The Artist Formerly Known As Luvsie

You ask for five words in the comments and then elaborate on them in your own journal. My five, courtesy of ragdoll


Red Dwarf
The Small Rouge One got me through a really difficult time in my life. There I was, home alone late on a Saturday night. I flipped on KAET Channel 8 and was hooked. Rimmsy and Listy helped me through my divorce and starting over again. Then they led me to the TORDFC board where I started chatting on AIM with slices and six years later I still have a soft spot for RD. It's also one of only two fandoms I've written fanfic in (the other being ST:DS9).

Ex-pat
Four years ago tomorrow I arrived, jetlagged, at Gatwick to begin my new life. England is home to me. I couldn't imagine living in America ever again. Sure there are things I miss, people I miss. But this is Home. This is where my heart is.


Mummy
My favourite word *grin*. She says new words every freakin day but nothing can top the first time she said that. I never even had any question on whether to be Mummy or Mommy. I am mum. I turn back into Jenni from 7 pm to 6 am LOL.

Banana
I'd love to make banana bread but the darn things never stay in the house long enough. Not with the "Nanna Nanna" monster around.

Massachussetts
Ahhh nostalgia. Childhood trips to Onset Beach or Down the Cape or Lincoln Park (Rocky Point doesn't count as it was in RI). Middle school plays and dances with Chaka Khan or Kenny Loggins blasting. It's where I came from (and where I went back to heal after my time in the desert) but it's no longer home. On an amusing note, a middle school friend (with whom I just reconnected via facebook) now living in Glasgow compared Glasgow to Brockton!

http://lrlrl.coldplay.com/leftright.html

Just enter your email and country you live in for free download of Coldplay's latest album! How cool is that? Found it on the FreeParentStuff newsletter of all places!

Seem to have aggravated the plantar facitis in my right foot again. Had terrible pain yesterday and couldn't put weight on it. Alex took me to A+E (his Mum put Jean to bed) and I had an x ray to check for a fracture. I'm off work today resting it and putting ice on it.

Just been listening to Absolute 80s while doing the dishes and making jam. Yep. Making jam. Red Gooseberry jam, in fact. last night's batch was 75% strawberry 25% red gooseberry. Mmmm. So I went outside to get the last few dishes (we ate dinner outside) to be serenaded by the neighbours singing There Is Nothing Like A Dame from South Pacific, LOL.

Oh and I GOT MY BRITISH PASSPORT TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!

If there is one person or more on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.

Wearing lilac body lotion today, may eat a hard boiled egg in salad later.

Have not had the urge to kill any family members (Mom and Sinead arrived Thursday) and am actually quite enjoying having them here. Had a good girly day in London Saturday with Sinead. We were both being geeky fangirls when we went to Shakespeare's Globe (me for Doctor Who and her for.. well.. Shakespeare!). Madame Tussaud's was pretty good as well, after a tasty lunch at Nando's. I was VERY dissapointed that they seem to have retired the Billy Connolly figure though! WTF!!??! So I said so in the comment thing.

Jean's 1st birthday party was yesterday, complete with beehive cake made by Auntie Heather which as well as being adorable was very tasty! Video should be up on YouTube soon.

I am such a sap... I was just moved to tears by a children's book! I was reading a book to Jean we'd got from the library last week about the five little ducks. Only this one is a lift the flap book that explains where each duck went. When they come back, they come back with presents because IT'S MUMMY DUCK'S BIRTHDAY!

My unbirthday lunch was fun. Had a nice meal with Alex, Jean, his Mum & Dad and his sister Heather. Then we hung out at his parents for a bit and I opened my presents. Two clematis plants (which I've already planted) and DVDs of Dara O'Brien and Frankie Boyle!! Yay!

Tomorrow I shall have my proper birthday, with cake!

I'm probably being pedantic but misuse of apostrophes to indicate plurals bugs me. Especially when I see it on things like church noticeboards or catalogues of school products (or really any situation where they ought to know better or proofread).

http://www.apostrophe.org.uk/

I need to come up with some planning ideas for work about America for about 20ish 2-4 year olds. So far I've come up with ideas around three themes (I'd like to have five to have a week's worth).

