Is it written in the stars?

I'm not a believer in horoscopes, though I do find them amusing from time to time. And for some reason, during my birthday month, I always feel compelled to check them out. I do tend to read both Capricorn and Aquarius, since my birthday is right on the cusp, but here are two of my favorites both from Capricorn:

On my birthday - "To a certain extent, every Capricorn begins a new cycle at the time of the new moon in your sign. It's just that because it takes place on your birthday, this marks a turning point of serious proportions. While leaving parts of the past behind may require courage, in doing so you're clearing the way for the promising developments in the future that will come your way from here onward."

And from this week- "Drink plenty of water, dear Capricorn, in order to keep your system properly hydrated. Water is the most important part of your diet, and it is likely that you are not drinking nearly enough. Being a water sign means that this element is the foundation of your being, making you extremely emotional, caring, and sensitive. Make sure to distance yourself from people who try to suck this life force from you."

This cottage caught my eye on our walk on Sunday, in particular I think because of its own cute little post box set into the stone wall (right side of the photo).

In case you can't get the perspective from the picture, this is actually a police dog training ground (the jumps and walls being much smaller than those used for horses). We passed along beside it on our walk through the hills of Guildford...

Rob and Nicole, probably both with the pub already on their minds as this was the second half of our walk!

More birthday fun

So, on Friday I had a very nice evening, catching up with an old high school friend. He'd been in London for a week on business, and was actually looking around to find a flat for himself and his wife. He'll be moving here next month for a year or so, on a contract through the American company he works for...and his wife, lucky devil, will spend the year traveling around Europe as she pleases, since she will not be working over here. We had dinner at a little tapas place near Hyde Park, and finished at a lovely wine bar in Covent Garden. It was very nice to have someone treat me to dinner and drinks, and also to hear from someone who hasn't seen me in years that I look good ;) Apparently, I'm very fashionable too! Oh, and, a girl who was a good friend and teammate in high school is moving to Spain in July, just after she and her fiance get married-- I now have her email, and as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait-- guess I'll be going to Madrid after all, sometime later this year!

Saturday I was pottering around home, doing home management tasks as we would call them at work, relaxing, and sleeping. But early Sunday morning, I was up and out of the house, and on a train for my last trip out to see Rob and Nicole in Guildford, before they move. It was a beautiful morning, a bit windy, but a bit sunny too. We went for 4 mile hike in the hills around Guildford-- there's some beautiful countryside right near their flat. They then drove me to the Half Moon Pub in Windlesham, near Bracknell, which used to be a favourite of my parents'...every time they had guests whilst they were living in England, they took them to this pub. It had changed a bit- there was an addition to the pub, in which they now have a proper restaurant, still keeping the pub bit of course. The big dog was missing, and there was no fire as it was too warm for one, but otherwise it was exactly as I remembered it. The food was just as yummy, and I had some Hogs Back T.E.A. (Traditional English Ale), which really went down a treat! I hadn't been familiar with that brewery until I went to the Reading Beer Festival last spring, but now I definitely look for it when I'm at country pubs. And thus ended my week-long birthday celebration, although technically my yoga and hiking weekend in Wales coming up on Friday is a birthday gift to myself.

Lots of stuff happening at work, but I'm still processing info from the Bobath course I was at on Thursday and Friday, and need to do some reflections for my CPD on what I learned, as well as update my CV, so I'll get into what's happening with my patients another time.

Looks like Viv and I are leaning toward Peru, final decision probably tomorrow or Wednesday. :)

One from the pros

This company, Tilllate.com, sends photographers to the big club nights, all over Europe. They were at ClubClass as MoS this past Saturday, so here's one I found on their web site of me and some of the girls.PS- I saw the big red fox again today on the pedestrian underpass of the Green Man Roundabout...I'm beginning to think he's good luck, and I get such a rush of happiness when I see him.

A brief interlude with snow

Lots of things happening around here. I woke up this morning to find an inch of snow on the ground- good packing snow too!!! It was gone by the time I left work this afternoon though :( Most of you probably know I absolutely love snow, so unfortunately this was just kind of a tease. Guess I'd better put together a ski weekend in Austria or something if I want to really see some snow this winter. It's finally starting to act like winter, what with this small bit of snow, and I actually had to wear my winter coat one day this week. I suppose it's too much to hope for a real snow storm around these parts.

