The Girls In Love

2008-07-20T22:59:00.004-04:00

I keep forgetting I have this blog. lol Its quite sad. My short term memory is really horrible. I have quite a few people to email back, quite a few things to do but I never remember. I write a lot down but always forget certain things. Its actually quite scary.

Anyways, my health is getting worse. I am tired ALL the time and the stiffness is insane. It takes me about an hour in the mornings to feel any semblance of normal. I looked up the symptoms of CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and I seem to have them all minus 2-3. I am making an appt to go to a doctor this coming week because I am SO tired of this. I literally called a friend on Thursday and just burst out crying. I am currently not working because of my health and its just frustrating to be 28 and feel 82. The depression comes and goes but along with it is the mood swings. I want to be active and healthy but the exhaustion makes it super hard to exercise. The migraines nearly kill me and I get them almost everyday. The TMJ is awful and I have light sensitivity (so dont want to be outdoors) and noise sensitivity. I dont know how Ronny deals with me. I annoy myself. lol I am so glad he does. His tolerance, patience and love is a huge help. Knowing what is wrong with me (trust me, there is SOMETHING wrong) will be great too. At least I will know. I want to get tested for CFS, Fibromyalgia and my thyroid. We shall see.

In other news, I started emailing local (NYC) wedding photographers about becoming their assistant so that I can get on the job training. I am hoping it wont require full time work but more on a project basis. I emailed a few photographers that work in architecture and travel photography (my love) and one of them emailed me back! He wants to meet me this Wednesday. I cannot even tell you how excited I am. And nervous. He seems very nice and down to earth but its still scary. lol I will let you know how it goes. Lets hope he can take me on so I can learn the technical side of photography. He said I have a very good eye! *eeeee*

Btw, if I havent updated this blog its mainly because I forget and I update my craft blog FAR more often but that isnt personal but more about my photography and other Etsy people. I do a lot of blog giveaways there so check it out and maybe you can win. :)

Will try and post soon!

2008-06-09T16:56:00.006-04:00

Well we had an interesting weekend. Friday night we went to Dallas BBQ here in the city for food and drinks and ended up sitting next to three sisters who just got out of their convention. It was really nice meeting them. Was looking forward to being alone with Ronny but had fun talking to them nonetheless. Than Saturday at about 2pm we thought we would just go for a ride to Jones Beach or something. After we got to Jones Beach we just kept going until we went through the Hamptons and all the way to Montauk Point the very end of Long Island!!!

It was so beautiful out there. Can you believe I forgot my camera??!? Its GORGEOUS out there. Another world to the city and I forgot my stinkin camera. Ugh! But its okay. I got to relax with Ronny instead which was better (although my photographers brain has a hard time letting go of the shots I could have gotten). We sat on these huge rocks right on the water and watched the sun set. If you look at this site : http://www.montauklighthouse.com/ You will see the rocks we sat on. They say you can see the whales there in the fall and winter. It was so beautiful and romantic. :) Then we had dinner at a nice restaurant in town. A really nice day. Not much else going on. Ronny's surgery is on Wednesday. I need to find someone who can pick us up or take us to the hospital as he wont be able to drive there as they are going to knock him out. They dont want him moving his arm for the week afterward which means he cant work. And its workers comp which doesnt pay the first week off so basically this week will be without pay. We are worried about it but not stressed. It will work out okay.

Anyways, that is it for now. Its boiling out here and I have a headache so going to go lie down. I just didnt want too much time to go by before I posted again. :) Will likely post again before the end of the week.

2008-06-03T18:25:00.007-04:00

Wow a few months shy a year and I finally post again. This is definitely the longest I have been away. Honestly, I never thought I would start up this blog again. I am not totally sure what has got me back. I think it might have to do with my new PT job. Yes another new job! But this one is super awesome. I work 2-3 days a week (depending on the week) for a marketing company consisting of me (the Sales and Marketing Assistant), the president (a 60 year old awesome, awesome lady) and a super sweet Graphics Designer. I have only worked one day (last Friday) but I truly love it so far. I am going back tomorrow and Friday and maybe Thursday. Its very cool. We had my interview in Bryant Park if that says anything! Betty (my boss) is the first boss I have had since Heidi (at Espresso in London) who treated me like a person. After my first day we spent almost two more hours chatting. She is really inspiring. A fabulous entrepeneur. I think after being in a massive, massive funk for the past year, she is inspiring me to move on. I haven't done badly. I left Kirkland (LONG story) and since then have taken the time to take care of myself. I burnt out over the last four years. My photography has picked up (I still sell prints) and I recently bought a new camera, a Canon Rebel Xti, with my tax return money. I love it and its on another planet from my little point and shoot I used to use. I am hoping to branch out into doing people now (weddings, pregnancy's, children, engagements). I need to build up my portfolio though. Anyways, Ronny was hurt on his job in April. He hurt his arm badly but thankfully no permanent damage other than sensation loss on a tiny part of his hand and he will be getting a small skin graft next week. Its been a horrible two months though. Between that, going to doctors with him and then he got sick for the Special Day and then right after he got hurt I got a BAD case of tonsilitis. Its just been crazy. Shortly after that my niece came to live with us (another long story) and I dove head first into depression. She is with her mom now so I have been able to get back on track. So I had bought this great new camera and didnt get to use it for a good month and a half. I felt kind of discouraged with everything. But since starting to work with Betty, I feel more motivated. The things I do for her I do for my own photography business (or should) with regards to marketing, etc and its making me realize that I need to get way more serious about my own business. Plus, we talk about things in general and I made a statement to her the other day. Its funny because even though I do feel this way, I have not lived this way in a long time. I feel "that the only thing that ever stops us in life is ourselves." As simple and unoriginal as that is, it was a bit of an epiphany for me. The last few days I have felt far better. I feel rejuivenated and alive again. So I have been blogging more on my art blog and decided to get this one going too. Also going to all my friends blogs (you guys) I realized how much I miss having my friends. I am quite alone still if you can believe that. I dont really have friends here. There is one sister I hang out with on occasion but other than that, nothing. I miss the person I used to be 4 years ago. I had to leave her behind not because of want but out of necessity. I am trying to gradually refind her and also find the person I have become. Its interesting that is for sure.

Wow did that come out in a torrent! :) Well in other news, we have a new addition to our little family. We adopted a little girl cat and named her Bella. She is our baby. Super affectionate and SUPER hyper. Very, very playful. She likes to play in the tub after we are done showering and even sits in my lap when I take a bath. lol She also plays fetch. She is an interesting girl and we are thrilled with her. We recently went to Providence, R.I. overnight and brought her with us. It was fun. She was SUCH a girl girl in the car. She slept in the back seat the whole way there and slept in my lap on the way home. We bought her a harness and leash and even took her to the beach! When I get some of the pics up I will share. Here are some of her when she was smaller. These are from about a week after we got her. She was 11 weeks when we got her. She is 4 months now! :)

Btw, I just realized I never updated on Ronny's immigration. Well he finally got his greencard....in January! Can you believe that. Then getting his drivers license was another mess. Social Security messed up his application. It was insane. We were able to move out into our own place in October of last year. A beautiful, huge apartment. We havent been able to do a thing with it cause its enough just getting the rent and bills together. LOL But we are actually thinking about moving out of the state in Winter anyways so dont want to invest in this apartment. We have plenty of room (4 bedrooms) if anyone wants to visit! :)

Off to read everyone's blog. Love you guys!!

2007-08-25T12:04:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, I desperately need to get this blog updated with a new look but first thought I would go ahead and let you know of a few new things. :)

1. I got a new job as a Legal Secretary for Kirkland & Ellis LLP and love it so far. Its a fantastic opportunity and one that I KNOW Jehovah helped me with cause the other was majorly messing me up. Its a long story as to why I left my other job but may get into it later on.

2. Ronny's immigration is progressing finally. He got his fingerprints done last week and hopefully will get his work permit soon. I hope so cause we are still with my parents and I want to get out! :)

3. We started a handmade soap shop at http://www.bathtimebeckons.etsy.com/ which we are really proud of. Started it to give Ronny something to do and make a bit of money. Please check it out! :)

4. I have a new craft blog that I update FAR more often. Its http://www.ariaimages.blogspot.com/

anyways, I have to run but will try and revamp this blog and start writing again. I am in training at work so dont have loads of time but will try my best. I want to thank EVERYONE who commented on my last post. I really appreciate it. Also, to those that emailed....thank you! Sorry I havent gotten back to anyone yet but promise to do so soon. Love you all SO much!

Oh yes, one more thing please take notice my new email address (and only one as I wont be using any other than this) is melodyofdavid@gmail.com so please change that in your address books! :)

Bye for now!

2007-07-06T16:14:00.000-04:00

Okay I have decided to post before I lose my nerve. I seriously thought I would just give up on posting on here. I doubt anyone really visits anymore and I wouldnt blame them with my sporatic blogging. But I desperately need an outlet and TBH I havent used my blog as a proper outlet in forever. So if no one reads this that is fine, I just need to get my thoughts out there.
I have gained almost all the weight I lost last year. I cannot tell you how much this devastates me. Not in a superficial, oh drat kind of way. In a soul churning, pit of despair and hopeless devastation. I think I truly believe I will always be unhealthy. I cannot believe how fast the weight came back on. I dont even want to think about it. For the past two months I have been seriously trying to get my mind back on losing weight in a healthy way. I have a free gym membership and was going regularly and loving it until I got sick and it threw my whole routine off. I really REALLY need to start a regime. I cannot take this anymore. Its going to kill me emotionally and physically. I am totally cheating myself. Here is how:
1. I do not have the physical prowess I would like to have. Tired all the time, sick of losing my breath so fast for little things. Just hate being so sluggish.
2. I HATE the way I look. I have a hard time looking at myself in the mirror now. I tend to disgust myself. Coming in and out of the shower is the worst.
3. I cannot buy clothes I want. I cannot walk into any store and think, yes I like that, Ill try it on. I am very limited in where I can shop. Working in Soho this is NOT fun.
4. I am tired of that constant nagging feeling of being aware how I look ALL the time. Thinking, wow, do I look even fatter if I sit like this or if I tilt my head to the right do I have three chins instead of two? I cannot believe how much of my time is consumed by thinking about how fat I am. Its insane.
5. I would like to have the option of having a baby. At the moment, I will not even consider it. I would be a high risk pregnancy and that wouldn't be fair to my baby or me. I want to be healthy when I bring my child into the world if I choose to have one.
6. I just want to be able to go through life and worry about other things besides being fat. I want to see myself the way my husband does and I want to FEEL beautiful.
7. I have been fat most of my life. Last year for a few months I experienced what it would feel like with being okay with myself. It was amazing. I want that again. I am young, I want to FEEL young and feel good.
These are just a few of the reasons why I MUST lose weight. There is no option anymore. None. I cannot go on like this. I just cant.
I am sorry for the crazy post but my health is rapidly declining due to stress and I believe depression. My weight may not be the cause but it plays a role. I do not want to go on medication, I dont want to be sick all the time, I dont want to cry and be miserable and have ridiculous dizzy spells and horrible heart palpitations. I need to take control. If that means I get help, then I will get help but I will not give in. I wont give in to my despair.

2007-05-24T15:37:00.000-04:00

Okay before I let too much time go past I figured I should post. :) Ronny and I got back from our Williamsburg, VA vacation last Saturday. Had a really wonderful time. Probably the best vacation we have ever been on. lol Its true! Europe was nice but stressful. I felt no pressure in VA (to see/do everything) so we could just relax. Was so much fun. Went to Colonical Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. Will get the pics up as soon as I am done with them. There are a LOT as usual. I added a few of them from my trip to my Etsy store on the right. The red flower ones are from VA. Check it out. :)

We went to a Gwen Stefani concert on Sunday with a friend of mine, Rodney. Man did we have fun!!! Lady Sovereign (a UK rapper and quite good! I knew of her out there) opened as well as Akon who's DJ totally stole the show. Got the crowd really going. Gwen was good but lacking in energy although when she came into the audience to sing a song everyone went...bananas. lol It was cool.

Other than that not much going on. I am busy with school and work and meetings, service and now my Etsy shop. Wonderful Marshena bought 3 of my prints. Isnt she the best!!! :) I was so thrilled.

Anyways, talk to you lovely ones later!

2007-05-08T11:44:00.000-04:00

So excited. Thanks to Bev's recommendation, I finally got my Etsy photography shop up and running. I only have 4 items on there at the moment but will be adding more. There is a link to the right. :) Thanks for all the support guys. I am finally realizing my dream!!! Its so exciting. I am adding a custom made banner soon so it will look more professional. hehe

Well not much going on around here. We are getting ready for our trip next week. We were planning on going to Orlando but we have changed that to Williamsburg, VA. Orlando was just too expensive. My sister is kindly letting us use her car so we are driving down Monday and arriving back on Saturday. The Gwen Stefani concert is on the Sunday. :) Our schedule reads as follows:

Monday: Start at 6am and drive down to Virginia. Arrive between 2pm-4pm and head to town for dinner

Tuesday: Spend the day touring Williamsburg

Wednesday: Virginia Beach! Meet up with Jade (sister who lives out there) for lunch and go to her meeting

Thursday: Tour Jamestown and Yorktown

Friday: Busch Gardens!! woohoo!!! :)

Saturday: Head home with a potential short stop at Washington.

Should be nice. Cant wait to get out there with my camera. I hear its really beautiful there this time of year. Its becoming more and more of a popular vacation place. Its the 400th anniversary of the US right before we go but we are missing it so I am glad about that.

Anyways, be back soon!

2007-05-03T12:24:00.000-04:00

Here are my Brooklyn Botanic pics. Please let me know if you have difficulties in viewing the pics. Enjoy!

2007-05-01T11:56:00.000-04:00

First I want to say thanks to everyone for their support. :) I am going to look into what Bev suggested about www.etsy.com and also www.devianart.com . I like deviant because you can buy other products like mugs and mousepads with your photography on it. I will let you know when its up so maybe you guys can check it out. ;)

Also more about the blogging. It was recommended that you start a blog about an interest (any) and maintain it for a month and then when you apply to write for a blogging company you can show them your work. So I decided to start one for book reviews. I am no where as good as Bev. In fact, this is my first book review EVER but you can check it out on the right. Its called The Insatiable Reader. :) That is what Ronny calls me so I thought I would stick to it. I want to do another review for The Woman in White which I read recently but at the moment I only have Gone with The Wind up that as I just finished it. Let me know what you think. If I suck I would like to know so be honest!! hehe

So the weekend was a bomb. Saturday stunk as I was still feeling poopy. Got ready for the meeting but ended up staying home and sleeping for 4 hours in the afternoon. *blah* Sunday at the gardens was cloudy most of the day (NOT good for photography regardless of what others say...I HATE it.). It was all grey so my pics came out quite dark. Well most of them did. I will post them up soon to share with you guys. It was a zoo out there! The last day of the festival and just completely packed. I will never go during a festival again. I dont like crowds. Everytime I go to the gardens its empty and I prefer it that way. Plus because it has been raining a lot lately a lot of the blossoms had fallen off. If there weren't so many people it would have been enjoyable. They had Japanese musicians (even my niece liked the music!) and sushi and sake which I thought was cool. Its not cool however to have to walk in a single file line down garden paths due to it being so packed. *double blah* I was super stressed trying to keep everyone together as there was a group. I think they enjoyed themselves though and that makes me happy. Got some cute pics of the kids though. Oh! And I also did more editing on some pics I was about to throw out that I did of my fave statues in the Met Museum of Art here in NY. I am so glad I didnt!!! I am getting them printed out and framing them for our living room. I really love the way they turned out. Will share soon.

Oh one more thing about the gardens....I thought I lost my 6 year old niece, Kaylin for about 6 minutes. One second she is directly behind me looking at the ducks and when I turn around she is gone. I totally started freaking out screaming her name. It takes a split second for a kid to bolt and someone to grab them. I started losing it trying to get the guys help me look for her. Just as I was going to start really panicing a sister from my group comes around the bend with Kaylin in her hand. I ran to her and think I scared her cause I was like "Dont ever run away from me again!". I was so happy to see her. I dont even want to think about if I couldn't find her. It makes me sick.

Anyways, I am off to lunch. Talk to y'all later!

2007-04-27T14:43:00.000-04:00

Why oh why did I not listen to you, Denise? (and to my hubby to!! but I like to admit that less) I went to the gym today. This was not a good idea. I thought it was a the time but my chest and constant coughing tells me something else. I really thought I needed to go as I was starting to get "lazy" and not want to go anymore but now I feel like poop. Not terribly bad but I can tell that I shouldn't have gone. grrr. That is thanks to my stubborness. I cant help it. I am half puerto rican and irish after all! hehe Oh well, I am going to have to take it relatively easy over the weekend. I dont really have any other plans over the weekend except the botanical gardens and that is a casual stroll. Its not like I am hiking or anything. I am so looking forward to it. It should be nice weather. Unfortunately it rained like crazy today so I am hoping the rain didn't knock off all the blossoms. :( I am excited cause I finally got the US charger for my camera and can take pics again! I was so happy yesterday when I turned my camera back on. I knew I missed it but wow, did I miss it!! So it will be nice to be in my element again. My little niece and nephew and older niece will be coming with us to the garden so I am looking forward to taking pictures of them. I am still not really comfortable taking pictures of people. But this is a good opportunity to start. Children and nature. What a combo. :)

I found this picture on my camera when I charged it yesterday it was my first shot at editing of any kind. I did very basic editing but I am really please with the result. Its an old school building in Charleston, SC. Tell me what you think!

I would love to make money off of my photography but I am not sure if anyone would really buy it. I am thinking about paying for an account on www.deviantart.com Its $25 for the year so worse case scenario and no one buys then its not a whole lot of money lost. What do you guys think? I could use some advice. I have decided that I might try my hand at freelance blogging. There are a few companies that will pay you to blog about specific things. There are two sites I will be applying with. One is a NYC blog (do reviews about things here in the city) and the other to blog and review movies. Ill let you know how it turns out! :)

Hope you guys have a lovely weekend. I will back with the pics of the garden soon. :)

2007-04-25T14:55:00.000-04:00

Im finally out of the house. After being home three days in a row sick, I felt like a hermit when I left for work this morning with the bright sun in my eyes. It was the most beautiful weather this weekend and I missed most of it being sick. Yesterday, I got up in the morning, took a shower and got dressed and made the huge mistake of laying down on the couch. I couldn't get up again after that so I called in again which they were totally cool about. I love my job. They are so nice. I honestly wanted to go to work as I was so bored being at home but I was still not well enough. And then today to not be able to work out.....GRRRR!!!! I cant believe how much I have gotten to enjoy it! I was itching to get back to the gym but I am too weak. I am still so bad that when I was running up the stairs from the train (they are pretty bad, I am usually out of breath by the time I get to the top), I tripped on the very last one and went down on my knees. I know most people think New Yorkers are rude but I was genuinely surprised when no one asked if I was okay. I actually did a reflex "Im okay." cause being the clumsy person I am, I am used to falling all the time and having people ask me if I am okay. But no one this time. I was shocked. Stupid people! lol So yeah I am still weak. Blah. I want to work out tomorrow (especially that coolio bike) but I will have to see how I feel. I dont want to push it.

I bought the YUMMIEST coconut lip balm from Rickys during lunch. I was getting sick of the plain Chapstick and just walked in. Its Hawaiian and tastes and smells like coconut. I love it and it feels great on my lips. I was going to try the Rosebud Salve that everyone and their grandmother swears by but it was $6!!!! That is insane!!! lol So Alba Coconut Balm it is. :) Here is where you can buy it. Got rave reviews and I see why!!! http://www.drugstore.com/qxp143600_333181_sespider/

alba_hawaiian/lip_balm_coconut_cream.htm (copy and paste)

Anyways, that is it for now. I am getting excited cause I should be buying our Orlando tickets next week. Very short notice but I couldnt get them sooner. Just hope the price doesn't jump up. So far, so good.

Btw, Mich. I didnt see your email addy? Can you send it to me at melody.kristensen@take2games. com ? Thanks!

Love you all!

2007-04-22T20:19:00.000-04:00

First I want to answer the comments I got from Heidi and Ali (of course I remember you!!! :) :
Hi Ali, I am sure you will do great stepping up your activity. Its something I have always loved doing but could never get myself started with. Now I have this great opportunity and I would be super disappointed if I didn't take advantage of it. :) Let me know how you are doing with yours!!!
Heidi!!! So happy to see you. I really missed you. YES I definitely think a personal trainer helps. Mainly for two reasons. 1. He pushes you WAY harder than you would ever push yourself. I like that. I cant do it everyday or even every week but when I do work with him I feel it for days and that in some odd way encourages me. I know its working on my body because "No pain, no gain." 2. He shows me how to do the machines properly and gives me pointers about working out and eating that I wouldn't normally get so that when I am not working out with him but on my own I will get more out of my workout. Having a personal trainer is expensive but if you can afford it once a month I think it will make a massive difference in how you feel mentally and emotionally as it will help keep you motivated. He is fun and professional and I feel really comfortable with him. I know he doesn't judge me and that makes a world of difference. :) Let me know if you decide to go for it!
Ugh, you guys wont believe it but I did get sick over this weekend. It was absolutely GORGEOUS finally and I was super sick. I made the meeting yesterday as we had the Special Talk but I had such a hard time concentrating. Its a good thing I took notes otherwise I wouldn't have gotten anything out of it. A good side note: Although the scales said I was 2.5 lbs heavier my clothes showed me that is all muscle cause my skirt is lose again!!!! So excited! I tried it on two weeks ago and i could barely get it on. Now its very comfortable. So happy. That to me is the hardest part about working out. Not getting discouraged when it looks like you are gaining or getting bigger. That is the muscle mass growing. It will pay off in the end! Unfortunately cause I am sick I dont see myself working out tomorrow. :( I might even miss work. I know it more than just allergies cause my whole body hurts but its definitely allergies too. I slept till 12pm today and then fell asleep again at 4 and woke up at 7. Its crazy. I guess I need the sleep. I feel better for it but my head and ears and sinuses still hurt. Blah. I wish I wasnt sick but better this weekend then next cause next weekend I got a huge group to go to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens for the Japanese Cherry Blossom festival. I am so excited! Its going to be GLORIOUS. I just hope the weather is good. They are going to have Japanese musicians and everything. I ordered (finally!) a US charger for my camera and should be getting that any day now so will be able to share pics with you guys when I get them.
Anyways, I better run. I feel like poop warmed over. Love you all! Thanks for coming back. :)

2007-04-20T13:17:00.000-04:00

Wow, I feel so "I am woman, here me ROAR!" right now. :) I just got back from the gym and I feel great. I love the way it makes me feel mentally. Its awesome. I tried this new exercise bike they have. Its like riding a video game. Its so much fun! You can choose between a bunch of different routes and you have to control the bicyle with the handlebars. I am loving it!! It makes me motivated as well cause I dont like when the people pass me. If you dont like that mode you can watch TV and it has music channels too. I am going to look into getting one of these for my house! Its so cool! I did 15 min on the elliptical machine (1.04 miles) and then 9 min uphill on the bike (1.06 miles). I feel good. I mean I am far from where I want to be physically but I can definitely feel that I have way more endurance now and that feel goods.

