Just been home for the weekend which sounds quite boring really. However, I live in the Chicago area and home is North Wales! I left the good old US of A on Thursday evening and arrived in a sunny Manchester on Friday morning. I travelled down to Nottingham for the wedding of a good friend on Saturday afternoon, went to Trent Vineyard on the Sunday morning, spent a day and a bit with my mum in North Wales and came home yesterday. Spent quite a lot of time on the train - am quite amazed how well the railway system works considering all the press I read about the bad side of it.

All you guys working on the railways, take a pat on the back! You did a great job, were able to direct me with humor and wisdom and managed to get me to my destinations on time. Well done! The trains were clean and I had no problems getting a seat even though I hadn't booked. A highly recommended mode of transport - but a little pricey. Can't have everything I guess.

Had fun bringing all the required chocolate back. When travelling out from USA there seemed little difference in the quantity of hand luggage allowed - just no liquids etc, on the way back to the USA rules were much more stringent. There were purpose built boxes on the check in counters - if your carry-on luggage didn't easily fit in one of those boxes you had to check the luggage into the hold. My carry-on was rather flimsy and wouldn't have survived a journey in the hold. So there I was on the floor by the check in counter - suitcase wide open, trying to stuff all my carry-on goodies, and probably well over my legal quota of chocolate, into my suitcase. I did manage it in the end though - no round of applause was offered regardless of how entertaining my plight! It was all worth it when I saw the look of delight on my children's faces after I had unpacked this huge mound of chocolate!! yeay!!! I did something right as a mother, finally! ... It does sound as if the children are all little - easily pleased by a bar of chocolate - however, not one of them is left at elementary school! I guess the methods of bribery have not changed much over the years.

For all those healthy people out there, the chocolate intake will be limited. It has to last until we go over to UK next summer!