London First Trip

Ok, so I figured it was about time to bring all my darling, yet very neglected, blogging friends up to speed on everything...sorry, I kind of left you all hanging right outside of London...lol.

England

What an amazing experience I had! I already shared some of the small town stuff with you all, so I will share some pics from London and attempt to recap. I do apologize for the darkness of the pictures...it was a bit overcast, but if you would really like to see a pic, I think you can just click on it and it will be a better quality...maybe my computer is just dark...I don't know.

This was the first delightful scene as I arrived by train into London. It is the site of the 2012 Olympics...there was a big multi-million dirt mound too, but I'll spare you the view.




Jackie and I took the boat down the Thames river so we could catch a glimpse of many of the sites. Brrr...it was sooo dang cold and I was playing it tough 'cause I'm from Colorado...they don't know cold over there...lol...apparently I don't know cold on the river.








Tower Bridge

This is the bridge the US thought they were purchasing (and getting such as great price for it too)...oops...we actually purchased London Bridge...which is falling down...haa haa haa...it's not so pretty. I thought I took a pic, but can't seem to find it...hmm, but then again, I took over 500 pictures, so maybe I just can't remember which bridge it is.









Tower Bridge leading to Tower of London




This is the Tower of London.

If you look closely, you can see writing toward the bottom that says "Entry to the traitors gate." I was surprised to find out that traitors were just about anyone the King/Queen didn't like...like, at one point, people who worshiped in a manor that was not the way the K/Q worshiped...they were rough royal peeps back in the day (uh, actually the day before "back in the day").






Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. I wish there was a way to capture the whole thing...it was unbelievable! My pics do this place no justice at all.







The gates even have crowns.

Sovereigns Entrance to the Houses of Parliament...sorry, I couldn't capture it really, so I just took pictures of some of the architectural detail.






Big Ben of course.





I had to put these next two guys together. Apparently the statue on the left is a bit controversial. It's a statue of Oliver Cromwell holding a sword and a bible. He is said to have initiated the trial and execution of Charles I...well, I knew that the bust of Charles I was right across the street because supposedly Cromwell's head is bowed to avoid the piercing gaze of Charles I. I turned around and after a few minutes, I saw the iiiiiiiitttttttyyyyyy bitty bust of Charles I and about laughed my head off...poor dinky Charles! I personally have come to the conclusion that Cromwell's head is bowed 'cause he's squinting so hard to see Charles I across the street. Aren't they just fabulous buildings though!




This next guy you may have seen on the news. He's the guy who camped outside the
Houses of Parliament day one that the war in Iraq started...he's still there, but at least now he has a permit to be there. He will remain until the war ends...power to ya brother.






The next pic is an Egyptian Obelisk...they call it Cleopatra's Needle, but it was around long before Cleopatra. Maybe they call it that because they were eventually moved to a temple built by Cleopatra...who knows? Anyway, there is another one in New York City, so eventually I will have to travel to New York to take a picture so my collection of Cleo's needles will be complete.
















Below is the London Eye...or Eye of London whichever...I didn't get a closeup, but it's a pretty cool wheel.

This gorgeous little red church here houses the first English translation of the Bible.

Blackfriars Railway Bridge (the second...Blackfriars the first is no longer and this bridge was eventually renamed Blackfriars.)

I LOVE this place. I wish I could have gone in and looked around. It is The Globe Theater which is a reproduction of Shakespeare's original theater. IT HAS A THATCHED ROOF! Gorgeous!










This just cracked me up...it is a picture of a spa...very nice huh...lol. When they built it, they put in two-way glass so that the clients can look out over the Thames; however, they installed the windows backwards and everyone can see in, but they can't see out...hee hee...that's what I call accountability...of course, since they have not changed it...maybe it's just vanity. ;)

City Hall

This is a picture of the Gherkin...I think it has a real name, I think it is the Swiss Tower, but Gherkin is what the locals call it...I suppose that is one of the better likenesses they could have label it.

