Sleeping Beauty and Camden Town

Well, here we are. six months later. life has been unexpected, eventful, and full of wonderful people and i am so incredibly grateful for the time i have been able to spend in this city. i've been spending a lot of time this week just looking back over the last half year and realizing how truly blessed i am. i can truthfully say that i have probably had the best and the worste times of my life here. i have learned so much about life, about friendship, about responsibility, and so many other things. i now know what it's like to have a five pound note in your pocket, and nothing in your bank account, and then what it's like to truly appreciate the benefits of hard work. i've made new friends, and cherished old friendships. explored the city with roommates and also been able to share my city with visitors. i think this has been one of the most important things i've ever done, and i can't imagine six months of life being spent in any other way than here in london.

these past few weeks have been especially rich. with street being able to come and hang out for a week, and now having a whole week off of work i've been soaking it all in. street and i had a fabulous time and i am so grateful for the time we were able to spend together here! it felt really nice to spend time with someone who really knows me and with whom i'm so comfortable and relaxed. we romped around town and i showed her all the best parts. she had to entertain herself for the three days i had to work; going to museums and what not. but then we had 4 and a half days to enjoy together. we went to the balet and saw "the sleeping beauty", ate good food, danced, shopped, talked, and laughed. it was a great closing to my stay.

street headed to chalon on tuesday afternoon, so i rode with her out to the airport. since then i've been happily spending my free time during the days with relaxing and soaking up my time. i've not felt much need to run around frantically fitting every last thing in, but have been feeling really laid back and just doing what i would normally do. on tuesday night i met my friend kristen for indian food in brick lane, wednesday i went in to harrods one last time, yesterday i went to spitalfield's antique market for some bargain shopping, last night i met up with friends from work for drinks one last time, and today i'm hanging out around the flat, working on packing and organizing my life into suitcases. i'm not ready to go. but i know that whatever comes next i will be ready. i am ready to be cared for by my family and friends, and be at home, don't get me wrong, but i just don't feel done here. i'll be back london.

i'll see you all soon. love

Friends!

Well i am so happy to have miss emily street here visiting me for a week! she got in yesterday morning and i went to meet her at the airport. we came back to the flat and she was able to take a shower and what not before we headed out for a little bit of sight seeing before it got dark. i took her to lunch at one of my favorite little cafes in primrose hill then we walked up to the top of the park and looked at the view of the city skyline. then we hopped on the tube down to the river and walked down southbank to the tate modern. we had about an hour in the museum before they closed, which was pretty much the perfect amount of time to see everything. we then crossed the river and walked around st pauls and tubed it back up to chalk farm and went to a pub where andy was meant to be having a gig... though that didn't end up happening. oh well. then we came back here at about 9 and i put street to bed because she was super tired. now we're off for another fun day arond town. we're going to try and go see a ballet tonight! talk to you all soon!

Down Time

Hey everyone!

Well the past week or so has been SO much fun! Amanda got in last friday and was here all week through to saturday. On wednesday my friend Paul riner from harrisonburg got in with his mom and aunt and they were here through to monday morning. It was really great to get to spend time with amanda, and i was really happy because we actually got more time together than i was expecting. we did all of our usual markets and walking about and went to our favorite pub and everything. we even got to go see our favorite band play on thursday night!

it was also really fun to go and do some sight seeing with the riners over the weekend. it's been a while since i've looked at london from a tourist point of view. it helps me appreciate it even more that i get to live here! we had a wonderful thanksgiving meal at an american style diner in soho, went to the changing of the guard at buckingham, the keys ceremony at the tower of london, took a train to windsor and saw the castle and eton college, ate loads of good food, and just enjoyed the city!

this week i have some down time, back to the normal routine of work and hanging out, then at the beginning of next week, Street gets here!!!! she'll be here for a week on her way to be with her family in chalon for christmas. i am SUPER pumped to have her here, we're goign to have a blast. she will be here for my last week of work, as i've given in my notice that the 13th will be my last day. then we'll have a few days together before she has to leave. then i head home the following monday...

i'm ready to be at home for a bit, but at the same time... i don' feel finished here. i still love it here just as much as i ever have, and would love to find my way back here again. i guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.

alright i'm off to do a little christmas shopping and then to post a parcel home full of stuff that i won't be able to fit in a suitcase!! love you all

Reunited!!

Well, this is just a quick post because i don't have too much time right now, but i also don't know when i'm going to have any more time in the near future!

Amanda arrived this morning!!! She'll be here for the whole week, which is so exciting. it feels so good to have her back. it's so strage because it feels like ages since she went home, but at the same time it feels so normal for her to be here. she napped for a little bit and is getting ready now, we're going to hampstead for a cappucino and crossaint!!

i have to work all weekend and through to wednesday, but then i have next thurs-sun off for thanksgiving! on wednesday, my friend Paul and his mom and aunt are going to arrive for a week of london life! i am SO excited for him to come, it will be so fun to have a harrisonburg friend here. i have reservations for all of us to go to a fun american style diner in soho for thanksgiving meal. there is also a special service at st pauls.

then a week after paul heads home, street is coming to visit for a week on her way to chalon for christmas!!!! i cant wait.

then, a week after she goes, i'll be coming home.

it's going to go by so fast.

i'll try and update about visitors and stuff when i can!
Love

Thank goodness for Airborne!

Hey there everyone! I hope that all is well with everyone who reads this wherever you are around the world. I am sitting in my room listening to my roomates record a song downstairs.... in case you were wondering, it is a VERY repetative process haha. max has actually been gone since friday. he is over in seattle visiting amanda for the week, so it was just me, greg, and andy for a few days. now it's just me and andy, but his friend nick has been here most of the time working on songs and watching movies. they don't have school this week so they're just doing the normal college age stuff.... eating random food, playing computer games, watching movies, stayingup late, sleeping in.

i've been getting back into my work routine after a whole wonderful week off. speaking of which, greg and i had a really great time togther. we didn't really do anything super exciting, just a lot of walking around enjoying the city, just hanging out. as i continue to grow up (as i realize i still have a lot of growing up to do... though can anyone ever say they are really an actual grown up? i suppose that's a different topic for another day ha) i realize how much i appreciate my family. and i have come to realize how special and blessed my family is. i cherish the time i get to spend with each and every one both my immediate and extended relatives. i can honestly say i learn from each and every one of you all the time!

so, needless to say, i loved having greg here and sharing my city with him. london didn't disappoint and it provided ample amounts of rain and grey skies, but what else should be expected? we toured the major museums, including the national gallery, the british museum, and the tate modern (to look at a giant spider statue -- http://www.timeout.com/london/art/event/9158/dominique-gonzalez-foerster.html). i showed him around my part of town including the camden markets, primrose hill, and even jazz night at proud. we went to an election party at a cool bar in east london with kim mascher and emily wade and some of their friends. we obviously weren't there for the whole election, but made it until the first few states were called before heading home around 2am. wednesday was guy fawkes night, also known as bonfire night, which is somewhat of a holidy celebrating a man who attempted to blow up parliament (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night) so we were meant to meet up with friends down on the south side of the city for a big fireworks display. we ended up missing the fireworks, but still met up down there for a drink with bunches of people from work which was fun because i wanted them all to meet greg. one night we met up with my friend kristen and another girl i'm getting to know called kiki for dinner in central london at a great place i am SURE to go back to. i took him to our favorite pub and also introduced him to a london essential -- a take away kebab for dinner :) overall it was just so comforting and fun to have him here and i am so thankful that he was able to come. it means a lot to get to share this place with someone, this has been a big chapter in my life!!

