Spring Break

Well to be brutally honest, I don't really remember much of Friday. I know it consisted of getting my Yoga essay finished along with going to the store to buy stuff for the FHE activity I had planned for Monday. The only thing I remember clearly was starting a movie at 11:45 at night. For those of you who haven't seen The Decoy Bride, I would definitely suggest it if you want a cute cheesy movie with a happy ending, plus mostly everyone speaks with a Scottish accent. If that doesn't sound appealing then let me throw in that the 10th Doctor (David Tennant), Helena Ravenclaw (Kelly Macdonald) and Carol Marcus (Star Trek)(Alice Eve) are all in it:)

Saturday morning I headed to the Heathrow Airport to meet my family (well some of them. Mainly my mom, dad and youngest brother).

Of course his first day in London couldn't disappoint so he casually met Benedict Cumberbatch while waiting to pick up their baggage.

Of course he's in London less than 30 minutes and he meets a celebrity while I've lived here for more than 2 months and have yet to meet any celebrity. But my dad gave me a heads up when they were heading out of customs, so I managed to get a shot of them (He and Sophie) heading out of the airport. 

I almost started to cry in the airport I was so happy got the chance to see him. But was I really upset that I didn't get to meet him? Nah. I still have 2 more months to stalk him in London!

I was super excited for my family to be in London and for me to be able to show them the city that I love! 

We headed back to the place they were staying at so we could put luggage away and head to our football match!

Mom and SH were really tired after the original excitement of arriving in London, but I think they enjoyed the atmosphere of the game! I could tell mom was not happy about all the obscene language that she overheard being shouted at and she has reassured me that she probably wouldn't be coming back to an EPL game (which was fine because I knew that she had been to plenty of mine over the years). SH really enjoyed himself, he kept asking my dad if we could go back and watch some more at the end of the week, but we didn't have time because we already had plans made! 

After the game we headed out to find food and show SH and mom the sights of London! We walked over to Parliament Square and pointed out the touristy spots such as: Westminster Abbey, the Eye and Big Ben. We went to Tortilla for dinner and stumbled upon a cool pub as we walked around. 

I definitely want to go back and go there for dinner sometime. 

Just a picture of our wanderings around on Saturday night.

Sunday after fighting large amounts of Jet Lag, we made it to church on time and stayed for Sacrament meeting and the two speakers were quite lovely. We then headed back home to change and take a walk around Kensington Palace, Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace. 

Surprisingly the weather wasn't too bad, so it was a nice walk through the park. After Buckingham we walked down the Boulevard to find dinner in Trafalgar Square. We went to dinner at a place called Byron and they had AMAZING onion rings, which I was very excited to try because I have been dying to find good ones since I've come to England. 

Monday my family went to Warner Brothers Studio tour while I was stuck in class all day
(you know since that's mostly the reason I'm in London in the first place). After yoga got out of class it was a mad dash to get home and eat dinner before heading to Poundland (like a dollar tree) to get the supplies I needed for my FHE activity. I had decided that we would all play Minute to Win It games since some of the young adults had never heard of it before. 

SH tagged along with me and helped me get set up for the games. I was really nervous about conducting these activities in my new ward (half of which I still didn't know very well). Because I was worried it wouldn't entertain everyone and others would just think it was stupid. Thankfully, my friend AD helped me manage the games. We played Elephant March (wearing panty hose on your head and knocking water bottles over), Sugar Stack (balancing sugar cubes on a wooden spoon held in your mouth), Balloon Head (keep the balloon in the air using only your head), Face the Cookie (put a cookie on your forehead and try to get it into your mouth using only your face movements) and a couple more. I think overall it went well!

Tuesday we made a feeble attempt at going to Borough Market, which was a terrible idea because more than half of the usual stalls were closed or not even there, so I left with my head hanging in shame, promising that we would be back over the weekend. Borough Market was't our only item on the agenda for Tuesday, we started off by going to St. Paul's Cathedral, the Millennial Bridge,

Globe theater, the London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. SH and dad even went and explore the HMS Belfast and got their picture taken.

I love love love this picture of the two of them and I plan on keeping it forever!

I took them to one of my favorite fish and chip stands in London where I got chips served in makeshift newspaper and we fed the birds. We then headed to Portobello Market where the family was staying and we found the Notting Hill Bookshop which was featured in the movie with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. 

Afterwards, mom, dad and I took off towards Charing Cross, where I was to meet a friend and they were off to explore. I went to meet AD at Trafalgar Square where we made an attempt at climbing the lions, but because they were so cold and slick, we gave up and just sat between their paws on the monument. We then headed off to M&M world to explore. I really enjoyed looking around until I found out that they don't have peanut butter M&M's in England! I was appalled! Those are my favorite kind! The entire store smelt really funny too, so we didn't stay very long, but we took a couple of pictures. 

