boxing day

In England, the day after Christmas is Boxing day. This year it fell on Saturday, which meant that the gov generously gave everyone Monday off work as a bank holiday. The purpose of this day originated as a day to give a box of gifts to those who help you throughout the year such as the postman and binman (mailman and garbageman in American).

To celebrate this year I went with Tom and his family to his Aunt Lizzie's. She is Tom's dad's sister. I had met her briefly, but had never met her husband Geoff who I found to be a very entertaining man. They live about an hour away in the historic town of Canterbury.

We arrived in time for a delicious lunch. Lizzie served a delicious beef stew Jamie Oliver recipe accompanied by sprouts, carrots and potatoes. I never had brussel sprouts growing up, but they are becoming one of my favourite vegetables, along with leeks. I was still full from Christmas day, but easily managed this meal and the pudding that followed (in England pudding served after a meal and is any dessert). After lunch the entire party of eight took a walk.


(Tom's Dad is the man in the background)

It is beautiful there! Very quaint and peaceful, a lovely place to live for someone a bit older. Absolutely gorgeous countryside which is perfect for an afternoon walk. Toward the center of town near the cathedral we passed amazing houses! It was an excellent way to spend the afternoon, especially after all of the eating.

After the walk Tom, his sisters and I played a competitive round of Apples to Apples. Such a good game! We gave it to his older sister Sally a while ago and the game is a hit in England with everyone we play. I just got it myself from my parents for Christmas and the housemates love it. Definitely recommend!

More cake followed games, then the car ride back to Brook Farm.

I really enjoyed my first celebration of Boxing Day.

Love

christmas time mistletoe and wine

I Love Christmas. It was a bit different this year as I am spending the entirety of the holidays in England. Meaning it is the first year I will not see my wonderful family. I miss them horribly, but I am still enjoying this festive time.

How did I spend my Christmas day?

6:50 Wake up... It's Christmas!!! Find my stocking under the bed and start enjoying. In Tom's family all presents in the stocking are wrapped so it takes a bit longer to find the treasures within. At the end I had many snacks to fill my drawer at work and good smelly things.

The next hour was spent laughing and talking in excitement with everyone crowded on Tom's parents bed. This included his two sisters and cousin Anna who flew down from Scotland on Christmas Eve.

8:30 Breakfast time. Tom made yummy bacon and mushroom omelets.

10:00 Start opening pressies. As always I was spoiled. Pj's, a book, scarf, warm clothes, socks, beach bag, china teacup and more. Topped off with.... a weekend away to a European city of my choice!!!!!! from Tom. THANK YOU!!! We will probably go away in April or May which leaves me a couple of months to decide where I want to go. Any suggestions?

Also my package from my Grami and Papa had arrived bringing a sweater (I am wearing at this moment) a scarf, necklace, gloves and excellent Starbucks card from Uncle and Cousins. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Tom's uncle Ian, younger sister Flo and Mum:

Tom's Mum showing off the Christmas apron she wore to do Christmas cooking that my Mom made for me:

1:00 Lunch begins. Rather than Christmas dinner, in England people have a large delicious lunch. We started with prawns and smoked salmon. Followed by a turkey roast with sausage stuffing, roast potatoes, parsnips, sprouts and the list goes on and on. Then of course some Christmas pudding. I was stuffed. I think it took a good two hours to get through the meal.



3:00 Visiting and relaxing. Tom received a table size table football (aka fooseball table) so we set that up and had a match. Only we didn't finish so I didn't get to properly win.

4:30 Tea time, skipped the Christmas cake as I had no room in my growing belly by that time.

5:30 Tom's relatives head for home, back south to Southampton.

7:00 Light bite of cheese and crackers as that is all we could manage, then curled up on the sofa to watch the Saddest movie Disney and Pixar have made EVER. If you've seen it you know I am obviously talking about UP. Seriously sad. The first time I saw it I cried twice!! I think I was more prepared this time and only had a couple of tears.

11:00 or so. Off to bed tired and very full.

And that was Christmas Day. Merry Christmas.

Love

peter pan

Is there a better way to get in the Christmas spirit than with a visit to the theatre? Perhaps, but a good holiday show does get one in the mood. Which is why I was very excited to be invited to see Peter Pan with my friend Frey. She is into theatre herself and has a few friends in this production in Brighton.

