Tagged: 2012

San Francisco (Holiday!)

We went West for Christmas. It was good, for us both. Although the weather was not all that California weather is meant to be (read pissing rain for many of the days we were there) the enforced inside time and relaxation was a blessing.

SF1

Due to the terrible weather we spent the first day in the California Academy of Sciences. They had an amazing coral reef aquarium with the most beautiful array of fish. I could have watched it for hours.

SF2

Of course there is the bridge, which is as spectacular in real life as it is in your imagination. And it really was that grey for many of the days… Although there’s something about dull, low grey and mizzle which makes me feel so cosy.

SF3

Our friends took us in search of sunshine and find it we did. We even found some Elk. Who knew there were Elks in Northern California, certainly not I. Speaking of Elk we also saw Elephant Seals and hummingbirds (so very amazing).

SF4

And then the last day spent in a blaze of sunshine, seeing the city on foot and enjoying the colours and contrasts that this city provide, old vs new, green space vs urban sprawl, poor vs rich.

SF5

I’m sure we’ll be back.

2012 in review

2012 was a year of travel, a lot of it. It was another busy year, I remember feeling incredibly positive at the beginning of the year, I think because 2011 had been such a tough year in many ways. By mid-autumn admittedly that positivity had dropped, it felt like we were mired in just getting stuff done and dealing with crap.

In short I did the following travel:
2 trips to South Africa
1 to Australia
1 trip to France and the UK
4 trips to the UK
1 trip to Canada
1 to San Francisco
A few nights in New York

All of the above coupled with an incredibly busy work year and no proper holiday meant that by the end of the year I was exhausted, physically and mentally. If nothing else 2012 has taught me how much I really need to look after myself and what a work-life balance is not.

2013 starts with a huge change, we move back to London and have to work out living in somewhere we know so well but which will be different from before. I am hopeful again for next year. I am planning holidays in my head already, we have a friend to visit in Istanbul, we have Italy to explore and we have time to spend together on a beach doing sweet f.a.

I am also looking forward to reconnecting with old friends, keeping new ones and taking the next steps in J and I’s life together. We want to buy a house at some point, we’d like somewhere of our own, who knows maybe that’s what 2013 will hold for us.

Christmas 2012

We spent Christmas together this year, just the two of us in San Francisco. For the first eight years together we went our separate ways for Christmas, it was the easiest thing to do, I saw my family, he his. Sometimes we might visit the other one after Christmas and before New Year but in the main we kept things as they had always been.

The last two years have been different. Last year we were in DC, sharing Indian takeaway with friends. This year we were on holiday, our first holiday which was longer than 4 days since probably last Christmas. It was a quiet affair, the weather in San Francisco was horrid, truly truly horrid and so we didn’t have much of a desire to get out and about. Instead we made one foray to the restaurant for lunch and then spent the rest of the day relaxing, I even squeezed in a two hour nap.

Lunch was dim sum, a big departure from the more traditional Christmas fare, and certainly no pudding, Brussels sprouts or even Port. In some ways it was good to be doing something so different, it made it less odd to be so far away and just the two of us.

As much as it was lovely to be spending the time together and having a very relaxed time, having done things differently for two years I now feel ready to return to more traditional ways and to sharing it with family as well as friends. At some point J and I will get to build our family traditions for Christmas, thankfully this shouldn’t be too contentious as both families are relatively aligned. In the meantime however, I will look forward to next year knowing that it will again be different from the last two but familiar too.

Health

I’ve been under the weather for about 3 weeks now and after a while it really starts to get to you. Normally I’m in fairly rude health and this most recent stint of illness has made me realise how much I take it for granted that I’m healthy. It’s also made me think about how I really do need to take better care of myself.

This year has been busy, work has been intense at times, good but with no let up and I have travelled a lot. I’ve not had a holiday where I’ve had an entire week off since last Christmas when my in-laws visited. I really need a break to relax properly and give my body a little love.

I’m contemplating a cleanse, I’ve never done one before but with the illness has come very few gym visits and comfort eating so that of course means a slightly more relaxed waistline than I would perhaps like… The next few weeks are crazy busy though, we fly back to the UK for a few days to try and find somewhere to rent, then I have a work project for a week, the following week we head to San Francisco for a few days and throughout this time we also have to sort everything out to move. Fun times.

Still I can’t complain, I’m feeling better, things *are* happening and slowly but surely we’ll get there, one way or another. As a wise friend said recently you have to eat an elephant one bite at a time.

Happy thanksgiving one and all!

