slippery when wet!

well there are a few moments in life when you feel truly humble... unfortunately they are few and far between. This morning however did provide me with one of such moments... I was in the shower all soaped up and when I peeked out from behind the shower curtain to see where miss Lilli had gotten to... I could spy her sitting on a pillow in the dressing room chomping away on one of my hard pastels that I use for painting. I don't know how she got it... but I can't blame her really as it looked suspiciously like one of her doggie treats. I lept out of the shower with conditioner in one hand and a body full of soap. I extracted the masticated pastel and placed what remained out of reach. As I stepped back into the bathroom I slipped and crashed to the floor landing with all my weight on my left elbow. I scared the living daylights out of myself... envisioning early labor... a broken elbow... Alfredo bounded in to find me sprawled across the bathroom floor. And that's when you have it... I've never felt so humble or as vulnerable as I did at that exact moment. It was so embarrassing. There is just nothing flattering about being gathered up from that splattered position. By this time of course the poor dog was barking like mad as she was terrified at seeing what had just happened. I was of course blubbering with tears which did nothing to enhance the already unforgiving scene... I gave myself a really good fright! Poor Fredu was equally terrified... well I guess it's one way to get the adrenalin going first thing in the morning. Luckily I have no appeared to have broken anything... I'm just bruised and sore both physically and egotistically.

I'm not quite sure

If I've actually managed to constructively write about this before... but this has been a really strange time for me... these last few months that is. It's kind of hard to articulate without sounding like some sort of crazed hormal woman... but it could very must be just that. The skinny is that I can't help but feel like I'm a bit underwhelmed regarding being pregnant. I really feel like I'm missing a beat. I mean it's lovely and wonderful and I know I'm very very lucky to have this chance that so many people are not able to have but I feel somehow I'm not doing it justice... Maybe because I've not got the same group of close female friends I had back in London or Ottawa or anywhere else I've lived during my adult life to encourage me and get excited with... I'm not having baby showers and waxing lyrical about how wonderful it will be... To be honest I think it's going to be really really hard and I'm very realistic about that. Perhaps it's this realism that keeps my excitement level to a dull fuzz if that. It's almost like this whole thing is happening to someone else and I'm just observing the process from the other side of a transparent screen... so I'm actually there but somewhat removed. I joked about being in denial for many months but now it just seems silly, surely this should have all passed by now and I should now be on to being constructive and buying baby things and not stomping my feet at my ever dwindling clothing selection... but yet still refusing to buy maternity clothes... I think it's entirely possible that I am being the bigger baby. Or it could just be the hormones...

here's to hoping this will all get sorted out before the end of January when ze bubby arrives... until then, back to the mad world of porn and the ever interesting adventure of the Polish builders that are arriving tonight from Denmark to kit out our new upstairs office space. Never a dull moment!

Someone is sporting daddy's new jumper

It's a slow news day here

in sunny Barcelona. The good news is that the gestational diabetes test came back negative which is such a relief! However I did get a proper telling-off from the nurse for being veggie. She acutally asked what I eat if I don't eat meat? My iron isn't low now but they are trying to prevent it from becoming very serious in the next few months... it's all a big yawn if you ask me... They gave me iron pills to take with orange juice - my favorite... NOT-. Ah well it's for the baby. Bring on the tofu!

Friday is a most welcome thing this week for me as I am exhausted and feeling guilty for not working harder... swimming and resting will be taken care of this weekend.

Here is a darling pic of miss lilli at Eric's b'day bbq a few weeks ago!

Just one of the reasons why I love my mum!

She wrote me an email today and here is a little excerpt

'I am cooking a huge roast of beef in the slow cooker for dinner this evening - you would be revolted by the size of it but there are no eyes or feet visible so it is okay with me.'

She is too cute for words! And I wonder why I'm veggie?

When I was little... or not even that little... I remember straining out the ground beef from my lasagna... painfully separating the beef from the sauce... little did I know at that point that there was an alternative... Smart of my mum for not offering it to me at that point.

My sprog on the other hand, will have her own choice in the matter... she can eat nothing but carbs and 'comida de basura' or she can eat normal carnivorous fayre with her father... But don't you doubt I'll be passing on the straining the beef from the tomato sauce technique that I mastered. It's only fair!

Happy almost Hallowe'en!

Lilli is sporting her fashionable dog jumper sent over to her by her favorite Canadian doggie friend Elmo.

To be honest I think she is more interested in eating the orange fluff around the sleeves rather than wearing it but we convinced her that she would get more blog exposure if she agreed to put it on!



Thank you auntie Lisa and Elmo!!!!

xoxoxo Lilli

there are some things

that are so enigmatic that even when coupled with a rock steady beat the song is still pure class. Wicked game by Chris Issak is one of them. We're all grooving out to it in the studio here this afternoon. We all agree that you can't hear the song without enjoying a beautiful memory of that video that they made for it. Ahh Helena Christensen's eyes were just haunting!



Reminds me once how when I was working down in South Ken we saw her walk by the building that we worked in... She was decidedly orange but her eyes still beautiful. The hands of time didn't seem to be very kind to her... but I've seen print pictures of her since that are much more flattering than her in person... Perhaps photoshop is her best friend?

She came... we shopped... we conquered!

It's not going to go without mention miss andrea's visit to Barcelona last week. We were so happy to have her here!

We shopped and lunched and giggled! All the good stuff!


Andrea blingged up her new flip flops at the havaiana shop with pink sparkles!


She's really just pointing out my enormous bosom!
No I think it's more like pointing out that I'm NOT for once, wearning all black!


This photo brings new meaning to head-shot! Miss andrea and Fredu
They look like long lost cousins!


Moi, Anna, Andrea outside Passpartout her fellow Croatian's new bar in the neighborhood!


See aren't we purdy!


And of course Miss And Miss Lilli who was our faithful shopping companion!

