Come on, share the LOVE!

With one week to Valentines Day, I thought it would be a fun and possibly helpful idea, to share some of our best Valentine surprises or gifts we have given our loved ones.

I think the best Valentine I have given the Hubster, was before I had actually moved here. I had a gold disc engraved for him with the name of our song one side, and a special message on the reverse side. Then I put it onto a pendant and sent it to him. He still wears it to this day and I know he treasures it. Last year I had M&M's candy personalized with my own loving messages for him.

So what's the nicest Valentine you have ever given, or received if you prefer, or just go all out and reveal both!

Infamy in rhyme!

Many of you are fans of David McMahon at Authorblog in the land 'Down Under' like myself, and today he has bestowed a great honour on me!

One of my favourite features on his blog is his daily 'Verse and Worse' limerick/poetry and a week ago I happened to say to him in passing "David you should write one about me and all my handbags (purses)".

Well he took me up on my challenge and HERE is the wonderful result. So please pop in, enjoy and leave him lots of comments.

Skywatch Friday

'Sunrise across the Plains'

If you'd like to join in, go to the Skywatch site.

Yes you did read that right!

Quite a few of you made comments on, or queried our predicted high temperature of 71 here in Okieland today. Well you see this is one of the real joys of living here, we regularly spring from winter to summer and then back again!

So yes this time last week we were just starting to emerge from the grip of a major ice-storm, that caused a 'state of emergency' to be declared here. Today our high was actually 79, although it's also very windy, no surprise there in Okieland!

We now have 3 balmy days to enjoy highs in the 70's, before we have a 60% chance for severe storms Sunday night (and that can mean really SEVERE here). Then the cooldown will start again mid-week.

One thing's for sure living here, the weather keeps you on your toes and your wardrobe on constant rotation, whatever the season!

So remember my New Years resolution?

To walk on my treadmill everyday, whatever, no excuses?

Yep well I clearly wrote it and then forgot it, because so far it just ain't happening! Oh how I HATE to exercise!

But I am not alone thank goodness and a couple of my work colleagues have also held their hands up and admitted the same. So we have agreed to walk straight after work 3 days a week from here on. We all agree the only way we are going to do it is with each other.

So that's where I'll be at 3:50pm today, pounding the local streets for a couple of miles with good friends. It's going to hit 71 here today, so the weather will give us no excuses not to go. In fact we may do it in record time, as we are also expecting 40mph winds, that will blow us along! Judging by other comments we have had, there may soon be a 'Limber Ladies of Education Walking Club' in our smalltown.

Do any of you exercise like this with friends, to keep your motivation going?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

Daryl brought my attention to a post by Don Mills Diva who has had her thoughts on blogging, 'blog-napped' by the The Times Online without her permission. The article is called 'Danger Online: Perils of revealing every intimate moment' and is an interesting read for all of us with blogs, Facebook, My Space etc in our lives.

If you're interested then go read it and then visit Don Mills Diva and hear her viewpoint. But the gist is that blogs are basically ruining good journalism and writing, and the more salacious the stuff we reveal, the greater our readership. They make it sound like we're 'ALL' in this endless spiral of selling our private lives (or families) to the devil, to gain a greater readership!

I don't agree with this; I don't write about my family much, don't have kids so no danger there and the cats, well they haven't objected yet. Plus my blog is more of a commentary on life 'here' vs the UK, and then ideas that I pull out of thin air, or general stuff like reviews, my pictures and my thoughts on everyday stuff! I really don't think I'm a sensationalist blogger, I have plenty of readers and am not at all tempted to become a virtual 'peep show' for more comments!

I have posted the cute button up top on my sidebar, to show support for Don Mills Diva's campaign for some respect for bloggers.

Awww....what the heck!

So last night I had dessert for supper, JUST DESSERT, oh yes!

I had one of those nights when I didn't know what I fancied and THEN....I found the Heinz Syrup Sponge and Bird's Custard in the cupboard and my fate was settled.

I knew it was bad for me, but oooh it tasted sooo good. I do feel a little less guilty having had good cholesterol and blood sugar results last week!

And a little indulgence now and then is good for the soul - right??!

:-)

Well Betsy asked for a description of the above Brit' dessert and seeing as Silverback is dying to see how I describe them, here goes! The sponge is a fairly light sponge mix, like you'd get in a cake, but with brown sugar and a little Golden Syrup (a bit like Karo but not quite!) in the mix. It has a thick syrupy sauce of sugar and Golden Syrup spread all over the surface. This kind of goes all gooey and sticky and is very sweet and scrummy. Alot of people steam these type of sponge puddings and I would if it was homemade.

Onto Custard, which is made from egg yolks, milk, sugar and vanilla essence. It is always a shade of yellow and custard is a national obsession in England. We stick it on most hot pies, sponges, fruits, tarts....oh you name it and we can eat it with custard. I adore banana custard, which is basically just a banana chopped up in custard - delicious. We even had a children's cartoon called Rhubarb & Custard, which also just happens to be delicious too! Hope that answers your questions Betsy, and Silverback approves?!

What I'm 'FEELing' musically this week....

