A bouquet of newly sharpened pencils...

So it seems that after an AMAZING trip to England (yep... that IS a link to my sister-in-law's blog so you can get the recap from her because she is one of the most entertaining people I know... but I digress), my life has been pretty bland. Let's review what's happened:

*headed back down to Provo a few times to work on the New Testament project. Here's a video they created at work:
I didn't get to be on set this particular day for shooting, but I got to go down to watch the filming twice and I had some significant moments. I feel blessed to have been able to provide such a small contribution.

*Have been working overtime to not only catch up but also get working. End of the year means everyone wants to close their projects. It's quite the change from last year when I had almost no work.

*Struggling through my class. If only there were more hours in the day and I was more dedicated. I'm working at it and I think I'm finding the balance.

*Back to running. My pace is slow. I'm horribly behind, but I keep trying. That and adding in some Jillian Michaels DVDs, hopefully I can get back on track. 

So, just a few odds and ends. But on to the best things about the month:

J-dawgs

For my friend's birthday, one of my friends had the brilliant idea to get j-dawgs and bring them up to the Church Office Building. What are j-dawgs? They're hot dogs with a special sauce and they are SOOO good! LOVE THEM! 

Football games!!!

My friend, Heidi, was kind of enough to ask her dad for his pair of tickets to the Idaho State game, which he graciously gave up. We (well, when I say "We" I mean "I"... I can't really speak for Heidi) had a FANTASTIC time. It was warm! The sun was shining. Heidi made friends with the guys who sat behind us. She was fine while I dragged her around the stadium to meet up with friends who were in attendance. 

I love that I get to work with this girl every day... and now we're outside-of-work-friends too!

And that's basically my current life situation. Trying to survive my class, the end of the year project load, and keep my feel above water. So if you call me and I'm crying, don't worry. Give me a few hours. I'll eventually turn right side out!

Some thing I have learned about myself

So, I've learned that I'm a natural flirt. However, when I attempt to flirt intentionally, it becomes awkward and maybe even a little on this side of ridiculous. So it's better if I stay ignorant of what I'm trying to accomplish.

This poses a major problem because just as I'm ignorant as to my intentions when I flirt well, I'm also apparently ignorant to the guy's intentions until he makes a blatant gesture. Then, I'm not really sure what to do. And it becomes awkward. And I move into an analyzing the situation mode and that leads to an intentional type of flirting and it always turns south.

I know you all want to hear details. Believe me, I think my most popular posts are the ones about my dating life. The vague details are these:

*There's a boy who I've been flirting with off/on since January. But it wasn't really flirting because I had no intentions and was ignorant.
*Recently, boy stepped up and started to make some blatant gestures. I start questioning the situation. (And when I say question I mean more like What is going on? Should I prepare for the apocalypse now or in a month? I'm confused...)
*Boy hasn't really moved past our flirting stage (because of which I'm slowly moving back into the ignorant/non-caring stage so that makes things more natural.)

I'm not sure what this all means, but I do know that I'm not really sure how to play the game. But I do know that this time around is on my terms. No more seeking advice from tons of people. Because as my friend, Heidi, tells me, "Time is not your enemy."

And I have to admit, it makes for a really good story.

Currently, Vol. 3

Current need: my eyelashes to be redone. They look awful. Good thing I'm going tomorrow to get them done.

Current music: Christmas! Got the MoTab's CD and DVD from last year and I can't stop listening . . .

Current obsession: nail polish. I found polishes that I actually love, that I don't want to scrap off. And now my nails are getting ridiculous long and look kind of feminine. Perhaps I should pick the guitar or piano back up. That'll show these nails!

Current frustration: Either finding a date to my friend's costume murder mystery party (which is pretty much impossible these days since the only men I speak to are married or old. Okay, there are a couple of single guys but we are currently in fights or they don't even know my name. Not exactly "friend"/date material . . . I may not be looking for Prince Charming here, but a girl has to have standards . . .) or figuring out how to tell all of my friends that I won't be attending. Either way, I'm rather sick to my stomach about it.

Current bane of my existence: CSS. Hands down. I spend hours trying to figure this stuff out. I may need to start praying harder.

Current tender mercy: Being released from my "Communications Chair" calling (aka Bishop's Secretary) and getting called as a Relief Society teacher. It feels so good to be back in Relief Society and able to participate. And a huge burden off of my shoulders. Now if only I wasn't working until 5 or 6pm every night and could stay awake past 10:30 pm . . . whoops. i need to get to bed before I turn into a pumpkin.

