Forgot to add that we stayed in a very cute place on a very cute street in an adorable area known as Earl's Court. It was very convenient for the tube and my mom worked very hard to find the place called London Town Hotel which we called home. Special thanks for my mom and MMJ who planned and financed many of the things we did because without you, Lisa and I would have just traveled the tube. Shout out to you ladies:-)
Cheers
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Grab a snack, drink, and use the bathroom before this one.
On Sunday, we bought tickets for the Original Bus Tour which takes people all around London, making various stops allowing us to get off whenever and jump back on a bus after seeing a landmark. This was very convenient because we still had many things we wanted to see. Some of the things we saw were: St James Palace, The Ritz Restaurant, Speakers Corner (where anyone can stand and speak out about anything except the Royal family on Sundays). We also saw the Dorchester where many of the famous people stay, the barbed wire fence of the Buckingham Palace gardens (41 acres), the street where the Duke of Wellington owns all the property and you can't buy, can only lease, and it's the most expensive homes in not only Europe...but the world. We got off the bus to see St Paul's Cathedral, which isn't open for tours on Sunday, but were able to walk through and light candles. Mom and Mom Mom walked up farther and listened to part of the Mass, while Lisa and I walked around. We then got back on the bus and stopped at the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, where we saw the Crowned Jewels and everything else that was worth more than we will ever make in our lives...combined. Lisa and I walked around separately and saw many things. We saw the site where Anne Boleyn and many others were decapitated which was a glass memorial with a glass pillow on top of it. We also went into the White Tower which was full of armor and artillery used for many centuries before. For dinner, we went to the Sports Cafe near Trafalgar Square where Lisa had read that they show NFL games on Sunday night. Unfortunately, they did not play the Ravens game because they only get certain ones on certain weekends. We were still able to watch another game and see the scores during that. While waiting for our table, a very handsome young man walked by me and I hit Lisa and said "that was Josh Duhamel!" For those of you who don't know who this is, he was in Transformers, Win a Date With Tad Hamilton, the show Las Vegas, and All My Children. Shaking, we followed him outside and debated how to go about asking him to be in a picture with us. I guess we were pretty obvious because he saw us struggling and walked over and asked and we were like oh yeah of course sure. Lisa fumbled with her camera and knocked her earring out and I thought my knees were going to give out on me because I was shaking so bad. So we got a picture with him and went into the restaurant and realized that our booth was back to back with his and his fiance, Fergie of Black Eyed Peas. If you don't know who Fergie is, then look her up because she is very famous. We ate our dinner and when he got up to pay the check and get ready to leave, I (being the brave one that I am) walked over to Fergie's booth and said "um hi excuse me..would you mind being in a picture with my sister and I?" and she said "oh of course! you asked so politely!" I blushed. I frantically summoned Lisa to come over and join me and my mom got up also to take the picture. She was very proud of herself because every other time she took a picture with Lisa's camera, she accidentally pressed power and turned it off. She not only didn't turn it off, but was able to get all 3 of us in the picture without her glasses. Lisa was complimented on being a sports fan when Fergie saw she was wearing a Ravens jersey. I did not know what was going on because I was shaking and all I could do was smile. Lisa says that Fergie tried to shake my hand but I'm not sure what I was doing because everything was out of focus. We told her that it was nice to meet her and she said the same (we didn't think to ask why they were there or anything like that). I don't really remember what was going through my head at the time because we were so excited. Josh came back and said bye and smiled and waved (our new friend!) and he took her hand and they walked out of the restaurant...and our lives.
One of the best nights of our lives by far.
We slept in on Monday, went to get tickets for Wicked and then got on our Original Bus tour bus to go to the Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. It was really neat to see and be there but it was so crowded that it was hard to get good pictures although Lisa still managed to get up there in the action. After that, we went to Harrods and saw floors full of everything we can't afford and Lisa wouldn't try anything on with me. That night we went to see Wicked which was really really good and had some very catchy tunes. Tuesday, we slept in and missed breakfast which ended at 9am everyday. We went to the Portabello Road Market in Notting Hill. It was a pretty walk but didn't buy anything. We took a picture of the Travel Book Shop that was in Notting Hill (the movie with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant). We walked around inside and were intrigued that it was in a movie. After that, we walked around the Kensington Palace, the former home of Princess Diana. We were leaving that day so we didn't have time to walk to the other side of the park to see the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.
