July 31st, 2000
"I missed a day somewhere, so... I woke up today and it was raining. I thought, "Great." We were going to rent a boat today but it's raining so we couldn't But there is a club nearby called Low Wood Club that has a swimming pool, a weight room, and Squash Courts and more, so this morning Dad said we could go, but Mom was tired so Dad came into our room and played B.S. while Mom slept. That was fun, Dad B.S.'d us so many times he had practically the whole deck, then finally he won. We played for a half hour, then turned on the television to see what was on. We watched Home Improvement, then a supposed-to-be-serious but really strange and funny "Watercolor Challenge." There were three people competing in painting a bridge. There was nothing else on, so we watched it and laughed. Finally Mom got up, so we got ready for the club. Katie and I got in an argument about goggles, I thought it was pretty stupid. Swimming was really fun! Joe lifted weights then came swimming. We also ate at a 70's restaurant where almost everything was Beatles. I said, "Liz would die."
I'm so excited to come home! Only 13 more days! I'm soooo psyked!"
B.S. is another fun card game we played a lot. That game with Dad was particularly awesome. I've never forgotten that game.
WATERCOLOR CHALLENGE! I know when my family reads this they'll start cracking up. It was the the funniest thing I've ever seen. Super intense and serious watercolor painting. They even had a narrator to tell the viewers what was being done. Oh man, that was the highlight of our stay in that little Western room. :)
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Blast from the Past: July 30th 2000
July 30th, 2000
"We packed up today and left. I think we forgot some things but there's nothing I can do now. We caught a taxi to take us to the train station. I'm fine with my suitcase but we have so many backpacks! Dad says we're going to get one more suitcase to put them in so that will be easier. I'm still hiding Juliet from Joe and Dad. I'm scared they'll find out.
Our Inn is so lovely! It's just our room is all..... Western! Can you believe it?! We came to Europe, and we're staying in an Inn that was Western decorations! It's so tacky! But the bed are comfy and we're only here for two nights. There is a club nearby with a huge swimming pool, we'll go there tomorrow. We ate some good Chinese, then went to bed. Scratch that... I was writing post cards, Joe slept, and Katie was with mom and dad. I flipped the channel and Jurassic Park was on! I watched it, and then Joe woke and watch too. After that, a western show was on, and Joe watched that then we went to bed!"
We flew halfway across the world, and ended up staying in a Western themed hotel room. What are the chances of that, I ask you!? The bathroom had saloon doors, and there was a huge map on the wall of the Western United States... and Utah was missing, but whatevs. No one's perfect.
And I am totally weirded out that of all the Chinese places I've ever eaten at in my life, the very best ones were all in Europe. Go figure...
"We packed up today and left. I think we forgot some things but there's nothing I can do now. We caught a taxi to take us to the train station. I'm fine with my suitcase but we have so many backpacks! Dad says we're going to get one more suitcase to put them in so that will be easier. I'm still hiding Juliet from Joe and Dad. I'm scared they'll find out.
Our Inn is so lovely! It's just our room is all..... Western! Can you believe it?! We came to Europe, and we're staying in an Inn that was Western decorations! It's so tacky! But the bed are comfy and we're only here for two nights. There is a club nearby with a huge swimming pool, we'll go there tomorrow. We ate some good Chinese, then went to bed. Scratch that... I was writing post cards, Joe slept, and Katie was with mom and dad. I flipped the channel and Jurassic Park was on! I watched it, and then Joe woke and watch too. After that, a western show was on, and Joe watched that then we went to bed!"
We flew halfway across the world, and ended up staying in a Western themed hotel room. What are the chances of that, I ask you!? The bathroom had saloon doors, and there was a huge map on the wall of the Western United States... and Utah was missing, but whatevs. No one's perfect.
And I am totally weirded out that of all the Chinese places I've ever eaten at in my life, the very best ones were all in Europe. Go figure...
Blast from the Past: July 29th 2000
July 29th 2000
"Uncle Carl, Olivia, and Alexis are leaving tonight. Katie wanted to go to Covent Garden, but mom wanted to go to St. Paul's church, and I slept in. Mom got mad at me for it. She said, "My dad is screwed up because you slept in." I started to cry, and she said sorry, but it didn't help much. We did end up going to the all amazing St. Paul's Church, which was beautiful. I also saw some cute guys. We stayed there for an hour and a half, then headed to Covent Garden. There weren't great acts and it was so crowded and trashed! But Mom and I found a cool tye-dye shop and got matching overalls with cool suns designed on them. They are really cool looking. When we were waiting for the subway to go home, a policeman was walking toward us telling us to evacuate! I got a little scared, I didn't know what was happening. It was really hot and finally we got outside. We had to walk 15 minutes to Picadilly Circus, which pretty much everybody went to also. Finally we got into the subway and home. Carl and them had gone to the Tower of London and said there were no lines at all! So they got to see the Crown Jewels three times! I was jealous. Finally 6:00 came and they left. I was so glad because I was tired of hearing Lex moaning and complaining about Ralphie and everything we did. We are leaving tomorrow to Windemeir. I'm glad we are leaving London."
You must remember that at this point in our trip we've all been around each other 24 hours a day seven days a week for a month a a half. Tempers were starting to rise and patience was beginning to wear thin. We all snapped at each other every once in a while. Frankly, I'm surprised we all made it out of that trip alive. We got along pretty well for the most part!
I don't remember this whole evacuation situation at all. It sounds kind of scary... luckily we were all alright.
Yes, Lex kept moaning about how much she missed her boyfriend, Ralphie, and Olivia whined about everything, so we were all most happy to say goodbye.
"Uncle Carl, Olivia, and Alexis are leaving tonight. Katie wanted to go to Covent Garden, but mom wanted to go to St. Paul's church, and I slept in. Mom got mad at me for it. She said, "My dad is screwed up because you slept in." I started to cry, and she said sorry, but it didn't help much. We did end up going to the all amazing St. Paul's Church, which was beautiful. I also saw some cute guys. We stayed there for an hour and a half, then headed to Covent Garden. There weren't great acts and it was so crowded and trashed! But Mom and I found a cool tye-dye shop and got matching overalls with cool suns designed on them. They are really cool looking. When we were waiting for the subway to go home, a policeman was walking toward us telling us to evacuate! I got a little scared, I didn't know what was happening. It was really hot and finally we got outside. We had to walk 15 minutes to Picadilly Circus, which pretty much everybody went to also. Finally we got into the subway and home. Carl and them had gone to the Tower of London and said there were no lines at all! So they got to see the Crown Jewels three times! I was jealous. Finally 6:00 came and they left. I was so glad because I was tired of hearing Lex moaning and complaining about Ralphie and everything we did. We are leaving tomorrow to Windemeir. I'm glad we are leaving London."
You must remember that at this point in our trip we've all been around each other 24 hours a day seven days a week for a month a a half. Tempers were starting to rise and patience was beginning to wear thin. We all snapped at each other every once in a while. Frankly, I'm surprised we all made it out of that trip alive. We got along pretty well for the most part!
I don't remember this whole evacuation situation at all. It sounds kind of scary... luckily we were all alright.
Yes, Lex kept moaning about how much she missed her boyfriend, Ralphie, and Olivia whined about everything, so we were all most happy to say goodbye.
Blast from the Past: July 28th 2000
July 28th 2000
"Today all I really did was go to Harrods with Lex, but then Bibby whined to come so Carl and her came too. I got a Barbie. I know I said I didn't like them, but somewhere inside me I don't really want to entirely give them up yet. She is really pretty, and she's Moviestar Barbie. I named Her Juliet. I played with her and Katie's Beanies. I'm hiding her from Dad and Joe because I know they'll harass me. Lex didn't get anything, Bibby got a bear. After we all came home Lex and I played 500 until dinner, then they went home and we went to bed. Boring day!"
I've mentioned 500 in quite a few posts now, and I just realized I never explained what it is. 500 is a card game that we became pretty addicted to over that summer. I have pages and pages in my journal of 500 scores between me and all sorts of people. It helped pass the slow times.
Ha! I forgot I bought a Barbie in London! I honestly couldn't tell you why I wanted one. I was obsessed with them when I was younger, and my friend Elizabeth was too. We used to play for hours and hours together with our hundreds of Barbies. I remember telling my mom I had bought her and she about died. I think she hoped I was through that phase... I said, "Mom, I bought something I probably shouldn't have today..." and she said, "a tank top?" Ha! Well, that Barbie was the last one I ever bought. I played with her a few times, and that was it. That little Barbie flare up was short-lived for sure.
"Today all I really did was go to Harrods with Lex, but then Bibby whined to come so Carl and her came too. I got a Barbie. I know I said I didn't like them, but somewhere inside me I don't really want to entirely give them up yet. She is really pretty, and she's Moviestar Barbie. I named Her Juliet. I played with her and Katie's Beanies. I'm hiding her from Dad and Joe because I know they'll harass me. Lex didn't get anything, Bibby got a bear. After we all came home Lex and I played 500 until dinner, then they went home and we went to bed. Boring day!"
I've mentioned 500 in quite a few posts now, and I just realized I never explained what it is. 500 is a card game that we became pretty addicted to over that summer. I have pages and pages in my journal of 500 scores between me and all sorts of people. It helped pass the slow times.
Ha! I forgot I bought a Barbie in London! I honestly couldn't tell you why I wanted one. I was obsessed with them when I was younger, and my friend Elizabeth was too. We used to play for hours and hours together with our hundreds of Barbies. I remember telling my mom I had bought her and she about died. I think she hoped I was through that phase... I said, "Mom, I bought something I probably shouldn't have today..." and she said, "a tank top?" Ha! Well, that Barbie was the last one I ever bought. I played with her a few times, and that was it. That little Barbie flare up was short-lived for sure.
Blast from the Past: July 27th 2000
July 27th 2000
"The ride home was a lot more bumpy than the last. It was also really squeaky. Lexy and I tried to read, we were sitting alone together. I was glad to get back to our apartment and take a load off our feet. I played 500 with Lexy for a while, then I took a bath and washed my hair and shaved. We had dinner with Vivian because it's Bibby's birthday, and then had a delicious chocolate cake that Vivian made. After that we gave Bibby her presents. She didn't seem to appreciate Katie's presents. I was so mad! Katie gave them to her and she said, "Oh dear," and rolled her eyes! I was so PO'd I was gonna tell her off but I didn't. Then we started on our way to Her Majesty's Theater to see Phantom! Vivian had given Olivia a whole bunch of hair things and bracelets, including a little fake crown. Alexis told me while going to the show that when they were outside their flat door Bibby said, "I need to get something." Six or seven minutes later she came out wearing her crown, a blue dressy skirt, a blue sleeveless top, and a little purse around her wrist! I was so shocked! First she was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and clogs, and now she was wearing a pretty princess outfit! I don't know why, but she didn't have to look AND act like Miss Prissy Sassy. She sure acted like one.