i rode the tube down to the airport with greg on sunday morning and because his flight was delayed by an hour we were able to sit and have a cup of coffee... well i had a cup of coffee, he sat. while we were in the cafe, there was an airport wide two minutes of silence in commemoration of rememberance day; an annual holiday to remember and pay respect to those who have lost their lives in war, the equivelant of our memorial day. it was really moving to be sitting in such a bustling atmosphere, and see it come to a complete stop for two whole minutes and then here a solo trumpet over the speaker playing a solemn tune. very touching. today was the actual day of rememberance day, celebrated on the day that world war I actually ended in 1918. i remember and give thanks for all the men and women who have died and fought so that you and i can live today.

on a different note, the title of this blog post is in reference to the fact that i felt like i was coming down with something, probably a cold. sore throat, cough, sinus pressure, etc. so i stopped by the harrods drug store yesterday on my lunch break and low and behold, they had airborne! i didn' think i would be able to find it over here, as i hadn't ever seen it in any other drug stores, but i suppose that's what i should have expected from harrods! for anyone who doesn't know, airborne is a miracle drug that you drop in your water a few times a day and it simply helps you fight off whatever you might be coming down with, or if it's too late for that it helps you get over it faster. so i've been taking it and i do think i've fended off any major illness and am feeling fine! woohooo. oh and ps, if you are going to get it, go for the zesty orange flavor i think it's the best :) (They should really pay me for this stuff huh haha)

i'm back in the swing at work this week, my next day off is saturday which will be nice. i'm super excited because margaret from Mrs. Hardesty's Tea Room in harrisonburg is coming to london this weekend! she is planning on stopping by the store on thursday afternoon, so i'm looking forward to seeing her. maybe we'll even go get tea somewhere!

alright that's all for now, you all are probably tired of reading, i don't know what got into me tonight! i just kept on typing.

oh and just for your viewing pleasure i'll add a few pics from greg's visit! love

note the men in union jack speedos in the background:

this one is from the election party

buckingham palace!!

primrose hill, my favorite spot:

and this simply to prove that it was sunny at least ONE day in case greg tries to tell you different:

Wonderful

Hey everyone! I don't have a ton of time to write a long update, but have a few minutes so i figured i would say hello!

I'll begin by saying that last weekend in Chalon was AMAZING, and it was exactly what i needed at this point in my stay in london. Elaine took such good care of me and mike and charles were great too. She picked me up from the airport on friday afternoon and we made it back to their house in Chalon in enough time to relax for a bit befre dinner time. Let me just say that i could write an entire post just about the amazing food we had over the weekend, but that might be a little boring to people, so i'll summarize by saying that i wasn't sure i would ever be hungry again! we had amazing three course lunches on both saturday and sunday, and i even got some real french onion soup! I got to see Chalon, and elaine even took me to see a chateau out in the countryside, gorgeous! On sunday we went with their neighbors to lunch and to see a museum at another chateau. On monday we went into Lyon and walked around, saw the sites (which included a grogeous cathedral) and had a good lunch before it was time to g to the aiport. i can't say enough how wonderful the whole weekend was.

AND in other exciting news.... GREG IS HERE!!!! I went and met him at the airport last night. we rode the tube back into town and made our way back to the flat. it was pretty late so we just hung out for a few mintes and then headed to bed. i'm so excited to hang out this week!

alright that's all for now, talk to you all soon!!!

Yay!

Off to France i go! i'll be back on monday night after a weekend away with the Streets.

I had a WONDERFUL birthday and thank you to everyone for the emails and notes and gifts. I am so blessed and so grateful to have each and every one of you in my life.

I'll write about my trip when i get back! Love

It worked this time

Alright, so here are the pictures of our flat!
This is the view standing in the front door way, we keep coats and shoes just to the left:

This is directly to the right as you come in the front door, andy's "studio":

Our big kitchen:

the lounge/andy's room:

the beautiful staircase:

the upstairs hallway (max's room is directly at the top of the stairs out of view to the left in this photo and then that's the bathroom at the end of the hallway, and the toilet is to the right of that):

then my room is on the left at the end of the hallway:



and that's our flat! nothing too too exciting, but home none the less.

this week has been going well, i had yesterday off and spent most of the day just lounging around the house watching episodes of tv shows online. i did venture out for a splurge latte in hampstead while reading some hemingway short stories :)

this upcoming weekend i have saturday off of work so hopefully the weather will be nice and i can do something fun, maybe portobello road market or something. i'm also really excited because i have found two tickets to a concert that amanda and i are dying to go to when she's here for thanksgiving!! MGMT is a band that we both really like and they are playing at a venue really close to our flat actually on thanksgiving. it's going to be so much fun! i'm planning on having a proper thanksgiving meal here with paul and his mom, who will be in town visiting also, amanda and the boys, and my friend laura from work really wants to come experience thanksgiving haha. our dining table has a few leaves that we'll put in and we'll move it into the lounge and eat in there. i'll have to start working on a menu soon and find out what things i'll have to improvise on haha. anyway i think that's all for now. enjoy the pictures!

Pictures

Well, i was going to post some pictures of our flat, but it wasn't working for some reason and i was getting frusterated, so i'll try again tomorrow!

Autumn!!

Hey everyone, happy fall! I absolutely love fall, it is such a beautiful season. the air is crisp, the sun is bright, and the breeze is soft. the weather has definitely taken a turn for the cooler, but it's been absolutely lovely. it's actually warmed up a little today and yesterday with temps in the 60s during the day.

i've been having a good week or so working and hanging out. funds are quite tight at the moment so i've been spending plenty of time at home drinking tea and watching movies to avoid spending money. it's been good though and i havn't minded too much, though i am DEFINITELY looking forward to when i get paid again haha (which is next friday, so just over a week). i've also been able to spend more time reading lately than in a while. i read a book last weekend called Sex God by Rob Bell (who is the author of another book i read a few months ago called Velvit Elvis). he's the pastor of a big church in grand rapids i think, and is an influential speaker and writer for my age group. the book was about the link between sexuality and spirituality, and what he thinks both are. it was really interesting and intriguing and made a lot of sense. it's a really easy and quick read for anyone who's looking for something! i'm now working on reading a COMPLETELY different book haha, the complete short stories of ernest hemingway haha. how funny is that? it happened because amanda left it behind and i didnt have any others to start so i picked it up. i've read the first half dozen or so stories and have been enjoying them.

my last day off was on friday and i tried to do something fun for free, so i headed down to the tate modern which is the modern art museum, which i guess you probably could have figured out by the name :) it's definitely an interesting museum, not necessarily the kind of art i really go for, but interesting none the less. then in the evening i met up with kim, emily, and candace down in their neck of the woods to hang out for a little while at this cool pub. it was good to hang out with all girls for a little while, especially girls that i know and love and who know me. i always love when we hang out, but it has proven hard to schedule times to hang out. because we live in different parts of the city it's pretty difficult for impromptu meetings to happen. on saturday i had work and then all of us went to the pub after, which was a lot of fun. we all get a long really well and just have a good time hanging out which i am so appreciative of.
on monday i had a few of the girls from work over after the store closed and we hung out here for a bit before going to proud for monday night jazz. it was realy fun to have people over and feel comfortable and at home.

i have tomorrow and friday off which i'm really looking forward to. i have been used to working like crazy and not getting days off at all while working at the tea room and downtown 56 in harrisonburg, but for some reason working five days in a row at harrods really wears me out! i find that if i have to work that many days in a row i'm pretty burnt out by the last day and SO ready for my days off. i'm planning on not doing much tomorrow, probably some laundry and cleaning and reading, and then venturing out on friday for some museum time or something, probably some time at the park.

