Crazy golf

This week we are camping, in a cabin, at a campsite which has crazy golf, a swimming pool, a bouncy castle, and several climbing frames. It is heaven for Starbucks who has adopted a love for crazy golf. Since Cookie is happy to just sit on the course it's been nice to actually do a fun activity together as a family.  Although there appeared to be more obstacles on our course than others.

I just can't work out what the rest of the world does?

  

What do normal people do when they share a hotel room with their children? Or do they not? This is Xss and I in our comfy bath boat reading in the light of the bathroom as our kids sleep in the bedroom. I'd say we don't mind that much, in the same way as we don't mind that much settling an awake baby to sleep at 4am - there's not much choice.

It was particularly comfortable this one though as there were loads of spare pillows and towels.

Greece is the word

We went on holiday to Greece! People want to know if we had a nice time and if we would recommend it. This is now a really challenging question, now that we have a small person that follows us around and makes her feelings very evident at every occasion. In a nutshell if she's happy, we are.
The facts are:
1) The sea was VERY clear and the beaches pretty

2) We managed to find loads of local beaches (15 minutes drive away) that were only about 40 metres long and had two handfuls of people on. Mostly locals.

3) The food was nice, but very baked. We ate a lot of hot food, with the only alternative seeming to be Greek salad (which is nice, but not every meal).

4) Chania is a pretty town with a lot of tourists in it. Great places to eat, drink and people watch but not much else interesting.

5) Chania has a Starbucks which does sell Mocha Cookie Crumble Frapacinno's
6) The sun feels good warming your skin wherever it is warm.

7) Starbucks (the 2 year old) enjoyed paddling in the water and continually filling up her bucket and emptying as if there was a purpose to watering the beach. We enjoyed sitting in the shallow water while she did this, talking.
8) There was a lot of graffiti, and not political slogans or social commentary, but tagging?

I had a nice time. Nice is the word. Would i go back? Yeah. But i have a child now, so adventuring into far off places is currently on hold.

Team Ambition

Last night was my work Christmas do. It was fun, but I left at 8pm when the last 7 started dancing and being so drunk that when they weren't dancing they were happy to sit in a chair staring into space. It was great to start making new friends at work as I have been pretty lonely there for a while. I learnt a lot about my new team mates, and what impressed me was some of their life dreams. Ones' was to cycle around the world! He even had a plan on how to do it. Another was into extreme sports, which got me thinking, 'well, I'd quite like to do a skydive if the chance ever presented itself'. And that's where my mistake lies. How is this chance ever going to present itself (to be fair I'm not sure I could actually go through with this) but if you don't seek it out, adventures rarely fall in your lap.

If I want to be the sort of person who has a tea pot, I've gotta go out and buy it!!! New years resolution, buy a teapot. That's genuine. However, I also really want to build a family home out of storage contains, or an old bus. How do I start that happening?

 

 

If you want a Happyland empire, you got get it out the box and build it! (and if you're really creative throw in a box of passata for an abstract element).

 

26/52 Happy? I CAN create an adventure next year. 

Weird baby stuff....

i thought i'd share this, as i personally thought i was going mad:

Two Christmas's ago, Xss and I went to see Arthur Christmas the movie. It was great, I love a good Christmas themed animation, during this film I felt Starbucks move for the first time. It was a little underwhelming, but undoubtedly I had felt an unborn person pushing me around from the inside.

Although I have all the outward signals that I am not pregnant (periods, no bump (well a small chocolate eating bump) I was half certain that I must be pregnant, and at least 4 months along, as I would often feel a baby moving inside of me again. Interestingly this is a common phenomenon! Luckily, I am not secretly pregnant despite being able to feel another human being in my abdomen!

Theories about why this might be include- being more aware of this sensation of your womb moving and recognising this now despite it having happened pre-pregnancy as well, wombs taking longer to contract than previously thought and these movements being my womb still shrinking down to its pre-stretched size... whatever the reason, it was so good to read that I was not going mad, nor permanently 4 months pregnant, although having such s small bump so far along would be brilliant.

Another joy of pregnancy, feeling an imaginary baby pushing you around for years after the actual event!

21/52 Happy? Not being pregnant and having another human being stuffed into my belly.

How to solve a problem work style.....