The entire store was 4 stores tall and there were sooooo many M&Ms, however I restrained myself from getting any and we went on our merry way!

Our next stop was Nando's where we had dinner and some very yummy cheesecake. In fact they handed us each our own slice of cheesecake and a little pitcher of cream to pour on top of it. (I'm not sure why, but I wasn't going to argue!) Afterwards we walked around Oxford Streetand I showed her Tiger and we stopped in Boots to get some makeup and then we split up at Tottenham Court Road Tube Station. I was eager to try and get to bed early because we were off to Scotland the next day!

DOOOOO WEEEOOOOOO!!!! *Doctor Who Theme Song*

Ugh. Once again I must apologize for the super late post! This past week has been quite busy, but I promise that you'll get more than one update in the course of a couple of days! WARNING: The post contains major Nerd Flashing!!!

Ok. So Thursday the 5th SJ and I packed a day bag and headed to Cardiff!!! Yes! I had the opportunity to go to Wales last week! We met at the train station at 8:45 to catch a train to Cardiff at 9:15 and let me just say that it was not a cheap ticket, but I definitely thought it was worth it! The countryside was lovely, we passed small towns here and there and there were a ton of large open fields. The day was mostly cloudy, but it didn't rain, so that was a huge plus! The train ride was a good 2 hours long and we spent most of it talking about Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Sherlock, and other nerdy things that entertained us!

By the time we arrived in Cardiff the sun was shining and overall it was a very very good day! The train station was this cute building in the middle of town and we had a short walk to the bus station to get a ride to the Doctor Who Experience. Welsh is a very funny language, as I've had it explained to me in the past it's like "The alphabet started to vomit random letters" which I found very accurate! But thankfully because we were still in the UK they also had English written everywhere as well!

The Doctor Who Experience even had it's own bus stop, so it was very easy to track down and figure out where we needed to go. 

I walked in a immediately started to cry because I was so happy to be there!

For those of you who haven't watched Doctor Who and have no idea what I'm talking about, let give you a brief summary about the show. The main character is called the Doctor and he's a time traveling alien called a Time Lord, he travels in a box called the Tardis (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) and picks up companions and has lots of different adventures along the way! What is so special about a Time Lord you ask? Well they have two hearts and when they get close to dying they have a special trick they can do which is called Regenerating (this is why there have been 12 different Doctors and 12 different actors that play him). There, I think that's a very basic summary without giving too much away!

In the lobby they had an amazing Dalek made of LEGOS!!! This thing was bigger than I am tall! 

And of course they had the Tardis!!! I love me my TARDIS!

For the first part of the tour we were able to help the Doctor retrieve three different time crystals throughout time and space. We ended up on several enemy planets, flew the Tardis, and was able to "communicate" with the Doctor on how to proceed. Of course we ended up saving all of the Universe, no big deal. While it might have been pretty dumb the entire time I was smiling and secretly dancing on the inside.

After saving the Universe, the tour opened up to two different levels full of original and replica props from 1963-2014 (the 2015 season hasn't aired yet). 

This was one of the first consoles used when the show was still running it's original seasons (something we refer to as "Classic Who"). While I have not watched Classic Who, I still appreciate how far the show has come and I still love all the Doctors. *Also a little bit of history, the show started off as a show about history, they thought that a time traveling alien would be a good way to show different points in history*

With every regeneration, the Doctor's Tardis also remodels itself (thats right, the Tardis is a conscious being and can communicate with the Time Lord) (confused yet?) Anyway, this here is the 9th and 10th (my favorite) Doctor's Tardis console! This was the one they used in the show and I was very excited to see it!

So was SJ!

Yes as you can see I'm a bit obsessed with the Tardis Console and I'm not even sorry!

As much as I hated the 50th anniversary episode (really confusing, lets just say it messes with your mind and rewrites time) I did love the outfit that Billie Piper wore in it. And we got to see a couple different Tardis exteriors!

This is the Face of Boe, a telepathic alien who is millions of years old.

What would Doctor Who be without the monsters and aliens? The picture on the left is of a weeping angel and they are the monsters I hate the most. (They are stone angels when you look at them, but when you don't look at them, they can move and send you back in time)

*Shudders* Yeah not my favorite. And of course we had to walk through a graveyard of them on the adventure with the Doctor. Anyway besides the point!

David Tennant's ORIGINAL OUTFIT!!! I definitely squealed a bit when I saw it. 

 Peter Capaldi's outfit!

Rose Tyler's (my favorite companion) most recognized outfits from the 2nd and 4th season of DW!

After we were done walking through the exhibit. We decided to walk around the bay that the building was set on. It was a beautiful day and it was sooooo pretty outside!