In an attempt to battle the evil powers of porn



Ana has kindly brought me in a Jesus mouse pad featuring a blinged up Jesus. He's got a golden chain with a crucifix and a gold ring on each finger... If I didn't know better I would think that he was throwing up a gang sign too... not certain on that one. I'm feeling much more comforted for my un-born child... LOL... but to be honest I don't actually see much porn as I'm doing project management so it's all about documentation, site maps budgets and gant charts... Ana the content manager only ever calls me over to see the really cringe-worthy stuff. Picture of Jesus will soon be uploaded.

Speaking of looking at porn... yesterday Ana sent me a link to a production company's website, a friend of her's whom I've never met but did however know her ex boyfriend through my hairdresser ... trust me this is a small town. Any how on this website features a video of the production team fooling around in a playful way not in the actual sexual way on the set of one of the movies they were shooting in Bulgaria or somewhere where shooting porn is not shunned... and low and behold there in the clip is no other than a photographer friend of Fredu's who lives in our neighborhood! Fredu did not believe me until he saw the clip with his own eyes! A warning to all... NEVER think even for a second that these types of things don't get around...

There is yet again another holiday here tomorrow so it's a nice long weekend for us all! Not so good for us parties who work freelance and simply do not get paid for these holidays but hey a day off is a day off.

After this morning's fight with my ever dwindling wardrobe possibilities I've conceded to go and LOOK at the maternity clothing options at H+M near my office... Not bad really as I've made it to 6 months without participating in such activities... but when the baggy jeans start causing problems getting around the bump it's time to throw in the towel and break out all elasticated options. Can I still wear my heels?

Dear whomever invented the gestational diabetes test…

I don’t like you very much. In fact the entire experience was most unpleasant. Sucking back the equivalent of 5 bags of haribo first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is vile. I still feel ill. Perhaps the whole experience will help curb my sweet tooth a little bit…

Miss Andrea has come and gone and her visit was nothing short of delightful. She is so lovely to have around! I only wish we could see each other more often. She should soon be boarding her flight and jetting back to London to her boyfriend whom by now must miss her greatly.

Eric’s b’day bbq in Sitges on Saturday was lovely. The weather held up and it was sunny and warm. Much fun was had by all. Fredu took some lovely photos… I shall sneak them up here shortly.

It's all much clearer to me now...

we've not got a dog... it's a kangaroo!!!!!!!!!! I don't quite know why it took us so long to figure out... joey did buy her back legs for us, so it's quite logical really!


Miss Lilli 'roo' Martini


If you're looking for something on sale do not go to PC world here in Barcelona... They like to make their customers pay 20 euros extra! Check the price listed in small print at the bottom right... it says previous price 199€ and the current price is 219€!???? and they have the audacity to tell you that you save 20€! Theives!




This is the view from our new office! if you look carefully you can see the sea! The big church is the same one that is right in front of our flat.


Someone had a bath the other day and then was so exhausted they decided to have a nap in their towel...

Sometimes pictures say it better


Daddy has a new camera and I'm pretty! Now where is my blog deal auntie Andrea??


HAPPY BIRTHDAY FREDU!! it's the big 40 today! I can't wait till he's back from work this weekend to celebrate!


Office jobs are simply just not suited for some people... Lilli came with me to work today to attempt to try and curb her rampant barking habit which she has just acquired... I can only liken it to what it must be to have a todler going through the terrible two's... we are so wiped out that we have been unconcious since we got home... needless to say she's not barking but I don't think the problem is fixed... just pooped out.


Hello I'm Anna! My colleague at work was being cheeky and leaving a wee pic for me on my new phone... wait till she realises that it's now on my blog! Ha! that will teach her... or most likely simply encourage her to be even more naughty the next time.




Parents to be at the Patrice, 08001, Travis concert that nearly induced my early labour.... Some of us have spent their summers working in the great outdoors... some of us look like we've been tanning in scotland...


Patrice, whom I'd never heard of before but were really really good!

And for your daily dose of just what it's like to work for a porn site... do check out this site... it a lovely lady will moan your computer's IP address for you. Hilarious but in most cases... not work safe. We never grow tired of this one at work!

Note to self

Going to an outdoor concert, and standing in the 5th row from the stage for almost 5h is NOT, I repeat, NOT a suitable activity for a someone who is 5 months pregnant. The standing up for that long without even sitting once damn near finsihed me off. I had to leave about 3 songs before Travis wrapped up but they were great. 08001 was brilliant as usual but the heavy Catalan croud at the front didn't really get them... Patrice was great too! Good thing I had fun as the lesson has been learned and I must conceed defeat and admit that there are somethings that I simply am not able to do while pregnant.

The dog and I are mostly sleeping away this sunny monday in an attempt to recover... she wasn't there of course but it doesn't take much to convince her to sleep all day.

Small Miracles

Only of the telephonic kind... but hey we take them where we can get them when it comes to me and mobiles! The magic makers in Raval unlocked my orange uk phone so I can use it on Orange ES... don't get me started it defies logic how this had to be but hey... it's done and it's got such a great camera!



I think all these late nights of this year's Merce festival are taking their toll! I slept till almost 12h today. Staying out till 3am just doesn't agree with me as much as it used to. I am however excited to see Travis and 08001 this afternoon if we manage to get there before the place is filled!

Certain dogs are fast asleep on my lap recovering from their own Merce fun... hers maybe wasn't so fun as her mean mother made her spend the entire day with her out of the hosue... walking, meeting strange people and mostly foregoing her daily nap routine. She's more than making up for it today. Thank goodness we have a holiday on Monday! I think this is the third one this month!!!

Fredu is back on the mark and out taking pictures with his new camera. I's like seeing someone with a new lease on life. Not having a proper camera for so long really was hard for him. All good now and onwards and upwards as my mother would say.

Hello,

I'm the dog and I'm a girl too and I'm 5months old too but I'm here... and mostly very naughty! And my father is trying to look cuter than me!