Weirdly enough I think I might be on the channel 9 news tonight. I walked right behind a guy they were interviewing on my way to the gym. Lovely. Get caught on TV walking to the gym in your grungy gym clothes. :)

I am so excited about this weekend. Dont really have plans but the weather has turned glorious and it will be nice to finally feel spring! We have our special talk tomorrow and my sister is coming down with the kids. Ronny and I will probably go rollerblading on Sunday up Battery Park. Its right on the water and so beautiful there. We used to go a lot when we were dating so should be nice to do it again. :)

Have a good weekend everyone!!! *HUGS*

2007-04-18T13:43:00.000-04:00

I worked with my personal trainer today, Chris. All I have to say is....ouch! He helped me work mainly on my legs, back and abs. Didnt do much on my arms as I ran out of time. I love it though. I couldn't do it all the time cause I am usually sore for days afterward but its great. I get such good results. After the soreness goes away that is. :) I was so bad last time I couldn't even lower myself onto a toilet. I had to just drop. LOL Thats cause he pushes me harder than I would push myself. I like it though. He is really nice and reasonable and lets me take a break if I need it. Everytime I work out on my own I think yeah I got this, then I work out with Chris and Im like dag im out of shape! LOL So he is going on vacation this Friday and wont be back till the 30th. I will probably need that time to heal!!! My thighs are already killing me. hehe

We dont have much going on at the moment. We were going out loads the last few weeks so its nice to have a break. We have our special talk this weekend which I am really looking forward to. I think my sister is coming down as well from upstate.

Oh btw! I am going to see Gwen Stefani on May 20th. So excited!!! :) Going with Ronny and another friend. We will probably just be coming back home from Orlando. I want to take Ronny to Disney. He doesn't have any idea what its like! I cant wait. I think he is going to love it. I know I do. I have been there so many times but the last time was almost 10 years ago so I know it has changed a lot. I havent even been to the Animal Kingdom. I hear its beautiful.

You wanna hear something weird? There is this brother in my cong here that I have known since I was 14. He came to serve at Bethel and his aunt and uncle who are also Bethelites where already in our cong so he joined us. I had a crush on him immediately and it stayed for 6 years. Yes I know embarassing... well anyways we always stayed good friends and I went to his brothers wedding 2 years ago who also came to Bethel and to our cong. Well this brother got engaged a few months ago. I have met his fiance who is very nice. She is from Miami. Not what I expected him to go for but nonetheless really nice. They got accepted to Bethel which means they will be staying in our cong which we are all thrilled about. Ronny was so happy for them he wanted to have a bit of a treat so we took him and some friends out for dinner and everything. I was really excited and pretty sure I would be invited to the wedding. It would mean so much to me to go. Its going to be in Miami (on my birthday!!! May 12, weird I know!) and I was so willing to go. We planned on making a vacation out of it and going to Orlando and everything. Well my mom got her inviation in the mail about a month ago and looked at me apologetically cause Ronny and I didn't get one. I know this doesn't sound like a big deal but everyone I have told about this to that knows this brother and knows the situation was totally shocked. I was shocked! I cried when I realized we weren't invited. It still hurts. Especially since I was so thrilled when he came to my wedding and sat him with all my friends at the table in front of our wedding table. I know they are having a small wedding but it makes me feel like crap. Like he doesn't care about me as a friend. I feel insulted for my little 16 year old self still inside of me. I mean I dont like him like that anymore obviously but it still hurts. Does that make sense? It stinks that I will be reminded every year as its on my birthday but oh well. My mom doesn't get it either, she cant understand why we weren't invited. He is still really nice to us and all. I dont get it.

Anyways, wanted that off my chest. Gotta run. Talk to you guys later. Thanks for the welcomes. Missed you all!

A long absence

2007-04-16T16:56:00.000-04:00

Well it happened again. I went away for a while without a thought to my blog but I am back. So yes Jackie I will be updating more regularly. :)

Its been so long I dont even know where to start. So much is different. First thing is I got a new job. I really love it. I am a Sales Admin for Take 2 Games. They do video and computer games so way cool! :) I process orders for stores that buy them. One of my biggest clients is Best Buy. Their orders come out to more money I would see in 10 lifetimes! But its a very cool place to work in. Extremely laidback and cool. I can wear jeans and I get into work at 10. Similar to the way my job was in London but even more laid back. And a HUGE plus is that they give their employees a free gym membership!!! :) So I have been seriously utilizing it. Sad to say I gained back some weight since moving back home but not everything. I have been working out at least 3x a week and I can feel things tightening. I am tired of trying to lose weight fast and everything. It was fun but not as healthy as I would have liked. I lost all muscle tone which is the main reason why the weight started piling back. But now I am building more muscle and if feels good. :) I enjoy working out although not all the time. But it makes me feel good.

Another big thing going on is I started school online for my degree in marketing. I joined the University of Phoenix and so far its been great. My grades are very good. Getting straights A's. :) It takes far more discipline but works perfectly for me.

We are still working on Ronny's immigration. Because I need a letter of employment verification from my job, I couldn't start the process till I had another job so we are almost at the point of submitting our paperwork. Ronny had to get bloodwork as well.

Anyways, that is it for now. I will try and be back here a lot more often. Oh yeah, I got a new laptop (love it!!!) for a REALLY good deal so it will be easier to get online. :) Love you all! Thanks for thinking about us.

2007-01-17T15:53:00.000-05:00

I am back in New York! Woohoo!!! A few weeks late in delivering all this news but here nonetheless. Life is starting to slow down now. So on to the news:
-Went down south to see my dad's (North Carolina) and mom's (South Carolina) family. Mainly my grandmothers. My dad's is doing great. Very active and all but my moms is having a hard time. She had a stroke last year but has made a great recovery. Still cant really walk though as she has lost the control of her right leg. She looks good though and was so happy to see us. It was Ronny's first time meeting her and Grandma was thrilled. :) It was nice seeing her but broke my heart as she is getting so old. 90 this year.
Had a great time visiting my best friend, Janice and her hubby, Jeremy as well. Didnt really take a lot of pics but will try and upload the ones I did take at some point. It was SO hot down south. Like summer hot. Had to turn the AC on most of the time but then again it went up to 70 degrees up here in NY as well! Its back to normal though. VERY cold today.
-I have a job. It was my first and only interview and they gave me the job on the same day which was great. I got it before I left for the south so was nice to know I had a job to go back to. Its as a Sales Assistant and temp-to-perm. Its for a pre-employment background screening company. They do drug, criminal, education, employment, etc. checks for companies who want to check out a potential employee. I mainly write RFP's (proposals) but am looking for another job as I really want to pursue marketing. I find this job boring although its for a very nice company. I just dont see myself using this experience in the future. I am also looking to get my associates degree online for marketing as well. Will keep you up to date on this front.
-Ronny is doing temp work helping an artist paint in the city. I found it for him on craigslist. Gives him something to do until he gets his work permit sorted. We are hiring a lawyer that a brother recommended (at a GREAT price) to file Ronny's greencard for us. Its a bit of a relief for me to not have to do it all alone. He said (as did the brother) that after filing Ronny should get his work permit in a month and his greencard interview in as little as 4 months! So that is great news. I cant wait to have it all sorted.
I guess that is about it for now. I am so thrilled to be home. Its been great. I feel more and more myself and more happy each day.
Ill try and post again soon. Love you all!

2006-12-17T10:26:00.001-05:00

Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager (episode 1)

2006-12-16T07:07:00.001-05:00

2006-12-16T06:41:00.000-05:00

Ok just to start off with I saw a trailer for Shrek 3 coming out in the summer. It looks hysterical! Each one has gotten better and better. I couldnt figure out how to share the trailer on here but check it out. Its going to be good. :)

Well, we are still in the process of getting things ready for the move (1 week to go!!!) and I still have loads to do. I am trying to sell or give away the majority of our things but its a bit hard going. There are things I know are worth a certain amount of money but people want something for nothing. I paid £300 for our mattress a year ago and listed it as £165 and someone said that was too much!!! I was like its a really good mattress and I am not giving it away. *sigh* And the attitudes they have! I am giving away a lot of stuff on Freecycle but people coming when they feel like it, not when we arranged. I think that is ridiculous considering I am giving it to them for free!!! Ah well. Its to be expected isnt it? Other than the move not much else going on. I feel a bit stressed trying to do everything but it will happen and next week I am going home! I am just starting to feel more excited. I dont think it has really hit me but its starting to slowly. But I will miss London. More than I realized. I walk around and look at the buildings and know I wont be here again for a long time. I will indeed miss it. Its a really great city if not a bit crazy at times. :) Btw, I take care of a team of sales people for the West of England and met them for lunch the other day to say goodbye and they bought me a beautiful white gold bracelet. I was so pleased and its lovely. :) It was sad saying goodbye to them but I am sure we will be in touch.

In other good news I have a telephone interview with Deloitte on Wednesday. They sent me this online evaluation tests to take and I passed so they want me to do an interview over the phone and then I guess if that goes well I will go to their office in the World Financial Center. Its for an Admin Assistant job but if i can stay in Marketing I rather do that. We'll see.

Guess that is it for now. I want to apologize for the lack of posts. I appreciate you guys understanding and still coming by to say hello. I want to also apologize to those of you I need to email (Denise!!) and ask that you have a bit more patience with me and I promise to get back to you. :) Love you all!

PS Check this out. Ronny found this on You Tube and we love it! There are 5 epidsodes and they are all hysterical. Enjoy!

2006-12-01T06:36:00.000-05:00

So its all official now. I bought our tickets on Tuesday night. We are leaving for the states on December 24th. We have to fly into Ottawa, Canda first for an hour layover as it was a very cheap deal and I wasn't paying £500 extra for a direct flight. I will just take some sleeping pills and conk out. I am not a massive fan of flying. I start to get claustrophobic after about 3 hours so 8 straight hours will do me in. I am starting to get more excited though. At first I was feeling a bit sad but now that we have bought the tickets, its a bit more real to me. I cant wait to see my family. :)
I have some more bad news. A friend of mine that I grew up with passed away last week. Its insane. This is the second close friend I have lost in 4 months. I feel so terribly bad for his parents. He was only 20 years old and an only child. His funeral is on Saturday. I wish I could be there. I feel so helpless out here. I sent his parents an orchid plant. I hope they liked it. I just wanted them to know that although Ariel and I have both grown up (we were friends as kids and teenagers) I still loved him and will miss him.
Anyways, sorry to keep this short but this week has been completely exhausting. Oh btw, my friends visit went well. Fun but tiring. :) Talk to you guys later!

2006-11-16T13:22:00.000-05:00

Wow, am I glad I didn't post prematurely. I was going to post last week and decided to wait and things have changed so drastically since then that I am glad I have waited. Anyway, to explain myself.....Ronny and I were thinking about moving to Scotland. We knew that we had another year in the UK until Ronny's immigration sorted itself out. We weren't sure of what to do and then this Monday I got an email from my father saying he wouldn't be able to help me co-sponsor Ronny as he is retiring and it was a huge responsibility (which I totally understand) so I was a tad devastated wondering how in the world we were going to be able to file for Ronny's immigration and go home. See a few months ago, when we decided to go back, they said that I would need to sponsor Ronny and prove an income but because I only have a salary here in the UK they said I would need a joint sponsor as they wouldn't recognize my present income. So that was the dilemma my dad was trying to help us with. So anyways, back to me panicking....I wasnt sure what to do but after thinking and praying about it I called the US immigration in the states on Tuesday and told them the situation and asked if Ronny would be able to file from the states. After talking for 15 min and being completely sure, the officer told me as long as he entered the country legally, he would be able to apply from there. I was in total shock as I didn't think it was possible. I was so unbelievably happy and wanted to hug the officer. He was so nice. So I called my mom and told her and as you can imagine she is over the moon. So we are looking to leave as soon as New Year's weekend. We obviously have a lot to tie up and we need to go back to Sweden one more time to say goodbye to his family. I need to sell, give away and throw out most of our stuff. But I am so happy. I am a tad sad at leaving our friends here and beautiful England but to be with my family and friends again....its just unreal. And sooner than I expected!!! So that is the news. :)
I am really tired and I have loads to do before I go to bed so will TRY and post on the weekend. My friends are coming from the states on Tuesday and I have so much to do until then. Love you all!!

2006-11-06T15:41:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, I know I have been neglecting to update but will try and do that tomorrow. Crazy busy things going on but nothing bad. Will explain all later. For now.....dont know how accurate this is but got it from Denise (Lost & Founds) website. :) Be back soon!

Take the Quiz here!

You are Emma Woodhouse of Emma! You like being the queen of your social circle (small and provincial as it may be), and feel it's your duty to help those less influential than you. You often meddle in the affairs of others, though you do it with a pure heart. You are often deluded in your flights of fancy, but your good intentions and creative spirit make you someone anyone could like.

2006-10-24T12:25:00.000-04:00

I am back with the Venice pictures. So here they are. I hope you enjoy them. :) I hope you dont have a hard time accessing them. I am sorry about the problem with the Hampton Court pics. I will post them again soon. I am working on building a site where I can post all of my pics without anyone having to access an album and all that malarkey. I will let you know when that is up.
So I have been sick all weekend. Lovely. I was home all last weekend due to the TOTM and now this! I was off from work the last two days with a bad head and chest cold but went to the doctors yesterday and she said I was fine, no infection. I am feeling better. I need to get out of the house! I have been in a different pair of pj's everyday. Yuck. So am looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Kind of.
Got some GREAT news.....okay so its a bit late..........but still GREAT news. I got my residence permit in the post last week!!!! Woohoo!!! So after almost two years I am now an official resident. It took 6 months for the papers to get processed. How crazy is that? But doesn't matter because now Ronny and I can work on his immigration to return to the states. Yay! Just waiting on my mom to send me my birth certificate and the process begins.
My friends are coming from the states in less than a month. So excited! Its going to be so much fun. I havent seen them in over a year. And to have them on my side of the pond will be great. :) We are going to see Mary Poppins on Broadway which I have been dying to see. I hear its very good. Will tell you guys all about it.
How is everyone doing? Thanks for all the comments. Its so nice to have you guys around although I am so far away. You are all the best!

PS: That site on the right called Threadless makes really awesome graphic T's. If you are a graphic artist you can submit your art and if people really like it and vote for it they will print it on. I ordered two shirts already. One called Fuzzy Wuzzy and the other is called Hey Russell. They are silly and fun. Just my kind of shirts. Some of them are gross and stupid so you have to be selective but the other stuff is cute. I am hooked!

2006-10-14T13:19:00.000-04:00

Hi guys. Before you throw rotten fruit at me for my lack of posts and pictures from my trip, let me apologize. I am sorry its taken this long to get here and post. The pictures have taken FOREVER to upload and caption (I dont think I will be taking that many pictures again!!) and I am still not done with my Venice album yet. But to hold you over here is my Rome Album One and Rome Album Two. There are at least 150 pictures in each so make sure you have the time to go through them. I tried to write a bit about what the pictures are showing so that you arent just looking at a rubble and are like what is that. Promise to get my Venice pictures done soon. Hopefully before the weekend is up. Just been very busy with work and things but will endeavor to get there. Oh yeah we went to Hampton Court Palace here in London a few weeks ago (which is where Henry VIII once lived....one of his many residences) so if you want to check out those pictures please feel free.
On to other things...we are doing well. Like I said just very busy but I guess that is a good thing. I am still on my road of weight loss but been slipping and sliding all over the place since I have been back from Italy but I will get there. I want to lose the rest of my weight by Christmas. I think I can do it. I know I can.
That is about it for now. I am knackered (English for tired) as we just got back from Camden Market which was fun but insanely crowded and a crazy experience. I did buy a t-shirt with Animal from the Muppets on it and another one with Fraggle Rock on it. =) And I bought these lovely wooden chopsticks from Thailand. Yeah I am weird like that. Anyways, love you all and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

2006-09-25T13:53:00.000-04:00

I couldnt resist.

Celebrity Look-alike

Oddly enough Ronny has compared me to Condelezza Rice. *rolls eyes* I have always gotten Candace Cameron as well.

Anyways, I am still working on the pictures. It will be easier for me to explain the trip through the pictures. I have yet to caption them. That sound take an eternity. Will put the link up as soon as that is done.
Today was my first day back at work. It wasnt too bad. Mentally I prepared myself for a crazy day and it ended up being quite easy. I slept really bad last night though so a bit tired. Its been quite warm but I have had the windows closed. For some odd reason we have had loads of bugs recently. Especially these male mosquitoes. If you know what I am talking about you know they are disgustingly massive. I have no idea why there are so many but as soon as we open a window they mass in. So the window has been closed to say the least. Rather suffer the heat than have one of those things land on my face while I am sleeping. As you can see I have given this thought! When I got home from Italy I killed a spider that ran across my living room floor. This this was huge! I thought it was a mouse at first it was so big and then saw it was a spider. I jumped up screaming and reached for a shoe. The thing was running away from me towards my luggage (and I am thinking I have to kill it before it gets in my bag and has babies and I will have to throw out my entire bag with my clothes and gifts!) and its almost like it saw me coming for it cause it turned around and came straight for me. Astonishingly enough I gotten really angry at that. I couldnt believe it was coming for me. I nearly broke my shoe I hit it so hard. I took a picture of it and put a quarter next to it for comparision. I can post it so you guys can see but would hate to turly gross you all out. Let me know if you wanna see it. Its unreal. Ronny couldn't believe the size and especially when it came for me! He found it so funny.
Well that is it for now. I will be posting on my weight loss blog as well. Be back with the pics link as soon as I can!

* Btw, I didnt design the graphic (unforunately!!!) Found this under www.blogskins.com as I do all my layouts. I dont have the software to create my own. I can change it around but not design it. =)

2006-09-22T16:19:00.000-04:00

Hi guys,

I am not staying on long but wanted to let you all know we arrived safely back from Italy last night. We had an amazing time. =) I took over 500 pictures!!! I need to edit and upload them which probably wont be done until this weekend or next week. But will get it done and have a proper post with stories on our trip. In the meantime, I have changed my layout to a more Venetian theme. *grin* I love the masks out there!!!

Anyways, we are good. Hope you are all well. It was so nice to see your comments when I got back home. Love you all, you dear and gorgeous friends. Be back soon!

2006-09-12T15:50:00.000-04:00

Hi guys. I cant stay long.....been a bit rubbish at writing lately, huh? I am off to bed as I have to wake up at 2:30am and its currently 8:30pm. Our flight leaves at 6:00am. So excited!!!! I cant wait. I am in denial we will actually be in Rome tomorrow. Its always been a dream and one I have to admit I would never fulfill. Its going to be so lovely.....and especially spending all that one on one time with my lovely hubby. Our anniversary is next week. I cant believe its been 2 years already! Time really does fly. Anyways, bought a bottle of champagne for the day and someone recommended a lovely restaurant in Venice for dinner. I am bringing my black dress (yes the same one!) AND bought fish net stockings to go with it. *grin* I cant wait. Should be great. Anyways, I wanted to say goodbye to everyone. I will be returning next Thursday and am sure I will have an unbelievable amount of pictures to share. Speaking of which. I added new pictures to my weight loss blog if you care to see. Under the Stats bit as usual. They are two weeks old and before my haircut so go see those but posting pics of my haircut on here. I wish I could blow my hair out straight like this all the time but no luck. I wear it curly.
So, be good guys and will see you all when I get back. (Sorry I have been neglecting your blogs lately. Will catch up when I am back. ) Love you all!!!!

