Living in California

How did December get here so fast?

How ‘crap’ have I been? Blooming useless. I just read the last blog I wrote. Was I on something? It seems quite manic. Monterey Half marathon. Beautiful again. If you ever get the urge to do a half marathon dont do what we did first time and run it around the concrete city that is Reading.Come to California. Enjoy a beautiful warm sunshine filled day running along the Bay and Pacific ocean. I am thinking of running another through Golden gate park, in the city, in February. Not sure it will be as warm but should be interesting. Matt has challenged my brother to the half marathon over the golden gate next July. The challenge has been accepted, with much banter and Matt may get his arse whipped. Some may see this as non supporting of a spouse. I would disagree and state that realism is a major factor. The bro is running 10km in 47 minutes and has 5 years on Matt. The weekend after the Half we had a night away in the Sonoma Misson Inn. Lovely. Relaxing. Quiet. WOW. Sonoma is a lovely place. Quite laid back, brilliant eateries and a lot of lovely wines. Thanksgiving was last Thursday and it gets a bit mad round here. I did a bit of an ex-pats day for kids and mums during the day and the dads joined after work. About 18 in the house. The best thing about living in a house this size is you can have 7 kids running around upstairs and not hear them! The kids had bangers (found in a local ish butchers and better than the real thing!), beans and mash. The adults had pate, cheese, lamb stew and wine! Then Thanksgiving with a Texas guy who works with matt – he deep fried his own turkey in a vat of peanut oil at 370 degrees in his garden and showed Matt his guns. Apparently he had a variety including a pump action he handed to matt fully loaded?!?! Scared the life out of him. On the Friday we mostly lay in bed and contemplated what we could do with this extended weekend we had been given. Saturday we bought our Christmas tree and went to the gym....the half marathon has given us both a bit of a kick start on the exercise front. Saturday evening we had a curry and Indian Lager at a friends and half shocked a very polite American lass with our explanation of swear words. One thing which is universal is peoples fascination with swear words from different countries. Sunday we put up the tree and decorations and watched the last of the Autumn tests. Blooming South Africans. They just play different rugby. On a positive note the Ashes is looking like it will be interesting. I have a wee job, which I am actually supposed to be working on now! It is 4-8 hours a week. Sorting out a bit of marketing for a local guy. He needs organising and a sounding board. I had a feeling the time I had on my hands wouldn’t last long.  Apparently he thought the art of listening was dead till he met me – thank god I was sober or he wouldn’t have got a word in edgeways! So a quiet month all in all. Now the half is out of the way, the livers have been exercised a wee bit and the Christmas season is being planned. On the weather front – I know a sore point. We have had rain. It is snowing in Tahoe – Ski trip is booked for end of January and the boots, woolly hats are out.

blah....

Tom started pre-school this week. For some reason in this area there are no nurseries for children under the age of 2.

I am having ‘separation issues’ apparently (blooming Californians) or in UK speak I am having an issue with the time I now have on my hands.

Its been a whole 3 days.

 

Luckily the parental units (or PUs stolen phrase) are back on Sunday from New Orleans (huge drinking trip masquerading as a golf trip, where they are ferried between establishments by a school bus)

Keeping busy next week will not be an issue. Its after that. Learning to play golf and lunching with ladies just isn’t filling me with cheer.

On a lighter note – whats your Starbucks name? Its a known ‘thing’ here that if you have a non-standard name and you are a regular coffee consumer, you pick another name when ordering.

It saves the ‘explaining’ and spelling time, ensuring a stress free ordering experience, especially if you’re a regular! Examples I know of; Omah=Alex,  Namvar=Nick

 

Vegas – Brilliant. A top place for lots of reasons. Mostly because you cant quite believe the diversity. Tat and Gucci next door to each other. Madness.

We didn’t bet a dime (couldn’t be arsed), we walked the strip, spent a day in the spa (heaven) shopped the Venetian, dined in Paris, watched “O” (BRILLIANT!!!) and flew to the Grand Canyon.

The 2^nd most expensive McDonalds in the world is 2 miles from the Grand Canyon = $12 for a burger!! Thats the sort of fact you get on a guided tour?!?!

 

Tom had his 2^nd birthday and allergy testing within 24 hours of each other. The eczema which has plagued him since birth cleared up within 48 hours following said allergy testing.

I knew he was allergic to eggs (red blotches appearing with the smell of eggs) but the chicken allergy astonished me.....although quite logical when you think about it!

As my entire cooking repertoire (other than muffins!!) consists of chicken meals I am having to re-think the lot. Bugger.

 

Tomorrow we are off to a house to watch and learn the differences between NFL and college American football. We are supporting UCS apparently.