The Household Calvary

The museum left much to be desired. It showed the stables and some of the outfits they wore throughout the years...that's about it. I took pics, but they only allowed me to if I promised not to publish them. The best of the Household Calvary is outside:

hee hee This guy looked like he was dancing 'cause they can hardly walk in those giant boots.

Me and the Calvary "bloke."

Buckingham Palace

The gardens around Buckingham Palace

This guy was on the property surrounding Buckingham Palace, but isn't quite a part...maybe he's just protecting the side gates...not sure, but he looked like a toy soldier on a tattered mantle...lol.

These are called the fabulous buildings of London...haa haa haa...just kidding. I don't know what they are, I just thought they were wonderful.

I had to take two pictures of this building just 'cause it is sooooo fabulous!

I don't recall what building this is below on the left, but it had every single profession carved into the side of it.

I don't know what this is either, but it is awesome! Anyone know?

This is nothing really...I think I was just excited to see a door knob in London. Do you know they don't have door knobs on their houses? They have little finger pulls...I should have taken a picture of them...lol. Also, in the center of the door (the circle) it is embossd with VR for Victoria's Reign.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of this building (the pic on the left) in it's entirety...they were filming a Baliwood movie at the time, but the detail is phenominal.

I loved the sculpture on the building on the right, but was quite saddened to see the building on the left covered in a NYC style media screen.

After our walk around London, we went into a pub for cider...made from organic apples...sounds good doesn't it? It's not...don't let anyone tell you different! It's beer...blech...I think they just needed an excuse to put ice cubes in beer.

We ended our evening in London at a restaraunt called Dim T. It was wonderful!

YUMMMM!

As we were dining, the cutest purple polka dot car drove by...I had to snap a pic.

I'll have to post my solo trip to London later. Already this is a HUGE blog and I need to get ready for my godson's to come over.

Surrendering The Secret

A break from my travel. Tammy sent me over to Melinda's blog where she is having a giveaway...more than the average giveaway because it requires a little action.

Surrendering The Secret is a study leading people who have experienced abortion and the effects thereof (including its secrecy) into freedom.

I almost did not post this simply because I thought I would have no idea what to do with it. I don't think I could lead this group; however, what an honor it would be to pass it on to someone in my church who has been there and has a passion for leading others to freedom.

Please visit Melinda's site and get involved as well...if not for yourself, then for the countless women who you know and/or may never know that need freedom in this area in their life. Melinda has all the appropriate connections and facts regarding this study on her site.

A few places I've seen

I haven't really been able to post because the Internet and upload speed on my Internet stick is S-L-O-O-O-W. I'm currently at the Cumberland Hotel in London, so I have high speed Internet here...it takes seconds to upload...I'm so excited!!! We'll discuss London later. Here are a few of my noteworthy excursions:

Billericay, Essex:

For a small town, this place has some serious history. One piece of information I found interesting is that they have a town in the US which mirrors Billericay; it is called Billerica, which is in Massachusetts, near Boston. Of course, they didn't want to call it the same thing yet wished to keep some sort of English connection, so they took the "y" off the end of the town name. Today, they keep a sort of friendship between them and open their homes to visitors traveling between the two places. It's like a Billericay club...lol...not a bad idea actually.

Not much to say really, I just took a lot of pictures. They have around 18 old buildings from the 15th century to the 18th century Georgian architecture. None of the buildings were built on foundations, so they are slowly inching down the hill. They really are great buildings...here are some of them:

This is on Norsey Road...they are 18th century cottages. One interesting thing about them is that they were not built upon a foundation (and still stand)...most of the stores and houses in Billericay are not built on foundations; yet, they have only crept down the hill a matter of inches.



This is a timber framed house built in 1577...I think it is just amazing how they can stand today.



St Mary Magdalene church and it's front door and 15th century clock tower.


There was a pigeon perched on a throne of his own in the pic on the left, so I had to take his pic.
This is Foxcroft Georgian style built in 1750. In 1935 it was a children's home. I absolutely love the ivy growing on it...it's a nice sign of Autumn with the gradual color change of the leaves.















