Next time won't you sing with me.

A - Attached or single? Single.
B - Best friend? My sisters
C - Comfort food? Peanut butter and jelly.
D - Day of choice? Sunday
E - Essential item? Chapstick
F - Favorite color? Torquoise, Teel, Bright blue.
G - Gummy bears or worms? Bears
H - Hometown? Good old WJ.
I - Indulgences? Chocolate chip cookies.
J - January or July? July. 4th of July is my favorite holiday. Fireworks Yay!
K - Kids? Someday.
L - Life isn’t complete without…? Humor, Laughing.
M - Marriage date? "They say when you marry in June..." -7 Brides for 7 Brothers.
N - Number of brothers and sisters? 4 sisters. 2 brothers.
O - Oranges or apples? Oranges. Apples, good, but make me more hungry.
P - Phobias or fears? Falling
Q - Quote? "Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can."--Eliza Bennet (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen) Life is funny. Don't forget to laugh.
R - Reason to smile? Life. See Q.
S - Season of choice? Summer, season of play.
T - Tag six: Cori, Hannah, whoever wants to do it.
U - Unknown fact about me? hmmm, coming soon.
V - Vegetable? Peppers (green, red, orange, yellow.)
W - Worst habit? Cracking my knuckles. I hate it.
X - X-ray or ultrasound? what kind of question is that?
Y - Your favorite food? Yes.
Z - Zodiac sign? Taurus.

ahh London. A few of my favorite things.

So when I wasn't skipping around singing "I'm in London. I'm in London," These are a few of the things that I did.

#1 Good old Big Ben. One of our first stops shortly after we arrived. After 10 hours on an airplane, a half hour train ride and a short ride on a double decker bus we got to heart of London. (By the end of this day I was going on 35 hours and no sleep.)

#2 Right around the corner we come to West Minister. Actually our first stop and also one of the last for me. Sunday night I attended an evening service. Interesting. There was a soprano soloist who's voice echoed through the whole cathedral. At the end of the service you get to exit through the big wooden front doors.

#3 Windsor Castle: the official residence of The Queen. Although she only goes there two times a year. Easter and some time in June. This wasn't on Lindsey list of things to see like it was on my so we decided in order for us to both see things that we wanted to see we would need to split up. I was just fine running around by myself. I decided it was easier because could go the speed I wanted and spend the time I wanted.

#4 Wicked (sigh). I finally got to see Wicked and I got to see it in London. How lucky am I?!? I thought it was fabulous.

#5 Can you guess where this is?... Here's another hint....
Plat form 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station. In case you can't read it. I tried to jump through but it didn't work. I must be muggle.

#6 Hampton Court Palace. Home of Henry VIII. Lots of fun. A place where I could spend hours wandering and getting lost and enjoy every minute of it. Henry VIII was there and I would've asked for a picture but I like my head where it is and I didn't want to risk it.

The Gardens were a fair prospect and I could very well fancy myself there always. One section of the garden was completely daffodils. It was gorgeous.

#7 "Portobello road, Street where the riches of ages are stowed. Anything and everything a chap can unload, Is sold off the barrow in Portobello road.You’ll find what you want in the Portobello road." Within the most pleasant part of London. Notting Hill. You will find one of the best markets. Half of it is antiques. And you can literally find anything you want. And there there is food, jewelry and clothing. Why doesn't America have more markets?

#8 Tower of London is always worth a few hours of your trip. At least a few hours. There is so much history in this castle. And the crown jewels are always worth the wait in line.

#9 Imperial War Museum. I spent more time here then I planned on. Which meant I didn't get to some of the other museums that I wanted to. But it was worth the time. They had great displays about all the wars and other conflicts, starting with WW I. Including a nice Holocaust display. It was interesting to learn about the British view of the different wars.

#10 St. Paul's Cathedral. One of my all time favorite buildings. I could sit and look at it for hours and then go inside and look some more. It is amazing. I didn't make to the top or the whispering gallery. However on Easter I went to a Evensong. (Catholic Choirside) It was beautiful. My seat was in front right under the dome. And the music rang throught the whole building. It is always interesting to listen to sermons of other religions and participate in their services. After the service we got to exit through the big wooden doors. I was awestruck. I didn't get any Easter treats this year, but this whole trip was a treat.

Greeting from London!!

This week has flown by. But it has been loaded with great times and I have not been disappointed with what I have seen. More details to come later. However I will say that I can leave happy. I saw the three major things that I wanted to see. Windsor Castle. My new favorite. Hampton Court. My new favorite. And Wicked. My new favorite. I still want to get to Portobello (that will be tomorrow.) and St. Paul's cathedral. And a few of the museums. There is still a lot to see. The only damper on this trip is the awful exchange rate. ($2.10 to the pound. :P) It sure makes me think twice before I spend. TTFN

London calling to the faraway towns...

