... and Betty White.

I am back in London. I didn't do that well with posting over my break, but hopefully I will get to show some of the sights from my trip back home for the holidays soon. All is well, just settling back in to life in London.

Well I was tired of looking at a blog with a picture of always sunny Santorini, while we live where the sun usually forgets to shine. I still have a few bugs in the blog, but it will do for now.

Oh by the way, this time next week we will be in the States, well Philly. I need to make a post about how the airlines differ between the States and Europe. Prices and such are so much better here. But I'll save that rant for some other rainy, roof leaking day.

• Sometimes I miss the most obvious things. (Misspelling random)

I forgot to add the whole reason why I started the Random Thoughts post

• I haven't had a DP in well over 2 weeks now. For anyone that knows me, something must be wrong. Who knows why I stopped. I guess I just wanted to show that I could. I had been down to 1 can a day since being in the UK and on the last day it took my over 9 hours to sip through the it. Water intake is way up though since being here. I am like a friggin camel now.
• Second thing I forgot, it is now under 9 days until I can take a shower. The studio we are in only has a bathtub with a hand spray deal. I haven't had a shower since Spain in August. Showers are one of the most relaxing parts of my day. Just one of those things I have always enjoyed.

• 10 more days until I am home for a few weeks and Nicole is finished with school for the semester and home for good.
• I am not sure I could handle what she is doing in school. I guess a lot of the natural science part of brain has been replaced with building science.
• I have never lived anywhere that the temperature was consistently cold. It would be nice to have one of those 50-60 degree days that I have grown accustomed to.
• A friend of ours here competed in the Western Australian Ironman over the weekend. He completed the 2.4 mi. swim - 112 mi. bike - 26.2 mi. run in 9 hr 48 mins. Congrats Jack! Now enjoy Australia and New Zealand. I have pondered how long it would take me to complete the course, it is just a tough deal for me to fathom with my level of exercise. But a nice 8 mi hike would do me some good about now.
• I am reading Slash's biography, Obama's first book and a book by Bill Bryson on the UK. All are shaping up nicely and are hard to put down.
• NFL Football is looking good. I must be dreaming that 'fins are tied for first after winning 1 game last year. Panthers are in decent shape also. Might be a good year to watch the playoffs.
• As far as sports, it is 50-50 on the Cardinals exciting me or depressing me this week during the winter meetings.
• Yes London does have Christmas decorations and such for those that have asked. I assume the big tree is in Trafalgar's Square, I saw it there last December.
• I was supposed to update the layout of the blog but I have been distracted for a bit.
• Home/Friends/Family are going to be so much fun over the Holidays after not seeing America for 7 months. Can't wait to try the little things like Wendy's, walking Cooper, and seeing some real sports in normal daylight hours.
• Oh one more, the sun is setting before 4:00 here. I thought I didn't like this time of the year in the South because of the early sunset.

Enough of the ramblings for a bit.

By the way a Fiver is a Brit term for £5.

• Howling Rain - Goodbye Ruby - A new band for me, but I like what I am hearing so far.
  
• Bushspeak - Vol2, Fore More Years - Not sure what will happen to the market of desk calendars and comedians over the next 4 years.
  
• Days of the New - Solitude - I still like listening to the original band, 10+ years later. A good mix of bluegrass and rock.
  
• Alice in Chains - Brush Away - Most likely my favorite band from the Grunge era. Too bad about Layne Staley. Troubled souls tend to make some of the best music.
  
• Stained - Layne - Ironic? The next song was a tribute to Layne.

Not too bad of a mix to start a sub-freezing day here in Grey Town.

Cullen Skink - A Scottish Fish Soup w/milk, onions, mashed potatoes and smoked haddock.

I tried this soup when we were in Glasgow and loved it there. I had kind of forgotten that I wanted to try to make it until recently. It is a very easy soup to make and absolutely delicious. Especially when all the days are gray, cold and wet.

From two Americans in London that are ready to see home for a bit.

My old friend from Paris, Daniel, has added a new feature to his blog which I think I'll copy. Everyone who knows me, knows how I love music and tend to have it going at any time my mouth isn't running. So the deal is whatever you use as a player (IPod, MP3 player, ITunes, etc) hit shuffle on your play list and post the first 5 songs. It will be interesting to see if I can get anyone to play along, especially after seeing what I am listening to when I am quiet. I'll post my list from time to time, hopefully weekly. And as a warning, I listen to mostly rock, with a mix of jazz, and scores from movies on a typical day. I use Yahoo LaunchCast, so the music playing is not necessarily something I purchased.

Korn - I've Known Everything - I lost a little respect for them when they released an acoustic album.

CSI Theme - Go figure.

Jack White/Alicia Keys - Another Way to Die - This Bond theme did grow on me a bit, but I could listen to Jack White play the toothbrush.