Lisa and I began our journey back to Monmouth around 130pm, leaving for the Victoria Station. We found our way to the National Express office, bought tickets for that day and Friday to go to the airport and then got on the bus to Newport. In Newport, we experienced some confusion because no one, including ourselves, knew where the bus going to Monmouth picked up Newport passengers. We traveled around the area asking anyone and everyone who led us in all different directions and then finally found it under a bridge near the Newport Railway. Good thing we had some time to spare. We arrived in Monmouth and decided to not take a cab the short distance back to my school. With 3 bags between us, we realized this "short" distance (uphill) was much farther than we thought. We finally got to the gates of the school, and Lisa saw the hill that led up to the top where we needed to be. Finally got to my flat, talked to my mom to let her know we were safe, and spent the night catching up on some shows that we missed.
Today, we walked into town to get some groceries and see everything. We then hiked up to the Kymin which is the highest point around with the best view of Monmouth. This is a very steep, 45 minute walk or so, and Lisa and I can't move. We made it to the top, took some pictures, drank some more water, and then headed back down. It was beautiful but very tiring and our bodies ache. Made spaghetti, green bean casserole, and stove top for dinner (weird combo I know) and then relaxed the rest of the night. Tomorrow is another day and we are planning to pack, do laundry, walk to the Monmouth Castle (which looks close on the map), and see what else the day brings us. Early day starting at about 6am on Friday and a long day of traveling back to America for her and Italy for me. Hope you enjoyed our very long blog!:-) Sorry this one wasn't that funny but beggars can't be choosers.
xoxo
LP and DP
One of the best nights of our lives by far.
We slept in on Monday, went to get tickets for Wicked and then got on our Original Bus tour bus to go to the Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. It was really neat to see and be there but it was so crowded that it was hard to get good pictures although Lisa still managed to get up there in the action. After that, we went to Harrods and saw floors full of everything we can't afford and Lisa wouldn't try anything on with me. That night we went to see Wicked which was really really good and had some very catchy tunes. Tuesday, we slept in and missed breakfast which ended at 9am everyday. We went to the Portabello Road Market in Notting Hill. It was a pretty walk but didn't buy anything. We took a picture of the Travel Book Shop that was in Notting Hill (the movie with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant). We walked around inside and were intrigued that it was in a movie. After that, we walked around the Kensington Palace, the former home of Princess Diana. We were leaving that day so we didn't have time to walk to the other side of the park to see the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.
Lisa and I began our journey back to Monmouth around 130pm, leaving for the Victoria Station. We found our way to the National Express office, bought tickets for that day and Friday to go to the airport and then got on the bus to Newport. In Newport, we experienced some confusion because no one, including ourselves, knew where the bus going to Monmouth picked up Newport passengers. We traveled around the area asking anyone and everyone who led us in all different directions and then finally found it under a bridge near the Newport Railway. Good thing we had some time to spare. We arrived in Monmouth and decided to not take a cab the short distance back to my school. With 3 bags between us, we realized this "short" distance (uphill) was much farther than we thought. We finally got to the gates of the school, and Lisa saw the hill that led up to the top where we needed to be. Finally got to my flat, talked to my mom to let her know we were safe, and spent the night catching up on some shows that we missed.