On our last Thanksgiving in the US (until the next one we spend over here…) I am thankful for:

  • My husband, for sharing his life with me and being an absolute rock of support and love
  • My family, for their understanding, patience and support
  • My friends, both those who I have grown to love dearly in Washington, DC and those I am returning to rekindle my friendships with in London
  • All of you who read this blog and who chatter with me on Twitter and Instagram!

There are many more things I am thankful for, however for now I will keep it brief. Being reminded to think about all you have and all that it gives you is very special. I shall certainly try and bring this celebration back to the UK and to make sure I spend that one day thinking extra hard about all I have and how lucky I am to be where I am and surrounded by so many special people.

Sending good wishes your way, eat, drink, be merry and enjoy an afternoon nap if you can! 

Change, change, change

With the move is coming a lot of change. We’ve done this before, admittedly only once, but this time although the same some things are slightly different. As much as change is exciting it is also unsettling. I’m mixed, one day excited the next mildly panicked. Work, housing, friendships, finances all of these things are whirling around and around. I know it will work out in the end somehow and things are falling into place slowly. Things will work out. I’m learning again that I need to bite piece by piece and work on things a little bit at a time. I’m also learning again how important it is to talk about everything. Poor J is having his ear chewed far too much. I process by talking, it helps me work out what I do or don’t want, even if it means I go round and round in circles far too often. Lots to write about once I organise my thoughts.

Return journey

The time has come for us to return to London. We move back in January. Two months. In total we will have lived in the US for 27 months, during which we have experienced some of our toughest times and some absolutely wonderful times, we’ve met many amazing people who I hope will be lasting friends. It was absolutely the right decision to move here and experience this and now it feels like the right time to do the return journey.

There’s a lot to think about of course. Moving country is not easy, as we have learnt, even if you’ve lived there before. We’re going through another period of pretty big change and trying to work it all out again. We’re going back to something which is so familiar and yet viewed through a new perspective and I imagine possibly also so changed from what we left. I’m excited though, the new opportunities this brings, the friendships we can re-kindle, the city I love I get to live in again. London here we come…

Hurricane Sandy

21:40, things have got worse as the day has gone on. The lights are flickering, the streets are quiet and still the rain comes. I’m constantly checking Twitter to see what’s happening. Which is also making me think I should perhaps ease off the Twitter checks to reduce anxiety. We’ll be okay, somehow. Now to watch TV while we have power, enjoy a glass of wine and truly appreciate being at home safe with my husband.

It’s 13:30 and I’m sat on my sofa working from home. Work is closed today because of what is potentially going to be the biggest storm the East Coast of the US has seen for 100 years.

It is an odd feeling, sitting in a warm house, electricity working, water running and seeming calm outside, yet knowing that the worst is yet to come.

When everyone at work started worrying about the Hurricane on Friday I was to be honest a little flippant. Assuming it would be fine, comparing it to Hurricane Irene which was a bit of a non-event in DC last summer, not though for Vermont and Massachusetts Irene left lasting damage which is still being repaired. However as the time passes and the weather reports flow in I am more aware that this one is big.

Time will tell what the effects will be, for now I am just praying that as many as possible stay safe and that Sandy doesn’t wreak as much havoc as expected.

Motivation and maintenance

I finally made it to the gym this evening, which made me think about how I really need to go more often… I finally picked the habit up again last winter, J had started going and was slimming down and I didn’t want to be the heifer wife so I joined him. With two trips a week and a relatively quiet life after about 2 months I started to notice a difference. I liked what I noticed, I felt better within and about myself, I was fitter and healthier, it helped with stress, sleep and state of mind.

Then the summer of travel hit, I have been away for at least a week every month since May, in fact for 3 weeks of August I was gone. It kind of scuppered all those good plans. At first it was fine, then the gradual softening started happening and things were getting softer and other things, like my clothes, tighter.

What I have begun to admit to myself, was that losing weight was one thing, keeping it off another, but both require motivation and maintenance. I can’t go out boozing 3 nights a week, eating crap and not exercise and keep the squidge away. So I’m writing this post so that the next time I get home and think “ah, not tonight, it’s alright, I’ll go tomorrow” when I know full well that tomorrow I won’t, I really need to give myself a kick in the butt and go. Even if it’s only a short visit it’s all about the habit. I also need to think about a way to motivate myself, rewarding myself if I go twice a week perhaps, a picture of me at my slimmest on the fridge, being honest with myself. I’m sure I’ll find something, until then, I’ll just try to actually kick myself into gear more often than once every two weeks.