Back on familiar (and friendly) ground. Sitting just a few feet from where I posted my very first blog for this trip. I'm missing England but the England airport, not so much. I think I had a sign on my head that signaled everyone to give me a very hard time. Most times I love airports but all the hassle I went through getting in and out of Manchester is almost enough to make me not want to go there again. Don't worry... I said almost. (I am already planning to go back.)
The longest part of the journey is over, but I'm still not quite home. John, Linda and the rest of the gang came back with me but had a different flight that was direct, so I think they are getting to Orlando right about now. I haven't minded the time to catch up with people on my phone that has been pretty much unused for two months!
I sure missed celebrating the 4th of July on Friday. No fireworks or days off on that side of the pond. But Saturday made for a day of a few more experiences. I can now say that I have spent more time on a train in England than I have in America. Kath and I took a train down to do a show in Liverpool and we were delayed for a long time by a train that broke down in front of us. After a long time on the track and being slightly disoriented from riding backwards for hours we got to the train station and I had my first ride in an English Taxi. The show was wonderful. It was titled "Sing the Ultimate Movies" and my dad did the voice overs for it. It was weird hearing his voice so far away.
A short night, a long day of traveling and I'm ready for a shower and my bed. I've spent a little bit of the flight reflecting on what I have missed while I was gone, and what I'll miss for England now that I'm back. Here is the list that I came up with:
Things I'll miss from England-
Fish and Chips
Long days of Sunshine
The culture and tradition
Cream Tea from Betty's
Driving around the amazing countryside
Linda and her girls
My new friends from the office
All the cakes and pastries.. mmm
Things I missed while I was gone-
Greasy hamburgers (5 guys anyone)
Mexican Food (although Indian was a nice substitute)
Drying my clothes in a dryer
Real coffee
All my friends and family
The 4th of July!!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
My Last Blog from England :-(
While packing I came across my journal that I brought. I made one entry in it before I realized that my blog could be my journal. But I thought I would use this post to share it with you.
"This spring break I was presented with the wonderful opportunity to travel to England this summer and work as a personal assistant for one of the owners of Sing Live UK, Linda Metcalfe.
Not only is this my first trip across 'the pond', but I'm doing it alone! I have had a lot of different emotions in preparation for my trip.
The first was disbelief that I was actually going to get to do this. This happened at such a perfect time, when Carson and I were going to be apart anyway.
The next emotion I experienced was being overwhelmed! Learning about customs and all the things that are different in England and what I was going to need for eight weeks! The overwhelming amount of things to think about turned into stress about whether I had everything and if it was going to all fit into my suitcase.
Now, as I sit on the plane to Manchester, it is pure excitement!! I fly all night to be picked up in the morning and taken straight to the office to work. Nothing like fighting jet-lag. Time to sleep, more experiences to come."
I was sharing with John that I experience so much every day and then when I sit down to write my blog there is no way to remember everything, much less find ways to express it in words. This has truly been an amazing experience, one that words can't do justice but will just have to live in my head. I hope that what I have been able to capture on this blog has given you a glimpse into the culture, language and things that there is to do here. I am so fortunate to have had this opportunity.
This will be my last blog from England but check back next week as I will be doing some reflection on my trip over here. It seems like too much to take in at the moment. I went out for drinks with the girls tonight and we had a wonderful time. They gave me a little gift of a picture of one of the streets that I had been to in York. I think it was then for the first time that I realized how much I am going to miss it over here. The places that I have seen and the people that I have met. This has become more than just a place to tick of my list and say that I have been. It is a place that has come to mean something special and a place that I will want to return to in the future. . . to my new family here.
"This spring break I was presented with the wonderful opportunity to travel to England this summer and work as a personal assistant for one of the owners of Sing Live UK, Linda Metcalfe.
Not only is this my first trip across 'the pond', but I'm doing it alone! I have had a lot of different emotions in preparation for my trip.
The first was disbelief that I was actually going to get to do this. This happened at such a perfect time, when Carson and I were going to be apart anyway.
The next emotion I experienced was being overwhelmed! Learning about customs and all the things that are different in England and what I was going to need for eight weeks! The overwhelming amount of things to think about turned into stress about whether I had everything and if it was going to all fit into my suitcase.
Now, as I sit on the plane to Manchester, it is pure excitement!! I fly all night to be picked up in the morning and taken straight to the office to work. Nothing like fighting jet-lag. Time to sleep, more experiences to come."
I was sharing with John that I experience so much every day and then when I sit down to write my blog there is no way to remember everything, much less find ways to express it in words. This has truly been an amazing experience, one that words can't do justice but will just have to live in my head. I hope that what I have been able to capture on this blog has given you a glimpse into the culture, language and things that there is to do here. I am so fortunate to have had this opportunity.
This will be my last blog from England but check back next week as I will be doing some reflection on my trip over here. It seems like too much to take in at the moment. I went out for drinks with the girls tonight and we had a wonderful time. They gave me a little gift of a picture of one of the streets that I had been to in York. I think it was then for the first time that I realized how much I am going to miss it over here. The places that I have seen and the people that I have met. This has become more than just a place to tick of my list and say that I have been. It is a place that has come to mean something special and a place that I will want to return to in the future. . . to my new family here.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Almost home
Sorry I missed blogging last night but I was busy baking! I learned how to make all sorts of posh things such as meringues and crème brulee! It was a very enjoyable evening in the kitchen with Linda. It was very fun to make and should be even more fun to eat tonight!
Wrapping up things at the office… trying to learn all that I can in a short amount of time. One more day at the office and one more show… then I will be on a plane to Orlando.
I got some exciting news that Carson, my fiancé, will be flying home from Clemson a week from tomorrow. It has been over two months since we have seen each other so I am very excited! As much as I will miss my new family over here… there are many people that I am missing back home that I can’t wait to see!
Wrapping up things at the office… trying to learn all that I can in a short amount of time. One more day at the office and one more show… then I will be on a plane to Orlando.
I got some exciting news that Carson, my fiancé, will be flying home from Clemson a week from tomorrow. It has been over two months since we have seen each other so I am very excited! As much as I will miss my new family over here… there are many people that I am missing back home that I can’t wait to see!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Time is flying. . .
Wow, my last week here is flying by and won't slow down. I'm trying to fit everything I can in. I have spent the last two days learning the company database. Don't worry, it's not as boring as it sounds and I'm quite enjoying it. Everything was created here in England and somethings don't match when you convert it to America (for example, they don't have states over here) so I have enjoyed working with Angela and "solving the puzzle" that is Access. It's a very useful system but it sure has its quirks. I have been "testing" Angela's knowledge by thinking outside the box but not knowing how to put it on the system. It has been a fun time of learning that will be very useful knowledge.
Right, now I didn't mean to bore you with work stuff but it's been the reason I'm here. Now on to more exciting things. Tonight Sabine and I went back up to the White Horse to hike a different trail down to Sutton Bank. I didn't take my camera because we were supposed to be doing some hard hiking and it's very heavy. Plus, I wanted to enjoy the scenery and capture it in my mind (sorry, but I do not have the ability to put mental pictures on my blog :-) Anyhow, despite be told by someone in the office that there was a proper path down to the lake, the path was not proper at all. I can't say that I minded because it would have been a very steep, long journey back up. So we walked up along the top of the mountain instead. We were able to get great views of the lake and of the countryside. All I could think of is how much I'm going to miss the beautiful countryside and how I can't wait to come back and see it again!
Right, now I didn't mean to bore you with work stuff but it's been the reason I'm here. Now on to more exciting things. Tonight Sabine and I went back up to the White Horse to hike a different trail down to Sutton Bank. I didn't take my camera because we were supposed to be doing some hard hiking and it's very heavy. Plus, I wanted to enjoy the scenery and capture it in my mind (sorry, but I do not have the ability to put mental pictures on my blog :-) Anyhow, despite be told by someone in the office that there was a proper path down to the lake, the path was not proper at all. I can't say that I minded because it would have been a very steep, long journey back up. So we walked up along the top of the mountain instead. We were able to get great views of the lake and of the countryside. All I could think of is how much I'm going to miss the beautiful countryside and how I can't wait to come back and see it again!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sleep first. . . then blog
I still hadn't recovered from when the American's were here and we got very little sleep, and then yesterday I was up for 22 hours straight helping with a Sing Live show in Royal Leamington Spa! So this morning I had a lie in till 12:30 and now feel well rested. I was determined to have a productive day until Alex walked in with a Wii. Needless to say we have spent lots of time on that this afternoon. But still, I am determined to get all caught up. Sorry about my lack of blogging lately. Now that so much is happening that I have to blog about I have no time to do it. I'm not one to sacrifice sleep so I figured I would catch up today.
Royal Leamington Spa is a city in central England that used to be a big industrial city. Because of this, it was a target for bombing in World War II. Most of the city was destroyed but there is a statue of Queen Victoria that made it through the destruction but stands a little crooked. Queen Victoria is the Queen that gave Leamington Spa it's Royal Charter because she was fond of it's spa waters. It's a neat little town with beautiful buildings all with ironwork around the top. I wish I had gotten some pictures.