Day 11: Return Home

Finally, we've come to the end of the trip that happened a month ago!! And I can get back to blogging about my adventures, mis-adventures, and whatever else happens in my life!

Day 11 began as the rest. Waking up. Seeing Lil' H. We all got ready and headed down to the French Bakery to get croissants and eclairs. Then we went to Starbucks to get hot chocolate and sat in the square eating breakfast. We trucked back up to the house, packed the car with my suitcase and headed to the airport. 

J was kind enough to check my flight status and became a little concerned about the fact that it said I was going to arrive in Detroit late. I had a two-hour layover in Detroit, but my plane was now supposed to land after that. He said that he would text my phone when they got home so I would have the information I needed. But that set me in a panic. 

I bid them farewell as I headed to the security line. I'm so grateful to the three and a half of them that allowed me to come visit them and spend some time. It was a treat for me and they were such good hosts! (SIL H would probably disagree since I spent a lot of time wandering by myself, but it was nice to just have someone to talk to that could set me straight on a lot of my silliness.)

As I started to go through security, I realized I had about an hour and a half before my plane left. Unfortunately, my backpack was chosen as one with "suspicious items". Now, I realize that the British might be more conservative about precautions, but I noticed that almost every single person that went through this screener, had one bag chosen to be examined. The process was lengthy with every item having to be taken out and then the whole bag run through the machine again. I was third in line and the clock was ticking. But I tried to remain calm. What good would freaking out do? And apparently, according to an old bishopric counselor, I seem to have a lot of grace under pressure.

Sure enough, 30 minutes later, my turn came to have my bag checked. The security guard and I struck up a lovely conversation while he went through my bag and he seemed to be understanding that I was probably not a terrorist. He got me on my way as soon as he could, and I arrived at the gate as they were starting to board. 

The flight to Detroit was uneventful. I watched a couple of movies (Jane Eyre, Water for Elephants), and had 2 meals. 

In Detroit, I checked emails and called my friend, H, to chat. She updated me on all of the happenings while I waited in the airport for an hour. (Yep . . . my flight was not delayed, I arrived in Detroit with plenty of time).

The best part? I arrived in Salt Lake City an hour earlier than planned. My friend, J, picked me up from the airport and brought me home where I promptly wanted to start unpacking and showing off souvenirs. Around 10 I finally retired only to wake up at 3 AM. The process of getting over jet lag was awful and only now do I think I'm back to a good routine. 

And there it is. My trip to the Motherland with all the juicy details. And now I'm back. For the time being. Although, there are current rumblings that my annual Christmas trip to San Diego may be cancelled in lieu of having Christmas in Utah (not in favor of a white Christmas. I prefer my annual picture by the pool, with 60˚F weather, and palm trees swaying). In such a case, a trip may be in order to less hostile weather. Perhaps Disneyland? (I'm really considering it for January. It WILL be my golden birthday after all . . . might as well do something I haven't done for awhile!)

Well, until next time my friends . . . (which will probably be soon. I have some fantastically good stories to share!)

Day 10: London . . . Again

Oh dear... 

It was nerve wracking, I'll tell you. To venture into London by myself. To be honest, my greatest fear was the lack of company to take pictures of me (since goodness knows that I hate getting my picture taken!). 

But can I say I loved it?

And I had 4 people ask ME for directions. Apparently, I looked like I knew where I was going. 

I had big plans to roam around the city for the day, but in the end I made three stops and was extremely exhausted. It was humid, and warm, and all that walking just tuckered me out.

Now, this is where I become named Queen of Geeks as they are now calling me at work. Because the first thing I went to see in London was, the Doctor Who exhibit.

Doctor Who? What in the world is that?

Well, it's a British Sci-Fi television show that has been going on since the 60s but got a reboot in 2005. I started watching it back in 2009 (you know, when I didn't have a life, or friends outside of work, and I spent my life being fat and crocheting . . . *sigh* it's sad when I see my life going in a circle again). 

Anyways, in London there was an exhibit, so I went and took the little tour.

 This is a Dalek. The Doctor's oldest enemy.

 That would be a mannequin of the 11th doctor (the current doctor) and his Tardis.

 A poster of the 10th incarnation of the Doctor (and my personal favorite)

The inside of the 10th Doctor's Tardis. Only cool to those who know about Doctor Who . . .