The bump's first blog entry...

Hello, I'm the bump. I'm a girl!



I think she has my chin????

I'm growing a belly and this time it's not from beer...

As extracted from one of my status updates on crack book...

The 2nd scan was done today and all was good. And we are now the proud awaiting parents of a wee girl! We didn't want to wait till the birth to find out... and apparently these three vertical lines which appear on the scan prove that indeed it is a girl. I feel so relieved to know.

08001 and Travis are playing at the Merce festival this year!!!! This weekend will be good!

Roller coasters and olive stones... just another normal day


I think sometimes this whole oh my god am Ireally doing this anxiety hits and I wonder if I can possibly forget to breathe....

As I said to mum... having a baby is nothing big nor is it clever... with this in mind I'm trying to tone down the concept as much as possible but as I said, sometimes it boils up and I feel the same feeling that you have when you are strapped into a roller coaster and you push off and begin the acent to the top of the first hill... you can feel the anxiety mixed with the horror that you know that nothing you can do can get you off the ride... the first big drop kicks your adrenalin in and then your anxiety subsides as your mind quickly gives in as it accepts there is no turning back so best just hang on... I think my life is pretty much along these same tracks right now... the only thing is that the whole strapping ones self into the ride kind of sneaks up behind me and before I know it anxiety is already pushing me up the hill...

on a not so philosophical note I forced my office colleagues into sharing a decadent bar of dark chocolate with me this afternoon. It was fig and caramel filled. Totally divine.

I'm off to repent at the swimming pool as soon as I finish. I think making it there twice in one week kicks the ass of me not having gone once during the last four months... Swimming is so odd now. My belly feels like a big olive with a massive stone in the middle. Centre of gravity is all messed up.

Would someone kindly explain to me how a mobile on the orange network in the uk is not compatible with my orange sim card here in Spain? I think the mobile phone gods are simply out to torment me. I should know better... every September I enter the realm of phone nightmares... back to this again!!!! I have to get the bloody handset that I just bought and had shipped over from the UK unlocked to make it work here... you think that surely in this day in age the same company would make handsets that were compatible across their European network??? clearly not. Hello phone unlocking hell... sarah here!

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It's been a while since the last posting...

I know that as even fredu mentioned that I've not blogged in ages and he does not often read it...

To make up for this I sadly don't have any interesting photos... but stories yes. What would my life be like without some interesting... 'this would only ever happen to me' type of thing...

I've not yet spoken much about my new job... but now that it's been a few weeks I think I'm ready to have my 'hello world I work for a porn company' coming out announcement. So yes, it's true. and No I am not acting or participating in any movies or photos. I'm safely on the other side of the screen. I am actually surprise at how may people have asked me for that clarifation... anyway... so with that out of the way.... I'm doing project management for this Danish company. We're working on this big new project which requires a lot of scoping and documentation. As part of this project we've got two designers from out of town working on laying down the templates for the new site. When we got to the page that was to be a category home page it was late. I left them in the office and I went home. When I arrived in the morning the page mock up was done and guess what it featured...

A picture of a busty blond woman as the feature image. Followed by the following tags. Big busted, blond, pregnant, horny.

I am not quite sure how long my mouth remained open in shock... followed quickly by a fit of giggles. I hardly know these guys and they are totally taking the piss out of me!!! I love it!

I have of course told my mother this story. She found it rather humourous as well.

I would post a pic of the comp here but since the site is still under wraps it's not such a good idea.

The beast continues to grow at a rapid pace (the dog not the baby)... house training is a loosing battle at this point... so we will simply continue to watched the dubbed episodes of the dog whisperer and hope that he may one day feature a cheeky chihuahua who suffers from the same disobedience as our little furry princess. Good thing she's so cute. It saves her everytime!

Richard and Sal dropped into bcn for a few hours. They were passing through on their way back from Ibiza on their way to Poland... then back to London and finally back to Sydney. It will be strange not having them in London anymore but change is good. Yes joey... change is good!

More porn adventures to come soon...

So yea... as I said before

Karma is a bitch. And snicker I did at my sister's ginormous bosom when she was here over the summer. All a by product of the baby thing... but little did I know that now that I am at about the same phase of the pregnancy thing as she is, I too have been afflicted. Dear lord... not like I needed any help. I can know understand just how it's so that even nicole richie has boobage now. With that said you can imagine that volupous does not even do justice to my current state. If I were blonder and fabulously gorgeous I might accidently get taken for Scarlet Joanssen who is in town shooting with woody allen... well not the body part as I'm pregnant and she's not... but defo the boob dpt.

On another not so booby subject. Some of the more hairy members of my rapidly expanding family are doing their best to leave their mark on everything. Even down to the tiny plastic clip at the end of my memory stick. I can't even begin to think when she got her little fangs into that? Fredu has taken to referring to her as "todo los dientes"which translates to " all the teeth". Extracted from the expression "que miente con todos sus dientes!" which means you're lying with all your teeth. Hmm. Somethings just don't translate so well. I guess we do however say in English lie through your teeth.

Asleep while standing

I sort of feel that way... no no actually I do feel that way. I think it's the combo of travelling and this heat wave we are going through that is making me fight to the death to stay concious at my desk today.

My wee sejour in London was lovely. It was really great to see all the peeps again. Sad really that this is the last time for a long while that we will all be together again, but nice nonetheless. I'm not quite sure if it was because I was not partaking in the imbibing of alcohol or if the sands of time are pilling up... but it was quite a subduded event when compared to our standard gatherings. Guess we'll all be grown ups before you know it. I think I'm guilty of pushing the trend in that direction. Not that it's bad... it's just different!

I'm suffering from extreme puppy withdrawl. She's been with the breeder since last wednesday. He is due to bring her back to me tonight. My heart strings are being tugged. It's all a bit brutal really. I can imagine that she is huge now after hearing all the forbidden food that he's been feeding her. So much for keeping her on human food only!

