England

On December 23rd Plosk and I made our way to the land of my birth. My parents were generous enough to give us 2 premium economy tickets using their miles to London Heathrow for a 7 day trip to visit family. It was a very different experience than I have had in the past. There were no late evening pub visits but instead it was very child based. Darren and Rachael, my two wonderful cousins have both had children in the past year and a half so the two little ones dominated the home.

It was my first real experience with children. I can't ever even recall holding a baby, but this visit I definitely got my fill. Plosk laughed at me because in the first 24 hours I was so excited and all I wanted to do was play with Amaya and Niall. I even said that the idea of children was less frightening and more exciting after spending time with such lovely babies. But then the second 48 hours hit...and my mind began to wrap around the constant attention a baby needs. And with that I was back to my normal self not in any rush to have anything exit my womb. It's strange being the youngest one around while growing up- you have no concept of children so this gave me a little perspective.

Christmas day was lovely. We ate a delicious meal with lots of veggies and an amazing nut roast prepared by Rach. Boxing day Plosk and I went to lunch with my mum and dad in Barnwell where we ate more yummy food. I will say eating was a major theme on this holiday. Way too much eating.

We then spent a speedy night in Cambridge with Rach, Dam and Amaya where we enjoyed Pingu and Thai food. Then it was off to London for 2 nights and 2 1/2 full days enjoying some private time and a more active holiday. We walked so much both of our legs hurt from over use. London is the city in which I was born. Oddly enough I have never really explored London. I have been to England many many many times but barely set foot in London at all. Plosk had spent 2 weeks exploring a few years ago so he was able to show me around which was fabulous. We went to the Tate Modern, the Globe, saw two shows at the National: Coram Boy and Waves, and shopped for people back home. Out of everything we did in London, Coram Boy was by far the best experience. It was the most exciting thing I've seen on stage I have seen in years. YEARS. It was original, technically brilliant and engaging. Out of our entire trip, that was the most wonderful experience. Waves was also good, but because of time we had to leave at intermission. We had expected the show to run an hour and a half or perhaps 2 at the most, but it was 2 hours and 40 minutes. When you have a flight to catch that evening, that is just too long. I didn't love Waves but I appreciated it's unique style. Events that happened on the stage were filmed while being done so that the audience was both watching the film and the real life actors at the same time. I said to Plosk that it really amplified the difference in stage and film acting. Something would look amazing on film, a small facial expression or a movement that would be missed completely if it hadn't been projected for all to see.

Then it was back home to see the kittens and relieve Alice from her house watching duties. It was a different trip than I had anticipated. It's amazing how much two little people who can't even speak change a dynamic. But we got to spend time with lots of family and then have some time on our own for a more active adventurous experience. There was balance. And now 2007 is here. We broke into the year with friends and brutally honest conversation at 11o1. And now to keep the festivities coming, we've got our one year anniversary this weekend. Non stop it is.