Anyway, Phantom was really good! We didn't have great seats, but it was pretty cool. Course I'd never seen it, so it was good. The Phantom was by far the best, and I thought it was sad when she kissed him in the end. So, we've now seen five plays and my favorite list goes: Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Phantom, Comedy of Errors, and Stones in His Pockets.
Well, gotta get off to bed, and by the way, I'm now reading Anne of Green Gables."
My family and I always had a hard time with "Bibby" or... Olivia. Actually, while I was growing up I really despised her. She was mean to me and my sister, and mean to everyone else. I'll never forget that little outfit she changed into.... it looked ridiculous.
We sure didn't have great seats to Phantom! We sat allllllllllll the way in the back on the floor, and the balcony obstructed most of our view. So when the chandelier fell, we only saw the very bottom of it for a split second, and it was back up. Totally. Awesome.
"The ride home was a lot more bumpy than the last. It was also really squeaky. Lexy and I tried to read, we were sitting alone together. I was glad to get back to our apartment and take a load off our feet. I played 500 with Lexy for a while, then I took a bath and washed my hair and shaved. We had dinner with Vivian because it's Bibby's birthday, and then had a delicious chocolate cake that Vivian made. After that we gave Bibby her presents. She didn't seem to appreciate Katie's presents. I was so mad! Katie gave them to her and she said, "Oh dear," and rolled her eyes! I was so PO'd I was gonna tell her off but I didn't. Then we started on our way to Her Majesty's Theater to see Phantom! Vivian had given Olivia a whole bunch of hair things and bracelets, including a little fake crown. Alexis told me while going to the show that when they were outside their flat door Bibby said, "I need to get something." Six or seven minutes later she came out wearing her crown, a blue dressy skirt, a blue sleeveless top, and a little purse around her wrist! I was so shocked! First she was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and clogs, and now she was wearing a pretty princess outfit! I don't know why, but she didn't have to look AND act like Miss Prissy Sassy. She sure acted like one.
Anyway, Phantom was really good! We didn't have great seats, but it was pretty cool. Course I'd never seen it, so it was good. The Phantom was by far the best, and I thought it was sad when she kissed him in the end. So, we've now seen five plays and my favorite list goes: Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Phantom, Comedy of Errors, and Stones in His Pockets.
Well, gotta get off to bed, and by the way, I'm now reading Anne of Green Gables."
My family and I always had a hard time with "Bibby" or... Olivia. Actually, while I was growing up I really despised her. She was mean to me and my sister, and mean to everyone else. I'll never forget that little outfit she changed into.... it looked ridiculous.
We sure didn't have great seats to Phantom! We sat allllllllllll the way in the back on the floor, and the balcony obstructed most of our view. So when the chandelier fell, we only saw the very bottom of it for a split second, and it was back up. Totally. Awesome.
Blast from the Past: July 26th 2000
July 26th 2000
"Today was a little boring. Did I tell you about our Inn? It is really nice! We have three rooms and one was out in a nice little backyard. Katie and I got that one. It was so nice! We got a huge four poster bed! It was so cool! They also had two really fluffy roosters, and some rabbits and a guinea pig. It was annoying though, because the roosters crowed at 7:00 AM!! And they did it for a 1/2 hour! They were so annoying! But Joe (actually there were four rooms) got a single room all to himself. Mom and Dad got a double bed, and Carl, Bibby, and Lexy slept in a room with three beds. Lexy wasn't too happy about that.
Romeo and Juliet was great! The same, well, some of the same people that were in the Comedy of Errors were in this one. Romeo was really hott, and he had played the star last night but we were in the balcony and couldn't see that far. But tonight we were right practically up in the very front! 4th row back! GREAT SEATS! I could see him perfectly. He is so cute! I'll never see him again in my life, but he was hott anyway. It was really sad though, because they both died. I couldn't get it out of my mind! Him poisoning himself so he could die with her, then she woke up and stabbed herself with his dagger. I almost cried! But coming back to our four poster and reading some Phantom Tollbooth to Katie kind of got my mind off it. I did like the play though."
Our Inn had a little back annex where our four poster bed was. Katie and I almost got a whole little cottage to ourselves. And all the kids that go to Hogwarts sleep in four poster beds, so that made it even more special for me.
I apologize for how many entries I use the words "cute" or "hott" to describe a boy. It's getting really old.
Romeo and Juliet was the saddest play I've ever seen in my entire life, still to this day.
"Today was a little boring. Did I tell you about our Inn? It is really nice! We have three rooms and one was out in a nice little backyard. Katie and I got that one. It was so nice! We got a huge four poster bed! It was so cool! They also had two really fluffy roosters, and some rabbits and a guinea pig. It was annoying though, because the roosters crowed at 7:00 AM!! And they did it for a 1/2 hour! They were so annoying! But Joe (actually there were four rooms) got a single room all to himself. Mom and Dad got a double bed, and Carl, Bibby, and Lexy slept in a room with three beds. Lexy wasn't too happy about that.
Romeo and Juliet was great! The same, well, some of the same people that were in the Comedy of Errors were in this one. Romeo was really hott, and he had played the star last night but we were in the balcony and couldn't see that far. But tonight we were right practically up in the very front! 4th row back! GREAT SEATS! I could see him perfectly. He is so cute! I'll never see him again in my life, but he was hott anyway. It was really sad though, because they both died. I couldn't get it out of my mind! Him poisoning himself so he could die with her, then she woke up and stabbed herself with his dagger. I almost cried! But coming back to our four poster and reading some Phantom Tollbooth to Katie kind of got my mind off it. I did like the play though."
Our Inn had a little back annex where our four poster bed was. Katie and I almost got a whole little cottage to ourselves. And all the kids that go to Hogwarts sleep in four poster beds, so that made it even more special for me.
I apologize for how many entries I use the words "cute" or "hott" to describe a boy. It's getting really old.
Romeo and Juliet was the saddest play I've ever seen in my entire life, still to this day.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sharp dressed man
I received this picture from my dad yesterday. He's visiting Joe in California this weekend:
That, my friends, is my good lookin' brother...... with a handlebar mustache. Awwwww yeah
Blast from the Past: July 25th 2000
July 25th 2000
"Today we left for a train to Stratford. That is where Shakespeare was born, raised, and died. We are staying here for two days. Tonight we saw Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, which was pretty funny, but not nearly as funny as A Midsummer Nights'sDream, which I didn't tell about. It was really funny (I mean hilarious) and well done, and Puck was cute! And tomorrow night we will see Romeo and Juliet, and I mean the REAL one. Today was mostly a rest and relaxation day."
With my father being a Theater professor, I've seen many shows in my lifetime. We saw a lot of shows on that trip, and especially being in Stratford, how could you not? Stratford was so quaint and darling, I'd love to live in a place like that someday. It was pretty peaceful, without a lot of hubbub. The Comedy of Errors was pretty funny, but it's true it wasn't quite as funny as A Midsummer Night's Dream was. A Midsummer Night's Dream we saw in London was one of the funniest plays I have ever seen to this day, hands down. That, and The Pirates of Penzance at the Shakespeare festival in Cedar City. Funniest plays I've ever seen.
"Today we left for a train to Stratford. That is where Shakespeare was born, raised, and died. We are staying here for two days. Tonight we saw Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, which was pretty funny, but not nearly as funny as A Midsummer Nights'sDream, which I didn't tell about. It was really funny (I mean hilarious) and well done, and Puck was cute! And tomorrow night we will see Romeo and Juliet, and I mean the REAL one. Today was mostly a rest and relaxation day."
With my father being a Theater professor, I've seen many shows in my lifetime. We saw a lot of shows on that trip, and especially being in Stratford, how could you not? Stratford was so quaint and darling, I'd love to live in a place like that someday. It was pretty peaceful, without a lot of hubbub. The Comedy of Errors was pretty funny, but it's true it wasn't quite as funny as A Midsummer Night's Dream was. A Midsummer Night's Dream we saw in London was one of the funniest plays I have ever seen to this day, hands down. That, and The Pirates of Penzance at the Shakespeare festival in Cedar City. Funniest plays I've ever seen.
Blast from the Past: July 24th 2000
July 24th 2000
"Today we decided to see the British Museum. The only cool things were the Rosetta Stone, and two well preserved men found. This first guy was all there. Even hair and his ear! It was really amazing how they could preserve them for so long! Then the Rosetta Stone wasn't much, but it was cool looking. Then the second guy was horribly sacrificed. I can't remember what they did to him, but he wasn't all there. But he was pretty cool looking. I got (at the gift shop) a very teeny calendar, and a pure white chocolate bar. The chocolate was delicious. Also, we went to the museum with Alexis and Olivia's old Nanny. She reminds me of someone but I can't remember who. Oh well. After the museum, Carl, Alexis, and Joe went to Oxford to look for some shoes for Alexis, and me, Katie, Olivia, Mom, and Dad came home. Alexis did get a good, cool pair of shoes. There were bright blue sneakers. Then, Alexis and I played 500 until dinner, which Vivian (the nanny) joined us for."
This makes me laugh. The ONLY cool things at the British Museum were the Rosetta Stone and two decomposing men? Seriously self? The British Museum was AWESOME! We saw so many cool things there, I would sell my soul to go back again. We saw all sorts of awesome paintings and artifacts, we saw Cleopatra's sarcophagus, and tiny little sarcophaguses for bugs, cats, and other animals. SO MANY COOL THINGS and I am a moron. Joe took his sketch book and was drawing in one of the rooms on a bench, and a bunch of Asian people crowded around him to watch him draw. It was a really cool moment. They were so interested in him and his artwork. No. The British Museum was so awesome, I can't believe I thought the only cool things were dead men.
"Today we decided to see the British Museum. The only cool things were the Rosetta Stone, and two well preserved men found. This first guy was all there. Even hair and his ear! It was really amazing how they could preserve them for so long! Then the Rosetta Stone wasn't much, but it was cool looking. Then the second guy was horribly sacrificed. I can't remember what they did to him, but he wasn't all there. But he was pretty cool looking. I got (at the gift shop) a very teeny calendar, and a pure white chocolate bar. The chocolate was delicious. Also, we went to the museum with Alexis and Olivia's old Nanny. She reminds me of someone but I can't remember who. Oh well. After the museum, Carl, Alexis, and Joe went to Oxford to look for some shoes for Alexis, and me, Katie, Olivia, Mom, and Dad came home. Alexis did get a good, cool pair of shoes. There were bright blue sneakers. Then, Alexis and I played 500 until dinner, which Vivian (the nanny) joined us for."