I've got some more pics from my birthday weekend, although I've realized I didn't take any at the pub on Friday night. Oops. It was such a crazy day at work, with me running around like a chicken with its head cut off, I guess I was just too busy relaxing with friends and colleagues to think of my camera at the bottom of my bag.

Speaking of birthdays, my blog is officially one year old today. Who knew I'd keep this up for that long?! It certainly helped to keep me sane during my day hospital rotation. I don't blog as often now as I did whilst working there, but I still look forward to writing, and getting emails with people's responses and comments. Although, y'all do still remember you can click on the word "comment" and leave a comment right on the blog, yeah? ;)

Oh, and speaking of birthdays again, my Dad's is coming up. He and my mom were in Florida this past weekend for a surprise 60th birthday for Jenn's mom, at the Disney World resort. Yup, whilst I was partying here in London, they were partying in Orlando. Oh yeah, and Tress was partying in DC since she is still hanging around home for medical treatment of her arms (poor thing, she's bored stiff and can't wait to be cleared to go back to Africa). We get around as a family, eh? So my mom, sister, and I arranged for a luxury bass fishing trip for my Dad whilst he was down there-- I initially wanted to send him deep sea fishing, but for various reasons, we switched to bass fishing closer to Orlando. I think that's probably the first original gift I've ever thought of for my Dad. I always try to get personal when I give gifts, and I'm usually pretty successful, but I've been stumped for as far back as I can remember with my Dad. Oh, he's a Terry Pratchett fan, so I always buy the latest books, he loves puzzles, so I get interesting puzzles for him...but I was very proud of this fishing idea, and apparently he had a great time. Yay!

Tomorrow begins the second module of my Bobath course, which I am very excited about, so I'll just post a few more pics now, and then I need to read through the material we were given for tomorrow. One of my patients has been chosen to be our patient model, so I'm really looking forward to getting normal movement treatment ideas for her!

Nicole and Rob, looking like the cat who swallowed the canary for some reason. He got his passport back with fiance visa in place by post yesterday, big sigh of relief for them, the wedding can go ahead as scheduled! Keep scrolling down for more pics of just some of the people celebrating with me on Saturday night...

Sarah and Andy, whom I met through Jo

Jodie and her husband Rayman, who are Australian. You may remember hearing Jodie mentioned as my savior whilst working at the day hospital- I got to work with her on the wards in the afternoons.

Jo and James, who've just bought a little house in Clifton-Upon-Dunsmore (near Rugby)

Me, Karen and Jo, who was apparently giving me bday kisses ;)

Erm, I don't know...some lucky random clubber who was in the right place at the right time to get a birthday hug from me ;)

What a weekend

Well, my birthday weekend was a blast...I had half a thought to extend it and take one of my remaining annual leave days on Monday to make it a long three-day weekend, but then I remembered a home visit I had scheduled, so off I went to work yesterday. That's okay though, I'll take that day off on Friday Feb 2nd, which is the weekend of my yoga and hiking trip to the Brecon-Beacons in Wales. And then I've allocated my other three remaining annual leave days to a trip back to the States. I found an amazing fare online, so I will be going home for a couple of days, driving up to Boston for Nicole and Rob's wedding, then coming back to NJ in time to catch a flight to Peru or Costa Rica with Viv (we're deciding and booking everything this week), followed by a couple more days at home before I come back to the UK. Woohoo, let the new annual leave time begin! Five weeks of vacation a year definitely does make Allison a happy little worker bee. No word yet on my next rotation or potential move to Senior II, but you can bet I'll be posting on here when I do.

Anywho, on Saturday, we went to this amazing little restaurant/bar in Shoreditch called Cantaloupe. Limited menu,with a Spanish-North African influence, but everything was delicious! Everyone absolutely loved the meal, and it turned out to be quite the popular bar as well. Our meal ran pretty late, and the bar was just rammed by the time we left. 15 people decided to sing "Happy Birthday" at the top of their lungs (a few of those were big blokes with some sizeable lung power) and I was burning bright red by the end of the rendition, realizing quite a bit of the bar had joined in...I was bombarded with calls of "Speech, speech, speech" and then forced to deliver one standing in front of both strangers and friends. As embarrassing as that was, however, it was also a lot of fun, and I got a taste for being up higher than everyone else-- I later took advantage of the speakers at Ministry of Sound to dance on a stage, as it were. Technically not allowed, according to a sign posted on the speakers, but then nobody kicked me off either. Ministry was fun, although the "house" music tended toward techno and electronica. Around 2am, a live band went on, which I loved, but the headliner DJ who was on from 3:15 to 4:30 or so was a bit of a let-down, even for Nicole's boyfriend Dave who had been really looking forward to hearing this guy spin. But regardless, it was a great night, and I spent most of Sunday sleeping to recover, only getting up to join Nicole and Dave for a curry in the late afternoon. After which we watched Arsenal beat out Manchester United-- our house being Arsenal supporters :) I've got a few pictures below from Nicole's camera, haven't uploaded mine yet. Again, thanks to everyone for the cards, messages, flowers, and pressies!

