Fordpride

I looked down at my shirt today and thought it too familiar.   I'm stuck in the past! ...but if it ain't broke, don't fix it! right?  right?

I just saw The Muppets. So, so good.  I seriously was obsessed with the old movies and so I spent the entire afternoon with a giant grin plastered on my face.  The Muppets are so classic.  I loved them. Before the movie, though, we were blessed with some particularly good previews. (also the toy story short was surprisingly funny.  i giggled a lot) First off: 1. Mayor shaking person dressed up as a whales hand. 2. This town would be really boring to live in 3. "We can't keep up with the ice!" 4. Whales are just like us..."We need help sometimes too" 5. "I'll be damned if I'm going to let the Reds in to save the day!" (my personal fave) Also, this one has so many big stars.  I know its going to be good: Then I was led to this: I love Dwayne.  So much.

It's Christmas here!  BAM. Love it.   The fam went to church, now we're home and not doing anything productive.  Lounging, as it were. And this is from me (and Cher-voice) to you. Hope you have the most excellent holiday season and do something awesome.  Because you deserve it.

Just a little Christmas Eve love from the bro's. I have high expectations for this years photo shoot.  You'll see.

Coming to America also meant running into Joe's arms.  It feels good being together.

Sunday I made my way over to the little ol' city of Paris. I love Paris. It is the place that made me fall in love with the world.  It opened my eyes to something bigger than me.  It will always be that city for me. But yeah. Paris. Awesome.  More on that later. And guess where I am now? HOME. It happened. I did it.   I just came home for Christmas.   And you know what?   Best.decision.ever.

One of my friends, Betty, who is maybe the funniest person I've ever met (tonight at dinner she told one of the missionaries that he wasn't the most handsome elder) read my palm tonight.  She's Chinese and has the best accent/intonations ever.  Anyways.  She gave some insight into my future that should be documented. -I will live to be over 100 -I will have two boys and one girl -I will get married soon-like, in the next year.  Big news. -My husband and I will fight a lot, but he'll be rich and powerful, so I'm ok with that -My big work promotion won't happen until I'm in my 50's  So I'll keep you updated on whether or not any of those things happen.   Also, a side note, 129 days until Backstreet Boys. And, to celebrate the last day of classes today, I've had my own Law and Order Marathon and am on my sixth episode.  I'll be honest-it isn't the same without Christopher Meloni.  But its still good.  

Last night I went with some friends to this Christmas Carol Service in the ol' York Minster. We all know how much I love it there. The program was very sweet.  It was put on by the other main university here-York St. John-and it contained carols from all over the world.  Their chamber choir sang, they had some scripture readings, there was a short Christmas sermon by their chaplain who is from Kenya and gave a really sweet little talk... ...and then, they had this: The Yorkulele. Some things just don't make sense.

On Saturday my friend Ruth came into York and we got to hang out.  Yeah, it was awesome. After a lovely little lunch and some window shopping, we stopped by a...museum? of sorts.  The bottom floor of this pub is actually some Roman baths-built 1700 years ago!  They were just digging and bam!   The Romans had beaten them there. And that's actually all I read from the pamphlet the (super good looking) guy gave us, because I was easily distracted... I seriously love a good dress up. Also, not joking, this is the 'gift shop'.  AKA the most ghetto 'gift shop' I have ever seen or could even imagine. ' One of the best museums ever.

Also, I was given the gift of life via a Vanilla Coke. Thanks Sariah.  You are so bomb.com.   And now I will stop posting about foods/beverages that make me happy. Oh wait.  I probably won't. (also, a sidenote.  this is day 2 hair.  DAY 2!  i found the best dry shampoo and it is blowing my mind.)

Guess who went to Costco and in a fit of excitement ended up buying way too much food at the food court? This girl. But you know what, it was still delicious.   Thank you Costco, for being such a constant in my life.

Sometimes I miss America. When I do miss it, I try to play a fun game.  Like, "Name every state in four minutes!" or "If you had to pick the top 5-10 best looking presidents, who would they be?" So, here you go.  My top presidents, in no particular order:  Harry Truman (the man looks good in those frames) Rutherford B. Hayes (it may or may not be the beard) Ulysses S. Grant (for sure in the top three for me) George W. Bush (better looking than his daddy) Theodore Roosevelt (i admit i have a weird love for him; its not normal) Thomas Jefferson (i have a feeling he'd look even better in real life) FDR (seriously.  eleanor must've been really funny or something) Bill Clinton (duh) And there you go!  I love America. (And some of the scariest looking: Andrew Johnson, Martin Van Buren, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams You never would've been elected ...

Tonight while I was out with a couple friends, we played the "what animal do i most resemble" game. Apparently, this is me: It's uncanny. Any other suggestions?