Pantomimes are tradition in England. Christmas performances, usually renditions of popular children’s stories set at Christmas time, with a lot of audience participation. I have always wanted to go to one just for the experience. We were told Peter Pan was more of a Christmas show than a panto, but it did meet criteria for a lot of what I hear panto’s include and was quite a kiddies show. There was the shouting of “its behind you” when the character cant find something that is behind them, booing and hissing the evil character and clapping along to songs. The most cheesy bit of the show was when the lost boys were about to walk the plank and Wendy told them to die “like true English gentlemen” followed by the cast breaking out into Rule Britannia complete with flags.

I loved it. I had a wonderful evening, so funny and entertaining. The little girl behind us had the loudest most contagious laugh making everything more funny. I enjoyed having a new experience and have now ticked off a Panto from my list of must do in England.

Love

happy birthday Flo

This past weekend Tom’s younger sister, Flo, turned 21… one of the most important birthdays in ones life. She decided to celebrate with a party on the farm. It was brilliant! They spent about a month cleaning the loft which used to be used for storing feed above the stables. It was a great venue, especially as spilled drink wasn’t a problem and mess the next morning wasn’t urgent to clean. The turnout was excellent as well. Despite all of the snow it was a party, people coming and going all night, with around fifty people at its height.

I was pleased Tom’s school friends Mark and Freddie joined in as it meant I knew some people. Of course I also knew Tom’s older sister Sally and her boyfriend Bruce as well as parents and a few other of Flo’s friends.

At one point in the night of course I needed to venture out to the loo. This was in a separate building and required going outside about 100 yards across the snow. When I got there a couple of others were waiting. Pretty normal situation. Only thing that wasn’t normal was an American girl. The two girls waiting loved it and were questioning me about the States for near ten minuets. Very sweet girls, I was enjoying the chat, but I was freezing, and still needed the loo! Trying not to be rude I had to end the conversation sending the girls back into the cold then up to the party.

An interesting thing I learned is that the Hokey Pokey is completely different here. It has the same tune but is called the Okey Kokey, and they don’t put their legs in and out and shake them all about, I forget now exactly how they sang it, but I was slightly lost.

A night full of fun and dancing, I had a great time!

Love

it snows in england

Thursday night Brighton turned into a winter wonderland. At ten it was freezing cold, but no snow in sight. At eleven there was at least four inches on the ground and it was a blizzard. There is only one thing to do in a situation like this… bundle up and go PLAY!! First thing to do, snow angle in the street of course. Then, massive midnight snowball fight. It was shocking how many people were out that late at night, especially considering I live a bit out of town. Random strangers fought back and running into a couple other groups of young people resulted in a street fight, weapons of course being snowballs. Snow was coming down in the wind making hard to even see. After a good hour hands were freezing, toes cold and cheeks rosy making it was time to retreat back indoors. I didn’t care it was one in the morning and I would most likely have work. I had no idea it could snow this much in England, it was like snow in Selah. I loved it. Now a few days later the roads are clear and ice melting, but it definitely is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

SNOW at Brook Farm





Love

work christmas party

A couple of weeks ago now was our work Christmas party. A difference I noticed last year is that Christmas parties in the UK usually do not include partners like they do in the states.

This year mine started at Jamie Oliver's Restaurant for a lovely meal...
http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/brighton
Jamie Oliver is a well known top chef and I had been wanting to check out his restaurant for a while. Our office of about fifty filled the entire upstairs area.I had a vegetable starter, monk fish tail and a winter berry tiramisu topped off with a mojito. Delicious!

Then the party moved next door for some karaoke at a venue called Lucky Voice. With cash behind the bar downstairs no one was too shy about singing in the room upstairs. Two mics were provided for plenty of group singing rather than embarrassment on stage. My team belted our a great rendition of Spice Girl's "if you wanna be my lover" and numerous Christmas tunes. A highlight was definitely our CEO performing 500 miles.

A great night of fun and celebration starting to set in place our Christmas spirit.

Love

wine tasting england style

My surprise from Tom for finally getting a job was that he signed us up for a night of wine tasting with his colleagues at Amex. I was very happy to hear that the group included our friends Ade and Gemma(Tom works with Ade and Gemma is his girlfriend who works in Hove for the city council doing really cool marketing stuff.) So a couple of weeks ago an evening sampling wine is what we did. It was hard to focus at work all day as I do enjoy a glass of wine and after spending the summer in the heart of Washington's wine country I was curious how this night would compare.

