Merry Christmas from the Yarbrough Family!

Merry Christmas, everyone! We had a wonderful day today. We had a nice time opening presents, eating, watching TV, and relaxing. Victor made a tasty Christmas dinner, so it felt like we were at home. Below are pictures of our day, including pics of our Charlie Brown Christmastree (there is one above--with Bryson asleep in the background), us opening our presents, and our dinner.

I hope everyone had a great day!

Happy Birthday, Victor!

Yesterday was Victor's 29th birthday. In the UK, you are supposed to bring treats for your co-workers on your birthday (instead of the other way around--they are backwards here!), so I surprised him and made cupcakes for him to bring to work. I was nervous because I haven't baked cakes or cupcakes in a long time, and everyone knows how temperamental baked goods can be, but they turned out really well! They were a hit and Victor said his co-workers gobbled them up! That made me happy. I also bought him the Hellboy Blu-ray and Matrix Trilogy Blu-ray DVDs and a PS3 PlayStation game, so I think he had a pretty good birthday. :)

What's Been Going On?

I haven't written in a while since I have been so busy with work. So what's been going on with Victor and me in England?

• Victor found a new job and he started this past Tuesday. He likes it so far since it is a much more relaxed atmosphere than his last job, plus he gets off around 5 everyday instead of at 7 or 8 like he used to. The nice thing about this job is that they have offices in Cincinnati, one of which is right up the road from our house, so he should be able to transfer to that office when we are ready to come home!
• I'm still working away, as usual! Also, my running buddy and I are currently training for the Paris Marathon, so that is going well. Hopefully I won't hurt my ankle like last year! I am determined to do this marathon for once and for all so that I can mark it off of my To Do List!
• We won't be able to come home for Christmas this year since Victor just started his job, but we will be home in May for Jenny's wedding! I am sad not to be able to come home, but Victor's brother Bryson is coming to visit on the 19th and is staying through the 29th, so that will be nice.

That about sums it up!

Prague, Czech Republic

I went to Prague last month for work and it was really nice! It is such a beautiful city, especially at night when all of the buildings are lit up. We stayed in the downtown area, so I got a chance to walk around and do a little bit of exploring. Very nice! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so some of my co-workers are supposed to be sending me their pictures. I will post the pictures once I get them.

My Favourite (yes, "favorite" with a "u"!) Commercials at the Moment...

I just love these Natural Confectionery commercials! They make me laugh everytime they come on! The last one is my favourite.

I love the way the bear laughs at the end of this one. And how did he get on top of those books? LOL!

Fun with Abby in England and Rome

Abigail came to visit a couple of weeks ago and we had such a nice time! We spent a couple of days showing her around Woking and London and then we headed to Rome for a few days. Rome was so nice and the weather was perfect for site-seeing! I love Italy and I want to go back! Of course while we were there we had all of our Italian favorites: pizza, pasta, gelato, Italian soda, and paninis. Abigail also wanted to get an Italian ice, but we couldn't find them anywhere! We also took a bus tour and saw all of the main Rome attractions including the Coliseum, Circus Maximus, and Vatican City. It was a great trip and I'm so glad Abigail came to visit! We had such a good time cackling and laughing and discussing our hair, and I was sad to see her go.

Next week, I'm headed to Prague, Czech Republic for work!

Did You Guys Vote Today?

Did everyone vote today? I hope so! We sent in our absentee ballots in a couple of weeks ago, so we've done our part! This is a picture of Victor filling out his ballot.

A Year in Review: Best and Worst Moments

Today marks the one year anniversary of when I moved to the UK. So much has happened within the past year! There have been lots of good times and bad times, with no shortage of adventures mixed in! Listed below are my best and worst moments of living in the UK:

Best Moments:

• Arriving to the UK and realizing that I wasn't just here for vacation
• Touring the city with Victor
• Hosting visitors and showing them around the city
• Travelling all around the UK for work (Wales, Liverpool, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Derby, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds, London)
• Travelling all around Europe for fun (Turkey, Greece, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, France, and soon Italy with Abby and Czech Republic for work!)
• Victor surprising me with a trip to Barelona for my birthday
• Gathering the courage to cut all my hair off and go natural
• Taking the risk of putting up an ad for friends on the internet and making several good friends in the process (who knew there were so many 20-something ladies in Woking looking for friends?)
• Figuring out on my own how to drive on the left-hand side of the road and not getting killed in the process
• Passing my driving test!

Worst Moments:

• Waiting for my work permit to be approved. Seems like it took forever!
• Saying good-bye to my family at the airport
• Dealing with BT (British Telecom) customer service when we first moved here. It took 5 weeks to get the phone and internet hooked up!
• Initially having to go to the library everday to check my work emails since BT was taking so long with the internet
• Coping with feelings of lonliness, depression, and homesickness since I work from home and don't have regular interaction with people during the day, also since I was new to the country and had no friends to hang out with and Victor was at work all the time.
• Hurting my ankle and having to stop training for the Paris Marathon
• Trying to find something good to watch on UK television
• Missing my family and friends and the comforts of excessive American life

Overall, this has been a great year for both Victor and me! There have been some rough times, but we have gotten to know ourselves and each other better in the process and we do not regret moving here at all. I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

I Passed!!

I passed my UK driver's test yesterday!! Whoo-hoo! I am so relieved because I really did not want to have to take it twice. The UK is notorious for having really difficult driving tests, and there is only a 43% pass rate. It is so hard that they even sell greeting cards congratulating you on passing. The test lasts about 50 minutes. First, you have a simple eye test, then they ask you two Show me/Tell me questions which pertain to vehicle safety and maintenance, then it is off to drive for 40 minutes! During the test, you are asked to perform two of these four maneuvers: parallel park, reverse into a side road, turn around in the road, or reverse into a parking space. I was praying that I would be asked to turn around in the road because that is the easiest maneuver for me, and thankfully that was one of the ones I had to do! I also had to reverse into a side road, which is the one that I am the worst at, and I got a point taken off for it because I was too far away from the curb.

I'm glad I passed because my US license is good here for 12 months and after that I have to get a full UK license, otherwise I would be considered a provisional driver and I would have to drive around with L (learner) plates on my car and I would always have to be accompanied by a driver over 21 who has had their UK license for at least 3 years. My 12 months is up October 6, so if I had not passed yesterday I don't know what I would have done!

