Adventures In London

Camping at Paul's Place

Going Home

Going home always brings joy, happiness, worry, anxiety, love, and just about every other emotion you could imagine. I just got back from 2.5 weeks in the US, during that time, I slept in 9 different beds, and was constantly on the move. I flew into Seattle and spent a day with my good friend Jill and her fiance Jim - we talked about one of the most special weddings I have ever heard of, their wedding. It makes me smile to think of the great things ahead for them both, and cry when I know I will miss their special day. I also spent a day with Jenn, Jamie and Renee. What a crew we are ... 18 years of friendship - I love it when we get together. Every year, it grows and grows, no matter the distance between our houses or the differences in our lives. I also got to spend some time with the men in their lives. I met Josh for the first time, and spent an afternoon on the playground with Jamie's little Ali - his love of basketball makes me laugh - I am sure he will play in the NBA someday.

I spent an afternoon with my aunt, my uncle, my cousin, my mom, and the newest addition to our family - baby Zoe. She's incredible, I fell in love the first time she smiled at me. Mom and I drove to Yakima to see Amber get married, and to meet her new love, Chris. Seeing Amber this happy is a miracle - she had nothing but joy in her eyes.

On the way home from Yakima, mom and I bought 10lbs of Cherries. We stopped along the way as cherry fairies, bringing little red gifts of goodness to Sue, Dad, Ivan and Mel, and even Paul.

The next week, work took me to Las Vegas, and well, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

When I came home, I got time with Mom and Paul - dinners and beers and afternoons in the sunshine! I love it. I spent the weekend with Mettie and Heather in Seattle, and bought a wedding dress - the most beautiful wedding dress I have ever seen. Not for me, but for Mettie. Weddings seem to be in the air... I also got to see Renee again and to spend an afternoon on Lake Union on a boat in the sunshine. I love summer.

On Sunday, I picked up Ant from the airport and we drove back to Portland. It should have been a tiring drive as it took 4 hours and we left at 10pm, but instead, I found myself wide awake. There was so much to catch up on with Ant, being without each other for 10 days meant we had all sorts of stored up stories. I love than man - he is truly my best friend.

The rest of the trip flew by, with five days in the shoug, going hiking with mom and Jan, getting fireworks from Danny, lunches with Paul, days in the sunshine and finally the fourth of july - where Ant held his own in the family bottle-rocket war!

To finish it off, we spent two lovely days with Dixie and Jill in Seattle, quiet dinners at home, and talk of all that life has to offer. I love my friends - they are all so very dear to me.

Thanks for a great trip home!

Snowboarding in Courcheval - A perfect day on a perfect mountain

Snowboarding in Courcheval - After I got hurt with a glass of wine and a book

Snowboarding in Courcheval (before I hurt my knee)

Christmas 2008 - Loving My New Red Dress

Christmas 2008 - Being Silly!

Christmas 2008 - At the Accenture Christmas Ball

Christmas 2008 - A BIG KISS!

Life

Life gets busy, and I get terrible at blogging. I got an email from my dad today, which reminded me to put up some pictures of our life. It's been very busy, to say the least. The house is now all done, and as I write this, I am looking at my flowers blooming in the sunshine in my garden. It does not get much more peaceful than this.

Here are a few pictures of the last 5 months ... where has the first half of 2008 gone?

Task 1 - floor sanding.

Smiling - outside 4 Penwith, with our new keys.

Taking down the for sale sign - a huge victory if you know anything about property in the UK.

Smiling - outside our new home.

Ant and I on Alki Beach in Seattle.

Ant and I at the Mariners game - his first live baseball game.

Long time no blog...

Alright, I have been crap at keeping the blog up to date. Life, Love and the pursuit of happiness (I think I found it), have gotten the better of me. So has my digital camera. I lost the cord that transfers pictures to my PC and the digital copy of my memories is backing up. I hate it when technology wins.

Where do I begin?

In the last 5 months, I ...

- Fell even more in love with Anthony
- Took on a new role at work
- Bought a house in London
- Got a promotion
- Travelled for the first time to India
- Ran the New York Marathon

It's been a good, and busy, six months. There is no way I could do justice to it with words. Here are the pictures.

Suzy

The God's Must Be Crazy...

Hi all,

There must be something in the London water - either that or the smog has finally gotten to our heads ... Nat and I have decided that running one was just not enough. And so, we are now training to run the New York City Marathon on 4 Nov 2007.

This year, we have decided to use our marathon adventure to raise money for the British Red Cross. http://www.redcross.org.uk/index.asp?id=39992&cachefixer. The British Red Cross was established in 1870, and since that time has been focused on Humanitarian work - both in the UK and overseas. The British Red Cross aim is to provide life-saving relief to people in crisis, wherever they may be.

