Vacation Glow

The wonderful thing about a holiday, of course, is that you get a chance to relax, detach from the stresses of normal life, have a bit of fun, enjoy family and friends, and hopefully catch up on your reading! Indeed, we did all of the above in Brasil during our holidays! And once you come back to the "real world", it's easy for the first few days to keep that relaxed state of mind. Problems at work aren't a big deal, you don't mind so much that the incompetent plumber couldn't fix the leaky toilet, and cold weather isn't that big of a deal (after all, your tanned skin still hasn't peeled off!). I like to call that state of mind the "Vacation Glow".

This time back, I think the Vacation Glow was destined to wear off quickly! Jason had some big events going on at work (new people starting and senior people leaving); Annelies didn't want to leave Brasil so quickly; Vinny was stressed out for not seeing us for two weeks; and the plumber (and an electrician) was indeed incompetent! We also had a deadline for our flat to figure out if we were going to stay or not; given the problems we've had with plumbing and the relatively long commutes into work, we decided to get a new flat. We're going to be moving to the Clapham area in a month; the new place will be larger, in a nice neighborhood, quicker to work, will have a yard, and is actually a bit cheaper than this current flat!

Also, we received some very sad news this week that Jason's uncle Harry passed away last Saturday evening. We wish everyone in the family all the best and wish we could be with you all to give everyone a big hug. The services are today in Greeley, and we know that it will be a celebration of Harry's 79 years with us!!

There are some reasons to celebrate this week, however. It was both Steve's and Anita's birthdays -- Steve turned 60 today!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you both! And Jason and Annelies celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary this week. We are off for a bit of relaxation this weekend, heading out of the city to check into a hotel for hopefully some nice food, a lot of relaxation, and even a massage.

Last weekend we got out to enjoy a very winter-season British event - outdoor iceskating (at the Natural History Museum). We went with a few friends from Shopzilla and had a nice time (surprisingly, none of us fell!). The weather was a bit cold this week, and we actually awoke to snow on Wednesday! This was quite hilarious as it was the first time Vinny has ever seen snow. When we took him out to use the bathroom in the morning, he basically stopped and looked around (somewhat confused...) for a few minutes. Jason had to actually walk into the snow before he figured out that it was okay. But after a few minutes, he became quite excited and started zooming around in the snow :)

So I still owe you all some more stories from Brasil and I'll add those here in good time. We hope you are all doing well and that any of your Vacation Glow that you may have acquired is still with you :)

Love, Jason & Annelies