Glen and Heather's Adventures in Houston

Our First Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:35:00 +0000

Every year, Thanksgiving falls on the 4th Thursday in November, this year that was the 26th. Traditionally, American families get together to give thanks to God and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. But the first Thanksgiving is meant to have been held by the pilgrims of Plymouth harbour who famously sat down with the native Americans to share their harvest.

This year, as Noel and Lou have seen it all first hand, they offered to host us for Thanksgiving dinner. The traditional meal is a roast turkey with American style side dishes like green beans cooked in mushroom soup and candied yams topped with marshmallows. Between the two chefs the Phillips came up with loads of dishes incorporating the American classics with British staples like Yorkshire puddings and good old roast potatoes! The guys did a great job and we were stuffed by the end of it, which is all part of the tradition, of course!

The following day is always ‘Black Friday’, supposedly the day retailers go into the black for the first time all year as everyone makes use of their extended weekend to start their Christmas shopping. Here’s Glen getting into the Christmas spirit!

Heather

Snow in Texas!

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:52:00 +0000

Exactly as forecast, Houston had snow during the day today. Although there was a few flurries last year, a southern state like Texas doesn’t handle it very well and employees at our apartment complex were sent home early to avoid the busy roads in rush hour.

The cats were not keen on the unusually cold temperatures and refused to go out on the balcony today. Instead they have spent most of the day sleeping. Alright for some!

Heather

My 30th Birthday & Las Vegas!

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:43:00 +0000

I reached the ripe old age of 30 on the 11th November so to show how grown up and mature I have become I thought I would celebrate in Hooters!, well it was “Wingsday Wednesday” and the chicken baskets were on special..

After the meal was finished the girls of Hooters all came over and sung a birthday song for me and I got a souvenir photo:

(all Heather’s idea – honest! She joke’s that I told her Hooter’s was an '’Owl Sanctuary!”)

The best man at my wedding, was in Houston for the week so he visited NASA (Heathers third visit with guests in as many weeks!) and shopped till’ he dropped. On Thursday we flew to Las Vegas to meet another old friend of mine living in Chicago. We were all joined on Friday by two work colleagues and friends and has a really great, childish, barely sober time. We stayed at the Flamingo – because it was a decent cheap hotel right on the strip and not because Donnie and Marie Osmond were playing!, but my favourite casinos were the Bellagio, Paris and New York, New York.

The spectacular fountains outside the Bellagio

Somehow after three very late nights of eating, drinking and a fair bit of gambling I managed to leave Las Vegas with $400 more in my pocket than when I left Houston! Must be birthday luck ;o)

Some more photos are available here

Now I am back in the baby zone and we are attending classes, buying everything we will need and we are both looking forward to January!

Glen ‘Lucky’ Chambers

Baby Shower Surprise!

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:11:00 +0000

Last Sunday after doing our chambermaid bit in the spare room, we picked up Neil from the airport as he was coming to stay for a few days before the boys all went to Vegas for Glen’s birthday. Normally, when guests fly in we like to have a BBQ at home on the first night to welcome them which Noel and Lou join us for. Only this time, Noel and Lou had just moved to their new apartment up the road so instead of BBQ-ing at Bayou on the Bend, they invited us over there. I thought this was so they could show us round the new place, but Lou was secretly planning a baby shower and had invited Mike and Laurie over as well.

Baby Showers are an American invention where, typically, ladies get together to shower gifts on the new expectant mother. None of us had ever been to one, so Lou had to research what you’re actually supposed to do! This shower took the American traditions and added a few new ones… like the guys! They were allowed to come too, which was nice.

Glen was in charge of supplying a list of the sorts of things we needed and hadn’t yet got for the baby and he did a great job, even if he didn’t grasp the concept of a baby shower straight away! He even kept the whole thing completely under wraps so that when I walked in the door I had no idea what was going on! It was the best surprise ever!

Lou had decorated the cabana area, which is an outdoor covered patio with a fire place, with balloons and banners and prepared some games for us to play, as is customary at a shower. One of these games was ‘guess the size of the bump’ which involved each of the guests cutting a piece of string to the length they thought would fit around my widest point. Glen went for the ‘safe’ option and cut his so small he couldn’t get it round his own waist, let alone mine! Everyone else guessed a little big, so we have some predictions for full term size already. The winner was Neil who accurately judged it to within about 10cm.