I think that this was just after they'd finishing singing, and everyone was starting to realize most of the bar had been singing along...you can see I've already flushed red.

One of the side rooms at MoS had a cool leather bed with chain links hanging down all around it.

Looks like we're up to something, doesn't it...

Me and some of the girls...Nicole, Kate, Jodie, and Jo at the bottom (there were two Jo's there, the Jo you'll see in the next pic is a different one).

Not the greatest pic, but that's me and Jo, up on the speakers at MoS! And funnily enough, you can see one of my heels attached to the strap on Jo's bag.

"Go shorty, it's your birthday...

We're gonna party like it's your birthday. We're gonna sip on Bacardi like it's your birthday"
# # # # # # # #

"Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day. I got a beautiful feelin', everything's goin' my way"
# # # # # # # #

I know, I know, it's a horrific mix of genres, but it is my birthday, and for the first time in a while, it is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, and although there are setbacks happening on the stroke unit this morning, it seems like nothing can get me down. Many thanks for the birthday messages and e-cards I have already received earlier today!!!! I woke up and stumbled downstairs as the zombie I normally am in the mornings, only to find a big sign plastered onto our hallway mirror that said "OVER THE HILL" highlighted in bright orange with a picture of an old lady knitting. I think I woke up both Nicole and Leeanne, I was laughing so hard. It is such a typically American way to take the piss, I knew immediately it was Nicole who put it there.

I have two sad stories this morning-- one of my little elderly ladies was scheduled to go home on Monday, which was already a delay from the original date of discharge this past Wednesday. She is the first person I have ever met who was "in service." She was a maid in the household of a posh Welsh family, and has loads of fascinating stories. She now can't leave on Monday, because they want to do an MRI and see if she needs surgery for a blocked carotid artery. If I were her family (and they are very unhappy about this), I would complain, because her D/C had been scheduled, she'd had a previous scan where they told her they thought everything was ok, and now at the last minute have changed their minds. And then there's another lady in her 60s, ready to go home for a visit this weekend, and then be discharged a week from Monday, but she did something very unsafe last night (poor insight and safety awareness can be such a problem with patients who've had a stroke), fell, and fractured her femur. So, no weekend visit, and she's being transferred to the orthopaedic ward.

But at the risk of sounding uncaring (which you all know I'm not), the sun is still shining, and I am not going to be brought low today. I will deal with these problems as they arise, comfort my patients, and keep my sunny mood. Happy Friday to you all, and Happy Birthday to me! Lots of love, Allison.

The Birthday Week

I was at one of my quarterly AMPs meetings this afternoon, which means I was at the Institute for Neurology in Queen's Square. This put me within short walking distance of Covent Garden. Some simple addition: It's January. I am the only person I know who has plenty of money left until next payday on the 31st. My birthday is on Friday. And the January sales are on...so yes, this equals Allison went shopping. For as much as I have boasted that I don't shop, I save my money for travel, this month, I broke that rule. Got some great stuff, and boy was it fun :)

Plans are coming together for the weekend. On Friday for the benefit of my co-workers, I decided to stay close by, and chose a pub that's a popular meeting spot for work things. I invited everyone on the stroke unit at the beginning of this week, and the OT team from the day hospital too. This morning I was in the main department for our weekly meeting with the acute stroke unit, and saw a big sign plastered on the door of the main office telling everyone to come out for my bday after work on Friday (thanks to Nicole, the little sneak who emailed someone in that office). So Friday has actually turned into quite the big event. But Saturday is the still the night we will be painting the town red. I've just now made reservations for 14 people for a restaurant/club in Shoreditch. We'll have some drinks at a bar or two in Shoreditch after dinner, during which time about 6 more people will be joining us. And finally around 11:30 or so we'll end up at Ministry of Sound, where at last count 10 more people will be arriving. I have a fabulous new birthday outfit with some new red lipstick too-- I figure this birthday calls for a little drama, don't you?!

