They're On Their Way!

My mom and dad will be here tomorrow!!! Their flight takes off today at 3:30pm Austin time and they will be here tomorrow morning 9:35am London time. I am so excited!!! They will be here for a month and I have so many great things planned. The biggest of which is a trip through Ireland and France.

I am busy cleaning and getting everything ready for them. Pretty soon I will make the grocery store trek. How I hate going there on the weekends...maybe I'll wait until the evening when things have calmed down a bit.

I'll have lots of fun posts in the next month. I can't wait to revisit all the wonder that goes into seeing something for the first time, being in a brand new place, and seeing things that you have only previously seen in books or on TV. It's always fun to have people over who have never visited this side of the world. The little quirky differences become commonplace for Edgar and I and it's fun to watch someone else discover them again.

I hope to post quite often over the next month, but if I don't, you'll know why. Have a wonderful week!

Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Have any of you ever heard of the Eurovision Song Contest? I had never heard about it until last year when we moved over here. This thing is huge, garnering as many viewers or more as the Superbowl-between 100-600 million! Basically, each country who is a member of the European Broadcasting Union submits a song and the top 25 are chosen to compete against one another on live television. The countries take turns hosting the event with this year's contest held in Belgrade, Serbia. The first show was in 1956 and the ESC is one of the longest running shows in the world. It has introduced talent such as the Swedish Abba, with their winning single "Waterloo". Even Celine Dion was a contest winner in 1988, but she did not gain international fame until some years later.

I watched the show at the Wharton's house. It is a true tradition for Charlie as, growing up in Sweden, she's been watching it her whole life. Some of the songs were good, some were OK, and some were, well, just questionable. Most of the entries were sung in English, but there were still plenty sung in the country's native language.
My favorite song was Denmark's "All Night Long". It's a fun, uplifting song with a catchy tune. Enjoy it here.

The funniest had to be Latvia's pirate song "Wolves of the Sea". See it below.

This is the winning entry from Russia. Apparently the singer is pretty famous in his part of the world, but I thought the song was only average and the ice-skater did nothing for me. What do you think?

Steel-Toed Boots

We have a running joke in our family about wearing steel-toed boots. Not because we want to work in construction, but because we can sometimes tend to bang our toes around on household objects...some of which may have not moved position in years. I've done pretty well with this unfortunate genetic imposition throughout the years, only harboring the occasional stub here and there. That is until Wednesday evening.

We live in tight quarters here. Our furniture is not placed in a sprawling living or dining room. In fact, our living and dining room are one in the same. To pass into our kitchen, you must walk between our table and a small couch. I had our computer perched on the end of table closest to the kitchen entrance because I was cooking a recipe that was in metric units and I had to google all the conversions. In addition, I made the fatal mistake of pulling out the chair to get a better view of the screen. You may recall that Wednesday was the BIGGEST GAME IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, and I was in a flurry to prepare dinner and get my Manchester United war paint and red shirt on. I didn't push the chair back in, and in one flash of a moment, upon leaving the kitchen, I whacked my right pinky toe on the chair leg. It hurt like a son of a.... But I kept going, adrenalin pumping, nothing was going to take my excitement away. I was hoping the pain would subside, but it didn't. The bottom of the toe went numb and I couldn't walk on it.

When I awoke the next morning to a swollen and bruised toe, I decided evasive action was needed. I was in no position to drive (you kind of need a fully functioning right foot to do that) so Edgar "worked from home" and took me to a minor injury walk in clinic. This was our biggest experience yet with the NHS (National Healthcare System), apart from small visits to gain antibiotics for bronchitis. I was kind of nervous because I've heard horror stories when you allow the government to govern and manage your healthcare. But I have to say, it was a very clean, sterile, streamlined experience. We waited about an hour to see the nurse practitioner, who decided an xray was needed due to the fact that my toe was awkwardly pointing out and to the side. We waited about 10 minutes for the xray, which showed a clean break in the top joint of the toe. Only a tiny thread of bone was still attached. The good news was that it wasn't dislocated. The prospect of the NP having to not only touch the toe, but pop it back into place brought tears to my eyes. No, it really did. I started crying right there in the exam room when he told me he might have to do it. Luckily, Edgar was there to sing me songs and keep me distracted until we found out it wasn't dislocated.

So now I am icing 3 times a day for 20 minutes. My pinky toe and the one next to it are taped together so that there will be limited mobility. I'm keeping it elevated and walking around as little as possible, so hopefully it will begin to heal very soon. I hate not being fully mobile, especially when my entire lifestyle revolves around walking for everything. I guess one good thing about it all is that it has forced me to sit still long enough to plan our upcoming trips. And maybe I'll finally finish that book I started a week ago.