18 weeks in and the bump seems to be now growing... the skinny jeans still fit which is a surprise... but perhaps by the end of the week this will no longer be the case. I'm just counting the days until the 19th when we have the scan that will reveal the gender. The doctor who listened to the heartbeat the other day was thinking it was a girl as the heart rate was quite quick... but that's just hearsay. We will find out for sure soon enough... everyone channel your energy for a girl. Not that we won't love a boy... it's just that I've got my heart set on a girl.

Only time will tell.

I'm off now to perfect the art of sleeping with my eyes open. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

strange things this way come...

I'm sitting in the office slurping back a tiny container of liquidized apple... it's the goodness of one full apple but in the convience of a drink. It's terribly expensive but look ma i'm eating fruit! While secretly in the back of my mind I'm straining to pull through the beautiful smell of roasted chicken that is wafting through the office. Im still pretty much in full on allergy attack mode so it's quite a challenge! My confession?

Damn the chicken smells good. I had a quick look on the counter where the not yet eaten portions remain... one look was enough to confirm that the sight of it was still enough to keep me safely in the veggitarian relgm... but for one small moment I thought just perhaps I would consider eating it again.... eating no... smelling. YUM.

I think we are the owners of the only dog in the world who really has no interest or enjoyment out of going for a walk. I took miss martini out this morning very early when the streets are empty to try and get some excersise for her in before I left for work... she was very good and did walk but trying to express the terror mixed with total disinterest that was expressed in her tiny little face... would be difficult. Poor thing. She doesn't even sniff about when she's out she's pretty much a little robot filled with terror. Best keep watching the dog whisperer when it's on on Saturday's dubbed in Spainsh. Maybe Cesar will have the tip we need to convince her that walkies are fun... or maybe we should just oblige and keep her as an indoor dog?

I'm not sure how I'm still standing

but i was hit today by a massive wave of allergies... from where and from what I'm not sure. I guess perhaps the weather has changed and whatever the spanish version of hay fever is has come early. My sinuses are about to explode. I do not exaggerate when I say I probably sneezed 500 times today.

I had a check up with the Matrona today to make sure all sprog issues are okay. Funny thing is that I've not gained a single ounce yet. All these mad online resources say that you should have at least gained 10lbs by now... guess all this clean living is doing me good and what I'm loosing by being 'healthy' I'm re-gaining as baby weight at the same pace. Just wait tomorrow morning I'll wake up and be a balloon. Ha.

I got to hear the sprog heartbeat today... the Matrona said that she thinks it's a girl as the heartbeat is quite fast which is common in female bubs... but there will be no confirmation until the 20 week scan this time next month. sigh. I haaaaaaaate waiting. Apparently I'm 4 days more pregnant than they initially thought. How the hell do they know? I dont' get it. Doesn't matter really the 25th or the 29th of Jan... whatever the due date is, sprog will arrive once sprog is ready.

Until then I shall continue working like a mad woman... and running my business and puppy training... How I'm going to have any energy while I'm in London, I'm not quite sure. But lets see if I can make it to Thursday morning without having a sinus explosion (or implosion)

snnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnfffffffffffffffffffffffff

someone score me some sinutab? please? I swear the sprog will never notice!

If my dog could talk

it would be saying something like this right about now...

"mummy mummy, i love you I love you, I love you!"

"i'm sorry mummy I can't help it mummy, but I can't fight the urge to bite you on any occasion when your hands are anywhere near my tiny but leathal mouth!"

" mummy mummy i'm full of beans and no amount of sprinting around the house can calm me down!!!!"

however... since the only sounds she makes are squeeking and coughing (minus the 3 barks she emitted the other day when a stranger came in the house which she has never since repeated)... thus consider this dialogue as one transmitted through dog-human telekenesis.

I am sure glad that

We get 1000 free international minutes with our internet/phone service. As I swear my conversation (or diatribe) to Joey last night sure soaked up a lot of them! I'm not usually one full of gossip these days but I seemed to talk her poor ear off last night.

I've been busy this week cracking the back of this new project that I'm working on. It's quite a whopper of a task and I must say it's been good for the old brain to start working again on something that does not have anything to do with agencies.

Looks like miss sally is returning to the land down and under thus we prepare to send her off. I shall be back in london for the fete and then she'll be here shortly afterwards after her jaunt with Rich and Joey to Ibiza. It's going to be a bit mental!

Anyone want to chihuahua puppysit? Too bad she's not yet able to travel yet!

some of us are...

mostly enjoying the first ray of sunshine of the day. It's been so cold and stormy here the past few days... she is a smart cookie.




Update!

She is now enjoying full range sunshine in the sitting room.



Dog blog (first couple entries) are done and with the powers that be... I hope they like them. Worst case scenario I'll do a spin off blog from here and post about her there.

Thanks for everyone's well wishes regarding the bump... I don't really have one yet as I previously mentioned but I'm expecting to wake up one morning in the next few weeks to find that I have 'popped'.

The house feels very empty without all the visitors we've had in the past few weeks. Lilli of course fills it with a great presense of random poops but I'm mostly behaving. I did not even leave the flat once yesterday... I could so very easily slip into a world of agoraphobia... As with most things... I doubt I'd be very good at it as the lack of diet coke would quickly force me back out into public.

Things are ramping up quickly with my new job which I've not written about yet... I'll save that little gem under my hat for a while. You're going to love it!
.

My holidays...

managed to sneak up behind me and tap me on the shoulder... since then the blog wagon has rolled over me several times and I'm still all soiled and don't have any soap powder for my washing machine. No seriously I don't...

The tiny puppy is tiny no more... well she always will be as she is a chihuahua but she's a whopping 850grams now so there is really no telling what could happen. Bulldogs beware!


Uncle Mit and Lilli Martin mostly looking fab!


