Still useless after all these years...or words to that sort of song...

So, here we are mid, well end of April and life has changed for the better in oh so many ways..by this time next month - or thereabouts, I will be Mrs John Rider and am excited by that thought! It has been such an exciting time and I want to record it, well it won't be for our posterity exactly but y'know!
I met John last November at a Singles dinner that was hosted by a mutual acquaintance - his friend, Michael who will always want all the credit for this marriage anyway! I only went because it was Indian food and I was assured it would be good - and it was - have you tried to get decent Indian food in the US??..not easy, but I digress...John only went (he hates Indian food) because Michael threatened to let his tyres down if he didn't...John broke his heel/ankle in many places in the late summer and was out of action for months and Michael clearly thought he needed to get out into the real world...so, I thought he was with the woman he was sat next to, we chatted..I thought it was tacky that he tried to get my phone number when I thought he was with this other woman..they did travel there together, mind you...I don't know! Anyway, he lost my number, I took his card, put it safely in my glasses case and the following week lost the glasses case at a party in Castaic...I blame Debra Parker for that - just because I have to blame someone and she was with me...
Anyway, he contacted Michael and extracted my phone number, he phoned me, we went out, had a good time and have now decided to spend forever together, it took me a while (at least a week) to see how special he was...it's all been like I've known him forever and our spirits recognised that in each other.. I love how I feel about him (get your sick buckets ready now...) Tom made a comment about whether I was 51 or 16 and I feel 16 in lots of ways, I never expected to feel like this ever again to be honest... and it's wonderful.I have not had a moment's doubt that this is the right decision - there has been no agonising over it despite the upheaval it will be to get him over to the UK....In fact I may write a novella about that when his visa is through...50 ways to prove you're American..none of them acceptable to the Passport Office!!!!!!
We are getting married May 21 in the Los Angeles Temple and then we are moving to live in the UK once my Fulbright year is over.I have got a return flight for July 2nd so I can go to Tom's graduation...hopefully his visa will be through by then and that will be the start of our new life in Wales. I have such mixed feelings about this year coming to a close...it has been a real challenge but so much fun - I have had a break from all the normal things that go on in my life and learned what I already knew in many ways about the importance of home and family and friends and having a sense of place. I can't wait to share that with John, for my friends to meet him..it has been strange to think that the only person from home who knows him is Deb.... however, all his firends tell me constantly what a great bloke he is - so others may have to take their words for it...as for me, I knows it, I feels it. Unlike Nessa I am not going for gothic look, neither will my Welsh Dragon tattoo will not be on show that day!(I;ve used up all the transfers Sue Griff and I had!) Neither will I be pouring myself into any frothy meringues (a la 4 weddings stylee. It is all going to be very nice and hopefully tasteful and sunny in my friends' Troy and Jim's back garden for the ring ceremony and reception...
Once again, I am going to close this epic episode with a commitment to keep it up to date...but I am terminally useless... I will try to post wedding pics tho...
Meanwhile here are some of us trotting round Utah and California!!!

Home again, home again...sort of

Left Auckland Saturday evening and by the magic of time travel and the International Date Line arrived in LA before I had even left NZ! How cool is that...I hated leaving, cried a bucket of tears over the Pacific and now back 'home' in LA! Looking a case full of junk that I can't be bothered to unpack...well, it;s not junk exactly - just a few clothes and a few gifts..
Gary picked me up at the airport and dropped me off - have to say I got through Immigration and Customs amazingly quickly and my case was first off the luggage carousel.
Flight was uneventful altho delayed 2 hours in Sydney due to problems with some seats..they were asking for volunteers for bumping...was much tempted, especially after my last minute drama to secure an entry authorisation for Australia..which I then found out I didnt need for transitting...but since I do have one, I'm anxious to use it...however common sense prevailed and to be honest, I couldn't imagine going to work in the morning!!!!!!
Have trawled through my mail and thrilled to find I have medical benefits now sorted out - can't wait to send them my $1500 credit card bill for the root canal...that will pay for my flight to NZ this summer...although dismayed to find that the little Ford KA I bought for Nancy to use in the UK is developing problems...fingers crossed that it won't be too expensive to sort out...if it's not one thing, it's another(or your mother!) talking of whom, she turned 86 this week...Tom popped in tot ake her out...she was oblivious of the fact it was her birthday.We phoned from NZ and reminded her that it was and Dylan was highly entertained by the fact she told him numerous times it was her birthday and she thought she was 21 - there's nothing wrong with her sence of humour for sure!
So glad church is at midday tomorrow!!! Not sure how long into the year that euphoria will last...feel it's only my travel fatigue that makes it so attractive right now! Rightly or wrongly I always feel that it's best to be able to get up and get church done with...fully aware of the fact I will waste the mornings and then feel robbed wehn I get home at 4pm(that because I talk a lot after church!!!)

