The times... they are a changin'

We have emerged from the most miserable time of year... the months when the sun is not up when you leave for work but has already set by the time you walk out of the office at 5:00pm. It is hard to drag yourself through the days and after 9 weeks of this you start to think that the sun has forever given up on London. The only light at the end of the tunnel is the train and it is coming straight for you. You long for the days of walking through the park at 8:30 pm with your sunglasses on and then question if those memories are real or just your vitamin D deprived brain playing cruel tricks on you...

And then you catch a glimpse of a tinsy flower bud popping its head out of the sun deprived earth. There is nothing like it... okay well maybe there are better moments in the world but to a Florida Girl living in London, trying to survive the dark, this is a pretty amazing feeling ;-)

I saw the first buds several weeks ago and then made a point to walk through a park at least once a day. But like a watched pot never boils... a watched buttercup never blooms. I stared to worry that the cold winter, lack of sun, excessive rain, snow... you get the point... had done the poor little wild flowers in this year. I put them to the back of my brain and got on with the day to day.

And then today happened. First, I noticed a neighbors window box was full of daffodils. Bright yellow, standing tall, waving at me in the breeze. I started to get a little excited and stood staring at them until I realised said neighbor was looking at me through the window. I wanted to skip away but figured she was still watching and I was carrying my laptop and gym bag which making skipping a bit cumbersome. So I casually made a bee line to St John's Wood Church Gardens and what I found was a glorious site...

Buttercups, Crocus, Snowdrops, and Daffodils... oh my!

Now... we are not out of the woods yet. There is still a lot of rainy, cold days and limited sunshine to get through but I think I have decided the light I see at the end of the tunnel isn't the train after all!

A few of my favorites from a quick trip home

After spending a short week in the states I thought I would come home with a hundred or more pictures. Turns out my camera does have an auto pilot and I wasn't as on my game as I had anticipated. The result... not very many pictures at all. However, here are a few of my favorites.

 Trying to figure out if Trey can roll his tongue. Uncle Chris lacks the appropriate gene and they say it is genetic. However, Trey is still a bit too young to understand the concept of rolling your tongue. Instead nephew and uncle spent about 5 minutes sticking out their tongues at each other and making other funny faces.

 I never set out to dress like my 86 year old Papa. However, Cricks can really rock the plaid so I am okay with this...

 Watching D-D-D-Dora. I tried for almost 15 minutes to get a picture but Trey was more interested in helping the baby red fish find his way back to the ocean. This included doing the crab dance, reading maps and shouting out various Spanish words.  Aqui! Ariba! 

 No explanation necessary...

This pic is a bit over exposed and full of shadows but too cute not to love. It was great getting to spend 2 days with Michelle, Matt and Trey. It was a quick visit and only left us wanting more. Thanks to the Farmers for their hospitality and for taxiing us all around Atlanta!

PS: I would have added the pic of my dad and Chris to this post if I hadn't already added it... just thinking about how excited they were with that 6 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon makes me laugh!

The proof is in the PBR

They say that girls grow up to marry a man that remind them of their father's. I have had a few moments in my life where this has proved to be the case. The following are just 2 of several examples...

Case in point 1: In the midst of a typical category 3 verging on 4 Florida hurricane just weeks before out wedding Chris could be found standing in the parking lot of our apartment complex pretending to be a weather reporter. The only thing he was missing was a camcorder. My dad on the other hand was standing in his yard in the midst of a very similar storm... with the camcorder.

Case in point 2: While everyone else in middle Tennessee were checking their milk and bread supply to hunker down for a few inches of snow and possible ice; Chris and my father made a trip to the local corner store and returned with Pabst Blue Ribbon...

And couldn't possibly have been more pleased with their purchase.

Love these guys :-)

Quality Time with the Russo's

 Preparing for the photo with 3 children...

 1st attempt... not too shabby but where is Trey looking?

 #2 Violet is clearly bored and just wants to chase 'new friend' aka Trey. Natalie seems to have forgotten that we were taking pictures. Notice the 4 adults have not moved...

Woo Hoo!!! Everyone looking at the camera... and Violet is still bored and Trey still has a death grip on his new Bulgie bus ;-)

Lovely catching up with the Russo's while we were in Atlanta. Can't believe they moved to Atl after we moved to London! We must improve our timing ;-)

Home Sweet Home

Beautiful sunset...

But more importantly, this Dodge Ram is rockin' the American flag bald eagle combo. 

And there is a potential I could be related to the driver...

Leaving on a jet plane...

But I know exactly when I will be home again. We are sitting on the plane waiting for lift off. We will be in Tennessee for a week and are dreading the cold weather! London is warming up this week and we are leaving... typical! Can't wait to see the family but sure wish I could see them on the beach :-)
Time to turn off all electronic devices... Until next time!

Look out Ginger and Fred... The Kipphuts are taking over this show!

Last night we headed to Wapping for a little vino and some dancing. To the relief of all involved in the evening there were no cameras. To answer your first question, Wapping is in east London. And to our surprise still in zone 2... However, I have not confirmed this on an official map so not sure I believe it! And now the second question, how on earth did I get CK out dancing??? This was easier than one might suspect. A friend, Tim, invited us and CK accepted without realizing what he was getting himself in to... That ought to teach him to read his email a bit more carefully!

Our friends, Tim and Laura, started the night off with a delicious roast and the first of a few bottles of wine. We had a great view of the dance venue from their dining room. The Wapping Project is an old hydro electric plant that has been converted into a restaurant, events hall, and exhibition space. Very little has been changed but it is a beautiful space with exposed bricks, huge windows and vaulting ceilings. A perfect place to take a spin around the dance floor!

There were 2 professional instructors. A sweet youngish girl who was patient, kind and did her best to stiffle her giggles as we trotted all over each others feet. And a rather gruff guy
who looked like perhaps his family was being held hostage until he taught us a few dance moves. His technique was simple... If they don't get it just move on and teach an even more complicated move... Including one that involves the guy sliding the girl along the floor, between his legs and then popping her back up to her feet. If you are having trouble picturing this just imagaine me flat on my back with Chris standing over me laughing uncontrollably.

All things considered and excluding the grande finale move, we rocked it! Chris even danced his way down the street to breakfast this morning just to prove he could still do it. And that is how a star is born!