I have no major problems in my life, so i like to get overly worked up about the small ones. The latest of these is Xss going to bed late and waking me up when he does. The first night it was loud whistling in the bathroom, the next shaving with his electric razor (at 11:45pm!!). Rather than get mad (i was silently mad- but when you're in bed, in the dark this might just seem like you are asleep- the opposite of what i wanted). (i tried some angry tossing and turning,to try and make him feel bad). Anyway. whats the adult way to solve a problem like this with your partner? Go to work mad and fire off lots of passive aggressive emails to my friends Honestly and Lovely. All prefixed with, 'Xss is really great BUT.....'

So i asked for inspiration from their jobs. How would they tackle this problem at work?

In my work i would:
- tell him his behaviour is 'unacceptable'
- work out suitable rewards and sanctions for good/poor behaviour
- Issue Xss an Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC/ASBO) detailing what specific behaviours are not allowed in the bathroom at what times (which takes a lot of work, and then means nothing once broken)

Lovely, who works for a well known homeless charity suggested that her work would:
- swear
-  write a letter saying that if he looses his home because of his behaviour, he’ll be found intentionally homeless and then no one will help him.
- tell his mum (this is one of Lovely's very effective and non-protocol techniques with her younger teenage clients)

Honestly would:
- Use a Measurement framework (a flow diagram) so that you can measure progress of your responses to his behaviour, learn from that and then adapt your response until it’s perfect (and you sleep well!)
- campaign for change by getting large organisations and MP's involved

12/52 Happy? Having only small things like this to 'worry' about.

Toothpaste wars

Every family has their unspoken rules. In ours, it's that you shouldn't start a new toothpaste until ALL of the last one has gone.

 

Sometimes our house is like the three bears. Evidenced by mummy, daddy and baby toothbrushes and toothpastes in our bathroom.

When our toothpaste is feeling decidedly pasty (haha), when all you can feel is tube and not paste, the real competition begins. Who can bend it, push it and manipulate it enough to continue getting toothpaste out. I always lose and end up being the person who late at night has to rummage around in all the packets under the bathroom sink hoping that there is a new tube there somewhere, while planning how to cut the tube open and formulate a lump from the slim remains in order to brush my teeth.

Just lately, i am proud to say, i am winning toothpaste wars. I am winning by proxy. Xss has moved on to the Sensodyne toothpaste behind and abandoned the family Mcleans. If he stays on it long enough I'll be able to get the last toothpaste suck out and i will win.... It'll be just my luck that he will revert back to Mcleans for the last little bit of paste, and I'll lose..... Then again, if he doesn't move back, I'll get the last bit and I'll still have to eventually open a new tube and then I'll lose again.... Worst of all, Xss might not even be aware of these toothpaste wars. He probably just cleans his teeth and doesn't think in toothpaste manipulation tactics. He probably just puts toothpaste on his brush, and brushes. Some people say i am overly competitive.

5/52 Happy? making myself feel like a winner by over complicating minor household events. score. Next week I'll tell you about the competition of how to stack the washing up on the draining board the highest!

Oh the wonderful things Mr Seuss can do...

As we were sitting at lunch today with Big sis and Chess, and our baby nephew, the conversation inevitably turned towards our baby and plans we are making. Which made us think of all the plans we are not making. It is only 12 weeks after all. But then if you re-frame that, we are a third of the way there, and I'm only going to get bigger and more awkward. So this afternoon i was motivated to get going, well thinking at least. I'd like a nice nursery room: Which is a shock as i am rock and roll and always thought that i'd be happy with my baby sleeping in a cardboard box and bathing in a bucket (like my baby-parent friends at uni). But shock horror i am wanting all the 'luxuries' for this baby! - (that's not to say that i wont try to go mostly for secondhand 'luxuries'.)

In consultation with Xss we have agreed on a Dr Seuss theme for the baby's room. I've researched the material online so i plan to make some blankets and sheets, and cot padding things with it. What is a nicer way to welcome it than to make stuff for it.

I also looked up Dr Seuss quotes to put on the wall. There are several really good ones (see below). One of the many things i love about Seuss, other than his rhyming arrangement, is the way that his books explore some really complicated themes in a very simple manner. There's The Sneetches which tackles racism, The Lorax- Capitalism and environmentalism, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas- consumerism and materialism and lastly according to Wikipedia Horton Hears A Who which apparently deals with the bombing of Hiroshima! But they are not dark and are highly understandable.

