Greatest Hits 2007

• Daily walking commute and evening escort home
• Circle lunches
• Infinite Good
• Giddy fireworks and sparklers at Ashley's in the clear cold night in Fife
• Soy milk
• Mac conversion
• Love/hate Facebook
• New cape, duvet and purple coats
• Beautiful evolution of work mates turning into real friends
• Living simply and then a return to commerce
• Grown up European holiday in Majorca
• Sa Punta and Son Floriana
• Mark’s graduation and job getting
• Slug murder
• Giving notice at work
• New friends, keep the old, Silver/Gold rule
• Loch Lomand and anniversary Dom Perignon
• How I Met Your Mother and King of Queens giggles
• Successful cosmic ordering
• North American visitors
• Tradition not habit
• Friend return
• Marriage: into the second year
• Staying

freedom training wheels

Had my first day of not going to the office today.  

It feels 1% weird. 

Maybe it is that I am still recovering from my 4 a.m. getting home from my leaving do/holiday party. Or that I am in xmas mode. Or that I am discombobulated when Mark gets up for work. 

I have high hopes for making this new thing work for me. 

After all, the 99% feels pretty flipping fantastic.

bi-annual hair

chocolate-ization and end cleaning

Chapter ending

Three days at work left and I feel crabby. Like I shoulda maybe gone 3 weeks ago. Six weeks of notice is too long. By the time you get to the last week, your head is already gone, but your body is at the office … making it very confusing for your spirit.

But I feel this is 10000% the right time for me to exit. Change is afoot. And I am not, should not, be a part of the next iteration. In the 18 months I have tried to be myself, do my work, be open and honest and treat people with respect and good will. And that I think I have accomplished. It also underscores what is important to me and what I can’t be bothered with. Truth is, I am more hungry now for a different kind of work than I have been in a long time. The fire is officially lit for my next chapter.

My best takeaway from my job is that I’ve met really great humans and they have helped me fully assimilate into life in Scotland. I got to know the flavour and the texture of the people and culture in a way I never would have just sitting in my flat. I've been part of it. I so appreciate the characters and the open friendliness and acceptance my team has offered me.

I will truly miss working with people I like, respect and enjoy being around. The daily coffee mornings, the ‘man tin’, my continual visits to the web team, the lunch field trips and Sodexo cuisine. But also working with people who Get It. They are smart and know what and who they are about and how to do their jobs. It is heartening to be around. I also see what they could be if they believed in themselves more. But they know how to have a laugh and also do their job -- which is a refreshing change from some of my corporate experience.

I also know I won’t miss early mornings and picking out an outfit. Too many available snacks. Meetings. Quiet office politics. Time away from what I feel called to do. Giving me excuses to play small. And not coaching more.

My hope is that I will keep the people. Keep the friends. Keep the connection.

But in my heart of hearts I know.

My work here is done.

getting ready for the holiday

mark the graduate

a serious giving of thanks

One of the nicest things

Proving that good things indeed do come to those who wait.

And I can't imagine better people to shepherd a person into the world than Mary & David.

sniff

Unfair! 

My second cold in 2 months! Darn offices and shared air and door handles and breathing. I have nice Chris Craig here too and I feel crap.  Am test piloting Vick's First Defense stuff you squirt up yer nose which is supposed to kill the germs up there in the recesses. 

That coupled with the Jacklyn Smith Made For TV movie, the couch, my cozy clothes, squishy Kleenex and the early work exit ought to kick its ass right quick. 

Good night. 

Huge buckets of gratitude

Meanwhile, things in our lives are amazing. Huge buckets of gratitude overflow.

All we have been working so hard for and cosmic ordering and musing about and hoping for and hand wringing and dreaming of is happening.

Happy recap:

• Mark successfully finished his MBA (Graduation next week!) Totally worked his arse off. Learned about himself. Got a chance to swing out and try things out of his comfort zone. Learn about things he wanted to know. Round out his skills. Hone his talents. Get called into a Bigger Place in himself.
  
• Mark got an excellent job he is excited about. Validating this MBA year from a personal growth and a career-building scope. Pride swells.
  
• We don't have to move. Now. You cannot underestimate how giant that is. We have cumulatively moved 6 times in 7.5 years, including 3 countries.
  
