Dec

30

A den of pure Americana

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Jodi and Bridgette made it to the UK in good shape, albeit a bit tired. They brought with them pure American prezzies of liquor, Twizzlers and a long-sleeved t-shirt from the one and only Red Baron Show Lounge in Edgerton, Wisconsin.

We three united girlies walked in pissing rain to the town centre for much needed medicinal coffee intake and a light tour of Maidenhead. After veritable buckets of caffeinated beverages were consumed, we did what American girls do: we bought make-up and Diet Coke. :D
Fish and chips made up our first proper British meal and we’ve indulged in culture —cough— lessons on Sky Digital Television. Beds have been made and I sit here about to turn in for the night. Tomorrow we venture to London for the New Year’s festivities and copious sightseeing. It’s a shame about the rain we’re having, but I guess it’s better than snow.

smooches~
jEN

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Dec

28

American invasion occurring in Maidenhead!

Filed Under expat, regular, tout le fromage | 5 Comments

I’ve been a can of cleaning whoop-ass today getting ready for the arrival of two of my best American girlfriends at the end of the week.

Jodi and Bridgette are coming to spend New Year’s in London with us and although it’s generally tidy, the flat is typically only comfy for two adults, so today’s challenge has been to free up space and at least create the illusion of roominess! They’ll be with us for about a week and the plan is to split the trip into half mellow sightseeing and half cram-it-all-in tourism. We’ve got London, villages, countryside and castles to cover in a short time, but even if we can’t do it all, they’ve always got a place to stay for a return visit. I’ve said it before on this blog: I love being a hostess!

Bring on the fun! :D

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Dec

27

jEN is Mistress Smoothie

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kitchen not includedOur big prezzie this year was one of our own choosing but no less exciting for it: a kick-ass blender. It’s lovely! It’s not got one of those smoothie spouts on it, but it’s got several desirable options like a grinder and a removable central filter to catch pulp and seeds. I’d nearly forgotten how much I loved my old blender in the states, but I’ve rekindled a love for pulverising delicious foodstuffs in our new 1.5 litre Philips blender.

.

This new kitchen appliance satisfies several aspects of my personality:
a) The mad scientist. I love mixing up stuff and seeing what happens. Will it be tasty or putrid? Should I add food colouring to it for fun? Are kiwis combustible?
b) The destroyer. Nothing feels better than putting unsuspecting foods into a seemingly innocuous container only to find menacing blades and certain death await at the bottom… * insert evil laughter here *
c) The gadget girlie. I love stuff that does stuff. Plug it in and watch me revert to 8 years old.
d) The cook. No really, I do love to cook.

Some people need big ticket items or piles of presents at Christmas. Me? I loves the new blender. I loves it good… It’s perfect and exactly the one we wanted. In fact, I’m sipping on a pineapple smoothie of my own creation right now. Life tastes so good today!

smooches with a pineapple foam moustache~
jEN

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Dec

25

I ate so much today I look pregnant. (and the sentimental stuff is suspicious too…)

Filed Under expat, regular, tout le fromage | 8 Comments

CandleIt’s true — if anyone saw me in a relaxed moment tonight (where I’m not sucking in my bloated belly) they’d swear I am several months along! I’m dangerously full of two types of potatoes, parsnips, brussel sprouts, carrots, veggie ‘chicken’, a bucket of gravy and toffee cake too. Stuffed is an understatement. I figure if I don’t eat for most of tomorrow that the abdominal damage will subside and I will soon regain my normal figure. I’ve still eaten more than I should’ve and probably gained a couple of pounds, but it’s Christmas and the baby Jesus wants me to pig out. I’m the kind of full that makes me wish I were some kind of adventure ship who could throw out a spleen, lung and kidney to keep afloat. I love Christmas meals! ‘Tis the season to take up a new interest in bulemia! (I’m kidding…)

Anyway, the day with Neil’s parents was wonderful and the reckless waistband abandon was not limited to my place-setting. We all retired to the living room to nurse our food hangovers in front of the TV for several necessary hours. I finally saw Shrek and Toy Story 2. Toy Story 2 was much more to my liking and had superior animation, but both were enjoyable and to be honest, even if they sucked, I was too weak to do anything about it. Besides, isn’t it part of Christmas tradition to watch whatever they put on TV anyway? At least the channel didn’t stay on The Santa Clause. I think I would’ve considered suicide by food.

Now back at the flat, my tummy is still distended and gurgly, but the food coma I was in earlier today is mostly gone. I’ll give my Mom a call in a bit to see if she’d like to do video-chat with me and I’ll hopefully catch up with Aaron in a little while too. Although I chat with both of them often, there’s still something special about talking to loved ones on Christmas day.

I hope you all are having safe, fun and happy holidays — wherever you are and whatever you celebrate. This is my second Christmas in the UK and I am really lucky to be able to celebrate with David, Maggie and Neil. Thank you for making me feel very welcome and looked after. I miss my family and friends in the US, but thanks to you all, I feel a very strong sense of home here too. As I’m not a religious woman, I celebrate Christmas for family, and I certainly feel a part of one in Berkshire as well as in the US.

Season’s Greetings everyone.