Today, we walked into town to get some groceries and see everything. We then hiked up to the Kymin which is the highest point around with the best view of Monmouth. This is a very steep, 45 minute walk or so, and Lisa and I can't move. We made it to the top, took some pictures, drank some more water, and then headed back down. It was beautiful but very tiring and our bodies ache. Made spaghetti, green bean casserole, and stove top for dinner (weird combo I know) and then relaxed the rest of the night. Tomorrow is another day and we are planning to pack, do laundry, walk to the Monmouth Castle (which looks close on the map), and see what else the day brings us. Early day starting at about 6am on Friday and a long day of traveling back to America for her and Italy for me. Hope you enjoyed our very long blog!:-) Sorry this one wasn't that funny but beggars can't be choosers.
xoxo
LP and DP
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Four Funny Foreigners
Yesterday, I didn't really have any lax so my mom, mom mom jo, and I drove to see the Chepstow Castle and also went by the Tintern Abbey. They were both gorgeous but both would have to be a day trip so we will go back in the spring when my mom and dad visit. My mom decided that driving here is not for her and I agreed after we got back to the school and I was nauseous and lightheaded from being in the passengers seat with her driving all day. She thinks that if she hits curbs and almost hits a lady with a walker, it's better than hitting another car and also damaging theirs along with ours. She tends to stop when another car is coming and I told her that the people behind us would start honking if she continued stopping everytime there was another car but she isn't from here so it was ok apparently. We ended up finding the Europcar Rental Car place perfectly fine this morning which my mom said was a gift from God since it was so small but I didn't think it was hard to get to at all-but I guess that's just because I'm kinda a local now:-) So we got a ride from there to the bus station where we were told the National Express office was closed on the weekends. The lady working at the other desk came over and told us that we could call the number on the door and order them and then show the driver our ticket number on our mobile phone (which is mine) or we could buy them online, if we were able to find somewhere with internet because we couldn't use hers. My mom was beside herself and said "how were we supposed to know that they weren't open today?!" and the lady calmly said "well it says it right here" pointing to the door at the office. We shrugged it off and decided to call the number. This was a task in itself with me trying to buy the tickets because for some reason we had to do them separately (senior, adult, young person). The lady on the other line told me about 50 times "annnnd this is the service bus 201 leaving Newport at 10:10 and arriving at the Heathrow Central Bus Station at approximately 12:45". I was like yesss I understand that! Over and over she told me that. So then I had to tell her the billing address of the card we were using and she didn't understand that I was saying sparrow because of the way I was saying sparrow. When I asked her if she needed the zip code she said "no I have most of the address, it's fine." So we finallyyyy got the tickets and then the bus came and he asked what kind of tickets we got and I said adult, senior, and young person. I bought mine with my Young Persons Coachcard but only had the number because I am still waiting for it to come in the mail. The lady on the phone didn't mind but the driver was not nice and insisted that I needed the actual card whenever traveling and then left us standing there wondering if I could go with them but he said it wasn't our fault, it was the ticket agent's and to make sure I read the terms and conditions of the card when I got it because it must be with me when I travel.
We made it to Lisa at Heathrow Airport where she was patiently waiting our arrival. We got off the bus with our 5 suitcases and headed to the tube. We survived the tube with all 6 suitcases and people standing all around them as they were obstacles throughout the tube and cheered when we got off because they actually had some room to stand. They we took the lift (elevator) to where we needed to go, which opened on both sides. We thought we were supposed to exit the opposite side we entered, however we found out otherwise. The doors opened, everyone else went out the right way and for some reason we began to exit the wrong way where many people were waiting to enter. Lisa was very agitated at how people had been acting throughout the station so told a guy to "at least wait until we get off" (rolling over his foot and catching his jeans on the way) while I am following and get told my an old lady with a cane, who is banging her cane on the floor, that we were going out the wrong way. Then we tell my mom that we went out the wrong way and she said "I know! We had to walk through the riot you created with 3 suitcases." She told the rioters that we were tourists and apologized after Lisa and I were laughing hysterically off to the side. She came over and joined us and we laughed about it for awhile. We left flustered from that and pulling our 6 suitcases, finally making it to our London Town Hotel. Lisa and I walked around town for a little while and went to Starbucks while Mom and MMJ rested. Then, we all went back to the tube more experienced with less luggage and made our way to the tourist attractions. We took multiple pictures of Big Ben, a museum, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye (which we rode and was amazing) and various street performers. I will learn at some point to post pictures but I'm not quite there yet so be patient. We went to get pizza tonight and had a nice dinner near the hotel and will go to bed early because we are all exhausted. Tomorrow will start another adventure!:-) We'll keep you posted!