Kylan (Mike and Laurie’s 1 yr old) enjoyed the chance to run around the outside space and provided us with a few insights into what to expect a year down the line. We were impressed with his sign language skills which are currently way better than mine. I must read up before our baby arrives!

As you can see from the photos (thanks Lou for helping with the photography!), the gifts were amazing. Mike and Laurie, Noel and Lou and Neil all went to town in Babies R Us and Next mixing the practical and the cute to ensure we had everything we needed to prepare for the baby’s arrival. We were astounded by everyone’s generosity, so thanks again everyone!

Heather

Jacqui flies in for a visit

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:37:00 +0000

The day after Johnno left, Jacqui flew in from Dallas where she’d been staying with friends for a visit. Jacs is familiar with Texas already, so knew exactly what she wanted to do and see and peanut chocolate ice cream from Baskin Robbins was high on the list!

Being a big country music fan we also spent some time in the CD section of my local Walmart super-center where she picked up a few of the new releases while I browsed the baby aisles!

Jacs enjoyed pleasant 75f sunshine while she was here which was nice for November and a vast improvement on the previous week which saw heavy rainfall and flooding. It was the perfect temperature for a bit of winter tanning on the roof.

The finale of the visit was a night out at Wild West where Jacqui got to do some drinking and cowboy bothering!

Heather

Houston in Houston

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:13:00 +0000

For the last two weeks in October, John Houston came out to see us. After a brief delay at the airport where security had trouble getting their heads round the idea that someone called ‘Houston’ was coming to Houston, we were ready to go have some fun, Texan-style!

There was plenty Johnno wanted to do while he was here so we packed in as much as possible. First off was an American football game down at the Reliant Stadium. As you can see from the picture above the cheerleaders were out in force to welcome him! And there was plenty of Bush on show as both former presidents took to the field as well. Just a couple of days later there was more sporting action for the boys when they went to the ice hockey. This time it was downtown at the Toyota Center. Luckily it was a quiet game as I managed to book them seats which were a little too close to the action!

I thought Johnno might like a little bar I found in Rice Village where they do nothing but Chocolate. And indeed, it seemed to go down rather well. This is Mr Houston with his ‘starter’ a chocolate drink and cookie. He went on to indulge in a brownie as well, but had to admit defeat half way through! To the right of the shot is my ‘Snowberry’ ice cream. Chocolate dipped strawberries blended into white chocolate ice cream – amazing!

For John, no trip to Houston would be complete without a trip to the Space Center that bears his name. He hears ‘Houston we had a problem’ all the time in the classroom, so it made sense to check out where the magic happened for real. As you can see, he seemed to enjoy himself!

Heather

Birthday Weekend in San Antonio

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:54:00 +0000

As it was my 30th the other week we decided to take a trip out to San Antonio with Vicky and Jon while they were here. SA is about 3 hours away to the West along a very straight road, so it wasn’t hard to find! It’s also a well travelled route, so we had no problem finding a smoke shack on the way down for some lunch Texas BBQ style!

As we made our way down there the weather took a turn for the worse and Glen had to drive through torrential rain. Although the skies cleared later in the day, the cloud cover brought chilly temperatures, the lowest we’ve seen since arriving in the spring.

Shortly after arriving we headed straight out in search of the largest cinnamon roll in America. We’d heard that a 3.5lb roll could be found at Lulu’s which was a short walk away and it didn’t disappoint. I’d like to tell you we ate it all, but even between the 3 of us we hardly made a dent in it!

Once we’d all eaten more sugar than is medically advisable we headed back to downtown to see the sights. The Alamo was smaller than I imagined, but I guess a lot of people say that? However the exhibition and museum inside were entertaining if a little tiring to walk round. I spent the last 15 mins on a bench resting my feet while the others finished off. Next up was the Riverwalk where restaurants and bars line the river. It’s a very pleasant place to visit, but extremely touristy. I was quite glad we didn’t get a hotel along it. Also, in the cooler temperatures we were experiencing all that shade wasn’t as necessary as it might have been in the height of summer. We popped down there for happy hour hoping to get a good deal on appetizers and cocktails but it was tricky finding a menu Vicky could eat. Most things were deep fried which didn’t appeal to any of us, but we got there in the end.

