It's taken me awhile to get back into the swing of things since my trip(s), so I've not made any time to post anything on the blog. And I just know that everyone has missed me SOOOOO much! (haha!) Anyway, England was great! Absolutely beautiful and exactly as I had imagined. From the second we arrived we hit the ground running and never stopped! There was absolutely no rest for the weary....and weary I was (I was awake for a solid 48 hours before it was time for bed again)! We arrived at 7 am (1 am central standard time) and once we dropped our bags off at the college where we were staying, immediately left for soccer practice. Soccer.....{sigh}.....we lived, breathed, ate, drank, and slept SOCCER!
I saw more soccer in those 2 weeks than I've ever seen in my entire life...not that I'm complaining! I mean, that WAS the whole purpose of the trip....but, I'm just saying.....
Our days went a little something like this:
Wake up
Eat breakfast
Drive an hour to practice facility
Practice Soccer
Drive an hour back to campus
Eat Lunch
Practice Soccer
Search for an internet connection to update blog and check facebook
Drive an hour somewhere else
Play Soccer
Drive an hour back
Eat dinner
Search for an internet connection
Sleep
REPEAT!
The highlight of the trip for me was definitely our day-trip to London. I loved every minute of it...except the part where Justin had us traipsing all over the place in the wrong direction looking for Harrods...that wasn't very fun...but I loved every other minute of it and wished that we had a few more days there to explore.
The funniest story has to be the parking deck incident...the driving adventures in general were more than hysterical, but one in particular stands out the most. I'll begin this story with a picture...
Now, you can probably pretty much figure out what happened on your own just by looking at this picture, but I'll go ahead and fill you in anyway. We had all just gotten back from a very long day that ended in a soccer game (I know, I know...soccer!) and it was pretty late and everyone was pretty hungry since the "dinner" that was served to us after the game consisted of french fries (aka 'chips') and buns. That's right folks, a french fry sandwich, or as the English call it a Chip Butty. Mmmmmmm. Anyway, I digress...Ryan, Justin, Jen and I set out to look for a pizza place that would be open late and also accept American Express.....not an easy feat and after driving around for about an hour we gave up and decided just to run into the ASDA (Wal-mart) and pick up some sandwich supplies. Upon pulling into the parking lot we saw police officers and ASDA employees running down the street chasing someone who had apparently done a bit of shoplifting. This small amount of chaos had us so distracted that we (ahem, RYAN) didn't pay attention to the clearance level of the parking deck until we felt a jolt and heard a loud CRUNCH!!! We all sat there in stunned silence. Then promptly broke into hysterical laughter. To top it all off, Justin noticed one of the police officers get into his car and back out of the parking space (that was literally RIGHT behind us....like, he could have spit on our van from where he stood) and said "Oh crap, is he going to pull us over?!!" Ummmmm, pull us over for what, exactly? Being moronic enough to nearly decapitate a rental van in a parking lot of a foreign country? And how exactly is he going to 'pull us over' since we are already stopped and it would take him less time to just walk the 2 feet over to us than to actually get into his vehicle, back out of his parking space, then back up even more to give himself enough room to pull in behind us...Once again, hysterical laughter ensued.
There are many more stories that are equally hilarious, but I won't go into those now (and to be quite honest, I am beginning to get a little fuzzy on the details), so I'm just going to post some photos from the trip.
Today I am irritated because what was supposed to have been a half-day at work has turned into a triple-time day and I am SO over it. I'm over this job. I'm trying to be grateful to even have a job in this rough economy, but it is very hard. I feel like a spoiled little brat for even complaining, especially since I pretty much get to do as I please here and I never have anyone looking over my shoulder....and don't get me wrong, that part is VERY nice and my boss treats me very well....but after 5 years of sitting here, staring into the wild blue yonder, I'm bored to tears. And the parts of my job where I actually have to do work, I hate. I'm sick of breathing in chlorine, of unloading box after 50-pound box of acid, and of getting soaking wet trying to untangle the huge, cumbersome vacuum hose...needless to say, I will NEVER own my own pool.
I love candles. I love everything about them...the smell, the soft glow and the dancing shadows they create. Sometimes I just like to light all of my candles and relax in their fragrant light...pure bliss.