Cheers from the Foreigners.
We made it to Lisa at Heathrow Airport where she was patiently waiting our arrival. We got off the bus with our 5 suitcases and headed to the tube. We survived the tube with all 6 suitcases and people standing all around them as they were obstacles throughout the tube and cheered when we got off because they actually had some room to stand. They we took the lift (elevator) to where we needed to go, which opened on both sides. We thought we were supposed to exit the opposite side we entered, however we found out otherwise. The doors opened, everyone else went out the right way and for some reason we began to exit the wrong way where many people were waiting to enter. Lisa was very agitated at how people had been acting throughout the station so told a guy to "at least wait until we get off" (rolling over his foot and catching his jeans on the way) while I am following and get told my an old lady with a cane, who is banging her cane on the floor, that we were going out the wrong way. Then we tell my mom that we went out the wrong way and she said "I know! We had to walk through the riot you created with 3 suitcases." She told the rioters that we were tourists and apologized after Lisa and I were laughing hysterically off to the side. She came over and joined us and we laughed about it for awhile. We left flustered from that and pulling our 6 suitcases, finally making it to our London Town Hotel. Lisa and I walked around town for a little while and went to Starbucks while Mom and MMJ rested. Then, we all went back to the tube more experienced with less luggage and made our way to the tourist attractions. We took multiple pictures of Big Ben, a museum, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye (which we rode and was amazing) and various street performers. I will learn at some point to post pictures but I'm not quite there yet so be patient. We went to get pizza tonight and had a nice dinner near the hotel and will go to bed early because we are all exhausted. Tomorrow will start another adventure!:-) We'll keep you posted!
Cheers from the Foreigners.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Guest blogger
Hello,
This is weird; I have never blogged before. :-)
So, this is Kathy, Danielle's mom-- writing because my mother and I are in Wales with Danielle for a visit.
We flew British Airways, Tuesday night. Boy, was that a treat after domestic airlines. We got on, there was a pillow, blanket, eye mask, SOCKS (of all things) and a toothbrush (for morning dragon breath), all wrapped up on our seat-- plus a headset for the 100 channel individual TV in front of us. My mom wanted the window, I took the aisle-- got all settle in. We took off-- first they came around with any drink you would want, complimentary-- then a full dinner-- After all of that, I was really TIRED (the wine helped), settled in-- and just as I got into a sound sleep, mom had to get up to go to the bathroom. That was fine the first time, but she was WIDE awake all night-- didn't want to watch TV, so her past-time was getting up every hour or so. So, I didn't sleep much. It was weird that she wasn't sleeping because she can usually sleep anywhere. What was more odd was that I was really tired the rest of the day and she was really perky.
From Heathrow, we took a bus to Newport (2.5 hrs).... wasn't too bad. From there, we took a cab to the car rental place I had found online (not knowing there were several car places right outside the bus terminal. This place, called EuroCar, was in this tiny bright green building, with a gravel area in the front (not the parking lot I had envisioned to practice with the car) large enough to park 2 cars. The taxi driver left us at the edge of the road to drag our suitcases across the gravel to the door. I was getting nervous about actually having to drive as I signed the papers. They were impressed that our credit card was approved for the $22,000 they would charge me if I totaled the car! I mentioned car insurance and they said that doesn't work over here. Thank goodness I had signed up for Orbitz insurance when I reserved the rental-- that covers up to $40,000-- just in case I would scrape the car as I would come in the gate to the school. It's an awesome policy I recommend for anyone; better than what the car companies try to talk you into at the desk.
