New Friends and old.....

i've been living in London for a while now

and actually know a lot of people living here in London,

but havent managed to get round to meeting up with them yet.

So i thought i'd use my birthday as a chance to

get together with old school friends and work colleagues

who i havent seen in a long (long long) time.

So i invited them...

and well, none of them came!

(It was a monday night to be fair)

but here's the thing i had an awesome birthday anyway,

after inviting all these old friends

i thought i'd invite a few people who i dont know so well 

but would like to get to know better.

So i invited a girl i work with and some friends from church to come along,

and they all came.

So along with them, my two sisters and one of my oldest friends

i had a really good time.

I dont know what this says about me,

that maybe once you get to know me you 

might start avoiding me!

lets hope not!

i also got a satellite phone call from husband

from the Amazon Delta,

and he made sure that my sister bought me some flowers 

from him....

those little thoughts from him made my day.

Besties....

miss sarah wins the ballerina princess crown

One of the awesome things about

the baby ballet classes that I teach is that my 

teaching assistant is one of my best friends.

I've known the lovely Sarah since I was 12 years old,

and getting to hang around with her in the studio 

is great fun.

Sometimes we just laugh and laugh and the kids look at us like we are loonies.

We also know the words to nearly every disney song,

(plus a few obscure ones that we taught ourselves from the disney sing a longs 

back in the day of our teenage years...

oh yes no wild parties for me, a fun friday night

meant sing a long time)

What is it with kids now a days that they dont know the old classic disney

I had about 1 student who knew Dumbo, and about 3 who knew Winnie the Pooh.

She's also been assisting for baby ballet

a lot longer than i've been teaching it,

so is a fountain of knowledge on little tricks to 

get the kids to do things 

that make me just stop and scratch my head...

who would have thought that invisible sparkly glitter

goo would be so useful at getting children to stand still! 

Carousel....

 I've always said that i wanted a Carousel at my wedding,

turns out it cost £3000 to rent one for a day.

i know cause i checked.

and although it would be fun,

it would not be practical (ok ok...i mean affordable, who cares about practical!)

Last weekend i met one of my lovely Bridesmaids Sarah 

(who i havent been in about 3 years)

and we went round a little Vintage Fete that was going on in her area of London,

where i found some lovely Antique table decorations for the wedding.

And she also surprised me with a Carousel.

Tim is glad that i've got it 'out of my system'

hmmmm.....it was just so dang fun!

We were the only people over the age of 8 on it!

There was also a Helter Skleter, but the clouds opened

and it rained a bit so we headed to somewhere to sit down and have a natter.

Drip drip drop little Bridal shower.....

I went to my first Bridal Shower this week,

i think Bridal Showers are mainly an American thing right?

Anyhows,

my first Bridal Shower also happened to me mine....

which made it even more exciting.

And look at this amazing cake that one of the ladies made....

Its going to be even better than my wedding cake 

(Tim's mum is making my wedding cake....

i have neither seen nor eaten any of her cakes so cant really judge them....yet)

I'm Back!

Holiday/tour was lovely....

still got a few more days before i head back to ballet....

i think i'll use them in mourning of the loss of my Captain.

I love being able to spend every day with him

(even if it was only 4 days)

it felt like a lifetime.

It felt like home.

dang,

i dropeed my laptop on tour,

and now everything that should be white is fusia pink.

not that i would mind, seeing as i quite like the colour pink,

but it makes it incredibly difficult to read/see anything on the screen.

Maybe i'll see if i can take it into computer hospital somewhere,

I hope so seeing as its brand new!

A curse upon my butter fingers!

Be warned,

lots of boring travel pictures will be appearing in the next few posts.....

Christmas and Cupcakes...

Just one more post about my fleeting trip to the Uk...

I mean who wouldnt be excited by such a HUGE Christmas tree

and GIGANTUOS Christmas baubles

A trip to London is never complete

without a visit with one of my Besties, Steven!!!!

After a lovely lunch we headed over to The Humming Bird Bakery in Soho for some cupcakes.

My sister has their cookbook at home so i was pretty excited...

to be honest i wasn't all that impressed,

sure it was delicious,

but we got there at the end of the day and there were only 2 options of

cupcakes chocolate or vanilla....how dull!

I also begrudge spending so much on a cupcake....

i know its London and its a cupcakes are all hip and in at the moment...

but honestly,

give me a four pack of chocolate chip muffins

from Tesco's any day for 99p and i'd be happy...

Kindred Spirits...

In the last few months i've made a lovely group of friends.

The Crew.

It's the first time since i've left high school

that i've had an actual group of friends.

Different personalities that on a singular level might not get

along with one another but in a group setting each develops

his/her own niche that makes them vital to The Crew.

But this being Egypt most foreigners are

here on a limited stop over,

and it seems that quite a few of my buddy buddy's are moving on.

It makes me sad but also happy.

Sad that its coming to an end,

Happy that i've made some Kindred Spirits,

and as Anne will tell you,

Kindred Spirits goes beyond friendship,

it is a recognition of part of your soul in someone else.