Is this what they mean when they say "put a cork in it?" nahh don't worry i'm not cruel she can't even bark yet... but she is mostly taking over drinking wine for me since I no longer can...

KJ and Bryan's wedding was a sucess which happened as you know just before the holidays.

My tiny mummy and seestor... with my gramps in the foreground


Seestor's husband checking out the boobage! I love this shot (sorry bryan)

The villa was lovely and a good time was had by all. I think this year we really noticed that we were missing the 2nd week... but good times were had in Barcelona with my mum and my sister and her hubby the week following so that was good. Mum even braved a trip to Ikea with me to buy some stuff and get the spare room in better shape to host the new arrival that I have yet announced... oops well there you go, I just did. The new arrival will do just that around late January therefore there is plenty of time but mum will not be back here before then so she was an angel helping me get things sorted.


The villa gang (minus seestor who was taking the photo)


Seestor Mum and I


Seestor and I on the catamaran. Thank you Orsom for giving us a free spin (or my company a free spin)

Did I mention I was having a baby? Yes indeed. Well anything my sister can do I can always do better right? tee hee... I'm only 14 weeks or was it 15? who knows... I'm not terribly good at this whole new venture, and I've not even really got a bump yet... Fredu is thrilled to say the least. I'm cautiously optimistic as with everything really :)

I'm bucking the trend folks... instead of becomming a mommy blogger I'm going to strive to become a doggy blogger... I'm drafting up sample entries right now for a shot at scoring a slot as a regular content provider for this portal in the UK... nothing confirmed or promised but it would be good fun... time will tell.


Lilli Martini! Not sleeping or biting me to death... but of course relaxing as that's what dogs do!

Congratulations!!!

To my sister and her now husband.

They were married yesterday. It was very sad not to be there but since I spoke to her before and both the dress and shoes she chose to wear were both from me... I was there in spirit! I can't wait to see the pictures!

Work is beyond busy... but isn't it always like this just before you go on holidays???

The puppy now has a name!!! She is Lilli Martini... it was a hard call... all of my spanish friends were voting for Lola... which is really cute too but I think we're best with Lilli.

Suresh jetted back to London yesterday... I swear he did not miss his flight... well that's the story we're going with anyway. It was lovely to have him here. I'm sure Lilli will wonder where he's gone.

Next guests not far away. Mum arrives friday and seestor and new hubby on Sunday.

You know you and your friends all work in media when....

you have an msn conversation like this....

----------------------------------------------
karmparker@some-email.com says:
you got a sec?

http://random_devURL/test

what happens when you go there?

sarah says:
a video loads in top left hand corner

sarah says:
then plays

sarah says:
then there is lots of shooting and robot death

------------------------------------------------
Moments like this are amusing and surreal all at once.

much to my surprise

my paintings just became well expenisve!! I agreed to sell a few with this online shop... They take a 35% commission so of course I made sure the price I gave them was reasonable knowing they would take half... how suprised was I when I saw the actual prices they have them listed at! The whole art world is totally un-known to me so it's all learning... but holy moly for all you out there who already own one of my pieces... They have tripled in value! Hang tight... I can fake my own death and try and push the price up even more... that is of course if you make sure to wire me some money to my swiss account once you sell them (to help keep me in the grave aka a nice island in the south pacific). Thanks!

Finally

Someone who sleeps more than I do! She's not got a name as we are not sure we are keeping her. But she was a good little sleepover guest. She's so tiny and cute and is yet again sleeping! I love it! a true Spanish dog!

She's due back to the breeder tonight who has been indeed kind lending her to us. I think we are going to continue looking although it's a tough choice... but we were looking for one with a lighter face... I will meet her brother tonight when the breeder comes back to collect her. He's got a lighter face but I'm not sure we want a boy... nor if we want something bigger... but we're not so sure he's bigger... time will tell...

in the interim more pictures of her doing what she does best!



Look at the cute paws!


super tiny!

We have now adjusted ourselves and have move into sleeping dog pose number 54. Strech!!!!

i'm having the cutest sleepover ever


she's spending the night... on trust alone! The breeder is too sweet! The puppy is trying to walk on the keyboard as I type. I suppose she likes the clicking noises and the fast moving fingers... she also likes napping... she is 3 months... she's about 10inches long... and under 1kilo...she's so tiny she can't even bark yet... she squeeks!

The drill cranking monkeys...

obviously had the day off today... either that or they were on a cofee break when I was seeing the dentist. I waited for nearly 30 mins for my 11h20 apt. this morning with my CAP salud dentist. When she finally re-surfased from her coffee break that I saw her leave to take not long after I arrived... she ushered me in. I sat on the chair, she asked me to open my mouth... she looked in using one of those tiny mirror jobbies... however did NOT use that hideous pick thing which they normally prod all your teeth with hoping to find a cavity... no no, no prodding. After then 10 second visual scan of my mouth she pronounced that all was well... in fact muy bien! I apparently did not need a cleaning nor did I seem in need of any further attention.

Under 1 minute after arriving I was back out again and on my way in blissful ignorance to my actualy dental hygine status.

You get what you pay for... and this my friends... was free.

No worries. I like denial. It's what's been keeping my pearly whites just that for the past 5 years. I shall carry on just like I have been said the dentist!

Sticky toffee or jawbreaker anyone?

Sometimes some people take secret pictures...

It's just one of those secret things photographers do... I think they can't help it. I found this one... evidence of my slumber... I swear I was dreaming of red devil cupcakes with cream cheese icing...

It's pretty fab considering it was only taken from his camera phone. Kudos to you du du!

For the first time in a long time

I've had a really chill and relaxing morning. We had a very early appointment this morning but the person we were seeing was so late. I thought things were then off to a bad start... but it picked up. I had a lovely breakfast after the meeting... I forget sometimes how lovely the terrace is around the corner from my flat. It's nice to sip an iced coffee while nibbling some toast with apricot marmelade and watch all the cute puppies and people go by.