Finally, I had to leave there. They took the time to show me how to start the car.... It's so weird to be on the left side of the road driving on the right side of the car. The gearshift is in the middle, have to use my LEFT hand to use it, but I keep trying the steering wheel and keep turning the windshield wipers on. Mom commented today on how clean I am keeping the window. Pulling out of there took awhile... I wanted NO ONE anywhere near me. Mom made the sign of the cross and off we went. To shorten this, I will say we made it to Haberdashers without getting lost!! I do best just driving down the middle of the road, and find myself slowing down whenever someone is coming opposite me. Highways are the best.
Danielle's apartment is adorable! It looks MUCH nicer than her pictures. The school is beautiful, as are the surrounding areas. It's like being in a fable or something. It's neat to walk around the town (I had to walk down today to find a new adapter for Danielle after my hairdryer blew hers out). The sidewalks are full of shoppers, many know each other. There are all kinds of shops.... and I found a neat place to stay when Joey and I come in the spring.
Mom and I ventured out to sightsee at an amazing castle. It was from the early 1500's... in a beautiful spot-- took some pictures.......
Danielle is trying to be off tomorrow afternoon and she wants us to go up to a mountain top view, but the drive up there is along a NARROW road with some scary switchbacks and I am not thrilled to do it. It would be one of those things where I am scared all of the way up and then scared to come down. So, we'll see.........
By the way, Danielle looks GREAT and is really doing well here!!
So, good-bye-- One more day here and we're off to London!
Kathy
This is weird; I have never blogged before. :-)
So, this is Kathy, Danielle's mom-- writing because my mother and I are in Wales with Danielle for a visit.
We flew British Airways, Tuesday night. Boy, was that a treat after domestic airlines. We got on, there was a pillow, blanket, eye mask, SOCKS (of all things) and a toothbrush (for morning dragon breath), all wrapped up on our seat-- plus a headset for the 100 channel individual TV in front of us. My mom wanted the window, I took the aisle-- got all settle in. We took off-- first they came around with any drink you would want, complimentary-- then a full dinner-- After all of that, I was really TIRED (the wine helped), settled in-- and just as I got into a sound sleep, mom had to get up to go to the bathroom. That was fine the first time, but she was WIDE awake all night-- didn't want to watch TV, so her past-time was getting up every hour or so. So, I didn't sleep much. It was weird that she wasn't sleeping because she can usually sleep anywhere. What was more odd was that I was really tired the rest of the day and she was really perky.
From Heathrow, we took a bus to Newport (2.5 hrs).... wasn't too bad. From there, we took a cab to the car rental place I had found online (not knowing there were several car places right outside the bus terminal. This place, called EuroCar, was in this tiny bright green building, with a gravel area in the front (not the parking lot I had envisioned to practice with the car) large enough to park 2 cars. The taxi driver left us at the edge of the road to drag our suitcases across the gravel to the door. I was getting nervous about actually having to drive as I signed the papers. They were impressed that our credit card was approved for the $22,000 they would charge me if I totaled the car! I mentioned car insurance and they said that doesn't work over here. Thank goodness I had signed up for Orbitz insurance when I reserved the rental-- that covers up to $40,000-- just in case I would scrape the car as I would come in the gate to the school. It's an awesome policy I recommend for anyone; better than what the car companies try to talk you into at the desk.
Finally, I had to leave there. They took the time to show me how to start the car.... It's so weird to be on the left side of the road driving on the right side of the car. The gearshift is in the middle, have to use my LEFT hand to use it, but I keep trying the steering wheel and keep turning the windshield wipers on. Mom commented today on how clean I am keeping the window. Pulling out of there took awhile... I wanted NO ONE anywhere near me. Mom made the sign of the cross and off we went. To shorten this, I will say we made it to Haberdashers without getting lost!! I do best just driving down the middle of the road, and find myself slowing down whenever someone is coming opposite me. Highways are the best.