While we were there we decided to visit some theme parks and that it would be best to split up for that. Vicky and Jon did the white knuckle rides of 6 Flags and Glen and I went for the more sedate setting of Sea World for our day out. Glen was still able to ride a couple of really big roller coasters (with the advantage of skipping to the front of the line because he was a lone rider) and I could enjoy the shows from the comfort a nice seat! And the shows were spectacular. I don’t remember them being any where near as good in Florida, but that was a few years ago.

The weekend was finished off with a birthday visit to Fogo de Chao, San Antonio. We love the restaurant in Houston, so decided it was a good place to go for dinner. Turns out it was even better than we thought as the one in SA is cheaper than the one in Houston! Always tastes nicer when you’re making a saving!! This slightly rubbish picture (below) was taken by the waiter. Don’t quit your day job, mate!

Heather

Flooding at Bayou on the Bend

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:19:00 +0000

After heavy rainfall last night we woke this morning to find the gardens of our apartment building have been completely flooded. The bayou which runs along the gardens is normally behind steep 8 foot banks, but today they are fully sub merged, along with most of the grassy areas downstairs.

Luckily the building is designed to withstand a bit of flooding which is why its build on stilts, but it must be annoying if you have a dog who now has no where to pee! Our cats are not too fazed by it, but did have a good look through the balcony railings this morning as if they couldn’t believe their eyes.

According to Weather.com the worst of the rains has passed so now we’ll just have to wait and see how long it takes for the water to go down.

Heather

Top Gun

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:43:00 +0000

Whilst Vicky and Jon were visiting we decided to visit Top Gun range, one of the local venues where you can lose the stress of the day by blowing away hanging targets – just for fun.

As Vicky and I had never held a live hand gun in our lives we shared an instructor and got taught the basics before unleashing on the range. Even holding the gun when you knew it wasn't loaded was quite scary and shooting it gave you quite a buzz (almost feels wrong saying that!)

It turns out that Vicky is a secret assassin and has the natural eye of a marksman. She peppered the target with disturbingly accurate shooting, me on the other hand would have left any assailant in a lot of pain and most likely dying very, very slowly.

Here is Vicky on the range, the paper target is moved up and down the range at the press of a button so its all quite safe. Now I have done my basic training it costs around $30 to hire a gun and ammo next time I want to let off some stream.

There are all sorts of guns available such as Glock’s, Beretta, Hecklet and Koch and Colt. Jon having extensive past experience from his time in the military selected a .45 calibre “hand cannon” and the noise was extreme – even he looked a little shocked by the power – but looked right at home. Seriously watch out for those two in a combat situation – lethal :o)

Heather could not even enter the range being pregnant and enjoyed some peace and quiet instead.

Glen

From Footballers in Pink to Snow White Tees

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:46:00 +0000

This week we’ve had Vicky and Jon staying with us, so a packed itinerary was planned! They arrived on Saturday, and we kicked off Sunday morning with brekkie at the Inn at the Ballpark and a visit to the reliant stadium. The midday kick off was the Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders and in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Week both teams

were wearing something pink. Vicky can be seen here in her special edition Texans hat with pink visor. The game, although hard to follow for those who hadn’t seen it before, was an exciting one and was an easy victory for the Texans. Makes a change from watching the Astros loosing at Baseball!

On Monday we had tickets for Snow Patrol who were playing a small venue downtown called the Warehouse Live. It was about the size of the Southampton Guildhall so it made for an intimate gig. Snow Patrol aren’t nearly as big in the US as they are in the UK, so it was great to catch them at a smaller venue for a change. The Plain White Tees who were supporting are almost as well known, particularly as they are from Chicago, not the UK.

I was lucky enough to catch Snow Patrol at the LG Arena (formerly the NEC Arena, Birmingham) earlier in the tour which was a much bigger concert. I definitely preferred the smaller setting, especially because the venue were so accommodating. I rang them during the day to let them know I am seven months pregnant and to see if there would anywhere to go and have a sit down if it all got a bit much. We were amazed when we arrived to be led straight to the front where there was a roped off seating area, presumably for friends and family of the band. We got our own seats in a standing only venue and a fantastic view of the stage. So far the show wins ‘Best Concert Ever!’

Heather

Zoe and Emma Do Houston’s Malls!

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:15:00 +0000

Last week my former colleagues, Zoe and Emma came out to Houston for a visit. The girls are legendary shoppers and didn’t disappoint! During the week we visited the Premium Outlet Mall, the Galleria, and Memorial City Mall – a couple of times!