"15 Minutes"

Last week, in one of the free London dailies, there was a picture of a guy riding on the underground, looking like a working stiff-- Ipod earbuds, bored look, wearing shirt and suit jacket with a poppy pinned to it. (As the news story later revealed the photo was taken during November, a time where many people wear the poppies because they are a symbol of Remembrance Day- equivalent to our Veteran's Day). The photo was apparently taken on the sly by a girl from Bavaria visiting London. She was too shy to approach him, but not too shy to take a picture. After returning back home, she apparently regretted being too shy, and started emailing his picture all over the place (the news story says it circulated among 1000s of Londoners), in the hopes that someone would recognize him, and help her to get in touch. I guess the email landed on someone's desk at this paper, they published her story and the photo, and within a day, he was found...Ben Moon, 27, and newly single as of 2 weeks ago. Talk about your timing! The paper is now offering to fly this tourist back to London to have a date with Ben, once the two potential lovebirds have agreed on a weekend. So for a short while here, at least until the date happens I presume, these two have landed themselves their very own 15 minutes of London fame It's a funny old world :)

And in other news, there is actually a serious campaign happening at the moment, sponsored by the Scottish National Party, to have Scotland separate itself from the United Kingdom. More at the BBC web site. So let me add, it's also a crazy old world.

News from the world of CVAs

Hardly feels like 2007, eh? Not all of 2006 passed in a flash for me, in particular those bits related to my rotation at the day hospital. Unfortunately now on my stroke unit rotation, it's like my life is on fast forward. I have less than 3 months left, and I try hard not to think about the withdrawal I'll probably experience once it's done. Everyone on the team would love to have me repeat the rotation, but it's too popular of a rotation- there's no way the Head OT will let me do that. So my only hope to stay in stroke world is the acute unit, which is on the Senior II rotation. I'm still waiting on word from the Head OT as to whether she'll be allowed to hire to that rotation. If the answer is yes, I'll probably be interviewing in late February, and assuming I were to get one of the posts, I'd most likely be slotted into Orthopaedics until the Senior II rotation changes in early July. At that point, fingers crossed, I'd be assigned to the acute stroke unit. In the meantime, I'm still looking at all the job adverts I can find, as what I really want is to be on a stroke rehab unit. Since I can't continue on the unit here after March, I have to look at other hospitals, and hope they don't count my need for a work permit against me, like the Homerton did (very famous regional hospital in East London, with specialisation in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of higher level cognitive disorders-- for example, Dysexecutive Function). I have a guy on my caseload right now as a matter of fact, who is fully functional on a physical level, but unable to cope with problems/new settings/changes/novelty because of higher level cognitive deficits caused by his stroke. He's been accepted to the Homerton, but there's a long long waiting list for a bed, and we're pulling our hair out because we're not specialised enough to provide him with the treatment he really needs whilst he's waiting for a Homerton bed. Which could still take more than 2 months. Argh.

Technical Difficulties

I apologize, although I changed my playlist at Loudfusion.com on Wednesday, they seem to be taking much longer than usual to catch up. Previously, it has taken up to 24 hours or so for the player on my blog to reflect changes I make to my playlist at the Loudfusion web site. Not sure what's happening at the moment, but if need be, I'll take the player down next week, since unfortunately, Christmas is over, until next December at least...

Tune

This is a relatively new song here in the UK by Mika, it's called "Grace Kelly" and I doubt it has hit the US yet. Catchy... and as they say here, "Tune!" (pronounced like Toooooooon) It's the only thing on my MP3 player for the moment, but I won't leave it on too long for fear of boring y'all. :)

Ramblings

I've been having trouble falling asleep the past couple of nights...I suppose it doesn't help that I got the TV series Bones and NUMB3RS on DVD for Christmas, and the episodes can be gruesome. I find that my patients run through my head a lot as I toss and turn. Funny how, even with six patients, which I consider to be a light caseload, there never seems to be enough time to do everything I want to do for my patients, to do everything they deserve. I guess part of that problem is that OTs in this country are at least half social workers as well. Today in particular I spent probably 3/4 of my day on the phone with various patient issues. During our multi-disciplinary meeting, we were interrupted 5 times, all calls for me with regard to one or another of my patients. The rehab assistant was all apologetic for taking me out of the meeting, but these weren't issues she could just take a message about.

