Spring has sprung pt 2

Oh spring has officially arrived - the tortoise is awake and doing laps around his enclosure.

In other news despite the local hose pipe ban Mini Limey wont back down....

Pain au chocolat anybody ?

The sheer giddy enjoyment of something for breakfast that includes chocolate!

Spring has sprung!

Here in sunny Blighty, we have had a surprisingly warm morning. To the great excitement of Mini Limey the swing has come out of the garden shed!

Whilst on the subject - I have a new camera a Nikon D70s. So look forward to more shots like this...

Hello Kitty

Attached is on of my favourite recent family pictures that for once does not feature Mini Limey.

Please meet Mrs Limey & Mulder. Mulder is the one in the front.

Operation Limey

Still looking for a generous employer - that will sponsor me for a suitable work permit to allow my family to renew its love affair with Chicago.

Breath of fresh air

My long silence was caused by the fiasco known as 'changing broadband provider'. In this day and age it ought to be quick and simple.

But no here in England it seems I still live in the dark ages.

However - at last I'm reconnected to the outside world at a stunning 10Mbs!

Diet update.... Not such good news with the diet, having trouble giving up beer, pretzels and chips. However I have managed to row regularly (every other day) the required 5000 meters. So fitness wise I am better off - and I have dropped about 3lbs from just the exercise.

If i can just get my food intake under control as well then I'm gonna reap the benefits.

Who told her that?

It seems that Mini Limey is under the impression that when she wakes up in her new bed, she needs to just play with her bears under the duvet until Daddy or Mummy arrive to collect her...

I have no idea why she thinks this but I'm very happy with the arrangement.

As her room is next to ours its possible to hear her talking to her toys...

Unexpected Bonus

When I was made redundant from the Pharma / Diagnostic company in November I was seriously concerned about my future.

It's not that I have a shortage of skills - its more that I have a young family depending on me to keep the money flowing.

However work has not been in short supply and what's more - the income earned is more as a freelance than I was earning before.

What has REALLY surprised me though is that I had forgotten just how much I enjoy doing the technical stuff myself. Before my redundancy my employer had made me a manager responsible for a large budget and a number of staff. Which actually equates to doing a lot of management and giving all the juicy technical stuff to my reports to develop them. This is a good thing to do as a manager BUT not the most rewarding thing if you still want to do these things.

So thankyou name deleted for allowing me to do again what I do best - and enjoy most.

Big day (or night)

Yesterday was another milestone in the development of Mini Limey.

It was the day she moved out of her crib into a proper bed. I don't know about her, but I was anxious on her behalf. Would she keep getting up, would she be scared - and would I wake up 37 times in the night to her little face saying "drawing!" or "train".

The good news is that she slept right through the night. The bad news is that I didn't and wok up possible 37 times worrying.

Ironic really - spend all that money on a quality bed - and then get the worse nights sleep in years!

False advertising

When I quit smoking about 2 1/2 years ago - everyone told me how much better I'd feel and fitter I'd be. So why is it that I still feel no different - but I have gained 30lbs... So by reducing my chace of dying of cancer - I seem to have increased my chances of a heart attack. Still no-one said life had to be fair.

White noise

Another day - another dollar. Am still working for a cable company on contract doing Server operations. That should keep me busy until the middle of Feb. After that its back to the agencies to see what else is available.

I have decided to lose some weight and get fitter.
From Monday I will start using my ConceptII rowing machine again and being faithful to the South Beach diet. My regular reader (The Writer) can be sure of a blow by blow account of how the new regime progresses.

Oh and I also passed my first Microsoft exam (70-270). Thats one down 6 more to go....

Before you ask - i want to shed about 30lbs (15kg). If i make progress I'll deliver some before and after pictures.

Finally here is a picture of a local castle conspiring to impress the pictured friend. Come back soon! xxx

Must try harder

Its 2006 and guess what I have not posted in weeks.

I have just been scalded by my good friend The Writer from The Chicago Notebook about my lack of output. So just like the school report of a failing student I promise to try harder.