• We get to stay in Scotland. Which may seem like a bad thing to my US people. But we are consistently rewarded here with friendliness and fun and easiness and affordability of life here. We won't be here forever. A 3-5 year plan is in the works.
  
• We get to stay in Edinburgh (unless Glasgow calls to us in April after this test run commuting phase). We love the lack of crowds. The undiscovered jewel of the UK. Pretty, small, laid back. Friends, workmates, restaurants, handlers, doctors. Sorted.
  
• I get to quit my (beloved people but not my dream) day job. It has been a good run. Standard Life has re-installed my faith in the corporate world a bit. It ain't perfect. But it gave me what I needed for these 14 months. A place to work. Money. A sense of belonging. Great welcoming friends. Funny and fun colleagues. Using my brain. Feeling smart.
  
• I get to focus on coaching! Get a niche. Get more clients. Learn more. Do more. Be more. I've managed to keep the practice afloat this whole while, but barely. I know enough about myself that I need space and time to make things happen and working has had my attention. I am hungry for more.
  
• I get to go to LEADERSHIP! Which I have been wanting since I started coaching in 2004. Starting in JANUARY! Over my 40th birthday! In CALIFORNIA! Lead by the CTI founders Karen Kimsey-House and Henry Kimsey-House. Big and scary and exciting. I can honesty not think of a better way to ring in my 4th decade than by taking this time to invest in me and my inner leader.
  
• We get to start moving towards the future. The one we have been talking about since 2000. Dogs and possible offspring and houses and regularity.
  

In sum this feels wonderful and hopeful and deeply deeply satisfying and a giant relief. It is the end of one long marathon. One we ran and ran and ran and didn't always believe we would finish. But dang it, we are on the other side, looking back in awe and elation knowing we did it.

As I pause to celebrate, I know we are starting another journey. But instead of a marathon, I am going to look at it as an exhilarating walk in a new neighborhood. One that you've been wanting to look around in. Curious. Discover what's there. Forward. With intent. Strong. One that makes you feel alive. But also fun. And not an emergency.

This feels too nice to run through.

saying goodbye to Olof

What a exhausting 32 hours.

To Amsterdam and Leiden and back and as many as 10 different modes of transport once it was said and done. But mostly in saying good bye to Olof.

I'd never been to a cremation ceremony before, especially one in Dutch. Some parts were translated, but most of it was not, which actually made it easier. What we did understand were the Queen songs Olof had chosen for this day, Olof's favourite blue and purple flowers surrounding his casket, and the enlarged framed photo of Olof is his backwards baseball cap and camera strewn around his neck, grinning sweetly.

These things made it real. And ghastly.

It is hard to see someone young die. It is even harder to see the closest people caught in mid-stream who will need to continue on with the giant hole of loss.

Also hard to see my Mark lose someone who shared a huge amount of joint memories with him and who he thought was a given and a staple in his future. Boys don't make lots of new friends. They hang on to the old ones forever.

It was sad. And good. And important. And lovely to meet the people in his and Evelyn's life.

And we hope to remember Olof each year at this time.

Toast to him with his classically overly sugared tea. Eat meat on a stick. Or just take some time to think of him.

It is sad. And good. And important.

dark morning

It really never is good news when the phone rings at 5:30 in the morning. And on this morning, Mark was already out the door. On the bus to the airport for an early London meeting. I assumed the call was from him. Forget something?

No. The call was from Evelyn. Olof's new wife.

Olof being Mark's good friend from back in early telecom days when they were both freshfaced and new. Olof of Amsterdam. Olof with the gentle eyes and sweet nature who quietly has been in Mark's life as long as I have known him and in Mark's for much longer. Olof who at my first meeting of him got me so drunk on margaritas at Cactus Cantina in 2000 that I called in sick the next day. Olof who showed us the miles and miles of tulips in the countryside of the Netherlands on my first trip over. Olof who charmed and dated my friend Laurie and took who pictures at our Cambridge wedding. Olof who spend last New Years Eve with us in Edinburgh. Olof who has been sick -- far sicker than any of us have known.

Evelyn called to tell us that Olof died this morning. I think he was 40.

He had cancer. Bad. All over. And in 11 months it took over his body.

