MUFFIN PUFFIN HAS ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Family,

And a good evening to you from across the globe on a GREAT Sunday morning (well, afternoon) here in the Mother Country. MUFFIN PUFFIN HAS ARRIVED!!!! I am pleased to report that United flight 895 touched down without incident 8 minutes ahead of schedule, and puffin had cleared customs within 20 minutes of touching down.

Prior to Jenny's arrival, I spent the day exercising and relaxing. I logged 7.2 miles yesterday, with 1 mile outside (9:26 - dude, it's HOT here), and then popped into the gym to log a 10K on the treadmill, which I completed in 53 flat (about 8:40 a mile). All in all, I was very pleased, and I'm still not too concerned that I can't log serious mileage outside. I mean, considering that I've only tried it at NOON and 1 PM in the afternoon, it's not like I've selected optimal running times for the excursions.

One thing I will say is that, despite 2 Gatorades, a liter of water, and a Vitamin water, I had a headache for the 3rd straight Saturday after my big run. There's no way around it - you lose water and minerals faster than you can imagine here, and you have to drink WAY more than you would in London or the states. I'm still adjusting (and this week was better), but I am going to start experiementing with salt tablets once I hit double figures on the mileage.

Dinner yesterday was in Robertson Quay (our hood). Jackie and I stopped by the Aussie joint called "Boomerang," where they were serving...wait for it...wait for it...KANGAROO LOIN, BABY!!!!! OH YEAH!!!!! Seriously - that stuff was guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud. We washed it down with a pair of ales called Pure Blonde, straight from Oz and pretty good (not Terrapin quality, however).

The funniest part was that, 2 hours after eating a STEAK, I was still STARVING. What did I do? I made myself sandwich, ate half a block of cheese, went through some Caribou jerky, downed half a bag of Doritos (smokin' BBQ, baby), and then finished off a tub of peanut butter. Oh yes - the metabolism is back...and so are the muffin tanks.

I finished "No Way Down" prior to leaving for the airport. Well written, but I think I'm done with "death on a mountain" books for awhile. All the same, full marks for the writing.

I then hit the airport, where I MET MUFFIN PUFFIN!!!!!!!!!!! We came home and she modeled her EIGHT HUNDRED NEW ARTICLES OF CLOTHING for me (um, Filene's Basement - OUT OF CONTROL) prior to sacking out just after 2 AM. AS I type this, it's 12:30 and she's still out, so I think I need to rouse her to try and get her on some kind of schedule.

Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print. Chat later today!

Love,

Sam and (FINALLY REUNITED!!!!!!!) Jenny