Back Again

Well, I'm back in Aberdeen, safe and sound. And exhausted, of course, but trans-atlantic travel always does that. I got in yesterday afternoon, after some delay in Manchester, and Kenny picked me up and brought me *home*. Today I had coffee with Paige and Elizabeth, and it was great to get out and to see them AND to drink coffee. Most things haven't changed in the city; a few things have. Overall, it just feels normal to be here, to be back, to be *home*. Strange how that works.

I miss my bubbee and my pumpkin pya, though. Big time.

Jen and Saum, too. =)

I'll post more soon... I have loads to share, both from my quarter of a year home (can you believe that?!) and from coming back. But right now, I just wanted to let everyone know that I made it back, and I'm trying to unpack, and I'll tell you all about it soon.

Hope you're all well! Happy Bonfire Night! =D

Optical Update

So I ended up deciding to go with glasses number one (because of the price, and because I was more comfortable with them... the smaller frames are less intimidating to me). Jen and I went back to Target to order them-- $70 frames, not too bad.

Or so I thought.

My grand total was going to be $375! For one pair of glasses. I know I have bad eyesight and need mega-thick horrible frames, but sheesh.

So I'm waiting. If I get back into Chicago before I leave, I'll try to get a 2 for $70 pair. If not, I'll get a 2 for 75 pounds set at SpecSavers. If that happens, look for another chance to vote. That time I'll be totally on my own, without my sister to advise me... and you'll be the judges. For real.

Thanks for your help so far... I'll try some more like number 6, wherever I go next. Darn expensive Target!! =(

Opinions Desperately Wanted!

Okay, so maybe 'desperately' is a little over the top. But I do want your input. My sister has gone with me to three different places to try on glasses (so far), and I have some photos of the good ones. Weigh in, everyone... or everyone who wants to, that is. If you've been reading along, you'll remember that I have a hang-up about wearing glasses. But if y'all help me pick some good ones, then I'll feel more comfortable about actually being seen in public in them.

The choices are:

1. Actually, I don't think these are too bad....
2. It's not a good picture of me at all, but I like these red ones. I just need a better picture.
3. A little long, perhaps?
4. Sophia Loren has some snazzy specs, no doubt!
5. Nothing says 'old maid' quite like these....
6. Hmmmm... worth considering.
7. Nothing says 1988 quite like these! 8. I can't remember if these had any colour to them or not....
9. Eeek! Please ignor that double chin. Thanks.
10. Um. Maybe, not quite...
11. Cat-eye wannabe?
11. I think these had sparkly flowers on the arms. Classy.
12. That's right-- don't mess with the school marm.

So, what do you think so far? Any suggestions? Should I look at colours or just plain blacks or browns? Do you like the rounded or the squared? Gimme some advice, please! Help me be the coolest looking dork around. =D

Um....

So, everyone is napping... well, almost everyone.

Sorry I've been so bad about keeping this up while I've been in the States. Things have been... mixed up, messed up, and wonderful in some measure or other. I don't really have time to go into it (some of you will know the details-- the rest of you, I'm afraid, will have to live in suspense for a while. Maybe forever, who knows! ;) ) but I wanted to say hi. I'm still around, and still in the States. I was supposed to be back in Abedeen by now (a few hours ago, actually) but I just couldn't. Long story... but as it is, I'm looking to head back in about three weeks. So if you are in Aberdeen, I'll be back soon! And I do miss y'all, and can't wait to get back and catch up. If you are in the States, come to Chicago in the next three weeks, and I'll fill you in on all the gory details of the long and convoluted story of my recent life. If I have a burst of energy, inspiration, and caffeine-fueled free time, I may write about it all... but then again, I might not. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

But because I know you are just dying to see more pictures, here are a few. To hold you over til I can write something of substance (as if that ever happens on this blog!). =D

Okay, so I lied. I can't get my photos to upload to Blogger... bah! So you'll have to just wait with baited breath til I have the time to sit here and wait on 'em. Right now, I have to go paint a playhouse.....

Oh, and hey. I added the 'follower' feature thingy over there on the sidebar... so if you don't mind admitting that you know me and that you read my nonsense and drivel, please do clickee the linkee and become a follower! And if you have a blog, and add that feature, well, then, I'll be your follower, too! Which could become confusing, if we aren't careful... how do we know who is following who? Who's the leader now? I guess we can take turns. =)

Photos

No time or energy to write, but I can share some photos! =D

Even though I've done loads of things and seen loads of things and been loads of places, I think you'll be able to tell what the best part of my holiday is:


Jen and Mya


Surfer dude bubbs
Mac climbing up the auntie... after which he jumps backwards all the way down to the ground

The Bubbs in a 'snort' shovel, at the Lake County Fair

A very long day... on the train ride home
At the Pierogi Fest in Whiting
Always smiling, that's my nephew!
Round and round, up and down!