The concert was great. Instead of wearing the gold concert attire like they normally do, the company got all dressed up for the times of Cole Porter.
Working backwards until I have caught up to where I left off on the American Tour. . . .
The past week at the office I have been helping Sabine sort out some things from the ball, especially the new merchandise line that has been launched. I was helping to inventory and organize it all so I was totally in my element (I know, I'm weird, I'm one of the very few people that like to clean and organize) I have been trying to learn as much as I can before going home on Sunday. I don't know where all the time has gone. I will be training on Access on Monday so I'll be trying to remember what I learned in my computer class two years ago (eek!)
Friday night I had some curry food again. It has such unique flavors and I am going to be on a hunt for Indian restaurants when I get home.
On a very exciting note, Carson and I both received our first wedding gifts this week. Carson has been on an internship in Winston Salem since January and Wednesday was his last day. His co-workers threw him a party chipped in to get him some camping gear of our registry. He was so excited that he went home and set up the tent in his living room! I can't wait to use it. On that same day, Linda (who has some very nice contacts at Carnival Cruise lines) told me that she has arranged for our room to be upgraded for the cruise that Carson and I are taking for our honeymoon. So Wednesday made for a great day and we are both so thankful!
I am starting to pick up the accent here :-) (It sure took me long enough.) We were talking about all the different accents in the office the other day. In American the different accents are spread out over a large area, i.e. southern accents. But here, it can vary from city to city. . . and people can tell where you're from by your accent.. although it sounds no different to me. It's amazing what our different ears are attuned to.
So we're back to last weekend. . the American's last days here. It was the 10th Anniversary concert of Sing Live. What's really cool was that it was on the exact same date at the exact same time as the concert was 10 years ago. The dream ten years ago was to do two concerts a year in Leeds. . . so this would have been concert number 20 . . . but in fact it was concert number 176! And Sing Live is now an international company with 11 locations! It was really good to be a part of such a special weekend and to see how far the dream has come. There were two shows (Sat & Sun) and after the Sunday show there was an after party at the hotel where the Americans were staying. By the time we all got to the hotel it was almost midnight (and the party was just starting) and the bus was coming at 4:30 am to take them to the airport. Most of them were planning on staying up all night until the bus came but in fact there were only about 7 of us that did. I have never been at at this time of the night to confirm it, but the sun came up at 3:45. Talk about a long day of daylight. So now you can see what I had to recover from. Also on Sunday John took me and my parents to the coast to a town called Whitby. The reason for our journey was to taste the best fish and chips in England. We were not disappointed. I have been spoiled now by the freshness and amazing flavour (English spelling) and taste. We had a fun time walking around town and visiting the Abby. A town I want to return to for sure!
And I think I'm all caught up. Lots to do in my last week here and I'm beginning to think about all of the things I'm going to miss. This time a week from now I will be over the Atlantic.
Royal Leamington Spa is a city in central England that used to be a big industrial city. Because of this, it was a target for bombing in World War II. Most of the city was destroyed but there is a statue of Queen Victoria that made it through the destruction but stands a little crooked. Queen Victoria is the Queen that gave Leamington Spa it's Royal Charter because she was fond of it's spa waters. It's a neat little town with beautiful buildings all with ironwork around the top. I wish I had gotten some pictures.
The concert was great. Instead of wearing the gold concert attire like they normally do, the company got all dressed up for the times of Cole Porter.
Working backwards until I have caught up to where I left off on the American Tour. . . .
The past week at the office I have been helping Sabine sort out some things from the ball, especially the new merchandise line that has been launched. I was helping to inventory and organize it all so I was totally in my element (I know, I'm weird, I'm one of the very few people that like to clean and organize) I have been trying to learn as much as I can before going home on Sunday. I don't know where all the time has gone. I will be training on Access on Monday so I'll be trying to remember what I learned in my computer class two years ago (eek!)
Friday night I had some curry food again. It has such unique flavors and I am going to be on a hunt for Indian restaurants when I get home.
On a very exciting note, Carson and I both received our first wedding gifts this week. Carson has been on an internship in Winston Salem since January and Wednesday was his last day. His co-workers threw him a party chipped in to get him some camping gear of our registry. He was so excited that he went home and set up the tent in his living room! I can't wait to use it. On that same day, Linda (who has some very nice contacts at Carnival Cruise lines) told me that she has arranged for our room to be upgraded for the cruise that Carson and I are taking for our honeymoon. So Wednesday made for a great day and we are both so thankful!
I am starting to pick up the accent here :-) (It sure took me long enough.) We were talking about all the different accents in the office the other day. In American the different accents are spread out over a large area, i.e. southern accents. But here, it can vary from city to city. . . and people can tell where you're from by your accent.. although it sounds no different to me. It's amazing what our different ears are attuned to.
So we're back to last weekend. . the American's last days here. It was the 10th Anniversary concert of Sing Live. What's really cool was that it was on the exact same date at the exact same time as the concert was 10 years ago. The dream ten years ago was to do two concerts a year in Leeds. . . so this would have been concert number 20 . . . but in fact it was concert number 176! And Sing Live is now an international company with 11 locations! It was really good to be a part of such a special weekend and to see how far the dream has come. There were two shows (Sat & Sun) and after the Sunday show there was an after party at the hotel where the Americans were staying. By the time we all got to the hotel it was almost midnight (and the party was just starting) and the bus was coming at 4:30 am to take them to the airport. Most of them were planning on staying up all night until the bus came but in fact there were only about 7 of us that did. I have never been at at this time of the night to confirm it, but the sun came up at 3:45. Talk about a long day of daylight. So now you can see what I had to recover from. Also on Sunday John took me and my parents to the coast to a town called Whitby. The reason for our journey was to taste the best fish and chips in England. We were not disappointed. I have been spoiled now by the freshness and amazing flavour (English spelling) and taste. We had a fun time walking around town and visiting the Abby. A town I want to return to for sure!
And I think I'm all caught up. Lots to do in my last week here and I'm beginning to think about all of the things I'm going to miss. This time a week from now I will be over the Atlantic.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Continuing on. . .
Right, so continuing on with our trip. . So back to Leeds (where the ball and concert took place) by way of Windsor Castle. The flag was flying which meant the queen was there. We did not she her but her house is AMAZING! Even if it isn't something that you are interest in the sheer beauty of it takes your breath away. We couldn't take pictures inside the castle but here are some from outside of it.
I want a garden like this!!
We got these little personal radios that you would enter a number into based on where you were and what you were looking at and tell you the history and story behind everything.
Even the lampposts are posh!
Seeing the guards in really life was so cool. One of the guys nearby where I was standing was trying hard to get them to shift their attention. I could never hand it. I would either laugh or . . . well lets just say get really tired of it.
The slots in the walls were for people shooting arrows to they could be protected.
The next day... York. A popular tourist town. I have been once before on my trip but I saw completely different things this time. With Linda I got to see all the cool shops- with the USA group I got to see all the tourist things. Our first stop in York was to Yorkminster Abbey. It was so amazing and beautiful. It is amazing to see what can be build without all of the modern architecture techonolgy. You just look around and wonder how they built it.
Onward through the town we went to the Shambles which is a street that is very small and the houses are close together. This is how all the streets in the town used to be built.
Then John, mom, dad went on a hunt for fish and chips. After having been on a hour long hunt for Indian food a couple of nights before I decided to visit some more tourist spots instead. I went to the Jorvik viking centre which was a ride though a viking town that used to be on that sight in York. It was kind of a Spaceship Earth type ride followed by a very interesting viking exhibit. I felt like I was back at Disney.
Out last touristy visit was to Castle Howard. I have to say this was one of the highlight of my week. Not only was the castle beautiful (although it paled in comparison to Windsor Castle) but the grounds we amazing! There was a rose garden that was the largest that I have ever seen. It was a beautiful day so I found a bench in the gardens and just sat there for a while. It was so relaxing and no amount of time allowed for me to take it all in.
Almost caught up. Just a weekend to go. Hopefully I'll finish up tomorrow.
I want a garden like this!!
We got these little personal radios that you would enter a number into based on where you were and what you were looking at and tell you the history and story behind everything.
Even the lampposts are posh!
Seeing the guards in really life was so cool. One of the guys nearby where I was standing was trying hard to get them to shift their attention. I could never hand it. I would either laugh or . . . well lets just say get really tired of it.
The slots in the walls were for people shooting arrows to they could be protected.
The next day... York. A popular tourist town. I have been once before on my trip but I saw completely different things this time. With Linda I got to see all the cool shops- with the USA group I got to see all the tourist things. Our first stop in York was to Yorkminster Abbey. It was so amazing and beautiful. It is amazing to see what can be build without all of the modern architecture techonolgy. You just look around and wonder how they built it.
Onward through the town we went to the Shambles which is a street that is very small and the houses are close together. This is how all the streets in the town used to be built.