in other news, i am planning a trip to france at the end of the month to visit street's family! i am SO excited. I have it worked out so i won't be missing any extra work days, but will be able to go for three nights! i'll be going friday the 24th-monday the 27th. mrs street has been so great and has offered to take me in as her own for the weekend and have me be a part of the family which i am so looking forward too. and in more exciting news, greg is coming to visit for the first week in november!!!!! yayyyyyy!!!!! i am able to take the whole week off while he is here and am only missing one days pay. i have accrued two holidays so far, so using those in conjunction with my alloted days off in a week i wontbe missing much pay. i'm already starting to make a list of the things we should do while he's here.

alright i think that's all for now... i'm off to hang out with the boys for a bit. love you all

Readjusting

Well a lot has happened in the past week or so, so i will do my best to fill you all in! As you know, amanda had to head home last tuesday, so it's been almost two weeks and i am still readjusting to being more on my own. it's wierd to not really have someone to call after work and check in with. but i've been keeping busy and have had stuff to do so that's good.

the day after amanda left i actually went bowling with some people from work which was really fun, and i did a lot better than i thought i would! then on thursday i moved in here at in Chalk Farm which went smoothly. i also found out that day that two people agreed to move into my old room so it felt really good to get that sorted and taken care of. it's been really great in the new flat so far, i love the area and it's really nice to have my own space. it's so different than my last living situation, so it's taking some getting used to, but it's good. my commute to work takes about the same amount of time, maybe even a little less so that's nice.

this week i've just been working and hanging out. at the beginning of the week i was not feeling so great, sick with a cold. but i took my days off to recoup and it was good to have some down time and some good time to myself. then i had this weekend off which was amazing. i havn' had a proper weekend in a while. friday night everyone from work went out for drinks then i met up with max and andy (my flatmates) up near our flat which was really fun to meet some of their friends and hang out with them. the weather has been absolutely beautiful this week, so yesterday i went to primrose hill and laid in the sun all afternoon with a book and my ipod. at about 4 oclock people started gathering on the hill in costumes and stuff, so i was like hmm i wonder what they're doing. they proceeded to set up a giant slip and slide using a tarp and steaks and water and soap. it was incredible! then last night i went out for drinks with andy (my flatmate) and we had a really good time hanging out and getting to know eachother.

today was perfect weather again so we went to this little neighborhood carnival in swiss cottage by where i lived before. there was a reggae band and stilt walkers and a bunch of random stuff. we sat in the sun and listened to the music before walking back toward home through regents park and camden market. overall it's been a wonderful weekend spent in the sun, which i needed! i have found that i definitely need sunlight in my life! now i'm at home and max and andy are cooking up some dinner and we're going to hang out on the balcony.

so that's a short update on my life. love you all and talk to you soon!

Sad Day

well, the last few weeks have been pretty eventful and a little (lot) bit stressful. Amanda has left to go back to the states to finish up school, so i am starting to try and figure out what my life is going to look like without a best friend around all the time. I am currently in the process of finding people to move into our sherlock court room and i am going to be moving into a different flat just down the road in chalk farm where i will have my own room and very reasonable rent.

since amanda was heading home we've been spending the last few weeks just soaking up every moment and trying to do all the things we love and the things she hadn't done yet. last week i had wednesday and thursday off which was really nice to have two full days together to do whatever we wanted. on wednesday we took the train down to greenwich and had a wonderful time walking around enjoying the beautiful weather. we went in the observatory where the prime meridian is, and also where they measure greenwich mean time. we mostly just mosied around and looked in shops before heading back into the city. on thursday we just hung around and enjoyed a cloudy day from a cafe.

amanda and i had set aside saturday night to go on a date together. so we went to primrose hill and had dinner at one of our favorite pubs whose food always sounds SO amazing. they have recomendations from the michelin list and other food tasters so we knew it was going to be good. i had pork loin -- amazing! it was really fun to just sit and talk and enjoy the night.

i had another day off on sunday so we got up and went to the columbia road flower market, which is absolutely amazing. they close down the street every sunday and flower vendors line the sidewalk selling any sort of flower and plant you can think of. it is gorgeous, and the weather was just as perfect. we then strolled over to brick lane which is a really famous street on the east end of london that has gotten really popular for university aged kids and there are lots of street vendors and shops and restaurants. we then hit our old stomping ground in central london and walked down to covent garden where she wanted to buy some shoes. then we ended up on primrose hill enjoying the last bits of sunshine. monday night we went and listened to jazz in camden and hung out, not wanting the night to end. then on tuesday i had to go to work early and amanda headed out to the airport.

i've been trying to keep occupied since then so i don' tget too lonely! and that's about it for now i think. love youall!

I'm Alive!

Hey there everyone... i realize that last tuesday i wrote and said i would update in a day or two... and now it's the following monday night. i appologize! it is really crazy how the time goes by, i mean i don't even know where this past week has gone.

i had a great weekend last weekend because i actually had it off! a whole saturday AND sunday in a row. pretty great. since i had the time off amanda and i started talking during the week and thinking that we should take a day trip somewhere. we opted for a little town (more of a suburb of the city) called stoke newington. it is really easy to get to from the city and still on public transport so didnt' cost a lot. it's a town that has a lot of independent shops, book stores, and cafes, and also a great park. so kim, amanda, and i headed out there and it turned out to be a beautiful day, not a ton of sunshine, but enough to keep the air warm. we sat at a cafe in the chissold park and had a cappucino while watching the cute young families and old couples walking through the park. then we walked up the high street and went in bunches of bookshops and vintage clothing stores, so fun! then we walked through another park which is actually an old cemetary and there is a massive abandoned church in the middle. the vegetation is completely overgrown and there are just pathways cut through all over the place, winding around gravestones and everything. it was really neat, and totally felt like we were in the wilderness, and not in london! the day was topped off by stopping in for a burrito at the great looking little california style mexican place.

on sunday amanda and i had another fabulous and relaxing day around our side of town. we went to cafe 79 which is a great little cafe that we used to go to when we were studying here in primrose hill. we got a great lunch and then took the tube up to hampstead and walked down their high street doing some window shopping. then monday was back to work for me, but it was a bank holidy in england so amanda didn't have to go to work, but got to go to the notting hill carnival which is held every year on bank holiday monday. it's a huge carnival and festival highlighting the latin flare of the city including food, music, loads of people, and alcohol haha.

the rest of the week was pretty low key, then on friday a bunch of people went out for dinner and drinks after work which was really fun. i had friday off so i was able to relax during the day and hang out until i met up with them down near harrods. it was really fun to see poeple outside of work and actually hang out as friends. i was really excited about it, and i hope it happens again! then on saturday i hung out with amanda and max (the boy she has been seeing) around camden town and we had a good time. i had yesterday (sunday) off so amanda and i did our same sunday afternoon ritual including lunch at cafe 79 and then a trip to hampstead. it was kind of nasty weather so we went to starbucks in hampstead while it proceeded to storm and thunder and poor down rain outside, it was intense! then last night kim, amanda, and i went to a gig down in the east end that max was playing guitar in. it was really fun to go and check out a different part of town, and was really cool to get to see max play. he teaches guitar lessons and is in a bunch of different bands, but i had never seen him play.

today was back to work, and now some dinner! i think that's all for now. love and miss you all!

Update

Alright... it's been a while since i've written, i appologize because i actually have some fun stuff to write about, including a fun weekend off of work! i am not going to write it all out now because i am getting ready to go to bed, but i will in the next day or two. i miss you all and love hearing from everyone! talk to you soon!

