Oh Fancy That, Legal U Turns and Record launches

WW was good this week and I’m excited about losing 10lb, but also fed up that I’ve got a way to go. When you’ve decided to get on and lose weight, you want it to all come off straight away don’t you.

In the WW sessions we chat about various themes each week and the leader Chaz always has funny stories to tell us with motivational soundbites meant to enthuse us for the following week -things like ‘mindful eating’ and ‘plug and chug’.

No one is obliged to talk about their weight loss if they don’t want to, which is refreshing and certainly keeps you coming back, even if you haven’t done so well on a particular week. People raise their hands to discuss their own thoughts and at one point I was encouraged to say that the thing that has made me exercise is making a day when I always go with an alarm on my phone and also that I had bought a new swimming costume. The room went silent and Chaz looked very confused. It was if I had started speaking in a different language. Chaz then said ‘oh you mean bathing costume’, they had a little chuckle about my English words, then moved on. I wanted to stop them and say, hang on, ‘swimming’ costume is the right description for what you swim in – you don’t bath in it do you?

The other words that came up in the session was zucchini and egg plant. I wonder how it came to be, that those words could be so different between the UK and US.

I also had a chat with Stef, discussing how much weight I want to lose, and she had no concept of what stones are, as Americans only think in lbs – again weird!!

My WW app has stopped working and Ive no idea why, nor does anyone else it seems, after I spent 2 hours at the Apple Store and at least an hour on the phone with WW – very frustrating. It’s a shame as once you get a system that works, you want to keep doing it. It may have something to do with the fact I had been using a UK version and cant seem to download the US version on my phone.

I have finally found bread that isn’t sweet. Everything has corn syrup in it and

having looked at all the nutritional labels, I've discovered its everywhere. They definitely have a sweeter tooth here. People say it is because there are a lot of corn farmers in CA. Sourdough bread is now my favourite. I miss crumpets actually – weird the things you miss.

Talking about things I miss, I went to meet up with my new friend Elaine from Choir to visit a shop in Tarzana which sells English goods. I drove to her house in Woodland Hills and realised I was doing my usual trick of driving on fumes. Actually, it took me a little while and the Mini handbook to realise where the petrol gauge was! First thing you should do before you get on the forecourt is to check you know how to open the petrol cap and check which side it was. I used Marks bank card as the petrol machines don’t take any cards I have, and the banks here need an address with my name on it before they’ll even consider giving me a card – all rather frustrating. I have however, already chosen my card design which has BB8 on it from Star Wars. Anyway, I digress (as usual), I filled the car fully up for $30, it is so cheap here.

I’m sure I have mentioned before that the Mini sat nav is an American lady who I’ve named Nora, who keeps shouting at me to make a legal U Turn – a legal U turn on a dual carriageway??? - I ask you! Needless to say my journey always involves getting lost and taking the wrong left/right turns. I now realise that when she says ‘get ready to turn’, it doesn’t mean to turn straight away, but it probably means in the next mile – painful!

Anyway, Choir Elaine lives up in the high hills of Woodland Hills. I drove into the driveway, got out and locked the car. A man drove onto the drive next to me and looked a bit cross. He questioned who I was. It turned out she had given me the wrong house number and she was next door. At least it isn’t just me 😊

We drove to ‘Oh Fancy That’ and I had a wonderful time looking at lots of British groceries I’d missed seeing. It was a tiny shop all ridiculously expensive, but worth every penny/cent!

I bought Weetabix, scones, pickled onions and beetroot and baked beans, none of which can be found in any shops here. $9 for the Baked Beans gives you an idea of cost. :-O

I went to Mali, the hairdresser last week and had a trim and detox. My hair does feel a lot better and the whole experience was lovely. I was made to feel very welcome and had the lovely tea, but no dates this time. Bit early for wine.

