October prepping and returning from vacation

It's October! We're back from our holidays and went from 35C/95F temperatures to 8C/48F. It's appropriately autumnal in Newcastle with the fog and the rain, as is expected. While we were away it only rained maybe a couple of times and we spent two glorious weeks in Disney, Universal, and Cocoa Beach.

What I took home from the trip were a couple of bags of flavored coffee, some Christmas ornaments (because this year will be quite special), some baby onesies, and a cold. So going back to work this week with jet lag, a tiredness that comes from being six months pregnant, and a stuffy nose has not been that pleasant. However, after sleeping a lot this weekend, I think I'll be ready to take on the next 10 weeks of work before my maternity leave.

Ten. Weeks. That's all I have left. I think that freaks me out more than labor and delivery at this point, as well as being off of work for a whole year. I keep being assured that I won't care about the goings on at the library while I'm away, but I'm a control freak and have severe FOMO, so if Baby Pick supersedes all of that, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

What I noticed about holidaying in the Central Florida area is that Disney is just so much better than the other parks. I know I'm a Disney fan girl and all, but the amount of rude staff we came across during our one day at Volcano Bay water park and the severe lack of organization we encountered at Sea World just proves that Disney sets a higher bar for customer service.

For example: Preferred Parking at Sea World costs $35 and regular parking costs $25. Everyone was parking in the same rows in the same area so we wasted $10 on that. Plus, the queue to get in was miles long, including the self service kiosk, so it would have taken ages just to get into the park. I investigated buying the tickets online, but unlike Disney, it didn't tell you up front before you paid, what dates the tickets were valid for. It's not until you leave the tickets in your cart and you get an email later saying, "Don't you want these tickets that let you go into the park three days after purchase?" If I had bought them and tried to go into the park the next day, as we intended, I would have been even more disappointed because we tried to go over on our last weekend in Florida.

Mister Pick was bummed out about this because he wanted to see the new Sesame Street land, the Halloween events, and experience the beer festival, but I think that was the reason so many people were trying to get into the park at the same time. Other people in our parking row did the same thing we did, got to the gate then realized it wasn't worth it, and turned around and went home having wasted $25-$35 on parking. (We did sent an email to Sea World about this and we got a parking pass for next year.)

With Volcano Bay, Mister Pick went as far as to write an email of complaint about the rude staff. A lot of the time there was no please or thank you, there was no finesse or love for their job that you see at Disney. There was, "You need to move the line here!" or even having rafts for the rides thrown at customers. What irritated me the most was the couple of bits of wrong information we received. I specifically asked at one of the lunch cafeterias if the park unlimited drinks cups could be used at the adjacent hotel, Cabana Bay, where we were staying. We were told, "yes," only to find out that was just wrong. Also, when we left the park, there was a staff member blowing bubbles (because that makes it seem fun to be there!) and she didn't stop when I approached her, then gave me wrong directions to get back to the hotel.

It wasn't anything major, and we did enjoy our time there. I loved the wave pool and Mister Pick had a fine time on all of the slides, especially the lazy river, but it was just that little attention to detail when it comes to customer service. As someone who works in customer service day in and day out, I can tell you full well how high expectations result in higher quality treatment of customers.

Aside from that, everything was good. We did experience the drunken nightmare that is EPCOT Food and Wine Festival on a Saturday and I can safely say I will never do that again. People just loud, shouty, and making a point to draw attention to themselves. I even saw two women cursing each other out in a line for the ladies' toilets, children in tow, all because they were off their face at two o'clock in the afternoon. It was so busy and so hot and if you go there just to enjoy the park, a weekday is your best bet because, wow. Those Florida Passholders treat that like a bachelorette/bachelor party on a weekend. (Most importantly, not a time to bring children unless you want them to experience brawls and lack of security.)

Other than that, it was great. We saw a lot of my parents who are doing well (except my dad caught my cold, poor guy). We went to Galaxy’s Edge (!!!) and saw the new Toy Story Land. I didn't go overboard with the eating because I had my glucose test when I came back home (still waiting to hear results of that), but I enjoyed cake and (low carb) ice cream on my birthday. I wasn't in the mood for a lot of shopping either, but I managed to bring back the essential snacks, and souvenirs for my co-workers, as well as my own gifts mentioned above.

Oh, and I didn't spend too much at Michaels. I was very proud of myself, considering that I was in Happy Planner Heaven and would only have that chance once.

So now that I have all of the planners, including my Academic Passion Planner that's on the way, I'll be prepped for some time with Baby and being at home for, hopefully, some creative time. I'd love to do even 25k words for Nanowrimo this year, but the more I don't write, the more daunting it seems. I keep hearing about people on social media who are fast typers and they write a book in a month anyway. I used to do that but they weren't good and it was the editing that was more frustrating than anything. That means I'd like to have a more organized approach to what I'm going to work on and at least have some sort of plot structure in place before I try to work through the story.