Mark spoke to him on Sunday. He was hard to understand, but Mark got to connect. Didn't know it was for the last time.



Nothing more to say just now.

6 weeks notice

Shortly, sweetly and hung over-ly, I am happy to report I gave my notice to resign, making my last day the day of our team's holiday party.

Not that I am happy to leave my daily people and my sense of belonging and feelings of being part of a super team. But I am happy that this day has (dare I say finally) come for me to get the chance to catch my breath and refocus. Get closer to what my heart feels really good about. And to get on the bus to Next Thing.

After seemingly thousands of glasses of wine last night with the team, and hearing their hearty and sincere congratulatory words, I feel so lucky. Most of which is for the support of Mark. And the kind universe if doing a fair share too.

highlights de mallorca

deep slumber

One week can really kick reality's ass.

We are freshly home after our seamless week in Mallorca. It did just what we wanted -- air, sun, time, food, wine, relaxing, fun, silliness, away. Although saying that, home has never felt so good, nor our bed so super delicious.

Now to enjoy the freshness of our clean (thanks to pre holiday efforts) home, blue crispy sky in Edinburgh and extra hour of day (thanks to British summertime ending) before Mark starts his big job tomorrow and the next phase offically kicks off.

AWOL

MIA

Helena and Mary Rabatin

Please report to duty.

Your fellow solders are needing an update

future ho!

And yes. The year of working hard, keeping our heads down, our needs simple and our future plans theoretical has paid off. Keeping fingers and toes and all other crossables crossed may have helped.

Mark has passed his MBA. Officially.

Mark has been offered a big, fat, juicy job. Officially.

In one week, we are going to the Spanish island of Mallorca to sit in the sun and drink tall cool beverages with umbrellas. Tickets booked.

And count our blessings.

And start the Next Chapter.

But first to revel and roll around in this good place. It tastes too nice to rush through.

Yehaw.

car free

We are selling the grandpa car today. We are going to be car less. But money, um, full?

I've kinda hated that car. Too wide. Too hard to drive. Too big. Uncool. But it's sale is going to nicely secure rent paying for the next while. And we will move to online grocery shopping. Which is pretty much the only thing we use it for.

Feels oddly liberating.

don't call it luck

A bird just shat on me as I walked down the steps to our flat. Arm and t shirt.
1000% gross.

inspired

Seems just when you really need it, you get an unexpected injection of good feeling right in the gooey center.

And this morning I feel the cumulative effects of:

- my weekend with the future coaches and Lex bringing back why I like to coach, why Lex is seriously a keeper and glimpses of what I want more of

- the grace of Mark in his hours of demand, without complaint and powering through

- the shouts out from new and old readers who say they like to read this here blog, giving me more pause that you know

- the premature need for scarves and heavier coats up north here in Scotland, cuz it has been cold all summer, at least now we can dress for it

- through the sad lose of Uncle Al, a connection to time, to family, to core ground

- the 10% turn of feeling in the air that autumn is here, inspiring fires, hot drinks and giant goblets of red wine

- because I KNOW Mark will get a good job very soon and things will change and those things will be good

- It is ok to be just where we are

joy

and relief. Mark turned It in this morning at 10:00 a.m. after a night of working on fumes and having shades of madness and Losing It Mentally at about 3:45. All 65,000 words are turned in. He is happy with the result. I am happy it is out of my life. We are happy to have just had a nice lunch with a glass of wine and actually sit together and revel in the relief. No more work or words today.

I am complete.

so close

and yet...

So

Far

I had high hopes that Mark was turning in his dissertation on Friday -- leaving us with 3 full days of skipping in the street, getting drunk mid-day and reclaiming the surfaces of the conservatory, now piled high with books and papers and student detritus.

But. No.

The cruel MBA people are allowing him to turn it in on Monday. Squashing my visions with a big stinky foot.

I responded as only I can. Crabbily, brattily annoyed.

I feel bad about this, but I was soooooo close to having my partner back. Space in his head for me. Play dates and also help mate in the house. I feel I have been by my standards, patient for so long. I was ready. Am ready for the Next Thing.