Followed by a house warming/re-build ‘piss up’ at the Fergy house.

The Fergy’s are an English family moved here about 2 years before we did, with matts company. Both my brother and mum have been ‘fergy’d.

AKA lulled into a false sense of security and ended up being carried out the door through sneaky glass filling tactics.

 

Sunday we are going to pick up the PUs and go to a pumpkin patch.

The kids get to choose a pumpkin for Matt to carve for them....at least that’s my interpretation.

 

Today I took ownership of our tickets to see the Miami Heat play.

(Basketball team with the most ‘talked about’ signings of the offseason.....oh god, do I sound American now??)

 

And lastly – it was 95 today. I need rain. And yes, I do know how lucky I am but I would know it more if it rained!

Dee

 

PS’s

Uncle Peter – congratulations on grandchild number 5. Can I have Stephens address please?

Sue – Glad the house move went well....cards in the post now I have your address!!

Debs – my pleasure, keep well you

Zia – Good luck with the back to work

Tessa – Thank you for the introduction I am replying once I have sent this ramble

 

muffins

Major mistake this morning. I neglected to check the temperature before getting dressed and getting in the car.

Once I pulled out of the garage I realised ¾ length jeans and a cotton shirt were overkill for a 97 degree heat. It hit 102 by 6.30pm and I am sure its going to be a hot night.

Is it really September?

Whilst changing Toms nappy later Ciara had me in stitches, ‘hold on a minute, Tom and daddy have the same  bottom’!!

Kids. Fantastic.

I organised a girls night into the city. We went to AsiaSF. An OK evenings entertainment but not something i would do again.

http://www.asiasf.com/

The company and nightclub after called ‘butter’ made the night. We took over the dance floor and danced our hearts away.

Unfortunately I again succumbed to the evils of lemon drop martinis. A beautiful drink which i now need to avoid. It is lethal and breaks me for days.

 

A lass who has been here for 16 years was out with us and i asked her if the humour translation issue gets better with time. Apparently it doesn’t. And this is the reason ex-pats migrate to each other.

 

Today I made banana and butterscotch muffins (just waiting for a ‘pie’ recipe from Vicky K) and I have a coffee cake recipe marked in for Wednesday.

Tomorrow is a 6 mile run, a facial and a bit of a hoover.

And at the weekend we fly to Vegas (without kids) for 4 days.

 

Does anyone else think this new life sounds ok?

Dee

School, drink driving n dick swinging.....or lack of

After the coldest summer in history in California, where temperatures hovered between 76 and 85 the last 4 days of 104, 108, 106, 101 have been a bit of a shock.

 

It has been 80 degrees by 9.30am and rising.

At 1.30 and 95 degrees the kids and I abandoned the park on Monday and headed for cooler air.

 

Normal people. Yeh, thats what we found at a barbeque in Berkley last weekend. No dick swinging or ‘do you see why we hate Obama’ comments.

Most had left the US and spent time in Europe. The piss was taken out of our baked beans and appreciation given to Cadburys. J

 

We went to Santa Cruz for the day. Its a mixed up place. Lovely beaches with volleyball courts spread throughout.

Sea lions off the pier and then a huge ‘pleasure beach’ off to one end of the boardwalk – which is actually a wide concrete pavement.

The town centre is very mellow, with lovely tree lined streets and pavement restaurants.

 

 

Things I have noticed:

The Boden sale is BRILLIANT in the US. In fact all sales are pretty impressive at the moment.

 

ATHLETA – a BRILLIANT ‘active gear’ site mostly for girls

 

The majority of locals dont do DIY, they want a ‘turn-key’ house...one you turn the key and live in. This may change as the housing market has just started another dive.

 

At the beginning of every school year you are asked for a ‘donation’ per child.

This ‘donation’ is anywhere between $250 to $500.

On top of this you ‘pay’ for your child to be in the band/choir/any sports team as well as paying a set amount per child for ‘supplies’ aka pencils/pens/paper

 

The elementary school next to us is looking to ‘raise’ $1200 per child this year to enable them to maintain music, science and sports classes.

And thats the state school option.

 

Drink driving does not have the same stigma attached to it as in the UK. It is common for 2 martinits or 3/4 glasses of wine to be consumed and still drive home.

A lack of consequence is why I think it happens.

If you are caught you are fined, no more. And there is no state wide database, only town by town 

Eg a local woman was caught drink driving for the 8^th time in 3 years.

The reason she lost her license and went to jail for 3 months was because she mowed down and killed 2 children who were on the pavement.

