Curls

I tried out some rollers on my hair last night. The kind you put your hair in and sleep with (or blow dry your hair with them in) and this is what happened. I felt like I was chaneling a bit of a by-gone era, like maybe I should have some red lipstick and be trying to fight for my rights to vote... or something. I don't quite know, but it didn't feel very me. I think it actually looks better in the photos then it did in real life. But I had to cycle to work in the rain so it really looked a mess once I got to work. Oh well, I took some photos so you can tell me what you think. I am going to try it again soon, maybe this time will blow dry my hair with the rollers in and see what happens. My mom actually got them for me when I was in London though, so thanks mom!

The patient walks again.

He is definitely still the patient, but not for much longer. They are heading back to Cairo on Friday. Which is great because it means my dad is healthy and well enough to make the flight back, he can go back to work on Sunday, and I get to see them one last time before they jet back off... (not on a private plane this time).

I went to see them today. I was on the bus at 6:30am, which let me tell you is early for me. But, I amazingly got a free bottle of water and chocolate croissant (as many as I could grab actually... I tried to exercise restraint and only took one). It was great though and the trip went by really quickly because I dodged traffic and spent the hour and a half eating my free breakfast and reading my free newspaper. It was lovely actually.

My mom and I made the trek over to Harrods. We passed a pretty great Scandinavian home shop, and lots of beautiful looking breakfast places, which we had to pose outside of (and when I say we, I mean my mom).... haha. They were pretty fabulous though.

Yummy... here is my dad's hospital provided lunch. Yah, it's pretty lush. Two little quiches, tomato with heart shaped mozzarella, a crepe with fruit, and delicious little new potatoes. Pretty fancy, right?

But, because he is a newly free man (without any buckets and normal clothes) we thought we should go out to eat for lunch as well. Which, might I add, was so exciting because this was the first time I have seen my dad outside the hospital! He was a great walker and hardly complained at all, except when we started exaggerating how close we were to our destination, and then he began to get a little anxious. But that's fair, after all we said, 'just around this corner' about four times before it was true.

We made it to Whole Foods, which is great in America but far greater in Britain. It is three stories and about as fancy as you could ever imagine. I mean really an 'Oysters and Champagne' section in the food court...?

We settled for a slightly more down to earth option: ham and cheese sandwich and a tostado (pictured below). It was great, but very large, luckily my dad helped me finish it off. I'm not looking at the camera because I had just accidently flung a big chunk off the table and onto my foot (don't worry, the 10second rule did not apply).

We didn't get horribly exciting photos inside because last time we tried to do that we almost got kicked out. Apparently photos are not allowed. But we are rebels and snuck a few in.

As if that weren't enough to eat (we also brought home fruit smoothies and biscuits around 4pm) dinner arrived soon after: pretty great looking salmon which also tasted mighty fine.

So, he's got another 3 days to enjoy delivered meals in bed... which, although are lovely, I don't think he will miss too much as three weeks in a hospital is a bit much. Thankfully they will be back home on Friday.

These are a few of my favourite things...

Avocados: who knew? I have always detested avocados. I thought they were awful and truly detestable. In salad? No thanks. On a burger? Uh... never. But recently I've been converted. I am deeply and truly in love with avocados. I still wont eat them on my burgers, but I will tell you how I do eat them: on toasted bread. This is the recipe. One avocado, juice of half a lemon, a generous amount of chili flakes, and soy sauce. Mix and mash it all up and spread over just toasted, and still warm, bread. To. Die. For. Honest, try it. Now.

Running: It's hard to believe, I was only converted at the age of 19 when I decided I would learn how to run. I started off with 5min on a treadmill... followed by near exhaustion. But I slowly, slowly worked my way up to half an hour runs. This has been interjected with the odd hour run (this really is rare). Anyway, the point is - that today i reintroduced running into my life. With a 40min run. It honestly was great and I feel so invigorated after. I highly recommend it. Anyone who thinks they can't, just start with 5min and slowly, slowly you can work your way up. I honestly think it is the best and most natural way to get in shape (try it, and then eat an avocado afterwards)!

The Noisettes: a band from London. I first heard of them when their single 'Don't Upset the Rhythm' was playing everyyyywhere, literally everywhere. Then we saw them perform in Hyde Park, they were great, and the lead singer has the coolest hair ever (seriously, check it out in the photo below, it gets even crazier and bigger than that). Also, besides how cool they look they are actually really good. Their classified as 'indie rock' but I think they are quite soul-y and blues-y, in a modern sort of way. I love them and think that you might love them too. Check them out on youtube or something - my favourites are the above mentioned song and 'Every Now and Again'

Macbook Pro: my new laptop. I love this laptop. This is the greatest laptop to have ever sat on my lap before. It truly is the most beautiful of all available, and the most pleasant to use. I got mine as a graduation gift from a number of different people (if you are reading this, you might even be one of them... seeing as all of 2 people actually read this blog... mom and steph, you know who you are). Thank you very much though. I love this laptop, and it is most definitely one of my favourite (and probably the most favourite in the electronic category) things at the moment... and hopefully for many more moments to come.