2006-09-10T05:18:00.000-04:00

I just woke up from the strangest dream. Well actually its not so strange considering everytime I am going away somewhere, especially by plane, I have a dream that I missed the plane or something horrible happens. So I woke up from dreaming that we had decided to take the bus to Italy (yeah right!!) instead of the plane and the guy on the bus tells us we are on the wrong one, we need the one at Elephant and Castle (yes a real area in London) which is truly far from my house so I think oh well we will just catch the plane instead thinking its 4:30am we can still make our flight for 6:00am when the women next to me says its 11:30am!! LOL I woke up then in a sweat so very glad it was a dream. I cant believe in 2 days we leave for Italy. I am so so so so SO excited!!! I have spent some time looking up reviews on www.virtualtourist.com on where to eat and things. Its a great site. You know when you go somewhere new and you want someone to give you advice on what to do and places to eat? Well that is what people do. Its really brilliant. And its for all over the world. Check it out.
Not much is new at the moment. Just getting things ready for our trip. I found this survey which I filled out. See if you can do it as well. Was fun. You just hit all play on your MP3 player and shuffle.
I will post again before I leave. Dont really have much to say at the moment. Be back later!
Describe last night: Sunset Borderline - Sandi Thom (take that as you will!)
What did you do an hour ago: Shut Your Eyes- Snow Patrol (odd cause I just woke up)
Your best friend is going through this right now: I Still Havent Found What I Am Looking For- Journey South (interesting!)
Your dad is: Two Sides of the Same- Potsch Potschka (true!)
Your mom is: Thats All- Michael Buble (she is what she is and we love her- she also loves this song)
Your sibling is: All In Love is Fair- Stevie Wonder (he loves this song!)
What luck will you have today: Tainted Love- PCD (oh great!)
And what about next week: Found My Way Out- Default (true cause Ill be in Italy!)
How about in the future: How Sweet It Is- Michael Buble (yay!)
Will you ever be famous: A Pain That Im Used To- Depeche Mode (LOL!)
The person you will marry....describe him/her: Lost On the Stoop- Daniel Powter (HAHA!)
You look like: Chop Me Up- Justin Timberlake (HAH! What does that mean?)
Biggest turn on: Tu Amor Me Hace Bien- Marc Anthony (go Marc!)
Biggest fear: Great Indoors- John Mayer (definitely afraid of wasting my life away in front of the TV)
Best day of your life: Bedshaped- Keane (Not touching that one! LOL!)
Last spiritual moment: Not Myself- John Mayer (uh oh!)
Work is: Little Remedy- Sandi Thom (yeah right!)
How long will you be single for: Break Down Those Doors- Default (I sure did!)
Your kids: White Shadows- Coldplay (LOL! I am so white so kids will probably be as well)
Vacation: The Secret Life of Daydreams- Pride and Prejudice (sounds promising!)
Old age will be: Give Me Life- Daniel Powter (hmm)
Will you perform: Lately- Stevie Wonder (I am always performing!)
Does the person you love think about you often: Love Song For No One- John Mayer (aw!)
What do most of the time: Your Eyes Open- Keane (try to stay awake!)
1st love: X&Y- Coldplay (ok?)
Worst relationship: Glow- Nelly Furtado (um no)
Worst job: If The Rain Must Fall - James Morrison (yep!)
Last job: Of Death and Dying- The Power of One (LOL!!!!)
Pets: Dont have one so skipped
The ocean is: Mr. Golden Deal- Tonic
Your favorite book is: Learning to Breathe - Nerina Pallot
You should be doing more of: City Love- John Mayer (maybe)
Thing you do the most: The Way- Jill Scott (hmm)
Thing you never do: Until the End of Time - Justin Timberlake
Proudest moment: Heavenly (Good Feeling)- Seal (cool!)
Your health: If Its Loving That You Want - Rihanna (hehe!)
Your fitness level: The Heart of the Matter- India.Arie
Where you live/will live: Here to Stay- Christina Aguilera (Nooooooooooooo!)
Kissing: Oh Mother- Christina Aguilera (LOL!!!!!!)
Hugging: Uninvited- Alanis Morrisette (aw!)
Falling asleep next to the person you love: Heartbeats- Jose Gonzalez (lovely)
Height: Everything is Just Wonderful- Lilly Allen
Weight: There's Hope - India.Arie (very appropriate!)
Last day alive: Lemon Parade- Tonic (hmmm)
1st day alive: Dont You Worry Bout a Thing- Stevie Wonder (hehe!)
Day you give birth/see your woman give birth: Dont Let the Sun Go Down On Me- Elton John (interesting)
Life's meaning: Littlest Things- Lilly Allen (very true!!!)
What I need to do tomorrow: Summer Wind- Michael Buble
The most important thing to keep in mind is: Leaving So Soon- Keane (guess life is short! LOL)

2006-09-04T15:37:00.000-04:00

Hey guys. Sorry to keep this so short but I am sooo tired. I updated my weight loss blog if you want to check that out. I promise I will be back soon. Just wanted to thank you all for the lovely comments. They mean so much. Glad you all liked the flowers. =)
Talked to my counsellor about my hair and she said it was normal and will grow back. Hope I dont have to get into a wig before that happens! Anyways, love you all VERY much. Will post again either tomorrow or Wednesday. In the meantime, I will share this cute cartoon with you guys. It made me laugh so hard. *grin*

2006-09-01T08:49:00.000-04:00

I wanted to thank each one of you for your kind and lovely comments. I am sorry that it has taken me a week to get back to post again and also that I did not respond to each comment individually. As you can imagine this week has been a difficult one. I have been mostly numb and in denial but today I took off to have the day to myself. I needed to just be alone. At the moment, I just want to sleep. I think I will in a little while. Take a nice nap. We have the assembly this weekend and want to be rested up for it. I have to say everyone's comments have really encouraged me. Seriously, they have really helped. I dont feel alone in dealing with it. I know your prayers have helped as well. I havent talked to Nathan but for a few minutes since the last time. The poor thing sounded worse. He was busy and I haven't been able to get a hold of him since. I know he will be okay but its natural to worry over those you love. A friend of mine sent flowers to arrive at his parents house yesterday and I sent some to arrive today. I believe another friend is sending some as well. I still need to send out a card as the little card on the flowers is not enough to express myself on. These are the ones I sent. I found the funeral flowers to be too depressing:

I hope they like them. When I told Nathan that we were all sending flowers, he sounded shocked but in a good way. He said "That is the best thing you can do." They are not having a public funeral service for Eric which I respect. They have to do what is right for them, for them to grieve and move on. I am totally keeping tabs on Nate for the next few months. It takes a long time to get somewhat used to what has happened and in this case I am sure it will take even longer.
Anyways, on to other news (before I get too depressed) I got my hair cut yesterday. It is seriously falling out. I was warned that could happen with my diet program but I didnt think it would happen to me. Literally everyday its falling out in chunks. I knew I had split ends and it was very heavy in the back and I had not cut my hair since December so I went last night to get it done. I will post a pic up of it. Its not fancy or anything but I think it looks healthier and I hope it helps to stop my hair from coming out. The good thing is that it will grow back, the thickness that is. I am worried but not panicking as I have always had loads of hair. Enough to spare.
So like I said this weekend is our assembly. I am really looking forward to it. I am sorry to say that since getting the news about Eric, I have not been to one meeting (so I missed 2) and I know that is the worse thing to do but I have always been like that and I need to learn that its exactly during situations like this that I need to be at the meetings. I will get there. I hope this assembly rejuevenates us like the convention did. Our friends have called us and asked if they could take us out for dinner after the assembly on Sunday as its our anniversary on the 19th and they are going to Cuba and we are going to Italy so we wont have any time to celebrate together. I am looking forward to it. Its weird cause we went out for dinner with them last year as well and suddenly the next one is upon us! LOL Crazy stuff.
I will take pics at the assembly and post some up for you guys. Love you all SO much. You really do mean so much to me and touch my heart in a way I cant express. May Jehovah to continue protecting and blessing you and your families.

2006-08-26T06:05:00.000-04:00

I feel awful. I have some very bad news. A friend of mine has passed away. A good friend. I dont want to get into the details until I find out what happened. I got the call from a mutual friend at 11pm and have been sick with grief since. I cant comprehend it. It wont hit me. I feel like its some sick joke. Anyways, I am even closer to his brother and I need to give him a call today at some point. I dont even know what to say. I just wish I could be there instead of having to comfort him over the phone. He just got married in May and I couldn't make it for that. Its all so frustrating. I cant wait to get back home.

Our trip to Sweden went okay. It was extremely stressful for me. I got sick everyday I guess from lack of sleep and my nerves. I did manage to enjoy some of it. Ronny and the kids had a good time and that is all the matters. =) You can see the pictures by clicking here.

Sorry guys but that is it from me for now. I feel sick. Will be back later.

*updated August 27th*

Well I have more details. My friend took his life. I spoke to his brother last night on the phone (we are extremely close) and he was so shaken. It was a good/bad conversation. My dear poor brother. I have never heard him that way. He sounds like he is in complete shock. There are so many things he said that made me start crying from the beginning, one of which was how much he wished Ronny and I were closer. He said he missed us but it meant so much for me to call him from the other side of the world. I promised I wouldnt cry and I apologized when I started but he said that it helped to hear others grieve because he feels so numb and it helps him to feel as well. He told me the whole story about how his brother passed (I wont get into details) but he went peacefully which does make me feel better. One of my fears was that it was violent but it wasnt. He had planned this out. He put all his affairs in order. He left a note saying he knew he was being selfish but he felt that by living he was just continously hurting those who loved him. He said he wanted to leave things in Jehovahs hands. When Nate told me that, I felt so much better. I know he was sick and his thinking was warped but he did love Jehovah till the end. In his own way. I just really wish we could have told him how much we loved him. Evidentally he told friends he had thought about suicide and although they were worried and kept a close watch on him, they obviously couldnt watch him all the time. I just wish I could have helped somehow. His parents are devastated as you can imagine. Poor Nate kept saying he didnt have anyone left. Eric was his only sibling. He ended the sentence by saying "I have you of course, you were always my sister." which of course made me cry even more. Jehovah's organization is a beautiful thing. The friendships you make are for life. Here we are both married and on opposites side of the earth, it was 3 am in the morning for me but we were there for each other to comfort one another as brother and sister in our grief. And that brings me so much comfort. I feel that I have lost a brother as well and Nathan also respects that. One of the first things he said was "I am so sorry because you knew Eric more than most. You guys were close." He also said that although it was often said he really felt that it meant a lot if others prayed for him and his family. He felt knowing that petitions were made on their behalf for strength from Jehovah made him feel better so please do keep him and his family in your prayers.

I am so glad that Nathan got married a few months ago. He will not have to deal with this on his own as he now has a lovely wife. Nathan wasn't much older than Eric but he felt responsible for him, especially when they were rooming together at Bethel. They were so totally different although they are brothers. Nathan is very easy going and laid back. Doesnt allow things to get to him whereas Eric was extremely sensitive and often moody. The great thing about the two of them is they are always smiling. That is the first thing that drifted through my mind when my friend told me about Eric. I could see his beautiful smile in my mind. Suddenly, all these memories are overwhelming me. I can hear his laugh, his voice. Things I would never have remembered the day before are suddenly so important for me to remember and pop up suddenly. We were so very similar even having the same temperament. I often acted as mediator between the two brothers as they had trouble communicating. I loved them as my own brothers although was always closer to Nathan. I wish I could be there for him now. We have been through so much together as friends and this has to be one of the hardest things either of us could have gone through. I had just received a beautiful card from Nathan in the post when I returned from Sweden thanking us for our wedding gift and it contained a framed picture of them. It was such a lovely card, expressing how much I mean to him as a friend. I hurt so much for him now.

Nathan said he was angry at Eric at first but knew that I would be able to understand where Eric was coming from as I had also been suicidal quite a few times in my life although a long time ago when I was in my teens. Nathan never suffered from loneliness or depression like his brother so obviously it would be hard for him to understand. After our conversation he said he didnt feel angry at Eric anymore but just angry at the situation and I said that is totally understandable. I am angry at the situation as well. Yesterday when I went out with Ronny I was looking at the blue sky and thinking that Eric wont be seeing it again for a while. I was thinking although life is so difficult, its also beautiful and I felt so appreciative that I got over my depression for now. That I can look at the beauty in life and it no longer hurts me as it used to. I can enjoy it. I wish Eric could have gotten to that point. But I know that if Jehovah sees it fit to bring him back he will be able to really enjoy life in paradise without his illness. But until then, I will miss him very much. I cant wait to see his beautiful smile again.

2006-08-17T13:40:00.000-04:00

Hello my dear friends. Thanks for all the congrats. So sweet of you guys. I love the support you all show me, it means a lot. *grin*
Anyways, we are off to Sweden tomorrow. Have to wake up at 2:30am!!! Because of what is going on with the airports in this country, the security is crazy. And this is a really no-frills airline so things can get a bit messy. Thankfully the flight is only for an hour and 15 min. But Ronny wants to get there way in advance. We are flying in to Goteberg where his mom will pick us up. Then we have to drive to Falkenberg and drop her off at home and then drive 4 hours to pick up the kids and then 4 hours back. I dont envy Ronny all that driving. I really need to get my license cause I feel bad that I cant help him out. So am going to force him to go to bed very early tonight so he gets a decent amount of sleep. I still need to do loads of packing and things. Fun.
I am a bit nervous. I always get nervous when I go to Sweden. I dont know why. I think this time its mainly because we will have the kids for 3 days. We have never had them overnight before and I am just really nervous about how they are going to react being away from their mom (mainly worried about Jonathan) and also how they are going to react to me. I am sure it will be fine. It always is. I can get stressed out though. Its not an easy situation. Felicia is starting school on Monday and Jenny has said she doesnt want me there. I can actually understand and respect that but it still stinks. I want to be there and take pics but I will step down. I am going to tour Kalmar during that day instead. It should be nice. I am looking forward to (or at least trying to psyche myself up) to have some me time to walk around and relax. I am starting to convince myself though. =) It is going to suck knowing that they are a "happy family" at Felicia's school even though I know that is not how it really is. Girls, you know how we are. =) And I hate the way Jenny makes me feel. She is so psycho. She is nice to my face but talks bad about me behind my back. The only reason I am looking forward to seeing her is to show her all the weight I lost. Or kind of thrust it in her face, so to speak. But honestly dont even care about that. Why should I care what she thinks? Ah well. I know it will be fine. Please pray for me though. Its been very hard and I dont want to ruin anyone's fun, especially Ronny's. I dont want him to have to worry about me. I want to be okay with him focusing on his family and kids cause he rarely sees them and we are moving far away back to the States.
Ok that is all. I will post when I am back with a full account and loads of pics. =) Love you!

2006-08-12T07:38:00.000-04:00

I have some good news again. I received my massage exam results in the post yesterday: I PASSED AND WITH HONORS!!!!!!! So I am a qualified massage therapist. I cant believe it. All my hard work paid off. I have to admit, I was a bit worried I wouldn't pass but I can stop worrying now. The only sore spot is that they are unlikely to realize my qualification in the States (although they do all over Europe and Australia). I don't really have any desire to continue in massage but would like to study reflexology once we get back to NY. You need to be a therapist to be able to study reflexology so hopefully they will allow me to do so. I will keep you up to date on that situation.
I didn't lose that much last week. Only 1.5 lbs so we shall see how I did this week. I am hoping for at least 3-5lbs but I am coming on with my monthly so we'll see how that goes.
We are flying to Sweden on Friday and I cant wait. It should be really nice. I am a bit worried about the whole flight security thing. They are suddenly letting people bring onboard things from the duty-free shop (obviously they were going to as the shops would lose money otherwise) so that is good cause I would hate to not be able to bring on a book or my MP3 player. I do appreciate that they are trying to make everyone more secure. I am very relieved they caught them before it happened as it would have killed upwards of 4000 people. Awful. We are truly living in the last days. The bookstudy was so appropriate this week. And we know things are only going to get worse. I really want to get back to the States. Not because its safer there (its going to be the same everywhere) but because I dont want to put my family through the torment of our seperation. My mom was really freaking out the other day when this happened. So hopefully nothing major will happen until we get out. And if it does, we need to just trust in Jehovah.
I want to thank everyone for the kind complements and comments in my last post. They were so kind and made me feel really good. =) For you guys:

Be back soon!

2006-08-07T09:03:00.000-04:00

Sorry that I havent posted in a while but we just finished our 3 day convention in Twickenham, London this last weekend. It was really wonderful! I wont get into major details for those of you who havent attended yet but it was just fantastic. Went far too fast. I wish it would have lasted longer as it was a relief to be able to just sit back and relax and focus on spiritual things. It was great to see some people attend from the campaign as well. Saw quite a few of those. The weather held up which was great. Only got really hot yesterday. The great thing is that they had it broadcasted on the radio and for the last quarter of each day, when it was getting really hot and the seats (horrible!) where getting to our backs, we would go to the car and catch the rest of the program. It was difficult to hear the first two days in the stadium as there was construction going on besides the fact that all the planes from Heathrow fly right over the stadium and quite low so its pretty noisy but Ronny and I brought my headphones and my MP3 player which has a radio and were able to hear that way. Our highest attendance was almost 25,000 (all of the witnesses in London attend) with on average about 275 Russian brothers visiting us. We had 104 baptized which was wonderful as well. =) Ronny realized (Saturday night) that I could tape talks on my MP3 player (since it records the radio) and unfortunately although I thought I taped the whole program on Sunday (excellent!) it didnt as I would take out the headphones to use on the other MP3 player (dont know why!) and it would cause static and wouldnt record. So only got the public talk but happy with that anyways. We have our circuit assembly at the very beginning of September so really happy to realize that with the microphone, I can record the whole thing on my player! I love it, its such a good player and totally worth the money. Far better than an overrated iPod.
Anyways, didn't take as many pictures as I wanted (sorry!) and I really hate the picture of me in the black dress (although I felt amazing in it!) but promised to share so here is the few I have. I am definitely wearing an Indian sari at our assembly. I saw loads of sisters wearing them this convention (they are so cool!) and wish I had gone for it. Lots of brothers in African dress as well which was lovely. Ronny wants to get traditional Swedish dress for next year. You know I will be posting pictures of that, if it happens!! =)
Anyways, have my weight in tonight. I think I did bad this week. Dont feel like I have lost a pound. *blush* But really getting strict this week and moving our treadmill in our guestroom. Going to try and workout at least a little bit everyday.
Talk to you guys later!

2006-07-31T17:25:00.000-04:00

Oh happy day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am under 200lbs again!!!!!! I went to my weight in tonight and thought I would have lost only 2lbs last week but I lost.........dun da da DA...................9lbs!!! That makes the grand total 55lbs lost! I am now 195lbs. This is the weight I was for YEARS and its the weight I am used to being. I was wondering why my pants went so baggy this week! I actually do not have a proper pair of pants I can wear. I desperately need to buy some tomorrow. How cool is that! So another 13lbs and I will be down to where I was when I lost that weight some years ago and then after that.....it will be all new territory. =) I just cant believe it. Its so exciting.
On to other news....my Lighter Life counselor thinks I should go to stress counseling and I agree with her. The reason I have always been big is because I dont deal with stress well. I eat loads when I am stressed. I dont want to have gone through all this hard work just to gain it back so will be looking into getting counseling specifially for stress. The next few months are going to be crazy so it will really help me a lot.
Other than that, I am good. Have my convention this week. OMG! I got my little black dress today. Its awesome! I love it. Will take a pic wearing it this weekend at the convention. When I tried it on Ronny was like "Wow" when he saw me in it and normally he doesnt like the dresses I pick out. Its a bit clingy in areas but I am sure by Saturday it will be fine. Dont really care. I feel great! I feel so much better than I ever did at this weight before. I cant wait to go to Sweden in 2.5 weeks and shock my in-laws. Will be even skinner then!!! =)
Anyways, I am tired so will post again soon. Ciao!

2006-07-28T11:34:00.000-04:00

I know there was something I was going to post about but I cant remember! How sad is that. I dont think my brain is quite recovered from me passing out. =p

I have spent the whole day at home cleaning since my cousin and his wife will be coming in for the weekend and our house was a hot mess! Just crazy messy. Its starting to get there. Slowly but surely. I decided to take all my "big" clothes and give them to Bethel so I went through everything and there is a huge garbage bag full of stuff. Some of it wasnt in good enough condition so I trashed it. Some sisters will be very happy because almost all of the skirts are brand new. It makes me feel good to help. =) I will be doing that with a lot of our stuff when we move like our cutlery and things. They can use it more than most so why not?

I am so frustrated with Ronny's immigration. It would take too long to explain things but it doesnt look like we would be able to move until January the earliest. I hope it wont be longer than that. I still havent gotten mine sorted!!! I called them yesterday and they said that it was still processing. I cant wait until the new world when all these silly rules and things are gone. What a burden they are! I am sorry to vent on you but I am sure you will hear me talk more and more about this stuff throughout the next 6 months.....but please dont let that stop you from visiting my blog. =) I promise to limit it to a paragraph if I do talk about it. *grin* So normally I would have to wait for my residence permit as they want to see a copy of that when I start Step No. One (Form I-130) in Ronnys Immigration but I called and told them I dont know when I will get that so could I just show my marriage license and they said to include like pay slips and proof that I live here and the department will let me know if it will be enough. I hope so! Please pray for us guys. We really need to get out of here and be with family. This process is going to suck the life out of us. I keep praying cause we are doing this to put Jehovah first and improve our spirituality. I know he will help us.

Well sorry to keep this short but I need to finish cleaning. Oh! Btw, I got such great complements from my photography that I decided to try and sell some of it as stock photos. So I signed up with a site and they give you a website and everything. Will let you know when I am done working it out. Hope it brings a little extra $ here and there. I dont expect much to be honest but you never know! We are going to Madame Tussauds tomorrow so sure I will have loads of goofy pics to share. Watch this space!

2006-07-26T14:43:00.000-04:00

I have some good news. I found out why I fainted. My doctor called me back regarding my fainting and after talking to her in further detail about what happened she has diagnosed me with postural hypotension. This basically means that when I get up from sitting or laying down there is a fall in my blood pressure. I read that whole page and its really interesting and would explain a lot of the problems I have. I have suffered from this my whole life but was fortunate enough not to faint before. So that is the solution. I am glad its nothing more serious. I think I will be fine. Just need to be aware of it and do as they suggest. It gets really bad when its hot so I know to keep cool. I mean I have gone 26 years without realizing that it was a real problem. Just thought it was a bit weird that I always blackout when I stand up and its hot. lol I still feel very weak and tired but I think I will be fine. Going to take it easy over the next few days. She also suggested upping my sodium so Ronny is getting me soda water. Yuck! I hate that stuff. =( But if it helps my cramps than so be it! She also said to keep myself hydrated as that can really affect it. So drink water ladies!

