Castell Coch

teehehe for the name.. We didn't get a chance to really see this place but will in due time. Nevertheless I wanted to post some pictures. More deets when we see it properly. Enjoy the Castle from Cardiff, Wales. (I would give more info but truth be told we didn't go in b/c we couldn't be bothered that day. We will return..)

Beautiful Bristol

Today was a lovely day being a tourist in Bristol. It truly is a fantastic town. We started by going into Bristol Cathedral which dates back to 1140 as St. Augustine's Abbey. It then became Bristol Cathedral in 1542. Walking around you could feel the spirituality of the place. There were graves built within the cathedral for various people that had an impact on its existence. I stared to get the heebie jeebies when I had a sudden realization I was surrounded by dead people built within the walls. Yikes!

The day ended with us viewing some Bristol hot spots featured in the BBC America (E4) program Skins.

Also seeing as it was the day after Boxing day, I managed to get some shopping in from my new favorite store Bench

Pics below (per use)

Bristol Cathedral

Random deceased person in Bristol Cathedral

Bristol Cathedral

Classic feet picture. Loving my new slippers/shoes. They go well with the Snuggie

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Bristol! I hope you got all you wished for and more! I know I did. Three cheers for Snuggie's! Pictures Below:

Snuggie

Christmas Breakfast

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Pictionary Man. It was an impulse buy for us but turned out to be a big hit.

My masterpiece!

Winter wonderland

The blizzard wasn't so bad. Instead it was really nice to see the snow fall onto the country side. (See below.) Ok so I have to admit, the below picture is taken a few days after the 'Bloody Blizzard' post. I tried to lie and sneak the picture in but it didn't work. The jist is, the snow is really lovely when it falls in England (and when it's only 30 degrees Fahrenheit). I'm really starting to appreciate the little things.

Bear down at Brean down

Today was a family hike at Brean Down. Seeing as I've never really hiked before this proved to be difficult. In addition to the difficulties (tasting blood, out of breathe, sweating yet still being cold) I felt completely embarrassed that I couldn't hike up the 'hill.' After all I have an American [lazy] stereotype to overcome. Nevertheless I overcame the tremendous difficulty and felt refreshed. I was pumped with endorphins (they are like crack no joke) and was jumping around like a jelly bean. Take a look at my impressive jumps (thank you cheerleading and standing stage crew for helping me build the stamina.) Looking forward to more hikes!

On our way up

Last couple stairs to the top

View from the top

View from the top

This is what happens when you're high on endorphins

The original endorphin addict..my husband the Ninja

A Bloody British Blizzard

Hello again,

Tomorrow is supposed to be a massive snowfall (4-6 inches.) Public transportation may be shut down due to the 'severe conditions.' Bah those crazy Brits. I'm hoping I get snowed in so I can stay in and lounge around. Actually I take that back because as much as daytime TV in the U.S. really sucks and is depressing, it's even worse in England. Imagine, if you will, old (and I mean very old and dated) episodes of Sally Jesse Raphael, Rikki Lake with a peppering of Jerry Springer. No joke! I nearly forgot about Sally Jesse's big red glasses and shoulder pads (back in the eighties.) Those were the days when episodes like *gasp* 'I hate my moms boyfriend' and 'Teen moms...Who's the Daddy?' were big time news. How did we get to a place where taking a paternity test on TV no longer sparks our interest? Shame on us. Shame Shame.

Also there are countless episodes of 'Friends' on TV. I mean in 2009 it's just not that funny anymore. Monica's OCD and Rachel's 'woe is me' attitude doesn't cut it. Needless to say, I miss American TV. Send me updates if you have them I'm dying to hear how the Kardashians are doing.

London Snow

Sorry Sally. Your time is up.

An ode to Detroit

Today I attended a very British Christening. This was the first time that I truly felt AMERICAN. Things were just....different. I also felt like I was in a bad British reality show when I encountered some really stuffy people. One for example thought it was amusing to talk about his adventures in 'the horrible city of Detroit.' (Why is it when I tell people I'm from the U.S. they always have to tell a story about their experiences in Florida and how the portion sizes were so large etc etc.)

Anywho, this fella continued to tell these horror stories about Detroit while the crowd gasped at the idea of a security officer holding a gun or how at night you have to turn the lights off inside your car dashboard when you reach a stoplight because the gang bangers will shoot you. *roll eyes* Anywho, if you know me I put up a good 'verbal fight' and proceeded to get our kind gentleman to reveal that he hasn't been anywhere else in the states and every country has bad parts and Detroit should not be an indicator of tourism in the U.S.

I feel like Detroit is that far distant cousin that no one needs to know about. Yes he's done drugs from time to time and is slightly shady but at the end of the day, he's family...and no one talks bad about my family! (Unless you're in the family that is.)

Hang in there Detroit. You'll pull through!