Terrence Blanchard - 25th hour (movie) - FU montage - I liked this movie probably b/c of the soundtrack. But this scene with Ed Norton yelling at the mirror made me slightly uneasy.

Disturbed - Land of Confusion - Great cover of a song I liked years ago.

So it has been 6 months since I have been Stateside, but only 1 to go until we are home for the Holidays. There is still a lot to figure out between now and then, but all is well. School is keeping Nicole busy and I am closing out a small project at Work.


Since not much is going on, here are some pics from Nikki's New Forest Field Trip of the ponies. It would be fun to have a few of these wandering around a place.

Not much going on and our time here is winding down, but let's see what I can report.

The lunch last week was good. I managed to make the full menu as I had mentioned, even with bringing most of the goods from the house. I figured it up and there was about 76 ingredients in the 3 course lunch. I probably over did it a little, but I do enjoy cooking. I got rave reviews from most, but I am not sure the British palette is suitable for Gumbo. I should have given it a bit more spice. Anyway, it was a fun day. The BBQ Bruschetta made me miss home a lot.

We had a good weekend of x-mas shopping at Covent Market and a movie last night. 007 was good and entertaining. I think it is worth the price of admission, but I wouldn't say it fits into my great movie category. It was just a little thick of a story with a tad bit of let down of momentum near the end. But I am starting to enjoy the stories of a young, inexperienced Bond a bit more than some of the old Bond movies.

Besides those bits, we were able to talk to the niece and nephew yesterday. X-mas there is going to be a blast. I am not sure where to find Dekan some peaches for x-mas though. Someone will have to teach that little guy to want more than that for the holidays. Ha.

Anyway, all good from here just a lot of studying to do between now and the end of the year for a young lass. As far as me, I just have to keep my nose clean as someone use to tell me and figure out where we are living when we return.

Well I have let Obama control my blog for long enough. But as you can guess, not much is going on. One of us knee deep in school work and the other is counting down the hours until he is stateside. So it is time for some of my random thoughts.

If you ever come to London, you must make time for the museums. They are my favorites in the world, as a complete collection, plus they are free. We started our farewell tour of places we have enjoyed with the British Museum on Friday Night. It is a great collection of a lot of the Brits souvenirs from Greece and Egypt and truly a sight to behold. We even saw the gold Kate Moss yoga statue. I am not sure it should be in the 'history' museum in the middle of the Greek section, but oh well.

Weekly cooking highlights - an eggplant stuffed with ground lamb, onions, tomatoes, and feta cheese. It was placed in the definite keeper pile. We also had a decent night of eats in China Town. Plus a truly thrown together Daron special of what we had in the kitchen. Chicken, broccoli in a soy based curry of onions, peppers and such. As I think I have said when I am bored my creativity goes into the cooking with no objections from Nikki.

Tomorrow is the first of a monthly office lunch with me being the special guest 'chef'. I think I have nailed the menu down. Everyone wanted a Southern style meal. Not sure this qualifies as Southern but here it is: Apps - Pulled Pork BBQ on Bruschetta, Finger Vegs, Jerk Chicken Wings with a Blue Cheese Dip. Main - Chicken, Chorizo, Crawfish Tails, Shrimp Gumbo. Desert - Cheesecake Squares with Berry/Mint Toppings, or other Toppings. We'll see if I can pull this off. Pics and reviews forthcoming.

Enough Food Talk. I am back on to American TV shows. We finished up Hell's Kitchen USA this week. I find it funny that Gordon Ramsey plays up his temper a bit for the American shows. He isn't that crude on his UK shows, which are quite enjoyable. We are going to fit in one of his restaurants before we leave. Also on the TV, Dexter and the Amazing Race. I am having to download them on Tuesday's here, but we are up to date. We are enjoying both of the new seasons. I am already excited that Lost and 24 are back on when I return.

Not much else is going on. We are still a bit behind on movies. Hoping to catch W and 007 soon. I am reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy before the movie hits next year. It is a decent page turner. Also started to catch up on my military history with a book on WWI.

So now you see what is happening to me at least when Nikki studies. She would probably add that there is a great deal of online poker happening. I have hit a lull, so there isn't much to write home about on that front.

Until next time, I will leave you with a pic of the two frozen Americans from the Chargers/Saints game last month at Wembley.

We had a bit of a choppy weekend of several things.

Friday - Underworld concert that Nikki posted.
Saturday - Burn After Reading. Good movie, slightly slow to develop but we both enjoyed it
Then Burn After Watching Bulldog Football (Nikki was studying)
Sunday - Christmas browsing at Harrod's. So much fun looking for stuff for kids.
My first try at a seafood paella. Not too bad.
Is it time to get excited about the 'fins? 4-4 and 1 game back.

Underworld at Brixton Academy in London!
This was an awesome event. Daron and I went with a friend from his work named Rhett. I had a blast.