Danielle's apartment is adorable! It looks MUCH nicer than her pictures. The school is beautiful, as are the surrounding areas. It's like being in a fable or something. It's neat to walk around the town (I had to walk down today to find a new adapter for Danielle after my hairdryer blew hers out). The sidewalks are full of shoppers, many know each other. There are all kinds of shops.... and I found a neat place to stay when Joey and I come in the spring.
Mom and I ventured out to sightsee at an amazing castle. It was from the early 1500's... in a beautiful spot-- took some pictures.......
Danielle is trying to be off tomorrow afternoon and she wants us to go up to a mountain top view, but the drive up there is along a NARROW road with some scary switchbacks and I am not thrilled to do it. It would be one of those things where I am scared all of the way up and then scared to come down. So, we'll see.........
By the way, Danielle looks GREAT and is really doing well here!!
So, good-bye-- One more day here and we're off to London!
Kathy
Sincere Apologies to My People
Hello all! I am so sorry that I have waited so long to grace you with another blog. I have been pretty busy with nonsense stuff-nothing too exciting to write about. Let's see what has happened since the last time I blogged...
I'm injured. Not sure what I did but I hurt my achilles/calf/whatever is right in the middle. It was really sore and I kept running so then the next day I couldn't walk without limping. So now I have been icing it whenever I can, elevating it, keeping it wrapped, and it not running. I have been running everyday so not running is pretty tough because it helps release stress and such. Instead, I started eating more ice cream haha. I got to watch the Ravens game with Lisa! I was told by my family that I can't watch anymore of the games because they were 2-2 and then got crushed and it's because I watched-sad:-( Also, Lisa and I realized that the SlingBox she and Christine bought for me is also controlled by what I do on my laptop. I had watched Grey's Anatomy which she recorded and I was trying to watch Friends and it kept going back to Grey's so I would go back to Friends and finally Lisa IMed me and goes ARE YOU ON SLINGBOX TRYING TO WATCH FRIENDS?!? haha. So now we know that we can actually watch TV together because I can see everything she does on her TV and she can see everything I do on my laptop-very strange to see Baltimore/Maryland commercials haha.
I managed to lock myself out of my flat for the first time. Only took me about 7 weeks. I went to run downstairs and then came back up and went to open it and went uh oh...haha but luckily one of Gap students from Australia had this flat last year (they came last January) and she still had the spare key.
My mom and grandmother got here yesterday!! I had been waiting for my mom to call my mobile and then I had a lesson with the year 7 girls and I hear "DANIELLLEEE!!!" and I look and see my mom at the top of the hill waving intensely haha. So they are here and that's exciting! Yesterday, we went to Pizza Express for dinner and then the grocery store for stuff for dinner tonight. They went to see a castle today while I worked (which my mom will write a blog about) and then she made chicken cordon blue, green bean casserole, fresh bread, and stove top!! oh and some cucumbers which Mom Mom cut up:-) So that was great!! Ice cream for dessert and my mom had a glass of wine while MMJ had a couple beers:-) Now we are lounging watching some TV and tomorrow I pretty much have the day free so we will get to hang out and then Saturday we go to London and meet Lisa!
That's about all I have to write for now and my mom will write about their experience and trip so far.
Miss you and love you all!!
xoxo
Danielle
I'm injured. Not sure what I did but I hurt my achilles/calf/whatever is right in the middle. It was really sore and I kept running so then the next day I couldn't walk without limping. So now I have been icing it whenever I can, elevating it, keeping it wrapped, and it not running. I have been running everyday so not running is pretty tough because it helps release stress and such. Instead, I started eating more ice cream haha. I got to watch the Ravens game with Lisa! I was told by my family that I can't watch anymore of the games because they were 2-2 and then got crushed and it's because I watched-sad:-( Also, Lisa and I realized that the SlingBox she and Christine bought for me is also controlled by what I do on my laptop. I had watched Grey's Anatomy which she recorded and I was trying to watch Friends and it kept going back to Grey's so I would go back to Friends and finally Lisa IMed me and goes ARE YOU ON SLINGBOX TRYING TO WATCH FRIENDS?!? haha. So now we know that we can actually watch TV together because I can see everything she does on her TV and she can see everything I do on my laptop-very strange to see Baltimore/Maryland commercials haha.