This is a huge weight off my shoulders. I have been so nervous for the past month or so thinking about this dang test!! I hired a driving instructor for a few refresher lessons and he became a major motivation for me to pass because he really got on my nerves to the point that we had to have it out with each other a few times. I'm so glad I never have to see him again!! I was so nervous at the beginning of the test, but the examiner was really nice and I was able to relax some. I started to worry about 15 minutes into the test though because I kept seeing him mark things on my test sheet and I just knew that I had messed up somewhere! Turns out I did quite well--I only had 4 minor errors and 0 serious errors and you can get up to 15 minors or just 1 serious before you fail. Above is a picture of my grading sheet and my pass certificate (you can click on them if you want to see a larger picture)! I get my license in the mail in 3 weeks.

I had been working on getting my license since June. First, I had to take the written test which I studied for for a month and I passed that back in July. As soon as I passed I booked my practical test, and I had wanted to take it earlier but the slots book up really quickly, so September 30th was the earliest date I could get. So this dang test has been consuming my thoughts all summer long and now it's over!! Time to move on to the next adventure.

Study Guides for Theory Test: £20.00
Theory Test Fee: £30.00

Driving Lessons: £175.00

Practical Test Fee: £56.50

Passing the practical test on the first try and never having to see my instructor again and not having to stress about this test anymore: PRICELESS!!!!

My Laptop Tried to Kill Me!

Look at this terrible bruise on my foot. I had my laptop on the coffee table and when I got up to do something I tripped on the cord and the laptop came crashing to the floor and onto my foot. Thank God I didn’t die!

Fun with Camille and Mark in England

Camille and Mark came to visit last week and we had a fabulous time! They were such nice guests, always cleaning up after themselves and offering to pay for things. Victor and I gave them the grand tour of London and they were able to see all of the major sites of the city. We also took a ride in the London Eye, which is something that Victor and I had not done yet, so that was a treat.

Camille also gave me my first real natural hairstyle: a twistout! She has the patience of Job because it took about 2.5 hours to do those twists and she seemed perfectly content and happy. If it was me, I probably would have done about 5 twists and then called it a night! The hairstyle turned out well and I liked it alot!

Camille and Mark also went to Paris for a few days, and they had a great time there as well. They got all of their French favourites: Creme brulee, French fries, croissants, crepes, and baguettes. They also took a bus tour and saw all of the famous Paris sites.

I had a great time while they were here and I’m sure they had a good time too. They are a hilarious couple and they had me cracking up the whole time. Camille and Mark were truly meant for each other. I hope they come and visit again!

I'm Still Here!!!

I'm still alive! I have not abandoned the blog! I have been extremely busy with work for the past couple of weeks and have not had time to think about much of anything else. Things are easing up some for me now, so I will have time to post more.


This week I plan to write about Camille and Mark's trip to visit us and also post some of their pictures, and I will also write about how my laptop fell on my foot (picture included).


Stay tuned!

Leeds, UK

I have just been all over the UK lately! On Tuesday I went to Leeds for work. As usual, I didn't see much of the city, but from what I saw it seemed okay. The hospital I went to was really nice and new, so that was good. I also stayed in my favourite hotel, Malmaison, which is always a treat.

As with the other sites I have been to, starting in January I will be going to Leeds every 6 weeks or so, so I will have more of a chance to do some exploring.

Happy Travels!

Manchester, UK

Last week I went to Manchester for work. It's a pretty nice city, from what I saw. Manchester is about 3.5 hours from Woking, and since my meeting at the hospital wasn't until 2:30 PM I decided to drive up the same day. I pride myself in being super on-time for everything, so I was happy when I made it to the hospital 45 minutes early. But to my horror, it took me 55 minutes to find a dang parking space, so I ended up being about 20 minutes late for my meeting! I was so annoyed, but the doctor was pretty understanding since he knew parking was limited. Anyway, my meeting only lasted about 90 minutes, then I was back on the road again to go home. That was way to much driving for me in one day, so next time I'm going to go up the night before.

Starting in January I will be going to Manchester every 6 weeks or so, so I will have more time to do a little exploring.

I Cut My Hair!!!

That's right folks--I did the Big Chop! I really like the outcome. Check out my video below and let me know what you think! Also, please let me say that I am not a techie guru or anything like that, so I didn't do any editing to the video. So here it is, raw and uncut!!

Fun with Victor's Parents

Victor's mom and grandma came to visit last week, and they had a great time! We spent a couple of days taking them around London to see the sights, then they went to Paris for a few days. I was nervous about them going to Paris alone since they had never been before and weren't familiar with the transportation system, but everything turned out fine and they had an enjoyable time in Paris.



I'm glad Victor's mom and grandma were able to visit. It's always nice to have visitors and I hope they come and visit again next year!

Glasgow, Scotland

I went to Glasgow last week for a site visit. I was only there for a few hours, but from what I saw it seemed nice. Starting in December/January I will be going to Glasgow every 6 weeks or so, so I will have a chance to do a little exploring.

Tomorrow I am headed to Manchester!

Today's Our Anniversary!!

Today is Victor's and my 2 year anniversary. It's amazing how fast the year has flown by! 2 years already! Does that mean we're not newlyweds anymore? ;)

We have had an exciting year with moving to a new country, taking on new job responsibilities, and lots of travelling. I can't wait to see what adventures year 3 brings us!

Anyway, the 2-year anniversary gift is supposed to be cotton so I was going to buy Victor a shirt or something, but I ended up getting him a PlayStation Portable instead (even though he really doesn't need one!). I'm sure he'll be surprised when I give it to him because every time he mentions getting one I tell him that he needs to play and beat all of his other games before he goes and buys a new system.

I am very sentimental and like to travel down Memory Lane a lot, so tonight we'll probably reminisce about our Big Day and discuss the highlights of our year and what we hope to accomplish in the year to come.

Married life is great! We have really enjoyed each other's company the past 2 years. We have so much fun together and it is great being married to your best friend. I know I've said it before in this blog but it's worth saying again that God truly blessed me when he brought Victor into my life and I really couldn't be happier with him, flaws and all! I am looking forward to us eventually having kids and growing old together and whatever God has in store for us.

Fun in Paris with Michelle

My cousin Michelle was in France last week for a business meeting, so we met up in Paris for a few hours on Saturday. We had a nice time! I hadn't seen her since my wedding two years ago, so it was nice to catch up. Anyway, we didn't do much since we were both in town only for the afternoon, but we each had a main objective while in the city: Michelle's goal was to go up into the Eiffel Tower, and not surprisingly, my goal was to get a crepe.