As the days went on the spare room closet filled up with shopping bags and shoe boxes as the girls took advantage of the exchange rate bargains. They managed to completely wear me out, so I was glad when the sun came out and they hit the pool for a few hours. Just enough for a daytime power nap!

The highlight of the week was a club called Wild West Houston where they play a mix of country and chart hits. Luckily Zoe had a quick lesson on the ‘Texas’ two step by a friendly gent in Bubba’s bar a few days beforehand so was a natural when she hit the floor! As you can see, they had a great time at the club and tried their hand at line dancing (shown right) as well as the standard two step. In the end it didn’t matter that we didn’t know the steps as it turned out that there was plenty of willing partners there to teach us!

The club was a fitting place to end the week before I drove the girls back to the airport the following day with heavier bags and lighter wallets. Ladies, you’re welcome back again next year for all your 2010 wardrobe needs!

Heather

A long awaited visit to Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:09:00 +0000

Matt’s only lived there for about three years, but we finally made it over to visit him in Chicago this weekend.

The weather was unseasonably gorgeous as you can see from the brilliant blue sky reflecting off the ‘bean’ in this picture. Chicago's full of sculptures and public art like this piece which made it a fun place to visit with my new camera!

During our three nights we were there we fitted in dinner at the Signature Room restaurant Hancock tower, took the architecture river tour and found a new love of all things ‘Coach’ down the Magnificent mile. The city has a lot to offer and we definitely plan to plan to go back again when we get some time as there’s still things we haven’t seen.

Matt’s apartment is in a place called Bucktown which reminded me of a London suburb. It’s lively and full of independent boutiques, bars and restaurants. It’s nothing like Houston as (bar a trip to the supermarket) we didn’t use the car the whole weekend! It was so nice to just walk around and get public transport for once. Plus Chicago’s downtown is close to the lakefront and really is beautiful. We should send Houston’s town planners up there to see how it’s done! Those things either side of the road with the people on? They’re called SIDEWALKS!

Huge thank you to Matthew for putting us up. Come on down to Houston and we’ll repay the favour!

Heather

Sleepy time.. Zzzzzz

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:04:00 +0000

Heather and Mojito have a synchronized break..

Dolphins at Surfside

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:17:00 +0000

As the Altius BBQ was to be held at a beach house in Surfside, Texas Glen and I got to stay down there and make a weekend of it.

Altius USA booked the Texas Star beach house (shown above) which was right on the beach as you can see. It made a wonderful base and we made the most of the proximity to the sand and sea.

Luckily for me, the conditions at Surfside were perfect, as I won’t go in the water if it looks scary. The waves weren’t too high, there was no sign of any jellyfish (even though the water was warm), and it was free from seaweed, rocks and other sea bottom debris. And it wasn’t just me that liked the water, it was clear from all the fishermen standing out in their waders that there was plenty of fish around as well. Every now and then a big one would leap over a wave a few feet away and disappear again. Then, when Glen and I were out for a swim a whole shoal of smaller fish came in with a wave and leapt in all directions around us. It wasn’t until 5 minutes later that we realised why they’d been swimming so fast. The shoal were being round up by a herd of dolphins who were coming into the bay to feed. The first thing I saw was a dorsal fin about 100 metres away and we had to double check it wasn’t a shark! As we watched the dolphin surfaced and dived under again followed by a smaller one which could have been its calf. The two swam a little closer and then turned and moved away just as everyone else was getting into the water.

Although seeing the dolphins was a highlight, the rest of the weekend was most enjoyable. All 6 Altius employees and their families were there and it was a good chance to get to know everyone. The BBQ was catered and delivered in and Kathy did an excellent job of organising the event. So much so, we’re thinking of going back sometime on our own.

Heather

Right – Lou took this shot of me and Glen on the beach

The Cats Help Choose a Name

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:19:00 +0000

Now that we know we’re having a little girl Mojito and Daiquiri have started looking through the baby name book to give us some ideas.

After an hour their best suggestions were ‘Mojita’ and ‘Daiquirina’. Thanks guys…

It’s a girl!

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:41:00 +0000

We had our 20 week scan today and it looks like I'm going to be outnumbered - we are having a baby girl! (Gyno was 95% sure)

~~Although that means more shopping and pink everywhere~~ We are both thrilled. The 12 week photos were clearer but it was enough to indicate that everything looked healthy.

Head and body.. (she wouldn't turn around for us!)

Spine

Little waving hand..