I managed to lock myself out of my flat for the first time. Only took me about 7 weeks. I went to run downstairs and then came back up and went to open it and went uh oh...haha but luckily one of Gap students from Australia had this flat last year (they came last January) and she still had the spare key.
My mom and grandmother got here yesterday!! I had been waiting for my mom to call my mobile and then I had a lesson with the year 7 girls and I hear "DANIELLLEEE!!!" and I look and see my mom at the top of the hill waving intensely haha. So they are here and that's exciting! Yesterday, we went to Pizza Express for dinner and then the grocery store for stuff for dinner tonight. They went to see a castle today while I worked (which my mom will write a blog about) and then she made chicken cordon blue, green bean casserole, fresh bread, and stove top!! oh and some cucumbers which Mom Mom cut up:-) So that was great!! Ice cream for dessert and my mom had a glass of wine while MMJ had a couple beers:-) Now we are lounging watching some TV and tomorrow I pretty much have the day free so we will get to hang out and then Saturday we go to London and meet Lisa!
That's about all I have to write for now and my mom will write about their experience and trip so far.
Miss you and love you all!!
xoxo
Danielle
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
FREEEDOMMMM!!
Holy freedom! I feel like a new woman! Went to the IT guys and they made me a "trusted user" with my laptop so that I can access things on the internet without having to give my school log in and having to override things that are blocked and such so I am just a free internet surfer and it feels wonderfullll! The reason they did it, is so that I can use the SlingBox that Christine and Lisa bought me and I have been playing with it and it's so cool. It's like I'm sitting at home surfing the channels in good old Baltimore:-) I already watched some Home Improvement and I think I just smiled the whole time because I was so excited. I have some things ready to record already so now I can watch shows on my laptop live or recorded! The ones at night obviously I will have to record and watch the next day being that they are on 5 hours earlier at home and I don't plan on staying up until 3am every night..ha. But anyways so here I am and I'm very happy they did this for me! It's a good thing to be persistent that's for sure:-)
Miss you all!
xoxo,
DP
Miss you all!
xoxo,
DP
Monday, October 6, 2008
Some days you're the bird and some days you're the statue...
Where to start…In about a week, my life is going to start flying by so fast! My mom and grandmother get here, then Lisa, and then I go to Italy and then I get back and it's November! Time is flying and it will only just keep going faster. I have been sick so I haven't had time to write for my blog because I have been going to sleep early whenever possible. I stayed in this weekend and tried to get some sleep and get better. I feel a lot better but we shall see when the morning comes how I'm feeling. Hopefully this is the end of it and I'll feel much better tomorrow. On Saturday we took 3 teams to St. Swithuns for a tournament and unfortunately I forgot my camera because it was such a beautiful school. The buildings were really pretty and they had so much land. The weather held up which was very fortunate because it was supposed to rain all day and it didn't so that was great. It was a little chilly/cold but that is fine to deal with as long as there's no rain! Today it rained until about 4pm and then it got sunny but all the stores in town close at 4 on Sundays so I worked out this morning and then did some intense cleaning of my flat and was very productive while I stayed in today.