Friday night?  Success. Oh, and lets have a little looksy at the hair dilemma!   The results were shocking.  An overwhelming amount of people advised me to go with BANGS!   Rightly so, as Joe Biden might be the only person alive who looks good with our forehead.  (aww yeah) And while I did actually go get my fringe trimmed, it started going all wonky soon after I started busting a move, so it eventually had to be pulled back (aka 20 mins after i got there). In conclusion-you were all winners!! (but seriously.  all 30 of you who voted-it means a lot.  just wait until i have to get ALL my hair cut.   i'll really need you then.) (ben. aka the best dancer there) (big pimpin') This last picture is super overexposed (in case you couldn't tell), but I still secretly love it.  (for you arrested development lovers out there, it reminds me of when gob makes lucille's fake drivers licens...

I think its really interesting some of the differences in vocabulary between British English and American English. I seriously laugh at some of the word choices for both variations. Like driving sounds so much more serious here.  Instead of signaling , they indicate .  And instead of passing people, they overtake them.  Powerful.  I like it. I also enjoy them asking "You alright?" ALL THE TIME.  It's their "how are you" of sorts.  It took awhile to adjust my response to fit the question, but I finally think I have it down.  I don't think I'll ever conform to being able to ask the question, but I can respond appropriately.  I also feel lame saying cheers to people, so I'm staying away from that one, too. Anyways, this is just to lead into me saying I'm unwell.  Instead of sick.  Because I hear unwell wayyyy more than I hear sick .  I have this cold that is ruining everything aka my life.   This is what I look li...

You guys.   There is a big night coming up here.  The York Ball (aka big mormon dance).  Friday. (Ah! So nervous!  What if no one wants to dance with me!!!) I have a killer dress.  But the question of how I should do my hair has been stressin' me! My bangs (or fringe as they call it here) is at a confusing length.  They are fine most of the time, but they're getting a tad too long.  Which means I touch them a lot.  Which means they get real gross real fast. SO.  Do I trim the bangs/fringe?  Because we all know Imma be busting a dance move on Friday night meaning I'll be swooping them back meaning I'll be extra sweaty meaning I'll have real nasty hair at the end of the night. OR do I grow my bangs/fringe out and just put my hair back for the ball?  And when considering this option, lets not forget the bald spot aka my forehead .  (also, here is another story of my forehead.  i should be...

Saturday I had the chance to hop on a bus (or coach, as they call it here) with my fellow church peeps to go to the Preston England temple.   So good.  So, so good.

This happened.  There's nothing more to say.

This year I spent Thanksgiving here.  In York.  Well, actually, I went over to the city of Harrogate and hung out with my friend Duncan.  This is what we looked liked:  (the black and white makes it seem like we've been friends forever.  which isn't true, it just feels true) Duncan has lived here his whole life so he knows the ins and outs of the town and we spent some time exploring this little forest (I wish I lived next to a forest) and he showed me this little perfect spot for sitting.  It was a pleasant day and while it wasn't the typical Thanksgiving experience, it was exactly what I needed in my life.  And I have to soak up as much Dunx time as possible before he moves to another country! (who does that, btw?!)  We also saw Tin Tin , which was surprisingly enjoyable.  Tin Tin is legit. Turns out my family also had an enjoyable Thanksgiving back home.  There are certain moments I wish I could've been a part...

Its 12:27 am on Thursday, which technically means its Thanksgiving! Soooo, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! But also technically, Thanksgiving doesn't exist for me this year.  Because its kind of an American thing (kind of), and right now, I'm not in America. But also, that doesn't mean I can't be grateful.  While I'm not in the great country of my birth, I am in a great country.  And I have a lot to be grateful for. (enter the standard 'i'm grateful for' post...but better; i'm in a weirdly reflective mood, so bear with me) Oftentimes in my life, I've felt perfectly inadequate and confused and worried about my decisions.  I've been hit with concerns of where I should live, with whom I should surround myself, what I should study, and many other seemingly life-altering decisions.  I've often felt like what I was doing wasn't good enough, or worth it, or I'll be honest-normal.  I have wished to be more of a typical Mor...

London last week was...fantastic.   I went to an academic conference on Wednesday, making my trip down there FREE.99!  The university paid for the train tickets and luckily I don't have any classes on Wednesdays or Thursdays, so I stayed until Friday morning and it was great.   First off, can I just say that a trip to the British Library to see all the old documents is totally, totally worth it.  One of the highlights of the trip for sure.  I don't know if I'm just a big nerd, but I'm weirdly obsessed with illuminated manuscripts and they have some good stuff there.  And, you know, the Magna Carta.  No big. There was also some awesome stuff at the British Museum.   And the Tate Modern is one of my favorite museums.  As much as I appreciate and love classic pieces of art, I have a soft spot for modern stuff as well.  It's like a work out for a different part of your brain.  I'll take it. Oh and don'...