04 March 2008

I've moved!

I've moved my blog to wordpress...so if you get to here somehow, head on to http://mrsukyankee.wordpress.com

I've tried to re-direct to this but it doesn't seem to be working. Thanks!

15 February 2008

Back again...

It's time to get on the market again. Hurrah! (not)

Having this week off has been great as I've seen four estate agents. It's amazing how each person sees the market. Two of them were quite realistic with prices similar to what we thought it should be (plus similar to the other flats in the area). One priced it WAY above what it ought to and another put at way below. So we'll see what happens. The biggest selling point for us will be the percentage that they try to get for selling our flat.

Putting it on the market will be tough. It means we live differently. We'll have to be super clean. We'll have to be very aware of where everything is and make our flat look as 'simple' as possible. We'll be living without some of the items we're used to as they won't fit well in our available storage (we're getting rid of a wardrobe & dresser). So we're hoping that we sell the flat quickly. Hmmmm...deja vu....same hopes as before.

In London, it used to be quite easy to sell a flat and get a great price at that. No longer. Which in some ways is good as perhaps more people will be able to buy. But for us, it may hurt our chance of moving up the ladder. It's not worth selling this flat if we can't move on to something better.

Good luck to anyone else who is trying to sell and to those who are trying to buy. It's NOT fun process.

14 February 2008

Before and...After




Here I am with my normal curly hair. But I was interested in doing something new...so here's the after:


Just back from the hairdresser, curls gone...it looked much sexier than in this pic.



This morning...curls returned. Totally tighter than I expected...something to work with. Cute.

10 February 2008

My week...pictures














04 February 2008

This week it was a draw (tie)...

Stay on your toes.
Don't go on your heels.
Arms up.
Focus.
Move to your left.
"Come on and drop back left!"
This is it, it's just me and her. I can do this. She's not going to score. Down. Yes. I got it.

Being a field hockey goalie is a huge rush. There are times when it's just you against one person and that person has the advantage. And then you stop them. Sometimes you even take them out. And your team cheers. You know you did the right thing.

Other times, you make a mistake. If you were a field player, then it wouldn't be so big a deal cause someone else would be behind you. But a goalie mistake can mean a goal. It's hard, after being scored upon, to get back into focus...to not think about what you did wrong for too long. Cause you want to think about it a bit, to recognize what you can do better...but to focus too much is to bring yourself out of the current moment.

So there you are. In the moment. You don't feel the weather (usually cold or wet). You are just focused on the ball...on your players...on their players. You are yelling out. Cheering. Moving.

And seventy minutes later, you can relax. Game over. And hopefully, you can leave the game and feel good about what you did. You may not have won, but if you did your job well, then at least you can be proud. You can't score the goals to win a game, but you can try to help your team not lose.

31 January 2008

SPACE!

I like guys. Really. I've always gotten on with guys. Sometimes I've wanted to spend more time with them than women. So I have nothing really against them. But...

why do they have to take up so much space?!! For example...sitting down. I'm sorry, but you do NOT need to spread your legs out so wide. I know you got some business going on down there but, come on, do you really gotta advertise?

Today on the tube, some guy decided that he was worthy of SO MUCH FRICKIN' SPACE...it was as if he was telling everyone else that he was 'bigger' than they were. He was leaning against the tube wall, angling himself so that he took up the space of at least two people standing normally and THEN he spread open his newspaper so that it would be next to impossible to pass by.

I had to get off the tube. And he was in my way. I walked up to where he was - RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE DOORS - and then had to push his paper out of the way, as he ignored my 'excuse me' (probably listening to his I-Pod). I know he flashed me such an annoyed look. Yes, I broke into your personal space...then again, you took up the personal space of three people on the tube. And at 7:40am, I just am NOT in the mood to deal.

28 January 2008

Can ya believe it?

Yeah. I am pathetic. In a cute way, but pathetic nontheless. The other night my dear husband went on a guys trip to go play golf. So I was alone in the flat and our bed. Now I LOVED having the time to watch a girlie movie. But then it came time to go to sleep. I figured that I'd love to sprawl out and use up the entire bed. But no. The time kept creeping up. 11pm. 11:45pm. 12:30am. 1:30am. I just couldn't sleep. The bed didn't feel 'right'. And I just wanted to snuggle up to my honey so badly. See...pathetic.

I woke up at my normal 6:20am time crunched over on the side of the bed where I normally sleep. No spreading out for me. And I was exhausted. And happy that my hubby was coming home. Good sleep. I love it. Clearly, Roy is important to my sleep cycle now. Yup, I can hear you now...'Awwwwwwwww'.

24 January 2008

TTC

Trying to conceive is rather soul destroying. I know there are people out there who get pregnant their first attempt and I'm very happy for them. Those who don't have to think about it much are very lucky. Those that met their significant others when they were younger, and so have less problems, they are very lucky.

I was not ready to either get married nor have kids in my 20s. I may have been ready in my early 30s. But I know that I got married at the right time, to the right guy. And now we're trying to conceive with me at the ripe old age of 39. I know that there is a good chance that it won't happen. And so every month is tough.

We are charting, we are timing our intimate moments and with each AF (period) I die a small death. It's really hard.

In the big picture, it's not a huge thing. We can survive without having children. We're very lucky in our lives. And yet, we'll be sad if it doesn't happen.

20 January 2008

Our New Car


This is the car we purchased today to take the place of Roy's 9 year old vehicle. It's a used Honda CRV. Can't wait to get the dog to go in the boot!

18 January 2008

The urban fox


While some people might use the above term to talk about a hot looking woman who lives in the City, I am not. What I am talking about are the little foxes I've seen recently near our flat. Yes, foxes are living in London!