Long Week

Well hello there everyone. I am sitting on my bed on this lovely sunday afternoon relaxing after a long week. I have been pretty stressed out this week, and am ready for some relax time, which i am having today!

it all started last thursday night when our water heater stopped working.... which did not get fixed until THIS friday... yes, that is a full week without hot water. meaning minimal showers, and washing of hair in freezing water. needless to say we were overflowing with joy when the repair man showed up on friday morning and fixed it. so we've all had a few showers and it has been wonderful... UNTIL this morning when amanda went to take a shower, and guess what... no hot water AGAIN. i have the number of the agency who came and fixed it and he wanted me to call on monday to let them know if it was still working or not, so i'll be calling them first thing in the morning to see if he can get out here tomorrow.

i had topped up my phone at the beginning of the week, which normally lasts about 10 days or so... but after spending so much time calling our landlord trying to sort out the water heater thing i ran out of credit in 2 days. ten pounds out the window.

also, i was really looking forward to friday because it was the first time i was going to see money from harrods, thinking i would get three weeks pay. but we found out during the week we were just being paid one weeks wages and we would get the rest later. so whatever, that's fine, i just need something! friday afternoon roles around, no money in my account, so i call the pay office and we figure out that there was a number wrong in the sort code they had for me, soooo my money is out in cyber space somewhere, which hopeffuly we'll be able to sort out on monday and i can get my money!

in good news, i finally got my bank cards for my account here and recieved the pin numbers in the post so i can start using my british bank account! there was a little bit of money in that account that i had to deposit when i opened it, so that can hold me for a few days till i get payed.

so overall i was pretty wiped out all week from being stressed and dirty, but we still had some fun too. amanda's friend vanessa was here for he week visiting which was fun. she did her own thing during the day when we were at work, but we did fun things in the evenings. one night we went up to hampstead heath and hung out at a cute pub that amanda and i have been to before. one night after work i met up with them for dinner at wagamamas (which was perfect because it was raining and cold and i got some good ramen!), another night we went to the british library. we also went to camden a few nights which is chalk full of interesting people. there is a really cool market that is in an old horse hospital, the old stalls used for vendors. at night they turn it into a club where you can reserve stalls for you and your friends to hang out in. it's really cool.

work has been pretty good, i'm feeling like i am getting in the swing of things. and everone is starting to get to know eachother and be friends which is good. and my feet are slowly getting used to being in not sneakers all day!

alright well amanda and i are going up to the cafe to sit and read over some cappucinos. love you all!

It's a Christmas World!

Hey everyone, update time! woohoo! haha

I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer time months. the weather has finally cheered up here after being gloomy for a solid few weeks. the past week or so has been beautiful, even a little on the hot side. today has been great -- a nice cool breeze, sunshine, with some clouds blowing over every once in a while keeping it nice and cool. absolutely lovely!

i have been working like crazy for the past two weeks which has been great. starting last monday when i went to the first day of harrod's four day induction program from 9 to 5 and then they grabbed me out of induction to start helping right away in th christmas department starting tuesday, so i worked all week from 9-6 with the rest of the christmas people unwrapping ornaments (what they like to call baubles) and hanging them on the walls. i had sunday off which was a good break. then this week i went to the rest of the induction program tuesday-thursday. i got off yesterday at 5 and had today off (we get two days off a week, and the week starts on sunday so even though it feels like a lot of work i technically had two days off since i got sunday too) and i don't have to go in tomorrow till 12:30. i think this is the longest consecutive amount of time i've had off since i started working here!

and i've definitely had a great day!! i got an extra hour or so of sleep and then spent some time cleaning up our room and kitchen, just tidying up and everything. then i went to the bank and picked up my debit cards and stuff. this has pretty much been my first opportunity to do so because the banks here cloe during the week normally by 4:30 and aren't always open on saturdays... how are working people suposed to get to the bank? i don't know... anyway, then i went to madison house (the JMU house where i lived when i studied here) and met up with the director of the study in london program who is here for the summer. he is making a new promo video for the program and asked if he could interview me for it. so we did that then he took me to lunch around the corner and great little italian cafe. i'm still full... that's the most i've had to eat at one meal in a long time!! haha. then i hopped on the tube back toward my neck of the woods and walked down to the camden town market and walked around for the afternoon. i was looking for a black shirt and shoes for work, which i found! now i'm back at the house enjoying a nice cold coke.

in other exciting (or not so exciting) news... our water heater started making some crazy demonic noises last night while amanda and i were hanging out in our room. so i went to investigate and found that the pressure gauge was reading zero and the flame failure light blinking... soooo we don't have any hot water as of right now. i mean it's been warm... but not warm enough to be excited about taking cold showers. so hopefully we can get a repair man here fairly quickly. one thing i can bet is that our water bill will be lower if we don' thave hot water for a while! haha.

alright amanda just got home from work so i'm off to hang out and get ready for our friday night pub! love you all

Our Flat!

Hey everyone! i just snapped a few pictures of our flat and wanted to post them real quick!





1. This picture is taken while standing with my back against the front door. straight ahead you see amanda and my room, directly to the left (not really visible) is the door to the kitchen, and the staircase.


















2. The picture below is after i took one step into the flat and turned left, looking straight into the kitchen. you can see our little fridge under the counter, and the washing machine on the left. the sink, stove, and oven are hidden on the left. there is a window across the wall on the left over the sink too
























3. this picture is taken by taking another step into the flat while facing away from the front door. our desk is directly in front, with beautiful amanda sitting in one of our sofa chairs on the other side. you can see the edge of the window/curtains on the far wall.





















4. This photo is taking a step further into our room and turning left to face into the room. you can see the edge of our little coffee table in the middle, and then our beds. mine is the cream and red one on the right. we have another little desk you can kind of see there on the left, and past that along the left wall is another wardrobe type thing where our clothes are folded and hanging.
















well that's about the extent of the flat, there is a shower room and a toilet closet upstairs alng with camila and flavio's rooms.


so, i had my first day at harrod's today and it was pretty fun. it was the first day of a four day induction for a bunch of different people. there were about 50 of us i would say, ranging from temp staff to managers. i am not going to be completing the rest of the induction at this point in time as they need us in the christmas department to start helping out. so i go in tomorrow to help take apart the garden living department and start setting up the christms world. i get to wear jeans a sneakers for the next two weeks since we won't be interacting with customers at all, but just stocking shelves and unloading pallets! sweeeet haha.


anyway, that's all for now. off to enjoy the rest of the evening.



p.s.--- it was REALLY nice to come home from work and NOT smell like a horse!!

Good Bye Hyde Park

Good afternoon everyone! amanda and i just got back from strolling around in the beautiful saturday evening weather and we are about to go to primrose hill to enjoy it some more.

I thought today was going to be my last day at Hyde Park but when i got there this morning katherine (the manager) said she didn't have me on the schedule, so i got to go home and go back to sleep! it's been fun just having a day off with amanda. so i'll go in tomorrow for my last day and then i start at harrods on monday! i have four days of training and then i think i'll be helping stock shelves and stuff like that to get ready for the department to open on august first. i have enjoyed working at hyde park and have made friends with the other girls there but i'm looking forward to having a job with more varied hours and not such long days. and also not smelling like horse poop when i come home haha!

last night amanda and i decided that we couldn't eat pasta again -- i have had a bowl of pasta every night for dinner for about a week and a half now -- so we looked up some recommended restaurants and picked a little burmese place. we found our way there and it was SO good. we split some sweet and sour chicken (very spicy) and some chicken and veggie noodles. it was really fun to go somewhere and try something different and new.

the past few weeks have mostly consisted of working and then coming home and showering, making dinner (pasta) and then hanging out either here or going for a pint at one of our pubs. amanda and i have been having a great time together and i'm really excited to get even closer over the next few months.

overall the past few weeks of my life have kind of been a dream and i am so stinking excited for the next six months.

off to the park! love you all!