This makes me laugh. The ONLY cool things at the British Museum were the Rosetta Stone and two decomposing men? Seriously self? The British Museum was AWESOME! We saw so many cool things there, I would sell my soul to go back again. We saw all sorts of awesome paintings and artifacts, we saw Cleopatra's sarcophagus, and tiny little sarcophaguses for bugs, cats, and other animals. SO MANY COOL THINGS and I am a moron. Joe took his sketch book and was drawing in one of the rooms on a bench, and a bunch of Asian people crowded around him to watch him draw. It was a really cool moment. They were so interested in him and his artwork. No. The British Museum was so awesome, I can't believe I thought the only cool things were dead men.
Blast from the Past: July 23rd 2000
July 23rd 2000
"Just last night I thought about "What if I could play my flute or something," and this morning dad said, "If you want to play your flute in church they would be thrilled!" So, I agreed to play "Ave Verum" in London at church! I was so nervous because it was a slow song and easy to mess up. Every time I thought about it I'd get all queasy. Finally, it was my turn. I walked up to the stand shaking from head to tow, and stood up, turned, then this was it. I started to play, and mom was going pretty slow and I thought, "Crap! Go faster!" I tried to push how fast it was going but she didn't get the message. Then, that moment came, I tried to keep my head up but when I did I couldn't see the note! "G! G!" I thought but I was scared so I played F very briefly, then G. I about fainted, but I finished. It was over! Done! My first, well, second week and I had played my flute and it was over! I walked down the aisle shaking even worse. When I got back to my seat and started to clean my flute, I could barely hold the stick I was shaking so bad! After the meeting I was so embarrassed because I had messed up, but nobody seemed to notice! I told Dad I messed up and he said, "You did? No you didn't! I didn't hear you mess up, you did great!" so I just went with that and I got a lot of compliments.
In class, we had this couple for teachers (our teacher was gone and so the 14-17 year old class came and joined ours) and they were newlyweds, and they kept staring at each other smiling, lovestruck. It was so sick. And I had to sit by the girl. There was a cute 14 year old though. He kind of looked like Tommy and Kyle Maag mixed. He was cute, from Whales, and his name was Ben. Joe was there too! In YW's it was this black girl Simone's birthday, and also we had some people I didn't know and one was from Salt Lake! Also, in the chapel, I saw Daniel, a kid who is cute that lives in Orem, looks like Tom Green, and that I went to Tivoli Land with in Denmark with all the others like Lauren and Chad! I hope I got a picture of him because he was so cute! When I write, I'm going to ask Lauren for her and Chad's pictures for my scrapbook. Oh, and Daniel goes to Orem High so he probably knows Sally (Joe's kind of girlfriend) After church, we were invited to go to lunch at this couple's flat. There are on a mission and the guy is a retired astronaut! He had a book and magazine articles about him, and he had never quite reached the moon, but he had orbited the world 110 times and got to study the Aurora! He wasn't one of those corny old men, he was really cool! The lunch was good too. After we left their house, we came home, hung out, and then went to bed."
Yes! I did carry my flute all around Europe! Why, you ask? I have no idea. Mom thought it would be a good idea, so I did it, but it ended up just being annoying. Lucky it's a small instrument. I think I ended up playing my flute twice the entire time we were there, but I can at least say that I have played my flute in two wards overseas!
What a small world. One of the kids Joe and I went to Tivoli with back in Denmark was also attending our ward in London that day. Dad also ran into an old student of his while we were in Scotland or something too... it's amazing how tiny the world really is. You can meet anyone, anywhere.
I don't know why I think old men are corny... just FYI
"Just last night I thought about "What if I could play my flute or something," and this morning dad said, "If you want to play your flute in church they would be thrilled!" So, I agreed to play "Ave Verum" in London at church! I was so nervous because it was a slow song and easy to mess up. Every time I thought about it I'd get all queasy. Finally, it was my turn. I walked up to the stand shaking from head to tow, and stood up, turned, then this was it. I started to play, and mom was going pretty slow and I thought, "Crap! Go faster!" I tried to push how fast it was going but she didn't get the message. Then, that moment came, I tried to keep my head up but when I did I couldn't see the note! "G! G!" I thought but I was scared so I played F very briefly, then G. I about fainted, but I finished. It was over! Done! My first, well, second week and I had played my flute and it was over! I walked down the aisle shaking even worse. When I got back to my seat and started to clean my flute, I could barely hold the stick I was shaking so bad! After the meeting I was so embarrassed because I had messed up, but nobody seemed to notice! I told Dad I messed up and he said, "You did? No you didn't! I didn't hear you mess up, you did great!" so I just went with that and I got a lot of compliments.
In class, we had this couple for teachers (our teacher was gone and so the 14-17 year old class came and joined ours) and they were newlyweds, and they kept staring at each other smiling, lovestruck. It was so sick. And I had to sit by the girl. There was a cute 14 year old though. He kind of looked like Tommy and Kyle Maag mixed. He was cute, from Whales, and his name was Ben. Joe was there too! In YW's it was this black girl Simone's birthday, and also we had some people I didn't know and one was from Salt Lake! Also, in the chapel, I saw Daniel, a kid who is cute that lives in Orem, looks like Tom Green, and that I went to Tivoli Land with in Denmark with all the others like Lauren and Chad! I hope I got a picture of him because he was so cute! When I write, I'm going to ask Lauren for her and Chad's pictures for my scrapbook. Oh, and Daniel goes to Orem High so he probably knows Sally (Joe's kind of girlfriend) After church, we were invited to go to lunch at this couple's flat. There are on a mission and the guy is a retired astronaut! He had a book and magazine articles about him, and he had never quite reached the moon, but he had orbited the world 110 times and got to study the Aurora! He wasn't one of those corny old men, he was really cool! The lunch was good too. After we left their house, we came home, hung out, and then went to bed."
Yes! I did carry my flute all around Europe! Why, you ask? I have no idea. Mom thought it would be a good idea, so I did it, but it ended up just being annoying. Lucky it's a small instrument. I think I ended up playing my flute twice the entire time we were there, but I can at least say that I have played my flute in two wards overseas!
What a small world. One of the kids Joe and I went to Tivoli with back in Denmark was also attending our ward in London that day. Dad also ran into an old student of his while we were in Scotland or something too... it's amazing how tiny the world really is. You can meet anyone, anywhere.
I don't know why I think old men are corny... just FYI
Blast from the Past: July 22nd 2000
July 22nd 2000
"Today was fun but tiring. My opinion was it was pretty cool. We rode on a train to Warwick station and walked to the Warwick Castle. Our plans were to look around, to eat, then have a look in the castle until 3:00. So, we split up again. Mom and me, Joe and Lex, Dad and Katie, Carl and Bibby. Mom and I went to the Ghost Tower first. This guy, his name was something... Greville, was murdered by his servant (I don't know his name) and then the servant killed himself. And the rumor is that Greville's ghost haunts the tower at night. Then mom and I went ot the torture chamber. It luckily didn't have any wax figures or demonstrations, just the devices. I thought the worst one was "The Boot". They slipped the victim's foot into a "boot" around they're shin and clamped it shut. Then, they rotated it around the skin and the spikes ground the skin and bone to pulp. I was like, "Horrible!" so I left.
At 2:45 we headed towards the field with the tournament. Here are the details: There were five knights in different colors: Yellow, Green, Red, White, and Black. A Jester who told you what was going on, told us all the cheer for them all but the Black, but the Black happen to be the coolest one! So I cheered him on too. There was also a girl dressed kind of like Xena riding on a pure white horse around the arena in front of the others. For the first part they all did tricks on their horses across the arena, then they all hit these fake knights with their sticks, then these tiny little shields, and then the Black knight had changed his black horse with a white one and had the horse do tricks around the arena. Then came the jousting. The knights came around the arena slowly asking for hair accessories to put on their sticks for good luck for fun and Katie put her scrunchy on the Yellow knight's pole. The White knight won them all but the Black one, then they dueled, then the White one won...what's new?
After the show, I wanted to find the horses so Lex and I went to find them. We found them, and I pet and fed the Black knight's trick horse. Then we had been told to meet by the clock so that's where we headed. When we got there, we both sat and read (by the way, I finished Phantom Tollbooth and now I'm in the middle of Silverwing, which is so far pretty good!) Lex has summer reading. I feel bad! She hates the book she's reading.
I'm getting so mad with Uncle Carl! He won't talk to me! I try to talk to him, he either doesn't listen, or changes the subject to either Lexy or Bibby. It is getting really annoying. I told mom, and she said dad will talk to him. I've written everything about today, so, bye!"
Our nickname for my cousin Olivia was "Bibby". I don't know why, and I never have, but that's what we called her.
The Iron Boot. That's what the device was called. Spikes on the inside, and if it was a boot and they twisted it around the shins, my guess is it broke the victim's ankle as well. I remember the chamber was full of all the crazy devices they used to use, and as I was standing by some chains, a small speaker next to them emitted the sound of chains jangling and I about died. I couldn't believe all the awful things they used to do to people back then...
I don't remember much about the jousting tournament. It's all a blur. That was a really long day, but I remember being super happy when we came home that day, so we all obviously had a good time. And I do remember feeling really awkward around my Uncle. It was like he had absolutely nothing to say to me, and if I tried to talk to him he got all weird and changed the subject. I tried so hard to be friendly, but it just wasn't working. So I eventually stopped talking to him all together. Whatever... maybe it was just 14-year-old angst.
"Today was fun but tiring. My opinion was it was pretty cool. We rode on a train to Warwick station and walked to the Warwick Castle. Our plans were to look around, to eat, then have a look in the castle until 3:00. So, we split up again. Mom and me, Joe and Lex, Dad and Katie, Carl and Bibby. Mom and I went to the Ghost Tower first. This guy, his name was something... Greville, was murdered by his servant (I don't know his name) and then the servant killed himself. And the rumor is that Greville's ghost haunts the tower at night. Then mom and I went ot the torture chamber. It luckily didn't have any wax figures or demonstrations, just the devices. I thought the worst one was "The Boot". They slipped the victim's foot into a "boot" around they're shin and clamped it shut. Then, they rotated it around the skin and the spikes ground the skin and bone to pulp. I was like, "Horrible!" so I left.