Anywho, I've been craving a latte this week. I think I must be growing up, I had two coffees during the holiday week. An eggnog latte when I met up with Rob and Nicole at Heathrow on the 23rd, since we were all flying out the same day. And a peppermint mocha latte whilst I was home. I'm sure at least a few of you are groaning, thinking to yourself, ha! that's not coffee, the same way I get protestations when I call california or avocado rolls, sushi. But hey, for a girl who has shunned coffee all her life, this is a big thing. I'm using my hours off from the relative group I ran in the beginning of December to take off from work early on Friday, and do a bit of January sales shopping. Maybe I'll treat myself to a latte then. :)

I was also remembering my trip to Macys at 7am on Christmas Eve, whilst lying in bed last night or the night before. Nature called, so I turned to the sales lady and asked where the nearest toilet would be...she stared at me, and finally said, "Ah....you mean the bathroom?" Which made it my turn to stare at her. Finally, I burst out laughing and said," Yes, I mean the bathroom, I'm sorry I forgot I'm back in the States. That was rude, I'm very sorry." At which point she started laughing, and pointed a finger in the direction I needed to go. My mom was also in hysterics, having lived in England herself for 4 years, and made some crack along the lines of "What country do you think you're in, lady?" An observation: I think the English are rather European, which explains a lot of phrases that they use, and it's common across Europe to ask for the toilet, or perhaps WC, a bathroom being more that place where you take a bath or shower. But generally speaking, I do think I've absorbed more of the British culture, it has become more second nature, than it was when I first arrived.

I've been out tonight for a leaving do for the speech therapist on our unit. She's moving on to a research position elsewhere, and a lot of people, not just from the stroke unit, went for drinks and a meal at the local pub. I am a big fan of the pub life, as I've said before, it's an addictive piece of British culture that makes you feel cozy, intimate, generally warm and fuzzy all over. City pubs can't compare to country pubs for the most part, but pubs are homey places, and I love whiling away the time with friends, down the pub. It was also a great time to keep building the buzz for my bday plans. Paris is not happening, that's a definite, we couldn't get a big enough group together and I think you need that energy for a night where you are out partying until 9 or 10 in the morning. Also, many people are currently experiencing money problems-- you see, we get paid early in December because of Xmas-- specifically we were paid on 20 Dec. And we don't get paid again until 31 Jan. So many people have already spent most or all of that money they got in December, and cannot afford Paris this month...so we've agreed we will do the Eurostar party fare and cabaret night a different month, probably this summer actually. But Plan B ain't too shabby either-- we're going to Ministry of Sound, baby!! Huge nightclub in London, known worldwide for the famous DJs who play there, they put out compilation CDs every year, mostly house music. I knew I'd have to go at least once, and this is the perfect excuse. It's not an expensive entrance fee either, so we'll have dinner and drinks first, haven't decided where yet, and then we'll dance our hearts out from midnight to 7am. And this plan is drawing a big crowd of people to join me, both because it's reasonable on their wallets, and you mention Ministry of Sound and people are hooked. So I'll do something more low key for my actual birthday on the Friday, and ramp it up big time for a massive Saturday night out on the town!

My Horoscope

"Your values could undergo a 180-degree turnaround today, dear Capricorn. Recent developments in the world, in your community, among your circle of friends, and within yourself could cause you to realize that you and everyone around you is, like it or not, going through a transformation. This is always a little disconcerting for the traditionally oriented Sea Goat, but it's a positive development. Take things one day at a time and see where they take you. You'll like the results!"