But October is here! Soon it will be Halloween, with Thanksgiving around the corner. I don't look forward to the frost coming in because I'm terrified of slipping and falling as it is, let alone being ungraceful and pregnant, but I'll take precautions and take it easy.

In the meantime, I hope everyone is choosing their costumes, reading spooky books, stockpiling their candy and having a fab month so far.

Recovering from a holiday

I don't know how else to explain my crappy mood -- I'm just recovering from my holiday.

We left on the 17th of September and went to Disney the first week. We were Jack and Sally for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and we had to turn back early from the gorilla exhibit at Animal Kingdom due to lightning in the area. We had dinner at the Japanese Steakhouse in EPCOT which was super fun and I can’t recommend it enough. After dinner, funny enough, we came across a concert and saw Living Color play live. (Yes, we got to hear “Cult of Personality.”) Steve shook the guitar player’s hand, we said hello to the singer, and all and all we had the best anniversary so far.

The first weekend was our Bahamas trip. We took my parents who had hemmed and hawed about this for ages, but went and enjoyed themselves as we knew they would. They got to try out their shiny new passports, and Dad took photos of Nassau as we came into port. We all hung out in a cabana on Coco Cay and the weather didn’t let us down the entire time. (Plus, the ship only swayed a bit in the night, which I was supremely thankful for.)

But after all of the fun in the sun, and the visiting my friends and family, and the staying up late to eat pizza and watch good TV had to end, and I was just sad. I went to work on Wednesday after we flew in on Tuesday and since then I’d been just plain blah.

Yesterday I got my flu jab and today was my day off and only the second day I’ve spent alone in the new house. I finished up Season Six of OITNB and then just napped. I spent all day feeling super sorry for myself because I’m back in jolly old England where it’s 40 degrees Fahrenheit and just ugh! Why me?

But finally I knew I had to pull myself out of it because I started my MSc computer course again this week and I have a blank bullet journal and a new Happy Planner that needs my attention. Also, I’m trying to read Girl, Wash Your Face since it’s been talked about and recommended online a lot lately.

Other than that, it’s just back to being me in Pick Manor. Steve is good, Daisy is scheduled for her surgery on the 1st of December (which irritates me because I had tickets to see A Christmas Carol at Newcastle Uni’s Northern Stage that night) and Jake may be getting a new sister. There’s an elderly cat who’s in need of a retirement home, so she may be coming to live with us now. The more the merrier, I guess, yeah? Wish us luck!

September is for holidays

Well, it’s finally September which means we’ll be going to Florida this month. I can be home for my birthday and our anniversary and I can see my parents. I can go to Wal-Mart and drink Frappuccino’s while I stroll through Target. I can walk through Disney and eat all the food in Epcot. I can go on a cruise ship and swim along the beach in The Bahamas. I can sit by the pool in Cocoa Beach like I did when we lived there in 1989.

This is the best time of the year.

We have our new house so this will be the first post from the new office / spare room. {waves from the new office window}

The above photo is from the river which is across from our neighborhood. Obviously, we don’t live in the posh side of town, but it’s fun to hang out over there. Yesterday we went to the Food Market and had breakfast at the café along the river walk. We’re glad we moved and we really didn’t know how nice it was on this side of town, so here we are. All settled and enjoying life.

I’d given up on bullet journals. I really wanted to find lots of design ideas online but most of it is about sketching and doodling and I am not arty at all. I don’t want an art book, I want a planner. Oh well.

Having said that, I’ve lost my bullet journal. I put it in a big plastic zip folder and I left it out of my book bag for ages because I wasn’t even bothering to try and decorate it like arty people online are. (Follow bullet journals on Instagram — you’ll see what I mean.) But now we’ve moved and that folder has gone walkabout. I wanted to have a go again, but it’s in some not-so-obvious place.

When I’m in Florida, I totally plan on getting another Happy Planner and I’ll look for a new bullet journal to keep with it. It should help with my book reviews, blog posts, school work (I’ve re-enrolled for my computer science course) and anything creative that I try to write in the meantime.

Aside from the bullet journal, the house move, and the re-enrolment of school, we’ve just been carrying on. Work has been super busy and I get to the end of the week, ready to cry because I’ve been running to and from libraries, answering questions, trying to fix things and help customers and staff for days. Yes, it’s rewarding and yes it’s better than being bored stiff, it just gets exhausting. I didn’t have more than Sunday off during a 11 day stretch of being at work, so I think it just finally got to me.

Oh well, the holiday is coming and I’ll be doing fun in the sun type activities.

I still feel bad that I haven’t started or worked on a writing project during my time in Florida for years. The intent is always there, but my mind is so focused on other things that the writing just isn’t in the forefront of important tasks to complete.

Anyway, next week will be getting ready for the holiday time. I’ll work every day but Wednesday and Sunday so I have a hair appointment, my Weight Watchers meeting (I don’t even want to imagine how much I may have gained in the last three weeks), and we’re going to see Garbage at Northumbria University. I can finally see Shirley Manson and Butch Vig with my eyes. I was supposed to see them in Tampa when I saw Smashing Pumpkins, but I got to the show too late.