Little feet

Our next appointment in one month were apparently we have a much more detailed scan.

Glen

A Visit From The Parents

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Last weekend my parents came down from Alaska to see us for the weekend. Dad’s working in Alaska for a month and now that Mum’s retired she’s been able to go with him. As they were the same side of the Atlantic as us for once, it seemed like a good time for a visit, so they came down for a few days over Mum’s birthday.

As they flew in early in the morning, we thought it best to go out at lunch time for birthday celebrations before they started falling asleep, so we headed out to Fogo de Chao for the lunchtime sitting. Fogo is a Brazillian steak restaurant of the type they call a ‘Charrascaria’ which means the steak is cooked over a flame on a skewer and carved at the table. To say it’s an all you-can-eat restaurant would be doing it a disservice as the quality matches the finest a la carte that Houston has to offer. There is an enormous salad bar which has everything from asparagus tips to European cheeses ( a real delicacy here) and everything in between which you can visit as often as you like. On top of that there is a team of circulating waiters with up to 17 varieties of meat on offer between them. When you’re ready for meat you put your card on green and watch as the staff flock to offer you house special steak, bacon wrapped sirloin and fillet mingion and when you’re stocked up the card turns over to the red side indicating you’ve had enough for now.

The parents gave the proprietors a run for their money and between them and Glen ate more steak than the money would buy them in the UK! Fortunately, beef is much cheaper here so Fogo’s profit margins should be able to take the battering they got. I was a little slower as I am only allowed well done meat cooked all the way through making everything I ate a special order. At least that stopped me over-eating!

Just as we were getting ready to leave the heavens opened and we were greeted with torrential rain. Unfortunately, that meant we had to hang around at the bar until it cleared so we made the best of a bad situation and ordered cocktails!

Heather

Loco paving!?

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:27:00 +0000

So it’s Thursday, 14th and when I leave for work everything is normal. When I return in the evening this poster is on the door that leads from the car park to our apartment hallway:

So my first thought is what the hell!? Thanks for the warning “management”. So I have the Friday booked off as Heather’s parents are coming to visit and they put this up saying they will be halfway through major renovations -meaning we can’t access our own front door for the majority of two whole days! So understandably we contacted management, who barely knew what was happening themselves, and assured us that we wouldn't be cut off and they would tell us before blocking access to our apartment. Well as you can guess they didn't…

On Friday we collected Heather’s parents and then after a while in the apartment catching up decided to go to the pool, we opened the front door and Heather’s mother put her sandal straight into fresh cement – nice. After clearing that up and calling over a Mexican workman we got them to literally build us a bridge to get out. The next day after the floor had been leveled they printed it with a pattern and I got home to this:

Again I thought, good work, sigh..
After briefly wondering if there had been a murder in the apartment I just had to limbo through the tape and do a mission impossible style banister shuffle and finally I was home!

Beautiful Sunrise

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 20:54:00 +0000

I never get bored of seeing this when I eat my breakfast on the balcony in the morning:

It's the one part of the day you don't need air-con, shortly after this it gets really hot and you have to retreat indoors.

Glen

Congratulations Noel and Lou!

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:12:00 +0000

This weekend Noel took Lou on a mystery weekend away to New York and they came back engaged! Well done to Noel for pulling out all the stops. He’s certainly made Lou very happy!

Here she is flashing the new bling. Top points AGAIN to Noel for choosing such a nice sparkler and getting the size right. We’re impressed!

It seems everyone is getting married or having babies right now. Must be we’re all getting to that age! All the photos of this summer’s weddings on Facebook make me want to go back and do it all again! It’s nice to know that if the urge ever takes us, the ideal venue is just up the road. ‘Heather’s Glen’ is a wedding venue just outside Houston. Ideal!

Heather

Mojito: A living ornament

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:33:00 +0000

A sleepy cats new favourite hiding place..

Shakespeare in the park

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:24:00 +0000

Last night we watched an excellent performance of Twelfth Night at the Miller Outdoor Theatre and it was free – something I am always a fan of :o) It was a balmy 85f and you sit on a grassy bank facing the stage. The theatre is in a park only 15 minutes drive away so very convenient and you are welcome to bring your own beers, food and chairs/picnic blanket.

Earlier in the day we had to go to IKEA again! For some final pieces and after all that exhaustion we had some pool time with our books as we realised we hadn't actually used it for weeks and were looking a little pale! Sounds crazy but we tend to avoid the sun so much because of the searing heat between 10-4 we needed to top up our colour.