Yesterday, the teams did really well. In the afternoon, the first team got second in the second division, second team got first in the third division, and the U15's did well but didn't win anything. The reason the seconds won their division is because I brought them luck…well actually a bird brought them luck by pooping on me so now they said I have to get pooped on every time before they play which I disagreed with completely. So here is the story…
I was standing under this tree that I had been sitting under all day with peoples' stuff and the first aid kit and such and other people came over after the morning games were over and noticed bird poop everywhere. Then we were standing there and someone goes "oh no a bird just pooped on your jacket!" So of course everyone starts laughing hysterically thinking it's so funny and I am screaming to get it off my jacket and I take my jacket off and see it and use a stick to wipe it off-so gross! So then another person goes "umm, it's in your hair too." I didn't believe them but sure enough, they started taking pictures because it was so funny so they all started gathering around looking at it in my hair. Not only was it in my hair, but it was DRY! Dried bird poop in my hair!! One of the girls on the team I was with had gotten hurt earlier in one of the games so we were all huddled around and waiting to see what was wrong with her and it turns out that some of the girls saw the bird poop then which was about 2 hours earlier. They didn't tell me this until I told them I found bird poop in my hair and they go "oh yeah we saw it but Claudia was on the ground so we didn't say anything.." I was like that was like 2 hours ago! Did you just forget?! I have been walking around with bird poop dried in my hair! So then I took my hair out of its ponytail and they started pouring water on it and scrubbing it and I could feel it in my scalp so then I started gagging and it was cold and my hair was soaking wet and they were just wiping away and finally managed to get most of it out. Then they saw it on the hood of my sweatshirt because it had wiped off from my hair and smeared all over the trim of my hood on my sweatshirt. It was everywhere. So then that afternoon the girls won their division and thanked me and I was like yep the sacrifices I make for you guys..haha So I was glad I could provide some entertainment for everyone but seriously, getting pooped on twice?! Who does that happen to? I was so upset and so disgusted and cold with my wet hair. Oh man. So then we were driving back and I guess they cut the wool off all the sheep everywhere the same day because they were all bare and it was rainy and cold and I felt really bad and I was wearing my UGGs and I was like hm well I feel bad because you were shaved to make these and now you are cold and wet. So anyways, I noticed everytime I saw sheep, none of them had fur or wool or whatever it is called on them-how crazy!
I have been a reading machine lately..really into Jodi Picoult and I just found out that Nicholas Sparks released a new one September 30th and I would looove if my mom would bring that for me when she visits :-) hint hint. Ha. I'm not really sure what else there is to talk about…I have become quite the Netball player. I play during lessons whenever there aren't enough girls for even teams. The other teachers are like do you want to play? I'm like yeah sure! And then we also played Rounders the other day. Not really a fan of that because you run even if you miss the ball and you run with your little bat. I missed it and just stood there and they were like go! I was like where? I didn't hit it! Ahhh. Haha it was stressful at first because it takes some getting used to. The weather has been off and on and I am really really hoping that it is good for when my mom, grandmother, and Lisa visit. I will have to keep an eye on the cows around the time when they are coming to make sure they are all standing. Lisa was saying how she saw someone talking to themselves the other day and thought of me because I told her I have gotten in the habit of doing that. If I am walking to town or something I will find myself talking to myself and then realize it's out loud and I'm like oops :-) Sometimes when I'm running and there are only animals around, I will go "baaa" to the sheep, "mooo" to the cows, and "naaaayyy" to the horses whenever I go by just to see if they look up and then I laugh to myself for a good 5 minutes afterwards if I get them to look up at me. Very sad life I live sometimes by myself haha especially when I resort to those things! Since I have been running outside, I see people on the back roads walking their dogs and at least 3 times they have said something to me in Welsh and I just say "yeah!" and smile and wave and run faster so they don't stop to chat because I have absolutely no idea what they are saying. They look really nice when they are saying whatever they have to say but it is complete jibberish to me and I feel bad because I just smile and wave and run faster by them laughing to myself because I have no idea what they say. One time they said something and pointed to the land behind them and I was like what could they possibly be saying and then I started to panic thinking I was trespassing but I wasn't don't worry haha. I was running through this neighborhood one day and an older couple with a little girl, I'm guessing their granddaughter, in the backseat and they pulled over and asked (in English thank God) where some community center was and I just stared at them blankly and was said "I'm from America. I have no idea I'm sorry." And they said oh that's ok not your fault and drove off chuckling to themselves. I was like alllright..so eventful whenever I step outside :-) I think that's about it for now. I will update you when something incredible happens or something really funny or something traumatic like a bird pooping on me twice...in one day.
Miss you all!!!
Xoxo
DP
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