This pic shows...beyond the coined phrase "sunlashes" (I can't remember for the life of me which siesta coined that phrase.)...a 16th century half timber style; however, back in the day, the exposed beams were not black...they were a natural gray (and I actually have a picture later of what it would really look like if left natural).

This is very noteworthy. It's called The White Hart and was built in the 18th century. Two of the windows have been bricked off because back then there was a window tax, and of course, this has many windows, so in order to not be charged tax for all the windows, they bricked two off and have kept it that way as a reminder of window taxes.












Ok, so I took 140 pics of places in Billericay, so I must move on now.



Next stop...Leigh, Essex:

This is the award winning beach in Leigh...and believe me, my camera didn't miss much of it...haa haa haa...that's it.













This is what I ate in Leigh:

The cup consisted of prawn, crayfish tails, mussel's, and cockles. The more I ate, the bigger the cup got...lol. Actually, I ate the shrimp (they eat it with pepper and vinegar...I wasn't so fond of that...kind of made it smell a bit more fishy), I tried a crayfish tail and gave the rest to Jackie, then we got down to the mussel's:








Promise you...I said "Jackie...I swear that one below has eyes and is looking at me." It took me about two minutes to gain enough courage to eat it, and...well...Jackie had the rest. lol











These guys are cockles...I found them to be quite yummy, but after about four, I began to cringe, and...well...Jackie ate the rest...haa haa haa. I love seafood, really! Maybe all they needed was butter and garlic....lol.














This is Jackie's son Jack. Jack ate Mackrel:





















More later. I'm off to see more of London now.

The Rest of My Travel

I do apologize for not keeping up with the travel...so much to say...so little time to say it...and picky airwaves (the cloud cover leaves much to be desired for wireless blogging)...BUT, I love it here.

12:00 pm Canada time I boarded the largest plane I have ever been in. I sat right in the center and the plane seemed to go forever before me and behind me. I was quite a bit nervous at first because my mind just could not wrap around the fact that this plane can take off IN THE AIR with so many people on board. Side note: I took my camera this time, but I had an isle seat, and I didn't think people would be too happy with me snapping a pic of all of them...there were some grumpies. I realize people must travel frequently and not all have a silly American, first-time-out-of-the-states perma-grin on their face; and most are sooo tired, but WOW, the essence of it all is incredible. I just hope behind the grumpies lay the thought of the blessing of it all...we are really some blessed people. Ok, hopping off my soap box now. When the plane finally began to move, it was very bumpy...much like riding in my pickup. As we bounced along the runway the lights in the cabin flickered quite eerily as it resembled being in the midst of an episode of the Twilight Zone. I noticed I wasn't the only one nervous and a little freaked out...I saw the lady across the isle and we both shot each other an understanding grin sort of reassuring each other that this beast would actually take off; and, indeed we did and faster than any other takeoff I have ever experienced.

Inside the plane was another world. It had television monitors which showed a map of where we were and where we were headed; and, as we traveled, the plane moved across the sea in proportion to where we were. The man beside me was fast asleep and had a case of the twitches, the lady in front of me had the largest nose ring I have ever seen...I wanted so badly to ask her if I could take a picture, but even I knew that would be rude...lol...oh, the things that thrill me.

There were so many people of different races, and obvious religions, and styles, and everything...it was fabulous! I sat there for three hours making up stories in my mind about their lives...that's a fun past-time, try it, just remember, mental pondering don't make it true. I found that out when I arrived.

So, I arrived in London at 11:00 am and went through customs...I heard so many people complain about customs, but really, it's not that bad. Of course, the people complaining were mostly people from their own country...and that line was three times as long as the line of foreigners. They seem to have every method of transportation possible here...they have the train, the plane, the bus, the "tube" which is like a subway I think (I've never actually been on the subway). My mental picture of London was actually much different than the actual place. Their advertisements here are wooooo bad bad bad, or as they would say "naughty." They also have graffiti just like we do. The difference is the landscape and architecture and overall ambiance of the place. I actually thought it was a London thing to have red doors on every house...haa haa haa...not so. I didn't realize they have coffee here either...well, they don't do coffee like we do, but they do have coffee...espresso...their coffee is espresso. I went into a coffee shop at the main station and asked for a coffee and they said "white or black"...I was thinking white beans (which would be raw coffee beans) or black beans (which are cooked coffee beans); but as I was wrapping my brain around what the lady was saying, she said "milk." Duh. I said "oh, white" and she said "Americano" and I said "I don't want an espresso drink, to which she replied "it's coffee," so that is what I got. Must say, the coffee here is really not too bad.

