Sarcastic Thumbs-Up

Nothing quite beats a good old sarcastic 'thumbs-up'.

I just found myself (hopefully) pulling my last one of 2012. It was at an old man. It was in Safeway's car park. He was driving badly, and his daft grinning face reminded me of something.....

Considering the chaos that the car park was in, just doing one sarcastic thumbs up was quite good for me.

Have a Happy New Year everyone, and all the happiness for 2013,

Peps xxx

My A to Z of 2012

As NYE approaches I was thinking about 2012 and everything that has happened. I decided to do it as an A to Z....

Airports. I have spent quite a bit of time at airports this year doing epic journeys.
Buying furniture. Bought a lot of new furniture for my apartment.
Crisps are called Chips here.
Dieting. It didnt happen.
Ella.  This year we lost beautiful Ella to cancer. I miss you Ella.

Friends. I have the most wonderful friends!!
Gym. I havent been to the gym enough. I need to get back there.
Housewives of.... Anywhere...I'll watch it!
Interviews. I had a lot of job interviews earlier in the year.
Job. I got a new job!
Kayaking. Russian River is amazing, and had the best time there at the end of the summer.
Learning. It has been a huge learning curve moving here and having a new job.
Milo. My favorite idiotic cat.

New Friends. Amazing New Friends.
Operation. Had some minor surgery on my toes which gave me comedy bandages!

Party. I had the best leaving party in Bristol, and the best Party in my new place.
Queens Speech. Being made to watch it again. rubbish.
Racoons. I nearly ran 4 over.
Shipping. Such a good feeling when my 14 boxes of personal belongings arrived!
Time.  Making the most of every minute. 
Unusual dates. I have had a few more unusual dates since I got here.
Visa. An epic day getting my visa.
Waiting. Still waiting for Mr Right.
Xmas. My first xmas living here. 
Yes. Learning to say yes to more things. 
Z. Zed, not Zee.

The 6 month mark.....

I have been here almost 6 months. Its been an amazing roller-coaster of a journey and I am sure there are plenty more dips and turns as I slowly settle in.

I have so far loved every minute. The new job, finding an apartment, leasing a car - or in the case of a new arrival to the USA, having no credit history and getting a friend to lease me a car, and of course slowly making friends.
Today however, has been the first day I have actually wanted to scream in someones face.
I think its a accumulation of stress, tiredness, over-eating, and far too much Baileys. I am on a massive sugar crash.
All I wanted to do today was go find a nice Yoga class, burn some calories and feel better about myself. My jeans are too tight.
I tried Bikram Yoga. It sucks, and if anyone tries to persuade you otherwise. Ignore them.
As with many fitness classes I have tried here, they are over crowded and expensive.

The Yoga studio's website advertised the changing rooms as 'Spa like'. More like a cupboard full of pushy shouty women from the previous class all waiting to use the 2 showers available.
Have you ever done yoga in a tiny room with 56 people in it? and its 112 degrees? and then imagine everyone coughing, sniffing and breathing really loudly about an inch from your face.
I think you're there. Wanna leave after 25 mins? I did. I was quite proud of myself for getting up, fighting my way through the people, getting my bag from the 'spa like' cupboard, walking back through the 56 squashed people, and leaving. Covered in sweat and bright red,  I did not make a glamorous exit!

Ah,........A nice walk in the sunshine. That'll do the trick. A bit of fresh air and some good old people watching. Burlingame is great for this. A small downtown. Lots of little yappy dogs, middle class 'custard' mums, and men with trendy beards.
('Custard' mums are the poor soles who havent survived rearing children without the sacrifice of their adult brains. They talk in high pitched voices, conversing in baby speak, and even announce when they need to 'go potty' themselves. loudly.)
Suddenly I feel better. I even had some frozen yoghurt!! There are whole shops dedicated to it here! Amazing. There are lots of holes in the walls with levers, each home to a different flavour of frozen yumminess....and off you go, pulling levers and filling up your pot with as much as you like!
EXCELLENT.

Time for an episode of Cheers and an afternoon nap.