Here's the quotes i am considering putting on the baby's wall:

'I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living'

' You have brains in your head, and feet in you shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where you go'

'A person's a person no matter how small'

'Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. Its not.'

and best for a sleepy baby; ' You'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut'.

My Newest Adventure

Sorry its been so long since I've written on here, its not that I've had nothing to say, but more that i don't know how to say it. Since Xss and I have now travelled the world, and survived, we are a stronger team than ever. This October marks 10 years since we met and started sending carefully planned invites through comedically worded texts to each other resulting in copious amounts of snogging. Over this decade we have entwined with each other and shaped ourselves along the way (something that used to make me binge all night with fear, but when you are here and equally committed its not so bad).

Ok, enough gushing, but having got this base firmly established we feel that we are ready to start our family. Our next big adventure. So now world travelling has been replaced with baby making; temporarily. I am now 11 weeks pregnant, and full of anxiety for the future. Am i going to turn into someone who puts babies in blue nappies being delivered by storks all over my blog? Am i going to talk about breast feeding and cracked nipples to the cashier at Morrison's? Will i think my music taste will make my child demonic and ban all talent and apathy from my home!

Well, for the moment i have turned into a tired, burping machine. I feel like i can complain about the negative side effects of pregnancy as next time, I'll have to suck it up and get on with it, because I'll already have another child who wont patiently listen. But this time- well why not be accurate with my experiences, i know there is a club i am joining which says there are certain things you shouldn't share with the uninitiated (or unpregnated here) but well I'm not willing to prescribe to the 'isn't pregnancy wonderful and noble' image just yet. I am so tired i have to nap for half an hour after work each day, this has seriously curbed my going out behaviour, but luckily the timing coincided with several friends getting serious about their boys and wanting to be home more too. I only feel sick when i am tired or hungry, which is almost all the time i am awake. 'People' say this will be over soon, so I'm riding each day out sitting on the sofa burping and being fed by Xss, concentrating on not being sick. Glowing- i think not.

P.S Spinster keep this under your hat until i've finished applying for my SW training course

Dreaming of Britian

More accurately, Xss and I have been discussing food at length. These are the final and much discussed short lists of what food we want most:

Xss
1. Flaming Hot Monster Munch
2. Cottage Cheese
3. Salmon fillets
4. Cookies (White chocolate and Raspberry from Sainsburies or Double Chocolate from Tesco)
5. A smoked Salmon and cream cheese wholemeal bread sandwich (that's cheating)

The Geek
1. Humus
2. A whisper
3. Cadbury buttons
4. Ben and Jerry's ice cream (cookie dough and brownie twisted)
5. chocolate milk with a Cadbury flake chocolate dessert (if he can cheat so can I!)

Opposites attract. Well they do on magnets but in humans they constantly challenge each other. In our case, in a good way.

My so called Zoo life

My Favourite- the Loris', who unfortunately sleep during the day. lazies.

I love it. I really do. I am not sure if part of it is that i am in one place for long enough to do washing AND hang it up to dry, or that they cook all my meals, give me innumerable breaks (in fact its more like the work is a break from sitting around reading and chatting), and i get to spend time with Xss.

Recently Xss had been discussing whether in the future we might be able to run a hotel together, and then came to the conclusion that we cant. As he wont agree with all the decisions i want to make. He is so unreasonable! BUT perhaps we could run a zoo together.....

Our day starts at 6.30am everyday, which sometimes makes me feel like i might be going on a childhood holiday when you get up in the middle of the night to leave. Well, i am romanticising that a bit, really i feel like i want to die, but social pressures to meet the rest of my team means i get up. We then feed some sort of animals. Initially as you are shown around you think, 'oh, this is great you can get really close to the animals and could if you wanted to touch them through the cage', as soon as you've been around to feed anything you think, 'oh, not so great, the animals try to 'touch YOU' through the cage'. I got grabbed by a Gibbon my first day, he wouldn't let go but someone freed me with no shirt rippage!

The Bears, waiting to 'touch me'.

We generally then clean out, clean a pool in an enclosure or prepare some treats for the animals. Then there's lunch at 12, a selection of Thai dishes, and nothing to do until 2pm. In the afternoon we generally feed again and tidy things up, lock up and put the rubbish out. Xss has been doing different things to me and today played football with a long billed bird (i don't know what exactly) for about 15 minutes. Unfortunately towards the end of this time Randy (the bird) said he would not support Norwich City, as he wanted to remain neutral since there are so many nationalities at the zoo. There are about 30 volunteers here of all ages and nationalities. But since English is the best language in the world, everyone speaks English to each other.