The event was hosted at Butlers Wine Cellar....

http://www.butlers-winecellar.co.uk/

I spotted differences right away. We were fashionably late, as one should always be, and had slight difficulty finding the place. Rather than driving through orchards to a beautiful tasting house we drove through the streets of Brighton a bit confused. Calling to ask for directions we were told to look for the large red door, it is unmarked and knock three times to be let in. Slightly creepy? We thought so. But found it.

We found ourselves in what seemed like the front room of the mans house (turns out it wasn't)which was full of Amex employees standing round. The walls were covered floor to ceiling in wine. We tasted numerous rounds of both whites and reds as we were tested on if they were oaked or unoaked, new or old world and attempted to rank the price. The four of us had a hard time focusing on the competition bit though as we were far too busy chatting.

The man, Henry, did have a Washington state wine! I was excited by this, but a bit disappointed to see it was Walla Walla Valley rather than Yakima. It was a Leonetti.

"Leonetti is one of the most famous small wineries in the Pacific Northwest - and perhaps in the nation. The Walla Walla, Wash., winery's cabernet sauvignons and merlots have received lofty ratings by international wine media and are ranked as some of the best in the world."
http://www.northwest-wine.com/Leonetti-Cellars.html

It was a wonderful night and at the end we bought a red, to not be rude of course, and carried on to a house of one of the girls who lived nearby for one last glass. Then it was off to the station and home for a late bedtime to get some rest before an early morning of work the next day.

A wonderful night! Just the other day Gemma and I were even discussing how we would love to get a group together and do it again.

I learned wine tasting in England is much the same as in Washington as I am sure is most everywhere... A little bit of many different wines no matter what the venue looks like.

Thank you for the surprise Tom!

Love

beautiful

wonderful photos of brighton... http://www.regencybrighton.com/outabout/sussex_heights/

love

christmas came early

this past weekend was the Shaftsbury Christmas Spectacular! A reunion of friends for drinks, laughs and a massive Christmas meal. During the time I studied in England Tom lived in a house of seven rugby boys on Shaftsbury Avenue. This weekend was a gathering of that group and girlfriends. However the girls were greatly outnumbered as a one couple couldn't make it and the other is in Australia, meaning it was Siobhan and I with the boys. It was a very busy weekend:

Friday: Cocktails with Siobhan after work, back to ours to meet the others then off to our local for the night.

Saturday: Morning of Wii and a delicious lunch at a hole in the wall that unfortunately was full of kids and had poor service so despite the wonderful food not sure if I would go back. (not to mention they charged us for two of one item, when we told them they said they actually forgot something else and added five pounds to the bill, then wouldn't split the bill between us and only accepted cash, far too much of a hassle. I skipped out to town to finish my Christmas shopping as rugby was the plan for the afternoon and I had to finish pressie shopping to ship everything in time for Christmas. Then back to get cleaned up for a night out, after watching X Factor semi finals of course. That night we went to a couple of bars but as everyone was tired clubbing just didn't happen.

Sunday: Christmas Meal! Thanks to Siobhan and her Tom for using their skills that morning in the kitchen, and to Siobhan's access to wonderful M&S food, also thanks to my Tom for spending hours prepping the food the day before. And we can't forget to thank Shaun for his cauliflower cheese. The meal was massive and delicious! Gammon, Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, parsnips.... then the Christmas pudding, and even a cheese and biscuit board later on. So much amazing food. A very gluttonous day!

Now friends are gone and it is back to work until real Christmas day, or at least until my work Christmas party this Friday.