Rain: one of my least favourite things to have in July. I don't dislike rain altogether, but I do dislike it when it comes in the summer and seriously will not go away... day in day out. Honestly, check out the weather forecast for Oxford, it is 'heavy showers' for as long as they can predict. It is beginning to ruin my tan and make cycling very unpleasant. It needs to stop and it needs to stop soon.

Cromwell Take II

This post comes a little late... as the pictures are from last week, and it seems a lot has happened since. Freddy and I went to visit my parents last Wednesday. My dad was doing so much better, and it was great to see him improving so much. He was up, walking, and even had trousers on! I know, pretty exciting! I spoke to them today and he is fully dressed in 'normal' clothes and even walked out to lunch! So, he's had massive improvements since last week. I am going to see them tomorrow and am really looking forward to going out to lunch with both my parents!

Well, a bit more about our visit last week: we walked with my dad around the hospital, i went to harrods with my mom, we got amazing pastries from the bakery, took the tube to LSE where I saw my new university for the first time, and got macdonalds. All in all a pretty great day actually.

Since our visit last week Freddy has headed off to America for a conference. Which has left me home alone for a week and a half. Pretty dull and not too eventful but I am hoping to do some organizing and sell some stuff on ebay/amazon. I know, I know... I'm pretty exciting, huh? 'Going to do some organizing' - pretty lame, huh? Oh well. Such is me.

Anyway, enjoy the photos, am sure I will have more up soon.

Walking on the road outside the hospital.

Outside the gift shop...

Being a bit of geek and having my photo taken outside LSE.

Going down...

On the tube.

Outside the hospital.

In the elevator.

Freddy going for a walk with my dad and his bucket.

Outside the natural history museum on the way towards harrods (where we got the most amazing bread).

The Cromwell 'Hotel'

If you didn't know better you might think my parents are staying at a fancy hotel in Kensington... but then you might notice all the hospital equipment and remember otherwise. The building really is lovely though, it doesn't have the feeling of a hospital. The staff are really friendly and lovely and his meals always look delicious. We went up to visit on Wednesday to keep them company, and I helped to get my mom out of the room so the stern English nurses wouldn't have to throw her out.

This is his breathing device. He's got to breathe in and get the little ball to a certain place (which is marked by a smiley face) in order to see how strong his lungs are and how much he can breathe in.

These are his tubes that are sucking liquid out of his lungs. The amount in them didn't actually increase much while I there, and hopefully they will be taken out just after the weekend.

Playing with the toy from the happy meal we got. He is really liking milkshakes, so we had an excuse to buy lots of fast food.

Just thought we should prove that they are actually here in England, so wanted to include a couple photos from our walk. The area they are in is really beautiful. We walked up to Notting Hill today, and there are lots of shops and cafes to keep us occupied.

Looking into a cake shop.

Freddy is going to go back up to visit this weekend, and I'll be back on Wednesday when I've got another three days off. He seemed to be doing very well, the doctors always had very positive things to say. Hopefully he will only keep improving and getting better every day!

Wireless Festival

Freddy was just about the happiest boy around last Sunday afternoon (with the exception of still feeling a bit poor from his swine-flu run in). But what could be better than a warm sunny day outside with pizza and music? Not much. We went into London to Hyde Park to go to the Wireless Festival. We went last year and had loads of fun and so decided last minute to go again this year. We had a great time.

Swine Flu?

Hi everyone!

Realised I've been radio silent for a while and have, therefore, decided to reenter the blogosphere. Another reason (perhaps the real one) is that Im stuck at home with the flu :(, and its really boring!!! Especially as no one is supposed to visit me, as it may be the much publicised 'swine flu'. Unfortunately it is unlikely that we will ever know what is ailing me as the UK stopped testing people yesterday. Apparently their strategy of containment has now changed, and anyone with flu like symptoms has to call up the doctor. Then over the phone they decide if you get tamiflu or not.

I did. But I feel OK. My fever of 39 celsius has abated and my cough seems to be lessening. And I have also learned that tamiflu should be taken with a meal otherwise it causes you to be sick (and that is why one should always read the warnings that come with a medicine... which I also learnt this morning!).

Perhaps if Im bed ridden during the week I will blog some more.

Swimming with the Cows

English weather is beautiful at the moment. Warm, sunny, and the perfect weather for a swim. We recently discovered a lush place in Port Meadows... so i convinced Yasmin to go with me today. She doesn't like animals much... so she was in for a treat.

We brought our new floating devices we picked up in the states. We were the only people with them, and honestly looked a little ridiculous but it was great fun.

We got some very good sun and I am happy to report that my tan is looking fabulous. Tomorrow? Work. But we will be hitting up the roof on our lunch break, so I will keep you posted on how my golden brown tan is developing.