So, apparently when one proclaims their 'Grand Return', it's customary to actually come back and post more information. Er, oops? I'm a wee bit out of the blogging loop - and wow, coming home reminds me how much it feels like I never left.  I have so many amazing pictures to show you, some of which you would have already skimmed through on Flickr or Facebook, but I still want to put up some of my favourites and the stories that go along with them. Again with the procrastinating . . . because I'll get on that soon. I promise.

I've survived a full week back at work, where I've come back to a newly designed office, a really messy desk and a whole stack of emails. Plus, there was a whole new database installed over the holidays which I've had to get to speed with and start using independently, which I think I'm getting on with alright - with the exception of the odd tantrum and stomping fits of frustration. I suppose that's to be expected.

Jason and I also celebrated our 6 year anniversary last Sunday, which was pretty incredible. We orderedin Thai food and had a good night in watching videos AND I got to spoil him with all his pressies from the USA. Nice and low key, just like us. He's had to jet off to Australia for a little while, so it's just me and kitty at the moment. Not that I can call him a kitty now, really. He's a full growned cat; in all terms of the word. Oscar needs to pay a visit to the vet in the next couple of weeks. ;-)

Not much else happening; just the same old, same old. Going to work, cooking dinner at home, having my face smothered at night by the clingy cat, watching Buffy re-runs and enjoying the crisp London weather. It's currently my favourite time of year here, where it's sunny (usually) but cool. I love walking around in this weather, especially before it's too cold and the coats and crazy heating devices come out everywhere.

I haven't managed to even get through a chunk of my blogs yet, so if I haven't stopped in and caught up, bear with me! Anyone got any crazy exciting news to tell me? Please fill in the procrastinator! And like I said, next post? Highlights and a couple of pictures to get started. Stay tuned!

Aloha, blogging world. I'm back!

Getting home was quite a long ordeal, for such a small amount of time spent on a plane. After spending the last few days in New York surprisingly on our own, Kirby and I had to endure the scariest shuttle bus ride to the airport imaginable. One would think that by avoiding the cabbies, you could avoid the crazies? Er, no. Apparently the shuttle drivers are twice as bad. We narrowly avoided death no less than fifteen times, because apparently our guy doesn't believe in stopping. Ever.

Upon arrival at JFK airport, the flight boarded smoothly enough - however I waited on the runway in a take-off queue for 2 hours. What's one thing that can make that kind of a wait worse? When your plane decides to lose power completely aka turning its engines (and more importantly, it's air conditioning!) on and off the entire time. My backside was numb by the time the plane took off the ground.

The flight itself was uneventful - if you count being sandwiched between a dude's reclining chair and another dude's rather protruding belly for seven hours. I made my way through Heathrow's customs in London, looking forward to another nice and easy shuttle ride to my door. Er, no. Again. Due to the shuttle company picking up seven other passengers and dropping me off dead last, it took 2.5 hours to get home.

Ah, home. I have missed it.

Oscar is home now too, and boy has he grown. All of him has grown, if you know what I mean. Even his meow has gotten rather manly. He's currently going between the 'I hate you because you abandoned me and I'm going to run away now' phase and the 'Momma, I'm going to stick to you like glue so you never leave me again, ever' phase, but all in all, he's my same adorable baby who tends to bite toes.

All I'm missing is Jase, who gets back in a few days time, so I can give him his pressies! Shopping for him was one of the best things about the USA! I've spent today trying to upload as many pictures of mine as I can, but I still have a long way to go yet. I'll blog (with photos) as I get around to it, but if you can't wait in the meantime, feel free to take a peep at my Flickr. It's so good to be back!

Who would have thought that in just a few short weeks, I would be sitting completely across the country from where I started? After a lot of crazy travel days, I'm currently sitting in St Augustine, Florida - about to head to our next stop in Savannah, Georgia.

I've had some absolutely amazing experiences so far. I've helicoptered across the Grand Canyon. I've gone jeeping in Durango, Colorado. I've gone hot air ballooning overlooking Alberquerque, New Mexico. I've gone on an air boat swamp cruise in New Orleans, Louisiana. I've been to Gracelands, people. Gracelands!