I really really enjoyed Cardiff and we went back after a couple of hours spent there. On the way back we watched some Star Trek on my iPod and of course it was the 2nd because it had good old Benedict Cumberbatch!

After arriving back in London we went to Wasabi for some asian food for dinner and then we went our separate ways! I had an essay to write for my Yoga class and I had to get ready for my family to come visit! Overall, it was a very very successful day and I would love to go back and spend an entire day in Cardiff just exploring the city! 

Merry Merry March!

Well, I can't believe it's already March!

This week has been pretty boring. Sunday I helped with my first activity as a member of the activity committee, Break the Fast. I arrived at the church at 11:00 to help start making different kinds of pastas! I was pretty excited to get into a kitchen to make some food! While I have been able to make food in my flat, it's such a big difference to have a roomy kitchen (although I was trying to make my way around about 8 other girls). I was pretty much put in charge of putting the pastas together after they had boiled, you know throwing the sauce and cheese and meat and such. It took the two hours before church and all of Relief Society to make sure that all of the pastas would be ready to go for Break the Fast after church. I spent the next hour after church serving food and mixing salads. I'm actually very grateful for this calling, because it allows me to be in the kitchen avoiding social confrontation during dinner:)

Monday was boring class again. Although, the sun was out for the entire day even though it was still a bit chilly:/ I received a birthday gift from the fantastic LL. At first I was really confused, but I did some research and found out that this is the milk jug from the tea set used on the Sherlock! I'm so excited to use it!

Tuesday was the same, but before I went to class I was able to register for my last full semester at ASU! I can't believe it! I won't be able to graduate until May because I still need to take an internship, but that's what I'll be focusing on during the Spring semester. Actually, I really need to start looking at different places to internship. I have to write a cover letter (which I have no idea how to do) and touch up my resume to send into places and then *gulp* I have to do some interviews to hopefully get a internship with an Occupational Therapy clinic.

Today I got my grade back from my history class on the paper I wrote I got a 67! Now the grading system here is kinda weird, but all you really need to know is that it transfers to about a B+/A-. Which is good enough for me! After class I was in desperate need to go to the grocery store. So, I went to Morrison's (the grocery store that's like Fry's) and got some ingredients for some pasta and some more slow cooker meals! Afterwards I went home and relaxed until it was time to head to my football match!

Out of all the games that I've been to while I've been here, this was the first match I was able to see the kickoff. Finally! It was a really good game! QPR 1-2 Arsenal. I was really wanting Arsenal to win and they finally scored two goals during the second half. The first half was rather boring because both teams weren't playing very well, but Arsenal picked it up after coming out after half. QPR scored with 7 minutes to go and the crowd and the team started going crazy. The crowd was yelling at the ref a lot and the two teams got pretty violent with one another. 

It was really cold heading home, so I grabbed some chips that were very hot and vinegary. And my night was complete! 

I'm not sure what the plans are tomorrow, but I really need to focus on working on my essay for my Yoga class! 

Birthday Week in London!

Monday
It was hard going back to school after my week of traveling. Thankfully I was able to get my butt out of bed and head off to school. We had FHE that night and I volunteered to play the piano. I can admit that I'm not very good, I only know three hymns and they are pretty sketchy as it is. But I find that sometimes I miss sitting down at home and just flipping through the hymn book or Harry Potter soundtrack and playing songs. I don't get the chance here because we don't have a piano in our flat. I also find myself missing the chance to sing. The walls here are so thin that if anyone in any of the flats next to us sing we can hear it. So I don't take that risk in someone hearing me sing, because of this, my poor roommates have to deal with me whistling all the time. I think I drive them crazy.

Anyway back to FHE. The piano in the room in the basement (which is used for Relief Society and for FHE) is badly in need of a tuning. The F key in the left hand is really off and every time I played it on Monday I flinched. We then played some board games such as Monopoly, Uno, Heads Up and SlapJack. I left after playing a few rounds of Uno and because there wasn't as many people as there normally were.

Tuesday
Nothing exciting really happened on Tuesday. I attempted to make some chicken and rice soup in the crockpot, which turned out pretty good actually! But it doesn't taste good as a leftover so it turned out to be a bit of a letdown.

Wednesday was a BEAUTIFUL day! The sun was out and shining and the temperature was over 50 degrees, or thats what it felt like. Instead of the usual history class we went to the City of Westminster  Archives to learn more about the London Blitz. We even had the opportunity to hear from a man who was live during the Blitz and he shared some of his stories.

This is a baby gas mask that they created during the Blitz. The mom would place the baby underneath the hanging fabric so that they could see their face in the window and pump air through the tube on the side. I'm sure the mom would have needed a helping hand because the baby gas mask alone was really heavy and when they included the baby I'm sure it was enough to knock the mother over.

This was a suitcase that children were allowed to take with them to the countryside when they evacuated London. As you can see it's very small and there was only room enough for a few things. 