Love

bognor regis

The past three Saturdays I have spent doing a promotion in Bognor Regis. A seaside town an hour train ride away to the west. The town is larger than I first imagined, but the majority of its residents are grandparent age as I expected. It's high street (each town has a high street where the shops are located, similar to a main street in the States) is shown below and is quite large compared to others I've seen. As the only person working the promotion in this location it was my task to hand out flyers and sample an Olay moisturiser/foundation combo on shoppers convincing as many as possible to purchase the product. It was not the most exciting job I've ever done, and its definitely not the worst, but the money made it worth it! Although now that I have a proper job I am very happy this stretch of promotion work is over and my Saturdays are once again free.



love

first day

I survived my first day back into the working world! It was great actually. I have started with four others, Giovanna, Joe, Claire and Jake, so we are all learning together. Next week two more people are starting. Venture capitalists just invested in the company so it is going through a big growth at the moment. The company was also ranked as one of the fastest growing digital media companies in Europe by GP Bullhound. This week is learning the email marketing software that we will start selling Friday afternoon. Everyone in the office is incredibly friendly. Yesterday the two managers that are training us, Marc my manager and Russel from the other team, took us to lunch at a Tai pub nearby in the lanes. I had a delicious king prawn red curry! It was an amazing start to the week and the job.

Today is of course more learning and exploring the product. One wall of the office is a block windows and the sun is shinning through. The opposite wall, which is near me, has a very large image of red flowers against a blue sky. A great atmosphere here today, a great working environment! I think it will take a little while to get used to getting up at 7:30 and I know once this week is over pressure will be on to make the sales, but as of now I am enjoying it and so glad to be working again.

Love

p.s. as I was finishing this Marc walked in with cookies for our team! I wonder how long the treats will last?

lucky 13 strikes again

Today is Friday the 13th. I turned 13 on a Friday the 13th. 13 is my lucky number and it proved itself once again today.

I've got a job! I've got a job!

I am a Business Development Executive for Pure 360. This company provides email marketing solutions that improve the results of many businesses campaigns.

Check out Pure 360... http://www.pure360.com/

Last Wednesday I travelled to London for an assessment day with the graduate recruitment agency Pareto. After a grueling day of group tasks and presentations I was pleased to be told I was successful. One of their recruitment consultants then set me up with an interview in Brighton with Pure 360. I went through two rounds of interviews, which included presenting a sales pitch that sold the company's product to them, and after my final round today I received the exciting news of a job offer! So, within a week and a half of being selected by Pareto they have hooked me up, pretty impressive. Monday morning I will find myself gainfully employed arranging my desk and making new friends. Oh and most importantly, finally earning some money!

love

the big pink - dominoes

TUNE! I like, check it out....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGnNlQ-KNv4


I also stumbled across this blog the other day....

http://allthingsgoodrudegirl.blogspot.com/

its full of albums, the perfect site for keeping in touch with music.

Love

guy fawkes and bonfire night

"remember remember the fifth of november"



A long long time ago a man named Guy Fawkes attempted to overthrow the King by blowing up parliament. For a better idea of what really happened check out this site...

http://www.bonfirenight.net/

The day is now remembered throughout the country with parades, burning of effigies and magnificent fireworks displays.

I celebrated in the nearby village of Lewes which hosts the largest bonfire night in the country. Read this article from Brighton's largest newspaper to learn more about this years event...

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4726245.Lewes_Bonfire_Night_hailed_a_success/

This was my second year attending the event and once again I felt like I stepped back in time as the parade marched past in this old village composed of societies in old fashioned costume and bearing torches, including children. There is something spooky about the night that I just can't get enough of.



The night ends with each society hosting a fireworks display. We went to one that was free with an amazing show and a massive bonfire to keep us warm.

It was well worth fighting the crowds!

Love

robo wars

Halloween is not as big of a holiday in England as it is in America. You wont find hoards of little children running across streets and door to door in search of a sugar rush. You wont find adults dressing up at work. You wont find carved pumpkins glowing in windows and on doorsteps. However, you still find many young adults in costume out for another party. I'm sure there are still little ones knocking on strangers' doors, its just not insanely popular as in the states.

I went out briefly on Halloween and was disgusted by the fact you couldn't get in to any club or even bar without waiting for hours. Seriously, I have never seen such massive queues. Leah and I gave up and went home. I think half of the country ventured to the seaside for the holiday! The difference in costumes here is hilarious. Approximately 95 percent of people who dressed up did so by pairing dirty shredded clothing with faces painted white with smeared black eyeliner and red lipstick. Seriously, where is the creativity?

I am extremely happy that I celebrated the night before. I dressed as an angel. A bit of an impromptu night as a group of us went to the Halloween party at Komedia. Komedia is usually a comedy club in the lanes, but this 'all hallows eve' it turned itself into a dance party. Live trapeze artist, fire show and three rooms pumping Halloween tunes included. Music in two of the rooms was a bit old fashioned, but we did get to monster mash.