In my defence, I have been busy.....

Even my niece has been asking me why I'm not keeping up to date with the blog.... I'm just too busy to keep up to date but there is a lull this evening, altho I do have a great book calling me, calling me...
I'm in New Zealand right now...the very place I want to be, which is how I came to be in LA! The sun is shining, the sky is blue.... I am loving being with the family, I can't get enough of the kids...they may be sick of me grabbing them for cwtches all the time!
Since I last wrote....I had a great weekend with Deb in DC.... we went Amnish chasing - a bit like storm chasing only more accessible since the people were only in horse and carts! We had a blast!It WAS way too far to go for a weekend but I would do it again...I'm only here for such a short time, i want to make the most of it!
I went up to Sacramento for Thanksgiving with Jules and Dennis which was a lot of fun altho it was in the middle of my toothache trauma and that rather spoiled things. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner at Dennis's daughter's and we went to see gold rush towns...once again I was treated to a fantastic array of Autumnal colours so I feel well blessed in that area.
I'm running through my memory banks now to try to justify my claim to have been busy!
I did go out with a bunch of people from Church for a great Indian meal in Pasadena...the best I have had since I got to the US by a long way... I also went to somewhere with Gary and some of the other people I work with for Shanghai Chinese food and that was amazing - Gary knows where there is good food to be had and after all if you want to eat good Chinese go with a Chinese person! On the food theme, I also had some colleagues over for food at the house and cooked food with funny names, as requested ...it all turned out ok - phew! - toad in the hole can be temperamental at the best of times, knickerbocker glories are easy enough tho - I plan to invite them back soon so I can at least feel like the person at the centre of things like at home! Funny feeling!
December, while flying by was crappy in school terms...no Christmas to speak of and I really missed it...we just sang 2 songs at a 'Winter programme'... next year I am going to go totally overboard with the Christmas thing altho I did learn some great ideas for crafts! Have to say I was totally spoiled by the class with a very generous American Express gift card which I spent promptly on Cirque de Soleil tickets in Vegas and Ugg boots!
My tooth trauma took over my life for a while until I finally had a root canal and in fact am still waiting for the treatment to be finished...it has cost a fortune and made me ever grateful for the NHS(God bless Nye Bevan, I say!) I stand amazed at the whole health service in the US and cannot for the life of me understand why universal access to health care doesn't figure in some people's agendas...anyway, i will leave that alone as I can feel me getting my soap box out!

Tom came over for Christmas...I could hardly wait to get him here and we had a good time (I think we did anyway ...ask Tom!)We went to Vegas, shopped until we dropped, ate at some good and not so good places...went to Santa Monica, had a grand day out at Disneyland, celebrated Christmas with friends and neighbours and before we knew it, it was time to leave...me for warmer climes and he for the snow and ice that has been the feature of the British winter this year.
Oh, one yukky thing was I got a traffic ticket...except it came of course in Nancy's name - no-one wanted to discuss it with me because it wasn't 'my' ticket...I just wanted to pay it and get it over with...so that has had to go over to her to be signed and then we'll see what happens next...

Went to some cool Christmas things with my friend Debra - we went to see a live production of A Christmas Carol in Glendale one Sat afternoon then went to dinner with a lovely group of people that Debra knew - we also went to Irvine to a Break the Fast dinner, followed by the Christmas devotional and a lovely Christmas programme...trying to get the Christmas spirit...

Oh, spent a great Sunday with Alex Hathaway and her family too, who don't live too far away....we must do that again soon!

Have still kept up going to the Temple each week and enjoying it...have a calling at church now - teaching the Sunbeams (3 year olds) which I can't wait to start...

So the New Year beckons and I am looking forward to it in lots of ways.... plan to go whale watching one weekend, and to tackle my long list of things to do around LA which is ever burgeoning and I never seem to have time to get to... Didn't make resolutions...just too many things to tackle in my life!
So that's a quick round up of some events. I'm sure there were more... Tom did have a walk on role in 'Community' when we went to watch it filmed at Paramount...
NZ has been a blast and I am seriously considering coming back when I have finished school as the kids have a fortnight off in July and I could come then and have the time with them...depends on what else happens...I may get a better offer!!LOL I wish!