1. Wild West theme
Sherrif badges out of stickyback plastic
Paper & feather Indian headdress craft activity
Music & Movement activity of mock rodeo to that Beef:It's What's For Dinner music, LOL
2. Baseball theme
Teach them to sing "take me out to the ballgame"
Shapes (triangle pennants, baseball diamonds etc.)
Number line of baseball jerseys
Modified game of baseball on grass outside where the teachers pitch and bat and the kids run the bases
3. Surfing theme
Music & Movement activity of mock surfing (to "wipeout")
Teach them to say Aloha etc.
Threading tissue paper leis

Can anyone come up with anything else, or two other themes?

Had my British Citizenship ceremony this morning :-)

Feels kind of strange in a cool way, if that makes any sense? Jean went to Grandma & Grandad's as she normally would have (albeit slightly later and Daddy dropped her off instead of me), then Alex and I walked into town for the ceremony. We had dressed up for the occasion and so had some others but some people were wearing JEANS! Got handed a commemorative scroll by the Lord Mayor of Coventry and said the oath & stuff. Tried (but failed) to not have the words to My Country Tis of Thee in my brain when they played God Save The Queen. Afterwards Alex and I had lunch at Playwrights. Alex picked up Jean and I went to the chiropractor and now we're about to head to his Mum & Dad's with Jean so we can all go for a celebratory dinner at Nando's!

I can has British Citizenship nao plz?

What do you mean I have to wait until Monday to ring Coventry Council and arrange a ceremony? Dammit I wanna be British nownownownow!

Can you tell I'm chuffed my application was approved?

Need to write cards tonight and make more reindeer. Need to iron as well. Think I may suggest to Alex we watch A Christmas Story while I do. Just sneezed and startled poor Jean, LOL.

My brain is alternating between Mistletoe and Wine and the theme to Space Pirates. Must go on youtube and listen to Fairytale of NY to re-set brain. speaking of youtube - search for videos by alexdunlop81 to see Jean!

OK OK so Coventry wasn't actually covered with snow on Monday. But some did fall while Jean and I were waiting for the bus after we went swimming. Had a few flakes Tuesday as well. Nothing that stuck though. Still, it made me smile and have JT playing in my brain.

Our trip to Keswick was fun. Jean's first holiday and my second trip to the Lake District. We did some walking (Friar's Crag, Ashness Bridge, Walla Crag (hereafter known as Welly Crag) and Castlehead) and some shopping and ate a lot of local food. On Thanksgiving we went out for a roast chicken dinner at lunch and then had the pumpkin pie Id baked the day before. We stayed at Dairy Lodge cottage, which worked much better than a B&B would have for us.

In other news, we're getting a new washer/dryer today as ours died before we went to Keswick. The laundry has piled up, despite our lovely neighbours doing some for us and there being a washer and dryer at Dairy Lodge. I should get it all washed by Christmas, LOL.

In relation to my icon, I can't believe he appointed Hillary Secretary of State. Dude, she wants your job and now she's fourth in line for it!

Fellow Americans help me out - please comment with the phoenetic pronunciation of the state of Maryland.
Can you tell we watched Stephen Fry tonight?

I went into town this morning to talk to the people from the OU about the certificate in Early Years I want to do. The tutor I talked to said they were combining E123 and E124 into one sixty point course because there was so much overlap in the material. Having never done any studying through the OU I was worried that would be too much for me to handle with work and Jean but he said a sixty point is an average of 15 hours work a week. So it looks like I'll be doing Understanding Children starting next March and then whatever they call this sixty point one in October 2009. He said I should call about possible credit for my Bachelor's from Fitchburg State as well.

So while I was in town, Alex was spending time with Jean. When I got home two hours ago they had gone out (possibly to my in-laws). I miss my Jean-Jean!

The meme is:

Take a picture of yourself right now.
Don't change your clothes. Don't fix your hair. Just take a picture.
Post that picture with no editing.
Post these instructions with your picture.




Taken with the webcam, tilted so you can't see Jean who I'm feeding at the moment.

I've not seen him in The History Boys but from what I recall this Russell Tovey fellow is too young to be the 11th Doctor. Unless Tennant stays on another 4-5 years first.