This is a map of all the bombing sites in the City of Westminster. Up on their website (I don't remember what it is) they have this map posted and you can click on a site and it will show you what it looked like after it was bombed and what it looks like today. I thought that was pretty cool!

After class I convinced two of my classmates to come along with me to Borough Market to get some lunch! Today I got a Bratwurst and a doughnut and they were quite tasty. (The Ice Cream Man wasn't there and I was devastated!) 

One of my classmates had never been there before and I believe I have also converted him to marketism. (evil laughter)

I headed back to my flat, but because it was such a nice day I didn't want to spend it inside. I changed into some proper walking shoes and disposed of my jacket (I was starting to work up a sweat) and took off. I headed south up and over Notting Hill and towards South Kensington. I passed this little church that isn't too far from where I live (I'm not exactly sure what it's called though). Sometimes I can hear the church bells ring on the hour during the day or on Sunday.

My adventure then took me to Kensington Palace and to Hyde Park where there were quite a few people strolling about with their dogs or riding bikes or roller blading. 

They had a bit of garden that had flowers blooming and they made me happy:D

This fountain is the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. I decided to end my walk there and I sat on the edge for a good half an hour soaking in the sunlight and warmth. I figured it was time to head back to the house for some dinner before our excursion that ISA provided for us. 

We left the house at 5:30 to meet up with some of the people who are with ISA to go on a Jack the Ripper Walking Tour that they have every week. While it was fun to learn about the theories of Jack the Ripper and how each of his victims were brutally murdered, I was definitely ready for bed once the tour was over. The night had gotten cold and it had started to rain again, might I add. 

Thursday

My birthday! Let me tell you, it was weird waking up knowing that I was going to celebrate my birthday away from my family this year. No, I wasn't sad about it, it was just a weird feeling, especially when I realized that there would be no Chicken Pot Pie for dinner that night. Anyway, the three of us, TP, MC and I, got ready to go to the London Fashion Show Weekend Event that was held in the Sumerset House over on the other side of the Houses of Parliament. 

I think we all looked very well put together, but the rain thought otherwise. It rained pretty much the entire day! We took umbrellas with us so that we could attempt at staying dry and it worked for the most part. We arrived at Sumerset House about 11:15 and had a good hour to browse the items before the Catwalk began. I found a dress by Dolce and Gabbana that I fell in love with and hey, it was on sale for £200 what a bargain! 

Don't worry, I didn't buy the dress, although that would have been an awesome birthday present to myself. 

It was time for the Catwalk! We queued up outside in the rain and got a pretty good seat on the third row near the end (we got to see them turn in front of us!)

There were 4 different parts of the show that showed the 4 trends that were making a comeback! Flora (lots and lots of flower patterns), monochrome (typical black and whites), shimmer and shine (shiny fabrics) and that's 70's show (yes, the high waists and crochet are back). I had a really fun time in the show, although from the way that the models kept their faces flat, it did not look like they were having a very fun time. 

After the show, we browsed around some more. TP ended up buying a really cute pink scarf and MC bought a necklace with a blue stone at the end, I didn't buy anything! We also got to pose for lots of pictures and try on some sunglasses that we liked. I was very tempted to buy myself some sunglasses, but I didn't have enough money in my bank account. The three of us entered to win a £500 which we decided would be split if any of us won, but we left the Sunglasses Hut empty handed. 

On the way home from the fashion show, we got pretty soaked, but before getting on the tube we stopped and took some pictures in the park. 

When we got back the flat was decorated with some banners and lots and lots of balloons!

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and trying to warm back up from the cold. At about 6:30 we headed off for my birthday dinner at the South Kensington Creperie and had crepes for dinner! Surprisingly, I didn't get a dessert crepe! I got the Mona Lisa Crepe filled with eggs, bacon, cheese, mushrooms and spinach (there was something really appetizing about the spinach and mushrooms). 

We then headed back to the flat after dinner and the girls surprised me again with a red velvet birthday cake! 

Sorry for the blurry image, I guess I was moving too much blowing out the candles. But it was super sweet of them:D They ended up staying over for an hour and we had a long chat. And I finished up my day by chatting with my family at home! (Everyone except Meg) Overall, it was a very good birthday! Although I had some regrets about buying that dress and those sunglasses, but that's ok! 

Friday

Today was rather sunny out again, although it was mid to low forties, so it was still very cold out. We had a late start today I slept in rather late and we finally headed out around 11:45 to Borough Market for lunch. Afterwards we headed north towards Abbey Road and walked across the same road the Beatles did for their album cover. 

I'm not sure what tomorrow will have in store, I want to try and get started on my two essays that I have left to write that are due sometime in March, but I also want to go somewhere in the city. The whereabouts are undecided yet! Thank you for all the birthday wishes!