a request...

right now, my family is going through a very difficult situation... so if there is someone you pray to, my family could use some extra prayers...

thanks...

tada!

since i proposed, i thought i should buy my own ring... what do you think?

okay, okay... before anyone gets their panties in a twist... it's not real... it's just a buyers' guide... hehe... wishful thinking? probably...

actually, i bought it because it was so huge it was laughable... i am a princess and all, but that's out there, even for me...

lazy sunday

it's so nice to have a weekend where i'm not doing anything... i was able to get some organizing and cleaning done... and i even balanced my checkbook! now i'm actually kinda bored... lol... maybe i'll take a nap... i haven't done that in a long time...

while i am enjoying this lazy weekend, i do miss getting to spend time with my family... last weekend was good... my cousin's wedding was wonderful... it was mostly traditional, but it had touches of them in the ceremony and reception too... tracey (my cousin's wife) isn't very girly, so there weren't a lot of flowers, and both keith and tracey are good friends with lots of musicians, so we had live music... everyone had a good time...

later that night, i went to the mall with my mom and brother... several of the stores were having huge fall sales... so i got some new sweaters for way cheap! i don't think my brother liked being towed around the women's section, but he got over it...

sunday, before i left to drive back to MD, i visited with my grandma... she's doing so well now... and seems to be getting back to her regular self... it cracks me up that she's always thinking about chris... hehe... most of the time she has something made for me to send him (like banana nut bread the last time or ham for when he was in NC)... my grandma likes chris... hehe...

this week has been busy at work... except for friday... and it was super slooooooow... none of the bosses were there, and no one was in the mood to work... i was so glad that i had some off-campus training after lunch... i got to learn how to use a fire extinguisher!!! hey, no laughing, better to learn now, than to wait till there's a fire...

and now it's time for that nap...

it's good to sleep in my own bed...

the past week was fun, but i was certainly glad to be home...

the business trip to ohio turned out to be interesting... i learned a lot about UPS systems (not the big brown truck company) and learned a lot about how to be a client... i was wined and dined like i couldn't believe... the meals were amazing... i even tried calamari and raw tuna... and i liked both! we also found a tavern that sold lots of british beers! so i got to have a hobgoblin and even a chocolate stout! too bad they didn't have ciders, though... but as much fun as the trip was, i was kind of glad it was over... i needed some down time...

but since i was on my way to terre haute for the weekend, i couldn't have down time just yet... friday evening was the young alumni party, and it wasn't all that great... i stayed for about 30 minutes and left wondering why i had even bothered to go back to homecoming this year... but after the pep rally and bonfire, things started to look up... i went out with some of my sisters and we had a great time! sanka's now has Strongbow on tap!!! and ambrosini's has karaoke (which was a blast)!!!

Saturday morning, chris's mom met me and we walked the Rosie 5k!!! it was nice to get some exercise, but i could have done without the march through the wet grass and sand... that afternoon was the game... i didn't watch any of it, though... i mingled around the Tri Delta tent and caught up with people i hadn't seen in years... after the mingling, i met some of chris's family for dinner... i had just seen them in may, but it was nice seeing them again... after dinner, chris's mom and i walked around the mall and then went to the local starbucks... we had a good time just talking... later that night i was super tired... but chris persuaded me to go hang out with my sisters some more... so i went, and had a pretty good time... but i was super glad when they decided to call it a night...

while i had fun at homecoming... i think i'll be okay not going back for another few years... not much had changed with the school... and the people that i wanted to see either weren't there or i keep up with them anyway... but who knows... maybe i'll decide to go again next year...

mmm... vacation...

i'm finally getting around to blogging about my vacation... i wrote down all the cool things earlier in the week, but realized that was just way too much to blog... so i'll try to keep it short, but still get everything in... here goes...

Thurs 9/14: i was super excited about my trip that i didn't really get any work done at work... so i hurried home, and to the airport, where i found out that my flight had been delayed so long that i would miss my connecting flight to london... so, the airline put me in a cab to philly (where i was catching my connection)... it was only 2 hours, but it was still crazy... but, i made my flight and was on my way to london!