At 2:45 we headed towards the field with the tournament. Here are the details: There were five knights in different colors: Yellow, Green, Red, White, and Black. A Jester who told you what was going on, told us all the cheer for them all but the Black, but the Black happen to be the coolest one! So I cheered him on too. There was also a girl dressed kind of like Xena riding on a pure white horse around the arena in front of the others. For the first part they all did tricks on their horses across the arena, then they all hit these fake knights with their sticks, then these tiny little shields, and then the Black knight had changed his black horse with a white one and had the horse do tricks around the arena. Then came the jousting. The knights came around the arena slowly asking for hair accessories to put on their sticks for good luck for fun and Katie put her scrunchy on the Yellow knight's pole. The White knight won them all but the Black one, then they dueled, then the White one won...what's new?
After the show, I wanted to find the horses so Lex and I went to find them. We found them, and I pet and fed the Black knight's trick horse. Then we had been told to meet by the clock so that's where we headed. When we got there, we both sat and read (by the way, I finished Phantom Tollbooth and now I'm in the middle of Silverwing, which is so far pretty good!) Lex has summer reading. I feel bad! She hates the book she's reading.
I'm getting so mad with Uncle Carl! He won't talk to me! I try to talk to him, he either doesn't listen, or changes the subject to either Lexy or Bibby. It is getting really annoying. I told mom, and she said dad will talk to him. I've written everything about today, so, bye!"
Our nickname for my cousin Olivia was "Bibby". I don't know why, and I never have, but that's what we called her.
The Iron Boot. That's what the device was called. Spikes on the inside, and if it was a boot and they twisted it around the shins, my guess is it broke the victim's ankle as well. I remember the chamber was full of all the crazy devices they used to use, and as I was standing by some chains, a small speaker next to them emitted the sound of chains jangling and I about died. I couldn't believe all the awful things they used to do to people back then...
I don't remember much about the jousting tournament. It's all a blur. That was a really long day, but I remember being super happy when we came home that day, so we all obviously had a good time. And I do remember feeling really awkward around my Uncle. It was like he had absolutely nothing to say to me, and if I tried to talk to him he got all weird and changed the subject. I tried so hard to be friendly, but it just wasn't working. So I eventually stopped talking to him all together. Whatever... maybe it was just 14-year-old angst.
Blast from the Past: July 21st 2000
July 21st 2000
"Today we went to Covent Garden. It's a place where there are a whole bunch of shops and street acts! The first one was a guy all spray painted in gold who had a squeaker in his mouth so it squeaked when he talked. He was so funny! There was a girl watching him who was smoking and he said (in squeaks) "Come here, come here," and pointed his finger at her. She came over and he took her cigarette and threw it on the ground and stepped on it! She laughed, but he didn't. He was completely serious! She turned about six shades of red! There was also another guy further down who had a whole bunch of Barbies and Kens all on a stage connected to string. Now what was funny was he had done something to their mouths so they could move up and down, and somehow connected them to strings so by pulling on certain strings the certain mouths would move up and down! So he had them all like that, and he played music so it looked like all the dolls and others were singing. It was so hilarious! I gave him a pound. He was funny! There also were shops. We looked through them and I got an N'Sync calendar with all of the old pictures that you can't find anymore, and Katie got another Beanie Baby. She's obsessed way bad. I don't see how she is going to fit them all in her suitcase! She has spent most of her money on Beanies! Gall. I have gotten a variety of things. Oh well. I WAS like that with Barbies so I might as well just leave it alone. I want to go home, only 3 more weeks until I'm free!"
The man with the Barbies was one of the most clever street performers I've ever seen. All of the dolls were attached to strings that were also attached to his piano, so when he hit certain keys, certain dolls' mouths opened as if they were singing. I know we got a picture...
Katie WAS obsessed with Beanie Babies. I do remember that. She bought them everywhere. And to be honest, I think all of us had beanies in our suitcases on the trip home because they wouldn't all fit in hers. :)
"Today we went to Covent Garden. It's a place where there are a whole bunch of shops and street acts! The first one was a guy all spray painted in gold who had a squeaker in his mouth so it squeaked when he talked. He was so funny! There was a girl watching him who was smoking and he said (in squeaks) "Come here, come here," and pointed his finger at her. She came over and he took her cigarette and threw it on the ground and stepped on it! She laughed, but he didn't. He was completely serious! She turned about six shades of red! There was also another guy further down who had a whole bunch of Barbies and Kens all on a stage connected to string. Now what was funny was he had done something to their mouths so they could move up and down, and somehow connected them to strings so by pulling on certain strings the certain mouths would move up and down! So he had them all like that, and he played music so it looked like all the dolls and others were singing. It was so hilarious! I gave him a pound. He was funny! There also were shops. We looked through them and I got an N'Sync calendar with all of the old pictures that you can't find anymore, and Katie got another Beanie Baby. She's obsessed way bad. I don't see how she is going to fit them all in her suitcase! She has spent most of her money on Beanies! Gall. I have gotten a variety of things. Oh well. I WAS like that with Barbies so I might as well just leave it alone. I want to go home, only 3 more weeks until I'm free!"
The man with the Barbies was one of the most clever street performers I've ever seen. All of the dolls were attached to strings that were also attached to his piano, so when he hit certain keys, certain dolls' mouths opened as if they were singing. I know we got a picture...
Katie WAS obsessed with Beanie Babies. I do remember that. She bought them everywhere. And to be honest, I think all of us had beanies in our suitcases on the trip home because they wouldn't all fit in hers. :)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Blast from the Past: July 20th 2000 UPDATE!
I found a P.S. on the back of the last entry's page:
"P.S. Tonight we went to a play called "Stones in His Pockets." It was a two man play, and they were Irish. It was hard to understand, but the main story line is: These two guys, Charlie and Jake are extras in this movie. The main star is a movie star, and both guys think she's really pretty, and she's all good, so Jake's cousin, Sean didn't get to be in the movie and he sees "Caroline", the big star, in a pub. He runs up to her and tries to talk to her, but she has him thrown out for asking if he can at least be an extra. Jake and Charlie are in the bar and Caroline walks off with Jake! Sean is so embarrassed by being thrown out, and he watches her walk off with Jake, so the next day he puts stones in his pockets and drowns himself. He was also on drugs. Jake gets an idea and tells the director that has an idea of a movie. It's about a boy's life, and called "Stones in His Pockets." It was good, but it said the F-word a lot and was kinda hard to understand. That's okay."
Stones in His Pockets was by far the strangest show I've ever seen. It was hard to understand, since it was acted by only two men, and they really did have awful language. That's really all I remember, but I do remember feeling so weird when we left. It was a weird show....
"P.S. Tonight we went to a play called "Stones in His Pockets." It was a two man play, and they were Irish. It was hard to understand, but the main story line is: These two guys, Charlie and Jake are extras in this movie. The main star is a movie star, and both guys think she's really pretty, and she's all good, so Jake's cousin, Sean didn't get to be in the movie and he sees "Caroline", the big star, in a pub. He runs up to her and tries to talk to her, but she has him thrown out for asking if he can at least be an extra. Jake and Charlie are in the bar and Caroline walks off with Jake! Sean is so embarrassed by being thrown out, and he watches her walk off with Jake, so the next day he puts stones in his pockets and drowns himself. He was also on drugs. Jake gets an idea and tells the director that has an idea of a movie. It's about a boy's life, and called "Stones in His Pockets." It was good, but it said the F-word a lot and was kinda hard to understand. That's okay."
Stones in His Pockets was by far the strangest show I've ever seen. It was hard to understand, since it was acted by only two men, and they really did have awful language. That's really all I remember, but I do remember feeling so weird when we left. It was a weird show....
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Blast from the Past: July 20th 2000
July 20th 2000
"Today is Shanna's birthday, but I'm glad I called her last night because now she's at her dad's.
Today we split. Mom, Katie and I went to shop while Joe and Dad went off somewhere, then Uncle Carl, Alexis, and Olivia went somewhere else. Katie wanted to find more beanie babies, so we went to Harrods! It was so freaken nice! It was huge! And on the front it said, "No shorts, tank tops, dogs, bags must be held by hand"! I couldn't believe it! But when we walked in those rules weren't in action anymore, so that was good. We walked through the kitchenware, bridal department, pet shop (They had a parrot that looked like a big shrimp with a beak) and toys. My favorite was the the Egyptian escalators. They were really neat. We got some blowpens, and I got some stationary cards. It was pretty fun! By the way, Joe told me he's not going on a mission. He swears, and he's not going to be a Mormon when he grows up, and that he's rebelling. I said I didn't care, but I'm worried. I hope he will think harder about it. I am really scared. I don't want him to leave."
Harrods was a pretty jammin' place. I don't really remember the parrot that looked like a big shrimp, but just the fact that this department store had a pet shop was enough for me. And we bought blowpens and stationary because it's all we could afford. Harrods was expensive!
I remember this conversation with my brother, Joe. It did scare me. I couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to be Mormon.
"Today is Shanna's birthday, but I'm glad I called her last night because now she's at her dad's.
Today we split. Mom, Katie and I went to shop while Joe and Dad went off somewhere, then Uncle Carl, Alexis, and Olivia went somewhere else. Katie wanted to find more beanie babies, so we went to Harrods! It was so freaken nice! It was huge! And on the front it said, "No shorts, tank tops, dogs, bags must be held by hand"! I couldn't believe it! But when we walked in those rules weren't in action anymore, so that was good. We walked through the kitchenware, bridal department, pet shop (They had a parrot that looked like a big shrimp with a beak) and toys. My favorite was the the Egyptian escalators. They were really neat. We got some blowpens, and I got some stationary cards. It was pretty fun! By the way, Joe told me he's not going on a mission. He swears, and he's not going to be a Mormon when he grows up, and that he's rebelling. I said I didn't care, but I'm worried. I hope he will think harder about it. I am really scared. I don't want him to leave."
Harrods was a pretty jammin' place. I don't really remember the parrot that looked like a big shrimp, but just the fact that this department store had a pet shop was enough for me. And we bought blowpens and stationary because it's all we could afford. Harrods was expensive!
I remember this conversation with my brother, Joe. It did scare me. I couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to be Mormon.