Summer Monsoon

Hey everyone! well here i am sitting in my room in the flat getting ready for bed and feeling pretty at home. who would believe that so much has happened in one week! hard to imagine that i have found a job (well two actually... more details below), a great flat, and fallen more in love with the city!?

This week has been pretty gloomy as far as the weather is concerned. we got a months worth of rain today, and the paper has been calling it a "summer monsoon" haha. there's a paper called thelondonpaper that guys hand out all over the city for free, daily. everyone reads it on the tube or bus on the way home. there are little blurbs about major news stories, pop culture bits, tv listings, lovelinks, and listings for what's going on around town, etc. amanda and i have been picking them up and reading them while we eat dinner at home. we love reading thelondonlove section where people can write in and try to recover a missed connection. here is an example of one from today's:
"To the gorgeous man in tan on the Hammersmith to Richmond tube on Monday at 10:30pm. We smiled. I should have given you my numbr! I was the girl in black with a pink bg. Drink?" ANON

you can then get in touch with the paper if the person is you and they will link you up with whoever wrote it. hilarious right? love it.

in other news... i had an assesment/interview with harrods yesterday to be a full time employee in their christmas world department which opns in August. I was asked to stay for me second interview straight away and talked with one of the floor managers. they called me today and said i got the part! so i will start there on july 21 as long as everything works out correctly. i do need to specify with them what the pay is, just to be sure, but other than that i think everything is good to go!

alright, that's all for now. cheers!

Cheers!

Well helo everyone! greeting from London. It is a beautiful saturday afternoon here and we are enjoying being lazy around the flat. Amanda and i went on a BUNAC party boat last night to celebrate the 4th of July with other bunacers. it was a lot of fun and we met some new people which is always nice.

THis week has been quite a whirlwind. it feels like i've been here for so long already! we are finding our way around and becoming more settled in. i've only had one day of work, thursday, and had yesterday and today off. i go in tomorrow morning at 7:15. Everyone at work was very nice and i hope that i'll fit right in. the horses are all pretty gentle and well looked after. i am still going to continue looking for other options, because it never hurts to have options!

Amanda is still looking for a job. She has applied a few places and been in for one interview so far. She is mostly looking for something more in her field; she is an english lit major and enjoys editing and writing. So hopefully she will hear back from some of these other places early this week and she can get something set up.

We don't have television in the flat so i'm going to have lots of reading time i think! i suppose i can also watch things on my computer/online if i want to. i'm just really looking forward to feeling completely at home, and having a bit of a routine down.

Oh and by the way, i now know my address and telephone number so if you want it just let me know and i'll email it to you. looking forward to hearing from everyone soon!

Lucy

London!!

Hey everyone! this is going to just be a quick update. i had a minute and decided i would check in and let everyone know what i have been up to.

yesterday was a big day, amanda arrived in the morning and i helped her get settled in the hostel and we went out and about for the day.  we went and i showed her the flat that i had already gone to see on sunday.  we really like the two others that live there and the flat itself is nice too, in a good location.  it's not right in the middle of the city so it's quieter and more residential.  we are packing up our stuff now at the hostel to move in!!! 

i also had a "try out" with the hyde park riding stables yesterday afternoon and they were very nice.  I START WORK ON THURSDAY!!! woohoo.  i think that was a lot easier than it's supossed to be haha.

alright... more soon!

Lucy

Winding Up

Hey everyone!

Well... This is it!!! I can't believe that the time has finally come for me to get on a plane and fly to London! It is just so crazy because i feel like i've been talking about it for so long that it didn't really feel like ti was actually going to happen. but, now it's here, and it's happening!

I have been tyring to take advantage of opportunities to see people and visit with everyone before i head out. since i stopped work two weeks ago i have been pretty busy doing just that. I went to the wedding of my friend Courtney up in northern virginia last saturday which was so much fun. She was gorgeous and it was really great to see my young life friends one more time. there was a really great group that was my age who are just so fun and love life so much, so you can't be with them and not have a great time. then on sunday i packed up the rest of my room and got ready for mamma to come on monday to pick me up. we had a good time going to lunch and walking around downtown before packing up the car and heading back to lynchburg.

after mamma and i decided that we weren't going to the beach that opened up a whole second week for me to get things done around lynchburg, so i decided to go down to yorktown on wednesday night to hang out with amy since i hadn't been able to see her in a while. on thursday we went to busch gardens to ride the roller coasters and everything. It was really fun because mel came with her(our) friend margaret, too. I then headed to harrisonburg on friday to get some time with sarah. I hung out with the downtown 56 people that night after they got off work which was a lot of fun, and then got lunch with sarah on saturday before heading back to lynchburg.

We have a great family dinner on saturday with mamma, daddy, and greg before greg headed to vegas for the week. After dinner i went with bro to a lawn party that his friends were having out in madison heights. there was a great blue grass band playing and it was a lot of fun, and good to spend that time with greg before i leave. the rest of the week since then has been filled with running errands and spending countless hours online applying for jobs and looking for somewhere to live in london.

amanda, who is going to london too, and i have been in touch a whole lot this week just planning and figuring out exactly what we're going to do and all of that fun stuff. she is flying out from dallas on saturday and will have a layover in atlanta around the same time that i do, so we might actually be able to hang out for a little while THIS side of the pond! how funny is that!

mamma and i have also been spending a little bit of time each day pretending that we are at the beach by packing a lunch and heading to hanshill to float on the pond. we have been having a great time making friends with the overpopulation of fish, snapping turtle, and otter. we've also been doing a little bit of reading, which has been great. I am reading a book called The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards which is about a doctor who sends his daughter away just after she is born with downs' syndrome without his wife knowing. It takes place in the 1960s and they did not know she was going to have twins, the son was delivered first and then the daughter, whom the doctor/father told the wife had died. it is a sad story, and i'm only about half was through, but it really shows how different public thought was in that time about disabilities and things of that nature.

in other exciting news, i have a lead on a job! i decided that it couldn't hurt to send emails to all the riding clubs in/around london to see if they had any job openings. i heard back from a few saying there was nothing at this time, but they would contact me if anything opened up. then i got an email from a stable in hyde park saying that they may have something for me and to contact them as soon as i arrive. the next day i recieved another email from the same person saying that they just had a vacancy open up for a position grooming, mucking, leading rides, and teaching kids and to call the barn manager as soon as possible. so i will be in touch with them on monday. mamma and i have been having a pretty good time laughing about the possibility of me going all the way to london to scoop poop! hahaha but it would be so fun! so we'll see what happens with that.

alright well i suppose this is a long enough update. i'm off to do some laundry and fun stuff like that!

