God Save The Queen; Je Suis Arivée!

Hello yous,

SO, I've been in England for two months now and I still haven't come up with that clever, tongue-in-cheek-with-casual-
panache statement with which to start this blog. Still, given my fondness for perfection, if I don't simply start the damned* thing it will NEVER come to be because no event or journey can be so neatly summed up. Especially at its beginning.

First off, you'll notice I have finally escaped the shackles of the ball-suckage* known as the MySpace blog. Honestly, what sort of blog doesn't allow for easy picture and video posting? How many of you actually click on blogs hoping to READ the whole time? For the most part, no extra stimulation means yawn, click and goodbye from me.

Also, yes, I realize there's also a setup for pictures on Facebook, but... do not get me started. Ew. Ew. Ew. I had a profile for thirty-two minutes before I came to terms with the absolute horror known as the "third-party application." All this to know which character on "Sex and the City" some teenager thinks I'm most like? Sorry, kiddos, this grownup prefers actual communication with an ounce of thought put into it, not a halfassed "poke." It's a sad, scary place. :( [end rant.... now. it was one baaaaaad trip, man.]

Anyroad, it is so gorgeous here! The grass is lush, the tulips are springing up beneath light morning snows, the street styles can't be beat with a stick and fish is perfectly battered and fried-- not so greasy, not so heavy. What more can I ask fo? I make it a point to never speak for husband Ed, but we really love it here so far. We love the city, we love the trees, we love the freaks, we love the old folks, we love the grime and graffiti and we most definitely love the food. The Shanghai street noodles at Camden Market are like eating an angel's BRAINS, they are! Fortunately for my waistbands, the daily walking always ends up being miles upon miles and therefore a perfect situation for a gormandeuse like myself. It truly calls for an "OM NOM NOM."

The only thing that is so not awesome so far is the brutal cost of living. If it wasn't for the extra allowances Ed's company is giving us, there's absolutely no way we'd be able to even vacation here even though we're financially solid. Jinkies. I think to myself that £8.50 is a bit high for a Subway six-incher with a small drink, and then I realize that it's actually $17 USD. Fer real. Gas (or "petrol," I s'pose) is sold by the litre-- just over one-fourth of a gallon-- and it's been running about £1.06 per litre, which is around $2.15. You do the math. Raisins be praised, we refused to get a car. Not that we'd have anywhere to park it around here anyway.

There's so much to tell about, I'll have to spread events and happenings out by bits as they happen. I'll throw some visuals up soon and my Arizona loves can marvel at the fact that I might as well be on freaking Mars. I feel like I'm David Bowie in "Space Oddity" and my ship has landed on a strange and wonderful planet; I'm not dead! I'm just sending the occasional status update through the ol' tubes. Fabulousness.

* To those more sensitive readers I count amongst my loved ones: I still enjoy the occasional bit of blunt coarseness. I won't swear, get partially naked or cast shady hexes here so often it's too noticeable, so never fear. I still believe in a bit of old-fashioned intelligence, good manners and femininity. Funny that I feel compelled to actually say that-- you'd think my parents and Grandma would know that about me by now anyway. Haw.

Cheers, dears!