Thanks for your concern and support. It is so nice to know you guys care. Love you!

2006-07-25T06:58:00.000-04:00

Ok, good news and bad news:

Bad news: I passed out twice this morning. Let me explain. Since starting this diet I have been getting on occasion really horrible leg cramps in the morning. I have a tendency of stretching my legs out early in the morning when I am rolling over and they cramp up bad. Normally just one leg will do it and it hurts like crazy but then stops and Im able to fall back asleep. Well this morning I got cramps in both legs at the same time and they were BAD. I could not stretch out my legs or my feet. The pain was so bad I thought I was going to throw up so sweating with pain I got out of bed and hobbled to the bathroom cause my legs just wouldnt straighten. I mean when I woke up I started whimpering and crying which I dont normally do and that woke Ronny up. I have a high tolerance for pain. Anyways, all I remember is getting into the bathroom and looking at the toilet. I dont remember what happened after that but next thing I know my face is in the toilet and I feel AWFUL and Ronny has his arms around my waist. I was SO out of it. It was horrible. I couldnt figure out what was going on and didnt realize I had passed out. I thought I had fallen asleep or something. I couldnt think straight. I was still in pain and feeling nauseous. He helped me to my feet and I guess that is when I went out again. When I came to I was on my knees and Ronny was holding me up. He pushed my head back and felt my forehead. I felt really sweaty and totally out of it. I thought I was dying. I have NEVER felt anything close to this experience. I dont know what caused it, I doubt it was the leg cramps but regardless it was disturbing. I remember when I woke up the second time I was so relieved that my legs had stopped cramping and I wasnt nauseous anymore. He helped me to the bed and I was shaking all over. I just wanted to sleep. I couldnt talk and I could barely move, I was so weak. He called my manager and left a message saying I wasnt coming in today and I called her later when I got up. To say the least she was really concerned. I am not a person prone to fainting. UGH. It was so bad. I still feel pretty bad. Just weak and flu-ey and my legs are SO sore. *blah* I cant wait till my mom wakes up in America so I can call her. It was quite tramatizing and I am a big clutz and always sick so for me to say that you know it was bad! Anyways, I have decided that I need to up my sodium intake so will start having chicken now and then. I cant continue as I am. Its not healthy and I wont lose weight at the cost of my health.

Ok, on to the good news:

Good News: We have booked our tickets for Rome and Venice for our 2 year anniversary in September! I am SO excited. I just cant believe we are going. When we were dating it was my dream for us to go to Venice on our honeymoon but that didnt work out and we spent a very blah time in Fort Lauderdale and as most of my friends know, we got evacuated by a hurricane while there! So this will be our second honeymoon. =) We were going to go to Egypt but now that we are moving back to the states, I thought there is no way I am going back without having been to Italy first! So we agreed we would go to Italy but couldnt decide between Rome and Venice so decided to combine the two. Got VERY cheap airline tickets from here to Rome and even cheaper tickets from Rome to Venice. We are staying at B&B's in both places. In Rome, the B&B is extremely central and had very good reviews. So did the one in Venice. I paid about 20 pounds extra and we got a superior room in Venice with a canal view. *grin* Its going to be so romantic!!!! OOOOOOO, SO excited! We are spending 5 days in Rome (FAR too many things to see there!) and 3 days in Venice. The B&B in Venice came with a private boat excursion to Murano Island in Venice. Didnt know that till I booked it. How cool is that! So as you can see, I am way happy. We got a GREAT deal on the whole trip. =)
We will be going to Sweden in 3 weeks time to say goodbye to the inlaws and our convention is next week so a lot of things to look forward to. Hopefully the fainting will pass!
Thanks for the comments. I love you all!

2006-07-20T14:44:00.000-04:00

We are back! Sorry that I didn't post yesterday but I spent the day 1. Sleeping (called in sick to work, was exhausted and just ill) and 2. Uploading the 150 pics I took!
We had an AMAZING time. Truly wonderful. I love Paris. It was like being in a dream. Here is a run down of our trip:
Saturday: We woke up at 3:15am which as you can imagine was not easy. We went to bed late so had about 4 hours of sleep. Everything went fine...got to the airport and parked the car and took the shuttle to the terminal. The flight was ridiculously short. I think it takes me longer to get to work everyday. No lie it was so short. They "gave" us breakfast. More like threw sandwiches at us and by the time the coffee came around we were discending. It was a 40 min flight. LOL We got off the plane in a bit of a daze and made our way to the train. After some guessing with the tickets and getting the wrong ones, we finally got the right ones and got on the train to central Paris. It was exciting because it was the first time Ronny and I were in a country where neither one of us knew the language. Normally I get stressed if I feel like I dont know where to go but it was really fun and exciting. We got off and walked to the hotel (only had a general idea of where it was so got off way too early) and when we got there it was far too early to check in. We begged the reception to get a room cleaned for us as we were exhausted and she advised us to come back in an hour so we walked down the street to find a place to eat and find a lovely little side street with all these quaint cafes and fruit and flower stalls. It was really nice. Got back to the hotel where they had a room ready for us 2 hours before check in (which was so nice) and we went upstairs for a nap. It was so hot so thankfully the room had AC. We got up, took showers and decided to go find Jacobs (my friend that was visiting Paris) hotel which was really nearby. Went for a walk, stopped for coffee and wine and then finally found the hotel. There were LOADS of witnesses in the lobby from the international convention and it was so neat cause we met the nicest sisters! They had just come out of the gift shop and I stopped them to ask them if all of the witnesses had come back from the city tour (some had, some hadn't). They were so cool, especially Peggy (you can see her in the pictures). We had a drink with them while waiting in the lobby and had a very nice time chatting. Finally saw Jake and his mom come in and ran up to him and gave him a hug. He was organizing a picnic with a few other witnesses for that evening in the park in back of the Eiffel Tower. We all went out to get groceries and goodies for the picnic and had just the best time with everyone. It was really magical. I hope you enjoy the pics of the picnic! It was so nice to be able to walk back to the hotel in 5 min. =)
Sunday: We slept in really late (I forgot to set my clock forward and thinking it was 10 it was actually 11!) and went for brunch. Then headed out towards the Lourve to meet up with Jake and his mom. We were supposed to spend the morning in the museum but didnt have time so just met up with them in the museum, took a few pics and then went out towards the river. Ronny had the WORST stiff neck, poor thing. He was in so much pain. I was massaging him and giving him pain killers. It gradually got better but he really stuck it out, my poor hubby. He kept us laughing all day although he was in pain even walking which we did loads of. I think his neck to this day is still a bit off. Anyways, we walked along the Seine and there are loads of old book stalls and little souveneir stands where we got some prints and two canvas paintings of Paris. We got to one of the islands in the middle of the Seine that holds Notre Dame and took some pics. We took the metro to a pastry shop (REALLY fancy) that Jake had heard about and then had dinner at Les Deux Magots where evidentally Ernest Hemingway would go to write which was cool. Then we took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe, walked all the way down the Champs Elysees and met more witnesses. The day ended with us saying goodbye to Jake and his mom near our hotel as we had to part ways. It was a really nice time with them and we enjoyed it. Oh, I have to tell you about this weird experience. Whilst in the Lourve, I went to go to an exchange place they have there to change over my money. So while I am waiting for the guy to give me my euros, Jacob pulls out this copy of a CD he made me that he taped of a radio station online in the US. It was a station he thought I would enjoy so he made a copy of some of the music for me. So the guy behind the counter is like "You know that is called pirating." and Im like "Well, he is just giving it to me as a friend and its from a radio station, not a CD." and he's like "Its against the law here and if you dont give me that CD, I am going to call the police and he will give you a 2500 euro fine. Its serious." and Im like "no way." and he's like "Well, then Ill keep your money." and I was like "Well Ill tell the policeman you tried to keep my money!" and Jacob is in the background like "aw, come on, your just joking right?" and I ask the guy (im getting really mad at this point) "Why would you do this? Are you bored?" and he says "Im evil." and I tell him "Give me my money. You have no right to take my money." So he smiles and he's like "okay, I was kidding." I was livid! He really had me going. He smiles at Jake and is like "She is strong." and jake says "Yeah she is puerto rican!" LOL!!!!!! Jake says I should have brought Ronny over and been like "this is my husband." LOL But I could take care of it myself. He wasnt taking my money! But he really had us both going.
Monday: Was really hot but we spent the day at the Lourve (saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo). The coolest part was seeing Jehovah's name on the Moabite Stone (you can see pics in my album) and the Babylonian lions that the captive Jews probably saw while walking into Babylon. It was a nice museum but I wasnt enormously impressed. I still prefer the Met in NYC. =) After the museum we went back to the hotel to shower (we were melting) and after a few hours of relaxing went out for dinner and to go up the Tower. After dinner we went on line to go up the tower but ran out of time as they close it at 11pm. Ronny was really disappointed but we went to walk along the river and saw these guys doing these portraits. I have always wanted to get one done and where better than Paris! So with the Tower in front of me and the river to my back, I had my portrait done. I really love it! He did Ronny's as well right next to mine. I will take a pic and show you guys. It was such a romantic evening. =)
Tuesday: VERY hot day. We basically just walked around and then went back to the hotel to wait. Ended up almost missing our flight anyway because one of the trains wasnt running. I mean we really almost missed it. So glad we didn't. Flight was short and had absolutely no problem getting back into the country. The immigration officer didnt even ask me any questions, just wanted to make sure we were residents. So it went really smooth.

I know I am forgetting things but its late and Im tired. Will post them as I remember them. In the meantime, hope you enjoy the pics! Click here. Hope the link works! You may need to sign up to view them. Sorry if that is the case.

Oh my goodness! Cant believe I forgot! Ronny surprised me the Friday before by taking me to this new Thai massage place up the street. Its GORGEOUS!!! And we got Thai massages side by side for 2 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was awesome. I love my hubby!!!!! He wanted to treat me so I could relax before the trip. How sweet is he!

2006-07-13T17:45:00.000-04:00

Ok, first of all I have to share what I saw on the train this morning:

An advert for garlic that read "Small doses of garlic can be fatal to leeches." and written in childish print right next to it read and vampires. I just thought that was so funny. Well at least it made me smile. =)

Ok, on to other good news..........I met up with my HSBC branch manager tonight (regarding the compensation). I don't know if I wrote about it earlier but basically after all the headache and nightmare I have been through with that bank, not to mention all the work lost trying to sort out things.....he initially offered me 250 pounds over the phone. I was in shock and told him that was no where near enough for me. So he tells me he is not authorized to give out more but would need to speak to the regional manager and I tell him I would like to meet with him in person. So we set up an appointment which is what I went to tonight. I think I basically called him on his bluff. It was just him and he was very nice and polite and I went through what has happened. He asked me how much I wanted and I told him no less than 750.......so that is what he is giving me!!! I am really happy with the results. I still dont think it was enough but its not bad and what I expected to get. So glad that is over!!! Should be getting it added to my account sometime next week....lets hope. That is going towards our anniversary Italy trip for sure! =)

So I am getting really excited about the weekend. I got my marriage license in the post today, thankfully. I need to call the British Embassy in Paris to make sure all will be ok for me to re-enter the country as a resident. I bought some cute tops and sandals and Ronny some tops and a memory card for my camera so will have plenty of pics to upload and share with you guys.

Anyways, I am so tired so will catch you guys when I get back! Au revoir!!!!!

2006-07-12T16:15:00.000-04:00

We are off to Paris this weekend! I don't want to even bother getting into the messy details of our trip and how we were FINALLY able to book our tickets but just know this.....I got my passport today (minus the stamp I need) but didn't receive my marriage certificate. They sent along a nice letter telling me to apply at the British Embassy in Paris for a family permit to re-enter into the UK but the idiots forgot to send my marriage certificate. So for the 100th time I had to call them today all frantic to get that sorted. Supposedly arriving tomorrow morning. I have heard that one before. Also, when I tried to book our trip with Travelocity, they took my money but didn't give me my tickets. It took me a week and about 6 phone calls and a near nervous breakdown before they refunded it. It cost us 200 pounds extra. It was a MASSIVE mess. This country sucks SOOOO bad. The customer service here is absolutely disgusting. UGH! Dont really want to get into it. But after all that mess we are finally going and I cant wait. Not only did we decide to go for four days (Sat-Tues) but we decided to splurge a bit after the hassle and get a hotel right near the Eiffel Tower!!! SOOOO excited about that. It will be lovely to walk by the Rue Seine and the Tower and back to our hotel. So romantic. So that is the really great news.

Today was so rough for me. Again with the passport crap and I just really really felt like I couldnt take anymore. But being the wonderful husband he is, Ronny surprised me at work. I got a call from reception and she said there were flowers downstairs for me and said there was a note that said "An apology for our utter incompetence. HSBC, Travelocity and Home Office" so I was like "What?" and went downstairs to find my lovely husband with a HUGE bouquet of flowers. I took a picture with my phone so will try and upload it at some point. But it was the sweetest thing and exactly what I needed. It made a huge difference in my mood.

Anyways, I am exhausted. Been working overtime all week besides the meetings and my weight loss meeting. I am now down a total of 42lbs. Just thought I would let you know. Will post again before we leave for Paris. Love you all!

2006-06-29T15:07:00.000-04:00

I want to thank those who have commented on my last post. I really appreciate the kind words of encouragement. I know the decision we are making wont be easy but it will be for the best and Jehovah will help us to do what we need to do to serve him better. I love you all. Thank you! If you are coming here and don't know what I am talking about, please refer to the last post.
So we are obviously still planning on going to NY. I still havent received my passport from the British government. I think they are holding it hostage. They must want to keep me in the country cause they love me so much! I am calling them tomorrow about it. Also, the manager at HSBC never called me back. His exact words "Will get back to you no later than Monday." and yes that was the Monday that just passed. I called today and they sent him a reminder. What a crap bank. I want my money! I want to start planning our Italy trip. I cant believe it coming up so fast. I need to start booking things.
So anyways, I am going to talk a bit about work. There is a situation going on which is a bit odd. There are four of us that do the same job as Sales Support Executives. If you dont know what is, we basically provide support for the sales teams of the company. I am responsible for the sales team of the West of England. So there is this one guy who gets paid 3 grand more than us other three. 3 GRAND more a year. Ok supposedly he has more experience. Here is the problem....he STINKS at his job. Completely and totally. I could go on and on about why but the main reason being he is REALLY unorganized and doesn't really care. That is the plain truth. I mean our job is not hard, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do it but it is EXTREMELY demanding. You have about 4 departments depending on you at once because proving support for our group is just the tip of the iceberg. We also work for Marketing and each have our own individual projects we are responsible for. Basically the boy is completely untrustworthy. You cannot rely on him for help. He messes up often and his own team has said that they cannot rely on him. So the money issue REALLY upsets me cause I work my butt of and get paid way less every month. I have known this for months that he makes more than us and it has been a sore spot until last week when it all came to a head. One of us was on holiday and the other had to cop out for the whole week due to family issues. He did not offer to help once. Not ONCE. I did my job, Sophy and Deons without him helping me at all. I went home SO stressed Thursday and cried when I got home. He had the nerve to say "Mel, you seem really off this week. Why are you struggling to get your work done. I havent had a problem at all." This is from a man who works 5 days a week and still is struggling to finish things on Monday morning the next week when I work 4 days and my work is completely done when I am gone for the weekend on Thursday. So that was IT for me. I talked to the girls about it cause they are really sick of him as well but they didnt want to say anything. So before I lost my courage I emailed my HR manager and asked to speak to her. It was making me physically sick. I told I wanted to speak to her. She is really cool and asked me to join her for a cup of coffee. So we met yesterday afternoon and I told her 1. I wanted to go full time in Sept (we need the money) and 2. About Mark. I told her straight out that he is awful at his job and the fact he makes a substantial amount more than the rest of us is bothering us. I was really professional and told her I do not have a problem with him personally at all. Its just his work that bothers me. I gave her a few examples. I told her I didnt want to get anyone in trouble. She thanked me for coming to her, she was really grateful. She was shocked by what I told her and really disturbed when she heard how upset us girls are. So she asked for my permission to speak to my manager Heidi about it and I gave it to her. She immediately got in touch with Heidi and they were in a LONG meeting. When I was about to go home Heidi followed me in the bathroom and thanked me for bringing this to her attention. I told her I felt a bit bad and she said not to. She was really glad someone said something because she cant see everything. We all work in the same office (6 of us) in a very SMALL office but she isnt always there to see what goes on. The other girls would never have said anything but they did email Sandra (the HR manager) to agree with all I said today so that was good. I dont want him to get fired. I just want him to up his game and help us out more if he is going to get paid more. A few months ago the girls were hating on him and plain out rude and I took him aside to talk about it and he acknowledged what I said. He has been told by the managers that he needs to improve a few months ago but hasnt. So I am curious to see what will happen. As I told them, more than anything I just needed to get it all off my chest. I cant talk about it with the girls and then not do something about it. So I will let you know what happens. Please share your thoughts about this if you would like.

2006-06-26T16:15:00.000-04:00

I am amazed. I was just reading some of my older posts from before Ronny and I were married. It was nice to reminisce over things I had totally forgotten about as well as see what mind set I was at that point. Its crazy. I feel like a completely different person. I don't think I even write the same way anymore. I have a different way of expressing myself now. Somehow more subdued. I was reading about the arguements I had with my mom regarding the wedding and things and now I just wish I could be with her! Moving away from your family and home country can really change your priorities!
Ok, I am going to just tell you guys what the whole situation is...what I have been "stressing" over. Without going into massive detail....we have decided as of right now to back to New York. The main reason being we don't feel that we are progressing spiritually out here. I feel that the last year and a half has taken its toll. We have been through so much, more than I can even get into to, just know that its been really hard and on top of getting married, we moved countries twice and although we have built our way up to where we are, we are not satisfied with the state of our spirituality. Dont get me wrong, we are not doing horribly bad but we need to be around a support system to grow more spiritually. I feel that we have matured in many other areas but have neglected the most important areas. And moving country AGAIN and to another congregation is just not going to help us. Our congregation here is wonderful and supportive but they dont know us and being as conservative as they are, its very different from what I am used to. The society makes sure that those they send out to other countries are doing really well spiritually and if we ever want to come back out to Europe, fine, it will always be there but we need to prioritize and do the right thing. Time is running out in this system. So we are planning hopefully for January but could be pushed to March. Its all depending on the immigration as we need to file for Ronny's passport. I am happy to go home but at the same time I was so looking forward to Spain. But it will always be there. I know a lot of people wont understand and that is fine, we have prayed about this a lot and talked to my parents as well as others in our congregation and we feel its the right thing to do. Things can change, nothing is ever set in stone but will let you know what happens either way. Please tell me what you think. Its actually going to be hard moving back, after thinking it through but we will have Jehovah's blessing cause we are putting him first.
On to a lighter side, we are going to an outdoor concert of The Rat Pack (the broadway show) in Kenwood Park in London with some friends. There will be loads of bethelites there as its free and I am really looking forward to it. I love Frank Sinatra and it will be great. Hope the weather holds up!
Btw, I am down 33.5 lbs!!!! Found out in my weight in tonight. =)
See you later! Love you all.

2006-06-23T07:02:00.000-04:00

Hey guys, thanks for all the sweet comments. Things have gotten a tad better. Sorry I still cant get into it! But will soon enough. Just please know that your encouragement and support is very much appreciated. Its nothing bad, just like I said before....a change. I want to make sure I am making the right decisions before I tell others. Sorry, I know its a bit of a tease. I promise to tell you as soon as I can! I feel that things are more in control though. I dont feel as overwhelmed so hopefully it stays that way.
I still havent gotten my passport. I called the department yesterday to find out what the situation was but they couldnt tell me much so suggested I call next week. I really hope this gets resolved cause I so badly want to go to Paris! Also, we are supposed to go to Sweden in August and then on our anniversary in Sept. Lots to do so I need my passport back!
As regards our anniversary, we decided not to spend loads of money but to save up so I am trying to organize a combo trip of Rome and Venice. I am dying to go to Italy and those are the two places that I have always wanted to see. I filed my complaint with HSBC for all the hassle I have had to go through for the last year and a half (its a lot!) and the branch manager called me yesterday saying they were going to contact me about compensation in the next few days. I asked for a lot which I know they wont pay but I figured they can always go lower with their offer. Anyways, hoping to use the money towards the trip. There is a beautiful hotel in Venice I want us to stay at. Here it is. I would love to get the Junior Suite Grand Canal View but we'll see how much we can afford. I want to spend our anniversary day there. Its so romantic!!! =)
By the way, Monday marks my halfway mark for my 100 days! Its flying!!
Anyways, that is it for now. I am tired. REALLY stressful day yesterday and didnt sleep well so I am heading to bed for a nap. Thanks again my lovely friends. Be back soon!

Big Change.

2006-06-18T14:50:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of things going on.....but I guess that is usual anyway. I just feel like I am continuously going. If its not one thing its another. Sometimes I just feel so overwhelmed. I am so tired. I definitely need a break. I cant wait for Paris. I called the Home Office to find out the status of my application so I can get my passport back. They said that after 9 weeks they still hadn't even handed it over to a case worker. Even the guy on the phone was shocked that it was taking that long so tomorrow I need to write them a letter saying I need my application done quickly as I am traveling. The customer service in this country is absolutely horrible! They just dont care. Do they not expect me to travel during the summer? Its ridiculous.