'Driving' a tractor at the fair

Aren't we cute?

I'm having a great time, if you can't tell.... The kiddos are fantastic, and it's great to be hanging out with Jen and Saum, too. Yay for family holidays! I promise, one of these days I'll write about what's going on.... =D

Slacker

Yes, that's me. I'm so far behind on my once-a-week quota... I'm hoping all those extra ones I posted (like one-a-day a while back) will help some. ;) Seriously-- life is just too busy for me to stop and post just now. And by the time life slows down, I'm too tired to post!

Why is life so busy, you ask? Well, I'm at my sister's-- which means near-constant 'cool auntie' duties towards my nephew and niece. Not that I'm complaining. No sirree! I'm having a ball. And I have stuff to talk about... just not right now. We have to get up early tomorrow to catch a train into the city. To hang out in Millennium Park, and to pick up the Funkee Unkee at the airport, and to meet Saum for dinner before catching the train back home tomorrow evening. Whew!

To be honest, I could have spent the past weekend writing posts and stuff. Everyone else was out of town. But I didn't. I spent it chatting with Barb. And cleaning the house (oh boy did it need it!). And a little studying. Oh, and watching season one of the new Doctor Who on Netflix On Demand.

I told you I was a slacker. =)

Ten Random Things About Me

I got tagged by my friend Amy, over at Yuwie... and I'm finally getting around to this. These are just ten random facts... some more random than others, and you may or may not already know them about me, depending on how well you know me. =)


1. There have been times when I have gone without watching tv at all-- much of college, for instance. And if I were living on my own, I doubt I would pay for one here. But thanks to Kenny, I am currently a TV addict. I watch, on average, four hours a day, I would guess. Of course, 'watch' is a loose term, because I am almost always doing something else at the same time-- sometimes it's something productive, like ironing, and other times, it's online. Right now, for instance, I'm watching a CSI rerun. =)

2. That said, I hate reality tv generally. Well, the ones that aren't based on some kind of talent, anyway. I love Strictly Come Dancing, and Dancing On Ice; I'll watch American Idol to be able to talk about it with my sister. But Big Brother and all the other kinds... no thank you! A waste of tv, in my opinion. Give me a good story anyday.

3. I firmly believe that my Unlimited Cinema card is the best investment I've made recently. Or perhaps in my entire life. It's kept me sane, and brought me joy, and gotten me out of my flat, and given me a reason to live. Okay, that last one is a bit of an exaggeration. But it really is the best money I've spent while I've been here, and I don't know how I would have survived without it. I bet I average two films a week-- and that's including the months I'm in the States and can't use it! I go to a lot of films. And love it!

4. And speaking of films, I really do not like romantic comedies and most 'chic flicks'. There are a few that I like, but more often than not they make me mad, or sad, or disgusted-- something other than happy, that is. Give me action, or comedy, or kids films any day.

5. Coffee is my life. I live off the stuff, and would probably die without it.

6. I love my life in Scotland. It's the first place I've ever felt, well, content with myself. Like I know who I am, as myself and not as how anyone expects me to be or I think they expect me to be. Here, for the first time, I've been happy being single and independent; I am self-confident (except for the thesis, at times) and self-assured; I know who I am, and am able to shape myself into who I want to be. Just as me. Not as any other role or relationship or expectation. Coming here has been the most difficult but also the best thing I have ever done.

7. Following on from that, I sometimes wonder (and by 'wonder' I mean 'worry') that because of how much I love my life now, and how used to being independent I am, that I'll be a terrible girlfriend or wife (if that ever happens). I am too used to not having to really worry about anyone but myself, making my own plans and just doing my thing. Not that I don't think about other people; I do. I have friends, and I have Kenny, and things like that. But I don't have to share My Life with them in the same way I would in a dating relationship. It makes me nervous, at times, because I'd like to be married some day. I'm just not sure I'll be any good at it anymore.

8. I love my nephew and niece, and would do anything for them. Like go broke spending money on plane tickets to visit them. And then having to live on rice and beans for months. But dang, they are worth it!

9. I have a lot of little pet peeves. But the thing that I can't stand, probably more than anything else, is ignorance. Not the kind of ignorance that comes from not having opportunities to be educated, but the kind of willful ignorance that keeps people narrow-minded and small. I see this way too often, and it really angers me. I guess I could say that my prejudice is against people who are prejudiced. That's the kind of ignorance I can't stand. Thinking your way is the only way, and not bothering to see other people's side of things-- whatever the issue might be.

10. It's almost 2pm, and I'm still in my pyjamas. This is a regular occurrence for me. Ah, the joys of being a PhD student! =)


So, those are my deep, random thoughts for the day. Maybe you learned something about me-- maybe this just confirms that I am totally a dork. But that's okay. I knew that already. I've come to terms with it. =D