Word to the wise: make sure you're in shape if you plan to walk up the Eiffel Tower!! You have to pay different prices depending on how high up into the Tower you want to go, so we just paid to go to the first level. We were okay going up the first few flights of stairs, but after a while we were really struggling! 400 steps later we made it to the first level. The picture above is of us in the Eiffel Tower. The view was really pretty from so high up. After climbing the Eiffel Tower I got my chocolate crepe, so the day was a success!

Edinburgh, Scotland

Yesterday, I went to Edinburgh, Scotland on a business trip. I didn't see much of it because I was only there for the day, but from what I saw it seemed nice. I love how green everything is there! Anyway, I will probably be going to Scotland more often because I will have a site in Glasgow soon.

Good times!

Fun in Amsterdam!

Victor and I went to Amsterdam two Saturdays ago, and we had a fantastic time! The weather was a nice and sunny 70 degrees--perfect for walking around the city. At first, we weren't that excited to go because we had both had long work weeks and I was sick with a sore throat and a lingering stomach bug, so when we arrived to Amsterdam Friday morning we laid around the hotel for a while. Around 5 we got up and headed to the city center. We didn't do much on Friday; we mainly walked around town to get a feel for the city.

As most folks know, Amsterdam is known for its legalized marijuana use and legal prostitution, so there were coffee shops and sex shops all over the place. For those who don't know, a "coffee shop" is where you go to by marijuana. These shops were everywhere! I went inside of one because I wanted to see what it looked like. Most of them basically look like a bar but instead of selling alcohol they sale weed. Anyway, we walked around for a few hours and then we headed back to our hotel around 11 or so.

The next day we visited the flower markets. They had some of the most beautiful tulips I have ever seen! I really wanted to buy a bag of tulip bulbs to bring back with me, but I wouldn't be able to bring them back to the UK because of their agriculture laws. Oh well. We also went to Anne Frank's house and we had planned to take the tour but when we got there the line was wrapped around the corner. We took pictures of the outside though. We also visited the Van Gogh Museum, which was nice. Later in the day, we met up with one of Victor's co-workers, who was also visiting Amsterdam with her boyfriend. We had dinner with her and hung out for a while, then we headed back to our hotel.

On Sunday, we were supposed to leave, but when we arrived to the airport we found that all flights to London had been cancelled for the day. Bummer, because we both had to work on Monday. The airline paid for us to stay in a nearby hotel and they also paid for our dinner, so that was a nice consolation. We ended up getting back home the next morning around 9 or so.

Can't wait for the next trip!

The Best Birthday EVER in Barcelona!

Victor is the best husband in the world. My 27th birthday was this past Saturday (June 7th) and he surprised me with a trip to Barcelona, Spain!! We left for Spain on Saturday morning and came back to England Sunday afternoon, so it was a short trip--but oh so perfect!

We stayed right on the beach in a really nice and modern hotel, and from the outside it looked more like an office building than a hotel. The room was really nice too. We got there around 11:30 and we spent the entire day on the beach. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. :)

Pictures below!

Foot Pad Update!

OK, I finally finished all using all of the foot pads! According to the directions, the foot pads are supposed to start off really dark and ugly and then get lighter and lighter as you continue to use them. Well, I am sad to say that mine remained dark and ugly through the whole duration that I used them! I don't know if that means that I'm really toxic or if the foot pads are just faulty. Also, you are supposed to wear them every other day, but I would always forget and ended up wearing them every 3 or 4 days, so maybe that is why they didn't get lighter. Here are pictures of the pads. I am only posting a couple because they all look the same:

At any rate, as I was using the pads I was paying close attention to my body to see if I felt any different. I really didn't feel any positive changes with the use of the foot pads. I didn't feel any negative changes either, so I guess that is good.

Anyway, thanks Camille for sending me the pads! Even though they didn't catapult me into the realm of total health, it was fun trying them out!

Chris Rock

Last weekend Victor and I went to see Chris Rock at the O2 Arena in London. It was a really nice, huge venue that holds I think 22,000 people. We had pretty good seats--not too close, not too far away. Chris Rock really wasn't that funny, and Victor and I actually almost fell asleep during the show! The person who opened for him was pretty funny though. I'm glad we went though because it's always nice to get out and do something other than dinner and a movie.

Even though people were prohibited from taking pictures during the show, I snuck and took a few anyway. :) Bucking the system! Sticking it to the Man! Anyway, above is a picture I took during the show.

Munich, Germany

This week, I went to Munich on a business trip. There is not much to tell because the only things I saw were the office and the hotel, but from what I could tell the city appeared to be nice and clean and the people were friendly.

Anyway, in a few weeks I am going to Rotterdam, Netherlands for training. Rotterdam is only about an hour from Amsterdam, so after my training is over Victor is going to meet me in Amsterdam and we will spend the weekend there. Looking forward to it!

Fun with the Parents

Last week my parents came to visit--what fun! We had a great time and each day was filled to the brim with activities.

Mom and Daddy arrived to London on Friday morning and I picked them up from the airport and took them to Woking where we live. After getting settled in and resting for a while, we then walked down to the town center and I showed them the highlights of Woking. On Saturday, we spent the day in London and they got to see all of the sights that the city is famous for (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye, London Bridge, etc). On Sunday, we drove up to Wiltshire and visited Stonehenge, which was really neat (pictures at the end of this post). We also took them to Guildford, which is about 10 minutes from where we live, to show them where we go to shop and hang out. On Monday, Mommy decided that she wanted to stay in, so Daddy and I headed back to London to visit the Royal Observatory. Daddy really enjoyed going to the planetarium and getting to stand on the Prime Meridian while we were at the Observatory. We also happened to find a pedestrian tunnel that goes under the Thames River, so we went down and walked through the tunnel. Tuesday morning they flew back home. It was nice to have them visit and hopefully they will come again!

Depressing Commercials II: I Can't Take It Anymore!

The morbidity that is UK's Public Service Announcements continues...




And what's with the happy music in this one??





This one isn't so bad...








This one started in Australia, but they show it here too. This one is the worst for me because they tell you in detail what is going to happen before it actually happens:








Now that everyone is thoroughly spooked and depressed, have a great day! :)

Interesting Observation...