Things seem to be changing quite a bit. I mean LARGE changes. I cant get into them (they are not bad just different) at the moment until we figure out what we are going to do and of course then I will inform all my friends. My mom is the only one I am talking to about this at the mo. I feel really mixed up about the whole thing so I wish I could go into detail but that will have to wait.

Tomorrow is the end of my sixth week. Almost half way through! Now nothing is fitting me anymore. But its a good feeling. I went to a class this weekend and saw some of my old classmates from my Anatomy course and they were going on about how good I looked. I was really pleased with that. Other than that was a boring course to take although mandatory.

Im pooped. Will be back later.

Long time.

2006-06-13T14:33:00.000-04:00

Wow! I didn't even realize how long its been since I posted until I realized that I am far and beyond the 17lbs. I am up to 25lbs and counting believe it or not. It's going so fast. I had to get a few items of clothing since everything is either too big or too small. But can't complain! So my diet is still going well.
My massage exam is looming. I am not too nervous but that is at the moment. I did really well on my mock exam. I didn't study but got 85% on my theory exam so will be studying and hopefully be getting an even better mark. I am still debating whether I want to continue with my studying and do reflexology. Everyone is encouraging me to do so but there is a part of me that just wants to move to Spain sooner. I think I will go through with it though as I know I will regret not getting qualified out here. Its very cheap and I start the class in September and finish in February. I think I need to just go ahead and do it.
Man has it been hot out here. We had the nicest weather for about a week and then it went way up. Yesterday it went up to 90. Doesn't seem like much but in a country with no air conditioning, trust me, that is a lot! I felt so sick. Plus I work in a really old building with no ventilation so it was probably more like 95 in the office if not more. Today is dropped down and started raining. Never thought I would be so happy to see the rain in London! We need a break.
Gosh, I am so tired so going to keep this short and sweet. Looking forward to our trip to Paris next month. Its our only trip this summer unless we go to Sweden as planned and haven't been there since our engagement so really really excited about it. Found out it is cheaper to fly than take the train so we will be going from 3-4 days. Will of course post pics.
Be back soon. Love you all!

17lbs and counting.

2006-06-02T10:08:00.000-04:00

Hi guys. I am amazed at the amount of people coming by lately. Its sweet and makes me feel special. So thanks to you all.
So anyways, at my last weight in on Tuesday, I had lost another 4lbs so 17lbs in 3 weeks and counting. I am so excited as my 4th week is already up and I am hoping to hit the big 2-0. I still have a long way to go but the fast results really help with the process. My clothes are really starting to feel big. I dont want to get new clothes yet as (I know this probably sounds weird) feeling my clothes baggy makes me feel good and also determined to never get to that point again. I am already amazed by how big I was. But it doesn't matter cause its on its way out!!
In other news, it's my last weekend of school tomorrow and Sunday. VERY happy! I am getting a bit tired of it (as much as I enjoy it) due to the endless case studies. Its quite tiring. I start reflexology in September but I am re-thinking it due to the fact that I will need to do 60 case studies!!! I only had to do 20 this time. I know I shouldn't be lazy but I have the same teacher who taught me anatomy and he can be a bit annoying. Not very structured. Hope he is better in practical then he is in theory. Also, they have changed my exam date to a week later than it was. Which is fine with me! An extra week to study and hopefully finish my case studies. I have someone coming today (one of them didnt show) at 4 and then one tomorrow after school. Did one last night after work. Its rough! But soon over. Ronny says, how are you going to handle it as a full time job and I tell him, well for one I will be a lot lighter and also wont be doing office work full time. Its hard squeezing it all in right now. Ok enough moaning.
We are not going to Sweden at the end of this month after all. I still have not received my passport back from the government. They did say it could take up to 16 weeks but I didnt think they meant it! Hope I get it back soon.
Our plans for Spain are kinda going ahead. I am looking at some offplan property and will let you know if anything results out of it.
Anyways, off to do a bit more cleaning before Julia gets here. See ya later!

Shakespeare

2006-05-29T15:09:00.000-04:00

Hi guys! Today Ronny and I went to the Shakespeare Houses since we had the day off from work. I have always loved Shakespeare and its been a dream to visit where he grew up in Stratford-Upon-Avon. So that one can be scratched off the list. ;)
It was a really stunning day weather wise (well most of the day-this is England after all!!!) and the first place we went to was Anne Hathaway's Cottage.
Info: Anne Hathaway's Cottage was the childhood home of Shakespeare's wife and remained occupied by decendants of the Hathaway family until 1899. The young Shakespeare would have courted Anne here and the view of the house and garden has been described as the most romantic view in England (I can agree with that!) From what I remember: It was built in the 15th century and still had some of the original furniture in the cottage, including the carved oak "Hathaway Bed". I loved it! Such a beautiful place. It was completely stunning. I was a bit nervous though because as we walked through the upstairs, you could see the downstairs through the cracks in the floor boards! LOL Crazy. The back has Shakespeare's tree garden with sculptures and things. Sorry I dont have loads of pictures but I dont have a memory card yet so didn't have much internal memory! If you would like to see bigger versions let me know.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Garden in front of the cottage. That circular thing in the center is an arch way made out of a plant. Its lovely.

Ronny in front of the cottage. Sorry but we couldn't take pics inside!

Ronny and I in front of the cottage.

Ronny in Shakespeare's Tree Garden looking at one of the sculptures.

Gift shop where we got a few goodies!

Waterfall in garden in front of the gift shop.

Ok, those are all the pictures of Anne's house. At this point we went into the center of Stratford to go to Will's birthplace. At this point the weather totally started to change and pour down rain so we had to run to the house. It was really nice as they had a center with a big exhibition about him and his parents.
Info that I remember: John Shakespeare (Will's dad) was a glover and thus lived a life of some wealth. The house was later turned into an Inn. Will's family and Anne's family knew each other from when they were children. When Will was 18 and Anne was 26 they got married when she was already 3 months pregnant. They had 3 children, a set of twins, Hamnet and Judith and a girl Susannah.

Birthplace of Will Shakespeare

Ronny in front of house. (Once again they wouldn't let us take pics inside)
After we left here we went on to visit two more houses. One was a house Will had bought and another was the home of his daughter and her husband for a few years. They were really nice but being that they didn't play a big role in Will's life (and I had barely any memory left on my camera!) I didn't take any pics of them. We got totally drenched on the way to the car but as we left the car park, it was blue skies and complete sun once again. Very frustrating weather! On our way back to the highway we stopped just to take pics of Will's mother's (Mary Arden) childhood house. It is still a working farm.

Mary Arden's house and no its not the camera, the house is actually tilted towards the left! =)

Had a really lovely day and hope you enjoyed the pictures! One more thing: We went to see X-Men3 with some friends last night. Very disappointed to be honest but that is just me. Anyways, hope you are all well. ; )

Another 5lbs gone.

2006-05-25T05:30:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! Thanks for all the comments on my last post. I replied to them there. ; )

So I lost another 5 lbs this last week. A total of 13lbs!!! Really happy. I went down a dress size. :D I am really hoping to lose the 70lbs before mid-August. I know its a lot but a few people have done it on this program and I hope to be one of them. I need to get into an exercise routine to do so. I want to start going on the treadmill at least 20 min a day and start doing some weight training. Will let you know how it goes. My next weight in is next Tuesday.

So I got the course brochures from ICS. I dont know if I want to write children's books, I really wanted to write junior books like for 12-13 year olds since I think that is the cut off point when they start to lose interest in reading. If they keep that love (most little kids love books) then it will really help them in their adult life. So I want to write books that will do that. But I think I am going to start off with the photography course first or maybe something in business. =)

I just wanted to share this: My friend showed me this site where you can get really cheap MP3's. Its www.allofmp3.com I have gotten quite a few albums for less than $2.00. So for all you I-Pod users this is a great site!

Guess that is it for now. We have a bank holiday weekend which means we have off on Monday but Ronny has gotten sick and I think I am coming down with something as well. I hope we are ok for Sunday cause we are supposed to meet some friends to go see X-Men3. It looks so good! Cant wait! We also have a gathering to go to on Saturday. A brother in our hall as 2 young teenagers and they are having a game night which they invited us to. I thought that was nice.

Anyways, till next time, hugs to you all!

News Update

2006-05-19T04:55:00.000-04:00

Im back. A few things going on:

-Our anniversary trip is starting to pan out which is very exciting. When we get the deposit down I will let you guys know all the details. Its REALLY exciting. Cant wait!
-Still awaiting for my passport from the government so hoping it comes soon because we are going to Sweden next month. I am really looking forward to it since I have never been to Sweden in the summer and I am looking forward to seeing the kids and my in laws.

And the biggest news: I have lost a total of 8lbs in my first week!!!! LOL Sorry, I know its a bit late because my second week is rapidly ending (time is flying!) but I have been really busy this week and couldnt post about it. To say the least I was very pleased. I already see a difference in my face and my jeans are getting big. I still have my moments but I am determined to do this. I want to get nice clothes and things when we go away in September.

Another bit of interesting news: I was just watching TV when a commercial for a home degree came on. I visited the website and its really cool! They even have it in America. The website is www.ics.tv I believe. If that doesnt work, let me know. I am interested in getting a degree in writing children's book as well as their photography degree. It looks great. I am finishing my massage therapy and going on to reflexology but would like to have a few trades under my belt and with this one I can do it from home. Will let you all know what I decide to do. Thought I would share it as I thought it was a great idea. They do all kinds of courses and with some you dont need any previous training. =)

Gotta run but be back soon!

Convention

2006-05-13T04:00:00.000-04:00

I am so looking forward to our convention this year! I was a bit sick last year so missed a day and that really messes things up! I am so excited about the new campaign to advertise the convention. How cool! Its like back in the old day. Will really enjoy that. We are hoping to take the kids in Sweden to at least one day of the convention. I dont think their mom will let us keep them for the whole time but we think its important that they attend some of it. Their mom is teaching them things that we know are pagan like Christmas and birthdays so we want to help them learn how Jehovah feels about it. They will make up their own mind in the end but its Ronnys responsibility as their father to make sure he can share the truth about Jehovah to them as much as possible. They are still little. Felicia is 6 (starting school this year!) and Jonathan is 4. They are really really good kids. I look forward to seeing them again, although language is a barrier! I need to work on my Swedish.
My weight loss is going great. I had my first weight in on Monday night and started the program Tuesday morning. Then was weighted again Wed night to make sure its working and I had already lost 2lbs by then! So my first official weight in is Monday night. Wonder how much I will have lost by then!

Bit o' nonsense

2006-05-12T07:37:00.000-04:00

A bit of nonsense:

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name) Boots Beechwood
2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad's side, your favorite candy) Minnie Rasinets (I had to laugh at this!)
3. YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your middle name) M-Lee
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Blue Penguin
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Lee Brooklyn
6.YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name) Kririv
7. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards) Leearevir
8. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, the automobile you drive) The Blue Vauxhall (I dont drive but used Ronny's truck make)

2006-05-07T13:03:00.000-04:00

Ok, so my weight loss blog is up and running for those of you who would like to check it out. Please remember to email me at mkristensen@espresso.co.uk if you would like the link as Im not giving it out to the public.
Well I have been going crazy trying to figure out where Ronny and I should go for our 2 year wedding anniversary. We have tried so many different ideas but I want something really tropical. Initially, we wanted Kenya and I still want to go there but they dont have any flights going out in September so maybe next year. So we saw gulet sailing in Turkey and it looks really fantastic. Its basically a sailboat or a yacht of some sort and you go to all these differents ports in Turkey. We want to do 2 weeks. So will see if that is what we end up doing. We need to book it soon. Also we are going to Sweden over a weekend soon to see the kids as well as a 4 day trip to Paris to see a friend from the US that will be going to the international convention with his mom. He used to live in NY but is now in Arkansas so being that everytime I visit the US I wont be able to see him, thought it would be easier to see him while he is in Paris. He is like a brother to me. Its REALLY cheap to go to Paris as well. Surprisingly so. It will be 268 for the both of us in total including the train ride and rental of a studio and that is in the heart of Paris near the Lourve. So should be nice! I can bring my Lighter Life food with me as well so only Ronny would have to buy food or we could cook it in the apartment. Anyways, looking forward to it!
That is pretty much it. Been really beautiful around here lately. Warm and the trees and flowers are blooming. I finally got my camera up and running so will post pics up soon.
Anyways, thats it for now! Be back soon.

Password

2006-04-29T05:16:00.000-04:00

Ok, well I tried to password protect my site but I couldnt find anything I liked. So if anyone knows of a way just to add a password to my entire site (one that pops up) please let me know. In the meantime, I am only going to give out the website address to those who ask for it. I havent made it public so it cant be searched for. Sorry for the hassle but I once had a "stalker" and being that I am going to post pics and stuff I just dont want it that easily accessible. So ask me, Ill give it to you and bookmark it! I have already posted my first entry on it regarding the whole program and hopefully will be starting it soon. Hope you are all well. If you are coming here and this doesnt make sense, read the post below this one. =)

Lighter Life

2006-04-26T14:43:00.000-04:00

Well, I am finally going through with it. I am starting on a new weight loss program. Its called Lighter Life. Im not going to go through all the ins and outs of it as when I explain it, people tend to get worried and freak out a bit. I just got to the point where my family is ok with it. Its nothing really drastic like surgery. I need to get a medical done before I can start because my doctor needs to sign me off. I am hoping to start in the next two weeks but it depends on when I get signed off and when the meetings start. I am going to make my weight loss blog password protected cause I am going to posting up pictures (nothing graphic!) so if you would like to get the password please email me at mkristensen@espresso.co.uk . I wont have the blog up and running until Friday. At that point I will write all about what the program involves. Im really really excited as this program has an incredibly high success rate. I hope this is it for me. I cant wait to be a sexy beast!!! YEAH! *hehe*

Other that, its finally turned to spring here. YAY!!! Its been cold but today was the first day where it was too warm to wear anything but a t-shirt. It was really nice. And all the flowers are blooming. It is really lifting my spirits.

I am still really busy doing my case studies and plus I have school this weekend but its my second to last weekend before my exam and then I am done with massage. I am looking forward to starting reflexology in September though.

I guess that is it for now. Will be back in a few days. =)

Headache

2006-04-22T05:51:00.000-04:00

Ugh, Ive got the worse headache. I have been starting my massage case studies this week and did one yesterday as well as Ronny's back when he got home PLUS it was the week of "lifting heavy boxes" at work so my neck and back are none to happy with me at the moment. I also have another case study to do in 2 hours. Im just going to take my time and not rush as its only going to make me feel worse. Wish I could cancel but I really need to keep going. I have to get used to this anyway if I want to do it full time. Anyways, yesterday morning before my case study, Cathy, came over I was a nervous wreck. I also had a dentist appointment for the first time in 7 years right after so that didn't help either. I was snapping at Ronny as I tried to clean up before she got there and he left for work. He came back home early to take me to the dentist and had a dozen roses for me. He took me to the dentist (which went well, I dont need anything pulled!!) and then we went for lunch on the high street. It was really nice. The first real warm day we have had and I could feel my spirits lifting. I went to the Health Food store and found the VitB12 and St. Johns Wort I want to get and will pick them up when I get paid next week. When we got home Ronny gave me a massage which was really nice and then we went to the book study. A nice day.
In other news we got Sky TV out here which is basically cable. Im so happy though cause now I can watch all my American shows like Seinfield and Everyone Loves Raymond. I know it seems silly but it means a lot! I've been watching Spongebob like crazy. hehe
I am getting my new digital camera next week so looking forward to getting back into photography. I am especially looking forward to going to Budapest to take loads of pictures there. Its a beautiful place. I hope I get my passport in time to go! I had to hand it in to get my UK residence permit.
My friend Nate and his fiance Jena are getting married next month. Well in a few weeks really. He is in the Russian congregation and loves all things Russian so I think Im going to get him these cool vodka shot glasses. They are cube shaped and come in an ice box so that you can keep them cold. But Im not totally sure. He is a REALLY good friend of mine and unfortunately I cant make the wedding so want to make sure the gift is really good. *sigh* Im going to keep looking.

Just wanted to share a picture I took near my job. I work right near the Thames River and thought it was a beautiful day. http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-8/1066884/12-04-06_1328.jpg

This was really cool. Very insightful. My Personal Dna Report

This week.

2006-04-14T06:24:00.000-04:00

I really hate that throughout the week I think about all the things I want to write on here but when I finally have the time to sit down to create a post I totally forget. =/ Ah well. This week was a bit all over the place. It was only a 3 day work week for me (another one next week= ) and an extremely boring one at that since the schools were closed. There are 5 other people in my small office. 4 girls and 1 guy. Lately there has been loads of tension between 3 of the girls and the guy. Its been really distracting and frankly just gets on my nerves. YES he can be annoying but the girls snap at him and are quite rude and no one will tell him what he is doing that is bothering them which I don't think is fair. Also because I spend a lot of time trying to keep the peace and being nice to him, its like the office has become divided. So I decided I was going to say something to him. I wrote the girls an email telling them that I was going to have a talk with him and one was ok with it but the other two didnt want me to. In fact, one of them said she thought things should stay the same...basically that when he does something that bothers them, they will handle it then and there and just tell him off. How immature is that! I told her, quite nicely, that I would not handle my own child like that and would definitely not do that with another adult! She is my age but still lives at home, doesnt pay bills and is extremely spoiled and immature. I do like her as a person but this situation with Mark has caused some tension between us. Well I did have my talk with him and explained to him some of the others concerns. There was a time when he was really slacking off (all 4 of us do the same job and the other girl is the marketing assistant) but I could see he was really making an effort. So he was ok with what I said and said he would rather be told when something was wrong than not so at least he can make an effort to change. I was really happy with that and although I was met with silence back in the office I knew I did the right thing. Its slowly getting a bit better but man do they love to gossip and talk about him the second he leaves the room. THIS is why growing up I had more guy friends than girl friends! Ridiculous!!!
The day of the memorial was really hard for me. I was struggling to not feel bad. I didnt want to sink into my depression again. My sister called and gave me some bad news which honestly left me reeling. I felt so horrible after that. I had to hold back tears for a good two hours. I was wondering if I would be able to enjoy the Memorial but I went home, did the reading in one go and felt so much better. I prayed that Jehovah would help me and he did and I was so grateful for that. We had a really nice Memorial with 146 in attendance (we have 70 pubs so it was double!) and no partakers. I have been on and off since then but no where as bad as I have been in the past. Its going to be a day to day struggle. But I am going to keep fighting.
Im really excited. We are working on going to Budapest next month for 6 days. Im really looking forward to it cause its not somewhere I would have normally thought of going. We have a friend who lives not too far from there and who we will hopefully be able to meet up with. I will let you know more about our plans as I have them.
Anyways, thats it for now. Be back soon. =)

Busted window.

2006-04-10T06:50:00.000-04:00

Well this weekend ended up being really lovely. I was really worried I would spend all my time depressed over my parents leaving but I wasnt at all. I mean I miss them but what good is it focusing on it when I cant do anything about it? I have a hard time letting go of things I cannot control which frankly is a bit silly but I have always been that way and Im guessing its going to continue to be a work in progress.
Ronny was so sweet. He treated me to dinner TWICE. On Friday we went to a Harvester (steakhouse) up the street from where we live and then on Saturday we went into town and had some Thai food. It was really lovely. Unfortunately when we got back to the car we realized that someone had smashed in the drivers window. It's Ronny's work van and he thinks they were looking for something quick to sell (it says Siemens on the side) for drugs. To say the least I was shocked because when we left the car it was broad daylight, we were only gone for 2 hours, there were CCTV cameras EVERYWHERE and it was off of Tottenham Court Road, a VERY busy area in London. But guess they were desperate. Thankfully nothing was taken. I mean dishwasher parts arent exactly worth much to people who dont know what to do with them. =) I called emergency services since I didnt know who else to call and they put me through to the police who didnt have the capability to transfer me to the local station so I had to store the number on my phone and when I tried to call them it just kept ringing. To say the least I was not impressed with the system here in London. I called Emergency services again and they adviced us to go to another station. When we got there they just took our details down. Doubt anything will be done about it. Poor Ronny was freezing on the highway on the way home. He didnt have a hood on his coat like me so the wind was hitting him in the head. I was feeling a bit down but very shortly after that he was making me laugh again. I love my husband. He's so good for me. Im usually melodramatic about things but he can usually manage to calm me down and not take things to heart. I need that. I love him so much.

Thingie

2006-04-07T13:12:00.000-04:00

I got this from Jackies Blog and thought it was different and cute. Came home early from work with a migraine so just passing the time till the bookstudy:

Q: WHOS THE 4TH PERSON ON YOUR RECEIVED CALL LIST? Belinda

Q: WHATS YOUR MAIN RINGTONE ON YOUR PHONE? Preciousa Puerto Rico-Marc Anthony

Q: WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT MIDNIGHT LAST NIGHT? sleeping

Q: WHAT DID THE LAST TEXT MESSAGE ON YOUR CELL PHONE SAY? from gail saying she couldnt meet me tomorrow. she was sick.

Q: WHOS BED DID YOU SLEEP IN LAST NIGHT? my own

Q: WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? black long sleeves

Q: WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR UNDIES RIGHT NOW? VS with stripes

Q: MOST RECENT MOVIE THAT YOU WATCHED? What About Bob?

Q: NAME 3 THINGS THAT YOU HAVE ON YOU AT ALL TIMES? my cell phone, wedding rings, wallet.

Q: WHAT'S THE COLOR OF YOUR BEDSHEETS?cream (boring I know)

Q: HOW MUCH CASH DO YOU HAVE ON YOU RIGHT NOW? 20 pounds

Q: What is your favorite part of the chicken?: Breast

Q:What's your favorite town/city? New York, Falkenburg, Sweden and Miami in that order

Q: I can't wait to (til)...? we go to Budapest at the end of May!