So instead I went to the movies. (Atonement- v good) and I went to the dry cleaners. And did laundry. And took a long soaky bubble bath with the October Vanity Fair. And made chicken corn chowder. And I felt very sorry for myself for 2 days. Making this All About Me. And making me about 8 years old.

But today is Sunday and while I firmly believe Mark has made this about 700 times harder, longer and more time consuming than I ever would, it is his way. And he will be proud to turn it in at the very last tick of the clock tonight. And even though I am so very done with Mark's MBA and his year of learning, I know I am getting a more rounded and more fulfilled partner out of it.

So the vision has changed to a long celebratory lunch on my No Work Monday. WIne. Good Food. Talking. Just the 2 of Us. With nothing hanging over our heads. Except him getting a job. But that complaint is for another day.

of the day

I am sitting on the GNER train at 8 on the morning at Edinburgh Waverly station. It is the second train I have been on this morning. I sat on one for an hour from 6:00. After getting up at literally 4:45 AM. A fire on a freight train in Musselburgh has grounded travel south to a halt.

But I am grateful for my decision to pull out the stops and upgrade for fancy First Class, Free WiFi. Sammiches being handed out. Friendly ladies asking if you need travel help. Many posh older gentlemen in suits making small talk and jokes with the beverage servers. And me. In my green comfort Dansko sandals and glasses and my shiny Mac. I feel like an first class impostor. But determined to stake my claim here in the comfy class. I love it.

But more to the point, today I travel to London to assist on coaching course with dear Lex. I look forward to getting into the warm tub of CTI love and immerse deeply in coactivity and coaching mindset.

Update - we are moving!

But this is all giving me pause, as today is the funeral of my dear Uncle Al. My nuclear and extended family is gathering together to pay tribute to him and to officially say good-bye. It was a sudden and sad death. And the first of that generation in my family. He has been a staple and a given in the fabric of my 39 years and feels wrong and disproportionately shocking that he has gone. I think of my dear Aunt Dorothy, married to him since she was 16. And my parents who together with Al and Dorothy have been a formidable foursome over the many years, sharing vacations, hundreds of days at the lake, pizza nights, drop by visits and often seeming to morph into the same people.

I may be in London today. But my heart is in Milwaukee with the Michalskis, the Faculjaks, the Krohns and the Giuntolis. And remembering where and who I come from.

not much to say

Feeling in the soup while Mark is in the thick of finishing his dissertation and looking hard for a job. It all feels quite real. We take long daily walks to discuss options and muse scenario planning. It is probably an exciting time of our lives. Probably. Shame it is also bloody stressful. Lots of energy poured into hope.

p-i-e

This is what happens when I have a bit too much time on my hands and I don't want to go to the gym.
Apple- Strawberry Pie.
With home-made crust.
My first.

Yesterday was Minestrone soup. You'd think it was November.

I want an iPod shuffle (and an oompah loompah)

If you are a UK reader you may be interested in this ... LoveFilm is a lovely movie DVD delivery service. We love it. It is easy. They are giving an iPod Shuffle to people who refer 3 new customers. IF you follow this link, you get the first month free.

Sign up please so I can give my poor Mark this neat toy.
http://www.lovefilm.com/949fbpwm4/visitor/sign_up_1.html

Here's the official pitch:

Hi,

I'm a member of LOVEFiLM.com and you should be too. They've got every UK DVD available to rent, they deliver direct to your door and there are no late fees. Prices start at £4.99 but you can try it free for a month, no strings attached*, by clicking on the link below.

http://www.lovefilm.com/949fbpwm4/visitor/sign_up_1.html

These are the sort of titles you could be renting for free in just a couple of days. It only takes 2 minutes to join.



Enjoy!

* Terms and conditions
If you register for a free trial, a valid credit card is required. You will NOT be charged during the free trial. Depending on the package you choose, you may have either 1, 2 or 3 discs out at any one time and/or a capped number of discs per month. You can cancel your subscription at any time. Existing subscribers or those who have previously enjoyed a free trial with any LOVEFiLM-powered site are not eligible. At the end of your free trial, you will automatically become a paying member unless you cancel your subscription and return any of our discs in your possession BEFORE the end of your free trial. One trial per household. For full Terms and conditions click on the link above.