Fri 9/15: i was super happy to see chris... he met me at the airport and we took the train into london... we mainly napped most of the afternoon, and then went to Picadilly Circus for dinner and just some walking around...

Sat 9/16: we did lots of touristy sight seeing... we went to the London Science Museum (it was quite boring), saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abby, and Trafalgar Square... we also went into Harrod's but it was super crazy, so we didn't do any shopping... that night we saw the show "Avenue Q" and it was super awesome! if you're not easily offended, i recommend it!

Sun 9/17: chris and i slept in, and decided not to do any more london stuff... making our way back to cambridge took a bit longer than expected... part of the tube was closed, so we got to take a bus ride through the london suburbs... i liked riding on the top deck... by the time we got to cambridge, though, i was super hungry and cranky... chris took me to this really great kabob place, then we just hung out in a park for the afternoon... that night, we went to see the second Pirates of the Caribbean... i didn't like it as much as the first one...

Mon 9/18: chris had some things to take care of on base, so we went to lakenheath for a bit... and then lunched at my favorite pub in Icklingham... i looooove those chips, i swear they're made from potatoes from heaven... lol... in the afternoon, chris took me punting... i was super nervous, but chris was a great punter (much better than i would have been if i had tried, i'm sure)...

Tues 9/19: we went to Duxford for the day to visit the Imperial War Museum... and then we walked around cambridge some more... and went to bed early in preparation for our trip the next day...

Wed 9/20: we got up super early to get to the airport to go to Barcelona... we waited in a super long check-in line, a very slow security line, and then had to make a mad dash to the gate to catch the flight... we were actually running in an airport (i didn't think anyone really did that)... but we made it... when we got to barcelona, we were both tired and hungry... we found a place for lunch that had a great sangria... and after a nap, we headed to the La Rambla area to walk around... we had dinner in that tourist area, and learned our lesson about that - we were charged 50 euros for our drinks alone!!! crazy... but we didn't get burned by that again...

Thurs 9/21: it was super nice weather for walking around the city... we got to see lots of things: arc de triumph, la sagrada familia, casa mila, casa batllo, the barcelona cathedral, and the beach! we also took a cable car to Monjuic... i was kind of scared, but i lived... and the view was worth it! that night, we walked around the harbor and had dinner at a place there on the water... they also had a great sangria... and afterward we walked along the beach...

Fri 9/22: we took short train ride south to Tarragona... it was a cute town... there were roman ruins, a big cathedral, and an ampitheater... the weather wasn't all that great, but it wasn't super nasty either... but it was bad enough to make the beach not all that enjoyable... so we headed back to barcelona earlier than we had planned... we made it back in time to catch part of the opening festivities for the La Merce festival... there were lots of people walking around, drum "gangs" competing with each other in parks, and even some fireworks (which we watched from the beach)... after the fireworks, we sat on the beach and talked for a while... and that's when i proposed, and he said "yes"!!! hehe (yeah, i'm still a little giddy about that)...

Sat 9/23: we slept in, and then made our way back to the La Rambla area for more of the festival... the weather was rainy, and a little chilly, so there weren't a lot of people out to begin with... we were super tired, so we just relaxed on a bench by the beach till it was time to head to the airport... our flight was delayed by a bit, and we didn't get in to London until after midnight... then there was a long wait for the bus to take us to the parking area, and then chris's car wouldn't start, and once we finally got to cambridge, we had to search for a parking space... i was definately glad to see the bed that night...

Sun 9/24: we got up early to get me to the airport... chris had to run to base for a minute, so i stayed at his flat to finish packing and get ready to go... i mostly just cried... at the airport, i didn't want to leave, and i even teared up a bit there too... the flight back was long, but at least the immigration line was short... and i finally made it home at 10 pm...

i know that was long, but i really did cut it down quite a bit... anyway, i had a great time, and can't wait to go back!