oh friday, where for art thou?

i got off work late tonight (big surprise) and booked it out of the house as soon as i could. there was a light rain and a chill in the air (nice!). i popped in the ipod and headed down into town.

i had no idea where i was going to eat. all i knew was that i was starving. i walked down the main drag of stores and have never seen so many teenagers all gathered in one place. and the number of them that were smoking just blew me away (and made me feel all old and bitty). it bummed me out that so many shops close at 6, because they would so end up taking a load of my money if they were open. (check out FAT FACE where i tried not to spend too much but did buy THIS bag!)

i ended up at CHIANG MAI KITCHEN which has become my newest favorite thai place in the world. once again i had the pad thai which just sends me swooning along with the best thai iced tea i've ever tasted. it doesn't hurt that they accessorize the plated not with parsley or carrots, but with orchids. yes, live orchids.

after i stuffed myself silly, i headed back down the main drag and over to the bookstore. i picked up a couple of books for the flight home and a CURLY WURLY candy bar. then i headed 2 doors down to the local SAINSBURY'S for some cokes and a much needed water. a few pounds later and back out into the rain i went to head home.

by this time it was just hitting 9 pm. normally, in an unfamiliar city/town i would not be out at 9 pm walking home on a 20 minute walk. however, the sun hadn't fully set, so it looked like it was just in the very beginning of sunset. i felt very safe walking home with the ipod in and singing along to damien rice in the rain. :)

i made it home just as it started to pour. now, here i sit, showered, relaxed and eagerly awaiting the rolling around of friday! once i get home, i'll have time to work on pictures and video that are just itching to be shown!

technical question

does anyone know why when i put youtube videos up they overlap on stuff on my page? they never used to do that and now it's all icky looking. can i adjust them? should i change something on my page? is blogger just f-ing with me yet again?

t minus 4 and counting....

4 days and i'll be back in the states.

**praying extremely hard that they fly by**

i actually was in the bathroom the other day (where i go to get 1 minute of me time) and asked god what the big idea was. because i didn't think i deserved to have such a craptacular time here. i felt a little slighted considering all i've put into my career and how much i've done/learned/shared in my various nanny gigs over the last 10+ years.

it just never gets to be the easy way for me. :(

on a good note, i am planning my weekend in london. saturday and sunday are strictly my time this round, so i am taking the train out to london for a day or 2 of shopping and people watching. as long as i hit up the portobello road market again and covent garden (my two favorite adventures last time i was here over 4 years ago!) i'll be good. and an hour on the train with an ipod and no children sounds like heaven.

i also have to figure out how to get myself to the airport on monday. it looks like there is a bus service (they are amazing here) that i can catch down the road that will take me directly to heathrow. just have to find out when it runs and what part of the airport i will be in and i should be good!!

this mini break from reality has been brought to you by: naptime, too much caffeine and extreme sleepiness.

a favorite of the moment

oxonian time

hello there my lovelies.

currently, it is 915 pm in oxford on tuesday. the sun is just starting to set and the rain has passed at least for now. earlier it poured (as is usual...or at least has been the last week) at random times and even thundered for a good solid minute. i was hoping for more of a storm, but no dice.

i officially went a bit stir crazy today. the 3.5 year old was the devil (she's gotten SO bad...it's sad really) and i ended up with 2 babies zonked out in my lap for over an hour. at that point, i hadn't eaten anything (and it was lunch time by then) so i was super hungry, super grumpy, super pms-ing and just really wanting to go home at that exact second.

after another round with the devil child, i told grandma that i was walking down the street to get some lunch because i was absolutely starving and needed some fresh air. i thought about just hopping on the train and heading to london, but instead went and got my sammich and came back.

after a very long day, i grabbed my stuff, stuck my earphones in my ears, cranked the ipod and got the hell out of the house. i needed some interaction with people that were over the age of 4 and that i wasn't employed by. so i hit up the middle of town, grabbed some dinner and sat and people watched for a little while. i then headed over to the sainsbury's and treated myself to some food that i would actually eat while in the house. yay me. :)

i came home, checked email, took a long shower and am now contemplating putzing around online a little more or getting back into the book i started while i had 2 hot babies snoozing on my chest.

i can't wait to get home, enjoy some time off, kiss and hug on my man and my dog and get to know my man's 2 boys that are visiting until august 1. i hear they are having a blast and i can't wait to join in on the fun.

what are you all up to?

photos? no.

holy crap i have a lot of pictures already. not to mention video! and alas, blogger is not letting me put up any right now. so, you all shall have to wait.

and damnit, those pictures of christ church college were stunning! :)

cheers!

hello there! i've managed to survive my first week across the pond in oxford! if all goes as planned, i should be able to get my pictures up and try to round up some sort of little video showing you my adventures so far. be on the lookout!

i think i peed myself