Then John, mom, dad went on a hunt for fish and chips. After having been on a hour long hunt for Indian food a couple of nights before I decided to visit some more tourist spots instead. I went to the Jorvik viking centre which was a ride though a viking town that used to be on that sight in York. It was kind of a Spaceship Earth type ride followed by a very interesting viking exhibit. I felt like I was back at Disney.
Out last touristy visit was to Castle Howard. I have to say this was one of the highlight of my week. Not only was the castle beautiful (although it paled in comparison to Windsor Castle) but the grounds we amazing! There was a rose garden that was the largest that I have ever seen. It was a beautiful day so I found a bench in the gardens and just sat there for a while. It was so relaxing and no amount of time allowed for me to take it all in.
Almost caught up. Just a weekend to go. Hopefully I'll finish up tomorrow.
It's all happening too fast
This whole internet thing is great until you don't have it for a week.. and then you get behind. And the list of things to share isn't getting shorter and I went on a wonderful walk through the moors this evening with Linda and their dog Lily. I love to hike, but to get to hike at someplace unique that we don't have anything like in the states is fantastic. As we were walking along we would come across sheep just roaming around. England is so cool. Now that my time is coming to an end I have started to think about all of the things that I have gotten used to here that I am going to miss.
Back to our week of touring last week...
Our second day in London we a more relaxed day but for sure an amazing one. We started off the day with a tour of the Royal Albert Hall- one of the most famous concert halls in the world. The reason for this special visit is because Sing Live will be taking a group of about 1000 people to sing there next September. This concert hall is a very sought after place to perform. I'm already making plans to come back next year. Not only did we get a special tour (this isn't a place that tourist can just go in and see) but we got to go behind the scenes and see the Royal Reception room where queen and other royalty stay behind the scenes when they come to see a show. When we walked into the concert hall a hush fell over the group it was so amazing.
This picture is the group in front of the statue of Albert. The hall was built for him but he died a year before it was completed so this memorial was built across the street. It was pretty elaborate.
Our next exciting event of the day was a trip to Andrew Lloyd Webers office! We didn't meet him but we met with the world wide licensing manager for all of Andrews works.
The day gets even better with a big trip to Harrods. Oh my gosh.. if you don't know what Harrods is it is THE place to shop. It's fun to go and be shocked at all the prices but it's definitely not cheap. Everything in it is so "posh"!
Well my computer has decided it is tired of loading pictures for the day so I will continue on tomorrow.
Back to our week of touring last week...
Our second day in London we a more relaxed day but for sure an amazing one. We started off the day with a tour of the Royal Albert Hall- one of the most famous concert halls in the world. The reason for this special visit is because Sing Live will be taking a group of about 1000 people to sing there next September. This concert hall is a very sought after place to perform. I'm already making plans to come back next year. Not only did we get a special tour (this isn't a place that tourist can just go in and see) but we got to go behind the scenes and see the Royal Reception room where queen and other royalty stay behind the scenes when they come to see a show. When we walked into the concert hall a hush fell over the group it was so amazing.
This picture is the group in front of the statue of Albert. The hall was built for him but he died a year before it was completed so this memorial was built across the street. It was pretty elaborate.
Our next exciting event of the day was a trip to Andrew Lloyd Webers office! We didn't meet him but we met with the world wide licensing manager for all of Andrews works.
The day gets even better with a big trip to Harrods. Oh my gosh.. if you don't know what Harrods is it is THE place to shop. It's fun to go and be shocked at all the prices but it's definitely not cheap. Everything in it is so "posh"!
Well my computer has decided it is tired of loading pictures for the day so I will continue on tomorrow.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Catching Up
Have you missed me? I'm sorry to leave you but I have been touring with the USA group for the past week and have had very limited internet access. I can't even figure out where to start. . . and it might take a couple of days.
Lets start at last Friday. It was a very exiting thing to go and pick the group up at the airport (totally worth getting up at 4 am for). The group had some down time when they got here but we went straight to work setting up for the ball the next day. There was lots to be done but it was fun to have my parents there helping too. I sure have missed them.
Saturday: Day of the ball. Even being there and taking part in the set up it was still amazing to see the transformation take place in front of my eyes. It was an absolutely fabulous evening. When the music stopped at the end of the night we didn't want to stop dancing. They sure know how to dance over here. The floor was packed! Unfortunately my parents flew back to the states today with all of the pictures from the ball on their computer so pictures to follow.
Sunday morning we set off for LONDON! On our way down we stopped at Stratford Upon Avon and had a nice walking tour of the city and learned a lot about Shakesphere. We had some cream tea which was a first experience for many of the American singers.... and it wasn't the last for the trip.
Our first full day in London we took a coach tour around England. We saw all the big landmarks. Our first stop on the tour was to see the changing of the guards. One of the singers caught a video with her phone.
It's amazing how you see landmarks like Big Ben on movies but to see it up close it's so much more amazing. You just have to see it to feel it!
One of my new friends from the American group, Jen!
At Linda's suggestion, we ate at Patisserie Valerie for lunch which was a very great suggestion. I had a Tuna and Sweetcorn melt!! It was wonderful. I have a new favorite sandwich. And then there were some wonderful puddings to choose from.
This church was one of my favorite sights because of my upcoming wedding. This church is actually where the idea for the design of the tiered wedding cake came from!
There is so much more that I have to share but I was up all night last night and I didn't go to bed till 5:45 this morning (more about that later) so I'm off to bed and will continue tomorrow night!
Lets start at last Friday. It was a very exiting thing to go and pick the group up at the airport (totally worth getting up at 4 am for). The group had some down time when they got here but we went straight to work setting up for the ball the next day. There was lots to be done but it was fun to have my parents there helping too. I sure have missed them.
Saturday: Day of the ball. Even being there and taking part in the set up it was still amazing to see the transformation take place in front of my eyes. It was an absolutely fabulous evening. When the music stopped at the end of the night we didn't want to stop dancing. They sure know how to dance over here. The floor was packed! Unfortunately my parents flew back to the states today with all of the pictures from the ball on their computer so pictures to follow.
Sunday morning we set off for LONDON! On our way down we stopped at Stratford Upon Avon and had a nice walking tour of the city and learned a lot about Shakesphere. We had some cream tea which was a first experience for many of the American singers.... and it wasn't the last for the trip.
Our first full day in London we took a coach tour around England. We saw all the big landmarks. Our first stop on the tour was to see the changing of the guards. One of the singers caught a video with her phone.
It's amazing how you see landmarks like Big Ben on movies but to see it up close it's so much more amazing. You just have to see it to feel it!
One of my new friends from the American group, Jen!
At Linda's suggestion, we ate at Patisserie Valerie for lunch which was a very great suggestion. I had a Tuna and Sweetcorn melt!! It was wonderful. I have a new favorite sandwich. And then there were some wonderful puddings to choose from.
This church was one of my favorite sights because of my upcoming wedding. This church is actually where the idea for the design of the tiered wedding cake came from!
There is so much more that I have to share but I was up all night last night and I didn't go to bed till 5:45 this morning (more about that later) so I'm off to bed and will continue tomorrow night!
Friday, June 13, 2008
They're here! They're here!
The countdown is finally over. . . both for my parents coming and for the ball, which is tomorrow night. It was so exciting to go and meet the group at the airport. When I wasn't looking at my watch, John was. We were both very impatient :-) And they looked so good in their travel shirts. We got to the airport early to beat the traffic so we took some time for some breakfast. I found out that expensive airport food is an international thing.
We got everything sorted and the group settled at the hotel and then John, Linda, Mom, Dad, and I went to lunch at Pret A Manger. It is a nice little sandwich shoppe in Leeds City Centre that I had been to before with Linda. This time I have photographs to go along with it.
Also, do you remember me talking earlier in the blog about Linda taking me to Harvey Nichols? The classiest store in Leeds? (There is even a bell man to open the door for you!) Well I had my camera this time and my dad snapped a picture.
This is the store window display.. the skirt is made out of martini glasses!!
As you can tell, the number of pictures on my blog are increasing. This is because my dad is here and likes to be behind the camera so I can be in front of it!
I took mom and dad to the office today to see the girls they have met before and meet the new ones since the last time they were here. I speak the English "language" very fluently now. . . my mom finds that humerous, although she commented that I haven't picked up an accent yet. (I still have three more weeks tho!)The we took a walk down high street. We stopped in the first bakery because something caught my mom's eye. We walked and shopped until they were begging to go home. To complete the night, we had some amazing English fish & chips! It will be an early night for all of us and a long day tomorrow, but a much anticipated one!
We got everything sorted and the group settled at the hotel and then John, Linda, Mom, Dad, and I went to lunch at Pret A Manger. It is a nice little sandwich shoppe in Leeds City Centre that I had been to before with Linda. This time I have photographs to go along with it.
Also, do you remember me talking earlier in the blog about Linda taking me to Harvey Nichols? The classiest store in Leeds? (There is even a bell man to open the door for you!) Well I had my camera this time and my dad snapped a picture.