I'm obviously not in the office today as there is no computer there for me... thus my freedom! So here i set listeing to the Smith's John Peel session... Brilliant does not even begin to describe it. I highly reccomend it.

I've got a dentist appt. tomorrow morning. Usually I need a few weeks to psych myself up for such things but I just found out that heath services here include dental therefore I'm going for a checkup. I guess I've not to worry so much about the checkup it's more about if they find I have a million cavities that have developped since my last apt. It was probably close to 5 years ago... back when I had posh dental insurance while working for Chello... sigh. I'm thinking the service will be a bit less high tech for this visit.... well as long as they don't have a monkey turning the crank that powers the drill, perhaps that's a start....

Happy Canada Day!

It's hot and humid and mildly rainy here today... pretty much average Canada Day weather. It's just not the same though without the beer tents and bad bands! This year I don't even have a balcony from which to fly my mini Canadian flat... we have a terrace but we're at the back of the building and way way up so no one would see it. I'm there in spirit!

Friday night we were hunting around to find some ever elusive sundresses... they are elusive as everything here is so tiny on the bust that if you've got a broad back and anything more than a b cup you're pretty much out of luck. You can do your best to learn the language, understand traditions... but fitting into clothes in a foreign country isn't quite so easy... it's not like I'm huge but by judging some of the shops here I'm a plus plus plus size. What we did find however was a beautiful wedding dress for my sister. I know she already has one but she said it was quite informal... when we stumbled across this beautiful grecian inspired dress we just had to get it for her. I think she will love it. I hope it fits her! I would of course post a pic but I don't want to ruin the surprise for her hubby to be if she decides to wear it. The dress is jetting it's way to her as we speak in an oh so fancy dhl evelope.

Happy birthday duffy denise!!! Welcome to 31! Disfruta!

No puppy news as I had hoped... buying a puppy here pretty much adds up to the same run around routine foreigners seem to feel about all process here... you need patience and perceverance... as well as the ability to wait for many many mananas until you get something done. But it's all good. Good things come to those who wait my mum says... guess spanish people end up with LOTS of good things because we sure as hell do a lot of waiting!!!!

Summer ever so kindly

seems to have put the really good weather on hold as i buckled down this week and did some serious amounts of work. We've not had the heatwave of easter europe or the torrential rain like England... we've mostly has overcast and temperatures in the early 20 degrees... nice but not summer more like autum without the doom of impending winter. It could be worse. I just hope it hots up a tiny bit for the big party my company is doing next Friday.

It's funny sometimes... being a foreinger in a city that other foreigners constantly remind you of how it used to be... I mean people who moved here 10 years ago and not simply 2 like me... They talk of time when bars were open all night long... live music... party central... now the city has shut down most live music venues... there are strict rules to everything... Franco would be so pleased... but I diregress... Last night I met up with my lovely friend Eric in Gracia. This neighborhood is uptown from where I live and much more like a little village. There are far less tourists and bars actually still exist where you can get a beer for 1 euro! In the evening every single square is jam packed with people meeting their friends and familys for a drink and chat... as always there was nowhere to sit so we ventured to a place just off of one square that had a nice looking garden so we went in, in search of a table... there was one albeit inside but right next to the door... It became apparent not long after we entered that this joint was literally filled with just that... joints... everyone was skinning up and smoking their spliff from the comfort of their tables... Eric was beside himself as a fan of the hash he was happy to find somewhere like this... so there you old timer ex-pats... there is just a tiny remanence of old school liberal Barcelona left... now if only I can remember what the place was called...

Mum and seestor and soon to be hubbie have all booked their flights. I am beside myself with happiness. it will be so so good to see them! I think if I don't burn out from all this work before they arrive I will be lucky! It's actually been a long time since I've worked on a campaign site that I'm excited about. I think it's pretty dang good. I guess sometimes the evil ad agency is not so evil... I said SOMETIMES!

I never imagined...

That the day would come that my seetor would decide to get married... and that I would not attend! I know it boggles the mind but sadly it's true. She and Bryan are getting married on the 17th of July... so soon! They are however are then jetting directly off to visit me in Spain, thus the nonp-logic of spending over 1300 dollars for a flight which would be nothing more than a few days visit. I'm sad, but happy for them, but hey we always do things in my family a bit out of the usual... so we shall instead celebrate together once they arrive to my side of the pond.

I've not got to come up with a fabulous wedding present for them... and quick. I've got one thing up my sleeve that will thrill her to death but I need something else... something a little more tangible... this is deamn near impossible considering she is a person who has EVERYTHING... and since they have decided not to find out if their baby is a boy or a girl until she delivers it... pink frilly baby dresses are not an option... sigh..

Tonight is san juan here in bcn... it is the night that the city does not sleep and it explodes into a massive firework display... people hold all night long beach parties and watch the sun come up in the morning... All good in theory... but as I am detoxing (not drinking) it just seems a bit off pace for me... we'll see what I can manage. Chaira's mami and papi are here from Milano so we shall dine with them tonight... we'll see how long into the night I will make it.

Puppy news puppy news! we have a visit scheduled with a local breeder for next week. He's got a brood of 3 new puppies and he is giving us first pick. He seems really sweet and has even offered to give us a dog for a week to try out to see if we get along with it! I'm counting the days!

Off now to have my siesta... I think I will need it... I shall leave you will Alfredo's favorite Los Morancos (spanish comic duo from the south) you need to speak spanish to understand but if you do, you'll be glad you paid attention during language class as it's bloody hilarious! fiesta fiesta! pluma pluma gai!!!! Enjoy!