The last two days have been exhausting. We out-drove Hurricane Gustav and seeing the deserted New Orleans streets on TV after the mandatory evacuation was frightening. The fact that we had been standing on the packed Bourbon Street two days before that was downright eerie. Heading towards Georgia, we're now keeping an eye on Hurricane Hanna, though I'm sure we'll be absolutely fine. Hoping everyone near those areas is safe and well. It's scary being in the middle of it, that's for sure.

I've got no pictures up yet - but I'll definitely make sure I do once I get home. Not long now - can you believe it is September already?

Dude . . . it's freaking hot. That's about all I've got, right now.

Second day of Disney land, I'm slightly brown (or just plain burned, depending on which way you look at it) and I'm exhausted. We managed to score VIP seating tickets for a laser show tonight at 10:30pm, so we're having a breather across the road before we go back for more. It should be amazing!

Can't believe the whirlwind tour is going to be starting up so soon. It's going so fast. Next stop is Las Vegas, where you know I'll be dying of heat exhaustion. Seriously, I don't think I'll be sharing any pictures from this trip, because I look like death. And I'm shiny. Very, very shiny.

Our hotel here is a good 20 minute walk from Disney, and is very, very budget. It does however have a working air conditioner, and for that I am grateful. If only it had a pool out front, instead of a fish pond. Seriously.

Highlights of Disney? Dragging Kirby on the scary rides . . . sometimes even twice. I'm a proud best friend, oh yes.

It's basically been a week since I left, and I feel like it's been months! I'm missing my boys like crazy - this time zone is kicking my arse; I haven't talked to Jason once.

We ended up keeping our rental car (and Carmen!) for the last four days, and ended up seeing so much of the LA area. We did our local bits, so Venice Beach and Santa Monica, our own sight seeing tour, going to all the 'famous' spots, and spent a full day (and night!) in Universal Studios yesterday. Today we're gathering all of our bits and pieces, driving to the airport and dropping off the car - and then yoinking Kirby from the plane and into a shuttle, to head to Anaheim. Oh yes, Disney awaits!

I'm so exhausted. We were so busy that we weren't eating much, so we've been trying to be more careful and eat more, because I think that's why we had no energy! Felt much better yesterday, the walking around under fans was nice, as it's really warm. I wonder how I'll be in Texas, or Vegas, if I can't even bear this 'nice' summer heat. Yeep.

I haven't even really gotten sunburned yet. Just slightly toasted, and that's with sunscreen. I intend to keep it that way. They don't call it pale for nothing!

(I can't upload pictures as yet, because we're not on actual PCs, more like big robotic metal 'things' which take forever to load and make my typing sound like I'm banging on the keyboard with a stick. Hopefully we'll eventually find a computer that's more user friendly. Maybe.)

Hi, guys - from sunny California!

My flight from Heathrow to San Francisco was possibly the worst journey EVER taken by plane. I was squished right at the back of the plane, quite literally surrounded by screaming children. Nightmare! All of that aside, once I arrived in San Francisco and caught a shuttle out to the hotel, I was feeling a lot better. It was a little windy, but a gorgeous day - however the sight of twisty, bendy stairs first thing in the morning is NOT fun when dragging a suitcase along behind you. Blech!

Our hotel was supposedly a 'short walk from Fisherman's Wharf' and surrounds, so my friend Mel and I set off to explore that day. Er, right. Our 'short walk' was actually an hour and ten minutes. JUST to get to the wharf area! Not impressed. We wandered up to Pier 33, as we wanted to book our Alcatraz tour - only to find out that there wasn't a single tour available to purchase, until next week. I was completely bummed about this, as that's one of the main reasons we decided to start this trip in San Francisco. We did some window shopping, then took our leisurely stroll back to the hotel to get some sleep.

The next day, we were trying to figure out what to do in place of Alcatraz, so ended up doing a city tour instead. It was quite good, 3.5 hours of good ol' fashioned tourist sightseeing (complete with oldies coach!) and it took us everywhere, even over the Bay Bridge to Treasure Island, back around the northern heights and to an awesome Golden Gate viewing point.