Ok, so day one (which is a continuation of the last 24 hours) I don't remember much of. I think we went "up the high street," (the main street in the town) but I didn't do much looking around, we visited the shops here. I've learned that "up the town" means we will be going to Billericay; however, "up town" means we will be visiting London.

I love best that there is not the same of everything here...there are no department stores, few franchises, and mostly you would support local businesses...I like that...to each a piece of their own. What we know as thrift stores are called charity shops and they have the charity they support written across the door. The street is lined with charity shops...it was fun going in these places, they were highly organized...and clean. ;)

From there, Jackie and I met one of her friends for coffee (I think this coffee place is like a European Starbucks), and they have little templates that decorate your coffee...it's darling...so I took a pic.

Of course, they only have one template which is the Costa (name of the shop) insignia (lower left cup-o-jo).

Later I went out to the farm where Jackie keeps her horse and saw real farm animals...lol...I couldn't help but take pictures...it was wonderful being on an actual working farm again.

The chicken followed me all over the place.

I'll have to post more about the little town of Billericay tonight...as long as the clouds coverage is low. The people I am staying with go to bed early (like 10 or 11...yikes) and get up late (around 8am). I suppose I am still on University time, so I still go to bed at 2 and get up at 6. So, I have plenty of solo time to play online and get my homework done.

Journey of Fun

It is so exciting to be outside the United States. In July I purchased my passport in anticipation of traveling, and even though it is only day one, I am so thrilled. I stayed up until 2am and then got up at 6am hoping to be tired so I could sleep during the flight, but I was on such an adrenaline rush, I doubted I could sleep at all; however, I was out and totally missed the take-off. I love the take-off...I would call it my favorite part of flying, but it ties with the landing because each landing there is a delicious fear that the tail of the plane is going to scrape the ground before the wheels do...hee hee hee...just one of my weird quirks. Well, I woke up just after take-off when the overly zealous flight attendant started selling dinners...eww...who actually purchases airline food? I always thought there was a reason it used to be free. Anyway, I couldn't go to back to sleep...could have been the coke, but I think I am just really excited. Prior to taking my seat, I grabbed my Ipod and headphones out of my bag, and for a moment, I thought that I should grab my camera, but on second thought I figured it would be silly to take pictures from the window of an airplane...I so wish now I had been silly! I saw the most beautiful sunset I have EVER seen in my life!!! It looked like a rainbow stretched out across the land...it had the most brilliant colors and it would be a shame to just call them red, orange, yellow, and violet...it was simply magnificent; oh, and I saw it through my window which had a picture frame of frost along the bottom.
I am currently awaiting my connecting flight in Toronto...Canada. I wish I had more time to spend here. It was dark by the time I arrived, but the lights were fabulous...I love city lights at night, the gold, white, and red flickers give me the warm fuzzies of Christmas Eve...mmm.
I think I am supposed to board my flight at 22:10 (right now it's 9:50...um 21:50...wow that's a lot of counting), but the flight board says 23:10...wooo I'm so confused.
Ok, I have to confess...I stopped at Starbucks here, and the lady gave me my total and I had that deer in the headlights look and actually said "oh no, that's Canada money huh?" The lady laughed and said "well, you can pay US money, but you will get Canada change." The mighty plastic saved me from having to figure out foreign money. It was actually kind of funny, I gave her my bank card which has snow covered mountains and the lady said "oh, this makes me cold looking at it." Then she showed everyone working there and they all laughed...I guess it late...everyone gets a little silly. YIKES, I just realized I drank Starbucks!!! Really...so much for sleep now!
Well, this is part one of my journey. I will arrive tomorrow in London at 4:30 am MST which is 11:30 am in London. From there I will hop the "tube" East bound to Liverpool, meet up with my friend, and head to Billericay. I am so excited...I am an architecture buff...it was my second love from my teen years and beyond. So, if you enjoy architecture, I hope you check back for some pictures.

