"Just" a housewife

David thinks I'm sad!

I just read David my last blog. He thinks I'm silly, but I think I'm doing just what I want. Today I took David to work then went on to have the car serviced. Then I spent a good deal of cash at Target getting the things I'd known we've needed for a while, but never had the time to get.

I spent 3 hours of the afternoon in the hairdressers chair having my hair highlighted and cut (yes I know you all thought I was a real blonde and sorry to dispell the myth!) Then I went home and cooked a healthy meal for David and me - fish, carrots and corn. We also had a lovely bottle of red wine on the clean terrace!

You see that's the other thing about not working...you can watch 'Oprah' and learn that as a woman you're supposed to have Magnesium, Vitamin D, Calcium, Folic Acid and Red Wine every day. Also 3 servings of Mahi Mahi or Salmon a week is advisable. That's what I bought in Target - all those tablets/vitamins. Oh and 'Dora The Explora' pillow and place mat for Lauren's 3rd birthday which is coming up!

Another great day...maybe I can stay home forever...only I seem to be spending $200-300 dollars a day!

Loving Life!

David keeps saying I don't stop smiling. I think given the fact that I've had a smile on my face since Saturday he doesn't want me to go back to work...

Yesterday I woke up at 7:45 a.m. - same time as usual and went off to my chiropractor appointment, but afterwards I didn't go on to work, I went to the gym and attended a 'Strength and Sculpt' class. How come 11 other women ranging from late 20's to early 70's don't have anything else to do at 9 a.m. on Monday mornings? Either way, I was glad I wasn't sat at my computer.

Then I came home and spent a couple of hours washing my windows inside and out in our apartment. And washing all the wood work on our terrace. We love sitting outside there, drinking a beer or a glass of wine, but its usually so filthy you have to watch where you lean. Well I cleaned it all. I also cleaned out the closets and chucked out a load of linens and old pillows and duvets! Then I went off to buy $150 worth of plants to plant in the window boxes on our terrace. By 5:30 p.m. I was exhausted but satisfied that I'd done a great days work.

I hadn't got anyone coverage in the WSJ or Fortune, but I had had a wonderful day. I finished up the day with a shower, a green curry from my favorite Thai take out and some ironing! See you can't waste a minute - even with 3 weeks off!

David came home at 8:30 p.m. after a meal out with colleagues and I just listened to his tales of Text 100, not commenting at all. I was more excited to tell him about my day and the wonderful thrill I got from my window boxes...

P.S. I'm so proud of my clean windows and plant boxes that you can see the result by clicking on the newly created album of photos!!!

The end of 4.5 years...

Yesterday was my last day at work. After investing four and a half years and putting my heart and soul into a job I walked out of the office feeling flat. David's blog probably says more than I want to, but someone mentioned that they thought I was emotional...I think its safe to say my face was etched with surprise and disappointment all day rather than emotion.

My emotion had long gone. I feel a bit lost without my laptop and Treo (I guess that's the life of a hi-tech PR person in San Francisco!) but I'll survive. I'm ready to start a new chapter in my life and between now and then I'm going to enjoy 3 weeks off.

Friendships all over the world! Part II

I had a lovely Sushi dinner tonight with Erica. She works for Text 100 in Amsterdam and will shortly be relocating to Hong Kong. We worked together when I was in London on an particular account that Text 100 had across Europe.

Erica was a demanding and tough Account Director. She was on my case for anything and everything (I was filling in an account hole after someone had left!). At first that's all I could see, the dominant, demanding account director in Amsterdam. Now on reflection, I appreciate she is brilliant. An amazing, client focused individual who is knowledgeable and goes above and beyond every day. Her title is far less than she deserves and I hope she goes to HK and kicks ass!

We had a lovely catch up on clients, people and the life of PR. It was a nice way to start the week. That's what I'll miss at Text 100, working with people from all over the world.

Meanwhile, I'll still have friends such as Erica.

Blast in SF today!

As you know I love my fellow American's dearly and I'm diligently reading my history book in preparation for my citizenship test, but sometimes they're just a bit melodramtic.

Take today for instance, at 10 a.m. this morning a pretty large blast went off. It sounded like nothing I'd heard before, maybe a bomb, maybe a gas explosion etc. For a split second I thought it was an earthquake, but after 7.5 years I know what that feels like now and it was too immediate for that. The explosion was over as soon as you heard it. Everyone in our office rushed to the windows to see what had happened, we turned on the TV and surfed the web. However, withing 15-20 minutes it was apparent that a man hole cover had blown off after a Gas/Electric explosion underground.

