birthday treat for myself

i've just booked a weekend to the bahamas for myself.

i've got a friend there who is staying for the autumn, and i thought what better treat for myself than to visit her and enjoy some relaxing time in the sun. i'll work on labor day here and take friday off instead, and take my birthday as a holiday!

i've been a mean green spending machine of late with a crown for my tooth, a class at a community college, a book to go with it (i forgot about these!), and now a flight ... but all worth it.

my quote for today

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There's nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Marianne Williamson (from her book, A Return to Love)

back to the books

i am officially a student again!
i signed up for an online course through a local community college here. psych 123, human growth and development. i've not taken an online course before, but it should be interesting. not least because it will talk about development from birth so i can get a handle on what all my friends are going through. (babies - they're all the rage now, everyone's doing it!)

in other news, alex and i went to ikea earlier this week to buy frames for pictures we've been meaning to hang up for AGES. as we've renewed our lease for another 6 months, i thought we might as well make it cozy. i've had my 'work hard and be nice to people' poster that i got from mike for my 30th in a tube for 2 years now.


actually, we ended up getting the frame at michael's - but did walk out of ikea with 5 hot dogs. isn't that disgusting? oh but they tasted so good! (until i weighed myself the next day at the doctor's office. no more hot dogs for awhile!)

have car, will call!

i'm slowly convincing myself i should get a car. not because i necessarily need one, mind you, but because i'm sure i would:

a) listen to more music
b) catch up with friends
c) find alone time

all of which are great! especially b. i've had two calls out of the blue this week from friends who only have the peace and quiet time to call when they are driving. sans kids and sans other daily distractions. (apart from the road, of course!). not that i will ever own a gas guzzler (i'm thinking a toyota or a mazda) ... but it sure is difficult to call people from the bike. i'm harboring a secret desire to buy a car and drive across the country. so perhaps in 2008, i can make that happen. we shall see.

back to beantown

sorry i've been incommunicado as of late. it always takes me a few days to get back into life, over jetlag, unpacked, and ready to go again. i must admit, this time i'm rather excited because i'm not on an airplane again until december! (or possibly november for thanksgiving - as yet undecided). i'm now in boston for the entire fall season! it feels like i've been traveling somewhere every two weeks since march. i'm happy to be home. alex and i renewed the lease on our little apartment for another six months, so i'm here for the autumn.

london was brilliant. it was so nice to see all of my friends again! and vicky and mike's wedding was absolutely amazing. they are so creative, as you might imagine, so everything was well thought out, and beautifully designed, and imbibed with love. here are a few pics from the day.









i'll put the rest of my pics on ofoto - so let me know if you want the link.

apparently england has had the rainest summer since sometime in the 1700's - and vix and mike had the most perfect day for their wedding, with not a cloud in the sky! it was absolutely beautiful.

and when we weren't talking about weddings, we were talking about babies!! isla and chris have the most beautiful daughter, eliza mae:



and of course, my beautiful friend anna is pregnant with twins and has a fine bump to show for it:



it's all very exciting over in the UK. everyone is growing up. strange but exciting. the rest of the time in the UK i worked, visited other friends, caught up on sleep (though not much), ate well, drank well, and otherwise had a restful time.

hope you are enjoying the summer wherever you are!

having a blast

had today off ... so had lunch with isla and her new baby eliza, cat and tom. lovely to catch up and see her new little one, who is adorable. then on an impulse, stopped into a hairdresser and got a bob! i'll get pictures up after the wedding. spent the last three days working and then catching up with friends in the evening. today i also went to my old flat where tom had repainted the entryway and organized new carpet on the stairs. they installed it today and it looks great. brand new again. i just need to sand the floorboards and then it'll look even better - and probably up the sale price when i'm ready to sell. tomorrow we drive down to dorset to begin the wedding festivities ... more next week when we're back!

enjoy the weekend!

landed safely

just in case anyone is following me from this blog. i landed at 4.53 this morning and got a cab back to anna's where i've slept for the last 3 hours. now out to lunch with my boss in soho. and with sporadic email / website access for the next week or so. luckily the sun is shining (the first day all summer, apparently) so i've timed this trip perfectly. that's all for now ...