Shop Til You Drop

In nine days I will be returning back to work. My last day at work was January 11th, a day before my surgery. There is much to be done as far as preparation like grocery shopping and clothes shopping. Oh, yes -- I do have a shave on Monday, a nurse visit on Tuesday and my second chemo appointment on Friday. Today there was only one thing to do and that was clothes shopping...

I drove to my friend Kimmee's house where her daughter and daughter's two college roommates were visiting her. They left and Kim drove us to a very good Mexican restaurant at the mall. What could be more flattering than shopping for clothes on full bellies? It was better to be full than have touchy tempers from low sugar.

Did I tell you that my company is now allowing denim or Casual Friday wear everyday? The only employees who have to dress Business Casual are those who are meeting with clients face-to-face. With my much slimmer figure and the new dress code, I have no choice but to buy new clothes. I can still wear some of my blouses; they will be roomier but will do for now.

I don't recall the last time I was really outdoors for a certain amount of time. The mall by Kimmee's house is all outdoors so people can stroll outside in between ducking into posh shops and restaurants. I kept my sunglasses on and wore a beige cap embellished with shiny silver dots drawn into a cute skull and crossbones on one side. Kathy had given me this gift the weekend she stayed and cleaned my apartment. Brushing my hair is too traumatizing right now so I have elected to cap my head since I can no longer style it for fear of creating a significant bald spot somewhere.

Meandering around the stores and trying out clothes in a few different fitting rooms wasn't the chore I thought it would be. I was able to find things on sale so it was more gentle on my pocket book. Three shirts and one pair of black denim were my treasures. I need to buy a few more pants and new bras/panties. That will be a Tuesday adventure to my regular store. Kimmee was able to find a pair each of black and dark gray denim pants. Happiness all around!

We made it back to her house all shopped out. Her daughter treated us to a generous Thai dinner for five of us gals to share. We laughed and talked until Kim's husband came home at 11pm. I got home at 11:30pm! It was a great day to feel normal.

Hugs,
Sarah xo

Shop Til You Drop

Sugar Apple

Chewing toasted sprouted English muffin can be an activity itself. It is made of food designed to make you feel full with the added bonus of providing better nutrition than traditional bread. This was my breakfast which meant I wouldn't have a mid-morning snack. I wouldn't be making my Mango Sprinkles drink (1/4 c. mango puree + 1 1/4 c. filtered water + 3 teaspoons powdered psyllium husk) which gives me about 15 grams of fiber. That's one of my snack choices during work to hold me until lunch.

My nail salon was very busy this morning. I couldn't wait to get my nails done and trimmed to a more manageable length. Too bad I ruined the polish on my left thumb within 15 minutes of leaving. I was at my apartment parking space getting out of my car. My right index finger got scratched, too, five minutes later while lightly pinning Cabal on the wall outside my door. The new neighbor next door was in the middle of moving in. I didn't think it was a good idea for her helpers to get startled by his loud piercing bark. I cursed and repaired the nails as best as I could with the nail stuff I have on hand. Only a close inspection would give me away.

My long-time-no-see friend Myrna picked me up for a Mexican lunch. On the way I told her about my new neighbor who is a true red head -- I am talking there is no mistaking ginger. Her family mirrored her coloring. I noticed a guitar so she must be musical. Not sure if she attends the university around the corner or not. Time will only reveal.

Our Mexican lunch was good, but made me uncomfortably full even in my loose jeans. It wasn't tight at all - my tummy just wasn't happy. We soon made it to a supercenter and threw ourselves in the crowd shopping. My tummy was thankful for the walk around. It was a mental idea to shop with the others who were trying to get ready for back-to-school on Monday, but we got through insanity to buy things like soap, toilet paper, etc. Myrna expressed her desire to go to the oriental store downtown and that's where we went right after.

In Tagalog, they call it atis (ah-tis), but in English it is known as a sugar apple. Imagine my delight to find it in the produce aisle at Oceanic. I have only had one of these since I left the Philippines. That fruit gem was given to me by Ant several years ago. It is worth its weight and these modest three were almost $7.00! When they are ripe, I will take a picture and show you the creamy white flesh and the shiny black seeds.




I bought some cookies/biscuits and sesame candy for the Asian mafia next week. Since I tore into the banana ones, I guess I get to keep that package. The thing about Asian flavors in products such as cookies, is that the flavors are especially strong. You know what flavor you are supposed to have as you enjoy the flavor essence permeating the treat...Tapioca pearls for my boba drink...A bun with sweet red bean paste baked in it...A package of Kopiko (a Tagalog bastardization of coffee -- kopi and ko -- meaning mine) made it into my bag. Inside the bag has 22 packets of coffee/sugar/creamer mixture.