OCD

things I feel I have OCD about:
- bed making
- pillows on couches
- lighting
- clutter free surfaces
- e-mail checking
- Facebook checking
- stocking and replenishing household items and groceries
- laundry
- making soup

What kind of disease is this? No wonder I feel I don't have time to do things or to think or muse or relax? All this faffing about plumping pillows and making lists of toothpaste and milk and HP Sauce is taking up all my bleedin' time!

We are in a deep state of Waiting for the Next Thing here. It is almost time. Mark is finishing his dissertation and looking for a job. A job, which will hopefully secure many fundamental things in our future such as where we live, how we live, what I will do and at what level of financial security we will have, which dictates a whole other level of items. We kinda have to trust the universe.

Ultimately I believe things will work out, well, great. They tend to. And I believe that we will land squarely on our feet with the sunny side up. I really do believe that. And in my heart I know that no mater what happens we will be more than OK. But somehow making soup and keeping house and all my 'busy' work must weirdly be my brain's way of coping. Of control. It ain't much fun. But we have plenty of toilet paper at all times.

winner

Ta da! The first execution of our new logo. I am loving the clean green. Looking forward to now a new website which will supercede life insight coaching... and will be the new business from now on.

sunny side

I don’t mean to be so dear about it, but my favourite part of the day has become my walk to work.

I create a new path and meander the 20 minutes zigging and zagging to follow the sunny side until I reach my office. It dries my hair. It makes me breathe. You see, the last week or so has been featuring Actual Sun, which for us this summer is not just novel, but we are collectively gagging for it.

I spent last weekend in the south of England in the Bournemouth area with Lexie & Martin and it was 70+ degrees and azure, clear skies. I about died of happiness. I always professed to be one who enjoyed a melancholy, grey day… but I think I need to change my tune. The dark and unpredictable climate these last few months has really gotten to me in a way which I had not recognised. It isn’t just the warm temperatures, but the feeling of summer – relaxed, fun, silly, and light hearted I’ve been missing. Even though we grown ups (ok some of us grown ups!) have to go to an office and pretend to be adult, summer still can be a different state of mind. Linen and salad thinking, not black wool and potatoes.

Now, I wrote the above last week and it has been rainy on my daily sojourn to work, but it still applies even in the clouds. There is something about walking as a means of transport that slows you down enough to hear your head. The summer attitude I need to work on.

SLF639

Reporting to duty.

Today was my first day at my job as a Regular Employee. Just 2 weeks shy of my 1 year anniversary at SLB, I have crossed the threshold into 31 days a year holiday and 51p soup in the canteen.

And today feels no different than Friday. Same job, same people, same schedule, same desk, same tasks. New ID number, new badge, and a few new procedures to capture my hours worked.

My goal is to keep the rest of me in the same sameness. My outlook. My integrity. My sense of self. Keep perspective. Keep real. Keep true to me.

And to repeat my mantra as I walk to work each morning

I like my job

I have nothing to prove

I am just here to work

And eat the cheap lunch.

my big day out

After a 2 month driving hiatus, I took advantage of a calm mood, a licenced driver partner and Sunday traffic and took my readjusted seat! Great to get behind the wheel of the wide silver grampa car and onto the road with the sunroof open letting the cool morning air in.

And I even drove further then my usual 3 minute, 2 turn route to the urban Tesco. We forged new territory! Daring to venture as far a field as Willowbrae and Prestonfield. I experienced new traffic patterns, used my handbrake accordingly, stayed out of the bus lanes and hit nothing and no one.

And I think I found my real impetuous to get my actual drive-on-my-own-licence. The Big Sainsbury in Cameron Toll. It may be as close to a Target as I can get on this side of the big ocean. It was near impossible to get a proper look with antsy Mark with me hurrying me along the aisles and prodding me to Just Get the Things We Need, while having to ignore the rows of cheap and cheerful ladies clothing and housewares and magazines and giant bakery/deli area.

How I could wheel through each aisle and noodle over the good things to make, new brands to discover and cheapo ways to enliven our flat with new candles or tea towels or the odd new kitchen utensil.

One of the things I miss about our former life is a bit of commerce. And possibly why grocery shopping is still so fun for me as I can rationalize spending money on good food and drink as it is necessary, while new shoes and holiday travel is not.