 

Alun, you'll be glad to hear my drinking has decreased substantially. I have been run down and in training. However with the parents and bro visiting in October that may all change. My golf is on hold till tom goes to pre-school....october.

Oh, Batesy and I are off to Vegas for a weekend once grandma arrives.....in October!!

 

And lastly, well done Viv!! She just completed her first ironman in Nottingham(2.4 mile swim; 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run) in 11 hours 3 minutes, coming 2nd. 

UNBELIEVEABLE result....now theres a girl who needs wine!

 

 

being stalked and full fat milk....

When was the last time i did a proper blog?

I was trying to figure this out when I was told ‘get your arse in gear and write more’.

Things here are almost normal. I am already thinking how to re-phrase that. Relatively normal.

We have been here 16 months and the things/comments/attitudes which once surprised/shocked/stumped me, still do but I expect them to.

 

Some stuff has got through the acclimatised barrier recently.

 

Full fat milk. An innocent subject you may think. In a  country with an obesity problem the kids doc expressed deep ‘concern’ that my children were drinking full fat milk.

It was only when Matt re-told a conversation he had had that we both realised how bizarre this is.

The reasoning being that our 2 dont get soda(fizzy drinks)/candy(sweets) at all and occasionally get chocolate (Cadburys only!!).

So actually they need some fat in their diet, so full fat milk is a good option.

The doctor got it (she lived in Scotland for 5 years so i like to think they humanised her for me).

The response Matt got went along the lines of...what you give them full fat milk and no soda or candy?!?! You are mad, what have your kids got to look forward to as a treat in life.....?

The other interesting fact is the 2% and fat free milk here all has a lot of added sugar.....not as much as a soda but.....

 

I had a lass stalk me for about a week. She had decided watching the England v USA game in our house was the ticket of the week.

Stalking = 18 texts in one day. All trying to negotiate or weedle an invitation to our house.

At 9.46pm when she flat out asked what time she should arrive my reply read:

‘lol we have a cultural difference here, in the UK that would be considered pushy’.

She expressed horror at being pushy, blamed it on wine (the texts started at 1.30pm) and reminded me I still hadn’t told her what time to arrive?!?!

Note to self...just say no!

 

James came to stay. Hurrah. He is one of my oldest friends. A friend saw us out for food and commented on how ‘fit’ he looked.

And I know he is reading this and smiling!! In 2 nights I reminisced and drank more wine than I have in months. Get your pert butt over here again soon you. Its better tan therapy. We have a hot date in May which I am already looking forward to. X

 

Tomorrow is Ciaras 4^th birthday. We are camping. I am currently half cut. It bodes well. J Wish me luck....I am bringing my own 4 leaf clover...its a box of very drinkable red wine.

Toodle pip

x

 

vodka, romeo and good times

What a week..... we watched the local amateur dramatic perform Romeo and Juliet in a vineyard, with the vines acting as the side curtains and the sun setting over the stage just before the intermission. Brilliant.

Had my first on the town experience, drinking strawberry fields (aka ice, vodka and strawberries, beautiful but lethal...or maybe the mohito starters contributed?) on the same night I had to get a taxi out of town due to rioting in downtown Oakland. The accommodation for our long weekend in Vancouver (next weekend) finally got booked. I listened to Ciara telling me which music she does (hip hop) and doesn’t (jazz) like, booked her 4^th birthday party and pondered on where the last 4 years have gone.

My first car crash in 20 years was last Tuesday, into the back of a lovely lady ($800 later), followed by a trip for the kids to the lake. My 3 month check up at the dentists occurred during the 1^st of my 2 hangovers this week. Whilst there I was asked if I had considered having a ‘retainer’ to straighten out my teeth?!?!? I was told I’ve become a yummy mummy (a compliment?) Played my second 18 holes of golf with a 53 on the front 9!! I could be getting hooked. J We have been sofa hoggers, watching the golf, tour de france and the world cup.

Booked our stay at Waikolo in Hawaii for next March.  http://hiltonwaikoloavillage.com/ 

Arranged a girls night in the city to Asia SF http://www.asiasf.com/index.php

 

And realised we dont live in a bubble when the police shot dead an armed robber 5 miles from our house.

the wettest May in history....and ladies night, Californian style

Thats not a headline you expect to see in a California newspaper. The 'incredulity of the locals is amusing. I heard one lady of older years explaining how she pays higher taxes here because of the great weather.....I think she was either looking for a refund or someone to take to task.

The local gym had a ladies night. We dolled ourselves up and decided to make a night of it. Luckily we were a couple of drinks down before the 'cosmetic surgery' presentation started. I almost choked on my wine. You go out for an evening of wine, food and shopping....and end up with a slide show of the 'before' wobble bits followed by the patient in all her new glory, in a bikin on a stage in front of you. Now if it had been a guy at a girls night but a lass?!?!