Balloon Bombing....

I'm not sure if this video is available for people to watch,

(or click here)

but this is how i spent my Friday afternoon this week.

A new sport we like to call Balloon Bombing.....

Friendship Truffles.....

This afternoon i heard my door bell rang.

I dont normally like to answer my door when i'm home alone

if i'm not expecting company,

but this time i did.

And it was my friend who lives across the street,

And she was carrying a plate of homemade

chocolate covered truffles

And she handed them to me

And told me that they were for me and only me.

And she didnt bring it up

but i knew that she knew that the previous night

had been a tough one.

And her simple gesture will be something

that i wll never forget.

And i hope that one day i can pass on her homemade truffles

to someone who needs them.

Let the juice loose.....

Last night out i went out with friends for dinner.

Some americans, an english gal and myself.

My British friend and i kept breaking out into a

dance routine through out the evening.

One of us would declare ,

'there's some juice loose aboot this hoose'

which start us both into singing the song and twisting around in imitation

of a tv advert from the 90's which included a Scottish man

dancing in a similar style in his kilt.

We found it hilarious.

The joke didnt tire for us all night long.

Unfortunately we were the only two who knew the advert and nobody

else found it quite as entertaining,

in the end they didnt even stop the conversations

whilst we danced in between them.

I think its sad that they didnt benefit from the joy

of dancing around like a crazy Scottish man,

so i thought i'd share the joy here......

just incase your in need of some.

Let the juice loose....

.

Feliz Ano Nuovo....

This December 31st I welcomed in the year 1991 from Spain.

I learned the Spanish tradition of popping a grape

into my mouth with every dong that the clock struck

on the video that we pulled off of youtube,

which happened to be from Madrid when they were welcoming in 1991.

Perhaps it wasn't particularly midnight at that precise moment

here in Egypt,

but we figured that seeing as we were celebrating 1991,

which has already been and gone at any rate,

it didnt really matter.

Then perhaps i got a phonecall from a boy

who had walked up to the top of a hill in the snow and the dark

hundreds of miles away

to get reception on his phone so he could wish me a happy new year.

Perhaps that was the best welcome

into the new year that i have ever had.

Perhaps he called me back a few minutes later

to say he couldnt find his way home in the dark

and that he was sure he could hear wolves howling.

hmmmm.....

I havent heard from him since....

uhoh!

Basic Addition....

Secret Santa

+

Tiny Christmas Tree

+

party games

+

Friends

+

Santa Hats

Random Street Camels

+

Rehearsal

+

Performance

+

Ukulele Christmas Carols

+

Church

+

Bacon

=

My Christmas Eve

(almost) A little mermaid....

Dahab was amazing.

I didnt want to leave.

After a few initial hiccups

(fighting with the bus driver for charging extra money)

and turning up to find my hostel double booked, and that they couldnt care less

(Octupus World Hostel, big black mark)

things were just great

I spent every day snorkelling,

and bought a disposable underwater camera

the pictures are ridiculously bad quality,

but i had fun taking them

and they will always be full of the memories that only i can see.

i spent the evenings attempting to play on my new ukulele,

(more about that later.)

it was bliss

and i think that in another life i would like to be a mermaid...

just sayin....

Come play a game with me...

I spy with my little eye....

a trip with my buddy buddy Steven to Camden Lock in London Town.

I spy with my little eye...

lots of bright coloured shops with lots of happy shoppers.....

and a tradtitional Camden Punk.....

I spy with my little eye...

a trip to the re-furbished Antiques Horse Market....

with lots of vintage goodies....

and lovely Kylie Minogue 90's jumpers that i wish fitted me.

I spy with my little eye...

a trip to the British Library

(why have i never been here before?)

with an interesting exhibition on maps through the ages...

and 'standing chairs'.

I spy with my little eye....

an original Alice In Wonderland with illustrations by Salvador Dali....

Five copies of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

from the 1500's each with different endings.

Thanks for playing!

A Fantastic, Fantastic Mister Fox....

Why have i only just got round to seeing the movie Fantastic Mister Fox?
Is it because i've been busy filling my last couple of week here in Ljubljana doing things i'd always thought i'd get round to doing but never did and a few other bonuses that just popped up..

like,
going white water rafting...
having multiple bbq's...
sailing around the coast in fancy boats...
swimming in the ocean...
going to outdoor movies...
sneaking into the fanciest hotel in the country
and using there swimming pool and eating a free buffet....
swimming in a fresh water lake between the mountains...

and generally just catching up with friends...

at any rate,
I loved this movie...
LOVED!

Making Friends...

Friendship is born in the moment
when one person says to the other,
"What! you too?
I thought I was the only one."
C.S.Lewis

One of the hardest things about leaving Slovenia and going to a new country
is the thought of having to make new friends.

I like the fact that i have been here long enough that i no longer have to try and explain away
my little quirks and oddities that each of us have,
i dont have to defend them,
that is just how i am and my friends know this and have accepted me for who i am.

i am sure that there are new friends out there in the making...
its just a daunting thought as
the process of finding them can be tough and lonely.