December!

I can't believe it's December and that my birthday was 2 weeks ago and that Thanksgiving was this time last week! Time is definitely flying! My birthday was fun and then Thanksgiving was really fun and it was nice that I wasn't by myself. The usual group of girls that I hang out with (Amy, Steph, Andrea, Tegan, and Katherine) all decided that I needed to have a proper Thanksgiving dinner where we could all hang out together that night and cook together and have a little bonding time. When my mom came out here so brought some extra bags of stovetop thinking ahead to Thanksgiving and then some french fried onions which everyone loved and was picking off the top of the green bean casserole. I made the green bean casserole for the very first time and I must say- It was delicious! I think I did an excellent job and was very proud of myself! Although when Mom-Mom and my mom were here and my mom made it, some of the top ones were a little dark and Mom-Mom said "boy, you really cooked those onions" and mine turned out that way too so it must have been the oven:-) But they had never had it before and really liked it. Tegan said she didn't like green beans but would try it to be nice and ended up loving it so I think I did a pretty good job:-) I also made stovetop which wasn't the most difficult of tasks but even I would find a way to mess that up- and I didnt. We went to a nearby town called Ross and got an already roasted chicken, well we got 2. So we had them, green bean casserole, stovetop, butternut squash (not a fan), mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, and ice cream. I was very full so it felt very much like Thanksgiving! I said the prayer before we began our meal and everyone loved it and clapped and I reminded them that you usually don't clap for the person after they do the prayer haha. Very good meal though:-)
Ali is coming to visit on Monday!!! I am sooo excited and she is making fun of me because of everything I have planned for us to do and how busy I am keeping her but I want her to get the most out of this trip and even my little town has a lot to offer:-) So we are going to a couple castles and up to the Kymin which Lisa loved:-) It was a 45 minute walk straight up haha..very tiring but it has the best view around of Monmouth so it is definitely worth it..with some water! Then I'm going to take her out on Friday to Spoons, the pub we go to every Friday so she can see it. Won't stay out late since we leave for London the next day and I already have alot planned for that Saturday! We go home Tuesday out of London Heathrow..so crazy how soon I go home!!! I am very excited to be home and to see everyone and to just hang out in the house. DU has a 7 week break this year so everyone is home for what seems like forever so I am very jealous.
I had a meeting today with head of boarding, ceri the girl I work with, and the head of the pe department. It was very interesting and helpful just talking about next term and getting more girls involved in lax and really talking up sports in general around the boarding house. Also, since lacrosse ends in April, they said I need to start thinking now about what I want to do after school during the week. My options are: Athletics which is basically track, Badminton, Rounders, and Tennis. They said maybe I could broaden my range of knowledge of sports and help with some different ones on different days so I may do that. I am finished here in July and then want to travel before coming home for good. I'm so sad that I am missing the OC vacation this year but it will always be there and I won't always have the chance to travel Europe. I was worried in my meeting that they would bring up next year and that I'd have to say that I wasn't coming back but they didn't! Some girls actually are going home after they are finished lacrosse at their school. Most girls are leaving in April/May but I told them that I planned on staying through to July 3rd and they are already short on staff for sports so I wouldn't just abandon them.
This past weekend we went to a triangle where we take all the teams and they play 2 different teams and it was the same place where a bird pooped on my twice so I was a little anxious the whole time being there and paranoid about what was around me. But, I came home poop free so it was all clear!
Let me know if anyone would like anything from London while I am there before I come home, already getting scarves for Kelly which have been requested ha. Let me know if you can think of anything else you may fancy:-) Alright, well I will write again if I think of anything else and let me know if you have any suggestions for what sport I should take over in the Spring!

Love,
DP