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Published: September 11th 2008
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My anniversary flowers
The most amazing bunch I've ever got, totally love them! Thought you might like to see what I was gushing about.... Well, where to start?
The kids started school on Monday. They wear uniforms here so it's pretty cute. They don't seem to have school buses so kids take public transit and only the adult pays for the fare. My first day was pretty nuts...Dave came with me and we drove there. HELLO CHAOS. We arrived to find a schoolyard full of kids (not as many as you'd see in a regular elementary school in Canada though), teachers randomly around and a headmaster woman ringing a bell. There is no such thing as walking the kids to their classroom down a hallway..weird, i know! So, I met a couple of the teachers but really only remember RHiannon's because I have to see her in order for Rhiannon to come out of the class, very safe in that regard. Alex is old enough that they dismiss his class a few minutes later and he usually finds me quite quickly. So far they haven't had reading or any homework. I make their lunches and usually prepare their breakfasts. While they were at school, I organized the pile of cd's that were all over the house, they've gotta have at least 200! So, I dusted them and alphabetized them into the stand.
On Tuesday, I ventured out to Lynn's workplace here in London to check out her mail as Richard was sending me something and it went to that address instead of home. I got it just in the nick of time! They had just got it and were going to send it back, lucky me! I went to the medical clinic and got an appointment so that I can have a doctor here in London in case I get ill, etc. I also checked out the LA Fitness Gym, got signed up and phoned in the rest of my details when I got home. They have a lot of really interesting classes and have a special of half price - £42.50/month instead of £95.00. Also, I had to pay a membership signup fee on top of that but if I attend the gym at least 3x/week for the first 8 weeks, I receive the money back! Bonus, definately taking advantage of that offer. They have quite a variety of classes and I get hooked up with 1 on 1 consultations every 6 weeks starting next week. Basically, the person I do the consultation with will help me get into classes and workouts that are helpful for what I want to accomplish. My goals are pretty much to lose fat, gain muscle, learn to do pushups (well), run faster and longer, strengthen my upper body, that kind of stuff. I dusted the dining room area, washed down a lot of picture frames and reorganized the drawers...very proud of that job. I babysat the kids until bedtime because Dave had to work late.
On Wednesday, well - it was a different day. It was pretty much a lot of good and a lot of annoying. The buses were really messed up so we waited for 35 mins only to find the bus never arrived, finally taking a different bus that dropped us off quite a walk from the school 10 mins after school had started. Alex was being really annoying, didn't want to walk very fast, didn't care that we were late etc. Rhiannon did extremely well and walked faster! My kind of girl. So, I was quite embarrassed to bring the kids to school about 20 - 25 mins late on my 2nd day of being on my own. sheesh. I walked home and it was a quick in and out of the house because I had a bank appointment to set up an account here. It's quite a nightmare to not have a bank card as everyone uses them for everything here. They don't charge extra if you use it 100x/day so I guess that's why it's so important to have a card here. So, met with a banking consultant, they should be getting back to me today regarding that. I also dropped off my volunteer form to the Cancer Research Charity Shop. I like meeting people and volunteering, it's also a different kind of work that I haven't done before so I think it would be neat. They were going to get back to me later this week to set up volunteer dates, etc. I came home, cleaned up a bit and did laundry. I also attended an Abs and Back Class at the gym, it was a lot of crunches! I think I did at least 120! CRAZY! I also got to learn the art of planks and after 2 sets of 30 seconds, I was just shaking to stay up. You aren't missing much if you don't know what planks are. I walked home after trying out one of the stairclimbers, crazy 5 min workout. I was annoyed with the mess that I was left with some careless person in the house, don't feel like cleaning up after grownups! Kids are enough and I have rules for them. I must mention that this was also my 4 month anniversary with Richard, missing him and wondering what the heck I was doing so far away from home just to deal with mess. Of course, it's not actually like that but anyhow, after getting the kids home, I noticed there was a little card - there was an attempted flower delivery for Chloe. I phoned the florist shop and they dropped off the most incredible bouquet of pink roses and pink lilies with a bunch of greenery! I have never got flowers like that, Richard went all out - all the way from Canada! So, I was really surprised and impressed and that helped me survive the rest of the night with the kids. I got my free time at 7pm, just chilled out for a bit and then had my phone date with Richard. We talked for nearly 2 1/2 hours to that was pretty sweet to say the least.
Thursday, today. I got the kids off to school, buses seem to be on track a bit better today. After dropping them off to their classes, I decided to get a bus home because I had a pool aerobics class at 10:00, kids start school at 8:50 which doesn't give me enough time to walk home, get stuff and then walk to the gym, get ready and be there on time. I figured I'd try a new bus because it appeared to be going in the direction of home....well, not before a tour of Barnet occured. I ended up having to walk about 15 mins to get home from the nearest stop that I recognized, the rest of the ride was all new to me. I got home with a couple minutes to grab my stuff and book it to the gym. I did find that the bus I took goes right by the gym so next time I have a morning class, I will just take what I need for the gym to school. I managed to get to the gym about 10 mins early, bought a swimming cap and got to class. It was a pretty fun workout, we had some little water dumb-bells that were actually quite good for working the arms, our instructor was really energetic so it was pretty cool. I met a couple of ladies and got chatting with them, very friendly. I am planning to attend that class again tomorrow. At this point, I can only register for classes a day in advance so I registered for the Dance Cardio Funk class tomorrow night, sounds like fun.
SO, the rest of my afternoon is going to consist of cleaning house, I have tomorrow and Saturday off. I am hoping to head to London centre on the tube for the day on Saturday, maybe check out the wax museum or something. So, that's it for now. Will keep you posted on my stories! Thanks for reading. Hugs, CHloe
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Donna
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you are amazing!
Chloe, I can not believe how fearless you are! You are an inspiration to anyone who reads your blog. Keep on writing. Keep on being you! Love yah.