One of the five elephants, June. They really are quite ugly. Here she is refusing to got the way the people 'walking her' want her to go.

Zoo..m

We are here at the Zoo! There are several Oxfam shop animals, including a dog with literally no back half, yet he still manages to walk around with just his front legs, he is called Bruce, and i quite like him, a tiger called Meow, who walks very shakily, and many more healthy Gibbons, Loris', Bears, Otters (one called Pirate- sure to be a favourite), crocodile (this lives just outside our room (in a cage)), and some random other things. We will be working 6.30am until 5pm with an hour for lunch and an hour for breakfast, so it'll be hard work for sure. However, it is simply just the next adventure in the series for Xss and I.

It was our wedding anniversary on the 3rd and Xss took me to a roof top restaurant at the Banyan tree which was lovely, as I got a rose and a cocktail served in dry ice afterwards! Really great. The view of Bangkok was ok, but the view of Xss was better! hahah. Four years in and he is increasingly a bigger and better friend than i ever dreamed of. Anyway, we then stayed at the Bangkok Hilton (hotel not prison) on the 6th as this was the night we arrived on our honeymoon there, mostly thanks to me booking flights on the wrong day. That's why I'm not a real adult.

So this morning at 10am a Thai man in a woolly hat (its not warm enough for him, its only 34 degrees C) and shades arrived and hung around outside the Hilton in his 'car' to collect us and bring us to the Zoo. I say car as it was really a sound system on wheels. This guy can afford a speaker system that nearly fills his car (Xss's feet were on the bass speaker and mine on the mixing box), but cannot afford to fix the massive crack in his windscreen! As we drove through Bangkok he buckled up his seat belt into the passenger side seat as his was missing (presumably taken out to make room for the microphone and Karaoke system he is installing next week), but then promptly unbuckled as soon as we were out of town. It was a great reminder of all that we have been away from for the previous few weeks whilst staying with Xss's parents. We have easily adopted part of Thai culture- just go with the flow, it'll all work out in the end. We arrived at the Zoo in one piece. Objective achieved.

And i still have found what i`m looking for......

In a strange moment today i finally felt like i understood what it is to be a traveller, what it is we are supposed to be looking for and why people perceive times of travelling as so amazing.

Today we went rock climbing in the Andes surrounding Santiago.

This is us having our pic-nic (South American spelling) lunch down by the river. Hezus our climbing expert, Monica one of our hostel workers and me. Xss took the picture. As usual we managed to befriend a dog and it tried to sit on my lap throughout lunch, but was really rather nice. I think someone should invent a rent a dog business because it makes nice days outside even nice when you have a dog in tow. She turned up sad and lonesome and after some food and fuss was running home with us happy and bouncy!

So we decided to go climbing and called up Hezus from a hostel advert. He was really nice, spoke brilliant English and he invited Monica along (who turned out to be great). We took a tube to the end of the metro line then a cab to the middle of nowhere from where we proceeded to walk into the Andes, stopping at an idyllic spot near the river to climb. I was pretty bad at it but it was great to be in the great outdoors, being challenged, trying new things and enjoying peoples company.

Here is Xss at the top of the rock having climbed up the easy route. We then tried another easy way and two harder ways (one being near impossible i think). Xss excelled at it, was quick and sure and it was great to learn this about him. He also managed one of the very hard routes where you had to hang underneath the rock at a time. Because Hezus thought it was fun we also tried out ´jumping´off the wall. This involved climbing up higher than where the rope was attached and launching yourself off the wall knowing that the rope would catch you and pull you back in after a 2 meter drop. I tried this and did it, but the sensation of going against all your senses and falling backwards with nothing to hold onto was very strange and i had nothing to prove so didn't go very high. Xss on the other hand was lunching himself off the wall from the word go trusting the ropes instantly. He was truly fearless, another thing learnt.