Hampton Court Palace ticket, an internet cafe ticket, and the game Croc we bought for Gameboy in London
Subway ticket, foreign Skittles bag, Eiffel Tower ticket and Harrods receipt
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Blast from the Past: July 19th 2000
July 19th 2000
"I skipped ahead because on Monday we laid back, and yesterday we went to shop, then today we went to Hampton Court Palace. It is huge and it's where Henry the VIII stayed through all of his six wives. Anne Boleyn was taken to the Tower of London to be executed. It was a nice place, but we had a tour guide. Mom insisted we'd learn more, so Lexy, Olivia, Katie and I all dragged ourselves through 4 hours of tour guide talk. When we got home we were almost dead. We just rested ate , then Joe, me, mom, Katie, and Olivia went to the Internet Cafe. I had my own money, so I called Crystal. Tommy is living with her again. He is single and thinks I am cute. Oh no! Anyway, I was glad I could hear her voice again. After calling her, I decided well, not that I'm here, I will call Shanna. I did and she was home alone and was bored. I was so glad (so was she) to hear each other again. I told her about Harry Potter and what we did today, and "only 3 more weeks" until I get home. We talked for 10 minutes and then after that, I came out of the booth and found out Olivia had lost her £10! I only had £5 so I could pay for myself, but not them. So Mom had to run home, get some more money and come back to pay. It turned out okay. The Phantom Tollbooth is so good! I can't wait to finish it!"
Hampton Court was huge... but so was Henry the VIII. It was also sort of boring. And most tour guides are boring to a 14 year old girl.
In this journal, apparently I really like making the £ sign. It's always drawn out, I don't ever use the word "pound."
"I skipped ahead because on Monday we laid back, and yesterday we went to shop, then today we went to Hampton Court Palace. It is huge and it's where Henry the VIII stayed through all of his six wives. Anne Boleyn was taken to the Tower of London to be executed. It was a nice place, but we had a tour guide. Mom insisted we'd learn more, so Lexy, Olivia, Katie and I all dragged ourselves through 4 hours of tour guide talk. When we got home we were almost dead. We just rested ate , then Joe, me, mom, Katie, and Olivia went to the Internet Cafe. I had my own money, so I called Crystal. Tommy is living with her again. He is single and thinks I am cute. Oh no! Anyway, I was glad I could hear her voice again. After calling her, I decided well, not that I'm here, I will call Shanna. I did and she was home alone and was bored. I was so glad (so was she) to hear each other again. I told her about Harry Potter and what we did today, and "only 3 more weeks" until I get home. We talked for 10 minutes and then after that, I came out of the booth and found out Olivia had lost her £10! I only had £5 so I could pay for myself, but not them. So Mom had to run home, get some more money and come back to pay. It turned out okay. The Phantom Tollbooth is so good! I can't wait to finish it!"
Hampton Court was huge... but so was Henry the VIII. It was also sort of boring. And most tour guides are boring to a 14 year old girl.
In this journal, apparently I really like making the £ sign. It's always drawn out, I don't ever use the word "pound."
Blast from the Past: July 16th 2000
July 16th 2000
"I got some new books. One is called Silverwing, about a runt bat who got separated from his colony, and then another book called The Phantom Tollbooth. I'm not reading that one and it is already great! That's all!"
My mom decided that I needed more reading for the summer than spending every day reading the same Harry Potter book over and over again. I read a couple of books that summer, Silverwing was okay, but the Phantom Tollbooth was fantastic. If you haven't read it, you should read it. It's wonderful!
"I got some new books. One is called Silverwing, about a runt bat who got separated from his colony, and then another book called The Phantom Tollbooth. I'm not reading that one and it is already great! That's all!"
My mom decided that I needed more reading for the summer than spending every day reading the same Harry Potter book over and over again. I read a couple of books that summer, Silverwing was okay, but the Phantom Tollbooth was fantastic. If you haven't read it, you should read it. It's wonderful!
Blast from the Past: July 14th 2000
July 14th 2000
"Today was fun and normal. We took the subway to the Planetarium (Madame Tussaude's) and also inside there was a wax museum. The planetarium was neat, but it was nothing like the Imax we saw. Course it was all computer animated. But I was excited to go to the wax part. The first part was all famous actors and sports players. Olivia, Alexis, and Uncle Carl had come two nights ago, and Olivia and Alexis wanted to go to the Horror Section. I said I wanted to, but I wasn't quite sure because Mom told me it was pretty grim. We ventured through the movies, the 70's, and the kings and queens. I kind of expected the Horror Chamber was next because of what most of the kings and queens went through to die. I was right. There was a sign that said "<---- Horror Chamber" Everybody I was with (we had split up) was eager to go down there except me. Luckily there was a door that said, "Those who want to escape the Chamber of Horrors come through this door." So I told Olivia to go down and see what it's like, and come back and tell me. Olivia agreed, but she was sort of scared because there was a scary thumping that you could hear going down the stairs, but she went down anyways. She came back up in about 6 minutes. She was saying, "Oh my gosh! That was so so disturbing!" I asked her half-heartedly what she saw. "Okay, I saw this guy, and he was holding another guy's head, and then there was Joan of Arc burning, holding a cross, and then, what really disturbed me was there was a pond and a girl had been hung and she was sitting there with her head out of the water with blood on her face and-" I said stop. "Then I came back up here, oh, and what disturbed me the most was that the person in the water looked like Mary!" I didn't really believe it, but I said, "Oh." So Olivia and I went through the door to the exit of the Horror Chamber and waited for Uncle Carl and Alexis. After we found them, and Dad and Joe, we went to find Mom and Katie. "We are supposed to meet them by Princess Diana," Dad told me. "Oh, great." Olivia and I went back through the escaping doors, up all the stairs, (heard the thumping again) and went up to check. There weren't there. We had to go back and retrace our steps, get our food, then go back again! Finally we found them, ate, then went on a ride called the Spirit of London. There was one scary part that Katie, me, and Olivia all closed our eyes on and sang "Macho Man." It was funny. After the museum, we just went home and read. I finished Harry Potter! It was by far my favorite! One chapter was called Bone, Flesh, and Blood. Wormtail, Lord Voldemort's servant, to bring Voldemort back has to put three ingredients in a simmering cauldron. He put bones in, (Harry was injured, bound up, and had his mouth stuffed while watching. All he could do was close his eyes) from the ground, then he cut off his hand and put it in there for flesh! I was like eeeeewwwwww! Anyway, then for blood he got some of Harry's blood and put it in there. Then he put the form of Lord Voldemort in there. This form of Voldemort was a small child-looking thing, with red eyes, a snake-like face, and reddish, raw skin. Then, the Dark Lord had risen again! I was scared! She is so good! J.K. Rowling! Now, I can't wait for the 5th book! I'll write later!"
Oh sissy Susie. I am such a pansy. I always have been and I always will be. I kept trying to talk myself into going down into that Chamber of Horrors but deep inside I knew I wouldn't. At the top of the Chamber stairs was a wax figure of Adolf Hitler. The walls and lights were red and there was a low heart-beat playing from within the walls. It terrified me. And I literally heard that heart-beat throughout my dreams that night. The most gruesome thoughts began running through my mind. I couldn't stop them, so I decided to make Olivia go down and see it all for me. I could I could "see" the Chamber through her. It didn't work. It just freaked me out even more. I never went down there, and I don't ever regret it. Those wax figures all looked pretty real, and to be honest, wax figures have always creeped me out every since that trip. And the ride at the end of the museum was actually the only way to leave. That ride was our exit. Katie freaked out and thought something scary was going to be in it, so she rode with me and Olivia. And yes, we really did close our eyes and sing "Macho Man". I feel badly because Joe actually wanted Katie to go with him so he could comfort her, but I tried to get her to come with us. I think it hurt Joe's feelings a little. I'm sorry Joe.
If any of you can follow what I wrote about the Harry Potter chapter, I will pay you money. Sometimes I make myself laugh with all of these entries. At the time all made perfect sense to me and sounded exactly as I felt at the moment. Reading them now makes me wonder where my head was.
And P.S. That Harry Potter chapter gave me nightmares. Sissy Susie strikes again.
"Today was fun and normal. We took the subway to the Planetarium (Madame Tussaude's) and also inside there was a wax museum. The planetarium was neat, but it was nothing like the Imax we saw. Course it was all computer animated. But I was excited to go to the wax part. The first part was all famous actors and sports players. Olivia, Alexis, and Uncle Carl had come two nights ago, and Olivia and Alexis wanted to go to the Horror Section. I said I wanted to, but I wasn't quite sure because Mom told me it was pretty grim. We ventured through the movies, the 70's, and the kings and queens. I kind of expected the Horror Chamber was next because of what most of the kings and queens went through to die. I was right. There was a sign that said "<---- Horror Chamber" Everybody I was with (we had split up) was eager to go down there except me. Luckily there was a door that said, "Those who want to escape the Chamber of Horrors come through this door." So I told Olivia to go down and see what it's like, and come back and tell me. Olivia agreed, but she was sort of scared because there was a scary thumping that you could hear going down the stairs, but she went down anyways. She came back up in about 6 minutes. She was saying, "Oh my gosh! That was so so disturbing!" I asked her half-heartedly what she saw. "Okay, I saw this guy, and he was holding another guy's head, and then there was Joan of Arc burning, holding a cross, and then, what really disturbed me was there was a pond and a girl had been hung and she was sitting there with her head out of the water with blood on her face and-" I said stop. "Then I came back up here, oh, and what disturbed me the most was that the person in the water looked like Mary!" I didn't really believe it, but I said, "Oh." So Olivia and I went through the door to the exit of the Horror Chamber and waited for Uncle Carl and Alexis. After we found them, and Dad and Joe, we went to find Mom and Katie. "We are supposed to meet them by Princess Diana," Dad told me. "Oh, great." Olivia and I went back through the escaping doors, up all the stairs, (heard the thumping again) and went up to check. There weren't there. We had to go back and retrace our steps, get our food, then go back again! Finally we found them, ate, then went on a ride called the Spirit of London. There was one scary part that Katie, me, and Olivia all closed our eyes on and sang "Macho Man." It was funny. After the museum, we just went home and read. I finished Harry Potter! It was by far my favorite! One chapter was called Bone, Flesh, and Blood. Wormtail, Lord Voldemort's servant, to bring Voldemort back has to put three ingredients in a simmering cauldron. He put bones in, (Harry was injured, bound up, and had his mouth stuffed while watching. All he could do was close his eyes) from the ground, then he cut off his hand and put it in there for flesh! I was like eeeeewwwwww! Anyway, then for blood he got some of Harry's blood and put it in there. Then he put the form of Lord Voldemort in there. This form of Voldemort was a small child-looking thing, with red eyes, a snake-like face, and reddish, raw skin. Then, the Dark Lord had risen again! I was scared! She is so good! J.K. Rowling! Now, I can't wait for the 5th book! I'll write later!"