Highlight of my night.... I needed a trip to the loo but was trapped in one of the rooms by a monster telling me he couldn't open the door until they finished filming the robo fight scene on the other side. Seriously! A couple of guys costumed as robots in cardboard boxes were fighting in the stairwell and filming it. True Brightoners...The eccentric artsy type! Luckily filming didn't take long and I escaped to the loo laughing in disbelieve. Weird? Yes. Love it a little? well... Yes.

Check out this link to see Komedia as its usual comedy club:
http://www.komedia.co.uk/

love

brighton fashion week 09

I am pleased to announce that I am working the Brighton fashion show this week. Meaning I'm actually earning a few pounds. Check out the link below...

http://www.churchillsquare.com/index.php/brighton-fashion-week.html

In addition to drooling over all of the chic outfits I can't afford at the moment my duties involve looking after one of the female models. Making sure all of her outfits are organised, helping her rapidly change outfits during each show and hanging the clothes back in order.

It reminds me of dance recitals really. Fairly easy work but unfortunately not paid very well.

I laugh to myself everyday thinking about "mall models", oh we were sooo envious of them in middle school..... not. These girls are sweet and pretty though I have to give them that.

How did I get myself into this low paying glamorous job?

I went in to a recruitment agency on Wednesday looking for permanent work or temporary well paying jobs to tide me over until I find a real job. I then went out for drinks and dancing that night with Sarah thinking I had nothing on the next day. Thursday morning I received a call at 9:30 from the agency. Apparently on of the girls scheduled to work the show didn't turn up and they needed a replacement that very second. All I wanted to do was have a lie in then spend the day in comfy clothes working on job applications from my bed or sofa. But it was the first chance I've had to earn money so I had to take it. I jumped out of bed, quickly applied makeup, through on clothes trying to look presentable, scrubbed off the unprofessional stamps that were on my wrist from the club the night before and rushed into town. Thursday, Friday and even all day on Saturday I am spending in the mall making just over minimum wage. However, it does have its positive side... I feel a bit like Lauren and Whitney from the Hills, which makes me feel glam.

Love

"fall behind"

I don't think the little saying, "spring forward, fall behind," which helps people remember which way to move the clocks for daylight savings is transferable to England. Here the seasons are Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Fall is what happens when hypothetically speaking I'm distracted by an incredibly gorgeous man and continue walking whilst staring which causes me to trip over something silly like a crack in the pavement and within seconds find myself up close and personal to the cement. Whatever you want to call it that time of year is here once again along with the need to reset clocks forward one hour.

Benefit: My favourite day of the year! Getting that extra hour of sleep makes me wake up feeling rested and happy just because it was there.

Negatives: It's half seven right now and yesterday the sun would just be setting. Today its been dark for ages and I feel its almost bedtime.

Although, I think my new library card will easily turn this negative into a positive as it means I can read an endless amount of books as I snuggle up on the sofa with a cup of herbal tea.

I am beginning to truly appreciate Autumn. The beautiful changing colors, the spiced warm hearty food, the comfort of sweaters/jumpers, scarfs and gloves. And... it means Christmas is getting near! (but we wont mention that until after Thanksgiving although adverts and displays are everywhere already)

love

x factor

http://xfactor.itv.com/2009/ ....... the reason for half of England staying home on Saturday nights from eight to ten.

Seriously, last week witnessed the largest audience in X Factor history, 12.7 million out of 14.3 million people were tuned in. I think it is majorly impacting the success of pubs and nightclubs.

For those of you in America who have no idea what I am talking about X Factor is the UK version of American Idol. Both shows are thanks to Simon Cowell and search for the next number one pop star. Cowell is one of the four judges and provider of the record deal awarded to the winner. The other three judges include:
*Louie Walsh - grandpa-like irsh man and music manager
*Dani Minogue - sister of incredible Kylie Minogue who had a few hits of her own
*Ceryl Cole - beautiful and amazing Ceryl Cole is married to footballer Ashley Cole and a member of Girls Aloud who has just released her solo album.... check out her first single,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr31Vhu01fc, love it, love her!!!!

The judges narrowed thousands down to tweleve, and now they just provide support, mentoring and feedback as it is the general public who decides the fate of these talent individuals.