A couple of weeks ago I went out with a few of my friends to a bashment club. Anyone ever heard of bashment music? It is sort of like reggae but a little more upbeat with a hip-hop twist to it. That's the best way I can describe it. Here is an example of bashment music:




So picture this: There are mostly older people in the club (late 20's to late 40's) and mostly Jamaican men with dreads. Somehow everyone knows every song verbatim and all the dances that go along with the songs. Then--out of nowhere--the DJ starts to play Leanne Rimes. Leanne Rimes in a bashment club! But that's not the shocking part. EVERYONE in there goes crazy and starts belting out "How Do I Live Without You" word for word!! I'm talking about grown, 35-40 year old Jamaican men with dreads all the way down to their butts swaying back and forth with their eyes closed singing Leanne Rimes. It was the funniest and strangest thing I have ever seen. For those of you unfamiliar with Leanne Rimes, here is the song they played in the club:



And you know how when the DJ plays a song that gets people hype, he will start the song and then stop it and start it over again to get people more hype? That's what he did with this song and people were just falling out with excitement. I was so confused. Don't get me wrong, I like Leanne Rimes and I actually knew all the words to this song too, but I am an American Black girl! I would have never expected some middle-aged Jamaican men to be fans of Leanne Rimes. I guess you learn something new everyday.

Rainbow!

I love it when it starts raining but the sun is still shining because usually a rainbow is not far behind. Yesterday, I was went to the grocery store and when I came out it was sunny and raining, and as I was driving home I saw the prettiest double rainbow. When I got home I tried to take a picture, but the trees were in the way. This was the best shot I could get, but it is still pretty!

Speaking of rain, we have been having some strange weather here in the UK. Like last Thursday, it was all sunny and nice and then out of nowhere we had a hail storm complete with thunder! It only lasted about 7 minutes and then the sun came back out. They say that this is supposed to be the worst time of the year for weather here, but so far it hasn't been bad.

Confession!

Someone asked me how things were going with the detox foot pads, and I must admit that I have not been using them regularly as I should be! I have been so busy and I keep meaning to put them on before bed and I keep forgetting. I'm going to get back to using them on Monday. If I use them as directed, I should be finished with my detox by May 1 and then I will post the results. I promise!

Anyway, I was invited to a "Girl's Night In" slumber party by one of my new friends whose birthday was earlier this week. I'm really looking forward to it. Since I work from home, I spend a good portion of my day in solitude and it can be quite isolating. I'm so glad I am making friends. A couple of weeks ago I met a nice married girl in Woking and Victor and I went to their house for dinner and drinks. We had a really nice time and the next day we all went shopping together. We plan to have them over for dinner soon.

Nothing Exciting to Report

I haven't written in a while, but not because I didn't want to. Nothing exciting has been going on! We made an unexpected trip home to the States last week, which was nice, but other than that it has just been business as usual. I don't even have any funny or weird commercials to post.


Today I plan to get back on the horse with my healthy diet and exercise. I have seriously fallen off the past few weeks and it is starting to show. I plan to eat a low carb diet and workout 4-5 times per week. It's almost summer and I want to look good!


That's all I have for now. Hopefully something interesting will happen this week.

Kinoki Detox Foot Pads Update

Well, I made it through the night with my Kinoki Detox Foot Pads attached securely to the soles of my feet. It really felt weird and when I woke up the pads were really heavy and squishy. This is how the pads started:

And here is what they looked like this morning. Gross!

I'm not sure if I feel detoxified or anything, but you are supposed to use them for 2 weeks and this is only the first day. The pads are supposed to become lighter and lighter as you use them. I will say that my feet definitely feel tender and sore today, like I have just run 10 miles. Really strange. I need to do some more research to figure out the exact mechanism of action of these foot pads. Probably should have done that BEFORE trying them out, but oh well. Anyway, I'm going to use the rest of the pads and then write back with another update.

Kinoki Detox Foot Pads: The Answer to Ultimate Health?

I would like to think of myself as a pretty healthy person. I eat pretty healthily, try to exercise on a regular basis, drink a gallon of water everyday, take my vitamins, and I try to get a full night's rest every night. Yet I am always looking for that extra something that is going to catapult me into the realm of ultimate health.

It all started back when I was a little girl and I saw a lady raving about the wonders of Kombucha Tea on Oprah. For those who don't know, Kombucha is a type of mushroom and under the right conditions it can be brewed into a very healthy tea that is supposed to make you super healthy. Bless my parents, who often humored my crazy requests. My mom found a lady who grew Kombucha mushrooms and she was nice enough to meet this mysterious lady in a parking lot to pick the mushroom up for me. Kombucha has to be kept in very specific conditions or order for it to grow properly, so my dad rigged up a contraption to keep the mushroom at the right temperature. I'd say my Kombucha phase lasted about six weeks--probably less-- before I got bored with it and went searching for the next health craze. I'd say I was about 14 or 15 at the time and here we are 11 years later and I am still chasing that elusive dream of perfect health. I've done it all: cleansing fasts, detox drinks, vegetarianism, veganism, raw foodism (is this a word?), juicing, drinking shots of wheatgrass and ginger juice everyday, etc., etc., etc. You name it, I have probably tried it. You may ask, "Lydia, what's your problem? Do you think you are sick and that's why you are trying all these health fads?" No, I am aware that I am generally healthy, but for some reason I have always been obsessed with health and cleansing and detox and everything associated with it. I will probably always be that way, but I like it!

So now that folks have some background information and understand my addiction to all things healthy, we are now brought to the topic of this post: Kinoki Detox Foot Pads. A couple of months ago I was talking to my older sister Camille on the phone and she asked me if I had heard of these things. I had not, so of course I was excited because--whoo hoo!--I get to try something new and this just might be the thing that will get me to the pinnacle of good health.

The pads are supposed to work by sticking them to the bottom of your feet and during the night all of your toxins are supposed to be sucked out of you through the soles of your feet. In the morning the foot pads should be black from all of the nastiness that was extracted from you. So while I was on the phone with Camille I went online to look at the website: https://www.buykinoki.com/?page=index , and to my utter disappointment found they did not ship to the UK! I expressed my disappointment to Camille and then sort of forgot about it.

Fast forward three months: I am headed out to run some errands and I stop to check the mail. What is this I see? A box? For me? What could it be? I haven't ordered anything. Then I see it that it is from Camille. I tear open the box and guess what it is?? Yes, folks, my coveted Kinoki Foot Pads! And it was perfect timing because they arrived right before our Turkey and Greece trip. I called Camille and thanked her and told her I was going to try them after we got back from vacation. Well, the time is now!!! I have just applied my foot pads! I'm nervous! I told Victor to give me a kiss just in case the pads work too well and suck the life out of me during the night. In the same breath I asked him if he wanted to try it with me and of course he declined. I took a before picture of the pads and if I wake up in the morning, I will post the before and after pictures.

