This is it—tomorrow at the crack of dawn, Jeremy, Jeremy’s mom and I are heading to Gatwick and taking off for America. Yay!

I’m so ready for vacation to start. So ready, indeed, that I don’t even mind the early start and the long flight to Houston and then to Tucson (it helps that we’ve been bumped up to business class for the transatlantic flights—thanks, mom and dad!).

This last week in Brighton shaped up to be quite alright. Work finally wound down, and the pre-Christmas party season peaked last night with a lovely soirée at Richard and Wendy’s. The mulled wine, mince pastries and conversation lasted to the wee hours, so I spent today recovering a bit, then wrapping up work, packing, welcoming Jeremy’s mom and whipping up a quick dinner.

Now it’s 9:30, and I am ostensibly getting ready for bed—it sounds crazy, I know, but we really do have to get up early. Of course, the chances of me actually falling asleep anytime soon and really getting a good night’s sleep are probably slim to none, but I’ll do my best. First, though, I must finish my calming chamomile tea and tackle that book-choosing problem I talked about in my last post. As predicted, I haven’t managed to finish my current book, so I’m off to raid the bookshelf for a tome with which to travel.

Goodnight, all—my next missive will come to you from the great American southwest!