It was after this, and chatting with Monica (our single serving, lovely, friend- openly acknowledged by all), and having yummy fresh avocado, chicken, tomato and cucumber rolls (with our feet in the river) for lunch, and the glorious surrounding scenery, and having some cold beers in the river which we drank as a celebration at the end, and walking down the dusty road at the end of the day ( we didn't get home until 9pm having left at 8.30am) tired from the physical exercise, with our now happy dog skipping along at our feet that i realised. I realised that i was truly content, not worried about anything, not wanting anything more, no plans for the future, satisfied with all i had learnt in the day. In this moment i was truly happy. For me, this is the best i could get from travelling, a time when i am happy in each moment, relaxed and not upset about anything, enjoying the world and Xss for all they have to offer and not making things complicated.

The view from the river rock

Our new racist friend....

We have arrived in Paraty with no problems, unless you count Xss getting briefly stuck in the turnstile on the bus, a problem. There was a comedic moment of me pushing from behind and him pushing the turnstile at the front. The turnstiles are situated just behind the driver and force you to buy a ticket. However they are very tough (which is good when you want strong stomach muscles) and very small (certainly not enough room for a man and a backpack). They don't like fat people here, and indeed there is a sign on the bus telling you that you have to offer a fat person your seat! I guess it is seen as a health problem.

We have been spending the last few days sunbathing on the beach a stones throw (and for once this is actually true) from our hostel. The town of Paraty is also very beautiful and very safe to walk around. There are plenty of evening hours as it gets dark at 5pm. So plenty of wandering - my new sport.

On the beach there are not many people (still to work out why) but plenty of stray dogs whom befriend anyone they see. So for the past two days ´Benji´has been sitting near us, looking after us. Its not uncommon to go for a walk and see a foreign couple walking along with a dog running around their heels as if it is their own. It makes us laugh. The problem with our one, Benji, who has adopted us is that he is racist and encourages others to be so also! Whenever a black person walks past us he barks crazily and runs at the person, stopping a meter away to bark until they leave! This encourages the other dogs and they join in. It is more than a little embarrassing as it is quite a noise and show, and its hard not to look. Like with any difficult friend, it poses the question, how do you say, ´I'm their friend but don't agree with their opinions´ in one look. He honestly doesn't bark at white people, or mixed race, only black men.

Benji is now posing a dilemma, should we move to a different beach to avoid him? We went to a different place on the beach today but he found us and sat with us all day. He is really quite nice, if only he weren't so racist.

Rio in Three Days

Well, we are trying to make the most of Rio, and have done as much as we can in the few days we have, but have fitted it in around sleeping, being lazy and generally doing nothing. On the first day we struggled quite a bit.

After getting up early and taking a walk along the Cococpana and Ipanema beaches (which are beautiful), we visited a market and then decieded to return home to change and go sunbathe. So after a brief nap we emerged from our room at 4.30pm, slightly shiny with suntan cream, armed with books, sunglasses, scanty clothes etc ready to hit the beach. We had already got burnt necks earlier (in my defence- my hair is not normally this short!) so were extra cautious this time around with the lotion. However, our mistake was to not realise that we are in the southern hemisphere, so as we strolled down the road to the beach, in the dark, we felt like idiots. But at least we were shiny idiots so the cars did not hit us.

(Left Copacabana, still buzzing at 2pm)

The last two days we went on the local bus (we feel victorious) to Christ the Redemer and Sugar loaf mountain (photos to follow - i have now found out that we cannot upload pictures here). Both had great views. Nothing that exciting to report, the pictures pretty much speak for themselves (or not as the case is now). Tomorrow we leave for Paraty a 4 hour bus ride south-ish.

Observations on Rio so far.
- everyone has a tiny dog, dressed in an outfit, with bows in their hair, apart from the lady at the beach who had a cockrel in a football jersey on a lead. There are no real dogs.
- the birds at the beach who circle the shore at night are the dead ringers for teridactiles, have i missed the newspaper article about dinosaurs still being alive in South America?
- There are m0re pec implants on Copocabana beach than there are fake boobs. The glamerous string bikini front is a lie! Celulite and wobbly bits are all the rage here.
- You can´t see the Christ the redeemer statue everywhere, and its not that big.
- The tree´s here are massive and very cool.
- Rio´s dont like living in big, beautiful, old houses and they seem to be leaving them to age badly (ie dericlition) in order to live in tower blocks of ugliness.
- The police must have done a good job at shooting all the street kids a few years ago as i havent seen any yet.
- It is ok to do grafitti everywhere here, and not tags, actual good pictures- See below of the one a man did of Xss and I as we were passing through a park.