The Fiesta...Through My Eyes

Thursday 4:30 am: Did my alarm clock really go off? I never even went to sleep...the excitement for the weekend sent waves of energy rushing through my body...to sleep would bring a sort of forgetfulness of tomorrows surge of living this life of bloggeramma...and that just couldn't happen...maybe it was that coffee I drank before bed...I totally blame Holly for that. :) I was up and in the shower and packing the remainder of my things for the San Antonio Siesta Fiesta. I went into Holly's room to wake her up (as promised in case the travel alarm didn't work) and I wish I had a camera 'cause she was all but hugging the snooze button on the alarm clock...I think I even heard a faint song ...ohhhh sweeet snoooozzzeee buttooooonnnnn...coming from her! HOW CAN YOU SNOOZE AT A TIME LIKE THIS!!!! haa haa haa So, we made our way to the airport by way of IHOP (the pancake house...not to be confused with IHOP the prayer house). After a couple hours of loud, obnoxious, flatulent, but sometimes funny children sitting behind me, my turbulent (due to seat kicking) flight ended and I arrived in San Antonio.

So, I got to my room and walked across the hall to converse with Holly and Joanne, and while we were talking, Kimberly walked in with her sweet daughter Grace, later we heard screams, so I poked my head out and there was Stephanie and others hugging and crying and screaming, then more hugging and crying and screaming...soon the hallway was full and those poor men on the same floor had it cut out for them. lol Here's a first glance of the hallway meeting...which grew rapidly.

It was funny 'cause everyone was calling each other by their blog names. Then Cheryl (The Prof) came out with her Miesta and met us all...she is such an awesome person!

They all left and went on the boat tour of the River Walk, and I went elsewhere, but I made it to the last boat tour of the day...it was awesome at night.

The River Walk was beautiful, so the next morning I went out and took some more pictures.

While I was out walking I met Brooke (Mail Girl) Geo Cashing, so she taught me all about it and took me hunting with her. It was probably the highlight of my trip because I am not big on socializing, meeting, greeting, and making friends and such, so I really enjoyed my first friend making experience.

I couldn't believe how humid it was...holy smokes...and Denver summer clothes just don't cut it; so, I went shopping. I really hate shopping, so I'm glad I found something fast...and on sale. ;)

On to lunch time.

We all hopped the bus and went to ...beats me...we ate at so many Mexican food places, all their names run together. There were a ton of us and the waiters were awesome to put up with us all. Here are some pics from that.

This is some of us waiting for the bus to take us to the restaurant.

This is us at the restaurant...poor waiter guy...at one point he had to tell everyone to sit down 'cause so many people were all over the place.

The conference was great as Beth Moore conferences generally are. She taught on being an heir of God. The energy amongst our group was just unbelievable...I enjoyed it.

Here's a small video of us siesta's waiting to get in:

I sat next to Donna (and I have a horrible pic of me with her), so I won't post it...I was hot, red, not an ounce of makeup left on me and topped it off with a cheezy smile...she is awesome though...I had a great time talking to her.


Finally, our session with the Moore girls was so much fun...Melissa just cracked me up more than anything.

This is Kathy and Jackie Sue they were awesome ladies!

This trip was such an unbelievable time of getting to know people who have just been pictures and words to me. How crazy it seems to some people to do this sort of thing, but it actually makes me think of the day we will meet Christ face to face. He's not just words on a page, but he is life to us. One of these days, we will meet Him and suddenly we will realize He is more than what I read or believed...He is my life...ahem...my inheritance...as I am His. While I had such divine appointments this weekend and enjoyed everyone that makes blogging worthwhile; I still can't wait to meet the one that makes life worth it all.

