The move is done... well, almost!

It's hard to believe, but our move is complete! Well... All of our belongings are in the new place, and the old place has been cleaned from top to bottom. Did we mention that we're done almost a week early! That has got to be some kind of McGlynn record!
Seriously though, we worked like stink and got it all finished in really good time. We're now slowly getting unpacked at the new place, and hopefully it won't take us too long. We're pooped, and ache all over, but hopefully that will be the LAST move we do for a very long time! (Well, at least until Emily's done studying at Cambridge, and then who knows where we'll end up!)

Can't wait to show the new place to visitors, so if there is anyone who would like to come and check out our new digs, just let us know!

The joys of moving...

Moving to new place always seems like a really great idea... until you actually have to move! One never realises all of the "STUFF" they have accumulated until you actually have to pack it all up and shift it to a new location. It hides in corners, cupboards and essentially dissapears from the naked eye. Stuff, stuff everywhere!
Maybe the key to moving success (which Kevin and I have not yet mastered!) is to hire someone else to move for you... Have some other poor souls enter the house, pack all the stuff up and have them break their backs carrying it away!
But NO! Still in the student way of thinking, Kevin and I are undertaking yet another move on our own. This time, it really is on our own, as we've not yet made good enough friends that we can trick them into helping us moving!
So we're currently up to our eyeballs in newspaper, boxes and it is beginning to look like the house was tipped upsidedown and shaken.
We have 2 weeks to move into the new place so we are taking our time, but by golly, I'll be glad when the next 2 weeks are done!

Running...

With football (soccer) season over and ice hockey concluded, I currently don't have any regular exercise lined up for the forseeable future. So to get myself active, and to explore some of the area we're living in before we move (have found 3 small lakes I never knew existed... am up to 6 now), I have started running. Either in the morning or over a lunch break. It seems to work well for me... as long as you don't listen to my cranky knee.

If anyone has some advice for a novice, I'm all ears.

On the move... again.

We're moving yet again. We've enjoyed our place in Cambourne (10 miles west of Cambridge... hate that I'm using miles, I think my dad is snickering somewhere). In the end it was just too detached from Cambridge, for Emily's work and school. For me, working from home, it was too remote. So, we're packing up and moving... again. I feel like I'm 5 all over again, and moving around the country (except this time, the country is England).

We're super excited about our new place in central Cambridge, near lots of green space. Click here for a map

We move in the 2nd week of April. The address is:
8 Brunswick Terrace
Cambridge, UK
CB5 8DG

We hope people can come visit us. hint hint.

Back from Italy...

San Vito, where Jeff & Jocelynn live

Well, we're back from a fantastic weekend in Italy with Jeff & Jocelynn... We really do get spoiled when we are there! (Thanks guys!!)
We enjoyed relaxing coffees in the sunshine, looking out over the snow capped mountains. We spent a fantastic day skiing with Jocelynn on some of the most amazing slopes you can imagine! As the day was quite cloudy, there were hardly any people skiing so it literally felt as though we had the whole mountain to ourselves - it was outstanding!

Skiing at Cortina

Kevin & I on the slopes!


Snow on the fence at the top of the mountain

We also got to enjoy a hockey match - Jeff and his team were playing in the quarter final match against Milan. They won easily, so that meant fun was had by all after the game with a few pizzas and a few refreshing beverages.
We finished up the visit with a fantastic dinner at a mountain-top restaurant - delicious steak, and yummy desserts!

But more importantly, we got a chance to visit with our great friends... so nice to see them. Wish that we still lived across the street from them! (Oh, Milton!!)

Italy here we come.... again!

Tomorrow we will be returning to Cortina, Italy to spend some time with Jeff and Jocelynn Maund. As it's considered to be the "Aspen" of Italy, we're hoping to be able to do some skiing and other fun winter sports, as they seem to be seriously lacking here in the UK. Don't let the 2 freak snowfalls fool you!

No doubt we'll have a great time, and we'll be able to report back with lots of stories and pictures of fun and frivolity in the Dolomites.

Another bit of great exciting news was that Sabrina and Dave Hall had their baby on the 13th of Feb- a little girl named Nicola! Welcome to the world Nicola!

Ciao Ciao!

Sporting weekend

After the win
Originally uploaded by mcglynn99.

It was a great weekend for me sporting wise. A big win for the old Oxford team on Friday in Nottingham (I had 2 goals - should have been 3 - and 2 assists), and then Emmanuel had a big football cuppers match against the top college team in Cambridge on Sunday. We lost 2-1 but really gave them a run for their money. We're a 3rd division team and we could have beaten the top team in division 1... definitely a good showing.