I was sat next to a lady who obviously knew Mali well. She had an in-depth conversation about extensions with Mali and another customer. She was my age and I have to say, didn’t look like she had extensions, well if she did, she must have had really thin hair without. Clearly this whole line of conversation was completely over my head (literally!) She then told us all about how stressed she was about her child’s school. Apparently, it is a private school attended by Halle Berry and a Kardashian child amongst others. I tried to look impressed. It cost her $35,000 a year she said. When they join the school, they have to sign up to annual ‘voluntary contributions’ and volunteering in the PTA, as well as signing a driving and parking policy, which doesn’t allow you to be on site without having at least three children in your car (a pool car she called it). She has been sent a bill for a driving violation of $250 for each parent, so it would be $500. The caretaker and School nurse take it in turns to watch parents come in. She was livid as she said that she didn’t commit a violation. Can you imagine a British school charging parents who come onto site – we’d have a riot on our hands? The difference is that she was just so grateful to be part of the celebrity school, although I’m sure it wasn’t just that.

I helped her put together an email in which said she wasn’t going to pay as it was the gardener’s word against hers. I also suggested that she pointed out that they should consider the parent/school relation being important etc etc.

I also had a lovely chat and cup of tea with a neighbour called Marla this week, who I’d met in the first few weeks with her lovely golden Labrador called Teddy. Lulu and Teddy got on like a house on fire and she was keen to have a few walks together which will be nice. She was a Graphic Designer, but doesn’t really draw anymore as she has retired. She told me all about another gym called 24Hr Fitness, and that she had switched from LA Fitness. So I've signed up for a free week there and am trying it out. It would be nice to take some of the classes with Marla. I took the first Aqua class today and already the instructor called Veena asked my name, admittedly because I was doing one of the moves wrongly and she did start by saying 'lady in the purple', which I completely ignored as my swimming costume is wine coloured, but she did say 'well done' later on. We even had music while doing the class, so it was much nicer. Veena is an actor really (as are many people here) and has just been given a part, so cannot teach the next two weeks of classes as she is finalising the auditions. The film is called ‘Last Conception’ – sounds interesting?

Mark and I went to a gig on Friday at the Hi Hat in North LA, near Pasadena (which I hoped was nothing to do with drugs). We were invited there by Mark’s boss Therese, as it was her daughter Rosie Tucker’s record launch. Therese's husband is a chaplin and they arrived in the biggest truck you've ever seen, to give us a lift. I have to tell you it was so high, it was an effort to get in it. Parking it, when we got there, was even more of a challenge! As we went in we had a stamp on our arm which said 'Spazz' - highly inappropriate I'd say!

We watched a band on before Rosie called Ruby Throated which was a punk style band with a girl singer with bright orange hair – brilliant sound, but not sure about the name.

Rosie’s band was fantastic and the atmosphere was very cool. We chatted with a few more of Mark’s work people there and I met a lady who was Therese’s best friend – we got on like a house on fire and she is coming to the party. Now I am worried about what food to serve….

I have been cornered for the second time by several girls scouts selling me their cookies. I didn’t have the heart to tell them I’m on a diet.

Saying that I made scones this week for my third friend get together. I invited Hippy/Cool Jennifer round for brunch.

My scones were a disaster – more like biscuits and I nearly gave myself a hernia trying to whisk the cream. Jennifer didn’t seem to mind to much, but seemed perplexed by my ramblings about Devon and Cornwall versions of spreading jam or cream first.

In my packing up from the UK I found a glass painting kit I'd bought 10 years before, so I thought I'd set up a craft session and Jennifer and I had a fun afternoon painting some glasses.

Today I was walking Lulu and as we walked butterflies were filling the air coming up from the clover in the long grass, it was beautiful and Lulu running along made even more fly up into the air. Try as I may I couldn't capture how lovely it was.

I also met a nice lady there called Jade and had a really good chat about Brexit. What a bloody mess!

Whatever happens, just hoping its alright for you all and just to say I do have spare bedrooms here if needed. Mind you, we have Trump here!