Camille, I blame YOU if this doesn't work out. :)

UPDATE: Oh my, I think I may be dying for real! I have had these pads on my feet for about two hours and there is definitely something going on down there. For about 30 minutes my feet were itchy and now they are tingly and hot. Could this just be a psychological reaction? Possibly, which is probably why they tell you to put them on right before bed, that way you won't have time to really think about what's going on. I was supposed to be in bed an hour ago, but I felt the need to get up and add this update.

I am so tempted to peel off a corner and take a peak at the pad, but I will wait until morning!

Victor's First Facial

I gave Victor his very first facial the other day! I was super excited because this is something I have wanted to do to him for years but he has always refused. He finally acquiesced. Victor was such a trooper throughout the whole process and he actually started to enjoy it! The end result was a healthy glowing face. I kept catching him looking at himself in the mirror afterwards. :) Anyway, here is what we did:

1. Oil of Olay Microdermabrasion and Mini Peel
2. 5-minute steam treatment
3. Mud Therapy Aloe Vera Deep Cleansing Mud Mask
4. Aveda Botanical Kinetics liquid exfoliant
5. Bare Vitamins multi-vitamin complex
6. PCA After Peel Soothing Balm

I really wish I had taken a before and after picture, but I guess everyone will have to settle for the above "during" picture.

Fun with the Girls

I forgot to mention that I met some nice girls and we all went out to TGIFriday's a couple of weeks ago. We actually all met online and it was everyone's first time meeting each other, so everyone was nervous. It turned out great and everyone got along. There was eleven of us in all. Next weekend we are going bowling and in May we are doing the Race for Life together.

Good times!

Greece, or what I now like to call 'Grease'

So we left Istanbul on March 19 and headed to Athens. Unfortunately, our experience in Greece was not as positive as it was in Turkey.

Wednesday, March 19

We enjoyed a quick one hour flight from Istanbul to Athens. We arrived at the Athens airport at around 11:15 am and caught a taxi to our hotel. When we got in the taxi the driver told us that the city was on strike and as a result some of the streets were not open and he would have to take us the long way to our hotel. What?? Since when does a strike close streets? But since we were not familiar with the city or where our hotel was located it was not like we were in any position to challenge him. So what should have been a €15-20 cab ride ended up costing €45! Then he had the nerve to say that the fare was €48, not €45.

So we made it to our hotel and we get settled in and while Victor was napping I decided to venture out to get us some lunch. Let me tell you, I guess these men thought I was free game since I was alone and almost every man I walked past whistled or made gestures or said something (I'm sure obscene) to me in Greek. And since everyone was on strike there were large groups of men on the corners and just sitting around. I definitely did not feel as safe as I did in Turkey.

Later in the evening, Victor and I decided to go walking around. It was at this point that we realized how dirty Athens was. There was graffiti all over everything, and since they had been on strike for two weeks, the garbage collectors had not been around to pick up the trash so all the dumpsters were overflowing with garbage and there was trash all in the streets. It was really quite disgusting.

Thursday, March 20

Today we planned to visit the National Museum and the Acropolis, but since Athens was still on strike a lot of the public transportation was not running. We ended up walking to the National Museum, which wasn't so bad since it wasn't too far from our hotel. When we arrived at the museum, we were surprised and disappointed to find graffiti all over the sign and the front sidewalk in front of the building. Don't the locals have enough respect for themselves and for their city not to deface property that is bringing in revenue for their town? I guess not.

The inside of the museum was disappointing as well. Victor was especially looking forward to visiting the National Museum because of all of the world-renowned treasures they hold. He likes to watch the History Channel a lot and they are always talking about how this and that can be found at the National Museum in Athens, so it was going to be quite a treat to see these gems up close and personal. We went in the museum and everything just seemed so dusty and thrown together and the captions under the statues and exhibits did not convey the significance of the artifacts. And the layout of the museum was poorly designed.

After we left the museum, we headed to the Acropolis. If the city had not been on strike, we could have easily taken the subway straight to the location, but nooooo...

We were going to try to take a bus to the Acropolis, so we found a bus stop and waited...and waited...and waited...and waited...and waited...and waited for the bus. While we were waiting for the bus, this nasty little old woman walked behind Victor and pushed him in the back for no reason!! I thought maybe she needed something but when Victor turned around she just looked at him and kept on walking. Rude! So finally a bus came and we hopped on. Three minutes later we hopped off because the bus driver decided to stop permanently and everyone had to get off. We walked a couple of blocks to find another bus. We found a bus and Victor was trying to ask the bus driver a question and the bus driver closed the door in his face and drove off!! Rude! We decided to just walk to the Acropolis. The people on the street were so rude, bumping into us and not saying excuse me and just looking trifling in general. When we were getting closer to the Acropolis, we decided to hail a taxi since there was a big hill we would have to walk up. Of course, every taxi that passed either already had passengers or just wouldn't stop. I finally flagged down a cab and asked, "Do you go to the Acropolis?" to which he nodded "Yes", so I turned to Victor and called, "Come on, honey!" and when I turned back around to open the door the taxi driver had locked the door!! So I asked him through the window to unlock the door and he said something to me in Greek, rolled up the window, and drove off!! Rude! So we started walking up the hill towards the Acropolis and on the way we found a shuttle thingy that would take us up the hill for €5, so we hopped on and off we went. Finally!

Visiting the Acropolis and Parthenon was probably the only thing that was not disappointing during our visit to Athens. It was so neat to be able to see these historical monuments up close. Check out the pictures! We stayed at the Acropolis for about 90 minutes and then headed back down to town.

Later on we decided that we would visit the mall. Whenever we go somewhere new, Victor likes to visit the mall to see what kind of stores they have. The mall was actually really nice and they had a lot of nice stores.

Friday, March 21

Today we left the city of Athens to stay at Voulos Beach for a few days. Voulos Beach was located about an hour from our hotel in Athens. Yay! Away from the dirty city! It will be much better by the beach. We didn't want to take a taxi, so to get to the new hotel we had to take the subway to the tram station and then take the tram to Voulos.