Well today I got a sniff of a place I can get my commercial jollies without breaking the bank. Just need to make it a solo adventure and one more step to a fully acclimated dweller of the UK.

fantasy

Finally a rerun I can get excited about. After more than 20 years, they are running it on UKTV Gold station. And man, it brings me back... the pinnacle in the Saturday night/popcorn/sprite/cheeto/jammies line-up after Solid Gold and Love Boat was Fantasy Island.

It was always a bit scary what with all those white suits and B rated guest stars, and planes landing on water, but I really loved the concept. Imagine a place you can go and ostensibly 'work something out' and get what you really want in your heart of hearts. In the show naturally there was always a catch or a cautionary tale of Be Careful What you Wish For. Money Won't Buy Happiness. The Love You Want is in Front of You. Beauty doesn't Make You Happy, etc. blah blah.

I honestly can't imagine a show like that now -- it would be all porn. Or actually we do have shows like that but they all involve Hot Hook ups of annoying 20somethings cheating on each other.

I mean an actual place where you could go and get whatever your heart truly longs for. It is an interesting concept.

I am thrilled that I can be transported to that time when the show itself seemed magical and cool and scary. Which is kinda what it feels like to get what your heart wants.

I knew I loved him for a reason

Those of you who know me or possibly have Met me know that I love Peter Mulvey in a somewhat stalkerbutfromthepurestplacenotatallicky way. I heart him for his smoky, deep and rich voice, his twinkly eyes, his Milwaukee south side roots, his clever, quick witted brain, his musical prowess and his all around hunkyness. Now I can add environmental conscience to that as well.

He tours like a madman across the globe and is embarking on a new venture -- "Look Ma, No Gasoline" Tour where he & his gear will bike to all his gigs. It is a smart, cool and news worthy way to keep his carbon footprint down and his thighs strong.
Read all about it on his site.

Better yet, buy his music and keep him in business. He is the kind of guy we want making music and on the road. While I fully admire and support his green gigs, I hope this does enough to offset his footprint to get his arse on a plane and play in the UK. His audience needs him!

P.S. Hands up for those who saw the heading and thought I was gonna write about Mark. He is nice too but the dude can't hold a key.

purty

pink PETUNIAS (thanks grandma Andy) a plenty in our flowerboxes in front of the flat.

World's biggest slug

Or our garden's anyway. Sucker musta been 6 inches. I am obsessed and grossed out and posessed by them.

friendly visitors

Just coming off our week of familial visitors who braved the 60 degree gray and rainy June days with aplomb and good cheer, bringing familiar accents, coveted American goods and warm hearts.

hours of fun

make your own chick

Infinitely

We are working on our logo for Infinite Good -- the business and personal development consulting firm, run by me n marky.

What do you think of our logos so far?

flip flops

Could it be that after all my whinging about turtlenecks in May that summer has landed on our stoop? As I type on my no office Monday, I am wearing flip flops to showcase my pink toes and a skirt to highlight my pasty pins. It is actually partly cloudy/partly sunny and warm (ish). Maybe even 68.

I do feel a turn in the air. Cats fighting in the back garden. Must mean something hormonal and lunar is upon us. I may risk it all and even do the switcheroo in the closet and move the big sweaters out and the flippy dresses in.

What I do know is that I feel a cloud lifting. Maybe it is weather related. Maybe it is just me coming out of my long winter's hibernation where quiet felt right and inside was better then outside.

Or maybe it is just today that I feel more aligned than I have in a long time. And I have hijacked the office as Mark has taken over the conservatory with flip charts and cups of tea and books and papers. I too need a surface to be thoughtful and to work. Get my head in the game and off the TV.

Maybe it is time I switch back on.

All Day PJ

It is true. Mark said he heard it on the radio today. My All Day Pyjama fantasy is cracking before my eyes.

School puts stop to 'pyjama mamas'
Looking at women in their nightwear has become a sight for sore eyes for the principal of one east Belfast primary school. Joe McGuinness of St Matthew's Primary School has written a letter to parents asking them not to wear pyjamas while they drop their children off at school.

Read the rest of the story from BBC ...

What these women don't know is that sportswear is as fantastically forgiving and cosy as the actual jam jams and much more acceptable in the world. Even gives the appearance of being sporty and fit. Amateurs.

settling

in? Or just settling? That is the question.