300 Days of LE!

XSS and I have arrived safely in Rio. It looks the same in the dark as anywhere does so i wont bore you with the details. However, the plane journey- now that was fun.

I did intend to sit down in quiet contemplation and think carefully about what i wanted out of my time away, get some really good questions to think over, etc. But instead i watched the films!! BA have a library of films so there was good choice. I wasted most of my time watching ´Dear John´and ´The Bounty Hunter´both terrible (and not in a good way) romances. I also got to see Invictus which was good but raised loads of questions i wanted to ask my Afrikaans´s friends- what was their old flag like? Do they remember this time? and what are the differences in the national anthems?

I wore my special ´travelling t-shirt´(from the boys section of a Peckham shop, it says Úp, Up and Away!´), which went well with my new haircut lending me to question whether i now look like a 8 year old boy? I can tell you though (seriously), there were many jealous looks in the airport from small children. i saw them looking! It kind of lost its humour airside where everyone was flying somewhere and it seemed like i proudly didn't realise. The general feeling (from Honestly and the Wainwright clan) is that the haircut is ok. At least it will be good on those hot days.
So we will be away for around 300 days, fingers crossed, which for XSS is 300 days of me. Yippee. I think most people who meet XSS after knowing me, have a lot of respect for him automatically as they realise how patient he must be, to be able to tolerate the ADD personailty that i am. Here is a picture of XSS enjoying our 4th conversation around whether i look like a 8 year old boy or not with my new haircut.

We arrived fine and got someone from the hostel to pick us up. The room is fine, in a nice part of town, now to explore. We only have 3 days until we move on to Paraty.

Saying Goodbye

Yesterday i finished work and said goodbye to my colleagues. I don't like hugs or emotional outbursts (except for teenage ones, like 'i hate you all, goodbye!' said as storming through a doorway and slamming it as punctuation (note to self this is unacceptable as a 'goodbye' to adults i know) but as i walked away from work i realised that the folk there aren't so much colleagues or people who tolerate me and my incessant chatter about Jordan, but possibly, actually, really, friends. I will miss Junior, Rowl and N-Man a lot. Its a shame to leave a job with a good team, as really its the people that make the job isn't it. That's why i left my minimum wage job at McDonalds, people just weren't getting me!

I also went to church for the last time the day before, and they were talking about missing me and XSS too. Its weird being the one going away as in many ways i want to implore people to not go, but its me going, and people are making it sad. Its unspoken, but no-one believes that life will be the same when we get back. There is a distinct feeling of mourning, for all that is good in our lives. Not to put a downer on things, but i guess times change, other people will move on, and it will not be the same as now, not worse, just different (that's what people say when really they mean worse).

As i sat on the bus inching away from Peckham past the numerous houses i have been in, and got to know very well. I feel like i am walking away from the responsibility that i have taken on during my time there. I often feel i have to stop ALL the kids stabbing each other and to help each vulnerable unfulfilled one i see. I know a lot of people don't think it is their responsibility to help sort out these kids, it is not popular to suggest that adults interrupt kids with knives fighting, and we can all blame the demise of society for hurting our kids. But as i step away i am renewed with the belief that the primary people who should be working on these issues are the parents of the ones hurt OR hurting (everyone seems to ask why the police don't stop it instead of looking to themselves).Why doesn't every adult who knows a kid take on responsibility for them? It'd only be a few each rather than expecting the police, schools and social services to be responsible for them all once they've reached a threshold of 'mucked-up-ness

Really though, in a very selfish way, i am hoping that by going away i can leave behind the emotional burden of this, and enjoy another countries youth: I bet the luggage will be waiting for me when i get back, but that's ok.

I'm looking forward to going, but also very nervous. Its hard for me to decide quite what i am worried about but here is what i can deduce:

- Will i be too hot?

- Will the toilets be ok for a number 2?

- Will i get bored?

That's it! Humans are so stupid.