Fun fact: when I first came to the U.K., Mister Pick took me to Edinburgh and there we saw a genealogy exhibit about Shirley Manson.

Edinburgh fascinates me every time I go. The next time we’re supposed to be there will in October so we can see JACK WHITE. Finally! I’ve only waited, what, 18 years to finally see him live?

With that said, it’s time to watch Robocop with Mister Pick who did a poll on Twitter, asking everyone what old action movie I should see. (My parents were adamant that it was too violent for me in the 80s.) (Also, I voted to see Predator because of all the Aliens connections.)

Last book I read was My Best Friend’s Exorcism, which I can’t recommend enough. I read it in about three days. I’ve not been that into a book for a long, long time. I’ll be sure to write a review on bookblogarama soon. My holiday book of choice is already on my desk, ready to go: Crazy Rich Asians.

House redecorating, holiday prep, driving, and losing writing

Well, it's my day off so it's blogging day.

Since my last post in June we've been doing more house remodeling than traveling. First of all, we live in a little two bedroom flat. It was built in the 80s so it's not that old but it hasn't been renovated for ages, so it needs a good make-over.
The first thing we did was get new blinds for the place. Steve stays home to work on Tuesdays, and with the sun blaring at us from the valley around 2PM on, it gets unbearably hot in the living room. (Insert my whining about why there is no air conditioning in the United Kingdom.) So I saw an ad in the paper that I happened to be looking at in the library one day and they had everything measured and cut within a few days of my initial call. Apparently, our flat has bigger windows than most homes, so I am pretty pleased that not only do we have an awesome view, but we have an awesome ability to look at it.
Now we have blackout blinds in each room, so I can come home from a long day of helping all the people with their IT queries, draw the blinds, grab a cider from the fridge and relax. It's a priceless luxury, I tell you that much.
The next thing on our list is the bathroom. We're getting the full suite redone so I actually have counter space (hooray!) instead of just dealing with a pedestal sink that can barely hold a toothbrush and a bottle of handwash. Now, the best part about our plumber coming to see us was that he immediately commented on how hot and humid our flat was. We have never had a vent working in our bathroom and there's no window to let the steam out, so it gets really damp in our place. Of course, neither of us have been smart enough to put two and two together and figure out that what we need is a dehumidifier along with a vent for the bathroom.
Now we have the dehumidifier and the ventilation will be included in our new bathroom suite which will be installed when we get back from the Florida trip in October. (Another hooray!)
Our other revamping adventure includes a kitchen which I'm still skeptical about. We planned everything with IKEA a couple of weeks ago, and as awesome as the thing seems, it's a big process for a little flat. I mean if we sell or rent the place out, it will increase the value, I guess. However, I will finally have a dishwasher again (I've been without for 6 and 1/2 years) plus a big refrigerator (ours is about 4 feet high and 2 feet wide - keeping a Thanksgiving turkey in it is non-negotiable). This will be tough to part with if we move from our little flat on the cul-de-sac with the awesome view.

Now, for the traveling bit -- we've taken a small visit to Washington Old Hall because it is the home of George Washington's ancestors. We've planned out our Florida trip and instead of taking a mini holiday to Nashville or Las Vegas while we're in the USA, I made the executive decision for us to take a cruise over one of the weekends we didn't have anything else planned.
I have never thought I wanted to go on a cruise but for the price and convenience, not to mention the fact that I don't have to drive or be mindful of some itinerary for a few days, I chose a 3-day cruise to The Bahamas. If it's too crowded or we hate it, fair enough, we don't have to do it again. But, if my parents end up moving back to Ohio (something they've considered since 1989) then this may be our last chance to go on one. My friends in Florida have been on zillions and enjoy it, so I may as well give it a whirl.

Speaking of driving, I've been practicing my driving a little more now that it's half term (school's out!) so the roads are less hectic. I still take the bus on Tuesdays because I like using it as reading day. Long bus rides = getting reading done. So I've driven to the coast on the weekends, even went to a library by myself in the car. I used to absolutely love driving, now it just makes me nervous if I don't know where I'm going.

Steve has just passed his Driving Theory Test though, so he's well on his way to getting his license. I'm so excited for him because he's wanted this for a very long time. Plus, it will be an immense help to have two drivers within the same household. When you want to take the bus you can, but if not, there's always the car.

For the writing bit -- I was complaining on Twitter that I had lost a bit of writing that I remembered doing not too long ago. It was part of a WIP that I've been playing around with for a couple of years now. It wasn't monumental or anything, it just had the tone right for the relationship between the mother and the daughter. I use Evernote, Scrivener, OneNote, Novlr, and 750 Words to keep my writing available on the fly. I've had to hunt before for bits of writing, but I usually find it. This one has just vanished and I honestly don't remember where or when I write the scene.

So absolutely frustrating.

Anyway, my life has been about work and I think Steve is fed up with hearing about me whine about it. I'm in desperate need of a vacation so next month I will be in Florida with the biggest smile on my face. (More and more hoorays!)