Oh sissy Susie. I am such a pansy. I always have been and I always will be. I kept trying to talk myself into going down into that Chamber of Horrors but deep inside I knew I wouldn't. At the top of the Chamber stairs was a wax figure of Adolf Hitler. The walls and lights were red and there was a low heart-beat playing from within the walls. It terrified me. And I literally heard that heart-beat throughout my dreams that night. The most gruesome thoughts began running through my mind. I couldn't stop them, so I decided to make Olivia go down and see it all for me. I could I could "see" the Chamber through her. It didn't work. It just freaked me out even more. I never went down there, and I don't ever regret it. Those wax figures all looked pretty real, and to be honest, wax figures have always creeped me out every since that trip. And the ride at the end of the museum was actually the only way to leave. That ride was our exit. Katie freaked out and thought something scary was going to be in it, so she rode with me and Olivia. And yes, we really did close our eyes and sing "Macho Man". I feel badly because Joe actually wanted Katie to go with him so he could comfort her, but I tried to get her to come with us. I think it hurt Joe's feelings a little. I'm sorry Joe.
If any of you can follow what I wrote about the Harry Potter chapter, I will pay you money. Sometimes I make myself laugh with all of these entries. At the time all made perfect sense to me and sounded exactly as I felt at the moment. Reading them now makes me wonder where my head was.
And P.S. That Harry Potter chapter gave me nightmares. Sissy Susie strikes again.
Blast from the Past: July 13th 2000
July 13th 2000
"We actually got up today! I got up, and curled my hair! We finally got the curling iron to work! Anyways, we left at 9:45 and took the subway 7 stops to Tower Hill. There, we went to the Tower of London. It was pretty cool! We first walked in and saw a man giving a tour. Joe said he wanted to go with him, Mom, and Dad wanted to go on an audio tour, and Katie and I just wanted to look around for ourselves. We finally began to follow this tour guide. He was actually really good! He was funny, and interesting. After he finished, Dad tipped him like, £10! (£ means pounds) We saw the Crown Jewels! They were so beautiful. We saw the biggest diamond in the world! It was called the First Star of Africa. It was so beautiful We also went to the Bloody Tower. I was expecting torture devices and such, but there was nothing of the sort. After leaving the Tower of London we came home and veged. Our bed time here is around 11. My intentions are to get to bed around 8 but it never happens."
I brought a curling iron with me on trip, and I tried using it with our little converter plug in every single place we stayed, and I think I only got it to work three times the entire trip. I never should have brought it. It was so stupid to lug that thing around thinking it was going to work. It was old anyway.
I vaguely remember the Tower of London. I really do only remember the Crown Jewels and the Bloody Tower....Oh, and also that the castle itself was ENORMOUS! But I did get this awesome postcard!
"We actually got up today! I got up, and curled my hair! We finally got the curling iron to work! Anyways, we left at 9:45 and took the subway 7 stops to Tower Hill. There, we went to the Tower of London. It was pretty cool! We first walked in and saw a man giving a tour. Joe said he wanted to go with him, Mom, and Dad wanted to go on an audio tour, and Katie and I just wanted to look around for ourselves. We finally began to follow this tour guide. He was actually really good! He was funny, and interesting. After he finished, Dad tipped him like, £10! (£ means pounds) We saw the Crown Jewels! They were so beautiful. We saw the biggest diamond in the world! It was called the First Star of Africa. It was so beautiful We also went to the Bloody Tower. I was expecting torture devices and such, but there was nothing of the sort. After leaving the Tower of London we came home and veged. Our bed time here is around 11. My intentions are to get to bed around 8 but it never happens."
I brought a curling iron with me on trip, and I tried using it with our little converter plug in every single place we stayed, and I think I only got it to work three times the entire trip. I never should have brought it. It was so stupid to lug that thing around thinking it was going to work. It was old anyway.
I vaguely remember the Tower of London. I really do only remember the Crown Jewels and the Bloody Tower....Oh, and also that the castle itself was ENORMOUS! But I did get this awesome postcard!
Behold! The Crown Jewels!
Blast from the Past: July 12, 2000
July 12, 2000
"I haven't really written much, but today we went to the Science Museum, oh by the way, did I mention Dad got our phone? Anyways, the science museum was pretty nice. We saw the practical torture that in the olden days, they put astronauts through. One, there was a man in a suit writing and the people, they took away some of his oxygen, he started to shake and twitch horribly, it was like something from Harry Potter. A curse or something. Then we moved onward, and saw some old, old, things. Like from Grandpa's childhood! We saw some dentist tools, and Joe said, "Good ness! Now I can see why people were afraid to go to the dentist!" He was right to me. There were some more old interesting things, then we moved into a huge blue area. There was a place called the Pattern Pod. It had a "hands on" experience, which meant you could do everything there. twas pretty cool. Then we went to the Imax theater. It was about the sun. It was pretty creepy. In fact, I thought it could scare little kids! Talking about how the sun, every second, shoots out as much energy and electricity than the Earth uses in a million years! Also, how the Sun could shoot off solar flares, straight towards the earth with enough energy to wipe out 1/2 the earth. (Including the atmosphere around the Earth) But since we do have that magnetic shield, we are pretty well off. We also saw some pretty cool, new, and amazing pics of the sun! They were pretty close up but they were neat. It also showed a small sample of what the Northern Lights look like. It seriously looked like a cartoon. It looked so unreal and smooth. It was pretty amazing. After the show Dad asked me what I had learned. I told him, "That from the sun, we're all gonna die." He laughed and replied, "We all will die someday, but who is watching over us, and who does the sun obey?" I looked at him blankly then said, "Our Heavenly Father,"
"Right," he said and chorkled again. I smiled, "When He wants us gone, he'll do something about that, but as long as he wants us here, he'll protect us."
Then, after the movie we ate at the Deep Blue Cafe. It was exceptional, but not great. We did a lot of other things too, but I was looking forward to the Virtual Voyage, where the seats move around and all, but then we got there they said it was broken down, so we had to come back someday later. That disappointed me. After that, nothing was very fun.
So far, we've done one big thing in the morning, come back in the afternoon, and just veg out until bed time. That's what we did today. I still can't find my Gameboy! :( Also, the bells here, right across from us, right every hour! I don't mind it much though, it's nice to know what hour it is if you have no watch!"
I remember that Imax movie about the sun. It absolutely terrified me. I was positive that the next day the Earth was going to explode in massive amounts of heat due to the sun. I distinctly remember that conversation with my dad. It calmed me down a little bit, but I was still petrified to walk outside.
Those bells. The bells bells bells bells bells. They really did toll every single hour. They stopped after 10pm, I think, but all day long we always knew what time I was because of those bells.
"I haven't really written much, but today we went to the Science Museum, oh by the way, did I mention Dad got our phone? Anyways, the science museum was pretty nice. We saw the practical torture that in the olden days, they put astronauts through. One, there was a man in a suit writing and the people, they took away some of his oxygen, he started to shake and twitch horribly, it was like something from Harry Potter. A curse or something. Then we moved onward, and saw some old, old, things. Like from Grandpa's childhood! We saw some dentist tools, and Joe said, "Good ness! Now I can see why people were afraid to go to the dentist!" He was right to me. There were some more old interesting things, then we moved into a huge blue area. There was a place called the Pattern Pod. It had a "hands on" experience, which meant you could do everything there. twas pretty cool. Then we went to the Imax theater. It was about the sun. It was pretty creepy. In fact, I thought it could scare little kids! Talking about how the sun, every second, shoots out as much energy and electricity than the Earth uses in a million years! Also, how the Sun could shoot off solar flares, straight towards the earth with enough energy to wipe out 1/2 the earth. (Including the atmosphere around the Earth) But since we do have that magnetic shield, we are pretty well off. We also saw some pretty cool, new, and amazing pics of the sun! They were pretty close up but they were neat. It also showed a small sample of what the Northern Lights look like. It seriously looked like a cartoon. It looked so unreal and smooth. It was pretty amazing. After the show Dad asked me what I had learned. I told him, "That from the sun, we're all gonna die." He laughed and replied, "We all will die someday, but who is watching over us, and who does the sun obey?" I looked at him blankly then said, "Our Heavenly Father,"
"Right," he said and chorkled again. I smiled, "When He wants us gone, he'll do something about that, but as long as he wants us here, he'll protect us."
Then, after the movie we ate at the Deep Blue Cafe. It was exceptional, but not great. We did a lot of other things too, but I was looking forward to the Virtual Voyage, where the seats move around and all, but then we got there they said it was broken down, so we had to come back someday later. That disappointed me. After that, nothing was very fun.
So far, we've done one big thing in the morning, come back in the afternoon, and just veg out until bed time. That's what we did today. I still can't find my Gameboy! :( Also, the bells here, right across from us, right every hour! I don't mind it much though, it's nice to know what hour it is if you have no watch!"
I remember that Imax movie about the sun. It absolutely terrified me. I was positive that the next day the Earth was going to explode in massive amounts of heat due to the sun. I distinctly remember that conversation with my dad. It calmed me down a little bit, but I was still petrified to walk outside.
Those bells. The bells bells bells bells bells. They really did toll every single hour. They stopped after 10pm, I think, but all day long we always knew what time I was because of those bells.
Reconnecting
A couple of days ago our AT&T modem bit the dust. We were really only without internet for 4 days or so, and I had internet at work, but I FELT SO DISCONNECTED FROM THE WORLD! And for all of you that are wondering, no, I did not miss Facebook. I missed being able to look up lyrics to that song on the radio, or how to get the Sword Familiar in Castlevania, or look up Groupons for Ander and me, and I still have journal entries to post! A couple of them, really.
When I called AT&T to ask why our connection had gone out, I opted to talk to a representative and the invisible robot at the end of the line said, "Please stay on the line, a representative will be with you shortly. Most troubleshooting problems can also be addressed at www.att.com/support." Well thanks, AT&T. The reason I'm calling you guys is to get my internet working so I can go to said site!
I hate to say it, but this day and age, everyone needs to have an internet connection. I hate all the people who are on it on their phones all day, I think that is excessive. But as far as the home goes, if you don't have internet you really lose touch with everything! I felt like I did. When we got our new modem in the mail yesterday I couldn't wait to get it up and running. And here I am... blogging. I do have multiple journal entries to do, so I'll do those either tonight or tomorrow night if I can.
And another thing: my friend Emily Smith got engaged, and I'm so happy for her! Being married is wonderful!
Peace.
When I called AT&T to ask why our connection had gone out, I opted to talk to a representative and the invisible robot at the end of the line said, "Please stay on the line, a representative will be with you shortly. Most troubleshooting problems can also be addressed at www.att.com/support." Well thanks, AT&T. The reason I'm calling you guys is to get my internet working so I can go to said site!
