Counting down till Christmas

So we are hanging on in there until the Christmas holidays - 3 1/2 days left as I write this.  And wow we are all so tired, its really can't come soon enough.  Still lots happening though.

T man got his orange belt at Taekwondo (Sophia is already on gold which is above orange is this new system so she stayed where she was for the time being).  T was the loudest (and of course the cutest so everyone is the room told me :/), he got to break a board and was held up high in the air by the grand master when he received his new belt.  Always the celebrity :)

The children's holiday performance was last week (on the day of the dreadful storm!)  It was lovely and the Mandarin song was particularly fabulous.  It's difficult to see the kids in this photo as the lights are shining on their blonde hair!

While the kids are doing their last few lessons I will be icing the Christmas cake and other baking related activities.  We have a Christmas do at Gillians on Saturday and I'm using the last of my lovely lemons from the tree to make a tart.

Just waiting for Santa...

All aboard the pineapple express...

So we wanted rain, and we got some!  A system coming from Hawaii called the pineapple express paid us a visit. In fact we got 2 years worth of rain in one day!!   (To put this into context we only had 2 inches of rain in the whole of last year!)  Still it was quite heavy and of course California being California (ie not being able to cope with any kind of weather that isn't sunshine) went mental.  San Francisco closed it's schools for the day.  We were ordered to buy in supplies.  It was billed as the 'storm of the century'!

Really??  It's rain, yes it's heavy but it's going to last for ONE day.  Of course the bay area was like one big swimming pool as the drains here are not good.  But it really wasn't a storm, there was no wind, no thunder, no lightning, just rain folks.  In fact Ste had the quickest commute to work ever as everyone stayed at home. Californians really are a bunch of pansies.  These are funny though...

Thanksgiving fun

Thanksgiving started for the kids at school with a huge table outside for a meal they looked at with horror!  Fortunately cupcakes were also involved!  Then came the arrival of Granny and Pops, a pretend Christmas, a day with the Greenes, mini golf and the cheesecake factory and 2 trips to Santa Cruz, once for the beach, the other for Santa's train.  Granny and Pops had a few days rest in Portland before the delights of Chuck e Cheese and Christmas in the Park.  Was a fun time that went far too quickly.  We now cannot wait for the Christmas holidays to start ...

The end of the year is almost here!

Life is tough at the moment.  The art job has not worked out (as predicted really - due to the owner being a fruitcake as I said from the very start - need to listen to myself more!)  I have been substituting at Carden, which is great but knackering.  There is the possibility of a job there next year which is something I need to think really hard about.  And the fridge has just broken.  That is always really crap!

But on the plus side the fall switch has now switched.  Although it's still pretty warm we have had some overcast skies this week and even a few sprinkles this morning.  The leaves have fallen off the trees all of a sudden.  And the big teller that fall is really here, it now warmer outside of the house than it is in it.  The Californians really need to do something about their insulation!  But it's all good as I'm craving some seasons and this feels right.  Now we just need some more rain to get it snowing in the Sierras!

Thanksgiving is a couple of weeks away and Granny and Pops will be here.  We can't wait to have them.  And then it's the countdown to Christmas, Universal and the cruise!  What I am complaining about!

I left my heart in San Francisco

Nov 7th

Our girlie weekend in the city.  Beautiful blue warm SF skies (how lucky were we to get no fog)  Shopping, eating and drinking.  Afternoon naps.  Drinking some more.  Falling over and obtaining a very large bruise.  Watching Beach Blanket Babylon, the funniest American thing I have ever seen.  Visiting an art museum and discussing male anatomy.   We didn't stop laughing.  It was so fantastic, already planning our next trip in May.

Trick or Treat, smell my feet ...

Oct 31st 2014

It's that time of year again.  And it was as fab as ever.  I truly love how excited the kids are every year.

This is Sophia's email to Lily.  It says it all really.

Hi Lily!  This Halloween I dress up as Sally from the nightmare before Christmas. What did you dress up as for Halloween? We went trick or treating with my friends Hannah and Natalie! We saw a very cool house. It had lights all over the place. It even had the voice of the person who owned the house! It was the best Halloween ever!  I love starburst. My favorite flavour is lemon. Love Sophia.  xxxx