Roads were closed and there was an immense flurry of police and fire activity, but we didn't need to evacuate. However, our office felt it necessary to inform the other 150 people in our other North American offices that we were safe. Below is the email that was sent around at 10:27 a.m.

"SF Office fine. There was an explosion a block from the SF office, but we are all fine.  We’re not sure what caused it yet."

Mmm...me thinks they were just a tad melodramatic. Having said that, I'd rather there wasn't any need to be more dramatic when the big earthquake hits.

Honesty!

So I wrote about honesty in my blog a few weeks ago. But I'm having a hard time today being honest in my blog. Everyone can read it. Anyone can read it.

Given that David said a few days ago after reading my blog that, "I'm an open book." I cannot be honest today.

I've never been through so many emotions as I have in the last 6 weeks. Its been a roller coaster.

Roll on Hawaii.

Today I spoke to my neice. I told her that although I couldn't read her a story tonight (it was 8 p.m.) I'll be home at Christmas and be able to read her one then. Today I booked my flights home.

Wonderful weekend despite fog!

Well the San Francisco summer is still in full force. Mid-50's or early 60's and we've had the heating on a bit. The fog hasn't lifted all weekend and I wore all black today. Gotta love the San Francisco summer.

David flew back on Friday and unfortunately, he did read my blog at Heathrow (can you believe I was that stupid?) but he said it made him all the more excited to land and see me with my balloons. Yes I felt a bit silly walking through an airport carrying about 20 balloons, but it was fun!

We had a lovely weekend - despite my hangover from hell on Saturday morning - check out the photos on the blog from our CEO's goodbye party from Friday night. There's about 30 photos in a new album! We spent most of Saturday watching TV on the sofa. Great.

Sunday we had god awful Dim Sum. David and I both discovered we hate Dim Sum. Then went swimming to work it off, followed by my friend's great play. I worked with him at Niku and he's got into amateur dramatics. He was brilliant! www.hectorosario.com/acting

Anyway, a lovely Monday evening Sushi dinner and a glass of red wine in front of the TV.

See - David and I are back to normality and we're loving it!

What a Great Day!

Today is a great day for David. After 4+ weeks of hard work, 3 weeks away from home, and 5 transatlantic flights in a month, today its paid off. I can't go into details, there goes that work confidentiality thing again, but he's a happy man. I'm so proud of him, yet today I felt like that stupid girl in the MTV reality show, The Real World.

Her boyfriend's mother has died, so he'd left the Real World house and gone home to family. He didn't know whether he would return. All the girl could think about was how lonely she was. How much she missed him. And how much she wanted him back.

Well today, on one of my many calls with David I moaned about my day. However, it should have been all about him and the success he's had. So tomorrow, I'm going to pick him up from the airport, with champagne and balloons in hand and decorate the apartment with banners wishing him 'Congratulations' and 'Welcome Home.'

Now all I need to do is hope and pray that he doesn't read my blog at London Heathrow!

Good days and Bad days...

Everyone has good days and bad days. And I've had two good days so I was due a bad one. But come on, is it really that bad. There's plenty people less fortunate than me. As you've probably noticed I've been into sayings lately. Today as I was tidying up my desk (preparing each day for the big move!) I found a book that my friend Heather gave me before emigrating back to her native Australia. Its a book of quotes.

I randomly opened the page at this page, 'We strain hardest for things which are almost but not quite within our reach.' Apparently its by someone called Frederick W. Faber.

Another good one, 'Don't look back. Something may be gaining on you.'

A new life!

How could I start this blog with anything other than the new life of Katie Grace Mayling. She was born this morning at 1:14 a.m. and just like my neice Lauren almost 3 years ago, she won't fully appreciate how much she is loved until she is much older.

My very dear friend Anna gave birth to Katie today and Anna pushed out all 9 lbs 6 oz of her. Although I haven't been able to speak to Anna, I can't convey how much I am wishing her well tonight. Her grandparents, the Sadlers and the Maylings are all around the Derby household and as I spoke to Phil barely 12 hours in to parenthood, he was so excited.

Its times like this when 10 hours plane ride seems like an eternity and I'd do anything right now to be a few hours drive away...

As for me, I've just accepted a new job at a new company. Until now I had to be careful what I said as this blog is public! However, despite two to three weeks of immense turmoil, I know now, its time for me to move on.

Despite David being away for most of my turmoil, I know he's the most important thing in my life and whether he agrees with my decision or not, supports me or not, he's more important than a damn job any day...

You see...its about a new life and existing life. So here's to Katie Grace and David Wilfred! I love you both.