This is the store window display.. the skirt is made out of martini glasses!!
As you can tell, the number of pictures on my blog are increasing. This is because my dad is here and likes to be behind the camera so I can be in front of it!I took mom and dad to the office today to see the girls they have met before and meet the new ones since the last time they were here. I speak the English "language" very fluently now. . . my mom finds that humerous, although she commented that I haven't picked up an accent yet. (I still have three more weeks tho!)The we took a walk down high street. We stopped in the first bakery because something caught my mom's eye. We walked and shopped until they were begging to go home. To complete the night, we had some amazing English fish & chips! It will be an early night for all of us and a long day tomorrow, but a much anticipated one!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Counting the hours!!
It has been a secret so I couldn't talk about it on my blog, but my parents are coming with the USA group that is arriving tomorrow morning! It was a surprise to the group coming so I didn't want to spoil it. John and I have been counting down the hours. I got a call from my mom this afternoon saying that they were all checked in and ready to go! It will be a very early morning for John and I to go meet them at the airport (I think we're leaving at"quarter past five".. yes, my friends.. that's AM!) But it's all worth it.
Another CRAZY day at the office wrapping things up. I think Linda and I are prepared for the ball on Saturday. It is a good thing since we will not be in the office much tomorrow, but it's kind of unnerving. What have we forgotten?
Right, I have some more english words/phrases to share. Some of them have become commonplace to me and I don't notice until my mom laughs at me when I talk.
Bits and Pieces
Cuddle (hug)
Getting things "sorted"
Posh- oh, I can't tell you how many times posh has been used in the office in the past week. Everything for this ball is going to be "posh"- but to get the real effect you have to say it with a proper English accent :-)
Another CRAZY day at the office wrapping things up. I think Linda and I are prepared for the ball on Saturday. It is a good thing since we will not be in the office much tomorrow, but it's kind of unnerving. What have we forgotten?
Right, I have some more english words/phrases to share. Some of them have become commonplace to me and I don't notice until my mom laughs at me when I talk.
Bits and Pieces
Cuddle (hug)
Getting things "sorted"
Posh- oh, I can't tell you how many times posh has been used in the office in the past week. Everything for this ball is going to be "posh"- but to get the real effect you have to say it with a proper English accent :-)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
A family tea
Three days left to prepare for the ball. My wedding is going to seem easy after helping plan this massive event. I have been working on a seating plan for 560 people! But this finished product is going to be amazing and I can't wait. The USA group will be on a plane in less that 48 hours. I can't wait for them to get here! It will be nice to have some fellow American's around and we have a schedule full of exciting sightseeing planed for next week.
Tonight after work I was invited to a family birthday tea. It was enjoyable to sit around a table with such wonderful people and such an array of great food. They go heavy on the sweets over here so after I enjoyed a large amount of sweets I was compelled to go for a run today. The weather is nice and beginning to cool down after a warm start to the week (the don't have air conditioner over here!!) I'm not into running but it's hard not to enjoy a run through the English countryside!!
Today I was working on somethings for the ball with Kath from the office. I would be thinking and make a really strange face to lighted the mood. What we Americans would call making a face, the English call "pulling face." After Kath taught me the proper phrase, I pulled a lot of faces at her for the rest of the day. It was some nice humor in the midst of chaos!
Another English thing that I found crawling all over my desk today were red ants. They are itty bit and not like the red fire ants that we have in America. They don't do any harm but they are very annoying.
Tonight after work I was invited to a family birthday tea. It was enjoyable to sit around a table with such wonderful people and such an array of great food. They go heavy on the sweets over here so after I enjoyed a large amount of sweets I was compelled to go for a run today. The weather is nice and beginning to cool down after a warm start to the week (the don't have air conditioner over here!!) I'm not into running but it's hard not to enjoy a run through the English countryside!!
Today I was working on somethings for the ball with Kath from the office. I would be thinking and make a really strange face to lighted the mood. What we Americans would call making a face, the English call "pulling face." After Kath taught me the proper phrase, I pulled a lot of faces at her for the rest of the day. It was some nice humor in the midst of chaos!
Another English thing that I found crawling all over my desk today were red ants. They are itty bit and not like the red fire ants that we have in America. They don't do any harm but they are very annoying.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Cooking
The days are getting busier and busier at the office but tonight was very enjoyable. I got the chance to cook (or more like assist) a wonderful professional chef. Michael has been with Sing Live since the beginning, but before he retired he worked as a chef numerous places.. one being Betty's (which is a famous tea room previously mentioned in this blog). It was a great "experience for the day" and I learned some great tips.
Today at the office John asked if I was winning which was a phrase I had never heard of, but John was nice enough to translate that it means that you are getting things done. Another term that was used a lot today was "smart", which means dressy- as in dressing smart.
Today at the office John asked if I was winning which was a phrase I had never heard of, but John was nice enough to translate that it means that you are getting things done. Another term that was used a lot today was "smart", which means dressy- as in dressing smart.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Words don't do justice
I realized today that so many things go through my mind to write about each day and then when I sit down to type my blog I go blank. So I'm going to try to remember as much as possible today.
Today was a day of many firsts for me. I went to my second rehearsal today and afterwards I went to my first English pub! Can you believe that I have been here for a month and not been into a pub? England has a very social culture that revolves around pubs. There was a very nice group of people from Sing Live there that we talked with for a while. I learned that people won't leave you alone at a pub until you have a drink in your hand. I got away with it for a little while but then someone told me that I couldn't come into an English pub and not get a drink, so i sipped on a coke. Then for dinner tonight (I call it dinner because I was with a converted American) we had Indian food. John has talked about Indian food for as long as I have known him and I have yet to have it. It was a very distinctive flavor, but very good. We had a wide assortment of wonderful food that I think counts for my food quota for the next couple of days. I am still so full! While we were waiting for our order we went to another pub (this time I got away without a drink) but what was cool and unique about this pub was there was a plane in the back! I got a picture with my phone but I can't figure out how to get it onto my computer so I will have to keep you in suspense for the time being.
On the way back from Leeds (which is about an hour away) we took the "scenic route." It was amazing. Words just don't do justice to the beauty of the countryside here. It's not flat like Florida, but the hills aren't densely covered in trees like the mountains in the Carolinas. A camera couldn't capture the feel of driving though the country roads lined with quaint stone walls and vast countryside as far as you can see. Nothing beats it.. it was a wonderful ride that made me appreciate where I was. On our drive John pointed out some million pound houses. (What a vast difference to what 1 mil American dollars would buy!)
This week will probably be the busiest of my trip here making final preparations for the ball. A group from Sing Live USA will be arriving on Friday morning. I am looking forward to that!
Today was a day of many firsts for me. I went to my second rehearsal today and afterwards I went to my first English pub! Can you believe that I have been here for a month and not been into a pub? England has a very social culture that revolves around pubs. There was a very nice group of people from Sing Live there that we talked with for a while. I learned that people won't leave you alone at a pub until you have a drink in your hand. I got away with it for a little while but then someone told me that I couldn't come into an English pub and not get a drink, so i sipped on a coke. Then for dinner tonight (I call it dinner because I was with a converted American) we had Indian food. John has talked about Indian food for as long as I have known him and I have yet to have it. It was a very distinctive flavor, but very good. We had a wide assortment of wonderful food that I think counts for my food quota for the next couple of days. I am still so full! While we were waiting for our order we went to another pub (this time I got away without a drink) but what was cool and unique about this pub was there was a plane in the back! I got a picture with my phone but I can't figure out how to get it onto my computer so I will have to keep you in suspense for the time being.
On the way back from Leeds (which is about an hour away) we took the "scenic route." It was amazing. Words just don't do justice to the beauty of the countryside here. It's not flat like Florida, but the hills aren't densely covered in trees like the mountains in the Carolinas. A camera couldn't capture the feel of driving though the country roads lined with quaint stone walls and vast countryside as far as you can see. Nothing beats it.. it was a wonderful ride that made me appreciate where I was. On our drive John pointed out some million pound houses. (What a vast difference to what 1 mil American dollars would buy!)
This week will probably be the busiest of my trip here making final preparations for the ball. A group from Sing Live USA will be arriving on Friday morning. I am looking forward to that!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
5 Words that Discribe England
Today at lunch the girls asked me to pick 5 words that I would use to describe England. . .so i thought that would be a good thing to share with you all (or ya'll as they made fun of tonight)
1) Expensive: it's expensive for me because the exchange rate means i need to double all of the prices over here. But in general, pounds to pounds and dollars to dollars, it is more expensive here, especially the gas, or petrol. All you Americans would be grateful if you had to fill up just once over here.
2) Small: everything feels smaller. The cars here are all tiny (our big American SUV's would trump these little things) Also, the houses that I have been in have the small "cottage feel" to them. Not spacious like most of the homes in the states.
3)Traditional/proper- There is more history here and there seems to be a higher grade of manners here. Things seem to have a lot more meaning behind them. We don't have anything like proper English Tea in the states.