Maybe next year...

The best thing is that Emily was able to come out to both matches, so she has a bunch of photos of both games (these two included)

Lining up the wall
Originally uploaded by mcglynn99.

Rocky Horror bop

Rocky Horror bop
Originally uploaded by mcglynn99.

We had a brief visit back to Oxford a week ago. Sharon's parents were in town from S Africa, and in typical Oxford style, we went out drinking (at a college bop).

Props to Nathaniel for a brilliant version of Riff Raff (I'll get Em to upload her pics to flickr one day soon).

I also got to hook up with the football lads from last year and helped them win a cuppers match against Exeter... it was great to see them all again. Good luck boys in the cup & table.

Funny story: we were having trouble getting a hold of Kev & Lucinda during our weekend in Oxford. We actually drove past them on the way back to Cambridge as they were off on a weekend break of their own.

Snow in Cambridge

We awoke yesterday morning to a blanket of snow covering the Cambridgshire countryside! After a "green" visit back to Ontario over the Christmas holidays, it finally felt like winter has arrived!
Although the snow didn't stay for much more than a few hours, it was lovely to see.

humingbird

humingbird
Originally uploaded by Oxford Emi.

We sure don't see these lovely little things where we are in Cambridge!
:o)

Calla Lily, Costa Rica

Calla Lily, Costa Rica
Originally uploaded by Oxford Emi.

We had a fantastic time in Costa Rica, and had a brilliant time indulging in our latest hobby - photography. WIth all of the the beautiful flowers, natural beauty and wildlife (Kevin and Chloe included!), the photos really took themselves. Visit our "Flickr" sites to see more of them!
The photo record that we've got of our holiday really helps us get through the British winter weather!

Our jungle trek

We're back from Costa Rica and had an amazing time visiting Emily's family. Chris and Rocio were so accommodating... there normal house hold of 2 swelled to 7 for two weeks. It was a wonderful time and we were happy to have a good visit with Granny and Grandpa Savage.

It was also fantastic to see Chloe whom we hadn't seen since last Christmas.
Between New Years, Christmas eve parties and visits with Rocio's family, not to mention hiking and exploring the rainforests and volcanoes, we had a wonderful time... and can't believe it's over.

And our Christmas adventure begins

Off we go...

Kev flies back tonight and I fly back next Monday. I'm hosting a big lecture on Friday that I can't miss: details here (email me quick if you're interested).

Then Tuesday we're off to see Dad, Rocio, Chloe and my grandparents in Costa Rica... we're both super excited. We return Jan 2 to Canada for a week and will post a bunch of pictures then.

For those in Canada, we hope we can meet up for a quick visit. Kev's mom is having an open house in Jan that I'm sure all are welcome. Ring/email him for details.

If we don't see you, we hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

with Love,
Kev & Em

Em's online

100_5029
Originally uploaded by mcglynn99.

Check out this article of Emily and what she brings to the department she's joined.


Click Here for her article
(it's a great interview)

In this pic, we're enjoying Christmas drinks at the Emmanuel MCR Christmas party.

Jeff&Joce, UK

Jeff&Joce in London
Originally uploaded by mcglynn99.

Hurray! We had Jeff & Joce come visit for almost a whole week. We did lots of site seeing.

- Cambridge
- Emmanuel
- pubbing
- London
- paying for London
- snap-happy women
- more pubbing

it's ok, we're all covered by the 3 year warranty.

Great visit! Next stop, Cortina.

Grandma

On Dec 3rd, it has been 1 year since my Grandma, Betty McManus, passed away. We miss her alot, and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone at the service in London, Canada.

More friends in Cambridge

Thanks to Paolo being in town for a short school-related visit, we had a night out. P, good luck on your med school entrance to Cambridge (Wolfson). If you don't get in, you can blame us for making you sleep on the floor. Sharon was in town too, so it was a proper awesome-foursome reunion.

Sharon, we officially apologise for making you sit through the wedding video. :)

We miss you guys...

Kev & Lucinda

100_4992
Originally uploaded by mcglynn99.

Our Oxford twins (Kev & "Lucy" from Canada) came to visit on the 17th. It was great to see them. We had a great weekend and got to see some more sites of Cambridge that were still on our todo list. It was sad to say goodbye... we miss our Oxford friends. Here, we're visiting King's College... the "chapel" is quite amazing.

When in doubt, ride the rocket!

Mum's visit

100_4893
Originally uploaded by mcglynn99.

With a surprise visit for nana's bday, Emily's mum got to spend some time down in Cambridge... and even celebrated her birthday too.

Here we're in St. Ives. This was as close as I'd get to the geese and gulls... I hate those things.