Welcome 2011!

Wow, so much to update from the past few months! Still living with Pawel and things are going really well.

In November I was so busy! Went to Paris again for work and enjoyed the Christmas market on the Champs Elysees and drank Champagne, it was great! Also found out that my work contract would be extended to the end of my visa (May) so I am still employed! At the end of November I turned 31. And since my 30th birthday kind of sucked due to poor friend choices I decided to have a 30 take II party. It was lovely! Pretty low key, went to the circus in Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland, but it was so cold we weren't able to enjoy the rest of the fair so we quickly headed to the pub!

December is always busy, this one even more so for me! With the kids and Pawel and work and Christmas it was a blur, but it was great we were able to take the kids to a show at Winter Wonderland so I got to see what it was all about this time. Lots of rides, food and game stalls, the circus tent, a skating rink and a Christmas market - Kind of like a small, Christmasy Stampede. I was so pleased to be able to spend Christmas in London this year. Even though I missed my family like mad (my phone bill can prove it). Christmas here is so festive...And you're allowed to say Merry Christmas! None of that Happy Holidays crap! Every High Street has Christmas lights up and little markets pop out of nowhere selling trees, trinkets and goodies.

For Christmas Day the plan was to go to Pawel's Mum's on Christmas Eve and stay there until Boxing Day (London transport doesn't run on Christmas Day). But a huge (for London) snowstorm hit (4 inches) and it messed with almost all of our study abroad students travel plans. So my co-worker Jonathan and I volunteered to stay at the school with any stranded students. At the beginning we were afraid that there would be about 20, but in the end only one was stuck so we had a nice Christmas lunch in Central London. Pawel was great and agreed to move Christmas morning to the morning of Christmas Eve instead....I think there were a lot of language barriers during this conversation because (I learned later) that Christmas Day for him is Christmas Eve and they open gifts at night (which I did ask about, but he said no, we open them on Christmas night....Which to him is the 24th).....But we worked through it and the four of us had a lovely time opening gifts.

So on the 24th we packed the kids over to Ela's and I enjoyed my first Polish Christmas (with a few Ukrainians thrown in for good measure)and then headed to work around 10pm. There were a couple of students left and they were watching movies when I came in, but I was so tired I just headed straight to bed. Christmas morning was quiet with the exception of a Christmas elf who left some gifts under the tree for Jonathan and I (what a lovely surprise!)We went for lunch at the Melia White House which is a swish hotel near the college. It was a buffet lunch and we sat for 3 or 4 hours drinking wine and enjoying the food. It wasn't busy so I don't think the staff minded....Most of the other tables were there as long as we were too....
Had a bit too much to drink...But enjoyed the Christmas miracle of a hangover free Boxing Day!

Boxing Day was pretty quiet....Except for the fire brigade's visit....It's a long story, short version...if you're going to microwave chocolate double check the time you put on the microwave before leaving it alone.....

The last student left on the 27th so we shut Reid Hall and I came home for a lovely week off. Went to the park with the kids, took them swimming...Lots of family fun days! On New Year's Eve Pawel's mum agreed to mind the children so we were able to go into Central London for the fireworks! For Christmas I had bought Pawel tickets to go skating on the Tower of London moat and I had booked them for 9pm on the 31st. So after dropping the children and a quick glass of Champagne at Ela's we headed to the Tower. Pawel was so excited he was bouncing! I, on the other hand, thinks this proves how much I love him.....I put on loaner skates and headed to the ice. Then I remembered two things...
A) I can't skate. A fact I have always known, but never remember until I am 1/4 of the way around the rink clutching the boards for dear life
B) I hate being on skates.

So I clutched the boards the entire way around once then said "Fuck it" and got the hell off the ice. I think that Pawel was relieved....He didn't have to babysit me anymore and I was happy because they were selling boozy hot chocolate. Win-win.

After skating we (attempted) to walk up the river to Big Ben where the fire works were going off.....But they had almost every street closed from London Bridge up to Parliament. So we walked the LONG way around and were able to get to Embankment station by 11pm which give up a pretty good view of the Eye and the fireworks. We drank a LOT of Champagne and rang in the New Year with big smiles and lots of kisses and headed to the first bar we saw that was letting people in. It was a great night and we finally got in at 4am!

2010 was absolutely amazing and I can't wait to see what 2011 will bring. Right now it has so much uncertainty with my visa expiring and not knowing what I will be doing or where I will be living in June, but I know I will be enjoying every moment here!