It's about time I talked about my little hush-hush new arrival! I've done my best to keep things under wraps until I knew for sure things were going ahead. It's all organised now, so without further ado, I'm pleased to present him to the Blogosphere for the first time.

Meet our new baby!

His full name is Oscar Winston the First - but you can just call him Oscar.

We first met him a few weeks ago - he was one of five babies, and just had the sweetest face. When we went to visit him, I fell in love and that was that. I had to hold off for a few weeks though, as we had already decided to go away for the long weekend and thought it would be best if he stayed with his mum a little while longer.

(The above photograph is courtesy of Rosie, one of Oscar's first mums.)

I lugged our kitty carry-case to work with me yesterday, and travelled to pick him up - and was sadly unable to also take his wee brother Wizard (the little black dude with white paws) along with me, even though they both shacked up together in the case. Home we went, both of us more than a little terrified at the prospect of squeezing into two tubes & an overland train in peak traffic time. We survived though, and even had people talking to us on the train. There's a first time for everything I guess! This is Oscar checking out his new surroundings at home.

He has settled in so well! He prowled around the place like a tiger, found his favourite spots, jumped around like a nutter and promptly fell asleep on the floor - and then repeated the process several dozen times. At bedtime, he took a little while to calm down, but eventually drifted off to sleep for most of the night. I think he slept better than I did actually, as I kept on checking on him to make sure he was alright. All was well until wee kitty decided that 4am was time to poop, and play. Errrr. Pooping is fine. Playing, we took a raincheck on that one and went back to bed.

NOM NOM NOM FEETS NOM NOM NOM.

Going to work today was insanely hard; I didn't stop talking about him all day, and was constantly wondering what he was up to - but when I arrived home, the flat was totally fine, kitty was totally fine, and he's been stalking me all night since, keeping up constant conversation. Until, that is, he exhausted himself out again and decided to have a siesta before bed. Such a hard life. I loves him.

I'm officially in love with Copenhagen, it's true. Even though our el-cheapo flight ended up getting us there a little later than anticipated, our first encounter in the Danish city was with a smiling passport official. Did you read that? He was smiling! I don't know about you guys, but customs officials don't smile around here. They mainly grimace.

There wasn't much to do that evening except venture into the city, and look for our hotel. If there ever was a language that I would love to speak, it would be Danish. I have the world's worst pronunciation, it's so bad, it's laughable. Jase did a great job with the hotel, it was amazing. We were on the third floor up there.

It even had a glass lift; mama likey! (And that's saying something, because this mama? Does not likey lifts. Oh no she doesn't!) Thumbs up from me, and check out that water!

Saturday saw us acting as perfect tourists - a whole stack of sightseeing, a whole lot of pictures, and a whole lot of great weather. Not a cloud in the sky.

The city was amazing - so many beautiful buildings, statues, monuments. We saw loads thanks to the bus system that went around the town, walked a fair bit, did a canal tour, and just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I'm going to stop talking for a bit and bombard you with photographs, because I am smitten and the city is fabulous.

(And I totally want to live in some of these houses!)

Some of the more famous sights that we went past included the Carlsberg brewery, the Copenhagen Zoo, Fredericksberg Gardens, The Little Mermaid Statue & the Tivoli Gardens amusement park; rides with great city views!

Of course, after two days of such amazing weather (with my sunburned nose as proof!) it was only fair that we had a little greyness. This morning, we woke up to pouring rain - and it didn't stop the entire day. It even followed us back to London, how kind.

Oh . . . and did I mention that today is J's 26th birthday? Happy birthday Jason, and thanks for a flippin' fantastic weekend away! You all need to visit Copenhagen!

It's a long weekend - and I'm flying out to Copenhagen in a few short hours. Hoping you guys have a fantastic weekend, wherever you are in the world! Vi ses!

It's been nice to have a few days off from the blogging scene. Nice, but completely bizarre. It's become second nature to get in a post before bed, to check my emails at work and well, just to blog. Since my little break, a few things have happened;

• We celebrated two birthdays, eating out at French restaurants both times.


• J & I watched an entire season of Grey's Anatomy re-runs.


• I exercised three times, ate well, and still turned out bigger than the week before.


• Jason organised a last minute trip away this long weekend - we're going to Denmark! Copenhagen to be precise, which should be great fun.


• I cleaned. Alot. Including the entire freezer. Not pretty.


• And as of next week, we are going to have a new edition to our family . . . more on this one later. (I'm so excited, I can't even stand it.)

So there is lots going on over here; what's been happening with you while I've been away for this (whopping) five days? I've missed you guys, you know.

This will be my last daily blog for a while.

I'm a competitive little vegemite and hate giving up on a challenge - but to be honest? Since the day I started this blog in April 2006 (with the exception of my New Zealand holiday last year) I have blogged every single day. Hell, I've technically already completed Blog 365. I have no shame in throwing in the towel on this one.

I value you guys too much to post crap.
I've got loads of things to say but not much energy to post them.
I need to take a wee break.

(Ha! A wee break.)

It's time to take a step back.

I've been tagged today by the lovely Mrs Higrins, and since I'm trying to keep myself distracted and focused all at once, I'm up for the challenge. Feel free to yoink for yourself, if it tickles your fancy!