Rain, ice hockey and beer

And farewell to the last of my scheduled visitors for this year. Karen, Lee and Sean had a busy if wet time. We have been having a tad of inclement weather....and being washed out of Yosemite on 2nd May is apparently unheard of. Luckily we had had a few beers (of the microbrewery ilk) the evening before in a traditional saloon with dollar bills hanging from the roof and an element of the surreal when my babysitter walked in.....with 2 Irish chaps from Dublin.

Did I mention the weather? Its like being at home except the rain hasn't been as bad and the locals complain more. ALOT more. By the 10th April it was the wettest April in 12 years. The rain continued through April....sporadically.....Karen and Lee still went back with a tan. I am waiting to see if the water company is trying to declare a drought again this year. :-)

On the sports front, San Jose Sharks (local ice hockey team) are through to the finals.....I get confused because they won the league, then they have play offs, that is quarterfinals, semifinals and finals to the playoffs...where every stage is the best of 7 games.....money, money, money!!

Thoughts/concerns....

Ciara is talking very loudly when she wants something - I am wondering if this is part of becoming a yank or just a growing up stage.....?

What to do with Tom who just wants to push/hit kids with plastic bottles/barbie dolls/blocks/balls?

My ability to do push ups has disappeared since I mentioned it....note to self, don't jinx yourself again

What to do with the kids when I bugger off to New jersey for a wedding in a couple of weeks.

Can I detox and still drink wine? 

and lastly....did I really volunteer to drive for a ladies night next thursday?!?!?!?

Mothers, wine and selling

Ciara handed me my mothers day card yesterday. Nursery (pre-school) had helped her make it but they assured me the answers to the questions written inside were Ciaras. :)

How old is your 'mom'  21 (Top of the class me thinks)

what does your mum do while you're at school? go to the gym with Tom (might need to work on this one!)

How much do you love her?  I love her very much (made me cry)

I have been drunk twice this week.....my sister turned up pregnant - very inconsiderate of her, so she sat with me, holding a small half glass of wine, so I wasn't drinking alone. :-) The second time was at a jewellery party round the corner last night. I was a woman on a mission. 

Alot of the women here either hold or 'run' parties in houses. Anything from makeup (Mary-Kay), household good (Southern Living), to jewelry (Stella and Dot), lotions and potions (Arbonne), Pampered chef evenings and  more enterprising ladies who have clothes wholesalers come to their houses to sell jean (7, hudson, true religion et al), juicy couture in their homes. The selling culture here is stronger. In that it is almost expected for your 'friends' to sell to you. I was literally cornered in the gym changing rooms by a lass telling me she wanted to talk to me about england...oh and before we have a coffee next week why don't you try these creams/lotions and potions? She saw nothing wrong with approaching me whilst i was half undressed and sweating to take advantage of my british naiiviety and politeness.

Back to the jewelry party - Karen (the inconsiderate one) turned up, said hello, smelt the wine and made a sharp exit stage right. I found her with her head between her legs looking a bit peaky on the front doorstep. After escorting her home, I went back to restart my mission. I was drinking for two of us. Luckily Naomi (Scottish hostess) had provided blue smelly cheese, home made truffles and millionaires shortbread...oh and lovely wine. 

Today I am wondering why I don't feel worse and if I can do it all again Saturday evening in Yosemite. :)

Just vacuuming the car to remove all food items...raisins etc to reduce the chance of a bear opening our car like a tin of sardines whilst we are there.  

FUCK OFF YOU PRICKS

.....isnt the expression you would expect to hear from my hubby. But this very phrase silenced a beach of 200+ people in Capitola (2 miles from Santa Cruz) last weekend.

We arent sure if it was the decibel level, the lack of understanding of the word prick or the very English way Matt expressed himself.....

I shall set the scene....a beautiful small beach, rolling waves, 2 children playing in the sand.

Enter 40 college kids and a made up game whose origin appeared to be between bulldog/rugby and American football.

No rules, minimal room and way too much testosterone...even from the gals.

As the eegit with the ball ran across one couple and around us, several others were lining up for the tackle....then the ball carrier stepped over Tom playing in the sand.....

The silence which descended after matts ‘expression of disgust’ was deafening. The dawning of what could have happened reduced the party to apologies and embarrassment.

We were the focal point of discussion and looks for the next 30 minutes and I tried really hard not to chuckle. (an adrenalin reaction me thinks J )

The brits made an impression with our traditional diplomacy lacking....maybe Blair should have used the same approach with Bush. J