Week 4 into my latest post at my temp job and in the new building the bank moved to. I am developing a pattern, Seeing the same Mom and her 2 rumpled primary school boys leave their house at 7:45. Seeing the same milk delivery truck as I walk down Broughton Street. Seeing the same early worms at the office. Is comforting. And my job is suddenly interesting. Interesting enough.

I have been back in the job world for over 10 months. Back long enough to know. Know that if I can do this, I can also get the benefits of the slog. I have actually applied for an actual J-O-B doing basically what I am doing now in the same department.

I admit, I have been fighting it. Now I surrender to the reaity of wanting a sturdy financial stand from which we can grow. Savings. Houses. Family. The whole lot.

I shan't abandon coaching. It remains as important and as integral as ever. It is just now an additional thing I do.

What I do know is that it feels nice to put the first stake in the ground.

a small offering

I found £20 on the street yesterday.

That never happens.

As the first day of Mark's class free life, and my Monday schedule, we had a sunny outdoor lunch at the garden cafe of the Dome restaurant complete with bloody marys to celebrate our manna.

This should happen more

This just in

Welcome to Benjamin Max McDonald, first son born unto Tom and Miri on 20 May!

Le'chayim! - To life!

since we last talked

1. I am working hard in a new role at my job. Seriously. Hardly any play time. Seriously. Is interesting and I am doing things like real marketing campaigns and placing national ads and working with agencies and product people and sales. Like a grown up job selling something real. Is novel.

2. Mark's last day of class is tomorrow! Then dissertation and project work only. And emptying the dishwasher. And getting some form of financial input into the family fund. Mostly, glad to have him back.

3. I hurt my back. Or my back hurt me. Time to get some core muscles exercise going. I am too young to be in pain when I put my undies on. Plus, it is embarrassing.

4. Mark turned 37. I hate the 3 months when I am 3 years older rather than the 2.

5. We moved offices and I get to/have to walk to work. See number 3 for reasons to be glad for this.

6. I feel quite boring, hence my lack of inspired or in fact, any posts.

7. The new TV schedule ain't all that. Or a bag of chips. Predictably.

8. It gets dark at 9:30 now, totally screwing with my PJ wearing time, but am managing,

9. Tom & Miri should be having a baby boy any day now.

10. Sinead y Nico bought a house

11. Barbara is working on her website for her new marketing consulting firm, Minerva Marketing.

12. The new season (3) of Gray's Anatomy is finally starting in the UK

13. Some nice Scottish ladies at work told me they "Love my American accent" and that it sounded like "a posh American accent" Whatever that is. Do we have one? Needless to say, I totally loved hearing it,

14. I made pork crackling for Mark's bday dinner. I think it is one of those things one must grow up with to appreciate

15. Kelly is a Dr. and moving to Oh-Hi-Oh for an impressive tenure track life

16. My sister Clarie got a dog Bruno

17. My parents and Barbara are coming to E burgh for a visit this summer

18. I got my hair cut

19. Mark & I are working on Infinite Good Consulting -- our umbrella company for our entrepreneurial ventures of coaching and business building

20. I want more coaching clients. 3 more please.

21. Andy wins as Number One reader as he requested this update, sad as it is.

22. After a full month (no lie) of no washing machine, we got a new one. I heart clean sheets at any time. We had the heinous chore of going to the actual laundrette a few times and it made my 10(!) years of Quebec House laundry room look easy and convenient.

how sad am I

I am THRILLED.

I just called Virgin Media (our cable company) and found out we are eligible for an upgrade for the same price we pay now. This jumps us from size "M" 39 to size "L" offering over 82 channels, including the likes of Paramount which shows King of Queens, Everybody Hates Chris and a load of other US shows. AND we now get Food channels and YAY.

Oldie weds

Offically no longer newlyweds and soon to become Old News. Hurrah!

Oh so fyne

Dinner at the original and first Loch Fyne Oyster restaurant. While I did not partake, Mark slid 2 babies down.

bring out the Dom

Time to open the LOVELY wedding present from Nancy F.G -- the 1998 Dom. A delicious post hiking/pre dinner treat. Well worth the wait. Yum.