4)Pastry- Just in the high street of Northallerton (the small town that I am living in working in) there are numerous pastry shops on one street! We have sweets in American but not like here.. that's one thing that I'm going to miss when I go back to the states.
5) Tea- Everyone drinks tea over here. Everyone always has a warm drink on their desk at work. They have electric kettles over here and it is such a culture to have a cup of tea. I'm actually starting to prefer it over coffee! (But maybe because they normally drink instant coffee over here)
Tonight was my turn to cook tea and Linda got to relax for once. I made the only thing that I could remember the recipe to. Everyone loved it! After a wonderful pudding of Banoffee Pie, we all sat down to play a game of Whoonu, a game that I first played with Carson's family that is a great getting to know you game. We had a wonderful evening. It's a late night for me but I get a lie-in tomorrow so I'm not bothered (does that make any sense to you Americans?)
Tomorrow holds another rehearsal for me for the 10th anniversary concert that is two weeks away! Looking forward to it.
1) Expensive: it's expensive for me because the exchange rate means i need to double all of the prices over here. But in general, pounds to pounds and dollars to dollars, it is more expensive here, especially the gas, or petrol. All you Americans would be grateful if you had to fill up just once over here.
2) Small: everything feels smaller. The cars here are all tiny (our big American SUV's would trump these little things) Also, the houses that I have been in have the small "cottage feel" to them. Not spacious like most of the homes in the states.
3)Traditional/proper- There is more history here and there seems to be a higher grade of manners here. Things seem to have a lot more meaning behind them. We don't have anything like proper English Tea in the states.
4)Pastry- Just in the high street of Northallerton (the small town that I am living in working in) there are numerous pastry shops on one street! We have sweets in American but not like here.. that's one thing that I'm going to miss when I go back to the states.
5) Tea- Everyone drinks tea over here. Everyone always has a warm drink on their desk at work. They have electric kettles over here and it is such a culture to have a cup of tea. I'm actually starting to prefer it over coffee! (But maybe because they normally drink instant coffee over here)
Tonight was my turn to cook tea and Linda got to relax for once. I made the only thing that I could remember the recipe to. Everyone loved it! After a wonderful pudding of Banoffee Pie, we all sat down to play a game of Whoonu, a game that I first played with Carson's family that is a great getting to know you game. We had a wonderful evening. It's a late night for me but I get a lie-in tomorrow so I'm not bothered (does that make any sense to you Americans?)
Tomorrow holds another rehearsal for me for the 10th anniversary concert that is two weeks away! Looking forward to it.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Using what I have in the way of craft skills
So I have a new big project to work on for the ball. It should be fun but I think Linda has now overestimated my creative skills. Today made for another trip into town. I think I'm getting a hold of the traffic flow now. I went into town to get a sandwich for lunch and some more supplies for my project. I got a sandwich, chips and a drink for 2 pounds.... which translates to about 4 dollars. It was something that was actually reasonable in American money and it was really good. They had the strangest combination of stuff to put on the sandwiches.. i had tuna and sweet corn. Another option was chicken and sweet corn... plus a whole lot of other options.. but ham and turkey were no where to be found on the list. An interesting experience.
Another word, or phrase, that I learned tonight was "putting on your glad rags" which means putting on your nice close to go out.
Another word, or phrase, that I learned tonight was "putting on your glad rags" which means putting on your nice close to go out.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
So I didn't get run over . . .
Well, nothing to report yesterday as it was just another day at work and then home for the evening. Things are getting crazier by the day with the ball getting closer and closer.
Today I ventured into town on my own to visit a discount store for some craft materials we needed for the ball. The scariest part about it was crossing the road. They don't have many intersection here, mostly round abouts which confuse me because they are two lanes wide, but also the cars drive on different sides of the road so I have to look the opposite direction that I'm used to. I found what i needed at the craft store, but my biggest accomplishment was getting home without bing hit by a car.
As wonderful as the food is over here, I have been missing American food. So what does Linda bring home for dinner tonight . . . southern fried chicken!! I was very excited, but the girls were not to impressed with this dish. It is hard to eat chicken with a fork and knife the way they do over here. I was so tempted to pick it up with my hands and eat it the "right" way.
Today I ventured into town on my own to visit a discount store for some craft materials we needed for the ball. The scariest part about it was crossing the road. They don't have many intersection here, mostly round abouts which confuse me because they are two lanes wide, but also the cars drive on different sides of the road so I have to look the opposite direction that I'm used to. I found what i needed at the craft store, but my biggest accomplishment was getting home without bing hit by a car.
As wonderful as the food is over here, I have been missing American food. So what does Linda bring home for dinner tonight . . . southern fried chicken!! I was very excited, but the girls were not to impressed with this dish. It is hard to eat chicken with a fork and knife the way they do over here. I was so tempted to pick it up with my hands and eat it the "right" way.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
This is what it's all about!
Tonight I went to my first Sing Live UK rehearsal. This rehearsal was for their 10th anniversary concert that will be sung at the same place at the same time on the same date as their first concert was 10 years ago. This adds an extra special meaning to this concert and it was very fun to listen to John put an extra special spin on everything.
The rehearsal was at a little methodist church and they about had the place packed out! A little bit of history to add to this story. . . the pews had dividers going down the middle of them from when the men and women used to sit on separate sides of the church!
So back to the rehearsal. It's fun to do the admin stuff in the office but when you go to a rehearsal and hear them filling the entire room with singing it's just awesome. While sitting and listening to the songs I have lots of time to think. Music brings back so many memories from the familiar songs and the new ones are fun to listen to as well.
The first song that they opened with was Starlight Express. I saw Starlight Express when I was in high school with a friend so that song took me all the way back to my high school days (because their sooooo far away :-)
Another song that was sung tonight was from My Fair Lady, which was a medley and had "On the Street Where You Live". This is the solo that my brother had in a high school play that he did. The familiar songs brought comfort from the memories. I am going back to the big group rehearsal on Sunday and am looking forward to hearing it all again and meeting even more people. I was able to meet some very nice people tonight ... but some couldn't understand me with my "accent". That still boggles my mind that people think i have an accent.
(A shout out to my Lever neighbor and good friend, Sallie Anna: all the songs that were sung tonight we from musicals and I thought about you since we share a common love for them)
On the way home, John was feeling peckish (hungry) and wanted to stop for the 2nd best fish and chips in England. He was very disappointed to find that they were closed at 10pm when we stopped after the rehearsal. I guess we are spoiled coming from America where everything is open late!
I would like to send a special message out to my mom for a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I know she won't want me to tell you that it's her 50th.. but I'm very far away so she can't do anything about it so I'm safe to share that with you. It's officially June 4th here being 12:30 am so I have the privilege of wishing her a happy birthday first and being the first to give her a hard time about the big 5-0
The rehearsal was at a little methodist church and they about had the place packed out! A little bit of history to add to this story. . . the pews had dividers going down the middle of them from when the men and women used to sit on separate sides of the church!
So back to the rehearsal. It's fun to do the admin stuff in the office but when you go to a rehearsal and hear them filling the entire room with singing it's just awesome. While sitting and listening to the songs I have lots of time to think. Music brings back so many memories from the familiar songs and the new ones are fun to listen to as well.
The first song that they opened with was Starlight Express. I saw Starlight Express when I was in high school with a friend so that song took me all the way back to my high school days (because their sooooo far away :-)
Another song that was sung tonight was from My Fair Lady, which was a medley and had "On the Street Where You Live". This is the solo that my brother had in a high school play that he did. The familiar songs brought comfort from the memories. I am going back to the big group rehearsal on Sunday and am looking forward to hearing it all again and meeting even more people. I was able to meet some very nice people tonight ... but some couldn't understand me with my "accent". That still boggles my mind that people think i have an accent.
(A shout out to my Lever neighbor and good friend, Sallie Anna: all the songs that were sung tonight we from musicals and I thought about you since we share a common love for them)
On the way home, John was feeling peckish (hungry) and wanted to stop for the 2nd best fish and chips in England. He was very disappointed to find that they were closed at 10pm when we stopped after the rehearsal. I guess we are spoiled coming from America where everything is open late!
I would like to send a special message out to my mom for a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I know she won't want me to tell you that it's her 50th.. but I'm very far away so she can't do anything about it so I'm safe to share that with you. It's officially June 4th here being 12:30 am so I have the privilege of wishing her a happy birthday first and being the first to give her a hard time about the big 5-0
Monday, June 2, 2008
My first concert . . .
Yesterday I went to my first Sing Live UK show! It was a wonderful event held in Manchester at a beautiful concert hall, especially since we don't have anything like that in the USA to my knowledge
Something I noticed was that the UK group has learned over its 10 years how best to organize hundreds of excited singers on the day of a concert. Through watching them I learned many valuable tricks that I will use for USA shows in the future.
Yesterday, however, was a long day after getting up at 7am and not returning until after 1am Monday morning. Therefore, I demanded a lie-in this morning to get my beauty sleep.
