London Calling

(Yes, I used the most obvious title ever. And now it's done.)

I leave for London in exactly a week. I drive north to Seattle, fly to Iceland, change planes, and fly to Heathrow, arriving around noon on July 14th. I'll be in London for a three-week, six-credit program offered by Florida State University. Then my kid comes and we'll spend another week exploring London, Paris and Iceland.

I'm a little stressed. A lot needs to happen in the next week. Today, for example, was the day I was getting my hair cut and colored. Until the stylist called in sick. Rescheduling is going to be problematic--the only days I don't have things going on are Sunday and Monday, days my stylist doesn't work.

Tomorrow is my oral exam for my Masters degree. I need to buy champagne and peach schnapps and practice making bellinis. There's really no other preparation I can do. "Oral exam" sounds scary--like "defending your dissertation." But everyone I know who has been through this process says that our orals are more like a one-hour conversation amongst friends. Our conversation topic: YA lit. So this can't be anything but fun. And we'll have bellinis and some sort of fabulous baked goods that I'm not providing. Awesome. I'm bringing a stack of books as examples of interesting YA book design, since that was the topic of my final paper.

I still need to buy a few things for the trip. I need to sew a backpack, since I couldn't find what I wanted, and make some pajama pants. I need to get my suitcase out of the closet and see if everything fits in it--and it weighs under 45 pounds.

I need to make 28 meals and freeze them for my family, so that they eat while I'm gone. Just kidding! I don't really cook; they're going to be on their own, like usual. They may not even notice I'm gone.

So wish me luck: I'm off to see the sights, meet new people, and learn some stuff. It's going to be crazy fun!