Q: When was the last time you saw your mom? This last Wednesday right before she left for the airport. :(

Q: When was the last time you saw your dad? same

Q: When was the last time you talked to him? last night

Q: Who got you to join myspace? cant remember

Q: What did you have for dinner LAST NIGHT? went out to a BEAUTIFUL Indian restaurant in town

Q: How long have you been at your current job? 6 months

Q: Is Tom on your friends list? who is that???

Q: Look to your left. What's there? my lounge windows looking onto the street

Q: What/who is the last thing/person you spent over $50 on? probably Ronny

Q: Who's your favorite villain? I don't have one

Q: Whats the last piece of clothing you borrowed from someone? cant recall, none of my friends are my size LOL

Q: What website(s) do you visit the most during the day? Amazon or Ebay

Q: Do you have an air freshener in your car? nope because I dont have a car

Q: Do you have plants in your room? nope but one in the kitchen

Q: Does anything hurt on your body right now? yeah my neck is really bad

Q: What city was your last taxicab ride in? London (here where I live)

Q: Do you own a picture phone? yeah of course.

Mom & Dad

2006-04-05T10:04:00.000-04:00

I have been debating whether I should keep this blog up being that I neglect it so much but I dont think I can since I have had it for so long now. Maybe I should just be more diligent. =)
Anyway, my parents visit came and went. They left this morning at 7am and I tried really hard to hold in the tears but once they left Ronny held me as I cried. I did a lot better than I thought I would in responding to their leaving. I was so worried I would be a complete mess and fall back into depression but so far Im ok. Im trying to stay positive about it. One of my good friends emailed me and after I told him I was depressed that they were leaving he told me to look at it this way "You had a good amount of time with them and got to do amazing things you would never have been able to do back home." So that is how I am trying to look at it. I have some fantastic memories and I really look forward to when they visit us in Spain.

We had such a great time in Scotland. What a beautiful country! We stayed at a self-catering cottage about a 20 min drive from Edinburgh. BEAUTIFUL area. It was nice cause we had the cottage to ourselves and there were horses in front of the house whenever we looked outside. We went out and fed them while my dad filmed us. We went to Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle (my fave!) and a few other places including the smallest distillery in Scotland where the only place you can buy their whiskey is there! Its run by three men and all handmade. I dont like whiskey but it was VERY nice!! It was just a great experience with my parents. The countryside was beautiful dispite the bad weather. The mountaintops capped with snow. I cant wait to go back. The people are SO friendly as well and so knowledgable about their history.

Cool thing I just found out. Well kinda. My dad has a cousin who lives out here in Suffolk which is about an hour and a half away by car. He is 2 years younger than my dad and I have only met him once. Well my dad hasnt seen him in a long time and didnt have his number. So being the internet Google freak that I am I found his number online (he is not a witness and lives on a military base although retired) and we called him. He was SO happy to hear from us. Especially to find out that Ronny and I live in London. Well he came down literally the next day and he is so sweet! I remember when I met him I thought he was really nice and his wife (who is English) is really really sweet as well. He definitely has not lost his southerness (he is from NC like my dad) and he had this HUGE pickup truck which made me laugh cause the cars here are so small in comparision. Anyways, he stayed the night with us and then drove my parents back to his place for a visit and they stayed the night. I couldnt go as I had school but we have been keeping in touch through SMS and I am THRILLED I have family here!!! It makes such a difference! We are already planning when to meet up again. Cant wait.

My schooling is going well. I passed my Anatomy exam!!!! Got my result when I came home from Scotland. I am really happy about that since two girls in my class failed and I thought I was going to as well but I did pretty good. Massage is going well. We are finally starting our case studies which makes me nervous but Im also excited about as I need to get used to massaging strangers and in a venue other than school. So contacted one lady already who lives nearby and can drive over to my house for the hour. I need to do 5 people 4 times each which is a total of 20 treatments before 12th of June so I have a bit of time. Will need to plan carefully though.

Anyways, I will TRY to come back and talk more about things. I was very much depressed before my parents came. Dont know really what it was but it was getting progressively worse. I feel better now and hope it lasts. Hope you are all well. Love you guys!

2006-02-10T07:35:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I start massage!!!!! SO excited about it. This last Monday was my anatomy exam. I was studying like crazy for weeks and I hope I passed but not sure and not going to find out for another 2 months or so. (I know, they are SO slow!!!) I was so stressed with the exam that I havent even been able to really get excited about massage but its hit me today. I finally got my table the other day and SO happy about that. I absolutely love it. I didn't buy the one from the school cause honestly I didnt like it so I found a company online that sells them and will refund completely if you arent happy and that is important and I didnt one that would squeak obviously. The table is really really nice and sturdy and has a few accessories and came with a cool cover and case. I spent an extra 100 pounds but it was worth it as I wont have to upgrade for a very long time. Also cause I spent so much they sent me these REALLY cute little baby plants in keyrings. They are really hard to explain but they are REALLY tiny and you water them every four weeks and in 6 months you can transfer it to a pot. They are ADORABLE!!! I got 5 different ones and gave them around my office and the girls love them. I want to order more. They are such a cool idea. I have a little cactus thats like the size of my pinky nail and its got these cute little hairs all over it that I am guessing will harden into needles one day. Anyways, they are cute and we all have ours on our desks.
Back to massage, so I got my uniform and all my supplies (there were loads of things to get!!) and spent my entire paycheck in one week!!! UGH! But it was worth it and I can write off my equipment on my taxes.
My parents are coming in five weeks! SOOO excited about that. Feels like yesterday I was counting down till Kathy got here and now its been a month since she left! But its going to be SO special having my parents here in MY home. =) And we are going to Ireland which I am trying to sort out. Trying to find them a good deal where they can go to Rome for a few days as well as they are really keen to do that.
Anyways, hope you are all good. Just thought I would share my joy. =)

update

2006-01-28T09:58:00.000-05:00

I needed to update this before I lost the desire to. I doubt anyone really reads this anymore with my often periods of absence. Im sorry about that. Been so insanely busy. My nieces visit came and went and we had an absolute blast. Went all over London and then Sweden to visit my in-laws. It was so nice. REALLY hated it when Kathy left. It was hard. I really do miss her but we are keeping in touch through email and on the phone. After she left I had an insanely busy week at work with a huge exhibtion our company was apart of. I guess a mix of the running around in freezing London and Sweden and then working non stop probably lowered my immune system because I got the flu a week later. I went to the doctor to find out what was wrong with me and he said I had the flu as well as a nasal polyp but turns out (went to the ENT specialist this week) that I didnt have a polyp just very bad allergies and so Ive been put on nasal steroids which is nothing more than a spray I have to use every night before I go to bed. Seems to be working so far so here is hoping.
My friends, Tom and Tabitha got married the week I had the flu. I drugged myself up big time and went out there to see it. Totally cried and everything. It was so beautiful and just really really happy for them. They are still on their honeymoon in Scotland but will be back soon.
We changed congregations as once we moved to this flat it out KH was too far but we REALLY love our new cong. They are amazing. Very small, only about 75 publishers so need the help but very very warm. We have our school on Tues and our bookstudy on Friday night which will take some getting used to but the cool thing is that the bookstudy is down the street from us. We were invited to a family's house this evening for dinner so looking forward to that.
Only two more months before my parents are here and then in April we are going to sweden again. In May/June we are going to Turkey to buy a villa that we want to rent out. The property there is SOOO cheap and its absolutely beautiful out there! Looking forward to it. We had a talk the other day and decided we were going to try and move to Spain in the spring of 07 so lots of work to do with saving up and getting things going.
My Anatomy and Physiology exam is in a week. Been studying like crazy. Hope I get a good mark.
Anyways, gotta run but will try and post again sometime this week. Hope you are all well. Kisses!

Fun, Fun.

2005-12-22T07:28:00.000-05:00

Well we are in a our new flat. I really love it!!!! Its great. SO much more room then the last place. It like a palace! We bought a new mattress as well as we were sleeping on this horrible old lumpy thing that came with the studio but now we have a great bed. We have a dishwasher (yay!) and a washer/dryer and a built in fridge. It’s a nice kitchen. We have a guest bedroom as well which I love as my niece is arriving on Sunday! CANNOT wait. It will be nice to be off for two weeks AND show my niece around London AND go to Sweden with her and Ronny. Really happy about it. I have been really exhausted with the move and school and a new job but now ill have time to chill and have a good time. Just in time for things to go back to their crazy busy self when my two weeks are over. My company is involved in this huge educational show (the biggest one every year) and we won last year so hoping we get it this year. But we have that right when I get back. Have a wedding to go to at the end of Jan with school the weekend before. Plus have my Anatomny and Phys exam on Feb 6th and going to Denmark that same week. Following weekend I start massage class and then prepare myself for my parents visit in March. So lots going on!!!!
Last weekend I had a bridal shower at my house and it turned out really well. Had soooo much food and wine and the girls really liked our flat. =) One of the sisters showed me we have a lavender bush in our front garden as well as hydrangea and a rose bush! So that’s cool. Will be very nice in the spring. But it was so nice to entertain. Havent really been able to do that since Ive gotten married. I was nervous but it went off really well.
Oh! Another cool thing: I found this awesome archaeological dig where you can volunteer! I LOVE archaeology and it would be a dream for me to be involved so I am going to sign up for a week. It’s a beautiful castle near Scotland where you get to dig and camp out for the week. I told Ronny and he was into it. So here is hoping!That’s about it for now. Talk soon! *Hugs*

Boredom

2005-11-25T06:19:00.000-05:00

Boredom

CURRENT

current mood: a bit bored hence why I am doing this thing.
current music: Watching TV
current clothing: PJ's
current hair: super messy and a bit scary
current food: I just had some toast
current drink: Coffee
current taste: Coffee
current smell: warm bed smell. lol
current worry: I need to pick up a treadmill today and have no where to put it in our little studio.
current annoyance: need to do my homework for tomorrow but delaying
current hate: nothing really
current love: Ronny forever and always
current obsession: grabbing things off Freecycle (a group in London where people just give things away)
current wish: Wanna lose my weight FINALLY. Hench the treadmill dilemma.
current longing: check above
current plans for tonite: Maybe a movie, maybe a drive around London.
current thing you should be doing: Studying and homework which consists of drawing and labeling the muscles of the leg. *blah* lol JK
current regret: None.....mmmm thats a good feeling
current lyric stuck in head: I had one this morning but forgot it.
current book: Memoirs of a Geisha for the 4th time. (Movie is coming out soon!!!!)
current favorite book: above
current TV show your watching: some rubbish. lol dont know what it is.
current favorite band: Keane for sure.
current favorite movie: Napoleon Dynamite!
current person your talking to/IM: not on any messengers....this thing is turning out boring isnt it. lol
current avoidance: Cleaning. *sigh*
current jewlry: my wedding band and engagement ring.
current favorite word: Sorted (its a London thing) ; )

LAST

last movie watched: Master and Commander at home.
last tv show watched: Im not really paying attention to the TV at the moment but the show I remember watching last is a documentary about Siamese twins last night.
last cd listened to: Phantom of the Opera soundtrack. Ronny had it playing when I got home last night.
last thing eaten: Toast
last thing you drank: Coffee
last item you bought: Steamed milk with a hazelnut shot last night at Starbucks
last store you went to: Starbucks
last person talked to: Ronny
last thing you said: I love you. Talk to you later.
last ice cream eaten: Haagen Daz Baileys. *yum*
last soda drank: Coke
last person you called: Ronny
last person that called you: Ronny
last time showered: Last night
last shoes worn: My Airwalk boots.
last website visited: someone's blog or something.
last cry: cant remember but couldnt have been too long ago. Oh yeah! After watching A.I.

FIRST

first memory: Being pushed in my stroller by my mom and kicking the bit in the front where your legs go through and breaking it. I think I was 2.
first best friend: Vanessa
first boyfriend/girlfriend: probably Isaiah. I was 8. =)
first breakup: with Eric when I was 19.
first job: working for a witness couple in my congregation which was making mailbox metal labels
first self purchased item: probably jewelry
first funeral: wow I have been to so many I honestly cant remember.
first love: Kevin
first credit card: ugh. when i was 20
first time on a plane: when i was 11
first time out of the country: when i was 15 to Canada for a wedding, 19 when i went to Mexico and then 22 when I went to London and Sweden
first detention: when i was 10 for running in the hall way. =)
first fight: with my sister, Rachel.
first enemy: Satan

check out my posts below!

Coldplay

2005-11-23T10:10:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe I forgot to tell you guy about this.
Ok well the other day Ronny came home from work telling me he had a surprise for me. He tells me that on one of his calls for the day he went to this guys house to fix his washing machine and the guy had all these gold records on the wall that said Coldplay. So Ronny says to the guy "Whats up the records? Are you a member of Coldplay because if you are, I wouldnt be able to tell" (he doesnt know what most celebrities look like) and the guy said he worked with Coldplay. So to make a long story short, Ronny fixed his machine and said it would be 60 pounds but because he knew I love Coldplay he told the guy he wouldnt charge him if he got me something signed by them. So what comes in the post yesterday? TWO signed pictures of Coldplay!!!!!! I was thrilled!!! I LOVE my husband! He is the best. So I am framing them and putting them in our hallway. =)
Other cool pluses....

*Only 10 more days until we move!
*Bought Kathy's ticket and she will be arriving in London on the 25th for 2 weeks!!!

Check out my post below as well for more updates.

Busy, busy, busy!

2005-11-21T05:15:00.000-05:00

So many things going on in the next few months. Right now I am working on getting my niece, Kathy, over here for Christmas. I will be buying her ticket today and Im really excited about her coming to visit. She is 15 and has never been outside of America. She will be here for two weeks and one of the weekends she is here, all three of us are flying out to Sweden to see Ronny's family. As you can imagine she is really excited about it. So thats in the works.
I am also starting piano lessons on Friday. I know, I know. Im 25 and what would possess me to start now? I have always wanted to learn to play the piano and the other day I saw an ad in a news agent and thought "Why not!?" so I will be doing half an hour each week but my mom is sending me my keyboard so hopefully will be practicing more than that.
My schooling is going well. My exam is in February but not worried about it. A little nervous but not worried. We go to Denmark for 3 days right after my exam. Ronny's family has rented out a huge house in Denmark (would need to be big with 7 siblings and their families!) for a week so we are meeting them out there.
Next weekend (the 3rd) we move out to our new flat. SO excited about that. It has been absolutely freezing lately and we dont have any heat in this place. Just a small heater that doesnt do a thing so Im really looking forward to getting out of here. Plus there is just NO room here and its enough to drive me mad.
I went on my first IKEA shopping visit this weekend. I know thats weird, Ive never been to an IKEA. But it was nice. My poor husband was thrilled to see Swedish words and we had meatballs in the restaurant and brought home a ton of Swedish candy and soda. He said he got his "fix". =)
Looking forward to buying things for the flat, especially since the only furniture we have is a bed (no mattress yet) a bedside table and a computer desk (no chair). This studio we are in now is "furnished" if you want to call it that so we need to pick up a few things for the new place.
Anyways, Im home sick today so Im heading back to bed. Love you guys! Thanks for all the lovely comments!

Newness

2005-11-03T08:20:00.000-05:00

Well I got a new job. Been here for about two weeks and I can honestly say….I love it! Its great. The people I work with are wonderful. No stress or pressure. It makes such a huge difference. The company itself is amazing. The product is amazing. I am just generally happy with everything. I get every Friday off which is wonderful and I have Flexihours which means I need to be into work no later than 10am and leave no earlier than 4:20pm. As long as we do our 7.5 hours a day we can pretty much come and go as we please. And the work I do is very different. I am the Sales Support Executive for the West region of England. It’s a very fun job. I went to my first sales meeting in Bristol (about 2 hour train ride) on Tuesday and that was very fun! Anyways, so my job is definitely working out.

Another new thing is that we are moving out at the end of this month so I will be spending a lot of time looking for new flats tomorrow. Hopefully a two bedroom.

I have almost 2 weeks off at the end of December and trying to figure out what to do with the time! We really want to go away but trying to get out during Christmas is a nightmare. So expensive! So we’ll see. We are going to visit Ronny’s family in Denmark (his sister rented a beautiful huge house for the family for a week) in February and then my parents are here in March so need to make sure I use my vacation time wisely.
Anyways, that is about it. See you guys later!

My parents are coming!

2005-10-21T06:21:00.000-04:00

Right before we left for the meeting last night, my mom called to tell me my dad bought tickets for them to come visit us in March! I cannot tell you how excited that made me. Its going to be absolutely amazing to show my parents around London. They have never been to Europe before or really even out of America (I dont think Canada and Mexico count as much). So its going to be so much to show them around my new home. And to have them stay in our flat will be a cool but strange experience. I mean my parents have never been in the situation where they would come to MY house. Its funny because I was just starting to feel better about being here. Starting to like it here again. Getting excited about throwing a surprise wedding shower for a friend here. And now with my parents coming, that just makes it a billion times easier. I work much better when I have something to look forward to, even if it is 5 months away. It just gives me more time to fix up our new flat (when we move out next month) and lose the 20lbs I have wanted to lose all year. I mean I want to lose much more but that is a good realistic goal as I will be very busy for the next few months. Anyways, SO excited they are coming!!
Btw, I wrote another much longer 'update' post beneath this one that will explain a lot of what has been going on. Talk laters!

Listening to: 'How Far is Heaven' by Los Lonely Boys

So many new things...

2005-10-19T08:25:00.000-04:00

I know I have been absolute crap at updating for the past month. I go through these strange stages where I just don't like blogging and that usually means I need to change the layout, which I am in the process of doing. I am having a bit of a hard time finding something that suits this particular time in my life. Mmmm.
Well as usual after a hiatus quite a few things have happened:

1. My trip to NY came and went. It was amazing and I had a blast. I cried when I got back home but soon got back into the swing of things and am trying to love London as I dont want my own negativity to complicate living here. I do miss my family and my culture but my trip made me realize that I CAN go back home when I want so I dont feel so isolated out here anymore. I am looking forward to going back again, though. I didnt realize how much I love NY. It will always be my home. But while Im here, I need to get the most out of it I can. Oh yes, our first wedding anniversary came and went and to say the least it was a wonderful day. Looking forward to the next one!

2. I started school for massage therapy. It was quite a crazy start. The first weekend I got back from America (I arrived back into London on Thrusday) I had to start school. As if depression from leaving home and jetlag and nervousness over my first day of school weren't enough, we got into an accident on the way there. Ah well. It wasn't anything major. I really did enjoy school though. The girls are great (a class of about 25) and my teacher is the nicest, most patient man. I was a bit overwhelmed with having to do mitosis and meiosis and a bunch of other medical things right away but I dove right in and had a blast. Cant wait for the next weekend.

3. I got a new job.In fact I was just offered the position on Monday. Its for the Sales Support Administrator for a fantastic company called Espresso Education which I am really excited about working for. The people sound really great. Quite a few Americans and a very relaxed atmosphere. I got to wear jeans to work!! Woohoo! Silly I know to be excited about that but I am so sick of wearing slacks to work everyday. I will not go to work looking like a bum but it will be nice to be in comfortable clothes. Also, the time is flexible. They dont really care too much when you come in or leave as long as you make your eight hours a day and thats awesome. The best part is that I will be getting the same pay as I got at my last job for four days instead of five!!! I am working four days so that Ill have a day to rest when I have school but also to up my service hours. So my last job was willing to give me the four days but wanted to cut off 3,000 a year. This job is giving me the same money for less work! Im really happy about that. We are moving into a new flat next month and I was worried about Ronny having to carry the financial responsibilites as he is just done with training at his job. This job offer is such a blessing from Jehovah. Im really excited about it.

Well that is it for now. Going to hunt for the new layout. Hope you are all well! Miss you guys!

Last Day!

2005-09-09T05:13:00.000-04:00

Its my last day at work!!! Woohoo! So excited! Well actually I do have half a day more to train my replacement for a bit. They wanted me to come in Tuesday and Wednesday as well but with interviews and getting ready for my trip and everything it would be too much. So much is going on right now its crazy. I dont think I wrote about this before (sorry if I repeat myself) but the lady downstairs from us moved out of her flat. Its a one bedroom. Before she left I asked her if someone was taking it over and she said she didnt think so, so we called the agency in charge of the flat and to make a long story short they are willing to switch so we can take the 1bedroom flat! We would be in the same building which is awesome for us as we didnt really want to move out of the area, just really needed something bigger. I have seen the flat and totally love it! So really excited about that. Also....

Only one week to go until I fly to NYC!

I went out and bought a bunch of gifts for my friends and family yesterday and that was super fun. I just cant wait to give them to everyone! We are going to have such a blast. I ordered Ronny's violin (our anniversay is in another week and a few days) and I booked a hotel in the city for our anniversary night just as a little treat. The hotel is GORGEOUS! Its The Carlton on Madison Avenue. We only have it for one night but that will be enough. Itwill be a nice experience. =)
Sorry for the delay in posting but Ronny and I were in a car accident about a week ago. We were on the highway in traffic when a car hit us from behind. There was no major damage to our truck but the other guy couldnt drive his car after that. I went to the hospital to check my back and neck as I hit the seat pretty hard but the doctor said I would be fine. Just some muscle pain for a few days. So we are good now though. =)
Gotta run. Later!

Two interviews!

2005-08-25T10:24:00.000-04:00

Only 3 more weeks left till I'm home in NYC!!

Also some other goods news: I have two job interviews next week!!! Both are for pharmaceutical companies near where I live. One is for an Office Co-ordinator and the other is for an Admin Assistant. They both would allow me to work four days per week which I am thrilled about! So this weekend I am going shopping for a new interview outfit. Bank Holiday weekend too so they should have some good sales. So excited about it!