One week to go. And I am getting antsy. I wish I could just skip this week and be on my way. However there is too much to do this week. Abby is getting married in five days so I'll helping to finish things up for that as well as move her into her apartment. There is a ward activity on Friday to prepare for. Luckily I have the most amazing co-chair. Of course this would be the one week I would get two dates after a month and a half of nearly nothing. And sometime in the middle of all this and work I have to find time to do laundry and pack. I plan on keeping it pretty light.



In order to prepare for the up coming adventure (9 days) Lindsey and I have been doing lots of research and planning in order to pack as much as possible into the six days. I have also watched Mary Poppins, What a Girl Wants, My Fair Lady, Sliding Doors. I still need to watch Finding Neverland.

A few things on the to do list:

• Sing London Bridge is Falling down while crossing the Tower Bridge or I guess any of the bridges.
• Feed the birds in front of St. Paul's Cathedral.
• Try to get a guard to smile in front of Buckingham Palace
• Drink tea at 2pm (herbal tea, of course.)
• See Wicked!!!
• Climb the 540 stairs to the top of St. Paul's
• Tell a secret to someone in the whispering gallery at St. Paul's
• Attend a tea party at the Orangery in Kensington
• Find an unusual find at Portobello Market
• Windsor Castle!!! I am really excited to go there.
• Try to jump through the wall 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station
• Mind the Gap in the Tube.
• Get a hoodie from Oxford or Cabridge.
• Ride a double decker bus. (if they are still around.)
• and more.

Word of the day-Gallivant

gallivant •
Pronunciation: gæl-ê-vænt • Part of Speech: Verb, intransitive

-->Meaning: (Colloquial) 1. To extensively travel about without care or concern. 2. To travel about showily in search of fun and pleasure.

I like this word.

London is always a good idea

Today began as an ordinary day. I woke up, showered, ate breakfast. I was running my normal 5 minutes late for work, which ended up being 8 minutes due to the sheet of ice that covered my car. I got to work went about my normal routine and by two o'clock I purchased an airline ticket to London. Okay not so normal. In fact it definitely was not in my schedule for the day. I hadn't even thought about going to London. However when I got to work my friend Lindsey asked if I wanted to go to London for spring break. She had found round trip tickets for $650.00 (including taxes and fees.) and her dad would help pay for the hostel where we would stay. I told I would think about it. And four hours later I had the ticket.

I am scared to tell people I am doing this because once they find out they will think I am crazy. Especially considering the other things I have planned for this year. But I honestly thought it through. I did some slight money planning and decided I could pull it off. And then I asked my mom, (who is supposed to be my voice of reason, the smart and wise one, who is also aware of everything that I have coming and who I thought would remind me of all the reasons why I shouldn't go.) what she thought I should do and she said I should go for it. "Oh, ok. If my mom says I should then I should. Mommy knows best!!!" So I am heading off to London in 20 days. YAY!!!! (Yes that is right after Abby's wedding.) I love London. I also will be scrimping and saving a bit more for the next few months (as well as taking back the extra pair of shoes I just bought.) and praying for a big tax return. That will be paying for the bulk of this trip. Yes I know I'm crazy. Lindsey and I are ok with that. =)

Israel or Bust

So I have two main goals this year.
1. Be out of debt by the end of the year.
2. Go to Israel and Egypt.
Not the best two goals to put together. One makes the other more difficult. But I am determined to do it. I'm not sure where all the money is going to come from yet. But it will come. To make this dream happen I am making a few sacrifices.

• Shopping for any unnecessary material good or substance; this includes: clothing and accessories, (Its amzing how many cute outfits appear in the stores and the sudden need for new shoes that comes when one is determined not to spend money.) Books (this will give me a chance to catch up on the books I already have.)and extra treats and snacks. (the best diet there is.) And toys or other electronic devices I thought I might need are on hold.
• I am not taking any roadtrips or traveling any farther than I have to.
• Eating out is out!! For the most part. I am finding that it is hard to have friends and save money. Friends like going out to eat and doing things that require money.
• I also decided to pass on the gym pass. One of the hardest things to give up. I love working out. Cutting this out also meant I couldn't train for a triatholon this summer. (Sorry Matt.) I still bundle up and go running.
• I considered selling all my worldly goods to help provide for this pilgrimage. But no one wanted any of my junk. All well.

Some highlights of the trip include:

• Cairo Museum
• Citadel Mohammad Ali (Alabaster) Mosque
• Horse-drawn carriage ride along the Nile and past the temples of Karnak and Luxor.
• The Giza Pyramids
• Clamel ride to top of Mount Sinai to watch the sunrise.
• Snorkeling or scuba diving or visiting an underwater museum
• Petra
• Swimming in the Mediterranean Sea
• Morning boat ride on the Sea of Galilee
• Swimming and a watermelon bust on the beautiful grassy picnic areas overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
• Mount of Olives
• Mount Moriah
• Church of the Holy Sepulchre
• Church of the Nativity
• Yad Vashem (Holocaust) Museum
• Gethsemane
• Garden Tomb
• And a lot more!!

For the complete iternary click here. I think this is worth a few sacrices, don't you?