P.S. I'd also like to take this moment to thank the bottle of Prosecco that helped me through this interesting ordeal.

Playing Catch up

So dear blog I've neglected you. As you may or may not know I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I've just managed to get a hold of everything and start my own non routine routine. It pretty much starts with waking up and watching 'GMTV' which is the UK Today show without the banter between Meredith and Matt or the corny Al Roker jokes (oh I miss you Al Roker!)

Next I take the day one step at a time. What's exciting is everyday brings a different adventure. I've learned to let nature/destiny take its course. Sounds corny but let me give you an example:

1) Last week I had to meet Richard in Swansea for his marathon. I went to Paddington Station and due to the incompetent train systems, I got on the wrong platform and ultimately the wrong train. Something told me to try to get a better seat or go in a better cart so I got off and went around to board a cart in front. When I tried to get on, the doors closed and the train started to depart right in front of me. Infuriated at first, I found a train worker who told me the train I tried to board was headed to Reading and NOT Swansea. (The Swansea train was on the other side of the platform and had left 5 min prior.) The good thing was there was another train headed to Swansea in 20 minutes. So I boarded and got to Swansea safely. Something told me to get off that original train. I didn't have to but I did. Had I stayed on, I would have went to Reading with no way of getting to Swansea. Thank you 'nature/destiny/or greater force.'

Also, since stories are better told by pictures, please see the below pictures for a snapshot of what we've been up t0:

Paddington Station

Welcome to Swansea!

Oxford

Goodbye Ireland

The hills of Gower

Congratulations Rich on your Trail Marathon!

A Girlie's Birthday!

Although this wish is slightly tardy, I had to squeeze a moment to send this message.

Happy Happy Special birthday to my other bestie! She's a very special person who takes life by the horn. Have a great day! Miss you tons!

A note whilst Traveling

Dear miss in the turquoise jacket who I happen to be standing behind
in Dublin airport.

I understand that the term 'personal space' is not
a global concept however that does not give you the excuse to keep
farting repeatedly ...in my face. Thankfully I'm taller than the
majority of the people in this country (think really short toilets) so
it takes a while for the stench to make its way up to me. And to the
woman behind me reading this note ...(yes you..the same person who
tried to budge 2 people in line) purple is not your color.

..I hate being delayed for 2 hours. Argh!

Birthday Wish!

A very special birthday wish goes out to my very best friend.

A couple (random) words of wisdom on this day:
- don't succumb to peer pressure/competition
-remember confidence competent compassionate
-most importantly black don't crack:)

Miss you! Happy Day!

Irish eyes are smiling...

So the last couple of days have been a blur but most importantly I've been very happy moving to and fro. I've just returned from Dublin and am back over again on Monday. I saw two people dressed as leprechauns walking about the airport with pints in their hand (picture attached)...only in Ireland I guess. From what I've seen so far (which

is very little) the Irish seem to be very happy and polite people...similiar to midwesterners without the obeseity. We'll see if my stereotypes errr thoughts change next week.

Otherwise I've been learning to:
- find the good in the bad (similar to how we all accept rappers that were once drug dealers...love you lil weezy!)
- take less sugar in my tea
- and go with the flow

On to the next couple of days..

-Me

Halloween/Bonfire Night

Tonight we celebrated Halloween and Bonfire night together. It was nice to see all the family gather and catch up with everyone. However I must say Halloween was not the same. I quickly realized that most adults don't dress up for Halloween. In fact, only some kids do and if so they are some gory figure. I miss the random adult costumes in Chicago. For all the Prince's, Appelonia's, Double Dare contestants, Chickens, Eggs etc... god speed and have a drink for me!

Now onto the fascinating tradition of Guy Fawkes night. I will spare the explanation of the holiday and leave it to Wiki to explain here. All I will say is that we burned an effigy in a big bonfire. It seemed slightly scary at first but who doesn't love a good fire. When in Rome...pictures are below enjoy and Happy Halloween!!!

We Landed!

Yesterday we landed safe and sound. I’m pretty proud of myself because we’ve been handling the jet lag really well (thank you Tylenol PM.) Leaving Chicago was hard but knowing that something great is upon our future made the move comforting.

Today was full of running around in Bristol trying to make sure I obtain a national insurance number, get a cell phone and sort out adapters etc. It didn’t go as successful as I would have liked but I always set high expectations anyway. The day ended with a nice dinner, board games and of course….some wine:) I can’t complain.

The cats are adapting well…almost too well. They are purring every chance they get and are loving the attention. Although they seemed extremely tired. Is there such a thing as jet lag for cats? If so I think our cats have it. They are sleeping non stop and at one point I thought they were dead….I was wrong.

I have some really good prospects on the job front so I definitely have that to look forward to!

All in all it was a good day with great food. I still feel like a tourist because I’m finding the charm in everything…even the polite police officers. Hopefully this feeling doesn’t wear out…