And took pictures of myself.

See . . . Queen of the Geeks. And the angle is awful. I realize that . . .

Afterwards, I looked at my map and decided to head to Covent Gardens. I thought it wouldn't be so bad to walk through Kensington Gardens and see the palace (home of Kate and William) and then catch the Tube over to Covent Gardens.

It was a long walk. But it was lovely to walk through that area of London and feel like I was living in London.

At Covent Gardens, I had a waffle and then strolled through the shop purchasing little souvenirs. It was around 2:30 when I became exhausted and decided to return to Henley. I was spent.

On the way back up the hill to the house in Henley, I stopped and snapped some pictures of Friar Park, home of the late George Harrison (of Beatles' fame) where his wife now lives. 

It's now been a month and I can't remember what we did that night, but I know that I went to bed and half of me was ready to go home, the other half . . . not so much. *sigh* It was a win/lose situation.

Day 9: Returning to Henley

Day 9 was rather uneventful. Arising early, catching the train, and heading back to Henley. 

I was glad to arrive back to my brother's home to discover that lil' H did miss me. And it was nice to be missed. 

Day 9 was also when I became concerned with making sure I had enough room for all of the souvenirs I had purchased, as I had only one more day.

And it was also the day that I started to get a little homesick. 

It's true.

I must live my life with a routine. And playing all day every day can be exhausting. I guess I have to accept the fact that I'm much more responsible than most people are in real life.

Day 8: Hill Top Farm

So for some reason, it seems like this portion of the trip was my adventurous one. We decided it would be fun to rent mountain bikes and take a ferry across the lake and then ride our bikes up to Hill Top Farm (aka Home of Beatrix Potter).

Yes . . . I realize how messy my hair looks. It was in a french braid for the whole excursion.

Here's the thing about England: Not only do they drive on the opposite side of the road, but the brakes are also on the opposite handle bars. It took a little getting used to. Luckily I didn't fly over the handle bars. And yes, Mom, I wore a helmet.

Once we got across the lake, we started riding. It was flat and beautiful, although a little wet. But then, we hit the first hill. Yep. 10% incline. So we walked that. At the top, I felt confident that I could ride the rest of the way, and I did. It was BEAUTIFUL to ride through English farm country. Green hills. Sheep. Cows. And rock walls. 

Once we got to Hill Top farm we bought out tickets and then went to the hotel next door to warm ourselves with hot chocolate. Then we went into Hill Top. It was beautiful. They had relics from Beatrix Potter and they showed us different objects from her house that appeared in her illustrations.

Yes, that is a real rabbit that lives on her farm.

After that, we headed back down to the dock. I rode down the entire 10% incline hill. That was a rush! We crossed the lake, returned our bikes, got some dinner, then headed back to pack and relax. 

Day 7: Grasmere, Windermere

Tuesday morning found us getting ready to go hiking. We decided to head up to Grasmere and take in a hike and check out William Wordsworth's home, Dove Cottage. 

The weather looked ominous, so we decided to hike first and go to the cottage later. That way, we wouldn't be deterred by the weather. My friend had exchanged emails with a local and found a reasonable hike and after a bus ride to Grasmere, we were off to hike "Alcock Tarn".

 That's the hill that we hiked.

At first, it was nice. Not too steep. I enjoyed it and took lots of pictures.

But the higher we went, the steeper it was and the more I was wondering if it was a good idea. Luckily, it didn't rain too hard. It just kind of drizzled.

We passed flowers and streams, and we may have made a few new friends in our travels . . .

Yep. It was a beautiful hike. Just being up there where it was green. Oh, it felt good. Though I did run into lots of mud. That was my least favorite part.

Afterwards, we went to Dove Cottage. It's a beautiful little house 

And the gardens out back were gorgeous.

Oh, look! The sun came out!

After that, we headed back to Windermere and went to the "World of Beatrix Potter" attraction. Such a kitchy little place but for someone who LOVES Beatrix Potter, I didn't mind the kitchy factor! 

In fact, I spent some time in the gift shop trying to find the perfect souvenir. Finally I settled on some Christmas ornaments. I wish I could skip right to Thanksgiving so that I could set up the tree and see my ornaments!

After that we got some fish and chips and then settled in for the night (it gets dark early up there!). Plus, we needed our rest for the biking we were going to do the next day!