Here is Heather relaxing on the roof with downtown Houston in the background (her pregnant belly does look bigger when she is standing up).

Looking ahead we have Heather’s parents arriving for a visit this coming Friday, the first of a steady stream of visitors all the way through to November, which will be a lot of fun.

Glen

The tooth is out there…

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:15:00 +0000

This weekend Glen & I got to know our new dentist rather quickly! On Friday the toothache that Glen had been experiencing on and off all week got to a critical point and he called me saying he needed a dentist appointment as soon as possible.

I made a few calls, but every practice I tried seemed to have their answering machine on. After a while I got one which stated their office hours and it revealed that they were in fact closed on a Friday afternoon. Apparently, most dentists are closed at this time as they like their weekend, but we were lucky enough to find one which was able to see Glen.

So at 6pm I took him down there and Dr Adibi got him registered and took the necessary x-rays. The practice is very well equipped and the examination was done using a small camera so that Glen could see what the dentist was seeing. I was also allowed in to watch the show. The dentist’s tests revealed that Glen had an infection behind one of his teeth which is why we couldn’t see it. This was made worse by the fact that it was in the same area as an impacted molar (a wisdom tooth which had grown horizontally instead of vertically). We came to the conclusion that the offending tooth would have to come out and Glen was very brave about the decision. I, on the other hand took the opportunity to duck out before the blood started flowing and left Glen in the care of the dental nurse.

Half an hour later, a slightly groggy and sore Glen was ready to go home. All of Friday night and Saturday daytime he was really under the weather, sometimes with the pain and sometimes with the side effects of his anti-biotics and super strength pain killers. To make things worse for Glen he wasn’t up to eating solids and wasn’t allowed any milk or dairy, carbonated drinks or alcohol. So his usual morning cereal was out, as was white coffee and tea, ice cream and beer – all weekend staples! Usually at the weekends we eat what we like as we’re sensible during the week, so as Glen lay on the sofa on Friday night feeling like he’s never chew steak again he cursed the healthy salad he’d chosen for lunch! To while away the hours he made a mental list of all the things he wants to eat when he gets better. I have a feeling I’ll spend most of next week cooking!

In a few days, Glen will pop back to the dentist’s for a check up to see how he’s doing. Dr Abibi’s practice is also conveniently located just down the road from our apartment which was an added bonus. We were lucky we’d found him as Dr Adibi teaches during the day and runs an out of hours practice in the evening to keep his hand in. So not only was he the perfect choice in an emergency, he’s also going to really handy for Glen as he’ll be able to pop in after work for follow up appointments.

Heather

Hotel Chambers is Open for Business!

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:23:00 +0000

It’s taken 3 trips to Ikea and a lot of careful planning, but we’ve finally finished the spare room on time and under budget! Thanks to some great offers at Ikea we were able to get the bed, mattress and everything else you see here for less than $500. Not bad at all!

The only problem is that even though we have our bikes stored in the corner, the room is so big it still looks a bit bare in there! I guess once it’s got occupants with suitcases it will look busy enough. First to test it out will be my parents who are due over in a couple of weeks.

Heather

Cirque du Soleil at the Toyota Center

noreply@blogger.com (Glen) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:03:00 +0000

This weekend we picked up tickets to see Cirque du Soleil’s new show ‘Saltimbanco’ at the Toyota Center, just down the road from us in downtown Houston. Getting there was so much easier than fighting your way into London, we just hopped in the car and parked in the adjoining car park for $2.50! You wouldn’t find prices like that in the West End. The ticket prices themselves went from $100s of dollars to be right at the front to just $40 for a seat in the upper circle. Even with taxes, parking and a ‘convenience fee’, it’s still a good deal.

We went along with Noel and Lou, and Lou’s Mum who is visiting at the moment. Us girls knew exactly what to expect but the boys had never seen Cirque du Soleil before and weren’t entirely convinced when they went in. The Saltimbanco show was of the usual calibre and contained acts and equipment I’ve not seen before alongside some tried and tested favourites like the plank swing which always goes down well. It didn’t fail to amaze and all around me our group was open mouthed with astonishment as we watched the acts. Definitely think we’ll be going again next time the troupe is in town.

Saltimbanco is touring so go see it if you can. And let me know how much you paid to park, just for my amusement! ;-)

Heather