I told her this one was probably not possible since, once born human we kind of stay that way.  She said if she changes her mind about being a person she should get to re-choose what she is).
8. Take the Dog for a Walk
9. Chew Gum
10. Play with Knives

The list, I am sure, will continue to grow but I think this is a pretty good start, don't you?  What do you want to do when you get bigger AND older?

Night of the Living Dead

Transatlantic flights are almost never fun when travelling with a 3 year old and are particularly gruesome when traveling in hazardous winter conditions (in both locales).  Every time we fly back home from the States there is that first day/night at home when we don't know if we are coming or going.  Is it day, is it night, what time zone are we in?, am I hungry, it it appropriate to drink a beer?  The 6 hour time difference sucks when you are flying East - some may argue with me about that but this is my life so shush.   The first day back after flights like these are like the Night of the Living Dead - we are awake, but not really.  We are more like zombies cruising through the house trying to get our bearings and deciding on a plan of action.

Our latest journey ended yesterday evening at around 7pm GMT.  Our latest journey began at noon the day before - in a quasi blizzard. After spending one trillion hours in transit (do the math yourself I am still really tired) we finally made it home - to NO WATER!  Yes folks our pipes had frozen.  Let me list the things you cannot do without water:

Get a glass of water
Make your daughter corn on the cob (her only request)
Make your own night of the living dead curry (recipe to follow)
Flush the toilet
Wash RAW chicken off your hands (from the NOTLD curry)
Take a shower
Give the dog a drink

So here WE are - me, husband, child and dog and WE are - stinky, tired, thirsty and needing to use the toilet.  Bring on Night of the Living Dead!   Oh did I mention that Maddie had slept for the entire flight AND the whole 3 hour drive home and by 7pm was AWAKE!!!!!

7 pm-10 pm - Like zombies Matt and I tried ringing our water supply company and making dinner - basically going through the motions.  Finally told by water company that no one could come until the morning - does this mean we can go to bed?


10 pm  - we both thought we were going to collapse we were so delirious with exhaustion.  Plead with daughter to convince her that she really is tired and just confused by the time difference.

The next couple of hours I am going to have to wing, because I was in zombie form and that self doesn't always communicate with me.  I vaguely remember doing a puppet show, watching Annie, reading several hundred books and perhaps some gymnastics (I could be making that up).

12 am (midnight) Maddie - STILL NOT TIRED.   I basically had to put her in her room with my iphone and an apology because my body wouldn't stay awake.  The resulting apocalypse that ensued was beyond anything I could have imagined.  Matt and I passed out at that point and luckily at some point (I'm thinking about 3ish) Maddie did too.

I hate the Night of the Living Dead feeling - happens every time so I don't know why it catches me off guard every time.  I have created a great curry though that we normally make for just such occasions!  Here is the recipe (don't make this if you don't have running water for the obvious and not so obvious reasons):

Chicken - cube it
Peppers and Onions - roughly dice
Garlic
Garam Masala
Chicken Stock
Tomato Paste
Diced canned tomatoes
Cumin
Turmeric
Curry Powder
Rice

Cut up anything solid and fry in some olive oil (onions, garlic and peppers followed by chicken is normally best)
Chuck in the spices, with a little stock a can of tomatoes and some tomato paste - figure out amounts based on the consistency you like your curry - I am still tired so I am not going to figure it out for you!
Boil some rice - seriously if you can't make your own rice I can't help you

Heat up some naan bread and serve when everything is ready - OR when you feel like you can't stay awake much longer to eat!

I am going to bed - Night!!

How to make yourself feel great in 15 minutes - Thanks Lush

Rachel and I love to pamper ourselves and a couple of days ago went to Lush to get some 'stuff'.  We realized this morning that we had yet to use our stuff and so decided that when baby Lily went down for her nap we were going to shave 10 years off of ourselves in a oner.

This is really easy to do - here is the tutorial:

Go to Lush and stock up.  You will need:

Aquamarina face putty (seaweed soap)
A fresh facemask - I recommed: The Sacred Truth which combines ginseng, green tea and fresh papaya
H'Suan Wen Hua Hair Mask (so good you will want to eat your own hair)

Slap all that stuff on with your best friend, try not to lick your own face (or your friend's) and give it about 15 minutes.

