• Cards are playing some decent ball and are really entertaining to watch. 2 more from the Cubs would make me about as happy as I can be.
• The fantasy baseball thing is addictive for everyone, especially all of us trying to catch Glenn. It is kind of tough when you have to pick from rooting for the Cards or your fantasy team. But it gives baseball another layer of interest.
• The weather here has been amazing. I am so glad I am here and not soaking in London, but it is probably nice there by now.
• Coop is so much a Daddy's boy and he doesn't mind telling Nikki so.
• We are going to go to TN in the next couple of weeks to go fishing with Dad for the first time in years. I should have some nice pictures of our trip.
• I am an eternal optimistic. I think that is a good approach to life.
• It is always good to see some old friends, when times could be considered blue. Their words of encouragement and support are never passed off lightly.
• Nikki is almost done with school for the semester. Then I can resume my normal speaking voice in the house, instead of quiet Daron. I might be fibbing on that one.
• In my down time, I summed up what I want to see in the world up in about 30 more trips. I do love my expensive hobby, but I wouldn't give up a thing for the sights that I have seen in the world. Hopefully I can persuade some friends and relatives to join us on some our adventures.
• Allergies suck. For all of us here in our household.
• I have been ripping through recipes from my soup book and Indian book I received for Christmas. I should have taken them with me to pass the time in London.
• US/UK Differences - We have aisles in the Grocery store devoted to Mexican or Asian cuisine, they have aisles devoted to Indian food. Here a Chinese restaurant on every corner, there Indian. I find it interesting to see how food has traveled around the world.
• I can't wait to go hiking.

On to the rest of a Saturday.

I mentioned that a few of us were in a fantasy baseball league this year. I have now added a weekly scoreboard so that everyone can see how poorly my team is doing. There has already been some excitement over it through just one week. It should be something that keeps us 5 entertained during the season. We have to get Glenn and Nikki to slow the pace down a bit first though.

Well I mentioned an inside joke when I posted the "One Week..." post last week. Most of you guys know but I came home yesterday. I am not going to talk much about the situation right now, but I would say I am most likely back for good given the lack of work in the London office. Maybe they will get things going soon, but the mood there was somber.

But on to the good point, I am home. Not much gets me down and I can tell you I was like a little kid on x-mas day on the plane yesterday, even with carrying my weight in luggage. It was so good to see Nikki at the exit of immigration. I think that was when reality clicked in that it was probably my last trip back. I am so glad I have someone as strong as her in my life. She knows how tough the last 14 months have been on me and that I got through it mostly on her support and love. My little buddy, Cooper, was surprised by being home. Nikki said she could really tell that his mood instantly changed when I got home. It was cool to sit around last night, have a home cooked meal, and to just have my stuff around me. I am not that materialistic, but after 'camping' for that long, you begin to miss a few things. (like MLB network).

I did have a nice weekend in London before I left. I decided to take in a few of my favorite parts. Walking around the tourist areas of London reminded me of how much prestige a well designed city can have. I really enjoyed an afternoon at Westminster Abbey and then the next at the Natural History Museum. There were so many other areas that I should have went back to, but time was fleeting.

Anyway, who knows what my coming days hold, but I am not worried about a thing right now. No more expensive London, endless hours in transit, or fickle weather. I did enjoy a lot of my experience there, especially when Nikki was there, but it also reinforced where I am supposed to be. I have had enough of big city life for a while. Now I can see how long it will take me to do all that laundry I brought home, at least I have normal size washer to put them in plus a dryer. After that, I can get back to resuming my American life.

Coop needs to work on his 'welcoming pose' a bit.