Today, the British Red Cross is actively helping people in need on 5 continents. One of their key focuses is to provide healhcare, food, and shelter to the 4.5 million people affected by the violence in Uganda, Chad, and Darfur. In a joint project with the Australian Red Cross, the British Red Cross has provided a therapeutic and supplementary feeding centre for severe and moderately malnourished children in this area.

As you read about the British Red Cross efforts, it makes you quickly realise how lucky we are to have food, shelter, and health enough to run every day.

I hope you will join us in supporting this great cause. If you decide you would like to make a donation, Nat and I have opened a justgiving site to funnel all donations directly to the British Red Cross.

http://www.justgiving.com/natandsuzy

Suzy

And lastly, Ant as he came off the field from a full day of Rugby. He's an incredibly intense player, full of endless energy and a desire to play every moment to the fullest - something which I immensely appreciate and admire.

Anthony and Paul, walking down a little Treviso alley. There was nothing better than seeing the two of them enjoy each other's company so...

A bear hug fom behind!!

Watching a swan float down the river - it was a beautiful day!

Ant with his gelato - looking very protective of it ...

Paul with his first gelato (we had many that day) as we sat sipping on Prosecco in the town square.

A view of the kitchen table... looking out the front door onto the footpath.

The master bathroom - complete with a thousand tiny tiles!

The view down on Canillas de Albaida (uno pueblo blanco), the town in which his house resides

Another view of Canillas - from the first (there are two) rooftop terrace!

The beautiful staircase that he built. It winds from the third story down to the first.

A window of flower pots that we stopped to smell along a walk... I love the way the pots swing outward when the window is open...

The kitchen stairs. What I love about this part of the house are the rocks that Anthony embedded in the wall - these rocks were part of the original ruin which he demolished to make room for the house.

Life is busy, Life is beautiful!

It's been nearly two months since I last found the time to write... My only excuse is that life is busy, and life is beautiful.

In the last few months, I have :

- Taken a trip to Spain to see Anthony's house (he built it himself - and it's increbibly impressive! You can decide for yourself with the pictures)
- Met my brother in Italy for a weekend near Venice (spent the day riding bicycles along a winding river in the sun)
- Started watching rugby. Anthony played in a seven's tournament with Jody's husband James. Fun to watch them both play, and even more to watch them play together.
- Started playing Rugby. Touch Rugby (so it does not really count, but don't let them fool you about it being touch - I ended up with a concussion the second time I played!)
- Began studying Spanish again. I am 21 hours into my CD spanish courses, and I will begin Spanish classes on Friday evenings starting in June.
- Planned my summer holidays (Spain and Wales in June, NYC in July, Guernsey and Seattle in August, Stockholm and Sligo in September).

I've also been spending a lot of time at home. As you probably already know, I love my house... but I have reason to love it even more. Anthony and I have decided to live together. He's been moving in throughout the month. It puts a whole new perspective on the word Home.

Life is busy, life is beautiful!

:)

Suzy

Enjoying my 30th - watching the party around me!

Ronnie looking incredibly debonaire in all White!

The cameraman - caught making martinis!! Trust me - he is good at both.

The hats made their way round and round the party... this picture reminds me of the Black and White Spies from Mad Comics days...

Steven looking incredible in his Paul Smith suit - getting cozy with Nat - but of course, she's giving the cameraman (Jack) the eyes!

Where would we be without a party wig, and an appearance from Dr. Evil??

Lars and Shannon came in from Paris - Still looking like newlyweds!

Robbo enjoying herself... no caption required. :-)

Back in London - I had a Black and White Party - to celebrate what may be my last year with no grey hair. Enjoying a moment with Jody and Ed.

NEW YORK - Leaving NYC - This is me telling Dan, if you don't get your ass to London to come visit, I am gonna be GRRR with you!

NEW YORK - The cold crisp air, the crows, the tall buildings, and the shadow of this horseman... it was the perfect moment - beautiful but eerie.

NEW YORK -But not too much for a cheesy smile and a walk with me in snowy Central Park.

NEW YORK - Pensive... Dan had a lot on his mind.

MEXICO - And lastly - the Hammock! Required for the life adjustment of hot afternoons, and swinging in the shade!

MEXICO - Sunrise on my last morning there... nothing like waking up to a warm day, with an ocean breeze and the feel of sand between your toes.

MEXICO - And the entire family posing with the this little guy - look how cute they are when they are young!

MEXICO - And Mel looking way too comfortable with the Boa Constricter on her neck!

MEXICO - One day we ventured to CroCoCun - a zoo like park where Paul enjoyed every minute of holding a Crocodile ...

MEXICO - He enjoyed drinking out of the pool, scratching himself on the trees, and eating our books (seriously, he ate all of Mel's book - and the last four pages of mine!)