Potpourri

Ok, so I have lots to say...I'll get the awkward stuff out of the way first.
I received my long awaited job end date. My last day at work will be August 20. Whew, right around the corner. I can't define my emotions 'cause they are all over the place...one moment I'm excited, one moment I'm sad, one moment I'm anxiety ridden, and one moment I'm relieved to finally have a date. I'm the last of my group to go (they're keeping me a few days past conversion in case anything unexpected happens). Can't say what I will do either. I've had multiple requests for me to attend company overviews for financial advisor positions, but I'm not sure I want to go back into investments. My heart says one thing, my parents are saying another thing (eww Fed's *shiver* *shiver* *shiver*), but I hope to pursue what is on my heart...at least until my checkbook screams another. I guess I just have to sit back and listen and wait. The company I work for always provided a 30 day sabbatical on each employee's 10 year anniversary...I planned to go to London. Well, I've been there 10 years, and since the company divestiture, my sabbatical never happened; however, I'm going to London anyway. Paris is in the works...there is a ministry there that works with teens through art and I would love to help out. Anyway, I will miss work...here's some of the things I'll miss:






Allow me to explain: We had a mickey mouse (he even had the real Mickey plastered all over his office with a stuffed Mickey staring you in the face during meetings...creepy) of a supervisor come in and since he always wanted to know when people were at lunch, we all had to put up lunch signs (which we all gladly posted 100% of the time). We were a quirky group, and somewhat obedient. Anyway, the last picture is a team effort tack art (this was the friendliest of them). We all got bored at the scanner because it was soooo slow, so we took advantage of our down time...I loved this one especially because our temp Joe (aka cupcake-his staple food) bent up a paperclip for smoke coming out of the chimney...clever kid. So...that is what I'll miss.

On to what I've been up to lately:

In June I went on a women's retreat. There is a place in Colorado Springs called The Hideaway...oh it is sooo awesome! It's just that...hidden away in a bit of forest mountain area. It's so much fun. Well, as retreats go...oh wait, let me rephrase that...as retreats typically are when I am invited, this one was entertaining. I created a couple aliens out of handiwrap and aluminum foil and placed on of them in the retreat leaders bed...hee hee...it was the size of an 8 yr old.




The other alien was doing his thing on the throne when they found him.




It was the best...I watched Neddra walk into her room...heading to the balcony, do a quick shudder of fear, grab her heart and say VERY LOUDLY "stupid Kathryn." To that I (and a few others) all but fell out on the floor laughing. My punishment:



I was dismissed! I cried "why ya gotta lock a sister out" to no avail. I was banned; however, the intruding aliens got special attention...even their very own names! I just don't get it.

July is my birthday month, and my ski bud's birthday is just a few days before me, so we headed up to the cabin together up by Gunnison with her son and a friend of his. My folks have a resort package at Blue Mesa that I get perks from, so every so often I enjoy the free cabin. It was such a beautiful drive. I wish my camera could have caught the true splendor of it all, but here are a couple of my favorite views:

I suppose I could tell you it was raining, but I wont...those are bugs on my windsheild....lol...but if you look past that you can see snow (in July) up by Monarch Pass.




This one (below) was one of my fav's...that white stuff is not snow though...it's clouds hovering over the little valleys. It was so much more awesome than this picture.


We went to Lake City one day...I love the drive there too! I was a bit overly excited about the beauty of everything...it's so hard to clap and cheer God on when one is driving, so Cindy asked to take over...lol. I don't know...she said something about safety and such...lol.

So, while she was driving:



I got to see:















I just screamed "stop...stop." hee hee hee. Isn't it beautiful!

Last but not least, last Sunday was Bab's 1st birthday. So we went to the zoo:

Here's granny and Bab's looking at the fish. They were about the only thing...well, other than the rather large kitties she saw, that she really enjoyed.










She also started walking:

Did I mention she also adores her Great Auntie. Her mom says it's because she can get away with stuff with me, but I just think there's no reason at all for her to be unhappy, so we have a mutual agreement. ;) Besides...great niece, great auntie...maybe there's just too much greatness for one room to contain. ;-) Yeah, that's it!!!!