Two peas in a pod

A Zen koan, to paraphrase:

If you want to find something, you have to stop looking.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And, she's back

I went to the GP yesterday. What a mess that was. They only had one doctor, or so they said-- it looked like two when I got there-- so I couldn't actually make an appt, but had to call the morning I wanted to go in, and they would give me a time. I missed a half day of work due to that little system, argh. Anyway, I didn't want to see the doctor they offered, I've had him before, but that's what they offered. So I walked in, sat down, and the first thing I said to him was, "I'm here because I've had a cold since October 22" and proceeded to describe my symptoms and what I've done for my cold. He listed to my chest, found it to be clear, and began to tell me I should keep using expectorant cough syrups to get rid of the phlegm and paracetemol for headaches. I was at a loss for words, I just stared at him...so he said, well, look, you've only had this for a couple of weeks, right? And I said, "NO, since October 22! I would never normally come in for just a cold!" His eyes widened a bit, and in a quiet voice, he said "Oh, ok then, we'll try some antibiotics." I just love doctors who don't listen to a word that comes out of your mouth. By tomorrow, I should know whether they're making a difference or not, although I think already that perhaps they are. Touch wood.

A summary of my holiday week at home: I was on the wrong time zone all week. I woke up at 4am the first day, and got better by about a half hour each morning, so by the time I left, I was "sleeping in" until about 7am. I had my best night of sleep on January 1, which was my first night back in London...hey Midge, does that mean that GMT is actually the time zone my body wants to be in? (I remember you saying the US felt like the right time zone to you.) I did quite a bit of shopping, taking advantage of the excellent exchange rate (well, for those of us who live in the UK anyway), and my mom's generosity. On Christmas Eve, we were in Macy's by 7am, since I'd been up at 4am and was bored by the time Mom got up around 6am. I went with Tress to her hand doctor appt- we both decided the guy was an idiot, given that he didn't do any testing of strength, function, or sensation, didn't ask for a history of the problem, didn't look at her splints, and discussed one potential diagnosis with us, but wrote down something completely different as diagnosis on her prescription for therapy. Oh, and I especially loved the part where he told her to go get some blood tests done to see if it was arthritis or fibromyalgia! Thankfully, Tressa didn't really know what that was, but it scared the hell out of me the way he just tossed the term out casually, and without explaining it to her. Fibromyalgia is widespread pain affecting muscles, ligaments and tendons all over the body, is quite severe, and lasts for years. Nope, no thanks. Anywho, I had the name of another hand surgeon recommended by an OT I'd met through housemate Nicole, and we got her an appointment with that doctor for two days later. He seemed to be competent, and told her he thinks she has tennis elbow in both arms, suspects she has muscle tears at both elbows, and that the pain in her wrists and hands is referred from the elbows. No one seems to know exactly why the pain travels along her forearms as well, the radial nerve tunnel on both arms- she underwent a rather painful nerve conduction test at his office yesterday to make sure there's no nerve damage. And he told her no physio- just relax and try not to do things that aggrevate her arms (to the extent that is possible).

We spent Christmas Day with the Florys, Jenn and I continuing our tradition of cooking a gourmet feast for our families, although a toned down version since no one wants to work hard on Christmas Day. Standing rib roast, shrimp fra diavolo, twice-baked potatoes filled with cheese, shrimp, and sour cream, cauliflower au gratin, and pannetonne trifle for dessert. I've got a few pics from that day, see below.

Spent a lovely spa day with Viv and Rhonda, I had a Swedish massage, manicure and pedicure. And an absolutely delicious meal at Delta's in New Brunswick, a soul food restaurant- blackened catfish, mm-mmm.

We entertained the Heilalas at our house, played some Wizard, learned an addictive new game called Blokus, and generally had a good time.

I visited with a previous patient of mine from when I worked at Roosevelt, he has come a long way in recovering from his stroke. It was really amazing to see what he has accomplished since going home, and I enjoyed catching up with him and his wife.

Oh, yes, and Viv delivered the bad news that since she has just bought a new townhouse and does not yet have renters for the old condo (poor baby, she's just racking up the assets), she has backed out of our trip to Thailand and Philippines we've been planning for the last year. Therefore, I am thinking I will attend Nicole and Rob's wedding in Boston the last weekend in March after all, or at least I hope to, and I am trying to plan a trip to Peru (Machu Picchu at long last!) or Costa Rica from the US whilst I am there.

Oh, and it looks like I will be going to Paris for my bday after all!!!! Two takers so far, and I'm thinking more people will say yes...how can you say no to an authentic top-notch Parisian cabaret, I mean come on! You can't say no. It's going to be fabulous...

This pic was used for the 2006 Johnson Family xmas photocard. Some of you may find them in your mailbox this week...

We girls were very good this year...we rated a personal visit!

The family Flory. My Jenn is in the middle, with her fiance Chris next to her.