My piece de resistance was my collection of veggies from the Asian store. Feast your eyes on the eggplant (far left), snow peas (upper right hand), big hand of ginger (bottom front), and my bunch of water spinach (far right) mingling next to the more familiar fare.




The universe has a sense of humor. It urged me to look at the packaged and impressive European cucumber more closely. And do you know where it comes from? No? Are you sure? Ft. Lonesome, FL. I almost died laughing. I mean -- are you kidding me?!

I don't like putting groceries away. Now I am wondering if I should have bought some bottled water. Apparently a hurricane is on its way. Fay is on the Way. Let's hope she's a fickle wench and goes elsewhere.


.

Sugar Apple

From Home

I wish this jet lag would go away. My boss mentioned how tired I looked yesterday. How lovely. I'm surprised I made it to the post office to mail little thank you's to Yummy and Anton and Anna.

There was a long line at the post office. I tried to buy some regular and international stamps, but I refrained when the postman reminded me that the cost was going up Monday and he didn't have any of the proper domestic Love stamps nor the international ones yet. Grrr.

Random fire inspections were being conducted today in my complex. I had to work from home in case my place was chosen. I couldn't leave Cabal by himself; he might get really spooked and decided to defend his territory. Nice doggie.

Tried killing two birds with one stone by having the office schedule a maintenance person to come and regrout my shower. It is my third term lease here and they owe it to me. The previous workmanship leaves a lot to be desired.

The jury is still out on working from home. It wasn't really feasible for me today. The files I needed were at work and it was too much of a hassle to haul them home. I worked the best that I could.

Around 4:30pm, I threw the towel in on getting the shower redone. I called the office and told them not to come at all if they were somehow on their way. The manager answered and she was surprised at the situation. I called yesterday to schedule and I even confirmed this morning just to make sure and still a no show! She wanted to reschedule, but I told her that it wasn't that easy because I have a dog that has to be chaperoned while work was being completed...Blah blah blah.

I had a movie date with my friend Dianne and her husband Steve that cheered me. The screening for the movie Waitress was tonight. I haven't seen them both in a long time. Dianne would also have the digestive biscuits she requested from me along with some chocolate bars. The movie was entertaining and the actress, Kerry Russell, finally redeemed herself in my eyes. Her recent acting credits were not good at all. Steve treated us to a Mexican dinner afterwards so we could catch up.

Headed home for sleep that has been teasing me. This has got to stop. Whatever happened to my signature four hours? Probably catching some Z's.

From Home

AGOL Takes UK: London Day 2

Our second foray into London began with a walk in Trafalgar Square where Nelson's Column and The National Gallery are a hotspot for tourists. I expected more pigeons but I think the city has found a way to keep them from menacing the crowds. A couple of the ones there swooped like pterodactyls near us.

Nelson's Column


Base of the column with "England Expects Every Man Will Do His Duty".


The National Gallery behind Nelson's column on the opposite side of the square.


Mermaid on one of the two fountains in the square.


She has such an arresting face especially with the water spraying on her.


Another view of the pretty clock.


Corner building across the way. The windows atop remind me of portholes.


Yummy took me around Covent Garden, Soho and Chinatown. I loved walking around, enjoying the street performers and shops. We stopped and bought packages of tea from The Tea House. It was a beautiful store with an impressive selections of teas. My chai tea smelled heavenly through the package...

Smart cars are so cute! I told Yummy that he and I would look like grasshoppers driving it with our long legs.


We still had some time before we were to meet Yummy's mum, Margaret and his stepdad, Mason. They were meeting us in the city for drinks and dinner. It was beer-thirty again and I was led to a popular London pub called Salisbury. It was more opulent than any of the other pubs we have visited. I liked the frosted glass window around the front.

Next stop for us was Cafe Apogee for wine with everyone. Mind you, I was very nervous, but I am generally effervescent so I didn't give into shyness. Wine here and the 1/2 pint at the pub didn't hurt either.

My American audience will know what I mean when I describe the following. In Virginia, speaking with a Southern accent is described as genteel, a more refined way. Margaret, Yummy's mum, speaks British English in a very genteel way. She could read stories for hours and I would just be as interested as the first. She's beautiful with alert blue eyes and very soft-spoken, but I can tell there is an impish side.