I would like to thank my wonderful husband for taking off work all day long to take care of me. He brought me some really great surprises when he returned from the pharmacy run with ibuprofen and tape: 3 beautiful stems of lillies and my favorite gelato! Thanks, Babe! You're the best!!!

The Biggest Game in the History of the World!!!!

UPDATE: WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HERE'S THE BREAKDOWN-FULL 90 minute game, tied 1-1. 30 minute overtime, still tied 1-1. 5 Penalty kicks, tied 4-4. FINALLY, in the 3rd extra penalty kick, WE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the BEST GAME EVER!!!!! I thought I was going to absolutely pass out from excitement, anxiousness, nerves, all these emotions. Now I'm going to watch Ronaldo get his medal...because you know that's why we really watch ;)

Today is historic. It ranks right up there with the discovery of the New World and Al Gore's invention called the Internets. For the first time in the history of the world, two English teams will be competing in the UEFA Champions League Final, being held in Moscow, Russia. The teams are Chelsea, and Ronal.....WOOPS, I mean Manchester United.

For those of you who don't know about football, here's a breakdown. Basically, players can compete with two different teams: Club teams and National teams. It would be kind of like a player from Texas playing for the Dallas Cowboys, but also playing for the State of Texas, if individual States had teams. For example, David Beckham now plays with the LA Galaxy, but he could also play for the English National Team. With these different teams come different championships. Club teams compete within their country for their country's title and also against other club teams around Europe for the UEFA title. National teams also play against each other and you may have heard about the World Cup, which is the ultimate National Team Championship.

Tonight is the UEFA Championship. It could just have easily involved a team from Spain, Italy or any other European country. But tonight is historic because of the two English teams. I am a huge Manchester United Fan, mostly because they have a player named Cristiano Ronaldo, unarguably the BEST player in the WORLD. I have said, and will say again, it is only because of his mad skills that I am a fan. One look at his skills in the linked photo will show you what I mean. Can I get a "hell's yeah" from the ladies?

Well, I'm off to put on my red shirt and put war paint on my face. I'm so excited!!!!!!

Tourist Day-Hyde Park

Thursday was tourist day for the expat ladies. We have done so many London Walks that there weren't any left for us to do on Wednesdays! The weather was so beautiful we couldn't imagine being inside a museum or any building. So, we decided to do a walk and picnic through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. The two are pretty much connected with just a small road separating them. Our initial plan was to get off the District Line at High Street Kensington, stroll through Whole Foods Market, which is next door, walk the park loop, and then meet Cata for lunch. To our delighted surprise, H&M, one of our favorite stores, was also right outside the tube stop, so we took a slight detour from the original plan for a little summer clothes shopping. Doesn't everyone need a fun summer top every now and then? We met Cata, our working woman, at Speaker's Corner (a corner of Hyde Park) and had a fabulous Great British Picnic. Adam had fun chasing pigeons and perfecting his bear crawl through the grass.

Today, we are back to more early Spring weather-rain and a sweater! It feels kind of strange to have a peeling sunburn one day and a sweater on the next-especially when it doesn't involve some sort of winter break beach vacation.

Happy Mother's Day!

I would like to wish my dear Mom a very Happy Mother's Day today. Your unending enthusiasm and energy has propelled me through many moments in life. You are there at the drop of a hat before the need is even spoken. Your care and concern for others mean you are oftentimes the last on your own list. And at the end of the day, when the whirlwind has blown through, you can still spare the energy for a warm, gentle hug. Thank you for all you do-for me, for everyone, everyday. Can't wait to see you in 3 weeks! Love, Vonda

Serious Trauma at the Gas Station

I couldn't just say "Pain at the Pump"...the typical headline when fuel prices are so high. Today was sheer trauma. Since I can now drive again, my first stop was the gas (petrol in UK) station. Our car was on fumes. Here is the breakdown of my transaction (I'll spare you all the conversions)...

Amount of petrol:
13.95 gallons

Price of petrol:
$8.15/gallon

Total Price: $113.69

Making my friends and family feel better about paying $3.70 per gallon: Priceless

Yes, you read correctly...it really costs $8.15 per gallon over here. Thank goodness for public transportaion!

