• Only 9 days until Nikki returns to the UK for Spring Break. Having a great girl, makes the separation slightly easier. I can't say we are enjoying it, but we are very supportive of one another.
• A couple quick days for her in London, then off to Barcelona for a few days. I am glad flights and hotels are cheap once you get on this side of the pond. Returning to Barcelona should be just the break we need. I can't wait. Gaudi, Las Ramblas, the markets, the Gothic Quarter, the food and hopefully some warmer weather.
• London reached 50 degrees this week. I heard one guy mention how warm it felt outside. No matter how long I stay here, I don't think I will get used to the weather and lack of sun. These factors definitely effect the moods here.
• Good thing that the Cardinals have taken the field for Spring Training games, because UK and MSU are going out with a whimper down the stretch.
• There is not much room in my life for loud, obnoxious, ostentatious people, but I am a firm believer that we are never given anything that we cannot handle.
• This season of 24 is amazing. Lost is confusing, but can't stop watching now. I am loving the sites of the Amazing Race. Can't wait to see Switz, Austria, and Germany some day. Oh I have the tripped planned, just waiting until the world rights itself again.
• Nikki has discovered the secret of keeping a Cooper happy, vines. The little dog could pull vines all day if you let him.
• I like the idea that if people don't like the stimulus package that passed, they should refuse the checks or breaks if they feel so strongly about it. Because of it, the NC Gov sped ahead on the completion of our outer belt loop. She accelerated the schedule 6 years. That has to save money in the long run. There will be many examples for and against, but I believe any action is better than inaction. The lack of action here, or minimal action, has people extremely worried and stressed that the UK will be down for a long while. Only time will tell, but I am an eternal optimist living in a land of hardened pessimists.
• Not mush else going on inside this cloudy head. I am learning that Chinese meals are very simple to cook. Not sure why this revelation took me so long to figure out.
• It is good to hear well wishes from old friends. I have formed some great friendships over my time.
• I love having something to look forward to or a goal. When I don't, I am grumpy. But being that optimist that I am, I usually have something cooking in the background.

After posting the cupcake post, it dawned on me that I haven't posted any of the food I have been cooking lately. I received an Indian, a tapas, and a soups cookbook for x-mas. Love them all, but sadly I didn't need to migrate anymore books to the UK. I was able to cook a good tapas meal for Nikki before I left. It included my first try at a pizza (chorizo, onions, mushrooms). Pretty amusing, but delicious. So on to what has been cooked up here over the last few weeks.

• Sweet & sour prawns (shrimp) w/ coconut milk risotto - I was wondering how easy it was to cook simple Chinese meals. This taught me that I will probably never order S & S meals from Chinese places again. Extremely simple to make.
• Seared tuna w/ a ginger, cilantro, pepper sauce - I must be going through a sauce phase.
• Venison 5 bean chili - I love that you can by game meat in the groceries here.
• Sweet & hot pepper chicken lettuce wraps - Tried this one too soon after the first wisdom tooth extraction, but oh well I am not much on following instructions.

Not too bad for a couple of weeks. Plus it gives me something to do and to experiment with. Now I have ill advised proteges following my madness. Dad cooked a puerto rican style barbecue based on what I cooked at x-mas. He said it turned out great. Well we are both a long way from spaghetti nights. Don't get me wrong, I still miss spaghetti night and we managed to have one of them at x-mas also.

Depressed dog or is he trying to sucker Nikki in to a treat?

So I have been with Brennan for 6 years now. Weird how time flies, but it also feels like I have worked here for 10-12 years. I think the rush of the experiences and projects has aged me a bit, but I am very good at breaking away from it all and finding ways to stay young. A lot of good people and projects have passed my way over the years. It would be nice if I would have documented them all. Maybe that will be something new to do when London shuts down again for more snow. Anyway I digress. Come to think of it, 6 years is probably the longest I have been committed to anything. It will be interesting to see how my career here continues to evolve as a new year begins.

... I am not that bright. As soon as I made the last post, I looked up and noticed the main skylight was covered in snow. I guess there is about 6 inches of snow in our courtyard right now at midnight. Interesting.

As you can probably guess, I am a little bored over here. So here are a few random thoughts:

• I don't watch much tennis, but a Nadal - Federer Major Final is a great way to start a day.
• The Super Bowl party of 1 here believes there will be an upset. Cards 20 - Steelers 16.
• Speaking of Cards, about 2 weeks until Spring Training. Woo hoo. I'll have a little more on my daily plate then. Too bad the Cards were a lot of hot air in the off season.
• Tough weekend for UK and MSU bball, but there is Tuesday night to look forward to. (State travels to Rupp). The SEC is on life support this year, maybe a couple teams will get hot soon.
• I had my first wisdom tooth extraction on Thursday. Not too bad. It was done within 15 minutes, but I think I might chew my gums in my sleep. My gums that attach the jaws are a little inflamed, like I chomped on them. Maybe that is b/c of ...
• I did cook Sweet & Spicy Chicken w/ Chilies Lettuce Wrap on Friday Night. I am not the brightest at times, but I was feeling fine. Oh well, the gums are starting to subside now.
• I think I would have taken a snow day or maybe some ice, instead of the consistency of London. Basically 30 - 40 since I have been here and rain has been a coin flip every day. Speaking of snow, I think we are supposed to get some soon. It will probably be a dusting.
• I am up to date on the new seasons of Lost and 24. Loving 24 and some of the new characters. I am enjoying Lost, but well I am a little lost right now. I am almost caught up with the original CSI. I have been on a blitz since I have been back to watch last year's season and now this one. Still a great show.
• You know, Nicole and I probably spent 95% of our time last year (outside of work/school) together and only a few instances with other friends and such. It looks like we would have worn on each other, but nope, I think if you asked either of us, this separation thing is pretty rough on us. I have so many people tell me how she is a keeper. Trust me, I knew that one a long time ago. We have such a good balance to our relationship. When you have that, even going to the grocery store is a fun event.
• I miss Harris Teeter (my US grocery store). But groceries are cheaper here, just not as much to choose from.
• The exchange rate hit 1.35 a week back. It is a long way away from the 2.2 or so we paid last summer. Lowest since 1984, so if any one has any spare change and wants to see London they have a room (well a loft). Flights are the cheapest I have seen in awhile also.
• Nikki and Coop seem to be coexisting decently. But I am only getting one side of the story. I think Coop's depression has subsided a bit. That little dude can be quite a moody one.
• I'll be honest and say I am homesick. I thought I put enough Wendy's in me to make this less painful, but that wasn't the case. When you are surrounded by so many people that enrich your life, it is tough to be so far away from them.
• Good thing Gore invented the Internet and British Telecom gives me unlimited calls to States for £5 a month. I am not sure how I would deal with being away from home if it wasn't so easy to stay in contact.
• Another good thing about having great friends and family, we'll be able to pick right back up where we left off when I do return.

Enough rambling for now. I have to find a way to entertain the Super Bowl watching crowd for a bit , since it doesn't start here until 11.30. Oh well, it will remind me of home for a bit.