I hate to say it, but this day and age, everyone needs to have an internet connection. I hate all the people who are on it on their phones all day, I think that is excessive. But as far as the home goes, if you don't have internet you really lose touch with everything! I felt like I did. When we got our new modem in the mail yesterday I couldn't wait to get it up and running. And here I am... blogging. I do have multiple journal entries to do, so I'll do those either tonight or tomorrow night if I can.
And another thing: my friend Emily Smith got engaged, and I'm so happy for her! Being married is wonderful!
Peace.
Monday, July 11, 2011
How to make amazing (and easy!) Beef Enchiladas
Ander's mom is an amazing cook, and this is her recipe for Beef Enchiladas. They are so good, I'm telling you: you WILL have this for dinner tonight. I'm going to post the pictures step by step so it's super easy for you to follow along!
Put a pound of raw ground beef in a big bowl
Put these things in the bowl with the beef:
A piece of bread broken up into little bits
1/2 of a chopped onion
One egg
Garlic powder
1/4 tsp of black pepper
Now mush them all together until they're combined completely and throw into your skillet and cook on medium heat until the hamburger is completely done
While that's cooking the mixture preheat the oven to 350
Pour enough enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish you will be using. Use just enough sauce to cover the entire bottom of the dish. I used mild enchilada sauce, but you can use whatever you like.
When the mixture is done, spoon a bunch into a tortilla and wrap it all up like a burrito
and set inside your dish
Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of your enchiladas
Sprinkle the top of your enchilada with cheese (as you can see, we like cheese on our enchiladas...)
Bake for about 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye on them and presto! You have a yummy dinner!
We eat ours with sour cream, lettuce, and a little bit of lime juice. THEY ARE SO GOOD! And usually you'll have leftovers! What a blesseen! Enjoy, my friends.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Blast from the Past: July 10th, 2000
July 10th 2000:
"London is beautiful, all besides the rain. It's just drizzling, but we took a 4 hour train ride here. It was Eurostar, and it went 186 miles an hour. It was nice. After reaching the station, I realized that we could finally understand everything! After we got off the train we went directly to the subway. Our road is Collingham, and our stop os Glaustor Road. We live close to the supermarket, and our apartment is pretty nice! The bathroom is the only bad thing. The toilet hardly flushes and there is no shower. Coarse, that's because it just won't work. Out bedroom is nice. I've already decorated my wall, and settled in. We also, (us kids) have our room, then sort of a bathroom. There is no toilet, and no bathtub or shower, but it has a sink and a huge mirror. I put all my make up and persona items in there first, then Joe put his few things in there, then Mom, so we decided the bathroom: for taking baths, showers (when we fix it) and going to the bathroom. Then our room: hair, makeup, personal things, all that.
London is so much better that all the other places. Finally we get our own money, and we also are allowed, once we know where we are, to go off alone!
Just last night, Katie woke me up by crying. I asked what was wrong and she said she felt like throwing up but didn't want to get up, in case that triggered it. I ran to get mom, who came to the rescue. Katie did throw up, I felt bad. Our second night in London!"
Sitting on the Eurostar was a strange experience. I was completely smooth, you hardly felt like you were moving, until you looked out the windows. 186 miles an hour goes by pretty fast. I remember there was a small child and his parents sitting in front of us, and for every hour that went by this small child got a present from his parents. His name was Elliot.
"Mum, do you have a present for me?"
"No, not right now Elliot, you already got one,"
"But I want another!"
"Well, here. Here's another present from Mummy and Daddy."
"Ooh! Mummy! Thanks Mummy! Thanks Daddy!"
This literally went on every single hour. That kid had his own birthday party in that car and it wasn't even his birthday. I have a feeling we would have been told multiple times if it WAS his birthday.
I vaguely remember what our apartment looked like. I don't remember that the shower was broken... what a bummer. But being in London was so great because we actually could go places by ourselves since we had an apartment we were living in for three weeks. I never went anywhere alone, Joe was the only one who did that, but most of the time Katie, Joe, and I went to the internet cafes and things. We felt so important swiping our little subway cards. And I didn't hesitate to put pictures of shirtless attractive pop stars on my walls. No sir, I made that half of my room MINE. I put up a few pictures of N'SYNC boys, and some other people that I don't even remember. It wasn't as extravagant as my room back home, but it would have to do.
Very rarely were any of us actually sick on this trip. Every once in a while someone would get a little stomach ache, and Katie threw up once, but that was about it. We all stayed relatively healthy, which was a real blessing. I think saying our family prayers together morning and night really helped that. We definitely received blessings from on high.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Ander took May-May out on his boat today to do some work on it. Since he was out there for a while, he took a small container of water, and a small container of dog food. When he came back inside he emptied the container of dog food back into the large dog food bag. May-May is now CONVINCED that he put an incredibly scrumptious treat in her dog food bag. Every time either of us stand up she runs to the bag, looking back and forth between it and us. I even opened it and let her put her head inside to show her it honestly is only her food... but she still seems to think I'm hiding something from her.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Blast from the Past: July 8th, 2000
July 8th, 2000:
I got new pens today! Blue and green. Belgium! Not that exciting. Our hotel is called the Belson and it's pretty nice. Did you know that the 4th Harry Potter just came out today? It's called The Goblet of Fire. It sounds and looks really cool. I'm getting it in London. Anyways, today is just a sit back and relax day. We're trying to figure out how to get Cartoon Network, but they didn't have it. We just hung out today. Tomorrow we're going to London! I'm so psyked! We had dinner at a nice little place where the food was delicious. I can't wait for tomorrow!"
Those new pens are extremely irritating to try and read. Just FYI
I kept begging my mom to let me buy the 4th Harry Potter book in Belgium but she said, "Susie, it won't be in English. You have to wait." and I didn't get it. In my head every Harry Potter book was English.
Each hotel we stayed at Joe's, Katie's, and my first item of business was whether we got Cartoon Network. Don't ask me why... Every. Single. Hotel.
Blast from the Past: July 7th, 2000
July 7th, 2000:
"We went to the zoo and it's called Artis. It was very cool. In the beginning there were open cages with parrots on these trees. We saw the monkeys first. I love monkeys! I'm going to get one when I grow up. Anyway, then we looked at the reptiles. There were cool. This zoo has much more than the Hogle. After the reptiles we saw the big cats. Those were neat too. We kind of skipped afound after that. Oh, we also saw Insectopia. They had all kinds of live bugs! The Hogle Zoo doesn't take that much to show you REAL LIVE insects. Everything from Stickbugs, to leaf cutter ants. It was pretty cool!"
The Hogle Zoo is the Salt Lake City Zoo and I do remember this zoo being the cooler one of the two. I mean, let's be honest. REAL LIVE bugs? You just don't get the real zoo experience unless they take the time to show you REAL LIVE bugs.
I totally fulfilled my goal. I grew up and got myself a monkey. I got a dog too..... :)
Blast from the Past: July 6th, 2000
July 6th, 2000:
"Today we got up at 7:30 am and too the trolly to Anne Frank's house. Mom cried a lot. The line, when we came out, was so long! We then were glad we got there early. I've got these itches everywhere! I don't know what's wrong with me. After Anne Frank, we went to an art museum. It actually wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. It was boring. Then, we ate at a bagel place. Didn't really fill me up, but that's ok. We went back to the hotel. Katie, Joe, and I watched cartoons until we went to find a place to eat. We found an Indonesian place that was very good. While eating, there guys near us started to smoke pot and got high. There were acting very funny. Then we walked down to the internet shop. While walking, we saw some pretty nasty shops. Like bad pictures, and nudity. The internet shop was cool. I e-mailed everyone. I found out Crystal is moving to Florida! I can't believe it! I'm going to miss her. What I can't seem to understand is how they almost lost their house, and now they are moving! Oh well."
It's sure nice to see that I wrote so much about such a historical place as Anne Frank's house.
Mom did cry a lot, but I know why. There was a very sad feeling there. The only thing I vividly remember is the wall that Anne put all her pictures up on. It was still intact, covered in glass. The place had been turned into a cool little museum. I'm so grateful I can say I've been there.
The art museum we went to was having a Salvador Dali exhibit. My mom got really excited to go inside so we did. The exhibit was small, and... boring. Quite honestly, the only thing I really remember was this one painting that none of us could make heads or tails of and it was named, "The Great Masturbator". So... there you go.
The minute we began eating at the Indonesian restaurant things got stranger and stranger. It was by far one of the weirdest times of our entire trip. We were eating on the patio, and the group of men next to us did indeed start smoking pot. Strange fumes began wafting our way, and all of us kids didn't really understand. My parents got extremely awkward looks on their faces. It was pretty funny. The men were hitting each other with PVC pipes.
After we ate we ran into a strange sculpture attached to the side of a building. It was spewing water and turing clockwise. We couldn't make heads or tails of it.
And walking down to the internet shop we definitely saw our fair share of nudity. I remember seeing a postcard shop, and I was really into collecting postcards and sending them to my friends, so I ran inside. My dad had walked in before me and when he saw me come in he said, "Suz, get out of here!"
I turned to leave and I was facing an entire wall covered in pornographic postcards. It was a nightmare.
To top the night off, on the way home we witnessed a man rollerblade down the street wearing nothing but a G-string. Needless to say, we were happy to get back to our hotel.
I did find out my close friend Crystal was moving to Florida in Amsterdam. That broke my heart. She and I were very close and I was really sad to find out she was leaving. We lost touch after she moved, and for years I never heard from her. We're back in touch now, but those were some long years for both of us.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
It made my day
Sent from Joanna Sollinger to the Lash Lounge:
Dear Lash Lounge,
I just wanted to tell ya'll how much I love my new lashes! Susie was amazing - she is so sweet and personable. She made it such a great experience. I am recommending the Lash Lounge to all my friends. can't wait to come back for a fill!
Sincerely,
Joanna Sollinger
Words can hardly express how happy this makes me
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Blast from the Past: July 5th, 2000
July 5th, 2000
"We had a talk last night, and I feel better. But that last part was how I felt at that time. We drove today, and then drove some more. We were in the car for 5 hours. I played my Gameboy at a weird angle, so my back started to ache. We stopped at a station to get some stuff to hold us over until we actually ate something. Finally, we found a McDonald's, ate there, and actually it was pretty good. We found Amsterdam, and our hotel which is very nice. It's called the Landcaster Hotel. Katie and I have bunks. I started my period today. Boring! I hoped I wouldn't start soon, but Mom ended, so I started. Tonight we figured out how to turn the TV on, so we did, and there was a girl topless in underwear sitting on her bed! Joe couldn't turn it off for a couple seconds, so we all laughed and turned it off. Laughed as in, because it was surprising. Then Joe, Katie and I watched cartoons in English (finally) while Dad and Mom went to find a computer with internet. The once they came home we ate out at a Chinese place which was delicious."