With all the excitement...

of seestors impending wedding and sprog, I forgot to rejoyce at some very exciting other news. After nearly 8 years my lovely relationship with OSAP has come to an end. Debts have been paid and that the good lord and my mum (who helped lots over the past few years) it's now finished! I remember feeling great despair when I signed the forms 8 years ago and accepted that by the time I was finished paying my loan off I would be 33 years old... but with some help from mum and my grandma it's all done... and 2 years early! Now if I could only find a use for my degree in second language aquisition... Do you think I can apply for a re-fund on my degree?

We have two new additions to our wee flat and they are so cute! One is called Olletta (named after Ollie who bought it for us) and the other little jane (whom bought it for us). I'm loving this new custom of house guests buying plants as thank you gifts! We are so fortunate! Now lets just hope I don't manage to murder them...



Little Jane

Oletta

It's been pretty

slim pickings on the blogging front lately... but today Alfredo showed me this hilarious ad from Italy... which reminded me of this brillaint ad that I saw about 7 years ago during the GLB film festival on Showcase back in Canada. Jolt cola is the best... how I miss it!!!

Evil thy name is Ikea

I am normally not too bothered by the trekk that is generally involved when going there but yesterday I guess I was just not up for it. We don't have a car but there is a a really good bus service that take you straight there... The main thing I was going for was a sun shade for the terrace... of course it was sold out... and after 45 mins of waiting and asking they told us that we could not have the display one as they could not take it down until all the stock has gone (there were are few items left in a hideous stripy colour) argh... What I don't understand is that they told us they were not re-stocking so what's the big deal? Give me my damn white sun canape!!!! Ikea says no.

But we did manage to still get a few little bits which were delivered bright and early this morning (before 9am!) by three lovely little south american men... Ikea in Barcelona seems to sub-contract the delivery work out to these guys. It makes me quite concerned as I can't imagine them making more than 5euros and hour... talk about brutal work! I live on the equivalent of the 6th floor and there is no lift... I feel bad for them but the guys who deliver groceries are not much better off... although the delay for grocery delivery is 1-2 days it only costs 4 euros... and it's worth it... to avoid bringing up 4 8litre bottles of water plus all our other goodies like wine and juice and food... now that sucks.... I am indeed greatful and yes of course always tip!

My funky little dressing room is looking just that... pretty funky... Fredu set up the mirrors for me and I put together the little wooden box myself... I'm generally not very good at such tasks but I managed that as well as installing the missing clothes rail in our wardrobe which was finally back in stock! Fredu also deserves credit for building the shelving unit himself... no ikea needed there... wood was bought from a local shop in our neighborhood... he painted it white of course... my little wooden box will soon follow suit.



Shoe order and other such delights of the dressing room!

The Screaming woman

There is this woman who lives in a flat who's window faces into an interior patio out onto which our bathroom window looks out into. Here in Barcelona the old buildings have lots of these secret patios which are I think designed to let light into the dark recesses of some areas of the building. You can't acess them but they are just there... Not all of them work... The tiny interior patio which the spare room, dressing room and salon all have windows to, brings in a tiny ray of sunlight for approx 10 mins every day. The rest of the time it's DARK and grey and serves no visual interest whatsoever... Anyway, back to the bathroom interior patio. Every day at around 11am there is a woman who screams out her window into this interior patio. It's very regular and it's rather upsetting. I've never seen her, I only hear this agonising scream... Every day like clock work. Ollie says it's a common thing in Russian villages... Old people suffer from it and it has something to do with isolation. I'm not too sure if that is the case here as we're right smack dab in the middle of bcn... there are hundreds of people around all the time and although you can still feel isolated when in a huge mass of people... well you get the idea... I sometimes worry that she's locked in... or being tortured or other times just think perhaps she's mentally ill and can't help it... either way it's pretty unsettling... especially for unsuspecting house guests! I don't know how to ask my other neighbors about it... maybe they know the secret...

Since my seestor

Has failed to blog about this herself... I have no other recourse to announce that I will soon be an auntie! How clever is that? Congrats to her and Bryan. Such excitement... I've known since my trip to Canada but have had to keep it to myself all this time! Not easy for someone like me!


Seestor!!!!!!

The puppy search continues but the pickings are slim unless I want to part with the better side of 1k... which lets face it, is not such a hot idea financially.

Work work work and more work... when is a girl to find time for some much needed shopping?

Its far past my bedtime...

but I've simply just run out of time for a lot of things lately... work and such is getting in the way. I'm longing for a holiday... just a few days away from all of the daily grind... the villa seems an eternity away as it's the end of July. I'm counting down the minutes!

Our lovely houseguest for the past two weeks, Ollie, treated us to a lovely supper tonight at a nice restaurant in Raval. It will be strange around the house without him here... and Alfredo's bicing card will experience a sharp decline in usage! Not to fear though... the Sonar peeps arrive next Thursday so just enough time to clean all the linnen! I can't wait to meet Jo Jo's new lady!!! I hope the icecream shops in town are well stocked up... Jo jo hits them hard when in town! With her she will bring supplies such as the latest issue of Gratzia, marmite, tea, and vip toilettries from Boots! Whoot!

Lovely mini me is maxxing it up in Valencia on a boat watching the America's cup. Lucky ladee! Should catch her up this weekend at mele and nicolas' bbq!

sleep beckons... sleep always wins. buenas noches!

Congratulations are in order....

I'm so excited... but I must leave the revealing of the details to my seestor... it's been a month that I've had to keep my mouth shut about what she had to announce and now the cat is out of the bag... well almost... I think I must wait till she writes about it herself on her blog... drop her a line and see if she'll post about it...

I've been sequestered away this weekend. Saturday morning started bright and early for some whom had oh so cleverly picked up a nasty bought of food poisoning from my favorite restaurant during my lunch there on Friday... I wonder if the calories still count if it all comes back up 15h later??? All I can say is ewwwwwwwwwwwww! Semi-monthly food poisoning is just one of the minor glitches that come along with living in a hot country. I'm getting used to it. I don't like it but I would take it over a snow storm any day!

