Homeward bound

Wow - I can't believe my last blog was so long ago! Sorry to any faithful readers left out there! I've let you down abysmally!

Where to begin. Hmmmm...well, work is going pretty good. It's been busy with getting the new office organized, HSE auditing and getting ready to release the third quarter earnings. The longer commute is starting to bother me, but I can't really see any solution to that, so I'll have to learn to live with it. It's hard to work while I'm commuting as well because the train is so rough and bounces around so much that concentrating on any reading or doing anything on my laptop is difficult. So I just end up reading the newspaper both ways. Boy, am I well informed these days! I've also taken to using my iPod, since I can listen to a whole album each direction.

The weather has really gotten colder here lately, so I've had to bundle up most mornings. Barry and Jan call my big black coat I wear my "bear coat". Jan says it looks like I'm wearing a duvet to work. I laughed as I watched him shiver in his thin coat and said that it was a lot like that - nice and cozy!

My back is slowly getting better and I want to start doing more exercise and working out, but it's hard because it's always dark outside of working hours, and the gym requires a 12-month committment and I really hate working out anyway! It gets dark here earlier than in Canada - by about 4:00 pm. I don't like it much, but the lights of Piccadilly Circus are definitely bright when I go home. Our new office is a block from the Circus, so I see them every day, and fight my way through the tourists to get home every night!

The Christmas decorations are starting to go up and it's very pretty. This area goes all out, being such a main intersection for tourists and Londoners alike. It's a big shopping area (Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street, Oxford Street, Bond Street) and Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden are all close by. It's exciting and busy.

We leave for Canada a week from today. I'm very excited for everyone to meet my Barry. I'm been so happy and he is so good to me. He makes it his job to ensure that I am happy and takes it very seriously. It's about the only thing he takes seriously! haha! He recently had to get glasses, which he wasn't too happy about. I suppose this age thing gets to the best of us! He doesn't like that he has to wear glasses, but he likes the fact that he can see things so much better now. I think he looks quite cute in them, personally! But I might be a bit biased!

We were in Cornwall a few weekends ago visiting his family. I'm really starting to fit in there, and I adore them. We have such fun together, especially his mom and sister, Sonia, and I. We go shopping and laugh and bargain-hunt. They were helping me find things for the wedding - shoes and accessories for my dress, which I bought already.

The wedding plans are coming apace. Still lots to do, and a wedding on a budget is a challenge, but we'll be fine. All that matters is that we're getting married - I wouldn't care if we were by ourselves wearing rags! Honeymoon is going to be in Tuscany, Italy, where I've managed to procure a private winery villa from a friend here in London. We'll fly into Pisa or Rome and rent a car. Flights from London start at £95 return, which is about $200 Canadian. Nice deal, eh?!

I had better finish this off and get going. Hopefully see you all in Canada soon! Cheers!