Things have been getting extra crazy at the office with the ball being less than a fortnight (two weeks) away and with John (the other co-founder of SingLive) just coming back from the states. Unfortunately, he didn't bring much sunshine with him...
I realize that it's been a while since I've shared stuff that's different in England so . . . a little weird English quirk that i have notice is that they use a lot of double letters in words that we would not in the USA. Like Jewelery is jewellery and traveling is travelling, and whenever there is a double letter in a word the will say "double L" . For example, they would spell molly "M-O-double L- Y"
Time for bed with another crazy day ahead.
Something I noticed was that the UK group has learned over its 10 years how best to organize hundreds of excited singers on the day of a concert. Through watching them I learned many valuable tricks that I will use for USA shows in the future.
Yesterday, however, was a long day after getting up at 7am and not returning until after 1am Monday morning. Therefore, I demanded a lie-in this morning to get my beauty sleep.
Things have been getting extra crazy at the office with the ball being less than a fortnight (two weeks) away and with John (the other co-founder of SingLive) just coming back from the states. Unfortunately, he didn't bring much sunshine with him...
I realize that it's been a while since I've shared stuff that's different in England so . . . a little weird English quirk that i have notice is that they use a lot of double letters in words that we would not in the USA. Like Jewelery is jewellery and traveling is travelling, and whenever there is a double letter in a word the will say "double L" . For example, they would spell molly "M-O-double L- Y"
Time for bed with another crazy day ahead.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Pictures!
Ok, sorry I've missed the past few days but I have been off collecting pictures and wonderful experiences that I can share with you. Linda and the girls have been away all week so the girls at the office have been taking me off to see all sort of great things. Wednesday I went home with Teresa and she took me through all sorts of little towns. The weather wasn't great and it ended up raining but I was able to get some photos taken before the bad weather.
This is a picture of us going across a bridge. It kind of looks like a castle entrance
Speaking of castles, we were able to stop by two castles. How cool that I can work all day and then spend the evening looking at castles!!
Our first stop was Middleham Castle which was home of King Richard III in the
1400's 
A real life English telephone booth!! (Haha, I'm such an American)
Next stop, Bolton Castle. A cool castle in the mist! Home of Richard the II.
This is a picture of us going across a bridge. It kind of looks like a castle entrance
Speaking of castles, we were able to stop by two castles. How cool that I can work all day and then spend the evening looking at castles!!Our first stop was Middleham Castle which was home of King Richard III in the
1400's 
A real life English telephone booth!! (Haha, I'm such an American)
Next stop, Bolton Castle. A cool castle in the mist! Home of Richard the II.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next night I went on a walk with Sabine and her dog up to The Kilburn "White Horse" that was cut into the mountain in 1857. We took an hour walk up and around the mountain. At the top, planes would take gliders up into the air. One took off right over our heads! We caught some amazing sights of countryside. After our nice walk we went back to Sabine's house where she taught me how to make wonderful Shepard's Pie!
This is the White Horse from far away. We were hiking up along the top of the mountain above it.
The hike began with a straight flight up stairs to get to the top! But it was well worth the huffing and puffing.
One of the planes with a glider that took off while we were there
Sabine and I on our way back down the mountain
I thoroughly enjoyed this trip because I love to hike so much and it was amazing to see so much of the countryside from the top. We are already planning another trip down the other side of the mountain to a lake.
Linda and the girls have just arrived home and we already have a busy weekend planned!
This is the White Horse from far away. We were hiking up along the top of the mountain above it.
The hike began with a straight flight up stairs to get to the top! But it was well worth the huffing and puffing.
One of the planes with a glider that took off while we were there
Sabine and I on our way back down the mountain
I thoroughly enjoyed this trip because I love to hike so much and it was amazing to see so much of the countryside from the top. We are already planning another trip down the other side of the mountain to a lake.
Linda and the girls have just arrived home and we already have a busy weekend planned!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Real English Weather
The weather has been so beautiful since I got here that I began to doubt the bad weather that everyone talked about, but it came around today - dreary and cold. I guess I have been fortunate until now. I almost got out my wellies!
It was a quiet day at the office with a lot of staff out but we worked hard and drank our tea and coffee to keep us warm. I came home and ate some warm chili and had scones with jam and cream for pudding. I can't complain about the weather with food like that!! Nothing really exciting to report today. The first Sing Live show since I arrived is this coming weekend so I am excited about that new experience!
Being so far away from those I love is hard but it's nice to be away from all the stress that comes with daily life. There's only so much I can do this far away. I'm hoping to come back refreshed and ready to hit the ground running (after I recover from the jet lag!!)
It was a quiet day at the office with a lot of staff out but we worked hard and drank our tea and coffee to keep us warm. I came home and ate some warm chili and had scones with jam and cream for pudding. I can't complain about the weather with food like that!! Nothing really exciting to report today. The first Sing Live show since I arrived is this coming weekend so I am excited about that new experience!
Being so far away from those I love is hard but it's nice to be away from all the stress that comes with daily life. There's only so much I can do this far away. I'm hoping to come back refreshed and ready to hit the ground running (after I recover from the jet lag!!)
Monday, May 26, 2008
Lazy day
Not much to report today. I've had a nice quiet day to myself to relax. Besides doing some laundry I've just been sitting around watching the telly. Sounds like a boring day but it has actually been quite nice since I hit the ground running when I got here and haven't really stopped sense. It will be back to work tomorrow so I'm enjoying it while I can
This is a picture of the view from where I sit on my computer. Nice huh? You can't really blame me for enjoying my boring day when you get to look at this the whole time!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Shopping!
It was another day of shopping in York today. I really liked York because there was a little bit of tourism and sightseeing along with the shops. Linda must know some pretty high up people in England because everywhere that we go there is something special going on. (I think she is setting it all up :-) There were all sorts of street performers that we very interesting to watch. I made a few small purchases (I hate the exchange rate where everything cost double for me) and have also started a collection of carrier bags (or shopping bags as we would call them.)
As I mentioned yesterday I went to Betty's Tea Room today! What an experience. We had to wait in a line to get in but it was well worth the wait. We had Welsh Rarebit which was a much yummier version of toast with a cheese sauce on it and some wonderful pudding. I will be going back to York when the Sing Live USA group comes in a couple of weeks so I am excited about going back and maybe seeing more of the tourist side of everything.
To continue with my experience today Linda and the girls made me a traditional English Tea with Current Scones, jam, and cream. It was so yummy!!
One of my many experiences today was hanging the wash out on the line. I didn't do a very good job but I learned. Sometimes we forget that there is a nationality barrier and that we in America use dryers, not drying on lines.
Tomorrow for the holiday I have no specific plans!! My only plan is to have a lie in in the morning (sleep in) and then we will see what the day holds!
Good Night!
As I mentioned yesterday I went to Betty's Tea Room today! What an experience. We had to wait in a line to get in but it was well worth the wait. We had Welsh Rarebit which was a much yummier version of toast with a cheese sauce on it and some wonderful pudding. I will be going back to York when the Sing Live USA group comes in a couple of weeks so I am excited about going back and maybe seeing more of the tourist side of everything.
To continue with my experience today Linda and the girls made me a traditional English Tea with Current Scones, jam, and cream. It was so yummy!!
One of my many experiences today was hanging the wash out on the line. I didn't do a very good job but I learned. Sometimes we forget that there is a nationality barrier and that we in America use dryers, not drying on lines.
Tomorrow for the holiday I have no specific plans!! My only plan is to have a lie in in the morning (sleep in) and then we will see what the day holds!
Good Night!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Finally . . some sight seeing
Well today I finally have pictures to share with you all. Georgina had a regatta today at Nottingham and so we took a little excursion along the way to Sherwood Forest (Yes, the forest from Robin Hood). We took a picnic in a field
And went to see The Great Oak.
And there was a special Medieval Camp (they must have know I was coming and set it up all just for me)
It was very fun to see another area of England. Georgina's regatta ended up getting canceled because of high winds so it wasn't a good day for her, but the afternoon turned out to be nice for us.
Tomorrow we're going to York to do some shopping and eating at the Famous Betty's Tea Room. More exciting stuff to report tomorrow!
And went to see The Great Oak.
And there was a special Medieval Camp (they must have know I was coming and set it up all just for me)
It was very fun to see another area of England. Georgina's regatta ended up getting canceled because of high winds so it wasn't a good day for her, but the afternoon turned out to be nice for us.
Tomorrow we're going to York to do some shopping and eating at the Famous Betty's Tea Room. More exciting stuff to report tomorrow!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Missing Home
The irony of the phrase "across the pond" is starting to hit me. Pond implies a small body of water, and I do not feel that I am only a small body of water away. I'm having fun here but it's weird not seeing anyone that I have know for more than 10 days (besides Linda). I am having fun learning about so many cultural difference and about Sing Live.
I have a fun weekend planned to go see some other towns this weekend so hopefully I will have some pictures by the end of the weekend to post.