The cute puppy in the picture looks like it will forever remain the cute puppy in the picture as I think we waited too long to confirm that we wanted it and the owner sold it to someone else :( I can only assume that's why he has not returned our calls. Ah well, back to the drawing board... Look forward to more cute puppy preview pics. There is always a postive side of course!

It's segunda pasqua here today in Barcelona. Nowhere else in Spain has the day off but here all is shut down. Exactly what the second easter thing is, I'm not quite sure... so I'll stick to listening to the second coming by the stone roses and leave it at that...

A family act

Today in paseo del borne there was a small family performing a musical trio. They had 3 children but the two youngest who were boys were too small to play with them. The highlight of the act was the young girl who played the bongo/jimbe. She had such incredible rythm. It was the first time I've witnessed someone so young play that instrument so well. The mother had a beautiful voice! They drew a small crowd quite quickly and by the end of the 1st song they had pulled in easily 12 Euros. Now that's a good business idea... my only other question is... why the devil was she not in school?

A huge Thank You

To Amanda at www.hitflip.co.uk for sending me a T-shirt.

Do check out the site it's way cool! I wish we had something like this down here in Spain, you know how I'm always desperate for new English books!

They are a swap site for you DVDs, games, music CDs, audiobooks, and books.

Go, surf, swap, prosper!!!!

So the vending machine just didn't do it for you...

what's wrong people! That's classic!!!????

I'm over it!

On to more totally un-interesting observations... Ollie who is still here visiting took me out for a meal last night. And the restaurant served this!



Canada Dry Cola! Who knew... I don't think I've ever seen this... am I just a bad Canadian? Probably.

Work is eeeeeevil... but one more month and I should be officially free from my duties.

No updates yet on the cute puppy... I hope to have one soon.

And just for the record Joey... my washing is blowing off the line.

Another really cool thing about Barcelona...

Is that it is awash with really interesting vending machines. There is a book vending machine at the major train stations and metros... there is a flower bouquet vending machine at the airport an ice lolly/magnum ice cream vending machine at my gym... also found at my gym is this machine...



I know in english if you look at the picture you will read 'anillo' and no that does not mean anus... it means 'ring'... it's a vibrating cock ring no less! Next to it you will also find, tissues, cough drops, slimming patches and of course what every gym goer requires... a blood alcohol tester! All fairly normal? DEAR LORD NO! Ollie and I just had to see how much the vibrating cock ring cost... it was a bargain at 4,50 Euros!!!

Now the the important question...

What is one sale in the remaining rows of said venting machine?

Or moreso... what on earth are people in my gym getting up to while they are there??? Am I missing something?

More rows of this vending machine will follow... bet you can't guess what they vend further down...

Now who says my life is boring?

Insert tiny high pitch squeel of cuteness here...



And yes it's a real dog... and no it is not a stuffed animal... more details to follow....

Incomming

Two paintings comming up... one pinkie and one greenie and bluie... they're in progress but I want to finish them by the end of the day as I've got 4 more after them to do to finish the newest chapter in my collection in preparation for the exhibition.... I've not painted since xmas, it feels strange but good. I don't want to do anything else... I think I am taking advantage of having time on my own here in the flat... our back to back guest hosting commences soon so I know alone time will be a bit more challenging!

gym, i swear I will make it today!

The river up in Sort is running wild, Fredu has been up there all weekend with a group who are taking full advantage and rafting and kayaking like mad. Water doesn't last long here... too hot.

Tomorrow we are going to visit two puppies from the same breeder from which came the lovely brown one I posted about a while back. They are soooo cute. I want to get an idea as to what kind of breeders they are... and if there is even a whiff of puppy mill... then no matter how cute they are I'm not buying! Thanks to Joey to contributing to the puppy slush fund as my b'day gift... and no, just because it's a puppy slush fund doesn't mean the dog will be blue (he he he)

This isn't one of those posts where I...

speak of winning/earning a million Euros... no no this is one where I write about if I won/earned SEVERAL million euros...

If or should I say more positively when I achieve this i would love to buy this place. Not hard to figure out why really... Until then I shall remain positive and focus on other more pressing things like...hmmm REALITY!

I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joey would get this... as in her head she can hear Fredu, Her and I singing this in the street (way off tune) last weekend while walking home... i think she has some low light video of said singing crime but lets not metion that!

But back to bikes... I have been an apassionado of bikes since about 2000 everywhere I end up living it's my choice mode of transport! I still don't quite get it how I had no fear cycling in central london... that was madness!!! Anyhow I dirgess. Here in Barcelona cycling is fantastic. Most of the city is fairly flat and where there are not bike lanes the footpath is sufficiently large to accomodate both pedestrians and bikes, and in general as long as you are very careful no one seems to mind shairing footpath space (roads on the other hand are not an option as the cars and scooters use you for target practise!)... well I have a lovely old bike which I affectionatey call B jr (after fredu's bike which I named B as it's a B&H which is a Spanish brand) but now I have hundreds and hundreds of bikes!!!!!!!

Barcelona has just introduced this really cool suppliment to their urban transport system... other cities listen up! They have introduced www.bicing.com. The concept sees thousands of bikes set up around the city close to metro stations and other busy areas. The concept is that locals sign up and pay a small annual fee which then entitles them to use any bike they want for 30mins for free. They then drop it off at the nearest parking spot and that's it! If you wish to keep the bike for a longer time frame the cost is like 30cents per additional 1/2h... it's brilliant!!!!!!!

The only problem for me is that I already have a bike and now I have so many more I am spoiled for choice I can't quite figure out when to use what!!! Like a kid in a candy store I tell you!

The other day I was filled with glee after a trip up-town to visit my accountant... We realised it was a perfect opportunity to get on the free bikes! we touched in our access cards which had arrived in the post on Tuesday and away we went!!! Now they are not necesarily the prettiest of bikes but weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee it was fun!


Super cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!