Mason, Yummy's stepdad, is from California and he didn't speak at all with a trace of a British accent even after being in the country over 20 years. He's very outgoing and very sweet. I enjoyed his company, too. You knew he worshipped his English rose.

I brought them some goodies from Florida, mostly Key Lime Cookies and a box of saltwater taffy that brought a story of Mason's mom when she was still alive.

When Margaret and Mason visited California, they wheeled his mother around in her chair. She was in her 90s, I believe. They bought saltwater taffy, but Mason's mom didn't want to share with her roommates so she proceeded to eat the loot piece by piece leaving a paper trail behind her. When she sat in back of their vehicle, she ate some more and left her candy wrappers around.

By the time they got back, there were only several pieces left which they offered for her to take in, but she declined because she was full of the candy. That was a scream. She was one determined woman!

The weather dictated where we would dine. I had asked Yummy to check the weather online before we left Brighton and it said it would continue to be warm. When we stood in Trafalgar Square, I prayed for the sun to shine through the clouds for warmth. The online forecast was incorrect so the evening became much cooler and breezy.

Yummy and I found ourselves at another Mexican odyssey at Chiquito's around the corner from Cafe Apogee. It had more selections than Los Amigos in Hove. We ordered fajita combos while M&M ordered chicken and beef tacos. Amazingly, it was beer-thirty all around. Good with the food, too. A great time was had by all.

M&M were smart and brought their coats and even offered them to us, but we declined to brave the elements. The cooler temps had us walking a lot faster through the streets to catch the tube and then the train back to Brighton.

At London Victoria station, you have to deposit 20p (pence) to use the restrooms. I have never in my life have had to pay for the necessity. Good thing I wasn't already doing the pee-pee dance because there were some stairs down to navigate . Never a dull moment with my restroom visits.

The train took us to a warmer climes in Brighton...Thank God!

AGOL Takes UK: London Day 2

AGOL Takes UK: Dragons and Tea with Turtles

The famed English weather finally revealed itself today! Grey clouds and a light rain greeted the morning. I cooked a big breakfast -- poor Yummy was not used to the farmer boy size portions that early, but it was all good. Armed with breakfast, walking shoes and he with a dark rain jacket with hood and me with creme jean jacket and umbrella, we set out for the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.

I didn't get to take any pictures outside the Pavilion because of the weather and pictures inside were prohibited. Just as well because there were so many rooms in this uber opulent home built by George IV. The outside reminds of India with the onion top architecture and inside was wall to wall Chinoiserie. There were so many things to note and gawk at that I was thankful for the little audio guides Yummy and I carried from room to room, giving us a good historical narrative.

It's last royal owner, Queen Victoria, sold it to the city of Brighton; it didn't meet her needs for a proper family home for she and her husband Albert and their children. Brighton was definitely the winner in that transaction...

Yummy took me to his famed Mock Turtle in The Lanes to enjoy his favorite cream teas and the best damn scones I've ever had. This tea room was rather cozy and the main floor full so we descended the stairs to the lower level. Our teas came with scones served with butter, cream (soft fluffy butter) and some killer strawberry jam. The first mouthful was heavenly. The scones do NOT look like the ones I've ordered in Starbucks at all. Those are like hockey pucks compared to these delicious morsels. All I can say is wow!

From The Lanes, we made our way to Brighton's Sea Life Centre for the local aquaria built in Victorian times. Yummy was a little worried about the fish. I kept asking them if they preferred garlic or onion. Wot? We saw gigantic sea turtles swimming among sharks in their largest tank. Experienced a submarine dive/show that cracked us both up with the agitating benches to simulate movement that coincided with the "movie".

Every minute is beer-thirty so we trudged back up The Lanes to visit The Druid's Head pub where we enjoyed -- what else but beer. This is bloody Britain and they drink by God! We also worked ourselves up to eat Mexican food. Tried to call Anton to get directions, ended up back home to get the address and took a cab. Our cab broke down and was called another one. Something about power steering fluid or was that catalytic converter? Never a dull moment.

Okay...........not a lot of Mexicans cross the pond let's just say. The Mexican food at Los Amigos (Mexican/Italian restaurant) was not like Vallarta's in Trampa. The salsa and guacamole were divine, but the rest was okay. The two beers with lime made it better. Yes, it was beer-thirty there, too.

AGOL Takes UK: Dragons and Tea with Turtles