4 Things I did 10 years ago (1998):

1. Was in ninth grade of high school.
2. Dyed my (already blonde) hair with bleach, resulting in really light colour for a few months, and then dark, dark roots that are still with me to this day. Stupid self.
3. I began working in my first job; bet you never knew I started out as a Maccas chick!
4. Began dating my ex-boyfriend, a relationship which would last three (long) years.

4 Things I did 5 years ago (2003)

1. Studied at university, and making the decision to take educational psychology electives. (This was the choice that eventually led me into teaching.)
2. Was in the 'early years' of the Jason saga, lots of warm fuzzies involved.
3. Worked at Jeanswest, selling clothing and loving every minute of it. Except my sore feet.
4. Began saving and planning for my January 2004 trip to Europe!

4 Things I did yesterday:

1. Worked a late shift at work, and won a Marks & Spencer gift voucher. 10 quid!
2. Found out that we have been granted approval to house a cat in our apartment.
3. Won an Ebay auction for a pair of purple and white Havaiana thongs/flip flops.
4. Went to bed early, and snored like an elephant.

4 TV shows I love to watch:

1. Grey's Anatomy. I'm sorry, I can't help it. I love it. Sometimes it sucks, but I still love it.
2. The X-Files. Geeky but oh, so fabulous.
3. House. (I'm secretly in love with Hugh Laurie.)
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. About to start re-watching all of those again.

4 Things I love to do:

1. Annoy Jason.
2. Read blogs & search for kitties on the web.
3. TV show re-runs.
4. Sleep. Need I say more?

I may not be a fan of buying bottled water, but when this advertisement came on the telly today, I sat tapping my toes and giggling through the whole thing.

(Obviously I'm a nerd. But dude, that song is awesome. And that's totally how I dance.)

Something caught my eye on my blog dashboard today when I was logging on:

Akismet has caught 10,014 spam for you since you first installed it.

Over ten thousand spam comments? Damn! I know that's nothing in the grand scheme of bloggers and their amounts of spam, but considering I've not been using the Akismet program for very long, that's pretty scary.

(Imagine if I got paid $1 for every spam comment? I'd be able to buy a pony!)

The spam program has it's downfalls, like how it never fails to eat the comments from certain bloggy friends, despite me going in and de-spamming them. I usually still have to go and rescue them from between the offers for Viagra and Young Russian Brides. But I'll tell you what, you miss it when it's not there. A few weeks ago when I updated my version of Wordpress, I forgot to re-activate the Akismet plugin, and in one day? I must have had about sixty spam comments that I then had to wade through and delete.

I guess the thing that really gets me about spam comments is that they're just so pushy. They don't ask, or offer to pay you for 'advertising' their penis enlarging product. Nope, they just rudely announce themselves on your blog, taking over and making you resort to drastic measures to combat their advances. It actually reminds me a little of those rude people who catch the underground who, despite the obvious fact that you've been waiting longer than they have for the train, shove in front of you into the last tiny bit of room in the carriage.

(Of course, my drastic measures in that kind of situation are to simply launch myself in after them, with a pointy elbow in their rib direction. Oops, sorry! Little crowded in here, innit?)

Ah, the dreaded spam. How has yours been lately?

Back in 2000, I joined a band message board. I'd heard a song on the radio, fallen in love with it, and went home to google them to find out more information. Turns out they had a message board for the music-lovers. That board was responsible for bringing me to a load of people; some of whom are still around, all these years later.

The first time I met Stefi in person was while I was in Florence in 2004, in the middle of our whirlwind European trip. When she moved to Australia to study, we met up a few times in Sydney, keeping in touch all the while. My jet-setting friend is now in Dublin, so flew down for the weekend. We caught up again today, which was good fun.

We headed out for Thai food; highlights? Coconut rice & Thai pancakes. Green ones.

After that, it was down to Greenwich for fruit smoothies and relaxing in the park.

Followed by some time wandering around Canary Wharf, wander wander wander.

Finishing up at home with a game of good old fashioned Monopoly.

See those hotels? They're all mine. (I totally won, by the way.)

I've come to a sad conclusion lately; when it comes to shoes? I cannot wear heels.

I love them, definitely. They look so gorgeous, and I'm envious of people who can wear them all day long and be comfortable. For work, it's always flats for me. I've tried the heel thing once or twice, but after just standing on the train to begin my commute? I was totally done.

I should add that I am a former shoe-addict. I used to have an entire closet load of pretty shoes, but bit the bullet and sold/gave loads of them away. And whilst wearing heels back home, things were fairly simple. I'd wear them to the car, drive to the restaurant/occassion, hobble around there, and then drive all the way back home. Here in London, it's public transport all the way - and let me tell you, heels are not practical where I live.

I brought one pair of strappy sandal heels across the water with me, because they're my old faithfuls - I wear them to weddings, to dinners, events like that. I've bought a few pairs whilst being over here quite cheaply, but the fact of the matter is, I can't wear them. I walk like a giant, they hurt my feet and I just want to take them off and go barefoot.

I've seen people walk like ducks in heels, and I've seen others walk perfectly. My walk is kind of a cross between a shuffle, wobble and teeter. Add the pained expressions on my face, and I don't look like any of the girls in the shoe catelogues, that's for sure.

I think it's time I invest in some nice summery flats; so I'm requesting some suggestions. I'd love a few pairs that are comfortable enough to maybe wear to work, but also nice enough to wear out to dinners. Ideas?