Mel and I walked back to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, where we were going to meet the lovely Lara - however she sadly wasn't able to make it, so we just walked on back. I'm telling you, the thighs? They are killing me!

This morning saw us bid farewell to foggy San Fran (seriously, all my Golden Gate bridge pictures look grey and gloomy) and fly on down to Los Angeles. Mel drove (bravely) while I sat in the passenger side being an awfully unhelpful backseat driver, but thanks to our lovely Carmen-the-Garmen GPS system, we made it to our next stop for the next 4 nights. We are, quite literally, situated on Venice Beach, home of crazies everywhere! Our window has a sea view - and despite a strange picture of a naked lady on the wall, it has a great bathroom and seems pretty good.

Tonight Mel is being brave and driving us down to Anaheim, where we are going to watch the Angels vs the Yankees game. Should be a good'un! Other than that, we're being LA tourists for the next few days - and catching up with Kirby soon after. It's going so fast already!

Keeping this one short, as I am typing on quite possibly the loudest keyboard in the world. (No, seriously. Loud.) Hoorah! More from me, later.

I'm typing this post with my boy sitting under the crook of my arm, not amused by the fact that my fingers on they keyboard are bumping his precious sleep. This is one of Oscar's favourite spots when he's tired, nestled up next to his momma, half lying across the warm laptop, and swatting my hands with his paws. It's also one of my favourite times; when he's mellow enough to come over and give me snuggles himself.

His purring makes me smile. Kind of like this:

I have the day off work today, and leave early tomorrow morning. The reason I organised this, was so that I can be here when Oscar gets picked up to go to the cattery. J & I always had reserves for what we would do if we were away from weekends, people who kindly offered to cat-sit for us, but six straight weeks of me being away and J not being home, meant that we had to organise something ourselves.

Oscar is off to a farm for 41 nights, where he'll be boarding with other kitties across the summer. He'll have his own pen, which is surrounded by other kitties so he can have people to talk to. I've put his fleecy blanket, and three of his favourite toys into his travel case, so that they go with him and stay with him when he's there. And I've given him far too many hugs for his liking this morning, thank you very much.

It's HARD having to give your pet away to strangers for this long. In the 3 months that we've had him, Oscar has become a staple of the household; so much so that I simply can't remember what life was like without him. He's charming and sweet, he's fiesty and insane, and I have so many scratches all over my arms that I look like I've been attacked by a bear. (Bloggers that I'm meeting, you will be able to vouch for that.) But he's my baby! And I'm a trifle weepy this morning.

I hope he doesn't forget me in six weeks.

P.S. I'm not sure if I'll post again before I go, as the shuttle is picking me up for Heathrow at around 5:30am. But if I don't update again before then, have a safe summer/winter, and the next time you'll hear from me, I'll be in the USA.

Sometimes the monotony of going to work, going home, going back to work, going home, becomes a seemingly endless existance. (Except for when you're about to leave the country for nearly six weeks, ha, nifty!) Over the past few weeks, I've been feeling a little un-appreciated at work, and have subsequently developed a small chip on my shoulder. Actually, scratch that. It's not a chip. It's actually a thunder cloud. My own little thunder cloud, that floats around with me everywhere I go. (I wish I was joking with you, however one of my colleagues even went so far as drawing me my own stormcloud, that peeks out at me from the whiteboard nearby.)

Anyway,  suffice it to say that working on my birthday - my first birthday in a foreign country - was not something I was really looking forward to. It started off terribly, thanks to a train mulfunction (as usual) and my 45 minute journey doubled to 90 minutes. Plus 30 degree weather and enough humidity to equal a tropical jungle, and I was a giant walking bag of sweat. It was gross.

My colleagues were awesome, and spoiled me for the day. I got a cute cake, a voucher for a pedicure (!) and a pressie from mum that arrived today, of all days. Jase spoiled me with some travel $$ for the USA, and we had a few birthday drinks. Plus, I recieved not one, not two, but five e-cards.

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes. You're all fabulous.*

*Yes, even you, Oscar.

You know, one would think that on their birthday, their spoiled rotten cat would learn to keep his biting under control, just for that one day?