A brief word regarding etiquette on the subway: The citizens of Athens do not have any!! It was like a zoo on the subway. Proper upbringing, manners, etiquette, and plain ol' common sense would tell you that if you are standing on a subway and someone needs to get off, you could do one of two things:

1. Politely move out of the way so that the person can get around you and get off; or
2. Politely step off of the subway so that the person can get off and then step back on.
   
   Well, they used a third option:
   
   

3. Rudely stand right in front of the door without doing options 1 or 2 so that the person trying to get off has to push and shove to get around you to get off the subway.

I've never seen anything like it! It was a pure animal house trying to get off the subway! There were little old people pushing and getting pushed and no one would budge for anybody. It was terrible, especially since we had our luggage with us. It was like a stampede and we almost didn't make it off the subway before the doors closed on us.

We made it to the tram station and were on our way to Voulos. After we made it to Voulos, we decided that we were going to take a taxi to the hotel since we didn't know exactly where it was located. We go to the taxi station to catch a taxi and of course no one stopped. I was mad at first, but then I looked around and there was a little old lady and a man with a child and the taxis wouldn't stop for them either, so I didn't feel so bad. Oh, I forgot to mention that it was cold and raining pretty steadily, so we were outside with our luggage in the rain trying in vain to get a taxi. Finally, we just decided to start walking. In the rain. In the freezing rain. With all our luggage. Luckily, Victor had had the foresight to call the hotel the night before to see where it was located, so we started walking in that general direction. Thank goodness the hotel was not that far away and we made it there in about 15 minutes.

So we got to the hotel and Disappointment #459 stood before us. The hotel looked absolutely nothing like it did on the website!! It looked like something straight out of 1977. At least the hotel staff were nice. We got to our room and by then we were tired and wet and hungry, so I went back downstairs to ask the hotel clerk for the restaurant menu. Her exact words were, "I'm sorry, our restaurant will be closed for a few weeks, but I can make you a ham sandwich if you want."

Umm... no, thanks.

There ended up being some nice restaurants not too far from our hotel, so we ate there. One thing that I will say about Greece is that the food was very good.

Saturday, March 22

It was nice and sunny today, so we decided to go across the street to the beach. Disappointment #842. The water was very clear and pretty, but the beach itself was full of glass and trash. Not what it looked like on the website!!

There was a nice shopping area up the street from us, so we went there for a couple of hours. I like to refer to this area as "Little America" because it was full of American restaurants like Starbucks, TGIFriday's, Applebee's, Dunkin Donuts, and Ruby Tuesday, and stores like Nautica, Tommy Hilfiger, Nine West, etc. We decided to go to TGIFriday's for lunch. Disappointment #931. We had three different waitresses and the food was not good at all. I think my burger had freezer burn. I guess that's what we get for trying to eat American food in Greece.

The rest of the day was nice though and we spent it walking around and such.

Sunday, March 23

Today we are headed back to the UK! Relief! We took a taxi to the airport and this time the fare was only €12.45, but the crafty little cab driver told us it was €15. I wish people would realize that when you add your own gratuity to the tab you are really just short-changing yourself because most people usually tip more when it is left up to them to decide what they want to give. Victor and I are very good tippers and the driver would have gotten much more than the €2.55 he added himself if he had let us decide how much we wanted to give him, but it was his loss.

True to form, the check-in lady was rude and impatient with us but we didn't care because we were going home!!

Needless to say, we will NOT be visiting Athens again. I would like to visit the Greek Isles, like Crete or Santorini because I hear the islands are pretty, but the people in Athens were so rude and abrasive that I can't ever see myself willingly going there again. It was so bad that the day after we got back to the UK I went to the grocery store and I was really edgy and defensive because I was expecting someone to cut in front of me or steal the last box of cereal from between my fingers, but to my surprise everyone was courteous and saying excuse me when bumping my cart and making way for me if I needed to squeeze my cart through a tight area. In other words, they were CIVILIZED. The British tend to be impersonal and keep to themselves, but they are not outright RUDE, which I now appreciate.

Even though our Athens trip was not what we expected, Victor and I still managed to have a good time because we were with each other. It's always fun when you travel with your best friend. We had so much fun talking about what we didn't like and complaining to each other. It actually became funny whenever something disappointing happened. It was also nice getting to spend time together and we talked a lot about our future and our hopes and wants and dreams.

I think that was my favorite part of the whole trip.

Fun in Turkey

Victor and I went to Turkey March 15-19. Overall, I would say that it was a very positive experience.

Saturday, March 15

Today we are leaving for Turkey. Woo-hoo! Victor and I have been so busy with work that our trip sort of snuck up on us, but now that the day is here we are excited! This is also a special day because March 15 marks our 7-year anniversary of when we first met each other.

Anyway, off to Heathrow Airport we go! Luckily, our train station has a bus shuttle that will take us straight to Heathrow in 30 minutes, so that is nice. We get to the airport at around 7:30 AM because our flight leaves at 9:30. Heathrow is a zoo and quite disorganized, but we made it through check-in and security will minimal issues. The flight to Istanbul is 3.5 hours, and since we got up pretty early we sleep through most of the flight.

When we arrive in Istanbul, we go to the Tourism Department to find a hotel. While we are being helped, Victor goes to make a phone call and I am left alone in the reception area with these Turkish men. Then they start talking to each other in Turkish and I know they are talking about me because they are standing right in front of me and staring and pointing, then talking some more and pointing to Victor and then staring back at me again. Then one of them says, "Can we see your teeth?" What? Okay...so I smiled at them and then they say, "Oh, you have wonderful teeth! Your teeth are not yellow like ours! Do you smoke?" And I was like, "No". Then they asked, "Do you drink alot of milk?" and I said, "Not really, but I do brush my teeth everyday." Then they left me alone after that. Anyway, we book our hotel and then head out.

Whenever I visit somewhere new, I always enjoy the trip from the airport to the hotel because it gives me a chance to see the city. In Istanbul, we noticed that there were lots of car dealerships and alot of people driving really nice cars. The landscaping in general was also really nice, with lots and lots of flowers. We make it to our hotel and take a load off for a little while, then we decide to walk around for a little bit and get something to eat.