I am one of the addicted here. If it wasn't for being able to record tv I wouldn't even think of going out on a Saturday, but then again saying that I haven't missed it on a Saturday night yet. My favourite this year is Lucy Jones. I tend to always favour the girl who I think I would most likely be friends with, last year it was Dianna Vickars (still love her, I've even been to her website.... multiple times). I think this is because it is the contestant I can relate to in a way.

Although, if I'm honest about who is most likely to win it would have to be Danyl. He is obviously a league above the others. It is apparent the judges know this as well due to the overly harsh and out of line comments they gave him first round of the live show, Dani even called him out on stage and live tv for being bi-sexual, has to be bad for his teaching career. Oh well, apologies made the show goes on.

Who will be voted off this week?? Tough call, but I doubt John and Edward will manage to stay around much longer, although they are excellent for comedic value. We shall see.

love

the local

Its an integral part of English culture, the local pub... aka "the local." My local pub is The Three Graces.

http://www.drinkinbrighton.co.uk/venue.html?venueid=2860

This chilled out pub is a great place to relax any day, granted I've only been there three or four times to date. One of the best things about this pub is the happy hour specials that occur everyday from noon until six. As I have yet to find a job, it pleases me to get any good deal I could find. At this pub it is a deliciously fruity glass of rose for 3.25GBP. Not to bad.

There is a giant portrait of John Belushi, candles dripping with wax and the classic fruity. "What is a fruity?" I am sure you are asking. It is a gambling machine of sorts: A lot of flashing lights and buttons to push. I really don't understand them. The bottom part is like a slot machine where the fruits have to match, and if they do you move to the upper part of the machine where there are other games and bonuses that give you more money. Don't ask me any more about them because I have no clue. I much prefer an It Box, which this pub sadly does not have. An It Box is another gambling machine:but one with various games such as Deal or No Deal and Monopoly that ask you trivia questions. You put one pound in to play, usually I don't get them back. Not because I am dim, but because a lot of the trivia involves parts of British culture I did not grow up with. Playing these you really get a feel of the social aspect of pub culture as often a stranger standing nearby will chime in and offer the answer.

I enjoy the pub culture, it is something not found anywhere else in the world. What I enjoy is you can meet a friend for a drink in an environment you can actually have a chat. The music is usually not blaring and there are not TV's on every wall distracting you with sport.

So when you visit England, make sure to spend an afternoon or two in a pub.

love

life of an unemployed

9:00 wake up

9:15 bowl of muesli with rice milk and a warm mug of gaurana coffee alternative

10:00 hot yoga class or run along the seafront

12:00 shower

12:30 salad

1:00 dry hair and straighten hair, apply a little makeup and put on a proper outfit so I feel like I have actually gotten ready for something in the day

1:30 clean the kitchen and tidy the room

2:30 start more job applications

4:00 very bored so make a cup of tea, head starting to feel fuzzy

4:30 more applications

7:00 supper

7:30 TV for the evening

11:00 good night

Really, that is about how every day goes. Until the weekend at least, then its all fun and games. I definitely am ready for a job, I am not cut out to be a cleaning lady. Although, I will have to find a new yoga routine.

Don't get me wrong..... I do enjoy the easy life, but I think I am ready to start earning some dosh.

love

contemplations on scrabbles

I have successfully kept my pet hamster, scrabbles, alive for about four months now (granted two of those Tom's mum was looking after her, never mind). What an accomplishment!

I was playing with her this evening, and realized, I really don't understand hamsters. They run and run and run constantly. From one hand to the other to the other. You let her free for a second, she rapidly scrabbles away, catch her, move her to starting point and there she goes again, Repeatedly. Where is trying to go? What is she looking for? She can't possibly just be scavenging for food can she? Are hamsters just A.D.D. and incapable of sitting still? At times I really do wish she would just sit in my hand cuddling as I watch telly, should have got a cat.

Really though, do they possess any ability for cognitive thought? Every now and then she will pause, look up for a second, then carry on. It is obvious she was thinking something, but what? And they can hear, but what do their thoughts sound like? squeaks?