I mean, it's great that he cares about my birthday by waking me up and seeing me first, but does he really need to bite my toes and meow incessantly in my ear at 3am.

Seriously, Oscar. Seriously. SERIOUSLY!?

Apparently being 24 makes me grumpy.

One of my favourite bloggers, The Casual Perfectionist, has tagged me for the following meme - and since it is a hot and (worse) humid day today, it's the perfect time for me to steal this meme and roll with it. Enjoy!

P.S. Birthday - 3 days! San Francisco - 9 days!

A. Attached or Single? Attached. Our official anniversary date is September 21st, 2002, so the boyfriend and I? We go way back.

B. Best Friend? Since moving here, I've met loads of amazing people, though I'm not sure if I would class any of them as my 'best friend', apart from J of course. I will get to see my best friend in just a few short weeks. We will take pictures. It will be grand.

C. Cake or pie? We don't have a lot (well, any?) of pie back home, unless you're talking about a classic Aussie meat pie. My absolute favourite dessert in the entire world is a big ol' slice of lemon meringue pie. Mmmm. Pies all the way.

D. Day of choice? I quite enjoy Fridays. Most people would say the weekend, which would absolutely be a close second, but I love the feeling of watching the clock count down on Friday afternoons and knowing that I have an entire weekend to look forward to.

E. Essential item? Usually, I would say something fairly predictable like 'Music' or 'Lip Balm', because if I were to be stuck on a desert island, I wouldn't want to a) have no tunes or b) have nasty chapped lips. BUT, because of the type of day it is today, I'd say my current essential item would have to be a fan. Seriously. Who would've thought I would need to buy a fan in LONDON, a city that is known for it's winters. Unfortunately, whilst the city is well equipped for the cold, the second the weather gets hot, there are no cooling appliances in sight. (I am not looking forward to my sweaty train ride in and out of the city today.)

F. Favorite color? Blue and Yellow.

G. Gummy bears or worms? I'll take both. I like gummy everything.

H. Hometown? A suburb about 45 minutes west of Sydney.

I. Favorite indulgence? Lately, Starbucks.

J. January or July? I prefer July in Australia, and January in the UK.

K. Kids? I'd like some, eventually! At the moment, J and I have Oscar, and he is more than enough of a fur baby to keep us occupied.

L. Life isn’t complete without? Friendship.

M. Marriage date? No marriage date in sight right now!

N. Number of brothers and sisters? One little baby brother . . . who is 21.

O. Oranges or Apples? I love oranges, but am really fussy when eating a whole one. I don't like the ones that are too tart, I peel ALL the white stuff off them (and I mean all of it) and the whole experience ends up taking me about thirty minutes. Apples on the other hand, I can scoff in two minutes.

P. Phobias? I'm not a fan of spiders, at all. I'm also worried by elevators.

Q. Quotes? 'Happiness is not something you experience, it's something you remember.' - Oscar Levant

R. Reasons to smile? I love my little life here, with the boy and the cat. We are happy. Love the people I work with, love that I can walk outside of my house and stand in front of the River Thames, love that it's my birthday soon, and most importantly, love that I'll be travelling so soon and hopefully meeting some amazing people along the way!

S. Season of choice? Autumn or Winter. Love the cold!

T. Tag 5 people: People, you know the drill, you want? You take!

U. Unknown fact about me? I'm shy.

V. Vegetable? No, thank you! *cough* I'm still not a big veggie fan, I know, I know. But if I had to pick, it would be basic things like onions, capsicums, carrots & sweet corn.

W. Worst habit? I don't just pick at my nails, I also pick at the skin around them. That sounds really gross right now, but I swear it's not that bad. I'm also terrible at putting things off - which is strange, because I'm also totally fixated on being organised and early. Weird.

X. X-ray or Ultrasound? I've never had an ultrasound, so I'm guessing X-Ray?

Y. Your favorite food? I love pasta and pizza, and grilled cheese. Boring!

Z. Zodiac sign? I'm a Leo, but I'm the world's worst one. I definitely don't think I have many traits of the lion, that's for sure. What do you think?