We made some interesting observations about the Turkish while were walking around:

• There are ALOT of men. We hardly saw any women out and about. We also noticed that alot of men were walking arm in arm. We were thinking that maybe this was just the custom there, but in some instances it was obvious that it was not just a friendly thing...so we got to thinking, Is there a large homosexual population in Istanbul? Seems unlikely since Turkey is a muslim country, but when we got back home I did a little research and it turns out that Istanbul has a very open gay scene with over 20 bars and clubs catered toward homosexuals. Very interesting.
• The air was surprisingly clean! Alot of times in the big cities the air is full of exhaust and you always get unpleasant whiffs of rotten garbage while walking down the street, but Istanbul's air was nice and refreshing.
• The Turkish are pretty nice dressers. It was Saturday when we arrived to Istanbul, but alot of the men walking in the streets were nicely dressed with suit jackets and ties, and it was like this the whole time we were there. Some of the women wore the hair coverings and long skirts, but most of them dressed regularly in jeans, etc.
• Turkey is not a poor country. We saw very few beggars in the streets and as I stated earlier most people were nicely dressed and there were lots and lots of nice cars on the road. Also, the Turkish like to eat out for most meals, and let me tell you that it is not cheap! Their currency is the Yeni Turkish Lira (YTL) and it is equivalent to the US Dollar. I'd say we spent about 40-50 YTL on food everyday, not including breakfast.
• Istanbul is a nice mixture of old and modern. Istanbul is divided into Old Istanbul and New Istanbul. Old Istanbul is where the mosques, hippodrome and museums are located. New Istanbul has skyscrapers and office buildings.
• There are SO MANY cats in Istanbul!! It's crazy! They are everywhere. I am terrbily allergic to cats and anytime there was one around I would itch. And alot of times you would see 4 or 5 of them at a time, which grossed me out for some reason. Large numbers of cats or pigeons together really freaks me out and I felt like screaming everytime I would see a group of them.

Sunday, March 16

Today we visit the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, located in the historic heart of Old Istanbul. Here, we visited the Blue Mosque. I might be wrong, but I think the Blue Mosque is supposed to be the second largest mosque in the world. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, the Blue Mosque is named as such because of the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a school and a hospice. We got to go inside of the mosque and it was quite nice. Everyone had to take off their shoes and the women had to cover their heads, so they were giving out pieces of cloth for women to cover up with. We have a few pictures of us in the mosque.

After we left the mosque, we were headed to the next destination but we were sidetracked by a man that wanted to show us his leather shop. He was quite crafty and we were duped into following him to his shop. He was actually very nice and gave us tea and talked to us first before trying to sell his goods. The Turkish mainly drink Turkish tea and Apple tea. The Turkish tea is quite strong, and after Victor and I had a cup we felt a little sick. Anyway, the man showed us his leather goods and we tried on a few jackets to be friendly, but then he wanted to show us his carpet shop and his jewelry shop. We said we did not want to see the carpets but agreed to go to his jewelry shop. Here, he tried to offer us more tea but we politely declined. The jewelry was okay, but we did not buy anything. We left there and then the man led us to his carpet shop, which was on the way back to Sultanahmet. So now we are at the carpet shop and he offers us more tea and we said no but he brought it anyway. We looked at a few carpets and then we left (without drinking the tea). So now that was an hour out of our day and by the time we make it back to Sultanahmet it is crowded with tourists and locals with their children. Victor bought me some ice cream to make up for it, so it was okay. :)

So now we go to Haya Sofia, which is right across from the Blue Mosque. Haya Sofia is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum. There was an interesting attraction in the Haya Sofia called "The Weeping Column". The Weeping Column is a pillar with a worn copper facing pierced by a hole. Legend has it that the pillar is that of St. Gregory the Miracle Worker and that putting one's finger in the hole can lead to ailments being healed if the finger comes out moist. Most people know that curiousity is the essence of my being, so of course I stuck my thumb in the hole to see what would happen. It didn't come out moist (which I was sort of relieved about because who wants mysterious moistness on their finger?), so I guess I wasn't healed from anything that day. Victor did not try it and he got mad at me when I tried to wipe my thumb on his jacket. Hee hee. There is a picture in the album with my finger in the hole.

Next we had lunch and then we walked to a nice park that was by the water. According to our map, we were by the Marmara Sea. The park was very nice with wonderful landscaping. The weather was clear and sunny and about 60 degrees, so lots of people were out with their families and children barbequing and having picnics and playing soccer. Of course we also saw large groups of men having picnics together cuddled up on blankets. The Marmara Sea was pretty. The water was really dark and if you get close enough to the edge you can see all these jellyfish-looking creatures floating in the water. We have a few pictures of them. We also saw a man standing on the end of the pier and going to the bathroom into the water. We have a picture of this as well. Please note that Victor took this picture and not me. :)

Monday, March 17

Today we visited Topkapı Palace, or what Victor liked to call Topeka Palace. Topkapı Palace was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans from 1465 to 1853. The palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainment. The palace and its grounds were beautiful with wonderful landscaping. It was a huge compound and we didn't get to see everything in it, but the parts that we did see were very nice.

Part of Istanbul is in Europe and part is in Asia, so we took a ferry to the Asia side of Istanbul. This was exciting because neither of us had been to Asia before.

Tuesday, March 18

Today is our last full day in Istanbul, and we visit the Istanbul Archaelogical Museum. It was interesting and Victor took lots of pictures.

We also visited the Egyptian Spice Bazaar. This bazaar is one of the oldest bazaars in the city and is also the second largest covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. The bazaar was full of shops selling herbs, spices, herbal remedies, jewelry, ceramics, candy, and Turkish Delights. I was excited to see the Turkish Delights because I always wanted to taste one ever since I saw that little wayward boy in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe eat them with the Ice Queen. Turkish Delights are soft, sugary, jelly-like candies mixed with nuts and rolled in powdered sugar. They were pretty to look at but when Victor and I tasted one they didn't taste that good. They actually probably weren't that bad but they were really sweet and I'm not a huge fan of really sweet stuff. They sort of tasted like marshmallow with nuts in them. They also sold Turkish Viagra at the bazaar, which looked to be some type of root or something. I would not feel safe taking that!

After we left the Bazaar we were going to take a ferry to New Istanbul, but the ferry didn't take us that way so we just rode the ferry for a while and took pictures. It was nice.

Wednesday, March 19

This morning we get up and leave for Athens, Greece. Istanbul was a very nice city, the food was good, and the people were extremely friendly . They would always refer to us as "brother" and "sister", which was nice.