Can they really stay entertained running around and around a cage all day? I think she truly is. She knows where her food is, so when hungry she must think, "my tummy is rumbling let me go look in my food bowl (fridge) and see if anything is there" (just like a human). But what else could a hamster think about... maybe, "man my legs that seem to small to support my body are tired I can't wait for the sun to come up so I can go burrow in my home and rest."

Humm, would it be worth it to spend a day as a hamster????

love

brighton beach

Internet is finally here! Now, rather than a journey to the pub I can stay warm and cozy in my own home... own bed, and connect to the entire world.

When I feel like going outdoors I am fortunate to have Brighton Beach a mere 5 minute walk away.
A perfect place for bbq's, reading, sharing a few drinks, relaxing with friends or for those who can brave the slightly chilly water, going for a swim. The beach is covered in pebbles; however, I actually managed to find a bit of real sand on this area which is a straight walk from where I live. Another benefit of this area is that it's away from the hordes of mainly Londoners who come down on sunny days. In the distance is Brighton Pier full of arcades games and rides, with many beach bars, artists selling funky jewelry, the burnt down pier, restaurants, clubs and sand volleyball courts on the way. It's wonderful.

Prime property in this area are the beach huts.
Going for 18,000 GBP if you can get your hands on one, some people would prefer purchasing a quality car. They are prefect storage for regulars. Families hosting picnics, kids pulling out their beach toys, couples relaxing in beach chairs are common sites when walking past these colorful sheds.

A day at the beach is excellent for people watching, and always entertaining.

love

no internet

Dear Followers,

All three of you.... Internet has yet to be installed in the new flat. Therefore I am now at a local pub applying for jobs over a glass of rose. Had to make a purchase to use their internet, and it is happy hour on wine, perfect. Oh, and yes it is past noon.

What I am really trying to say is that you will have to wait about another week for my much anticipated next post. Sorry. Shame isn't it?

Love

moving house

The English say "moving house" and that is how I spent my weekend, moving house to a new flat in Hove. Hove is adjacent to Brighton and in 1997 the two areas were combined into one big city. Hove is generally regarded as the better area with more spacious homes.

For more info on the area check out these websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton
http://tourism.brighton.co.uk/

I was very pleased when I explored the neighborhood. The flat is on a main street above a nuts and bolts shop, but the shop next door is an organic health foods store... just my style. There is a green grocers diagonally across the street that sells a wide variety of fresh fruit and produce. A couple of blocks in the other direction is an acupuncture clinic that hosts yoga and pilates classes every day of the week... perfect!

My new place is lovely! Spacious with wood floors, dishwasher, clothes washing machine, dining room table, living room... the works. Still chaos at the moment though. It took over four hours last night to put together a bedside table from Ikea, it was a 20 step process with a billion little parts! I am very pleased that two of the walls in my room are painted a deep purple, one of my fav colours.

That's it for now. Unpacking to do.

love

hello again england

I love airports. Really LOVE airports. I have since I was a child. I know to some the entire experience is just stress and chaos. But there is something about them that enchants me. Thousands of people, each individual coming from one place, going to another, each with their own story to tell. To me it creates an atmosphere of mystery and adventure. I love it!

I became very excited as I got near SeaTac on Tuesday evening. Giddy to be at an airport, anxious to return to England, but at the same time sad to be leaving my family and friends. I had an incredible summer. So much quality time and fun with my parents, grandparents and great friends, I am truely grateful. So many fun weddings!! As much as I will miss everyone, I know for now I am happy to be in England. I am a 23 year old American girl with little money and no job at the moment, who wants to see the world and wants more adventure before she settles down, who also happens to have fallen for an English bloke. So my boots came off, my computer came out of the bag, everything in trays and through security I went.

Best flight of my life! I boarded just before 10:00 pm, fell asleep and woke up half an hour before landing in London. Plus, I was seated by the window with no one right next to me.

I woke up this morning (Thursday) about 3:00 am I think, (seriously it was pitch black and I saw the sun rise, thank you jet leg!) and thought to myself how crazy it is that I grew up in little Selah, went to UW (go dawgs!), and now I am waking up in an old farmhouse in the English countryside with people I really care about. I actually do have friends across the globe now. I often wish I could split myself in two and be in America and England at the same time. That's unfortunately not possible so after my amazing summer in the States I am now starting my job hunt in Brighton, England. Wish me luck!

love

i will return

I return to England 9 September 2009 and this blog will re-begin then! love jenn