We definitely did do a lot of driving on that trip. And our minivan was very small, so we were pretty cramped. But we also had tons of luggage since we were there for three months, so that added to the bulk.
The lady on the TV was indeed topless, and doing some sketchy things to herself. Mom and Dad weren't there at the time, and I remember seeing it and being absolutely speechless... and the first thing out of Joe's mouth was, "Katie don't look!" so, being human, she turned around and looked. We all freaked out because the remote had literally stopped working and we honestly couldn't turn it off or change the channel. We laughed about it afterward, but we didn't turn the TV back on until Mom and Dad came back
I told you I was menstrual when I wrote that tantrum! I only included that in there to prove a point. Sorry if I offend.
The Chinese place we ate was one of the most delicious places we dined at during our entire three month trip. I remember the food was amazing. I also remember that mom left her little red backpack there after we left. And this backpack had all of our cameras, tickets, and her wallet inside. Luckily for us the restaurant owner saved it for us, so when we came back it was till there. Thank heavens for that man...
Monday, July 4, 2011
Blast from the past: July 4th, 2000
July 4th 2000:
"Today was very tiring. We woke up at nine. I was dead tired, and it took us two hours to go. We got all of our left over food, and took it to Christian's family. Joe had gone over earlier to get some Coke. He got three bottles. We met his mom, Dad, brother, and dog. His mom is very pretty, she has long reddish hair, and a long face. She also says "yeh" every other word. They think I say "like" a lot. Yeah right. His dad, I didn't talk to really. His brother, now there's a hottie for you. He is very cute! And he is 14 like me! He was shy thought. I thought he was very cute. After that, we went to the library so Dad could check his mail. I wanted to check my mail, so I went inside with Dad, Katie played on the playground, and Joe and Mom went shopping. I actually got to check my mail! I wrote messages to everyone I could, and I found out I just might be able to call Shanna on her birthday! I hope I can. I think she'd like it if I did that. I'd like it too. There is something to look forward to, because on that day we only have three weeks till home! But I know I will enjoy London, Netherlands, and Scotland. The weeks seem to go by so slow here though. We have driven so much I don't even want to look at the car. We turn it in at Brussels so in London, and Scotland, we'll take the train and subways. Boring!"
DISCLAIMER: The next part of this journal entry made me laugh. Apparently I was throwing a verbal, written tantrum. I thought I would include this because I found it funny. Please don't anyone take offense... I think I secretly wanted someone to read what I was writing so we could talk about it but that was a stupid thing to wish for. So I kept rambling. Like I said, I think it's hilarious.
"Ok, at first this didn't really bother me, but now it's insane. I need more attention. Joe, and Katie get it all, and also, I'm sick of the way Katie is acting. She acts like she ALWAYS HAS to be with mom, she always gets her way, and I'm about to blow up. It also seems like Mom doesn't care. I've told her my problem before, but she doesn't seem to be doing anything about it. I am so mad. I can't stand it. If I'm going to be with them for the rest of the trip, they better wise up. I just feel like nobody cares about me right now. They all either care about Joe, or Katie. I feel like I want to scream right now, but I won't. Oh help me! I need help from someone soon, or I'm going to explode! Why can't anybody care about me? I need attention too!? I am all alone now, and nobody cares! No one! I'm just the middle girl that no one cares about. Does anyone love me? I'm starting to think no one does."
Ha! Like I said... teenage angst. I was probably menstrual too, by the sound of it. I do remember feeling this way at one point in the trip, but I completely overdid this entry. My family treated me just fine. I was throwing a tantrum.
I never said the word like while talking to Christian's family. Never ever.... that word was never part of my vocabulary. Especially when I was that age.
Now, Christian's brother was by far the most attractive person I met during our entire trip. I had little fantasies about becoming pen pals with him and having this romantic connection across the sea... but let's be honest. I never saw the kid again, and I haven't even thought about him until this very moment.
Subways and trains are not boring.Driving for hours and hours and hours in a car is boring. I loved riding the subways. I still do, acutally. I don't really know why. Maybe it's because I don't live in a place that has subways and trains... I'm not sure. I don't know what I was thinking. We rented a car in Paris when we first got there, and we drove it through Paris, Luxembourg, Germany, and Denmark. I was pretty sick of driving, but I think we all were. Thank goodness for Gameboys.
I also remember asking my mom if we were going to see fireworks that night. My mom gave me a weird look and said there weren't going to be any. I was so confused! Why in the world wouldn't they do fireworks on the Fourth of July? We were staying in a beautiful hotel with a lot of windows, I thought we'd have the perfect seat! "Sweetie, we aren't in America," my mom says.
"So?"
"Well, Independence Day is an AMERICAN holiday. They don't celebrate America's independence over here."
"...." Didn't I feel sheepish? Yes. Yes I did. I felt stupid.
So happy Fourth of July to all of you, I hope you enjoy your fireworks wherever you are, because here in Austin there's a burn ban and they cancelled all of the fireworks in the entire surrounding area.... hip hip hooray!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Blast from the past: July 3rd, 2000
July 3rd, 2000:
Denmark is so weird. We are at a small apartment now on the Danish island Fanø. It's really nice. We went to our first beach today and a whole bunch of the women were topless. Most of them were old and gross.
Joe and I came back and I've got to tell you about our last hotel because I'm way behind. The hotel we stayed in for the last 3 days was a Best Western and Joe, Katie and I got a room with a loft! It was so cool! Katie and I slept up there for two nights, while Joe slept down in the big bed. While Katie played Gameboy upstairs Joe and I watched "The Other Sister". It was a good movie. Anyways, the hotel actually had it's own dog! It was a huge St. Bernard, and it lived there! He was really cool, and his name was Olson. Then last night we were in Aalborg, Grandmas, Grandpa and Auntie Judy invited us to their MHA banquet. There, some kids asked if Joe and I would like to go to Tivoli Land! There were really nice, so we talked it over, and went. The boy, Chad, was really cute! He was 15 and his sister Lauren was 12, and they both were from Maryland! The other 11 year old girl was named Amber and was from Nevada. Her sister, I found out, was the recorder at the Cherry Hill fire! Her name was Annie. Then 3 other older kids came. 2 boys and a girl. All of them could go on the huge rides, except me. I was always left out. I went on rides in 3 hrs. I hated it! But it was fun talking to Lauren and "hot" Chad. I got their address. I'm very happy.
Tonight, Joe was P.O.'d because he wasn't having any connections with kids his age because "all the kids (he said) that are my age, dropped out of English, smoke, and were mean." Then we saw Joe talking to a boy his age who looked exactly his type. Then Joe came inside and said, "I found a Danish punk that speaks English!" We all were happy for him, and now it's 11:00 P.M. and he's not back yet. He said, two hours ago, that he was going to the kid's apartment.
Tonight I saw these kids, they were cute, but, they flipped me off. Well, one did like three times, the others smoked! But they all tried to impress me, but I was like, "pshhh." Oh well. Tomorrow: Amsterdam. More driving. I just want to go home, or go to London, or Scotland. I'm having a fun time but I'm so so so so so homesick!
Joe just brought his friend over. He is cute, and his name is Christian.
Ah, Fanø. Fanø was so pretty and quiet. Yes, I did see some boys who flipped me off for no reason whatsoever, and there were some pretty nasty topless ladies at the beach, but I remember Fanø being beautiful. And I've tried to find a good way to type out how to pronounce Fanø but for the life of me I can't come up with a way.
I also love that Joe claimed that all the kids his age in Fanø dropped out of English. That's pretty great.
And I do remember Christian! I know there's a picture somewhere of Joe and Christian too, I'll find it one of these days. He was wearing a T-shirt that had a band on it that Joe was really into, and that's how they connected. I remember the t-shirt said "NOFX" on it, which is the name of a popular band, but it had the Trix cereal rabbit on it. Mom took a leap of faith and said, "Oh, is that the Danish word for Trix cereal?" and Joe looked like he could have died. That was a pretty great moment.
That Best Western was a pretty cool place. Olson had free reign and could basically go wherever he wanted. He was big and slobbery, but he was nice. Joe also tried herring at that hotel for the first (and last) time ever in his life. He hated it. He said it was awful.
The Other Sister is a movie with Juliette Lewis and Diane Keaton in it. It's a good one. Watch it sometime.
I literally laugh out loud at these journal entries sometimes. I was such a 14 year old. I've been boy crazy since I left the womb, and these journal entries prove it. I'm always calling boys cute, or hot, or some other crazy word. It's all so comical to me now.
A few years before this trip the elementary school my mom taught at, Cherry Hill, had a massive fire. Somebody set fire to the playground after school was out for the day and it got out of control. Instead of gravel or woodchips our playground sat on shredded tire, so the flames spread quickly. News crews flooded the scene after the fire got out of control, and I was stupid enough to follow around a camera woman to try and get onto the evening news. That camera woman was one of the girls I ended up going to Tivoli with in Denmark years later. She was part of those kids we met at the banquet. She was obviously older than the rest of us, but that doesn't change the fact that we met each other halfway around the world from where we had first seen each other. I'm telling you... it's a small world. Oh, and she chided me for following her around when we were at Tivoli. She said I was being childish... which was true. We just laughed about it.
MHA is the Mormon History Association. I don't know a ton of details about them, but I think my grandpa Leonard started the whole thing when he was church historian. Go grandpa! Now they meet all around the world!
I promise I'll keep up with these entries from now on. Pinky promise.
Blast from the past: June 29th, 2000
I'm behind a couple of Europe journal entries. Apologies. This last week was a whirlwind. Anyway, here goes"
June 29th, 2000
Last night I couldn't get the haunted house out of my mind, so I slept with Joe. I actually got to sleep! No stomach aches, nothing, but that's not a bad thing. Today we went to the Viking Museum. I thought it was sort of boring, but now we have riden on a ferry that we drove our car on! We are now waiting for another one that will be longer."
Not a whole lot. I do remember the Viking Museum. That was my mom's idea. Sorry mom, it was a little boring. But I also remember that it was kind of chilly, so maybe I was just bitter because I was cold.
Also, when I was little and I watched something scary, I was plagued with these awful stomach aches that would keep me up all night long and mess with my body. To this day I really don't know what that was. It happened every single time. Thanks to Joe for letting me sleep with him. What a sweet brother.
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