My angel girl

Seraphina posing with her violin

Seraphina and Ruphie, her best pal in the world




My favourite shot!

Hello again

Wow, it's been 3 months! Well, that's me for ya. I always start out with the best of intentions but as they say 'the best laid plans of mice and men oft gang awry' and this little mouse has been dead busy with course work and a new job (two of them in short succession, in fact).

Here's a photo of my new haircut. It's actually quite smooth and fluffy in this pic and I prefer it to be choppier, spikier. I have since learned the art of good product and how not to be afraid of hair wax.

And here is Seraphina enjoying an ice cream down at the seafront on easter Sunday.

This is her newest mode of transport. You can read about it over in Tony's blog . Be sure to ask him if he was uncomfortable being towed about on the back, haha!

It was with bittersweet smiles that we bid adieu to her old trailer and said bonjour to the fact that our baby is going to be 5 next month!

Two weeks ago, we went up to London to the Natural History museum. It's not often I can drag Tony up there. Only someone born and bred in London would ever say they hated the place but he lived there most of his life and works there every day so doesn't really want to spend his free time at the week ends travelling back!

The dinosauers were cool:

But the best part of the whole day was the hands-on science lab in the basement! Seri conducted a few experiments and now wants to be a scientist when she grows up.

Here she is trying trying to work out what the 'mystery' skin is under the microscope

And here she is recording the meticulous calculations of her findings (seriously! and by meticulous, I mean asking me to spell out words like bumpy, brown, scaly and smooth so she could write it ALL down whilst Tony sighed heavily in the corner)

And here she is arguing for 10 minutes with the lab volunteer that indeed, it is most definitely not a crocodile at all but an alligator. As you can see, the lab volunteer actually resorted to pulling out an encyclopedia to prove to my 4 1/2 year old know-it-all that it really, really, ever so truly was a crocodile after all!

I think they agreed to meet in the middle.

Saving Argus

I have a added a new blog to my favourites. I don't know the lady who is writing personally but I have read the story of her work to save a horse called Argus from severe neglect. I've laughed and cried at his and his fellow farm mates' antics. He's been liberated and living with his new family for just over a year now and has come so far. Unfortunately, he is now very ill. Say a few prayers for Argus. He lived through 16 years of hell and has had a year of paradise. I hope he pulls through!

The adventures of Nate

Just thought y'all might be interested in what Nate gets up to when he is with me. One of his favourite things to do when in England and of which I, sadly, have no photographic evidence is visiting the local bakery for a BLT.

Spike, me and Seri at Pismo Beach, California (May 2005)

Spike, me and Seri, Yosemite National Park, California (May 2005)

Doing his impersonation of the Hoff, Pismo Beach

Yosemite, looking gorgeous

Yosemite, trying to freak me out



Yosemite, communing with the wildlife

When he was an extra in Lord of the Rings

Standing in front of Tower Bridge, London (July, 2004)

With HMS (Her Majesty's Ship) Belfast, battleship from WWII

Exploring the Arctic, amazingly in London. In July. In shorts.

Here's Seri, sincerely unimpressed with her new shower cap. Although she did come to appreciate when she had a shower.

Brandon and James putting together James's tabletop air hockey game. Perfect for a tiny dorm room at Uni!

Michaela's latest hair colour (or colours).

Vicki and Mo

Who is your role model?

Now don't cheat......I liked this one......you will too!

Try it without looking at the answers.

Please don't look down until you do it, you'll enjoy it, I promise.


GET A CALCULATOR, IF NEEDED, (YOUR COMPUTER HAS ONE ON IT)


1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9

2) Multiply by 3 then

3) Add 3, then again Multiply by 3

4) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number€¦.

5) Add the digits together

Now Scroll down ..............




Now with that number see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:



1. Einstein

2. Nelson Mandela

3. Abraham Lincoln

4. Helen Keller

5. Bill Gates

6. Gandhi

7. George Clooney

8. Thomas Edison

9. Tatia

10. Ronald Reagan


I know....I just have that effect on people..one day, you, too, can be like me.... :-) Believe it!


P.S.: Stop picking different numbers. I am your idol, just deal with it!!!!

Christmas

Mom is gonna kill me! I just looked at the photos we had taken from Christmas and there are very, very few. Sorry. We were too busy playing, I think. But in the interest of fairness, lest anyone think upon me as a wicked step-mother, here is a photo of Tony and his two older children, James and Vicki, along with our daughter, Seraphina. This photo doesn't show it but Seri looks a lot of like Vicki. Sometimes. And there are times she looks just like my sister Wendi. She's also been known to remind me of her daddy (which makes sense as Vicki looks just like him as well). But just to be confusing, because she is a Gemini, after all, she also resembles my sister Dez and even upon occasion, my mother. Sometimes. Curious child.

At the beginning of December, Tony and I were filled with Christmas spirit. We had a ball decorating the house, doing some shopping, planning Christmas dinner (he's incredibly un-English, for the record, as he would not even consider goose and figgy pudding). Then, on the 7th of December:

AND

If you don't know, Tony is an avid cyclist (you can read his blog entitled So Tyred if you have insomnia) and like most of them, will cycle in any weather. He slid on black ice, came off his bike, hobbled home with one arm and is now inordinately proud of his cycling injuries and his war story. At the emergency room - and by the way, did you know that Sunday mornings are the busiest time of week for English emergency rooms? Seriously. Football injuries, drunkards from the night before, kids playing unattended whilst parents have a lie in, all recipes for disaster - at the emergency room, Tony was more worried about getting home to check on his bike than he was about himself (which is portentous and unprecendented when it comes to Tony and injury or illness).

So there went a little of our Christmas cheer. And to make matters worse, I came down with a serious case of bronchitis, Seri ended up with a viral infection and Tony contracted bubonic plague. Awww, I'm being mean. He really was ill but I was disinclined to offer much sympathy when I was still nursing Seri feeling the way I did. This lasted right up until the week of Christmas. Have a look at Seri's hair because she was feeling too poorly to put up with grooming and I was feeling to poorly to make her.

Took us 45 minutes and nearly a whole bottle of detangler to get through that.

But at the end of the day, we had a fantastic Christmas. James was home from University and Vicki and her boyfriend Mo joined us, too. It was fantastic to have a full house. And what's even better? They watched 'It's A Wonderful Life' with me and they seemed to enjoy it! I just wish Nate had been there and it would have been perfect.

So here are the measly few photos that were taken.

Seraphina feigning sleep. The one day I really need her to pose and she does not cooperate. Any other time, trying to capture her in a natural state is like trying to get a photo of the elusive blue footed pintail. Anyhoo, that's her new digital camera and around her neck is her first diamond necklace. I couldn't resist! Every girl needs fine jewelry.

Seraphina and the beginning of her Sylvanian Families collection. What have I started? They are gorgeous, though. Wendi reckons she saw one in Japan that is a Japanese-styled house! How cool is that? I sense that birthday shopping will be a breeze from now on!

Well, for some reason, I am not being allowed to upload any more photos. I'll try starting another post but if not, stay tuned.