I learned a new game to play while eating pudding the other night. We had plum crumble that still had the stones (pits) in it. So when we ate it we saved the pits and counted how many stones we had. And the saying goes Tinker, Taylor, Solider, Sailor, Doctor, Lawyer, Indian chief. So if you get three stones you're going to marry a Soldier. I only got one stone in my first bowl, so the girls enticed me to have another serving and I got to Sailor. (I was going for Doctor, but I was too full to eat more!)
Someone told me that I had a very heavy accent today and I was hard to understand because I was talking to fast! It's weird to think that someone thinks I have an accent. That is how I felt when I first got here but I'm getting a little better and understanding everyone.
Have a good Memorial Day, or bank holiday as they call everything over here.
I have a fun weekend planned to go see some other towns this weekend so hopefully I will have some pictures by the end of the weekend to post.
I learned a new game to play while eating pudding the other night. We had plum crumble that still had the stones (pits) in it. So when we ate it we saved the pits and counted how many stones we had. And the saying goes Tinker, Taylor, Solider, Sailor, Doctor, Lawyer, Indian chief. So if you get three stones you're going to marry a Soldier. I only got one stone in my first bowl, so the girls enticed me to have another serving and I got to Sailor. (I was going for Doctor, but I was too full to eat more!)
Someone told me that I had a very heavy accent today and I was hard to understand because I was talking to fast! It's weird to think that someone thinks I have an accent. That is how I felt when I first got here but I'm getting a little better and understanding everyone.
Have a good Memorial Day, or bank holiday as they call everything over here.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Girls Night
Linda is in London tonight so it's just me and the girls. The girls have a lot of revising (studying) to do though so a pretty typical night. The oven was not my friend tonight and was determined not to cook anything on time. I had everything coming out at the same time only to pull the ham out after an hour and it be almost raw! The girls were very patient and helpful and we ended up having a lovely tea and once the pudding finally cooked we enjoyed that too! For pudding we had plum crumble that I helped Linda make last night. Yet another recipe that I will be bring home with me because it is very delicious! The girls gave me a little French lesson during tea but I'm not sure how much of it i actually retained.
They have so many unique chocolates and such over here so I have decided to start a wrapper collection of all the sweet treats that I have never heard of before. I had a gold bar today which was a crispy wafer covered in white chocolate that was a gold color.
Today was a quiet day at the office with about half of the people out for different reasons but it was a nice productive day to get things done. We made some fun plans for the coming week that I am very excited about. My experience for the day was learning how to use the monstrous copy machine. It has all sorts of cool tricks to it and I was very proud of myself for learning some of them today.
A common phrase over here is "i can't be bothered". I finally asked Linda what this meant because it translates very differently in American language. In England it means that you don't feel like doing something. It's been a little weird getting used to that phrase.
They have so many unique chocolates and such over here so I have decided to start a wrapper collection of all the sweet treats that I have never heard of before. I had a gold bar today which was a crispy wafer covered in white chocolate that was a gold color.
Today was a quiet day at the office with about half of the people out for different reasons but it was a nice productive day to get things done. We made some fun plans for the coming week that I am very excited about. My experience for the day was learning how to use the monstrous copy machine. It has all sorts of cool tricks to it and I was very proud of myself for learning some of them today.
A common phrase over here is "i can't be bothered". I finally asked Linda what this meant because it translates very differently in American language. In England it means that you don't feel like doing something. It's been a little weird getting used to that phrase.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
A busy day at the office
After working till about 11 last night, things were still crazy at the office today! I'm definitely getting a real feel for how crazy it can be. It will be a quite day tomorrow with a lot of people out for different reasons, but there is still lots to be done!
Carson has been begging me to send pictures but besides my shopping trip to Leeds, I haven't been much of anywhere to take pictures. So today Linda pulled something out of the pantry that I just couldn't help taking a picture of. This is not something that I have ever seen on an American grocery shelf.
The label looks like something that you would find on a ketchup bottle but it's purple and chocolate! We did not get to enjoy this mystery chocolate sponge pudding tonight but I am intrigued but the prospect of it in the future. Also, while reading the back of the can, I discovered directions on how to cook in on a Hon. Word for the day! A Hon is a stove. That is one that I wouldn't have guessed.
Tonight for pudding the girls kept asking me if I had tried all different sorts of their chocolate bars and other foods. I think I had a little too much pudding, but I discovered some delicious chocolate!!
This evening for tea I helped my the Yorkshire Salad which has become one of my favorites! Who wouldn't like salad with sugar on it! I've decided that I'll have to collect some of the receipes so I can make them when I come home. I'm already planning to make another benoffee pie when John come back over because I've learned that it's one of his favorites.
Carson has been begging me to send pictures but besides my shopping trip to Leeds, I haven't been much of anywhere to take pictures. So today Linda pulled something out of the pantry that I just couldn't help taking a picture of. This is not something that I have ever seen on an American grocery shelf.
The label looks like something that you would find on a ketchup bottle but it's purple and chocolate! We did not get to enjoy this mystery chocolate sponge pudding tonight but I am intrigued but the prospect of it in the future. Also, while reading the back of the can, I discovered directions on how to cook in on a Hon. Word for the day! A Hon is a stove. That is one that I wouldn't have guessed.
Tonight for pudding the girls kept asking me if I had tried all different sorts of their chocolate bars and other foods. I think I had a little too much pudding, but I discovered some delicious chocolate!!
This evening for tea I helped my the Yorkshire Salad which has become one of my favorites! Who wouldn't like salad with sugar on it! I've decided that I'll have to collect some of the receipes so I can make them when I come home. I'm already planning to make another benoffee pie when John come back over because I've learned that it's one of his favorites.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Catching up
So yesterday was such a relaxing day that I didn't even think about blogging. It was a get caught up with everything not work related day. We had a wonderful day of household chores and it was actually quite nice. I know you guys are probably thinking I'm daft (crazy) but is has been so long since I've had nothing to do but sweep driveways and wash cars. My experience for Saturday was going to the market. It actually wasn't too different from the grocery stores in America except for the different brand names. Linda made a wonderful dinner last night of roast beef, parsnips, yorkshire salad (which has sugar on it..yummy), and Yorkshire pudding. It was an entire meal of new things (except for the roast beef but it was especially good)
Today has been a very busy day and I've been working for most of the day, even now late into the evening. The information pack is almost ready to go out to the USA group that is coming over. I am very excited about all of this because I have been able to research the places that I will travel with the USA group to. There are some exciting places on the itinerary that I cannot wait to visit!
I am getting some great experience making tea over here. I'm sure Carson will be happy when I come back and use my tea making skills for him. My new food of the day (or condiment you might say) was chutney. It was delicious!
While walking into town the other day with the girls from work I learned an interesting piece of history. We walked down a street with little walls infront of the houses that were about knee high. These walls had holes in them which I learned used to be where iron gates were. These gates were cut down for World War II and melted down to make bullets and ammunition. Most of these were not replaced because the cost of iron is so high.
Ok, time for bed so I can be prepared for work in the morning!
Today has been a very busy day and I've been working for most of the day, even now late into the evening. The information pack is almost ready to go out to the USA group that is coming over. I am very excited about all of this because I have been able to research the places that I will travel with the USA group to. There are some exciting places on the itinerary that I cannot wait to visit!
I am getting some great experience making tea over here. I'm sure Carson will be happy when I come back and use my tea making skills for him. My new food of the day (or condiment you might say) was chutney. It was delicious!
While walking into town the other day with the girls from work I learned an interesting piece of history. We walked down a street with little walls infront of the houses that were about knee high. These walls had holes in them which I learned used to be where iron gates were. These gates were cut down for World War II and melted down to make bullets and ammunition. Most of these were not replaced because the cost of iron is so high.
Ok, time for bed so I can be prepared for work in the morning!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
What a day
I didn't think it could be done, but Linda has worn me out shopping. We had an amazing day in Leeds and I learned so many new things. There were just a few familiar stores that I recognized. We went to Harvey Nichols to see what the most expensive handbag we could find. When my mom was here earlier this year at the one in Manchester she found one that was 7000 pounds!! We didn't have that much luck this time but the most expensive handbag we found at 2900 pounds was made of python skin and injected with silicon to make it soft!! Silicon in a purse... who would have thought! I came away with a Harvey Nichols bag. I guess I shouldn't tell you that it was just a market bag that will be good for carrying my lunch. Oops
One of the fashion terms that I learned today is a facinator. It's the new fashion piece which is replacing the hat. It's such an fun piece!! I found a beautiful white one that would be perfect for my wedding. Haha, just kidding.
Today I have experienced a little bit of true English weather. It has been so beautiful since I've been here I doubted that it existed. We had cold, dreary weather for our shopping trip, so we came home and enjoyed a nice cup of tea.
Linda and the girls have a sweet tooth just like me so Linda picked up some wonderful Almond Tarts tonight after tea. It was delicious.
I learned an interesting term today. My word for the day is Molly. Over here, Molly means frumpy. Like "does this make me look Molly?" (Is how Linda used it toady) It is my personal goal to prove that wrong. I guess Linda and I better do some more shopping :-)
Now as we end the day relaxing and watching the telly a new show for me, Britian's got Talent (With Simon from American Idol).