There were only a few things that I did not care for in Istanbul:

• Everyone smokes heavily. You can't get away from it. Since the UK is smoke-free now like most of the US, Victor and I had gotten used to not being around cigarette smoke, so the high concentration of smoke in Istanbul often gave us headaches or made us feel sick.
• The men stared at me alot. I don't know if it was because I looked different or they just weren't used to seeing women (remember I said that there were mostly men out and about), but they stared alot and didn't even try to hide it. It made me uncomfortable but Victor was there so I felt protected. :)
• Food was really expensive, even outside of the tourist areas. There was a Burger King at the airport and a Whopper Value Meal was 19.75 YTL!! Granted, it was for a Triple Whopper but still! And a regular sandwich was 10.00 YTL.

Other than that, Istanbul gets an A in my book! Now, off to Greece!

Eyebrow Threading

This morning I went to get my eyebrows threaded for the first time ever. Let me tell you, it was PAINFUL! I was quite surprised because I had always heard that threading was painless. Liars! Unlike waxing--where all the hair is ripped off in one yank-- threading pulls out each hair individually. It hurt so much that I started sweating! But the end product made it totally worth it! I can't remember the last time my eyebrows looked this good! They are very clean and perfect looking and I love them. I was going to take a picture to post but the batteries are dead in my camera.



Has anyone else tried threading?

Depressing Commercials

The UK has the most depressing and extreme commercials I have ever seen!! Alot of them are designed to scare you into wearing your seatbelt, not speeding, not drinking, etc., which I guess is a good thing but sometimes I think they take it too far. Some of the commercials are so graphic!! I have included a couple of commercials, but I didn't include all of them because I think some of them are just too graphic to put on here.

Oh, and I also threw in a commercial about helping donkeys. At first, I thought it was some type of joke, but then when I realized it was real I found it to be very depressing, especially the donkey's sad British voice. Enjoy!



And now for the violent Public Service Announcements:





This one is my favorite because what are the odds that this would ever really happen??

Lord of the Rings Musical

For Valentine's Day, I bought Victor tickets to see the Lord of the Rings Musical, so we went on the Saturday after Valentine's. I didn't think I was going to like it because I am not a Lord of the Rings fan, but it turned out to be really neat! The costumes, music, stage lighting, choreographic, and special effects were amazing!! Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures during the performance. There are a couple of other musicals I want to see, like Wicked and The Lion King, and I hope they will be as good Lord of the Rings!

Middlesbrough, UK--Don't Make Me Go Back!!

Two weeks ago I went to Middlesbrough for work. It is located about 3.5 hours north of where we live. It was okay, but next time I go I will definitely be staying in a different hotel. I stayed at the Gisborough Hall Hotel http://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/gisborough/ and it was actually pretty nice, but there were too many things that annoyed me while I was there.

First, when I got there to check in the desk clerk was very nice but I couldn't understand a word he was saying because he was mumbling and talking too fast. I asked if they had a workout room and he said no. Okay, strike one. Then, I asked if there was a hotel restaurant menu in my room because I was thinking about just ordering room service for dinner instead of venturing out to find food. He told me that there wasn't a menu in my room, but he would have one sent up to me. Okay, works for me. So then he is describing to me where my room is located and I'm thinking, "What? These directions sound confusing. Whatever, how hard could it be to find room 110?" No. It took me so long to find my room! If you go to the link to the hotel, you will see that it is an 18th or 19th century-type hotel, and I think it used to be a castle or something, so the hallways and everything had all these twists and turns and the signs directing you towards the rooms were really obscure. I finally find my room, which is deep deep deep into the hotel and I'm thinking, "God forbid if there is a fire or something because it is going to take me forever to to get out of here!" Anyway, my room is nice so I am happy about that.

By this time, I am hungry because I had been on the train all day and still haven't gotten the menu that the desk clerk said he was going to have sent to me. I decide to be patient and give them 20 minutes before I call down to see where my menu is. So 20 minutes pass and still no menu, so I call down and politely ask again for a menu. The same desk clerk answers the phone and he says that the menu is being sent. Okay. Another 30 minutes goes by and by now I am steaming mad because I am hungry and I hate when I am given bad customer service. Anyway, I happen to get up to go to the bathroom and I pass by my door and what do I see strewn on the floor? My menu!!! Who knows how long it had been laying there, and that made me even madder because they really should have knocked on the door and hand-delivered the menu to me, but whatever, I have the menu now. Looking at the menu made me even madder though because they had all these weird things on it like chicken liver sauteed in duck fat and a bunch of other stuff I had never heard of. I really wasn't in the mood to be adventurous with my food, so I decided to just go down to the hotel bar for dinner. Of course I got turned around trying to make it back downstairs, but I made it. I ended up ordering salmon and salad at the bar and it was really good, but as I am enjoying my dinner this big cat walks in!! I am sitting all the way in the corner, so I was sure that the cat wouldn't come to me. Sure enough, he saunters right over and sits right beside me and stares at me. I am terribly allergic to cats and my eyes start to water and face starts to itch as soon as he comes over. Finally I got the waitress' attention and asked her if this cat belongs to someone. She was like, "Yeah, he belongs to the manager." I politely asked if she could come and get the cat because I am allergic, and she acted like I was the one causing problems! Excuse me, lady, but did you know that having a cat in an establishment that serves food is not only nasty but also a liability?? What if I had gone into anaphylactic shock from this cat dander flying everywhere? What if the cat bit me and I caught rabies? I could sue you! My sister is a lawyer, so I am a lawyer too by proxy!!! Of course I didn't say any of this, but I was thinking it. Anyway, after dinner I went back to my room and I was miserable for the rest of the night because I didn't have any allergy medicine with me and I was really itchy and my eyes were puffy and watery. I finally made it to sleep around 11:30 but was awakened at 2:00 AM by a DOG barking in the hallway! What is this, a hotel or a kennel??

Anyway, the next morning I checked out and I didn't realize until after I had left that they charged my credit card for my stay instead of charging the travel company like they were supposed to. Should I have been surprised? Not at all. I have to come back to Middlesbrough in July, and I will definitely be staying somewhere else!!

Love...

For most people, Valentine's Day is a romantic day that you spend with your special someone. For me, February 13th is much more significant. Today marks the two-year anniversary of when Victor proposed to me. It was such a special moment and today will always be a holiday for me. Victor is such a kind and compassionate human being, and he is the most mature and responsible 28 year old that I know. It continues to boggle my mind how loving, patient, and forgiving he is with me. I trust Victor and I feel safe and secure when he is around. He is my best friend. I just love everything about Victor, even his annoying habits that I nag him about. We have been married for a year and a half and have been together for almost seven years, but I still feel butterflies when I look at him and I thank God everyday that He blessed me with such a wonderful person who I know was made for me.