Winding Down

Well, here we are... my last day of work in harrisonburg!!! it just feels so crazy! This week has actually been really great and rejuvenating because as it turns out i wasn't scheduled to work at the Tea Room. I had forgotten how nice it was to just have one job instead of two! Because i have just been working at 56 i have had the time to hang out with my housemates and do fun things. Michelle and i have had fun going swimming in a creek out in broadway. it takes about 20 minutes to get there so it's kind of a trip which is fun.

i've also spent a little bit of time going through my room and kind of packing up a little bit. i went through my desk yesterday and decided what notebooks i actually wanted to keep and what to throw away and stuff... i actually think it's pretty fun. my room is actually pretty empty considering that greg came up on saturday and took my bed and couch home. he came and loaded it all up and then we went and got lunch at a taverna downtown which was fun. so ever since then i've been floating to different beds in the house :-). which leads me to my next story...

on sunday night i decided to sleep downstairs in a room that no one is living in right now (it still has a been and furniture) because it was so much cooler downstairs. so i went to bed around 12:30 or so, ceiling fan blasting, windows open, etc. i was sleeping very on and off because i was so hot, and then at about 3:45am i fully wake up. i wasn't really sure why so i looked around, only to see someone standing on the edge of the porch. he then leaned over and looked like he was starting to come in the center window. i jumped up and (in the strongest voice i could muster) asked "who is that!?". now... i'm not quite sure why that is what i asked, but it's just what came out haha! i assume he jumped off the porch and ran off because i didn't see him after that. i went and looked out the window and he was gone and i saw that he had knocked in the screen of the center window, which is what had woken me up. i hurried into Street's room and woke her up. we went around to close and lock all the downstairs windows and then went and got everyone else up. we called the police and they came to check everything out. at this point it was close to 4:30 in the morning, but i wasn't going to be able to sleep so we all piled in the car and went to waffle house for some breakfast :). so everything turned out fine and i am very thankful that we are safe and that everything happened the way it did.

i am also very glad that it has cooled off... it was pretty miserable last week and over the weekend. we have been living life with a fan pointed at us for a while, but yesterday i actually took a shower in something other than cold water! so that is a step in the right direction haha.

well i think some of us are off the to creek to do some swimming before i go in to the restaurant for my last night!!! woohoo.

Pictures!

Here are some pictures of everyone from carter's wedding!


The crew:

THe kids:

THe Girls:

Holding Todd Lesher's (our old young life leader) new baby:

Update

Alright well i promise i am going to try and keep up with the blog a little better over the next few weeks as i get ready to cross the pond!!

this past weekend was a great one, a good break in the monotony of work and everything. i hung out at the house on friday night and just chilled then on saturday morning michelle and i got up bright and early to make it to lynchburg by 8:30 to meet up with the hutts. we rode down to concord north carolina with them for Carter's wedding!!! it's crazy to think that he is a married man! the wedding was great and it was fun to get to see people that i haven't seen in a while. michelle and i shared a hotel room down the hall from the hutts on saturday night. (side note: i LOVE staying in hotels... i think it's really fun)

i was really excited to get back to lynchburg on sunday afternoon because some very special guests were there waiting! katie, jon, nate, and lucy arrived in lynchburg late on friday night and i was so happy that i got to spend some time at home with them. we hung out on sunday afternoon and played in the sprinkler and baby pool. greg was over and everything so the whole family was together. we had a delicious dinner out on the porch and it was just really great time together. laura and adam and the girls were able to come to dinner too so it was a great crowd! after dinner katie, jon, and i went bowling which was really fun and i am surprisingly NOT sore from it, which i was not expecting haha.

it was definitely nice to sleep in my bed and be able to sleep in a little each morning. on monday we hung out around the house in the morning and then for lunch we went over to silver pig for some bbq. then we headed over to hanshill for some swimming in the pond. nate was very brave and was jumping off the dock to mimi who was on a raft. he did it a few times, going a little further under each time, and then got a little scared when he went a little too deep haha so that was the end of that. but then we were able to go on a boat ride with jon and that made everything better.

on monday nannie and pop came over for dinner which was fun to see them with nate and lucy. katie, jon, and i then made it over to the movie theater to see the newest chronicles of narnia movie (which was GREAT). it was so refreshing to be home and with my family all together and just a really needed break. i had to head back to harrisonburg tuesday around lunch time. daddy drove me to waynesboro where we met michelle who drove the rest of the way to harrisonburg.

now it's back into the grind for a few more weeks. i'm working the tea room during the day and dinner at 56 for the rest of the week so i might be MIA for a few days because i'll be tired and probably wont' have too much exciting stuff to write about. i'll get through this weekend, and then i'll have less than a week of working... it is so crazy, it's almost time for me to go!!! ahhhh it's been so far away for so long that i'm not sure i realize that it's not that far off anymore!!! so 1.5 more weeks of work, then i am going to another friend's wedding on the 14th. then i'll move out of the soupbowl :( and head back to lynchburg for about a week before mamma and i go to the beach!!! the next few weeks are going to be great and are going ot fly by i just know it!!

alright that's all for now. more soon!

Hello World

I'm alive!!!

alright now that i have that out of the way, sorry for being invisible for so long!! my life has just been a constant stream of eat, sleep, work, repeat. i have been working a lot of doubles (lunch at the tea room then on to 56 for dinner) so i really have not had any time at home for the past week or so. i have been super tired and have not really been able to do the things that i normally like to do. i have been making a decent amount of money at 56 and it has been beneficial to work as many nights as possible.

it has been fun to get to know the other people at downtown 56. most of us are around the same age and have built nice sense of comradere. a lot of us started around the same time so we've been learning and everything together. there is a small group of us that have been hanging out after work which has been fun.

i have been able to spend a little bit of time with the other girls who are still in town, but between their class schedules and my work schedule it's mostly in random passing that i see them. we are planning on going down to lynchburg to spend the day at hanshill for memorial day which i am really excited about. the tea room is closing for memorail day and 56 is normally closed on mondays anyway, so i have 2, count them TWO days off in a row!!

on wednesday nights there is a bible study for all the girls who are still in harrisonburg, so we are all getting ready to head to that in a few minutes. it's nice to get to catch up with everyone during the week and sit for a while.

mk this might not have been the greatest or most exciting update, but... this is my life right now! just plain not too exciting. but i know that this will be worth it when i get to london!! oh and speaking of that, i applied for and recieved my work visa!! woohoo, i'm official!! the handbook that came it has been really fun to look through and it makes me so excited!!

Busy!

Hey everyone! sorry for the slow updates lately, the past few weeks have been pretty crazy. between the two jobs, young life stuff, and then graduation this weekend i've been all over the place!

we had a graduation party here yesterday afternoon with all of our families which was really fun. mamma and daddy came up for the afternoon and were able to go by and see the tea room before the party started. we cooked out, played batchi ball and had pina coladas. it was really great to have all the families there, i always forget that my parents have never met some of my best friends' parents!

work at downtown 56 has been going pretty well, i'm starting to get the hang of it and starting to feel like i'm making friends with some of the people which is good. the scheduling has gone well so far, though i just looked at my schedules for this week and there is one overlap, so i'll have to figure that out.

i have a cashier's check and my transcripts and everything ready to send to BUNAC this week to get my work visa!! woohoo!!

alright, that's all for now, just a short update!

Zorbing Video

Hey, here is a video of paul zorbing. it's a little long so just watch the first little bit to get an idea of what Zorbing really looks like!!