The urban fox is not nasty nor does it attack people (usually). Ours just likes to hope to find food when our neighbors leave the doors open to the trash hut (we have huts where we deposit our trash into large bins). I've seen them all over the neighborhood in the evenings...and they are quite cute!

You can find a great picture (which I had unwittingly used without permission & have since removed) on Jackie Freeman's wildlife photo page: http://www.freemanart.ca/JackieFreemanwildlifephotos.htm

15 January 2008

Oy. Rain.
Near Abbey Road Studio

West London
As you can see, it's a crazy rainy day. It's a day for neither good hair nor umbrellas...cause it's WINDY! On the way to work, I saw several blown out brellies and a few in the bins. Yup, welcome to winter weather in the UK. At least we're not heading toward flooding like some of the country.

09 January 2008

08 January 2008

The tough things and wonderful things about being in India (from my trip)

These are in no particular order...

Some of the hard things:
  • Getting sick from eating something (I think it was the sugar cane) and feeling/looking like a 6-mo pregnant lady because of it (the bloating, oh, the bloating!). Luckily it went away pretty quickly.
  • Stray dogs. They are everywhere and so cute, but you know that most of them will die from being hit by something or starvation. There are just too many for any organization to ever deal with them.
  • Open sewers outside of Amritsar. Such a nasty smell. And people live by it. I know they can no longer really smell it, but I worry about the health of those people.
  • So many people.
  • Being one of the few white faces as I walk around shopping in Amritsar. Getting 'bumped' by the men even though they have plenty of room to walk by me.
  • The dust. Hack, hack! Black snot to go with it.
  • Poverty. Though I did see less of this and MUCH less begging than 10 years ago.

Some of the lovely things:

  • The henna walla - I could just go and sit down and get henna done in one of the markets in Delhi or Amritsar. And for very little money too. They are quick and do good work. Henna is a wonderful way to add some beauty into your life.
  • The shopping experience. Customer service in Delhi and Amritsar far outweighed what we have here in London and even in the States. I loved it.
  • The colours. The fabrics. Such gorgeousness in everyday wear. Even the when working on the side of the road looked much more stunning than the average American or Brit. I really hope that people don't move too much toward Western clothing as I think Indian traditional clothes are so much prettier and, quite honestly, more confortable!
  • Old buildings just everywhere. You can be walking around a regular street and there is an old temple or fort wall. The architecture is amazing.
  • The people. They are so friendly overall. And gracious.
  • My new family. Despite being a white American girl who has married into their family, they accepted me fully. It was unexpected and well received! They are wonderful!
  • 3-wheelers. I just think they are a great idea. Scary at times, but perfect for getting around.
  • 22 carat gold. The colour is so much nicer than any other type of yellow gold. I kinda wish I had gotten my wedding ring/engagement ring there...though I love my white gold too.
  • The weather while we were there. To go from the cold of London (about 9C as the high) to Delhi and Amritsar (highs in the 20s, lows around 10C), was wonderful. I loved walking around in shirt-sleeves or a light sweater!
Please note that these are from my trip experience and may not be what you or someone else would experience. And even with some of the things that felt not so lovely, I still look forward to going back again in a few years.

07 January 2008

Christmas, Birthday & New Years Eve

Amazingly enough, there were signs of Christmas all over Amritsar. Santa masks, red Santa hats, streamers and even fake trees were all in evidence. It's not so much a religious holiday there as one that is more secular and commercialized.
The family we were staying with wanted to make me feel like I was home. Needless to say, it was very different - but they had chicken for dinner from their favorite chicken walla (walla means seller). The tandoori chicken was the best I've ever had. So a fine way to celebrate!
My birthday, the next day, was celebrated in style. A bunch of the family went to the fish market to pick out the fish for our meal. We were going to have the famous Amritsar fried fish. Yum! It turned out that they use a version of catfish! How wild! When we returned, the place was decorated by the little kids - with flowers and bows and the like. And everyone was dressed in their finest, including me (I did have a limited wardrobe but it worked). It was very lovely that they did that for me, a virtual stranger in their home. But that's one thing about Indian family - once you've been accepted as part of it, you are truly one of theirs. So we had cake and fish and ice cream...and it was wonderful! I got some very lovely gifts, including some gorgeous gold earrings.
New Years was spent at the Delhi Golf Club. It was an exclusive party, quite posh in feel, and we had a blast. We ate great food, drank lovely Indian wine (Grovers - it's yummy) and danced to a very fun DJ spinning both Western and Indian music. We went with Roy's cousin, his wife, his wife's sister and another friend. I actually had one of the best NYE's ever...no expectations I guess helped!







06 January 2008

Traffic


Family of four on a motorcycle.

What is a lane?

Red light...so what?


If you are from the States and have ever been trying to pass a car and then seen a truck approaching, you know the feeling of everyday driving in India (at least where I've been). There are vehicles of all sorts on every side of the road all trying to take up a small space. It just can't be described!


View from a 3-wheeler motorbike rickshaw - a cheap & easy way to way to go short distances

01 January 2008

Happy New Year from India

I have so many stories and thoughts to tell. So many pictures to show. But no time to do it now. It's been an amazing experience so far. Very few downsides (except a stomach bug, so my food just runs through me...but I'm still eating and feel fine). I promise to write a ton next week after I return to the UK. But anyway - have a great first week in 2008. May it be a year full of much joy and happiness!

New Year's Eve party at Delhi Golf Club

Roy's cousin and his wife

Yes, the dancing queens at large

What a fun night!