The real problem is that so much of what happens to the Limey family I just assume is of no interest... I'll just stop doing that - try to write a bit every few days and see what happens. Any feedback is (most likely) appreciated.

Mini Limeys love of various foods is well documented. Just for the record here is a very happy looking girl with a Christmas Lunch!

House Dad

With my exciting new freelance status - I have suddenly found myself without work for a few days. Meanwhile Mrs Limey has embarked upon a day training for her new part time job.

The upshot of this is that Mini Limey and I just had the time of our life! Homer Simpson once christened it "Daddy-Daughter day" but that does not do it credit. I spend lots of time with Mini-me but rarely is it completely alone time.

So much fun was had - that by the time Mrs Limey came home Mini me had lost interest in her almost completely. I just hope the reverse doesn't happen to me too quickly. The only real concern I have is that by this afternoon I knew all the words to most of the Balamory songs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/balamory/

The voice of reason inside my head tells me that its just the novelty of having Dad all to herself all day. However I can't help hoping its because I'm just best.....

Changes Update

Well blow me down - seven days after being advised that I am no longer of interest to my old employer I have a new job.

Its a contract in Central London (booo to all the extra travel) that means I'll be aprox 2.5 times better off than I was before.

This needs some processing. There I was feeling a bit sorry for myself feeling a bit hard done by - and it appears that actually the buggers have done me a HUGE financial favour.

Changes

Well bearing in mind the rule about work and blogging - I have parted company with my now previous employer.

My face no longer fits, so I have been encouraged to find something new.

So here I sit pondering my future, wondering if what's just happened is an opportunity, or if not how to make it one. I recently wrote that it is our desire to return to the USA specifically Chicago. I am hoping that whatever new opportunity I can find will lead me in that direction.

That would after all be surely FATE in action.

I sit here writing feeling very uncertain about what comes next - but certain that I will make the best of a changing situation.

Operation Limey Return

During my professional career, it has been my pleasure to work in a number of foreign places - Hong Kong, Tulsa OK, Frankfurt and Chicago.

Of all the places I have visited it is Chicago that has captured my heart.

The places, the people, the attitudes, the restaurants all reached out in that unique Chi-town fashion, grabbed my heart with both hands ... And then attempted to throttle it.

I have been back in the UK with Mrs Limey and Mini Limey for 2 1/2 years now and yet still I find myself missing the place and most especially its people.

It is worth pointing out here that usually I am rubbish at keeping in touch with past colleagues and friends - and yet against the odds I am still in touch with my friends from Chicago.

So Operation Limey Return starts here. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but somehow; some way we need to return to Chicago and make it our permanent home.

There - it's recorded on the web now so I can't back away and pretend I never said it.. Everybody knows, after all that everything written on the web is absolutely TRUE.

New Bond - Times Online

Now this is an export to be proud of.... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1825992,00.html I wonder if all spies look this classy in the CIA ?

I'm ready for my photo Mr DeMille!

This is a genuine candid moment captured by a friend at a recent Saturday lunch.

Mini Limey had wandered off and came back with the friends tatty old fishing hat as you see it here.

Limey frustrations

Can anybody suggest where in the UK I can buy Thanksgiving cards.

Having a number of friends in Chicago I thought I would plan ahead and purchase a couple of cards. I visited my local Hallmark shop and was advised by the dopey assistant that Hallmark did not make Thanksgiving cards.

So that's all right then.

Bloggers block

I have read recently about a number of writers that have gone dry during the creation of a book. I am not a writer, but seem to have lost the ability to find anything at all interesting to blog in the last few weeks.

According to Dooce.com - THOU SHALT NOT WRITE ABOUT WORK ON THE INTERNET. This much I understand as I have no desire to annoy my employer. So the fact that the last two weeks has been completely mad due to an impending project completion is completely off limits to my blog - including the amusing anecdotes about that evening when I.....

Due to the workload I have not seen as much of my family as I would like. So there is another source of inspiration removed. So what on earth can I write about ?

Thinking here whilst I drivel on the screen - that considering I have nothing to say - I still seem to be managing to write something