It's Official

Well folks, it's official... EVERYONE should go zorbing!!!

this weekend was so much fun all around, including Zorbing.... incredible!!! We made it to our cabin on thursday night and had a good time exploring and settling in, playing pool and foosball. on friday the weather could not have been more beautiful. perfectly clear skies, close to 80 degrees. we decided that we wanted to go ahead and do the zorb thing, so we headed over there around noon or so. there were just a few other poeple there... no waiting, just awesomeness. all 10 of us wanted to go down the same track, so it took about an hour to get everyone down. the ride was so much fun, it can't really be described.

after zorbing we went back to the cabin to regroup and dressed and all that and then we headed out to go to outlets and just check stuff out. we went down to the bass pro shop and into a beef jerky outlet, yum. one thing that we were not anticipating about this weekend is that it was a huge hot rod rally. there were 600,000 cars there (i'm not joking) for the weekend, so there was incredible traffic. on friday and saturday afternoons we got stuck in traffic for hours. on friday we left the bass pro shop around outlets arouns 8 and didn't make it back to the cabin till 11.
on saturday we lounged around for most of the morning and then headed to gatlinburg to check out what was going on there. we decided to take back roads to get there. the road we ended up on was a lot like the blue ridge parkway, and absolutely gorgeous. it had started off cloudy and rainy but by this time it was partly sunny and great weather. we stopped at one point and got out of the cars to enjoy the scenery. once in gatlinburg we got a late lunch and just walked around and took in the tourist trap ridiculousness. then we started back on the 5 mile trip back to pigeon forge on the main roads... which took 3 hours, no joke. we are all pretty flexible and we were having a great time people watching and talking/hanging out so it ended up being pretty fun.

on sunday we packed up and got everything ready and headed to street's aunt and uncles for lunch and then made our way back to harrisonburg. the weekend was a great time together and experiencing great new things. here are some pictures!!

This is the Zorbing Hill:


The group on the back porch: During our stop on the way to Gatlinburg:
We conquored the zorb!!!

looking into the zorb, i'm looking out

Pigeon Forge here we come!

Well, this is it folks... we are heading to pigeon forge tennessee tomorrow night for a weekend of craziness. we are planning on ZORBING and hanging out in gatlinburg and just having a good old time together. pictures will ensue!

Two Days in a Row!?

Hey everyone, aren't you excited! three new posts in two days!! woohoo haha.

i just had to put this video up here because if you havn't seen it, you need to!! they showed it to us at the beginning of this semester at a young life thing we were at. it's this guy named paul potts who is auditioning for britain's version of american idol.

just watch it!

Paul Potts Sings

oh P.S.

oh and hey... everyone needs to get Skype on their computers so i can talk to all of you for free when i'm abroad!! it's totally free and easy to download. if you're computer has a built in microphone then you're completely good to go... and if not you can get a little headset thing for not too expensive! if you don't have a camera it's ok, i'll still be able to hear you! it's free to talk to other computers, but you have to pay a little if you want to make calls to landlines and phones. www.skype.com. do it!

What a Week!

Well, a lot has changed since last sunday!

when i wrote last week i was in the process of selling my car to the dearership in charlottesville. well, on saturday night i had this feeling that i should put an ad on harrisonburg's craigslist for my car. so i created as add for it, asking 13,000 for it, and within 24 hours two people had emailed asking for more information. i set up a time with one of them for him to drive it and check it out... that was on tuesday evening. on wednesday he asked if he could drive it again and take it by a mechanic to have it checked out... that was on thursday. then on thursday night he made an offer for it! we had to negotiate a little bit, but i ended up selling it to him and was able to make a little bit of money instead of breaking even with the dealership! so... my car is gone. i'm waiting for the check he gave me to clear the bank, then i need to pay off the loan and then we can go to the dmv and switch the title over.

in other news, i had a second interview at downtown 56, which is one of the nicest restaurants in harrisonburg, on saturday morning. i had had an interview a week or two ago which ended up being for a host position (which i didn't want anyway), but then they called me on wednesday and asked if i would want to come in and interview for a serving position instead.. yes please! so i went in and talked to her yesterday and they're going to look at the schedule and see when i can start training! i'm hoping to be able to work mostely evenings there, and only a few lunch shifts. that way i can keep working at mrs hardesty's during the week.

i also had an interview at radio shack today for a part time position. that went well, too, and he's waiting for me to tell him if i want the job. that job would be anywhere from 18-40 hours a week, not very high hourly wage, bu i would make commission. so i'll have to look at which of the three jobs on my plate (hardesty's, downtown 56, and radioshack) are going to be the most effective in putting money in my bank account.

i'm feeling a little less discouraged than i was a week ago. i hope that things will keep going this way! love you all.

Lucy

Oh hey Blog

Again, i appologize for by poor blogging frequency of late. it just feels like i have been extra busy for some reason, and therefore extra tired. work has been pretty good, consistently busy which is nice. a few weeks ago though, i decided that i needed to either take on a second job (nights and weekends) or a whole new ful time job. i love working at the tea room, but i am just not putting enough money in the bank. so i've been filing out and turning in applications all over the place, but have not been successful in the search yet. i don't know what the problem is, and am getting pretty frusterated with the whole process, but i am praying that something will come up that will be so great.

i am also trying to go ahead a sell my car. one of my young life teammates mom's owns a car dealership in charlottesville so i have been in contact with them, and actually went over there yesterday so they could look at it. they made me a pretty good offer, which pretty much pays off the rest of the loan that we have for the car, so i'm going to be in touch with them this week and work out when they need me to bring them the car. so that is pretty exciting that that is taken care of, kind of sad that i have to part with my car... i love her!

at leadership for young life (when we all come together on friday nights to talk about what's up and have some teaching) every spring they have the seniors give a reflection about what they have learned over the past four years. i gave my senior reflection on friday night and was really encouraged by the response i got from people. after someone gives their reflection there is a time of encouragement where people get to say things that they love about you, or things they see in you. words of affirmation, actually getting to hear audibly what people really think, is one of my major love languages. so overall friday night was great.

sarah and mel (and a bunch of other people we know) are in a ballroom dancing class and on friday night the teacher put on a dance that people could come to. so a few of us went and it was so mch fun! there were only 12 people there, inlcuding the teacher, so it was a good small setting and she taught us all sorts of fun dances. i love it when someone is there to tell me what to do!

the weather has been off and on nice... today being icky. it's been raining for the past few days which is great, i know we need it, but today has gotten pretty chilly too. i'm ready for spring!!

alright, i think that's all for now, i'm off to take a nap or something (its just that kind of day)

Hello out there

well i am sorry that i again have neglected the blog... i really don't mean to do it!!
things have been pretty busy this the past few weeks, mostly with fun stuff!
i'm about to go to bed so i'm not going to write too much, just saying hey and that i havn't forgotten about you! i will write soon (this weekend).
Lucy

MY Spring Break

Happy Easter!!

I have been at home this weekend for what i have been considering my spring break. As most of you know, the chick fil a opening went off without any problems. Most of us drove down wednesday morning arriving in warrenton at about 6am. After getting registered as numbers 10-18 we set up our tents and prepared for the rain and weather. It rained during most of the middle of the day, but then it stopped for the rest of the afternoon/evening and into the night. It started to drizzle again as we were getting in our tents to go to sleep. We got our coupons and hit the road as quickly as possible because some of the girls had class thursday morning and fun stuff like that.

After returning to harrisonburg i took a nice long nap and shower and then got ready and come home to lynchburg. i got here in time to eat dinner with daddy (chicken on the grill of course). Mamma has been out in california so it's just been the two of us. He has been working on putting a doorway in from the living room to the back hallway and i've been trying to help (by holding the vaccum cleaner). i treated daddy to chick fil a one night for dinner and then we went to nannie and pop's last night with greg.

today i went to church at redeemer and pastor mike spoke about john chapter 11 when lazerus dies and jesus weeps. it was an incredible lesson and service. this weekend i also read an incredible book that i think all of you should read. it's called "The Shack" by William P. Young, check it out at www.theshackbook.com. i don't think there is any way to read this book and not be changed, either in your perception of god or in how your heart approaches him. you will cry, you will laugh, you should definitely read it.

i havn't decided if i'm heading back to harrisonburg tonight or in the morning. i normally don't have to go into work on mondays until 11 so it wouldn't have to rush back, but we'll see. that's all for now!