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Dec

22

I suppose it’s about time I tell you

Filed Under creative stuff, regular, tout le fromage | Leave a Comment

I’ve been cheating on you with another blog. Don’t act surprised now — you already knew it existed. It’s the writing blog I mentioned several posts back. Well, it’s got some content on it and for those of you who tune into reality tv shows for the train wrecks, I give you the link. I’m using the secondary blog as an outlet for my writing course flotsam and to have a different space to the one here where I diligently reserve the right to swear, talk about my vaginal region, complain about food stuck in my sinuses and whatever else comes to my mushy little brain. The other blog is the more literate one, but don’t let that put you off. I’m a course-takin’-freelance-wannabe in her career infancy. It’s not exactly a train wreck, but you might hear brakes squeal if you listen hard enough.

Enjoy at my expense.
smooches~
jEN

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Dec

21

Mom, you may not want to read this, but I know you will anyway…

Filed Under irregular, tout le fromage | 10 Comments

Tender subject. How to approach it… A bit of background, a feel good statement, then the real reason I’m posting with disturbing detail, etc… Yeah. That’s the way.

OrchidI have an appointment to see a special kind of doctor tomorrow. The kind you men don’t get to visit. Yeah, that one. Read on brave souls.

Really though, seeing the gynaecologist isn’t even a chore or groan-worthy for me anymore. After having cervical cancer and going through the less invasive but still serious enough treatments all the way up to the major surgery and subsequent follow-up care, a gynaecologist is the most common doctor I see. (I actually see two doctors every time I get to disrobe and display. Lucky me!)

My visits have steadily decreased in necessary frequency from four times or more per year to every six months. Next March will be my four-year anniversary for being cancer-free! How cool is that! Now for why I’ve drawn you into my post…

I have a girlfriend who’s also a cancer survivor. (Different type and vastly more horrific than my ordeal, but we share a few common experiences through a small number of similar circumstances.) I asked her a couple of years ago if she still shaves her legs when she visits the GYN. Actually, if memory serves, I think we blogged about it between a post and some comments. Anyway, she doesn’t. I was in the shower this morning debating as to whether or not I will shave my legs tomorrow for the afternoon appointment. I probably will. But an even more difficult conundrum to wrestle with is…
Speculum
Do I also tidy up my bikini area? See, I did another Brazilian for my recent beach holiday and the inevitable re-growth is appearing. Now, for all of you having mental pictures of female naughty parts, yeah, ok — I keep things tidy so at least it doesn’t look like there’s some sort of homeless man’s beard trying to grow down there, but should I go the extra mile and not only shave my legs but also… you know what I mean.
Why on earth do I spend time on these thoughts.

I guess I’m desperately curious about what gets said in GYN circles when you leave, if anything. I’m not really concerned about it, but I wonder do they have private opinions on your sex life if you go in shaved, bald, neatly trimmed, tidy hedge or kudzu jungle style… I’d love to read the minds of — what another friend of mine calls — the ‘poh-poh doctor’.

I’m sure they get bored seeing snatch all day, (and what I can only expect is a minority of photo-worthy model fun bits), but do gynaecologists care if you haven’t tidied up? I doubt it. If you do, it’s got to make it easier to see what’s going on down there, but I doubt they’re preoccupied about whether or not the region is perfectly groomed. I think I’m better off not knowing certain things really.

I’m still definitely going to shave my legs though.

smooches~
jEN

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Dec

17

Noize Market magazine submission and other stuff

Filed Under creative stuff, regular, tout le fromage | 4 Comments

Wahoo! I’ve just sent off my first article for print publication! (And it’s totally unrelated to my writing course.) The magazine is called Noize Market and although it’s not a paid gig, I’m thrilled for the opportunity. I need experience and I need to get some work printed/published and they need content. Good trade! I’ll be sure to get details and hopefully reprint permission to put it up here, but for now know that it’s a 1500 word article/interview with Mark Hunter of the tartanpodcast and its effect on the Scottish music scene. I’m so happy I could burst!

In other news around here, I had a really great evening out with some friends last night. We all met up in Harrow for a posh seafood dinner and then headed off to the cinema for King Kong. Had I been wearing waterproof mascara, I would’ve cried my eyes out at the movie, but understanding that my Alice Cooper makeup impression wasn’t appropriate, I bit my lip and dabbed away a few rogue tears to prevent an all out racoon mask. I must confess that I cry for things as simple as well written cat food commercials, so even though the story of King Kong is so well known that I should be prepared for tragedy, I still tear up. I’m just silly like that. :) As for what I thought of the movie, I liked it. It was very well done and despite a couple of the scenes going on a tad too long, it was a justifiable three hour film. The casting was pretty well done and the computer generated stuff was nearly flawless. Good job Peter Jackson. Keep it up!

Went into the town centre today for cappuccino and a few pounds worth of consumer activity. For some reason I am usually able to move amongst the frantic Saturday/Christmas shoppers with a relative calm. It’s sometimes not easy to avoid the tension of others, but I try and it usually works. It’s a good place to be. The coffee was tasty and we found a little gift for Neil’s grandma in a nearby shop. It’s somewhat practical and I’m sure she’ll like it. We’re off to Wales for some time with her next week.

That’s about all from me today. I’m off to make a late dinner and settle in for a movie at home. I have the goofy grin of content happiness on my face. It’s been a lovely week.

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Dec

16

KING KONG night!

Filed Under regular, tout le fromage | 2 Comments

I’m gunna go see the big monkey movie tonight! Wahooo!
(I hear it’s three hours long. Must pace my tasty beverage…)

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