This is one of my all time favourite songs, love the lyrics, the emotion and the melody - it's just a classic. It's also by Robbie Williams, a big weakness of mine for almost 20 years, I just love him to bits. He epitomises the British 'cheeky chappie' and wears his huge vulnerabilities for all to see. It's America's loss that he has never made it here, despite selling 55 million albums worldwide! Rock on Robbie.

My World - or it used to be!

These are pictures I took from the wonderful 'British Airways London Eye' a few years ago on a sightseeing day in London. It was erected on the South Bank of the River Thames for the Millenium celebrations in 2000. Unlike that notorious white elephant 'The Millenium Dome', this has become the leading tourist attraction in London.

Whenever I was showing visitors London, or just advising them what to see, this was always and still is my #1 recommendation. At the top you are more than 400ft above the river, with views across this wonderful city that just can't be matched anywhere else.

Some people fear they would not enjoy being so high up and turning. Well take it from someone with a fear of heights, you are hardly even aware it's moving once onboard and the views make you forget you're in a capsule!

So if you ever get to London, then make riding the London Eye your top priority, you will not regret it. I have been on it four times and will still go again the next time I make it home. The final shot is me on the South Bank looking towards Waterloo Station. Walking along the South Bank is another of my favourite things to do in London.

To join in the fun go to My World Tuesday

Roll on down a post, for a COMPETITION!

Not moving on up!

One of the most interesting things I have noticed living where I do now, is the almost complete lack of a 'property ladder' mentality.

This term was coined to describe the continual desire or action of moving upscale in property, hence ladder. In England there is a very popular TV show of this name, which has been copied here, and follows people as they work hard to move up the property ladder.

England is obsessed with continually upgrading the property you own, either by renovation or moving up. But then the British property market has been the best possible investment you could make for as long as I can remember. In the 7 years I owned my property there, it more than doubled in value. Many people have long viewed their continual move up the property ladder, as their guaranteed pension in later years.

Well with the economic crisis this is no longer the case and now many homeowners there are facing negative equity and repossession. I came from a wealthy area of England and over the years have seen many friends keep moving up, forever increasing their mortgage and now I worry for them.

But it's very different here in northwest Okieland. I just don't see many people moving because it's 'the thing' to have a bigger or newer house. People move because it's necessary; their work moves, they need more space, they want to own rather than rent. Once people are in an ideally sized or suitable home, they just stay there for years. Rather than wanting to go bigger and have a larger mortgage, their aim is to pay off their mortgage and be debt free. I find this an interesting difference, especially having been a Realtor/Estate Agent and also managed repossessions for banks in the past.

Part of the reason is the wages here don't really allow for moving on up for most. But also property values stay at a reasonable level and don't make huge increases. Some might see this as a disadvantage; having been on both sides of this fence, I totally disagree. It is far healthier I think to find your home, get it paid off and then if needed, invest your money making it better - at least it's yours and not the banks!

In some ways the fall in property values may turn out to be a good thing longterm. Property values in many places had got totally out of synch with wages, meaning people had no choice but to take 90% or higher mortgages. First time buyers have found it almost impossible to buy a property and this needs to change.

The Hubster and I live in our ideal home, it's the right size and more importantly it's ours, not the banks. Nothing could tempt us to move up and take on another mortgage, this is our home for life now. When we make improvements we do it for us, for our future, not to increase it's imminent resale value!

It will be interesting to see, whether this economic recession causes people to go back to a more old-fashioned way of thinking on property. Our grandparents would live in the same house for decades and be satisfied. I am not sure this is a mindset the 'credit' generation can truly embrace.

From what I see here, people are able to make better choices in life. Mothers are able to stay home, stress levels seem lower, and there is little peer pressure to move on up and have a huge mortgage.

Back in England I'd have been paying a mortgage probably well into my fifties. Now I am mortgage free at 42 and in a much nicer home.

Bigger is not always better, especially if you can't sleep easy at night!

The great Brit' tea survey & competition!

Well we have the results from month one and I consumed a total of 67 mugs in 31 days.

So now it's over to you, you have one months results to work with and figure out how many cups I will consume in a year!

Only hot tea counts, so you may need to take into account a bit of a drop off in the heat of summer (May-Aug). Although I do drink hot tea all year round and generally have a cup every morning on rising. That's all the clues I'm giving!

Comment here with the total # of mugs you think I'll consume this year through Dec. 31st. I will only leave the comments on this open until the end of February.

I will keep the score here and on Jan 1st 2010 I will go back in and see who got the closest. They will then receive a box of British tea goodies, including a rather nice drinking cup.

So come on, see if you can guess how much tea a Brit' consumes? I love to hear how much you drink too, but please specify if that is also your guess for me.

Things that make me HAPPY!

Bella Foxx tagged me with a Happy Tag and it's fun, so I'm joining in!

Here are the rules..

1. Link to the person who has tagged you .2. Write down six things that make you happy .3. Post the rules, tag six others and let them know you did it .4. Then tell the person when your entry is complete.

Six things that make me happy:

1. Being at home with absolutely no commitments.

2. Writing on my blog.

3. Days I can spend totally in my PJ's!

4. Weightloss of any kind, I'll take it!

5. Getting home and finding I took a great photograph.

6. Any song that I love and can sing-a-long or dance to.

I am not going to hit anyone in particular with this tag, just feel free to make it your own.