Wash it off

When we were done we both felt amazing (and smelled really good).  I am convinced that Lush has some secret ingredient that they use in their products that can make anybody feel super in the blink of an eye.  Oh yeah - and the rum and diet coke that Rachel provided didn't hurt either!

PS - If you do not have a Lush where you live you can order it online (although it is not the same as walking into a store).  If you are unfortunate enough to not have a Lush or the means by which to order it then send me an email and I will get you some.  Believe me - every woman needs this stuff and I will be more than happy to act as an angel of Lush Mercy for your benefit!

Starbucks on Speed

Okay to preface - I did not go to Starbucks on any kind of upper (for those that know me that would just be silly).  I did however, go to Starbucks this morning with my friend Rachel and her WAY to gorgeous baby Lily and was overwhelmed by the difference between the service at her Starbucks and the service at mine.

Hers:
"Hi y'all - Oh my goodness, will you look at that baby - she is gorgeous - what can I get y'all today.  Two lattes with very specific instructions - great - y'all have a marvelous morning and enjoy your coffees - enjoy that precious baby - she is too cute for words!"

Mine:
"Are you ready to order?  We can't make that."

Hers:
There were about 10 people ahead of us and we still got our order in about 2 minutes.

Ours:
If  more than 2 people are in front of you - expect to wait 10 minutes (per person).

Most of England is just not about customer service in the way that much of America is - I am not saying it doesn't exist, but over here it is more of the norm.  What is weird is that I have lived in the UK long enough now, that I sometimes feel that the friendliness that smacks you in the face in places like a Starbucks are a bit disconcerting.  I was taken aback by the thought of them caring so much about my day and then I realized that I missed it very much.  Okay, so in reality they might not have actually cared at all, but if I had to choose between my Starbucks and hers - I say bring on the Southern hospitality!

Texas Style New Year

Matt and Maddie and I have been visiting the States and for the past couple of weeks have been in Madison, Wisconsin.  This week saw us flying down to San Antonio Texas to visit my very bestest friend and her husband AND their nearly new baby (Rachel, Don and Lily Ruth).  After a VERY LONG flight down (seriously it took almost as long to get from Chicago to San Antonio as it did to get across the pond) we arrived to the promise of Texas Welcome Water and some grub (tequila, steak and fries).

New Years Eve day Rachel and I were very fortunate to have the boys take the baby out on an impromptu trip to San Marcos leaving us the entire afternoon to do what we love to do together - pamper, shop, chat and eat!  Specifically this involved:

1. Eyebrow waxing from a darling so cute that I wanted to package her up and take her back to England.
2. Spa pedicures in massage chairs so comfortable that I wanted to package them up and take them back to England.
3. Asian fusion food so good that I wanted to wrap it up and bring it back to England.
4. A Trip to Lush - this one we already have in England so I had no desire to bring it home.

After an entire day of feeling great we ended up with what felt like 30 minutes to get ready to go out to dinner.  We went to this very cool french restaurant that was not of the stuffy variety.  The food was tasty, the wine was delicious and afterwards we headed over to see some family friends who were have a soiree.  The host and hostess in an odd twist of the evening were both from the UK (she from Dundee and he from Upminster).  On top of that they were both ex RAF - how strange.  After spending about an hour there we made our way back home to crack open some bubbly and ring in the New Year.

I am fairly confident nearly all of us were asleep in some manner before the strike of 12.  I know for a fact that I was snoring - LOUDLY because my husband had to poke me in the ribs to let me know.  We did manage to miss the countdown, but were able to make a toast and watch some fireworks on TV - Goodbye 2009!

New Years Day has made me miss living in a warm climate and just being back in the States in general.  We took a long walk down the River Walk enjoying the bright blue sky and sunshine.  This has been followed by watching the Rose Bowl on TV (go Oregon).  I am not sure what the rest of our week here is going to entail, but I am filled with the promise of happiness, excitement and good food!

Bring It On 2010!