Today i spent over £4,000

Today Xss and I booked our flights. I am sure everyone who knows me must be more than fed up with me talking about going travelling and getting away from my British life. For those that aren't (or even those that are and want to learn when the annoying pain that is LE will bog off and shut up) here are the flights:

Early August (7th!) Fly from London to Rio, Brazil.
Stay in Brazil for 4 months (3 months on the farm)
Late November Fly from Rio to Santiago, Chile
Late November Fly from Santiago to Lima, Peru
Early December Fly from Lima to Cusco, Peru
See Machu Picchu
Mid December Fly from Cusco to Lima, Peru
Find a way to get to Iguitos/the Amazon and see the rainforest
Mid December Fly from Lima to Miami, USA
Late December Fly from Miami to Minnesota
Spend Christmas with my wonderful Russell Family
Late December Fly from Minnesota to LA, USA
Drive to Death Valley and Las Vegas and back
Early January Fly from LA to Tokyo, Japan
Go see Kyoto
Mid January Fly from Tokoyo to Puket, Thailand
Spend one month in Thailand volunteer placement in a Zoo
One month in Cambodian volunteer placement teaching English.
Go overland to Hanoi, Vietnam.
Mid May Fly from Hanoi to Hong Kong
Mid May Fly from Hong Kong to Dehli, India
Overland to Goa
Early June Fly from Goa to LONDON BABY!

Tx You Are My Star....

Tx may be in Uganda but i can feel her warmth from here. I miss her everyday, because there's no-one like her, and when we talk its like starting in the middle of a conversation, no preamble, and always knowing exactly whats going whilst replying with the appropriate tone and question line. I just spoke with her now, and even though our lives are so bizarrely different, she is struggling to make her limited budget at work stretch to digging more wells than humanly possible and improving hygiene practices whilst living in a terribly rural environment with few home comforts, she is still happy, yes HAPPY, to hear me moan about my comfy life here.

If you haven't met Tx imagine sesame streets Zoe on speed. She always has a million things on the go at any one moment, to her no doesn't mean 'NO', it means 'find another way to do it'. She's a restless soul who wont stop until world peace is established; her powerful, dynamic and calm persona offsets her overwhelming desire to remain a 3 year old girl who celebrates every new day by pouring her heart unguarded into everything, often resulting in fabulous victories or tears. She'll never sit still long enough to write a book, she dances when she's happy, challenges me to be a better person, and dresses like no one style is good enough for her.

Most importantly she cooks me homous, jacket potato and macaroni cheese. When she was in London if Xss couldn't cook for me, then she would.

On a roll, here is another sesame street resident to illustrate my friends:

Elmo: XSS. Genuine, honest, and inquisitive. Asks no end of questions but most importantly, loving.

Ernie: Junior. Even emotioned, really genuine and so kind. Has great perception on situations even if he doesn't let on.

Bert: Impy. Ultimately always on a downer and pessimistic about life and any situation he finds himself in, but has a good heart buried beneath it all and secretly like to try hard.

Super Grover: Rowl.

Throws herself whole heartedly into so many different projects all at the same time and really enjoys it. However occasionally finds herself out of her depth and has to bail. Constantly fighting to be brave and courageous despite accurately describing herself as 'highly anxious'.

Big Bird: True.

Central to every episode of life. Can do everything well, says stuff like, "I guess it's better to be who you are. Turns out people like you best that way, anyway" to me constantly to inspire me to continue striving to be myself

Telly: ME.

Obsessed with TV, worries about everything and is obsessed with random things, and random people constantly jumping from one thing to the next.

Fond memories....

I remembered the other day a time at Christmas when Xss and Leo were playing. Leo called Xss 'girl pants!' when they were mock fighting ( think this version was Batman verses The Monster- Xss played the monster role with genuine feeling and integrity (dedicating it 'to monsters everywhere')). Xss, being the bigger man (or Monster), ignored this petulant comment and continued play hitting the child. However, five minutes later Leo had run away and hidden half behind the settee - and Xss in exasperation at the effort now required of him to get up off the floor and clamber over the settee to continue the fight, retorted to Batman's half visable form, 'girl pants'! Which to both of our utter bemusement, caused Leo's whole little face to drop, his broad smile disappear and he burst into spontaneous, heavy rainfall, tears. haha. Oh it was so funny. I did try and explain the 'don't dish up what you cant deal with' rule later to him, but to limited effect.



On a brighter note, i guess Xss and I now both now know what the ultimate insult to a four year old is. Why don't you try it on your own one?

P.S Since i have told this story to Junior he now calls me 'Girl pants' at work when he most wants to insult me! i dont cry (but inside i want to)