4 weeks to go

Just four weeks to go and Emi and I still don't have our visas. Oh well, there's still time, I'm not going to panic yet. Maybe I'll start panicking next week. I don't like the uncertainty of it. The visa officer told us that she could not foresee any problems, but until those visas and our passports are in our hands again, it doesn't really seem like we are going anywhere. I don't like not having my passport, anyway.

It looks like Emily will have to change her name - we had a charming letter passed on from l'ecole d'Aniane, confirming the enrolment of l'enfant Emilie Rodrigo. Actually I like the French spelling. Maybe she will decide to keep it, I don't mind.

It's a good time for her to be leaving as things have turned to custard in the playground. Her two best friends have decided they loathe and detest each other, and Em is caught in the middle. Hardly a day goes by when we don't have tears of frustration on the way home from school. They are all nice kids, learning to get along with each other. It's hard to watch though.

Al's in New York now. He had a good conference in New Jersey, and is having a couple of decompression days in NY before he flies back.

I still have lots of things to do before we go but I'm feeling really unmotivated. I rarely watch DVDs but this week watched Chocolat (recommended by one of the teachers at school because of its French village setting), Bright Young Things, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Em and I also watched Mrs Doubtfire. I really liked Bright Young Things, and of course Earnest is always good. Colin Firth is such a hottie, and I'll watch anything with Judi Dench in it. Chocolat was sweet, but I got sick of all the chocolate! Judi Dench was good though but it was sheer fantasy really - I mean, who could eat all that chocolate and still be so tiny-waisted as Juliette Binoche!

Speaking of tiny waists, I keep thinking I should try to drop a few kilos before we head off. Our friends in Mexico have promised to put 2kg on each of us in the 2 weeks that we are there, and I am sure I have put on all the weight I lost when I gave up sugar for Lent. I've tried to give up sugar again, but without success. I guess I need the spiritual incentive - giving up sugar for 'ordinary time' seems a bit lacklustre.