One of the fashion terms that I learned today is a facinator. It's the new fashion piece which is replacing the hat. It's such an fun piece!! I found a beautiful white one that would be perfect for my wedding. Haha, just kidding.Today I have experienced a little bit of true English weather. It has been so beautiful since I've been here I doubted that it existed. We had cold, dreary weather for our shopping trip, so we came home and enjoyed a nice cup of tea.
Linda and the girls have a sweet tooth just like me so Linda picked up some wonderful Almond Tarts tonight after tea. It was delicious.
I learned an interesting term today. My word for the day is Molly. Over here, Molly means frumpy. Like "does this make me look Molly?" (Is how Linda used it toady) It is my personal goal to prove that wrong. I guess Linda and I better do some more shopping :-)
Now as we end the day relaxing and watching the telly a new show for me, Britian's got Talent (With Simon from American Idol).
Friday, May 16, 2008
Too much more to wait for another day
Ok so my last few posts have been kind of drab. So here is some humor for you. Sorry if it doesn't make much sense. It's kind of just a bunch of rambling.
Yesterday Linda pulled the Ketchup (or tomato sauce) out of the pantry and I just knew everything was going to be alright. Ketchup to me is like water to a fish. I'm not quite sure that's even an expression, I promise I haven't gotten into the wine tonight.
I was just thinking that I had beaten the jet lag, however, I've got the giggles tonight like you only get when you're utterly exhausted.
I finally won a game of Friends "Scene It" last night with the girls. They have been giving me some great competition.
More words for the day. Petrol as in gasoline, and a cash machine as in an ATM. We're stopping by both in the morning to make sure that we are fully prepared for our SHOPPING trip!! woot!
I was talking to Carson tonight on Skype and trying to explain how I eat with a fork and knife like they do over here. I ended up using markers and showing him on my webcam. I think he's still a little confused so he'll just have to wait till the end of summer when I can show him in person. However, it made for some fun laughs this evening. I should do a UTube video or something to illustrate my amazing and fabulous and wonderful dining impressions with markers. Would you all watch that??
Make sure to leave me lots of comments. I have become a comment whore and check all of the time. I love hearing from you all.
Like I said, I'm kind of out of it and might completely regret this post in the morning.
Cheers!
Yesterday Linda pulled the Ketchup (or tomato sauce) out of the pantry and I just knew everything was going to be alright. Ketchup to me is like water to a fish. I'm not quite sure that's even an expression, I promise I haven't gotten into the wine tonight.
I was just thinking that I had beaten the jet lag, however, I've got the giggles tonight like you only get when you're utterly exhausted.
I finally won a game of Friends "Scene It" last night with the girls. They have been giving me some great competition.
More words for the day. Petrol as in gasoline, and a cash machine as in an ATM. We're stopping by both in the morning to make sure that we are fully prepared for our SHOPPING trip!! woot!
I was talking to Carson tonight on Skype and trying to explain how I eat with a fork and knife like they do over here. I ended up using markers and showing him on my webcam. I think he's still a little confused so he'll just have to wait till the end of summer when I can show him in person. However, it made for some fun laughs this evening. I should do a UTube video or something to illustrate my amazing and fabulous and wonderful dining impressions with markers. Would you all watch that??
Make sure to leave me lots of comments. I have become a comment whore and check all of the time. I love hearing from you all.
Like I said, I'm kind of out of it and might completely regret this post in the morning.
Cheers!
A day of MANY new experiences. . .
Today I almost made it to the office on time. I think I’ve finally beat my jet lag, and I’m feeling almost completely normal today. That sure feels good!! I love being here! Today was a busy and exciting day at the office and we got some big things accomplished. I took my first trip into town today with two of the girls from work. We did some window shopping and I saw only two stores that I recognized: Claire’s and The Body Shop. Now that I’ve gotten a little taste of the stores, I’m ready to dive in and do some serious shopping. Linda is taking me to
I also had my first English Fish and Chips today for tea. It was fabulous!! Over here everyone eats with their fork and knife, by holding their fork in their left hand no matter what their eating. I’m starting to get the hang of that too although eating with my left hand feels a bit awkward!
I learned a couple of new words. Crisps are what we call chips in
At the office I’m working on the information packets for the
More tomorrow after my first shopping excursion!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Finally Getting Adjusted
First a little background. My parents work for a group in
My day started a little earlier this morning. Linda has been very understanding with my jet lag and I feel like I’m finally catching up. Today felt somewhat normal. I’m starting to understand what people are saying and feel more comfortable here. Linda is a wonderful hostess and really making me feel at home.
I have had many quiries (questions) today as I feel like I am learning more and more. My experience for today was learning to make tea. There was so much pressure but one of the ladies in the office, Julie, was kind enough to help me and show me her cheat sheet on how everyone likes it. We had someone in to talk about merchandise today and I learned that tea with milk and one means one sugar. Linda has learned my look of when my eyes kind of glaze over and she knows that I don’t understand.
I finally got a chance to unpack after work. And then one of Linda’s friends came over for tea and we had a wonderful time! I’m sure I’ll be seeing Julie again on a shopping excursion.
Cheers!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A Dinner Party. . .
Linda (my boss) was very gracious and let me sleep in this morning so I slept for 13 hours! It was much needed sleep. So after an afternoon working at the office on table seating for the ball it was back home again to prepare for all of the girls at the office to come over for Tea & pudding (dinner & dessert for all you Americans) so I could get to know them better. Things are so busy at the office that we don't get much chance to talk. One of the girls suggested that I rent a car while I'm here. That thought scared me to death. I would be such as hazard on the road!
I cooked my first England pudding tonight all by myself. Linda had to go pick up her daughter from school so she left me with no recipe or exact measurements to make a Banoffe Pie, something I have never even heard of. It was my "experience" for the day. The pie turned out pretty well for my first time, but was a little to runny. Everyone was polite and said that it was good.
The weather here has been beautiful which I hear is a rare occurrence. Yet another special greeting just for me.
Well I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep so this post isn't as long. I'll do a further explanation of why I'm here and stuff for people reading that I have no clue what I'm talking about. I enjoy all your comments. . . I'm missing home!
molly
I cooked my first England pudding tonight all by myself. Linda had to go pick up her daughter from school so she left me with no recipe or exact measurements to make a Banoffe Pie, something I have never even heard of. It was my "experience" for the day. The pie turned out pretty well for my first time, but was a little to runny. Everyone was polite and said that it was good.
The weather here has been beautiful which I hear is a rare occurrence. Yet another special greeting just for me.
Well I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep so this post isn't as long. I'll do a further explanation of why I'm here and stuff for people reading that I have no clue what I'm talking about. I enjoy all your comments. . . I'm missing home!
molly
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Finally Here. . .
My first day in
The 2 hour drive to Northallerton was a beautiful ride on the wrong side of the road! Driving is completely different over here and all the cars are so small, except for the lorrys (aka trucks for all of you back in the states. . . I’m starting my personal English/American dictionary) I always go to the wrong side of the car.
I was so nice to meet everyone in the office and I am looking forward to spending the next seven weeks with them. I think we will have lots of fun while keeping very busy. I already have work all over my desk. I finally got to meet
I feel like I missed most of what was said today because people talk so fast over here. I am definitely already going through culture shock and am looking forward to a good nights rest so I can hopefully keep up tomorrow. Linda is being very gracious and letting me sleep in tomorrow to get back on track.
Linda prepared a wonderful meal tonight which was a nice way to end the evening... and very welcome after all the not so yummy airplane food. :-P
Monday, May 12, 2008
Off I go. . .
My first trip over sea’s and I’m going it alone. I’ve had a great start to my trip with the terminalI'm in being under construction and my flight being delayed. I think that they are unaware that it is summer and the need to turn the air conditioning. I feel like I already need a shower and it’s going to be a long time before I get one! I hope I smell decent by the time I get there. They might kick me out of the office! That would fine with me.. I’m going to have major jet lag. I'm so excited to meet everyone and get started though.
This morning was filled with stress but now that I’m here and checked in at the airport the full excitement is finally kicking in and I’m very anxious to get there!
Update from Newark: "This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home, this little piggy had roast beef. and this little piggy had none. And this little piggy went wee wee wee. ." the entire plane flight to Newark. I had a one year old sitting behind me and that was her favorite song. She also served as my personal back massager. A quick meal and then it's on to the plane that will take me to my final destination!!
Next post will be from the other side!
Molly
This morning was filled with stress but now that I’m here and checked in at the airport the full excitement is finally kicking in and I’m very anxious to get there!
Update from Newark: "This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home, this little piggy had roast beef. and this little piggy had none. And this little piggy went wee wee wee. ." the entire plane flight to Newark. I had a one year old sitting behind me and that was her favorite song. She also served as my personal back massager. A quick meal and then it's on to the plane that will take me to my final destination!!
Next post will be from the other side!
Molly
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