Spring has sprung... at least for now

It is spring time!!! I don't think that it is supossed to stay as warm as it was today, but i want it to! The past few days have been so beautiful. On wednesday we had club outside playing kickball and duck duck goose (still a favorite game for all us inlcuding college students haha). Yesterday i got to come home from work and hang out on the trampoline and take a nap in the sun, probably one of the most glorious things in the world :-D Today had bible study in the morning and then went in to work and then we had leadership for young life and we got three new teammates!! jenna, josh, and sarah: welcome to the spotswood team!

i have to work tomorrow from 11 till 5 and then i'm not sure if there is anything going on at the soupbowl. Last night we had a murder mystery party which was pretty fun. we got a late start so i was tired, but it was quite a funny experience!

i'm really looking forward to this coming week because some of us are going to a chick fil a opening in warrenton, which is about an hour and half away. then i'm going home for easter weekend whih will be nice. it feels like i havn't been home in a while.

mk that's all for now!

Ghost Town no Longer

Well, everyone made their big return from their travels this afternoon! This week has been pretty fun, lots of random stuff and hanging out. Street and i went to the green valley book fair on wednesday which was super fun. i have never been before, but now i want to go all the time! i got a bunch of great books for about 20 bucks total.

it's been fun sharing stories and catching up from a week away from eachother... what are we going to do in the future when we don't see eachother every day!?! i really don't know...

in other news, we ran out of oil for our heat and we decided that it's not worth it to fill it up since the cold weather is almost over and we won't be here to use the oil next year. so we're braving the cold and wearing sweatshirts to bed. currently it is 52 degrees in our house, and not getting any warmer... i really hope it gets warm soon

off to bed

Down to Two

Well, spring break has officially begun, and the rest of the soupbowl has left street and me to fend for ourselves... michelle, sarah, and amy headed up to mel's house this afternoon. this weekend has been fun though, a lot of random stuff. on friday night six of us went down to staunton for dinner at the baja bean which has great mexican food. the food is much more like what we would get in california, not like the la carreta nonsence here. then we went down the street to a place called the bistro where there was a band playing and a lot of young people, and we played foosball for a good while. yesterday i had to work till 5 and then when i got home we fixed dinner and a few of the guys came over. after we were done eating we decided that we wanted to go to sonic... which is in waynesboro... which is 30 minutes away. so we all hopped in jeremy's dad's conversion van and rode down to sonic in waynesboro for some cream slushes yummm. then we came back and watched step up... great movie by the way haha.

today street and i went to the late service at cov pres and then came back and hung out with the other girls as they were getting ready to head out. they all got in the car and headed out probably around 2:30 or so. it was so nice out this afternoon so paul and matt suggested that we go to the driving range... so street, paul, matt, and i went to the driving range. all i can say is that i have not gotten any better than when i went with my dad in high school... haha. it was really fun though and so nice to be out in the sun. then we came back here and started a fire in the pit and cooked some hot dogs and hung out. it's been a great weekend, very relaxing.

this week i am working the morning shifts (8-3) every day except wedensday which i have off. i actually prefer the morning shift since it means i have most of the afternoon to do what i want.

everyone (who is still in town) is out in the hang out area watching a movie, but i'm in bed getting ready to go to sleep so i don't start off the week tired. so goodnight everyone!

Spring Break! (or not)

Hey everyone! I am writing this blog from my new laptop!! i decided that if i am going to be spending the next few years of my life traveling and living in random places i should probably invest in a laptop. so i investigated and found one that i liked a lot. it is a Lenovo IdeaPad. lenovo makes computers for IBM, including the thinkpad, which is a really popular computer for business people. the Ideapad just came out this year and is geared more toward general use and web browsing. i love it! i spent a lot of time last night getting at all updated and put togeher. i'm working on transfering the files from my desktop to this one, so that eventually i can sell my desktop. i like having a desktop, and will continue to use it till i move out, and i thought about keeping it, but it really doesn't make sense to keep it when i can just buy a new one when i settle down in a place.

well everyone is gearing up to leave for spring break. most people have already left, but the soupbowl girls are heading out on sunday, so they'll at least be around this weekend. i am looking forward to a week with not too much going on, just work. no meetings or anything. i am pretty tired, i've had a long week, so it will be nice to have some down time. since some people are still in town, some of us are going down to staunton for dinner tonight, so that will be fun.

alright well, that's all for now.

The Glory of it All

The title of this post is the title of a song we sang this weekend at williamsburg that i really like. it's by the david crowder band. listen to it!

this weekend was the annual conference for everyone in our region for young life. it's so fun to get away and hang out with such fun people all weekend. On saturday night a bunch of us went out to get ice cream for sarah's birthday. there were so many of us that we had to sit in three seperate booths (all next to/across from eachother). the boys at one table split the "crowd pleaser"; six scoops of ice cream with four toppings. they loved it of course.

i got back yesterday around five oclock and get to spend some time around the hosue by myself which was nice after a weekend surrounded by people the whole time. i cleaned my room and went through clothes and things like that. then a group of us went to applebees for our sunday routine to get half price appetizers after 9 oclock.

i woke up this morning with a terribly sore throat, so i took some airborne and slept a little more. work today was SO busy pretty much the whole day. we filled up pretty much two and a half times. it was the biggest tip day since i've worked there! i've been having a good time looking at a guide to london tea rooms that margaret got as a part of a package. i've picked out a few that i definitely want to go to!

it looks like i won't be able to have next week off (jmu's spring break), so i'll be sticking around harrisonburg and working. i'm bummed, but i had kind of been planning on having to work, so at least it's not a surprise. there will be other people around still, including some of the girls from the house.

i'm STILL working on reading 'east of eden', i'm about half way through. i'm really enjoying steinbeck's writing, and the story lines are really developing and coming together. i also just picked up a book called "the shack" which is supossed to be the 'pilgrim's progress" for our generation, so i'm excited to read that. alright enough for now!

I don't know how i have gotten to be so bad a keeping this up to date! i suppose it's because i feel like there isn't too much exciting going on. i've mostly just been working and hanging out. last friday we were assigned shadows for young life. so right now the spotswood team has five freshman following us around getting a taste for what young life really looks like. we had club on wednesday night, love club to be exact which was really fun. we played a dating game and scott gave a great talk.

i was able to go home on monday night so that i could vote on tuesday in the primaries. it was great to be home in time to meet mamma and daddy at isabella's for dinner and then hang out afterward. i went to lunch with mamma and greg on tuesday and then went and said hello to nannie and pop. then i went to starbucks and read for a while and hugn around. but, by the time i was ready to head back to harrisonburg it was raining and the weatehr wasn't looking so great. the forecast had said nothing about bad weather, in fact it was supossed to have gotten warmer during the day. so i set out for the trip back to hburg but about 15 minutes into the trip and ice accumulating on my car i decided that it wasn't worth adn turned around. i spent the night in lynchburg adn then left at 6:15 on wednesday morning to make it back for work at 8. itwas a long day!

this weekend has been pretty laid back. friday some of us went out to a bonfire for a little while, and then on saturday chase and kathleen came up from lynchburg to hang out. sarah milot (amy's sister) has also been in town this weekend, so we ate pizza and played mafia last night. today i went to church and then went to see the spotswood spring musical, peter pan. tongiht a few of us went out to dinner and then met up with others at applebees where they have appetizers for half price after 9. then we came back here and watched a few episodes of one of our favorite shows, "rob and big".

this week is looking pretty normal. i have work everyday, club on wednesday, and then next weekend is williamsburg weekend. every february there is a conference for all involved in young life in our region. it's alwasy really fun, lots of hang out time, learning time, and getting to see a lot of people!

alright i'm off to bed. love