Driving Test Result

I know that so many of you are bleery-eyed, tired...waking up at the crack of dawn, refreshing my blog every 5 seconds, eagerly awaiting the outcome of my driving test this morning. Well, your wait is finally over. As of 9:57am I am officially a legal UK driver!!!! I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And with flying colors I might add. They grade you here on a series of faults. You are allowed 15 minor faults for things like not holding the steering wheel correctly, not signaling properly, etc. and absolutely zero major faults for things like running a red light or being in the wrong lane at the round-a-bout. I only received 4 minor faults and of course no major faults or else I would have failed. I was so pleased with myself as only 42% of people even pass the test on the first try and I did it with room to spare.

My examiner was actually very nice and was even giving me pub recommendations for when my parents come over in June! Now, my instructor, that's another story. When I so excitedly told him that I had passed with only 4 faults, he said, "Oh yes, you remember the chap from last week that I told you about? The one who passed with no faults?" What a Debbie Downer!!! He never once congratulated me or said "Well done!" I told him about one area that gave me a little trouble and he said, "Well you really should have taken some more lessons." WTF????? I just passed the thing on the first try and you are telling me I should have taken more lessons???? Oh well. If he's out there somewhere and reading this blog, here's a little constructive critisism...Tell your students something encouraging or positve every now and then. It isn't good practice to only speak to your students when they do something wrong. And most importantly, at least give them a pat on the back when they pass.

I am most excited because this means I can drive my parents around freely and can finally start planning that trip to Ireland and France with them! Charlie invited me to lunch with a couple of her very sweet friends and we had a Prosecco and Cherry to celebrate. We sat outside and it is so beautiful and sunny here today that I even got a little bit sunburned! So now I'm off to pick up some things for dinner..I think we may even crack open a bottle of the good wine tonight. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me...I just kept your good thoughts on my mind throughout and I couldn't have done it without you! ~V

Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands...

Edgar and I are really craving TexMex. After 3 failed attempts, we've resigned to the fact that we will not find any Latin related food here in London that is worth eating. So...I decided to just cook it myself. I ordered a TexMex cookbook from Amazon and got to work. Anybody can make fajitas and guacamole. It's those darn enchiladas that are an enigma to me. I just couldn't imagine how to make that luscious brown gravy sauce that comes on top of them. This cookbook scored a buy from me because the very first recipe was "Enchilada Gravy Sauce"...SOLD! It's a pretty basic recipe and I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. You just make a roux out of oil and flour, add Mexican spices like cumin and then water to thin it out. I'm still experimenting with the combo of spices because I have a certain taste in my mouth and I won't stop until I've mastered it! But I have to say, my enchiladas turned out so well!!! We both had little tears in our eyes upon the first bite!

I am always amazed at the emotional connections with food. The flavors, the smells, even the textures can take you back to familiar and happy times. As we sat at our table last night, enchiladas, charro beans and margaritas laid out before us, we were instantly transported to Texas, to Romero's, our favorite place in Houston. We could feel the vinyl of the booths, the coolness of the tile table tops, and the smoky smell of fajitas sizzling by. As I closed my eyes, I could see Mama Romero plating up all the deliciousness for the waitstaff to deliver to hungry and eager tables. Nothing will taste as good as Romero's "Pick 3" platter with a cheese enchilada, chicken flauta and guacamole, but at least we can give ourselves small drinks of goodness until we can taste it again for ourselves.

Spring is Here!!!

Spring is a time of change. One day it's freezing cold and the next day it isn't. One minute the sun is shining and the next minute there is a torrential downpour with tiny pellets of hail. It can get frustrating because you never really know what the day's weather will hold. The forecasters can't really predict anything except that it will be completely unpredictable. You just learn to never leave home without a light jacket, sunglasses, and an umbrella. But all of these climatic differences can only mean one thing....Summer is on its way! And I LOVE British Summers!! I've only lived through one of them, but boy was it a good one. We didn't even travel last summer because we were having so much fun just hanging out in Richmond.

I think we have turned a corner this weekend. We've had several days in a row of nice, warm weather, and we're even keeping our windows open all day and night to let the fresh air in. I've taken the down comforter off the bed and my mind is swirling with visions of salads and cool drinks. The absolute best part about this time of year is that it's finally time to head outdoors! Yesterday, we joined the Whartons for a picnic and rousing game of football (soccer) in Richmond Park. Today, I did an entire 7 mile loop around the park with Charlie and Adam. Tomorrow is a Bank Holiday over here, which means Edgar has a day off work! I'm sure most of the day will be spent studying, but I'm hoping to pull him out of the flat for at least an hour and a nice walk down the river. With all this activity, I'm hoping to shed this little extra layer of insulation that kept me warm and toasty over the winter!

The above photo was taken from our kitchen window last weekend. You can't really see it in this picture, but there were actually 2 rainbows stacked on top of one another.