October

It's been a little busy. I've been recruiting for survey #1, doing the final touches for survey #2, fixing the wording for #3 (this one is going to be painful), and writing the literature review.

Since I was called as the 1st Counselor in the Young Women's we were mostly working on a movie for a stake activity. We ended up winning to top award! (I don't know how to load You Tube videos, so if you want to watch it ask Dave on facebook)

The video is of the camping scene. A weak attempt at Blair Witch Project.

It was my 36th Birthday this week. Yeah, I know I am weird because I love birthdays and getting older. Except finding white hairs, not cool! Plus another excuse to wear the tiara!

My Birthday Cards!

It got really cold here last week and we had to turn on the heater, or the joke of a heater, on. My Mom has finally sent my winter clothes, but I haven't received them yet. But I did buy my ticket home for Christmas break. Mom decided it would be better to fly me home to do wedding planning while I had a little time. Instead of trying to do everything last minute later on.

Dave took me to a craft store close by that a woman at church suggested and sure enough they have everything, even model train/planes/etc. So I can do some jewelery making when I have the time.

I'll add some pictures of hiking. It's not that big of a hill, but it is rehab for Dave's ankle. He actually made it to the top this time!

Yep, this sheep stopped and stared.

The trail had pretty parts

Elie Saab

It wasn't until I watched a few seasons of Project Runway did I become a fan of fashion. My favorite designer is Elie Saab. I feel like it is a guilty pleasure because I should like an American designer, but Elie Saab's designs are just awesome. He is originally from Lebanon with his main workshop in Beirut, but he does have workshops in Milan and Paris. He shows his work at Paris fashion week. I absolutely loved his all white collection of Autumn/Winter 2009-2010 (here is a link to Kristen Stewart wearing Elie Saab to the Eclipse premiere from the white collection). He just debuted his Autumn/Winter 2010-2011 collection with red, silver blue, and taupe and I couldn't wait for it to be put up on his website. One day I would love to watch his show at Paris fashion week, just put it up on the bucket list.

eat pray love movie

I've already mentioned that I have read the book Eat Pray Love. So now I will pronounce that I have seen the movie. Some critics have said, "It’s touching, enjoyable and inspiring...as long as you’re female." A distant cousin of mine said, "The whole time I felt like I was just watching Julia Roberts instead of her character." Rotten Tomatoes gives it an overall approval rating of 38%. And click here for the info from wikipedia. I think Dave took me to see it because I said I wanted to go, but secretly I think he really liked the part where Felipe's son goes back to Australia or he really hated it because he was squirming in his seat. I personally liked it. It made me want to eat lots of yummy food in Italy, learn to have more peace and quiet in my life, and be really grateful that Dave wants to go ring shopping without me even asking. Plus it reminded me of our family vacation last year in Waterton. One day Caimon and I were walking by the lake and stopped to sit on a bench to stare at the water. It was great being in the moment and peaceful, who knew a 2 year old could do that, I love that kid!

more house pictures

Since the last blog I figured I would put up pictures of other things that make the house old, besides the fact that this is an old Victorian home.

This is the sink for the downstairs bathroom (a pretty rare thing for a Victorian home to have, 2 bathrooms). I like the design, it's pretty.

The door window has a pretty etching.

Yes the washer is in the kitchen and it is small.

This is the water heater.

This is the bathroom doorknob and lock. The lock doesn't work and yes that is a bobby pin that is keeping the knob together.

Kitchen sink. I told my roommate Rachel that we have two sinks in the USA and she says, "Why do you need two sinks?" Why don't you need to sinks? English people do not rinse the soap off the dishes after they washed them. Gross!

This is the upstairs bathroom sink. It looks exactly like the bathroom sink in my Grandpa and Grandma Riding's house, which was built in the 1930's. It's time to upgrade.

This is the shower water heater. Don't ask how it works, I've read the instruction manual and it made me more confused. Anybody seen one of these before?

Yep that is a radiator! Not only that, but my landload calls this central heating.

Friday night Dave and I babysat for our friend's kids. One of them was sick, therefore Dave and I got sick. Saturday was bad for me and today is Dave's bad day. Since my roommates refuse to turn the heat on, I had Dave pick me up so I could stay warm at his flat. So I took a picture of his tv. Another example of "boys and their toys".

oven/stove

I had to buy matches to start the oven and stove. My Mom says her Grandma Amy had one of these. One of the drawbacks of living in England, they are behind in technology. They still use radiators to heat houses. About 2% of the population has a dishwasher, Dave doesn't even know how to load one. Most people still hang their clothes up to dry instead of using a dryer. #1 reason I am not staying in this country after I graduate.