Thats about all the news I have for now. This last weekend was nice. We went over to a couple's house in my congregation and had a meal. They are really nice and since we moved in have looked after us. They are such a blessing.

Oh! Another cool thing is that Jane Seymour walked into my reception today! She was seeing someone about getting an earpiece fitted. I work on a very prestigous medical street in London so we see tons of celebs but most I dont know so it was so cool to see Jane. And she looks stunning for her age! Everyone here was in a flutter.

Anyways, hope you guys are well. Talk later!

Possible new job.

2005-08-16T06:54:00.000-04:00

Well, the job hunt is going well already. I have a possible interview coming up. I decided not to wait until I got back from NY in October but wanted to start looking already. So I searched on Google for Harrow based companys (the area where I live) and found a pharmaceutical company nearby so I sent them my resume and a cover letter telling them what I am looking for and they called me back! I talked to the CFO (the person who called me) yesterday and he seemed very impressed and said when the COO (the person really handling the recruitment) came back this week they would take it forward and call me again. So here is hoping! It would be GREAT if the first company that calls me would give me a job. I could cut out all the stress of searching.
Other than that not much else is new. Looking forward to my last day of work here. Only 3 and half more weeks. Looking forward to buying Ronny's anniversary gift (a violin) when I get paid next week. Also, looking to book a hotel room in the city for the night of our anniversary. I really cant wait to go home. Only one more month to go!
*Jackie* Email me and we will figure out something. I have friends coming up from NC the week Ronny is there so we need to figure out when we can meet up. But we really want to see you guys so hopefully it will work out!

Convention.

2005-08-11T11:20:00.000-04:00

Sorry its been a few days since I posted. We had our convention this weekend and it was absolutely wonderful. I actually got some sort of stomach bug and missed Friday =( but Saturday and Sunday were great. I loved the drama!!! I think our peak attendance was about 22,000 with about 300 Russian brothers and sisters. It was held at the Twickenham rugby stadium here in London. Big outdoor venue. Made me remember our conventions at Yankee Stadium when I was a kid. Got a little nostalgic when I first got there and a little misty eyed. First time I was ever at a convention without my family. But I was able to buckle down and enjoy it. In case there are some of you who havent gone yet I wont give too much away. ;)

I am soooo excited about my trip to NY. My best friend, Janice, is coming up with from North Carolina with her hubby, Jeremy, for a week so we will get to see each other. I am absolutely thrilled about that since I havent seen her since MY wedding almost a year ago and before that I hadnt seen her since HER wedding a year before that! But its amazing because when we get together its like we were never apart. We have been friends for 15 years now and counting. So happy about seeing her again.

I am contemplating joining Weight Watchers. I know it has been successful for a few of my friends. Honestly it has never appealed to me. I am worried it will be too restrictive with the counting of points and everything. What do you guys think? They have this new program you can access online and that is basically why I want to try it. Let me know.

Gotta run but catch you guys later.

NYC!!!

2005-08-03T11:39:00.000-04:00

Its official!!! I am going back home to NYC!!!!!! September 17th I am flying out with Ronny to NY for 3 weeks. Unfortunately due to the fact Ronny needs to be back home at a certain time for training he will only be able to stay for a week but I will stay for 2 extra afterwards. I cannot tell you how excited and happy I am about it! I miss my family and friends SO much. Last night, I was thinking about when I finally get to see my mom again and I started crying. I am going to be really overwhelmed. I think I will cry.....I think we will both cry. I really look forward to it and cant believe I am finally going home. Mich and Jackie, we so need to meet up!!! I will be there from the 17th to Oct 6th. Let me know if you want to do something.
We are spending our 1st wedding anniversary there. I cant wait! I will tell you guys what I am getting Ronny later just in case he still reads my site. Talk later!

3 Things

2005-07-27T07:28:00.000-04:00

Got this from Bev's blog:

1. List 3 things on your desk:
A picture of a polar bear hugging an ice cube (out of our local paper)..its been hot!
A bottle of Volvic water.
My mug from Ronny (that reads "Her Ladyship") with cold coffee from this morning.

2. List 3 things you are wearing:
Gray pants
Flat ballerina style shoes
Amber ring

3. List the last 3 things you ate :
A burrito
Cheerios
Some Indian food (last night)

4. List the last 3 people you touched:
My husband. He's the only one really.

5. List 3 things you’d love to own:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The British Museum
A castle in England or Scotland somewhere

Just a bit about this week: I finally did it! I quit my job! Yesterday before my lunch period ended I decided to have a quick word with my manager. I sat her down and explained that this was a decision I had made over much thought. She wasnt thrilled but she understood and thankfully has not given me a hard time. I felt enormous relief after that and it was easier coming to work today. Officially my last should be the 9th of September but we'll see. I am a little nervous about looking for a new job but dont think Ill have much trouble. So excited about it!
Next week is the convention....woohoo! Cant wait. This weekend Ronny and I are going to a medieval festival in Berkley Castle which we are really excited about. Hope the weather holds up though.

Innocent man

2005-07-25T04:36:00.000-04:00

I feel truly horrible for the family of the man that was shot in Stockwell station last Friday. It has been let known that he had nothing to do with the bombings. He was from Brazil working as an electrician in this country to help his family financially back home. I told Ronny yesterday, I dont know which is worse....to lose your son and know he was guilty of killing innocent people or for your son to be killed for no reason. The police are standing by their "shoot to kill" attitude and I can understand it to a degree but at the same time they cannot be so negligent in seeking out the proper and guilty persons involved. What a sad world we live in. This morning was especially hard on the train. Its getting worse and worse. I feel true panic. I don't know how much more I will be able to take. I am probably putting in my resignation this week and will search for work near my home. I wont stop my life but I will avoid danger if I can. And taking the trains is just not safe at this point. I doubt it will get any better.

Lenny Kravitz

2005-07-23T10:24:00.000-04:00

I had a really amazing time this last Thursday despite the bombing attempts. I went to see Lenny Kravitz in concert! A doctor in my building had spare tickets and I went with Ronny and another co-worker. We had a blast!
It was overshadowed by the next day when they shot a man dead in a tube station after police told him to halt and he didnt. They are saying he is directly linked with the bombings on the 7th. They have arrested 3 men (I believe) but released two. I hope they find these people. I mean I know things will not get better in this system but when something you take everday day as mundane as the train is affected, its hard to deal with. I didnt go to work on Friday and today was terrified taking the train into the city. Ronny had a meeting to go to and instead of worrying about him all day I decided to come in with him. However, I had a hard time not panicing when we went underground and the only thing stopping me from having a panic attack was praying. I didnt think it would affect me this much. I hope I get better with dealing with it cause its not going to go away. I am getting work closer to home. Dont think I can do the trains anymore.

London bombings

2005-07-08T09:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was very shocking and surreal. I was one of the people who walked out of Manhattan on 911 and even though London is a major city I just wasnt expecting something like that to happen! One of the stations that was bombed was one I go through everday. I missed the bombing by half an hour so to say the least I am happy but a bit shaken. So far we hear 3 bombs on the underground and one bus explosion. The picture of the bus is horrible. Ripped open like a sardine can. You can get a lot of info from www.bbc.co.uk. They are definitely treating this as a terrorist attack. We were told to stay in our buildings and not go out as that was the safest place which was weird for me because on 911 the worst place to be was in a building! Things are slowly getting back to normal. The bus service and most of tube is up and running but I stayed home from work due to flashbacks and nightmares all night. I wanted today to rest and try to get over my anxiety. I am not eager to jump back on the train. Ronny drove into the city last night and picked me up in his company truck. Thousands of people walked home which for me would have been near to impossible as I live so far outside of the city. Our handyman went to one of the stations to head home to Brighton (a 2 hour drive) and it was so packed they had to close it and he had to walk back to the office which was not closeby. He is 64 and has asthma and he walked for 3 hours so we were worried about him. He said he tried to catch a taxi to Gatwick airport and they tried to charge him £140!!! My manager and receptionist where happy as we gave them a ride home. Not easy as two of us sat in the back of the truck which doesnt have seats and is used to transport equipment but we all got home safe and they were grateful to say the least. It was a good opportunity to witness as well. I was witnessing to the receptionist the whole ride to her house. I havent heard about any of our brothers being involved or effected. There arent too many in my congregation that work in the city. An elder from my cong called me right away to make sure me and Ronny were ok which felt good and my email box was flooded. I called my mom who was very relieved and she said her phone was ringing off the hook with people worried about Ronny and I. I want to thank everyone very much for their support. We know these things are going to continue to happen around the world. Having such an amazing spiritual famiy really helps. We have our convention next month and I doubt anything will happen then but Ill keep you all informed.

So hot!

2005-06-23T12:15:00.000-04:00

I want to thank you guys for taking the time to encourage me. I know I say this time and again but you are all a huge comfort to me. Please dont think I dont read your comments cause I do.

Anyways, it is HOT out here. This is my first un-American summer without air conditioning and although I am doing MUCH better than I thought I would (had REAL scares about it. Dont do well in the heat) it still stinks. We are fortunate cause we live in a third story flat so we get a decent breeze but we have to keep the big window facing the major street open to feel it and its so noisy. *sigh* Give me fall anyday! I much more prefer cool not cold weather. The other day it was so hot the only way I could fall asleep was by putting on a soaking wet T-shirt which I know isnt healthy but it helped me sleep and I didnt feel any effects the day after. I wont be doing it everynight, just when it isnt bearable.

Well, im off for home. Ronny is picking me up. Talk to you guys later. Stay cool! ;)

Bored and Lonely

2005-06-14T11:31:00.000-04:00

I don't know why but today I feel really lonely and bored. Weird combination but not a nice one. I have felt this way for the past two days really. I feel restless, like I want to do something but can't quite put my finger on what. I think it's probably the fact that things have slowed down and although it sounds weird I am a bit like "What do I do now?". I have no real things stressing me out which to be frank is new to me. I think I need a bit of a project.
I feel lonely though. I don't have any friends here. There are those I talk to at the meetings and I get along really well with but for someone who is normally so outgoing and quick to make friends there are none I hang out with. I don't know if a lack of confidence with the new move and all. I just really miss home sometimes. I dream about my family and friends. The other day I was cleaning the kitchen and a salsa song came on through the suffle mode on our laptop and I felt like crying, it reminded me so much of my family. I had to bite back tears. Its hard with no family, no friends and no one that is of my culture. In the whole of the UK there are only 250,000 Latinos. I miss my culture so much. The food, the music. And NY is obviously not Puerto Rico but it is its own culture. Im going to a Latin Festival on the 1st of July I am REALLY looking forward to. I will try to invite some from our congregation to go with us.
Don't get me wrong. It's not all bad. We went to a BBQ this weekend and had a lovely time. Its just a bit hard at times. I miss you guys. Please stay in touch with me.

Sorry

2005-06-13T11:08:00.000-04:00

Hey guys,
Sorry I was gone for so long. I know I don't update often. I don't get much time here at work. We have periods here where we are totally swamped and then times when there is nothing to do. =) Today is super slow so I finally get a chance to catch up with you guys.
We are doing really great. Ronny is doing really good at his new job. He leaves when I do in the morning and gets home at 2pm usually which I'm super jealous about. I am currently thinking about getting part time work. I have been searching online and found out that I can do the same kind of work and get the same pay if not better with less hours. I really want to start pioneering and with my current hours it would be extremely difficult. I leave the house at 7 and get home at 7 and then there is the meetings. So I am thinking in August I will put in my resignation and get something else. I am starting school for massage therapy in October and full time work and school on the weekends will be very hard as well. So I will be praying about that!
We have been so blessed, we really love our new place and Ronny's job has given him a little truck we can use for personal reasons as long as we pay the gas. So a few weeks ago we went to Cornwall which is in SW England. It was stunning! Rolling hills dotted with white fluffy sheep. And we had great weather. We stayed at a little B&B and had a lovely time. Stuffed ourselves on cream tea and cornish pasties. Visited two castles, an estate house and Stonehenge in two days. It was really nice to get out of the city and see a bit of our new home. For some strange reason though I feel a bit itchy to move on. I guess I'm getting a bit bored. Just when we are starting to settle! But we wont go anywhere for a while yet. At least not for another year and a half. I want to get all my schooling out of the way.
Another bit of news: I cut my hair. It was half way down my back and now I cant even make a ponytail!!! But I have gotten so many compliments for it. I just dont think long hair suits me. And its getting too hot for all that hair! I am really glad I cut it.
Anyways, gotta run but let me know what is going on in your world. Sending lots of love!

Good news!

2005-05-10T09:04:00.000-04:00

Wow do I have great news. Two bits of news in fact!

1. We moved into that studio and absolutely love it! I can lay in bed and watch the clouds go by...literally and watch the sunset every morning. Its quiet and we have all the privacy we could want.

2. Ronny found a job! He will be working with BSH!!! Im soooooooo happy about it. He went on the interview a week ago and they called him and offered him the job yesterday. Im on the moon im so excited/happy/relieved. Better yet they are giving him a company car he can use for personal use, a mobile phone and a laptop! I say its not fair! lol But it just really seems like things are going our way and we are so happy.

That is about it for now. Sorry to keep this short but my lunch break is almost up. I will post pics of the studio as soon as I get some! Love you guys!

2005-05-01T08:53:00.000-04:00

Back again.....I have stop and say a BIG thank you for you guys writing comments. You dont know how much they mean to me that you still stop by to see how we are. Love you guys so much!

We are still good. Few things different going on. We are still in a room but have found a studio we absolutely love. Its in a gorgeous area with lots of trees and quaint shops and the train station is a block away. Its small but perfect for us. Clean and modern with sky lights and a lovely view. We viewed it yesterday and really love it so we are calling the agency on Tuesday to find out where we start. We barely have the money for the deposit but we'll get through. Orginally we were going to go to NY at then end of May but we talked about it and decided it was more important that we move out and have our own place. Its been stressful living with worldly people. Plus we really need our privacy. So if we get the studio, I will be posting pics to show you guys.

Also we have been hearing that Paris is really hard to live in. Takes years to get into the system and we dont want to go through all that just for a year or two so now we are looking at Spain. Its look SOOOOO nice and its really popular with Britons here. Everyone seems to be moving there. We hear Madrid and Barcelona are really nice. So we will probably visit a few times before we decide. It will be so much easier for me to learn Spanish too! Next month I am taking a day off for a short break to Brussels. It looks so nice and they have some great deals for 2 night trips on the Eurostar. I cant wait!

Things are slowly but surely getting better. Sometimes I sit and cry my heart out I miss my family so much but this whole experience has made me so strong, I hardly recognize myself. Its a good thing. I really look forward to our next big adventure. Im off now. We are going to watch Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It just came out. Are they showing it in America?? Love you guys to bits. Give me a shout!

Paris

2005-04-13T08:27:00.000-04:00

I know you guys will probably think we are completely insane but this weekend after we got home from the Special Talk, Ronny and I sat down and talked about what we plan on doing for the next few years. London was kind of "Well lets go and see what happens". Now that we have been here for 3 months we need to really sort out what we plan on doing. So, I am booking massage therapy classes this October and by May I should I have my diploma. Ronny is looking into his electrical qualification and we have decided that by next summer we will move to Paris. We figure we are both young and we would love to see a bit of the world. We love our congregation here so we would really like to stay for another year but we dont really see ourselves settling here. So as of right now its Paris next summer for a year or two and then Spain for another year and then either Italy for a year or we go to America to settle. We want to wait till the children are old enough to come visit us in America before we settle down. So hope you dont think we are nuts but we are really looking forward to this. It will have its difficulties as with everything but I think now I have a better idea of what to expect, what to work on, etc. We are going to take French courses this fall for 15 weeks and will get as much organized and planned before the move as possible. What do you all think?

hello again!

2005-04-05T08:29:00.000-04:00

Im back again....thanks for the comments guys. Our Memorial went REALLY well. Had 150 in attendance and 50 of those were visitors. Ebony did come with us and had loads of questions afterward so we took her out for dinner and got to witness to her for a while. It was all really nice. STOMP! was AMAZING. I had such a blast and so did Ronny. The show is and hour and 40 minutes but it flew so fast! Its really amazing what people can do with just the most average of things. There was a point in the show when they just pulled things out of a garbage bag and made music with it. So cool. I would recommend it to any of you guys!
Other than those things, things are good. Ronny surprised me with a picnic this Saturday at the Embankment which is next to the River Thames. Such a lovely day. We have been getting really mixed up weather with it raining like crazy one day and then sunny the next. Fortunately its been sunny and really warm on the weekends going up to about 70 degrees. London is a really nice and fun place to live when its warm outside. We just roam the city, looking through all the nooks and crannys. I am finally regaining my love of London again and starting to feel more at home here. I am hoping to head back home for a week or two at the end of May. We are planning for it and I told my employer so hope it works out! I miss everyone and feel like I have been away for ages! I think its not just the homesickness but also the fact that I have grown SO much since I have left America. I havent had a choice really. But its a good thing. It has been insanely hard. Harder than I ever though it could be. Sweden wasnt so bad, it was easier but London is a totally different story. Its super expensive to live here and I have to budget and balance everything. But its all good cause I really feel myself grow and learn more and more about who I am. Ronny is doing well. He is doing translation in Swedish and Danish and some market research in those languages as well. He really seems to enjoy it and I am hoping to find him some translation work on his own, it pays so well. He is really interested in either getting certified as an electrician or an accountant. Accounting takes forever to do but he can take some courses and work as an assistant. I am going back to school for massage therapy as soon as I can afford it. So things are on the up and up.
Anyways, my lunch is over so I better jet but be back soon!

Stomp

2005-03-24T11:51:00.000-05:00

Guys, thanks so much for the well wishes. Does this ol heart good. *hehe*

Anyways, things are starting to run a bit smoother. Tonight is the Memorial which I am REALLY looking forward to as our landlady will be joining us and I hope to eventually start a study with her. We'll see! Also have a great 4 day weekend to look forward to starting tomorrow. I went ahead and bought tickets to see STOMP! here in London for me and Ronny on Saturday. We have been dying to see it for the longest while in NY but we figured it has to be the same show here. Looking forward to that. Mostly will just rest, shop for work clothes and of course field service.

Well you guys have a great weekend and Memorial and know that I think about you all often and love you. Ta for now!

6 Month

2005-03-18T08:56:00.000-05:00

Unbelievably tomorrow is our 6 month anniversary! I know....the time has flown! I think Ronny is taking me somewhere as a surprise. Will let you guys know where soon. Sorry for the delay in sending pics but we havent done much touring, we dont have the time but next weekend for Easter break we will and Ill post some when I can. Thanks for the comments. Its so encouraging. Miss you all SO much and love you!

Better.

2005-03-15T06:32:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am again. I will try to keep up with this more. I know I have a tendency of popping in and out but I really do want to try and keep up as people have been expressing their concerns about my hiatus.
Things here are progressively getting better. We are still as poor as church mice but getting more and more used to London life. I have never really learned how to budget or handle my income but man am I learning now! I was SO proud of myself the other day when I went grocery shopping with £20 pounds to spend and with the occasional use of a calculator spent £20.06 and had plenty of food for the week!!! So I am quite proud of that. Being that I get paid more than Ronny at the moment I am handling all most of the money and am getting our rent and bills paid. I have never had to do that before! But I think Im doing good. Sink or swim. That is my new motto. I think even though I am doing a doggy paddle, Im swimming. Everyone here tells me how they cant believe all I have gotten done since we have been here. That makes me feel good.
Besides that, not a whole lot is new. Our new cong is lovely. This weekend we went for a 3 mile hike in our local area. It was beautiful!!! Had such a nice time. There were about 25-30 people there from various congregations so it was nice to meet some new brothers and sisters. This weekend we are meeting up with a friend in a nearby cong to go to a movie which should be fun. Can you believe this Saturday is Ronny and my 6 month wedding anniversary!!! It has flown!
Oh yes, one more thing! I have decided to continue my dream of becoming a massage therapist. I have found a school near where I live in Middlesex and I could get my diploma and start working after 3 months! So I just need to save up the money first but Im definitely going to do it. Need to run but will post again soon. Love you guys!

Bad stuff

2005-03-08T12:15:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, I know it has been a ridiculously long time since I last posted….so sorry for that. Time is flying and the drama has once again hit the fan. Something totally unexpected has happened. In my first month of living in London, I have become a victim of crime! Unfortunately, it is still being sorted through by the police but what happened was someone got a hold of my debit, credit card and PIN number from my post and used them. About £1000 pounds. It has been such a mess! I found out today that they might not refund me my credit card. This happened about a month ago and Im still going through the whole thing. We still don’t know who did it but we are moving out of our flatshare within the month and hopefully moving into a sisters house temporarily while we save up to get into our own flat. That is another bit of a drama, Ronny has been struggling a bit to find work. He is working right now doing telephone interviewing in Swedish and Danish but he is primarily looking for electrical work. My job is so-so. I am already ready to look for something else. My manager has just let (she was NOT the nicest of people) and we just got a new manager in who is going to be easy to work with. I have been feeling an enormous amount of stress at work and feel it physically. A few weeks ago someone broke into the restaurant downstairs from our flat. Needless to say I was a mess and stayed awake from 3am-8am feeling sick and just watching the police outside our window. I didn’t go to work that day and my manager was not understanding.
I could go on and on about how hard it has been but I do want all of you to know that I am dealing. I feel so much stronger. It has been far harder than I imagined. I have been really lonely at times. Many times wishing I could go back home. Havent made too many friends yet as our congregation was mainly older people but we recently switched to another one and absolutely love it so I am hoping to make more friends soon. I am sure things will get better with time. Its just an adjustment. I really do miss you all. Sorry for not keeping up to date with this but I am sending my love out to all of you and hope you and your family are well. Much Love!

*Next time, I am sure I will have better things to tell about. =)

New job.

2005-02-01T08:43:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Sorry for the delay in writing this but as you can imagine our move to London as been one big whirlwind. Things are starting to settle down a tad. Got some great news…I have work! Yes, indeedy. Im quite happy about it. I am the administrative assistant for First Base. www.fbase.com in the Harley Street Center. Its very lovely and in a very nice area. Going back to full time has definitely been an adjustment (started this job last Friday). I get up at 6:15 and come home at 6:15pm. So my days are basically spent at work but its something and we really need the money. Ronny is doing temp for now…..his electrical qualifications in Sweden are not valid here so he is looking into going back to school. He is really sick with some sort of infection at the moment. Poor baby. Hope I don’t get it!!! Anyways, things are good. Our flat is working out. We are sharing it with two others and one is never there and the other is a VERY sweet girl named Ebony who I have been able to witness to quite a bit. Even been able to place literature with her. Our new congregation is so lovely as well. So things are good. Things are a little harder here than I expected but Im dealing with everything day by day and I think Im starting to get used to the lifestyle. Takes time I guess. Anyways, need to keep this short as Im on lunch break and that is almost up. Hope to hear from you soon and miss you guys!!! Much love!

Last day in Sweden...

2005-01-21T04:03:00.000-05:00

Well, Sweden has pulled out all the stops this morning. It's my last morning in Sweden and after a horribly stormy day yesterday, I wake up and open the curtains to see the most gorgeous day outside. I like to think its my send off. It really is nice. Dont know the temp but that never really bothered me before, as long as its sunny. And today is definitely sunny.
I woke up to also be greeted by a loooong and boooooooooring speech by President Bush on my swedish TV. Even the audience is waning in their applause. Honestly, I have no idea what he is talking about but all I hear is "libery, freedom, soldiers". So I'll have to go online and check it out for myself. Tired of his babbling. Its funny though, now that I am living in Europe, I think I started to see America the way they see us here. I never really liked Bush but I saw him for the arrogant person I think most of the people see him as. The first thing he talked about was how America will help other countries and will never impose our government on them. Do I even have to say it?
Enough of that. Im down to get some coffee and dream about tomorrow. My first day in the United Kingdom as a resident! So happy and excited! Btw, I added a Weather Pixie under my tagboard so you can see the weather in London as that seems to be an interest to my friends overseas. I don't know when I will be able to post again but I will try to do so soon and tell you about the move. Love you guys!

survey...

2005-01-20T15:10:00.000-05:00

Not that I expect anyone to ever read this all the way through...unless you are as bored as I was when I write 1-100

1. What color are your kitchen plates? Technically I do not have any.
2. Book reading now? The Piano Tuner (too lazy to get up and find out what the author is but its quite good)
3. What's on your mouse pad? Use a laptop thus have no mousepad
4. Favorite Magazine? Guess it would be the Awake and then Jane
5. Favorite scents? The woods after it rains, the ocean, wisteria, honeysuckle and my hubbys cologne.
7. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? Thank God Ronny has stopped snoring. LOL No I don’t, I don’t think anything really.
8. Favorite colors? Blue (most shades), yellow and believe it or not antique white.
9. Least favorite? Lime green and neon orange and pink
10. How many rings before you answer the phone? I usually run for the phone.
11. Future Child's name? Im not sure anymore. I used to like Raychel (a mix of my brothers name and my sisters) but now I like Alexandra and Arden. For a boy, Gavin.
12. Do you like to drive fast? I don’t drive. I know, pathetic isn’t it.
13. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Does my hubby count? lol
14. Do you like storms? Only if there is no thunder.
15. What type was your first car? Well I guess the one we have now is my first. A 1989 Citroen…..red. =)
16. If you could meet one human, dead or alive, who would it be? Peter
17. What is your Favorite Alcoholic drink? Strawberry Pina Colada and a Hurricane
18. What is your birthday? May 12
19. Do you like to eat the stems of broccoli? Nope, only the little leaves or whatever that stuff is.
20. If you could have any job, what would it be? A writer/archaeologist/photographer/dancer/world traveler all at once.
21. If you could have any colour hair, what would it be? I would go black again but Im too scared to.
22. Have you ever been in love? Yes, and am in that very state right now.
23. Is the glass half empty or half full? Half full unless it is full of beer. I hate beer and then its too full.
24. Fav. Movies? Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Star Wars Triology, Princess Bride, Pride and Prejudice, Tommy Boy, The Fifth Element, The Truman Show, Anne of Green Gables, Sense and Sensibility
25. Do you type with your fingers on the right keys? Yep 60 wpm
26. What's under your bed? At the moment really evil dust bunnies
27. What is your favorite number? 2
28. Favorite sports to watch? Football, baseball, ice skating29. What is your single biggest fear? I know this is dumb but either Ronny dieing or me dieing on the other side of the world from my family.
30. Say one nice thing about the person who sent this. She is a really talented artist.
31. Person likely to respond? *shrug*
32. Favorite TV shows? Everybody Loves Raymond, Fraser, That 70’s show, Less Than Perfect, Seinfeld and sometimes Fear Factor oh and American Idol
33. Ketchup or Mustard? Ketchup
34. Hamburger or Hot-dog? Hot dog
35. Favorite soft drink? Coke or orange soda
36. Best Place you have ever been? London
37. What background screen is on your computer now? One of my wedding pics (before that was the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC)
38. Burger King or McDonalds? Taco Bell
39. What is your Full Name? Melody Lee Kristensen
40. What colour pants are you wearing? Ronny’s…..black with white stripes on the sides
41. What are you listening to right now? The whine of the laptop and an occasional meow from downstairs
42. What was the last thing you ate? A salami stick
43. Do you wish on stars? No, but I used to as a kid
44. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Cerulean (it’s a shade of blue)
45. How is the weather right now? Really crappy. Windy and rainy
46. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My hubby. =)
47. Do you like who sent this to you? No one technically sent this to me..but yea
48. How old are you today? 24
49. What is your natural hair colour? Dark brown
50. Do you wear contacts? yeppers
51. Siblings? 1 bro and 1 sis
52. Favourite Month? September…wedding anniversary
53. Favourite Food? Italian and sometimes Mexican
54. Last movie you watched? The Truman Show last night on TV with Swedish subtitles
55. Favourite day of the year? September 19th – our wedding anniversary
56. What was your favorite toy when you were little? My numerous Cabbage Patch dolls
57. Summer or Winter? Fall
58. Hugs or Kisses? both
59. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate
60. Do you want your friends to email you back? I'm not emailing them this, so why would they? lol
61. Living Arrangements? At the moment me and my hub with 4 cats.
62. When was the last time you cried? Mmmm, last week sometime
63. Who is the friend you've had the longest? Janice and Debs (14 years!)
64. What did you do last night? Watched a lil TV, checked email and called Ronny
65. What are you passionate about? The truth, my husband, my family, my friends and reading
66. Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? salted
67. Favourite flower? Daffodils, wisteria, honeysuckle
68. Number of keys on your key ring? 1
69. Favourite day of the week? Friday….pay day!
70. What did you do on your last birthday? Cleaned my house probably
71. How many countries have you lived in? 2 going on 3
72. How many cars have you had and what was the best? one
73. Where were you born? Brooklyn, New York City
74. What did you have for breakfast? Ham and cheese sandwich.
75. Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with? Jennifer Love Hewitt….she’s so fake!
76. What characteristic do you despise? Egotism, prejudice, rascism
77. Favorite brand of clothing? I like Old Navy
78. Where would you retire to? Anywhere warm where I can relax on the beach sipping drinks with little umbrellas in them
79. What is your most favorite FUN website? PLF
80. What is the nicest gift you've ever bought yourself? I don’t really know, don’t buy much for myself.
81. What movie/film character can you relate most to? Drew Barrymore from Never Been Kissed
82. Who are your favourite artists? Van Gogh, Maxfield Parish,
. Who are your favourite poets? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Shakesphere, Lord Byron
84. GOING MERELY ON LOOKS: In your opinion - Best-Looking Actor/Actress?
Actor: Brenden Fraiser, Hugh Jackman actress: Drew Barrymore
85. What genre of books do you like? Classics, mysteries, historical novels
86. What color is your bathroom? Its not really my bathroom but its red and black I think.
87. Gold or Silver? White Gold or Silver.
88. Temperament Type (if you know it): ENFJ
89. Name some of your QUIRKS: (for space-sake, just a few!) I need music while I clean, I have a certain way of eating Snickers and Kit Kats, I cant really eat desserts without chocolate, I know I have more just cant think of any
90. Get along with your folks? Yep most of the time
91. Favourite Type of Music: Oldies, classical, rock, r&b, hip hop, alternative, new age, swing
92. Favourite Game (computer/board):Civ III, Clue
93. Favourite Sports (to play): Football and baseball
94. Favourite comic strips: The Far Side, Dillard
95. Favourite Subject in School: English and Geography
96. Least Favourite Subject in School: Math
97. Perfume?: My brain isn’t working but it’s the one my friend Samantha bought me by JLo….its heavenly
98. Cake or Pie: Cake…thanks, now I want some
99. Pet Peeves: The short list: ego maniacs, selfish people
100. Favourite Fictional Characters: Anne from Anne of Green Gables, Edmund Dante from The Count of Monte Cristo

Not in the mood.

2005-01-19T12:32:00.000-05:00

Feeling restless and lethargic at the same time if that is even possible. As usual I didn't feel like posting but once I starting typing in this little box, I feel its therputic value....*sigh*
I have been beyond bored for the last 3 days and will continue to feel this way for another two. Ronny doesn't usually do this but this week he away on business and I am stuck here at home with 5 cats and loading of packing and cleaning to do which I can't seem to motivate myself to start. I just really miss him. I hate being seperated even though we can really use this money. Ah well.
This weekend was great. Swimming was so nice. We took Felicia to a pool in Halmstad and had an absolute blast! The place is just amazingingly cool with all these slides and things inside. I was thoroughly impressed. If felt really good when Felicia wanted me to go with her on the slide and held my hand all the time. Its a little hard at the moment though cause her mother is trying to turn her against me. I know this for a fact. That is such a horrible thing to put a 5 year old through but Jenny never did care about anyone but herself. Just makes me SO mad cause she is really causing trouble. We caught her in a big lie the other day. It makes me so mad cause she is really trying to keep the kids from us. I love Ronny too much to get involved and only make things harder. But its such a frustrating situation to be in.
Anyways, guess that is it for now. Enough complaining and venting. Maybe I'll post later. I'm off to do some more packing. Later!

Congrats Mich and Daniel!!!

2005-01-15T04:30:00.000-05:00

Ok first I would like to make an announcement:

Congrats to Michelle and Daniel!
Welcome Baby Leila Hewitt!!!!

I am so very happy for them.

I had a really great few days. I finally got my hair cut on Thursday. I hadnt cut it in one year!!! But the lady did a really great job and I am so happy with it! I also got my UK Family Permit in the mail. Woohoo! I was a bit stressed about since we are leaving next Saturday and I cant really enter the country without it. But we sent it out Monday and got it Friday.....not bad! Last night, Ronny and I went out with his brother Rocky and his wife Jenny to see National Treasure. First I have to say I REALLY loved that movie! It was very good. I had no idea it was a Disney movie and although I really like Disney I was a bit put out when I saw the symbol at the beginning of the movie. Well, I was wrong! It was fantastic! We all really liked it. No cursing and lots of adventure. I would definitely give it 3 and a quarter stars. But anyways, we had a great time with Rocky and Jenny. We havent been able to do much with Ronny working so much and us not affording to go out but since we are leaving we thought we would say goodbye and we had a wonderful time. Afterwards we went to go pick up their baby, Viggo, at a friends house who was watching him and they invited us in for some food. Oh that was nice! Swedish cuisine.....yum! We had a very nice time. Salmon, olives, shrimp (they are very into seafood out here on the west coast), brie, all kinds of cheese and wine. So that was wonderful and they couple were so very nice!
So all in all things are really good. Today we are taking Ronny's daughter, Felicia to the pool. Really looking forward to it. Speaking of which, gotta run but talk soon!

sucky day..

2005-01-12T11:39:00.000-05:00

The weather outside is not so hot and neither am I. Haven't been feeling like myself for the past few days. Let me rephrase that. I haven't been feeling the last few days. What I can't stand more than depression is numbness. That to me is the worse. No, strick that......whats the worse is when I get the feeling no matter what I do I am going to be miserable. Should I sit, sleep, eat, read...etc. It's a really weird feeling that makes my skin itch all over. Literally. I hope I start to feel better after we are in London. Its strange how I am more depressed now with London in sight than before.

*UPDATE* Ronny just came home from work with a bunch of roses for me. He knew I wasn't feeling well. How can I still feel bad with such a loving husband? *sigh*

Stormy Weather

2005-01-10T04:22:00.000-05:00

We had a really interesting weekend! We had an EXTREMELY bad storm in Sweden and Denmark. Basically it was a hurricane without the formation. We left Saturday afternoon to go visit our friends who had a baby and who we havent seen in a long time. On the way there we saw a tree in the road and it was really windy but that was it. Nothing too terrible. That night however the winds picked up really bad. I mean really bad. They were telling people to stay inside on the news. By about 9pm we lost power. It worked out though cause they have a fireplace in their living room and we had bought our air mattress so Ronny and I just snuggled in front of the fire and were good all night. In the middle of the night after the fire died he got up and built another one since the heat wasnt working. It was so nice and romantic.
The next day they still didnt have power and we were afraid of leaving in the dark as there would be more trees in the road so we left early cause we wouldn't be able to see them on the road in the dark. Its a really good thing we did! I have NEVER seen such devastation! It was insane! These massive fir trees were totally snapped in half like toothpicks! They were all over the road (crews where just sawing in half, clearing the road enough for cars but leaving the rest....they had their hands full!!!). They were down on telephone and power lines. Not many people died but some houses where destroyed and I think the last number I heard said over 400,000 homes were without power. The trains were not running at all as there were trees over the rails. Over 1 million telephone numbers were not working (as well as ours, we found out when we got home last night but we had power). It was nuts. Ronny said he has never seen anything like it in Sweden. And it covered Denmark as well. Thats a BIG range. But we are glad the casualities were few. Last night on the news they said that many people would go without power to the end of the week!!! That is a LONG time. I can deal without light but its so hard to go without water. Poor things.
Guess that is it for now. I am a bit bummed today. Ronny and I realized when we leave Brooklyn is going to be too young to get microchipped so we are going to have to leave him here with a friend or family member until we can come back for him. I really want to bring him now! I am afraid he will forget us and we are developing such a bond with him its crazy! I have never seen such an affectionate kitten!! *sigh* I just cant wait to bring him to London.
Everything else is good. Still applying for more work, want to set up a few interviews. Here is quiz I found on Shelbie's page. I thought I was way geeker than this!

You are 7% geek

OK, so maybe you ain't a geek. You do, at least, show a bit of interest in the world around you. Either that, or you have enough of a sense of humor to pick some of the sillier answers on the test. Regardless, you're probably a pretty nifty, well-rounded person who gets along fine with people and can chat with just about anyone without fear of looking stupid or foolish or overly concerned with minutiae. God, I hate you.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

OMG!!!!

2005-01-06T11:31:00.000-05:00

Guess what? GUESS WHAT?????????? I got my first interview lined up for London!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!! I cant believe it! I called them this morning and the lady was SO nice. She sounded VERY interested in interviewing me. Saying things like "The position may be filled by the time you get here but we have a few more we could interview for that might work out for you." and "You seem well suited for our company, its now just dependent on weather we fit the bill for you." !!!!!!!! I am so thrilled!!! So my interview is on the 24th. I hope I get it. The company seems so cool. Very personable and everything. So I will let you all know how it goes. We are probably flying out for the move on the 24th. London here we come!
Yesterday was really nice. We took Ronny's grandmother out shopping and she treated us to breakfast, lunch and bought me a pair of jeans I desperately needed. Grandmas are the best! Today we were supposed to get the kids but they were really sick so they couldnt come with us but we went back to grandmas and had lunch with her. Afterwards I cut her hair and we looked at the wedding pics. All in all it was a nice day. Right now Ronny's sister, Ronja and a young brother from our congregation are in the kitchen cutting chocolate cake and set up a game we like to play down here. Its called cashflow. Its really fun and teaches you about budgeting and money. Anyways, gotta run but just thought I would share my good news with you guys. Love ya!

Im loved!!!

2005-01-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

Well, good news and bad news......not really bad news. That one job offer turned out to be nothing but I have been getting people interested in interviewing me like crazy!!!! It's insane. With almost the same resume it took me 6 months to get admin work in New York. In London I have had so many responses! I feel pretty good about that. There was even this one company who said my resume was most revelant to the position they had and they were very interested in interviewing me!!! Its for a receptionist/assistant manager position and get this.....the office is across the street from Buckingham Palace!!!!!!! I about died when I saw the picture and location of the office. You can check it out here. So that is good news. Also, our search for accomodation in London might finally be at an end. We are not really looking for anything permanent right now, just a room until we have work and then we can search for a flat to settle in once we are already there. So I got in contact with this lovely American lady who has been VERY generous and kind even offering to pass on Ronny's qualifications as electrician to her brother-in-law who has his own construction business! She has also said its ok with her if we bring Brooklyn (BIG plus), she just needs to check with the other guy working there. And the house is right near our wonderful friends Jack and Monika so hopefully we would be able to go to their cong!!!! Its great. I hope it all works out. Jack and Monika said they would go by and check it out this weekend for us and Ebony (the lady's name) said she would hold the room for us until we got here with having to send any kind of deposit. We would only need to stay there for about 2 months and she is fine with that. So the London plans are going great for now.
On to other news: I have been suffering from the WORSE headaches. I get this inflammation on one side of my neck and for about 2 days straight I have this throbbing pain in my forehead. Its so bad I cant laugh, cough or bend over cause I feel like my brain is pushing against the front of my skull. I have only had this headache twice since I got here (never had them before) but they are SO bad the idea of getting one terrifies me. The last time I got one I couldnt even see light, it hurt too bad. I have scholiosis (spelling?) so I think that is what it is. Oh well. We need the new system! Im only 24!!!! Not 85!
Anyways, guess that is it for now. See y'all later!

A new beginning?

2005-01-03T07:19:00.000-05:00

Is this the end of my search??? I am not sure but I hope so!!! I have been searching for hours everyday for work and a place to live in London but haven't gotten a whole lot of luck. But today I got an email from an employer I had sent my resume to. They were interested and wanted more information about my past work experience. I don't know if it will amount to anything but they are a fashion supplier and the job is for a secretary for 10-12 pounds an hour which for admin work is very good I think! I would take it in a heartbeat! It may not turn out to be anything but it was enough to give me the encouragement to keep going. There were a few other people I sent my resume to (went to Yahoo directory of London business and just sending my resume out to companies like crazy) who weren't hiring at this time but wished me luck in my search and I thought that was really nice. I can deal with a no but its hard to deal with silence. So I feel pretty good today!
Other than that not much else is new. Ronny and I were invited over to an older couple's house in our Swedish cong. It was so nice cause I thought they had invited a bunch of people but we were the only ones! I felt so special. We had champagne and everything. A lovely time. The brother is American and his wife is Swedish. So the brother and I talk like crazy. Last night we went out to Helsingborg to visit some of Ronny's friends who we haven't seen since the last time I was here. We were able to show them some wedding pics and have dinner with them so that was nice too. We don't have the opportunity to do much recreationly here but this weekend was busy for us and very nice.
Oh yeah this is interesting. In America most companies give you about 3 days off for X-mas and New Years. Here they give you a few weeks!!!! Most companies close for about a week or two. That is awesome! It isnt even included in your personal vacation! Ah, Europe!
Guess that is it for now. Hope you are all well and really missing you guys!

Bye bye 2004

2004-12-31T08:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I saw my friend Bev (Bookyeti's Vignettes) do this on her blog and thought it was a good idea. A recap of 2004....

Mel's 2004 recap

January 04- Ronny visited NYC

March 04- Flew to London, drove to Paris. Got engaged to Ronny. =) Drove back to Denmark, to visit his sister then to Sweden.

April 04- Stayed in Sweden all month.

May 04- Flew back home to the US with Ronny.

June & July 04- Worked and planned wedding.

August 04- Went to NC with Ronny for wonderful week with family and friends and wedding shower.

September 04- Got married on the 19th!!! Went on wonderful honeymoon with my new husband. Got evacuated during honeymoon due to hurricane. Stayed at Sam D's house with family for 2 days then flew back home.

October 04- Got seperated from husband by US gov. *groan* Had to unexpectedly arrange to move to Europe sooner than planed.

November 04- Moved to Sweden with Ronny.

December 04- Planning to move to UK and working when I can.

What countries did you visit? This was the best year for traveling. I went to England, France, Denmark, Sweden and drove through but didnt really see Belgium, Germany and the Neths.

What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004? Our own place to live, a job in London, stability of any sort, energy and better health.

What were your biggest achievements of the year? Not having a nervous breakdown, depression and maintaining my sanity. Growing and expanding my horizons. Learning patience and more trust in Jehovah.

What was your biggest failure? Mmmm, I wish I had planned out the wedding better. And regardless of how others felt made more of an effect to spend time with them.

Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope, not yet.

Did anyone close to you die? I wasnt that close to her but my great-aunt died last month.

Did you suffer illness or injury? Illness. Im always sick with something or other. I have Epstein's Barr so it makes me tired all the time.

What was the best thing you bought? My wedding dress.

How will you remember 2004? As the year my life changed forever...for better or worse. =)

Bye-bye, 2004......